15 Jan

CR IP TI ON BS SU

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2014

Landlord puts lift out of order, cuts water

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RABI ALAWWAL 14, 1435 AH

Erdogan backtracks in Turkey judicial row

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Israeli defence chief calls Kerry messianic, drawing US ire

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www.kuwaittimes.net

Nadal, Federer, Sharapova through in ‘inhumane’ heat

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Assembly refers Dow case to Audit Bureau MPs charge conspiracy, commissions in scrapped deal conspiracy theories

Why shift and forget?

By Badrya Darwish

badrya_d@kuwaittimes.net

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eligious holidays. Yesterday the world celebrated the birthday of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). When I was a child, it was a beautiful day. The kids used to wait impatiently for the sweets of “Mawled Al Nabi” (birth of the Prophet, PBUH). We loved eating them on this occasion. They were like a rainbow of many colours. Till now I try to find these sweets.

The holiday was a special occasion. Women would cook sweets and distribute them in the neighbourhood. Children would gather and sing songs praising the Prophet (PBUH). It was a very colourful day. Every country in the Muslim world celebrates the day in a different way. There are sweets and songs everywhere. It is a good tradition.

You grow up with it and the memories stay with you.

In Egypt , for instance, they do the tanoura dance (an Egyptian folk dance where men wear heavy and colourful skirts and spin around). The drums play and different songs and dances are performed for the occasion. Many other countries celebrate on this day. Suddenly, however, we are forgetting these traditions.

We no longer have many of these celebrations in Kuwait. We look at this day as an extra day to merge it with the weekend. Like this we have an excuse to hop on the plane and go to the nearest hotspot Dubai. Why are we shifting these religious holidays and making them lose their meaning. I am not asking why people travel. Let them travel and enjoy. I myself love travelling. But why travel at the expense of our religious holidays. They are not too many that we start burying and ignore them.

Ask the kids in Kuwait if they know anything about the birthday of the Prophet (PBUH). I bet you many will not know much because the government and parliament decided that these religious days can be shifted. The idea is to stay at home or travel.

We have five holidays only - Eid Al-Adha, Eid-Al-Fitr, new Hijri year, Israa wal Meraj and Mawled Al Nabi (Prophet’s birthday). Why are these days always shifted and combined with the weekend?

Why don’t we do it like the West? They respect their religious holidays. They will never shift their Christmas or Easter day. They will never shift their new year. They respect the culture. Why can’t we preserve our traditions?

NGOs pledge $400m in aid for Syrians KUWAIT: Charity organisations pledged $400 million yesteday to help alleviate the humanitarian plight of Syrians affected by their country’s civil war, participants at a meeting of charitable NGOs said. Kuwait’s International Islamic Charitable Organisation said Kuwaiti charities pledged $142 million, while dozens of NGOs attending the meeting promised the rest. The funds will target people inside and outside Syria, where more than 130,000 people have been killed and millions displaced during the 34-month conflict, IICO said in a statement cited by the KUNA news agency. At a similar meeting last year, NGOs pledged $182 million for Syrian refugees.

Yesterday’s gathering came a day before the Second International Humanitarian Pledging Conference for Syria, which aims to raise $6.5 billion for more than 13.4 million Syrians facing extreme conditions inside the country and in neighbouring nations. The United Nations has described the appeal as the largest ever in its history for a single humanitarian emergency. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon will chair the one-day ministerial-level meeting, which will be opened by HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah. Around 69 countries and 24 international organisations are attending. — AFP (See Page 5)

CAIRO: An Egyptian woman waves a national flag as she queues outside a polling centre to vote on a new constitution yesterday in Mounira, a district of the capital. — AFP

Egyptians vote on new constitution CAIRO: Egyptians voted yesterday for the first time since the military deposed president Mohamed Morsi on a draft constitution that may set the stage for a presidential bid by army chief General Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi.

At least seven people were killed in confrontations between Muslim Brotherhood supporters and police, official sources said, highlighting the tensions in the country. A small bomb went off in Cairo, injuring no one. The Brotherhood, still backing Morsi who is now in jail, has called for a boycott and protests over the draft, which deletes Islamic language written into the basic law approved a year ago when he was still in office. It also strengthens state bodies that defied him - the army, the police and the judiciary.

While a state crackdown has erased many freedoms won by the 2011 uprising against president Hosni

Mubarak, anticipation of more stable government sent the stock market yesterday to its highest level since his downfall. The main index exceeded its Jan 2011 peak, in its fourth straight gain. The referendum is a milestone in the political transition plan the army-backed government has billed as a path back to democracy even as it presses a fierce crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt’s best organised party until last year. A presidential election could follow as early as April.

Echoing a view widely held in Egypt, a senior European diplomat said Sisi would probably announce his candidacy in the next few days - a prospect that will delight supporters but could stir more conflict with his Islamist opponents. With little or no sign of a campaign against the draft - one moderately Islamist party says its Continued on Page 13

Max 18º Min 07º High Tide 12:50 & 22:57 Low Tide 06:28 & 17:44

KUWAIT: The National Assembly called in a unanimous decision yesterday on the state accounting watchdog the Audit Bureau - to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the affairs of a scrapped joint venture with US’ Dow Chemical which cost Kuwait a $2.2 billion penalty. The resolution was issued following a special debate on the $15 billion joint venture signed by stateowned Petrochemicals Industries Co (PIC) and Dow Chemical in 2008 that was scrapped in late December of the same year. The decision gives the bureau one month to complete the probe.

MPs demanded to know all the details that led to signing the deal with Dow and the consequences that followed the scrapping of the venture in which Kuwait was asked to pay the hefty penalty after international arbitration. During the debate, the new Oil Minister Ali Al-Omair explained in a lengthy statement the steps that led to the signing of the agreement and later its scrapping, affirming that the deal obtained the approval of the Cabinet, the Supreme Petroleum Council (SPC) and Kuwait Petroleum Corp (KPC).

He said the deal was not signed before proper studies and negotiations since the issue came to the limelight in Oct 2007, saying SPC approved the deal on Nov 20, 2008 but asked PIC to negotiate with Dow Chemical to reduce the value of the deal, which was initially $17 billion. Kuwait got it reduced to $15 billion - of which its share was 50 percent or $7.5 billion - just four days later, and the agreement was signed on Nov 28, 2008, the minister said.

Continued on Page 13

Subsidies to be reviewed KUWAIT: The government will continue a review of its heavy spending on subsidies under a new Cabinet appointed this month, the new finance minister said yesterday. “There should be a decrease in general but they will not be eliminated,” Anas Al-Saleh, who took office last week, told reporters on the sidelines of a session of parliament. “It is only to make sure that the subsidies are going to the right people, that they are not going to people who do not need the subsidies. So in other words, we are not thinking of a decline for people who need subsidies.”

Saleh, a former minister for commerce and industry, is part of a younger generation of Kuwaiti ministers. He worked at financial firms in Kuwait after studying business administration at the University of Portland in the United States. He said charging consumers more for state utilities was among the options being considered in the subsidies review. But he made clear that he understood the political sensitivity of such a step. — Reuters

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2014

LOCAL

Top priority to safety, security of Kuwait

KUWAIT: His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah received at Bayan Palace yesterday MP Abdullah AlTuraiji and members of the Arab Scout Parliamentary Union. During the meeting, His Highness stressed the social and humanitarian role of the Scout movement in the Arab world through the provision of aid to the needy people.

KUWAIT: An introductory meeting held in Surra by MP Ali Al-Rashed Monday night with various youth groups to the group ‘Masar’ ended with an announcement that registration has begun. More than 100 citizens of both genders attended the meeting headed by MP Safa Al-Hashim, former municipal council member Basil Al-Jaser, journalists, academics and various dignitaries who represented all groups in Kuwait society.

Al-Rashed said he was pleased with the presence of an elite group of Kuwaitis at the group’s premises in Surra. He said the group is patriotic and democratic that works for the sake of Kuwait to correct the deteriorating situation in the form of corruption and theft in the absence of the government’s role and failure of the latest governments that do not work for the sake of reform and the country’s development.

Jleeb landlord puts lift out of order, cuts water No respite to suffering tenants

By Sajeev K Peter KUWAIT: The alleged harassment by a landlord in Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh has assumed alarming proportions, with the elevator of the nine storey building now out of order, compounding the misery of the tenants. The water supply has already been cut in what tenants argue is deliberate coercion to force them to sign a new rental contract with a KD 20 increase. “It is a blatant violation of human rights to inflict such an ordeal on

The nine storey building in Jleeb.

the tenants. It is painful to see women climb up steps carrying buckets full of water to their 8th floor apartments. Even pregnant and old women are among them,” said Somu Mathew, a community activist.

With the lift out of order, many tenants complain that the floors of the building have become slippery, posing risks to the tenants, especially women and children who have to climb up and down. The distressed tenants, who constitute working people, nurses, bank employees and private employees, have taken the issue to court to get a legal remedy to their grievances. They also approached the Indian Embassy and the local police station in addition to government officials in Kerala and Delhi.

According to the current rental contract, that was signed on March 1, 2013, the tenants have to pay a monthly rent of KD 230 plus KD 5 to the haris (janitor). The tenants say they pay their monthly rent on or before the 5th of every month.

“The rent for December 2013 was paid by all the tenants. Still, the tap water line was closed by the haris,” said one tenant requesting anonymity. According to tenants, the landlord approached them in Sept 2013 to raise the rent to KD 250, an increase of KD 20 per month. The Kuwait rental law stipulates that the owner of an apartment cannot increase the rent within five years of a rental contract.

Since the landlord sought to increase the rent even before the completion of

KUWAIT: Community volunteers fill up buckets for supplying water to apartments of a building where the water supply was cut off.

one year, the tenants refused to sign the new contract. The landlord returned to the tenants again in Nov 2013 asking them to sign the KD 250 contract. The residents refused again, quoting the Kuwait rent law.

Meanwhile, various social organizations in Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh convened a meeting of the tenants on Monday at the

United Indian School and discussed means to alleviate the suffering of the tenants. The members of the associations extended their solidarity with them.

Some of them volunteered to carry water to their homes to ease their misery. They have called another meeting tomorrow at 11 am at the United Indian School to discuss the further course of action.

‘Conspiracy tape’ suspect remanded in custody KUWAIT: A man arrested under suspicions of operating a Twitter account used to spread rumors about an alleged conspiracy against Kuwait’s ruling structure was remanded in custody Monday after being questioned for the second day since he was referred to the Public Prosecution.

The man was arrested on Sunday, and one day after the Public Prosecution took

over the case which was filed by former parliament speaker Jassem Al-Khorafi.

Khorafi demanded action to investigate allegations which accused him of conspiring with former prime minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah against the ruling structure.

The man reportedly operated a Twitter account with the handle @7R77777 which

he used to claim that an audio recording of the alleged conversation was in possession of former minister Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahd Al-Sabah.

Meanwhile, a source with knowledge of the investigations told Al-Qabas daily that detectives searched the suspect’s house based on orders of the public prosecution.

“The process which involves searching a

suspect’s house and gather as much information about him as possible is a general measure in state security cases,” the source noted.

There is currently no set date for when investigations are expected to be concluded, af ter which the case will be referred to the criminal court as a state security lawsuit.

Al-Rashed said he is totally depressed of what is going on in Kuwait, but has not given up to ‘remove the tumor from the body of this dear homeland.’ He hoped that the group becomes a path for reform and defend the gains and rights of the silent majority that is not pleased with negligence. He called upon Kuwaitis to join, adding that ‘we do not have an agenda other than the safety and security of Kuwait, and protect it from corruptors’.

‘Our problem is with the prime minister, because he is not fit to run the state, and I have said this many times, despite our respect to his person,’ Al-Rashed charged. ‘We do not keep anyone from participating with us, even the ‘orange opposition’, because today there is no difference between orange or blue, because we all work for the sake of Kuwait.

KAC staff demand equal pay KUWAIT: Nearly 100 Kuwait Airways employees staged a sit-in at the airline’s offices on Monday to demand equal pay with their peers in the Kuwait Aviation Services Company.

According to a report published by Al-Qabas yesterday, many of the employees who took part in the twohour sit-in complained from the ‘huge difference’ between their salaries and what KASCO employees with similar qualifications are paid.

The demonstrators also expressed their frustration that they are paid less than employees of a company that is affiliated to the KAC, as well as the fact that their demands were ignored even after previous boards gave initial approval. They said that the sit-ins will continue daily until their demands are met.

Meanwhile, Al-Qabas reported that human resources officials met with the frustrated employees and discussed their demands. Sources within the KAC labor union, which was not represented in the sit-in, also revealed that they have repeatedly made the demands to the KAC management “through official and legal means”.

Al-Qabas also spoke with management members who said that the demands remain under discussion, but hinted that they cannot be approved until the parliament votes on amendments to the KAC’s privatization law in its second hearing, the paper reported.

New Ahmadi Hospital opening this year KUWAIT: Director of the ‘Mega Projects 3’ group at Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) Yaqoub Dashti said yesterday that the new Ahmadi Hospital would be ready to receive patients by the end of the year with a capacity of 300 beds at a cost of about KD87 million.

Dashti said at a news conference to announce the details of the project that nearly 64 percent of the project has been completed, adding that the hospital will serve about 120,000 patients registered in the oil sector, their families and retirees.

He said the new hospital project, which includes 300 beds equipped with the latest international medical specifications, in addition to the provision of secondary health care, can also be extended to accommodate nearly 400 beds.

He explained that the project site area stands at nearly 380,000 square meters, while medical and non-medical buildings stand at 80,000 square meters and includes a four-storey, in addition to a parking site that can accommodate nearly 1,000 vehicles, a helicopter landing area and residential buildings for medical staff with a capacity of 254 units.

He said the cost of the projects executed by the group stand at nearly KD three billion. — KUNA

KUWAIT: The new Ahmadi Hospital construction work in full swing.

MoI refers citizen, traffic officer for investigation KUWAIT: The Interior Ministry’s security media department finally put an end to speculations and social media stories about an argument and accusations exchanged between a citizen and traffic policeman over a traffic ticket.

The department said that both parties were referred to further investigations at MoI’s inspection and control department. Moreover, the social media department stressed that the interior ministry was always keen on unbiased and fair investigation of such topics in a way that maintains law, security agent prestige and citizen rights and dignity at the same time.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2014

LOCAL

Six sheikhs involved in visa scandal: Report New twist in fraud case

KUWAIT: A major visa fraud scandal involving a senior Ministry of Interior official saw a new twist yesterday when a local Arabic daily reported that six members of the ruling Al-Sabah family were also implicated. Al Rai Arabic daily, quoting unnamed sources with knowledge of the investigation, said that the prime suspect in the case is a former director at the Interior Ministry, who is also a relative of former Interior Minister Sheikh Ahmad Al-Hmoud Al-Sabah. The newspaper reported that the investigation began during Sheikh Ahmad’s tenure but no action was taken until around a month ago. The senior official, who worked in the office of the Minister of the Interior, had been suspended and then forced to retire before the investigation went forward.

The case was first discovered by General Department of Immigration officials during Sheikh Ahmad Al-Hmoud’s term. They notified Maj Gen Sheikh Faisal Al-Nawaf AlSabah, the Assistant Undersecretary for Citizenship and Passports Affairs, who then followed up with the investigations and eventually informed the new Interior Minister Sheikh Mohammad Al-Khalid Al-Sabah, who took up his post on Aug 4, 2013. In Dec 2013, the prime suspect was confronted by the new interior minister.

“The official then applied for retirement, which he got,” the source said. The man was reportedly promoted to lieutenant general upon retirement in accordance with the Interior Ministry’s protocol.

Royal involvement Meanwhile, the investigation has revealed that “more than six members” of the ruling family are involved in the case, including one “who made at least KD 100,000 a month” from the issuance of illegal visas.

The senior official at the center of the scandal and whose name has not been released to the public was referred to the public prosecution. The new Interior Minister Sheikh Mohammad, who retained his seat in the recent Cabinet reshuffle, has since formed a committee to probe the case.

“While the committee focused on the administrative side of the issue, [General Department of Immigration] officers had already been following up with their dis-

covery of the case which happened when an expatriate arrived with a visa issued in the name of the minister’s office director,” Al-Rai reported. After discovering that the visa was issued illegally, the officers tracked transactions issued by the prime suspect, which led to the discovery of thousands of illegal visas.

According to the sources, the officers kept their investigations secret out of concern “given the blood relationship between the [former] minister Sheikh Ahmad Al-Hmoud and the director of the minister’s office”. The sources also spoke about a “conflict between senior officials who are members of the ruling family, including one who gave promises to a senior official of being promoted in the near future, which made the process of passing the illegal transactions easier.”

Probe widened Sheikh Mohammad Al-Khalid formed a second committee led by Maj Gen Abdulhameed Al-Awadhi, the Assistant Undersecretary for Criminal Security, to investigate involvement of officers, including senior officials, in the case. In this regard, the sources revealed that several Immigration Department employees were questioned, including female staff members “who expressed frustration over alleged mistreatment that involved confiscation of their cell phones”.

Investigations also revealed that six Arab representatives (mandoubs) fled the country after news about the case broke out, the sources said, adding that their names were blacklisted to be arrested should they attempt to return to Kuwait.

The General Department of Immigration placed a security block on the files of 12,000 expatriates in the aftermath of the case, in order to check their visas and identify those who entered Kuwait illegally. The case has caused an outcry in the parliament, with multiple MPs criticizing police procedures, mainly with regards of prosecuting the expatriates who were described as “victims of fraud”, as well as “rewarding” the suspect by allowing him to take advantage of retirement benefits. —Al-Rai

KUWAIT: His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah arrives to attend a National Assembly session yesterday. — Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat

Govt ready to cooperate with lawmakers on K-Dow case KUWAIT:The K-Dow Petrochemical’s case represented a violation of the use of public funds, and all violators will be duly prosecuted, said the Minister of Oil Ali Al-Omair in a statement he made on Tuesday at a National Assembly meeting dedicated to probing the scuttling of the K-Dow deal.

He said the government sought the cooperation on this issue with the parliament-appointed panel of investigation delving into the reasons why the deal was aborted in the manner it occurred in.

He said the government was eager to attend today’s parliamentary session to discuss this case and informed lawmakers in detail about the intricacies of the mega deal that was struck between

the Dow Company and the Petrochemical Industries Co. (PIC) of the state of Kuwait, a wholly owned subsidiary of Kuwait Petroleum Corp. (KPC).

Shortly prior to the K-Dow and PIC partnership materializing, warnings were promulgated by a number of financial consultants and politicians regarding the need to scrapping it due mostly to the onset of the global economic crisis in 2008, said the minister.

Citing the global recession that began in the later half of 2008, the Kuwaiti government scuttled the partnership prior to its launch on December 28, 2008.

Dow currently has arbitration pending against KPC. The original deal had a damages clause that allowed for dam-

ages up to USD 2.5 billion.

The minister advised that no cases against anyone should be turned over to the public prosecutor’s office before the government’s and the parliament’s investigations were completed.

He emphasized that any official or entity found to have misused public funds in the K-Dow case will be held accountable, noting that the government had formed an investigatory committee on May 28, 2012 made up of a number of ministers to thoroughly study this case inside-out.

Al-Omair appealed to the lawmakers to apprise him of any added information they might be in possession of to help put this case to rest and to adjudicate any wrongdoers. — KUNA

KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah received at Bayan Palace yesterday the European Union’s Foreign Policy Chief, Catherine Ashton and her accompanying delegation. First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Sabah Al-Khalid Al-Hamad Al-Sabah and Deputy Minister of the Amiri Diwan Affairs Sheikh Ali Jarrah Al-Sabah were present at the meeting.

Opposition to vote on ‘Reform Project’ KUWAIT: Former parliament speaker Ahmad Al-Saadoun will host members of the opposition at his diwaniya on Saturday to discuss a draft of a political reform project that oppositionists are expected to vote it early February, a local daily reported yesterday, quoting sources close to the opposition. The meeting will be the first since an incident during last week’s gathering involving former MP Mohammad Hayef and the personal secretary of fellow former lawmaker Musallam AlBarrak.

During the meeting, Abbas AlShaabi reportedly made disparaging remarks against Hayef, but Saadoun acted immediately by ordering Shaabi to exit the meeting.

Hayef reportedly did not respond to

the offensive statements.

“Contrary to what has been mentioned on social media, the incident did not leave a serious impact on the majority bloc’s cohesion because of Al-Saadoun’s immediate response,” said the sources who spoke to Al-Rai on the condition of anonymity. They added that Barrak, who did not attend the meeting, later sent a letter assuring that Shaabi’s statements reflect his own views.

The meeting is set to include members of the majority bloc - a gathering of 34 politicians who formed a majority in the parliament that was elected Feb 2012 and annulled by a constitutional court ruling four months later. They are currently studying a ‘Political

Reform Project’ that is prepared by the Opposition Coalition and pushes for a full parliamentary system through constitutional and legislative amendments that allow establishing political parties to compete for a bid to form the Cabinet in Kuwait.

“Saturday’s meeting will discuss the project’s draft and notes that each members have as some are expected to request adding or removing certain articles it,” the sources said. The bloc is expected to vote on the project early February, based on a request made during their meeting on Jan 7 for a one month period to study it and “agree on a general formula approved by all components of the opposition”, according to the sources.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2014

LOCAL In my view

In my view

GCC energy consumption

Let us be sensible!

By Abdel Aziz Aluwaisheg

A

recent report by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) flagged rising energy consumption as a serious long-term policy challenge facing GCC economies. It linked this problem to long-term economic health as well as fiscal sustainability, arguing that if the problem is not adequately addressed, it could reverse GCC economies’ gains.

Advice by the IMF (and the World Bank) does not usually interest GCC citizens, who dismiss the two organizations as irrelevant to their concerns. They are seen as trying to use the GCC as a resource to help other regions, while ignoring GCC needs.

Another beef with the twin organizations is that they rarely utilize local talent and expertise, leading to dismissal of their prescriptions as irrelevant and alien.

However, in this report at least the IMF appeared to begin to look at GCC issues independently of other regions, although the GCC-as-derivative paradigm still peeks through the pages, and especially in the recommendations. It is true that the GCC countries have some of the highest levels of energy consumption per capita in the world and some of the lowest prices. Growing populations mean that, in the absence of policy reforms, domestic energy consumption is likely to continue to rise.

According to calculations made by the Saudi Center for Energy Efficiency (SCEE), energy intensity has been growing at spectacular speed. In 2013, it took nine times the amount of energy to produce one unit of GDP, compared to 1975. In fact, demand for energy has long surpassed rates of economic growth and population growth. In Saudi Arabia, energy consumption rises by over 8 percent annually, while economic growth was estimated at only 2 percent during 2013, and national population grows by about 2.5 percent annually. As I pointed out in a recent article, Saudi Arabia plans to produce an average of 3,500 megawatts of electricity annually for the next decade. That increase alone in one year is enough to power several medium-size countries.

While low energy prices may be seen as one of the ways that oil wealth is distributed to the population, it could be argued that those benefits are heavily skewed toward the better off, because prices are kept low for all, whether they needed that help or not.

This is the problem in a nutshell. How does the IMF propose to solve it? In typical fashion, the IMF believes that only through the price mechanism could GCC countries curtail energy consumption. It cites (its own) research to support that conclusion.

One study argued that “a gradual upward adjustment in domestic energy prices over time would help curb the rapid growth of domestic consumption, redirect existing incentives in the growth model away from energy intensive industries, and strengthen the fiscal position.” Another suggested “GCC countries could significantly reduce energy consumption over the long term if prices were adjusted upward.”

Adverse impact However, the IMF itself recognizes the downside of such policy recommendations. It admits that an increase in energy prices would have an adverse impact on poor and vulnerable groups, and as such “compensatory measures” would need to be put in place. Similarly, energy-intensive industries would need time to adjust their production and cost structures to remain competitive. Qualifying its own advice of allowing energy prices to rise, the IMF further argues that “International experience with energy price reform suggests that such a policy adjustment will need to be well-planned, phased-in gradually over time, and clearly explained and communicated to the population and businesses.”

With all these qualifications, it is clear that one could not rely on the price mechanism, no matter how appealing to traditional economists, to solve the problem of rising energy consumption. It is one of the tools, gradually and at a later stage. There is a more direct way of addressing the problem, without resorting to the price mechanism, by tackling the main sources of energy misuse or abuse, through a mix of incentives, awareness-raising and changes in regulations, it seeks to change patterns of energy consumption to make them more energy-efficient.

During 2012, Saudi Arabia consumed daily about 4.3 barrels of oil and equivalents. Energy production accounted for about half of that total. The Saudi Center for Energy Efficiency (SCEE) found out that buildings consume about 80 percent of all electricity produced in the country, and about 50 percent of which for air-conditioning. During the summer months, according to the Saudi minister of water and electricity, air conditioning consumes over 80 percent of electricity.

Incentives needed It is also true that about 70 percent of all buildings are not insulated. Building codes are largely not binding when it comes to insulation and there is very little capacity to enforce them anyway. Most air-conditioning equipment in the market was found to be inefficient, which was true for most electric appliances. From those findings we can see that energy consumption could be dramatically reduced with improved building insulation and appliance efficiency. However, you need incentives to make it happen: First, efficiency standards for insulation and electric appliances need to be raised by law.

Second, a voucher system could be devised to reward real estate developers and homeowners who insulate their buildings according to the new standards. Third, prices of insulation materials could also be supported, as well as energy-efficient appliances.

Price support could include redeemable coupons that vary according to the efficiency rating of an appliance.

Over time, consumers will notice the savings they make when they better insulate their houses and use efficient appliances and the financial incentive scheme could be discontinued. A similar scheme could be used to wean electricity producers from cheap fuel. As we saw in this example, while the IMF correctly diagnosed increased energy consumption as a serious problem for GCC economies, it failed to come up with the right advice. Instinctively, it advocated raising prices to solve the problem, despite its recognition that such drastic prescription could wreak havoc economically and socially. But looked at from a GCC perspective, we were able to come up with solutions that avoid those incalculable dislocations.

To paraphrase a famous economist, sometimes when it comes to IMF recommendations: Respect them yes, but obey them not!

By Abdellatif Sharaa

local@kuwaittimes.net

T

In my view

Kerry mission impossible

By Hassan Barari

L

Netanyahu’s position should not be taken at face value.

He understands the centrality of Jerusalem for the Palestinian negotiators and he understands pretty well that if Jerusalem was not on the table, no Palestinian negotiator would show up. It seems that this is exactly what Netanyahu would like to see. Put differently, Netanyahu seeks to undermine the process because the domestic political price for peace is extremely high that Netanyahu may not be able to afford.

Additionally, while Israelis continue paying lip service to the two-state solution, they have been creating facts on the ground to present them as a fait accompli. As soon as Kerry left Israel last week, the Israeli government announced that 1,400 more new housing units would be built on Palestinian land. Netanyahu’s decision to go ahead with the new settlements plan helps him keep his ruling coalition intact. It is as if Netanyahu has to appease the pro-settlement components of his government at the expense of the Palestinians.

While the construction of new housing units and the persistence of settlement activities can destroy the peace process, the Israeli government does not pay any price for defying the international law by building settlements on the occupied territories. Contrary to what the Palestinian negotiators said, there is simply no price tag on Israel’s policy on settlements.

Just a few days ago, the Palestinian chief negotiator, Saeb Erakat, said that President Abbas should forget about peace talks with Israel and find another avenue.

This is exactly what would relieve Netanyahu. I am not making the argument that Abbas should give in to Israeli terms but I argue that Netanyahu does not feel that he has to start a genuine peace process.

If anything, the American administration should understand that any effort that fails to address the Palestinians’ minimum demands including Jerusalem would have no chance to succeed. Therefore, Kerry’s mission will be futile if he thinks that the Arabs may accept to leave Jerusalem out of the framework agreement or Israel continues its settlement activities.

ong time observers of Middle East politics are skeptical with regard to American efforts to mediate between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made it perfectly clear that he would oppose any reference to Jerusalem in the framework agreement being worked out by US Secretary of State John Kerry. This statement reveals a rift in the position of Kerry and Netanyahu over the core issue of the conflict.

To be sure, Israeli top leaders see no point of responding positively to Kerry’s relentless effort to jumpstart the peace talks unless the framework agreement is in line with Israeli demands. In the end, many Israeli leaders do not believe that the American administration is in any position to exercise pressure on their government. It seems that short of a presidential interference, Netanyahu is not expected to cooperate with Kerry and act in good faith.

And yet, President Obama learned the hard way that he could not put pressure on the Israeli government. Just two years into his first term, he acknowledged that he had overestimated his ability to impact Netanyahu. For this reason, Obama is not identifying himself with what Kerry has been doing for fear of failure. That does not mean that Obama would not throw his lot if there were a chance for success!

The irony is that it would be highly unlikely that Kerry can sell his framework agreement to the Arab side if Jerusalem is left out. For the Arab side, Jerusalem is the key issue and resolving it can lay the foundations for historical reconciliation between Israel and its adversaries.

We all remember when the late Arafat turned down Israeli offer for peace during Camp David talks simply because the Israelis failed to offer enough on Jerusalem.

On more than one occasion, Arafat made it perfectly clear that no one can concede East Jerusalem for the Israelis.

It remains to be seen how Israeli leaders can sell their position while the Arabs are united behind the issue of Jerusalem. Of course, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas can be flexible but not on Jerusalem. But

ype 2 or Type 1, diabetes is a main issue that is worrying the medical community across the board. Though awareness has been improved in recent years, habits and daily practices are still going on as they were at home and outside. It is no longer strange or unusual to see a group, not one or two, of children who are fat or obese, and some of them may be diabetic, not the Type 1 associated with children, but Type 2 which is supposed to affect adults above 40 years.

It is true that technology brought with it comfort and sometimes blessings to patients and normal people alike, but some of the technological advances have became a determent to our children’s health and education. Technology changed our lives, as children sit down for hours in front their computers, almost motionless except for their fingers, then when hungry, pizza, hamburger, chips, etc will be available, with or without the knowledge of the parents. When we start complaining about our children’s obesity, and later we find out they developed Type 2 diabetes, we feel bad and sad, but still we do not act right.

In earlier days we always blamed lack of awareness - that the health community was not doing enough, but this is not true anymore. There are programs of various types in hospitals, clinics and social venues that explain diabetes and its relation with complications, and more importantly, how to prevent or delay the onset of this disease.

It is we the public to blame now, since information is available everywhere. We had been warned you want to eat a hamburger, go ahead, but not every day. Be active - designate half an hour to walk briskly five days a week. When you go to the supermarket, park your car away from the entrance so you can move a muscle or two. When you go to a building and need to reach the second floor, the first thing you do is find the lift - try to use the stairs instead, it is healthy and will keep you going.

Lifestyle... lifestyle... one of the major causes of several chronic and oftentimes fatal diseases.

I once noticed my late grandfather, may Allah bless his soul, drinking a small glass of olive oil, so I looked at him with wonderment. How can you drink this thing, I asked. He said ‘son, your circulatory system needs cleansing, and olive oil is a cleanser.’ I kept wondering about what this elderly man said because I was not convinced, until I started reading about things and discovered that what my grandfather, a farmer, told me is absolutely true.

Those people during their days used to go to bed early, wake up at dawn, go to farm, work hard, then return in the afternoon and do whatever they had to do. Obesity was very rare among them! Oh! I forgot to say that they did not have fast food, hamburgers or pizzas - they made their own, at home with ingredients they knew, and even grew!

Let us be sensible please!

kuwait digest

kuwait digest

A long, twisted unpaved way

We need answers

By Abdellatif Al-Duaij

L

et us hypothetically say that the opposition was successful in its bid to amend the constitution and the electoral law, and managed to form a list that according to their proposal - governs the state. According to the current alliances and the social situation in Kuwait, the list would likely be something like this - 10 MPs from the Awazem, Mutran, Ajman and Rashaidah tribes, five from the Islamic Constitutional Movement, and three from the remaining Islamist groups and perhaps the Kanadrah tribe. Of course, the list has to include the ‘icon’ Ahmad AlSaadoun, and the ‘nation’s living conscience’ Musallam Al-Barrak.

This reflects only the social the identity of the list, because Kuwait has not yet reached a level of political awareness as per which we can start identifying the political identity of the list.

This list is going to dominate everything given the fact that it represents over half of the population, whereas the remaining people are going to be divided according to their sectarian affiliations into Sunnis and Shiites, as well as people with different political views. As a result, there is no chance that this list could lose any elections because it is practically capable of obtaining double the votes as any coalition running against it can get.

Even if the impossible happens and we see Sunnis and Shiites unite to go against the list, their luck will still fall very short compared to the list given the tribal commitment and social awareness that its supporters have.

Now, let us say that this list won

the elections and formed the Cabinet. It does not matter how ministers’ posts are going to be distributed because this is not a difficult thing to presume. What matters is its ability to tackle the challenges facing Kuwait. Even if the impossible happens and the opposition manages to immediately elevate people’s awareness and establish a national list, what can the Cabinet achieve? How is it going to face social challenges?

To put it simply, how would the new Cabinet deal with thousands of high school graduates who insist on enrolling into Kuwait University?

What are job opportunities going to be created to deal with underemployment? How is Kuwait going to achieve development and multiple sources of income? The answers need to be provided with figures and charts, not based on wishes and dreams for development and progress. What is the solution for the increase in foreign labor and the increased dependency of Kuwaiti houses on foreign labor?

Where are the voters of the new list, those who were raised on belittling labor and especially manual labor, going to work? If these issues are too hard to tackle, then what is their solution to the traffic problem - which is arguably the easiest of the issues mentioned above?

We want accurate and clear answers to these questions. These issues describe the challenges that we face, not the electoral system or Cabinet formation protocols. Explain to us how do you plan to deal with these issues, and then we can support your political ambitions. — Al-Qabas

By Dr Bader Al-Daihani

P

olitical reform is capable of maintaining and developing our democratic system.

It is actually the gateway to other types of socioeconomic reforms. Yet, it will not be achieved at once. We still have a long, twisted and unpaved way to go that requires persistent hard work and endurance. Therefore, it would be a mistake just to focus on political reform demands while neglecting other demands and issues, namely those closely related to people’s lives such as healthcare, education, housing and increasing living costs.

In other words, political, youth and social movements should be linked to socio-economic issues, namely those closely related to citizens’ everyday lives, so that government policies that proved unsuccessful in providing citizens’ basic needs and policies that tended to blame citizens for failure in running state affairs, such as the new financial ones stated in the government’s agenda, could be exposed.

Those new policies unfortunately ignored the real reasons for the possible deficit and wrongly justified them with the aim of blaming citizens with medium and limited income in the form of imposing new fees or taxes on goods and services, increasing current ones or imposing indirect income taxes such as the ‘value added tax’ with the excuse of ‘conserving or rationalizing consumption’ or ‘subsidizing budget revenues’. Such excuses could be true if only the state’s treasury was properly and fairly

administered, because in view of the current situation and the injustice in wealth distribution and the state’s biased policies and priorities, they sound meaningless.

The current bad political situation on the one hand and focusing on parliamentary work on the other, have undoubtedly contributed to disfiguring and deforming the nature of true political work and its relation to daily life. In addition, most political power, including some members of the opposition, basically have no clearly defined socioeconomic programs to offer. All they have is some general political slogans they occasionally repeat without even checking what they really mean or if they are applicable or feasible in real life.

Accordingly, it is important to financially and spiritually link citizens’ daily concerns to political conflicts so that they could have socioeconomic significance.

Some citizens do not actually realize that their daily problems are closely related to the structural defect the political system responsible for running the country suffers from. It is actually determined through power balancing and political alliances - organizations, coalitions and blocs are formed according to socioeconomic interests. Linking political work to daily concerns will make political debates no longer restricted to the political elite - it will rather be linked to the life and future of each and every human being, not only those interested in politics. — Al-Jarida

The current bad political situation on the one hand and focusing on parliamentary work on the other, have undoubtedly contributed to disfiguring and deforming the nature of true political work and its relation to daily life.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2014

LOCAL

KUWAIT: International NGOs conference in progress in Kuwait yesterday.

NGOs pledge $400 million support to Syrian refugees KUWAIT: International NGOs made pledges worth a total $400 million for humanitarian assistance aimed at internally displaced persons within Syria and its refugees abroad in a donors’ conference here yesterday. The sum was raised a day ahead of a pledging event of nations, both events held for the second consecutive year in Kuwait.

The organisers of the event, the Kuwait-based International Islamic Charity Organisation (IICO) said in a statement that they hope the sum is used effectively in providing the adequate needs of the Syrian people.

Breaking down the pledges, it said Kuwaiti charities have offered some $142 million, while the Islamic Relief Charity of Britain pledged $80 million, followed by the Red Crescent of the United Arab Emirates $35 million and Thani Foundation of Qatar $15 million.

Meanwhile, two Kuwaiti charities have vowed to do all in their power to help alleviate the suffering of the civil conflict-traumatized Syrians.

Refugee camps Member of the Revival of Islamic Heritage Society Ibrahim Al-Alyat said that his society will intensify efforts to raise more donations to secure safe housing for Syrian refugees in neighboring countries, provide them with their basic needs, mainly food and clothes and monthly subsistence. He added that the society will continue offering care for orphans, stationaries and school bags to students. It

also plans to set up a number of hospitals and schools to serve the refugees. He disclosed that the society had erected three small refugee camps inside Syria-each houses 100 Syrian refugees-two other camps in Lebanon, housing projects for refugees in Jordan and a medical compound in Turkey. The society had repaired and reopened several hospitals in the opposition-held areas and is paying the salaries of their staff. Moreover, he said the society offered direct financial aid affected Syrians from January 2013 till now, amounted to KD 2.63 million.

He expressed his appreciation of the initiative of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al Sabah to host the 2nd international donors conference for Syria today to support humanitarian work in Syria.

Meanwhile, Jamal Abdulkhaleq Al-Nouri, of Abdullah AlNouri Charity Association, also promised to continue efforts to help Syrians in their plight.

He told KUNA that his association has distributed 650 tons of dates to the displaced Syrians in 2013 and plans to take the amount up to 4,000 tons in 2014.

The association has offered Syrian refugees aid at a total value of $6 million since the beginning of the crisis, AlNouri said. He stressed that Kuwait is one of the biggest supporters of the Syrian people in their ordeal. He expressed hopes the 2nd donors conference would prove successful in raising the required donations to provide the desperate Syrians with their needs. — KUNA

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2014

LOCAL

KUWAIT: Some of the activities carried out by the Kuwait Dive Team members last year.

Kuwait Dive Team releases annual report KUWAIT: The Kuwait Dive Team released their annual report for 2013 which highlighted the main voluntary works and activities carried out by its members in cooperation with state

departments and private firms.

The projects included removing eight wrecked ships including an 55-meter-long and 500 ton ship off the Shuaiba Port. The team also

carried out cleaning campaigns at the Ushairej beach, the Shamlan dock in Sharq, the Fintas beach and coral reefs around the Kubbar and Qarouh islands as well as the Bnaider beach.

Meanwhile, divers carried out several observation missions to coral reefs in Kuwaiti waters, and sent reports to international organizations including the Coral Watch, which is affiliated to

the University of Queensland in Australia.

Furthermore, the team cooperated with the Ministry of Education to conduct beach cleaning campaigns featuring over 2,000 students.

GCC aims to rationalize strategic water reserves

Immigration dept employee in police net for forgery

KUWAIT: Undersecretary of the Ministry of Electricity and Water Ahmad Al-Jassar said yesterday that the GCC water linkage project aims to rationalize strategic water reserves and diversify fresh water resources as well as reducing the installed capacity in desalination plants in all Gulf states under normal operating conditions.

This will lead to the provision of water to the national networks in case of suspension of desalination plants, AlJassar said in his speech at the opening of an extraordinary meeting of GCC water and electricity undersecretaries meeting here.

Al-Jassar said that the meeting comes in implementation of the directives of the GCC leaders on the water linkage project between their states.

He added that the meeting is being held at a critical timing as the subject of water scarcity cast a shadow over parts of the world and the GCC in particular, adding that many of the scientists and the competent international bodies believe that the scarcity of water will be one of the biggest problems facing humanity in this century.

He said that the GCC states dependency on the desalination plants as a single source for fresh water is shrouded by many risks, noting that this vital source may be exposed to an emergency pollution incident which would lead to the disruption of many desalination plants and to a severe shortage of water consumed, thus, affecting the water security of the Member States. —KUNA

Search for luxury car thief

Meshari Al-Sanousy

Entertainment City special timings KUWAIT: The Entertainment City welcomes visitors tomorrow on special timings starting from 1pm to 10pm, on the occasion of the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) Birthday Holiday.

Meshari Al-Sanousy, the Vice President for Entertainment City affairs at the Touristic Enterprises Company, said in a statement yesterday that operation hours will return to normal following the holiday. The Entertainment City opens between 4 pm and 12am on weekdays, and between 10am and 10pm on weekends.

KUWAIT: An immigration department employee faces forgery charges after detectives discovered that she issued transactions for domestic helpers and drivers illegally. The arrest took place following investigations that a woman working in the Capital governorate’s immigration department was involved in releasing suspicious transactions. The woman was detained in an ambush, and said during questioning that she issued transactions on a daily basis without keeping a copy in the archive. She added that she managed for months to issue transactions without reference to official documents, then disposed the papers after the transaction was issued. She was referred to the public prosecution for further action.

Cars theft A search is ongoing for a criminal based on confirmed information about his involvement in stealing 14 luxury cars in Kuwait. Hawally detectives had launched investigations in multiple reports made by owners of car rental offices in the governorate.

Each of the complainants said that a Gulf national rented a luxury vehicle, then disappeared. Detectives were able to identify the suspect as a man who was previously charged with murder in 1995, but fled the country before trial, then later returned with a fake passport. Investigations revealed that the man managed to smuggle the stolen vehicles outside Kuwait, and sold a Toyota Prado, a Range Rover, and a Lexus in Jordan, while he sold the rest in other Arab states.

Investigations also led police to arrest a man who admitted that he helped the suspect smuggle the vehicles outside Kuwait.

Suicide in Fintas A worker was found dead inside a Fintas hotel in a case filed as suicide according to preliminary investigations. Police and detectives headed to the scene in response to an emergency call, and found the Nepalese man’s body hanging inside his room.

The body was transferred to the forensic department after criminal investigators finished examining the scene.

Investigations are ongoing to determine the motives behind the man’s decision to end his life.

‘Sheikh’ hurt A ruling family member was injured when he was hit by an air rifle in an accident reported recently in Yarmouk.

The man arrived at the area’s polyclinic with his friend who reportedly shot him accidently while cleaning his air rifle. Security officers arrived at the scene after medical staff informed police about the case, and took the two men’s testimonies.

Fake bootlegger A man filed a case with Salmiya police after receiving several phone calls from people asking for alcoholic drinks. According to the police report, the Kuwaiti man learned from the callers that his number was mentioned by a social network account that promotes illegal sale of imported liquor in Kuwait. Police pressed libel charges and launched investigations to identify and arrest the person who put the man’s number in the fake ad.

Drug smuggler A passenger was hospitalized with a broken arm after he tripped at Kuwait International Airport, and was later put under tightened security after a medical test revealed that he

attempted to smuggle drugs. The Egyptian man reportedly fell sick shortly after arriving from his home country, and was soon taken in an ambulance to Farwaniya Hospital after he fell and broke his arm. Medical staff later discovered that the man carried four capsules in his intestines, which after being extracted were discovered to contain heroin. Police are waiting for the man to be discharged from the hospital to be arrested on drug smuggling and trafficking charges.

Meanwhile, officers at the Central Prison placed an inmate under investigations after drugs were found with his possession when he returned back from court. According to a security source, the jail security decided to search the inmate before he was returned back to his cell, and found three heroin rolls in his possession. The man refused to reveal the identity of the person who handed him the drugs - a transaction that likely happened at the Palace of Justice where he stood trial. Investigations are ongoing.

Couple fight Farwaniya detectives are working on revealing the mystery behind a case involving a couple who reportedly had a fight on a highway near Omariya and disappeared while leaving one of their cars behind. Police arrived at the scene on the Fifth Ring Road near Omariya where a man reported witnessing a man beating up a woman after forcing her outside her car. The caller told police that the suspect forced the woman into his car and drove away from the scene, adding that he tried to intervene but the man told him off. Police detected blood traces on the woman’s vehicle which was impounded to be used in the investigations.

KUWAIT: Inspectors of the food and markets monitoring at capital municipality issued three citations to a food store in Sharq area for not following general hygiene rules, and adding an area without a prior license. This action was taken during a campaign by inspectors on capital food stores. —By Hanan Al-Saadoun

Kuwait envoy discusses cooperation in Sudan KHARTOUM: Kuwaiti Ambassador to Khartoum Talal Mansour Al-Hajri discussed here yesterday with Sudan’s Oil Minister Makkawi Mohammed Awad ways of bolstering joint cooperation in the energy and oil sectors.

Al-Hajri said that the meeting dealt with ways of enhancing bilateral cooperative relations in the energy and oil fields to benefit both countries.

The meeting prepared a cooperation agreement to be presented to the meeting of the joint higher committee between the two countries, headed by Kuwaiti and

Sudanese Ministers of Foreign Affairs, to be held in Kuwait soon, he added.

For his part, the Sudanese minister expressed full readiness to extend helping hands to Kuwaiti companies wishing to invest in the oil sector in Sudan.

He praised the support provided by Kuwait to Sudan in all of the developmental projects since the sixties, recalling in this respect the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development’s first loan that was offered to Sudan.— KUNA

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2014

Israeli defence chief calls Kerry messianic, drawing US ire Page 8

Officers acquitted in California homeless death Page 9

Erdogan backtracks in Turkey judicial row ANKARA: Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said yesterday he was ready to withdraw a contentious bill aimed at curbing the powers of the judiciary as he battled to contain the worst crisis of his 11 years in office.

His about-face came as the country’s recent political tumult took yet another twist with a raid by anti-terror police against an Islamic charity close to the government which is accused of shipping arms to Syrian rebels.

The Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) branded the police raid-part of a wider operation against Al-Qaeda in Turkey-a “smear campaign” linked to a high-level corruption probe embroiling the government.

Erdogan, who once held an almost unassailable grip on power, has been battling on several fronts since police launched a series of anti-graft raids in December targeting members of his inner circle.

His Islamic-rooted government has since sought to limit the powers of the judiciary and has sacked hundreds of police and prosecutors involved in the investigation, which Erdogan claims is a plot by an erstwhile ally to destabilise him ahead of key elections in March. The turmoil has sent Turkish financial markets plunging, with the local currency briefly hitting a record low of three lira to the euro yesterday.

Erdogan backtracked yesterday in the row over the judiciary, saying the government was ready to withdraw proposed legislation curbing the power of judges-on certain conditions.

“If the opposition agrees to constitutional changes governing this issue (the judiciary), we will freeze the proposal and if necessary will stop it from reaching the full parliament,” he told his party in parliament.

‘Black stain on democratic history’ It was not immediately clear what the constitutional amendments would contain but parliament failed last year in its efforts to draw up a new charter to replace a constitution drafted by postcoup military leaders in 1980.

Erdogan’s comments came a day after President Abdullah Gul intervened personally to try to defuse the crisis over the bill, holding talks with several political leaders including Erdogan.

The legislation has been regarded by critics as a bid to head off the widening corruption probe that has seen the detention of dozens of people including business leaders, civil servants and the sons of cabinet ministers since December.

Erdogan accuses supporters of exiled

Muslim preacher Fethullah Gulen-who hold key posts in the police and judiciary-of deliberately acting as a “state within a state” to topple the government.

Yesterday, he described the December anti-graft operation as a “black stain on Turkey’s democratic and legal history” and an “act of treachery”.

And he went further, accusing the Gulen movement of also trying to undermine the Turkish secret service, the National Intelligence Organisation (MIT).

His comments appeared to be linked to the raid against the IHH, which claims it has become victim to the feud between Erdogan and the so-called Gulenists. The IHH said one of its staff was arrested in the raid in the southern town of Kilis by local counter-terrorism police units who also tried to confiscate documents and computers.

“This smear campaign is backed by people inside and outside Turkey,” IHH secretary general Yasar Kutluay told AFP, saying the raid was clearly linked to the corruption scandal.

“It is not only about IHH. They want to brand Turkey as a country which supports terrorism and want it to be tried before international courts,” he said.

Turkish media reported on January 1 that security forces had stopped-on the orders of a local prosecutor-a truck loaded with arms and ammunition on the Syrian border and arrested three people.

The drivers claimed they were carrying aid on behalf of IHH, and media reports at the time said an MIT vehicle was part of the convoy. The Turkish government has repeatedly denied it is involved in sending weapons to rebels fighting the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

However, in December, local mediaquoting UN and government documents-reported that Turkey had shipped 47 tonnes of arms to the rebels since June last year. The IHH organised a flotilla of ships carrying aid to Gaza that was raided by Israeli commandos in 2010.

Nine Turkish activists were killed in the Israeli raid, sending relations with Turkey, once its closest Muslim ally, to an all-time low.

The IHH also claimed yesterday that the raid was linked to comments by Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman this month describing the IHH as a threat to the interests of the Jewish state.

The Gulen movement, whose feud with Erdogan became public after the government unveiled plans to close its private school network in Turkey, is believed to back improved ties with Israel. — AFP

ANKARA: Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan (C) arrives to deliver a speech to the members of the Turkish Parliament in Ankara yesterday. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his government was ready to withdraw a contentious bill curbing the power of judges — on certain conditions.— AFP

Hariri killing trial a chance to end impunity BEIRUT: The trial of those accused of killing Lebanon’s former prime minister Rafiq al-Hariri provides a rare chance at justice for a country more used to impunity for political assassinations.

But analysts say the proceedings are unlikely to have much of an impact on the country for now, with the consequences of the bloody war in neighbouring Syria overshadowing the trial.

Four suspects from Lebanon’s powerful Shiite Hezbollah group, a key ally of Syria, will go on trial in absentia tomorrow, charged with the February 14, 2005 bombing that killed Hariri and 22 others in downtown Beirut.

Despite the many years that the Special Tribunal for Lebanon has taken to investigate the killing, and the absence of those accused, for some the trial is a much-needed bid to pursue justice.

“For the first time, there is an attempt to get to the truth,” said Sami Salhab, a professor of international law at the Lebanese University.

“In Lebanon’s history, most assassinations have happened... without results” in the investigation, he told AFP. He said the case could drag on for years to come, but added “the role of the court will limit the number of terrorist attacks in Lebanon, including assassinations.”

Lebanon’s Future TV, which is owned by the Hariri family, began a media campaign two weeks before the trial’s opening entitled “January 16, 2014: the time of justice.”

“The path that we have chosen is one of justice,” said Ahmed Hariri, secretary-general of the Future Movement headed by Hariri’s son Saad.

“We still have a long way to go to reach the truth, to reach the first time in Lebanon that a political crime is prosecuted,” he added.

‘Obstacles and minefields’ “We knew that this path would be long and full of obstacles and minefields, and more assassina-

tions... but the beginning of the trial and the achievement of justice will remove a key element that has always accompanied political life in Lebanon: political assassinations,” he said.

Lebanon was no stranger to political violence or assassinations even before Hariri’s death, having fought a 15-year civil war that saw numerous political figures targeted.

But Hariri’s killing was the beginning of an unprecedented string of assassinations targeting nine politicians and media figures who spoke publicly against the Syrian government.

Syria was accused of a role in all the deaths though no government officials have been charged.

But popular anger over its alleged involvement was sufficient to force Syrian troops to withdraw from Lebanon shortly after Hariri’s death, nearly 30 years after they first intervened in the country’s civil war. — AFP

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2014

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

Tunisia marks uprising anniversary without new constitution TUNIS: Tunisia celebrated the third anniversary yesterday of the overthrow of a decades-old dictatorship in the first Arab Spring uprising, but political divisions have hampered the adoption of a new constitution by this symbolic deadline.

Tunisia’s leaders launched a low-key ceremony in the Kasbah district of the capital, where the government’s headquarters are located, to mark the event.

President Moncef Marzouki, outgoing prime minister Ali Larayedh and his designated successor, Mehdi Jomaa, all attended the ceremony along with other top officials. Demonstrations, notably by Larayedh’s Islamist party Ennahda, are expected during the day on Habib Bourguiba avenue, epicentre of the mass protests that drove long-time autocrat Zine El Abidine Ben Ali from power on January 14, 2011 and inspired revolts across the Arab world.

By 0900 GMT several hundred people had already gathered there, while police had been deployed heavily around Tunis, including outside shopping centres. Clouding the anniversary was the country’s heavily delayed future charter, which was due to have been agreed on yesterday but remains a work in progress.

A third of around 150 articles in the text have yet to be examined after nearly two weeks of debate, and key provisions have been rejected by lawmakers during fractious sessions in parliament in recent days. These include articles on the eligibility criteria for the head of state and the prerogatives of the prime minister, with lawmakers also rejecting a crucial article on the government’s role in nominating judges, after an acrimonious debate in the national assembly. An alternative provision must now be negotiated. Tunisians are awaiting the formation of a caretaker government of technocrats by the end of next week under Jomaa, the non-partisan former industry ministry tasked with leading the country to

fresh elections. His appointment last week came under an agreement to end months of political deadlock, triggered by the assassination of an opposition MP last year by suspected Islamist militants, and get Tunisia’s democratic transition back on track. It also followed the voluntary resignation of Ennahda, which swept to power in Tunisia’s first

‘On the right track’ In a televised speech on Monday evening,

TUNIS: Tunisians wave their national flag and shout slogans as they attend a rally marking the third anniversary of the uprising that ousted long-time dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali yesterday in Habib Bourguiba Avenue in Tunis. Tunisia celebrated the third anniversary of the overthrow of a decadesold dictatorship in the first Arab Spring uprising, but political divisions have hampered the adoption of a new constitution by this symbolic deadline. — AFP

Iran, IAEA talks postponed amid nuke deal preparations TEHRAN: Negotiations for transparency of Tehran’s nuclear drive with the UN nuclear watchdog have been postponed until February while Iran and world powers prepare to implement a landmark nuclear deal, officials said yesterday.

Talks with International Atomic Energy Agency experts, which are also examining long-standing allegations of past nuclear weapons research by Tehran, were originally scheduled for January 21 in the Iranian capital.

But “the next round of talks has been postponed to February 8 as preparations are underway for (implementation) of the steps agreed in Geneva,” Iran’s envoy to the IAEA, Reza Najafi, told the ISNA news agency.

Najafi was referring to the deal Iran and the so-called P5+1 group agreed in the Swiss city in November that will temporarily curb Tehran’s nuclear drive in exchange for modest sanctions relief. An IAEA spokeswoman in Vienna, Gill Tudor, confirmed to AFP the date of the new round. In the meantime, Iranian nuclear officials said IAEA experts will visit Tehran on January 18 to prepare

free elections in October 2011 but whose tenure has been overshadowed by a sharp rise in Islamist violence, ongoing social unrest and two political crises.

the implementation of the Geneva deal that is to come into full effect two days later.

Under the accord, Iran must limit its enrichment of uranium to five percent for six months and begin to neutralise its stockpile of uranium purified to 20 percent, a few technical steps short of weapons-grade material.

These steps need to be monitored and validated by IAEA inspectors.

In Vienna, Tudor did not comment on the experts’ possible visit to Iran, but said “the necessary preparations will be made for implementation” of the deal with the P5+1 group (Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States and Germany).

On November 11, Iran and the IAEA agreed a framework deal that included six practical steps that Tehran would take by February 11. The first was a short visit to the heavy water plant at the unfinished Arak reactor that took place on December 8, when all of the IAEA’s “technical objectives” were met, according to the Vienna-based agency. —AFP

President Marzouki admitted that the country’s leaders had not satisfied the hopes that accompanied the uprising three years ago.

“We are very far from realising the objectives of the revolution,” he said. But he insisted that Tunisia was on “the right track, (even if ) the path is still difficult and dangerous.”

He also hailed what he called the “Tunisian miracle” that has preserved “freedom, security and a model of modernity,” despite the wave of attacks blamed on jihadist militants, and a growing number of strikes and protests in recent months that often turn violent.

The latest unrest erupted last week, with a number of demonstrations, fuelled by the poverty and unemployment that were driving factors behind the uprising that toppled Ben Ali, giving way to clashes between police and protesters.

The protests were concentrated in Tunisia’s marginalised central region, where a young street vendor sparked the revolution by setting himself on fire in December 2010 to protest his impoverished circumstances.

The Tunisian press was divided yesterday between cautious optimism and disenchantment about the future. “Three years on... the longed-for constitution remains endlessly delayed. The families of the martyrs (victims of the revolution) are still waiting to know the names of their children’s killers and the Islamists have been forced to recognise their failure,” La Presse announced on its front page.

Le Temps lamented that the revolution driven by Tunisia’s youth had been “hijacked” by politics.

But it also sounded a positive note, saying Tunisia would “manage to avoid the worst.” “Soon, we will have a non-political government which will lead us safely to elections, and we will have a constitution that promises to be modern.” — AFP

Israeli defence chief calls Kerry messianic, angers US US says Yaalon’s reported remarks are offensive JERUSALEM: Israel’s hawkish defence minister drew rare US condemnation yesterday over reports he had denounced US Secretary of State John Kerry’s quest for Israeli-Palestinian peace as messianic and obsessive.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, already at odds with Washington over settlement building on land Palestinians want for a state, scrambled to try to avoid a damaging crisis with his country’s closest ally over defence chief Moshe Yaalon’s remarks.

“Secretary of State John Kerry - who has come to us determined and is acting out of an incomprehensible obsession and a messianic feeling - cannot teach me a single thing about the conflict with the Palestinians,” the biggest-selling daily Yedioth Ahronoth quoted Yaalon as saying behind closed doors. “The only thing that can save us is if Kerry wins the Nobel prize and leaves us alone.”

Kerry has been on a diplomatic blitz in recent weeks to persuade Israel and the Palestinians, who resumed statehood talks in July after a three-year deadlock, to agree on an outline proposal addressing the core issues of their conflict.

In a strong rebuke to Yaalon, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said that if accurate, his remarks were “offensive and inappropriate, especially given all that the United States is doing to support Israel’s security needs”.

Responding to the Yedioth report with a written statement, Yaalon - who stopped short of denying he had made the personal attack on Kerry in private conversations described Washington as an ally of utmost importance.

“When there are disagreements, we work through them inside the room - including with Secretary of State Kerry, with whom I hold many conversations about Israel’s future,” he said. The acrimony comes at a delicate time in peace negotiations that have shown little sign of progress. Kerry, who made his 10th visit to Jerusalem last week in less than a year, has been pushing both sides to agree to at least a preliminary deal.

‘Great ally’ But in parliament on Tuesday, Netanyahu appeared to take Yaalon, a member of his right-wing Likud party, to task, extolling Israel’s shared interests with “our great ally” in Washington. “Even when we have disagreements with the United States, they always pertain to the matter at hand, and are not personal,” Netanyahu said.

Yaalon has often cast doubt on the chances of reaching a deal with the Palestinians and he has been a strong supporter of settlement building. As Israel’s military chief, he was replaced in that post before its 2005 Gaza pullout, a move he opposed.

Gaza is now governed by Hamas Islamists opposed to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s engagement with the Jewish state. Abbas holds sway in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

One of the sticking points in the negotiations has been Israel’s demand to maintain a military presence under any future peace deal in the Jordan Valley, between Jordan and the West Bank.

Kerry has presented the sides with ideas for security arrangements in the Jordan Valley. Neither has publicly endorsed them. According to Yedioth, Yaalon said: “The American security plan is not worth the paper it is written on.” The State Department spokeswoman challenged Yaalon on the issue. “Secretary Kerry and his team ... have been working day and night to try to promote a secure peace for Israel because of the Secretary’s deep concern for Israel’s future,” she said.

“To question his motives and distort his proposals is not something we would expect from the defence minister of a close ally.” The dispute erupted a day after the US media published excerpts from a memoir by former U.S. Defence Secretary Robert Gates in which he said he had tried to get Netanyahu barred from the White House, accusing him of being arrogant and ungrateful. — Reuters

Syrian govt forces advance as rebel infighting rages BEIRUT: The Syrian government has retaken territory around the northern city of Aleppo, the military said yesterday, after two weeks of rebel infighting that has weakened the insurgency against President Bashar al-Assad.

The internecine conflict among some within the chaotic plethora of rebel groups will allow Assad to portray himself as the only secular alternative in Syria to a radical Islamist regime when peace talks begin in Switzerland on Jan. 22. His military advances will give the Syrian government delegation greater leverage at the negotiating table. An army statement said government forces had pushed out from their base at Aleppo’s international airport, southeast of the city, and were moving towards an industrial complex used as a rebel base and the al-Bab road, urgently needed by insurgents to supply the half of Aleppo under their control.

It said that government forces, along with militia loyal to Assad, were in “complete control” of the Naqareen, Zarzour, Taaneh and Subeihieh areas along the eastern side of Aleppo, which was the major Arab country’s commercial hub and most populous city before the conflict erupted in 2011. Fighting between the al Qaeda-linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and rival Islamists and more moderate rebels have killed hundreds of people over two weeks and shaken ISIL, a militant faction led by foreign jihadists.

But ISIL regrouped and retook much of its stronghold in the eastern city of Raqqa on Sunday from remnants of the Nusra Front, another al Qaeda affiliate although much more Syrian in makeup, and Islamist units called the Islamic Front.

War within a war ISIL took control of the town of alBab, east of Aleppo, from other rebels on Monday, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group. The Observatory,

which tracks Syria’s war using sources from both sides, said eight fighters from Ahrar al-Sham, a unit within the Islamic Front, were killed by an ISIL car bomb in the western province of Idlib just before midnight on Monday.

Syria sank into civil war after a peaceful street uprising against four decades of Assad family rule began in March 2011. The revolt spiralled into an armed insurgency after the army responded with massive and deadly force to suppress the unrest.

As the fighting spread, better-armed hardline Islamists took the fore over more moderate Muslim and secular rebels, who are supported by Gulf Arab and Western nations.

Syria’s foreign ministry dismissed as “fantasy” statements by the pro-opposition Friends of Syria group - including Western and Gulf states - in Paris on Sunday that Assad was a war criminal and peace talks should end his

“despotic regime”.

“The Syrian Arab Republic is not surprised by what happened in Paris during the meeting of Syrian people’s enemies and the statements, which are closer to fantasy than reality,” the ministry said in a statement on Monday.

The World Food Programme delivered rations to a record 3.8 million people in Syria in December, but civilians in eastern provinces and besieged towns near the capital Damascus remain out of reach, a spokeswoman said yesterday.

The UN agency voiced concern at reports of malnutrition in besieged areas, especially of children caught up in the civil war, and called for greater access. The official Kuwaiti news agency said non-governmental organisations had promised to donate a combined $400 million for humanitarian aid for Syria ahead of an international donor conference that will start in Kuwait today. — Reuters

RAMALLAH: Two Palestinian women carry banners and loaves of bread with Arabic drawing that reads, “we are all Yarmouk,” during a protest in solidarity with the Palestinian Yarmouk refugee camp in Syria, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, yesterday. Children, the elderly and others displaced by Syria’s civil war have starved to death in the besieged camp where women brave sniper fire to forage for food just minutes from the relative prosperity of Damascus. — AP

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WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2014

Officers acquitted in California homeless death Thomas’ parents condemn verdicts

NUEVA ITALIA: Men belonging to the Self-Defense Council of Michoacan, (CAM), inspect vehicles at a checkpoint in the entrance to the town of Nueva Italia, Mexico, Monday. A day earlier the self-defenses encountered resistance as they tried to rid the town of the Knights Templar drug cartel while the government announced yesterday that federal forces will take over security in a large swath of a western Mexico that has been hard hit by violence. — AP

Mexican vigilantes split over call to disarm URUAPAN: Vigilantes who have fought a year-long battle against a powerful drug cartel in western Mexico appeared divided yesterday over government demands to disarm and let federal forces take over security.

Interior Minister Miguel Angel Osorio Chong urged the civilian militias to lay down their arms in the troubled state of Michoacan after the vigilantes seized another town in their fight against the Knights Templar gang in recent days.

The civilian militias say they have now surrounded Apatzingan, the region’s economic hub and a city considered the cartel’s headquarters, raising fears of a bloody urban confrontation.

The unrest in the agricultural state has become the biggest security challenge of President Enrique Pena Nieto’s 13-monthold administration, undermining his pledge to reduce drug violence in Mexico.

After leading a security meeting in the state capital, Morelia, with the state government, Osorio Chong said Monday that federal forces would take over security in the region known as Tierra Caliente, or Hot Country.

Estanislao Beltran, a leader of a militia that seized the town of Nueva Italia on Sunday, told AFP that soldiers had arrived late Monday to disarm his men and that two vigilantes were killed amid a tense standoff.

But army and interior ministry spokespeople said they were unaware that any

shootout had broken out. “We are very sad.

They army killed two of us,” Beltran said, adding that his group would not disarm.

Armed movement to continue Hipolito Mora, founder of the first vigilante force that emerged in the town of La Ruana in February 2013, also told AFP his armed movement “will continue.” Mora and Beltran said they were unaware that the region’s most high-profile vigilante leader, Jose Manuel Mireles, appeared in a video broadcast on television saying the council of self-defense groups decided to “heed the call from the interior minister.”

“We accept to return to our communities of origin and return to our day-to-day activities,” said Mireles, who had been under police protection in a Mexico City hospital after sustaining head injuries in a plane crash.

The mixed messages from the region’s civilian militia leaders added to the complex situation in Michoacan. The vigilantes formed almost a year ago, arguing that local police were unwilling or unable to curb the cartel’s violence and extortion rackets.

Pena Nieto deployed thousands of troops and federal police to the state in May, but their presence failed to discourage more towns to take up arms.

Ignoring repeated government warnings that their expansion would not be tolerated, the civilian militias continued to grow and seized around 20 towns.—AFP

SANTA ANA: By the time all four verdicts were read acquitting two California officers of killing a homeless man, people on both sides were sobbing.

Kelly Thomas, 37, died five days after a violent confrontation with six officers in July 2011. A surveillance camera captured him screaming for his father and begging for air as the police kneed him, jolted him with an electric stun gun and used the blunt end to strike him around the face and head.

It was a rare case in which police officers were charged in a death involving actions on duty.

Thomas’ death led to days of protests, forced the recall of three City Council members and led the police chief to step down.

Former Officer Manuel Ramos, 39, was acquitted of second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter on Monday. Former Officer Jay Cicinelli, 41, was acquitted of involuntary manslaughter and excessive use of force.

The FBI said it will review the evidence to determine whether federal action is justified.

Outside court, Thomas’ parents condemned the verdicts. “Just horrified,” Cathy Thomas said.

“He got away with murdering my son.” Ron Thomas has said his son suffered from schizophrenia and didn’t understand the officers.

Ramos’ attorney, John Barnett, said jurors did their duty. “They were operating as they were trained, and they had no malice in their hearts.”

The defense said Thomas started the confrontation by refusing to heed police orders and was fighting officers so much that they called for backup multiple times. At one point, the lawyers said, Thomas tried to reach for Cicinelli’s stun gun.

Frustrated The video began with Ramos stopping Thomas on July 5, 2011, after the officer answered a call about a disheveled man jiggling

the handles of car doors in a busy parking lot.

Ramos grew frustrated with Thomas, who wasn’t following orders to sit on a curb with his hands on his knees. Ramos snapped on plastic gloves, made two fists and then held them in front of Thomas’ face as he said, “Now see these fists? They’re going to (expletive) you up.”

Cicinelli, who arrived a few moments later, jolted Thomas several times with an electric stun gun and used the butt end to hit Thomas in the head and face, breaking bones.

Thomas was taken off life support five days later. A county pathologist concluded that Thomas died, in part, from asphyxiation caused

by injuries he received during the confrontation. Defense attorneys said Thomas suffered from an enlarged heart from drug abuse, and his exertions during the struggle were too much for him.

Only a handful of police officers nationwide have been charged with murder for actions taken while on duty, and convictions in those cases are rare, said Lawrence Rosenthal, a law professor at Chapman University School of Law and a former federal prosecutor.

Unless the prosecution can prove the officers falsified reports or covered up evidence, jurors are usually willing to acquit, he said. — AP

Man fatally shot at US theater over texting WESLEY CHAPEL: An argument over texting in a Florida movie theater ended with a retired police captain fatally shooting a man sitting in front of him, authorities said. Curtis Reeves, 71, has been charged with second-degree murder.

“Somebody throws popcorn. I’m not sure who threw the popcorn,” said Charles Cummings, who was about to watch the movie “Lone Survivor” on Monday. “And then bang, he was shot.” Pasco County Sheriff’s officials said the shooting happened when Reeves asked 43-yearold Chad Oulson to stop texting at the theater.

Reeves and his wife were sitting behind Oulson

Russia expels American journalist critical of Putin MOSCOW: Russia barred a US journalist who is critical of President Vladimir Putin for five years, a move that could upset relations with the United States and has echoes of the Cold War. Moscow’s treatment of David Satter could fuel concern about freedom of speech before the Winter Olympics in Sochi next month, although Putin has tried to appease critics by freeing former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky and members of the Pussy Riot protest group in the run-up to the Games.

The Foreign Ministry said yesterday that Satter, author of three books on Russia and the Soviet Union, had been prevented from returning to Russia last month after grossly violating visa regulations.

“As some of you know, I’ve been expelled from Russia,” Satter wrote on Twitter. Dismissing the Foreign Ministry’s version of events, he said: “It’s the first explanation for my expulsion which anyone has received in nearly three weeks. It is also false.”

Such expulsions have been rare since the end of the Cold War and collapse of the communist Soviet Union in 1991. But the ministry dismissed suggestions by Western media that the move against Satter was politically motivated as “tendentious”.

SANTA ANA: Ex-Fullerton police Cpl. Jay Cicinelli, at right, looks back into the court gallery as his attorney Michael Schwartz, center, embraces co-counsel after the not-guilty verdict is read in the murder trial of Kelly Thomas in Santa Ana, Calif., on Monday. — AP

A former Moscow correspondent for the Financial Times, Satter was back in the Russian capital last year and advising Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, a broadcaster funded by the U.S. government.

In one of his books, “Darkness at Dawn”, Satter accused the Federal Security Service (FSB), a successor of the Soviet-era KGB, of being responsible for bombings of Russian apartment buildings in 1999 which killed more than 300 people. The FSB, which was headed by Putin before he became prime minister and then president, has denied the charge. Russian authorities blamed the attacks on separatists from Chechnya in the volatile North Caucasus. The crimes were never solved.

Visa regulations violated The Foreign Ministry, which handles media accreditation for foreign journalists, said Satter had failed to report to the federal migration service as required when he last arrived in Russia on Nov. 21.

“In fact, from Nov. 22 to Nov. 26 this U.S. citizen stayed on Russian territory illegally,” the ministry said, and a Moscow court had ruled on Nov. 29 that he should be expelled. A court spokeswoman confirmed the ruling.

The ministry said Satter had left Russia on Dec. 4 and was refused a visa when he wanted to return. He was just one of about 500,000 foreigners barred from Russia for periods of three to 10 years for breaking the law, the ministry added.

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty said the U.S. embassy in Moscow had sought an explanation from the Russian authorities, but without success. It quoted Satter as saying he had been told by a Russian embassy official in the Ukrainian capital Kiev that his presence was considered “undesirable”.

Relations between Moscow and Washington improved during US President Barack Obama’s first-term push to “reset” ties. But they have deteriorated again amid disputes on Iran, Syria, human rights and Russia’s decision to give temporary asylum to American fugitive spy contractor Edward Snowden.

Russia expelled a US diplomat in Moscow last year, accusing him of working as a spy and trying to recruit a Russian agent for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Public announcements of such expulsions have become rare since the end of the Cold War. — Reuters

and his wife. Oulson told Reeves he was texting with his 3-year-old daughter, Cummings said.

“It ended almost as quickly as it started,” said sheriff’s spokesman Doug Tobin. The sheriff’s office says an off-duty deputy detained Reeves until police arrived. Cummings, who had blood on his clothes, told a group of reporters Monday afternoon the show was still in previews when the two couples started arguing.

Cummings said the men started raising their voices and popcorn was thrown. Authorities said Reeves took out a gun, Oulson’s wife put her hand over her husband and Reeves fired his

weapon, striking Nichole Oulson in the hand and her husband in the chest.

“I can’t believe people would bring a pistol, a gun, to a movie,” Cummings said. “I can’t believe they would argue and fight and shoot one another over popcorn. Over a cellphone.”

Cummings, who said he was a combat Marine in Vietnam, said Oulson fell onto him and his son.

“Blood started coming out of his mouth,” said Alex Cummings. “It was just a very bad scene.” A man sitting next to the shooter grabbed the gun out of his hand, and the suspect did not attempt to get away, Cummings said.—AP

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2014

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

Britain’s World War I diaries go online LONDON: Britain is recruiting an army of amateur historians to sift through more than 1.5 million pages of diaries written

by World War I army officers, published online for the first time 100 years after the conflict began.

Spanning the whole of the 1914-18 conflict, the diaries are the official record of the war by British army units-but deeply poignant testimony can be found among the battalions’ day-to-day accounts of their movements.

“I have never spent and imagine that I can never spend a more ghastly and heart-tearing forty-eight hours than the last,” writes Captain James Patterson in an entry from the French trenches dated September 16, 1914.

“Swarms of Germans on the ridge, rather massed. Our guns open on them

at 1,800 yards, and one can see a nasty sight through one’s glasses. Bunches of Germans blown to pieces.”

The yellowing pages of Patterson’s diary are among some 2,000 files published online yesterday by Britain’s National Archives, as part of a project that will eventually see some 1.5 million similar documents made available on the Internet. “A lot of people think that a unit war diary will only mention places and dates and activities, but there are lots and lots of different stories amongst these records,” said William Spencer, the archives’ principal military specialist.

“By digitising them, we not only preserve them for future generations-we also make them available in a new way.”

The archives are urging volunteers to help them catalogue the contents of the

diaries as part of “Operation War Diary” (operationwardiary.org), a joint project with London’s Imperial War Museum and Zooniverse, a citizen science project.

Members of the public will be able to tag key details mentioned on the online pages-such as names, places and dateswith the aim of making the diaries searchable for everyone from academics to family tree researchers.

Organisers say the work of these “citizen historians” is crucial because the service records of many of the troops mentioned in the diaries were destroyed by bombing during World War II. ‘One is likely to kill one’s own men’ Patterson’s own neatly typewritten diary, recording the movements of the

1st Battalion South Wales Borderers, comes to an abrupt end on October 25, 1914, when he was killed just three months into the war. His diary had recorded scenes “beyond description”.

“Poor fellows shot dead are lying in all directions,” he wrote. “Everywhere the same hard, grim, pitiless sign of battle and war.” He describes his terror of firing into the night, writing: “One is very likely to kill one’s own men, and from wounds I have seen since, I am sure some of them were hit like this.” The diaries also describe lighter moments among the troops, such as rugby matches and tugs-of-war.

“A somewhat scrappy game, ending in a draw,” reads the official account of one rugby match. Another diary entrypart of a batch yet to be published-

describes the exploits of one Reverend Tron, chaplain to some of the battalions.

“The padre... repeatedly struck the German in the face until they broke apart,” reads the entry.

“Unslinging his glasses, the German thrust them into the hands of the astonished clergyman, and tended his surrender.” Luke Smith of the Imperial War Museum said the work of volunteers in sorting through the diaries would help piece together the stories of the priest and thousands of others who served in the war. “By working with citizen historians, we’re going to find all the references to Reverend Tron, and the half-a-million or so other named people in those diaries,” he said. “We’re going to uncover the story of the Western Front at an unprecedented level of detail.” — AFP

Hollande and his women PARIS: Women troubles are nothing new for Francois Hollande, to the bewilderment of those who can’t quite see what it is that attracts beautiful, talented females to France’s otherwise unloved president.

From the lecture halls of the elite Ecole National d’Administration (ENA) to the summit of the state, affairs of the heart have played a central role in Hollande’s political journey.

The next step in that journey comes, when Hollande is due to appear before more than 500 journalists and, the world expects, explain exactly what is going on in his private life. With his long-term girlfriend, France’s First Lady Valerie Trierweiler having taken to a hospital bed with stress following the revelation of Hollande’s clandestine trysts with actress Julie Gayet, that will be no easy task.

But, according to those who know him well, it is the price Hollande has to pay for his personality. He does not seem to be a serial philanderer, unlike his “hot bunny” predecessor Jacques Chirac. But it would appear that, when passion hits, it overwhelms him to the point of clouding his judgement-as it did when he thought he could get away with nightime visits to Gayet in a borrowed apartment just yards from the Elysee Palace.

“He is the kind of man who can fall in and out of love,” said Thierr y Mandon, a Socialist deputy and longterm ally of the president. “It shows he is (as Hollande describes himself ) a

normal man, but if he is to be a normal president, he has to clarify his situation very quickly.”

It was at the ENA-a graduate college that is a kind of finishing school for France’s political elite-that he met Segolene Royal. The bright young things bonded over a common outlook and soon formed a political power couple that was to endure for more than 25 years and produce four children. By the early 2000’s the pair were both established as heavyweight figures in the Socialist Party, but Hollande was to find himself eclipsed by his more glamorous partner. She became a high-profile minister and her greater popularity with both activists and voters enabled her to see off Hollande and her other rivals to secure the party’s nomination as its candidate for a presidential election she was to lose to Nicolas Sarkozy.

‘Love of my life’ By then, the relationship was on the rocks, Hollande having, according to a number of recent biographies, become involved with Valerie Treiweiler, a feisty and attractive journalist at Paris Match, a glossy weekly.

By 2005, accounts say, they were a couple although, for the sake of Royal’s bid for the presidency, he maintained a pretence of happy families until after the vote. In 2010, Hollande told Gala magazine Trierweiler was the “love of my life”.

Two years later, on the night of his election victory over Nicolas Sarkozy,

she was by his side, famously insisting on a schmaltzy soundtrack of Edith Piaf ’s “La Vie en Rose” - a way of declaring to the world that life could not be any better for both the couple and the party, whose symbol is a rose.

But that vision of domestic bliss was soon clouded by rumours of tensions at the Elysee. Trierweiler, a voluptuous beauty once dubbed the “epitome of Parisian chic”, was accused of upstaging Hollande with the spiky heels and thigh-flashing skirt she wore on the day they entered the Elysee.

A very French affair He publicly rebuked her over what looked like a spiteful tweet supporting a renegade Socialist in a battle with Royal for a parliamentary seat-an act aides blamed on Trierweiler’s insecurity about Hollande’s maintenance of cordial relations with the mother of his children.

Then, early last year, the first rumours of an entanglement with Gayet began to emerge.

When an affair was finally confirmed last week, the reaction in France amounted to a collective shrug of shoulders and a typically Gallic, “So what! It is nobody’s business but theirs.” The rest of the world, meanwhile, was lapping up a saga in which every little snippet, from the national indifference to infidelity to the breakfast croissants delivered to the new couple’s love nest, has been quintessentially French. —AFP

BANGUI: Members of the Central African Armed Forces (FACA), who had left their units, listen to an address by Central African Republic interim president Alexandre-Ferdinand Nguendet yesterday in Bangui. Meanwhile, members of the transitional Parliament (CNT) convened for a special session to elect a new interim leader. The Central African Republic began the search for a new president yesterday, as life showed tentative signs of returning to normal despite a “volatile” situation after weeks of brutal sectarian violence. — AFP

Central Africa begins search for new leader after bloodbath 10 candidates to fill void left by Djotodia BANGUI: The Central African Republic began the search for a new president yesterday, as life showed tentative signs of returning to normal despite a “volatile” situation after weeks of brutal sectarian violence.

A special session of parliament convened to elect a new interim leader for the poor landlocked country of 4.6 million people that has been gripped by a terrifying spiral of violence including reports of cannibalism.

As the 135 members of the transitional ruling body (CNT) began their deliberations, police were patrolling the streets of the capital Bangui for the first time in weeks, in a fresh sign normality was returning.

The CNT has two weeks to pick a new interim leader after former president Michel Djotodia stepped down last week under international pressure. Opening the session, Koyassoum Doumta, the CNT’s vice-president, called on the body to elect “someone who represents peace, national reconciliation and who will supervise future elections in a spirit of transparency.”

Djotodia, the first Muslim leader of the mainly Christian country, came under fire for failing to prevent inter-

religious violence in the wake of a March coup that ousted president Francois Bozize. He proved unable to control his mainly Muslim Seleka rebels who went on a spree of looting, killing and raping, sparking revenge attacks from Christian militias set up to defend against them.

Reconciliation However, in the wake of Djotodia’s resignation, there have been scenes of reconciliation between former enemies in some areas and deserting police and soldiers have begun to return to duty. Monday night was quiet with no reports of looting, residents told AFP. According to political sources, there are likely to be 10 or so candidates to fill the void left by Djotodia, including the current interim leader Alexandre-Ferdinand Nguendet.

However, whoever is elected interim president will not be able to stand for elections due to be held no later than the first half of 2015. Ten months of violence have displaced a fifth of the country’s population and the sectarian flare-up has killed more than 1,000 people in the past month alone, despite a French military intervention

and the presence of an African peacekeeping force.

On Monday, Nguendet vowed that the “anarchy” that has wracked the country would be swiftly brought to an end. And he sternly admonished warring militiamen from the Seleka and the “anti-balaka” Christian fighters set up to oppose them.

“To the ex-Seleka, to the anti-balaka and the lovers of looting, I’m giving you a severe warning: The party is over,” he said at a police headquarters in the capital, Bangui.

“The chaos is over, the pillaging is over, the revenge attacks are over,” he said. He also told the 100,000 or so petrified people huddled at the airport to go home and get on with their lives. But there was “no large-scale return”, aid group Doctors without Borders (MSF) said yesterday. “People remain very cautious. They are aware that the situation is still volatile. There is no large -scale return at the moment,” an MSF official said.

The United Nations special representative in Bangui, Babacar Gaye, also sounded a note of caution amid the new mood of optimism. “Hate is still there” between members of the rival communities, he warned. — AFP

Scores drown as civilians flee South Sudan fighting JUBA: At least 200 South Sudanese civilians have drowned in a ferry accident while fleeing fresh fighting between government forces and rebels, the army said yesterday. Army spokesman Philip Aguer said the disaster occurred when the overloaded boat, packed with women and children escaping the northern oil city of Malakal, capsized in the White Nile river. “ The repor ts we have are of between 200 to 300 people, including women and children. The boat was overloaded,” he told AFP. “They all drowned. They were fleeing the fighting that broke out again in Malakal.”

Aguer said the tragedy happened yesterday, although local media repor ted it occurred overnight Sunday. The disaster is one of the worst single incidents to have been reported from the war-torn country, which has been wracked by conflict for a month following a clash between rival army units loyal to either President Salva Kiir or his former vice president Riek Machar.

According to the United Nations, some 400,000 civilians have fled their homes over the past month, many of them escaping a wave of ethnic violence. Up to 10,000 people are believed to have been killed in the fighting, aid sources and analysts say.

The army spokesman meanwhile reported that battles were raging in several areas of the country, sig-

nalling that the government’s recapture of Bentiu, another key oil city in the north, had failed to deal a knockout blow to the rebels.

‘We are marching on Bor’ Heavy fighting was reported in Malakal, state capital of oil-producing Upper Nile state, as rebel forces staged a fresh attack to seize the town, which has already changed hands twice since the conflict began. “ There is fighting anew in and around Malakal,” United Nations aid chief for South Sudan Toby Lanzer said, adding that the UN peacekeep-

ing base had been swamped with almost double the number of people seeking shelter, rising from 10,000 to 19,000.

An AFP photographer who was in Malak al on Sunday said that the town was calm but that the remaining residents were huddled in the town centre, too scared to return to their looted homes.

The army reported heavy fighting south of Bor, as the government sought to retake the town from rebels. “ We are marching on Bor, there was very heavy fighting late on Monday,” Aguer said.—AFP

AWERIAL: In this Thursday, Jan. 2, 2014 file photo, displaced people arrive with what belongings they had time to gather by river barge from Bor, some of the thousands who fled the recent fighting between government and rebel forces in Bor by boat across the White Nile, in the town of Awerial, South Sudan. — AP

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2014

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Australia hardens refugee policy, to close mainland centres SYDNEY: Australia will shut four mainland immigration detention centres, the government said yesterday, as it pushes ahead with controversial policies to turn back refugee boats and detain asylum seekers in remote centres offshore.

Immigration Minister Scott Morrison said in a statement the decision to shutter the facilities, which are run by British outsourcing company Serco Group Plc, would save at least A$88.8 million ($80.41 million) a year.

“These sites are remote, relatively small and expensive,” Morrison’s statement said. “These facilities were never envisaged as being permanent and due to the rationalisation of the immigration detention network they are no longer required.”

Australia’s conservative government routinely does not answer questions about its immigration policy, which was a central plank of its election victory last year, saying it does not comment on

“operational matters”.

The number of would-be refugees reaching Australia pales in comparison with other countries but it remains a polarising political issue that also stokes tensions with neighbour Indonesia over border policies criticised by the United Nations.

Yesterday’s announcement comes amid growing scrutiny of Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s asylum seeker policies. The government has refused to confirm widespread reports that the Australian Navy has started implementing a controversial policy of returning intercepted vessels carrying asylum seekers to Indonesia.

Perilous journey Asylum seekers hoping to reach Australia often transit through Indonesia, many paying peoplesmugglers thousands of dollars to make the perilous journey in unsafe boats.

Despite a shift towards processing asylum seeker claims in other countries such as Nauru and Papua New Guinea, there were more than 6,000 people in immigration detention facilities in Australia by Nov. 30, 2013, according to government figures.

Most of those held in offshore centres have fled conflict zones such as Afghanistan, Dar fur, Pakistan, Somalia and Syria. The mainland centres will be closed by the end of February, Morrison said, and any remaining detainees will be moved to one of another 16 facilities.

Morrison did not provide details on the numbers of detainees to be transferred but Australian media reported that there were about 250 people in two of the centres to be closed and that a third had been empty since September.

Richard di Natale, acting leader of the small but influential Greens Party, said he feared the govern-

ment’s policies would exacerbate an already overtaxed system.

“We’ve got a situation where all of our detention centres are under huge strain,” he told the Sydney Morning Herald. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reported yesterday that a hunger strike was underway at a Sercorun detention centre on Christmas Island, an Australian territory in the Indian Ocean closer to Indonesia than the mainland.

Several prisoners had sewn their lips shut as part of their protest, the ABC reported without citing sources. Human rights reports have for years chronicled incidents of self-harm, hunger strikes and riots in Australia’s detention centres. Serco is investigating the escape of three detainees from another detention centre at the weekend, the third breakout from one of its facilities in six months. — Reuters

Thai protesters target ministries, threaten to storm stock exchange ‘Risk of violence across the country is growing’

MANILA: Andres Bautista, chairman of the Presidential Commission on Good Government, which is tasked with recovering the alleged ill-gotten wealth of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos and his family, shows a catalog of a seized jewelry collection belonging to the Marcoses at a news conference yesterday, in Mandaluyong city northeast of Manila, Philippines. — AP

Philippine government acquires Marcos’ jewelry MANILA: A Philippine court decision ordering the widow of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos to relinquish more than $100,000 in jewelry is a victory for Filipinos and shows that crime does not pay, an official said yesterday.

The Sandiganbayan anti-graft court said Monday that former first lady Imelda Marcos should forfeit the jewelry after ruling it was ill-gotten.

Andres Bautista, chairman of the Presidential Commission on Good Government, said the court’s decision “is really a victory of the Filipino people.”“The important lesson is that crime and corruption do not pay. It may take long but eventually the long arm of the law will catch up,” he said.

It is the third collection of Marcos jewelry that the government has acquired. The two other collections are estimated to be worth up to $8.4 million.

The commission, which is charged with recovering the alleged ill-gotten wealth of the Marcoses, is proposing that the three collections be exhibited to show the excesses of the 20-year Marcos regime, Bautista said. There was no immediate comment from Imelda Marcos or her lawyer. The flamboyant former first lady

was known for shopping sprees abroad while a majority of Filipinos remained mired in poverty at home. Her shoe collection of over 1,000 pairs became a symbol of extravagance.Marcos, who declared martial law during his rule, was toppled by a popular revolt in 1986. He died in exile in Hawaii three years later.

“We cannot deny that this is part and parcel of our history and they are examples of the excesses that were committed during the martial law regime,” Bautista said.

“We owe it to our future that the lessons of the past are not forgotten and the dark abuses should not return again.”

Bautista said current President Benigno Aquino III has not decided whether to auction the jewelry.The government has recovered 164 billion pesos ($3.7 billion) of Marcos’ alleged hidden wealth over the years and is targeting at least 50 billion pesos ($1.1 billion) more. The amount includes more than $600 million in Swiss accounts set up in the early years of Marcos’ administration.

The Supreme Court ruled in 2003 that the Marcos’ wealth in excess of their legal income of around $304,000 from 1965 to 1986 “is presumed to be ill-gotten,” Bautista said. — AP

Rahul Gandhi hints at PM role if party wins election NEW DELHI: Rahul Gandhi, the scion of a dynasty that has led India for most of its history, suggested in an interview published yesterday he was ready to be prime minister if his party won forthcoming elections, his first indication that he wants the job.

Gandhi’s Congress party heads the coalition that has governed India for a decade. Buffeted by corruption scandals, low economic growth and high inflation, the party is facing strong opposition challenges in the election due by May. “I am a soldier of Congress. Whatever order is given to me I will follow it.

Whatever Congress says, I will follow it,” Gandhi, 43, said in a rare interview with the Hindi-language Dainik Bhaskar, which describes itself as India’s most widely read daily.

Gandhi, whose father, grandmother and great-grandfather were all prime ministers in post-independence India, made the remarks ahead of a par ty meeting on Friday focusing on the election.

Current Prime Minister Manmohan Singh this month ruled out ser ving another term if his party won the election and threw his support to Gandhi, praising his “outstanding credentials”.

Many party workers, including senior ministers, are pushing for Gandhi’s name to be announced as prime ministerial candidate. A section of the party, however, thinks that would expose him to a confrontational campaign against opposition leader Narendra Modi, whose style is seen as more dynamic.

Gandhi said Congress does not traditionally announce prime ministerial candidates during a campaign, but said he would respect the party’s decision.

If nominated, Gandhi would take on Modi, the candidate of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), who is campaigning on a platform to end the red tape and graft that have bedevilled the Congress-led coalition.

Compared with the relatively untested Gandhi, Modi has years of experience

as the chief minister of western Gujarat state, where he has built a reputation as an efficient, business-savvy administrator, though critics deride him as authoritarian.

Gandhi said a “one-man” government was not in the national interest. “The government should not function according to the whims and fancy of a single person,” he told the newspaper.

Opposition leader tops opinion polls Opinion polls put Modi in the lead, even as he has been unable to shake off allegations over anti-Muslim riots in Gujarat in 2002.

At least 1,000 people were killed, most of them Muslims. Modi denies wrongdoing and a Supreme Court investigation found no evidence to prosecute him.

The Congress meeting is also expected to inject life into its slow-moving campaign. At the same meeting last year, Rahul was made party vice-president. His mother, Sonia Gandhi is party president.

Congress leaders are also worried about the rise of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), formed by an anti-corruption crusader less than a year ago. The AAP defeated Congress in New Delhi in a state election last month and plans to field candidates across India, increasing the chances of a weak coalition emerging from the vote.

Gandhi has in recent months railed against corruption to win back voters who backed the AAP and appeal to young audiences. He sought to distance himself from the AAP in the interview.

“Congress is a strong and progressive organisation which has changed the nature and role of politics in the country and we aim to continue the trend,” he said. “The Aam Aadmi Party has also worked toward this direction, but we are two different entities with different ideology and different style of working.” — Reuters

BANGKOK: Protesters trying to topple Thailand’s government tightened a blockade around ministries yesterday and their leader warned the prime minister that she could be targeted next, as some saw more than two months of turmoil inching towards an endgame.

Major intersections in the capital, Bangkok, were blocked for a second day, and a hardline faction of the agitators threatened to storm the stock exchange. Protest leaders say demonstrators will occupy the city’s main arteries until an unelected “people’s council” replaces Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s administration, which they accuse of corruption and nepotism.

The unrest is the latest chapter in an eightyear conflict pitting the Bangkok-based middle class and royalist establishment against the mostly poorer, rural supporters of Yingluck and her brother, Thaksin Shinawatra, a former premier ousted by the military in 2006.

Although the capital was calm and the mood among the tens of thousands of protesters remained festive, analysts said the scope for a peaceful resolution of the crisis ahead of elections called for Feb. 2 was narrowing.

“There is no clear way out,” the International Crisis Group (ICG) think-tank said in a report. “As anti-government protesters intensify actions, the risk of violence across wide swathes of the country is growing and significant.”

Ministries and the central bank have been forced to operate from back-up offices after protesters led by Suthep Thaugsuban stopped civil servants getting to work. “In the next two or three days we must close every government office,” Suthep told a crowd of supporters. “If we cannot, we will restrict the movements of the prime minister and other ministers. We will start by cutting water and electricity to their homes. I suggest they evacuate their children.”

Groups of demonstrators marched peacefully from their seven big protest camps to ministries, the customs office, the planning agency and other state bodies yesterday, aiming to paralyse the workings of government.

A student group allied to Suthep’s People’s Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) threatened to attack the stock exchange, with faction leader Nitithorn Lamlua telling supporters on Monday it represented “a wicked capitalist system that provided the path for Thaksin to become a billionaire”.

A PDRC spokesman said the bourse was not a target. “We will not lay siege to places that provide services for the general public, including airports, the stock exchange and trains. However, we will block government offices to stop them from functioning,” Akanat Promphan told supporters at a rally. Jarumporn Chotikasathien, president of the Stock Exchange of Thailand, said emergency measures had been prepared to secure the premises and trading systems. Trading was normal with the index up nearly 1.0 percent at the close. There was no special security visible

BANGKOK: A Thai civil servant at the National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB) smiles as she and her colleagues walk out of their office under the request of anti-government protesters, right, during a rally yesterday, in Bangkok, Thailand. — AP at the exchange. A Reuters photographer said one group of protesters marched past on their way to the customs department but did not stop.

Deeply polarised The demonstrations, which have been gathering pace for weeks, could cost the economy as much as 1 billion baht ($30.33 million) a day, according to a survey released by the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce.

Disruption to government services compounds the problems faced by Yingluck, who dissolved parliament in December and called a snap election for February. Now working from Defence Ministry facilities on the outskirts of Bangkok, she heads a caretaker administration that has a limited remit and cannot initiate policies that commit the next government.

Yingluck invited protest leaders and political parties to a meeting today morning to discuss an Election Commission proposal to postpone the election until May. But that proposal looked doomed, with protest leaders and opposition party members boycotting the meeting scheduled to be held at the air force’s headquarters in the north of the city. Suthep says he is not interested in any election. He wants a “people’s council” to take power and eradicate the political influence of Thaksin and his family by altering electoral arrangements in ways he has not spelt out.

“A deal to postpone the election could buy time for negotiation but would be only a stopgap without a comprehensive, broadly accepted agreement on the future political order,” the ICG

said. “ Thailand is deeply polarised and the prospects for such an agreement are dim.”

It is widely thought that, if the agitation grinds on, the judiciary or the military may step in. The military has staged or attempted 18 coups in 81 years of on-off democracy, although it has tried to stay neutral this time and army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha has publicly refused to take sides. In 2010, the army put down a pro-Thaksin movement that closed down parts of central Bangkok for weeks. More than 90 people, mostly Thaksin supporters, died during those events.

Thaksin turned to politics after making a fortune in telecommunications. He redrew Thailand’s political map by courting rural voters and won elections in 2001 and 2005.

He now lives in exile to avoid a jail sentence handed down in 2008 for abuse of power, but he is seen as the power behind Yingluck’s government. Their Puea Thai Party seems likely to win any election held under present arrangements.

Many schools have been closed until Wednesday as a precaution in case of trouble, but shops and most private offices were open, even if many shoppers and commuters appeared to be avoiding the city centre.

The government has deployed 10,000 police to maintain law and order, along with 8,000 soldiers at government offices, but they are largely keeping out of sight. Ministers have said they want to avoid confrontation, hoping the protest will run out of steam. It flared up in early November when the government tried to force through a political amnesty that would have allowed Thaksin to return a free man. — Reuters

Myanmar still uses rape as weapon of war: Group WASHINGTON: A women’s group says the military in Myanmar is still using rape as a weapon of war, with more than 100 women and girls raped by the army since a 2010 election brought about a nominally civilian government that has pursued rapprochement with the West.

The Thailand-based Women’s League of Burma said in a report made available to Reuters that 47 of the cases documented were gang rapes and 28 of the women were either killed or had died of their injuries. It said several victims were as young as eight.

The group said the situation showed the need for legal reform in Myanmar, also known as Burma, and for changes to a 2008 constitution to ensure that the military is placed under civilian control. Myanmar’s government denied the allegation. “It’s not the policy of our Tatmadaw (military) to use rapes as weapons,” presidential spokesman Ye Htut told Reuters. “If there are rape cases committed by individual members, we try to expose them and take effective action against the offenders. It would be very helpful in taking action against the offenders if those who prepared that report could send us the details of the cases,” he said.

The report from the women’s group comes less than a month after a bipartisan group of prominent US senators, Bob Menendez, Marco Rubio Ben Cardin and Bob Corker, introduced a bill saying that no funds made available to the Pentagon in 2014 should be provided to the Myanmar government until there is such reform and rights abuses are addressed.

The bill, which makes an exception for human rights and disaster response training for the military, also calls on the Pentagon and the US State Department to present a report on US strategy

for military-to-military ties with Myanmar, including an assessment of the Myanmar military’s rights record and the link between a deepening of such ties and reform.

The women’s group said most of the rape cases it and its member organizations had documented were linked to offensives by the Myanmar military in the northeast of the country

against ethnic minority Kachin and Shan insurgents.

It said that in the past three years, the Kachin Women’s Association Thailand had documented 59 cases of sexual violence by Myanmar government soldiers. The Shan Women’s Action Network reported another 30 cases involving 35 women and girls, it said. —Reuters

NEW DELHI: Indian Muslims ride a bike during a procession of devotees on Eid-e-Milad marking the birth anniversary of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), in New Delhi, India, yesterday. Some thousands of people gathered along the streets to chant religious slogans during the annual Eid-e-Milad festival marking the anniversary of Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) birth. — AP

NEWS Assembly refers Dow case to Audit...

Continued from Page 1 He said that a month later, and after the contract came under fire from MPs and economists, the Cabinet asked SPC to scrap the deal after it was assured that cancelling the deal will not force Kuwait to pay any penalty.

He said Dow Chemical had initially demanded a penalty of $5.5 billion, but following a legal battle and international arbitration, Kuwait was ordered to pay $2.2 billion in May 2012.

Omair insisted that the government did not rush in the payment of the penalty as claimed by a number of MPs, because the fine was paid one year after the ruling. The minister also stressed that the government is prepared to act with the Assembly to hold to account anyone found to be involved in any wrongdoing in the deal, including referring the case to the public prosecution. The government has already formed two committees to investigate the case in a comprehensive way, Omair said.

But MPs made a barrage of charges, speaking of a conspiracy and huge commissions received by highly influential people. MP Faisal Al-Duwaisan said the Audit Bureau must launch an investigation in the case and called on the government to refer the results of its probe to the public prosecution. He also said that it was reported that the penalty was not paid to Dow Chemical directly but to an intermediary, which means commissions have been paid.

MP Saadoun Hammad said when a delegation from KPC went to negotiate the issue

with the chairman of Dow Chemical, he told them the issue was over as he made an agreement with the oil minister of Kuwait to pay the amount in full. He said that Dow’s chairman demanded $100 million, and when the delegation informed the minister, he replied in a text message asking them to pay it immediately.

MP Ali Al-Rashed said the issue constitutes “the robbery of the century” and many suspicions fly around it. He said the Fatwa and Legislative Department, the government’s legal body, must be asked to track down commissions paid in the deal. He said reports indicate that commissions represented 30 percent of the penalty, “but we need proof of this”. He said the government should not have paid the penalty because there were many available avenues to at least freeze the payment while looking for a solution. Rashed said that a legal expert at the fatwa department had offered the government 10 legal options of how to deal with the matter but the government refused to consider them. “If this issue passes without holding anyone accountable, then there is no need for the National Assembly,” Rashed said.

MP Yacoub Al-Sane said that there is still a chance that Kuwait may get the money back and suggested working on this issue. MP Safa Al-Hashem claimed that five influential people were involved in the case and benefited from it and called for action. The lawmaker however had a strong verbal exchange with Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanem when he asked her not to speak when her turn had finished.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2014

Egyptians vote on new constitution Continued from Page 1 activists were arrested while campaigning for a no-vote - it is expected to pass easily, backed by many Egyptians who staged mass protests on June 30 against Morsi and the Brotherhood before his removal. “We are here for two reasons: to eradicate the Brotherhood and take our rights in the constitution,” said Gamal Zeinhom, a 54-year old voter standing in line at a Cairo polling station.

Others cited a desire to bring stability to Egypt after three years of turmoil.

Sisi ousted Morsi, Egypt’s first freely elected head of state, last July. His Islamist opponents say he is the mastermind of a coup that kindled the worst internal strife in Egypt’s modern history and revived an oppressive police state.

But after a failed experiment with democrac y, many are wear y of the upheaval that has gripped this nation of 85 million and shattered its economy.

They see Sisi, 59, as someone who can stabilise and protect Egypt from what local media depict as foreign and domestic conspiracies to divide the nation. Sisi inspected a polling station after voting began, dressed in desert coloured fatigues and wearing his trademark dark sunglasses. The two-day vote ends today.

A Sisi presidency would mark a return to the days when the post was controlled

by army men - a pattern broken by Morsi’s one year in office. Brotherhood supporters staged protests in at least four cities. Police arrested 65 Brotherhood supporters who were trying to obstruct voting, security officials said. The bloodiest clashes were in Sohag, south of Cairo, where conflicting accounts of what happened emerged. Local officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said four Brotherhood supporters were killed and more than 20 wounded, in addition to three policemen.

But the Interior Ministr y said Brotherhood supporters had killed four people and wounded nine more, including a police officer, when they opened fire on passers-by to stop them reaching polling stations, the state news agency reported. Two people were also shot dead in clashes in Kerdasa, a bastion of Islamist support on Cairo’s outskirts.

Security sources identified them as Brotherhood supporters.

The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), a Geneva-based group that works to uphold the rule of law, described the draft constitution as highly flawed. “The referendum campaign has taken place within a context of fear, intimidation and repression, calling into question the fairness of the entire process,” it said in a statement. The government has recently escalated its crackdown on the Brotherhood, declaring it a

“terrorist organisation” on Dec 25. Al Qaeda-inspired militants have stepped up attacks on security forces since Morsi’s ouster.

While the government has linked the attacks to the Brotherhood, the group has repeatedly said it is a non-violent movement committed to peaceful resistance to the state. But the security clampdown - hundreds of Islamists have been killed and thousands arrested - has taken the steam out of protests while fuelling anger among young Islamists. Morsi and other Brotherhood leaders have been arrested and are on trial.

Underlining how the political picture has changed since Morsi’s downfall, Mubarak asked for permission to vote in this referendum, his lawyer Fareed El Deeb said. It was not immediately clear whether Mubarak - who faces retrial for his role in the killing of protesters in 2011 - would get to vote. While Western states have criticised the crackdown and called for inclusive politics, they have put little pressure on Cairo. Egypt, which controls the Suez Canal, has been a cornerstone of US policy in the Middle East since the 1970s, when it became the first Arab state to make peace with Israel. The government has been supported by Gulf Arab states hostile to the Brotherhood.

They jumped to Egypt’s rescue after Morsi’s overthrow, offering billions of dollars in aid. — Reuters

Available at The Sultan Centre & Carrefour

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2014

S P ORTS

I’ve changed, says Suarez

‘Work to do for Ronaldo’

Farah set for baptism of fire

LONDON: Luis Suarez thinks his enforced absence from the game last year has changed him and believes Liverpool are ready to claim a Champions League berth for the first time in five years. Suarez has scored 22 goals in 16 English Premier League games since returning in September from a 10-match ban for biting the arm of Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic during a clash at Anfield in April.

The Uruguayan striker’s form has led English media to describe him as one of the best players in the world this season, and has drawn favourable comparison to Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, who on Monday won FIFA’s Ballon d’Or for the second time. “When you are a child, you imagine a lot. Now many people or players speak about that (being one of the best in then world), and it’s unbelievable for me,” Suarez, 26, told Liverpool’s website (www.liverpoolfc.com) on Tuesday.

“And also for Liverpool, because in the last two or three years we have not played very well and not demonstrated our level. Now we are back to that. “You work hard for the supporters and the people. It’s important because the last few months were a little difficult for me. Now I’ve changed and it’s okay.” Suarez netted twice against Stoke City on Sunday - the eighth time this season he has scored two or more in a game - to lead Liverpool to a 5-3 win.—Reuters

PARIS: FIFA Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo must continue to maintain his exceptional high standards in order to be classed among the sport’s legends, according to Brazil great Pele who compared the Portuguese to Eusebio. Portugal and Real Madrid forward Ronaldo beat Argentine’s Lionel Messi and France’s Franck Ribery to claim the prestigious award for the second time on Monday.

“To me the last true great was (France playmaker Zinedine) Zidane. He stayed at the same very high level for at least 10 years,” Pele, who was awarded a honorary Ballon d’Or, told France Football magazine on Tuesday. Ronaldo is on the right path, though, and reminded the threetimes World Cup winner of former Portugal striker Eusebio, the top scorer at the 1966 World Cup, who died earlier this month at the age of 71.

“Today Messi and Ronaldo are above the rest. Ronaldo reminds me a bit of Eusebio, he is well bred. He has the elegance and the creativity of the great players,” Pele said.

Winning the World Cup used to have greater significance in the voting for the Ballon d’Or but the success of Ronaldo and Messi, who won the award from 2009-12, proved that was no longer true, according to the Brazilian.

“It is perhaps less important than it used to be when I was playing,” Pele of the showpiece tournament that the duo will look to win for the first time later this year.—Reuters

LONDON: Briton Mo Farah is set for a baptism of fire in his marathon bow when he takes on an elite field that includes Uganda’s Olympic and world champion Stephen Kiprotich in London in April.

The double Olympic and world 5,000 and 10,000 metres champion will race over 26.2 miles for the first time and will also be up against Kenya’s world record holder Wilson Kipsang, last year’s winner Tsegaye Kebede of Ethiopia and Kenyan Emmanuel Mutai who set a course record in 2011.

Farah ran the first half of the London race in 2013 in an attempt to get up to speed with the course and competition. “I gained a lot of valuable experience running part of the course alongside the top guys last year and can’t wait to race the full distance in April,” the 30-year-old told the London Marathon website. “I had another great year on the track in 2013, but the marathon is my main focus this year. As a young boy growing up in London it has always been my ambition to run the London Marathon and to be able to make my marathon debut in my home town is very special,” Farah continued. One man who Farah will not be up against is Kenenisa Bekele who is expected to make his first marathon appearance in Paris the week before. —Reuters

Mayweather Jr. to visit South Africa CAPE TOWN: Forget world’s best fighter, Floyd Mayweather Jr. was rated by the South African government as the world’s greatest athlete and backed him to turn around boxing in the country.

The sports ministry announced Mayweather will arrive today for a near-weeklong visit - his first to Africa and a triumph for the country which finally got its man after trying to lure the 36-year-old superstar as guest of honor at the national sports awards last year.

The Ministry of Sport and Recreation also said on Tuesday that the boxer nicknamed “Money” had not been paid any fee to come.

It hopes he can do more than just throw a few jabs and sign a few autographs for boxing in South Africa, which was still popular but in steady decline. Mayweather’s four-city visit would help “resuscitate” the sport, ministry spokesman Paena Galane told The Associated Press. “Remember, he’s the greatest athlete in the world,” Galane said.

Mayweather’s schedule will include an exhibition at a gym in the Johannesburg township of Soweto and possibly a visit to late South African President Nelson Mandela’s apartheid-era jail on Robben Island when he’s in Cape Town.

Mayweather will also visit Bloemfontein and East London on the south east coast, the city regarded as the hotbed of South African boxing. “We wanted someone who’s knowledgeable as a fighter and as a promoter,” Galane said of South Africa’s pursuit of Mayweather to be the catalyst for its boxing revival. Mayweather does both better than most.

In his last fight in September, Mayweather dominated Canelo Alvarez to improve to 45-0 with 26 knockouts and enhance his reputation as the best boxer of his era. He earned $41.5 million for the fight, which was the richest ever and generated around $150 million in TV revenue alone.

The five-division world champion hasn’t announced an opponent for his next fight, expected to be in May, although Britain’s Amir Khan has said he has signed an initial contract that may give him a shot at the undefeated American.

Galane dismissed suggestions that reporters wouldn’t be allowed to ask Mayweather questions on his future fight plans when he appears alongside South Africa’s sports minister and the head of its Olympic committee at a promotional event in Johannesburg on Wednesday.

While the flamboyant Mayweather is expected to be accompanied by his usual large traveling entourage, the sports ministry said he would arrive on a commercial flight from the United States and not on a private jet. — AP

Kings edge past Canucks LOS ANGELES: Jonathan Quick made 28 saves in his 27th NHL shutout, Dustin Brown scored early in the third period, and the Los Angeles Kings beat Vancouver 1-0 on Monday night for their fourth win over the Canucks this season.

Brown converted on a 3-on-1 rush just 24 seconds into the final period of a fight-filled game for the Kings, and Quick was unbeatable while making his fifth consecutive start since returning from a 24-game injury absence.

The US Olympic goalie posted his second shutout of the season and his first since Nov. 7, a week before he severely strained his groin.

Eddie Lack stopped 19 shots in his fourth straight start for the Canucks, who were shut out for the first time all season during their sixth loss in seven games.

BLUE JACKETS 3, LIGHTNING 2 Mark Letestu redirected Jack Johnson’s shot from the point with 2:38 left, lifting Columbus past Tampa Bay. It was the Blue Jackets’ season-high fourth win in a row.

Nathan Horton scored his 200th NHL goal, also on the power play, and Ryan Johansen had a goal for Columbus, which is 5-1 in the new year. Sergei Bobrovsky had 26 saves.

Alex Killorn and Victor Hedman had goals for Tampa Bay, and Anders Lindback stopped 25 shots. Tampa Bay had been 17-1 when leading after two periods.

FLAMES 2, HURRICANES 0 Karri Ramo made 22 saves in his first NHL shutout, and Mikael Backlund and Sean Monahan provided the offense in Calgary’s win over Carolina.

The Flames snapped a three-game losing streak and handed the Hurricanes their second straight shutout defeat.

Backland scored his seventh goal of the season for the Flames, who notched their second power-play tally in 26 chances. Monahan scored his 13th goal midway through the third period to add some insurance. Ramo improved to 8-8-3 as the Flames swept the two-game season games from Carolina.

JETS 5, COYOTES 1 The Winnipeg Jets found the energy they have lacked for weeks and made new coach Paul Maurice a winner in his debut behind the bench by routing Phoenix.

Olli Jokinen, Eric O’Dell, Blake Wheeler, Michael Frolik and Devin Setoguchi scored for the Jets (20-23-5), who held a 38-19 shots advantage. Oliver Ekman-Larsson scored for Phoenix (21-15-9), but that was the only shot that got past goalie Ondrej Pavelec.

Maurice got his first cheer during the national anthem when his face showed on the scoreboard. He took over after Claude Noel was fired on Sunday, ending his 2 1/2 years as the first coach of the Jets after the franchise relocated from Atlanta. — AP

LOS ANGELES: Eddie Lack No. 31 of the Vancouver Canucks sets to make a save in front of Anze Kopitar No. 11 of the Los Angeles Kings during the second period at Staples Center. — AFP

NHL results/standings Calgary 2, Carolina 0; Columbus 3, Tampa Bay 2; Winnipeg 5, Phoenix 1; Los Angeles 1, Vancouver 0.

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

Western Conference Pacific Division W L OTL GF 35 8 5 161 28 12 6 148 28 14 5 120 24 14 9 123 21 15 9 134 16 24 6 103 15 28 5 126 Central Division 30 8 10 175 31 8 5 161 28 12 5 132 25 18 5 118 20 18 7 127 19 21 7 109 20 23 5 133

GA 119 116 96 115 141 144 169

PTS 75 62 61 57 51 38 35

132 99 115 119 139 141 146

70 67 61 55 47 45 45

Eastern Conference Atlantic Division Boston 29 14 2 129 98 60 27 15 4 134 112 58 Tampa Bay Montreal 26 15 5 117 107 57 Detroit 20 16 10 118 127 50 Toronto 22 20 5 128 143 49 Ottawa 20 18 8 131 146 48 Florida 17 21 7 105 139 41 Buffalo 13 26 5 77 121 31 Metropolitan Division Pittsburgh 33 12 2 152 112 68 22 16 7 136 135 51 Washington NY Rangers 24 20 3 118 124 51 Philadelphia 23 19 4 121 129 50 Columbus 22 20 4 129 131 48 New Jersey 19 18 10 108 117 48 Carolina 19 18 9 111 130 47 NY Islanders 18 22 7 130 152 43 Note: Overtime losses (OTL) are worth one point in the standings and are not included in the loss column (L).

SCCT Trophy inaugurated KUWAIT: The Shipping Companies Cricket Tournament sponsored by the Kuwait Shipping Companies & Agents Association, jointly organized, co-sponsored by AlRashed International Shipping and Al Bader Shipping under the umbrella of Kuwait Cricket (the only official cricket controling body locally and internationally) was declared open by HE CAHM Wijeratne, Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the State of Kuwait recently at the Kuwait Cricket lush green and colourful facility in Sulaibiya Turf Ground.

The other dignitaries present for the occasion were Shubashis Goldar, Deputy Chief of Mission & Counselor of India to Kuwait, Muhammad Hassan Wazir, Deputy

Head of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Mr. Muhammad Arif Butt, President Pakistan business council Kuwait and Hafiz Muhammad Shabbir Member Overseas Pakistanis Advisory Council -OPAC (by Govt of Pakistan).

The executive director of the Kuwait Shipping Companies & Agents Association, Ahmed Eid along with Abdulrahman Al Amin, Group General Manager of Al Bader Group of Companies was also present to do the honors on the inaugural day.

The Director General Kuwait Cricket, Asad Baig alongwith S. Shetty, Riaz Choudhry, Murali Kutticode, Mehboob Khan, Tahir Khan, Naeem Jan, Amanulla

Palekar and other Kuwait Cricket representaives happen to witness the entire proceedings and did grace the occasion with his presence.

The function commenced with hoisting of the national flag of Kuwait by Abdulrahman Al Amin followed by hoisting of the Kuwait Shipping Companies & Agents Association flag by Mr. Ahmed Eid and finally the team flags were hoisted by the individual senior manager of all the eight participating teams in this year’s tournament. The flag hoisting was then followed by cutting of the cake, flying of the doves by the dignitaries present for the occasion and flying of the balloons by the captains of all the 8 teams.

This is the 11th consecutive year of conducting the SCCT hence a cricket bat has been signed by all the dignitaries present and handed over to the captains together to mark the tournament open. There were mementos and bouquets given away to the guest on the occasion.

The organizing committee under the guidance from Mr. Rajiv Menon of Al-Rashed International Shipping and Mr. Mahmood Ismail of Al-Bader Shipping did an impressive job of conducting the entire program from the word go.

The event thus concluded while being witnessed by a large gathering of people mostly the family members of the participating teams.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2014

S P ORT S

Petrino says he’s changed; yeah, right NEW YORK: Bobby Petrino insists he’s a changed man. Not the scoundrel who secretly interviewed for someone else’s coaching job without telling his bosses, who abandoned the Atlanta Falcons with three games left in the season, who wrecked his motorcycle with his mistress aboard and lied about the sordid affair as long as he could. We’re supposed to believe he’s not that guy anymore.Yeah, right.

In the latest sign that college athletics spews a lot of high-minded malarkey but is never about anything more than wins and losses, Louisville reintroduced Petrino as its head coach this week pairing him with another member of the Morally Bankrupt Hall of Fame, men’s basketball coach Rick Pitino. You remember, the one who had intimate relations with a woman other than his wife at a restaurant table.

The news conference tomorrow was downright sickening, with all the expected nonsense about Petrino suddenly turning into a decent human being and the Cardinals being persuaded that he’s just the right guy to turns boys into men.

“If it was the same Bobby that was here 10 years ago, I wasn’t interested,” said athletic director Tom Jurich, who might want to consider a job sell-

ing ice cubes in Alaska. “He is definitely a changed person.” Puh-lease!

After Charlie Strong took the Texas job, the only thing that mattered to the Cardinals was finding someone to keep the victories coming. That’s why they brought back Petrino, who was 41-9 when he coached Louisville from 2003-06, including a trip to the Orange Bowl. There was no need subjecting us to all the familiar gibberish about Petrino finding his way to a better place as person. That doesn’t matter in the least, even if it’s true.

“I made mistakes, both professionally and personally, and that’s something I’m not going to do again,” Petrino said. “The first mistake was leaving Louisville, and I’m hoping that the fans and everybody will forgive me.” No problem there. The Cardinal Nation seems thrilled by the hiring, not wanting to lose any ground as it moves to the Atlantic Coast Conference. We’ll see how they’re feeling after Petrino goes 11-1 - he can coach, after all - and starts sniffing around for an even better job. A tiger doesn’t suddenly change his stripes. History suggests this guy won’t either.

A brief review, in Petrino’s own words: “It’s a great fit for me,” he said after being hired

Preview

SHARJAH: Pakistan cricket captain Misbah-ul-Haq plays a shot during a practice session at the Sharjah International Cricket Stadium. — AFP

Pakistan look to pitch to level Sri Lanka series SHARJAH: Pakistan will be desperate to get a helpful pitch for a series-levelling win against Sri Lanka in the third and final Test starting in Sharjah tomorrow.

Captain Misbha-ul Haq was frustrated over the two unresponsive pitches, the first in Abu Dhabi where Sri Lanka batted resolutely to salvage a draw and then in Dubai where a first-day seaming pitch undid Pakistan’s batting and later blunted their bowling.

Sri Lanka, helped by their new-look pace attack and a fighting century from their old campaigner Mahela Jayawardne recorded their biggest-ever win of nine wickets over Pakistan to take a 1-0 lead.

The lack of spin on the pitches reduced Pakistan’s match-winning bowler Saeed Ajmal into a mere-runner with only five wickets in two Tests so far and the look of the Sharjah stadium pitch suggests it will only turn on the last two days.

Sri Lanka posted a big 413-run total when the two teams played the last Test at the venue in November 2011 in a match which Pakistan only saved because of heavy rain on the final day on their way to a 1-0 series win.

Misbah admitted Pakistan’s chances of levelling the series largely depend on the pitch. “It will totally depend on the conditions and what kind of a pitch we get,” said Misbah, who criticised the Dubai stadium pitch.

“Obviously, we didn’t get support from the pitch as per our strength, which is our spin bowling, and that is a worry for us,” said Misbah, whose team has lost four of their last 13 Tests against Sri Lanka with only one win and eight draws.

Pakistan will be forced to bring in a bowler in place of paceman Bilawal Bhatti who injured his hamstring during the second Test. He will either be replaced with fast bowler Mohammad Talha or left-armer Abdul Rehman, if Pakistan decide to play with two spin-

ners. Pakistan are also likely to tinker with their top-order batting with opener Ahmed Shehzad and Mohammad Hafeez —- who both failed in Dubai-making way for Shan Masood or Azhar Ali. Sri Lanka will have no such problems, hoping Jayawardene recover from a finger injury which did hamper his batting in the second Test.

“Unless the pitch is very different, I don’t think we need to make any changes. When we go into a Test match we take our best bowlers, so if someone gets injured, we can always bank on a back-up,” said Mathews who registered his first overseas win as captain in Dubai.

“If we look at the batsmen, even if four of them are wicketkeepers, they have done their jobs. I am sure Mahela will play,” said Mathews.

Besides the series win target, the sixth-placed Sri Lanka will replace Pakistan (currently fifth) in Test rankings if they win 2-0 in the series.

Both the teams will also try to give their coaches-Dav Whatmore of Pakistan and Graham Ford of Sri Lanka-a winning farewell as both leave their post after the match.

Teams (from) Pakistan: Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), Mohammad Hafeez, Ahmed Shehzad, Khurram Manzoor, Shan Masood, Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq, Younis Khan, Sarfraz Ahmed, Junaid Khan, Saeed Ajmal, Bilawal Bhatti, Abdul Rehman, Rahat Ali, Mohammad Talha.

Sri Lanka: Angelo Mathews (capt), Dinesh Chandimal, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Kaushal Silva, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kusal Perera, Prasanna Jayawardene, Suranga Lakmal, Shaminda Eranga, Nuwan Pradeep, Sachithra Senanayake, Rangana Herath, Dilruwan Perera, Vishwa Fernando.

Umpires: Richard Kettleborough (ENG) and Sundaram Ravi(IND). —AFP

by Louisville the first time, two days before Christmas 2002. “There were a number of openings this year and a number of phone calls that came in. This is the only one I wanted.”

Less than a year later, he slips off to a clandestine airport meeting with Auburn officials, neither side giving Jurich the courtesy of a phone call or apparently fazed that the Tigers still have a coach, Tommy Tuberville. Petrino apologizes and stays with the Cardinals. * After interviewing for other jobs during each of his first three years at Louisville, Petrino signs a 10-year contract worth at least $25.5 million in the summer of 2006, a deal he says is designed to send a message.

“For me and for my family, Louisville is home,” Petrino says. “I want everyone to really believe it.”

Less than six months later, he leaves to coach the Atlanta Falcons.

“I believe this is truly the best football job in the NFL,” Petrino says after being hired by the Falcons in January 2007. “It was an easy decision for me.”

But quarterback Michael Vick never plays for the new coach, sent to prison for running a dogfighting ring, and the Falcons lose 10 of their first 13 games.

Just hours after assuring Atlanta owner Arthur Blank he has no plans to leave, Petrino submits his resignation, hops on a plane to Fayetteville and is hollering “Wooo Pig Sooie!” before the night is out.

Blank feels “betrayed,” and the players are even more bitter when they arrive the next day to find a form letter at their lockers, signed by Petrino. It starts “Out of my respect for you” - utterly laughable - and ends with “while my desire would have been to finish out what has been a difficult season for us all, circumstances did not allow me to do so.”

“I feel like I’ve been sleeping with the enemy,” safety Lawyer Milloy says. Then, in April 2012, Petrino shows up with four broken ribs and wearing a neck brace after a motorcycle crash. “When I came out of the ditch, there was a lady there that had flagged down a car,” he says, not bothering to mention she was his mistress and a women less than half his age, former Arkansas volleyball player Jessica Dorrell. With a police report about to be released, Petrino is forced to come clean about Dorrell, such as giving her a $20,000 gift and hiring her to work in the football office over candidates who are surely more qualified. But this time, we’re supposed to believe Petrino has changed.

Yeah, right. — AP

England skittle out PM’s XI CANBERRA: England’s bowlers ripped through the Australian Prime Minister’s XI for a morale-boosting first tour victory of 172 runs ahead of Friday’s second one-day international.

Chasing 265 to win in the Australian capital, the hosts lost wickets at regular intervals and were all out for 92 in the 26th over yesterday.

Ravi Bopara grabbed four wickets for three runs in just three overs to wrap up the match and end a winless streak going back to the first Ashes Test in Brisbane back in November.

Skipper Alastair Cook admitted his relief after a run of poor performances which saw an Ashes whitewash and dour, drawn tour games.

“It’s great to win. It’s been a long-time coming,” Cook said. “We needed to start winning and winning puts you in the right frame of mind and gives you a little bit of confidence.

“We know we’ve got a huge amount of work to do,” he added.

The tourists had however labored to 264 for eight off 50 overs on what was thought to be a good batting wicket, if a little slow. Cook won the toss and decided to bat but rival captain and former Test quick Brett Lee knocked him over for just one, edging a full length ball to the wicketkeeper.

The 37-year-old Lee was in vintage form and had Joe Root lbw to leave England on two for 12 runs in the day-night 50-over game at the Manuka Oval.

The thermometer topped 37 Celsius (99 Fahrenheit), but Lee still returned figures of two wickets for 22 runs off seven overs, including a maiden.

England began to rally from yet another disastrous start when Lee went off after a fourover burst and finally set the PM’s XI a target of 265, at a run rate of 5.28.

Opener Michael Carberry found some form in his 47 off 50 balls, including five boundaries, before skiing Ben Cutting to Lee. But it was man-of-the match Jos Buttler, batting at number seven, who top-scored with 61. England’s danger man was clean bowled

by Jackson Bird before the final overs slog.

Coming in at four, Gary Ballance clipped a decent 56 off 71 balls but was caught at point off spinner James Muirhead, who snared three for 52.

Eoin Morgan had looked to leave a ripper from Muirhead that took big spin from outside off, leaving England on four for 98.

Bopara wasted no time and made 18 off 17 balls but an attempted drive off Muirhead flew head height to Michael Spaseski in the slips.

Bresnan put up 36 useful runs before the McDermott brothers combined with Ben taking the catch off Alister’s bowling.

Veteran Brad Hodge top-scored for the PM’s XI with 28. He kept looking for the big shot but swung high at spinner James Tredwell straight to Carberry at deep mid-wicket.

The first three wickets fell rapidly as England ran through promising youngsters Peter Handscomb, Luke Pomersbach and Ben McDermott for 24 runs.

And they never let go with Canberra

CHILE: French Cyril Despres competes during the 2014 Dakar Rally Stage 8 between Uyuni, Bolivia and Calama. — AFP

CANBERRA: English batsman Gary Balance runs during the Prime Ministers XI cricket match at the Manuka Oval Ground. — AFP

youngster Spaseski making the second highest score of just 13. He pulled Bresnan high to deep fine leg where Joe Root took an easy catch.

Lee tried to fight back and hit a huge six

before Bopara clean bowled him for 12. The second of five ODIs will be played at the Gabba on Friday. Australia won Sunday’s opening tie in Melbourne by six wickets following the 5-0 Ashes debacle. — AFP

AUCKLAND: India’s cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (right) speaks during a press conference after the team’s arrival at Auckland International Airport for the cricket series against New Zealand. — AFP

India’s Dhoni not taking New Zealand lightly AUCKLAND: India arrived in New Zealand for their first tour in four years Monday, with captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni saying he will not be taking the “fantastic” Black Caps lightly.

India will play two Tests and five one-dayers against the New Zealanders, in a tour itinerary shortened by one Test and one Twenty 20 due to India’s participation in the Asia Cup in late February. The tourists’ main interest is likely to be the one-dayers, with the trip allowing them to familiarise themselves with New Zealand conditions ahead of the 2015 World Cup, which the Kiwis will co-host with Australia.

Dhoni, whose side is rated number one in the 50-over format compared to New Zealand’s eighth ranking, said India would not underestimate the Black Caps.

“They will be a fantastic side,” he told reporters after the side arrived in Auckland.

“They’ve got good bowlers in the side now. I would rather go into the series not taking the New Zealand team lightly.

“Especially at home, they’ll know the conditions better than us and for some who have not played here it will be a challenge.” Dhoni was confident India’s one-day attack, which faced criticism after a series loss in South Africa last month, was capable of lifting its performance, particularly in tight situations. “It has been a common question, people always talk about our bowlers getting smashed,” he said. “But we have seen over a period that they have improved, the death bowling has improved.” The first one-dayer will take place in Napier on Sunday. — AFP

Roma, Coma keep Dakar lead CALAMA: Spaniards Nani Roma and Marc Coma kept their comfortable overall leads in the Dakar Rally after a fast eighth stage on Monday. Both took different high-altitude routes down into Chile.

Roma and the cars undertook a 300-kilometer special from Salta, Argentina, over the Andes. Roma endured two punctures on the stony track and finished sixth, losing eight minutes off his lead over defending champion Stephane Peterhansel of France. Peterhansel was down to 24 minutes off the pace. Giniel de Villiers of South Africa remained 48 minutes behind in third, and Orlando Terranova of Argentina stayed fourth, 51 minutes back. They were the only ones within an hour of Roma.

Peterhansel was second in the stage, about a minute behind winner Nasser Al-Attiyah of Qatar, who led in his Mini most of the way for

his 18th Dakar stage victory. Carlos Sainz of Spain was third.

Coma and the motorbikes left from Uyuni, Bolivia, on a 460-kilometer trek around the Salar de Uyuni, the world’s biggest salt flats.

Coma, with a big overall lead, was happy to stay on the tail of his great rival, Cyril Despres of France, the titleholder who won his first stage of the year.

Despres beat Joan Barreda Bort of Spain and Coma by more than two minutes, but Despres was still more than two hours behind Coma overall.

Barreda remained second and 38 minutes behind Coma overall, and the only rider within an hour of the leader. But the rally returns to the treacherous sand dunes on Tuesday, racing through the Atacama Desert from Calama to Iquique. — AP

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With no kit, equipment India’s athletes face exit NEW DELHI: Two Indian athletes could be forced to pull out of next month’s Sochi Olympics because promised state funds for kit and equipment have not been released, India’s Winter Games chief said yesterday. Winter Games Federation of India (WGFI) president Surendra Singh Patwal said time was running out for two of India’s three competitors who each need about $7,500 to take part in the Olympics. “We are still awaiting funds from the government because we do not have money to buy expensive clothing and equipment,” Patwal told AFP. “Each equipment has to meet Olympic specifica-

tions. We do not get them in India, they have to come from abroad. Unless the funds come, we can’t even place orders for clothing and equipment.

“Besides, our athletes need time to train with the new equipment and there is hardly any time left. We were due to be in Sochi by February 4” for the Games starting on the 7th, he added.

“We do not get sponsors. So unless the government gives us funds, we may have to withdraw at least two of the three qualifiers.”

Funding is the latest blow for the athletes who were earlier this month deprived of competing under

the national flag in Sochi.WGFI secretary Roshan Lal Thakur told AFP that luger Shiva Keshavan, preparing for his fifth Winter Olympics, was safe since he has raised money through sponsors for his equipment.

But the fate of the two other qualifiers, alpine skier Himanshu Thakur and cross-country skier Nadeem Iqbal, rested on getting the money in time.

“We have been told the matter is being processed,” said Thakur. “I just hope they do it fast.” Sports ministry officials were not immediately available for comment.

Last week, the athletes lost all hope of competing under the flag in Sochi after the suspended Indian

Olympic Association (IOA) insisted on holding elections two days after the Games open.

The IOA last month bowed to pressure from the International Olympic Committee to keep tainted officials out of key posts-the reason India’s membership was frozen in December 2012.

But IOA officials rejected a request from the sports ministry to hold fresh elections earlier, possibly at the end of January, so that the athletes could compete under the national flag. The IOC has allowed Indian qualifiers to participate at Sochi as “independent athletes under the Olympic flag”. — AFP

Fernandez and Kostner set to battle Russians

Maria Hoefl-Riesch

Germany want repeat of Vancouver medal haul BERLIN: Germany want to repeat their successes in Vancouver four years ago when their athletes compete at the Sochi Winter Olympics next month. The country finished in the top three in the medals table in 2010 along with Canada and the United States. “Our aim is again to win at least 30 medals like Vancouver or even to exceed that,” German Olympic sports confederation general secretary Michael Vesper told reporters yesterday. “We want to be on the podium in the final medals count.

“It will certainly be no easy task but we will fight for it. It is an ambitious target but our federations are well positioned and our athletes fully motivated.” Vesper said he was confident Russian authorities would offer maximum secu-

rity despite recent suicide bombings in Volgograd. The Games open on Feb. 7 in the Black Sea resort on the western edge of the Caucasus mountains where insurgents want to carve out an Islamic state. Russian forces have gone on combat alert this week in Sochi and around 37,000 personnel are now in place to provide security at the Olympics.

The Germans, expected to send a team of 160-plus athletes to the first Winter Games to be held in Russia, are a traditional powerhouse with a wide range of medal contenders in almost every sport. Luger Felix Loch, Alpine skier Maria Hoefl-Riesch and figure skaters Aljona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy are among their big-name athletes. — Reuters

Felix Loch

Loch to lead German medal charge BERLIN: Defending Olympic champion Felix Loch could not have hoped for a better Sochi 2014 Olympic preparation than leading the world standings and claiming the German title days before the end of last year.

With Germany eager to be among the top nations on the medals table, the ever-smiling Loch is aware of the pressure resting on him, given his country’s dominance in the sport.

German athletes have won four of the last six individual luge gold medals, interrupted only by double gold medallist Armin Zoeggeler of Italy. The 1.91 metre-tall (6ft 3in) Loch, who credits his height and weight for giving him extra speed when he hurls himself down the icy track at more than 145 kilometres per hour (90mph), has had a near perfect run-up to the Games at the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi starting in February.

He grabbed a World Cup win at Whistler, Canada, site of his 2010 Vancouver Games gold medal run, in December to go top of the overall standings before landing his fourth German title days later. In between he was among an elite group of German athletes to be named for the Olympics as the traditional winter sports powerhouse aims to finish among the top three nations in the medals table.

“We are well set for Sochi. The preparation is going according to plan,” beamed Loch, who was the youngest Olympic luge champion four years ago at age 20. His last race of the year at Park City was less successful with Zoeggeler, who has won medals at five consecutive

Games, setting the pace and Loch coming in fifth. “I was satisfied with that run and the holiday break is more than welcome now before Sochi,” the affable German told reporters.

It is this relaxed approach combined with the 24-year-old Loch’s extraordinary mental toughness that have made him a household name in his sport and helped him win more gold medals than any other color in all competitions. The Thuringia-born Loch, who now lives in the heart of the Alps at Bavaria’s Koenigssee, is a four-times individual world champion, having clinched the titles in 2008, 2009, 2012 and 2013. “Because one run only takes about a minute, I must have high levels of concentration,” Loch said. “This is not always easy. The external pressure is sometimes very high, plus I add pressure on myself as well.” He has the advantage of having been born into the sport with his father, also an Olympic luger for the former East Germany, now head coach of the German luge team.

When his father moved to Bavaria after the fall of communism to take over coaching the state’s luge team, his son’s fate seemed to have been sealed and Felix has been competing since the age of six. “We want to be among the top three nations on the medals table in Sochi,” German Olympic committee general secretary Michael Vesper said when he announced the first selections in December, with Loch leading the list. He could hardly have picked a stronger medal hope to headline the first selection of athletes. — Reuters

BUDAPEST: Defending champions Javier Fernandez and Carolina Kostner will be looking to prevent a Russian title sweep as Europe’s top figure skaters fine-tune their performances before next month’s Winter Olympics.

Not only will Russian skaters be looking to hit hard to book their berths to their home Games, but the Olympic hosts could very well complete a sweep of all four titles on offer in Budapest for the first time at the Europeans since before the Turin Olympics in 2006.

Russia had a tradition of sweeping all the gold medals at pre-Olympic Europeans going back to before the 1998 Nagano Games, but Kostner spoilt that record when she took gold in 2010 before the Vancouver Games.

Kostner, the 2012 world champion, will be bidding for her sixth continental title as the 26-year-old Italian veteran returns from a back injury in the women’s event which kicks off the five-days of competition today.

She took silver at the worlds last year behind Olympic champion Kim Yu-Na but finished third in her only Grand Prix event this season, the Cup of China, behind Russians Anna Pogorilaya and Adelina Sotnikova. Kostner faces a stiff challenge from the Russians including last year’s silver medallist Sotnikova, aged 17 and the national champion, Grand Prix runner-up Julia Lipnitskaia and Pogorilaya, both 15, and 2012 world silver medallist Alena Leonova, 23.

After skipping the nationals because of her back injury the Italian has rejigged her programmes and will be skating to Schubert’s Ave Maria for Wednesday’s short programme with her free skate on Friday to Ravel’s Bolero.

“Due to the time off with my injury I just couldn’t get Scheherazade to feel right. Together with Lori Nichol (choreographer), I decided that I love the tempo, the pacing and the energy of Bolero,” she explained. “The short is new. The idea of the ying and yang of the pure angelic and ethereal Ave Maria and the sensual yet bold Bolero just inspires me every day.”

Russian champion Maxim Kovtun will be bidding to seal his Sochi berth with just one place available on the men’s team.

The 18-year-old stunned 2006 Olympic champion Yevgeny Plushenko to win the national title last month.

Plushenko is not competing in Budapest with Russia’s figure skating federation chiefs making their final selection after the Europeans.

Fernandez was a surprise winner of the men’s title last year in Zagreb becoming the first Spanish figure skater to medal at an ISU championship and he went on to take bronze at the worlds. But the Spaniard has struggled this season and Kovtum was the only European man to qualify for the Grand Prix final. His season’s best of 240.34 points is also nearly 10 points better than Fernandez.

But Fernandez insists he is not under pressure with the men’s event starting on Thursday with the short programme and the free skating final scheduled for Saturday.

“For now I’m calm,” said the 22-year-old. “I’m training hard with the intention of peaking at Sochi. In skating there are many ups and downs of your fitness and you want to get there 100percent. As that date approaches, I will up the level of training.”

Artur Gachinski, a former world and European medallist, is also competing for Russia along with Konstantin Menshov, Sergei Voronov and teenager Adian Pitkeev.

Also targetting the podium are former champions Florent Amodio and Brian Joubert of France, along with Tomas Verner and fellow Czech Michal Brezina.

In pairs, Germany’s Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy, four-time world champions and Olympic bronze medallists, will continue their duel with reigning world and European champions Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov of Russia.

The Germans won the Grand Prix final ahead of the Russians who are bidding for a third straight European title. The ice dancing title is up for grabs with defending champions Ekaterina Bobrova and Dmitri Soloviev of Russia skipping the event along with two-time winners Nathalie Pechalat and Fabian Bourzat of France.

Challengers include Russia’s Elena Ilinykh and Nikita Katsalapov and Italy’s Anna Cappellini and Luca Lanotte, who completed the podium last year. — AFP

Carolina Kostner

Ricker hoping experience pays off LONDON: If it were not for the fact that she will be defending her Olympic snowboard cross title in Sochi, Canada’s Maelle Ricker would probably be riding with the crowds at the Mount Baker Banked Slalom this February. The mass participation event south of Vancouver features hundreds of boarders of all ages, styles and standards and it is where Ricker arguably feels most at home.

“The Olympics is the pinnacle, the X Games is great and there is the marquee of the World championships, but for me Mount Baker is up there,” the 35-year-old told Reuters by telephone last month before heading off to a session in the gym.

It highlights the passion she still retains for the sport and why, as her fourth Olympics looms, she continues to race head to head with boarders half her age.

“I actually love the fact of competing with the younger girls,” Ricker, who has not ruled out competing at the 2018 Olympics, said.

“The good thing now is that the sports science has come such a long way that us older ones are able to capitalise on our experience and there’s no reason why we can’t continue into our mid or late 30s. “You could say I’m one of the dinosaurs of the group.

But experience plays a lot in technical races. I have to be smart and use my experience to my advantage.”

Ricker was elevated to the status of national heroine in Vancouver four years ago when she became the first Canadian woman to win an Olympic gold medal on home snow, four years after narrowly missing a medal in Turin. With that medal tucked away safely in a draw at home, Ricker is now tar-

Passion runs through Holcomb’s veins LONDON: Steve Holcomb lives and breathes bobsleigh to the extent that he could not imagine doing anything else. The leader of both the twoman and four-man American teams is passionate about a sport that has made him Olympic champion, but his success has not come without a price.

“Being at the top is lonely, you really have to make a lot of sacrifices that a lot of people are not willing to make,” he told Reuters.

“That comes down to my passion - I love bobsledding and I make a lot of sacrifices and I can justify those sacrifices because I love what I do.

“My motivation is my passion for the sport. I know a lot of guys, they do this because they are good athletes and they are successful at it, but it’s not necessarily what they love doing.

“You have to love what you are doing and when you do you put your heart and soul into it and that takes it to the next level. That’s something a lot of people don’t have.” Holcomb piloted the American four-man bobsleigh to gold at the 2010 Olympics in Whistler, the first time in 62 years for the United States and one of the feelgood stories of a games overshadowed by the death of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili.

His autobiography ‘But Now I See’ tells the story of his journey from “blindness to Olympic gold”, revealing his battle to overcome a degenerative eye disease and depression.

Some athletes are afforded the freedom of their city for sporting achievement, others have streets named after them or a stand or whole stadium.

Holcomb has a treatment for degenerative eye disorder keratoconus named in honour after him Holcomb C3 R - after his vision was restored to 20/20. The 33-year-old from Park City, Utah, believes he has evolved into a better driver now than when he won gold.

“I’m still learning. I’m a better driver now, I’ve learned a lot about myself. I’m the fastest and strongest than I’ve been in a few years which I’m happy about. “Testing these new sleds... learned a lot about driving... different ways, different sensations and ideas and I think that’s taken my driving to the next level.” The four-man Night Train bobsleigh that triumphed in 2010 has evolved into Night Train 2, designed by a company run by former NASCAR driver Geoff Bodine.

The two-man sled is the product of BMW technology. “It’s a challenge because just like cars, they drive differently,” he said of the lighter carbon-fibre sleds. “They have their own feeling. We’ve worked hard to make them as close as possible to the same thing.” Holcomb met with instant success in his new sleds when he won both opening World Cup events in Calgary in late November, the first time in seven years that a driver has swept the opening two-man and four-man races. He has remained perfect

through the first half of the season, chalking up a seventh successive victory in Lake Placid to leave his rivals pondering how he can be beaten.

However, he feels he could be at a disadvantage when the Olympics come round in Sochi in February. Holcomb said the Sochi track, located near the village of Krasnaya Polyana and which has three “negative” slopes, was “mild” compared to Whistler.

“I like it, it’s a good track, it’s challenging but it’s not fast for one. “It’s easier to get down, you’re not going to have a lot of crashes but the problem is it’s not easy to get down quickly.

“Whistler was technical and fast. Sochi is just technical but not necessarily the whole way.”

Because of this, Holcomb said there was now more of a “level playing field” in the battle for gold.

“It’s a little bit of a disadvantage to me and the other experienced drivers. Whistler separated the experienced drivers from the less experienced drivers... if you look at the (2010) results, all drivers that had been around for a long time were on the podium. “Right now, with the news sleds we have there is a little bit more pressure but at the same time I won my gold medal and at the end of the day, in Sochi, if I’m not champion I can an still walk away as a gold medallist. “Regardless of my result I’m going to continue bobsledding because I love doing it.” — Reuters

Maelle Ricker

getting another one and says the pressure of defending is equal to that she experienced as a home favourite last time.

“Yes, I felt the pressure in Vancouver, but I think it helped me, especially when I had a moment in my first qualifying run when I fell.

“That home support helped me through.

Now it’s more about the pressure from within. The word defend is coming up a lot and it’s a different sort of pressure and it scares me a little more.” Ricker’s season so far has not gone entirely to plan and she is yet to add to the 16 victories she has had in the World Cup. At the first World Cup race in Austria before Christmas the 2013 FIS world champion did not even make the start gate after “getting bumped upside down and landing on my head” in training, leaving her with a concussion. The physical nature of the sport is what fuels her hunger, however. “Yes, there are bumps and bruises but I love the fact that it’s racing head to head and there are no excuses after,” she said.

“You can’t blame the judges or the course conditions because it’s just the first past the line. “It may not look like it on the outside, but considering the speeds and how close we are racing there is a lot of respect and it’s mainly quite civilised. “There aren’t too many moody attitudes out there.”

As the clock ticks on to Sochi, where the snow conditions are said to be similar to what she experienced in Vancouver, Ricker will be preparing for the challenge of her usual rivals, namely experienced American Lindsey Jacobellis and fellow Canadian 30something and Turin bronze-medallist Dominique Maltais.—Reuters

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2014

S P ORT S

Villarreal drub Sociedad MADRID: Villarreal landed a stunning blow on a potential rival for a European qualification berth when Giovani dos Santos and Ikechukwu Uche each struck twice in a 5-1 drubbing of Real Sociedad in La Liga on Monday.

The resounding victory for the team known as “yellow submarine” lifted them above Sociedad into fifth on 34 points at the halfway stage of the season, two ahead of the San Sebastian-based side and two behind another Basque club, fourth-placed Athletic Bilbao.

Villarreal produced a brilliant display of attacking football at their Madrigal stadium, with former Tottenham Hotspur forward Dos Santos on scintillating form.

It was the latest evidence they fully deserve to be playing among the elite of Spanish football after spending a year in the second division last term. Mexican Dos Santos fired them ahead in the 17th minute before crossing for Nigerian Uche to make it 2-0 in the 27th.

Dos Santos, a product of Barcelona’s academy who has also had stints at Ipswich Town, Galatasaray and Real Mallorca, grabbed his second six minutes later as Sociedad were swept aside by the home side’s intensity and attacking verve.

Uche completed his double from another Dos Santos assist 10 minutes into the second half and Moises Gomez added a fifth in the 58th before Imanol Agirretxe pulled one back for Sociedad on the hour. Villarreal had not won at home since the end of October and the victory will give them a boost for their next game tomorrow, when they host Sociedad again in the last 16 of the King’s Cup. Last week’s first leg in San Sebastian ended 0-0 and the winners of the tie will play Almeria or third-tier Racing Santander in the quarter-finals.

“We were really keen to start winning at home again

SPAIN: Villarreal’s Argentinian defender Mateo Musacchio (left) vies with Real Sociedadís forward Imanol Agirretxe during the Spanish League football match. — AFP

after a long time without a victory,” Villarreal fullback Mario Gaspar told Spanish television broadcaster Cuatro.

“I think we enjoyed ourselves on the pitch, you could see that, and now we have to focus on Thursday as we are also very excited about the Cup,” he added.

“I hope that the season continues for us in the same

vein and we can finish in the best way possible.”

Champions Barcelona and Atletico Madrid are level on 50 points at the top after they drew 0-0 at the Calderon on Saturday and third-placed Real Madrid closed to within three points of the leaders when they won 1-0 at Espanyol on Sunday. — Reuters

Cristiano Ronaldo

The German experience

Five years on, Ronaldo back as world’s best MADRID: It has taken Cristiano Ronaldo a long time to be back on top of the world. Since winning the Ballon d’Or for the first time after leading Manchester United to Champions League glory in 2008, he has been relegated into second place in three of the last four years as Barcelona rival Lionel Messi won the award for an unprecedented four consecutive times.

On Monday, however, he was finally crowned World Player of the Year for a second time as he beat Messi and Bayern Munich’s treble-winning playmaker Franck Ribery to football’s highest individual award.

By swapping Manchester for Real Madrid in the summer of 2009, Ronaldo accepted the challenge of constant comparisons with Messi.

Unfortunately for the Portuguese, though, his marriage with the world’s richest club initially wasn’t as perfect as he had envisaged. Barca and Messi’s dominance has continued as they have racked up 12 trophies to Madrid and Ronaldo’s three since he moved to Spain.

The Catalans were once again superior on a collective level in 2013 as they sealed their 22nd league title with a club record 100 points.

However, with Messi’s year having been blighted by injuries, the last 12 months did signal a change on the individual front for Ronaldo.

Despite his remarkable goalscoring record, Ronaldo wasn’t always greeted with the hero’s worship he thought he deserved from the club’s fans.

Yet, driven by fear that he could have been running down his contract with the intention of leaving Madrid, 2013 marked a turning point in the adulation Ronaldo now receives every time he steps foot inside the Santiago Bernabeu.

Ronaldo finally quashed any speculation surrounding his future by extending his contract with Madrid until 2018 in September in a deal that saw him become the world’s best paid player.

And the backing he now receives was most visibly displayed when thousands of Real fans donned masks of their hero in support of his bid to win the Ballon d’Or following incendiary comments from FIFA president Sepp Blatter.

Blatter had described Ronaldo as a “commander” given his serious nature on the field and said he personally preferred Messi’s more humble image.

The Swiss’ words, though, only seemed to fan the flames of Ronaldo’s already sensational form as he went on to score 15 times in his next eight matches.

Most importantly in that run, he ensured Portugal wouldn’t miss out on this year’s World Cup in Brazil by scoring all four of his country’s goals in their 4-2 aggregate playoff win over Sweden.

The impact in particular of his stunning hat-trick in the second-half of the second-leg in Stockholm was such that FIFA conveniently decided to extend the voting period for the Ballon d’Or by two weeks and allow those that had already cast their votes to change them.

How much of an impact that change of dates made is unclear. Ribery can certainly feel hard done by after Bayern steamrollered the competition on their way to winning five trophies in 2013. Yet, despite his lack of collective silverware, Ronaldo’s individual brilliance cannot be overlooked. His 66 goals in 56 games for club and country was more than Messi and Ribery’s combined total of 65.

Ronaldo also led the way in the most demanding environment of all, the Champions League, finishing as last season’s top scorer and becoming the first man to ever score nine times in just five group games this season.

Moreover, at both club and international level he has managed to revise the previously popular image of him as a petulant and selfish player.

At the age of 28, this is a more mature Ronaldo than the one who won the Ballon d’Or five years ago. A captain and star that, as he showed that night in Stockholm, takes responsibility and leads by his example. A maturation process that has finally seen him topple Messi as the world’s best. — AFP

By Ahmad Al-Othman

AMSTERDAM: In this Sept. 27, 2010 file photo, AC Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri (left) and player Clarence Seedorf answer questions during a press conference. — AP

Former star Seedorf to coach AC Milan RIO DE JANEIRO: Dutch veteran Clarence Seedorf confirmed yesterday he is taking over as coach of AC Milan, replacing Massimiliano Allegri.The seven-times European champions sacked Allegri after a shock weekend loss to Sassuolo and have turned to Seedorf, who won a host of honors in Milan as a player. Seedorf, 37 and the first man to win the Champions League with three different clubs after stellar spells with Ajax, Real Madrid and Milan, has spent the past 18 months with Rio-based Botafogo.

But he said now was the time to take up a new challenge-and hang up his boots. “I am going to stop playing after 22 years. It was a difficult night-but I am satisfied with what I have achieved in my career,” said Seedorf.

“This experience of a year and a half (with Botafogo) helped me grow and will help me in the next stage of my life-as coach of Milan,” Seedorf told reporters in Rio. As a player for the Rossoneri at the San Siro, Seedorf was a figurehead, making more than 400 appearances and winning the Serie A title twice as well as a pair of Champions League crowns.

The Surinam-born star had his first taste of European glory with Ajax in 1995, then again with Real Madrid three years later and then won the top prize in club football with Milan in 2003 and 2007.

Seedorf, who added a Rio league crown to his stellar CV last year, had been expected to prolong his stay in Brazil but is widely believed to have had a clause inserted into his Botafogo deal allowing him to leave for a top coaching post.

His performances in midfield helped Botafogo to qualify for the Copa Libertadores, the South American equivalent of Europe’s Champions League, which starts on January 29, for the first time in 17 years.

Botafogo had been hoping he would stay on for that event-but finally allowed him to move on with their blessing as Milan plumped for him ahead of former striker Filippo Inzaghi, the club’s youth coach.

“There is a feeling of sadness,” said club chairman Mauricio AssumpÁ„o, who saluted Seedorf for his efforts. “It is sad to see you stop playing, yet there is pleasure that the footballing world is gaining you as a coach. The others will now have to chase after Milan,” Assumpc„o predicted.

After Sunday’s reverse to Sassuolo, Milan stand just 11th in the table, 30 points behind leaders Juventus and 20 behind Napoli, who occupy the third and last qualifying spot for the Champions League.

A four-goal salvo from Sassuolo’s 19-year-old starlet Domenico Berardi sealed Allegri’s fate-club vice-president Barbara Berlusconi launched a verbal attack on the team afterwards and demanded change in the dugout.

Allegri took over Milan in time for the 2010/2011 season and won the title in his first season in charge. Milan finished runners-up the following season but Allegri saw his side decimated as a host of key players-among whom Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Thiago Silva and Seedorf himself-all left the club.

Despite the overhaul needed and the club’s poor first half of the campaign, Seedorf professed himself “calm about the challenge which awaits me.” — AFP

KUWAIT: AC Milan in 2000, Barcelona in 2009, Real Madrid in 2012 and only a couple of days ago, the Bavarian giants Bayern Munich. This promising trend is starting to pay its dividends and satisfy Kuwaiti football fans around the country and even the Arabian Gulf.

Everything was perfectly set up for the memorable battle — the spectators started flooding the stadium hours prior to the friendly and the general organizing was more than promising.

When looking at Bayern Munich’s recent success, no wonder they were given a welcoming and warm reception since they set foot on Kuwaiti sands. Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah honored the reigning European Champions on Monday at Seif Palace, a clear sign of the magnitude of Bayern’s visit.

Their hardcore fans assembled in front of the Radisson Blu Hotel in Salwa where the players stayed and the fortunate ones had the privilege of taking a photo or two.

You could easily notice how the fans enjoyed their evening, with the majority Kuwaiti faithful being more than vocal throughout the tie. A special mention goes to the Bayern supporters section that by the looks of it had one entertaining night. One thing was for sure — the German side thought for a second they were playing at the Allianz Arena in Bavaria! The full-house stadium had closed entry gates half an hour ahead of the fixture, an evident indication of the enormous demand.

The attending crowd was estimated to be close to 20,000, and worth mentioning there were European followers scattered in the stands of the Kaifan stadium.

Some would argue that the foggy weather was the only downside of the day, but many would debate it gave them a “European inspiration” against the World Champions, which had a genuine outcome. As for the match itself, surely no one expected the local side to get anything out of the contest, even the most extremist of optimists. Despite the thrashing, Kuwait Club was more than competent during the first 45 minutes, and a word of praise goes to Brazilian forward Rogeiro and defender Fahad Humoud.

Hosting a match of this caliber is truly an honorable achievement for all parties involved in the sport. The German side is seen by many as the team to beat and hot favorite for a consecutive Champions League triumph, especially after adding Mario Gotze and former Barcelona midfielder Thiago Alcantara to their talented squad. After bagging a memorable five trophies from a possible six, in addition to the eminent arrival of Robert Lewandowski in the summer, things are looking even brighter than the previous season, regardless of being managed by the successful Pep Guardiola.

National Assembly Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanem gratefully sponsored the massive occasion and there were a multitude of high-level attendees witnessing the tie due to the extent of the event. Photographers and journalists from all around the world were present, and the spectators were from varying age groups, genders and races. The voluntary organizers were flawless and perfectly managed to control the event due to the cooperation of the crowd. One thing is for sure — Kuwaiti fans will always be eager and craving to host such an event again.

Aguero in line for City comeback

Sergio Aguero

LONDON: Argentine striker Sergio Aguero is poised to return to action after being named in the Manchester City squad for today’s FA Cup third-round replay at home to Blackburn Rovers.

City’s top scorer this season with 19 goals, Aguero has been sidelined by a calf injury since his side’s 6-3 demolition of Arsenal in the Premier League on December 14.

“Sergio is working with normality with the whole squad and he is on the squad list for tomorrow,” City manager Manuel Pellegrini said yesterday.

“He is a very important player for us. It doesn’t matter if we are scoring a lot of goals, Sergio will always be a very important player and we are happy he is coming back.”

Aguero’s return coincides with the news that midfielder Samir Nasri will be out for around eight weeks after damag-

ing knee ligaments in Sunday’s 2-0 win at Newcastle United.

“He is a very important player for us,” Pellegrini said of the Frenchman. “He was also playing in a very good moment so we hope he can come back as soon as possible, but I think less than six or seven weeks will be difficult.”

Aguero sent a message of support to his stricken team-mate on Twitter yesterday, writing: “All my strength goes to @SamNasri19! Eight weeks will fly by, tho we need you in the team. You’ll come back better than ever!”

Pellegrini also disclosed that midfielders Yaya Toure and David Silva will miss the match against Blackburn at the Etihad Stadium with minor injuries.

Meanwhile, City have announced that 21-year-old Swedish striker John Guidetti has joined Stoke City on loan until the end of the campaign. — AFP

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2014

S P ORT S

Inter problems mount with Chievo stalemate

BIRMINGHAM: Aston Villa’s Antonio Luna (right) vies for the ball with Arsenal’s Oliver Giroud during the English Premier League soccer match. — AP

Arsenal survive late scare to regain top EPL position Arsenal 2

Aston Villa 1

LONDON: Arsenal survived a late scare to regain top spot in the Premier League with a 2-1 victory at Aston Villa on Monday, both their goals arriving in the space of a minute in the first half.

England midfielder Jack Wilshere opened the scoring after 34 minutes with an accurate left-foot finish and Villa selfdestructed, conceding possession straight from the re-start and allowing Olivier Giroud to double the visitors’ lead.

Christian Benteke’s stooping header raised hopes of an unlikely comeback and the Belgian striker came close to an equaliser but Arsenal hung on to continue their fine record at Villa where they have not lost since 1998.

Arsenal began the evening in third place after wins for title rivals Chelsea and Manchester City at the weekend but responded in style to move a point clear at the top.

Arsene Wenger’s side have 48 points from 21 matches, City have 47 and Chelsea 46 with fourth-placed Liverpool further back on 42 after also winning at the weekend. “It’s a massive three points - especially because we dropped a bit in the second half. We have done that a few times, letting

teams come on to us but we dealt well with it,” Wilshere told Sky Sports.

“In the past we used to feel the nerves when we were up against it. But this season we haven’t and Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny have been brilliant all season.”

Arsenal dominated possession in the first half without really hurting Villa until Nacho Monreal picked out Wilshere who took one touch before sweeping a low shot past Brad Guzan.

Villa, disrupted by a head injury to defender Nathan Baker which required a seven-minute stoppage, then gifted Arsenal possession and Wilshere’s ball into the box found Giroud who finished in clinical fashion.

Arsenal appeared to be coasting after the break but Villa roused themselves and Matthew Lowton’s superb cross from the right was met by a diving Benteke who scored his first goal since September.

Arsenal suddenly looked jittery and with the clock ticking down another Lowton cross looked perfect for Benteke but he failed to connect properly with a header from in front of goal.

While Wenger looked displeased with some of his side’s play, he was pleased with their resilience as Villa threatened. “It was vital because the first half was more about playing, and the second half was more about fighting,” he said.

“They made it very physical, put the ball up high in the air and we had a very good resilient performance in the second half.

Overall we have shown again both sides of the game.” — Reuters

Michael Andretti

Andretti hoping changes make team IndyCar a force INDIANAPOLIS: Michael Andretti made a major offseason overhaul to get back on top of the IndyCar standings. He’s changed engine manufacturers, hired Colombian Carlos Munoz, one of the series’ top young drivers, as a full-timer and given veteran drivers James Hinchcliffe and his own son, Marco, new colors and new paint schemes. Now, he’s waiting to see if all this will work.

“We took a hard look at ourselves to see where we could improve. I think we improved from 2011 to 2012 and I think we improved from 2012 to 2013 but we ran into some bad luck last year,” Andretti said Monday at the official unveiling of his new lineup in Indianapolis.

“We did some things with people in the organization and Ryan (Hunter-Reay) nailed it when he said that, for whatever reason, we were weak in some places. We’ve put a bigger focus in those areas.”

Andretti, the former IndyCar star turned team owner, once ruled this series. As a driver, he won 42 races, the most in CART history, 32 poles and the 1991 CART championship. As an owner, he’s won four points titles and two Indianapolis 500s - one of the few things he didn’t accomplish as a driver.

But after Hunter-Reay won the 2012 series championship with Andretti serving as the team strategist, a sub-par 2013 prompted Andretti to review what went wrong.

So Andretti turned his shop into a sort of grand opening with some good, old-fashioned staged flair. With shields of the team’s race wins hanging on one wall of the team shop, organizers dimmed the lights in another section and played popular music as each of Andretti’s four IndyCar drivers emerged from a smoke screen at the back of their transporters.

While Hunter-Reay remains in his familiar yellow-and-red trimmed No. 28 car, sponsored by DHL, he is the exception. Munoz takes over the

No. 34 white and green car sponsored by Cinsay, an Austin, Texas-based next-generation social video commerce technology company.

Andretti’s son will drive the No. 25 car, which is now yellow and blue and sponsored by Snapple. Hinchcliffe, the self-proclaimed Mayor Hinchtown in the online world, will be back in the No. 27 car that is painted blue-and-white that is sponsored by Untied Fiber & Data and looking for a better overall result than last year’s strange season.

“We had a very up-and-down first half, and in the second half, we were a little more consistent,” Hinchcliffe said. “That’s the type of consistency we need. It was lessons learned last season.”

Andretti’s team is also making a splash in other series. He will start two more cars in each of two IndyCar developmental series.

The driver’s list includes American teenager Zach Veach; Matthew Brabham, the son of former racer Geoff Brabham and the grandson of three-time world champion Sir Jack Brabham; and Shelby Blackstock, the son of country music star Reba McEntire.

The team also has decided to enter two more racing series - Global Rallycross, representing Volkswagen, and Formula E, for electronic cars. It will not field cars in USF 2000. Andretti will release more details about its GRC plans at a later date.

But Michael Andretti doesn’t believe all these moves will thin resources. “If anything, I expect them to help our IndyCar program,” he said.

There’s more expansion coming at team headquarters, too. Andretti’s wife, Jodi, is 33 weeks pregnant with twins - something the 51-yearold Andretti hopes is a big start to a better season in his 10th anniversary as an IndyCar team owner. “I think you said it, last season was a good season not a great season,” said Michael’s son, Marco. “That’s what we’re looking to achieve this year.” — AP

ITALY: Inter Milan’s unhappy run continued when they were held to a 1-1 draw at home by lowly Chievo in Serie A on Monday and were jeered off the San Siro pitch by their own fans.

Inter, with only one win in their last seven league matches, were quickly in trouble when Alberto Paloschi fired the relegation-threatened Flying Donkeys ahead in the eighth minute.

Yuto Nagatomo levelled for Inter four minutes later, turning the ball in from close range after it was pulled back by Ricardo Alvarez, and the Japanese had a goal controversially disallowed for offside two minutes later.

Walter Mazzarri’s team dominated possession for the rest of the game but struggled to create clear chances. Inter are joint fifth, level with promoted Verona on 32 points from 19 games, 10 behind Napoli who are third in the Champions League playoff spot. Three players were sent off as Sampdoria thumped Udinese 3-0 in Monday’s other game.

Brazilian midfielder Allan was dismissed for Udinese in the 35th minute after two yellow cards in quick succession but the numbers were levelled up when Samp’s Roberto Soriano was sent off just after the hour for a second bookable offence.

Udinese also had Allan’s compatriot Gabriel

ITALY: Chievo goalie Christian Puggioni (second left) saves on a header of Inter Milan Argentine forward Diego Milito during a Serie A soccer match. — AP

Silva ordered off after he was booked for elbowing, his second yellow card.

Brazilian Eder gave Sampdoria a 16thminute lead with a penalty and added another two minutes after halftime, although there

was a suspicion of offside as he latched on to a flicked pass to score. Daniele Gastaldello headed the third three minutes from time to leave Sampdoria 12th with 21 points and Udinese 15th with 20. — Reuters

Farrow happy just to compete SYDNEY: With his left foot still partially paralysed more than two years on from a “freak accident” that blew his knee, Australian skeleton racer John Farrow knows he is at a disadvantage every time he prepares to push his sled.

While many athletes dream of Olympic gold, the 31year-old has lowered his ambitions - for now. Just getting to the start line at the Sanki Sliding Centre in Sochi will represent a triumph in spite of adversity. Farrow’s battle to overcome a career-threatening injury is no ordinary tale - and he still has the physical and mental scars to prove it.

The former downhill mountain biker racer broke both his collar bones while hurtling down slopes on two wheels and has metal screws in his back and shoulder blades as a constant reminder.

But that was nothing compared to the moment his ankle rolled, he buckled and fell awkwardly during sprint training on a running track two days before the start of the World Cup skeleton season in Lake Placid in 2011.

He damaged his left leg so badly that he ruptured his ACL, LCL, hamstring, popliteal tendon, broke his tibia and did peroneal nerve damage.

“We don’t know why it happened. I was just unlucky.

I felt like my leg had snapped in half. I didn’t want to look down,” he told Reuters.

“I was in so much pain I instantly thought that was it, career over. While I was lying injured the question I asked myself was ‘what are you going to do now?’... and I didn’t have an answer.

“And because I didn’t, I made a clear decision right there that skeleton was what I wanted to do.” The long road back through rehabilitation to competition has included two operations and organ donations of a hamstring and an Achilles tendon.

The healing process is ongoing with some feeling returning in his foot although the nerve damage may never fully recover.

At one stage numb from his knee down to his big toe, the feeling has recovered to the point where the movement is limited between toe and ankle.

The mental scars will always be there though. “The memory of that day will never fade,” he said. “I’m still nowhere near fully recovered yet. The physical (scars) are still there but the mental side of it... it’s something I don’t think I’ll ever get out of my mind. Every time I’m doing sprints I remember what happened.”

Handicapped at the sprint start when racers try to gain those vital fractions of a second advantage, Farrow has to make up time on the descent to be competitive.

“I do the best I can at the start. I’m not even going to try and compare myself to the other guys because they are going to beat me all the time. I find when I focus on the start I get quite down about it,” he said. “But what I can do is drive the sled - having speed at the top is an advantage but if you make no mistakes on the way down you can make that time back.

“For me to be able to compete and keep up with these guys I’ve got to be flawless on the track pretty much because I don’t have that momentum at the top to lose. If I make a mistake in the first or second corner, I’m done.”

He began the season by finishing 20th in Calgary, followed up with 24th in Utah and in the last race of this year, was 22nd in Lake Placid.

Farrow is realistic and knows he is not yet ready to challenge the sport’s top dogs - the likes of Latvian Martins Dukurs and Russian Alexander Tretiakov - but is looking to the long term and the 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

“Right now I’m focusing on the best I can be. If I do make Sochi, and I think I have a great chance, it will be a huge thing to come back from this injury and to have this paralysed foot for so long.

“I’ve still got another four years in me. It’s always been a race against the clock. I’m trying to get my start as fast as it can but it’s a little bit out of my range to be competing (now) at the top level in the start.” Farrow missed out on 2010 Olympics after his re-allocation spot was removed a few days before the start of the Games when governing body FIBT decided to cut the criteria back to 28 athletes. “It was really gutting. I was close to qualifying and didn’t, then a couple of days later I was given a re-allocation spot. Then they decided to just have 28... it was a bit of a rollercoaster. Having that experience gave me a desire to keep going.”

His prospects are brighter this time and Farrow is determined to seize his chance. “The way I’m able to compete and believe in myself is that my driving skill is up there with the best in the world,” he added. “Just having faith that eventually, as the healing process continues, I can get my speed and my start back, then I can start pushing for top results.” —Reuters

Alex Rodriguez

Yankee’s Rodriguez asks judge to throw out MLB suspension NEW YORK: Embattled New York Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez asked a federal judge on Monday to throw out an arbitrator’s decision suspending him for the 2014 baseball season for doping, escalating a battle with Major League Baseball that shows no signs of abating. The lawsuit, filed by Rodriguez’s attorneys at the U.S. District Court in Manhattan, said arbitrator Fredric Horowitz exhibited “blatant partiality” toward MLB. MLB was named as a defendant along with Commissioner Bud Selig’s office and the players’ union. Rodriguez, baseball’s highest-paid player, asserted that the union failed in its duty to provide him adequate representation during the investigation.

The Players Association reacted angrily. “It is unfortunate that Alex Rodriguez has chosen to sue the Players Association. His claim is completely without merit, and we will aggressively defend ourselves and our members from these baseless charges,” MLBPA chief Tony Clark said in a statement.

“The Players Association has vigorously defended Mr. Rodriguez’s rights throughout the Biogenesis investigation, and indeed throughout his career,” said Clark, calling his allegation “outrageous.”

The suit included a copy of Horowitz’s decision, which had not previously been made public, giving the first glimpse of a proceeding that took place behind closed doors.

Horowitz concluded that Anthony Bosch, who ran a Florida anti-aging clinic called Biogenesis, supplied Rodriguez with testosterone, insulin growth factor and human growth hormone from 2010 to 2012, and that Rodriguez attempted to obstruct MLB’s investigation.

The suspension of Rodriguez has pushed baseball news into the US sports headlines at a time when other major sports usually predominate coverage. On Sunday night, Bosch described injecting Rodriguez with performance-enhancing drugs on the CBS television news program “60 Minutes.” Selig and other MLB officials also appeared on the program, which Rodriguez’s lawsuit slammed as part of a “carefully orchestrated smear campaign.”

Neither MLB nor the players’ union offered any immediate comment on the lawsuit, which was assigned to U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos.

Horowitz ruled on Saturday that Rodriguez would miss all 162 regular season games this year as well as the playoffs. The ban, which was reduced from 211 games, is the longest ever in baseball for the use of performance-enhancing drugs and will cost Rodriguez $25 million in salary.

Horowitz wrote that a review of the evidence and arguments “clearly and convincingly establishes that Rodriguez committed multiple violations...warranting a substantial disciplinary policy.”

The 38-year-old third baseman, popularly

known as A-Rod, is currently fifth on baseball’s all-time home run list with 654 and was once widely expected to challenge Barry Bonds’ record of 762 home runs. Bonds was also repeatedly linked to doping.

Rodriguez’s complaint may represent a long-shot bid. MLB and the players’ union agreed on the arbitration process, and federal judges typically afford independent arbitrators great deference under such circumstances.

MLB Commissioner Selig handed down suspensions last August to Rodriguez and other players who were implicated in an investigation into Biogenesis, a now-defunct clinic that had been accused of distributing performanceenhancing drugs to athletes.

Rodriguez claimed in the lawsuit that the testimony of Bosch, who ran Biogenesis, was unreliable, in part because MLB sued him in an apparent attempt to obtain his cooperation.

But in his decision, Horowitz wrote that Bosch’s testimony was “direct, credible and squarely corroborated” by his personal notebooks.

Those notebooks were stolen from Bosch’s office and leaked to a weekly newspaper in Miami, which first published stories about Rodriguez’s alleged connection to the clinic.

According to the decision, MLB bought copies of the notebooks and other documents for $125,000.

Rodriguez seized on that payment as evidence that MLB had committed misconduct, but Horowitz said Rodriguez’s associates were themselves guilty of offering money for documents. He also dismissed an “indiscreet sexual liaison” between an MLB investigator and a former Biogenesis employee, saying it yielded no relevant information for the case.

The arbitrator’s ruling said Bosch and Rodriguez exchanged more than 500 text messages in 2012 and met numerous times, including once in a Starbucks bathroom in Miami.

Horowitz wrote that in October 2012, Rodriguez summoned Bosch to Detroit for a new supply during the playoffs, when the 14time All Star was struggling at the plate.

Thirteen other players were suspended for their alleged ties to Biogenesis, with 12 agreeing to 50-game suspensions, and Milwaukee Brewers’ slugger Ryan Braun, a former National League most valuable player, accepting a 65game ban.

Baseball’s rules call for a 50-game ban for first-time offenders, but MLB lengthened Rodriguez’s suspension for allegedly using drugs over several years and interfering with the investigation.

Horowitz found that even if Rodriguez was only subject to a 50-game suspension for each use, he would face at least a 150-game ban, without considering steps Rodriguez took to impede MLB’s investigators. In appealing the suspension, Rodriguez said he did not use any illicit drugs supplied by Biogenesis and claimed he had been made a scapegoat.—Reuters

Kings edge past Canucks

Former star Seedorf to coach AC Milan

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WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2014

With no kit, equipment India’s athletes face Sochi exit Page 17

MELBOURNE: Russia’s Maria Sharapova serves during her women’s singles match against Bethanie Mattek-Sands of the US on day two of the 2014 Australian Open tennis tournament. — AFP

Wozniacki sizzles in Melbourne heat Azarenka, Sharapova advance MELBOURNE: Victoria Azarenka began her Australian Open title defence in stuttering fashion yesterday and Maria Sharapova was also made to fight, in contrast to Caroline Wozniacki who sizzled in the Melbourne heat.

Azarenka, the second seeded Belarusian, struggled in the opening set of her clash with world number 91 Johanna Larsson before finding some rhythm to progress.

It took her an hour and 46 minutes to get past the Swede 7-6 (7/2), 6-2 as temperatures soared towards 42 Celsius (107.6 Fahrenheit) in a game marred by unforced errors and poor serving.

“Sometimes it can be tricky, you know, to find your range, as it was today a little bit,” she said, admitting she still needed to work on aspects of her game.

“I’ll just try to keep the things that have been working before, what I was working on in Brisbane and my off-season and just try to reproduce it more and more and be dis-

ciplined with that.” The heat played a part in her lacklustre performance with Azarenka expecting the roof of the Rod Laver Arena to be closed as the temperatures rose.

“It’s not easy. I thought they were going to close the roof for the second match, but, I mean, it’s okay,” she said.

“But I feel pretty good. Actually, I felt better as the match was going on than in the beginning.” Azarenka, who next plays unseeded Czech Barbora Zahlavova Strycova, is searching for her third consecutive Melbourne title, a feat last achieved by Martina Hingis between 1997-1999.

The woman she beat in the 2012 final, Sharapova, was also put through her paces by tough American Bethanie Mattek-Sands before clawing her way through 6-3, 6-4 in one hour and 39 mins.

“She was a tough opponent and I’m just happy to get through the first one,” said the third seed, who is on the comeback trail from a shoulder injury that forced her off

the tour in August.

Even at 11:00 pm, Sharapova was requesting an ice vest.

Wozniacki also illustrated how hot it was by revealing that her water bottle started melting when she put it down on court. Wozniacki dispatched Spain’s Lourdes Dominguez Lino 6-0, 6-2 as she goes in hunt of a maiden Grand Slam title, with the final of the US Open in 2009 the deepest she has gone in a major so far.

The Dane, seeded 10, has struggled to revisit the highs of 2010 and 2011, when she finished both years as world number one.

But she is is determined to find more success, and said she was in a good place after getting engaged to golf star Rory McIlroy on New Year’s Eve. “I have achieved so much in my career already,” she said.

“But at the same time, when I go on court and when I play tournaments I want to win.

No sweat for Nadal, Federer and Murray MELBOURNE: Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Andy Murray all spent mercifully little time on court but Lleyton Hewitt bowed out in a fiveset thriller in sweltering conditions at the Australian Open yesterday. Top seed Nadal was only on court for 41 minutes as his first-round Australian opponent Bernard Tomic retired in a night match with a groin injury after the Spaniard had won the opening set 6-4. Federer, the 17-time Grand Slam title-winner, made light work of Australian wildcard James Duckworth, winning 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 in one hour 46 minutes as temperatures hovered around 42 Celsius (107.6 Fahrenheit) during the day.

Three-time runner-up Andy Murray was on court for one hour 27 minutes to register a 6-1, 6-1, 6-3 win over Japan’s Go Soeda.

But fiercely competitive Hewitt will not join the superstars in the second round after going down 7-6 (7/4), 6-3, 5-7, 5-7, 7-5 to Italian 24th seed Andreas Seppi in a draining four hours and 18 minutes.

Tomic looked to be in discomfort from the injury and sought courtside treatment throughout the set from a physio before he called a premature halt.

It was a massive anti-climax to the most anticipated match of the men’s first round with the talented if undisciplined world number 57 Tomic.

Nadal was sympathetic about Tomic’s plight and clapped the Australian as he left the court. “I am very sorry for Bernard and I hope you get better very soon,” Nadal said.

“I know how tough this situation is as I had the same situation a few years ago here on this court, so all the best to him for the rest of the year.”

Elsewhere on a gruelling day’s play at Melbourne Park, former US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro came from a set down to oust American Rhyne Williams.

Japan’s Kei Nishikori was taken to five sapping sets with Australian Marinko Matosevic before advancing, and former Australian finalist JoWilfried Tsonga brushed aside Italian Filippo Volandri in straight sets.

Federer said he was ready to prove he is not a spent force after making a winning start under new coach Stefan Edberg.

Federer has more Grand Slam titles than any other player but only one, Wimbledon 2012, in the last four years. He is currently ranked at world number six.

He said he was excited to be teaming up with former world number one and six-time major champion Edberg, and was ready to prove he could rediscover his best form.

“I feel good, I’m excited. For me I want to show, prove to myself that I can bring it every match. I’m really

“For me right now I try to focus on the Grand Slams. It’s tough, it’s never easy. You have to win seven matches.

There’s always going to be some tricky opponents along the way. “But that’s what I’m missing on my resume, so that’s obviously what I would like to achieve.”

Fifth seed Agnieszka Radwanska, who has made the quarter-finals here for the past three years, needed three sets to stay alive but it was easier for 2008 semi-finalist Jelena Jankovic who went through in two.

Others safely into the second round included Spain’s 16th seed Carla Suarez Navarro, French 25th seed Alize Cornet, courtesy of an early retirement, and Slovakia’s Dominika Cibulkova. Cibulkova beat veteran Italian Francesca Schiavone, who was playing her 54th consecutive Grand Slam. Only one woman in the Open era has bettered that total-Japan’s Ai Sugiyama, who played 62 in a row. — AFP

Knicks see off Suns NEW YORK: Carmelo Anthony had 29 points and 16 rebounds, and the New York Knicks held the Phoenix Suns without a field goal in overtime to win 98-96 on Monday night for their fifth straight victory.

Anthony scored four of the Knicks’ six points in the extra session, and New York allowed only four free throws while forcing the Suns to miss all seven shots.

Raymond Felton added 19 points for the Knicks (15-22), who climbed into a tie with Brooklyn for eighth place in the Eastern Conference.

Goran Dragic had 28 points and eight rebounds for the Suns, who dropped their third straight. Leandro Barbosa scored 21 in his best game since rejoining his old team on a 10-day contract.

MELBOURNE: Rafael Nadal of Spain makes a forehand return to Bernard Tomic of Australia during their first round match at the Australian Open tennis championship. — AP excited. It’s a tough draw, but I’m watching in the stands, Nishikori finopen for it and I’m ready to go,” ished the better in the heatwave Federer said. conditions to fight off the 54thMurray, the fourth seed, is work- ranked Matosevic. ing his way to full match fitness after Czech veteran Radek Stepanek back surgery last September. Murray was a casualty yesterday after being said his back felt fully recovered, but forced out with a neck injury while added that the long lay-off meant leading his first-round match with the rest of his body was not yet at Blaz Kavcic. Stepanek, 35, was leadthe level he would like. ing 7-6 (7/3), 6-4, 1-6, 0-2 at the time With new coach Michael Chang of his retirement. — AFP

SPURS 101, PELICANS 95 Tony Parker capped a 27-point outing with several clutch layups in the final minutes, and San Antonio beat reeling New Orleans for its fifth consecutive win.

Tim Duncan scored 18 points before fouling out with 6:02 to go in what turned out to be a surprisingly tense game between the Western Conference-leading Spurs and a hobbled Pelicans squad that has lost six straight since an injury to leading scorer Ryan Anderson.

Manu Ginobili added 14 points, Kawhi Leonard 13 and Marco Belinelli 12 for San Antonio. Anthony Davis had 22 points and 11 rebounds, and gave New Orleans its last lead at 87-86 with 7:08 to play. Brian Roberts, starting at point guard for the injured Jrue Holiday, scored 19.

WIZARDS 102, BULLS 88 John Wall and Nene had 19 points

apiece, Trevor Ariza scored 16 and Washington ended Chicago’s five-game win streak. The Wizards led by 13 early in the fourth quarter and hung on after the Bulls made one last push.

Nene scored eight points in the final period and Bradley Beal came on strong down the stretch to finish with 13. He hit a jumper and 3-pointer during a nine-point run that bumped Washington’s lead to 9682 with about 3 minutes left.

Wall scored four points during that spurt and had seven assists in the game. The Wizards had dropped five of seven. Carlos Boozer scored 19 for Chicago and Joakim Noah grabbed 16 rebounds, but with a chance to reach .500 for the first time since November, the Bulls came up short. They also lost for the first time since trading Luol Deng to Cleveland last week, after winning three without him.

ROCKETS 104, CELTICS 92 Dwight Howard had 32 points and 10 rebounds, and Houston sent Boston crashing to its ninth consecutive defeat.

Jeremy Lin added 16 points and nine assists for the Rockets. James Harden scored 16 and Chandler Parsons added 14 after missing three games with a knee injury.

Avery Bradley had 24 points for the Celtics, on their longest losing streak since dropping a franchise-record 18 straight games in 2007.

Jerryd Bayless scored 15 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter for Boston, which rallied but got no closer than seven. The Celtics sent Howard to the foul line 14 times in the fourth quarter, and the big man made six. He was 10 of 18 in all. — AP

Business

First Jubail diesel cargo adds to pain for Europe’s refiners Page 22

British inflation falls to Bank of England target

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2014

Page 25

Cadillac Alghanim surprises luxury lovers in 2014

JPMorgan profit falls 7% on legal costs

Page 26

Page 23

DETROIT: The Nissan Sport Sedan concept car is introduced during a press preview at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. — AFP

US retail sales inch up, autos drop Lackluster end to holiday shopping season WASHINGTON: Americans bought more clothing in December, clicked frequently at online retailers and paid higher gas prices. They cut back on cars and almost everywhere else, providing a lackluster end to the holiday shopping season.

Retail sales rose just 0.2 percent last month, the Commerce Department said yesterday. That follows strong gains in October and November, helped by healthy auto sales.

In December, car and truck sales fell 1.8 percent due to colder weather and Black Friday discounts that moved some sales into November.

The decline held back overall retail spending that did show some signs of underlying strength. Excluding spending on autos, gas and building supplies, retail sales rose a solid 0.7 percent. Economists say this figure is a better proxy for confidence in the economy, because it does not include the most volatile categories.

The report showed less spending at traditional holiday outlets. But the

December gain should be enough to help generate 3 percent annualized growth in the final three months of 2013, said Paul Dales, senior US economist at Capital Economics.

“If we’re right in thinking that the underlying trend in jobs growth is still improving, households will continue to spend more freely in 2014,” Dales said.

Many Americans are changing the way they shop during the holidays.

Online sales grew 1.4 percent in December after a 1.6 percent gain in November. Consumers also spent more at clothing stores, grocers and restaurants last month. Still, consumers spent less on furniture and electronics. And sales at department stores fell a whopping 0.7 percent in December - and 3.3 percent for the full year. For all of 2013, total retail sales rose 4.2 percent, the weakest gain in four years. The retail sales report is the first look at last month’s consumer spending, which accounts for about 70 percent of all economic activity.

Businesses had been anticipating that

consumer spending would perk up to propel growth going forward. Gains in consumer spending during October and November pointed toward strong growth to close out the year, as did increases in factory activity.

Auto purchases surged until December, when they were basically flat compared with a year ago. Still, for the year, car sales rose 8 percent to 15.6 million. That’s the best pace since 2007, before the Great Recession began.

The modest gains in retail sales last month comes after the government said Friday that job gains slowed in December. Stronger higher builds consumer confidence and leads to more retail spending.

Just 74,000 jobs were added in December, the Labor Department said. The unemployment rate fell to 6.7 percent from 7 percent, largely because 347,000 unemployed Americans dropped out of the workforce. The economy had been creating an average of 213,500 jobs a month from August to November. — AP

A man and woman carry shopping bags as they cross the street in San Francisco. —AP

Egypt gains; Gulf markets mixed MIDEAST STOCK MARKETS DUBAI: Egypt’s stock market rose for a fourth consecutive session yesterday, to levels last seen before the 2011 revolution, as the country voted on a referendum that is a key step in its planned transition back to civilian rule. Gulf markets were mixed as some investors took profits.

Cairo’s benchmark index climbed 1.1 percent to close at 7,196 points, a fresh three-year high. During the day it rose as high as 7,258 points, eclipsing the January 2011 peak of 7,248 points, but it fell back before the close, leaving that major technical resistance unbroken.

Presidential elections will follow if the two-day referendum approves a new constitution as expected, and a positive result could lead to a presidential bid by army chief General Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi. The stock market’s rise in recent days can be seen as an endorsement by the investment community of Sisi, who is viewed

by many investors as the best option to ensure political and economic stability in the next few years.

The market’s sizeable intra-day pull-back, however, suggested the political euphoria may be close to running its course for now, with the market up about 50 percent since Islamist president Mohammad Morsi was overthrown last July. “The market has had a good run in the past six months and has largely priced in the political transition that we’re going to see in the next few months,” said Simon Kitchen, director of regional strategy and research at EFG-Hermes in Cairo.

Kitchen said further gains would depend more on improvement of the economy than on political developments. Trade in the Egyptian market was very heavy though volume was down slightly from Sunday’s level, which was the highest since September 2012.

In Dubai, shares in builder Arabtec jumped 5.5 percent to 3.09 dirhams, a 63-month high, after the firm said one of its units was awarded a 2.59 billion dirham ($705 million) construction contract on Abu Dhabi’s Al Reem Island.

Investors have been hoping that Arabtec will win more Abu Dhabi business after the company replaced its chief executive last year in a shake-up led by Abu Dhabi fund Aabar, its largest shareholder, which has been tightening its control of the group. The stock faces major technical resistance in the 2.97-3.16 dirham area, the peaks in February 2012 and November 2009; an initial test of this area last week failed. Arabtec outperformed the Dubai benchmark, which climbed 0.5 percent to a fresh five-year high. Abu Dhabi’s measure slipped 0.3 percent, easing off Monday’s fiveyear peak. The Kuwait index eased 0.07 percent to 7,623 points. — Reuters

US House set to pass $1.1tn budget bill WASHINGTON: The Republican-led US House of Representatives is set to pass a bipartisan $1.1 trillion spending bill today that would pay for the government’s operations through October and finally put to rest the bitter budget battles of last year.

The massive measure fills out the details of the budget deal that Congress passed last month after a disastrous 16-day government shutdown in October. That deal gave relatively modest relief to the Pentagon and domestic agencies after deep budget cuts last year. The Obama administration would be denied money to meet its full commitments to the International Monetary Fund but get much of the money it wanted to pay for implementation of the new health care law and the 2010 overhaul of financial regulations. “This agreement shows the American people that we can compromise, and that we can govern,” said Senate Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Barbara Mikulski.

The collapse of the budget process last year was followed by a government shutdown. After that shutdown and debt crisis, House Budget committee Chairman Paul Ryan and Senate Budget Committee Chairman Patty Murray struck an agreement to avoid a repeat of the 5 percent cut to domestic agencies last year and to prevent the Pentagon from absorbing about $20 billion in new cuts on top of last year’s $34 billion cut. White House budget director Sylvia Mathews Burwell says the measure is a “positive step.” To be sure, there is plenty for both parties to oppose in the legislation. Democrats must accept new money for abstinence education programs they often ridicule, for example. The bill would avert spending cuts that threatened construction of new aircraft carriers and next-generation Joint Strike Fighters. It maintains rent subsidies for the poor, awards federal civilian and military workers a 1 percent raise and strengthens security at US embassies across the globe. — AP

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2014

BUSINESS

UK’s ASOS sees growth slow in US, Australia time will tell,” Robertson said. Growth in ASOS’s Rest of World (RoW ) division, which includes Australia, Russia and China, slowed to 19 percent from 26 percent.

Robertson said the segment was being dragged down by Australia, where the local currency has strengthened against the pound. “On a like-for-like basis because of the Australian dollar we are about 15 percent more expensive than we were this time last year,” he said.

RoW accounted for about 30 percent of total sales last year. ASOS does not break down the performance of individual countries in this segment.

ASOS said the retail gross margin rose 90 basis points year-on-year in the period, reflecting tighter stock control.

Industry data published on Thursday showed that while total UK retail sales were up 1.8 percent year-on-year in December, online sales of non-food products grew 19.2 percent, reflecting the speed of the shift in demand from physical stores to the Internet.

Robertson said ASOS’s results were also driven by the firm offering better delivery options, such as a next-day service with hourly slots in the UK, and additional payment methods.

Some analysts are concerned about a potential rise in returned purchases and the cost of delivering goods more quickly to ever more demanding shoppers.

Robertson, however, was relaxed.

“You’ve got to remember this is all we do. I’m not trying to juggle investment across a store portfolio and this. Our investment only goes in one place and that’s improving the speed and efficiency of getting customers their orders.” He said the company was on track to make 1 billion pounds of sales in the 2013-14 year, one year ahead of target, and is comfortable with analysts’ consensus forecast for underlying pretax profit of 71 million pounds, up from 54.7 million pounds in 2012-13. — Reuters

LONDON: British online fashion retailer ASOS said growth slowed in the United States and Australia, two key markets, taking the shine off a big jump in Christmas sales.

ASOS, founded in 2000 by current chief executive Nick Robertson, has been a success story in British retailing with its fast-changing fashions appealing to internet-savvy twenty somethings and attracting fans including U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama and singer Rita Ora. Its shares have more than doubled over the last year, giving it a market value of 5.8 billion pounds ($9.5 billion), only 2 billion pounds less than the 130 year-old Marks & Spencer , Britain’s biggest clothing retailer.

However, that high valuation gives ASOS little margin for error and its shares fell as much as 6.1 percent yesterday after the company posted sales figures for the first four months of its 201314 financial year. “Though the impressive UK outcome should certainly be seen as reassuring, some people will be fretting about the overseas slowdown,” independent retail analyst Nick Bubb said.

ASOS said retail sales rose 38 percent to 335.7 million pounds in the four months to Dec. 31, as the firm cashed in on the big trends of oversized coats, slip dresses and the vinyl, pvc and patent leather look. That compares with analysts’ consensus forecast for growth of 36 percent and 47 percent growth in the fourth quarter of its 2012-13 year.

ASOS’s UK sales jumped 37 percent to 133.7 million pounds, with international sales up 38 percent to 202 million pounds. Sales in Europe were particularly strong with growth of 69 percent.

However growth in the US slowed to 28 percent from 59 percent in the previous three months, reflecting a tougher market for clothes aimed at young people.

In ASOS’s 2012-13 year, the US contributed about 10 percent of total sales.

“We think we can do better in the US,

Dubai bond issue may be imminent the government committed to fully funding capital needs of $6.8 billion, analysts at Bank of America Merrill Lynch said in a note in November 2013. “I think you could see Dubai come very, very soon, because market conditions are excellent and they always strike when the iron is hot. You saw that last year, and I think you could see it this year as well,” a Dubai-based DCM banker said. Issuance conditions are strong with emerging credit markets performing strongly in the first week of 2014. Dubai’s curve is also doing well. Its long-dated 5.25 percent 2043 note, issued a year ago, is up 1.5 points since the start of this year to 84.58, according to Tradeweb data.

However, Dubai and its state-linked companies still have to deal with a number of debt maturities in coming years, a legacy of the 2008 crisis and the subsequent property crash. The emirate will have to tread carefully not to add too much to the debt pile, said bankers.

“I think there will be some new issuance, but they probably won’t go crazy,” a second DCM banker based in Dubai said. Among the debts of the Dubai government and related entities, Dubai has $20 billion coming due in November 2014 to Abu Dhabi and its banks. — Reuters

LONDON: Rumors of a bond issue by Dubai are gathering pace as debt capital markets bankers covering the Middle East say a deal may be imminent. The emirate was one of the first issuers from the Gulf in 2013 with a dual tranche 10year sukuk and 30-year conventional note, and may be one of the early issuers this year as well, bankers told IFR. “The noise around Dubai has been growing of late. There have been rumors ever since the World Expo announcement, but we’re hearing a lot more since the turn of the year,” one emerging markets syndicate banker said, referring to the announcement in late November that Dubai would host the world’s fair in 2020. Rumours of a Dubai issue pre-date the World Expo announcement. One debt syndicate official at a local bank said as early as last summer that the emirate might consider refinancing some of its debt pile by returning to debt markets. But the World Expo announcement certainly increases the case for a bond issuance. The event could lead to an influx of 25 million visitors to the emirate, driving new construction projects and significant infrastructure upgrades.

Last year, Dubai authorities estimated total financing costs at $8.4 billion (8.9 percent of gross domestic product) and

THESSALONIKI: A street vendor sits on the seafront in the northern Greek port city of Thessaloniki, yesterday. Greece’s retail sector has been hammered by the country’s financial crisis and successive austerity measures, helping push the country’s unemployment above 27 percent. — AP

First Jubail diesel cargo adds to pain for Europe’s refiners Huge imports, poor margins hit refiners LONDON: Diesel from the new Jubail refinery in Saudi Arabia will head to Europe for the first time this month, piling pressure on refineries already battered by huge imports and poor margins.

Saudi Aramco is set to ship the first cargo of diesel out of the 400,000 barrel-per-day refinery, a joint venture with France’s Total, to the Mediterranean for Jan. 23 loading, according to traders and shipping data. The 80,000-tonne cargo on board the Pacific Sky tanker will likely go to France, traders said. European refineries have come under massive pressure in recent months amid weak domestic demand, while imports of cheaper diesel from the United States, Russia

and Asia reached record levels since September.

Low, and sometimes negative, refining profit margins in northwest Europe and the Mediterranean, which rely heavily on diesel for both motoring and heating, have forced many plants to reduce output dramatically.

“European refiners appear to have ceded market share at home to their international competitors and will surely have difficulties regaining it over this year, especially given the fact that diesel streams from new Middle Eastern refineries have not hit the market yet,” analysts at Vienna-based JBC Energy said in a note to clients.

Refiners in the Mediterranean, which is par-

ticularly exposed to imports from the US Gulf Coast, Asia and the Middle East, are the most vulnerable, traders said. “Imports do not bode well for European refining and Satrop (Jubail) in particular does not bode well for the Mediterranean,” one trader said. The state-ofthe-art Jubail refinery, which was expected to reach full capacity by the end of 2013, will help feed rising domestic demand, cutting Saudi dependence on fuel imports.

It is also expected to export large volumes of diesel and gasoline to Asia and Europe.

Several cargoes of jet fuel, gasoline and diesel have already been shipped to Asia in recent months. — Reuters

Tight credit risks throttling Spain’s recovery MADRID: Spanish banks, alarmed by multiple bankruptcies and mass unemployment, are keeping a tight rein on loans and potentially choking off the lifeblood of a longed-for economic recovery, analysts say. Insufficient credit threatens to throttle Spain’s fragile recovery, they warn, after a double-dip recession triggered by a 2008 property crash, which left banks awash with bad loans.

Last year, Spain shored up its tottering banks’ balance sheets with a 41.3-billion-euro ($56 billion) program financed by its euro-zone partners. But the banks have shown reluctance to lend, economists and industry say, as the eurozone’s fourth-largest economy struggles with a 26-percent unemployment rate and, according to official data compiled by auditors PwC, a 20percent rise in bankruptcy filings in 2013.

“The Spanish financial sector has considerably improved its solvability but it is still not playing its crucial role of supporting the economy because the flow of credit to families and businesses has not recovered,” said a study released Tuesday by the ESADE business school.

“There has been a lack of credit since mid2009, the rate of credit extended has diminished, not only for families but also and above all for companies,” said the study’s author, Josep Manel Comajuncosa. According to the Bank of Spain, credit in the year to November fell by 4.0 percent to households and 8.3 percent to business despite the economy emerging from recession by posting 0.1-percent growth in the third quarter. Spain has been praised for pursuing

ambitious reforms of the banks and for its economic reforms, including deficit-cutting austerity measures that sparked mass protests.

Economy Minister Luis de Guindos forecast this week that economic growth would tick higher, to 0.3-percent in the final quarter of 2013. But, increasingly, people are warning about the threat of tight credit. Bank lending to other private sector businesses dropped by 6.75 percent year-on-year in September 2013, “one of the most rapid contractions among major advanced economies”, an IMF report said recently, urging “sustained efforts” to enhance banks’ ability to lend and support a nascent recovery.

Angel Gurria, secretar y general of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, likewise cautioned that access to bank credit was “excessively restrictive”, with credit to small and medium-sized businesses sliding by 17 percent between 2011 and 2012.

The European Commission, too, said that loans to the corporate sector were declining substantially even if some bottoming-out “might be in sight”.

Banks, however, say Spain’s economic situation remains fragile. “When the economy has no growth or very moderate growth, credit cannot grow,” said a spokeswoman for the Spanish Banking Association. “There is a problem with the quantity and quality of demand: on the one hand the demand for credit in the private sector is still very weak and, on the other, the solvency of businesses and families has deteriorated compared to before the crisis.”

After debt levels exploded in the boom years, the time has come to pay them back rather than take out new loans.

Focus on debt reduction According to the ESADE study, families reduced their overall debt from the equivalent of 85 percent of Spain’s annual gross domestic product in 2010 to 79 percent in 2013 while businesses cut theirs from 148 percent in 2010 to 143 percent at the end of 2012. For banks with bad loan ratios at the highest level in 50 years, it is hard to trust new borrowers. But the figures show that there are solvent businesses, too, that are unable to obtain credit, said ESADE’s Comajuncosa.

“Of course, if a business is not solvent it is not reasonable for a bank to give it credit. But if it is and the bank does not extend credit, that is a problem because it contracts the economy,” he said, forecasting weak economic growth of 0.51.0 percent in 2014, perhaps tapering off to zero in 2015 if the credit situation does not improve.

“Banks have completely cut off credit,” said Maria Jose Landaburu, secretary general of the Union of Self-Employed Workers and Small Enterprises. “The situation now is that 90 percent of small businesses that ask for credit don’t get it.” The solvency question is “an excuse”, she said, arguing that banking depended on risk and lamenting the impact of the banks’ caution: “Since the start of the crisis, 90 businesses have shut every day and the reason in many cases is the lack of credit.” — AFP

EXCHANGE RATES Al-Muzaini Exchange Co. ASIAN COUNTRIES Japanese Yen Indian Rupees Pakistani Rupees Srilankan Rupees Nepali Rupees Singapore Dollar Hongkong Dollar Bangladesh Taka Philippine Peso Thai Baht Irani Riyal transfer Irani Riyal cash

2.701 4.552 2.684 2.166 2.847 223.970 36.568 3.641 6.335 8.598 0.271 0.273 GCC COUNTRIES

Saudi Riyal Qatari Riyal Omani Riyal Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham

75.644 77.941 736.880 753.420 77.251

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

41.000 40.357 1.323 172.110 400.580 1.903 2.022 35.006

EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIES US Dollar Transfer 283.550 Euro 388.040 Sterling Pound 466.580 Canadian dollar 263.770 Turkish lira 131.030 Swiss Franc 313.660 Australian Dollar 254.340 US Dollar Buying 282.350 GOLD 20 Gram 10 Gram 5 Gram

230.000 118.000 60.000

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 259.13 264.09 318.91 390.71 282.70 470.13 2.78 3.636 4.580 2.165 2.865 2.684 77.04 752.43 40.60 402.35 735.20 78.07 75.52

SELL CASH 256.13 265.09 316.91 391.71 285.700 473.130 2.80 3.906 4.880 2.600 3.400 2.790 77.50 754.50 41.20 408.00 742.50 78.62 75.92

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 Syrian Pound Nepalese Rupees

Selling Rate 283.500 264.505 467.530 387.090 311.375 748.580 77.165 78.715 76.470 399.535 40.662 2.167 4.580 2.686 3.686 6.335 695.335 3.700 2.990 3.830

Malaysian Ringgit Chinese Yuan Renminbi Thai Bhat Turkish Lira

87.350 47.240 9.565 130.045

Singapore Dollar South African Rand Sri Lankan Rupee Taiwan Thai Baht

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

Australian Dollar New Zealand Dollar

Canadian Dollar US Dollars US Dollars Mint

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

SELLDRAFT Europe 0.007351 0.459576 0.006088 0.047720 0.381009 0.041948 0.084857 0.008099 0.039520 0.307083 0.131857

0.008351 0.468576 0.018088 0.052720 0.388509 0.047148 0.84857 0.018099 0.044520 0.317283 0.138857

Australasia 0.246894 0.229003

0.258394 0.238503

America 0.254020 0.278750 0.279250

0.262520 0.283100 0.283100

Asia 0.003556 0.045059 0.034386 0.004271 0.000018 0.002647 0.003262 0.000257 0.082949 0.002973 0.002486 0.006395 0.000069

0.004156 0.048559 0.037136 0.004672 0.000024 0.002827 0.003262 0.000272 0.088949 0.003143 0.002766 0.006675 0.000075

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

0.220132 0.020507 0.001871 0.009313 0.008375 Arab 0.743809 0.037433 0.000078 0.000184 0.394722 1.0000000 0.000138 0.022620 0.001196 0.728643 0.076982 0.074790 0.002167 0.168631 0.131857 0.076028 0.001285

0.226132 0.029007 0.002451 0.009493 0.008925

0.751809 0.040533 0.000080 0.000244 0.402222 1.0000000 0.000238 0.046620 0.001831 0.734323 0.078195 0.075490 0.002387 0.176631 0.138857 0.077177 0.001365

Al Mulla Exchange CurrencyTransfer US Dollar Euro Pound Sterling Canadian Dollar Indian Rupee Egyptian Pound Sri Lankan Rupee Bangladesh Taka Philippines Peso Pakistan Rupee Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham Saudi Riyal *Rates are subject to change

Rate (Per 1000) 282.700 388.350 464.800 261.300 4.599 40.600 2.162 3.635 6.332 2.678 752.800 77.000 75.500

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2014

BUSINESS

Detroit Auto Show

The Audi E-Tron Quattro Allroad Concept vehicle.—AFP

Hyundai introduces 2015 Genesis. —AFP

GM wins awards, Ford turns heads DETROIT: General Motors’ Chevrolet unit swept car and truck of the year honors but Ford’s use of aluminum in its F150 sparked new debate on the first day of the Detroit auto show Monday.

Automakers paraded their newest models, many with more horsepower, more aggressive profiles and ever-swankier cockpits, almost in celebration of the US market, now close to its pre-crash highs and girding for more solid growth this year. With some four dozen new models on offer, consumers were spoiled for choice if not overwhelmed. Already last year the industry offered some 340 models, a sharp increase since the early 2000s, according to Jessica Caldwell of industry analysts Edmunds.com.

But as cars from Mercedes Benz’s new C-Class and Honda’s little third-generation Fit showed, consumers are getting more amenities, from connectivity to power to comfort, in the lower ranges of the automakers’ fleets. “There’s a tremendous amount of innovation taking place in the industry right now,” said Robert Carter, senior vice president for automotive operations at Toyota.

Automakers, after a hugely successful 2013, forecast more growth and unveiled powerful new trucks, sexy sports cars and luxury models. General Motors logged an early win after its Chevrolet brand swept the car and truck of the year awards with the Corvette Stingray sports car and the Chevy Silverado pickup truck.

“Chevrolet is in the midst of the most aggressive product transformation in the brand’s more than 100-year history,” Chevy chief Alan Batey said, hailing its wins. Eyes were on Ford, however, as it gambled with a major change for the best-selling F150 pickup, replacing steel body panels with aluminum to drastically lower body weight and boost fuel economy. The move, which helped Ford slash the truck’s weight by up

Ford Mustang.— AP to 700 pounds (317 kilos) is seen as a big risk, because truck buyers tend to focus on sturdiness and power.

Toyota, meanwhile, revved up its design credentials with a provocative new concept for a sports car, with a race car pit crew opening a shiny red box to reveal the FT-1 sports concept-Future Toyota 1.

Chrysler unveiled its hotly anticipated revamp of the 200 sedan, which aims to bring a new level of luxury and styling to its midsized offering with a low entry price of $21,700.

“We designed a car to take on every other vehicle in its class, feature by feature and prove that a quality sedan doesn’t have to cross an ocean to be worthy of an American driveway,” Chrysler brand chief Al Gardner told reporters.

Mercedes got a jump on its competitors by hiring Kelly Rowland of Destiny’s Child to serenade its sleek and luxurious new C-Class sedan, an upgrade from the entry-level position it has held for several

Luxury consumer base to keep growing: Study PARIS: The number of luxury goods buyers reached 330 million last year and is set to rise to 400 million in 2020 and 500 million by 2030 as more people become wealthy in Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe, a study has found. The Bain & Co report, in collaboration with broker Redburn Partners and research agency Millward Brown, forecast that the luxury consumer base would grow by an average 10 million people a year.

The study calculated the number of luxury goods buyers using statistics on personal wealth, demography, urbanisation, education and attitudes towards discretionar y spending.

The report, published yesterday, said that until recently, one factor explaining the widening luxury consumer base was luxur y brands’ efforts to offer more products at lower prices. The average price of a piece of branded jewellery fell to 1,5002,000 euros ($2,000-$2,700) in 2013 from 8,000-9,000 euros in 1995, for example, when there was a luxury

consumer base of 90 million people, the study found.

But in the past 18 months, Bain noted that major luxury brands were reversing that trend in response to consumers’ growing sophistication, particularly in emerging markets.

Kering’s Gucci and Louis Vuitton, hit by logo fatigue in countries such as China, have recently introduced bags with more discreet logos and in expensive materials such as exotic skins, for example. The study estimated that more than half of luxury spending globally came from shoppers aged 49 or older, as they represented the wealthiest bracket of the population.

Consumers aged between 13 and 33 made up only 13 percent of global luxury spending. Bain also noted that the top bracket of “true luxury” consumers, or individuals only buying very expensive products, represented about 15 million people who together spent 100 billion euros on luxury goods a year, nearly half of the estimated 217 billion euro global luxury market. — Reuters

Turkish currency drops to three lira to euro ISTANBUL: The Turkish currency sank yesterday to a record low against the euro, hitting the psychologically key level of three lira to the euro as the country remained embroiled in a deep political crisis.

The euro briefly touched 3.0013 lira in early afternoon trading, while the Turkish currency was also trading at 2.1938 to the dollar. The Istanbul stock market also lost ground, sliding 1.32 percent to 67,221.75 points. The stress on financial markets also came amid continuing investor concern about Turkey’s external financial position.

“Turkey is currently facing a dangerous combination of large ex ternal imbalances, higher global yields and escalated domestic political tensions,” Finansbank said in a commentary.

Official figures released on Tuesday showed some relief however, with the current account deficit for November coming in below market expectations.

The current account deficit for the month stood at $3.9 billion (2.8 billion euros), down from $4.1 billion recorded in November 2012, resulting in a contraction of the 12-month rolling deficit for the first time since March, Finansbank said.

“The external deficit that Turkey can sustain is much lower now. Therefore, we foresee Turkey’s external deficits to continue to shrink in the forthcoming period, on account of the weakness of the Turkish lira and a likely weakening of the domestic demand as well as the recover y of the global economy,” it said. —AFP

years. Now that role has been taken by the CLA, and the C-Class has been decked out with features from higher-end Mercedes.

Also enjoying the move down from senior models is the diminutive Honda Fit. Honda has reshaped the front, enlarged the inside with generous leg space for a subcompact, boosted horsepower to 130 and worked to smooth the ride, adding a right-side Lane Watch, Bluetooth, rearview cameras, and upgraded smart phone connectivity.

Corvette also generated excitement with its new racing versions of the Corvette Stingray, the street-legal Z06 and the track-ready CR.7. Mark Reuss, a senior executive at General Motors, Chevrolet’s parent, said there was little to separate the two, which he called “America’s Supercar”.

“Racing motorsports and winning is a part of who we are,” said Reuss.Kia and Toyota brought in concept pocket-rockets, BMW served up a hat-trick of new modelsthe 2 series, and an M3 and M4. —AFP

The Chrysler 200s is introduced at the 2014 North American International Auto Show in Detroit.—AFP

Matthias Muller, President and CEO of Porsche AG demonstrates the roof on the new 911 Targa at the 2014 North American International Auto Show in Detroit.—AFP

Marchionne will stay at Fiat/Chrysler until 2017 DETROIT: Sergio Marchionne will remain as the chief executive of Fiat and its US subsidiary Chrysler until at least 2017, Fiat chairman John Elkann said.

Elkann confirmed Marchionne’s plans two weeks after the Fiat CEO completed the takeover of Chrysler, finishing a four-year effort that brought what turned out to be a strong source of sales and revenue to the struggling Italian automaker. That deal has also opened doors to a more sweeping transformation of Fiat, including the possibility of moving its headquarters to the United States and of listing its shares on a major global bourse or two, in addition to Milan.

“We have a deal for at least three years,” Elkann told reporters on the sidelines of the Detroit auto show. “We built this together,” he told reporters. “He’s really been able for the last years to make sure Chrysler and Fiat worked together, and I think we’re going to see the companies are going to be together forever.” The announcement comes after Fiat took full control of the number three US automaker on January 1

by buying the 41.5 percent stake owned by the Chrysler retired employees’ VEBA health care trust fund. That move came only after tough negotiations with the VEBA fund, which had moved to sell its shares publicly in a new market listing to get a higher price. Fiat was able to avoid the public offering and complete the deal for $3.65 billion (2.66 billion euros), plus an additional payment by Chrysler to the VEBA trust of $700 million. That opens the door for a greater transformation of both operations, including, Elkann said, possibly changing Fiat’s name to recognize Chrysler’s stature in what will be the world’s seventh largest auto maker. “We are going to be able to build on that a much stronger, solid company...

We’re very excited about that and Sergio is going to lead that,” Elkann said. Marchionne engineered the merger between the Italian and US manufacturers in a process starting in 2009 when Chrysler exited a government-backed bankruptcy precipitated by the global economic crisis. Fiat picked up 58.5 percent of Chrysler

originally. What was originally seen as a risky bet for Fiat-the German automaker Daimler had failed to turn around Chryslerhas paid off handsomely as Chrysler’s sales are now booming after decades of turbulence and decline. Chrysler’s profits have been keeping Fiat buoyant in recent years amidst a deep downturn in Europe, encouraging Marchionne to buy up the rest of Chrysler’s shares. Marchionne’s ambition is to create a car maker with the capital and sales volume to compete with the likes of Toyota and General Motors.

“We’re the seventh carmaker in the world and we aspire to be one of the so-called big guys,” Marchionne said. Marchionne was widely credited for Fiat’s turnaround after taking over as CEO in 2004 but domestic sales have been hard hit by the economic crisis and he has had repeated run-ins with unions over work conditions.

Marchionne said in Detroit that he was “delighted” to have closed the deal to buy the rest of Chr ysler, despite the pain of the process.—AFP

JPMorgan profit falls 7% on legal costs NEW YORK: JPMorgan Chase said yesterday that its profits fell 7 percent in the fourth quarter, hampered by more legal problems. The bank had net income of $5.28 billion in the last three

months of 2013, compared with a profit of $5.69 billion in the same period a year earlier. On a per-share basis, JPMorgan said it earned $1.30 a share in the quarter, compared with $1.39 a

The headquarters of JP Morgan Chase on Park Avenue in New York. —AFP

share a year earlier. The bank’s revenue fell 1 percent to $24.1 billion. The bank’s quarterly results had several one-time items, including a 27-centper-share charge related to legal expenses. On an adjusted basis, the bank said it earned $1.40 per share.

One of those legal expenses was the settlement over the bank’s involvement in the Ponzi scheme of Bernard Madoff. The bank agreed Jan. 8 to pay $1.7 billion to settle criminal charges related to its failure to report its concerns about Madoff’s private investment service. “It was in the best interests of our company and shareholders for us to accept responsibility, resolve these issues and move forward,” JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said in a statement.

Most of the bank’s divisions reported yearover-year increases in profits, with the exception of JPMorgan’s investment banking business. The bank reported a 57 percent decline in earnings from investment banking as the bank readjusted the value of some investments.

JPMorgan’s legal problems have weighed on the bank’s earnings. The bank posted a third quarter loss in October, its first quarterly loss in 10 years. JPMorgan shares rose 13 cents to $57.83 in premarket trading about an hour before the market opening. —AP

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2014

BUSINESS

Foreign supermarkets face shut-out in Delhi NEW DELHI: Foreign supermarket giants faced being shut out of the Indian capital Tuesday after Delhi’s new state government said it would not grant them a license to operate, reversing the previous administration’s policy. Amit Yadav, Delhi municipality’s industry commissioner said he had written to the federal government to say that foreign “multi-brand retailers” would not be allowed to open stores in the city, despite the national Congress-led government supporting their entry.

Foreign retailers, which only sell their own branded products, such as Britain’s Marks & Spencer, have long been able to operate in India. Reforms unveiled by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in late 2012 were aimed at paving the way for the first foreign supermarkets to operate, provided 30 percent of their produce is sourced locally.

Delhi had been expected to be one of the first

places to welcome the likes of Tesco and Walmart under the reforms. But Singh’s Congress party was trounced in state elections in Delhi last month, losing power to a new anti-corruption party with a much cooler attitude towards foreign direct investment (FDI).

“It was a part of their manifesto to drop the FDI in multibrand retail policy and accordingly, a letter has been sent to the government of India asking to withdraw it,” said Yadav.

“FDI in multibrand retail is a policy that lies with the consent of individual state establishments. Its implementation is strictly a state subject.” Aam Aadmi, a fledgling anti-corruption party, made opposition to the FDI changes one of its pledges in the Delhi election which had been ruled by Congress for the last 15 years.

Singh’s FDI reforms, which allow Western supermarkets to hold a majority stake in local chains for the first time, have been seen as a chance to revive India’s ailing

economy. But small family-run stores fear that they could be priced out of business by the major retailers while there has also been widespread opposition from labor activists. Indian commerce minister Anand Sharma reacted sharply yesterday calling Aam Aadmi’s decision “baffling”, saying it was “devoid of any merit or logic” especially when farmers backed the policy.

“India is a responsible and mature democracy. We are not a banana republic. What message are we sending?”, Sharma said in an interview to news channel NDTV. India’s main business lobby also criticized the move, saying it would hit investor confidence at a time when the economy is growing at its slowest rate for a decade. “This direct negation without demonstrating a search for a viable alternative would hamper investment sentiment,” said Sidharth Birla, president of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and

Industry.

“It has been proven time and again that both large multi-brand retail stores and small kirana stores coexist peacefully,” Birla told the Press Trust of India news agency.

Singh’s FDI reforms, which also opened up the airline and insurance industries, had been meant to draw in more foreign investors into Asia’s third largest economy. Last month the foreign investment regulator cleared plans by British retail giant Tesco and Vodafone, the world’s largest mobile phone operator, to invest over $1.5 billion in India. But such deals have been undermined by persistent worries over issues such as corruption, red tape and tax battles.

Walmart and Indian firm Bharti announced last October that they were ending their retail partnership, with the US giant saying India’s foreign investment rules were partly to blame for the split. — AFP

TOKYO: A woman walks by an electronic stock board of a securities firm in Tokyo yesterday. Most Asian stock markets sank yesterday led by Japan, following a big selloff in the US. —AP

Global markets drift lower after US selloff

LONDON: Markets drifted lower yesterday following a sell-off on Wall Street and ahead of the next batch of US corporate earnings as well as key retail sales data.

Asian and European investor sentiment was dampened after US stocks had their worst day so far this year, with major Wall Street benchmarks dropping more than 1 percent. Whether US stocks suffer a further bout of selling could hinge on the retail sales figures as well as earnings results from the likes of JP Morgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo.

“There’s plenty for investors to focus on in the lead up to the opening bell on Wall Street today,” said Craig Erlam, market analyst at Alpari. In Europe, Germany’s DAX was down 0.6 percent at 9,456 while the FTSE 100 index of leading British shares fell 0.2 percent to 6,745. France’s CAC 40 dropped 0.5 percent to 4,244.

Wall Street’s main indexes were poised for a steady opening, with both Dow futures and the broader S&P 500 futures 0.1 percent higher. On Monday, the S&P closed down 1.3 percent, its biggest fall since November. “Worries about fourth quarter earnings and concern about last Friday’s US jobs report are not helping sentiment,” said Neil MacKinnon, global macro

strategist at VTB Capital. Markets have also been perturbed by comments from the president of the Federal Reserve’s Atlanta branch that raised the prospect of more reductions in economic stimulus despite the weak jobs report. Dennis Lockhart said Monday he would support further cuts “over the course of this year” if the economy continued to improve.

The Fed has said it will make an initial $10 billion cut to its $85 billion of monthly financial asset purchases that have supported economic recovery by keeping interest rates low. Earlier, Asian stocks ended mostly lower, with Japan leading declines after trading there resumed following a holiday Monday. The Nikkei 225 dived 3.1 percent to 15,422.40. Investors got their first chance since Friday to react to the US jobs report as well as the movement in the yen, which has risen strongly since last week.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipped 0.4 percent to 22,791.28 and Seoul’s Kospi dropped 0.2 percent to 1,946.07. China’s benchmark Shanghai Composite Index, however, added 0.9 percent to 2,026.84.

Elsewhere, the euro was up 0.1 percent at $1.3681 while the dollar rose 0.4 percent to 103.60 yen.-—AP

Brent rises towards $107 but supply outlook drags LONDON: Brent crude rose towards $107 a barrel yesterday after slipping in the previous session as Libyan supply picked up and a restart of Iranian oil shipments appeared to get closer.

Recent weak US economic data has also dampened the outlook for fuel demand in the world’s largest oil consumer. The February Brent crude contract, which expires tomorrow, was up 20 cents to $106.95 a barrel by 1024 GMT, after closing down 0.47 percent in the previous session.

“February Brent has been squeezed a bit, but broadly the contract is firmly in $106 to $108 range at the moment,” said Christopher Bellew, a broker at Jefferies Bache. US crude was at $92.14, up 34 cents after settling at a two-session low on Monday. Major powers and Iran have also moved a step closer to resolving a long standoff over Tehran’s nuclear ambitions after endorsing a deal that will come into force on Jan 20.

The parties are likely to start talks on a final settlement in February, a diplomatic source said on Monday.

A resolution of the issue could see the West lift sanctions on the OPEC pro-

ducer’s oil exports, increasing global supply. “Besides a gloomier demand outlook in the wake of poor US labour market data, growing supply is weighing on prices,” said a Commerzbank in a research note. Libya’s production has also risen to 600,000-650,000 barrels per day (bpd), with output at the El Sharara field back up to 300,000 bpd, its oil minister said. Wrecked by months of domestic protests, the OPEC producer’s output is still below the 1.2 million bpd it was turning out in July.

Britain’s biggest oilfield, Buzzard, where an outage last week temporarily boosted Brent, is expected to return to normal output in coming days, its operator Nexen said on Monday. Prices could come under further pressure if oil product stockpiles rose in the United States last week, reinforcing concerns over lower demand after it posted the weakest monthly jobs growth in three years in December, Hasegawa said.

Analysts in a preliminary Reuters poll said US crude inventories likely rose last week for the first time in seven weeks, up by an average of 500,000 barrels. — Reuters

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2014

BUSINESS

Greece to meet primary budget surplus target ATHENS: Greece will meet its target of a primary budget surplus exceeding 800 million euros ($1.1 billion) in 2013, the deputy finance minister said yesterday. Deputy finance minister Christos Staikouras told reporters that the general government primary surplus-the budget surplus not counting debt servicing costs-would close at “over 800 million euros” in 2013.

“This is a major primary surplus, the highest in Europe,” Staikouras said. The central government surplus for the 12-month period of 2013 is already 691 million euros, he added.

“This means that the goal of a general government primary surplus of at least 800 million euros is achievable,” Staikouras said. This is on track with

earlier government estimates of a primary surplus of 812 million euros in 2013 at the general government level, the criterion monitored under the terms of Greece’s international bailout. It is the first time in over a decade that the country has registered a primary surplus, according to the finance ministry.

Greece hopes to utilize these savings in order to obtain assistance with its enormous debt from its international creditors later this year. Prime Minister Antonis Samaras has pledged to give most of the surplus back to those worst affected by four years of austerity cuts.

Also on Tuesday, the Greek debt agency raised 1.625 billion euros in three-month treasury bills, with the interest offered to lenders dropping to

3.75 percent from 3.9 percent in December.

After six straight years of recession, the Greek economy is forecast to register slim growth this year, and the government hopes to start selling long-term debt for the first time since 2010.

Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras told the Financial Times on Friday that Greece could issue 1.5-2.0 billion euros in five-year bonds in the second half of the year. However, the International Monetary Fund-one of Greece’s three official creditors alongside the EU and the European Central Bank-has said that considerable uncertainty still hangs over the Greek economy, despite the country announcing it will exit the IMF-EU bailout this year as scheduled. —AFP

ATHENS: Deputy Finance Minister makes a statement in Athens yesterday. Staikouras says that it is on target to achieve a primary budget surplus in 2013, a key target set in the country’s bailout agreements. — AP

British inflation falls to Bank of England target House price inflation falls for first time since April

CHARLOTTE: A customer uses an ATM outside a Wells Fargo branch in Charlotte, NC. Wells Fargo & Co reported a 10.5 percent rise in earnings as improving credit quality and growth in overall loans offset lower mortgage revenues. — AP

Wells Fargo profits rise despite revenue drop NEW YORK: US banking giant Wells Fargo yesterday reported a 10.5 percent rise in earnings as improving credit quality and growth in overall loans offset lower mortgage revenues.

Wells Fargo, known as the nation’s largest mortgage lender, said net income for the fourth quarter came in at $5.4 billion on revenues of $20.7 billion, up from $4.9 billion on revenues of $21.9 billion.

That translated into per-share earnings of $1.00, two cents above analyst expectations. Overall loans rose $26.2 billion to $825.8 billion, with growth in most categories. Total average deposits for the fourth quarter were $1.1 trillion, up nine percent from a year ago, the nation’s fourth-largest bank said. “Strong earnings power and capital levels, and an improving economic

outlook are major reasons why we look ahead to 2014 with optimism,” said chief executive John Stumpf. Wells Fargo said credit quality continues to improve, resulting in credit losses of just $963 million, compared with $2.1 billion a year ago. On the downside, Wells Fargo reported an 11 percent drop in revenues from its community banking segment, due to lower mortgage banking revenues. Wells Fargo said home lending originations and applications fell from the previous quarter, while the home lending application pipeline declined to $25 billion from $35 billion at the end of the previous quarter.

For the full year 2013, Wells Fargo reported net income of $21.9 billion, up 16 percent from 2012. Wells Fargo shares fell 0.6 percent in premarket trade. — AFP

LONDON: British inflation fell to the Bank of England’s target level in December for the first time in over four years, backing its case to keep interest rates at a record low and giving the government a boost ahead of elections next year. Consumer prices rose 2.0 percent on the year in December, the Office for National Statistics said, the slowest increase since late 2009 and down from 2.1 percent in November.

Sterling wiped out most of its earlier gains as the unexpected fall in inflation pushed back bets on when the BoE might raise rates. British 10-year government bond yields hit their lowest level since Dec 3.

Prime Minister David Cameron, facing a concerted attack from the opposition Labor party over falling living standards, welcomed the figures. Labor highlighted how wages were still growing by less than half the rate of inflation.

Inflation peaked above 5 percent in 2011, pushed up by soaring gas and electricity bills, and the consumer price index had exceeded the central bank’s 2 percent target every month since December 2009.Economists said the days of inflation way above the BoE’s target looked over and they predicted further falls in 2014.

Citi expected consumer price inflation to slow to 1.7 percent by March. However, a recovering labor market could boost consumer demand and add to price pressures.

At 2 percent, British inflation is above that of all other members of the Group of Seven rich economies. A former BoE policymaker warned against complacency. “Stronger growth here in the UK could push up wage costs and a rebound in the global economy is likely to push up energy, food and commodity prices once again,” said Andrew Sentance, a vocal advocate of tighter monetary policy.

Economists in a Reuters poll had expected inflation to stay at 2.1 percent, the same rate as November. Compared with the previous month, the consumer price index in December was up 0.4 percent, the ONS said.

The BoE said in August it would only think about raising record-low interest rates once unemployment falls to 7 percent, unless inflation threatened to get out of control.

Since then, unemployment has fallen quickly as Britain unexpectedly outpaced almost every other rich economy. But policymakers have said they are still in no rush to raise rates and Tuesday’s inflation reading is likely to help their case. Simon Wells, an economist at HSBC, expects rates to remain on hold for some time but said growing employment and stagnating productivity are probably raising concerns at the BoE about the potential for future inflation.

“If the recovering labour market starts to feed through to stronger pay growth, tightening could

Shell to sell $15bn of assets

NBK Capital advises Mezzan Holding on acquisition of Unitra Mets Group KUWAIT: NBK Capital is pleased to announce that it acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Mezzan Holding Company KSCC (“Mezzan”) in its recent acquisition of UAE-based Unitra METS Group (“UMG”), a leading beverage distributor with a unique portfolio of high profile brands including Red Bull, San Pellegrino and Aqua Panna amongst others. Mezzan acquired UMG from Abu Dhabi Investment Company (“Invest AD”) and other shareholders.

NBK Capital’s Investment Banking Division offers its clients a suite of financial solutions and advisory services that assist them in achieving their strategic objectives. As advisors to Mezzan, NBK Capital identified UMG as a unique opportunity to allow Mezzan to penetrate one of the key markets in the region. NBK Capital thoroughly assessed the merits of the acquisition and analyzed the synergistic opportunities available to Mezzan Holding. NBK Capital also managed a team of third party advisors and successfully led the negotiations and ensured seamless transaction process until financial close.

The landmark cross-border transaction will complement Mezzan’s existing business, and aligns perfectly with the company ’s ongoing expansionar y strategy to becoming the leading food and beverage conglomerate in the Middle East. Furthermore, the acquisition gives Mezzan an unrivalled distri-

bution platform and immediate footprint into one of the region’s fastest growing markets.

NBK Capital’s client base are leaders in their sectors. Over the last half a century, Mezzan has established itself as one of the largest diversified conglomerates in the Middle East predominantly focused on food and beverage manufacturing and distribution, pharmaceutical distribution, and industrial services amongst many others.

Commenting on the transaction, Salah Al-Fulaij, CEO of NBK Capital, said: “The successful transaction marks a key milestone for Mezzan and augments its growth strategy. We are honored to be part of it. Mezzan is one of Kuwait’s bluechips, and we are proud to have them as one of our cornerstone clients.”

He further added “NBK Capital continues to dedicate its resources by providing world-class support and value-add services to its clients, assisting them in achieving their strategic objectives.”

Mohammed Jassim Al-Wazzan, Chairman of Mezzan, stated that, “we are excited about this acquisition; it expands our strategic partnerships with globally renowned brands and strengthens our foothold in one of the key markets in the Gulf. We would also like to thank NBK Capital for the instrumental role they played in making this acquisition possible and continuous support to Mezzan in all its strategic initiatives.”

occur much earlier,” Wells said in an email to clients.

The ONS said the biggest negative contribution to headline inflation in December was from food, especially fruit and meat, and recreational goods such as computer games.

An ONS official said the data was collected early in the month to capture discounting by retailers in the days immediately before Christmas. Increases in power tariffs by utility companies had only a small overall effect on inflation in December and a further impact was likely to be seen in the future, the ONS official said. An underlying measure of inflation, excluding energy, food, alcohol and tobacco, also suggested little immediate price pressure, slowing to 1.7 percent in December.

Factory gate prices rose by 1.0 percent in annual terms, faster than in November but slightly below economists’ predictions of a 1.1 percent increase.

Separate data showed house prices across Britain rose by 5.4 percent in the 12 months to November, slowing from 5.5 percent in October for the first decrease since April last year. In London, prices were 11.6 percent higher than a year earlier. The BoE this month ended one of Britain’s programs aimed at stimulating mortgage lending and has said it will keep a close eye on the housing market amid fears of a property bubble. — Reuters

NEW YORK: Specialist Anthony Rinaldi (center) works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. — AP

British watchdog to force cement industry sell-offs LONDON: Britain’s competition regulator is to force two of the country’s biggest cement producers to sell off production plants following a two-year investigation which found a lack of competition that had pushed up prices. The Competition Commission, in its final report on the case yesterday, said it would require HeidelbergCement’s Hanson to sell off one of three plants to increase competition in ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS), a substitute for, and ingredient for cement.

In October, the watchdog had told rival Lafarge Tarmac to sell one of its cement plants in Britain in a bid to introduce a fifth player to that market.

The watchdog criticized current cement market conditions in the country, where Lafarge Tarmac, Cemex and Hanson rank as the three largest producers. The cement industry globally suffered from the economic downturn that followed the 2008 financial crisis which led to a slowdown in construction.

“Despite falling demand and increasing costs during the last few years, profitability among GB (British) producers has been sus-

tained and their respective markets shares have changed little,” Professor Martin Cave, Deputy Chairman of the Competition Commission, said.

“This is not what you would expect to see in a well-functioning market, under these circumstances.” The regulator said it believed a lack of competition in the industry has cost customers 30 million pounds ($49 million) a year, prompting it to rule that greater choice was the only way to bring down prices. The watchdog aims to increase competition in both cement production and the supply chain for GGBS. The Commission will have to approve the buyer for the GGBS plant that Hanson decides to sell and it cannot be a British cement producer.

Hanson said it was pleased the watchdog had not gone ahead with plans to force the company to sell off several sites but was disappointed about the way the process was carried out and was mulling further action. “The Commission did not consult us properly on its findings in relation to GGBS and we found many errors in its analysis,” Ed Gretton, UK head of legal at Hanson, said.—Reuters

LONDON: Royal Dutch Shell could look to sell $15 billion worth of assets over the next two years including some North Sea fields, said a media report yesterday, expanding on its existing guidance that divestments would accelerate this year. Shell, whose new chief executive Ben van Beurden took over two weeks ago, will sell some of its North Sea oil fields as well as parts of its refining portfolio and some early-stage projects, reported the Financial Times, citing a person close to the company.

The oil company, the world’s number-three among investor-controlled energy firms, declined to comment on the report. Shell and its peers in the industry are facing increasing investor pressure to hold down spending as costs rise and prospects for oil prices wane. The Anglo-Dutch company said in October that it would step up divestments “significantly” in 2014 and 2015 to keep cash flowing in, after forecasting that 2013 capital expenditure would peak at about $45 billion.

Analysts and bankers say that some of the company’s Nigerian oil blocks plus Shell’s 23.1 percent stake in Australian group Woodside Petroleum - worth over $6 billion at current prices - could be put on the block. “It wouldn’t surprise me if Shell were to sell some North Sea assets,” Santander analyst Jason Kenney said. “In the North Sea, something like 80 percent of its production comes from 20 percent of its asset base so there’s a long tail of smaller positions.”

Since Van Beurden began working alongside outgoing boss Peter Voser at the beginning of the fourth quarter, the company has cancelled plans to build a gas-to-liquids (GTL) plant in the United States, raising investor hopes of a tighter spending regime.

Kenney said he expected Shell under Van Beurden to focus on capital discipline, better returns and selling peripheral assets. Van Beurden will face investors on Jan. 30 as the company reports fourth-quarter results, and on March 13 at a planned investor day. — Reuters

Euro-zone industrial output surges in Nov LONDON: Industry across the euro-zone managed to offset the impact of a strong euro in November to post the biggest rise in output in three and a half years, official figures showed yesterday.

Eurostat, the EU’s statistics office, said industrial output in the then 17-country euro-zone rose by 1.8 percent compared with the previous month. That was ahead of market expectations for a 1.3 percent increase and the biggest monthly increase since May 2010, when the region’s debt crisis was particularly acute and Greece got its first international bailout. The big gain was likely due to activity catching up after drops in the previous two months. Even so, it was fairly broadbased, with the core economies of Germany and France posting healthy gains of 2.4 percent and 1.4 percent.

The standout performance was from Ireland, which saw output surge 11.7 percent. No explanation for the Irish increase was provided. A run of economic figures lately has suggested that the recovery from recession is gaining traction. Figures for fourth-quarter economic growth are due next month and expectations are for an improvement on the third quarter’s 0.1 percent quarterly increase.

Jonathan Loynes, chief European economist at Capital Economics, said Tuesday’s figures stoke hopes that the euro-zone “regained a bit of momentum” at the end of 2013, but cautioned that it would be wrong to get too carried away by one month’s data. “The general trend in industry and the broader economy is weak and the strong euro presents a clear threat to future growth,” he said.

As a result, Loynes said the European Central Bank may have to do more to shore up the recovery, possibly by trying to get the euro down. Though the ECB is not expected to intervene outright in the currency markets, its officials may try to talk the currency down by warning of loose monetary policy ahead. The euro is trading near the $1.37 mark. In late December, it traded as high as $1.3893, its strongest level for over two years.

The euro has surprised some economists as it has remained strong despite the fact that the ECB has cut its main interest rate to a record low of 0.25 percent and hinted that it may enact further easing measures. The US Federal Reserve, on the other hand, has started reducing its monetary stimulus. A looser monetary policy tends to weaken a currency.

A key reason behind the euro’s sustained strength is considered to be the calming of the debt crisis. Since ECB President Mario Draghi said in July 2012 that the bank would do whatever it takes to save the euro, the currency has on the whole been ascendant. Few in the markets now think the euro bloc, which grew to 18 members this year with the accession of Latvia, will splinter.

Though that is welcome relief to European policymakers, who have spent the past few years in firefighting mode, the euro’s strength will likely raise concerns.

In addition to making exports potentially more expensive, a strong currency makes imports cheaper, and for a region with inflation of just 0.8 percent that could be a problem. — AP

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2014

BUSINESS

Cadillac Alghanim surprises luxury lovers in 2014 A futuristic icon with an all-new look & feel KUWAIT: Yusuf Ahmed Alghanim & Sons Automotive, the exclusive distributor of Cadillac vehicles in Kuwait, is gearing up for the arrival of the all-new 2014 Cadillac, a newcomer that will surely fill the hearts of luxury sedan lovers as it provides them with an enhanced driving experience and an array of technological features. It is worth mentioning that the all-new 2014 Cadillac has attained the prestigious 2014 car of the year award from Motor Trend, in a short period of time since its launch. This futuristic icon will be showcased at the Auto Moto Show that will take place on January 21st - 25th, 2014 At 360 Mall.

Larger, leaner, lower and with a stronger build, the all-new 2014 Cadillac has the upper hand when it comes to luxurious, mid-sized sedans. The exterior exudes a beautifully strong, sporty spirit with its youthful grille and new, elegantly lit headlamps. The interior, however, illustrates Cadillac’s attention to handmade details that include the modernly shaped wood and aluminum, an element that beautifies each corner of the alluring vehicle. The Cadillac’s interior is further enhanced with the leather stitching, a factor that reflects Cadillac’s dedication to applying skillful, handmade touches on everything it offers.

The all-new third-generation Cadillac is distinguished by a 6-cylinder, 3.6-liter engine, an element that positions the Cadillac as one of the top ten engines according to Ward’s Auto World, due to its ferocious power that goes up to 321 hp, pushing the car from 0 to 60 kilometers an hour in a mere 5.9 seconds. The Cadillac offers another model that comes with a 4cylinder, 2-liter engine with 272 hp that pushes the car to the same speed in only 6.1 seconds. In addition, the new 8-speed automatic transmission debut in the 2014 Cadillac delivers improved fuel efficiency.

The 2014 Cadillac is further heightened with its lightweight nature, a factor that positions it as the lightest vehicle in its class.

The Cadillac sedan’s driving experience is complemented with CUE, Cadillac’s comprehensive, in-vehicle experience that merges intuitive design with smartphoneinfluenced controls and commands for information and entertainment data. The heart of CUE is the eight-inch high-resolution touch screen that is seamlessly integrated into the instrument panel center stack. The CUE system also includes a 3D navigation system, an updated DIC, a reflection of the meter on the front window and many other features.

The all-new 2014 Cadillac is the first Cadillac to offer Automatic Parking Assist, which enables the car to park itself in parallel spaces. It uses ultrasonic sensors to locate a suitable space and manoeuvre the car into the space, with the driver only required to engage reverse and apply the accelerator and brake pedals.

Yusuf Ahmed Alghanim & Sons Automotive’s Service Center for Cadillac, offers its customers the best quality when it comes to vehicle service and maintenance at one of the largest service centers in the world that is fully equipped with the newest and most modern technologies utilized by a skilled and experience team of technicians and professionals. Yusuf Ahmed Alghanim & Sons Automotive invites fans of Cadillac and luxury cars to attend the Auto Moto Show at 360 Mall, which will take place on January 21st 25th, so as to have a closer look at the wonderfully enriched 2014 Cadillac that is brimming with exceptional features of luxury and technology. Visit the show to also book an appointment to test drive the all-new 2014 Cadillac.

Bryan Habana races British Airways’ new A380

Do you have what it takes to race BA’s new A380? #ManVsPlane Challenge Accepted!

KUWAIT: British Airways is offering five members of the public from around the worlda oncein-a-lifetime opportunity to race the A380 super jumbo in the airline’s #ManVsPlane Challenge Accepted! contest.

Following last year’s smash hit viral video #ManVsPlane (approaching 2 Million YouTube views) which saw South African Rugby legend Bryan Habana race British Airways’ new A380 on the runway and win, the airline is giving members of the public the opportunity to follow in Habana’s footsteps, by racing the super jumbo themselves.

For more information on the challenge, just watch #ManVsPlane Challenge Accepted! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCufB8As64 k. “In 2013, I raced British Airways new A380 aircraft and won. Now, it’s your turn to accept the challenge. Participants need to be physically fit and have the strength, stamina and speed to

South African Rugby player Bryan Habana launches British Airways #ManVsP...

beat the plane to the finish line.” - Bryan Habana, South Africa Springboks and Toulon.

To be in with a chance of winning a place in the race, visit www.ba.com/ManVsPlane between Friday 10th and Monday 20th January 2014 and fulfil the entry requirements. Five winners will be selected to fly to South Africa next month with British Airways and race the A380 on the runway.

The runner with the quickest time on the day will win two return tickets in Club World on one of British Airways’ A380 direct flights to London, Los Angeles, Hong Kong or Johannesburg, enjoying the sweet taste of success.

Bryan Habana (South Africa Springboks and Toulon) has amassed 95 caps and has scored 53 test tries along the way, establishing himself as the Springboks all time leading try scorer and one of the most prolific finishers in the world game.

All-new Ford F-150 redefines full-size trucks

Toughest, smartest, most capable F-150 ever

2014 Special Edition of Chevrolet Tahoe launched KUWAIT: Yusuf A Alghanim & Sons Automotive is proud to announce the launch of the 2014 Special Edition of Chevrolet Tahoe that comes with an exceptional array of features introducing the Tahoe in a different and unique light.

The 2014 Special Edition Tahoe is the ideal choice for individuals who wish to drive a vehicle that reflects their own, individual vision of what the perfect car is. The Special Edition Chevrolet Tahoe comes with special features that introduce the Tahoe in a different and unique style which include: Unique LED headlamps, LED tail lamps, chrome door handles, chrome mirror covers, chrome main grilles and a rear hatch cover that gives the Tahoe an outstanding presence on the road!

Rugged, powerful and lean, the Tahoe is the ideal SUV that contains features sought by the youth, fans of powerful cars, top executives as well as families who seek spacious, solid cars that conveniently and comfortably transport them downtown or carry them through the great outdoors. Tahoe is equipped with an 8-cylinder, 5.3-liter V8 engine with 6speed automatic transmission with overdrive that reaches up to 320 hp. The Tahoe has proven to be the ultimate vehicle of choice for any need or want due to its rich

features and security measures that comprise of eight airbags, ABS, Stabilitrak, Cruise Control and remote engine starter.

The Chevrolet Tahoe is a vehicle that has become an icon as it embodies the power of youth and strength of muscle cars.

In addition to all that, Tahoe fans can now have this Special Edition Tahoe along with the most anticipated and exclusive promotion for the beginning of 2014 on all Chevrolet vehicles whereby every customer will get the first 3 month installments for free upon the purchase of a new Chevrolet vehicle.

Yusuf A Alghanim & Sons Automotive is committed to offering an exceptional shopping and ownership experience, a factor that is furthered by the company’s excellent products and services that cater to customers’ every need and want. The company grounds itself in Chevrolet’s promise that vows to provide customers with unmatchable customer service, transparency as well as efficient, effective and genuine service, elements that affirm the company’s position as a pioneer in the vehicle industry.

Do not pass up this opportunity to own the Special Edition Tahoe. Drop by any Yusuf A Alghanim & Sons Automotive showroom to explore the 2014 Special Edition Chevrolet Tahoe.

DEARBORN, Michigan: Ford yesterday introduces the all-new Ford F-150, the reinvention of America’s favorite truck. It is the toughest, smartest and most capable F-150 ever - setting the standard for the future of trucks. The all-new F-150 delivers an impressive combination of power, capability and efficiency from advanced materials that improve durability and inhibit corrosion, to faster processors that enhance driving performance, to breakthrough cargo management and towing solutions.

“F-150 is well-known for being Built Ford Tough. Now, it is both tough and smart,” said Mark Fields, Ford Motor Company chief operating officer. “The all-new F-150 redefines the future of trucks, and it is yet another example of our One Ford plan producing vehicles that serve customers with a commitment to the very best quality, fuel efficiency, safety, smart design and value.” F-150 is part of the Ford F-Series truck lineup, America’s best-selling trucks for 37 consecutive years and America’s bestselling vehicles for 32 years.

“We have a unique connection with our customers,” said Joe Hinrichs, Ford executive vice president and president of The Americas. “Time and again, F-150 has delivered the tougher, smarter features they want along with the capabilities they need for work or play. We build our trucks to their high standards.” In designing the backbone of the F-150, Ford engineers improved the truck’s signature fully boxed ladder frame. It is all-new with more high-strength steel than ever - making it stronger and lighter. High-strength, military-grade, aluminum alloys, already used in aerospace, commercial transportation, energy and many other rugged industries, are used throughout the F-150 body for the first time, improving dent and ding resistance and also saving weight. Overall, up to 700 pounds of weight have been saved, helping the F-150 tow more, haul more, accelerate quicker, stop shorter and contributing to efficiency. “More than ever before, customers want a truck that is a dependable partner, mobile office and a go-anywhere workshop,” said Raj Nair, group vice president, Global Product Development. “To meet the needs of our truck customers, we created smart new features and a whole new approach to using advanced materials and engines to improve capability and efficiency.”

Even Tougher The 2015 Ford F-150 is the strongest and most durable F150 ever. Before it goes on sale, it will have been torture-tested in labs, Ford proving grounds and at the hands of some of Ford’s most demanding truck customers for more than 10 million miles. The grueling testing simulated the demands Ford’s customers will subject the truck to throughout its average lifetime. The tests include crisscrossing the country pulling heavy trailers and hefty loads through desert valleys and over highaltitude mountain passes - in temperatures from 20 degrees below zero to 120 degrees Fahrenheit.

Customers using the F-150 for construction, mining and utilities have tested and helped prove out its high-strength aluminum alloy cargo box. A disguised new Ford F-150 even raced in the Baja 1000, where it earned the distinction of completing all 883 grueling miles while some other purpose-built race vehicles could not. To perform in these challenging conditions, the frame uses high-strength steel rated up to 70,000 psi -stronger than the steel found in some competitors’ heavyduty pickup truck frames. Eight through-welded cross-members provide increased stiffness, while staggered rear outboard shocks provide greater stability.

Even smarter Several groundbreaking new productivity features debut in the all-new F-150, including many class exclusives. They include: * 360-degree camera view, using exterior cameras to create a bird’s-eye view of the truck to help the driver park, maneuver in tight spots and navigate down narrow roads and trails. * Integrated loading ramps, which enable easy loading of ATVs, motorcycles and mowers. * BoxLink(tm), which is a combination of metal brackets and custom cleats used to secure a variety of accessories in the cargo box, from ramps to storage bins to bed dividers.

* LED headlamps and taillamps, which provide excellent nighttime visibility. * Trailer hitch assist, a new rear view camera feature that adds a dynamic line based on steering wheel angle in the display to help customers line up truck and trailer without requiring a spotter or having to get in or out of the vehicle. * Smart trailer tow module, using an allnew smart trailer tow wiring harness that

helps identify and inform the driver of potential trailer connectivity issues, burned or unlit trailer marker lamps, and brake lights and trailer battery faults. * Remote tailgate, allowing for the tailgate to be locked, unlocked and released with the key fob - eliminating manual locking and increasing convenience and security. The tailgate also is damped, dropping down gently, hands-free, to a flat position when opened. * High-wattage power outlet (400 watts, 110 volts) in the cab, allowing drivers to easily charge corded tools, battery chargers or mobile devices on-site or while driving. * LED spotlights on sideview mirrors, which provide powerful, durable and bright lighting around the truck exterior. * Latest EcoBoost technology in an all-new, even more efficient, 2.7L EcoBoost engine that features extremely high output and lightweight design * Next generation tailgate step, which is now fully integrated inside the tailgate and virtually invisible when not in use.

ABK’s premium card collection KUWAIT: Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait takes pride in its Premium card collection, designed to deliver rewards and recognition to its World, Platinum and Titanium cardholders.

The ABK Premium card collection receives the following exclusive features, Bonus Emirates Skywards Miles, Premium Emirates Skywards Miles on Local and International spending, Complimentary Airport Lounge Access at selective airports worldwide, Travel Insurance up to $1,000,000, and Concierge Services.

Emirates Skywards Miles earned can be redeemed for reward flights and cabin upgrades on Emirates, connecting travelers to 134 destinations in 76 countries.

Stewart Lockie, GM Retail Banking stated: “ABK’s Premium card collection directly addresses the growing needs of

our esteemed customers who desire more superior features, rewards and value-added benefits and services”. Lockie added, “The ABK Premium card cardholder can earn up to 7 Emirates Skywards Miles on every 1KD spent as we pride ourselves to offer our customers the opportunity to join the best reward program in Kuwait, earning Emirates Skywards Miles every time they use their cards, locally or abroad.”

Take advantage of the valuable benefits offered on your ABK Emirates Premium cards and be rewarded! For more details, and to apply for ABK Premium cards , please visit any ABK branch or call Ahlan Ahli 1899 899, alternatively you could also chat live with ABK’s customer service representative on Ahli Chat at www.eahli.com.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2014

technology

Google buys ‘smart’ thermostat start-up Nest for $3.2bn

CALIFORNIA: Nest products are displayed at a Home Depot store in San Rafael, California. (Right) The Nest Protect smoke and carbon monoxide detector is displayed at a Home Depot store in San Rafael, California. — AFP SAN FRANCISCO: Google yesterday announced that it is buying smart thermostat start-up Nest in a deal valued at $3.2 billion. “They’re already delivering amazing products you can buy right now-thermostats that save energy and smoke/CO alarms that can help keep your family safe,” Google chief executive Larry Page said in a press release. “We are excited to bring great experiences to more homes in more countries and fulfill their dreams.”

The big-ticket buy continues a move by the Californiabased Internet titan into consumer electronics hardware, adding smartphone-synched thermostats to its Motorola Mobility smartphones; Nexus mobile devices, Chromecast, and the promise of releasing Google Glass eyewear some time this year. “Google has the business resources, global scale and platform reach to accelerate Nest growth across

hardware, software and services for the home globally,” Nest co-founder and chief executive Tony Fadell. “And our company visions are well aligned - we both believe in letting technology do the hard work behind the scenes so people can get on with the things that matter in life.”

Nest co-founder Tony Fadell is a former senior vice president of the Apple division behind iPods and iPhones. Fellow co-founder Matt Rogers was a lead iPod software engineer working with Fadell at Apple. Nest’s vice president of technology Yoky Matsuoka was once head of innovations at Google. Inspiration for Nest came when Fadell was building an environmentally-friendly home in Northern California and discovered that thermostat technology was stuck in a bygone era. Fadell pulled together a team to bring the thermostat into the mobile Internet age.

Flagship Motor X heads to Europe SAN FRANCISCO: Motorola announced yesterday that its flagship Moto X smartphone is heading for Europe.

Moto X will arrive in France, Britain and Germany with the start of February, according to the Google-owned firm.

“At Motorola our roots are deep in mobile hardware-we invented mobile communications,” Motorola Mobility UK general manager Andrew Morley said in a statement. “Now, as a Google company, we’ve become the kind of company that can build a 4G smartphone like Moto X,” he continued. “It fuses our history of mobile innovation with the best of Google mobile services.” Prices in Britain will range from 25 pounds ($41) per month on contract to 380 pounds total without a SIM card, according to Motorola. The price will be 429 euros ($586) in France.

Moto X launched A low-cost version of the smartphone, the Moto G, is already sold internationally. Both Motorola smartphones are powered by Google Android software. Motorola is pushing all the buttons to regain prominence in the smartphone market, including aggressive pricing, according to chief executive Dennis Woodside. Woodside, in an interview with AFP last week on the sidelines of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, said the Google-

owned unit is seeking to gain ground against rivals including Apple and Google.

Since being acquired by Google, Motorola has introduced the flagship Moto X handset in the United States and the Moto G, a less expensive phone geared to cost-conscious consumers worldwide. “There will be different phones at different price points but we’re going to be very aggressive there,” Woodside said. “ When we priced Moto X at $399 in the US as a promotion, we sold tens of thousands of units in a matter of eight minutes.”

The Moto X was originally introduced at $599 unlocked, without a contract, while the Moto G was priced at $179 in the US. Motorola, once among the leaders in the mobile phone market, has been struggling in recent years as makers like Apple and Samsung grab most of the market share and profits. “This is a business where scale matters and what’s been really important for us to start putting products out there that we’re excited about and get consumers excited about. That’s what we’ve done with Moto X and Moto G,” he added. Woodside declined to provide specific sales figures but maintained that since launching the Moto X and Moto G, “we are seeing our best days ever for smartphones.” — AFP

The sleek, disk-shaped thermostat is controlled by turning an outer ring. A black display screen showing the temperature turns blue to indicate cooling or red to show rooms are being heated. Machine learning built into thermostats lets them adapt to patterns in homes within a week of regular use. The more users adjust their Nest thermostats, the more precisely the devices learn preferred comfort levels in homes.

Sensors in the thermostat assess whether lights are on or there is movement, determining when people are away and then shifting to energy-saving settings.

A green leaf appears on-screen to prompt users to save energy and money by altering their usual thermometer setting by a barely noticeable degree. Learning Thermostats also tell people how long it will take to get rooms to desired temperatures, letting them assess whether they will be home

What’s on YouTube?

‘YouTube Nation’ lets you know

NEW YORK: How do you cope with an exploding world of YouTube video? Starting yesterday, you can get help by visiting “YouTube Nation.” The video-sharing website has teamed with DreamWorks Animation to create this daily highlight reel of brand-new, trending and yet-to-be-discovered content. It will serve as a handy sampler, says DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg. “In a sea of the infinite, this is a lighthouse.”

Every minute, some 100 hours of new video content is uploaded to YouTube. Now a task force of “YouTube Nation” curators will be plowing through this cache to identify not only what’s most popular, but also what’s poised to go viral with YouTube consumers. “Our choices aren’t driven purely by algorithms and analytics,” says Katzenberg. “You don’t want to just know what’s the most seen. What you really want to know is: What’s GOING to be the most seen?”

The five-minute “YouTube Nation” program will post weekdays at 9 p.m. Eastern Time (0200 GMT) starting Tuesday. It’s hosted by Jacob Soboroff (from HuffPost Live, the streaming network of The Huffington Post, and Pivot TV’s “TakePart Live”). But each episode will be more than a digital tip sheet. It will come equipped with links and playlists that enable the user to delve fully into the video being recommended.

“For every five minutes of our show,” says Katzenberg, “we’ll have an hour or more of content.” “YouTube Nation” is geared chiefly to 18to-30-year-olds and “casual viewers who would like to be heavier users,” he says.

But Robert Kyncl, YouTube’s head of con-

CALIFORNIA: This undated image released by YouTube Nation shows host Jacob Soboroff on the set of “YouTube Nation.” — AP

tent and business operations, says, “We look at ‘YouTube Nation’ as a way to promote the great breadth of content on YouTube in an easily digestible way for anyone - and that’s the key word, ‘anyone.’” The advertiser-supported “YouTube Nation” is the first daily series produced by DreamWorks Animation and marks the first use of the YouTube brand for a daily series. The project, an equal partnership of the two companies, has been in the works for a year, with a current staff totaling 50.

But that’s just the beginning, says Katzenberg. Within two months, a second dai-

devices instead of laptop or desktop computers. “We’re now rolling out a refreshed http://twitter.com reflecting the look and feel of our iOS and Android apps,” the San Franciscobased company said in a message fired off at Twitter. Modifications to twitter.com were mostly cosmetic,

with no new tools or features added.

Profile pictures and background art were moved to the upper left side, where a box makes it more convenient to compose and tweet messages.

Twitter users were also invited to personalize the new profile pages with accent colors. — AFP

Biz Stone

Linked technology raises privacy fears LAS VEGAS: In the future, it might not just be your smartphone that leaks personal and private data, it might be your smart fridge too. So said experts gathered at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. They debated what happens to privacy and security as the “internet of things” begins to emerge. At CES this year, hi-tech firms have released a plethora of formerly dumb products that can gather and share data about what they and their owners do.

Governments will also need to do more to ensure consumers stay in control of the data gathered about them, said one attendee. “The internet of things is having its breakout year and it is this year that it will become a mainstream ecosystem and set of technologies,” said independent consultant Larry Downes who led a discussion about the topic at the conference that runs alongside the show. iDevices has made a meat thermometer that connects to the net to send readings to an app.

Smart lighting systems, Skype-connected baby monitors, a Bluetooth enabled meat thermometer and smart ovens were all unveiled at the Las Vegas show - suggesting that such devices are about to

become commonplace. “Dealing with the privacy and security aspects of the internet of things is going to be one of the biggest challenges we have faced in security for a long time,” said Marc Rogers, principal research analyst at mobile security firm Lookout.

The Amaryllo iCam HD connects to Skype to act as a baby monitor “These technologies will be some of the most intimate we have ever had. “We are going to be wearing it, installing it throughout our living spaces and other places where technology has not usually had the opportunity to go.”

Good industry practices that have become standard in other areas should be useful in helping to develop safe and secure smart appliances, said Rogers. Problems were already starting to emerge as the first net-enabled appliances start to hit the market, said Jeff Hagins, founder of home automation start-up Smart Things.

Consumers were often not able to dictate what happened with the data that smart appliances gathered, he said, adding that often this data had the potential to be sensitive and deeply personal.

Samsung is showing off fridges, washing machines and vacuum cleaners that connect to

ly edition of the show will be added to the mix. Then, mid-year, specialization will be introduced with a dozen or so “vertical” guides such as “YTN Sports,” “YTN News” and “YTN Music” - more than a dozen in all, says Katzenberg. The mission is to bring to a waiting audience video that otherwise might never be found, discovered and presented by YouTube insiders. “We’ll answer the question, ‘Can you tell me what’s the most interesting, cool stuff?’” says Katzenberg. “I don’t want to have to learn about it on ‘Good Morning America.’” — AP

Apple loses bid to block e-book antitrust monitor

Twitter desktop website gets smartphones’ look

SAN FRANCISCO: Twitter revamped its desktop webpages Monday to better mirror the experience of visiting the popular one-to-many text messaging service on smartphones. The change comes as people increasingly take to visiting online social networks and other online venues from mobile

long enough to justify the process. Nest thermostats have WiFi connectivity to link up to the Internet, and a free smartphone application lets people manage home climates from afar or mine data about energy used for heating or cooling.

Nest launched in late 2011 with its smart thermostat and later added a carbon dioxide detector to its line. “This means firmly and clearly that Google is getting into connected homes,” Forrester analyst Frank Gillett said of the acquisition.

“It once again demonstrates that the industry is going in the direction of Apple; deciding it is darn important to control the hardware.” “Smart” homes, featuring “intelligent” objects such as door locks, lamps, refrigerators and washing machines, were among the hot trends at an international Consumer Electronics Show extravaganza that ended on Friday in Las Vegas. — AFP

the net “There’s a tendency among manufacturers to copy all the data to their own cloud,” said Hagins. “Consumers are frequently not being given a choice to control or allow that.”

Commissioner Maureen Ohlhausen from the US Federal Trade Commission said governments should not be afraid to act if manufacturers were not living up to standards of fairness and disclosure demanded from websites and other hi-tech firms. There are many smartphone-controlled lamps at the show including this model from Holi .

“It’s crucial that companies offering these products that are part of the internet of things act to safeguard the privacy of users to avoid giving the technology a bad name while it is still in its infancy,” she said.

Mr Hagins added that as well as consumers needing to be careful about who they were sharing their data with outside the home, they should also be aware of the tensions within a family about who gets access to what systems. “Should a child be able to hack the home automation system to flash the lights in their sibling’s room during the night?” he asked. “That’s something they’ll certainly be capable of doing.” — Agencies

NEW YORK: Apple Inc lost a bid yesterday to block an antitrust monitor appointed after a judge found that the company had conspired to fix e-book prices. At a hearing, US District Judge Denise Cote in Manhattan denied Apple’s request to stay an order requiring an external compliance monitor pending the company’s appeal. “I want the monitorship to succeed for Apple,” she said. The judge also said there was “nothing improper” about a declaration filed by a lawyer chosen to serve as monitor, Michael Bromwich, that became the basis of Apple seeking his disqualification.

Cote said she will promptly issue a decision explaining her reasoning.

Apple will then have 48 hours to seek an emergenc y stay from the federal appeals court in New York, she said.

Theodore Boutrous, a lawyer for Apple, said Apple would appeal. A spokeswoman for the Justice Depar tment declined immediate comment. The hearing was the latest to spill out of a growing battle stemming from Apple’s objections to the monitor. In October, Cote appointed Bromwich, a former Justice Department inspector general, three months after she found Apple liable for conspiring with five publishers to raise e-book prices.

In November, Apple complained he had been trying aggressively to interview top executives, even though his mandate called for him to review the company’s antitrust policies 90 days after his appointment. Apple also complained about his proposed hourly fee rate of $1,100, which Apple said gave

him an incentive to run, “as broad and intrusive investigation as possible.” The Justice Department came to Bromwich’s defense. He himself also filed a declaration disputing Apple’s claims that he had engaged in a “roving” investigation and detailing a series of unsuccessful attempts to gain Apple’s cooperation.

Apple subsequently moved for his disqualification, saying Bromwich had a personal bias against the company and had engaged in “grossly inappropriate behavior” through filing the declaration.

At the hearing on Monday, Cote said it had become clear, “that parts of Apple have been resistant to the monitor performing his duties.” She hoped Apple cooperates with the monitor going forward, and urged the parties to bring disputes to her attention sooner. As for Bromwich’s rates, the judge said it was not surprising that, “lawyers get paid a lot of money.”

She cited a survey of 350 law firms that the National Law Journal published on M onday repor ting that Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, the law firm representing Apple, had a partner with the highest billing rate in the country, $1,800 an hour. The average rate for lawyers at the firm was $980 an hour, she added. The Justice Department says Bromwich has indicated a willingness nonetheless to adjust his fee. Cote said she would refer the dispute to a magistrate, “so we can resolve this fee dispute and put it behind us.” The case is US v Apple I nc et al, US Distric t Court, Southern District of New York, 12-2826. — Reuters

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2014

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

Is life better with kids? Not always, says study WASHINGTON: Are people with kids happier than people without? In the United States, those with and without kids rate their lives about the same, but globally children tend to diminish wellbeing, said a study yesterday.

The results were derived from two major surveys by Gallup that included almost three million people worldwide.

One survey covered nearly 1.8 million Americans from 2008 to 2012 and the other interviewed 1.07 million people from 161 countries between 2006 and 2012.

Participants were asked how close their lives were to being ideal, and what kinds of emotions they felt the day prior. Potential responses included happy,

sad, angered, worried or stressed.

Parents repor ted more ups and downs than non-parents. Those with children at home reported higher levels of all the emotional responses, including happiness and stress, smiling and anger.

But when researchers took into account other attributes that parents tend to have-higher education, more income, better health and religious faith-they found similar levels of life satisfaction as reported by non-parents.

On the whole, both US groups rated their lives about a seven on a scale of one to 10.

Adults of all ages with children at home rated their lives 6.82 while the

childless came in at 6.84.

When researchers looked solely at people in the prime child-rearing years (age 34-46) they found people with kids rating their lives at 6.84, just higher than those without kids at 6.51.

In the rest of the world, the survey results told a different story: people with kids-at least those outside the rich English-speaking world-tended to be less content with their lives.

Personal happiness “Our results for the world as a whole, as well as for Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, and South Asia are consistent with the most common finding in the literature, that those with children

have lower life evaluation,” said the study. “ The higher the fertility rate, the more likely are people living with children to report lower life evaluation than those who do not.”

In poor countries, personal happiness may take a back seat to necessities, like requiring extra bodies to work the farm, the study suggested.

“Because of social norms, or pressure from their own parents and communities, or because of the productive contributions of children, people may have children even when, on a purely personal level, they would rather not do so,” it said.

People were asked to rate their lives

for the Gallup surveys, and were later asked a series of questions about their income and whether their households had children in them or not.

They were never asked directly whether their kids made them happy, or how having kids or not having kids affected their view of their lives.

Princeton economist and lead author Angus Deaton said the heart of the matter is the ability to choose. “The takehome message is ‘Do what you want to do,’” he said. “If you think children would make you happy, it’s probably true. And if you think they wouldn’t, it’s probably true, too.” The study appears in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. —AFP

Doctors allowed to help patients die Landmark ruling in New Mexico

CAMBRIDGE: A photo taken on Aug 12, 2013, shows Fonterra’s Hautapu dairy factory located near the rural town of Cambridge, some 150kms south of New Zealand’s largest city, Auckland. —AFP

Fresh contamination scare for New Zealand dairy giant WELLINGTON: New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra faced a new contamination scare yesterday with the forced recall of nearly 9,000 bottles of cream which had been tainted with E.coli bacteria. The fresh cream had been produced for domestic consumption in the North Island.

Fonterra Brands New Zealand Managing Director Peter McClure said he did not want to speculate on how the contamination occurred.

But he told Radio New Zealand it was unlikely to have come in with the milk from the farms, and it was “almost impossible” the contamination could have been deliberate.

It was the first time in 18 years a Fonterra product had tested positive for E.coli, which is found in human and animal faeces and can cause infections and symp-

toms similar to food poisoning.

“We wouldn’t want this at any time and certainly now is not a good time for us either, but we’re doing everything we can,” McClure said.

The E.Coli contamination follows a botulism scare last year which forced a global recall of Fonterra infant formula products.

That scare turned out to be a false alarm, but French dairy giant Danone announced last week it was suing Fonterra for compensation.

The company, which has since cancelled its supply contract with Fonterra, had estimated the crisis had cost it 300 million euros ($407 million).

In 2008, six children died and another 300,000 fell ill in China after a local company part-owned by Fonterra illegally laced milk with the chemical melamine. — AFP

New bird flu deaths reported in China BEIJING: China has reported two new deaths from the H7N9 bird flu virus, state media said, as the disease returns following an outbreak last year.

A 75-year-old patient, identified only by her surname Li, died this month of the virus in a hospital in Hangzhou in the eastern province of Zhejiang, the government-run news portal zjol.com.cn reported Tuesday.

Another patient, 38, in Zunyi in the southwestern province of Guizhou died on January 9 after experiencing symptoms of coughing and dizziness a month ago, the Xinhua news agency said late Monday, citing local authorities.

Doctors said it was a suspected H7N9 case two days after his death, the report

said. The H7N9 outbreak began in China in February 2013 and reignited fears that a virus could mutate to become easily transmissible, potentially triggering a pandemic.

Cases and deaths dropped significantly after the end of June, but have begun to pick up with the onset of winter.

The reports came after Guangdong province in the south last week reported China’s first death from the virus this year.

Official statistics compiled by China’s health authorities show that by the end o f O c to b e r 2 0 1 3 t h e re h a d b e e n 4 5 deaths in the outbreak on the mainland, which began in February. Hong Kong has reported two deaths from H7N9 so far this year. — AFP

Chicken farm closed again after cockroach cleanup LIVINGSTON: A California chicken farm that reopened over the weekend after it was shut because of a cockroach infestation says it’s “voluntarily and temporarily” suspending operations again. Foster Farms said yesterday it was closing the plant in Livingston for several days so it can properly implement new food safety measures.

The company said in a statement it is “exercising vigilance” and dedicating additional time to ensure its preventative plan is realized.

Work had resumed Saturday after Foster Farms announced it met the demands of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’ by performing a thorough cleanup and treatment of the plant. The company says no chicken product was affected.

The USDA said in a statement that it lifted its suspension and officials will monitor the plant once it reopens.

The plant closed Jan. 8 when inspectors

found the cockroaches on five separate occasions in various parts of the plant over four months. That closure came three months after inspectors threatened a shutdown because of salmonella problems at the Livingston plant and two Foster Farms sites in Fresno.

Those facilities stayed open as the company agreed to improve safeguards. It issued no recalls of products and instead advised consumers to handle chicken properly and to cook it thoroughly.

The company said in its statement Sunday that maintenance workers will remain on the job during the voluntary closure. Other workers will be called back once full operations resume.

The company also said it has temporarily shifted production to its other plants in California’s Central Valley. Foster Farms spokeswoman Karmina Zafiro declined to elaborate on the statement.

LIVINGSTON: A truck enters the Foster Farms processing plant, in Livingston. The plant that reopened the second weekend of January after it was shut because of a cockroach infestation says it is “voluntarily and temporarily” suspending operations again.—AP

ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico: Aja Riggs has undergone aggressive radiation and chemotherapy treatment for advanced uterine cancer. The 49-year-old Santa Fe resident remembers the feeling of her skin burning, all the medication, the nausea and the fatigue so immense that even talking sapped too much energy. All she wanted was the choice to end her life if the suffering became too great.

She has that option now thanks to a New Mexico judge’s landmark ruling Monday, which clears the way for competent, terminally ill patients to seek their doctors’ help in getting prescription medication if they want to end their lives on their own terms.

Second Judicial Judge Nan Nash said such patients have a fundamental right to seek aid in dying because the New Mexico Constitution prohibits the state from depriving a person from enjoying life and liberty or seeking and obtaining safety and happiness.

“This court cannot envision a right more fundamental, more private or more integral to the liberty, safety and happiness of a New Mexican than the right of a competent, terminally ill patient to choose aid in dying,” the judge wrote.

Nash also ruled that doctors who provide aid could not be prosecuted under the state’s assisted suicide law, which classifies helping with suicide as a fourth-degree felony. The plaintiffs in the case do not consider physicians aiding in dying a form of suicide.

Possibility of an appeal The New Mexico Attorney General’s O ffice said it is discussing the possibility of an appeal but needs to fully analyze the judge’s opinion before commenting further.

Nash’s ruling stems from a twoday bench trial in December in which Riggs and other plaintiffs

asked the judge to determine that physicians would not be breaking the law if they wrote prescriptions for competent, terminally ill patients who wanted to end their lives.

Doctors Katherine Morris and Aroop Mangalik filed their lawsuit in March 2012. Riggs joined the fight a couple of months later.

The lawsuit had the support of the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico, Denver-based Compassion & Choices and the New Mexico Psychological Association, the largest organization of professional psychologists in the state. The psychologists’ group argued that assisted suicide and “aid in dying” for terminally ill patients were fundamentally different.

“New Mexicans, both healthy and sick, now enjoy the comfort and peace of mind that come with knowing they can prevent a prolonged, agonized dying process at the end of life,” ACLU of New Mexico Legal Director Laura Schauer Ives said in a statement.

Riggs testified in December that her cancer was in remission but said there have been days when getting out of bed and walking 15 feet were an uphill battle.

She said she wanted to live but also wanted the option of ending her life with dignity if her condition worsened.

“I don’t want to suffer needlessly at the end,” she told Nash during the trial.

Growing support Kathryn Tucker, director of legal affairs for Compassion & Choices, has said there’s growing support for physicians to help terminally ill patients who want to end their lives.

Four other states, including Oregon, allow patients to seek aid in dying if their conditions become unbearable.

The New Mexico Conference of Catholic Bishops was disappointed with Monday ’s ruling, saying

SANTA FE: This undated file photo provided by Compassion & Choices shows Aja Riggs, of Santa Fe. Lawyers representing two doctors and Riggs, who has advanced uterine cancer in a case challenging a decades-old New Mexico law that prohibits assisted suicide. —AP there’s a difference between fundamental rights guaranteed by the constitution and the ability of someone to take a person’s life.

Opinions can differ with regard to the survivability of illnesses, and medical treatments can progress, said Allen Sanchez, executive director of the bishops’ group.

“As long as there is a chance for

human error, we can’t have that.

You can never reverse the decision you’ve made. It’s the finality of it,” Sanchez said. “If we are not willing to give that ability to a judge and jur y by doing away with the death penalty in New Mexico, we should not be willing to give one doctor and two witnesses that ability.” —AP

University probes Utah clinic’s sperm mix-up SALT LAKE CITY: The University of Utah is investigating a complaint that a convicted felon working at a fertility clinic replaced a customer’s sperm with his own, fathering a girl 21 years ago.

The mother of the girl, Pamela Branum, says she and her husband discovered a genetic mismatch in their daughter, and were able to trace her lineage with help from relatives of the nowdeceased fertility clinic worker, Thomas Ray Lippert.

“I don’t think we’re the only ones,” Branum told CBS affiliate KUTV in Salt Lake City. “We think we’re one of many” victims who used a clinic that was operated by faculty members.

The University of Utah says there is “credible” evidence of semen tampering or mislabeling. On Friday, the university announced it was opening a hotline and offering paternity testing to anyone who used the clinic between 1988 and 1993.

“It was hard at first, to think, ‘Who am I?’” the daughter told KUTV in San Antonio, where the family moved in 2003. “I thought I was this person (of ) my mom and my dad. Now, my dad is not my biological father. Who am I?” No comment In a statement that stopped short of taking responsibility or naming Lippert, the University of Utah Health Care system says it appears Branum’s daughter was fathered by a clinic employee. The university says there are no remaining records from the Reproductive Medical Technologies clinic to prove the family’s claim, or any evidence of other cases.

Kathy Wilets, a spokeswoman for the university’s Health Sciences division, said she could not answer a series of questions submitted by The Associated Press in writing. She declined comment on what officials have learned since opening the investigation in April 2013.

“Truthfully, they haven’t been investigating,” Branum told The Salt Lake Tribune. “They’ve

been stonewalling this whole time.”

The fertility clinic performed some university services and was located next to a university laboratory. Three of the clinic’s owners were faculty or staff members, the university statement says.

SALT LAKE CITY: A 1998 booking photo, provided by the Salt Lake County Jail, shows Thomas Ray Lippert. The University of Utah is investigating a complaint that Lippert, a convicted felon working at a fertility clinic, replaced a customer’s sperm with his own, fathering a girl 21 years ago. —AP Surviving members of the clinic refused comment to The Salt Lake Tribune.

A DNA test of Lippert’s 99-year-old mother confirmed that she was the daughter’s biological grandmother, professional genealogists have

told Utah news outlets. The family said they stumbled into their unhappy discovery while tracing their lineage using widely available DNA tests. Branum said she didn’t need a sperm donor - and would not have taken Lippert’s when she was impregnated with what she thought was her husband’s sperm in 1991.

“I can’t imagine a couple seeing him and saying ‘Yeah, I want him,’ she said.

Honest mistakes In a widely publicized case in 1975, Lippert took a plea bargain on kidnapping and other charges for subjecting a Purdue University female student to electroshock behavioral modification techniques in a so-called “love experiment.”

The Salt Lake Tribune said he served two years in prison. The AP wasn’t immediately able to retrieve court documents for the case. The Branums, formerly of Park City, Utah, moved to San Antonio in 2003. John Branum is a retired Marine; his wife has two boys from a previous marriage.

Fertility clinics are supposed to follow industry standards to avoid mix-ups and comply with the U.S. Clinical Laboratory Improvement Act, said Eleanor Nicoll, a spokeswoman for the American Society for Reproductive Medicine.

“What happened in Utah isn’t the result of the clinic not complying with regulations. This is a criminal act,” Nicoll said Monday. “He’s a bad actor.”

Sperm mix-ups are nothing new, but many cases involve honest mistakes.

In what Nicoll called the most notorious case, Virginia fertility doctor Cecil Jacobson was convicted of fraud in 1992.

Jacobson tricked some patients into believing they were pregnant and lied to others when using his own sperm to inseminate them, fathering at least 15 of his patients’ children, authorities said. —AP

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

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2014

Older, costlier crowd sign up for US health insurance Administration remains confident WASHINGTON: Younger people went for President Barack Obama at election time, but will they buy his health insurance? New government figures show it’s an older, costlier crowd that’s signing up so far for health insurance under Obama’s health care law. Enrollments are lower for the healthy, younger Americans who will be needed to keep premiums from rising.

Young adults from 18 to 34 are only 24 percent of total enrollment, the administration said Monday in its first signup figures broken down for age, gender and other details.

With the HealthCare.gov website now working, the figures cover the more than 2 million Americans who had signed up for governmentsubsidized private insurance through the end of December in new federal and state markets.

Enrolling young and healthy people is important because they generally pay more into the system than they take out, subsidizing older adults.

While 24 percent is not a bad start, say independent experts, it should be closer to 40 percent to help keep premiums down.

Adults ages 55-64 were the most heavily represented in the signups, accounting for 33 percent of the total. Overall, the premiums paid by people in that demographic don’t fully cover their medical expenses. Some are in the waiting room for Medicare; that coverage starts at age 65. The administration and its allies remain confident they’ll be able to get young adults interested. Many experts expected older, sicker people

to be more heavily represented in the early numbers. Younger people might procrastinate, waiting until the March 31 enrollment deadline is near, weighing whether they want to risk tax penalties for remaining uninsured.

Marketing campaigns “The dynamic of younger people is that they are going to get educated, they are going to get informed, and they are going to enroll as we get closer to that deadline,” said Aaron Smith, founder of Young Invincibles, an advocacy group for young adults.

Insurers, nonprofit groups and advocates are moving ahead with marketing campaigns that were put on hold when the federal website that serves 36 states was struggling.

Administration officials said that in the coming weeks they plan to increase outreach to young people in 25 communities located in states served by the federal website. That effort includes a national youth enrollment day on Feb. 15 and targeted outreach by sororities and fraternities, as well as Voto Latino, which focuses on Hispanic youth.

But even if the age mix remains tilted toward older adults, “it’s nothing of the sort that would trigger instability in the system,” said Larry Levitt, an insurance expert with the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation. Premiums would go up next year for the overhaul, along with taxpayer costs per enrollee, but not enough to push the system

into a “death spiral” in which rising premiums discourage healthy people from signing up. Still, he said, “it underscores a need to heighten outreach efforts to young people.”

Considering that the federal health care website was down most of the time in October, administration officials said they were pleased that the percentage of young adults was as high as it was. “We think that more and more young people are going to sign up as time goes by,” said Gary Cohen, head of the Health and Human Services Department’s office in charge of Obama’s push to cover the uninsured. With Monday’s numbers, a fuller picture has started to emerge of who’s signing up.

Some of the highlights: • The administration continues to play catchup. Originally, officials hoped to sign up more than 3.3 million people through the end of 2013, nearly halfway to the goal of 7 million enrollments by the end of March. Instead, enrollment as of Dec. 31 was not quite 2.2 million.

Fifty-four percent of those who signed up were women, a slightly higher proportion of females than in the population.

• Nearly four out of five who signed up got financial help with their premiums.

Graphic shows demographic breakdown of health care enrollees

Popular coverage option The most popular coverage option was a socalled silver plan, which covers about 70 percent of expected medical costs. Three out of five

people picked silver. One in five picked a lowercost bronze plan. Only 13 percent picked gold, which most closely compares to the typical employer plan. Another 7 percent went for top-

tier platinum plans, and about 1 percent picked skimpy “catastrophic” plans available only to certain groups of people, including those under 30.— AP

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2014

W H AT ’ S O N

‘Yuva for India’ full day camp on Friday

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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

Cinemagic January schedule Thursday, January 16 at 7:30PM SURPRISE FILM OF THE MONTH Every month we’ll be playing a surprise film, where you won’t know what you�re watching until just a minute before the film begins. One thing is for sure, every month the surprise film will be either my favourite film of the list, or the most unique in one way or the other. This month’s film was won and was nominated for over 30 awards worldwide including the Oscars, Golden Globes, Independent Spirit Awards, and the Baftas. A unique, hilarious, bizarre, and poetic little film.

Saturday, January 18 at 7:30PM PIETA Winner of the Golden Lion (Best Film) at the Venice Film Festival, Kang-do is a heartless man who has no living family members and whose job is to threaten debtors to repay his clients, the loan sharks who demand a 10x return on a one month loan.

To recover the interest, the debtors would sign an insurance for handicap, and Kang-do would injure the debtors brutally to file the claim. One day he receives a visit from a strange, middle-aged woman claiming she is his long-lost mother. Over the following weeks, the woman stubbornly follows him and he continues to do his job. But he is slowly moved and changed by the motherly love expressed from this woman.

Thursday, January 23 at 7:30PM TALK TO HER Winner of over 27 awards worldwide, mostly for Best Film or Best Foreign Film, Talk to her is considered by many fans of the legendary Pedro Almodovar to be his best film. Two men meet by chance at a private clinic, each looking after a woman in a coma.

Marco�s girlfriend Lydia was a bullfighter who was mauled, and Benigno looks after a young ballet student. The lives of the four characters flow in all directions, past, present, and future, taking them to an unsuspected destiny.

Saturday, January 25 at 7:30PM OFFSIDE Winner of the Silver Bear at the Berlin Film Festival, and carrying a 97% score on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, Offside follows a group of girls who try to sneak into a football stadium to watch a World Cup qualifying match. Female fans are not allowed to enter football stadiums in Iran on the grounds that there will be a high risk of violence or verbal abuse against them. The film was shot in Iran during a real live match, but its screening was banned there.

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

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he superior quality of the blends comes from the meticulous selection of the best raw materials available, and from an extraordinary production process. Cafe Vergnano is the first to introduce an innovation that brings all the passion and pleasure of the perfect

C

rowning the Australian College of Kuwait’s (ACK) successes since the inception of its School of Engineering in 2008, the college has now successfully received accreditation from the “Engineers Australia” Association; the largest professional engineers’ body in Australia, for all its Engineering programs.

The primary objectives of Engineers Australia’s accreditation process are the maintenance of internationally benchmarked standards, the promotion and dissemination of best practice and the stimulation of innovation and diversity in engineering education.

This accreditation emphasizes that ACK possesses a solid educational base and the ability to lead innovations in emerging technology and to assess the needs of the Kuwaiti society and GCC region for the basics of engineering safety.

On this occasion, Dr. Gad Elbeheri, Dean of Academic Affairs, said: “We are grateful and happy for the accreditation of the aca-

demic Engineering programs at ACK by Engineers Australia. We are proud to see ACK as the only educational institution outside Australia to obtain this significant accreditation, which not only reflects the success of ACK over the past years, but also its commitment towards its students and the Kuwaiti society.”

Dr Ayad Salhieh, Head of School of Engineering, added: “ACK provides a unique and innovative curriculum to prepare students for the contemporary practice of engineering in an educational environment that encourages integration between theory and application. We are proud to see ACK able to apply the curriculum over the years at the highest educational and practical training level.”

The curriculum used at ACK is distinguished for its project-based learning approach where students work closely with market specialists on specific projects throughout their study. The aim of the curriculum is to equip graduates with integrat-

AUK hosts Gallery Talk with Iranian artist, Reza Doust

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

Chairperson of the Pediatric and Adolescent Endocrinology Chapter of Consultant & Head, Department of Pediatrics, Jaber Al-Ahmed Armed Forces Hospital, Kuwait, Ex Vicechairman of its Growth and Development Chapter the Indian Academy of Pediatrics (IAP).

Topic: Turning Points. Facilitator: Lalitha Premkumar, Vice Principal, Bharathiya Vidya Bhavan Kuwait.

Topic: Learning Methods for Academic Excellence. Facilitator: Dr Carol Marshall, M Ed, US Educational Consultant, Topic: Competency Development.

Facilitator: Shilpa Pathak, Clinical Psychologist & Counselor, Salmiya Indian Model School Kuwait.

Topic: Road Map to the Future.

Facilitator: Adv Jayasooryan, Chairman-Winworld Foundation, Managing Director, VIAS Civil Service Academy.

Topic: Character Engineering.

Facilitator: Adv Jayasooryan Winding Session: Welcome Speech Dr. Roopesh, (Co-Ordinator Yuva Darshan & Joint Convenor of Yuva for India). Keynote Speaker: Adv Jayasooryan, on Nurturing the Child.

Felicitation speech: Dr Neelamani, Prof. Dr NandaKumar Moorkath, Shantha Maria James, vote of thanks, Vibheesh Thikkodi, general convener YUVA FOR INDIA, & Vichar Bharati Kuwait coordinator.

ACK receives ‘Engineers Australia’ accreditation for its programs

Thursday, January 30 at 7:30PM TOUKI BOUKI (Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project) Every month, we’ll be playing a film from the World Cinema Project. Established by Martin Scorsese in 2007, the World Cinema Project expands the horizons of moviegoers everywhere. The mission of the WCP is to preserve and present marginalized and infrequently screened films from regions generally ill equipped to preserve their own cinema history. This month�s film is Touki Bouki. With a stunning mix of the surreal and the naturalistic, Djibril Diop Mamb�ty paints a vivid, fractured portrait of Senegal in the early 1970s. With a stunning mix of the surreal and the naturalistic, Djibril Diop Mamb�ty paints a vivid, fractured portrait of Senegal in the early 1970s. In this French New Wave-influenced fantasy-drama, two young lovers long to leave Dakar for the glamour and comforts of France, but their escape plan is beset by complications both concrete and mystical. Characterized by dazzling imagery and music, the alternately manic and meditative Touki bouki is widely considered one of the most important African films ever made.

Cinemagic is organizing these events as part of its efforts to contribute to the development of an internationally competitive Kuwaiti audio-visual production industry, partly by bringing the filmmakers and audiences together and by increasing the public�s interest in - and appreciation for - the art of film-making. Cinemagic movies are screened in the old Salmiya, on the rooftop of Xcite and LG.

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espresso to everyday life at home.

Espresso is now available in Kuwait, through Al-Sanabel Al-Thahabiya Est. Tel: 22413795/98. Espresso Vergnano can be ordered through www.taw9eel.com Espresso Vergnano capsules are compatible with other espresso machines.

ichar Bharathi Kuwait, an affiliate to Seva Darshan (Indian Embassy registered organization, 2005) is the intellectual platform for like-minded professionals, manifesting the unification of refined thought process, with the aim to be the trigger in reforming the society.

While India is celebrating the 29th National Youth Day on Jan 12, the birthday of Swami Vivekandha, Vichar Bharathi, joining hands with Yuva Darshan takes the social responsibility by organizing a day long youth camp, “YUVA FOR INDIA”, to provide needed guidance and training for the integrated development of Indian youth in Kuwait.

Our patrons: Dr S Neelamani, Senior Research Scientist, Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research; Prof Dr NandaKumar Moorkath, Medical Faculty Kuwait University, Ex Chairman Dept of Obstetrics & Gynecology; Shantha Maria James, Principal (National Award Winner), Indian Central School, Kuwait, Former Chairperson of CBSE Affiliated Schools in Gulf; Krishnakumar Paliath, President, Seva Darshan, Kuwait; Ajayakumar TK, organizing secretary, Bala Darshan, Kuwait; Rajarajan Ganesan, Advisor Vichar Bharathi, Kuwait; Mohan Kumar, convener Nationalistic Media Forum.

Camp topics on Friday: Importance of Youth Camp, Keynote Speaker: Dr PS Menon, Ex

T

he Department of Art and Graphic Design at the American University of Kuwait hosted a gallery talk with Iranian artist, Reza Doust. Last month the artist provided a lecture and workshop for the art and design students and his visit concluded with a Gallery Talk.

The talk and demonstration provided students with technical and creative

ideas, as well as a studio experience with a working artist. After three decades of being an artist, Doust firmly believes in the importance of the right medium to express oneself. He discussed his art and shared his knowledge of technique, style and some of the mediums he has employed in his own work.

—Photos by Joseph Shagra

ed technical and theoretical knowledge.

Such empowerment enhances the level of student interest and motivation and leads to in-depth learning, thus enabling ACK

students to have preference in employment opportunities in the Kuwaiti market.

W H AT ’ S O N

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2014

Embassy Information

(From left): Ms. May Katkhuda, Director of Information Resource Center at the US Embassy; Ms Asma Al-Kanan, Library Director and the Coordinator of American Corner Activities; Dr. Nizar Hamzeh, AUK Interim President; AUK Alumna Radia Al-Afili; AUK Alumna Farah Al-Shamali; Dr Lisa Heilbronn, Counselor for Public Affairs at the Embassy of USA; Dr Gholamreza Vatandoust, Associate Professor of International Relations.

AUK Alums successfully complete MOOC course

EMBASSY OF SOUTH AFRICA South African Citizens, who are out of the country, are not already registered and wish to apply for registration to vote in the upcoming General Elections, are hereby offered the opportunity to apply for registration.

Registration is now open daily during working hours from 08h30 to 15h30 at the SA Embassy at Villa No 3, House No 91, Street 1, Block 10, Salwa. The closing date for registration will be 7 February 2014.

To be eligible to register at the SA Embassy, a person must : • Be a SA Citizen and be 16 years of age and older; • Submit a valid green bar-coded Identity Document, a valid Temporary Identity Certificate (valid for 2 months) or a Smart Card; • Submit a valid SA Passport; and • Submit in person the application form, the identity document and a valid passport.

NOTE : If you are already registered to vote in SA but are now living abroad, you are NOT required to re-register - best is to check your registration status on www.elections.org.za. If you discover that you are not registered to vote, then you are advised to register.

For any further enquiries, phone : Tel : 25617988 during working hours or visit the IEC Website at www.elections.org.za nnnnnnn

EMBASSY OF CANADA Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) is happy to announce that a NEW visa application centre (VAC) is now open and serving applicants. The VAC is located at: 12th Floor, Al Nassar Tower, Fahad Al Salem Street Alqibla Area, Kuwait City, Kuwait (Parking available at: Al Watiya Souk) E-mail: info.cankuw@vfshelpline.com Telephone: +965 2291 3770. Anyone wishing to apply for a temporary resident (visitor) visa, study permit, work permit or permanent resident travel document is encouraged to take advantage of the services provided at the VAC. The VAC is also equipped to collect biometrics, for all nationals that must submit their biometric information as part of their application. For more information on what VACs do, please visit the CIC website at www.cic.gc.ca/VAC. nnnnnnn

EMBASSY OF INDIA

AUK Alumna Radia Al-Afili receiving her award from Dr Hamzeh and Dr Heilbronn.

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n January 9th, the American Corner at the American University of Kuwait (AUK) Library hosted a ceremony to honor the very first group to complete a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC). The course was entitled”21st Century American Foreign Policy” and was offered by Dr. Bruce Jentleson of Duke University. Dr. Nizar Hamzeh, AUK Interim President, Dr. Lisa Heilbronn, the Counselor for Public Affairs at the Embassy of the United States of America, and Dr. Gholamreza Vatandoust, an Associate Professor at the Department of International Relations, attended the ceremony.

Ms. Asma Al-Kanan, Library Director and the Coordinator of American Corner Activities, welcomed everyone and spoke of what has been achieved over the past few months, emphasizing the importance of continuing education and the potential MOOCs offer to revolutionize the world of

AUK Alumna Farah Al-Shamali receiving her award from Dr Hamzeh and Dr eilbronn.

academia. She then invited Farah AlShamali, one of the graduates who completed the online course and managed the group, to speak about the experience on behalf of herself and her colleagues. She explained that this was a rare opportunity to be given a chance to create a new knowledge base instead of simply taking in information already accepted as such. Also, participating in discussion threads on varied issues with students around the world proved to be an enlightening experience.

The three AUK alumni; Radia Al-Afili, Dalal Marafie and Farah Al-Shamali, were presented with certificates to signify their successful accomplishment. President Nizar Hamzeh expressed his pride in the alumni who participated, and in AUK offering such opportunities that encourage critical thinking and urges other AUK students and graduates to follow in their footsteps.

AUK Alumna Dalal Marafie receiving her award from Dr Hamzeh and Dr Heilbronn.

Embassy of India

I

ndian Community Welfare Fund (ICWF) has been established by the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA), Government of India, with an aim to provide following welfare services to the members of Indian Community in distress: (i) Boarding and lodging for distressed overseas Indian workers in household / domestic sectors and unskilled labourers; (ii) Extending emergency medical care to the overseas Indians in need; (iii) Providing air passage to India to stranded overseas Indians in need; (iv) Providing initial legal assistance to the overseas Indians in deserving cases, (v) Expenditure on incidentals and for airlifting the mortal remains to India or local cremation/burial of the deceased overseas Indian in such cases where a sponsor is unable or unwilling to do so as per the contract and the family is unable to meet the cost.

2. Indian workers in need of emergency assistance or any other overseas Indian citizens who are in distress would be the main beneficiaries of the Fund.

4. The ICWF is self sustained by the Embassy through funds raised by levying a nominal service charge on consular services and through voluntary contributions from the Indian community. So, the expenditure on the activities mentioned above would be met by levying a nominal charge as per GOI guidelines. The amount fixed by the MOIA is Rs 100/- per document for all consular services, which comes out to be 0.500 KD (rounded figure) in local currency. The consular services include passport related services, attestation of documents, relation certificates, and other miscellaneous services.

The link pertaining to the details of the ICWF funds is ttp://moia.gov.in/services.aspx?id1=345&idp=345& mainid=73

India and Kuwait have enjoyed historically close, warm and friendly ties. The visit of His Highness Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, Prime Minister of Kuwait to India in November 2013 has imparted a new thrust to the strengthening further of the bilateral ties. To facilitate travel of Kuwaiti nationals to India for business, tourism, medical and study purposes, the embassy has adopted the following visa structure for Kuwaiti nationals with immediate effect:

Please apply Indian visa online at www.bls-international.com and deposit visa application, with applicable visa fee and service charge, at either M/s.

BLS International Services, Emad Commercial Centre, Basement floor Ahmed Al-Jaber Street, Sharq, Kuwait city (Telephone: 22986607 - Fax: 22470006) or M/s. BLS International Services, Mujamma Unood, 4th floor, Office No.25-26 Makka Street, Entrance 5, Fahaheel, Kuwait (Telephone: 22986607 - Fax: 22470006). For additional information, please contact Second Secretary (Consular) in the Embassy at sscons@indembkwt.org.

In addition, a service charge of KD 5 will also apply for each visa service provided. nnnnnnn

K’S Path weekly adoption DOG:

Jack is a 7 month-old male Jack Russell Terrier. He is super friendly, social and loves to play! He would do best in a home with kids over 10. For more information about Jack call (+965) 67001622 or email info@kspath.org.

CAT: Carlton is a 2 year-old male Blue Russian. He is friendly, laid-back and likes to wander around the house! Carlton would be a great addition to a family with kids over 12. For more information about Carlton call (+965) 67001622 or email info@kspath.org.

Souhridavedi conducts New Year, family get together celebrations

S

ouhridavedhi Kuwait conducted New Year Celebrations & Family Get together in a colorful atmosphere at Salmiya. The programme was inaugurated by George Panachayil (President) by lighting the traditional lamp, Samkutty George, Ashwin M.V., Jean Joseph Abraham, Lionel Fernandes, Roy T. Sam, Sagar Nair, Varghese T.T. & Thomas George (Wilson) felicitated on the occasion. The get together was attended by members and their families. A variety of games and various other activities were conducted for the members which added color to the event. The get together ended with a prayer song by children which was followed by a grand dinner in Kerala style. Parimanam Manoj (Secretary) welcomed all & Manoj Menon (Treasurer) proposed the vote of thanks.

EMBASSY OF US The US Embassy in Kuwait has new procedures for obtaining appointments and picking up passports after visa issuance. We now provide an online visa appointment system, live call center, and in-person pick-up facilities in Kuwait.

Please monitor our website and social media for additional information. This new system offers more flexibility for travelers to the US and to meet the increase in demand for visa appointments.

The general application steps on the new visa appointment system are: 1. Go to www.ustraveldocs.com/kw (if this is the first time on ustraveldocs.com, you will need to create a profile to login).

2. Please complete your DS-160 Online Visa Application which is available at ceac.state.gov/genNIV. 3. Please print and take your deposit slip to any Burgan Bank location to pay your visa application fee.

4. Schedule an appointment for your visa interview online at www.ustraveldocs.com/kw or by phone through the Call Center (at +9652227-1673).

5. If you need to change or cancel your appointment, please do so 24 hours beforehand, as a courtesy to other applicants. For more information, please visit the US Embassy website kuwait.usembassy.gov - as it is the best source of information regarding these changes.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2014

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

Steve Irwin’s Wildlife Warriors Animal Cops Houston Mermaids: The Body Found Lions Of Crocodile River Bondi Vet Steve Irwin’s Wildlife Warriors Steve Irwin’s Wildlife Warriors Animal Cops Houston Gator Boys Swamp Brothers Monkey Life Bondi Vet Wild France Growing Up...

Lions Of Crocodile River Animal Cops Philadelphia Monkey Life Swamp Brothers Meet The Sloths Meet The Sloths Outback Rangers Outback Rangers Lions Of Crocodile River My Cat From Hell Wildest Arctic Steve Irwin’s Wildlife Warriors Steve Irwin’s Wildlife Warriors Pandamonium Bondi Vet Steve Irwin’s Wildlife Warriors Steve Irwin’s Wildlife Warriors Hippo: The Wild Feast North America Galapagos

00:00 Eastenders 00:30 Doctors 01:00 Abandoned At Birth 01:50 Life On Mars 02:40 Case Sensitive: The Point Of Rescue 04:15 The Weakest Link 05:00 Balamory 05:20 Charlie And Lola 05:35 The Green Balloon Club 06:00 3rd & Bird 06:10 Poetry Pie 06:15 Balamory 06:35 Charlie And Lola 06:50 The Green Balloon Club 07:15 3rd & Bird 07:25 Poetry Pie 07:30 The Weakest Link 08:15 Last Of The Summer Wine 08:45 Moone Boy 09:15 Eastenders 09:45 Doctors 10:15 Abandoned At Birth 11:05 Tess Of The D’urbervilles 12:00 The Weakest Link 12:45 Last Of The Summer Wine 13:15 Moone Boy 13:40 Eastenders 14:10 Doctors 14:40 Abandoned At Birth 15:30 Tess Of The D’urbervilles 16:25 The Weakest Link 17:10 Eastenders 17:40 Doctors 18:10 Prison, My Family & Me 19:00 One Foot In The Grave 19:30 Absolutely Fabulous 20:00 Stella 20:45 Alan Carr: Chatty Man 21:30 The Office 22:00 The Shadow Line 23:00 The Weakest Link 23:45 Eastenders

00:40 01:10 01:35 02:25 03:10 04:00 04:25 05:10 05:40 06:05 06:30

Cash In The Attic Cash In The Attic Come Dine With Me MasterChef Australia MasterChef Australia The Little Paris Kitchen Fantasy Homes By The Sea Cash In The Attic Cash In The Attic The Little Paris Kitchen Bargain Hunt

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

Fantasy Homes By The Sea Bargain Hunt Marbella Mansions Masterchef: The Professionals The Little Paris Kitchen Come Dine With Me Come Dine With Me Gok’s Fashion Fix Fantasy Homes By The Sea Antiques Roadshow Design Star Design Star Bargain Hunt Cash In The Attic Cash In The Attic Antiques Roadshow Marbella Mansions Food & Drink A Taste Of Greenland Come Dine With Me Antiques Roadshow Bargain Hunt

00:30 Bear Grylls: How To Stay Alive 01:20 Swimming With Monsters: Steve Backshall 02:10 River Monsters 03:00 Bush Pilots 03:50 Border Security 04:15 Auction Kings 04:40 American Digger 05:05 How Do They Do It? 05:30 How It’s Made 06:00 Sons Of Guns 07:00 Bush Pilots 07:50 Alaska: The Last Frontier 08:40 Fast N’ Loud 09:30 Border Security 09:55 Auction Kings 10:20 American Digger 10:45 How Do They Do It? 11:10 How It’s Made 11:35 Bear Grylls: How To Stay Alive 12:25 Swimming With Monsters: Steve Backshall 13:15 River Monsters 14:05 Border Security 14:30 Auction Kings 14:55 American Digger 15:20 Finding Bigfoot 16:10 Fast N’ Loud 17:00 Ultimate Survival 17:50 Dirty Jobs 18:40 Bush Pilots 19:30 Sons Of Guns 20:20 How Do They Do It? 20:45 How It’s Made 21:10 Auction Kings 21:35 American Digger 22:00 You Have Been Warned 22:50 Treehouse Masters 23:40 Mythbusters

00:00 00:20 00:45 01:05 01:30 01:50 02:15 02:35 03:00 03:20 03:45 04:05 04:30 04:50 05:15 05:35 06:00 06:25 06:45 07:10 07:35 07:55 08:20 08:45 09:05 09:30 09:35 11:05

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 Jessie Good Luck Charlie Dog With A Blog Disney Mickey Mouse Shorts Geek Charming Jessie

11:25 11:50 12:15 12:35 13:00 13:25 13:45 14:10 14:35 15:00 15:25 15:50 16:10 17:00 17:20 17:45 18:10 18:30 18:55 19:20 20:05 20:30 20:50 21:15 21:40 22:00 22:25 22:50 23:10 23:35

Wolfblood 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 Wolfblood Gravity Falls Jessie Violetta Mako Mermaids Austin And Ally Wolfblood Jessie Good Luck Charlie Dog With A Blog Violetta Jessie My Babysitter’s A Vampire Wolfblood Gravity Falls Shake It Up Austin And Ally A.N.T. Farm Good Luck Charlie Wizards Of Waverly Place Wizards Of Waverly Place

00:00 Chelsea Lately 00:30 The Dance Scene 00:55 The Dance Scene 01:25 Style Star 01:50 Style Star 02:20 E! Investigates 03:15 Extreme Close-Up 03:40 Extreme Close-Up 04:10 THS 05:05 E!ES 06:00 15 Remarkable Celebrity Body Bouncebacks 07:50 Style Star 08:20 Fashion Police 09:15 Scouted 10:15 Married To Jonas 10:40 Chasing The Saturdays 11:10 The Drama Queen 12:05 Fashion Police 13:05 Extreme Close-Up 13:35 E!ES 14:30 Style Star 15:00 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 16:00 Kourtney & Kim Take New York 17:00 The Wanted Life 18:00 E! News 19:00 Fashion Police 20:00 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 21:00 The Drama Queen 22:00 E!ES 22:30 E! News 23:30 Chelsea Lately

00:15 00:40 01:05 01:30 01:55 02:20 02:45 03:10 03:35 04:00 04:25 Feasts 04:50 05:40 06:30 06:50 07:10 08:00 08:25 08:50 09:15 10:05 10:30 11:20 11:45 Feasts

Unique Eats Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives Tastiest Places To Chowdown Easy Chinese: San Francisco Charly’s Cake Angels Unwrapped Unwrapped Unwrapped Unique Eats Unique Eats Andy Bates American Street Iron Chef America Chopped Unwrapped Tastiest Places To Chowdown Food Network Challenge Luke Nguyen’s Vietnam Roadtrip With G. Garvin Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives Iron Chef America Barefoot Contessa Amazing Wedding Cakes Easy Chinese: San Francisco Andy Bates American Street

CATCH .44 ON OSN MOVIES HD ACTION

OSN signs landmark deal with AMC networks to launch Sundance Channel HD in MENA

O

THIS MEANS WAR ON OSN MOVIES COMEDY HD 12:10 Tastiest Places To Chowdown 12:35 Grill It! With Bobby Flay 13:00 Reza, Spice Prince Of India 13:25 Charly’s Cake Angels 13:50 Siba’s Table 14:15 Barefoot Contessa 14:40 Healthy Appetite With Ellie Krieger 15:05 Food Network Challenge 15:55 Roadtrip With G. Garvin 16:20 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 16:45 Chopped 17:35 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 18:00 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 18:25 Symon’s Suppers 18:50 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 19:15 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 19:40 Siba’s Table 20:05 Reza’s African Kitchen 20:30 Tastiest Places To Chowdown 20:55 Roadtrip With G. Garvin 21:20 Chopped 22:10 Food Network Challenge 23:00 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 23:25 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 23:50 Roadtrip With G. Garvin

00:00 Rebuilding Titanic 01:00 Convoy: War For The Atlantic 02:00 Battleground Brothers 03:00 Diggers 03:30 Diggers 04:00 What Would Happen If 04:30 What Would Happen If 05:00 Naked Science 06:00 Untamed Americas 07:00 World’s Toughest Fixes 08:00 Rebuilding Titanic 09:00 Convoy: War For The Atlantic 10:00 Battleground Brothers 11:00 Untamed Americas 12:00 What Would Happen If 12:30 What Would Happen If 13:00 Evolutions 14:00 Untamed Americas 15:00 World’s Toughest Fixes 16:00 Rebuilding Titanic 17:00 Apocalypse: The Second World War 18:00 Battleground Brothers 19:00 Ultimate Survival Alaska 20:00 One Ocean 21:00 Animal Autopsy 22:00 Wild Russia 23:00 Mystery Files 23:30 Mystery Files

00:30 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 01:00 The Colbert Report 01:30 It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia 02:00 Family Guy 02:30 The League 03:00 Raising Hope 03:30 Melissa & Joey 04:00 Arrested Development 04:30 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 05:30 Arrested Development 06:00 Two And A Half Men 06:30 Friends 07:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 08:00 Arrested Development 08:30 Arrested Development 09:00 Raising Hope 09:30 The Crazy Ones 10:00 Trophy Wife 10:30 Friends 11:00 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 12:00 Two And A Half Men 12:30 Arrested Development 13:00 Arrested Development 13:30 Friends 14:00 Melissa & Joey 14:30 The Crazy Ones 15:00 Trophy Wife 15:30 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 16:00 The Colbert Report 16:30 Two And A Half Men

17:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 18:00 Raising Hope 18:30 How To Live With Your Parents 19:00 Guys With Kids 19:30 Community 20:00 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 21:00 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 21:30 The Colbert Report 22:00 It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia 22:30 Family Guy 23:00 The League 23:30 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon

03:00 15:00 17:00 18:00 19:00 22:00 23:00

Rescue Me Defiance The Ellen DeGeneres Show Bones Twisted Hannibal Rescue Me

00:00 Amphibious-18 02:00 Seconds Apart-PG15 04:00 Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome-PG15 06:00 True Justice: Angel Of DeathPG15 07:45 Men In Black 3-PG 09:45 The Da Vinci Code-PG15 12:15 Ultraviolet-PG15 14:00 Men In Black 3-PG 16:00 When A Stranger Calls-PG15 18:00 Ultraviolet-PG15 20:00 The Blood Bond-PG15 22:00 Catch .44-PG15

00:00 02:00 04:00 06:00 08:00 10:00 12:00 14:00 16:00 18:00 20:00 22:00 PG15

American Cowslip-18 Flypaper-PG15 The Big Bus-PG Summer School-PG15 This Means War-PG15 I Think I Do-PG15 The Big Bus-PG Falling Star-PG15 I Think I Do-PG15 Nacho Libre-PG Stripes-18 Under New Management-

00:45 02:45 04:15 07:15 09:00 11:00 12:30 15:30 17:30 19:30 21:30

Beneath Hill 60-PG15 A Christmas Kiss-PG15 Treasure Island-PG15 A Woman-PG15 Beneath Hill 60-PG15 Beastly-PG15 Hindenburg-PG15 Love Takes Wing-PG15 The Wild Hunt-PG15 Summer Coda-PG15 Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy-PG15

02:00 04:00 06:00 08:00 10:15 12:00 13:30 15:30 17:30 19:00 PG15 21:00 23:00

Vampire-18 Year Of The Dog-PG15 Dying Young-PG15 The Rainmaker-PG15 Jack The Bear-PG15 StreetDance 2-PG15 Year Of The Dog-PG15 The Crucible-PG15 StreetDance 2-PG15 The Greatest Movie Ever SoldInternal Affairs-18 J. Edgar-18

01:45 03:45 05:45 07:15

50/50-PG15 Saving Grace B. Jones-PG15 Crisis Point-PG15 My Own Love Song-PG15

09:00 11:00 13:00 PG15 15:00 PG15 17:00 19:00 21:00 23:00

People Like Us-PG15 Dirty Teacher-PG15 When Love Is Not EnoughMadea’s Big Happy FamilyPeople Like Us-PG15 Rock Of Ages-PG15 The Sessions-R Total Recall-18

01:00 Cash-PG15 03:00 Anna Karenina-PG15 05:15 Hotel Transylvania-PG 07:00 Bernie-PG15 09:00 The Three Stooges-PG15 11:00 A Monster In Paris-PG 13:00 Remember Sunday-PG15 15:00 Cirque Du Soleil: Worlds Away-PG 17:00 The Three Stooges-PG15 19:00 The Descendants-PG15 21:00 Midnight In Paris-PG15 23:00 Prometheus-PG15

01:00 Hotel Transylvania-PG 02:45 A Christmas Story 2-PG 04:15 George Harrison: Living In The Material World-PG15 08:00 True Justice: One Shot, One Life-PG15 10:00 Mission: Impossible III-PG15 12:15 Diary Of A Wimpy Kid: Dog Days-PG 14:00 Ice Road Terror-PG15 16:00 True Justice: One Shot, One Life-PG15 18:00 Oz The Great And Powerful-PG 20:15 Killing Them Softly-18 22:00 Paranormal Activity 4-18

02:00 02:30 03:00 06:00 07:00 11:30 15:30 16:00 21:30 22:00

SN, the region’s leading pay-TV network, has signed a landmark deal with Sundance Channel Global, the international division of AMC Networks (NASDAQ:AMCX), to launch its flagship Sundance Channel HD in the Middle East and North Africa region.

The new channel, which celebrates independent feature films, world cinema, documentaries, short films, series and original programmes, will be available exclusively on OSN from January 15th 2014.

Following the recent addition of OSN Fight Network HD last month, Sundance Channel HD will complement OSN’s existing line-up of over 135 channels, including 15 movie channels and 14 entertainment/series channels offering even more premium and exclusive content choices to OSN viewers. This latest channel also takes the total number of HD channels now available on OSN to 37.

David Butorac, Chief Executive Officer of OSN, said: “Our partnership with AMC/Sundance Channel Global highlights our commitment to continuously enhance the TV choices we provide through original and differentiating content.

“OSN viewers will be the first to enjoy a wide range of fascinating series, reality shows and independent films never seen before in the region. Sundance channel is a perfect fit to our exclusive showcase of premium entertainment introducing viewers to bold stories with a fresh and unique point of view.”

Bruce Tuchman, President of AMC/Sundance Channel Global, said: “This exciting launch will significantly extend the reach of Sundance Channel into new territories throughout the Middle East and North Africa for the first time.

We’re looking forward to working closely with OSN, the Premier Pay TV platform in the region, to deliver original dramatic series alongside the best independent cinema.”

Launched in 1996 by Robert Redford, Sundance Channel defined a new era in independent filmmaking. Showcasing both today’s creative icons and emerging talent of tomorrow, the channel celebrates Redford’s approach to creativity and independent content creation.

Sundance Channel will be available both in the content’s original language and with Arabic subtitling. The new channel will be available to OSN subscribers on the Platinum HD and Premier HD packages and movie buffs can access Sundance Channel HD’s award-winning content anytime, anywhere via OSN Play, the region’s first online TV viewing platform.

Programming will include a film strand entitled 10 days of Sundance featuring high profile films from the festival including Computer Chess, The Meteor and Halley, as well as Rectify, a critically acclaimed original series from the producers of Breaking Bad and Secret State, a scintillating political thriller.

For more details on Sundance Channel HD and to subscribe, please visit www.osn.com

Futbol Mundial Inside The PGA Tour Live PGA Tour Cricket ODI Series Highlights PGA European Tour PGA Tour Futbol Mundial Live Snooker Masters ICC Cricket 360 Live Snooker Masters

00:00 NFL Gameday 00:30 Live NFL 03:30 Live NHL 06:30 Futbol Mundial 07:00 NFL 09:30 NFL 12:00 NHL 14:00 Top 14 Highlights 14:30 Darts 17:30 Cricket ODI Series Highlights 18:30 Futbol Mundial 19:00 PGA Tour Highlights 20:00 PGA European Tour Highlights 21:00 NFL 23:30 NHL

01:30 Trans World Sport 02:30 FEI Equestrian World 03:00 HSBC Sevens World Series 07:00 Golfing World 08:00 Snooker Masters 12:00 Futbol Mundial 12:30 ICC Cricket 360 13:00 Golfing World 14:00 Amlin Challenge Cup 16:00 FEI Equestrian World 16:30 FEI Equestrian World 17:00 Futbol Mundial 17:30 Golfing World 18:30 ICC Cricket 360 19:00 Amlin Challenge Cup 21:00 Golfing World 22:00 PGA Tour Highlights 23:00 PGA European Tour Highlights

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2

Classifieds WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2014

Kuwait

KNCC PROGRAMME FROM THURSDAY TO WEDNESDAY (09/01/2014 TO 15/01/2014)

SHARQIA-1 MR.GO (DIG) MR.GO (DIG) 12 YEARS A SLAVE (DIG) MR.GO (DIG) 12 YEARS A SLAVE (DIG)

1:15 PM 4:00 PM 6:45 PM 9:15 PM 12:05 AM

FANAR-4 THE WOLF OF WALL STREET (DIG) 47 RONIN (DIG) THE WOLF OF WALL STREET (DIG) THE WOLF OF WALL STREET (DIG) THE WOLF OF WALL STREET (DIG)

SHARQIA-2 THE WOLF OF WALL STREET (DIG) NIKO 2: LITTLE BROTHER, BIG TROUBLE (DIG-3D) FROZEN (DIG-3D) THE WOLF OF WALL STREET (DIG) THE WOLF OF WALL STREET (DIG) THE WOLF OF WALL STREET (DIG)

1:00 PM 3:30 PM 5:15 PM 7:30 PM 10:00 PM 12:30 AM

FANAR-5 MR.GO (DIG) MR.GO (DIG) MR.GO (DIG) MR.GO (DIG) MR.GO (DIG)

12:45 PM 3:30 PM 6:15 PM 9:00 PM 11:45 PM

SHARQIA-3 JUSTIN AND THE KNIGHTS OF VALOUR (DIG) POLICE STORY 2014 (DIG) JUSTIN AND THE KNIGHTS OF VALOUR (DIG) HOMEFRONT (DIG) HOMEFRONT (DIG) POLICE STORY 2014 (DIG)

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

MARINA-1 JUSTIN AND THE KNIGHTS OF VALOUR (DIG) HOMEFRONT (DIG) JUSTIN AND THE KNIGHTS OF VALOUR (DIG) HOMEFRONT (DIG) POLICE STORY 2014 (DIG) HOMEFRONT (DIG)

1:30 PM 3:45 PM 5:45 PM 7:45 PM 9:45 PM 12:05 AM

MARINA-2 MR.GO (DIG) MR.GO (DIG) MR.GO (DIG) 12 YEARS A SLAVE (DIG) 12 YEARS A SLAVE (DIG)

2:00 PM 4:45 PM 7:30 PM 10:15 PM 12:45 AM

MARINA-3 NIKO 2: LITTLE BROTHER, BIG TROUBLE (DIG-3D) NIKO 2: LITTLE BROTHER, BIG TROUBLE (DIG-3D) FROZEN (DIG-3D) THE WOLF OF WALL STREET (DIG) THE WOLF OF WALL STREET (DIG) THE WOLF OF WALL STREET (DIG)

1:45 PM 3:30 PM 5:15 PM 7:30 PM 10:00 PM 12:30 AM

AVENUES-1 NIKO 2: LITTLE BROTHER, BIG TROUBLE (DIG) FROZEN (DIG) NIKO 2: LITTLE BROTHER, BIG TROUBLE (DIG) FROZEN (DIG) POLICE STORY 2014 (DIG) POLICE STORY 2014 (DIG)

1:00 PM 3:45 PM 6:00 PM 7:45 PM 10:00 PM 12:30 AM

AVENUES-2 12 YEARS A SLAVE (DIG) 12 YEARS A SLAVE (DIG) 12 YEARS A SLAVE (DIG) 12 YEARS A SLAVE (DIG) 12 YEARS A SLAVE (DIG)

12:45 PM 3:30 PM 6:15 PM 9:00 PM 11:45 PM

MUHALAB-1 NIKO 2: LITTLE BROTHER, BIG TROUBLE (DIG) NIKO 2: LITTLE BROTHER, BIG TROUBLE (DIG) HOMEFRONT (DIG) NENOKKADINE (DIG) (TELUGU) THU+FRI YEVADU (DIG) (TELUGU) NO THU+FRI HOMEFRONT (DIG) MUHALAB-2 MR.GO (DIG) 12 YEARS A SLAVE (DIG) MR.GO (DIG) 12 YEARS A SLAVE (DIG)

12:30 PM 2:15 PM 4:00 PM 6:00 PM 6:00 PM 9:30 PM 1:15 PM 4:00 PM 6:30 PM 9:15 PM

MUHALAB-3 JUSTIN AND THE KNIGHTS OF VALOUR (DIG-3D) FROZEN (DIG-3D) JUSTIN AND THE KNIGHTS OF VALOUR (DIG-3D) THE WOLF OF WALL STREET (DIG) THE WOLF OF WALL STREET (DIG)

12:45 PM 2:45 PM 5:00 PM 7:15 PM 9:45 PM

FANAR-1 JUSTIN AND THE KNIGHTS OF VALOUR (DIG) JUSTIN AND THE KNIGHTS OF VALOUR (DIG) JUSTIN AND THE KNIGHTS OF VALOUR (DIG) 12 YEARS A SLAVE (DIG) 12 YEARS A SLAVE (DIG) 12 YEARS A SLAVE (DIG)

1:00 PM 3:15 PM 5:15 PM 7:15 PM 9:45 PM 12:15 AM

FANAR-2 NIKO 2: LITTLE BROTHER, BIG TROUBLE (DIG) FROZEN (DIG) NIKO 2: LITTLE BROTHER, BIG TROUBLE (DIG) FROZEN (DIG) HOMEFRONT (DIG) HOMEFRONT (DIG) HOMEFRONT (DIG) FANAR-3 GRUDGE MATCH (DIG) POLICE STORY 2014 (DIG) GRUDGE MATCH (DIG) JILLA (DIG) (TAMIL) THU+FRI YEVADU (DIG) (TELUGU) NO THU+FRI POLICE STORY 2014 (DIG) POLICE STORY 2014 (DIG)

2:00 PM 4:30 PM 7:00 PM 9:30 PM 12:05 AM

12:30 PM 2:15 PM 4:30 PM 6:15 PM 8:30 PM 10:30 PM 12:30 AM 12:45 PM 3:00 PM 5:15 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 11:00 PM 1:15 AM

AVENUES-3 MR.GO (DIG-3D) MR.GO (DIG-3D) MR.GO (DIG-3D) MR.GO (DIG-3D)

2:30 PM 5:15 PM 8:00 PM 10:45 PM

360ยบ- 2 GRUDGE MATCH (DIG) GRUDGE MATCH (DIG) GRUDGE MATCH (DIG) THE WOLF OF WALL STREET (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

2:00 PM 4:45 PM 7:30 PM 9:45 PM

360ยบ- 3 FROZEN (DIG-3D) FROZEN (DIG-3D) FROZEN (DIG-3D) FROZEN (DIG-3D) 12 YEARS A SLAVE (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

2:00 PM 4:15 PM 6:30 PM 8:45 PM 11:30 PM

360ยบ- 4 JUSTIN AND THE KNIGHTS OF VALOUR (DIG-3D) JUSTIN AND THE KNIGHTS OF VALOUR (DIG-3D) JUSTIN AND THE KNIGHTS OF VALOUR (DIG-3D) JUSTIN AND THE KNIGHTS OF VALOUR (DIG-3D) JUSTIN AND THE KNIGHTS OF VALOUR (DIG-3D) MR.GO (DIG-3D) NO SUN+TUE+WED

12:30 PM 2:45 PM 4:45 PM 7:00 PM 9:00 PM 11:00 PM

AL-KOUT.1 JUSTIN AND THE KNIGHTS OF VALOUR (DIG-3D) JUSTIN AND THE KNIGHTS OF VALOUR (DIG-3D) JUSTIN AND THE KNIGHTS OF VALOUR (DIG-3D) THE WOLF OF WALL STREET (DIG) THE WOLF OF WALL STREET (DIG) THE WOLF OF WALL STREET (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

12:30 PM 2:30 PM 4:30 PM 6:45 PM 9:15 PM 11:45 PM

AL-KOUT.2 MR.GO (DIG) MR.GO (DIG) 12 YEARS A SLAVE (DIG) MR.GO (DIG) 12 YEARS A SLAVE (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

2:00 PM 4:45 PM 7:30 PM 10:00 PM 12:45 AM

AL-KOUT.3 NIKO 2: LITTLE BROTHER, BIG TROUBLE (DIG) HOMEFRONT (DIG) NIKO 2: LITTLE BROTHER, BIG TROUBLE (DIG) FROZEN (DIG) HOMEFRONT (DIG) HOMEFRONT (DIG) HOMEFRONT (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

12:45 PM 2:30 PM 4:45 PM 6:30 PM 9:00 PM 11:00 PM 1:00 AM

AL-KOUT.4 VEERAM (DIG) (TAMIL) VEERAM (DIG) (TAMIL) VEERAM (DIG) (TAMIL) VEERAM (DIG) (TAMIL) POLICE STORY 2013 (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

12:30 PM 3:30 PM 6:30 PM 9:30 PM 12:30 AM

AVENUES-4 HOMEFRONT (DIG) HOMEFRONT (DIG) HOMEFRONT (DIG) 12 YEARS A SLAVE (DIG) HOMEFRONT (DIG) HOMEFRONT (DIG)

1:00 PM 3:00 PM 5:15 PM 7:30 PM 10:15 PM 12:15 AM

BAIRAQ-1 JUSTIN AND THE KNIGHTS OF VALOUR (DIG) FROZEN (DIG-3D) JUSTIN AND THE KNIGHTS OF VALOUR (DIG) HOMEFRONT (DIG) HOMEFRONT (DIG) HOMEFRONT (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

360ยบ- 1 THE WOLF OF WALL STREET (DIG) THE WOLF OF WALL STREET (DIG) THE WOLF OF WALL STREET (DIG) THE WOLF OF WALL STREET (DIG) THE WOLF OF WALL STREET (DIG)

1:00 PM 3:30 PM 6:15 PM 9:00 PM 11:45 PM

BAIRAQ-2 12 YEARS A SLAVE (DIG) THE WOLF OF WALL STREET (DIG) 12 YEARS A SLAVE (DIG) THE WOLF OF WALL STREET (DIG)

1:45 PM 3:45 PM 6:00 PM 8:00 PM 10:00 PM 12:05 AM

2:00 PM 4:30 PM 7:00 PM 9:30 PM

CHANGE OF NAME I, Wasique Mifzal Sayed Mohammed, born on 0803-1995, holder of Indian passport with number J 4440799 issued at Kuwait on 12-01-2011, hereby change my name to Sayed Mohammed Wasique Mifzal. My address in India is Dariapur, PO Kood, Dist Cuttack, Orissa. Henceforth I shall be known as Sayed Mohammed Wasique Mifzal for all purposes. (C 4619) 15-1-2014 My old name was Fakhruddin Khamusi now I want to change my name Shabbir Husain Lukmani. In

future I know from new name Shabbir Husain Lukmani M Mohammad Husain Khamusi Nichlipol Banswara Rajasthan, India.

(C 4615) 13-1-2014 ACCOMMODATION Sharing accommodation available for a single working lady with another lady in Mangaf in a three bed spacious flat in good location from March 1. Contact: 66395004. (C 4618) 14-1-2014 Sharing accommodation available near United Indian School, Abbassiya.

Contact: 97612248.

(C 4614) FOR SALE Toyota Camry model 2013, GLX full options, sunroof, alloy rim, fog lamp, sensor + camera etc, installment possible. Cash price KD 4,950. Tel 99745593.

(C 4616) 13-1-2014 SITUATION VACANT Driver needed for Kuwaiti family, full-time or parttime. Mobile: 60623330.

(C 4617) 14-1-2014

Directorate General of Civil Aviation Home Page (www.kuwait-airport.com.kw)

Airlines JAI JZR JZR THY QTR DLH ETH GFA THY UAE ETD JAI OMA JZR MSR QTR FDB THY DHX FDB JZR BAW FDB QTR KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC UAE ABY IRM ETD FDB QTR GFA IRA IAW MEA JZR JZR TMA MSC IRM UAE MSR KAC KAC CLX FDB QTR MSR

Arrival Flights on Wednesday 15/1/2014 Flt Route Time 574 MUMBAI 00:10 539 CAIRO 00:40 267 BEIRUT 00:40 772 ISTANBUL 00:45 1084 DOHA 00:55 637 DAMMAM 01:10 620 ADDIS ABABA 01:45 211 BAHRAIN 02:10 764 SABIHA 02:15 853 DUBAI 02:35 305 ABU DHABI-INTL 02:45 576 COCHIN 02:50 643 MUSCAT 03:05 555 ALEXANDRIA 02:25 612 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 53 DUBAI 07:50 1086 DOHA 07:50 206 ISLAMABAD 07:40 412 MANILA 06:45 302 MUMBAI 07:55 344 CHENNAI 08:35 352 COCHIN 08:10 362 COLOMBO 08:45 855 DUBAI 08:40 125 SHARJAH 09:00 1186 TEHRAN 09:15 301 ABU DHABI-INTL 09:20 55 DUBAI 09:40 1070 DOHA 09:55 213 BAHRAIN 10:40 603 SHIRAZ 10:45 157 BAGHDAD 11:00 404 BEIRUT 11:55 165 DUBAI 11:30 561 SOHAG 12:55 213 BEIRUT 12:10 403 ASYUT 12:20 1188 MASHAD 12:40 871 DUBAI 12:50 610 CAIRO 13:00 382 DELHI 13:05 522 NAJAF 13:45 792 LUXEMBOURG 13:15 57 DUBAI 13:50 1078 DOHA 13:55 575 SHARM EL SHEIKH 14:15

KAC SVA IRC KNE KNE KAC JAV KNE QTR KAC UAE ETD RJA SVA ABY GFA JZR JZR JZR JZR RBG KAC KAC QTR FDB KAC IYE GFA OMA KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC FDB MSC JAI ABY ETD AXB MSR DLH YYY ALK MEA ETD UAE KNE GFA JZR JZR QTR FDB AIC JZR

790 500 6692 472 462 788 621 460 1072 538 857 303 640 510 127 215 777 787 357 177 553 786 542 1080 63 284 826 217 647 102 166 674 618 774 61 405 572 129 919 489 606 634 7777 229 402 307 859 480 219 239 135 1074 59 975 185

MEDINAH JEDDAH MASHAD JEDDAH MEDINAH JEDDAH AMMAN-QUEEN ALIA RIYADH DOHA SOHAG DUBAI ABU DHABI-INTL AMMAN-QUEEN ALIA RIYADH SHARJAH BAHRAIN JEDDAH RIYADH MASHAD DUBAI ALEXANDRIA JEDDAH CAIRO DOHA DUBAI DHAKA SANAA BAHRAIN MUSCAT NEW YORK PARIS DUBAI DOHA RIYADH DUBAI SOHAG MUMBAI SHARJAH ABU DHABI-INTL COCHIN LUXOR FRANKFURT SHARJAH COLOMBO BEIRUT ABU DHABI-INTL DUBAI TAIF BAHRAIN AMMAN-QUEEN ALIA BAHRAIN DOHA DUBAI CHENNAI DUBAI

14:25 14:30 14:35 14:35 15:45 15:10 15:55 15:55 16:40 16:05 16:40 16:50 16:55 17:15 17:25 17:30 17:55 17:00 17:55 18:20 18:15 18:45 18:05 18:40 18:45 18:00 18:55 19:30 19:55 19:35 19:10 19:25 19:00 19:30 20:05 20:05 20:10 20:20 20:25 20:35 20:45 20:55 20:00 21:10 21:20 21:35 21:40 21:45 21:45 22:20 22:05 22:00 22:00 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 FDB BAW QTR KAC KAC ABY KAC UAE KAC KAC ETD FDB IRM KAC QTR GFA KAC IRA JZR IAW KAC JZR MEA KAC MSC JZR JZR TMA MSR IRM UAE FDB

Departure Flights on Wednesday 15/1/2014 Flt Route Time 982 AHMEDABAD 00:05 981 WASHINGTON 00:55 573 MUMBAI 01:10 637 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 BAHRAIN 07:15 771 ISTANBUL-ATATURK 07:30 54 DUBAI 08:30 156 LONDON 08:45 1087 DOHA 08:50 537 SOHAG 09:25 787 JEDDAH 09:25 126 SHARJAH 09:40 789 MADINAH 09:45 856 DUBAI 09:55 117 NEW YORK 10:00 521 AL NAJAF 10:05 302 ABU DHABI 10:05 56 DUBAI 10:20 1187 TEHRAN 10:30 175 FRANKFURT 10:45 1071 DOHA 10:55 214 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 13:00 406 SOHAG 13:20 786 RIYADH 13:35 176 DUBAI 13:45 223 AL MAKTOUM INTERNATIONAL 13:45 611 CAIRO 14:00 1189 MASHHAD 14:05 872 DUBAI 14:15 58 DUBAI 14:30

DIAL161 FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION

CLX QTR MSR KAC KAC KNE IRC SVA KAC KNE KNE JZR JAV ETD QTR UAE JZR RJA ABY SVA GFA JZR JZR RBG JZR JZR FDB QTR IYE GFA FDB OMA KAC ABY KAC MSC JAI KAC MSR DHX ALK MEA ETD ETD KNE GFA KAC FDB UAE KAC YYY QTR JZR JZR KAC

792 1079 576 673 617 473 6693 503 773 463 481 238 622 304 1073 858 538 641 128 511 216 184 266 553 134 554 64 1081 827 218 62 648 331 120 361 404 571 351 619 171 230 403 308 920 461 220 301 60 860 205 7777 1075 528 502 415

GIALAM DOHA SHARM EL SHEIKH DUBAI DOHA JEDDAH MASHHAD MADINAH RIYADH MADINAH TAIF AMMAN AMMAN ABU DHABI DOHA DUBAI CAIRO AMMAN SHARJAH RIYADH BAHRAIN DUBAI BEIRUT ALEXANDRIA BAHRAIN ALEXANDRIA DUBAI DOHA RIYAN MUKALLA BAHRAIN DUBAI MUSCAT TRIVANDRUM SHARJAH COLOMBO ASYUT MUMBAI KOCHI ALEXANDRIA BAHRAIN COLOMBO BEIRUT ABU DHABI ABU DHABI RIYADH BAHRAIN MUMBAI DUBAI DUBAI ISLAMABAD ALFUJAIRAH DOHA ASYUT LUXOR KUALA LUMPUR

14:45 14:55 15:00 15:05 15:30 15:30 15:35 15:45 16:05 16:35 16:40 16:55 17:15 17:35 17:40 17:50 17:50 17:55 18:05 18:15 18:20 18:40 18:50 18:55 19:10 19:20 19:25 19:40 19:55 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 22:30 22:35 22:40 22:50 22:55 23:00 23:10 23:25 23:30 23:55

34

s ta rs CROSSWORD 430

STAR TRACK Aries (March 21-April 19)

ARIES Your own thoughts are distracting today. Have a notepad available and write down one or two word thoughts each time you find your mind drifting so that you can know that you will remember and get back to that particular thought later. Work can soon continue at a brisk pace as usual. Insert your sense of humor when it is needed today. Silence can be very loud this afternoon and you may want to stir the soup—but stir softly, as other people may be concentrating on their work. Find ways to clear away things that stop your love relationship from growing. Enjoy a walk or a good visit with a friend this afternoon. Find ways in which to share your experiences of each day. You can be a very exciting companion.

Taurus (April 20-May 20) Today encourages hard work and study—you have a real appreciation for ideas and thoughts. This afternoon you catch up on phone calls and make appointments.

A young person or mate complains because he or she needs more money. Dare yourself to guide this person in discovering the ability to make money instead of asking for it. With a mate, it may be in managing a garage sale, etc. There could be an emotional overtone to all of this that requires some flexibility. Your sense of humor will create positive feelings.

You may have attracted a new friend recently. This could become an important relationship, perhaps a younger person or someone in your near environment. You think of ways to add color to a drab surrounding.

Gemini (May 21-June 20)

ACROSS 1. A unit of electrical resistance equal to the resistance between two points on a conductor when a potential difference of one volt between them produces a current of one ampere.

4. A parliamentary democracy on the island of Barbados.

12. Metal or earthenware cooking vessel that is usually round and deep.

15. The corporate executive responsible for the operations of the firm.

16. Consider as ideal.

17. The capital and largest city of Japan.

18. Imperial dynasty that ruled China (most of the time) from 206 BC to 221 and expanded its boundaries and developed its bureaucracy.

19. An alkaloid medicine (trade name Kavrin) obtained from opium.

20. Strong and sharp.

22. A cut of pork ribs with much of the meat trimmed off.

25. Located at or near the back of an animal.

26. A colorless and odorless inert gas.

27. A nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (trade name Clinoril).

30. A relation that provides the foundation for something.

33. (Irish) Mother of the ancient Irish gods.

34. Plant with an elongated head of broad stalked leaves resembling celery.

37. By bad luck.

41. Cause annoyance in.

42. Title for a civil or military leader (especially in Turkey).

43. Sexually transmitted urethritis (usually caused by chlamydia).

45. A unit of pressure.

46. A sweetened beverage of diluted fruit juice.

48. The doctrine that reality consists of a single basic substance or element.

51. Being ten more than one hundred ninety.

52. The quarter of many North African cities in which the citadel is located.

54. (informal) Exceptionally good.

55. A Loloish language.

57. A public promotion of some product or service.

58. A particular geographical region of indefinite boundary (usually serving some special purpose or distinguished by its people or culture or geography).

60. A severe or trying experience.

63. A highly unstable radioactive element (the heaviest of the halogen series).

65. A river in north central Switzerland that runs northeast into the Rhine.

66. A city in southeastern South Korea.

68. United States designer noted for an innovative series of chairs (1907-1978).

71. A doctor's degree in music.

74. Submit or yield to another's wish or opinion.

76. Administer an oil or ointment to.

78. Aircraft landing in bad weather in which the pilot is talked down by ground control using precision approach radar.

79. An independent agency of the United States government responsible for collecting and coordinating intelligence and counterintelligence activities abroad in the national interest.

80. A naturally occurring weak estrogenic hormone secreted by the mammalian ovary.

82. (informal) Roused to anger.

83. A lipoprotein that transports cholesterol in the blood.

84. Having a sunken area.

85. A loose sleeveless outer garment made from aba cloth.

DOWN 1. United States newspaper publisher (18581935).

2. A collection of objects laid on top of each other.

3. An island northwest of Wales.

4. Originally a British youth subculture that evolved out of the teddy boys in the 1960s.

5. The sixth month of the civil year.

6. Editing that involves writing something again.

7. Found along western Atlantic coast.

8. American prizefighter who won the world heavyweight championship three times (born in 1942).

9. A loud harsh or strident noise.

10. A mouth or mouthlike opening.

11. Relating to or characteristic of or occurring on the sea or ships.

12. The ripened and variously modified walls of a plant ovary.

13. (Norse mythology) Ruler of the Aesir.

14. Scottish chemist noted for his research into the structure of nucleic acids (born in 1907).

21. A repetitive song in which as many syllables as necessary are assigned to a single tone v 1.

23. The amount a salary is increased.

24. A nucleic acid that transmits genetic information from DNA to the cytoplasm.

28. A rapid escape (as by criminals).

29. (Sumerian) Consort of Dumuzi (Tammuz).

31. Surveying instrument consisting of the upper movable part of a theodolite including the telescope and its attachments.

32. Income (at invoice values) received for goods and services over some given period of time.

35. An archaic name for Easter or Passover.

36. Situated at an apex.

38. A city in western Germany near the Dutch and Belgian borders.

39. A metrical unit with unstressed-stressed syllables.

40. Type genus of the Suidae.

44. (computer science) A rule stating that the quality of the output is a function of the quality of the input.

47. Someone who attacks in search of booty.

49. Mountain goats.

50. A woman of refinement.

53. A boat with a flat bottom for carrying heavy loads (especially on canals).

56. Preaching the gospel of Christ in the manner of the early church.

59. (informal) Of the highest quality.

61. An intensely radioactive metallic element that occurs in minute amounts in uranium ores.

62. Foul with waste matter.

64. The time of life between the ages of 12 and 20.

67. Harsh or corrosive in tone.

69. A river in north central Switzerland that runs northeast into the Rhine.

70. Wild plum of northeastern United States having dark purple fruits with yellow flesh.

72. Someone who works (or provides workers) during a strike.

73. An informal term for a father.

75. The compass point midway between east and southeast.

77. Late time of life.

81. A crystalline metallic element not found in nature.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2014

You will find yourself feeling in a stay-at-home mood but you, like the rest of us, join the work crowd and make your contributions. Career or vocational decisions are best made from the planning viewpoint and not the final decision phase just now. Be wise with your use of power. Work a little on your taxes this afternoon so that you will be ahead of any problems that could come up, as in finding receipts, etc. This is a time to renew the spirit and build on the connections you have with your loved ones. By taking charge of your life and showing reliability, you can easily gain the respect and admiration of others. Be watchful while walking your dog this evening; you may discover an interesting new animal in the neighborhood.

Cancer (June 21-July 22) You are moving ahead and finances are improving. There is just one problem—the money just does not seem to stay around long enough to take root. However, by showing reasonable restraint you can set up a situation for better financial growth.

Concentrate on the job at hand and zero in on ways to improve the required skill. Local, immediate and pressing matters get the green light. Visiting or inviting the neighbors in for a game of cards or refreshment may be just what is needed to strengthen the communications at this time. This would be a great time to run new ideas past a neighborhood improvement group. Perhaps a neighbor will support or add to your proposals. Family, home, relatives and real estate play big parts in your life.

Leo (July 23-August 22) Taking care of business is the most important order for the day. Tummy troubles today may have you believing in a more balanced nutrition. Your sharp mind and enthusiastic ways may keep you from being taken advantage of today. A fear of failing if you assert yourself can hold you back—as can coming on too strong. The trick is learning to make the most of your personal talents and abilities, working within your limitations instead of feeling hemmed in by them—balance. There is nothing like laughter to bring about a peaceful ending to a rather frustrating day. Watch a comedy video and enjoy being entertained a little differently from your usual. If you want to add color to a drab afternoon, consider arranging a bowl of fruit or flowers.

Virgo (August 23-September 22) Problems concerning personal space, privacy or limitations in workspace can be handled with patience this morning. Changes happen and you are able to create an agreeable compromise. Exercise helps in arthritis and walking should be considered as a good form of exercise for you; walking is also a good way to enjoy good blood circulation. Maintaining good health care requires diversity. Concentrate on maintaining a centered awareness. In a centered awareness you will become aware of posture, attitude, energy, etc. You may receive help from a guide or teacher along these lines as well.

Professional and personal relationships get a positive boost. Find ways in which you and your loved one can be close to nature this afternoon.

Word Search

Libra (September 23-October 22) A computer or some other high-tech equipment has your interest this morning. You may appreciate your profession and promise to learn as much as you can in order to excel and move forward. You sometimes find it hard to believe you can have so much fun within the confines of how you make your living. The afternoon will bring about more changes that are positive where the matters of money are concerned. You attract people that give you encouragement and may attract a new friend this afternoon.

Someone may be coming into your life that is new to your part of the country. You are able to help this person negotiate through the basics. There is time this evening for a home movie or a movie in the comfort of your home.

Scorpio (October 23-November 21) This is a smooth-running day. Business is a major theme and you are up for any of the roller coaster events. You crave organization and you will gain some freedom of control in your area of expertise. You feel a need for a change, a desire to break with outmoded patterns from the past. Travel plans are possible now as well. You may have several contracts or proposals to review this afternoon. This is a full day with a most positive ending. This afternoon is filling up with a variety of social opportunities. Perhaps a stimulating lecture or music concert is the avenue of enjoyment. You may find yourself shopping for the little extras that make an evening perfect—a little wine, a little cheese. Romantic energies are high this evening.

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21) You have the right idea in the business field but if you talk to customers instead of representatives, you might find more interesting ways to increase business. Expect a boost of support and goodwill from those around you. You could be most influential and persuasive. Keeping particular things in order is a major theme where your emotional orientation is concerned. Most of this is so that the things that are important to you are not left out of the ordinary flow of life. Again, it is a major theme emotionally. Health and work goals take on greater importance for you now. You need to add more vegetables to soups, salads and pastas in order to help you feel full and satisfied. Save the rich food for special occasions.

Capricorn (December 22-January 19) The feeling for today is the need to stay focused. You feel good about the results of some long-term project coming to an end soon. New projects are on the horizon. Rewards for your hard work in your business should be enjoyed before long. You could also see some monetary results from a lucky guess. Your creativity is at an all-time high; keep your concentrated efforts going. Expectations can move to the back burner concerning romance; however, romantic possibilities are strong. You may be ready for a loving partnership that comes when you choose a good relationship. Keep the faith, there will be someone for you soon, if there is not someone special just now. Party time this evening creates some fun interaction with friends and acquaintances.

Aquarius (January 20- February 18) Speak out today when an important decision may create unexpected problems for employees. The demands of your career may interfere with the harmony at home just now. Being overworked can keep you away from the family. Review and define your career goals and you will be focused and ready for all sorts of miracles. You will create a healing with a friend today; whether the relationship is a lasting one or not, you will be pleased with the outcome. This is a time to insert a little flexible thinking into your day. You have enough commonsense to stay out of trouble. Taking things too far without the facts can have you agonizing over an imagined outcome as well as a stomachache. Busy hands will help you to keep your mind relaxed.

Pisces (February 19-March 20) Unfinished tasks may have you working late today. Taking care of business is a major theme where your emotional orientation is concerned. You crave organization and practicality and you want to get things accomplished. If you depend too much on the approval of people, you may be getting into a bed of thorns. Be enthusiastic with your regard for others. Be generous in your praise. It is worth the effort; people will adhere to your words when it is most important to you. They will remember you as the person who acknowledged them. Your craving to be appreciated will also be realized. Be open to receive messages of beauty, cheer and courage. This evening, you and a friend may decide to make winter wreaths for the front door.

Yesterday’s Solution

Yesterday’s Solution

Daily SuDoku

Yesterday’s Solution

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2014

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

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WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2014

lifestyle G O S S I P

Justin Bieber allegedly cost neighbor $20,000

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he ‘As Long As You Love Me’ hitmaker was accused of throwing at least 20 eggs at a house in his gated community in Calabasas, California, last Thursday and it has now emerged that his bizarre escapade could have set his fellow resident back a small fortune. According to TMZ, Justin’s neighbor is expected to hear back about damage estimates yesterday but since the entire front of the property needs to be replastered, the cost is expected to be far higher than the original $400 anticipated. Due to the costly nature of the Venetian plaster, the job will reportedly set the owner back by a whopping $15,000, with an extra $5,000 needed to re-stain the doors. To add insult to injury, Justin has apparently not contacted his neighbor to apologize since the incident. The 19-year-old singer - who is thought to have rekindled his romance with his long-term girlfriend Selena Gomez - could be hit with vandalism charges and might even be accused of felony due to the high cost of damages.

Marion Cotillard wasn’t very sociable as a teen T

he 38-year-old actress admits she held herself back during her younger years and she turned to acting as a way of finding happiness, but she found that her choice in career allowed her to find her inner self and not hide behind her emotions. She said: “I was crazy, but I was not wild. I was not very sociable, not very happy either. I could do crazy things but in a way to destroy myself. “I decided to be an actress. Perhaps the idea was to escape - but I released that it was the exact opposite, that it was the only way to

meet myself. To meet my true self and not to escape anymore ... being someone else helped me to find my true self.” The brunette beauty believes her career took a turn for the better after she was offered the role of Tina Lombardi in ‘The Very Long Engagement’, which won her a French Cesar, and then playing Edith Piaf in ‘La Vie en Rose’. She explained to The Belfast Telegraph newspaper: “I started to get proposals of good roles in America - and it was watching American films that first got me interested in acting.”

Lindsay Lohan is smitten with new love interest

Kanye West allegedly hit man who insulted Kim

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he Canyons’ actress was reportedly overheard bragging to her friends about her rumored romance with British student and part-time model Christian Arno Williams during a trip to exclusive celebrity nightspot Boujis in Kensington, London on Sunday night.

An onlooker told BANG Showbiz: “Lindsay was overheard gushing about her new boy toy that she has been seen out with this week. Telling anyone who would listen how great he is.” Christian did not accompany Lindsay to the venue, but she was seen arriving with a group of friends at 12.30 am where she danced the night away to a string of commercial R&B records. Whilst inside the swanky nightspot, she sat at a VIP table with pals, who reportedly splashed around £3,000 on cocktails including ‘crackbaby shots’ and the club’s signature drink, Boujis B cocktail vessel, before leaving at 3am. Lindsay, 27, met Christian at the Shangai Fashion Awards in China, and while the pair are said to have been inseparable ever since - she even gifted the Abercrombie and Fitch hunk with a £30,000 Rolex watch they are trying to keep their romance under wraps.

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Russell Brand took drugs because he felt ‘lonely’

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he British comedian admits he thought heroin was “beautiful” when he first tried it and says he turned to illegal substances because he “couldn’t cope” with life. Russell - who has been sober since 2003 - said: “When I took drugs I felt lonely, alienated and disconnected. I felt that this culture isn’t serving me. When I took heroin for the first time it was beautiful. It was a personal problem - I couldn’t cope with being alive, I needed to take drugs.” The 38-year-old star - who was previously married to Katy Perry - admits being sober has been good for his whole family. Speaking about his struggle to stay clean, he said: “My mother’s life is better now.” The ‘Arthur’ star was speaking at elite Cambridge University’s union last night (13.01.14) and urged the students - who he jokingly called “‘Harry Potter’ p***fs” - to be “spiritual” and not worry about possessions. He told them: “Don’t be materialistic; it doesn’t help, just develop spiritually. I try to find union with everything.” And though he is keen for a “revolution” to take place, Russell thinks it needs to be peaceful.

he ‘New Slaves’ rapper’s fiancee was swamped by paparazzi in Beverly Hills yesterday morning but things turned nasty when an 18year-old man - who initially appeared to be helping her - reportedly started screaming abuse. The unknown man is said to have first talked about the photographers, saying: “F**k these fa***t-ass n*****s,” as he helped Kim into a building. When she told him it was inappropriate to use the N-word, he turned on her and, according to TMZ.com, shouted: “F**k you bitch.

Just trying to help you. Shut up n****r lover, stupid sl*t.” Kim then watched the man walk into a chiropractor’s office, before calling Kanye. When the man realized who she was on the phone to, he reportedly shouted: “F**k you n****r”. Kanye appeared a short time later and went into the chiropractor’s waiting room, where the alleged altercation took place.

Witnesses claim Kanye punched the 18-year-old while Kim told him: “We have it all on tape.” A massage therapist at the practice then broke up the two men and the police were called.

The man said he wanted to press charges against Kanye. A police spokesperson has confirmed the ‘Stronger’ star is now a suspect in a battery investigation and wanted for interview. The incident may also be referred to the Los Angeles County District Attorney for prosecution.

Cate Blanchett thinks having a good marriage is down to luck

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he ‘Blue Jasmine’ actress has been married to theatre director Andrew Upton - with who she has sons Dashiell, 12, Roman, nine, and Ignatius, five - for 16 years but she doesn’t think sharing an industry with her spouse makes any difference to their union. She said: “I don’t think it’s more difficult for actors to have a good marriage than anyone. “I think in the end a really important component of any relationship is honesty - and it also comes back to luck.” However, the Australian star admitted she feels “fortunate” to have such an “amazing” husband. She told Britain’s HELLO! magazine: “I’m incredibly fortunate to have met the intelligent, generous, risk-taking, stimulating man to whom I am married. He’s really amazing.” Cate says she lives in a happy household, and she never takes work home with her because her kids are “not interested”. She said: “I don’t take my work home - my children are not interested in me bringing home the characters I play. “My boys are great kids, hilariously funny. We laugh a lot when we’re at home.”

Matthew McConaughey seen transition to grittier projects

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he 44-year-old actor - who picked up the Best Actor Drama prize at Sunday’s Golden Globe awards for his work in ‘Dallas Buyers Club’ - has seen his career transition from romantic comedies and action movies to grittier critically-acclaimed projects and says he was able to make the move as he was in a position to take time out until the right material came along. Matthew - who has children Levi, five, Vida, four, and Livingston, 12 months, with wife Camila Alves - said: “I had a few things going for me. One, I had enough money in my bank account where I could say, ‘I’m going to say no to some things that I’ve been saying yes to,’ and my rent is going to be paid and the kids are going to eat. “That was a real privilege to be able to say that at the time... plus I had a first child coming into the world [and I] said, ‘I’m going to say, no to some things for a while. “I got down with my wife and said the same thing, I said, ‘I don’t know how long it’s going to be dry’ and it did dry out. It dried up for about 18 months to two years.” The ‘Fool’s Gold’ star insists he has no regrets about turning down work.

Gemma Collins once dated convicted killer

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he curvy blonde had a two-year relationship with her childhood sweetheart, Darren Floyd, who killed a man in road crash after drinking eight pints of lager. According to the Daily Mirror newspaper, the 32-year-old reality star first met the builder when she was 18 and they got back together when he was released from prison in 2007, after serving five years for the crime. In her autobiography ‘Basically: My Life as a Essex Girl’, ‘Splash!’ star Gemma makes reference to 34-year-old Darren, who she calls ‘Ben’, and reveals she once became pregnant by him but miscarried their child. She also wrote about him not wanting to be a part of her life after she found fame on ‘TOWIE’. A spokeswoman for Gemma said the bubbly star was “aware of Darren’s past but had never excused his behavior.” She is now engaged to car salesman Rami Hawash, 37, who popped the question on Christmas Day, by hiding her engagement ring in her Christmas pudding. The Essex queen tweeted on Boxing Day: “Very excited to announce that I got engaged yesterday I am very very happy @RamTech_ I love you best Xmas pudding x. (sic)” The couple have had an on/off relationship since 2011 but Gemma insists they have overcome their issues and are now planning a family.

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WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2014

LIFESTYLE

Chinese firm to build replica of Titanic

Chinese firm plans to spend $165 million building a full-scale replica of the Titanic-the doomed luxury liner which sank more than a century ago-as the main attraction for a theme park, reports said yesterday. The original and supposedly unsinkable luxury passenger liner struck an iceberg and went down in the North Atlantic in 1912, killing more than 1,500 people.

The famous ship is a subject of immense fascination for many in China, particularly after the 1997 release of James Cameron’s film on the liner’s doomed voyage starring Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio. Little known Chinese energy company Seven Star Energy Investment said the replica, which is expected to cost 1 billion yuan ($165 million), will be the main attraction for a planned theme park located Sichuan, a landlocked province famous for its spicy food.

The replica will be docked permanently on a river, the South China Morning Post reported. “When the Titanic was about to sink, the greatest extent of human spirit and responsibility was shown and that spirit goes beyond borders and it is eternal,” Seven Star chief executive Su Shaojun said in an interview with the state-run Xinhua news agency. “We chose to rebuild the Titanic in China so that such spirit can be pro-

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moted or inherited in the east,” he said.

The replica will also recreate the experience of what it felt like when the luxury liner collided with the iceberg, Xinhua reported, though it gave no details of how the deadly collision would be replicated. Construction of the ship, which is 270 meters (885 feet) long, is expected to be completed in two years and will be based on designs of the Titanic’s sister ship, RMS Olympic, which was in service from 1911 to 1935, the SCMP reported. “We already have complete design drawings, including a large ballroom and premium first class rooms,” Su said in the Xinhua interview.

Seven Star are not the only group with dreams of recreating the Titanic.

Flamboyant Australian tycoon Clive Palmer previously unveiled a plan last year to build a sea-worthy replica of the Titanic which is scheduled to make its first Atlantic crossing in 2016. Palmer’s “Titanic II” will feature modern modifications-including many more lifeboats than the original-but will try to remain as true as possible to the famous liner.

The violin played by the Titanic’s bandmaster as the ship sank beneath the waves sold at auction for £900,000 ($1.45 million, 1.06 million euros) in October, smashing the previous £220,000 record for memorabilia from the doomed liner. —AFP

(From left) Tiffany Boone, Jessica Stroup, Sam Underwood, Valorie Curry, Connie Nielson, James Purefoy, Kevin Bacon, and creator Kevin Williamson are seen during the panel for “The Following” at the FOX Winter 2014 TCA at the Langham Hotel in Pasadena, Calif. The two stars of Fox’s creepy thriller “The Following” admit that their show gives them nightmares. — AP

Stars of ‘The Following’ admit to nightmares nyone who gets nightmares from Fox’s creepy thriller “The Following” isn’t alone.

The two stars say it happens to them, too.

Kevin Bacon and James Purefoy both said Monday they take work home with them sometimes. Bacon plays former FBI agent Ryan Hardy, who’s on the trail of a sadistic serial killer played

by Purefoy in the series, which attracted attention for violence in its debut season but also had strong ratings. “The Following” returns for its second season on Sunday. “He’s so profoundly dark,” Purefoy said of his character, Joe Carroll.

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“Anybody who celebrates death and finds great beauty in it, absolutely, there are some fretful nights.”

Jessica Stroup, who plays a police officer, said there was something so disturbing that happens to her character this season that it was hard to shake. She can sleep soundly, but she’s looking at her surroundings more carefully while awake, she said. Series creator Kevin Williamson, the man behind the “Scream” movies, said he finds the second season less violent than the first, at least by his standards. The first episode contains

a violent incident on a subway by a character in a creepy mask.

“I don’t want it to be gore for the sake of gore,” Williamson said. “It is to push the story forward and to make you gasp, to scare you. “I don’t really see it as gory,” he said. “I guess it’s subjective. I like a little violence.” The veteran Bacon, who’s had so many roles in his career that it inspired its own parlor game, said there’s something special about this one. “The connection I feel to the fans of this show is probably deeper than anything that I’ve experienced in my career,” he said. — AP

Seth MacFarlane brings his love of science to TV

Sinead Morrissey

N Ireland’s Morrissey wins Eliot poetry prize orthern Irish poet Sinead Morrissey won Britain’s prestigious TS Eliot prize on Monday for “Parallax”, a collection that explores the nature of reality and includes a poem inspired by watching a film while giving birth. Morrissey, who is the first poet laureate of Belfast and had been shortlisted for the prize on three previous occasions, will receive an award of 15,000 pounds ($24,600).

“I’m so delighted, it’s a dream come true,” she said after the prize was announced at a ceremony held at London’s Hertford House, the home of the Wallace Collection of art. Morrissey, whose winning collection examines the difference between perception and reality, said she had no explanation for why Northern Ireland, also the birthplace of late Nobel Prize winner Seamus Heaney, was a fertile breeding ground for poets.

“I think there is something distinctive about Northern Ireland and I think the poetry tradition from that very small place with that very small population is extraordinary.

Why that is, I don’t know,” she said. There was some sense beforehand that Morrissey might take the prize this year after her previous appearances on the short list. The judges were glowing in their praise of her work. “Politically, historically and personally ambitious, expressed in beautifully turned

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language, her book is as many-angled and any-angled as its title suggests,” prize jury chairman Ian Duhig said.

Born in 1972 in County Armagh, Morrissey is the author of five poetry collections: “There Was Fire in Vancouver” (1996); “Between Here and There” (2002); “The State of the Prisons” (2005); “Through the Square Window” (2009) and “Parallax” (2013). One of the poems in her latest volume took its title from, and was in part inspired by watching, the 1946 David Niven film “A Matter of Life and Death”, in which an aviator who is about to die in a crash escapes death because of an error on the part of the guide sent to take him to the afterlife.

She said the idea for the poem had come to her when she saw the film while she was in labor having her first child. “The coincidence of it being about life and death while I was in that situation was too great an opportunity to pass up,” she said.

The TS Eliot Prize for Poetry, named for the author of “The Waste Land” and “The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock”, was inaugurated in 1993 to celebrate the Poetr y Book Society ’s 40th birthday and honor its founding poet. Eliot was born in St Louis, Missouri, but became a naturalized British citizen and was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1948. — Reuters

Jackson family loses bid for wrongful death trial he family of late pop star Michael Jackson on Monday lost its bid for a new trial against concert promoter AEG Live, which had been cleared of liability in the singer’s death. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Yvette Palazuelos ruled that Jackson’s mother and children did not have standing for a re-trial after their attorneys argued last month that jury instructions were confusing and not wide enough in scope. A jury in October cleared privately held AEG Live, the organizer of Jackson’s ill-fated 50 “This Is It” comeback shows in London, of negligently hiring cardiologist Conrad Murray as Jackson’s personal physician.

The verdict came after a sensational five-month trial that offered a glimpse into the private life and final days of the “King

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of Pop.” Jackson family attorneys could send their appeal to a higher state court.

Katherine Jackson, 83, and the singer’s three children Prince Michael, Paris and Blanket, sued AEG Live over Jackson’s 2009 death at age 50 in Los Angeles from an overdose of the powerful anesthetic propofol administered by Murray.

The wrongful death lawsuit claimed the concert promoter had acted negligently by hiring Murray as Jackson’s personal physician, but a jury concluded Murray was sufficiently qualified for his job.

Murray was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in 2011 for Jackson’s death and served half of his 4-year sentence in a Los Angeles prison. He was released in October under a California state plan to reduce prison overcrowding. — Reuters

(From left) Mitchell Cannold, executive producer Brannon Braga, host Neil DeGrasse Tyson, executive producer Seth MacFarlane, and writer Ann Druyan participate on a panel for “Cosmos” at the FOX Winter 2014 TCA, on Monday, Jan 13, 2014. —AP tewie likes science. Seth MacFarlane, creator of “Family Guy” and voice of Stewie on the animated Fox show, is bringing his love of space exploration to television. He’s the executive producer of “Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey,” a 13-part series that will debut March 9

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on Fox. It will also air on the National Geographic Channel. Best known for his profane animated series and Oscar-hosting duties last year, MacFarlane’s head has been in the stars since he first saw Carl Sagan’s original “Cosmos: A Personal Voyage” as a youngster. MacFarlane

suggested to “Cosmos” host Neil deGrasse Tyson that the show should be pitched to Fox to garner a broader audience. “I was pleasantly greeted with enthusiasm, and I didn’t have to stop doing Stewie or anything,” MacFarlane told the Television Critics Association on Monday. — AP

‘24’ returns in May with 12-episode run on Fox ack Bauer is back, and he’s on the run in London. Kiefer Sutherland returns as the intrepid counter-terrorist in a 12-episode run of “24: Live Another Day,” debuting with a two-hour show May 5 on Fox. It will take up its regular one-hour slot starting May 12. “I’m about as anxious and wound up as I’ve been in a long time,” Sutherland said Monday at the Television Critics Association winter meeting.

He returns to a character he played for eight seasons, from 2001 to 2010. “There’s a great impetus for all of us to create something new with the show,” Sutherland said.

The show will be set and shot in London and retain the real-time format with split screens and interwoven story lines. It picks up four years after the events of “24’s” final season, with Bauer now a fugitive being hunted by the CIA. “Things will be blowing up - cars, double decker buses, things like that,” said Sutherland, who was born in London. “I’m sure we’ll be hated by a large portion of London for snarling up their traffic here and there, and for that I apologize in advance.” Also back from the original series are Mary Lynn Rajskub, Kim Raver and William Devane. Several newcomers have joined the cast, including Oscar nominee Judy Davis and Yvonne Strahovski of “Dexter.”

Rajskub, who plays Chloe, said she closely followed Internet speculation about the series return and waited eagerly to find out whether she’d be included. “I have a lot of people who refuse to call me anyone but Chloe,” she said. “I never thought ‘24’ would come back and in this format.” A potential “24” movie has been bandied about, too. “If this ends up rebooting the show or causing a film to be made, so be it,” Sutherland said, adding any script for a movie version would be “very, very different.” “The film is sort of an ongoing situation,” he said. — AP

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WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2014

lifestyle

‘Romeo and Juliet’ T

his Valentine’s Day, why not offer your loved one a timeless Broadway romance without ever leaving your neighborhood?

Content provider Screenvision and the new company BroadwayHD teamed up to record the recent Orlando Bloom-led production of “Romeo and Juliet” and broadcast it to movie theaters across the country.

Before it closed in December, high definition cameras recorded the show on Nov. 27 at the Richard Rodgers Theatre under the direction of Emmy Award-winning Don Roy King. That recording - the first time in over 36 years “Romeo and Juliet” had been on Broadway - will be available in more than 2,000 movie theaters in all 50 states from Feb 13-19. “It’s so great to capture it because who knows when it will be on Broadway again,” said Darryl Schaffer, an executive vice president at Screenvision. “It’s just such a great production. We’re excited to bring it to movie theaters.”

Bloom made his Broadway debut as Romeo in director David Leveaux’s revival of Shakespeare’s classic tragedy opposite Condola Rashad, who has back-to-back Tony Award nominations for “Stick Fly” and “ The Trip to Bountiful.”

Screenvision, which began broadcasting stage works in 2008, recommends individual ticket prices at $20, though each exhibiter can set its

own price. The average ticket price on Broadway was $78, with a top premium ticket fetching $223.

The move is just the latest to seize on technological improvements and a willingness to let live shows be recorded, following in the pioneering digital footsteps of The Metropolitan Opera and London National Theatre’s NT Live series.

Producers see such broadcasts as a win-win for everyone. Movie theaters get content for off peak times, theatrical producers can see a new life for their work, and audiences who never got to see Broadway offerings can now catch shows for a fraction of the price.

“The timing is right. There are enough platforms out there. Technology has advanced. Now we’re getting cooperation from unions and the industry as a whole. So I think now is the moment,” said producer Stewart F Lane, who cofounded BroadwayHD with fellow theater producer Bonnie Comley. Together, they’ve produced such shows as “War Horse,” “Jekyll & Hyde” and “Priscilla Queen of the Desert.” “New York’s got the greatest pool of talent in the world and not everybody gets to see that,” said Lane. “I am a theater person at heart and this I’m hoping will help bring theater into the 21st century.”

Nine cameras situated in front-row seats or tucked around the stage captured an up-close

with Bloom becomes a V-Day film “Romeo and Juliet” over two performances in front of audiences. “It gives it a certain intimacy and urgency,” Lane said. “What we’ve done here is create a whole new art form.” The show features Bloom roaring onto the stage on a Triumph motorcycle, has a set with huge pipes that spit fire and costumes that include knit caps, slip dresses and gray zip-up jackets. Reviews were poor and the show struggled at the box office.

Both Schaffer and Lane see recorded versions of Broadway and West End shows as an increasingly mainstream phenomenon, particularly if big stars continue to show up for limited runs.

Plus, there likely will still be lives for the shows after the movie theater - Netflix or on-demand are options. While “Romeo and Juliet” doesn’t end that happily for its star-crossed lovers, Schaffer thinks it’s a perfect fit for Valentine’s Day. “It is one of the greatest love stories ever written,” she said. — AP

This theater image shows Orlando Bloom (left) and Condola Rashad during a performance of “Romeo and Juliet,” in New York. — AP

Golden Globes Review

Tina Fey, Amy Poehler kill on a weirdly entertaining night

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he Golden Globes couldn’t have been much more entertaining, and for that we can thank Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, and, shockingly enough, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

The “Saturday Night Live” veterans started the show with a 10-minute wall of laughter. It was the best

opening monologue - make that dialogue - of any awards show in recent memory. They set a high bar none of the winners or presenters could match comedically, so they found other ways to entertain.

Diane Keaton sang while accepting Woody Allen’s Cecil B. DeMille Award. Jacqueline Bisset fulfilled the night’s “what was that?” quota with a weird, winding speech for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Miniseries, or TV Movie.

Andy Samberg delivered a speech that was simultaneously sincere and insincere at the same time.

He won for Best Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” which also won for Best Comedy Series.

Those awards showed that the Globes maybe aren’t just a freak show any more, full of strange, unpredictable choices. Especially on the TV side, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association has started to spot great shows and recognize them before anyone else can. They kicked off the awards parade for “Homeland,” and now gave some love to “Brooklyn,” an acclaimed Fox show that’s struggled in the ratings. The awards would seem to dramati-

Tina Fey (left) and Amy Poehler arrive on the red carpet for the Golden Globe awards on January 12, 2014 in Beverly Hills, California. — AFP

cally increase its chances of survival.

And what a balancing act they pulled off. It looked like the HFPA might shut out “12 Years a Slave,” which led in the nominations along with “American Hustle.” And then when it seemed all was lost, it won the biggest award of the night, Best Motion Picture, Drama. And: The Globes wrapped everything up in three hours. I really don’t like awards shows. I think movie and TV stars get enough prizes. But I could reconsider if all ceremonies will go like this one. I’m trying to think of something to complain about, and I’ve got nothing.

Well, Cate Blanchett’s joke about Judy Garland and barbituates was weird. But she’d had a few vodkas.

Pass.

If I have to nitpick, maybe we could have used even more Poehler and Fey. The bit where Poehler played Fey’s secret son was gold. My favorite show of all time, “Breaking Bad,” won for best dramatic series, and Bryan Cranston finally scored for best dramatic actor. And how can you complain about a night that had this joke from Fey: “Like a supermodel’s vagina, let’s all give a warm welcome to Leonardo DiCaprio,” Tina Fey said late in the show.

As Fey noted at the top of the hour, when something works in Hollywood they keep doing it “until everybody hates it.” Please keep doing this. I think you’ve got a few years, at least.— Reuters

‘American Idol ’ making changes T

he Fox broadcast TV network promises camaraderie among its judges and a focus on the contestants when “American Idol” returns today, seeking to reinvigorate the pioneer singing competition after a ratings slump in recent years. Appearing before TV critics on Monday, this season’s judges pop superstar Jennifer Lopez, country singer Keith Urban and crooner Harry Connick Jr - emphasized their chemistry and a shared commitment to focusing on the young singers competing for a chance at stardom. “I am lucky enough to sit between two people I respect and I have a good time with and all know music and love this journey,” Lopez, returning to the show after a one-year absence, said at the Television Critics Association press tour. “I think that’s what’s going to make it sparkly and fresh and new again.”

“Idol” erupted in 2001 as a broadcast TV powerhouse with the biting commentary of one of its original judges, Simon Cowell. Last season, tension between judges Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj made headlines, taking attention away from the talent. The average audience size for “Idol” dropped by 9.9 million viewers over the past three seasons, from 23.1 million in 2011 to 13.2 million last year, according to Nielsen data provided by Horizon Media. Declining ratings dragged on advertising revenue for the quarter ending in June 2013 at the Fox broadcast network’s parent 21st Century Fox, the company reported in August.

Fox hopes the audience will gravitate to kinder, gentler judges, not unlike the atmosphere at NBC’s “The Voice,” which returns in late February and has thrived on the camaraderie

among its judges including Adam Levine, CeeLo Green, Christina Aguilera and Blake Shelton. “The X Factor,” another of Fox’s singing competitions produced by former “American Idol” judge Cowell, could be on the chopping block after it “underperformed” in ratings last year, said Kevin Reilly, chairman of entertainment for Fox Broadcasting Company. Reilly said he had not yet decided whether to renew “X Factor” for another season.

“I wish ‘The Voice’ would go away first,” he joked. “The space is crowded. That has certainly led to further stress on ‘Idol.’”“Idol” changed part of its format for this season, shortening the middle rounds. Viewers will see less of the “sort of ridiculous contestants” featured on earlier seasons, Reilly said. The show found more of its competitors this year through bus tours sent to find talent in corners of the country outside of major cities.

“Idol” viewership likely will slip again this season, a typical scenario for aging reality shows such as “Survivor” and “The Bachelor,” Reilly said. But he hopes the “Idol” audience will flatten and maintain a steady fan base. Even with its declining audience, “Idol” finished as the fifth-highest rated show last season, excluding football, among adults age 18 to 49. “It has a lot of room to fall and still be among the biggest hits on TV,” Reilly said. “Do I want it be dropping 25 to 30 percent? No.”— Reuters

(Left to right) Ryan Seacrest, Keith Urban, Jennifer Lopez, and Harry Connick, Jr, of the television show ‘American Idol’ speak during the FOX portion of the 2014 Television Critics Association Press Tour at the Langham Hotel on January 13, 2014 in Pasadena, California. — AFP

‘X Factor’ will get a new format - if it comes back

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ox’s Chairman of Entertainment Kevin Reilly says that if “The X Factor” comes back, it will be with a different format. Reilly made the proclamation at Monday’s Television Critics Association winter press tour, where he admitted that the singing competition “underperformed” in its past season.

“The ratings were not what we hoped, but this is a No 1 brand around the world,” Reilly said. He added that there have been markets around the world where the show dropped and has seen a resurgence via production changes and “different ideas.” “If the show were to come back, it would not be in the current format we have, but the fact is we’ve made no decision on it” Reilly said. “I haven’t even really engaged (Simon Cowell) on it, other than some general talk.” “We’re going to blow through our option date sometime this week, and we’ll make that decision over the next month,” Reilly said of the consideration.

Reilly elaborated, albeit slightly, on a possible form of the show without a weekly Cowell presence, though Reilly said the creator of the series will never be out of it: “It’s his format, it’s his creation.” “I don’t ever count out Simon Cowell on anything,” Reilly concluded. In December, the “X Factor” finale ratings dropped 45 percent year-to-year in the key 18-49 demographic. The night before, the show hit an all-time low for a regular Wednesday episode. — Reuters

MTV showcases ‘Artists to Watch’

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TV is harnessing its roots in the pop music world to showcase a crop of rising artists with its annual ‘Artists to Watch’ campaign, selecting acts from across the world to bring to its youth audience. British alt-pop band Bastille, Scottish electro-pop group Chvrches and girl group Fifth Harmony are three of 12 up-and-coming acts chosen by MTV as ones to watch. The ‘Artists to Watch’ program helps expose rising stars in the music world to MTV’s target audience, and is an evolution of the network’s early intentions to showcase artists making waves in the pop music zeitgeist.

“Music videos are still an important part of a music experience, but it’s not everything,” Amy Doyle, MTV’s executive vice president of music and talent programming said. “We really took the cue from the audience and they don’t want just music videos. They really want to get to know the artist through their interviews and live performances,” Doyle added. Bastille and Chvrches have both been gaining prominence in the United States through live performances and radio play, while Fifth Harmony, formed on US reality TV talent competition “The X Factor,” have found an audience through the show’s fan base.

MTV’s ‘Artists to Watch’ campaign selects 12 up-and-coming acts spanning all popular music genres from across the world, and gives each act a two-week slot in which the artist or band is showcased across all of the network’s music TV channels and online, mobile and social media platforms. Each act will also have a chance to perform at MTV’s annual televised Movie Awards and Video Music Awards. The Viacomowned youth entertainment network has a good track record of showcasing artists on the brink of success, including teen YouTube sensation Justin Bieber, R&B singer Miguel and indiepop singer Lana Del Rey in recent years.

In 2013, MTV picked New Zealand alt-pop singer Lorde and Seattle rapper-producer duo Macklemore & Ryan Lewis as artists to watch, and both acts landed multiple Grammy nominations. This year’s roster includes Detroit rapper Danny Brown, Chicago hip hop artist Vic Mensa, Dutch electronic dance music (EDM) DJ Martin Garrix, British pop group Rixton, Los Angeles soul singer Jhene Aiko, alt-pop group Echosmith and Australian EDM DJ Flume. The campaign will kick off on Jan. 23 at famed Hollywood music venue House of Blues, showcasing the rising acts ahead of the Grammy awards, when the music industry will flock to Los Angeles for music’s biggest night on Jan. 26.

Digital platforms to screens Other 2014 “artists to watch” have been mined from the online world where they have grown a fan base through YouTube and social media platforms. Singer-songwriter Tori Kelly, 21, has garnered more than 60 million views on her YouTube channel including 2 million views of her debut “Dear No One” music video, and hip hop artist Jake Miller, also 21, has racked up more than 25 million views on his YouTube platform.

But while aspiring singers have been able to build a fan base through digital media platforms, MTV’s added TV exposure is part of the benefit of being selected as an artist to watch.

“The campaign is exposure to people that you wouldn’t normally reach, it’s people watching TV and the Internet,” said Allison Kaye, general manager of SB Projects LLC, the company headed by Scooter Braun, who discovered Bieber on YouTube and became his manager. Braun and his team represent Kelly, Rixton and Garrix.

“Knowing that MTV is behind an act is so important to us and the artist. It helps artists reach people,” Kaye added. — Reuters

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2014

lifestyle

Giorgio Armani seeking to protect his fashion empire

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iorgio Armani is studying the possibility of creating a foundation to protect the future of his fashion empire, the Italian designer and businessman said on Monday. “I am paying a lot of attention to the possibility ... I don’t want to leave problems for the people who come after me,” Armani, who turns 80 this year, said after showing an autumn-winter menswear collection in Milan.

The question of who will succeed the creative director and chief executive of one of the world’s most recognizable fashion brands, which had revenue over 2 billion euros ($2.73 billion) in 2012, has occupied industry observers for a decade. Armani has hinted over the years that he could list or sell the group, and said after recovering from a bout of hepatitis in 2009 that he had started organizing staff to continue his work. The hands-on designer from northern Italy

could set up a foundation similar to the Hans Wilsdorf foundation behind watch brand Rolex, an investment banker said.

Armani, who starred in one of his own advertising campaigns last year, said he needed more information before making a decisions. “I don’t have as much time at my disposal as I would like for such important things,” he said. “I want to have much more information.” Armani suggested he had no current plans to list the company publicly, after shareholders in jacket maker Moncler raised more than 780 million euros in an initial public offering in December, but found the prospect interesting. “Every time someone lists on the stock market and it goes well, it whets my appetite a little,” Armani said.

Italian strategy consultancy Pambianco named Armani the “most quotable” Italian luxury company in a December 2013 study of which

brands would do well in a stock market listing.

Male models sauntered down the catwalk for the youth-focused Emporio Armani line on Monday in skinny grey suits with ankle-skimming trousers, sweaters with fake fur inserts, and shimmering blazers in purple and claret. “When the boys put on these suits, they feel like little princes,” Armani said.- Reuters

MILAN: Italian designer Giorgio Armani acknowledges the audience at the end of his show as part of Autumn/Winter 2014 Milan Collections during the Men’s fashion week yesterday in Milan. — AFP

Giorgio Armani menswear - city in colors

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pposites interconnect, contrasts find an unprecedented harmony.

Genres fuse together to reach a new equilibrium. Sportswear becomes a thread that runs throughout the entire collection, which combines the finest materials with sporty details. The result: an image of technicality that is mixed throughout the collection with abandon. A metropolitan feel of rigor is evident in shapes that are sleekly refitted, including slimmer pants that lend freshness to the look. Eccentric intersections of black and white are interrupted by tones that are bright yet not extreme.

Legendary

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Armani’s interpretation of color plays on materials, featuring reticulated effects, jacquard textures and trompe l’oeil. Green tones give movement to blue, and grey blends into red. The color scale is in light pastel shades, supported by ivory whites - a sensual “nude” light pink is this season’s key color. Even leather has a softer texture and is presented in mild colors that bring the rich palette of old saddlery to mind.

Schiaparelli makes a comeback at Paris fashion week

ore than 40 years after the death of its founder, Italy’s legendary Schiaparelli house makes its eagerly-awaited comeback at Paris fashion week, which kicks off today. Elsa Schiaparelli, who died in 1973, was among fashion’s most prominent figures between the two world wars and became Coco Chanel’s biggest rival. A close friend of Salvador Dali, who famously painted the lobster on her 1937 Lobster Dress, she created many surrealist fashion pieces such as the shoe hat, but her label closed down in 1954. In 2007, Diego Della Valle, head of Italian leather goods company Tod’s, bought the house but it was not until last autumn that a creative director was appointed-Italian designer Marco Zanini.

As such, the Schiaparelli show on January 20 is the most eagerly-awaited event of Paris fashion week. Will Zanini reserve pride-of-place to Elsa Schiaparelli’s signature shocking pink? Will her eccentric hats, lobster or skeleton dresses be

part of the mix? In July, Schiaparelli had already been given a hero’s welcome by Christian Lacroix, who celebrated the comeback in Paris with a special collection reinterpreting many of the late designer’s influences from fairgrounds and circuses to military uniforms and saris.

In one circus-inspired piece, a pleated symmetric bustier and oversized skirt were teamed with an embroidered clown’s hat. The dress required 40 meters of silk and 350 hours’ work.

While Schiaparelli’s comeback is expected to be the highlight of the fashion week, other events are also highly anticipated.

Hussein Chalayan, the British designer of Cypriot origin, will showcase his collection for Vionnet, the fashion house created in 1912 by Madeleine Vionnet.

‘More rich women in the world’ And French designer Bouchra Jarrar will also be a highlight.

After 20 years working for Balenciaga and Christian Lacroix, she founded her own house in January 2010 and has just been awarded the “haute couture” appellation. Haute couture exists only in Paris, where it is a legally protected appellation subject to strict criteria such as the amount of work carried out by hand, the limited number of pieces and the size of a house’s workforce.

Altogether, 15 French houses-including Dior and Chanelhave the appellation, and six foreign labels will also put on shows as will 10 guests including Britain’s Ralph & Russo and Belgian designer Serkan Cura. These houses all employ artisans such as embroiderers or plumassiers-who work with ornamental feathers-to make jaw-dropping dresses for stars who borrow them for the red carpets or for the richest women in the world, who buy them.

Didier Grumbach, head of the French Couture Federation,

said the sector had changed but was doing well. “Today, people don’t only wear couture. A woman will wear pret-a-porter and for a special occasion, will wear couture,” he said. “But there are more and more rich women in the world, so there are more clients than at the time of Saint Laurent.” The haute couture section of fashion week kicks off on Sunday, and prior to that, menswear will be showcased for five days, amid more and more interest. “Three years ago, we had three days of show. Now, we have five,” said Grumbach. — AFP

Giorgio Armani seeking to protect his fashion empire

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2014

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Pets and their owners compete in a skiing competition in Sanmenxia, north China’s Henan province. — AFP

Tortoise beats rabbit in China pet ski-off A

Pet dogs, a yellow duck and a chicken in a skiing resort for a skiing competition in Sanmenxia, north China’s Henan province.

tortoise beat a rabbit in a skiing competition held for pets and their owners in northern China, a report said yesterday.

Cats and dogs faced off against a menagerie including a rooster and a yellow duck in a race to the finish line on snowy slopes in China’s Hebei province, the state-run China News Service said. The 40 human competitors were allowed to place their animals on skis or sledges, or could guide the pet with a lead while skiing, the report said.

In an unexpected outcome akin to an ancient Greek fable, a tortoise beat a rabbit, with the shelled reptile eventually claiming third place overall, the report said. “Because the rabbit loved jumping and didn’t follow its owner’s commands, it was overtaken by the tortoise,” it said. The tortoise-which would normally be expected to hibernate during the winter-apparently hitched a ride on its owner’s ski equipment, the report added.

Pictures showed a yellow duck taking to the slopes in a fetching red neck tie, attracting curious stares from two dogs, before being held aloft by its owner who clutched a red certificate of honor after it waddled over the finish line. Skiing has become more popular in China in recent years, with a range of slopes opening across the country’s cold north, and it is bidding for the 2022 Winter Olympics.

The US state of California plays host to an annual dog-surfing competition, and a Chinese farmer made headlines in 2012 for training pigs to dive from a three-meter platform.— AFP

A pet rabbit and a tortoise compete in a skiing competition in Sanmenxia.

Brad Meltzer’s books teach kids real heroics N ovelist and comics writer Brad Meltzer is no stranger to heroes, having written about the likes of the Justice League, Batman and Buffy the Vampire slayer. Now, his latest work, “Ordinary People Change the World,” focuses on real-world role models like Amelia Earhart and Abraham Lincoln to help younger readers learn about and from authentic trailblazers. The books, along with others in his planned series for Dial Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA), are about famous Americans and the challenges they faced and overcame, he says. “If I told my daughter that Amelia Earhart flew across the Atlantic Ocean, she’s not impressed.

Everyone does that these days,” Meltzer said. But tell the story of how Earhart built a homemade roller coaster at the age of seven, took a wooden box with roller skating wheels on it and came flying

down the rails? “Now, Amelia Earhart is just like my daughter. She reads that and says ‘Oh my gosh!

Amelia Earhart is just like me!’” Meltzer said. The first two of a planned six books, “I Am Amelia Earhart” and “I Am Abraham Lincoln,” are out Tuesday and illustrated by artist Chris Eliopoulos In the story about Lincoln, Meltzer recounts how the future president, just 10 years old stood up to a crowd of older kids putting hot coals atop live turtles. “He could have easily backed down, but he stands up to that injustice,” said Meltzer. “There is a moment of the greatness that will one day come.”

Meltzer said four more titles are planned with Rosa Parks, Lucille Ball and Albert Einstein as subjects.

“When you look around, we’re starving for heroes,” he said of his decision to write the stories. “These aren’t just the stories of famous people, this is what we’re all capable of on our best days.” Meltzer’s novels include “The Book of Fate” and “The Fifth Assassin.” — AP