20 Jan

CR IP TI ON BS SU

MONDAY, JANUARY 20, 2014

Is your local salon clean and hygienic?

Encrypted Blackphone goes to war with snoopers

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RABI ALAWWAL 19, 1435 AH

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‘American Hustle’ takes home top SAG award

Larrazabal holds off Mickelson, McIlroy

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UAE to make military service compulsory Move follows similar decision by Qatar

KUWAIT: (From left) Prime Minister HH Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah, former speaker Jassem Al-Khorafi, former prime minister Sheikh Nasser AlMohammad Al-Sabah and National Assembly Speaker and Chairman of the Arab Inter-Parliamentary Union (AIPU) Marzouq Al-Ghanem attend the 20th conference of the AIPU yesterday. — Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat (See Page 2)

Arab parliamentarians reelect Ghanem chief Supreme court to rule on 3 ex-MPs

By B Izzak KUWAIT: Arab parliamentarians yesterday unanimously elected National Assembly speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanem to lead the Arab Inter-Parliamentary Union which opened its annual conference in Kuwait yesterday. The union has held its last three annual meetings in Kuwait and has been led by the Kuwaiti speaker since then. Deputy speaker of Kuwait’s National Assembly Mubarak Al-Khrainej is also expected to be elected head of the Arab Parliament after he announced he would contest the post. Kuwait has held the post for several years until over a year ago when former MP Ali Al-Deqbasi resigned for not contesting the election.

This year’s conference is focusing on the issue of Jerusalem and the Palestinian cause as Ghanem

warned during his opening speech of Israel’s schemes aimed at sowing divisions among Arabs and called for unity to stop deteriorating in Arab nations. The conference was opened under the patronage of HH the Amir who was represented by Crown Prince HH Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah.

Ghanem underscored the Amir’s deep commitment to Arab causes, noting that Arab solidarity could not be effective and sustainable without cooperation and development. The absence of a joint Arab security order “has led to a major vacuum which others are seeking to fill in ways that guarantee their interests and deepen our wounds,” Ghanem said. He said that the Palestinian cause has been marginalized due to prevailing violence, arrogance of the Israeli occupation, the West’s biases in the Middle East and interArab divisions. Secretary General of the Union Nour

Eddine Bouchkouj said that joint Arab work is the best way to achieve peace and justice and preserve Arabs’ rights. Bouchkouj stressed in his speech on the importance of cooperation among Arab states to face the current challenges.

Separately, the court of cassation, the top court in the country, is scheduled to issue its rulings today on three former opposition MPs on charges of insulting the Amir and undermining his authorities at a public meeting. The former lawmakers - Falah Al-Sawwagh, Khaled Al-Tahous and Bader Al-Dahoum were sentenced by the lower court to three years in jail over a year ago over the charges following their speeches at a public meeting in Oct 2012. Later, the court of appeals overturned the verdicts and acquitted them after it accepted the defense team’s arguments that Continued on Page 13

Flying car spreads wings in Slovakia

Max 15º Min 08º High Tide 01:25 & 15:05 Low Tide 08:35 & 20:42

DUBAI: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) will introduce compulsory military service for young Emirati men, it said yesterday, a move highlighting the Gulf state’s concern over turmoil in its neighbourhood. The UAE, a federation of seven emirates with mostly an expatriate population, faces no immediate threats from neighbours and has been spared militant attacks that have afflicted other countries such as Saudi Arabia. Like other Gulf Arab states, the US ally has strong military ties with Western powers which say they are committed to helping the OPEC member country deter or repel any threat.

But the UAE, a big buyer of Western military hardware, has a territorial dispute with its much bigger neighbour, Iran, over three Gulf islands controlled by the Islamic republic. It is also wary of a neighbourhood fraught with conflicts, including in Syria, Iraq and Israel and the Palestinian territories. The state WAM news agency said the cabinet had endorsed a draft law which requires all men over the age of 18 or those who have finished high school and are under 30, to complete military training, adding that the bill must still be approved by the consultative Federal National Council. It is optional for women. The UAE has a population of around 8.2 million, about 90 percent of whom are foreigners.

“Protecting the nation and preserving its independence and sovereignty is a sacred national duty and the new law will be implemented on all,” UAE Prime Minister and Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum said on his Twitter account. “Our gains are a red line that must be protected.” In separate comments carried by WAM, he said “national service implants the values of allegiance, loyalty, discipline and sacrifice among youth”.

Continued on Page 13

Sager likely to take over reins at NBK DUBAI/KUWAIT: Veteran banker Isam Al-Sager is the most likely candidate to become the new group chief executive of National Bank of Kuwait, succeeding Ibrahim Dabdoub who is retiring from the post after three decades, sources with knowledge of the matter said. Dabdoub, who has close ties with policy makers in Kuwait and around the Gulf, transformed NBK from a local lender into one of the Middle East’s biggest financial institutions, as well as the largest bank in Kuwait.

So investors are likely to see the choice of his successor as pivotal for the bank. Dabdoub, 74, said in December that he would step down as CEO after NBK’s next annual general meeting, which is expected in March. Sager, 58, is currently Dabdoub’s deputy. His appointment still needs approval from regulatory authorities in Kuwait, said the sources, who declined to be named because the matter is not yet public. NBK declined to comment and attempts to reach Sager were unsuccessful.

Continued on Page 13

Saudis scramble to close welfare gap

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Laws fail to protect child brides globally RAMALLAH: Sheikh Hassan Yousef flashes the ‘rabaa’ sign following his release from Israel’s Ofer prison yesterday. — AFP

Israel frees top Hamas leader BEITUNIYA: Israel released a prominent leader from Islamist movement Hamas yesterday after he spent more than two years in prison, Palestinian officials said. Hassan Yousef, who is also a member of the Ramallah-based Palestinian Legislative Council, told reporters after his release he would work with Hamas rivals “Fatah and other Palestinian factions to achieve reconciliation.” Dozens of Hamas supporters received Yousef at Beituniya, near Ofer prison. Yousef had been arrested in Nov 2011 for belonging to an illegal organisation. Yousef, one of the founders of the Islamist movement, made headlines after his son Mossab said he had spied for Israel between 1997 and 2007. Mossab relocated to the US, changed his name to Joseph and converted to Christianity. Yousef disowned his son in a letter sent during a previous term in an Israeli prison. — AFP

DUBAI: Cultural traditions and a lack of legal protections are driving tens of millions of girls around the world into early marriage, subjecting them to violence, poverty and mistreatment, an international human rights group says. Equality Now, citing the United Nations Population Fund, said in a report issued over the weekend that more than 140 million girls over the next decade will be married before they turn 18. “When a young girl is married and gives birth, the vicious cycle of poverty, poor health, curtailed education, violence, instability, disregard for rule of law ... continues into the next generation, especially for any daughters she may have,” the report said.

The 32-page report found that despite laws that set a minimum age for marriage in many countries, social norms continue to provide a veneer of legitimacy to child marriage in remote villages and even in developed countries. Child marriage is defined as a marriage before age 18. “Child marriage legitimizes human rights violations and abuses of girls under the guise of culture, honor, tradition and religion,” the report said.

The report gave examples of cases in countries such

as Afghanistan, Cameroon, Guatemala, India, Jordan, Kenya, Malawi and Mali. Often when child brides are married off to older men, it is to restore or maintain family honor, or to settle a father’s debts or obtain some other financial gain. A girl married off is seen as one less mouth to feed, and the wedding dowry is spent by her family to support itself. In some countries, families encourage early marriage to protect young girls from premarital sex and to uphold a family’s honor, according to the report.

In one case, a young girl named Mariam was born in France to parents from Mali. She had never been to Mali until her father sent her at age 14 and her sister at 16 to a village while they were on vacation from school. When they arrived, their father took their passports, and Mariam was told to marry her father’s cousin. Her sister was to marry the local imam, or preacher. Mariam eventually escaped with the help of a policeman she met during a visit to the village market, but her sister remains in Mali, the report said. Equality Now said it uses pseudonyms for girls for their safety.

Continued on Page 13

SANAA: In this March 23, 2010 file photo, Yemeni school students hold up posters denouncing child marriage, as they take part in a protest outside the parliament. — AP

MONDAY, JANUARY 20, 2014

LOCAL

KUWAIT: His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Chairman of Arab Inter-Parliamentary Union Marzouq Ali Al-Ghanem and other dignitaries attend the AIPU meeting yesterday.

—Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat

Israeli conspiracies against Arabs Al-Ghanem sounds the alarm bell KUWAIT: The Chairman of Arab InterParliamentary Union (AIPU) yesterday warned of Israel’s schemes aimed at fomenting seditions among the Arabs affirming the nation unity is necessary to improve its current deteriorating condition. Marzouq Ali AlGhanim, also Speaker of Kuwait’s National Assembly, sounded the alarm bell regarding Israel’s plots against the Arab at inauguration of the AIPU 20th Conference, held under sponsorship of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber AlSabah, who was deputized by His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.

The AIPU Chairman expressed gratitude to His Highness the Amir for patronizing the convention noting that His Highness’ past role in launch of the Palestinian resistance in Kuwait last century. He also underscored His Highness the Amir deep commitment to the Arab nation causes, noting that the nation solidarity could not be effective and sustainable without cooperation and development.

Absence of a joint Arab security order “has led to a major vacuum, others are seeking to fill it in ways that guarantee their interests and deepen our wounds,” warned the AIPU Chairman and Speaker of the Kuwaiti Parliament. Also in this vein, he warned of serious repercussions of

the inter-Palestinian divisions, “where the two sides are to be blamed for the crime of wasting blood of the martyrs”-clearly alluding to the mainstream groups, Fatah and Hamas.

Cause of Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa mosque is deeply implanted in the Arabs’ and Muslims’ conscience, he said, affirming that the Israeli schemes in the sacred city constituted a threat to the nation dignity, existence and entity. Moreover, he expressed his belief that the ArabIsraeli strife is closely linked to absence of reforms and spread of violence in the Arab and Muslim nations.

Al-Ghanem said the Palestinian cause has been sidelined due to prevailing violence, arrogance of the Israeli occupation, the West bias in the Middle East and Arab-Arab divisions.

He called on the union to seek to re-unify the nation and re-focus on the Palestinian cause. “The Palestinian cause had been the axis of social, political and economic activities in the whole Arab world for 70 years and the region had experienced due to it sustainable tension that led to four major wars and was exploited for right and wrong by revolutions, coups and political movements.”

Al-Ghanem called for rapid action to resolve the Arabs’ crises, namely the Palestinian question, touched on

the Syrian crisis that has claimed more than 150,000 lives and relocation of nine million people.

He expressed gratitude to His Highness the Amir for his sponsorship of the two international donors’ conferences for Syria and urged states of the world to support the Syrian people.

Secretar y General of the AIPU Nour Eddine Bouchkouj said here that joint Arab work is the best way to achieve peace and justice, and preserve Arabs’ rights.

Bouchkouj stressed, in his speech at the opening of the AIPU 20th conference , the importance of coopera-

tion among Arab states to face the current challenges.

The Secretary General also called on the Arab countries to put their differences aside, and work together to resolve the Palestinian Cause.

Bouchkouj praised the efforts of Kuwait and His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber AlSabah to host this conference entitled “Jerusalem, Capital of Palestine”.

The Arab states must suppor t Palestine and work against Israeli conspiracies until “Palestine is liberated and considered a free independent country, with Jerusalem as its the capital” he stated.

For his part, Chairman of the Arab Parliament Ahamd Al-Jarwan stressed the importance of fighting Israel’s “Jewish identity of the State” concept.

The Arabs must send a clear message to the international organizations regarding Israel’s violations and crimes against Palestinians, he noted.

Al-Jar wan also called on the Palestinian parties to disregard their differences and focus on resolving the issues of their people, adding that they must make haste in running elections following the terms of the Palestinian reconciliation agreement.

The international community must regard the issue of freeing the

Palestinian prisoners in Israel as its priority, keep them safe, and make sure they have all their rights under international laws, said the Chairman.

He also pointed to the worsening humanitarian conditions of Palestinians in Al-Yarmouk refugee camp, calling on world organizations and bodies to provide the camp with part of the donations given to Syrian refugees. Al-Jarwan called for forming a permanent joint committee between the AIPU and the Arab Parliament to monitor the latest developments in the Palestinian Cause, in cooperation with the Palestinian government. — KUNA

Allowances increases to affect state budget Warning against overspending

KUWAIT: Assistant Undersecretary for Operations Affairs at the Interior Ministry Maj Gen Abdallah Al-Muhanna received head of GCC Center for Management of Emergencies Dr Adnan Al-Tamimi, and his deputy Dr Abdelrahman Al-Enezi. Goals of the center which will be located in Kuwait were discussed.

KAC to lease 16 aircraft KUWAIT: Senior management at Kuwait Airways have amended a plan of leasing aircraft during the interim period of modernizing the fleet. It was decided to increase the number of leased aircraft to 16 instead of 12 until modern planes are received, and a contract will be signed in a few days. The purchase order will include 10 A350 and 15 A32neo aircraft.

Sources said that Airbus is committed to lease KAC new aircraft during the interim period. The 16 aircraft include nine wide-body A330 and seven narrow-body A320. The first aircraft is scheduled for delivery in March 2015, the second in April, the third in May, and the fourth and fifth in June 2015.

The sources said the current KAC fleet cannot meet the expected summer traffic, and sudden malfunctions disturb operations, so it was agreed with Airbus to give KAC four A340 aircraft for free in July 2014 for eight months until the first new aircraft arrives in March 2015. They said the four aircraft will be luxurious with comfortable seats and advanced entertainment equipment. They said the four planes will replace the old A300 aircraft which will be retired.

The sources said MPs want to end losses by the proposal to privatize KAC, as well as extra employees by encouraging them to retire and give them a golden handshake (36 months of their latest salary), but what happened is that those who wanted to retire were all managers and assistants, along with midlevel executives totaling 1,300 employees, most of whom are highly productive, which placed KAC in a period of instability until the retirees are replaced.

Meanwhile, official sources at KAC said that what will be signed with Airbus this weekend is a contract to buy 25 new aircraft, while the leasing contract will be signed later. The chairman of the parliamentary financial committee MP Faisal AlShaye said the committee is ready to accept any amendments on the KAC privatization law after approval in the first reading and before the second reading.

Committee rapporteur MP Mohammad AlJabri expected voting on the KAC law in its second reading will be in the next session.

The amendments that were submitted during session included the amendment of Kuwaiti workers by 50 percent, as presented by MP Saleh Ashour.

Top priority to principle of justice and equality KUWAIT: The Interior Ministry said yesterday that the department of nationality and passports began implementing the strategic plan to address the situation of residency violators and marginal labor, saying the campaign aims to give expatriates and residents their rights under the law.

Assistant Undersecretary of the Ministry of Interior for Citizenship and Passports Maj Gen Sheikh Faisal Al-Nawaf Al-Sabah stressed, in a statement yesterday, the importance of equitable distribution of rights and duties and to give everyone his rights in accordance with

the regulations and conditions regulated by the laws of residence of foreigners in Kuwait, which is one of the most countries that respects human rights.

Sheikh Faisal added that Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Mohammad Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah always stresses on the principle of justice and equality and the preservation of the rule of law, noting that the doors of the nationality and passports department are open to receive any complaints from expatriates and find appropriate solutions to them. — KUNA

KUWAIT: The government and MPs will this week vote on proposals stipulating financial increases at a time in which Kuwait faces a real risk of falling into budget deficit. The main challenge facing the government is to convince lawmakers that increasing the rent and child allowances as well as the housing loan and servicemen’s pensions will have direct negative impact on the state’s economy and developmental ambitions.

The draft laws require increasing the child allowance from KD 50 to KD 75, rent allowance from KD 150 to KD 250 and the housing loan from KD 70,000 to KD 100,000.

MPs argue that the increases are due given surpluses recorded in recent years as a result of high oil prices, which in their opinion must translate into financial facilities to help Kuwaitis cope with increased living costs. On the other hand, the government continues to warn about the risk of increased expenditure amid a high likelihood of a drop in oil prices due to various factors, including increased supply from regional competitors such as Iraq and most recently Iran in the wake of the agreement regarding its nuclear program, as well as the growing focus on shale oil production globally.

This topic dominated headlines of local newspapers yesterday; including Al-Qabas which quoted ‘financial sources’ who “strictly warned of overspending that puts Kuwait closer to the end of the welfare state”.

“Ninety percent of oil revenues in the current budgets go for [public sector] payroll and subsidies, whereas current spending equals five times as much as investment spending, or KD 17.9 billion compared to KD 3.2 billion,” said the sources.

Meanwhile, the same sources who were unnamed in the report said that current (noninvestment) spending increased by 100 percent since the 2007/2008 budget which was set on a breakeven oil price of $49 per barrel. “After taking out the future generation fund’s share, the breakeven oil price in the 2013/2014 budget reaches $98 barrel,” warned Al-Qabas, which generally echoes the sentiments of the business sector in Kuwait, quoting the sources. According to the sources, any additional current spending, such as those stipulated by MPs’ proposals, will result in budget deficits.

Al-Rai newspaper, which usually gives high attention to ‘populist demands’ in their local coverage, underlined the high cost of subsidies in yesterday’s issue by indicating that Kuwait paid nearly KD 40 billion (over $140 billion) on subsidies during the past 8 years. A study based on statistics taken from the Ministry of Finance’s website indicates that Kuwait paid an annual average of KD 5 billion on subsidies between the fiscal years 2005/2006 and 2012/2013. “This burden puts Kuwait steadily on the road towards [budget] deficit because the average increase in oil revenues cannot keep up with population and inflation growth rates,” Al-Rai wrote.

Breakeven price Liberal daily Al-Jairda gave similar warnings about the increases’ potential risks.

Sources quoted in yesterday’s issue warned that the increases have an estimated annual cost of KD 3 billion, “which increases the breakeven price in the budget by 10 percent”. If this happens, the breakeven price

will become $110 per barrel, while the current price for Kuwaiti crude ranges between $102 and $103 per barrel. In the meantime, the sources warned that passing the increases will lead to increased inflation to rates “in which the government will not be able to control prices”, citing an example when rents skyrocketed after the rent allowance was increased from KD 100 to KD 150 in 2006.

Al-Anbaa daily echoed similar sentiments as it warned that rents currently take up an average of 40 percent of a Kuwaiti’s salary, and an average of 60 percent of an expatriate’s monthly pay, spelling even bigger problems for expatriate families once the rent allowance is increased. “If rents continue to increase, expatriates are going to leave Kuwait, after which the public and private sector will have to import labor forces at higher costs,” Al-Anbaa reported, quoting Mansour Al-Usaimi, the president of the Kuwait Property Valuation Union. He further indicated that expatriates’ salaries in Kuwait are “the lowest compared to neighboring states”.

Pro-government Al-Watan also drew attention to the ‘game of tug- of-war ’ between the government and parliament over the proposed draft laws, highlighting the negative risks of the increases on the state’s general budget. On the other hand, Alam Al-Youm quoted three MPs who reiterated the parliament’s ability to pass the legislations with a two-thirds majority even if the government rejects them if they are passed in the first hearing, further warning that such a decision from the government signals the beginning of ‘a new political crisis’.

More suspects questioned in ‘conspiracy tape’ case?

KUWAIT: A man arrested for allegedly spreading rumors about an alleged conspiracy against Kuwait’s ruling structure was remanded in custody after he was questioned by the Public Prosecution on Saturday. The suspect, who is being held pending investigations regarding his involvement in spreading of rumors on Twitter, will stand before the judge again in eight days after which the judge can decide to remand him for an additional period of time.

The man was arrested last week after the public prosecution took over the case which

was originally 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-Fahad Al-Sabah.

Meanwhile, Al-Qabas reported yesterday that new suspects could be summoned soon

as part of the probe “which is ongoing until formal investigations are complete”, according to a source with knowledge of the investigations.

In other news, Al-Qabas quoted ‘diplomatic sources’ who said that Kuwait’s foreign ministry is coordinating with the Iraqi authorities on the case of eight Kuwaiti nationals held in Iraq after crossing the border during a fishing trip.

The men along with their Bangladeshi companion were reportedly transferred from the Samawah prison to Baghdad for further investigations, while Iraqi officials assured that they will be released soon.

LOCAL MONDAY, JANUARY 20, 2014

Is your salon clean?

By Nawara Fattahova KUWAIT: Hygiene at local salons and spas is the responsibility of the Kuwait Municipality. With the explosion of such businesses in recent years, however, inspections rotations may mean some salons or beauty parlors aren’t visited for months or years at times.

Recently, Kuwait Times learned of a few incidents where women who visited nail salons in Kuwait became infected with fungi. This can be the result of unclean equipment or a lack of hygiene or basic cleaning procedures.

According to Municipality rules, all salons are required to have a sterilizing machine on the premises that is used to clean and sterilized equipment. Staff should be in uniform and the place should be kept clean.

“During inspections, we check that all staff have a health license to ensure they are free of infectious diseases,” explained Hawiya Al-Ajmi, an inspector in the Municipality.

“We also check that materials are not expired and no forbidden materials are used such as tattoo inks.” Al-Ajmi did note that sometimes the Municipality inspectors have confiscated dirty tools, not

Fingers of a working staff caught by the inspector showing infectious warts.

only for nails but also combs and brushes and other salon equipment. But in a random sample of salons, nail spas and other beauty parlors, Kuwait Times found that some salons have not received an inspection in more than a year.

Others noted that they are checked every few months.

There also seems to be no one set procedure for ensuring the cleanliness and sterility of nail or salon equipment.

At a salon in Jabriya, this reporter was shown a washer used for sterilizing manicure and pedicure tools and equipment. “We use each tool for one customer only. We collect them and at the end of the day or the next day morning we clean them with Dettol and then we put them in the machine for disinfection,” said Maryline, a staff member of the salon. The use of a household cleaning product is worrying.

At another Jabriya salon, staff employee Mona explained that rather than washing and sterilizing equipment, her salon uses only disposable tools. “Our customers have peace of mind as they open each tool there itself and throw it in the trash after using. We don’t bother cleaning or sterilizing the tools, this way is much easier,” she explained.

One salon in Salmiya didn’t have the sterilizing machine. The staff working there noted they clean the tools after each customer with Dettol and boiled water, which they consider a satisfying disinfection. “I think our cleaning procedure is fine, and we never have any complaints from customers,” said one staff member who asked her name not be used. All the salons visited invited this reporter to bring her own manicure and pedicure tools if she doubted the cleanliness of their equipment.

Cleanliness, however, isn’t guaranteed. One salon regular noted that her favorite salon is clean whenever the owner is present but that staff are sometimes less careful when the owner is away. “Once I went to the salon for my manicure and pedicure, and the lady who does that brought me a dirty towel to dry my feet with,” said Noha, a salon patron. “I shouted at her so she changed it and this situation happened when the owner was not there. Even though the staff has orders to follow for hygiene, they may be less careful when not watched,” she pointed out.

Checking on the cleanliness of a salon, then, becomes the responsibility of the patron.

The place where one of the salons does pedicures and foot baths.

MONDAY, JANUARY 20, 2014

LOCAL In my view

In my view

Return of ‘Dow’ issue

Complicated era in Arab history

Leave judgment to the Creator!

When we treat a wound.. another opens!

By Labeed Abdal

By Osama Ibraheem Alduaij

local@kuwaittimes.net

local@kuwaittimes.net

kuwait digest

Some clarity is required

By Abdullatif Al-Duaij

W

e already had the chance to observe the orientations, real intentions and authoritarian political approach of the members of the new opposition who these days promote major constitutional amendments to change the ruling system. In addition to backwardly, strict and obsessive policies in the social and economic fields, the majority of the members have shown - as MPs or political groups - positions that are against public development and the democratic principles of freedom, justice and equality that they claim to be fighting for.

Beside those oppositionists, or those unfortunately under their wing, there are many young citizens who carry the same slogans and dreams but without clarifying their actual positions on what they say. Are they true about their democratic ambitions? Or are they like the new oppositionists they follow, who make empty promises and a lot of talk without actions? Young people’s intentions were not adequately put to the test. Unfortunately, they are currently neither helping nor seem to be willing to explain their positions. In a best case scenario, this could be the result of rallying the largest number of supporters possible and giving young people more

After the opposition’s antidemocratic sentiments were exposed, a group of young activists claimed that they have separated themselves from the opposition.

In my opinion, those groups now try to promote a general point of view without providing details clearly and transparently. volume than what they actually represent.

After the opposition’s antidemocratic sentiments were exposed, a group of young activists claimed that they have separated themselves from the opposition. In my opinion, those groups now try to promote a general point of view without providing details clearly and transparently. Everyone, including members of the ruling structure, speak about the constitution and belief in democracy. Everyone without exception. In reality however, it is positions, not slogans, that determine the truth behind the intentions of people, groups or institutions.

We do not want parrots or broken records that repeat “elected Cabinet, parliamentary system, freedom and equality”. We want, or in fact demand, specific positions from all those issues to know where the activists stand. There are many issues in the country these days. We want a clear and specific position, not one that is on paper from the so-called new political forces. This way, we can truly identify their orientations and differentiate between them and political groups we already know about and whose approach contradicts with their practices. —Al-Qabas

Al-Anbaa

T

he Arab region is going through the most complicated era in history. Arab nations have become divide - a strategy planned to change the region’s map and weaken countries with considerable strength, either militarily or in other fields.

Several countries were subjected to systematic attacks targeting vital sectors including education (schools and universities), health (hospitals and clinics), religion (spreading sectarianism and targeting both Sunni and Shiite mosques as well as Christian churches), in addition to culture and history. It is extremely sickening to see these reckless actions that gamble with people’s fates.

Arab countries including Iraq, Syria, Sudan and Libya have become like a playing field for countries that violate the sovereignty and rights of their people under the pretext of controlling energy resources. But it is time that these countries stop playing with people’s destinies, and be held accountable for their actions.

Once this is done, nations can work on creating a world free from conflicts. As we live in the first century of the third millennium, I believe that nations should seek establishing friendly relations with each other instead of military struggles.

Instead of playing by the book of the jungle where might is right and survival of the fittest, countries can choose to ally with each other and share their wealth for the benefit of humanity.

S

ince the creation of humankind tens of thousands of years ago, the Creator been very kind - by creating us perfectly both physically and mentally, empowering the human being to comfortably live with Mother Nature. He sent prophets to teach us his words, to follow his command and to make us live peacefully with each other. Let us consider the unimaginable, unconditional love that parents share with their children as a benchmark, then we can imagine the amount of love the Creator bears for us as his creatures.

At the same time, God expects us to worship him and follow his commands. Nevertheless, God will always be kind to all of us and will never want us to suffer or to be

in my view

Two recipes for two constitutions

By Amir Taheri

L

ast Tuesday was the third anniversary of the uprising in Tunisia that led to the departure of President Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali. The event also triggered upheavals in other Middle Eastern nations, notably Libya, Egypt and Syria. Looking for a shorthand description of what was happening, some pundits came up with the term “Arab Spring”, recalling the “Prague Spring” of the 1960s when Communism appeared to be heading for the exit. The expression also recalled an earlier “spring” - that of 1848 in Europe when several nations, among them France and Prussia, experienced revolutionary upheavals. Other pundits, however, preferred the term “Islamic Awakening”, partly because it echoed the 19th-century myth of “annahda”.

One problem with both labels was that they pretended to describe widely different events with a single analytical tool. More importantly, they tried to stick an identity on events that had not yet completed their course. The European Renaissance was not thus baptized on the day it supposedly started in Florence. The term was first used two centuries later. The French Revolution did not start, let alone end, on July 14, 1789 - its official calendar mark.

In any case, what is interesting as far as recent events in the Middle East are concerned is that they had little to do with either Arabism or Islam. The Tunisians who defied their police state were not demanding more religion; they were already Muslims. Nor did they seek to make themselves more Arab; they were already as Arab as they wished to be. Subsequent elections held in several countries, including some that, like Jordan, Iraq and Morocco, had not been directly affected by the events, showed that neither Arabism nor Islamism could secure a clear majority. On average, the Islamists persuaded around a fifth of the electorate to vote for them. Arab nationalists did even worse.

So, is there a different way of looking at the events of the past three years? I think there is. But before we get to that, let’s clear away some conceptual underbrush that could cause confusion. The fact that Arabic is the main language in the countries concerned does not mean that they all have identical political structures and cultures.

Just ask yourself which is the world’s second-largest Englishspeaking nation, after the United States, in terms of numbers? No, it is not Great Britain. It is the Philippines. Yet, few people would try to understand the archipelago’s politics solely through the prism of language. Even Canada, Australia and the US, their common linguistic bond notwithstanding, have different political cultures and structures. You cannot understand their politics solely by referring to the fact that they use versions of the English language. A common linguistic bond does not guarantee political unity, as we now witness with Scotland’s quest for independence from the United Kingdom.

Reference to religion is equally insufficient for understanding a nation’s politics. For example, both Norway and Zimbabwe are Christian-majority nations.

The European Union has officially recognized 22 stateless nations. These are people who often share the same religion and language with a bigger community inside the same country but

continue to claim an identity of their own. Examples include Catalans and Basques in Spain, Corsicans in France and Frisians in Denmark.

When we come to Islam, the picture is no different. Anyone who would try to understand the politics of Bangladesh and Iraq, to cite just two examples, with reference to Islam alone would not go very far. Nations in general and nation-states in particular are created by numerous geographic, geopolitical, historic, mythological and cultural factors. Like every language, every nation has a political grammar without which it cannot be understood.

Besides language and religion, historically, Tunisia and Egypt have other factors in common, including their incorporation into the Fatimid and Ottoman Empires and their experience under European colonial rule. However, while that history has created some similarities, those affinities do not make them identical. Tunisia is Tunisia and Egypt is Egypt.

Coincidentally, that point was highlighted by the two draft constitutions Tunisians and Egyptians were invited to approve this week. The Egyptian exercise was prompted by a desire to avoid taking risks with what the men who drafted the proposed constitution regard as “ the security of the state”.

The proposed constitution is a clear attempt at restoring what Amr Moussa has called “the positive aspects” of the republic founded by Gamal Abdel Nasser and maintained under Anwar Sadat and Hosni Mubarak. The revolution is over, now is the time for restoration.

The Egyptian referendum had other, undeclared aims: to provide Gen Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi’s administration with a measure of popular legitimacy and, hopefully, to give the death decree issued against the Muslim Brotherhood a stamp of public approval. Finally, the draft is designed to reaffirm the special status the armed forces’ leaders wish to retain at the heart of Egyptian politics.

The Tunisian draft, however, is prompted by a degree of risk-taking unexpected from a deeply conservative society. This is especially true in the case of ultra-feminist measures designed to give Tunisian women a share of power that women do not have even in Western democracies. Unlike the Egyptian draft that would strengthen the executive branch, the new Tunisian constitution is designed to increase the powers of the legislature and the judiciary, a novelty in Middle Eastern political culture.

The Egyptian draft aims at restoring the authority of the state apparatus in a new disciplinary context. In contrast, the Tunisian text is designed to strengthen civil society against the machinery of the state. The future will show whether the two constitutions are actually implemented in real life, but if they are they are sure to produce different types of society. This week showed that similar events could produce widely different results.

Well, would it be far-fetched to suggest that there was no “Arab Spring” and no “Islamic Awakening”? If not, what happened? The answer is that we had a series of political models that, for different reasons, were past their “sell-by” date and were thus doomed. Their demise came in different ways and, in some cases, such as Syria, is still pending.

The Tunisians who defied their police state were not demanding more religion; they were already Muslims. Nor did they seek to make themselves more Arab; they were already as Arab as they wished to be.

kuwait digest

Give priority to our unity

By Dr Hassan Abdullah Jouhar

T

he constitutional amendments project due to be declared within a few days calls for more review and studies of political convenience as well as local and regional circumstances out of keenness that they would not turn into mere thoughts that soon get buried and forgotten as part of history, rather than questioning the essence of such a project.

Amendments that have already been leaked might be worthy of discussion, namely those concerning more freedoms, establishing political bodies, increasing the parliament’s liabilities and establishing the nation’s sovereignty principle which means electing a Cabinet. Such demands are not new as we have said in many previous articles. They root back to the beginning of the previous century, namely 1938. So opinions and political views about them will naturally differ.

These differences are the outcome of the outraged social condition in view of severe polarization and constant sectarian mobilization in addition to other political and ideological divisions that have been tearing national unity and coherence.

Despite their fragility, weakness and public dissatisfaction with their performance, the presence of constitutional institutes like the parliament and the government has imposed an undeniable fact. Any unconstitutional project would make them both heroes defending the constitution and sovereignty. Reactions based on political obstinacy against the opposition

might be represented in threats to amend the constitution according to such disastrous views!

Moreover, the fragility of a legal infrastructure that ensures a major ambitious political project such as the electoral system, political bodies, laws about transparency, conflict of interests, wealth disclosure, rules of promotions and the judiciary independence, which all form the ideal environment for true reform do not exist or, rather say, that some relevant legislations were issued vacuumed of any related significance.

Such legislations were issued in the absence of the opposition.

As I see it, we should prioritize our unity, clearing our political culture from any fanatical or sectarian ideas and attempts to create tumults, all for the sake of getting fake stardom at the expense of others’ feelings and privacy. Those handling any national projects should respect the majority of Kuwaitis. They might as well announce that they are not after any positions, to start with.

Timing is also very important as we can see that the opposition that won a great deal of support two or three years ago lacks such support now. Nevertheless, due to its constant failure and the bad parliamentary structure has created a state of discontent, it would be a fatal mistake that the opposition might come to light once more because this would bring us all back to square zero, to add another one to the so many zeros this country has been witnessing! —Al-Jarida

God expects us to worship him and follow his commands. Nevertheless, God will always be kind to all of us and will never want us to suffer or to be harmed. harmed. We should never doubt the immensity of God’s love for us.

If we go back through history in an attempt to understand the causes of wars, we would find among them greed, domination, hunger and achieving freedom and justice. What I cannot understand is why many people on this earth hate, commit atrocities and unjustly kill humankind in the name of God, forgetting that such acts would never please God as they are against his command.

Why is it that when a discussion about religion comes up, there never seems to be consensus, even among highly educated and open minded people - the discussion concludes most of the time without any genuine consensus. Why do so many faithful people forcibly try to impose their owns spiritual beliefs upon others in their duty to spread the word of God . I think they would be more effective if they adopt less aggressive and intimidating attitudes toward achieving their objectives.

I will keep asking - why do so many people today who consider themselves ‘spiritually faithful’ attempt to play the role of God by passing judgment on individuals of other faiths? True believers should never feel the need to play the role that belongs to God. Why don’t they leave judgment-making to God?

In my view

Road damages

By Abdullah Buwair

local@kuwaittimes.net

W

hile we are still looking for solutions to traffic problems including congestions, overspeeding and dilapidated old cars, a new problem has appeared. A few days of rain exposed unknown corruption, sending gravel flying on cars, shattering windshields and side windows.

The rain exposed flaws in the asphalt’s composition, which contained sulfur among material used in the process of paving roads. The result? A bombard-

The rain exposed flaws in the asphalt’s composition, which contained sulfur among material used in the process of paving roads. The result?

A bombardment of stones damaging cars’ exteriors around Kuwait. ment of stones damaging cars’ exteriors around Kuwait. Meanwhile, everybody holds the Ministry of Public Works accountable for what happened.

During a recent diwaniya visit, I heard a story about a road construction company that signed a contract with the MPW to carry out road maintenance projects in Kuwait. As per the contract, the company was required to apply a 10-cm-thick layer of new, high quality asphalt on most roads around the country. But when the job was done, it was discovered that only a 2-cm-thick layer was applied, which was the reason behind the damage after the rain.

Several lawyers said that drivers have the right to sue the Ministry of Public Works for damages caused by the crumbling roads, being the state body responsible for road safety.

MONDAY, JANUARY 20, 2014

LOCAL

Experts to examine legality of fund law KUWAIT: Minister of Finance Anas Al-Saleh declared yesterday that the ministry would seek opinion of “neutral and experienced” consultants for ensuring legal soundness of the family support executive laws.

Al-Saleh said the ministry officials would hold intensive meetings with such competent advisors to ensure that these rules are flawless as compared to the basic laws.

The fund had been established according to Law 104 (2013), and was placed under the ministry jurisdictions. It was set up with aim of buying remaining deposits, without calculating the interest, from consumer and installed loans for citizens and companies under supervision of the Central Bank of Kuwait.

One term of the relevant law stipulates that banks take charge of managing the loans on behalf of the State-free of charge. —KUNA

KUWAIT: Al-Qurain House where a battle occurred on Feb 24, 1991, between 19 Kuwaiti youth and Iraqi forces occupying Kuwait at the time.

Al-Qurain House tells heroic story of Kuwaiti martyrs Symbol of national unity KUWAIT: Kuwait is celebrating these days the memory of Kuwaiti Martyrs who fell in Al-Qurain House, who gave their souls to defend their homeland and nation, in a story of heroism and bravery.

Al-Qurain House was turned into a museum under the name “Al-Qurain Martyrs House” ten years ago by the order of the former (late) Amir, His Highness Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, to keep the memory of the brave martyrs.

The museum aims to glorify the memory of Al-Qurain battle which occurred on Feb 24, 1991, between 19 Kuwaiti youth and Iraqi forces occupying Kuwait at the time, to tell the story of the martyrs who represented national unity for generations to come. The battle led to the death of 12 out of the 19 Kuwaiti youth, who fought Iraqi tanks with their blood.

Secretary of the museum Ahmad AlTattan said yesterday that the museum was opened in 2003, where departments for documents, library and cinema were added to it.

The sections were opened to provide visitors with information about the Iraqi invasion in August 1990, he noted, adding that the museum allows people to observe and learn in detail about the martyrs’ incident which occurred inside the house.

The museum is under supervision of the Ministry of Information, and consists of three houses; one for the administration, another is the house of martyr Bader Al-

Aidan, and the third is where the cinema, library, and documents departments are located, said the secretary.

Number of visitors reached about 70,000 in the past ten years, while last year recorded over 10,000 visitors, said AlTattan. The museum cooperates with the

Ministry of Education to organize visits for the students and provide them with a guide to walk them through the museum, he also added.

Foreign delegations of different countries also visit the national landmark location, said Al-Tattan, adding that the muse-

um provides guides with different languages for foreigners. The museum will cooperate with the National Council for Culture, Arts, and Letters and the Martyr Bureau to organize a celebration on the occasion of the National Day and the Liberation Day, he noted. —KUNA

Municipality to start electronic transactions KUWAIT: Assistant Director-General for development and information and committee chairman for the simplification of procedures in Kuwait Municipality Ahmed Al-Manfouhi said here yesterday that citizens will be able from next month to complete some of their transactions electronically.

Al-Manfouhi said in a press statement that the joint committee between the municipality and information technology body were currently working on speeding up the mechanization of the municipal services through the use of the government network.

He added that there is a need for the elimination of all the negativities in the current system of the municipality in order to achieve justice for all, pointing out that the new system would be divided into two phases; the first will see the light next month while the other part would be implemeted in the coming six months. —KUNA

MONDAY, JANUARY 20, 2014

LOCAL

KD1m ransom demanded for teenage girl’s release Homicide investigation in Jleeb death KUWAIT: Hawally police reunited a teenager with her family while a search is on for a man who kidnapped her and asked for a ransom for her release.

Investigations indicate that the girl was not aware of the plan that her alleged boyfriend got her involved with. The 14year-old reportedly left her family’s house to meet a man she met online.

The man supposedly convinced her to meet him at a mall in Hawally, and when she did, he asked to use her cell phone and obtained her father’s number. He then started sending texts to her father, telling him that his daughter

was kidnapped and asked for a KD 1 million ransom for her release. The man first went to check on his daughter, then headed to Adan police station after realizing she was not in the house.

Detectives were soon able to locate the couple and captured the girl, but the suspect was able to escape.

Investigations are ongoing in search for the suspect.

was found Saturday morning in the area. Paramedics and police had rushed to a street where pedestrians reported finding a man unconscious. Crime scene investigators were called after paramedics pronounced the Asian man dead. A homicide investigation was opened after investigators reportedly found evidence of foul play.

Investigations are ongoing.

Jleeb murder Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh detectives are working on revealing the mystery behind the death of a man whose body

Work mishap A construction worker died in an accident in Abdullah Al-Mubarak. The Egyptian man reportedly succumbed to his injuries before paramedics and police arrived in response to an emergency call. Workers at a construction site in the area had reported that their coworker fell accidently while working at a high place. The body was taken to the forensic department after criminal investigators examined the scene.

Investigations are ongoing to determine whether foul play is involved or not.

KUWAIT: Drugs control officials arrested two Asians with 250 grams of ICE (crystal meth), and 50 grams of marijuana. About 100 grams of ICE were found on one of the Asians and upon his arrest along with 50 grams of marijuana. When questioned he said he has a partner, who upon his arrest had 150 grams of ICE. Both were sent to concerned authorities. — By Hanan Al-Saadoun

Falling rock A man was hospitalized in a critical condition after a rock fell on top of his head outside his house Friday night.

According to the police report, the man was standing outside his house in Salhiya when a rock fell from the roof right on his head and knocked him unconscious. The man, a Kuwaiti in his 40s, was rushed to Adan Hospital by his son. He arrived in a coma and was admitted in the intensive care unit. A case was filed at the Salhiya police station for investigations.

Road crash A man died and three others were

injured in an accident on Salmi Road.

Paramedics arrived to the scene shortly after the accident was reported, but discovered that the vehicle’s driver had already succumbed to his injuries. The injured men were taken to the hospital while criminal investigators arrived to examine the scene before they transported the body to the forensic department. An investigation was opened to determine the circumstances behind the accident.

Restricted areas Coastguards arrested 14 people on charges of entering restricted areas and taking photographs in Abu Halifa. The men, identified as 11 Kuwaiti citizens as well as one Indian and two Pakistani nationals, were onboard 6 boats that were stopped after approaching oil facilities. Police found cameras in the men’s possession which reportedly contained pictures of oil facilities as well as tankers being loaded with oil. The men remain in police custody pending further investigations.

Fugitive nabbed A fugitive was arrested after traffic police caught him while he was performing dangerous stunts with a sports utility vehicle at the chalets’ road south of the country. After pulling him over for reckless driving, the patrol officers placed the man under arrest when he failed to produce any identification. He was taken to Ahmadi police station where an identity check revealed he is wanted for charges of housebreaking and attempted kidnap.

The man was transferred to the Criminal Investigations Department for further action.

Leading role in humanitarian work KUWAIT: Regional Managing Director of the Special Olympics Ayman Abdulwahab stressed Kuwait’s leadership in humanitarian work both regionally and continentally.

Kuwait has to work on the separation of intellectual and physical disabilities, Abdulwahab said in a statement on Sunday, referring to the need to take drastic, critical steps to create a private club specialized in mental disabilities.

He said his current visit to Kuwait comes in response to the invitation by the Journey of Hope Board of Trustees to discuss the details of the cooperation between the MENA International Special Olympics of intellectual disabilities with

the Journey of Hope Board of Trustees.

The Journey of Hope has imposed itself on the Special Olympics as it is a humanitarian trip, as well as an awareness one, carrying a humanitarian message to the world from Kuwait, especially that the Arab world is accused of being careless towards human rights, he added.

“The fact that the disabled people of the region constitute 40 percent, the equivalent of 200 million people of the world as Kuwait has 60,000 disabled persons, gives us great responsibility to convey our message of concern towards the disabled,” he noted.—KUNA

KUWAIT: Zain officials pictured with Kuwaiti youngsters.

Zain: A devoted supporter of youth in Kuwait KUWAIT: Zain, the leading telecommunications company in Kuwait, announced yesterday its main sponsorship of the seventh annual ‘Proud to be Kuwaiti’ event, which will be launched on Jan 30 under the patronage of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.

Zain is sponsoring the event for the fifth consecutive year, and is proud to do so as it falls in line with the company’s corporate social responsibility strategy to uplift the capabilities and skills of Kuwaiti youth. The event is seen as being an ideal opportunity for young people in Kuwait to present their business ideas and projects in one place and see whether they can have them supported in a more direct manner.

Commenting on the company’s sponsorship, Waleed Al-Khashti, Zain Kuwait’s Corporate Communications and Relations Manager said: “This event is one way for us to help focus the attention of industry on the country’s talented young people. Zain is a strong supporter of youth and their development across all fields of activity, and their individual projects and businesses are an inspiration to the entire nation.

We are confident that their efforts will contribute to the success and further progress of Kuwait’s future.”

Al-Khashtifirmly believes the event will garner exposure as one of the largest of its kind in the country, with the gathering set to run for an entire month. He also offered assurances that Zain would continue to support youth development in Kuwait and would remain committed to its social obligations. The company will also continue to seek out further partnerships and opportunities to be involved in activities that raise the profile and prospects of young people in Kuwait.

Activities incorporated under the ‘Proud to be Kuwaiti’ event commenced with the ‘A Mobkhar Journey’ competition, which offered participants the opportunity to design their own ‘Mobkhar’, the famous Gulf incense holder, with a design that reflected original Kuwaiti identity.

Numerous schools, universities, public entities, private sector companies, and independent artists participated in the competition, in which Zain presented gifts to the winners of the first three places.

France keen on strengthening bilateral relations with Kuwait PARIS: France is keen on maintaining the “strong and excellent” relations with the State of Kuwait as it represents a stabilizing factor in the Middle East, Head of the France-GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) Parliamentary Friendship Group, Senator Philippe Marini, said yesterday.

Marini made this statement after the conclusion of the official visit of the National Assembly Speaker Marzouq Ali Al-Ghanim to Paris on Friday where he discussed with senior legislators from the French Parliament and Senate the prospects of strengthening the bilateral ties.

“Under the difficult regional situations in the Middle East, especially in Syria and Iraq, Kuwait represents a major stabilizing factor in the region,” Marini added, noting that Kuwait is one of the most leading countries in democracy in the Arab Gulf region.

He praised the freedom of expression and opinion in Kuwait as they constitute “important factors” for any country looking to maintain national cohesion.

Marini stressed the strong bilateral ties between the two countries, which he described as “historic and deeprooted” in various aspects, noting that France’s commitment to restore Kuwait’s territories during the Iraqi invasion in 1990 was a “natural act.”

He also praised the results of the talks of the Kuwaiti parliamentary delegation with the French National Assembly and French Senate and their

French Senator Philippe Marini role in the development of a strong partnership in the future between the two countries.

“The Parliament Speaker is to play a significant role in the balance of Kuwaiti institutions due to the role assigned to the Parliament by the Kuwaiti constitution,” he noted, stressing the importance of Al-Ghanim’s visit that he made in order to bolster bilateral ties.

Marini, also Chairman of the Finance Committee of the French Senate, said that his country is keen on developing “promising” economic relations with Kuwait as an extension of the bilateral relations in the fields of

technology and health.

Marini said he will participate in the dynamic activation of mutual parliamentary visits by a proposal he will present to the members of the friendship group at the Senate for a visit to Kuwait in the coming months.

The Kuwaiti delegation, headed by the Paliament Speaker Al-Ghanim, held a series of fruitful meetings with the French President of the National Assmbely Claude Bar tolone, President of the French Senate JeanPierre Bel and French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius on ways to enhance cooperation between the two countries. —KUNA

KUWAIT: Director General of the Kuwait Fire Services Directorate Maj Gen Yousuf Al-Ansari opened a special recruitment course for development of operations and backup centers, which will continue for two weeks, at the workshops complex in Rai area yesterday. The training is taking place in cooperation with the Fire Service College.

— By Hanan Al-Saadoun

MONDAY, JANUARY 20, 2014

Thousands rally for Indonesian maid ill-treated in HK Page 11

Egypt prosecutors send ex-president to new trial Page 8

Attack on Bangkok anti-govt rally injures 28 BANGKOK: An attack on a rally in central Bangkok injured 28 people yesterday, the second such assault in recent days on demonstrators staging “shutdown” protests aimed at toppling the Thai government.

Unknown attackers have killed several people during the months-long demonstrations intended to oust the embattled government of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. Each side has blamed the other for the violence.

Yesterday’s attack-twin blasts followed by gunshots at a busy intersection occupied by the protesters-heightened fears of growing violence before elections called

by Yingluck for February 2.

A protest leader told reporters “an explosive device” was thrown into a crowd near a tent where he was sitting behind the main rally stage.

The crowd chased “suspects but one of them turned back and threw a second device”, said Thavorn Senniem, adding shots were then fired before the attackers escaped on motorcycles. An AFP reporter saw bloodspattered clothes and a small crater at the scene of one of the blasts.

Twenty-eight injured people were taken to several city hospitals after the attack, a health official said.

“Seven of them are seriously injured... it’s likely to be from shrapnel,” Suphan Srithamma, the head of the Department of Medical Services, told AFP. Govt blamed The capital’s Erawan emergency centre confirmed the toll, adding in an update that nine of the 28 were later released from hospital. The firebrand leader of the rallies said protesters would not be cowed by violence and vowed to extend the action across the southern provinces today.

“They attack us almost every day and night, even though we come with empty hands and never cause any damage,” former lawmaker Suthep Thaugsuban said at another rally site at the end of a day-long march.

“But no matter how many bullets or bombs, they can’t kill all of the Thai people,” he added, accusing the government of being behind the attack. He also urged protesters to “shutdown” government offices across 14 southern provinces.

Thailand has been rocked by bouts of bloody unrest since just before a 2006 military coup that ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. He now lives in self-exile overseas to avoid a jail term for corruption.

His younger sister Yingluck has clung on to power through more than two months of street rallies aimed at forcing her elected government from office and installing an unelected “people’s council”.

She has called the elections despite a vow by the main opposition party to boycott them and threats from the protesters to disrupt the polls. The demonstrators have staged a self-styled “shutdown” of the city since last Monday, erecting roadblocks and rally stages at several intersections including those in its commercial heart.

8 candidates vie for presidency in CAR BANGUI: Eight candidates are in the running for the interim presidency in the strife-torn Central African Republic, the transitional parliament announced yesterday. Blaise Fleury Otto, head of a special electoral commission, said 24 dossiers had been whittled down to eight according to draconian selection criteria.

They include the mayor of the capital Bangui, Catherine Samba Panza, as well as two sons of former presidents, Sylvain Patasse and Desire Kolingba. AngeFelix Patasse was president from 1993 to 2003, preceded

by Andre Kolingba, who came to power in 1985 in the impoverished country with a long history of coups, attempted coups and army mutinies.

Parliament will elect the interim leader today to fill the void left when coup-maker Michel Djotodia stepped aside on January 11. Excluded from standing for president are any political officials who worked for Djotodia, party leaders, active soldiers, and anyone who has belonged to a militia or rebel group in the last 20 years.

The new interim leader will be tasked with restoring peace to the former French colony, kick-starting a paralysed administration and enabling hundreds of thousands of displaced people to return home.

It is an especially tall order given that general elections must be held in the first half of 2015. Djotodia had come under fire for failing to rein in his mainly Muslim Seleka rebels after they seized power in a coup last March, unleashing sectarian clashes in the predominantly Christian country, with the United Nations warning that the bloodshed could turn into genocide.

Although the Seleka were disbanded after installing Djotodia as president, some turned rogue and carried out a string of atrocities including killings, rape and pillage, prompting Christians to form vigilante groups in response.

The capital Bangui was quiet overnight but African and French troops were out in force in the streets fearing fresh unrest ahead of the parliamentary vote. Clashes raged in several remote parts of the country on Saturday, and Save the Children said a grenade attack Friday on a truck convoy carrying Muslims fleeing to the northwest had killed 23 people, including three children.

“It is a sign of the still fraught and highly dangerous situation in the Central African Republic that children and their families have been attacked and killed while trying to evacuate to safety,” said Robert Lankenau from the charity.

An officer with the MISCA African peacekeeping force told AFP “there is some violence nearly everywhere,” pointing to Bouar in the west near the border with Cameroon, the town of Sibut north of Bangui, and Boali to the northwest of the capital.

“People are in a desperate situation, and as we get closer to the election it is going to get worse,” the officer added, requesting anonymity. Some 4,400 African troops and 1,600 French soldiers have been deployed to try to restore order in the impoverished country, but both missions have been calling for back-up. — AFP

Widespread violence The action has brought inconvenience to the city of 12 million, but authorities say the numbers on the streets appear to be dwindling-although tens of thousands join nightly rallies. The demonstrators are urging the military and independent institutions to bolster their attempt to block the election, which Yingluck is again expected to win.

Observers say widespread violence could prompt intervention by the powerful army in a nation which has seen numerous attempted or successful coups since it abandoned absolute monarchy in 1932.

“Peau Thai is very concerned (about the violence),” Thaksin’s legal adviser Noppadon Pattama told AFP, referring to the ruling party. “We condemn the use of violence. Suthep (Thaugsuban) should allow the police to investigate fully and to provide safety for the protesters.”

On Friday one protester died and dozens were injured in a blast at an anti-government march in the city led by Suthep. Police yesterday said they were hunting two suspects captured on CCTV footage leaving the scene of Friday’s attack after joining the march.

The current wave of protesters is made up of a coalition of Thaksin’s foes among the Bangkok middle class, southerners and the pro-royalist elite. But the ousted leader has strong support in the north and northeast, which has helped him or his allies win every election in Thailand this century. — AFP

BANGKOK: Thai Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) and Forensic officials examine the bomb blast site near an anti-government rally site of Victory monument in Bangkok, Thailand, yesterday. Two explosions shook an antigovernment demonstration site in Thailand’s capital yesterday, wounding at least 28 people in the latest violence to hit Bangkok as the nation’s increasingly volatile political crisis drags on. — AP

MONDAY, JANUARY 20, 2014

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

Israel warns Gaza’s Hamas rulers over rocket attacks GAZA: Israel said it carried out an air strike yesterday against a Gaza militant who it blamed for cross-border rocket attacks last week, and Palestinian medics said two people, including a 12year-old, were wounded.

The so-called “targeted attack” against a man the Israeli military identified as Ahmad Sa’ad, a senior Islamic Jihad operative, was a sign of growing Israeli impatience over a recent upsurge in rocket fire out of the Hamas-run Gaza Strip. The military said Sa’ad was personally responsible for the launching of five rockets at the Israeli southern city of Ashkelon on Thursday. Israel’s Iron Dome missile defence system knocked

out all five projectiles and the military responded with a series of strikes across Gaza, reviving memories of 2011 and 2012, when such tit-for-tat firing became the norm.

“We are determined to ensure the south remains quiet,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in public remarks at the weekly meeting of his cabinet in Jerusalem.

“We are doing this through a policy of preventive attacks and forceful retaliation against those trying to strike us or those who do so. I suggest to Hamas that it take this policy into account,” he said. Palestinian medics said Israeli aircraft attacked a motorbike in the north-

ern Gaza Strip, and that a 24-year-old man and a 12-year-old boy were wounded. They did not identify the two, but the Israeli military said Sa’ad was hit in the strike.

Missile launches detected An Israeli military official said on Thursday that Hamas, an Islamist movement that has governed the Gaza Strip since 2007, should intervene to stop rocket attacks, which he blamed on smaller militant groups backed by Iran.

After months of unusual quiet along the fence that separates southern Israel from the Gaza Strip, some 20 missile launches have been detected in the last

month, the Israeli military said.

In a statement on yesterday’s air strike, the military said it “targeted an integral component of the Gaza terrorist mechanism” and would not tolerate “aggression from the Hamas territory”.

The military said Sa’ad was planning further rocket strikes soon against Israel.

Earlier yesterday, a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip struck southern Israel, causing no casualties. Israel responded with air strikes on two sites in the territory. Hamas said two of its training camps were hit in the attacks, but no one was hurt.

Taher al-Nono, a political adviser to Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh,

told reporters Israel should “end its aggression”. Israel waged a massive air assault on the Gaza Strip in November 2012, reaching a ceasefire deal with Hamas after eight days of conflict that introduced a prolonged period of calm.

Since the end of that conflict, 16 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says.

Over the same period, one Israeli civilian who was working on the Gaza border fence was shot dead by a Palestinian sniper. Israel captured Gaza in a 1967 war but pulled out settlers and soldiers in 2005. — Reuters

Egypt prosecutors send ex-president to new trial CAIRO: Egypt’s prosecutors referred to trial yesterday the country’s former Islamist president on charges of insulting the judiciary and defaming its members to spread hate - the fourth case filed against Mohammed Morsi since his July ouster, the state news agency reported.

Morsi is already facing three separate trials on various charges, including inciting the murder of his opponents, conspiring with foreign groups and organizing jailbreaks- all of which can carry the death penalty.

Only one case has opened and it is due to resume next month.

The new case includes 24 other politicians, media personalities, activists and lawyers, accused in separate incidents of insulting the judiciary in public, on television or on social media websites over the past three years. They include some of Egypt’s prominent youth activists, including Alaa Abdel-Fattah, former lawmaker Mostafa el-Naggar, and liberal former lawmaker Amr Hamzawy as well as rights lawyer Amir Salem.

The referral also include figures who were at odds with Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood, such as TV personality Tawfiq Okasha, known for lambasting revolutionary groups, the military, and the Brotherhood. The offense is punishable by up to six months in prison, a fine, or both.

Lawyer Ahmed Seif said the referral is an early test to Egypt’s newly adopted charter, which bars imprisonment in libel or slander cases.

“This is putting society in a very early state of contradictions, with an ar ticle in the char ter that goes against an existing law. What do we do? Seif said.

The charter states that the law should regulate the punishment if the defamation involves incitement or dishonoring individuals.

Egypt’s state news agency said the referral of Morsi dates back to his

CAIRO: Former Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi speaks to reporters at the presidential palace in Cairo. —AP time in office, when he named a judge in a public speech and accused him of bearing responsibility for fraud carried out in previous elections. At the time, the judge was

presiding over a case reviewing corruption charges against former regime officials. The referral said Morsi’s speech would have influenced the judge’s work in the case and witnesses.

Standoff The televised speech came at the height of a tense standoff between Morsi and the core of Egypt’s over 13,000 judges and prosecutors, who accused the Islamist president and his Muslim Brotherhood group of meddling in their affairs and seeking to replace judges with their loyalists.

The judiciary was in an uproar over Morsi’s appointment of a chief prosecutor without consulting with them, one they said was beholden to the president.

The standoff led to major protests by judges and other activists- and threats of partial court strikes. Morsi and the Brotherhood charged that judges loyal to the former regime were obstructing his moves to reform the institution.

Since the 2011 uprising against longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak, reforming the judiciary has been a major demand of protesters and activists, highlighted in a string of trials of former officials for corruption and violence against civilians. The increased public scrutiny pushed judges and public prosecutors to file hundreds of complaints over alleged defamation.— AP

DAMASCUS: An image grab taken from the state-run Syrian news channel shows Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad (R) meeting with Russian parliamentarians in the capital Damascus yesterday. The Syrian presidency’s office described what the Russian news agency Interfax published as comments made by Assad during the meeting as “inaccurate”, after the Russian agency quoted the president as saying his departure is not up for discussion. — AFP

West hails Syria oppn vote to join peace talks Departure is not up for discussion: Assad ISTANBUL: Western leaders have hailed a decision by Syria’s opposition to attend an international peace conference next week alongside representatives of a regime they despise and remain determined to overthrow.

After weeks of hesitation and threats to boycott the talks, the deeply divided National Coalition said it will go to Switzerland, with the sole aim of toppling President Bashar alAssad.

The Syrian leader was quoted yesterday as saying his departure is not up for discussion, in a Russian media report that his office quickly denied.

“If we wanted to surrender we would have surrendered from the start,” Assad told Russian parliament members during a meeting in Damascus, according to Interfax news agency.

“This issue is not under discussion.

Only the Syrian people can decide who should take part in elections,” said Assad, whose has ruled over Syria since 2000 after the death of his father and veteran strongman Hafez alAssad.

But the presidency in Damascus said the comments published by Interfax were “inaccurate,” without elaborating. Assad’s brands its opponents as “terrorists”, but it has made concessions ahead of the conference that opens on Wednesday.

The Geneva II meeting aims to set up a transitional government to end a brutal war estimated to have killed more than 130,00 people and forced millions from their homes in nearly three years.

US Secretary of State John Kerry hailed the opposition’s “courageous” decision to attend the talks, describ-

ing it as a “path that will ultimately lead to a better future for all Syrians”.

We all know that the process ahead will be difficult, but I say directly to the Syrian people: we will stand by you every mile of the journey as you seek to achieve the freedom and dignity that all Syrians deserve,” he said in remarks echoed by Britain, France and Germany.

The Coalition voted Saturday by 58 to 14 to attend the peace conference, with only 75 of the around 120 delegates taking part in the secret ballot-a sign that strong disagreement persists. Coalition leader Ahmad Jarba said the group was going to Switzerland only for the purpose of removing the “butcher” Assad from power. “The Geneva II negotiation table is a one -way road aimed at achieving all the demands of the revolution... and first and foremost stripping the butcher (Assad) of all his powers,” he said.

The head of the rebel Free Syrian Army, General Selim Idriss, called for a “peaceful resolution” to the conflict, and urged the opposition to uphold the “goals of the revolution” and remove Assad and his cronies from power.

Assad makes concessions The FSA, the armed wing of the Coalition, is the main rebel group in Syria, but it has been greatly marginalised by the emergence of Al-Qaedalinked jihadists.

Syria ally Iran-which has not been invited to attend the talks-said participants at the forum must adopt “realistic” decisions and ensure that jihadists are weakened, media said quoting a

top official. Coalition member Munzer Aqbiq said the opposition would form within 24 a delegation made up of diplomats, politicians, FSA representatives and legal experts.

The Coalition has been under intense pressure from its Western and Arab backers to attend the talks.

The regime said it will send a highlevel delegation, and has offered concessions ahead of the talks, including a prisoner swap and a security plan for the battered northern city of Aleppo. Foreign Minister Walid Muallem said Damascus was determined to ensure the talks were a success, and sent a letter to the United Nations saying the conference is about getting rid of extremists.

Kerry dismissed the concessions, saying “nobody is going to be fooled”.

“They can bluster, they can protest, they can put out distortions, the bottom line is we are going to Geneva to implement Geneva I, and if Assad doesn’t do that he will invite greater response,” he said.

More than 35 countries will gather in the Swiss cities of Montreux and Geneva from Wednesday for the peace talks, as reports from Syria spoke of more bloodletting and infighting among rebels.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said regime jets and helicopters pounded Aleppo and the surrounding countryside on Saturday, killing 34 people.

Clashes raged between the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or ISIL, and other rebel groups opposed to the brutal tactics of the Al-Qaedalinked jihadists in Aleppo province, said the monitor. —AFP

Iraqi forces assault gunmen in crisis-hit city RAMADI: Iraqi forces launched a major assault yesterday on a Sunni Arab city partially in the control of anti-government fighters in a bid to end a weeks-long crisis ahead of elections. The operation, which involved police, pro-government militiamen and SWAT forces, sought to wrest back key neighbourhoods of Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province and one of two cities where the authorities lost vast swathes of territory about three weeks ago. It came as Jordan said it would host a US training programme for Iraqi forces grappling with the country’s worst bloodshed since 2008 and the ongoing deadly standoff in Anbar which have combined to leave more than 650 people dead so far this month.

Diplomats including UN chief Ban Ki-moon have urged Baghdad to pursue political reconciliation to undercut support for militancy, but with an election looming in April, Iraqi premier Nuri al-Maliki has blamed “diabolical” Arab countries for the unrest and focused on security operations.

Iraqi forces backed by tribesmen

moved into five Ramadi neighbourhoods Sunday, with helicopters providing cover and firing on the sprawling district of Malaab at the centre of fighting between anti-government fighters and security forces and their tribal allies.

“The Iraqi army launched a large operation with helicopter cover against Daash, Al-Qaeda and terrorists in Ramadi,” defence ministr y spokesman Staff Lieutenant General Mohammed al-Askari said, according to state television, employing terms frequently used by the Iraqi security forces to describe militants.

A police lieutenant colonel and an AFP journalist in Ramadi both confirmed the operation had begun. All of the neighbourhoods targeted lie in the south or centre of the city. The operation will seek to take back momentum from anti-government fighters, who have expanded their hold on Ramadi in the past week after police and allied tribesmen trumpeted gains there this month.

It follows an operation mounted by elite forces in the largely rural area of

Albubali that security officials have described as a militant stronghold.

Troops there have been held back, however, by the threat of snipers and anti-aircraft weapons, as well as poor weather that has limited movement.

PM blames Arab states A large section of Ramadi and all of Fallujah, both former insurgent bastions close to Baghdad, fell from government control late last month. It was the first time anti-government fighters have exercised such open control in major cities since the height of the insurgency that followed the US-led invasion of 2003.

Fighting originally erupted in the Ramadi area on December 30, when security forces cleared a year-old Sunni Arab protest camp. It spread to Fallujah, and militants moved in and seized the city and parts of Ramadi after security forces withdrew.

Maliki yesterday blamed “diabolical” and “treacherous” Arab countries for supporting the unrest, and insisted he was “confident that the Iraqi people will defeat terrorism”. —AFP

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Mexican on US death row spotlights foreigners’ plight Tamayo deprived of his consular rights

NITEROI: A group of young people enters the Plaza shopping mall as a massive gathering called “rolezinho” in Niteroi, suburb of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on Saturday. Rolezinhos are rampages coordinated via social networks, bringing together hundreds of thrillseeking youths, mainly from underprivileged areas, who sometimes trash stores and cause disturbances in shopping malls. — AFP

Brazil’s poor teens stir rising black militancy SAO PAULO: Flash mobs of slum teenagers in Brazil’s upscale shopping malls are spreading, and stirring black activism for greater social justice, experts say.

Since last month, the “rolezinhos,” or flash mobs, have occurred mostly in Sao Paulo but they are now catching on in more cities, including Rio de Janeiro and Campinas.

Shopping centers have responded by boosting their private security and securing court injunctions to close their premises-or to get police to keep protesters out.

At a protest Saturday, angry demonstrators unfurled a banner proclaiming “In the World Cup country, racist malls deny entry to black and poor people.” It is a turn of events authorities do not relish as Brazil readies to host the highprofile sporting event-they’d no doubt prefer to focus on smiles and sunshine and not overcoming the legacy of slavery.

The flash mobs were started in Sao Paulo by followers of Funk Ostentacao, an urban musical style that extols flashy, brand-name clothes and expensive cars, according to Rafael Alcadipani, a professor at the Getulio Vargas Foundation in Sao Paulo. “This is a way for underprivileged kids to express their creativity and energy,” according to Eduardo Alves, a director of the Rio-based Slum Monitor.

“They are trying to say that the city belongs to all, that they have the right to get together anywhere, including in middle-class and wealthy areas.

“They don’t want to be confined in shantytowns.”

Ignacio Cano, a social sciences professor at Rio de Janeiro State University, said most of the flash mobs are peaceful.

“What is wrong with these youngsters congregating in malls?” he asked.

“There is a deep, irrational fear that when poor, black kids get together, they are going to do something wrong,” he noted. Cano warned that legal attempts to bar the teens from shopping malls based on their appearance carries “a high risk of discrimination” and could be counterproductive for store owners as it will hurt their business.

Flash mobs spotlight ‘racism’ “These teenagers from the slums have found a new popular model for a successful protest,” said rights leader David Santos. The flash mobs, made public on social media, expose Brazil’s “structural racism,” said Santos, who heads Educafro, a leading civil rights group championing work and educational rights of blacks and indigenous people.

More than half of Brazil’s 200 million people are of African descent, the world’s second largest black population after that of Nigeria. Most Afro-Brazilians are descended from the millions of Africans brought here during colonial-era slavery that ended nationwide only in 1888.

Over a century on, Afro-Brazilians complain of widespread racial discrimination and disproportionate poverty.

Blacks and other slum dwellers generally stayed out of the massive street protests that brought hundreds of Brazilians out on the streets last June to demand a better quality of life and an end to rampant corruption.

Their focus has been on denouncing on what they called a “genocide of black youths” allegedly carried out by police in the country’s shantytowns. But the new restiveness among young people in poor neighborhoods appears to be spurring greater black political activism, particularly on social media.

Saturday, militants representing various black civil rights groups and leftist student organizations staged a protest outside the JK Iguatemi shopping center in Sao Paulo in solidarity with the flash-mob movement.

The posh mall shut its doors saying it was not equipped to handle the demonstrators. Though the protest drew only 150 people, Douglas Melchior, an activist of the UNEafro black civil rights group, told AFP that it was supported by thousands of people on Facebook.

In Niteroi, near Rio, 50 youths late Saturday stormed the Plaza Shopping center in another flash-mob protest to denounce “racism.” Meanwhile black militants are vowing to keep the pressure on.

The flash-mob activism challenges the “fundamentally racist, segregationist —AFP

WASHINGTON: The looming execution of a Mexican highlights the fate of foreigners on death row in the United States who were not informed of their rights and risk being put to death in violation of international law, experts say.

Edgar Tamayo Arias, who was convicted in the 1994 fatal shooting of a police officer, is set to die by lethal injection in Texas on Wednesday. With the clock ticking, rights activists and even the top US diplomat have tried to intervene, saying the 46-year-old was deprived of his consular rights, which may have spared him his death sentence.

The 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, ratified by 176 countries including the United States, sets out how authorities must act when foreign nationals are arrested or detained. This involves notifying the individuals in question of their rights to have their consulate informed. They subsequently also have the right to consultations with consular representatives.

However, of the 143 men of 37 nationalities currently awaiting execution in the US, just six have been notified of their consular rights, according to the latest report published by the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC), a non-profit organization based in Washington.

Most of the foreign death-row inmates are from Central America, it said, while eight are from Europe and include one citizen each from Germany, Spain and France. And of the 28 foreigners put to death since 1976, when capital punishment was reinstated in the

United States, the Vienna Convention was only applied in a single case, according to the DPIC report.

“There’s very strong evidence that in many of those cases prompt consular assistance could have made the difference between life and death,” said the report’s author Mark Warren, of Human Rights Research.

Maurie Levin, a lawyer representing the Mexican.

Tamayo is set to die Wednesday at 2300 GMT in the death chamber of the prison in the city of Huntsville.

Claiming that “clemency is almost never granted” in Texas, Levin has appealed to federal authorities for a last-minute reprieve.

Suspension of execution “Remember the death penalty is never mandatory in the US, juries always have the option to convict a person to a lesser punishment than death,” he told AFP. In 2004, the International Court of Justice ruled that Washington had not honored its international obligations for 51 Mexicans sentenced to death.

The Hague-base court had ordered the suspension of the execution of two of them to determine if the non-respect of their consular rights had hurt their defense. But Texas authorities went ahead anyway, putting the duo to death in 2008 and 2011 after the Supreme Court rejected their appeals.

Tamayo’s execution next week is the third to be set while some 40 others await their final hour. In the US federal system, where states have authority over criminal jurisdiction, “interference by the federal government in states’ activities puts the governments on the defensive,” DPIC director Richard Dieter told AFP. “Texas is always the flashpoint for all these controversial cases,” he added. Responsible for more than a third of executions in the US, Texas is likely to go ahead with Tamayo’s despite its “promise to comply to the due process guaranteed by the constitution,” said

‘Crisis grows with every execution’ US Secretary of State John Kerry recently also weighed in on Tamayo’s case, urging Texas Governor Rick Perry to delay the execution until a judicial review is completed.

“How can we go around the world and ask other countries to give our folks consular access if they are imprisoned (and) if we don’t do the same thing here?” deputy State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf asked last month. Mark Warren, legal advisor to defense teams representing foreigners in the United States, said the matter has been a “major irritant on foreign relations.”

One example, he said, was the 1999 execution of two German brothers in Arizona. “The crisis grows with every execution,” the Canadian researcher added.

“Foreign nationals are uniquely disadvantaged when they’re arrested in an unfamiliar legal system far from home,” he said.

“They don’t know the legal process, they may not speak the language, they don’t know what their rights are-the only assistance they can rely on is their consulate, but many times they don’t even know they can get that assistance.” —AFP

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Eritrean forces board ship in Red Sea, not pirates NAIROBI: Eritrean forces have boarded a merchant vessel that was in their territorial waters in an incident the crew initially reported as a pirate attack, maritime officials said yesterday. It was not immediately clear why the forces boarded the ship, the MV Marzooqah, and it was not immediately possible to contact authorities in Eritrea, one of Africa’s most isolated nations.

The container vessel had sent out a distress signal late on Saturday indicating that they were coming under attack

by pirates. Reuters data showed the vessel change direction sharply but also showed it moving towards the Eritrean coast early on Sunday, not the Gulf of Aden - the site of most pirate attacks and where one official had said the ship was headed.

“We assess this is an operation by the Eritrean forces, who went on board the vessel,” said Lieutenant Commander Jacqueline Sherriff, spokeswoman for the European Union Naval Force Somalia (EU NAVFOR) whose operational region

is further south. “We believe the vessel is now in the hands of the Eritrean forces,” she said, adding the incident had initially appeared on a system used for piracy alerts. “ The crew has reported they thought they were being attacked.”

She said the latest information on the Eritrean role had been obtained from the UK Maritime Trade Operation (UKMTO), which had spoken to Marzooqah’s captain. UKMTO is based in Dubai and run by Britain’s Royal Navy.

Andrew Mwangura, secretary general

of the Seafarers Union of Kenya, also said the 2,196 deadweight tonne vessel had been boarded by Eritrean forces, basing his information on regional coastguard reports. He had initially reported it was a pirate attack. The number of attacks by Somali pirates dropped sharply in 2013.

There were 176 confirmed piracy attacks in the region in 2011 and 36 in 2012, but this fell to just seven attacks in 2013 while no ships in that year were successfully seized. EU NAVFOR, which has been deployed to patrol a region that includes

the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean areas, has said the threat of piracy remains.

“Because the conditions in Somalia have not changed significantly or to any great extent ... we have been saying there is no room for complacency,” Sherriff said.

Experts say the past two years or so of relative stability in Somalia after 20 years of chaos and war have offered a chance to tackle the problem of pirate gangs operating from Somali territory but say limited progress has been made. — Reuters

Berlusconi, Italy left head strike key accord Deal to change electoral system, instability

ROME: Pope Francis greets people as he arrives at the Sacro Cuore Basilica in Rome, yesterday. — AP

Money, power, patronage stoke tensions in Niger Delta LAGOS: It is a classic Nigerian dispute, combining power ful politicians, patronage, personal rivalries, wider claims of corruption and bickering over lucrative oil revenue. But rising tensions in the southern state of Rivers in the Niger Delta region are setting it up to be a key battleground as general elections approach next year.

Where once it was the feared, heavily armed vigilantes patrolling the creeks who dominated headlines, now a stand-off between the state governor and the country’s president is grabbing attention.

At the heart of the spat between Rotimi Amaechi and Goodluck Jonathan are claims Rivers has lost out

on revenue from a disputed oil well as well as federal development and infrastructure schemes.

“There are some things that the federal government is doing that are not in the interest of the people of Rivers state,” said Amaechi’s spokesman, David Iyofor.

“These include the federal government ceding the Soku oil well, belonging to Rivers State, to Bayelsa (Jonathan’s neighbouring home state),” he told AFP. “The lack of federal presence in the state and failure to refund the state the 105 billion naira ($658 million, 482 million euros) it spent on federal roads in the state is another major nagging issue.”

Vocal criticism The plain-speaking Amaechi, who is vaunting his own progress on driving up living standards, health and education in the state, has claimed Rivers has “nothing to show” for Jonathan’s time in power.

But he is also a key figure in a national-level dispute that has plunged Jonathan’s ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) into crisis and seen it lose its parliamentary majority. Amaechi, 48, was one of five influential state governors to quit the PDP for the main opposition in November last year, prompting 37 lawmakers in the lower chamber National Assembly to follow suit.—AFP

ROME: Silvio Berlusconi has returned to the political scene after a tax fraud conviction, striking a deal with the leader of the largest centre-left party on electoral reform that could give Italy badly needed stability.

But the Saturday night agreement between 77-year-old Berlusconi, still head of the centre-right Forza Italia party he founded, and Democratic Party (PD) leader Matteo Renzi has divided the governing coalition.

Smaller parties in the coalition of Prime Minister Enrico Letta, who also belongs to the PD, are irate about such an agreement because they could risk extinction under a new electoral system.

The left wing of the PD has accused Renzi, 39, of facilitating the rehabilitation of a convicted criminal. Berlusconi denies the fraud charges and is appealing a separate conviction for paying for sex with an underage girl.

With the highest debt burden in the euro zone after Greece, Italy - mired in its longest post-war recession - is closely watched by financial markets and European partners as a flashpoint for instability in the bloc.

Italy’s politicians are making a fresh attempt to reform the electoral system in the hope of providing steadier and more durable government. In last year’s election, no party gained enough votes to govern alone, plunging the country into political stalemate before the creation of a broadbased coalition government which has constantly bickered and struggled to produce reforms.

Renzi, who is also mayor of Florence, held two-and-ahalf hours of talks with Berlusconi at PD headquarters in Rome. The irony of Berlusconi entering the headquarters of the political heirs of the communist party he has long despised, was not lost on anyone. The offices still have pictures of Fidel Castro and Che Guevara on their walls.

A demonstrator hit Berlusconi’s car with an egg and another held up a photo montage of the former prime minister behind bars. He was expelled from parliament in November after the fraud conviction became definitive and has been leading his party from outside parliament.

Governability Renzi and Berlusconi favour a system based on proportional representation with a large number of small constituencies each electing four or five representatives and a winner’s bonus of 15-20 percent of seats. Parties winning below five percent of the vote would not get into parliament.

After the meeting Renzi said he and Berlusconi were “in tune”, agreeing on the need for an electoral law that “favours governability and a bi-polar system, and eliminates the blackmail power of the smallest parties”.

Berlusconi said the accord would “consolidate the largest parties and simplify the political system”. Letta, whose relations with Renzi have sometimes been tense, said the accord was “going in the right direction” towards electoral reform, which would involve a lengthy process of parliamentary approval and constitutional amendments.

Both Berlusconi and Renzi also favour a reform of the upper house Senate so that it does not merely duplicate

ROME: Italy’s former Prime minister Silvio Berlusconi leaves the PD headquarters in Rome, after a meeting with centre-left Democratic Party (PD) leader Matteo Renzi. — AFP the work of the lower house Chamber of Deputies as well as changes to the governing structure of Italy’s regions and provinces.

Small parties backing Letta’s coalition - including the New Centre Right (NCD) of Deputy Prime Minister Angelino Alfano and the Civic Choice of ex-premier Mario Monti - have threatened to bring down his administration unless they have a say.

Alfano, who broke with Berlusconi to form the NCD last year, said on Sunday that a reform of the electoral law would be “impossible without us” and added: “We want coalitions and not just two parties, which goes counter to Italian history.”

Electoral reform rocketed to the top of the political agenda last month when the constitutional court called part of the current electoral law “manifestly unreasonable”.

It struck down the system of voting for party lists of candidates and the rules that gave the largest coalition an automatic 55 percent of seats - on a national basis in the lower house and regionally in the senate. It also said voters should have the right to choose representatives, not simply vote for lists picked and ranked by party bosses. —Reuters

Turkey ready to discuss judicial row with EU ADANA: Turkey’s foreign minister said yesterday the country was ready to discuss all issues with the European Union at high-profile talks this week, including a row over judicial independence that has escalated the crisis engulfing the government.

The controversy over Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s bid to increase his control over Turkey’s top judicial oversight body, the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK), has dealt a new blow to the country’s long-held goal of EU membership just as Erdogan prepares for a crunch day of talks in Brussels on Tuesday.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said the judiciary issue and all others were on the table in the EU talks, but defended the embattled Erdogan government’s response to the corruption scandal that sparked the current political crisis. “We are ready to discuss everything, including the HSYK ,” said Davutoglu, who is due to accompany Erdogan on his trip. “If there is anything that stands contradictory to EU standards, we will listen to this.”

In the wake of a December anticorruption probe that has ensnared some of Erdogan’s key allies, his government has taken a series of retaliator y measures, including a mass purge of police and prosecutors, and has sought to curb the powers of the HSYK. The government ’s purge has extended to banking and telecoms oversight bodies as well as state television. Local media repor ted Saturday that three high-ranking officials with top banking watchdog the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK) had been removed from their posts.

Five department chiefs from the Telecommunications Directorate (TIB) regulatory body have also been fired, as well as a dozen people at

Turkey’s state television channel, TRT, including senior news editors and department heads, the reports said.

Erdogan accuses supporters of Fethullah Gulen, an influential Muslim cleric who lives in the United States, of waging a “coup plot” in the run-up to elections this year.

‘Judicial independence a must’ The prime minister’s move to curb the powers of the HSYK has drawn criticism from European leaders.

Erdogan’s Brussels trip will be his first visit since Turkey resumed EU membership talks in November after a three-year freeze, but EU officials warn the crisis has spoilt the “new momentum” in relations between the predominantly Muslim country and the 28-member bloc.

Brussels has urged the government to address the corruption allegations in a “transparent” and “impartial” manner, and the Council of

Europe has warned that Turk ish moves to “politicise” the judiciary would weaken trust in the state and jeopardise democracy.

“Judicial independence is a must,” Davutoglu told repor ters in the southern Turkish province of Adana.

“But the executive has the freedom to develop its own policies,” the foreign minister said. “We are ready to listen to any criticism or any view raised in the European Union as long as those criticisms and views are based upon EU standards and norms.”

He warned Brussels not to take a “discriminator y attitude” toward Turkey, suggesting the proposed changes to the HSYK were comparable to existing laws in various EU countries. “If there is anything that is against the EU standards, we will listen to this, but we will ask one by one how the situation is in Europe, in Spain, in France,” he said.— AFP

ISTANBUL: Thousands of Turkish hold signs as they march to the offices of Armenian newspaper “Agos” during a commemoration ceremony for slain journalist Hrant Dink, in Istanbul, yesterday. Turkish riot police were out in force yesterday as large crowds massed in Istanbul to demand justice for a prominent Turkish Armenian journalist murdered seven years ago. Hrant Dink, one of the most prominent voices of Turkey’s shrinking Armenian community, was killed by a gunman on January 19, 2007. — AFP

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Thousands rally for Indonesian maid ill-treated in HK HONG KONG: Thousands of people rallied in Hong Kong yesterday to demand justice for a young Indonesian maid who

was badly beaten by her employer in a case that has sparked widespread outrage and a police investigation into accu-

HONG KONG: Demonstrators shout slogans during a march in support of an Indonesian maid who was allegedly tortured by her employer in Hong Kong yesterday. The alleged maltreatment of Erwiana Sulistyaningsih by her employer over the course of eight months renewed concerns over abuse of foreign domestic helpers in the southern Chinese city. — AFP

sations of torture.

The ill-treatment of foreign domestic workers in Asian and Gulf regions such as Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and Dubai has been a longstanding problem but the severe injuries suffered by the Indonesian maid have drawn fresh attention to the risks faced by this migrant community.

“We are workers. We are not slaves,” chanted a crowd of several thousand domestic workers and their supporters as they marched to Hong Kong’s government headquarters. Some waved the red and white flag of Indonesia, while others held up grisly photographs of the battered face and body of the 23-yearold maid, Erwiana Sulistyaningsih.

Modern day slavery “We have to end modern day slavery like this,” said Ila Hasan, 32, a domestic worker from Indonesia’s island of Java, who wore a red shawl and a blue bandana emblazoned with the word ‘Justice’.

“The employer isn’t human. These things shouldn’t happen.”

Hong Kong, a former British territory that returned to Chinese rule in 1997, has around 300,000 foreign domestic

helpers, most of them from the Philippines and Indonesia. While cases of such harsh treatment are rare, Hong Kong’s policies on migrant workers have often made maids reluctant to report abuse for fear of losing their livelihoods and being deported if they fail to find new jobs swiftly.

Hong Kong police and the labour bureau are now investigating the case and will interview Erwiana today, said Eni Lestari, the head of advocacy group the International Migrants’ Alliance, which has been in close touch with the victim.

A second maid, identified only as Susi, who claimed to have been abused by the same employer, also gave a statement to police, saying she had frequently been beaten and abused. No formal charges have yet been made against the Hong Kong employer, who also reportedly threatened to kill Erwiana and her family if she revealed the abuse she suffered. Erwiana is now recovering from her injuries at a hospital in Sragen, a city in central Java, after flying out from Hong Kong in early January. “I want the ones who tortured and wronged my daughter to be prosecuted and have jus-

tice done,” said her father, Rohmad Saputra, speaking at her bedside.

‘Two-week rule’ The maid had suffered extensive injuries but her condition was stabilising, a hospital spokesman said.

“She was subjected to intense heat.

Most of the bruises are on the face, legs and arms. And she is in a very poor, weak condition,” said Sri Yoko, the spokesman.

“Even what should be light activity is difficult for her. Now the progress is very good, but she still hasn’t been communicating properly.” Rights groups demanded a review of Hong Kong’s migrant worker policies to tackle issues such as overcharging by job agencies and the “two-week rule”, referring to the deadline by which maids must leave the city after losing their jobs.

“This is not an isolated case,” said Lestari, who estimates her group receives four to six complaints of physical assault each month from maids in Hong Kong. “The only difference is we were able to bring it to the public and to the media and that put pressure on the police.” — Reuters

20 Pakistan soldiers killed as bomb hits military convoy Deadliest attack to hit Pakistani security forces PESHAWAR: A bomb claimed by the Pakistani Taleban killed 20 soldiers and wounded 30 when it ripped through a military convoy in the restive northwest yesterday, officials said. The attack, one of the deadliest to hit Pakistani security forces in recent years, happened in the city of Bannu near the North Waziristan tribal region which is a stronghold of militants linked to the Taleban and Al-Qaeda.

“A vehicle-borne improvised explosive device caused the blast,” a senior military official told AFP, adding the exact circumstances were unclear. An official statement said 20 soldiers were killed and 30 injured in the attack, which hit one of the vehicles in the convoy at 8:45 am.

The convoy was about to leave for the town of Razmak in North Waziristan when the blast hit one of the civilian vehicles hired to move troops.

Taleban ‘ready for talks’ Tehreek-e -Taleban Pakistan spokesman Shahidullah Shahid claimed responsibility. “It was part of our fight against a secular system,”

he said by telephone from an undisclosed location. “We will carry out more such attacks in future,” he said, adding the Taleban were seeking revenge for the deaths of their former chief Hakimullah Mehsud and deputy Waliur Rehmanboth killed in US drone attacks.

The Taleban vowed they would not engage in any dialogue with the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif following the death of Mehsud. But Shahid told AFP yesterday the group “is ready for meaningful negotiations despite facing huge leadership losses, if the government proves its authority and sincerity” by halting drone attacks and withdrawing troops from tribal areas.

Taleban insurgents have led a bloody campaign against the Pakistani state since 2007, staging hundreds of attacks on security forces and government targets. Bannu was the scene of a jailbreak last April when some 150 heavilyarmed Islamists stormed a prison and freed 400 inmates including many militants.

An eyewitness told AFP by telephone the

BANNU: Pakistani soldiers and policemen cordon off the area after a bomb attack on a security convoy in the city of Bannu yesterday. A bomb claimed by the Pakistani Taleban killed 20 soldiers and wounded more than 30 when it ripped through a military convoy in the restive northwest, officials said. — AFP

vehicle hit by yesterday’s bomb was transformed into scorched metal. “I collected human remains including hands and legs from the site after the attack,” he said on condition of anonymity.

Body parts and soldiers’ personal belongings littered the scene. President Mamnoon Hussain condemned the attack, according to a statement by his office. “Such cowardly attacks can never weaken the resolve of our law-enforcing authorities and the nation to continue pursuing their struggle against the scourge of militancy and terrorism,” the statement said.

‘Demoralising attack’ Pakistani troops have for years been battling the Taleban and other homegrown insurgents in the tribal belt next to the Afghan border, which Washington considers the main hub of militants plotting attacks on the West and in Afghanistan.

The army’s headquarters in Rawalpindi came under attack in 2009, while major naval and air force bases have also been targeted in battles that have lasted for several hours. A senior Pakistani general was killed in a blast last September along with two other soldiers in an attack claimed by the Taliban.

In May 2011 89 paramilitary troops were killed in an attack at a military academy in the northwestern town of Charsadda.

Talat Masood, a retired general and security analyst, said recent assaults on the army were “testing the patience of the military” and were “extremely demoralising”. The civilian government led by Sharif, who came to power after elections last year, has said it is seeking talks with the Taliban.

But so far little progress has been seen and terror attacks rose 20 percent in 2013 according to the independent Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies. Masood said the government’s policy was creating frustration within the army.

“It is becoming so evident to people that the government is so ineffective and paralysed and has no policy or strategy, while the army’s hands are tied and it is being targeted and not being allowed to take action.” Pakistan, which joined the US-led “war on terror” in 2001, says more than 40,000 people have been killed in the country since then by militants who oppose Islamabad’s US alliance. —AFP

30,000 displaced by floods in Jakarta JAKARTA: More than 30,000 Indonesians have fled their homes in the capital due to flooding that has left five dead, officials said yesterday, with people using rubber dinghies and wading through waist-deep water to reach safer ground.

Many parts of Jakarta were under murky, brown water after days of torrential rain produced the city’s first significant floods of the months-long rainy season. Buildings in some parts of the sprawling capital, which has a population of more than 10 million and is regularly afflicted by floods, were half submerged, with roads unpassable in many areas.

“Yesterday the water was knee deep in my house,” Yulian Candra, who lives in west Jakarta, told news website Detik. “There has also been a

power cut for the past two days.” The number of those forced to leave their homes jumped from less than 5,000 on Saturday to more than 30,000 on Sunday after heavy rain deluged Jakarta overnight.

People waded through the floods clutching their belongings. Others used boats to make their way to evacuation centres, which are mainly housed in mosques in the Muslim-majority country, but also in government buildings and tents erected on the roadside.

Some motorcyclists, cyclists and cars ventured out despite the weather, spraying up water as they drove along roads where the floods were not yet too high. The flooding was widespread across Jakarta, with the highest

JAKARTA: An Indonesian man pushes his motorbike through a flooded street in Jakarta, Indonesia, yesterday. A heavy downpour has caused flooding that occurs almost every year in parts of greater Jakarta due to bad city planning. — AP

number of displaced in the south and west of the city and floodwaters reaching up to three metres (10 feet) in some places.

Perennial problem Five people have so far been killed in the past week due to flooding, disaster agency official Tri Budiarto said, adding that those killed had either died by drowning or being electrocuted.

Flooding is a perennial problem in Jakarta, the political and economic heart of Southeast Asia’s biggest economy, a fast-growing, poorly planned city. “Floods continue to inundate several areas in Jakarta,” national disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said. “So far, 30,784 people have been displaced in Jakarta.”

Nugroho said there were also flooding in districts surrounding Jakarta, and other parts of Java island.

However he said the floods were yet to reach the same level as last year, which were the worst in five years and saw downtown commercial districts inundated.

More than 50,000 people were forced out of their homes last year, he added. However Budiarto warned that the number of evacuees may rise in the coming days as more rain was expected.

Meanwhile on northern Sulawesi island, the death toll from flash floods and landslides triggered by torrential rain earlier in the week rose to 19, an official said.

The toll rose when rescuers recovered the body of a woman from a landslide in Tomohon city, local disaster agency chief Christian Laotongan told AFP. He added that around 40,000 people were also still displaced.

“The floods have subsided but houses were wrecked, and furniture and belongings were damaged, so people have not been able to return,” he added. Indonesia is regularly affected by deadly floods and landslides during its wet season. Environmentalists blame logging and a failure to reforest denuded land for exacerbating the floods. —AFP

NEW DELHI: In this photograph taken on March 12, 2012 ex-junior minister for external affairs and Congress Party’s Member of Parliament Shashi Tharoor (R) with his wife Sunanda Pushkar arrive at parliament for the opening of the budget session in New Delhi.— AFP

‘Shocked’ minister urges swift probe in wife’s death NEW DELHI: Indian minister Shashi Tharoor, whose wife was found dead in a luxury hotel room, called yesterday for a swift inquiry so the truth “can come out as soon as possible”, an official said.

Tharoor wrote to the home minister yesterday to pledge his full cooperation with investigations into his wife’s death on Friday, after she exposed his alleged adultery with a Pakistani journalist on Twitter.

“Mr. Tharoor has requested the home minister to expedite the inquiry so that the truth behind his wife’s death can come out as soon as possible,” Tharoor’s private secretary Abhinav Kumar told AFP. “He is in a state of shock. He is anxious and keen to know the truth... what happened that day, no one can say.”

Tharoor, the junior human resources

development minister, found his wife Sunanda Pushkar dead in her five-star room in New Delhi on Friday evening after he returned from a party meeting.

The death was a tragic twist in a tale of apparent marital strife that has played out in full view of the public in India’s newspapers and on social media. A magistrate charged with investigating Pushkar’s death is expected to record Tharoor’s statement after he scatters his wife’s ashes on Monday, Kumar said.

Tharoor will travel to the holy town of Haridwar for the ceremony after her body was cremated according to Hindu rites on Saturday in the capital, Kumar said.

Pushk ar died an “unnatural, sudden death”, said doctors who performed an autopsy on Saturday, adding that more tests were needed to determine the exact cause of her death.—AFP

NEWS Laws fail to protect... UAE to make military service...

Continued from Page 1

Continued from Page 1

In another case in Afghanistan, a 3-year-old girl’s father killed a man. To avoid prison, he handed his daughter over to the victim’s family, which regularly beat her and forced her to do household chores. At 10 she was raped by an older man in the family, and that same year she was married to a teenager from the family. Her husband divorced her when she was 12, and she was forced to marry the uncle who had raped her. It was not until she managed to run away that police helped her find shelter with a women’s organization. The uncle was arrested and is serving a 13-year sentence for rape, Equality Now said.

Equality Now said child marriages often lead to young brides who are isolated and, because of their marital status, have little access to education and other services generally provided to children. In cases where a girl has the legal right to void her marriage, it is difficult to do so without knowledge of the law, education and financial support. The UN population fund says rates of child marriage are highest in the West African nation of Niger, where 75 percent of girls are married before they turn 18, and a third are wed before age 15. Under Niger’s law, the minimum age for marriage is 15, but traditional customs often prevail in villages.

In Bangladesh, the rate of child marriage is 66 percent, and in Central African Republic and Chad it is 68 percent. In India, 47 percent of girls are married before they turn 18. In the Middle East, Saudi Arabia and Yemen are the only Arab countries that do not have laws that set a minimum age for marriage. According to a Dec 2011 Human Rights Watch report, approximately 14 percent of girls in Yemen, the Arab world’s poorest nation, were married before age 15, and 52 percent were wed before they turned 18. — AP

Men who have finished high school will serve nine months, while those who do not have a high school diploma will serve for two years, according to Sheikh Mohammed’s tweets.

The move follows a similar decision by Qatar’s cabinet in November which approved a law to make brief military service compulsory on male Qataris between the age of 18 and 35. Kuwait is debating the reintroduction of compulsory military service, cancelled after the Iraqi army invaded the state in 1990 and occupied it for seven months. Compulsory military service is not applied in other Gulf monarchies. Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Oman rely on professional armies in their defence.

Emirati political scientist Abdulkhaleq Abdulla said the decision showed that for the UAE to preserve its stability and prosperity “they really need to be on guard 24/7”. “With this kind of decision today, I think the country is saying ‘We want to continue with the stability and prosperity but we are also well-equipped for any eventuality’,” Abdulla told Reuters. “We are living in a red zone ... it’s a very difficult zone with a lot of difficult neighbours. You need to be on guard all the time.”

Riad Kahwaji, chief executive of the INEGMA Middle East think tank that focuses on security and defence issues, said the move would help “boost national solidarity”. The reserve army borne out of the conscription could make up more than twice the number of troops in the regular army, said Kahwaji. “We have to remember the UAE has been procuring a lot of military sys-

tems, and they’ve been relying on foreign recruits to help man a lot of these,” he said. “Now with the conscription the UAE will start having more ... self-sufficiency in manning a lot of the systems.”

Theodore Karasik, a security and political affairs analyst at the Dubai-based Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analysis, said the unexpected initiative could lessen the country’s reliance on military personnel from South Asia and other Arab countries. “This did come out of the blue, but for a very good reason. The situation in the country demands manpower ... based solely on Emirati nationals,” he said. “In the future, there may be trouble in other countries where those who serve in the armed forces now would need to go home. And that would leave a manpower shortage.”

The London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies estimates the size of the UAE armed forces at 51,000, with an army of 44,000, navy of 2,500 and air force of 4,500. Much of its military posture is aimed at deterring potential threats from nearby Iran despite longstanding trade and cultural links between the two neighbors. The UAE military also has sent troops overseas, including as part of the NATO-led mission to Afghanistan and to provide humanitarian relief to Pakistan. Karasik said the military conscription policy is unlikely to be directly aimed at bolstering the armed forces to confront threats from nearby Iran, but is rather “purely an Emirati issue”.

“This helps to bind the country together,” he said.

Hamad Al-Rahma, a 26-year-old Emirati lawyer, said he was in favour of the move. “National service teaches a person important qualities,” he told Reuters.— Agencies

MONDAY, JANUARY 20, 2014

Arab parliamentarians...

Continued from Page 1 their criticism was an acceptable practice of freedom of speech and that they did not violate the law. Today’s ruling is final and cannot be challenged, and if convicted to any jail term, they will have to spend the period in prison.

The former lawmakers were among dozens of opposition activists and former MPs who have been taken to court on charges of insulting the Amir and undermining his authorities.

Many of them, especially young tweeters, were sentenced to several years in jail and others are still on trial. HH the Amir Sheikh

Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah last year pardoned around seven of the jailed activists including a woman and those who were in jail were freed immediately.

Among those facing trial is leading opposition figure and former MP Musallam Al-Barrak, who was handed a five-year jail term last year but the sentence was scrapped by the appeals court which decided to conduct the trial itself. In a related development, the lower court yesterday acquitted a number of people for assembling in Kuwait City in Nov 2012. They included former MP Khaled Shukhayer and activist Ahmad Al-Sayyar. The men were convicted of illegal assembly.

Sager likely to take over...

Continued from Page 1 As deputy group CEO, Sager has worked closely with Dabdoub, who will remain as a consultant to the board of directors. Sager, a member of one of Kuwait’s prominent business families, joined NBK in 1978; he became CEO of its Kuwait business in 2008 and was promoted to deputy group CEO in 2010. The choice of Sager would not come as a surprise to Kuwait’s banking community; his name was mentioned as early as 2005 as part of succession plans at the bank, according to a US diplomatic cable published by Wikileaks. Dabdoub led the bank through Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait in 1990-1 as well as local and global financial crises. NBK has grown to have offices in 16 countries and made $1.09 billion of net profit in 2012. — Reuters

MONDAY, JANUARY 20, 2014

ANALYSIS

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Issues

Charter opens road for Sisi but youths distanced

By Mona Salem and Jay Deshmukh

T

he approval of Egypt’s constitution bolsters the powerful army chief but a large number of youths who helped topple two presidents within three years shunned the vote on the new charter. Egyptian voters have approved the Tuesday-Wednesday referendum by 98.1 percent, officials announced Saturday, and the results are seen as nod to General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to run for president. Sisi led the overthrow of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in July following massive protests against his one year-rule, which came after a popular uprising in 2011 toppled his predecessor Hosni Mubarak.

Youth movements at the forefront of protests that ended the rules of Morsi and Mubarak hardly objected when the military-installed authorities launched a deadly crackdown on Morsi’s supporters. Nor did they object when his Muslim Brotherhood movement was banned and designated a “terrorist” organisation. But they voiced their outrage when the military-backed authorities passed a law in November banning unauthorised demonstrations.

And this appears to have been clearly reflected during the voting. Sisi had urged the youths to participate in the referendum, saying they formed “more than 50 percent” of Egypt’s 85-million strong population. But AFP reporters who toured polling stations said youths did not massively participate in the voting and analysts confirmed that many young people clamouring for change in Egypt shunned the polls.

Political analyst Hassan Nafea said turnout was “disappointing”. “The youth refused to participate in the referendum because they consider what is happening as a counter-revolution to the January revolution (against Hosni Mubarak),” said Nafea. Electoral commission head Nabil Salib announced the official results on Saturday and said turnout “reached 38.6 percent” of 53 million registered voters, with only 1.9 percent voting “no”.

That turnout shows “that the revolution of June 30 was a popular revolution,” said another government official, of the day when millions took to the streets across Egypt to demand Morsi’s ouster. But Salib also acknowledged that a certain percentage of youths had not voted as the referendum coincided with examinations otherwise “the turnout would have been higher”. The new charter replaces an Islamist-inspired one adopted in a December 2012 referendum under Morsi with about two-thirds of the vote and a 33 percent turnout. Nafea said the result showed, however, an overall backing for Sisi to run for president because “a large segment of Egyptians see the Brotherhood as a threat to the society”.

Spectre of Mubarak era Sisi has said he would bid for the presidency only if there was a popular demand. The general is wildly popular among many of the millions who took to the streets against Morsi, but the Islamist’s followers revile him for what they say was a “coup” against Egypt’s first freely elected and civilian president.

The Brotherhood, reeling from a crackdown by the militaryinstalled authorities has seen thousands of Islamists arrested and more than 1,000 people killed, dismissed the referendum as a “farce”.

Many youths agreed, but for different reasons. “For us it is ironical that the constitution talks of freedom of speech and yet those who said no to the constitution have been jailed,” said activist Mohamed Ghorab of the No to Military Trials of Civilians group. “For many this is a reminder of the previous Mubarak era regime,” he said. Prominent youth leaders of the 2011 uprising against Mubarak have been jailed in recent weeks. They include Ahmed Maher, Ahmed Douma and Mohamed Adel, convicted in December for organising an unlicensed protest - just days after a law was passed in November banning all but police-sanctioned demonstrations.

These convictions have been denounced by rights groups and experts who says they threaten the gains achieved since the toppling of Mubarak and signal a return of a police state.

Youths have also been angered by a flurry of reports in the local media that gave unflattering accounts of their role in the 2011 uprising. Such articles, said the analyst Nafea, are seen by the youths as “an attempt to steal the June 30 revolution (against Morsi) for the benefit” of Mubarak cronies. The nonIslamist youngsters “who participated in the revolt against Mubarak did not do that for a return to autocracy,” said James Dorsey of Singapore’s S Rajaratnam School of International Studies. “They are asking questions, and the question is whether the new regime will believe in liberal politics and there is no indication that it is going to do so,” he added. —AFP

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

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

Can peace talks stop S Sudan’s war?

By Peter Martell

A

s East African mediators attempt to push South Sudan’s government and rebels into signing a truce, analysts and diplomats fear it may already be too late to halt the war. Regional nations are trying to broker a ceasefire but have already been drawn into the brutal five-week-old conflict, with Ugandan troops battling alongside government forces loyal to President Salva Kiir. The longer it continues, the more “those who have remained on the sidelines are increasingly pulled into the conflict,” US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Linda Thomas-Greenfield warned in a statement this week. “Each day that the conflict continues, the risk of all-out civil war grows as ethnic tensions rise,” she added.

Many say it already is a civil war, pitting a conventional army against a loose alliance of mutinied army units and ethnic militia. Each side has been deploying heavy weapons, fighting has been fierce and protracted, and key towns have been changing hands each week. South Sudanese government forces backed by Ugandan troops on Saturday recaptured the strategic town of Bor, defeating an army of thousands of rebels, officials said.

A day earlier the United Nations’ top human rights envoy Ivan Simonovic, who has gathered reports of mass killings, sexual violence and widespread destruction,

said South Sudan was now in a state of “internal armed conflict” and that the laws of war were applicable. Talks in neighbouring Ethiopia are being mediated by the East African regional bloc IGAD, even though Uganda is a key member and the rebels have expressed concern about its neutrality.

Rebel chief Riek Machar has accused Ugandan fighter jets of targeting him, and is also deeply critical of suggestions that Sudan, another IGAD member, could deploy troops to help Juba protect oil fields from the rebels. Kenya, which sent in troops to evacuate citizens, also warned in a confidential briefing document this week of the “internationalisation” of the conflict. Rebels from Sudan’s war-torn Darfur region, nervous of a pact between their old allies in Juba and their enemy in Khartoum, are also reportedly operating in oil-rich border zones.

The crisis on the ground, therefore, seems to be moving faster than the peace talks and out of the control of the politicians who sparked it. “We are heartbroken to see what was purely a political problem... quickly slide into an ethnic one on a rapid and frightening scale,” read a statement from the South Sudan Council of Churches, an influential coalition of religious leaders. Violence is rooted in decades-old grievances between former rebels turned political leaders, combined with unhealed wounds left over from the two-decades long civil war that preceded

South Sudan’s independence from Khartoum in 2011.

Cycle of revenge Many appear deeply pessimistic that even if a political deal is struck, the conflict pitting members of Kiir’s Dinka people - the country’s largest group - against Machar’s Nuer has reached a point of no return. “Handshakes, smiles and a mere political settlement between the two parties will not set South Sudan on a path towards truth, sustainable peace, democracy and the rule of law,” wrote David Deng from the South Sudan Law Society, a civil society organisation, and human rights lawyer Elizabeth Deng. “The two parties should be compelled to submit themselves and their supporters to an independent investigation into the crimes committed,” they wrote in a joint commentary on the crisis. And Princeton Lyman, a former US special envoy to the country, said in a report for the United States Institute of Peace think tank that the talks “cannot simply return the country to the previous status quo”. “For lasting peace, the negotiating parties and mediators will need to reach beyond national political elites and those bearing arms and invite active involvement of the international community,” he wrote.

On the ground, the pattern appears to be sliding towards that of the 1983-2005 southern civil war when Sudan was a united nation, when the government con-

trolled towns but multiple rebel forces claimed swathes of countryside. “There is no military solution,” said the group Citizens for Peace and Justice, a coalition of academics and civil society leaders, calling the conflict “a crisis engulfing the whole country”.

Jok Madut Jok, a former senior government official and academic now running the Sudd Institute, has warned that “what started as a political confrontation between power contenders... has now evolved into a military revenge and counter-revenge” along ethnic lines. Jok warned of civil war “should the IGAD-led initiative for a dialogue fail to produce a quick deal”. Kiir could be “threatened with regional isolation if he shows any intransigence, but little can be done to pressure Mr. Machar,” Jok added, saying the rebel leader has “very little to lose”.

As the number of those displaced by fighting touches half a million, those affected say their dreams of building a new nation are shattered. “We thought we were dreaming of peace but now we are back in war, it’s a circle,” said teacher Simon Thon, 31, who fled across the White Nile river from fighting in the rebel-held town of Bor with his heavily pregnant wife, who has since given birth to a boy under a tree. “When you hear your neighbour calling you, you go. What you do not expect is for that neighbour to then start shooting to kill you... that is what happened to us.” —AFP

Kabul attack throws aid work into peril

By Edouard Guihaire

A

discreet beer over plates of mezze was one of few comforts on offer to aid workers and diplomats in Kabul, but a bloodbath at a Lebanese restaurant could mean many foreigners leave Afghanistan when the country needs them most. The murder of 21 people, 13 of them foreigners, in the Taverna du Liban on Friday evening has forced aid organisations, international institutions and consultancies to reassess how they can continue to work in the city. “We could all have been there,” said Valerie Docher, head of mission for the French aid group MRCA, which runs health programmes in several Afghan provinces. “We will have to ask questions in the coming days about our security. This attack will necessarily have an impact.”

Docher said the response of many international set-ups would be to reduce trips outside their fortified compounds, and to further vary daily staff routines to avoid becoming predictable. “But, at some point, it becomes clear that that is not enough,” she admitted.

Kabul has been transformed since the dark days of Taleban rule, and one side-effect is a small social scene catering for wealthier Afghans and more adventurous foreign workers. There is a modern bowling alley and a handful of restaurants hidden behind security gates and armed guards.

Foreigners have been targeted before at guesthouses, luxury hotels and embassies in the city, but hitting a civilian social venue

appears to signal a new and ruthless stage of the 13-year Taleban insurgency.

“I am ver y worried, I think unless a miracle happens, my restaurant and many other businesses in Kabul may have to close,” said Mohammad Azim Popal, manager of Sufi, which attracts a mixed clientele of locals and expats. “When the attack happened, there were many foreigners dining here, but they left in hurry. “I have called some of them to assure them and say that I will double the guards, but they are sceptical. “My Afghan customers come with their expat friends, and with this attack I

have lost them all.”

Wrecked by decades of war, Afghanistan remains reliant on outside assistance despite billions of dollars of aid since the Taleban regime was ousted in 2001.

Foreign consultants help develop its tax system, aid groups run education and health projects, and embassies and the UN lobby against corruption and try to promote human rights, reconciliation and democracy. But the insurgents appear set on banishing any international presence from the country as it faces a huge period of change and uncertainty with the US-led NATO combat mission ending this year and

presidential elections due in April.

Foreign aid agencies face dilemma “NGOs are wondering whether they keep teams of expats, whether the country is safe or not,” said Florian Caillibotte, country head of Afghanistan Libre, an aid group that runs projects helping vulnerable young women and girls. “This attack probably heralds a volatile period ahead of the elections, although it is difficult to know what will happen next.” The aid effort in Afghanistan has overcome disasters before - 10 aid workers, including six Americans, were killed in Badakhshan

KABUL: Afghan members of civil society organizations chant slogans as they march in a street, during an anti terrorism demonstration in Kabul, Afghanistan, yesterday. Hundreds of Afghans gathered outside a Lebanese restaurant in Kabul yesterday to protest against Taleban attack that killed 21 people. —AP

province in 2010. But experts say the latest attack poses an unprecedented dilemma for those on the ground.

“This was an attack on foreign civilians targeted merely for being foreign a rare occasion in this Afghan war,” said the Afghanistan Analysts Network in a report released on Sunday. “(It) may be a game changer, with particular consequences for aid work. “(The Taverna attack) raises questions on how civilian aid, particularly through NGOs, can be provided and elections monitored later this year - if soft targets are no longer off limits.”

Organisations mourning dead colleagues released tributes to dedicated employees who choose to leave home and work in a dangerous environment to help one of the world’s most troubled countries. And, despite the deaths, there were many vows not to abandon Afghanistan.

UNICEF, which lost one SomaliAmerican and one Pakistani employee, expressed its “determination to continue the work that our colleagues gave their lives for”.

The American University of Afghanistan in Kabul announced it would hold all its lectures despite the loss of two US staffers.

“Such senseless violence flies in the face of the sentiments of our students and the Afghan people who share our grief,” said university president Michael Smith. “We continue to provide the high quality university education for which our students are so grateful.” —AFP

MONDAY, JANUARY 20, 2014

S P ORTS

Eight ejected in massive brawl

Shani, Richardson triumph NAGANO: Shani Davis and Heather Richardson of the United States won their 1,000-meter races at the world sprint speedskating championships yesterday.

Davis clocked a time of 1 minute, 08.96 seconds to edge Denis Kuzin of Kazakhstan by 0.58 seconds. Michel Mulder of the Netherlands was third in 1:09.96. Richardson posted a time of 1:15.28 to win the women’s 1,000, beating China’s Hong Zhang by 0.16 seconds. Margot Boer of the Netherlands took third place with a time of 1:16.12.

The world sprint speed skating championships features 50 of the fastest sprinters in the world competing in 500 and 1,000 meter races.

Mulder won the men’s 500 race in a time of 35.12, 0.05 seconds ahead of Daniel Greig of Australia.

Keiichiro Nagashima of Japan finished third in 35.28.

Jing Yu of China won the women’s 500 with a time of 37.72, adding to her win in the same event on Saturday. Boer was second 0.33 seconds behind Yu. Richardson placed third in 38.04 seconds. Mulder won the overall men’s title, which combines results from both days of competition while Yu won the women’s title. —AP

Captain Cook mulls quitting

VANCOUVER: Eight players were ejected after a massive brawl erupted just two seconds into an attritional National Hockey League battle between the Vancouver Canucks and Calgary Flames on Saturday. The fiery first period ended with Vancouver coach John Tortorella trying to force his way into the Calgary dressing room, only to be forcefully kept out by Flames players and officials.

In a game eventually won by hosts Vancouver 3-2 in a shootout, both teams started their fourth line and the result was dropped gloves and fisticuffs the moment the opening puck hit the ice.

Calgary’s Chris Butler, Blair Jones, Ladislav Smid and Kevin Westgarth, and Vancouver’s Kevin Bieksa, Jason Garrison, Kellan Lain and Dale Weise all received game misconduct penalties for their roles in the brawl and were ejected. Calgary winger Brian McGrattan and Vancouver forward Tom Sestito were the only two fighters not tossed out of the game. The Flames received 77 minutes in penalties from the fight with the Canucks getting 65 minutes. Further issues plagued the period which ended with each team being handed 15 penalties for a combined 178 penalty minutes. Tortorella then attempted to get into the opposing locker room at the first break only to be pushed away by McGrattan and some Calgary officials. —Reuters

SYDNEY: Alastair Cook is considering his future as England’s one-day international captain after his side lost the limited overs series against Australia with yesterday’s seven-wicket thrashing in Sydney.

England’s disastrous tour Down Under continued as they lost their third consecutive ODI after being whitewashed 5-0 in the Ashes series. “I think English cricket needs a little bit of a change,” said Cook, who leads England in tests and the 50-over format.

“We’ll talk over a lot of things. I think there will be some changes. We have kept losing games of cricket and I haven’t been able to turn it around.”

After losing the last ODI against Australia at home, England have lost nine consecutive matches under Cook, including the Ashes tests. “I think I’m going to have to make a decision on that after you take stock of the next two games,” Cook said of his captaincy. “There’s two matches left and we have to try to win a game.

“They’ve won a lot of cricket against us over the past two months and it’s difficult to stop that.”

Following the Ashes thrashing, coach Andy Flower and Cook were given the backing by the England and Wales Cricket Board to lead the team’s rebuilding process. Fast bowler Stuart Broad is the captain of England’s Twenty20 team. —Reuters

Sharks, Rangers advance TAMPA: Martin St. Louis tied a Tampa Bay Lightning record with four goals, but Joe Pavelski responded scored three of his own in the second period to help the San Jose Sharks rally for a 5-4 victory on Saturday. Pavelski beat goalie Ben Bishop twice in a span of 21 seconds midway through the period, and then added the winner a minute before the intermission. St. Louis scored three times in a span of 7:34 in the first period for his eighth NHL hat trick. The Lightning captain’s fourth goal early in the second tied the team mark set by Chris Kontos against Hockey Hall of Fame goalie Ed Belfour and the Chicago Blackhawks in Tampa Bay’s inaugural game on Oct. 7, 1992.

Matt Nieto and Patrick Marleau put San Jose ahead 2-1 with goals three minutes apart midway through the first period. St. Louis scored his first goal in between, then struck twice more against Antti Niemi before the intermission.

RANGERS 4, SENATORS 1 Derek Stepan broke a 13-game goal drought and added two assists in the New York Rangers’ win over Ottawa. After falling behind 1-0 in the first period, the Rangers (26-21-3) got goals from Brad Richards, Rick Nash, Stepan and Mats Zuccarello, and won for the fifth time in six games.

Richards has nine points in his past eight games.

Cam Talbot gave Henrik Lundqvist a rest and made 27 saves for his 10th win of the season. Talbot improved to 6-0 in Saturday games.

Marc Methot scored the lone goal for the Senators (21-19-9), who received 26 saves from Craig Anderson. Ottawa had an eight-game point streak snapped (6-0-2) and fell to 1-3-2 at home in afternoon games.

JETS 3, OILERS 2 Winnipeg defenseman Jacob Trouba scored his second goal of the game 1:10 into overtime to lift the Jets over Edmonton. Fellow rookie Mark

Scheifele also scored for the Jets, who have won three straight since Paul Maurice took over as coach after Claude Noel was fired on Jan. 12.

Jordan Eberle and David Perron had the goals for the Oilers, who went 0-4 on a Central Division road trip and were outscored 17-8. Edmonton lost this one when Jets forward Blake Wheeler found Trouba alone in front of the net for the winning goal after he nearly scored himself. Ondrej Pavelec stopped 20 shots for Winnipeg (22-23-5), and Ilya Bryzgalov made 36 saves for Edmonton.

RED WINGS 3, KINGS 2 Tomas Tatar scored and Jimmy Howard stopped all three shots he faced in a shootout, lifting Detroit past Los Angeles. The Red Wings, who lost their two previous games 1-0, received a big break late in regulation. Detroit defenseman Niklas Kronwall’s shot was deflected and bounced off the net out of play, came back and struck goalie Jonathan Quick’s back, and went in to tie the game with 26.1 seconds left.

The Kings tried to protest, but the goal wasn’t reviewable because none of the officials blew a whistle to stop play when the puck hit the net.

Los Angeles took the lead when Jeff Carter scored off a rebound during a power play with 2:15 left in the third period. Howard finished with 30 saves. Quick stopped 33 shots. The Red Wings avoided getting shut out in three straight games for the first time in the regular season, and the first time since the 1945 Stanley Cup finals against Toronto.

FLYERS 6, ISLANDERS 4 Michael Raffl scored the go-ahead goal with 4:15 left and Philadelphia rallied to beat the New York Islanders. Andrej Meszaros scored twice, Andy Hall, Jakub Voracek, and Matt Read also had goals, and Claude Giroux had two clutch assists for the Flyers.

Brock Nelson, Brian Strait, John Tavares and Cal Clutterbuck scored for New York, which had won eight of nine on the road and five of six overall.

On the day he signed a $12.3 million, three-year contract extension, Flyers goalie Steve Mason was yanked from the game after allowing four goals on 24 shots. Ray Emery stopped the five shots he faced to earn the win in relief. The Flyers are 24-12-5 since a 1-7 start.

HURRICANES 3, PANTHERS 2 Alexander Semin scored two goals in the third period to lift Carolina over Florida. The teams were tied at one until Semin took control of a faceoff win

by Eric Staal and put a shot past Tim Thomas at 2:31.

He then scored Carolina’s NHL-leading ninth shorthanded goal on a breakaway at 8:57, also with an assist from Staal. The Hurricanes ended a two-game skid and improved to 6-2 in their last eight. The Panthers got a goal from Dmitry Kulikov with 5:39 remaining, but Anton Khudobin held on from there.

He finished with 37 saves.

BLUE JACKETS 4, SABRES 3 Ryan Johansen scored the only goal in the shootout, and Columbus extended its winning streak to a team record-tying six games by beating Buffalo. Brandon Dubinsky, David Savard and Matt Calvert scored in regulation for Columbus. Sergei Bobrovsky made 26 saves. Tyler Myers had two goals, including a power-play tally with 24.9 seconds remaining in regulation. Drew Stafford also scored for Buffalo, which has lost three straight.

MAPLE LEAFS 5, CANADIENS 3 James van Riemsdyk scored with 5:33 left in the third period, and Toronto extended its winning streak to four games with a victory over Montreal.

Cody Franson, Phil Kessel and Mason Raymond also scored for the Maple Leafs, and Joffrey Lupul added an empty-net goal. Jonathan Bernier made 30 saves. Brendan Gallagher, Brian Gionta and David Desharnais had the Canadiens’ goals. Carey Price stopped 25 shots. Van Riemsdyk’s winner came

TAMPA: Brent Burns No. 88 of the San Jose Sharks tries to secure a loose puck after Joe Pavelski No. 8 and Valtteri Filppula No. 51 of the Tampa Bay Lightning collide at the Tampa Bay Times Forum. —AFP when he took a pass from linemate Tyler Bozak and redirected the puck on net for his 19th goal.

CANUCKS 3, FLAMES 2 Chris Higgins scored in the fifth round of the shootout of a game marked by a nasty line brawl off the opening faceoff and Vancouver defeated Calgary. Higgins beat Flames goalie Karri Ramo through the five-hole as Vancouver snapped a three-game losing streak. All 10 skaters on the ice dropped their gloves 2 seconds into the first period, resulting in eight game misconducts and leaving both teams with short benches the rest of the game.

Ryan Kesler, with a goal and an assist, and Yannick Weber scored for the Canucks. Roberto Luongo stopped 31 shots in his return from an injury. Mark Giordano and Matt Stajan scored in regulation for

the Flames, who got 31 saves from Ramo. Stajan scored his seventh of the season, and first in 17 games, by chipping a backhand up and over Luongo at 4:01 of the third period to give the Flames a 2-1 lead.

DUCKS 3, BLUES 2 Ryan Getzlaf scored his 25th goal, and rookie Frederik Andersen made 34 saves as Anaheim got back to its winning ways with a victory over St. Louis.

Anaheim, which had an eight-game winning streak snapped on Friday in Chicago, has won 19 of 21. The Ducks have won nine of their last 11 on the road and lead the NHL with 79 points. They are 20-0-2 at home. Matt Beleskey and Cam Fowler also scored for the Ducks, who have a league-best 37 points on the road. Andersen (12-2) has won three straight. —AP

MONDAY, JANUARY 20, 2014

S P ORTS

Geisenberger bags luge season title ALTENBERG: Natalie Geisenberger captured the World Cup women’s luge championship for the second straight year yesterday, after the German and strong Sochi Olympics favorite clinched the seasonlong title with a victory in the circuit’s next-to-last race.

Geisenberger set start and track records in her first run at Altenberg on Sunday, finishing the twoheat race in 1 minute, 46.332 seconds. Canadian sliders took silver and bronze, with Alex Gough 0.674 seconds behind Geisenberger and Kimberley McRae another 0.024 seconds back.

It was Geisenberger’s seventh win in eight races on the circuit this season. German teammates Tatjana Huefner and Dajana Eitberger were fourth and fifth. Erin Hamlin was a strong sixth for the US, her medal hopes ruined by posting only the 18thfastest time in the first heat - one that was slowed by deteriorating ice on an unseasonably warm day with the temperature in the mid-40s.

The 2009 world champion roared back in the second heat with the second-best time, even bettering what was posted by Geisenberger in that run. But on her first run, the later starters had to endure rough ice. “I would say bad luck of the draw,” Hamlin said.

“My first run was actually better than my second. I don’t know how I could have gone any faster unless I had some magic wax or something.”

The colder the air, the harder the ice, and the faster the race. And the temperature can fluctuate

wildly around Sochi, so Hamlin is among those hoping for a bit of a cold snap in a couple of weeks.

“I’m going to cross my fingers for winter at

the Winter Olympics,” Hamlin said. Also for the US, Summer Britcher was 14th and Kate Hansen was 21st.

ALTENBERG: Erin Hamlin of the US speeds in the ice channel during the first run at the women’s luge World Cup race. — AP

This is the seventh consecutive year that Geisenberger finished ranked in the top three on tour and the 16th straight year in which a German woman won the season-long title. Geisenberger is also the sixth woman to win back-to-back World Cup titles and the ninth woman with multiple championships overall.

“They all tell me that I’m the top favorite to win the gold medal at the games,” Geisenberger said.

“However, my aim is to claim a medal. The pressure is high enough and I don’t need to put myself under even more pressure.”

In the team relay, Russia finished first, followed by Canada in second - with Gough getting her second silver of the day by being part of the effort there and Germany took third.

The US team of Hamlin, Chris Mazdzer and the doubles squad of Matthew Mortensen and Preston Griffall placed sixth in the team relay, which is part of the Olympic program for the first time this year.

Germans swept all three disciplines in the World Cup this season, with Felix Loch taking the men’s crown and the team of Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt winning the doubles points championship. Germany also finished with the most ranking points in team relays.

Germany’s Olympic luge qualifiers are planning to skip the World Cup season-ending race at Sigulda, Latvia, next weekend. — AP

NZ beat India in ODI opener

SHARJAH: Pakistan bowler Saeed Ajmal (left) celebrates after dismissing Sri Lankan batsman Mahela Jayawardene during the fourth day of the third and final cricket Test match. — AFP

Pakistan push Sri Lanka hard for series-levelling win SHARJAH: Pakistan grabbed the prized wicket of Mahela Jayawardene to press their advantage for a series-levelling win over Sri Lanka in the third Test in Sharjah yesterday.

Off-spinner Saeed Ajmal removed Jayawardene for 46 near stumps on the fourth day after an exciting tussle between the bat and ball as Sri Lanka finished at 1335. They now lead by 220 runs with five wickets in hand and a full day’s play to retain their 1-0 lead. They won the second Test in Dubai by nine wickets after the first ended in a draw in Abu Dhabi.

At the close Angelo Mathews was unbeaten on 14 and with him Prasanna Jayawardene was on six not out.

Jayawardene and Mathews had frustrated Pakistan in the last session through their slow-paced 38-run fifth wicket stand and when it seemed both will see off the day, Ajmal had Jayawardene caught at short-leg.

Ajmal could have had Prasanna caught behind off his gloves on nought but wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed failed to hold the catch, much to Pakistan’s desperation.

Pakistan coach Dav Whatmore said his team will go for the win. “It will be an interesting fifth day,” said Whatmore, under whose two-year tenure Pakistan didn’t win a Test series.

“We need five wickets quickly,” said Whatmore, whose term ends after this match. Sri Lankan paceman Shaminda Eranga said Sri Lanka will look for more runs. “Obviously, we will look to build partnership and increase our lead to get out of danger,” said Eranga.

Jayawardene, who struck 129 in Sri Lanka’s nine wicket win in the second Test in Dubai, swept Ajmal over deep square-leg for a six to complete 11,000 runs in his 141st Test. He became the eighth batsman in all Test cricket and the first Sri Lankan to score 11,000 or more runs in a list topped by nowretired India’s Sachin Tendulkar with 15,921.

Australia Ricky Ponting (13,378), South Africa’s Jack Kallis (13,289), India’s rahul Dravid (13,288), West Indian Brian Lara (11,953), his countryman Shivnarine Chanderpaul (11,219) and Australia’s Allan Border (11,174) are the other members of the club.

Jayawardene hit four boundaries and a six during his defiant knock. Pakistan did waste a golden chance of removing Mathews when Khurram Manzoor dropped an easy chance at extra cover off paceman Junaid Khan. Mathews was then on 11.

It was Rehman (2-36) who raised hopes for Pakistan by dismissing experienced Kumar Sangakkara (eight) and Kaushal Silva (36) in the post lunch session, leaving Sri Lanka precariously placed at 66-3.

It became 89-4 when Dinesh Chandimal (13) was bowled by Talha, who took 2-36, soon after tea, but Jayawardene and Mathews ensured Sri Lanka did not panick.

Pakistan had removed opener Dimuth Karunaratne for eight, bowled by Talha as Sri Lanka reached 19-1 at lunch.

Earlier, Pakistan were bowled out for 341 in their first innings, 87 short of Sri Lanka’s first innings total of 428 for nine declared.

Skipper Misbah-ul Haq scored 63 to notch up his 24th Test half-century before holing out to left-arm spinner Rangana Herath who finished with 5-125.

Paceman Shaminda Eranga removed Abdul Rehman (two) and Talha (two) after Pakistan resumed on 291-6, searching for quick runs.

Eranga bettered his 4-65 against Australia in Colombo in 2011. Misbah struck Herath for a six and then took a single to complete his fifty off 86 balls. He hit three sixes and a four before being caught at long-on.

Junaid also struck two boundaries to reduce the deficit before he too was caught in the deep off Herath as Pakistan’s innings was wrapped up before lunch. — AFP

SCOREBOARD SHARJAH: Scoreboard at the close on the fourth day of the third and final test between Pakistan and Sri Lanka in Sharjah yesterday.

Sri Lanka first innings 428-9 dec.

Pakistan first innings (overnight 291-6) Khurram Manzoor c P. Jayawardene b Eranga 52 Ahmed Shehzad b Herath 147 Azhar Ali c Mathews b Perera 8 Younus Khan c P. Jayawardene b Herath 17 Misbah-ul-Haq c Chandimal b Herath 63 Asad Shafiq lbw b Eranga 18 Sarfraz Ahmed c P. Jayawardene b Herath 5 Abdur Rehman c P. Jayawardene b Eranga 2 Mohammad Talha lbw b Eranga 2 Saeed Ajmal not out 0 Junaid Khan c Chandimal b Herath 16 Extras (b-3, lb-6, w-1, nb-1) 11 Total (all out; 109.1 overs) 341 Fall of wickets: 1-114 2-149 3-189 4-245 5-274 6-291 7-294 8-300 9-325 Bowling: Herath 38.3-8-125-3 (1w), Lakmal 23-

4-61-0, Perera 17-1-71-1, Eranga 24-5-60-4 (1nb), Mathews 7-3-15-0 Sri Lanka second innings D. Karunaratne b Talha 8 K. Silva b Rehman 36 K. Sangakkara c Manzoor b Rehman 8 M. Jayawardene c Azhar b Ajmal 46 D. Chandimal b Talha 13 A. Mathews not out 14 P. Jayawardene not out 6 Extras (w-1, nb-1) 2 Total (five wickets; 71 overs) 133 Still to bat: D. Perera, R. Herath, S. Eranga, S. Lakmal Fall of wickets: 1-13 2-37 3-66 4-89 5-127 Bowling (to date): Junaid 15-5-25-0 (1w), Talha 16-2-36-2 (1nb), Rehman 22-7-36-2, Ajmal 185-36-1 Sri Lanka lead the series 1-0.

NAPIER: A thundering innings by Corey Anderson and a magic spell of bowling by Mitch McClenaghan brought New Zealand a 24-run win over India in their opening one-day international yesterday.

Chasing New Zealand’s 292 for seven, India were all out for 268 in the 49th over despite Virat Kohli (123) posting his 18th ODI century. It was the first time India have lost an ODI in which Kohli has reached three figures.

They appeared to have victory in their grasp when they needed just 70 from the last eight overs, and Kohli and Mahendra Singh Dhoni looked comfortable in a 95-run partnership for the fifth wicket. But in the space of six deliveries, McClenaghan removed Dhoni (40), Ravi Jadeja (duck) and Kohli to have India reeling on 237 for seven, and they never recovered.

That brief spell was where the game was lost, Dhoni said. “Those three wickets that was tough on the team. You don’t expect your tailenders to win the game and it was very important that one of us should’ve carried on. It was disappointing to lose the game.”

New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum said it was “a captain’s nightmare” when Kohli and Dhoni were in full flight but he had faith in McClenaghan.

“He’s in the team to attack and take wickets and the message was pretty simple, ‘try and find a way to take a wicket. Be aggressive as you can and be as hostile as you can and if it falls your way, great’. I thought he was outstanding.”

Anderson had earlier returned to his brutal best with the bat after going off the boil following his record-breaking century in 36 balls against the West Indies three weeks ago.

In his first start against India, the world’s topranked ODI side, Anderson blasted an unbeaten 68 off 40 deliveries. He hit four sixes, two of them out of the ground, then returned with the ball to display his allrounder credentials by removing two of India’s toporder batsmen Shikhar Dhawan (32) and Ajinkya Rahane (seven). India, who stand to forfeit their world number one ranking if they lose the five-match series to the eighth-ranked New Zealand, chose to bowl first on a wicket with a history of favouring the side batting last.

New Zealand lost Jesse Ryder and Martin Guptill early, leaving Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor with the task of building the innings. Their no-risk approach saw the run rate slump to 3.57 and at one stage New Zealand went 85 deliveries without a boundary. Their 121-run partnership, which laid the platform for a big finish, ended with Williamson out for 71. Taylor followed soon after for 55 and Brendon McCullum belted a rapid 30.

Anderson then let fly. He and Luke Ronchi (30) put on 66 in 37 deliveries for the sixth wicket, including 19 off one over by Mohammed Shami to distort the figures of India’s leading bowler who took four for 55.

India made a cautious start to their reply and went into their batting power play in the 35th over on 1494, requiring a run rate of nine an over to win the game.

NAPIER: India’s Virat Kohli makes his ground as the stumps are hit against New Zealand in the first one-day international cricket match at McLean Park. — AP

SCOREBOARD NAPIER, New Zealand: Completed scoreboard of the opening one-day international between New Zealand and India at McLean Park in Napier yesterday: New Zealand M. Guptill c Ashwin b Shami 8 J. Ryder b Shami 18 K. Williamson c Rahane b Jadeja 71 R. Taylor c Dhoni b Shami 55 B. McCullum c Dhoni b Kumar 30 C. Anderson not out 68 L. Ronchi c Kumar b Sharma 30 N. McCullum c & b Shami 2 T. Southee not out 3 Extras: (lb1, w6) 7 Total (seven wickets; 50 overs) 292 Fall of wickets: 1-22 (Ryder), 2-32 (Guptill), 3153 ( Williamson), 4-171 ( Taylor), 5-213 (McCullum), 6-279 (Ronchi), 7-284 (McCullum) Did not bat: A. Milne, M. McClenaghan.

Bowling: Kumar 10-0-38-1 (3w), Shami 9-0-554 (1w), Sharma 9-0-72-1 (2w), Jadeja 9-0-61-1, Ashwin 10-0-52-0, Kohli 3-0-13-0 India S. Dhawan c Taylor b Anderson 32 They came out of it five overs and 51 runs later with the run rate down to a manageable 5.12 and with Kohli and Dhoni looking very comfortable. But then

R. Sharma c Southee b McClenaghan 3 V. Kohli c Ryder b McClenaghan 123 A. Rahane c N. McCullum b Anderson 7 S. Raina c Southee b Milne 18 M. Dhoni c Ronchi b McClenaghan 40 R. Jadeja c Ronchi b McClenaghan 0 R. Ashwin c Southee b Williamson 12 B. Kumar run out (Williamson/Ronchi) 6 I. Sharma b Southee 5 M. Shami not out 7 Extras: (lb3, w12) 15 Total: (all out; 48.4 overs) 268 Fall of wickets: 1-15 (Sharma), 2-73 (Dhawan), 3-84 (Rahane), 4-129 (Raina), 5-224 (Dhoni), 6224 (Jadeja), 7-237 (Kohli), 8-244 (Kumar), 9259 (Ashwin), 10-268 (Sharma) Bowling: Southee 9.4-2-43-1 (2w), McClenaghan 10-0-68-4 (4w), Milne 7.3-0-40-1 (3w), Anderson 10-0-51-2 (1w), N. McCullum 10-0-54-0 (1w), Williamson 1.3-0-3-0 (1w) Result: New Zealand won by 24 runs.

McClenaghan came back for his closing spell and seized control for the home side. The second match in the series is in Hamilton on Wednesday. — AFP

Australia thrash England SYDNEY: David Warner and Shaun Marsh smashed fifties to complement their bowlers’ efforts as Australia crushed England by seven wickets in the third one-day international in Sydney yesterday to take an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series.

Warner blasted seven boundaries and two sixes in his 71 off just 70 balls at the top of the order while fellow left-hander Marsh remained unbeaten on 71 to anchor the chase as Australia maintained an utter dominance of their arch-rivals.

The hosts comfortably chased down their 244-run target with 10 overs to spare as England continued the search for a first win of their wretched tour Down Under, during which they also lost the Ashes series 5-0.

Warner added 78 for the second wicket with Marsh before he hit Ben Stokes straight to Ian Bell at cover but there was little respite for England as Marsh and captain Michael Clarke then combined for a 51-run stand to take the team closer to victory.

Brad Haddin (37 not out) was promoted after Clarke (34) chopped Ravi Bopara onto his stumps and the Australia wicketkeeper continued his good form, racing to the target with Marsh with an unbroken stand of 72 in just 68 balls. Earlier, England wasted a brisk start from openers Alastair Cook (35) and Ian Bell (29) to end on a below-par 243 for nine wickets in their 50 overs.Most of England’s batsmen got starts after captain Cook won the toss and opted to bat but they failed to convert them to big scores in the face of some tight bowling and outstanding fielding from Australia.

Cook’s quickfire innings was cut short when Glenn Maxwell took a sharp catch at cover, while Warner found a direct hit from the outfield to run Bell out.

Clarke also took a low catch at square leg to remove Stokes (15) before Daniel Christian dived full length to take a return catch off the leading edge of key batsman Eoin Morgan.

Morgan (54) was once again the top-scorer for England and his dismissal after hitting four boundaries and two massive sixes robbed the visitors of any momentum in the closing stages. It was left to a slogging Tim Bresnan to take England to a fighting total with a 29-ball 41 which included two sixes off Christian in the last over. —Reuters

SYDNEY: Australian bowler Daniel Christian dives and catches out England’s Eoin Morgan during their one-day international cricket match at the Sydney Cricket Ground. — AP

SCOREBOARD SYDNEY: Scoreboard after Australia beat England by seven wickets in the third one-day international in Sydney yesterday. England won the toss and elected to bat.

England innings A. Cook c Maxwell b Coulter-Nile 35 I. Bell run out 29 B. Stokes c Clarke b Doherty 15 G. Ballance c Christian b Coulter-Nile 26 E. Morgan c & b Christian 54 R. Bopara c Haddin b Faulkner 21 J. Buttler b Christian 4 T. Bresnan not out 41 S. Broad c Haddin b Coulter-Nile 1 C. Jordan c Finch b Faulkner 10 J. Tredwell not out 2 Extras (lb-2, w-2, nb-1) 5 Total (nine wickets; 50 overs) 243 Fall of wickets: 1-50 2-70 3-91 4-121 5-177 6-186 7-195 8-198 9-225 Bowling: Faulkner 6-0-35-2, Pattinson 6-0-41-0

(1nb, 2w), Coulter-Nile 10-0-47-3, Doherty 10-228-1, Maxwell 9-0-38-0, Christian 9-0-52-2 Australia innings A. Finch C Bopara b Jordan 22 D. Warner c Bell b Stokes 71 S. Marsh not out 71 M. Clarke b Bopara 34 B. Haddin not out 37 Extras (lb-4, w-5) 9 Total (three wickets; 40 overs) 244 Did not bat: G. Maxwell, D. Christian, J. Pattinson, J. Faulkner, N. Coulter-Nile, X. Doherty Fall of wickets: 1-43 2-121 3-172 Bowling: Jordan 9-0-56-1 (2w), Broad 8-0-61-0 (2w), Bresnan 6-0-42-0, Tredwell 9-0-42-0, Bopara 5-0-16-1 (1w), Stokes 3-0-23-1 Australia win by seven wickets.

MONDAY, JANUARY 20, 2014

S P ORTS

Larrazabal wins in Abu Dhabi

LA QUINTA: Patrick Reed hits from the 10th tee during the third round of the Humana Challenge PGA golf tournament on the Nicklaus Private course. — AP

Reed ahead at La Quinta LA QUINTA: American Patrick Reed moved closer to his second victory on the PGA Tour in record style after stretching his lead to a commanding seven shots in Saturday’s third round of the $5.7 million Humana Challenge at La Quinta, California.

Two strokes ahead overnight, Reed again took advantage of ideal scoring conditions with superb iron play and brilliant putting as he fired a nine-under-par 63 on the Nicklaus Private course, one of three venues hosting the pro-am event.

With barely a whisper of wind in bright desert sunshine, the burly 23-year-old piled up eight birdies, an eagle at the 16th and a bogey on the easiest of the three courses

to post a PGA Tour record low, with regard to par, of 27-under 189.

“Just keeping everything in play and when I am doing that my iron play right now is good enough that I’m giving myself a lot of good chances to get birdie,” Reed told Golf Channel.

“My putter is hot and when the putter is hot, you’re going to go low. It doesn’t matter how far I am (from the hole), I feel I am going to make it.” Reed shot a 63 for a third successive day and eclipsed the previous mark of 25 under held by fellow Americans Steve Stricker (2010 John Deere Classic), Pat Perez (2009 Bob Hope Classic) and Gay Brewer. — Reuters

Kittel wins prelude to Tour Down Under ADELAIDE: Marcel Kittel of Germany outsprinted illustrious compatriot Andre Greipel Sunday in a thrilling finish to the People’s Choice Classic, the traditional prelude to the Tour Down Under cycle race. Kittel, riding for the Giant-Shimano team, came from two bike-lengths back in the final sprint to win by half a wheel, denying Greipel his third-straight win in the event that was raced over 50 kilometers on a closed-street course in downtown Adelaide.

After winning four stages on last year’s Tour de France, including the last stage on the Champs-Elysees, Kittel is regarded as a leading chance to win the Tour Down Under, the first event of the 2014 UCI ProTour. While late yesterday’s race doesn’t count towards general classification, Kittel will wear the tour leader’s jersey in the opening stage tomorrow.

Greipel had maneuvered into a winning position on the last of 25 laps of a two-kilometer circuit straddling the Torrens River and seemed to have the race at his mercy. But Kittel showed the power that brought him such success last year when he rode past the LottoBelisol rider to reach the finish line first.

“We had a really, really good feeling for the whole train for the lead out at the end,” Kittel said. “It was a great team I thought and a perfect start to the new season.

“It’s always a bit of a waiting game

and you need that little bit of luck to be in the perfect spot at the right moment. I think we did great work and in the end I was in the perfect position and could do my sprint.” Greipel, who won the Tour Down Under in 2008 and 2010 and has claimed 14 individual stage wins in four appearances, again looked sharp at the start of the season but is unlikely to be suited by this year’s course, which contains several testing climbs.

He took second place on Sunday ahead of Australian Caleb Ewan while Christopher Sutton of Australia, riding for Britain’s Team Sky, was fourth.

Giovanni Visconti of Italy was taken to hospital after a crash that brought down several riders at the end of the sixth lap. Early reports said Visconti, who won two stages on last year’s Giro d’Italia, had suffered a compound leg fracture. He is the second high-profile rider to suffer a serious injury before the start of the tour.

French star Thomas Voeckler fractured his right collarbone when he crashed on a training ride last Wednesday. The first stage of the Tour Down Under is due to take place tomorrow in the Barossa Valley north of Adelaide. Bushfires in South Australia state are threatening the stage, from Nuriootpa to Angaston, and organizers said they will decide today, after conferring with state authorities, whether it will take place. —AP

INNSBRUCK: Jamie Greubel (left) and Lauryn Williams of the United States celebrate on the podium after winning the two-women Bob World Cup race yesterday. —AP

ABU DHABI: Spaniard Pablo Larrazabal claimed his third European Tour victory after holding off Phil Mickelson and Rory McIlroy to win the $2.7 million Abu Dhabi Championship by one shot yesterday.

Larrazabal held his nerve on the final green, a birdie taking him to 14-under after a final round of 67, his path to victory eased by a calamitous 13th hole for world number five Mickelson.

The Open champion took a triple bogey seven after fluffing an escape attempt from a bush and despite getting back into contention with birdies at 14 and 16, he could not get the eagle he needed at the last to force an unlikely playoff.

Mickelson, who had surged into contention with a dazzling 63 on Saturday and started the final round with three birdies in the first 10 holes, closed with a 69 for a total of 275, the same finishing score as Northern Irishman McIlroy who, like the American, birdied the last for a round of 68. “It feels great,” 103-ranked Larrazabal told the European Tour website (www.europeantour.com). “Only me and my team know how much we’ve worked during the last three years.” Larrazabal started the day three off the lead, but after two early birdies he fell off the pace with a bogey at the fifth.

A wonderful chip from a bunker set the 30year-old up for a birdie at the eighth, and he sunk a six-foot putt at the 11th, placing him in a strong position when Mickelson faltered.

He birdied again at the par-four 13th, and held his nerve at the 18th despite a poor first putt creating some tension after he had found the green in two.

“The birdie at 13 gave me the confidence to keep it going and I hit great shots coming in,” Larrazabal added. “The five wood at 18 is maybe the best shot of my golfing career.”

World number seven McIlroy was left to rue a two shot penalty in the third round, as well as a string of missed birdie opportunities after strong play off the tee and approaching the green.

“It’s frustrating - I’ve played well the whole week,” the two-time major winner said. “It’s a

ABU DHABI: Pablo Larrazabal of Spain holds the trophy after he wins the final round of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship. — AP

very positive start to the season so I’m not going to let one little negative ruin that.

“I came in here telling everyone that I’m really happy with my game and done some good work and felt like it was coming together for me at the end of last year. I’ve continued

that on, so I’m really excited for the rest of the season.”

Overnight leader Craig Lee’s hopes of scooping the first European Tour victory of his career were scuppered after the Briton slumped to a 77 and a tie for 10th. — Reuters

Putin denies Olympic corruption MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin denied that any large-scale corruption surrounded the Sochi Winter Olympics and challenged those with allegations of misconduct to come forward with proof. Western and Russian opposition critics have made allegations that large amounts of money have been stolen during construction for the 2014 Olympics in the Black Sea city, but have provided little concrete evidence.

Some Olympic subcontractors have said corruption has been endemic during preparations for the games, which start on Feb.7.

“We don’t see any large-scale instances of corruption during our preparations ...in Sochi.

If anyone has any information about corruption in Sochi, please hand it over, we will be glad and grateful,” Putin said in an interview with ABC, BBC and Russian and Chinese journalists broadcast yesterday.

“A few years ago local bureaucrats tried to buy and sell land intended for Olympic venues. Investigations were carried out, these people were tried by Russian courts and are serving their punishments.” Russia has spent more than $50 billion on preparations for the

Winter Games, making them the most expensive in Olympic history. Putin’s government hopes to show the world a modern face of Russia, which has faced increased criticism from the West over human rights.

A law passed last year banning the promotion of homosexuality among minors has drawn criticism from the West and human rights activists. Calls for a mass boycott of the games have failed, but the row has clouded the build-up to the event.

Critics say the law is discriminatory and part of a rolling back of human rights and democratic freedoms under Putin, who has taken a more conservative course on social issues since returning to the presidency in mid-2012.

Putin said yesterday he has gay acquaintances and would be happy to meet members of the US Olympic delegation, which includes openly homosexual athletes.

“I will be glad to see the representatives of any country, including those of the United States, there is no doubt about this. If they have any desire to meet, to talk about anything, for the love of God, I don’t see any

problem,” he said. In a separate interview with the BBC broadcast in London, Putin said: “If you want my personal attitude I don’t care about a person’s sexual orientation. I myself know some people who are gay. We are on friendly terms. I am not prejudiced in any way.”

Asked whether he would meet gay British celebrities like singer Elton John and actor Ian McKellen if they travelled to Russia to discuss his policies towards homosexuals, he said he would “definitely” talk to them.

“I’ve honored several members of the gay community in this country but for their personal achievements regardless of their sexual orientation,” said Putin.

With less than three weeks to go before the start of the games, Putin said while all of Sochi’s venues had been completed, the host city still needed some cleaning.

“Ever ything has been done, now we have to get things in order: organise the work of hotels, remove construction equipment, construction waste, that is prepare like any host or hostess does before having guests.” — Reuters

Pascal dominates Bute MONTREAL: Jean Pascal dominated an unusually tentative Lucian Bute to win the matchup of former world champions by unanimous decision before 20,479 at the Bell Centre on Saturday night.

The decidedly pro-Bute crowd could do little to help their fighter, who appeared more concerned with not getting hit than with launching attacks. One judge had it 117-110, another 117111 and the third 116-112. Pascal took Bute’s minor NABF title and something called the WBC diamond belt, but more importantly, he bested his fellow Montreal fighter in their long-awaited showdown and made himself a player again in the light heavyweight division.

The fight, billed as the biggest between two Canadians, was a one-sided affair, with Pascal (29-2-1) on attack from the outset.

“I’ve waited seven years for this,” Pascal said.

“When I go into the ring, I want to dominate. ...

That was my game plan - dominate all the time.

Go in and out. To be vicious, active, explosive, and that’s what I did from start to finish.”

He failed to knock his Romanian-born opponent down, however, although he opened a nasty cut on Bute’s nose in the 10th.

Bute (31-2) often looked confused and unwilling to go on attack. “Jean Pascal was the better fighter and deserved to win,” the 33-year-old Bute said. “Why I let the fight go like that I don’t know. ... I’ll have to go over the fight many times with my team.”

Despite losing, Bute made it clear his career is not finished. He even told the crowd he wants a rematch. “It’s for you to say if I have a chin or not,” he said. “I took a lot of punches and I didn’t go down.” Heavyweights Mike Perez and Carlos Takam fought to a 10-round majority draw on the undercard. Perez (20-0-1) and Takam (28-1-1) spent most of the bout with their heads locked together, trading short range blows to the head and body. The southpaw Perez suffered a cut from a headbutt in the third round that hampered his performance.

The Frenchman Takam’s best moment was late in the sixth when he rocked Perez with a right. Ringside judges scored it 96-94, 95-95 and 95-95. Perez, a Cuban living in Ireland, had Mago written on his trunks in honor of Russian Magomed Abdusalamov, whose career he ended with a 10-round victory on Nov. 2 in New York.

MONTREAL: Lucian Bute (right) takes an uppercut from Jean Pascal, both from Montreal, during their WBC Diamond and NABF Light Heavyweight title fight. — AP Abdusalamov spent a month after the bout in an enduced coma and remains in a rehab centre unable to walk or talk.

Eleider Alvarez (14-0) of Montreal was supposed to be in the co-feature against veteran Thomas Oosthuisen, but the South African pulled out with an injury. His replacement, Ottawa’s Andrew Gardiner (10-1), put on a gutsy show,

winning some of the middle rounds, until he was stung at the end of the eighth and the gifted Colombian took back control. Alvarez got the decision 99-91, 96-93 and 97-93. At the end, the crowd cheered Gardiner and booed Alvarez, who had refused to touch gloves with his opponent after the bout after something was said to him from Gardiner’s corner. — AP

MONDAY, JANUARY 20, 2014

S P ORTS

Ivanovic stuns Serena

BUDAPEST: Germany’s Maylin Wende and Daniel Wende compete in the pairs free skating at the European Figure Skating Championships. — AP

Volosozhar and Trankov retain pairs title at Euros BUDAPEST: Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov retained their title in the pairs event despite a series of errors as the European figure skating championships concluded yesterday. Volosozhar and Trankov, skating to music from “Jesus Christ Superstar,” led Russia’s podium sweep and won despite a performance that saw both of them fall. The Russian duo had built a large lead ahead of Sunday’s finale, following a season-best score in Friday’s short program. Volosozhar apologized, promising that “Next time we will try to do better.”

The next time will be at the Olympics in Sochi in February. Trankov agreed with his partner. “I hope at the Olympics we will skate like we did at the beginning of the season,” Trankov said.Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov skated without mistakes and surged from fourth after the short program to claim silver ahead of Vera Bazarova and Yuri Larionov. The respective point totals for the three medalists were 220.38, 207.98 and 201.61. Volosozhar and Trankov had only the second-highest score behind Stolbova and Klimov in the free skate but were awarded top marks for elements including lifts, spins and steps and got the gold despite the falls and under-rotated jumps.

“In our team nobody understands what has happened. We skated amazing in the practices and in the short program,” said Trankov, who fell twice. “We were not able to cope with our program today and I didn’t do my job. All the mistakes were my mistakes. “It is a question for our coaches how we will prepare during the next three weeks before the Olympics,” Trankov concluded. Germany’s Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy, the four-time world champions who were second after the short program, withdrew as Savchenko aggravated a respiratory tract infection she brought with her to the event.

“Our team doctor said if she is pushing through she might be sick for 10 days,” coach Ingo Steuer said. “The second half of the free skating is tough and the risk of injury too high.” In the other events at the champi-

onships, Julia Lipnitskaia of Russia became the youngest winner of the ladies’ event with a poignant performance to John Williams’ score to “Schindler’s List” in her free skate. Just 15 years old, she was spectacular on her jumps and spins. Another Russian, Adelina Sotnikova, was second, repeating her 2013 result. Italian Carolina Kostner, the defending champion, finished third. Javier Fernandez of Spain successfully retained his title in the men’s event and boosted his chances for a medal at Sochi. Though his program was not flawless, the mistakes, mainly on jumps, did not break the flow of his routine.

Still, the biggest talking point in the men’s field was which Russian skater will be named to the only men’s slot available in Sochi for the host country. Two Russians flanked Fernandez on the podium - Sergei Voronov was second and Konstantin Menshov third.

Current Russian national champion Maxim Kovtun was fifth, another disappointing skate at an international event after placing 17th at the last world championships.

Evgeny Plushenko, the 2006 Olympic champ, skipped the Europeans and is scheduled to audition at a closed-door session for Russian skating officials on Tuesday. The federation’s choice for Sochi is set to be announced Thursday.

In another twist, Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko lauded Voronov while also suggesting Plushenko was still in the running.

“The production Voronov has performed on the ice here was absolutely amazing, it might be decisive in the composition of the Olympic squad,” Mutko said late Saturday at the championships. “According to the guidelines of the figure skating federation, for a nomination at the Olympics it is not required either to participate at the preceding Europeans, or to have a result from it.”

The ice dance was won by Italians Anna Cappellini and Luca Lanotte, who edged Russians Elena Ilinykh and Nikita Katsalapov.

The team event opens the figure skating at Sochi on Feb. 6, one day before the opening ceremony. — AP

MELBOURNE: An inspired Ana Ivanovic blew the race for the Australian Open women’s title wide open when she stunned overwhelming favorite Serena Williams in the fourth round at Melbourne Park yesterday. Novak Djokovic was for once forced to cede the spotlight to another Serbian but showed no signs of relinquishing his iron grip on the men’s title and was merciless in his 6-3 6-0 6-2 flogging of Fabio Fognini. Third seed David Ferrer also advanced to the last eight and a meeting with Tomas Berdych and his stripy football shirt, while women’s fourth seed Li Na and Flavia Pennetta set up a last eight clash of 31-year-olds.

Li and Pennetta had every reason to expect their path to the final to be blocked by world number one and top seed Williams until Ivanovic secured the biggest shock of the tournament with a 4-6 6-3 6-3 victory on Rod Laver Arena.

The Serbian’s win instead sent her through to a quarter-final clash against Canadian teenager Eugenie Bouchard, who ended Australia’s hopes of a home champion when she overcame Casey Dellacqua 6-7 (5-7) 6-2 6-0.

“I actually believed,” said Ivanovic, whose mental toughness has been frequently questioned because of her failure to back up her 2008 French Open title. “Going on to the court today, I really just tried to give my best. “I tried to make it a good match. I was very competitive till the last moment and I’m just very thrilled.”

Williams was riding high on a winning streak of 25 matches going back to the start of last year’s US Open and had not lost a single set to Ivanovic in four previous meetings.

When the 32-year-old took the first set despite looking a little lethargic, she seemed to be on her way to a record 62nd victory at the Australian Open, where she is 51-1 after going 10 up in match. In the second set, though, Ivanovic really started to take the game to Williams, attacking the 17-times grand slam champion’s serve with a success very few have managed and dictating the back court with her forehand.

Her tally of 20 forehand winners to two for Williams told its own tale but, most importantly, once in front in the deciding set, Ivanovic kept her head before serving out to love for the match. “I really did certain things extremely well and I kept her under pressure I felt throughout the whole match,” the 26-year-old said. “I didn’t think much about the occasion and who I was playing, because it can get overwhelming.”

Williams’s four-year quest for a sixth Melbourne title has been bedevilled by injury but she offered no excuses until realising coach Patrick Mouratoglou had let the cat out of the bag about a back problem she had suffered.

“So he’s the one that’s snitching?” she said to

KHARTOUM: Arab Shooting Federation’s President Duaij Khalaf Al-Otaibi launched late on Saturday the Arab shooting championship, hosted by Khartoum in Sudan.

He added in a speech during the opening ceremony that Arab shooting “witnessed a remarkable development during the few past years.”

A large number of Arab shooting championships were organized, thanks to the Arab states’ participation, besides the great support offered by His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber ASabah, he said.

Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Olympic Shooting Complex hosts the Arab shooting Union, besides His Highness’ patronage and support to a number of Arab championships carrying his name, he

added. The Kuwaiti Information Minister, Vice -President of the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) Sheikh Salman Sabah A-Salem Al-Humoud AlSabah offered the shooting sports a special care and support.

“We are looking forward to further cooperation with countries all over the world to best ser ve this spor t, he affirmed.

He expressed his appreciation to the organizing highest committee of the championship that is held for the first time in Sudan, as well as all workers and supervisors of the event. Kuwait is taking part in this championship with a delegation consisting of 11 players and administrators, while participants from Arab countries reached 170. — KUNA

laughter. “I don’t want to blame anything. I feel like Ana deserves all the credit. I feel she played unbelievable today. I think she went for her shots. “It’s not like I gave her the match. I tried to fight the best I could today.”

Djokovic gave his friend of 10 years Fognini absolutely nothing in their 93-minute encounter on Rod Laver Arena and still had plenty of energy left at the end to launch into an impersonation of new coach Boris Becker.

There were no jokes, however, when he was asked to assess his form after registering his 28th victory in a row and reaching the last eight for a 19th straight grand slam.

“I felt from the start of this tournament that I’ve been elevating my game as the tournament is going on. Every match is better,” the second seed, who is seeking a fourth straight title, said.

“The general feeling on the court, all the shots, using the court position really well, being aggressive, playing my style of the game.

“Mentally I was there. I was tough. I was focused. I feel great about myself in this moment. Trying to keep it up.” Djokovic next faces eighth seed Stan Wawrinka, who hit 57

winners in a highly impressive display of aggressive tennis to overcome Spain’s Tommy Robredo 6-3 7-6 (3) 7-6 (5) in the final match on Rod Laver Arena. Berdych reached the last eight for the fourth year in a row at the only grand slam where he has never made the semi-finals without having given up a service game let alone a set. The seventh seed’s 6-2 6-2 6-3 win over Kevin Anderson was his 10th in 10 matches against the South African and left him with “plenty of gas in the tank” for his next match against David Ferrer, who beat Florian Mayer 6-7 (7-5) 7-5 6-2 6-1. Former French Open champion Li, who reached the final here last year and in 2011, allowed Ekaterina Makarova not so much as a sniff of an upset as she set up meeting with Pennetta by demolishing the Russian 6-2 6-0.

Pennetta’s journey to her first Australian Open quarter-final was a bit more complicated and she took 53 minutes longer to beat ninth seeded German Angelique Kerber 6-1 4-6 7-5.

Li had her own particular reason for being delighted to face the Italian. “She’s one day older than me, so for once I don’t have to play a younger player,” she beamed. — Reuters

Heat scorch Bobcats CHARLOTTE: LeBron James had 34 points and eight rebounds, and the Miami Heat beat the Charlotte Bobcats for the 15th straight time, 104-96 in overtime Saturday night.

James scored six points in the extra period, including two driving layups to lift the Heat to their second win in two nights. Chris Bosh added 25 points and seven rebounds for Miami.

Al Jefferson had 22 points to lead the Bobcats, who were playing their fourth game in five nights.

Charlotte lost point guard Kemba Walker in the third quarter with an ankle injury.

The crowd of 19,631 was the largest ever to see a Bobcats game at Time Warner Cable Arena on a night in which the team began selling its Hornets gear for the first time. The Bobcats will become the Hornets after this season.

PACERS 106, CLIPPERS 92 Paul George scored 36 points and Lance Stephenson added 22 points and 12 rebounds to lead Indiana to its fourth straight win, all by double digits. The Pacers, though, missed a chance to win four in a row by 20 or more points for the first time in franchise history. Indiana retained the league’s top record and improved to 21-1 at home before heading West for a five-game road trip.

Jamal Crawford scored 22 points for the Clippers, who had their five-game winning streak snapped. Blake Griffin had 19 points and DeAndre Jordan added 12 points and 17rebounds.

TIMBERWOLVES 98, JAZZ 72 Nikola Pekovic had 27 points and 14 rebounds in three quarters to lead Minnesota. Kevin Love had 18 points, 13 rebounds and five assists, and Kevin Martin scored 20 points to help the Timberwolves snap a three-game losing streak that included losses to Sacramento and Toronto. The Wolves scored 28 points off 16 Utah turnovers and outscored the Jazz 50-18 in the paint for a muchneeded blowout.

Alec Burks scored 18 points for the Jazz, who trailed by as many as 36 points and shot 28.8 percent, the worst shooting night in franchise history.

Derrick Favors had eight points and 10 boards, but was just 3 for 10 from the field.

Kuwait takes part in Arab Shooting Championship

MELBOURNE: Ana Ivanovic of Serbia celebrates, as she won the second set against Samantha Stosur of Australia during their third round match at the Australian Open tennis championship. —AP

WARRIORS 97, PELICANS 87 Stephen Curry scored 28 points, David Lee added 22 and Golden State sent New Orleans to its eighth straight loss. Anthony Davis had 31 points and 17 rebounds in his seventh straight game with more than 20 points, but that was only enough to keep the Pelicans competitive into the final minutes. Andrew Bogut had 10 points and 15 rebounds for Golden State, which rebounded from a loss a night earlier in Oklahoma City and snapped a two-game skid. Jordan Crawford added 10 points. Tyreke Evans scored 14 points in his return to the Pelicans after missing three games with a left ankle sprain. Al-Farouq Aminu added 12 points, but the Pelicans were doomed by 13-of-39 shooting in the second half, during which they scored only 33 points.

ROCKETS 114, BUCKS 104 Terrence Jones had a career-high 36 points and 11 rebounds, and Houston led from the start. Jones had 25 points by halftime, matching his previous career-best set on Wednesday, and James Harden added 22 points.

Houston led by 17 points before the Bucks got within six points in the third quarter. The Rockets responded with a big run to extend the lead and

CHARLOTTE: Miami Heat’s Udonis Haslem (40) is fouled by Charlotte Bobcats’ Al Jefferson (25) during the second half of an NBA basketball game. — AP hold on for the victory. Brandon Knight scored 26 points with seven assists for the NBA-worst Bucks, who have dropped eight in a row.

BULLS 103, 76ERS 78 Joakim Noah had 21 points and 16 rebounds, Carlos Boozer added 15 points and 13 boards, and Chicago won for the seventh time in nine games this month.

Noah extended his streak of double-digit rebound games to 12, the longest stretch of his career. DJ Augustin scored nine points and dished out seven assists in the pivotal second quarter, in which Chicago extended its lead from five to 20. He finished with 19 points and eight assists.

Only three 76ers scored in double digits, Thaddeus Young leading the way with 12 points.

James Anderson had 11 points and seven rebounds for Philadelphia, which has dropped six of seven.

PISTONS 104, WIZARDS 98 Josh Smith overcame a slow start to score 22 points and Rodney Stuckey added 20 to lead Detroit. Greg Monroe had 12 points and 10

rebounds and Andre Drummond added 10 points and a game-high 13 boards as the Pistons outrebounded the Wizards 44-35.

John Wall scored 34 points, including Washington’s last 10, as the Wizards snapped a three-game winning streak and failed to move past .500 for the first time in more than four years. It was the third time this year they lost at home with a chance to get over the .500 mark.

TRAIL BLAZERS 127, MAVERICKS 111 LaMarcus Aldridge had 30 points and 12 rebounds, and Portland ran past Dallas for its fifth straight win. Aldridge, a 28-year-old Dallas native, had his 24th double-double this season.

The NBA’s highest-scoring team reached 30 points in the first quarter for the 14th time in 201314, and 100 points in three quarters for the fourth time.

Nicolas Batum scored 21 for the Trail Blazers.

Robin Lopez added 16 points and 12 rebounds. Dirk Nowitzki had 18 points for the Mavericks, who had won four of their previous five games. Devin Harris played 17 minutes and scored six points in his first game this season following toe surgery. —AP

Pinturault wins Wengen slalom WENGEN: Alexis Pinturault boosted French morale three weeks before the Olympics when he handed his country their first victory in the alpine World Cup this season in the prestigious Wengen slalom yesterday.

The 22-year-old all-rounder made amends after a poor start to the winter when he fought from seventh in the morning run to beat prerace favourites Felix Neureuther and Marcel Hirscher in the second leg. “This is a huge victory because it was not obvious in slalom for me in recent weeks,” said the Frenchman, who had failed to complete three of the four previous World Cup slaloms and had not won in the discipline since December 2012. Pinturault had indicated his return to form in Friday’s supercombined when he finished second behind

American Ted Ligety and won the slalom leg.

“Clearly it gave me a hell of a lot of confidence,” he said after upstaging the three other skiers to have won slaloms this season to secure his fifth career victory.

Germany’s Neureuther was second, 0.34 seconds adrift, and Austrian Hirscher, who led after the first run, had to settle for third after making a mistake second time around. “When he (Pinturault) skis at 100 percent and doesn’t make any mistake, he is unstoppable,” said World Cup holder Hirscher, who trails Norway’s Aksel Lund Svindal by 22 points in the overall standings. Pinturault’s victory was excellent news for France after losing world champions Marion Rolland and Tessa Worley to injury before the Olympics. — Reuters

MONDAY, JANUARY 20, 2014

S P ORT S

Barcelona held by battling Levante

ITALY: Fiorentina’s Alessandro Matri celebrates after scoring during the Serie A soccer match between Catania and Fiorentina at the Angelo Massimino stadium. — AP

Fiorentina win, Napoli held MILAN: Alessandro Matri marked his debut for Fiorentina with a brace in a 3-0 win over Catania while Napoli were held and Inter slumped to defeat as torrential rain played havoc in Italy’s Serie A yesterday.

Matri, AC Milan’s most expensive signing last summer, pledged to hit 10 goals for La Viola when he signed for the Florence club in midweek having struggled to make an impact with the Rossoneri.

And the former Juventus flop took a big step towards fulfilling that promise with a first-half brace after Chilean Matias Fernandez had opened the scoring for the visitors.

“I haven’t had an experience like this for a long time and to be honest, I really needed it,” said Matri, who had scored only one goal this season in 15 appearances with Milan. “I wanted to play a leading role again and after such a tough period you lose your sense of balance.” Fiorentina’s 12th win of the campaign reinforced fourth place in the table and Vincenzo Montella’s men are now 15 points behind leaders Juventus, 4-2 winners over Sampdoria on Saturday, and seven behind second-placed Roma.

More importantly, Fiorentina are only three points behind Napoli, who occupy the third and last qualifying spot for the Champions League.

Napoli had been looking for a win at Bologna to stay in touch with the top two, especially after Roma’s 3-0 defeat of Livorno on Saturday. But after Rolando Bianchi opened the scoring just after the half hour the former Manchester City and Lazio striker levelled on 90 minutes for the hosts to snatch a share of the points in a 2-2 draw.

Napoli remain third but are now 12 points behind Juventus-a gap Slovakian midfielder Marek Hamsik believes rules out a challenge for the ‘scudetto’. “The gap is quite big now... I think it’s too much,” Hamsik, who made his first start since being sidelined with injury in

November, told Sky Sport Italia.

Bianchi broke the deadlock with a glancing header from Alessandro Diamanti’s cross which beat Napoli ‘keeper Rafael on 37 minutes.

Argentinian striker Gonzalo Higuain came close to levelling after the restart when he dived to head Jose Callejon’s cross from six yards out only for his effort to flash wide.

Higuain made no mistake from the penalty spot, though, blasting the ball under Gianluca Curci’s crossbar on 62 minutes after Blerim Dzemaili had crumbled under a clumsy challenge from Panagiotis Kone. A superb Curci diving save then kept out Dries Mertens’ free kick and, now with the momentum, Napoli finally pulled in front when Callejon pounced on a lost ball in midfield to surge ahead and beat Curci with an angled drive.

Napoli looked set for the three points after Bologna were reduced to 10 men when Kone was cautioned for a second time after tugging Higuain’s shirt.

But Rafael Benitez’s men were made to pay for slack defending at the death, their defence failing to pick up Bianchi at the back post before the striker smashed the ball into the net. Inter’s woes continued, meanwhile, with a 1-0 away defeat in rainy Genoa which left Walter Mazzarri’s men in sixth on 32 points, the same as fifth-placed Verona ahead of their trip to Milan later yesterday. Inter had plenty of chances to snatch the win and Mazzarri could only lament his side failing to beat Mattia Perin in the Genoa goal. “We had plenty of chances to score at the end and Mattia Perin was impressive. We gave it everything and it’s hard to play more attacking football than we did,” said Mazzarri. Elsewhere Alessandro Lucarelli hit an injury-time winner for Parma in precious 2-1 win away to struggling Chievo while Ciro Immobile and Matteo Brighi struck in either half for Torino in a 2-0 win away to Sassuolo. — AFP

MADRID: Lionel Messi’s first league start of 2014 couldn’t inspire Barcelona to a victory as the Catalans were held to a 1-1 draw away to Levante yesterday.

Loukas Vyntra got the hosts off to the best possible start as he headed low past Victor Valdes from Andreas Ivanschitz’s cross after 10 minutes.

Gerard Pique quickly levelled from another corner, but despite intense pressure from the visitors after the break they couldn’t find a way through.

The point leaves moves Barca one point clear of Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid at the top of La Liga, but Atletico can go top should they beat Sevilla later yesterday.

Levante had been 6-0 down at half-time on their way to a 7-0 thrashing at the Camp Nou on the opening day of the season.

However, Los Granotes made a far more positive start this time around as Vyntra headed home Andreas Ivanschitz’s cross as Barca conceded from a corner for the sixth time in La Liga this season.

The lead only lasted nine minutes as the visitors levelled in similar circumstances as Pique climbed highest to head home Xavi’s corner.

Thereafter, though, Barca struggled to create opportunities against Levante’s back five in the first period with Xavi’s drive from the edge of the box that drifted wide their best effort from open play. Gerardo Martino’s men were more precise in their build-up play after the break and Alexis Sanchez managed to get in behind the Levante backline five minutes after the restart, but he delayed when faced with Levante keeper Keylor Navas and was eventually snuffed out.

Fabregas was next to try his luck with a powerful shot from distance that was parried away

by Navas. And Navas had to be at his best five minutes later as he denied Messi after he had been played in by a neat one-two with Fabregas before Juanfran blocked Xavi’s follow-up effort on the line.

Juanfran again put his body on the line to turn another goalbound effort from Messi behind moments later. However, Levante were maintaining a threat on the counter-attack and Valdes had to get down to hold Ivanschitz’s header from Ruben Garcia’s cross.

Ivanschitz forced Valdes into another flying save 15 minutes from time as Barca left themselves exposed by pouring forward in search of a winner. However, they came desperately close to a winner five minutes from time when Cristian Tello’s curling effort was brilliantly turned behind

by Navas. — AFP

VALENCIA: Barcelona’s Gerard Pique (right) duels for the ball with Levante’s Vyntra from Czech Republic during their La Liga soccer match. — AP

Spanish League results/standings MADRID: Spanish La Liga results yesterday: Getafe 2 (Marica 28, Pedro Leon 52) Real Sociedad 2 (Agirretxe 4, 16); Villarreal 2 (Uche 3, Bruno 87-pen) Almeria 0; Levante 1 (Vyntra 10) Barcelona 1 (Pique 19)

Played Monday Athletic Bilbao v Valladolid (2100)

Benzema 45+1, Di Maria 61, Morata 90) Elche 2 (Albacar 19-pen, Marquez 79) Rayo Vallecano 0; Granada 0 Osasuna 0 Espanyol 1 (Sergio Garcia 88) Celta Vigo 0

Played Saturday Real Betis 0 Real Madrid 5 (Ronaldo 10, Bale 25,

Friday Malaga 0 Valencia 0

Barcelona 20 Real Madrid 20 Atletico Madrid 19 Villarreal 20 Athletic Bilbao 19 Real Sociedad 20 Sevilla 19 Espanyol 20 Valencia 20 Granada 20

Levante 20 Getafe 20 Osasuna 20 Malaga 20 Elche 20 Celta Vigo 20 Almeria 20 Valladolid 19 Rayo Vallecano20 Real Betis 20

Playing later (all times GMT) Atletico Madrid v Sevilla (2000)

16 16 16 11 11 9 8 7 7 7

3 2 2 4 3 6 6 4 3 3

1 2 1 5 5 5 5 9 10 10

54 58 47 39 32 38 36 23 26 19

13 21 11 21 24 30 30 25 31 25

51 50 50 37 36 33 30 25 24 24

6 7 6 5 5 5 5 3 5 2

6 3 4 6 6 4 4 7 1 5

8 10 10 9 9 11 11 9 14 13

19 22 17 19 19 23 21 21 19 16

28 33 29 24 28 32 40 33 47 43

24 24 22 21 21 19 19 16 16 11

French footballers face under-age prostitute trial PARIS: French footballers Franck Ribery and Karim Benzema go on trial today charged with having sex with an underage prostitute who later gained fame as a lingerie model and designer.

Bayern Munich winger Ribery, 30, and Real Madrid striker Benzema, 26, are facing up to three years in prison and fines of up to 45,000 euros ($55,000) each on charges they paid for sex with Zahia Dehar while she was under 18.

Neither of the two men are expected to attend the start of the trial in Paris, Ribery’s lawyer Carlo Alberto Brusa said. Ex-call girl Dehar, who rose to fame under the tutelage of fashion impresario Karl Lagerfeld after the charges emerged, is also not expected to attend.

Brusa said he was confident of an acquittal, after prosecutors recommended the charges be dropped for lack of evidence the men were aware she was a minor.

“We are going in confident and we are going to fight,” he said. Dehar has also withdrawn as a civil plaintiff in the case. “She is not asking for

anything,” said her lawyer, Daniel Vaconsin.

The two players are accused of having paid for sex with Dehar when she was 16, in Benzema’s case, and 17, in Ribery’s. Although the age of consent is 15 in France, paying for sex with anyone under 18 is a crime. The trial is going ahead after France’s highest court, the Cour de Cassation, ruled that only those aware that a prostitute was under-age can be found guilty of breaking the law.

Ribery’s brother-in-law is also charged with soliciting a minor for sex and five other accused face maximum prison terms of 10 years for aggravated pimping in the case.

Ribery has admitted having sex with Dehar after she was flown to Munich in 2009 as a “present” for his 26th birthday, but insists he could not have known she was not 18 at the time.

Benzema, who is accused of paying for sex with Dehar in a Paris hotel when she was 16, denies that any encounter took place.

Dehar, now 21, became a celebrity following

the scandal and has since established herself as a designer of luxury lingerie, thanks partly to being befriended and championed by Lagerfeld, who has described her as a quintessential French courtesan.

Dehar has testified that she had paid-for sex with both players but has said she lied to them about her age. Dehar’s alleged encounters with the two French internationals came to light after she was arrested in connection with a police investigation into the now defunct Zaman Cafe, a nightclub close to the Champs Elysees that attracted an eclectic mix of reality TV stars, criminals and dozens of prostitutes. Brothers Elie and Georges Farhat, who ran the club, are among the accused.

News of the investigation into Ribery and Benzema broke just before France’s disastrous 2010 World Cup campaign, which featured unprecedented bickering within the squad that culminated in a brief strike by the players and ended in a first round exit. — AFP

Monaco keep pressure on PSG LONDON: This is a May 6, 1954, file photo of Roger Bannister (left) who ended the quest for the four-minute mile, with a time of 3:59.4 at Oxford, England is congratulated by pacemaker Christopher Chataway. Chataway, a former 5,000-meter world record-holder who turned to a career in British politics, has died. He was 82. —AP

British athletics great Chataway dies LONDON: British athletics great Chris Chataway, best known for being one of the pacemakers for Roger Bannister’s landmark four-minute mile run in 1954, died at the age of 82 yesterday from cancer.

Chataway, who was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for his services to the aviation industry, had a stellar year in 1954 when he also broke the 5,000 metres world record.

For that achievement and for his role in Bannister’s remarkable effort it was he and not Bannister who was named the first-ever BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 1954.

Bannister paid a warm tribute to Chataway, who also won the Commonwealth Games three miles title in 1954, saying he was “one of my best friends”.

“He was gallant to the end,” Bannister told BBC Sport. “Our friendship dated back over more than half a century. “We laughed, ran and commiserated together. People will always remember him for the great runner he was but it shouldn’t be forgotten that he had an extremely distinguished career off the track.”My family and I will miss him sorely and our thoughts go out to his family and many friends who were so fond of him.”

After retiring from athletics in 1956 he forged a successful career first as a broadcast journalist for firstly ITN and then the BBC and subsequently in politics.

He was twice elected a Conservative Party MP-losing his seat in 1966 after serving as a junior Education Minister but returning to Parliament in 1970 where he was appointed by Minister of Posts and Telecommunications by then Prime Minister Edward Heath.

In that role he was responsible for guiding the Bill introducing commercial radio successfully through Parliament thus ending the BBC’s monopoly.

He retired from politics aged just 43 when the Conservatives lost power in 1974.

British Prime Minister David Cameron, the current Conservative Party leader, praised Chataway’s varied life by saying: “Chris was a rare politician in that he enjoyed such extensive, wide-ranging and successful careers both before and after he served in Parliament.”

Cameron added: We have lost a great Briton, a true Conservative and a man of many talents.” Meanwhile Chataway’s son Mark saluted the resolve shown by his father in later life.

“We were struck by his amazing qualities of humility and strength, especially in these last few years,” the 53-year-old said. “He ran with a couple of my brothers in the Great North Run about three years ago, doing it in a very respectable time.” —AFP

PARIS: Monaco completed a routine 2-0 win at mid-table Toulouse yesterday to keep pace with Ligue 1 leaders Paris Saint-Germain.

Goals from Layvin Kurzawa and Lucas Ocampos brought the Principality team to within two points of PSG ahead of the champions’ clash with sixth-placed Nantes at the Parc des Princes later on Sunday.

The win also gave Monaco an eight-point advantage over fourth-placed Saint-Etienne, further cementing Claudio Ranieri’s team’s quest to earn a Champions League berth for next season.

“It’s mission accomplished, even though we struggled a lot during the opening 30 minutes,” said the Italian coach, formerly of Chelsea, Juventus and Inter Milan.

“It’s an important win but we need to back it up. We hadn’t played well in our last two matches and it’s good for the group’s confidence to rediscover winning ways. “Now we can say that we’re back on track but I repeat, we need to back it up.”

Ranieri made a change to his starting line-up, bringing in French under-20 world champion Geoffroy Kondogbia to replace struggling Portugal international Moutinho, although the youngster did little to further his long-term prospects of holding down a regular starting position.

Monaco were far from convincing, particularly in the first half, but still turned around at the break a goal to the good through Kurzawa on 36 minutes.

And it was Kondogbia, in a rare moment of quality, who provided the low cross from the left for Kurzawa to score.

Until that point, Toulouse had been by far the better team, although they proved impotent in front of goal.

There was a disappointing per formance from Colombian record-signing Radamel Falcao, who missed two glorious chances and has not scored in the league since November 8.

He was replaced by Ocampos with 21 minutes left and it was the Argentine who sealed the win with a goal two minutes from the end.

And it was a strike of rare beauty that looked out of place in an otherwise drag affair as Ocampos scored with an acrobatic bicycle kick that flummoxed goalkeeper Ali Ahamada. — AFP

FRANCE: Toulouseís Colombian midfielder Abel Aguila (left) vies with Monaco’s French forward Emmanuel Riviere (right) during the French League football match. — AFP

Ivanovic stuns Serena

MONDAY, JANUARY 20, 2014

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Barcelona held by battling Levante

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New Zealand beat India in ODI opener

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LONDON: Chelsea’s John Obi Mikel (right) challenges Manchester United’s Phil Jones during their English Premier League soccer match at Stamford Bridge. — AP

Eto’s treble leaves United reeling Chelsea 3

Man United 1

LONDON: Manchester United’s Premier League title defence died another death yesterday as Samuel Eto’o’s hat-trick earned Chelsea a 3-1 win that left the champions 14 points off the pace.

Eto’o’s treble, his first in English football, gave manager Jose Mourinho his 100th Premier League victory, while United, who replied through Javier Hernandez, slumped to their seventh loss of the campaign and saw captain Nemanja Vidic sent off in stoppage time.

As well as the gulf that separates them from leaders Arsenal, United are also six points below the Champions League places, further jeopardising their

chances of securing the consolation prize of a top-four finish. With hopes of success via the league fading further, Wednesday’s League Cup semi-final second leg against Sunderland, when United will look to overturn a 2-1 deficit, now assumes even greater importance.

It was a fifth successive league win for Chelsea, meanwhile, who returned to within two points of Arsenal and a point of second-place Manchester City.

With Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie both still injured, United fielded Adnan Januzaj in support of Danny Welbeck, but they quickly found a route through the Chelsea defence on a brisk afternoon at Stamford Bridge.

A neat one -two between Ashley Young and Welbeck presented Young with a clear sight of goal in the second minute, but his effort was parried by Petr Cech.

It was an enterprising star t, and Chelsea found themselves on the back foot until Eto’o broke the deadlock in the 17th minute with a bolt from the blue.

Gathering the ball wide on the right, the Cameroon star tricked his way inside Phil Jones and then dispatched a leftfoot shot that flicked off Michael Carrick’s toes and looped over David de Gea. With David Luiz providing a muscular presence in front of the Chelsea back four, occasionally to the consternation of the United bench, the hosts began to assert greater control, but the visitors remained a threat. Patrice Evra fired into the side -netting after blocking an attempted pass from Oscar, while Welbeck could only shovel a shot straight at Cech from Januzaj’s driven left-wing cross.

It was to prove a costly missed opportunity. After Oscar had sent an acrobatic volley wide, Eto’o doubled Chelsea’s lead on the stroke of half-time when he stole in behind a static defence to clip home a cross from Gary Cahill after United failed to clear a corner.

Moyes sent United out early for the second half, but within four minutes the

game was over and once again, the visitors’ defensive shortcomings were laid bare.

Cahill easily lost his marker to meet a right-wing corner with a downward header and although De Gea blocked, Eto’o was on hand to hook the ball home.

Moyes introduced Chris Smalling and Hernandez in place of Evra and Young, but even when United did procure a chance, fortune deserted them.

With 20 minutes remaining, Cech miscontrolled a back-pass in a perilous position, but as Hernandez slid in, the Chelsea goalkeeper somehow contrived to hook the ball away from him.

United finally found the net with 12 minutes remaining when Hernandez touched in Jones’s low centre, but by then the damage was done.

The visitors’ misery was completed in injury time when Vidic was shown a straight red card for chopping down Eden Hazard, while Rafael da Silva was fortunate to avoid the same fate for a rash two-footed lunge on Cahill. — AFP

EPL results/standings Chelsea 3 (Eto’o 17, 45, 49) Manchester United 1 (Hernandez 78); Swansea 1 (Bony 78) Tottenham 3 (Adebayor 35, 71, Flores 53-og).

Playing today West Brom v Everton English Premier League table after yesterday’s matches won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals against, points): Arsenal 22 16 3 3 43 19 Man City 22 16 2 4 63 25 Chelsea 22 15 4 3 43 20 Liverpool 22 13 4 5 53 28 Tottenham 22 13 4 5 29 26 Everton 21 11 8 2 34 19 Man Utd 22 11 4 7 36 27 Newcastle 22 11 3 8 32 28 Southampton 22 8 7 7 29 25 Aston Villa 22 6 6 10 22 29 Hull 22 6 5 11 22 28 Norwich 22 6 5 11 18 35 Stoke 22 5 7 10 22 36 Swansea 22 5 6 11 27 33 West Brom 21 4 9 8 23 28 Crystal Palace 22 6 2 14 14 31 Fulham 22 6 1 15 22 48 West Ham 22 4 6 12 22 33 Sunderland 22 4 6 12 21 36 Cardiff 22 4 6 12 17 38

(played, 51 50 49 43 43 41 37 36 31 24 23 23 22 21 21 20 19 18 18 18

Adebayor double sees Spurs down Swansea Swansea 1

Tottenham 3

LONDON: Swansea City’s Chico (left) and Tottenham Hotspur’s Emmanuel Adebayor battle for the ball during their English Premier League soccer match. — AP

SWANSEA: Emmanuel Adebayor scored twice as Tottenham Hotspur maintained their impressive Premier League run under manager Tim Sherwood with a 3-1 win away to Swansea yesterday. Victory saw Tottenham make it five wins and a draw in the league since Sherwood replaced the sacked Andre Villas-Boas as they went level on points with fourthplaced Liverpool.

But this defeat at the Liberty Stadium meant Swansea had now gone eight league games without a win and were left just three points above the relegation zone. Adebayor’s first-half header sent Sherwood’s side on their way, with Chico Flores inadvertently turning a Kyle Walker cross into his own net eight minutes into the second half to seal Swansea’s

fate. Togo striker Adebayor made the game doubly safe, 20 minutes from time, with his second goal of the game and his fifth in his last six league games.

Wilfried Bony bagged a late consolation but it was too little, too late for the Swans.

With injuries dictating Michael Laudrup’s selection, the Dane adopted a five man midfield with centre half Jordi Amat employed as one of two holding players, alongside Leon Britton.

For all the length of Swansea’s winless run in the league, there were no signs of anxiety amongst the ranks early on with Jonjo Shelvey shooting wide after a training ground move from a Wayne Routledge corner. Shelvey was off-target again after a Ben Davies break along the left and the former Liverpool midfielder went close once more in the 14th minute when he brought out the best in Hugo Lloris from 25 yards. Sherwood wanted more from his midfield and when Britton gave away possession on half way, he got it.

Christian Eriksen picked his way through three defenders before forcing Gerhard Tremmel to pick a decent cross off the forehead of Adebayor at the far post. At the other end, it was Bony who had hearts racing in the Spurs’ back four. More clever play from £12million striker created a yard of space on the edge

of the box. But when the Ivorian pulled the trigger, Lloris watched the ball skid past his far post.

He went close still to breaking the deadlock in the 24th minute when he hit the ball like an arrow only to see his 30 yard strike to rebound back off the bar with France international Lloris well beaten.

Swansea’s Achilles heel this season has been their failure to score when on top and 11 minutes before half time, they once again paid the price.

Eriksen found enough time and space on the right to pick out Adebayor at the far post. Tremmel had no chance as the striker’s downward header bounced up into the roof of the net.

When Shelvey limped off, five minutes after half time, Swansea were facing an even tougher battle to get back into a contest that Spurs were beginning to dominate. Amat’s frustration earned him a yellow card, for a rash challenge on Vlad Chiriches and three minutes later, a cross from Walker was turned into his own net by the unfortunate Flores.

Bony, once again, brought out the best in Lloris with a crisp shot on the hour, but it was Spurs who scored next. Mousa Dembele missed a sitter, with only Tremmel to beat, when he might well have squared the ball to the unmarked and subsequently furious Adebayor. — AFP

Business

Empower buys cooling firm for $500 million Page 22

Europe’s utilities squeezed by creeping nationalization

MONDAY, JANUARY 20, 2014

Page 25 ‘Speed-dating’ inspires NYC women entrepreneurs Page 26 Page 23

Toyota FT-1 Concept sets the pace for future design

JALALABAD: An Afghan street vendor makes bread at the roadside in Jalalabad, capital of Nangarhar province. Afghanistan remains an extremely poor country where one in three people live in poverty. — AFP

Saudi hails surge in US shale oil production Naimi meets Moniz, sees stabilizing effect in market KHOBAR, Saudi Arabia: Top oil exporter Saudi Arabia welcomes the surge in US shale oil production for its stabilizing effect on crude prices, Saudi Oil Minister Ali Al-Naimi was quoted as saying yesterday after a meeting with US Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) said in its annual World Oil Outlook published in November that the group faced a shrivelling market share over the next five years, with the shale energy boom set to boost rival supplies.

But shale oil remains much more costly to produce than most Middle East crude and Saudi oil officials say they have nothing to fear from the rival crude revolution. “Shale oil has been also discussed and the rise in production from the United States and other countries,” Naimi was quoted by Saudi state news agency SPA as saying after their meeting in Riyadh.

“The kingdom welcomes this new source of

energy supplies that contribute to meeting rising global energy demand and also contribute to the stability of the oil markets.” The North American shale oil surge has dampened oil price volatility and helped keep benchmark Brent crude trading in a $100-110 per barrel range - prices that Saudi officials say they are comfortable with - for much of the last 12 months. Oil company BP said last week that the North American shale oil boom could spread around the globe over the next two decades, putting pressure on oil export dependent countries like Saudi Arabia.

Kurdish oil Iraq cannot finance itsprojected 2014 budget deficit unless the northern Kurdistan region pays its oil export revenue into the national treasury - or loses its share of state spending, a senior lawmaker said yesterday.

Haider Al-Abadi, head of parliament’s treas-

ury committee, told Reuters the budget, swollen by extra expenditure, would “collapse” if the state kept paying the autonomous region its 17 percent share even as the Kurds withhold oil export proceeds. Baghdad’s chronic quarrel with Kurdistan over how to manage and share Iraq’s energy resources intensified this month when the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) said oil had begun flowing to Turkey for export via a pipeline outside federal control. Last week Iraq’s oil minister threatened legal action and drastic trade reprisals against Turkey and any foreign companies involved in what he called the “smuggling” of Iraqi oil.

Kurdistan’s Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani arrived in the Iraqi capital yesterday to pursue talks on an issue that has bedevilled relations between Iraq’s Arabs and minority Kurds.

“We go to Baghdad with the intention of closing gaps,” KRG spokesman Safeen Dizayee

Egypt tumbles after vote, Saudi drops MIDEAST STOCK MARKETS DUBAI: Disappointing earnings from two of Saudi Arabia’s largest firms weighed on investors sentiment, while Egypt’s market fell in heavy profit-taking after a strong backing for the country’s new constitution. Other regional shares were mixed. Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC), the world’s largest chemicals producer and the biggest listed firm in the region by value, dropped 2.3 percent after its quarterly earnings missed estimates.

The firm reported a 5.7 percent rise in fourth-quarter net income to 6.16 billion riyals ($1.64 billion) in the quarter, below the average forecast of 6.58 billion riyals.

Other petrochemical shares were also hit with SABIC subsidiary Kayan Petrochemical losing 5 percent and Rabigh Refining and Petrochemical down 5.9 percent. Iyad Ghulam, an analyst from Saudi Arabia’s NCB Capital, said in a note that lower sales and weak earnings from SABIC subsidiaries were to blame for its miss but the stock remains attractive, underpinned by long-term earnings growth.

Saudi Arabia’s largest lender Al-Rajhi Bank shed 0.4 percent, recovering most of early-session losses triggered by its 19.1 percent drop in quarterly profit. The bank made 1.55 billion riyals in the fourth quarter, missing analysts’ average forecast of 1.99 billion riyals.

Rajhi cited higher costs for the drop, which analysts believe may be due to troubles in the construction sector where a government crackdown on illegal immigrants result-

ed in a labour shortage, but the impact is expected to be short-term. “Saudi fundamentals remain intact and growth prospects remain - so we’re bullish on the market as a whole, which continues to offer great opportunities,” said Rami Sidani, Schroders Middle East head of investment.

Saudi Arabia’s index slipped 0.2 percent, coming off Thursday’s five-year high. In Egypt, the index tumbled 2 percent, extending declines from last Tuesday’s three-year high when the country began voting on a new constitution. Over 98 percent of voters backed the draft in a referendum last week, authorities said on Saturday, though the turnout was lower than some officials had indicated, with under 40 percent of the electorate taking part.

“It’s a traditional buy-the-rumor, sell-the-news situation,” said Mohamed Radwan, director of international sales at Pharos Securities. “Everyone had already predicted it would be an overwhelming vote on the constitution - today the market is just taking a breather.”On the 30-stock index, 28 firms retreated, one gained and one was flat. Elsewhere, Dubai’s bourse gained 0.2 percent, up for its seventh consecutive session as a buying spree in real estate shares continued. It hit a new five-year high. Large-caps also helped lift Abu Dhabi’s index to a fresh five-year high, as it added 0.9 percent.

Qatar’s bourse snapped a 13-session winning streak and slipped 0.1 percent. — Reuters

said before the talks, which he said would focus on increasing Kurdistan’s oil output and a mechanism for marketing its exports. Abadi said the draft budget projected a deficit of about 21 trillion Iraqi dinars ($18 billion), assuming the Kurds paid the treasury the revenue from budgeted oil exports of 400,000 barrels per day - a target industry sources say far exceeds Kurdistan’s current export capacity of around 255,000 bpd. To Baghdad’s fury, the Kurds handed over no oil export revenue last year because of an unresolved dispute over the payment of oil companies operating in the northern region.

For much of 2013 the Kurds were trucking what industry sources estimated was up to 60,000 bpd of crude and condensates to Turkey, while the independent pipeline was being completed.

In 2012, the Kurds exported 61,000 bpd of crude via the Baghdad-controlled pipeline to

Turkey, so the revenue went automatically to the central government. Baghdad complained at the time that the Kurds should have exported more than double this amount, however.

Budget crunch Abadi said state spending had risen sharply in the draft budget due to increases in pensions and the minimum public sector wage, child benefits and student allowances. Echoing remarks made in the past week by Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki and Oil Minister Abdul Kareem Luaibi, Abadi said the central government would have to cut the Kurds’ budget share. “They are not contributing, so why should they get something out of it?” he asked in an interview. “At the moment we have a deficit of 21 trillion. If you add 15 to 16 trillion to it, the budget will collapse,” he said, estimating the additional shortfall if no Kurdish oil revenue is handed over. — Agencies

S Africa’s weak rand draws few tourist complaints CAPE TOWN, South Africa: Clutching shopping bags, quaffing wine, and lounging on pristine beaches: South Africa’s weak rand is drawing few complaints from foreign tourists who these days get more bang for their tourist bucks. The teetering rand, a victim of ongoing emerging market volatility, is tipped to remain on the back foot after hitting a fresh five-year low of around 10.87 against the US dollar. The plunge comes as tourists flock to Cape Town-named as the world’s top place to visit in 2014 by The New York Times-for the peak southern hemisphere summer season armed with hard currency. “From a visitor perspective, it all bodes well for international visitors coming to Cape Town,” said Cape Town Tourism CEO Enver Duminy.

Foreigners spent an estimated $1.2 billion (12.7 billion rand) last year in the city and the industry is already pointing to a rosier season. Official figures for December are still being tallied but feedback from hotels, tour operators and restaurants is that things look “a lot better” than the previous summer. “If you look at our key source markets-UK, US, Germany, Netherlands-the exchange rate is in the favor of those travellers,” said Duminy.

“Which is great news for us which means that we become a lot more affordable for a lot more people wanting to leave Europe or the US.” While recent market darlings, emerging economy currencies like South Africa have been hammered by moves in the US Federal Reserve to ease its stimulus package.

Added to this are domestic challenges such as sizeable twin deficits and spending needs, after a run of turbulent strikes. “It’s largely a global story of which South African characteristics play a part and certainly the depreciating trend is strong,” said Peter Kent, portfolio manager at Investec Asset Management. “We

wouldn’t be surprised to see it depreciate some more but on a sort of medium term horizon I would expect some stability, possibly a small rally.”

‘Wow, it’s so cheap here’ In the meantime tourists like Norwegian Vidar Woldengen, 47, are getting a welcome surprise.

“When people in Europe find out, I’m sure they will bring their money here as soon as they find out because I was really surprised,” he said while browsing a popular African craft market.

“Now they can afford it.” Foreign arrivals were up by 14.5 percent year on year in November and hotels are reporting strong occupancy rates. For the area’s famed wine farms, the exchange rate is a boost but long-term impacts are also being eyed.

The rand helped winemakers smash exports records in 2013, with volumes leaving the country up 26 percent. The country’s oldest surviving estate Groot Constantia, hugely popular with tourists, exports 60 percent of its wine and sells a further 20 percent through its tasting room and restaurants.

“The effect of the weak rand now benefits us in the short term in terms of income but in the long term, it’s going nail us in terms of input costs,” said Jean Naude, general manager. Others agree the long term impact of the weak rand is still to be seen. “It does help with bang for buck but it’s a small component of the decision making,” said Rey Franco, manager of the Victoria & Alfred Hotel at the popular Waterfront shopping and restaurant hub. “The feedback I’ve heard mostly from guests is ‘wow, it’s so cheap here’, and that goes back to the fact that currency plays a factor in variable spending but it’s not the decision maker when it comes to travel.” — AFP

MONDAY, JANUARY 20, 2014

BUSINESS

Empower buys cooling firm for $500 million

News

in brief

Investcorp sells stake in Britain’s TDX to Equifax DUBAI: Bahrain’s Investcorp and the founders of TDX Group have agreed to sell their stakes in the British technology firm to US credit reporting agency Equifax Inc for 200 million pounds ($327 million), according to a filing at Bahrain’s bourse. Investcorp said it had acquired a substantial minority stake in TDX in 2008, but did not reveal the exact size of its holding or how much money it would receive from the sale. TDX provides businesses with technology, data and advisor y ser vices, employing about 345 people globally. The TDX sale is private equity firm Investcorp’s third exit from its technology portfolio in the past year, following its agreement to sell Skrill Group, an online payments provider, and the flotation of Fleetmatics in New York, the Bahraini firm added.

Latest intra-emirate M&A deal for Dubai DUBAI: Dubai district cooling firm Empower bought Palm Utilities from a unit of Dubai World for $500 million yesterday, part of a shuffle of assets between companies ultimately owned by Dubai’s government or the emirate’s ruler.

Acquiring Palm Utilities, which includes Palm District Cooling, will give Empower about 70 percent of the United Arab Emirates’ district cooling market, a company statement said. District cooling is a centralised system for chilling large buildings, such as offices, factories and tower blocks, instead of having a large number of individual air conditioning units.

Empower will immediately take over all operations, assets and liabilities of

Palm Utilities, which was previously owned and operated by Istithmar World.

A joint venture between Dubai Electricity and Water Authority and Dubai Technology and Media Free Zone ( TECOM) Investments, Empower will fund the purchase through internal cash, debt and equity financing, the statement added.

Empower signed a $600 million, sixyear loan facility with four banks Citigroup, Emirates NBD, Mashreq and Standard Chartered - to fund its acquisition at the end of last year, according to Thomson Reuters data. Istithmar World is part of government-owned Dubai World, while TECOM is part of Dubai

between its state-linked firms to allow cash to be transferred from stronger entities to debt-laden ones such as Istithmar.

The emirate faces a heavy schedule of debt maturities in the next three years, including the first repayment under Dubai World’s restructuring plan, worth $4.4 billion and due in May 2015; in total, the Dubai government and related entities have roughly $50 billion of obligations coming due between 2014 and 2016.

Last month, Istithmar sold the Atlantis resort, which sits at the top of a palm treeshaped island in the Gulf, for an undisclosed sum to Investment Corp of Dubai, a holding company which controls some of the emirate’s top firms. —Reuters

Holding, the investment vehicle of Dubai’s ruler.

Asset reshuffle The sale adds to a series of disposals by Dubai World, which had promised to sell non-core assets under a $25 billion debt restructuring plan drawn up after 2009, when the group fell victim to a property market crash and the after-effects of the global financial crisis. In 2013, these disposals included British-based logistics warehouse developer Gazeley and Miami Beach’s landmark Fontainebleau hotel, originally owned by Economic Zones World and Istithmar World respectively.

Dubai has been juggling assets

Al-Rajhi Bank halves H2 dividend after Q4 drop DUBAI: Al-Rajhi Bank, Saudi Arabia’s largest listed lender, said in a bourse filing yesterday its board had recommended a cash dividend of 1 riyal ($0.27) per share for the second half of 2013. The dividend is half of what Al Rajhi paid out for the final six months of 2012. Al Rajhi reported a 19.1 percent drop in fourthquarter net profit last Thursday as operating expenses rose - likely due to higher provisioning. In a separate statement yesterday, AlRajhi said it would boost its capital by 8 percent through a bonus share issue, which would gift shareholders 1 free share for every 12 shares they own in the bank.

Saudi SABIC’s Q4 profit up 5.7%, below forecasts RIYADH: Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC), one of the world’s largest petrochemical groups and the Gulf’s biggest listed firm, reported a 5.7 percent rise in fourth-quarter net income, missing analysts’ forecasts. The company’s results are closely tied to global economic growth because its products - plastics, fertilizers and metals - are used extensively in construction, agriculture, industry and the manufacture of consumer goods. It earned 6.16 billion riyals ($1.64 billion) in the quarter, up from a slightly revised figure of 5.83 billion riyals a year earlier, SABIC said yesterday.

Seven analysts polled by Reuters had forecast, on average, that SABIC would record a net profit for the quarter of 6.58 billion riyals. Operating profit rose much more slowly than net profit in the fourth quarter, edging up just 0.5 percent to 10.30 billion riyals.

US production of shale gas has emerged as a major challenge for SABIC, threatening to make its American rivals more competitive, but Chief Executive Mohamed Al-Mady said shale output would not become heavy before 2016, so the market would remain firm in 2014 and 2015.

“We think 2014 will be slightly better than 2013,” because of forecasts for higher product prices, he told a news conference.

He later told Reuters that Europe appeared to be recovering from its long economic slump so the petrochemical market there was improving, and he expected further strength. Asked about SABIC’s approach to acquisitions, Mady said it was opportunistic, but he stressed that the company was very interested in investing in the United States and China.

For the whole of 2013, net profit climbed 1.8 percent to 25.23 billion riyals, while company officials said sales were roughly flat at about 189 billion riyals. —Reuters

Saudi Sipchem Q4 profit rises 25% DUBAI: Saudi International Petrochemical Co (Sipchem) missed analysts’ forecasts despite posting a 25 percent increase in fourth-quarter net profit yesterday, as rising product prices and lower funding costs boosted the firm’s bottom line. Sipchem made a profit of 196.8 million riyals ($52.5 million) in the three months to Dec 31, up from 157.7 million riyals in the prior-year period, according to a bourse filing. Analysts polled by Reuters on average forecast Sipchem’s quarterly profit would be 212.1 million riyals. Sipchem attributed its profit rise to increased product prices, especially methanol products, and lower financing costs. The company, which in December announced plans to merge with Sahara Petrochemical in the first half of 2014, made a full year profit in 2013 of 620.5 million riyals.

This compares with a profit of 601.2 million riyals in 2012.

WUHAN: Philippe Varin, CEO of French automobile manufacturer PSA (Peugeot Citroen) giving a speech in a new plant of Dongfeng Peugeot-Citroen Automobile Limited (DPCA) in Wuhan. PSA Peugeot Citroen supervisory board will decide on a 3-billion-euro (about $4 billion) capital increase, intended to help the group out of a crisis and which should include the French state and the Chinese Dongfeng car manufacturer. —AFP

Almarai posts marginal Q4 net profit gain DUBAI: Saudi Arabia’s Almarai, the Gulf’s biggest dairy company, reported a marginal rise in fourth-quarter net profit on Sunday, in line with analyst forecasts, as higher sales were offset by the non-recurrence of a one-off gain. Net earnings in the three months to Dec. 31 were 373.3 million riyals ($99.5 million), 1.2 percent higher than the 369 million riyals posted in the same period a year earlier, it said in a bourse statement. Eight analysts polled by Reuters had forecast Almarai would have net profit of 367.8 million riyals in the quarter.

Almarai’s performance in the fourth quarter was boosted by a 13.7 percent advance in sales year-on-year, with its dairy and juices, poultry and bakery businesses posting strong growth, the company said. However, its profit increase was tempered by the fact it had posted a one-off gain of 47.2 million riyals in the fourth quarter of 2012 from a land sale.

Profit for the full-year 2013 was up 4.3 percent on the previous year at 1.5 billion riyals. On an annual basis, the benefit to earnings of a 13.5 percent increase in sales was offset by “increasing depreciation and funding costs as a result of the investment program,” the statement added.

Almarai said last month that its board was recommending a 1 riyal per share cash dividend for 2013, down from the 1.25 riyals per share paid out for the previous year. —Reuters

Dubai’s Nakheel posts 27.2% 2013 profit gain added that increases in prices and rents were likely to slow as supply of new properties increased and Dubai government steps to avert excessive market speculation had an impact.

About 80 percent of property buyers in Nakheel’s stalled projects have now settled with the developer, with 20 percent of buyers still in dispute, said Lootah.

These can get their cash back five years from the date of Nakheel signing its restructuring deal, he said.

The company has made interest and profit payments of around 1.8 billion dirhams to lenders, issued a trade creditor sukuk of around 4.4 billion dirhams, and made cash payments of about 12.3 billion dirhams to various trade creditors and contractors since the start of its debt restructuring, a company statement said. Lootah said Nakheel would consider an initial public offer of shares after the company settled its debts. The firm handed over 3,150 units in 2013, although this is poised to drop to 1,600 units this year. Last year, it sold 3,500 properties.

Earlier this month, Nakheel said it would repay this year up to 4 billion dirhams of bank debt due in 2015. —Reuters

DUBAI: Dubai’s Nakheel reported a 27.2 percent rise in full-year profit yesterday as the property developer benefitted from the emirate’s resurgent real estate market. The government-owned developer, which agreed a $16 billion debt restructuring in 2011, made a net profit of 2.57 billion dirhams ($700 million) in 2013, up from 2.02 billion dirhams in 2012, chairman Ali Rashid Lootah announced at a news conference.

Revenues also boomed in 2013, growing 20.5 percent to 9.4 billion dirhams. Nakheel plans to launch new projects worth between 6 billion and 8 billion dirhams in 2014, Lootah said. Dubai house prices plunged about 60 percent from a 2008 peak as a property boom turned to bust, with Nakheel among the most high-profile corporate casualties. That led the company to stall or scrap some of its more grandiose plans, such as building a one-kilometre high tower.

But Dubai’s property sector is now recovering, helped by an influx of money from Arab and other countries, with residential property prices rising 22 percent in 2013, according to consultants Jones Lang LaSalle.

In a report on Sunday, Jones Lang LaSalle predicted the rebound would continue this year, though it

Africa braces for year of strikes JOHANNESBURG: Struggling South Africa seems set for another year of labor unrest in another body blow for an economy battling high unemployment and struggling to remain the largest on the continent.

The last two years have been dark times for South African labour relations. Pay strikes have rolled from sector to important sector-mining, manufacturing, transport-leaving a wake of red ink, protests and blood. Unfortunately, the new year looks much like the last. Next week the hardline Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union will move to strike at two of the world’s top three platinum producers. Their members are demanding a “living wage”, which would imply a doubling of salaries.

After a series of increases well above the rate of inflation, the union has the bit between its teeth, and is ready to move to other sectors. —AFP

EXCHANGE RATES Al-Muzaini Exchange Co. Japanese Yen Indian Rupees Pakistani Rupees Srilankan Rupees Nepali Rupees Singapore Dollar Hongkong Dollar Bangladesh Taka Philippine Peso Thai Baht Irani Riyal transfer Irani Riyal cash Saudi Riyal Qatari Riyal Omani Riyal Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham

ASIAN COUNTRIES 2.721 4.625 2.690 2.169 2.889 224.390 36.602 3.645 6.304 8.660 0.271 0.273 GCC COUNTRIES 75.724 78.024 737.660 754.220 77.333

ARAB COUNTRIES Egyptian Pound - Cash 39.850 Egyptian Pound - Transfer 40.369 Yemen Riyal/for 1000 1.325 Tunisian Dinar 172.450 Jordanian Dinar 401.000 Lebanese Lira/for 1000 1.905 Syrian Lira 2.023 Morocco Dirham 35.261 EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIES US Dollar Transfer 283.850 Euro 387.310 Sterling Pound 469.200 Canadian dollar 261.490 Turkish lira 127.370 Swiss Franc 315.390 Australian Dollar 252.480 US Dollar Buying 282.650 20 Gram 10 Gram 5 Gram

GOLD 236.000 120.000 62.000

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

2.985 3.880 86.870 47.290 9.625 127.300

Philippine Peso Sierra Leone Singapore Dollar South African Rand Sri Lankan Rupee Taiwan Thai Baht

0.008454 0.000069 0.219305 0.020218 0.001879 0.009418 0.008378

0.006734 0.000075 0.225305 0.028718 0.002459 0.009598 0.008928

Bahrain Exchange Company

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

Arab 0.746461 0.037574 0.000078 0.000185 0.396139 1.0000000 0.000139 0.023842 0.001202 0.731241 0.077256 0.075057 0.002175 0.168180 0.130434 0.076300 0.001289

0.754461 0.040674 0.000080 0.000245 0.403639 1.0000000 0.000239 0.047842 0.001837 0.736921 0.078469 0.075757 0.002395 0.176180 0.137434 0.077449 0.001369

Syrian Pound Nepalese Rupees Malaysian Ringgit Chinese Yuan Renminbi Thai Bhat Turkish Lira

COUNTRY Belgian Franc British Pound Czech Korune Danish Krone Euro Norwegian Krone Romanian Leu Slovakia Swedish Krona Swiss Franc Turkish Lira

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

Selling Rate 283.600 261.685 466.275 386.095 311.250 748.845 77.190 78.745 76.495 399.680 40.678 2.168 4.618 2.686 3.643 6.282 696.580 3.715

Australian Dollar New Zealand Dollar

SELL CASH Europe 0.007379 0.460065 0.006058 0.047482 0.379518 0.042041 0.081904 0.008145 0.039899 0.305530 0.130434 Australasia 0.241172 0.228590

SELLDRAFT 0.008379 0.469065 0.018056 0.052482 0.387018 0.047241 0.81904 0.018145 0.044899 0.315730 0.137434 0.252672 0.238090

Al Mulla Exchange Canadian Dollar US Dollars US Dollars Mint

America 0.253821 0.279750 0.280250

0.262321 0.284100 0.284100

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

Asia 0.003570 0.045692 0.034517 0.004273 0.000019 0.002640 0.003389 0.000257 0.083257 0.002984 0.002485

0.004170 0.049192 0.037267 0.004674 0.000025 0.002820 0.003389 0.000272 0.089257 0.003154 0.002775

Currency US Dollar Euro Pound Sterling Canadian Dollar Indian Rupee Egyptian Pound Sri Lankan Rupee Bangladesh Taka Philippines Peso Pakistan Rupee Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham Saudi Riyal *Rates are subject to change

Transfer Rate (Per 1000) 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

MONDAY, JANUARY 20, 2014

BUSINESS Commodities recover as economic growth potential supports Commodity weekly update

By Ole Hansen, Head of Commodity Strategy, Saxo Bank

C

ommodities saw their first positive weekly performance out of the last three this past week, not least helped by a recover y in all sectors apart from precious metals where some profit taking was seen after having outper formed the others during the early parts of January. The energy sector saw the biggest increase with gains in natural gas and WTI crude oil more than off-setting losses in gasoline.

Industrial metals came second, not least helped by strong gains in nickel and lead which helped offset a small loss in copper. The agriculture sector was mixed with soybeans and live cattle ensuring a general positive week despite another week of losses in coffee and sugar.

Natural gas (NGG4) reached a three-week high on speculation that the current cold winter across the US will result in a continued strong withdrawal of gas from US underground storage facilities as demand for heating remains elevated. The weekly inventory data showed a reduction of 287 billion cubic feet to 2.53 trillion cubic feet. Although this was lower than expected and helped calm traders nerves it was nevertheless the biggest decline in weekly data going back to 1994 and this left inventories down by 20 percent compared with the same time last year.

Live cattle futures for April delivery rallied to an all-time high of $1.398/lb on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) as beef production is expected to see a record Q1 drop compared with the previous quarter. The rally has been driven by reduced availability of supply as the coldest winter in 20 years has reduced herd number and weight. As a result, the price of beef in the spot market has moved to an unusual premium over the April futures price. As long as this pull from the spot price persists further upside on the April future is possible and any technical driven setback due to market now being in overbought territory may prove to be short-lived.

WTI crude rallied while Brent crude almost moved in opposite directions and this resulted in the spread between the two global benchmarks contracting to a one-month low. Brent crude came under some relative pressure due to rising production in Libya and increased hopes that Iranian sanctions could eventually be lifted. WTI crude benefited from an overdue correction as better than expected economic data pointed towards higher growth and demand. The potential for a full return of oil from Libya and Iran together with the continued increase in non-OPEC production are currently some of the themes that may receive the most attention in 2014 and which, barring any unforeseen eruption of geopolitical tension, carries a downside risk to oil prices. Increased production will put a lot of focus or pressure on Saudi Arabia as the biggest swing producer to reduce production as it otherwise raises the risk of an oil glut later in the year.

Gold’s frustrating move The lack of fresh directional input resulted in gold staying confined to a trading range of less than 23 dollars, the lowest range since August 2009 if we disregard trading around Christmas.

Several failed attempts to crack open the resistance area, currently between $1255 and $1268, eventually led to some long capitulation but support was quickly established and gold spent the remainder of the week trading sideways.

Gold was unchanged as a result following what has been a generally strong beginning to the year for precious metals. Most of the buying seen this January has so far primarily been driven by positive news from the physical market where demand has remained firm ahead of the Chinese Lunar new year celebration at the end of January together with some position adjustments by hedge funds of which some where holding near record short positions at the end of December.

Gold remains one of the least favored commodities on investment managers’ shopping list and as long we continue to see improved US data and tapering together with stable stock markets, the upside potentials at this stage seems limited despite the continued support from the presence of physical demand. Many of the major research houses generally hold a negative view on gold for 2014 and this will be factor which at least over the coming quarter may prevent the market from rising as many investment decisions are being made on the back of this advice.

The chart below shows the speculative position held by hedge funds and money managers in the COMEX gold future. The difference between those holding long and short positions make up a small net-long position, currently of 40,229 contracts or four million ounces. While the number of long positions has been fairly stable the past six month the major reduction in net-length has been driven by an increase in the number of sold positions. So while the rally this January has triggered a reduction in the number of short positions there has been no noticeable change from those already holding a bullish view. This indicates a certain hesitancy in getting further involved on the buy side and this will probably only change should the market manage to break above 1,268/oz as it will trigger a positive technical reaction from momentum and trend following hedge funds.

‘Speed-dating’ inspires NYC women entrepreneurs ITP holds networking festival for businesswomen NEW YORK: They are bloggers, engineers and chefs-American women entrepreneurs who dream of emulating the success of Facebook number two Sheryl Sandberg or General Motors CEO Mary Barra.

And to smash through that glass ceiling, they have found a new weapon: speed-dating style networking events. No men allowed. To shouts of “one, two, threechange!” and “one, two, three-switch!” ladies mingle at the first event organized at the annual women entrepreneurs festival run by the Interactive Telecommunications Program (ITP) at New York University.

Around 280 women of all ages and professions are given three minutes to get to know each other, swap business information and exchange cards before moving onto the next person. It is the business equivalent of the matchmakers’ speed-dating phenomenon that took off about a decade ago as a chance for the loveless to quickly meet multiple people in the hope of snaring a date. The room gets increasingly riotous as the session wears on, bathed in the beautiful light of a New York winter afternoon. Pairs of women group and regroup like members of a ballet company, exchanging business cards as they go. Some nod and smile, others stifle a yawn, break into laughter or screw up their eyes in concentration before the emcee calls on them to move onto their immediate neighbor.

“We make short... fun, playful videos to boost people’s popularity online,” says New York-based multimedia artist O Zhang.

“Give me your card!”

Farther away, a woman named Milena, a bit older with a friendly manner, heads towards a young woman who has caught her eye. “Are you looking for somebody to talk to?” she says, introducing herself as a former technology director about to embark on new projects with Jacqueline Courtney, the founder of website Nearly Newlywed, which allows brides to buy and sell back wedding dresses.

The rules are simple, says Nancy Hechinger, an ITP faculty member and cofounder of the event: three minutes to introduce yourself, your business and your passion in “hopefully semi-controlled chaos”.

Sources of inspiration Rosemarie Gambetta-a real estate agent who wants to turn her blog www.cheapeatsinc.com about dining out on a budget into an online restaurant guide, mobile app and business-dreams of rising to the top.

Gambetta told AFP the event was a great exercise without the pressure of meeting a man. “Women are not used to selling themselves... you don’t want to come off as being too bitchy, you don’t want to come off as being too aggressive,” she said.

For Denise Courter, who left Wall Street to found www.FiDiFamilies.com, a children’s activities website in Manhattan, it was an opportunity to meet “inspirational women”.

“So many times, I went to conferences that were men-centric, and this is focusing on women and that is very exciting because we are all able to help each other up the ladder,” she said.

Despite high-profile success stories such as Barra at General Motors, only 15 percent of US companies and only 4.5 percent of Fortune 1000 companies are run by women.

Anne-Marie Slaughter, who stirred up a furor in 2012 with an essay in The Atlantic magazine asking if it was truly possible for working mothers “to have it all,” opened the 2014 forum.

“It’s exactly where we need to be encouraging women to start things, to make things on their own,” she said.

Slaughter gave up a high-flying job at the State Department in order to take up a role at Princeton University, which enabled her to spend more time caring for her two sons.

“Guys who are entrepreneurs know other entrepreneurs. And I know those networks are very important... because we’re still a substantial minority,” she said. Sashka Rothchild, a former chef and founder of Standbuy, a cancer fundraising tool for families, has just had a child.

“I was way out of practice so this is a good way to get back into the saddle,” she said. Katie Boyko, founder of the website DatingbyThreeDegrees.com, also went home satisfied. “I did a little bit of A/B testing, what’s the most concise way to get the message across... everybody is the room was a potential new client,” she said. — AFP

NEW YORK: Women entrepreneurs take part in three-minute, one-on-one, business speed dating meetings during the fourth Women Entrepreneurs Festival in New York. — AFP

NEW YORK: Women entrepreneurs take part in the speed-dating-format business meeting in order to make new connections and expand their professional network. — AFP

Turkish economic success falls victim to turmoil ISTANBUL: Turkey was once hailed as an economic success story, clambering out of a financial abyss with reforms over the past decade to near doubledigit growth, a construction boom and improved prosperity. But today the picture is bleak, overshadowed by an escalating political crisis that threatens Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s own future and the country’s hard-won economic gains. The turmoil has seen stocks plunge and sent the lira tumbling to record lows, casting doubt on government goals of reining in inflation and sparking warnings of stagnation in the emerging economy.

Analysts say the lira could yet fall further, with Turkey also at risk of a credit crunch as its yawning current account deficit makes it vulnerable to outside forces, particularly the US tapering of its massive monetary stimulus.“Combine this with political risk: corruption scandals, accusations of a potential coup and fears that the government is trying to erode the independence of the judiciary have led to widespread protests, and the financial situation for Turkey could deteriorate fast,” said Kathleen Brooks at online trading site Forex.com “It is no wonder that investor sentiment is negative on Turkey.” The Istanbul share market has lost about 20 percent of its value over the past year, the lira has sunk to historic lows of 3.0 to the euro and 2.2 to the dollar and 10-year bond rates are above 10 percent-higher even than in troubled Greece.

Turkey’s image The government, a model of stability for most of Erdogan’s 11 years in power, has been rocked by a corrup-

tion scandal targeting key members of the premier’s inner circle just six months after massive nationwide protests against his rule. The probe is looking into allegations of corruption by a state-owned bank and bribery in construction projects-one of the booming sectors under Erdogan.

It has badly tarnished the image of his Islamic-leaning Justice and Development Party, which took office pledging to wipe out endemic corruption and whose initials AK mean “purity” in Turkish. Erdogan-seen as increasingly autocratic by opponents-has retaliated by conducting mass purges in the police, moving to curb the powers of the judiciary and axing rivals from state institutions. The combative premier has lashed out at what he describes as a coup plot by followers of ally-turned-nemesis Fethullah Gulen, an exiled cleric who retains influence in key state apparatus.

“That organization and its allies in the media are trying to deal a heavy blow to economy, hike interest rates, scare foreign investors, sabotage energy policies, and taint Turkey’s image abroad,” Erdogan thundered this week.

The crisis has raised concerns among economic analysts as much as rights groups and the EU about the threat to the rule of law and democracy. Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babac warned that Turkey’s economic goals could be at risk “if we can’t make an investor, whether domestic or international, take the view ‘I trust the Turkish legal system’.”

Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek conceded that the US Fed policies and the political crisis could impact growth but insisted any slowdown would be

ATHENS: People stand in front of a shop window in Athens. Greece has long lived an economic paradox. Its economy began a slide into recession in 2008 and a fiscal crisis followed suit in 2010 that, coupled with an austerity storm, eventually brought a contraction of 6.4 percent of output in 2012. — AFP

temporary “because Turkey’s footing is firm”. Officials are forecasting gross domestic product to expand by four percent this year, down from lofty rates near nine percent in 2010. Inflation is also projected to come down to 5.3 percent from 7.4 percent in 2013 — still a far cry from the runaway rates of 3,000 percent at the peak of the financial crash in 2001. Unemployment remains high at just under 10 percent but down from a 2009 peak of over 14 percent in the wake of the global financial crisis.

‘Crisis dealt a blow Inan Demir, chief economist at Finansbank, said the government’s greatest achievements had been to sustain robust growth and more than triple per capita income.

“However, this success was underpinned by the availability of cheap global liquidity and Turkey attracted substantial amounts of foreign capital, causing it to post sizeable current account deficits in the process,” he said.

He said the current account deficit, over 7.0 percent of GDP, posed the biggest risk to the economy right now.

“The political crisis has already dealt a blow to (consumer) confidence,” said Demir, a sentiment he said would likely be reflected in the postponement of spending decisions, particularly on big ticket items, and an increase in foreign currency deposits.

Jittery Turks have already sharply increased their holdings of foreign currency by $20 billion over the past six months to $118 billion. Demir said the weaker currency could hit corporate investment plans and potentially “bring economic activity to a standstill and even lead to negative GDP growth if the exchange rate shock is large and sustained enough”. London-based Capital Economics said improved governance had been a key ingredient in Turkey’s economic success story, with strengthened banking regulations and fiscal policy as well as EU-demanded political reforms. “Worryingly, however, the AK party’s commitment to reforms has been waning in recent years,” it said. If the government starts to backslide... the consequences could be even more severe.” Financial markets are likely to be watching the central bank meeting on Tuesday for any moves on interest rates to shore up the currency. The bank sold $17.6 billion of foreign currency reserves last year to support the lira but has been reluctant to raise rates. But Brooks warned: “Turkey’s lists of problems are stacking up and there does not seem to be any solutions in sight, which could keep investors wary of the lira for some time.” — AFP

Shell, UAE’s Mubadala swap Malaysian equity stakes DUBAI: Royal Dutch Shell and Mubadala Petroleum have swapped equity stakes in two exploration blocks off Malaysia, the companies said yesterday. Mubadala has taken a 20 percent interest in the Shell-operated deepwater Block 2B and Shell has taken a 20 percent interest in the Mubadala-operated Block SK320 in return. “The equity swap agreement is an important step for Mubadala Petroleum’s growth strategy in Malaysia and marks our first partnership in Southeast Asia with Shell, an important player in deepwater exploration,” Maurizio La Noce, chief executive of Mubadala Petroleum, said in a statement.

Mubadala, owned by the Abu Dhabi government, said that drilling in Block SK320 had yielded two new gas discoveries, called Pegaga and Sintok.

“We need to do further work to determine the full extent and commerciality of those discoveries,” La Noce said.

Anglo-Dutch energy giant Shell is the operator for 13 production sharing contracts (PSCs) in Malaysia and has stakes in five others. Output from these PSCs accounted for nearly half of Malaysia’s total gas production in 2013, Shell said in a statement.

Mubadala was awarded its acreage in 2010 and the adjacent Block 2B was awarded to Shell in 2012. State-run Malaysian oil and gas company Petronas is a participant in both blocks, which lie off the coast of the island of Borneo. —Reuters

UK’s Metro Bank raises $637m to fund expansion LONDON: New British lender Metro Bank has raised 387.5 million pounds ($637.2 million) to fund its expansion plans by selling stock to institutional and private investors, it said yesterday. The company said it had sold the common stock at a share price that was 30 percent higher than at its previous capital raising in June 2012, and that the deal brought the total amount raised by the bank so far to 641 million pounds. The capital raising is Metro’s fourth since it launched in 2010 as Britain’s first new high street lender for more than a century.

Metro promised to shake up the country’s banking industry and now has 25 branches in and around London. It is loss-making and wants to have 200 branches by 2020. The British government is keen to encourage competition in a banking industry dominated by five players, two of which were bailed out by taxpayers during the financial crisis. The main opposition Labor Party said on Friday it would force big banks to sell off branches to make room for new competitors if it won the next election, due in 2015. Metro, which plans to use the new funds to expand its retail, commercial and private banking operations, said it had a leverage ratio of 25 percent and a Tier 1 capital ratio of 63 percent following the capital raising.

It did not disclose the names of any of the stock purchasers. Bank of America Merrill Lynch and RBC Capital Markets acted as introduction agents. — Reuters

MONDAY, JANUARY 20, 2014

BUSINESS

DETROIT: A woman dances to music on a pedestal at the Volkswagen display, at the North American International Auto Show, in Detroit, Mich. Women now buy nearly half the new cars in the US, a sharp increase compared with a generation ago. —AP

BUCHAREST: A woman passes by a Jaguar XJ during an Auto Moto Show in Bucharest, Romania. Women now buy nearly half the new cars in the US, a sharp increase compared with a generation ago, and the auto industry is trying to demonstrate that it’s keeping up with the times when it showcases the latest models to the public. —AP

Auto shows do more for women DETROIT: Women now buy nearly half the new cars in the US, a sharp increase compared with a generation ago, and the auto industry is trying to demonstrate that it’s keeping up with the times when it showcases the latest models to the public. Auto shows now offer cooking demonstrations, private tours and an increasing number of male models to appeal to female visitors.

But that hardly means the industry has shelved a staple of nearly 100 years of auto shows: having female models preening beside the latest sports car or SUV. The shows, which are run by dealers, say they’re trying to attract more women with events like fashion shows. The North American International Auto Show in Detroit doesn’t keep track of visitors by gender, but the New York International Auto Show says 40 percent of its 1 million visitors in 2013 were women, up from 29 percent two years before.

Spokesman Chris Sams said the show made a point of reaching out to women, using more females in its ads and hosting special parties and tours. It even held a contest to find the best place to store a purse in a car.

But contrast that with the scene at media previews for this year’s Detroit auto show, which opens to the public Saturday. General Motors’ CEO Mary Barra, who just this week became the first female head of a major automaker, walked the floor in a conservative black suit past Corvette models in skimpy dresses and leather jackets. Young women in towering heels handed out breath mints around the corner from plunging necklines at Infiniti. “Face it. Automotive is a men’s industry and it’s always a novelty to be among the women who are there,” said Brandy Schaffels, the editor of AskPatty.com, an automotive site for women.

More income gains But as females gain more income and buying power - not to mention corner offices - automakers may have to rethink using the short skirt to grab attention. Some automakers have already done away with models altogether. At Honda’s stand in Detroit, the focus was on the brand’s new Fit subcompact and a futuristic fuel-cell car called the FCEV. The company says it tries to appeal to the broadest range of customers at its show stands.

Across the way, Ford set up a sample

assembly line in its exhibit, which is staffed by both men and women. Ford’s Chief Operating Officer, Mark Fields, said women and younger buyers, in particular, come to auto shows to get educated.

Fields said Ford no longer uses scantilyclad female models like it did 15 years ago.

The company’s data shows that women buy 41 to 42 percent of new cars each year, up from 20 percent in 1980. Among buyers 30 and younger, women account for 56 percent of new car purchases.

“That’s how we make sure auto shows stay relevant,” Fields said. But there are still plenty of theatrics at the Detroit show, which is expecting more than 800,000 visitors this week. Over at Dodge, models in tight white dresses and shiny go-go boots strike poses in front of an orange Challenger muscle car.

Bo Puffer, who hires the models that the Chrysler Group uses at its 71 US auto shows, is unapologetic.

“A good-looking person next to a goodlooking car is a formula that’s going to work for us no matter what brand it is,” Puffer said.

Puffer matches models to each brand. For example, Fiat places younger presenters, near its cars because it’s trying to attract younger buyers. The Ram pickup has male presenters.

Eighty percent of Puffer’s hires are female, he says, but that’s partly because more women try out for the jobs. Those who are hired spend a week learning about the brand so they can answer visitors’ questions.

Mercedes-Benz calls the presenters “product specialists,” not models, says Donna Boland, manager of US corporate communications. Boland said the company hires all kinds of people, including a pregnant woman who is working at the Smart exhibit this year.

“We don’t pander to the lowest common denominator,” Boland said. “We want everybody to be able to see themselves as a Mercedes owner.” Teckla Rhoads, GM’s director of global industrial design, has male and female models wearing yellow T-shirts and Converse sneakers near the youthful Chevrolet Spark, but puts women in sexier dresses next to the Corvette. “It’s not gratuitous. It’s to help reinforce what that vehicle is,” she said. “That’s not to say that a 6-foot tall woman in a tight dress isn’t going to be really attention-getting.

We get that. But there’s also a spirit of fun about it.” — AP

China pledges progress on currency reforms SHANGHAI: Shanghai’s mayor yesterday pledged to make major progress this year on key financial reforms in the city’s new freetrade zone (FTZ) including full convertibility of China’s currency. China set up the FTZ in the commercial hub in September last year, promising to make the zone a showcase for financial reforms, which have slowed over the last decade. “We will make all-out efforts to build the FTZ,” mayor Yang Xiong told lawmakers at the annual meeting of the city’s legislature.

“To intensify opening up and innovation in the financial sector... we will seek substantive progress with pilot reforms,” he said in a speech. He said these reforms included convertibility of the yuan currency under the capital account, cross-border settlement of the yuan and interest rate liberalization.

China keeps a tight grip on its capital account-investment and financial transactions, rather than those related to trade-on worries that unpredictable inflows or outflows could harm the economy and reduce its control over it.

Convertibility of the yuan-allowing the currency to be freely bought and sold, and

with it the movement of funds into and out of China-is the main obstacle preventing Shanghai from competing with global financial centres such as New York and London.

China currently sets deposit rates by administrative order, but the central bank began allowing banks to decide their own lending rates last year, in a long-awaited move. Yang said the government would also revise a “negative list” of what is barred in the FTZ in a timely way.

The list was sharply criticized for being too long and restrictive and officials say a new one will be announced for this year.

Shanghai would also work towards the launch of crude oil futures, Yang said, but gave no launch date. Officials have previously said the futures product would be offered through the FTZ. Shanghai also planned to “gear up” for the start of operations of a new Disney theme park in the city, Yang said.

City officials earlier this month reaffirmed a deadline for the opening of the park to visitors in 2015. The park will be the second in China after another in its special administrative region of Hong Kong. — AFP

Honduras okays 2014 budget, halves deficit TEGUCIGALPA: Honduras’ Congress approved a 2014 budget that proposed slashing the country’s fiscal deficit of nearly 8 percent by half thanks to a recently approved tax overhaul and lower public spending. Honduras’ preliminary deficit closed at 7.8 percent of gross domestic product in 2013, its highest level in nearly 20 years, and the new 183 billion lempiras ($9.1 billion) budget seeks to narrow that gap to 4.7 percent in 2014.

Last month, Honduras’ Congress signed off on the biggest tax overhaul in more than two decades, with a reform expected to generate nearly $800 million in added revenues each year. The soaring public debt of Honduras, the region’s top coffee exporter, has already led to

nationwide strikes from unpaid doctors and teachers. “The 2014 budget approved by Congress ... will be achieved through the additional income generated by the fiscal reform and a lowering of public spending,” chief budget architect Roberto Zuniga told reporters.

The approval of the new budget, up nearly 8 percent on last year’s, comes just over a week before the ruling party’s Juan Hernandez takes office.

Hernandez, who was elected to be Honduras’ next president in November, faces the challenge of improving the country’s public finances and taming the drug gangs that have given Honduras the world’s highest murder rate. — Reuters

MONDAY, JANUARY 20, 2014

BUSINESS

All eyes on Fed meeting; dollar gains against peers NBK MONEY MARKETS REPORT KUWAIT: The US dollar strengthened against most major counterparts as the S&P 500 Index demonstrated a solid rebound from a sharp fall on Monday. In Europe, stocks climbed to a 6-year high, with the DAX recording its biggest weekly gain in almost a month, as retail sales and industrial output showed resilience.

The US dollar performed slightly better than its European counterpart.

The Euro started the week at 1.3670, falling gradually during the week, as data from the United States empowered the US dollar pushing the single currency to a low of 1.3582. The single currency managed to regain some of its losses working its way back up to 1.3650. The Euro then dropped to break the previous lows, as speculation intensified over the Federal Reserve reducing their stimulus for a second time, ending the week at 1.3641.

The sterling pound endured big swings against the US dollar. The Pound opened the week at 1.6482, dropping sharply on Monday to 1.6347, following reports that showed that the British factory output stagnated in November. The pound then regained most of its losses as retail sales surged dramatically, exceeding all economists’ forecast, to close the week at 1.6424 The Japanese yen was one of the biggest losers last week, as it weakened almost 100 basis points against the greenback. The currency opened the week at 104.18, gaining against the US dollar on Monday to touch a high of 102.86. The Japanese yen then fell slowly

as the greenback strengthened against most major peers, dropping to a low of 104.92. The yen closed at 104.32.

The Australian dollar showed similar performance to that of its Asian counterpart. The Aussie dollar opened the week at 0.8995, only to gradually weaken against a stronger US dollar, after labor market reports showed that Australian employers have cut payrolls during the month of December. The currency dropped to its lowest level in more than 3-years, reviving the prospects of another interest rate cut by the central bank.

The Aussie touched a low of 0.8764, and closed the week at 0.8781.

Core retail sales Retail sales in the US rose in December as freezing temperatures urged Americans to buy discounted winter apparel, ending the strongest quarter for consumer spending in 3-years. The 0.7% gain followed a 0.1% revised increase in November, and exceeding the forecasted 0.4% rise. Excluding a drop in auto demand that carmakers partly attributed to bad weather, sales jumped the most in almost a year. The retail sales figures helped economists crank up estimates for household spending in the fourth quarter, as consumer buy more with higher confidence from lower unemployment and higher home values.

Philly Fed factory index The Federal Reser ve Bank of Philadelphia’s factory index rose to a 3-

month high this month, as the labor market and retails sales advanced, indicating moderate growth. The Philly Fed Factory Index rose to 9.4, beating the forecasted 8.8, and considerably higher than December’s revised figure of 6.4.

The survey ’s future indicators have recently shown moderating optimism about growth in manufacturing. This month, the future general activity index fell 10 points, from a revised reading of 44.8 in December to 34.4 this month.

Unemployment claims Fewer Americans filed applications for unemployment benefits than expected, indicating that the US labor market is strengthening. Jobless claims dropped by 2,000 to 326,000, beating the expected figure of 328,000, the lowest in more than a month. The gains in business and consumer spending are boosting growth prospects, allowing employers to sustain their workers in anticipation of stronger demand. The four-week moving average declined to 335,000 from 348,500, a decrease of 13,500 from the week before.

Consumer sentiment The University Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index unexpectedly declined this month, signaling that Americans may need to spend for a longer period to accelerate growth and confidence. The consumer confidence index dropped to 80.4 from 82.5 in December. The report came after last weeks’ figures that showed that employment rose the slow-

est in almost three years.

Europe Euro-zone Industrial production grew faster than expected in November. The industrial production index rose by 1.8% from the previous month, adding to a series of positive data on the European economy. The rise in production was the biggest since May 2010. The forecasted figures were set at a 1.4% increase. A better than expected figure along with solid retail sales, gives a sign that the Eurozone recovery is gaining momentum. On the other hand, investors are still wary of the European economy, as unemployment is still at record highs.

BOE’s Carney speaks Bank of England Governor, Mark Carney, appeared before the Treasury Select Committee in the British parliament last week, claiming that “the central bank won’t discuss an interest rate hike until the unemployment rate in the country goes below 7%”. Mr. Carney criticized the quality of some economic data that officials receive from the UK’s statistics agency, including data that is believed decisive to setting monetary policy. Governor Carney commented about house prices in the UK, stating that “expectation has been for a continuation of current momentum - house price momentum, mortgage activity, credit growth momentum - into 2014, before decelerating around the middle of 2015”. When asked on the expiry of the funding for lending scheme, Carney

stated that the central bank’s “observations are that funding conditions for commercial lenders are very strong”.

Retail sales UK retail sales surged in December, exceeding economists’ forecasts, as department stores and smaller shops managed to outper form in the Christmas season. Sales increased 2.6% from November, the strongest December figure since the inception of the records in 1996. The median forecast of economists was set at a 0.3% increase. The annual gain in sales is the biggest in 9years, as it rose 5.3%, the fastest growth since October 2004. These figures are ver y likely to aid Britain’s economy record a strong end to 2013 when fourth-quarter gross domestic product data are released on the 28th of January.

Commodities West Texas intermediate West Texas Intermediate registered its first weekly gain in 2014, as figures such as unemployment and manufacturing from the United States, the worlds’ biggest oil consumer, signaled a strong and continuous economic expansion.

Crude oil touched a low of $91.24 per barrel since the beginning of the year, only to regain some of its losses ending the week at 94.37.

Kuwait Kuwaiti dinar at 0.28300 The USDKWD opened at 0.28300 yesterday morning.

Europe’s utilities squeezed by creeping nationalization Decade-old EU energy liberalization model undermined

MIAMI: A Staples office supply store Miami. The opening of Postal Service retail centers in dozens of Staples stores around the country is being met with threats of protests and boycotts by the agency’s unions. —AP

Postal Service, union wrangle over Staples outlets in US WASHINGTON: The opening of Postal Service retail centers in dozens of Staples stores around the country is being met with threats of protests and boycotts by the agency’s unions.

The new outlets are staffed by Staples employees, not postal workers, and labor officials say that move replaces good-paying union jobs with low-wage, nonunion workers.

“It’s a direct assault on our jobs and on public postal services,” said Mark Dimondstein, president of the 200,000-member American Postal Workers Union. The dispute comes as the financially struggling Postal Service continues to form partnerships with private companies, and looks to cut costs and boost revenues. The deal with Staples began as a pilot program in November at 84 stores in California, Georgia, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania as a way make it easier for customers to buy stamps, send packages or use Priority and certified mail.

Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe said the program has nothing to do with privatization and everything to do with customer service and driving up demand for the agency’s products.

“The privatization discussion is a ruse,” Donahoe said in an interview. “We have no interest in privatizing the Postal Service. We are looking to grow our business to provide customer convenience to postal products.” Staples spokeswoman Carrie McElwee referred questions about union concerns to the Postal Service. She said the company “continually tests new products and services to better meet the needs of our customers.”

Union leaders fear that if the Staples program is successful, the Postal Service will want to expand it to more than 1,500 of the company’s other stores. That could siphon work and customers away from nearby brick-and-mortar post offices, taking jobs from postal workers and even leading traditional post offices to close. Union leaders have been visiting Staples stores to meet with managers, asking them to share the union’s displeasure with upper management.

Dimondstein asked to meet with the Staples CEO Ronald Sargent, who has declined.

The union plans to hold “sustained” protests this month at Staples stores in the San Francisco and San Jose, Calif., area that would be expanded elsewhere. Union officials also are considering how they can exert pressure on Staples shareholders. “If Staples insists on continuing to refuse to staff those stores with postal workers, we’re going to urge people to take their business elsewhere,” Dimondstein said.

The union says it’s not asking to shut down the program. It wants the counters to be run by postal employees, not workers hired by Staples. The average postal clerk earns about $25 an hour, according to the union, plus a

generous package of health and retirement benefits. The Staples post office counters are run by nonunion workers often making little more than the minimum wage.

The Postal Service increasingly has looked to work with the private sector to help increase business. In November, it announced a lucrative deal with Amazon to begin package delivery on Sunday.

The agency has struggled for years with declining mail volume, but the lion’s share of its financial plight stems from a 2006 congressional requirement that it make annual $5.6 billion payments to cover expected health care costs for future retirees. It has defaulted on three of those payments. The Postal Service lost $5 billion over the past year, though operating revenue rose 1.2 percent. So far, the Postal Service has rebuffed the union’s demands. As far as who will staff the counters, “that’s Staples’ business. They make their own business decisions and it has nothing to do with us,” Donahoe said. Donahoe said he’d like to see post office counters in every Staples store “as soon as possible.” But he doesn’t see them as replacing any of the 33,000 traditional post offices. He said he sees the program as an opportunity “to grow the business.”

James O’Rourke, a professor of management at the University of Notre Dame, said the Postal Service is simply following the trend of other businesses such as banks and medical clinics opening in grocery and drug stores to get more customers and save overhead costs.

“You can’t blame the union for looking suspiciously at this move, but from the perspective of postal management and postal customers, this is all good,” O’Rourke said.

Donahoe acknowledged that it could save money in employee costs, but insisted that is not the agency’s motivating force. Since 2008, the Postal Service has reduced its employees by more than 200,000, mainly through attrition.

“Keeping our expenses down is no different than what any other business would do,” he said. Back in 1988, the Postal Service tried a similar plan to put retail units in Sears stores in Chicago and Madison, Wis. APWU members picketed Sears headquarters in Chicago, mailed thousands of letters of protest to then Sears Chairman Ed Brennan and even cut up their Sears credit cards. The pressure worked and a year later the program ended, with Sears saying it did not want to be at the center of a dispute between the Postal Service and the union.

But the APWU’s membership now is almost half of what it was 25 years ago, and unions don’t carry the same clout they once did.

Dimondstein, who took the helm of his union in November and pledges a more activist approach, insists his members will bring considerable pressure on Staples. “I think we have a lot of clout,” he said. “We’re in every hamlet, town, city and state in the country.” —AP

PARIS: Vattenfall unplugged! With flyers, posters and an animated film of a bear disconnecting the Swedish utility that operates the Berlin electricity grid, campaigners tried to convince voters to put power distribution back in public hands.

The November referendum in Berlin failed, but in September, citizens of Hamburg, Germany’s secondbiggest city, voted to return their power grid, also run by Vattenfall, to public ownership.

The votes were organized by citizens’ groups who want municipalities to buy back electricity distribution networks from private utilities, because they say local authorities can provide a cheaper and better service. The German movement is part of a Europe-wide reversal of the trends towards liberalisation and privatization that have driven energy policy in the past decade.

While ostensibly backing free energy markets, many European governments squeeze utilities by intervening in power generation while also capping energy prices.

This creeping renationalization cuts utilities’ profits by billions of euros. The idea behind the EU-driven energy liberalization was to force the old monopolies to compete so that prices could fall and services improve.

Countries privatized utilities and split them into private power producers and independent, but government-regulated network operators. Energy retailing was also freed up for vendors to compete for household accounts. But as Europe created a free market for power generation, it also brought back regulation by encouraging wind and solar power generation with generous state subsidies.

As renewable energies boomed, their priority access to the grid and cost-free operation crowded out the utilities’ traditional plants, to the point that gas-fired generation has become virtually uneconomical in Europe.

With their investment choices for producing power limited by government policies, utilities also saw their retail prices regulated. Spain and France limit energy prices for consumers, while Germany provides big discounts for industry. But keeping prices low for consumers and industry, while also favoring green power generation and maintaining security of supply is just not possible.

“Renationalising our revenues” Critics say that these mutually exclusive targets have made much of Europe’s energy regulation so inconsistent that private firms can no longer operate profitably.

Investment in non-subsidized generation has virtually dried up.

“At some point the regulatory risk gets so bad that it might be better to give the political risk back to the policy makers by renationalizing the sector,” said Georg Zachmann of Brussels think tank Bruegel. A country close to this point is Spain, where generous subsidies to the renewables sector and caps on energy prices have

led to the build-up of a 30 billion euro power tariff deficit - the difference between the cost of energy and what utilities are allowed to charge for it. Last month, the Spanish government scrapped plans to reduce the deficit by sharing it between utilities, consumers and the state, and pushed the debt back onto the balance sheets of utilities such as Iberdrola, Endesa and Gas Natural, which will have to hold it for 15 years.

For the Spanish utilities, this boils down to a creeping nationalization of their profits.

“They are renationalizing our revenues, but not our assets. That is worse,” Iberdrola CEO Ignacio Galan said.

Spanish Industry Minister Jose Manuel Soria told Reuters in November he does not think utilities should be renationalized and more competition is better for consumers.

But Spain might serve as an example of where other countries are heading, as more and more EU governments dictate investment choices through subsidies and regulate tariffs. Britain - the cradle of European energy liberalization - seems like an unlikely candidate to lead the way: its Electricity Market Reform, to come into force this year, will introduce the “Contracts for Difference” scheme, which offers price guarantees for low-carbon energies.

The British package will also dictate which power plants receive public money to provide backup power generation. In October, Britain agreed to give unprecedented loan guarantees and a 35-year power price guarantee in a deal with France’s EDF to build a nuclear plant at Hinkley Point.

This will reverse more than a decade of non-intervention in power generation and turn Britain’s low-carbon energy production - essentially offshore wind and nuclear - into a government-regulated activity. Britain’s opposition leader Ed Miliband promised more regulation in September by saying he would freeze retail energy prices for 20 months if he were elected in 2015.

“The UK led the way in liberalization and I think it is leading the way - for better or worse - in changing its market framework towards having a much greater role for the state,” said Compass Lexecon energy consultant Fabien Roques.

“Expropriation” The most radical renationalization drive in Europe is in Hungary, where the government wants to turn utilities into non-profit organizations.

Prime Minister Viktor Orban wants to nationalize six or seven utilities and if he is re-elected this spring he plans to make them “community-owned” within a year or two.

Most of Hungary’s energy sector is foreign-owned, mainly by German, French and Italian firms including E.ON, RWE , EDF, GDF Suez and Eni. Late last year, stateowned energy group MVM bought E.ON’s gas trade and storage businesses and it is also in talks with RWE about buying its stake in Budapest gas utility Fogaz Zrt.

Hungary does not confiscate the foreign-owned firms, but pays for the assets, albeit at prices depressed by a tough regulatory regime and state-imposed energy price caps.

RWE East chairman Martin Herrmann says Hungary’s moves are unacceptable and has spoken of “expropriation”.

“Planned economy” Germany’s movement to put local power networks in municipal ownership is relatively benign, as it allows utilities to sell their assets at market prices and redeploy capital elsewhere.

“It is not renationalization but remunicipalization that we are after. Energy issues should be dealt with on a local level,” said Stefan Taschner, head of BurgerBegehren Klimaschutz which drove the Berlin campaign. Taschner thinks all power distribution networks should be in municipal hands, although he does not object to “a good mix” of public and private ownership for power generation assets. After losing the Berlin referendum, the group is now helping citizens’ groups in cities such as Essen and Karlsruhe wrest distribution networks from private ownership.

“I have been in the industry 25 years and I have seen cities go three times private and three times public so I would not over-interpret the moment,” E.ON CEO Johannes Teyssen told Reuters, adding that public owners would face the same cost pressures as private utilities.

Teyssen is part of the dozen-strong Magritte group of utilities CEOs, which represent half of Europe’s electricity generating capacity. They say European energy policy is a failure, as retail power prices are higher than ever, security of supply has weakened and investment has stalled.

The group wants an end to subsidies for “mature” renewable energies such as onshore wind and solar.

Two of its proposals - strengthening the European carbon market and the establishment of EU guidelines for capacity remuneration mechanisms - actually offer more regulation and would increase the role of the state in energy policy. Capacity mechanisms - under which utilities are paid, and sometimes forced, to keep idle plants on standby - are the most recent development in EU utilities regulation. In Germany, where utilities are already told by government in which assets to invest (renewables) and which not (nuclear), they are now also told where not to divest.

Utilities must get approval from the regulator to close plants and can be forced to maintain unprofitable operations to minimize blackout risk. Dirk Uwer, partner at German law firm Hengeler Mueller, said utilities can no longer take plants off grid for economic reasons, since grid operators and regulators can order them to stay online in exchange for compensation payments.

“We have arrived at a planned economy,” he said. —Reuters

US bankers voice new optimism as businesses line up for loans NEW YORK: Loans to businesses have risen to a record high and bank executives say they are increasingly optimistic about the US economy.

Increasing demand for bank loans often is a prelude to higher economic growth. With the US government budget crisis fixed for now and Europe showing signs of economic recovery, companies feel more comfortable borrowing to invest in machinery, factories, and buildings.

JPMorgan Chase & Co Chief Executive Jamie Dimon, who has long described himself as “cautiously optimistic” about the economy, recently dropped the modifier “cautiously,” he said on a conference call with investors last week. “We’re using the word optimistic because we are actu-

ally optimistic,” he added. “The sun and moon and stars are lined up for a very successful year” in the US, he said the next day at a conference in San Francisco.

“I don’t see any weak spots in America,” Dimon said, noting that corporations, small business, the stock market and the US housing market are all showing signs of improving.

Outstanding loans to companies reached an all-time high of $1.61 trillion at the end of last year, topping a record set in late 2008, according to Federal Reserve data released on Friday. Bankers say that anecdotally, business customers are more hopeful than they had been. “I am hearing more when I talk with customers about their interest in building some-

thing, adding something, investing in something,” Wells Fargo & Co CEO John Stumpf said on a conference call with investors last week. “There is more activity going on.”

To be sure, signs persist that economic growth is still tepid. Job growth slowed sharply in December, when US employers hired the fewest workers in nearly three years, partly because of winter storms. And while holiday sales rose 0.2 percent in December, it was at the cost of heavy discounting by retailers.

But the US grew at a relatively fast annualized 4.1 percent in the third quarter, and General Electric - often looked to as a barometer of the health of the US industrial sector - said on Friday that it had record orders for jet

engines, oil pumps and other industrial goods.

“We have seen some moderate strength in the US,” GE Chief Financial Officer Jeff Bornstein said in an interview, even if he cautioned that the company has not yet seen “the breakout broadly across the economy.”

Bornstein said the company’s strong backlog reflects the growing middle classes in emerging and developing countries around the world.

“We see solid demand for loans as we head into 2014” from businesses, particularly large corporations and healthcare companies, along with owners of commercial real estate, Bank of America CFO Bruce Thompson said on a conference call with analysts on Wednesday. —Reuters

MONDAY, JANUARY 20, 2014

BUSINESS

Toyota FT-1 Concept sets the pace for future design From virtual to reality?

DUBAI: Toyota created a stir at the North American International Auto Show with the reveal of the stunning FT-1 sports car concept which was first devised by Calty Design Research in the Sony PlayStation Gran Turismo game environment. The Toyota FT1 represents the pinnacle of a long-running endeavor by Calty, which marked its 40th anniversary last year, to create the ultimate sports car.

FT-1 stands for “Future Toyota,” and the number “1” represents the ultimate.

According to its designers at Calty Design Research, the FT-1 Concept builds upon Toyota’s rich sports coupe heritage dating back to the 2000GT, Celica, Supra, MR2 and most recently Scion FR-S. In addition, the concept draws inspiration from Calty’s more

recent sports car concept work such as FTHS (2007) and the Lexus LF-LC (2012).

The project started nearly two years ago and represents a labor of love by a passionate, dedicated and gifted Calty design team.

“The FT-1 is a dream-project for a designer and car enthusiast like myself,” said Alex Shen, Calty’s Studio Chief Designer. “Our team was heavily influenced by Toyota’s sports car past, especially Celica and Supra, and we sought to capture some of that history. It is an aggressive, track-focused sports car concept with a presence that has been amplified for shock and awe.”

According to Nobuyuki Negishi, Chief Representative, Middle East and North Africa Representative Office, Toyota Motor Corporation, “The Toyota FT-1 concept is an

iconic sports car model which captures elements of the emotion and energy we can expect to see in future Toyota vehicle designs while inspired by Toyota’s long sports car tradition. It also aims to show what can be achieved when the focus is on creating a sports car design that will truly excite our customers.”

Traditionally, Toyota’s design decisions have been driven by consensus among a large group of stakeholders. Under Akio Toyoda’s stated directive to invigorate Toyota products with energy, passion and “Waku-Doki” (translation: a palpable heartpounding sense of excitement), the approval process has been streamlined. This new approach aims to produce cars that connect more deeply with customers, gen-

erating a more satisfying ownership experience that complements Toyota’s legendary reputation for quality, dependability and reliability.

The exterior design, with a powerful racecar look emphasizing the beauty of curvilinear form, is aimed to turn heads.

The front features a boldly shaped fender and a sharpness suggesting powerful performance. Dynamic air-intakes at the front and exhaust ports and a retractable wing at the rear give physical form to the Toyota FT-1’s optimum aerodynamic performance.

The front engine rear-wheel drive configuration locates the cockpit far rearward within the wheelbase to improve weight distribution and to help create classic sports

car proportions. Meanwhile, cockpit’s wraparound windshield and side glass openings are a distinct nod to the design of the legendary Toyota 2000GT. The Toyota FT-1’s interior design is aimed at enabling the driver to focus on and enjoy the driving experience. A delta-shaped display zone surrounds and integrates the driver to provide an exhilarating feeling of connectedness with the vehicle. The driverfocused environment is further enhanced by an F1-inspired steering wheel and a color heads-up display with vital information projected just above the steering wheel, thus keeping the driver’s attention on the road.

Furthermore, the A-pillars have been positioned as far back as possible to provide increased cornering visibility.

Lexus unveils New Lexus ‘RC F’ performance coupe at Detroit Aerodynamics drive styling of dramatic new Lexus

flydubai adds Hofuf to KSA network

DUBAI: Lexus unveiled the aggressive new Lexus “RC F” performance coupe at the Nor th American International Motor Show in Detroit, USA. The RC F’s styling highlights the vehicle’s optimum high-speed stability-essential for the most powerful ever Lexus V8 performance car.

Based on the spectacular RC coupe that debuted at the Tokyo Motor Show in November last year, the RC F features wider wheels and tires, an active rear wing, air scoops, cooling ducts and carbon fiber components-all delivering Lexus ‘functional beauty’. “The form of each component is carefully designed to contribute to performance”, said RC F chief engineer Yukihiko Yaguchi. “Unique air outlets in the hood and rear section of the front fenders contribute to optimum engine cooling and vehicle handling stability. They create an aggressive look that immediately conveys the expectation of a dynamic driving experience.”

According to Nobuyuki Negishi, Chief Representative, Middle East and North Africa Representative Office, Toyota Motor Corporation, “Engineered from scratch, one performance layer at a time, the

newest F model promises a bold, gritty experience synonymous with the famed Lexus F heritage showcasing an aggressive exterior profile and a striking cockpit to deliver uncompromising performance.

The new RC F is an impressive s y m b o l o f Le x u s’s F p o r t fo l i o which stands for true high performance based on motor-sport technology derived from a pure passion for driving with a unique Lexus perspective on extreme driver engagement. This iconic model is another demonstration of how Lexus is redefining luxury driving by pushing the boundaries of design, innovation and

craftsmanship.”

Exterior design The signature Lexus spindle grille dominates the front view, with a subtle “F” motif embedded in the mesh below the Lexus symbol.

Meanwhile, a higher hood that helps create a powerful flared profile and ducts beneath the front bumper and fenders, and strategically placed aerodynamic stabilizing fins, all combine to further identify the vehicle as an F. Air outlets at the rear of the front fender form the shape of an L when they merge with side sill extensions, while stacked trapezoidal quad-out-

let tailpipes at the rear further the aggressive look. Design cues have been taken from the Lexus LFA supercar: An active rear wing deploys from the deck at 80 km/h and retracts at less than 40 km/h to enhance the coupe’s lines at standstill. Three variations of 10-spoke 19” forged aluminum wheels are available by grade.

Interior design The striking cockpit-like interior complements the aggressive exterior. Unique components include the meters, steering wheel, seats, ornamentation and pedals. The instrument panel is dominated by a switchable central dial on which information, display color and text size changes in line with the driving mode-four in total-selected.

The RC F prioritizes occupant comfort through such features as a Lexus-first elliptical cross-section thick-grip steering wheel with optimum placement of paddle gear shifts and all-new, high-back seats, embossed with an F on the headrests, styled to resemble form-fitting athletic sportswear and to offe similar levels of support. The seats come in five available leather trims, each with contrast stitching.

Al-Tijari announces winners of Najma Account draw KUWAIT: Commercial Bank of Kuwait held the Al Najma Account Daily draw yesterday.

The draw was held under the supervision of the Ministry of Commerce & Industry represented by Nada Al-Fadallah.

The winners of the Najma daily draw are : Janeed Amer Khan — KD 7000 l Hasan Mohammad Hasan — KD 7000 l Talal Ahmad Al-Khars — KD 7000 l Ali Sultan Sultan — KD 7000 T h e Co m m e rc i a l B a n k o f K u w a i t l

announces the biggest daily draw in Kuwait with the launch of the new Najma account. Customers of the bank can now enjoy a KD7,000 daily prize which is the highest in the country and another 4 mega prizes during the year worth KD100,000 each on different occasions: The National Day, Eid Al-Fitr, Eid Al-Adha and on June 19 which is the date of the bank’s establishment.

With a minimum balance of KD500, customers will be eligible for the daily draw

provided that the money is in the account one week prior to the daily draw or two months prior to the mega draw. In addition, for each KD25 a customer can get one chance for winning instead of KD50.

Commercial Bank of Kuwait takes this opportunity to congratulate all lucky winners and also extends appreciation to the M inistr y of Commerce and Industr y for their effective super vision of the draws which were conducted in an orderly and organized manner.

KUWAIT: Extending its reach into the Eastern Province of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, flydubai announces the launch of flights to Hofuf, the largest city in the AlAhsa governorate.

The new twice-weekly service to Al-Ahsa Airport will commence on 06 February 2014, bringing the total number of destinations served by the carrier in the Kingdom to 11.

Thanking the Saudi authorities for their cooperation and support in making the new route possible, Ghaith Al Ghaith, Chief Executive Officer of flydubai, said: “We appreciate the continuous support we receive from the Saudi authorities and are honoured to have the opportunity to further expand our network in Saudi Arabia. The new service will further strengthen the strong cultural and trade ties between our two nations.” flydubai is the first airline to offer a direct air link between Dubai and Hofuf, opening up new opportunities for trade and tourism. This new route will allow passengers from one of the major cultural centres in the Kingdom to travel to Dubai or connect onwards across the flydubai network, while giving UAE residents the opportunity to explore a region with a rich historical and cultural tradition.

Beginning operations to the Kingdom in 2010, flydubai now serves the following points in Saudi Arabia; Abha, Dammam,

Ha’il, Hofuf, Gassim, Jeddah, Madinah, Riyadh, Tabuk, Taif and Yanbu.

Flight Details Flights to Hofuf will operate twice weekly on Thursdays and Saturdays.

From Dubai On Thursdays flight FZ897 will depart Dubai International Terminal 2 at 1230hrs, landing in Al-Ahsa Airport at 1300hrs local time. On Saturdays flight FZ897 will leave Dubai at 2110hrs, arriving into Hofuf at 2145hrs local time.

From Hofuf On Thursdays flight FZ898 will depart AlAhsa Airport at 1400hrs, arriving into Dubai International Terminal 2 at 1635hrs local time. On Saturdays flight FZ898 will depart Hofuf at 2245hrs, arriving into Dubai at 0115hrs.

Economy Class return fares start at KD 53 from Dubai to Hofuf and KD 57 from Hofuf to Dubai. These fares include one piece of hand luggage weighing up to 7kg and one small laptop bag or handbag.

Flights between Dubai and Hofuf can be purchased from flydubai’s website (flydubai.com), its Call Centre (+971 4 231 1000), flydubai Travel Shops and through travel partners.

Burgan Bank announces winners of Yawmi account KUWAIT: Burgan Bank announced yesterday the names of the lucky winners of its Yawmi account draw, each taking home a prize of KD5,000.

The lucky winners for the daily draws took home a cash-prize of KD 5000 each, and they are: l Abd Alnabi Ismaeil Ali Aljazzaf l Ebrahim Nokhethah Abdullah Albuloushi l Mohammad Abdulredha Ahmad Alsahhaf l Hussain Ali Khudhair Abdullah With its new and enhanced features, the Yawmi Account has become more convenient, easier, and faster for customers to benefit from. Now, customers will be eligible to enter the draw after 48 hours only from opening the account. Customers are also required to deposit KD 100 or equivalent only to enter the daily draw, and the coupon value to enter the draw stands at KD 10.

The newly designed Yawmi account has

been launched to provide a highly innovative offering along with a higher frequency and incentive of winning for everyone.

Today, the Yawmi account is a well understood product, where its popularity can be seen from the number of increasing account holders.

Burgan Bank encourages everyone to open a Yawmi account and/or increase their deposit to maximize their chances to becoming a daily winner. The more customers deposit, the higher the chances they receive of winning the draw.

Opening a Yawmi account is simple, customers are urged to visit their nearest Burgan Bank branch and receive all the details, or simply call the bank’s Call Center at 1804080 where customer service representatives will be delighted to assist with any questions on the Yawmi account or any of the bank’s products and ser vices.

Customers can also log on to Burgan Bank’s www.burgan.com for further information.

MONDAY, JANUARY 20, 2014

technology

Encrypted Blackphone goes to war with snoopers WASHINGTON: It’s a fully encrypted smartphone which aims to foil snooping governments, industry rivals and hackers.

It’s also a sleek, attractive device that fits in your pocket and can impress friends and colleagues, according to its makers.

The Blackphone is set to be released next month by the secure communications firm Silent Circle and the small Spanishbased manufacturer Geeksphone, amid a fever pitch of concern over revelations about vast US surveillance of data and telephony.

But Silent Circle chief executive Mike Janke said his company was working on the handset even before last year’s revelations about the wide-ranging US National Security Agency programs, leaked by former contractor Edward Snowden. “We did this because there was a problem that was not being solved: secure communications,” Janke said in an interview in the Silent Circle offices overlooking the Potomac River just outside Washington.

Silent Circle was formed in 2011 and in 2013 launched apps and other services which allow smartphone and PC users to send encrypted messages and videos.

The Blackphone is an extension of that effort, says Janke, a former Navy SEAL who co-founded the firm with other exSEALs and Silicon Valley cryptographic experts.

“We offer completely encrypted, peerto-peer communications. We have encrypted video, encrypted text and secure VoIP (Voice-over-Internet-Protocol) calls,” Janke said. The founders include Phil Zimmermann, who created the widely

used PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) standard, and former Apple cryptographic expert Jon Callas. Last year, Silent Circle halted its encrypted email service to avoid becoming a target after the US government subpoenaed the records of a similar service called Lavabit.

“We destroyed all that data,” said Janke, while adding that the company never faced a subpoena. Silent Circle customers include major global corporations, human rights activists and even the Tibetan government in exile. Because of its work, he said, “almost all of the major smartphone manufacturers came to us” to collaborate on a more secure smartphone.

Janke said Silent Circle chose to form a joint venture for Blackphone with the small Spanish company which recently began making smartphones using the Firefox operating system. The larger firms, said Janke, “want to own your soul. These companies are in the business of monetizing data.”

Silent Circle developed a modified or “forked” version of Android called PrivatOS for the phone, which is set to be unveiled at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on February 24.

‘It’s sexy, it’s thin’ The company declined to release detailed specifications or pricing ahead of the unveiling, but Janke said it will be sold around the world at prices lower than the iPhone 5S or Samsung Galaxy S4. But he maintained it would be comparable in terms of performance to those flagship devices. It is designed as a user-friendly

phone that could be carried by executives, government officials, activists or ordinary people.

“It’s sexy, it’s thin, it’s sleek, but it also solves a problem,” Janke said. “You can still go to Google and browse the web, but Google doesn’t know who you are. It’s a high-end smartphone. The user doesn’t have to know how to use or how to spell encryption.” As an added assurance to customers, the Blackphone venture is incorporated in Switzerland with a Swiss data center and has “minimal data retention.”

“All we have is the user name you give us and a 10-digit phone number,” he said.

Even if the company faced a court order in Switzerland, it could only hand over the user name. Authorities seeking more information would need to subpoena a separate payment processing firm “and try to match that to our users,” Janke said.

Janke said there is interest in the device worldwide, and that Blackphone has “verbal pre-orders” from four international telecom carriers and 30 enterprise customers.

Interest in Blackphone, Janke said, suggests “several million” will be sold within 12 months, and some 10 million total over the coming four years. He did not disclose where the Blackphone would be made, but said there would be “neutral” partners making components and a tightly controlled assembly process to ensure no backdoors are inserted.

Janke said the US State Department wanted to buy some of the phones and distribute them to human rights groups but that the company refused, out of con-

NATIONAL HARBOR: Mike Janke, CEO & Co-Founder of Silent Circle holds a typical smartphone similar in styling to a new encrypted smartphone called, “The Blackphone.” — AFP cern that the Blackphone would be asso- said, adding that “brute force” attacks to break encryption are rare because they ciated with the US government.

“We decided to distribute this our- are time-consuming, and that spy agenselves,” he said. Customers worldwide are cies generally use other means like insertinterested “because it’s not just the NSA- ing viruses in emails or hardware that can there are 72 countries that have some intercept messages. Because of this, Janke NSA-like capabilities and they’re all spying is careful not to promise too much. He on us and on each other. If you’re living in said Blackphone is not a “hardened” Kenya or Germany or Argentina, you have device like some designed for military use. the same threats.” Even though some “There is no such thing as a completely reports suggest the NSA has found ways secure phone,” he said. “Nothing is going to intercept encrypted communications, to protect you from your own behavior.

But out of the box, this phone does a lot Janke said his systems will be effective.

“We know that encryption works,” he of things to protect your privacy.” — AFP

Flying car spreads its wings in Slovakia ‘Prettiest and best-designed airborne automobile’

CARACAS: A person touches a cell phone app called Pocket Police in Caracas on Saturday. A free app for certain smartphones that works as a “panic button” in emergencies has been launched in Venezuela, one of the world’s most violent countries, a lawmaker said Saturday. — AFP

Venezuela creates phone ‘panic button’ CARACAS: A free app for certain smartphones that works as a “panic button” in emergencies has launched in Venezuela, one of the world’s most violent countries, a lawmaker said Saturday. The “pocket police” app “allows people to notify their families in real-time of emergencies, without collapsing the Venezuelan security system,” explained Ricardo Sanchez, a member of the National Assembly ’s Domestic Policy Committee. “You can add up to three contacts, with emails and phone numbers, who will receive the message with your geo-referenced location in case of an emergency,” he said. According to the lawmaker, sending the message-a text or email-just requires touching a button on screen.

It could also help police in kidnapping and murder cases, he said, since the information “can help provide details on the last location of the person.” The application, which was developed by Sanchez along with a team of computer experts from two Venezuela universities-is only available on Blackberry devices currently.

Sanchez said he hopes to make improvements based on suggestions from the Venezuela science and technology ministry and local municipalities.

Venezuela’s homicide rate according to NGOs is 79 per 100,000 people, the highest in the world-though the government figure is lower, at 39 per 100,000. In 2013, the Venezuelan Violence Monitor NGO counted more than 24,000 deaths. — AFP

BRATISLAVA: Mankind’s primordial dream of flight is taking off with a new twist as a Slovak prototype of a flying car spreads its wings.

Inspired by the dreamy books about flying by French authors Jules Verne and Antoine de Saint Exupery, Slovak designer and engineer Stefan Klein has been honing his flying machine since the early 1990s.

“I got the idea to start working on a vehicle of the future at university, but honestly, who hasn’t dreamt of flying while being stuck in the traffic?” Klein said. “Flying’s in my blood-my grandfather and my father flew ultra-light aircraft and I got my pilot’s license before I was old enough to drive a car,” said Klein, who has designed cars for BMW, Volkswagen and Audi and now teaches at the Bratislava-based Academy of Fine Arts and Design.

His elegant blue-and-white vehicle for two is six metres (20 feet) long so it fits neatly in a parking space or a garage and tanks up at any filling station. But once it reaches an airport it can unfold its wings within seconds becoming a plane. Dubbed “the world’s prettiest and best-designed airborne automobile so far” by US aviation magazine Flying and Inhabitat.com design, an innovation website, the Aeromobil also has the distinction of originating in Slovakia, the world’s largest per-capita car producer.

“So far there have been about twenty attempts to manufacture a flying car around the globe,” the president of the Slovak Ultra Light Aviation Federation, Milan Ciba, said.

“Among them, Aeromobil appears very viable,” he said.

‘Make their lives easier’ Other models include the US-based Terrafugia’s “Transition” flying car expected to be launched on the market within a year, while the helicopter-type Dutch PAL-V gyrocopter could go on sale in this year. Klein’s dream took to the skies in September when he piloted the Aeromobil during its first wobbly test

Soaring electricity prices zap struggling Spaniards MADRID: Struggling Spaniards are rebelling against high electricity prices, which have soared by 42 percent since an economic crisis erupted in 2008. Buckling under a 26-percent unemployment rate after five years of stop-start recession, many Spaniards battle to pay their electricity bills, the third highest in the European Union after Cyprus and Ireland.

The increase in prices is “hair-raising”, said Cote Romero, coordinator of Platform for a New Energy Model, which unites 270 groups including protesters against economic inequality, leftists, unions, cooperatives and ecological organisations. Some 1.5 million homes were left without electricity in 2012 for failing to pay bills, she said, leaving families with no hot water or cooking facilities. “But without getting to that dramatic point, there are many families severely rationing their energy consumption,” said Romero. By the end of 2012, 17.9 percent of Spanish households-more than three million-were unable to adequately warm their homes, according to the National Statistics Institute. The Spanish Red Cross said in a report Friday that of the families it had helped, 38 percent were without electricity, “a problem of the first magnitude”.

Roman Catholic agency Caritas said its aid to families suffering from “energy poverty” had multiplied by more than 300 percent over the past two years. A family with two children paid an average 844.80 euros ($1,140) for electricity in 2013, up from 590.20 euros in 2008, according to Industry Ministry data.

Almost half a million consumers joined forces in October to make the first collective purchase of electricity in Spain to try to negotiate a lower price. Thanks to an online company, HolaLuz.com, which says it distributes green energy, they managed to save an average of 49 euros a year, and up to 180 euros in some cases, said the Consumers and Users’ Organization, the

brainchild of the scheme. “It was a success thanks to the people who raised their voice to day ‘I want to pay less for electricity’,” the organization said, congratulating participants.

Distribution tariff In the two-part process that determines how much Spaniards must pay to power their homes, the state sets a tariff for energy distribution and companies bid for the right to sell and distribute it. “It is a speculative auction in which half of the players are financial players,” said Romero, whose platform lobbies in Spain and before the European Commission. In a December auction to set the electricity tariff for the first quarter of 2014, the price soared, threatening to push bills up by 11 percent.

The outcry was such that Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s conservative government intervened to cancel the result, fixing an increase of 2.3 percent for the quarter while it seeks a new pricing mechanism. Secretary of State for Energy Alberto Nadal said the Spanish electricity market needed more transparency and competition. Nevertheless, he blamed high prices on the previous Socialist government’s rapid and subsidised introduction of renewable energies based on expensive technologies.

As a result, he said, by the end of 2012, the Spanish electricity deficit the gap between the cost of the energy supplied and the regulated price paid by consumers-amounted to 26 billion euros, for which consumers paid 2.7 billion euros a year in interest and capital. Greenpeace Spain’s energy spokesman Jose Luis Garcia, said that argument was false. “It is a campaign by the big electricity companies to discredit and then eliminate renewable energies because of the competition they represent,” Garcia said. — AFP

BRATISLAVA: Slovak engineer Stefan Klein posing with his car models in Bratislava, Slovakia.

Inspired by the dreamy books of French authors Jules Verne and Antoine de Saint Exupery about flying, Slovak designer and engineer Stefan Klein has been honing his flying machine on wheels since the early 1990s. —AFP

flight. Once airborne, the it can reach a top speed of 200km/h (124 mph) and travel as far as 700 km (430 miles), consuming 15 litres (4 gallons) of petrol per hour.

“A combination of a car and a plane will always lose against the competition when we start comparing energy consumption,” Jan Lesinsky from the Slovak University of Technology told AFP. But would-be users could glide by long lines and security checks at airports, saving time on medium-distance journeys. Klein and his team are currently working on the next generation of Aeromobil that will go into production in a few months and hopefully receive Slovak Ultra Light Aircraft Certification (SFUL).

“Would-be users would have to follow the legislation already in place for ultra light air-

craft,” SFUL president Federation Milan Ciba said. “Pilot/drivers will need to have both a driver’s and pilot’s licence with at least 25 flying hours,” he added. An enthusiastic pilot himself, Klein remains down to earth when looking to the future. “I don’t expect Aeromobil to go into mass production, it will always be an alternative means of transport,” Klein said.

“It can, however, be very interesting for countries with vast areas lacking infrastructure like Russia, China or Australia,” he added.

Flying cars will most likely take off among pilots licensed for ultra-light aircraft, says Ciba.

“It would make their lives so much easier-they would be able to park their car/aircraft at home, drive to the airport, take off, land and drive to their destination without switching vehicles,” he muses. — AFP

Toy train town takes back grid in German power shift FRANKFURT: The southern German town of Goeppingen, set in the Alpine foothills, is a magnet for tourists and famous for being the home of toy train maker Maerklin. For activists in the German “Rekommunalisierung” movement that wants to take local electricity networks away from the big utilities and put them back in public hands, picturesque Goeppingen now has another reason to be proud.

Last spring, the town of 60,000 paid 23 million euros ($32 million) to buy back its power network from utility EnBW , in the biggest remunicipalisation in the southern state of Baden Wuerttemberg to date. “We wanted to make our essential supply line free from speculation and to keep the local infrastructure in our ownership for a long time,” mayor Guido Till, who has ruled Goeppingen for nine years, told Reuters from his town hall.

“We will keep more jobs in Goeppingen than EnBW would have secured in the long term,” Till, 59, said. Prices have also come down as a result of the move. The mayor, a former Social Democrat who now thinks the party is too left wing, enjoys cross party support and this was reflected in the move to take the town’s power grid into local ownership. Goeppingen’s decision also reflects the mood in Germany, where opinion polls show two thirds of voters back green energy policies and would also prefer power networks to be managed by local suppliers.

EnBW said it had accepted Goeppingen’s decision and successfully handed over the network to its new owners. But it said the fragmentation of German network ownership would not necessarily help the expansion of renewable energy.

The president of the German Federal Cartel Office, Andreas Mundt, has also spoken critically about buying back grids. “It is important that these local companies do not shun the competitive market. We also believe that too much fragmentation of

networks bears the risk of becoming inefficient,” he said.

Nevertheless, since 2007, some 80 new local utilities have been set up to supply electricity, gas, water, and heat, according to their business lobby, the VKU, which represents 1,400 such companies.There could be many more to come.

Bottom-up Some 8,000 out of 14,000 land concession contracts, mostly granted on a 15 or 20 year basis to private interests in the 1990s, are up for renewal between 2010 and 2015. In a backlash against Germany’s liberalised energy market, where power production and distribution are in the hands of a few large German and international groups, activists around the country are trying to claw back network assets into the public sector and are doing this with highly visible campaigns.

The movement is part of a Europe-wide trend of creeping renationalization of the utilities industry.

With energy production more and more localised via countless solar panels and thousands of windmills dotting the German landscape, remunicipalisation enthusiasts want power grids to have the same local flavor. “A bottom-up energy shift is to everyone’s benefit,” reads a Friends of the Earth Germany (BUND) brochure.

But not all municipalities are motivated by environmental or ideological concerns. Local power transport networks yield steady fees for their public owners, while the local management gives their services a measure of proximity to boot.

Mayor Till said his approach was based on economics rather than ideology. As a private concern, his city’s grid would have to make a profit for investors, but as a public operation he can run it with a modest margin and keep tariffs low, he said. — Reuters

MONDAY, JANUARY 20, 2014

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

India’s sick shelter in old buses during treatment NEW DELHI: On a recent winter night in the Indian capital, eightyear-old cancer patient Habiba Khatun huddled with her mother against the cold on the floor of a disused bus.

Khatun, who has a malignant tumour in her right eye, has been sharing the bus with about 30 other patients for a week while she receives treatment at the state-run All India Institute of Medical Sciences.

“We know this bus is not the best place to live. But we are poor and what option do we have?” Khatun’s mother asked, as her daughter, who has undergone 12 chemotherapy sessions since she was two, sat nearby.

“It is at least better than living inside public toilets or out in the open,” she said. Like hundreds of others, the pair travelled from a rural area-a village in Uttar Pradesh state-for daytime specialist care at AIIMS, where treatment is relatively cheap and often free, before being turned out of its overcrowded wards at night. The capital’s steep hotel and rental prices force scores to sleep on

pavements around AIIMS, India’s most prestigious public hospital.

With temperatures dropping at night to around four degrees Celsius (39 degrees Fahrenheit), the newly elected state government this month donated seven old, public buses for use as shelters outside AIIMS and other hospitals. For mother-of-two Sulochana Lodhi, the buses, which have been stripped of their seats so patients can sleep on the floor, are a “blessing”.

A roof over head The 30-year-old has needed multiple surgeries and other treatment after burning her tongue, throat and stomach as a result of drink ing acid in an attemped suicide last June.

“The bus is dirty and it reeks of urine and vomit,” said Lodhi, as she explained that she tried to end her life after being “tortured” by her in-laws at their home in rural Guna in Madhya Pradesh state. “ The bus is of course not an ideal place. But I am glad I have a roof over my head,” she told AFP on Tuesday.

Tubes that stick out of Lodhi’s

NEW DELHI: Indian cancer patient Sudeep Kumar, 9, lies alongside family members and others inside an abandoned bus, used as a makeshift night shelter, outside the All India Institute of Medical Science in New Delhi. —AFP heavily bandaged stomach from large numbers of patients has her most recent treatment make long been a problem in India. lying on the bus floor difficult. Public spending on health in the But the bus is much better than world’s second most populous the pavement that she has been country is just four percent of GDP, less than Afghanistan’s, forced to use in the past.

“Earlier, the street dogs according to the World Health would trouble us and some - Organization. times it would start to rain sudJam packed denly in the night. It was horriA decade of rapid economic ble on the streets.” A lack of beds in government hospitals for its growth has allowed the national

NEW DELHI: An Indian resident carries blankets from an abandoned bus used as a makeshift night shelter outside the All India Institute of Medical Science in New Delhi. —AFP government to boost health spending for poor and rural communities. But the public health system still falls far short of meeting the needs of its 1.2 billion people, according to a 2013 Oxfam report.

Prerna, a nonprofit group tasked with running the shelters, estimates that about 4,000 patients live in the open outside various government hospitals in

New Delhi alone. “We look after four buses outside the AIIMS hospital and they are all jam packed,” Palvinder Singh, director of the charity, said. “There are limitations on living inside buses. You can’t cook and you have to travel to the nearest public toilet. “But people inside are still happy, and more and more want to be accommodated in there,” he said. — AFP

Humans face ‘a real risk’ of world without antibiotics Rise of drug resistance

CHARLESTON: Sarah Bergstrom poses for a photo with her son Blake, 4, yesterday in her home in Charleston. The 29-year-old nurse who is 4 months pregnant with her second child was devastated when she learned after a ban on tap water was lifted days after a chemical leak that health officials urged pregnant women not to drink tap water until the chemical is entirely undetectable. — AP

Many remain wary of West Virginia water as smell lingers CHARLESTON: The smell lingers - the slightly sweet, slightly bitter odor of a chemical that contaminated the water supply of West Virginia’s capital more than a week ago. It creeps out of faucets and shower heads. It wafts from the Elk River, the site of the spill.

Sometimes it hangs in the cold nighttime air.

For several days, a majority of Charlestonarea residents have been told their water is safe to drink, that the concentration of a chemical used to wash coal is so low that it won’t be harmful. Restaurants have reopened - using tap water to wash dishes and produce, clean out their soda fountains and make ice.

But as long as people can still smell it, they remain wary - and given the lack of knowledge about the chemical known as MCHM, some experts say their caution is justified.

“I would certainly be waiting until I couldn’t smell it anymore, certainly to be drinking it,” said Richard Denison, a scientist with the Environmental Defense Fund who has followed the spill closely. “I don’t blame people at all for raising questions and wondering whether they can trust what’s being told to them.”

The Jan. 9 spill from a Freedom Industries facility on the banks of the Elk River, less than 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) upstream from Charleston’s water treatment plant, led to a ban on water use that affected 300,000 people. On Friday, Freedom Industries filed for bankruptcy protection, temporarily shielding it from dozens of lawsuits, many by businesses that were forced to shut down.

Abundance of caution Four days later, officials started to lift the ban in one area after another, saying tap water was safe for drinking because the concentration of the chemical had dipped below one part per million, even though the smell was still strong at that level. By Friday afternoon, nearly all of the people impacted had been told the water was safe.

Late Wednesday, however, health officials issued different guidance for pregnant women, urging them not to drink tap water until the chemical is entirely undetectable.

The federal Centers for Disease Control said it

made that recommendation out of an abundance of caution because existing studies don’t provide a complete picture of how the chemical affects humans.

For Sarah Bergstrom, a 29-year-old nurse who is four months pregnant with her second child, the news was devastating. She hasn’t drunk the water since the spill, but she has taken showers.

“I cried myself to sleep (Wednesday) night.

I was both angry and scared,” she said. “This baby that we’ve wanted for so long, I’m now questioning - have I done something that could have harmed her?”

Bergstrom said she’s fortunate that she can afford bottled water, which she intends to use for the foreseeable future.

“My biggest fear is for those mothers, those pregnant women out there who aren’t able to go get enough bottled water for their family, who don’t have the resources and don’t have the knowledge base to know that this is not safe,” she said.

Sensitive issue Karen Bowling, West Virginia’s secretary of Health and Human Resources, said pregnant women who drank the water before being told to avoid it should contact their doctors.

For the rest of the population, Bowling said she is confident the tap water is not harmful.

“It’s understandable that people are concerned. I don’t want to minimize anybody’s feelings about an issue as sensitive as this,” said Bowling, who said she drank the tap water after it was declared safe. “It’s hard to instill confidence when there’s little known about the chemical, but at the same time we have to trust in the science of what’s happening.”

According to the state’s health department, 411 patients have been treated at hospitals for symptoms that patients said came from exposure to the chemical, and 20 people have been admitted. Also, more than 1,600 people have called poison control to complain of symptoms. Bowling said the department is trying to sort out how many of those patients were actually sickened by the chemical, and not by other diseases.— AP

CHARLESTON: Emma Del Torto of Charleston holds a sign during a demonstration at the state Capitol on Saturday. More than 100 people gathered to question their tap water’s quality following a chemical spill that tainted the local water supply. —AP

PARIS: Humans face the very real risk of a future without antibiotics, a world of plummeting life expectancy where people die from diseases easily treatable today, scientists say.

Experts tracking the rise of drug resistance say years of health gains could be rolled back by mutating microbes that make illnesses more difficult and expensive to cure and carry a higher risk of death.

Some say the threat to wellbeing is on the scale of global warming or terrorism-yet resistance is being allowed to spread through an entirely preventable means — improper use of antibiotics. “It is a major public health problem,” Patrice Courvalin, who heads the Antibacterial Agents Unit of France’s Pasteur Institute, said.

“It is about more than not being able to treat a disease. It will erase much progress made in the last 20-30 years.”

Without antibiotics to tackle opportunistic bacteria that pose a particular risk for people who are very ill, major surgery, organ transplants or cancer and leukaemia treatment may become impossible, he explained. “In some parts of the world, already we have run out of antibiotics,” said Timothy Walsh, a professor of medical microbiology at Cardiff University.

“In places in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, possibly Russia, Southeast Asia, central South America, we are at the end game. There’s nothing left. And unfortunately there is nothing in the pipeline either.”

Super-germs triumph Resistance to drugs emerges through changes in the bacterium’s genetic code altering the target on its surface to which antibiotics would normally bind, making the germ impenetrable or allowing it to destroy or “spit out” the antibiotic. These super-germs triumph through

Darwinian pressure, helped by humans.

The wrong antibiotics, taken for too short a period, in too low a dose or stopped to early, will fail to kill the altered microbes. Instead, the drugs will indiscriminately damage other bacteria and give the resistant strain a competitive advantage-allowing it to dominate and spread.

At the base of the problem is doctors prescribing antibiotics wrongly or unnecessarily, and the ease with which medicines can be obtained without a script in some parts of the world, including Asia and Africa. As much as 70 percent of antibiotics are given for viral infections, against which they are wholly ineffective, the experts say. Then there is the problem of farmers in countries like the United States adding antibiotics to animal feed to help herds grow faster. Compounding all of this is the rise in global travel-a boon for bacterial spread, and a sharp drop in antibiotics development blamed on a lack of financial incentives for the pharmaceutical industry.

Pre-antibiotic era A return to the pre-antibiotic era?

The World Health Organisation (WHO) says drug resistance “threatens a return to the preantibiotic era”. “Many infectious diseases risk becoming untreatable or uncontrollable,” it states in a factsheet on antimicrobial resistance.

A case in point: some 450 000 people developed multi-drug resistant (MDR) TB in 2012 and 170,000 died from it. MDR TB does not respond to the most potent TB drugs-isoniazid and rifampin. Nearly 10 percent of MDR cases are thought to be of the even deadlier XDR (extensively drug resistant) variety which does not respond to a yet wider range of drugs.

Like other drug-resistant microbes, MDR and XDR TB can be transferred directly between

people-you can get it even if you have never taken antibiotics in your life. “Antibiotic resistance is an emerging disease and a societal problem. The use you can make of an antibiotic depends on the use made by others,” said Courvalin.

Another worry for health planners today is the spread of a multi-drug resistant strain of the bacterium Klebsiella pneumoniae-a common cause of infections of the urinary tract, respiratory tract and bloodstream, and a frequent source of hospital outbreaks. In some parts of the world, only the carbapenem antibiotics class remains effective, but now signs are emerging of resistance even to this last line of defence. Antibiotics are thought to have saved hundreds of millions of lives since Alexander Fleming first discovered penicillin in 1928.

Prudent drug use But even Fleming’s own warnings of impending drug resistance went unheeded, and now scientists say people may start dying from infections like meningitis and septicaemia that are eminently curable today.

“If we keep going like this, the vast majority of human bacterial pathogens will be multiresistant to antibiotics,” said Courvalin.

The answer? Prudent drug use-better and faster diagnosis to determine whether an infection is viral or bacterial and whether it is even susceptible to treatment. Farmers must stop feeding antibiotics to their livestock, and hospital and individuals improve their hygiene to prevent bacterial spread.

Yet few experts believe the damage can be undone. “The bugs have become very sophisticated, they’ve become very complex,” said Walsh. “You can decrease resistance or reduce it, but never completely reverse it.” — AFP

Washington scientists studying sick grizzly PULLMAN: Scientists at Washington State University used an MRI to discover brain lesions in a 3-year-old female grizzly bear that has been suffering seizures.

The bear named “Lucy” came from Montana Grizzly Encounter in Bozeman, Mont.

The bear was brought to the Washington State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital on Thursday after suffering two grand mal seizures last week for no apparent reason. Since then, she has become more aggressive toward her handlers and lethargic at the same time, WSU said in a news release.

Veterinary doctors at WSU conducted an MRI evaluation under anesthesia of Lucy’s head and neck Thursday, looking for a cause. The magnetic resonance imaging revealed multiple lesions in the brain of unknown origin, WSU said.

The owners elected to treat Lucy with antibiotics for the most common forms of brain infections, WSU said. The bear will also be dewormed, as there are parasitic worms which can infect the brains of bears, WSU said.

Lucy was in stable but guarded condition Friday and would be transported back to Montana, WSU said. A Montana veterinarian will take over the care prescribed by WSU veterinary doctors. —AP

WASHINGTON: This photo provided by Washington State University shows a 3-yearold grizzly bear named ``Lucky’’ being given an MRI at the Washington State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital in Pullman. —AP

North Carolina abortion ultrasound law illegal GREENSBORO, North Carolina: A North Carolina law requiring women who want an abortion to have an ultrasound and then have a medical provider describe the image to them is a violation of constitutional freespeech rights, a federal judge ruled Friday.

US District Judge Catherine Eagles ruled that states don’t have the power to force a health care provider to be the bearer of what she called an ideological message in favor of carrying a pregnancy to term.

Eagles, who was nominated to the court by President Barack Obama, had put the law on hold a few months after the Republican-led state legislature passed it in 2011.

The law required abortion providers to place an ultrasound image next to a pregnant woman so she can view it, describe its features, and offer the patient the chance to listen to the heartbeat. The law required abortion providers to describe the dimensions of the embryo or fetus and the presence of

external members and internal organs if they were present and viewable. The patient was not required to watch the display or listen to the explanation.

“The state has not established that the speech-and-display provision directly advances a substantial state interest in regulating health care, especially when the state does not require the patient to receive the message and the patient takes steps to avoid receipt of the message,” Eagles wrote.

North Carolina legislators had argued that offering the ultrasound image to a woman seeking an abortion along with other information would promote childbirth. The law also would protect patients from potential coercion to have an abortion and emotional distress associated with the procedure, advocates said.

A legislator who was a key advocate of the law said he was confident the state would appeal Eagles’ ruling.

“There is nothing in the law requiring the doctor to say anything that is not truthful or that is misleading,” said House Majority Leader Paul Stam. A spokeswoman for state Attorney General Roy Cooper, a Democrat, said only that state attorneys were reviewing the ruling.

“If these unconstitutional measures had gone into effect, doctors would have been prevented from using their best medical judgment to provide patients with care based on their specific individual needs,” said Jennifer Rudinger, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina. “This law represented an egregious government intrusion into individuals’ private medical decisions, and we are very pleased that it will not go into effect.”

The ACLU, the Center for Reproductive Rights and Planned Parenthood Federation of America challenged the law on behalf of several North Carolina physicians and abortion providers. —AP

MONDAY, JANUARY 20, 2014

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

Boom in Saudi healthcare industry state scrambles to close welfare gap RIYADH: Stock market listings planned by two of Saudi Arabia’s biggest private hospital operators point to a boom in its healthcare industry, as political pressures prompt the government to pour huge sums into the underdeveloped sector. Many areas of Saudi consumption, including the retail industry, housing and travel, have ballooned in the past decade because of oil-fuelled growth in national income. But healthcare has lagged, partly because of government inefficiency and bureaucracy.

Now the mediocre quality of state-run healthcare has become a political liability for the government, especially in the wake of the 2011 uprisings elsewhere in the Arab world, which underlined the risks of social discontent. Many Saudis complain about overcrowded hospitals and shortages of medications. So the government has embarked on a drive to reform the sector, building hundreds of hospitals, providing interest-free loans to private companies and changing health insurance rules.

This could make Saudi Arabia the world’s fastest-growing major healthcare market over the next few years, helping to diversify the economy beyond oil and providing a bonanza to foreign companies selling medicines, equipment and services. “It is a case of chronic underinvestment and reactive overexpenditure,” said Mohammad Kamal, an analyst at financial firm Arqaam Capital in Dubai.

The standard of Saudi Arabian healthcare provision has long contrasted with its wealth. The king-

dom, which the IMF ranked 30th in the world by GDP per capita for 2012, has 2.2 hospital beds per 1,000 residents, according to Arqaam, lower than the global average of 3.0 and far below the average of 5.5 in developed countries.

Catching up Local newspapers routinely report complaints about issues such as overcrowding - with some patients receiving intravenous drips in hospital corridors - and poor hygiene and maintenance, resulting in pest infestations and infections.

Abdulkarim al-Thobeiti, a Saudi engineer working in the public sector, says he will never set foot in a state-run hospital because they are either fully booked or poorly maintained. “If you want to make an appointment to see a doctor you have to wait for months, unless you have some connection or know someone who can pull a few strings,” Thobeiti said. This may change as the government ramps up healthcare budgets. Spending has already jumped from $8 billion in 2008 to $27 billion last year, and Saudi asset management firm NCB Capital expects it to soar to $46 billion in 2017.

In addition to building new state-run facilities, the government is offering private companies interest-free loans covering up to a half of the cost of building new hospitals.

And, although the move has yet to be announced officially, Saudis employed in the public sector are expected to become eligible for statefunded health insurance within the next few years,

Arqaam and other analysts say. This would enable them to use private healthcare services without paying extra fees out of their own pocket.

Today, the overwhelming majority, about 83 percent, of Saudi Arabia’s 8.4 million health insurance holders are expatriates whose employers are legally obliged to cover their insurance costs, according to Arqaam.

The insurance reform could swell the pool with more than a million Saudi public servants and about 5 million of their dependents, Arqaam estimates. This implies a surge in demand for private Saudi healthcare firms, which are turning to the stock market to finance expansion.

Sulaiman Al-Habib Medical Group and Almana General Hospitals will seek to list their shares on the local bourse in 2014 or early 2015, bankers told Reuters in November.

Some companies have already tapped the market. Dallah Healthcare raised 540 million rials ($144 million) in an initial public offering of shares at the end of 2012, while National Medical Care Co conducted a 175 million rial IPO last March.

Major global players are also looking for ways to boost their presence. General Electric (GE), one of the biggest manufacturers of medical equipment, has said it will build an assembly facility in Saudi Arabia.

“Looking ahead at 2014, we continue to see a buoyant healthcare sector for the kingdom,” said Mazen Dalati, chief executive of GE Healthcare in the country.—Reuters

HYDERABAD: A scouting volunteer administers a dose of an oral vaccine to a child during a National Pulse Polio Immunisation programme in Hyderabad yesterday. —AFP

MONDAY, JANUARY 20, 2014

W H AT ’ S O N

SEND US YOUR INSTAGRAM PICS

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

Announcements TIES Center - Where cultures meet he TIES Center is glad to announce that its Winter 2 Arabic language courses continue till Wednesday March 5, 2014. We offer classes for all levels, from beginner to advanced. Our classes are specially tailored to meet the needs and requirements of expats living in Kuwait. You still have the chance to join if you are interested. The TIES Arabic classes are intended for all expats who wish to learn Arabic. Whether you want to Learn Arabic for business or basic communication or simply as a hobby, the TIES Center welcomes you. Throughout the course, the students will learn how to read, write and speak Arabic in a friendly, relaxed and welcoming environment.

TIES Arabic program highlights: Lessons are step by step - ranging from basic to advanced level; Lessons build confidence for speaking, reading, and writing Arabic; Lessons combine language learning with cultural insights; Lessons are specially tailored for expats living in Kuwait. It is an opportunity to interact with other Westerners, who are taking the courses. For more information, please e-mail: Hassan@tiescenter.net .”

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Chef Ioannis Tsivourakis

Chef Michalis Papaderakis

Experience taste of classic, traditional Greek recipes at Atrium restaurant

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ourtyard by Marriott Hotel Kuwait City is celebrating the launch of its Greek Nights festival at its Atrium restaurant that boasts an engaging ambience. Guests can now explore a week-long food escapade inspired by tastes around Greece where Greek chefs re-create signature dishes inspired from authentic Greek culture, with each night offering new dishes to intrigue guests’ wide range of tastes.

Crafted by renowned guest chefs from

Indian Overseas Congress Fest competitions postponed ndian Overseas Congress, Kuwait is conducting 7th Arts Competitions-IOC fest 2014 on April 10-11, 2014 at United Indian School. IOC, once again welcome the growing buds of Indian expatriate community in Kuwait from various disciplines to test their talents and competency in the field of arts. The winners of this prestigious competition will be awarded with Trophies and Medals.

Kalaprathiba and Kalathilakam prizes will be awarded for the top scorers in the fest.

The competitions are for Elocution, Solo, Poetry Recitation(Mal), Classical Dance (single), Folk Dance(single), Group Dance(Cinematic), Indian Patriotic Song, Mono act, Drawing/Painting and Poster Poetry writing.

Although the competitions are meant for children from various disciplines, Elocution, Solo, Poetry Recitation and Indian Patriotic Song Competitions will be held for contestants above 18 years also. A committee under the leadership of Raju Zacharias as General Convenor, Sunil Rapuzha and Jacob Kavalam as joint conveners has started functioning. The entry forms, are available at the following places: Abbassiya - Hidine Super Market, Sakina Book Stall. Hidine Restaurant; Riggae - Al Dallah Super Market; Fahaheel - Royal Mobile Services and Sales. Enquiry can be send to Email : iocfest2014@gmail.com.

Chania, Crete, at the buffet restaurant located in the heart of the breathtaking eightstory high panoramic lobby of the Courtyard by Marriott Hotel Kuwait City, each signature dish represents an unforgettable flavor from Greece that guests can look forward to, from Monday, January 20 to Friday, January 24 between 7 pm and 11 pm.

The Ambassador of Greece to the State of Kuwait, Dr. Theodoras Theodoron, along

with a number of VIP guests will attend the opening of the festival, which will commence on January 20. Attendees can celebrate Greek culture and heritage while enjoying their food. The cuisine will serve traditional Greek food including Gyros, roasted lamb, Greek-style chicken, Greek Moussaka, Giouvarlakia (rise and mince meat balls boiled served with lemon sauce), Rabbit Stifado (stew rabbit with onions), Rizogalo (milk cream with rise and

cinnamon), and Baklava, to name a few.

“We are pleased to welcome guests attending the Greek Nights Festival,” said George Aoun, Cluster General Manager of Kuwait Marriott Hotels. “With a treat like this on offer, we are sure that all roads will lead to Courtyard by Marriott Kuwait City this week. Guests can enjoy a Greek culinary experience like never before that brings the taste and flavor of the country to Kuwait,” he added.

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Maha Quizzer Middle East ITCAA-Kuwait announces the second edition of Maha Quizzer ME - Kuwait, extension of Maha Quizzer, the annual solo quiz conducted by Karnataka Quiz Association (KQA) simultaneously across several Indian cities.

This is a solo open general written quiz contest for participants, irrespective of age, nationality or affiliation.

The quiz is on 31st January 2014, from 2 to 3.30 pm with centers in Salmiya, Ahmadi & J’leeb Shyoukh.

Special prizes for ladies and students. For further details & free online registration log on to http://www.nitcaakuwait.org/mahaquizzer Hurry!!!

Registration open from 20th Dec 2013 to 23rd January 2014.

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Advisory to Indian nationals in Kuwait

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he Embassy of India has been receiving often reports from the members of Indian community residing in Kuwait regarding thefts, robberies assaults and damages to their property etc. All such incidents should be immediately reported to the local police station. In order to extend help the members of our community, please contact us with the following information so that the matter could also be taken up by the Embassy with Kuwaiti authorities:(a) Brief details of the incident; (b) Civil ID of the affected member(s) and their passport details; (c) Contact telephone number and the proof of residence of the person(s) affected; (d) Copy of FIR along with address of the Police station.

2. Please contact either Hend, Ambassador’s office at Telephone No. 22561276, Fax No. 22546958 (E-mail: amb.kuwait@mea.gov.in OR ambss@indembkwt.org) or Balram Kumar Upadhyay, Counsellor (Consular and Chief Welfare Officer) on Telephone No. 22533125, Fax No.22573910 (E-mail: counsellor@indembkwt.org).

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

Marina Hotel Kuwait organizes blood donation campaign

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otel Kuwait recently saw the participation of its employees in a blood donation campaign organized in association with Kuwait Central Blood Bank (KCBB).

Speaking about the campaign, Nabil Hammoud, the hotel’s General Manager said, “Supporting the community in Kuwait has always been a part of Marina Hotel’s driving values, and blood donation is a simple and effective means to

do so. We are happy to support the Kuwait Central Blood Bank, which has been doing an admirable job in saving lives by maintaining an ample stock of blood, and our employees were eager to participate and donate blood.”

“This campaign is a part of the hotel’s CSR activities aimed to reinforce the spirit of volunteerism and serve the community where we belong. We are very happy with the

active participation of our staff towards this worthy activity.” he added.

Staff members from all departments of the hotel were invited to participate in the blood donation campaign. The campaign, which was supervised by a team of specialized doctors, generated a tremendous response from the employees.

Thrissur Association of Kuwait organizes seminar

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hrissur Association of Kuwait is organizing “Seminar/Debate on Organ Donation and Transplantation” on Friday, January 24, 2014 at Community Hall, Jleeb AlShuyoukh, (Abbasiya Co-operative Society Bldg, - Near McDonald’s). The Chairman of Kidney Foundation Fr. Davis Chiramel will be leading the seminar along with the experts like Dr. Namboothiri and other dignitaries from Kuwait.

Thrissur Association of Kuwait invites all the expatriates from Indian Community to take part in the noble session to share your views, ask questions and clarify your concerns with the famous Father Davis Chiramel, who is living donor initiated the Kidney Federation in India.

As part of Thrissur Association continuous effort to spread the knowledge

on organ donation, Thrissur Association invites the kind hearted persons to come forward and sign the donor forms, which will be handed over to Fr. Davis Chiramel on the event.

Apart from the Seminar, Thrissur Association is also conducting a free eye test camp and blood donation camp, which will start by 2:00 pm on January 24, 2014. The seminar on organ donation is scheduled at 4:00 pm, led by Fr. Davis Chiramel.

TRASSK invites all expatriates to attend the blood donation camp, free eye test and to come forward and sign the donor forms to show our kindness and server the purpose of human life to help others. Jose Joel, the President of Thrissur Association requested everyone to convey the message to their friends and relatives and spread knowledge on organ donation.

TIES Center show

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IES Center cordially invites all those interested to the Puppet Kingdom at TIES organized by Susanne Rechlin. The Puppet Kingdom is coming to the TIES Center for the first time. All little (and big) fans of puppets are invited to watch our unique puppet show. Susanne Rechlin is a pre-school principal by profession.

She likes to see people happy and content through understanding each other’s differences, and by making those differences work for them instead of against them. She believes that many challenges in a relationship may be overcome by not expecting the other person to behave according to one’s own pattern. The show is on Saturday, January 25 at 4:00 pm.

Indian Embassy holds open house on all Wednesdays

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or the benefit of Indian Community, the Open House for the Indian citizen by the Ambassador is being held in the Embassy every Wednesday between 1500 hrs and 1600 hrs. In case Wednesday is an Embassy holiday, the meeting is held on the next working day.

2. It may be mentioned that Embassy of India’s Consular Wing is providing daily service of Open House to Indian citizens on all workings days from 1000 hrs to 1100 hrs and from 1430 hrs to 1530 hrs by the Consular Officer in the Meeting Room of the

Consular Hall. For any unsolved issue, S.K. Dudeja, Second Secretary (Consular) could be contacted on Telephone No. 22533315, Fax No.22573910 (E-mail: sscons@indembkwt.org). Furthermore, Balram Kumar Upadhyay, Counsellor (Consular and Chief Welfare Officer) for Indian Community is also available to redress grievances at Telephone No. 22533125, Fax No.22573910 (E-mail: counsellor@indembkwt.org).

3. Similarly, a Labour Wing Help Desk functions from 0830 hrs to 1300 hrs and 1400 hrs to 1630 hrs in the Labour welfare Hall to address the

labour related issues. There is also a 24X7 Help Line (Tel No. 25674163) to assist labourers in distress. For any unsolved issues Mr. Shubashis Goldar, Deputy Chief of Mission could be contacted on Telephone No. 22510891, Fax No.22573902 (E-mail: dcm@indembkwt.org).

4. Ambassador of India welcomes your suggestions, comments, opinions as well as criticism to improve the functioning of the Embassy at Telephone No. 22561276, Fax No. 22546958 (E-mail: amb.kuwait@mea.gov.in / ambss@indembkwt.org ).

Abdo Elkreem Solaiman

Osama Galal

‘Egyptians in Kuwait’ website launches money transfer company

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gypt’s Ambassador to Kuwait Abdulkareem Sulaiman urges fellow countrymen in Kuwait, the Gulf region and around the world to take part in an initiative to carry out banking transfers to Egypt on January 25th Revolution anniversary. The initiative is launched by the Egyptians in Kuwait for the third consecutive year. It is done in cooperation with the Muzaini money exchange company, which offers the opportunity to transfer funds to Egypt through its branches free of charges. Nearly 18,000 people transferred around $4 million during last year’s campaign.

FOKE elocution competition

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riends of Kannur Kuwait Expats Association (FOKE) will be conducting a Malayalam Elocution competition for the public as part of the second anniversary celebration of Dr Sukumar Azhikkod Memorial library at FOKE Office in Mangaf.

The event will be held on Friday, January 24 from 3:30 pm onwards. Competition for students between the age group 5 to 8 will be on the subject “My Village” and for junior from 9 year to 12 years will be on the subject “My Country”. Subject for the seniors from 13 years to 17 years is “Mother Tongue”.

Elocution competition is also open to adults in which ladies category, subject is “Importance of Women in Pravasi Organizations” and the same for the men will be given at the venue.

MONDAY, JANUARY 20, 2014

W H AT ’ S O N

Embassy Information EMBASSY OF AUSTRALIA The Embassy of Australia has announced that Kuwait citizens can apply for and receive visit visas in 10 working days through www.immi.gov.au. All other processing of visas and Immigration matters are handled by the Australian Visa Application Centre located in Al Banwan Building, 4B, 1st Floor, Al Qibla Area, Ali Al Salem Street, Kuwait City. Visit. www.vfs-augcc.com for more info. The Embassy of Australia does not have a visa or immigration department. All processing of visas and immigration matters is conducted by the Australian Consulate-General in Dubai.

Email: Info.ausdxb@vfshelpline.com (VIS), immigration.dubai@ dfat.gov.au (Visa Office), Tel: +971 4 205 5900 (VFS), Fax: + 971 4 355 0708 (Visa Office).

Notary and passport services are available by appointment. Appointments can be made by calling the Embassy on 22322422. nnnnnnn

EMBASSY OF INDIA 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:

—Photos by Joseph Shagra

FatBurger opens at The Avenues

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FC invites all burger addicts to experience the taste of our authentic and rustic American burgers. After a long wait from all burger lovers, Universal Food Company (UFC) announced that they have launched their third branch of the famous restaurant chain, FatBurger, at the Avenues Mall. The new branch is located in the Second Avenue (Food World) where FatBurger staff had the pleasure of serving their delicious plates to all burger addicts at the opening day which was on January 15, 2014.

UFC is the official franchise holder of FatBurger in Kuwait, and it emphasizes on its leading role in the Middle East where FatBurger branches in Kuwait are part of 140 other branches in the world. The third venue is an excellent addition to the existing two branches located at Burj Jassem and Spoons which were initially introduced to Kuwait back in 2011. The company’s expansion strategy aims at serving the wider community of burger lovers at the busiest spots in Kuwait in order for the public to enjoy the authentic taste of American burger.

Tarek Bizri, UFC’s General Manager said: “As one of the leading food companies in Kuwait, we strive to present all that is new to the public in Kuwait. FatBurger is an international American chain of hamburger fast food restaurants in which we are proud to be the official franchise holder of. Our scrumptious burgers tickle customers’ taste buds to the fullest. The authenticity of the taste comes from the brilliant skills of the chefs who prepare the burgers using the same techniques of “Lovie Yancey”, the founder of FatBurger, when she made her

first FatBurger patty back in 1952”. “On behalf of the entire UFC team, I invite everyone to visit Fat Burger’s third branch at the Avenues mall to get a feeling of what a real American burger tastes like”, added Bizri. In addition to our cooked-to-order juicy burgers and delicious milkshakes, FatBurger is also known for offering the best and freshest food ingredients in town, from tomatoes and lettuce to our tasty onion rings. For these reasons, FatBurger was chosen as the best burger in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Beijing, Dubai, Lebanon etc.

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

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.

Registrations will take place at the South African Embassy on 26 and 27 January 2014 from 08h30 to 15h30 at Villa No 3, House No 91, Street 1, Block 10, Salwa.

To be eligible to register at the SA Embassy, a person must : l Be a South African Citizen and be 16 years of age and older; l Submit a valid green bar-coded Identity Document, a valid Temporary Identity Certificate (valid for 2 months) or a Smart Card; l Submit a valid South African Passport; and l 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 - please check your registration status on www.elections.org.za. For any further enquiries, please phone Tel : 25617988 during working hours or visit the IEC Website at www.elections.org.za. Special Registration Officers at the Embassy are: First Secretary, L van der Walt and Third Secretary, MC Kekae. nnnnnnn

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 +965-2227-1673).

5. If you need to change or cancel your appointment, please do so 24 hours beforehand, as a courtesy to other applicants. For more information, please visit the US Embassy website - kuwait.usembassy.gov - as it is the best source of information regarding these changes. nnnnnnn

EMBASSY OF VATICAN The Apostolic Nunciature Embassy of the Holy See, Vatican in Kuwait has moved to a new location in Kuwait City. Please find below the new address: Yarmouk, Block 1, Street 2, Villa No: 1. P.O.Box 29724, Safat 13158, Kuwait. Tel: 965 25337767, Fax: 965 25342066. Email: nuntiuskuwait@gmail.com.

MONDAY, JANUARY 20, 2014

TV PROGRAMS

00:50 Untamed & Uncut 01:45 China’s Deadliest Snakes 02:35 Animal Cops Philadelphia 03:25 Great White Shark: Uncaged 04:15 Wildest Africa 05:05 Man, Cheetah, Wild 05:55 Animal Cops Philadelphia 06:45 Wildest Islands 07:35 Wildlife SOS 08:00 Monkey Life 08:25 Too Cute!

09:15 Wildest Islands 10:10 Too Cute!

11:05 Wildest Africa 12:00 Animal Cops Phoenix 12:55 Monkey Life 13:20 Swamp Brothers 13:50 Steve Irwin’s Wildlife Warriors 14:15 Steve Irwin’s Wildlife Warriors 14:45 Swimming With Monsters: Steve Backshall 15:40 Wildest Africa 16:30 My Cat From Hell 17:30 Wildest Islands 18:25 Meet The Sloths 18:50 Meet The Sloths 19:20 Journey Of Life 20:15 Shark Attack File 3 21:10 Swamp Brothers 21:35 Swamp Brothers 22:05 Wildest Africa 23:00 Nature’s Newborns 23:30 Nature’s Newborns 23:55 America’s Cutest Pets

00:15 My Family: Christmas Special 2005 00:45 Tough Guy Or Chicken?

01:35 Tess Of The D’urbervilles 02:30 Stella 03:15 As Time Goes By 03:45 My Family: Christmas Special 2005 04:15 The Weakest Link 05:00 Balamory 05:20 Nina And The Neurons: In The Lab 05:35 The Green Balloon Club 06:00 3rd & Bird 06:10 Poetry Pie 06:15 Balamory 06:35 Nina And The Neurons: In The Lab 06:50 The Green Balloon Club 07:15 3rd & Bird 07:25 Poetry Pie 07:30 The Weakest Link 08:15 The Impressions Show With Culshaw...

08:45 Blackadder The Third 09:15 Walk On The Wild Side 09:45 Doctors 10:20 The World’s Worst Place To Be Gay 11:10 Last Man Standing 12:00 The Weakest Link 12:45 The Impressions Show With Culshaw...

13:15 Blackadder The Third 13:45 Walk On The Wild Side 14:15 Doctors 14:45 The World’s Worst Place To Be Gay 15:35 Last Man Standing 16:25 The Weakest Link 17:10 Eastenders 17:40 Doctors 18:10 Alone In The Wild 19:00 My Family 19:30 Only Fools And Horses 20:00 Sherlock 21:30 Spooks 22:20 Moone Boy 22:50 Tess Of The D’urbervilles 23:45 Eastenders

00:00 Cash In The Attic 00:45 Fat & Fatter 01:35 Come Dine With Supersize

Me:

03:15 Rachel Khoo’s Kitchen Notebook: London 03:40 Antiques Roadshow 04:30 Bargain Hunt: Famous Finds 05:15 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition Specials 06:40 Gok’s Clothes Roadshow 07:25 Gok’s Clothes Roadshow 08:10 Cash In The Attic 08:55 Bargain Hunt: Famous Finds 09:35 Masterchef: The Professionals 10:20 Come Dine With Me: Supersize 11:55 Fat & Fatter 12:45 Gok’s Fashion Fix 13:35 Fantasy Homes By The Sea 14:20 Antiques Roadshow 15:10 Homes Under The Hammer 16:55 Bargain Hunt 17:40 Cash In The Attic 18:25 Antiques Roadshow 19:15 DIY SOS: The Big Build 20:10 Rachel Khoo’s Kitchen Notebook: London 20:40 Come Dine With Me 21:30 Come Dine With Me 22:20 Antiques Roadshow 23:15 Bargain Hunt

11:50 Suite Life On Deck 12:15 A.N.T. Farm 12:35 Austin And Ally 13:00 Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior 14:25 Prank Stars 14:35 Dog With A Blog 15:00 Wolfblood 15:25 Gravity Falls 15:50 Jessie 16:10 Violetta 17:00 A.N.T. Farm 17:20 Austin And Ally 17:45 Gravity Falls 18:10 Shake It Up 18:30 Good Luck Charlie 18:55 Dog With A Blog 19:20 Violetta 20:05 Jessie 20:30 My Babysitter’s A Vampire 20:50 Wolfblood 21:15 Gravity Falls 21:40 Shake It Up 22:00 Austin And Ally 22:25 A.N.T. Farm 22:50 Good Luck Charlie 23:10 Wizards Of Waverly Place 23:35 Wizards Of Waverly Place

00:05 Ice Cold Gold 00:55 Kings Of Crash 06:00 Mythbusters 07:00 Bush Pilots 07:50 Robson Green’s Extreme Fishing Challenge 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 Kings Of Crash 12:25 World’s Top 5 13:15 How It’s Made: Dream Cars 13:40 How It’s Made: Dream Cars 14:05 Border Security 14:30 Auction Kings 14:55 American Digger 15:20 Flying Wild Alaska 16:10 Fast N’ Loud 17:00 Ultimate Survival 17:50 Dirty Jobs 18:40 Outback Truckers 19:30 Sons Of Guns 20:20 How Do They Do It? 20:45 How It’s Made 21:10 Auction Kings 21:35 Baggage Battles 22:00 Gold Rush - South America 22:50 Gold Fever 23:40 Ice Cold Gold

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!ES 03:15 Extreme Close-Up 04:10 THS 05:05 E!ES 06:00 THS 07:50 Style Star 08:20 E! News 09:15 Opening Act 10:15 Married To Jonas 10:40 Chasing The Saturdays 11:10 What Would Ryan Lochte Do? 11:35 What Would Ryan Lochte Do? 12:05 E! News 13:05 Live From The Red Carpet: The 2014 Screen...

15:00 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 17:00 The Drama Queen 18:00 E! News 19:00 E!ES 20:00 Eric And Jessie: Game On 20:30 Eric And Jessie: Game On 21:00 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 22:00 Party On 23:00 THS

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 09:55 10:15 10:40 11:05 11:25

00:15 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 01:05 Healthy Appetite With Ellie Krieger 01:30 Guy’s Big Bite 01:55 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 02:20 Healthy Appetite With Ellie Krieger 02:45 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 04:25 Andy Bates American Street Feasts 04:50 Iron Chef America 05:40 Chopped 06:30 Unwrapped 06:50 Tastiest Places To Chowdown 07:10 Food Network Challenge 08:00 Luke Nguyen’s Vietnam 08:25 Roadtrip With G. Garvin 08:50 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 09:15 Iron Chef America 10:05 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 10:30 Amazing Wedding Cakes 11:20 Easy Chinese: San Francisco 11:45 Andy Bates American Street Feasts 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

The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody Jonas Jonas 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 Jonas Jonas 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 Shake It Up Austin And Ally A.N.T. Farm Dog With A Blog Jessie Wolfblood

Dramas show rapid change in television Creators of two of the most indelible dramas on network television last decade, “Lost” and “Desperate Housewives,” are making programs for cable networks now, and they speak with the zeal of the happily converted. “Now that we’re all here together, we can definitively agree that cable is far superior to network,” said Damon Lindelof, who worked on ABC’s “Lost” and is making a similarly complex new program for HBO, “The Leftovers.” The changing balance of power - and how proud broadcasters are fighting back - is the subtext to meetings with television industry leaders and reporters in Pasadena this month. Nowhere is that more clear than in the field of dramas.

CLEAR HISTORY ON OSN MOVIES HD 13:50 Siba’s Table 14:15 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 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 18:25 Symon’s Suppers 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 Reza, Spice Prince Of India 23:25 Reza, Spice Prince Of India 23:50 Sandwich King

00:00 Web Therapy 01:30 New Girl 02:00 New Girl 02:30 Weeds 03:00 Breaking In 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 Breaking In 09:30 2 Broke Girls 10:00 Two And A Half Men 10:30 Friends 11:00 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 12:00 Two And A Half Men 13:30 Friends 14:30 2 Broke Girls 15:00 Two And A Half Men 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 Arrested Development 18:30 The Simpsons 19:00 2 Broke Girls 19:30 Trophy Wife 20:00 The Cleveland Show 20:30 Web Therapy 21:00 The Daily Show Global Edition 21:30 The Colbert Report Global Edition 22:00 Hello Ladies 22:30 Eastbound & Down 23:00 Weeds 23:30 The Cleveland Show

15:00 17:00 19:00 21:00 22:00 23:00

C.S.I. New York The Ellen DeGeneres Show Betrayal Suits Strike Back Sons Of Anarchy

00:00 Fertile Ground-18 02:00 Shadow-PG15 04:00 Darkman-PG15 06:00 The Saint-PG15 08:00 Ice Quake-PG15 10:00 Deadly Hope-PG15 12:00 Mission: Impossible-PG15 14:00 Ice Quake-PG15 16:00 Wild Wild West-PG15 18:00 Mission: Impossible-PG15 20:00 The Veteran-18 22:00 No Man’s Land: The Rise Of Reeker-18

MISSION IMPOSSIBLE ON OSN MOVIES ACTION HD

Once often content to air reruns, cable networks are busy establishing themselves as creators. There are 180 scripted original series on cable this year, up from 22 in 2002, said John Landgraf, FX network chief.

Services like Netflix are jumping in, too. More important than numbers is the perception that cable is the place to turn for quality. It started with “The Sopranos,” and continues with awards and critical attention showered on the likes of “Mad Men,” “Homeland” and “Breaking Bad.” The idea is reinforced when many of television’s key creative minds argue that cable is the place to be.

Marc Cherry, creator of “Desperate Housewives,” said that making the soap “Devious Maids” for Lifetime “has been just a joyous creative experience.” To be fair, Cherry took “Devious Maids” to ABC first and was rejected. Now he revels in the creative freedom, saying he gets less second-guessing. Cherry said he has more time to work on the writing, and can include more

00:00 A Very Harold And Kumar Christmas-18 02:00 Rushmore-PG15

04:00 I Don’t Know How She Does It-PG15 06:00 Smooch-PG15 08:00 New Year’s Eve-PG15 10:00 Gabe The Cupid Dog-PG 12:00 I Don’t Know How She Does It-PG15 14:00 A Thousand Words-PG15 16:00 Gabe The Cupid Dog-PG 18:00 Fun Size-PG15 20:00 Spy Hard-PG15 22:00 The Angel’s Share-PG15

01:00 03:00 04:30 06:00 09:00 11:00 13:00 15:00 16:45 18:45 21:30 23:30

01:15 03:30 06:30 08:30 10:15 12:00 PG15 13:45 PG15 15:45 17:15 19:15 20:45 22:30

A Woman-PG15 A Christmas Kiss-PG15 Arctic Blast-PG15 Hindenburg-PG15 A Woman-PG15 The First Grader-PG15 Web Of Lies-PG15 Love Finds A Home-PG15 Saving Grace B. Jones-PG15 Les Miserables-PG15 W.E.-18 Best Laid Plans-18

The Game-18 John Rabe-18 Intolerable Cruelty-PG15 Remember Sunday-PG15 TT: Closer To The Edge-PG15 The Music Never StoppedNight Falls On ManhattanOne Angry Juror-PG15 The Intouchables-PG15 Extremities-18 Wind Chill-PG15 He Got Game-18

01:00 Girl In Progress-PG15 03:00 Moonrise Kingdom-PG15 05:00 A View From Here-PG15 07:00 Blue Lagoon: The Awakening-PG15 09:00 The Odd Life Of Timothy Green-PG 11:00 The Wild Girl-PG15 13:00 Gnomeo & Juliet-PG 15:00 Sparkle-PG15 17:00 The Odd Life Of Timothy Green-PG 19:00 Clear History-PG15 21:00 The Campaign-18 22:45 On The Road-R

01:15 Rh+ The Vampire Of Seville 02:45 The Lucky Dragon 04:30 Santa’s Magic Crystal 06:00 Surf’s Up 08:00 The Elf Who Stole Christmas 10:00 Ben 10: Alien Swarm 11:30 Alvin And The Chipmunks: Chipwrecked 13:00 Rh+ The Vampire Of Seville 14:30 Who Framed Roger Rabbit 16:15 The Legend Of Sarila 18:00 Ben 10: Alien Swarm 20:00 Bushwhacked 22:00 Who Framed Roger Rabbit 23:45 The Legend Of Sarila

00:15 Just Crazy Enough-PG15 02:00 Here Comes The Boom-PG15 04:00 Mandie And The Secret Tunnel-PG 06:00 The Double-PG15 08:00 George Harrison: Living In The Material World-PG15 11:30 Dead Lines-PG15 13:15 Here Comes The Boom-PG15 15:00 A Heartbeat Away-PG15 16:30 The Double-PG15 18:15 Bernie-PG15 20:00 The Expendables 2-PG15

22:00 Age Of Heroes-PG15

00:00 Live PGA Tour 03:00 Futbol Mundial 03:30 Live NHL 06:30 ICC Cricket 360 07:00 PGA European Tour 11:30 PGA Tour 15:00 Futbol Mundial 15:30 Live Champions Tour 18:30 HSBC Sevens World Series Highlights 19:00 PGA Tour Highlights 20:00 PGA European Tour Highlights 21:00 Snooker Masters

02:00 02:30 05:30 06:00 07:00 09:30 12:00 14:00 17:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 23:30

NFL Gameday Live NFL This Week In WWE Cricket ODI Series Highlights NFL NFL NHL Snooker Amlin Challenge Cup WWE Bottom Line WWE NXT NFL NHL

02:00 ICC Cricket 360 02:30 Asian Tour Golf 07:00 Golfing World 08:00 Snooker Masters 11:00 FEI Equestrian World 11:30 FEI Equestrian World 12:00 Amlin Challenge Cup 14:00 Golfing World 15:00 Trans World Sport 16:00 FEI Equestrian World 16:30 FEI Equestrian World 17:00 Futbol Mundial 17:30 Snooker Masters 20:30 Amlin Challenge Cup 22:30 PGA Tour Highlights 23:30 PGA European Highlights

Tour

00:00 02:00 03:00 05:00 06:00 07:00 08:00 09:00 09:30 10:00 12:00 15:00 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 22:00

NHL WWE Experience Bellator MMA US Bass Fishing Storm Show Collection WWE Bottom Line WWE Experience World Snowboarding Tour World Snowboarding Tour Monster Energy Supercross Prizefighter NHL WWE Bottom Line WWE Experience Pro Bull Riders Monster Energy Supercross Bellator MMA

00:00 01:00 02:00 03:00 04:00 04:30 05:00 06:00 07:00 08:00 09:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00 18:00

Engineering Connections Banged Up Abroad Breakout Salvage Code Red What Would Happen If What Would Happen If Prehistoric Predators Salvage Code Red Megacities Engineering Connections Banged Up Abroad Breakout Salvage Code Red Aftermath Prehistoric Predators Salvage Code Red Megacities Megastructures Banged Up Abroad Banged Up Abroad

intricate details. After acknowledging now that he went into the critically drubbed second season of “Desperate Housewives” with no plan, he learned he needs to have an idea of what will happen in a second season before beginning the first.

Cable offers a measure of security that broadcasters, with more intense commercial pressures, can’t match. A cable series is rarely canceled in the middle of a season. The grind of a typical broadcast schedule, requiring some 22 episodes a year, also wears on creators - particularly now that they see an alternative.

Most cable “seasons” are half that, or less. That improves quality, Lindelof said.

“You’re not needing to fill weeks of story that are non-essential,” he said. “So, hopefully, every episode of ‘The Leftovers’ will feel like it needs to exist versus it’s just this very kind of fibrous bridge that exists between two essential episodes which all of us as TV fans, you know, really find incredibly frustrating to watch.” Before one conference last week, producers of several CBS dramas admitted grumbling backstage about their workload.

“That’s an insatiable appetite,” said Jonathan Nolan, “Person of Interest” executive producer, “which is a great thing that the audience wants more of what you’re making, but it is very difficult. I feel like that number is probably calibrated ... not to the length of the season or production schedules, but to the exact point at which a showrunner (producer) will have a nervous breakdown.” What Nolan finds exciting about being on CBS is the immediacy, writing a scene and seeing it on the air a few weeks later. It’s not like broadcasters are bereft. CBS’ “The Good Wife,” NBC’s “The Blacklist” and ABC’s “Scandal” are popular and creatively strong. Broadcasters still have a reach that cable networks can’t match. Television’s most popular show, “NCIS” on CBS, has roughly 20 million viewers for each new episode, twice as much as AMC’s buzz worthy “The Walking Dead.”

“It’s a privilege to reach an audience the size that we’re able to reach in broadcast,” said “NCIS” executive producer Gary Glasberg. “The fact that we’re in our 11th season and we have the viewership that we do, 18 million Facebook fans, that’s crazy. And, you know, that’s because I’m on broadcast.” Networks are now looking for more limited-run series. Over the past year, CBS, NBC and Fox have each assigned executives to look specifically for these types of projects. Veteran producer Mark Burnett and his wife, Roma Downey, successful with “The Bible” miniseries on History last year, signed with CBS to adapt “The Dovekeepers” to television for a miniseries.

Kevin Reilly, Fox entertainment president, said he’s doing away with broadcast’s traditional pilot season, where networks make test episodes of dozens of prospective series and choose among them during a furious couple of weeks in the spring. That’s a nod to cable: Reilly wants to take more time developing series to work out kinks and have a better idea of how it will work. Not everyone fully agrees with him, but change is in the air. — AP

Classifieds MONDAY, JANUARY 20, 2014

Kuwait SHARQIA-1 12 YEARS A SLAVE (DIG) RAZE (DIG) YEVADU (DIG) (TELUGU) BEBE (DIG) (ARABIC) NO FRI RAZE (DIG) BEBE (DIG) (ARABIC) RAZE (DIG)

8:00 PM 10:00 PM 12:30 AM

SHARQIA-2 THE WOLF OF WALL STREET (DIG) FROZEN (DIG-3D) 12 YEARS A SLAVE (DIG) THE WOLF OF WALL STREET (DIG) THE WOLF OF WALL STREET (DIG)

2:00 PM 4:45 PM 7:00 PM 9:30 PM 12:05 AM

SHARQIA-3 JACK RYAN: SHADOW RECRUIT (DIG) HOMEFRONT (DIG) JACK RYAN: SHADOW RECRUIT (DIG) HOMEFRONT (DIG) JACK RYAN: SHADOW RECRUIT (DIG) JACK RYAN: SHADOW RECRUIT (DIG)

12:45 PM 3:00 PM 5:00 PM 7:15 PM 9:15 PM 11:30 PM

MUHALAB-1 HOMEFRONT (DIG) NO FRI BEBE (DIG) (ARABIC) NO FRI YEVADU (DIG) (TELUGU) FRI YEVADU (DIG) (TELUGU) YEVADU (DIG) (TELUGU) MUHALAB-2 JACK RYAN: SHADOW RECRUIT (DIG) MR.GO (DIG) JACK RYAN: SHADOW RECRUIT (DIG) JACK RYAN: SHADOW RECRUIT (DIG) MUHALAB-3 THE WOLF OF WALL STREET (DIG) JUSTIN AND THE KNIGHTS OF VALOUR (DIG-3D) RAZE (DIG) THE WOLF OF WALL STREET (DIG) RAZE (DIG) FANAR-1 JUSTIN AND THE KNIGHTS OF VALOUR (DIG) BEBE (DIG) (ARABIC) 12 YEARS A SLAVE (DIG) BEBE (DIG) (ARABIC) 12 YEARS A SLAVE (DIG) FANAR-2 FROZEN (DIG) FROZEN (DIG) THE WOLF OF WALL STREET (DIG) THE WOLF OF WALL STREET (DIG) THE WOLF OF WALL STREET (DIG) FANAR-3 MR.GO (DIG) ZINDA BHAAG (DIG) (PAKISTANI) YEVADU (DIG) (TELUGU) POLICE STORY 2014 (DIG) POLICE STORY 2014 (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED FANAR-4 JACK RYAN: SHADOW RECRUIT (DIG) JACK RYAN: SHADOW RECRUIT (DIG)

1:00 PM 3:30 PM 5:30 PM 5:30 PM

JACK RYAN: SHADOW RECRUIT (DIG) JACK RYAN: SHADOW RECRUIT (DIG) JACK RYAN: SHADOW RECRUIT (DIG) JACK RYAN: SHADOW RECRUIT (DIG)

5:00 PM 7:15 PM 9:30 PM 11:45 PM

FANAR-5 RAZE (DIG) HOMEFRONT (DIG) RAZE (DIG) HOMEFRONT (DIG) RAZE (DIG) HOMEFRONT (DIG) RAZE (DIG)

12:30 PM 2:30 PM 4:30 PM 6:30 PM 8:30 PM 10:30 PM 12:30 AM

MARINA-1 JUSTIN AND THE KNIGHTS OF VALOUR (DIG) HOMEFRONT (DIG) JUSTIN AND THE KNIGHTS OF VALOUR (DIG) BEBE (DIG) (ARABIC) BEBE (DIG) (ARABIC) HOMEFRONT (DIG)

12:30 PM 2:30 PM 4:30 PM 6:30 PM 9:00 PM 11:30 PM

MARINA-2 JACK RYAN: SHADOW RECRUIT (DIG) JACK RYAN: SHADOW RECRUIT (DIG) MR.GO (DIG) JACK RYAN: SHADOW RECRUIT (DIG) 12 YEARS A SLAVE (DIG) JACK RYAN: SHADOW RECRUIT (DIG)

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

MARINA-3 THE WOLF OF WALL STREET (DIG) RAZE (DIG) FROZEN (DIG-3D) THE WOLF OF WALL STREET (DIG) RAZE (DIG) THE WOLF OF WALL STREET (DIG)

1:00 PM 3:30 PM 5:30 PM 7:45 PM 10:30 PM 12:30 AM

AVENUES-1 JUSTIN AND THE KNIGHTS OF VALOUR (DIG) JUSTIN AND THE KNIGHTS OF VALOUR (DIG) JUSTIN AND THE KNIGHTS OF VALOUR (DIG) JUSTIN AND THE KNIGHTS OF VALOUR (DIG) YEVADU (DIG) (TELUGU) YEVADU (DIG) (TELUGU) YEVADU (DIG) (TELUGU)

12:45 PM 2:00 PM 2:45 PM 4:45 PM 4:00 PM 7:00 PM 10:15 PM

AVENUES-2 MR.GO (DIG) 12 YEARS A SLAVE (DIG) MR.GO (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

AVENUES-3 AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY (DIG) AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY (DIG) AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY (DIG) AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY (DIG) AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY (DIG)

2:00 PM 4:30 PM 7:00 PM 9:45 PM 12:15 AM

2:30 PM 5:30 PM 7:45 PM 11:00 PM 1:15 AM

AVENUES-4 JACK RYAN: SHADOW RECRUIT (DIG) JACK RYAN: SHADOW RECRUIT (DIG) JACK RYAN: SHADOW RECRUIT (DIG) JACK RYAN: SHADOW RECRUIT (DIG) JACK RYAN: SHADOW RECRUIT (DIG) JACK RYAN: SHADOW RECRUIT (DIG)

12:30 PM 2:45 PM 5:00 PM 7:15 PM 9:30 PM 11:45 PM

12:30 PM 2:45 PM

AVENUES-5 AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY (DIG) AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY (DIG) THE WOLF OF WALL STREET (DIG)

2:00 PM 4:30 PM 7:00 PM

1:30 PM 3:30 PM 3:00 PM 6:00 PM 9:15 PM 2:30 PM 4:45 PM 7:30 PM 9:45 PM 12:30 PM 3:15 PM 5:15 PM 7:15 PM 10:00 PM 2:15 PM 4:15 PM 7:00 PM 9:45 PM 12:15 AM 1:45 PM 4:00 PM 6:15 PM 9:00 PM 11:30 PM

FOR SALE

KNCC PROGRAMME FROM THURSDAY TO WEDNESDAY (16/01/2014 TO 22/01/2014) AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY (DIG) AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY (DIG)

9:45 PM 12:15 AM

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)

12:45 PM 3:30 PM 6:15 PM 9:00 PM 11:45 PM

360ยบ- 2 HOMEFRONT (DIG) HOMEFRONT (DIG) HOMEFRONT (DIG) HATOULY RAGEL (DIG) HOMEFRONT (DIG) HOMEFRONT (DIG)

1:15 PM 3:15 PM 5:15 PM 7:30 PM 9:30 PM 11:30 PM

360ยบ- 3 FROZEN (DIG-3D) FROZEN (DIG) FROZEN (DIG-3D) FROZEN (DIG-3D) A STRANGER IN PARADISE (DIG) A STRANGER IN PARADISE (DIG)

12:30 PM 3:00 PM 5:15 PM 7:30 PM 9:45 PM 11:30 PM

AL-KOUT.1 JUSTIN AND THE KNIGHTS OF VALOUR (DIG-3D) HOMEFRONT (DIG) JUSTIN AND THE KNIGHTS OF VALOUR (DIG-3D) THE WOLF OF WALL STREET (DIG) HOMEFRONT (DIG) THE WOLF OF WALL STREET (DIG)

1:30 PM 3:30 PM 5:30 PM 7:30 PM 10:15 PM 12:15 AM

AL-KOUT.2 RAZE (DIG) MR.GO (DIG) BEBE (DIG) (ARABIC) RAZE (DIG) BEBE (DIG) (ARABIC) RAZE (DIG)

1:15 PM 3:15 PM 6:00 PM 8:30 PM 10:30 PM 1:00 AM

AL-KOUT.3 JACK RYAN: SHADOW RECRUIT (DIG) FROZEN (DIG) JACK RYAN: SHADOW RECRUIT (DIG) JACK RYAN: SHADOW RECRUIT (DIG) JACK RYAN: SHADOW RECRUIT (DIG) JACK RYAN: SHADOW RECRUIT (DIG)

12:30 PM 2:45 PM 5:00 PM 7:15 PM 9:30 PM 11:45 PM

AL-KOUT.4 POLICE STORY 2013 (DIG) 12 YEARS A SLAVE (DIG) VEERAM (DIG) (TAMIL) VEERAM (DIG) (TAMIL) 12 YEARS A SLAVE (DIG)

1:45 PM 4:00 PM 6:45 PM 9:45 PM 12:45 AM

BAIRAQ-1 FROZEN (DIG-3D) FROZEN (DIG-3D) JACK RYAN: SHADOW RECRUIT (DIG) JACK RYAN: SHADOW RECRUIT (DIG) JACK RYAN: SHADOW RECRUIT (DIG) JACK RYAN: SHADOW RECRUIT (DIG)

1:30 PM 3:45 PM 6:00 PM 8:15 PM 10:30 PM 12:45 AM

BAIRAQ-2 THE WOLF OF WALL STREET (DIG) RAZE (DIG) 12 YEARS A SLAVE (DIG) RAZE (DIG) THE WOLF OF WALL STREET (DIG) RAZE (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

Toyota jeep Land Cruiser G.X. R model 2012, white metallic color, full options, 8 cylinder engine, sun roof, alloy rim fog lamp. FR + R bumper sensor wooden interior, CD cruise control etc, km done 56,000, dealer maintained (installment possible) cash price KD 12,450, negotiable. Tel: 99194874. (C 4620) 16-1-2014 ACCOMMODATION Sharing accommodation available at New Riggae January end onwards, one spacious furnished bedroom neat and clean available with all facilities, phone, coolplex and Internet upon requestร CA/C building, 1 no common toilet looking for couples without kids or decent executive bachelor nonsmoking and non-drinking.

Location very close to 5th Ring Road, opposite chocolate shop - Dalmatian shop.

Preference for south Indians. Serious persons can contact George: 99072651. (C 4622) 19-1-2014

CHANGE OF NAME I, Gurigunja Mallikarjuna Naidu holder of Indian Passport No. K5294752 residing at Appagaripally, Kadappa, AP. Now I change my name to Gurigunjakunta Mallikarjuna Naidu.

18-1-2014

Prayer timings Fajr:

05:20

Shorook

06:43

Duhr:

11:59

Asr:

14:56

Maghrib:

17:16

Isha:

18:36

No: 16052

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

Directorate General of Civil Aviation Home Page (www.kuwait-airport.com.kw)

Airlines BBC JAI KAC JZR THY JZR QTR GFA THY AFG UAE ETD JAI MSR QTR FDB THY DHX JZR FDB BAW KAC KAC KAC FDB QTR UAE KAC KAC ABY ETD FDB QTR GFA KAC MSC MSC JZR IRC MEA SYR UAE MSR KAC MSR FDB QTR KAC

Arrival Flights on Monday 20/1/2014 Flt Route 43 DHAKA 574 MUMBAI 502 BEIRUT 267 BEIRUT 772 ISTANBUL 539 CAIRO 1084 DOHA 211 BAHRAIN 764 SABIHA 416 JEDDAH 853 DUBAI 305 ABU DHABI-INTL 576 COCHIN 612 CAIRO 1076 DOHA 67 DUBAI 770 ISTANBUL 170 BAHRAIN 503 LUXOR 69 DUBAI 157 LONDON 412 MANILA 206 ISLAMABAD 302 MUMBAI 53 DUBAI 1086 DOHA 855 DUBAI 362 COLOMBO 352 COCHIN 125 SHARJAH 301 ABU DHABI-INTL 55 DUBAI 1070 DOHA 213 BAHRAIN 344 CHENNAI 401 ALEXANDRIA 403 ASYUT 165 DUBAI 6521 LAMERD 404 BEIRUT 341 DAMASCUS 871 DUBAI 610 CAIRO 382 DELHI 579 SOHAG 57 DUBAI 1078 DOHA 546 ALEXANDRIA

Time 00:05 00:10 00:15 00:40 00:45 00:40 00:55 02:10 02:15 02:20 02:35 02:45 02:50 03:10 03:45 04:00 05:35 05:40 05:50 05:50 06:40 06:45 07:40 07:55 07:50 07:50 08:40 08:45 09:50 09:00 09:20 09:40 09:55 10:40 10:40 10:50 11:15 11:30 11:45 11:55 12:30 12:50 13:00 13:05 13:05 13:50 13:55 14:05

SVA KNE GFA NIA OMA KNE KAC QTR UAE ETD RJA SVA ABY GFA KAC MPH JZR RBG JZR MSC KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC QTR FDB KAC KAC GFA KAC OMA FDB JAI ABY AXB DLH ALK MEA ETD UAE KNE GFA QTR FDB JZR JZR AIC PIA TAR JZR

500 472 221 251 645 460 118 1072 857 303 640 510 127 215 284 93 777 553 177 405 786 542 742 788 774 1080 63 618 674 217 104 647 61 572 129 489 636 229 402 307 859 480 219 1074 59 135 239 975 205 327 185

JEDDAH JEDDAH BAHRAIN ALEXANDRIA MUSCAT RIYADH NEW YORK DOHA DUBAI ABU DHABI-INTL AMMAN-QUEEN ALIA RIYADH SHARJAH BAHRAIN DHAKA AMSTERDAM JEDDAH ALEXANDRIA DUBAI SOHAG JEDDAH CAIRO DAMMAM JEDDAH RIYADH DOHA DUBAI DOHA DUBAI BAHRAIN LONDON MUSCAT DUBAI MUMBAI SHARJAH COCHIN FRANKFURT COLOMBO BEIRUT ABU DHABI-INTL DUBAI TAIF BAHRAIN DOHA DUBAI BAHRAIN AMMAN-QUEEN ALIA CHENNAI LAHORE TUNIS DUBAI

14:30 14:35 15:00 15:50 15:55 15:55 16:35 16:40 16:40 16:50 16:55 17:15 17:25 17:30 17:45 17:50 17:55 18:15 18:20 18:30 18:45 18:05 18:20 18:10 18:45 18:40 18:45 19:00 19:25 19:30 19:35 19:55 20:05 20:10 20:20 20:35 20:55 21:10 21:20 21:35 21:40 21:45 21:45 22:00 22:00 22:05 22:20 22:30 23:05 23:15 23:20

Airlines AIC UAL PIA JAI BBC DLH THY AFG UAE KAC ETD MSR QTR FDB QTR KAC FDB JAI JZR THY GFA KAC THY FDB BAW QTR KAC ABY UAE ETD FDB QTR GFA KAC KAC MSC MSC KAC JZR IRC MEA KAC SYR JZR MSR MSR UAE FDB

Departure Flights onMonday 20/1/2014 Flt Route 982 AHMEDABAD 981 WASHINGTON 206 LAHORE 573 MUMBAI 44 CHITTAGONG 635 FRANKFURT 773 ISTANBUL-ATATURK 416 KABUL 854 DUBAI 381 DELHI 306 ABU DHABI 613 CAIRO 1085 DOHA 68 DUBAI 1077 DOHA 283 DHAKA 70 DUBAI 575 ABU DHABI 164 DUBAI 765 ISTANBUL-SABIHA 212 BAHRAIN 545 ALEXANDRIA 771 ISTANBUL-ATATURK 54 DUBAI 156 LONDON 1087 DOHA 787 JEDDAH 126 SHARJAH 856 DUBAI 302 ABU DHABI 56 DUBAI 1071 DOHA 214 BAHRAIN 541 CAIRO 165 ROME 406 SOHAG 404 ASYUT 103 LONDON 776 JEDDAH 6522 LAMERD 405 BEIRUT 785 JEDDAH 342 DAMASCUS 176 DUBAI 580 SOHAG 611 CAIRO 872 DUBAI 58 DUBAI

DIAL161 FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION

Time 00:05 00:55 01:05 01:10 01:45 02:10 02:55 03:30 03:50 03:50 04:00 04:10 04:15 04:40 05:15 05:15 06:30 06:35 06:55 07:05 07:15 07:15 07:30 08:30 08:45 08:50 09:25 09:40 09:55 10:05 10:20 10:55 11:25 11:30 11:50 11:50 12:15 12:20 12:25 12:45 12:55 13:00 13:30 13:45 13:50 14:00 14:15 14:30

QTR KAC KAC KAC KAC KNE GFA SVA KNE NIA OMA JZR ETD QTR UAE JZR RJA ABY SVA GFA JZR JZR RBG JZR MPH FDB MSC QTR GFA FDB OMA KAC KAC ABY JAI KAC DLH DHX ALK MEA ETD KNE GFA KAC FDB UAE KAC QTR JZR KAC

1079 673 773 741 617 473 222 501 481 252 646 238 304 1073 858 538 641 128 511 216 184 266 553 134 93 64 402 1081 218 62 648 331 361 120 571 351 636 171 230 403 308 461 220 301 60 860 205 1075 502 411

DOHA DUBAI RIYADH DAMMAM DOHA JEDDAH BAHRAIN JEDDAH TAIF ALEXANDRIA MUSCAT AMMAN ABU DHABI DOHA DUBAI CAIRO AMMAN SHARJAH RIYADH BAHRAIN DUBAI BEIRUT ALEXANDRIA BAHRAIN AL MAKTOUM INTERNATIONAL DUBAI ALEXANDRIA DOHA BAHRAIN DUBAI MUSCAT TRIVANDRUM COLOMBO SHARJAH MUMBAI KOCHI DAMMAM BAHRAIN COLOMBO BEIRUT ABU DHABI RIYADH BAHRAIN MUMBAI DUBAI DUBAI ISLAMABAD DOHA LUXOR BANGKOK

14:55 15:05 15:20 15:20 15:30 15:30 15:45 15:45 16:40 16:50 16:55 16:55 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 19:30 19:40 20:15 20:45 20:55 20:55 21:00 21:00 21:10 21:10 21:35 21:50 22:10 22:20 22:20 22:30 22:30 22:35 22:40 22:50 22:55 23:10 23:30 23:55

34

s ta rs CROSSWORD 434

STAR TRACK Aries (March 21-April 19) ARIES If you can be open to suggestions as well as a logical technique, you will see some improvements in your finances. It is time now to review contracts or business agreements for any loopholes. Being slavish to established ideals could result in a loss of freedom and insight. Be aware that lofty ideals do not automatically guarantee honesty. If there has been a personal disagreement, it can be smoothed out now. Be careful to keep a lid on that heady feeling that comes with being self-assured. A friendship could easily turn to love at this time. Your creative side is showing tonight. The evening provides opportunities for the refurbishing of your spirit through some fun activity that involves a loved one and perhaps a few friends.

Taurus (April 20-May 20) Good luck and charm surround you wherever you go today. You will be successful with all the projects you begin. You perform best when you compete with yourself.

You are able to prove your proficiency when you come up with the perfect design or technique for solving mysteries or quandaries. Creativity is in full swing. Have you taken a writing course you might enjoy a writing course through your community college. Your routine has been so tough lately you will probably be feeling like breaking away from the predictable. An alternative healing therapy like acupuncture or a massage may be just what is needed to help you bring a balance into your life now. Break away from your routine and start planning a very special vacation.

Gemini (May 21-June 20)

ACROSS 1. A rare chronic progressive encephalitis caused by the measles virus and occurring primarily in children and young adults.

5. Genus of North American and east Asian perennial herbs.

12. Sandwich filled with slices of bacon and tomato with lettuce.

15. A raised mark on the skin (as produced by the blow of a whip).

16. Of a leaf shape.

17. The former capital and 2nd largest city of Brazil.

18. A very young child (birth to 1 year) who has not yet begun to walk or talk.

19. Argentine soldier who became president of Argentina (1895-1974).

20. An anti-inflammatory drug that does not contain steroids.

22. Marks resembling the wounds on the crucified body of Christ.

24. Tropical New World lizard with a long tail and large rectangular scales on the belly and a long tail.

25. The basic unit of money in Cambodia.

26. Relating to or derived from a glacier.

29. The ratio of the circumference to the diameter of a circle.

31. Used of a single unit or thing.

32. Still in existence.

35. Given to avoiding association with others.

37. Jutting or overhanging.

39. An intensely radioactive metallic element that occurs in minute amounts in uranium ores.

40. A public promotion of some product or service.

43. A member of a group of North American Indian peoples who spoke a Siouan language and who ranged from Lake Michigan to the Rocky Mountains.

46. Relating to or applicable to or concerned with the administration of a city or town or district rather than a larger area.

48. A former agency (from 1946 to 1974) that was responsible for research into atomic energy and its peacetime uses in the United States.

49. Earn on some commercial or business transaction.

50. The sacred city of Lamaism.

52. A inexpensive showy collectibles.

55. Informal terms for a mother.

57. A lepton of very great mass.

58. A cloth having a crisscross design.

62. An ancient town on Crete where Bronze Age culture flourished from about 2000 BC to 1400 BC. 64. Necessary for relief or supply.

66. Read anew.

69. A small cake leavened with yeast.

70. A religious belief of African origin involving witchcraft and sorcery.

71. Port city on southeastern Honshu in central Japan.

74. A decree that prohibits something.

75. Seek someone's favor.

76. A titled peer of the realm.

77. A loose sleeveless outer garment made from aba cloth.

DOWN 1. The compass point that is one point south of southwest.

2. A space reserved for sitting (as in a the-

ater or on a train or airplane).

3. A Chadic language spoken south of Lake Chad.

4. Resembling or characteristic of or appropriate to an elegy.

5. A genus of the cactus family with scarlet flowers.

6. Assist or encourage, usually in some wrongdoing.

7. Hairy blue-flowered European annual herb long used in herbal medicine and eaten raw as salad greens or cooked like spinach.

8. 100 avos equal 1 pataca.

9. East Indian tart yellow berrylike fruit.

10. The local time at the 0 meridian passing through Greenwich, England.

11. A person employed to watch for something to happen.

12. Take in a sail with a brail.

13. Being three more than fifty.

14. Scottish chemist noted for his research into the structure of nucleic acids (born in 1907).

21. (of persons) Having the torso erect and legs bent with the body supported on the buttocks.

23. A membrane (one of 3) that envelops the brain and spinal cord.

27. Being ten more than fifty.

28. An esoteric or occult matter that is traditionally secret.

30. (Old Testament) The first of the major Hebrew prophets (8th century BC).

33. Not contained in or deriving from the essential nature of something.

34. Reconnaissance (by shortening).

36. A dialect of English spoken in the Lowlands of Scotland.

38. United States film actor who appeared in many films with Katharine Hepburn (1900-1967).

41. The syllable naming the first (tonic) note of any major scale in solmization.

42. (botany) Especially of leaves.

44. A musical composition for voices and orchestra based on a religious text.

45. Get undressed.

47. Mexican city on the Bay of Campeche.

51. A unit of dry measure used in Egypt.

53. Iraqi leader who waged war against Iran and who invaded Kuwait (born in 1937).

54. Either of two spiral-horned antelopes of the African bush.

56. Small cubes with 1 to 6 spots on the faces.

59. (Jungian psychology) The inner self (not the external persona) that is in touch with the unconscious.

60. Cubes of meat marinated and cooked on a skewer usually with vegetables.

61. A city in southern Turkey on the Seyhan River.

63. (Babylonian) God of wisdom and agriculture and patron of scribes and schools.

65. A Chadic language spoken south of Lake Chad.

67. A colloid that has a continuous liquid phase in which a solid is suspended in a liquid.

68. A guided missile fired from shipboard against an airborne target.

72. A unit of information equal to 1024 bytes.

73. An associate degree in nursing.

MONDAY, JANUARY 20, 2014

Taking care of business is a major theme where your emotional orientation is concerned. This may mean family business but you could be tending to a bit of paperwork from the office. A problem encountered today may actually become an opportunity. You crave organization and common sense and you want to get things accomplished. Set this work aside for the afternoon and enjoy some sort of exercise with a friend. You plan to be at an early evening dinner with neighbors and do not want to miss the get-together. A good conversation with people you enjoy is possible this evening. The situation is a natural for self-expression and lends itself to your particular ideas and thoughts. By having time to visit with neighbors you feel a sense of security.

Cancer (June 21-July 22) Today you have insight into a difficult situation that you are determined to turn into a positive end. You see what is wrong and you know what to do. This means cooperation and organization, authority and discipline, responsibility—and all these things are what it takes to get you where you know you must go. Careful—if your vision is only for yourself, what you create cannot last: it must be for some greater good. Your career takes top priority and your drive to accomplish your aims can be quite strong.

Ambition, practicality and achievement are admirable, but they are means to an end—not ends in themselves. At the end of this day you can dismiss thinking about work and stick with the home and friends. Call some friends or visit a bookstore.

Leo (July 23-August 22) You may try and make time to do a little writing for a project that will be coming up at work next week. A minor amount of preparation work could make the difference toward moving in a positive direction with as few hang-ups as possible. Later today, you may be helping someone move or work on his or her special project. Be sure to take protein breaks to keep up your energy. Playful antics can get out of control so use good judgment. On the home front, check all the appliances, smoke detectors, food supply, automobile upkeep, batteries for flashlights. There is nothing like feeling secure if the weather turns bad. You are very intuitive when it comes to understanding what foods your body needs; be prepared.

Virgo (August 23-September 22) Your image is highlighted today and it increases your self-confidence.

Many people value you for your independence and the way you handle difficulties as well as difficult people. This is a great time to be with friends. The opportunity comes up today for you to decide on how you want to help in your religious or community surroundings.

You are good with people and may be asked to volunteer some time in organizing groups of people. If you were wondering whether you should involve yourself in this project, find a partner that will share help and go for it. A good, trouble-free relationship is important to you and while this is not always possible, you will certainly come close to this goal. You have good insight and a positive attitude.

Word Search

Libra (September 23-October 22) Subjects concerning money can be set aside for another time. You really do not have time to spend money today. Most of today, your head is down and the wheels in your brain are turning. You achieve better communication today between relatives.

Figuring out how to help someone may become a topic of special interest—and a challenge. Opinions are not enough now; they must be backed by practical worth. Perhaps someone wants to move to a smaller place or there is some other scenario. This evening may be the time you and your mate have set aside to talk about those messy financial matters—patience. You may have to agree to talk again—tackling one thing at a time. You have something special cooking so that your evening is sure to end pleasantly.

Scorpio (October 23-November 21) Much knowledge can be made available through other people this year.

Romance and sexual attraction comes into play now through the first week of February.

You can be in charge with regard to love. Now through the twenty-fifth of next month, travel will also have a green light. You may, however, have to make confirmations and possibly adjust your plans from time to time. This could mean travel that is short-range rather than long-range and possibly involves working conditions that include filming, research or testing. Your interest in the occult may intensify and you could find yourself really looking forward to the place you will be visiting because of its history and surroundings. Good luck follows you around today.

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21) Take time to enjoy nature today—perhaps a little walk or bicycle ride around the neighborhood. Relaxation is important and sometime this afternoon you might find yourself falling asleep in the warm surroundings of your home. Later today, grocery shop for those healthy, crispy vegetables and fruits to put in your lunches or add to your meals. Keep that lazy attitude for today and stretch like a cat, perhaps a little yoga. All forms of escape could prove very enjoyable. There is a bit of luck that surrounds you for the next few days and may be the key that opens new and positive things in your life. A balanced life is not easy to achieve but very important for your peace of mind. You teach everyone you know to embrace each moment.

Capricorn (December 22-January 19) Information pollution is the subject that keeps running through your mind this morning. Young people tell you about the latest cartoon, toy or technical equipment. You make the decision to do a little more research and reading from time to time just so you can keep up with all the modern gimmicks. You feel important to be included in these conversations and you love to hear all the renditions of their experiences with the different types of hi-tech fun. Young people around you are into a variety of hobbies and they enjoy visiting with their friends. You may hear a bit of negativity but you can teach them that energy follows thought and positive thinking creates positive outcomes.

You choose what is in your life tomorrow by your actions today.

Aquarius (January 20- February 18) There are times that your nerves can feel on edge. This may be an indication that you are frustrated from not completing a task fast enough; or perhaps someone else is not responding as you think is appropriate. You must learn now to accept the human part of you and practice patience. Worry does not help to speed things up, action does and action is a sequence of activity that brings about result. Walking for exercise is a way to focus your thoughts as well as work off anxiety. If the weather is appropriate, try walking.

You had many opportunities for a social life in December and it seems those opportunities will be coming up again. Your financial concerns are warranted; however, you will see ways for improvement.

Pisces (February 19-March 20) Your intuitive powers are at their best today and you can come up with many answers to important questions. You need the respect of others and you will work well with others if you can be allowed to give advice or to guide and be helpful. Travel is possible in the next few weeks and money should soon be available for a trip. You will be pleased at the air miles you have accumulated as well as a special discount to travel. Be aware of what you promise today, especially to a young person; keep your promises. You are to be commended for your actions—you are what you preach. You tend to push yourself too far at times and this can take its toll. Think about establishing new routines that will improve your overall health.

Yesterday’s Solution

Yesterday’s Solution

Daily SuDoku

Yesterday’s Solution

MONDAY, JANUARY 20, 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

Afghanistan 0093 Albania 00355 Algeria 00213 Andorra 00376 Angola 00244 Anguilla 001264 Antiga 001268 Argentina 0054 Armenia 00374 Australia 0061 Austria 0043 Bahamas 001242 Bahrain 00973 Bangladesh 00880 Barbados 001246 Belarus 00375 Belgium 0032 Belize 00501 Benin 00229 Bermuda 001441 Bhutan 00975 Bolivia 00591 Bosnia 00387 Botswana 00267 Brazil 0055 Brunei 00673 Bulgaria 00359 Burkina 00226 Burundi 00257 Cambodia 00855 Cameroon 00237 Canada 001 Cape Verde 00238 Cayman Islands 001345 Central African 00236 Chad 00235 Chile 0056 China 0086 Colombia 0057 Comoros 00269 Congo 00242 Cook Islands 00682 Costa Rica 00506 Croatia 00385 Cuba 0053 Cyprus 00357 Cyprus (Northern) 0090392 Czech Republic 00420 Denmark 0045 Diego Garcia 00246 Djibouti 00253 Dominica 001767 Dominican Republic 001809 Ecuador 00593 Egypt 0020 El Salvador 00503 England (UK) 0044 Equatorial Guinea 00240 Eritrea 00291 Estonia 00372 Ethiopia 00251 Falkland Islands 00500 Faroe Islands 00298 Fiji 00679 Finland 00358 France 0033 French Guiana 00594 French Polynesia 00689 Gabon 00241 Gambia 00220 Georgia 00995 Germany 0049 Ghana 00233 Gibraltar 00350 Greece 0030 Greenland 00299 Grenada 001473 Guadeloupe 00590 Guam 001671 Guatemala 00502 Guinea 00224 Guyana 00592 Haiti 00509 Holland (Netherlands) 0031 Honduras 00504 Hong Kong 00852 Hungary 0036 Ibiza (Spain) 0034 Iceland 00354 India 0091 Indian Ocean 00873 Indonesia 0062

Iran 0098 Iraq 00964 Ireland 00353 Italy 0039 Ivory Coast 00225 Jamaica 001876 Japan 0081 Jordan 00962 Kazakhstan 007 Kenya 00254 Kiribati 00686 Kuwait 00965 Kyrgyzstan 00996 Laos 00856 Latvia 00371 Lebanon 00961 Liberia 00231 Libya 00218 Lithuania 00370 Luxembourg 00352 Macau 00853 Macedonia 00389 Madagascar 00261 Majorca 0034 Malawi 00265 Malaysia 0060 Maldives 00960 Mali 00223 Malta 00356 Marshall Islands 00692 Martinique 00596 Mauritania 00222 Mauritius 00230 Mayotte 00269 Mexico 0052 Micronesia 00691 Moldova 00373 Monaco 00377 Mongolia 00976 Montserrat 001664 Morocco 00212 Mozambique 00258 Myanmar (Burma) 0095 Namibia 00264 Nepal 00977 Netherlands (Holland) 0031 Netherlands Antilles 00599 New Caledonia 00687 New Zealand 0064 Nicaragua 00505 Nigar 00227 Nigeria 00234 Niue 00683 Norfolk Island 00672 Northern Ireland (UK) 0044 North Korea 00850 Norway 0047 Oman 00968 Pakistan 0092 Palau 00680 Panama 00507 Papua New Guinea 00675 Paraguay 00595 Peru 0051 Philippines 0063 Poland 0048 Portugal 00351 Puerto Rico 001787 Qatar 00974 Romania 0040 Russian Federation 007 Rwanda 00250 Saint Helena 00290 Saint Kitts 001869 Saint Lucia 001758 Saint Pierre 00508 Saint Vincent 001784 Samoa US 00684 Samoa West 00685 San Marino 00378 Sao Tone 00239 Saudi Arabia 00966 Scotland (UK) 0044 Senegal 00221 Seychelles 00284 Sierra Leone 00232 Singapore 0065 Slovakia 00421 Slovenia 00386 Solomon Islands 00677

36

MONDAY, JANUARY 20, 2014

LIFESTYLE G o s s i p

Kris Jenner’s chat show officially cancelled T he ‘Keeping Up with the Kardashians’ star is disappointed that her daytime talk show, ‘Kris,’ has been axed after just one season even though she secured a rare interview with her future son-in-law Kanye West and debuted the first picture of the rapper and her daughter Kim Kardashians’ baby North West on the series in August. Fox released a statement that said: “‘Kris’ will not be on the schedule for the 2014 syndication season.” But the US network hasn’t ruled out working with Kris, 58, who split from her husband Bruce Jenner in November after 22 years of marriage, in the future. The statement added: “However, the possibility for the talk show, or an additional project for Kris Jenner, for the 2015 season is being discussed and highly considered.” A source also told gossip website RadarOnline.com: “Kris has been told her talk show is not going to happen. Viewers just tuned out and genuinely don’t want to see her on daytime television, in any format.” The showbiz matriarch - who has masterminded the reality TV careers of her entire family, most notably daughter Kim - previously admitted she loved presenting her own series. Following the first season, she said: “I had so much fun this summer making my dreams come true.”

Oprah Winfrey loves fixing things around her house

‘T

he Butler’ star, who has an estimated net worth of $2.9 billion, insists she is very domesticated and recently repaired her partner Stedman Graham’s toilet by herself at their home in Los Angeles. She told reporters at the 2014 Critics’ Choice Movie Awards: “When you go to flush it and it didn’t, there’s a little chain that connects to the little line thing that’s gonna connect to the bubble. When the little chain falls down and it drops, then you cannot flush. But if you pick that chain up and you put it in the right little spot, then it flushes. “So I figured that out because Stedman’s toilet was running and I wanted to fix his without calling a plumber. So what I did, I went around and took the tops off of all the other toilets, to see what that was doing, and then I figured out what was missing. It was the chain.”

The chat show queen, 59, previously revealed that she prefers doing things for herself, including cooking, rather than hiring professionals. She said: “I’ve had chefs over the years who have come to work for us, and what we’ve learned is it’s much easier for me to just do it myself on the weekends. So when Stedman and I are alone, I basically do all the cooking.”

Niall Horan undergoes major knee surgery

T

he One Direction star has asked fans to “respect” his privacy as he starts to recover from the operation, but he refused to go into detail on the matter. Writing on Twitter, he revealed: “Hey guys I know most of you have seen those pics today! Yes I’ve had major knee surgery , a much larger surgery than first anticipated. “But i would like to tell u , it was a complete success ! Considering the scale of it! So all I ask of you guys is that you would respect my privacy as I try to recover and get for the where we are tour! (sic)” Recently, the ‘Story of My Life’ hitmaker clashed with fans on the micro-blogging website after users created fake accounts posing as his parents. Niall tweeted to ask them to “stop”, describing the false profiles of mother Maura Gallagher and father Bobby Horan as “freaky”. “My brother and Denise are the only ones with twitter so any of you pretending to be my parents! Stop ! It’s actually really freaky! (sic)”

Julia Roberts dedicates herself to her ‘family and friends’

T

he ‘Pretty Woman’ star - who has nine-year-old twins Hazel and Finn and six-year-old son Henry with husband Daniel Moder - says the focus of “happiness” changes with age. Speaking to the Daily Express newspaper, she said: “Happiness takes on different forms as you get older and smarter, make more friends and get deeper into relationships. “I am in a fortunate place in which I can dedicate myself to my family and friends.” The 46-yearold actress doesn’t feel like she has to struggle to live a “normal life” because she never tried to get help for any aspect of her personal life. She added: “I do not have to go to great lengths to participate in a normal life. “I was once asked if I would like to be an ordinary housewife. But I am ordinary. “The only person who cleaned my house was me. I never tried to put other parts of my life into compartments.” Julia also insisted she isn’t motivated by “success”, preferring to focus on her children. She explained: “I love being at home and love being a mum. I am not driven only by acting or film success. There are so many other things to do and enjoy.”

Charlie Sheen ordered to make peace with Denise Richards

T

he ‘Anger Management’ actor had launched a string of abusive messages at his ex-wife - who he claimed stopped him seeing their daughters Sam, nine, and Lola, eight over the festive season - but apologized last Wednesday and it has been claimed he did so as FX, the network which airs his sitcom, told him he had gone too far. A source said: “[The executives told him] he had to tone down the negative rhetoric towards Denise Richards because it was getting so much negative publicity. After Charlie posted those disgusting

messages on Twitter about Denise, the bosses stepped in and said enough.” Insiders are said to be concerned that Charlie is “out of control” and no longer has steadying influences around him.

The source continued to RadarOnline.com: “Charlie is spiraling out of control right now, and making matters worse is that his three most trusted advisers recently quit. The people that used to be able to talk him off the ledge in the past, just aren’t there. Charlie deleted all of the negative posts about Denise from his Twitter profile and did issue a mea culpa to Denise. “One minute Charlie can be the calmest, most chill person, and in a flash, he switches into this crazed maniac. It just makes no sense.”

Charlie - who also has a grown-up daughter Cassandra from a previous relationship and four-year-old twins Bob and Max with former spouse Brooke Mueller - deleted the abusive tweets he had written about the actress when he made a plea for peace for the sake of the children, insisting he and his girlfriend, Brett ‘Scotty’ Rossi, had their best interests at heart.

He wrote: “hey D! truce? I love Sami & Lola too much to allow my “passion” for real parental justice to obfuscate, misalign or appear mendacious in mine AND Scotty’s pure and pleasant desire to exhibit and express “our” hart & soul love for them. xox c&s #DeletingPreviousSmears (sic)” —Bangshowbiz

Una Foden’s daughter picks up an Irish accent

T

he Saturdays singer - who is married to rugby player Ben Foden - is thrilled her 22-monthold toddler Aoife Belle has started to chatter away in an “adorable” Irish lilt after spending Christmas with Una’s family. Writing in her blog for HELLO! Online, the redhead enthused: “My little girl Aoife Belle has just been chatting away to me in her new Irish accent - and it’s adorable! She picked it up while we were over in Ireland at New Year. It’s amazing how quickly young children can pick an accent up. “She’s taken to calling me ‘Mammy’ rather than ‘Mummy’ now - I think she must’ve heard me saying it to my mother. She tried saying ‘Granny’ a lot while we were over there but that comes out as ‘Danny’ at the moment which is really cute.” The ‘What About Us’ hitmaker made sure to tune into her new TV show ‘Una’s Dream Ticket’ while she was in Ireland, but Aoife was far more interested in her enormous Christmas present haul.

Una said: “Aoife saw me on the screen a couple of times but it was difficult to tear her away from her new presents - she couldn’t be separated from her new coloring book for days! She was so spoilt this Christmas - especially by my sister who bought her a huge hamper of presents. “Aoife woke up to find that Father Christmas had delivered her presents at the end of her cot - she was beside herself with excitement.”

37

MONDAY, JANUARY 20, 2014

LIFESTYLE M u s i c

K

&

Sundance premiere ‘Camp

risten Stewart takes a lot of abuse in her latest film, a gritty drama about detainees at Guantanamo Bay. “Camp X-Ray,” which premiered Friday at the Sundance Film Festival to boisterous applause, features Stewart as Amy Cole, a guard stationed at the controversial US prison in Cuba, where suspected terrorists are being detained. Stewart’s character takes an elbow to the face, is spit on and splattered with excrement, but learns her treatment is nothing com-

pared to the detainees.

The movie is sympathetic to the prisoners’ plight; Stewart’s character eventually forms a bond with innocent inmate Ali Amir, played by Peyman Moaadi. In an interview with The Associated Press, Stewart said she relished playing such a strong character.

“It’s a movie about somebody who doesn’t seem made up. I read this thing and felt like I wanted to stand up for her.

It felt really real to me and I felt like it was something that I was willing to do

M o v i e s

X-Ray’ explores Gitmo life

anything for,” she said in a phone interview last week. “I haven’t played too many parts that I feel like are really outside of myself. And it’s quiet and when something really quiet punches you in the stomach, that’s what I like to do.”

Stewart was on hand with the rest of the cast for the Sundance debut. After the film was shown, first-time filmmaker Peter Sattler told the audience that he got the inspiration for “Camp X-Ray” after watching documentary footage of a guard and a detainee talking about

books on a library cart. In his film, the two main characters similarly bond over the prison’s book selection.

Lane Garrison, who also plays a guard in the movie, told the audience that working on “Camp X-Ray” shifted his thinking of Guantanamo Bay, which has been the center of a battle over whether it should close.

President Barack Obama has said he would like to see it shut down. “I had a belief that everyone down there was responsible for 9/11,” said Garrison.

“After doing this film I started asking questions about Guantanamo Bay and come to find out that there are still men down there that no country wants and I started thinking ‘What if there is a guy down there that is innocent that’s not a terrorist - does he deserve that day in court? It changed me to start asking questions and not just go along with the flow.” The film is a candidate in the festival’s US dramatic competition. Winners will be announced on Jan 25. —AP

Old is Gold

In this photo, a girl has a drink near books shelf displaying Sherlock Holmes books at a “Sherlock”themed cafe in Shanghai, China. —AP

China falls in love with Sherlock Holmes

Z

hou Yeling dragged herself out of bed at 5 am for a long-awaited date with her favorite Englishman Sherlock Holmes. Zhou, 19, watched the third season premiere of the BBC’s “Sherlock” on Jan 2 on the British broadcaster’s website. Two hours later, the episode started showing with Chinese subtitles on Youku.com, a video website. Youku says it was viewed more than 5 million times in the first 24 hours, becoming the site’s most popular program to date.

“I was excited beyond words,” said Zhou, a student in the central Chinese city of Changsha. “Sherlock” has become a global phenomenon, but nowhere more than in China, where fans’ devotion is so intense that the BBC says it was the first country outside Britain where the new season was shown. Online fan clubs have attracted thousands of members. Chinese fans write their own stories about the modern version of author Arthur Conan Doyle’s prickly, Victorian detective and his sidekick, Dr. Watson, to fill the time between the brief, three-episode seasons. In Shanghai, an entrepreneur has opened a “Sherlock”themed cafe.

Holmes is known in China as “Curly Fu,” after his Chinese name, Fuermosi, and star Benedict Cumberbatch’s floppy hair. Watson, played by Martin Freeman, is Huasheng, a name that sounds like “Peanut” in Mandarin. They have become two of the most popular terms in China’s vast social media world. “The ‘Sherlock’ production team shoot something more like a movie, not just a TV drama,” said Yu Fei, a veteran writer of TV crime dramas for Chinese television.

Scenes in which Holmes spots clues in a suspect’s clothes or picks apart an alibi are so richly detailed that “it seems like a wasteful luxury,” Yu said. Even the Communist Party newspaper People’s Daily is a fan. “Tense plot, bizarre story, exquisite production, excellent performances,” it said of the third season’s premier episode.

With its mix of odd villains, eccentric aristocrats and fashionable London settings, “Sherlock” can draw on a Chinese fondness for a storybook version of Britain.

Wealthy Chinese send their children to local branches of British schools such as Eton and Dulwich. Rolls Royce Motor Cars Ltd says China passed the US last year to become the biggest market for its luxury sedans. On the outskirts of Shanghai, a developer has built Thames Town, modeled on an English village with mock Tudor houses and classic red phone booths.

“The whole drama has the rich scent of British culture and nobility,” Yu said. “Our drama doesn’t have that.” The series has given a boost to Youku.com, part of a fast-growing Chinese online video industry. Dozens of sites, some independent and others run by Chinese television stations, show local and imported programs such as “The Good Wife” and “The Big Bang Theory.”

Youku.com says that after two weeks, total viewership for the “Sherlock” third season premiere had risen to 14.5 million people. That compares with the 8 to 9 million people who the BBC says watch first-run episodes in Britain.

The total in China is bumped up by viewers on pay TV service BesTV, which also has rights to the program. Appearing online gives “Sherlock” an unusual edge over Chinese dramas. To support a fledgling industry, communist authorities have exempted video websites from most censorship and limits on showing foreign programming that apply to traditional TV stations. That allows outlets such as Youku to show series that might be deemed too violent or political for state TV and to release them faster.

“Our writers and producers face many restrictions and censorship. We cannot write about national security and high-level government departments,” Yu said. Referring to Mycroft Holmes, a shadowy government official and key character, Yu said, “Sherlock’s brother could not appear in a police drama in China.” Terigele, a 25-year-old geological engineer in the northern region of Inner Mongolia, started an online Sherlock fan club in 2010. The group has grown to become the biggest on the popular QQ social media service, with more than 1,000 members.

“I’ve watched several versions of Sherlock Holmes, and this is my favorite one,” said Terigele, who like many ethnic Mongols uses one name. “The fans in my group, and I too, think it is especially interesting to bring these two men into modern society, with the Internet and high technology.” And Chinese fans have fallen in love with Cumberbatch. “I am always super excited to see him on the screen and murmur, ‘Wow, so beautiful’ every single time,’” said Zhang Jing, 24, who works for an advertising company in the eastern city of Tianjin.

And “Sherlock” makes a helpful cultural ambassador for Britain. When Prime Minister David Cameron visited China last year, fans posted appeals on microblogs for him to press the BBC to speed up the release of a new season.

Today, a popular online comment aimed at Cameron is, “Thank you for ‘Sherlock.’” —AP

Madonna apologizes for racial slur M

adonna apologized Saturday for using a racial slur on Instagram to refer to her white son, seeking forgiveness a day after calling those who criticized her language “haters.” On Friday night, the singer posted a picture of her 13-year-old son,

Rocco, boxing and included the comment, “No one messes with Dirty Soap! Mama said knock you out!” She then added a variation of the N-word.

She quickly deleted the comment when outraged Instagram users berated her for the use of the

In this file photo, Madonna’s son, Rocco Ritchie (foreground) attends the world premiere of “Madonna: The MDNA Tour” at the Paris Theatre in New York. —AP

word, and was initially defiant. But in a statement to The Associated Press on Saturday, a contrite Madonna said: “Forgive me.” “I am sorry if I offended anyone with my use of the N word on Instagram. It was not meant as a racial slur. I am not a racist. There’s no way to defend the use of the word. It was all about intention,” she said. “It was used as a term of endearment toward my son who is white. I appreciate that it’s a provocative word and I apologize if it gave people the wrong impression.” Besides Rocco, she has three other children, including Lourdes, David and Mercy.

Mercy and David are black, adopted from the African nation of Malawi.

This is the second time this year that Madonna has offended people on Instagram. Earlier this month, she posted a photo of Rocco and his two young friends holding up bottles of liquor; she defended the post as a joke. “No one was drinking we were just having fun! Calm down and get a sense of humor! Don’t start the year off with judgment!” she responded on Instagram. —AP

Vintage cars are seen at a vintage car rally in Kolkata, India yesterday. This year 175 vintage and classic vehicles are participating in the rally, with 64 cars and 9 two-wheelers in the vintage category, and 74 cars and 28 two-wheelers in the classic category. —AFP

MONDAY, JANUARY 20, 2014

lifestyle

The cast of “American Hustle,” winner of the Best Cast in a Motion Picture award, pose in the press room at the 20th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards, January 18, 2014 at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California. — AFP/AP photos

‘American Hustle’ tops

SAG Awards

D Actress Lupita Nyong’o accepts the Outstanding Per formance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role award for ‘12 Years a Slave’.

avid O Russell’s “American Hustle” won the Screen Actors Guild award for outstanding cast, setting up the con-artist comedy as the film to beat at the Academy Awards. “American Hustle” won the 20th annual SAG Awards’ top honor over the much-acclaimed historical drama “12 Years a Slave” on Saturday night at Los Angeles’ Shrine Auditorium. Because actors make up the largest branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the SAG Awards are considered one of the

Actress Rita Moreno accepts the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award onstage.

Actress Cate Blanchett accepts the Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role award for ‘Blue Jasmine’ onstage.

most predictive tea leaves of the Oscars. Academy Award nominations on Thursday seemed to set up a trio of favorites, heaping 10 nods on “American Hustle” and “Gravity,” and nine on “12 Years a Slave.” But even though no actor was individually honored by SAG for “American Hustle,” the Abscam tale now seems to have an edge over its Oscar rivals.

Speaking for a cast that includes Amy Adams, Christian Bale and Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper credited Russell as the epitome of the actor’s director. “He makes you feel like you’re part of the family, whether you’re Robert DeNiro or you’re Patty Mack,” said Cooper. “You are part of the family.” Saturday’s awards were a somewhat low-key affair with a few memorable speeches but no earthquakes in a rapidly solidifying award season. The night’s acting winners Matthew McConaughey (“Dallas Buyers Club”), Cate Blanchett (“Blue Jasmine”), Lupita Nyong’o (“12 Years a Slave”) and Jared Leto (“Dallas Buyers Club”) - are each probably the favorites of their categories.

“It really shines a great light on this bull ride we call acting,” said McConaughey, honored for lead actor in the Texas HIV drama. “I’ve been able to recently find some characters that I

can humble myself to their humanities and get feverishly drunk on their obsessions.” One of the night’s biggest winners was Nyong’o, who won supporting actress over Lawrence.

Though “12 Years a Slave” is only her first feature film, the Kenyan actress was been hailed for her red carpet grace this awards season. Her speech was both composed and emotional.

She thanked McQueen “for taking a flashlight and shining it underneath the floorboards of this nation and reminding us what it is we stand on.”

And she recalled the celebratory phone call to her father when she got the part. “‘Daddy, do you know who Brad Pitt is? I’m going to be in a movie with him!’” recalled Nyong’o. “And he said, ‘I don’t know him personally, but I’m glad you got a job.’”

Leto was honored for supporting actor for playing the gaunt transsexual Rayon, alongside McConaughey’s Texas cowboy in “Dallas Buyers Club.”

He dedicated the award to those who have died of AIDS and to “the Rayons of the world.” His co-star’s speech was one of the more energetic of the evening: McConaughey rhapsodized about the glory of acting like it was space travel: “It feels like they could put a blindfold on you and put you in a spaceship and take you to Neptune and you could hop off on the planet and they better have the sprockets rolling when you get off that spaceship because you are going to behave as your man.”

When Blanchett, honored for her undone socialite in Woody Allen’s drama, saw her speech time quickly expiring, she remarked: “29 seconds?

Matthew McConaughey spoke about NEPTUNE.” The “Breaking Bad” victory lap continued as the show took honors for outstanding dramatic cast and for lead actor Bryan Cranston. For his indelible performance as teacherturned-meth dealer, Cranston added his second lead actor SAG Award, to go with his recent Golden Globe win and his numerous Emmys.

“We have the nicest bunch of white supremacist Nazis I have ever worked with,” said Cranston, looking over his former cast mates. “I swear to you I would kill you all over again.”

Two big-screen veterans won awards for TV films: Michael Douglas for HBO’s Liberace drama “Behind the Candelabra,” and Helen Mirren for the biopic “Phil Spector,” also on HBO. Julia Louis-Dreyfus has been a mainstay at award shows recently, both for her acclaimed HBO series “Veep” (for which she won an Emmy) and the romantic comedy “Enough Said” (for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe). She won a SAG trophy for female actor in a comedy series for “Veep,” and slyly mocked the award season crush by first thanking the Hollywood Foreign Press and then the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences.

“It’s hard you know because it’s awards season and things get confusing, much like elections,” said LouisDreyfus. It’s the sixth SAG Award for the former “Seinfeld” star, whose “Enough Said” co-star James Gandolfini was nominated posthumously for his supporting performance. The ABC sitcom “Modern Family” enjoyed another round of awards, winning for ensemble in a comedy

series and taking the male actor in a comedy series honor for Ty Burrell.

SAG and the academy don’t always agree. Of the five outstanding cast nominees, neither “August: Osage County” nor “The Butler” (“Dallas Buyers Club” joined them) were nominated for best picture, and “The Butler” was snubbed entirely. The effects-heavy, sparsely peopled “Gravity” was predictably overlooked

by SAG, except for an actress nomination to Sandra Bullock. Emma Thompson, a surprise snub in Thursday’s Oscar nominations for the “Mary Poppins” making-of tale “Saving Mr Banks,” was just as much the witty, winning award-show attendee she’s been all season. As a presenter, the lead actress nominee noted the show’s cheesy elevator music soundtrack: “Is this music available on CD?” SAG’s lifetime achievement award was given to Rita Moreno, the 81year-old “West Side Story” actress whose career has spanned Broadway, television and music. Introduced by Morgan Freeman, the much-honored Latina legend danced to the podium before a standing ovation and let out a gleeful expletive. “I hope the man with the button was there,” she said.

(He was.) Moreno serenaded the SAG audience with a few bars from “This Is All I Ask”: “And let the music play/ As long as there’s a song to sing/ And I will stay younger than spring.” — AP

Actress Helen Mirren accepts the Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie award for ‘Phil Spector’ onstage.

(From left to right) Actors Rico Rodriguez, Julie Bowen, Ariel Winter, Sofia Vergara, Eric Stonestreet, and Ed O’Neill accept the Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series award for ‘Modern Family’ onstage.

Actor Jared Leto accepts the Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role award for ‘Dallas Buyers Club’ onstage.

(From left to right) Actors Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper and Jeremy Renner speak onstage.

Actor Matthew McConaughey accepts the Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role award for ‘Dallas Buyers Club’ onstage.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus

Meryl Streep (left) and Julia Roberts speak onstage.

MONDAY, JANUARY 20, 2014

lifestyle

Elizabeth Moss

Jennifer Garner

Maria Menounos

Gretchen Mol

Hugh Dancy (left) and Claire Danes attend the 20th annual Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards on January 18, 2014 at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles.

Edie Falco

WINNERS AT 20TH ANNUAL SAG AWARDS Camilla Alves MOVIES: Actor: Matthew McConaughey, “Dallas Buyers Club” Actress: Cate Blanchett, “Blue Jasmine” Supporting actor: Jared Leto, “Dallas Buyers Club” Supporting actress: Lupita Nyong’o, “12 Years a Slave” Cast: “American Hustle” Stunt ensemble: “Lone Survivor”

Matt Damon (left) and Luciana Barroso

WHO SAID WHAT AT THE SAG AWARDS

TELEVISION: Actor in a comedy series: Ty Burrell, “Modern Family” Actress in a comedy series: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, “Veep” Comedy series cast: “Modern Family” Actor in a movie or miniseries: Michael Douglas, “Behind the Candelabra” Actress in a movie or miniseries: Helen Mirren, “Phil Spector” Drama series cast: “Breaking Bad” Actor in a drama series: Bryan Cranston, “Breaking Bad” Actress in a drama series: Maggie Smith, “Downton Abbey” Stunt ensemble: “Game of Thrones” Life Achievement: Rita Moreno. — AP

Quotes from Saturday night’s 20th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles: “What I found was tapioca pudding. I would use the tiniest little antique spoon and I would eat it with that so it would last longer. I could make it last an hour.” — Matthew McConaughey backstage on his weight-loss plan to play his winning role in “Dallas Buyers Club.”

Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson Patricia Arquette

“I was just talking to June Squibb. She and my mother were in a play at the Cleveland Playhouse in 1957.” - Dermot Mulroney, Screen Actors Guild nominee as a cast member of “August: Osage County.”

“I found the voice by working with transgender people. They really showed me the way. They were my mentors and it was through experimentation, trial and error and a lot of education. It was the role of a lifetime, obviously.” — Jared Leto backstage after winning supporting actor for his role as a transsexual named Rayon in “Dallas Buyers Club.”

“I am so (expletive) thrilled. I hope the man with the button was there on time.” — 82-year-old Rita Moreno upon accepting the SAG Awards lifetime achievement award.

“I’ve loved the opportunity to learn about the fashion world and appreciate it as an art form, but I never want it to take over my acting.” Supporting actress winner Lupita Nyong’o backstage about being a fashion icon during awards season.

“It’s about persevering. We’ll get there. The door is ajar. I’m saying we have to open that door some more. I don’t think it will happen in my lifetime, I mean I’m 82.” — Rita Moreno backstage on the struggle of Latinos to raise their profile in Hollywood.

“I had a lot of fun doing it, but I had to speak Arabic and it’s not my first language.” — Robert De Niro backstage after sharing in the motion picture cast award for his role in “American Hustle.”

Kaley Cuoco

“I hope Australian customs will be kind to me.” — Cate Blanchett backstage after winning leading actress honors on how she’ll get her SAG and Golden Globe trophies home. — AP

Isla Fisher Simon Helberg (left) and Jocelyn Towne

‘American Hustle’ tops SAG Awards

MONDAY, JANUARY 20, 2014

Devil’s in the detail at

Dior

38

Models present creations by French fashion house Dior during the Fall-Winter 2014-2015 men’s fashion show in Paris on January, 18, 2014.

— AFP photos

T

he weekend provided no respite for Paris’ frenetic menswear shows, attracting huge crowds and celebrities Saturday to top collections across the City of Light including Hermes, Kenzo and Dior Homme. Here are some key moments and tidbits from the day’s runway shows.

Rising stars Kendrick Lamar And Karlie Kloss attended the first show. Along with Jay Z and Macklemore, he’s among the hottest property in American music right now, nominated for seven awards at next week’s Grammy’s in Los Angeles.

But platinum-selling Kendrick Lamar had never attended a runway collection before today’s Dior Homme display. “I came out here just for today. I loved the show. It’s my first time at a fashion show and it’s a great experience,” he told The Associated Press after the menswear fall-winter show, wearing a Dior Homme oatmeal cashmere and wool bomber.

Another rising star to attend her first show was 21-year-old top model Karlie Kloss, who looked radiant in a simple, white sleeveless dress. Though the former ballerina has trodden her share of catwalks, surprisingly enough, this was the first collection she’d actually sat down to watch. Kloss’ front row invitation by Dior - and seat next to Will Smith - is a clearly a sign of growing fame and perceived promotion from catwalk to the more prestigious “magazine model” realm, occupied by superstars such as Kate Moss and Gisele Bundchen, who only rarely tread the boards.

For Dior Homme, the devil was in the detail. Designer Kris Van Assche worked subtle magic into the house’s bread-andbutter fitted suit. Gray pinstripes were made to look slightly off-kilter, sporting lapels whose stripes were exactly parallel (not diagonal) to those on the jacket - a feat of fastidious production. One jacket sported different vertical segments of material, thinning out the silhouette of the model in a magic eye style. Polka-dotted black Oxford shoes, meanwhile, gave the cityslicker an injection of zaniness, (along with blue jeans) and reappeared almost contagiously as white spots on several suits, ties and shirts to great effect. Instead of limiting him, the strict Dior codes seemed to propel Van Assche: He produced a tighter, more subtle, thus more powerful statement.

Boy you turn (my wardrobe) inside-out Kenzo’s ambitious cityscape decor, which featured a corrugated iron rooftop, clearly inspired their show. Carol Lim and Humberto Leon used the codes of a steel worker’s uniform: A button down gray shirt with lapels and safety boots and reimagined the tops in beautiful browns and bright yellow and the footwear as platforms with white straps.

Spanner, nails and nuts cropped up as prints on sweaters. But the show’s greatest strength lay in its creative inside-out wardrobe.

Boxy sweaters featured the bottom part of a brown suit peeping out beneath. And in a great touch, suit cuffs protruded out like elongated wrist bands. As ever, color-masters Lim and Leon offered up a masculine tonal rainbow palette in the final set of sweaters. Sacai one of Japan’s biggest selling brands - also produced an inside-out collection. Inner seams appeared on the outside, normally unseen zigzag stitching became a decorative motif and inner leg lining appeared on top of pants as shorts.

Hermes’ dark layers “Metamorphosis beneath the surface,” said the program notes of Veronique Nichanian’s menswear collection for fashion powerhouse Hermes. If the quote sounds slightly tenebrous, it translated as such in the 44 looks- with signature luxuriance - into dark tones and layers of fabrics and leathers that often shimmered as they moved. Enviable sport lambskin, nubuck calfskin, shorn mink combined with hydro-rubberized lambskin often in silky black. Was it to evoke the sticky texture of a metamorphosing cocoon? Thought the show took no great risks (robust Hermes follows an if-it-ain’tbroke-don’t-fix-it formula) it brimmed with many highly saleable coats that cut a classy silhouette.

Nichanian knows how to dress men. — AP

Models present creations by Hermes.

Models present creations by Japanese fashion designer Kenzo.