21 Jan

CR IP TI ON BS SU

TUESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2014

No random seizures of pets from public places

Islamists threaten ‘presents’ at Sochi Games

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RABI ALAWWAL 20, 1435 AH

Iran curbs enrichment as nuclear deal takes effect

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Broncos to meet Seahawks in Super Bowl

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Rampant corruption fuels massive visa trafficking One month ban on visit-to-work transfer

Max 19º Min 09º High Tide 02:05 & 15:25 Low Tide 09:01 & 21:20

By Ahmad Jabr conspiracy theories

No more the Twiggy style

By Badrya Darwish

badrya_d@kuwaittimes.net

I

watched an interesting fashion show on TV the other night. The fashion show was by a German designer who came up with a new idea for the catwalk. I loved the idea. His models were not the usual skinny and bulimic women who we have got used to seeing in every fashion show. This is what the designer stood out with. He made the fashion show for ordinary, plus-sized and fuller women.

Hey ladies, do not feel upset! It is your day. You do not have to look like Kate Moss, Snejana Onopka or Kim Noorda. You do not have to be the Twiggy style. I am sure you all remember Twiggy the fragile British model whose bones hit every magazine cover. What a relief for all of us!

I never envied the Twiggy-looking models. I think they look pale and lifeless. They are young and pretty but they look like ghosts. Sometimes you feel that if the wind blows stronger, it might sweep them away. I know you might think that I am jealous. Honestly, I am not jealous at all, especially when I read about their lives and their confessions about how much they suffer and about the constant deprivations they endure. Most of them become anorexic, bulimic or take up drugs to control their appetite. Plus, many of them suffer depression, which also makes them abuse drugs. I am sure you have heard of many stories of addiction troubles within the models’ ranks.

The German designer, bless him, brought back confidence to many women. In all honesty, how many of us can wear the dresses that these skinny models wear? I am not exaggerating when I say that only 20 percent of women can enjoy such kind of fashion.

My point is that it is not only about being skinny. Such outfits are suitable for weddings or special occasions, shows, circuses, masquerades etc. Most of the time they are suitable just for parades. I can only imagine myself walking into the office wearing a big feather dress and fluffy accessories.

Imagine if I go to the co-op wearing a funny, eccentric fashion outfit. People might think that I just finished my duty at the Salmiya circus, if there is still one. I am joking, of course.

On a serious note, I salute the designer for his innovative thinking. He brings hope and confidence. He creates fashion for many ordinary women who are not skinny or size 4 or 6. You can be size 20 and still dress nicely.

Bless him!

ALEPPO: In this Jan 19, 2014 citizen journalism image, a Syrian man carries the lifeless body of a baby from a destroyed building which was attacked by regime warplanes. — AP

Iran invitation throws Syria talks in disarray Oppn issues ultimatum • Assad defiant ISTANBUL: The United States and United Nations were scrambling yesterday to rescue the much-heralded Syrian peace talks which were thrown into disarray by a surprise UN invite to Iran. The deeply divided Syrian opposition, which had struggled to agree to join the so-called Geneva II conference, is now threatening a boycott unless the invitation to Tehran is withdrawn. Adding to the tensions, Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad bluntly ruled out a power-sharing deal and said in an exclusive AFP interview that the talks open-

KUWAIT: A recent report from Manila recommends a diplomat who was recalled from Kuwait face human trafficking charges following a Kuwait Times investigation into human trafficking allegations and corruption at the Philippines Embassy early last year. The Kuwait AntiTrafficking Task Force recommends charges should be filed against Ibrahim Daligdig Tanandato, former assistant to the Nationals Unit head at the Consular Office of the Philippine Embassy in Kuwait, Muamar Mamosion, Omar Khalil and lawyers Khaled Almas and Ayed Al-Subaei, who were hired to represent the embassy, the report said.

The Philippine Embassy in Kuwait will fully cooperate to see the complete closure of the human trafficking issue which besieged the embassy last year, Philippine Consul General to Kuwait Raul Dado said. Dado spoke to Kuwait Times in reaction to the report which was issued on Jan 17 in Manila.

He explained that the embassy in Kuwait has been cooperating with the anti-trafficking task force besides conducting their own investigation in the matter to uncover the truth behind the human trafficking issue. “Ever since the issue came to light, we have been cooperating. The allegations came out last year and as a result, one official was relieved, lawyers were replaced, and the other staff

‘Automated’ headache In a bid to have more control over labor files, the ministry introduced a number of years ago an ‘automated’ or electronic system of archiving - a database containing information about companies in Kuwait, their registered labor, the number of workers each company is allowed to recruit and other information. However, sources within the ministry suggest that the system itself is ‘too basic’ and is breached by a network which Continued on Page 13

Shell to sell $1.14bn gas stake to Kuwait LONDON: Royal Dutch Shell said yesterday it had agreed to sell stakes in a gas project in Western Australia for $1.14 billion as part of the oil company’s drive to improve return on investment. Shell is selling an 8 percent stake in the Wheatstone and nearby Iago gas fields and a 6.4 percent stake in the related Wheatstone liquefied natural gas (LNG) project to the Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company (KUFPEC).

The move raises KUFPEC’s holding in the Chevron-led LNG project, in which the state company is already a partner, to 13.4 percent.

“We are making hard choices in our worldwide portfolio to improve Shell’s capi-

tal efficiency,” Shell chief executive Ben van Beurden, who took over two weeks ago, said in a statement. “We are refocusing our investment to where we can add the most value with Shell’s capital and technology,” he said, adding that the company would remain a major player in Australia’s energy industry.

KUFPEC is focused on using OPEC member Kuwait’s oil wealth to diversify into energy projects abroad. Wheatstone, one of the super-sized Australian LNG projects due to come on stream over the next few years, is about 25 percent complete. With some 80 percent of its future production committed to Asian buyers, the project is scheduled to

diplomat to face charges

By Ben Garcia

ing tomorrow should focus on what he called his “war against terrorism”.

UN leader Ban Ki-moon, who sparked the furore with his invitation to Tehran Sunday, said “intensive and urgent” talks were under way with the United States to try to salvage the situation. But a senior US State Department official insisted: “We expect the invitation will be rescinded.” Ban’s spokesman said he was “dismayed” by Iran’s refusal to back an international Continued on Page 13

KUWAIT: Despite claims of making significant progress in improving its human rights record in recent years and promises to put the labor market under control, the government remains unable to face human trafficking and other key challenges standing in its way, which according to recent reports, emanate from within.

Two newspapers and a news website reported yesterday suggesting that visa trafficking operations are controlled by a mafia of corrupt individuals within the interior and the social affairs and labor ministries, allowing hundreds of thousands of people to enter Kuwait illegally every year. The reports were a follow up of the ‘visa scandal’ that was discovered in the Ministry of Interior involving senior officials, with latest updates hinting that nearly 140,000 people entered Kuwait illegally in two years. Another report published by AlQabas talks about an ‘organized network’ within the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor that runs visa trafficking operations while at the same time puts obstacles to fight the crime.

Visa trafficking is a form of human trafficking in which workers are brought in by work permits issued illegally through loopholes in the sponsorship or ‘kafala’ system that organizes the affairs of the country’s expatriate labor force. Victims of visa traffickers are mostly low-wage workers who come from Southeast Asia, North Africa and other countries seeking work in the oil-rich Gulf region. Once they reach Kuwait, a worker is left with no job and becomes prone to hard labor, mistreatment and extortion by paying large amounts of money to renew their expired visas.

Kuwait is home to 2.7 million expatriates who make up 68 percent of the country’s 3.9 million population.

Official statistics indicate that there between 90,000 and 100,000 people living illegally in Kuwait, while thousands have been arrested and deported during police crackdowns ongoing since April last year. In the meantime, little efforts were taken to identify and arrest visa traffickers.

implicated in the report were recommended for termination, but we are waiting for action back home,” Dado said.

Dado called upon the Filipino community in Kuwait to come forward if they know about any irregular activities committed by officers, especially from the list of persons being charged. “We guarantee confidentiality and we need more people to testify in order to help the prosecution of these people,” Dado mentioned.

Tanandato allegedly violated the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003 and the Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2012 as well as the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees, the anti-trafficking task force said. He was relieved in March 2013 and is now working at the Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila. Meanwhile, Mamosion and Khalil are still working at the embassy.

Philippine Labor Attache to Kuwait Cesar Chavez explained that he was awaiting instructions from Manila. “I spoke to my staff member implicated in the issue and he said he was ready at any time to answer all allegations. I am waiting for instructions from Manila. Whatever the instruction is, I will definitely implement it,” he added.

“Omar Khalil, the only staff member implicated from the labor office, is still working with us,” he confirmed. “These ‘crimes’ took place when I wasn’t here.

Continued on Page 13

cost about $29 billion. Chevron expects capital spending on it to peak this year.

Shell issued a “significant” profit warning for the fourth quarter on Friday, in which it detailed across-the-board problems, less than three months after its third-quarter profits undershot analyst forecasts.

Analysts and shareholders said the company’s weak results would push the world’s number-three investor-controlled energy firm to keep a tighter control on costs after it said 2013 capital expenditure would peak at about $45 billion.

Since van Beurden began working alongside outgoing boss Peter Voser at the start of the fourth quarter, the company

has cancelled plans to build a gas-to-liquids plant in the United States, raising investor hopes of a tighter spending regime. Shell is not the only big energy company facing increasing investor pressure to hold down spending as costs rise and prospects for higher oil prices wane. At $1.14 billion, the Wheatstone disposal kicks off a year in which Shell said it would significantly step up disposals to keep cash flowing in.

Recent media reports have suggested the company’s divestments could total $15 billion this year, equivalent to around 6.5 percent of its $232 billion market capitalisation. — Reuters

Court transfers case against 3 former MPs New immigration measures hailed

By B Izzak KUWAIT: The court of cassation yesterday did not issue a ruling against three former opposition MPs on charges of insulting HH the Amir and instead referred the case to another judge. Judge Salem Al-Khudair had set yesterday as the date to issue the ruling against former MPs Falah Al-Sawwagh, Khaled Al-Tahous and Bader Al-Dahoum, but at the time of the ruling he decided to refer the case to another bench with another judge presiding. This would require new procedures with the defense team making fresh arguments and the process could take months.

The three former lawmakers were sentenced to three years in jail each on charges of insulting the Amir and undermining his authority at a public rally in Oct 2012. But the sentence was scrapped by the court of appeals which acquitted them of the charges, saying what they said was within the acceptable freedom of

expression. Several opposition activists were sentenced to various jail terms over the past year for writing tweets deemed offensive to the Amir.

In another development, head of the Kuwait Society for Human Rights Khaled Al-Humaidi Al-Ajmi yesterday welcomed measures announced by the immigration authorities about a new strategy to deal with residency violators. The measures were announced by the department of nationality and passports, under which the immigration department falls, to resolve the problem of expatriates who are in violation of residency rules.

Authorities said that special offices will handle such cases to ensure that expatriates receive their full rights.

Ajmi called on authorities to take all the necessary measures to ensure that expatriates get their rights in accordance with the principles of human rights, saying such measures if implemented correctly would boost Kuwait’s human rights record.

Continued on Page 13

TUESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2014

LOCAL

No seizure of pet animals from Kuwait public places Beware of ‘inspectors’

By Nawara Fattahova KUWAIT: A woman complained that while walking in a public park, two persons claiming to be officials in charge of checking animals asked her to prove her dog was hers. As she didn’t have any documents, they seized her dog and left. According to her, she bought the dog from the Friday Market, so she didn’t get a certificate, and was wondering how this is possible.

The Public Authority for Agriculture Affairs and Fish Resources (PAAAFR) which is respon-

sible for animal care and cooperates with other institutions, does not seize dogs from people. “Our inspectors have never seized any dogs or other pet animals from people in public or private places. The inspectors may come to a park or other place only based on a complaint from somebody of being attacked by an animal in public place. Then the inspectors may come and they seize the dog or animal if it is abandoned or feral,” Shakir Awad, PR Director of PAAAFR, told Kuwait Times yesterday.

Col Adel Al-Hashash, PR and

Moral Guidance Direc tor at the Ministry of Interior, denied any seizing of dogs by policemen. “We only deal in cases of violations, for instance if a dog or other animal attacks somebody, then we have to deal with the case. We cooperate with the emergenc y team of PAAAFR, as they have trained staff to deal with such animals. They also have a shelter for animals. We deal in the same way if we receive a call about stray dogs or wild animals in public places. To take any action, there should be harm caused,” he pointed out.

The Municipality is also in charge.

“We are responsible for checking commercial activities such the animal market or other places. If we received a complaint that a dog for instance was disturbing visitors at a public park, then our staff can ask the owner to leave with his dog.

Sometimes we receive calls from tenants complaining that their neighbors have dangerous dogs or other animals that are disturbing or threatening them. Regarding stray dogs or wild animals, we contact PAAAFR who have trained staff and tools for this purpose,” he explained.

So if you are strolling in a park with your pet and somebody approaches you demanding the documents of your animal, know that he is a swindler and be careful.

Govt seeks strategic pay hike alternative KUWAIT: Well-informed ministerial sources said that the government is in a hurry to present a project on strategic pay hike alternatives to the parliament pending discussion and approval so that it could form a practical solution to end lawmakers’ and unions’ demands to increase salaries.

The sources added that the Civil Services Commission has finished preparing the project pending refer-

ring it to the Cabinet. The sources also explained that the new project mainly depends on job description, degree, job nature and position in determining salaries.

“The new project will achieve justice and balance in government employees’ wages and this will reduce citizens’ reluctance from working in the private sector the way they did in view of the recent ‘random’

increases for government employees,” explained the sources, noting that such random increases had wasted public funds and spoiled the government’s development plan.

The sources also predicted that the parliament would review the project in March while the government would simultaneously launch a major media campaign to promote it to the public.

KUWAIT: A fire broke out in a nine floor apartment in Maidan Hawally. Firemen evacuated the building before battling the blaze. No injuries were reported and reasons for the fire are yet to be determined.

—By Hanan Al-Saadoun

800 kg of rotten food found KUWAIT: Ministr y of Commerce inspectors found nearly 800 kg of rotten meat inside a butcher shop at an undisclosed location in Kuwait, a local daily reported yesterday quoting ministry insider.

Workers at the butcher shop reportedly defrosted expired meat and sold it as fresh products, said the sources who spoke to Al-Rai on the condition of anonymity. “Expired

frozen meat were found inside the freezers, in addition to 200 large boxes of expired cheese and other food products that are unsuitable for human consumption”, the sources said.

While indicating that samples were sent for testing as part of investigations in the case that will be referred to the Public Prosecution, the sources noted that inspectors detected items

which had their expiryn dates tampered with.

The parliament’s public facilities committee had discussed proposals to introduce tougher penalties on cases of selling bad food. One proposal presented by Kuwait Municipality Director Ahmad Al-Subaih calls for enforcing an up to KD100,000 fine in addition to withdrawing the license and prison term.

Qatar most expensive Gulf country for expats DOHA: Qatar’s tight rental market has made it the most expensive country to live in the GCC, Arabian Business comprehensive analysis on the cost of living in the region reported.

It has revealed the true cost of life in the GCC across sectors such as accommodation, food, healthcare, education, transport and lifestyle.

The Cost of Living Report (CLR) noted that in a like-for-like comparison of seven measures, Qatar came out the most expensive overall, followed by the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman and Kuwait.

Heavily influencing the result, the figures show the average cost in Q4 last year to rent a two-bedroom apartment in Qatar was $42,930 a year, which was $15,540 more than the next highest average of $27,390 per year in the UAE, and 15 times more expensive than Bahrain ($2,849 per year).

In its analysis, Dubai-based CLR said luxury developments such as The Pearl as well as limited supply and high demand had driven up rental prices in Qatar, while the Bahraini real estate market had been hit by political turmoil in the country and an exodus of expatriates in 2011-12.

Qatar also emerged as the most expensive GCC nation for renting a car with a monthly fee of $2,773 to rent a small SUV - almost double the $1,390.50 cost for the same car in the

UAE - while an annual gym membership in Qatar was $2,686.5 compared to $81 a year in Saudi and a meager $48 in Oman.

The CLR report found a mid-level GP consultation was most expensive in the UAE ($78.50), followed by Qatar ($54), Saudi and Bahrain ($27), Kuwait ($26.50) and Oman ($13).

The price of a single person health insurance policy, though generally covered by employers, was most expensive in Bahrain ($2,312 per year) and cheapest in Kuwait ($266 per year).

However, CLR noted the UAE had the biggest range of healthcare in terms of international hospitals and clinics, while the more than seven big, local drug manufacturing plants in Saudi, where insurance was $1,350/year, brought down pharmaceutical costs somewhat.

The report also compared the cost of 21 typical food items across the GCC, including bread, bottled water and a McDonald’s Big Mac, with Bahrain emerging most expensive at $88.80, closely followed by Kuwait ($83.68), Oman ($74.28), Saudi Arabia ($61.85), UAE ($61.32) and Qatar ($56.19).

In Qatar, CLR noted, meat was subsidized while Bahrain had the smallest population in the GCC at 1.3m people with “little buying power leverage”.

The report found the cost of power, water and sewerage for an average three-bedroom apartment was highest in the UAE at $268.5 per bill, with Oman the second-highest at $160, followed by Bahrain ($135.50), Qatar ($135) and Kuwait ($83). Saudi was the cheapest country for utilities at a comparatively low $55. —Albawaba

KUWAIT: State Minister for Cabinet Affairs Sheikh Mohammad AlAbdallah Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah said the council of ministers approved the appointment of Lt Gen Suleiman Al-Fahad as Interior Ministry Undersecretary.

KUWAIT: Failaka Sea Rescue Center freed a car that was stuck in mud in Failaka following a phone call from one of the two passengers. —By Hanan Al-Saadoun

Speed cameras to be installed along Nuwaiseeb highway KUWAIT: MoI’s security media department launched a media and awareness campaign on the proposed project of installing and operating speed monitoring cameras along the Nuwaiseeb highway by the beginning of February.

The department stressed that the project aims at reducing speed as well as the tragic fatal accidents that have been claiming lives and destroying properties.

The department added that the cameras have been already installed after the junction of King Fahd and Abdul Aziz expressways all the way to Nuwaiseeb.

The security media department explained that the new cameras would work on the ‘point to point’ basis using four fixed cameras spread over distances varying between one and ten kilometers that would be capable of, through assessing the time a vehicle takes to reach from point to another, to determine its speed.

TUESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2014

LOCAL

Greece plans to waive visas for diplomats Two agreements to be signed

By Velina Nacheva KUWAIT: Two agreements are to be signed between Kuwait and Greece during the upcoming visit of a Greek government official to Kuwait on Jan 26-27. According to Dr Theodoros Theodorou, ambassador of Greece to Kuwait, Greece will sign an agreement with Kuwait to waive visas for diplomatic passport holders and “special passport” holders (foreign ministry staff ). “We are working on a protection of investments agreement too. We hope we can finalize that,” Theodorou said in an interview with Kuwait Times yesterday.

These agreements are expected to be signed during the visit of the Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Greece, who also holds the portfolio of economic development and aid. The official will be accompanied by a delegation of 50 businessmen from the fields of agriculture, food, construction, energy, tourism, real estates, fashion, education and renewable energy.

“The idea is to bring businessmen together. On a government level, Kuwait and Greece have a longstanding relationship going back 50 years. This year we celebrate 50 years of diplomatic relations,” Theodorou said.

The ambassador asserted that during Greece’s six-month rotating European Union presidency which started on Jan 1, Greece is keen on finalizing a visa waiver for Kuwaiti passport holders to enter countries in the Schengen region - a discussion that has already been initiated in Brussels.

The cooperation between the two countries could be improved in some fields, such as energy, food, agriculture, real estate and tourism.”Our vision is to have a successful meeting and to go further in our bilateral cooperation,” Theodorou said, adding that Greece is trying to reestablish direct flights between Athens and Kuwait. A direct link could facilitate the growth of tourism between the two countries. Only in June and July, more than 4,000 travellers from Kuwait received

Theodorou explained that he is going to work on achieving a good result on the issue that has been pending for many years.

“Our decision is to work on this issue... and we would like to achieve the maximum,” he said when asked if he was optimistic that the agreement could be signed within the Greek EU presidency.

Positive indicators Greece - the country at the epicenter of the eurozone debt crisis,

Dr Theodoros Theodorou, ambassador of Greece to Kuwait visas from the Greek embassy in is dubbed to have a positive foreKuwait. In Theodorou’s words, the cast for 2014. Theodorou, who is fast-track visa service that the also an economist, assessed embassy provides also facilitates Greece’s current financial and economic situation as having reached obtaining visas.

Being at the helm of the positive figures, forecasting better European Union now, signing a economic performance in 2014. free trade agreement between “There is a slight surplus in our the Gulf countries and the budget for 2014,” he said adding European Union is be a priority. that unemployment has stabi-

lized at 26 percent and there is a functioning economy. “We are out of the red lines,” he said.

Theodorou’s optimism stems from last year’s growth of tourism and exports. According to him, 17 million people chose Greece as a destination in 2013. Export growth was 35 percent. One success factor for Greece’s road to recovery is linked to the advantages of paying for energy in euros. “We have the euro and this is an advantage,” he said. “I do not dare say that we have overcome (the economic crisis), but we have positive indicators.”

Gulf investors have spotted these positive indicators. Last month, Gulf and Turkish companies jointly participated in establishing a large fund that purchased a big luxury resort near Athens featuring three hotels and beaches suitable for water sports.

According to Theodorou, a Kuwaiti investor recently partnered with a toy-making company in Greece. “Having Kuwaiti investors investing in the economy of Greece means that they are getting positive signals. They see opportunities,” he said.

In the ambassador’s words, tourism and shipping are the two flag field activities in Greece’s economy that provide many opportunities for investors from the Gulf. “All indicators for next year are positive. Although we are optimistic and get analysis from international analysts and from the EU and the International Monetary Fund, we are rational and conscious. We are moving slowly in an effort to achieve best results for the Greek economy,” he stressed.

Cabinet welcomes outcome of Syria conference KUWAIT: The Cabinet yesterday welcomed the outcome of the second Pledging Conference for Syria that concluded here last week.

Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah said, in a statement following the weekly meeting that was held under the chairmanship of His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Mubarak Al-Hamad AlSabah at Bayan Palace, that the conference was able to overcome its stated goal to fund operations aimed at alleviating the humanitarian catastrophe in Syria.

It alluded the international welcome of the initiative of His Highness the Amir for the relief of the Syrian people under these difficult circumstances.

In this regard, the Council welcomed the call of His Highness to lend a helping hand to the Syrians who are under a tragic situation.

Quick solution It also praised the speech of His Highness the Amir at the conference, in which he called on the UN Security Council to find a quick solution to the tragedy of the Syrian people, in addition to His Highness’ appeal to work on providing the largest amount of aid and financial resources to cope with this humanitarian disaster experienced by the Syrian people.

His Highness the Amir also appealed to all brotherly and friendly countries which have not yet announced their contributions to do so as the door is

still open and will continue to remain open for everyone to pitch in for the sake of achieving the sought objectives.

The Cabinet expressed deep appreciation and pride for the initiative of His Highness the Amir to host this important conference, and expressed his sincere thanks to the generous contributions made by the Kuwaiti society with all its institutions and segments to aid refugees and displaced persons in Syria.

Then, the Minister briefed the Council on the substance of the visit by Catherine Ashton, the High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy of the European Union and her entourage to the country recently, during which she held talks with the Kuwaiti officials on bilateral relations between Kuwait and the European Union on one hand and the GCC and the European Union on the other hand, in addition to ways to enhance these relations in various fields.

On the other hand, the Cabinet took note of a presentation by the Minister of Finance, Anas Al-Saleh and Undersecretary Khalifa Hamada which tackled facts about the current financial situation and future risks in order to assess the actual financial conditions and the sources of revenue of the state general budget.

Public spending Al-Saleh also briefed the ministers on risks and the size of public spending as well as the annual and the rapid growth of this spending, as the current special-

ized international studies prepared on the Kuwaiti economy were unanimous on the existence of an increase of the current expenditure rates higher than the growth rates of the GDP, which may pose a very serious flaw on the national economy in the present and the future.

The presentation also showed that the public revenues being focused in a single source (oil revenues) by more than 90 percent of total revenues, a source subject to change for any reason in the light of acute variables witnessed in oil prices in world markets, adding that the annual growth rate in public expenditure was 20.4 percent during the last 12 years, while the annual growth rate of general revenue during the same period was 16.2 percent.

Therefore, all indications point to the expected negative consequences for the financial situation of the country in the near future. The Cabinet discussed the various aspects related to this subject, measures and actions to be taken to address the imbalances and to avoid further complications that would trigger the most serious impacts at various levels.

The Cabinet praised the presentation of the Ministry of Finance, urging all various government agencies to take serious actions to rationalize spending and to identify spending outlets that can be indispensable to achieve the desired goals.

The Cabinet then took note of issues to be forwarded to the National Assembly’s agenda during the next session.—KUNA

KUWAIT: Members of Arab parliamentary delegations leaving Kuwait after attending the Arab Inter Parliamentary meeting in Kuwait yesterday.

Woman files complaint against expats’ control of cemetery KUWAIT: Nine expats who belong to the same family have turned the Jaafari (Shiite) cemetery into a corrupt work department and are taking bribes to make quick money, a female citizen named Fatima Al-Najjar complained to members of the legal and financial committee at the municipal council after losing confidence in Kuwait Municipality, which shelved her complaint against the expats’ control of the cemetery.

The citizen proved her claims during the committee meeting according to member Mane Al-Ajmi. She said the expats receive bribes for preferred spots at the cemetery, and each location has a certain price which increases if the grave’s location is easy to access during visits. She charged the expats were not satisfied by bribes, but also stole some water coolers that donors placed in the cemetery.

The woman said a man who used to wash the dead for a long time was terminated by the municipality after he admitted he was a Christian, in a move instigated by the expats. She said the expatriates at the cemetery cheat visitors and the deceased’s families and convince them that they know someone

who makes prayers and performs rituals on the graves, and then divide the money between them.

Committee members decided to summon those concerned at Kuwait municipality to discuss the complaint and make sure legal procedures are taken. Ajmi said that what the woman mentioned is highly critical, and if proven true, the municipality will bear responsibility for it. Ajmi added the woman accused the expats using insecticides for washing the dead, prompting him to summon acting assistant director general for funeral affairs at Kuwait Municipality Fahad Al-Musabbahi to investigate the matter. Musabbahi said the accusations had been investigated at the legal department but the case was shelved administratively for lack of evidence. He added the public prosecution also investigated the complaint and ordered the case shelved because investigations did not reveal anything.

Meanwhile, Assistant Director General for Municipal Services Sector Mohammad Al-Otaibi said the dignity of human beings is respected whether alive or dead, adding that the municipality is keen on their sanctity and provides whatever is necessary for them.

Flights diverted due to heavy fog KUWAIT: Kuwait-bound flights were diverted yesterday morning as heavy fog reduced visibility at the International Airport to just 200 metres, an airport official said, quoted by Kuwait News Agency.

An Emirates spokesperson said in an emailed statement that flight EK 855 from Dubai to Kuwait was diverted to Dammam in Saudi Arabia. The flight later

departed for Kuwait after a two-hour delay.

An Air Arabia flight from Sharjah was re -routed to Iran’s Bushehr Airport, Essam Al Zamel, Director of the Operations’ Department at Kuwait International Airport, said.

Flights departing Kuwait International Airport were not affected by the fog.

Kuwait meeting a big success: UN

KUWAIT: Head of the Capital Traffic Patrols Lt Col Mishal Al-Hajraf and Kuwait Municipality Director General for Capital and Jahra Governorate Affairs Mohammad Al-Harees carried out a traffic campaign in Shuwaikh Industrial Area. The 24-hour campaign resulted in issuing 415 various citations, removal of 36 cars, impounding 40 trucks and withdrawal of 48 license plates from trucks.

BRUSSELS: Valerie Amos, UN UnderSecretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, yesterday expressed her happiness about the outcome of the Kuwait’s second donors conference on Syria held last week. “ The conference (Kuwait 2) met absolutely our objectives,” she told a press conference in Brussels where she is attending a humanitarian aid conference for the Central African Republic.

She explained that the funding needed for Syria and the neighbouring countries for the entire year is USD 6.5 billion.

“What we said was that we raised at Kuwait last year $1.5 billion and a modest increase on that would as far as we saw it a success given the number of other crises that we are facing in the world and given the fact that this was the start of our fund raising campaign for Syria and neighbouring countries.”

“We estimate that we have raised (at

Kuwait 2) between $2.2 and 2.4 billion.

We are still clarifying the numbers with those countries that pledged. This is a significant improvement on last year,” she said speaking at a joint press conference with EU Commissioner for humanitarian aid Kristalina Georgeiva.

“We have set up a top donors group about how that money should be spent.

We have seven additional countries that have donated resources. So we are extremely pleased with the Kuwait 2 conference and we will build on the dynamism created by that and continue to keep Syria and neighbouring countries at the top of the agenda and continue fund raising,” she added.

On her part, Georgeiva said “if I can add to this. We have also focused on the first six months given the dynami c s t h a t i s n ow s t a r t i n g t h i s we e k around the peace negotiations. So for the first six months USD 2.4 bn is significant. “ — KUNA

TUESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2014

LOCAL in my view

1

Dialogue of the deaf

kuwait digest

The Syrian uncertainty

Development

By Dr Hassan Abbas

A

By Hassan Barari

I

Assad knows very well that Geneva I conference stipulated setting up a transitional government. And yet, he accepts to participate in Geneva 2. But, his calculations now are different. He hopes to call the bluff of the opposition. the conditions on the ground should be changed to force Assad to accept the idea of a transitional government. Kerry’s logic could not have been more accurate. But, had the American administration put its money where its mouth was, the opposition forces would have the upper hand in the ongoing conflict on the ground. What happened was the other way round. After Kerry clarified the rules of the game he failed to back up his ideas with substantive measures.

Unlike the American side, which never provided the opposition with effective weapons lest they fall in the hands of the radicals, the Russian stepped up shipments of arms. Additionally, Iran and Hezbollah have their boots on the ground fighting shoulder to shoulder with Assad forces. To be sure, Assad and his allies believe that they could win the battle militarily. The outcome is the opposite of what Kerry had hoped for.

Let us get to the bottom of the issue. The purpose of this long awaited conference is to negotiate an agreement whereby the warring parties agreed on a transitional government. This is the practical meaning of implementing Geneva I. The question in this case is the following: Why would Assad and his patrons in Moscow and Tehran accept to discuss a transitional government when it means starting a process that lead to ousting Assad?

Three years into the Syrian conflict, it does not seem that fighting parties are ready for peace.

Perhaps, we should examine the interest of not the proxies in the Syrian civil war but their patrons in the region. Though all regional parties accept Geneva still they are deeply divided and seek to realize different and contradicting things.

Therefore, it seems that the conference will be an exercise of apathy. While protagonists to the conflict may not be able to agree on what to implement, the conference will only drag the conflict for some time to come. Meanwhile, there is no hope that the suffering of people would be less let alone stop.

I believe that the US has committed a mistake when it pushed for a conference when the balance of power has shifted over the last few months favoring the regime and its allies. The most the conference can achieve is to allow for some humanitarian assistance to the besieged. But if the US is serious about transitional government whereby Assad would pack and leave, it should have acted differently. The perception in the region is that the US has no longer the stomach to decide matters in the Middle East. For good or for worse, the US did little to change this new perception. Therefore, I suspect that the dialogue will be only for buying time and it will be a futile exercise.

Projects Al-Anbaa

t is hard to avoid the conclusion that the objective of having a meaningful transitional government in Syria is far-fetched. Actually, the possibility of starting a process in Geneva to set up a transitional government should be measured against the conflict of interests of the warring parties and the impossibility of finding a middle-ofthe-road solution. If anything, the conflict is a zerosum game.

It is highly unlikely Assad will send a delegation to negotiate his removal from power. Backed by Russia, Assad has been trying to reposition himself within the anti-terror camp. For him, the priority is to liberate Syria from radicals affiliated with AlQaeda. Commenting on the situation in Syria, Assad stressed that the problem in Syria is merely between terrorists and the Syrian state.

It is not as if Assad is in self-denial. He knows that radicals would not have been in Syrian right now had his regime responded positively to the peaceful Syrians’ demands for freedom. Evidently, Assad is happy to see radicals fighting his troops in Syria, as he thinks this would validate his argument.

In fact, Assad is waging a misleading campaign to force his opponents within and without Syria to rethink their interests.

Assad knows very well that Geneva I conference stipulated setting up a transitional government.

And yet, he accepts to participate in Geneva 2. But, his calculations now are different. He hopes to call the bluff of the opposition. Given the fragmentation of the opposition, Assad hopes that soon the international community will discover that the segment of the opposition who agreed to participate in Geneva talks have no influence on the ground.

For this reason, Assad and his allies in Geneva will put the issue of fighting terrorism at the forefront, a move that is poised to play off the opposition groups against each other.

Interestingly enough, Washington has pushed the opposition to participate in the conference to pave the way for a transitional government. Early on, US Secretary of State John Kerry argued that

in my view

Looting Palestine cultural heritage

By Jamal Doumani

A

rab obituary writers had a field day recently composing retrospectives about Ariel Sharon’s long and brutal career as a war criminal. But the man had done more than massacre Palestinians and encourage Jewish colonization of their land. He was also a ruthless plunderer who was behind the looting of their archival heritage; an act intended to rob an exiled and occupied people of their past, their culture and their national identity. And to rob a people of their heritage is to reduce them to a fragment of their humanity.

Let’s backtrack to Sept 14, 1982, when Sharon’s troops entered Beirut (after a long siege and after PLO fighters had evacuated the city) with calculatedly specific orders to loot the Palestine Research Institute. The orders he had given were clear: Haul away and truck to Israel the entire archives to be found there. I was in Beirut at the time ironically, there to draw on the resources of the institute for a book that year - and can attest, if only after the fact, to the devastation inflicted on the place.

The Palestine Research Institute had 25,000 priceless volumes in several languages, the world’s largest collection of ancient manuscripts on Palestine, maps dating back to the 12th century, calligraphic compositions, microfilms and other irreplaceable items. Israeli soldiers busied themselves in the seven-story building for a whole week - and not just carting away, and effectively obliterating, the recorded memory of Palestine. They smashed filing cabinets, desks and other furniture and, as if in a display of mean-spiritedness, even made off with telephones, heating equipment and stationery. For good measure, they also blew up the office safe, presumably to inspect its contents.

They left the place littered with broken bookcases, twisted metal shelves and other office debris. And since the non-profit institute was partially funded by the PLO, these soldiers made sure that, before finally leaving with the last of their booty, they removed the word “Palestine” from a sign carrying the PLO name that was mounted outside the building. (Does our name scare these folks that much?)

The whole episode was crushing for the institute’s director, Sabri Jiryis, then 46, an academic who had grown up as an “Israeli-Arab”, to whom this repository of

Palestinian culture was all he dedicated his life to. But it was equally crushing for all of us at the time - for all Palestinians, for all Arabs, indeed for all men and men around the world who cared about the life of the mind, men and women who knew that to preserve and protect other people’s archival history is to preserve and protect all humanity’s archival history. Ever since the dawn of man, there has been a global dialogue of cultures, with people everywhere lending and borrowing ideas from each other, whether these ideas related to literature or science, mathematics or technology, astronomy or architecture, storytelling or music.

True, no one - certainly no one in our part of the world - will ever forgive or forget the savageries Ariel Sharon has committed against Arabs in his long, despicable career as a war criminal, but I for one, carrying still, after all these years, the memory of what he had his soldiers so vindictively do to the Palestine Research Institute in Beirut over three decades ago, will never, ever forgive and forget.

The theft of another people’s heritage, including their art and antiquities, is often tolerated because it is considered a victimless crime. After all, the argument goes, we’re not talking here about, say, 254 bodies thrown in the well in Deir Yassein in April 1948, or about hand grenades lobbed by soldiers from Unit 101 into homes in Qibya that killed 69 villagers in Oct 1953, or about hundreds (perhaps thousands) of unarmed refugees in Sabra and Shatila massacred in cold blood in Sept 1982, are we?

But wait. The effusions of our culture are of monumental significance to us, whatever society we belong to.

These effusions never fail to strike a visceral chord in all of us. They document our collective being, our inherited archetype and our shared memories. Thus what these Israeli soldiers did that day was to steal from us more than books and manuscripts and beautiful calligraphy and resonant poetry composed by our ancestors. They stole our identity. They stole our history.

Sharon did that to us in 1982. So when I damn the man in my prayers, wishing him an exalted place in everlasting hell, I will do so because he was not satisfied to just kill Palestinians in body, ravaging their home and homeland.

He wanted to kill their soul as well. A more evil man has never lived in the second half of the 20th century.

kuwait digest

Even you, Death?!

kuwait digest

Man has nothing left but man!

By Ali Abdul Aziz Ashkanani

W

e annually bid farewell to many shining icons who have filled Kuwait’s history with very bright moments for which we have been and will always be proud. I recently read about the sad demise of the iconic media figure Amal Jaafar who left behind a long legacy and a place that cannot be filled by any other person. Jaafar followed many other icons that have passed away in recent years from various fields. This made me wonder: Will our kids ever have iconic figures for losing whom they will feel the same about? Will they ever enjoy the company of legends, benevolent people they will miss and pray for their souls to have mercy?!

Even you, Death - you insist on increasing the bounds on our hands and increasing the darkness around us by taking away such stars from our sky.

Even you, Death, will someday change and will not find iconic or legendary lives to take if things go on deteriorating the way they are now. You will only find a group of simple people here, some thieves there and some of those improving their image through the media. Well, you do not care about all this nor see it.

You will see their ugliness and lowliness yet, with all your might and power, you will hate the awful stench of all these sectarian, racist and exclusionary people that have been filling our noses for the past few years!

We do have a real problem. Thanks to a weak present, our future seems to be very gloomy. Let’s look around and see who is expected to be good and who is sinless. The problem is that the sinful are the ones who stone others these days. I feel sorry for younger generations as the biggest achievement they are doomed to make may probably be winning the GCC football championship or Kuwait TV shifting to HD technology at a time when some of our neighbors might be organizing the FIFA World Cup finals and their TV channels are using 3D technology.

Even the honest people amongst us are practicing the US army policy “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell!”. They practice this against corruption at work, in their surroundings and probably in their homes because they are so desperate. So death has nothing more to take away because we have become soulless bodies. Even you Death, will have an easier job to do...even you, Death! —Al-Jarida

By Arwa Al-Waqian

D

espite all the wars created by man and though humanity has never enjoyed a single day of peacefulness; despite the victims of all civil and international wars and although all our plagues are manmade, man has nothing left but man himself. Human beings share life on this planet but when greed controls some souls, they start fighting peers, which is very awkward since even animals do not fight others from the same species, they rather chase preys only to fight their hunger. So some people are even worse than animals.

Whenever an official or a ruler starts being a tyrant and opts to use arms and wars to satisfy his own ego and enjoy special treatment, they simply turn into monsters unlawfully taking lives and displacing a whole people for the sake of an insane desire. History is full of such examples of people like Hitler, Saddam Hussein, Bashar Al-Assad and other Arab leaders, who unfortunately take the lion’s share when it comes to tyranny.

I wish I could simply blame Israel for our problems. But it would be shameful to turn a blind eye to what Arab leaders do and start accusing others. It is a pity that how we constantly antagonize other fellow human beings. I see hatred as a major injustice to humanity. If only we hold tight to some peace principles, if only we would accept others and do not go to war with them, Earth would then turn into a place fit enough for living.

Unfortunately, Earth seems like witnessing endless conflicts and war victims around the world are vociferously crying with boredom of fighting. “Isn’t it time for pace yet?”, they ask. I was deeply in pain on learning that the total number of Syrian refugees, inside and outside Syrian, has so far reached 9 million people. What makes things worse that their three-year war is not likely to come to an end in the foreseeable future.

How can a whole generation of children and adults grow up watching their home country lost all of a sudden? I am sure that millions of them are experiencing tremendous psychological pain that might some day, kill them off along with those surrounding them. It is all happening because of man’s greed.

We only have to reach out to people in distress so that we can receive the same treatment when things happen the other way round. If only we could unite, we would find peace, which is not happening because the world is full of lunatics tampering around and risking others’ lives.

I wish I could wipe of all the poor’s tears, bend down to kiss the forehead of each and every mother overburdened with concerns regardless of her nationality, religion, race or color.

Love is all what we have left to light a candle on the dark paths of peace! —Al-Jarida

s the Geneva 2 convention is right around the corner, the Syrian Opposition Coalition remains undecided on whether to attend or not. While part of the coalition supports participation, another strongly refuses to sit on the same table with the Syrian regime. I personally believe that the team which opposes dialogue with the regime is stronger and more in line with the positions it announced. I am not saying that one team is better than the other; I believe that both are bad, but one of them has a stronger position when it comes to attending the conference.

The team that rejects attending the conference is clear about its position. They believe that they went on a revolution and engaged in military struggle with regime forces for years (well, they are actually in Europe and others are fighting, so I am speaking figuratively), and eventually were able to achieve international recognition including being recognized as the legitimate representative for the Syrian people in some countries.

After all this struggle, the opposition is expected to negotiate with the regime as if nothing happened? I understand where they come from. The international community recognized the opposition, and almost recognized their coalition as the legitimate representatives of the people. Meanwhile, military, security, diplomatic and humanitarian efforts were put in that direction.

After all that, why would everyone go back to square one by accepting the regime’s demands of sitting at the table of negotiations with no preconditions?

What a shame indeed. Every oppositionist who went through hell after relying on the coalition’s promises must hold them accountable if they agree to sit on the table of negotiations. If this happens, it would be an admission from the coalition that the Syrian regime is the legitimate representative of the Syrian people, and that it is strong enough to force its conditions on the international community.

Meanwhile, people have the right to wonder - what was the point behind the destruction and killings? Who benefits from the continuation of the Syrian crisis? Will Syria ever regain its strength after the army became weakened, while the enemy is still on the borders? —Al-Rai

kuwait digest

Article 2 vs Article 6

By Abdullatif Al-Duaij

I

discussed in a previous column my opinion that political groups in Kuwait and the Arab world are mostly concerned with the political side, or power, as the key to solve all problems while at the same time ignore the economic struggles and social realities. I believe that I was not exaggerating when I made those arguments, nor was I wrong. All national organizations failed miserably once they reached power. The Baath party failed in Syria and Iraq, while Arab nationalists failed in South Yemen. Most recently, the Muslim Brotherhood failed in Egypt, and that after suffering several setbacks in Sudan.

This failure, in my opinion, stems from the lack of a true vision and project to fix the underdevelopment and problems that Arab nations face. In Kuwait, political groups are competing to change the political system, proposing key constitutional amendments that includes abolishing a large number of ‘outdated’ articles which are considered to no longer be in line with “the Kuwaiti society’s development”. I believe, however, that the only ‘development’ the society saw was steps backwards in the Kuwaiti voter’s awareness, and more deviation away from democracy.

All proposed arguments clearly point out the main problem facing the political system, which is the point-

All proposed arguments clearly point out the main problem facing the political system, which is the pointless attempt to pair the presidential system with the parliamentary one, requiring the need to transform into full democracy. less attempt to pair the presidential system with the parliamentary one, requiring the need to transform into full democracy. That is an undeniable fact, despite the fact that there is exaggeration in putting the blame solely on these merger attempts. I believe that the main issue that Kuwait politics suffers from is the attempt to merge between the civil and religious systems. Between Arabism and Islam. Between democracy and sharia.

Between article 2 and article 6 of the constitution.

However, political groups and parties deliberately ignore social crises and dilemmas, while instead focus solely on the political side and accuse the ‘unwise’ government of mismanagement.

Combining the presidential and parliamentary systems has many flaws, especially that the government sided with the presidential system since the beginning and deliberately marginalized the parliamentary system.

But the contradiction between the second and sixth articles of the constitution remains one of the main obstacles standing in front of democratic rule in Kuwait. But political groups, including civil, nationalist, and religious ones, ignore this fact the same way they ignore our economic and social dilemmas and point fingers of blame towards the government.

And while political groups continue to avoid debating whether the state has a democratic or religious identity, I believe that it is time that they determine where they stand democratically from the second article of the constitution.

NOTE: Article 2 of the constitution states that “The religion of the State is Islam, and Islamic Sharia shall be a main source of legislation”. Meanwhile, article 6 states that “The System of Government in Kuwait shall be democratic, under which sovereignty resides in the people, the source of all powers”. —Al-Qabas

TUESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2014

LOCAL

Kuwaiti helping hand to war-hit Syrian refugees Charities raise $6.7 million in one day KUWAIT: Kuwait Relief Organization (KRO) launched, in cooperation with the Ministry of Information, a three-day national fund-raising campaign to offer a helping hand to war-traumatized Syrian refugees. On the first day of its launch on Sunday, the national campaign raised donations at a total value of $6.7 million.

“The national campaign is organized in coordination with the Ministry of Information and Kuwait TV to continue support to Syrian refugees in the neighboring countries through a unified appeal issued by Kuwaiti charities and themed ‘A House from Kuwait’,” KRO Director General Jaber Al-Wandah said.

He pointed out that the raised funds will be used to implement ambitious housing projects to Syrian refugees in their host countries.

“An enormous number of charity and relief organizations are contributing to the national campaign,” he said.

He stated that the donations can be deposited at a special bank account, through a hotline to the organization or the premises and branches of

all participating organizations.

The campaign comes in response to a humanitarian appeal launched by His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah in solidarity with the sufferings and extremely harsh conditions of the Syrian people as a result of the conflict in their country. The three-day campaign would include live broadcast donations at Kuwait’s state TV from 06:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. local time. Contributors to the national campaign have also expressed great appreciation of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah’s initiative to host the second Syria pledging conference on Jan 15, which raised over $2.4 billion in aid pledges to Syrian people, including $500 million from Kuwait.

Kuwait hosted last year the first Syria donor conference and donated $300 million. The conference raised $1.5 billion of aid pledges.

Meanwhile, the manager of the charity organizations department, MSAL, Ahmed Al-Sane said that his department has set some measures to be followed during the fundraising campaign

Cooperation between oil countries ‘important’

KUWAIT: Municipal Council officials toured Ahmadi Governorate in cooperation with the traffic department to find out the efficiency of municipality services in the stables area. Chairman of the Municipal Council Muhalhal AlKhalid appreciated the field visits saying that such visits have a positive effect on public interest. —Photos by Hanan Al-Saadoun

KUALA LUMPUR: Cooperation between oil exporting and importing countries is of high importance to the security of energy sources worldwide, Kuwait’s Deputy Prime Minister and ex-Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammad Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah said yesterday.

Dr Sheikh Mohammad Al-Sabah added in a speech he gave at the Fifth Round of the US-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED) held in Hong Kong, that Kuwait made huge investments in the field of the exploration and production of oil, besides investing in oil refining, a statement issued by the Kuwait Consulate in Hong Kong said.

The event is considered one of the major forums held in Hong Kong annually, and is, this year, witnessing the highprofile participation of a number of political thinkers and former foreign ministers from several countries, including Morocco, Pakistan and Spain, said Kuwait’s General Consul to Hong Kong Bader Al-Mutairi.

A dinner banquet was held in the honor of Dr. Sheikh Mohammad Al-Sabah, attended by former Moroccan Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Isa, besides Arab consuls in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong is hosting the Fifth Round of the US-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED), themed “International dialogue of changing the global system and cooperation in energy field”, held between January 16 and 20, which is discussing global challenges in securing energy sources. —KUNA

launched for the benefit of the Syrian people on Jan 15 and expected to last until July 15.

“A special logo has been designed for the campaign in addition to special stamps on the donation collection receipts and meticulous monitoring of the serial numbers of receipts”, he explained.

Al-Sane also noted that participants should notify the ministry with a special bank account to be used in case of collecting donations through bank accounts, the names and credentials of individuals authorized to collect donations who should hold name tags with their detailed personal information.

Further, Al-Sane said that in case of donating jewelry, copies of sale invoices and donation receipts must be provided. “In case of donating vehicles or similar items, the charity must make sure they would be sold to the highest possible prices”, he underlined pointing out that participants would have to hand over the remaining receipts or receipt books once the campaign was over.

National emergency plan to face regional threats KUWAIT: Kuwait has an emergency plan that is set to be activated in case of any security threat from the region especially south Iraq, a local daily reported yesterday quoting ‘high level diplomatic sources’.

The plan includes setting up refugee camps on borders as well as relief and financing strategies in addition to the military preparations to thwart any potential risks, said the sources who spoke to Al-Qabas on the condition of anonymity.

“The unrest in Iraq is a source of concern to all nearby countries”, the sources said,

adding that state departments “are required to work on coordination to activate the plan in cases of emergency”.

Meanwhile, the sources commented on recent statements by the American ambassador to Kuwait Matthew Tueller, who mentioned a Kuwaiti - US coordination to curb the expansion of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). “All that both countries are concerned about is to control funding resources”, the sources said, adding that intelligence cooperation between the two countries “already exists over different issues”.

Arab economic body convenes in Khartoum KHARTOUM: The extraordinary meeting of the Arab Economic and Social Council met here yesterday to mainly discuss Arab food security.

In a keynote speech, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir said Arab economies are required to develop a fresh strategy to achieve self-efficiency of food commodities.

He stressed the significance of his initia-

tive on Arab agricultural investment in Sudan in order to contribute to bridging the good gap and achieving Arab food security.

He urged Arab investors to have business in Sudan in the fields of agriculture, food, farm services and animal production.

He said his government was doing its best to wipe out any obstacles impeding investment in the country. —KUNA

TUESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2014

LOCAL

Thugs overpowered by pedestrian in Sulaibikhat Uncle charged with attempted rape KUWAIT: Three men face charges after they tried to mug a pedestrian in Sulaibikhat, only that they were overpowered by the person they targeted. According to the police report, the three stopped their vehicle near the man and tried to steal his belongings by using force. The Asian man proved to be too strong for them, however, as he managed to catch one of them who had to watch his accomplices leave him behind and escape. Police arrived at the scene in response to the pedestrian’s emergency call, and placed the suspect under arrest. The bedoon man told police on the whereabouts of his accomplices, who were soon arrested as well.

The three were referred to the authorities for further action.

Sexual assault I nve s t i g a t i o n s a re o n g o i n g i n a c a s e involving a teenager who accused her uncle of harassment and attempted rape. The case was filed at Ahmadi police station where a Kuwaiti man pressed charges against his brother-in-law. The 15-year-old girl told her father that she was studying inside her aunt’s camp in Julaia when the man came inside, kissed her and attempted to sexually assault her before she managed to escape.

The man is being summoned for questioning.

charges of drug possession and abuse.

Suicide attempt A woman was hospitalized with blood poisoning after she consumed a toxic substance in a suicide attempt according to her family. An ambulance headed to the Jordanian family’s apartment in Hawally where the incident was reported, and found the girl unconscious. She was taken to Mubarak Hospital while her parents told police that she consumed detergent in a bid to end her life. A case was filed and police are waiting for the girl to regain consciousness in order to be questioned on her motives.

Wife beater Jahra police are looking to summon a bedoon man on domestic abuse charges pressed by his brother-in-law. According to the police report, the woman’s brother gave police a medical report which showed that his sister suffered wounds and bruises, as well as choke marks on her neck. The man said that his sister sustained these injuries at the hands of her husband, and asked to press charges against him.

Investigations are ongoing.

Drug overdose A man rushed his son to Adan Hospital, then told police that that the youngster collapsed after a drug overdose. Medical staff admitted the young man to the intensive care unit as he arrived in a coma, while his father was questioned by the hospital’s detective who said that his son was abusing heroin when he passed out. The man added that he found an additional amount of heroin in his son’s pocket. Doctors say the addict’s condition is stable. Police are waiting for him to regain consciousness and be discharged in order to be questioned on

Drug abuse Kuwait International Airport police arrested three people who abused drugs inside the arrivals’ hall on Saturday night. The arrests took place after airport security approached the men who were acting suspiciously, and discovered that they were under the influence of narcotics.

The three, a Kuwaiti man and two bedoon brothers, where taken for inspection and questioning, during which police found drug paraphernalia with one of them while another admitted that he left shabu (meth) and heroin in his car that was parked outside. The three were taken to the authorities to face charges.

KUWAIT: Capital Municipality officials confiscated nearly a ton of food stuff from hawkers and 37 bird cages, while issuing 11 citations during a surprise inspection campaign in Rai area over the weekend. Municipality capital branch director Faleh Al-Shimmari said the campaign was carried out after violators did not respond to warnings. —Photos by Hanan Al-Saadoun

KUWAIT: Criminal detectives arrested three expats in Farwaniya in possession of 15,000 Tramadol tablets. They were sent along with the tablets to the Drugs Control General Department. — Photo by Hanan Al-Saadoun

KUFPEC to acquire interests in Wheatstone LNG project KUWAIT: The state-run Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company (KUFPEC) said that its subsidiary, KUFPEC Australia (Wheatstone Iago), signed a sale and purchase agreement worth $1.135 billion to acquire Shell Development’s 8pct equity interest in the Wheatstone-Iago joint venture and Shell’s 6.4pct interest in the Wheatstone LNG Project.

KUFPEC, a subsidiary of Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, said in a statement that this acquisition consolidates its existing 7pct ownership of the Wheatstone LNG Project and its 35pct ownership of the associated Julimar-Brunello Joint Venture, and further grows KUFPEC’s assets in the attractive oil and gas sector in Australia.

The transaction is subject to a number of conditions, including Foreign Investment Review Board approval by the Commonwealth Government of Australia and also joint venture approvals.

Through the acquisition, KUFPEC will add 139 million barrels of oil equivalent to its resource base, thereby meeting its strategic reserves target for the next four years.

Average production net to KUFPEC will reach an anticipated 18,350 barrels of oil equivalent per day by 2018, with first LNG production commencing in late 2016.

Importantly, KUFPEC can in the future supply the LNG directly to KPC on commercial terms.

Commenting on the transaction, KUFPEC’s Chief Executive Officer, Sheikh Nawaf S. Al-Sabah, stated that “KUFPEC is delivering on its strategic goals of bringing value to the Kuwait oil sector through increased production that has a strategic tie-in with KPC, along with technology transfer and training opportunities to develop Kuwaiti manpower.”

He further stated that “the production and cash flows from the acquisition will provide stable revenue to KUFPEC for a quarter century.”

The Wheatstone-Iago Joint Venture comprises the Wheatstone and Iago gas fields, located offshore in Western Australia.

The Wheatstone LNG Project, which is operated by Chevron, is one of Australia’s largest resource projects and is currently being constructed.

The gas produced by the WheatstoneIago Joint Venture will be commercialized via the Wheatstone LNG Project.

KUFPEC is an international oil company engaged in the exploration, development and production of crude oil and natural gas outside the State of Kuwait. It is currently active in 14 countries with 60 projects in the international upstream sector.

Also, KUFPEC is currently working towards achieving its strategy plans aiming to increase its production to 200,000 BOEPD with reserves of 650 MMBOE by year 2020. —KUNA

Kuwait state bodies discuss ‘smart cities’ KUWAIT: The Municipal Council discussed with another three state bodies a draft law for the construction of environment-friendly ‘smart cities’ in Kuwait.

The talks included the Public Authority for Housing Affairs, the Ministry of Public Works and the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research - the last of which was tasked with a

feasibility study on the project, said Municipality official Mansour AlKherainij. The talks also showed compliance with the proposal emphasising that it would save the government 40 pct of its energy needs.

These cities have an infrastructure that readily provides the internet along with all of the other necessary utilities, and have a proven track

record in a number of GCC countries like the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, added the official.

He went on to stress the need for the project to be offered as bids to the private sector for execution, while noting to the need to amend construction laws to suit the incoming 2020 project and to bring on board the experience of surrounding nations. — KUNA

Fahad Abdullrahman Fahad Al Bedaiwi

Fajer Ramadan Mukhtar Mirza

Khaled Hamad Talaq Al Otiabi

Noor Mohamad Abdulaziz Al Bahar

Al Shabab winners receiving their prize from NBK Public relations officer Talal Al Turki

NBK announces 10 Al Shabab one year student allowance winners KUWAIT: National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) announced the winners of the last draw in its “ Win 12 months allowance campaign”, for Al Shabab customers.

Abdulrahman Abdullah Safeer Al Otaibi, Mubarak Mohammad Fhaid Al Ajmi, Fahad Abdullrahman Fahad Al Bedaiwi, Fajer Ramadan Mukhtar Mirza, Noor Mohamad Abdulaziz Al Bahar, Ajayeb Khaled Ali Ateej, Khaled Hamad Talaq Al-Otiabi, Hawraa

Mohammad Shaaban Zaman, Ghadeer Muhsin Nasser Al Ajmi and Dana Adel Darwish Qasem each won one year student allowance from NBK. This campaign was offered to existing and new NBK Al Shabab customers who transfer their allowance to NBK. Fifteen lucky winners had the chance to win 12 months’ worth of their student allowance by cash.

NBK seeks to reward its Al Shabab customers with the best offers and

promotions. Al Shabab customers enjoy a modern lifestyle and expect the best. NBK continues to meet those expectations by providing the most exclusive offers and benefits.

Al Shabab is a youth account that caters to the various financial, social and lifestyle needs of college and university students between the ages of 17-23 years. Students can open an Al Shabab account by visiting any NBK branch in Kuwait.

TUESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2014

Kiev protesters face off with police, president orders talks Page 10

Iran, US, Europe start implementing nuke deal Page 8

COLUMBIA: North Carolina NAACP President William Barber talks about fighting for social justice at the King Day rally yesterday, in Columbia, S.C. Barber told the crowd of a few thousand people that what conservatives leaders have done to the country is mighty low, but he thinks they are ready to find higher ground. — AP

Russian Islamists threaten Sochi Games MOSCOW: Russian Islamist militants have promised to deliver “a present” to President Vladimir Putin at the Sochi Olympic Games in a video which identifies them as suicide bombers killed in attacks last month.

In the video posted on wellknown North Caucasus Islamist website VDagestan.com, two men sitting in front of a jihadist flag warn the Russian authorities of planned attacks in Sochi. “As for your Olympics, something that you want so much, we also have a present for you,” says one of the men, as the other smiles.

“And for those tourists who will come, inshallah, for these tourists there is also a present,” one says, using the Arabic phrase for “God willing.” The video cast an ominous shadow over the Games which start on February 7 amid unprecedented security measures.

“There is a real threat for Sochi, and the desire to spoil the Games is also real,” said analyst Pavel Felgenhauer. “We have no idea of their capabilities.”

The introduction to the video said that the men were responsible for two suicide bombings in the southern city of Volgograd last month-Russia’s deadliest in three

years-which killed a total of 34 people. The attacks struck a rail station and a trolleybus.

The video named the suicide bombers as Suleiman and Abdurakhman and said they carried out “the operation in Volgograd”.

The end of the video showed the explosion at the station and the charred carcass of the trolleybus.

‘Preparation for the operation’ The video also depicted what it described as “preparation for the operation”, showing hands in red gloves assembling explosives and taping wires to a forearm.

It was released just before the Olympic torch relay arrived in Volgograd yesterday. The website also published a Russian-language statement by a group calling itself Ansar al-Sunnah promising Russians it would “fill their houses with blood.”

“Attacks such as those in Volgograd are only the beginning of your sufferings,” said the statement signed by a group leader, “Umar.” It was not immediately clear whether the group is affiliated with the eponymous Sunni organisation that claimed credit for multiple attacks in Iraq in the 2000s.

VOLGOGRAD: In this image made from a video posted online Sunday by an Islamic militant group asserting responsibility for suicide bombings last month that killed 34 people in Volgograd, Russia, two men, identified as Suleiman and Abdurakhman and who purportedly carried out the twin suicide bombings are seen at an unknown location. — AP

Two blasts rocked Volgograd on December 29 and 30 when one suicide bomber detonated himself at the southern city’s main railway station while the second hit a packed trolleybus.

Lifenews website last week published what it said was security footage of the bomber entering the train station, with the man’s face obscured by sunglasses and a winter hat.

‘They could have planted a bomb a year ago’ Some analysts said they doubted the affiliation of the Iraqi group with Dagestani militants in the video, who delivered their speech entirely in Russian.

Fears of attacks in Sochi were amplified by wanted posters around the Olympic city of purported female suicide bombers.

The posters seen by AFP correspondents show four women in headscarves, three of whom are from Dagestan and are described as “possibly preparing to become suicide bombers”.

“All of this shows that the threat is very real,” said Andrei Soldatov, who runs the website Agentura.Ru about the Russian security services.

Even the strictest security measures cannot prevent all attacks, added analyst Alexei Malashenko of Carnegie Moscow Center. “They could have planted a bomb a year ago,” he said. “You can’t prevent everything.”

Islamist insurgents based in North Caucasus republics such as Dagestan who are seeking their own independent state have vowed to disrupt the Sochi Games in order to undermine Putin’s rule.

The United States this month issued a travel alert to citizens travelling to Sochi that “they should remain attentive regarding their personal security at all times.”

US Congressman and chairman of the House Intelligence Committee Mike Rogers, speaking on CNN, expressed concern that Russia is not sharing all of the information with US intelligence needed “to protect our athletes in the Games.”

“So what we’re finding is they aren’t giving us the full story about what are the threat streams, who do we need to worry about,” the lawmaker said on Sunday. — AFP

TUESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2014

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

Former PM Hariri says will return to Lebanon for Nov elections PARIS: Former Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri said yesterday he would return to Lebanon ahead of parliamentary elections later this year and was ready to work with his rivals for the good of the country.

Hariri, who has been living in exile between France and Saudi Arabia since 2011 when his government was toppled

by Hezbollah, has been attending the trial in the Netherlands of four of its members charged with his father ’s killing. Lebanon, still struggling to

recover from its 1975-1990 civil war, has been without a fully functioning government since Prime Minister Najib Mikati resigned last March.

A caretaker cabinet with minimal powers is running the country while parties try to reach a deal to form a government ahead of parliamentary elections due in November. “I will return to Lebanon for the elections and so that one day I can be prime minister,” he told Europe 1 radio. Until now Hariri has been reluctant to give any date for his

return. But a conciliatory tone towards the powerful Shi’ite group would be a sharp turnabout for Hariri and his Future party, a Sunni Muslim group that supports the Sunni revolt against Shi’ite Muslim-backed President Bashar alAssad in neighbouring Syria’s civil war.

“Lebanon’s interest is more important than mine, he said when asked if he was ready to share power with his rivals.

He added that it was certain that Assad was behind the death of his father, former premier Rafik al-Hariri, whose 2005

car bomb assassination was widely blamed on Hezbollah.

“Ever yone knows who gave the order. It was Bashar al Assad,” Hariri said.

“One day we will go and get them (those responsible). They will pay,” referring to those facing trial. He also blamed Assad for the assassination of one of his closest advisers, Mohamad Chatah, in December.

Syria’s war, which has claimed more than 130,000 lives, has inflamed sectarian division in Lebanon, especially since

Hezbollah joined Assad in his threeyear-old fight against majority Sunni rebels.

Syria peace talks are due to begin on Wednesday in Switzerland, setting up the first meeting between Assad’s government and its foes. Hariri said the priority was for Assad to go.

“Assad must leave power. We cannot have a president like Assad at the head of Syria,” he said. “It’s the job of Russia and Iran to tell Assad to go because Syrians don’t want him.” — Reuters

Iran, US, Europe start implementing nuke deal Tehran to allow UN more frequent inspections

ISRAEL: Rose Fostanes a Filipina migrant caregiver living in Israel, celebrates with friends and family in a bar in South Tel Aviv, after she won in the Israeli X-Factor Television show singing contest, in the early hours of January 15, 2014. Israel’s Interior Minister Gideon Saar issued a statement saying he had decided to allow Fostanes to work as an artist. — AFP

Israel grants Filipina X-Factor winner licence to sing JERUSALEM: A 47-year-old Filipina carer who won Israel’s X-Factor talent show has been granted permission to earn a living as a singer in the Jewish state, officials said yesterday.

Rose Fostanes, the only foreign contestant on the show, moved to Israel six years ago, obtaining a visa to work as a carer for the sick and elderly. Her success, which saw her winning last week’s final with a soaring rendition of Frank Sinatra’s “My Way,” sparked celebrations across the Philippines and praise from its President Benigno Aquino.

But Israeli immigration officials said her visa did not allow her to work professionally as a singer. However, yesterday, Interior Minister Gideon Saar issued a statement saying he had decided to allow Fostanes to work as an artist.

The minister “ordered the population and immigration authority to grant Rose Fostanes permission to work as a singer in Israel,” it said. “Minister Saar decided to agree to her request and allow her a work permit as an artist,” it said, noting such permission was subject to the agreement of the family she had been working for.

Fostanes has been likened by fans to Susan Boyle, the middle-aged Scottish singer whose humble looks and shy demeanour belied a scintillating voice that captivated millions on the television talent show “Britain’s Got Talent” in 2009.

Fostanes currently lives in a crowded apartment in southern Tel Aviv, an area inhabited mostly by foreign workers, and has been saving money to support her family and girlfriend back home, press reports said. — AFP

Israel policy splits Palestinian families JERUSALEM: Israel’s restrictions on Palestinian movement between Gaza and the West Bank is separating relatives and making family life impossible for tens of thousands of people, an Israeli human rights report said yesterday.

Jointly published by rights watchdogs B’Tselem and HaMoked, the 42-page report documents the impact of Israel’s policy of tightly restricting Palestinian movement into and out of the Hamas-run Gaza Strip.

“Israel’s declared policy of isolating the Gaza Strip severely violates the right to family life of tens of thousands of Palestinians living in split families, divided between Gaza and Israel, or between Gaza and the West Bank,” it said.

Current Israeli policy bars Gazans from travelling to the West Bank except in extremely rare circumstances. And although West Bank residents are permitted to go to Gaza, they have to commit to stay there, the report said.

“Israel prohibits all passage between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, except in very few exceptional humanitarian cases of first-degree relatives involving serious illness, death or a wedding,” it said.

Even then, not all requests are accepted, or are granted too late. After the 1967 Six Day War when Israel seized Gaza and the West Bank, it allowed Palestinians relative freedom of movement between the two territories, but during the first uprising (1987-1993), restrictions were stepped up,

ostensibly for security reasons.

The policy changed in 2006 when Israel first imposed a blockade on Gaza after militants there seized an Israeli soldier, and was tightened again a year later after Hamas forcibly took control.

Women were particularly affected, the report said, noting that marriage meant a woman was expected to leave her family and move into her husband’s home.

“Israel’s policy ... is especially detrimental to women ... as the restrictions on their freedom of movement effectively sever them from their families of origin,” the organisations said.

The report urged the Israeli government to “respect the rights of all Palestinian residents to family life and freedom of movement.”

In response, Israel’s justice ministry acknowledged the “hardship” the policy was causing, but said it was necessary for security reasons. The Gaza Strip is “a hostile territory controlled by a murderous terrorist organisation (Hamas) that routinely operates against a civilian population and whose self-declared goal is the annihilation of the State of Israel,” it said.

“Permitting passage bet ween the Gaza Strip and the West Bank would entail a substantial security risk,” the ministry said, insisting the policy was “a regretful side effect” of the “strategy of te r ro r i s m a n d v i o l e n ce” p u r s u e d by Palestinian militants. — AFP

MARJAYOUN : Dummies depicting Israeli soldiers are unloaded from a truck during the shooting of a movie telling the story of a member of Shiite movement Hezbollah, Amer Kalakesh, who blew himself up in his vehicle before an Israeli army patrol in 1985 during Israel’s occupation of southern Lebanon, yesterday in the southern Lebanese border town of Marjayoun. The film entitled “Zahrat Fuadi” (Flower of my Heart) and filmed at the location where the attack took place, is directed by Lebanese director Ahmad Yussef and produced by the Cedars Production company (Al-Arz) with a technical team from Iran working on effects and make up. —AFP

TEHRAN: Iran unplugged banks of centrifuges involved in its most sensitive uranium enrichment work yesterday, prompting the United States and European Union to partially lift economic sanctions as a landmark deal aimed at easing concerns over Iran’s nuclear program went into effect.

The steps start a six-month clock for Tehran and the world powers to negotiate a final accord that the Obama administration and its European allies say will be intended to ensure Iran cannot build a nuclear weapon.

In the meantime, the interim deal puts limits on Iran’s program - though it continues low levels of uranium enrichment. Tehran denies its nuclear program is intended to produce a bomb.

The payoff to Iran is an injection of billions of dollars into its crippled economy over the next six months from the suspension of some sanctions - though other sanctions remain in place.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague called the deal “an important milestone” - but not the ultimate goal. “It’s important that other sanctions are maintained and the pressure is maintained for a comprehensive and final settlement on the Iranian nuclear issue,” Hague said.

The Europeans are aiming to start negotiations on a final deal in February, though no date or venue has been agreed on yet. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Saturday that Tehran is ready to enter talks as soon as the interim deal goes into force.

In the first step of the interim accord, Iranian state TV said authorities disconnected cascades of centrifuges producing 20-percent enriched uranium at the Natanz facility in central Iran. The broadcast said international inspectors were on hand to witness the stoppage before leaving to monitor suspension of enrichment at Fordo, another site in central Iran.

Iran also started yesterday to convert part of its stockpile of 20-percent enriched uranium to oxide, which can be used to produce nuclear fuel but is difficult to reconvert for weapons use, the official IRNA news agency said.

After receiving independent confirmation of the steps from the United Nations watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, EU foreign ministers in Brussels approved the partial sanctions suspension.

US announce suspension of some sanctions The White House also announced the suspension of some American sanctions on Iran. “These actions represent the first time in nearly a decade that Iran has verifiably enacted measures to halt progress on its nuclear program, and roll it back in key respects,” White House press secretary Jay Carney said in a statement.

He said Iran is also providing UN inspectors with increased transparency, including more frequent and intrusive inspections. “Taken together, these concrete actions represent an impor-

TEHRAN: Unidentified International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors and Iranian technicians are on hand to cut the connections between the twin cascades for 20 percent uranium enrichment at Natanz facility, some 200 miles (322 kilometers) south of the capital Tehran, Iran, yesterday. Iran has halted its most sensitive uranium enrichment work as part of a landmark deal struck with world powers, state TV said yesterday. —AP tant step forward,” he said.

Under the deal reached in November in Geneva, Iran agreed to halt its 20 percent enrichment program but continue enrichment up to 5 percent.

Iranian Vice President Ali Akbar Salehi said his country has a total of 196 kilograms (432 pounds) of 20 percent enriched uranium and will convert half of it to oxide over a period of six months. The remaining half will be diluted to a level below 5 percent level within three months.

Uranium enriched to a high degree - above 90 percent - can be used to build a nuclear warhead. Enriched below 5 percent, it can power an electricity-generating reactor, and at 20 percent it can power reactors used to produce medical isotopes. The enrichment is done by spinning the uranium in a series of centrifuges.

Iran will also refrain from commissioning its under-construction 40 megawatt heavy water reactor in Arak, central Iran. That reactor can produce plutonium, another route to building a warhead.

Under the deal, the number of IAEA inspectors in Iran will “roughly double,” said Tero Varjoranta, an agency deputy director general.

That would increase the agency’s presence on the ground to a maximum of eight inspectors in Iran at any time.

IAEA inspectors will have daily access to Iran’s enrichment facilities, a senior diplomat familiar with details of the implementation plan said,

speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss details.

In exchange for the nuclear curbs, Iran receives a halt to new sanctions and easing of some existing sanctions. Measures targeting petrochemical products, gold and other precious metals, the auto industry, passenger plane parts and services will be lifted immediately.

The Geneva deal allows Iran to continue exporting crude oil in its current level, which is reported to be about 1 million barrels a day.

Senior US administration officials have put the total relief figure at some $7 billion of an estimated $100 billion in Iranian assets in foreign banks. Iran is to receive the first $550 million installment of $4.2 billion of its assets blocked overseas on Feb. 1.

Iran’s hard-liners have called the deal a “poisoned chalice”, highlighting the difficult task President Hasan Rouhani faces in selling the accord to skeptics.

Hard-line media denounced the bargain. The Vatan-e-Emrooz daily printed in black Monday instead of its usual colors, a sign of sorrow and mourning. It declared the deal a “nuclear holocaust” and called it a gift to Israel’s Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu.

“Today, Netanyahu is the happiest person in the world,” it said. However, the Israeli prime minister has made the opposite argument: He says the deal gives Iran too much for too few concessions. — AP

N Yemen battles ‘kill 22 in 48 hours’ SANAA: Two days of fighting between Shiite rebels and gunmen from the powerful Hashid tribes in north Yemen have killed nearly 22 people, a tribal source said yesterday.

A presidential commission had on January 8 brokered a truce between the Huthi rebels and Hashid fighters, ending two days of clashes in Amran province. The fighting first erupted when Huthis tried to seize the towns of Wadi Khaywan and Usaimat, both Hashid strongholds.

But battles resumed a week ago and intensified over the past two days, the tribal source said. “There were 22 people killed on both sides during the last 48 hours,” the source said, adding that fighting was concentrated on Usaimat, 140 kilometres (87 miles) north of Sanaa.

The Huthis launched the attacks in retaliation for the Hashid tribe’s support for hardline Sunni Salafist groups fighting Huthis in Dammaj, a rebel stronghold in the north. The town in Saada province has been besieged by the rebels for months.

Huthi rebels have been battling the Sanaa government for nearly a decade in Saada, but the clashes with Sunni militants have deepened the sectarian dimension of the unrest.

Fighting that erupted in late October has centred on a Salafist mosque and Koranic school in Dammaj.

The conflict has spread in the northern provinces, embroiling Sunni tribes wary of the power of the Huthis, who have repeatedly been accused of receiving support from Iran.

Huthis, meanwhile, accuse radical Sunnis in Dammaj of turning the town centre into “a real barracks for thousands of armed foreigners”, a reference to the Dar al-Hadith koranic school where foreigners study.

Yemeni troops began to deploy in Saada on January 11 to monitor a ceasefire between the Huthis and Salafists. —AFP

TRIPOLI: Lebanese men attend a candle vigil against violence in the northern port city of Tripoli yesterday after several people were killed in fighting in the city where sectarian clashes linked to the Syrian conflict regularly break out. The sectarian fault line between the Sunni and Shiite neighbourhoods is decades old, but has been exacerbated by the war just across the border in Syria. — AFP

Baghdad bomb blasts kill 26 BAGHDAD: Seven bomb explosions killed 26 people and wounded 67 in the Iraqi capital yesterday, police and medics said, as security forces battled Sunni Muslim militants around the western cities of Falluja and Ramadi.

The bloodiest attack occurred in the mainly Shi’ite Muslim Abu Dsheer district in southern Baghdad, where a car bomb near a crowded market killed seven people and wounded 18. No group claimed responsibility for the blasts. But Sunni insurgents, some of them linked to al Qaeda, are widely blamed for a surge in violence in the past year apparently aimed at undermining the Shi’ite-led government and provoking a return to all-out sectarian strife.

Al Qaeda militants and their local allies seized control of Falluja and parts of Ramadi on Jan. 1, exploiting resentment among minority Sunnis against the government for policies perceived as unfairly penalising their once-dominant community. Five ofyesterday’s bombs targeted mainly Shi’ite districts of the capital, while two were in mostly Sunni areas. Sporadic

fighting again flared around Falluja and Ramadi. Anti-government tribesmen attacked an army barracks in Saqlawiya, 10 km (six miles) northwest of Falluja, and destroyed two Humvee vehicles, before army helicopter gunships forced them to retreat. One of the attackers was killed and two wounded, police said. There was no word on casualties among the army.

Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, who faces a parliamentary election on April 30, has ruled out a full-scale army assault on Falluja, urging tribesmen to drive al Qaeda militants from the city, where U.S. troops occupying Iraq fought some of their toughest battles with Sunni insurgents in 2004.

An Iraqi journalist, Firas Mohammed, was killed by a roadside bomb that exploded near a police station in Khaldiya, a town between Falluja and Ramadi, on Sunday, police said. He had worked for the local television channel in Falluja. Ten journalists were killed in Iraq last year, the highest number anywhere except Syria, according to the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists. — Reuters

TUESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2014

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

Frenchman freed on parole from Indonesian jail after 14 years Blanc still in shock after his release JAKARTA: A French drug smuggler was freed on parole yesterday after more than 14 years in an Indonesian prison, a rare early release of a foreigner that raises hopes for Australian inmate Schapelle Corby.

Michael Blanc was arrested the day after Christmas in 1999 at the airport on the resort island of Bali with 3.8 kilograms (8.4 pounds) of hash hidden in diving canisters. The 40-year-old, who has always maintained his innocence, was originally given a life sentence under Indonesia’s tough anti-drugs laws, which provoked outrage in his native France.

His sentence was cut to 20 years and he received several remissions. Following a lengthy battle with Indonesia’s complex legal system, he finally succeeded in being granted parole, which is rare for a foreign prisoner.

“He has come out of prison. He has signed his release papers,” his mother Helene Le Touzey told AFP yesterday at the prison in the south of the capital Jakarta.

“I am happy, happy, happy,” added Le Touzey, who abandoned her life in France to move to Indonesia and fight for her son’s release. After leaving prison mother and son travelled by car to government offices to finalise administrative formalities. Blanc did not comment, with his mother saying he was still in shock.

Blanc has always maintained his innocence, insisting that he was given the diving canisters to transport by a friend. He was sentenced to life in prison on November 16, 2000, a sentence criticised in France as overly harsh.

It was raised by Paris at the highest levels, with the then-prime minister Francois Fillon bringing it up during a visit to Indonesia in 2011. Blanc’s sentence was cut in December 2008 to 20 years in prison thanks in large part to his mother’s efforts.

Le Touzey in 2011 started the process to get her son granted parole but her efforts ran into problems.

Indonesian law does not usually allow foreigners to be

JAKARTA: Freed French drug smuggler Michael Blanc, (R) accompanied by his mother Helene Le Touzey (L) arrives at their residence in Jakarta yesterday. Blanc, 40, was freed on parole yesterday after more than 14 years in an Indonesian prison, a rare early release of a foreigner that raises hopes for Australian inmate Schapelle Corby. — AFP released on parole after serving two-thirds of their sentence, which is the norm with Indonesian prisoners.

“I could not accept that. The law must be the same for all,” she said in an earlier interview. This hurdle was finally overcome, with authorities allowing Blanc to be

2 dead, hundreds evacuated in flood-hit French Riviera HYERES: River levels were receding early yesterday in southeastern France after “historic” floods left two people dead and more than 150 were airlifted to safety.

A third man disappeared while out on his boat and 4,000 homes have been left without power after the deluge in the department of Var, they said. Local official Laurent Cayrel said one of the victims, a 73year-old man, died in his basement, while the other was swept away in his car.

“The situation is very worrying, and it’s not going to get any better tonight,” he said on Sunday night, adding that there had been “record rainfall”. In the town of Hyeres, mayor Jacques Politi spoke of “a historic flood”.

“We are at the end of the crisis,” Var prefecture official Emmanuel Dupuis said, warning however that the ground remained saturated and the slightest rain could cause further damage.

However, there may be some respite, with one local official claiming river levels were receding, while still advising caution as an orange alert was in place. Var, which lies on the stretch of Mediterranean

coast known as the Riviera popular with tourists, is known for its sunny climate.

Emergency helicopters were deployed throughout the night, with 500 fire officers and 200 police on duty. By late Sunday, 155 people had been airlifted from the worst-hit areas and efforts to evacuate residents by boat were continuing.

One local resident told how from her home she saw a huge wave sweep her empty car away before she was evacuated by helicopter with her five-yearold daughter. “It was really staggering,” she said. “We had called the fire brigade who told us to move the furniture upstairs... We had very little time, the house flooded very quickly.”

French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault will travel to the affected area early yesterday, his office said.

Late Sunday, authorities issued a separate flood alert for the river Rhone, which runs through southeastern France.

In an interview in a local paper yesterday Ayrault said that a natural catastrophe announcement would soon be issued, a move which would release state funds for flood relief. — AFP

freed as long as he remains in Indonesia until the end of his sentence on July 21, 2017.

Great relief Talking to AFP shortly before her son’s release, Le Touzey said she had “made his bed” to welcome him home. “There have been real highs and lows but it’s really a great relief,” she said, before heading to the prison to collect her son.

Blanc is the first foreigner to be freed on parole in Indonesia in recent years, and his release will boost hopes for Corby. Bali’s corrections board in August recommended Corby for early release from the island’s notorious Kerobokan jail. But the process has run into a series of bureaucratic hurdles.

Corby was sentenced to 20 years in jail in 2005 for smuggling 4.1 kg (nine pounds) of marijuana into Bali the previous year. She has received several remissions and a sentence cut of five years from the president. — AFP

Strong 6.3 earthquake jolts NZ WELLINGTON: A power ful 6.3-magnitude earthquake rattled New Zealand yesterday, jolting buildings and halting train services, but there were no immediate reports of major damage or injuries. The quake, which struck at 3:52 pm (0252 GMT), was centred in the North Island about 115 kilometres (71 miles) northeast of the capital city Wellington, the US Geological Survey said.

The tremor hit at a depth of 27 kilometres and was widely felt throughout the North and South islands. It was followed by a series of smaller aftershocks. “I’ve seen the neighbours and they’re a bit shaken up but apart from that no damage,” Brian Smith of Eketahuna, near the centre of the quake, told Radio New Zealand, describing the tremor as as a sharp jolt.

“My wife was outside in the garden and she said she couldn’t stand up and had to sit down.”

New Zealand’s GeoNet put the quake at a magnitude of 6.2, but had it at a shallower depth of 10 kilometres. Some houses in the small township of Eketahuna suffered broken windows and structural damage but police said there had been no reports of injuries. In Eketahuna, the local supermarket manager Tanmay Patel said the quake, which tossed merchandise from shelves, was terrifying.

“This is something I never want to have again.

Felt like the roof was going to fall off,” he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Pam Lochore, wife of All Blacks great Brian Lochore, said photographs had fallen off shelves and “a rugby ball went flying across the room” in their home at Masterton in the North Island’s south.

One casualty of the quake was a giant model eagle which fell to the ground from the roof of Wellington airport where it was being used to promote the “Hobbit” movie trilogy.

All train services in the Wellington region were suspended due to the quake. New Zealand is on the boundary of the Australian and Pacific tectonic plates, forming part of the so-called “Ring of Fire”, and experiences up to 15,000 tremors a year.

A devastating 6.3-magnitude temblor in the South Island city of Christchurch in 2011 killed 185 people-one of the nation’s deadliest disasters of the modern era. Wellington was the scene of the country’s most powerful earthquake in 1855.That devastating 8.2-magnitude quake caused four deaths and changed the city’s entire geography, pushing the shoreline out 200 metres (660 feet) as it thrust the harbour floor upwards. — AFP

TUESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2014

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

Renzi to spell out reform deal with Berlusconi ROME: Italian centre-left leader Matteo Renzi can expect a hostile reception from sections of his Democratic Party (PD) when he gives details yesterday of an electoral reform pact with opposition leader Silvio Berlusconi.

Since being elected leader of Italy’s largest party in December, Renzi has held talks with all the other parties on how to reform an electoral law blamed for the country’s chronic political instability. But his meeting on Saturday with former prime minister Berlusconi, who is barred from parliament after a conviction for tax fraud, sparked discontent from small parties backing Enrico Letta’s government as well as those in opposition.

Stefano Fassina, from the left-wing of the PD, who resigned as deputy economy minister this month after a dispute

with the more moderate Renzi, said he was “ashamed” to see Renzi meet with a convicted criminal at the PD’s headquarters.

Any deal on electoral reform between the two should be put to a referendum of the PD’s members, he said. Renzi, the dynamic, 39 year-old mayor of Florence, emerged from the meeting to announce “profound agreement” over an electoral law that would remove the blackmailing power of small parties and ensure stable, durable governments.

H e s a i d h e wo u l d s p e l l o u t t h e d e t a i l s a t t h e P D m e e t i n g d u e to begin at 1500 GMT. Analysts say electoral reform is vital for Italy to achieve the stable government needed to reform a chronically sluggish economy that has not grown for over two years and tackle the euro zone’s sec-

ond highest debt burden after Greece.

In last year’s election, no party gained enough votes to govern alone, plunging the country into political stalemate before the creation of a broad-based coalition government which has constantly bickered and struggled to produce reforms.

The deal with Berlusconi was widely reported in Italian media as being based on proportional representation, with small constituencies each electing four or five representatives and a winner’s bonus of 15-20 percent of seats.

Two-round system?

It was attacked by 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, which

fear it would put at risk their future survival.

Renzi said yesterday the criticism was based on speculation. “I invite the experts to read the proposal before commenting, wait until 4 o-clock,” he tweeted. A source close to Renzi said the reform was actually based on a tworound voting system, similar to the ones used in Italian mayoral elections.

This kind of system is favoured by Alfano as well as by most of the PD, but has so far been resisted by Berlusconi, mindful of the centre-right’s traditionally weaker showings in local elections than in national ones.

Davide Faraone, a member of Renzi’s inner circle, said the new law “will allow the winner of elections to be able to govern with stability and means we will never again have broad coalitions.”

Renzi, who makes no secret of his ambitions to become prime minister, frequently criticises Letta - who is also from the PD - and says he is determined to push ahead with electoral reform even if it increases strains among the ruling coalition.

“We have made more progress in the last three weeks than was made in the previous 10 years,” he said last week.

Renzi said he and Berlusconi agreed not only on a reform of the electoral system but also on drastically cutting the powers of the Senate, which would no longer be an elected chamber, and reducing the legislative autonomy of the regions.

Such changes would require parliamentary approval and constitutional amendment, a lengthy process which should ensure that Letta’s government survives at least into 2015. — Reuters

Kiev protesters face off with police, president orders talks 20 arrested for mass rioting

JUBA: South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir speaks to the media at a press conference in Juba, South Sudan yesterday. Negotiators for Kiir and former Vice President Riek Machar told reporters over the weekend that a cease-fire was close at hand, but a Twitter feed believed controlled by Machar said yesterday there won’t be a cease-fire until Ugandan troops leave the country and political detainees are released. — AP

South Sudan battles rebels as UN warns of violations JUBA: South Sudanese troops battled rebels in yesterday in a key oil town, the army said, as the UN warned soldiers had tried to forcefully enter a base sheltering thousands of civilians. Thousands have been killed and half a million civilians have been forced to flee the fighting, which entered its sixth week yesterday with peace talks in Ethiopia deadlocked.

The United Nations says that atrocities including war crimes are reported to have been committed by both sides. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon warning Sunday he was “particularly disturbed” that UN staff were threatened by government troops when peacekeepers blocked soldiers from entering their base in Bor, where thousands of civilians are sheltering from weeks of conflict.

The army has denied the incident, saying that they wanted to investigate reports rebels may have thrown off their uniforms to hide in the UN base, claims the UN has in turn denied. But Ban said the incident was “just one of a growing number of violations” of the UN accord with the government “making it increasingly difficult” for peacekeepers to implement their mandate.

Army spokesman Philip Aguer said the military was now pushing northwards against the rebels driven from Bor. “Bor town is calm, but we are pursuing the rebel forces,” Aguer told AFP, saying that soldiers had pushed some 65 kilometres (40 miles) from the town, the strategic state capital of Jonglei state, which they wrested back off the rebels on Saturday.

Rape, murder, devastation The town, which has swapped hands four times in the conflict, was left devastated with corpses littering the streets and scores of buildings razed to the ground, according to an AFP reporter who visited the town on Sunday.

Civilians recounted grim stories of how the rebels gang raped and murdered sick patients in the town’s hospital. 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.

Heavy fighting was meanwhile reported to be continuing in and around the key oil town of Malakal, capital of Unity State and one of the main battlefields since fighting erupted last month between rival forces loyal to President Kiir and his sacked deputy Riek Machar.

“We are battling in the town to regain full control of Malakal,” Aguer added. “We control the north of the city, and the rebels have the southern part.” Both rebels and the government have claimed in recent days to control the northeastern town, which has already changed hands twice and where rebels launched a new offensive last week.

South Sudan erupted into conflict on December 15 in what Kiir called a coup attempt by Machar, whom he sacked in July. The former vice president denies the charge and accuses his ex-boss of trying to purge his rivals.

The fighting has spiralled into ethnic killings between members of Kiir’s Dinka people-the country’s largest group-and Machar ’s Nuer. 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.

Last week, United Nations’ top human rights envoy Ivan Simonovic, detailed reports of mass killings, sexual violence and widespread destruction.

The South Sudanese government and rebels are holding talks in neighbouring Ethiopia, but they have made little concrete progress in more than two weeks.

Talks 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.— AFP

BANGUI: The mayor of Bangui, Catherine Samba-Panza, waves to National Transitional Council (CNT) members after being elected interim president of the Central African Republic yesterday, in Bangui. Samba-Panza was elected in a secondround vote by the transitional parliament, securing 75 votes against 53 for Desire Kolingba, the son of a former Central African president. — AFP

KIEV: Opposition protesters were yesterday locked in a tense standoff with Ukrainian police in Kiev after bloody clashes that wounded over 200 people, as President Viktor Yanukovych called emergency talks to resolve the crisis.

The clashes, the worst in Kiev in recent times, came amid mounting anger over laws restricting protests signed by Yanukovych after almost two months of demonstrations against his refusal to sign a pact for integration with the EU. A special commission set up by Yanukovych was due to meet representatives of the opposition yesterday for emergency talks, but it was unclear if this could help ease the crisis, with parts of central Kiev resembling a battlefield.

In near apocalyptic scenes close to parliament and the iconic Dynamo Kiev football stadium, protesters torched several police buses and vehicles late Sunday. Police responded with tear gas, stun grenades, rubber bullets and water cannon. After a night of violence that continued into the early hours, thousands of protesters came to the streets yesterday morning despite temperatures of minus 10 degrees Celsius (14 degrees Fahrenheit).

The situation remained tense with protesters launching occasional charges against the police line guarding the passage to government buildings, throwing stones or Molotov cocktails. “We are going to stay here until our demands are met on the annulment of the laws” restricting protests, said protester Yaroslav Pyutilin, 46.

According to the Kiev health authorities, more than 100 protesters were wounded in the clashes, with four people sustaining serious injuries to eyes and limbs. The interior ministry said more than 100 members of the security forces had been wounded. The burned-out wrecks of the police buses were now used by the protesters as a barricade beyond which there were hundreds of riot police wearing helmets and carrying shields.

Protesters equipped themselves with ad hoc shields made of metal sheeting and wooden sticks in anticipation of further clashes with police. The area echoed with the thud of stun grenades and the deafening drumming of groups of mostly elderly protesters with sticks on metal.

The ministry added that 20 people had been arrested for mass rioting. US-funded Ukrainian radio station Radio Svoboda said two of its journalists had been arrested yesterday morning while filming at the scene.

US urges calm The White House urged an end to the violence, with US National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden saying that Washington was deeply concerned and urging “all sides to immediately de-escalate the situation”.

The spokeswoman warned that Washington was still considering sanctions against Ukrainian officials, a step urged by the Ukrainian opposition. “The US will continue to consider additional steps-including sanctions-in response to the use of violence,” Hayden said.

EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels on Monday deplored the violence, saying the government was at fault for adopting the repressive laws.

The new laws allow for jail terms of up to five years for those who blockade public buildings and the arrest of protesters wearing masks or helmets. Other provisions ban the dissemination of “slander” on the Internet.

The laws were passed last week in a chaotic show of hands in parliament and then signed into law by Yanukovych.

The curbs on protests were “the most solid package of repressive laws that I have seen enacted by a European parliament in decades,” Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said in Brussels.

Ukrainian opposition television broadcast pictures of two young men who it said were stripped naked by the security forces and then peppered with rubber bullets. Police said they were checking the claim.

Opposition leaders, including former boxing champion Vitali Klitschko and Arseniy Yatsenyuk, urged protesters to refrain from using force but their calls were ignored.

It was not clear who was behind the clashes with police, which appeared to have been a well-organised move. Ukrainian media linked the action to a hitherto little-known right-wing youth group called “Right Sector”.

Special commission to meet opposition In an apparent attempt to find a compromise, Klitschko travelled to the president’s luxurious Mezhygirya residence outside Kiev to meet Yanukovych in person.

The president received Klitschko and promised Monday to create a special commission of officials set up by national security council secretary Andriy Klyuyev to solve the crisis, the box-

KIEV: Protesters clash with police in central Kiev, Ukraine, yesterday. After a night of vicious streets battles, anti-government protesters and police clash anew in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev. — AP over the lack of a clear programme from the er’s party and the presidency announced.

The presidency said the new commission opposition leaders after almost two months of would meet the opposition on Monday but protests, whistling and heckling them for their perceived inability to mount a stronger chalthere was no sign of this yet taking place.

On Sunday afternoon, some 200,000 people lenge.

Yanukovych’s arch nemesis Yulia Tymoshenko had filled Kiev’s Independence Square and surrounding streets for a new mass rally in defiance remains in jail, while the protest leadership appears driven by rivalries ahead of presidential of new strict curbs on protests.

Protesters expressed frustration at the rally election next year. —AFP

Unclear roadmap for peace in Kiev KIEV: After a night of vicious streets battles, anti-government protesters and police clashed anew yesterday in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev. Hundreds of protesters, many wearing balaclavas, hurled rocks and stun grenades and police responded with tear gas.

The violence has seriously escalated Ukraine’s political crisis, which has been marked by two months of largely peaceful protests. Here’s a look at the unclear roadmap for peace in Kiev: HOW IT ALL BEGAN The pro-Western protests in Kiev began Nov. 21 after President Viktor Yanukovych shelved a long-planned political and economic treaty with the European Union and then accepted a huge bailout package from Russian President Vladimir Putin instead. The protests swelled to hundreds of thousands the biggest since Ukraine’s 2004 pro-democracy Orange Revolution - after riot police violently broke-up a small peaceful student protest. Clashes broke out on Dec. 1 between radical protesters and police, but demonstrations since then have been peaceful.

THE MOST RECENT TRIGGER Sunday’s violence came after Yanukovych pushed through a sweeping anti-protest law that significantly increased fines and imposed jail terms for unauthorized street protests. The new law also prohibits activists from wearing helmets or masks to demonstrations, curbs free speech and limits the ability to investigate or monitor the activity of officials, including judges. The law also restricts the activity of non-governmental organizations funded by the West, as many are in Ukraine.

The law mirrors anti-opposition legislation passed in Russia, prompting accusations that Yanukovych is following in Putin’s footsteps in building a police state. The United States has called the legislation “undemocratic” and the European Union has urged Ukraine to revise it.

BUT NO UNITY IN THE OPPOSITION The law has highlighted Yanukovych’s disregard for the protests, which have been calling for his ouster, the restoration of civil rights and a pro-Western course for Ukraine. Yet demonstrators have been frustrated as well

with the fragmented and often indecisive opposition. During a large peaceful protest Sunday, the crowd chanted “Leader!” asking for the selection of one single protest leader who would take charge. When that did not happen, hundreds broke off from the main rally and marched toward parliament, where they began attacking riot police with sticks, firebombs and stones. Police responded with tear gas, water cannons and plastic bullets.

Opposition leader Vitali Klitschko, the world heavyweight boxing champion, tried to stop the violence, but was attacked by the radical protesters. “We are tired of waiting, we must push the changes ourselves, we must change the leaders,” said Petro Sopotensky, a 28-year-old protester.

CAN TALKS DO THE TRICK? Intent on preventing what he called a possible civil war, Klitschko went to Yanukovych’s home Sunday night and emerged with a promise of negotiations. But the president appointed the embattled national security council head Andriy Klyuyev, whom the opposition blames for the violent dispersal of the student rally, to lead the talks. On Monday, Klitschko insisted that the president must personally take part.

Yuri Lutsenko, another opposition leader, urged Ukrainian men from across the country to flood into central Kiev to prevent a new government crackdown on the protests.

WHERE IS THE WEST IN ALL THIS? Opposition leaders have been urging the EU and the United States to impose sanctions on top Ukrainian officials and Yanukovych’s financial backers, but so far Western diplomats have only threatened sanctions and issued harsh statements. Hundreds of activists rallied outside the EU office in Kiev on Monday, chanting “We need your help!” in English and holding posters that read “No sanctions, no peace.”

“The reaction of the international community has been inadequate,” said Valeriy Chalyi, head of the Razumkov Center think tank. “We are talking about Ukraine’s independence.

And if one does not understand this today, tomorrow it will be too late.” — AP

TUESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2014

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

Indian couple defy taboo in inter-caste love story

AHMEDABAD: An Indian visually impaired bridal couple participate in Hindu rituals during a mass marriage at the Andh Kanya Praksh Gruh in Ahmedabad on Sunday. Four Hindu couples and a Muslim couple were wedded with financial assistance from donors. — AFP

Delhi chief minister lashes out at police NEW DELHI: The fiery leader of India’s capital lashed out at the New Delhi police yesterday, accusing the force of targeting the poor for petty offenses but refusing to combat serious crime. New Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who took office in December on a promise to sweep out corruption and look after the common man, led a protest by hundreds of supporters against the city’s police force.

Kejriwal is widely believed to have his eye on control over the city’s police, which reports to the federal government, as well as be a serious player in national elections, expected by May. His upstart Aam Aadmi Party, or Common Man’s Party, did surprisingly well in the state elections last month by tapping into public disgust over corruption amid a steady stream of scandals.

He blasted the police for taking money from rickshaw drivers for minor offenses, but doing little to fight lawlessness - including ignoring the rampant drug and sex trade. “No drug racket can flourish in Delhi without the knowledge of the police,” Kejriwal told his supporters at a rally around the Home Ministry, despite a police ban on public gatherings in the area. “We want to put an end to this and make the Delhi police accountable to the people of the city.” He invited all the city’s residents to join in the protest, which he said would continue to demonstrate for 10 days. Authorities asked Kejriwal to hold the protest at a plaza in central Delhi where the public will be less inconvenienced. Kejriwal has not indicated whether he will comply with the police request to move his protest.

The clash between Kejriwal and the police started when the Delhi police refused a demand by Delhi’s Law Minister Somnath Bharti - a key Kejriwal aide - to arrest two Ugandan and two Nigerian women. Bharti led a night raid on the homes of the African women last week and accused them of selling drugs. But the police refused to make the arrests, saying they had no warrant.

That night raid prompted African embassies to lodge strong protests with India’s Ministry of External Affairs and demanded an inquiry into the incident. Ministry officials held a meeting with around 20 African ambassadors on Friday to assure them that the government would ensure the security of all foreigners. In recent years, tens of thousands of Africans have moved to India in search of education and jobs. A top ministry official condemned the raid, calling it “an aberration, an isolated incident.” He said there was no targeting of nationals of any country in India. — AP

DELHI: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal (L) addresses supporters outside Parliament, with fellow Minister Manish Sisodia looking on, as Delhi Police prevent him from reaching the Home Ministry in New Delhi yesterday. The campaigning chief minister of New Delhi who swept to power in December 2013 after leading protests against corruption called on for a mass demonstration to disrupt Republic Day celebrations at the weekend. — AFP

NEW DELHI: When Tilakam, from one of India’s high social castes, married the love of her life in a simple ceremony 12 years ago, she feared outrage from relatives and ostracism.

Tilakam’s husband Kathir is a dalit-once known as the “untouchables”-who are at the bottom of India’s deeply entrenched caste system and shunned by large sections of society. Their marriage is rare in a country where discrimination, violence and even death are known punishments for breaking strict social rules such as marrying into a lower caste. But what is even more unusual is the fact that their story has a happy ending. “We’ve not faced any trouble as my father was a really open-minded person... He took the courage to face our relatives’ resistance,” says Tilakam, who only wanted to give her first name.“We’ve been very happy,” she tells AFP from her home in the southern city of Madurai.

Indian law prevents discrimination against intercaste marriage, but, in reality, many remain resistant to such unions in a country where, despite social change and rapid modernisation, tradition still holds sway.

So-called “honour killings” in which couples are shot, stabbed, lynched or poisoned are still carried out, although in decreasing numbers, as families attempt to defend their reputation thought sullied by a breach

will consider their caste is being made” ‘impure’ by the child’s birth,” he explains.

Families fear marginalisation Such prejudices mean such inter-caste marriages are few, although the numbers are growing, albeit slowly. Government figures show 9,623 marriages were recorded in 2012 between Dalits and partners from higher groups, compared to 7,617 the year before-a small figure in a country of 1.2 billion people where getting married is considered paramount.

Local newspapers are full of advertisements from parents seeking partners for their son or daughter from the same caste, and arranged marriages are still common. “Parents may agree with their child’s choice (of partner),” Srinivas Goli, a professor at the Giri Institute of Development Studies in the northern city of Lucknow, tells AFP. “But the families’ concerns about the reputation and respect for their families (by the community) often force them to go against” their child’s choice in such cases, he says.

Some families themselves fear marginalisation and even physical harm from the rest of the community, particularly in rural and remote areas, if they stand by their children’s choices to break caste rules.—AFP

Blast near Pakistan military HQ kills 13 Two high-profile attacks in 24 hours RAWALPINDI: A Taleban suicide bomber killed at least 13 people in a market next to Pakistan’s military headquarters yesterday, a day after one of the deadliest attacks on security forces in recent years. A further 18 people were wounded in the blast which tore through RA bazaar in Rawalpindi, Islamabad’s twin city, only 15 metres (50 feet) from the army’s General Headquarters, at around 7.45 am (0245 GMT). It came a day after the Tehreek-e-Taleban Pakistan (TTP) killed 26 soldiers and wounded at least 25 others in a suicide bombing in the northwestern town of Bannu. Two highprofile attacks in 24 hours mark a sharp upturn in violence from the TTP after a period of relative quiet following the death of their leader Hakimullah Mehsud in a US drone strike in November.

Haroon Joya, a senior police official at the scene of yesterday’s blast, told reporters six soldiers and seven civilians had been killed. “It was a suicide attack, we are collecting evidence from the spot. We have collected some body parts suspected to be of the suicide bomber,” he said. Earlier, the top government official in Rawalpindi, Sajid Zafar Dall said 18 people were wounded in the blast. “The attack occurred when children were going to school.

Our initial assessment is that the bomber was possibly on a bicycle and he then approached the target on foot,” Dall said.

Rubble and human flesh The blast left the market place a mess of twisted shutters and rubble, with pieces of human flesh scattered on the ground, an AFP reporter said. The TTP have been waging a bloody campaign against the Pakistani state since 2007, carrying out countless bomb and gun attacks, often on military targets. The military headquarters came under attack in 2009, when militants laid siege to the complex for 24 hours. A total of 19 people died including eight militants. TTP spokesman Shahidullah Shahid claimed yesterday’s attack as payback for a deadly military raid on a radical mosque in Islamabad in 2007. “It was carried by one of our suicide bombers to take revenge for the Red Mosque massacre,” he told AFP. “We will continue our struggle against the secular system.”

Eyewitnesses described the power of the explosion. “I was reading a newspaper after opening my shop and all of a sudden I heard a big blast,” Liaqat Ali, a grocery shop owner near the site told AFP. “The intensity of the blast threw me off my chair. I rushed outside and saw smoke and smoke everywhere. I saw injured laying and screaming on ground.” Police and commandos cordoned off the area as ambulances took wounded to a nearby military hospital.

Strategy doubts Analysts said the Taleban’s ability to carry out two such highprofile attacks in quick succession raised fresh questions about Pakistan’s strategy for dealing with the homegrown militant threat. The government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has said it wants talks with the Taleban and received the backing of all major political parties for dialogue in September. 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.

Retired brigadier Shaukat Qadir, a security analyst, said the militants were taking advantage of the government’s lack of policy direction. “You can keep talking about talks but this is what will happen to your talks. The Taliban have stated it quite loud and clear,” he said. The fact the TTP had struck in Rawalpindi, the very heart of Pakistan’s military establishment, carried significant symbolic value, he added. In claiming the Bannu attack on Sunday, the TTP threatened to carry out more strikes, saying they wanted revenge for the deaths of Mehsud and deputy Waliur Rehmanboth killed in US drone attacks. But Shahid also said the group was “ready for meaningful negotiations” if the government halted US drone strikes and withdrew troops from the tribal areas along the Afghan border where Taleban and Al-Qaeda-linked militants have hideouts. Talat Masood, a security analyst and retired general, dismissed the renewed talks offer as a “red herring” meant to stop the government from approving retaliatory military operations. “They are not genuine about talks because their demands are such that they cannot be met,” he told AFP. “It’s very possible the civilians may catch the bait. The government will think ‘The Taleban are willing to talk, so why shouldn’t we talk?’.” — AFP

Nepal doctor strike leaves thousands without care KATHMANDU: A strike by doctors in Nepal left tens of thousands of patients with access only to emergency care yesterday as physicians demanded sweeping changes to the country’s medical education system. The protesters say political appointees should not hold top positions at government hospitals; instead, they say, the schools must be entirely independent. The strike began Sunday and around 4,000 doctors are taking part, according to the Nepal Medical Association.

The strike caused major slowdowns at hospitals across Nepal, a poor country where people often travel long distances from rural areas to seek medical care. “I have no idea what is going on or when I will get the treatment,” said Suraj Biswokarma, 22, who lost his left arm in an accident and could barely speak because of the pain yesterday. He traveled for days to reach Tribhuwan University Teaching Hospital in Katmandu after a local clinic in a village stabilized him.

“I arrived here in the hospital hoping to get some treatment,” he said. “I have had only nurses take care of me since yesterday.”

Other patients at Tribhuwan left without receiving any care.

of strict caste-based rules. Just two months ago, police found the charred remains of Sasikala, a 21-year-old high-caste woman, who had secretly married a Dalit in a temple in southern Tamil Nadu state, outraging her parents. The couple lived together for two years before fleeing their home, fearful of punishment from her parents, according to local media reports.

Her parents found them anyway and by the time police arrived they were burning their daughter’s body on a funeral pyre after reportedly making her consume a poisoned drink. Kathir, whose formal name is A.Vincent Raj, has formed a group to defend the rights of other Dalits to wed partners outside their caste and to work and live where they wish.

Dalits, like other down-trodden groups, traditionally perform menial, dirty and often dangerous jobs as part of the hereditary system in place for generations.

Traditionally poor, illiterate and landless, many still suffer discrimination despite government affirmative action policies and laws banning caste prejudice.

“If an uppercaste man marries a lower-caste or Dalit woman, he’s considered to have ‘uplifted’ her,” Kathir says. But it is a different story when an uppercaste woman marries a Dalit man, he says. “The woman bears a lower-caste heir and that will be very difficult for the couple as opponents of their marriage

Those who were admitted before the strike began said doctors had stopped coming to treat them. The outpatient department was closed and only a few emergency patients arrived at the hospital. Nepal has experienced doctor strikes before, even though they are illegal because hospitals offer essential services. The last strike was in August 2012 over the same issue and ended following government assurances of reform, but little has changed since then.

Protesters said they are trying to get the government’s attention. “We want the political parties and the government to stop interfering with the medical institutes and allow them to function independently,” said Prabat Jha, one of hundreds of doctors who protested near Singhadurbar, which houses government ministries and offices. He said the protesters support Govind K.C., a doctor who has been on a hunger strike for the past 10 days to demand the removal of the governmentappointed head of Tribhuwan. The protest was mostly peaceful, but police briefly detained about two dozen doctors and transported them in a truck back to the hospital. — AP

RAWALPINDI: Pakistani security officials inspect the site of a bomb attack in Rawalpindi yesterday. The Pakistani Taleban claimed responsibility for a bomb attack yesterday close to Pakistan’s military headquarters, as officials said the death toll had risen to nine. — AFP

THURSDAY, JANUARY 9, 2014

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

Malaysia’s Anwar ‘shocked’ after Japan bars entry KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim said yesterday he was “puzzled and shocked” at being barred entry to Japan, as his party questioned whether Malaysia’s ruling coalition was behind the move. Anwar said he arrived at Narita International Airport on a personal visit early Sunday and was told by immigration authorities he was barred because of his 1999 conviction for sodomy and corruption.

The controversial conviction, which cast the then-rising political star out of Malaysia’s longtime ruling party and into jail for six years, is viewed by many as a set-up by Anwar’s enemies. “I am puz-

zled and shocked by the incident,” Anwar, 66, told AFP. “It is not the way for a democratic country to treat an opposition political leader and a veteran politician.” He called on Malaysia’s government to “probe this incident and lodge a strong protest against Tokyo.” Anwar said he has visited Japan on three occasions since 2006 without incident. He said Japanese immigration officials told him vaguely they were responding to a recent “report” involving him.

Anwar said he was invited by a Japanese NGO to deliver a speech on religious harmony. He returned to Malaysia on Sunday. In a blog posting, Anwar

said “hidden hands may be at work here” and demanded an explanation from Malaysia’s foreign ministry. “The barring of Anwar Ibrahim from entering Japan raises serious questions on the involvement of this (the Malaysian) government,” Anwar’s People’s Justice Party said in a separate statement.

Foreign Minister Anifah Aman later told reporters in Kuala Lumpur that the Malaysian government had nothing to do with the matter and that Japan’s border controls were its own affair.

Anwar said Japan’s embassy in Malaysia told him before the trip there would be no problem entering the country. Embassy officials declined

comment. Malaysia’s ruling coalition has steadily lost ground in parliament since Anwar officially became opposition leader in 2008.

The opposition accuses the coalition of a longrunning campaign of harassment and false charges designed to smear Anwar. Shortly after a historic strong 2008 opposition showing, he faced new charges of illicit sex with a former male aide.

Sodomy is illegal in Muslim-majority Malaysia.

A court acquitted Anwar in 2012 but the government has appealed. Later in 2012 he was charged over an anti-government protest but a court dismissed the case earlier this month. — AFP

China memorial to Korean assassin sparks Japan feud Beijing defends memorial as ‘completely reasonable’

BANGKOK: Anti-government protesters cheer during a rally in Bangkok, Thailand, yesterday.

Two explosions shook an anti-government demonstration site in Thailand’s capital on Sunday in the latest violence to hit Bangkok as the nation’s increasingly volatile political crisis drags on. — AP

Thai protesters lay siege to provincial offices BANGKOK: Anti-government protesters in Thailand besieged government offices in a dozen southern provinces yesterday as part of their campaign to force Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra from power, officials said.

The move follows weeks of mass rallies in the Bangkok that have sparked several bouts of violence, including grenade attacks and shootings that both sides have blamed on each other. The government reiterated Monday that it was ready to declare a state of emergency if needed to control the situation. Demonstrators blocked the entrances to state offices in 12 provinces in the opposition-dominated south to stop civil servants going to work, officials said. “Protesters locked the gates and asked officials to leave,” said Anucha Romayanan, a spokesman for the Centre for Administration of Peace and Order, set up by the government to oversee the handling of the protests.

Protesters also surrounded a government savings bank in Bangkok. Yingluck is under intense pressure from demonstrators, backed by the royalist establishment, to step down after more than two months of street rallies aimed at ousting her government from office and installing an unelected “people’s council”.

She has called an election for February but the main opposition party is boycotting the vote. The protesters are seeking to disrupt the polls and have prevented candidates from registering in some southern constituencies.

‘Shutdown’ The demonstrators have staged a self-styled “shutdown” of Bangkok since January 13, erecting roadblocks and rally stages at several key intersections in the city, although the number of protesters has steadily fallen since the middle of last week. Dozens of people were wounded and one killed in grenade attacks by unknown assailants on opposition rallies on Friday and Sunday that heightened fears of growing unrest ahead of next month’s election.

Deputy Prime Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul said on Monday that the government might declare a state of emergency to give a bigger role to the army to help deal with the unrest. “We cannot allow more violence to happen,” he said. The kingdom has been periodically rocked by political bloodshed since former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, Yingluck’s older brother, was overthrown by royalist generals in a coup seven years ago.

The latest protests were triggered by a failed amnesty bill that could have allowed Thaksin to return without going to jail for a past corruption conviction.

The demonstrators accuse the billionaire telecoms tycoon-turned-politician of controlling his sister’s government from his base in Dubai. Thaksin has strong electoral support in northern Thailand, but he is reviled by many southerners, Bangkok’s middle class and members of the royalist establishment. — AFP

HK arrests employer of ‘tortured’ maid HONG KONG: Hong Kong police yesterday arrested a woman who allegedly severely injured her Indonesian domestic helper, a day after thousands staged a march in protest at her treatment. A police spokeswoman said a 44-year-old woman was arrested at the city’s airport on a charge of wounding, but declined to give further details.

Erwiana Sulistyaningsih, 22, was reportedly abused over a period of eight months while employed by the woman. Media reports said she was unable to walk due to her injuries when she flew home from the southern Chinese city this month.

Police investigators yesterday travelled to Indonesia to interview Sulistyaningsih, who is being treated at a hospital in Sragen on Java island. Claims that she had been tortured by her employer sparked an outcry by domestic helpers and others and renewed concern about the treatment of maids in Hong Kong.

Several thousand domestic helpers and rights activists staged a protest on Sunday, calling for a speedy investigation of the case and better protection for maids. Local groups

representing domestic helpers have claimed that two other helpers were also abused by the same employer.

One of them complained to police Sunday about her treatment. Hong Kong employs nearly 300,000 domestic helpers, mainly from Indonesia and the Philippines.

In an earlier case a Hong Kong couple were jailed in September for attacks on their Indonesian domestic helper which included burning her with an iron and beatings with a bicycle chain. Amnesty International in November condemned the “slavery-like” conditions faced by thousands of Indonesian domestic helpers in Hong Kong and accused authorities of “inexcusable” inaction.

It said Indonesians were exploited by recruitment and placement agencies who seize their documents and charge them excessive fees, with false promises of high salaries and good working conditions.

The government stipulates a minimum wage and other conditions for foreign domestic helpers, but unscrupulous employers and agencies sometimes ignore this. — AFP

Storm wrecks Philippines typhoon victims’ shelters MANILA: The United Nations warned yesterday more needed to be done to help millions displaced by the Philippines’ deadliest typhoon, after a new cyclone tore down flimsy shelters. More than 1,000 survivors of Super Typhoon Haiyan fled to the safety of government buildings in the town of Guiuan on the weekend as a fresh tropical storm flattened tents and ripped the roofing off other temporary shelters, officials said.

“The (new) cyclone is a reminder that more needs to be done.... for vulnerable displaced people,” Russell Geekie, spokesman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs told AFP. Guiuan, on Samar island about 600 kilometres (372 miles) southeast of Manila, was the first area to be devastated when Haiyan hit on November 8.

It left nearly 8,000 people dead or missing and more than four million others homeless

across the central islands, officials said. The government is building temporary housing while looking for safe relocation sites for survivors of coastal communities ravaged by giant waves unleashed by Haiyan, warning the rebuilding would take years. A UN aid appeal for nearly $800 million last month for Haiyan relief is about 42 percent funded, but the component for shelters was “only a fifth funded”, Geekie said. British aid group Oxfam also warned the temporary shelters given to Haiyan survivors were no match for the extreme weather in the Philippines, which is hit by an average of 20 storms and typhoons each year, along with frequent earthquakes. “In one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world, it’s critical we quickly provide safe homes... for those continuing to live in dangerous and difficult locations,” its country director Justin Morgan said in a statement.—AFP

BEIJING: A new Asian diplomatic row broke out yesterday after China unveiled a memorial to a Korean national hero who assassinated a Japanese official a century ago-with Tokyo condemning him as a “terrorist”.

China fired back by hailing Ahn Jung-Geun as “a famous anti-Japanese high-minded person”, while Seoul called him a “hero”. In 1909 Ahn shot and killed Hirobumi Ito, Japan’s first prime minister and its top official in Japaneseoccupied Korea, at the railway station in the northeast Chinese city of Harbin.

Ahn was hanged by Japanese forces the following year, when Korea also formally became a Japanese colony, heralding a brutal occupation that lasted until the end of World War II in 1945. A joint Chinese-South Korean memorial hall in Ahn’s honour was unveiled at the train station on Sunday. Yoshihide Suga, Japan’s top government spokesman, said yesterday that Tokyo had told Beijing and Seoul it considered the monument “extremely regrettable”. “We recognise Ahn Jung-Geun as a terrorist who was sentenced to death for killing our country’s first prime minister,” Suga said.

“I cannot help saying that it is not contributing to building peace and cooperative relations in this region that South Korea and China took the joint cross-border move based on unilateral evaluation on a matter that happened in the previous century,” he added.

In response Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei yesterday defended the memorial as “completely reasonable and justified”. He described Ahn as “a famous antiJapanese high-minded person” who “is also respected by the Chinese people”.

Disputed Islands Political relations between China, Japan and South Korea-Asia’s first, second and fourthlargest economies-are heavily coloured by 20th-century history, when Tokyo’s imperial forces rampaged across the region.

Beijing and Tokyo are embroiled in a bitter row over disputed islands in the East China Sea, and tensions rose further last month when Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited a controversial shrine that honours Japan’s war dead, including indicted war criminals.

In an echo of Abe’s comments after his appearance at the Yasukuni shrine, Chinese and South Korean officials hailed the memorial to Ahn and contended that it was intended not to provoke a diplomatic row, but rather to promote peace.

“People have cherished the memory of Ahn for the past century,” Sun Yao, the vice governor of China’s Heilongjiang province, said at the unveiling, according to China’s official Xinhua news agency. “Today we erect a memorial to him and call on peace-loving people around the world to unite, resist invasions and oppose war.” South Korea’s foreign ministry welcomed the unveiling, adding that Ahn was “a widely respected figure in both South Korea and China” and describing the assassination as a “courageous act”.

In a statement released later in response to Suga’s remarks, Seoul described Ahn as a “hero who had sacrificed himself for the independence of Korea and for true peace in Asia”. * “It’s astonishing that a person who speaks for the Japanese government ... has made such absurd and anti-historic remarks,” the statement added. Ahn in 1962 was posthumously awarded the Order of Merit for National Foundation, South Korea’s most prestigious civil decoration, for his efforts for Korean independence.

Every schoolchild learns his story from an early age-he has been the subject of movies, books and even musicals, and there are numerous statues and memorials to him across the country.

Bitter legacy Japan’s occupation has left a bitter legacy in China and both Koreas, and Ahn remains a potent symbol-in July fans at an East Asia Cup football match between South Korea and Japan in Seoul unveiled a giant banner of his image.

Abe was the first sitting Japanese prime minister since 2006 to visit the controversial Yasukuni shrine, which honours several highlevel officials executed for war crimes after World War II as well as ordinary war dead and serves overseas as a reminder of Japan’s 20th century aggression.

Abe insisted that he had “no intention at all to hurt the feelings of Chinese or South Korean people” and that the aim of his visit was “to pledge to create an era where people will never suffer from catastrophe in war”.

China has responded with a global public relations offensive against Abe, who was elected just over a year ago, with ambassadors in more than 30 countries penning articles condemning the move. In a commentary Sunday, Xinhua wrote that “the opening of Ahn’s memorial is not to inflict pain, but to shed light on the history of northeastern Asia”. “History is the teacher of life,” it added. — AFP

HARBIN: This picture taken on Sunday shows a Chinese visitor looking at exhibits at a memorial in Harbin, northeastern China’s Heilongjiang province, to honour Ahn Jung-Geun, who in 1909, shot and killed Hirobumi Ito, Japan’s first prime minister and its top official in Japanese-occupied Korea, at the railway station in the northeast Chinese city of Harbin. — AFP

Vietnam hands death to 30 drug smugglers HANOI: Vietnam yesterday sentenced 30 drug smugglers to death in the communist country’s largest ever narcotics case, involving scores of defendants and nearly two tons of heroin, a judge said.

The 30 men and women, all Vietnamese, were found guilty of drug trafficking and given the death penalty while a further 59 defendants were handed sentences ranging up to life in prison in connection with the case, presiding judge Ngo Duc told AFP. “This was Vietnam’s largest ever trial in terms of defendants, the number of death penalties given out and the amount of heroin involved,” Duc told AFP after the verdict was read out in the northern province of Quang Ninh-which borders China.

“Because of the large number of defendants and the seriousness of the case, the trial was held at the prison,” judge Duc added. The trial, which lasted 17 days, began on January 3 this year.

Investigators said that the defendants belonged to four international smuggling rings responsible for trafficking heroin and other drugs from neighbouring Laos into Vietnam and China since 2006.

“All the defendants are Vietnamese and most of them came from Vietnam’s northwestern provinces,” court clerk Nguyen Trung Hieu told AFP. Vietnam’s remote northwestern region, which borders both China and Laos, is poor and populated by a patchwork of ethnic minority groups.

There have been previous smuggling cases in the area, which is far from the control of Hanoi. According to a list of the defendants’ names seen by AFP some of the 89 people were from ethnic minority groups, but court officials could not confirm their status.

One of the leaders of the four smuggling rings broken up by the police bust remains at

large, state media reported. Police disrupted the rings in August 2013 making mass arrests and seizing large quantities of illegal drugs.

Toughest drug laws Police also confiscated 20 luxury cars and dozens of guns and other weapons during the raid, state media reported. Communist Vietnam has some of the world’s toughest drug laws. Anyone found guilty of possessing more than 600 grams of heroin, or more than 20 kilograms of opium, can face the death penalty.

Convictions and sentences are usually revealed only by local media which is strictly under state control. The “golden triangle” region of Laos, Thailand and Myanmar was formerly one of the world’s top producers of illicit opium and heroin but has been overtaken by Afghanistan.

After a two-year hiatus in carrying out capital punishment due to problems procuring chemicals for lethal injections, Vietnam executed its first prisoner by the method last August.

The countr y currently now has more than 600 prisoners on death row, according to media reports and an AFP tally. Many have been sentenced for drug offences including dozens of foreigners although it has been decades since a foreign citizen was executed.

Although the communist country does not release statistics on executions, rights group Amnesty International recorded 86 new death sentences in 2012 while it said five executions were carried out the previous year.

Due to problems with both procuring and producing domestically the chemicals required for lethal injections, some lawmakers have called for a return to executions by firing squad. — AFP

QUANG NINH: Defendants, all drugs smugglers, flanked by police stand and listen to their verdicts after a two-week long trial held by a local People’s Court inside a jail in the Northeastern province of Quang Ninh yesterday. Vietnam yesterday sentenced 30 drug smugglers to death in the communist country’s largest ever narcotics case, involving scores of defendants and nearly two tons of heroin, a judge said. — AFP

NEWS Rampant corruption fuels massive visa...

Continued from Page 1 makes ‘millions of dinars’ from human trade every year.

“The system lacks password protection software which allows easy access to the database through employees’ accounts since there is no way to track and identify the culprit,” said the sources on the condition of anonymity.

There have been incidents in which the ministry’s database is hacked to create job openings in a company’s file, after which those openings are used to issue work permits which are then sold to workers. As per the labor law, a company has a maximum cap for the number of labor forces it can recruit depending on the nature of its work, and this number is set by ministry departments called ‘labor assessment offices’. The ministry has closed foreign labor recruitment multiple times in the past few years in a bid to curb the state’s increasing demographic imbalance, with exception given to companies that have contracts signed with the government to carry out developmental projects.

According to the sources, there are incidents of employers who admitted that they paid bribes or used wasta (connections with influential people) to increase the quota and issue visas illegally, yet no adequate legal action was taken. The sources blamed the ministry’s ‘punishment and reward’ criteria under which an employee is simply transferred to a different department if he or she is involved in suspicious behavior. “On the other hand, the Public Authority for Civil Information has an impenetrable database system under which an employee can lose his job if he prints a certain paper without having authorization to do so,” the sources said.

While newly appointed minister Hind Al-Subaih is known for her strong decision-making ability, the sources insist that she needs ‘serious and active support from the government’ in order to face the corrupt network “which none of the former ministers were able to stand a chance against”.

Victims of fraud The Interior Ministry, meanwhile, is preparing to launch a crackdown in search of thousands of expatriates who entered Kuwait through visas issued illegally by a team of senior officials led by the former director of the interior minister’s office. According to a report published by AlAan news website, the prime suspect signed transactions that allowed around 139,000 people to enter Kuwait illegally within two years, mostly on commercial visas.

Many of those have left Kuwait since, but the immigration department investigators were able to identify around 10,000 “whose names were blacklisted” to be arrested soon, according to a security source familiar with the ongoing investigations. The insider, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, added that a special task force unit was formed to accompany police “in raids expected in the coming few days to search for the illegals”.

Investigations on the senior official started last month on the orders of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Mohammad Al-Khalid Al-Sabah. The prime suspect, who is a ruling family member according to news reports, applied for retirement after questioning began, and was promoted to lieutenant general upon retirement in accordance with Interior Ministry’s protocols. He has since been referred to the public prosecution for investigations in the case in which at least seven other Interior Ministry personnel, including a number of ruling family members, are involved.

The suspects reportedly had representatives whose job was to negotiate with people seeking visit visas. Police identified one of them as an Egyptian man named ‘Romani’ who offered visas for fees ranging between KD 200 and KD 800 depending on the applicant’s nationality.

A search is reportedly ongoing for the man who remains in Kuwait, unlike others who escaped as soon as news about the scandal first broke.

In the meantime, sources familiar with the investigations revealed that arrest warrants have been issued for around 5,000 people out of nearly 13,000 who obtained the visas illegally. The sources, who spoke to Al-Rai on the condition of anonymity, warned at the same time that the issue could escalate into a ‘social and humanitarian problem’ since the expatriates mostly are victims of fraud, and arresting them would be like “holding them responsible for a crime they never committed”. According to the sources, 95 percent of the transactions signed by the prime suspect were for Egyptian citizens, whereas the rest were issued to people of various Asian nationalities, excluding six countries whose nationals are not issued visas to enter Kuwait contrary to previous reports that had suggested otherwise. These countries are Syria, Yemen, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

In the aftermath of the case, the Interior Ministry stopped issuing visit visas filed by expatriates excluding those to bring relatives. Meanwhile, Brig Gen Adnan AlKandari, the General Director of the Migration General Department, along with his assistant, were given exclusive authority to look into applications from Kuwaitis to issue visas for visitors. News about the case drew outcry in the parliament with multiple MPs criticizing police procedures, mainly with regards to prosecuting expatriates as well as “rewarding” the suspect by allowing him to take advantage of retirement benefits.

Demographic challenge Illegals along with workers handling menial jobs are often referred to in government rhetoric as ‘marginal labor forces’. The term was mentioned early last year by then minister of social affairs and labor Thekra AlRasheedi when she announced a plan to deport 100,000 foreigners every year as part of a scheme to cut the country’s expatriate population by one million within a decade with the hope of restoring the demographic balance.

The Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor announced yesterday a one-month ban on transferring visit visas to work permits in the private sector, citing “ongoing investigations in the issuance of visas illegally”. The announcement came a day after the Interior Ministry said in an official statement that it began implementing a “strategic plan to address the situation of residency violators and marginal labor”, aiming at “giving expatriates and residents their rights under the law”. Many saw the news as a prelude to a possible amnesty for illegal residents sometime this year, and for the first time since 2011 when nearly 42,000 benefited from a four-month amnesty period.

Kuwait has fallen under pressure from human rights groups in the past few years to abolish the ‘kafala’ system that is blamed for violations practiced against low-skilled labor forces, as well as lack of regulations to organize the affairs of more than 800,000 domestic workers in the state. The parliament passed a bill last year to establish the Public Labor Authority, and a news report last October suggested that the government could launch it after the beginning of the new fiscal year on April 1, 2014.

The new authority is hyped as a ‘natural replacement’ for the sponsorship system by exclusively handling the affairs of expatriate labor forces including hiring in local companies based on employers’ requirements. The authority will be led by a board of directors chaired by the social affairs minister, and includes the authority’s general director as well as four representatives from state departments. In a statement last month, the Kuwait Trade Union Federation compared hiring under the sponsorship system with slavery by suggesting that it grants employers ‘full control’ over workers.

TUESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2014

Court transfers case against 3 former MPs Continued from Page 1 Meanwhile, MP Safa Al-Hashem vowed yesterday to file another grilling against Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber AlMubarak Al-Sabah if he does not answer a question she sent to him over the controversial Dow Chemical case. Hashem said that she asked the premier who had ordered the government to “quickly” pay the huge fine of $2.2 billion to the

US firm as a penalty for unilaterally pulling out of a multibillion-dollar joint venture in Dec 2008. The government has insisted that it did not pay the penalty quickly and the process had taken over a year. Hashem said that if the premier does not answer the question and provide the necessary documents, she will file to grill him. The lawmaker had grilled the prime minister about two months ago for failing to run the affairs of the country.

diplomat to face charges Continued from Page 1 I was just new to my job as a labour attache of the Philippines to Kuwait, so the staff with whom I am working with right now are all new to me,” Chavez said, adding that the embassy is improving the services of the POLO/OWWA daily. “I want closure to issues such as human trafficking and ‘sex-for-flight’ which took place last year,” he said.

The task force asked the Department of Justice to conduct a preliminary investigation into the conduct of the embassy official and staff as a step to filing cases against them. A report from Manila’s GMA Network noted that the task force did not name the complainants “so as not to prejudice further investigation of certain individuals and other recruitment agencies”. The time frame of the incident was also not included in the report.

The complainants said a government official hired

them to work as domestic helpers - with a monthly salary of KD 50 - without proper documentation from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration. The government official then supposedly “took advantage of one of the victims by deceiving her that her back wages had not been paid by her previous lawyers”. The task force said the suspects, including the embassy-hired lawyers and translators, demanded money from the complainants as attorney fees.

Two of the complainants narrated they were also recruited to handle bomb-sniffing dogs with salaries from 30,000 to 35,000 pesos. One of the complainants allegedly paid one of the suspects 10,000 pesos as training fees, and an immigration officer an additional 23,000 pesos. When they arrived in Kuwait, the victims were made to sign a document stating their salary was only KD 110, or around 17,500 pesos.

Iran invitation throws Syria talks...

Continued from Page 1 statement calling for a transitional government in Syria and the Syrian opposition’s threat to boycott the talks. “The secretary general is currently urgently considering his options in light of the disappointing reaction of some participants,” UN spokesman Martin Nesirky told reporters. The Geneva II conference has been nine months in the making and is the most intensive diplomatic effort yet to end the brutal three-year conflict. And a US official said Washington had received messages from members of the Damascus regime keen to find a peaceful solution to the conflict.

But the opposition National Coalition, holding crisis talks in Istanbul, threw down an ultimatum, saying unless it received confirmation by 1900 GMT that Iran was not invited to Switzerland, “we will not attend”.

Washington, London and Paris have said Tehran would have to clearly and publicly support the idea of a transitional government if it was to join the talks.

The surprise invitation came as an interim deal with world powers aimed at containing Tehran’s nuclear ambitions came into effect yesterday, although it was not clear if the two events were linked. Iran remained defiant, with a foreign ministry spokeswoman saying it will participate “without any preconditions”. Western powers have opposed Iran’s presence on the grounds that it had not accepted a communique adopted by major powers in Geneva in June 2012 calling for the creation of an interim government.

Regional powerhouse Saudi Arabia, which supports the Syrian rebels, also said Iran was “unqualified to attend”. The conference is aimed at setting up a transitional government to find a way out of the civil war that has claimed 130,000 lives and created a humanitarian disaster with millions of people homeless.

The so-called Geneva I accord in 2012 made no mention of Assad’s departure, something the Syrian opposition says is non-negotiable. But Russia, a key sponsor of the talks but also Damascus’s main ally, said Tehran’s

absence would be a “unforgivable mistake”. Ban said after two days of talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif that Tehran vowed to play a “very positive and constructive role” and had agreed that the goal of the talks was a transitional governing body with full executive powers. “I believe strongly that Iran needs to be part of the solution to the Syrian crisis,” he said.

The opposition Coalition, which had voted on Saturday to go to Geneva, said in a statement it wanted a clear public commitment from Iran to withdraw all troops and militias and to commit to the terms of Geneva I and II. “In case of failure to obtain the pledge, we ask (Ban) to rescind/withdraw its invitation to Iran.

Otherwise, the Syrian Coalition will not be able to attend the Geneva II conference.”

A Western diplomat described the invitation to Iran as a “catastrophic” decision. In Washington, a US official said he hoped the Swiss talks would provide “an impetus” out of the bloodshed. “There are elements inside the regime itself, among its supporters, that are anxious to find a peaceful solution, and we’ve gotten plenty of messages from people inside, they want a way out,” the State Department official told reporters.

On Friday, Damascus had offered a number of concessions including a ceasefire plan for Aleppo, a prisoner exchange and steps to improve humanitarian aid. The moves, announced in Moscow, were seen as another potential diplomatic coup for Russia after it succeeded last year in persuading Damascus to give up its chemical weapons arsenal and avert imminent US strikes.

But Assad adopted a combative tone in his AFP interview, dismissing the opposition as having been “created” by foreign backers and saying he saw no reason not to seek another term in June’s presidential election. The embattled leader warned of “chaos throughout the Middle East” if his government lost the war. And he mocked the opposition leaders, saying the notion they could participate in government was “a good joke”. — Agencies

TUESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2014

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Issues

US conundrum: Where to stockpile massive NSA data?

By Chantal Valery

F

iguring out where to house mountains of data collected by the National Security Agency is the thorniest challenge the US faces in curtailing its massive surveillance program, officials said Sunday. In a long-awaited speech designed to quell a furor over the programs exposed by fugitive contractor Edward Snowden, President Barack Obama said he was trimming the reach of massive NSA phone surveillance. He also vowed to halt spy taps on friendly world leaders and proposed new shields for foreigners caught in US data sweeps.

“I believe we need a new approach,” Obama said Friday in announcing changes to how and by whom bulk phone data is kept - including details about the time, duration and specific phone numbers dialed during calls. The president directed CIA chief James Clapper and US Attorney General Eric Holder to give him proposals by the end of March on which entity ought to maintain the sensitive information. Major telecommunications firms have made clear, however, that they are reticent to keep the data.

Key US lawmakers, including Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein, have expressed concerns that the information would not be readily available to the officials who need it if held by non-governmental entities. “The whole purpose of this program is to provide instantaneous information, to be able to disrupt any plot that may be taking place,” she told NBC television’s “Meet the Press” program. Obama, she said, “wants to keep the capability. He wants to look for other than the government holding the material.”

Congressman Michael McCaul, who chairs the House Committee on Homeland Security, agreed that it was key to determine where to house the NSA “metadata”. “I think metadata most significantly won’t be dismantled, but put in the hands of an outside third party,” he told ABC television’s “This Week”. “I think the attorney general is going to have a very difficult decision to make here.”

Mike Rogers, The Republican chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, also is no fan of the changes announced by Obama, saying they have already sown uncertainty and doubt in America’s espionage community. “What we got was lots of uncertainty,” Rogers told CNN’s “State of the Union”. “Just in my conversations over the weekend with intelligence officials, this new level of uncertainty is already having an impact on our ability to protect Americans by finding terrorists who are trying to reach into the United States.” Rogers pointed to the real dilemma of choosing where to keep the information. “It can’t be at Target or at any of these places that end up being hacked into,” he said in jest, referring to the department store chain whose recent data breach saw the credit card details of some 110 million customers compromised. “That’s interjected a level of uncertainty and having a whole bunch of us scratch our head.”

Republican former House Speaker Newt Gingrich criticized the Obama administration for announcing the end of one data collection regime without having answers for how the new one will be implemented, and faulted the president for “putting it on Congress” to work out many of the details. Rogers, meanwhile, said in a separate interview on CBS’s “Face the Nation” show that the current system is filled with various layers of oversight that will be difficult, if not impossible, to maintain in private hands. “There is a court review of that, there is an IG (inspector general) review, internal NSA review, DOJ review, Senate Intelligence Committee review and House Intelligence Committee review,” he said. “If you move all of that to the private sector, you lose all of the review. That goes away.”

Meanwhile, privacy advocates said they doubt that the reforms go far enough. The head of the American Civil Liberties Union said the only real solution to resolving the nation’s data collection problem was to end the program altogether. “When the government collects and stores every American’s phone call data, it is engaging in a textbook example of an ‘unreasonable search’” ACLU executive director Anthony Romero said. Kevin Bankston of the New America Foundation’s Open Technology Institute said that “the right answer here is to stop the bulk collection completely - not to keep the same bulk data under a different roof.” —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.

Gambling at heart of Detroit dilemmas

By Karen Pierog and Joseph Lichterman

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or Detroit, the road in and out of US bankruptcy court is paved with casino money. An economic lifeline, wagering tax revenue from the city’s three casinos is at the heart of the bankruptcy plan submitted by Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr, and it is behind the surprise rejection of a deal with banks last week that has thrown a wrench into Detroit’s route and timing to recovery. Moreover, some $330 million in assistance pledged by a coalition of philanthropic groups, including the Ford Foundation and the Kresge Foundation, will not begin flowing to Detroit until it exits bankruptcy, the head of one group told Reuters.

Michigan voters in 1996 approved casino gambling in Detroit, hoping to revitalize the ghost town. Three glitzy resorts eventually opened, helping to spark a burst of energy and bringing as much as $180 million in annual taxes. But the funds have been tied up since 2009 by a separate, disastrous deal that Detroit is trying to reverse. In an effort to reduce its unfunded pension liability, the city sold $1.45 billion of bonds in 2005 and 2006, then used derivatives known as swaps to cut risk. The derivatives deal backfired as interest rates dropped, when Detroit expected them to rise. When Detroit’s credit rating was cut to junk in 2009, banks had the option to

demand $400 million, and the city fended off immediate payment by pledging casino revenue as collateral.

The deal’s continued threat to Detroit’s financial future was one of the key elements that pushed the city into the largest municipal bankruptcy in US history in July. And now with an eye on exiting bankruptcy court, the city is seeking unfettered access to the casino funds to help improve city services - and finance a loan to terminate the derivatives deal.

“Every day that we don’t have access to casino revenue, we cannot make the necessary investment in this city to provide for the health, safety and welfare of the citizens,” Orr said in a deposition last August, shortly after bankruptcy was declared.

In late December, he negotiated a deal for the banks behind the derivatives deal to take a 43 percent reduction in value, only to have federal bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes last week reject the plan, saying the discount was not deep enough. Orr had hoped to get Detroit out of bankruptcy by Sept 2014. “Reports of the quick in and out of Chapter 9 for Detroit may be measurably exaggerated,” said William Brandt, president and CEO of Development Specialists Inc, which deals with restructuring and public finance.

revenue source after municipal income taxes and state revenue sharing, have been described by Orr and his consultants as the city’s most stable source of money. “They’ve got to get the revenues.

There’s no way they can make the plan work without those revenues,” said Laura Bartell, a Wayne State University law professor. As Orr was preparing to take Detroit into bankruptcy last summer, he first negotiated a deal with the banks behind the swaps, Merrill Lynch Capital Services and UBS AG, that would help emancipate the city from the swaps deal at a 25 percent discount to the nearly $300 million estimated cost at the time.

As the bankruptcy proceedings got under way, under pressure from Rhodes, Merrill and UBS agreed to raise the discount to 43 percent, reducing Detroit’s payment to $165 million plus up to $4.2 million in costs. But last week Rhodes declared the concessions still were not enough. He called the payment “too high a price” and put the casino money at the center of debate by declaring that Detroit probably did not have a right to pledge that money as collateral in the first place under state law. He suggested Detroit might win in a bid to invalidate the swaps altogether if a court were to find the city had no right to pledge the casino money.

‘No Way’ Without Casino Money Casino taxes, Detroit’s third biggest

Pain to Go Around One message from Rhodes’ ruling is

that all creditors have to lower their expectations, said Richard Ciccarone, president and CEO of Merritt Research Services, a provider of municipal bond credit information. “(The judge) wants everybody to feel the pain. Nobody is getting special treatment,” he said. James Spiotto, a municipal bankruptcy expert at law firm Chapman and Cutler, said Rhodes rejection of the deal may benefit Detroit in the long term. “It will motivate people that the emergency manager is negotiating with to rethink their positions,” he said.

Rhodes’ ruling Thursday also introduced new questions about whether Detroit can count on casino money to fix its problems. His comment from the bench that the original pledge of casino money for the swaps deal may have violated Michigan’s gaming law raised questions about Detroit’s new plan to get out of the derivatives mess: a loan secured with a pledge of the city ’s income and casino tax revenue. Detroit had planned just such a loan, of $285 million, from Barclays, to pay off the swaps and provide funds for running the city as well. When he rejected the plan to end the current derivatives deal, Judge Rhodes effectively swept aside that plan.

He also emphasized that he would need to approve any new loan involving casino revenue, to make sure they are not misused. —Reuters

Egypt vote muddies political outlook

By Hamza Hendawi

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or all the self-congratulatory headlines in Egypt’s pro-military media, the results of last week’s constitutional referendum may have fallen short of the emphatic popular mandate the nation’s military chief was looking for before announcing his presidential run. Moreover, the outcome - nearly everyone who cast a ballot approved the draft constitution, but turnout was low, at less than 39 percent - has put on display the country’s enduring divisions six months after the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi and nearly three years after autocrat Hosni Mubarak was overthrown.

Another worrying aspect is that young Egyptians appear to have stayed away from the polls, probably because of frustration over the lack of real change and anger over the perceived return of Mubarak-era figures, along with such hated practices as police brutality and other heavyhanded tactics by security agencies.

The 98.1 percent “yes” vote cannot be seen as an accurate reflection of public opinion in “a country as big and as complex and divided as Egypt,” said Khaled Fahmy, a political analyst who chairs the history department at the American University in Cairo. “This is a very alarming figure. ... Something has gone very wrong.”

Gen Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi, the military chief who led the July 3 coup that removed Morsi, has yet to say outright whether he will seek the land’s highest office. His supporters had viewed the Jan 14-15 referendum on the new constitution as a vote on the general’s possible presidential bid. The relatively low turnout, however, should be reason for concern for the general and his

supporters. While no one is claiming the vote was rigged or fraudulent, it took place amid a climate of intimidation, with a de facto ban on campaigning for a “no” vote and a media frenzy that projected a “yes” vote as the only way out of the country’s deadly turmoil and economic and social ills. Islamists effectively boycotted the two-day vote, honoring a call by Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood to shun the referendum as a sham. The ultraconservative Salafi party Al-Nour, which sided with Sisi against Morsi, also appeared to have failed to rally its supporters for a “yes” vote, reducing the turnout. The party won about 25 percent of the vote in parliamentary elections two years ago.

“Even the most optimistic of Sisi’s

supporters admit that the turnout was less than ideal,” analyst Nervana Mahmoud wrote in her blog on Sunday. “Despite aggressive campaigning by state and private media as well as top religious figures and political parties, including the Salafi Al-Nour, the overall turnout failed to reach the desired target of 40 percent or above.” However, Mahmoud contends that the Brotherhood’s call for a boycott was effective mostly in peripheral regions to the south and west of Cairo, a trend she said confirmed the group’s isolation and loss of support in the densely populated urban areas.

The relatively low turnout, according to three senior officials familiar with the thinking of the military’s

leadership, suggests the emergence of serious cracks in the Sisi-led coalition that led the opposition and eventual removal of Morsi last year. The military, they said, is looking into whether its liberal and secular allies as well as the Salafis did not do enough to get out the vote. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media about the military’s deliberations, said the military in the meantime is convinced that Sisi cannot let down the nearly 20 million Egyptians who voted “yes”. “The military will not stand on the sidelines while the country is divided and facing challenges at home and abroad,” said one of the officials. “Egypt needs a military leader and people want Sisi

In this June 16, 2012 file photo, then Egyptian presidential candidate Mohamed Morsi waves after he casts his vote at a polling station in Zagazig. —AP

to run.” Since Morsi’s ouster, Egypt has faced an insurgency in the strategic Sinai Peninsula by Islamic militants, some with Al-Qaida links. In the mainland, Morsi’s supporters have been staging almost daily street protests in Cairo and other major cities to demand his reinstatement. The protests often end violently, and there have been growing signs that some of the protesters are armed. The military-backed government has in the meantime been cracking down on the Muslim Brotherhood, jailing thousands of members, including most of its top and mid-level leaders. Morsi himself faces four separate trials, mostly on charges that carry the death penalty.

Egypt’s media, which is mostly pro-military, has portrayed the referendum results as favorable to Sisi and an endorsement of the roadmap he sponsored: a new constitution followed by presidential and parliamentary elections. “Al-Sisi is the solution,” screamed the red banner on Sunday’s edition of the daily El-Yum el-Sabea.

“The joy of the constitution is complete,” said the state-owned ElGumhorya. “Egypt said ‘yes,’” said another state-owned paper, AlAhram. “A new constitution for a new era,” stated the independent El-Masry el-Youm.

What Egyptians voted on last week was a heavily amended version of a charter drafted by Morsi’s Islamist allies and adopted in a nationwide referendum in Dec 2012. The “yes” vote then was about 64 percent, but turnout was a lowly 33 percent. That vote was half-heartedly boycotted by the opposition, and the low turnout then was seen by the anti-Morsi groups as undermining the legitimacy of the charter. —AP

TUESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2014

Mercedes-AMG Performance Centre opens in Kuwait

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All the latest AMG models on display in exclusive showroom Performance centre designed with latest AMG inspired designs and furniture Dedicated AMG sales team Introduction of S63 AMG & G63 AMG 6x6

.R. Albisher and Z. Alkazemi Co. – the exclusive general distributor for Mercedes-Benz in Kuwait – has opened a dedicated AMG performance centre to display and cater for the latest range of Mercedes-AMG vehicles. The performance centre, which is an extension of Albisher and Alkazemi’s Mercedes-Benz showroom in Shuwaikh, was launched during a special event that included AMG customers, Daimler Middle East and Levant (DMEL) representatives, Albisher and Alkazemi management, and the media.

“We’re seeing a noticeable increase in demand for AMG vehicles in Kuwait, at about 50% year-on-year and establishing an exclusive AMG showroom was our answer to this demand,” said Michael Ruehle, CEO, Abdul Rahman Albisher & Zaid Alkazemi Co. “Mercedes-AMG vehicles deserve to be highlighted because the design and engineering aspects go beyond what is imaginable in the automobile industry today.

Our customers appreciate what owning a Mercedes-AMG means and we want to further extend that to the sales experience as well.”

The 550 square meters AMG Performance Centre is the first facility catering exclusively for Mercedes-AMG vehicles in Kuwait and is designed with the latest signature AMG furniture and displays. The centre can also showcase up to 12 AMG vehicles, including a dedicated stand for the latest models, as well as an area for preowned AMG vehicles.

While the AMG Performance Centre is still linked to the Mercedes-Benz showroom, the centre has a separate waiting and consultation area designed with the AMG’s customers’ needs in mind and a dedicated AMG sales team.

“The Mercedes-AMG portfolio is increasing globally and we are launching all the latest models in Kuwait. In 2013 we introduced the A 45

AMG, the first compact four-cylinder AMG car, and are today also announcing the introduction of S63 AMG and the G63 AMG 6x6 . So this year 2014 is just as thrilling and exhilarating as riding in a Mercedes-AMG car.” added Ruehle.

The AMG Performance Centre launch event featured special presentations and videos about Mercedes-AMG as well as speeches by Albisher and Alkazemi Co.’s Director- Mohammed Albisher, CEO - Michael Ruehle, and Dirk Fetzer, Director Sales & Marketing , Daimler Middle East

and Levant Dubai. These were followed by a light and laser show and the ribbon cutting ceremony. All guests were taken on a tour of the AMG showroom and were presented with the latest AMG models on display, which included the SLS AMG Black series, A 45 AMG, E 63 AMG S Edition, C 63 AMG – 507 Edition, S63 AMG & G63 AMG 6x6.

TUESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2014

S P ORTS

Lee hints at retirement

Bleak times for Inter fans

Betis replace coach Garrido

KUALA LUMPUR: Badminton world number one Lee Chong Wei hinted that retirement was on the horizon after the emotional Malaysian sealed his 10th national championship in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday. Lee, 31, was in tears after his 21-19 21-9 victory over Indonesian Tommy Sugiarto, saying this would be his last Malaysian Open.

“I have never experienced this kind of pressure before. The first game was tough and Tommy really pushed me hard,” Lee told reporters in Malaysia.

“The pressure started to build up from the start of this week. I was tense because I wanted to win my 10th and last Malaysian Open badly. “After the win, I could not help but feel emotional.

All the burden is off my shoulders now... I feel lighter.”

Lee won his second Olympic silver medal at the London Games in 2012 after another titanic battle with old advisory Lin Dan of China but said he was unsure about competing again at the grandest stage. The Penang-born Lee said he would attempt to win a third consecutive Commonwealth Games gold medal in Glasgow in July and a first world championship in August before deciding on his future after the Asian Games in South Korea in September.

“I don’t know whether I can last until the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio. I just cannot imagine how I would fare in three years’ time,” the right-hander said.—Reuters

ITALY: Inter Milan supporters are unlikely to see any immediate improvement in their team’s plight as the club’s Indonesian owners appear determined to avoid splashing out on new players for the time being. Business tycoon Erick Thohir has already make it clear that Inter, beaten 1-0 at Genoa on Sunday, are in a “transitional period” and are more likely to offload players than sign new ones. But Thohir, who watches most matches on television in Jakarta, is under increasing pressure to act after a dismal run of one league win in eight games which began immediately after he took over as club president in November.

Former AC Milan, Juventus and England coach Fabio Capello joined the chorus of criticism after the Genoa match when he said that Inter could not afford to wait for success. “When you talk about important teams, you expect that when a new president comes in, he will change things to reinforce the squad,” he said in an interview with Fox Sports Italia. “Thohir is not doing that, this is the truth. “Anyone who buys up an important club like Inter can’t say these things. This is an ambitious side and the fans remember victories such as winning the treble in 2010. They can’t think about a transitional year. “I am not convinced by Thohir because he is doing nothing. Inter are a patrimony of Italian football.” Thohir took over as president after the International Sports Capital consortium, owned by himself two Indonesian partners, paid 75 million euros ($101 million) and took on all of Inter Milan’s debt of about 180 million euros in exchange for a 70 percent stake. —Reuters

MADRID: Struggling Real Betis have given Argentine Gabriel Humberto Calderon, a former player with the La Liga club and an ex-Saudi Arabia coach, the task of saving them from relegation.

Betis sacked Juan Carlos Garrido on Sunday after a mere month and a half in charge and Calderon will take over until the end of the campaign with an option for another season if the Seville-based side avoid the drop.

“The coach... has already signed his contract for what remains of this season and one more year if top-flight status is assured,” Betis said on their website (www.realbetisbalompie.es) yesterday. “Without time to lose, Gabi Calderon will take charge of the team (on Monday) and has already prepared a double training session to prepare for (Friday’s La Liga) match against Celta Vigo,” they added. A former Villarreal coach, Garrido was appointed at the beginning of December to replace the popular Pepe Mel, who has since taken over at English Premier League side West Bromwich Albion, but failed to turn things around. Betis qualified for the Europa League after finishing seventh in La Liga under Mel last season and will play Russian side Rubin Kazan over two legs in the last 32 next month.—Reuters

Blackhawks edge Bruins

NHL results/standings Chicago 3, Boston 2 (So); Tampa Bay 5, Carolina 3; NY Rangers 4, Washington 1.

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

Boston Tampa Bay Montreal Toronto Detroit Ottawa Florida Buffalo Pittsburgh NY Rangers Philadelphia Columbus Washington New Jersey Carolina NY Islanders

Western Conference Pacific Division W L OTL GF 37 9 5 175 31 12 6 158 29 14 6 126 25 16 9 127 23 16 9 139 16 26 7 109 15 30 6 131 Central Division 32 8 11 184 32 10 5 166 31 12 5 142 27 19 5 125 21 19 8 136 21 22 7 121 22 23 5 141 Eastern Conference Atlantic Division 30 15 3 138 29 16 5 146 27 17 5 126 25 20 5 141 21 17 10 121 21 19 9 139 18 23 7 111 13 27 7 86 Metropolitan Division 34 12 2 156 27 21 3 128 25 19 5 134 24 20 4 138 22 19 8 142 20 19 11 115 20 19 9 117 19 24 7 138

GA 126 121 100 127 145 156 181

PTS 79 68 64 59 55 39 36

139 107 122 125 148 151 150

75 69 67 59 50 49 49

107 123 120 152 130 155 147 133

63 63 59 55 52 51 43 33

115 128 140 135 150 123 137 163

70 57 55 52 52 51 49 45

Note: Overtime losses (OTL) are worth one point in the standings and are not included in the loss column (L).

CHICAGO: Patrick Kane scored in a shootout to lift the Chicago Blackhawks to a 3-2 victory over the Boston Bruins on Sunday in a rematch of last season’s Stanley Cup finals. Jonathan Toews beat Tuukka Rask on the stick side to give the Blackhawks the lead in the tiebreaker, but Brad Marchand’s quick wrist shot got by Corey Crawford, tying it up for the Bruins.

Kane, who won the Conn Smythe Trophy last year as playoff MVP, then skated toward the net, slowed up for a second and sent a shot past Rask on the stick side to give Chicago the win. The Blackhawks had lost their past seven games that had gone past regulation.

Marian Hossa and Brandon Bollig scored in regulation for Chicago, which beat Boston in six games to win the title last June.

LIGHTNING 5, HURRICANES 3 Mark Barberio scored his first two career goals as Tampa Bay moved into a share of first place in the Atlantic Division. Ondrej Palat had a goal and two assists, and he and Barberio scored 1:23 apart during the Lightning’s three-goal first period that also included a goal from Nikita Kucherov.

Teddy Purcell also scored for the Lightning, who pulled even with Boston atop the division with 62 points. Ben Bishop made a career-high 48 saves for Tampa Bay. He shut out the Hurricanes in his only other two appearances in Raleigh, including a 3-0 victory on Nov. 1. Alexander Semin, Eric Staal and Ron Hainsey each scored after Carolina fell behind 4-0.

RANGERS 4, CAPITALS 1 Rick Nash scored two of New York’s three first-period goals as goalie Henrik Lundqvist won for the fifth time in six outings.

The Rangers’ offense broke out for the second straight day, following a 1-0 win over Detroit on Thursday, and recorded four goals for the third time in five games. Lundqvist, who got the day off when New York won 4-1 at Ottawa on Saturday, was sharp again in making 24 saves.

New York, 11-3-1 in its last 15 games, improved to 1211-3 at home. Washington dropped its fifth straight (03-2). Derek Stepan also scored in the first to chase goalie Philipp Grubauer. Ryan Callahan added a shorthanded goal in the second. Alex Ovechkin netted the only goal for Washington. —AP

CHICAGO: Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford (50) blocks a shot by Boston Bruins, Milan Lucic (17) during the third period of an NHL hockey game. — AP

Tour Down Under goes ahead as wildfires recede ADELAIDE: Organizers of the Tour Down Under cycle race have confirmed the first stage will take place as scheduled today as fears of wildfires receded in South Australia state.

Race director Mike Turtur said the 135-kilometer (84-mile) opening stage from Nurioopta to Angaston in the Barossa Valley wine-growing region will now proceed as planned. South Australia state has been ravaged by four wildfires in heatwave conditions over the past week, but Turtur said authorities are confident the fires are contained.

Turtur said organizers “can thank our lucky stars” they haven’t been forced to cancel a stage for the first time in event’s 16-year history. “(After) the extreme weather of last week, we’ve

been blessed with conditions for the whole race,” he said.

“We’ve had a pretty good run over 16 years. Thankfully we’ve got away with this one by the looks of things.” Turtur said smoke from the bushfires was unlikely to be a problem for riders.

“Our belief is that the air in and around the race circuit is pretty-well clear, so it shouldn’t be an issue,” he said. Organizers have contingency plans in place if fires flare again.

“We’ll deal with that if and when it happens. We have certain procedures in place. We will monitor the thing as we go,” Turtur said. The Tour Down Under, raced over six stages in the region around Adelaide, is the first event of the 2014 WorldTour. — AP

A crumbling Sochi hides behind Olympic facades SOCHI: A shining new $635 million highway on the outskirts of Sochi stands next to a crumbling apartment block with a red “SOS!” banner on its roof.

The residents of 5a Akatsy street have lived for years with no running water or sewage system. Construction for the 2014 Winter Games has made their lives more miserable: The new highway has cut them off from the city center. Even their communal outhouse had to be torn down because it was found to be too close to the new road and ruled an eyesore.

The slum is one of the many facets of a hidden dark side in the host city of next month’s Winter Olympics, which stands side-by-side with the glittering new construction projects that President Vladimir Putin is touting as a symbol of Russia’s transformation from a dysfunctional Soviet leviathan to a successful, modern economy.

While state-run TV trains its cameras on luxury malls, sleek stadiums and high-speed train links, thousands of ordinary people in the Sochi area put up with squalor and environmental waste: villagers living next to an illegal dump filled with Olympic construction waste, families whose homes are sinking into the earth, city dwellers suffering chronic power cuts despite promises to improve electricity.

Putin promoted the Sochi Games, which begin on Feb. 7, as a unique opportunity to bring investment to the Black Sea resort and improve living standards for its 350,000 residents. Looking back at those promises, many residents, weary from years of living in the midst of Russia’s biggest construction project in modern history, say they have yet to see any improvement in their lives and point to an array of negative effects.

“Everyone was looking forward to the Olympics,” said Alexandra Krivchenko, a 37-year-old mother of three who lives on Akatsy street. “We just never thought they would leave us bang in the middle of a federal highway!”

People elsewhere in Sochi and surrounding villages have seen the quality of their life decline because of Olympic construction. In the village of Akhshtyr, residents complain about an illegal landfill operated by an Olympics contractor that has fouled the air and a stream that feeds the Sochi water supply. Waste from another illegal dump in the village of Loo has slid into a brook that flows into the already polluted Black Sea. In the village of Mirny, just outside the Olympic Park, rumbling trucks have damaged foundations and caused homes to sink. And right across the railroad tracks from the Akatsy building, another multifamily residence has become prone to flooding after an Olympics-related road was built nearby.

Sochi residents also complain about widespread environmental damage, including the destruction of forests and the contamination of a river running down to the sea. Near the Olympic Park, a popular sandy beach was

paved over for the development of a port that was never built.

The Winter Games were intended to showcase Russia’s resurgence from the collapse of the Soviet Union two decades ago. From drab sanatoriums to gleaming ski resorts. From outdoor markets with counterfeit clothes to boutiques filled with international brands.

When an AP correspondent asked the Sochi mayor last year what had changed in the city for the better, Anatoly Pakhomov started talking about a new shopping mall and a Louis Vuitton store as symbols of positive change. Amid such pride in status symbols, Sochi has fallen short in providing basic necessities, residents say.

Two giant power stations have been commissioned to provide electricity for the Olympic venues and the city, but power shortages across the city are still ubiquitous.

At a recent televised meeting with Putin, Russia’s energy minister said the grid was still being built and was unlikely to come online before Saturday, less than two weeks before the opening ceremonies.

The city has undertaken a colossal effort to upgrade its infrastructure and municipal services, installing a new sewage and waste-disposal system and hooking up thousands of homes to pipelines supplying natural gas.

Three weeks before the start of the games, some Sochi streets remain dug up as construction workers continue to lay down new pipes and pavements.

Thousands of people whose homes were demolished to make way for Olympic construction have been relocated, but many others are still waiting for new homes.

Meanwhile, even as investment has poured into Olympic facilities, Sochi’s slum dwellings remain standing: The city government told The Associated Press in a written statement that more than 100 apartment buildings and private homes have been classified as uninhabitable.

For many residents, the Sochi they live in bears little resemblance to the city they see on Kremlin-controlled national television.

“It’s a parallel universe that locals to a great extent have no access to,” said Olga Beskova, editor of the local website Sochinskiye Novosti, or Sochi News. “It has very little to do with how Sochi lives every day. So far, city streets are all dug up, residents have a lot of problems, and it’s hard to see a happy ending after all of this construction.”

The people on Akatsy street have petitioned for decades to get the government to classify the 1941 barracks-like building as uninhabitable and provide them with new housing, so far with no success. They put up their red “SOS!” sign in a desperate effort to call attention to their plight. City Hall has insisted that the government roads management agency is responsible for relocating the Akatsy residents; the road agency shifts the responsibility on City Hall.—AP

Chinese president gives Putin Sochi boost

MOSCOW: In this photo provided by Olympictorch2014.com, Olympic torch bearer Yekaterina Zharinova skates with her torch during an Olympic torch relay in Volgograd, a city on the Volga River about 800 km (about 500 miles) south of Moscow. — AP

BEIJING: Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in the Russian city of Sochi, China said yesterday, in a show of support for President Vladimir Putin, who has staked his political prestige on the success of the Games.

China’s Foreign Ministry said that Xi would be in Russia from Feb. 6-8 for the opening ceremony. Xi’s decision to attend is a positive development for Putin, after US President Barack Obama and his German counterpart Joachim Gauck both said they would not travel to Russia for the Games.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said this was the first time a Chinese leader had attended such a major sporting event overseas, and was a sign of the country’s close ties with Russia.

“Mutual support is an important feature of China and Russia’s strategic cooperation,” Hong said, adding that Putin had attended the Beijing Olympics in 2008. “ This shows the close friendship between the two leaders. We hope that Russia can successfully hold this Winter Olympics,” he added.

To ease fears over possible breaches of security, Putin has ordered safety measures beefed up nationwide after 34 people were killed last month in bombings in Volgograd, another city in southern Russia. About 37,000 Russian personnel are providing security in the Sochi area.

Russia’s human rights record has also come under close scrutiny with Finland’s Sports Minister Paavo Arhinmaki boycotting the opening ceremony over the country’s “limitations in the freedom of speech or repressing of sexual minorities”. The Sochi Games are the 22nd Winter Olympics and will run from Feb. 7-23. — Reuters

TUESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2014

S P ORTS

Magic snap losing streak

SHARJAH: Sri Lankan cricket team captain Angelo Mathews (right) and Pakistan’s captain Misbah-ul-Haq (left) hold the series’ trophy at the Sharjah International Cricket Stadium during the final day of their third and final cricket Test match. —AFP

Ali helps Pakistan to series-levelling win SHARJAH: Azhar Ali hit a brilliant hundred as Pakistan pulled off a thrilling win in the third and final Test against Sri Lanka in Sharjah yesterday, levelling the series 1-1.

Set a daunting 302 to win in a possible 59 overs, Pakistan owed their successful chase to Ali’s fifth Test century (103) as he and Misbahul-Haq shared a 109-run stand for the fifth wicket.

Misbah, who finished with 68 not out, hit the winning single with nine balls to spare in fading light. Ali, ironically dropped for the first two Tests, hit paceman Suranga Lakmal for a boundary, then twice took two to reach his hundred off 133 balls. He hit six boundaries before falling caught behind with just seven still needed to win.

Pakistan’s chances seemed to have faded away at 107-3 at tea, as they needed 195 in the last 35 overs. But Ali upped the tempo during a rapid 89-run partnership in 14.5 overs with Sarfraz Ahmed (48) which left Sri Lanka on the defensive.

Even when Sarfraz was out, caught behind off paceman Shaminda Eranga, Pakistan needed 116. Sarfraz hit four boundaries and a six off 46 balls.

But Misbah supported Ali as Pakistan achieved their second best chase in all Test cricket, behind the 314 they chased against Australia in Karachi in 1994. Sri Lanka had won the second Test in Dubai by nine wickets while the first Test ended in a draw in Abu Dhabi.

Pakistan had lost Ahmed Shehzad (21), Khurram Manzoor (21) and Younis Khan (29) as they were derailed in their chase.

Needing to score at a rate of more than five an over to win, Pakistan were given a rapid 35-run start by the sixth over but paceman Suranga Lakmal (3-79) halted that progress by dismissing openers Shehzad and Manzoor within 13 runs.

Younis Khan tried to increase the pace before being caught off Angelo Mathews two overs before tea, but the scenario changed in the last session.

With the series tied, Pakistan also remained unbeaten in five series in the United Arab Emirates, which has become their home since security fears-sparked in the wake of attacks on the Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore in 2009 — forced them to play at neutral venues.

They twice drew series with South Africa (2010 and 2013) and beat Sri Lanka (2011) and England (2012). Misbah said Pakistan desperately wanted the win.

“That was really a much wanted win. We wanted the win it for our coach Dav Whatmore and wanted to give him a winning farewell,” said Misbah of the team coach who ends his two-year tenure with this match.

Sri Lankan captain Angelo Mathews regretted batting failure. “We dominated for three-and-a-half days but unfortunately could not score big in the second innings and lost,” said Mathews, declared man-of-theseries for his 412 runs in three Tests.

Earlier, Sri Lanka were bowled out for 214 in their second innings, with left-arm spinner Abdul Rehman finishing with 4-56 and offspinner Saeed Ajmal taking 3-53, but not before their batsmen had kept Pakistan at bay on the morning of the fifth and final day.

On an exciting day when both teams had a chance of victory, Mathews (31) and Prasanna Jayawardene (49) shared a 62-run stand for the sixth wicket and batted positively to add 56 in the first hour after the tourists resumed at 133-5.

But Mohammad Talha gave Pakistan their much-needed breakthrough when he had Mathews caught off a miscued hook. Rehman then grabbed two quick wickets to put the brakes on Sri Lanka, having Dilruwan Perera caught at short-leg for eight before removing Rangana Herath for a first-ball duck. Herath recorded a golden pair in the match as he was also dismissed first ball in the first innings. Prasanna hit six boundaries in his 88-ball knock before he was dismissed by Ajmal, who also removed Shaminda Eranga to wrap up the innings. —AFP

ORLANDO: Arron Afflalo had 20 points and 13 rebounds, and Tobias Harris added 18 points as the Orlando Magic snapped a season-high 10-game losing streak with a 93-91 win over the Boston Celtics on Sunday. After several ties in the fourth quarter, Harris hit a pair of free throws with 10.1 seconds remaining to give Orlando the victory.

The win also ends 10-game regular-season losing streak to the Celtics. Glen Davis added 17 points and Jameer Nelson 16 for Orlando.

Boston has lost nine straight games on the road and 11 of 12 overall.

Jeff Green led the Celtics with 22 points, and Avery Bradley and Kris Humphries added 18 apiece.

Rajon Rondo had six points and four assists in his second game back from a torn ACL. SUNS 117, NUGGETS 103 Channing Frye scored a seasonhigh 30 points before sitting out the final 91/2 minutes to watch Phoenix wrap up its romp over Denver. Frye, who missed all of last season for treatment of an enlarged hear t, made 12 of 16 shots, 5 of 7 3-pointers, to fall three points shy of his career high.

Markieff Morris scored 16 and Goran Dragic 15 for the Suns, who never trailed and improved to 3-0 against Denver this season with one game to play.

Anthony Randolph scored a season-best 19 for the Nuggets, who have lost four of five and were without guard Randy Foye because of a stomach virus. Evan Fournier, Ty Lawson and Wilson Chandler added 17 points apiece for Denver.

THUNDER 108, KINGS 93 Kevin Durant scored 30 points to lead Oklahoma City past Sacramento. Durant, coming off a career-high 54 points Friday against Golden State, shot 10 for 15 from the field and had nine assists. He scored at least 30 points for the seventh straight game.

Serge Ibaka added 20 points and Reggie Jackson had 16 for the Thunder, who won their third straight. Isaiah Thomas scored a career-high 38 points for the Kings, but he slowed in the second half as the Thunder pulled away.

DeMarcus Cousins added 16 points and 14 rebounds for Sacramento. Rudy Gay scored just six points for the Kings and was ejected after picking up two technical fouls in the fourth quarter.

LAKERS 112, RAPTORS 106 Nick Young returned from suspension to score 29 points and Pau Gasol had 22 as Los Angeles beat Toronto for just its third win in 15 games.

ORLANDO: Boston Celtics’ Kris Humphries (left) blocks a shot by Orlando Magic’s Arron Afflalo (4) as Gerald Wallace (45) looks on during the first half of an NBA basketball game. —AP Young scored 14 points in the fourth quarter as the Lakers overcame a 19-point first-half deficit.

They won back-to-back games for the first time since beating Memphis on Dec. 17 and Minnesota on Dec. 20. Ryan Kelly scored 17 in his first career start and Kendall Marshall had 10 points and 11 assists. The Lakers are 16-25 at the season’s midpoint. DeMar DeRozan scored 23 points, Kyle Lowr y had 21 and

Kawhi Leonard added 11 points in 21 minutes for San Antonio.

Brandon Knight scored 21 points, Giannis Antetokounmpo added 11 points and John Henson had 10 points and 11 rebounds for Milwaukee, which has lost nine straight.

San Antonio was without star ters Tony Parker and Tiago Splitter, former star ter Danny Green and 3-point specialist Matt Bonner. —AP

Patrick Patterson 17 for Toronto, which had won six straight at home.

SPURS 110, BUCKS 82 Patty Mills had 20 points and Tim Duncan had 11 points and 13 rebounds in limited action as San Antonio kept Milwaukee winless in the new year.

Marco Belinelli scored 14 points, Jeff Ayres and Nando De Colo had 13 points apiece, and

NBAresults/standings LA Lakers 112, Toronto 106; Orlando 93, Boston 91; Oklahoma City 108, Sacramento 93; San Antonio 110, Milwaukee 82; Phoenix 117, Denver 103.

Eastern Conference Western Conference Atlantic Division Northwest Division W L PCT GB Portland 31 9 .775 Toronto 20 19 .513 Oklahoma City 31 10 .756 0.5 Brooklyn 16 22 .421 3.5 Denver 20 20 .500 11 NY Knicks 15 25 .375 5.5 Minnesota 19 21 .475 12 Boston 14 28 .333 7.5 Utah 14 28 .333 18 Philadelphia 13 27 .325 7.5 Pacific Division Central Division LA Clippers 28 14 .667 Indiana 32 7 .821 Golden State 26 16 .619 2 Chicago 19 20 .487 13 Phoenix 23 17 .575 4 Detroit 17 23 .425 15.5 LA Lakers 16 25 .390 11.5 Cleveland 15 25 .375 17.5 Sacramento 14 25 .359 12.5 Milwaukee 7 33 .175 25.5 Southeast Division Southwest Division Miami 29 11 .725 San Antonio 32 9 .780 Atlanta 20 19 .513 8.5 Houston 27 15 .643 5.5 Washington 19 20 .487 9.5 Dallas 24 18 .571 8.5 Charlotte 17 25 .405 13 Memphis 20 19 .513 11 Orlando 11 30 .268 18.5 New Orleans 15 24 .385 16

SCOREBOARD Scoreboard at the end of the third and final test between Pakistan and Sri Lanka in Sharjah yesterday.

Sri Lanka first innings 428-9 dec Pakistan first innings 341 Sri Lanka second innings (Overnight 133-5) 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 c Manzoor b Talha 31 P. Jayawardene c Azhar b Ajmal 49 D. Perera c Azhar b Rehman 8 R. Herath c Younus b Rehman 0 S. Eranga c Rehman b Ajmal 3 S. Lakmal not out 2 Extras (b-2, lb-4, w-2, nb-2) 10 Total (all out; 101.4 overs) 214 Fall of wicket: 1-13 2-37 3-66 4-89 5-127 6-189 7203 8-203 9-209 Bowling: Junaid 20-6-34-0 (w-1), Talha 23-2-65-3

(nb-2m w-1), Rehman 33-10-56-4, Ajmal 25.4-753-3.

Pakistan second innings: Khurram Manzoor c Jayawardene b Lakmal 21 Ahmed Shehzad c Karunaratne b Lakmal 21 Azhar Ali c P Jayawardene b Lakmal 103 Younis Khan c Sangakkara b Mathews 29 Sarfraz Ahmed c P. Jayawardene b Eranga 48 Misbah-ul-Haq not out 68 Asad Shafiq not out 1 Extras (b-6, lb-1, w-3, nb-1) 11 Total (five wickets; 57.3 overs) 302 Did not bat: Saeed Ajmal, Junaid Khan, Abdur Rehman, Mohammad Talha Fall of wickets: 1-35 2-48 3-97 4-186 5-295.

Bowling: Lakmal 12-0-79-3, Eranga 15.3-0-68-1 (nb-1, w-1), Herath 19-0-100-0 (w-2), Mathews 110-48-1. Series drawn 1-1.

Ledecky wins 800m freestyle AUSTIN: Olympian Katie Ledecky won the 800-meter freestyle at the Austin Grand Prix on Sunday about 10 minutes after she swam in another event.

Ledecky rallied to beat Danish Olympian Lotte Friis by more than a body length in 8 minutes, 26.70 seconds. Friis, who led the first 600 meters, took second in 8:28.65.

Savannah King was third at 8:39.87. Ledecky finished fourth in the 200 individual medley shortly before she stepped on the blocks for the 800 at the University of Texas.

“I swam the 200 IM this morning just for fun,” she said. “I swam it, and did pretty well,

so I swam it tonight as a challenge, just for something fun and different to do. I’m not sure I’d ever do it again, but in January, there’s nothing to lose.”

Olympian Jessica Hardy won the 100 breaststroke by about a body-length, holding off Laura Sogar over the final 10 meters with a time of 1:07.05. Sogar was second in 1:07.76. Katie Meili was third.

Olympic champion Yannick Agnel of France won his third event, taking the 1,500 freestyle in 15:07.76. Michael McBroom was second in 15:16.72. Ous Mellouli of Tunisia, the 2008 Olympic champion, was third in

15:19.09. In the 100 backstroke, reigning Olympic champion Matt Grevers won in 53.72. Arkady Vyatchanin of Russia was second and Ryan Murphy was third.

In other races, Caitlin Leverenz led all the way to win the 200 individual medley ; Olympian Conor Dwyer won the men’s 200 IM; Canadian Audrey LaCroix won the 200 butterfly; Ross Murdoch of Britain won his second event of the meet, taking the 100 breast; Canadian Hillary Caldwell completed a sweep of the backstroke events with a win in the 100; Tom Luchsinger won the 200 butterfly. —AP

AUB, KFH and Boubyan Bank advance KBBC League inaugurated KUWAIT: In a glittering ceremony flanked by many cricket lovers, Mahmoud Bastaki, Vice Chairman of Kuwait Banks Club, along with Asad Baig, Director General, Kuwait Cricket and members of Kuwait Cricket Executive Committee, officially inaugurated the Kuwait Banks Club League 2014 cricket tournament by cutting a cake.

The KBC league has been exclusively designed for bank teams affiliated to Kuwait Banks Club and a total number of 8 bank teams to the likes of Ahli United Bank, National Bank of Kuwait, Kuwait Finance House, Burgan Bank, Gulf Bank, Ahli Bank of Kuwait, Boubyan Bank &

KFH and ABK teams.

Kuwait International Bank are participating in this prestigious tournament.

The function was also graced by the presence of other Directors of Kuwait Cricket, Sudhakar Shetty, Technical Affairs Director, Riaz Choudhary, KCUP Director, Mehboob Khan, Women’s Cricket Director, Murali Kutticode, Director Junior and Corporate Cricket, Deputy Directors Taher Khan, Amanulah Palekar, Mohammed Naeem Jaan and members of Kuwait National women team.

Ahli United Bank (AUB) & National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) were the proud outfits to have had the opportunity to use the newly

designed Sulaibiya cricket ground.

In the inaugural match of the Kuwait Banks Club league 2014, both the teams locked horns and AUB holding their nerves, lived up to their reputation of being one of the top teams as they notched up a narrow 7 runs victory over their arch rivals NBK. The clash of the titans was witnessed by a large gathering of cricket lovers and members of the Kuwait National women’s team along with the officials of Kuwait Cricket.

Winning a potentially valuable toss, AUB skipper Mahmood Bastaki elected to bat first and soon lost their opener Dinesh caught in front of the wicket. Jagath Roshantha & Ghayoor Ahmed played sensible cricket by nudging singles & doubles and the pair put on 36 runs for the second wicket.

The stylish Ghayoor using his feet to the pitch of the deliveries soon settled to counter the NBK attack as he flicked, drove and square cut with precise timing to play a match winning knock of 68 runs which had five well timed boundaries. Sajid provided the much needed support to Ghayoor by scoring a quick-fire 19 runs.

The NBK unit had sufficient variety in their fast bowling as well as spin department and the balls variable movement, steady bowling and brilliant fielding restricted the AUB total to 136 in 20 overs.

Binu Mathew was the most successful bowler with 3-32 while Jalal & Kiran took

two wickets each for 20 & 16 runs respectively. Despite the heavy outfield, Andrew Pinho, opening the batting for NBK cracked a cameo 25 runs to put 42 runs on board along with Sarfaraz which gave NBK a flying start. Andrew was soon bowled by a snorter from Nabeel and Dinesh sent back Ronald to the pavilion. As soon as the openers finished their spell, Mahmood Bastaki, the captain of AUB quickly imposed himself on and soon got rid of Ian. Flighting the ball & maintaining accurate line & length, Mahmoud lured the well settled Sarfaraz who was beaten in the air only to be stumped by Srikumar for a dashing 25 runs.

On a slower track, the spinners were more effective and Dinesh, Mahmoud & Abdul Rashid ran through the NBK innings which folded to 128 runs. Ghayoor Ahmed was rightly declared “Player of the match for his excellent knock.

In the second match, Kuwait Finance House, (KFH) last year’s Champions, began their hunt with a convincing 7 wickets win over Ahli Bank of Kuwait. Riding on a swashbuckling innings of 53 in just 33 ball by opener Abdulla, KFH completed the proceedings in the 9th over by reaching the target of 70 runs. Earlier, ABK, winning the toss & elected to bat first and were dismissed for 69 runs. KFH captain Faraz himself being the chief wicket taker (3-16) and extending the bowling options which enabled him to use Nizar & Mohammed

KBC Trophy inauguration ceremony Arif who took 2-12 & 2-10 respectively to skittle the ABK line up. Abdulla of KFH was declared Player of the match which was presented to him by Sameer Desai, Director Coaching panel. Irfan of ABK bowled his heart out to bag two wickets for 18 runs.

In the late afternoon match, the new look Boubyan Bank, flanked with the addition of a couple of youngsters, cracked a dashing 81 runs victory over Burgan Bank.

Batting first, Boubyan bank scored 161 runs, thanks to some enterprising batting from opener Aamer who clouted 4 huge sixes to score 47 runs in just 23 balls.

Thereafter, Hisham Mirza and skipper Boubyan skipper Faraz carried the onslaught with aggression and confidence as they scored freely on a dry and cracking surface. Hisham contributed a stylish 37 runs while Faraaz scored a valuable 23

runs which enabled Boubyan to reach 161 runs in 20 overs. Burgan skipper Ejaz, probably one of the senior most cricketer playing in the bank league stamped his class with an outstanding spell with the ball, capturing 3-42 as Manohar 2-20 & Dilip 229 bowled well too.

Chasing 162 to win the match, Burgan were unable to master the bowling skills of Hisham & Mazhar and were skittled out for 80 runs. Arther (19 runs) and Dilip (20 runs) were the only batsmen who countered the Boubyan attack. Hisham bagged 3-12, while Mazhar & Abdul Raheem chipped in with 2 wickets each. Hisham Mirza for his all-round skills was presented with the player of the match award.

All the matches were officiated by Kuwait Umpires panel who did an outstanding job and the scores were available online throughout the day.

TUESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2014

S P ORTS

Sherman wins the game, then loses his mind NEW YORK: The bookies in Vegas reported a rare split picking the early favorite for the Super Bowl. At least there’s no question about who’s going to steal the show.

That would be Seattle’s supremely confident Richard Sherman, who’s already staked a claim to being the NFL’s most quotable cornerback since Deion Sanders. Fresh off making the game-saving play in the last minute of Sunday’s NFC championship, Sherman gave America a taste of how juicy things could get over the next two weeks if his coach, Pete Carroll, doesn’t clamp the equivalent of a “Denver boot” on the mouth of his All-Pro first.

After using every inch of his 6-foot-6 wingspan to deflect a touchdown pass intended for San Francisco’s Michael Crabtree into the arms of Seahawks teammate Malcolm Smith instead for an interception, Sherman was corralled by FOX sideline reporter Erin Andrews.

She probably regrets the move still.

Andrews asked what went on between Crabtree and Sherman after the play,

which effectively preserved Seattle’s 2317 win but also resulted in an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against Sherman. After exchanging words, replays showed Sherman with his dreadlocks flowing, arms crossed and both hands up around his neck, making what looked like a choking gesture.

Any remaining doubt melted away once Sherman began shouting his reply, displaying just enough bad attitude and volume to do the city’s “12th Man” reputation proud.

“I’m the best corner in the game!

When you try me with a sorry receiver like Crabtree, that’s the result you gonna get! Don’t you ever talk about me!”

Andrews appeared stunned at first, but recovered in time to get the followup question right. “Who was talking about you?” she asked. “Crabtree!”

Sherman howled. “Don’t you open your mouth about the best, or I’m gonna settle it for you real quick!”

At this point, Andrews turned to the announcers’ booth for help. “And Joe,” she said quickly, “back over to you.”

Conventional wisdom tells you Sherman could get into a lot of trouble talking like that, especially since Peyton Manning and Denver’s big, tough receiving corps just booked the last spot on his final dance card of the season. But whatever Sherman lacks in terms of talent - and considering how rarely quarterbacks throw in his direction - he more than makes up for with chutzpah.

Sherman not only talked smack to Tom Brady in the middle of a game some 15 months ago; after the Seahawks came back to beat New England, he tweeted out a picture and then trademarked what he famously said to Brady after the game - “You mad, bro?” - and sells T-shirts with the slogan emblazoned across the chest on his website still.

That’s because no one likes settling scores more, and after the 6-3 receiverturned-cornerback from Stanford fell all the way to No. 154 in the 2011 draft, he rarely lacked for a grudge.

“I want to be the best, period,” Sherman said not long ago. “A lot of peo-

ple don’t think it’s possible, because how could a fifth-rounder be the best of alltime? But that’s what I want to be. Where you get drafted is such a big deal in the league, respect-wise, and that’s why it still frustrates me.”

At this point, for all of Sherman’s considerable skill and the talent and toughness of the team lining up alongside him, it’s worth noting that the Super Bowl hasn’t always been kind to mouthy cornerbacks.

Before the 1999 game, Atlanta’s Ray Buchanan traded barbs with Denver receiver Shannon Sharpe and lost both the battle and the war.

“Shannon looks like a horse,” Buchanan said, firing first during an interview session early in the week. “I’ll tell you, that’s an ugly dude. You can’t tell me he doesn’t look like Mr. Ed.” But first Sharpe reminded him that like those who live in glass houses, people who wear dog collars as a fashion accessory - which Buchanan did - probably shouldn’t be throwing stones.

“Tell Ray to put the eyeliner, the lip-

stick and the high heels away,” Sharpe shot back. “I’m not saying he’s a crossdresser, but that’s just what I heard.”

And in the game that really mattered, Sharpe’s Broncos hammered the Falcons 34-19.

Speaking of cornerbacks, if there’s any justice, Sherman would deflect a little of the spotlight in the direction of his opposite on the Broncos’ roster, Champ Bailey. Now 35, Bailey has long been regarded as one of the game’s best, first in Washington and then Denver. But he never made it to a Super Bowl before and Bailey’s had to overcome nagging injuries the last two seasons just to make it onto the field. “It hurt not being out there,” he said after Denver pummeled New England in the AFC championship game, “but here I am. I’m on the field and my team’s still in the running. That’s what it’s all about. Right. The game. But that’s still two weeks away. And if you haven’t heard much about Sherman before, even the bookies in Vegas would lay heavy odds you’ll hear plenty from him between now and then. —AP

Garcia, Stenson favorites in Qatar DOHA: The Qatar Masters begins tomorrow with a star-studded cast that promises thrilling action but offers few clues about who will grab the Mother of Pearl trophy on Saturday at the lengthy and punishing Doha Golf Club course.

With Doha in the grip of some unusually cold and windy weather and with a slight

Henrik Stenson possibility of rain during the later stages of the tournament, consistency will be the key to success on the Peter Harradine designed facility which is hosting the European Tour event for the 17th straight year since its inception in 1998.

Part of the “Desert Swing”, the Qatar Masters has grown in stature over the years with some of the world’s best players confirmed for this week’s event - including world number three Henrik Stenson, the 11thranked Sergio Garcia, and multiple major winners Ernie Els and John Daly.

Also joining the fray are former world number one Luke Donald, 2013 PGA Championship winner Jason Dufner and a host of former champions, including Chris Wood who dramatically clinched the title last year with an eagle on the 18th.

It was Wood’s first and so far only title since turning pro in 2008, but the six foot six Englishman left Garcia cursing his luck after the Spaniard fell short in his quest for his first title in Qatar. Garcia, however, is always

counted among the favourites in Doha where he will be making his eighth consecutive appearance. The fact that he has some excellent early-season form under his belt - he won the Thailand Golf Championship, was runnerup at the Nedbank Golf Challenge in South Africa and finished fourth at November’s WGC-HSBC Champions in China - has added to the European Ryder Cup star’s confidence.

“I’ve always loved competing at the Qatar Masters and I feel like I’m getting closer and closer to winning it. The tournament is a fixture at the start of the year for me and I know the course really well, so I will give it my best to win it this year,” said Garcia, who has won 10 times on the European Tour . “It’s a great line-up again featuring many top players and I know the crowds in Doha always appreciate good golf. I came very close last year, but Chris was a deserving winner after his eagle on the final hole, so hopefully this will be my time. I’m in good form and always looking to win.” Garcia tied for ninth in 2011 and fifth in 2012 and the Spaniard looked like nailing it last year when he shot a closing 66 to match George Coetzee’s 17-under clubhouse total of 271. However, overnight leader Wood overtook the pair with a spectacular eagle on the 18th to secure his maiden European Tour title.

Meanwhile, Swede Stenson will be aiming to make amends in Doha after missing the cut in Abu Dhabi last week. The 2006 champion will be making his 14th consecutive appearance in Doha having played every year since joining The European Tour in 2001.

Stenson, who made more than 20 million dollars last season, has been a consistent performer at the Qatar Masters, winning the 2006 title as well as finishing runner-up in 2005, 2008 and 2009. “I’ve been second three times and won it once. It would be nice to get my hands on that lovely trophy,” he said.

The Swede took his game to a new level last season as two PGA Tour victories in September earned him the FedEx Cup, before he secured the Race to Dubai by winning The European Tour’s season-ending DP World Tour Championship in November. —AFP

Reed seals two shot victory at La Quinta LA QUINTA: American Patrick Reed survived a few anxious moments and poor swings midway through the final round to seal his second PGA Tour victory by two shots at the $5.7 million Humana Challenge on Sunday in La Quinta, California.

A commanding seven strokes ahead overnight, Reed mixed four bogeys with three birdies in a roller-coaster stretch of eight holes from the fifth but held steady after that to close with a one-under-par 71 on the Palmer Private course at PGA West.

“I wasn’t pleased with the round today but I got it done,” the burly 23-year-old told Golf Channel after completing a wire-to-wire victory with a 28-under total of 260, finishing two ahead of fellow American Ryan Palmer (63). “The first three days were kind of grind and go, play as low as you can,” said Reed, who became the first player on the PGA Tour to post scores no worse than 63 in each of the first three rounds.

LA QUINTA: Patrick Reed (left) and wife Justine Reed pose with the trophy after the final round of the Humana Challenge PGA golf tournament. —AP

“But Sundays are always a little harder, as everyone knows, and also the flags are a little tougher. I just tried to stick to the game plan, tried to post a decent number.”

World number six Zach Johnson, who clinched his 11th PGA Tour title at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions in Hawaii earlier this month, sensationally birdied the last five holes for a best-of-the-week 10under 62. Johnson’s flawless round left him in a tie for third at 25-under with fellow American Justin Leonard (65), and he will now take a four-week break before returning to the PGA Tour for the Feb. 19-23 WGCAccenture Match Play Championship in Arizona. Little-known American Brendon Todd applied early pressure on playing partner Reed with four birdies in the first six holes but then lost momentum as he closed with a 69 to share sixth place at 23 under with 2010 champion Bill Haas (67).

Most eyes on Sunday, however, were focused firmly on Reed in his bid to become only the second wire-to-wire winner at the pro-am event, compatriot Rik Massengale having achieved the feat in 1977 when the tournament was played over 90 holes.

His commanding overnight lead at an event known for its low scoring in the California desert was cut to six after James Driscoll birdied the first two holes, before Reed recorded a two-putt birdie at the parfive second to get to 28 under.

Todd then piled on pressure with birdies at the second, third and fourth - the last of them a perfectly judged 14-foot putt - to trim Reed’s advantage to five.

Though Todd faltered with a bogey at the par-three fifth where his tee shot ended up in water, Reed also dropped a stroke there after chipping to nine feet and missing the par putt. Both Todd and Reed birdied the par-five sixth after reaching the green in two before Reed’s lead was cut to four when he bogeyed the seventh, after finding rough off the tee.

If Reed felt any pressure, he was a picture of ice-cool calm playing the par-four eighth where he struck a superb approach to four feet and sank the birdie putt, then parred the ninth to reach the turn five ahead of the chasing pack. —Reuters

DENVER: Broncos cornerback Tony Carter (32) breaks up a pass intended for New England Patriots wide receiver Matthew Slater (18) during the first half of the AFC Championship NFL playoff football game. —AP

Broncos to face Seahawks in historic 48th Super Bowl NEW YORK: The Denver Broncos and the Seattle Seahawks won their National Football League conference championships in brilliant style on Sunday to set up a historic Super Bowl between the top two ranked teams in the United States.

The Broncos, led by their unflappable quarterback Peyton Manning, beat the New England Patriots 26-16 in Colorado to make it to their first Super Bowl in 15 years.

The Seahawks overturned a 100 deficit to defeat the San Francisco 49ers 23-17 in Washington state and advance to the NFL’s title game for just the second time in the franchise’s history.

“This feels even sweeter,” said Seattle owner and Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen. “ What an amazing job in a super tough game.”

The two teams will meet in the 48th Super Bowl at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on Feb. 2 in a game that has all the makings of a classic with the Broncos boasting the best offense in the league and the Seahawks the best defense.

The Broncos will be appearing in the Super Bowl for the seventh time, one less than the record jointly shared by the Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys, and chasing their third win after backto-back victories in the 1997 and 1998 seasons.

Manning played in two Super Bowls with his former team the Indianapolis Colts, tasting success in the 2006 season, and has the chance to win a second ring at age 37 after another masterful display against the Patriots and his old rival Tom Brady.

“Well, it’s an exciting feeling,” he said. “You do take a moment to realize that we’ve done something special here and you certainly want to win one more.”

Manning broke the record for the most touchdown passes in a regular season with 55 strikes and continued his devastating form against the Patriots, completing 32-of-43 passes for 400 yards and touchdowns to Jacob Tamme and Demaryius Thomas.

Brady threw one touchdown pass and rushed for another but was unable to prevent his team from suffering another agonizing loss.

Although New England has been the dominant force in the NFL for the past decade and a half, winning three titles between the 2001 and 2004 seasons, the Patriots have lost their last two Super Bowl appearances and have now lost the last two AFC

Championship games.

“It’s tough to get to this point, two weeks from now there’s only one team that’s going to win that game and that’s a tough one to win,” Brady said.

“Anytime you come up short of what you’re trying to accomplish, it’s not a great feeling but I’m proud of our team and the way we fought.”

The 49ers were also cursing their postseason ill-fortune.

Beaten by the New York Giants in the NFC title game two years ago, then by the Baltimore Ravens in last season’s Super Bowl, the Niners still had a chance to beat the Seahawks.

But their hopes were dashed when Seattle linebacker Malcolm

Smith intercepted a pass from San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick with just 22 seconds left on the clock. “I didn’t play good enough to win,” said a dejected Kaepernick. “I turned the ball over three times, I cost us this game.”

Seattle trailed 17-10 in the third quarter but piled on 13 unanswered points to seal the win, highlighted by a 35-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Russell Wilson to Jermaine Kearse in the final quarter.

“This team was ready to finish,” said Seattle coach Pete Carroll.

“We knew we weren’t in the lead but that didn’t matter. “They were going to go out and get it done no matter what it took.” —Reuters

SEATTLE: San Francisco 49ers’ Eric Reid (35) and Donte Whitner (31) break up a pass intended for Seattle Seahawks’ Jermaine Kearse during the second half of the NFL football NFC Championship game. —AP

TUESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2014

S P ORTS

Greener grass: A World Cup legacy for Brazil?

SAO PAULO: At Arsenal’s Highbury Stadium, Edu played on one of football’s finest pitches. Award-winning Arsenal groundsman Paul Burgess became so well-known for his green fingers that he was eventually lured away by Real Madrid.

So when Edu returned home to Brazil in 2009 to finish his career, the worn and sorry state of some Brazilian football fields was an eye-opener. Even now, as the World Cup host rushes to ready itself, Edu says pitches in Brazil aren’t on a par with those in Europe, where he played for eight years, at Arsenal and Valencia.

“England, Germany, fantastic (pitches). Spain, they’re good as well,” the former midfielder told The Associated Press. “If you see around the world, they are at another level than Brazil.”

Now retraining in football management and working at Corinthians, Edu says he bends the ears of all and sundry in Brazil about the need for better playing surfaces. He hopes the World Cup will drive home his message.

“I’ve always been trying to talk to everybody, to officials and to the press,

and say, ‘Come on, let’s invest a little bit more in the pitch,’” he said. “We have fantastic players here in Brazil but we need fantastic pitches as well.”

Sub-standard pitches aren’t new to Brazil. Although the warm climate is plant friendly, pitches have suffered from over-use and insufficient love and attention. Record World Cup goal-scorer Ronaldo told the AP that his first club, Sao Cristovao in Rio de Janeiro, used goats to trim its grass.

“The pitch wasn’t the best, as you can imagine, although the goats worked really hard,” the 2002 World Cup winner said by email. “The club didn’t have much money so the goats were the cheapest ‘groundsmen’ you could find.”

The three-time world player of the year said he and 1994 World Cup winner Bebeto, both members of Brazil’s committee organizing the tournament, “have talked a lot to the stadium owners about the importance of offering high-standard pitches.”

“We want it to be one of the football legacies of the FIFA World Cup,” Ronaldo said. “The pitch-cost represents, on aver-

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Edin Dzeko

Dzeko puts prizes ahead of plaudits LONDON: Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko insists his side’s remarkable goal-spree will count for nothing if they finish the season without any silverware.

Dzeko scored City’s landmark 100th goal of the season as Manuel Pellegrini’s team took their tally for the current campaign to an incredible 103 with a 4-2 win over Cardiff at Eastlands on Saturday. The result kept second placed City within a point of leaders Arsenal at the top of the Premier League, one of four competitions they remain in contention to win this season.

With their title challenge firmly on course, City can turn their attention to the formality of booking a place in the League Cup final against Manchester United or Sunderland.

After thrashing struggling West Ham 6-0 in the semi-final first leg, today’s return at Upton Park is another opportunity for City to showcase their attacking talents to an increasingly captivated football world.

But Bosnia star Dzeko says seeing out the tie in business-like fashion is more important because City are focused on winning prizes rather than earning plaudits.

“It is definitely a great achievement but we want to win something. That will be much better than these 100 goals,” Dzeko said.

“We still have a lot of games to play and we will score a lot more goals but we want to win something as well. “We are still in all four competitions and we will see what will happen.

The key is just to try to win every next game. “I am very happy that I am the one who scored the 100th goal. “I am enjoying it at the moment. The team is playing amazing football.

“We are scoring a lot of goals. We just have to keep going like this.” City’s blistering first leg display means Pellegrini can rest several of his key players if he wishes.

But, given City’s impressive strength in depth, the Chilean is certain to be able to send out a strong line-up regardless of who he leaves out.

In contrast to City’s buoyant mood, Sam Allardyce’s Hammers head into the second leg at a low ebb after Saturday’s 3-1 loss against Newcastle put them back in the relegation zone.

With the pressure mounting on Allardyce, the West Ham boss has been working all hours in a bid to bring in new signings, but he has so far been unsuccessful and on Sunday he ruled out a move for Arsenal defender Thomas Vermaelen.

“I think under the circumstances at Arsenal, in the position that they’re in, in the Champions League and cup matches, they’ve had to use him as soon as any of the two defenders have been injured,” he said. “So I don’t think there’s any chance we’ll get somebody of his quality. It would be nice if we could.

“I’ve had targets and I haven’t got one yet apart from Roger Johnson, so I’ll keep going and hope we get some.” —AFP

Crisis or blip? Moyes calm as Man United falters LONDON: Trying to explain yet another setback, debt that was last recorded at 361 million pounds a despondent but determined David Moyes (around $593 million). It’s too early to say whether wouldn’t take the bait. Manchester United’s 3-1 United’s slump is a blip or if the Old Trafford loss at Chelsea on Sunday - the team’s seventh empire is crumbling, just as Liverpool went into of the Premier League season - left the defend- decline after dominating in the 1970s or 1980s.

Off the field, United remains a commercial juging champions 14 points behind leader Arsenal.

“Some people might call it a crisis,” one gernaut, projecting that it will rake in about 420 reporter said to Moyes after the match at million pounds ($690 million) in 2013-14.

Such forecasts, however, are based on United Stamford Bridge. finishing at least third in the league, and reach“Who?” the United manager snapped back.

“Me,” the reporter responded. “It’s not the ing the quarterfinals of the Champions League and the domestic cups. performance that’s expected,” The FA Cup has already been Moyes answered. “That’s correct.” crossed off the list after a third The reporter tried again: “Is it a criround exit. Now, for once, the secsis?” Moyes: “No. That’s your word, ond-tier League Cup has taken on not my word.” a greater significance. United must Just like predecessor Alex wipe out a 2-1 deficit against Ferguson, Moyes wasn’t biting. But Sunderland at Old Trafford on the league standings look trouWednesday to reach the League bling enough - by United’s stanCup final. But Manchester City, a dards - without Moyes adding to team which is second in the the sense of uncertainty with pesDavid Moyes league, is likely to be the other simistic sound bites. Especially finalist given its 6-0 lead over West when the current United manager could point out that he inherited a squad in Ham heading into Tuesday’s second leg.

Collecting the League Cup, however comneed of strengthening, particularly in midfield.

Especially not when Wall Street investors will forting for Moyes as a first piece of significant be watching closely at a business whose share silverware, is not central to the club’s revenue price has slumped from a high of $19.34 after stream. The Champions League is, having Ferguson delivered the 20th English title to made almost $50 million from last season’s $15.20 at Friday’s close. A further fall in fortunes run to the round of 16. There are two ways to could wipe hundreds of millions of dollars off the remain among Europe’s elite: win the compevalue of the club, which is controlled by the tition of finish in the Premier League’s top Glazer family, and hamper attempts to cut the four. —AP

age, less than 1 percent of the total investment needed for building or renovating a football arena. However, the impact is huge, as the pitch is the most important thing for the players.”

Brazilians say having to adapt to irregular playing surfaces is one reason they’re often such wizards with a ball.

“That is why the Brazilian player is like an artist,” Rubens Minelli, a national championship-winning former coach, said in an interview. He recalled being amazed by Newcastle’s pitch - “Very fast,” he noted when he took Internacional to play there in the 1970s.

Juninho was likewise impressed when he moved to Middlesbrough in 1995.

“Unbelievable,” he said in an interview. In Brazil, “you couldn’t find real nice pitches, not as good as England.” “I played in Wembley twice and the grass was fantastic,” he added.

Yves De Cocker, director of pitchinstallation company Desso GrassMaster, says Brazil has been sluggish in adopting the latest techniques. Desso has worked on dozens of pitches around the world,

including Wembley, the Emirates Stadium that Arsenal moved to in 2006 and other famed venues. It injects plastic fibers into natural grass pitches to reinforce them. Three Brazilian clubs have adopted the system - Gremio, Santos and Corinthians, at its new Sao Paulo arena hosting the World Cup opener and five other matches.

“Brazilian pitches, as they are right now in the stadiums, are not really to be compared with, let’s say, the average level or the general level that is accepted in Europe,” De Cocker said in a telephone interview. He said Brazilian officials “seriously underestimated” the difficulty of maintaining pitches in modern stadiums with overhanging roofs that cast long shadows, creating “very bad growing conditions.” For its new arena in the southern city of Porto Alegre, which will be a World Cup training venue, Gremio imported giant lighting rigs on wheels from the Netherlands to breathe life into its pitch that was pock-marked with bare patches when the AP visited in December.

“Half of the year we have no sun for

this part, for that part,” Gremio operations director Romulo Siqueira said, pointing at the stadium ends.

At least Gremio has a pitch. The World Cup arena in Curitiba was more alarming: not a blade of grass to be seen, earth and gravel piled high, six months before four matches will be played there in June.

De Cocker expressed concern that World Cup pitches might not fare well under the stress of multiple games in one month. At the smaller Confederations Cup tune-up competition last June, “almost every pitch gave serious problems,” he said.

“I don’t believe that climate has a lot to do with them struggling to produce good pitches,” he said. “It is a learning curve. The only problem is that everybody, I think, I guess, would expect (Brazil) to be already further down that learning curve than they are now.”

Ronaldo agreed that “most of our pitches cannot be compared to the European ones yet.” “But this is changing and I am confident we’ll get there,” he said. —AP

Champagne launches his bid for FIFA presidency LONDON: Former FIFA deputy general secretary Jerome Champagne yesterday launched his bid to succeed Sepp Blatter as president of the organisation that runs the global game.

The 55-year-old Frenchman, who worked closely with Blatter between 2002 and 2005, announced his campaign to become football’s most powerful man at a press conference in central London.

Champagne said he was eager to restore FIFA’s reputation after accusations of corruption in recent years, acknowledging that the organisation had “an image deficit problem”.

Addressing reporters in front of the slogan ‘Hope for football,’ he said: “We need a different FIFA: more democratic, more respected, which behaves better and which does more.”

Blatter, 77, is approaching the end of his fourth term in office and is yet to announce whether or not he will stand again in next year’s election in Zurich.

Current UEFA president Michel Platini said late last year that he will announce whether or not he will stand for the post either during or after the World Cup in Brazil, which starts on June 12.

In a video message, Brazil legend Pele announced his support for Champagne’s candidacy. “I know his vision of football and the future of the game and for this reason, I trust him,” said the three-time World Cup-winner.

Champagne, however, would not confirm whether or not he will stand against Blatter if the Swiss decides to seek a fifth term. “I cannot answer a hypothetical question, but I’m here because I believe in what I’m saying and I plan to do what I’m saying,” he said.

Asked if he thought that he could beat Blatter, Champagne said: “I don’t think so. He’s someone of relevance.” He identified “three major challenges” facing football in the 21st century: The “increasing imbalance” between continents and countries and within leagues; the growing influence of private interests; and a “loss of prestige” in the wake of recent controversies.

He said that he intended to “strengthen the

democratisation of FIFA” by reinforcing the role of national associations within the organisation’s executive committee and working more closely with leagues and clubs.

He also gave his support for an ongoing investigation into the process that saw the right to host the 2022 World Cup awarded to Qatar, amid ongoing uncertainty regarding when during the year the tournament will take

tance to be made available to match officials.

His other ideas include an ‘orange card’ that allows referees to send players to a temporary sin bin, quotas on foreign players, and televised debates between FIFA presidential candidates.

A former diplomat, Champagne worked on France’s successful bid for the right to host the 1998 World Cup before joining FIFA as an international advisor.

LONDON: Jerome Champagne announces his intention to stand for FIFA president in 2015. But Champagne hinted that he might abandon his challenge if Sepp Blatter stands for a fifth term. —AP place. “The World Cup is the largest, most followed sport event in the world. We need to go to a World Cup with total tranquility and serenity,” he said.

“If something (improper) has happened, we need to know and if nothing has happened, we need to k now as well.” Champagne, who revealed that he is funding his campaign himself, also called for more technological assis-

He helped to organise Blatter’s victorious election campaign in 2002 and later worked as FIFA’s director of international relations before leaving the organisation in 2010.

He has since worked as an independent football consultant, helping Kosovo to gain recognition from FIFA and working on a potential rapprochement between Israel and Palestine. —AFP

Preview

Messi courting Lady Luck before Levante Cup clash MADRID: Barcelona forward Lionel Messi is hoping for a little good fortune when the record winners return to Valencia for tomorrow’s King’s Cup quarter-final, first leg against Levante.

Even with the four-times World Player of the Year back in the starting line-up after injury, Barca struggled against an ultra-defensive Levante in Sunday’s 1-1 La Liga draw and they had to come from a goal down to rescue a point.

Messi had one clear chance well saved by goalkeeper Keylor Navas shortly after halftime but otherwise made little impact against the massed ranks of the home defence and the Argentine is expecting a similar pattern to Wednesday’s clash.

“We did everything possible to try to win but they play very deep and don’t allow you space,” he told reporters. “It’s a very tricky stadium to play at, but we tried our best,” added the 26-year-old, who was out for two months after straining a thigh muscle in November.

“We played well enough to win but we were lacking a bit of good fortune. I expect Levante will use the same tactics in the Cup match.”

If Barca, who have won Spain’s domestic Cup a record 26 times, make it through to the last four after next week’s second leg at the Nou Camp, they will play La Liga rivals Real Sociedad or third-tier Racing Santander for a place in April’s final.

Santander, who are mired in financial difficulties and were relegated twice in the last two seasons, are the surprise packages of this year’s competition and stunned top-flight sides Sevilla and Almeria on their run to the last

Lionel Messi eight. They play at Sociedad’s Anoeta stadium in San Sebastian tomorrow.

On the other side of the draw, holders Atletico Madrid host Athletic Bilbao on Thursday and Real Madrid, who lost 2-1 to Atletico in last year’s final, play at Espanyol today.

Real look to be coming into form as the second half of the season gets underway and their 5-0 drubbing of bottom side Real Betis in La Liga on Saturday lifted them to within a point of joint leaders Barca and Atletico.

After Sunday’s 1-1 draw at home to Sevilla, Atletico coach Diego Simeone dismissed a suggestion his players were feeling jaded due to

the gruelling calendar and said the team needed to find ways of better dealing with defenceminded opponents.

“It makes it harder for us to generate goalscoring opportunities and that’s where we have to improve,” the Argentine told a news conference. “When we draw, and thank goodness we didn’t lose, that doesn’t mean that the team is tired,” he added.

“We did not find a way to get through and that is to do with creativity in our play not fatigue. “We need to take care of the details better because in the second half of the season teams don’t try to play good football but are focused on accumulating points.” —Reuters

Broncos to face Seahawks in historic 48th Super Bowl

TUESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2014

Champagne launches his bid for FIFA presidency

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Ali helps Pakistan to series-levelling win

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MELBOURNE: Rafael Nadal of Spain makes a forehand return to Kei Nishikori of Japan during their fourth round match at the Australian Open tennis championship. — AP

‘Big Four’ through, Sharapova falls MELBOURNE: Rafa Nadal came through his first proper test to storm into the quarter-finals of the Australian Open yesterday but Maria Sharapova was ushered to the exit after a second big shock in as many days in the women’s draw.

Victoria Azarenka was left as the only topthree seed still standing in the last eight when Sharapova was scratched from the title race by Dominika Cibulkova, a day after Serena Williams had also tumbled out in the fourth round.

In the men’s draw, the “Big Four” look poised to scrap it out for yet another grand slam crown over the next week after Nadal, Roger Federer and Andy Murray all won yesterday to join Novak Djokovic in the last eight.

Spaniard Nadal led the way with a 7-6 (7-3) 7-5 7-6 (7-3) victory over Japan’s Kei Nishikori on Rod Laver Arena that was by no means as easy as the phrase “straight sets” would suggest.

The world number one had to contend with a blister on his hand, a tumble, a time violation at a crucial moment and his first losses of his serve in the tournament but most of all with

some inspired shot-making from the Asian number one.

“I didn’t play bad today, but I didn’t play as good as I did two days ago,” Nadal said, reflecting on his brilliant performance in the third round against Gael Monfils.

“But today’s victory has much more value than the victory of two days ago. Because when you are playing that good, the normal thing is to win.

“When you are playing normal and the opponent is a good one, and you are able to keep winning, that has much more value.”

While Nadal will meet Sharapova’s boyfriend Grigor Dimitrov for a place in the semi-finals, Federer and Murray’s quarter-final date ensures that at least one of the quartet of dominant men’s players will go home tomorrow.

Federer’s quickfire 6-3 7-5 6-4 victory over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was the most impressive of the day, particularly given the French 10th seed had taken him to five sets in Melbourne and beaten him at Roland Garros last year.

“I definitely felt momentum was on my side,

no doubt,” said the Swiss 17-times grand slam champion. “I started the match well. Did I break first game? I think I did. I felt, alright, things are working for me tonight. Let me try to run away with it.”

Murray also looked to be racing to victory against Stephane Robert, the first lucky loser to reach the fourth round in Melbourne, but blew a couple of match points in the third set and was dragged into a tiebreak, which the Frenchman won 8-6.

The Wimbledon champion took out his frustrations on his a racket, changed his shirt and then whipped through the fourth set to record a 6-1 6-2 6-7 (6) 6-2 victory.

“I dominated 95 percent of the match, and for 15 minutes didn’t close the match out,” said the fourth seed. “But I still created chances, even when I wasn’t playing so well at the end of that third set. So it was pretty good for the most part.”

Like Murray, Sharapova missed the back end of last season because of injury and she admitted after her 3-6 6-4 6-1 defeat to Cibulkova that the tournament had probably

come a little bit early for her. “I certainly would have loved to played a little bit more before playing a grand slam, but this is the chance that I was given,” said the Russian third seed, the 2008 champion here.

“It’s tough. I will be genuine about it. It’s never easy (but) it’s moments like this that ultimately shape you and make you who you are.”

Azarenka was utterly dominant as she swept into the quarter-finals with a 6-3 6-2 victory over American Sloane Stephens that extended her winning streak at Melbourne Park to 18 matches.

The win had none of the edge of last year’s semi-final between the pair, when Azarenka took a medical timeout after blowing five match points.

Both Azarenka and Stephens had played down the controversy and the second seeded Belarusian said she could not have felt more at home on the same Rod Laver Arena where she was booed last year. “I just love playing here,” she said. “It feels so cosy. It feels like I’m in my living room, on my couch. I can have some chips and salsa - that’s how it feels.”

‘Sid the Kid’ ready to be the man in Sochi TORONTO: For Canadians Sidney Crosby is an ice hockey idol. A superhero with a hockey stick wearing the Maple Leaf on his chest who came to the hockey mad country’s rescue four years ago at the Vancouver Winter Games by scoring the golden goal against the United States that crowned Canada Olympic champions.

‘Sid the Kid’, the all-Canadian boy from tiny Cole Harbor, Nova Scotia with impeccable politeness and magical talent, was the toast of the Great White North.

A once in a generation player who would carry the Canadian flag and hockey hopes of his country for years to come, Crosby’s future seemed as bright as the shiny gold medal that hung around his neck.

But the architect of one of the greatest moments in Canadian sporting history would spend a good portion of the next two years not in the spotlight but sitting in the dark, his brilliance dimmed by sport’s latest scourge - concussions.

Just 23 years old when he was flattened by a David Steckel shoulder on New Year’s day 2011, there were concerns Crosby might never again grace

NHL arenas. If he did return, concussion experts warned the Pittsburgh Penguins captain may never be the same dynamic force he was. But after a long, tedious recovery Crosby heads to Russia once again at the peak of his powers.

When Canada announced its Olympic lineup to the usual scrutiny and fanfare on Jan. 7, Crosby’s name was back at the top of the NHL scoring table with 65 points on 24 goals and 41 assists.

As the NHL season moved past the midway mark Pittsburgh was leading the Eastern conference standings and Crosby was on pace for his first 100 point campaign since 2009-10 and a contender for league most valuable player honors.

“It’s a proud moment when you’re named to Team Canada no matter whether it is the Olympics or world juniors,” said Crosby. “Everyone expects to win gold and that has always been the expectation and I don’t think that is going to change.

“That doesn’t mean it’s any easier.”

The youngest NHL captain to hoist a Stanley Cup, a bulging trophy case that includes a Hart trophy (NHL

Azarenka denied the departure of Williams and Sharapova had made her a strong favourite for a third straight title. “We’ve seen over the last couple of days that somebody can bring their best game on any given day,” she said.

Next up for Azarenka is fifth seed Agnieszka Radwanska, who beat rising Spanish talent Garbine Muguruza 6-1 6-3 in the final match of the day.

Cibulkova’s reward for beating Sharapova is a meeting with Simona Halep, who beat eighth seed Jelena Jankovic 6-4 2-6 6-0 to reach her first grand slam quarter-final.

“There’s no pressure on me so I can just enjoy the quarter-finals,” Romanian Halep said.

“It’s my chance and I have to fight for it.”

Dimitrov, also entering unknown territory in the second week of a grand slam, beat Spain’s Roberto Bautista 6-3 3-6 6-2 6-4 to set up his last eight date with Nadal.

“He’s Rafa. We all know him,” said the confident 22-year-old Bulgarian. “But I’m quite happy with the way I’m performing so far. So I like my chances.” — Reuters

West Brom lose sponsor over Anelka’s gesture

Sidney Crosby MVP), an Art Ross trophy (NHL scoring champion) and Rocket Richard trophy (goal scoring leader), Crosby has already assembled a Hall of Fame worthy resume.

But for all his honours and achievements, including two Lou Marsh awards as Canada’s athlete of the year, Crosby may well one day be best remembered for his remarkable resilience and saintly patience. For over two seasons Crosby wrestled with concussion-like symptoms and the frustration of aborted and failed comebacks.

His indestructible aura shattered,

Crosby slipped into seclusion plagued by headaches and dizziness unable to read or watch television due to a debilitating sensitivity to bright lights and loud noises.

He would spend months consulting with concussion specialists seeking out cutting edge therapy, including treatments in a gyroscope chair not unlike those used by astronauts preparing for space travel. By the time he was finally ready to play, the NHL was in lockdown mode. Owners locked out players in a bitter labor dispute that chopped last season’s schedule to 48 games. —Reuters

LONDON: The sponsor of English Premier League club West Bromwich Albion announced yesterday they would not renew their deal at the end of the season in the wake of striker Nicolas Anelka’s controversial ‘quenelle’ gesture.

Lawrence Hall, head of communications for property website Zoopla, said: “In recent weeks we have decided to re-evaluate this sponsorship and as a result we will focus our attention on other marketing activities from the end of the season.”

Former France striker Anelka, 34, sparked a media storm last month when he celebrated the first of his two goals in West Brom’s 3-3 league draw at West Ham United by putting one arm across his chest and straightening the other in a gesture interpreted by some as anti-Semitic.

The ‘quenelle’, popularised by French comedian Dieudonne M’bala M’bala, has been described by critics in France as an ‘inverted Nazi salute’, but Anelka has insisted that it was merely “a dedication” to the comic.

M’bala M’bala, better known simply as Dieudonne, says the gesture is anti-establishment and not anti-Semitic.

Earlier this month, England’s governing Football Association (FA) said no decision on whether Anelka would face disciplinary action would be announced until late yesterday, at the earliest, a move which saw the FA

criticised by anti-discrimination group Kick it Out for the time it was taking. West Brom’s sporting and technical director, Richard Garlick, speaking before reports emerged last week over the future of Zoopla’s sponsorship, also urged the FA to resolve the issue as soon as possible. “It would help everyone for that investigation to be over as soon as possible, and the FA have given their statement about how quickly they will do that.” Marketing Week magazine said Zoopla, co-owned by Jewish businessman Alex Chesterman, could pull out of a deal worth a reported £3 million ($4.9 million) over two years and the largest in West Brom’s history, should Anelka play against Everton late yesterday.

But it added “one source close to the matter” had told them it was likely Anelka, who has continued to be selected by West Brom since making the gesture, would play against Everton, with the Midlands side determined not to let sponsors dictate team selection.

Under new rules introduced last May, Anelka faces a minimum five-match ban if the FA decides he is guilty of discrimination.

If Anelka is banned, Albion could find themselves without two forwards following Friday’s transfer of Shane Long to Premier League rivals Hull City, and with little time to bring in a replacement before the January window shuts. — AFP West Brom are currently just three points

Business

Peugeot opens door to Dongfeng, shares drop Page 22

China’s 2013 growth dodges 14-year low

TUESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2014

Page 23 ILO warns of jobless recovery

Service Hero reveals Kuwait nominees for award

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FRANKFURT: The headquarters of Deutsche Bank is photographed in Frankfurt. Shares of Deutsche Bank AG have fallen sharply after Germany’s biggest lender announced a large fourth-quarter net loss. — AP

Deutsche Bank shares plunge on Q4 loss Watchdog to visit Deutsche in London in FX probe FRANKFURT: Shares of Deutsche Bank AG fell sharply yesterday after Germany’s biggest lender announced an unexpected fourthquarter loss largely due to weak investment banking results and the cost of strengthening its finances.

Deutsche Bank, which warned the headwinds will continue this year, saw its stock slump 3.9 percent in early trading to 37.80 euros, making it the worst performer on Frankfurt’s DAX index.

The bank on Sunday night posted a fourthquarter net loss of 965 million euros ($1.3 billion), an announcement that came 10 days before it was scheduled to release its results.

Analysts were expecting a profit of about 200 million euros. Revenues also disappointed, falling 16 percent to 6.6 billion euros. The losses showed how the bank is still struggling to

overcome previous legal entanglements and deal with new regulatory demands in an uncertain European economy.

Much of the decline in revenues in the fourth quarter came from the investment banking division, which suffered a steep fall in income from trading debt securities.

The bank has also faced a steady drag on earnings from expenses for litigation and legal settlements resulting from investigations of alleged past abuses. They totaled 528 million euros in the fourth quarter. The bank suffered 1.1 billion euros in losses on risky investments it has set aside for disposal as it - along with other banks - faces demands from regulators to strengthen its finances in response to the market turbulence of recent years.

Market strategist Ishaq Siddiqi at ETX Capital called the results a “nasty set of num-

bers which have geared investors here in Europe for what could be an ugly earnings season for European banks.”

Co-CEO Anshu Jain said on a conference call with analysts that the bank was dealing well with factors that its management could control, such as reducing costs.

He said that excluding one-time expenses and the unit disposing of risky assets, the bank’s core operations earned 8.4 billion euros in 2013. That was up from 7.6 billion euros the year before and comparable with earnings before the financial crisis hit in earnest in 2008. However, he warned that the outside factors - pending litigation, regulatory demands and tough markets - “will remain challenging in 2014.”

Representatives from Germany’s financial watchdog Bafin will visit the London offices of

Saudi firms favor local debt markets: Deutsche official RIYADH: Companies in Saudi Arabia will favor local debt markets over international bond issues to meet their financing requirements in 2014 as high liquidity keeps funding costs down, a top executive at Deutsche Bank said.

Saudi firms have increasingly looked to the local debt market in recent years to help diversify their funding sources away from bank loans, with ample liquidity in the domestic market often suppressing borrowing costs to levels well below rates for equivalent dollar-denominated bond sales.

With interest rates on international markets expected to rise from historic lows as the US Federal Reserve begins to wind down its quantitative easing program in 2014, the insulated Saudi market and its low borrowing costs are expected to remain attractive to the kingdom’s issuers.

“There is a lot of liquidity looking for a good home in Saudi Arabia. And importantly the Saudi market has developed comfort with long-term debt issues in Saudi riyals,” Jamal Al-Kishi, chief executive officer of Deutsche Securities Saudi Arabia, said.

“We expect local debt market activity this year to surpass international bond sales by Saudi issuers,” he said. The German lender is one of the more active international banks in the Gulf’s largest economy, which is expected to open up its markets to foreign investors.

Deutsche competes with HSBC and JP Morgan Chase Inc in arranging and advising companies and state-owned entities on their capital market needs in the kingdom.

The bank earned $14.4 million in fees from arranging debt issues in the Middle East during 2013, second behind HSBC, which earned $15.4 million, according to Thomson Reuters.

Construction firm Saudi Binladin Group and dairy producer Almarai were among the issuers of local currency Islamic bonds last year, while Deutsche Bank helped Sadara Chemical Co, a venture between Saudi Aramco and Dow Chemical, raise 7.5 billion riyals to fund construction of its facilities last March.

A number of banks, including Saudi Hollandi Bank and Saudi British Bank, have also sold sukuk in the local market to improve their reserves after a period of loan growth.

“For entities who do not have a lot of outstanding debt, issuing in the local debt market may prove less costly and more straightforward,” Kishi said.

Kishi expects measures will be taken in 2014 to open up Saudi Arabia’s stock market to foreign investors. Saudi Arabia is the Arab world’s biggest stock market and, by some measures, the world’s last sizeable market that has not opened to international capital flows. Hopes of the market opening to direct foreign investment has prompted international banks to beef up their presence in the kingdom.

“Saudi needs responsible long-term oriented capital that will bring technology and best practice to our industrial and service sectors,” he said. — Reuters

Deutsche Bank, the country’s biggest lender, as it steps up investigations into alleged currency market manipulation, a source familiar with the process said yesterday. This follows Deutsche’s suspension last week of traders in New York and mirrors the arrival of US regulators in London last week at Citigroup’s London headquarters, marking an escalation in the global probe.

German magazine Der Spiegel reported on Sunday that Bafin was setting up a so-called special investigation, putting the case at the top of its priority list.

Bafin was not available for immediate comment. Deutsche Bank declined to comment, and referred Reuters to a previous statement that it is cooperating with those investigations, and will take disciplinary action with regards to individuals if merited.

The source could not say when the visit would take place, but said investigators are not on the bank’s London trading floor tapping on people’s shoulders just yet. The source also could not confirm if Bafin officials also plan to visit Deutsche’s US headquarters in New York.

Benchmark foreign exchange rates, or daily fixings, are a cornerstone of global financial markets, used to price trillions of dollars worth of investments and deals and relied upon by companies, investors and central banks.

London is the hub of the $5.3 trillion-a-day global foreign exchange trading market, accounting for around 40 percent of that total.

Authorities around the world are investigating whether senior traders at some of the world’s biggest banks colluded to rig these rates. — Agencies

Real estate boosts Dubai; Gulf mixed MIDEAST STOCK MARKETS DUBAI: Dubai’s bourse surged yesterday, led by real estaterelated shares, as investors bet on a further rebound in the emirate’s property prices. Other regional markets were mixed, with Saudi Arabia soft after some high-profile earnings misses.

Dubai’s residential property prices in 2013 rose 22 percent on average while rents improved 17 percent, consultants Jones Lang Lasalle said in a report on Sunday; they predicted further gains this year, though at a slower pace as new supply comes onstream.

Union Properties climbed 2.7 percent and Deyaar Development jumped 6.0 percent. In a fresh sign of optimism in the sector, Kleindienst Group said it had started building a huge resort complex on the World, the man-made archipelago off Dubai’s coast which has been left mostly vacant since the emirate’s real estate crash in 2008. Arabtec gained 3.6 percent after the firm said it won a 5.7 billion dirham ($1.55 billion) contract to build a resort in the Aqaba area of south Jordan.

Dubai’s index rose 1.5 percent to 3,670 points, a new fiveyear high. It is testing technical resistance at 3,625 points, the low of April 2007; a weekly close above that level would confirm a break. The index is also nearing the 50 percent retracement of its drop from the January 2008 peak, which lies at 3,807 points and may provide resistance.

Saudi eranings In Saudi Arabia, the main index eased for a second straight session from a five-year high as major sectors declined follow-

ing some disappointing fourth-quarter earnings. Shares in Savola Group fell 3.1 percent after the company posted a net profit of 564 million riyals ($150.4 million), up 37 percent from a year earlier but well below analysts’ average forecast of 643 million riyals.

Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC) slipped 0.7 percent, extending its decline after Sunday’s lacklustre earnings. “It is proving difficult to find good buying opportunities in the Saudi market right now,” said Sleiman Aboulhosn, investment analyst at ING Investments.

“For petrochemicals, some Q4 numbers were slightly disappointing and others were impressive. But in our opinion, the outlook is good given the continued improvement in product prices.”

In Qatar, the benchmark slipped 0.2 percent, its second decline since it snapped a 13-session winning streak. Shares in Qatar Islamic Bank rose 1.9 percent after it posted a fourthquarter profit that more than tripled, beating analysts’ estimates.

Some local investors in Qatar may be cashing out to buy into the initial public offer of Mesaieed Petrochemical Holding Co, a unit of state-owned energy firm Qatar Petroleum, the first IPO in the country since 2010. The offer will end today. It is not clear how strong investor demand for the IPO has been so far; a trader familiar with the offer said some investors were waiting for the last days to subscribe because they did not want to tie up their money for a long period. — Reuters

MANSOORI

TUESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2014

BUSINESS

Peugeot opens door to Dongfeng, shares drop French auto group launches radical crisis action PARIS: French auto group Peugeot Citroen is launching radical crisis action, raising capital to tie-up with Chinese group Dongfeng and the French state, but its shares plunged yesterday.

The supervisory board of PSA Peugeot Citroen agreed on the capital restructuring late on Sunday following the exit of US giant

the reported terms, the Peugeot family, the controlling shareholder with 25.4 percent of the capital, would retain an interest of 14.0 percent by means of subscribing for shares worth 100 million euros.

The exact amount of subscription by each party would depend on the amount of shares offered to the public and on the price

factory in France.

At the height of the global financial crisis which battered the US and European car markets, General Motors, itself in the throes of radical restructuring from bankruptcy, tied up with Peugeot by taking a stake of 7.0-percent.

That was to get a strategic boost from Peugeot’s expertise in small cars and to bolster its lame duck brand Opel in Europe. But GM is the biggest foreign auto group in China, and with a tie-up between Peugeot and Dongfeng looking almost certain to accelerate Peugeot’s activities in China, GM announced in December that it was pulling out of the French group.

French state ‘vigilant’ The sources close to the matter said that the meeting of the supervisory board rejected an alternative to offer new shares to the market without reserving stakes for Dongfeng and the French state, a proposal supported by board chairman Thierry Peugeot.

The board accepted the proposal put forward by his cousin Robert Peugeot who heads FFP, the entity which manages the family’s interest in the group and was prepared to accepted dilution of the family’s stake. PSA Peugeot Citroen, the biggest French automaker ahead of Renault in which the French state already has a stake, operates three factories in China in cooperation with Dongfeng.

French Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici told Radio J on Sunday that “the state is particularly vigilant, the state feels involved, and the state will do everything, will make its weight felt, so that Peugeot continues to be a big French manufacturer, and even finds ways to develop”. Sources close to the matter said that the company hoped to outline an agreement with Dongfeng and the state when it published its annual results on February 19, and it wanted to tie-up the restructuring before Chinese President Xi Jinping visits Paris in the spring. —AFP

on weakness in its main markets in Europe and Russia. That was in addition to a suspension of its important business in Iran owing to sanctions. But sales outside Europe rose from 38.0 percent of the total in 2012 to 42.0 percent in line with the “objective of achieving 50 percent of sales outside Europe in 2015”.

PARIS: French carmaker Peugeot head Maxime Picat talks while presenting the Peugeot’s 2013 commercial results at the PSA Peugeot Citroen headquarters in Paris yesterday. —AFP GM, sources close to the matter said. But newspaper reports said that the capital increase would be big at about 3.0 billion euros ($4.0 billion) relative to the group’s value on Friday of about 4.1 billion euros. And the new shares enabling Dongfeng and the government each to acquire about 14.0 percent of the group would be made at a discount of up to 35.0-percent. Shares in PSA Peugeot Citroen plunged by 5.44 percent 10.86 euros in initial trading yesterday. Under

of the shares, a source close to the matter said. The reports said that the new shares would be issued at 7.5-8.0 euros each, enabling the French state and Chinese group Dongfeng to inject about 750 million euros.

On Friday the price of shares in the group had closed at 11.48 euros.

The French group, the second-biggest automaker in Europe after German giant Volkswagen, also announced a 4.9-percent fall in sales to 2.82 million vehicles last year

The latest figures reflect a recent deep crisis in the European car market, now showing signs of easing, a crisis which put Peugeot on its knees recently, and the findings of a government-ordered enquiry which found that the group had made strategic mistakes for years by not seizing fully the opportunities of globalization. Peugeot has already in effect been rescued by a 7.0 billion euros of stateguaranteed refinancing for its credit arm. The group has cut thousands of jobs and closed a

Malaysia relaxes auto sector curbs IILM boosts sukuk program with $860 million issue DUBAI: The Malaysia-based International Islamic Liquidity Management Corp expanded its sukuk issuance program yesterday by auctioning $860 million of three-month Islamic bonds at a yield of 0.55635 percent. The issue brings the total amount of the IILM’s outstanding sukuk to $1.35 billion, the body said in a statement. Its program, launched last year, envisages issuance increasing eventually to as much as $2 billion.

The IILM, owned by a consortium of central banks from Asia, the Middle East and Africa, is seeking to help Islamic banks manage their short-term funding needs by easing their shortage of liquid, investmentgrade financial instruments. Monday’s issue was sold to nine primary dealers from Asia, the Middle East and Europe. The IILM’s ultimate aim is to encourage the development of an active, cross-border secondary market in sukuk, but a lack of liquidity has so far prevented that.

Since the program’s launch, primary dealers have held on to the IILM instruments after auctions and there has been little if any secondary market trade in them, an official at one of the primary dealers told Reuters. —Reuters

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia announced yesterday it would allow foreign automakers to build smaller passenger cars in the country, a liberalizing move aimed at repositioning the country as a leader in energy-efficient vehicles.

The changes, effective immediately, will for the first time allow foreign automakers to build cars with engines of 1.8 litres or less if those cars qualify as energy-efficient. Such projects will not need domestic investment partners and will enjoy incentives such as tax breaks, Trade Minister Mustapa Mohamed told reporters. “The policies used to be there to protect (national car brand) Proton. But we have opened up the market,” he said.

“We believe these policies will enable Malaysia to regain our position as one of the most dynamic hubs for Southeast Asia.” Malaysia, the region’s third-largest economy after Thailand and Indonesia, was once Southeast Asia’s automotive hub. But it has fallen behind its two rivals through decades of industry policies that coddled Proton, which was launched in 1983.

Malaysia now produces far fewer vehicles than Thailand or Indonesia.

The government had previously shielded Proton via excise and import duties of up to 150 percent on foreign vehicles, and other restrictions.

The policies have been blamed for contributing to sub-standard Proton models. The firm, which was stateowned until 2012, has recorded losses in recent years as its market share sank.

Consumers have also complained the policies made better-built foreign cars too expensive for many Malaysian buyers. Malaysia already allows foreign carmakers to manufacture larger vehicles in the country, after lifting foreign-equity caps on such ventures in 2010. The reforms could be attractive to some foreign manufacturers looking for a regional production base but should not worry Malaysia’s neighbors much, said Affin Investment’s auto sector analyst Chong Lee Len. “It’s a positive step for the market, but not quite a ‘Big Bang’,” she said. In 2012 Thailand and Indonesia produced 2.4 million and 1.1 million cars

under foreign nameplates, respectively, up 67 percent and 27 percent from the year earlier, according to the International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers. Neither country has a national car project.

Malaysian factories produced 570,000 cars in 2012, up nearly seven percent.

About three-quarters of Malaysian production were vehicles with 1.8litre engines or smaller. Madani Sahari, head of the trade ministry think-tank Malaysia Automotive Institute, said in a briefing last week that Malaysia would focus on being an export hub due to slowing domestic sales.

Chong, however, said most manufacturers “want to build where they can sell”.

Indonesia, with its fast-growing economy of 240 million people and low vehicle ownership rates compared to more affluent Malaysia, is considered by analysts to have greater upside for automakers.

Mustapa said the changes would reduce car prices in Malaysia by up to 20-30 percent over the next four years. —AFP

News

in brief

Arabtec wins $1.55bn Jordan resort contract DUBAI: Dubai contractor Arabtec Holding said yesterday it had won a 5.7 billion dirham ($1.55 billion) contract to build a resort in the Aqaba area of southern Jordan. The project, being developed by an international fund called Red Sea Astrarium LP, will involve a manmade lagoon, four hotels and entertainment facilities including a 4D cinema, a water park and a Star Trek-themed attraction, Arabtec said in a statement to the Dubai bourse. Construction work on the resort, which is expected to create around 4,000 jobs when opened, will begin in the third quarter of this year, with a soft opening targeted for the third quarter of 2017, the statement added.

ARAMCO cuts Feb crude supply KHOBAR: Saudi state oil company Saudi Aramco has informed at least two term buyers that it will supply less Arab Extra Light crude in February due to maintenance at one of its biggest oilfields, industry sources said yesterday. The world’s top oil exporting nation and OPEC producer will carry out maintenance at the Shaybah oilfield in February that could last up to two months, two sources with knowledge of the matter said. A company spokesman said he could not immediately comment. Shaybah has a capacity of 750,000 barrels per day (bpd), expected to rise to 1 million bpd by end-2016 or early 2017. The reduction in Arab Extra Light supply has helped bolster premiums for Marchloading light grades from other Middle East producers and Russia. The value of competing Murban crude from Abu Dhabi rose to a premium of more than 10 cents a barrel to its official selling price (OSP) late last week, up from earlier trades at about 5 cents, trade sources said.

GFH to sell 75% in Leeds United DUBAI: Bahrain-based investment firm Gulf Finance House (GFH) said yesterday it was offloading 75 percent of English soccer club Leeds United to a consortium of British investors and would retain a 10 percent stake following the sale. GFH, which bought the second-tier club in 2012, said last week that it had agreed a partial stake sale to British investors, without disclosing the size of the divestment or its value. In a filing to the Dubai bourse yesterday, GFH said an agreement had been struck with the consortium on Nov 30 but the English Football Association had yet to grant approval for the takeover. The sale, it said, would have a positive impact on financials. Leeds managing director David Haigh and Andrew Flowers, managing director of club sponsor Enterprise Insurance, are part of the group buying the stake. In addition to GFH, Bahrain-based International Investment Bank and Leeds chairman Salah Nooruddin’s Envest company all own more than 10 percent of Leeds, according to the club website.

NBO 2013 posts flat Q4 profit, misses forecast DUBAI: National Bank of Oman (NBO), the sultanate’s second-largest lender by assets, posted a flat fourthquarter net profit, missing analysts’ expectations. The lender made a net profit of 10.2 million rials ($26.5 million) in the three months to Dec. 31, Reuters calculated, the same as the corresponding period of 2012.

Four analysts polled by Reuters on average forecast NBO’s fourth-quarter profit would be 11.57 million rials. Reuters calculated the net profit figure based on the bank’s previous financial results. It posted a net profit of 41.4 million rials for 2013, up from 40.7 million rials in the previous year, a statement to the Muscat bourse said yesterday. Loans and advances stood at 2.07 billion rials at the end of December, 8 percent higher than the 1.91 billion rials at the same point of 2012. Customer deposits rose 15 percent year-on-year, standing at 2.18 billion rials versus 1.89 billion rials at the end of 2012.

Saudi Savola forecasts 2014 profit of $480m DUBAI: Saudi’s Savola Group expects to make a net profit of 1.8 billion riyals ($479.9 million) in 2014, the food company said in a bourse statement yesterday, also predicting its first-quarter profit would be around 310 million riyals. Analysts polled by Reuters on average forecast the firm, which has yet to announce its 2013 full-year results, will make a profit of 642.5 million riyals in the fourth quarter of 2013. That would equate to a 55 percent rise from the prior-year period.

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

TUESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2014

BUSINESS

ABU DHABI: French Minister for Foreign Trade Nicole Bricq (center) visits a stand during the opening of the World Future Energy Summit yesterday at the National Exhibition Center (ADNEC) in Abu Dhabi. The event runs until February 22, 2014. — AFP

China’s 2013 oil demand sees slowest rise in over 22 years BEIJING: China’s oil consumption in 2013 posted the slowest rise in more than two decades, data showed yesterday, as softer economic growth sliced into demand for transportation and industrial fuels such as diesel.

While a slowdown in oil consumption by the world’s second-largest user was expected, the sluggish rise could pressure global oil prices at a time OPEC member Iran’s nuclear deal with world powers is raising the possibility of the Middle Eastern nation being allowed to pump and export more oil. China’s energy appetite has driven global oil demand growth for the past decade as usage slows in industrialized nations. Its slowing demand last year capped prices that would have otherwise soared on the plunge in exports from Iran, prolonged outages in Libya and disruptions in Sudan. China’s implied oil demand rose 1.6 percent in 2013, or 150,000 barrels per day (bpd) on the year, according to Reuters calculations based on preliminary government data and unrevised 2012 figures.

Reuters started calculating implied oil demand from 2005. Waning momentum capped China’s annual economic growth at a six-month low of 7.7 percent in the October-December quarter, a slowdown some analysts say may deepen this year as China endures the short-term pain of revamping its growth model for the longterm good.

China’s economy narrowly missed expectations for growth to hit 14-year lows in 2013, though some economists say a cooling will be inevitable this year as officials and investors hunker down for difficult reforms. “China’s oil demand has entered an era of moderate growth,” said an oil analyst with China International Capital Corp (CICC). “Diesel demand was almost flat last year, but gasoline demand kept rapid growth on rosy auto sales.”

The 1.6 percent growth in oil demand lagged a forecast by the International Energy Agency (IEA) for 2013 growth at 3.8

percent. The figure was in line with a forecast by the country’s top oil firm China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), which last week pegged 2013 oil demand at 1.7 percent.

CNPC has forecast China’s oil demand growing 4 percent this year, with demand for gasoline being the main factor. Implied oil demand in December was 10.06 million bpd, down 7.5 percent from a record high 10.88 million bpd a year earlier, but up 1.2 percent from November’s 9.94 million bpd.

Full-year consumption was 9.78 million bpd.

Implied demand is a combination of crude oil throughput and net imports of refined oil products. It also does not adjust for stocks changes, which are seldom disclosed by the government.

In its December report, the IEA estimated Chinese oil demand at 10.19 million bpd in 2013, up 370,000 bpd from 2012.

The agency has forecast similar, modest growth for this year at 3.7 percent to 10.57 million bpd.

IEA, whose monthly report is due on Tuesday, declined to comment on the government data.

Refinery runs China’s refinery throughput rose just 0.2 percent in December over a year earlier and grew 3.3 percent for the whole of 2013, the latest data showed, slower than the previous year as less new refining capacity was added. Refineries processed 42.02 million tons, or 9.9 million bpd, of crude oil in December, the National Bureau of Statistics said. Daily runs were around 1.3 percent higher than November’s 9.77 million bpd.

Crude runs for the whole of 2013 expanded 3.3 percent at 478.58 million tons, or 9.57 million bpd, the statistics bureau said. That compared with 3.7 percent growth for 2012. CNPC forecast last week China’s crude runs to rise 5.1 percent to 509 million tons, or 10.18 million bpd, this year from 2013. — Reuters

Taiwan’s export orders up 7.4% in December TAIPEI: Taiwan’s export orders rose 7.4 percent in December from a year ago on the back of growing overseas demand for new cellphones and other consumer products.

Offering hopes of a slightly brighter picture in 2014 for the export-reliant economy, shipments in December totalled $42.31 billion, compared with a rise of just 0.8 percent recorded in November, the economics ministry said in a statement Export orders-orders filed to manufacturers one or two months ahead-are seen as a key index to measure the strength of the island nation’s economy.

The launches of hand-held devices by international brands, many of them manufactured by Taiwanese companies, have helped lift the business of assemblers and their supply chains, the ministry said. Orders for information and telecommunication products hit a monthly high of $12 billion while orders for other electronic products totalled $10.4 bil-

lion, also a monthly record, it said.

For the full year of 2013, export orders rose 0.4 percent to $442.93 billion, according to the ministry. It said the continued rise in export orders is expected to help the domestic economy grow faster this year than in 2013.

The government in November chopped its 2013 full-year growth forecast to 1.74 percent, down from 2.31 percent predicted in August and 2.4 percent in May, according to the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics.

The GDP was forecast to rise 2.59 percent in 2014, down from 3.37 percent outlined previously as the agency expected many of the factors that had been hampering growthsuch as ongoing global economic uncertainty and stiff competition from rival tech firms — would remain next year.

Taiwan’s economy grew 1.32 percent in 2012, its slowest pace in three years. — AFP

ABU DHABI: Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and Chair of the African Union, Hailemariam Dessalegn (2R), Senegal’s President Macky Sall (2L), President of Sierra Leone Ernest Bai Koroma (R) and Adnan Amin (L), chairman of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) hold a group discussion during the opening of the World Future Energy Summit yesterday at the National Exhibition Center (ADNEC) in Abu Dhabi. —AFP

China’s 2013 growth dodges 14-year low But further slowdown likely: Experts BEIJING: China’s economy narrowly missed expectations for growth to hit 14-year lows in 2013, though some economists say a cooldown will be inevitable this year as officials and investors hunker down for difficult reforms.

The chance that the world’s second-largest economy may decelerate in coming months was underscored yesterday by data that showed growth in investment and factor y output flagged in the final months of last year.

Waning momentum capped China’s annual economic growth at a six-month low of 7.7 percent in the October-December quarter, a slowdown some analysts say may deepen this year as China endures the shor t-term pain of revamping its growth model for the long-term good. Full-year growth in 2013 was 7.7 percent, steady from 2012 and just slightly above market expectations for a 7.6 percent expansion, which would have been the slowest since 1999. “It’s like a Chinese medicine,” said Lu Zhengwei, chief economist at Industrial Bank in Shanghai.

“If you don’t take it, you may have problems in future. But if you take it now, you cannot expect to regain your youth tomorrow.” After 30 years of sizzling double-digit economic growth that lifted many millions of Chinese out of poverty but also devastated the environment, China wants to change tack by embracing sustainable and higher-quality development instead.

That means reducing government intervention to allow financial markets to have a bigger say in allocating resources, and promoting domestic consumption at the expense of investment and exports.

Yesterday’s data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed China’s 56.9 trillion yuan ($9.4 trillion) economy is still very much dependent on investment for growth. Capital formation accounted for 54 percent of China’s economic growth last year, exceeding the 50 percent share taken up by consumption. Net exports, on the other hand, detracted 4.4 percent from overall growth.

“I don’t see any evidence of a rebalancing last year,” said Tim Condon, an economist at ING in Singapore. Yet there are signs Beijing wants to rein in investment.

For the whole of 2013, China’s fixed-asset investment climbed 19.6 percent, the smallest increase in at least 10 years and a tick below forecasts for a 19.8 percent rise.

Ambitious investment by local Chinese governments that have racked up some $3 trillion worth of debt has been at the forefront of China’s investment drive in recent years, a trend that must be checked, said Ma Jiantang, head of China’s statistics bureau.

“In 2014, I believe reforms will continue to be a key driving forces for economic growth,” Ma said yesterday.

BEIJING: Pedestrians waiting to cross a street outside a mall in Beijing. China’s economy grew 7.7 percent last year, the government said yesterday in line with expectations and the same as 2012, when it recorded its slowest expansion in 13 years. —AFP Doing well To be sure, the gentle fall-off in growth is welcomed by most experts as a must-have in China as it transits to better-quality development. If growth continues to ease in a controlled manner, China’s government can impose some difficult changes without worrying about a spike in job losses that will stir social discord.

It will also give Beijing the latitude to keep monetary policy stable this year, as most economists expect it will likely do, even as regulators continue to crack down on riskier lending, the fallout from which is unnerving some stock market investors.

“On the whole, the Chinese economy is performing well through its adjustment phase,” said Brian Jackson, chief China economist at IHS Global Insight.

Concerns that China may sacrifice too much growth in its bid to enact change are also unfounded, Jackson said. Though an average of the 2014 growth targets already issued by 22 of China’s 31 local governments shows growth has been revised downwards by nearly a percentage point, large provinces that are China’s commercial centers have mostly kept their growth targets stable, he said.

Still, there is little doubt China’s economy is losing steam. Factory output growth fell to a five-month low of 9.7 percent in December from a year earlier as factories struggled with lukewarm demand at home and abroad. Indeed, a Reuters visit to southern China this month

showed many factories in China’s manufacturing heartlands have closed earlier than usual this year for the nation’s biggest holiday, discouraged by weak orders and rising costs. Other indicators also pointed to muted activity. China’s steel output dropped for the third consecutive month in December, while oil consumption rose at its slowest rate in five years in 2013. China is the world’s second-largest oil user.

Above 8% growth?

That said, a minority of analysts are predicting China’s economy may speed up this year, confounding a prevalent belief that growth will slacken to make room for reforms. Deutsche Bank expects China’s growth to accelerate to 8.6 percent this year while RBS thinks it may climb to 8.2 percent.

“We expect China to benefit from improved global growth this year,” said Louis Kuijs, an economist at RBS in Hong Kong. China has yet to announce its economic growth target for 2014 but most analysts agree that the fruits of reforms, if reforms are to succeed, are unlikely to juice the Chinese growth engine any time soon. Sources with top think-tanks have told Reuters that the government will likely stick with its 7.5 percent economic growth target again in 2014.

“Reforms won’t produce results overnight.” said Xu Hongcai, a senior economist at China Centre for International Economic Exchanges, a think-tank. — Reuters

Taqa plans $1.2bn investment in Kurdistan oilfield ABU DHABI: Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa) plans to invest about $1.2 billion developing the Atrush oil and gas block in the autonomous Kurdistan region, the head of Taqa’s Iraq operations said yesterday. Taqa, which is majority owned by the government of Abu Dhabi, won approval from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to develop the block in late 2013.

It expects to invest more than $300 million in the first phase of the project, with first oil from the 30,000 barrel per day (bpd) first phase expected in early 2015. Subject to KRG approval and further field appraisals, a second phase could add 30,000 bpd of oil production, along with some associated gas for the domestic market. “Iraq is very much core to

Taqa,” Leo Koot told Reuters in an interview on the sidelines of a conference in Abu Dhabi.

“The investment in the next three phases will be similar to the first phase and production should be around 100,000 to 120,000 bpd of oil in four years,” he said.

Deals between foreign investors and the KRG to develop oilfields have angered the federal government in Baghdad, which rejects them as illegal. Abu Dhabi’s former state utility is expanding a power plant in Kurdistan, which should be completed in mid-2015, but it also hopes to build gas-fired power plants in southern Iraq to help Baghdad to overcome power shortages. “We’ve had good discussions with the Iraqi government,” Koot said, declining to go into details about the plant talks.— Reuters

Afghan officials count and adjust wads of Afghan currency before setting the notes on fire in Jalalabad, Nangarhar province, yesterday. Afghan officials burnt 587 million in used and tattered Afghan currency notes, which were being taken out of circulation. — AFP

TUESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2014

BUSINESS

Asia shares down after China data

BEINJING: People looking at a Jaguar car on display in front of a mall in Beijing. — AFP

HONG KONG: Asian markets were mostly lower yesterday, after China released data showing the economy in 2013 recorded its slowest growth rate for more than a decade. The losses came after a broadly negative lead from Wall Street, while Japanese gaming giant Nintendo briefly lost almost a fifth of its value following a forecast last week that it would see a net loss this fiscal year.

Tokyo fell 0.59 percent, or 92.78 points to 15,641.68, Sydney lost 0.21 percent, or 10.9 points, to close at 5,295.0 and Shanghai ended 0.68 percent, or 13.70 points, lower at 1,991.25.

Hong Kong closed 0.88 percent lower, giving up 204.40 points to 22,928.95.

However, Seoul rose 0.48 percent, or 9.30 points, to 1,953.78. China said in the morning that its economy grew 7.7 percent last year, the same as 2012, which was the slowest since 1999. Gross domestic product expansion for the October-December quarter also came in at 7.7 percent, the National Bureau of Statistics said, from 7.8 percent in the previous three months.

The bureau said the economy “showed good momentum of stable and moderate growth” but it warned of “deep-rooted problems” including a mountain of local authority debt. UOB Kay Hian analyst Fan Zhang told Dow Jones Newswires: “We see more downside pressure for China’s economic growth in 2014, mainly due to tight monetary policy, rising funding cost and slow recovery of demand.”

That was supported by Wendy Chen, Shanghai-based analyst for Nomura International, who told AFP: “Judging from the data, our outlook for 2014 remains that China’s economy will continue slowing down in the first half.” In Japan Nintendo’s share price dived 18.43 percent at one point in response to its announcement Friday that it expects a loss of 25 billion yen ($240 million) in the year to March, reversing an earlier 55 billion yen net profit forecast. The firm managed to claw back some of the losses and ended down 6.14 percent.

The sell-off added to pressure on the

Nikkei index as the yen also rose against the dollar and euro on speculation the Bank of Japan will maintain its easy money policy when its policy board meets this week. Reports said officials will wait until they can gauge the effect of a sales tax due to be introduced in April.

In Tokyo the dollar bought 104.16 yen against 104.30 yen in New York Friday.

The euro bought $1.3541 and 141.06 yen compared with $1.3535 and 141.17 yen in US trade.

Investors were given a soft lead from Wall Street Friday after a mixed set of economic US data. Official figures showed housing starts tumbled almost 10 percent in December from a five-year high seen in November. Separately, the Federal Reserve said industrial output rose 0.3 percent month on-month in December, extending its streak of gains since July.

The Dow rose 0.25 percent but the S&P 500 fell 0.39 percent and the Nasdaq lost 0.50 percent. In oil trade New York’s main contract, West Texas Intermediate for February delivery, was down 47 cents at $93.90 a barrel in afternoon trade. Brent North Sea crude for March dropped 21 cents to $106.27.

Gold fetched $1,254.50 at 0800 GMT compared with $1,241.24 late Friday.

In other markets: • Taipei rose 0.30 percent, or 25.56 points, to 8,621.56. Hon Hai Precision was 1.67 percent higher at Tw$85.2 while Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. closed unchanged at Tw$107.5.

• Wellington closed flat, edging down 3.45 points to 4,890.50. Air New Zealand fell 0.6 percent to NZ$1.685 while software firm Wynyard Group surged 13.6 percent to NZ$2.84.

• Manila closed 0.31 percent higher, adding 18.51 points to 6,005.60. BDO Unibank inched up 0.07 percent to 72.30 pesos, Philippine Long Distance Telephone added 0.60 percent to 2,694.00 pesos and Ayala Land rose 1.13 percent to 26.75 pesos. — AFP

Oil drops to $106 on China data, Iran deal LONDON: Brent crude oil fell towards $106 per barrel yesterday, weighed down by data showing China’s oil consumption slowed in 2013 and news that Iran had started implementing a nuclear deal with world powers which could eventually allow more oil exports.

Implied oil demand in China - the world’s second-biggest oil consumer - rose a lacklustre 1.6 percent last year, or 150,000 bpd on the year, according to Reuters calculations based on preliminary government data.

China’s implied oil demand in December was just 10.06 million barrels per day (bpd), down 7.5 percent from a record high 10.88 million bpd the year before. “ The Chinese data has contributed to negative market sentiment,” said Carsten Fritsch, senior oil analyst at Commerzbank in Frankfurt. “China oil demand growth is slowing.”

Brent crude oil for March was down 30 cents at $106.18 a barrel by 0945 GMT. The March contract closed up 73 cents on Friday. US crude for February delivery was trading 75 cents lower at $93.62 per barrel, after settling up 41 cents at a twoweek high on Friday.

US crude volumes were low yesterday.

Floor trading was closed and there will be no settlement on the New York Mercantile Exchange due to the Martin Luther King, Jr Day US national holiday.

The 1.6 percent growth in China’s implied oil demand last year lagged a forecast by the International Energy Agency of 3.8 percent growth. Oil market sentiment was also dampened by news that Iran was beginning to implement the terms of a nuclear agreement with world powers, halting its most sensitive nuclear activity in a move that could lead to a lifting of sanctions. Sanctions have cut Iran’s oil exports by more than half over the past 18 months to about 1 million bpd. Tehran has said it will take six months after sanctions are lifted to return to full oil output capacity of 4 million bpd. Expectations of more supply from Libya could also keep Brent prices under pressure this week. The Libyan government said it plans to remove protesters who have seized eastern ports used for oil exports within the next few days. The three ports, which together accounted for 600,000 barrels per day of expor ts, have been occupied by heavily-armed rebels since the summer. — Reuters

Gold hits 6-week high; platinum up SINGAPORE: Gold climbed to its highest in nearly six weeks yesterday as a dip in equities lifted bullion’s safe-haven appeal and improved investor confidence in the metal. Holdings in SPDR Gold Trust, the world’s largest gold-backed exchangetraded fund, rose 7.49 tons to 797.05 tons on Friday - the first increase in a month.

Data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission also showed on Friday that hedge funds and money managers raised their bullish bets in gold and silver futures and options for a third week amid a decline in stocks. Spot gold hit $1,259.46 an ounce early in Asian trading - its highest since Dec. 11. By 0803 GMT, it had dropped back to $1,254, inching up 0.03 percent on the day. The metal, often seen as an alternative investment, has posted four straight weeks of gains - adding 4.2 percent to its value. Gold dropped 28 percent last year after a 12-year rally on increasing optimism about a global economic recovery.

“A lot of our clients are still holding onto gold as a risk-event hedge,” said Danny Laidler, head of ETF Securities’ Australia and New Zealand business.

“I think the worst of the outflows is behind us. We think there is a greater potential for modest gains (in gold prices) this year than for a downside risk,”

Laidler said.

Prices were finding a floor near $1,200 as that was close to the cost of production, he added. If gold prices were to fall below the cost of production, producers would be forced to shut loss-making mines, thereby creating a supply constraint that could push prices up. Among other precious metals, spot platinum gained after the main trade union for South African platinum miners said the workers will strike this week at the world’s top three producers, hitting over half of global output.

China demand Due to the recent rally in gold prices, Chinese gold demand which has been robust ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday at the end of the month - has come off slightly as seen on premiums and volumes on the Shanghai Gold Exchange.

Premiums for 99.99 percent purity gold eased to about $14 yesterday from $17 on Friday.

China is the world’s biggest consumer of gold, overtaking India last year. Data from China’s National Bureau of Statistics showed jewellery sales in December rose 17 percent to 26.8 billion yuan ($4.43 billion), while sales for the whole year jumped 26 percent to 295.9 billion yuan ($48.91 billion). — Reuters

TUESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2014

BUSINESS

Crunch time for Turkey’s central bank ISTANBUL: Turkey’s central bank faces a big credibility test yesterday, with markets baying for an interest rate hike to prop up a crumbling lira but the government strongly opposed to any move that could crimp growth ahead of elections.

The lira hit the latest in a series of record lows yesterday while the cost of insuring Turkish debt rose to 18-month highs, as uncertainty about the central bank’s readiness to lift rates raised fears of a deeper slide in the currency.

A corruption scandal shaking the government has hit investor appetite for Turkish assets, compounding concerns about the impact of cuts to US stimulus that has flooded Turkey and other emerging markets with cheap cash. Despite the lira’s rapid fall and rising inflation, the central bank has so far been reluctant to raise rates, with Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan’s government bent on maintaining growth at all costs as an election cycle gets

underway in March.

Speaking on Turkish television yesterday, Erdogan’s new economy minister said the lira volatility posed no threat to the economy and he saw no need for a rate hike, a view not shared by markets.

“No other major emerging market central bank is under more pressure to hike interest rates than Turkey’s,” said Nicholas Spiro, managing director of Spiro Sovereign Strategy. “This is crunch time for the central bank, whose ratesetting meeting ... will be one of the most closely watched in emerging markets since the sell-off began in late May.” A Reuters poll of 24 economists last week forecast that the bank will have to increase its overnight lending rate by a full percentage point to 8.75 percent by the end of March to shore up the lira.

But in a separate poll, only five out of 15 expected the bank to make any move on the lending rate today, its first monetary policy meeting of the year.

Political pressure Both the government and central bank officials reject the notion that the central bank is anything other than independent. However, Erdogan and his ministers have repeatedly lashed out against what they call an “interest rate lobby” of speculators pushing for higher rates, saying speculators are trying to destabilize the economy. This has left the central bank stuck between a rock and a hard place.

“Unfortunately by descending into this kind of rhetoric Erdogan has pushed himself into a corner, or more particularly the central bank, and any hike now would be seen also as a political defeat,” said Timothy Ash, head of emerging markets research at Standard Bank.

New Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci, appointed in a cabinet reshuffle last month, came out on Monday to underline the government’s position a day before the rate decision, saying that

the lira’s weakness posed no threat, even if it fell to 2.35 or 2.40 to the dollar.

The currency, which sank 17 percent against the dollar in 2013, hit a record low of 2.2515 earlier yesterday. It has weakened almost 10 percent since midDecember when the corruption scandal shaking the government first erupted.

Default insurance costs in the fiveyear CDS market rose to 18-month highs, Markit data showed. “As I don’t see a risk or danger from the current lira volatility to the economy, I believe our central bank should not raise interest rates,” Zeybekci said on CNBC-e television.

“Current forex levels won’t have a permanent impact on the economy, it’s going through a fluctuation.” Foreign portfolio investors shovelled cash into Turkey and other emerging markets while they were booming and global interest rates soft. But the Federal Reserve’s plans to gradually withdraw help for the US economy have raised the

prospect of higher US yields, encouraging investors to pull back from emerging markets.

Turkey is particularly vulnerable, dependent on foreign capital flows to finance its gaping current account deficit, running at around 7 percent of national output. The graft scandal, which broke a month ago with the arrest of businessmen close to the government and has led three ministers to resign, has further knocked investor confidence in Turkey after widespread street protests against the government last summer, triggered by the planned redevelopment of Istanbul’s Gezi Park.

“The combination of the Gezi Park protests and the recent corruption scandals have introduced political uncertainty into Turkey that has not been present for a number of years, with consequences for domestic sentiment and domestic capital flows,” analysts at UniCredit said in a note to clients. —Reuters

Global unemployment rose to 202m in 2013 ILO warns of jobless recovery

TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe delivers a speech at a New Year party of a business group Japan Association of New Economy, led by Hiroshi Mikitani, president of Japanese online shopping giant Rakuten in Tokyo yesterday. —AFP

Japan revises down Nov factory output TOKYO: Japan’s factory output in November was weaker than first reported with industrial production turning down 0.1 percent, according to revised data yesterday, in the latest sign of slowing growth.

The reading-which came after preliminary data had shown a 0.1 percent rise in output on-month-also marked the first contraction in three months.

However, figures last week showed November machinery orders-a key measure of capital spending-jumped 9.3 percent from October to a five-year high, suggesting a pick-up in corporate investment. The figures are a key yardstick for the success of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s policy blitz, dubbed “Abenomics”, aimed at stoking growth in Japan’s long-lumbering economy.

Despite Abe’s much-lauded start since sweeping national elections just over a year ago, analysts have been warning that Tokyo’s bold pro-growth program a mix of

big government spending and central bank monetary easing-is not enough on its own without promised economic reforms.

Bank of Japan policymakers will be poring over the latest figures as they hold a two-day meeting that ends Wednesday, with December trade and inflation figures due earlier that day. The BoJ is expected to hold steady on new monetar y easing measures until it can gauge the effect of an April sales tax rise, which critics have warned could derail a recovery in the world’s third-largest economy.

Japan’s economic growth slowed to 0.3 percent in the third-quarter of 2013, well down from 0.9 percent growth in the previous three months. The once-anaemic economy had been outpacing other G7 nations in the first half of the year as Abe’s policy drive helped push down the yen, giving a boost to exporters and sparking a stock market rally. —AFP

China cheer muted as D Bank sets European nerves jangling LONDON: Big losses for Germany’s biggest bank meant European markets started the week on a sour note yesterday as slightly better than expected Chinese data failed to dispel a general air of caution. Deutsche Bank reported a surprise pre-tax loss of 1.15 billion euros for the fourth quarter of 2013 due to heavy costs for litigation, restructuring and balance sheet reduction.

The bank was originally scheduled to report its results on Jan. 29, but opted to release them early after the Wall Street Journal on Friday reported that a profit warning was possible. Its shares were down almost 5 percent in early afternoon trading, dragging down bank stocks across Europe as Germany’s Dax, down 0.3 percent, also led the region’s lengthy list of losing bourses.

Liquidity was lacking with US markets closed yesterday for a holiday. The Dow Jones index ended last week with a slim gain of 0.1 percent after some disappointing earnings, while the S&P 500 lost 0.2 percent for the week. In Asia, a majority of share markets had stayed in the red on Monday, with Tokyo off 0.6 percent, Sydney down 0.3 percent and Shanghai down 0.6 percent, adding to a miserable few weeks. China’s annual economic growth slowed a tick to 7.7 percent last quarter, which was just ahead of market forecasts for 7.6 percent and at least countered fears that monetary tightening might have caused a sharper pullback. “ The economy may be a little more robust than people thought coming into 2014,” said Tim Condon, an economist at ING Group in Singapore. “I had thought the monetary tightening in 2013 would pose a downside risk. The numbers reduce that downside risk.”

Euro in focus Other data out of China was much in line with forecasts, with retail sales growing 13.6 percent in December from a year earlier, while industrial output rose 9.7 percent.

That resilience was considered a positive for Australia, given that China is its single biggest export market, and helped the Australian dollar clamber off a three-year

trough of $0.8756 to reach $0.8814.

Yet the Australian currency remains out of favour, having shed 2.4 percent last week due to disappointing domestic data and demand for US dollars and yen.

The yen was in favor again yesterday as the general mood of risk aversion led speculators to cut back on short positions, which has been a very popular trade for months now.

The Bank of Japan holds its policy meeting today and tomorrow and is expected to maintain its massive asset-buying program.

The euro was particularly affected, dropping to a six-week low at one stage against both the dollar and the yen before recovering to $1.3560 and 141.00 yen. The dollar eased to 103.95 yen from an early 104.32.

A sovereign rating upgrade for euro zone bailout poster child Ireland helped ensure the recent rally in periphery debt rumbled on in debt markets , though Deutsche’s troubles darkened the mood.

The unexpected loss is likely to compound the problems that have dogged the bank over the past year, especially a lengthening list of lawsuits and regulatory matters, and to redouble pressure on co-chief executives Anshu Jain and Juergen Fitschen to prove their turnaround plan is on track.

The EU’s quarterly earnings season shifts up a gear this week. STOXX Europe 600 companies are seen missing consensus by 0.4 percent on revenues and by 0.9 percent on earnings, according to StarMine SmartEstimates, which focuses on the predictions by the most accurate analysts.

Turkish troubles Among emerging markets, the Turkish lira touched a new record low yesterday as a corruption scandal and fading hopes for a policy reaction from the central bank to support the battered currency weighed on markets. Societe Generale strategist Kit Juckes said markets remained nervous about the impact on under-pressure developing nations as the US Fed scales back its stimulus this year, adding with reference to Turkey, “trouble continues at mill”. — Reuters

GENEVA: Global unemployment climbed by five million people in 2013 to 202 million despite green shoots in the world economy, signalling a jobless recovery, the International Labor Organization said yesterday. Business activity is picking up but the misery of unemployment continues to pile up.

“We continue to be on an upward trajectory in terms of unemployment in the world,” Guy Ryder, the UN labor agency’s director general, told reporters. “What is perhaps equally concerning is that, on current trends, and notwithstanding the modest recovery in growth that we are seeing, unemployment will continue to increase in coming years,” Ryder said as he released the ILO’s annual employment report. By 2018, about 215 million people worldwide are expected to be unemployed, according to the ILO. “At current rates of growth, we’re simply not able to produce any improvement in these figures.

Indeed, they’re going to get worse,” Ryder said.

“We believe that employment needs to be put at the centre of international policy-making,” he underlined. “There is a clear linkage between these unacceptable levels of unemployment in the world, and growing inequality,” he added, noting that inequality functions as a “brake on growth”.

A global labor market recovery is being held back by a shortfall in demand, the ILO said, noting that in many developed economies, cuts in public spending and increases in income and consumption taxes were weighing heavily on businesses and households. In addition, the financial sector remains troubled, credit is stills hard to obtain for small businesses in many economies, and

ATHENS: People stand in line outside a Manpower Employment Organization office in Athens.

Global unemployment climbed by five million people in 2013 to 202 million despite green shoots in the world economy, signalling a jobless recovery, the International Labor Organization said yesterday. —AFP wage rises have lagged behind increases in productivity. North Africa remained the hardest-hit region of the globe in 2013, with an unemployment rate of 12.2 percent, followed by the Middle East on 10.9 percent. Europe, North America and other developed economies followed on 8.6 percent, ahead of exYugoslavia and the former Soviet Union’s 8.2 percent, and SubSaharan Africa’s 7.6 percent.

The rate in Latin America and the Caribbean was 6.5 percent. In East Asia-a label covering China-the level

was 4.5 percent, while the rates in Southeast Asia and the Pacific, and South Asia, were 4.2 percent and 4.0 percent respectively. Youth unemployment-which the ILO counts as covering potential workers aged between 15 and 24 years-remained a major concern.

It stood at 13 percent last year, far outstripping the 6.0 percent average global rate of joblessness.

“Young people continue to be on the front line,” Ryder said, warning of the impact on social stability.

He urged governments to pay

particular attention to the so-called “NEETS” young people who are neither in employment, education nor training-whose levels he said had reached “epidemic proportions” in hard-hit nations. “The lesson is not to fall into any fatality, that we are in some way condemned to jobless growth,” said Ryder.

“It is absolutely to intervene to make sure jobs are stimulated as the way out of the crisis. The definition of the exit from the crisis is when people are back at work,” he added. —AFP

CNOOC eyes 4.3% rise in 2014 output HONG KONG: Top Chinese offshore oil and gas producer CNOOC Ltd said yesterday it is aiming for an up to 4.3 percent output increase this year, excluding contributions from Canadian oil producer Nexen that it acquired a year ago. The targeted growth rate is below the expectations of some research houses, including Barclays, which had been looking for a 6 percent increase for this year. CNOOC, once an investor darling for its high-growth profile, has been struggling to boost its output over the past few years as domestic fields age.

CNOOC’s shares were one of the worst performers among major exploration and production companies in 2013 due to worries about its output and the premium it paid to acquire Nexen.

CNOOC’s 2014 production estimate would for the second year in a row put the state producer behind the 6-10 percent compound annual output growth it has forecast for 2011-2015.

The five-year target excludes output from Nexen as well.

CNOOC has said the acquisition of Nexen boosted its production by 20 percent and proven reserves by 30 percent.

Excluding contribution from Nexen, the state-run company plans to produce 353 million-366 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe) this year, compared with estimated output of 351 million boe in 2013, it said in a Monday filing with the Hong Kong stock exchange. The 2013 output estimates were above the company’s target of 338 million-348 million boe.

CNOOC also said it has earmarked 105 billion yuan to 120 billion yuan ($17.4 billion to $19.8 billion) in total capital spending for exploration, development and production for this year, with Nexen accounting for about 19 percent. CNOOC acquired Nexen for $15.1 billion in March 2013 in China’s biggest foreign corporate takeover. Including Nexen’s output, CNOOC aims to produce 422 million-435 million boe this year, up from 412 million boe estimated for 2013.

The 2014 output forecast was based on an assumption that international crude benchmark Brent would average $102.0 per barrel this year, compared with an average oil price of $108.8 assumed for 2013, CNOOC said. Shares of CNOOC rose 0.72 percent yesterday ahead of the announcement. The stock lost about 13 percent in the last 12 months. —Reuters

COLOGNE: The logo of the retail and wholesale/cash and carry group Metro on the roof of the Metro supermarket in Cologne, western Germany.

German retail and distribution giant Metro said yesterday that it intends to list its Russian cash and carry business on the stock exchange. —AFP

S Africa urges platinum industry to avoid strikes JOHANNESBURG: South Africa’s ailing economy cannot afford more mine labour unrest, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan said yesterday, after the platinum industry’s main trade union said it would launch a strike at the world’s top three producers this week. A wave of sometimes violent strikes in the factory and mining sectors constrained growth to a sluggish 2 percent in 2013, hampering efforts by President Jacob Zuma’s government to create badly needed jobs as it braces for elections this year.

Zuma’s African National Congress has swept all elections since overturning white minority rule in 1994, but faces rising criticism it has failed to pull millions of blacks out of grinding poverty during 20 years in power.

The rand currency turned weaker after Gordhan’s comments yesterday, a day after members of the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) voted to strike at the world’s biggest platinum producer, Anglo American Platinum.

Unionists have also elected to walk off the job at Impala Platinum and Lonmin Plc and a simultaneous stoppage at the three would hit exports as the rand wallows near five-year lows versus the dollar. Renewed labor strife in Africa’s biggest economy will raise a red flag for ratings agencies after more than 50 people died during violent mine protests in 2012 that triggered downgrades from Moody’s, Fitch and Standard and Poor’s. —Reuters

TUESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2014

BUSINESS Oman Ministry of Tourism collaborates with Oman Air on ‘Oman Short Breaks’ KUWAIT: Oman Air and Oman’s Ministry of Tourism have announced the launch of ‘Oman Short Breaks’, a joint project offering convenient and competitively-priced holiday packages for customers from the GCC region, especially those from the UAE. The packages are available for travel during the forthcoming spring and summer seasons and include return flights with Oman Air together with accommodation in any of the many deluxe hotels in Muscat and Salalah. ‘Oman Short Breaks’ was launched at a grand event held recently at the Fairmont Hotel, Dubai, where Ghasi Humaid Al-Hashmi, Deputy Director General of Tourism Promotion, Oman Ministry of Tourism, said: “The Oman Ministry of Tourism, in association with the several key players in the travel and tourism sector, is aggressively promoting the Sultanate as an attractive global tourist destination. Through our strategic partnership with Oman Air, we have been able to create tremendous awareness about tourism options in Oman, which has generated fruitful results. Continuing with our past success, we have once again collaborated with Oman Air to launch the ‘Oman Short Breaks’ campaign for the upcoming tourist season.”

The ‘Oman Short Breaks’ holiday package is designed for visitors from the GCC, and particularly from the UAE, who reside at flying distance of only two to three hours from Oman and are often on a look-out for short weekend packages to spend quality holidays with family and friends. Masoud Al-Balushi, Oman Air’s Country Manager - UAE, said: “Oman is an ideal holiday destination for tourists from both the Middle East region and further afield, and Oman Air is the perfect way to travel there. We are therefore delighted to join with the Ministry of Tourism to launch ‘Oman Short Breaks’, which will, over the space of just a few days, provide holiday-makers with a wonderful opportunity to explore Oman’s many popular tourist destinations and enjoy a memorable Omani experience.” “We greatly appreciate the Ministry of Tourism’s efforts to strengthen the country’s travel and tourism sector and are grateful to them for promoting Oman Air. This sound partnership provides an excellent foundation for what will be a highly successful campaign” he added.

Oman Air currently operates seven daily flights from Dubai to Muscat, four daily flights from Dubai to Salalah, and 3 daily flights from Abu Dhabi to Muscat. Underlining the airline’s commitment to service excellence, Oman Air’s Business Class Seats onboard its A330 fleet has been voted by Skytrax as the Best Business Class Seat in the world for two years in a row, in 2011 and 2012. Oman Air passengers can now experience a whole new level of onground service with Oman Air’s premium front-end check-in facility exclusively for First Class and Business Class guests, besides Oman Air’s Premium Lounges located at Muscat International Airport. Muscat is one of the most visited cities in the GCC by international tourists. Rich in history and culture, the capital city boasts several tourist attractions including forts and castles, museums and forest reserves, wadis and beaches, souqs and malls as well as world-class hotels and restaurants. Salalah is another popular tourist destination in the region because of its location by the mountain range on the edge of the Indian Ocean. Also known as the ‘Perfume Capital,’ it is popular for its beaches, waterfalls, limestone cliffs, blowholes, coconut and banana plantations, and heritage attractions.

Oman Air celebrates 20 years of its Muscat-Kuwait service KUWAIT: Oman Air is celebrating the 20th anniversary of its service between Muscat International Airport and Kuwait International Airport. The service, which links two key capital cities in the Gulf region, was launched on 14th January 1994 and has proved extremely popular with both business and leisure travellers.

Jaffar Juma Al-Lawati, Regional Manager - Gulf, Middle East and Africa for Oman Air, commented: “The service between Muscat and Kuwait was one of the first routes that Oman Air launched, following its launch in 1993 and its success illustrates the strong ties that exist between the two countries.

“As Oman Air has grown over the last two decades and developed into a world-class international airline, customers on this route have witnessed continual improvements and the standards of our onboard hospitality, comfort and punctuality have never been higher.

“I would like to take the opportunity of this 20th anniversary to thank all those involved in the long-term success of our Muscat/Kuwait service, especially our loyal customers and all those staff who have contributed over the years to ensuring that Oman Air delivers an outstanding passenger experience.

“We look forward to continuing to provide the very best in 21st Century air travel for the people of Oman and Kuwait not just for the next 20- years, but also for many years beyond.”

Oman Air operates fourteen flights per week between the two cities. Boeing B737s and Embraer E175s are utilised on the route.

Honda Alghanim shows off stylish cars at Automoto 14 Opting for heavy presence this year at Automoto 14, Honda Alghanim is making noise in two different areas at the auto show’s second annual event at 360 Mall, set to start January 21 till the 25th, 2014. The first area is near the mall’s main entrance which hosts Honda’s new dream ride, the Accord Coupe as well as the distinctively different Crosstour complemented by two cruiser motorcycles.

The second area, inside the mall’s exhibition hall, is designated solely for Honda Motorcycles and Honda Marine. Automoto 14 represents the perfect opportunity to get upclose and personal with Honda cars and motorcycles; in addition for the chance to win a PS4 after test driving the available Honda cars and motorcycles.

Renowned for its stylish design, the Accord Coupe was completely redesigned last year with a host of exterior, interior and performance enhancements along with Honda’s famed fuel efficiency. The Crosstour balances luxurious appeal with the comforts of practicality all in a sporty package, serving as the best marriage between a sedan, sports car and SUV in one crossover vehicle.

The range of Honda Motorcycles on display includes on-road and off-road motorcycles. Headlining for on-road motorcycles is the lighter, trimmer and leaner F6B that features plenty of storage capacity and excellent performance. Another highlight which comes in two flavors is the supersport CBR, a versatile motorcycle that combines power, handling, riding quality and overall build quality to such

an unrivalled degree.

Honda also features its ATVs that are designed to take on the most challenging terrain the world has to offer. Regardless if you are a beginner or pro, there is a perfect TRX for you that comes with a full range of cutting edge technology including an electric start, independent suspensions and a shaft drive.

The Automoto Show is taking place at 360 Mall from January 21 - 25, 2014. The draw for the PS4 will take place on January 30 at the Honda Alghanim Rai showroom that is open from 8:30am until 10:00 pm from Saturday to Thursday and from 9:30 AM until 10:00 PM on Fridays.

Alghanim Motors, the sole distributor of Honda automobiles, power products, marine and motorcycles in Kuwait is committed to providing customers with flexible payment solutions, as well as offering comfortable amenities in its new service center located in Shuwaikh. The Alghanim Motors Service Center provides efficient and cost-effective services at all times. The waiting lounge offers customers a wide array of amenities such as an electronic gaming area, digital satellite channels, free wireless Internet access as well as relaxing massage chairs. Honda Alghanim’s customers will also enjoy excellent customer service, quality maintenance options and competitive prices on genuine spare parts, all of which are provided by a team of professional and highly skilled technicians. For more information call 1822777.

Nissan GT Academy with Sony PlayStation returns to ME for 2014 DUBAI: Nissan and Sony PlayStation have joined forces again to bring GT Academy back to the Middle East for 2014. The hugely successful inaugural competition in 2013 turned Qatari Salman AlKhater, previously a mechanical engineer, into a class-winning race driver at his first attempt - now GT Academy Middle East offers the same opportunity to another aspiring motorsport maestro from the region.

“GT Academy is a unique program offering Playstation gamers the chance to move from virtual racing on Gran Turismo to the reality of being a professional racing driver,” said Darren Cox, Nissan Global Director of Motorsport. “The success of GT Academy around the world is demonstrated by the careers winning entrants go on to forge in the

tough cut-and-thrust of competitive motorsport.

GT Academy Middle East winner, Salman, has so far lived up to those high standards and we eagerly anticipate welcoming the region’s next competitors to Race Camp.”

“GT Academy Middle East proved a huge success in its inaugural year in the region, 2013,” said Samir Cherfan, Director, Managing Director, Nissan Middle East. “Demonstrating innovation as a unique concept and raw excitement among the many thousands of competitors, GT Academy encapsulates Nissan’s beliefs. We urge anyone who dreams of grabbing the once-in-lifetime chance to take the track and compete in the world of GT racing to participate in this exciting program.”

First launched in 2008, GT Academy was

Service Hero reveals nominees for Kuwait’s 2013 Customer Service Assessment Award KUWAIT: Service Hero, Kuwait’s only annual customer satisfaction index, today revealed the top three companies nominated in each of the 16 industry categories, based on customers’ feedback and insight provided during the six month-long assessment Sampling Phase, which took place between 1 July and 31 December 2013. The Sampling Phase was made easy and practical for a record breaking 14,575 customers to take part in the survey and voice their opinions by utilizing the company’s website, social media channels and the creation of a dedicated application for smart phones.

The Sampling Phase was followed by a ‘Findings and Analysis’ phase, where the Service Hero team conducted quality checks, validated results and then formulated all the votes to create inclusive reports to discern the top ranking companies in each category.

Faten Abu-Ghazaleh, Service Hero President, said: “The 2013 assessment results show that casual dining, clothes, furniture, retail banks and fine dining represent the strongest industry categories, followed by cafÈ’s, new cars sales, Islamic banks, airlines, car service and supermarkets. The categories that recorded the lowest totals are electronics, ISP’s, telecom operators, private hospitals, fast food and health clubs.”

“The 2013 exercise attracted a record 14,575 customer assessments, where participants shared their experience about services they acquire and products they buy. This year’s assessment has also witnessed a 3% improvement in customer satisfaction comparing to 2010, which is, in itself, an achievement. We are very much looking forward to announcing the differ-

ent categories leaders during our annual awards ceremony taking place on February 17th at Hotel Missoni.”

Looking forward to 2014, Abu-Ghazaleh said: “The 2014 assessment is now available on the company’s website www.servicehero.com, through social media channels and also as a smart phone application. Customers can now vote throughout the year, providing them with even more time to record and express their experiences and rate the services and products they are using and purchasing.”

Each industry category was measured across up to eight service dimensions, which are reliability, speed, product quality, staff quality, value for money, location, call center and website quality. These dimensions are assessed on a ‘before and after experience’ basis to evaluate the difference between customer expectations of service and actual satisfaction with the service. Service Hero adheres to ESOMAR

principles (the European society of opinion and market research).

Faten Abu-Ghazaleh, Service Hero President

designed to identify gamers with the most natural racing talent in the virtual world, before working with them to transform them into a professional racing driver in the real world. Selection is initially made through times set on a customized stage within the Gran Turismo game, now in its sixth generation. The fastest gamers then have the chance at a Regional Final event, before the very best head to Race Camp where they are assessed on their fitness, mental attitude and car control. Ultimately the winner gets a seat behind the wheel of a Nissan 370Z GT race car.

GT Academy Middle East 2013 winner, Salman Al-Khatter, won his first race at the 2013 Britcar 1000km and is to drive at the forthcoming Dubai 24Hrs over the weekend of the 9th January.

TUESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2014

technology Kuwait outperforms emerging economies in Internet access, use BCG research KUWAIT: Kuwait ranks better than several strong emerging economies in terms of easy access and use of internet, according to a new report by The Boston Consulting Group, which also showed that easy access and use of the Internet can dramatically affect the growth of national economies and indicated that the difference between countries with low e-friction and those with high e-friction can amount to 2.5 percent of GDP. The new report, Greasing the Wheels of the Internet Economy, introduces the BCG e-Friction Index, which measures the constraints on Internet use in 65 countries and ranks them according to four types of e-friction: infrastructure-related frictions that limit basic access; industry and individual frictions that affect the ability of companies and consumers to engage in online transactions; and information frictions that involve availability of, and access to, online content.

The e-friction Index shows that Kuwait ranks 40 globally, outperforming several world’s strong emerging economies such as Brazil, China, India, South Africa and Turkey. Kuwait’s internet economy is developing fast and is well poised towards reducing e-friction in the near future.

“Because the digital economy is growing quickly, often outpacing Joerg Hildebrandt, Partner the offline economy, and Managing Director at high e-friction countries BCG Middle East are in danger of missing out on a high-impact propellant of growth and job creation,” said Joerg Hildebrandt, Partner and Managing Director at BCG Middle East. “On the other hand, high-friction countries that address their sources of e-friction have the potential to add significant value to their economies.”

“GCC countries have so far achieved considerable success in removing obstacles to internet adoption by individuals and corporations, but clearly they need to take more measures across the four e-friction categories to ease internet usage and bridge the gap with the countries that have less e -friction,” added Hildebrandt.

Country rankings can be found in Exhibit 1. Exhibit 2 shows how each country ranks on the four components of e-friction.

Among the key findings in the report: * The countries in the top quintile-those with the lowest e-friction-tend to score well across all four components: they have strong infrastructures and supportive business and regulatory environments. * At the other end of the scale, issues of basic access, price, and speed-common problems in developing economies-are widespread, as are shortcomings related to capital, labor, and consumers’ ability to conduct business online. * Among small and midsize enterprises (SMEs), Web users are 50 percent more likely to sell products and services outside of their immediate region and 63 percent more likely to source products and services from outside of their region. * SMEs encounter a range of frictions that slow or prevent them from fully exploiting the Internet’s potential. Their biggest single concern is the protection of consumer data online-a prevalent issue for consumers as well.

The report argues that good policy in a few key areas can have a significant impact on e-friction and speed the development of Internet use and individual countries’ Internet economies. Policies that promote investment, especially in infrastructure, are essential.

Policy responses that fail to take into account how quickly technologies and the innovations they enable are evolving can cause more, rather than less, friction.

“The Internet has become a defining force in economic growth and job creation across the globe,” said Fadi ChehadÈ, president and CEO of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), which commissioned the report. “It’s important that this amazing information and communication resource be allowed to grow as it always has, with the input of diverse stakeholders from around the globe who value a single network that is open and available to as many as possible.”

Vietnam’s ‘cyber troops’ take fight to US, France Upgraded version of a malicious software wrought havoc

HANOI: A Vietnamese man uses a 3G device to get online at a cafe in Hanoi, Vietnam. Vietnamese pro-democracy activists and bloggers are battling a gathering campaign of blocking, hacking and spying by a shadowy pro-government army of cyber warriors. — AP

Nintendo shares dive on loss warning TOKYO: Nintendo shares plunged nearly 19 percent yesterday before recouping most of those losses after the Japanese gaming giant warned it would slip back into the red on poor sales of its Wii U game console. The warning, released after the Tokyo market closed Friday, highlighted a growing chasm between Nintendo and global rivals Sony and Microsoft, as well as the trio’s battle against cheap-or sometimes free-downloadable games for smartphones and tablets.

Shareholders unloaded the stock at the opening bell yesterday after Kyotobased Nintendo said it would lose 25 billion yen ($240 million) in the fiscal year to March, reversing an earlier 55 billion yen net profit forecast. But the shares recovered from their morning losses to close 6.14 percent lower at 13,745 yen. Nintendo, maker of the Donkey Kong and Super Mario brands, blamed the downgrade on expectations it would now sell just 2.8 million units of the Wii U worldwide in the current fiscal year. That is less than a third of its earlier prediction for 9.0 million consoles, and deals a blow to high hopes it would match the blockbuster success of the original Wii. In contrast, Sony’s PlayStation 4 and Microsoft’s Xbox One have seen huge demand for their new consoles as the firms battle for control of a global sector worth about $44 billion annually.

On Friday, Nintendo said that holiday season demand failed to boost flagging sales, forcing the company to slash forecasts as sales of the console’s high-margin software slumped. For Nintendo, the grim forecast is especially disappointing after it scratched its way back to profitability last year thanks to a sharply weaker yen, which inflates Japanese firms’ repatriated profits.

“Investors had been praying for a strong recovery but what’s obvious now is that the company is lagging behind,” said Hirokazu Kabeya, senior strategist at Daiwa Securities. “Both the hardware and software businesses were bad. It was as if the company got a ‘no’ verdict on all aspects.

“We should closely watch how the company will rehabilitate itself from here,” he added. Nintendo has previously blamed weak earnings partly on high development and marketing costs for the Wii U, launched in late 2012, although sales of its 3DS handheld console and related game titles fared better. It cut prices on both consoles to boost sales. Nintendo President Satoru Iwata apologized to shareholders at a press briefing on Friday, saying that “my duty, more than

anything else, is to revive our business momentum”.

The company is to hold a briefing about its new strategy on January 30.

Nintendo’s grim downgrade came as key domestic rival Sony saw record demand for its new PlayStation 4 console, which had already sold more than 4.2 million units by the start of the year.

The console was launched on November 15. US rival Microsoft has also seen robust demand for its Xbox One console, which sold more than one million units in the 24 hours after its November release. The firms are giants in the global videogames industry, but they have faced tough economic conditions in the US and Europe, while also battling a move to smartphone games. — AFP

TOKYO: Customers check out gaming software for Nintendo’s portable video game console at an electronics shop in Tokyo yesterday. Shares in Japan’s Nintendo dived more than 18 percent yesterday after the Japanese gaming giant warned it would slip back into the red on poor sales of its Wii U game console. —AFP

Kaspersky Lab: ‘Icefog’ cyber-espionage campaign continues S Korea credit card data theft highlights lapses SEOUL: A massive theft of customer data from three major credit card firms in South Korea has shown security lapses in the financial industry. First revealed by prosecutors, the theft of information linked to 80 million credit cards such as salaries, monthly card usage, credit rating and card numbers has sparked widespread public concern. Cardholders are flocking to bank branches and overloading call centers and service websites to find out if their information was stolen.

Local media said the theft may have affected most credit card holders in a country of 50 million people. Prosecutors and the financial regulator said no financial losses have been reported.

Financial Services Commission Chairman Shin Je-yoon said in a statement yesterday that the credit card companies had failed to ensure adequate security. The chief financial regulator urged the companies to be vigilant about data theft not only by hackers but also by employees and contractors. South Korean financial firms, media companies and governments have fallen victim to cyber-

attacks in the past with local authorities blaming North Korea as a culprit in some cases.

But the latest data breach exposed how confidential customer data was poorly managed by financial firms. Prosecutors said last week that an employee of Korea Credit Bureau, a contractor, stole the data beginning 2012 by copying data to a USB device.

Prosecutors said the worker, who was responsible for the development of new software to detect credit card fraud, sold the data to a loans company.

The stolen data from Lotte Card and the credit card units of KB Financial Group and NongHyup Bank was unencrypted, according to Cho Sung-mok, a director at the Financial Supervisory Service. He said the companies were unaware of the theft until prosecutors began an investigation. NongHyup Bank’s card division did not notice the data breach for more than a year while KB was unaware for over six months. Chiefs at credit card firms apologized and authorities have vowed to beef up security measures. — AP

DUBAI: Kaspersky Lab’s security research team independent Oil and Gas corporation, with operarecently published a new research paper on the tions in many other countries.

In another case, the team observed an attack discovery of “Icefog”, a small yet energetic APT group that focuses on targets in South Korea and commencing by exploiting a Microsoft Office vulJapan, hitting the supply chain for Western com- nerability, followed by the attackers attempting to panies. The operation started in 2011 and has deploy and run Javafog.

“One can only assume that based on their expeincreased in size and scope over the last few years.

Icefog, also known as the “Dagger Panda” by rience, the attackers found the Java backdoor to be Crowdstrike’s naming convention, infected targets more stealthy and harder to notice, making it more mainly in South Korea and Japan. At the time, attractive for long term operations while previous Kaspersky Lab researchers described the attacks Icefog operations were described as being very as being of a hit and run’ nature, where in the short , of the “hit and run” nature. The focus on the attack usually lasts for a few days or weeks and US targets associated with the only known Javafog once the attackers have what they are looking for, could indicate a US-specific operation run by the they clean up and leave. According to the team, Icefog attackers; that was planned to take longer than usual, to allow, for the attack indicated an instance, long term colemerging trend in cybersecurity where Researchers discover a US-specific operation lection of intelligence on run by the attackers using a Java backdoor the target indicating smaller hit-and-run allowing longer, yet more covert attacks another dimension to gangs go after informathe Icefog gang’s operation with surgical precitions, which appear to sion.

Since the publication of the report in be more diverse than initially thought,” said Vitaly September 2013, the Icefog attackers were report- Kamlyuk, Chief Malware Expert at Kaspersky Lab. In their earlier report, researchers stated that ed to have gone completely dark, shutting down all known command-and-control servers. Yet con- based on the list of IPs used to monitor and control sistent monitoring of the operation pointed the infrastructure, some of the players behind this researchers to an interesting connection that threat operation could be based in at least three seemed to indicate a Java version of Icefog, fur- countries: China, South Korea and Japan.

Kaspersky Lab’s products detect and eliminate ther to be referenced as “Javafog”, discovering another generation of backdoors used by the all variants of Icefog malware.

To read the full report with a detailed descripattackers.

Researchers said that while the Java malware is tion of the backdoors, other malicious tools and definitively not as popular as Windows PE malware, stats, together with indicators of compromise, see it can be harder to spot. In fact, during the sinkhol- Securelist. A complete Icefog FAQ is also available. ing operation for the “lingdona[dot]com” domain, Kaspersky Lab is the world’s largest privately held researchers observed 8 IPs for three unique victims vendor of endpoint protection solutions. The comof Javafog, all based in the United States. One of pany is ranked among the world’s top four vendors the victims was identified as a very large American of security solutions for endpoint users.

HANOI: Working on her blog in California one day, Vietnamese democracy activist Ngoc Thu sensed something was wrong. It took a moment for a keystroke to register. Cutand-paste wasn’t working. She had “a feeling that somebody was there” inside her computer. Her hunch turned out to be right.

A few days later, her personal emails and photos were displayed on the blog, along with defamatory messages. She couldn’t delete them; she was blocked out of her own site for several days as her attackers kept posting private details.

“They hurt me and my family. They humiliated us, so that we don’t do the blog anymore,” said Thu, who is a US citizen. She has resumed blogging, but now the Vietnamese government is blocking her posts. Activists and analysts strongly suspect Hanoi was involved in that attack and scores of others like it.

They say a shadowy, pro-government cyber army is blocking, hacking and spying on Vietnamese activists around the world to hamper the country’s pro-democracy movement.

IT experts who investigated last year’s attack on Thu said the hackers secretly took control of her system after she clicked on a malicious link sent to her in an email. By installing key-logging software, the hackers were able to harvest passwords, gaining access to her private accounts.

Subsequent investigation also found that an upgraded version of the malicious software, sent by the same group, was emailed to at least three other people: a British reporter for the Associated Press reporter based in Hanoi; a Francebased Vietnamese math professor and democracy activist; and an American member of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, an online activist group, living in the United States. None of the three clicked the link. It appears to be the first documented case of non-Vietnamese being attacked by a pro-government hacking squad that had already conducted attacks well beyond the borders of this Southeast Asian nation. Its actions would appear to violate the law in the United States at least.

“You see campaigns being waged against Vietnamese voices of dissent in geographically disparate regions. Now we have seen an escalation against people who report on those voices,” said Morgan Marquis-Boire, a University of Toronto researcher and online privacy activist who dissected the malware and published the findings with the EFF. “It’s unlikely that this is the work of an opportunist individual.”

Suspicion of state involvement is based in part on the fact that attackers have spent tens of thousands of dollars hiring servers around the world from which to launch attacks, often changing them after a few days. This is because the attackers know activists will ask service providers to take them down, said Dieu Hoang, an Australian computer engineer who, along with several other activists, works to help defend the Vietnamese activists online.

Attempts to monitor and harass dissidents online mirror the government’s efforts to suppress them on the ground, where activists report persistent and occasionally violent harassment by state agents. The state convicted at least 63 bloggers and other nonviolent democracy activists in 2013 of criminal offenses, according to Human Rights Watch.

Vietnam is by no means unique in seeking to spy on electronic communications, as recent revelations about the actions of the National Security Agency in the United States demonstrate. But its activities are of special concern because of its human rights record in general.

Asked to comment on suspicions of state involvement in targeted surveillance, as well as the attack on the AP reporter, the Vietnamese government gave this brief statement: “Vietnam shares the attention of other countries in ensuring Internet security and is willing to cooperate with other countries in fighting high-tech crimes in general and Internet crimes in particular.” Suppressing online dissent in Vietnam is becoming more difficult because of soaring Internet usage.

Close to 40 percent of the country’s 90 million people have Internet access, and because Vietnam has been less effective than China in restricting that access, many people are viewing uncensored news. Dissidents can network and publicize their activities - and acts of state repression - with comparative ease.

Security researchers have found hints of how Hanoi may be dealing with the challenge. In 2010, Google and McAfee alleged that that malicious software had been used to spy on tens of thousands of Vietnamese web users. McAfee said the perpetrators of the attacks “may have some allegiance” to the country’s government. Last year, researchers led by MarquisBoire, who also works for Google as a security engineer, uncovered evidence suggesting a spyware suite called FinFisher was being used to track activists’ mobile communications inside Vietnam. The government, through state media, has admitted to blocking thousands of “bad, poisonous web sites and blogs,” and its sites have come under attack, presumably from dissident sympathizers. Ho Quang Loi, propaganda chief of Hanoi’s Communist Party, said last year it employed 900 people to counter online criticism.

The attack on Thu’s blog showed how hacking and blocking can work as a one-two punch to knock out criticism. The blog, named “Ba Sam,” is one of the best-known dissident publications. It carries news, views, videos and photos from and about Vietnam of the kind that state media would never touch. After the blog was hacked, it took Thu a week to regain control, move it to a new address and put it back online.

Within weeks, authorities in Vietnam began blocking it to web users inside the country. To view it now, people inside Vietnam have to use a proxy server, a relatively common technique for censorship evasion but one that requires some knowhow. This means fewer people are seeing it. Thu said her page views are down significantly, and that she shut down her popular comments sections because of an organized campaign of abuse and spamming. “It became too much trouble,” she said. “They sent me threatening messages saying, ‘I’m going to visit you in California.’”

Hacking a site and blocking it later is a known tactic, said Hoang, the Australian. “Defacing and defaming is done by a hidden force unofficially,” he said. “Blocking is done by the official force.”

The malware sent to Thu and the others was undetected by almost all the commercial anti-virus software experts used on it. The emails accompanying the malicious link sent to the AP reporter exhibited some thought and degree of targeting: one purported to be from Human Rights Watch, the other from Oxfam. The emails were sent in November and December of last year. Proving a Vietnamese state hand in the attacks is hard.

“As a general rule, pinpointing the actor behind is difficult.

It is much more difficult than taking the malware apart,” said Eva Galperin, the EFF activist who received the link. “I think suspicion is arranted, but I would stop short of saying that I know the Vietnamese government responsible.” While some overseas activist groups run courses in cyber security for their members, the hackers appear to be winning the battle, Hoang said. “In terms of time and effort and headcount and money, we can’t even compare to them. After a while we will be worn out. They slow the people down, make them frustrated, make them scared. They are going to make less and less people put out their message.”— AP

TUESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2014

H E A LT H & S C I E N C E

Language a hurdle as Germany seeks foreign doctors BERLIN: Germany is relying more on foreign doctors to fix a crunch in its healthcare system but a notoriously daunting language barrier is complicating patient care, with potentially disastrous results.

State authorities and industry groups are pushing for stricter language tests for new arrivals to ensure that along with their medical credentials, doctors can adequately communicate with Germans in their care.

Germany, Europe’s top economy, is streamlining immigration and certification rules to attract foreign doctors.

But critics say the language requirements in most states do not guarantee this influx of foreign doctors can talk with and understand patients.

“It’s a problem, a growing problem in Germany,” Hartwig Meyer, a lawyer and head of the German Patient Protection Association, said. “There are many doctors who come from abroad, and they speak only very poor German.”

The percentage of foreign-born doctors practising in Germany climbed to about 15 percent in 2012 from around five percent in 2007, according to the German Medical Association, as a strong

economy and doctor shortages in small towns and rural areas pull practitioners from Greece, Romania and Poland.

Recent news reports have spotlighted stories of patients like Volker Mikat, 49, from the western German town of Guetersloh, who is suing the hospital where he received stomach surgery after claiming his doctor’s explanation of the operation’s risks was incomprehensible.

“When I asked a question about alternatives, he couldn’t answer me at all, I think because he couldn’t understand me,” Mikat told public broadcaster ARD, which did not reveal the doctor’s nationality. Hartwig Meyer said he files a few similar cases for clients each year, but no reliable statistics exist to indicate whether these are isolated incidents or part of a larger problem.

Emergency worries Many foreigners learning German complain of the devilish complexity of its grammar and vocabulary, with language a key obstacle for Germany in trying to fill a critical skilled labour shortage. Iranian doctor Hengameh Bigdeli, 45, took a six-month intensive German course before starting work near

Nuremberg, but still found the language’s structure frustrating.

“When I first started working, I was really worried that there would be an emergency and I wouldn’t be able to understand the patient,” Bigdeli said.

“But when I had a problem, I asked the patient to repeat, to speak clearly and slowly, and they repeated and repeated until I could understand.”

After two months working, Bigdeli said she no longer had any communication problems. But because of qualification differences in her home country, Bigdeli, who immigrated to Germany three years ago, must work as an assistant doctor.

“After 14 years of working independently, having my own practice in Iran, it was hard to be like a student again, working under a supervising doctor, never being able to make decisions alone. It’s hard, but better than nothing.”

Germany has a particularly acute need for doctors from abroad as their local counterparts age and retire, but “it’s hard for patients, because they worry that their doctor doesn’t understand them,” said Armin Ehl, managing director of the doctors’ union Marburger Bund.

“ There are some medical departments in rural areas, where besides the head doctor, there are only foreign doctors,” Ehl, whose organisation is lobbying for a standardised, nationwide language test for immigrant doctors, told AFP. A report by an industry group in December indicated that there were around 2,600 too few general practitioners in Germany last year, with another 2,000 specialists lacking.

Fluid European Union borders mean immigration among doctors has become commonplace, fuelling worries about quality of care. In Britain, a patient died in 2008 after German doctor Daniel Ubani administered an overdose of painkiller on his first shift there.

Following the accident, British officials announced last year they plan to require English tests for doctors immigrating from Europe.

‘Chaos in Germany now’ Sweden’s medical association is asking for a review of its language policies, which currently only require proof of proficiency for those educated outside the EU. Austria requires mock-patient interviews for immigrating doctors. In

Germany, language requirements for foreign-trained doctors vary in each of its 16 states.

Most require a certificate proving German ability at least at the common European “B2” or “upper intermediate” level, according to Ehl, but not a separate test of medical terminology.

“Someone who has a B2 certificate can certainly buy a sausage, or a train or plane ticket in Germany, but there is no guarantee that he can communicate with a patient,” said Juergen Hoffart, head of the medical association for Rhineland-Palatinate, which last year became the first state to require German tests with mock patients.

Germany ’s most-populous state, North Rhine-Westphalia, is following suit this month. Meanwhile, Germany ’s health ministers agreed last summer that a uniform review process for language skills should be developed.

Matthias Klug, who runs integration courses for doctors in the southern city of Nuremberg, is sceptical the complicated regulations will be standardised.

“We have chaos in Germany now,” Klug said. “Every state does something different, it’s like the Middle Ages.” — AFP

Lifestyle disorders top health issues in Arab world PARIS: Heart disease and stroke have replaced infectious disease as the top causes of early death in the Arab world, tracking the West in a trend towards lifestyle disorders, The Lancet reported yesterday.

An international consortium of scientists compared the state of health in the 22 countries of the Arab League in 1990 and in 2010, using data from a vast study-the 2010 Global Burden of Diseases report.

In 1990, respiratory infection headed the list of concerns, accounting for 11 percent of deaths, while stillbirths and poor nutrition also featured high on the mortality list. These problems still persist in the low-income countries of the Comoros, Djibouti, Mauritania, Somalia and Yemen, the investigators found. But overall, infectious diseases-with the exception of HIVhave receded, the paper said.

By 2010, the No. 1 cause of death in Arab countries was heart disease, which was implicated in 14.3 percent of cases. In 1990, it had ranked second. Next on the mortality list was stroke, followed by respiratory infection, diarrhoea, diabetes, road injuries and cirrhosis, respectively.

The report also pointed to depression, anxiety, domestic violence, lower back pain and neck pain as common and growing

sources of ill health-all signs of a region “undergoing a major epidemiological transition.” “Indeed, the epidemiological profile closely resembles that of western Europe, the USA and Canada,” it said.

“Today, disorders related to drug and alcohol use are causing more premature death and disability in the Arab world than they were two decades ago.” “Road injuries have taken a growing toll on health,” it added. “ The region has also seen a rapid increase in injuries associated with interpersonal violence and self-harm, but a decline in injuries from fire, drowning and poisonings.”

Despite the change, “the Arab world has made great progress” in increasing life expectancy and reducing infant mortality and maternal deaths, it said.

The report noted that its source material predated most of the events of the Arab uprising. In some countries, the turbulence could have a big impact on health, said its authors. “Many of the successes that we report here might now be lost because of war and a shortage of health services such as sanitation, surveillance and immunisation programmes, leading to disease outbreaks.” —AFP

Nevada marina deemed safe despite fish kill SPARKS, Nevada: Most locals reacted like Rick Dinoso when he first heard that all the fish in the Sparks Marina were dead - an estimated 100,000 trout, bass and catfish.

“All the fish don’t just die,” said Dinoso, 37, an assistant manager at a nearby tavern who grew up in Sparks.

“That’s a lot of fish,” Wayne Weaver said Friday as he walked the 2-mile loop trail around the 77-acre, man-made lake with wife, Dee. “That’s a lot of recreation lost.”

Scientists say the massive fish kill was caused by a dramatic drop in the water’s oxygen content, which they say is not all that uncommon. They believe it was triggered by a weeklong cold spurt in December when lows hovered near zero at the former gravel pit converted into a marina 15 years ago along Interstate 80 just east of Reno.

Though testing is incomplete, state wildlife and environmental officials are convinced there’s no danger to humans or animals. There’s been no sign of any contamination like the pollutants that leaked into the pit in the 1980s from a petroleum tank farm across the highway, they say.

Low oxygen Despite those assurances, city officials have been forced to respond to concerned citizens. Most worry whether it’s safe to let their dogs in the water.

“It’s not good for the fish obviously, but the water quality itself is great and there’s no health or safety issue,” city spokesman Adam Mayberry said. “Other than fishing, there’s no indication you can’t do anything else out there that you have always been doing.”

Sudeep Chandra, a limnologist at the University of Nevada, Reno known for his research at Lake Tahoe, agrees.

“I really don’t think it is other contaminants, it’s just the low oxygen,” he said. He said it likely occurred when the oxygen-rich warmer waters on the lake’s surface quickly cooled, sinking to the bottom of the lake and causing a violent “turnover” of the waters. A

hot, dry summer may have contributed by spurring growth of oxygen-sucking algae, he said. Wildlife officials estimate replacing the fishery will cost tens of thousands of dollars.

City officials believe the economic impact is limited to the 1,800 anglers who fish there.

The past five years, they’ve accounted for roughly 1-of-30 overall visitor user days, which totaled about 340,000 last year.

Of bigger concern is the national media coverage of the massive fish kill - not the sort of thing the neighbors of “The Biggest Little City in the World” had in mind when they recently adopted a new city slogan, “It’s Happening Here.” “Negative publicity is always a concern,” Mayberry said. “Dead fish and fish floating to the bottom of the lake those aren’t very good images.” Founded along the Union Pacific Railroad in 1905, Sparks touts the marina on its web site as a “Brownfield Success Story.”

Urban fishery A family ranch dating to the 1860s operated on the property until it was sold in 1967 to Helms Construction Co., which dug aggregate from the pit for 25 years. Contaminants discovered in 1988 quickly were linked to the tank farm, the target since of a state-led cleanup project. The early effort included pumping out polluted groundwater that had collected in the pit.

Because groundwater constantly flows into the marina, city officials pump more than 2 million gallons a day into the neighboring Truckee River. That water has never exceeded environmental standards, including in the most recent testing in December, regulators said. “There is no data to indicate that the (tank farm) is involved, connected or related to the dead fish,” Nevada Division of Environmental Protection spokeswoman JoAnn Kittrell said.

That hasn’t stopped Kristine Rowland from wondering what killed the fish. She remembers the quarry was used as a dump when she was growing up 30 years ago.—AP

SPARKS: The Sierra’s eastern front to the west of Reno is reflected in the Sparks Marina, where all of the fish have died over the past month - an estimated total of 100,000 trout, bass and catfish - on Friday. —AP

ISLAMABAD: Students walk past a banner promoting awareness on breast cancer at a university in Islamabad. Among Pakistani women there is very little knowledge about breast cancer. — AP

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani doctor Erum Khan addresses female students during a lecture to promote awareness regarding breast cancer and its precautions at a university in Islamabad. — AP

Challenge rises to Pakistan breast cancer ‘taboos’ ‘Nothing to be shy about it’ ISLAMABAD: In Pakistan, a country where breast cancer kills more women than terrorist attacks, an awareness group couldn’t even say the word “breast” while talking at a university about mammograms and how to check for lumps. They had to use the euphemism “cancer of women” to discuss a disease often shrouded in social stigma in this majority Muslim nation.

One in nine women in Pakistan will face breast cancer during their life, with the country itself having the highest rate of the disease across Asia, according to the breast cancer awareness group PinkRibbon, oncologists and other aid groups.

Yet discussing it remains taboo in a conservative, Islamic culture where the word breast is associated with sexuality instead of health and many view it as immoral for women to go to the hospital for screenings or discuss it even within their family. Now, women like breast cancer survivor and prominent Pakistani politician Fehmida Mirza and groups are trying to draw attention to the disease and break the silence surrounding it.

“There’s nothing to be shy about it,” Mirza told The Associated Press in a recent interview.

“No woman, no woman should die of ignorance and negligence.”

Exact magnitude No national database tracks breast cancer statistics but people who combat the disease say it kills nearly 40,000 women every year in Pakistan. That’s about the same number as in the US, though Pakistan only has 180 million residents to the U.S.’ 313 million.

With a health care system in shambles and more young women getting the disease, breast cancer rates only are expected to get worse.

World Health Organization official Shahzad Aalam in Pakistan said it was difficult to determine the exact magnitude, but that the disease is rampant. “It is the leading cancer killer among women,” Aalam said.

Among Pakistani women there is very little knowledge about the disease. A study done at Rawalpindi General Hospital about breast cancer awareness among 600 women found nearly 70 percent totally ignorant of the disease, while 88 percent did not know about breast self-exams and 68 percent did not understand the signifi-

cance of finding a lump in the breast.

“If women are being diagnosed with breast cancer, they don’t even share the news with their family members,” said Omar Aftab, who heads PinkRibbon in Pakistan, which put on the university presentation where organizers couldn’t even say “breast.” “So, we’re trying to break these taboos,” he said.

Contributing factors Those cultural taboos have been one of the biggest issues preventing women from seeking treatment or even knowing about the disease.

ISLAMABAD: Breast cancer survivor and prominent Pakistani politician Fehmida Mirza, speaks during an interview in Islamabad. Mirza and groups are trying to draw attention to breast cancer and break the silence surrounding it. —AP During an awareness event in Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, female students attending a breast cancer lecture demanded the men leave.

“It will take very long for us to discuss these issues openly,” said one female student who requested anonymity because she feared her family wouldn’t like her speaking about the issue. Another challenge is Pakistan’s abysmal health care sector that is starved for money, the latest technology and drugs. Oncologist Saira Hasan at Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad said most major hospitals lack a screening center or mammogram facility. Many

patients first go to a traditional healer and by the time they visit a reputable doctor, the disease is often too far advanced to treat, Hasan said. Women in the developing world, like Pakistan, tend to die at greater rates than in more developed countries because the disease is generally detected later and health care options aren’t as good.

Hasan said several factors have contributed to the rise in the disease - above all the cultural taboos. Breast cancer survivor Sameera Raja, who owns an art gallery in southern Karachi and supports women facing breast cancer, says that it has to be changed.

“You’re surprised to hear how women actually sit on things,” Raja said. Recalling how a woman would feel too embarrassed to talk about it even with her husband, she said: “Don’t hide behind closed doors.”

Work pressure Unlike in the US where celebrities like singer Sheryl Crow or actress Christina Applegate have freely discussed their fight with breast cancer, few such public figures have come forward in Pakistan. That’s changed with Mirza, though she had to delay her treatment for three months after she was diagnosed in March 2012 to handle her work, which included how to rule on whether a criminal conviction against the serving prime minister should disqualify him from politics. “There was lot of pressure on me, work pressure,” she said. “Everybody (would) say it’s an excuse I’m using to run away.”

Mirza described her friends and family being shocked by the diagnosis, as the cancer is considered by many as a death sentence. But during her diagnosis and treatment, she attended international conferences, ruled on the then-prime minister’s case and later ran for re-election and won while undergoing chemotherapy.

She now uses her position in parliament to advocate for women’s health issues. She plans to propose a bill making it mandatory for women to have breast cancer screenings and mammograms yearly, as well as to teach girls in schools to do breast exams themselves. She also pushed the health ministry to explain why there is no national database on breast cancer deaths. “I think the role models will have to come forward,” Mirza said. “That is one reason I had to.” — AP

Smoking pot no more dangerous than drinking: Obama WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama says smoking pot is no more dangerous than drinking but calls it a “bad idea,” amid a push for legalization in several states.

In comments to The New Yorker magazine published Sunday, the US leader also noted that poor minority youths are more likely to get prison time for using marijuana than their richer counterparts.

“As has been well documented, I smoked pot as a kid, and I view it as a bad habit and a vice, not very different from the cigarettes that I smoked as a young person up through a big chunk of my adult life,” Obama said. “I don’t think it is more dangerous than alcohol.”

He added that he has told his two daughters Sasha and Malia that “it’s a bad idea, a waste of time, not very healthy.”

Obama, in a wide-ranging series of inter-

views with the prestigious publication, went on to say that “middle-class kids don’t get locked up for smoking pot, and poor kids do.”

“And African-American kids and Latino kids are more likely to be poor and less likely to have the resources and the support to avoid unduly harsh penalties,” he added.

In that vein, Obama welcomed the recent legalization of marijuana in Colorado and Washington. “It’s important for society not to have a situation in which a large portion of people have at one time or another broken the law and only a select few get punished,” he said.

Couching his remarks somewhat, Obama called the move in the two states a challenging “experiment.”

“Those who argue that legalizing marijuana is a panacea and it solves all these social prob-

lems I think are probably overstating the case,” he added.

And Obama stopped short of calling for legalizing the drug at the federal level.

Colorado and Washington are creating a recreational market in which local authorities will oversee growing, distribution and marketing-all of it legal for people to get high just for the fun of it.

While Colorado’s law went into effect January 1, Washington’s recreational marijuana shops are expected to open later this year.

Obama made a distinction between marijuana and more potent drugs.

“I also think that, when it comes to harder drugs, the harm done to the user is profound and the social costs are profound,” he said.

The article is published in the magazine’s January 27 issue. — AP

TUESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2014

H E A LT H & S C I E N C E

New Mowasat Hospital hosts Prof Deviere KUWAIT: Among its rotating International Physician’s Program, New Mowasat hospital hosts Prof Jacques Deviere on a three-day visit to the hospital starting Jan 25 to Jan 27.

Prof Deviere is a Gastroenterology Consultant and Chairman of the Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatopancreatology and Digestive Oncology, Erasme Hospital, the academic hospital of University’ Libre de Bruxells in Brussels, Belgium.

On this occasion, Dr. Mahmoud Omar, Clinical Director of the Internal Medicine Department at the New Mowasat Hospital and Clinical Sponsor of the visit, stated that Prof.

Deviere’s visit is part of the Internal Medicine Department’s Visiting Physicians’ Program carried out to offer advanced treatments for chronic diseases like esophageal and swallowing difficulty diseases as well as stomach and colon problems such as peptic ulcer, polyps, ulcerative colitis and Corhn’s disease.

Dr. Omar further explained that Professor Deviere is an expert in obesity management and treatment of bariatric surgeries’ complications. He is also an expert in pancreatico-biliary

disease; such as biliary stones, chronic pancreatitis and pancreatic cysts and stones.

Omar added that New Mowasat Hospital has a special unit for

Prof Jacques Deviere Digestive Endoscopy that provides all diagnostic and therapeutic techniques required to diagnose and treat digestive diseases. These include endoscopic examinations of esophagus, stomach and duodenum, endo-

scopic examinations of colon, endoscopic therapy for gut bleeding lesions such as bleeding ulcers, vascular anomalies and bleeding varcies using injection therapy, clips, loops, band legation or APC. “The unit also provides treatment for problems such as swallowing difficulty through dilation or inserting stent (tube), extraction of foreign bodies, placement of feeding tubes, removal of polyps and performing endoscopic examinations of biliary and pancreatic system (ERCP) with removal of stones and worms or bypassing obstructions by placing stents”, explained Dr. Omar.

He added that small Bowel Video Capsule Endoscopy is also currently available at New Mowasat Hospital. In addition, the most advanced system to study the esophageal, stomach and ano-rectal mussels is also available.

“The unit uses the latest technology in disinfecting and sterilizing the endoscopes and accessories through a fully automated machine. All procedures are done under conscious sedation according to international protocols. Patients are fully monitored by well experienced staff through and after the procedures.

Alarm call set to wake comet probe PARIS: An alarm clock in deep space was expected late yesterday to wake up the comet probe Rosetta ahead of a key phase in its 10-year mission, European scientists said. Rosetta’s onboard computer was programmed to give the wakeup call at 1000 GMT, but it would take at least seven hours for mission control to get confirmation it has worked, they said.

The craft was launched in 2004 on a trek of seven billion kilometres (4.3 billion miles) around the inner Solar System. Its goal is to rendezvous in August with a comet, 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, and in November send down a lander to carry out experiments on the icy wanderer.

Comets are clusters of ice and dust which are believed to be remnants from the very birth of our star system.

Analysing this primeval matter should unlock secrets of how the Solar System formed and possibly how life on Earth was kickstarted.

Alvaro Gimenez Canete, the European Space Agency’s director of science and robotic exploration,

DARMSTADT: In this 2013 file photo provided by the European Space Agency, ESA, employees work in the control room of ESA in Darmstadt, Germany. — AP referred to the carved stone that in the early 19th century unlocked Egyptian hieroglyphics and revealed the life of the Pharaohs.

“Rosetta and the comet 67/P may become the Rosetta Stone for planetary science,” he said.

Rosetta was placed in hibernation

for 31 months because it was so far from the Sun that light was too dim to power its solar array. The wakeup procedure should take a number of hours, followed by a tiny “all is well” signal, which will take 45 minutes to cross a distance of more than 800 million km (500 million miles). — AFP

TUESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2014

W H AT ’ S O N

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elated happy birthday to Khouter Hanai Hosseini who celebrated her special day on January 16, 2014. May you have more candles to blow, good health and stay sweet.

Greetings from mama, papa, Rabab Kuya Hamoudi and Fahtom. Best wishes also from classmates and friends.

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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PWF holds Seerat Conference

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o commemorate the auspicious occasion of the birth anniversary of our Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), the PWF held a Seerat Conference on Thursday afternoon at their patron Ghazala Husain’s residence. The event commenced with the recitation of a few verses from the Holy Quran with its translation by Asifa. The welcome address was presided by the Vice President Shaheen Rizvi. A soulful Hamd in praise of the Holy Prophet was recited by Mariam

Indian Overseas Congress Fest competitions postponed ndian Overseas Congress, Kuwait to Arts Competitions-IOC fest 2014 is postponed to April 1011, 2014 at United Indian School. IOC, once again welcomea 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.

Hussain. This was followed by thought-provoking lectures

by Rahat Siddique, Uzma Nadeem and Fauzia Nadeem on the life of our Prophet (PBUH) and how we could achieve spiritual enlightenment in purifying our hearts and mind by following the guidance of the Holy Quran and emulating the practical life of our Prophet (PBUH).

Two heartrending poems were rendered by Mariam and Noureen which had a profound effect on the guests

who were then entertained to a wuiz focusing on our daily obligations as practiced by the Prophet (PBUH). The afternoon ended with a fervent prayer for our welfare by the founder Yasmeen Mozaffar and a thank you message by the President Yasmeen Mirza. The guests were then treated to high tea arranged by the hostess and members. It was indeed a well-attended and memorable afternoon indeed.

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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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KASCO participates in HORECA Cooking Contest

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team representing management of Pakistani Blood Donors in Kuwait (PBDIK) visited the Embassy of Islamic Republic of Pakistan on Jan 14, 2014 and were honored by the presence of Syed Abrar Hussain, Ambassador of Pakistan to State of Kuwait. The purpose of this visit was to introduce newly appointed PBDIK’s Executive Council as well as to invite him to upcoming blood donation camp on March 14, 2014. Noor Ud-Din Dawar, second Secretary and Community Welfare Attache, was also present during this meeting.

On behalf of PBDIK, Ehsanulhaq briefed him bout past activities as well as future plans and goals of PBDIK. He

highlighted to him that PBDIK is committed to offer its services towards humanity irrespective of race, religion, caste, origin, ethnicity, gender and demographics. The ambassador appreciated the efforts of PBDIK and assured them of embassy’s support in future for their noble objectives of bringing awareness in society about blood donation and boosting the soft image of Pakistan. During meeting, other strategies were also discussed to make the operations of PBDIK more effective. Noor Ud-Din Dawar also contributed with his valuable suggestions. PBDIK sincerely appreciates and thanks Syed Abrar Hussain for giving his valuable time.

Thrissur Association of Kuwait organizes seminar Write to us Send to What’s On upcoming events, birthdays or celebrations by email: local@kuwaittimes.net Fax: 24835619 / 20

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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 Al-Shuyoukh, (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.

uwait Aviation Services Company (KASCO) announced taking part in the cooking contest that will take place as part of the 2014 HORECA exhibition. Supply manager Abdulaziz Al-Blushi said in a statement yesterday that KASCO chefs prepare to participate with special presentations, including sculptures made from fruits and vegetables as well as a 3-level wedding cake.

More than 150 chefs representing several hotels and restaurants in Kuwait and the Middle East are set to take part in a cooking contest organized as part of the 2014 HORECA; an exhibition for hospitality and catering organized by the Leaders Group in cooperation with Hospitality Services Company. The event takes place at the Badriya Ballroom in the Jumeirah Hotel from January 27-29, 2014.

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.

TUESDAY, JANUARY 21, 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

Landmark Group to launch seventh edition of ‘Art Olympiad’

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andmark Group Kuwait is all set to host the Art Olympiad 2014 for the seventh consecutive year on January 28 from 8:00 am to 2.00 pm at Centrepoint, The Avenues. Children aged 14 years and below are eligible to enter the competition. This initiative has been a part of Landmark Group’s ongoing corporate social responsibility where young artists have an opportunity to showcase their talents.

As always, Landmark Group is keen on maintaining an excellent rapport and creating awareness about relevant issues among the youth with constant activities and events, while setting a platform for approx 150 students from schools of repute across Kuwait.

Children will be provided with a craft pack that includes a drawing sheet and a variety of art materials such as paints, pencils and crayons.

Saibal Basu, Chief Operating Officer of Landmark Group, Kuwait said, “The Art Olympiad has become an annual event, and we hope to continue to raise the spirits of the students and encourage them to express their views strongly and in an innovative manner.”

“The positive and enthusiastic feedback we have received from schools and students as well as the growing number of participants are a clear indication of the successful engagement the Landmark Group has with the community. We are committed to the Kuwaiti society and are extremely pleased to receive such positive responses.”

Art Olympiad aims to bring fun and entertainment to young artists by encouraging their creativity and also by rewarding them for their participation in the art competition. It provides a grooming platform for these students by helping them improvise their flair and encourage their innovative ability through art.

Some of the participating schools for this year’s Olympiad are: Ajial Bilingual School, British School of Kuwait, Carmel School, Fahaheel Al-Watanieh Indian Private School Ahmadi, Indian Educational School Jleeb, Indian English Academy SchoolDon Bosco, Kuwait American School Salmiya, Salmiya Indian Model School, The English School Fahaheel and many more.

Students will be judged on the basis of creativity, workmanship, overall impression and relevance to the theme. Judging will be held in two age categories: 1) 9-11 years, 2) 1214 years.

First, second and third place prizes will be awarded for each category. A total of eight winners will be selected at the end of the competition. Each winner will be awarded with exciting grand prizes and many other valuable gifts. They will also receive certificates and trophies in recognition of their participation, and their schools will be given a plaque of appreciation. It is worth mentioning that Landmark Group conducts various CSR initiatives including the most recent ‘Beat Diabetes’ initiative which was held in November 2013.

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: S.No. Type of visa Duration No. of entries Revised Indian Visa fee in KD(*) w.e.f 01.01.2014 (i) Business 5 Years Multiple 63.500 (ii) Business 1 Year Multiple 38.500 (iii) Tourism 6 months Multiple 13.500 (iv) Medical 1 year Multiple 38.500 (v) Student Period As required 24.500 of study (*) In addition, a service charge of KD 3 will also apply for each visa service provided w.e.f 17.12.2013.

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. nnnnnnn

EMBASSY OF SOUTH AFRICA South African citizens, who are out of the country who are not already registered and wish to apply for registration to vote in the upcoming general elections, are hereby invited to apply for registration.

Registration is open daily during working hours from 08h30 to 15h30 at the SA Embassy at Villa No 3, House No 91, Street 1, Block 10, Salwa.

The last day for registration will be 7 February 2014.

In addition, special registration will take place on Friday, 24 January 2014, from 09h00 to 13h00, for those SA citizens who are not yet registered and cannot come to register during normal working hours.

To be eligible to register at the SA Embassy, a person must: l Be a SA 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 SA passport; and l Submit in person the application form, (available from the IEC website or at the Embassy), 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

KALA-Kuwait elects office-bearers

T Well-known journalist Jacob to address MMF anniversary

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alayali Media Forum (MMF) Kuwait, a forum for Malayali media persons in Kuwait, will celebrate its anniversary on January 30 and 31, 2014 at Indian Community School auditorium, Khaitan. Malayala Manorama Editorial Director Thomas Jacob will address the media conference as chief guest of the event. Jacob is a well-known Indian journalist with more than 50 years of experience in journalism.

Popularly known as T J, he was the former chairman of Kerala Press Academy. He will hold a workshop on journalism for MMF members at 1 pm on January 31 at Caesars Dakshin, Abbassiya. Various sub-committees have been formed to make the anniversary successful.

he 35th Annual General body of Kerala Art Lovers Association, KALA-Kuwait unanimously elected the new office bearers and central committee for the year 2014. Saji Janardhanan (President), TV Jayan (Gen. Secretary), Sajeev M George (Vice President), Balagopal MK (Jnt Secretary), Reji J Jacob (Treasurer), Anil Kukiri, Rajan Kulakkada, CK Naushad (Area secretaries for Fahaheel, Salmiya & Abbassiya respectively), Micle Johnson (Secretary-Social Activities), Shaju V Haneef (Literary Secretary), Sajeev Abraham (Sports-Secretary), Sunil Kumar (Arts-Secretary), TV Hikmath (Media Secretary) along with Saji Thomas Mathew, Rahil K Mohandas, Sjitha Skaria, Rema Ajith, Vijeesh VP, Roy Nelson, Abdul Nasser and Naveen Elayavoor as members of the central committee.

The general body conducted at R Ramesh Nagar (Al-Dana School) was inaugurated by senior member of KALA-Kuwait J Albert in the inaugural

session presided by TV Hikmath. Dileep Naderi read condolence message and NR Rajeesh welcomed the delegates.

Mementos were presented to Sunil Kumar and Juby Kayyoor by Anil Kumar and Sam Pynummoodu respectively. Further subcommittees for the General Body were chosen headed by Naganadhan (Resolutions) Rahil K Mohandas (Credential), Balagopal (Minutes), Ranjith (Food) and Vinod K John (registration). 375 delegates representing 39 units of KALA participated in the conference. Later J Saji (Gen Secretary) presented the report of the year 2013 while treasurer Vinod K John the audited financial statement.

Presidium with Hikmath, Rama Ajith and Sugathan Kattakada managed the sequence of the conference as per the agenda. The conference through a resolution urged Central Govt of India to introduce a comprehensive policy for the welfare of expatriates including the rehabilitation. New General Secretary TV Jayan rendered vote of thanks.

Adoor NRI Forum meeting on Friday

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door NRI Forum - Kuwait Chapter, the organization for the people from the township of Adoor, who are living in Kuwait, is conducting the General Body meeting on January 24, at 5:15 pm. The venue is Chachoos Auditorium, Abbassiya, which is near the Apsara Bazar and Pulari Fabrics. The organizers are extending a warm welcome to all the Adoorians working in Kuwait, who are originally, from the Municipal township of Adoor and its surrounding Panchayats, to the proposed meeting. For further details, kindly contact 69950722. Transport is also arranged for the meeting from Fahaheel, Mangaf, Abu Halifa and Mahboula. Those who wish to get the transport, please contact.

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.

TUESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2014

TV PROGRAMS 00:25 00:50 01:45 03:25 04:15 05:05 05:30 05:55 06:45 07:35 08:00 08:25 09:15 10:10 11:05 12:00 12:55 13:20 13:50 14:15 14:45 15:15 15:40 16:30 17:30 18:25 18:50 19:20 20:15 21:10 21:40 22:05 23:00 23:55

Steve Irwin’s Wildlife Warriors Animal Cops Houston Mermaids: The Body Found Lions Of Crocodile River Bondi Vet Steve Irwin’s Wildlife Warriors Steve Irwin’s Wildlife Warriors Animal Cops Houston Gator Boys Swamp Brothers Monkey Life Bondi Vet Wild France Growing Up...

Lions Of Crocodile River Animal Cops Philadelphia Monkey Life Swamp Brothers Meet The Sloths Meet The Sloths Outback Rangers Outback Rangers Lions Of Crocodile River My Cat From Hell Wildest Arctic Steve Irwin’s Wildlife Warriors Steve Irwin’s Wildlife Warriors Pandamonium Bondi Vet Steve Irwin’s Wildlife Warriors Steve Irwin’s Wildlife Warriors Hippo: The Wild Feast North America Galapagos

00:00 Eastenders 00:30 Doctors 01:00 Abandoned At Birth 01:50 Life On Mars 02:40 Case Sensitive: The Point Of Rescue 04:15 The Weakest Link 05:00 Balamory 05:20 Charlie And Lola 05:35 The Green Balloon Club 06:00 3rd & Bird 06:10 Poetry Pie 06:15 Balamory 06:35 Charlie And Lola 06:50 The Green Balloon Club 07:15 3rd & Bird 07:25 Poetry Pie 07:30 The Weakest Link 08:15 Last Of The Summer Wine 08:45 Moone Boy 09:15 Eastenders 09:45 Doctors 10:15 Abandoned At Birth 11:05 Tess Of The D’urbervilles 12:00 The Weakest Link 12:45 Last Of The Summer Wine 13:15 Moone Boy 13:40 Eastenders 14:10 Doctors 14:40 Abandoned At Birth 15:30 Tess Of The D’urbervilles 16:25 The Weakest Link 17:10 Eastenders 17:40 Doctors 18:10 Prison, My Family & Me 19:00 One Foot In The Grave 19:30 Absolutely Fabulous 20:00 Stella 20:45 Alan Carr: Chatty Man 21:30 The Office 22:00 The Shadow Line 23:00 The Weakest Link 23:45 Eastenders

00:40 01:10 01:35 02:25 03:10 04:00 04:25 05:10 05:40 06:05 06:30

Cash In The Attic Cash In The Attic Come Dine With Me MasterChef Australia MasterChef Australia The Little Paris Kitchen Fantasy Homes By The Sea Cash In The Attic Cash In The Attic The Little Paris Kitchen Bargain Hunt

07:15 08:00 08:45 09:30 10:20 10:45 11:40 12:30 13:20 14:10 15:05 15:50 16:40 17:25 17:55 18:25 19:20 20:10 20:35 21:30 22:20 23:15

Fantasy Homes By The Sea Bargain Hunt Marbella Mansions Masterchef: The Professionals The Little Paris Kitchen Come Dine With Me Come Dine With Me Gok’s Fashion Fix Fantasy Homes By The Sea Antiques Roadshow Design Star Design Star Bargain Hunt Cash In The Attic Cash In The Attic Antiques Roadshow Marbella Mansions Food & Drink A Taste Of Greenland Come Dine With Me Antiques Roadshow Bargain Hunt

00:30 Bear Grylls: How To Stay Alive 01:20 Swimming With Monsters: Steve Backshall 02:10 River Monsters 03:00 Bush Pilots 03:50 Border Security 04:15 Auction Kings 04:40 American Digger 05:05 How Do They Do It? 05:30 How It’s Made 06:00 Sons Of Guns 07:00 Bush Pilots 07:50 Alaska: The Last Frontier 08:40 Fast N’ Loud 09:30 Border Security 09:55 Auction Kings 10:20 American Digger 10:45 How Do They Do It? 11:10 How It’s Made 11:35 Bear Grylls: How To Stay Alive 12:25 Swimming With Monsters: Steve Backshall 13:15 River Monsters 14:05 Border Security 14:30 Auction Kings 14:55 American Digger 15:20 Finding Bigfoot 16:10 Fast N’ Loud 17:00 Ultimate Survival 17:50 Dirty Jobs 18:40 Bush Pilots 19:30 Sons Of Guns 20:20 How Do They Do It? 20:45 How It’s Made 21:10 Auction Kings 21:35 American Digger 22:00 You Have Been Warned 22:50 Treehouse Masters 23:40 Mythbusters

00:00 00:20 00:45 01:05 01:30 01:50 02:15 02:35 03:00 03:20 03:45 04:05 04:30 04:50 05:15 05:35 06:00 06:25 06:45 07:10 07:35 07:55 08:20 08:45 09:05 09:30 09:35 11:05

The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody Sonny With A Chance Sonny With A Chance Suite Life On Deck Suite Life On Deck Wizards Of Waverly Place Wizards Of Waverly Place The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody Sonny With A Chance Sonny With A Chance Suite Life On Deck Suite Life On Deck Wizards Of Waverly Place Wizards Of Waverly Place Austin And Ally Austin And Ally A.N.T. Farm A.N.T. Farm Gravity Falls My Babysitter’s A Vampire Jessie Good Luck Charlie Dog With A Blog Disney Mickey Mouse Shorts Geek Charming Jessie

11:25 11:50 12:15 12:35 13:00 13:25 13:45 14:10 14:35 15:00 15:25 15:50 16:10 17:00 17:20 17:45 18:10 18:30 18:55 19:20 20:05 20:30 20:50 21:15 21:40 22:00 22:25 22:50 23:10 23:35

Wolfblood Suite Life On Deck A.N.T. Farm Austin And Ally Shake It Up That’s So Raven Jessie Good Luck Charlie Dog With A Blog Wolfblood Gravity Falls Jessie Violetta Mako Mermaids Austin And Ally Wolfblood Jessie Good Luck Charlie Dog With A Blog Violetta Jessie My Babysitter’s A Vampire Wolfblood Gravity Falls Shake It Up Austin And Ally A.N.T. Farm Good Luck Charlie Wizards Of Waverly Place Wizards Of Waverly Place

00:00 Chelsea Lately 00:30 The Dance Scene 00:55 The Dance Scene 01:25 Style Star 01:50 Style Star 02:20 E! Investigates 03:15 Extreme Close-Up 03:40 Extreme Close-Up 04:10 THS 05:05 E!ES 06:00 15 Remarkable Celebrity Body Bouncebacks 07:50 Style Star 08:20 Fashion Police 09:15 Scouted 10:15 Married To Jonas 10:40 Chasing The Saturdays 11:10 The Drama Queen 12:05 Fashion Police 13:05 Extreme Close-Up 13:35 E!ES 14:30 Style Star 15:00 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 16:00 Kourtney & Kim Take New York 17:00 The Wanted Life 18:00 E! News 19:00 Fashion Police 20:00 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 21:00 The Drama Queen 22:00 E!ES 22:30 E! News 23:30 Chelsea Lately

00:15 00:40 01:05 01:30 01:55 02:20 02:45 03:10 03:35 04:00 04:25 Feasts 04:50 05:40 06:30 06:50 07:10 08:00 08:25 08:50 09:15 10:05 10:30 11:20 11:45 Feasts

Unique Eats Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives Tastiest Places To Chowdown Easy Chinese: San Francisco Charly’s Cake Angels Unwrapped Unwrapped Unwrapped Unique Eats Unique Eats Andy Bates American Street Iron Chef America Chopped Unwrapped Tastiest Places To Chowdown Food Network Challenge Luke Nguyen’s Vietnam Roadtrip With G. Garvin Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives Iron Chef America Barefoot Contessa Amazing Wedding Cakes Easy Chinese: San Francisco Andy Bates American Street

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE II ON OSN MOVIES HD ACTION

‘Downton Abbey’ producer sees drama thriving on TV

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FUN SIZE ON OSN MOVIES COMEDY HD 12:10 Tastiest Places To Chowdown 12:35 Grill It! With Bobby Flay 13:00 Reza, Spice Prince Of India 13:25 Charly’s Cake Angels 13:50 Siba’s Table 14:15 Barefoot Contessa 14:40 Healthy Appetite With Ellie Krieger 15:05 Food Network Challenge 15:55 Roadtrip With G. Garvin 16:20 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 16:45 Chopped 17:35 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 18:00 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 18:25 Symon’s Suppers 18:50 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 19:15 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 19:40 Siba’s Table 20:05 Reza’s African Kitchen 20:30 Tastiest Places To Chowdown 20:55 Roadtrip With G. Garvin 21:20 Chopped 22:10 Food Network Challenge 23:00 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 23:25 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 23:50 Roadtrip With G. Garvin

00:00 Rebuilding Titanic 01:00 Convoy: War For The Atlantic 02:00 Battleground Brothers 03:00 Diggers 03:30 Diggers 04:00 What Would Happen If 04:30 What Would Happen If 05:00 Naked Science 06:00 Untamed Americas 07:00 World’s Toughest Fixes 08:00 Rebuilding Titanic 09:00 Convoy: War For The Atlantic 10:00 Battleground Brothers 11:00 Untamed Americas 12:00 What Would Happen If 12:30 What Would Happen If 13:00 Evolutions 14:00 Untamed Americas 15:00 World’s Toughest Fixes 16:00 Rebuilding Titanic 17:00 Apocalypse: The Second World War 18:00 Battleground Brothers 19:00 Ultimate Survival Alaska 20:00 One Ocean 21:00 Animal Autopsy 22:00 Wild Russia 23:00 Mystery Files 23:30 Mystery Files

00:30 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 01:00 The Colbert Report 01:30 It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia 02:00 Family Guy 02:30 The League 03:00 Raising Hope 03:30 Melissa & Joey 04:00 Arrested Development 04:30 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 05:30 Arrested Development 06:00 Two And A Half Men 06:30 Friends 07:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 08:00 Arrested Development 08:30 Arrested Development 09:00 Raising Hope 09:30 The Crazy Ones 10:00 Trophy Wife 10:30 Friends 11:00 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 12:00 Two And A Half Men 12:30 Arrested Development 13:00 Arrested Development 13:30 Friends 14:00 Melissa & Joey 14:30 The Crazy Ones 15:00 Trophy Wife 15:30 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 16:00 The Colbert Report

16:30 Two And A Half Men 17:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 18:00 Raising Hope 18:30 How To Live With Your Parents 19:00 Guys With Kids 19:30 Community 20:00 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 21:00 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 21:30 The Colbert Report 22:00 It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia 22:30 Family Guy 23:00 The League 23:30 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon

15:00 17:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00

C.S.I. New York The Ellen DeGeneres Show The Fosters Grey’s Anatomy Mistresses The Killing Sons Of Anarchy

00:00 02:00 04:00 06:00 08:00 10:00 12:00 14:15 16:00 17:45 20:00 22:00

Devil’s Bridge-PG15 The Veteran-18 Ice Quake-PG15 Mission: Impossible-PG15 Lords Of Dogtown-PG15 Wild Wild West-PG15 Mission: Impossible II-PG15 Lords Of Dogtown-PG15 Burden Of Evil-PG15 Mission: Impossible II-PG15 Bait-PG15 The Tuxedo-PG15

00:00 02:00 04:00 06:00 08:00 10:00 PG15 12:00 14:00 16:00 PG15 18:00 20:00 22:00

The Impostors-PG15 Spy Hard-PG15 Fun Size-PG15 Gabe The Cupid Dog-PG A Thousand Words-PG15 My Dog’s Christmas MiracleFun Size-PG15 Toys-PG My Dog’s Christmas MiracleToday’s Special-PG15 Hard Breakers-18 Wanderlust-R

00:45 02:45 04:15 07:15 09:00 11:00 12:30 15:30 17:30 19:30 21:30

Beneath Hill 60-PG15 A Christmas Kiss-PG15 Treasure Island-PG15 A Woman-PG15 Beneath Hill 60-PG15 Beastly-PG15 Hindenburg-PG15 Love Takes Wing-PG15 The Wild Hunt-PG15 Summer Coda-PG15 Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy-PG15

02:00 04:00 06:00 08:00 10:15 12:00 13:30 15:30 17:30 19:00 PG15 21:00 23:00

Vampire-18 Year Of The Dog-PG15 Dying Young-PG15 The Rainmaker-PG15 Jack The Bear-PG15 StreetDance 2-PG15 Year Of The Dog-PG15 The Crucible-PG15 StreetDance 2-PG15 The Greatest Movie Ever SoldInternal Affairs-18 J. Edgar-18

01:45 03:45 05:45 07:15

50/50-PG15 Saving Grace B. Jones-PG15 Crisis Point-PG15 My Own Love Song-PG15

09:00 11:00 13:00 PG15 15:00 PG15 17:00 19:00 21:00 23:00

People Like Us-PG15 Dirty Teacher-PG15 When Love Is Not EnoughMadea’s Big Happy FamilyPeople Like Us-PG15 Rock Of Ages-PG15 The Sessions-R Total Recall-18

01:00 Cash-PG15 03:00 Anna Karenina-PG15 05:15 Hotel Transylvania-PG 07:00 Bernie-PG15 09:00 The Three Stooges-PG15 11:00 A Monster In Paris-PG 13:00 Remember Sunday-PG15 15:00 Cirque Du Soleil: Worlds Away-PG 17:00 The Three Stooges-PG15 19:00 The Descendants-PG15 21:00 Midnight In Paris-PG15 23:00 Prometheus-PG15

01:00 Hotel Transylvania-PG 02:45 A Christmas Story 2-PG 04:15 George Harrison: Living In The Material World-PG15 08:00 True Justice: One Shot, One Life-PG15 10:00 Mission: Impossible III-PG15 12:15 Diary Of A Wimpy Kid: Dog Days-PG 14:00 Ice Road Terror-PG15 16:00 True Justice: One Shot, One Life-PG15 18:00 Oz The Great And Powerful-PG 20:15 Killing Them Softly-18 22:00 Paranormal Activity 4-18

02:00 02:30 03:00 06:00 07:00 11:30 15:30 16:00 21:30 22:00

Futbol Mundial Inside The PGA Tour Live PGA Tour Cricket ODI Series Highlights PGA European Tour PGA Tour Futbol Mundial Live Snooker Masters ICC Cricket 360 Live Snooker Masters

00:00 NFL Gameday 00:30 Live NFL 03:30 Live NHL 06:30 Futbol Mundial 07:00 NFL 09:30 NFL 12:00 NHL 14:00 Top 14 Highlights 14:30 Darts 17:30 Cricket ODI Series Highlights 18:30 Futbol Mundial 19:00 PGA Tour Highlights 20:00 PGA European Tour Highlights 21:00 NFL 23:30 NHL

01:30 Trans World Sport 02:30 FEI Equestrian World 03:00 HSBC Sevens World Series 07:00 Golfing World 08:00 Snooker Masters 12:00 Futbol Mundial 12:30 ICC Cricket 360 13:00 Golfing World 14:00 Amlin Challenge Cup 16:00 FEI Equestrian World 16:30 FEI Equestrian World 17:00 Futbol Mundial 17:30 Golfing World 18:30 ICC Cricket 360 19:00 Amlin Challenge Cup 21:00 Golfing World 22:00 PGA Tour Highlights 23:00 PGA European Tour Highlights

he global success of “Downton Abbey” is vivid proof that romance and drama are alive and well and thriving on the small screen, its executive producer said. In a telephone interview from London, two days after season four of the post-Edwardian soap opera premiered on US public television, Gareth Neame said he remains surprised at the series’ huge worldwide following. “Because of the different ways that we can consume media, audiences around the world have much more varied diets,” Neame told AFP, referring to such innovations as mass-produced DVDs, on-demand video and Internet downloads.

“Their palate is more mature, and they are prepared to look at stories-comedies as well as drama-wherever they come from.” Set in the 1910s and 1920s, “Downton Abbey” dwells on the insular lives of the aristocratic Crawley family and their servants at their grand country house in Yorkshire at a time of momentous change in Britain. Created and written by Julian Fellowes, it’s made by Carnival Films, the independent production house that Neame founded and still runs after its sale in 2008 to US television giant NBC Universal.

The series has been sold to 250 territories”that’s about every territory,” Neame said-with ITV, Britain’s main commercial television broadcaster, and PBS in the United States as the core markets. “It suggests to me that while the world we’re depicting is very specific and very nuanced-very unlike the way anyone lives todaythere is a universal aspect to the characters that everyone in the world relates to,” he said. For a long time, he added, it had been “deeply unfashionable ... to do anything about romance on television,” not least in the United States where TV programs often come across as attempts to “crowbar sex” into the plot. “ We’ve really seen drama come back to become what I believe to be the dominant genre on television,” Neame said. “With a few notable exceptions every year in the cinema, drama is alive and well and living on television-and it’s as alive and well as it has ever been.” “Downton Abbey” was first telecast in 2010 in Britain, and Neame never expected it would pull more than six million diehard fans of English period drama in its home market-let alone a cult-like following stateside.

“I was hopeful that we would have the usual 50-plus, upscale, anglophile American audience,” he said, “but I didn’t not know what we would become such a mainstream hit.” Sunday’s season premiere on commercial-free PBS attracted 10.2 million viewers, the biggest audience for any “Downton Abbey” episode in the United States, according to Nielsen ratings data.

In Britain, , Neame said the program typically comes in at around 12 million, representing what he called a “phenomenal” 40 percent audience share. But Neame is also pleased and surprised it has gone down well in Asia and in European countries such as France, Italy and Spain that have not historically embraced British television drama.

“Why we should be the most popular nonSpanish program in Spain, I don’t know,” he said.

On the future of “Downton Abbey,” Neame said “there is no plan to end the show” after production of season five wraps up later this year. “It won’t go on forever. No show does ... (but) the show will live to an age of somewhere between five and 10 years,” he said.

In London, weekend news reports suggested the end was imminent after Fellowes told The Wall Street Journal that “I don’t know yet if there is a season six,” given that ITV and PBS have yet to sign on the dotted line for additional seasons.

But when time comes to close the door on “Downton Abbey,” it will be a creative decision, not an economic one, Neame said, with no question of stringing out the plot just for the sake of doing so. “Clearly the show is an economic success, and it’s a great piece of business for us to have as a production company,” he said. “But to me, the more important thing is to make sure it is well-formed, comes to an end at the right time, and is not lured into the usual thing of trying to keep something going past its time.” — AFP

Classifieds TUESDAY, JANUARY 21, 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

360º- 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

360º- 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

360º- 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 request 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

FOR RENT IN BAYAN • First floor: 4 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, maid’s room (with bathroom) • 2 bedroom apartment with 2 bathrooms + maid’s room (with bathroom) For foreigners only

Tel: 50533040

Prayer timings Fajr:

05:20

Shorook

06:43

Duhr:

11:59

Asr:

14:56

Maghrib:

17:16

Isha:

18:36

No: 16053

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 JZR JZR KLM THY QTR PIA DLH ETH GFA THY UAE ETD JAI OMA MSR RJA QTR FDB THY DHX FDB JZR BAW KAC KAC QTR FDB KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC SVA UAE ABY ETD FDB QTR IRA GFA JZR MEA TMA UAE JZR MSR SYR FDB

Arrival Flights on Tuesday 21/1/2014 Flt Route 43 DHAKA 574 MUMBAI 539 CAIRO 267 BEIRUT 411 AMSTERDAM 772 ISTANBUL 1084 DOHA 239 SIALKOT 637 DAMMAM 620 ADDIS ABABA 211 BAHRAIN 764 SABIHA 853 DUBAI 305 ABU DHABI-INTL 576 COCHIN 643 MUSCAT 612 CAIRO 642 AMMAN-QUEEN ALIA 1076 DOHA 67 DUBAI 770 ISTANBUL 170 BAHRAIN 69 DUBAI 503 LUXOR 157 LONDON 412 MANILA 416 JAKARTA 1086 DOHA 53 DUBAI 302 MUMBAI 206 ISLAMABAD 362 COLOMBO 352 COCHIN 332 TRIVANDRUM 512 RIYADH 855 DUBAI 125 SHARJAH 301 ABU DHABI-INTL 55 DUBAI 1070 DOHA 619 LAR 213 BAHRAIN 165 DUBAI 404 BEIRUT 213 BEIRUT 871 DUBAI 561 SOHAG 610 CAIRO 341 LATAKIA 57 DUBAI

Time 00:05 00:10 00:40 00:40 00:30 00:45 00:55 01:05 01:10 01:45 02:10 02:15 02:35 02:45 02:50 03:05 03:10 03:15 03:45 04:20 05:35 05:40 05:50 05:50 06:40 06:45 06:25 07:50 07:50 07:55 07:40 08:45 08:10 08:15 08:15 08:40 09:00 09:20 09:40 09:55 10:05 10:40 11:30 11:55 12:10 12:50 12:55 13:00 13:40 13:50

KAC QTR SVA KAC KNE GFA KAC JZR QTR UAE ETD RJA SVA ABY JZR GFA UAL JZR KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC QTR FDB KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC GFA OMA FDB MSR JAI AXB ABY IRA DLH ALK MEA ETD UAE GFA QTR FDB KLM JZR JZR AIC UAL JZR

514 1078 500 546 472 221 562 325 1072 857 303 640 510 127 777 215 982 177 742 284 786 678 542 1080 63 166 104 774 674 618 217 647 61 618 572 393 129 605 636 229 402 307 859 219 1074 59 415 135 239 981 981 185

TEHRAN DOHA JEDDAH ALEXANDRIA JEDDAH BAHRAIN AMMAN-QUEEN ALIA NAJAF DOHA DUBAI ABU DHABI-INTL AMMAN-QUEEN ALIA RIYADH SHARJAH JEDDAH BAHRAIN WASHINGTON DC DULLES DUBAI DAMMAM DHAKA JEDDAH MUSCAT CAIRO DOHA DUBAI PARIS LONDON RIYADH DUBAI DOHA BAHRAIN MUSCAT DUBAI ALEXANDRIA MUMBAI KOZHIKODE SHARJAH ISFAHAN FRANKFURT COLOMBO BEIRUT ABU DHABI-INTL DUBAI BAHRAIN DOHA DUBAI AMSTERDAM BAHRAIN AMMAN-QUEEN ALIA CHENNAI BAHRAIN DUBAI

13:45 13:55 14:30 14:05 14:35 15:00 16:50 16:05 16:40 16:40 16:50 16:55 17:15 17:25 17:55 17:30 18:00 18:20 18:20 18:00 18:45 18:55 18:05 18:40 18:45 19:10 19:35 19:30 19:25 19:00 19:30 19:55 20:05 20:05 20:10 20:15 20:20 20:25 20:55 21:10 21:20 21:35 21:40 21:45 22:00 22:00 22:05 22:05 22:20 22:30 23:10 23:20

Airlines AIC PIA TAR AXB JAI KLM BBC DLH PIA ETH THY UAE ETD OMA MSR QTR FDB QTR KAC JZR FDB JAI JZR THY RJA GFA KAC THY FDB BAW QTR SVA KAC ABY KAC UAE ETD FDB QTR IRA GFA KAC KAC KAC KAC JZR JZR MEA KAC JZR TMA

Departure Flights on Tuesday 21/1/2014 Flt Route 976 GOA 206 LAHORE 327 DUBAI 490 MANGALORE 573 MUMBAI 411 AMSTERDAM 44 DHAKA 637 FRANKFURT 240 SIALKOT 621 ADDIS ABABA 773 ISTANBUL-ATATURK 854 DUBAI 306 ABU DHABI 644 MUSCAT 613 CAIRO 1085 DOHA 68 DUBAI 1077 DOHA 283 DHAKA 560 SOHAG 70 DUBAI 575 ABU DHABI 164 DUBAI 765 ISTANBUL-SABIHA 643 AMMAN 212 BAHRAIN 545 ALEXANDRIA 771 ISTANBUL-ATATURK 54 DUBAI 156 LONDON 1087 DOHA 513 RIYADH 513 TEHRAN 126 SHARJAH 101 LONDON 856 DUBAI 302 ABU DHABI 56 DUBAI 1071 DOHA 618 LAR 214 BAHRAIN 561 AMMAN 541 CAIRO 165 ROME 677 MUSCAT 776 JEDDAH 324 AL NAJAF 405 BEIRUT 785 JEDDAH 176 DUBAI 223 AL MAKTOUM INTERNATIONAL

DIAL161 FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION

Time 00:05 00:10 00:15 00:15 01:10 01:45 01:45 02:10 02:20 02:45 02:55 03:50 04:00 04:05 04:10 04:15 05:00 05:15 05:30 06:20 06:30 06:35 06:55 07:05 07:05 07:15 07:15 07:30 08:30 08:45 08:50 09:15 09:25 09:40 09:50 09:55 10:05 10:20 10:55 10:55 11:25 11:25 11:30 11:50 12:20 12:25 12:40 12:55 13:00 13:45 13:45

MSR UAE FDB SYR QTR KAC KAC KAC KNE GFA SVA KAC JZR ETD QTR UAE JZR RJA ABY SVA GFA JZR JZR JZR UAL JZR FDB QTR GFA FDB OMA ABY KAC MSR JAI KAC AXB IRA KAC DLH DHX ALK MEA ETD GFA KAC FDB UAE KAC KLM QTR JZR KAC

611 872 58 342 1079 673 741 617 473 222 501 773 238 304 1073 858 538 641 128 511 216 184 266 134 982 554 64 1081 218 62 648 120 361 607 571 351 3942 604 343 636 171 230 403 308 220 301 60 860 205 415 1075 528 411

CAIRO DUBAI DUBAI LATAKIA DOHA DUBAI DAMMAM DOHA JEDDAH BAHRAIN JEDDAH RIYADH AMMAN ABU DHABI DOHA DUBAI CAIRO AMMAN SHARJAH RIYADH BAHRAIN DUBAI BEIRUT BAHRAIN BAHRAIN ALEXANDRIA DUBAI DOHA BAHRAIN DUBAI MUSCAT SHARJAH COLOMBO LUXOR MUMBAI KOCHI KOZHIKODE ISFAHAN CHENNAI DAMMAM BAHRAIN COLOMBO BEIRUT ABU DHABI BAHRAIN MUMBAI DUBAI DUBAI ISLAMABAD DAMMAM DOHA ASYUT BANGKOK

14:00 14:15 14:30 14:40 14:55 15:05 15:20 15:30 15:30 15:45 15:45 16:05 16:55 17:35 17:40 17:50 17:50 17:55 18:05 18:15 18:20 18:40 18:50 19:10 19:15 19:20 19:25 19:40 20:15 20:45 20:55 21:00 21:00 21:05 21:10 21:10 21:15 21:20 21:30 21:35 21:50 22:10 22:20 22:20 22:30 22:35 22:40 22:50 22:55 23:05 23:10 23:25 23:55

34

stars CROSSWORD 435

STAR TRACK Aries (March 21-April 19) ARIES There is a tendency to be too strict with yourself, to insist that whatever does not contribute to security and other long-term goals is trivial. Your ambition is intensified. You should be able to get much accomplished, especially if you spend some quiet time becoming focused before you begin a project. When you go through this process of becoming focused you and others are continuously surprised and pleased with the discoveries and insights you gain. Your mental discipline should come easily and obstacles will disappear when you shine the light of knowledge on them. You may want to change your plans this evening. Good feelings and a special time with someone you love are possible now. A sense of support and harmony creates happy times.

Taurus (April 20-May 20) The workday and work habits come into sharp focus now. This is a progressive period in which many work problems are easy to solve. Be as cooperative as you can today. Working with others will be easy. Helpful precautions can be employed for important matters when using a backup system or a comprehensive support system. This is a great time to learn to lighten up and take life as it comes. Your taste in art and appreciation of life in general are heightened. This is a great time to just sit back and enjoy what you have. Remember that this is a planning month and rewards from your past efforts may not come when you expect them. There is an opportunity to understand those around you and to have a special time with someone you love.

Gemini (May 21-June 20)

ACROSS 1. A fraudulent business scheme.

5. A rope used in towing.

12. A state of southwestern India.

15. City in southwestern Colombia in a rich agricultural area.

16. Inflammation of the ileum.

17. A drug combination found in some over-thecounter headache remedies (Aspirin and Phenacetin and Caffeine).

18. A Kwa language spoken in Ghana and the Ivory Coast.

19. A flattened stem resembling and functioning as a leaf.

20. A crystalline rock that can be cut and polished for jewelry.

21. A Mid-Atlantic state.

22. Of or relating to a seizure or convulsion.

28. A Chadic language spoken in northern Nigeria and closely related to Hausa.

30. A woman Emperor or the wife of an Emperor.

34. An independent ruler or chieftain (especially in Africa or Arabia).

36. On or toward the lee.

37. (Akkadian) God of wisdom.

38. German organist and contrapuntist (16851750).

41. The usage or vocabulary that is characteristic of a specific group of people.

43. A wad of something chewable as tobacco.

46. A port in western Israel on the Mediterranean.

48. Not reflecting light.

49. An indication of radiant light drawn around the head of a saint.

50. The blood group whose red cells carry both the A and B antigens.

51. Not capable of movement or of being moved.

54. A member of a Finnish people living in the northwestern Urals in Russia.

57. Title for a civil or military leader (especially in Turkey).

58. The branch of engineering science that studies the uses of electricity and the equipment for power generation and distribution and the control of machines and communication.

59. Any of numerous ornamental shrubs grown for their showy flowers of various colors.

61. Have a tendency or disposition to do or be something.

63. A public promotion of some product or service.

65. Having a sole or soles especially as specified.

66. Having any of numerous bright or strong colors reminiscent of the color of blood or cherries or tomatoes or rubies.

70. Pertaining to one of the small sacs (as in a compound gland).

72. Type genus of the Bramidae.

74. Aircraft landing in bad weather in which the pilot is talked down by ground control using precision approach radar.

75. (prefix) Reverse of or absence of.

76. An esoteric or occult matter that is traditionally secret.

78. A barrier constructed to contain the flow or water or to keep out the sea.

79. A unit of surface area equal to 100 square meters.

80. A small well holding writing ink into which a pen can be dipped.

81. A loose sleeveless outer garment made from aba cloth.

DOWN 1. Any of a number of fishes of the family Carangidae.

2. A block of solid substance (such as soap or wax).

3. A flat wing-shaped process or winglike part of an organism.

4. Sideboard with compartments for holding bottles.

5. Steady recurrent ticking sound as made by a clock.

6. A Dravidian language spoken in south central India.

7. (Brit) An area of open or forested country.

8. (usually followed by `of') Released from something onerous (especially an obligation or duty).

9. A member of the Siouan people inhabiting the valleys of the Platte and Missouri rivers in Nebraska.

10. A three-tone Chadic language.

11. The compass point midway between east and southeast.

12. Mentally or physically infirm with age.

13. An organization of countries formed in 1961 to agree on a common policy for the sale of petroleum.

14. The highest level or degree attainable.

23. An argument opposed to a proposal.

24. Wild and menacing.

25. American prizefighter who won the world heavyweight championship three times (born in 1942).

26. An ugly evil-looking old woman.

27. A person forced to flee from home or country.

29. A member of the Siouan people formerly living in the Missouri river valley in NE Nebraska.

31. Fragrant resin obtain from trees of the family Burseraceae and used as incense.

32. Cereal grass widely cultivated for its grain.

33. A long wooden bench with a back.

35. 3 to 30 gigahertz.

39. A genus of Platalea.

40. A compartment in front of a motor vehicle where driver sits.

42. Highly excited.

44. (chemistry) Relating to or containing an alkali.

45. Of or related to or made of wool.

47. Lives in warm moist areas e.g. around furnaces.

52. (informal) Roused to anger.

53. Any of numerous local fertility and nature deities worshipped by ancient Semitic peoples.

55. Aristocratic Italian family of powerful merchants and bankers who ruled Florence in the 15th century.

56. English historian noted for his constitutional history of medieval England (1825-1901).

60. An oral lipid-lowering medicine (trade name Zocor) administered to reduce blood cholesterol levels.

62. City in Sudan.

64. (Irish) Chief god of the Tuatha De Danann.

67. King of Saudi Arabia since 1982 (born in 1922).

68. Someone who works (or provides workers) during a strike.

69. God of love and erotic desire.

71. Airtight sealed metal container for food or drink or paint etc..

73. An adult male person (as opposed to a woman).

77. A radioactive transuranic element.

TUESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2014

Today, you may see things differently. You have an attitude of completing what you begin. It is easy for you to handle difficulties and you think about how you might keep today’s frame of thinking for future situations. All that is needed is a gentle trying. You are just plain witty this afternoon and the ideas roll off your tongue. This is a real time for communication—by phone, by letter or in person. Your mind is clear.

Today and throughout the week, you will make money when you least expect it—perhaps by using your gifts of persuasion. Work is easy to get through, whether it is a new customer or a change in employment—you know just how to handle whatever develops.

Listen to your intuitive voice.

Cancer (June 21-July 22) This has been a high-energy month—much has been accomplished.

Continue to complete unfinished business before the day is ended. Avoid creating interruptions for yourself—if possible. A period of great mental activity and heightened communication with others begins. You may find yourself on a committee or a school board meeting this evening. Intellectualism, the exchange of ideas and the idea of being smart as a fox are the things that have a special appeal. In order to make a difference in a school board meeting tonight, the footwork will have to be away from the meeting place.

You will be successful in this endeavor, but do not overextend this interest—remain flexible.

To your relief you will find others want to help carry on the job.

Leo (July 23-August 22) You are able to sway others to your way of thinking. Finally, something very important to you in the workplace is being recognized. Your friends are running behind schedule on a project and may need your help. This is a great time to play or work with others. Your sense of humor is in fine form as you make the hours seem like minutes. There are social and political benefits in pleasing these friends or co-workers of yours, but your true calling today is in that sense of willingness to open your heart up to others in that loving way of yours. Be careful not to indulge too much in rich foods or alcohol. You also seem to want to spend a large amount of money—perhaps buying everyone’s meal for a get-together on the home front.

Virgo (August 23-September 22) You might like to ignore responsibilities and do some socializing, but realities demand you tend to business. The crowd may ignore you and leave you to take care of business. Time seems to be slowed but you are pleased to accomplish the tasks set before you.

You are able to complete unfinished business and you pace yourself for the next project.

You see the lighter side of most issues and create a sense of gratitude for others to absorb as well. You may have insights or breakthroughs with regard to your living situation or life circumstances. People rely on your independence and unique qualities. A relative may express the desire for you to visit—you should consider the possibility of family camping at a nearby campground as you schedule in a visit.

Word Search

Libra (September 23-October 22) Any old business is completed this morning and you could find yourself in a planning committee meeting before the end of the morning. It is a good time to get down to the basics and take care of integrating some of the changes the overall company has anticipated in the past. Obligations may come to your attention later in the day that involve someone older or in authority. Teamwork is the active word today. This can be a positive time. Your thinking is resourceful, original and along the technical lines of business. The old way of doing things demands a change. You have a natural sense of what the public wants at this time. Plan a trip to the country soon, perhaps a bed-and-breakfast sort of accommodations—relaxation.

Scorpio (October 23-November 21) The time is now for examining and thinking about what is important and of lasting value—bringing your goals into focus. If you do not have clear shortterm and long-term goals, you need a focus. Relax; new talents are working their way to your attention. This is a great time to work with others in a family project. A family meeting may have a finish to some questions about how to proceed with some environmental work. In preparation for the summer your family may also decide between a pool and a vacation. You have a clear vision into your own inner sense of values: how you appreciate and love. A feeling of confusion or frustration will pass quickly. Your social life is about to improve! There is a sense of completeness this evening.

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21) Your workload increases today with a successful outcome. This is a good day for money and you may even find yourself talking about money. You may feel that you can afford to purchase some item you have been wanting for a long time. Compare prices and then go for it! You will be learning the secrets of your success this year and this day holds one of the hints. Listen to what others tell you and hold on to it for a while, especially those that are unbiased—absorb the words. Ambitious schemes and the pursuit of success and status take on a high priority. Co-workers are eager to share job tips this afternoon.

You have noticed a health problem that has been bothering you begins to clear up now.

Spending time with friends is enjoyable tonight.

Capricorn (December 22-January 19) This day brings about positive changes in security, savings, expenses, cost of living and the changes you and others are trying to make happen. This is one of your best overall days. You may find yourself having more interest and energy at home and with the family—perhaps having less polish on the job just now. Your home life will lay the foundation for greater confidence at work. This is a healing time for the spirit, family, friends, creativeness, etc. Be more cautious about financial commitments just now. Long trips could be planned after march. Life is easier than you think—all you have to do is accept the impossible, do without the indispensable, bear the intolerable and be able to smile at most anything.

Aquarius (January 20- February 18) You will be presented with a financial opportunity now and you will want to investigate this opportunity as it looks most profitable. You are alert and quick-witted and your self-assured attitude will bring success. You seem to attract good luck in money matters and if you have found a few extra dollars to invest, you might be surprised at the results. Church or spiritual matters that you have planned and looked forward to may be on your mind this afternoon—you look forward to a planning committee meeting. In your business and personal life, anything that does not serve you successfully should be considered part of the past. It may be the only successful way to move in a forward direction.

Healings are possible at this time.

Pisces (February 19-March 20) Remember that last week was a week of cleaning up old debts, decorations and old business, etc. This week could be in focusing on new business. New advertising ideas or jingle suggestions and upbeat slogans are ripe for developing.

Regarding this year’s contribution for a charity, it would be good to consider a year to help support a food bank in your city. The pressures you have been feeling lately are about to end—problems have been repaired, completed or deleted. A young person or persons could be causing you some anxiety; however, the anxiety is not bad—perhaps anticipation of change is what you feel. This young person is getting an award, or perhaps, going out on a first date. Encouraging and special words is worth the extra effort on your part.

Yesterday’s Solution

Yesterday’s Solution

Daily SuDoku

Yesterday’s Solution

TUESDAY, JANUARY 21, 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

Al-Madeena

22418714

Al-Shuhada

22545171

Al-Shuwaikh

24810598

Al-Nuzha

22545171

Ahmadi

Sama Safwan Abu Halaifa Danat Al-Sultan

Fahaeel Makka St Abu Halaifa-Coastal Rd Mahboula Block 1, Coastal Rd

23915883 23715414 23726558

Sabhan

24742838

Jahra

Modern Jahra Madina Munawara

Jahra-Block 3 Lot 1 Jahra-Block 92

24575518 24566622

Al-Helaly

22434853

Capital

Ahlam Khaldiya Coop

Fahad Al-Salem St Khaldiya Coop

22436184 24833967

Al-Faiha

22545051

Farwaniya

New Shifa Ferdous Coop Modern Safwan

Farwaniya Block 40 Ferdous Coop Old Kheitan Block 11

24734000 24881201 24726638

Al-Farwaniya

24711433

Al-Sulaibikhat

24316983

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

Al-Fahaheel

23927002

Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh

24316983

Ahmadi

23980088

Al-Mangaf

23711183

Al-Shuaiba

23262845

Hawally

Kaizen center

25716707

Rawda

22517733

Adaliya

22517144

Al-Jahra

25610011

Khaldiya

24848075

Al-Salmiya

25616368

Kaifan

24849807

Shamiya

24848913

Shuwaikh

24814507

Abdullah Salem

22549134

Nuzha

22526804

Industrial Shuwaikh

24814764

Qadsiya

22515088

Dasmah

22532265

Bneid Al-Gar

22531908

Shaab

22518752

Qibla

22459381

Ayoun Al-Qibla

22451082

Mirqab

22456536

Sharq

22465401

Salmiya

25746401

Jabriya

25316254

Maidan Hawally

25623444

Bayan

25388462

Mishref

25381200

W Hawally

22630786

Sabah

24810221

Jahra

24770319

New Jahra

24575755

West Jahra

24772608

South Jahra

24775066

North Jahra

24775992

North Jleeb

24311795

Ardhiya

24884079

Firdous

24892674

Omariya

24719048

N Khaitan

24710044

Fintas

23900322

INTERNATIONAL CALLS

PRIVATE CLINICS Ophthalmologists Dr. Abidallah Al-Mansoor 25622444 Dr. Samy Al-Rabeea 25752222 Dr. Masoma Habeeb 25321171 Dr. Mubarak Al-Ajmy 25739999 Dr. Mohsen Abel 25757700 Dr Adnan Hasan Alwayl 25732223 Dr. Abdallah Al-Baghly 25732223 Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT) Dr. Ahmed Fouad Mouner 24555050 Ext 510 Dr. Abdallah Al-Ali 25644660 Dr. Abd Al-Hameed Al-Taweel 25646478 Dr. Sanad Al-Fathalah 25311996 Dr. Mohammad Al-Daaory 25731988 Dr. Ismail Al-Fodary 22620166 Dr. Mahmoud Al-Booz 25651426 General Practitioners Dr. Mohamme Y Majidi 24555050 Ext 123 Dr. Yousef Al-Omar 24719312 Dr. Tarek Al-Mikhazeem 23926920 Dr. Kathem Maarafi 25730465 Dr. Abdallah Ahmad Eyadah 25655528 Dr. Nabeel Al-Ayoobi 24577781 Dr. Dina Abidallah Al-Refae 25333501 Urologists Dr. Ali Naser Al-Serfy 22641534 Dr. Fawzi Taher Abul 22639955 Dr. Khaleel Abidallah Al-Awadi 22616660 Dr. Adel Al-Hunayan FRCS (C) 25313120 Dr. Leons Joseph 66703427 Psychologists /Psychotherapists

Paediatricians

Plastic Surgeons Dr. Mohammad Al-Khalaf

22547272

Dr. Khaled Hamadi

Dr. Abdal-Redha Lari

22617700

Dr. Abd Al-Aziz Al-Rashed

Dr. Abdel Quttainah

25625030/60

Family Doctor Dr Divya Damodar

23729596/23729581

Psychiatrists Dr. Esam Al-Ansari

22635047

Dr Eisa M. Al-Balhan

22613623/0

Gynaecologists & Obstetricians DrAdrian arbe

23729596/23729581

Dr. Verginia s.Marin

2572-6666 ext 8321

Endocrinologist

25665898 25340300

Dr. Zahra Qabazard

25710444

Dr. Sohail Qamar

22621099

Dr. Snaa Maaroof

25713514

Dr. Pradip Gujare

23713100

Dr. Zacharias Mathew

24334282

(1) Ear, Nose and Throat (2) Plastic Surgeon Dr. Abdul Mohsin Jafar, FRCS (Canada)

25655535

Dentists

Dr. Fozeya Ali Al-Qatan

22655539

Dr. Majeda Khalefa Aliytami

25343406

Dr. Shamah Al-Matar

22641071/2

Dr. Ahmad Al-Khooly

25739272

Dr. Anesah Al-Rasheed

22562226

22618787

Dr. Abidallah Al-Amer

22561444

Dr. Faysal Al-Fozan

22619557

Dr. Abdallateef Al-Katrash

22525888

Dr. Abidallah Al-Duweisan

25653755

Dr. Bader Al-Ansari

25620111

General Surgeons Dr. Amer Zawaz Al-Amer

22610044

Dr. Mohammad Yousef Basher

25327148

Internists, Chest & Heart Dr. Adnan Ebil Dr. Latefa Al-Duweisan

22666300 25728004

Dr. Nadem Al-Ghabra

25355515

Dr. Mobarak Aldoub

24726446

Dr Nasser Behbehani

25654300/3

Soor Center Tel: 2290-1677 Fax: 2290 1688

Neurologists

22639939

Dr. Mousa Khadada

info@soorcenter.com www.soorcenter.com

3729596/3729581

Dr. Sohal Najem Al-Shemeri

25633324

Dr. Jasem Mola Hassan

25345875

Gastrologists Dr. Sami Aman

22636464

Dr. Mohammad Al-Shamaly

25322030

Dr. Foad Abidallah Al-Ali

22633135

Kaizen center 25716707

25339330

Dr. Ahmad Al-Ansari 25658888 Dr. Kamal Al-Shomr 25329924 Physiotherapists & VD Dr. Deyaa Shehab

25722291

Dr. Musaed Faraj Khamees

22666288

Rheumatologists: Dr. Adel Al-Awadi

Dr Anil Thomas

Dr. Salem soso

Dr. Abd Al-Naser Al-Othman

25330060

Dr. Khaled Al-Jarallah

25722290

Internist, Chest & Heart DR.Mohammes Akkad

24555050 Ext 210

Dr. Mohammad Zubaid MB, ChB, FRCPC, PACC Assistant Professor Of Medicine Head, Division of Cardiology Mubarak Al-Kabeer Hospital Consultant Cardiologist Dr. Farida Al-Habib MD, PH.D, FACC Inaya German Medical Center Te: 2575077 Fax: 25723123

2611555-2622555

William Schuilenberg, RPC 2290-1677 Zaina Al Zabin, M.Sc. 2290-1677

Afghanistan 0093 Albania 00355 Algeria 00213 Andorra 00376 Angola 00244 Anguilla 001264 Antiga 001268 Argentina 0054 Armenia 00374 Australia 0061 Austria 0043 Bahamas 001242 Bahrain 00973 Bangladesh 00880 Barbados 001246 Belarus 00375 Belgium 0032 Belize 00501 Benin 00229 Bermuda 001441 Bhutan 00975 Bolivia 00591 Bosnia 00387 Botswana 00267 Brazil 0055 Brunei 00673 Bulgaria 00359 Burkina 00226 Burundi 00257 Cambodia 00855 Cameroon 00237 Canada 001 Cape Verde 00238 Cayman Islands 001345 Central African 00236 Chad 00235 Chile 0056 China 0086 Colombia 0057 Comoros 00269 Congo 00242 Cook Islands 00682 Costa Rica 00506 Croatia 00385 Cuba 0053 Cyprus 00357 Cyprus (Northern) 0090392 Czech Republic 00420 Denmark 0045 Diego Garcia 00246 Djibouti 00253 Dominica 001767 Dominican Republic 001809 Ecuador 00593 Egypt 0020 El Salvador 00503 England (UK) 0044 Equatorial Guinea 00240 Eritrea 00291 Estonia 00372 Ethiopia 00251 Falkland Islands 00500 Faroe Islands 00298 Fiji 00679 Finland 00358 France 0033 French Guiana 00594 French Polynesia 00689 Gabon 00241 Gambia 00220 Georgia 00995 Germany 0049 Ghana 00233 Gibraltar 00350 Greece 0030 Greenland 00299 Grenada 001473 Guadeloupe 00590 Guam 001671 Guatemala 00502 Guinea 00224 Guyana 00592 Haiti 00509 Holland (Netherlands) 0031 Honduras 00504 Hong Kong 00852 Hungary 0036 Ibiza (Spain) 0034 Iceland 00354 India 0091 Indian Ocean 00873 Indonesia 0062

Iran 0098 Iraq 00964 Ireland 00353 Italy 0039 Ivory Coast 00225 Jamaica 001876 Japan 0081 Jordan 00962 Kazakhstan 007 Kenya 00254 Kiribati 00686 Kuwait 00965 Kyrgyzstan 00996 Laos 00856 Latvia 00371 Lebanon 00961 Liberia 00231 Libya 00218 Lithuania 00370 Luxembourg 00352 Macau 00853 Macedonia 00389 Madagascar 00261 Majorca 0034 Malawi 00265 Malaysia 0060 Maldives 00960 Mali 00223 Malta 00356 Marshall Islands 00692 Martinique 00596 Mauritania 00222 Mauritius 00230 Mayotte 00269 Mexico 0052 Micronesia 00691 Moldova 00373 Monaco 00377 Mongolia 00976 Montserrat 001664 Morocco 00212 Mozambique 00258 Myanmar (Burma) 0095 Namibia 00264 Nepal 00977 Netherlands (Holland) 0031 Netherlands Antilles 00599 New Caledonia 00687 New Zealand 0064 Nicaragua 00505 Nigar 00227 Nigeria 00234 Niue 00683 Norfolk Island 00672 Northern Ireland (UK) 0044 North Korea 00850 Norway 0047 Oman 00968 Pakistan 0092 Palau 00680 Panama 00507 Papua New Guinea 00675 Paraguay 00595 Peru 0051 Philippines 0063 Poland 0048 Portugal 00351 Puerto Rico 001787 Qatar 00974 Romania 0040 Russian Federation 007 Rwanda 00250 Saint Helena 00290 Saint Kitts 001869 Saint Lucia 001758 Saint Pierre 00508 Saint Vincent 001784 Samoa US 00684 Samoa West 00685 San Marino 00378 Sao Tone 00239 Saudi Arabia 00966 Scotland (UK) 0044 Senegal 00221 Seychelles 00284 Sierra Leone 00232 Singapore 0065 Slovakia 00421 Slovenia 00386 Solomon Islands 00677

36

TUESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2014

LIFESTYLE G o s s i p

Miley Cyrus worried about love life

Motherhood changes Sheryl Crow

M

iley Cyrus worries she will never find someone who “loves her for who she is.” The ‘Wrecking Ball’ singer - who broke off her engagement with Liam Hemsworth last year and was recently romantically linked with Kellan Lutz - can’t understand how she is viewed by guys and doesn’t think she will find anyone who enjoys her outrageous antics. A source said: “Miley has absolutely no self awareness. She doesn’t see herself the way guys do. “She’d love to be in a relationship - she worries she will never find someone who loves her for who she is - but she’s totally unaware of why guys dump her.”

Miley unveiled a drastic new image in 2013, with short, dyed hair, skimpy revealing outfits, songs referencing drugs and popularising the raunchy dance move Twerking, but experts say these things could put men off. Psychiatrist Dr Carole Lieberman told Life & Style magazine: “She flaunts her sexuality to get attention, and that makes a man feel like he can’t keep up.”

The 21-year-old star’s friends add that behind the strong image, Miley is still unsure of herself. A source said: “Miley wants nothing more than to have someone who’s there for her when she needs them. She gets lonely and needs lots of attention.”

S

heryl Crow feels motherhood has put everything in her life “into perspective.” The ‘First Cut is the Deepest’ hitmaker - who has adopted sons Wyatt, six, and Levi, three - admits being a working mother is “hard” and she will have to stop taking her kids on the road now her eldest child is starting school. She said: “It’s the biggest thing [being a mother]. It has put everything else into perspective. “This year has been a lot of hard work and I’ve driven my kids all over the place. “But as my six year old enters first grade, all of that will be a thing of the past.” The 51-year-old musician has loved having her children on tour with her because she misses them too much being away from home. She explained to Classic Rock magazine: “My kids are at a great age, and they’re so malleable and like being on a tour bus and sleeping in their bunks. “It has made it a lot more fun for me, because it’s hard being on the road away from the people that you love. “So being able to bring them with me has made it so much more worthwhile.”

Jada Pinkett Smith is fed up of being afraid of everything

T

he ‘Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted’ actress, whose marriage to Will Smith, 45, was rumored to be on the rocks last year, plans to overcome her biggest fear of being hurt by facing things head-on in 2014. In a mysterious new post on her Facebook page, the 42-year-old star, who has a 15year-old son, Jaden, and 13-year-old daughter, Willow, with her husband, wrote: “Since the beginning of the year, I have been examining and paying very close attention to how much fear plays into my decision making and my life as a whole. The idea that I’m scared and that everyone I come into contact with is as well, was a crude awakening. “Most of us have done such a good job at hiding how scared we are through our anger, judgmental attitudes, arrogance, lack of self respect and lack of respect for others that we don’t recognize that when are operating in this manner, in the belief that we are protecting ourselves from pain, it is actually the very thing that keeps drawing the pain towards us.” She added: “This year I will be diminishing my fears by recognizing my fears and the fears of others while making a conscious, compassionate effort to replace it with light, love and trust within. We all want to love and be loved...period. Let’s stop fearing it.” Jada and Will recently celebrated their 16th wedding anniversary after his ‘Focus’ co-star, Margot Robbie, was forced to deny rumors they were having an affair when photographs emerged of them looking cosy together in a photo booth in New Orleans, Louisiana, in October, amid reports he and Jada were undergoing a trial separation. The couple enjoyed an “exuberant celebration” in Dubai on New Year’s Eve and Jada said it “meant a hell of a lot.”

Kate Moss’ birthday bash annoys diners

Kristen Stewart ‘put through the ringer’ by Marines

T

he 23-year-old actress trained with a couple of members of the United States Armed Forces in preparation for her role as an army guard at Guantanamo Bay who befriends a prisoner in ‘Camp X-Ray’ and admits she found the experience extremely tough. The brunette beauty told E! News at a screening for the film at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah: “I spent a few days with a couple of Marines that really put me through the ringer. It was awesome.

They’re great guys. “We wanted to represent them in the best possible way we can and if I was remotely unauthentic, I would die. I would hate that. We did everything we could to keep it real.” She added: “I had to move and respond like a soldier that was not given any room to breathe. She’s not using all the things she’s been trained to do. She’s walking around in circles. I needed to look like I learned those things but couldn’t really display any of it.” Kristen frequently visited a driving range to help her unwind after filming intense scenes. Her costar Lane Garrison, 33, said: “We built a driving range in the prison and I brought like 400 golf balls. We would go out there and hit about 100 golf balls. She has an amazing swing.”

Harvard honors Dame Helen Mirren

D

ame Helen Mirren was named Harvard’s Hasty Pudding Woman of 2014. The ‘Hitchcock’ actress will be honoured for her contributions to film by the prestigious university’s undergraduate drama society in a ceremony at its Cambridge campus near Boston, Massachusetts on January 30. The Oscar-winning star, 68, will be the subject of a roast before she is presented with her award at Farkas Hall. Speaking about the accolade, the British actress said: “How very saucy of the Hasty Pudding organization to offer me their award. As someone who adores Pudding in all its manifestations ... Suet, Christmas, Treacle, Bread and Butter, Yorkshire, Plum, Figgy, etc., etc., I am so looking forward to the famous Hasty Pudding.” ‘The Queen’ star joins an elite club of Hollywood starlets to be given the Hasty Pudding award. The Woman of the Year honor is given to performers who have made lasting contributions to entertainment. Previous honourees include Meryl Streep, Katharine Hepburn, Julia Roberts, Jodie Foster, Elizabeth Taylor, Anne Hathaway, Claire Danes and French actress Marion Cotillard, who was celebrated last year. The Man of the Year recipient will be announced at a later date and will be honored on February 7.

37

TUESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2014

LIFESTYLE G o s s i p

Selena Gomez tells Justin Bieber to mend his ways

S

Kanye West not okay with daughter in a bikini

T

he 36-year-old rapper, who previously vowed to be an extremely protective father, was upset when his fiancee Kim Kardashian recently put their sevenmonth-old daughter North into a two-piece swimsuit to take her for her first dip in a pool because it made him “uncomfortable.” The ‘Keeping Up with the Kardashians’ star, 33, told ‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show’: “(He) is a little uncomfortable with North wearing a bikini. I tried it once and it did not go over well. It has to be a one-piece.” The couple took their baby girl swimming for the first time in

Miami, Florida in late November. Kim wrote on Twitter at the time: “We took our baby girl swimming today for the 1st time, she loved it so much! #BestDayEver” Shortly before North’s birth last June, ‘Bound 2’ hitmaker Kanye said he was determined that North would enjoy a normal childhood and would not let people to take advantage of her. He said: “This is my baby. This isn’t America’s baby.” He added: “One of the things was to be protective, that I would do anything to protect my child or my child’s mother. As simple as that.”

elena Gomez’s split from Justin Bieber helped her to turn her career around. The pop starlet felt she had stopped being challenged musically before she was 20 but her painful breakup from the ‘Never Say Never’ singer in January 2013 motivated her to re-evaluate and come back with pop hit ‘Come & Get It’. She told Seventeen magazine: “I questioned the way I looked, acted, sang, and wrote. I started becoming very stale with my music, and I realized that I was doing things for other people.

“Then I turned 20, went through a really bad breakup, and realized I needed to pick up everything. “I needed to have ‘Come & Get It’ be amazing. I wanted it all to be me. I was tired of feeling defeated.

All this time, I was so tired trying to figure out why I felt like such an underdog, and I finally realized I just wasn’t ready.

I’m glad it’s taken me this long to get where I am because now I am ready for it.” Selena reunited with Justin, 19, earlier this month - a year after the initially separated - but before their romance gets too serious again, she is urging him to attend anger management classes, following a police raid on his home in Calabasas, California. A source said: “She’s told Justin he has to mend his ways if they are to start seeing each other regularly again. “She just wants some pleases [and] thank yous, as well as some good behavior if things are to get serious again. “She has told Justin he needs help with anger management and that he should book classes.”

Jonah Hill

prank-called businesses to prepare for role

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he 30-year-old funnyman - who plays Donnie Azoff in the new dark comedy ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’ from Martin Scorsese - has revealed he perfected his character’s New York accent by spending 90 minutes a day calling unsuspecting companies who had no idea they were talking to an A-lister. Jonah, who wore glaringly white prosthetic teeth for the part and developed a lisp due to the dentures, told BANG Showbiz: “You could take them in and out. But I had a horrible lisp, so I had to talk with them for an hour and a half every day for a month ahead of time to nail the accent and get rid of the lisp. So I would call different businesses as Donnie and talk on the phone for an hour and a half every day.” The Oscar-nominated actor also heaped praise on his co-star Leonardo DiCaprio for helping him be a better actor.

Speaking at the UK premiere of ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’ in London’s Leicester Square, he said: “He’s brilliant. I think he’s the best actor of his generation. To me, when you work with people who are that great they just elevate you to a different level.” Meanwhile, Leonardo, 39, who also produced the flick, revealed how hard it was to get the passion project financed because of the amount of wild debauchery featured in the film. He explained: “This was a very hard movie to finance from the onset. Not many studios are chomping at the bit to do an American epic with Wall Street in the title, let alone this which is sort of focused on hedonism, debauchery and excess. It doesn’t have all the conditional things I think Hollywood films have, and for that reason I’m thankful to that people [we worked with] for being willing to take a gamble on a very adult American epic about the state of our culture.”

Scarlett Johansson gets aggressive in France

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carlett Johansson’s move to France has made her “aggressive” towards the locals. The actress - who relocated from the US to Paris with her French fiancÈ Romain Dauriac last year- is astonished by how “terribly rude” other residents of the city are when it comes to walking through the streets, so she has developed a tough attitude in a bid to stop being “body checked” by passers-by.

During an appearance on ‘The Late Show with David Letterman’, Scarlett - who plays Black Widow in ‘The Avengers’ movies - said: “I live in the left bank; it’s close to the Latin Quarter. I like to walk around but it’s frustrating because people there don’t have ... I mean I’m from New York and I assume that I’m an amazing walker because I’m from New York. It’s a wonderful dance on the street ... it’s a choreography walking down the street. When I got there I assumed it was this provincial town like they don’t know how to walk, people don’t walk here. “They walk everywhere! And the fact they are just body checking me as they come ... So now I just do a stare down from halfway down the block. I’ve started getting really aggressive with people now. And I don’t care! I’m a superhero for Christ sake.”Though the 29-year-old beauty loves living in Paris, she admits some aspects of her life in Europe are “annoying” - particularly the “rude” local residents. She said: “Of course when I first got there I thought people were not that whole kind of rude Parisian thing. You know, people aren’t rude they are wonderful. Well that was before I was a mainstay there and then people decided that once I wasn’t going away they could just be really terribly rude to me.” She added: “I decided to take the plunge and move to Paris and it’s great, I love it. Some of the stardust twinkles warn off a little bit now and all the things that you thought were charming before are just [annoying].” — Bangshowbiz

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Emma Watson trusts Matthew Janney E

mma Watson isn’t worried about Matthew Janney’s reputation as a ladies’ man. The ‘Harry Potter’ actress has started dating the rugbyplaying British hunk since splitting with long term boyfriend Will Adamowicz, and is ignoring her friends’ warnings that he is could break her heart. A source told America’s Star magazine: “They had instant chemistry.

People have warned Emma about his past, but she doesn’t care. She became infatuated with him immediately, and he loves her attention.” The

couple were spotted kissing on a romantic break in the Caribbean earlier this month, and Coralie Day -Matthew’s guardian, who has looked after him since the death of both his mother and father from cancer, leaving him orphaned at 16 - says she’s “thrilled” for them both. She has said: “We are thrilled to bits that he is seeing Emma Watson. We are looking forward to meeting her soon. “Hats off to her for finding such a wonderful young man.

There is nothing bad anyone could say about Matt. He is absolutely lovely.”

Khloe Kardashian, Lamar Odom to sell marital home

he ‘Keeping Up with the Kardashians’ star, who filed for divorce from the professional basketball player, 34, in December after four years of marriage, following months of rumors he cheated on her and was addicted to drugs, has listed their sprawling 8,400 square-foot mansion in the upscale Mulholland Park gated-community in Tarzana, California for $5.5 million. The former couple bought the seven bedroom, nine bathroom house in both their names in December 2009 for $3.95 million three months after they got married after just one month of dating, according to The Real Estalker website. The house, which regularly featured on the couple’s own E! reality series ‘Khloe & Lamar’, also boasts a home cinema, a gourmet kitchen, stone floors, an outdoor kitchen, pool, spa and a private terrace with expansive San Fernando Valley views. Khloe, who is worth $18 million, cited “irreconcilable differences” in papers to end her marriage to Lamar, and is not seeking spousal support from the former LA Clippers player, who has an estimated fortune of $100 million. A source previously claimed that their prenuptial agreement would enable Khloe to keep their home, her $1 million engagement ring, and she would also be awarded a $2 million cash pay-out. The 29-year-old star denied she was putting the house on the market in early November as friends insisted she was desperately trying to save her marriage.

Oprah Winfrey wasn’t ‘robbed’ of an Oscar nomination

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he talk show legend was heavily tipped to earn an Academy Award nod for her return to acting in Lee Daniels’ White House drama ‘The Butler’, however, she failed to make the cut when the nominations were announced. Oprah says she isn’t at all upset about being snubbed and praised the women who were nominated in the Best Supporting Actress category, including Julia Roberts, Lupita Nyong’o, Jennifer Lawrence, June Squibb and Sally Hawkins. She said: “I do not think I was robbed at all. How dare anybody say that I was robbed ... Robbed? Are you kidding? Never, never, never!

“Because when you look at the category - Julia, and Sally, and June, and Jennifer, and Lupita!” Oprah has earned a BAFTA nomination for her portrayal of Gloria Gaines - the wife of Cecil Gaines (Forest Whitaker), a butler who served no less than seven United States presidents - in the acclaimed historical film and she concedes it’s difficult for Oscar voters to consider all of the films which vie for the coveted awards. She told ‘Access Hollywood’: “That’s what’s so wonderful about the Oscars. There are wonderful films, and the fact that you have so many films that you can’t even get people in all the categories. And the fact that I, actually, after 15 years was able to actually do it.”

lifestyle

TUESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2014

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tars turned out in throngs for Saint Laurent’s menswear show, the highlight of the last day of fallwinter 2014 Paris shows which included Lanvin, Paul Smith and Thom Browne. Here are some key moments and tidbits from the finish line of the colorful menswear season. Salma Hayek turned up at the very last minute for the Saint Laurent Paris show, attracting attention because she was dressed head to toe in men’s clothes. But the “Frida” star who wore an androgynous dark “smoking” jacket, white shirt and menswear tie from a previous Saint Laurent menswear show, pulled the bold look off with style. She twinned it with a demure beehive. Hayek was clearly invoking the legacy of the late, great Yves Saint Laurent who broke the mold as one of the first designers to blur the lines between men and women’s dressing with “Le Smoking.” Today’s designer Hedi Slimane, too, has continued the house’s androgynous spirit and put men’s codes in his women’s creations. Hayek was accompanied by her husband and CEO of Kering, Saint Laurent’s owner, Francois-Henri Pinault. Eighty-six-year-old French music icon Juliette Greco also watched Slimane’s show from the front row wearing a big, black vintage YSL hat.

Hedi Slimane’s Las Vegas meets East London With the blinding lights of a Las Vegas casino, Slimane once again went back in time to the Rockabilly early-1960s.

Python shirts, pencil ties, black skinny jeans and a pale pink shimmering tuxedo were worn by slouching models.

They stomped about the catwalk clumsily with shades and metallic tassels from jackets that glittered in the bright Vegas lights. It gave off a nice air of disco sleaze, at times.

But Slimane also gave a nod to London with his now familiar retro wardrobe. Check scarves and drape coats seeming to echo a sort of East End gangster, or a Teddy boy. He stylishly hit this season’s big trend for large footwear, with his brothel creepers and black platform shoes with leather buckles. Though this collection packed no surprises and similar styles have been seen in his previous shows, Slimane’s rebellious vision is becoming more focused and has already influenced other Paris fashionhouses in powerful ways.

Models present creations of Yves Saint-Laurent fashion house during the fall/winter 2014-2015 men’s fashion show in Paris on January 19, 2014. — AFP/AP photos

Models present creations by Italian designer Donatella Versace.

TUESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2014

lifestyle

Wild luxury Lanvin gave the rebellious punk boy of the street an injection of luxury. Punk hairstyles, skinny ties, long think 1970s scarfs, bold prints and retro cyclamen pink blurred down the catwalk. But Lanvin is about pure luxury: This rebel looked like he’d won the lottery and gone on a shopping spree sporting shimmering, couture fabrics and jackets and pants with finessed tailoring.

Like Saint Laurent’s Slimane, who’s sought to rebel against established high fashion, Alber Elbaz and Lucas Ossendrijver here are also showing that street and couture can make a neat mix. And, like Saint Laurent, Lanvin’s silhouettes are getting skinnier. Accessories were the name of the game here, with belts in metallic tassels, shoes and sneakers in cobalt blue, faridian green and burgundy and ties in pale blue and shocking pink. It was as if Elbaz were saying: “Le street, c’est chic.”

Animal fashion without the fur There have been lashings on fur in Paris this season.

And even a gorilla coat. But some designers chose to deal with the latest menswear trend with a wink and a nudge.

Designer Thom Browne recreated a Tim Burton-like forest, with black deer and foxes frozen underneath nightmarish, sinewy trees. Finely tailored gray suits with frayed edges were sported on models wearing wiry elephant masks, checked caps with antlers, and a hat with a rabbit’s ears, eyes and whiskers. Real fur was nowhere to be seen. The middle of the show took a surprising turn for the surreal, featuring gargantuan black and white clownlike outfits that looked fit for the circus. But Browne, who rose to prominence after dressing First Lady Michelle Obama at the second swearing in ceremony of US President Barrack Obama, is so famous now he can probably afford to take some risks. Another show to use the animal imagery, but with no fur, was from British designer Paul Smith. Pink flamingos, elephants, zebras, leopards and monkeys cropped up as embroideries on sweaters and coats with a Persian feel in a beautiful show with rich earthy pinks. — AP

Models present creations for Schiaparelli.

Models wear creations for Tony Ward’s Spring-Summer 2014 Haute Couture fashion collection.

Italy’s maestro Abbado dies after stellar career

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talian conductor Claudio Abbado, who pushed to open the music world to a wider public and was loved by orchestras for his gentle manner, died yesterday after a stellar career that took him to La Scala in Milan, the Vienna State Opera and the Berlin Philharmonic. Abbado believed deeply in what he called the “therapeutic values” of music and staged performances on factory floors of the 1960s, as well as promoting the Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra from Venezuela. After being nominated a senator for life in the Italian parliament last year, Abbado gave away his senator’s salary to provide scholarships for young musicians saying that music “helps people live better together”.

He was 80 years old and had been gravely ill for several months after surviving a stomach tumor in 2002, forcing him to cancel recent performances. “Claudio Abbado died peacefully this morning at 8:30 am (0730 GMT) surrounded by his family” in Bologna in central Italy where he had been artistic director of the Orchestra Mozart, his relatives said in a statement. Abbado made hundreds of recordings with Deutsche Grammophon, Sony and EMI, spanning from Italy’s lyrical repertoire to contemporary classical music.

“This is such a painful moment,” said a tearful Attilia Giuliani, head of the “Abbadiani” appreciation club in Milan, who said she first saw the conductor perform at the San Carlo opera house in Naples in 1988. Born on June 26, 1933 in Milan into a musical family, Abbado began his studies in his hometown and completed his training with Hans Swarowsky in Vienna from 1957 — the start of a long love story with Austria. He once said that he felt he was “half Viennese”. Abbado was a true Europhile and a global citizen who worked in many of the world’s musical capitals.

The maestro started out at La Scala in 1960, where he was widely praised for his performance of Giacomo Manzoni’s opera “Atomtod” in 1965 and he served as musical director of the celebrated theatre until 1986. He was known as a leftist and broke with tradition by giving concerts in factories and schools, trying to involve the wider public in the classical music world. After a trip to Venezuela, he became a major supporter of maestro Antonio Abreu’s award-winning Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra for disadvantaged children. In Venezuela “there are hundreds of orchestras for young people and the music

really rescues them from criminality, prostitution and drugs,” Abbado said.

From 1971, he also became a regular at the Vienna Philharmonic and he conducted the London Symphony Orchestra between 1979 and 1988, where he was praised for concerts of his favourite composer, Gustav Mahler. He was musical director of the Staatsoper in Vienna between 1986 and 1991 and he even received the prestigious title of musical director general of the Austrian capital”Generalmusikdirektor”. Abbado was elected head of the Berlin Philharmonic by its members in October 1989 after the death of Herbert von Karajan and established an excellent rapport with the orchestra, where he worked until 2002. “I am not their boss, we work together,” he used to say. — AFP This picture shows Italian conductor Claudio Abbado (right) and Pianist Maurizio Pollini at Berlin’s “Waldbuehne”. — AFP

Italy’s maestro Abbado dies after stellar career

TUESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2014

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David Heyman (left) and Alfonso Cuaron (third from right) producers from “Gravity,” and (from second left) Anthony Katagas, Jeremy Kleiner, Dede Gardner, Steve McQueen and Brad Pitt, producers from “12 Years a Slave,”pose with the Darryl F Zanuck awards for outstanding producer of a theatrical motion picture at the 25th annual Producers Guild of America (PGA) Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Sunday, Jan 19, 2014, in Beverly Hills, Calif. —AP/AFP photos

‘Gravity’ and ‘12 Years’ share top PGA prize T

he Alfonso Cuaron film “Gravity” and the harrowing historical drama “12 Years a Slave” shared the top prize Sunday at the Producers Guild of America (PGA), a first for the awards. In the past six years the winner of the PGA then picked up the Oscar for best film at the Academy Awards, as Hollywood’s prize-giving season moves into full flow. But it was the first time the big prize at the PGA, in Los Angeles, has been shared in its 25-year history, according to Variety magazine.

“12 Years a Slave,” about a free black man sold into slavery in 1840s America, and “Gravity,” starring Sandra Bullock, who plays an astronaut stranded in space with George Clooney, were already among the Oscar frontrunners. The 3D space spectacular tops the Oscars nominations list with 10 nods, along with David O. Russell’s stylish crime caper “American Hustle”. The Oscars, the climax of Tinseltown’s glitzy awards season, is on March 2. “American Hustle” won the top film prize at the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) awards on Saturday, having already won big at the Golden Globes, where it took best musical/comedy film and two acting awards. Steve McQueen’s “12 Years a Slave” took the coveted best drama prize at the Golden Globes. Other PGA winners included the TV movie with Michael Douglas and Matt Damon, “Behind the Candelabra,” the documentary on WikiLeaks, “We Steal Secrets,” and the Disney animated film “Frozen.” In the television categories, highly acclaimed comedy “Modern Family” and drama series “Breaking Bad” took top honors. — AFP

Morgan Freeman and Helen Mirren pose.

Ron Howard (left) and Leonardo DiCaprio pose.

Producers Tanya Michnevich (left) and Meredith Bennett accept the Award for Outstanding Producer of Live Entertainment & Talk Television for ‘The Colbert Report’ onstage.

Claire Danes and Hugh Dancy attend the event.

Producer Michelle MacLaren (at podium) accepts the Norman Felton Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Drama for ‘Breaking Bad’ with (from left to right) actor Bryan Cranston, producers Mark Johnson, Vince Gilligan and Stewart Lyons onstage.

Gillian Anderson speaks onstage.

Actors Chiwetel Ejiofor (left) and Lupita Nyong’o speak onstage.

Producer Audrey Morrissey (at podium) and producers of ‘The Voice’ accept the Award for Outstanding Producer of Competition Television onstage.

Tom Hanks and Kristin Chenoweth