4th Dec

CR IP TI ON BS SU

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2013

Police yield to protesters ahead of Thai king’s birthday

Asia sweeps top spots in education survey

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www.kuwaittimes.net

SAFAR 1, 1435 AH

In your face, selfie!

‘Science’ also tops for 2013

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Seahawks rout Saints 34-7 to clinch playoff spot

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KAC signs MoU with Airbus to buy 25 jets Sukuk eyed to finance deal • New chief appointed

Max 23º Min 12º High Tide 13:31 Low Tide 06:57 & 18:48

By Nawara Fattahova and Agencies

Men, women brains wired differently WASHINGTON: Women aren’t very good at reading maps, and men are incapable of multitasking. At first glance they might seem like a couple of hoary old stereotypes from the battle of the sexes. But are they? A new study looking at the neural wiring of the male and female brain has concluded that there may be some truth to commonly held beliefs about what makes men and women tick. The study, published in the Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences, has found striking differences between the way that men’s and women’s brains are wired to work.

The study, one of the largest ever conducted scrutinizing the “connectomes” that link different parts of the brain, was carried out by the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine. A total of 949 individuals (521 females, 428 males) aged between eight and 22) underwent diffusion tension imaging (DTI), a sophisticated water-based imaging technique that can highlight and map out the fiber pathways of the brain. The study found a greater degree of neural connectivity from front to back within one hemisphere in males, suggesting brains were wired to facilitate connectivity between perception and co-ordinated action. Women’s brains meanwhile were wired between left and right hemispheres, indicating they facilitated communication between the analytical and intuition, the study found.

“These maps show us a stark difference - and complementarity - in the architecture of the human brain that helps provide a potential neural basis as to why men excel at certain tasks and women at others,” said Ragini Verma, a radiology department professor at Perelman who worked on the study. The study reported that on average men are more likely better at learning and performing a single task, such as navigating.

Women meanwhile were likelier to have a superior memory and social cognition skills - making them better equipped for multi-tasking and creating solutions which could work for a group. “It’s quite striking how complementary the brains of women and men really are,” said one of the study’s authors, Ruben Gur. “Detailed connectome maps of the brain will not only help us better understand the differences between how men and women think, but it will also give us more insight into the roots of neurological disorders, which are often sex related.” The study noted only a few gender differences in the connectivity in children under 13, but found more pronounced differences in 14 to 17-year-olds and young adults older than 17. — AFP

KUWAIT: (From left) Financial consultant to Kuwait Airways Co (KAC) Amani Buresli, Acting KAC Chairman Jassar Al-Jassar and board member Nabila Al-Anjeri address a press conference yesterday. — Photo by Joseph Shagra

Disabled citizens slam MPs, govt

By A Saleh KUWAIT: The National Assembly held a symbolic session yesterday to observe World Disability Day during which citizens with special needs launched a strong attack against MPs and the government over ‘failure’ to implement their rights. Some of the attendees were also seen holding signs demanding the resignation of General Director of the Public Authority for People with Special Needs Dr Jassem Al-Tammar, who was accused of “depriving disabled citizens’ rights”.

Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanem reiterated the Assembly’s “continued support” to people with special needs. “The parliament will continue to be a supporter of your cause and one that works to meet your demands,” Ghanem told the attendees in a speech to inaugurate the

session. He also promised to work on allowing citizens with special needs to have easier access to attending parliamentary sessions “in order to communicate easily with MPs”.

President of the Kuwait Society for Citizens with Special Needs Ayedh AlShemmary had threatened to boycott the annual session “due to depriving disabled citizens of rights mentioned in the law number 8 for the year 2010”.

Honorary chairperson of the Kuwait Disabled Sports Club Sheikha Sheikha Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah called for establishing similar clubs in every governorate “to organize sports, cultural and social competitions between people with special needs”. Also during the session, Tammar announced that the public authority has provided education support to 6,039 people with special needs since its establishment in 2010.

Qaradawi quits Al-Azhar

KUWAIT: Foreign workers are lined up in the hall of a school after they were arrested in a raid in Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh yesterday. — KUNA

420 arrested in Jleeb KUWAIT: A raid in Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh yesterday resulted in the arrest of 420 individuals in violation of visa laws or wanted for various cases. The Ministry of Interior’s security media department said that the majority of the visa violators hold article 20 residency visas (domestic laborers) and had deserted their sponsors without the latter reporting them as absconders.

“The sponsors will be held accountable as well,” the department vowed.

KUWAIT: Kuwait Airways Co has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Airbus to buy 25 planes with an option for 10 more and to lease 12 planes, its acting chairman said yesterday. “We have signed a memorandum of understanding with Airbus to purchase 25 planes to replace the existing ageing fleet,” Jassar Al-Jassar told a press conference. He declined to reveal the value of the deal citing a confidentiality clause but local media, when talks of the deal first surfaced in May, estimated the cost at around $3 billion.

Separately, Minister of Communication Essa AlKandari issued a ministerial decree appointing Rasha Abdelaziz Al-Roumi as the airline’s new chairwoman after the suspension of former chairman Sami Al-Nisf, the state news agency reported. Nisf had been suspended after he had announced plans to buy five used aircraft from India’s Jet Airways, which the company has since abandoned. Jet Airways had also said no deal had been reached. The airline wants to take 11 older jets out of service from a 17-strong fleet.

“The fleet of KAC is in a very bad state and insurance companies as well as various airports are pressurizing us due to the old aircraft. This memorandum is a part of the strategic plan of KAC to renew its fleet with modern aircraft that will meet the expectations of the passengers,” said Jasser. State-owned KAC, which is undergoing privatisation, signed a letter of acceptance for the deal in May. He said the airline has obtained all the necessary authorisations from the government including written approval from Kandari.

Continued on Page 13

Assistant undersecretary for citizenship and passports affairs Maj Gen Faisal Al-Nawaf said the drive was part of a series of campaigns organized in collaboration with other departments “to eliminate all negative phenomena”. The campaign led

by Nawaf also included immigration detectives director Brig Ghazi AlLumai and special forces manager Brig Ali Madhi and a number of police and traffic patrols.

DOHA: Muslim Brotherhood-linked theologian Yusuf Al-Qaradawi has resigned from the governing body of Cairo’s Al-Azhar, accusing the top Sunni seat of learning of supporting Egypt’s military-installed government. “I submit my resignation,” Qaradawi wrote on Twitter and his Facebook page on Monday, accusing the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Sheikh Ahmed Al-Tayyeb, of “abusing the authority of the office to support the military coup”.

Egyptian-born Qaradawi, who has been based in Qatar since he was stripped of his citizenship decades ago, has been an outspoken critic of the army’s July 3 ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi. The cleric, who retains huge influence through his regular appearances as a commentator on Doha-based satellite channel AlJazeera, issued a religious edict, or fatwa, calling on Egyptians to restore Morsi to “his legitimate post”. “We have waited for the sheikh of Al-Azhar to return to the correct path and to disassociate himself from the tyrant regime,” he said in Monday’s posting.

Qaradawi, now 86, was jailed several times in the 1950s under the rule of president Gamal Abdel Nasser and left for Qatar in 1961. He returned to the land of his birth 50 years later and led mass prayers in Cairo’s Tahrir Square shortly after president Hosni Mubarak was forced out in Feb 2011 in the face of the mass protests of the Arab Spring. — AFP

KUWAIT: A special needs child bangs the speaker;s gavel as Speaker Marzouq AlGhanem looks on during a symbolic session at the National Assembly yesterday to observe World Disability Day. — Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat

Saudis must boost private sector: IMF RIYADH: Saudi Arabia needs to strengthen its private sector to satisfy demand for jobs by its young population and reduce its dependence on oil exports, a senior International Monetary Fund official warned yesterday. The world’s top oil exporter has long seen unemployment among young people as its biggest challenge in coming decades, but it has struggled to

turn private-sector growth into jobs for Saudis.

“We need more private-sector growth - even much more stronger - to absorb the potential labour supply,” said Min Zhu, deputy managing director of the IMF, at an event in Riyadh.

The IMF said last month Gulf Arab states would need to create 600,000 private-sector Continued on Page 13

RIYADH: Saudi businesswoman and board member of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce Fatin Bundagji adjusts her headscarf as she attends the Private Sector Middle East Conference yesterday. — AFP

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2013

LOCAL

Domestic tourism ‘only way out’

KUWAIT: Officials pose at the launch of IHG Job Fair 2013 at Crowne Plaza Hotel. —- Photos by Joseph Shagra

Kuwaitis urged to take hospitality jobs ‘IHG Careers Job Fair’ launched

By Ben Garcia KUWAIT: Kuwaitis shy away from taking hospitality jobs because many have negative impressions about them. But according to Ramy Haykal, General Manager Crowne Plaza Kuwait, it’s about time for Kuwaitis to accept such jobs and present their country to the world. “Hotels are the first stop of a foreigner when visiting a country. So

Ramy Haykal

yesterday. Kuwaitis do not want to work in the service sectors such as hotels and restaurants not because they don’t like the job or there are no vacancies, but because they are seen by some as low-income jobs, he said. “They should see this job as a service to the country; it’s not just about serving coffee - it’s more than that. The challenge is in education - we need to change the impression about these jobs. There is nothing wrong about hotel jobs - they are very important and respectable jobs. Serving foreigners and visitors is a pride - you are a face of your country,” Haykal mentioned as he acknowledged the importance of hotel jobs and their role to impress visitors.

“The reality is that we cannot be all owners of hotels or mangers. There must be somebody who can help you in running the business and without waiters and cooks and other services, you cannot have a hotel business. Hotel jobs are more than just room service and waiters, and the reality is that we cannot all be in high positions,” he opined.

On the meager salaries given to hospitality employees compared to banking and other jobs, Haykal noted: “Kuwaitis in private sectors are well supported by their government. They usually get subsidies. For example if the minimum wage for Kuwaitis is KD 1,000, and the salary they receive from the hotel is KD 500, they’ll get

Officials at the launch the face of Kuwait is already interpreted as they check in in the hotels,” Haikal pointed out.

“It’s always a pleasure to see locals at the front desk or serving their visitors. But in Kuwait, there are no Kuwaiti job-takers. They don’t want to work in hotels, but if they did, it will help promote the country and will generate more people-to-people contacts,” Haykal said during the launch of ‘IHG Careers Job Fair 2013’ organized by International Hotels Group (IHG) at Crowne Plaza Hotel yesterday.

IHG is the largest hotel company in the world and also the largest hotel operator in Kuwait with four properties, Haykal said at a press conference

an extra KD 500 from the government, so I don’t think salary is the main factor,” he explained.

Many Kuwaitis prefer to work in the government sectors, banks and other investment companies rather than take a job in the hotel industry.

The four sister properties - Intercontinental Hotel Kuwait, Crowne Plaza Kuwait, Holiday Inn Downtown and Holiday Inn Salmiya (which are the three brands of InterContinental Hotels Group operating in Kuwait) have joined hands to promote the tourism and hospitality sector in the country through this initiative. The press conference headed by the four general managers of the hotels - Carlos Malliaroudakis, Area

General Manager of Intercontinental Hotel Kuwait, Ramy Haykal, General Manager of Crowne Plaza Kuwait, Krikor Kukeyan, General Manager of Holiday Inn Downtown and Monjed Saiha, General Manager Holiday Inn Salmiya, was attended by various media representatives and was held at the Al Murjan Hall in Crowne Plaza Kuwait. IHG Careers Fair 2013 will be held for three days (Dec 7, 8 and 9) to provide an opportunity to young graduates and nationals to take ownership of their careers by planning their career at IHG. “The fair creates a platform for us to identify young talent and give graduates the opportunity to kick-start their career with a reputable organization like ours,” noted Haykal. “The initiative is global - we have openings in all branches of our hotels all over the world and we continue to recruit highly-skilled and passionate people. So we are promoting the industry. They can come and know the industry, and they ’ll be guided by our people,” he stressed. Malliaroudakis, the Area General Manager of Intercontinental Kuwait added, “The Careers Fair 2013 is a testimony to the fact that the IHG properties are the leading employers in the hospitality industry in Kuwait.”

Events such as the Careers Fair provide a platform for graduates and many aspiring Kuwaiti youngsters to access the resources that facilitate their career advancement in the tourism industry. It is an opportune time to find out about the world of opportunities available at IHG hotels in Kuwait - across its hotels, brands and departments. This fair is seen as a platform to educate young Kuwaitis not only about hotel operations, cross-functions and leadership competencies, but also encourage them to join the hospitality industry where they can grow by matching their skills and ambitions within the company. It also promotes the hotel chain’s “IGrad Future Leaders” program in the local market which will provide everyone with an opportunity to develop their skills and experience hotel operations.

Kukeyan and Saiha, General Managers of Holiday Inn Downtown and Holiday Salmiya respectively, shared the feeling of pride to be a part of the IHG family. “The four sister hotels belonging to the largest hotel chain in the world are known to give utmost importance to taking care of the most valuable asset of the company its employees,” they said. The career fair opens its doors to everyone in Kuwait starting Dec 7 for three days in three different locations between 10 am to 4 pm.

The locations are: Dec 7, 2013 - Holiday Inn Salmiya, Dec 8, 2013 - Holiday Inn Downtown, Dec 9, 2013 - Crowne Plaza Kuwait A plethora of activities is planned during the three days where visitors will be able to meet hotel employees from various departments to share their stories of where they have come from and their career journey at IHG as well as submit their resumes. This fair is open to everyone interested in knowing more about the industry and enthusiastic in building their career with IHG.

BWM important to prevent pollution MANAMA: Director General of Kuwait’s Environment Public Authority (EPA) Salah Al-Mudhi underscored yesterday importance of joining the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediments (BWM) to protect marine environment in the Arabian Gulf. ‘The BWM convention is very important for preventing the Arab Gulf pollution by ships ballast water and sediments,. Al-Mudhi said following his participation in the meeting of the undersecretaries of ministries in charge of environment affairs in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). —KUNA

KUWAIT: “Domestic tourism is becoming fruitful in many countries worldwide, especially in time of distress”, said the general manager of Leaders Group Company for Consultancy and Development, Nabila AlAnjeri, pointing out that many regional countries had started adapting such policies, especially in view of the political crises in many of their nationals’ touristic destinations. “They tend to hold more domestic recreational activities and festivities to make up for the losses in foreign tourism”, she added.

In the company’s monthly report, AlAnjeri added that Kuwait attracts no foreign tourists, the concerned authorities should give more care to activating domestic tourism and follow Saudi Arabia’s footsteps, for instance. “In view of the political situations in both Syria and Egypt, this can be the best option”, she stressed noting that instead of spending millions abroad, citizens should be encouraged to do this at home especially when knowing that travel costs for a five-day journey are over KD 100 million of which 55 per cent are spent in the form of airfare and hotel charges.

The report also showed that according to official records, 292,000 passengers left Kuwait during Eid Al-Adha vacation including 121,000 travelling by planes.

The report also reminisced the 1970s when the information ministry’s undersecretary for tourism, Saleh Shehab organized special recreational programs for both citizens and expatriates, an effort that formed the base of domestic tourism when so many international band and artists were invited to perform in Kuwait. “That was followed by founding the Touristic Enterprises Co. that has over 17 facilities all over Kuwait”, she added.

“Unfortunately, the most recent TEC

Nabila Al-Anjeri facility, Khairan Resort, was launched in 1987. Nothing was opened ever since while the company facilities’ condition is deteriorating”, added Al-Anjeri comparing Kuwait’s Ice Skating Rink ( established 1980) with that of Dubai, which is the most developed one worldwide. “The fountain garden was opened in 1983 including 220 fountains but now turned in ponds of stagnant waters”, she added comparing it to the Dubai’s dancing fountain.

Moreover, Al-Anjeri suggested privatizing touristic facilities, especially since TEC’s profits in 2012 were as little as KD 296,000 compared to KD 2.1 million over the previous five years. She also blamed all previous governments over the past 20 years for the deterioration of Kuwait’s touristic facilities.

“The fees collected in these facilities are relatively low and increasing them can somehow contribute to developing them”, she concluded.

KUWAIT: The Farwaniya building in which fire erupted yesterday.

Asian duo held for drug trade

By Hanan Al-Saadoun KUWAIT: Two Asians were arrested with the possession of 250 gm of heroin and 750 psychotropic pills, said security sources. Case papers indicate that narcotics detectives had been tipped off about the suspects’ activities. After investigations, the suspects were arrested redhanded and confessed to be partners. A case was filed and the suspects were referred to relevant authorities.

Road accident An Asian was instantly killed and a citizen and a bedoon were seriously injured in a crash at the juncture of Mohammed Ibn Al-Qassem street with Jleeb, said security sources, noting that firemen had to cut open the two vehicles to free the injured and the deceased. The sources added that the accident was the result of exceeding speed limits and running a red traffic light.

Farwaniya fire Farwaniya firemen evacuated dozens of people residing in a 10-storey Farwaniya building when a fire broke out in it, said security sources. Case papers indicate that firemen received a report about the fire saying that some people were trapped by smoke. They added that a team of firemen evacuated the tenants, including one who had been trapped by

KUWAIT: The two Asians who were arrested for drug trade yesterday. flames, while another group battled the blaze. No casualties were reported.

Farwaniya fire chief Maj Nasser AlKandari urged all landlords not to lock or chain the doors leading to their buildings’ roofs as this hinders evacuation operations.

Kuwait calls for eradicating landmines worldwide

ABK congratulates NUKS winners KUWAIT: Among the activities of the annual conference held by the National Union of Kuwaiti Students- USA Branch, and in which ABK is participating as a Silver Sponsor, the bank extends its congratulations to Qaemat Al-Wehda Al-Tulabiya for winning the elections of the NUKS - USA Branch.

Sahar Al-Therban, Public Relations

Manager at ABK, expressed her pleasure at attending the elections which had a great turnover and was perfectly planned and organized. Al-Therban congratulated the successful winners, Ahmad Qabazard, the newly elected President and Hamad AlHajri, Vice President , and wished them luck and success in their forthcoming role as they serve the Kuwaiti students in the US.

GENEVA: Kuwait called on the international community to implement measures that would rid the world from landmines, said a Kuwaiti diplomat here yesterday.

In his speech to the meeting of members’ states in the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines, Kuwait’s permanent representative at the UN and international organizations Ambassador Jamal Al-Ghunaim said that his country was in support of the international community efforts to ban landmines on a worldwide scale.

In order to fulfill the goals of the con-

vention, a strong effort by all involved parties must exist to diminish the presence of such a lethal weapon, said the Kuwaiti official, adding that the meeting today was within the efforts to eradicate landmines from existence.

The meeting for the member states in the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction began here yesterday and will last still December fifth. To date, there are 161 States Parties to the treaty.

The treat was sign in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada on December 3rd, 1997 and took effect on March first, 1991. —KUNA

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2013

LOCAL Kuwait ‘not present’ in Peres address to Arab ministers KUWAIT: Kuwait did not take part in a meeting hosted in Abu Dhabi recently in which Israeli President Shimon Peres reportedly spoke to foreign ministers of 29 Arab and Muslim countries via satellite, a local daily reported yesterday quoting ‘ministerial sources’.

Peres addressed the meeting through video conference from his Jerusalem office and identified Iran and radical Islam as “ the common enemy”, according to a report published Monday

by English-speaking Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth. “Kuwait was not a participant in the meeting, and therefore had no relations with Peres’ address,” said the

sources who spoke to Al-Rai on the condition of anonymity. The Israeli report had identified Kuwait, along with Bahrain, the UAE, Oman, Yemen, and Qatar among those represented in the meeting of regional foreign ministers. It also indicated that the king of Saudi Arabia’s son was also among those present. Meanwhile, the Kuwaiti sources confirmed that Peres appeared on a video screen at the meeting “as he spoke directly with representatives of countries with normal ties with Israel, and through the United Nations Undersecretary-General Terje-Roed Larsen with countries that share no ties with the Jewish state”.

‘GCC unity on summit agenda’ KUWAIT: Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Khalid Al-Sabah expressed optimism that a project to adopt a unified currency for Gulf Cooperation Council countries would be finalized by 2015 in accordance with economic plans ongoing on that regard.

The senior Kuwaiti officials made his statements when approached for a comment regarding a Bahraini daily report that hinted that a unified currency is set to be adopted in four GCC states within a month.

“Citizens of Gulf states look up to many things, including the unified currency that will be implemented in accordance within its time program”, Sheikh Sabah Khalid told repor ters during the UAE embassy ’s National Day ceremony on Monday. The initial report suggested that the currency will not be adopted in the United Arab Emirates and Oman for the time being.

Sheikh Sabah Khalid was also asked whether the GCC unification project will be discussed during the summit that Kuwait hosts later this month. “This is a pending topic in which discussions and consultations about it are still ongoing”, he said.

In the meantime, Foreign Ministr y Undersecretary Khalid Al-Jarallah said that the unity project will be included in the summit’s agenda “as member states will be briefed on the latest developments on that regard”. “Kuwait has no reservations on the unity project, and we believe that the studying process has become complete while hope that Gulf states move to the agreement phase”, Al-Jarallah told reports

at the Romanian embassy’s National Day ceremony Sunday.

In other news, Director of Coordination at the Foreign Ministr y, Khalid AlMaghames, criticized annual human rights reports released by the United States Depar tment of State, saying that the reports are ‘politically motivated’. “The reports are released for political purposes in order to put political pressure on other countries”, Al-Maghames said during a press conference to announce the opening of training course organized by the permanent committee to follow up with the government’s development plan which he heads. He further asserted that the human rights station in Kuwait is “very advanced as per international recognition”, and added that Kuwait has no reservation on discussing this file.

In another development, GCC Secretary General Abdullatif Al-Zayani expressed confidence that the GCC summit would conclude with crucial resolutions in favor of bolstering joint action at various levels.

Al-Zayani said the upcoming summit is quite significant due to critical circumstances prevailing in the Gulf region and major challenges that warrant continuous coordination among GCC countries.

Such cordial meetings grouping the GCC leaders are intended to serve their peoplesí interests and realize their aspirations.The top leaders attach particular concern to GCC nationalization, security, stability and economic integration, he added.

Kuwait to receive $744m for environment rehabilitation KUWAIT: Kuwait is due to receive approximately $744 million in a few days from the United Nations Compensation Commission (UNCC) for disbursement in environmental rehabilitation-after signing the political assurances accord with the UN. Khaled BouHamra, the secretary-general of the Kuwaiti liaison commission for environmental rehabilitation, said that the Kuwaiti compensation claims, according to UN resolution 258, cover six restoration ventures.

One of the claims is related to underground water treatment at Al-Rawdatain and Umm Al-Aish. The water was contaminated when Iraqi forces, during the 1990-1991 occupation of the country, set a chain of oil wells alight, and when chemical substances were used to extinguish the burning wells.

This demand is vital, for the reservoirs in these two regions is Kuwait’s sole potable water source, thus the projects to rehabilitate the water is among the committee’s priorities.

Work at these sites is already underway, starting with determining contamination levels in the underground strata, he said, adding that the next phase would be selecting the technique for treating the pol-

KUWAIT: Zain, the leading telecommunications company in Kuwait, held a gala dinner during the 30th annual National Union of Kuwait StudentsUSA’s (NUKS-USA) branch conference to honor outstanding students for their excellent academic performance. The conference, held from Nov 27 to 30 in San Diego, California, was held under the patronage of His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah.

During the event, Zain Group Chairman Assad Al-Banwan and Zain Kuwait’s Chief Executive Officer Omar Al-Omar welcomed a number of prominent Kuwaiti figures including the representative of the Prime Minister, Dr Rasha AlSabah, and the Kuwaiti Ambassador to the US Sheikh Salem Abdullah Al Jaber Al Sabah.

Zain’s participation in this event reinforces its commitment to the Kuwaiti youth and its leading role in escalating their ambition to lead the nation to a better and brighter future. The event brings together distinguished national figures from Kuwait who have had a significant impact on the country’s political, economic, cultural and sporting life, and is a rare blend of intellectual and social content for the attendees to appreciate. The sponsorship highlights Zain’s awareness of the importance of participating in youth events, especially the events that showcase student activities. The company believes that young people in Kuwait will be able to shoulder many responsibilities in the near future once they are provided with full support in order to help them assume their responsibilities in an effective manner.

The conference was more than a formal event

cant operating performance, stable returns and less risks. This is all in line with the bank’s long term financing policy and strategy,” added Al-Salem.

Commenting on the importance of the building sector, Al-Salem said: “During the past few years, the building sector witnessed a unique boom driven by the construction projects implemented by the government as per the government’s development plan which included many infrastructure projects financed by banks.

Actually, Warba seeks to expand its financing activities and provide competitive services with attractive advantages to individual and institutional customers.”

Al-Salem concluded: “Warba’s stand will be welcoming visitors till Dec 5th, 2013, introducing its various banking and financing services and products as per its strategy aiming to serve customers wherever they are and provide services that enhance the bank’s performance and bolster its policy,showcasing the bank’s remarkable presence and role in serving nationals and residents and introducing the bank’s excellent services and various financing products to them.”

Mabrook sponsors HORECA Kuwait KUWAIT: Mabrook Hotel Supplies Company announced taking part as a diamond sponsor in the 2014 HORECA Kuwait; an exhibition for hospitality and catering organized by the Leaders Group in cooperation with Hospitality Services Company. The event takes place at the Badriya Ballroom in the Jumeirah Hotel from Jan 27 to 29.

On that regard, General Manager Ali Farahat announced that Mabrook company is getting ready to display during the event

“the latest products in the kitchenware industry” after introducing the UNOX oven during 2013 event.

Meanwhile, Farahat acknowledged the HORECA Kuwait as “a gathering for the elite in the fields of hospitality, hotel supplies and catering”. “There are many economic dimensions to the HORECA Kuwait at a time that sees ongoing growth in the hospitality and hotels market in Kuwait where there are at least 5,000 restaurants and more than 60 hotels”, he said.

already started, but workers are facing obstacles such as mines planted adjacent to the craters, he explained.

As to Kuwait’s third claim, it calls for tackling oil lakes, formed when the occupiers set on fire some 700 crude wells. The claim stipulates clearing up residues of the pollution and beautifying with plants the locations and nearby areas.

He added that two thirds of the UN commission fund allotted for renovating the Kuwaiti environment, estimated at $2.9 billion, would be invested in the oil sector to tackle the oil lakes, soot blanketing sand dunes and soil reclamation, necessary for plants’ regrowth. Rest of the allotted fund would be given to the ministries of electricity, water and the agricultural department for public locations’ beautification and establishing five reserves.

Bou-Hamra indicated at some difficulties in the strategic process of restoring the Kuwaiti environment, namely lack of devices that can treat the soil on wide scale. In this respect, Kuwait Oil Company started qualifying companies, with potentials of employing such techniques. — KUNA

Zain honors outstanding Kuwaiti students in US

High turnout at Warba Bank stand KUWAIT: As a platinum sponsor of the 3rd Industries and Construction Exhibition, Warba’s strategically positioned stand witnessed a high turnout during the first day of the exhibition, which allowed further interaction with visitors, and introduction of the best financing and banking offers to Warba’s customers throughout the exhibition period.

Adnan Al-Salem, Chief Retail Banking Officer - Warba Bank, said: “Our platinum sponsorship of this exhibition contributed largely to supporting Warba’s endeavors to present the bank’s financing services to the visitors while expanding the bank’s presence in two significant sectors in Kuwait; namely the building and relevant industries sectors.”

“Warba’s excellent communication with the participating companies and visitors during the exhibition delivered positive results and effectively achieved the targeted goals of participation, thanks to the meritorious efforts exerted by our team responsible for the stand. Indeed, Warba’s keenness to participate in exhibitions stems from its going concern in sectors of signifi-

lution.

Explaining, he said the teams assigned to operate at these sites began the work in December 2012 and had already specified locations for scooping up samples, indicating that the next stage of examining the samples would last for three years and that the treatment would take much longer time reaching 15 years. Moreover, he indicated that this particular process might drag on for up to 20 years.

A second claim, Bou-Hamra said, addresses clearing pollution remnants on the Kuwaiti coast, particularly Al- Sulaibikhat beach, where the occupation forces had dug 115 trenches, filled them with fuel before setting them afire.

The occupation forces, he added, had dug a 4.7km-long trench stretching from North Kuwait to AlSulaibikhat and filled it with oil. Due to such acts that contaminated the Kuwaiti environment, the government had forwarded the demand to clear up AlSulaibikhat bay and establishing a marine reserve, which would be closed off for 30 years to allow life restoration.

Work at the polluted trench in Al-Sulaibikhat has

Ali Farahat

Assad Al-Banwan Zain Group Chairman and Omar Al-Omar Zain’s CEO are honoring the winning team of Zain’s Football Championship. with several sporting and fun activities held in conjunction with the 30th year event. Zain Group Chairman Assad Al Banwan took the opportunity to honor winning teams of the “Zain Football Tournament” as part of the company’s well-organized activities for this event. Al Banwan and Al Omar took part in the football tournament as a way to engage with youth and share a family-like atmosphere with the students. This activity was followed with a sports symposium that Zain sponsored whereby prominent Kuwaiti sport figures delivered key note speeches to students and discussed with them the challenges facing the Kuwaiti sports nowadays. Additionally during the event, Zain took the opportunity to engage students in multiple quizzes and activities whereby winners were rewarded with gifts and prizes.

Kuwaiti ambassador to the United States Sheikh Salem Abdullah Al-Jaber Al-Sabah presents an awarding shield to Zain Group Chairman Assad Al Banwan during the conclusion ceremony of the conference.

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2013

LOCAL kuwait digest

In my view

A new world order in offing

A source of pride for Arabs

By Omar Al-Tabtabaei

C

ongratulations to the United Arab Emirates for Dubai’s winning the right to host the Expo 2020, an achievement that is a source of pride for every Arab country. It is also the best way to answer doubters in Kuwait who, after they failed to manage their own country, claimed that the UAE and Dubai in specific was a ‘a bubble made of concrete that one day will burst’. If we look into history books, we find for example that Kuwait’s developmental boom in the past was in fact a bubble that eventually burst.

Many have gone crazy in the past few days about how the UAE is a ‘police state’ that does not follow the ‘democratic state’ concept. I do not know the reason behind the frenzy, and personally hope it is not motivated by jealousy on the part of some failed individuals. It is true that the UAE is not a democratic state, and freedom of expression there could be limited, but despite that, it managed to achieve success in many fields and international forums. The secret behind this is very simple. But before discussing the reason, we have to agree that the UAE people are the only one who have the right the relationship between them and their rulers. If they choose democracy, they alone should achieve it. If they chose to remain as they are right now, then it is their right to do so - especially in light of the great achievements their country accomplished on the international level. We have to respect their freedom to decide their fate and avoid interfering in their affairs.

But this begs the question - whoever said that Kuwait enjoys a true democracy? Yes, Kuwait was the first country in the Gulf Cooperation Council, and one of the first in the Arab world to create a democratic atmosphere built on a constitution that organizes the relationship between the people and their ruler, and establishes social institutions that contribute in building a cultural awareness which lays the foundations for enforcing full democracy. However, mental deficiency of some people resulted in distortion of democracy and destruction of pillars which were supposed to raise our society from being an ignorant to a ‘modern state’.

The UAE administration managed to prove that the theory of the benevolent dictator who rules in justice and seeks to improve his country and his people is a correct one. Meanwhile, our government destroyed the only thing we were proud of around the world, which is the constitution that was supposed to be the way to lead us to real democracy. Basically, our government proved that a benevolent dictator is better than a failed democrat (that includes the people too). ‘The will to achieve’ is the key that determines the success of an undemocratic Arab country and the failure of another Arab state that speaks profoundly about its constitution and pseudo-democracy. The best proof is the failure of the current government in Kuwait despite working with a parliament dominated by a pro-government majority. Despite this, the government gave us failure instead of an actual desire to achieve. —Al-Rai

By Labeed Abdal

Terrorism

local@kuwaittimes.net

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kuwait digest

Parliamentary nonsense

By Jaafar Rajab

W

hat does the parliament want? The answer is, no one knows. It appears that surveys, priorities, interests and problems that people suffer from have no place in MPs’ plans, programs and draft laws. There are no indications, both in the short or long terms, that indicate that our representatives in the parliament have any relationship with voters. The only relationship they have pertains with their political and economic accounts, and making sure that their ‘bishts’ remain ready in preparation for every parliamentary inaugural session.

After hearing rumors about MPs promoting amendments to the electoral law that increases the number of votes per voter to two, we were startled with recent news regarding a proposed constitutional amendment to increase the number of parliament members from 50 to 70. There were also rumors that the amendments actually stipulates an increase to 80 MPs, and at this point, I would not be surprised if someone announced that MPs want to increase the number of seats to a hundred. In the meantime, I believe that the increase in number would achieve little to stop the simultaneous increase in problems we face.

What does increasing the number of lawmakers mean? Is it going to solve our problems? What are the

justifications for this step? Many people including myself tried searching for an answer to those questions, especially that the amendment is proposed without other steps to change the electoral system, allow formation of political parties, shadow cabinets etc. All the increase s to be bringing is additional chaos.

Dear MPs, you either work the right way, or do nothing. Just take pictures and vote as the government tells you how to vote. In short, don’t fix something that is not broken, and don’t make worse what is already bad. An increase in the number of MPs means an increase in illegal transactions, unlawful job promotions, ‘tourism’ in the form of treatment trips, and crowds in front of undersecretaries’ offices to pass illegal documents.

Solving our problems and building our country do not seem to be in the minds of our MPs. The issue has always been in the ‘quality’, as quantity cannot change parliamentary performance. Increasing the number of MPs boosts the parliament’s weight, making it unable to move smoothly, grow steadily or run after thieves.

Eventually, the parliament will suffer from ‘obesity’ caused by an increase in the number of corrupt members. — Al-Rai

kuwait digest

A book or smallness?!

By Arwa Al-Waqian

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was over-thrilled with the growing number of visitors at the Kuwait Book Fair this year - the book fair that for years had been visited by people just to buy some snacks and leave. I have always been very keen on attending the fair. It has became a habit I liked since childhood. However, this year’s fair was unexpectedly overcrowded and I loved this.

I was very glad because the Kuwaiti youth and the entire Kuwaiti people refuted accusations of abandoning reading, but I was appalled with the low quality of some books written by young Kuwaiti authors who are not professional enough. It seems that writing has become a common profession these days for anybody to take up. I was shocked with the low-profile language in some books written in Kuwaiti slang. They were full with dreadful and silly spelling mistakes!

Such books really deserve to be banned because readers of various ages will learn the misspelled words thinking that these writers must be masters of Arabic and that they are not mere ordinary people jotting down their diaries. Books varied between good and bad, which is fair enough to leave the final choice to the reader himself. Yet I am against publishing books full of spelling mistakes because a whole generation will be learning from them and affected by their bad language!

Responsibility here lies on both publishing houses that allow publishing such mistakes showing no consideration for sound language, and censorship that ought to ban linguistic smallness in young authors’ books instead of banning other more valuable ones. Because everything is a fad in Kuwait, it seems that writing is another one like cupcakes, selling darraas through Instagram and Fashionista. Writing well-plotted literature with sound language is actually a gift that is developed through study and reading. It is not a projec t to sell garments or food.

Hence, we need to remind that writing should be excluded from our conflic ts.

Having a good Twitter following does not necessarily mean that you are a good writer.

Having people read what you write does not mean that either. The fact that your book breaks sales records does not mean you are a good writer because smallness is well-marketed and presenting worthwhile stuff is a real challenge. — Al-Jarida

hina’s Xinhua news agency wrote in a recent commentary that a ‘de-Americanized world’ has become necessary after the United States debt to China reached $1.28 trillion. China meanwhile announced a new world order that is free from inflexibility in the military, economic and political scenes, and allows each country - regardless of their geographical reach or wealth - to be equally able to protect its entity and basic interests.

No one wishes to see two major countries and Security Council members enter in a conflict over regional locations for economic reasons - especially that their position as two of the main Security Council members make them responsible for protecting international peace and security. Especially that the United States, as a civil state, provides large and crucial securities in the form of treasury bonds, as well as multibillion-dollar investments around the world.

There is high hope on countries around the world and especially the remaining Security Council members to reinforce the bridges of global economic cooperation and establish a global economy based on ‘free trade’ which supports cooperation as well as exchange of capital and labor forces between countries around the world in an environment safe from monopoly and usurious interests, and protected from armed threats.

kuwait digest

No breakthrough in nuke deal yet!

By Hassan Barari

I

t is not as if Iran capitulated by signing an interim deal with the P5+1. The Iranian regime stands to win much by subordinating the nuclear program to the imperatives of averting an imminent economic collapse. Perhaps, it is handy to keep in mind that the interim deal - and here is the crux of the matter was brought about by the impact of sanctions imposed by Western powers in particular.

Were it not for stinging sanctions, Tehran might not have come to the negotiating table in the first place, let alone agree to seal a deal that could potentially undercut its nuclear program. The fanfare that accompanied the announcement of the P5+1 deal with Iran should not conceal the fact that skeptics in the region still have deep-seated suspicion about Iran’s tactics and intentions. We don’t know yet if the agreement will be fully honored.

Additionally, a deal on the nuclear program does not automatically qualify Iran to become a constructive player in the wider Middle Eastern issues.

That said, key regional players - except for Israel welcomed the deal albeit cautiously. The running theme among Gulf countries is that if Iran lives up to its end of the deal, then this may usher in different yet positive dynamics in the region as a whole.

Hence, the argument that the clock was ticking and that Iran was fast approaching the nuclear threshold has to take a backseat to a new deal and new dynamics provided that Tehran overcomes its proclivity to cheat.

Obviously, the concerns of the Arab Sunni countries are not confined to Iran’s provocative nuclear program. The Iranians’ regional policy, its ongoing involvement in the Syrian bloody civil war, and its sectarian policy across the region have only added fuel to the fire thus feeding the mutual mistrust between Iran and the Arabs. By and large, Iran is seen as an opportunist country that is bent to exploit and indeed exacerbate the regional turmoil to realize its narrow national interests at the expense of the stability of the region and internal security for key Arab countries.

Skeptics will continue arguing that Iranian leaders are untrustworthy. They are adamant that Iran is only buying time to complete its plan of weaponization so that it can present the nuclear capability as a fait accompli. Worse, skeptics argue that President Obama’s obsession with the notion of diplomacy and the non-military intervention may push him to accept a bad deal whereby Iran will be left in a position to have breakout capability.

Except for Israel, other allies in the region are not happy with the deal yet they have no intention to set themselves against it. For the Arab Gulf countries, the paradox is not only about the nuclear program. There are fears that the emerging geopolitical reality in the wake of the deal may privilege Iran while the Americans are standing idly by.

But, one needs to be a bit cautious about the interim deal. Although the six-month agreement has brought parties closer, there are yet serious challenges with regard to the long-term matters particularly whether Iran will have the right to continue its enrichment program. The Iranian propaganda machine projects the deal as a “victory” and insisted that Iran will not give up on its right to enrich uranium. This assertion runs counter to what the American side has been saying since the agreement was reached. Whether the deal is good or bad for the region depends on the ability of the P5+1 and Iran to address and settle the long-term issues pertaining to the program. Hence, it remains to be seen, however, how the deal will play out in months to come and whether the two sides will find a compromise with regard to the sticking issues facing the sought after comprehensive deal.

All in all, the interim-six month agreement is not a breakthrough. While it could pave the way for cooperation, it is still far from certain that the two sides will succeed in hammering out a deal that could lead to regional realignment.

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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2013

LOCAL

Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Khalid Al-Jarallah and Romanian Ambassador Vasile Sofineti tour a picture gallery.

Guests pose for a group photograph during the event.

KUWAIT: Romanian ambassador to Kuwait Vasile Sofineti hosted a reception recently at the Sheraton Hotel on the occasion of his country’s National Day. Government officials led by Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Khalid AlJarallah, diplomats and other dignitaries attended the event. —Photos by Joseph Shagra

Diplomats pose for a picture during the event.

Romanian Ambassador Vasile Sofineti cuts the cake with Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Khalid Al-Jarallah.

Diplomats are seen among guests.

Arab world more attentive now to rights of disabled KUWAIT: A US senior official on disability affairs has indicated that the Arab world has become more attentive now towards the rights of persons with disabilities than any other time, noting that Kuwait stands at the forefront among Arab countries in terms of involvement in the issues of the disabled.

“Countries are now paying attention to the rights of persons with disabilities, where it has not always necessarily been the case. I think countries are interacting more with people with disabilities,” Commissioner Lynnae Ruttledge, member of the US Commission on Long-Term Care and CoVice Chair of the National Council on Disability, stated.

“Kuwait is further ahead in terms of the involvement of other non-governmental organizations in disability issues, which is something I did not see as much evidence of in some countries,” Ruttledge noted, pointing out at the same time that some Arab countries are starting now to look at how persons with disabilities can be leaders, identify their good practices, and share those practices with their neighboring countries and the world.”

Ruttledge, on her first visit to Kuwait, said that her visit comes as part of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, a UN recognized annual event that is celebrated on December 3, in which she will take part in a three-day conference, organized by Training Gate International, (TGI) a Kuwaiti non-profit organization specialized in training and skill development for people with disabilities, which is slated to kick off this evening at 5:00 pm at the headquarters of National Library of Kuwait (NLK) on Arabian Gulf Street.

“My goal this week is to help hear about what is going on in Kuwait and then share my suggestions, recommendations, and acknowledge many of the good work that is going on,” the US commissioner noted, adding that “I will have the chance to meet with some of the community nongovernmental organizations, be able to see what people are doing, and share some of my expertise on having been in public service in the United States, as well as doing work on a global level as I do many of international work with other countries.”

Ruttledge explained that her message during this visit to the country is about the role that young people with disabilities can play in their societies, stressing importance of maintaining a sense of optimism about the future of the disabled youth as it could pose a challenge and an opportunity at the same time.

“We have an opportunity to have high expectations about what the future can be for young people with disabilities, as well as to engage with them, listen to what their hopes and dreams are, and continue to challenge ourselves in thinking of what can we do to assure young people with disabilities that they are the leaders of tomorrow, how can we continue to increase their leadership skills, how can Kuwaiti youth be the leaders in the region for a more inclusive society? I think that it is both a challenge and an opportunity,” she said.

In addition, the US commissioner indicated that the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, a human rights instrument to protect the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities and ensure their equality and participation, is probably the most critical piece of legislation that applies to everyone with disabilities around the globe, including Kuwaitis.

“You are very fortunate in Kuwait that you have already signed and ratified the Convention as it commits you to looking at your policies and practices, and being open to recommendations from an international committee about what you are doing well, which allow the country to improve,” Ruttledge said, adding that one of the real benefits of having the UN to be actively involved in promoting disability awareness for over 30 years, is raising that level of awareness in many countries around the world. — KUNA

Jordanian Ambassador Mohammad Al-Khayed and Iraqi Ambassador Mohammad Bahrulolom.

Spouses of ambassadors

Teen sets school on fire for girlfriend Bootleggers in police custody KUWAIT: Adan police arrested a teenager who set a fire in his girlfriendís school after she told him that she ‘was not in the mood’ of studying for her exam, according to investigations.

Investigations were underway after the fire was put out, and focused on a phone number that the arsonists seemingly left on a wall. In the meantime, teachers gave police the name of a teenage boy whom they said is a troublemaker who is romantically involved with a student in the school. Police identified the numberís owner, a senior citizen who was summoned for questioning. The man said that the phone number is used by his son, who when summoned said he has a feud with a teenager, who turned out to be the same troublemaker that the teachers informed police about. The boy was arrested and admitted during interrogation that he committed the crime to help his girlfriend and her sister who study at the school. Police also arrested two accomplices

who helped the youngster set fire to laboratories that have equipment worth KD 16,000. The three were remanded in custody pending legal procedures.

Fatal accidents A man was killed and two others were injured in a two-car collision in Jleeb AlShuyoukh. Paramedics and police rushed to the scene after the accident was reported, but the Asian man had succumbed to his injuries by the time they arrived. His two compatriots were taken to Farwaniya Hospital where they were admitted inside the intensive care unit in critical condition. An investigation was opened into the accident.

Meanwhile, a Kuwaiti man was pronounced dead on a street in Sulabiya where he was ran over. The body was taken to the forensic department after crime scene investigators examined the place of the accident. A case was

filed for investigations. In a similar incident, an Arab man was run over in Farwaniya and pronounced dead on the scene. A case was filed.

Three arrested Special task forces arrested three men who used a construction site in Jaber Al-Ali to prepare alcoholic drinks for sale. Police had gone in pursuit of the suspects who ran on foot after the officers approached them when they grew suspicious of plastic bags they were carrying.

The officers followed the suspects to a building under construction they entered, and found that they had turned it into a place to brew liquor. Police found barrels filled with homebrewed liquor as well as bottles prepared for sale. Two of the suspects who were arrested during the operation were referred to the proper authorities to face charges, while a search is ongoing for a third who managed to escape during the chase.

Fugitive nabbed A fugitive was arrested on the southern borders after he used his brotherís passport in an attempt to escape the country. The Gulf national was taken for questioning after officers at the Nuwaiseeb border checkpoint noticed differences between his appearance and the picture in the passport. Investigations revealed that the passport belonged to the manís brother and that he was trying to avoid being arrested over a criminal charge filed against him. He was taken to the authorities for further action.

Drunk man A drunk man was hospitalized with alcohol poisoning after he was found passed out in Fahaheel. The man, a Kuwaiti in his forties, was rushed to Adan Hospital where he was diagnosed with alcohol poising. He was later discharged from the hospital and taken by police to face legal charges.

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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2013

Local

UAE celebrates National Day KUWAIT: United Arab Emirates Chargé d’affaires Aref Abdullah Al-Tunaiji hosted a reception at the Regency Hotel recently to mark his country’s National Day, which was attended by gov-

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khalid Al-Sabah and UAE chargé d’affaires Aref Al-Tunaiji cut the cake.

ernment officials led by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khalid Al-Sabah, as well as diplomats and other dignitaries.—Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat

The UAE military officers take part in the event

(From left) UAE Embassy consul Rashid Al-Thaheri, former prime minis- (From left) UAE Embassy consul Rashid Al-Thaheri, former parliament (From left) UAE Embassy consul Rashid Al-Thaheri, Deputy Prime Minter Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah, UAE chargé d’affaires Aref speaker Jassem Al-Khurafi, Sheikh Ahmad Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah and ister and Interior Minister Sheikh Mohammad Al-Khalid Al-Sabah and UAE chargé d’affaires Aref Al-Tunaiji.

UAE chargé d’affaires Aref Al-Tunaiji.

Al-Tunaiji and other guests.

(From left) Zainab, Randa, Bahiya, Najwa, Budour and Iman.

(From left) UAE Embassy consul Rashid Al-Thaheri, Sheikh Hamad Al-Ali (From left) Sheikh Khalid Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah, UAE Embassy consul Al-Sabah and UAE chargé d’affaires Aref Al-Tunaiji.

Rashid Al-Thaheri, Minister of Education Dr Nayef Al-Hajraf, UAE chargé d’affaires Aref Al-Tunaiji and Brunei ambassador Pengiran Aliuddin.

(From left) UAE Embassy consul Rashid Al-Thaheri, Sheikh Ahmad Al- (From left) UAE Embassy consul Rashid Al-Thaheri, UAE chargé d’affaires (From left) Eritrean ambassador Mohammad Mahmoud, Sudanese ambassador Yahya Abduljaleel, Iranian chargé d’affaires Hassan Aburquo’ei, AfKhalifa Al-Sabah and UAE chargé d’affaires Aref Al-Tunaiji.

Aref Al-Tunaiji and Jawad Bukhamseen. ghanistan’s ambassador Dr Assadullah Burkhi, Dean of the Diplomatic Corps and Senegalese ambassador Abdul Ahad Mbake, Tunisian ambassador Hesham Bayood and Egyptian ambassador Abdulkareem Sulaiman.

The UAE traditional ‘Ardhah’ dance.

(From left) Military attachés of the Egyptian, Jordanian and Saudi embassies.

A view of guests in attendance.

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2013

N Korea’s Kim seen behind sacking of powerful uncle

NATO seeks Afghan accord as it looks for new role Page 9

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BAGHDAD: A burnt vehicle sits at the site of a car bomb in Bayaa, a predominantly Shiite neighbourhood of west Baghdad, which killed six people yesterday. Attacks in mostly Sunni Arab areas of Baghdad as well as northern and western Iraq killed at least 18 people yesterday, the latest in a months-long surge in bloodletting. — AFP

Iraq attacks kill 23, year’s toll up 6,200 Shootings and bombings hit west Baghdad BAGHDAD: Attacks mostly targeting Sunni Arab areas of Baghdad as well as northern and western Iraq killed at least 23 people yesterday, the latest in a months-long surge in bloodletting.

The rise in violence, which has killed more than 6,200 people this year, has prompted the authorities to appeal for international help in combating militancy ahead of general elections due in April.

Officials have blamed a resurgent Al-Qaeda emboldened by the civil war raging in neighbouring Syria, but the government has itself faced criticism for not doing enough to address the concerns of Iraq’s disaffected Sunni Arab minority.

Shootings and bombings yesterday hit west Baghdad, as well as the predominantly Sunni cities of Abu Ghraib, Fallujah, Baquba, Tikrit, Samarra, Mosul and Tarmiyah.

In the deadliest attack, twin roadside bombs exploded near municipal offices in Tarmiyah, a town just north of Baghdad that has seen multiple deadly attacks in recent weeks. When onlookers gathered at the scene, two suicide bombers blew themselves up. Militants in Iraq often carry out delayed attacks targeting first responders who rush to the scene of an initial bombing.

Overall, nine people were killed and 17 wounded, two security officials said. Violence elsewhere in Iraq left 14 people dead and dozens more wounded, security and medical officials said. A car bomb in Bayaa, a predominantly Shiite neighbourhood of west Baghdad, killed six people, while five more were wounded by a blast in mostly Sunni Amriyah district.

Attacks in Abu Ghraib and Fallujah, west of the capital in Anbar province, killed three people, while bombings in Mosul and in and around Baquba killed three more.

Two policemen were also killed in a coordinated attack on a welfare centre for policemen in the Sunni Arab city of Tikrit in which a car bomb was followed by clashes between militants and security forces.

The toll could have been much higher, officials said, but security forces managed to kill two would-be suicide bombers in the Tikrit attack.

The authorities have made some concessions aimed at placating Sunnis, including freeing prisoners and raising the salaries of anti-AlQaeda fighters, and have also trumpeted security operations against militants.

But daily attacks have shown no sign of abating. More than 6,200 people have been killed this year, despite numerous checkpoints in

Baghdad and the near-ubiquitous presence of security forces, with attacks hitting targets ranging from cafes and football grounds to soldiers at checkpoints and government officials in their cars. “Measures taken by the government so far have not matched the importance of the issues,” said Issam al-Faili, a professor of political history at Mustansiriyah University in Baghdad. “The situation in Iraq is getting serious... and what the government is doing now is nothing radical, but only minor fixes.”

Diplomats, analysts and human rights groups have argued for months that Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, a Shiite Arab, must reach out to the country’s Sunnis and start work to reform antiterror laws and rules barring members of executed dictator Saddam Hussein’s Baath party from participating in public life.

They also say security forces must stop using heavy-handed tactics in Sunni areas of Baghdad and western and northern Iraq, such as mass arrests and the closing off of entire neighbourhoods. Analysts say that while most Sunnis do not actively support Al-Qaeda, a lack of faith in the government may persuade them to stop cooperating with the authorities in their efforts to combat the jihadist network’s Iraqi affiliates. — AFP

Thai protests ease as police lift barricades BANGKOK: Thai security forces yesterday abandoned their defence of the government headquarters against a siege by protesters seeking to topple the prime minister, in a dramatic move that eased tensions ahead of the revered king’s birthday.

Several days of street battles gave way to hugs and smiles after police said they would no longer use force against protesters trying to storm Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s offices as well as their own headquarters.

The sudden change in tactics, after violent clashes between stone-throwing mobs and police firing tear gas, water cannon and rubber bullets, came as the nation prepares on Thursday to celebrate revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s 86th birthday.

“There’s a mutual understanding that everything must be calm and orderly on this auspicious day,” National Security Council chief Paradorn Pattanatabut told AFP. “It’s a positive sign and talks could be held after the king’s birthday. It will take time to solve the problem by negotiation,” he added. The protests, aimed at unseating Yingluck’s government and replacing it with an unelected “people’s council”, are the latest bout of unrest in the kingdom since royalist generals ousted the premier’s brother Thaksin Shinawatra in a coup seven years ago.

Four people have been killed and about 250 have been wounded in the street violence since Saturday, according to the city’s Erawan emergency centre. Protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban, a former deputy premier, told

supporters the fight to unseat the government was not over, in comments that suggested tensions could flare anew after the king’s birthday.

“It’s a partial victory but it’s not final because the Thaksin regime is still in place. You cannot go back home yet. We have to continue our struggle,” said the former deputy premier, who faces an arrest warrant for insurrection.

Thailand’s long-running political conflict broadly pits a Bangkok-based elite backed by the military and the palace against rural and working-class voters loyal to Thaksin, a billionaire businessman turned populist politician.

In the latest twist, demonstrators were unexpectedly allowed to approach, and later enter, the grounds of Government House with no resistance from security forces. They massed in the compound for about an hour before leaving.

Several thousand protesters, many still wearing face masks and protective goggles against the threat of tear gas, also streamed into the Metropolitan Police headquarters where they were seen shaking hands with officers. A bulldozer was used to remove the barricades.

“There will be no use of tear gas today,” Metropolitan Police chief Lieutenant General Kamronwit Thoopkrajang told AFP. “If we resist there will be more injuries, and we are all Thais.” The sudden turn of events caught even the demonstrators by surprise. “I’m not sure but I think we have won now,” said Thanapatr Wiriyongatham, a 24-year-old politics student who was wearing a life jacket and clutching a dented cupboard door used as a makeshift shield against rubber bullets. — AFP

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2013

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

Colourful kid nicknames dominate Israeli politics JERUSALEM: When Isaac Herzog was a child, his Egyptian-born, French-speaking mother thought him to be as pretty as a doll. So she blended its Hebrew word, “buba,” with a French-sounding term of endearment, “joujou,” to create a distinct nickname that would stick with the boy for life “Bougie.”

Now, Israel’s newly elected opposition leader finds himself as the country’s main alternative to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu - a man universally known by the name his brothers pegged him when he was a kid: “Bibi.”

The two are not alone. Despite its macho, militaristic image, the world of Israeli politics is filled with tough characters bearing - and even flaunting their diminutive childhood nicknames.

Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon is “Bogie,” former Finance Minister Avraham Shochat is “Baiga” and another former Cabinet minister, Eliezer Zandberg, is “Moody,” shor t for Hamoody, or “cutie.”

Nicknames in politics are nothing new, but in Israel they appear to have taken on an art form. “You can’t fight it.

It’s just something very Israeli,” Herzog told The Associated Press. “I can keep introducing myself as Isaac Herzog but people will still yell ‘Bougie’ (BOO-jee)

across the street. We are just a very familiar society.”

Linguists cite a number of influences, including the playfulness of Yiddish, an eastern European language spoken by many of Israel’s founders, and the informal worlds of the militar y, kibbutz movement and youth groups that have inspired dozens of idiosyncratic names that often linger long into adulthood.

But mostly the phenomenon speaks to Israel’s notoriously close-knit, informal nature, where personal boundaries are thin and everyone seems to meddle in everyone else’s business.

“It’s the psychology of language. This whole ‘buddy’ culture is part of our Israeliness,” said Ruth Almagor-Ramon, the language adviser at Israel Radio. “It’s not a linguistic thing, it’s a mentality.

Everyone knows everyone and all it takes is for someone to overhear your mother calling you a name and then everyone calls you that.”

Almagor-Ramon said news readers at the public station are required to identify politicians by their given names, but anchors, like the public, often address them by nickname during interviews.

She said it’s debatable whether the informality ingratiates politicians to the public or belittles their lofty positions.

“It can go both ways,” she said.

For many, par ticularly those of Sephardic, or Middle Eastern, descent, a nickname symbolized entry into the old boys club of the Ashkenazi, or European, elite. For others, a colorful moniker - particularly one earned in the military - becomes a powerful brand in and of itself.

For instance, former military chief Rafael Eitan was known as “Raful” and a high-profile social integration program bore that name. Most Israelis didn’t even know the first name of general turned politician, former Tel Aviv Mayor Shlomo Lahat. He was called “Cheech” and a beachside promenade is named after him. Another ex-general, the assassinated ultranationalist Cabinet minister Rehavam Zeevi, was called “Gandhi” because of his physical (certainly not ideological) resemblance to the Indian pacifist. Some would argue that Ariel Sharon rode his folksy alter ego of “Arik,” and the military glory that went along with it, all the way to the prime minister’s office.

“For Israelis, it’s a lot easier to admire ‘Arik’ than ‘Ariel,’” said Ruvik Rosenthal, who writes a weekly language column in the Maariv daily. “‘Arik’ is a hero.”

Rosenthal, whose own first name is a

slangy version of the biblical name Reuven, said nearly every male name had a shortened version. Yiddish, with its endearing suffixes, can turn any Tzvi into Tzvika and any Motti into Motteleh.

He said the informality of modern Hebrew was even found in the way people pronounce names, putting the emphasis on the first syllable rather than the last as formal Hebrew would have it.

“It erases the formality of the name,” said Rosenthal. “We are still a tribal society and even though we are divided into many homes everyone feels like they are in the same tribe and the nicknames reflect that.” Not everyone is in on the name game. With military lingo such a defining factor, women and new immigrants are often left out of the fun sometimes intentionally.

Years ago, when former Prime Minister Ehud Barak got into a spat with Tzipi Livni, the current justice minister, he pointedly chose to refer to her by her full name - Zipora. Herzog said that in his official capacities he tries to avoid using his “childish” name and his recent campaign to become head of Labor did not include it in his ads. But he says he doesn’t correct others when they refer to him as “Bougie” and has learned to

Isaac Herzog live peacefully with the moniker and what it says about his country.

“There is no distance in Israel and I like that,” he said. “Once you have a nickname that sticks you can’t control it. There is nothing you can do about it.”— AP

Damascus blast kills four as rebels take Christian town UN: Evidence implicates Assad in war crimes

CAIRO: In this Sunday, June 15, 2013 file photo, released by the Egyptian Presidency, Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi waves as he arrives at a rally called for by hardline Islamists loyal to the Egyptian president to show solidarity with the people of Syria, in a stadium in Cairo, Egypt. During his year as president, Morsi cultivated ties with Islamic radicals, making them a key support for his rule by pardoning dozens of jailed militants, restraining the military from an all-out offensive on jihadis in Sinai and giving their hard-line sheiks a platform to spread their rhetoric. — AP

Morsi’s links to jihadists probed CAIRO: During his year as president, Egypt’s Mohammed Morsi cultivated ties with Islamic radicals, making them a key support for his rule by pardoning dozens of jailed militants, restraining the military from an all-out offensive against jihadis in Sinai and giving their hard-line sheiks a platform to spread their rhetoric.

Now with Morsi ousted and imprisoned, investigators are looking into possibly putting him on trial for links to jihadis, accusing him and his Muslim Brotherhood of being behind a wave of violence by Sinai-based militants in retaliation for the July 3 military coup that removed the Islamists from power, military and security officials say.

Since Morsi’s ouster, violence by jihadi groups has escalated into a full-fledged insurgency, with increasing shootings, bombings and al-Qaida-style suicide attacks against troops and police in Sinai. The attacks have spread outside the restive peninsula with bombings and assassinations in the capital, Cairo, and other parts of the country.

The investigation marks a new track of possible prosecution against Morsi, who is already on trial on charges of inciting murder over a December attack by Islamists on protesters and who also is under investigation on possible other charges.

It also represents a new turn in the crackdown that the military-backed government has waged against Morsi’s Brotherhood.

Security forces have been seeking to crush continuous protests by his Islamist supporters, arresting several thousand and killing hundreds since the coup.

The investigation also comes as authorities are increasingly depicting their crackdown as part of a war against terrorism and overtly blaming the Brotherhood for militant violence. They have used the fight against terrorism to justify tougher measures against all protests, including by secular activists opposed to military power and police abuses.

The Brotherhood has denied any connection to violence.

The security and military officials said they believe Morsi is at least “indirectly” linked to the militant violence, saying they are investigating whether he and his Brotherhood had contacts with the groups while in power, cultivating them to bolster their rule against opponents.

The officials, from the military, the Interior Ministry and National Security Agency, who all have first-hand knowledge of the ongoing investigations, spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the probe.

They said the security agencies are analyzing communications by Morsi - making clear that, as widely suspected, the agencies spied on the president during his year in office. Also among those under investigation are two top presidential aides of Morsi, Essam el-Haddad and Khaled el-Qazaz, who continue to be held in secret military detention, they said.

Suspicions that militants launched their campaign of violence as part of a deal with the Brotherhood have been fueled by statements by leading members of the group.

During Morsi’s final days in office, the Brotherhood’s most powerful figure, deputy leader Khairat el-Shater, threatened in a meeting with military chief Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi that removing the president would prompt militants to take up arms against the state, according to el-Sissi’s account of the meeting.

Another Brotherhood leader, Mohammed el-Beltagy, told a television interviewer shortly after the coup that militants in Sinai would halt their attacks if Morsi is released and reinstated. During his final months, Morsi grew closer to radicals. On June 15, he chaired a rally in a Cairo stadium to support Syrian rebels, appearing alongside radical clerics who denounced Shiite Muslims and Morsi’s opponents in Egypt as infidels.

But an outright alliance with jihadis to fight back against the coup would be a significant, dangerous move for the Brotherhood, which forswore violence in the 1970s and sought to depict itself as a moderate movement.

Refaat Sayyed Ahmed, head of the Haifa Center for Arab Studies and an expert on Islamic groups, said that while in office, Morsi “encouraged and strengthened” militants and “cashed in on their presence, but we have no proof that he nurtured them as a last-resort card against his opponents.”

“Morsi and the Brotherhood are not the only reason behind what is happening in Egypt now,” he said. Morsi’s need for allies from the ranks of militant Islamists was pressing. Throughout his presidency, he was unable to win the loyalty of the military, police, the judiciary and the media, and street protests mounted against his rule.

Soon after Morsi came to office on June 30, 2012, northern Sinai - long a refuge for militants - began to attract jihadists from across much of the Arab world, benefiting from a flood of heavy weapons smuggled from Libya into Sinai, which borders Israel and the Gaza Strip.

In August 2012, militants killed 16 soldiers in a Sinai ambush. The army dramatically built up its forces in the peninsula to combat them, but in the months that followed, Morsi several times restrained them from heavy assaults on militants, according to Morsi himself and military officials. Instead, his administration used allies from the hard-line Salafi movement to mediate with jihadis.

The security officials said they are probing whether Morsi and the Brotherhood struck a deal with the militants to step up violence in retaliation for his ouster - a claim frequently echoed by opponents of the group.

“What is happening now, from the attacks in Sinai to the bombings of military intelligence offices and the targeted killings is not random,” said Makram Mohammed Ahmed, an expert on Islamic movements who is a sharp critic of the Brotherhood. “There is a maestro for all that and there is a plan that was put in place well before the execution.”

The officials said investigators are also looking into a series of pardons Morsi gave to militants. — AP

DAMASCUS: Four people were killed yesterday in a suicide bombing in central Damascus, hours after jihadists and other rebels seized a historic Christian town north of the capital.

State television said the suicide attack in the Jisr al-Abyad neighbourhood killed four and injured 17, and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said it appeared to have targeted a government building. An AFP photographer at the scene said the bomber had blown himself up at the entrance of an administrative building belonging to the army, which was used to facilitate aid to the families of soldiers killed in combat.

Footage of the scene broadcast by state television network AlIkhbariya showed the ground littered with rubble and broken glass, and at least one body in front of the building. North of the capital, rebels exchanged fire with government troops outside Maalula, a day after opposition forces captured the Christian hamlet in the strategic Qalamoun region.

The small town is renowned as a symbol of the long Christian presence in Syria and is famous for the fact that many residents still speak the ancient language Aramaic, which Jesus Christ is believed to have spoken.

“There are some exchanges of fire with army forces outside the town, but there is no major fighting and the opposition controls Maalula,” Obser vator y director Rami Abdel Rahman said.

Rebel forces, including the jihadist Al-Nusra Front, swept into Maalula from the surrounding hills after rolling explosive-laden tires onto regime troops below. Most of Maalula’s 5,000 residents fled in September, when rebel forces first entered the town before being pushed back to its outskirts by the Syrian army.

Yesterday, religious officials told AFP 12 nuns were taken from a convent in Maalula to the nearby rebel stronghold of Yabrud. It was not immediately clear whether the nuns had been kidnapped or

DAMASCUS: People walk amid damage at the site of a suicide bombing in the Jisr Abyad neighborhood in Damascus, Syria yesterday. Syria’s state TV reported that a suicide attacker set off his explosive vest in central Damascus, killing several and wounding many others. Such blasts in Damascus are not uncommon and have killed scores of people in the city. — AP merely evacuated for their own safety. Meanwhile a military source told pro-regime daily Al-Watan that regime reinforcements were headed to Maalula to “cleanse it of terrorists.”

The rebel capture of Maalula comes amid a regime advance elsewhere in the surrounding Qalamoun region, where government troops have taken the towns of Qara and Deir Attiyeh.

They have also seized 60 percent of the biggest town in the region, Nabuk, and the Observatory said fierce clashes continued there yesterday, with two men and a woman killed by regime shelling.

Nearly 126,000 people have been killed in 33 months of fighting in Syria, according to the Observatory, and the UN human rights chief said Monday there was evidence of both war crimes and crimes against humanity in the

conflict. “The evidence indicates responsibility at the highest level of government, including the head of state,” UN human rights chief Navi Pillay said in Geneva. It was the first time evidence by a UNmandated commission has directly implicated President Bashar alAssad in crimes committed during Syria’s civil war.

The four-member UN investigative team, which has been probing rights violations since shortly after fighting broke out, has accused both the regime and the rebels of war crimes.

For the first time however, they have now produced a long and confidential list of suspected perpetrators. Pillay told reporters in Geneva the names would remain sealed until they could be provided to a “credible” investigation, and reiterated her call for the case to be handed over to the International Criminal Court in The Hague to

ensure accountability.

Meanwhile, with the onset of winter, aid agencies warned of the danger posed to some 2.2 million Syrian refugees in neighbouring countries, while Oxfam launched a “12 Days of Giving” appeal to help refugee families in Jordan and Lebanon.

The United Nations says it has registered more than 2.2 million people who have fled Syria since the conflict broke out in March 2011. Millions more have been displaced inside the country.

UNICEF said the situation is especially precarious in Lebanon, where thousands of families are living in informal tent settlements on flood-prone land.

“Millions of displaced Syrian children have had to find safety under what are, frankly, inadequate living conditions,” said Maria Calivis, UNICEF head for the Middle East and North Africa. —AFP

Kerry return marked by hot debate over Israel-US ties JERUSALEM: US Secretary of State John Kerry’s return to Israel yesterday comes at a time of heated debate in the Jewish state over its alliance with Washington. The visit will be his first since world powers including the US on November 24 signed an interim nuclear accord with Iran that has angered Israel.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lambasted the accord, under which Iran agreed to roll back parts of its nuclear programme in return for limited sanctions relief, as a “historic mistake”. His condemnation has not been toned down by repeated US assurances, including from President Barack Obama, that Iran would never be allowed to develop a nuclear bomb.

Netanyahu himself has now come under criticism at home for challenging Israel’s closest ally. A former prime minister, Ehud Olmert, accused his outspoken rightwing successor of having “declared war against Barack Obama’s administration”.

And Finance Minister Yair Lapid, a member of the centre-right Yesh Atid party in the governing coalition, has also questioned Netanyahu’s tactics. “We can have disputes within the family as long as they stay in the family” and are not made public, the minister said.

“It’s better to tone down (rhetoric) against the Americans since a clash serves no good pur-

pose.” But Deputy Foreign Minister Zeev Elkin told army radio Tuesday that Israel should focus on its own security rather than pander to its long-time ally.

“The partnership with the United States is very important but when there are disagreements, the prime minister’s job is to prioritise Israel’s security, even if it’s not that great for our relations with the Americans,” he said. Haaretz newspaper’s diplomatic correspondent said Tuesday the Israeli government did not even believe Obama genuinely trusted Iran.

“Netanyahu and his people are not persuaded that Obama is truly determined to stop Iran’s nuclear plan, but think he only wants to toss the hot potato to the next president,” Barak Ravid wrote.

Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman last month suggested that Israel should seek partners other than Washington. On Tuesday, Maariv daily quoted a Netanyahu aide as saying: “Israel cannot rely solely on the Americans ... Israel is taking steps to increase its cooperation with China and Russia.”

Netanyahu embarked on a visit to Moscow days ahead of the Iran deal in an apparent snub to the US, but without convincing Russia not to sign the accord. Speaking at a Tel Aviv University discussion panel, Olmer t also

slammed the Russia trip, Haaretz newspaper reported.

“Will (Russian President Vladimir) Putin give us $3 billion in military aid a year?” he asked, referring to annual US aid. Differences on peace talks also Aside from Iran, the deadlocked IsraeliPalestinian peace process has also thrown up differences between Netanyahu and the Obama administration.

Netanyahu last month forced Housing Minister Uri Ariel to back down over newlyannounced settlement building, cancelling plans for 20,000 new settler homes in the occupied West Bank-but only after US criticism.

Commentators said it was an effor t to assuage the Americans as an Iran deal loomed closer. But the government has nevertheless announced several thousand new settler homes slated for construction in the West Bank and annexed east Jerusalem since the US-brokered peace talks began late July.

Palestinian negotiators have already resigned over settlement construction, although president Mahmud Abbas has yet to accept their resignations. Kerry warned in a November television interview that failure to make peace with the Palestinians could trigger a new, bloody uprising.—AFP

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2013

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

NYC train derailment airs queries about technology Speed was a central cause of derailment

BRUSSELS: From left, US Secretary of State John Kerry, Slovenian Foreign Minister Karl Erjavec, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders and Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo greet each other during a meeting of the North Atlantic Council at NATO headquarters in Brussels yesterday. — AP

NATO seeks Afghan accord as it looks for new role BRUSSELS: NATO foreign ministers were set to try yesterday to nail down an accord with Kabul on the alliance’s new role in Afghanistan as pressing problems in Ukraine, Syria and beyond all call for attention. The immediate issue is NATO’s planned training and advisory mission in Afghanistan after it ends its biggest ever combat operation there next year, clearing the decks for leaders to set a new course for the alliance at a summit in late 2014.

Officials say the focus of the two-day meeting in Brussels is to build on NATO’s active military role since the early 1990s, from the Balkans to Afghanistan and Libya, safeguarding gains in inter-operability and capability at a time when defence budgets are under strain.

The aim is a NATO which remains relevant and effective in a changing world where the challenges are as much military as political and economic, threatening to boil over into conflict and social upheaval.

“We have got to ensure that we sustain NATO’s military edge,” a senior US official said. “In the context of extreme budgetary constraints ... it is incumbent on us all to do more with (the money) that we have.” The 28 allies, plus NATO’s partners and sometimes adversaries such as Russia, will review issues such as how to destroy Syria’s chemical weapons arsenal.

Missile defence, a hugely sensitive issue for Moscow, is on the agenda given US and European concerns of a threat from Iran despite the recent signing of an initial deal on its contested nuclear programme.

Relations with Ukraine and Georgia provide another difficult issue for Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his US counterpart Secretary of State John Kerry as NATO seeks to maintain and boost ties with former Soviet states.

Continued and growing protests in Ukraine after the government ditched a planned association accord with the EU are likely to test ties. Following the NATO meeting, Kerry will travel to Moldova

which did sign up with Brussels last week despite intense Russian pressure not to.

“We are making this brief stop to demonstrate US support for the important choice that Moldova made,” the US official said. On Afghanistan, the sticking point is President Hamid Karzai who is refusing to sign a Bilateral Security Agreement with Washington until after April’s presidential elections, when he stands down.

The BSA sets the legal and operational framework for the up to 12,000 troops, mostly American, who will train and assist Afghan armed forces post-2014.

Without a BSA, and a parallel accord for the allies, there is “no post-2014 mission,” a senior NATO official said Monday.

In 2011, the US government took the ‘zero option’ of complete withdrawal from Iraq when it could not get a troop status deal. Diplomatic sources stressed that military and political realities allow now only limited time for the post-2014 Afghan mission to be finalised.

“You cannot wait until mid-2014 and expect the United States to (then) write a big cheque,” one senior NATO diplomat said, adding: “This has been made very clear.” Other NATO officials warned that future aid could be put at risk without a deal as donors want the reassurance of a troop status accord and continued alliance presence.

One official put aid for the Afghan armed forces at $4.1 billion annually of which Kabul at best could only raise $500 million-and $4.0 billion for development.

If there is no post-2014 mission, funding “in theory could continue to be forthcoming ... but in practice there must be a question whether donors would have the confidence to contribute,” the official said.

Karzai on Sunday accused Washington of halting essential supplies to some army and police units in an effort to force him to sign, a charge rejected. About 75,000 NATO combat troops are still deployed in Afghanistan, the majority of them American, and are being steadily drawn down. —AFP

US lawmakers convening special session on pensions SPRINGFIELD: Illinois lawmakers were poised later yesterday to vote on a plan to solve the state’s $100 billion pension crisis - a proposal many are calling the most important vote of their careers and one that could deeply reduce the retirement benefits of hundreds of thousands of workers and retirees.

Gov. Pat Quinn and other supporters on Monday stressed the importance of the vote, saying approving the legislation is a crucial step toward improving Illinois’ disastrous financial situation.

Quinn, a Chicago Democrat, planned to travel to the state Capitol in Springfield and said he would meet with as many legislators as possible to try to get them to vote yes.

“I think (this is) the most important fiscal vote that will ever be taken by the General Assembly in my lifetime,” he said Monday at an unrelated event. “We need to erase the liability and move Illinois forward. That’s what I’m committed to and I think everyone who is interested in the future of Illinois, the common good, what’s good for taxpayers should join us in urging a yes vote.”

Illinois has the worst-funded pension systems of any state in the nation, primarily because lawmakers failed for decades to make the state’s full payments to the funds. Even as other states with similar pension messes took action in recent years, the Democrat-controlled Illinois General Assembly was unable to come up with its own solution. Meanwhile, the major credit rating agencies downgraded Illinois to the lowest credit rating of any state in the country, and annual pension payments grew to about one-fifth of the state’s general funds budget, taking money away from schools, roads and other areas.

The proposal to be considered yesterday is estimated to save the state $160 billion over 30 years and fully fund the systems by 2044. It would push back the retirement age for workers ages 45 and younger, on a sliding scale. The annual 3 percent cost-of-living increases for

retirees would be replaced with a system that only provides the increases on a portion of benefits, based on how many years a beneficiary was in his or her job.

Some workers would have the option of freezing their pension and starting a 401(k)-style defined contribution plan.

Also included in the plan is language to prevent “pension abuses,” as nongovernment employees such as union bosses couldn’t participate and new hires wouldn’t be able to bank sick or vacation time to boost pensions.

A clear majority of a bipartisan pension conference committee signed off on the deal late Monday, sending it to the floors of both the House and Senate. But passage there was not seen as being assured.

Labor unions planned to turn out in force for a hearing yesterday morning, where the committee was scheduled to discuss the legislation and hear from its supporters and opponents. The unions say the measure is unfair to workers and retirees who for years made their required payments to the retirement funds, while the state did not. They also say portions of the plan violate a provision of the Illinois Constitution that says pension benefits may not be diminished.

They plan to file a lawsuit arguing the measure is unconstitutional, if it is approved. Others have said the plan doesn’t cut benefits enough, while some critics say legislators and the public haven’t had sufficient time to review and analyze the legislation.

Tuesday’s vote is scheduled to occur one day after the deadline for candidates to file with the state board of elections to run in the 2014 primary - timing that could give some lawmakers concerned about a primary challenge the freedom to vote in favor of the bill. It’s also a big vote politically for Quinn, who has made fixing the pension problem his top priority and is seeking another term next year.

Just one of his three potential Republican challengers, Sen. Bill Brady, has said he supports the bill. —AP

YONKERS: The revelation that a New York City commuter train derailed while barreling into a sharp curve at nearly three times the speed limit is fueling questions about whether automated crash-avoidance technology could have prevented the carnage.

Safety officials have championed what’s known as positive train control technology for decades, but the railroad industry has sought to postpone having to install it because of the high cost and technological issues.

Investigators haven’t yet determined whether the weekend wreck, which killed four people and injured more than 60 others, was the result of human error or mechanical trouble. But some safety experts said the tragedy might not have happened if Metro-North Railroad had the technology, and a senator said the derailment underscored the need for it. “This incident, if anything, heightens the importance of additional safety measures, like that one,” said US Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut, which also is served by Metro -North. “I’d be very loath to be more flexible or grant more time.”

The train was going 82 mph as it entered a 30 mph turn Sunday morning and ran off the track, National Transportation Safety Board member Earl Weener said Monday. He cited information extracted from the train’s two data recorders; investigators also began interviewing the train’s crew. The speed stunned officials - “I gulped,” said US Sen. Charles Schumer, D-NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the NTSB findings make it clear “extreme speed was a central cause” of the derailment and vowed to “make sure any responsible parties are held accountable” after investigators determine why the train was going so fast.

“At this point in time, we can’t tell” whether the answer is faulty brakes or a human mistake, Weener said. Weener sketched a scenario suggesting that the throttle was let up and the brakes were fully applied way too late to stave off the crash. He said the throttle went to idle six seconds before the derailed train came to a complete stop - “very late in the game” for a train going that fast - and the brakes were fully engaged five seconds before the train stopped.

It takes about a quarter-mile to a half-mile to

NEW YORK: A man walks past heavy machinery on a railroad track as track is repaired at the site of a train derailment in the Bronx borough of New York, yesterday. The revelation that a New York City commuter train derailed while barreling into a sharp curve at nearly three times the speed limit is fueling questions about whether automated crash-avoidance technology could have prevented the carnage. —AP stop a train going 82 mph, according to Kevin Thompson, a Federal Railroad Administration spokesman. Investigators are not aware of any problems with the brakes during the nine stops the train made before the derailment, Weener said. Weener would not disclose what investigators know about the engineer ’s version of events, and he said the results of drug and alcohol tests were not yet available. Investigators are also examining the engineer’s cellphone; engineers are allowed to carry cellphones but prohibited from using them during a train’s run.

The engineer, William Rockefeller, “is totally traumatized by everything that has happened,” said Anthony Bottalico, executive director of the rail employees union. “He’s a sincere human

being with an impeccable record that I know of.

He’s diligent and competent,” Bottalico said.

Rockefeller, 46, has been an engineer for about 11 years and a Metro-North employee for about 20, he said.

Positive train control, or PTC, is designed to forestall the human errors that cause about 40 percent of train accidents, and uses GPS, wireless radio and computers to monitor trains and stop them from colliding, derailing or going the wrong way. The transportation safety board has urged railroads to install PTC in some form since 1970, and after a 2005 head-on collision killed 25 people near Los Angeles, Congress in 2008 ordered rail lines to adopt the technology by December 2015.—AP

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2013

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

Europe rights court hearing on secret CIA prisons STRASBOURG: Europe’s human rights court shone a rare public light yesterday on the secret network of European prisons that the CIA used to interrogate terror suspects, reviving memories and questions about the “extraordinary renditions” that angered many on this continent. At Tuesday’s hearing, lawyers for two terror suspects currently held by the US in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, accused Poland of human rights abuses. The lawyers say the suspects fell victim to the CIA’s program to kidnap terror suspects and transfer them to third countries, and allege they were tortured in a remote Polish prison.

The case marks the first time Europe’s role in the CIA’s “extraordinary rendition” of terror suspects reached the European Court of Human Rights. The program, which occurred at the height of former President George W. Bush’s war on terrorism, upset many Europeans.

All the prisons were closed by May

2006. Interrogations at sea have replaced CIA black sites as the U.S. government’s preferred method for holding suspected terrorists and questioning them without access to lawyers.

One of the cases heard at Tuesday’s trial concerns 48-year-old Saudi national Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, who currently faces terror charges in the U.S. for allegedly orchestrating the al-Qaeda attack on the USS Cole in 2000, a bombing in the Yemeni port of Aden that killed 17 sailors and wounded 37.

The second case involves 42-year-old Abu Zubaydah, a Palestinian also held in Guantanamo. Zubaydah has never been charged with a crime. A declassified report released in 2009 showed the CIA deemed al-Nashiri and Zubaydah as “high value detainees” meaning they are held under ultra-secure conditions in a secret section of Guantanamo known as Camp 7. Both men say they were brought to Poland in December 2002,

where they were detained and subjected to harsh questioning in a Polish military installation in Stare Kiejkuty, a village set in a lush area of woods and lakes in the country’s remote northeast.

There they were subject to mock executions, waterboarding and other tortures, including being told their families would be arrested and sexually abused, said Amrit Singh, a lawyer representing al-Nashiri.

“This case is an opportunity to break the conspiracy of silence” about the participation of some European governments in the CIA’s rendition program, Singh said. “ These acts occurred on Polish territory with the acquiescence and connivance of the Polish authorities,” Singh said.

Polish prosecutor Janusz Sliwa said that Poland should be allowed to complete its own investigation into the claims before having them taken up by Europe’s human rights court. Sliwa is

leading the Polish investigation, which has gone on for five years without an outcome. Lawyers for the terror suspects are asking the court to condemn Poland for various abuses of rights guaranteed

by Europe’s Convention on Human Rights. Former CIA officials have told The Associated Press that a prison in Poland operated from December 2002 until the fall of 2003. Human rights groups believe about eight terror suspects were held in Poland, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the self-proclaimed mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Polish leaders in office at the time former President Aleksander Kwasniewski and former Prime Minister Leszek Miller - denied the prison’s existence. In his memoir “Decision Points” former President George W. Bush writes that he ordered the CIA to subject about 100 terror detainees to harsh interrogation techniques, arguing the methods did not constitute unlawful torture and

that they produced intelligence that prevented further attacks.

The CIA has never said where the black sites were based, but intelligence officials, aviation reports and human rights groups say they included Afghanistan and Thailand as well as Poland, Lithuania and Romania.

Polish prosecutors opened an investigation into the matter in 2008. It has been extended several times and remains pending, although authorities have never disclosed the investigation’s terms or scope.

Sliwa said that Polish investigators have not had access to the two men. He acknowledged that their investigation has been long, “but not excessively lengthy.”

The court’s ruling is expected at a later date. Singh said she is hopeful that a ruling in her client’s favor will come before Sept. 2, 2014 - the date his US trial is scheduled to begin. — Reuters

Ukrainian govt survives no-confidence vote PM apologises for police crackdown on protests

MOSCOW: Pavel Dmitrichenko, right, a Bolshoi star dancer who is on trial for allegedly ordering the Jan 17 acid attack on the Bolshoi ballet’s artistic director Sergei Filin, and Andrei Lipatov, stand in a cage at a court room in Moscow, Russia, yesterday.

Dmitrichenko and two other men, including Lipatov, yesterday were convicted for their parts in the acid attack on the ballet’s director which exposed vicious backstage bickering and intrigue at the renowned theater. —AP

Court rules Bolshoi dancer guilty of acid attack MOSCOW: A Russian court yesterday found a Bolshoi soloist and two others guilty of an acid attack on the theatre’s artistic director in a sensational case that exposed the dark underbelly of the storied company.

Former dancer Pavel Dmitrichenko and his two co-defendants were found guilty of inflicting premeditated grievous bodily harm on Sergei Filin, ruled Judge Yelena Maksimova. The January attack left Filin nearly blind as the acid flung in his face caused severe injuries to eyes and skin. He underwent dozens of operations and is continuing treatment in Germany.

The attack marked the biggest scandal to embroil the world’s most famous ballet company and revealed the vicious infighting simmering beneath the surface of a theatre staging elegant ballets and stunning operas.

The judge ruled that Dmitrichenko, who was known for dancing dark characters like Ivan the Terrible, came up with attacking Filin because he was unsatisfied with how the artistic director was managing dancers.

“Dmitrichenko was unhappy with the way Filin allocated roles and bonuses to dancers, Dmitrichenko worked out a criminal plan,” Maksimova said in the grand finale of the high-profile trial that has gripped the ballet world for weeks.

Dmitrichenko asked an ex-convict acquaintance, Yury Zarutsky, to carry out the attack while a third man, Andrei Lipatov, drove Zarutsky to the scene outside Filin’s apartment building, the judge said.

Prosecutors have asked for a nine-year sentence in a penal colony for the 29-yearold dancer. The judge was expected to announce the sentence later Tuesday after spending several hours reading out the reasoning for her sentence, as a pale Dmitrichenko attentively listened, smiling occasionally to his friends in the audience.

The sensational case shook up the Bolshoi, leading to the replacement of its general director and the dismissal of a star dancer. Filin last month revealed in emotional testimony that his eyesight was so bad he could not even see his children, say-

ing his attackers must pay for his suffering.

The charge of premeditated bodily harm carries a maximum sentence of 12 years in prison, but prosecutors last week asked for a nine -year sentence for Dmitrichenko, 10 years for Zarutsky and six years for Lipatov.

The trio had been held in pre -trial detention since March and appeared in the packed courtroom sitting in a cage, the place where defendants sit in Russian courtrooms. The trial has revealed shocking details, with 43-year-old Filin sharing information about his personal life and denying rumours that he favours ballerinas based on “intimate relations” with him.

He told of awful moments of writhing in the snow in unbearable pain after the attacker flung the liquid in his face.

Zarutsky did not deny his guilt but said that he acted independently and never told Dmitrichenko of plans to use acid.

Dmitrichenko meanwhile argued that he merely wanted someone to beat up Filin. He is said to have been frustrated by lack of promotion under Filin for himself and his girlfriend Anzhelina Vorontsova, and accused the artistic director of running the troupe as his personal “puppet theatre”.

The Bolshoi has suffered through a string of scandals in the past several years, including overspending on its renovation works and smear campaigns.

The theatre sacked one of its star dancers, Nikolai Tsiskaridze, and general director Anatoly Iksanov, after they gave several damaging interviews on the case.

The government instead hired Vladimir Urin from another Moscow theatre to head Bolshoi.

But with Urin in the seat since July, the scandals just keep coming. Last month, a young US ballerina announced to the media that she had quit the company after just one year because she was asked to pay a hefty bribe for a chance to perform a solo on stage. On the eve of the verdict, the Bolshoi announced Monday that its chief conductor Vasily Sinaisky had also quit unexpectedly just two weeks before the theatre’s premiere of Verdi’s opera “Don Carlos”. — AFP

BRUSSELS: Germany’s Foreign Affairs Minister Guido Westerwelle, (C) hugs Italy’s Foreign Affairs Minister Emma Bonino (L) prior to the NATO Foreign Affairs Ministers meeting held at the organisation’s headquarters in Brussels, yesterday. — AFP

KIEV: Ukraine’s government survived a no-confidence vote yesterday after the prime minister apologised for a police crackdown on protests, while demonstrators massed outside parliament protesting the ex-Soviet state’s rejection of a historic EU pact.

“On behalf of our government, I would like to apologise for the actions of our law enforcement authorities” who, on the weekend, fired smoke bombs and stun grenades in clashes with demonstrators in the capital, Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said.

Azarov also promised the emergency session of parliament that he would reshuffle his cabinet. “I can guarantee lawmakers one thing-I will draw firm conclusions from what happened and make serious personnel changes in the government,” he told the chamber, speaking in Russian.

Following his mea culpa, the opposition’s no confidence motion against the government failed, gathering only 186 of the 226 votes required to pass in the parliament dominated by the ruling party.

Outside the building, some 5,000 protesters rallied, calling for the resignation of President Viktor Yanukovych amid a heavy presence of riot police. Around 1,000 pro-Yunukovych supporters rallied nearby surrounded by police.

The no-confidence measure was seen as a way to channel the protesters’ anger after a police crackdown on weekend demonstrations in which more than 100,000 people turned out in Kiev-the largest protest since the pro-democracy 2004 Orange Revolution.

There had been little prospect of the motion passing, however, because Yanukovych’s ruling Regions Party dominates the 450seat parliament. President defends rejection of EU pact Although the violence had subsided yesterday, there was no let-up in demonstrators’ demands that Yanukovych resign over his failure to sign key political and free trade agreements with the EU at a summit in Vilnius on Friday.

Speaking in a television inter-

KIEV: Protesters, holding posters against police violence reading “Protect our Children”, wave Ukrainian flags and shout slogans during a rally in front of Ukrainian Parliament yesterday. The Ukrainian government survived a no-confidence vote after the prime minister apologised for a brutal police crackdown on protests that were sparked by the ex-Soviet state’s rejection of a historic EU pact. — AFP

view late Monday, Yanukovych defended his decision to walk away from the deal.

“What kind of an agreement is that when they take and bend us over?” he asked. He conceded that police “went too far” in the weekend clashes, but claimed that they “were provoked by something”.

The EU had set the release of Yanukovych’s top rival Yulia Tymoshenko-who in 2011 was sentenced to seven years on abuse-of-power charges-as a key condition for signing the deal with Ukraine. She remains imprisoned.

Yanukovych was not in Ukraine for the no-confidence vote yesterday afternoon, having left on a three-day trip to China.

The abandonment of the EU pact has energised the opposition.

“Millions of Ukrainians have lost their faith in the future because of you,” former economy minister turned opposition leader Arseniy Yatsenyuk told pro-Yanukovych lawmakers in parliament. “You

face historic responsibility for this,” added ultra-nationalist leader Oleh Tyahnybok. “The situation is catastrophic, both politically and economically.”

Opposition leaders including former heavyweight world boxing champion Vitali Klitschko say the government betrayed the Ukrainian people by scrapping plans to sign the Association Agreement with the European Union under pressure from Russia.

They hope to turn Ukrainians’ anger over corruption and economic woes into what they have called a new “revolution”. But economists say a new political crisis could exacerbate the economic troubles.

“With the economy already in recession and suffering from strains in the balance of payments, prolonged political instability could tip Ukraine into a crisis,” the consultancy Capital Economics said.

The Ukrainian government and Russia have sought to under-

mine the image of the protests being pro-democracy and representative of the Ukrainian people.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, who wants to pull Ukraine into a Moscow-led customs union, said late Monday that protests “seem more like a pogrom than a revolution”.

“These actions were prepared from outside. We see how wellorganised groups of fighters are involved,” Putin said. Azarov on Monday had said the situation bore all the hallmarks of a “coup d’etat”.

The United States and France challenged that statement. “We certainly don’t consider peaceful demonstrations coup attempts,” said White House spokesman Jay Carney in Washington.

“This is not a coup d’etat. I haven’t seen a military intervention and the characteristics of a coup d’etat are not supp o r te d,” Fre n c h Fo re i gn Minister Laurent Fabius yesterd ay to l d R a d i o Fr a n ce Internationale in Paris. —AFP

Italy PM Letta to seek new confidence vote on Dec 11 ROME: Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta will seek a confidence vote in parliament on Dec 11 to confirm his new majority after Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia party pulled out of the ruling coalition, the government said.

Letta, who held consultations with President Giorgio Napolitano on Monday, said last week he would seek the confidence vote after his centre-left Democratic Party (PD) elects a new leader this coming Sunday and would set out priorities for his government in the coming year.

The decision comes a week after the government comfortably won a confidence vote on the 2014 budget in the Senate by 171 votes to 135, despite Forza Italia formalising its move to the opposition by voting against the coalition.

Letta survived with the help of a group of centre-right rebels, including five government ministers, who broke away from Forza Italia and pledged to support the ruling coalition.

In a formal step to mark the change from

the previous coalition, the lower house will vote on the confidence motion on the morning of Dec. 11, followed by a vote in the Senate in the afternoon, the ministry for relations with parliament said.

Although Letta’s majority appears solid enough to ensure he wins the vote, he must deal with growing tensions between members of his coalition government, now dominated by his PD. Matteo Renzi, the ambitious young mayor of Florence who appears set to win the PD party leadership on Sunday, has demanded that the centre-left put its stamp more clearly on the coalition, prompting an angry reaction from the centre-right.

Formed in the wake of last February’s deadlocked election, which left no side able to govern alone, Letta’s unwieldy grand coalition of traditional rivals from left and right has struggled to overcome the deep mistrust between partners and has passed few of the institutional reforms it promised.

Following last week’s victory in the confidence vote, Letta said his majority was small-

er but more compact and effective but the likely election of Renzi as PD leader could yet undermine that cohesion.

The challenge to the government was underlined on Tuesday by comments from European Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn, who said Italy was not doing enough to reduce its huge public debt, the second highest in the euro zone. It is set to top 133 percent of gross domestic product this year.

Parliament has still not passed the 2014 budget amid wrangling over such as issues as financing the replacement of a hated housing tax, a key demand of the centre-right, while respecting European Union borrowing limits.

The government must also tackle the intractable issue of reforming a voting system blamed for the stalemate created by the last election.

All sides agree the election law, which makes it difficult for any side to gain a working parliamentary majority, must change, but the parties have failed to agree on an alternative. —Reuters

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2013

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

Biden says China, Japan must communicate to end dispute TOKYO: Japan and China need more sophisticated communication strategies if they are to work through their territorial row, US Vice President Joe Biden said yesterday as he vowed Washington would stand by Tokyo.

Biden, in Tokyo at the start of a threenation tour of Asia, said he will be talking “in great specificity” with Chinese leaders about Beijing’s sudden declaration last month of an air defence zone, including over islands disputed with Japan.

“We, the United States, are deeply concerned by the attempt to unilaterally change the status quo in the East China Sea,” Biden told reporters in a joint press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. “This action has raised regional tension and increased the risk of accidents and miscalculations.”

Tensions in the region are at their highest in years, with China and Japan squaring off over a chain of uninhabited

islands in a feud that has some observers warning of the danger of an armed confrontation.

The US, bound to Tokyo by a security treaty, is looking on alarmed at the growing chances of limited hostilities between the world’s second largest economy and Washington’s chief ally in the Asia-Pacific.

Observers say rising China, buoyed by its surging economy, is becoming more confident and the dispute with Japan is part of a larger effort to stamp its authority on a region long dominated by the US. Nerves are particularly frayed after Beijing’s proclamation of an Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ), in which it says all aircraft must obey its instructions or risk unspecified “defensive emergency measures”.

The move was flatly rejected by the governments of the US, Japan and South Korea. “This underscores the need for crisis management mechanisms and effec-

tive channels of communication between China and Japan to reduce risk of escalation,” Biden told reporters.

“I will be raising these concerns in great specificity directly when I meet with the Chinese leadership the day after tomorrow,” he said. And he vowed that the United States, which has a security treaty that compels it to come to Japan’s aid if it is attacked militarily, would stand by its ally. “ We will remain steadfast in our alliance’s commitment,” he said. Abe has been looking for robust backing over his position that Beijing is being unreasonable and aggressive. He was heartened when US B-52 bombers flew into China’s ADIZ just days after it was announced.

“We... confirmed that we should not tolerate the attempt by China to change the status quo unilaterally by force and we will continue to work closely in dealing with the situation based on the strong US-Japan alliance,” the Japanese premier said.

“ We reaffirmed that policies and measures, including those on operation of Self Defense Forces (Japan’s military) and US forces, are not changed and that we will maintain close cooperation.”

Beijing’s announcement of the ADIZ also provoked anger in Seoul, which, like Tokyo and Washington sent official planes into the zone without notifying China. The shared reaction in Japan and South Korea marked a rare moment of harmony in a relationship marked by friction over shared history that hobbles US attempts to bring its two chief regional allies together.

“We believe that Northeast Asia will be strongest when its two leading democracies work together to meet common threats, and when the three of us-the United States, Japan and the Republic of Korea-work together to advance common interests and values,” Biden told the Asahi Shimbun newspaper ahead of his trip.

Some analysts believe the declaration

of the zone was a far-sighted move by Beijing in its campaign to undermine Japan’s claims to control disputed islands, and ultimately, push the US out of the western Pacific.

Others, however, say it looked more like an over-reach by an administration that did not fully anticipate the vehemence of the reaction. The US has to tread a fine line between supporting the hawkish Abe and making him over-confident to the point where he might provoke China, said Takehiko Yamamoto, professor of international politics at Waseda University in Tokyo.

“Washington does not want to take the risk of damaging its bilateral ties with China,” he said. “Biden will deliver the message to the Chinese side but may also seek to play a role in mediating,” he added. Biden will move to Beijing today to hold talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping before flying to Seoul, where he is to meet President Park Geun-Hye.—AFP

N Korea’s Kim seen behind sacking of powerful uncle Move likely to tip balance in favour of close aide

AMSTERDAM: This picture taken on January 29, 2010 shows hundreds of young students from Amsterdam during the first round of the Dutch Mathematical Olympiad in Amsterdam. Asian nations cemented their top positions in an eagerly awaited report on global education yesterday as their students continued to outshine Western counterparts in maths, science and reading. — AFP

Asia sweeps top spots in global education survey PARIS: Asian nations cemented their top positions in an eagerly awaited report on global education yesterday, as their students continued to outshine Western counterparts in maths, science and reading.

Shanghai again ranked first in maths, science and reading in the three-yearly report by the Paris-based OECD, based on surveys of more than half a million 15-yearolds in 65 countries. Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea rounded out the top five in maths skills.

The so-called PISA report (Programme for International Student Assessment) is the single largest study of global schooling and has been dubbed the World Cup of education. It is highly influential among education officials, with participating countries representing more than 80 percent of the global economy and often adapting policy in response to the findings.

Shanghai’s top rankings means its students are the equivalent of three years of schooling ahead of their counterparts with average scores, including those of many wealthy Western countries like Britain and France.

This year’s survey focused on math skills, with Macao-China, Japan, Liechtenstein, Switzerland and The Netherlands rounding out the top 10. Lacking a truly national sample in China, the report only includes some of the country’s most economically advanced regions, which the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) acknowledges are not representative of the entire country.

“Already strong performers in 2009, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Singapore continued to improve their performances in the three categories,” said Sophie Vayssettes, an education analyst with the OECD. OECD experts said the top scores of Asian nations were down to a strong culture of education and to teacher training.

Their education systems “ask a lot of their students. There is a culture of education: parents, children, teachers-everyone is working in the same direction,” said the OECD’s Eric Charbonnier.

Also, “every country that is at the top, which has moved forward, has put teacher training at the heart” of their education system, he said. The report highlighted Italy, Poland and Portugal for showing improvements in maths skills since the last survey, but noted drops in Sweden and Finland.

Students in Britain scored the exact average of OECD nations in maths, with their counterparts in France only slightly ahead. The United States was further down, wedged between Slovakia and Lithuania.

Peru ranked at the bottom of the list in all three categories, with its students the equivalent of six years of schooling behind students in Shanghai. Only one European country, Finland, made it into the top five in any category, scoring as the fifth top performer in science.

The report noted that gender differences remain strong, with girls continuing to outperform in reading skills and boys showing better results in maths. Australia, Canada, Estonia and Finland were noted for having high levels of “equity in education”, where students can succeed regardless of their socio-economic background.

But France, which has one of the strongest education brands in the world with its global network of lycees, performs very poorly in that respect.

Describing the report as the “world’s premier yardstick” for education, OECD Secretary General Angel Gurria said it highlighted the need for “investing in structural reforms to boost productivity” even “when public budgets are tight”.

“The highest-performing school systems are those that allocate educational resources more equitably among advantaged and disadvantaged schools and that grant more autonomy over curricula and assessments to individual schools,” he said in the foreword to the report. The first PISA survey was carried out in 2000, with 30 nations taking part, and Shanghai joined in 2009. Gurria said the report was aimed at helping governments and educators in “identifying the characteristics of high-performing education systems... that they can then adapt to their local contexts.” —AFP

Another Bangladesh party boycotts polls, death toll up DHAKA: Another major Bangladesh political party yesterday announced a boycott of the upcoming general election, declaring the country was on the “brink of disaster” as seven more people died in poll protests.

Former dictator Hussain Muhammad Ershad said his Jatiya Party, the country’s third largest and a key ally of the ruling Awami League, would not contest the January 5 election, following in the footsteps of the opposition alliance.

“Since all parties are not contesting, so the Jatiya Party will also not participate in the polls,” Ershad told reporters. “I am not going to contest the election. The country is at the brink of disaster. We’re heading towards uncertainty,” Ershad said.

The boycott is a blow to the credibility of the election as pressure mounts to reschedule the date. Only the Awami League and several small left-wing parties are now expected to contest the 300 seats in the national parliament.

“It has hammered the last nail into the election coffin,” said Osman Faruq,

spokesman for the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). The BNP and its allies announced a boycott Monday amid growing street violence that has left 59 people dead since late October, and a series of opposition strikes and blockades that have paralysed large parts of the country.

The BNP called the street protests to try to force Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to quit to make way for a neutral administration to oversee the poll, saying it would be rigged if she remains in charge.

Hasina refused the demand and instead formed an interim multi-party cabinet which includes her allies. As political uncertainty grows, the United States urged a halt to the “senseless violence” and called on rival political parties to hold talks to resolve the crisis.

“The senseless violence of past days is especially reprehensible as it intentionally targeted innocent people with bombs and by burning them alive in vehicles,” the US embassy said on Tuesday.—AFP

SEOUL: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is believed to have dismissed a powerful uncle, a man key to his rise to power, from his posts, South Korean lawmakers said yesterday, a move that could help consolidate his power base with a younger guard of aides.

Jang Song Thaek was likely sacked as vice chairman of the powerful National Defence Commission and as a department head of the ruling Workers’ Party, lawmaker Jung Cheong-rae said, citing a senior South Korean official with the National Intelligence Service (NIS).

Analysts who watch the North’s power structure say Jang’s removal would not have been possible without the approval of the third Kim to rule in the family dynasty.

The move is likely to tip the balance in favour of another close aide - the top political operative for the army, which could mean a symbolic victory for the 1.2-million-strong military. Choe Ryong Hae, director of the General Political Bureau of the Korean People’s Army, has been the most prominent figure to accompany Kim at public events and is a reminder of the state’s political roots in military power.

There was no immediate mention of Jang’s fate on North Korea’s KCNA news agency, the primary source of information on the impoverished country for outsiders which regularly carries editorials threatening the wealthy, democratic South and the United States with destruction.

Two members of the South Korean parliament’s Intelligence Committee told separate news briefings that the NIS had confirmed the public execution of two close aides to Jang in the North’s ruling Workers’ Party for corruption.

“The briefing by an NIS senior official was that they believe Jang Song Thaek has lost his posts,” Jung, who is the ranking opposition member of the intelligence committee, said.

“Following (the executions), the NIS said it believes Jang Song Thaek has not been seen and has lost his posts,” Jung told the briefing. A ruling party member of the committee held a separate news briefing and delivered a similar report.

The removal of Jang, a key figure in the power transition following the 2011 death of Kim’s father, Kim Jong Il, could tip the balance in the fiercely competitive group of confidants surrounding the current leader but was unlikely to impact on Kim Jong Un’s hold on power, experts said. “Jang Song Thaek is a person who at one point Kim Jong Un had to cut out as he solidifies his own power structure,” said Koh Yu-hwan of Dongguk University in Seoul, a leading expert on the North’s leadership.

BEIJING: In this Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2012 file photo provided by China’s Xinhua News Agency, Jang Song Thaek, North Korea’s vice chairman of the powerful National Defense Commission, attends the third meeting on developing the economic zones in North Korea, in Beijing. Two South Korean lawmakers say they were told by intelligence officials that two associates of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s powerful uncle Jang were executed last month. —AP “I think the young elite had Kim get rid of Jang, meaning that he will rule without a guardian.” Accordion-playing Jang, 67, is married to Kim Jong Un’s aunt, Kyong Hui, who is a daughter of the North’s founding leader and its “eternal President”, Kim Il Sung.

Jang, who is widely seen as an advocate of economic reform, was purged in a power struggle in 2004 under Kim Jong Il’s rule but was reinstated two years later. One key question now is what his ouster will mean for the devastated economy.

“Within the current leadership, he (Jang) seems to be the face of economic reform, so there is a risk involved with removing someone that close to the programme,” said John SwensonWright, a senior fellow at Chatham House, a London-based international affairs think tank.

Earlier this year, Jang and his wife were seen backing the appointment of Pak Pong Ju, a career technocrat, for the post of premier to spearhead a

push to improve the economy.

Jang has been the central figure among top officials and family members who worked to ensure the young and untested son of Kim Jong Il took over power when his father died in 2011.

While Jang’s ouster could symbolically tip the balance of power in favour of a key figure in the military, Choe, analysts say it is unlikely to signal a return to the military grandstanding of Kim’s father as a top priority.

Apart from domestic political problems, North Korea is involved in a protracted standoff with the West over its nuclear weapons programme.

Tensions between North and South Korea soared earlier this year as Pyongyang reacted angrily to tightened UN sanctions imposed in response to its latest nuclear test, but then eased for several months. The two sides are still technically at war after their 1950-53 civil war ended in a mere truce, not a treaty. — Reuters

Upstart party could be spoiler in Delhi elections NEW DELHI: When India’s capital goes to the polls today, its newest political party could play spoiler in a fight between traditional rivals, the incumbent Congress Party and the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party.

Nearly 12 million Delhi residents are expected to choose representatives to the 70-member Delhi Assembly in polls that are a significant bellwether for the country’s general elections next year.

But the battle between Delhi’s

two main parties has a new entrant this year. Enter Arvind Kejriwal, a former tax official turned anti-corruption crusader, and his Aam Aadmi Party, or Common Man’s Party.

Kejriwal’s nine-month old AAP comprises an army of volunteers who in recent weeks have trudged through the alleys of the city’s poorest neighborhoods to tap the deep vein of dissatisfaction that has gripped Delhi residents, particularly over corruption and the soaring cost of living.

NEW DELHI: Indian pedestrians walk past a giant screen which counts down the hours to the Delhi Assembly election and urges people to vote in New Delhi yesterday. The Delhi Legislative Assembly election is scheduled to be held today. — AFP

The AAP hopes to capitalize on the disillusionment with the two major political parties by offering what it claims will be an honest administration which takes the pressing problems of the city as its priority.

The 45-year-old Kejriwal brandishes his party’s election symbol, the broom, and in a recent election appearance he promised to “sweep out the rubbish that has accumulated over the decades.”

The Congress party’s Sheila Dikshit, 76, had been Delhi’s top elected official, or chief minister, since 1998. Her three consecutive terms have seen the city burgeon into a megapolis of nearly 17 million people, many of them impoverished migrants in search of jobs.

Dikshit, one of the Congress party’s more charismatic leaders, is seeking a fourth term as chief minister, touting Delhi’s shiny new metro, numerous overpasses to ease the city’s daily gridlock and the introduction of compressed natural gas-run public transport buses that have lightened the dense smog engulfing the city.

Dikshit is confident that her government’s performance will again draw voters. She dismissed all talk of an anti-incumbency wave against her and the Congress. “People can see the development work we have done. That is what will make them vote for us,” Dikshit told reporters last

week. But Dikshit will have to overcome the battered image of the Congress, which over the past few years has been hit by a slew of corruption scandals, adding to public anger over its failure to push through much-needed economic reforms to revive a slowing economy.

Analysts say that the country’s slow economic growth, coupled with rampant inflation of food, fuel and utility prices, have turned the middle class and the poor against the party.

“The primary issue in Delhi is price rise,” said Arati Jerath, a political analyst.

“There’s been runaway inflation for four years at least. Delhi is one of the most expensive cities in terms of food, accommodation, transportation and so on, whatever the politicians may say,” she said.

Dikshit’s main rival, the BJP’s Harsh Vardhan, is a 58-year-old surgeon. A BJP loyalist, Vardhan is a former Delhi health minister.

He holds Dikshit responsible for the woes that assail the city and says his fight will be to restore Delhi to its former glory as a center of art and culture. “She has failed on every front,” Vardhan told journalists covering his campaign, listing the problems facing the city. “ There is an acute shortage of paramedical staff, a shortage of essential drugs at hospitals, power and water scarcity, inflation, scams, corruption. —AP

NEWS

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2013

Saudis must boost private...

KAC signs MoU with...

Continued from Page 1

Continued from Page 1

Financial consultant for the deal Amani Buresli, a former minister of commerce, said the agreement includes the purchase of 15 A320neo and 10 A350-900 planes with the option to buy 10 more, five from each category. She said delivery of the purchased planes would start in 2019 and the last planes would be delivered in 2020. In the meantime, KAC will lease 12 planes, seven A320 and five A330200, from the European manufacturer. The final contract for the deal, the first plane order by KAC in more than 20 years, will be signed after a month, she said. Part of the financing will be done through a syndicated loan by international and local banks and for the other part KAC will issue bonds or Islamic sukuk, she said.

“The contract is directly with Airbus without any brokers and the contract doesn’t include any penalty clause. The value of the contract includes engines and maintenance of the rental aircraft. The previous deal to buy five used aircraft that was canceled was only a letter of intention, but today we have signed a memorandum of understanding and paid part of the contract,” Buresli said. The old Kuwait Airways aircraft will be sold, she added.

Kuwait Airways aims to renew the fleet so the value of the company will increase before being privatized. “Selling the airline at a low price will cause losses for the national budget. The importance of renewing the fleet is not because the current aircraft are dangerous, but maintenance is very expensive due to their age and this includes both the engine and the body. Also, these old aircraft consume a lot of fuel, while the new ones consume much less and are energy-efficient,” explained Buresli.

In addition to modernising its fleet, the loss-making KAC wants to make the airline profitable before offering a local or foreign investor a 40 percent stake. Kuwait Airways has posted losses in all but one of the past 21 years, amounting to a total of more than $2.7 billion, which has been covered by the government.

jobs by 2018 just to maintain the percentage of nationals working for private companies. And that would still absorb only a third to a half of the people expected to enter the labour market.

Zhu said the Saudis also faced a challenge in reducing dependence on the main energy markets, such as China.

“The global credit expansionary cycle is ending,” he said. “ That means [the Middle East] needs to look at more growth drive from inside the economy rather than from external demand.”

The kingdom is the world’s top oil exporter and China is its main crude market. It is also a big customer for Saudi petrochemicals, the main non-oil industrial expor t. Any reduction in Chinese government investment would have an exponential impact on Saudi growth. “Our studies show if China reduces 1 percent of GDP of investment ... it will have a negative impact on GDP growth of 0.35 percent in Saudi Arabia,” he said. “And China should reduce investments as a percentage of GDP by roughly 10 percent”.

An IMF official said the estimate did not take into account actions Saudi policymakers might take to counter the impact. The kingdom’s private sector grew to about 700 billion riyals in 2011, Finance Minister Ibrahim Alassaf said at

DUBAI: Fireworks illuminate the sky near the Burj Al-Arab during celebrations for the United Arab Emirates national day and Dubai’s victory to host the 2020 World Expo late on Monday. — AFP

the same event. That represented 58 percent of gross domestic product, he said. Private companies now employ 250,000 more Saudis in 2012 than they did in 2011, Alassaf said. That means more than 1 million Saudis now work in the private sector. Still, most of the new private-sector jobs the Saudis have created were taken by expatriates, economists say. Across the Middle East, Alassaf acknowledged, private-sector growth requires “an acceleration of structural reforms aimed at improving the business environment.”

Saudi Arabia began a series of reforms last decade that opened to private and foreign investment sectors of the economy that had long been limited to state -owned companies. It also strengthened its stock market, partly privatised some government operations and acceded to the World Trade Organisation. The official unemployment rate slipped to 11.8 percent in the second quarter from a peak of 12.4 percent in 2011. But that does not count Saudis neither working nor actively seeking work. Economists estimated Saudi participation in the work force at 30-40 percent. And most working Saudis still work for the government. The kingdom has over the past two years pushed a crackdown on visa irregularities among expatriates to push more Saudis into jobs now held by foreigners. -— Reuters

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2013

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Focus

In your face, selfie! ‘Science’ also tops 2013

By Leanne Italie

L

ook alive, selfie. There’s another word of the year that’s not all about you. While Oxford University Press, the British publisher of the Oxford dictionaries, declared those little smartphone self-portraits its winner last month, the folks at Merriam-Webster announced “science” yesterday . Oxford tracked a huge jump in overall usage of selfie, but Merriam-Webster stuck primarily to look-ups on its website, recording a 176 percent increase for science when compared with last year.

“The more we thought about it, the righter it seemed in that it does lurk behind a lot of big stories that we as a society are grappling with, whether it’s climate change or environmental regulation or what’s in our textbooks,” said John Morse, president and publisher of Merriam-Webster Inc., based in Springfield, Mass. Science, he said, is connected to broad cultural oppositions - science versus faith, for instance - along with the power of observation and intuition, reason and ideology, evidence and tradition. Of particular note, to Merriam-Webster, anyway, is fallout from the October release of Malcolm Gladwell’s latest book, “David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants.”

Iraq must make radical shift to combat unrest

By Salam Faraj

I

raq must make radical changes in how it handles security and its Sunni minority to combat a surge in bloodletting but major steps are unlikely with elections looming, experts say. With violence at its worst since 2008 and the country appealing for international help in combating militancy, officials have trumpeted operations targeting militants and some concessions to disaffected Sunnis. But, analysts say, those measures do not go far enough when confronted with bloodshed that has left more than 6,000 people dead already this year and has sparked fears Iraq is slipping back into all-out sectarian war.

“Measures taken by the government so far have not matched the importance of the issues,” said Issam al-Faili, a professor of political history at Mustansiriyah University in Baghdad. “The situation in Iraq is getting serious ... and what the government is doing now is nothing radical, but only minor fixes.”

Diplomats, experts and human rights groups have argued for months that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki, a Shiite

Arab, must reach out to the country’s Sunni minority and start work to reform anti-terror laws and rules barring members of former dictator Saddam Hussein’s party from participating in public life. They also say security forces must stop using heavy-handed tactics in Sunni sections of Baghdad and western and northern Iraq, such as mass arrests and the closing off of entire neighbourhoods.

Sunnis, who were in ascendance during Saddam’s rule, have for months protested over alleged mistreatment at the hands of the Shiite-led authorities, complaining specifically of wrongful arrest, long periods of detention without trial and abuse in prison. Analysts say that while most Sunnis do not actively support Al-Qaeda, a lack of faith in the government may persuade them to stop cooperating with the authorities in their efforts to combat the jihadist network’s Iraq affiliates. “There isn’t really an easy fix here for Iraq,” said Ayham Kamel, a London-based analyst for the Eurasia Group consultancy. “What they need to do politically, which I don’t think Maliki will do in the near term, is really come up with a comprehensive strategic

engagement with the Sunni community.”

Kamel said that Sunni communities needed to be “empowered” and that security forces had to “completely change” their behaviour in Sunni Arab neighbourhoods, while on a political level, authorities would have to commit to a greater degree of power-sharing. Iraq’s government is ostensibly one of national unity with Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish participation but, in fact, members of the cabinet frequently criticise each other in public and little in the way of landmark legislation has been passed since parliamentary elections in March 2010. Sunni ministers have staged boycotts from time to time over the past few years over what they allege is Maliki’s centralisation of power, while the premier insists he is trying to manage an unruly coalition.

Meanwhile, Iraqis often voice frustration over their oil-rich country still providing poor basic services more than a decade after the US-led invasion, and little has been done to tackle rampant corruption and high levels of unemployment.

They also often complain that despite numerous checkpoints in Baghdad and

the near-ubiquitous presence of security forces, attacks still rock the capital, as well as the rest of the country, targeting all manner of people from civilians at cafes and public football pitches to soldiers at checkpoints and government officials in their cars. “Some members of the security forces are inefficient, and others are infiltrators (from militias and other violent groups),” said Ali Al-Haidari, a Baghdadbased security analyst. “Building Iraq’s security forces after 2003 happened in a hurry, and a result of that has been they have not been built properly.” “We must take urgent measures, now.”

Little in the way of radical steps are likely to be taken ahead of elections due to be held on April 30, however, with no major parties wanting to be seen by their voters as capitulating and politicians often pointing to the polls as a point at which political gridlock could finally be loosened. “Re-engagement, I think, will take time and it’s unlikely to take place before election,” Kamel said. “A resolution to the whole security dilemma will not occur before elections. “It’s not going to happen.” —AFP

US again driven to distraction by Karzai Gladwell, a popularizer of scientific thought and research in best-sellers and The New Yorker magazine, takes on the challenges of obstacles and the nature of disabilities and setbacks in the book. But he leaves science itself - according to some critics - as a rhetorical device for his main mission of storytelling. The tweets, blog posts and online commentary about the book yay and nay - proliferated as Gladwell hit the road to promote it. Peter Sokolowski, a lexicographer and editor at large for Merriam-Webster, called the Gladwell dustup a symptom of where science stands today.

With the explosion of information and technology, are we all scientists? “You have scientists writing long pieces, purportedly reviews of his new book, basically criticizing him, and then his response is: ‘Hey, buddy.

I’m not a scientist. I’m a writer who’s trying to promote the work of scientists. To contextualize it. To make it accessible.’ You know, ‘Don’t blame me for not being a scientist’ is basically his response,” Sokolowski said.

Jason Silva is neither scientist nor academic. He’s a “techno optimist”, filmmaker, “performance philosopher” and host of the popular “Brain Games” show on the National Geographic Channel. “Ooh, that’s awesome,” he said upon learning of science’s dictionary shout-out. “People are increasingly scientifically minded, and that makes me very happy.” Count him among those who believe art and science are two sides of the same coin. Right now, thanks to the digital ease of sharing information and the explosion of technology, “The world is infinite. You can indulge your curiosity.”

Are more people looking to science for inspiration, hence looking up the word on a dictionary website for solace or motivation? “We bear witness to the astonishing capacities for scientific knowledge to aid us in transcending our seeming boundaries, to realize they’re not really boundaries,” Silva offers. “It’s a great thing. Let’s celebrate that.” —AP

All articles appearing on these pages are the personal opinion of the writers. Kuwait Times takes no responsibility for views expressed therein. Kuwait Times invites readers to voice their opinions. Please send submissions via email to: opinion@kuwaittimes.net or via snail mail to PO Box 1301 Safat, Kuwait.

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

By Stephen Collinson

W

hat is the United States to do about Afghan President Hamid Karzai? Eye rolls are the usual response when Karzai’s name comes up in official circles in Washington - where the Afghan leader was once feted as a silk robed savior but is now mocked as an erratic Machiavel. In his latest mercurial move, Karzai is refusing to sign a painstakingly negotiated bilateral security agreement (BSA) with the United States, setting rules for American soldiers in a post-2014, postcombat force that would train Afghan troops and counter terrorism. Washington warns that unless Karzai relents before the end of the year, there will be no option but to plan a full US exit that would put Afghanistan at risk of a Taleban resurgence and choke off billions of dollars of military aid.

Karzai, who openly mistrusts Washington, says it should be up to the next president to sign the BSA. But since the coming election is in April - US military planners say they would not have time to prepare a post-2014 force that could stretch to 15,000 troops. Karzai has nursed a long grudge against Barack Obama’s White House, perhaps unhappy that his frequent contact with ex-president George W Bush was not replicated by his successor. He has also railed against US military tactics, civilian deaths and drone strikes through the 12-year war.

But patience for Karzai in Washington, always endangered, is almost extinct. Obama sent National Security Advisor Susan Rice to read the riot act to Karzai last week - but she returned only with new conditions - including a demand for no operations by foreign troops in residential areas.

Karzai is now accusing the United States of halting fuel and supplies to Afghan troops to force his hand - a charge NATO denies. Many observers here believe that Karzai is motivated by a desire to exercise his own political leverage and to preserve his own power in the run-up to elections.

Washington is meanwhile loathe to let the BSA, already endorsed by a loya jirga of Afghan tribal elders, become an election issue. But few observers are surprised that best laid plans are once more being disrupted by Karzai and former officials who have dealt with him are betraying frustration that the administration is struggling to keep private. “President Karzai should go ahead and sign the agreement,” said Tom Donilon, who until August was Obama’s National Security Advisor told ABC News, branding the Afghan

leader’s antics as “reckless”.

Former CIA Chief and National Security Agency boss Michael Hayden told Fox News Sunday that Karzai’s

gambit was a “temper tantrum” while warning that tough US rhetoric would not work. Officials in the White House and the Pentagon are clear about what further delays could mean. “We’d like to see the BSA signed as soon as possible - certainly by the end of this year,” said Colonel Steven Warren, a Pentagon spokesman. “If it’s not signed very quickly, we will be forced to begin planning for an Afghanistan that has no US presence after 2014,” said Warren.

Such an outcome would be unpalatable for Washington; it would risk a collapse of still fragile Afghan forces; it could open the door for a resurgence of the Taleban, and extremist forces like Al-Qaeda which the war was launched in 2001 to quell. A total withdrawal would also leave Obama with the question of whether he squandered the sacrifice of nearly 2,300 US troops in Afghanistan. It could also condemn the country to the same post-US torment as Iraq. But Obama is also adamant that there will be no troops left in Afghanistan if they are not offered the legal protections that the BSA provides - and there remains a suspicion that some officials would welcome the chance to wash their hands of Afghanistan.

A delay in the US-Afghan BSA is also problematic for US NATO partners who must conclude their own status of forces agreements with Karzai. Many analysts believe that Karzai will not ultimately allow his nation to be left alone to its fate and believe he will sign in the end. One option may be just to wait Karzai out, said Michael O’Hanlon, a senior military analyst at the Brookings Institution. “The better part of wisdom here is just to relax, time will make it a lot easier,” O’Hanlon said, arguing that the true answer to the conundrum was to stress the long-term interests of the Afghan people and not Karzai’s personal pique.

Caroline Wadhams, of the Center for American Progress, just back from Afghanistan, suggested Karzai had miscalculated his nation’s strategic importance to Washington - and convinced himself that Obama would make further concessions because Washington is desperate to stay. “It is not clear what he wants. I don’t know how you negotiate with him,” she said, adding that Washington needed to convince Karzai, “this is it, we are not doing this anymore.” —AFP

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2013

S P ORTS

Overweight Solis stripped of the WBA superfly title

Kim Yu-Na steps back

Jimenez wary of threat

TOKYO: WBA super flyweight champion Liborio Solis has been stripped of his belt after failing to make the weight for a unification title bout against IBF holder Daiki Kameda yesterday, the Japan Boxing Commission said. The bout will take place later Tuesday as scheduled at the Bodymaker Colosseum in Osaka, western Japan. If Japan’s Kameda, 24, beats his Venezuelan opponent, he will own both titles. If he loses, they will be vacant. If the match ends in a draw, the Japanese boxer will retain his International Boxing Federation title but the World Boxing Association title will remain vacant, the commission said. In his first weigh-in on Monday, the 31year-old Solis was 1.4 kilograms above the 52.1 kg limit. Solis was still 1.1 kg overweight in his second weigh-in an hour later and he refused to step on the scales for a third time inside the two-hour time limit to make the weight.—AFP

SEOUL: South Korea’s two-time world figure skating champion Kim YuNa said yesterday she had chosen a relaxed return to competition as she resumes her preparations for the Winter Olympics following an injury. “I think I should be able to skate more relaxed than in the past,” the reigning Olympic champion told reporters before departing for Croatia to take part in her first competitive outing of the season, the relatively marginal “Golden Spin” event in Zagreb. The 23-year-old has been kept off the ice by a metatarsal injury in her right foot that she sustained in September. Kim said she has been slowly working herself back to competitive shape in an attempt to peak in time for the Olympics in Sochi in February. “I started my season later than others, and I’ve worked that much harder to make up for the lost time,” Yonhap news agency quoted Kim as saying. “The biggest goal is to skate clean programs and leave a good impression, and also give myself good memories. The Zagreb event is not as big as a Grand Prix stop, and I hope to stay relaxed on the ice.” The South Korean superstar had made a competitive return in December last year after a break of more than 18 months from the sport. — AFP

HONG KONG: Miguel Angel Jimenez denied yesterday he was a shoo-in to successfully defend his Hong Kong Open title because golf’s biggest stars had decided to skip the tournament for other events. The veteran Spaniard is this week bidding for a fourth victory in the southern Chinese city, but insisted his task had not been made easier by the absence of the likes of 2011 champion Rory McIlroy. The $1.3 million Hong Kong Open, which runs from Thursday until Sunday, clashes with the $6.5 million NedBank Golf Challenge in South Africa and a Tiger Woods-hosted competition in California.

Without a title sponsor to boost the prize fund and appearance money, many of the game’s top players have opted to miss the European Tour event at the Hong Kong Golf Club in Fanling. “It’s a pity we don’t have more weeks in the year,” 49-year-old Jimenez said, adding that the schedule is “very, very tight”. “It is very important for the tournament to have all the big names but it’s very tough when you have different tournaments in the same week. — AFP

Tigers trade RHP Fister to Nationals for three players

CONNECTICUT: Patric Young #4 of the Florida Gators goes up to dunk the ball in front of DeAndre Daniels #2 of the Connecticut Huskies in the second half during the game at Harry A Gampel Pavilion on December 2, 2013. — AFP

No 24 Gonzaga crush Fairfield SPOKANE: Haiden Palmer led four starters in double figures with 18 points as No 24 Gonzaga coasted to an 82-42 win over Fairfield Monday night. The Bulldogs (5-1) were ahead 27-21 whey went on a 15-0 run to close the first half to double up the Stags (3-3) 42-21 and were never threatened. Gonzaga continued the run by scoring the first eight points of the second half.

Sunny Greinacher scored 14 points, Lindsay Sherbert had 13 and Keani Albanez 11. The Bulldogs shot 52.3 percent, 56 from 3’s (9-16) and forced Fairfield in 22 turnovers, good for 30 points. GU point guard Jazmine Redmon missed her three shots but had 6 assists and 5 steals. The Zags had just six turnovers. Fairfield was led by Katie Cizynski with 17 points. After a hot start, the Stags cooled off, shooting 40.5.

They were also out-rebounded 34-29 after matching Gonzaga early.

No 12 Connecticut beat No 15 Florida STORRS: Shabazz Napier is the top player on No 12 Connecticut and is one of the most clutch players in the nation. The point guard, who led the undefeated Huskies to another win Monday night with a buzzer-beating jumper, has higher comparisons in mind. “Growing up I wanted to be Superman. Everyone wants to be a hero,” he said, surrounded by media after a lovefest with the UConn fans in Gampel Pavilion. “I just felt I was fortunate enough to be in the right spot at the right time.” That would have been the free throw line, where he gathered a loose ball after teammate DeAndre Daniels tipped back Napier’s miss of an off balance shot and buried a jumper at the buzzer to give the Huskies a 65-64 victory over No 15 Florida. “It went in slow motion,” said Napier, who scored 26 points and made a fourpoint play with 33 seconds to go. “Point nine.

Point eight. I just tried to shoot the ball as quick as I can but still shoot it regular. As soon as I let it go I felt it was going in.” Napier, limping a bit on a left ankle he hurt while making the four-point play, escaped a trap around 30 feet from the basket, recovered the ball and got off a wild shot that missed but was tipped blindly back by Daniels. “I was just trying to get a tip-in in case he missed,” Daniels said. “I guess I glanced it a little bit but what an amazing player Shabazz is. He hit a great shot. He willed his team to win that game.

He never gave up. The heart that kid has.

DETROIT: The busy Detroit Tigers traded righthander Doug Fister to the Washington Nationals for three players Monday night in a deal between teams with deep rotations. Detroit acquired infielder Steve Lombardozzi, minor league lefty Robbie Ray and reliever Ian Krol for Fister, a 14-game winner for the AL Central champions. Tigers president and general manager Dave Dombrowski said the trade was not done to save money in hopes of keeping Max Scherzer beyond next season.

“It gives us some flexibility for some other things we want to do,” he said on a conference call. Dombrowski said dealing Fister did not have anything to do with his hope to give Scherzer, the AL Cy Young Award winner, a new contract before he becomes a free agent following the 2014 season. “I don’t think that plays into it at all at this point,” Dombrowski insisted.

Detroit has had an active offseason so far, and Dombrowski said he isn’t done making moves, saying his top priority is to add a closer.

The Tigers traded slugging first baseman Prince Fielder and his $214 million contract two weeks ago to the Texas Rangers in part to potentially save more than $75 million, giving them even more financial flexibility. They got second baseman Ian Kinsler for Fielder in the swap of All-Stars. They also allowed All-Star shortstop Jhonny Peralta to leave as a free agent for St. Louis after replacing him during last season with rookie Jose Iglesias just before Peralta was suspended for 50 games in the Biogenesis drug scandal. “We’re not cutting payroll whatsoever,” Dombrowski said. The Tigers did agree to a $1 million, one-year contract with utility player Don Kelly that avoids arbitration

earlier Monday. Kelly played six positions for the Tigers last season at all three spots in the outfield along with third, second and first base while hitting .222 with six homers and 23 RBIs. Fister will likely replace Dan Haren in the Nationals’ rotation and join Stephen Strasburg, Jordan Zimmermann and Gio Gonzalez. The 29year-old Fister was 14-9 with a 3.67 ERA last season and was 32-20 in two-plus seasons in Detroit, which acquired him in a trade from the Seattle Mariners. He struck out an AL-record nine batters in a row against the Kansas City Royals late in the 2012 season.

The 6-foot-8 Fister fared well in the postseason, even when he was hit in the head by a line drive. He shook off the scary moment in Game 2 of the 2012 World Series against San Francisco and took a shutout bid into the seventh inning in what ended up being a 2-0 loss to the Giants.

Over three postseasons with the Tigers, he had a 2.98 ERA in seven starts and a relief appearance. “He’s been a very solid pitcher for us since the day we got him,” Dombrowski said. “He has pitched well in big games.”

Dombrowski said he’s not surprised at least some Tigers fans weren’t happy when they trade was announced because the team traded the “known for the unknown.” “People in general don’t like those type of moves,” he said. The Tigers still have Scherzer, Justin Verlander and Anibal Sanchez atop their rotation. “This is an exciting day for the Washington Nationals,” general manager Mike Rizzo said in a statement.

“We feel we’ve added a talented, young veteran to our starting pitching corps. Doug is battletested through playoff experiences, and the depth he brings to our staff is exceptional. We

are thrilled to welcome him aboard.”

The 22-year-old Ray was 6-3 with a 3.11 ERA for Class A Potomac and was 5-2 with a 3.72 ERA for Double-A Harrisburg, giving the Tigers a pitcher they think will start the season at TripleA Toledo with the ability to possibly pitch in the majors if needed in 2014. Krol made his major league debut in June for the Nationals after they acquired him from Oakland. The 22-yearold lefty was 2-1 with a 3.95 ERA in 32 games in Washington.

The 25-year-old Lombardozzi hit .259 with two homers and 22 RBIs in 118 games for the Nationals last season. The switch-hitting sparkplug played 48 games at second base, 23 in left field and four games at third base in 2013. He will replace Ramon Santiago on Detroit’s roster next season. “This was not an easy trade for (the Nationals) to make, either,” Dombrowski said.

Washington went into the offseason hoping to add another starter it could count after having some uneven results from Haren last season and Edwin Jackson in 2012. Both of those righthanders were seen as short-term solutions and they ended up leaving as free agents after pitching for the Nationals for one season.

Haren essentially replaced Jackson. Fister now essentially replaces Haren, who recently signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers after going 10-14 with a 4.67 ERA for Washington.

Also, the Nationals and Ross Ohlendorf agreed to a $1.25 million, one-year contract. The righthander went 4-1 with a 3.28 ERA in 16 games, seven star ts, last season. The 30-year-old Princeton star can earn up to $3 million in bonuses tied to starts, innings pitched and relief appearances.—AP

Everybody on the team follows his lead.”

No 12 South Carolina whip NC Central 79-27 COLUMBIA: Tiffany Mitchell scored 19 points to lead red-hot No 12 South Carolina to a 79-27 win over North Carolina Central on Monday, giving coach Dawn Staley her 100th win early in her sixth season. The Gamecocks (8-0) shot 58.5 percent. Mitchell was 7-9, backup Alaina Coates was 7 of 8 for 15 points and Aleighsa Welch was 6-6 for 13 points. Raquel Davis had 14 points for the Bulldogs (4-3). NC Central shot just 16 percent (8-50), including 1-14 from 3-point range.

Staley is only the seventh head coach in South Carolina’s 40 years of playing women’s basketball and the fourth to win at least 100 games.

South Carolina made short work of the Bulldogs, shooting 69.2 percent while rolling to a 46-15 halftime lead. The Gamecocks scored the first five points and then went on a 15-0 run for a 26-4 lead at the 8:18 mark.

No 17 Iowa State pounds Auburn AMES: Dustin Hogue set career highs with 22 points and 16 rebounds, and 17th-ranked Iowa State pounded Auburn 99-70 on Monday night for its sixth straight win. Melvin Ejim added 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Cyclones (6-0), who are the Big 12’s last unbeaten team. Iowa State used a 27-5 run midway through the first half to build a 15-point lead. It jumped ahead by as much as 60-33 early in the second half in cruising to its fourth win by at least 29 points. Chris Denson had 27 points for Auburn (4-2), which shot 35.5 percent and got beat on the boards 47-36. Hogue, a 6-foot-6 junior from Yonkers, NY, averaged 12.9 points and 5.4 rebounds last season at junior college power Indian Hills Community College in Iowa. He was averaging 10 points and a team-high 8.6 boards for the Cyclones, but he quickly moved past those numbers against the Tigers. Hogue had 11 points and 10 rebounds in the first 111/2 minutes, keying that huge Cyclones run that put them ahead 32-17 with 5:57 left in the first half. Hogue hit 6 of 7 shots in the first 20 minutes in leading Iowa State to a 47-28 lead.

Auburn had won four of its first five games, a stretch that included a 19-point loss to Northwestern State.

Worries for Myanmar as competition starts NAYPYIDAW: Empty seats and security concerns top the list of worries as Myanmar gears up for the Southeast Asian Games, the biggest sports event ever held in the former pariah state. Thousands of athletes, officials, fans and media will converge for the Games, which are slowly getting under way ahead of the opening ceremony on December 11.

Two years after the end of military rule and the lifting of Western sanctions, Myanmar is hoping to shine in the international spotlight during the 22day event.

But officials are also keen to avoid the spectacle of empty venues in the new national capital, Naypyidaw, and any security threat from Myanmar’s various rebel groups. Logistical hurdles also loom including an expected lack of hotel rooms to accommodate the expected 6,000 athletes and 3,000 media, plus officials and fans. While not quite on the scale of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, China’s bold statement of arrival, the Games mark an important moment for Myanmar’s image and prestige. Myanmar, a founding member of the competition, has not played host since 1969, since when its deteriorating economy has forced it to take a back seat. The country is now desperate to put on a good show for its neighbors at the tournament, which is held every two years and is one of the region’s sporting highlights. As final preparations continued around Naypyidaw, the capital built under military rule, Vice President Nyan Tun called on athletes to “strive for a golden age of Myanmar sports”.

He said the onus was on “improving the reputation of the country and making history to be regarded as sporting heroes”, according to an official release. Myanmar is one of Southeast Asia’s poorest countries, with about a third of the population of in poverty, meaning expectations are set reasonably low. But Myanmar will hope to improve on the last edition in Indonesia in 2011, which was plagued by corruption and delays and finished with a deadly stampede among fans at the men’s foot-

ball final. Chief among organizers’ concerns will be flare-ups in ethnic unrest after bomb blasts and clashes in parts of the country in recent weeks.

“Thousands of athletes and officials and also thousands of fans will come,” a senior police official told AFP. “Although we tried our best for security with enough numbers, I’m a little bit nervous.”

Organizers have tried to fill seats at the brand-new venues in Naypyidaw (“Royal City of the Sun”) by offering free tickets for all events apart from football. However, with residents in short supply at the sprawling and far-flung capital, whose huge boulevards are often devoid of traffic, swathes of empty seats are likely. And although officials insist preparations are complete, worries persist over how Myanmar will accommodate all the visitors. “Hotel rooms cannot be enough because many foreigners and many visitors will come,” a government official, who did not want to be named, told AFP. “Tens of thousands of people will join the events. Hopefully

everything can be done smoothly.

Cooperation between ministries is very weak,” he said. Naypyidaw will host most of the Games, while the former capital Yangon, 300 kilometers south, has men’s football, body-building, weightlifting and kempo, a martial art. Competition is already under way in an eclectic roster which ranges from Olympic staples such as swimming and athletics to home-grown disciplines all but unknown outside the region. Chinlone, a Myanmar sport involving delicate foot control of a wicker ball, is one of the opening events, as is the Indonesian-origin martial art of pencak silat. Vovinam, an acrobatic Vietnamese fighting sport, is another on the list and among the 460 gold medals on offer, 11 are for petanque, a legacy of French colonialism in the region. For the formal opening ceremony on December 11, up to 30,000 spectators including heads of state will be present at Naypyidaw’s Wunna Theikdi Stadium.— AFP

NAYPYIDAW: Myanmar police officers pictured outside the sport center ahead of the Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) in Naypyidaw. — AFP

MLB teams face deadline to offer deals NEW YORK: As Scott Kazmir and Willie Bloomquist found new teams and other big-money free agents negotiated, dozens of Major League Baseball players with lower profiles waited to find out whether they would be dumped on the market by their clubs Monday night. MLB teams had until midnight EST (0500 GMT Tuesday) to offer 2014 contracts to unsigned players on their 40-man rosters.

Once a player receives a contract offer, his team no longer can release him before the start of the season without giving him termination pay. That means a club would be responsible for about onesixth of the salary, which could be a large

amount if the player is eligible for arbitration.

Clubs often use the so-called tender deadline as leverage to force agreements with players they won’t go to arbitration with. Among the players let loose were Boston Red Sox right-hander Andrew Bailey and outfielder Ryan Kalish, New York Mets right-hander Jeremy Hefner and Kansas City Royals infielder Chris Getz. There were pair of trades as the deadline approached. Washington obtained right-hander Doug Fister from Detroit for infielder Steve Lombardozzi and left-handers Robbie Ray and Ian Krol.

Fister was 14-9 with a 3.67 ERA last sea-

son for the American League Central division champions, who last month traded slugging first baseman Prince Fielder to Texas for second baseman Ian Kinsler.

“It gives us some flexibility for some other things we want to do,” Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski said, insisting the trade wasn’t made to free money for a long-term deal for AL Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer, who can leave the Tigers after next season. With an excess of catching after reaching an agreement to sign Brian McCann, the New York Yankees traded Chris Stewart to Pittsburgh for a player to be named. The Yankees also finalized a $5 million, two-

year contract with shortstop Brendan Ryan, who became their starter in September when Derek Jeter went back on the disabled list.

Kazmir was closing in on a $22 million, two-year contract with the Oakland Athletics. The deal is pending a physical examination, a person familiar with the situation said, speaking of anonymity because the team hadn’t finalized the deal. The 29-year-old left-hander went 10-9 with a 4.04 ERA in 29 starts and 158 innings last season for Cleveland. The Athletics probably won’t pursue a new deal for 40-year-old Bartolo Colon.

Bloomquist agreed to return to Seattle

pending a physical expected to take place later this week, a baseball official with knowledge of the deal said, also speaking on condition of anonymity because the deal wasn’t final. Bloomquist spent his first seven MLB seasons with Seattle and the past three with Arizona, hitting .317 for the Diamondbacks this year. Catcher Dioner Navarro agreed to an $8 million, two-year contract with Toronto. The 29-year old batted .300 with a career-high 13 homers and 34 RBIs for the Chicago Cubs last season. An MLB AllStar in 2008, he has not played more than 89 games in a season since 2009 because of injuries.— AP

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2013

S P ORTS

Cook, Dhoni grab captains of ICC teams of the year awards MUMBAI: England captain Alastair Cook has received a welcome boost ahead of this week’s Ashes clash against Australia after he was named sk ipper of the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) test team of the year yesterday. The lefthanded opener’s England team mates Graeme Swann and James Anderson were also included in the 11-man team while world number one test side South Africa were represented by four players.

South Africa paceman Dale Steyn was included in the test side for the sixth consecutive year, while two players each from Australia and India made up the remaining four slots. Cook took over as captain after Andrew Strauss quit last year and led England to a series win in India, ending a barren run of 28 years, as well as home series victories over New Zealand and Australia in the year’s first Ashes series.

England face Australia in the second test of the return Ashes series in Adelaide on Thursday, where the holders will be hoping to bounce back after being thrashed by 381 runs in the opener of the five-match series in Brisbane last month. Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who led India to the Champions Trophy victory in June, was named captain of ICC’s one-day international team. “It is always tough to decide on the test and ODI teams of the year, with so many worthy candidates to consider based on the players’ performances between Aug. 7 2012 and Aug. 25 2013,” ICC awards

selection panel chairman Anil Kumble said in a statement.

“The selection panel had a lengthy debate on all the top performers during the performance period and a number of combinations were considered. “The selectors did utilise a vast amount of statistics from the period under observation, but we also took into account other factors like the opposition, pitch conditions, match situation and the like. “But when you have only 12 places to fill from a big group of world-class players, there will always be a few who will miss out.”

DHONI SATISFIED Dhoni, who found place in the 50over side for the sixth successive year, also won the ICC ’s people’s choice award ahead of Cook, Australia’s Michael Clarke, Virat Kohli of India and South Africa’s AB de Viliers. “This is one of the awards that has given me tremendous satisfaction, since it comes from the key stakeholders of the game the fans,” Dhoni said in a statement.

“Recognition from the people who support and encourage us day in and day out, only inspires me to put in that much more, and go the extra mile for them. I would like to thank all those people who have voted in my favor.”

Cook and Dhoni also made the short-list of nominees for the ICC cricketer of the year award along with Anderson, South Africa batsman Hashim Amla and Clarke. —Reuters

England facing a critical challenge ADELAIDE: England face a critical challenge to their four-year Ashes reign in the second Test against Australia starting in Adelaide tomorrow against a re-energized home team looking to drive home their advantage. Alastair Cook’s tourists were swept away by the Mitchell Johnson-inspired home side in the first Test, going down by the enormous margin 381 runs in a match overshadowed by a sledging barrage from Australian captain Michael Clarke.

It was England’s first defeat in 14 Tests since losing to India in Ahmedabad a year ago, but another loss in Adelaide could prove an insurmountable blow in their bid to hold on to the Ashes after three successive series wins dating back to 2009. England urgently need to regroup after wilting under Australia’s bowling and verbal barrage in Brisbane, their task made all the more difficult by having to find a replacement at number three following the shock departure of Jonathan Trott with a stress-related illness.

The choice to fill Trott’s spot is between 94-Test veteran Ian Bell and the inexperienced Joe Root, with Zimbabweborn Gary Ballance likely to slot in at number six after his innings of 55 in Alice Springs in a tour game last week.

England batting coach and former Test captain Graham Gooch was pragmatic about whoever is chosen to fill the crucial number three slot. “You’ve got to handle it,” he said. “That’s part of sport.

You’ve got to adapt.”

England must find a way to cope with the hostile bowling of Johnson, who was man-of-the-match in Brisbane with a nine-wicket haul, helping dismiss the tourists for 136 and 179. The left-armer is vowing more of the short stuff but will have different bowling conditions on a drop-in pitch as Adelaide Oval undergoes a transformation into a multi-purpose stadium. The ground curator said

Photo of the day

the pitch would offer early spice, prime batting for the five-day duration and reverse swing late in the game England say they have no problem with Australia’s incessant insults after skipper Clarke was fined by the International Cricket Council for telling England’s Jimmy Anderson to expect a broken arm during the Brisbane Test.”I have absolutely no problem about any of what the Australians were doing on the field,” Anderson wrote in Britain’s Mail on Sunday newspaper. “I probably dish it out more than most in the field, so I generally get it back more than most. I expect it and accept it.”

Australian opener Chris Rogers is promising more aggression in Adelaide after the home side won their first Test since beating Sri Lanka in January. “They probably haven’t been challenged like that for a while and to have someone like Mitch (Johnson) bowling that fast is great for us. Perhaps they were a little bit rattled and we can use that for the rest of the series,” he said. England will be looking to their batsmen to post a huge first innings total at the Adelaide Oval, much like they did three years ago when captain Cook (148) and Kevin Pietersen (227) combined to lead the tourists to a daunting 620 for five declared.

Cook’s team went on to inflict an innings and 71-run victory over Australia at the ground-renowned for big scoresto take the second Test on their way to a 3-1 series victory. Michael Clarke’s 230 against South Africa in Adelaide last year was the fourth highest Test score at the famous ground behind Don Bradman’s unbeaten 299 and the Australia skipper has accumulated five tons in eight Adelaide Tests for a ground average of 100.82. The teams will not get much of a breather after Adelaide, with the third Test starting at Perth’s WACA ground just four days after the scheduled end of the match.— AFP

NHL results/standings Winnipeg 5, NY Rangers 2; Montreal 3, New Jersey 2; Minnesota 2, Philadelphia 0; Los Angeles 3, St. Louis 2.

Western Conference Pacific Division W L OTL GF GA PTS San Jose 18 3 5 92 60 41 Anaheim 18 7 4 91 77 40 Los Angeles 17 7 4 73 60 38 Phoenix 15 7 4 85 84 34 Vancouver 14 10 5 77 77 33 Calgary 9 13 4 70 93 22 Edmonton 9 17 2 73 95 20 Central Division Chicago 20 4 4 102 76 44 St. Louis 18 5 3 91 60 39 Colorado 19 6 0 76 52 38 Minnesota 16 8 5 70 67 37 Winnipeg 13 12 4 78 82 30 Nashville 13 11 3 62 75 29 Dallas 12 9 4 70 73 28 Eastern Conference Atlantic Division Boston 18 7 2 75 55 38 Montreal 16 9 3 76 59 35 Detroit 14 7 7 78 73 35 Tampa Bay 16 9 1 76 66 33 Toronto 14 10 3 75 73 31 Ottawa 10 13 4 78 90 24 Florida 7 15 5 59 91 19 Buffalo 6 20 2 48 85 14 Metropolitan Division Pittsburgh 18 9 1 86 64 37 Washington 14 11 2 82 78 30 NY Rangers 14 14 0 62 71 28 New Jersey 11 12 5 61 67 27 Philadelphia 12 13 2 57 65 26 Carolina 10 12 5 57 78 25 Columbus 10 14 3 67 80 23 NY Islanders 8 15 4 72 93 20 Note: Overtime losses (OTL) are worth one point in the standings and are not included in the loss column (L).

Competitors perform during Red Bull Flugtag at Museum Of Islamic Art in Doha, Qatar. — www.redbull.com

McCullum and Taylor tons put NZ in charge DUNEDIN: Brendon McCullum ended a barren run of scores and three-year century drought as he and Ross Taylor tore apart a weakened West Indies attack to drive the hosts to 367 for three at the close of the first day of the opening test yesterday. The 32-year-old McCullum, who last scored a test century in November 2010 and had accumulated just 85 runs in his previous four tests, was back to his aggressive best as he finished the day on 109 not out including 14 boundaries and three sixes.

Taylor was on 103, his ninth test century, as the pair added an unbroken 182 runs in a little under three years as the hosts plundered the under-powered West Indies bowling in the first contest of the three-match series. “He was back to the Brendon of old,” Taylor told reporters at University Oval in Dunedin. “The way he went about his innings, he let the ball come and once he got his eye in... he batted very well.”

McCullum came into the match under an injury cloud with reports suggesting he was contemplating retirement with a long-standing back problem that was not responding to treatment. The former wicketkeeper, who was seen doing stretching exercises when at the nonstriker’s end, however, did not appear to be too troubled as he built his innings. He was initially cautious having joined Taylor shortly before tea with the hosts on 185-3 and aware another quick wicket could have ended the good start provided by openers Hamish Rutherford (62) and Peter Fulton (61).

The aggressive McCullum, however, increased the tempo after the break as he scored 103 runs in the final session to beat Taylor to the century milestone by a few minutes. “Its been well documented that he has been under the pump after a lean patch... and it was a very special moment for him... but our jobs are not done yet,” Taylor said of the fact the pair would need to refocus when play resumed today. “We need to continue on come the morning... and hopefully a score of 500, 550 is realistic.”

BOWLING GAMBLE The visitors had gambled on the composition of their attack with Tino Best and Shannon Gabriel the only front-line pace bowlers with captain Darren Sammy taking the third seamer role. The punt failed to pay off on the first day, though, even after Sammy won the toss and asked the hosts to bat on one of the greenest wickets the West Indian skipper said he had seen. He had hoped his side would be able to utilise the lively strip and overcast conditions to

DUNEDIN: Brendon McCullum captain of New Zealand plays a shot during day one of the first international cricket test match between New Zealand and the West Indies yesterday. —AFP put the hosts on the back foot early. However, before tea, the hosts had looked slightly vulneranew-ball pairing Best and Gabriel failed to ble but Taylor and McCullum saw New Zealand exploit the conditions by bowling too short of a through to the break then attacked in the final length and Fulton and Rutherford put on 95 for session as the pitch flattened out. Shane the first wicket before the latter was dismissed Shillingford, who had been under a selection shortly before lunch. The West Indies’ only peri- cloud following bio-mechanical analysis of his od of dominance was for about an hour after action when he bowled his ‘doosra’, was the most the first interval, when a hostile Best dismissed economical of the visitors’ attack. The 30-year-old Aaron Redmond for 20 and peppered Taylor with had figures of 1-88 off 28 overs but was extracting little assistance from the pitch and got more a barrage of short-pitched deliveries.

When Fulton was dismissed about 15 minutes expensive as the day wore on.— Reuters

SCOREBOARD Scoreboard at the close of play on the first day of the first test between New Zealand and West Indies at University Oval in Dunedin yesterday.

West Indies won the toss and chose to bowl New Zealand first innings P. Fulton c Edwards b Sammy H. Rutherford c Deonarine b Shillingford A. Redmond c Samuels b Best R. Taylor not out B. McCullum not out Extras: lb-7, nb-1, b-4 Total: (for three wickets, 90 overs) Fall of wickets: 1-95 2-117 3-185

61 62 20 103 109 12 367

Still to bat: Corey Anderson, BJ Watling, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Neil Wagner, Trent Boult Bowling: Best 21-4-87-1, Gabriel 17-3-98-0, Sammy 18-368-1 (nb-1), Shillingford 28-5-88-1, Deonarine 6-0-15-0 West Indies: Darren Sammy (captain), Kieran Powell, Kirk Edwards, Darren Bravo, Marlon Samuels, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Narsingh Deonarine, Denesh Ramdin, Shane Shillingford, Tino Best, Shannon Gabriel.

Wild blank Flyers 2-0 ST PAUL: Jason Pominville and Charlie Coyle scored 57 seconds apart early in the third period, lifting the Minnesota Wild to a 2-0 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday night. The Wild and Flyers had combined for only 28 shots when Pominville collected Mikko Koivu’s pass in the crease and pushed it past a helpless Ray Emery 3:52 into the third period. On the ensuing shift, Coyle tapped a rebound off Jared Spurgeon’s slap shot into an empty corner at 4:49. It was an impressive and unexpected flurry in a game that had played out as the statistics predicted. When the puck dropped, the Wild’s 17 evenstrength goals allowed in 21 games led the NHL; and the Flyers had allowed two or fewer goals in 10 of their past 14 games.

Josh Harding stopped 21 shots to earn his third shutout of the season, robbing Jakub Voracek on a third-period power play.

JETS 5, RANGERS 2 Olli Jokinen broke a tie with 7:18 left in the third period and then netted an insurance goal moments later to lead Winnipeg to the win. Jokinen, a former Rangers player who also assisted on Devin Setoguchi’s tying goal in the second period, gathered the puck after a strange carom off the end boards. He then fired a shot past rookie Cam Talbot, who got a surprise second straight start over No 1 goalie Henrik Lundqvist. Jokinen then squeezed his sixth

of the season between Talbot’s pads with 1:54 left, making it 4-2. John Albert also scored in his NHL debut and Blake Wheeler added an empty-net goal in the final minute for Winnipeg, which got 35 saves from Ondrej Pavelec. Mats Zuccarello and Ryan Callahan scored for New York. Talbot made 25 saves.

in the final 5:54. Scrivens has given up fewer than three goals in each of his last 10 starts and has posted two shutouts since Quick went on injured reserve on Nov 12. Los

Angeles has allowed fewer than three goals in a franchise-record 13 consecutive games.

The streak includes a pair of 3-2 shootout losses to Buffalo and San Jose.— AP

CANADIENS 3, DEVILS 2 Alex Galchenyuk scored midway through the third period to help Montreal get the victory. Rene Bourque and Max Pacioretty also scored for the Canadiens.

Carey Price made 28 saves. Steve Bernier and Michael Ryder scored for the Devils, and Martin Brodeur stopped 14 shots.

Ryder tied it at 2 with a slap shot that got past Price at 4:42 in the third. But Galchenyuk responded five minutes later, picking up his seventh goal after Alexei Emelin’s shot landed on his stick. It was New Jersey’s first regulation loss at the Bell Centre since 2008.

KINGS 3, BLUES 2 Rookie Tyler Toffoli scored two goals, Jarret Stoll also tallied and Ben Scrivens made 25 saves in Los Angeles’ victory over St Louis. Scrivens, who has performed brilliantly in place of the injured Jonathan Quick, was heading toward his fourth shutout of the season when Kevin Shattenkirk and Vladimir Tarasenko scored

LOS ANGELES: St Louis Blues center David Backes (top) trips Los Angeles Kings left wing Dwight King during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Los Angeles on Monday, Dec 2, 2013. — AP

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2013

S P ORTS

Spurs down Hawks

Mexico’s coach Miguel Herrera

Mexico confirms Herrera as World Cup finals coach MEXICO CITY: Mexico have confirmed Miguel “Piojo” Herrera will coach the national squad at the World Cup finals in Brazil next year. The team’s fourth coach since September, Herrera led Mexico to victory in last month’s intercontinental playoff against New Zealand, which they won 9-3 on aggregate. The stocky former national team defender’s appointment, a foregone conclusion after his success in the playoff, was announced after a Mexican Football Federation (FMF) board meeting on Monday. “In the meeting, the proposal was put forward for Miguel Herrera as national team coach with the appointment of Ricardo Pelaez as sporting director,” national teams general manager Hector Gonzalez Inarritu said.

Herrera, whose previous appointment in mid-October was only for the two-leg playoff, will take up the job at the end of the Mexican Apertura championship on Dec 15. Mexican daily El Universal reported on its sports website (www.centraldeportiva.com) that the FMF planned to have Herrera stay on until the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

It quoted Gonzalez Inarritu as saying: “We want a good preparation for the World Cup. You know the contracts are without an end date, we like continuity.”

Mexico fired Jose Manuel de la Torre in September following a loss to Honduras, and his successor, Fernando Tena, stepped down after a defeat to the United States in their next qualifier. Victor Vucetich took over for the final two group games before being replaced by Herrera. Herrera’s club America, the defending champions, reached the semi-finals with a 1-1 draw at their Azteca home against UANL Tigres on Sunday. America went through on the away goals rule having drawn 2-2 at UANL

in the first leg and will meet Toluca.

The 45-year-old, known affectionately as Piojo (louse), a nickname common in Latin America for a small boy or man, took charge after Mexico came within minutes of missing out on the World Cup finals for the first time since 1990. Mexico, a traditional powerhouse in the CONCACAF (Confederation of North and Central America and the Caribbean), had underperformed in the region’s six-nation final qualifying group. Three coaches were sacked as Mexico’s hopes of reaching Brazil faded with poor results, especially at the Azteca.

The top three teams - United States, Costa Rica and Honduras booked automatic berths while Mexico and Panama were vying for fourth spot and the intercontinental playoff.

On the final day, Mexico were in fourth place, three points ahead of Panama, who had the better goals record. Mexico lost 2-1 at Costa Rica, meaning a Panama victory at home to the United States would have sent them through to the finals for the first time.

Panama led the United States 2-1 going into added time only to concede two goals in less than three minutes and lose 3-2, allowing Mexico to secure fourth place and enter the playoff against Oceania winners New Zealand.

Vucetich, in charge for the last two games, was sacked and Herrera appointed.

He overlooked Mexico’s top Europeanbased players such as striker Javier Hernandez of Manchester United and Giovani Dos Santos of Villarreal and instead picked a home-based squad. His team beat New Zealand 5-1 at the Azteca and won the return leg 4-2 in Wellington. Mexico will find out their World Cup group rivals in Friday’s draw in Brazil.—Reuters

SAN ANTONIO: Tim Duncan made a jumper with 0.4 seconds left to lift the San Antonio Spurs to a 102-100 victory over the Atlanta Hawks in the NBA on Monday. Duncan finished with 23 points and 21 rebounds as San Antonio dominated the middle against the younger and more athletic Atlanta front court. Boris Diaw had 16 points and Tiago Splitter finished with 11.

Atlanta had all five starters score in double figures. Jeff Teague had 19 points, Al Horford added 18 and DeMarre Carroll finished with 17.

The Hawks trailed 98-94 when Paul Millsap made a 3-pointer over Diaw with 17.5 seconds remaining. Manu Ginobili then made a pair of free throws for the Spurs, but Teague drained a 3 over Kawhi Leonard to tie it at 100 with 4.7 seconds left.

Curling off a pick, Duncan drained a jumper near the free-throw line to put San Antonio ahead to stay.

Millsap’s desperation jumper hit the side of the backboard. Tony Parker added 15 points for the Spurs.

Marco Belinelli had 13 and Ginobili finished with 10.

PELICANS 131, BULLS 128, 3OT Jrue Holiday made a three-point play with 2.6 seconds remaining in the third overtime Monday night, giving New Orleans the victory over Chicago. Holiday had 19 points and 12 assists for the Pelicans. He made an 18-footer with 3.9 seconds remaining in regulation to tie the score at 103 and force overtime.

Ryan Anderson had a career-high 36 points on 12-of-20 shooting, including 7 for 11 on 3-pointers. Eric Gordon added 23 points for New Orleans. Luol Deng led the Bulls with 37 points and also had eight rebounds and seven assists.

TRAIL BLAZERS 106, PACERS 102 LaMarcus Aldridge had 28 points and 10 rebounds and Damian Lillard finished with 26 points to help Portland end Indiana’s seven-game winning. Paul George had a careerhigh 43 points for Pacers (16-2), who own the NBA’s best record. The Blazers pulled in front until early in the fourth quarter but the Pacers kept it close, and George hit consecutive 3-pointers that narrowed it to 98-96 with 1:37 left. Lillard answered with a 3-pointer and Nicolas Batum made a pair of free throws for the Blazers before George hit another 3pointer that got Indiana within 10399 with 21 seconds to go. Lillard hit free throws and George made yet another 3 with 10 seconds to go to make it 105-102, but the Pacers couldn’t get closer. The Blazers have

Rock-bottom Betis sack coach Mel, hire Garrido MADRID: Real Betis have sacked coach Pepe Mel after the club’s poor start to the season left them bottom of La Liga after 15 matches and appointed former Villarreal and Club Bruges coach Juan Carlos Garrido in his place. Seville-based Betis finished seventh last season and qualified for the Europa League but competing in two competitions appears to have taken a toll on the squad and they have won just two La Liga games and have only 10 points.

“The board of directors, after extensive deliberation, has decided to dispense with the services of Pepe Mel as coach of Real Betis,” president Miguel Guillen said on the club’s website (www.realbetisbalompie.es).

“It is a sad and painful decision with the sole objective of ending the run of poor results that we have been suffering for

many weeks,” he added. Garrido was dismissed by Villarreal after they were eliminated from the King’s Cup 3-1 on aggregate by third-tier side Mirandes in Dec. 2011.

The 44-year-old worked at the club for more than a decade and coached junior teams before taking the top job. He was sacked by Belgian side Bruges in September after just 10 months in charge and following their exit from the qualifying round of the Europa League. Mel, 50, a colourful character who writes mystery novels in his spare time, took charge at Betis in 2010 and helped them win promotion back to the top flight in his first season.

He has also had stints at Tenerife, Getafe and Rayo Vallecano and bade a tearful farewell at a news conference after Betis announced his exit.—Reuters

won 13 of their last 14 games.

JAZZ 109, ROCKETS 103 Marvin Williams scored five points in the final two minutes and Gordon Hayward broke out of a shooting slump to score 29 points as Utah beat Houston to earn its first back-to-back wins of the season. With Utah clinging to a 101-98 lead, Williams stole James Harden’s pass and raced down for a dunk with 2 minutes left. Williams then hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 59 seconds to go to boost the lead to 108-100. Rookie Trey Burke posted career highs of 21 points and six assists for Utah, which shot 54 percent and made 10 of 17 from beyond the arc. Harden had 15 of his season-best 37 points in the fourth quarter to keep the Rockets close, but they couldn’t get enough defensive stops. Dwight Howard had 15 points as Houston lost for only the second time in its last 10 games.

WIZARDS 98, MAGIC 80 Trevor Ariza scored 24 points and John Wall had 16 points and 13 assists as Washington beat Orlando to get to .500 in the standings for the first time since it split its first four games of the 2009-10 season.

Nene scored 14 points and Marcin Gortat finished with 13 for Washington (9-9). With top scorer Bradley Beal out of the lineup for the fifth straight game due to injury, Ariza supplied the offense, hitting 8 of 9 from the field, including four 3pointers. Arron Afflalo scored 21 points for Orlando, and Victor Oladipo added 13 points and six rebounds.—AP

WASHINGTON: Orlando Magic guard Victor Oladipo (5) shoots under Washington Wizards center Marcin Gortat (4), from Poland, in the first half of an NBA basketball game on Monday, Dec 2, 2013. — AP

NBA results/standings Washington 98, Orlando 80; New Orleans 131 Chicago 128 (OT); San Antonio 102, Atlanta 100; Utah 109, Houston 103; Portland 106, Indiana 102.

Toronto Boston Philadelphia Brooklyn NY Knicks

W 6 7 6 5 3

Indiana Chicago Detroit Cleveland Milwaukee

16 7 7 5 3

Miami Washington Atlanta Charlotte Orlando

14 9 9 8 6

Eastern Conference Atlantic Division L 10 12 12 12 13 Central Division 2 9 10 12 13 Southeast Division 3 9 10 10 11

PCT .375 .368 .333 .294 .188

GB 0.5 1 1.5 3

.889 .438 .412 .294 .188

8 8.5 10.5 12

LA Clippers Golden State Phoenix LA Lakers Sacramento

.824 .500 .474 .444 .353

5.5 6 6.5 8

San Antonio Houston Dallas New Orleans Memphis

Portland Oklahoma City Denver Minnesota Utah

Western Conference Northwest Division 15 3 .833 12 3 .800 10 6 .625 9 10 .474 4 15 .211 Pacific Division 12 6 .667 10 8 .556 9 8 .529 9 9 .500 4 11 .267 Southwest Division 15 3 .833 13 6 .684 10 8 .556 9 8 .529 8 8 .500

2 2.5 3 6.5 2.5 5 5.5 6

Children used as ‘flare mules’ LONDON: Children as young as eight are being used to smuggle banned pyrotechnic devices into Premier League football grounds, according to research published yesterday. A survey of 1,635 supporters commissioned by the Premier League found that a third of fans had been directly affected by flares and that 86 percent felt concerned for their safety. There has been a rise in incidents involving pyrotechnics at Premier League matches in recent seasons, with an assistant referee hit by a smoke bomb thrown from the stands during a game at Aston Villa in October. The research also revealed that CCTV footage at one Premier League ground showed a young boy handing out fireworks to adults from a rucksack. The Premier League, the Football League and the Football Association are launching a campaign to remind supporters that it is illegal to bring such items to matches. “A disturbing element of increased pyrotechnics has been the involvement of chil-

dren,” the Premier League said in a statement. “It is not uncommon for ‘mules’ to bring the pyrotechnics into a ground on behalf of others, and in one incident at a Premier League match last season a child aged around eight was observed aiding those involved in pyrotechnic use. “The child came into the ground with pyrotechnics in his rucksack and was then seen passing them to members of an adult group who let them off inside the ground.”

The use of pyrotechnics in English football has risen sharply in the last three years, with eight incidents reported in 2010-11, 72 in 2011-12, 172 in 2012-13, and 96 incidents recorded to date this season. Britain’s Policing Minister Damian Green warned: “Football fans might see images of football grounds in other parts of Europe full of smoke and light caused by pyrotechnic devices and think that they create a good atmosphere-but they do not.

“Flares are very dangerous and can cause severe injuries. We are very lucky that no one has been

seriously injured or killed by a flare here for a long time.” Nine people have been injured by fireworks thrown at grounds in England in the last 18 months, while fans from clubs including Manchester United and Chelsea have issued football banning orders this year for using or possessing smoke bombs. World governing body FIFA is also investigating the use of flares during a World Cup qualifying match between England and Poland at Wembley Stadium in October.

In February, a 14-year-old Bolivian boy was killed by a flare during a Copa Libertadores match in Bolivia. “It’s the biggest concern we’ve got among fans at the moment,” Cathy Long, head of supporter services at the Premier League, told the BBC. “There have been incidents across the world where people have had bad injuries or died. We’ve been lucky that our leagues haven’t had such major issues yet, but we want to stop that from happening.”—AFP

KIFF League matches KUWAIT: The 12th round of the KIFF League matches was held on MOH grounds at Sabah Hospital on 29th November 2013 for the Late J P D’Mello Rolling Trophy with YRC Rising Stars holding United Friends Club to a goalless draw, Kerala Challengers beating GOA Maroons 1-0, AVC - Kuwait defeating Santos United 2-0, and Don Bosco routing UG 8-0.

In the first match between YRC Rising Stars and UFC, both the teams played an attacking game but could not breach each others defense to sound the scoreboard in the first half.

The second half saw UFC mounting

1.5 4 6.5 11.5

pressure but Rising Stars goalkeeper pulled off some superb saves to keep UFC forwards at bay and the match ended in an attacking goalless draw.

Rising Stars goalkeeper was awarded the Man of the Match for his fine performance and given away by Christopher Fernandes.

In the second match the two qualification hopefuls in group B, GOA Maroons and Kerala Challengers clashed. Kerala Challengers went ahead in the first half when GOA Maroons goalkeeper fumbled and allowed the ball to sneak in. GOA Maroons tried in vain for the equalizer, but Kerala

Challengers defense held firm and the match ended 1-0 in favor of Kerala Challengers. Man of the Match went to Kerala Challengers player which was handed over by Sarto Baptista.

In the third match AVC - Kuwait took on Santos United. AVC dominated the first half and were unlucky not to forge ahead as Augusto, Ismael and Savio went perilously close. In the second AVC - Kuwait once again dominated and deservedly took the lead when Agnel Mar tin scored. The lead was strengthened further by Leslie of AVC when his well placed grounder gave no

chance to the rival goalkeeper. The match ended 2-0 in favour of AVC Kuwait. Ismael of AVC was adjudged the Man of the Match and given away

by Antony Rebello.

The last match of the day was a completely one sided affair between DBO and UG. DBO scored 3 goals in the first half and could have scored more.

Any chance of UG comeback in the second half was nullified by DBO and the second half turned out a nightmare for UG as DBO scored at will and the match ended 8-0 in favor of DBO. Olivera was awarded the Man of the Match and

handed over by the Vice - President of UG. The matches were supervised by IFRA officials. Man of the Match awards for the KIFF League are sponsored by United Steel Industrial Company. The customary housie snowball was conducted by Mr. Bernard Fernandes with the prize of air ticket sponsored by Al Qattan Travels. The schedule of KIFF League matches for 6th December 2013 is as follows: At 6.45am Skynet R aiders v/s Cur torcares. 7.45am Malabar United v/s Santos United.

8.45am DHL v/s Indian Strikers. 9.45am AVC — Kuwait v/s FC Sparx.

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2013

S P ORTS

Ba backed to play key Chelsea role

Brendan Rodgers

Title burden sitting well with Rodgers LIVERPOOL: Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers insisted his side can cope with the growing expectancy at Anfield as he urged them to return to winning ways against Norwich City. The Reds have been labeled as potential Champions League qualifiers, and even outside Premier League title contenders after an impressive start to the campaign.

Liverpool suffered a surprise 3-1 defeat by Hull City in their last Premier League outing after a lacklustre display at the KC Stadium, which acted as a stark reminder that Rodgers’s side are far from the finished article.

The Reds have never lost two league games in succession since the Northern Irishman was appointed, though, and he backed his players to respond positively against Norwich today. “The expectancy here is to win every game,” Rodgers said. “That’s the reality of being a Liverpool player or manager. Over the course of this year, we’ve been very good.

“We’ve upgraded on a lot of parts of our performance that we wanted to do. We’ve got an exciting team. “In the time I’ve been here, we’ve never lost two games on the spin, and that’s really down to the positivity of the players and how they can bounce back and recover after a defeat. “You can’t dwell on it. You’ve got to refocus and reset and go again, and that’s what we will look to do. “I always have to look at the bigger picture and, for me, the bigger picture is still very bright. We just need to get over the disappointment-which we will do. We can cope with the pressure here.”

Rodgers is poised to include Brazilian midfielder Philippe Coutinho in his starting lineup after he played just under 30 minutes in the 3-1 defeat against Hull City but striker Daniel Sturridge (ankle) has been ruled out for six weeks. “Coutinho allows you to penetrate-I think that was one of the things that was missing from our performance (against Hull),” Rodgers added. “We were too slow and too predictable. Then when he came onto the pitch, people started to run beyond and get forward because he plays the forward pass.

“Daniel is going to be out for a period of time, but we’ll cope. It’s the responsibility of everyone. We can’t rely on one player-it has to be about the team and that’s what we’ll focus on. “The responsibility is for the people coming in and for the rest of the team. We have to find a different way of getting the result and I’m confident, as I see enough of the players every day, to know that we will fight in order to do that.”

Norwich City manager Chris Hughton challenged his players to improve on their away form at Anfield. The Canaries have only won one of their six matches away from Carrow Road this season, losing the other five and conceding 16 goals in the process. “We want to make amends because apart from a very, very good performance at Stoke we’ve been disappointing away from home,” Hughton said. Hughton has no fresh injury concerns ahead of the match and urged his side to build some momentum following their 1-0 win over Crystal Palace last time out, having had something of a stop-start campaign.

Two of Norwich’s four victories in the Premier League followed the international break, but now they face the Reds and West Bromwich Albion in the space of a week.

“Sometimes you want to get straight back into it and after that feeling from not what was only a good result, but what was a very good first half performance,” Hughton added.

“There are no new injuries so nothing has changed from where we were before the game on Saturday. That’s a plus for us. “It was a much-needed win and we need to take that confidence into these next couple of games.”— AFP

Matches on TV (Local Timings) ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE Sunderland v Chelsea 22:45 Aljazeera Sport +10 Aljazeera Sport 6 HD Man United v Everton 22:45 Aljazeera Sport +9 Aljazeera Sport 1 HD West Brom v Man City 23:00 Aljazeera Sport +8 Aljazeera Sport 2 HD Fulham v Tottenham 23:00 Aljazeera Sport 4 HD

FRENCH LEAGUE Evian Thonon v PSG Aljazeera Sport 5 HD

23:00

Clichy keen to cure City travel sickness WEST BROMWICH: Manchester City defender Gael Clichy admitted he is confident the club can sustain a Premier League title challenge provided they address their troublesome away form.

City travel to West Bromwich Albion today with the worst record on the road of any of the top nine teams in the table.

Manuel Pellegrini’s side have won just once-a 3-1 victory at West Ham United in October-this season in their six league games away from the Etihad Stadium, with four defeats and one draw. Despite their travel sickness, City are up to third in the table thanks to an imperious home record and are now just six points adrift of leaders Arsenal.

However, left-back Clichy, 28, accepted City must drastically improve on a return of four points from games outside of Manchester, starting with their match at The Hawthorns. “We need to go away from home and make sure we start to pick up points,” Clichy said. “You have to look at the positive side-even if we lost against Cardiff, Aston Villa and Sunderland away, we still managed to play better than the opposition. “Maybe we need to be more focused in the last pass, the last moment, in the box, and score the first goal. When you score the first goal, the game is different.

“But this is a new team with a new manager and new players, and we are only going to get better. We are confident it will get better, hopefully starting today at West Brom. “We know what we have to do, to do our own thing and try not to lose points at home. Taking game after game will be a key point for us and hopefully we can now improve our away record. “I don’t see why we won’t be there or thereabouts at the end of the season,” Clichy added. City have been

boosted recently by the performances of attacking midfielder Samir Nasri, who scored twice in their 3-0 win over Swansea last weekend.

And Clichy claimed his France international colleague has benefitted from being given a run in the starting line-up by manager Pellegrini due to injuries to other players. “I have known Samir for a few years now and I am not surprised that he is doing well-not just against Swansea but from the start of the season. “Samir has always had this quality and the fact that he has been playing for a few months shows through his form.

When he is like this he is hard to play against, but great to play with.”

West Brom know December, which starts with the home games with City and Norwich City, is an important month and will determine whether they can beat last season’s record Premier League finish of eighth. “Going into Christmas and the new year we know it’s a very important part of the season for every club in the Premier League,” said defender Billy Jones. “We know we’re in a good position squad-wise. The gaffer can make changes and the team won’t be weakened. We go into every game positively.

“I think Saturday at Newcastle was only our second loss in 10 games. It’s only the second time we’ve lost away from home so there are still positives there in the overall picture of the season.

“But we know we need to turn draws into wins. Hopefully that starts with two massive home games beginning today night against Manchester City.” West Brom youngster Saido Berahino has finally put pen to paper on a new threeand-a-half year contract to stay at the club until June 2017.—AFP

LONDON: Demba Ba has been tipped to make a major impact on Chelsea’s bid to claim the Premier League title for the first time since 2010. Ba scored his first league goal of the season when he completed the Blues’ 3-1 victory over Southampton and pressed his claims to start when Jose Mourinho’s side face Sunderland at the Stadium of Light today.

The Senegal striker’s contribution after appearing as a half-time substitute helped turn the game Chelsea’s way and defender Branislav Ivanovic believes Ba’s physical strength offers a different option than that provided by fellow forwards Fernando Torres and Samuel Eto’o. Ivanovic said: “Demba shows every minute he’s on the pitch that he tries to fight and is a physical striker.

“Sometimes you have to change your style of football and try to hit long balls, he’s very useful for this team and very important.

“Everyone is happy about Demba scoring his first league goal, but it’s not just about that because he can keep the ball and he did that against Southampton.”

Chelsea’s strikers have struggled to click this season but Ivanovic believes the different styles of their three main forwards will help in the club’s bid for honors. “This is a good thing for our team. We can change each game and also change quickly during the game,” he said. “It is important for us have different type of players and the manager can choose different strikers for each game. Demba did very well against Southampton and his goal was a reward for the way he played.”

The victory over Southampton kept Mourinho’s side within four points of the leaders, Arsenal. But with a full program of midweek fixtures, anything less than victor y against a Sunderland side managed by former Chelsea favorite Gus Poyet could widen

LONDON: Chelsea’s French-born Senegalese striker Demba Ba (right) vies for the ball with Southampton’s Portuguese defender Jose Fonte during the English Premier League football match between Chelsea and Southampton at Stamford Bridge in London, on December 1, 2013. —AFP

that gap. But Ivanovic is confident Chelsea can keep tabs on the leaders and maintain their challenge. “At this stage in recent years we would always be trailing by a lot of points, but we are up there now and this has given us an opportunity.”

Poyet admits it will be one of his proudest moments in football leading out Sunderland against

his former club. The former Uruguay international made 145 appearances for the London club during a four-year stint at Stamford Bridge from 1997, earning European Cup Wnners’ Cup, European Super Cup and FA Cup winner’s medals in the process.

“These are the kind of games I really look forward to, and with it being Chelsea, it’s going to be

very special for me, leading the side at home in front of our own fans,” Poyet said.

Poyet’s side remain second from bottom, five points adrift of safety, despite keeping their first away clean sheet of the season in the 0-0 stalemate at Aston Villa.

The 46-year-old’s first meeting with his former club since taking charge at the Stadium of Light in

Arsenal gunning for title LONDON: Mikel Arteta believes Arsenal have demonstrated they should be taken seriously in this season’s Premier League title race. The weekend victory at Cardiff City maintained Arsenal’s four-point lead at the top of the Premier League table and they will attempt to consolidate their position when Hull City visit the Emirates Stadium today. Yet despite Arsene Wenger’s side dominating the opening third of the season, the title claims of their main rivals including Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester City have continued to attract support.

Arsenal have frequently been bystanders in the battle for the championship since they last lifted the Premier League trophy in 2004. And that has prompted many observers to be wary of the staying power of Wenger’s men. But midfielder Arteta believes they made a powerful case when they returned from a testing trip to Cardiff-a place were United and City have dropped points this season-with a victory.

“Every away game in the Premier League is very tough,” the Spaniard added. “Considering they beat Man City here and they drew against Man United, just shows you what a

tough place this is.

“For us it’s a big statement to come here and get the points, to score three goals away from home is very important. We got another clean sheet as well so we’re full of confidence.

“I think we looked really solid again, we kept another clean sheet which is very important for us because up front we know we have the ability to score. It’s a great three points-we are delighted.” Aaron Ramsey again stood out, this time against his former club and Ar teta believes the display confirms just how far the Wales midfielder has come this year.

He added: “I think it was a total performance. Aaron helped the team a lot defensively, obviously he’s got the energy to get in the box and both finishes are top drawer. “The fact that you’re playing with your crowd at home with your family probably here makes it a bit more difficult. I think he held his nerve and he was fantastic.” Hull manager Steve Bruce believes his team are half way to securing safety in the Premier League. City arrive at the Emirates with five wins to their name and Bruce believes another five will be enough to

avoid an instant return to the Championship, from where they were promoted last season.

“If we can get another five wins — 10 or 11 wins is usually enough in my opinion,” he said.

“We’ve won five and find ourselves in the top half of the table. “The other teams at the bottom on seven points and eight points, they’ve got a lot to do in terms of winning 10 games when they’ve only won a couple,” Bruce added.

Hull have acquitted themselves well against the Premier League’s established clubs, most notably in beating Liverpool at the KC Stadium on Sunday, and Bruce said he felt his players were growing in confidence.

“It’s always hard when you bring a team out of the Championship to give them that belief.

“There’s a few of the players who haven’t really played in the Premier League, and this should give them that little bit of self belief that they can play here as long as they’re playing as they are. “That’s the difficulty of the Premier League, we’ve got to be at our best.” Hull will be without suspended defender Curtis Davies, meaning James Chester could make his first appearance since September.— AFP

Moyes ready to face familiar foes MANCHESTER: Manchester United manager David Moyes claimed his side’s Premier League title bid will gather momentum before the end of the year as he prepares to welcome former club Everton to Old Trafford today. The Red Devils have slipped to eighth place in the table after consecutive 2-2 draws on the road against Cardiff City and Tottenham Hotspur in their last two matches. But with fixtures against sides lower down in the league, including Aston Villa, Stoke, Hull and Norwich, to come after their

game against Everton, Moyes does not think it will be long before his side will among the title challengers.

“We are concerned that we are not as close as we would like to be but it is a long season and I do think we have got room to get better and progress. That is without a doubt,” he said. “Hopefully we will be there or thereabouts. There are a lot of games coming up in the next eight weeks and we hope to be in the mix at the end of that period.

“Tottenham was not an easy place

Manchester United’s Scottish Manager David Moyes

to go to and they had their own pride and they showed that in their performance.

“Now we have a week that sees us with two home matches. We have had three away on the bounce and won in the Champions League and picked up two draws. It is not ideal but not the worst.”

Moyes also said striker Wayne Rooney, who scored both United’s goals in their draw with Spurs, has deser ved the plaudits he has received for his per formances recently as he prepares to face his boyhood club again. An 18-yearold Rooney was sold to United for £26 million ($42.5 million, 31.4 million euros) in 2004 by Moyes when he was in charge of Everton.

“He deserves the adulation he is getting,” added Moyes. “He is playing well and scoring goals. When the moments come he is taking them.” United will check on the fitness of Dutch striker Robin van Persie, who has been struggling with toe and groin injuries and missed the trip to Tottenham.

Midfielder Michael Carrick is definitely out as he recovers from a calf/shin injury. Everton manager Roberto Martinez does not think his players will go to Old Trafford without the fear they might have had in previous seasons.

Moyes previously stated that

whenever he took his Everton side to face United on their own turf his objective was “to get out of Old Trafford alive” and perhaps inevitably the Scot never won at the ground as an opposition manager. Everton fans would have to cast their mind back to August 1992 for their last victory at Old Trafford, when they won 3-0 during Howard Kendall’s second spell in charge. But Martinez insisted there was no sense of trepidation among his squad ahead of the match.

“These are games that we are not expected to win but clearly if we want to achieve something special we need to be able to break the mentality of going to the big grounds and get some wins,” Martinez said.

“Over the last 10 years we have not beaten Arsenal, Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool at their own grounds and we need to address that. “We need to make sure we are ourselves. We need to know how we are going to play and who we are. That is a fantastic test and challenge to have today. We are excited about going to Old Trafford.” Everton have no fresh injury concerns ahead of the match with former United midfielder Darron Gibson (knee), defender Leighton Baines (ankle) and striker Arouna Kone (knee) missing.—AFP

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2013

S P ORTS

Brazil unrest, crime are top security worry RIO DE JANEIRO: With the World Cup set to kick off six months from now, Brazilian officials see street protests and resurgent criminal violence in some of Rio’s slums as top security concerns.

This Latin American powerhouse is pulling out all the stops to ensure security for the hundreds of thousands of visitors expected for the planet’s mostwatched sporting event, the first to be held in Brazil since 1950. “ You can protest over causes which you see as just ... but remember that we are staging an event that is very crucial for our country. So treat visitors well,” Ricardo Trade, head of the World Cup’s Local Organizing Committee, said recently.

Brazil is used to organizing mammoth events such as the Rio carnival or Pope Francis’ visit, which drew three million pilgrims on Copacabana beach in July. But it remains one of the world’s most violent countries, with a murder rate of 27 per 100,000 inhabitants. Last year, a strategic plan worked out with FIFA, football’s world governing body, spelled out the key areas to protect, coordination between public and private security firms and assessed the main threats from organized crime, terrorist attacks and football hooliganism.

I t was activated for the Confederations Cup, a dry run for next year’s Wold Cup, in June. But authorities

had not anticipated June’s social unrest when more than one million Brazilians took to the streets nationwide to demand more spending on public transport, health and education. The demonstrators also railed against the high cost of staging the World Cup and the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics. The protests have since petered out but have occasionally turned more violent as “black bloc” anarchists went on the rampage in major cities such as Rio and Sao Paulo.

FRESH OUTBREAK OF UNREST? But authorities are bracing for a possible resumption of social turmoil during the World Cup-scheduled from June 12 to July 13 - and during the national elections in October when President Dilma Rousseff will seek re-election.

“There will be demonstrations,” said a government official. “The question is: How big will they be?”

In late October, the government announced it was setting up an intelligence task force to thwart and control possible violence during demonstrations. Authorities also moved to upgrade the police’s crowd control capabilities. French riot police officers were sent to Rio to share their knowhow with their Brazilian colleagues.

Another source of concern is a resur-

gence of criminal violence in some of Rio’s hilltop shantytowns, where beginning in 2008, police restored control by evicting the drug gangs that had held sway for decades.

To date, 36 so-called police pacification units (UPPs) have been deployed in more than 180 of the city’s 750 favelas.

By next year 12,500 police officers will be mobilized in 40 such units. The muscular “pacification” drive led to a 40 percent drop in the murder rate but the police officers-some of whom are violent and corrupt-deployed in these underprivileged communities are not always welcome. Over the past months, there has been an increase in robberies and night shootouts as well as the reappearance of heavily armed drug traffickers in these “pacified” favelas.

And in recent days, a new phenomenon appeared with roving gangs of rowdy youths pouncing on Rio beachgoers and perpetrating mass robberies in broad daylight. Police immediately beefed up beach security and the US consulate in Rio issued a travel advisory warning its nationals of “increased incidents of crime in areas frequented by tourists.” Meanwhile, a top drug trafficker jailed in Rio recently told police about alleged plans by “Red Command”, the city’s top crime syndicate, to regain control of pacified slums.

BAHIA: Protesters block an access to the Arena Fonte Nova Stadium in Salvador, Bahia in this file photo. —AFP He notably pointed to renewed con- Confederations Cup. Some units have tacts between the Red Command and been trained by agents from the US Sao Paulo’s powerful PCC (First Capital Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to Command) prison-based criminal gang. respond to any external threats. “Brazil So authorities are not tak ing any is not targeted by terrorists,” said Michel chances and have said they will deploy Misse, an expert on violence at Rio de twice the number of security personnel Janeiro Federal University. But officials (54,734) used during the have vowed to remain vigilant.— AFP

Brazil’s child sex trade thrives as WCup looms

COSTA DO SAUIPE: Workers put finishing touches to the entrance to the complex where the Brazil 2014 FIFA World Cup final draw will take place on December 6. — AFP

Domestic travel woes cast shadow over Brazil WCup RIO DE JANEIRO: In this continent-sized country, air travel is virtually the only option but is hampered by congested airports, a shortage of domestic routes and maddening red tape. Getting around on land is just as bad, with inadequate public transport, congested and poorly maintained roads and no alternative train service. Yet Brazil is planning to welcome nearly 600,000 foreign visitors during next year’s World Cup, in addition to three million Brazilians who will jet between the 12 host cities during the high-profile sporting event.

So organizers are racing to expand and modernize airports, and improve air service, while the government negotiates with domestic airlines for additional flights and new connections at affordable prices. If a fan wants to follow Brazil in the group phase, which begins in Sao Paulo with the Cup’s opening game on June 12, he would then have to travel 2,370km to the northeastern city of Fortaleza, and later another 1700km to Brasilia. It would be possible to travel overland but each trip would take more than 24 hours. In effect, air travel is the only realistic option in a country 17 times the size of Spain.

But buying domestic air tickets is no easy task, especially for a foreigner who very often cannot do so online if he does not have the required Brazilian documentation. And some fares will show increases of up to 1000 percent during the World Cup, the first to be held in Brazil since 1950. But a spokesman for the Brazilian Airlines Association (ABEAR) told AFP that after the December 6 draw in Bahia, where the 32 teams will be grouped into eight separate foursomes, “the offer of flights will be reviewed” and there will be new

ranges of accessible fares.

ABEAR also said Brazilian airlines have the capacity to deal with the high demand during the tournament. And it said the option of having international airlines operate on domestic routes was not viable due to the high costs. During the Confederations Cup in June, less than three percent of travellers were foreigners and domestic traffic was not higher than normal. But planes were always full and there were long lines in airport terminals. Five airports in four host venues have been privatized. The last two were in Rio de Janeiro and Belo Horizonte, but the contracts are only due to be signed in March, barely four months before the tournament gets under way. The Cup also requires a major upgrade of urban mobility projects, although the government had to postpone a dozen of them. “Brazil lost the opportunity to rethink the infrastructure of its cities,” said Chris Gaffney, a US academic who studies the impact of major sporting events in Rio. Projects included highways, boulevards, VLT light rail trains and BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) systems.

The government justifies the delays by saying that carrying out these projects is “like changing a tire while the car is moving”, according to Aguinaldo Ribeiro, the minister for cities. The teams who will play in the northeastern city of Recife only hope that the 30km, potholed highway that links the city to the stadium will be fixed and that there will be fewer traffic jams than during the Confederations Cup. Another major headache will be telecommunications during the tournament, despite efforts to extend 4G cellular systems in all 12 host cities.— AFP

Brazil risks own goal with high Cup prices RIO DE JANEIRO: Eyeing a massive boost to tourism and prestige, Brazil hoped it had won the jackpot in earning the right to host the next World Cup and summer Olympics. But in a country racing to upgrade sagging infrastructure, some analysts say eye-watering prices could hit tourism hard-and long-term.

“Brazil is going to price itself out of the market,” if it overcharges fans for accommodation and transport, said economics professor Wolfgang Maennig, who has closely studied the impact of major sports events on host economies.

Maennig pointed to dozens of hotels asking up to four times their normal rates for next year’s World Cup while Brazilian marketing firm Mundi highlighted airline price hikes of up to 1,000 percent. That led President Dilma Rousseff in October to set up a pricemonitoring panel, with Flavio Dino, president of state tourism board Embratur, commenting: “The problem is what happens post 2016 (after the Rio Olympics). Brazil must not be seen as a pricy destination or we shall kill the golden goose for decades.”

Hamburg University’s Maennig said Brazil was slipping into a price trap. “They are risk-

ing making similar mistakes to (2010 hosts) South Africa,” where “unrealistic demand expectations pushed up prices and a Competition Commission watchdog acted too late”. Maennig cautioned against expecting a tourism revenue glut amid reports that fans in countries such as neighboring Argentina, expected to come in numbers, may simply fly in and out again on match day to avoid hotels. He predicts many non-football tourists will likely avoid Brazil next June and subtracting their numbers will mean a net influx of much less than the 600,000 foreign visitors officially expected.

“Even at Germany 2006 ... there were only 100,000 or so extra visitors who stayed overnight,” says Maennig, warning sport is not a means of promoting economic growth.

Brazil’s media have been quick to highlight clogged airports, poor transport links, thousands of kilometers (miles) between venues and soaring prices. “Prices in Brazil shock Europeans,” noted Estado de Sao Paulo newspaper last month after fan organizations in England, Germany and Belgium indicated concern at World Cup packages topping $10,000.—AFP

FORTALEZA: With Brazil hosting the World Cup next year, officials fear an explosion in child prostitution as sex workers migrate to big cities and pimps recruit more underage prostitutes to meet the demand from local and foreign soccer fans.

“We’re worried sexual exploitation will increase in the host cities and around them,” said Joseleno Vieira dos Santos, who coordinates a national program to fight the sexual exploitation of children at Brazil’s Human Rights Secretariat.

“We’re trying to coordinate efforts as much as we can with state and city governments to understand the scope of the problem.” Child prostitution is driven mostly by local demand in Brazil, with more than 75 percent of clients coming from the same or nearby states as their victims, according to estimates from the secretariat.

Sex tourism targeting children is active in larger cities along the coast and increases at times of big events such as Carnival or New Year’s Eve festivities.

It won’t be different with the World Cup, and authorities face a big challenge as sex workers of all ages, and the people who control them, look to cash in. The Minas Gerais State Association of Prostitutes, an organization that represents sex workers in one of Brazil’s largest states, is even offering free English lessons to prostitutes in Belo Horizonte, another World Cup host city. “There’ll be a lot more people circulating in this area during the games for sure and the city will be full of tourists,” said Giovana, a 19-year-old transvestite working a corner near Fortaleza’s Castel„o stadium. “I know there’ll be more work for everybody women, girls, everybody.”

BIG BUCKS The World Cup tournament is expected to attract 600,000 foreign visitors to Brazil and they will spend an estimated 25 billion reais ($11 billion) while traveling in the country, said the Brazilian tourism board, Embratur. The championship as a whole could inject 113 billion reais into the Brazilian economy by 2014, FIFA has said, citing an Ernst & Young report. For its part, Brazil’s government will have spent 33 billion reais on stadiums, transport and other infrastructure by the time the tournament kicks off, plus $10 million on advertising.

In contrast, very little is being spent on fighting the sexual exploitation of minors, campaigners say. Despite more than a decade of government vows to eradicate child prostitution, the number of child sex workers in Brazil stood at around half a million in 2012, according to the National Forum for the Prevention of Child Labor,

a network of non-profit groups. That’s a big increase since 2001, when 100,000 children worked in the sex trade, according to UNICEF estimates.

The Human Rights Secretariat earmarked 8 million reais for World Cup host cities to set up projects to fight child prostitution, but not all cities had programs in place to absorb the funds, said Santos. Santos’ department is finishing a review of child prostitution in key locations and will then decide what action to take. But any programs will only scratch the surface. “We realize we’re only touching the tip of the iceberg with these actions for the World Cup, but we hope to build capacity and implement longer-lasting programs in the future,” he said.

Beyond the Human Rights Secretariat, the government could not provide data on total spending to fight child prostitution. But campaigners say some programs have been shut down and they argue the government isn’t doing enough to address the problem. “This subject isn’t really part of the government’s agenda and we don’t see a willingness to combine efforts or increase resources to address the sexual exploitation of children,” said Denise Cesario, executive manager of FundaÁ„o Abrinq, a local partner of Save the Children International.

THE LURE OF FORTAZELA Sex tourism happens across Brazil but Fortaleza - a top tourist destination with sandy white beaches and 300 days a year of guaranteed sunshine - is the industry’s main hub. A culture of machismo, combined with extreme poverty and drug use, has created the perfect environment for sexual exploitation, say social workers like CecÌlia dos Santos GÛis, who works at children’s rights charity Cedeca. In the poor and arid outskirts of Fortaleza, it’s culturally acceptable for fathers to sell their daughters into the sex trade as a source of income, GÛis said.

More phone calls are made from Fortaleza to a nationwide toll-free number to report child sexual exploitation than from any other Brazilian city on a per capita basis, experts say. While international sex tourism is prominent in Fortaleza, it represents only a third of all reported child prostitution cases. Prostitutes with Brazilian clients, from Cear· or surrounding states, are far more common, prosecutors said.

Many of Fortaleza’s young sex workers see prostitution as a way of escaping their circumstances. Jessica, 16, a tall brunette with thin plucked eyebrows and baby blue nail polish, began sex work with local clients, earning about

$18 a night, before graduating to bigger nightclubs and groups of foreign tourists for about $90 a night. Police arrested her in a September raid on a club on Iracema beach, the epicenter of Fortaleza’s sex trade. They took her to one of four shelters for underage prostitutes, a discreet twostory house, accessible only through a narrow iron gate watched around the clock by security guards.

WAITING FOR A PRINCE Sitting in the small room she shares with three younger girls, Jessica said one of her regular clients, a Spaniard, had promised to take her to Europe. “I told him I was 18 and I was getting my passport,” she said, tucking a rainbow-colored tank top into green and yellow tropical-print stretch pants. “I paid 500 reais for a fake ID and was saving money to buy a fake passport. But in the end I was afraid to go.”

Pimps and clients are rarely punished and when prosecutors do manage to build a case, victims often change their testimony and the cases are thrown out, said Francisco Carlos Pereira de Andrade, a prosecutor specializing in child exploitation. Of the 2,000 cases before his department, which only handles sexual violence against children, only about 20 involve child prostitution. The face of sex tourism in Fortaleza is also changing, making it more difficult to catch criminals, Andrade said.

Instead of working the streets, organized rings of pimps, hotel managers and taxi drivers recruit young girls. Foreign clients order the underage prostitutes and they are delivered directly to their hotels, Andrade added. Vanessa was 13 when police picked her up in October not far from the stadium and took her to the same shelter as Jessica. She left her home in a poor neighborhood when she was 10, after her stepfather started to beat her, she said. She has lived mostly on the streets, going to shelters now and then and spending nights with clients, some of whom she calls friends.

On Nov2, Vanessa broke into the maintenance room at the shelter, took a ladder and climbed the 2.5-metre (8-foot) wall surrounding the building, said Leonora Albuquerque, one of the shelter’s coordinators. She convinced two other girls, aged 12 and 13, to go back with her to the area near the stadium. It was the fourth time she had escaped in less than six months.

“It’s very hard to convince these girls to lead normal lives,” Albuquerque said. “Most of them think abuse and selling their bodies is just a fact of life.” —Reuters

Brazil to probe FIFA in racism case ahead of World Cup draw SAO PAULO: Just four days before the draw for the 2014 World Cup, FIFA faced yet another embarrassment when a Sao Paulo prosecutor opened an investigation into possible racism by soccer’s world governing body. A Sao Paulo state prosecutor has asked FIFA and the company it hired to organize Friday’s draw to explain why it chose two white-skinned actors to present the televised show instead of two black-skinned actors.

Two Afro-Brazilians had been suggested as possible hosts but were overlooked in favor of light-skinned model Fernanda Lima and her white husband Rodrigo Hilbert, a TV presenter, news magazine Veja reported without saying how it obtained the information. “I opened the investigation due to the suspicion of a crime of racism on the part of FIFA, or by the company they selected to organize the show, GEO Eventos,” prosecu-

RIO GRANDE DO SUL: Picture shows the Beira Rio stadium, in Porto Alegre, Brazil. The Beira Rio stadium, whose inauguration is scheduled for April 24, 2014, is already 80 percent completed. — AFP

tor Christiano Jorge Santos told Reuters, adding that, if the report is true, he will seek to open criminal proceedings. Lima and Hilbert do not represent the racial make-up in Brazil - a country where half the people declare themselves either black or dark-skinned - “and so the change was not justified,” Santos added.

Santos asked FIFA, GEO Eventos, Veja and T V Globo, the broadcaster reported to have suggested the black couple, well-known soap opera actors Lazaro Ramos and Camila Pitanga, for more information about the choice. The GEO Eventos website was under maintenance and additional efforts to reach spokespeople at the company were unsuccessful.

and Lima was also one of the presenters of the preliminary, or qualifying, draw in Rio in 2011.

“FIFA’s stance against any form of discrimination and racism which is even enshrined in our various regulations amongst others is well known,” the statement added. The organization also pointed out there will be black faces on show during the event that precedes Friday’s draw to decide who plays who in next year’s 32-team tournament. The participants, including hip hop artist Emicida, veteran samba star Alcione and samba singer Margareth Menezes, all of whom are Afro-Brazilian, “represent the cultural and musical diversity of Brazil,” FIFA said in a statement last week.

NO VETO In a statement sent to Reuters late on Monday, FIFA said it “never vetoed anyone” and pointed out that Pitanga herself denied she was invited to host the event. “The selection of Fernanda Lima and Rodrigo Hilbert was mainly based on the positive experience made during the launch of the Official Emblem and the Preliminary Draw,” the statement said. Lima and Hilbert participated in the launch of the official emblem of the 2014 World Cup in Johannesburg three years ago

STADIUM, COMMENTS The investigation is just the latest in a string of embarrassments to hit soccer ’s world governing body.

Some 18 months ago FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke infuriated Brazilians when he suggested their slow pace of building work might be improved if they got “a kick up the backside.” Last week, part of the stadium that will host the tournament’s opening match collapsed when a crane toppled over and two workers were killed.—Reuters

Duncan powers Spurs over Hawks

McCullum and Taylor tons put NZ in charge

16

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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2013

Brazil risks own goal with high Cup prices

Page 19

ROME: Lazio forward Brayan Perea of Colombia (center) kicks the ball during a Serie A soccer match between Lazio and Napoli, at Rome’s Olympic Stadium on Monday, Dec 2, 2013. — AP ITALIAN ROUNDUP

Fiorentina stun Verona; Napoli sink Lazio MILAN: Fiorentina beat 10-man Hellas Verona 4-3 in an eventful Italian league game on Monday to boost its hopes of qualifying for next season’s Champions League, while Napoli won 3-2 at Lazio to stay in touch with Juventus and Roma. Four of the goals came in the opening 15 minutes in an open match at the Stadio Franchi as Fiorentina captain Borja Valero scored twice, either side of goals from on-loan Fiorentina midfielder Romulo and Juan Iturbe for Verona. Juan Vargas fired Fiorentina in front shortly before halftime and Giuseppe Rossi added a fourth from the penalty spot after Bosko Jankovic had been shown a straight red card for handball.

The US-born Rossi, who plays for the Italian national team, is the top scorer in Serie A with 12 goals, four more than Torino’s Alessio Cerci. Jorginho reduced the deficit in the 72nd minute as both sides had several chances to add to their tallies.

Fiorentina moved level with fourth-place Inter Milan, four points behind Napoli. Verona is five points further back in sixth.

Gonzalo Higuain scored twice for Napoli, with former Lazio striker Goran Pandev and Jose Callejon grabbing the visitors’ other goals. Teenage striker Keita scored for the home side, which had leveled with an own goal by Valon Behrami.

Napoli moved six points behind leader Juventus and three behind Roma after ending a run of two successive defeats.

Lazio remained eighth. Fiorentina took the lead in the fifth minute when Valero cut his way in from the right and fired into the bottom near corner from the edge of the area. But the home side’s advantage lasted less than a minute before Neto could only parry Iturbe’s strike and the onrushing Romulo fired in the rebound. And Hellas went in front in the 13th as Luca

Toni found Iturbe, who lashed a stunning 30-yard strike into the top corner.

However, its lead also lasted mere seconds before Valero scored his second of the night, carving out space for himself just outside the area before unleashing an effort which was deflected into the top left corner. Fiorentina restored its advantage two minutes from the break when Vargas put an angled drive into the far bottom corner. It extended its lead nine minutes after the interval when Rossi fired a spot kick into the bottom right corner, sending the goalkeeper the wrong way.

Despite its numerical disadvantage, Verona kept pressing and got back into the game when Toni’s shot was saved by Neto but Jorginho was on hand to follow up. Verona goalkeeper Rafael pulled off a number of saves, most notably to deny Rossi, Mati Fernandez and Nenad Tomovic. Both teams were given a standing ovation at the final whistle. In Roma, Napoli broke the deadlock in the 24th minute with a moment of brilliance from Higuain, who ran almost half the length of pitch and held off Michael Ciani before firing under goalkeeper Federico Marchetti.

Lazio equalized almost immediately when former player Behrami, who spent three seasons at the capital club, turned into his own net. Another Lazio old boy, Pandev, restored Napoli’s lead five minutes into the second half with a swiveling shot from close range following a controversial free kick. And Pandev, whose five years at Lazio ended bitterly after a contract dispute, sent a delightful through-ball in for Higuain to score his second in the 72nd minute. The 18-year-old Keita reduced the deficit after a solo run three minutes from time, but Callejon sealed the match in stoppage time. — AP

Seahawks rout Saints to clinch playoff spot SEATTLE: Russell Wilson led the Seattle Seahawks to a 34-7 thrashing of the New Orleans Saints on Monday as the hosts clinched a playoff berth with a win that maintains the best record in the National Football League. In a marquee matchup between standout quarterbacks and the leading teams in the NFC, Wilson threw for 310 yards and three touchdowns while Drew Brees was unable to make an impact against a dominant Seattle defense. “(Russell) loves Drew Brees and what he stands for, but he knew he was playing against the Saints (not Drew),” Seahawks coach Pete Carroll told reporters. “He was just marvelous. (Home field advantage) is why winning the division is important. That’s our goal.” The red-hot Seahawks (11-1) have now won seven games in a row and not lost at their raucous CenturyLink Field since the 2011 season. In their latest victory, Wilson almost single-handedly dismantled the Saints defense during the first half as Seattle stormed to a 27-7 advantage by the interval. Seattle’s opening touchdown came in the first quarter, where their defense knocked the ball loose from Brees and Michael Bennett returned a fumble 22 yards for a score. The momentum only built as

Wilson capped a 73-yard drive with a two-yard touchdown pass to Zach Miller and a 17-0 advantage.

Brees temporarily halted Seattle’s charge with a two-yard pass to Jimmy Graham in the second quarter but it was a rare bright spot for his offense. Steven Hauschka kicked his second field goal of the game in the second as Wilson threw another scoring strike before adding his third in the third quarter to complete the scoring. The second-year quarterback added 47 of his team’s 127 rushing yards while the New Orleans offense struggled to make any sort of headway, with Brees completing a disappointing 23of-38 passes for just 147 yards and one score.

Seattle played with a depleted secondary, missing Brandon Brower (injury) and Walter Thurmond (suspension) but the Saints were unable to take advantage. “We had a balanced attack,” said Wilson, who completed 22-of-30 passes. “We brought a good amount of pressure and capitalized on that pressure.” Following the defeat, the Saints were joined at the top of the NFC South division by the Carolina Panthers (both 9-3) with the teams scheduled to meet in New Orleans on Sunday. — Reuters

FLORENCE: Verona’s Jorginho (second from left) of Brazil, scores a goal during a Serie A soccer match between Fiorentina and Verona at the Artemio Franchi stadium in Florence on Monday, Dec 2, 2013. — AP

NFL results/standings Seattle 34 New Orleans 7

New England Miami NY Jets Buffalo Cincinnati Baltimore Pittsburgh Cleveland Indianapolis Tennessee Jacksonville Houston Denver Kansas City San Diego Oakland

American Football Conference AFC East W L T OTL PF 9 3 0 1 322 6 6 0 0 252 5 7 0 0 189 4 8 0 2 267 AFC North 8 4 0 2 292 6 6 0 1 249 5 7 0 0 263 4 8 0 0 231 AFC South 8 4 0 0 285 5 7 0 1 264 3 9 0 0 174 2 10 0 1 230 AFC West 10 2 0 1 464 9 3 0 0 298 5 7 0 1 279 4 8 0 0 237

PA 261 248 310 307

PCT .750 .500 .417 .333

Dallas Philadelphia NY Giants Washington

216 235 278 297

.667 .500 .417 .333

Detroit Chicago Green Bay Minnesota

274 267 352 323

.667 .417 .250 .167

New Orleans Carolina Tampa Bay Atlanta

317 214 277 300

.833 .750 .417 .333

Seattle San Francisco Arizona St. Louis

National Football Conference NFC East 7 5 0 0 329 7 5 0 0 300 5 7 0 0 237 3 9 0 0 269 NFC North 7 5 0 0 326 6 6 0 1 323 5 6 1 0 294 3 8 1 0 289 NFC South 9 3 0 0 312 9 3 0 0 285 3 9 0 1 217 3 9 0 0 261 NFC West 11 1 0 0 340 8 4 0 0 297 7 5 0 0 275 5 7 0 0 279

303 281 297 362

.583 .583 .417 .250

287 332 305 366

.583 .500 .458 .292

230 157 285 340

.750 .750 .250 .250

186 197 247 278

.917 .667 .583 .417

Business

Jordan to use Gulf aid to spur crisis-hit economy Page 22

Egypt delays decision on $4.8bn IMF loan: Dy PM

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2013

Page 23

2014 Corvette Stingray wins 3 top honors in ME

Al-Zayani: 3 regional premiers for Maserati

Page 26

Page 25

RIYADH: Saudi businessmen and staff attend the Private Sector Middle East Conference in Riyadh yesterday. — AFP

Gulf oil exporters battle for Asia Some sellers cut prices, extend credit to lure buyers SINGAPORE: Middle East oil exporters are locked in an increasingly fierce battle for the world’s fastest-growing markets in Asia, as producers worldwide ship more crude east to compensate for shrinking demand from the United States and Europe. The fight for the trillion-dollar Asian oil market has ended decades of comfortable dominance for Middle East producers, who faced so little competition that refiners in Asia complained of being charged a premium of a dollar or so per barrel above what buyers in Europe or the Americas paid.

The picture has changed as rising US shale supply has sapped demand in the world’s largest crude consumer for the imports it previously bought from Latin America and West Africa. In Europe, years of shaky economic performance and increasing fuel efficiency have shrunk Russia’s traditional market. With nowhere else to expand, producers are pushing for more sales in Asia. The competition will become even stronger if sanctions on Iran are lifted in coming months and the million barrels per day (bpd) in Iranian exports that have been choked off returns to the market.

Under sanctions, Iran fuelled the competition by offered discounts, easy credit and free shipping to keep oil flowing. If sanctions are lifted, it may have to be even more aggressive to regain market share. Amid these shift-

ing market pressures, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries meets today to consider adjusting its output target of 30 million bpd. With oil prices well above $100 a barrel, OPEC is likely to leave the target unchanged for now, say delegates who will attend the meetings in Vienna. “These market dynamics - rising Iraqi output, increase in non-OPEC production, particularly in North America, and the potential return of Iran over the longer term - are going to put downward pressure on oil futures and OPEC producers will face an increasing challenge going forward,” IHS oil consultant Victor Shum said.

Iran’s shrinking supply has facilitated Iraq’s expansion, providing Baghdad with readymade markets. Iraqi output is rising as international energy companies repair the damage wrought on its industry during years of sanctions and war. Oil sales are paying for Iraq’s reconstruction and, seeking to sell every barrel available, officials are playing hardball. “We’ll do our best to market the maximum amount of oil. We don’t want to leave our available oil idle,” a senior Iraqi official told Reuters, declining to be identified as he was not authorised to talk to the media.

“So good luck to everybody.”

Iraq will become China’s second-largest supplier in 2014 if it succeeds in exporting the volume of crude it has committed to supply. Chinese firms have signed up for

Saudi shares drop, Gulf stocks mixed MIDEAST STOCK MARKETS DUBAI: Saudi Arabia’s bourse dropped yesterday as concerns over local real estate sector triggered a market-wide sell-off that analysts say could be the start of investors shifting to more attractive opportunities in neighboring property sectors.

Shares in Dar Al-Arkan tumbled 7.5 percent and its peers also fell, which pushed the real estate sector index down 3.2 percent. The main benchmark, which hit a five-year high on Nov. 18, fell 1.3 percent to trim year-to-date gains to 21 percent and it’s lowest closing level since Nov. 6.

“The correction is across the board - the market was reading into talks about property projects being cancelled since 2010 in Saudi Arabia,” said John Sfakianakis, chief investment strategist at Saudi investment firm MASIC. Sfakianakis said investors were looking for a trigger to book recent gains and that there is no evidence of a pull-back in projects with hundreds in billions of dollars being spent in 2013 alone on new projects.

Banking shares were also hit by profit-taking with the sector losing 1.2 percent. Hesham Tuffaha, a Riyadh-based fund manager, said that valuations of Saudi property stocks are not attractive compared to regional stocks after Dubai was chosen to host the World Expo 2020 and the expecta-

tions of increased real estate projects.

He also said that Qatar is looking more attractive on the back of planned developments for the FIFA World Cup 2022. In Dubai, the index gained 0.3 percent to a fresh fiveyear high. It recouped early-session losses as a bout of profit-taking proved short-lived. The market is up 83.3 percent year-to-date.

Shares in Union Properties jumped 5 percent and thinly traded heavyweight lender Mashreq surged 13.5 percent.

Abu Dhabi’s benchmark climbed 0.6 percent to its highest since August 26.

“We’ve had a strong surge in Dubai this year, but valuations are not expensive and just above historic levels,” said Sebastien Henin, portfolio manager at The National Investor. “The current environment plus the visibility should justify premium valuations,” he added referring to the bullish outlook for UAE after Dubai’s successful expo bid.

“We could have a breather but the outlook for the medium-term is positive, which should help the market close above current levels by year-end,” Henin said. Elsewhere, Oman’s index slipped 0.2 percent, while Kuwait, Qatar and Egypt were little changed. — Reuters

882,000 bpd of Iraqi crude in 2014, up 68 percent from 2013. A steep cut in prices for its main export crude Basra Light helped Iraq pass Iran to become China’s fifth-largest supplier in 2013. Iraq has charged buyers a discount between 40 cents and $1.10 a barrel below Saudi’s Arab Medium, down from premiums to the Saudi grade a year ago, according to Reuters data. Besides price cuts, Iraq also compensated some of its term customers for demurrage - shipping costs incurred while waiting to load crude at congested terminals, trade sources said.

Other Gulf neighbours have also ceded market share to Iraq. Baghdad wrested a supply contract for a new refinery in China away from Kuwait in early November.

Iraq should be wary of price competition, said one Kuwaiti source, since the country needed to secure money for long term development. “They may gain share in the short term but they should look at the long term,” said the Kuwaiti oil source. Kuwait has, however, been forced to cut prices itself, valuing its export crude in December at the steepest discount in nearly four years to Saudi’s Arab Medium, Reuters data showed. Kuwait may also follow Iraq and Iran’s lead in offering extended credit to Indian refiners.

In the United Arab Emirates, the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has made an unprecedented

move to encourage more buyers by selling cargoes with no stipulated destination for the first time in 2014.

ADNOC is also offering its customers the flexibility to load oil from the UAE’s Fujairah port, which is outside the Strait of Hormuz and cheaper for shippers than sailing through the strait to the oil port of Jebel Dhanna.

The stakes are high for exporters reliant on oil revenues to finance growing national budgets. They have to find a balance between retaining market share and steady income. Despite more aggressive sales tactics, OPEC is likely to see its market share fall. In its annual oil outlook, the group said it could lose almost 8 percent of the market in the next five years to shale and other competing supply sources. “The current oil price is at a level that producing countries want to maintain,” said a trader with a Chinese refiner. “But the market is long so they need to fight for market share.”

The flip side of the competition between Middle East exporters is that Asian refiners are benefiting from cheaper oil bills. Iraq and Kuwait have offered to extend the payment period for crude to 60 days from 30 days. That extra month of credit could save Indian refiners, for example, close to $300,000 a day on the nearly 1 million bpd of Iraqi and Kuwait crude they buy, one Indian refining source said. — Reuters

OPEC meets amid Iran-Saudi rivalry VIENNA: Regional rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran are coming to an OPEC oil ministers’ conference with competing agendas. Iran could use today’s meeting as the launching pad for where it hopes to be in six months - free of sanctions that are choking its oil exports and ready to weaken Saudi authority by reasserting itself as a top OPEC force.

Before the oil sanctions started biting last year, Iran was second only to the Saudis in OPEC oil production, pumping around 2.7 million barrels a day. Output has dropped by nearly a third since. Iran hopes to reach a final nuclear accord by mid-2014 that grants it full sanctions relief.

Tehran is expected to lobby at today’s meeting for a greater share of total OPEC output come next year.

Iran will “immediately” export more crude oil once sanctions are lifted in the wake of the internation-

al deal to roll back its nuclear program, the country’s oil minister said yesterday. “Immediately we can” return to full export capacity of four million barrels per day, Iran Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh told reporters ahead of OPEC’s meeting on oil production in Vienna today.

“We have no technical difficulties to expand our exports and to return to four million barrels a day oil output,” he said, noting however “political” obstacles. World powers-the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and Germany known as the P5+1 — reached last month a historic deal with Iran on its disputed nuclear program. Pending negotiations for a broader agreement, the Islamic state agreed to freeze parts of its program in exchange for an estimated $7.0 billion of relief from crippling sanctions. — Agencies

VIENNA: Iran’s Minister of Petroleum Bijan Namdar Zangeneh talks ro journalists as he arrives at a hotel in Vienna yesterday. — AP

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2013

BUSINESS

Bayt.com hosts workshop on how personal branding can accelerate career growth DUBAI: Bayt.com, the Middle East’s number one job site, held a group workshop called ‘Understanding the Power of Personal Brands in Career Advancement and Recruitment’ on November 26, at Thuraya Hall in Dubai Internet City. Professionals from a range of industries attended the session, which was given by Akram Assaf, co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of Bayt.com.

During the workshop, a wide range of professionals learnt about the art and science behind personal branding, gaining access to latest

hire people in the future, and I will recommend anyone to use it to connect with millions of people online.”

- Mohammed Abu Hamiyeh, Founder, #Deals “Very interesting statistics about employee and employer selection criteria. After this event, I would definitely consider updating my profile on Bayt.com” - Shiraz Ansari, Senior Pricing Manager, Redkee Solutions Inc “Akram has clearly explained how important personal branding is on the web in this time of social

ary Bayt.com Specialties platform, and also to attract candidates better by tapping into the latest online corporate brand-building and sourcing, sorting, ranking and screening techniques.

“84% of employers will take the time to research candidates online before making a final decision.” noted Assaf. “Even more importantly, 71% of people making hiring decisions say that a candidate’s social networking activities made them change their mind about that person. This is the latest information

DUBAI: Bayt.com held a group workshop called ‘Understanding the Power of Personal Brands in Career Advancement and Recruitment’. research findings and industry reports that detail how a professional’s online presence will influences their career path trajectory. Assaf unveiled the importance of spending time to hone one’s online brand using regional statistics and presented various methodologies of how to effectively tap into the power of personal branding. He also enunciated the need for companies and managers to better assess their hiring decisions by more effectively using the latest professional social-media channels including the revolution-

media. How you see yourself and how others see you through social media is an eye-opener for me.

How you put your comment, measure your capability and knowledge is the subject which is a major factor employers view when searching for candidates.” - Jose Poovallinkal, Business Controls, IBM Bayt.com is dedicated to providing empowering information for employers and job seekers across all industries, demographics and job roles. The job site specializes in

from our recruitment research in the MENA region, which we’re constantly undertaking as a part of our commitment to empower the region’s employers and job seekers with the knowledge and tools they need to succeed in the recruitment market.

Today’s session demonstrated the magnitude of building a powerful personal profile - something that is especially important in today’s internet-focused world.”

Attendees at the event said: “Very nice event about branding and hiring people. I will use Bayt.com to

the assisting the region’s top employers in their recruitment needs by offering them the tools needed to find MENA’s top talent, as well as being a leader in the region in investing to understand and cater to the patterns and issues related to talent localization - a hot topic across the Middle East. “ Today ’s workshop focused heavily on how companies and managers can use social media to assess hiring decisions,” said Assaf.

“As an employer... social media has the potential to offer a gold mine of information about a candidate.

That’s why we launched Bayt.com Specialties earlier this year... It’s a platform where professionals can establish an active online presence and dialogue as expert in their field, as well as expand their circle of connections, get endorsed by other experts, and get ranked by peers. As an employer, not only can you learn exactly how a potential candidate thinks based on their interactions on Bayt.com Specialties, you can also filter through badges, specialties, and ask questions directly to see how people compare! It adds amazing depth and detail to what you know about a candidate and allows an unrivalled insight into professionals’ skills, abilities and interests.”

Bayt.com Specialties was launched in July 2013 with the objective of helping professionals to express thought leadership, enhance professional networking and build professional visibility. As of today Bayt.com Specialties already has over 80,000 active professional specialties, ranging from “Graphic Design” to “Oracle”to “Recruitment”. Thousands of members are engaged on the platform on a monthly basis, generating over 250,000 question and answers which serve to lend breadth and depth to career discourse and dialogue as well as to provide a stateof-the -ar t, innovative, highly dynamic and interactive valueadded dimension to the traditional job board and social media recruitment processes.

RIYADH: A Saudi businesswoman speaks on her mobile during the Private Sector Middle East Conference in Riyadh yesterday. —AFP

Jordan to use Gulf aid to spur crisis-hit economy estimates that the Syrian crisis has cost Jordan at least two percent of its annual growth.

Extra aid from Western donors to help Jordan cope with the refugee crisis has eased fiscal pressures. Without it, he said, the deficit would have hit around nine percent of gross domestic product this year, instead of a more manageable 5.4 percent.

Saif said the World Bank would grant Jordan a $200 million loan by end-2013, the second this year. The bank has raised its annual aid ceiling to Jordan to $500 million from $350 million.

Jordan is also finalising a 180 million euro loan from the European Union to help it cope with regional turmoil, Saif said. Tapping markets with loan guarantees such as October’s US government-backed $1.25 billion eurobond with a low 2.5 percent coupon has reduced Jordan’s borrowing costs, Saif said.

“Due to the Syrian crisis...we are in a position to get favorable terms and we are borrowing at least to provide enough liquidity for development needs and support budgetary finances.”

Jordan has been criticized by some international donors and NGOs for pushing them to spend more of their aid money on Jordanian citizens, rather than on Syrian refugees.

But Saif said UN agencies were also shifting from a purely emergency response to helping Syria’s neighbors meet huge humanitarian needs arising from the conflict in the long term.

“Donors know that in order to reduce tensions and not to create sentiment against Syrians, you need to enhance existing capacity that requires a kind of medium-term commitment, not just immediately provide them with vaccines and water,” he said.

AMMAN: Jordan aims to spend at least $1 billion next year in mainly Gulf-financed development projects to spur its aid-dependent economy, badly hit by an influx of 1.2 million Syrian refugees, the planning minister said yesterday.

Jordan, along with Lebanon and Turkey, is one of the main host countries for Syrians fleeing fighting between President Bashar Al-Assad’s forces and rebels trying to topple him.

Planning and International Cooperation Minister Ibrahim Saif told Reuters the strain on services and resources created by the refugees, mostly hosted by local families, was now felt more deeply as the Syrian conflict drags into its 33rd month.

He estimated that this had cost Jordan at least $1.7 billion this year. Other officials put the bill much higher. Saif said the protracted nature of the conflict meant Jordan had to switch from providing food and shelter for the refugees to spending more on infrastructure “with the assumption it’s a medium-term crisis (of) three to five years”.

His ministry coordinates billions of dollars in foreign loans and grants that make Jordan one of the world’s top aid recipients on a per capita basis. The United States alone provides some $1 billion a year in economic and military aid.

Saif said economic growth expected to hover at around 3.5 percent in 2014 would be supported by faster spending from a $5 billion fund allocated to Jordan by Gulf states in December 2011.

The kingdom has allocated this mostly for development projects that cannot be funded from its $11.4 bln budget.

“We will be injecting money when there is a slowdown in the economy,” Saif said, endorsing

Iran sees limited growth in oil exports next year DUBAI: Iran’s draft budget assumes oil exports of around 1.1 million barrels per day (bpd), oil ministry news website Shana said yesterday, indicating Tehran forecasts no significant recovery in sales next year despite improved relations with the West. US and European Union sanctions aimed at stopping Tehran’s nuclear enrichment activities have slashed Iran’s oil exports to about 1 million bpd, from around 2.5 million bpd in 2011.

The draft budget for the next Iranian year, which begins on March 21, goes before parliament on Wednesday and follows a breakthrough deal with the West last month.

Shana quoted government spokesman Mohammad-Baqer Nobakht as saying the budget bill for next year was based on an oil export forecast for March 2014-March 2015 just 10 percent higher than its current sanctions-hit sales. The landmark deal between Iran and six world powers to curb Tehran’s nuclear program in exchange for limited sanctions relief included a pledge to ease an insurance ban that could help some Iranian oil shipments.

Although Washington said it would not allow

any increase in Iranian oil exports for at least six months, the US government also suspended plans to squeeze Iranian oil exports further - if Iran kept its side of the deal. Despite Washington’s insistence that it would not relax sanctions that have forced Iran to reduce production drastically over the last year, the agreement sparked speculation over how much Iranian oil might flood back into an already well-supplied global market next year.

The White House estimates that Iran has lost more than $80 billion since the beginning of 2012 because of depleted oil sales. It estimates Tehran’s earnings over the next six months will be down $30 billion by comparison with a six-month period of 2011, before the imposition of sanctions.

The total annual government expenditure that President Hassan Rouhani will present in his first budget to parliament today is equivalent to just $77 billion, according to Iranian media reports.

The austere budget assumes an average crude oil sales price of $100 per barrel, about $10 below current prices for benchmark Brent crude, and forecasts 300,000 bpd in sales of gas condensate, a light oil. —Reuters

Iraq, Kurds close to deal on oil exports, revenue ANKARA: Iraq and northern Kurdistan appear to have found a formula that will allow the autonomous region to export oil to Turkey in a new pipeline, a step towards resolving a long-running dispute over land and oil rights.

Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said yesterday an agreement over oil exports and revenue sharing could be reached this month. Iraqi Oil Minister Abdul Kareem Luaibi shared his optimism.

“There are no issues,” Luaibi said at a briefing ahead of an OPEC meeting in Vienna. He said technical, trilateral talks would take place in days to finalize details over revenue sharing and metering.

“There are some meetings that will be held to set the measures.” Luaibi said the central government would retain control over the oil revenue, which would be

shared with the Kurds.

Yildiz travelled to Baghdad on Sunday and met Iraq’s Deputy Prime Minister for energy Hussain Al-Shahristani, part of efforts to appease the central government following a multi-billion dollar deal Turkey clinched last week with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). “ We have held talks with both Baghdad and Arbil to set up a three-way mechanism. We have had very positive talks,” said Yildiz. “Both the agreements that Turkey has done with the central government and the contracts with northern Iraq are steps that smooth the path of Iraq.”

Turkey’s energy deals with the Kurdish north of Iraq effectively bypass the central government in Baghdad, which claims sole authority to manage Iraqi oil and says

independent Kurdish oil exports would be illegal. Turkey is keen to move the process forward through a three-way mechanism which also includes Baghdad. But the central government might prove hard to persuade, having for years resisted Arbil’s moves towards direct exports.

“Baghdad is trying to find a solution to this, but doesn’t want to lose face either,” said Cuneyt Kazokoglu, Consultant at FGE. “They don’t want it to look like this deal happened despite them.”

A new pipeline from Kurdistan’s Taq Taq oil field is complete and ready to receive flows, the enclave’s natural resources minister Ashti Hawrami said on Monday. It is expected to carry around 300,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil, which Hawrami says will be ramped up towards 1 million bpd by 2015. —Reuters

EXCHANGE RATES Al-Muzaini Exchange Co. Japanese Yen Indian Rupees Pakistani Rupees Srilankan Rupees Nepali Rupees Singapore Dollar Hongkong Dollar Bangladesh Taka Philippine Peso Thai Baht Irani Riyal Irani Riyal Saudi Riyal Qatari Riyal Omani Riyal Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham

ASIAN COUNTRIES 2.751 4.556 2.613 2.165 2.849 226.540 36.616 3.645 6.488 8.822 62.000 120.000 GCC COUNTRIES 75.724 78.024 737.660 754.220 77.333

ARAB COUNTRIES Egyptian Pound - Cash 40.600 Egyptian Pound - Transfer 40.760 Yemen Riyal/for 1000 1.325 Tunisian Dinar 171.200 Jordanian Dinar 401.000 Lebanese Lira/for 1000 1.905 Syrian Lira 308.530 Morocco Dirham 35.481 EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIES US Dollar Transfer 283.850 Euro 386.040 Sterling Pound 466.220 Canadian dollar 267.530 Turkish lira 139.740 Swiss Franc 313.330 Australian Dollar 259.160 US Dollar Buying 282.650 20 Gram 10 Gram 5 Gram

GOLD 244.000 124.000 64.000

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 263.06 270.20 316.41 387.43 282.85 468.29 2.82 3.638 4.549 2.158 2.859 2.610 77.08 752.83 41.05 402.56 735.59 78.11 75.56

SELL CASH 262.000 270.000 316.000 389.000 285.600 471.000 2.800 3.800 4.860 2.600 3.400 2.760 77.400 753.7000 41.100 407.600 741.700 78.500 75.800

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

Selling Rate 283.300 270.080 464.370 386.675 312.970 748.050 77.110 78.660 76.415 399.355 41.075 2.157 4.535 2.609 3.639 6.466 695.840 3.765 09.810

Syrian Pound Nepalese Rupees Malaysian Ringgit Chinese Yuan Renminbi

3.025 3.820 88.435 46.920

Singapore Dollar South African Rand Sri Lankan Rupee Taiwan Thai Baht

0.222839 0.021995 0.001896 0.009459 0.008577

0.228839 0.030495 0.002476 0.009639 0.009127

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

Arab 0.745401 0.037871 0.000078 0.000186 0.395572 1.0000000 0.000139 0.022693 0.001200 0.730202 0.077147 0.074950 0.002172 0.166364 0.138522 0.076181 0.001287

0.753401 0.040971 0.000080 0.000246 0.403072 1.0000000 0.000239 0.046693 0.001835 0.735882 0.078360 0.075650 0.002392 0.174364 0.145522 0.077340 0.001367

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

SELL CASH Europe 0.007368 0.458417 0.006650 0.047597 0.380247 0.042352 0.081789 0.008127 0.039234 0.306950 0.138522

SELLDRAFT 0.008368 0.487417 0.018650 0.052597 0.387747 0.047522 0.81789 0.018127 0.044234 0.317150 0.145522

Australasia 0.250999 0.226138

0.262499 0.235638

Canadian Dollar US Dollars US Dollars Mint

America 0.261620 0.279350 0.279850

0.270120 0.283700 0.283700

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

Asia 0.003275 0.045158 0.034472 0.004309 0.000020 0.002685 0.003349 0.000258 0.084084 0.002980 0.002484 0.006402 0.000069

0.003875 0.048658 0.037222 0.004710 0.000026 0.002865 0.003349 0.000273 0.090084 0.003150 0.002764 0.006682 0.000075

Australian Dollar New Zealand Dollar

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) 283.250 386.250 465.700 268.450 4.553 41.050 2.162 3.644 6.470 2.611 754.300 77.100 75.600

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2013

BUSINESS

Oil in Kenya faces capacity, infrastructure challenges NAIROBI: Recent petroleum finds in Kenya’s arid and under-developed north have caused excitement, but even if commercial production goes ahead, major challenges remain.

Kenya will need to invest in human resources, manage often unrealistic expectations and beef up infrastructure, preferably in conjunction with its neighbors, experts say.

East Africa has long lagged behind the west of the continent where oil was found back in the 1950s. But in recent years Tullow Oil of Ireland has struck oil in the east, first in Uganda, where confirmed reserves of 1.7 billion barrels are located, and now, they hope, in Kenya. “Companies have passed commercial thresholds,” in Kenya, said Mwendia Nyaga, an independent consultant.

But given that they still need to work out the costs of extracting what they have found, Kenya has not yet officially “declared commercially viable resources”, he said, even if companies see a “high possibility of production”. “In 2006, there was very little exploration onshore. The main

operation was offshore,” Nyaga said.

“Today, every single licensing opportunity onshore has been taken.”

Kenya has four basins: Anza, Mandera and the Tertiary Rift, where the Turkana finds lie, are all completely onshore, while the Lamu Basin extends offshore.

“The geology tells us that there is oil in the Great Rift Valley, running up and down,” David Cowan, Africa Economist at Citigroup in London, said. Kenya no longer attracts only independents such as Tullow.

Majors such as Total of France and Italy’s Eni have started moving in.

“In East Africa the problem is not geology. Rather the question is what to do with the oil and gas produced,” said Stanislas Drochon, analyst at IHS. “For oil the difficulty is that the region is landlocked,” he went on, referring to Uganda, Kenya’s Turkana region and neighboring South Sudan, which sends out its oil via Sudan.

For Kenya’s Turkana region, populated largely by pastoralist communities who fight over land and water resources, all the infrastructure for getting oil out still has to

be put in place. Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda are currently in discussions over a pipeline network that will connect with a planned new deep-water port on the Kenyan coast. The legal and regulatory framework in Kenya also needs beefing up, experts said.

A new version of Kenya’s petroleum law, last revised in 1986, is being drawn up, notably in the light of new environmental requirements. It will create a new upstream regulator and strengthen a number of other bodies, with the aim of leaving the ministry in charge of policy and creating a petroleum directorate responsible for ensuring that companies stick to the terms of their contracts.

The existing National Oil company NOCK will be the joint venture partner with oil companies. Kenya also has human resources issues to address, including the inclusion of local communities who expect to see a share of the oil wealth.

“Kenya has comparatively well-trained human resources, you have engineers, but they haven’t worked in the oil industry.

You’ll find plant operators, but you’ll have

to teach them the oil industry,” Mwendia Nyaga said. “One of the big challenges in the region is managing the huge expectations,” said Drochon. “People expect to see prices at the pump drop immediately whereas anything to do with oil takes a long time.” he said. The Kenyan government says it is aware of the dangers and is putting in place measures to guard against them.

“There has to be engagement between contractors and the local community and government-at national and county levelin such a way that the local people see tangible benefits,” said Martin Heya, petroleum commissioner at the Energy Ministry. Oil producing communities must feel “tangible benefits both through employment and through local tenders for goods and services,” he said. Whilst Kenyan companies will be quick to supply non-technical services such as catering and transport, providing even semi-technical services will remain a challenge for years to come. The revenue that Kenya derives from oil must be shared out between the national government, the

county government and regional committees where the oil is found.

Heya wants to see the setting up of a sovereign fund to ensure future generations benefit from oil wealth and an equalization fund. The latter is to cushion the effect of fluctuations in oil prices-when prices are up more is saved and when they go down money can be withdrawn.

Tullow has already had a foretaste of what can happen if communities feel disgruntled. It recently had to suspend operations on two blocks for the best part of two weeks after local people, backed by local politicians, marched on a drilling camp. “If we neglect involving local people, local industries, then you have problems later, like in Nigeria,” Nyaga said. “People... for example burst pipelines because they see it as a foreign industry that they don’t benefit from.” Community expectations evolve, Nyaga emphasized, and companies need to take that on board. A company that builds a school for a community needs to recognize that the children who attend it will see themselves as its next generation of petroleum engineers. —AFP

Egypt delays decision on $4.8bn IMF loan: Dy PM Gulf financial aid helps reforms

ATHENS: Laid off school guards argue with police outside the ministry of Administrative reform in Athens yesterday during a protest to get their jobs back. —AFP

Asia LNG buyers set to meet this week NEW DELHI: An uncomfortable prospect for global exporters of liquefied natural gas (LNG) will unfold in India this weekbuyers from countries that import 70 percent of the world’s LNG will meet to discuss how to get a better deal.

Economic expansion, nuclear plant shutdowns in Japan and South Korea and the shift toward cleaner-burning gas in smog-choked Chinese cities have contributed to rising demand for LNG in Asia, already the top destination for the fuel.

Demand has helped push LNG prices to near record levels. Trying to find ways to cut soaring gas import bills, industry participants from India, Japan, South Korea, China and Taiwan will meet in New Delhi on Dec. 5-6, said B.C. Tripathi, chairman of GAIL (India), India’s biggest gas pipeline operator.

The meetings may herald the early stages of an Asian buyers’ club for natural gas in supercooled form transported on ships. Should such a grouping gain traction, a historical precedent would be the formation of the International Energy Agency, which was set up by western economies to counter OPEC after the first oil shock in the 1970s.

A buyers’ group could counter the Gas Exporting Countries Forum, a loose group of 13 gas-producing nations, including Algeria, Iran, Nigeria, Oman, Qatar and Russia. “It has been observed in some recent deals that prices offered by the same seller to Europe and Asia vary greatly, beyond net back and business considerations,” said Indian Oil Minister S Veerappa Moily.

“Large Asian buyers coming together may negotiate from a position of strength,” Moily said. Asian importers say they are charged an excessive premium to other regions because of the tradition of linking LNG contracts to oil prices. A free market in the fuel is constrained by contractual restrictions on ship destinations.

“This is a forum exclusively for buying countries so that we collectively have a voice in the international market,” Tripathi said, speaking at another gas conference that ends today.

Tripathi said the meeting later this week was the second for buyers from the five countries that together accounted for nearly 70 percent of LNG shipments in 2012, according to the BP Statistical Review of World Energy. Spot LNG prices are currently at about $18.95 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) and are closing in on last winter’s peak of $19.67, hit on Feb. 18. They have risen over a third from this year’s low of $14.13 in May. In the United States, where surging shale gas production has pushed down prices, natural gas trades at about $3.80 per mmBtu, but the price doesn’t account for the cost of cooling the fuel to liquid form and shipping it overseas.Most LNG is bought on longterm contract and it is the cost of these supplies that Asian buyers are trying to reduce. They also want to delink con-

tracts from oil prices and eliminate the clauses that restrict the destination of shipments and prevent them from selling on excess cargoes.

Buyers tend to turn to the spot market as their demand fluctuates or contracted supplies are cut off due to maintenance or other outages at LNG facilities.

Asian buyers are betting on LNG shipments from the US, which has started relaxing restrictions on gas exports, to force prices down. “Export of natural gas from America can act as a catalyst for change,” IEA head Maria van der Hoeven told the gas conference in New Delhi yesterday.

Across the region, demand for LNG is rising, while new, uncontracted sources of supply aren’t likely until at least the end of the decade. In Japan, which buys about a third of global LNG shipments, all nuclear reactors have been shut down following the Fukushima nuclear disaster of 2011. While there may be a slight decline in imports this year, they are set to rise again over the next few years as more gas-fired capacity comes online.

In South Korea, a quarter of the nation’s nuclear reactors have been shut mostly due to a corruption scandal that started in 2012, pushing LNG imports 13 percent higher in the first 10 months of this year. Potential shortages of piped gas in China have also pushed up demand for LNG there, while India’s need is to cut imported fuel costs as the rupee has plunged this year.

Indian and Japanese officials have been among the most vocal in the push to cut prices. At an LNG producers’ and consumers’ conference in Tokyo in September, the two countries announced they would study joint purchases of the fuel.

So far they’ve been rebuffed by LNG producers, who argue long-term contracts ensure the reliability of supplies in a high risk business. “Every utility has its own requirements for LNG and how do you share the risks associated with taking on that length of contract?” said one LNG trade source. “Nobody’s ever approached us (as a consortium). As far as I know, it’s all ideas at the moment.”

Among regional buyers not many said they were sending representatives to the meeting. Japanese trading house Mitsui & Co said it was sending India-based representatives to the meeting.

Tokyo Electric Power Co and Tokyo Gas Co, two of Japan’s biggest LNG buyers, said they weren’t sending representatives to New Delhi. “Among buyers, there have been talks to make efforts to narrow the price gaps (between regions) and reduce premiums,” said a source at Korea Gas Corp. “However, as there have been no concrete steps yet, we haven’t participated in the talks nor suggested ideas.”

The formation of a buyers’ forum, if it occurs at all, will take time, said one Chinese buyer. “Maybe slowly there will be some sort of cooperation but so far we haven’t seen any material working together,” said an LNG procurement official at China’s Sinopec . —Reuters

LONDON: Egypt has postponed any decision on taking a $4.8 billion loan from the IMF as financial aid from Gulf states has given Cairo some breathing space as it starts to conduct economic reforms, Deputy Prime Minister Ziad Bahaa El-Din said yesterday.

Bahaa El-Din said Egypt has so far received around $8 billion of a $12 billion aid package from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates promised in July, days after the army toppled Islamist President Mohammad Morsi.

The International Monetary Fund and Egypt have sporadically discussed a possible loan worth up to $4.8 billion to help the ailing economy since a 2011 uprising that toppled president Hosni Mubarak drove away tourists and foreign investors, two main sources of foreign currency.

Any IMF deal, however, would require economic reform commitments that the government might find politically risky. “We have postponed that (IMF) decision for the time being. We are not under the extreme stress that the previous government found itself in,” Bahaa El-Din told a conference in London. “The assistance that we have from abroad ... This is money that has come at the right time to give us the breathing space to begin to implement those decisions at the pace and in conditions that are much more favorable than when you are pressed to have to sign an agreement today or tomorrow.”

Bahaa El-Din said Egypt was expecting to receive $1 billion in aid from Kuwait but did not say when the cash could arrive. Some $3 billion out of total $5 billion aid from the UAE will be channelled through infrastructure and utility projects. He said Egypt is negotiating for more aid from the Gulf which has so far given the country cash transfers and oil shipments. On top of $8 billion, Egypt’s central bank has received deposits from the Gulf to improve liquidity.

“Now we all understand and appreciate that this is not a sustainable situation, we are not going to rely every year on getting this kind of money,” Bahaa El-Din said.

“But it also comes to fill the gap that I have to assume is also non-recurrent.” The minister told Reuters later that he has also signed a $610 million aid package in total from the World Bank to help build a power plant and develop sewage. A central bank official told Reuters yesterday that Egypt returned $500 million to Qatar on Dec. 2 after Qatar refused to renew the deposit it had made with the central bank.

Qatar was one of the few Arab states to support Egypt during President Morsi’s year in office but ties have deteriorated since July.

About a dozen Egyptians who oppose the interim government led by army chief General Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi protested outside the Egyptian Cultural Office in central London

where the briefing was held.

After the briefing, they shouted “shame on you” to the participants, carrying banners that said “Sisi is a murderer” or a symbol adopted by Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood supporters after July.

Bahaa El-Din also said the government was in favor of relaxing capital controls imposed after the 2011 uprising. Capital controls help stabilize the currency but deter foreign investment Egypt badly needs. “Capital controls are not something a country likes to implement. It was imposed under very exceptional circumstances,” he said.

“It’s a function of where we are ... But you have the assurance of this government those capital controls will be relaxed as soon as possible. Some relaxations will be introduced by early next year.”

The central bank has limited Egyptians from transferring more than a cumulative $100,000 out of the country since the 2011 uprising unless they can demonstrate a pressing need for the funds. Many wealthier Egyptians have reached their limit and are no longer able to send funds abroad.

Depositors at banks can only withdraw a maximum of $10,000 in foreign currency per day under central bank rules, but in practice many banks restrict such withdrawals to much less and demand documents proving why the client needs the funds. —Reuters

India’s lower CA deficit fuels economic optimism MUMBAI: India’s current account deficit-the broadest measure of trade-narrowed to its lowest quarterly level in four years, fuelling optimism yesterday that Asia’s third largest economy is on the mend. The deficit slid to $5.2 billion, or 1.2 percent of gross domestic product, in July-September compared to $21.0 billion or five percent of GDP in the same period last year, said the Reserve Bank of India (central bank).

“India’s current account deficit is adjusting at a faster pace than expected by markets,” said Siddhartha Sanyal, chief India economist at Barclays Capital. The drop in the quarterly deficit to its lowest level since March 2009 was mainly due to rising exports and falling imports, particularly of gold, the central bank said in a statement.

India, the world’s largest buyer of gold, has introduced strict measures to constrain imports of the yellow metal to lower its current account deficit, which hit a record $88 billion in the fiscal year to March 2013.

The government has repeatedly raised import duties on gold which is the second biggest contributor, after oil, to India’s deficit.

The high deficit had raised worries about a balance of payments crunch and put pressure on the rupee, which lost nearly a fifth of its value against the dollar earlier in the year before retracing some of its losses.

“The latest (deficit) number provides comfort,” said Shubhada Rao, chief economist at private Yes Bank.

Finance Minister P. Chidambaram has said he is confident the current account deficit during the fiscal year 2013-14 will be contained at 4.8 percent of GDP. But Rao said she was forecasting a current account deficit of around 2.7 percent of GDP for the fiscal year ending March.

India last week posted stronger than expected economic growth of 4.8 percent year-on-year for the second financial quarter to September, thanks to robust farm output and better exports. And a business survey released Monday showed manufacturing swung back to growth last month, boosted by an upturn in orders that prompted factories to increase output.

“We believe the economy has finally bottomed and will continue to pick up speed from here,” said Credit Suisse economist Robert Prior-Wandesforde.

The government has said it expects growth of five percent in the current financial year to March. This would be the same rate as last year, which was a decade-low after India’s nearly double-digit expansion just two years ago. But the Congress-led government expects a pickup in growth next year to six percent. The scandal-tainted government is anxious to revive the economy before facing voters in general elections due by May. —AFP

Len Rodman

Steve Edwards

Steve Edwards assumes role as Black & Veatch Chairman, President, CEO KUWAIT: Black & Veatch International Co. has announced that Steve Edwards has been appointed as the new Chairman, President and CEO of Black & Veatch succeeding Len Rodman. The formal transition occurs as Rodman retires from Black & Veatch after 42 years with the company and 15 years as CEO. During his tenure, the company further positioned itself as a world leader in Critical Human Infrastructure solutions.

In April, Edwards was named Chief Operating Officer of Black & Veatch and to the company’s top leadership position following a transition period concluding on November 27.

“During the transition process, Steve led the company’s strategic planning initiative and the 2014 budgeting process.

In addition, he met with clients, business partners and company professionals all over the world in preparation for his new role,” Rodman said.

Edwards becomes the seventh person to serve in the top leadership position in the 98-year history of the company, which has been providing solutions to Middle Eastern customers for the last

nine decades. “This is a great time for me and all our other professionals to be part of Black & Veatch and to live our company’s Mission of Building a World of Difference,” said Edwards. “Len has provided strong leadership during his tenure and I look forward to working with our professionals and clients in providing global energy, water, communications and security solutions.”

Before becoming COO, Edwards was an Executive Vice President serving as Executive Director Global EPC for Black & Veatch’s energy business. He has been a member of the company’s Executive Committee since 2005 and a member of the Board of Directors since 2012.

In addition, Edwards is actively involved in community service programs. He is a member of the Jackson County CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) Financial Committee.

Edwards serves on the School of Computing and Engineering’s Executive Council at the University of Missouri at Kansas City. He also is a 2013 Campaign Cabinet member for the United Way of Greater Kansas City.

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2013

BUSINESS

Australia CB keeps key rates on hold SYDNEY: Australia’s central bank held interest rates at their record 2.50 percent low yesterday, saying the effects of earlier cuts had still to be fully felt. The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) kept rates on pause for a fourth consecutive month, as widely expected, after a series of cuts designed to stimulate the economy as its decade-long Asia mining boom cools.

Governor Glenn Stevens said the board judged “that the setting of monetary policy remained appropriate”. “The easing in monetary policy that has already occurred since late 2011

has supported interest-sensitive spending and asset values,” he said. “The full effects of these decisions are still coming through, and will be for a while yet.” The bank considered the economy to be growing “a bit below trend over the past year” while the unemployment rate has edged higher.

“This is likely to persist in the near term, as the economy adjusts to lower levels of mining investment,” Stevens said “Further ahead, private demand outside the mining sector is expected to increase at a faster pace, though considerable uncertainty surrounds this outlook.”

He added that there had been an improvement in indicators of household and business sentiment recently, “but it is still unclear how persistent this will be”.

The Australian dollar fell to a two-day low of 90.68 US cents after the comments, with the bank warning the currency was still “uncomfortably high”.

“A lower level of the exchange rate is likely to be needed to achieve balanced growth in the economy,” Stevens said. St George Bank senior economist Hans Kunnen said he expected to

hear more from the RBA on the exchange rate.

“I think the big hope for the RBA and the Aussie dollar is the US tapering its bond purchases sooner rather than later,” he said. With the next central bank meeting not scheduled until February, Commonwealth Bank economist James McIntyre said policy makers had a chance to get a clearer picture on whether another rate cut was needed. “An extended run of data should deliver a clearer idea on whether interest rate-sensitive sectors of the economy are beginning to fire,” he said. — AFP

SHANGHAI: An investor walks past the stock price monitor at a private securities company yesterday in Shanghai. Asian stock markets outside Japan mostly slid yesterday as investors awaited a slew of US economic data this week to gauge when the Federal Reserve will start reducing its monetary stimulus. —AP

Asian shares down after upbeat US data HONG KONG: Asian markets mostly fell yesterday following Wall Street’s losses after a better-than-expected US manufacturing report heightened speculation that the Federal Reserve will begin winding down its stimulus this month. Japanese shares bucked the downward trend as the yen slipped against the dollar, which moved closer to the four-and-a-half-year high touched in May. Tokyo rose 0.60 percent, or 94.59 points, to 15,749.66, Sydney lost 0.44 percent, or 23.4 points, to end at 5,256.1 and Seoul fell 1.05 percent, or 21.42 points, to 2,009.36.

Hong Kong closed 0.53 percent, or 128.08 points, lower at 23,910.47. But Shanghai added 0.69 percent, or 15.30 points, to 2,222.67 as bargain-hunters moved in following Monday’s losses that were fuelled by an expected return of initial public offerings after a year-long hiatus.

In the United States, the Institute for Supply Management said Monday that factory activity grew at a much faster rate in November than in October. The institute said its purchasing managers’ index rose to 57.3 last month from 56.4 in October, despite expectations of a slight fall. The index is up 7.1 points since the beginning of the year.

A figure above 50 indicates growth while anything below points to contraction. The news raised the prospect the Fed will start to cut back its $85 billion a month bond-buying program this month as the economy shows signs of improving, said Kathy Lien, a managing director at BK Asset Management.

National Australia Bank said a December Fed taper “is back on the cards, at least for markets”. On Wall Street the three main indexes fell on the news, while profit-takers also moved in on the first full day of trading after Thursday’s Thanksgiving holiday.

The Dow fell 0.48 percent and the S&P 500 dipped 0.27 percent, after last week notching up new record highs. The Nasdaq lost 0.36 percent. The dollar bought 103.10 yen compared with 102.94 yen in New York Monday afternoon and 102.50 yen in Tokyo earlier Monday.

The greenback is heading towards the 103.70 yen seen in May, which was its highest point since mid-2009. The euro bought $1.3551 against $1.3538 while it was also around a five-year high at 139.73 yen compared with 139.36 yen in US trade. The yen is also facing selling pressure on growing expectations the Japanese central bank will unveil more monetary easing measures to boost the economy.

The Australian dollar slipped to 90.90 US cents after the country’s central bank head said the unit was “uncomfortably high” and added that “a lower level of the exchange rate is likely to be needed to achieve balanced growth in the economy”.

The comments from Glenn Stevens sparked speculation the bank could intervene in currency markets to push down the value of the “Aussie”. On oil markets New York’s main contract, West Texas Intermediate for January delivery, was up 33 cents at $94.15 in afternoon Asian trade.

Brent North Sea crude for January rose 16 cents to $111.61. — AFP

Brent oil holds above $111 on demand data LONDON: Brent crude held above $111 a barrel yesterday, near a three-month high hit in the previous session, as strong economic data boosted the demand outlook and outages in Libya maintained concerns about supply.

Brent prices had risen almost 2 percent on Monday after data showed US factory activity expanded last month at its fastest pace in 2-1/2 years. That came after a report showing that manufacturing growth in China, the world’s No. 2 oil consumer, hit an 18-month high in November.

“For the global economy as a whole, the consensus is that things are looking up and global manufacturing activity is expanding at its fastest pace since mid-2011,” said David Hufton, managing director of London brokerage PVM Oil Associates. “Signs of economic expansion are good for oil demand.”

Brent crude for January delivery was down 1 cent at $111.44 a barrel at 1054 GMT, after touching $112.34 a barrel in the previous session, the highest since Sept. 13.

US crude, also known as West Texas Intermediate or WTI, was up 27 cents at $94.09 a barrel, after settling up $1.10 on Monday. Brent’s premium over WTI slipped slightly to $17.35 a barrel, with the US benchmark boosted by news that TransCanada Corp’s 700,000 barrel-per-day Cushing-to-Port Arthur, Texas, pipeline will begin service on Jan 3. The pipeline is expected to help move crude from the WTI delivery point at Cushing, Oklahoma to refineries on the Gulf Coast.

Brent was also supported by news that two cargoes of Urals crude for December loading had been cancelled from the Baltic ports of Primorsk and Ust-Luga after Russia approved a boost of deliveries to Belarus.

In Libya, where protesters have shut most oil fields and ports, production has risen slightly in the past two weeks, Deputy Oil Minister Omar Shakmak said in an interview on Monday. But exports of just 130,000 barrels per day remained a fraction

of the 1.4 million bpd Libya exported only five months ago.

Ministers from OPEC members Saudi Arabia and Algeria indicated on Monday that the oil cartel was likely to keep its production target of 30 million barrels per day unchanged for the first half of 2014 at a meeting in Vienna today. “The market is in the best situation it can be, demand is great, economic growth is improving,” Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Ali Al-Naimi said.

The producer group may need to cut output at some point next year, however, analysts say, as rapid increases in North American output may cut into OPEC’s share of the market. The group may also need to contend with higher output from members Iraq and Iran.

Yesterday, the Iraqi Oil Minister Abdul Kareem Luaibi said the country planned to lift oil output by more than a million bpd to over 4 million bpd in 2014, in what would be its biggest supply increase since the fall of Saddam Hussein a decade ago. Investors will watch US third-quarter GDP data due on Thursday and non-farm payrolls for November due on Friday for clues on whether improvements in the world’s biggest economy could prompt the Federal Reserve to announce tapering of its monetary stimulus at its meeting on Dec 17-18.

In another important indicator of demand in the United States, commercial crude oil inventories were forecast to have dropped an average of 600,000 barrels in the week ended Nov. 29, a Reuters poll of analysts showed.

Data released by the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) last week showed that crude oil inventories rose by 3 million barrels for the week to Nov. 22 to the highest level for November on records dating back to 1982. The Reuters poll comes ahead of weekly inventory reports from industry group American Petroleum Institute (API) due at 2130 GMT on Tuesday and the latest EIA data today. — Reuters

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2013

BUSINESS

Al-Zayani: 3 regional premiers for Maserati in Dubai Brand new Maserati Ghibli appeals to the head, the heart and the soul

DUBAI: Dubai International Motor Show saw the premiers of three highly anticipated models, the Maserati Ghibli, The Maserati GranCabrio MC and GranTurismo MC Stradale; which including the sixth generation Quattroporte totals four new models brought to the region by Maserati this year alone.

Focus fell on Maserati’s exciting entrance into the E-segment of the sports premium market: The Maserati Ghibli is an entirely new model for the Italian car manufacturer and provides a cornerstone in the Marque’s plan to build 50,000 cars a year by 2015, with the Middle East forming a key market to reach this eightfold rise in production.

Derek Davies, Automotive Director at AlZayani, commented, “The coming couple of years will undoubtedly be full of exciting events and accomplishments for us with Maserati. The Ghibli will tap into new markets for Maserati and this will add to the brand’s popularity and demand in Kuwait.”

The sports executive sedan combines fascinating design with exceptional handling and outstanding performance. Both versions of the petrol range, Ghibli and Ghibli S, feature a newgeneration twin turbo-charged 3.0-litre V6 engine. With its power output of 410 hp the Ghibli S races to 100 km/h in 5.0 seconds and reaches a top speed of 285 km/h. The Ghibli delivers 330 hp, a top speed of 263 km/h and an acceleration of 0 to 100 km/h in 5.6 seconds.

The new Ghibli shares much of its core architecture, its chassis, its suspension architecture, the V6 engine and the ZF 8-speed automatic transmission with the flagship limousine Quattroporte, though it is 50 kg lighter, 173 mm shorter in the wheel base and 291 mm shorter overall. It is the second model after the flagship to be manufactured to new benchmark quality

standards in Maserati’s new state-of-the-art production facilities in Grugliasco close to Turin.

Dynamic and precise handling is guaranteed by the car’s perfectly balanced 50:50 weight distribution while the sophisticated Maserati Skyhook suspension system and limited slip differential, novel in its class, make every ride even more enjoyable. Achieving five stars on the Euro NCAP crash test, the Ghibli provides peace of mind for all occupants.

While the Ghibli maintains a strong visual link to the Quattroporte, its design emphasizes a more determined personality and muscular lines. The pronounced grille draws a line back to the iconic A6 GCS of the 1950s. The headlights add noticeable feline hints to the front, while their shape converges onto the Trident symbol, with every angle designed to attract the eye to Maserati’s legendary marque.

The distinctive C-pillar delivers much of the Ghibli’s coupÈ-like stance and hosts the classical

BoE set to hold record-low rate LONDON: The Bank of England is likely to maintain record-low interest rates and its level of cash stimulus tomorrow, holding its wait-and-see stance on the strengthening recovery, economists said. The central bank will announce the outcome of its latest monthly gathering at 1200 GMT tomorrow Thursday, shortly after a separate budget update from finance minister George Osborne who is expected to unveil upgrades to official growth forecasts.

The BoE’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) was forecast to keep its key rate at 0.50 percent, where it has stood since March 2009, and maintain its bond-buying or quantitative easing (QE) policy at £375 billion ($614 billion, 453 billion euros).

Britain is enjoying a strengthening recovery thanks to rebounding house prices and rising consumer expenditure, and against a background of continuing state austerity to reduce the public deficit.

The recovery “has finally taken hold”, the Bank of England declared in its quarterly inflation report last month, as it upgraded growth forecasts. The BoE also forecast last month that Britain’s unemployment rate was expected to drop to a key threshold of 7.0 percent by the third quarter of 2015. That was about nine months sooner than previously flagged, stoking fears of a rate hike.

The bank does not plan to raise its interest rate from 0.50 percent until the unemployment rate falls to at least the threshold, under a “forward guidance” policy adopted by governor Mark Carney in August.

However, Carney has repeatedly stressed

that reaching the threshold would not automatically trigger an interest rate rise.

“With November’s inflation report indicating favorable prospects for growth and inflation, there is little reason for the MPC to change course on policy,” said Martin Beck, UK economist at research group Capital Economics. “And while unemployment may be falling more rapidly towards the 7.0-percent way-station than the MPC expected, committee members have been at pains to emphasize the ‘threshold, not a trigger’ point frequently stressed by governor Carney.

“Meanwhile, action to cool household lending with macro-prudential tools has further reduced the likelihood of an early rate hike. Accordingly, interest rates will be on hold for a long time yet.”

The bank had announced last week that Britain’s state-run lending scheme will no longer boost mortgage borrowing, amid concerns about a potential bubble in the housing market.

The government’s Funding for Lending Scheme, which was launched last year to boost mortgage and business lending, offers cheap finance to banks in order to encourage loans and boost growth.

Recent data confirmed that the economy expanded at the fastest rate for more than three years during the third quarter. Gross domestic product grew 0.8 percent in the July-September period from the previous three months. That followed expansion of 0.4 percent and 0.7 percent, in the first and second quarters respectively. —AFP

Brazil’s economy shrinks for first time since 2009 SAO PAULO: Brazil’s economy contracted in the third quarter for the first time since early 2009, falling short of expectations yet again as plunging investment and idle factories wiped out what had already been sluggish growth. The economy shrank 0.5 percent between July and September from the prior three months, government statistics agency IBGE said yesterday, missing forecasts in what has become a disappointing routine over the last three years. Gross domestic product had been expected to drop 0.2 percent, according to the median forecast of 40 economists polled by Reuters. The weak quarter underscored mounting economic concerns in Brazil, which has struggled to contain inflation and stay competitive in recent years, tarnishing the promising reputation it earned with a decade of robust growth.

A full-blown recession remains unlikely in Latin America’s largest economy, but the slowdown highlights the chances of weak growth and a possible credit rating downgrade next year, when President Dilma Rousseff is expected to seek re-election.

Vanishing growth - combined with new evidence of stagnation from January to March - rein-

forced expectations that Brazil’s central bank could soon wrap up a cycle of interest rate hikes aimed at cooling inflation. Yields on interest rate futures fell yesterday as traders bet increasingly on a single, smaller rate hike in January. Brazil’s toughest month seems to have been July, following widespread protests against poor public services. The rebound since then has been weak and economists are slashing forecasts for 2013 and 2014, which is expected to be even more sluggish. “The fourth quarter started weak and growth (this year) should be closer to 2.2 or 2.3 percent than the 2.5 percent we had before,” said Flavio Serrano, an economist at Espirito Santo Investment Bank. “We were not able to grow despite various economic stimulus measures ... due to a macroeconomic imbalance with little production and a lot of consumption.”

The stagnation in Brazil contrasts with major emerging-market peers such as Mexico, India and China, where economic growth recovered between July and September after disappointing in the first half of the year. Brazil is out of step due largely to heavy government stimulus over the past year that is starting to lose steam. —Reuters

Saetta Maserati logo. The side profile is dominated by a character line that emerges from the three unmistakable Maserati air vents behind the front wheels and finishes in the rear lights themselves.

With its elongated wheelbase, a total length of 4.97m and wide tracks, the Ghibli demonstrates a perfect blend of sportiness and elegance that is second to none in its class. The Ghibli enters the market with a tangible advantage in cabin craftsmanship and detailing. It also sets itself apart with a unique, cockpitinspired dashboard design that perfectly matches its sporty and youthful character without compromising on the highest level of refinement and sophistication. Key elements such as the 8.4” Maserati Touch Control and the fine Poltrona Frau(r) leather finish underline the cabin’s timeless sporting character. Optional features include the 15-speaker Bowers & Wilkes high end audio system, WLAN based

WiFi and a wide range of customization options that cater for the most demanding individuals.

The GranTurismo MC Stradale and the GranCabrio MC also made their regional debuts at Dubai Motorshow. The new fourseater GranTurismo MC Stradale takes its inspiration from the racing version which competes in the Maserati Trofeo Championship, offering the perfect combination of sportiness, luxury and elegance, comfort and style, functionality and dynamism that can now be enjoyed by four people. The new aesthetic exterior features, with their clear racing edge, are highlighted by the new carbon fibre bonnet which frames an central air intake and two rear extractors.

The GranTurismo MC Stradale is powered

by Maserati’s acclaimed 4.7 litre 460 hp V8 engine. Combined with a MC Race Shift 6speed electro actuated gearbox, the car ensures thrilling high performance -and a top

speed of 303 km/h, which can be enjoyed in the new four passenger configuration.

For those who prefer the open top drive with a thrill, Maserati presented the stunning new GranCabrio MC. The four-seater embodies muscular performance blended with the lifestyle, charm and design of the acclaimed convertible. The athletic look of the GranCabrio MC can be seen in each design element in its bodywork, which blends sportiness, dynamism, aerodynamic functionality, elegance and style.

The GranCabrio MC also boasts 460 hp and accelerates from 0-100 km/h in swift 4.9 seconds.

Underlining the importance of the occasion, Maserati’s Global Head of Design, Mr Lorenzo Ramaciotti had the honor of unveiling the stunning line up to an expectant press cordon. He commented, “It is my honor to be here at Dubai International Motor Show to unveil the new Maserati Ghibli. Inspired by the iconic concept of the legendary Tipo 60, also known as ‘the Birdcage’, the Ghibli design went back to the very core of Maserati’s 100-year heritage.

With harmony, dynamism and purity, all captured in the sleek lines and proportions, the Ghibli successfully creates the bridge between the spaciousness of a sedan and the sportiness of a coupe.”

Umberto Cini, Managing Director for Maserati General Overseas Markets commented at the launch, “On the eve of its centennial celebration, the Maserati has successfully laid the foundations for an unparalleled strategic and industrial. In 2013 alone we have launched four new models, three of them to the region here at Dubai Motor Show, undoubtedly highlighting the Middle East’s importance to Maserati’s future growth.”

Britain to upgrade growth forecasts UK outpaces euro-zone growth LONDON: Britain’s economy will grow faster than expected as it outpaces the neighboring euro-zone, finance minister George Osborne is expected to reveal in a budget update this week.

Osborne will deliver his so-called autumn statement before parliament at 1115 GMT tomorrow, when he will also stick to the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government’s deficit-slashing strategy. Britain is enjoying a solid economic recovery thanks to a booming property market and rebounding consumer expenditure despite ongoing state austerity. “In the autumn statement I will say the job is not yet done because we have got to make sure we go on taking the difficult decisions to secure the recovery,” Chancellor of the Exchequer Osborne said on Sunday.

The key Conservative minister pledged to deliver a “responsible recovery”, playing down the prospect of any major tax giveaways or spending commitments. Osborne has already unveiled plans to overhaul energy levies in a bid to lower household bills. The move was aimed at countering a pledge from the opposition Labor party to freeze electricity and gas prices, should it win a general election due in mid-2015. The Confederation of British Industry, which represents employers, has called on Osborne to support business investment and overhaul business rates.

Alongside Thursday’s update, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) watchdog is set to upgrade its forecasts for growth and borrowing.

Six months ago, the OBR cut its 2013 economic growth forecast, blaming the impact of the eurozone debt crisis. Gross domestic product (GDP) was expected to grow by just 0.6 percent this year, followed by 1.8 percent in 2014 and 2.3 percent in 2015.

Since March, however, the nation’s economic recovery has strengthened with third-quarter growth of 0.8 percent-the fastest rate in more than three years. “With the economy expanding at its fastest pace in thirteen quarters, George Osborne will no doubt enjoy delivering his autumn statement this time around,” Daiwa economist Emily Nicol told AFP. “The growth forecasts of just 0.6 percent in 2013 and 1.8 percent in 2014 published by the OBR just six months ago seem bound to be revised up, to around 1.5 percent and 2.5 percent respectively.”

The 17-member euro-zone is meanwhile predicted to shrink 0.4 percent this year, before rebounding to grow 1.1 percent in 2014 and 1.7 percent in 2015, according to recent European Commission forecasts. Nicol added that firmer British growth would increase taxation revenues and curb the deficit further. Recent data showed that state borrowing fell in October, boosted by

rising property taxation revenues as a result of recovering house prices.

The government is likely to undershoot its £120-billion borrowing target in the current 2013/2014 financial year, which runs from April to March. “Rising tax receipts and higher growth forecasts will mean the Chancellor lowers his borrowing forecasts in the 5 December autumn statement,” agreed Berenberg’s chief UK economist Rob Wood.

“But George Osborne will probably be more Scrooge than Santa, and bank most of the fiscal improvement.” The coalition government, headed by Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron, has sought to slash spending and hike taxes since coming to power more than three years ago. It inherited a record public deficit from the previous Labor administration. Britain is a member of the European Union but not of the euro-zone, but the single currency bloc is its major trading partner.

On Thursday, the Bank of England is also widely expected to maintain its key interest rate at a record low 0.50 percent, where it has stood since March 2009 in an attempt to stimulate the recovery.

The central bank is also set to maintain its socalled quantitative easing stimulus, which is aimed at boosting lending and stimulating growth. —AFP

Citi Alumni Network holds 2nd annual event in Kuwait KUWAIT: Citibank Kuwait held its second annual Citi Alumni Network Event at Le Notre Restaurant on Monday for their commitment, hard work, and loyalty which contributed to the franchise’s success in Kuwait and elsewhere.

Speaking at the event, Citibank Kuwait CEO and General Manager, Ozgur Kutay said: “Since we established our office here in Kuwait 7 years ago, we have made a clear footprint and it gives us great pleasure to witness how far we have come. When it comes to the Alumni, our most valuable asset, celebrating this achievement with you is living proof that we have excelled in preparing you and paving the way for you to become the experienced bankers you are today. If we did not succeed in building our people then we would not be where we are today”. Also attending the cele-

bration were former Citibank employees who worked in Citi’s offices in several countries around the world and are now working in Kuwait, some of whom spent at least 25 years with Citi as well as senior Citi executives in Kuwait and the region.

The Citi Alumni Network is open to

all alumni who worked with Citi for at least two years. Alumni are encouraged to sign up at www.citialumninetwork.com. Once the registration is complete, an email confirmation will be sent, and members can start sub- KUWAIT: Citibank Kuwait CEO mitting relevant news articles as well and General Manager Ozgur as their own alumni stories.

Kutay Speaking at the event.

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2013

BUSINESS

2014 Corvette Stingray wins 3 top honors in Mideast KUWAIT: The all-new 2014 Corvette Stingray - the most powerful, most capable and most efficient standard Corvette ever -has won the prestigious 2013 SportsCar of the Year title from leading regional automotive magazines Sport Auto and Car Bazar, as well as Muscle Car of the Year from Car and Driver.

The all-new 2014 Corvette Stingray, which made its regional debut at the 2013 Dubai International Motor Show, is the most powerful standard model ever, powered by a new LT1 6.2L V8 engine - which produces more than 455 horsepower and 610 Nm of torque. Moreover, the vehicle is able to accelerate from 0-100 km/h in four seconds, and delivers up to an EPA-estimated 8.1 L/100km highway - making it the most fuel efficient sports car on the market.

“We are honored to have won the highly-coveted SportsCar of the Year and Muscle Car of the Year accolades. These awards recognize the beautiful design, performance excellence, technological advancements and innovation prowess of this fantastic vehicle,” said Maurice Williams, President and Managing Director of General Motors Middle East.

“The 2014 Corvette Stingray perfectly fits those cri-

teria further cementing the Stingray’s iconic reputation as one of the most hallowed names in automotive history. It truly epitomizes the future of modern performance vehicles- blending immaculate crafts-

manship with pioneering features.”

The 2014 Corvette Stingray shares only two parts with the previous generation Corvette. It incorporates an all-new frame structure and chassis, a new

powertrain and supporting technologies, as well as completely new exterior and interior designs. The 2014 Corvette Stingray coupe goes on sale in the Middle East market early next year.

Wataniya Telecom’s loyalty program ‘Nojoom’ partners with ‘ProntoWash’ Nojoom members can now redeem points for ProntoWash services

Malabar Gold & Diamonds opens its fifth outlet in Oman at Sohar SOHAR, Oman: Malabar Gold & Diamonds, the leading jewelry retailer in GCC, India and Singapore has opened its 5th outlet in Sohar, Sultanate of Oman.

The brand new outlet at Al-Hamber Street Sohar was inaugurated by Sulaiman Talib Salem Al-Za’abi - Director of Tourism Administration in the North & South Al-Batinah Governorates, Ministry of Tourism, Sultanate of Oman in the presence of Khamis Thani Al-Mandhri Director - Sultanate of Oman, Dr P.A Ibrahim Haji - Co-chairman Malabar Group of Companies, Shamlal Ahamed M P - Managing Director International Operations, Malabar Gold & Diamonds, Abdul Salam KP - Group Executive Director, Malabar Gold & Diamonds, Mayin Kutty C - Director, Malabar Gold & Diamonds, Basheer S M - Director Malabar Gold & Diamonds, Faisal AK Corporate Executive Director, Malabar Gold & Diamonds, Mohammed Sali Kunju - Director, Malabar Gold & Diamonds, Ameer CMC, Director - Finance & Admin, Malabar Gold & Diamonds, Jabbar Kappan, Sami Salim Saif Al-Toubi - Public Relations Manager, Malabar Gold & Diamonds, Najeeb K - Regional Head,

Oman, Malabar Gold & Diamonds, Muhsin P - Branch Head, Malabar Gold & Diamonds on 28th November 5.30 PM. This is the 104thshowroom of the brand worldwide.

To mark this occasion, Malabar Gold & Diamonds has unveiled more designs in their branded jewellery segment; EraUncut Diamond collection, Mine Diamonds Unlimited, Ethnix- hand crafted designer jewellery, Divine- heritage Indian jewellery, Precia- precious gem jewellery and Starlet- kids jewellery to suit any budget and occasion.

Malabar Gold & Diamonds has always been a leading supporter of CSR initiatives and their entry into Sohar marks yet another CSR initiative offered to the community. The jewellery group has distributed 15 nos. of wheel chairs to the needy in association with Oman Association For The Disabled Center & a free blood donation and medical camp was organized by Malabar Gold & Diamonds on the inauguration day from 10 am to 4 pm in association with Sohar KMCC & Badr Al Sama Group of Hospitals.

Free medicines were provided to the needy as a part of the medical camp.

Al-Mazaya Holding’s activity to be strengthened by Expo 2020 KUWAIT: Ibrahim Al-Saqabi, Acting Chief Executive Officer at Al-Mazaya Holding Company, has argued that Dubai’s winning of Expo 2020 will have a positive impact on the activity of Al-Mazaya Holding, with a large proportion (over 85 percent) of its projects concentrated in Dubai, worth more than $2.8 billion.

He added that the company’s strategic plan over the next five years will include entering into investments in Dubai Market, which according to global analysts will see a big jump during the coming period, especially since the UAE government had estimated that the project will add about $23 billion to GDP between 2015 and 2020, or 25 percent of current GDP.

Ibrahim Al-Saqabi

Al-Saqabi argued too that reliable figures indicate that Expo 2020 is expected to significantly increase foreign capital inflows, and provide 300,000 jobs over the next six or seven years. In addition, it is expected to drive real estate and development projects forward, creating bullish forecasts for the real estate sector in the UAE for the medium term future.

He also stressed that the Dubai market has become now more aware and mature than ever before. The Government of Dubai is expected to wisely draw on past experiences in its re-

consideration of current investment legislation, mortgage law and regulation and other laws the amendment or liberalization of which can further stimulate investment.

In addition, Al-Saqabi pointed out that this has encouraged Al-Mazaya to begin examining a range of new investment opportunities stemming from the rapid developments in Dubai, to meet the immense demand for modern infrastructure and facilities there, especially as AlMazaya Company is not a new entrant like many foreign or Gulf companies clamoring to enter the market, but rather is stable and embedded there - a huge competitive advantage when it comes to leveraging the opportunities ahead.

He stressed too that the presence of Al-Mazaya in this market, through its four subsidiaries including Mazaya Dubai, a company classified in a free zone for the development of real estate, and its expertise in this market over the past years, will provide Al-Mazaya with significant competitive advantage with respect to many government and private projects there, especially considering that Mazaya Dubai managed to navigate the global financial crisis without suspending a single real estate project in the emirate - in stark contrast to many of its competitors. The company has been able to deliver more than 1,500 housing units, and has kept the land not yet developed within its own Territory Bank, an indication of its trust in the Dubai real estate market as being a mature and integrated market, which leads the region.

Al-Saqabi concluded by saying that Al-Mazaya’s trust in the Dubai market grows day by day, and the company continues to monitor adapt and prepare for the latest preparatory measures being put in place in Dubai, such as the new Dubai Metro lines, which will support the implementation of all current and future projects, especially as the Dubai Government is taking care to plan in the long term, as it conceives and implements infrastructure projects in the emirate to prepare for Expo 2020.

KUWAIT: “Nojoom” is Wataniya Telecom’s loyalty program which offers its members hundreds of exciting rewards and benefits for simply using Wataniya’s array of services. Wataniya has lately partnered with “ProntoWash”, the global leader in carwash services, to offer members of “Nojoom” an extra value and more variety.

“Nojoom” members can now redeem their collected points for carwash services offered by “ProntoWash”.

Nojoom is the largest loyalty program in Kuwait. Members can earn points for using any Wataniya service such as talking on their phone, sending SMS, recharging their prepaid lines or even paying their bills. Nojoom has partnered with some of the most renowned brands in Kuwait including “ProntoWash” to offer its members convenience and day-to-day amenities.

Members can now redeem their points for carwash services done either at home or at

ProntoWash Centre located on the Fourth Ring Road at Shuwaikh Industrial area.

In order to redeem the vouchers, customers simply have to visit wataniya.com to check their membership details. Then they must click on “Rewards from Partners” and proceed to “Redeem from Partner ” and choose

“ProntoWash”. After completing these simple steps, members will receive an SMS which they can show to a Wataniya sales representative at any of Wataniya’s branches and members will then receive a paper voucher which they can redeem at ProntoWash.

Wataniya Telecom stated, “At Wataniya, we strive to offer value and experiences that go beyond the mobile phone. Nojoom members can enjoy hundreds of rewards that cater to their lifestyle needs.”

Any Wataniya customer with a private subscription can become a Nojoom member for free. All they have to do to join the program is send “R” to 129 for free. Nojoom members can also easily check their Nojoom points by dialing *5##. Nojoom offers customers a chance to enjoy more value and a variety of exciting experiences along with their mobile and internet connection.

Alghanim Automotive raffles first of 3 ‘New 2013 Chevrolet Cruze’ KUWAIT: Yusuf A Alghanim & Sons Automotive held the first raffle of three on November 12, 2013 as part of its promotion on ACDelco and GM spare parts with the first draw taking place in the presence of members of the Ministry of Trading and Commerce and management of Yusuf A. Alghanim & Sons Automotive. The lucky winner, Hussain Jiwabhis was announced as the winner of a brand new 2013 Chevrolet Cruze.

Yusuf A Alghanim & Sons Automotive had launched this unique promotional campaign so as to provide their customers with a highly rewarding prize due to their purchase of authentic spare parts from General Motors and ACDelco during the duration of the promotion which will end by December 31, second draw will take place on 5th December while the final draw will take place on 8th January 2014. For every KD25 purchase of genuine parts, the customer is entitled to a coupon that automatically enters them into three draws (1 each month) with the grand prize of each being a brand new 2013 Chevrolet Cruze.

As the agent of GM genuine spare parts and distributor of ACDelco products in Kuwait, Alghanim Automotive provides its customers with worldrenowned, genuine spare parts that enhance customers’ safety and vehicles’ performance as well as prolong a vehicle’s life span due to the products’ quality manufacturing.

A great opportunity to invest in a home in Kerala SFS Homes, Kerala’s highest Crisil-rated developer now in Kuwait KUWAIT: SFS is back in Kuwait with a wide range of homes at the most happening locations in Kerala. This year the company visits Kuwait as Kerala’s highest CRISIL rated developer with the rating of DA2. This achievement is a just recognition of the company’s efforts to deliver homes of the highest quality, on time and transfer clear title to its customers. This benchmark of reliability and added to the trust built over 28 long years, has made SFS the preferred choice for a home in Kerala for NRIs living in the Gulf region.

Apart from being awarded the DA2 CRISIL rating, the company had the rewarded for its pioneering work in promoting Green Homes, with SFS Grande at Vellayambalam in Trivandrum earning the rare distinction of being the FIRST GOLD rated residential Green Building by the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC).

SFS Stanford at Mukkola in the state capital is a newly launched Green Building that has already secured a pre-certified Gold rating from the IGBC. In Cochin, SFS is credited with building SFS Gardenia, the FIRST AND ONLY luxury pool villas at Vazhakala.

Another important development is the soon to be launched ultra-luxury apartment project SFS Tranquil at Kodimata in Kottayam which offers large 3 & 4 BHK apartments. This exclusive project is being launched in association with the AVG Group, will offer a lifestyle never before seen in this part of the world and mark the company’s

entry into this vibrant city.

On this visit, SFS Homes is offering 4 new projects in Trivandrum and Cochin. In Trivandrum, the projects are SFS Only One, an upcoming launch at the city’s most iconic location Museum Jn. This exclusive luxury project overlooks the acres of lush green parks of the Zoo, Museum and Kanakakunnu Palace. It offers large 4 BHK apartments, one in each floor with a new innovative design concept - the White Plan. This plan gives you the flexibility to design your own home.

Another exciting launch in Trivandrum is SFS Gateway-Tivoli, at SFS Cyber Gateway in Kazhakoottam, the new investment destination in the city. The project offers 2 & 3 BHK apartments and is a perfect investment opportunity as it is located in between Technopark and Technocity. Also SFS Sundial near PTP Nagar is a city located project that offers 3 BHK apartments.

In Cochin, the new launches are SFS Centre Cove at Azad Road, Kaloor, city centre apartments. This is a very coveted project of SFS as it is strategically located between MG Road and the new prime corridor NH bypass. The project offers 2 & 3 BHK apartments with the finest of lifestyle amenities.

SFS Boulevard, near the Holiday Inn on the NH bypass is the other new launch in Cochin. This is an innovative lifestyle project at one of the city’s most happening locations. It’s just a

few minutes off the Edappally Jn and the Lulu Mall making life exciting for its residents. The project offers homes with the White Plan - giving you the opportunity to customize your home to the needs of your family. You can

K Srikant also opt for the standard 3 & 4 BHK apartments here.

SFS Homes has over 20 other projects located at IT/growth, city centre and waterfront locations in Kerala in different stages of completion.

SFS Cyber Palms, near Technopark, Trivandrum is the company’s flagship project and the state’s premier lifestyle housing development. It boasts of some of the finest amenities offered

for the first time in a real estate project in Kerala like a 22,000 sq. ft. Club House and Indoor Games Arena. All the amenities offered here have already been built. CRISIL, the premier credit and quality rating agency in India has awarded the highest 7 star project rating for SFS Cyber Palms.

READY-TO-OCCUPY homes in Cochin & Trivandrum on offer are: SFS Aqua Greens, on the Periyar waterfront at Alwaye, voted the best residential property in South India in 2012. SFS Cyber Gold, offers 1 & 2 BHK apartments near the Infosys campus & Technopark. SFS Airport Royale at Nedumbasserry, near the Cochin International Airport offers apartments in a wide variety of sizes like Studio, 1, 2 & 3 BHK. SFS Waterscapes, luxury apartments on the Akkulam Waterfront and close to Technopark in Trivandrum offers 2 & 3 BHK homes.

SFS Silicon Park, apartments at the heart of the IT city at Kakkanad is another attractive ready to occupy project ideal for those wishing to invest in a home at Cochin’s IT corridor.

Another exciting ongoing project is SFS Gardenia - the first ultra luxury pool villas in Cochin at Vazhakala. It offers 3 & 4 bedroom villas.

The SFS Team headed by K Srikant, Chairman, Abhilash V R and Kanan Mohan can be contacted between 4th December to 10th December, 2013 on the following mobile Nos 65996454 & 65131707.

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2013

technology

Apple buys analytics firm for $200 million NEW YORK: Apple has acquired social media analytics firm Topsy for more than $200 million, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday. The newspaper, citing sources familiar with the deal, said it was unclear how Apple planned to use the firm but that it could be related to Apple’s new streaming music service. Apple did not specifically comment on the report, but a spokeswoman said in a statement: “Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our

purpose or plans.”

Topsy, according to the report, is among a handful of Twitter partners which has access to the full range of data from the fast-growing messaging platform. Earlier this year, Topsy said it had created a searchable index of all the publicly available tweets ever made, to be available for marketers and others.

Topsy did not respond to a request for comment.

Topsy describes itself as a company “with the only full-scale index of the public social web,” to help its

customers “instantly analyze any topic, term or hashtag across years of conversations on millions of web sites.”

The data can be used to analyze the effectiveness of a social media ad campaign, for example. Danny Sullivan, analyst at Search Engine Land, said Topsy “is about the only decent third-party Twitter search service to have survived, in recent years.” “Topsy’s access to Twitter’s ‘firehose’ of tweets and focus on providing search results and analytical tools make it

even more robust than Twitter’s own Twitter Search, for some queries,” Sullivan said in a blog post.

But Sullivan said it’s not clear if Twitter will continue to give Topsy “a sweetheart deal” for access under Apple’s ownership. He said that Topsy had become “the definitive Twitter search engine” and was likely sought by Twitter itself. Apple had a music-oriented social network called Ping, but shuttered that last year as it created sharing options through Facebook and Twitter.—AFP

Tumblr brings hipster twist to year-end lists SAN FRANCISCO: Tumblr is where the Internet’s cool kids hang out. That’s why Yahoo paid $1.1 billion for the blogging site in one of this year’s most buzzed-about deals. Now, Tumblr is flaunting its hipster credentials with a first-ever breakdown of the year’s hottest trends, topics and celebrities. The retrospective starts Tuesday at http://YearinReview.tumblr.com with an exploration of 20 categories ranging from the most popular musical groups to the

most interesting architecture.

Similar end-of-the-year lists are annual rites at Yahoo, Google and other websites equipped with widely used search engines.

Tumblr’s musings figure to stand out because they are drawn from a younger audience whose eclectic tastes are evident in the year-end roundup’s categories.

Entire sections will be devoted to photo bombing, fingernail art, unicorns, bacon, pretty colors and student loans. — AP NEW YORK: This undated image provided by Dell shows the Dell NEW YORK: In this file photo, the HP Chromebook 11 is displayed at a Google event. — AP Inc’s Inspiron 14 7000, The laptop starts at $850. —AP

Gift Guide: Plenty of laptops, even on budgets

TORONTO: In this Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013, file photo, Arun Kumar, a senior product manager for BlackBerry, shows off the new BlackBerry Z10 during the global launch of the company’s new smartphones. — AP

BlackBerry head says company is ‘very much alive’ TORONTO: BlackBerry’s interim chief executive said Monday reports of the death of the company “are greatly exaggerated.” Former Sybase CEO John Chen said in a letter to customers that BlackBerry is returning to its roots, refocusing on delivering devices and services to business users. Chen was brought in as the interim chief executive and executive chair after talks to sell the company collapsed last month. He said in the letter that the company is aware that “BlackBerry is not for everyone.”

Blackberry quickly lost dominance as the leading smartphone maker after the 2007 launch of Apple’s touchscreen iPhone and the 2008 introduction of Google-powered Android phones. Chen notes that competitors are circling but that BlackBerry is “very much alive, thank you.” Chen said BlackBerry has substantial cash and said he’ll refocus the company on four areas, including the handset business. Chen put more emphasis on BlackBerry’s mobile device management business, which allows IT departments to manage different devices connected to their corporate networks.

He also emphasized BlackBerry’s popular BlackBerry Messenger application. And he mentioned embedded QNX software systems, which are used in-vehicle infotainment systems and industrial machines. BGC analyst Colin Gillis said a letter meant to reassure customers is needed. The much-hyped BlackBerry 10 system, its latest phones, flopped. The

company disclosed in September that it would book nearly a billion dollars in losses related to unsold phones and the company announced last month it was no longer for sale.

“They are being targeted pretty heavily. Their customers are up for grabs,” Gillis said. Focusing on business users is probably the only move Blackberry has left, Gillis said. “It’s a much smaller business.

This is the niche player. You can build phones for those people in that niche. You can have a decent little business,” Gillis said. “Enterprise customers who like keyboards. There’s not really a good keyboard device out there. Some people like keyboards. I personally don’t love typing on glass.”

Gillis said he expects Chen to name himself CEO soon because he’s not acting like an interim CEO. “He’s signing all this stuff as CEO,” Gillis said. Shares of BlackBerry rose 4 cents to $6.37 in afternoon trading on the Nasdaq. The decline of the BlackBerry has come shockingly fast. The BlackBerry, pioneered in 1999, changed the culture by allowing on-thego business people to access wireless email. Then came a new generation of competing smartphones, and suddenly the BlackBerry looked ancient. Apple first showed that phones can handle much more than email and phone calls with its iPhone. In the years since, BlackBerry been hammered by competition from the iPhone as well as Android-based rivals. — AP

NEW YORK: There’s no shortage of laptop computers to pick from this holiday season, even for shoppers on tight budgets. A Chromebook optimized to run Google’s Internet services can be bought for as little as $200, while a few hundred dollars more gets you a laptop that’s not so dependent on having a continuous online connection. Although smartphones and tablet computers get much of the attention these days, laptops are still more desirable for people who do a lot of typing or other heavy-duty tasks such as photo editing.

For most people, price tops the list of factors to consider when choosing a new laptop. You also have to consider processing speeds, storage and battery needs and figure out how much weight the person you’re shopping for will be willing to cart around.

And then there’s the operating system. Are you shopping for someone who prefers Windows 8? If that’s the case, you’ll probably want to spring for a touch-screen model. You might even consider a twoin-one, which can switch back and forth between a laptop and a tablet. There are also Windows tablets with attachable keyboards to make them perform much like laptops.

Choices are more limited for fans of Macs or Google’s Chrome system, but the choices that are available are good ones. This gift guide covers budget and mid-priced laptops with starting prices of less than $1,000. If you’re willing to spend more, you can get laptops that are lighter and more powerful. We’ll cover those later. Keep in mind that you can often shop around for prices that beat the manufacturers’ suggested prices.

Google Chromebooks The nicest things about these laptops are their small size and low price. But they also offer little functionality. Instead of Windows or Mac OS, the computers run Google’s Chrome OS software. That gives you access to services such as Gmail, Google Maps and Google Docs, along with Google’s players for music and video. You can download other apps from Google and other companies, but there aren’t a lot to choose from. And while some functions work offline, the com-

puters are really meant for online use. Forget about a fancy processor. Storage capacity is minimal, too. Most of the processing and storage is done over the Internet. Chromebooks work best as a secondary laptop to take on trips or as a gift for students to do homework. My husband commented that one might also be good for his aging parents, whose computer skills are limited and their needs mostly involve email and Web surfing.

There are a handful of Chromebooks from such computer makers as Samsung Electronics Co and Hewlett-Packard Co. Acer Inc has one of the cheapest I found - a C720, which starts at $200. There’s nothing fancy about it. It has an 11.6-inch (29-centimeter) display, measured diagonally, and weighs 2.8 pounds (1.2 kilograms). Like many other laptops, there are two USB ports and an HDMI port. The computer has 16 gigabytes of internal storage, though you get 100 gigabytes of free online storage through Google Drive for two years. HP makes a sleeker, lighter model, the $279 Chromebook 11. Unfortunately, sales were halted after some users reported overheating chargers. It’s worth a look if it comes back - fixed - before the holidays. A 14-inch (35-centimeter) version is still available, starting at $299.

cheap and bulky - something that’s also common for something this inexpensive.

What makes the Flex stand out is its ability to, well, flex. You can bend its screen almost all the way back, turning the keyboard into a base. That makes it easy to watch videos in bed or use the computer’s touchscreen functions without the keyboard getting in the way. Toshiba Satellite Click, sold exclusively through Best Buy or Toshiba’s website, currently for $600: This attempt to combine the best of a laptop and a tablet has mixed results.

You can tell that Toshiba put a lot of effort into designing the magnetic hinge that connects the tablet portion with its keyboard base. The keyboard snaps in and out easily. But the 13.3-inch (33-centimeter) device feels heavy and bulky even when you’re just holding the tablet portion, which weighs 2.8 pounds (1.27 kilograms). The keyboard adds two pounds (0.9 kilograms), making it the heaviest of the six reviewed. It’s more for watching a movie in bed, not for taking on the train.

Like the other laptops at this price range, the Satellite Click comes with a touch screen and runs Windows 8. There’s a battery in both the tablet and keyboard portions.

Mid-priced laptops Dell Inc’s Inspiron 14 7000, starts at $850: Made of forged aluminum, these laptops are durable. The 14inch version is considerably thinner than past models, at just over a half-inch. But it’s not particularly light, starting at 4.4 pounds (2 kilograms). That weight is typical for these mid-priced laptops, mostly because they use traditional hard drives rather than solid-state memory found in pricier laptops called ultrabooks.

Windows 8 runs well on the Inspiron’s high-definition touch screen. Options with larger screens and faster processors are available.

MacBook Air, starts at $999: This one barely makes the $1,000 cutoff. And this price gives you the 11.6-inch (29.4-centimeter) version, making it more expensive than Windows computers with larger screens. A 13.3-inch (33.8-centimeter) model costs $100 more.

The Air uses solid-state storage rather than traditional hard drives, meaning it stores less than the Inspiron, Flex or Satellite Click.

But that keeps the Air light, at 2.4 pounds (1.09 kilograms) for the 11-inch (28-centimeter) version and 3 pounds for the larger one. The weight puts the Air in the same class as Windows ultrabooks costing hundreds of dollars more. The big differences: The Air’s display has a lower resolution than leading ultrabooks, and it lacks a touch screen, something Apple opposes in laptops. — AP

Lenovo Group Ltd ‘s Flex 14, starts at $569: This 14-inch Windows laptop lacks the grace, styling and processing power found on other Lenovo products, but that’s not surprising for a laptop at this price. It’s encased in black plastic, which makes it feel

Siemens announces changes to executive management team in the Middle East DUBAI: Siemens has appointed Dietmar Siersdorfer (50) as CEO of Siemens UAE and Middle East region, effective December 1, 2013.

He will also maintain his role as CEO of Siemens Energy in the region, a position he has held for the past five years. Siersdorfer takes over as regional CEO from Erich Kaeser who will retain an advisory role within the company. Kay Zwingenberger (43), who served as CEO of Siemens UAE since May 2012, has been appointed as chief executive of Siemens Healthcare in the region.

For more than three decades, Kaeser (58) has contributed tremendously to the growth and development of the company’s operations in the Middle East and beyond. Under his leadership, Siemens achieved strong performance and further cemented its position as a leading technology provider across the Energy, Healthcare, Infrastructure and Cities and Industry sectors in the region where he held the position of CEO

since 2008.

“Over the past years, Erich Kaeser has led our business in a direction of robust growth. I would like to thank him for his dedication and great commitment,” said Siersdorfer. “As we glance ahead, I look forward to taking on my new responsibilities within Siemens and working with our strong teams to steer the company towards further expansion and profitability by focusing on the strategic opportunities in front of us.”

“Siemens has played a key role in supporting the region’s development for more than 150 years.

With yesterday’s announcement of Dubai’s win to host the Expo 2020, we see enormous growth opportunities in the Middle East. We are eager to contribute not only innovative technologies to the region’s economies, but also to its human development and sustainability,” Siersdorfer added.

Siersdorfer, based in the United Arab Emirates, joined Siemens in 1987 in Mannheim, Germany,

Dietmar Siersdorfer as an electrical engineer and held various managerial positions in the Industry and Energy sectors during his tenure at the company. During his successful career at Siemens, his responsibilities covered different markets in Europe, the Americas, Asia Pacific, Africa and the Middle East.

The Middle East region at Siemens spans 15 countries.

‘Cyber Monday’ highlights online holiday shopping rise NEW YORK: The early buzz is that “Black Friday” shopping weekend was a bit of a disappointment for retailers, but hopes remained high that “Cyber Monday” would score big gains. This year’s installment of Cyber Monday, which offers up its own plethora of online promotions on the heels of the aggressive “Black Friday” price-cutting, comes amid greaterthan-ever signs of the increased importance of online shopping to the entire retail industry.

Forecasters project just three to four percent growth in the entire retail sector this holiday season, while online shopping is expected to soar 13 to 14 percent in the 2013 season. “ The overall season for November and December is off the roof,” Chris Christopher, director of consumer economics at IHS Global Insight, said of online trends. “Some of the retailers have sold out of all their online goods.”

Christopher estimates that online shopping will account for 13.5 percent of the total retail shopping sales this holiday season, up from 12.3 percent last year. Online shopping has always had its appeal in enabling consumers to

avoid mobbed shopping malls. Major trends that encourage even more online retail include the increased importance of online sales to brick-and-mortar retailers like Wal-Mart Stores and Best Buy, the proliferation of same-day and other fast-delivery options that could allow more shoppers to shop online until just before Christmas and the advent of new mobile technology tools to shop.

Retailers consider the holiday shopping period, which has traditionally begun on Thanksgiving, as the most year’s most important season, accounting for 20 to 40 percent of an individual retailer’s overall sales. Analysts have described the US consumer as cautious in the 2013 season, owing to low economic growth and weak job growth. Wealthier consumers are considered somewhat more likely to spend this year, due to higher home prices and appreciating stock values.

The National Retail Federation Sunday gave a somewhat disappointing early appraisal of Black Friday weekend, estimating that total sales reached $57.4 billion, a 2.7 percent decline from last year’s $59.1 billion. Analysts

caution that early reports like the NRF figures are based on surveys and hard data is still unavailable for the big weekend, as well as for Cyber Monday.

But FedEx predicted that Monday would be the “busiest day in FedEx History,” with the shipping giant handling 11 percent more packages than last year at 22 million packages overall, more than twice a normal day. Cyber Monday “has historically been our biggest day of the year, and we expect to be again this year,” said executive vice chairman Johnathan Johnson at discount online retailer Overstock.com. “This is a day when the deals are deep.”

The tradition of Cyber Monday harkens back to the early days of the Internet, when consumers relied on faster Internet connections at work to take advantage of deals. A survey by CareerBuilder found 54 percent of Americans will spend some time at work shopping online for the holidays. And Adobe Digital Index analysts project Cyber Monday to be the largest single online shopping day in the history of the Internet, with sales of $2.27 billion. — AFP

Comcast testing full ad loads for on-demand shows LOS ANGELES : Pay TV customers who are used to watching fewer ads on on-demand shows may have to put up with longer commercial breaks. Comcast Corp, the nation’s largest cable TV provider, says it is testing out a system with its NBCUniversal subsidiary to use full commercial loads on older episodes - while disabling fast-forwarding of ads - if consumers watch them within three days after a new episode airs.

Currently, if people binge-watch to catch up on shows like “The Blacklist” or “CSI,” they only see the full ad load on the most-recent episode. Older episodes have few if any ads.

Comcast says putting full ad loads on older shows will help generate more revenue for networks and encourage them to make more shows available for on-demand viewing. “The trade-off is (consumers) are getting access to much more content,” said Matt Strauss, Comcast’s senior vice presi-

dent of video services. Strauss said that consumers appear to not mind the ads. Even when consumers can fast-forward past them, they only do so about half of the time, he said.

Advertisers should also find the new system attractive because video on demand, or VOD, viewing is popular among younger people. The system could enable them to reach an audience they had missed with the live telecast. “The VOD viewer is upscale, younger and really more appealing to advertisers,” said Brian Fuhrer, senior vice president of product leadership at Nielsen.

Nielsen is working with Comcast to make sure the ads watched on older episodes count toward the so-called “C3” ratings measurement, which captures how many viewers watch commercials on the live telecast and on VOD and digital video recorders for the following 75 hours.

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2013

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

Mice research brings male contraceptive pill closer Effective, safe, readily reversible SYDNEY: A contraceptive pill for men has moved one step closer after Australian researchers successfully made male mice infertile, according to a study published yesterday.

Monash University scientists genetically modified mice to block two proteins found on the smooth muscle cells which are essential for sperm to travel through the animal’s reproductive organs.

The result was that even though the mice had sex normally and were otherwise healthy, they were infertile, researcher Sabatino Ventura from Melbourne’s Monash University said.

“We’ve shown that simultaneously disrupting the two proteins that control the transport of sperm during ejaculation causes complete male infertility,” Ventura said.

“But without affecting the long-term viability of sperm or the sexual or general health of

males. The sperm is effectively there, but the muscle is just not receiving the chemical message to move it.”

Ventura, who collaborated with researchers from the University of Melbourne and Britain’s University of Leicester on the study, now wants to replicate the genetic process chemically, and believes a male contraceptive pill could be possible in about 10 years.

“The next step is to look at developing an oral male contraceptive drug, which is effective, safe, and readily reversible,” he said.

The findings, published in the US journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, show that the absence of two proteins in mice caused infertility, without affecting the longterm viability of the sperm, sexual behaviour, or the health of the animals.

Previous attempts to develop a male contra-

ceptive pill have focused on hormones or producing dysfunctional sperm-methods which can interfere with male sexual activity and cause long-term and potentially irreversible effects on fertility.

Ventura said because his approach was nonhormonal and did not impact on the development of sperm, a drug which switched off the two proteins should not have any long-term side effects and could be reversed once the man stopped taking it.

“It would block the transport of sperm and then if you’re a young guy and you get to the stage where you wanted to start fathering children, you stop taking it and everything should be okay,” he told broadcaster ABC. “It would be like an oral medication probably taken daily just like the female contraceptive pill.” —AFP

Obama tries to move past health care website woes WASHINGTON: Seeking to move past its website woes, the Obama administration is launching a twopronged health care strategy this month aimed at avoiding enrollment snafus come January while also trying to refocus the public’s attention on broader benefits of the sweeping law.

President Barack Obama will focus on those benefits at a White

Republicans, arguing that the GOP is trying to strip away those benefits without presenting an alternative.

Behind the scenes, the administration is furiously trying to rectify an unresolved issue with enrollment data that could become a significant headache after the first of the year.

Insurers say much of the enrollment data they’re receiving is practically useless, meaning some consumers

insurance exchanges - are also personally reaching out to individuals who have enrolled online to make sure their information is correct and that they are sending payments. Call center representatives are doing the same with people who enrolled over the phone.

“We are very mindful of making sure that consumers who want coverage starting in January are able to

MIAMI: An unidentified Haitian client works with a counselor at Miami’s Borinquen Health Center, signing up for Obama Care, yesterday. Floridians eager to sign up for health insurance through the federal government’s troubled website worked their way through the process after officials fixed hundreds of software bugs and increased software capacity to handle 50,000 visitors at once. —AP House event today. Flanked by Americans who the White House says have benefited from the overhaul, the president will try to remind Americans that his health law is preventing insurance discrimination against those with pre-existing conditions and is allowing young people to stay on their parents’ coverage until age 26. He’ll also take aim at

might not be able to get access to benefits on Jan 1, the date their coverage is scheduled to take effect.

On Monday, administration officials and insurance company representatives began holding daily 7 a.m. meetings to discuss the enrollment data. Officials at the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services the department overseeing the

get it,” White House spokesman Jay Carney said.

The White House’s approach comes as Obama tries to recover from the deeply flawed rollout of his signature legislation. The failures have emboldened Republicans, put Democratic lawmakers facing reelection on edge, and contributed to a drop in Obama’s overall job

approval rating.

Obama had set a Nov. 30 deadline for ensuring that the website was working properly for the vast majority of users. While administration officials declared over the weekend that they had met their goal, counselors helping people use the online health exchange gave the updated site mixed reviews, with some zipping through the application process while others are facing the same old sputters and even crashes.

The website troubles resulted in significantly lower enrollment than what administration officials had hoped for and it’s questionable whether the program will reach the 7 million sign-ups predicted by the Congressional Budget Office. The sign-up period runs through March 31.

But officials now say they are no longer as concerned about the overall number. They say the insurance exchanges will succeed regardless of the total, as long as about onethird of those who sign up are healthy in order to offset the cost of those with more expensive health problems.

“Our goal is to make sure that everybody who wants to enroll through the exchanges is able to do so during the open enrollment period,” Carney said. “We believe those numbers will be sufficient and that the pool of people who enroll will be of the necessary diversity to make sure that the ACA works as envisioned.”

The White House says it is buoyed by high traffic flocking to the website. As of Monday at noon, the site had about 375,000 visitors. However, officials would not say how many of those had actually enrolled in the insurance policies. —AP

Medical mystery: Student stops needing sleep NEW YORK: Cristina Speirs, 22, was a self-proclaimed “health freak” during her senior year of college, which is all the more reason she would have never guessed that her body would betray her the way it did.

She exercised six times a week, taught hot yoga classes and drank a lot of water throughout the day to stay hydrated. So, when she stopped feeling tired and started getting up more frequently in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, she didn’t think anything of it.

“I had a lot of energy,” Speirs said. “I wasn’t sleeping. ... I was always on the go. I was never tired.”

She would eventually learn that she had a tumor the size of an orange on her adrenal

gland, and that it was making the hormones that kept her up at night.

Doctors first noticed a problem at Speirs’ annual checkup in the fall of 2012 when they found that her potassium levels were low, but her blood pressure was “through the roof.”

But they had no idea what was causing the strange symptoms. “That really freaked me out because them not knowing what’s wrong with me-they’re doctors, you know?” Speirs said.

A cardiologist quickly determined there was nothing wrong with her heart, but Speirs’ mother suggested a renal sonogram to check her kidneys.

Speirs noticed that the sonogram technician spent a long time lingering over her kidneys and

Ex-NASA expert issues call for climate solutions WASHINGTON: Longtime NASA expert James Hansen has issued a call for new approaches to stop global warming, saying solutions are needed and that currently accepted targets are too dangerous.

His 26-page paper in the open-access journal PLOS ONE outlines the dangers of climate change and the devastating impact it has already had on the world environment.

Global warming of two degrees Celsius would be “far into the dangerous range,” he said, referring to the 2009 Copenhagen accord which said deep cuts in emissions were needed to reduce emissions and keep the increase in global temperature below two degrees Celsius relative to pre-industrial times.

While global warming has already reached a level of less than one degree Celsius, Arctic sea ice has melted at a faster rate than expected, the oceans have been rapidly acidifying and heatwaves, drought and wildfires have risen in intensity, he said.

These events “imply that society should reassess what constitutes a ‘dangerous level,’ of global warming,” Hansen wrote.

Instead, efforts should be made to constrain global warming to the level it has already reached, he said.

The warming of the past few decades “has brought global temperature close to if not slightly above the prior range of the Holocene,” he said, referring to the last 11,700 years of Earth history, since the end of the last Ice Age.

“We conclude that an appropriate target would be to keep global temperature at a level within or close to the Holocene range.”

Hansen is an adjunct professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Columbia University and former head of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York City.

His article called on world leaders, researchers and policy makers to respond with active attempts to restore the Earth’s energy balance.

PLOS ONE editorial director Damian Pattinson said the journal would publish any articles that pass a peer-review process on ways to reverse the troubling trend.

“Our hope is to generate a wide range of submissions on climate research and in particular papers that address solutions to the challenges posed by a changing climate, such as alternative energy development, environmental preservation, the problems of acidification, adaptation strategies and restoration of failing ecosystems,” he said.

A PLOS Collection, “Responding to Climate Change,” will be launched in early 2014 to highlight the research.

“Although there is merit in simply chronicling what is happening, there is still opportunity for humanity to exercise free will,” said Hansen. “Thus our objective is to define what the science indicates is needed.” —AFP

looked confused. Alarmed, Speirs asked what was wrong. The technician told Speirs she needed an MRI right away because she suspected Speirs had one large combined kidney instead of two normal-sized kidneys.

“She said, ‘You don’t feel anything?’” Speirs said. “I was like, ‘No. I feel fine.’”

The MRI would reveal that Speirs had normal kidneys. It was a 10-centimeter tumor that the technician was seeing.

“I was in complete shock,” she said, explaining that she phoned her parents immediately to tell them that she’d need surgery. “Then, I got so upset honestly. I had no idea where this came from.”

Then she met Dr. William Inabnet, co-director of the Adrenal Center at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. Upon learning that Speirs’ tumor was producing two hormones-cortisol and aldosterone-he feared that the tumor was cancerous.

On Oct. 18, 2012, he scheduled surgery to remove it the following Halloween. Surgery on the spooky holiday made Speirs feel superstitious, but she didn’t say anything.

And then Superstorm Sandy hit on Oct 29, and the hospital was thrown into chaos.

Evacuated patients from NYU Langone Medical Center were sent to Mount Sinai, and doctors from different hospitals were working side by side to help the sickest patients.

The hospital was packed, and most regular surgeries were canceled.

“We had to really negotiate and find a team that could staff the case,” Inabnet said, adding that he needed nurses, anesthesiologists and others to operate.

Speirs’ parents kept the reality of the storm mostly hidden from her, but before she handed her glasses to her father to be wheeled off into the operating room, she saw all the beds of patients displaced by Sandy.

“I was just kind of a little teary,” she said, remembering the cold of the operating room and the little warmth offered by the hospital gown.

She said she’ll always remember that right before the anesthesia took hold of her, Inabnet asked her what she wanted to listen to on the radio in the operating room. She passed out right after telling him to pick whatever he wanted, but it was calming anyway.—AP

HONG KONG: Officials test poultry at the border with mainland China in Hong Kong as part of measures against the spread of the deadly H7N9 bird flu. Hong Kong yesterday confirmed its first human case of the deadly H7N9 bird flu, according to the broadcaster RTHK, in the latest sign of the virus spreading beyond mainland China. —AFP

Hong Kong reports first case of H7N9 bird flu HONG KONG: Hong Kong has reported its first case of the H7N9 bird flu strain, in a possible sign the virus is spreading beyond mainland China since it first emerged there earlier this year.

A 36-year-old Indonesian maid is in hospital in critical condition, the southern Chinese financial hub’s Health Secretary Ko Wing-man said late Monday.

The maid had a history of traveling across the border to the mainland city of Shenzhen to buy, slaughter and eat chickens, Ko said. H7N9 was first identified April.

It has sickened 139 people and killed 45 in

China and Taiwan.

It appears to have stalled since Chinese authorities cracked down on live animal markets following the initial outbreak. But scientists fear the virus will re-emerge in the winter, when influenza is most active.

Ko said the semiautonomous Chinese city’s government would step up its flu pandemic preparedness plan. Infectious diseases are a particular concern in Hong Kong, where the 2003 outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or Sars, killed about 299 people. Nearly 500 more deaths were reported in other countries. —AFP

SUINING: A man pointing to debris from the rocket carrying China’s first moon rover in a house in Suining, central China’s Hunan province. The debris plummeted to earth in a village more than a thousand kilometres from the launch site, crashing into two homes. —AFP

China space launch debris wrecks villagers’ homes BEIJING: Debris from the rocket carrying China’s first moon rover plummeted to earth in a village more than a thousand kilometres from the launch site, crashing into two homes, a report said yesterday.

The incident about nine minutes after the launch of the Chang’e-3 mission early Monday happened in Suining county in the central province of Hunan, which has been hit by space wreckage nearly 20 times, the Xiaoxiang Morning Post said.

“Three of the roof beams have crashed down on our house, and a big hole has been punched into our barn,” one local resident told the paper.

“The huge sound scared the living daylights out of me,” said another.

A picture showed a somewhat baffledlooking villager peering at the curved shape of what appeared to be a rocket nose-cone, below a gaping hole in his roof.

Authorities gave the residents 10,800 yuan ($1,800) and 5,200 yuan in compensation, the paper said. No one was injured.

A Long March-3B carrier rocket, China’s

most powerful such vehicle, blasted off at around 1:30 am Monday from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in southwestern China.

The lunar rover mission is part of China’s ambitious space programme, which has the goal of establishing a permanent space station by 2020 and eventually sending a human to the moon.

But debris from China’s numerous space launches has frequently found its way to Suining county, which has been hit by rocket parts nearly 20 times since the early 1990s, the Xiaoxiang Morning Post reported.

Last May wreckage from a rocket sent up by the Xichang Launch Centre crashed into homes and hit a high-voltage wire in the area, according to the Shanghai Daily News.

In October 2011 a steel frame weighing more than 250 kilograms (550 pounds) landed in a field after another satellite launch, and other wreckage pierced a house roof. —AFP

Scientists discover wonder rice gene MANILA: Scientists have discovered a wonder rice gene that could dramatically increase yields of one of the world’s most important food crops, the International Rice Research Institute said yesterday.

Preliminary tests show that yields of modern long-grain “indica” rice varieties, the world’s most widely grown types of rice, can rise by 13-36 percent when infused with the so-called SPIKE gene, the Philippines-based institute said.

“Our work showed that SPIKE is indeed one of the major genes responsible for the yield increase that breeders have spent so many years searching for,” IRRI genetic transformation laboratory chief Inez Slamet-Loedin said in a statement. Testing of new rice varieties infused with the gene is under way across several developing countries in Asia, said rice breeder Tsutomu Ishimaru, head of the IRRIled SPIKE breeding programme.

“We believe that these will contribute to food security in these areas once the new varieties are released,” Ishimaru said. Increasing the yield means growing more rice on the same amount of land, using the same resources.

But there is no definite timetable for when the rice containing the SPIKE gene will be dis-

tributed to farmers, according to IRRI spokeswoman Gladys Ebron.

The SPIKE gene was first discovered by Japanese breeder, Nobuya Kobayashi, following long-running research starting in 1989 on a tropical “japonica” rice variety that is grown in Indonesia, Ebron said. The findings of the study were published Monday.

Tropical japonica rice is mainly grown in East Asia and accounts for just 10 percent of global rice production.

Breeders from IRRI, a non-profit research group established in the 1960s, then worked to incorporate the gene into “indica” varieties that are widely used in major rice-growing areas of Asia.

Ebron said the transfer did not involve genetical modification of the crop, a controversial issue in food production. “It’s just conventional breeding,” she added.

Rice is the developing world’s most important food crop, consumed by more than half of humanity, including 640 million Asians who live in poverty, according to IRRI. To keep rice prices stable and affordable at about $300 a tonne, the institute estimates production needs to increase by 8-10 million tonnes every year. Asia accounts for about 90 percent of global rice production, it added. —AFP

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2013

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

Soups, statues in demand as China eases one-child law Most radical relaxation SHANGHAI: In a dimly-lit arcade in downtown Shanghai, shopkeeper Xia Zihan holds out a glinting, yellow-glass carving of the fertility goddess Guanyin, a range she says is starting to sell well after China relaxed its single-child policy last month. “Since the news allowing a second child, we’ve already asked our factory to increase production of the Guanyin statues,” said Xia, adding she expected to see around a 10-20 percent increase in demand for the figurines that cost around one thousand yuan ($160) each.

Beijing said last month it would allow millions of families to have two children, the most radical relaxation of its strict one-child policy in close to three decades..

With an estimated bump of up to 10 percent in the number of births per year, the demand for maternal healthcare is bound to surge, a lift for private hospital operators who are increasing their share of China’s gigantic healthcare market.

Healthcare providers like Singapore-based Raffles Medical Group Ltd, Malaysia’s IHH Healthcare Bhd and US healthcare firm Chindex International Inc already operate in China.

“I think for the short-term we can expect some kind of rebound of the fertility rate as women rush to have more babies in the next few years,” said Peng Xizhe, a demographics expert at Fudan University in Shanghai.

The new rules, which will roll out gradually around China, will allow couples in which just one parent is an only child to have a second baby, part of a plan to raise fertility rates and ease the financial burden of China’s rapidly ageing population.

This would see an extra annual one million or so births on top of the current 16 million each year, substantial in itself but marginal when compared to China’s near 1.4 billion pop-

ulation. Still, the extra births are close to the number of people in a city like Dallas, Texas.

The fertility market, especially at the value-end of the scale, could see a short-term spike. The main demographic likely to benefit from the policy change is urban mothers in their late thirties, a group more likely to seek methods to boost their chances of having a second baby, said Peng.

Some families will turn to Guanyin figurines, fertilityboosting foods or China’s $13 billion traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) market to give birth quickly. Medicine men who promise to ensure the birth of a boy child are also in demand.

China’s highly-fragmented TCM market is led by firms such as Tasly Pharmaceutical Group Co Ltd and China Resources Sanjiu Medical & Pharmaceutical Co Ltd, which each have billion dollar-plus annual sales.

Analysts said the more mainstream market for pregnancy-related supplements could receive a $40-50 million boost.

“The two child policy could bring a wave of women having babies, which would have a positive effect on our sales,” said Snow Jin, manager of a herbal store that sells ingredients for “fertility soup” on China’s eBay-like online market Taobao.

“Parents having a second child are usually older, and so will likely have greater demand for fertility products.”

The soup, filled with herbs such as Chinese angelica and honeysuckle, as well as red dates, black beans and eggs, is thought to help boost the chances of conception.

The increased demand will be focused on major coastal cities such as Shanghai and Shenzhen, and will affect public sector workers most, a demographic for whom the one-

child policy has traditionally been more strictly enforced.

“If the policy hadn’t changed I would not have been able to have a second baby. My husband isn’t an only child and as I work in the state sector, if I break the rules and have a second child then I would lose my job,” said Lily Cai, 30, a civil servant in Shanghai who has a 16-month-old baby girl.

Cai said her husband and his family were keen to have a second child, and have often said it would be better to have a boy, a traditional preference in China.

“Almost all my clients are people looking to have a child.

Perhaps they’ve already had a girl, but now want to have a boy to continue the family line,” said medicine man Sun Daoguo, who runs a Shanghai store. Parents pay up to one thousand yuan for him to help raise the chances of a boy being born, he said.

Sun said he advises mothers-to-be on how to adjust their feng shui, the traditional Chinese concept of balance between a person and the environment, to increase the likelihood of giving birth to a son.

More conventional medicines, over-the-counter supplements and treatments such as In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) could also see a surge in sales, although analysts said highcost procedures like IVF would see the least benefit.

“The increase in caring for older mothers will really raise the demand on maternity hospitals and increase the strain on doctors,” said Jiang Peiru, head of gynaecology at one of Shanghai’s top hospitals. She said the clinic had prepared an extra 40 beds, hired more staff and increased training.

“We haven’t seen a clear rise yet, but next year and the year after there will definitely be an increase as mothers look for treatment due to the child-birth reforms.” ($1 = 6.0932 Chinese yuan) —Reuters

Dar Al-Shifa welcomes Dr Al-Shimmary KUWAIT: Dar Al-Shifa Hospital announced yesterday the joining of Specialist Ophthalmologist -Dr Mansour Ejeil Al-Shimmary to its growing team of ranging medical specialists. This new appointment is in line with Dar Al-Shifa’s strategy in providing optimum healthcare services to its patients and enhancing patients’ experience and standards to meet their utmost needs.

Dr Al-Shimmary’s area of expertise lies in pediatric ophthalmology — a sub-specialty of ophthalmology concerned with eye diseases, visual development, and vision care in children. Apart from being renowned for dealing Dr. Mansour Al-Shimmary with cataract surgeries for children and adults, along with pediatric glaucoma surgeries and treatment of pediatric strabismus with Botox injections, he also specializes in the treatment of Strabismology — a disease that is characterized as being any deviation from perfect ocular alignment.

Through his career in Ophthalmology, Dr AlShimmary was a member of the Fellowship program of the Ophthalmology Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow (FRCS) while also serving as a member of the Fellowship program at King Khalid Eye Specialist Hospital (KKESH) in Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus Division.

Commenting on his appointment, Dr Al-Shimmary said: “I am delighted to be part of a strong professional and outstanding list of qualified team members at Dar Al-Shifa Hospital. I hope, through my experience and skills, combined with the hospital’s modern and up to date technology available, together, we will be able to provide the best quality of healthcare service and value to our patients.”

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2013

W H AT ’ S O N

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he Touristic Enterprises Company hosted an Open Day at the Khairan Resort for the Kuwait Down Syndrome Society. A team from the resort’s management led by General Manager Adnan Zinedine welcomed children and their families who enjoyed a special entertaining program that includes train trips, a boat cruise and lunch at the Al-Behar Restaurant.

Mubarak Al-Kabeer English Department HODs honored

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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

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By Hassan A Bari

I

n collaboration with the British Cultural Council (BCC) in Kuwait, the Ministry of Education (MoE) recently held a special ceremony to honor the heads of secondary school English departments who had passed the IELTS training course. The ceremony was held at the Sheraton Hotel under the auspices of MOE’s assistant undersecretary for public education Dr Khaled AlRasheed, ELT Supervisor General, Nouriya Al-Sidra and BCC’s manager, Andrew Glass.

Notably, English HODs from Mubarak Al-Kabeer Educational Zone, Samir Al-Saeed, Mohammed Abdul Raziq, Hamdi Al-Nahhas, Mohammed Abdul Mon’en, Ahmed Abdullah and Hatem Abu Saif were all honored for passing the course. Well done guys and keep up the good work.

(Right to left) HODs Abu Saif, Al-Saeed, Abdullah, Abdul Mon’fen, Abdul Raziq and Al-Nahhas

ICSK-Junior Branch conduct Diwali Assembly

I

t was a riot of colors as the students of ICSK Junior celebrated Diwali by putting up a spectacular Diwali assembly in the school premises on Monday 11th November 2013 during the school hours.

The junior school stage was beaming with Diwali lamps and colorful decorations. Diwali is a joyous occasion that brings brightness, joy and happiness to all. The assembly started with the school prayer. A few special Diwali songs were presented by the school choir. The depiction of Diwali caught everyone’s attention. It was truly informative.

The students depicted various stories and legends associated with Diwali, bringing out the underlying theme of ultimate triumph of good over evil. The dances set to foot tapping numbers and fusion music were appreciated by one and all. The Principal Incharge Sherly Dennis addressed the gathering wishing everyone Diwali greetings. In her speech she advised the student to be good, as the little good deeds they do in their formative years will all add up and help them to become good people when they grow up. The assembly ended with a vote of thanks.

ALMASS Kuwait celebrates first anniversary

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LMASS Kuwait, the Alumini Association of Uzhavoor St.Stephen’s College in Kuwait celebrated its first Anniversary on Friday, 22 Nov 2013 at Khaitan Indian School.

The celebration was inaugurated by prominent Malayalam Cine Artisit Lalu Alex who is a former student of St.Stephen’s College. The inaugural meeting was presided by ALMASS chairman Siby John.

The program started off by bringing

Korean movie night Date: December 6, 2013 Time: 16:00-21:10 16:00: Opening Ceremony 16:10-18:21: ‘Masquerade’ 18:30-19:00: Reception 19:00-21:10: ‘Miracle in Cell No. 7’ Venue: Laila Gallery Cinescape Movies ‘Masquerade’ (2012, historical drama) ‘Miracle in Cell No. 7’ (2013, comedy) Don’t miss the chance to watch the latest Korean movies!

the special guests to the dais in a traditional Keralite ‘red-carpet’ way of welcoming enriched with bands of drummers, pipers and colourful umbrellas.

Jijo Thomas welcomed the gathering and Roby John, the General Secretary presented ALMASS’ annual report. After president Siby John’s address, Lalu Alex delivered the inaugural speech and appealed the audience by sharing his college days’ experiences.

The chief guest Lalu Alex along with

other dignitaries released ALMASS’ bulletin ‘Memories’ and launched the website www.almasskuwait.com after the speeches of Editor Jijo Mathew and media convenor Clintus George. Chessil Ramapuram and Jyothidas conveyed the greetings and Joint Treasurer Siby Kurien presented organization’s incomeexpenditure details. Senior alumni of the college were honoured during the function. Joint Sec Shimsen proposed vote of thanks. The program was well compered by 98.4 FM fame Lucia.

During the program the general committee also elected the new office bearers. Jose Abraham (Chairman), Philip Simon (General Secretary) and Arun Kumar (Treasurer) shall lead the organization in the coming year.

The entertainment part of the program show-cased the top-notch talents of ALMASS family members and friends.

Audience enjoyed foot tapping dances of different forms such as classical, cinematic, Bollywood hits etc. The skit performed by ex-students of the college lead by Joby Jose was the performance of the day. The program concluded with a musical event. A large crowd assembled for the program and the events were of an exhilarating experience to all.

TIES Center - Where cultures meet

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he TIES Center is glad to announce that its Winter 2 Arabic language courses will begin on Sunday January 19 until Wednesday March 5, 2014. We offer classes for all levels, from beginner to advanced. Our classes are specially tailored to meet the needs and requirements of expats living in Kuwait. You still have the chance to join if you are interested. The TIES Arabic classes are intended for all expats who wish to learn Arabic.

Whether you want to Learn Arabic for business or basic communication or simply as a hobby, the TIES Center welcomes you. Throughout the course, the students will learn how to read, write and speak Arabic in a friendly, relaxed and welcoming environment.

TIES Arabic program highlights: Lessons are step by step - ranging from basic to advanced level; Lessons build confidence for speaking, reading, and writing Arabic; Lessons combine language learning with cultural insights; Lessons are specially tailored for expats living in Kuwait. It is an opportunity to interact with other Westerners, who are taking the courses. For more information, please e-mail: Hassan@tiescenter.net .”

W H AT ’ S O N Australian College of Kuwait participates in Dubai Air Show

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he Australian College of Kuwait’s (ACK) Aviation Program represented the college in this year’s installation of the Dubai Air Show, recognized as one of the world’s most prestigious aviation showcases, held at the newly inaugurated Dubai World Central aerotropolis from November 17-21.

Organized under the patronage of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, the 2013 Dubai Air Show was an overwhelming success drawing 60,692 trade attendees from around the world along with 1,046 exhibitors from 60 countries and 1,735 international and regional media representatives.

ACK was present in the 5-day mega-event to highlight its internationally accredited Aircraft Maintenance Engineering Diploma program to visitors. It also provided the college with opportunities to harvest more successful future partnerships and cooperation with industry specialists. ACK is proud to offer such a unique program in the Middle East, approved by Directorate General of Civil Aviation Kuwait (DGCA), UAE General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) and European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).

The program is specially designed for students who wish to gain employment in the aerospace industry as Aircraft Trainee Mechanics or Trainee Engineers, granting them globally accredited certificates in cooperation with Lufthansa Technical Training (Germany) and Kangan Institute in Australia.

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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.

response, security forces killed 500 black children.

Displaced blacks could not effectively communicate with blacks from other tribes due to linguistic barriers.

Coloreds (mixed race) were sometimes rejected by both blacks and whites. Most employed women worked as maids in the white man’s domicile. Asians and Indians were not spared apartheid’s brutality and inhumaneness. Their cultures were trampled upon, too.

Post-apartheid South Africa is in a period when the world has seen continuous advancement in the devel-

opment and use of information technology. That the country has selected radio to promote culture is, thus, no surprise. Radio has the unique capability to penetrate into the hinterlands to transmit its messages, and is not engulfed by such handicaps as wires or electricity because it operates on batteries of which there are various sizes for every radio size. The hierarchical structure permits radio broadcasting to go about its operations without heavy headaches. The structure provides for specific

MOST READ & REFERENCED One advantage is that matters pertaining to public service radio broadcasting are dealt with one body, while matters related to commercial broadcasting are handled by a separate body. And to make radio operation more problem-free, an independent body hears complaints under the chairmanship a former judge of the appellate court.

Above all, the chosen medium is a true companion of many South Africans, and the media liberalizing laws have given impetus to radio broadcasting. Radio is inexpensive and electricity-free. As a matter of fact, the household can listen to one set at a time, assuring even more listeners. Since African culture features festivities and ceremonies, the radio sometimes provides entertainment or vital information during these gatherings.

It is significant that radio stations have placed importance on children’s programming, recognizing that the future of the country is, indeed, in the hands of its youth. These programs are being produced by not only the radio stations, but also in concert with production companies, some of which have expertise in writing and producing drama. The partnership with Sesame Street is commendable as it connects the children to the international world during this period of globalization.

The partnership between radio and culture in South Africa is not accidental. It has been deliberately groomed and cultivated to serve mutual interest and to ultimately serve a nation that recognizes the imperative to build cultural bridges in one of the most pluralistic countries in the world. With almost one dozen official languages, South Africa’s action asserts the country’s determination to promote and preserve its culture in the interest of its rainbow cross-community. And just as the rainbow is a permanent color-striped phenomenon, so, too, is the prospect of South Africa’s culture. To this end, the special and patriotic relationship that exists between radio and culture must be kept aflame, with the former taking full advantage of its unique voice and pervasiveness.

Youth Chorus group Song Competition

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he 8TH Youth Chorus Christian Group Song Competition was held on Friday, 22nd November 2013 at United Indian School Auditorium, Abbasiya. Adv John Thomas presided over and Rev Thomas Varghese inaugurated the function. Pastor Andrews P John made the opening prayer and Fr John Padipurackal gave the closing prayer. Somu Mathew felicitated on the occasion.

Tony Mathew, Shijo Pullampallil, Manoj Othara, Jenne Ann, Kessia Sunny, Jogy John, Geemon Kottayam, Abraham George, Shiju Othara, Shiju Thomas, Ipe Mathew were different organizing committee leaders.

St Gregorious Indian Orthodox Maha idavaka was awarded with Aleyamma John Pazhayidathu Memorial Ever Rolling Trophy for the First prize, KMRM Yuva Jyothi was awarded with Omana Jose Memorial Ever Rolling Trophy for second prize and Kinnaram Kuwait was awarded with the Youth Chorus Ever rolling Trophy as Third Prize. The prizes will be distributed on the mega Christmas event organized by Youth Chorus on 19th Dec 2013 at United Indian School auditorium.

6th Fitness Convention

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or the 6th time in a row Al Corniche proudly announces its Fitness Convention 2013 to be held on Thursday, 12th December at the Al Corniche Club. The event is hosted by 5 key international industry experts, who will conduct seminars covering a full range of topics. Topics include why social media is now essential for your business, how does DiSC communication help in your workplace, nutrition and exercise for optimal performance, priceless global tips

Embassy Information

GUST Professor, Researcher ‘most read, most referenced’ r Maurice Odine, Professor of Mass Communication at the Gulf University for Science and Technology (GUST), is an energetic and internationally acclaimed author whose writings are read in various parts of the globe. One of his works, Use of Radio to Promote Culture in South Africa, was published in May 2013 by Taylor & Francis/Routlege for the Broadcast Education Association headquartered in Washington, DC (USA).

And since then, it is among five most read and most referenced articles of the Journal of Radio & Audio Media. “Research is a pivotal aspect of faculty development,” he said. “A professor benefits tremendously through enrichment and contribution to knowledge and literature in the discipline.”

Dr Odine writes in the article that, before 1994, blacks in South Africa were second-class citizens on the basis of color. With the Dutch arrival in 1652, and the British discovery of diamonds in 1867, the immigrants amassed wealth at the expense of the local culture. In 1948, the National Party instituted apartheid, a policy that separated races. But in 1994, Nelson Mandela was elected first multi-racial president under the banner, “The Rainbow Nation,” to reflect the country’s diverse cultures. Pervasive radio has taken up the challenge to promote the once dormant South African inclusive culture through programming, including world-known Sesame Street. Today, South Africa has over 200 community radio stations broadcasting cultural programs in eleven languages.

The article states that direct consequences of the European colonial expansion trampled upon African culture. During apartheid, blacks were forcibly relocated from one geographic location to another. Families were separated and groups of blacks could not congregate. Apartheid’s white-only rule cracked down hard on the existence of black culture and did what it could to control black population growth.

For instance, in 1776, schools in the black township of Soweto were forced to teach Afrikaans, the white man’s language. Blacks protested en masse. In brutal

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2013

to run successful health club and how to create a VIP membership service option.

Dr. Jim Bell will also be conducting a very special seminar for all the doctors in Kuwait on the 10th December and one for the Al Corniche members and guests, for more information please call at the Club.

Presenters include: Dr Jim Bell (PhD/MS, Exercise Physiology /MBA/BS, Engineering & CEO of IFPA); Fred Hoffman, International Fitness Expert, Consultant and Personal Trainer; Bridget Rosser,

Management Consultant in the UK & Certified DISC Trainer; Dave Wright CEO of CFM/MYZONE & and IHRSA speaker; Duncan Green Managing Director and Principal Consultant for MomentumBD Ltd. Our event sponsors Porsche Centre Kuwait, Behbehani Motors Company is proud to be the main sponsor of an internationally acclaimed event that focuses on health and well-being, as well as making the fitness and spa industry in Kuwait a profitable and innovative enterprise.

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EMBASSY OF CANADA The Embassy of Canada in Kuwait does not have a visa or immigration department. All processing of visa and immigration matters including enquiries is conducted by the Canadian Embassy in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Individuals who are interested in working, studying, visiting or immigrating to Canada should contact the Canadian Embassy in Abu Dhabi, website: www.UAE.gc.ca or www.goingtocanada.gc.ca, E-mail: 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

This convention is open to the general public and all interested parties including team members and management from health clubs across Kuwait, suppliers of fitness and health equipment and services, school teachers, researchers and the Corniche Club members, are invited to attend. It is a ‘must do’ for all owners and employees of the flourishing fitness industry in Kuwait. For more details on the event please E-mail: pmenon@alcornicheclub.com

EMBASSY OF VATICAN The Apostolic Nunciature Embassy of the Holy See, Vatican in Kuwait has moved to a new location in Kuwait City. Please find below the new address: Yarmouk, Block 1, Street 2, Villa No: 1. P.O.Box 29724, Safat 13158, Kuwait.

Tel: 965 25337767, Fax: 965 25342066. Email: nuntiuskuwait@gmail.com.

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2013

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Beautiful People Eastenders Doctors David Copperfield Victoria Wood - What Larks!

Absolutely Fabulous Paradox Doctor Who Confidential Nina And The Neurons Poetry Pie Mr Bloom’s Nursery Little Human Planet Show Me Show Me Buzz & Tell Nina And The Neurons Poetry Pie Mr Bloom’s Nursery Little Human Planet Show Me Show Me Buzz & Tell Last Of The Summer Wine Absolutely Fabulous David Copperfield Eastenders Doctors Hustle Full Circle With Michael Palin Last Of The Summer Wine David Copperfield Absolutely Fabulous Eastenders Doctors Hustle Full Circle With Michael Palin David Copperfield Eastenders Doctors Hustle One Foot In The Grave Absolutely Fabulous Paradox Come Fly With Me Alan Carr: Chatty Man The Office Luther One Foot In The Grave

00:00 Cash In The Attic 00:45 Homes Under The Hammer 01:40 Come Dine With Me 02:30 Masterchef: The Professionals 03:15 Celebrity Fantasy Homes 04:05 Eating With The Enemy 04:55 Cash In The Attic 05:40 The Hairy Bikers Ride Again 06:05 Bargain Hunt 06:50 Celebrity Fantasy Homes 07:35 Chef At Home 08:00 Bargain Hunt 08:45 Homes Under The Hammer 09:35 The Hairy Bikers Ride Again 10:00 The Little Paris Kitchen 10:25 Tareq Taylor’s Nordic Cookery 10:50 Tareq Taylor’s Nordic Cookery 11:20 Come Dine With Me 12:10 Masterchef: The Professionals 12:55 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition Specials 14:15 Antiques Roadshow 15:05 Homes Under The Hammer 15:55 Homes Under The Hammer 16:50 Bargain Hunt 17:35 Cash In The Attic 18:20 Antiques Roadshow 19:15 DIY SOS: The Big Build 20:10 Hairy Bikers’ Christmas Party 21:00 Nigel Slater’s Simple Cooking 21:30 Come Dine With Me 22:20 Antiques Roadshow 23:15 Bargain Hunt

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Get Out Alive With Bear Dual Survival (Brazil) Car vs Wild Mythbusters Border Security Storage Hunters Flip Men

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How Do They Do It? How It’s Made American Guns Mythbusters Alaska: The Last Frontier Fast N’ Loud Border Security Storage Hunters Flip Men How Do They Do It? How It’s Made Get Out Alive With Bear Dual Survival (Brazil) Car vs Wild Border Security Storage Hunters Flip Men Finding Bigfoot Fast N’ Loud Ultimate Survival Dirty Jobs Mythbusters American Guns Storage Hunters Flip Men How Do They Do It? How It’s Made You Have Been Warned Treehouse Masters Mythbusters

00:15 Stuck With Hackett 00:40 Prank Science 01:05 Prank Science 01:30 Stunt Junkies 02:00 Gadget Show - World Tour 02:25 How Tech Works 02:50 Rocket City Rednecks 03:15 Rocket City Rednecks 03:45 Stuck With Hackett 04:10 Stuck With Hackett 04:35 Smash Lab 05:25 How The Universe Works 06:15 Gadget Show - World Tour 06:40 How Tech Works 07:05 X-Machines 08:00 Mighty Planes 08:50 Mighty Ships 09:40 Gadget Show - World Tour 10:05 How Tech Works 10:30 Human Body: Ultimate Machine 11:25 X-Machines 12:20 Smash Lab 13:10 How The Universe Works 14:00 Junkyard Wars 14:50 Stunt Junkies 15:20 Gadget Show - World Tour 15:45 How Tech Works 16:10 Rocket City Rednecks 16:35 Rocket City Rednecks 17:00 Human Body: Ultimate Machine 17:55 X-Machines 18:45 Smash Lab 19:35 How The Universe Works 20:30 Prophets Of Science Fiction 21:20 The Science Of Star Wars 22:10 Gadget Show - World Tour 22:35 How Tech Works 23:00 Prophets Of Science Fiction 23:50 The Science Of Star Wars

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The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody Sonny With A Chance Sonny With A Chance Suite Life On Deck Suite Life On Deck Wizards Of Waverly Place Wizards Of Waverly Place The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody Sonny With A Chance Sonny With A Chance Suite Life On Deck Suite Life On Deck Wizards Of Waverly Place Wizards Of Waverly Place Austin And Ally Austin And Ally A.N.T. Farm A.N.T. Farm Gravity Falls My Babysitter’s A Vampire

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Sofia The First Doc McStuffins Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Shake It Up Austin And Ally A.N.T. Farm Dog With A Blog Jessie Suite Life On Deck Suite Life On Deck A.N.T. Farm Austin And Ally Shake It Up That’s So Raven Jessie Good Luck Charlie Dog With A Blog That’s So Raven Gravity Falls Jessie Violetta A.N.T. Farm Austin And Ally Wolfblood Shake It Up Good Luck Charlie Dog With A Blog 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

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European Le Mans Series Adventure Sports Adventure Sports WWE Vintage Collection WWE NXT Ping Pong World US Bass Fishing NHL European Le Mans Series Porsche GT 3 Cup Challenge Porsche GT 3 Cup Challenge Adventure Sports Adventure Sports WWE Vintage Collection WWE SmackDown NHL UFC Unleashed UFC 147

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Airport 24/7: Miami Airport 24/7: Miami World’s Greatest Motorcycle Xtreme Waterparks Xtreme Waterparks Off Limits Reza’s African Kitchen Reza’s African Kitchen

05:00 06:00 06:30 07:00 Rides 08:00 09:00 10:00 10:30 11:00 Rides 12:00 12:30 13:00 13:30 14:00 15:00 15:30 16:00 16:30 17:00 18:00 18:30 19:00 19:30 20:00 21:00 21:30 22:00 22:30 23:00

Bizarre Foods America Airport 24/7: Miami Airport 24/7: Miami World’s Greatest Motorcycle Globe Trekker Descending Airport 24/7: Miami Airport 24/7: Miami World’s Greatest Motorcycle Bert The Conqueror Trip Flip The Food Truck The Food Truck Bizarre Foods America International House Hunters International House Hunters International House Hunters International House Hunters Hotel Impossible Luxury Uncovered Destination Weddings The Food Truck The Food Truck Bizarre Foods America International House Hunters International House Hunters Baggage Battles Baggage Battles Man vs World

OSN to host special meet & greet with everyone’s favorite superhero at Marina Mall

00:40 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 01:05 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 01:30 Heat Seekers 01:55 Meat & Potatoes 02:20 Outrageous Food 02:45 Reza, Spice Prince Of India 03:10 Reza, Spice Prince Of India 03:35 Food Network Challenge 04:25 Food Wars 04:50 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 05:15 United Tastes Of America 05:40 Chopped 06:30 Iron Chef America 07:10 Food Network Challenge 08:00 Unwrapped 08:25 Unwrapped 08:50 United Tastes Of America 09:15 Unique Sweets 09:40 Kid In A Candy Store 10:05 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 10:30 Food Network Challenge 11:20 Andy Bates American Street Feasts 11:45 Cooking Christmas With Matt And Lisa 12:10 Jodie Prenger’s Christmas Cracker 12:35 Reza, Spice Prince Of India 13:00 Reza’s African Kitchen 13:25 Charly’s Cake Angels 13:50 Siba’s Table 14:15 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 14:40 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 15:05 Guy’s Big Bite 15:30 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 15:55 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 16:20 Roadtrip With G. Garvin 16:45 Chopped 17:30 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 18:00 Cooking Christmas With Matt And Lisa 18:25 Jodie Prenger’s Christmas Cracker 18:50 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 19:15 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 19:40 Siba’s Table 20:05 Charly’s Cake Angels 20:30 Chopped 21:20 Cooking Christmas With Matt And Lisa 21:45 Jodie Prenger’s Christmas Cracker 22:10 Iron Chef America 23:00 Spicy Christmas With

AMERICAN COWSLIP ON OSN MOVIES COMEDY HD

JACK REACHER ON OSN MOVIES HD Thomasina Miers 23:25 Jeni Barnett’s Christmas Hamper 23:50 Unwrapped

00:30 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 01:00 The Colbert Report 01:30 The New Normal 02:00 The Big C 02:30 Legit 03:00 How I Met Your Mother 03:30 Melissa & Joey 04:00 The Simpsons 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 The Simpsons 08:30 The War At Home 09:00 How I Met Your Mother 09:30 The Crazy Ones 10:00 The Mindy Project 10:30 Friends 11:00 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 12:00 All Of Us 12:30 The Simpsons 13:00 The War At Home 13:30 Friends 14:00 Melissa & Joey 14:30 The Crazy Ones 15:00 The Mindy Project 15:30 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 16:00 The Colbert Report 16:30 All Of Us 17:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 18:00 How I Met Your Mother 18:30 Ben And Kate 19:00 Family Tools 19:30 Happy Endings 20:00 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 21:00 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 21:30 The Colbert Report 22:00 The New Normal 22:30 The Big C 23:00 Legit 23:30 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon

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Burn Notice Homeland Hemlock Grove Rescue Me Grey’s Anatomy Once Upon A Time Burn Notice Fairly Legal Criminal Minds Grey’s Anatomy Once Upon A Time Homeland Emmerdale Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show Criminal Minds Burn Notice Emmerdale Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show Criminal Minds Franklin & Bash Perception Marvel’s Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. Hannibal Rescue Me

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Covert Affairs Scandal The Americans Emmerdale Coronation Street C.S.I. New York Emmerdale Coronation Street C.S.I. New York Covert Affairs

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Live Good Morning America C.S.I. New York Covert Affairs Castle C.S.I. New York Covert Affairs The Americans Scandal

00:00 Immortals 02:00 Creature 04:00 Shadow 06:00 Rage Of The Yeti 08:00 Iron Sky 10:00 The Stool Pigeon 12:00 Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Part One 14:00 Meteor Storm 16:00 The Stool Pigeon 18:00 The Speed Of Thought 20:00 Meteor Storm 22:00 Sultanes Del Sur

00:00 Creature-18 02:00 Shadow-PG15 04:00 Rage Of The Yeti-PG15 06:00 Iron Sky-PG15 08:00 The Stool Pigeon-PG15 10:00 Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Part One-PG15 12:00 Meteor Storm-PG15 14:00 The Stool Pigeon-PG15 16:00 The Speed Of Thought-PG15 18:00 Meteor Storm-PG15 20:00 Sultanes Del Sur-PG15 22:00 Fertile Ground-18

00:00 Wanderlust-R 02:00 American Cowslip-18 04:00 White Chicks-PG15 06:00 I Think I Do-PG15 08:00 Win A Date With Tad Hamilton!-PG 09:45 The Producers-PG15 12:00 White Chicks-PG15 14:00 Mrs. Doubtfire-PG 16:15 The Producers-PG15 18:30 The Great Outdoors-PG15 20:15 Sightseers-18 22:00 Wanderlust-R

01:00 Here-PG15 03:15 Love Finds A Home-PG15 05:00 Would Be Kings-PG15 07:00 Blue Lagoon: The Awakening-PG15 09:00 Here-PG15 11:15 The First Grader-PG15 13:00 Dreamgirls-PG15 15:15 Dirty Teacher-PG15 17:00 A Woman-PG15 19:00 Flying Lessons-PG15 21:00 360-18 23:00 Blue Like Jazz-PG15

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A Kiss At Midnight-PG15 The Beach-PG15 Caught Inside-PG15 Matching Jack-PG15 A Kiss At Midnight-PG15 The Last Samurai-PG15 Stealing Bess-PG15 No Surrender-PG15 The Last Samurai-PG15 Krach-18 Extremities-18 Sound Of My Voice-18

01:00 Drift-PG15 03:00 Mary & Martha-PG15 05:00 Perfect Plan-PG15

07:00 The Wild Girl-PG15 09:00 The Darkest Hour-PG15 11:00 Planet Ocean-PG15 13:00 Pop Star-PG15 15:00 You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger-PG15 17:00 The Darkest Hour-PG15 18:45 Jack Reacher-PG15 21:00 Red Lights-PG15 23:00 Savages-18

KUWAIT: Fans of Marvel Comics’ beloved crime-fighting superhero, Spider-Man, will be given the opportunity to revel in an up-close-and-personal meet and greet with their favourite childhood superstar at Marina Mall in Kuwait, on December 5 and 6 from 5pm to 10pm.

Organised by OSN and promising an entertaining family experience, both the young and young-at-heart can meet, greet, and interact with their favourite childhood superhero and get free souvenirs.

OSN brought Spider-Man to Jeddah recently, which was an overwhelming success with thousands of fans thronging to meet their favourite superhero. OSN exclusively screens the animated series, Ultimate Spider-Man on Disney XD, the popular children’s television channel, daily at 8:05pm KSA.

‘Walking Dead’ is in ‘Lost’ mode

01:15 Princess Sydney: The Legend Of The Blue Rabbit 02:45 The Land Before Time 04:30 Beethoven 06:00 Beverly Hills Chihuahua 3: Viva LA Fiesta!

08:00 Pacific Pirates 10:00 The Little Rascals 11:30 The Happets 13:00 Beethoven 14:30 Winx 16:00 Snowmen 18:00 The Little Rascals 20:00 Mandie And The Secret Tunnel 22:00 Winx 23:30 Snowmen

00:00 Excision-R 01:45 The Amazing Spider-ManPG15 04:00 Disturbia-PG15 06:00 Pop Star-PG15 08:00 Interview With A HitmanPG15 10:00 George Harrison: Living In The Material World-PG15 13:30 The Amazing Spider-ManPG15 16:00 Interview With A HitmanPG15 18:00 Thunderstruck-PG 20:00 Take This Waltz-18 22:00 Shark Night-PG15

02:00 Futbol Mundial 02:30 Emirates Australian Open Highlights 03:30 Live NHL 06:30 Top 14 Highlights 07:00 Snooker 11:00 ICC Cricket 360 11:30 Futbol Mundial 12:00 Pool Mosconi Cup 16:00 Live Snooker 21:00 PGA European Tour Weekly 21:30 Inside The PGA Tour 22:00 Live Snooker

00:00 ICC Cricket 360 00:30 Live Cricket Test Match 08:30 ICC Cricket 360 09:00 International Rugby Union 11:00 PGA European Tour Highlights 12:00 Live Dubai Ladies Masters 16:00 HSBC Sevens World Series 19:30 Dubai Ladies Masters

02:00 02:30 06:30 07:00 08:00 12:00 12:30 13:30 15:30 16:00 17:00 19:00 19:30 21:30 22:00

ICC Cricket 360 Snooker UK Championship Futbol Mundial Golfing World Pool Mosconi Cup Futbol Mundial Golfing World Top 14 ICC Cricket 360 Asian Tour Highlights World Match Racing Tour Futbol Mundial International Rugby Union Top 14 Highlights Live Pool Mosconi Cup

01:00 NHL 03:00 Ping Pong World 04:00 US Bass Fishing

A

round its fourth season, “Lost” turned into a show about people walking back and forth across an island, just missing each other, occasionally reuniting. Eventually it took time travel to keep the castaways apart, and death to bring them finally together. It felt a lot like stalling. And with Sunday’s midseason finale, it feels like “Walking Dead” is in full “Lost” mode. Remember how disappointingly “Lost” ended? “Walking Dead” seems to see no end in sight. Its biggest goal seems to be to keep walking.

The AMC zombie drama has also become a show about a band of survivors getting separated, thrown back together, kicked out of their home, finding a new one. The Governor seems like he’s changed, but hasn’t changed. Rick seems like he’s changed, but nothing changes. The only constant is death. We cycle through characters. It’s obvious why “The Walking Dead” would take an if-it-ain’t broke philosophy in its fourth season: With its third, it became the top-rated scripted show on TV. It makes money. AMC is planning a spin-off. The network probably cares less about a driving narrative than bringing people back every week.

Consider the difference between “NCIS,” a machine that’s built to last and changes as little as possible, and “Breaking Bad,” a masterpiece because of its obsession with change. The two shows represent two models of television: the old unambitious one, that strives for consistency, and a new one that rewards viewers for studying change over time. “Lost” helped popularize the second model, and was best when most committed to it.

New “Walking Dead” showrunner Scott Gimple seems to have given in to understandable pressure to turn his show into a machine: It’s well-oiled and often hypnotic to look at, but watching a machine is still watching a machine. Boring is its own kind of broken.

“Lost” most lost its way during the seasons when it had no end in sight.

“The Walking Dead” seems to suffer that aimlessness as well. There was nothing that happened on Sunday that couldn’t have happened in the Season 3 finale. The show seems to have kept the Governor alive last year only to precisely repeat his previous life: Trying to save a doomed little girl, taking over a community, trying to take down the prison. Better to have killed him than made him redundant.

At its best, the show moves aggressively forward, eschewing repetition and backstory. Glen Mazzara, the showrunner who left last season, pushed for accelerated storytelling, and the show was better for it during his run. His time on the show was proof that change is good, and viewers in a post-”Lost” era demand it. —Reuters

Classifieds WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2013

Kuwait

KNCC PROGRAMME FROM THURSDAY TO WEDNESDAY (28/11/2013 TO 04/12/2013) SHARQIA-1 CAPTAIN PHILLIPS (DIG) CARRIE (DIG) CARRIE (DIG) CARRIE (DIG) CARRIE (DIG) CARRIE (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:30 PM 4:15 PM 6:15 PM 8:15 PM 10:30 PM 12:30 AM

SHARQIA-2 THE HUNGER GAMES:CATCHING FIRE (DIG) THE FROZEN GROUND (DIG) THE HUNGER GAMES:CATCHING FIRE (DIG) THE HUNGER GAMES:CATCHING FIRE (DIG) THE FROZEN GROUND (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:45 PM 4:45 PM 6:45 PM 9:30 PM 12:15 AM

SHARQIA-3 DELIVERY MAN (DIG) DELIVERY MAN (DIG) PARKLAND (DIG) DELIVERY MAN (DIG) PARKLAND (DIG) DELIVERY MAN (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:00 PM 3:30 PM 5:45 PM 7:45 PM 10:00 PM 12:05 AM

MUHALAB-1 DELIVERY MAN (DIG) DELIVERY MAN (DIG) THOR: THE DARK WORLD (DIG) DELIVERY MAN (DIG) DELIVERY MAN (DIG)

1:30 PM 3:45 PM 6:00 PM 8:15 PM 10:30 PM

MUHALAB-2 CARRIE (DIG) CARRIE (DIG) PARKLAND (DIG) CARRIE (DIG) PARKLAND (DIG) CARRIE (DIG)

1:00 PM 3:00 PM 5:00 PM 7:00 PM 9:00 PM 11:00 PM

MUHALAB-3 THE HUNGER GAMES:CATCHING FIRE (DIG) BULLETT RAJA (DIG) THE HUNGER GAMES:CATCHING FIRE (DIG) THE HUNGER GAMES:CATCHING FIRE (DIG)

2:00 PM 4:45 PM 7:30 PM 10:15 PM

FANAR-1 PARKLAND (DIG) DELIVERY MAN (DIG) DELIVERY MAN (DIG) PARKLAND (DIG) DELIVERY MAN (DIG) PARKLAND (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:45 PM 3:45 PM 6:15 PM 8:30 PM 10:30 PM 12:45 AM

FANAR-2 CARRIE (DIG) CARRIE (DIG) THOR: THE DARK WORLD (DIG) CARRIE (DIG) CARRIE (DIG) CARRIE (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

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

FANAR-3 THE FROZEN GROUND (DIG) THE FROZEN GROUND (DIG)

12:30 PM 2:30 PM

THE FROZEN GROUND (DIG) BULLETT RAJA (DIG) BULLETT RAJA (DIG) THE FROZEN GROUND (DIG)

4:30 PM 6:30 PM 9:30 PM 12:30 AM

FANAR-4 THE HUNGER GAMES:CATCHING FIRE (DIG) THE HUNGER GAMES:CATCHING FIRE (DIG) THE HUNGER GAMES:CATCHING FIRE (DIG) THE HUNGER GAMES:CATCHING FIRE (DIG) THE HUNGER GAMES:CATCHING FIRE (DIG)

12:45 PM 3:30 PM 6:15 PM 9:15 PM 12:05 AM

FANAR-5 CAPTAIN PHILLIPS (DIG) CAPTAIN PHILLIPS (DIG) CAPTAIN PHILLIPS (DIG) CAPTAIN PHILLIPS (DIG)

2:00 PM 5:00 PM 8:00 PM 11:00 PM

MARINA-1 DELIVERY MAN (DIG) DELIVERY MAN (DIG) PARKLAND (DIG) DELIVERY MAN (DIG) PARKLAND (DIG) DELIVERY MAN (DIG)

1:45 PM 4:00 PM 6:15 PM 8:15 PM 10:30 PM 12:30 AM

MARINA-2 CARRIE (DIG) CARRIE (DIG) THOR: THE DARK WORLD (DIG) CARRIE (DIG) CARRIE (DIG) CARRIE (DIG) CARRIE (DIG)

12:30 PM 2:30 PM 4:30 PM 6:45 PM 8:45 PM 11:00 PM 1:00 AM

MARINA-3 THE HUNGER GAMES:CATCHING FIRE (DIG) THE FROZEN GROUND (DIG) THE HUNGER GAMES:CATCHING FIRE (DIG) THE HUNGER GAMES:CATCHING FIRE (DIG) THE FROZEN GROUND (DIG)

2:15 PM 5:00 PM 7:00 PM 9:45 PM 12:30 AM

AVENUES-1 THOR: THE DARK WORLD (DIG) THOR: THE DARK WORLD (DIG) THOR: THE DARK WORLD (DIG) THOR: THE DARK WORLD (DIG) THOR: THE DARK WORLD (DIG)

2:15 PM 4:45 PM 7:15 PM 9:45 PM 12:15 AM

AVENUES-2 BULLETT RAJA (DIG) BULLETT RAJA (DIG) BULLETT RAJA (DIG) BULLETT RAJA (DIG) LAST VEGAS (DIG)

12:30 PM 3:30 PM 6:30 PM 9:30 PM 12:45 AM

AVENUES-3 THE FROZEN GROUND (DIG) THE FROZEN GROUND (DIG) THE FROZEN GROUND (DIG) THE FROZEN GROUND (DIG) THE FROZEN GROUND (DIG)

2:15 PM 4:30 PM 6:45 PM 9:00 PM 11:15 PM

AVENUES-4 THE HUNGER GAMES:CATCHING FIRE (DIG) THE HUNGER GAMES:CATCHING FIRE (DIG) THE HUNGER GAMES:CATCHING FIRE (DIG) THE HUNGER GAMES:CATCHING FIRE (DIG)

2:30 PM 5:30 PM 8:30 PM 11:30 PM

FOR SALE

ACCOMMODATION

Pajero for sale, model 1996, color red, engine good condition, used by a lady. Contact: 97277139.

Sharing accommodation available one room in 2 bedroom flat, near Indian/Pakistani school in Farwaniya for working lady.

Rent KD 90. Please contact: 66047733. (C 4589) 2-12-2013

2003 Nissan Pathfinder in good condition - six cylinder (3.5 engine). Call: 97277135 4-12-2013 Toyota Camry 2003, white color, full options, KD 1550.

Tel: 50994848. (C 4591) 3-12-2013 Toyota Camry model 2013 white color, GLX full option, km 16,000, sunroof, alloy rim fog lamp, rear bumper, sensor + camera, wooden interior, cruise control, etc.

Cash price KD 5,450. Tel: 66507741. (C 4590) 2-12-2013 Nissan Pathfinder, 2003 model, in good condition, call 97277135 1-12-2013

SITUATION WANTED Indian looking for job as computer eng & Asset.

Networking eng, certification: CCNA, ASP-Net, experience three years in Kuwait, visa 18, transferable. Email: mahesh88qv@gmail.com.

(C 4592) 3-12-2013

No: 16006

SITUATION VACANT Driver needed for Kuwaiti family, full-time or parttime. Tel: 60623330. (C 4588) Required English speaking maid/nanny. Please call 99824597. (C 4587)

Directorate General of Civil Aviation Home Page (www.kuwait-airport.com.kw)

Airlines JAI JZR THY QTR ETH JZR GFA THY UAE ETD JAI OMA MSR QTR FDB THY DHX FDB JZR BAW KAC FDB KAC KAC KAC UAE KAC KAC ABY QTR IRM ETD FDB GFA IRA IAW MEA TMA KNE MSC IRM UAE MSR CLX KNE IYE JZR KAC KAC JZR FDB QTR

Arrival Flights on Wednesday 4/12/2013 Flt Route Time 574 MUMBAI 00:10 539 CAIRO 00:40 772 ISTANBUL 00:45 1084 DOHA 00:55 620 ADDIS ABABA 01:45 267 BEIRUT 00:40 211 BAHRAIN 02:10 764 SABIHA 02:15 853 DUBAI 02:35 305 ABU DHABI-INTL 02:45 576 COCHIN 02:50 643 MUSCAT 03:05 612 CAIRO 03:10 1076 DOHA 03:45 67 DUBAI 04:00 770 ISTANBUL 05:35 170 BAHRAIN 05:40 69 DUBAI 05:50 529 ASYUT 06:20 157 LONDON 06:40 412 MANILA 06:45 53 DUBAI 07:50 302 MUMBAI 07:55 206 ISLAMABAD 07:40 352 COCHIN 08:10 855 DUBAI 08:40 362 COLOMBO 08:45 344 CHENNAI 08:35 125 SHARJAH 09:00 1070 DOHA 09:10 1186 TEHRAN 09:15 301 ABU DHABI-INTL 09:20 55 DUBAI 09:40 213 BAHRAIN 10:40 603 SHIRAZ 10:45 157 BAGHDAD 11:00 404 BEIRUT 11:55 213 BEIRUT 12:10 470 JEDDAH 12:10 403 ASYUT 12:20 1188 MASHAD 12:40 871 DUBAI 12:50 610 CAIRO 13:00 792 LUXEMBOURG 13:15 480 TAIF 13:15 826 SANAA 13:30 165 DUBAI 11:30 521 NAJAF 13:45 382 DELHI 13:05 561 SOHAG 12:55 57 DUBAI 13:50 1078 DOHA 13:55

KAC MSR SVA IRC KAC KAC GFA KAC UAE QTR ETD RJA SVA ABY GFA KNE JZR JZR JZR KAC JZR KAC RBG QTR FDB KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC GFA OMA FDB MSC JZR JAI ABY ETD AXB MSR DLH ALK MEA ETD UAE GFA QTR FDB KAC JZR JAI AIC JZR

672 575 500 6692 790 788 221 538 857 1072 303 640 510 127 215 462 777 357 787 284 177 542 553 1080 63 786 618 166 674 774 102 217 647 61 405 239 572 129 919 489 606 634 229 402 307 859 219 1074 59 1788 135 576 975 185

DUBAI SHARM EL SHEIKH JEDDAH MASHAD MEDINAH JEDDAH BAHRAIN SHARM EL SHEIKH DUBAI DOHA ABU DHABI-INTL AMMAN-QUEEN ALIA RIYADH SHARJAH BAHRAIN MEDINAH JEDDAH MASHAD RIYADH DHAKA DUBAI CAIRO ALEXANDRIA DOHA DUBAI JEDDAH DOHA PARIS DUBAI RIYADH NEW YORK BAHRAIN MUSCAT DUBAI SOHAG AMMAN-QUEEN ALIA MUMBAI SHARJAH ABU DHABI-INTL COCHIN LUXOR FRANKFURT COLOMBO BEIRUT ABU DHABI-INTL DUBAI BAHRAIN DOHA DUBAI JEDDAH BAHRAIN COCHIN CHENNAI DUBAI

14:00 14:15 14:30 14:35 14:25 15:10 15:00 16:05 16:40 16:40 16:50 16:55 17:15 17:25 17:30 17:50 17:55 17:55 17:00 17:45 18:20 18:05 18:15 18:40 18:45 18:45 19:00 19:10 19:25 19:30 19:35 19:30 19:55 20:05 20:05 22:20 20:10 20:20 20:25 20:35 20:45 20:55 21:10 21:20 21:35 21:40 21:45 22:00 22:00 22:05 22:05 22:15 22:30 23:20

Airlines AIC UAL JAI DLH ETH THY UAE KAC ETD OMA MSR QTR FDB QTR KAC JZR FDB JAI JZR THY GFA THY KAC FDB BAW KAC KAC ABY KAC UAE KAC KAC ETD QTR FDB IRM KAC GFA KAC IRA JZR IAW KAC JZR MEA KAC KNE MSC JZR TMA JZR MSR IRM

Departure Flights on Wednesday 4/12/2013 Flt Route Time 982 AHMEDABAD 00:05 981 WASHINGTON 00:55 573 MUMBAI 01:10 635 FRANKFURT 02:10 621 ADDIS ABABA 02:45 773 ISTANBUL-ATATURK 02:55 854 DUBAI 03:50 381 DELHI 03:50 306 ABU DHABI 04:00 644 MUSCAT 04:05 613 CAIRO 04:10 1085 DOHA 04:15 68 DUBAI 04:40 1077 DOHA 05:15 283 DHAKA 05:30 560 SOHAG 06:20 70 DUBAI 06:30 575 ABU DHABI 06:35 164 DUBAI 06:55 765 ISTANBUL-SABIHA 07:05 212 AHRAIN 07:15 771 ISTANBUL-ATATURK 07:30 537 SHARM EL SHEIKH 08:10 54 DUBAI 08:30 156 LONDON 08:45 787 JEDDAH 09:25 671 DUBAI 09:30 126 SHARJAH 09:40 789 MADINAH 09:45 856 DUBAI 09:55 117 NEW YORK 10:00 522 AL NAJAF 10:05 302 ABU DHABI 10:05 1071 DOHA 10:10 56 DUBAI 10:20 1187 TEHRAN 10:30 175 FRANKFURT 10:45 214 BAHRAIN 11:25 541 CAIRO 11:30 602 SHIRAZ 11:45 356 MASHHAD 11:55 158 AL NAJAF 12:00 103 LONDON 12:20 776 JEDDAH 12:25 405 BEIRUT 12:55 785 JEDDAH 13:00 461 MADINAH 13:10 406 SOHAG 13:20 786 RIYADH 13:35 223 AL MAKTOUM INTERNATIONAL 13:45 176 DUBAI 13:45 611 CAIRO 14:00 1189 MASHHAD 14:05

DIAL 161 FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION

KNE UAE IYE FDB CLX QTR MSR KAC KAC IRC GFA SVA KAC KAC JZR ETD QTR UAE JZR RJA ABY SVA GFA KNE JZR JZR RBG JZR FDB QTR GFA FDB OMA KAC KAC ABY MSC JAI KAC MSR DHX ALK MEA ETD ETD GFA KAC FDB UAE KAC QTR JAI JZR JZR KAC

481 872 827 58 792 1079 576 673 617 6693 222 503 773 1787 238 304 1073 858 538 641 128 511 216 471 184 266 554 134 64 1081 218 62 648 331 361 120 404 571 351 619 171 230 403 308 920 220 301 60 860 205 1075 575 528 502 415

TAIF DUBAI SANAA DUBAI GIALAM DOHA SHARM EL SHEIKH DUBAI DOHA MASHHAD BAHRAIN MADINAH RIYADH JEDDAH AMMAN ABU DHABI DOHA DUBAI CAIRO AMMAN SHARJAH RIYADH BAHRAIN JEDDAH DUBAI BEIRUT ALEXANDRIA BAHRAIN DUBAI DOHA BAHRAIN DUBAI MUSCAT TRIVANDRUM COLOMBO SHARJAH ASYUT MUMBAI KOCHI ALEXANDRIA BAHRAIN COLOMBO BEIRUT ABU DHABI ABU DHABI BAHRAIN MUMBAI DUBAI DUBAI ISLAMABAD DOHA ABU DHABI ASYUT LUXOR KUALA LUMPUR

14:10 14:15 14:30 14:30 14:45 14:55 15:00 15:05 15:30 15:35 15:45 15:45 16:05 16:30 16:55 17:35 17:40 17:50 17:50 17:55 18:05 18:15 18:20 18:30 18:40 18:50 18:55 19:10 19:25 19:40 20:15 20:45 20:55 20:55 21:00 21:00 21:05 21:10 21:10 21:45 21:50 22:10 22:20 22:20 22:25 22:30 22:35 22:40 22:50 22:55 23:10 23:15 23:25 23:30 23:55

34

s ta rs CROSSWORD 388

STAR TRACK Aries (March 21-April 19) ARIES Your emotional orientation today is towards taking care of business. You just want to get things accomplished. It is exciting just knowing about all the new technical fun things that are coming out this next year. Shopping recently, you are constantly surprised at the wonderful technical discoveries. A friend needs advice about a contract and you know just how to help. This should only be a defining of property rights and you would be wise to send this person running to the courthouse in their city to review the laws with this regard. Money is a powerful force in our lives and our relationships; clarifying issues ahead of time frees one to move forward with a relationship. After such a busy day, you will want to put your feet up and relax.

Taurus (April 20-May 20) Your mood this morning is one of wanting to be more private and staying at home. This is probably not the best time to make career or vocational decisions or for giving practical advice to those around you. However, if you are working, you will be pleased to find this a relatively fast moving day. Your ability to use words in a positive way helps you to be successful. Talking should be quite expressive now, as your mind will be quite clear and natural. Ideas come flowing to you with ease. This afternoon you look forward to being with those you love and you head home with that same positive thinking.

There is power in the tongue and you are aware of the need that others have to hear your appraisal.

Gemini (May 21-June 20)

ACROSS 1. (computer science) A computer that is running software that allows users to leave messages and access information of general interest.

4. Relating to or located near the organ that produces tears.

12. A unit of pain intensity.

15. A small piece of cloth.

16. Breed of large wiry-coated terrier bred in Yorkshire.

17. Any of various primates with short tails or no tail at all.

18. A defensive missile designed to shoot down incoming intercontinental ballistic missiles.

19. A peninsula in southwestern Asia that forms the Asian part of Turkey.

20. 100 fen equal 1 yuan.

21. A Russian prison camp for political prisoners.

23. Food mixtures either arranged on a plate or tossed and served with a moist dressing.

25. The form of theological rationalism that believes in God on the basis of reason without reference to revelation.

26. Polish filmmaker (born in 1929).

27. Essential oil or perfume obtained from flowers.

30. Harsh or corrosive in tone.

34. No longer having or seeming to have or expecting to have life.

39. The month following September and preceding November.

43. Essential oil or perfume obtained from flowers.

44. God of wealth and love.

46. English theoretical physicist who applied relativity theory to quantum mechanics and predicted the existence of antimatter and the positron (1902-1984).

48. A British peer ranking below a Marquess and above a Viscount.

49. Long-bodied long-tailed tropical American wildcat.

50. Support consisting of a place to rest the foot while ascending or descending a stairway.

51. A doctor's degree in education.

52. Run or move very quickly or hastily.

54. Russian physicist (1895-1971).

57. Jordan's port.

60. A Mid-Atlantic state.

61. An African amulet.

65. Corrupt morally or by intemperance or sensuality.

68. Lake in northwestern Russia near the border with Finland.

71. A Hindu prince or king in India.

72. 100 pyas equal 1 kyat.

73. Type genus of the family Viverridae.

75. (Islam) The man who leads prayers in a mosque.

76. A woolen cap of Scottish origin.

77. Of or relating to Aram or to its inhabitants or their culture or their language.

78. A small cake leavened with yeast.

DOWN 1. (informal) Exceptionally good.

2. Used as a Hindi courtesy title.

3. (computer science) A standardized language for the descriptive markup of docu-

ments.

4. (South African) A camp defended by a circular formation of wagons.

5. Belonging to or on behalf of a specified person (especially yourself).

6. (of persons) So unrefined as to be lacking in discrimination and sensibility.

7. Small genus of mediterranean shrubs.

8. A material effigy that is worshipped as a god.

9. A landlocked republic in southern central Africa.

10. Surveying instrument consisting of the upper movable part of a theodolite including the telescope and its attachments.

11. A unit of length of thread or yarn.

12. Little known Kamarupan languages.

13. An organization of countries formed in 1961 to agree on a common policy for the sale of petroleum.

14. A Russian river.

22. (Babylonian) God of storms and wind.

24. (biology) Of unlike parts or organs.

28. Easily irritated or annoyed.

29. A member of the Mongolian people of central Asia who invaded Russia in the 13th century.

31. Green algae common in freshwater lakes of limestone districts.

32. Any of the equal portions into which the capital stock of a corporation is divided and ownership of which is evidenced by a stock certificate.

33. Involving the entire earth.

35. An official prosecutor for a judicial district.

36. A male godchild.

37. Informal terms for a mother.

38. Of or relating to or characteristic of the Republic of Chad or its people or language.

40. A soft silvery metallic element of the alkali earth group.

41. (used informally) Very small.

42. Anything that serves as an enticement.

45. Talks a great deal about uninteresting topics.

47. A climber of vertical rock faces.

53. Any of several plants of the genus Manihot having fleshy roots yielding a nutritious starch.

55. The use of nuclear magnetic resonance of protons to produce proton density images.

56. The vein in the center of a leaf.

58. A republic in eastern Africa.

59. At right angles to the length of a ship or airplane.

62. Tropical tree of Central America and West Indies and Puerto Rico having spikes of white flowers.

63. The seventh month of the Moslem calendar.

64. Tropical American tree grown in southern United States having a whitish pink-tinged fruit.

66. Not widely known.

67. A genus of Mustelidae.

69. A sudden loss of consciousness resulting when the rupture or occlusion of a blood vessel leads to oxygen lack in the brain.

70. A spacecraft that carries astronauts from the command module to the surface of the moon and back.

74. A heavy brittle metallic element of the platinum group.

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2013

Circumstances may inspire appreciation and enjoyment of your life situation. Your system of values may deepen, providing you with a better sense of discrimination and good taste. Purchasing, selecting colors, etc., are at a high. Today a co-worker peer may be asking you to help with choices of clothing for an upcoming event. You may not have the time to actually point out and suggest but you do have time to write down a few stores that will work with this person and the style or type of clothes that would look good on this person’s particular frame. Continued success on the career level may point to your relinquishing some of your ideas about plans. A loving friend that lives out of town may visit this evening.

Cancer (June 21-July 22) You should find this a good time, when your efforts really pay off and things seem to run smoothly. Now you have the ability for sustained work that allows you to coordinate and organize like never before and you bring to close uncompleted tasks. Those that you find nearest and dearest to your heart, like lovers and children, are emphasized at this time. Feeling appreciated and admired for your gifts and talents is a powerful need. Taking chances can bring large rewards. Being in a position to communicate with groups and society in general, is a result of your demonstrated ability to understand and be sensitive to others needs. It is party time soon and you will find this evening a great time to prepare for an upcoming party.

Leo (July 23-August 22) You get busy with duties and tasks at work. There could be some very important matters that require your attention. At some time today you may be guiding a young person. Some in-depth discussions find you at your mental best. Your analytical abilities are at a high point. Expect some good practical job-related thoughts as you interact with others. The ability to communicate with superiors or describe what you see is strengthened. Later today you may decide on some new ways to proceed with plans that influence a loved one in positive ways. Having a big understanding of conceptual and spiritual ideas and knowing just how to present them to others goes a long way in increasing your popularity, especially in social circles.

Virgo (August 23-September 22) Financial expertise and a practical turn of mind are qualities that take on greater importance in your life. A wheeler-dealer attitude and a knack of knowing how to put people, ideas and things together efficiently, prove profitable. Playing the role of the originator has rewards. Others will discover just how practical you are when it comes to working with you. You seem to have a built in radar detector that helps you to act without haste or emotion. You may be called upon to utilize your natural abilities. Feeling the need to be respected is important to you and you appreciate acknowledgment.

Work, achievement and ambition are the things that mean a lot to you now. Re-mail wrongly addressed snail-mail to your city postmaster.

Word Search

Libra (September 23-October 22) Taking care of business comes first this morning and you have a lot of incentive to get through your work as quickly as possible. A big wedding or some other celebration is being planned and you cannot wait to be included and helpful. All the family will be involved in helping to make this a great event. There is time this afternoon to run a few errands, including picking up small children from whatever daycare is required.

You spend a great deal of time on the phone later this evening and may even help in planning the food or entertainment for this special event. The old has become boring and it is high time to upgrade your way of doing and looking at things. You may spend time looking through magazines or articles that will help to guide you.

Scorpio (October 23-November 21) Knowing that you did a job well gives you lots of satisfaction this morning and is one of your greatest incentives for the next calendar year. Your success creates success for others. This may mean that you cater to parties and do such a good job in whatever you do, that the people who employ you are very successful. This afternoon you become more aware of what young people watch on television and you may do a great deal to help create some positive changes. It is hard to find acceptable viewing, but with other parents making a stand, as a group, you will make a difference. This evening there may be a question over an expensive purchase. Try to justify a major purchase. The important words of this evening are easy-does-it. Share a smile.

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21) Luck fortifies your bank account just now. A large investment is better than several small ones at this time. You spread cheer among your co-workers today. Include a new co-worker in a new project; you will be happy with the outcome.

Finding a solution to a difficult situation may take most of your attention later this afternoon.

There could be some question over a friend of a child. You are very good at sizing up a situation and coming up with the truth and knowing what to do. Now is the time to concentrate and listen and come to the decision you know you should make. There is never enough time to do everything you set out to accomplish. Today however, there is enough time to do the most important things. Make a list and do the most important things first.

Capricorn (December 22-January 19) Frustrations could be easy to find today, but it will not take long for you to rise above them. You break free of any restrictions, whether they are self-imposed or otherwise—you quickly move forward. Higher-ups are watching and are pleased at your progress. Trying to figure out how to organize projects and people could very likely become a topic of special interest just now. This evening your cooperation in a group is important.

This time, however, you may not have to create the event—just go with the flow. Take the time to build on these times and create activities with your loved ones that can be remembered for a long time to come. During difficult times, good memories are imperative. It is in the giving that we receive.

Aquarius (January 20- February 18) Your management abilities are in full swing—as usual. Remembering people’s names can be very difficult and word association seems to help when there are people to manage. You will have the opportunity to deal with difficult people today and you do very well. You are very patient and may find yourself working very well with the elderly. Of course, dealing with children also takes patience and discipline and although you won’t have to do this today, again, you do very well. If you are feeling bored in your current job, you could always put in for management. It is possible for you to eventually purchase a franchise and this is most certainly something you could consider for the future. Enjoy a meal away from home tonight.

Pisces (February 19-March 20) Being able to communicate and get your message across to others is essential now. Your timing should be good for this and those around you will appreciate your effort on their behalf. You may be lecturing today. Getting your message clearly across to others is a talent about which few can boast. Not to worry—people will understand just what you mean. Let’s not start any new projects on the home front just now. Spend some time tidying up and enjoying the surroundings. Too much clutter at this time can cause confusion and be quite messy when trying to entertain a guest. Speaking of a guest, you may be surprised by a friend from the past this evening. You will enjoy pulling out the old picture albums and reminiscing.

Yesterday’s Solution

Yesterday’s Solution

Daily SuDoku

Yesterday’s Solution

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 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

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2013

lifestyle

This film image released by CBS FIlms shows, from left, Oscar Isaac, Justin Timberlake and Adam Driver in a scene from “Inside Llewyn Davis.” — AP

Actor Oscar Isaac accepts the “Best Feature” award for the film “Inside Llewyn Davis” at the 23rd Annual Gotham Independent Film Awards at Cipriani’s Wall Street in New York. — AP photos

‘Inside Llewyn Davis’ tops Gotham Awards T

he Coen brothers’ folk music tale “Inside Llewyn Davis” has won best film at the 23rd annual Gotham Independent Film Awards in New York. The win Monday night at a glitzy ceremony was an upset. The slavery epic “12 Years a Slave” is widely considered an Oscar front-runner and had a leading three Gotham nominations but didn’t take any awards.

Best actor went to Matthew McConaughey for his performance in the HIV drama “Dallas Buyer’s Club.” Brie Larsen took best actress for her performance in the foster care drama “Short Term 12.” Steve Buscemi presented a posthumous tribute to his “Sopranos” co-star James Gandolfini. The Gotham awards are presented by the Independent Filmmaker Project, an advocacy group for independent filmmakers. Awards are selected by juries. — AP

Actor Jared Leto speaks to “Best Actor” award winner Matthew McConaughey on the phone.

Actor Forest Whitaker speaks after receiving a special tribute award.

Actors Ethan Hawke, left, and Julie Delpy present director Richard Linklater with a special tribute award.

Director Lee Daniels presents a special tribute award to actor Forest Whitaker.

Director Richard Linklater speaks on stage.

“Best Actress” award recipient Brie Larson.

The “Bingham Ray Breakthrough Director” award recipient Ryan Coogler speaks on stage.

“Breakthrough Actor” award recipient Michael B. Jordan speaks on stage.

Lawrence, Cyrus, Kimye named Walters’ ‘Most Fascinating People of 2013’

‘H

unger Games: Catching Fire” star Jennifer Lawrence, Miley Cyrus, Kimye (Kim Kardashian and Kanye West) and NSA leaker Edward Snowden are among Barbara Walters’ 10 Most Fascinating People of 2013. Other figures making the media personality’s long-running annual list include Pope Francis, “Good Morning America” anchor Robin Roberts, 4-month-old royal baby Prince George, long-distance swimmer Diana Nyad, and the stars of hit A&E reality series “Duck Dynasty.”

File photo shows actor Josh Brolin and wife Diane Lane arrive at the premiere of “Men in Black 3” at the Ziegfeld Theater in New York. — AP

A

Los Angeles judge has finalized Diane Lane and Josh Brolin’s divorce. Court records show that the couple’s divorce judgment was entered by a court yesterday.

The pair were married for more than eight years when they filed for divorce in February.

No details of any financial settlement were filed with the court. Lane is the star of films

such as “Unfaithful” and “Under the Tuscan Sun.” She had taken Brolin’s last name but will no longer use it.

Brolin has starred in films such as “Gangster Squad” and “No Country for Old Men.” The former couple has no children together. The judgment was first reported Monday by celebrity website TMZ. — AP

Miley Cyrus

Diane Lane and Josh Brolin’s divorce finalized

Viewers won’t find out Walters’ pick for the number one most fascinating person of the year until her 90-minute special airs on ABC on Dec 18. The year-end special has regularly aired since 1993, with the exception of 2000 and 2001. This year’s special will mark Walter’s last one before she retires in May 2014. While plenty of presences in pop culture and entertainment, including the cast of MTV’s “The Jersey Shore,” have been included on the list in the past, Walters has a tendency to give top honors to a political figure, such as for-

mer US Army General David Petraeus in 2012 or Michelle Obama in 2009.

Of the nine names revealed so far, all have made headlines for one reason or another.

Cyrus’ has been a talking point since stripping down on stage at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards in August, West’s temper tantrum over a “Jimmy Kimmel Live” sketch gained national attention months after Kardashian gave birth to their first daughter, and Roberts returned to “GMA” earlier this year after beating a bone-marrow disease.— Reuters

37

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2013

LIFESTYLE F E A T U R E S

Egyptians carry the coffin of Egypt’s best known satirical poet, Ahmed Fouad Negm following funeral prayers at al-Hussein mosque in Cairo, Egypt yesterday.

Zeinab Negm, center, a daughter of Egypt’s best known satirical poet, Ahmed Fouad Negm, grieves with others during his funeral outside al-Hussein mosque in Cairo, Egypt yesterday.

Egypt’s top satirical poet dies at 84 gypt’s best known satirical poet, Ahmed Fouad Negm, has died. He was 84. Negm died in the early hours yesterday, said his close friend and publisher Mohammed Hashem, director and owner of Merit publishing. Known as the “poet of the people,” Negm’s use of colloquial Egyptian Arabic endeared him to his countrymen who saw in his verse an unvarnished reflection of how they felt about milestones in their nation’s history like the humiliating defeat at the hands of Israel in 1967, the 1979 peace treaty with Israel and the authoritarian rule of Hosni Mubarak.

Negm shot to fame in the 1970s when his poetry was sung by blind musician Sheik Imam Issa. The duo, who mostly performed in popular coffee houses and to university students, inspired generations of youth aspiring for change.

Negm was a firm supporter of the 2011 uprising that toppled the regime of longtime ruler Hosni Mubarak. A self-proclaimed secularist, Negm was a harsh critic of

E

Islamists. His poetry communicated both a love for his country and scathing criticism of its ills. “We are a society that only cares about the hungry when they are voters and only cares about the naked when they are women,” he once said, suggesting that people care more about “morality” than ensuring everyone can afford clothes.

He had little formal education. Over the course of his life he took jobs as a house servant and a postal worker.

He was jailed for his political views under the rule of former presidents Gamal Abdel Nasser and Anwar Sadat. “I am not a humble person and I am not stupid; I know I am a poet that has affected this nation,” he once told an interviewer.

Negm’s appearance and lifestyle matched the bluntness and the nature of his verse, immersed in the language of the poor. He wore a galabiya, a flowing Egyptian robe, at all times. His last home was a small apartment in a government housing project given to

In this Sunday, May 21, 2006 file photo, renowned Egyptian poet Ahmed Fouad Negm returns the greetings of a neighbor, outside his home in Cairo, Egypt. —AP

him by authorities when he lost his humble home in a 1994 earthquake.

He has often boasted that his fame did not tempt him to be seduced by offers of money or perks. “No one can co-opt or seduce him, because I want nothing - I have all I want here,” he said while at a room at the roof of his shoddily built apartment block. He is the father of prominent activist and columnist Nawara Negm, an iconic figure of the 2011 revolt that toppled Mubarak.

He has two other daughters in addition to Nawara, Zeinab and Afaf.

“You may not find in the life of your father something to brag about, but you will certainly not find anything that you will be ashamed of,” he wrote in the dedication to a book of his verses.

“That is the belief I defended and happily paid a price for.” His funeral will be held at the historic Imam Hussein mosque in the medieval section of the Egyptian capital. — AP

Charged Dylan told to apologize over alleged racist comments ob Dylan is being asked to apologize for remarks he made in an interview that have ran afoul of French antiracism laws. The legendary American singer has been charged with inciting hatred by Paris prosecutors after comments made to Rolling Stone magazine last year sparked a complaint from the Council of Croats in France (CRICCF). “If you got a slave master or Klan in your blood, blacks can sense that.

That stuff lingers to this day. Just like Jews can sense Nazi blood and the Serbs can sense Croatian blood,” Dylan was quoted as saying in the context of an answer about race relations in the United States.

Dylan, 72, was informed of the charges against him last month, while he was in Paris for three concerts-a visit during which the French government also awarded him its prestigious Legion d’Honneur decoration.

Although the CRICCF’s formal complaint triggered automatic charges under French law, the ‘mise en examen’ or judicial probe, does not necessarily mean the matter will end up in court. It establishes a prima facie case that an investigating magistrate is required to look into, and the charges can either be pursued or dismissed.

The CRICCF said Tuesday said it was not looking for a conviction of the high-profile singer, and would regard a public apology as more valuable. “We hope he will apologize and we are ready to accept an apology,” Ivan Jurasinovic, the CRICCF’s lawyer, said. “A conviction will not repair the damage as much as an apology will.” Dylan has not commented on the charges and a representative of his label claimed to be unaware of the proceedings against the star.

French media law bars incitement to “discrimination, hatred or violence with regard to a person or group of people on the grounds of their origin or of their membership or non-membership of an ethnic group, a nation, a race, or a religion”. In his Rolling Stone interview, Dylan-whose songs have often been used as anthems by leftwing and

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Turkish imam and rock musician Ahmet Muhsin Tuzer gives the call to prayer in Kas. —AFP

Turkey’s rock ‘n’ roll imam ruffles religious feathers A n imam from a tiny hamlet on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast has run into trouble with the country’s powerful religious authorities-for his other life as a rock musician.

Ahmet Muhsin Tuzer told AFP he is being investigated by the Diyanet, the state body in charge of the country’s mosques, over his activities. “I’m waiting for the results of the investigation but whatever happens I’m going to continue making music,” he said in a telephone interview from Pinarkoy, a tiny community near the Mediterranean beach resort of Kas. The Diyanet is looking to determine whether his form of music is compatible with Islam and whether his work as a musician conflicts with his role as imam, a government-funded post.

And it recently sent a group of inspectors to the hamlet to question members of his 40-strong congregation about his activities. “I want to show that you can be a Muslim, listen to rock music and be modern at the same time,” insisted the darkly handsome 42-year-old. The imam made headlines in August when he and his band Firock performed for the first time in public at a local festival in his hometown of Kas in front of a crowd of hundreds of curious on lookers. He says his music is steeped in Sufism or mystical Islam and is primarily geared towards Turkish youth “who are distancing themselves from Islam today”.

The probe into Tuzer highlights the ongoing battle in Turkish society between the religious conservatism espoused by the government and the staunchly secular traditions of the modern

republic. The Islamic-rooted government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in power for 11 years, has long called for the young people of Turkey to be more pious and respectful of Islamic values. Erdogan stoked controversy last month over calls for a ban on mixed-sex accommodation for university students and has angered secularists with a crackdown on alcohol sales and advertising. Tuzer said he hails from a deeply religious and spiritual family and that his grandfather too was an imam.”I preach the name of God and noone can criticize me for that. If you do something in the name of God that can only be beneficial.”

He said he wants to work for “tolerance and the love of God”, values he claims have been eroded today, and to distance himself from “detrimental” forms of violent or sexual rock music. Tuzer is active on Facebook and Twitter and a single released by the three-member Firock “Mevlaya Gel” (Come to God) has had over 32,000 hits on YouTube.

Tuzer previously angered religious authorities in Turkey in 1997 when as a prayer leader at a mosque in Istanbul he married a foreign tourist, a Christian woman who later converted to Islam.

They have an 11-year-old son. An official from Diyanet, which controls the some 80,000 mosques across Turkey, told AFP only that an investigation was under way and that the results could be known in a few weeks. “If they tell me to stop my career, I will challenge them in the courts,” he vowed. “I will continue the mission God has entrusted to me.” — AFP

This July 22, 2012 file photo shows US singer-songwriter Bob Dylan performing on stage at “Les Vieilles Charrues” Festival in Carhaix, western France. — AP civil rights movements-described race relations in the United States as fraught.

“This country is just too fucked up about colour.... People at each other’s throats just because they are of a different colour,” he was quoted as saying. “Blacks know that some whites didn’t want to give up slaverythat if they had their way, they would still be under the yoke, and they can’t pretend they don’t know that. He then made the comment that included the reference to Serbs and “Croatian blood”.

Croatians sensitive to remarks Ethnic Croats and Serbs fought viciously in the 1991-1995 war that followed the breakup of Yugoslavia. Some 20,000 people died. Today, Croatians remain highly sensitive when mentioned in a Nazi-related context. Their previous stab at statehood came during World War II with the so-called Independent State of Croatia. The Nazi-allied Ustasha regime killed hundreds of thousands of Serbs, Jews, Roma and anti-fascist Croatians in their death camps.

Since Croatia declared independence in 1991, some groups have attempted to rehabilitate aspects of the Ustasha regime.

Supporters are sometimes seen in football stadiums giving the Nazi salute. Last month FIFA launched a probe against international defender Josip Simunic for appearing to lead fans into Ustasha-era chants after his team qualified for the World Cup. Dylan, who played back-to-back concerts in Serbia and Croatia in 2010, rose to prominence in the 1960s partly for his support of the US civil rights movement. Barack Obama, the first black president in the United States, last year awarded Dylan America’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, saying: “There is not a bigger giant in the history of American music.” The musician is deeply respected in France, too. He picked up the Legion d’Honneur on the recommendation of Culture Minister Aurelie Filippetti. The award can be granted to any foreigner seen as having served France’s interests or upholding its values. — AFP

‘The Past’ review:

Iranian filmmaker explores divorce, European style ike his justly acclaimed previous feature “A Separation,” Iranian director Asghar Farhadi’s “The Past” is about a divorce. And as in that film, the estranged couple comes to us hefting a ton of emotional baggage from their marriage - to say nothing of the additional domestic messes created since the two split up.

In “The Past,” Farhadi reaches for a more openly dramatized, Western style of storytelling. In other words, there’s a plot - several, in fact which both picks up the pace and gums up the works. Transparency is not in Farhadi’s artistic nature, and I mean that as the highest compliment to his style of filmmaking.

Here, the setting is Paris - not your standard Woody Allen-ized Paris, but a cramped apartment in a working class immigrant neighborhood to which Ahmad (Ali Mosaffa) has returned to finalize the divorce from his French wife Marie (Bérénice Bejo, “The Artist”). The divorce is speedy, easy and less momentous than a seemingly small irritant, albeit one with a long reach into both the couple’s past and their immediate future. Marie has failed to book Ahmad into a hotel as requested. Instead, he must squeeze into her cluttered home with a bunch of kids who are not his by birth.

There he quickly becomes enmeshed in a crucible of discord around her tortured relationships with her married boyfriend Samir (Tahar Rahim, “The Prophet”) and her teenaged daughter Lucie (Pauline Burlet, nimbly juggling

L

sullen with sad). Enraged at having to put up with her mother’s rotating partners, who “come, stay for a few years, then leave,” Lucie sets off a small volcano of mendacity and guilt that threatens to unravel the family’s fragile bonds.

Farhadi is a wonderfully concrete observer of the dense political economy of domestic life: the ebb and flow of imperfect information, passed on by unreliable narrators and tainted with fear, rage and all kinds of desire. The director turns the sound on and off as family members tell and conceal, listen and don’t hear. The strained politesse of an estranged couple erupts into mudslinging of old slights and frustrations, their power to hurt (and, perhaps, heal through airing) heightened by the narrow spaces of home and work that entrap them further.

As in “A Separation” and much other fine Iranian cinema, “The Past” is most absorbing when its insights emerge out of the business of daily living, of getting by under trying circumstances. Its quotidian rhythms function as plot and as music, from which you might read a whole raft of meanings, some bleak, others touched with hope.

There’s enough emotional meat here to make a larger tragedy that lurks in the wings tip the movie into soapy contrivance. Perhaps, too, a touch of male self-serving: Ahmad is a natural fixer and mediator, skilled even with

other people’s children; his greatest sin is allowing himself to get sucked into a vortex not of his creation. Marie, by contrast, is needy, unreflective and self-absorbed, with a short fuse for Samir’s angry and bewildered little boy Fouad (Elyes Aguis) and the small daughter (Jeanne Jestin) she gave birth to with another man.

Never mind that she’s the one who stuck around. —Reuters

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2013

lifestyle F A S H I O N

Fashion honors I

British fashion model Kate Moss and British musician Rita Ora pose on the red carpet.

iconic Moss as Playboy cover revealed

conic supermodel Kate Moss was on Monday honored by the British fashion industry for her 25-year career, shortly after her Playboy cover celebrating the magazine’s 60th anniversary was revealed. US designer Marc Jacobs handed the model her Special Recognition Award at the British Fashion Awards ceremony at London’s Coliseum.

The British Fashion Council called the 39year-old “fearless and intuitive” and praised her “strong work ethic and knowledge of the fashion industry”. Moss began her modeling career aged 14 after being discovered by talent scout Sarah Doukas in New York. Ever since, the Londonborn model has graced the front covers of the world’s fashion magazines and newspapers, transfixed by her high-profile romances including actor Johnny Depp and bad-boy rocker Pete Doherty.

Leading figures from the world of fashion lined up to pay tribute. Celebrity snapper Mario Testino said Moss-the world’s most prolific Vogue cover girl-had “made many people dream”. “The moment she puts on an outfit, it takes another identity,” he explained. “She adds personality to fashion and I personally can never get enough of her.” Designer Donatella Versace highlighted Moss’s “energy, charm and wit”, adding “I love you Kate!” Earlier Monday, racy shots from her 18-page spread in the January/February edition of Playboy were released.

Editorial director Jimmy Jellinek said: “Playboy’s anniversary edition is a testament to 60 years of beautiful women, discerning taste, sexual emancipation, groundbreaking fiction and world-changing journalism. “Having Kate Moss, a global icon and the most important supermodel of the past 25 years, appear on our cover makes this issue the perfect way to launch Playboy’s next 60 years.” — AFP

The 2013 British Fashion Awards winners are as follows: Womenswear Designer of the Year Christopher Kane Menswear Designer of the Year - Burberry International Designer of the Year Miuccia Prada for Prada Designer Brand of the Year - Burberry Accessory Designer of the Year - Nicholas Kirkwood Emerging Womenswear Designer Simone Rocha Emerging Menswear Designer - Agi & Sam New Establishment Designer - JW Anderson Model of the Year - Edie Campbell Red Carpet Award - Erdem Isabella Blow Award for Fashion Creator Lady Amanda Harlech British Style Award brought to you by Vodafone (voted by the public) - Harry Styles Special Recognition Award - Kate Moss Special Recognition Award - Suzy Menkes Outstanding Achievement in Fashion Terry and Tricia Jones, founders of i-D

Irish fashion designer Simone Rocha poses with her trophy after winning the Emerging Womenswear Designer award.

Alexa Chung changes her clothes three times a day

(Right) British model Rosie Huntington Whiteley.

T

British model and fashion editor Alexa Chung poses on the red carpet as she arrives for the British Fashion Awards in London. — AFP

he model-and-presenter admits her style icon status takes work and she carries a change of clothes with her in order to have a fresh outfit for every occasion. She said: “[I have] three costume changes per day. One in the morning, one outfit for work and then one when I go out in the evening.” Alexa, 30, might have a wardrobe full of expensive clothes and accessories, but she tries to limit her designer sunglasses to three pairs because she is so accident-prone.

She told Tatler magazine: “I own three pairs of sunglasses: Zac Posens, APCs and Ray-Bans. I’m constantly sitting on them and breaking them.” The svelte star puts in the effort to maintain her tousled shoulderlength locks, washing them every day and taking care to avoid split-ends.

Alexa said: “I wash my hair seven times a week with Inoa color-care shampoo.

Otherwise, it goes flat. And I only ever brush it when it’s wet.”

The fashionista also revealed she always kicks off her day with a healthy, nutrientpacked smoothie filled with banana, soy milk, honey and dates.—Bang Showbiz

British model Kate Moss poses on the red carpet as she arrives for the British Fashion Awards in London. — AFP photos

Canadian-born British-Turkish fashion designer Erdem Moralioglu poses with his trophy after winning the Red Carpet award presented by French model and actress Clemence Poesy.

British singer Harry Styles of band One Direction poses with his trophy after winning the British Style Award.

The concept of time

O

ver 60 years ago, a clever blend of tradition and innovation began the world of GANT. Now GANT Time is continuing this style evolution with its latest collection. GANT Time’s new arrivals range from classic, elegant timepieces to high fashion eye

catchers and sporty, robust watches.

The collection is a tribute to the GANT brand heritage and this season’s urban take on American Sportswear. A mix of tradition and innovation, classic elegance and modern sportiness is, as always, our main source of inspiration.

Miuccia Prada poses with the trophy after winning the International Designer of the Year award presented by US actress Gywneth Paltrow.

Amanda Harlech poses with her Isabella Blow Award for Fashion Creator and British model Stella Tennant.

lifestyle

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2013

F A S H I O N

‘Aamby Valley India Bridal Fashion Week 2013’

Indian tennis player Sania Mirza showcases a creation by designer Shantanu & Nikhil during the ‘Aamby Valley India Bridal Fashion Week 2013’ in Mumbai. — AP/AFP

Indian models showcase creations by designer Ashima Leena.

Indian models showcase creations by designer Meera Muzaffar Ali.

Models wear creations by designer Shantanu & Nikhil.

Egypt's top satirical poet dies at 84

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2013

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Moroccan hospitality icon by the Atlantic The main entrance designed according to Andalusian architectural design

A view of the resort’s interior, building and the oasis swimming pools.— Photos by Sherif Ismail

By Sherif Ismail CASABLANCA: Visiting this one of a kind resort, we initially thought it would be ‘just’ a five-star hotel but we soon realized that it was a gigantic edifice that is classified as one of the world’s most famous that may even surpass them all. It really deserves to be considered as a Moroccan and Arab iconic touristic destination overlooking the Atlantic. Located near AlJadida historic city 90 km south of Casablanca, Mazagan Beach Resort is really an architectural wonder reminiscent of the Red Palace in Granada, Spain.

In an exclusive interview with Kuwait Times, Mazagan Resort General Manager Stephan Killinger stressed that Mazagan is an exceptional experience for visitors because the resort provides all recreational, relaxation and recuperation facilities that exceed those found in other touristic destinations worldwide. “In addition, the resort’s location enjoys moderate weather and charming nature all year long as well as provides GCC visitors, namely Kuwaitis, with unique services that are not available elsewhere,” Killinger stressed, noting that thanks to tourists from the UK, France and Italy, Mazagan’s occupancy rates have hit one hundred percent mostly all year long. “However, we have ambitions to attract GCC tourists in general and Kuwaitis in particular,” stressed Killinger, underlining that all preparations have been accordingly made.

On her part, the Project Manager Communications and PR manager Soukaina Noceir said that the resort opened in 2009 at a total cost of $3 billion. “Located over an area of 250 acres, the resort includes an 18-hole golf club that was designed by Gary Player, a seven-kilometer beach, a variety of restaurants, a spa, outstanding facilities for sport and recreational activities and one of the largest conference centers in the region,” she said adding that the resort also has 67 luxurious villas that provide privacy for GCC families, especially Kuwaitis.

“The villas are located on and around the golf course overlooking the Atlantic, falls, lakes and swimming pools that provide the atmosphere of an oasis,” she explained, noting that the villas also have access to private recreational clubs and a sports camp that offers international facilities for professional sports training. She also stressed that the facilities include two training areas with a FIFAapproved football pitch, a soccer school supervised by the Paris Saint Germain club, multi-sport facilities, fullyequipped wellness centre, jogging circuit, conference centre and accommodation along with complete service for profession training requirements such as dedicated sports coordinators and security services.

Noceir added that the resort includes an international spa with special services for newlyweds, a Moroccan bath, massage and sauna by highly skilled personnel, a bike course, tennis courts, a shooting range, a fitness club in addition transport to and from the airport. Nocier said that the resort has spacious rooms that are divided into three categories. The first overlook the gardens and the magnificent swimming pool of the hotel. These Pool View rooms are very spacious (42 to 44 m²) and offer both comfort with a king-size bed and a luxury bathroom. She added that some rooms have double beds with French terraces and full recreational equipments such LED TVs, satellite TV channels, phone calls, free Internet and separate rooms for smokers and non-smokers.

“The second type of rooms has spectacular views of the golf, the forest and the ocean,” she said, noting that the Deluxe King Ocean (Partial) View rooms are very

The Club House Restaurant on the edge of the golf course

Luxury and ambassador Suites zone

The Sel De Mer Seafood restaurant

Conference hall equipped with high-end technology

Water park

The woods, gardens and falls zone

Ocean View rooms are very spacious and offer both comfort and the perfect dimensions.

Market place Restaurant

Morjana Restaurant for Moroccan cuisine

Kids Club fully equipped with toys, babysitters, teachers and instructors to handle your kids while you relax.

Kids Club

spacious (42 m²) and offer both comfort and the perfect dimensions a guest would expect from an ideal living space - a large king-size bed with elegant bathroom including both a bathtub and walk-in shower. Noceir added that the third type of rooms - the Deluxe Twin Partial Ocean View rooms (44 m²) have two large queen-size beds with the same King Partial Ocean view amenities.

“As far as suites are concerned, we have four types with areas varying between 82 and 342 square meters.

The first is the Magazan suite that is inspired by the Arabic-Moorish style. They offer a vast space covering 82 m², comprising of a bedroom and living area. The spectacular view of the golf course, the forest and the ocean is an invitation to relax in pure tranquility,” said Noceir.

Magazan Beach Resort meets the tastes of visitors coming from far and wide with its eight restaurants with the Olives Restaurant which is located in the heart of the resort near the garden and swimming pool. Lunch or dinner may be served inside in chic and elegant surroundings or on the terrace in the shade during the hottest parts of the day.

The second restaurant is the Marketplace Restaurant (Al-Souq) on the first floor of the Grand Riad Market Place that offers an outstanding view overlooking the courtyard gardens and swimming pool. Taking the form of sumptuous buffets, the colors and aromas of the Middle East, North Africa, India and Asia come together in perfect harmony.

For Moroccan cuisine lovers, the Morjana Restaurant would be the perfect choice where they can enjoy a subtle blend of tradition and innovation in both cuisine and presentation. From famous tajines and seafood pastillas to couscous royal and kebabs or delicious pastries, every dish is a delight. Morjana is also located on the first floor of the Grand Riad.

There is also the Club House Restaurant on the edge of the golf course facing the Atlantic Ocean. Those who like dinning in the open can enjoy the Oasis Pool restaurant which is a great place to chill out during the day in the sunshine, offering poolside service for ultimate relaxation. There is also the Chiringuito Beach Club that serves a variety of international cuisines.

Residents can also explore Morocco during their stay through excursions to the city formerly known as Mazagan, now renamed El Jadida (new) which has architectural treasures including a Portuguese city, stone cistern, an authentic medina and a souk and a fish market. Visitors can also visit small towns such as Azemmour which is surrounded by ramparts overlooking the Oued Oum Rbia. It was governed by the Portuguese in the fifteenth century and accordingly, the medina of Azemmour has kept its cachet. Visitors can also go further to Casablanca and Safi, which is famous for its seafood dishes. They can also visit Marrakech, the first touristic city in Morocco and northern Africa.

Mazagan Spa Interior Hall

Four floors, the hotel’s 490 rooms