24 Feb

CR IP TI ON BS SU

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2014

National flag raised on manmade island

Opposition, pro-govt rallies grip Venezuela

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RABI ALTHANI 24, 1435 AH

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Pegasus to launch flights to Turkey and beyond

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Canada claim gold as Crosby ends slump

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Assembly panel OKs telecom commission MP calls to deport 280,000 expats annually

By B Izzak

Amir heading to New York KUWAIT: HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah leaves today for New York for routine medical checkups. — KUNA

KUWAIT: The National Assembly’s public utilities committee yesterday approved a draft law to establish the long-awaited telecommunication commission which has been delayed for years. Head of the panel MP Adel Al-Khorafi said the draft law will be referred to the Assembly for voting on March 4. The establishment of the telecom commission, a key measure to regulate and liberalize the telecom sector in Kuwait, has been delayed

several times by the Assembly and the government, which withdrew the bill a number of times before sending it back to the Assembly.

Kuwait is the only country of the sixnation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states not to have a telecom regulator, thus negatively impacting the progress of local telecom companies. If the law is passed swiftly and the commission is established, a sharp drop in the rates of international phone calls is expected, because the three mobile opera-

tors can own their international phone networks. At present, all international calls pass through the communications ministry.

Meanwhile, a lawmaker has announced that he has finished preparing a proposal that calls for deporting an average of 280,000 expatriates every year in a bid to achieve demographic balance within five years. MP Khalil Al-Abdullah explained in statements published by Al-Rai daily yesterday that the bill calls for achieving equality between the Kuwaiti and expatriate populations. “This

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requires reducing expatriate numbers to 1,100,000 within five years, or 280,000 annually,” he said.

There are 2.7 million expatriates in Kuwait, making up 68 percent of the country’s 3.9 million population. Abdullah said that his proposal provides exemption to foreigners who contribute to the state’s development, and instead focuses on unproductive labor forces “whose large presence results in sharp pressure on infrastructures”.

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Saudis ‘seeking Pak arms for Syria rebels’ DUBAI: Saudi Arabia is in talks with Pakistan to provide anti-aircraft and antitank rockets to Syrian rebels to try to tip the balance in the war to overthrow President Bashar Al-Assad, a Saudi source said yesterday. The United States has long opposed arming the rebels with such weapons, fearing they might end up in the hands of extremists, but Syrian opposition figures say the failure of Geneva peace talks seems to have led Washington to soften its opposition.

Pakistan makes its own version of Chinese shoulder-launched anti-aircraft missiles, known as Anza, and anti-tank rockets - both of which Riyadh is trying to get for the rebels, said the source, who is close to Saudi decision-makers, requesting anonymity.

The source pointed to a visit to Riyadh earlier this month by Pakistan’s army chief of staff, General Raheel Sharif, who met Crown Prince Salman bin Abdul Aziz. Prince Salman himself last week led a large delegation to Pakistan, shor tly after Saudi’s chief diplomat Prince Saud al-Faisal visited the kingdom’s key ally. Jordan will be providing facilities to store the weapons before they are delivered to rebels within Syria, the same source said. AFP could not obtain confirmation from officials in

Saudi, Pakistan or Jordan.

The head of the Syrian opposition, Ahmad Jarba, promised during a flying visit to northern Syria last week that “powerful arms will be arriving soon”.

“The United States could allow their allies provide the rebels with anti-aircraft and anti-tank weapons following the failure of Geneva talks and the renewed tension with Russia,” said the head of the Gulf Research Centre, Abdel Aziz AlSager. Providing those weapons to the rebels “relieves pressure on the US in the short-term,” said Simon Henderson, director of the Gulf and Energy Policy Programme at the Washington Institue for Near East Policy. “But the long-term political worry is that Manpads (Manportable air-defence systems) will leak and be used to bring down a civilian airliner somewhere in the world.”

Rebels have long said that anti-aircraft rockets would help them defend themselves against Syrian warplanes, which regularly bomb rebel-held areas with barrels loaded with TNT and other ordinance. The nearly-three-year conflict in Syria has torn the countr y apar t, killing more than 140,000 people, including some 50,000 civilians, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. — AFP

SOCHI: Performers recreate the fifth Olympic ring that didnít open in the opening ceremony during the closing ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics yesterday. — AP

Curtain falls on Putin’s Games

KIEV: An anti-government protestor waits with a bat at the entrance of Independence Square yesterday. — AFP

Ukraine ushers in new era as president flees KIEV: A new era dawned in Ukraine yesterday as parliament appointed a proWestern interim leader after ousted president Viktor Yanukovych fled Kiev to escape retribution for a week of deadly carnage. The ex-Soviet state’s tumultuous three-month crisis culminated in a dizzying flurry of historic changes over the weekend that saw parliament sideline the pro-Russian president and call a new poll for May 25. Lawmakers then went a step further by approving the release from her seven-year jail sentence of former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko - a star of the 2004 Orange Revolution who was thrown behind bars less than a year after Yanukovych came to power in 2010.

The constitutional legitimacy of parliament’s actions remains an open question and Yanukovych vowed in a taped interview to fight the “bandits” who now claimed to rule Ukraine. But

Yanukovych’s grasp on power was in limited evidence in Kiev yesterday as the city’s police presence vanished and protesters took control of everything from traffic management to protection of government buildings after a week of bloodshed that claimed nearly 100 lives. The United States vowed to drum up financial help that could pull Ukraine out of a crisis sparked in November when Yanukovych spurned a historic EU deal and secured a $15-billion bailout for the struggling nation of 46 million people, from its old master Russia.

Lawmakers voted yesterday to name close Tymoshenko ally Oleksandr Turchynov - himself only appointed parliament speaker on Saturday in place of a veteran Yanukovych supporter - as interim president tasked with forming a new government by tomorrow. Turchynov immediately vowed to draw up a “gov Continued on Page 13

SOCHI, Russia: Sochi’s $50 billion Olympics, closely interwoven with President Vladimir Putin’s image and plagued by controversy in the build-up, closed yesterday with bold praise and Russia supreme on top of the medals table. In a glitzy closing ceremony, aimed at conveying a confident state at ease with its past as well as present, International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach said “Russia delivered all what it had promised”. “What took decades in other parts of the world was achieved here in just seven years,” he said. “I would like to thank the President of the Russian Federation, Mr Vladimir Putin, for his personal commitment to the extraordinary success of these Olympic Winter Games.”

Just over two weeks ago, Bach, aware of the global resentment felt in large parts of the world over Russia’s notorious anti-gay law, had made an impassioned call for politicians to stay out of sports. Yesterday, he insisted that those involved in the organisation of the Sochi Games had revealed a Russia to be respected. “Through you everybody with an open mind could see the face of a new Russia - efficient and friendly, patriotic and open to the world,” he said.

Bach then closed the Black Sea coast showpiece in the traditional manner of looking ahead to the next Games in South Korea in 2018. “I declare the 22nd Olympic Winter Games closed. In accordance with tradition, I call upon the youth of the world to assemble

At 90, Mugabe ‘feeling like 9’ MARONDERA, Zimbabwe: Thousands of people turned out yesterday to celebrate the birthday of Zimbabwe’s veteran President Robert Mugabe, who threw 90 balloons into the air to mark his 90th year and continuing hold on power. Fresh off the plane from Singapore, where he had travelled for eye surgery last week, Mugabe was in typically defiant mood as he launched his birthday celebrations at Marondera stadium, Robert Mugabe east of the capital Harare. “I feel as youthful and energetic as a boy of nine,” Mugabe said before cutting his cake.

Dressed in a black suit, red tie and white shirt, he moved around the venue on the back of a truck waving his fist to a crowd made up largely of school Continued on Page 13

four years from now in PyeongChang to celebrate with us the 23rd Olympic Winter Games.”

Russia guaranteed top spot in the medals table earlier yesterday after a clean sweep of the men’s 50-km cross country race thanks to Alexander Legkov, Maxim Vylegzhanin and Ilia Chernousov. The hosts then hammered home their supremacy when Alexander Zubkov claimed his second gold in Sochi by leading the four-man bobsleigh team to victory. Russia ended their own Games with 13 golds and a total of 33 medals, topping the table ahead of Norway. Canada had the honour of claiming the last gold when they comfortably defended their ice hockey title with a 3-0 win over Sweden in the final. — AFP (See Page 20)

Drone flaps to future DELFT, Netherlands: Dutch scientists have developed the world’s smallest autonomous flapping drone, a dragonfly-like beast with 3-D vision that could revolutionize our experience of everything from pop concerts to farming. “This is the DelFly Explorer, the world’s smallest drone with flapping wings that’s able to fly around by itself and avoid obstacles,” its proud developer Guido de Croon of the Delft Technical University told AFP. Weighing just 20 gm, around the same as four sheets of printer paper, the robot dragonfly could be used in situations where much heavier quadcopters with spinning blades would be hazardous, such as flying over the audience to film a concert or sport event.

The Explorer looks like a large dragonfly or grasshopper as it flitters about the room, using two tiny low-resolution video cameras - reproducing the 3-D vision of human eyes - and an on-board computer to take in its surroundings and

DelFly Explorer avoid crashing into things. And like an insect, the drone which has a wingspan of 28 cm, would feel at home flying around plants. “It can for instance also be used to fly around and detect ripe fruit in greenhouses,” De Croon said, with an eye on the Netherlands’ vast indoor fruit-growing business. “Or imagine, for the first time there could be an autonomous flying fair y in a theme park,” he said.

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MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2014

LOCAL

KUWAIT: Kuwaiti Army Music Band holding their Military Musical Parade at the Avenues.

Military musical parade at the Avenues KUWAIT: The Avenues, in collaboration with Kuwaiti Army Music Band, organized their Military Musical Parade throughout the entire stretch of The Avenues, beginning from IKEA all the way down towards Grand Avenue’s Big Screen in a patriotically monumental scene which is also considered to be the first time in Kuwait to perform an indoor Military Musical Parade inside a shopping center.

The performing Kuwaiti Army Band, which consists of Brass Band Unit, Bagpipes & Drums Unit, as well as Kuwaiti Army Folklore Unit, have displayed their high military musical standards by playing both Classical and Patriotic masterpieces not to mention traditional music in front of the large celebrating masses at The Avenues in a rejoicing atmosphere dominated with applause and crowd singing along these instrumental music performances.

Cabinet holds weekly session KUWAIT: The Cabinet of Ministers, in its weekly session yesterday, extended national celebration greetings to the Kuwaiti leadership, wishing propriety and stability to the state of Kuwait.

The session, held at Bayan Palace, was chaired by His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Mubarak AlHamad Al-Sabah.

After the meeting, Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah said that the cabinet discussed a letter addressed to His Highness the Amir of Kuwait from the Philippines President

Benigno Aquino III on bilateral ties.

The cabinet also discussed another letter from the Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf to His Highness the Amir that praised the success of the second donors conference for the Syrian refugees that was held in Kuwait on January 15, the minister added.

He said that the cabinet also tackled results of the Third Ministerial Meeting for Strategic Dialogue between the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and Russia that aimed at strengthening ties with Russia in all

domains. The cabinet discussed a draft law to approve an agreement between Kuwait and the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization and another draft law on agreement between Kuwait and the GCC to establish an Emergency Management Center in Kuwait.

In addition, he added that the Cabinet addressed two draft laws to approve agreements between the State of Kuwait and both Hungary and Pakistan to exempt holders of diplomatic passports from obtaining visas to enter both countries.—KUNA

Ministry adopts ‘punishment and reward’ with companies Labor Authority prepared carefully to avoid setbacks KUWAIT: While the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor launched efforts to prosecute fake companies for visa trafficking and other labor-related violations, it also plans to reward those who honor the law and contribute to the national economy. This was announced by minister Hind AlSubaih who promised “more cooperation with serious companies” in Kuwait. “We plan to classify companies in the labor markets in lists, and then cooperate with active ones by easing their procedures,” Al-Subaih said in statements published by AlQabas daily yesterday.

The statements are expected to be welcomed by private firms in Kuwait who often complain from difficulties in finalizing labor-related procedures at the ministry’s departments. Now they have a chance to have more leniency given to companies classified in ‘golden lists’ as described by the minister.

Meanwhile, helping active companies helps the ministry focus more time on fighting inactive companies, according to the minister. Licenses of inactive or ‘fake’ companies are often used by traffickers to issue visas that are sold to illegal residents in Kuwait, or to foreigners through which they can enter the country illegally.

Labor Authority Subaih also revealed that the situation in the social affairs and labor ministry has been corrected by 50 percent, while work is ongoing to set up with a solid system that benefits Kuwait economically and socially. One of the main objectives desired after the system is fully prepared is announcing the establishment of the Public Labor Authority, which according to Subaih, will be ‘put on track’ before April.

Despite the fact that the parliament passed a bill to establish it last year, a state-run labor authority that replaces the sponsorship system in handling the affairs of Kuwait’s expatriate population has no set date for starting work. But Subaih explained the delay is meant to ensure that the authority is not born weak, and that all problems currently faced are addressed before the authority is officially announced.

In this regard, Subaih said that work is currently ongoing to improve the ministry’s labor department database and secure it with a strong system that limits hacking. These steps will allow the ministry to gradually put the labor department under the highly anticipated authority - a

process that could last during the period between April and July, according to the minister.

Subaih further pointed out that outlining the ministry’s budget for the fiscal year 2014/2015 did not include allocating a separate budget for the labor authority. “Separation is not possible until the main structure is ready and the chairman as well as board members are named,” the minister explained, further indicating that this process will be given enough time to ensure that “experienced and specialized” officials are selected.

Visa transfer In other news, a senior ministry official clarified recently that people who entered Kuwait before Feb 16, 2014 can still get work permits until the end of March, despite an existing ban on transferring commercial visas to work visas. Undersecretar y Abdulmohsen Al-Mutairi further explained that a study to reopen visa transfers or recruitment in the private sector on April 1 will be referred to Subaih before that date, so that a decision can be made. Mutairi also confirmed earlier reports that indicated that the ministry referred files of 52 companies to the public prosecution for labor-related violations.

CP thanks people for solidarity, patriotism KUWAIT: On his eighth anniversary of assuming his post, His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber AlSabah addressed the public yesterday, by expressing his deepest appreciation to the genuine feelings of patriotism and loyalty that are shown by the people of this country.

His Highness the Crown Prince called on inducing a sense of solidarity among the people to achieve peace and stability in the country.

He also called for exerting greatest efforts to make progress in the development plan.

His Highness the Crown Prince also extended his greetings to His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah AlAhmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah on his eighth anniversary of assuming power and on the 53rd anniversar y of Kuwait ’s Independence Day and the 23rd anniversar y of the countr y ’s Liberation Day. He also thanked diplomats and media outlets for their praiseworthy endeavors in highlighting the name of Kuwait in many national and international events. —KUNA

KUWAIT: Kuwait Fire Service Directorate began an awareness campaign by visiting local factories to inform them of fire hazards and spread prevention culture. Visits will continue to cover the largest number possible of those factories.

— Photos by Hanan Al-Saadoun

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2014

LOCAL

Strict actions to prevent foam spray ‘celebration’ Municipality, Interior issue warning

By Nawara Fattahova KUWAIT: Despite its wide popularity as a must-have for the National and Liberation Day celebrations along the Gulf Road, foam spray and similar aerosol products are banned in Kuwait. Shops or individuals caught with the spray will have their supplies confiscated, according to the Ministry of Interior.

“Using foam spray is forbidden. If we find it with anyone, whether child or adult, it will be confiscated by policemen. But we are not fining anyone. Checkpoints and groups of policemen will be in various places where the national celebrations take place including Gulf Road, roads near the chalets area, Mina Abdullah and Kabd,” Maj Naser Buslaib, Director of Security Information Department at the Interior Ministry told Kuwait Times yesterday. Selling foam sprays is strictly forbidden. But some stores and roaming vendors sell it secretly. For this reason, two institutions are in-charge of inspecting and confiscating these goods. The Kuwait Municipality is checking both stores and hawkers. “ The

municipality has prepared a plan to inspect and check various areas around the country, focusing on the Hawally and Capital governorates. If our inspectors find foam sprays, they will confiscate it and penalize the store or the vendor for selling prohibited products,” stressed Abu Yousif from the PR department at the municipality.

“We will be also cooperating with the Interior Ministry to avoid any conflicts with violators. We know that some fights may take place, especially with roaming vendors, so our inspectors will be accompanied by policemen.

The inspectors will not only focus on foam sprays - they will also penalize roaming vehicles selling food up to KD 500. Also, stores using additional space in front of the store will be fined for occupying roads,” he explained.

A local factory that manufactures foam sprays is still operating. “This factory is now only allowed to export its products but not to sell it locally. We also may fine the factory if they sell any sprays locally,” noted Abu Yousif.

Two days ago, over 2,000 foam spray cans were confiscated from stores in Ahmadi gov-

ernorate.

The Ministry of Commerce is also involved in inspecting stores selling the forbidden foam spray. “Since the past few days, we have raided various stores, especially those selling toys, in all governorates. We are not in charge of roaming vendors or small baqalas - the municipality is responsible for them,” said inspector Ahmad Al-Dalal.

He explained their procedure. “If we find a small quantity of foam spray in any store, we will confiscate it and fine the owner. The haul will be transferred to the commercial prosecutor and the fine may reach KD 2,000 or more.

If the quantity is large, then we count it and register it in a document that the owner has to sign as these forbidden goods become state property, which the store is not allowed to sell. The sprays will later be confiscated from his store. The municipality confiscates directly any quantity and destroys it, while we transfer it to the commercial prosecutor,” noted Al-Dalal. As an alternative, children and youngsters are now using water guns to spray passing cars or pedestrians.

Customs strike against police interference

By A Saleh KUWAIT: Customs officers at the Kuwait International Airport held a strike yesterday in protest of what they said was ‘interference of airport detectives into their affairs’. The temporary strike was held to ‘send a message’ to the Interior Ministry, with promises to continue work stoppage until the ministry takes action against officers who allegedly breached their authority by refusing to coordinate with customs officers.

Attempted murder suspect The court of cassation dropped charges against a Qatari national who was accused in 2011 of attempting to murder a Kuwaiti citizen. The ruling allows Ali Al-Merri to travel back to his home country after a travel ban placed against him during the court procedures automatically lifted. Merri was accused of trying to run over Ahmad Assad in a fight that happened during national celebrations in the Mina Abdullah desert. He was jailed and released on bail several times during the court proceedings.

Jleeb housing request Minister of Municipality Affair Essa Al-

Kandari refused a Public Authority of Housing Welfare request to allocate blocks 19 and 20 of Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh for housing projects, citing infrastructure problems. Kandari explained in his response to PAHW that the blocks are located near highly populated areas that have nearly 452,048 people, while

housing more in the two blocks would require improving the road networks inside the blocks and around them, as well as public services and facilities. Instead, Kandari said that there are plans to turn blocks into “commercial and service centers to serve nearby areas”.

ISPs complain about unofficial services KUWAIT: Well-informed sources at the Ministry of Communications said that the main wireless internet service providing companies in Kuwait have recently filed a complaint to Undersecretary Hameed AlQattan for not taking legal actions against one of the wireless internet ser vice providers, which is the only one licensed to provide the service as per the ministerial decree number 386/2012.

In their complaint, the companies said that the company has been violating Clause Number one of Article 6 pertaining banning the use of all kinds of landlines, be

them fiber-optic or copper. The complaint also said that the company has been providing internet services to a number of government establishments using landlines.

The companies also said that they have filed several similar complaints to MOC officials demanding similar treatment but they were banned from providing wireless services.

The sources also noted that according to the complaint, the concerned company also sells cell phone lines while other companies are not allowed to do the same.

KUWAIT: Hawally fire department prevented an Arab man from committing suicide yesterday. He threatened to throw himself from the window but the window was blocked by firemen as the flat door was broken. The man, who is wanted on several cases was arrested and handed over to the police.

—By Hanan Al-Saadoun

KRCS distributed 20 million loaves of bread to Syrian refugees in Lebanon BEIRUT: Kuwait Red Crescent Society (KRCS) has distributed more than 20 million loaves of bread to the Syrian refugees in Lebanon. This is the eighth stage of the “Loaf of bread” project in areas of Tripoli, Akkar, Sidon and Bekaa as well as other areas to aid more than 4,000 Syrian refugees, said Kuwait Red Crescent Society’s head of the volunteers team Dr Musaed Al-Enezi.

He added the aid aims to alleviate the sufferings of the Syrian refugees.

Al-Enzi conveyed gratitude of the Syrian refugees to Kuwait and His

Highness the Amir for their humanitarian stand. Zakat House, Al-Rahma International Charity, International Islamic Charitable Organization (IICO), KRCS, Al-Eslah Society (Islamic Society for Social Reform), Revival of Islamic Heritage Society and many more have pitched in to the displaced Syrians estimated at nearly 900,000 in Lebanon, he pointed out.

Meanwhile, KRCS was one of the first societies to provide the Syrian refugees with humanitarian aid in Lebanon. —KUNA

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2014

LOCAL in my view

kuwait digest

Unnecessary allowance

Syrian Air Force always picks wrong targets

By Abdullatif Al-Duaij

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By Abdulateef Al-Mulhim

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Enemies of symbolism

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on ati al Day Al-Anbaa

kuwait digest

tion D Libera

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wo years after gaining independence from France in 1946, the first batch of Syrian Air Force pilots graduated from flight schools in the United Kingdom. Ironically, this is the only air force in the world that has remained involved in domestic issues since its inception. Instead of protecting its frontiers, the air force has unleashed terror on its own countrymen. The Syrian Air Force shaped the country’s political, social and military way of life. It played an important factor in all coups that took place in Syria. Any military commander at the helms of the air force can control Syria. In the past, an air force sergeant would issue a traffic ticket to drivers.

Like any other military wing, this force was supposed to protect Syria and Syrians from foreign aggression but unfortunately it used all its might against its own people. Syrian commanders never played their due roles. Former Syrian President Hafez Assad was the air force commander before becoming the president of the country for life.

Interestingly, the Syrian leaders never trusted their pilots. Many Syrian pilots lost their lives not fighting an outside enemy, but at the hands of their own leaders.

Most of them were suspected of being disloyal to the leadership. Perhaps due to this very reason, the Syrian pilots never won any air battle, not even the ones against their own people. During the past three years, rebels shot down many air force planes. Building the Syrian Air Force with outdated Russian-made warplanes depleted billions of dollars from the Syrian national income only to be used against its own people.

The Syrian air battles against an outside enemy were fought against Israel. In 1948 they had a limited participation. In 1967 the Syrian Air Force was destroyed at the start of the war. However, in 1973 the Syrian air defense played an important role. In the early 1980s, the Syrians lost 82 planes. The Syrian pilots didn’t lack the will to fight but they were undertrained, under-armed and not trusted by the high command.

But it was not the wars but the so-called Arab Spring that exposed the Syrian Air Force.

Few people would be aware of the fact that the Syrian Air Force throughout its existence has failed to produce one ace pilot. So, what the Syrian Air Force is good at? The answer is easy. The Syrian Air Force is good at killing its own people. We saw live coverage of Syrian rebels shoot down their country’s warplanes and in return we saw the Syrian warplanes attack their own people. These so-called fighters have always remained busy killing their own people and that is why nobody in the Arab World has ever heard of a decorated Syrian pilot. Despite the hollow claims that it is the force to protect Arabs from Israeli air might, the Syrian Air Force has always been humiliated at the hands of Israel.

The current situation of Syria is very bad, as the recently concluded Geneva 2 failed to yield results. The US and Russia are unable to reach any deal on ways to stop the ongoing bloodshed. The humanitarian crisis in Syria is aggravating with each passing day. Instead of providing their starving countrymen with aid, the Syrian forces are bombing them.

in my view

Arab Spring silenced Palestinian issue?

By Amal Mousa

I

do not believe that the Palestinian cause was on a smooth path to a just resolution acceptable to Palestinians before the Arab Spring; however, neither can we accept what some Palestinian figures proclaimed, that the Arab revolutions were a source of strength and momentum for the Palestinian cause. Both points of view have suspect validity and need to be corrected.

Today, the Palestinian issue has almost transformed into an internal issue; the Palestinian cause has become solely “Palestinian,” and is not an Arab nationalist issue as it was in the past. This has been true at least since the revolutions in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen and Syria. Indeed, the decline in the number of Arab countries concerned about Palestine goes back to the start of these revolutions.

Strategic political interests were weakened by the massive failure of the Brotherhood movements across the Arab world. Their failure did not only strike a fatal blow to the future of political Islam, but also a painful one to the Palestinian political activists who gambled on the rise of Islamist political parties and who saw in those parties a chance to refresh the Hamas movement, and with it the whole Palestinian cause.

Among the important facts that were not given needed attention is that the elite were occupied with their own Arab revolutions. The Palestinian cause was absent from the revolutionary slogans in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Syria and Yemen. Neither was there discussion of it in the first phase after the revolutions.

Of course, the revolutions were not born of or for the Palestinian issue. But one only needs to understand the centrality of this issue and its political, cultural and social weight in the Arab world, the coverage it has received in the press, the political alliances that arose from it, and the powerful diplomatic efforts expended on it (regardless of their outcome) to see that it could have been one of the secondary or marginal slogans of the Arab revolutions.

Even months after the elections in some of the Arab revolutionary states, such as Tunisia and Egypt, it became apparent that the Palestinian issue was not a concern.

For example, after the elections for the National Constituent Assembly in Tunisia on Oct 23, 2011, some political voices with Arab nationalist backgrounds and others from civil society called for the inclusion of a par-

ticular article in the Tunisian constitution. That article would have criminalized the normalization of relations with Israel. But those calls were ignored, and many doubted the need to raise the issue to the level of including it in the constitution.

It was a clear message from the ruling troika, and especially from Ennahda, which has a relative majority in the constituent assembly, that introducing the Palestinian issue in that manner was a red line. An Islamist party that seeks or needs American support cannot cross that line.

I mention this example not in support of the criminalization of normalizing ties with Israel per se, but to highlight the massive change in behavior (but, apparently, not position) of Ennahda on the Palestinian issue. Palestine used to be among the top items on its agenda. This shows that Ennahda is using a new approach to the cause; perhaps, it has come to understand the pressures and burdens of governance. This has moderated its political behavior, making it more rational and pragmatic, despite the fact that when it came to political niceties Ennahda became more generous and flexible. (For example, it invited Hamas leader Khaled Meshal to its ninth conference, in June 2012.)

In Egypt, the change in attitude was even more apparent. While former President Hosni Mubarak’s government used to sponsor negotiations between different parties on the Palestinian issue, including with active Arab parties such as Saudi Arabia, there was a change after the election of Mohamed Morsi to the presidency. When he was toppled he was subsequently accused of collaboration with Hamas, and in recent days Egypt announced openly that Hamas poses a danger to Egyptian national security.

What we can take from this is that the Muslim Brotherhood falling into the pit of violence has indirectly harmed the Palestinian issue. It has created an impression that political Islam was unable to benefit the Palestinians, because its links to world leaders are weak and marred with suspicion and skepticism. That impression has grown to become a widespread belief.

Thus the Palestinian issue has become more complicated, because it has lost both its position and its prominence among the major powers.

By Fahad Rashid Al-Muttairi

A

nti-symbolism and abstract thinking has grown so strong in our Islamic heritage that we have become unable to determine the difference between real life and imagination. If, for instance, you try telling a story to an uneducated person, the first question he would ask after hearing it is: ‘When did this happen?’. Such a question really reflects poor understanding of the word ‘imagination’ which is the result of strong anti-symbolism that is deep-rooted in our heritage.

Have you ever watched the stoning ritual during hajj? One can see pilgrims angrily stoning the Satan’s symbolic walls during the Jamarat ritual. Some may go as far as angrily addressing the large wall with threats as if they were actually stoning Satan himself, and not just a symbolic wall!

Another example comes from my own short experience in teaching. Whenever I started saying ‘let’s assume so and so’, a student might argue about the use of assuming things that did not actually take place in real life. Such a question shows the tragedy that abstract sciences such as math, logic and philosophy suffer under our educational system. A student who does not realize the significance of assumptions surely does not realize the importance of such sciences.

On the other hand, I would not be exaggerating if I say that most students have difficulty in comprehending abstract thinking, a thinking pattern that focuses more on generalities rather than on details. Whenever you use certain examples for an abstract idea, a student usually holds to the example and forgets about the idea itself, just the way a child knows that an apple + an apple = two apples but at the same time does not know that 1+1=2.

The most prominent form of anti-symbolism in Islamic heritage is adapting literal explanations rather symbolic ones of holy texts regardless of scientific facts and sound logical thinking. Take the concept of the heaven (sky) referred to in the Holy Quran, for example. Pioneering interpreters explained it as the one we see above our heads. Nowadays, however, no clergy who really values and respects his wits can but look for another less materialistic explanation of the word simply because science principles urge us do so and start thinking about the symbolism of the word.

After all, the blueness above our heads is nothing more than gases that do not actually need pillars to hold them in place according to the law of gravity.

Clergyman Saleh Al-Fauzan confidently argues that unlike what ‘the ignorant astronomers’ believe, the Earth is fixed and does not rotate! I wonder why many astronomers who study modern astronomy keep silent about such an offence to their knowledge and studies. What I do know is that if Copernicus came back to life and heard what Fauzan says, he would surely think he had only been in his grave for a day or less! —Al-Jarida

in my view

Syria and the stakes involved

By Hassan Barari

I

n a clear signal of support to the Syrian opposition, Western and Arab intelligence services met last week in Washington to discuss ways of buttressing the Syrian rebels in their bid to defeat Assad. Among the most important participants was Prince Muhammad bin Naif who has recently replaced Prince Bandar bin Sultan as the Saudi man in charge of the Syrian file.

Undoubtedly, the participation of Prince Muhammad bin Naif in the meeting reflects the high stakes for Saudi Arabia in the conflict in Syria.

Unlike the American administration, Riyadh has a clear vision and strategy for ending the Syrian bloody conflict. Therefore, the Saudi participation in the meeting comes at a time the American administration is questing for another strategy in dealing with the Syrian crisis. President Obama has just reached the conclusion that the Syrian regime is not serious in the Geneva talks and that President Assad intends to decide the battle over Syrian in military means.

In the run up to Geneva, Riyadh did not share the American optimism with regard to the outcomes of the talks. Yet, fearing to be seen as playing the obstructive role, Riyadh supported the talks.

Nonetheless, the Saudis officials knew that the talks in Geneva would be futile because they understood that Assad would not budge.

The intelligence gathering in Washington that includes chiefs from Jordan, Qatar, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and the United States reflects the concerns of these countries about the rising role and power of Al-Qaeda. But they also understand that the rise of Al-Qaeda is a function of Assad’s war on his people. The key challenge for these countries has been how to provide assistance to moderate groups without risking aiding radicals such as Al-Nusra Front or the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). These countries must have realized that their hesitant policy in dealing with the rebels has cost the Syrian revolution unnecessary losses.

That said, the United States has yet to back its rhetoric with concrete policies. According to David Ignatius of the Washington Post, although President Obama is still cautious about any military escalation in Syria that would draw in the American troops, the

United States may “embrace de facto safe zones” to provide humanitarian assistance.

A key topic on the agenda of the intelligence chiefs in Washington meeting was whether to supply the opposition with advanced weapons, especially anti aircraft missiles. Many reports claim that the CIA is already training fighters in Jordan to be ready for any qualitative shift in the battles. Will this change signal a new American policy? Let’s not forget that President Obama had his credibility at risk when he failed to act on his redlines. He backed away from his threat to launch a strike on Assad’s forces. Interestingly, he argued that he never had red lines! He said that he drew the red lines on behalf of the international community.

Thus far, the indecisive American policy vis-a-vis the Syrian crisis has been far from being effective. To be sure, after Obama has been looking for an alternative policy to help end the war in Syria, his critics in America have yet to present a specific and detailed policy.

The point is, however, that President Obama feels that Geneva talks will go nowhere. The Syrian regime refuses to discuss a transitional government as had been planned. For this reason, he asked his team for policy options. Obama, who does not believe that there is a military solution to the conflict, may change his mind in the weeks to come. The stakes are high. On the one hand, the American allies in the region believe that Washington is no longer reliable and that they cannot rely on America in future serious crises.

The argument that the US is disengaging from the region is a widespread one these days. After withdrawing from Iraq and winding down the American presence in Afghanistan, Obama seems not interested in another military adventure. Nevertheless, Obama needs to restore the credibility among his allies in the region. On the other hand, Obama feels that Assad and his supporters are looking for a military solution. Not surprisingly, if Assad and his supporters win the crisis, American allies in the region may rethink their strategic relations with America.

Senior officials in the American administration understand this logic and for this reason Washington is thinking of new policy option with regard to Syria.

he government and parliament are struggling to reach an agreement on a suitable increase of the social allowance paid for citizens with children.

They make it sound like the issue is too complicated and requires a lot of thinking and discussion. You have to be crazy, like the majority of our ministers and MPs, in order to think twice on a subject like the children’s allowance. First of all, we already have enough pay increases, especially when it comes to the children’s allowance which has become a favorite topic in the parliament in recent years. MPs have contributed to increasing it either directly, or by increasing the number of children for whom the government has to pay allowances.

Another thing is that the relationship between the government of Kuwait and state employees is not of the parliament’s business. It is not supposed to be of MPs’ interests unless the issue escalates into a general strike or an action that hurts the public interest. And thirdly, what’s the point of encouraging people to have children?

The majority of people in advanced countries avoid having children because raising a child is a huge responsibility in modern societies. Meanwhile, the majority of women put their careers ahead of spending time taking care of their children and households. As a result, governments there encourage people to reproduce by paying allowances to families, which in turn become more motivated to have children.

The story is different here, where we have an increasing madness in having children, and therefore there is no need to encourage people to reproduce. The majority of families, unfortunately, do not pay proper attention to their children or how they are raised - a task that is often left to the housemaid.

But all of that is not important, since it remains the parents’ responsibility, even when those who suffer are innocent children that the state is required to step in and protect them. But we have not reached that level of awareness of what social welfare is supposed to be yet. Therefore, I prefer that the parliament and government would at least stop encouraging people to have children, especially since we already suffer budget problems, shortage in public services as well as a frightening surplus in unproductive labor forces that we don’t know what to do with. Encouraging people to have children either directly or indirectly is a crime against the country, and even a more serious crime against children, who will end up suffering from negligence and lack of care. —Al-Qabas

kuwait digest

No time left to waste

By Mohammad Hayat

W

hile Kuwait’s government continues to look at sports as being a few clubs where young people can spend their spare time doing something useful, the majority of countries around us consider sports as a main field for their development and the improvement of their young people and economy. The loss of Kuwait’s representatives in the playoffs for a spot at the AFC Champions League is the best example for this, especially when we consider that the loss came at the hands of two Qatari clubs. The results embody the reality of Kuwait’s sports where the government fails to provide support while at the same time continues to pay millions in gifts to other countries.

Many believed that Kuwait deserved to be represented in the AFC Champions League, and therefore were surprise to see local clubs lose to their ‘professional’ Qatari counterparts. As for me, I am surprised that there are people who are even surprised by the results! We cannot expect good results with scarcity of financial support on the government’s part. Furthermore, it is unrealistic to look for competing in Asia’s premier club competition while having some of the most mediocre sports facilities in Asia and the Arab world.

How can we expect improved results when the government continues to show little support for years? How can we demand accomplishments from players who at the same time receive little support to meet the minimum of their needs, such as receiving their pay on time? Kuwait still relies on an outdated amateur sports system, while its neighbors adopted professional sports many years ago. Regardless of how patriotic athletes are, many of them cannot retain the fighting spirit or achieve victories without honing their skills through professional sports in which they can practice fulltime.

Kuwait’s daily income of oil is estimated at KD 265,200,000. If the income of only 7 days is allocated to rejuvenating sports, is the country going to benefit or hurt by it? I will leave the answer to you.

Let us assume that the government comes out one day and admits that they are unable to improve Kuwait’s sports. In that case, the parliament can pass a privatization law for the sports sector with regulations that guarantee administrations and players’ rights on one hand, while at the same time offer investment opportunities on the other.

This project can realize improvement in the sports sector if supervised by academic competencies in cooperation with specialized companies specialized in studying the best way to transform social sports clubs into investment entities. There is no time left to waste on losses and feeling sorry for the state of chaos that Kuwait’s sports sector lives in. A modern country cannot continue to push sports several steps down the ladder of priorities. Meanwhile, improving sports cannot happen when amateur athletes lack proper attention and care. —Al-Rai

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2014

LOCAL

New station to monitor Ahmadi air quality Signing of contracts soon KUWAIT: A new station to monitor air quality is to be installed for Ahmadi residential area within the overall plan of the Environment Public Authority (EPA) to expand its Air Quality Monitoring Department’s network, an official said yesterday. The EPA’s Air Quality Monitoring Department Director Ayman Bu Jebarah said the station would detect levels of pollutants including Nitrogen oxide, Sulfur oxides, Carbon oxides, Ozone, and some airborne organic matter.

Since its establishment, the department worked keenly on setting up and developing its networks to monitor air quality and water quality, he said, and the plans in this regard are drafted through joint effort and collaboration among specialists, both in-house and those affiliated with other scientific and consultancy bodies in the country.

The location for such stations is selected based upon criteria adopted by the World Health Organization and the accuracy of monitoring methods and protocol is assessed on weekly basis. The stations also undergo maintenance every three months through contracts with outside specialists and under supervision of its in-house experts, he pointed out.

The official added the authority is on the verge of signing two new contracts with specialized bodies, one to set up an emergency plan to address any leak of industrial gaseous material. The plan would include binding riskmanagement and documentation guidelines for industrial establishments using or stockpiling such material.

The second contract concerns monitoring of noise levels caused by the traffic across the country’s highways, the activity at Kuwait International Airport, and the activity at Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah Airport and perceived and measured effect on residents in nearby areas. The ultimate aim is setting up a noise-level management system to be integrated within the country’s overall environmental management. The State of Kuwait, Ayman Bu Jebarah stressed, realizes the importance of stemming noise pollution to reduce harm to public health and the sought system would detect noise levels in the concerned residential areas and transmit data to information storage and analysis systems to guide decision making and to suggest action by authorities or bodies in the state, each befitting its specialization. — KUNA

Kuwait backs IFAD in fighting poverty ROME: Kuwait’s Deputy Governor and Representative at the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) conference said that Kuwait supports the fund’s efforts in development and fighting poverty.

Hisham Al-Wugayyan said yesterday on the sidelines of his participation in the 37th session of the fund’s Board of Governors that the Kuwaiti delegation is pleased with the achievements of the fund’s last session, by directly executing the projects it is funding, and setting a plan to increase the number of its bureaus to reach 50 by next year.

IFAD was able to independently execute 94 percent of the projects it is funding, an issue which Kuwait being a founding member of the fund, had always demanded, said the representative. Moreover, Al-Wugayyan hoped IFAD would soon be able to supervise and execute the rest of its projects. Al-Wugayyan praised the fund’s efforts in developing and qualifying its executive bureaus, and in running projects of positive effects on rural areas where three billion of the world’s population live, noting that such projects are beneficial to poor people and small-scale farms.

Al-Wugayyan, who is also Deputy Director General of the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED), said he was pleased with the fact that the number of the fund’s projects currently being executed had reached 241, with a $5.4 billion worth of funds. The Deputy Governor also praised the fund’s efforts mainly after the Global Food Crisis of 2008, and the measures it had taken to prevent such crisis from occurring in the future.

The Kuwaiti delegation had met with IFAD President Kanayo Nwanze to discuss cooperation between the two sides, and the positive results of the Arab-Asian first cooperation conference, the Afro-Arab Summit, and the two Syria donors’ conferences, and their effects on development. Kuwait is currently negotiating with the Asian Development Bank to be a member in this financial institute, he said, adding that Kuwait will be the only Arab country to receive a membership in the bank. Al-Wugayyan praised the results of the meeting of the Board of Directors, mainly the decision to establish a consultative committee for the Tenth Replenishment of IFAD’s resources, aiming to study the availability of resources before the end of the ninth replenishment of the 2013-2015 time period. Kuwait’s continuous participation in regional and international organizations and its prominent role in supporting Arab, African, and Asian developmental cooperation comes from the country’s attention towards fighting poverty and developing economy, especially in the agricultural sector, he stated.

Kuwait’s delegation to IFAD’s conference which kicked off on Feb 19 under the theme “Investing in smallholder family farmers” included KFAED’s regional director for Asia Pacific Waleed Al-Bahar and KFAED’s executive director Youssof AlBader. IFAD is a specialized agency of the United Nations, which was established as an international financial institution in 1977 as one of the major outcomes of the 1974 World Food Conference. The conference was organized in response to the food crises of the early 1970s that primarily affected the Sahelian countries of Africa, which presented the necessity of immediately establishing a fund to finance agricultural development projects for food production in the developing countries. —- KUNA

Municipality ready for celebrations KUWAIT: Kuwait Municipality has formed a media team to accompany its inspectors in the six governorates during the upcoming national holidays in Kuwait in order to highlight efforts of the municipality in all areas. Director General of Kuwait Municipality Ahmad AlSabeeh said in a statement yesterday that a municipal body has always been eager to carry out its duty to the fullest especially on these occasions for the sake of making such national holidays a success.

He added that the regulatory bodies in the municipality will work throughout the period of the national celebrations and would coordinate work among them in all governorates, as well as preventing any negative phenomena. —- KUNA

National flag raised on artificial island KUWAIT: The Kuwait Dive Team had closed a deserted oil well at an artificial island located in the Kuwait Bay, and took samples for testing.

The step came yesterday during an operation to raise the Kuwaiti flag on the Um Gaz island; the first artificial island in Kuwait located 700 meters northwest of the Kuwait Towers. The step, which coincides with Kuwait’s

national celebrations, was carried out in cooperation with the Kuwait sea Boy Scouts.

In addition to celebrating Kuwait’s National Day and Liberation Day anniversaries, the operation was carried out to shed light on a historical site that became victim of negligence in recent years according to Kuwait Dive Team leader Waleed Al-Shatti.

Little is known about the origins of the Um Gaz island, but Al-Shatti said that there are historical accounts which indicate that it was built during the 1930s as an oil field but was later closed. The island is 70 meters tall, 30 meters wide and raises 2 meters above sea level. “It’s position at Kuwait Bay’s entrance makes people on board of every passing ship able to see it,” Al-Shatti said.

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2014

LOCAL

Investigations in Kuwaiti man’s death in Thailand Worker killed in freak accident KUWAIT: While police in Thailand are investigating the circumstances behind the death of a senior Kuwaiti citizen there, the family of the victim refused any comment until the autopsy report is released. According to a report published by AlRai daily, the man died on his way from the hospital to his residence, and the death happened at a road where demonstrations were taking place at the time. The family of the man, who was over 60 years old, are waiting for the forensic department’s report to determine whether he died a natural death or was injured during the demonstration, according to a security source quoted in the report. The foreign ministry and the Kuwaiti consulate in Thailand were not available for comments, according to the report.

Hospital while criminal investigators were called to examine the scene and transport the bodies to the forensic department. A case was filed at the Taima police station for investigations to determine the circumstances behind the accident.

Qashaniya accident A man was decapitated in a freak work accident in Qashaniya north of the country. Police headed to the scene in response to an emergency call that reported that a worker was injured during asphalting works carried out by a private company. Preliminary investigations indicate that the Pakistani man was caught in an unspecified machine at the site which separated his head from the rest of his body. Police summoned criminal investigators who transferred the body to the forensic department, and a manslaughter case was filed.

Suicide cases A man died after he fell from the top of a Mahboulah building in a suicide case according to preliminary investigations. The Indian man was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics who arrived in response to an emergency call. Criminal investigators were called and their preliminary investigations revealed that the man jumped voluntarily from the top of the building. While the body was taken to the forensic department for an autopsy, investigations went underway to determine the motives behind the man’s decision to commit suicide.

Meanwhile, a Farwaniya man hanged himself inside his residence according to a police report.

Police and paramedics were sent to the scene after the man’s roommate made an emergency call. The Indian man was found hanging from a rope tied to the ceiling of his room, and criminal investigators were called. Detectives launched investigations with the man’s roommate to determine the reasons that made him decide to commit suicide.

Salmi Road crash Two Kuwaiti men were killed and a third was injured in a two-car collision reported Friday night on Salmi Road. Paramedics and police arrived at the scene shortly after the accident was reported, but discovered that two men had already died. They rushed the third man to Jahra

Rapists at large Investigations are ongoing in a case involving three men accused of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a teenager inside a stable in Ahmadi.

The case was filed at the Sabahiya police station by a Kuwaiti man who said that his 16-year-old son was kidnapped and raped. The youngster

had told his father that while standing outside his house, his friends came over and asked him to go with them to a nearby supermarket.

Instead, the three drove him to a stable in Ahmadi where they raped him, then dropped him back to his house. The teenager added that the suspects took video footage of the assault.

He was taken to the forensic department for examinations while a search is on for the suspects.

Cooking row A man faces charges after he scalded his roommate during a dispute over who got to cook dinner first. Sabah Al-Salem police headed to Adan Hospital where the Indian man was rushed and diagnosed with second degree burns. The man’s roommates who hospitalized him gave police the identity and descriptions of his attacker. They said that the Egyptian man escaped from their residence in the area after pouring boiling water on his roommate during a dispute over food preparation. Detectives were soon able to locate the attacker who was hiding at a relative’s house. The man was charged with attempted murder after he admitted his crime, and was remanded in custody as police prepare to send him to the public prosecution.

Child molester A camp keeper was arrested after he molested his employer’s child according to a case filed at the Ahmadi police station recently. A Kuwaiti man informed police that the keeper he hired for his Kabd camp molested his 10-year-old daughter, based on which the Egyptian man was arrested. The suspect was taken to the authorities to face charges.

KAMCO celebrates national days with children at NBK Hospital

KUWAIT: Zain executives pictured with the company’s employees during the national celebrations.

Zain celebrates national holidays with employees

KUWAIT: The KAMCO officials visiting the NBK Hospital.

KUWAIT: The KAMCO - KIPCO Asset Management Company - family recently visited NBK Hospital in coordination with Kuwait Association for the Care of Children in Hospital (KAACH) to share the joyful celebrations of Kuwait National and Liberation days with children suffering from incurable illnesses.During

the visit, KAMCO distributed Kuwaiti flags and gifts to the children.

Sana Al-Hadlaq, Senior Vice President of the Client Relationship and Marketing Department at KAMCO said, “The visit to the hospital echoes our sense of duty towards the Kuwaiti society in relaying

a sense of happiness and joyfulness to the children, while sharing memorable occasions that serve to lessen their pain. As part of KAMCO’s Corporate Social Responsibility program, we are strongly committed to supporting the education, health and environmental sectors.”

KUWAIT: Zain, the leading telecommunications company in Kuwait, announced that it celebrated the national holidays with its employees. The event was held in a patriotic and family-themed atmosphere with the attendance of the company’s executives alongside a large number of employees.

In a press statement, the company announced that the event was received with great participation and high feedback from its employees, where Zain’s Chairman Assad Al Banwan and Zain Group CEO Scott Gegenheimer as well as Zain Kuwait CEO Omar Saud Al-Omar joined them in the celebrations. The company’s executives’ participation added a feeling of unity in the celebrations of the National holidays where all those who participated expressed their feelings towards their beloved country.

Zain also stated that this event came in line with its National celebrations with its employees, as the company organized a number of activities that added a sense of patriotism

amongst its employees.

Zain has long considered itself as a key partner of the Kuwaiti society, especially in such national celebrations. The company has achieved many outstanding achievements by supporting many of the various social programs, especially related to the annual national celebrations, and the company considers its employees a key part of its success, thus including them in its national celebrations activities every year. This internal event also came in line with the company’s main sponsorship to the national ‘Hala February’ carnival as part of its nationwide national celebrations.

It is worth mentioning that the company’s event this year witnessed the showcasing of a historical collection of old copies of Kuwaiti newspapers that featured important Kuwaiti events since the 1960s period and until the 1990s period. This activity received high feedback from the employees where they learned about their country’s past during this patriotic time of the year.

‘Waste Free Environment’ campaign

KUWAIT: Group participants with Equate CEO and President Mohammad Husain.

KUWAIT: EQUATE Petrochemical Company, Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association (GPCA) and Environment Public Authority (EPA) organized a beach clean-up day as part of the “Waste Free Environment” campaign launched by GPCA. With the participation of over 500 persons, EQUATE employees cooperated with students from a number of Kuwaiti schools, teachers and EPA staff in cleaning up a part of Kuwait’s beachfront at Anjafa Beach where over 500 kg of waste was collected.

The region wide campaign was proposed by GPCA for its member companies, grouping EQUATE (a founding member of GPCA) and several others, to organize such an community awareness campaign within their respective communities through public engagement and participation. Through this initiative and cooperation with GPCA and EPA, EQUATE extends its commitment and collaboration with relevant stakeholders, to reflect its tagline “Partners in Success.”

Within its ongoing efforts to preserve the environment and as part of its overall sustainability strategy in Kuwait, EQUATE continues to make a positive difference

in the community. EQUATE has launched throughout the years a number of initiatives including the Middle East’s First Plant Water Recycling Project and Kuwait’s First Green Carbon Project which contribute towards its Environmental objective as part of its sustainability efforts.

Established in 1995, EQUATE is an international joint venture between Petrochemical Industries Company

(PIC), The Dow Chemical Company (Dow), Boubyan Petrochemical Company (BPC) and Qurain Petrochemical Industries Company (QPIC). Commencing production in 1997, EQUATE is the single operator of a fully integrated world-scale manufacturing facility producing over 5 million tons annually of high-quality petrochemical products which are marketed throughout the Middle East, Asia, Africa and Europe.

Kuwait Memorial Garden to be oasis of Fukushima IWAKI, Japan: Head of Japan’s tsunamistricken marine science museum said yesterday that the newly created KuwaitFukushima Friendship Memorial Japanese Garden is expected to become the oasis of the port it sits on.

The memorial garden was built in a show of gratitude to Kuwait for its sincere support, especially the $3 million donation after the 2011 earthquake-tsunami disaster. “I thank His Highness the Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah for (the) generous donation and support from the Kuwaiti people. We wanted to demonstrate our appreciation to Kuwait in a tangible way,” Aquamarine Fukushima Executive Director Yoshitaka Abe said in the northeastern coastal city of Iwaki, on the occasion of an opening ceremony for the garden.

Aquamarine Fukushima, located 190 km north of Tokyo, was severely damaged by a magnitude 9.0-quake and ensuring tsunami in March 2011 that left nearly 19,000 people dead or missing and crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. More than 1,600 people lost their lives in Fukushima alone.

Although there were no human casualties in the marine science museum, the tsunami destroyed the electrical system, killing 90 percent of fish and marine animals in the facility.

Surprise gift During his state visit to Japan in March 2012, His Highness the Amir announced the grant as a surprise gift for the restoration of the aquarium and the promotion of science and technology.

The creation of the memorial garden is part of a project that is considered as the first step of acceleration of the reconstruction process, according to Abe. The 7,000 sqm-garden in front of the aquarium building features such sites as a stone monument car ved the word “Salam (peace)” in Arabic, a pond and mote representing desert oasis, as well as a greenhouse that accommodates flora and fauna of Kuwaiti desert oases and art reproducing these scenes. Inside the greenhouse, the aquarium is also growing a date palm as a unique experiment to determine if it will bear fruit in the Fukushima climate.

With Kuwait’s financial aid, Aquamarine Fukushima has been working on the projects to upgrade its facilities and improve visitor services, and to contribute to the recovery of the region. The memorial garden will eventually merge with the aquarium’s signature “oasis” garden symbolizing the nature of Japan’s Jomon Era more than 3,000 years ago.

IWAKI, Japan: Kuwaiti and Japanese officials pictured during the ceremony.

Strong bond Aquamarine Fukushima attaches great importance to “the smooth circulation of mountains, rivers, and oceans, and desires to create a balanced aquarium that combines nature and an exhibit building. One third of construction works are now complete, and the entire garden covering a 2,000 sqm area will be unveiled within several years,” Abe said.

Behind the grant is aquarium’s strong bond with Kuwait, particularly Kuwait Institute

for Scientific Research (KISR). Abe worked for KISR Fisheries Division in 1968-1969 as a researcher and has maintained friendships with Kuwaiti colleagues over decades.

Following the catastrophe, KISR Director General Dr. Naji Al-Mutairi and KISR alumni members, especially KISR-FEN (Former Employees Network) Chairman Dr. Mohammed Al-Attar, stood up in support of the aquarium. Their efforts, such as coordinating the proposal to the government, made a

significant contribution to realizing the muchneeded donation.

KISR was established in 1967 by Tokyobased Arabian Oil Company in fulfillment of its obligations under the oil concession agreement with the Kuwaiti government. KISR’s Kuwaiti and Japanese researchers and scientists have nurtured friendships with each other and established an alumni networking community in 2005, of which Abe and KISR’s first Chief Administration Officer Katsuji Tainaka are members.

Abe also showed gratitude to Kuwaiti Ambassador to Japan Abdulrahman Al-Otaibi, who attended the opening ceremony on the previous day with Dr Al-Mutairi and Dr AlAttar, for his role as a bridge between Kuwait and Aquamarine Fukushima. “I hope to further deepen people-to-people exchanges between the two sides,” Abe said.

Opened in 2000 on the coast of the Pacific Ocean, Aquamarine Fukushima has been a popular attraction, where people of all ages can enjoy learning various mysteries of the sea. The museum was closed after the disaster, but reopened within four months, thanks to efforts by Abe and his staff, a move that has significantly raised the spirits of the local people who suffer from the natural disaster and radiation crisis at the Fukushima nuclear plant.—KUNA

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2014

Noose closed on Mexico drug lord as allies fell

Syria rebels say senior Al-Qaeda fighter killed Page 8

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CARACAS: A masked anti-government protestor holds a piece of metal in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Feb 22, 2014. — AP

Oppn, pro-govt rallies grip Venezuela Forces fire teargas, rubber bullets CARACAS: Venezuelans on both sides of the nation’s bitter political divide took to the streets on Saturday after two weeks of mass protests that have President Nicolas Maduro scrambling to squash an increasingly militant opposition movement. In Caracas, tens of thousands of opponents of the president filled several city blocks in their biggest rally to date against his 10-month-old government. Across town, at the presidential palace, Maduro addressed a much-smaller crowd of mostly female supporters dressed in the red of his socialist party.

The dueling protests capped a violent week in which the government jailed Leopoldo Lopez, a fiery hard-liner who roused the opposition following its defeat in December’s mayoral elections, and dozens of other student activists. The violence has left at least 10 people dead on both sides and injured more than 100. A few small clashes that erupted between government opponents and state security forces after the opposition rally broke up were visually impressive, but resulted in only five injuries.

In a pattern seen in past demonstrations, dozens of stragglers erected barricades of trash and other debris and threw rocks and bottles at police and National Guardsmen. Troops responded with volleys of tear gas and rubber bullets to prevent the students from reaching a highway. There were also clashes in San Cristobal, a remote city on the western border with Colombia that has seen some of the worst violence, but most opposition marches across the country ended peacefully.

The protests claimed their 10th fatality, when a 23-yearold student in the provincial city of Valencia was pronounced dead Saturday after an eight-hour surgery for brain injuries suffered at a demonstration earlier in the week. Geraldine Moreno was near her home on Wednesday, watching students defend a barricade at the corner of her street, when six national guardsmen rushed in and fired rubber bullets at close range, hitting her in the face, El Universal newspaper reported.

On Saturday at the opposition rally held in wealthier eastern Caracas, two-time presidential candidate Henrique Capriles urged supporters to keep pressuring the government to resolve problems afflicting the oil-rich nation, from rampant crime to galloping 56 percent inflation. “If you (Maduro) can’t, then it’s time to go,” Capriles told the crowd.

Capriles, 41, has frequently criticized Lopez’s strategy of taking to the streets without building support among the poor.

Those differences were on display again Saturday, when he told supporters that unrest in middle-class neighborhoods

distracts people’s attention from the country’s mounting woes and only strengthens the government’s hand. Still, he downplayed any sense of division within the opposition’s ranks, and recalled his own four-month confinement in 2002 in the same military prison where Lopez is being held while vowing to fight for the politician’s release.

Crowd honors Chavez “We may have our differences, but there’s something bigger than us all that unites us, which is Venezuela, damn it!”

Capriles said. Elsewhere in the capital, government backers filled a wide avenue in a boisterous march to the presidential palace accompanied by sound trucks blaring music and slogans. The crowd made up mostly of women danced in the street and carried photos of the late president Hugo Chavez.

First Lady Cilia Flores called on supporters to be alert for opposition attempts to incite more violence in the days ahead to create conditions for a Ukraine-like power grab.

“Venezuela isn’t Ukraine,” Flores, who rarely speaks in public but is a close adviser to her husband, told the crowd. “The right-wing fascists aren’t going to impose themselves here.”

Maduro said he won’t pull security forces off the streets until the opposition abandons what calls a “fascist” conspiracy to oust him from power.

“This elected president, the son of Chavez, is going to keep protecting the people,” he said while holding up what he said was an improvised explosive device used by protesters to attack government buildings and security forces.

“Nobody is going to blackmail me.” It’s unclear whether the street protests can maintain their momentum with fatigue setting in, the Carnival holiday approaching and no Kiev-like ousting of Maduro in sight.

Capriles has said he’ll attend a meeting Monday called by Maduro to talk with local authorities, including opposition members, but is threatening to walk out if his remarks aren’t broadcast live on national TV as the president’s are almost daily. Even if the protests fizzle out, the underlying frustrations that sparked them show no sign of easing: high crime, food shortages and inflation that erodes living standards in a country with the world’s biggest oil reserves.

“This is a rich country and we can’t even buy a kilo of flour, a rich country but we live in misery,” Marta Rivas, a 39year-old mother of two, said as she joined the San Cristobal march. The current political turmoil in Venezuela was sparked on Feb. 12 by huge opposition marches that left three people dead- two opposition members and a government supporter. — AP

CARACAS: A group of masked men run for cover after riot police fire teargas. — AP

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2014

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

Morsi accused of leaking Egypt security secrets CAIRO: Prosecutors yesterday accused deposed president Mohamed Morsi of leak ing state secrets to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards as part of a plot to destabilize Egypt, at the second hearing of his trial for espionage. The trial, one of three that are under way against Morsi, is part of a relentless government crackdown targeting him and his Muslim Brotherhood movement since his ouster by the army in July.

Prosecutors accuse Morsi and 35 others, including leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood, of conspiring with foreign powers, Palestinian militant movement Hamas and Shiite Iran to destabilize

Egypt. Yesterday, the second hearing since the trial opened on February 16, they detailed the charges against Morsi and his co-defendants.

They were specifically accused of “delivering to a foreign countr y... national defense secrets and providing the Iranian Revolutionary Guards with security reports in order to destabilize the security and stability of the country”. The statement read in court did not identify the “foreign country”.

But prosecutors said Morsi and the defendants carried out espionage activities on behalf of the “international Muslim Brotherhood organization and

Hamas with an aim to perpetrate terror attacks in the country in order to spread chaos and topple the state” from 2005 to August 2013.

During Morsi’s one year presidency, ties flourished between Cairo and Hamas, a Palestinian affiliate of the Muslim Brotherhood which rules neighboring Gaza. But since July, Egypt’s military-installed government has accused Hamas of back ing Morsi and his Brotherhood, and carrying out terrorist attacks inside the country.

At yesterday’s hearing Morsi was held separately in a soundproof glass cage, designed to keep him and the

other defendants from interrupting the proceedings with outbursts. But this did not stop defendants including Brotherhood supreme guide Mohamed Badie, his deputy Khairat Al-Shater and other Islamist leaders from shouting and rejecting the accusations against them.

“Void, void,” they shouted when the judge asked them if they accepted the charges, an AFP correspondent said. If found guilty, the defendants could face the death penalty. Most of the defendants were also accused of moving armed groups in and out of Egypt in January 2011, in a bid to attack army

and police installations and prisons to facilitate the escape of inmates. Also yesterday the defendants were represented by a new team of 10 defence lawyers appointed by the lawyers’ union, to replace the original team that withdrew from the case. The trial was adjourned to Februar y 27. Morsi is already on trial for the killing of protesters during his presidency and a jailbreak during the 2011 uprising that ousted his predecessor Hosni Mubarak.

Egypt’s first democratically-elected president, also faces trial for “insulting the judiciary”. A date for that has yet to be set. — AFP

Victims, killers take center-stage as remembrance flame tours Rwanda Flame will continue to tour country’s 30 districts

LEBANON: A Lebanese army soldier inspects the damage at the site of a car bomb that exploded Saturday evening, in the predominately Shiite town of Hermel, about 10 miles (16 kilometers) from the Syrian border in northeast Lebanon. —AP

Syria rebels say senior Al-Qaeda fighter killed BEIRUT: Two suicide bombers likely from a rouge extremist group killed a senior AlQaeda operative inside his compound in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo yesterday, rebels and activists said. Abu Khaled Al-Suri was the representative of Al-Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahri in Syria, rebels said. He was also a co-founder of Ahrar AlSham, a powerful, hard-line Syrian rebel group seeking the overthrow of President Bashar Assad.

The group, alongside other Syrian rebel brigades, has been embroiled in infighting against a breakaway Al-Qaeda group, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. “Sheik Abu Khaled Al-Suri was the biggest figure in global jihad,” said Akram Al-Halabi, spokesman for the Islamic Front, a loose coalition of Islamic-oriented rebel groups, including Ahrar Al-Sham. “He was appointed by Sheik Ayman Al-Zawahri to mediate,” Al-Halabi said, speaking to The Associated Press via Skype.

Al-Souri’s killing will further complicate efforts to resolve weeks of infighting between rebels and militants of the breakaway Al-Qaeda group, the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant. The fighting has killed thousands since January. It has also badly weakened rebel ranks, allowing Assad-loyal forces to advance into key-rebel areas, including around Aleppo.

Rebels believe the Islamic State was behind the bombing that killed Al-Suri, AlHalabi said. Weeks ago, he wrote a letter criticizing the rouge Al-Qaeda group, AlHalabi added. “The first fingers of blame point to The State,” said Al-Halabi.

“Unfortunately this is going to make the infighting worse.” The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said two others were also killed in the attack, which

it attributed to the Islamic State. The Observatory obtains its information from a network of activists on the ground. AlSouri’s activities in Syria were a chief reason why the US and other Western allies held back on providing heavy weapons to rebels seeking Assad’s overthrow, said analyst Charles Lister.

His presence in Ahrar Al-Sham nearly led the US to declare it a terrorist group. “He is essentially a core Al-Qaeda veteran who almost certainly...had extensive, close relations with (Osama) bin Laden,” and other senior leaders, Lister said. “The fact that he had such a high position in Ahrar Al-Sham, and confirmed it himself, his Al-Qaeda history - it made elements in the US administration potentially consider Ahrar al-Sham as a terrorist organization.”

In 2002, Spanish officials described AlSuri, whose real name is Mohamed Bahaiah, as bin Laden’s courier between Afghanistan and Europe. Also yesterday, a car bomb exploded near a charity field hospital close to the Turkish border, wounding mostly medics and patients who had fled violence elsewhere in the country, activists and Turkish media said. Turkish ambulance crews evacuated at least 11 of the wounded, including a five-month-old baby, to Turkey, said Syrian activists of the Idlib News group. Zidane Zenglow, a journalist working for the pan-Arab Al-Arabiya network, said at least one person was killed in the blast - a young girl, his cousin. A video uploaded to YouTube showed what the narrators said was the burnt corpse of a small boy. Another showed people standing around a large smoldering vehicle as an ambulance wailed in the background. The videos were consistent with The Associated Press’ reporting of the event. — AP

Nigeria seals state border with Cameroon KANO: Nigeria has sealed a portion of its northeastern border with Cameroon to block the movement of insurgents and other criminal groups, the military said yesterday. The closure has been imposed in Adamawa state, one of three states in the northeast placed under emergency rule in May following waves of attacks by Boko Haram Islamists. The military has launched a major offensive in the area aimed at crushing the Islamist uprising, which has killed thousands since 2009.

Nigeria claims that the Islamists have set up bases in sparsely populated areas of its northeastern neighbors-Cameroon, Chad and Niger-and flee across the border after staging attacks to avoid military pursuit. “What I did was completely seal off the borders, no going in, no going out,” said Brigadier General Rogers Iben Nicholas, the top military commander in Adamawa.

He said the measure had been in place since Monday and that it has already curtailed “the influx of miscreants (and) terrorist elements” into Nigeria.

“Other security agencies like the customs, immigration services, have been told. Our soldiers and police are also there working together to ensure that nothing crosses into Nigeria,” Nicholas said.

Despite the state of emergency, Boko Haram has continued to carry out attacks in the northeast, with more than 300 people killed already this year. Adamawa has been less hit by violence than the other affected states, Borno and Yobe, but it is thought to provide key transport

routes for the insurgents.

The full 2,000-kilometre (1,200-mile) porous border stretches from Borno down to the southern Niger Delta region.

Aside from curbing the flow of suspected insurgents, the several-hundred-kilometer closure in Adamawa will also affect traders and other residents. Nicholas said the military was working with traditional rulers on both sides of the border to inform people about the closure.

The border closure came after suspected Boko Haram fighters last Saturday stormed the mostly Christian village of Izghe in Borno state, north of Adamawa, killing more than 100. Then on Wednesday, an attack by scores of Boko Haram fighters in Bama, some 60 kilometers (37 miles) from the Borno state capital, Maiduguri, killed 60 people.

On the same day, the group’s leader Abubakar Shekhau threatened in a video to extend the insurgency to the oil-producing south by attacking the Niger Delta region. US Secretary of State John Kerry yesterday condemned the wave of violence and reiterated Washington’s support for the authorities in Abuja, which includes providing “counter-terrorism assistance”. “ The people of northern Nigeria deserve to live free from violence and from terror,” Kerry said in statement. He added: “We stand with the people of Northern Nigeria in their struggle against violent extremism, and remain a committed partner of the Government of Nigeria as it works to root out Boko Haram and associated groups.” — AFP

RUBAVU: Innocent Kabanda remembers only too well the day when the extremist Hutu Interahamwe rolled in, on April 7, 1994, when the genocide of Rwanda’s Tutsis had just begun.

“The people came and they told my father that they’d take us to the town centre. They also took away my big brother. I never saw them again,” said Kabanda, now 33, speaking at a commemorative event ahead of the 20th anniversary of the genocide.

The Interahamwe-fired up on Hutu Power ideology and determined to crush the Tutsi “inyenzi”, or cockroaches, as they were branded-had promised to bring Kabanda’s family and others to the safety of the municipal buildings in the small town of Rubavu. Instead, entire families were taken to the western town’s cemetery, murdered by machete, gun or grenade and tossed into a mass grave among the first victims of 100 days of carnage that left at least 800,000 people dead across the small central African country, the overwhelming majority of them Tutsis.

Today Rubavu’s cemetery is a memorial known as the “red commune”, so named because of the amount of blood that was shed there. In all, some 5,000 victims are buried there. This week Kabanda, now a local representative of Ibuka, the association of genocide survivors, was among those who opened up their trauma as a flame of remembrance passed through the area as part of a nationwide tour marking the anniversary of the genocide.

For more than two hours, survivors told their stories to onlookers, as did some of those who took

part in the killings. “I came from a mixed family, my father was Hutu and my mother Tutsi,” said Ibrahim Ndayambaje. “The Interahamwe told me that I had Tutsi blood in me, and to be spared I had to go with them and kill.” Ndayambaje was sentenced to 14 years in prison in 1995, and was pardoned by President Paul Kagame in 2001. “I saw everything that happened during the genocide, the massacre of the Tutsis,” he told the crowd.

“Coming here and telling my story is my contribution to rebuilding our nation.”

National reconciliation Organizers of the commemorations are hoping that such events, far from reopening old wounds, will instead ser ve as a sign of “the resilience and courage of Rwandans over the past 20 years”.

In Rubavu, the passage of the flame brought out large numbers of locals and officials, and the shops were closed. Carried by a young man and woman who were born the year of the killings and were dressed in white and grey robes, the flame was placed next to Rubavu’s memorial. “Local people are very interested,” said Irene Niyitanga, one of the organizers. He said that authorities had tried to “mobilize” people to attend, but insisted nobody was forced to.

The ceremony is “important because it educates young people not to make the same errors as their forefathers,” said Theogene Dusabirema, one of the people attending the commemorations.

“To see the flames also helps me pay my respects to the people who were killed,” said the 34-year-old, who says he lost his entire family in

RUBAVU: The “flame of remembrance” is carried by two 20-year-old youths upon its arrival in Rwanda. — AFP the genocide.

“It has been hard to rebuild. I didn’t have anywhere to go,” he said, adding that the passing of time has helped him reconcile with the families who killed his loved ones. “The flame is a sign of hope,” said Patrice, 65. “It shows us that those who planned the geno-

cide won’t be able to come back and trick us again, and that Rwandans are visibly getting along better.” The flame will continue to tour the countr y ’s 30 districts before returning to the capital, Kigali, on April 7, from when the country will enter into a period of national mourning. —AFP

Belgian FM visits Iran

BAGHDAD: Iraq’s Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari (right) speaks near Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi during a press conference yesterday. —AFP

China’s foreign minister makes rare visit to Iraq BAGHDAD: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks in Baghdad yesterday on issues ranging from trade to arming Iraq’s hard-pressed security forces, on the first such visit in over a decade. Wang met with Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki, during which the Iraqi premier called for “cooperation in the field of fighting terrorism,” a statement from his office said. Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari meanwhile hailed China as “the biggest trade partner for Iraq, and the biggest investor in the oil and electricity sectors,” during a joint news conference with Wang.

Chinese companies PetroChina and CNPC have substantial investments in Iraqi oil production, which accounts for the lion’s share of government revenue. Baghdad is seeking to dramatically ramp up its oil sales to fund reconstruction of its battered infrastructure. Zebari also said Wang’s visit included discussions on arming Iraqi security forces, which are struggling to curb a

year-long surge in violence that has killed thousands of people.

The situation in Syria, Iraq’s civil war-torn neighbor to the west, and Iran to its east, which is negotiating with world powers including China on its controversial nuclear program, were also discussed. It was “the first visit to Baghdad by a high-ranking Chinese official since 2003”, the Iraqi foreign ministry said in a statement on its website. It follows a trip by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov for talks that also included Syria and weapons purchases.

The issue of American weapons deliveries provides an opening in Iraq for other countries to make gains in diplomatic and military ties, a situation Baghdad could also seek to use as leverage with Washington.

Iraqi officials have been angered by delays in the delivery of some US weapons over concerns about potential abuses, and has sought to bolster its forces with purchases made from other sources. — AP

TEHRAN: Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders expressed hope yesterday that Iran’s nuclear negotiations with world powers could lead to the restoration of trust between Tehran and the West. “I hope relationships that are based on trust will be revived with the nuclear negotiations and when a clear, final agreement is reached,” Reynders said in a press conference with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif. Reynders had earlier met with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, a relative moderate elected last year on vows to engage the West diplomatically in order to secure the lifting of crippling international sanctions.

Reynders is the third foreign minister from the European Union to visit Iran in the past two months, following in the footsteps of Italy’s Emma Bonino and Sweden’s Carl Bildt. The visits come after Iran and the world powers struck an historic interim deal in November under which Tehran agreed to curb or freeze parts of its controversial nuclear program in return for limited sanctions relief.

Zarif, for his part, expressed optimism for better economic cooperation with Europe. “Our European friends should know that a good atmosphere and stable conditions have been created for investment in Iran,” Zarif said. He added that Iran would continue the negotiations “to remove all excuses for sanctions, so that the situation for foreign investment is prepared.”

Nuclear talks resumed in Vienna last week with all sides agreeing on a framework and timetable to negotiate a lasting accord that has been sought for over a decade. Such an agreement would allay Western suspicions that Iran’s nuclear drive masks military objectivesdespite Tehran’s repeated denials-and remove economic sanctions on the Islamic republic.

Reynders said he also discussed human rights in talks with Iranian officials, which included “the death penalty, freedom of speech and women rights.” “On all these issues, we want an open dialogue,” he said. He also announced, without providing details, that the European Union’s special representative for human rights Stavros Lambrinidis would visit Iran. Reynders also said Iran should be part of a “political solution” to the conflict Syria-where it is a key ally of President Bashar Al-Assad’s regime and play a regional role in combating drug trafficking. —AFP

Monitors appear before Spain tribunal over ETA MADRID: Three international monitors appeared before a judge in Spain yesterday to give evidence about their meeting with militants from the armed Basque separatist group ETA. The move came after the International Verification Commission announced Friday that it had overseen ETA militants handing over a small cache of weapons as the first step towards

disarmament. I t released a video, shot in January, that showed two of its members receiving guns and explosives from militants in balaclavas.

The commission’s work in monitoring the ETA ceasefire is not recognized by the Spanish government, which insists ETA disband without conditions. Vic tims’ association Covite has

demanded that all six members of the commission be summoned to give evidence on the whereabouts of the militants. Commission head Ram Manikkalingam, a Sri Lankan who once advised his government during talks with Tamil Tiger rebels, pledged to be “transparent” and cooperate with the tribunal and Judge Ismael Moreno.—AFP

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2014

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

In South Sudan oil hub, evidence of more war crimes JUBA: Women gang-raped and then executed in their hospital beds, worshippers gunned down in a church, children executed: details are emerging of yet more atrocities committed amid South Sudan’s slide into carnage. According to witnesses, aid workers and other independent sources, the battle for the key northern oil hub of Malakal, captured by rebels during the week even though a ceasefire was supposed to be in place, was marked by a horrific but now grimly familiar pattern of war crimes. The sources, many of whom asked to not be identified for security reasons, say Malakal has been left littered with countless bodies-now being eating by dogs and vultures.

killing and rape of patients and relatives in the only functional hospital in town.” The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) also said it was “shocked” by abuses in the town, citing reports of “deliberate killings and sexual violence” and “health-care facilities being destroyed and patients being attacked”.

Another source, who asked not to be named, gave more details. “There were several women stuck inside Malakal’s Teaching Hospital. It appears they were repeatedly raped and killed,” said the source, adding that a “handful of women” were killed but unable to give an exact number.

“The bodies showed signs of extreme, unimaginable sexual vio-

‘Children executed’ In another incident in Malakal, militiamen are believed to have gunned down people who were sheltering in the town’s main church.

Several independent sources said they had heard “credible witness testimony” that a group of men, women and children were dead, but added that restrictions on movement due to security reasons meant it had been so far impossible to confirm precisely how many died. Speaking to AFP in Juba, UNMISS Spokesman Joe Contreras said UN staff “cannot really say” whether the dead littering the streets of Malakal were mainly civilians or soldiers “because they can’t really get out of their vehicles”

SOUTH SUDAN: This picture shows hundreds of Uganda’s People Defense Forces (UPDF) battlehardened and heavily-armed Special Forces commandos as they participate in the drills near the South Sudan border. —AFP On Thursday, two days after rebels loyal to ex-vice president Riek Machar fought their way into Malakal and ejected government troops, the international medical aid group Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres, or MSF) relayed the first account of what had occurred at Malakal’s Teaching Hospital. “Many of the people in town were obliged to seek refuge in the overcrowded UNMISS compound due to the high insecurity in the area,” said MSF, referring to the UN base where more than 20,000 civilians have taken shelter.

“Some of these displaced people reported to our teams cases of the

lence,” including bite marks and stab wounds, the source added.The motive for much of the violence has been ethnic: members of South Sudan’s Dinka tribe, to which President Salva Kiir belongs, have been targeted by rebels, while government troops have been accused of massacres of ethnic Nuer, the tribe of rebel leader Machar. Atrocities have been committed by both sides, whether in the initial clashes that marked the start of the conflict in the capital Juba on December 15, during repeated battles over town of Bor farther north, or in the northern oil hubs of Bentiu and Malakal.

due to the presence of apparently trigger-happy, young rebels.Some rebels have been patrolling around the UNMISS base, taunting ethnic Dinka families who are sheltering inside, according to one aid worker.

UNMISS also said its staff in Malakal witnessed on Thursday the “extrajudicial execution of two children outside the perimeter... by armed youths believed to be allied with armed opposition forces.”

Such is the intensity of ethnic hatred that even non-combatants have reportedly been joining in the killing, something that has stunned even seasoned observers of the

world’s youngest nation.Martin Plaut, a senior research fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, who has been documenting the crisis, said he been told by a wellplaced source how some members of the UN’s “locally recruited staff had to lock themselves into a bunker in a UN base to prevent other local UN staff from murdering them”. “These were people who had worked together for years and stuck together through thick and thin,” Plaut said.

Denials South Sudan’s government has accused the rebels of being behind the atrocities, but-in a first since the conflict began-said on Monday that 20 officers in the government army were “being investigated for killing innocent civilians” in other incidents.But a diplomatic source said President Kiir appeared unwilling to crack down too heavily, “because he’s been suffering from defections left, right and centre... and probably feels he can’t afford to alienate any of his senior officers”.

As for the rebels, they maintain their fighters are beyond reproachalthough analysts believe they are unable to control their loose alliance of defectors and ethnic militia. “All the civilians who lost their lives or got injured were harmed by government troops,” the rebels’ military spokesman, Lul Ruai Koang, said in a statement issued two days after the fall of Malakal.

“Our forces are well-disciplined, operate under clear rules of engagement... and this had been the trend and hallmark of their conduct in all active fronts since the conflict began,” he said. On Saturday UNMISS issued a preliminary report for the UN Security Council on the overall human rights situation in the country up to the end of January. It said it has so far documented numerous witness accounts of “unlawful killings, including mass killings, enforced disappearances, genderbased violence, such as rapes and gang rapes, and instances of ill-treatment and torture by forces from both sides of the conflict”. A statement from UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon issued on Thursday described the situation in Malakal as “catastrophic”. —AFP

No intrigue, favoritism, gossip: Pope to prelates VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis yesterday gave his new cardinals what amounted to a code of conduct : “no intrigue, gossip, power pacts, favoritism.” Francis also urged the 19 men he elevated to cardinal a day earlier to avoid behaving as if they were in a royal court. During his homily in St Peter’s Basilica, Francis told the cardinals to strive to “be saints.” To achieve that, he advised them to simply love those who are hostile to them, bless those who speak badly of them, and “smile at those who perhaps don’t merit it.”

Advocating humility, Francis is trying to reform a church hierarchy that has been criticized as arrogant, egotistical, petty and nasty. Scandals involving alleged corruption and power plays tainted the Vatican’s top bureaucracy in the last few years before Francis was elected in March.

Later yesterday, while addressing the faithful and the curious in St Peter ’s

Square, Francis was interrupted by resounding cheers and applause when, wagging his finger, he told them that bishops, cardinals and the pope need to be “good servants, not good bosses” of God’s people. As his papacy draws near the oneyear mark, Francis has been drawing huge crowds for the traditional Sunday noontime appearance from a window of the Apostolic Palace overlooking the square.

Yesterday, a breezy, cool day, the vast square was packed with tens of thousands of people. That is about two or three times the size of the crowds that his predecessor, Benedict XVI, usually drew on similar occasions. One draw has been Francis’ simple language and down-to-earth ways.

During the Mass for the new cardinals, Francis urged churchmen to keep their priorities straight, saying Jesus didn’t die on a cross “to teach us drawing room manners.” —AP

LENIN

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2014

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

Probe begins into carbon monoxide leak at NY mall HUNTINGTON STATION: Officials investigating a carbon monoxide leak at a New York mall are concentrating on the heating system of a restaurant there. A manager at Legal Sea Foods restaurant died and more than two dozen others were sent to hospitals following the leak Saturday at the Walt Whitman Shops in Huntington Station on Long Island. All of those affected by the fumes were restaurant employees, police or ambulance workers, said Suffolk County Police Lt Jack Fitzpatrick. ìRight now, we are inspecting the heating system, and this incident seems to be confined to the basement area,î Fitzpatrick said. ìIt does not appear to have made it in the area of the restaurant where the customers were.î Police identified the manager who died as 55-year-old Steven Nelson. The medical examiner will determine the cause of his death, Fitzpatrick said.

He said the initial call to police came shortly after 6 pm about a woman who had fallen and hit her head in the basement of Legal Sea Foods. Rescue workers who arrived at the scene started to feel lightheaded and nauseated and suspected a carbon monoxide leak, Fitzpatrick said.

Police evacuated the restaurant and found Nelson, of Copiague, unconscious in the basement. The woman who fell was taken to Huntington Hospital, as was Nelson, who was pronounced dead there.

There was no immediate word on the womanís condition. Authorities said 27 people were taken to five area hospitals.

Fitzpatrick said none appeared to have life-threatening injuries. WABC-TV reported that all but a handful of patients had been treated and released.

Carbon monoxide is odorless and colorless and can lead to death by suffocation. In addition to Legal Sea Foods, two other restaurants were evacuated as a precaution, even as the mall remained open.

Those restaurants were Panera Bread and The Cheesecake Factory. ìThey told us to leave because of a gas leak,î Cheesecake Factory patron Kathy Sella said. ìI didnít want to blow up or anything like that. We were at the bar having a glass of wine and then, one of the waitresses, she said you have to leave.î The Walt Whitman Shops, located about 35 miles east of New York City, has more than 80 stores, including Bloomingdaleís, Lord & Taylor, Macyís and Saks Fifth Avenue. — AP

Love and death in Central America gangs TEGUCIGALPA: The nightmare is years behind her but the pain is still raw: when Sharon’s boyfriend tried to quit the street gang he belonged to and spend more time with his infant son, his colleagues tortured and killed him. Short of stature and thin, Sharon still bursts into tears when she remembers that day in 2009, when she found the body of Jose Adan. Her sad tale highlights how tight the grip of Central America’s notorious street gangs, or maras, can be. Jose Adan was a soldier in one called the Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13). His chapter controlled a neighborhood in the Honduran capital Tegucigalpa.

The gangs are the scourge of Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador.”We had a beautiful relationship. When our baby was born, he wanted to quit the life to dedicate more time to his son and me. They would not let him,” said Sharon. For security reasons, both names are fictitious for the purposes of this story. On February 21, 2009, Jose Adan did not return home. Sharon got nervous, starting to think the worst, because he had already received warnings over his decision to quit the gang.

“We went to church. We wanted to seek out God, but it was already too late,” says Sharon. After a sleepless night, it was Sharon

herself who found the body-in a pond atop a hill. That is where the gang tends to leave the bodies of its victims, many of them from its rival, the Mara 18. In Honduras, which the United Nations describes as the most violent country in the world among those not enduring a war, the two gangs have been active since the 1980s. People are terrified of themtheir extortion, drug trafficking and hired killers.

Love at first sight When he died, Jose Adan was only 18, like Sharon. And like her, and perhaps most gang members, he came from a broken family.

They had met out on the streets of the neighborhood and it all happened in a flash. “It was love at first sight,” Sharon recalls. They had fun, organizing dances and attending local festivals. But when he went out, Jose Adan always carried a .38 caliber handgun. When she got pregnant, she had to leave her mother’s home and go to live with Jose Adan at the house he shared with his father.

“A mara is a family. We celebrate Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Christmas. A lot of money is moved. He used to like to give me presents,” says Sharon. She has mementos of her beloved: a black wallet and a big stuffed animal-a crocodile. —AFP

Noose closed on Mexico drug lord as allies fell Calls for Guzman to be extradited to US CULIACAN, Mexico: For 13 years Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman watched from western Mexico’s rugged mountains as authorities captured or killed the leaders of every group challenging his Sinaloa cartel’s spot at the top of global drug trafficking. Unscathed and his legend growing, the stocky son of a peasant farmer grabbed a slot on the Forbes’ billionaires’ list and a folkloric status as the capo who grew too powerful to catch.

Then, late last year, authorities started closing on the inner circle of the world’s most-wanted drug lord.

The son of one of his two top henchmen, Ismael “Mayo” Zambada, was arrested at a border crossing in Nogales, Arizona in November as part of a sprawling, complex investigation involving as many as 100 wiretaps, according to his lawyer. A month later, one of the Sinaloa cartel’s main lieutenants was gunned down by Mexican helicopter gunships in a resort town a few hours’ drive to the east. Less than two weeks later, police at Schipol Airport in Amsterdam arrested one of the cartel’s top assassins, a man who handled transport and logistics for Guzman.

This month the noose started tightening. Federal forces began sweeping through Culiacan, capital of the Pacific coast state of Sinaloa - closing streets, raiding houses, seizing automatic weapons, drugs and money, and arresting a series of men Mexican officials carefully described to reporters as top officials for Zambada. But the target was bigger. By Saturday, they had nabbed Guzman, 56, in the resort city of Mazatlan, where he fled after reportedly escaping the law enforcement ring set up in Culiacan.

“My sense in talking with Homeland Security officials and others last night is that we were able to penetrate his circle, get people within the organization to cooperate,” US Rep. Michael McCaul, chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security. “It’s not just the most significant capture and the arrest of one man, but it bodes well for our efforts to dismantle and unravel the Sinaloa Cartel.”

McCaul called on Sunday for Guzman to be extradited to US to ensure he remains behind bars, noting that the drug lord escaped from prison in 2001 and corruption continues to plague Mexico. But the Mexican operation that netted Guzman was praised across the board in the US as a sign of President

Enrique Pena Nieto’s commitment to battling organized crime.

On Feb 13, a man known as “19”, whom officials called the new chief of assassins for Zambada, was arrested with two other men on the highway to the coastal resort city of Mazatlan. Four days later, a man described as a member of the Sinaloa cartel’s upper ranks was seized along with 4,000 hollowed-out cucumbers and bananas stuffed with

used them to obtain information that helped lead to the head of the cartel. The official was not authorized to talk to journalists and spoke on condition of anonymity. Agents learned that Guzman, 56, had started coming down from his isolated mountain hideouts to enjoy the comforts of Culiacan and Mazatlan, said Michael S Vigil, a former senior DEA official who was briefed on the operation.

“That was a fatal error,” Vigil said. Working

MEXICO CITY: Mexican drug trafficker Joaquin Guzman Loera aka “el Chapo Guzman”, is escorted by marines as he is presented to the press. — AFP cocaine. In the middle of this week, a 43year-old known by the nickname “20” and described as Zambada’s chief of security, was arrested transporting more cocaine-stuffed produce. By the middle of the week at least 10 Sinaloa henchmen had been seized.

‘Fatal error’ A US law enforcement official said Saturday that at least some were actually security for Guzman, and authorities

on the information gleaned from Guzman’s bodyguards, Mexican marines swarmed the house of Guzman’s ex-wife but struggled to batter down the steelreinforced door, according to Mexican authorities and former US law-enforcement officials briefed on the operation.

As the marines forced their way in, Guzman fled through a secret door beneath a bathtub down a corrugated steel ladder into a network of tunnels and sewer canals that connect to six oth-

er houses in Culiacan, the officials said.

Guzman fled south to Mazatlan. On his heels, a team of US Drug Enforcement Administration agents set up a base of operations with Mexican marines in the city, according to the current US lawenforcement official. Early Saturday morning, Guzman’s reign came to an end without a shot fired. Marines closed the beachside road in front of the Miramar condominiums, a 10-storey, pearl-colored building with white balconies overlooking the Pacific and a small pool in front. Smashing down the door of an austerely decorated fourth-floor condo, they seized the country’s most-wanted man at 6:40 am, a few minutes after the sun rose.

A neighbor who declined to identify himself for fear of retaliation said the apartment had only been occupied for two days. An employee of the building’s cleaning staff said that clothes were strewn across the floor and bed in the condo, and humble domestic appliances - a microwave, a floor fan, a flat-screen TV on a small table - were left inside. Photos of the apartment published by a local newspaper showed cheap and unglamorous furnishings. Inside the condo, the photos showed little food or liquor - just a couple of dozen eggs on a shelf. A bag from a low-end supermarket lay on the floor. Guzman was caught with an unidentified woman, said one official not authorized to be quoted by name, who added that the DEA and US Marshals Service were “heavily involved” in the capture. Mexican officials said, however, that Guzman was detained along with a man they identified as Carlos Manuel Hoo Ramirez.

Bi-national effort A US law-enforcement official with direct knowledge of the killing of Zambada’s main lieutenant in November described it as part of a concerted binational effort to decapitate the Sinaloa cartel. The organization became the focus of US and Mexican attention after a string of arrests and slaying of the heads of other cartels, most notably the seizure of brutal Zetas cartel head Miguel Angel Trevino Morales in July. “Who are the only big fish left in the country? We can’t just twiddle our thumbs,” said the official who was not authorized to speak to journalists and spoke on condition of anonymity. “Now we focus on the biggest elephant in the room. It’s by virtue of default.” —AP

Shutdown hurt 37,000 immigrant cases Situation critical for asylum seekers LOS ANGELES: The US government shutdown last year delayed more than 37,000 immigration hearings by months or years for immigrants already waiting in lengthy lines to plead for asylum or green cards. While the US immigration courts are now running as usual, immigrants who had hoped to have their cases resolved in October so they could travel abroad to see family or get a job have instead had their lives put on hold. Many had already waited years to get a hearing date in the notoriously backlogged courts, which determine whether immigrants should be deported or allowed to stay in America.

Now, some hearings have been pushed into later this year, and thousands more have been shelved until 2015 or later, according to emails obtained by The Associated Press.

“This is a big task, and not one that will be accomplished quickly, especially given our current staffing shortage,” Chief Immigration Judge Brian O’Leary wrote in an Oct 17 email to immigration judges and court administrators obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request. A day earlier, O’Leary wrote in a separate email to staff that the tally of deferred hearings had surpassed 37,000 and many immigrants probably wouldn’t get their cases heard until at least 2015.

The delays triggered by last year’s federal government shutdown that closed national parks and furloughed government workers has further strained an immigration court system already beset with ballooning caseloads, years-long waits and a shortage of judges. The impact on immigrants has been uneven. Those with strong cases for staying in the US are left in limbo for even longer, while those who face likely deportation have won more time in the United States.

“For some people, it probably was a huge reprieve,” said Andres Benach, an immigration attorney in Washington. “Just not my clients.”

About 70 percent of all immigration court hearings were put on hold, and all involved immigrants who were not held in detention centers. The rest immigrants in detention facilities proceeded with their hearings as scheduled. About half of immigrants in detention have criminal records.

The situation is especially dire for asylum seekers who may have left

LOS ANGELES: Gladys Hirayda Shahian, 42, originally from Guatemala, poses for a photo holding pictures of her family at her workplace. — AP family behind in dangerous conditions. They cannot apply to bring relatives to the United States unless they win their cases. For others, the delay means more uncertainty. Gladys Hirayda Shahian said she has been trying to obtain a green card through her American husband for more than a decade. After getting turned away at the airport after a trip back to her native Guatemala in the 1990s, Shahian said she crossed the border illegally to reunite with him and filed her residency application.

Since then, the 42-year-old from Encino, California, has been unable to take her US-born children to visit family in Guatemala or accept a job outside her home. After waiting nearly two years to get an immigration court date in Los Angeles in October, she now has to wait until August because of the shutdown. “Every time I go to that court, I come out broken, in tears,” said Shahian, who has been married for two decades and helps run her husband’s clothing design business.

Immigration judges can grant asylum, green cards or other forms of relief - or order someone deported for breaking the country’s immigration laws. About half of immigrants were given deportation orders in immigration court rulings handed down since October, according to a report by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University.

The courts overseen by the Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review nearly always have long wait times for hearings. As of January, more than 360,000 immi-

gration court cases were pending for an average of 573 days, according to TRAC. Oscar, who came to the country as a 17-year-old last year from El Salvador, has been waiting for a decision on whether he can continue to live with his sister in Los Angeles - or be sent back and face street gangs that killed his mother and threatened to kill him if he didn’t join their ranks.

His lawyer requested that his last name not be used out of fear for his safety if he is deported.

Oscar is seeking legal status through a program that helps foreign children in the United States who have been abused or abandoned. A hearing on his case was supposed to happen in October, but now has been delayed until June or later, leaving him to worry about his future.

“I’m afraid they’re going to send me back,” he said. Immigration Judge Dana Leigh Marks said she doesn’t have two weeks open on her calendar in San Francisco’s immigration court for merit hearings until June 2017. And she can’t just bump people with court dates this year, because they’ve also been waiting for their day in court.

“You have this very delicately balanced system. Now we have this added dysfunction to cope with on top of that,” she said. “I just think the ripple effect is going to be continuing for a while.” Some immigration lawyers said the shutdown caused heartache for many clients, but is par for the course in an overburdened system. Similar problems occur when a judge is sick or winter weather closes a courthouse. — AP

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2014

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

Girl killed, dozens hurt in attack on Thai protest 16 injured in blast in Bangkok shopping area

DIAMOND MOUNTAIN: South Korean daughter Nam Gung Bong-ja (right) feeds her North Korean father Nam Gung Ryuck during the Separated Family Reunion Meeting at Diamond Mountain resort yesterday. — AP

US-South Korea war games loom over Korean reunions SEOUL: A year ago, North Korea vowed nuclear attacks to retaliate for US-South Korean war games. But the start Monday of this year’s joint military drills comes as Pyongyang allows wrenching reunions of elderly Koreans separated since the Korean War. As always with the rival Koreas, cold political calculations loom behind the scenes of pure emotion.

The reasons for Pyongyang’s about-face are seen as having more to do with the impoverished country’s desire to drive a wedge between Seoul and Washington and its need for money than with concern about the painfully brief reunions of Koreans who haven’t seen each other since the war’s end in 1953. “Humanitarianism is not at all what North Korea is about,” Scott Snyder, a Korea specialist at the Council on Foreign Relations, wrote in a recent online post. Improvements in ties “always engender doubts about how and when the other shoe will drop.”

After a last-minute cancellation of reunions in September, Pyongyang allowed them to go forward this time after recent rare high-level talks with Seoul. The first reunions of North and South Koreans in more than three years have been held despite the refusal by the US and South Korea to cancel what Yesterday, about 360 South Koreans arrived at the North’s Diamond Mountain resort to meet dozens of North Korean relatives, the second and final group of Koreans to participate in reunions that began Thursday and end Tuesday.

These are the lucky few. Only a fraction of the millions of Koreans separated by the Korean War have been reunited, and there

have been no second meetings.

South Korean Lee Yik-kyu, 80, hadn’t seen his 83-year-old North Korean brother, Ri In Gyu, since he was taken during the war by North Korean soldiers. The brothers approached each other awkwardly at first yesterday before embracing and weeping.

“Are you my brother?” Lee asked. “It’s Yikkyu.” Lee told South Korean reporters that his mother grieved Ri In Gyu’s loss until she died 18 years ago, often calling out, “In Gyu, are you dead or alive?” North Korea allowed these reunions, analysts say, largely because it wants increased aid shipments, outside investment and negotiations with Seoul over the resumption of once-lucrative jointly run tours at the Diamond Mountain resort. Those tours were put on hold after a North Korean soldier shot and killed a South Korean tourist in 2008.

After last year’s tumult on the Korean Peninsula, which included North Korea’s third nuclear test and the last-minute cancellation of the scheduled reunions in September, Pyongyang has this year pursued a charm offensive, albeit one laced with occasional angry rhetoric.

The Koreas have resumed work at a jointly run factory park in the North that Pyongyang had shut down last spring.

Seoul also says that this year it has permitted five private groups’ aid shipments to the North, worth about $1.4 million. “The two Koreas seem to be moving from talking to walking,” John Delury, an Asia specialist at Seoul’s Yonsei University, wrote in a recent posting on the website 38North.

Washington, meanwhile, remains “obstinate in its refusal to talk to Pyongyang despite the poor results of not doing so.”—AP

BANGKOK: Gunmen in a pickup truck attacked an anti-government protest in Thailand’s east, killing at least one person, a child, and wounding dozens, as violence in the country’s 3month-old political crisis spread outside the capital, Bangkok, officials said yesterday. The attack took place Saturday night in Trat province, about 300 kilometers (180 miles) east of Bangkok, where about 500 protesters demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra were holding a rally near food stalls where people were dining.

Thai media reported that as many as three people were killed and several others are in critical condition, but National Security Council chief Lt Gen Paradorn Pattanathuabutr said there had been one fatality - an 8-year-old girl. A nurse at Trat Hospital, Nantiya Thientawatchai, told The Associated Press that the girl who died was 5 years old. The reason for the discrepancy was not clear. The attack was the latest in a string of protest-related violence roiling Thailand over the past three months, in which at least 16 people have been killed and hundreds hurt. The protesters want Yingluck to quit to make way for an appointed interim government to implement anti-corruption reforms, but she has refused.

Police Lt Thanabhum Newanit said unidentified assailants in a pickup shot into the crowd and two explosive devices went off. It was not clear if the protest group, which uses armed guards, fought back. He and other officials said that about three dozen people were hurt.

Both supporters and opponents of the protest group called the People’s Democratic Reform Committee, as well as police, have been victims of the political violence, which before Saturday was mostly confined to the Thai capital.

On Friday night, six people were hurt when unknown attackers threw a grenade into a protest crowd in Bangkok. Both sides in the ongoing political dispute have blamed the other for instigating violence. “At this point we do not know who was behind the attack, but there are several factors to take into account in the investigation,” Paradorn said.

He added that the protesters in Trat have been rallying for a long time, “so they might have caused disturbance to others. And that area is controlled by groups that are affiliated with the anti-government side,” he said. “The prime minister has expressed concern and urged the national police chief to speed up the investigation,” Paradorn said.

Thailand has been riven by sometimes violent political conflict since 2006, when thenPrime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, Yingluck’s brother, was ousted by a military coup after being accused of corruption and abuse of pow-

Taleban suspends talks on US soldier ISLAMABAD: Afghanistan’s Taleban says it has suspended “mediation” with the United States to exchange captive US soldier Sgt Bowe Bergdahl for five senior Taleban prisoners held in US custody in Guantanamo Bay, halting - at least temporarily - what was considered the best chance yet of securing the 27-year-old’s freedom since his capture in 2009. In a terse Pashto language statement emailed to the Associated Press yesterday, Zabihullah Mujahed blamed the “current complex political situation in the country” for the suspension.

Bergdahl, of Hailey, Idaho, was last seen in a video released in December, footage seen as “proof of life” demanded by the United States. Bergdahl is believed to be held in the border regions

Sgt Bowe Bergdahl between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Mujahed said the indirect talks with the United States had been mediated by the Middle Eastern state of Qatar, where the Taleban established a political office last June. The video of Bergdahl was part of the negotiations which were to lead to the eventual transfer of five senior Taleban leaders held since 2002 in Guantanamo Bay. “The leadership of the Islamic Emirate has decided to suspend the process for some time due to the current complex political situation in the country,” according to the statement. “The process will remain suspended without the exchange of the prisoners until our decision to resume.”

The Taleban spokesman did not elaborate on what “political situation” in Afghanistan led to the suspension of talks or say when they might resume. Afghanistan is in the middle of a presidential

election campaign. President Hamid Karzai cannot seek another term in office under the Afghan constitution which allows only two terms as president. The election is scheduled for April 5. The US State Department has refused to acknowledge the negotiations, but a US official familiar with the negotiations confirmed to The Associated Press that indirect talks were underway. He requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media. In response to the Taleban statement, US Embassy Spokesman in Kabul Robert Hilton said: “Sgt Bergdahl has been gone far too long, however we can’t discuss the efforts we’re taking to obtain his return.” Efforts at a swap are also seen as a concession to Karzai. Washington would like to see him back away from his refusal to sign a security pact that is necessary for the United States to leave a residual force behind in Afghanistan Karzai he wants Washington to push reconciliation between the warring factions forward, without offering specifics. The five Taleban detainees at the heart of the proposal are the most senior Afghans still held at the prison at the US base in Cuba. Each has been held since 2002.

They include: Mohammad Fazl, whom Human Rights Watch says could be prosecuted for war crimes for presiding over the mass killing of Shiite Muslims in Afghanistan in 2000 and 2001 as the Taleban sought to consolidate its control over the country. Abdul Haq Wasiq, who served as the Taleban deputy minister of intelligence and was in direct contact with supreme leader Mullah Omar as well as other senior Taleban figures, according to military documents. Under Wasiq, there were widespread accounts of killings, torture and mistreatment. Mullah Norullah Nori, who was a senior Taleban commander in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif when the Taleban fought US forces in late 2001. He previously served as a Taleban governor in two northern provinces, where he has been accused of ordering the massacre of thousands of Shiites.

Khairullah Khairkhwa, who served in various Taleban positions including interior minister and a military commander and had direct ties to Mullah Omar and Osama bin Laden, according to U.S. military documents. His US lawyers have argued in court papers that his affiliation with the Taleban was a matter of circumstance, rather than ideology, and that he had backed away from them by the time of his capture. His lawyers also have argued that he was merely a civil servant and had no military role, though a judge found otherwise and said there was enough evidence to justify holding him at Guantanamo. His lawyers have appealed. —AP

Bomb kills 5 in Pakistan KOHAT: A bomb placed near a bus stop killed five people including two women and a child in a northwestern Pakistani city yesterday, police said, adding a dozen more were injured. The blast occurred in the city of Kohat in the troubled province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which borders Pakistan’s lawless tribal areas where Al-Qaeda and Taleban-led militants have sanctuaries. Police said around five kilograms of explosive were planted in a cooking oil container and placed near the bus stop in the city centre, adding the device was detonated remotely.

“So far we can confirm that five people have been killed and 12 others are injured,” district police chief Salim Khan Marwat told AFP. Another police official at the site said the bomb exploded near police and other government offices. The attack came hours after Pakistan air force jets bombed militant hideouts in the tribal district of Khyber, killing 18 suspected militants and destroying two hideouts,

according to security sources.

On Saturday a roadside bomb targeting a local leader of a nationalist party in Buner district in the northwest killed three people and wounded two. No group immediately claimed responsibility for yesterday’s blast, but such attacks are regularly staged by the Pakistani Taleban. The outfit has been waging a bloody campaign against the Pakistani state since 2007 which has cost thousands of lives.

Peace talks between the Taleban and the government stalled last week due to a recent surge in insurgent attacks and a claim by a Taleban faction that it had killed 23 kidnapped soldiers. Government mediators have set a Taleban ceasefire as a precondition for another round of talks. But Shahidullah Shahid, a spokesman for the Pakistani Taleban, on Friday blamed Islamabad for the deadlock and urged the state to declare a ceasefire first. — AFP

BANGKOK: A Thai woman holds a placard to support Thai police at the Police Club yesterday. — AFP er. Thaksin’s supporters and opponents have attack but whoever did it was on the governsince then taken to the streets for extended peri- ment’s side.”

Meanwhile, at least 16 people were injured in ods in a power struggle. In 2010, pro-Thaksin “Red Shirts” occupied part of Bangkok for two a blast yesterday in a central Bangkok shopping months. When the army was called out to con- district where anti-government protesters were trol them, more than 90 people were killed in holding a rally, the Erawan emergency centre violent confrontations. The Red Shirts have said on its website. “Sixteen people have been mostly kept a low profile during the current reported injured,” the centre said, after the blast political unrest, but as Yingluck faces what her outside a major supermarket in a popular downsupporters feel are unfair court rulings loosen- town commercial district. Police could not ing her grip on power, there are fears they will immediately confirm the cause of the blast. take to the streets again. The courts are widely Blood was splattered on the pavement as solseen as being based against Thaksin’s political diers and police sealed the area off, according to an AFP photographer at the scene. Rallies trying machine.

Thaksin and his allies have won every nation- to topple Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra al election since 2001, with his sister taking have been hit by several gun and grenade office in 2011 with a majority of parliamentary attacks by unidentified assailants.

The protesters have carried out a self-styled seats. Yingluck called early elections to try to reaffirm her mandate, but the protesters disrupt- “shutdown” of the city, blocking several key ed February polling, which has yet to be com- intersections for weeks as they try to pressure pleted, leaving Thailand with a caretaker govern- the government to resign. A five-year-old girl ment. She also faces several legal challenges was killed and several people were critically wounded in a drive-by shooting of an anti-govthat could oust her from office.

Thaksin’s opponents claim he unfairly uses ernment rally late Saturday in eastern Thailand.

Tensions are high in the kingdom as protestmoney politics and populist policies to dominate Thai politics. A spokesman for the opposi- ers try to upend the crisis-hit government and tion Democrat Party, which is closely allied with replace it with an unelected “people’s council” to the protest group and boycotted the election, carry out reforms to root out corruption and condemned the latest attack. “This is something alleged vote-buying. Clashes between protestwe have expected because the government has ers and police last week left five people deadno way to go, so they have to resort to violence,” including a police officer-in Bangkok’s historic said Chavanond Intarakomalyasut. “I can’t say centre, close to the famous Khaosan tourist disprecisely that the government is behind the trict. — Agencies

NEWS

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2014

A boy looks at a figure painted in the colours of Ukraine on the monument of the Soviet Army in central Sofia yesterday. — AFP

Ukraine ushers in new era as president...

Drone flaps to future Continued from Page 1 Unlike other drones that use rotor blades and can weigh hundreds of times as much, the Explorer has two wings on each side that flap rapidly to create lift.

“We got our inspiration from real small insects,” De Croon said. While smaller “flapping” drones exist, such as the RoboBee developed by students at Harvard University in the United States, they are tethered for power, control and processing, and thus far from autonomous. The Explorer has its own small lithium polymer battery that allows it to fly for around nine minutes, while it “sees” with its onboard processor and a specially-developed algorithm to make instant decisions. It has wireless analog video, gyroscopes and a barometer to calculate its height.

Different algorithms would allow it to perform different tasks, and because it is autonomous it could be sent into enclosed spaces such as concrete buildings or mine shafts, where radio control would be impossible, to search for casualties or hazards. “The DelFly knows precisely where obstacles are located,” said De

Croon as the aircraft, built from composite materials including carbon fibre, fluttered towards a wall during a demonstration flight before veering elegantly away in search of another route.

The idea of building a flapping-winged drone began around nine years ago when a group of students at Delft Technical University’s prestigious aerospace faculty first designed the DelFly I. Over the next few years, research continued and the machine became smaller and smaller, said Sjoerd Tijmons, 28, who helped write the algorithm for the latest DelFly Explorer’s “brain”.

An earlier incarnation, the DelFly Micro with a wingspan of 10 cm, was in 2008 declared the “smallest camera equipped aircraft in the world” by the Guinness Book of Records. But De Croon admits that humans are not quite able to produce swarms of autonomous robotic insects the size of bees or flies, mainly because of restrictions on battery life. “Still there are some major challenges... and if I have to put a number on it, I think we are still a few decades away,” he laughed. — AFP

Assembly panel OKs telecom commission Continued from Page 1 Abdullah’s proposal does not stipulate maximum limits of expatriates in Kuwait, unlike proposals made by other MPs in the past.

In another development, MP Saleh Ashour yesterday called on the government to reverse the privatization process of Kuwait Airways and keep the airline as the national carrier. Ashour said in a statement that the measure is necessary after KAC last week signed two contracts to purchase 25 Airbus aircraft and lease 12 others. The delivery of the leased planes is scheduled to start in December, while delivery of the purchased planes will start in 2019.

Ashour praised the decision of the government to back the two deals and demanded that more measures should be taken to stop the privatization of the company and make it the national carrier which requires the government to send the KAC privatization law to the Assembly for reconsideration.

The KAC privatization law was passed around six years ago and the airline was supposed to have become a private company around three years ago, but the process was delayed due to various reasons.

The Assembly has amended the law on a number of occasions but KAC was transformed from a state owned corporation to a state -

owned company operating on a commercial basis. Ashour said the government should solidly back KAC in order to operate in the highly competitive market and drop privatization plans.

In yet another financial proposal, MP Askar Al-Enezi yesterday proposed that the government should establish a fund to offer interestfree loans to pensioners. The proposal states that the Public Institution for Social Security, the government pension agency, should establish a fund to offer a onetime loan of up to KD 10,000 to pensioners. The loan should be without interest and repaid in easy installments.

Continued from Page 1 ernment of the people” and urged leading lawmakers to build a new parliamentary majority that could swiftly approve stalled reforms. “We have until Tuesday,” the 49-year-old interim leader said.

New interior minister Arsen Aviakov announced the launch of a probe into police involvement in the “execution” of protesters in a week of carnage that turned Kiev’s heart into a war zone. Yanukovych was dealt another blow when his own Regions Party issued a statement condemning him for issuing “criminal orders” that led to so many deaths.

Parliament also voted to dismiss Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Leonid Kozhara after sacking the federal police chief and prosecutor general on Saturday. And it took the symbolic step of handing over Yanukovych’s marble-lined mansion outside Kiev - its vast car collection and golden toilet fixtures opened up for public viewing on Saturday - to the state.

Western countries gave vital but cautious backing to the sweeping changes in Ukraine while Russia once again cautioned that payment of its huge bailout package was on hold. Ukraine stands on the precipice of a default and owes nearly $13 billion in debt payments this year -money it can-

not drum up on financial markets because of prohibitively expensive borrowing costs. US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew told a G20 meeting in Sydney that Washington “stands ready to assist Ukraine as it implements reforms to restore economic stability and seeks to return to a path of democracy and growth”. US National Security Adviser Susan Rice warned it was in no one’s interest to see crisis-hit Ukraine break apart.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin also tried yesterday to calm some of the Cold War-style joisting that had erupted between the West and Moscow over Ukraine’s future in the past weeks. A Merkel spokesman said the two leaders agreed on the need to preserve Ukraine territorial integrity - a reference to the deep cultural fissure that runs between the pro-European west of the country and its far more Russified east. Russian Finance Minister Alexei Ulyukayev for his part confirmed that disbursement of the remaining $12 billion in Moscow’s assistance package was on hold until the political situation in Kiev cleared up. “The fact that the opposition groups have prevailed means that the Russia rescue deal of last December will now almost certainly be withdrawn,” said Chris Weafer of the Moscow analysts Macro Advisory. — AFP

At 90, Mugabe ‘feeling like 9’ Continued from Page 1 children bussed in for the occasion. In a speech that lasted over an hour, Mugabe told the crowd that his ZANU-PF party’s election win last year had confounded his critics in the West.

“Those opponents of ours who had imposed sanctions on us were baffled,” he said. “The truth is ZANU-PF won, ZANU-PF had the support. ZANU-PF had the message, had the history, ZANUPF has the people.”

Mugabe, who turned 90 on Friday while he was still in Singapore, has ruled Zimbabwe with an iron fist ever since the former rebel led the country to independence from Britain in 1980. His party won another resounding victory in August elections - taking two-thirds of the vote -although critics say he used state power to intimidate voters and opponents. “At times I think of how I have survived over the years, escaping death, many of my friends and relatives have died. It saddens me at times, but at the same time you are happy that you have turned 90.” Huge cakes were on display in the centre of the stadium, while the crowd wore red scarves, as is traditional on the president’s birth-

day, and waved national flags.

A series of speakers led the crowd in chanting ZANU-PF slogans, and denouncing the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, which has spent years unsuccessfully trying to overturn Mugabe’s rule in the face of catastrophic economic decline.

Mugabe returned to familiar anti-colonial themes in his speech, saying: “The British - we don’t hate you, we only love our country.

We love our freedom.” Senior government officials, security chiefs and Mugabe’s children were also among the well-wishers.

Ambassadors from China and Russia also presented Mugabe with special messages of congratulation from their presidents.

A ZANU-PF youth leader heaped praise on Mugabe, saying he defeated the British during the war and after independence. “In my view today we celebrate the birthday of a genuine conqurer of the British empire,” Absolom Sikhosana said. Mugabe was presented with 90 sheep, while several cattle were also among his many birthday presents and 90 cattle were slaughtered for the feast. Five huge cakes in an array of designs including the independence flame were at the celebrations, one weighing a massive 90 kg. — AFP

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2014

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Issues

Drug lord’s arrest may fuel violence

By Dave Graham

M

exico’s government scored a huge victory with the capture of the country’s most wanted drug lord but the cartels will remain a powerful force and could unleash a fresh wave of violence as they fight for control of his turf. In a lightning raid early on Saturday, Mexican marines arrested Joaquin Guzman, whose dominance of the drugs trade and ability to elude the law since escaping from prison in 2001 had lent him almost mythical status. Immortalized in songs and revered by many in his home state of Sinaloa, Guzman leaves behind a criminal organization that employs thousands and flourished even as it fought brutal turf wars with rival cartels.

Experts say his Sinaloa Cartel should have no trouble in continuing without him. “Chapo was the strategy guy, he was the CEO, but he still has his board of directors who are running things,” said drug war expert and retired US Air Force captain Sylvia Longmire. “Day-to-day on the ground, I don’t think there is even going to be a hiccup in the drug flow,” she added. Nevertheless, Guzman’s imprisonment could encourage rivals to try to muscle in on the turf his business empire has held for years from its base in northwestern Mexico.

For now it is a personal triumph for President Enrique Pena Nieto, who took office in Dec 2012 pledging to cut spiraling violence in Latin America’s second biggest economy. Doubts about his strategy on organized crime have grown as the violence continued and his government made a risky alliance with vigilante groups in a confrontation with a drug gang in the state of Michoacan.

The arrest of Guzman offers a strong riposte to the president’s critics. Pena Nieto’s predecessor Felipe Calderon staked his reputation on bringing the gangs to heel, but despite capturing or killing many capos, violence leapt during his six year term. No-one was a more telling reminder of the Calderon government’s shortcomings than Guzman. After escaping from prison in 2001, the drug lord built up an empire and made his way onto the Forbes list of billionaires.

Thriving Drugs Market Pena Nieto has taken a more low key approach to fighting organized crime than Calderon, and the crossborder intelligence operation that led to Guzman’s capture is a boost for Mexican-US cooperation on organized crime. Initially focusing on the Zetas, a brutal cartel that has been behind many of the most shocking atrocities of the last few years, Pena Nieto’s government put the group on the back foot by capturing the gang’s boss Miguel Angel Trevino last July. Murders fell by more than 16 percent during his first full year in the job, but he had hoped for a greater decline and serious problems remain.

Homicides are still well above the levels recorded when Calderon took power, and extortion and kidnapping rose last year, according to government figures. The removal of Guzman from the scene does not mean there is any less for the cartels to play for. Trafficking remains a highly lucrative business - according to US State Department figures, the gangs send between $19-29 billion each year from the United States to Mexico.

In spite of steps to decriminalize marijuana usage in parts of the United States, the drug is still smuggled in vast quantities, and the market for harder narcotics is thriving. Between 2008 and 2012, the amount of heroin seized at the US southwest border increased by 232 percent, according to National Seizure System (NSS) data.

And though cocaine seizures are down, that has been offset by higher consumption in Mexico and Europe, said Alberto Islas of consultancy Risk Evaluation. Meanwhile, demand for Mexican methamphetamine is still enjoying “double digit” growth annually, Islas added.

Risk of Violence Such is the size of the illicit drugs market, that by the time of his fall, Guzman was probably overseeing an empire with as many as 150,000 people in its employ, said Malcolm Beith, author of “The Last Narco”, a biography of the kingpin. The fallout will likely be violent, he said.

“Whenever the leadership of a drug cartel is compromised, there are turf wars at lower levels,” Beith told Reuters. “We’ve seen increased violence already in recent months in Sinaloa since the capture or death of several high-ranking lieutenants, I expect more to follow.” —Reuters

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.

West faces daunting task to rescue Ukraine

By Paul Taylor

W

estern nations face a daunting task to help stabilise a near bankrupt Ukraine after a popular uprising toppled its Russian-backed president, and will need to placate a wounded Moscow. The biggest challenge falls to the European Union, which helped broker an end to violent repression in Kiev last week, after Ukrainians rebelled against President Viktor Yanukovich. The EU now faces the pottery shop rule - you break it, you own it. Yet it is far from clear that west European members want to take ownership of rescuing the sprawling former Soviet republic of 46 million people.

The European Commission’s economics chief, Olli Rehn, promised substantial financial support on Sunday and went out on a political limb by saying the country should be given the prospect of joining the EU one day. “From a European point of view it is important that we provide a clear European perspective for the Ukrainian people who have shown their commitment to European values,” Rehn said after a meeting of the world’s financial leaders in Sydney. “European perspective” is EU-speak for a membership prospect. Not all of the 28 member states support that view.

Rehn made clear that Brussels stood ready to provide more than the 610 million euros ($838 million) in immediate assistance that was on offer last November when Yanukovich spurned a far-reaching economic pact with the EU, preferring Vladimir Putin’s promise of a $15 billion bailout from Russia.

The International Monetary Fund also said it was ready to assist a new Ukrainian government if Kiev were to request help, but IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said “important economic reforms” which Yanukovich rejected would still be a

condition for a loan package.

These include removing gas subsidies that benefit Ukraine’s business oligarchs but also the poor, and raising sales tax. “We obviously hope the situation settles ... we will be ready to engage, ready to help,” Lagarde said in Sydney. As for Washington, officials said on Friday before Yanukovich fled that a unity government in Kiev would have its “strong support” in seeking an IMF-backed programme to stabilize the economy. There was no mention of bilateral US help. IMF insiders say the Fund would be wary of lending to an interim Ukrainian government given the country’s history of weak economic reforms.

Front-Loading EU officials have said that by front-loading amounts planned over a seven-year period under the proposed association agreement, Kiev could receive more than Ä2 billion quickly once a deal was signed. The EU could also bring forward access to its own market of 500 million consumers before full ratification, but Ukraine doesn’t have much to sell.

All that would require a Ukrainian government empowered to sign the deal, which would probably have to wait until after a presidential election now set for May 25. Some experts such as Michael Leigh, a former top civil servant in the European Commission’s enlargement department, say the agreement was flawed and should be rewritten to offer more incentives and pose fewer demands in terms of Ukraine adopting swathes of EU legislation and standards. Economists say implementing the proposed Deep and Comprehensive Trade Area could further weaken the Ukrainian economy initially, hitting uncompetitive industries that have sold most of their output to Russia.

There are also big political risks, with the release

of jailed opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko raising the prospect of bitter rivalry for power in Kiev. EU officials recall her period as prime minister after Ukraine’s 2004/5 pro-democracy Orange Revolution as hardly less corrupt than Yanukovich’s tenure.

Ukraine is 144th on watchdog Transparency International’s index of perceived corruption.

“Political uncertainty has arguably increased including around the outcome of the presidential election set for 25 May - bringing with it a potential increase in the probability of a sovereign default,” Nomura political analyst Alastair Newton said.

Break-Up Risk One immediate concern is to ensure Ukraine holds together and the mostly Russian-speaking industrial east and Black Sea coast does not break away. “The territorial integrity of Ukraine is fundamental. It is guaranteed by Russia and all other European countries,” Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said on his Twitter account. The risk appeared to ease on Saturday, when pro-Yanukovich officials, meeting in the eastern city of Kharkiv, rejected any idea of a split. Some of them subsequently fled to Russia as supporters of the uprising demonstrated in some eastern towns. Russia, the clear loser of the latest round of this geopolitical tug of war, has a major naval base at Sebastopol in the Ukrainian province of Crimea. It could also tip Ukraine into default by calling in the billions Kiev owes Moscow and its gas monopoly Gazprom. In previous crises, it has cut off gas supplies to Ukraine, severely reducing flows to central and west European countries that rely on pipelines running through the country.

But energy experts say Gazprom is in a weaker position now.

EU officials fear Putin may also retaliate by cutting trade and energy supplies and revive frozen

territorial conflicts in two other ex-Soviet republics that have signed agreements with the bloc Moldova and Georgia. US President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have been working the telephones to Putin to try to persuade Moscow to accept a peaceful transition in Ukraine.

The Kremlin has alternated between silence and comments disputing the legitimacy of Yanukovich’s ouster. The White House said on Friday that Putin had agreed that US and Russian envoys would go together to Kiev to help ensure a smooth implementation of a transition agreement signed by Yanukovich and opposition leaders.

But that was before Yanukovich was deposed. “If there’s an economic package it will be important that Russia doesn’t do anything to undermine that economic package and is working in cooperation and support of it,” British Foreign Secretary William Hague told BBC TV. Asked if he was worried that Russia might send in tanks to defend the interests of Russian-speakers in eastern Ukraine, Hague warned against “external duress” or Russian intervention.

Moscow is holding back the second $2 billion tranche of its promised $15 billion bailout until the situation in Ukraine clarifies, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said in Sydney.

Enlargement Fatigue Whether the dramatic events in Kiev will soften any hearts in western Europe towards offering Ukraine a membership prospect remains to be seen.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, whose country played a central role in the negotiations, highlighted the stakes for the EU in a country that borders his own. “We are dealing in Ukraine with the first sacrifices of life for the integration of Europe. Today it is tragic, but in the future this will be a true hope for Ukraine,” he said on Friday. —Reuters

Yemen plan bold idea, but hurdles remain

By Yara Bayoumy

T

he ink was barely dry on President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi’s plan to stabilise chaotic Yemen before the objections started pouring in. Leader of a nation seemingly on the brink of breakdown for years, Hadi had hoped he could appease rival political groups by creating a federal state of six regions that would give each more say over political, social, economic and security affairs. To date, few factions appear placated, a reality that bodes ill for a country already battling endemic poverty, poor governance, regional insurgencies and al Qaeda militancy.

Restive southerners seeking autonomy, if not secession, fear the plan would weaken the south, partly by separating it from the sprawling Hadramout province, where some oil reserves lie. Some northern Houthi rebels also have strong reservations because the proposal links the rugged mountain region they control to the Sanaa area and denies it an outlet to the sea. Months of political haggling seem sure to follow. If those disputes turn violent, instability in Yemen, which lies near vital sea lanes as well as oil giant Saudi Arabia, will deepen.

Ravaged by multiple conflicts in the past half century, Yemen suffers food and water shortages, corruption, almost non-existent social services and security forces weakened by factional rifts. Regional conflicts and the prevalence of well-armed tribes mean much of Yemen is outside state control. Forced to import most of its food because of a paucity of arable land in relation to its booming population, Yemen has child malnutrition rates among the highest in the world.

In the face of such towering problems, Hadi’s plan was meant to create the administrative structure at least to make a start on rebuilding the country. But consensus has proved elusive. “The federal plan was never going to please everybody,” Britain’s ambassador to Yemen, Jane Marriott, told Reuters. “There are lots of things that can go wrong. So far from what we’ve seen in Yemen, there are lots of people trying to make this work right. The biggest challenge is one of political will, there are still people out there who have their own agendas, who are not necessarily focused on the interests of Yemen,” she said by telephone from Sanaa.

Troubled Transition Ibrahim Sharqiyeh, a conflict resolution expert at the Doha-based Brookings Centre, said the disputes could be settled peacefully, but warned of “serious problems” if they were not. The decision to carve out

six regions, with the capital Sanaa given special status, comes at a sensitive time in Yemen’s efforts to escape from instability. With the wider region increasingly split on sectarian lines by the war in Syria, internal strains make Yemen another front in a Middle Eastern “cold war” between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

Becoming a federal state is part of Yemen’s planned transition to democracy under a US-backed power transfer deal that finally eased former President Ali Abdullah Saleh from office in 2012 after a year of mass protests against his rule. A federal state would decentralise authority from Sanaa, diluting the power that Saleh had consolidated over his decades-long tenure, an era plagued by endemic corruption and conflict.

Each region would have more say over its own welfare - civil and social services, health and security. And each would have its own police force, while the army protects Yemen’s borders.

Yemeni security forces deploy in a street of the capital Sanaa yesterday as authorities tighten security. —AFP

Southerners and Houthis - whose Zaidi sect is a distinct branch of Shiism - do not necessarily oppose the idea of a federal state, but are unhappy with the proposed structure. Drafting of the constitution, set to include broad outlines of the federal plan, is expected to start soon, paving the way for elections next year. But finding agreement will be hard. Southern officials were among the first to raise objections to Hadi’s plan, which he approved earlier this month.

Among its defects was a failure to define “how exactly the federal entities would be built, staffed, and what the nature of relations between the core and periphery of the country would be”, Theodore Karasik, director of research and consultancy at the Gulf security and military think-tank INEGMA, wrote in an online article.

Many southerners have long demanded the restoration of the state that merged with North Yemen in 1990. Several separatist leaders walked out of protracted national reconciliation talks before they ended last month with an agreement to transform Yemen into a federal state, but left Hadi to decide whether to opt for two regions or six.

Violent Response?

A committee headed by Hadi decided on a plan that envisions splitting the former South Yemen into two regions, Aden and Hadramout, and the more populous former North Yemen into four. “We should not minimise the importance or significance of the rejection ... To have both the Houthis and the southerners speaking against the proposed set-up, is a very serious challenge,” said Sharqiyeh. “I don’t think this is going to kill the idea of

federalism itself ... I think it will derail the transition process.”

Ali Salim Al-Beidh, the former president of South Yemen, who lives in Lebanon, rejected the proposal outright. “The people of the south will continue their peaceful struggle ... (and) have the ability to foil all these federalism plans,” he said in emailed remarks sent to Reuters via an aide. Other Yemen-based southern officials have also rejected the plan and, according to Yemeni political scientist Abdulghani Iryani, a violent southern response cannot be ruled out. “If they decide to challenge it by force, that would be very messy ... the most radical faction of Ali Salim Al-Beidh has often said they will resort to violence to reach their goals and the risk of that happening is quite credible,” he told Reuters.

Yemeni officials have signalled that the government is ready to adjust the borders of the six regions, but not to consolidate the south into one region instead of two. While politicians bicker, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, which seized some southern areas in 2011 before falling back in 2012, is pursuing attacks on security forces and oil facilities, posing a grave threat to the government and Western interests.

Marriott, whose country was the colonial power in Aden and the rest of the south until it won independence in 1967, said the hope was that the federal plan might diminish that threat. “It’s central that the reach of the government of Yemen is extended and security is managed,” she said.

“This is never going to be a completely secure country but (the idea is) that the levels of insecurity are managed and the space in which al Qaeda can operate disappears ultimately.” —Reuters

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2014

S P ORTS

Pique out for two weeks

Chumba, Tsegaye win Marathon

NSW see off Force

MADRID: Barcelona were hit with more bad news yesterday when centre back Gerard Pique was ruled out for about two weeks with a calf problem.The Spain international picked up the injur y in Saturday ’s 3-1 La Liga defeat at Real Sociedad, which allowed Real Madrid, 3-0 winners at home to Elche, to pull three points clear at the top.

Barca are already without left back Jordi Alba, another Spain international, who missed the Sociedad game with a thigh muscle strain.

Pique is likely to sit out La Liga games at home to Almeria and away at Real Valladolid but should be fit for Barca’s Champions League last 16, second leg against Manchester City on March 12. Barca won last Tuesday’s first leg inManchester 2-0. —Reuters

TOKYO: Dickson Chumba won the men’s race at the Tokyo Marathon yesterday in a meet record of two hours, five minutes and 42 seconds as Kenyan and Ethiopian runners dominated the event.

The 27-year-old Kenyan was followed home by Tadese Tola of Ethiopia at 2:05:57 and fellow countryman Sammy Kitwara at 2:06:30. Runners from the two African countries swept the top seven spots in the men’s race and the top five in the women’s.

Ethiopia’s Tirfi Tsegaye won the women’s race in a meet record of 2:22:23. Fellow Ethiopian Berhane Dibaba finished second at 2:22:30 and Lucy Kabuu of Kenya third at 2:24:16.

The men’s race turned into a contest between 10 African runners after 30 kilometres and the front pack slimmed to four at the 35-kilometre mark.

Chumba spurted ahead after 40 kilometres with Tola struggling behind him.

“I have trained fully,” Chumba said after breaking his own personal best time of 2:05:46, which he clocked in winning the Eindhoven Marathon in October 2012. —AFP

SYDNEY: Wallaby star Israel Folau scored a dazzling hat-trick of tries as the New South Wales Waratahs launched their Super 15 season with a sizzling 43-21 bonus point win over Western Force yesterday.

Folau took up where he left off in last year’s trailblazing debut season with three tries in the Tahs’ six tries-to-two win over Force in Sydney. The fullback scored in the opening minute and added a second off a Wycliff Palu break and completed his hat-trick of tries in the 66th minute. Folau has now scored 11 career Super Rugby tries after making the switch to rugby last year where he also scored 10 tries in 15 internationals for the Wallabies.

“Izzy certainly knows his way to the try-line and he’s following on from last year,” Waratahs captain Dave Dennis said. “Three tries straight up. He’s a great player for us and the guys worked hard to give him those opportunities which was more important.—Reuters

Bobcats maul Grizzlies CHARLOTTE: Kemba Walker scored 31 points as the Charlotte Bobcats won for the fourth time in five nights, defeating the Memphis Grizzlies 92-89 in the NBA on Saturday.

Charlotte is 4-0 since the All-Star break, marking its longest winning streak since March 2011.

The Bobcats used an 18-3 run in the fourth quarter to break open a tight game and then held on down the stretch with Walker making four free throws in the final 25 seconds to end Memphis’ four-game win streak. The Bobcats won despite the Grizzlies holding Al Jefferson to just six points on 2-of-13 shooting. Jefferson came in having scored 29 points or more in eight of his last 11 games and at least 20 points in 17 of the last 19.

The Grizzlies were led by Mike Conley, who had 16 points but missed two 3-pointers on Memphis’ final possession that would have tied the game.

TIMBERWOLVES 121, JAZZ 104 Kevin Love had 37 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists for his first career triple-double to help Minnesota cruise past Utah. Minnesota was again playing without starters Nikola Pekovic (ankle) and Kevin Martin (finger), but Love filled the void, keeping one step ahead of the Jazz through the game. Ricky Rubio had 15 points, and Corey Brewer and Chase Budinger scored 13 apiece as the Wolves won their third straight game.

Enes Kanter couldn’t stop Love, but had success against him on the offensive end, scoring 25 points for the Jazz, who dropped their third in a row after a season-best three-game win streak.

WARRIORS 93, NETS 86 Jermaine O’Neal had season highs of 23 points and 13 rebounds and Stephen Curry added 17 points, including a 3-pointer in the final minute, as Golden State held off Brooklyn for its third straight victory since the All-Star break.

With Andrew Bogut sidelined with a shoulder injury and David Lee out with the flu, O’Neal and Draymond Green more than filled the void in the absence of Golden

State’s frontcourt regulars.

O’Neal shot 10 for 13 from the floor, and Green scored a career-best 18 points to go with 10 rebounds. Deron Williams had 20 points and six assists, and Joe Johnson scored 15 points for a Nets team that made just 2 of 21 attempts from beyond the arc.

HAWKS 107, KNICKS 98 Mike Scott scored a career-high 30 points and Jeff Teague added 28 as Atlanta ended an eight-game losing streak by beating New York.

Carmelo Anthony finished with 35 points for the Knicks, who blew a double-digit, third-quarter lead for the second straight night.

New York has lost two straight and seven of nine to fall 51/2 games behind Atlanta for the eighth and final Eastern Conference playoff spot.

Atlanta began the game without All-Star forward Paul Millsap, who sustained a right knee contusion late in Friday’s loss at Detroit, but the Hawks rallied from a 17point deficit in the third quarter to take a 74-73 lead on Lou Williams’ 3 early in the fourth.

WIZARDS 94, PELICANS 93 Nene made the go-ahead dunk with 0.9 seconds left and matched a season high with 30 points to propel Washington past New Orleans.

Washington trailed 93-92 when Anthony Davis hit two free throws with seven seconds left. After a timeout, the Wizards inbounded to John Wall, who dribbled to the lane and passed to Nene, who slammed the ball with his right hand. It was the 12th assist of the night for Wall. The play spoiled a big performance by Davis, who had 26 points and 11 rebounds. Anthony Morrow added 18 points on 7of-8 shooting. Center Marcin Gortat contributed 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Wizards.

PACERS 110, BUCKS 100 Paul George scored 32 points and David West tied a season high with 30, helping Indiana hang on to beat Milwaukee. Lance Stephenson added 24 points, nine

NBA results/standings Charlotte 92, Memphis 89; Washington 94, New Orleans 93; Atlanta 107, NY Knicks 98; Dallas 113, Detroit 102; Indiana 110, Milwaukee 100; Minnesota 121, Utah 104; Sacramento 105, Boston 98; Golden State 93, Brooklyn 86.

Toronto Brooklyn NY Knicks Boston Philadelphia Indiana Chicago Detroit Cleveland Milwaukee Miami Washington Charlotte Atlanta Orlando

Eastern Conference Atlantic Division W L 30 25 25 28 21 35 19 38 15 41 Central Division 42 13 29 25 23 33 22 34 10 45 Southeast Division 39 14 27 28 27 30 26 29 17 40

PCT .545 .472 .375 .333 .268

GB 4 9.5 12 15.5

.764 .537 .411 .393 .182

12.5 19.5 20.5 32

LA Clippers Phoenix Golden State LA Lakers Sacramento

.736 .491 .474 .473 .298

13 14 14 24

San Antonio Houston Dallas Memphis New Orleans

Oklahoma City Portland Minnesota Denver Utah

Western Conference Northwest Division 43 13 37 18 27 28 25 29 19 36 Pacific Division 37 20 33 21 34 22 19 36 19 36 Southwest Division 40 16 37 18 34 23 31 24 23 32

.768 .673 .491 .463 .345

5.5 15.5 17 23.5

.649 .611 .607 .345 .345

2.5 2.5 17 17

.714 .673 .596 .564 .418

2.5 6.5 8.5 16.5

Froome retains Tour of Oman

MUSCAT: British Christopher Froome of Sky Procycling team celebrates on the podium after winning the 1st overall place of the cycling Tour of Oman. —AFP

MUSCAT: Britain’s Tour de France champion Christopher Froome successfully defended his Tour of Oman title yesterday following the sixth and final stage in Muscat.

The 28-year-old Kenyan-born Team Sky rider topped the overall classification ahead of American Tejay Van Garderen and Colombian Rigoberto Uran.

The sixth stage was won by German sprinter Andre Greipel, his third stage win of the week, as he edged out Frenchman Nacer Bouhanni with Ireland’s Sam Bennett third.

While Greipel rejoiced in what has been a stunning start to the season with six victories in all, Froome was the rider wearing the broadest smile describing his week’s work as the perfect beginning to his season.

“This success is a reward for a winter spent resting and then intensive training in South Africa,” said Froome, who spent his teenage years and was educated in South Africa.

“We didn’t get our preparation wrong. The season has been launched successfully.”

Froome was also satisfied in his overall level of fitness after on Saturday he had broken the speed record for the climb of the Green Mountain.

“My level of form is similar to that of last year at the same time, if not better. “I must not take my foot off the pedal because I could tell this week that other riders are making progress.”

Van Garderen would have been one of those as the 25-year-old American-fifth in the 2012 Tour de France which was won by Froome’s team-mate Bradley Wiggins-finished just 26 seconds adrift of the winner. “Even if I felt I was on form I did not know too much with respect to where I was in comparison to my rivals,” he said.

“Thus I am reassured by this performance.

This fantastic result will give me confidence and above all the hunger to work even harder in order that I arrive at the Tour de de France in July in perfect shape,” added Van Garderen, who was a disappointing 45th in the race last year. —AFP

CHARLOTTE: Bobcats’ Kemba Walker (left) reacts as Memphis Grizzlies’ Nick Calathes (right) steals the ball during the second half of an NBA basketball game. —AP rebounds and eight assists for the Pacers, who had lost three of their previous five games. Stephenson scored seven straight points to open the fourth quarter. Brandon Knight scored 30 points for Milwaukee, including 20 in the first half. Milwaukee kept the game close into the final minutes, but West hit a jumper with 48 seconds left to seal the victory.

KINGS 105, CELTICS 98 Rudy Gay scored eight of his 22 points over the final six minutes and Isaiah Thomas added 21 points and matched his career high with 12 assists as Sacramento beat Boston.

DeMarcus Cousins had 13 points, while Derrick Williams and Carl Landry added 10 points apiece off the bench for

Sacramento. The Kings never trailed and limited the Celtics to one basket over the final 71/2 minutes after Boston tied the game midway through the fourth quarter.

Jeff Green scored 29 on 7-of-25 shooting for the Celtics, who played without Rajon Rondo and Jared Sullinger.

MAVERICKS 113, PISTONS 102 Dirk Nowitzki scored 24 points and Vince Carter added 18 as Dallas held off Detroit. The Mavericks finished with 16 offensive rebounds, while the Pistons, who came in leading the NBA in that department, had only nine. Monta Ellis had 12 points and 13 assists for the Mavericks. Josh Smith finished with 32 points for the Pistons, his most since signing with Detroit last offseason. —AP

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2014

S P ORTS

Ahli United Bank defeat CBK AUB Trophy launched KUWAIT: Kuwait Cricket added another feather to its cap as M ahmoud Bastaki, Vice Chairman of Kuwait Banks Club along with Asad Baig and other Kuwait Cricket Council members inaugurated the Ahli United Bank trophy for Bank teams affiliated to Kuwait Banks Club in a blistering opening ceremony amidst many cricket loving fans at the Sulaibiya cricket ground on Feb 22, 2014.

Sponsored by Ahli United Bank, the main sponsor, Bastaki affirmed the support of Kuwait Banks Club to promote cricket as well as many other sports for bank teams and assured his continuous support to Kuwait Cricket in organizing cricket tournaments in future. The opening ceremony was attended by Kuwait Council members, R i az C h ou d h a r y, M ehb o o b K han, Amanullah Palekar, Iqbal Rajpurkar and Murali Kutticode.

The first match of the tournament was played between Ahli United Bank and Commercial Bank of Kuwait, the new entrants in KBC League. The welloiled CBK team gave a tough time for their seasoned opponents and never looked as if they were having a debut tournament. In a tensed battle, AUB had to take out all their experience to pull out a 4 wicket victory.

Commercial Bank batting first scored 95 runs as their batting col-

lapsed to some fiery hostile spell from Nab il Gha foor, th e AUB open in g bowler who ripped the top order batting line up of CBK . I t was lef t for Abbas the stocky middle order CBK batsman to fight a lone battle to restore some pride to the CBK total as he contributed a fine 29 runs which had five well timed boundaries. Nabeel Ghafoor was the most successful AUB bowler bagging 4-10 in his bowling spell.

AUB openers batted confidently and posted 45 runs on board for the first wicket in just 6 overs and were racing quite smoothly towards their victory target. It was at this stage that CBK skipper Shahdab introduced Abbas from the police station end which transformed the game dramatically.

Using the seam effec tively, Abbas maintained a tight length and in his 4 over spell accounted for the downfall of 5 AUB batsmen. It was the experienced Mahmoud Bastaki who strolled in to steady the AUB batting and saw his team through in the tensed match.

Nabeel Ghafoor was rightly named Player of the match and Abbas was presented with a special award for his excellent all round performance.

Murali Kutticode, Director, Junior & Corporate Cricket thanked the sponsor and all those who extended their support to Kuwait Cricket.

Victorious AUB Team

Asia Cup 2014 live and exclusive on OSN DUBAI: Cricket fans across the region can look forward to back to back tournaments starting tomorrow with live and exclusive coverage of the Asia Cup on OSN Sports Cricket HD. The Asia Cup will see a total of 11 matches played in Bangladesh with the opening game tomorrow and the final on March 8, 2014. The tournament will feature one day internationals played between leading Asian countries Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan, at the Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium, in Fatullah.

OSN’s VP Sports & Production said, “We are extremely pleased to bring cricket fans live and exclusive coverage of the Asia Cup, and the 2014 edition will be in stunning HD for the first time ever. India take on Pakistan on 2nd March, this is always a special game and if both teams make the final we will see them play each other again 6 days later.

The Asia Cup will set the stage for one of the biggest cricket events, the 2014 ICC World Twenty20 which will also be live and exclusive on OSN. We have exciting plans for the world cup which will be announced soon.”

As the undisputed home of cricket, OSN Sports Cricket HD offers cricket fans across the region thousands of hours of live international cricket in true high definition. This year, OSN cricket fans can look forward to the hugely popular Indian Premier League, ICC World Twenty20. Champions League T20, Big Bash league and all India, England, Australia, Bangladesh and New Zealand home series.

Viewers can also catch OSN’s live cricketing action on-the-go anytime, anywhere via OSN Play where OSN Spor ts Cricket HD is streamed live alongside OSN Sports 1 HD and OSN Sports 2 HD.

PORT ELIZABETH: South Africa’s bowler Dean Elgar (center) celebrates with teammates after taking the winning wicket as Australia’s batsman Nathan Lyon (right) watches on the fourth day of their second cricket Test match. —AP

Australia collapse sees South Africa level series PORT ELIZABETH: South Africa took nine wickets after tea to level their three match series against Australia on the fourth day of the second Test at St George’s Park yesterday.

Set to make 448 to win, Australia were bowled out for 216 after South Africa claimed the extra half hour with Australia seven down at the scheduled close.

South Africa took four top order wickets for four runs shortly after tea to swing the game in their favor. Fast bowler Dale Steyn took four of the wickets that fell after tea to finish with four for 55.

Chris Rogers and David Warner put on 126 for the first wicket, scoring at more than four runs an over and Rogers then fought a lone battle before being ninth man out, run out for 107.

Part-time off-spinner JP Duminy made the breakthrough when he trapped Warner leg before wicket for a sparkling 66, made off 73 balls. The scoring rate slowed but Australia still looked comfortable at 141 for one at tea.

Alex Doolan struggled for more than an hour, scoring only five runs off 43 balls before he was caught at first slip off Morne Morkel.

Shaun Marsh, who made 148 and 44 in the first Test in Centurion, was out first ball, trapped in front by a full delivery from Vernon Philander.

It completed a “pair” for the left-hander, who faced only two balls in the first innings. Steyn claimed the key wicket of Australian captain Michael Clarke, who edged a catch low to second slip, where Faf du Plessis held a good catch, tumbling to his right.

Steyn, who was gaining reverse swing, had Steve Smith leg before with a full delivery which swung in to the right-hander. Ten runs later Steyn’s fast reverse swing sent Brad Haddin’s middle stump flying.

Mitchell Johnson stayed long enough to see Rogers to his century but became a fourth lbw victim. Philander’s appeal was turned down by umpire Richard Illingworth but South Africa sought a review which showed the ball was hitting leg stump.

Rogers, who scored only ten runs in his first three innings of the series, looked in good touch from the start of his innings, taking advantage of some over-pitched deliveries early on and almost keeping pace with Warner during what was easily the most productive opening partnership by either side during the series. Rogers reached his fifty off 95 balls.

He could have been out in the last over before tea. On 69, he prodded at a ball from Steyn, who appealed loudly as it went through to wicketkeeper AB de Villiers.

Umpire Kumar Dharmasena gave Rogers not out and the slips cordon led by captain Graeme Smith were uncertain and did not seek a review.

Replays showed the ball probably clipped the toe end of the bat. Ryan Harris was leg before to Steyn in the first of the extra overs and Rogers was then out to a direct hit from mid-off by substitute fielder Alviro Petersen, trying to keep the strike.

With the umpires having looked at their light meters, South Africa used spin from both ends and left-armer Dean Elgar finished the match when Lyon was given out leg before. There were a maximum of 14 balls remaining in the day — and a forecast of rain for today.

South Africa were without injured left-arm fast-medium bowler Wayne Parnell but captain Graeme Smith juggled his bowlers well and made good use of his part-time spin bowlers.

Hashim Amla completed his 21st Test century - and his fifth against Australia - and finished on 127 not out when Smith declared at 270 for five.

South Africa added 78 runs in 17 overs on Sunday. Quinton de Kock (34) was the only batsman dismissed.

Amla, who was 93 not out overnight, hit 16 boundaries in a 176-ball innings. His tally of five hundreds against Australia equalled a South African record shared by Eddie Barlow, Graeme Pollock, Jacques Kallis and AB de Villiers. —AFP

SCOREBOARD PORT ELIZABETH, South Africa: Final scores on the fourth day of the second Test between South Africa and Australia at St George’s Park yesterday.

South Africa, first innings, 423 Australia, first innings, 246 South Africa, second innings (overnight 192-4) G. Smith b Johnson 14 D. Elgar c Haddin b Siddle 16 H. Amla not out 127 F. du Plessis c Haddin b Siddle 24 A. de Villiers c Haddin b Johnson 29 Q. de Kock c Clarke b Lyon 34 J. Duminy not out 18 Extras (b2, lb6) 8 Total (5 wkts dec, 64 overs) 270 Fall of wickets: 1-20 (Smith), 2-42 (Elgar), 3-112 (Du Plessis), 4-167 (De Villiers), 5-231 (De Kock) Bowling: Johnson 15-1-51-2, Harris 13-1-74-0, Lyon 17-2-48-1, Siddle 19-2-89-2 Australia, second innings C. Rogers run out (sub - Petersen) 107

D. Warner lbw b Duminy 66 A. Doolan c Smith b Morkel 5 S. Marsh lbw b Philander 0 M. Clarke c Du Plessis b Steyn 1 S. Smith lbw b Steyn 0 B. Haddin b Steyn 1 M. Johnson lbw b Philander 6 R. Harris lbw b Steyn 6 P. Siddle not out 3 N. Lyon lbw b Elgar 0 Extras (b2, lb17, w2) 21 Total (73.4 overs) 216 Fall of wickets: 1-126, 2-152 (Doolan), 3-153 (Marsh), 4-156 (Clarke), 5-156 (Clarke), 6-166 (Haddin), 7-197 (Johnson), 8-209 (Harris), 9-214 (Rogers) Bowling: Steyn 20-5-55-4 (2w), Philander 17-3-39-2, Morkel 15-6-46-1, Duminy 14-3-33-1, Elgar 7.4-0-24-1 Result: South Africa won by 231 runs.

India, Pakistan set for Asia Cup face-off DHAKA: India and Pakistan get a rare chance to score brownie points when they renew their intense, but intermittent, cricket rivalry in the Asia Cup one-day tournament which opens in Bangladesh tomorrow. On-field contests featuring the traditional foes, which attract millions of viewers around the cricket world, have fallen victim to political stand-offs between the two warring neighbors.

Since the World Cup semi-final in 2011, India and Pakistan have played just five oneday internationals and three Twenty20 matches against each other, mostly in multi-nation events.

Their most recent meeting was in the Champions Trophy last June when India won a rain-affected match in Birmingham by eight wickets and went on to win the tournament.

“Its always a big challenge playing against India because there is so much interest in the game,” said Pakistan captain Misbah-ul Haq. “India are a formidable side and we have to be at our best to win. “We may not have played each other much recently, but I know it will be an exciting match.”

Pakistan begin the five-nation Asia Cup, the symbol of regional supremacy in the oneday game, as the defending champions, having won the 2012 edition in Dhaka.

World Cup holders India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, hosts Bangladesh and new entrants Afghanistan will play each other once in the league with the top two qualifying for the final in Dhaka on March 8. Pakistan take on Sri Lanka in the tournament opener in Fatullah, a suburban town south of Dhaka which will host the first five league matches before the action shifts to the Bangladeshi capital. The high-profile India-Pakistan game has been scheduled for Sunday, March 2 at the Sher-eBangla stadium in Dhaka.

India, the most successful team in the Asia Cup with five titles in 11 editions so far, will be without inspirational captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni who was ruled out with a side strain.

Top-order batsman Virat Kohli will lead India, while Dinesh Karthik will replace Dhoni as wicket-keeper. Sri Lanka begin the tournament with the advantage of having been in Bangladesh for the past month, winning the Test, Twenty20 and

DHAKA: Pakistani cricket team members warm up during a practice session ahead of the Asia Cup tournament in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Pakistan plays Sri Lanka in the opening match of the five-nation one day cricket event that begins tomorrow. —AP

one-day series against the hosts.

India start their campaign against hosts Bangladesh on Wednesday, eight days after ending a dismal tour of New Zealand where they lost both the Test and one-day series.

The focus will be on the fast-improving Afghans, who were added as the fifth team by the Asian Cricket Council after they qualified for their maiden World Cup next year. The minnows have played just two one-dayers against Test nations, losing both matches to Pakistan and Australia.

Asia Cup schedule: Feb 25 : Pakistan v Sri Lanka, Fatullah Feb 26 : Bangladesh v India, Fatullah Feb 27 : Afghanistan v Pakistan, Fatullah Feb 28 : India v Sri Lanka, Fatullah March 1: Bangladesh v Afghanistan, Fatullah March 2: India v Pakistan, Dhaka March 3: Afghanistan v Sri Lanka, Dhaka March 4: Bangladesh v Pakistan, Dhaka March 5: Afghanistan v India, Dhaka March 6: Bangladesh v Sri Lanka, Dhaka March 8: Final, Dhaka. —AFP

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2014

S P ORTS

Miami marks 50th ’versary of Ali’s match that ‘Shook The World’ MIAMI BEACH: Fifty years ago, an upstart American boxer who later became known as Muhammad Ali “shook the world” when he dethroned Sonny Liston to claim the heavyweight championship of the world in Miami Beach. That victory on Feb. 25, 1964 was the last time Cassius Clay fought under his real name, announcing after that he was joining the religious black power movement, the Nation of Islam, and changing his name to Muhammad Ali. The six-round bout that ended when Liston threw in the towel, launched Ali to international fame, giving him the stage to successfully protest everything from racial segregation to the Vietnam War, while declaring himself to be “ The Greatest.”

To mark the 50th anniversary of the fight the downtown History Miami museum is celebrating the event with a month-long art and photo exhibition opening this week, including several previously unpublished images.

Today, a plaque commemorates the

bout at the entrance to the Miami Beach Convention Center where the fight was held. A brass medallion embedded into the concrete exhibition floor marking where the ring once stood, has since disappeared.

Miami Beach in the early 1960s was seeking to launch itself as a tourist destination. The week before the Clay-Liston fight the city had hosted the Beatles for their second appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show, broadcast live from the beachfront Deauville hotel.

Miami Beach was also a hub for boxing, centered on the Fifth Street Gym, a ramshackle place only a few steps away from the beach. The old gym was knocked down in 1993. In its place stands a shopping mall. But in the early 1960s, the hotels and beaches were still segregated, while across the bay on the mainland the civil rights movement was bubbling and Miami’s black Overtown district was home to a vibrant live music club scene that attracted the greatest jazz musicians of the era.

NEW RACKET He also has a new racket, reportedly with a frame of 98 square inches, which means he is no longer experimenting with what is best. On-off equipment changes may also have contributed to some of his 2013 problems. Most conspicuously he has a new coach. Some pundits think that his decision to team up with Stefan Edberg, an outstand-

ing volleyer when he was world number one, is a master stroke, especially as this an area of the game which Federer is trying to develop.

“Technically Roger is strong,” says Edberg.

“But I also think it would be good if he would vary his game a bit more than he does at the moment.”

This may actually be crucial if he wants to achieve an 18th Grand Slam title, which is more likely to happen than anywhere on the grass of Wimbledon, where volleying can be more effective.

None other than Pete Sampras, who shares the record of seven open era Wimbledon titles with Federer, believes in the Swiss genius’ enduring potential at the age of 32.

“I thought his level (in Australia) was quite good,” Sampras said. “I do see Roger building from that. I think he’s going to do well this year. Things need to fall into place and he needs to play well but I do think he can do it (win a Grand Slam), and I think it is what he’s playing for.”

The Wimbledon ambition and the need for a next step in Dubai means there should be different tactical emphases. “This year in the bigger matches I have decided to take it more to my opponents, instead of waiting a bit for mistakes,” Federer emphasises. That means we may see an increasing the ratio of moves into the forecourt, something which was evidenced in Melbourne and which may developed further here. Federer may feel he can attempt that from early, given that he has a first round against Benjamin Becker, the world number 93, and could go on to play Radek Stepanek, the world number 47 from the Czech Republic - though his Davis Cup form suggests Stepanek is more dangerous than that.—AFP

helped channel Clay’s brash personality.

“Archie had him sweeping the gym and working like a dog. Angelo felt he was like a thoroughbred race horse,” Tomlinson said.

“If Angelo wanted Clay to work on his jab ... he would not say, ‘Muhammad I want you to work on your jab’ because then he’d never do it,” said Ramiro Ortiz, a boxing historian and former banker who hung around the Fifth Street Gym as a kid. “Angelo would say ‘Muhammad that jab’s looking better than it’s ever looked before!’ and all (Ali) he would do is jab,” he added.

“FLOAT LIKE A BUTTERFLY...”

Most observers at the time argued Clay’s style and lack of experience would doom him to lose to the fearsome Liston, who had barreled through several prior contenders and learned to box during two prison sentences.

“There was sheer terror Liston was going to kill us,” said Ferdie Pacheco, Clay’s ringside doctor and the sole sur-

viving member of the boxer’s ringside team. “Clay was taunting him and you don’t make a giant like that mad.”

Clay eschewed traditional boxing techniques. He leaned back to dodge punches, which left him off balance and susceptible to a knockout punch. He also bounced and skipped around the ring, later coining the phrase, “Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. His hands can’t hit what his eyes can’t see.”

At the same time the Dundees were also working furiously to keep quiet Clay’s alliance with Malcolm X and the Black Muslims, which if made public threatened to cancel the fight.

After the fight a jubilant Clay declared, “I’m the greatest thing that ever lived ... I shook up the world.”

Without that fight Cassius Clay may have never become Muhammad Ali and the legend may have never evolved, says Pacheco. “It made him a celebrity,” Pacheco said. “It made him great, and everything that he did always seemed to work out.” —Reuters

Food for the soul helps Djokovic overcome loss

Federer in Dubai to show revival is real DUBAI: Roger Federer’s performance in reaching the semi-final of the Australian Open last month is the first step in a minirevival of tennis’ great legend. This week could see the second.

That is the scenario Federer intends pursuing when he returns to the ATP Tour and tries to win back the title at his adopted second home at the Dubai Open.

Victories over Andy Murray and JoWilfried Tsonga in Melbourne will be followed by a chance to challenge Novak Djokovic, the top-seeded titleholder, here.

Although the formidable Serb is seeking a record fifth Dubai title, Federer has a better record against Djokovic than against Rafael Nadal, the man who halted him last month, and he feels encouraged by his performances in the first Grand Slam of the year. “I think it has been a very good start to the season for me overall, “ Federer said. “I have played some really good tennis. I still feel my best tennis is ahead of me right now.

“So I’m looking forward to the coming months, and how they’re going to play out, and hopefully by April I feel like I’m going to be a hundred percent again.”

Federer believes his moderate 2013 results were caused partly by fitness problems, triggered by a persistently troublesome back, and that he is in significantly better shape this year.

“There were lunch counter sit-ins at Woolworth’s and Burdines in Miami a decade before the more famous one in Greensboro,” said Alan Tomlinson, producer of the PBS documentary “Muhammad Ali: Made in Miami,” referring to the North Carolina civil rights protests in the 1960s.

“The Black Muslims were very, very active down here, and Cassius Clay got involved with them. He liked their message,” Tomlinson said.

Clay won the gold medal at the Rome Olympics in 1960 but was still fuming at his lack of acceptance by whites. Clay would make Miami his base, putting his career in the hands of Chris and Angelo Dundee, who promoted fights and trained boxers at the Fifth Street Gym and were Miami’s boxing ringleaders.

It was Angelo, who already trained a handful of championship boxers, who saw that Clay could be trained into a champion. Dundee, who died in early 2012, was more than a trainer who knew how to mold a winning fighter. He also

DUBAI: Novak Djokovic has found “food for the soul” to aid his comeback from one of the toughest losses of his career, something which may help his defence of the Dubai Open title in the coming week.

The seven-time former Grand Slam champion has relived some of his Serbian childhood memories to help overcome the pain from the loss of the Australian Open title last month. The popular tournament here will see Djokovic’s first return to the ATP Tour since that Melbourne disappointment and has already sparked a candour and an openness about his recovery.

“After the Australian Open I have done a lot of things and went to the places that I haven’t seen for a long time, since my childhood,” Djokovic said. “I reconnected again with my ... period of growing up, and spent time with the family. So that’s something that has given me a lot of food for the soul, if I can call it that way, and a lot of positive life energy which I can hopefully transfer to the court now.”

Djokovic admits his semi-final loss to Stanislas Wawrinka in five close sets was hard to handle, which is partly why he has taken “quite a bit of time off ”, more than four weeks altogether.

“I have had only five matches this year, and it’s going to be challenging for me to go out on the court and to find a way to play these kind of match situations,” he admitted. “Because I haven’t had

Winning male shooters

many matches this year for sure.

“That’s why I have to be extra careful because it is totally different when you get on the court and have a match in front of thousands of people,” Djokovic added, emphasising that even three weeks of hard practice is no guarantee of quality or even of survival in the matches before a likely semi-final with Roger Federer, five times a former champion here.

He has been grabbing every possible practice partner in the buildup to the tournament, hoping he can re-create the feeling of real competition.

MENTAL EDGE Djokovic also admitted that, in addition to the Australian Open loss, he has not converted other Grand Slam opportunities as he would have liked during the past couple of years.

Last year he lost the Wimbledon final to Andy Murray and both the US Open and French Open finals to Rafael Nadal. The year before he lost the US Open final to Murray and a Wimbledon semi-final to Federer.

“That’s one of the reasons why (new coach) Boris (Becker) is here, you know,” Djokovic explained. “The big matches and Grand Slams I’ve felt like I have dropped two or three titles in the last two years that I could have won.

“In big matches I felt that there was that mental edge which was lacking a little bit and so hopefully

Novak Djokovic Boris can contribute in this way also.” Djokovic agrees that the legendary German played the game in a very different way from himself, serving big and frequently coming to the net, but believes this is precisely why Becker’s knowledge is special in this area too.

We may see clear evidence of that over the next few days, as the Dubai Open is an ideal opportunity for Djokovic to become more comfortable with a new strategy of coming forward more often. “ This is area where Boris can help, figuring out the match situation and details and the positioning on the court,” Djokovic said.

Djokovic has been notably resourceful through his career,

transforming fitness levels when required, and then elevating the intensity of his game.

There is therefore every reason to believe he is strong-minded and adaptable enough to make these new changes-and perhaps to win the Dubai Open title a fifth time while making them.

There are several who might stop him. Even if he gets past Federer, there could be a final against former US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro, or Tomas Berdych, the former Wimbledon finalist, or Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the former Australian Open finalist, who was due to take a late flight to the Middle East after contesting the final in Marseille today. —AFP

Winning female shooters

Shooting tourney concludes in Kuwait

By Abdellatif Sharaa KUWAIT: More than 120 shooters participated in the tournament of the late Sheikh Abdullah Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah that was held at Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Olympic Shooting Complex. The shooters competed in the Olympic skeet, trap, double trap, 10 meter pistol and rifle.

The closing ceremony was held on Saturday in the presence of tournament patron Sheikh Mubarak Al-Abdallah, President of Kuwait and Arab Shooting Federations Eng Duaij Al-Otaibi, Secretary General of KSF and ASF Obaid Al-Osaimi, and KSSC Assistant Treasurer Adnan Al-Ibrahim.

Shooters from North Korea who are holding a training camp here in Kuwait participated in the tournament along with the handicapped club team.

Secretar y General of KSF and Arab Shooting Federation welcomed Sheikh Abdallah Al-Mubarak and guests, he also welcomed the Nor th Korean delegation in Kuwait. He said the tournament coincides with Kuwait’s National and Liberation day celebration on Feb 25-26 , and “we in the Kuwait Shooting Sport Club take this auspicious occasion to congratulate HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, HH the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad AlJaber, HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Mubarak Al-Sabah and the Kuwaiti people.

He said Sheikh Abdallah Al-Mubarak contributed to the establishment of Kuwait’s modern development of its armed forces, and worked on establishing a modern security

Sheikh Mubarak Al-Abdallah (fourth from left) with KSSC officials and North Korean Shooters. system. He said that Sheikh Abdallah AlMubarak had a role in the development of Kuwait media when he established Kuwait’s Cultural Club. Al-Osaimi thanked the family of the late Sheikh Abdallah Al-Mubarak for their continued support.

Final results of the tournament are as follows: Skeet-men: Mansour Al-Rashidi, Salah AlMutairi, Zaid Al-Mutairi.

Trap-men: Abdallah Al-Hamli, Irshaid AlRashidi, Abdelrahman Al-Faihan.

Double trap-men: Ahmad Al-Afasi, Hamad AlAfasi, Saad Al-Mutairi.

Trap-women: Shahad Al-Hawal, Sarah AlHawal, Fatima Abdelmalek.

Skeet-women: Iman Al-Shamma, Afrah Abdelrahman, Sheikha Al-Rashidi.

Skeet-juniors: Abdelaziz Al-Saad, Hamad AlAzmi, Nasser Al-Mutairi.

Trap-juniors: Ali Al-Rashidi, Fares Al-Mutairi, Mohammad Al-Hamli.

Trap-shooting school: Mubarak Al-Maymouni, Mohammad Al-Mithen, Mohammad AlKhurainej.

Skeet-shooting school: Ali Al-Rashidi, Abdallah Al-Daihani, Khalid Al-Najdi.

Sheikh Mubarak Al-Abdallah accepts a memento from Engineer Duaij Al-Otaibi.

Air pistol-men: Hamad Al-Namshan, Kin Song Gik (DRK). Kim Jong Su (DRK).

Air rifle-men: Bandar Al-Mutairi, Mohammad Abdelrahman, Abdallah Al-Harbi.

Air pistol-women: Jo Yong Suk (DRK), Yun Sum Im (DRK), O Hyon Ju (DRK).

Air rifle-women: Heba Irzouqi, Mariam Irzouqi, Fatima Abdelmalek.

Air rifle-women-junior: Heba Irzouqi, Kinda AlZayed, Zahra Al-Saffar.

Air rifle-junior: Mohammad Abdelrahman, Bandar Al-Mutairi, Abdelmalek Al-Enezi.

Air pistol-junior: Khalifa Al-Zafiri, Mohammad

Al-Zafiri, Hamad Al-Zafiri.

Air pistol-junior-women: Sheikha Al-Obaidli, Dana Al-Ruwaie.

Air rifle-shooting school-men: Yousuf AlDawas, Yaqoub Ashkanani, Abdelrahman AlKhalifa.

Air rifle-shooting school-women: Sheikha AlKhalifa, Reem Al-Bughaili, Farah Al-Husainan.

Those with special needs category: 10m air rifle-men: Atif Fuad Al-Dousary, Nizar Ahmad, Mohammad Atab.

10m air pistol-men: Khalid Al-Salili, Tawfiq Ashkanani, Al Khalifa.

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2014

S P ORTS

‘Stupid’ rule costs Arsenal, not referee, says Platini NICE: UEFA president Michel Platini has repeated his call for the “triple punishment” of red card, penalty and suspension to be dropped following two controversial dismissals in the Champions League last week.

The triple punishment follows when the referee dismisses a player for an offence in the penalty area which he judges has denied an attacker an obvious goalscoring opportunity.

On Tuesday Manchester City defender Martin Demichelis was sent off for lunging in on his Argentine compatriot Lionel Messi of Barcelona and on Wednesday Arsenal keeper Wojciech Szczesny was dismissed for clattering into Bayern Munich’s Arjen Robben.

City and Arsenal, reduced to 10 men for sizeable periods of their games, were both beaten 2-0 at home by their opponents, making their progress in the competition unlikely.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said Italian

referee Nicola Rizzoli had “killed the game” by sending off Szczesny. Speaking at a news conference on Saturday before the draw for the qualifying rounds of Euro 2016 Platini said: “For 15 years we have been trying to change this rule. All the technical committees of UEFA and FIFA are against this but when it has gone to the International Board (IFAB) it doesn’t change,” “Arsene Wenger said the referee killed the game but the referee had no choice - he has to respect this stupid rule.”

In his programme notes for Saturday’s Premier League match against Sunderland, Wenger wrote: “I believe that inside the (penalty) box you should have a different rule because denying a goalscoring opportunity is of course a penalty, so when you give the penalty you restore the goalscoring opportunity. “Giving them a penalty was a better goalscoring opportunity than the chance thatArjen Robben had because he had lost the ball.

“Overall I think it’s double punishment. That’s where I believe the rules have to change, because the importance of the decision is not linked at all to what happened. It has too high an influence on the outcome of the game.”

MEETING UEFA’s executive committee has proposed that the issue should be included on the agenda at next week’s meeting of the International Football Association Board(IFAB), the game’s ultimate lawmaking body. “I am against it, and I want it to be changed,” Platini said.

The Frenchman has previously outlined other possible sanctions and would also prefer the referee to have more discretion and for the award of a penalty to not automatically mean he has to issue a red card. “I would change the system of cautions,” he said in December. “I would do it like in rugby, where the perpetrator would be punished

by being off the pitch for 10 or 15 minutes of the game. That means the team they are facing would benefit in the same match.”

FIFA president Sepp Blatter, who will chair next week’s IFAB meeting in Switzerland, has a different view from Platini, maintaining the sanction is a fit and proper punishment.

The IFAB, comprising four voting members from FIFA and four from the British FA, needs a 75 percent majority for a law to be changed.

However, UEFA is pressing ahead with its plans to try to have the law amended. “The (UEFA) executive committee has asked IFAB to address the issue and clarify the situation at their next meeting so that there are no more red cards for fouls committed inside the box,” UEFA general secretary Gianni Infantino said.

“We need to resolve the issue of the ‘triple punishment’ once and for all. Everyone is talking about it and feels it is an injustice.” — Reuters

‘No friendship with Drogba for 90 minutes’ LONDON: Chelsea will find it strange to be up against their Champions League-winning hero Didier Drogba in Wednesday’s clash withGalatasaray, said manager Jose Mourinho.

While the London club’s players and backroom staff will maintain their friendship with the Ivorian before and after the match, they will be fierce rivals during the 90 minutes of the last-16 first leg tie in Istanbul.

“It’s a strange feeling but we know him well and if you know him well you know that for him there are no friends during the game,” Mourinho told reporters after a late John Terry goal secured a 1-0 win for the Premier League leaders over Everton on Saturday.

“For us just before the game we will be big friends and have big respect for a real legend of the club. During the game we will have a job to do.

“He has his nature and that nature is to want to win.” Drogba is Chelsea’s record European scorer with 34 goals in 69 games.

He bagged nine goals in nine domestic and European finals and his sizeable contribution to the club’s recent history is apparent from the number of posters of him still dotted around Stamford Bridge.

Drogba moved to Chelsea in 2004, Mourinho’s first season, and stayed after the Portuguese left in 2007, his goals against Bayer Leverkusen, Valencia, Napoli and in the semi-final against Barcelona helping them into the 2012 Champions League final.

In the final against Bayern Munich at the German team’s own Allianz Arena, Drogba headed a late equaliser in a 1-1 draw and then struck the winning penalty in the shootout.

He left the club a few days later, saying he had achieved everything he wanted with Chelsea, before spending a few months playing in China and then moving on to Turkey.

PAST MEETINGS Mourinho, who rejoined Chelsea in the close season, said he had already experienced the strange feeling of playing against Drogba.

The Portuguese was at Inter Milan four years ago when he took on Drogba and Chelsea, and also held the reins at Real Madrid last year when the Spanish giants met Galatasaray.

Both times Mourinho was on the winning side. “Last season my team was a team ready to win the Champions League and we had trouble against them,” said the Chelsea manager. “We won in Madrid but we lost in Istanbul and we were in trouble.

“They have a good team, a very experienced team, people who have had a long run at a high level...they have Champions League winners,” Mourinho said.

He cited Dutchman Wesley Sneijder, Drogba’s Ivory Coast team mate Emmanuel Eboue and Brazilian Felipe Melo as “people who have played with the best clubs in the world”.

“The Turkish guys are the best Turkish players,” added Mourinho. “ They have (Hamit) Altintop, (Burak) Yilmaz, (Selcuk) Inan. They are a top team.”

Mourinho is hoping Brazil defender David Luiz and Nigeria midfielder John Obi Mikel, who missed the Everton game with minor injuries, will be fit for Wednesday as new signing Nemanja Matic is cup-tied. “I think it’s a tie to go to the end, really to the end,” said the Chelsea manager. —Reuters

Didier Drogba

‘Play like that and we’ll be embarrassed at Wembley’ League Cup final LONDON: Sunderland were so poor against Arsenal in thePremier League on Saturday that manager Gus Poyet fears they could end up being embarrassed

by Manchester City in the League Cup final. Third-bottom Sunderland were thrashed 4-1 by Arsenal at the Emirates Stadiumand Poyet said they could be left red-faced if they played that badly against City at Wembley next Sunday.

“Wembley could have been on the players’ minds but this was a very good wake up call. If we play like this against Manchester City we could be embarrassed,” Poyet told the BBC. Sunderland, who have performed far better in the cups this season than in the league, fell behind after five minutes against Arsenal when Olivier Giroud finished off a neat passing move.

The French striker added another thanks to some woeful defending

before Tomas Rosicky scored and Laurent Koscielny was left unmarked to head home a fourth in the second half.

“The combination of Arsenal playing well and us being poor on the ball made it difficult for us,” added Poyet, whose side beat Southampton to reach the FA Cup quarter-finals last week.

“We needed to be organised and see the danger but they punished us. Then we made a mistake for the second goal, which we never make, and that made it tough.

“Then we had to make sure we didn’t concede another three or four in the second half because that would have been embarrassing. “Sometimes you need to accept that you are second best. Credit to Arsenal.” Manchester City, who beat Stoke City 1-0 on Saturday to stay third in the Premier League, have scored 118 goals in all competitions this season. — Reuters

FRANCE: The final draw for the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying is displayed on an electronic board, after the draw ceremony at the Acropolis Convention Centre in Nice. — AP

Draw marks start of road to Euro 2016 NICE: With the continent’s leading nations currently focused on the build-up to this year’s World Cup in Brazil, they could be forgiven for paying little attention to yesterday’s Euro 2016 qualifying draw.

The draw, which will be held in the southern French city of Nice, marks the start of a new period in the history of the European Championship.

Before the 2020 tournament is held in 13 different host cities across Europe, the finals in France will be the first to comprise of 24 nations.

It is a far cry from the eight-nation event when France last held the tournament back in 1984 and doubters are unconvinced about the move to step up from the 16-team format that made Euro 2012 such a success.

The move will take much of the drama away from the qualifying campaign, with 23 of the 53 nations involved — almost half — advancing to the finals along with the hosts.

With the top two teams in each of the nine qualifying groups progressing along with the best third-placed team - the remaining third-placed sides will play off for four more berths - the chances of seeing any major nations miss out on a bloated Euro 2016 seem virtually non-existent.

That is undoubtedly what UEFA want, as the failure of a continental giant, like England in 2008, to qualify can only have a negative impact on the amount of revenue they can generate.

But it means Roy Hodgson’s side, two-time reigning champions Spain, Germany, Italy and others will scarcely be tested en route to the finals and may lead to indifference among fans.

OPPORTUNITY This is, though, an opportunity for some of the lesser lights on the continent to return to a major tournament, or even qualify for the first time.

Scotland, whose last tournament appearance came at the 1998 World Cup in France, have been rejuvenated in recent times under Gordon Strachan and are hopeful of continuing their improvement.

“I’m excited about it. I don’t like to plan anything. I plan training sessions, that’s about the only thing I plan,” said Strachan when asked about his hopes for the draw, which could see Scotland, who are in the fourth pot of seeds, be paired with their old rivals England.

“I’m really not fussed. I enjoy meeting up with the players and playing anybody who is put in front of us. “I think everyone enjoyed the England game and I suppose most people would like that and I’m no different,” added Strachan, whose team lost 3-2 in a friendly at Wembley last August. Sunday will also be a special day for Gibraltar, with the tiny British Overseas Territory on the southern tip of the Iberian peninsula being involved in a qualifying campaign for the first time since their admission to UEFA. The territory of just six square kilometres in size and 30,000 people will be in the sixth and last pot of seeds along with the likes of San Marino and Liechtenstein, although their miniscule prospects of qualifying for the finals are perhaps helped ever so slightly by UEFA’s decision to keep them and Spain - which has long asserted its claim to the territory - separate for political reasons.

“People might say it is not realistic and it’s crazy but I want Gibraltar to be respected,” manager Allen Bula told the BBC prior to a creditable 0-0 draw with Slovakia in their first friendly match back in November. “Liechtenstein are minnows and they are respected. That is my target.”

The campaign will see qualifying matches spread over six days, from Thursdays to Tuesdays, in what UEFA are triumphing as the ‘Week of Football’ format. The first matches will be played on September 7, and host nation France, despite qualifying automatically, will be involved too, with Les Bleus playing what UEFA have termed “centralised friendlies” against the teams from the one five-nation group. — AFP

FRANCE: The UEFA EURO 2016 trophy is displayed during the qualifying draw ceremony at the Acropolis Convention Centre. — AP

Euro 2016 draw NICE: Euro 2016 qualifying draw made yesterday.

GROUP A Netherlands Czech Republic Turkey Latvia Iceland Kazakhstan GROUP B Bosnia-Herzegovina Belgium Israel Wales Cyprus Andorra GROUP C Spain Ukraine Slovakia Belarus Macedonia Luxembourg GROUP D Germany Ireland Poland Scotland Georgia Gibraltar

Gus Poyet

GROUP E England Switzerland Slovenia

Estonia Lithuania San Marino GROUP F Greece Hungary Romania Finland N Ireland Faroe Islands GROUP G Russia Sweden Austria Montenegro Moldova Liechtenstein GROUP H Italy Croatia Norway Bulgaria Azerbaijan Malta GROUP I Portugal Denmark Serbia Armenia Albania

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2014

S P ORTS

Remy returns to give Magpies welcome win Newcastle 1

Aston Villa 0

NEWCASTLE: French international striker Loic Remy marked his return to the Newcastle line-up after serving a three game suspension with a late goal to give his side a much-needed 1-0 win over Aston Villa in their Premier League clash yesterday.

The 27-year-old’s 12th goal of the season was Newcastle’s first since they beat West Ham 3-1 in a disastrous run, which also coincided with the departure of playmaker Yohan Cabaye to Paris Saint Germain, that has seen them lose six of their nine league matches.

Defeat for Villa-they have just two wins in their last 13 matches-keeps them very much in the relegation battle, as they lie just four points above third from bottom Sunderland, who have a game in hand. Newcastle manager Alan Pardew will also be relieved that the return from injury of Argentinian central defender Fabricio Coloccini saw the previously leaky defence succeed in keeping a clean sheet.

The hosts had the first chance of the

game as Paul Dummett, also recalled to the starting line-up, set up Papiss Cisse and his shot should have been easily gathered by Villa goalkeeper Brad Guzan but he fumbled it and it had to be cleared for a corner by a Villa defender.

Villa then had two clear chances to break the deadlock, both falling to Gabriel Agbonlahor, first his fierce effort was tipped away by Tim Krul and then his long range effort was on target but went over the bar. Cisse, though, should have put the hosts ahead in time added on of the first-half as Remy set him up but he snatched at his shot from close range and sent it high over the bar.

The hosts had the better of the early part of the second-half although they had no reward, with Yoann Gouffran going just wide and Dummett sending a shot over the bar.

Remy, who Pardew will hope he can make his loan signing permanent at the end of the season, made Guzan work hard to prevent his sharply-taken effort not sneak in with the American goalkeeper turning it round the post to safety but he was not to be denied at the death.

Dutch striker Luuk de Jong-signed on loan during the January transfer window from Borussia Moenchengladbach-saw his shot deflected and into the path of Remy, who made space and curled his shot past Guzan and then handed his shirt to a fan. — AFP

LONDON: Liverpool’s Luis Suarez keeps the ball from Swansea City’s Nathan Dyer during their English Premier League soccer match at Anfield Stadium. — AP

Henderson strike sinks Swansea Liverpool 4

Swansea 3

LONDON: Newcastle United’s Luuk De Jong (left) vies for the ball with Aston Villa’s Nathan Baker (right) during their English Premier League soccer match at St James’ Park. — AP

Norwich stalls Spurs’ top-four push Norwich 1

Tottenham 0

NORWICH: Tottenham Hotspur lost ground in the race for Champions League qualification as Norwich City boosted their hopes of Premier League survival with a 1-0 victory yesterday.

Robert Snodgrass claimed the decisive goal in the 47th minute at Carrow Road to give Norwich only a second win in 12 games and lift Chris Hughton’s side four points clear of the relegation zone.

Tottenham were bidding to return to within three points of fourth-place Liverpool, 4-3 victors against Swansea City earlier yesterday, but instead were left six points below the Champions League berths in fifth place.

Ricky van Wolfswinkel was drafted back into the Norwich line-up and he saw an early chance pass him by when he was unable to make telling contact with a bouncing ball inside the Spurs box after a corner.

The visitors received an early blow when holding midfielder Etienne Capoue was

forced off through injur y in the 13th minute, with Nacer Chadli coming on in his place. The first half was a tame affair, with a curling effort from Spurs midfielder Paulinho that drifted over the bar the best effort that either side could muster.

However, the game received an injection of intrigue early in the second half when Snodgrass put Norwich ahead.

Bradley Johnson’s pass inside Spurs leftback Danny Rose released the Scotland international and he shaped a left-foot shot into the bottom-left corner from the edge of the area.

Norwich goalkeeper John Ruddy then saved bravely at the feet of Emmanuel Adebayor, who had nicked the ball away from Sebastien Bassong, before Snodgrass saw a swerving drive parried by Hugo Lloris at the other end.

Tottenham manager Tim Sherwood introduced Roberto Soldado with 25 minutes left and the Spain striker squandered a fine opportunity to equalise only seconds after coming on, slicing wide from Adebayor’s pass. Snodgrass twice threatened to add a second goal with efforts from outside the box, while Ruddy produced a fine block to deny Chadli. It was Norwich who came closest to scoring in the dying stages, however, with Johnson crashing a free-kick against the bar and onto the line, before Lloris had to save at his near post from Nathan Redmond. —AFP

CARROW ROAD: Norwich City’s Martin Olsson (left) and Tottenham Hotspur’s Aaron Lennon compete for the ball during their English Premier League soccer match. —AP

LIVERPOOL: Jordan Henderson’s 74th-minute winner gave Liverpool an extraordinary 4-3 win over Swansea City yesterday that maintained the club’s impressive bid for a top-four Premier League finish.

The Liverpool midfielder claimed his second goal of the game by converting at the second attempt after Luis Suarez’s shot had been deflected into his path by visiting captain Ashley Williams.

Daniel Sturridge also scored twice, while Swansea responded impressively with a brace from Wilfried Bony and a goal from Liverpool old boy Jonjo Shelvey seeing them level the game at 2-2 and 3-3.

An entertaining first half featured five goals in the opening 36 minutes and left Liverpool in command, although far from convincing, as they took a 3-2 lead into the half-time break.

The three goals also took Liverpool’s tally of first-half league goals this season to an astonishing 46 — 16 more than free-scoring Manchester City-but it was to Swansea’s credit that they refused to be swept aside. Liverpool struck after barely three minutes as Sturridge wrote himself into the Premier League history books, becoming just the second player, after Manchester United’s Ruud van Nistelrooy, to score in eight consecutive games.

It was a fittingly memorable goal, as Raheem Sterling pounced on a loose pass from Angel Rangel and produced a magnificent through ball that allowed Sturridge to round advancing goal-

keeper Michel Vorm and score.

Sterling forced Vorm into a diving stop soon after, but Liverpool’s anxious play in defence was already becoming evident by the time Henderson doubled the lead after 20 minutes.

The Swansea defence backed off, allowing Sturridge to cut in purposefully from the right and play a short pass to Henderson, who planted an unstoppable finish past Vorm from just outside the area.

It had the makings of a comfortable afternoon for Liverpool in their continuing attempts to finish in the Champions League places, but three minutes later Swansea were back in the game.

Escaping the attention of Liverpool’s markers, Nathan Dyer moved into a central position from the right wing before teeing up Shelvey to unleash a finish almost identical to Henderson’s in its power and accuracy. Worse would follow for the home side four minutes later, although in controversial circumstances after Martin Skrtel was judged to have brought down Shelvey 30 yards from goal.

Jonathan de Guzman took the resulting freekick and found Bony, who guided a header past Simon Mignolet via a helpful deflection off Skrtel.

Anfield was anxious but Liverpool resilient and by the 36th minute they were back in front after a long and patient build-up around the edge of the area.

Eventually, Suarez emerged on the left side of the Swansea box, picking out Sturridge with a far-post cross that the forward headed in from six yards.

Suarez, with a bold chip from the halfway line, might have added to the advantage, although threatening low shots from Bony and Dyer before the interval hinted that the outcome was far from settled. Sure enough, within two minutes of the restart Swansea were level again, this time from a penalty conceded after Skrtel leapt with Bony to compete for Dyer’s cross and fouled the striker in the process. Bony

himself took the penalty and comprehensively beat Mignolet with a fierce finish into the bottom-left corner.

Suarez was then denied by Vorm’s sharp reflexes, while De Guzman placed a 20-yard freekick just wide of the home goal and was thwarted by Mignolet after a neat back-heel from Bony.

Liverpool continued to threaten through Sturridge and Suarez, but it was Henderson who settled matters and the hosts might even have had a late fourth goal had Steven Gerrard’s shot not hit the post. — AFP

EPL results/standings Liverpool 4 (Sturridge 3, 36, Henderson 20, 74) Swansea City 3 (Shelvey 23,Bony 27, 47-pen); Newcastle United 1 (Remy 90+2) Aston Villa 0; Norwich City 1 (Snodgrass 47) Tottenham Hotspur 0 English Premier League table after yesterday’s matches (played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals against, points): Chelsea Arsenal Man City Liverpool Tottenham Man Utd Everton Newcastle Southampt on West Ham Hull Swansea Aston Vil la Norwich Stoke C Palace West Brom Sunderland Cardiff Fulham

27 27 26 27 27 27 26 27 27 27 27 27 27 27 27 26 27 26 27 27

18 6 18 5 18 3 17 5 15 5 13 6 12 9 12 4 10 9 8 7 8 6 7 7 7 7 7 7 6 9 8 2 4 13 6 6 5 7 6 3

3 4 5 5 7 8 5 11 8 12 13 13 13 14 12 16 10 14 15 18

49 52 69 70 36 43 37 33 38 31 29 36 27 19 27 18 31 26 19 27

21 27 27 35 33 31 27 38 32 34 31 40 37 39 42 36 39 42 48 59

60 59 57 56 50 45 45 40 39 31 30 28 28 28 27 26 25 24 22 21

Bayern rout Hanover to go 19 points clear BERLIN: European champions Bayern Munich opened a 19-point gap in the Bundesliga yesterday with a 4-0 victory at Hanover 96 — their 20th win from 22 league matches.

Bayern coach Pep Guardiola had described the Bundesliga as “pizzas and hamburgers” compared to the “gourmet” of the Champions League in the wake of last Wednesday’s 2-0 win at Arsenal in Europe.

Their main domestic rivals did little to disprove Guardiola’s point as Bayer Leverkusen, Borussia Dortmund and Schalke picked up just a point between them over the weekend.

“It took a while for the players to find their rhythm, but we played well after the first goal,” said Guardiola.

“We had the opportunity to extend our lead and the boys took it.”

The Bavarian giants extended their record unbeaten run to 47 Bundesliga matches, dating back to October 2012, to strengthen their iron grip on what will be their 24th German league title, baring a miracle. Having won last season’s league title with a record six games to spare, Bayern are on course to break their own best mark.

Hanover offered little resistance as Germany winger Thomas Mueller scored twice while attacking midfielder Thiago Alcantara and Croatia striker Mario Mandzukic also netted.

There was more good news for both Bayern and Germany as Bastian Schweinsteiger made his first start since November after an ankle, then knee injury, to partner captain Philipp Lahm in the defensive midfield.

“It was good to start and have no problems, I feel good, even in terms of fitness,” said Schweinsteiger. “I still need to get into my rhythm and need some more match practice to get top fit. I just hope things stay

positive for me.”

Brazil’s Rafinha, who took over from Lahm at right-back, strengthened his case for a Selecao place at June’s World Cup with two crosses which both led to goals.

SCHWEINSTEIGER RETURNS Mueller set Bayern on the way to their 14th consecutive league win when he headed home Rafinha’s cross with 25 minutes gone.

Thiago then chested down Schweinsteiger’s superb pass and fired home to make it 2-0 after 34 minutes. Mueller profited from a Mandzukic pass to get behind the Hanover defence and score his second on 59 minutes, while Mandzukic then headed home Rafinha’s cross for Bayern’s fourth, seven minutes later.

On Saturday, Borussia Dortmund suffered a shock 3-0 league defeat at strugglers Hamburg ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League last-16 clash at Zenit St Petersburg.

Hamburg recorded their first league win since November in Mirko Slomka’s first match in charge as his side broke their eight-match losing streak, including a club record seven league matches.

The result sees Hamburg remain among the relegation places, but move up to 16th, while Dortmund stay third. There was more bad news for Jurgen Klopp on Sunday as defensive midfielder Sven Bender was ruled out for the next 10 weeks with an inflamed pelvis.

Second-placed Bayer Leverkusen went down 3-1 at VfL Wolfsburg as Sami Hyypia’s side lost for the seventh time in their last nine games.

Leverkusen suffered a Champions League hangover, following their 4-0 last-16, first-leg home defeat to Paris Saint-Germain, with another poor display.

HANNOVER: Bayern’s Bastian Schweinsteiger (center) and Hannover’s Szabolcs Huszti of Hungary challenge for the ball during the German First Division Bundesliga soccer match. — AP Braunschweig are now three points adrift at the bottom after their 2-1 defeat at ten-man Nuremberg in a match where three penalties were saved. Borussia Moenchengladbach stay sixth, but are winless in their last seven games after their 2-2 draw at home to Hoffenheim. Augsburg got back to winning ways with a 4-2 victory at Freiburg to bounce back from last weekend’s defeat to Nuremberg, their only loss in the last eight games.

VfB Stuttgart are just above the bottom three after they suffered

their seventh straight defeat at home to Hertha Berlin, who ran out 2-1 winners.

Hertha’s replacement striker Sandro Wagner headed the winner, three minutes from time, but was then sent off for a second yellow card having only been on the pitch for 12 minutes.

Fourth-placed Schalke, who host Real Madrid in Wednesday’s Champions League last-16, first-leg clash, stayed fourth after their goalless draw at home to Mainz 05 on Friday. —AFP

Australia collapse sees South Africa level series

Henderson strike sinks Swansea

19

16

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2014

Miami marks 50th ’versary of Ali’s match that ‘Shook The World’

Page 17

SOCHI: A man takes a photograph of fireworks during the closing ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics yesterday. — AP

Russia tops medals table as Games end Canada retains men’s ice hockey title SOCHI: The Winter Olympics ended yesterday with host nation Russia on top of the medals table and Canada winning the men’s ice hockey final, but news that two more athletes tested positive for banned substances dimmed the golden glow.

Canada claimed the last, most coveted title of the Games by sweeping asideSweden 3-0 to retain their men’s ice hockey crown, but two more victories forRussia gave them an unassailable lead with 13 golds to Norway’s 11.

Sweden’s misery was compounded by news that forward Nicklas Backstrom had failed a doping test. He missed the gold medal game, forcing his team to hastily rearrange the lineup shortly before the teams took to the ice.

At the Sanki Sliding Centre, Alexander Zubkov added the four-man bobsleigh crown to his two-man title, while on the cross-country skiing track, Alexander Legkovgrabbed the 50 km race in a Russian medals sweep.

Those wins ensured Russia was the most successful nation at the Games, emulating the Canadians who topped the rankings on home turf four years earlier.

“People kept asking me whether I believed Russia could do as well as Canada did in Vancouver ... and I didn’t believe it,” 30-year-old Legkov told a news conference.

“Now this is our pride, it’s wonderful. What could be better than ending theOlympics with a gold medal and helping Russia top the medal table?”

Underlining the sense of national pride, a packed Fisht Stadium erupted in cheers as the Russian team marched past during the athletes’ parade at the closing ceremony.

Organisers will be delighted that athletic achievement has gone hand-in-hand with a generally well-run Games, so far untouched by violence at the hands of Islamist militants opposed to President Vladimir Putin and his pet project. Voices of dissent over Russia’s human rights record, particularly regarding legislation that critics say discriminates against gays, have occasionally crashed the party, but attention has largely focused on sport.

CRITICS PROVED WRONG International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach said the Russian hosts had proved their critics wrong.

“Tonight we can say: Russia delivered all what it had promised,” he told 40,000 people at the closing ceremony and many millions more watching on television.

“What took decades in other parts of the world was achieved here in Sochi in just seven years.” Addressing the army of volunteers who helped guide athletes, reporters and visitors to their destinations, he added: “Through you, everybody with an open mind could see the face of a new Russia: efficient and friendly, patriotic and open to the world. We arrived with great respect for the rich and varied history of Russia. We leave as friends of the Russian people.”

Bach then formally declared the Sochi Games closed.

The Olympics had more than 2,800 athletes from 88 countries - both records - and featured 12 new events to attract younger fans and more broadcasters than ever before.

However, the Games have also seen six doping cases, five more than at the 2010Vancouver Olympics.

Early yesterday Austrian cross-country skier Johannes Duerr, who placed eighth in the skiathlon, tested positive for performance-boosting EPO and was excluded from the Games, according to the Austrian Olympic Committee.

“There’s nothing left for me than to apologise to everyone. To my family, my wife,” Duerr told Austrian TV ORF at the airport as he was leaving. Bach said the number of cases proved that the system of testing athletes was working.

“The number of cases for me is not really relevant. What is important is that we see that the system works,” he said, addressing reporters hours before the closing ceremony.

The show was staged at the Fisht Stadium, one of several gleaming arenas built inSochi that helped push the price tag for Russia’s first Winter Games to an estimated $51 billion, a record for any Olympics.

Only time will tell if the project, on which Putin has staked his prestige, was worth it, as Russia faces the formidable challenge of turning Sochi and the surrounding areas into a year-round sports and entertainment hub.

Bach said Sochi had undergone an “amazing transformation” from somewhere that looked more like a “Staliniststyle sanatorium city” in the mid-1990s to an Olympic host city with state-of-the-art venues. “It was terrible then.

Seeing it 20 years after this transformation is amazing.”

Olympics medals table SOCHI, Russia: Final Winter Olympics medals table yesterday, the last day of the 2014 Games (after three of three gold medal events):

Russia Norway Canada United States Netherlands Germany Switzerland Belarus Austria France Poland China South Korea

Gold 13 11 10 9 8 8 6 5 4 4 4 3 3

Silver 11 5 10 7 7 6 3 0 8 4 1 4 3

Bronze 9 10 5 12 9 5 2 1 5 7 1 2 2

Total 33 26 25 28 24 19 11 6 17 15 6 9 8

RUSSIAN PRIDE For now Russian officials are basking in the glory of an event they believe has helped them build bridges with the West, with which Moscow has had uneasy relations under Putin.

“The friendly faces, the warm Sochi sun and the glare of the Olympic gold have broken the ice of scepticism towards the new Russia,” Deputy Prime MinisterDmitry Kozak, also Putin’s Olympics organiser, said at the weekend.

The medals tally was an unexpected bonus after Russia mustered just three golds in Vancouver four years ago to place 11th in the rankings. The only regret for Russian fans was that the men’s ice hockey team progressed no further than the quarter-finals.

Victory gave Canada a sweep of the ice hockey gold medals for a second consecutive Olympics. The women stormed back from 2-0 down in the last four minutes against the United States to break American hearts on Thursday.

The world’s gaze then turned to the final act of the Feb. 7-23 Games, the closing ceremony, which painted Russia in

Sweden Czech Republic Slovenia Japan Finland Great Britain Ukraine Slovakia Italy Latvia Australia Croatia Kazakhstan

2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0

7 4 2 4 3 1 0 0 2 2 2 1 0

6 2 4 3 1 2 1 0 6 2 1 0 1

15 8 8 8 5 4 2 1 8 4 3 1 1

far softer colours than the muscular, assertive opening spectacle.

The show’s producers deliberately replicated the embarrassing technical hitch from the opening ceremony, when one of five Olympic rings failed to open.

In similar fashion, while dancers in shimmering silver tops formed four perfect rings, one group remained in a tight formation, and only opened to complete the symbol when spectators had cheered the joke loudly.

The sense of national pride at the home team’s achievements was palpable as huge roars erupted for the Russian team as they paraded past the crowds.

“Well done!” chanted tens of thousands of Russians as Alexander Legkov, Maxim Vylegzhanin and Ilia Chernousov received their gold, silver and bronze medals won in the Caucasus Mountains high above Sochi earlier in the day.

After a rousing rendition of the national anthem by a choir of 1,000 children, the ceremony took viewers on a journey through Russia’s rich heritage of visual arts, music, literature and dance. A deafening volley of fireworks from the stadium’s rooftop lit up the sky, and theOlympics were over. —-Reuters

Standout performances MARIT BJOERGEN-Queen of the cross country The 33-year-old Norwegian cross country skier sealed her status as one of the greatest Olympic athletes in history when she won a record sixth gold in the women’s 30km mass start at the Sochi Games.

Bjoergen equalled the record of Soviet speed skater Lidia Skoblikova and Russian cross country skier Lyubov Yegorova in taking six gold at Winter Olympics, the most by any woman.

She has also now equalled the record of 10 medals overall held by cross country skiers Stefania Belmondo of Italy and Raisa Smetanina of the USSR. FIGURE SKATING-Controversy and a new era Russian teenager Adelina Sotnikova stunned favourites Kim Yu-Na and Mao Asada to take women’s gold in a controversial final while Japan’s Yuzuru Hanyu sparked a new dawn for Asia in the men’s.

Sotnikova, 17, pushed precocious teammate Julia

Lipnitskaia, who had starred in Russia’s team victory, into the shade. The men’s event was hit by the injury-forced pull-out of Russian star Yevgeny Plushenko, helping to pave the way for Hanyu to become the first Asian man to win Olympic singles gold. Russia won the pairs through Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov while Meryl Davis and Charlie White of the United States claimed the ice dance gold.

DOWNHILL-Flat out in deadheat Swiss outsider Dominique Gisin and Slovenian Tina Maze finished in a dead heat as an Alpine skiing gold medal was shared for the first time in Winter Olympics history in a dramatic women’s downhill.

Swiss racer Gisin, wearing bib number eight, was first to clock 1min 41.57sec down the icy 2.7km-long course and in brilliant sunshine it looked to have been enough for outright victory.

But Gisin, who had not won a World Cup downhill race

since 2009 and whose best finish in the downhill this season was seventh, had not counted on Maze, the 2013 super-G world champion and proven big-stage performer.

SHORT TRACK-Ahn speeds into Russian hearts Russian short track speed skater Victor Ahn was the most successful athlete at the Sochi Games, winning three gold medals and a bronze.

Ahn now has eight Olympic medals in total after also winning three golds and a bronze for his native South Korea at the 2006 Turin Games. He missed the Vancouver Olympics.The 28-year-old, who is now a Russian citizen, followed his earlier wins in the 500m and 1,000m by leading the host nation to victory in the 5,000m relay in front of jubilant fans.

SPEED SKATING - Dominant Dutch The powerful Dutch speed skating team turned the

Adler Arena orange, winning 23 of the 36 medals on offer-including eight golds from 12 events.

They won a medal in all 12 events-capping their impressive showing with gold in the men’s and women’s team pursuit events. The next best team was Poland, with just three medals.

Ireen Wust won two golds and three silvers. With eight medals overall, she now has the most Winter Games medals for a Dutch athlete.

OLE EINAR BJOERNDALEN - Veteran record-breaker Norwegian veteran biathlete Ole Einar Bjoerndalen became the greatest Winter Olympian in history by taking a record 13th medal. Tied with cross country ski legend Bjoern Daehlie on 12 medals after winning his first event, he overtook his compatriot with a gold in the mixed relay. Bjoerndalen has now won eight gold medals at Winter Olympics, equalling Daehlie’s record. — AFP

Business

Egypt sacks head of silos and storage holding firm Page 22

No commitment yet from central banks

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2014

Page 25

Toyota records sales of 691,631 vehicles in 2013

Pegasus to launch four flights a week to Turkey

Page 26

Page 23

MADIRD: Locals make a human chain in the city in Valladolid yesterday during a demonstration called by the Citizens Assembly Valladolid composed of 17 groups to demand decent jobs and a basic income. — AFP

Burgan Bank Group announces 2013 earnings Operating income surged to KD254 million registering 33% growth KUWAIT: Burgan Bank Group announced yesterday its financial year 2013 results. A solid growth in the underlying performance and a significant improvement in the asset quality has characterized the group’s performance in 2013 amid the complexity in the regional operating environment. Compared to the same period last year, Operating income surged to KD 254 million registering a growth of 33 percent while Operating Profits before provisions soared to register KD 141 million reflecting a growth of 18 percent. The solid consistent growth over the past quarters clubbed with the positive leading indicators, enabled the bank to accelerate the

reserves build up out of prudence.

Reserves outstanding in 2013 reached KD 232.5 million. The Group’s net profit for the year 2013 reported at KD 20.1 million. The board of directors has recommended a pay-out of 7 fils in cash dividends and 7 percent in bonus shares.

The strong operating performance during the financial year 2013 delivered a continuous solid growth in all business lines. Loans & Advances up to KD3.95 billion while customers deposits grew to KD4.6 billion registering annual growth of 17 percent & 19 percent respectively.

Net interest income grew by 39 percent while net fees and commission grew by 17 percent compared to last year.

Majed Essa Al-Ajeel, Chairman of Burgan Bank Group said: “2013 was a complex year due to the uncertainty that faced the regional operating environment, yet again; every analysis confirms that our underlying performance remains solid and is enabling us to parapet reserves to further enhance our asset quality and build a strong war chest against any surprises. Hence, the decision to book KD 52.6 million as a precautionary reserves, a step that is highly encouraged by the Central Bank of Kuwait.”

“Asset quality improved in 2013. A significant drop registered in non- performing assets to reach 1.6 percent to

Egypt stocks surge, Gulf shares mixed MIDEAST STOCK MARKETS DUBAI: Egypt’s bourse surged yesterday to a new 65-month high and crossed a key psychological level as improving financial outlook lifted sentiment, while Gulf shares were mixed.

Cairo’s EFG-Hermes surged 6.9 percent to its highest since March 2012 in a delayed reaction to the improved outlook in its asset management business. The firm said last week it would expand assets under management in Egypt by 25 percent in 2014. “Egypt has been seeing increased volumes and moves and it’s about time EFG caught up with the market, reflecting the growth in the asset management industr y,” said Mohamed Radwan, director of international sales at Pharos Securities.

Commercial International Bank, Egypt’s largest lender, climbed 2.3 percent. The bank has helped draw in foreign investors in recent sessions - both to its own stock and the wider market - after it posted a 29 percent increase in fourth-quarter profit. Cairo’s index rose 1.5 percent to 8,009 points, its highest since September 2008, and crossing the 8,000 psychological resistance level. It will however need a weekly close above that level to confirm a breakout.

In Saudi Arabia, the measure gained

0.4 percent to 9,024 points, crossing the 9,000 psychological resistance for the first time since July 2008. Banking shares supported the market with the sector’s index up 0.5 percent. Shares in small-cap Amana Insurance jumped 9.8 percent to a four-week high in heavy trade. The stock exchange data showed a new large shareholder in Amana that now owns 6 percent of the firm. Elsewhere, UAE bourses edged lower as investors booked profits after sharp year-to-date gains with financial and property-related shares weighing.

Dubai’s index fell 1.4, down for a third session in the last four and cutting 2014 gains to 22.1 percent. The measure is range-bound, trading within 114 points for the last eight days.

“Most of the companies have announced results so it’s already priced in,” said a Dubai-based trader who asked not to be identified due to company policy. “We should see profit-taking this week and the market could pick up again next month.”

Shares in Union Properties fell 1.5 percent and contractor Drake And Scull dropped 7.3 percent. Abu Dhabi’s measure retreated 0.9 percent, trimming 2014 gains to 13.5 percent. Large-cap First Gulf Bank shed 1.8 percent. — Reuters

gross facilities (net of collaterals) while coverage ratio has increased to reach 256 percent. Capital Adequacy ratio at end of December 2013 reported at 15.4 percent,” added Al-Ajeel.

Majed Essa Al-Ajeel also said: “Our leading financial indicators continue to point to the right direction. Our regional operations remain profitable and contributing 54 percent to the group’s revenues. I remain confident and optimistic of the group’s strong performance going forward. “ “On behalf of the board, I take this opportunity to thank our customers and shareholders for their confidence in our capabilities. I would also like to thank our

executive management team for their leadership and the excellent execution of the corporate strategy, and to our staff for their continued support and commitment,” concluded Al-Ajeel.

The consolidated financials encompass the results of the Group’s operations in Kuwait, and its share from its regional subsidiaries, namely Jordan Kuwait Bank, Gulf Bank Algeria, Burgan Bank - Turkey, Bank of Baghdad, Tunis International Bank, in which Burgan Bank owns a majority stake. Burgan Bank Group has one of the largest regional branch networks with more than 231 branches across Kuwait, Turkey, Jordan, Algeria, Iraq, Tunis, Lebanon and Palestine.

Majed Essa Al-Ajeel, Chairman of Burgan Bank Group

G20 vows to boost world economy by $2tn Global growth remains below rates SYDNEY: Finance chiefs from the 20 largest economies agreed yesterday to implement policies that will boost world GDP by more than $2 trillion over the coming five years. Australian Treasurer Joe Hockey, who hosted the Group of 20 meeting in Sydney, said the commitment from the G20 finance ministers and central bankers was “unprecedented.”

The world economy has sputtered since the 2008 financial crisis and global recession that followed.

Progress in returning economic growth to pre-crisis levels has been hampered by austerity policies in Europe, high unemployment in the US and a cooling of China’s torrid expansion. The centerpiece of the $2 trillion commitment made at the Sydney meeting is to boost the combined gross domestic product of G20 countries by 2 percent above the levels expected for the next five years, possibly creating tens of millions of new jobs. World GDP was about $72 trillion in 2012.

The G20 combines the world’s major industrialized and developing countries from the United States to Saudi Arabia and China, representing about 85 percent of the global economy.

The communique from the meet-

ing said signs of improvement in the global economy are welcome but growth remains below the rates needed to get people back into work and to meet their aspirations.

The G20 said it would “significantly raise global growth” without overtaxing national finance through measures to promote competition and increase investment, employment and trade. As an initial step toward achieving the $2 trillion target, each country will present a comprehensive growth strategy to a summit of leaders scheduled for November in the Australian city of Brisbane.

The International Monetary Fund forecasts the world economy will grow 3.7 percent this year. It said the G20 plan could lift annual world economic growth by half a percentage point for the next five years. US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew said the agreement is significant and crucial to “turning the next page” in the global economic recovery.

“G20 members have spoken clearly: boosting growth and demand tops the global economic agenda” Lew said in a statement. Hockey, the Australian treasurer, said there was intensive discussion about the challenges each country faces in boost-

SYDNEY: France's finance minister Pierre Moscovici (C) speaks at a press conference alongside Ramon Fernandez (R), Director Of Treasury and Christian Noyer, Governor Bank of France at the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting in Sydney — AFP ing investment, particularly in infrastructure. He said there is much that governments can do to boost private investment by having predictable policies and regulations.

On monetary policy, G20 members said they recognized it needs to remain accommodative for growth in many industrialized countries but should return to normal settings “in due course” depending on the outlook for inflation and GDP. Central

banks in Europe, the United States and Japan are all maintaining lavishly easy monetary policy in an attempt to nurture economic recovery.

The Federal Reserve’s recent decision to begin scaling back its monetary stimulus jolted global financial markets, particularly stocks which benefited in the past several years from record low interest rates and money created by bond buying policies. — AP

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2014

BUSINESS

Egypt sacks head of silos and storage holding firm Food supply shake-up unveils shady deals CAIRO: A shake-up of Egypt’s food import and storage authorities has seen an official from its main food buying agency referred to prosecutors over suspected corruption on local rice deals, while the head of its silos and storage holding company was fired.

Egypt is the world’s biggest wheat importer, normally buying some 10 million tons a year and while the suspected corruption is focused on rice, the moves come just days after two senior officials from the General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC) were transferred from their posts.

Traders fear any disarray within GASC could hurt its ability to launch international tenders. GASC has said the re-shuffles would not impact its import activity. It has also unnerved companies involved in importing grain to Egypt and potentially a

small group of global traders that supply them.

“It’s chaos, even the people inside GASC don’t know what’s going on and are concerned,” said an international grain trader.

On Saturday, Supplies Minister Mohamed Abu Shadi had referred the head of the central import administration at GASC to administrative prosecutors for suspected corrupt dealings with traders.

“The case has no relation at all with wheat, it is about dealings to purchase local rice from local traders in which the official had extended traders’ deadlines to 10 days instead of a week,” ministr y spokesman Mahmoud Diab told Reuters but declined to name the man.

While GASC were not immediately available for comment, rice industry insiders were sceptical about the supply min-

ter’s rights to inject new blood into the company. Two senior GASC officials, dealing with wheat imports and procuring local rice, were moved from their posts a few days ago. Diab said they were still working within GASC. The changes mark another flashpoint in Egypt’s food supply after deposed Egyptian President Mohammad Morsi spent his year in power dramatically reducing wheat imports in a failed attempt at self-sufficiency. Abu Shadi has said self-sufficiency needs swift action towards increasing Egypt’s wheat storage capacity from 1.5 million tons to 6 million tons.

The Egyptian company for silos is responsible for building 50 new ones. The United Arab Emirates, one of the Gulf Arab states that showered Egypt with billions of dollars after Mursi’s fall, is funding 25 other silos. —Reuters

istry’s assessment.

Rice in abundance Egypt suspended rice exports in November to meet its domestic needs for a government subsidy program. The country had an exportable surplus estimated at 800,000 tons of rice last year.

Local consumption amounts to around 4 million tons of white rice a year, of which around 1.1 million tons are used for its subsidized rice program. “It seems odd as there is an abundance of rice available for the local market since Egypt shut the door for exports,” a senior rice industry source said, referring to Diab’s comments.

Abu Shadi also sacked the head of the silos and storage holding company and other officials for failing to reach targets set for 2012/13. Diab said it was within the minis-

Bahraini Islamic Bank Al-Baraka Q4 net income climbs 23% DUBAI: Bahrain’s Al Baraka Banking Group reported a 23 percent increase in fourth-quarter net profit yesterday, and said it would continue expanding its network and issuing further sukuk through its foreign subsidiaries in 2014.

The Islamic lender recorded a net attributable profit of $32 million in the three months to December 31, compared with $26 million in the corresponding period of 2012, the bank said in a statement.

The hike came despite a slight decline in total operating income vis-‡-vis the same quarter of 2012 to $227 million. For the fullyear 2013, net attributable profit gained 9 percent to $145 million, which the bank said was a result of its expanded operations, improvements in asset quality and better cost efficiency. Al-Baraka has operations in fifteen countries predominantly across the Middle East and Africa, including nations which have seen significant economic turmoil in the last year such as Syria, Turkey, Egypt and Sudan.

Adnan Ahmed Yousif, chief executive of Al Baraka, said in the statement that the results

posted by the lender could be considered “satisfactory by all standards if we take into account the difficult economic and financial conditions that prevailed in the region and the world as a whole.”

Total assets at the end of 2013 stood at $21 billion, up 10 percent over the end of the previous year. Loans and advances and deposits increased 7 and 8 percent respectively over the same timeframe.

Al-Baraka said it planned to add 81 branches to its network in 2014, in countries including Turkey, Pakistan, Jordan and Egypt.

It currently has 479 branches, the statement added.

The bank would also continue its policy of “diversifying financing resources for our subsidiary units through the issuance of Islamic sukuk.”

A senior executive at Albaraka Turk, the bank’s Turkish subsidiary, told Reuters last month it planned to issue sukuk worth between $300 million and $400 million in 2014, following on from its debut $200 million issue in April 2013. —Reuters

COLOMBO: A Sri Lankan laborer sleeps on a cart at the main market in Colombo yesterday. Sri Lanka’s economy recorded 8.0 percent-plus growth for two straight years after troops crushed separatist Tamil Tiger rebels in 2009, but the pace has slowed in the last two years. —AFP

Banks struggle to fill staff gaps in FX rigging row LONDON: A void is appearing in the upper reaches of the world’s biggest and most powerful financial market as banks struggle to replace currency traders suspended or fired during a global investigation into allegations of foreign exchange raterigging. Recruitment firms and sources at some of the banks at the centre of the probe say there is huge reluctance to hire externally because replacements could be tainted by allegations of collusion themselves.

That leaves managers with the choice of promoting more junior staff into powerful chief and senior dealer positions or appointing staff from other units of the bank who are less familiar with the daily workings of the $5.3-trillion-a-day forex market. While the hiatus may be temporary as the investigation unfolds, it comes at a time when machine-driven algorithmic models have already replaced around two thirds of the spot FX dealers operating in London a decade ago, and there are growing concerns about staffing numbers in the industry. The financial impact for the banks remains unclear, but it adds pressure on a major source of income that is already suffering from a wave of regulations clamping down on the amount of risk dealers can take. With prospective bans on proprietary trading spelling a change in how lenders do business, the fallout from the scandal further clouds the outlook for many department managers.

“Certainly it might only be 20 people so far who have been suspended, but it has created one hell of a cloud above the industry,” said one well-known headhunter in London, who also declined to be named. “We have had calls from people who haven’t been in the market for a while who think there might be opportunities for them. But I think it’s very difficult. Until more decisions are made, there is going to be a little bit of a stand-off.”

Collusion fears Regulatory authorities are looking at whether traders at some of the world’s biggest banks colluded to manipulate benchmark foreign-exchange rates used to set the value of trillions of dollars of investments. Banks have taken action against 21 traders, and financial institutions including Royal Bank of Scotland, Deutsche Bank and UBS are now said to be reviewing the rules governing how traders make bets with their own money.

All of the banks who have taken action against traders since the start of the probe declined to comment or had no immediate comment on the resulting recruitment and operational issues.

Long probe Among other things, industry players say investigators will have to trawl through millions of chatroom conversations and other correspondence for dozens of traders, potentially including some who have since moved on to other jobs.

The head of Britain’s FCA financial sector overseer has said its probe is likely to drag on into next year, leaving the banks nervous about hiring anyone with a history of trading at a major institution.

“This is not any sort of downsizing, so all these people will need to be replaced,” said a senior manager in foreign exchange at one bank in London, who asked not to be named.

“But banks will need to be extra careful when they look at candidates’ history, whether it is internally or externally. Certainly if you are a bank and you want to hire a high flier from another bank, you have to think twice.” The headhunter said banks’ other practical problem for the moment is that most of the disciplinary action so far has been in the form of suspensions rather than outright dismissals.

“If you are a big bank who has someone suspended at this time,

until a definitive decision is made it’s very difficult to go out and hire people purely to fill in a space for someone who is only suspended,” he said.

“We can all hazard a guess as to what is going to happen to anyone who is suspended, but we don’t know.” A handful of top banks control the multi-trillion-dollar market tied to the benchmark exchange rates. The top five FX dealing banks see around half of the forex market’s average daily flow, and the top 10 banks account for almost 80 percent.

Different skills London-based recruiters say the spot FX market in major currencies in the city adds up to around 125-150 dealers at 25 banks as little as a third of its size a decade ago.

“Electronic solutions are coming in and doing the job that people used to do. The banks also are not taking the same amount of risk, so there is less of a requirement for people, and increasingly it’s a different skill set,” the headhunter said.

“Banks more and more are just offering an execution service to clients. The rules on (limiting or banning) proprietary risk-taking are making the banks into a different model now which can require a different kind of trader.”

A separate investigation last year into rate rigging in another major centre, Singapore, found 133 traders tried to manipulate lending and foreign exchange reference rates, many of whom banks have struggled to replace. Adriana Swift, Head of Capital Market Sales and Trading at financial recruitment firm Selby Jennings, said those involved would find it hard to move into other parts of the business and will often be forced to change career, unless they are at a junior level and formally cleared of any wrongdoing.—Reuters

Disinflation a worry and should not be ignored

By Hayder Tawfik

S

hould the Federal Reserve continue with tapering when the risk of falling inflation has increased globally? Since last year most of the arguments have been about the timing of polic y reversal and less time was spent worrying about disinflationar y wave sweeping the world. One impact of the early tapering has been the big sell off in emerging markets currencies. Janet Yellen the Federal Reserve chairman has to play a fine balancing act to avoid further sell off in emerging markets. The problem is that devaluation of emerging market currencies will make their expor ts even cheaper hence exporting disinflation to the developed world including US. Most investors are still focusing on the further tapering and less attention is being paid to the biggest potential risk i.e. disinflation in the developed economies. I am not sure if officials at central banks happy with inflation falling or they just have been shocked and are literally scared to talk about it.

Consumer price inflation has been falling over the last year and there are no signs of any reversal. Adding to the worry is the continues fall in commodity prices including food and oil. This is suggesting that disinflationary forces are winning the war over central bank policies.

I believe this all started before the reversal of tapering by the Federal Reserve. It started back at the end of 2012, when the bank of Japan decided to devalue the Japanese Yen. We have talked about this at the time and warned about its impact on the emerging markets. The big and massive devaluation of over 25% of the Japanese Yen against the US$ and the Euro have forced others to devalue if they could but the Federal Reserve policy reversal have forced the devaluation on them. The bank of Japan has been very busy printing money and flooding the market with cheap currency. It has to somehow succeeded in igniting domestic inflation but as a consequences it has exported disinflation to the rest of the developed world. The rest of emerging economies are forced to weaken their currencies to compete with cheap Japanese exports.

I think it is a bit late for the US Federal Reserve to reverse its policy but to counter tapering, the European Central bank should start a big Quantitative Easing measures to keep the balance going and at the same time to fight off any risk of disinflation in the euro-zone. Unfortunately it might a bit late for the ECB. This could be the heavy price the euro-zone have to pay to keep the Germans on their side. The ECB has more reason to resort to more aggressive stimulus as the Euro has been very strong relative to most currencies and in particular the Japanese Yen. The region’s exports have been picking up and the reason is not because the Euro is cheap but because there has been disinflation in the cost structure and in particular labor costs. However, if the emerging markets keep devaluing their currencies then the euro-zone exports may come to a sudden halt.

In normal times investors get scared of a disinflation potential but I don’t think we are in normal times. Because of very low interest rates and the potential of rates falling further, investors are looking for disinflation hedge. Holding cash in hard currencies is the only way to hedge against disinflation but with the cash mountain piling up everywhere and not earning anything thing, stocks, government bonds and real estate have been targeted aggressively. One comforting factor for investors is that the more there is disinflation fears the more the central banks stimulate further. We expect further weakness in the Japanese Yen and the merging market currencies and very low interest rates for the next few years. This all means that real and financial assets prices could be pushed much higher.

—Dimah Capital

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 2.773 4.559 2.691 2.155 2.848 224.910 36.441 3.630 6.342 8.697 0.271 0.273 GCC COUNTRIES 75.390 77.680 734.410 750.900 76.992

ARAB COUNTRIES Egyptian Pound - Cash 39.550 Egyptian Pound - Transfer 40.160 Yemen Riyal/for 1000 1.319 Tunisian Dinar 179.770 Jordanian Dinar 399.240 Lebanese Lira/for 1000 1.897 Syrian Lira 2.015 Morocco Dirham 35.547 EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIES US Dollar Transfer 282.600 Euro 390.610 Sterling Pound 471.940 Canadian dollar 256.910 Turkish lira 129.950 Swiss Franc 322.050 Australian Dollar 256.320 US Dollar Buying 281.400 20 Gram 10 Gram 5 Gram

GOLD 240.000 121.000 62.500

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 259.95 261.74 321.50 390.89 282.05 475.96 2.81 3.630 4.540 2.157 2.847 2.696 76.86 750.70 40.51 401.43 733.51 77.89 75.34

SELL CASH 256.95 262.74 319.50 391.89 285.05 478.96 2.83 3.900 4.840 2.592 3.382 2.790 77.32 752.77 41.11 407.08 740.81 78.44 75.74

2.970 3.830 86.310 46.885 9.655 127.880

Philippine Peso Sierra Leone Singapore Dollar South African Rand Sri Lankan Rupee Taiwan Thai Baht

0.006426 0.000069 0.220504 0.019997 0.001888 0.009207 0.008383

0.006706 0.000075 0.226504 0.028497 0.002459 0.009387 0.008933

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 0.743279 0.036841 0.000078 0.000183 0.394439 1.0000000 0.000138 0.024381 0.001195 0.728123 0.076927 0.074737 0.002166 0.175160 0.125659 0.075973 0.001284

0.751279 0.039941 0.000079 0.000243 0.401939 1.0000000 0.000238 0.048381 0.001830 0.733803 0.078140 0.075437 0.002386 0.183160 0.132659 0.077122 0.001364

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 282.350 257.695 471.410 389.890 318.650 745.540 76.850 78.400 76.160 397.915 40.505 2.154 4.154 2.690 3.627 6.316 693.510 3.765

Australian Dollar New Zealand Dollar

SELL CASH Europe 0.007346 0.465787 0.006111 0.047812 0.381638 0.042405 0.086063 0.008090 0.039674 0.310017 0.125659 Australasia 0.247334 0.229400

SELLDRAFT 0.008346 0.474787 0.018111 0.052812 0.389138 0.047605 0.86063 0.018090 0.044674 0.320217 0.132659 0.258834 0.238900

Al Mulla Exchange Canadian Dollar US Dollars US Dollars Mint

America 0.252254 0.278550 0.279050

0.260754 0.282900 0.282900

Bangladesh Taka Chinese Yuan Hong Kong Dollar Indian Rupee Indonesian Rupiah Japanese Yen Kenyan Shilling Korean Won Malaysian Ringgit Nepalese Rupee Pakistan Rupee

Asia 0.003320 0.045219 0.034354 0.004268 0.000019 0.002668 0.003269 0.000255 0.081960 0.003070 0.002392

0.003920 0.048719 0.037104 0.004668 0.000025 0.002848 0.003269 0.000270 0.087960 0.003240 0.002672

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) 282.000 390.000 471.250 255.350 4.543 40.155 2.151 3.628 6.315 2.690 751.000 76.850 75.300

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2014

BUSINESS COMMODITIES WEEKLY UPDATE

Commodities advance for third week

By Ole Hansen Head of Commodity Strategy, Saxo Bank

C

ommodities showing strong gains for a third week with positive per formances seen across all sectors, not least agriculture where coffee and sugar were strong performers followed by precious metals. Growthdependent commodities such as energy and industrial metals also showed a positive return but were held back by another decline to a sevenmonth low in Chinese manufacturing confidence.

Adverse weather across the Americas continues to be one of the main contributors to the current gains with extended and very cold winter in the US supporting natural gas, heating oil and, as a consequence also, WTI crude. The cold weather across the US Midwest has also raised concerns about reduced production of wheat due to winter kill. Turning the attention to Brazil, the extraordinary rally in Arabica coffee continued for a second week and the hottest January ever. The least rain for the period in 20 years has led to the lowering of production forecasts for coffee, sugar and soybeans.

Coffee reached a 16-month high after rallying more than 50 percent this year. The ICE exchange where Arabica coffee futures are traded responded by raising the margin on holding coffee futures by 65 percent in order to encourage speculative traders to liquidate positions or take profit. The current combination of technical and fundamental support has made it easy for speculative traders to drive the price higher but even if we should see a sizable drop in production, the market is still not tight thanks to the very good crops we have seen in recent years.

We should not forget that coffee until November had been in a downward spiral lasting more than two years. The price during this time the price lost more than two-thirds in value primarily on the back of increased production. The first technical target on this move is 180.4 cents/pound which represents a 38.2 percent retracement of the sell-off from 2011 to last November.

Gold and silver spent the week consolidating their recent strong gains. Momentum and technical traders have returned to the buy side and are waiting for the driver to carry the metals higher. A failure to find such a driver leaves both metals exposed to some long liquidation should the 200-day moving averages at 1,302 and 21.02 respectively give way. The news during the week has been mixed with the impact from the US Federal Open Market Committee supporting continued tapering offset by weaker economic data. Consumer demand which has been the key driver at the beginning of the year has begun to slow in respond to higher prices. Recent data points towards a softening in demand from China and Japan with the premium paid for taking delivery on the Shanghai Gold Exchange dropping to 2 USD/oz after some days rising above 15 USD/oz during the early parts of January.

Holdings in Exchange Traded Products have failed to pick up despite the much improved sentiment lately and this does not bode to well for a sustained move higher at this stage. Until we see that change, gold will struggle to find enough support to move decisively higher leaving the most likely outcome for 2014 to be a year of range-bound consolidation following the dramatic sell-off last year. Technical levels to look out for are support at 1,302 USD/oz the 200-daily moving average remains the first line of defense.

Resistance is at 1,337.8 USD/oz, the 61.8 percent retracement of the August to December sell-off.

WTI crude broke above $100/barrel for the first time this year as it headed for a sixth weekly gain and in the process narrowed the discount to Brent crude to $7/barrel. Colder-than-usual US weather continues to support strong refinery production due to increased demand for heating oil and the ongoing removal of the supply glut at Cushing, Oklahoma due to improved pipeline infrastructure has given WTI and edge over Brent.

The North Sea variety and current global benchmark is caught between the potential negative impact of a slowing China on one side and what continues to look like chronic supply disruptions in Libya, Nigeria and South Sudan. The escalating violence and tension in Venezuela is currently just below the radar and could become an additional supporting factor if it begins to impact the country’s ability to export its crude oil.

The refinery maintenance season which normally reduces demand for US crude this time of year has yet to emerge due to the continued demand for distillate products but as we move towards March, things should begin to normalize and potentially cap further advances unless the geo-political situation continue to deteriorate.

Hedge funds were behind the curve at the beginning of the year and since then, they have been an important driver of the current rally. In just six weeks, the speculative net-long position across 24 major commodities has jumped by 28 percent. During this time, the grain sector exposure has gone from a net-short of 11,000 contracts to a net-long of 202,000 contracts, softs from 86,000 to 113,000, and energy from 798,000 to 840,000. The metal sector has seen a reduction from 106,000 to 98,000 contracts but this been caused by 51,400 contracts net-selling of copper while precious metals has risen strongly. — Ole Hansen, Saxo Bank’s head of Commodity Strategy, is a specialist in traded futures with a particular focus on commodities.

Read more of his commentary here on our social trading site.

KUWAIT: Pegasus and Bu Khamseen Holdings officials at Holiday Inn Hotel. —Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat

Pegasus to launch four flights a week to Turkey Low-cost model successful: Official

By Ben Garcia KUWAIT: Public holidays are lining up once again and to make use of this long holiday, many would prefer to take a small break in neighboring countries and Europe. Pegasus Airlines, a new budget airline from Turkey promises to provide value for money, safe and enjoyable travel as they commence a four-times-a-week flight next month from Kuwait to various destinations in Turkey and beyond.

Burcu Alin, Sales Manager Pegasus Airlines, said the flights will start in March and by April, Pegasus will fly daily from Kuwait. Pegasus offers the “best price ever” compared to other budget airlines in the region. “Twenty-six percent of our passengers only pay 17 euros and 70 percent under 33 euros. Pegasus leads the way in Turkey by applying our low-cost model. We have very

good connections for many Europe-bound passengers,” she said. Serkan Atli, Assistant Sales Manager, takes pride in Pegasus’ achievements. From 2005 to 2013, the airline carried about 70 million passengers. “Millions of passengers are satisfied and are looking forward to the best budget airline. No one wants any delays - Pegasus promised and delivered it. Based on our figures in 2013, our on-time performance was 90 percent,” she mentioned.

Pegasus operates a fleet of 50 aircraft 4 to 5 years old, mostly Boeings. Pegasus Airlines will be represented in Kuwait by Bu Khamseen Holdings Group’s Aviation Division headed by Ashraf Gad, General Manager. “Turkey is just one of many favorite destinations of Kuwaitis nowadays. We all love to pay less and travel more. Entrust your travel to us and Pegasus Airlines will make sure of your safely,” he said.

Taiwan ‘aerotropolis’ plan buoyed by Chinese tourists Taipei’s ambitions to become air hub take off TAIPEI: Taiwan’s ambitions to become a regional air hub finally look set to take off with approval for a mega “aerotropolis” to cash in on improving ties with China and the rise of budget airlines in the region.

The ambitious plan to transform the main Taoyuan International Airport into a regional aviation centre is tipped to attract more than $16 billion in investment for the island’s biggest infrastructure project in more than three decades.

Covering nearly 7,000 hectares (17,000 acres), the “aerotropolis” will include a free trade zone, a third terminal at the airport and an industrial park to house goods-distribution and aviation-related industries.

First mooted in the booming 1990s by the then Kuomintang government, the project stalled after elections in 2000 when the Democratic Progressive Party ended the KMT’s 51-year grip on power.

With the KMT now back in power and the economy faltering, President Ma Ying-jeou revived the project during his 2008 re-election campaign.

Since then, government agencies have been working out the details of the mammoth undertaking which could generate more than 200,000 jobs. The project is now set to take off from the drawing board after the interior ministry recently gave the nod to its urban development plans.

“The approval of the urban development plans marks a major step forward in the development of the Taoyuan aerotropolis project,” Wu Chih-yang, the head of the Taoyuan county government told a recent news conference in Taipei. “From now on, the project will get off from the paperwork stage,” he said.

Wu estimated that within the next 15 years the government and private sector could pour up to Tw$500 billion ($16.5 billion) into the project, the island’s biggest national infrastructure plan since the late 1970s. Up to 260,000 jobs would be created by the project which he said “if properly carried out, could help the economy get up and running again”.

Critics and the opposition say the project is intended to help sway voters for mayoral elections in November and the faltering economy has been the biggest source of mounting complaints against Ma’s administration. Once one of Asia’s most dynamic economies, Taiwan grew just 1.48 percent in 2011, 2.11 percent in 2012 and is predicted to rise 2.82 percent this year.

Third terminal Despite the economic gloom, Taiwan has enjoyed a dramatic rise in tourist arrivals, thanks largely to improving ties with former bitter rival China over the past few years.

Taoyuan International Airport, west of Taipei, had its original terminal renovated last year after three decades in operation as it could not cope with the increased passenger traffic, much of it from China. A third runway is scheduled for completion by 2020, 10 years earlier than originally scheduled. The airport is predicted to see its annual cargo handling capacity nearly triple to 4.5 million tons by 2030, up from 1.7 million tons last year, and passenger capacity double to 60 million visits from now.

“The airport’s passenger load has seen double-digit growth in the past two years. This definitely had something to do with the improvement of cross-strait ties and direct flight links,” said Wen Yung-sung, spokesman for the Taoyuan Airport Corp, the firm in charge of the airport’s management and development. The rise of budget airlines in the region has also contributed to the massive influx of tourists, helping to bring in lots of young travellers from Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Japan, he said.

Foreign tourists made more than eight million visits to Taiwan last year, up from 3.84 million visits in 2008, according to figures from the tourism bureau.

A record 2.85 million Chinese nationals visited the island in 2013, up 10 percent from 2012, four years after a

TAIPEI: A China Airline prepares to land at Taoyuan International Airport yesterday. Taiwan’s ambitions to become a regional air hub finally look set to take off with approval for a mega “aerotropolis” to cash in on improving ties with China and the rise of budget airlines in the region. —AFP decades-old ban on Chinese tourists was lifted. Taiwan also started allowing Chinese solo tourists in mid-2011. Despite the rosy picture painted by the authorities, opponents have cast a shadow over the project, which requires the compulsory purchase of more than 3,000 hectares of land for infrastructure and other urban design purposes.

“We doubt the local government has the ability to execute the biggest ever zone expropriation plan in Taiwan,” Hsu Po-ren of the Taiwan Rural Front told AFP as many of

the residents to be affected have pledged to stop the plans.

Around 8,000 households or 30,000 people would be displaced, he said. But officials say they are handling the problem and that Taiwan’s bold aviation plan will go ahead.

“We’ve increased staff to handle the thorny zone expropriation issues and stepped up communication with the opponents,” said Huang Sui-peng from the county government.

“We believe the (opposition) noise can be reduced and we’re optimistic about the progress of the project.” — AFP

Morocco plans to boost farm output PARIS: Morocco aims to increase fourfold the amount of state-owned land it leases to farmers and investors, to increase production and speed up modernization of Moroccan farming, the director of agricultural development said. To attract private investors, the kingdom has been leasing farmland for 20 to 50 percent of its market value in long-term contracts of up to 40 years, Mohammed El Guerrouj said.

“We are in the process of making available all the farmland we can,” El Guerrouj told Reuters in an interview at the annual Paris farm show. “It’s then up to the investors to propose farming projects.” Like other North African countries, Morocco relies on imports of staple cereals. It is trying to modernize its farms to improve food security and avert the kind of price rises that contributed to popular unrest in Arab countries in 2011.

Some 105,000 hectares of state-owned farmland was leased in past decades for projects that represent a total of 2.6 billion euros in investments, El Guerrouj said. The new leases will go through tenders open to domestic and foreign investors. So far, more than half of the leases have

gone to operators from France, Spain and Italy. Gulf states account for only about 3 percent, El Gerrouj said.

Morocco will hold regular tenders as suitable state farmland is gradually identified and made available, he said. About 40,000 hectares may be offered this year. The target is 500,000 hectares by 2020, nearly four times the current level. Total farmland is about 7.8 million hectares.

Several million tons of cereals are imported each year, depending on the local harvest. It is too early to estimate the 2014 harvest, before a critical period for crops in March, but rainfall last month had helped, said Soufiane Larguet, head of strategy and statistics at the Moroccan agriculture ministry. “We’re fairly confident,” he said. “Rains were lacking a bit at the start of the season, but they have caught up.” Morocco harvested a bumper cereal crop of 9.7 million tons last year, including just over 5 million tons of soft wheat. But a slow start to imports led it to suspend import duties and introduce import subsidies on soft wheat for the Jan. 1 to April 30 period. Larguet said the continuation or not of the import measures would depend on prospects for this year’s harvest. — Reuters

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2014

BUSINESS

Telecom firms mine for gold in big data Privacy concerns may prove irresistible BARCELONA: Last year’s revelations over the US tapping of phone and internet data gave telecom firms pause for thought over whether they should sell their “big data” for gain, but the commercial potential could prove irresistible.

Although figures are scarce, analysts think selling data on mobile users’ locations, movements, and web browsing habits may grow into a multi-billion-dollar market for the business. Big carriers like Telefonica, Verizon, Orange and Singapore’s Starhub warn that they are only just starting to test the waters and pledge to market only anonymous crowd information to protect customers.

They are also promoting their big data products as being helpful well beyond the realms of advertising - for credit card companies wanting to detect fraud, for ambulance operators plotting routes to avoid traffic, and for public health officials responding to outbreaks of flu.

But while some carriers have decided to press on with developing their data business since former US National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden’s disclosures, others have started pitching themselves as their customers’ best allies in seeking to hide from any prying eyes.

Verizon’s Precision Marketing Insights product, which offers businesses statistics about mobile users in a given area, was in commercial trials with sports teams and billboard owners when the Snowden allegations hit. After fresh debate by top management and the board on whether selling even anonymous data on customers was a good move, the company decided to go ahead with it, said Colson Hillier, a Verizon executive.

“Privacy is a hot button issue right now, but we think we can take a leadership stance,” Hillier said. “It’s not a reputational risk if you do it right and are pro-active in communication with consumers and policy makers.”

Other telecom companies took the opposite tack, casting themselves as better guardians of customer data than internet companies like Google, which use it to target advertising.

Deutsche Telekom, for example, last year launched an encrypted “Email made in Germany” service and a secure communications link for small businesses to ward off hackers or spooks. “Protection of the private sphere is a valuable commodity,” its CEO said.

Data trove As they shift to treating customer data as an asset to be mined instead of a mere incidental to running networks, telecom operators must tread carefully. People are used to giving Facebook and Google their personal information and generally accept that the trade-off for free services is that their data is used to target ads. But people could be irked if tracking extends into the real world, said a telecoms industry consultant who declined to be named because of client sensitivities.

Surveys show people trust telecom providers more than internet companies to safeguard their personal data, although overall confidence in companies was very low. In a poll commissioned by Orange, 41 percent of respondents said they trust mobile carriers to keep their information safe compared with 20 percent for social networks like Facebook or Twitter.

“All it takes is one mis-step on data monetization for some customers to decide they don’t want to stay with you,” the consultant said.

To collect the data, telecom operators place probes in mobile networks to capture the millions of records per day generated when people send texts, make calls and surf the web. The data is stripped of personal information then pooled so it can be analyzed for patterns useful for business or governments. It identifies a person’s location to about 200 to 300 metres.

Privacy advocates and regulators say that if the data is anonymous and about groups not individuals, it is legal for telecom companies to sell it. Meanwhile companies are taking different approaches to user consent. Orange collects data for its Flux Vision data product from French mobile users without offering a way for them to opt-out, as does Telefonica’s equivalent service.

Verizon told customers in 2011 it could use their data and now includes 100 million retail mobile customers by default, though they can opt out online.

More intrusive programs that drive location-based advertising to people’s mobiles usually require users to agree and some companies offer rewards in loyalty schemes in exchange.

Finding the market In one project, Telefonica worked with Morrisons, Britain’s fourth-largest supermarket chain, to study where residents of an area in southwest England did their food. It parsed data on where shoppers at Morrisons’ stores came from and did the same for nearby rival stores, so as to identify which households should be targeted for promotions.

Out of 11 million households in the area, Telefonica advised Morrisons to send coupons to 400,000 of them, leading to a 150 percent rise in store visits without a revenue drop-off that accompanies some discount schemes. “We spotted postal sectors where there was a genuine battle ground between Morrisons stores and their competitors,” said Phil Douty, who runs Telefonica’s Smart Steps. “This was the most fertile ground for their marketing efforts.”

Smart Steps has dozens of clients in Britain, said Douty, and the firm will start pilots in Brazil this year. Telefonica speaks to regulators early so as to avoid a repeat of a flap in Germany last year in which data protection regulators slammed the program before it was even introduced there.

Yet turning a data trove into a product companies will buy is not easy for telecoms carriers, since they do not know exactly what transportation, manufacturing, or travel companies actually want in terms of data, telecom executives admit. Some are turning to partners such as marketing specialists, advertising agencies or consultants like IBM. Verizon’s Hillier said the carrier is now in talks with advertising technology companies and other possible partners to help with distribution and aimed to have a range of big data products on the market in the second quarter. German software specialist SAP is also in talks with a number of telecom operators to have their data feed into a centralized platform that businesses or advertisers would buy subscriptions to access. Revenue would be shared between SAP and the telecom operator. — Reuters

Human cost of S Leone mining boom FREETOWN: Musu Conteh was singing and dancing among a group of 50 women at a workers’ rights protest in Sierra Leone when police who had been called in to provide crowd control shot her dead.

The 28-year-old had found herself caught up in violence as the demonstration by workers from iron ore exporter African Minerals in the northern mining town of Bumbuna spiralled out of control in April 2012. “[She] was right in front of me. The police led an ambush close to the police station using tear gas on us,” a witness was quoted as saying in a report on the incident published on Wednesday by the New-York-based advocacy group Human Rights Watch (HRW).

“We all fell, and the woman in front of me bent down to gather leaves to cover her eyes and nose. As she was bending to pick up the leaves, she was shot. As she got up, she was shot again in her heart and back. “Her last words were ‘Oh me, I’m dying for my rights.’”

Over two days police had been firing live ammunition at unarmed community members, spraying tear gas and raiding homes, wounding at least 11 people as the demonstrations over pay and conditions escalated, subsequent investigations by several rights groups found. A public inquiry by Sierra Leone’s independent Human Rights Commission ruled that the police had violated UN and local rules of engagement, overreacting to the protest and firing indiscriminately at residents.

A separate report by Amnesty International raised questions about the lack of transparency in the relationship between African Minerals and the police, although it noted that the mining company denied seeking to influence policing of the protest. HRW meanwhile accuses African Minerals of undermining villager rights to protection from abusive work practices and called on the government in its report to ensure that economic development in the booming nation did not come at the expense of the human rights.

Blood diamonds Ravaged by an 11-year civil war which left the world with images of child soldiers and rebels funded by “blood diamonds” hacking off limbs, Sierra Leone was long sidestepped by investors. But market reforms and improved governance has since seen the mining sector attracting unprecedented investment and creating thousands of jobs.

African Minerals is the largest player in Sierra Leone’s iron-ore mining industry, boasting what has been billed as the world’s largest magnetite deposit.

Other companies have begun exploiting the Marampa mine and kimberlite diamond mines in Kono, while as yet untapped oil deposits were found off the coast in 2009 and the country also boasts huge gold, bauxite and titanium ore deposits. Mining accounted for almost 60 percent of export revenues in 2010, including $132 million in diamonds, $33 million for rutile and $31 million for bauxite.

The sector provides employment and livelihood to over 135,000 workers but rights campaigners point to the “resource curse” and the seemingly inevitable corruption, social troubles and violence that accompany such wealth. “With investors flocking to Sierra Leone, the government has an opportunity to promote development for its desperately poor population,” said Rona Peligal, HRW’s deputy Africa director, who wrote the report.

“But the African Minerals Ltd case shows that, unless the government puts a stop to mining operation abuses, the people who most need to benefit from development will be excluded from it.” The African Minerals protesters in Bumbuna had downed tools two days before Conteh’s death, complaining of racist treatment by ex-pat supervisors, a lack of due process in job dismissals, inadequate unionization and an unfair disparity between local and ex-pat pay. “We are working long hours without overtime at the mines,” one miner told AFP after the shooting, asking not to be identified. — AFP

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2014

BUSINESS

No commitment yet from central banks NBK MONEY MARKET REPORT The US dollar strengthened against most major counterparts as the Federal Reserve of the United States signaled that they will continue to taper their bond purchases in every meeting. The USD gained further against the euro and the Japanese yen, as the euro suffers from worse than expected numbers in France and Germany, and with the Bank of Japan stating that they will continue its monetary easing policy.

The Euro started the week at 1.3693, gaining gradually during the week, as speculation in the United States over the Federal Reserves’ decision fuelled uncertainty. The single currency continued to gain as German Finance Minister, Wolfgang Schaeuble, stated that Germany is to raise efforts for bilateral Greek aid. The EUR touched a high of 1.3773, and then dropped to break the previous lows, as manufacturing and production data from Germany and France disappoint, touching a low of 1.3686. The single currency ended the week at 1.3746.

The sterling pound fell over 200 basis points against the US dollar during the week. The Pound opened at 1.6747, hiking only slightly to a 4-year high of 1.6823, until orders were triggered which pushed the Pound lower.

The drop continued amid concerns that the economic recovery will slow, as retail sales showed a downward forecast. The pound continued to fall with bad economic data, to touch a low of 1.6613. The GBP closed the week at 1.6616.

The Japanese yen was one of the biggest losers last week, as it weakened more than 100 basis points against the greenback. The currency opened the week at 101.80, gaining against the US dollar on Monday to touch a high of 101.39. The Japanese Yen then fell as the Bank of Japan iterated that they

rate unexpectedly rose in the fourth quarter last year, indicating that the recent improvement in the labor market has lost its momentum. The jobless rate rose to 7.2%, the first increase since February 2013, from 7.1% the previous quarter. On the other hand, during the month of January, jobless claims fell by 27,600, exceeding economists’ forecasts.

Moreover, the Bank of England has abandoned its commitment of raising the interest rates if the unemployment rate drops below 7%, after the economy grew faster than expected when forward guidance was introduced.

would continue their monetary easing policy until the inflation rate stabilizes at 2%. The yen closed at 102.51.

The Aussie dollar opened the week at 0.9034, only to gradually weaken against a stronger US dollar. The currency dropped to its lowest level to 0.8937.

The Aussie regained some of its losses as the Reserve Bank of Australia stated that “there were further signs that the easing policy and the weaker currency are having an impact” signaling that the central bank might take action to halt the drop of the Aussie. The Central bank indicated in their last meeting of a “period of stability in interest rates”. The AUD closed the week at 0.8977.

FOMC meeting minutes The Federal Reserve of the United States, chaired by the newly appointed Janet Yellen, drifted away from their year-old commitment of raising the interest rates when unemployment drops below the 6.5% mark. As joblessness is dropping faster than expected, policy makers have decided to alter their guidance over the longevity of the low interest rates. The meeting minutes showed that several policy makers said that “the absence of an appreciable change in the economic outlook, there should be a clear presumption in favor” of continuing the quantitative easing tapering by USD 10 billion a month.

Speculation and volatility hiked, as the decision to hike rates is under question, with the unemployment rate dropping to the lowest in more than 5-years.

Philly Fed Factory index The Federal Reser ve Bank of Philadelphia’s Business Outlook index plunges to a 1-year low this month, fuelling concerns over the US economic outlook. The Philly Fed Index fell to -6.3, dropping below the 0.0 mark for the

first time in 8-months. The severe drop in manufacturing was attributed to the severe winter weather that affected the region during the survey period. The index came much lower than January’s figure of 9.4, taking the market by surprise as expectations were set to 9.2, only a 0.2 drop.

Unemployment claims Fewer Americans filed applications for unemployment benefits last week, indicating that US employers are hanging on to their workers, even with a slowdown in in manufacturing and housing due to the cold weather.

Jobless claims dropped by 3,000 to 336,000, only 1,000 shy of the expected figure of 335,000. The slowdown in dismissals could lay the groundwork for a pickup in hiring, which will equate to a boost in consumer spending, as most retailers prepare to launch summer clothing and equipment.

German flash manufacturing PMI Euro-zone Manufacturing production unexpectedly dropped to 54.7, from 56.5 in January. The Manufacturing production index slipped more than the expected 56.3. While the Euro-area economy is forecasted to post full year growth in 2014 for the first time in 3-years, the recovery remains at risk because of near-record unemployment and subdued price pressures.

German investor confidence fell in February for a second consecutive month, a sign that the recovery in neighboring countries is not strong enough, and pose a risk to the continents’ powerhouse. The ZEW investor Confidence index slid more than the forecasted 61.5, to 55.7, from 61.7 the previous month. While German economic growth in the fourth quarter exceeded estimates, investors are still cautious about the rest of the euro area, the country’s biggest trading partner.

The United Kingdoms’ unemployment

Retail sales UK Retail Sales fell in January, exceeding economists’ forecasts, with the biggest drop in almost 2-years, as clothing stores and food shops saw lower demand by Britons. Sales plunged -1.5% from December, after they have surged by 2.5% from the previous month. It was the biggest drop since April 2012. The drop highlights the risks to the British economic recovery, as January is a critical month for retailers as they clear winter stocks with seasonal discounts. A survey of several economists forecasted a 1.2% drop.

Commodities West Texas Intermediate fell, after registering its sixth consecutive weekly gain, on speculation that prices have hiked more than they should, as the winter season comes closer to an end. Crude oil touched a high of $103.80 per barrel since the beginning of the year, only to lose some of those gains to end the week at $102.20 per barrel.

Kuwait Kuwaiti dinar at 0.28175. The USDKWD opened at 0.28175 yesterday morning.

US, IMF ‘stand ready’ to help Ukraine rebuild economy

SYDNEY: Christine Lagarde, International Monetary Fund Managing Director, leaves after a press conference at the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting in Sydney. —AFP

G20 ‘deeply regrets’ IMF reforms not yet effective SYDNEY: G20 finance ministers and central bank governors yesterday said they “deeply regret” IMF reforms have stalled with the United States yet to ratify them. “Our highest priority remains ratifying the 2010 reforms, and we urge the US to do so before our next meeting in April,” they said in a final communique after a meeting in Sydney.

Australian Treasurer Joe Hockey, current president of the G20, said “deep disappointment” had been expressed in the room that reforms agreed in 2010 which aimed to give emerging market economies-particularly China-a greater say in the IMF’s operations, had been held up by the United States.

“These reforms are critical to ensure that the IMF represents its entire constituency,” Hockey told reporters, adding that it had moved beyond the procedural realm to become a “structural issue for the global economy”. “We urge the US to ratify the current reforms and we will review progress in April. The importance of a strong IMF is very relevant as we speak,” he added, referring to ongoing unrest in the Ukraine.

He said individual finance ministers had been monitoring developments and “it is clear that there may be economic consequences to these developments”. “The IMF remains the institution best prepared to help

countries in transition such as the Ukraine deal with the economic challenges if it is to request that help.” IMF chief Christine Lagarde was pragmatic on the reforms, saying “nothing is going to stop me from trying to be effective and I hope to convey to the entire organisation that we just have to keep at it and do the job that we are missioned to do”.

“Having said that, we need reliable, longterm resources in order to face potential risks and potential crises, and there will be such things in the future,” she said. “And second, we need to have an institution that is representative of the evolution of the economy which requires that the 2010 reforms be actually delivered on by the membership, which I very much hope it will be.”

Emerging-market economies, including China and Brazil, have complained for years that their relatively small voting rights in the institution insufficiently reflect their real power in the world economy. The failure of the United States, the largest stakeholder in the IMF, to approve the reforms has been the major stumbling block for developing countries to achieve a greater say in the Washington-based institution. Although the White House has requested it, Congress has refused to support the reform. —AFP

BoE’s Broadbent sees wage recovery LONDON: British wages are likely to start recovering some of the ground lost to inflation in recent years as the country’s economic recovery builds, a top policymaker at the Bank of England said.

“After five years in which the UK economy has looked very sick, it is finally moving out of intensive care,” Ben Broadbent wrote in a column published in the Sunday Times newspaper.

“It is reasonable to expect both a continued recovery and, after a difficult few years, growth in real wages as well.” Britain’s economy staged a surprisingly strong rebound in 2013 but wages still lag inflation, making living standards a big issue in the run-up to the 2015 parliamentary election.

Broadbent is one of the nine members of the BoE’s Monetary Policy Committee which this month backed a new plan by the central bank to keep interest rates at a record low of

0.5 percent until more spare capacity in the economy is used up.

Broadbent echoed comments by BoE Governor Mark Carney about the most likely path for interest rates. “I do not want to put a date on when bank rate might rise, but when it does the rise is likely to be gradual and limited,” he wrote.

“One thing that would help to consolidate the recovery is growth in real pay.” Broadbent said economic output was now more than 6 percent above its trough in mid-2009, during the depths of the financial crisis. But total real wages remained lower. Broadbent said “there is better news on the way” as the drivers behind inflation in recent years - such as tax increases and higher international commodity prices - ease off. British inflation last month fell to 1.9 percent, below the Bank of England’s target level of 2 percent for the first time in over four years. —Reuters

SYDNEY: The United States and the International Monetary Fund offered yesterday to assist Ukraine in rebuilding its battered economy following devastating protests that have plunged the country into its worst crisis since independence.

Fears that Ukraine’s debt-laden economy is facing default have sparked panic on markets, with bond yields rising sharply and the hryvnia currency losing a tenth of its value in the span of a few weeks. US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew said he held talks with Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov at the G20 meeting in Sydney after the Ukraine parliament voted Saturday to oust President Viktor Yanukovych, ending a week of brutal violence in the capital Kiev.

“The United States, working with other countries, stands ready to assist Ukraine with its efforts to return to a path of democracy, stability and growth,” Lew told a press conference. “We hope that the resolution of the violence in Ukraine will lead to a new inclusive multiparty, technocratic government willing to make the economic reforms needed. “The IMF remains in the best position to help states like Ukraine deal with their economic challenges,” Lew said.

IMF chief Christine Lagarde said after the G20 meeting that the IMF would also stand ready to help Ukraine, noting the country is an IMF member. “So if the Ukrainian authorities were to ask for IMF support, whether it’s policy advice, whether it’s financial support together with economic reform discussions, obviously we stand ready to do that.

“We will be ready to engage, ready to help with the diagnosis of the current situation... before we of course try to go further and play the catalytic role that the IMF typically plays in such situations,” Lagarde said.

Russia aid in doubt There is uncertainty over whether Moscow will keep paying out a $15-billion bailout it promised to Kiev, with the latest tranche of Russian aid suspended pending a return to calm. Standard & Poor’s ratings agency predicted Friday that if Russia scrapped the bailout, Ukraine would

SYDNEY: US Secretary of the Treasury Jack Lew speaks at a press conference during the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting in Sydney yesterday. —AFP default on the $13 billion of debt it is due to repay this year.

In Washington, a senior US State Department official said Secretary of State John Kerry had spoken with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and agreed the need “to resolve the situation on the ground without violence”. The Secretary of State “expressed the importance of encouraging Ukraine to move forward on a path towards constitutional change, de-escalation, the creation of a coalition government, early elections and rejection of violence”, the official said.

Kerry “reiterated the view that Russia, the United States and appropriate European and international organizations must work together to support a strong, economically prosperous,

unified, and democratic Ukraine”, the official said.

US President Barack Obama held “constructive” talks Friday with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin as he pressed for swift implementation of a deal to end Ukraine’s deadly crackdown on protesters. Putin and Obama agreed that the Ukraine agreement needed to be swiftly implemented and that all sides should refrain from violence, as they also pressed for the need to stabilize the economy.

Washington had offered staunch support for protesters in Kiev, demanding political concessions from the Moscow-backed Ukraine government and warned of “consequences” if violence, which has killed about 100 people, did not stop. —AFP

OECD delivers new global standard to target tax cheats SYDNEY: The OECD yesterday delivered a new global standard to crack down on tax evasion with more than 40 countries already committing to measures which the European Commission called “a big step” forward. Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) chief Angel Gurria called it “a real game-changer” that would strengthen international cooperation to catch cheats.

“Globalization of the world’s financial system has made it increasingly simple for people to make, hold and manage investments outside their country of residence,” he said. “This new standard on automatic exchange of information will ramp up international tax cooperation, putting governments back on a more even footing as they seek to protect the integrity of their tax systems and fight tax evasion.”

Offshore tax evasion remains a serious problem worldwide, with vast amounts of funds deposited abroad and sheltered from tax collectors in their home countries.

As an example, the OECD said profits from US companies held offshore amounted to US$2.0 trillion, while the

tiny British Virgin Islands-a tax haven-is now one of the top five investors in Russia and China. OECD tax director Pascal Saint-Amans said G20 finance ministers, meeting in Sydney, were also working on standardizing the rules governing where the profits of multinationals should be taxed. It comes as concern mounts that companies, particularly those involved in the digital and Internet sectors, can reduce their tax bills by shifting profits around the world to areas where rates are lowest. Ahead of the Sydney meeting, IMF chief Christine Lagarde said accounting for revenues from global digitized businesses like Google and Apple was a “big ongoing problem and process”.

Closing down loopholes She urged governments to radically rethink international tax arrangements to deal with it. “The political message is we are closing down all the loopholes,” Saint-Amans said. “If taxpayers don’t have trust in the fairness of the tax system, then the level of compliance drops.”

The OECD will present its report

looking at the increasingly digitalized global environment to another G20 meeting in Cairns, in northern Australia, in September. G20 ministers asked the OECD to examine the issues as a way to inject more trust and fairness into the international tax system.

Yesterday, they formally endorsed the single global standard for the automatic exchange of information between tax authorities worldwide.

The measures proposed involve countries obtaining information from their financial institutions and exchanging the details automatically with other jurisdictions every year.

The OECD said the standard sets out the financial account information to be exchanged, the institutions that need to report, the different types of accounts and taxpayers covered and common due diligence procedures. “I want to underline the importance of the big step achieved concerning the fight against tax evasion,” European Commission vice president Olli Rehn said in welcoming the common standard. Current G20 president Australian Treasurer Joe Hockey conceded that the new

standard was not a silver bullet, but said G20 nations were “absolutely determined to get real action” on the issue. “There was unanimous agreement around the room that we’re not arguing about who gets what share of tax, we’re arguing that companies should pay tax. This goes to the heart of the sustainability of issues like free trade and open commerce,” he said.

Ahead of the Sydney meeting, US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew described tax reform as among the group’s most crucial initiatives and backed the need for greater harmonization.

“Automatic exchange of information has quickly become the new global standard, and I believe that the G20 should continue to provide its full support and encourage all nations to adopt the standard,” he said on Friday.

The new standard was drawn up on the back of progress made on taxdodging within the European Union and ongoing efforts to reinforce global anti-money laundering standards.

So far 42 countries have committed to early adoption of the OECD standard. —AFP

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2014

BUSINESS

Toyota records steady growth with sales of 691,631 vehicles in 2013 Toyota 86’s fun to drive image helps sales zoom by +149% DUBAI: Toyota announced a consistent growth in sales in the Middle East selling 691,631 units in 2013 to end the year with a 10 percent growth in sales as compared to 2012. Sales in the GCC grew by +7 percent to reach 633,037 units vs. last year, sales in Yemen increased by +52 percent to reach 13,305 units vs. last year, while sales in the Levant & Iraq increased by +72 percent to reach 45,289 units vs. last year. It was also a record year for the Camry with Toyota reaching the milestone of 1 million Camrys sold in the GCC & Yemen since being first introduced in 1992.

According to Nobuyuki Negishi, Chief Representative of Middle East & North Africa Representative Office, Toyota Motor Corporation, “2013 has been a satisfactory year for Toyota as we continued to reinforce our leadership position in the region with the help of

our distributors. Last year, we introduced a range of new and exciting models to enhance our market leadership in the region with steady sales and a sustained performance to end the year on a high note.”

He added, “I would particularly like to highlight the success of Toyota’s new design direction which has caught the imagination of our customers. This new design philosophy has led us to develop cars with dynamic and exciting exterior designs while increasing the fun to drive quotient as exemplified by the RAV4, Avalon, Yaris and Corolla in terms of our recent launches. It is also a great sense of accomplishment for us to reach this significant sales milestone of 1 million Camrys sold since its introduction across the GCC & Yemen in 1992.”

The Toyota 86 which marked Toyota’s return to its sporting heritage has continued to wow

customers across the region to see a phenomenal +149 percent rise in sales with 878 units sold during 2013. Providing the driver with the ‘Fun to Drive’ feeling was the main objective behind the Toyota 86. Based on a new platform with a low, highly aerodynamic body shell stretched tight over the engineering hard points, the 86 has succeeded in providing a pure driving experience to satisfy the most discerning enthusiasts The RAV4 which exemplified a bold reinvention of the world’s original crossover sport utility vehicle with its striking design saw substantial demand to post a +41 percent increase in sales selling 12,871 units in 2013. In addition to its exhilarating exterior, the RAV4’s refined, premium-quality interior design and more engaging and fun drive with fuel efficient powertrain impressed customers and signified Toyota’s focus in giving them the best compact SUV in

the market. The new look Corolla added to its popular appeal to sell 106,388 units posting a +27 percent growth in sales in 2013 compared to 2012. Making a strong design statement with its unique visual signature which is highlighted by a more elegant and sportier image, the Corolla signifies Toyota’s brand evolution which has been driven recently by more designfocused product launches. It builds on the model’s legendary reputation for reliability and durability with significant enhancements in every aspect of its design and engineering to ensure complete customer satisfaction.

In the case of the Avalon, Toyota sold 13,873 units in 2013 with a 14 percent growth over 2012. The Avalon’s elegant and athletic design with its longer flowing roofline and more appealing side silhouette has struck a chord among customers. With its great styling, superb

handling performance, and advanced technologies, the Avalon has also proved to be a worthy addition to Toyota’s impressive lineup of sedans.

Since its regional debut in 1992 and subsequent evolution over five generations, the Camry has come to be embraced not only for its high level of performance as a standard mid-size sedan, but also for its high level of QDR (Quality, Durability, and Reliability). In particular, its identity as a vehicle with excellent ride comfort and quietness has become widely known and it has established an unshakeable presence in the standard mid-size sedan market.

Mr. Negishi said, “I would also like to take this opportunity to thank our customers for the trust and loyalty they have shown in our vehicles.

Their confidence in our brand inspires us to keep moving forward and continuously find ways to serve them better.”

Celebrate with Chevrolet during last days of February KUWAIT: Yusuf A Alghanim & Sons Automotive, the exclusive Chevrolet distributor in Kuwait, is pleased to celebrate with their customers the exciting promotion on all Chevrolet vehicles whereby every customer will have the choice between a KD 500 voucher for car accessories from KromOzone, or a 3year /60,000 km maintenance & third party insurance & free registration & 1,000 liters of fuel or a KD 350 from Xcite by Alghanim Electronics upon the purchase of a Chevrolet Vehicle.

The Chevrolet Captiva is a vehicle that offers customers a choice of two engines: 2.4 L, a four-cylinder engine that runs at 169 hp or a 3.0 L, 6-cylinder engine that reaches 264 hp. The Captiva is equipped with a 6-speed electronically controlled automatic transmission that performs at different speeds in a smooth manner to make the driving experience more comfor table and enjoyable.

The new Chevrolet Captiva offers enough space for up to seven occupants or for a maximum of 1,577 liters of luggage .The new Captiva also includes Bluetooth, CD, USB and MP3 System to provide all entertainment needs.

The Chevrolet Malibu, another vehicle in the promotion, redefines the midsize segment in Kuwait, with expressive styling, interior refinements, outstanding ride and handling, and 5 star safety.

The Chevrolet Malibu is available in a 3.0 V6 engine generating 258 hp and a 2.4L, 4 Cylinder engine generating 170 hp.

The Malibu comes equipped with ambient lighting, Bluetooth connectivity, Personal Device Integration Module, LED Tail lights, Mylink infotainment system and remote start and offers best in class cost of maintenance.

The offer also includes the elegant Chevrolet Cruze, a car that continues to evolve into one of Chevrolet’s most impressive vehicles in its segment, offering competitive amenities, quietness, safety features and space expected of a larger sedan, but still providing the efficiency and value of a compact car.

The Cruze is powered with a 1.8L engine that generates 140 hp and equipped with ABS, Stabilitrak, USB connectivity, Bluetooth, rearview camera, cruise control, push start engine and Mylink infotainment system that pro-

vides a touch screen interface for all entertainment needs. Apart from allowing one to access MP3 files, iPods, iPads and more, the MyLink system seamlessly integrates a smartphone’s capabilities into the vehicle via USB or Bluetooth.

Yusuf A Alghanim & Sons Automotive is also proud to present the Special Edition of Chevrolet Tahoe that comes with an exceptional array of features that give the Tahoe a distinct look. The Special Edition Tahoe is the ideal choice for individuals who wish to drive a vehicle that reflects their own, individual vision of what the perfect car is. The Special Edition Chevrolet Tahoe comes with special features that include: unique xenon headlight, special LED taillights, chrome grille door handles, chrome mirror covers and rear hatch cover which give Tahoe an exceptional presence on the road.

Rugged, powerful and lean, the Tahoe is the ideal SUV that contains features sought by the youth, fans of powerful cars, top executives as well as families who seek spacious, solid cars that conveniently and comfortably transport them downtown or carry them through the great outdoors.

Tahoe is equipped with an 8-cylinder, 5.3-liter V8 engine with 6-speed automatic transmission with overdrive that reaches up to 320 hp. The Tahoe has proven to be the ultimate vehicle of choice for any need or want due to its rich features and security measures that comprise of eight airbags, ABS, Stabilitrak, Cruise Control and remote engine starter.

Yusuf A. Alghanim & Sons Automotive is committed to offering an exceptional shopping and ownership experience, a factor that is furthered by the company’s excellent products and services that cater to customers’ every need and want.

The company grounds itself in Chevrolet’s promise that vows to provide customers with unmatchable customer service, transparency as well as efficient, effective and genuine service, elements that affirm the company’s position as a pioneer in the vehicle industry.

Drop by any of Yusuf A.Alghanim & Sons Automotive showrooms to benefit from this valuable offer by choosing a new Chevrolet car the best suits your needs, wants and lifestyle.

Burgan Bank announces winners of Yawmi account KUWAIT: Burgan Bank announced yesterday the names of the lucky winners of its Yawmi account draw, each taking home a prize of KD 5,000.

The lucky winners for the daily draws took home a cash-prize of KD 5000 each, and they are: 1. Marzouq Ali Abdullah 2. Najat Mohammed Saeed Haj Najaf 3. Sara Ismail Hasan Hamuda 4. Yasmin Hasan Salah Al-Sadeq 5. Arshad Mahmoud Merza Salamat Allah With its new and enhanced features, the Yawmi Account has become more convenient, easier, and faster for customers to benefit from. Now, customers will be eligible to enter the draw after 48 hours only from opening the account. Customers are also required to deposit KD 100 or equivalent only to enter the daily draw, and the coupon value to enter the draw stands at KD 10.

The newly designed Yawmi account has

been launched to provide a highly innovative offering along with a higher frequency and incentive of winning for everyone. Today, the Yawmi account is a well understood product, where its popularity can be seen from the number of increasing account holders.

Burgan Bank encourages everyone to open a Yawmi account and/or increase their deposit to maximize their chances to becoming a daily winner. The more customers deposit, the higher the chances they receive of winning the draw.

Opening a Yawmi account is simple, customers are urged to visit their nearest Burgan Bank branch and receive all the details, or simply call the bank’s Call Center at 1804080 where customer service representatives will be delighted to assist with any questions on the Yawmi account or any of the bank’s products and services. Customers can also log on to Burgan Bank’s www.burgan.com for further information.

Ace Hardware expands in Kuwait KUWAIT: Ace Hardware International, an American company specialized in tools products and paint, gardens and sports equipment, household and health appliances, special tools for cars and pets, has opened its second branch in Al-Liwan Mall - Egaila area within its expansion plan in Kuwait for the year 2014.

The opening ceremony was attended by a group of officials, including representatives of the company and its customers; and with the National Anthem of each of the State of Kuwait and the United States of America the inaugural ribbon was cut by the President of the Board of Directors of the company in Kuwait Abdul Karim Al-Hassawi, President and Chief Executive for “Ace Hardware International” Bob Moshorak, who came especially to Kuwait to attend the ceremony.

The customer service staff in the store has welcomed all invited guests and visitors who were enjoying their time with Oriental and Western cuisine amid the country club music and the tour between the store’s shelves and products. “Ace Hardware” store in Egaila receives its visitors all days of the week from 10 am until 10 pm; the store is famous for its leading products in all the household appliances and home gardens, family camps and mainland requirements, in line with the objectives of the company to enhance (promote) the growth of this brand in Kuwait.

NBK’s mobile banking, Hala Watani, ATM, online services available during holidays KUWAIT: National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) has taken all necessary measures to ensure providing customers with the best services during the National and Liberation holiday throughout Hala Watani, Mobile Banking (Android, Apple and BlackBerry), Online and ATM services.

All NBK branches will be closed starting from Tuesday 25th of February 2014 and will resume work on Sunday 2nd of March 2014.

Hala Watani, NBK Online and ATM will be available 24 hours and ready to serve customers. Customers can also conduct all their transactions through NBK Mobile Banking application and webpage. Customers may call 1801801 or visit www.nbk.com for further information.

For customers outside Kuwait, NBK the largest international presence with more than 170 branches worldwide. NBK’s international presence spans many of the world’s leading financial centers including London, Paris, Geneva, New York and Singapore, as well as China (Shanghai). Meanwhile, regional coverage extends to Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Egypt, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Turkey.

Citadel Capital sells 16% of holding in convertible loan to ASEC Holding CAIRO: Citadel Capital , the leading investment company in Africa and the Middle East, has sold 16 percent of its holding in a convertible loan to ASEC Holding at face value and accumulated interest up to January 20th, 2014 for a consideration of $13 million.

“As 2014 continues, we remain exceptionally focused on three things and only three things as part of our transformation: Closing our capital increase by the end of March; driving improvements in the performance of our core investments; and disposing of our non-core holdings at the right times and the right prices,” said Citadel Capital Chairman and Founder Ahmed Heikal. “We view this transaction on the ASEC Holding convertible as a modest rebalancing of our investment that will provide us with additional liquidity at the Citadel Capital level to deleverage the company and drive improvements across our portfolio.”

Following the transaction, Citadel Capital continues to hold an effective 46 percent of the convertible loan to ASEC Holding. Meanwhile, the firm owns an effective 67.1 percent of ASEC Holding, a leading regional cement and construction company that will control 10 MTPA of cement production capacity by 2016.

Great offer to CBK premier banking customers KUWAIT: As part of CBK’s continuous effort to provide the best for their customers, we have partnered up with the well known Sahara Kuwait Golf Resort for an exciting offer. Starting from today until 31/3/2014, all CBK Premium cardholders are entitled to a 40 percent discount for gym.

Additionally, all CBK Premium cardholders are entitled to a 20 percent discount throughout the

year for the Villa Rentals at Sahara Resort. It is to be noted that CBK Premium cardholders can benefit from the said discount by using CBK Premium ATM card, in addition to the credit cards (VISA Infinite/Platinum card and MasterCard Platinum).

Sahara Kuwait Golf Resort is known for its 18hole golf course, and beautiful greenery which makes it a unique destination among many. It

also houses a gym, pool and stunning villas that could be the ultimate getaway for the weekend.

Commercial Bank of Kuwait continues to always strive to serve its customers and provide them with the best services and offers, and is very proud of this partnership, and promising its customers with more successful promotions and events in the near future.

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2014

technology

WhatsApp? Service down, three days after Facebook deal NEW YORK: WhatsApp’s 450 million worldwide users were unable to access the smartphone freemessaging service for several hours on Saturday, three days after Facebook declared it was lavishing up to $19 billion on it.

“Sorry we currently experiencing server issues.

We hope to be back up and recovered shortly,” WhatsApp said in a message on Twitter that was retweeted more than 25,000 times in just a few hours and provoked ridicule because it comes so

soon after Facebook’s hefty acquisition.

Some WhatsApp users found they were unable to connect to the app, while others complained their messages were not going through.

WhatsApp did not say how long the outage lasted, but about 2.5 hours later it tweeted again to say: “WhatsApp service has been restored. We are sorry for the downtime...”

The specialist website techcrunch.com suggested the problem might be down to “a surge of

WhatsApp gets payback for venture capital star Sequoia SAN FRANCISCO: Grandfather of Silicon Valley investment Donald Valentine rang up a major payday while evening the score a bit with relative new kid on the block Mark Zuckerberg.

Valentine’s Sequoia Capital is in line for a dizzying return from the purchase of startup WhatsApp by Facebook, whose famous founder snubbed his venture firm a decade ago. Sequoia’s unprecedented string of money-making moves includes being an early backer of Apple, Google, Yahoo, YouTube, Oracle, PayPal, Electronic Arts, Zappos, and Cisco Systems.

Facebook was one that got away. That was, until this week when the social network founder who once made sport of Sequoia with a prank that became the stuff of Internet industry legend inked a deal valued at up to $19 billion to buy Sequoiabacked WhatsApp. Sequoia’s return on its roughly $60 million investment in WhatsApp has been estimated to be anywhere from $3 billion to nearly $7 billion depending on how big a piece of the startup it owns.

The windfall also made a idol of Sequoia partner Jim Goetz, who orchestrated the bet on the startup out to supplant traditional smartphone text messages with a virtually free Internet-based alternative.

The investment firm, based not far from Facebook’s headquarters in the California city of Menlo Park, was also a backer of smartphone photo sharing service Instagram. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg snapped up Instagram in 2012 for a billion dollars.

The WhatsApp deal was seen by some as payback for a trick Zuckerberg played on Sequoia shortly after coming to California in 2004 to infuse his Facebook vision with Silicon Valley energy. In a stunt made famous in a book and a film spun from the social network’s creation story, Zuckerberg showed up late in his pajamas to an appointment at Sequoia and made a pitch that was more taunting than tempting.

Reputation Zuckerberg had become an ally of Napster co-founder Sean Parker, who had a grudge against Sequoia and was out for a

bit of vengeance. Older, wiser and now the boss of publicly traded Facebook, Zuckerberg has gone on record saying he feels “really bad” about being rude to Sequoia.

Kicking a few billion dollars to Sequoia and bolstering its reputation as a powerhouse Silicon Valley investment firm provides ample balm for soothing hurt feelings.

Don Valentine studied business administration in college and went on to work at Fairchild Semiconductor and become a founder of a founder of National Semiconductor in Silicon Valley in 1959.

Since Valentine established Sequoia in 1972 it has become a Silicon Valley powerhouse with offices in China, India, Israel and the US. In a YouTube video of a talk given by Valentine at Stanford University school of business about four years ago, he said Sequoia is more focused on the size of the market a startup is attacking than on whether it has the best and brightest minds.

Sequoia’s goal is to build big companies, and that is more likely to happen if a startup being funded is taking aim at a huge market, according to Valentine.

“We don’t spend a lot of time wondering about where people went to school, how smart they are and all the rest of that,” Valentine said in the video. “We’re interested in their idea about the market they’re after, the magnitude of the problem they’re solving, and what can happen if in fact the combination of Sequoia and the individuals are correct.”

The tactic paid off with WhatsApp. Zuckerberg justified the stunning purchase price on the grounds that the service is blazing its way to a billion users and beyond, and networks of that size are valuable. In just five years, WhatsApp has attracted more than 450 million monthly users around the world and a million more sign up daily, according to the startup.

Valentine, a real world grandfather, has been referred to as the grandfather of venture capital in Silicon Valley and credited with playing roles in the creation of an array of technology sectors. — AFP

signups and usage that has overloaded its servers” after the publicity the app garnered following Facebook’s announcement on Wednesday.

Facebook is betting huge on mobile with the eye-popping cash-and-stock deal for WhatsApp, which was only started five years ago but has quickly grown as a free alternative to text messages.

It is Facebook’s biggest acquisition and comes less than two years after the California-based Internet star raised $16 billion in the richest tech

One-second movie downloads on next mobile network ‘Countries making efforts to develop 5G technology’ BARCELONA: When the next super-fast mobile network launches in 2020 you will be able to download a high-definition movie in one second flat.

But the future fifth generation, or 5G, network is not really being designed for you. In fact, it will be built for your car, fridge, smartwatch, toothbrush, lightbulb and a host of other everyday objects to communicate with each other online, a phenomenon known as the Internet of things.

Handling the new traffic is a key challenge for network operators gathering at the four-day Mobile World Congress opening today in Barcelona, Spain.

Worldwide data traffic generated by people’s mobile devices will multiply 11-fold by 2018, according to US telecommunications equipment manufacturer Cisco.

But the traffic generated between connected objects, so-called machine-to-machine (M2M) communication, will already be greater than all the world’s mobile telephones combined by 2015, it said in a study.

Mobile networks will need to boost capacity by 1,000 times by 2020 to cope with the huge growth in M2M traffic if lag time is to be avoided, said Ulrich Dropmann, senior executive at Finnish mobile services group Nokia Solutions Network (NSN).

Many objects will only send a trickle of data but the combined data flow will be “considerable” said Dropmann. The 5G networks will launch in 2020, with a broader rollout from 2025, said Frederic Pujol, head of mobile broadband at consultancy group IDATE. The prospect of 5G networks may seem distant in countries where 4G has yet to be deployed, but in countries at the cutting edge of technology such as South Korea, operators are already installing an advanced version of 4G to handle the demand.

Stakes could be enormous “If we don’t prepare now for the next generation, we will soon reach the limits that 4G can offer,” said Thibaut Kleiner, adviser to the Europe Union’s digital agenda commissioner, Nelly Kroes.

“It comes down to a question of leadership in technological innovation,” he told a conference.

BARCELONA: Visitors arrive at the 2014 the Mobile World Congress centre in Barcelona, yesterday. The Mobile World Congress runs from today to 27 February where participants and visitors alike can attend conferences, network, discover cutting-edge products and technologies at among the 1,700 exhibitors as well as seek industry opportunities and make deals. — AFP The stakes could be enormous in a world increasingly reliant on mobile networks, a world in which Europe risks becoming a laggard-its last big success in the field dates back to the creation of the GSM, or 2G, network at the end of the 1990s.

To get back in the game, the European Commission launched late last year a 5G publicprivate partnership to develop the new network.

Known as 5G PPP, it brings together equipment makers and network operators.

Brussels has allocated 700 million euros ($960 million) up to 2020 for the project, a sum that is to be matched by the private sector. South Korea’s science ministry announced last month the launch of a 5G development project with a budget of 1.6 billion won ($1.5 billion/1.1 billion euros).

Bhutan, world’s last TV holdout THIMPHU: It was the world’s last hold-out against television and is regarded by travellers as a Himalayan Shangri-La. But Bhutan’s decision to make itself the poster boy for electric transport is further proof of its willingness to embrace technology as part of its unique Gross National Happiness development model, says its prime minister.

In an interview with AFP after signing a deal with Nissan on Friday to import a fleet of battery-powered compact cars to the remote Himalayan nation, Tshering Tobgay said Bhutan was happy to be at the technological vanguard.

“Technology is not destructive. It’s good and can contribute to prosperity for Bhutan,” the prime minister said.

It was not always thus. The tiny kingdom was famously the last country to ever get television, finally embracing it in 1999, at a time when less than a quarter of households had electricity.

But it is rapidly shedding its reputation as a technophobeit now exports electricity thanks to an ambitious hydropower programme, while smart phones are a common sight, at least on the streets of the sleepy capital Thimpu.

“Internet, cellular phones, smartphones, they are ubiquitous, you can’t do anything without them, now they are essential tools,” said Tobgay.

“Cellular phones became a reality 10 years ago. We adopted it very well, almost everybody has a cellular phone, that’s the reality.

“Similarly today we launched the Nissan Leaf... Our goal is to make the best of all options,” he added.

Under the deal with Nissan, dozens of battery-powered Leafs should soon be motoring along the streets of Thimpu, helping it avoid the kind of pollution pervasive elsewhere in South Asia.

Tobgay said Bhutan would never allow its environment to become a victim of economic growth-an important principle of Gross National Happiness (GNH).

“Growth is important but it should be balanced with other aspects of life including culture, spirituality, heritage and sustainable development,” said the prime minister. — AFP

Microsoft plans Windows update BARCELONA: Microsoft says it will update its Windows system this spring to address some of the gripes users have had when they use devices without touch capabilities.

Windows 8 and its 8.1 update were designed for a touch environment. But some of the gesture commands don’t translate well when using traditional mouse and keyboard controls.

Among other things, Microsoft Corp. will add search, power and settings buttons to the Start page, so that users don’t have to figure out how to pull those functions like a sock drawer from the right.

There also will be ways to make it easier to close apps. Microsoft will also update its Windows Phone system this spring for better corporate support and to allow for cheaper devices aimed at emerging markets. The announcement came Sunday ahead of the Mobile World Congress wireless show in Barcelona, Spain. — AP

sector public stock offering.

Neither WhatsApp nor Facebook were immediately available for comment. However, the outage was the source of much amusement-as well as anger-on Twitter.

“I expect you are all away from your desks on the ales drinking some of that Facebook cash!” one user, “leonclarance,” replied to WhatsApp’s tweet about the blackout. Another simply tweeted: “Turn down Facebook’s offer guys!” — AFP

“Countries in Europe, China and the US are making aggressive efforts to develop 5G technology ... and we believe there will be fierce competition in this market in a few years,” the South Korean ministry said at the launch.

But beyond the commercial battle to come, network builders and handset manufacturers want to agree on a technological standard to allow economies of scale and global roaming, said Viktor Arvidsson, head of strategy for France at Swedish multinational Ericsson.

Such an agreement is the goal of METIS 2020 project, which brings together operators such as Orange or Telefonica and equipment makers like Alcatel Lucent and Huawei, the Chinese company that announced last year it would spend $600 million on 5G research and development by 2018. — AFP

Hungry Chinese smartphone makers eye world market

RICHMOND: In this Friday, Sept. 20, 2013, file photo, a Best Buy employee prepares to scan a new iPhone 5S during the opening day of sales of the new phone in Richmond, Va. — AP

Evolution in US cellphone plans over past year BARCELONA: In the old days, US wireless customers typically paid $100 or $200 for a phone and agreed to a two-year service contract. Although the phone actually cost hundreds of dollars more, wireless companies made up for it through the monthly service fees for voice, text and data.

T-Mobile decided last spring to stop subsidizing phones and padding the service fees. Instead, it lowered those fees for ever yone and charged for phones separately. A few months later, T -Mobile shook up the phone industry again by allowing customers to upgrade before the phone is fully paid off.

Rivals followed with subsidy-free, nocontract phone plans that also allow frequent upgrades, though they continued to offer subsidized plans as well. Here’s a look at how wireless plans have evolved over the past year: T-Mobile US Inc. T-Mobile eliminated both subsidies and contracts last March. Instead, customers buy phones outright and pay for them in installments over two years.

Monthly fees for voice, text and data service have been reduced accordingly, as they no longer include the costs of phone subsidies.

So instead of a single monthly charge, customers get separate ones for the service and the phone. The total monthly

charges don’t change all that much while the phone is being paid off. But after the two years, charges drop as customers pay the service portion only.

In July, T-Mobile introduced a $10-amonth program that allows people to upgrade phones up to twice a year instead of every other year. Customers turn in their old phone and pay a down payment with each upgrade. The program, called Jump, gets expensive for those who want to upgrade frequently, given the down payment and monthly fees. But customers get flexibility to keep up with the pace of new phone releases.

A few months later, T-Mobile began offering free text and data services to customers traveling to more than 100 countries. And last month, the company stepped up efforts to lure customers from rivals by reimbursing fees incurred for breaking service contracts early.

T-Mobile also eliminated down payments on most phones this year to make upgrades more economical. Starting Sunday, it’s letting customers upgrade as often as they like - though they’ll have additional installments to make right away if they haven’t paid at least half of the phone’s costs yet.

The changes appear popular. T-Mobile has been gaining subscribers after at least two and a half years of decline in key, good-credit customers, known as postpaid accounts. — AP

BARCELONA: China’s smartphone makers are on a global expansion drive that could transform the market, analysts say, and one day challenge the titans Samsung and Apple.

The mightiest manufacturers, Huawei, Lenovo and ZTE, are battling for attention at the four-day World Mobile Congress opening today in Barcelona, Spain, as their ambitions grow well beyond China’s borders.

Already, China is the world’s largest single smartphone market, with sales soaring 86.3 percent last year, according to technology research group Gartner Inc. Indeed, Chinese smartphone manufacturers make the most sales at home, said Melissa Chau, senior research manager for the Asia Pacific at technology analysts International Data Corp.

But early signs are emerging that the boom in China is set to slow, with IDC reporting a 4.3-percent quarterly decline in smartphone shipments in China at the end of 2013, the first hiccup in more than two years of uninterrupted growth.

The sales slowdown in China was caused by short-term factors such as a slower-thanexpected rollout of super-fast 4G networks, Chau said. But longer term, too, she predicted, growth in the smartphone market within China will slow as more potential customerspeople able to afford entry-level phones at about 1,000 yuan ($165/120 euros) — own a device.

With the low-hanging fruit in China already plucked, Chau said: “Chinese players are looking beyond their own borders to scale up.” Eventually China’s manufacturers could take a dominant position in the smartphone market worldwide, she said.

“They have a lot of challenges to overcome, that is true, but if I look longer term in the three-to-five year timeframe I could see that as entirely possible,” Chau said.

Major world players Chinese telecommunications groups such as Huawei are already major world players in the business of building mobile networks for operators.

They have also carved out a space in developing markets where they offer affordable smartphones, the fastest-growing segment of the industry. But now the Chinese are seeking a place in more mature markets such as the United States and Europe, where potential profit margins are greater but competition may be fiercer.

Indeed, though smartphone sales leapt by 42 percent to nearly one billion units

worldwide in 2013, most of that growth came from developing countries, according to Gartner.

In the fourth quarter of last year, smartphone sales in mature markets actually fell, it said, citing limited growth potential in countries “saturated with smartphone sales”.

Nevertheless, Chinese smartphone makers clearly believe there is space in those markets for them.

Lenovo struck a dramatic blow in its international campaign in January, agreeing the $2.9 billion purchase of the loss-making Motorola Mobility from Google to grab a strong platform in the Americas and a foothold in Europe.

After announcing a 30-percent leap in quarterly net profit this month, Lenovo chairman Yang Yuanqing threw down the gauntlet, saying: “We will become the number three smartphone player in the world.”

Impressive Already, the global rise of Chinese device makers has been impressive. In the last quarter of 2013, Huawei ranked as the world’s number three smartphone maker behind Samsung and Apple, according to Gartner.

“Huawei has moved quickly to align its organisation to focus on the global market,” said Gartner principal research analyst Anshul Gupta. Lenovo took the world number four spot. Smaller Chinese manufacturers are showing off bigger ambitions, too, with upstart Xiaomi, for example, famously hiring then Google executive Hugo Barra in August 2013. It launched a new, low-priced smartphone brand, Redmi, this month.

Companies such as Huawei and Lenovo will start to invest in promoting their brands in developed markets, predicted Lawrence Lundy, analyst at technology consultants Frost & Sullivan.

“If you want to make an entrance into the Western market, what better way than with a personal device in everyone’s pocket,” Lundy said. “You will certainly see them coming with a very low cost offering, at the bottom, eating up some of the market share.

Once they are established, they will move up the value chain and start actually competing, I guess, with Samsung.”

Ian Fogg, senior principal analyst of electronics and media for research house IHS, said Chinese smartphone companies were of growing importance. “They were already significant players in China. They are becoming significant out of China,” he said. — AF

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2014

H E A LT H & S C I E N C E

US looks to reboot nonprescription drug system WASHINGTONP: The US Food and Drug Administration is seeking to revamp its system for regulating hundreds of overthe-counter drugs, saying the decadesold process is not flexible enough to keep pace with modern medical developments.

In a federal posting, the agency announced a two-day meeting next month to discuss overhauling the system known as the over-the-counter monograph. The system was put in place in 1972 as a way to set dosing, labeling and other standards for hundreds of nonprescription drug ingredients, everything from aspirin to anti-bacterial hand scrubs.

But regulators acknowledged that the process has proven extremely time-consuming, requiring multiple rounds of scientific review, public hearings and comments before a final monograph can be published. As a result, many common pain relievers and cough medicines are still technically under review.

In its announcement, FDA regulators detail the numerous flaws of the current cumbersome system, including the inability to quickly add warning labels about emerging safety risks.

The monograph process was originally set in place by Congress in 1972 as a way for the FDA to review hundreds of

nonprescription drugs that predated modern drug safety regulations. Initially a panel of FDA experts went through the entire list of medications and determined whether they were “generally recognized as safe.” These findings were published as “tentative” rules for various drug classes, though many have never moved beyond that phase.

The decade-spanning review process has increasingly come under fire from scientists, consumer groups and members of Congress. Last year the FDA said for the first time that there was no evidence that common anti-bacterial soap cleansers, including triclosan, were more

effective than regular soap. The agency issued that statement only after a threeyear court battle with the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental group that sued the FDA to jumpstart its stalled review of the cleansers, which had been in regulatory limbo since 1978.

The FDA said Thursday it wants to design a new system that will “allow for innovative changes to drug products” and “provide FDA with the ability to respond promptly to emerging safety or effectiveness concerns.”

But the leading industry group for nonprescription drugmakers says it sup-

ports the current monograph system.

“The system ensures consumers have access to a wide variety of safe and effective medicines, while at the same time providing FDA with access to important information on safety and quality,” said Elizabeth Funderburk, spokeswoman for the Consumer Healthcare Products Association.” We welcome the opportunity to provide input to FDA and hope they will use the input received to improve the rule making process to enable innovation and to update labeling in a timely manner.” The group represents companies like Johnson & Johnson, Bayer, Procter & Gamble and many others. —AP

Medicare Advantage plans may face cuts

PRIMM: The Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System is seen in an aerial view on February 20, 2014 in the Mojave Desert in California near Primm, Nevada. The largest solar thermal power-tower system in the world, owned by NRG Energy, Google and BrightSource Energy, opened last week in the Ivanpah Dry Lake and uses 347,000 computer-controlled mirrors to focus sunlight onto boilers on top of three 459-foot towers, where water is heated to produce steam to power turbines providing power to more than 140,000 California homes. —AFP

Sun shines on NY solar energy boom Largest installation of solar panels in NY City NEW YORK: On a rooftop in the Bronx far from the skyscrapers of Manhattan, 4,760 panels soak up the winter rays. Welcome to the solar power boom in New York state. Robert Kline, director of commercial sales for the Ross Solar Group that installed the panels, is delighted.

“It is the largest (solar) installation in the history of New York City,” he tells AFP. The 1.6megawatt installation on the Jetro Cash and Carry has been proudly singled out by New York governor Andrew Cuomo as a prime example of a drive to haul the state into a new dawn.

New York has long lagged behind California and even neighboring states, let alone Europe, when it comes to generating solar energy, but that is slowly changing.

In 2012, Cuomo set up the public-private NYSun Initiative with $800 million, and 300 megawatts of solar capacity have since been installed in the state, more than during the previous 10 years.

Cuomo now wants to extend the program until 2023 with an additional nearly $1 billion to generate another 3,000 megawatts. Experts say that would create 13,000 jobs and bring down greenhouse emissions by 2.3 million tonnes a year.California and Arizona are home to more than 80 percent of solar installations in the United States, but Cory Honeyman-a solar ana-

lyst at GTM Research-says New York is coming into its own.

Public awareness “New York definitively is one of the hotter markets to watch, as we expect a really significant ramp up in build out of projects for both residential and non-residential markets,” he said.

This is a godsend for more than 400 specialized companies competing for their share of the ballooning market. In the Bronx, one of them, OnForce Solar, saw its revenue triple last year and hopes to double it again this year, chief executive officer Charles Feit told AFP. He says he has doubled, even tripled staff every year since he started and that it was the economic argument that was driving business home. “Politically, the winds are with us... public awareness has definitely risen,” said Feit at his large premises where several new offices are in the process of being built.

“In New York City, there is so much opportunity,” agreed David Sandbank, OnForce president and vice president of the New York Solar Energy Industries Association.

While Manhattan is a problem due to strict regulations, other boroughs are full of huge rooftops and business owners looking to save on some of the highest electricity costs in the coun-

While in New Delhi, Hamburg and Indian health secretary Keshav Desiraju signed their first statement of intent to cooperate in the field of medical products. Hamburg described as “encouraging” her conversations with senior representatives during her eight-day trip to India, the United States’ third largest trading partner.

Better health care But the political clout of the plans is growing as seniors flock to them seeking better health care value. Medicare Advantage plans now serve nearly 16 million people, or about 30 percent of Medicare beneficiaries. They can offer lower out-of-pocket costs and broader benefits than traditional Medicare, but often restrict choice.

Insurers say they will be forced to pass on higher costs to seniors or cut benefits if their rates are reduced, and some plans may drop out altogether. The impact could vary significantly around the country.

The industry says the cuts come as Medicare Advantage reductions programmed under the health care law are ramping up. The law sought to compensate for prior years in which the plans were overpaid. But it also includes a new tax on insurers, so industry officials fear the combined impact will be much higher.

The largest insurer trade group, America’s Health Insurance Plans, is sparing no effort to head off cuts, with an extensive advertising and lobbying campaign. It has won the support of 40 senators from both parties who, in a Feb. 14 letter, called on the administration to essentially hold Medicare Advantage rates steady. Among the signers were six Democratic senators in contested races whose outcome will determine whether Obama faces a Congress next year that’s completely controlled by Republicans.

Final rates won’t be released until April 7, so the lobbying will get even more intense.

In prior years, Medicare has sometimes pulled back from proposed cuts. Friday’s announcement will help the government decide basic rates for the Medicare Advantage plans. But the actual change individual plans and customers eventually see will vary, depending on factors like a plan’s quality rating or where the plan is located. The plans have become a key source of revenue growth for insurers who sell and administer the subsidized coverage.

They offer basic Medicare coverage topped with extras like vision or dental coverage or premiums lower than standard Medicare rates. There are hundreds of different plans around the country, each with its own set of variables like different deductibles, premiums and co-insurance.

UnitedHealth Group Inc. and Humana Inc. are the two largest Medicare Advantage providers. Health insurance stocks that soared in 2013 slipped at the start of this year after Humana Inc., the second-largest in the market, said rate cuts could be deeper than expected. —AP

try.Sandbank said the NY-Sun Initiative was intended to pave the way for a stable solar industry and said some specialist firms from California have now expanded to New York.

“With longevity and transparency, we’re creating an industry,” he told AFP, adding 3,300 new jobs had already been created. Jetro Cash and Carry hopes to save 40 percent of their $250,000 electricity bill a year, says Kline.

Long road ahead Contracts are pouring in and Cuomo recently promised grants to schools that build solar panels. Former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg also announced last year that a solar energy farm would be built in 2015 at Freshkills, a former landfill on Staten Island. It is to be the largest solar farm in New York, capable of producing 10 megawatts of electricity.

Solar energy represents one percent of renewable energy production in the United States, itself 12 percent of total electricity production, according to the Energy Information Administration.

The US solar energy market grew nearly 30 percent from 2012 to 2013 and Honeyman says it could overtake world leader Germany in terms of new builds in 2014 for the first time in 15 years. —AFP

US ‘not targeting’ India: FDA chief WASHINGTON: US regulators are not targeting India, despite a series of import restrictions on drugs from the major US trading partner, the Food and Drug Administration chief said.

FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg briefed reporters after her first official trip to India, where she met with government and industry leaders earlier this month. India is the second largest US supplier of prescription and overthe-counter drugs, and its big pharma companies Ranbaxy and Wockhardt have been hit with multiple US import suspensions due to safety concerns.

“We are not targeting Indian companies. We are undertaking our required regulatory activities,” Hamburg said.

“When products are sold in the United States for use by American citizens, then those products have to meet our standards.”

Hamburg said the FDA has ramped up inspections at Indian drug plants as part of a global effort to improve safety.

The agency has 12 staff members in India, and plans to expand to 19, she added, describing the nation as “particularly important” to US food and drug trade.

“The fact that we have increased our presence in India is true but it reflects the fact that India is a very significant and growing player in the US marketplace with respect to both pharmaceutical products and food.”

WASHINGTON: Cuts are on the table next year for Medicare Advantage plans, the Obama administration says. The politically dicey move affecting a private insurance alternative highly popular with seniors immediately touched off an election-year fight.

The announcement gave new ammunition to Republican critics of President Barack Obama’s health care law, while disappointing some Democratic senators who had called on the administration to hold rates steady. Insurers are still hoping to whittle back the cuts or dodge them altogether.

Late Friday after financial markets closed, Medicare issued a 148-page assessment of cost factors for the private plans next year. It included multiple variables, some moving in different directions, but analyst Matthew Eyles of Avalere Health estimated it would translate to a cut of 1.9 percent for 2015, a figure also cited by congressional staffers briefed on the proposal.

“There’s nothing to like here if you’re one of the plans,” said Eyles. Administration officials say the plans don’t need to be paid as much to turn a profit, because the growth of health care spending has slowed dramatically. They see the cuts as a dividend for taxpayers.

At the start of Hamburg’s visit, Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said India’s lower-cost medicines should not be viewed as “cheap and spurious.”

India’s generics industry is a major supplier of lifesaving drugs, including antiretrovirals for HIV, to the United States and over 200 other nations.

Many lower-income countries rely

on the generics produced by Indian plants as a key source for affordable medicine. But Ranbaxy, one of India’s biggest drugmakers, has been hit repeatedly with FDA import suspensions, most recently in January, when a fourth manufacturing plant was cited for violations from expected “good manufacturing practice.” —AP

KARACHI: A Pakistani health worker vaccinates a schoolgirl against polio, in Karachi, Pakistan, yesterday. The health department yesterday launched a polio vaccination campaign in Karachi under heavy security, officials said. —AP

ATHENS: People stand at a makeshift medical practice in Hellinikon, in Athens on February 18, 2014. There are an estimated three million Greeks without social insurance, around a quarter of the population. Most of them are unemployed, and without cover by one of the main health funds, the cost of even routine medical checkups can become prohibitive. —AFP

Greek financial crisis takes toll on health LONDON: Researchers say they have found new evidence that Greece’s financial crisis is taking a toll on the health of its citizens, including rising rates of HIV, tuberculosis, depression and even infant deaths.

Since the economic crisis hit several years ago, the government’s health spending has been slashed and hundreds of thousands of people have been left without health insurance. As cuts have been made to AIDS prevention programs, rates of HIV and tuberculosis in drug users have spiked. Previous studies have found suicides in Greece have increased by about 45 percent between 2007 and 2011. The new research found the prevalence of major depression more than doubled from 2008 to 2011, citing economic hardship as a major factor.

Suicides and mental health problems tend to be underreported, so “this is probably just the tip of the iceberg,” said Alexander Kentikelenis of Cambridge University, the study’s lead author.

The study’s findings were based mainly on population surveys and statistics from the government and other sources including the European Commission. Kentikelenis said it would take years to measure the long-term consequences of people being without regular access to health care, particularly those with chronic conditions like heart disease.

Kentikelenis and colleagues also observed a 21 percent rise in stillbirths, according to figures from the Greek National School of Public Health.

“Some pregnant women no longer have access to health care, therefore the complications

later on in their pregnancy can be more pronounced,” he said. Kentikelenis and colleagues also found infant deaths, which had previously been falling, jumped by more than 40 percent between 2008 and 2010. He said that was likely linked to babies not getting enough to eat and fewer medical check-ups, as families cut off from state health care couldn’t afford private treatment.

The research was published online Friday in the journal, Lancet. The medical charity Doctors of the World confirmed the Greek financial crisis has had a devastating impact on health. In response, the group has doubled the number of programs it runs in Greece since the crisis began.

Though the charity originally started its operations in Greece mainly to treat vulnerable foreign populations like refugees, deputy director Nathalie Simonnot said it is increasingly treating ordinary Greek citizens with no other means of getting health care.

Simonnot also said they had seen rising numbers of pregnant women unable to afford hospital visits and diabetics who had to choose between buying food or insulin.

“We see people in conditions I’ve never seen in my life,” she said, referring to patients who have turned up at clinics with chunks of their flesh missing.

Simonnot wasn’t very optimistic the Greek government would be able to reverse the situation anytime soon, slamming their 2012 reintroduction of a law that forces drug users, prostitutes and immigrants to be tested for infectious diseases under police supervision.

H E A LT H & S C I E N C E

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2014

WHO launches anti-cholera drive in South Sudan GENEVA: The World Health Organisation began a campaign yesterday to prevent outbreaks of cholera in temporary camps in South Sudan housing thousands of people who have fled the country’s brutal two-month-old conflict.

The first phase will see around 94,000 people vac-

cinated against the disease in Minkaman camp in Awerial county, followed by 43,000 in camps around the capital Juba.

“Although currently there is not a cholera outbreak, people displaced by the recent conflict and living in the camps are at risk due to poor sanitary con-

ditions and overcrowding,” the WHO said in a statement.

The programme is being carried out in coordination with the South Sudanese government, with the help of the Red Cross, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) and UNICEF.

“Minkaman camp and Juba camp have been selected because of the relative stability of the situation and easier access in those places,” said Dr Abdinasir Abubakar of the WHO’s disease surveillance and response team.

“We are also looking at other camps, and once the

accessibility and security improves, we will expand the cholera vaccination campaigns into these areas.”

South Sudan has been embroiled in a bloody conflict since December 15, 2013 pitting troops loyal to President Salva Kiir against rebels linked to his sacked vice president Riek Machar. —AFP

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2014

W H AT ’ S O N

Greetings

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appy birthday dear Raaga. Best wishes from, Kirthana, Geetha, Raj and friends,

ACK students awarded by KISR

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he Australian College of Kuwait (ACK) hosted an awards ceremony whereby the Kuwait Institute of Scientific Research (KISR) presented ACK’s Civil Engineering students with crtificates of completion.

Graduates Batool Taqi, Fatemah Abdulmalak and Maha Qassim were awarded for successfully accomplishing their graduation project titled “Structural Concrete Reinforced with Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) Bars”.

ACK partnered with KISR, the largest scientific and applied research center in Kuwait, for this assignment challenging its students to design concrete structural elements utilizing the new technology of FRP bars. Students were responsible for designing a structural skeleton for a school

in Kuwait using this new reinforcing material, receiving support from ACK and KISR staff and gaining industry-specific knowledge throughout the process.

On this Occasion, Manager of Infrastructure Risk and Reliability Program (IRR) at KISR, Eng Jamal Al-Qazweeni stated: “The role of IRR in KISR is to carry out applied research leading to maximizing the life, serviceability, safety and sustainability of infrastructure and buildings in Kuwait and similar severe environments. One of KISR’s main goals is to promote and support scientific advancement among university students”.

Dr Zafer Sakka, Associate Research Scientist at KISR’s (IRR) program who worked closely with ACK’s Engineering

students during the project, added: “The main outcome of the ACK graduation project is that students gained handson experience in the design of concrete structures using fiber reinforced polymer bars, which is relatively a new technology in construction materials, that can be used as a solution for preventing rust due to Kuwait’s Climate”.

ACK prides itself on its vocational and project-based learning approach. Through industry partnerships such as this, the college provides students with practical experiences and exposure to the latest techniques and technologies in-line with its academic programs.

AROUND KUWAIT Remal Sand Sculpting Festival The Remal International Festival is open at the Kuwait International Fairgrounds. 73 of the world’s best sand artists came to Kuwait and worked together to reimagine the stories of 1001 Nights and according to the organizers, the sand park will be the world’s largest. For a preview of what to expect, check out my previous post on this festival at Kuwait International Fairgrounds until April 26 from 12 noon.

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ish you a happy birthday. Greetings and best wishes from family and friends.

Burgan Bank working hours during National and Liberation holidays

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urgan Bank announced that its airport branch will resume normal working hours during Kuwait’s upcoming National and Liberation holidays, from Tuesday 25th February until 27 February 2014, in order to accommodate banking requirements for all the customers during the public holidays. The bank’s branch will operate from 8:00 am to 10:30 pm.

For more information on any products or services, customers are required to contact Burgan Bank’s call center 1804080 during the holiday. On this occasion, Burgan Bank extends its best wishes and greetings to the public on Kuwait’s nationwide celebrations of both the 53rd Independence Day and the 23rd Liberation day.

Saradhi Kuwait to sponsor mass wedding

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aradhi Kuwait office-bearers announced its new mission of mass wedding in Kerala organized in association with Gandhi Bhavan, Pathanapuram. The officebearers further explained at a press conference that this divine event will take place at Sivagiri Mutt Varkala on Friday, February 28, 2014.

Members of Saradhi Kuwait is the sponsor of the event. The generosity

of the team paved way for finding life for five couples.

Sivagiri Dharma Sangam Trust General Secretary Rithembaranda Swamikal will bless the marriage.

Revenue Minister Adoor Prakash, Sivagiri Dharma Sangam Trust President Prakasantha Swamikal, S NDP Yogam General Secretary Vellapally Natesan, Varkala Kahar MLA and Gandhi Bhavan Secretary Dr

Punallor Somarajan will witness the mass wedding in the presence of thousand of invitees.

Saradhi President S Rajan, General Secretary Vinish Viswambaran, Treasurer Satheesan S, Vice President Sugunan K V, Secretary Binumon M K,JtTreasurer Dinu Kamal and Jt Secretary Buju C V addressed the media.

Seminar on family peace and harmony

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enowned scholar, TV speaker and Vice-President of Christian Revival Fellowship, Prof C M Mathew (Rtd Professor, M A College, Kothamangalam) is visiting Kuwait from Feb 25 to 28. He will be delivering a special message on “Family Peace and Harmony” at United Indian School, Abbasiya on Feb 25. On the 26th and 27th, he will be speaking at the Mangaf Hall. The timing is from 6:15 pm to 9:15 pm for all the meetings.

SEND US YOUR INSTAGRAM PICS

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hat’s more fun than clicking a beautiful picture? Sharing it with others! Let other people see the way you see Kuwait - through your lens. Friday Times will feature snapshots of Kuwait through Instagram feeds. If you want to share your Instagram photos, email us at instagram@kuwaittimes.net

Write to us Send to What’s On upcoming events, birthdays or celebrations by email: local@kuwaittimes.net Fax: 24835619 / 20

ICSK Junior students perform at KNCP camp

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he students of the Indian Community School Kuwait, Junior Branch, participated in KNPC SHU Open Day on February 13, 2014 at KNPC Camp, Kuwait. The theme of the camp was cross-cultural introduction. 38 students represented ICSK Junior and the Indian Embassy in Kuwait with a view to promote Indian tourism and culture.

Participants showcased the rich cultural heritage of India,

weaving the thread of magic in the midst of its motions, poise, beauty and emotions through fusion of Bharatanatyam and Mohiniyattom, Goan and Bhangara folk- dances that originated in India. It was a mega event, with participants accompanied by Principal in-charge Sherly Dennis and teachers of Junior Branch.

Proud 2 be Kuwaiti 2014 The P2BK 2014 event at the Kuwait International Fairgrounds Mubarak Al-Abdullah, Hawally and will end on February 25th. This year the set up is going to be similar to last years with an outdoor old souk that was built specifically to host this event. There will be a ton of Kuwaiti businesses participating including already established ones as well as new ones plus you have the Remal sand sculpting festival taking place alongside it as well.

Guided Tour: House of Mirrors The House of Mirrors is home to the family of the late renowned artist, Khalifa Al-Qattan. His wife has spent vast amounts of time creating scenes on the walls, the floors & even the ceilings to showcase what can be done with broken pieces of mirror and glass when accompanied by an artists’ touch. Enjoy a cup of tea, an artful snack and a guided tour to view the splendors of this ‘bedazzled’ home. Cameras are welcome.

February 24 @ 5 pm - 8 pm.

Cinemagic: Beasts of the Southern Wild Thursday, February 28th 2014 at 7:30 pm at CineMagic Kuwait. Beasts Of The Southern Wild Winner of the Camera d’Or at The 2012 Cannes Film Festival and the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, along with 65 other worldwide awards, Beasts of the Southern Wild covers the tragedy of a Louisiana bayou cut off from the world by a levee as seen through the eyes of 6-year-old Hushpuppy. Her life is about to change as she is faced with both her hot tempered father and mother.

Gulf Bank’s customer contact center available 24/7

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n the occasion of National and Liberation day, Gulf Bank’s Head Office and all branches will be closed from Tuesday 25 February until Thursday 27 February 2014. The Bank will commence normal working hours on Sunday 2 March 2014.

During the holiday, customers will continue to have round-the-clock access to Gulf Bank on 1805805, where Gulf Bank staff are available 24 hours to directly assist customers. Customers can also log on to Gulf Bank’s website, www.egulfbank.com, to get more information about the Bank’s latest products and services.

On this occasion, Gulf Bank would like to convey its sincere congratulations and best wishes to the Amir of the State of Kuwait His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf AlAhmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, and His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak AlHamad Al-Sabah - May Allah Almighty safeguard and preserve them for their nation, as well as to the government and people of Kuwait.

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2014

W H AT ’ S O N

TIES centre

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Kuwait Grand Fishing tournament

uran Quotes and Tafseer class by Hassan T. Bwambale on Monday February 24, 2014.

After reading Quranic verses aloud and explaining them very briefly, Hassan will explain the various connotations of some words and phrases to show the literary beauty and miracle of the Quran. The class will involve an open discussion in a casual, relaxed setting with the aim of reflecting and pondering verses from the Noble Quran, as well as learning how to recite them. On February 24, 2014, we will concentrate on Surat Ad-Duha (The forenoon - After Sunrise).

All those interested are welcome on Monday February 24, 2014 at 7 pm.

2- The TIES Center is glad to announce that a new batch of Arabic classes will begin on Sunday, March 16, 2014 till Thursday April 24, 2014. We are offering classes for all levels, from beginner to advanced. Our classes are specially tailored to meet the needs and requirements of expats living in Kuwait. The classes are intended for all expats who wish to learn Arabic. Whether you want to learn Arabic for business, basic communication, or simply as a hobby, the TIES Center is an ideal choice.

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 l Lessons are step by step with a well-structured curriculum. l Lessons build confidence for speaking, listening, reading, and writing. l Lessons combine language learning with cultural insights. l Lessons are specially tailored for expats living in Kuwait. l Lessons offer an opportunity to interact with other Westerners, who are taking the courses.

For more information or registration, please call 25231015/6 or log onto: www.tiescenter.net

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he Kuwait Sea Sports Club announced Khalid Al-Sairafi as the winner of the Kuwait Fishing Grand tournament that was organized recently featuring 111 contestants. Al-Sairafi came in first place with 920 points, followed by Ghanim Al-Qallaf with 685 and Mohammad Ali with 640. The KSSC also awarded fishermen with the heaviest total catch. Abdullah Al-Khabbaz came in first place with 5.7 kilograms, followed by Badr AlOwayesh with 5.2 kg and Abdulaziz Al-Ghatti with 4.9 kg.

Farewell to Ambassador of Nepal

Stage set for ‘Keli 2014’

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he stage is set for ‘Keli 2014’, a two-day theatre festival of Gulf Malayali Diaspora, on Feb 25 and 26 at Khaitan Indian Community School Auditorium. The festival is held under the aegis of Kuwait Chapter of Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi (KSNA), a Kerala Government body. Three renowned theatre personalities from Kerala-Dr P V Krishnan Nair, T M Abraham and Santhoshkumar-will adjudge the five plays taking part in the competition. On Day 1 (Feb 25), two plays will be staged starting at 4.30pm. First play to be staged is ‘Amme Mappu’

by Kalpak Kuwait followed by ‘Pashu’ by Nirbhaya Theatre. On day two, three plays will be presented from 4pm onwards. They are ‘Oru Kottukaranum Kure Thullakkarum’ by Thanima Kuwait, ‘Ushna Mekhalayile Penkutty’ by Future Eye Theatre and ‘Randam Bhavam’ by Kala Kuwait. Entry will be free on both days. All art lovers are welcome.

NCCAL hosts Iranian blind art fair

T On the occasion of concluding his tenure to Kuwait, Dean of the Diplomatic Corps, the Ambassador of the Senegal to Kuwait, Abdul Ahad Embaki recently held a special dinner to the honor of the outgoing Ambassador of Nepal, Madhuban Prasad. The ceremony was attended by diplomats and the media. — Photos by Yasser Al Zayyat

he National Council of Culture, Arts and Letters announced hosting an exhibition for blind Iranian female artists, starting from March 2, 2014. The event takes place at the Ahmad Al-Adwani Hall in Abdullah Al-Salem, and lasts through March 6, 2014. It is set to inaugurate at 7 pm, while visiting hours are announced on two periods, the first from 9 am to 12 pm, and the second from 5 pm to 9 pm. The exhibition, titled ‘Beauty in our Eyes’, is organized in cooperation with the cultural attaché in the Iranian embassy in Kuwait.

CRYcket 2014 tournament

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riends of CRY Club (FOCC) will hold 17th CRY (Child Rights & You) cricket tournament for children will be held at the GC grounds at Fahaheel Sports Club on Friday, 27th Mar 2014 from 6:30 am to 6 pm.

The one day “CRYcket” tournament participated by children under 14 (born on or after 01.01.2000), is a very popular annual family event. The children are grouped into teams in two age categories and play softball cricket while spectators, parents and well-wishers enjoy a carnival atmosphere. 12 teams each are set to participate in the Under-12 and Under-14 divisions initially in four groups in round robin fashion leading to 4 winners who will clash in the semifinals.

The 7-over matches will be played simultaneously on two playgrounds.

Apart from the winners’ trophies, medals and certificates from CRY-India will be given to each player. Experienced umpires will control the games assisted by official scorers. The teams will play in recognition of a much felt need among less fortunate children in the Indian subcontinent and will carry the message of compassion towards them. They will spread awareness of the work done by CRY, an international organization, that believes that every child is entitled to basic rights of survival, protection, development, education and participation.

For details & game rules, visit the FOCC website http://www.focckwt.org or contact: Kuwait City 22437684 Abu Halifa: 66204295 Hawalli: 99300257 Fahaheel: 99364073 Ahmadi: 23985216 / 99578073 Jleeb Shuyoukh - 97226589 Salmiya: 66810338.

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2014

TV PROGRAMS 00:00 00:30 01:20 02:15 03:00 03:55 04:25 05:00 05:20 05:40 05:55 06:05 06:15 06:35 06:55 07:10 07:20 07:30 08:15 08:45 09:15 09:45 10:20 11:10 12:00 12:45 13:15 13:45 14:15 14:45 15:35 16:25 17:10 17:40 18:10 19:00 19:30 20:00 20:50 21:40 22:10

My Family Tough Guy Or Chicken?

Call The Midwife Stella New Tricks Him & Her My Family Mr Bloom’s Nursery Nuzzle & Scratch: Frock n Roll Boogie Beebies Bobinogs The Large Family Mr Bloom’s Nursery Nuzzle & Scratch: Frock n Roll Boogie Beebies Bobinogs The Large Family The Weakest Link Beautiful People Friday Night Dinner Walk On The Wild Side Doctors Casualty Last Man Standing The Weakest Link Beautiful People Friday Night Dinner Walk On The Wild Side Doctors Casualty Last Man Standing The Weakest Link Eastenders Doctors Famous, Rich And Jobless My Family Only Fools And Horses New Tricks Spooks The Vicar Of Dibley Call The Midwife

00:10 Cash In The Attic 00:55 The Hairy Bikers: Mums Know Best 01:45 Come Dine With Me 02:35 Come Dine With Me: Supersized 04:05 Bargain Hunt 08:00 Cash In The Attic 08:45 Bargain Hunt: Famous Finds 09:35 Celebrity MasterChef 10:10 Come Dine With Me: Supersized 11:50 The Hairy Bikers: Mums Know Best 12:40 Gok’s Clothes Roadshow 13:30 Fantasy Homes By The Sea 14:20 Antiques Roadshow 15:15 Design Star 16:00 Design Star 16:45 Bargain Hunt: Famous Finds 17:30 Cash In The Attic 18:20 Antiques Roadshow 19:15 The Planners 20:10 Rachel Khoo’s Kitchen Notebook: London 20:35 Come Dine With Me 22:20 Antiques Roadshow 23:15 Bargain Hunt

00:05 Ice Cold Gold 06:00 Mythbusters 07:00 Car vs Wild 07:50 Robson Green’s Extreme Fishing Challenge 08:40 Fast N’ Loud 09:30 Border Security 09:55 Auction Kings 10:20 Auction Hunters: Pawn Shop Edition 10:45 How Do They Do It? 11:10 How It’s Made 11:35 Fast N’ Loud 12:25 World’s Top 5 13:15 Overhaulin’ 2013 14:05 Border Security 14:30 Auction Kings 14:55 Auction Hunters: Pawn Shop Edition

15:20 16:10 17:00 17:50 18:40 19:30 20:20 20:45 21:10 21:35 22:00 22:50 23:40

Flying Wild Alaska Fast N’ Loud Ultimate Survival Dirty Jobs Car vs Wild Sons Of Guns How Do They Do It? How It’s Made Auction Kings Dallas Car Sharks Gold Rush Alaska Gold Diggers Gold Divers: Under The Ice

00:15 How Tech Works 00:40 Oddities 01:30 Weird Connections 02:00 Moon Machines 06:15 The Gadget Show 06:40 Tech Toys 360 07:05 Weird Connections 07:35 Weird Connections 08:00 What Is That?

08:25 What Is That?

08:50 How Tech Works 09:15 How Tech Works 09:40 The Gadget Show 10:05 Tech Toys 360 10:30 Through The Wormhole With Morgan Freeman 11:25 Building The Biggest 12:20 Da Vinci’s Machines 13:10 Moon Machines 14:00 Building The Future 14:50 Weird Connections 15:20 The Gadget Show 15:45 Tech Toys 360 16:10 Eco-Tech 17:00 Moon Machines 17:55 Da Vinci’s Machines 18:45 Building The Biggest 19:35 Through The Wormhole With Morgan Freeman 20:30 Man-Made Marvels China 21:20 Nyc: Inside Out 22:10 The Gadget Show 22:35 Tech Toys 360 23:00 Man-Made Marvels China 23:50 Nyc: Inside Out

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

Jessie Good Luck Charlie Dog With A Blog Violetta Jessie Wolfblood Dog With A Blog Gravity Falls Shake It Up Austin & Ally A.N.T. Farm Good Luck Charlie Wizards Of Waverly Place Wizards Of Waverly Place

Sri Lanka war film released online in India after censorship

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00:15 Eat Street 00:45 Lonely Planet: Roads Less Travelled 02:35 Deadly Arts 03:30 Bondi Rescue 03:55 On Hannibal’s Trail 04:25 Banged Up Abroad 05:20 A World Apart 06:15 The Witch Doctor Will See You Now 07:10 Eat Street 07:35 Eat Street 08:05 Lonely Planet: Roads Less Travelled 09:00 When Vacations Attack 09:55 Deadly Arts 10:50 Bondi Rescue 11:15 On Hannibal’s Trail 11:45 Banged Up Abroad 12:40 A World Apart 13:35 The Witch Doctor Will See You Now 14:30 Eat Street 14:55 Eat Street 15:25 Lonely Planet: Roads Less Travelled 16:20 When Vacations Attack 17:15 Deadly Arts 18:10 Bondi Rescue 18:35 On The Camino De Santiago 19:05 Banged Up Abroad 20:00 Deadly Arts 21:00 George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces 22:00 Somewhere In China 22:55 Earth Tripping 23:20 Maverick Chef 23:50 Eat Street

BREAKING POINT ON OSN MOVIES HD ACTION 00:00 00:20 00:45 01:05 01:30 01:50 02:15 02:35 03:00 03:20 03:45 04:05 04:30 04:50 05:15 05:35 06:00 06:25 06:45 07:10 07:35 07:55 08:20 08:45 09:05 09:30 09:55 10:15 10:40 11:05 11:25 11:50 12:15 12:35 13:00 14:35 15:00 15:25 15:50 16:10 17:00 17:20 17:45

The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody Jonas Los Angeles Jonas Los Angeles Suite Life On Deck Suite Life On Deck Wizards Of Waverly Place Wizards Of Waverly Place The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody Jonas Los Angeles Jonas Los Angeles Suite Life On Deck Suite Life On Deck Wizards Of Waverly Place Wizards Of Waverly Place Austin & Ally Dog With A Blog A.N.T. Farm A.N.T. Farm Wolfblood Gravity Falls My Babysitter’s A Vampire Jessie Good Luck Charlie Shake It Up Austin And Ally A.N.T. Farm Dog With A Blog Suite Life On Deck My Babysitter’s A Vampire That’s So Raven Hannah Montana Shake It Up Meet The Robinsons Dog With A Blog Wolfblood Gravity Falls Good Luck Charlie Violetta A.N.T. Farm Austin And Ally Gravity Falls

00:20 01:10 02:00 02:50 03:45 04:40 05:35 06:30 07:25 08:20 09:15 10:10 11:05 12:00 12:55 13:50 14:45 15:40 16:35 17:30 18:25 19:20 20:10 21:00 21:50

00:00 01:00 02:00 03:00 04:00 05:00 06:00 07:00 Trieste 07:30

Animal Mega Moves The Rise Of Black Wolf Grizzly Cauldron Hunter Hunted Africa’s Deadliest Alaskan Killer Shark Grizzly Cauldron Hunter Hunted Africa’s Deadliest Prehistoric Predators Game of Lions Attack of the Big Cats Wild Case Files Hooked Touching the Dragon Hunter Hunted Ultimate Predator Prehistoric Predators Night Stalkers Wild Case Files Wild Case Files Touching the Dragon Hunter Hunted Ultimate Predator Prehistoric Predators

Mega Factories Predator CSI Street Monkeys Salvage Code Red Cruise Ship Diaries Britain’s Greatest Machines Salvage Code Red Deepest Dive: The Story Of Nat Geo’s Most Amazing

MIDNIGHT IN PARIS ON OSN MOVIES HD

Photos 08:00 Mega Factories 09:00 Predator CSI 10:00 Street Monkeys 11:00 Salvage Code Red 12:00 Cruise Ship Diaries 13:00 Britain’s Greatest Machines 14:00 Salvage Code Red 15:00 Burying King Tut 16:00 My Music Brain 17:00 Predator CSI 18:00 Street Monkeys 19:00 Megastructures 20:00 Adventure Wanted 21:00 Mad Scientists 21:30 Mad Scientists 22:00 Megastructures 23:00 Is It Real?

00:00 Web Therapy 00:30 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 01:00 The Colbert Report 01:30 Saturday Night Live 02:30 Girls 03:00 The Cleveland Show 03:30 New Girl 04:00 Seinfeld 05:30 Seinfeld 06:30 Friends 07:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 08:00 Seinfeld 08:30 Seinfeld 09:00 Arrested Development 09:30 2 Broke Girls 10:00 Two And A Half Men 10:30 Friends 12:30 Seinfeld 13:00 Seinfeld 13:30 Friends 14:00 New Girl 14:30 2 Broke Girls 15:00 Two And A Half Men 15:30 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 16:00 The Colbert Report 17:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 18:30 New Girl 19:00 2 Broke Girls 19:30 Trophy Wife 20:00 Whitney 21:00 The Daily Show Global Edition 21:30 The Colbert Report Global Edition 22:00 Hello Ladies 22:30 Eastbound & Down 23:00 The Big C 23:30 Whitney

00:00 02:00 03:00 04:00 05:00 06:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 12:30 15:00 16:00 16:30 17:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00

C.S.I. Supernatural The Americans Franklin & Bash Suits C.S.I. Suits Franklin & Bash Emmerdale Coronation Street C.S.I. Emmerdale Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show Betrayal Revenge The Blacklist Strike Back The Americans

00:00 02:00 04:00 06:00 08:00 10:00 12:00 14:00 16:00 18:00 20:00 22:00

Devil’s Playground Beverly Hills Cop 5 Days Of War Hellboy The Rescue Men In Black 3 Broken Path Alien Tornado Men In Black 3 Wrath Of The Titans Alien Tornado Breaking Point

00:00 Beverly Hills Cop-18 02:00 5 Days Of War-PG15 04:00 Hellboy-PG15 06:00 The Rescue-PG15 08:00 Men In Black 3-PG 10:00 Broken Path-PG15 12:00 Alien Tornado-PG15 14:00 Men In Black 3-PG 16:00 Wrath Of The Titans-PG15 18:00 Alien Tornado-PG15 20:00 Breaking Point-18 22:00 No Man’s Land: The Rise Of Reeker-18

00:00 Anchorman: The Legend Of Ron Burgundy-PG15 02:00 American Reunion-18 04:00 Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell Of Fear-PG15 06:00 The Beautician And The Beast-PG15 08:00 A Christmas Story 2-PG 10:00 12 Wishes Of Christmas-PG15 12:00 Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell Of Fear-PG15 14:00 Home Alone: The Holiday Heist-PG 16:00 12 Wishes Of Christmas-PG15 18:00 Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult-PG15

01:15 03:00 06:00 07:30 09:00 11:00 13:00 14:45 16:45 19:00 21:00 23:15

Class-PG15 Quiet Flows The Don-PG15 A Christmas Kiss-PG15 Lying To Be Perfect-PG15 Class-PG15 Flower Girl-PG15 Cinderella PT 1-PG15 Cinderella PT 2-PG15 The Next Three Days-PG15 Drift-PG15 Barney’s Version-18 The Ledge-18

03:00 05:00 07:00 09:00 11:00 13:00 15:00 17:30 19:00 21:00 23:00

Resolution 819-PG15 A Kiss Before Dying-PG15 Prosecuting Casey Anthony The Forger-PG15 Too Late To Say Goodbye Hide Away-PG15 Tora! Tora! Tora!-PG15 Too Late To Say Goodbye The Door In The Floor-18 Beyond Borders-18 Sparkle-PG15

02:00 Seeking Justice-PG15 03:45 Midnight In Paris-PG15 05:30 Now Is Good-PG15 07:15 Arthur 3: And The War Of Two Worlds-PG 09:00 The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey-PG 11:45 Midnight In Paris-PG15 13:15 Arthur Christmas-PG 15:00 Playdate-PG15 16:45 The Double-PG15 18:30 Skyfall-PG15 21:00 Amour-PG15 23:00 The Sessions-R

00:00 Dungeons & Dragons: The Book Of Vile Darkness-18 02:00 Chimpanzee-PG 04:00 Mandie And The Secret Tunnel-PG 06:00 Flicka 3-FAM 08:00 Dating Coach-PG15 10:00 Barnyard-PG 12:00 The Expendables 2-PG15 14:00 People Like Us-PG15 16:00 Dating Coach-PG15 18:00 Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth-PG15

02:00 03:00 05:00 09:00 09:30 10:30 11:00 14:00 16:00 16:30 20:30 21:00 22:00

Trans World Sport Super Rugby Super Rugby Top 14 Highlights Trans World Sport ICC Cricket 360 Live AFL Nab Challenge World Club Challenge ICC Cricket 360 Live Snooker The Welsh open Top 14 Highlights Golfing World Live Snooker The Welsh open

00:30 Futbol Mundial 01:00 World Club Challenge 03:00 WWE This Week 03:30 WWE SmackDown 05:30 WWE Bottom Line 06:30 Futbol Mundial 07:00 World Golf Championships 15:30 Futbol Mundial 16:00 Top 14 18:00 Super Rugby 20:00 World Golf Championships Highlights 21:00 Super Rugby 23:00 World Club Challenge

00:00 Chelsea Lately 00:30 The Spin Crowd 01:25 Style Star 02:20 E! Investigates 03:15 Extreme Close-Up 04:10 THS 05:05 The E! True Hollywood Story 06:00 THS 07:50 Style Star 08:20 E! News 09:15 Scouted 10:15 Married To Jonas 10:40 Chasing The Saturdays 11:10 Giuliana & Bill 12:05 E! News 13:05 Extreme Close-Up 13:35 E!ES 14:30 Style Star 15:00 Kourtney And Kim Take Miami 17:00 The Drama Queen 18:00 E! News 19:00 THS 20:00 Eric And Jessie: Game On 21:00 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 22:00 Party On 22:30 Party On

00:30 01:30 02:30 03:30 04:30 05:30 06:00 06:30 07:30 08:00 08:30 09:00 09:30 10:00 10:30 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00 17:30 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 22:30

Killers Killers Born To Kill Evil Up Close Britain’s Darkest Taboos Frenemies Frenemies Born To Kill Curious & Unusual Deaths Snapped: Women Who Kill Snapped: Women Who Kill Snapped: Women Who Kill Snapped: Women Who Kill Snapped: Women Who Kill Snapped: Women Who Kill Martina Cole’s Lady Killers Beyond Scared Straight Born To Kill I Killed My BFF Martina Cole’s Lady Killers Charles Sobraj: The Serpent Curious & Unusual Deaths Private Crimes Homicide Hunter The First 48 The Devil You Know Beyond Scared Straight Private Crimes Born To Kill

he director of a controversial war film on Sri Lanka streamed it free online in India yesterday, after censors banned its theatrical release over fears it may strain friendly ties with Colombo.

Callum Macrae, the British director of “No Fire Zone: The killing fields of Sri Lanka”, said the film will also be available free in Malaysia, Nepal and Sri Lankathe other countries where its general screening has been banned. The 93-minute film is a collection of footage recorded in Sri Lanka’s northeast by doctors, civilians, rebels and soldiers as the government allegedly bombarded areas teeming with refugees trying to flee the fighting.

The documentary has been contested by the Sri Lankan government as propaganda to discredit Colombo in the eyes of the international community. In a statement, the producers of the film said the Indian censor board had banned its release on the grounds it “may strain friendly relations with Sri Lanka”. Macrae said India’s reluctance to release the film hurt him the most, given the country’s deep-rooted tradition of democracy and free speech. “I find it very disturbing that a country whose independent history is rooted in the struggle for democratic rights and free speech should have taken what is, in effect, an act of overt political censorship,” he was quoted as saying in the statement. In protest against the ban, the documentary was screened Sunday in the southern Indian city of Chennai by a student’s group. Chennai is the capital of Tamil Nadu state where millions of ethnic Tamils share close cultural and religious ties with their counterparts in Sri Lanka. The ruling Congress party is seen as being soft on Sri Lanka because it does not want to alienate potential Tamil supporters with elections due by May 2014.

Officials of India’s Central Board of Film Certification were not immediately available for comment. The ban on the film comes after the Indian government last year refused to grant a visa to Macrae to attend the premiere of the documentary which was screened in private in New Delhi and Mumbai.

Rights groups say up to 40,000 civilians were killed by security forces in the final months of a no-holds-barred offensive in 2009 that ended Sri Lanka’s decades-long fight against Tamil separatists. Sri Lanka denies causing civilian deaths and President Mahindra Rajapakse sees himself as having brought peace to the Indian Ocean island.

Macrae said he hoped the film’s release online will spur a debate ahead of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva starting March 3. The council will hear calls for the setting up of an international commission of enquiry into alleged crimes committed in the last stages of the war in Sri Lanka.

“As national delegations prepare to meet in Geneva... we hope making the film available in India, Malaysia, Nepal and Sri Lanka will stimulate debate on these vital issues,” Macrae said. — AFP

‘Out of the Furnace’ Review:

Christian Bale anchors this well-intentioned but flat drama

L

ess a movie than a tour of notecards on Bruce Springsteen’s bulletin board, “Out of the Furnace” revels in blue-collar misery - the mill’s closing down, the veteran can’t get a break - without bothering to make characters out of its types. Yes, the working class is bearing the brunt of an inequitable economic system, and yes, the treatment of our returning soldiers from the last decade of war has been disgraceful, but the film has nothing of substance say about any of this. Just raising the issues and portraying them as tragic and important isn’t the same as making an actual statement.

Clearly aiming for a 1970s edge and aping “ The Deer Hunter,” in particular - “Out of the Furnace” is a pointless wallow in blue-collar tragedy that ultimately feels condescending to its subjects; each of the players get one or two attributes to play, but ultimately they’re just place-holders in an exceedingly generic story. In the film’s 2008 prologue, Russell Baze (Christian Bale) works hard at a Pennsylvania steel mill, making money in the hopes of starting a family with girlfriend Lena (Zoe Saldana). Much of that cash gets spent keeping his brother Rodney (Casey Affleck) out of trouble with local small-time crime boss Petty (Willem Dafoe). One night, Russell has one drink too many at Petty’s bar, hits a car and goes to jail for killing two people while driving drunk.

A few years later, Russell gets out, but things have gotten worse - after being stop-lossed into four tours of Iraq, Rodney can’t un-see the horrors he has witnessed, and Lena has moved on, taking up with local cop Wesley (Forest Whitaker). Russell and Rodney’s dad has died, and while Russell has his job back, the cheaper cost of Chinese steel spells doom for the plant.

Rodney gets involved with Petty’s underground fight matches, even though he’s lousy at taking a dive, since his war-honed survival instincts kick in around the time he’s supposed to let the other guy beat him down. Desperate for money, Rodney gets Petty to put him in one last fight, organized by Jersey hillbilly crime lord DeGroat (Woody Harrelson); given that the film opens with DeGroat assaulting first his date, and then the beefy guy who tries to step in on her behalf, at a drive-in, we know this isn’t going to end well. The cast is excellent and blameless; with the exception of Rodney screaming a litany of the horrors he’s experienced at full volume, they find moments of honesty in this rote material. Unfortunately, in the screenplay by Brad Ingelsby and director Scott Cooper (“Crazy Heart”), those moments never add up to recognizable human beings who resonate.

Bale (whose shoulder-length hair and goatee often make it look like he’s playing Jesus again) carries a haunted look throughout, as a man who’s always trying to do the right thing but who suffers the blows of fate time and again. His handful of scenes with Saldana are among the film’s highlights. Harrelson, Dafoe and Whitaker get saddled with one-note characters, but they certainly know how to play that note. —Reuters

Classifieds MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2014

Kuwait SHARQIA-1 POMPEII (DIG) THE MONUMENTS MEN (DIG) POMPEII (DIG) THE MONUMENTS MEN (DIG) POMPEII (DIG) POMPEII (DIG) NO SUN SHARQIA-2 OGGY AND THE COCKROACHES: THE MOVIE (DIG) OGGY AND THE COCKROACHES: THE MOVIE (DIG) 3 DAYS TO KILL (DIG) 3 DAYS TO KILL (DIG) ROBOCOP (DIG) 3 DAYS TO KILL (DIG) NO SUN SHARQIA-3 PATRICK (DIG) PATRICK (DIG) PATRICK (DIG) PATRICK (DIG) CODE RED (DIG) PATRICK (DIG) PATRICK (DIG) NO SUN MUHALAB-1 OGGY AND THE COCKROACHES: THE MOVIE (DIG) OGGY AND THE COCKROACHES: THE MOVIE (DIG) 3 DAYS TO KILL (DIG) KHOUTAT GIMI (DIG) 3 DAYS TO KILL (DIG) MUHALAB-2 WINTER’S TALE (DIG) PATRICK (DIG) CODE RED (DIG) PATRICK (DIG) PATRICK (DIG) MUHALAB-3 THE LEGO MOVIE (DIG) POMPEII (DIG-3D) ROBOCOP (DIG) POMPEII (DIG-3D) POMPEII (DIG-3D)

12:30 PM 2:45 PM 5:00 PM 7:15 PM 9:45 PM 12:05 AM

2:00 PM 4:00 PM 5:45 PM 8:00 PM 10:15 PM 12:45 AM

12:30 PM 2:30 PM 4:30 PM 6:30 PM 8:30 PM 10:30 PM 12:30 AM

NO SUN

NO SUN

FANAR-4 OGGY AND THE COCKROACHES: THE MOVIE (DIG) THE LEGO MOVIE (DIG-3D) OGGY AND THE COCKROACHES: THE MOVIE (DIG) POMPEII (DIG) POMPEII (DIG) POMPEII (DIG) NO SUN

AVENUES-4 3 DAYS TO KILL (DIG) PATRICK (DIG) 3 DAYS TO KILL (DIG) PATRICK (DIG) 3 DAYS TO KILL (DIG) PATRICK (DIG) NO SUN

2:00 PM 4:15 PM 6:30 PM 8:45 PM 11:00 PM 1:15 AM

360º- 1 PATRICK (DIG) PATRICK (DIG) PATRICK (DIG) PATRICK (DIG) PATRICK (DIG) PATRICK (DIG) NO SUN

2:00 PM 4:15 PM 6:30 PM 8:45 PM 11:00 PM 1:15 AM

360º- 2 AMERICAN HUSTLE (DIG) AMERICAN HUSTLE (DIG) LONE SURVIVOR (DIG) AMERICAN HUSTLE (DIG) AMERICAN HUSTLE (DIG) NO SUN

2:30 PM 5:00 PM 7:30 PM 10:15 PM 12:45 AM

FANAR-5 THE MONUMENTS MEN (DIG) CODE RED (DIG) THE MONUMENTS MEN (DIG) CODE RED (DIG) THE MONUMENTS MEN (DIG) THE MONUMENTS MEN (DIG) NO SUN MARINA-1 OGGY AND THE COCKROACHES: THE MOVIE (DIG) OGGY AND THE COCKROACHES: THE MOVIE (DIG) 3 DAYS TO KILL (DIG) CODE RED (DIG) 3 DAYS TO KILL (DIG) 3 DAYS TO KILL (DIG) NO SUN

2:00 PM 3:45 PM 5:45 PM 7:45 PM 10:00 PM 12:15 AM

12:45 PM 3:30 PM 5:30 PM 8:00 PM 10:15 PM 12:45 AM

1:45 PM 3:30 PM 5:30 PM 7:45 PM 9:45 PM 12:05 AM

360º- 3 OGGY AND THE COCKROACHES: THE MOVIE (DIG) OGGY AND THE COCKROACHES: THE MOVIE (DIG) OGGY AND THE COCKROACHES: THE MOVIE (DIG) OGGY AND THE COCKROACHES: THE MOVIE (DIG) PATRICK (DIG) PATRICK (DIG) NO SUN

1:45 PM 3:45 PM 5:30 PM 7:45 PM 9:45 PM 1:30 PM 4:00 PM 6:00 PM 8:00 PM 10:00 PM 12:30 PM 2:30 PM 4:45 PM 7:15 PM 9:30 PM

FANAR-1 PATRICK (DIG) WINTER’S TALE (DIG) PATRICK (DIG) WINTER’S TALE (DIG) PATRICK (DIG) PATRICK (DIG) PATRICK (DIG) NO SUN

12:30 PM 2:30 PM 4:45 PM 6:45 PM 9:00 PM 11:00 PM 1:00 AM

FANAR-2 3 DAYS TO KILL (DIG) KHOUTAT GIMI I?E ???? (DIG) 3 DAYS TO KILL (DIG) 3 DAYS TO KILL (DIG) KHOUTAT GIMI I?E ???? (DIG) 3 DAYS TO KILL (DIG) NO SUN

1:00 PM 3:30 PM 6:00 PM 8:15 PM 10:30 PM 12:30 AM

FANAR-3 ROBOCOP (DIG) ROBOCOP (DIG) GUNDAY (DIG) (HINDI) AMERICAN HUSTLE (DIG) ROBOCOP (DIG)

KNCC PROGRAMME FROM THURSDAY TO WEDNESDAY (20/02/2014 TO 26/02/2014)

1:30 PM 4:00 PM 6:30 PM 9:30 PM 12:05 AM

MARINA-2 PATRICK (DIG) ROBOCOP (DIG) AMERICAN HUSTLE (DIG) PATRICK (DIG) PATRICK (DIG) PATRICK (DIG) NO SUN

1:30 PM 3:45 PM 6:15 PM 8:45 PM 10:45 PM 12:45 AM

MARINA-3 POMPEII (DIG-3D) WINTER’S TALE (DIG) POMPEII (DIG-3D) KHOUTAT GIMI (DIG) POMPEII (DIG-3D) POMPEII (DIG-3D) NO SUN

AVENUES-2 ROBOCOP (DIG) CODE RED (DIG) ROBOCOP (DIG) ROBOCOP (DIG) ROBOCOP (DIG) NO SUN

Hyundai Azera 2008. Full options, sun roof, navigation, leather seats. KD. 2500/- negotiable. Call: 65860200 Toyota Yaris, model 2013, mileage 3,500 white exterior, price KD 2,550. Phone: 99240654. (C 4649) 19-2-2014 Nissan Pathfinder 2003 model, good condition. Call 97277135.

Cooker with bottle and regulator, washing machine, tumble dryer condenser, microwave mirror four door wardrobe, queen size bed mattress as new, sofa and lounge chairs coffee tables, desk and office chair TV 42” LCD dining table and four chairs side board bookcase, chopping block mobile. Ph: 94400865.

(C 4647) 18-2-2014

6:00 PM 8:00 PM 10:00 PM 12:15 AM

12:45 PM

LOST It is notified for the information that my original qualifying examination certificate of main secondary examination of year 2010-

2012 and roll no. 8106150 issued by CBSE, India has been actually lost. Name of candidate: Mohamed Muzammil, Abu Halifa, Block-1, Street-1, Building 1, Flat 25, Kuwait. Mob: 66823168. (C 4651) 23-2-2014

2:30 PM 4:15 PM 6:30 PM 8:15 PM 10:30 PM 12:45 AM

No: 16087

1:00 PM 3:00 PM 5:00 PM 7:00 PM 9:15 PM 11:45 PM

1:30 PM 4:00 PM 6:30 PM 9:00 PM 11:30 PM

AVENUES-3 3 DAYS TO KILL (DIG) 3 DAYS TO KILL (DIG) 3 DAYS TO KILL (DIG) 3 DAYS TO KILL (DIG) 3 DAYS TO KILL (DIG)

4:00 PM

AL-KOUT.1 OGGY AND THE COCKROACHES: THE MOVIE (DIG) OGGY AND THE COCKROACHES: THE MOVIE (DIG) POMPEII (DIG) OGGY AND THE COCKROACHES: THE MOVIE (DIG) POMPEII (DIG) POMPEII (DIG) POMPEII (DIG) NO SUN

1:00 PM 3:30 PM 5:45 PM 8:00 PM 10:15 PM 12:30 AM

AVENUES-1 OGGY AND THE COCKROACHES: THE MOVIE (DIG) OGGY AND THE COCKROACHES: THE MOVIE (DIG) OGGY AND THE COCKROACHES: THE MOVIE (DIG) OGGY AND THE COCKROACHES: THE MOVIE (DIG) AMERICAN HUSTLE (DIG) AMERICAN HUSTLE (DIG) NO SUN

2:00 PM

FOR SALE

AL-KOUT.2 PATRICK (DIG) PATRICK (DIG) PATRICK (DIG) KHOUTAT GIMI (DIG) PATRICK (DIG) PATRICK (DIG) NO SUN

1:45 PM 3:45 PM 5:45 PM 7:45 PM 9:45 PM 11:45 PM

AL-KOUT.3 THE LEGO MOVIE (DIG) THE MONUMENTS MEN (DIG) ROBOCOP (DIG) THE MONUMENTS MEN (DIG) THE MONUMENTS MEN (DIG) ROBOCOP (DIG) NO SUN

12:30 PM 2:30 PM 5:00 PM 7:30 PM 10:00 PM 12:30 AM

AL-KOUT.4 3 DAYS TO KILL (DIG) 3 DAYS TO KILL (DIG) 3 DAYS TO KILL (DIG) 3 DAYS TO KILL (DIG) CODE RED (DIG)

2:15 PM 4:45 PM 7:15 PM 9:45 PM 12:15 AM

1:00 PM 3:15 PM 5:30 PM 8:00 PM 10:15 PM

Directorate General of Civil Aviation Home Page (www.kuwait-airport.com.kw)

Airlines BBC JAI ETH JZR JZR THY QTR GFA THY AFG UAE ETD JAI MSR KAC KAC KAC KAC JZR QTR FDB THY DHX 0FDB BAW FDB QTR UAE KAC KAC KAC ABY ABY ETD FDB QTR FDB KAC KAC KAC JZR GFA MSC MSC IRC MEA SYR UAE MSR MSR FDB QTR

Arrival Flights on Monday 24/2/2014 Flt Route 43 DHAKA 574 MUMBAI 3718 LIEGE 267 BEIRUT 539 CAIRO 772 ISTANBUL 1084 DOHA 211 BAHRAIN 764 SABIHA 416 JEDDAH 853 DUBAI 305 ABU DHABI-INTL 576 COCHIN 612 CAIRO 206 ISLAMABAD 382 DELHI 412 MANILA 302 MUMBAI 503 LUXOR 1076 DOHA 67 DUBAI 770 ISTANBUL 170 BAHRAIN 69 DUBAI 157 LONDON 53 DUBAI 1086 DOHA 855 DUBAI 352 COCHIN 362 COLOMBO 284 DHAKA 121 SHARJAH 125 SHARJAH 301 ABU DHABI-INTL 55 DUBAI 1070 DOHA 8051 DUBAI 546 ALEXANDRIA 672 DUBAI 344 CHENNAI 165 DUBAI 213 BAHRAIN 401 ALEXANDRIA 403 ASYUT 6521 LAMERD 404 BEIRUT 341 DAMASCUS 871 DUBAI 610 CAIRO 579 SOHAG 57 DUBAI 1078 DOHA

Time 00:05 00:10 00:30 00:30 00:40 00:45 00:55 02:10 02:15 02:20 02:35 02:45 02:50 03:10 07:40 07:55 06:45 07:55 05:50 03:45 04:00 05:35 05:40 05:50 06:40 07:50 07:50 08:40 09:50 08:45 08:50 09:30 09:00 09:20 09:40 09:55 10:20 14:05 14:00 10:40 11:30 10:40 10:50 11:15 11:45 11:55 12:30 12:50 13:00 13:05 13:50 13:55

SVA KNE KNE FDB UAE FDB IAW KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC JZR OMA KNE QTR UAE ETD RJA SVA ABY GFA MPH JZR RBG MSC QTR FDB GFA OMA FDB JAI ABY AXB DLH ALK MEA FDB ETD UAE KNE GFA QTR FDB JZR JZR AIC PIA JZR

500 472 474 8055 3853 8057 157A 674 786 618 542 104 118 788 742 774 177 645 460 1072 857 303 640 510 127 215 93 777 553 405 1080 63 217 647 61 572 129 489 636 229 402 8053 307 859 480 219 1074 59 135 239 975 205 185

JEDDAH JEDDAH JEDDAH DUBAI DUBAI DUBAI BAGHDAD DUBAI JEDDAH DOHA CAIRO LONDON NEW YORK JEDDAH DAMMAM RIYADH DUBAI MUSCAT RIYADH DOHA DUBAI ABU DHABI-INTL AMMAN-QUEEN ALIA RIYADH SHARJAH BAHRAIN AMSTERDAM JEDDAH ALEXANDRIA SOHAG DOHA DUBAI BAHRAIN MUSCAT DUBAI MUMBAI SHARJAH COCHIN FRANKFURT COLOMBO BEIRUT DUBAI ABU DHABI-INTL DUBAI TAIF BAHRAIN DOHA DUBAI BAHRAIN AMMAN-QUEEN ALIA CHENNAI LAHORE DUBAI

14:30 14:35 15:35 15:50 17:35 16:40 20:00 19:25 18:45 19:00 18:05 19:35 16:35 15:10 18:20 18:45 18:20 15:55 15:55 16:40 16:40 16:50 16:55 17:15 17:25 17:30 17:50 17:55 18:15 18:30 18:40 18:45 19:30 19:55 20:05 20:10 20:20 20:35 20:55 21:10 21:20 20:55 21:35 21:40 21:45 21:45 22:00 22:00 22:05 22:20 22:30 23:05 23:20

Airlines AIC UAL PIA JAI BBC DLH THY AFG UAE ETD MSR QTR FDB QTR ETH FDB JAI JZR THY GFA KAC THY FDB BAW QTR KAC KAC ABY UAE ETD ABY FDB QTR FDB GFA KAC KAC MSC MSC KAC JZR IRC MEA KAC SYR JZR MSR MSR UAE FDB QTR KAC

Departure Flights on Monday 24/2/2014 Flt Route 982 AHMEDABAD 981 WASHINGTON 206 LAHORE 573 MUMBAI 44 DHAKA 635 FRANKFURT 773 ISTANBUL-ATATURK 416 KABUL 854 DUBAI 306 ABU DHABI 613 CAIRO 1085 DOHA 68 DUBAI 1077 DOHA 3718 ADDIS ABABA 70 DUBAI 575 ABU DHABI 164 DUBAI 765 ISTANBUL-SABIHA 212 BAHRAIN 545 ALEXANDRIA 771 ISTANBUL-ATATURK 54 DUBAI 156 LONDON 1087 DOHA 787 JEDDAH 671 DUBAI 126 SHARJAH 856 DUBAI 302 ABU DHABI 122 SHARJAH 56 DUBAI 1071 DOHA 8052 DUBAI 214 BAHRAIN 541 CAIRO 165 ROME 406 SOHAG 404 ASYUT 103 LONDON 776 JEDDAH 6522 LAMERD 405 BEIRUT 785 JEDDAH 342 DAMASCUS 176 DUBAI 580 SOHAG 611 CAIRO 872 DUBAI 58 DUBAI 1079 DOHA 673 DUBAI

DIAL161 FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION

Time 00:05 00:55 01:05 01:10 01:45 02:10 02:55 03:30 03:50 04:00 04:10 04:15 04:40 05:15 06:00 06:30 06:45 06:55 07:05 07:15 07:15 07:30 08:30 08:45 08:50 09:25 09:30 09:40 09:55 10:05 10:10 10:20 10:55 11:00 11:25 11:30 11:50 11:50 12:15 12:20 12:25 12:45 12:55 13:00 13:30 13:45 13:50 14:00 14:15 14:30 14:55 15:05

KAC KAC KAC KNE SVA KNE FDB KNE OMA JZR FDB ETD QTR UAE JZR RJA ABY SVA GFA JZR JZR RBG UAE JZR MPH FDB MSC QTR GFA KAC FDB OMA KAC KAC ABY JAI KAC IAW DLH FDB DHX ALK MEA ETD KNE GFA KAC FDB UAE KAC QTR JZR KAC

773 741 617 473 501 475 8056 481 646 238 8058 304 1073 858 538 641 128 511 216 184 266 554 3854 134 93 64 402 1081 218 283 62 648 331 361 120 571 351 158A 636 8054 171 230 403 308 461 220 301 60 860 205 1075 502 411

RIYADH DAMMAM DOHA JEDDAH JEDDAH JEDDAH DUBAI TAIF MUSCAT AMMAN DUBAI ABU DHABI DOHA DUBAI CAIRO AMMAN SHARJAH RIYADH BAHRAIN DUBAI BEIRUT ALEXANDRIA DUBAI BAHRAIN AL MAKTOUM INTERNATIONAL DUBAI ALEXANDRIA DOHA BAHRAIN DHAKA DUBAI MUSCAT TRIVANDRUM COLOMBO SHARJAH MUMBAI KOCHI AL NAJAF DAMMAM DUBAI BAHRAIN COLOMBO BEIRUT ABU DHABI RIYADH BAHRAIN MUMBAI DUBAI DUBAI ISLAMABAD DOHA LUXOR BANGKOK

15:20 15:20 15:30 15:30 15:45 16:25 16:30 16:40 16:55 16:55 17:20 17:35 17:40 17:50 17:50 17:55 18:05 18:15 18:20 18:40 18:50 18:55 19:00 19:10 19:20 19:25 19:30 19:40 20:15 20:30 20:45 20:55 20:55 21:00 21:00 21:10 21:10 21:15 21:35 21:40 21:50 22:10 22:20 22:20 22:30 22:30 22:35 22:40 22:50 22:55 23:10 23:30 23:55

34

s ta rs CROSSWORD 469

STAR TRACK Aries (March 21-April 19) You may find yourself unrealistic, in a dreamy mood and at odds with your duties. Friends may not appreciate or agree with your dreamy side just now.

Travel may be just the thing to help you achieve a focus for what you want to accomplish.

If you cannot take several days off from your daily activities, at least take a one-day outing, perhaps to the next city or an interesting nearby tourist site. You can have some wonderful close times with young people this evening. You may be sought after for your counsel regarding very personal and emotional issues. You will be able to be understanding and handle this unpredictable material. Neighbors may ask for your input on community matters this evening. Your suggestions make a positive difference.

Taurus (April 20-May 20) The new, the futuristic and the high-tech all have your attention today.

Actually, a shopping trip can prove quite fruitful. While others may consider your purchase a sort of white elephant type of purchase, you may consider your purchase an investment.

Confidentially, you made a good choice! A bookstore may also get your attention today and you will want to encourage each member of the family to find a book he or she can enjoy as well. Do not push your energies too far now, as you could incite an argument. You may spend the rest of this day enjoying your purchases. The evening will find you visiting with one or two of your many friends. Talking and listening to experiences and laughing over the change of the times relieve much tension.

Gemini (May 21-June 20)

ACROSS 1. Consideration in dealing with others and avoiding giving offence.

5. A newspaper or official journal.

12. Electrical conduction through a gas in an applied electric field.

15. Title for a civil or military leader (especially in Turkey).

16. Vacuously or complacently and unconsciously foolish.

17. A unit of pain intensity.

18. Being three more than fifty.

19. A strong emotion.

20. An Indian side dish of yogurt and chopped cucumbers and spices.

22. Lying in the same plane.

24. In a nimble or agile manner.

26. A groove or furrow (especially one in soft earth caused by wheels).

27. A city in southeastern South Korea.

28. Tropical starchy tuberous root.

35. United States astronomer (1835-1909).

37. Before noon.

38. Lacking either stimulating or irritating characteristics.

40. An independent ruler or chieftain (especially in Africa or Arabia).

41. English scholastic philosopher and assumed author of Occam's Razor (12851349).

44. A piece of jewelry that is pinned onto the wearer's garment.

45. The seat within a bishop's diocese where his cathedral is located adv.

46. English theoretical physicist who applied relativity theory to quantum mechanics and predicted the existence of antimatter and the positron (1902-1984).

47. Wool of the alpaca.

49. A telegram sent abroad.

51. A flat-bottomed volcanic crater that was formed by an explosion.

53. A short erect tail.

54. In operation or operational.

55. A mountain peak in the Andes in Argentina (20,997 feet high).

58. Light informal conversation for social occasions.

60. The compass point midway between east and southeast.

64. Any of a number of fishes of the family Carangidae.

66. City in Sudan.

68. Highly excited.

72. Resinlike substance secreted by certain lac insects.

75. Small genus of Eurasian aquatic perennial herbs.

76. A United Nations agency that invest directly in companies and guarantees loans to private investors.

77. A stone pillar having a rectangular cross section tapering towards a pyramidal top.

79. The median ridge on the breastbone of birds that fly.

80. Seed of a pea plant.

81. Lacking external ears.

82. Type genus of the Alcidae comprising solely the razorbill.

DOWN 1. A fine grained mineral having a soft soapy feel and consisting of hydrated magnesium silicate.

2. A fee charged for exchanging currencies.

3. A small fragment of something broken off from the whole.

4. A watercourse that carries water away from a mill or water wheel or turbine.

5. Of great mass.

6. A former copper coin of Pakistan.

7. The capital of Croatia.

8. The compass point midway between northeast and east.

9. A tumor consisting of a mixture of tissues not normally found at that site.

10. A soft gray malleable metallic element that resembles tin but discolors on exposure to air.

11. The lofty nest of a bird of prey (such as a hawk or eagle).

12. A farewell remark.

13. A unit of weight used in some Moslem countries near the Mediterranean.

14. Soil that is plastic when moist but hard when fired.

21. Second brightest star in Perseus.

23. A soft yellow malleable ductile (trivalent and univalent) metallic element.

25. (slang) A gangster's pistol.

29. Reduce in worth, character, etc..

30. A person of unquestioning obedience.

31. Little known Kamarupan languages.

32. An indehiscent fruit derived from a single ovary having one or many seeds within a fleshy wall or pericarp.

33. 1 species.

34. (biology) Of unlike parts or organs.

36. A severe or trying experience.

39. With rapid movements.

42. Fabric dyed with splotches of green and brown and black and tan.

43. A percussion instrument consisting of a pair of hollow pieces of wood or bone (usually held between the thumb and fingers) that are made to click together (as by Spanish dancers) in rhythm with the dance.

48. A note appended to a letter after the signature.

50. (Welsh) A warrior god.

52. Continuing forever or indefinitely.

56. North American republic containing 50 states - 48 conterminous states in North America plus Alaska in northwest North America and the Hawaiian Islands in the Pacific Ocean.

57. A performer who dances.

59. A soft silvery metallic element of the alkali earth group.

61. Genus of tropical plants with creeping rootstocks and small umbellate flowers.

62. Tall perennial herb of tropical Asia with dark green leaves.

63. A kind of heavy jacket (`windcheater' is a British term).

65. A small restaurant where drinks and snacks are sold.

67. A loud utterance.

69. A Gaelic-speaking Celt in Ireland or Scotland or the Isle of Man. 70. An organization of countries formed in 1961 to agree on a common policy for the sale of petroleum.

71. Offering fun and gaiety.

73. Fish eggs or egg-filled ovary.

74. A loose sleeveless outer garment made from aba cloth.

78. A state in midwestern United States.

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2014

Complete any physical changes you want to make now such as a new hairstyle, clothes, etc. You may be surprised and pleased at the new emerging butterfly you see in yourself. You have a need to be acknowledged and a new look may help to boost your confidence. Remember to continue to make notes on your calendar so that you will stay updated with the chores you feel you need to do. This will keep things from adding up and crashing in on you when you are busy. You may feel that you are in touch with others; the lines of communication are open. The support you need is there for you now. New friends and an involvement in idealistic groups take on greater importance; the old is worth review but the new seems to hold all the answers.

Cancer (June 21-July 22) Mundane tasks are not for you—your interests are elsewhere! You may yearn for an adventure to take you out and away! Regardless—it is important to perform your chores—they are necessary ingredients that get you from one place to another. After the chores are completed, you can sit down with your feet up and just relax for a bit. This afternoon, you may want to become involved with what others are doing. You will find this is a time of high energy—any project begun now has the potential of being quite successful. Everything conspires to reveal you at your most elegant, particularly in social situations. You will have a real connection when joined by others with the same commonalties—religion, political issues, community support, etc.

Leo (July 23-August 22) Stretch as if you were a cat and then get your wishing mind focused because this is a day that can take you in many positive directions. Wishes can come true!

Science, philosophy and religion are likely to seem as if they hold the ultimate answers.

True wisdom lies in discovering that there are no ultimate answers, only good questions.

Ideological crusades can set your head spinning; distant journeys can stir your soul. There is money coming in your direction as well as the removal of a past debt. You may be able to enjoy and value your own life situation today or feel especially kind toward a friend or loved one. Sharing a little time with your lover or with close friends completes your day.

Beautiful music fills the air this evening.

Virgo (August 23-September 22) General good feeling and a sense of support and harmony make this a happy time. Phone conversations and over-the-fence visits with neighbors can add to these pleasant times. You may appear very easygoing just now. Everything seems to be working together—you may find yourself expressive and able to communicate well. Things may get a bit dull toward the afternoon but you can change that with a bicycle ride or trip to a popular tourist attraction. One important lesson this year is in communicating clearly. There is no better way to learn this than when you are with others. You will have new insights as you observe others. See if you can spot the people that communicate with authority, respect, love, aspiration, exhilaration or curiosity.

Libra (September 23-October 22) You have entered a period of greater social involvement—especially with neighbors and brothers or sisters. Learning and teaching satisfy an important need. Selfexpression is the word for today and many will be on the receiving end of your chatter. You can be most persuasive, especially when some question comes up about the problem or comfort of a family member. Most of all, your joy of life and interest in people create a magnetism that few can ignore. One of your friends needs advice today but if you can encourage your friend to answer her or his own questions, your opinion or approval will not be needed. Letter writing, telephone conversations and over-the-fence visits with neighbors make for a busy day with lots of good fellowship.

Scorpio (October 23-November 21) Excited to have a free day, you may feel like getting out and visiting with those you love. Being more in touch with other people gives you a sense of connection.

You are coming into a period of greater than usual emphasis on emotional security, which is likely to manifest as putting down roots somehow. Home and family matters can play a big part in this: relatives take on greater importance. You may find yourself visiting with relatives that live a short distance away. This afternoon you could meet up with an old friend for fishing, shopping, working out at a gym, target practice, a jam session or just hanging out together. Spiritual values will prevail and poetry or some form of art can be expressed this evening.

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21) You have excellent taste in clothes and the proper attire. As you well know, this can make a difference in your success by making those good first impressions. This is not a good time to shop for yourself—however, it is a good time to shop for others or to cull through that closet of yours and plan your shopping. Set aside some of the things that will need cleaning or mending. Avoid lifting heavy objects, even if it means storing things in more than one container. Shopping for a friend’s or loved one’s gift today turns out to be lots of fun. Others may find you especially witty this afternoon.

Movies, books and all forms of escape could prove very enjoyable. Lovers, children and other people or things dear to your heart are emphasized at this period in your life.

Capricorn (December 22-January 19) Your confidence and happiness attract joyful and contented people into your life. Home, family and real estate are some of the interests that require a lot of discipline and responsibility. Relationships need nurturing and you are in the mood to listen. Possessions need a reassessment—you may want to dive in and sell or give away some of the things you have been storing and are not using any longer. Neatness is your trademark; you may have been just waiting to find this time to clean out and get rid of those outworn and little-used items. Clutter is not your thing! You may be reading, reviewing or learning about some new tax law this evening—discovering some winning tax strategies. A sense of support and harmony make this a happy time.

Aquarius (January 20- February 18) Do your outside work early in the day today and make sure you protect yourself from the wind and cold. Others may take advantage of your generous nature. You tend to bail friends and loved ones out of financial trouble whenever you hear about their plight. It is important for you to see the necessity for all people to learn their own lessons with financial responsibilities. Do not confuse wishful thinking for sound financial judgment. You will profit from your intuition later this afternoon. Lovers, children and other people dear to your heart are emphasized this evening and tonight may be a time of a family gathering that needs the attention of any available camera. As your family grows, a pocket notebook calendar will help you remember special occasions.

Pisces (February 19-March 20) Discovering what you truly believe in—fighting for it, even—is a high personal priority now. Religion, law, politics, travel and higher education are some of the arenas where this interest takes place. Close relationships offer a lot of potential for good fortune. A marriage or other partnership can raise high hopes and give your spirits a boost.

People close to you are optimistic and have good prospects. This evening your creative skills may come into play as your inner awareness of beauty may show itself through your involvement in sculpting, painting or weaving. This is also a good time for romance.

Perhaps a shared hobby will hold your attention now. General good feeling and a sense of support and harmony make this a happy time.

Word Search

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Yesterday’s Solution

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2014

i n f o r m at i o n For labor-related inquiries and complaints: Call MSAL hotline 128 GOVERNORATE Sabah Hospital

24812000

Amiri Hospital

22450005

Maternity Hospital

24843100

Mubarak Al-Kabir Hospital

25312700

Chest Hospital

24849400

Farwaniya Hospital

24892010

Adan Hospital

23940620

Ibn Sina Hospital

24840300

Al-Razi Hospital

24846000

Physiotherapy Hospital

24874330/9

PHARMACY

ADDRESS

PHONE

Ahmadi

Sama Safwan Abu Halaifa Danat Al-Sultan

Fahaeel Makka St Abu Halaifa-Coastal Rd Mahboula Block 1, Coastal Rd

23915883 23715414 23726558

Jahra

Modern Jahra Madina Munawara

Jahra-Block 3 Lot 1 Jahra-Block 92

24575518 24566622

Capital

Ahlam Khaldiya Coop

Fahad Al-Salem St Khaldiya Coop

22436184 24833967

Farwaniya

New Shifa Ferdous Coop Modern Safwan

Farwaniya Block 40 Ferdous Coop Old Kheitan Block 11

24734000 24881201 24726638

Tariq Hana Ikhlas Hawally & Rawdha Ghadeer Kindy Ibn Al-Nafis Mishrif Coop Salwa Coop

Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St Salmiya-Amman St Hawally-Beirut St Hawally & Rawdha Coop Jabriya-Block 1A Jabriya-Block 3B Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St Mishrif Coop Salwa Coop

25726265 25647075 22625999 22564549 25340559 25326554 25721264 25380581 25628241

Hawally

Al-Madeena

22418714

Al-Shuhada

22545171

Al-Shuwaikh

24810598

Al-Nuzha

22545171

Sabhan

24742838

Al-Helaly

22434853

Al-Faiha

22545051

Al-Farwaniya

24711433

Al-Sulaibikhat

24316983

Al-Fahaheel

23927002

Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh

24316983

Ahmadi

23980088

Al-Mangaf

23711183

Al-Shuaiba

23262845

Kaizen center

25716707

Rawda

22517733

Adaliya

22517144

Al-Jahra

25610011

Khaldiya

24848075

Al-Salmiya

25616368

Kaifan

24849807

Shamiya

24848913

Shuwaikh

24814507

Abdullah Salem

22549134

Nuzha

22526804

Industrial Shuwaikh

24814764

Qadsiya

22515088

Dasmah

22532265

Bneid Al-Gar

22531908

Shaab

22518752

Qibla

22459381

Ayoun Al-Qibla

22451082

Mirqab

22456536

Sharq

22465401

Salmiya

25746401

Jabriya

25316254

Maidan Hawally

25623444

Bayan

25388462

Mishref

25381200

W Hawally

22630786

Sabah

24810221

Jahra

24770319

New Jahra

24575755

West Jahra

24772608

South Jahra

24775066

North Jahra

24775992

North Jleeb

24311795

Ardhiya

24884079

Firdous

24892674

Omariya

24719048

N Khaitan

24710044

Fintas

23900322

INTERNATIONAL CALLS

PRIVATE CLINICS Ophthalmologists Dr. Abidallah Al-Mansoor 25622444 Dr. Samy Al-Rabeea 25752222 Dr. Masoma Habeeb 25321171 Dr. Mubarak Al-Ajmy 25739999 Dr. Mohsen Abel 25757700 Dr Adnan Hasan Alwayl 25732223 Dr. Abdallah Al-Baghly 25732223 Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT) Dr. Ahmed Fouad Mouner 24555050 Ext 510 Dr. Abdallah Al-Ali 25644660 Dr. Abd Al-Hameed Al-Taweel 25646478 Dr. Sanad Al-Fathalah 25311996 Dr. Mohammad Al-Daaory 25731988 Dr. Ismail Al-Fodary 22620166 Dr. Mahmoud Al-Booz 25651426 General Practitioners Dr. Mohamme Y Majidi 24555050 Ext 123 Dr. Yousef Al-Omar 24719312 Dr. Tarek Al-Mikhazeem 23926920 Dr. Kathem Maarafi 25730465 Dr. Abdallah Ahmad Eyadah 25655528 Dr. Nabeel Al-Ayoobi 24577781 Dr. Dina Abidallah Al-Refae 25333501 Urologists Dr. Ali Naser Al-Serfy 22641534 Dr. Fawzi Taher Abul 22639955 Dr. Khaleel Abidallah Al-Awadi 22616660 Dr. Adel Al-Hunayan FRCS (C) 25313120 Dr. Leons Joseph 66703427 Psychologists /Psychotherapists

Paediatricians

Plastic Surgeons Dr. Mohammad Al-Khalaf

22547272

Dr. Khaled Hamadi

Dr. Abdal-Redha Lari

22617700

Dr. Abd Al-Aziz Al-Rashed

Dr. Abdel Quttainah

25625030/60

Family Doctor Dr Divya Damodar

23729596/23729581

Psychiatrists Dr. Esam Al-Ansari

22635047

Dr Eisa M. Al-Balhan

22613623/0

Gynaecologists & Obstetricians DrAdrian arbe

23729596/23729581

Dr. Verginia s.Marin

2572-6666 ext 8321

Endocrinologist

25665898 25340300

Dr. Zahra Qabazard

25710444

Dr. Sohail Qamar

22621099

Dr. Snaa Maaroof

25713514

Dr. Pradip Gujare

23713100

Dr. Zacharias Mathew

24334282

(1) Ear, Nose and Throat (2) Plastic Surgeon Dr. Abdul Mohsin Jafar, FRCS (Canada)

25655535

Dentists

Dr. Fozeya Ali Al-Qatan

22655539

Dr. Majeda Khalefa Aliytami

25343406

Dr. Shamah Al-Matar

22641071/2

Dr. Ahmad Al-Khooly

25739272

Dr. Anesah Al-Rasheed

22562226

22618787

Dr. Abidallah Al-Amer

22561444

Dr. Faysal Al-Fozan

22619557

Dr. Abdallateef Al-Katrash

22525888

Dr. Abidallah Al-Duweisan

25653755

Dr. Bader Al-Ansari

25620111

General Surgeons Dr. Amer Zawaz Al-Amer

22610044

Dr. Mohammad Yousef Basher

25327148

Internists, Chest & Heart Dr. Adnan Ebil Dr. Latefa Al-Duweisan

22666300 25728004

Dr. Nadem Al-Ghabra

25355515

Dr. Mobarak Aldoub

24726446

Dr Nasser Behbehani

25654300/3

Soor Center Tel: 2290-1677 Fax: 2290 1688

Neurologists

22639939

Dr. Mousa Khadada

info@soorcenter.com www.soorcenter.com

3729596/3729581

Dr. Sohal Najem Al-Shemeri

25633324

Dr. Jasem Mola Hassan

25345875

Gastrologists Dr. Sami Aman

22636464

Dr. Mohammad Al-Shamaly

25322030

Dr. Foad Abidallah Al-Ali

22633135

Kaizen center 25716707

25339330

Dr. Ahmad Al-Ansari 25658888 Dr. Kamal Al-Shomr 25329924 Physiotherapists & VD Dr. Deyaa Shehab

25722291

Dr. Musaed Faraj Khamees

22666288

Rheumatologists: Dr. Adel Al-Awadi

Dr Anil Thomas

Dr. Salem soso

Dr. Abd Al-Naser Al-Othman

25330060

Dr. Khaled Al-Jarallah

25722290

Internist, Chest & Heart DR.Mohammes Akkad

24555050 Ext 210

Dr. Mohammad Zubaid MB, ChB, FRCPC, PACC Assistant Professor Of Medicine Head, Division of Cardiology Mubarak Al-Kabeer Hospital Consultant Cardiologist Dr. Farida Al-Habib MD, PH.D, FACC Inaya German Medical Center Te: 2575077 Fax: 25723123

2611555-2622555

William Schuilenberg, RPC 2290-1677 Zaina Al Zabin, M.Sc. 2290-1677

Afghanistan 0093 Albania 00355 Algeria 00213 Andorra 00376 Angola 00244 Anguilla 001264 Antiga 001268 Argentina 0054 Armenia 00374 Australia 0061 Austria 0043 Bahamas 001242 Bahrain 00973 Bangladesh 00880 Barbados 001246 Belarus 00375 Belgium 0032 Belize 00501 Benin 00229 Bermuda 001441 Bhutan 00975 Bolivia 00591 Bosnia 00387 Botswana 00267 Brazil 0055 Brunei 00673 Bulgaria 00359 Burkina 00226 Burundi 00257 Cambodia 00855 Cameroon 00237 Canada 001 Cape Verde 00238 Cayman Islands 001345 Central African 00236 Chad 00235 Chile 0056 China 0086 Colombia 0057 Comoros 00269 Congo 00242 Cook Islands 00682 Costa Rica 00506 Croatia 00385 Cuba 0053 Cyprus 00357 Cyprus (Northern) 0090392 Czech Republic 00420 Denmark 0045 Diego Garcia 00246 Djibouti 00253 Dominica 001767 Dominican Republic 001809 Ecuador 00593 Egypt 0020 El Salvador 00503 England (UK) 0044 Equatorial Guinea 00240 Eritrea 00291 Estonia 00372 Ethiopia 00251 Falkland Islands 00500 Faroe Islands 00298 Fiji 00679 Finland 00358 France 0033 French Guiana 00594 French Polynesia 00689 Gabon 00241 Gambia 00220 Georgia 00995 Germany 0049 Ghana 00233 Gibraltar 00350 Greece 0030 Greenland 00299 Grenada 001473 Guadeloupe 00590 Guam 001671 Guatemala 00502 Guinea 00224 Guyana 00592 Haiti 00509 Holland (Netherlands) 0031 Honduras 00504 Hong Kong 00852 Hungary 0036 Ibiza (Spain) 0034 Iceland 00354 India 0091 Indian Ocean 00873 Indonesia 0062

Iran 0098 Iraq 00964 Ireland 00353 Italy 0039 Ivory Coast 00225 Jamaica 001876 Japan 0081 Jordan 00962 Kazakhstan 007 Kenya 00254 Kiribati 00686 Kuwait 00965 Kyrgyzstan 00996 Laos 00856 Latvia 00371 Lebanon 00961 Liberia 00231 Libya 00218 Lithuania 00370 Luxembourg 00352 Macau 00853 Macedonia 00389 Madagascar 00261 Majorca 0034 Malawi 00265 Malaysia 0060 Maldives 00960 Mali 00223 Malta 00356 Marshall Islands 00692 Martinique 00596 Mauritania 00222 Mauritius 00230 Mayotte 00269 Mexico 0052 Micronesia 00691 Moldova 00373 Monaco 00377 Mongolia 00976 Montserrat 001664 Morocco 00212 Mozambique 00258 Myanmar (Burma) 0095 Namibia 00264 Nepal 00977 Netherlands (Holland) 0031 Netherlands Antilles 00599 New Caledonia 00687 New Zealand 0064 Nicaragua 00505 Nigar 00227 Nigeria 00234 Niue 00683 Norfolk Island 00672 Northern Ireland (UK) 0044 North Korea 00850 Norway 0047 Oman 00968 Pakistan 0092 Palau 00680 Panama 00507 Papua New Guinea 00675 Paraguay 00595 Peru 0051 Philippines 0063 Poland 0048 Portugal 00351 Puerto Rico 001787 Qatar 00974 Romania 0040 Russian Federation 007 Rwanda 00250 Saint Helena 00290 Saint Kitts 001869 Saint Lucia 001758 Saint Pierre 00508 Saint Vincent 001784 Samoa US 00684 Samoa West 00685 San Marino 00378 Sao Tone 00239 Saudi Arabia 00966 Scotland (UK) 0044 Senegal 00221 Seychelles 00284 Sierra Leone 00232 Singapore 0065 Slovakia 00421 Slovenia 00386 Solomon Islands 00677

36

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2014

LIFESTYLE A w a r d s

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Lupita Nyong’o accepts the award for outstanding support- Forest Whitaker poses in the press room ing actress in a motion picture for “12 Years a Slave” at the with the chairman award and the award for outstanding actor in a motion picture 45th NAACP Image Awards. —AP Photos for “Lee Daniels’ The Butler”.

David Oyelowo accepts the award for outstanding supporting actor in a motion picture for “Lee Daniels’ The Butler”.

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Years a Slave” swept the film categories at the NAACP Image Awards with four wins. The historical epic’s prizes at Saturday’s 45th annual ceremony honoring diversity in the arts included outstanding motion picture, directing for Steve McQueen, writing for John Ridley and supporting actress for Lupita Nyong’o. “It’s been a historical year in film for all of us in this room, and I’m so proud to be a part of that history,” Nyong’o said.

“It’s such an honor to be recognized for a film that has meant so much to so many people, a film that has inspired discourse long overdue.”

Kevin Hart won as entertainer of the year and actor in a comedy series for “Real Husbands of Hollywood,” his BET reality TV lampoon that was also selected as outstanding comedy series. Kerry Washington picked up her fifth Image Award: outstanding actress in a drama series for her role as crisis management consultant Olivia Pope on ABC’s “Scandal,” which was also honored as outstanding drama series.

Other winners at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium ceremony hosted by actor Anthony Anderson included “Steve Harvey” as talk show and David Oyelowo as supporting actor in a motion picture for “Lee Daniels’ The Butler.” “Thank you America for embracing me,” the British actor said. “I’m one of those guys with the funny accent.” Forest Whitaker won the actor in a motion picture prize for “The Butler.” Whitaker, who founded the Whitaker Peace and Development Initiative, was also honored with the NAACAP Chairman’s Award, which recognizes distinguished public service. Whitaker

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“All I’ve tried to do with my life and work is to deeper my connection with humanity, so I’ve lived by the words of an old Nat King Cole song my daddy used to play on his stereo, which is, ‘The greatest thing you’ll ever learn is just to love and

be loved in return,’” said Whitaker. Oprah Winfrey and Stevie Wonder paid tribute to Nelson Mandela, the late South African leader who died last year. “We can each reflect, I do believe, the greatness he inspired in all of us,” said Winfrey. “I have to say sitting at his funeral and watching that casket go into the ground, I miss him dearly. I want you all to know that his life was an example to us all.”

Several winners were previously announced, including music honorees John Legend as male artist, Beyonce as female artist and Robin Thicke, T.I. and Pharrell as group or collaboration for their hit tune “Blurred Lines.” The awards are presented annually by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and the civil rights group’s members select the winners. —AP

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(From left) Jeremy Kleiner, Dede Gardner, Lupita Nyong’o, and John Ridley pose in the press room with the award for outstanding motion picture for “12 Years a Slave”.

Forest Whitaker, right, accepts the Chairman Award.

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Kevin Hart, center, and members of the crew of “Real Husbands of Hollywood” accept the award for outstanding comedy series.

Oprah Winfrey presents a tribute to Nelson Mandela on stage.

Kerry Washington poses in the press room with the award for outstanding actress in a drama series for “Scandal”.

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AMPAS president Cheryl Boone Isaacs accepts the Hall of Fame award.

Idris Elba speaks on stage at the 45th NAACP Image Awards.

Vin Diesel speaks on stage.

FILM Motion picture: “12 Years A Slave.”

Actor in a motion picture: Forest Whitaker, “Lee Daniels’ The Butler.”

Actress in a motion picture: Angela Bassett, “Black Nativity.”

Supporting actor in a motion picture: David Oyelowo, “Lee Daniels’ The Butler.”

Supporting actress in a motion picture: Lupita Nyong’o, “12 Years A Slave” Directing in a motion picture: Steve McQueen, “12 Years A Slave.”

Writing in a motion picture: John Ridley, “12 Years A Slave.”

Independent motion picture: “Fruitvale Station.”

International motion picture: “War Witch.”

Documentary: “Free Angela and All Political Prisoners.”

TELEVISION: Drama series: “Scandal.”

Actor in a drama series: LL Cool J, “NCIS: Los Angeles.”

Actress in a drama series: Kerry Washington, “Scandal.”

Supporting actor in a drama series: Joe Morton, “Scandal.”

Supporting actress in a drama series: Taraji P. Henson, “Person of Interest.”

Directing in a drama series: Regina King, “Southland.”

Writing in a drama series: Janine Sherman Barrois, “Criminal Minds.”

Comedy series: “Real Husbands of Hollywood.”

Actor in a comedy series: Kevin Hart, “Real Husbands of Hollywood.”

Actress in a comedy series: Wendy Raquel Robinson, “The Game.”

Supporting actor in a comedy series: Morris Chestnut, “Nurse Jackie.”

Supporting actress in a comedy series: Brandy Norwood, “The Game.”

Directing in a comedy series: Millicent Shelton, “The Hustle.”

Writing in a comedy series: Vincent Brown, “A.N.T. Farm.”

Television movie, miniseries or drama special: “Being Mary Jane.”

Actor in a television movie, miniseries or drama special: Idris Elba, “Luther.”

Actress in a television movie, miniseries or drama special: Gabrielle Union, “Being Mary Jane.”

Actor in a daytime drama series: Kristoff St. John, “The Young and the Restless.”

Actress in a daytime drama series: Tatyana Ali, “The Young and the Restless.”

Talk series: “Steve Harvey.”

Reality series: “Iyanla: Fix My Life.”

Variety series or special: “Black Girls Rock!”

Documentary: “Richard Pryor: Omit the Logic.”

Children’s program: “Wynton Marsalis: A YoungArts MasterClass.”

Performance by a youth in a children’s program: China Anne McClain, “A.N.T. Farm.”

News series or special: “The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross with Henry Louis Gates, Jr.” MUSIC: Male artist: John Legend.

Female artist: BeyoncÈ.

New artist: K. Michelle.

Duo, group or collaboration: Robin Thicke featuring T.I. and Pharrell, “Blurred Lines.”

Song: John Legend, “All Of Me.” Album: Charlie Wilson, “Love, Charlie.”

Jazz album: SFJAZZ Collective, “The Songs of Stevie Wonder.”

World Music Album: Natalie Cole, “Natalie Cole en Espanol.”

Gospel album: Tamela Mann, “Best Days Deluxe Edition.”

Music video: Janelle Mon·e featuring Erykah Badu, “Q.U.E.E.N.” LITERATURE Fiction: Pamela Samuels Young, “Anybody ’s Daughter.”

Non-fiction: Deborah Willis and Barbara Krauthemer, “Envisioning Emancipation: Black Americans and the End of Slavery.”

Debut author: Sheri Booker, “Nine Years Under.”

Biography: Jeanne Theoharis, “The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks.

Instructional: Robin Quivers, “The Vegucation of Robin: How Real Food Saved My Life.”

Poetr y: Frank X Walker, “ Turn Me Loose: The Unghosting of Medgar Evers.”

Children’s: Kadir Nelson, “Nelson Mandela.”

Youth: Tanya Lee Stone, “Courage Has No Color, The True Story of the Triple Nickles: America’s First Black Paratroopers.”

ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR Kevin Hart —AP

37

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2014

LIFESTYLE M u s i c

&

M o v i e s

All bets off as crowded Oscars race enters home straight

T

he race for Oscars glory is entering its final week in Hollywood and suspense is building, as one of the most crowded fields in decades battles for Academy Awards gold. Three filmshistorical drama “12 Years a Slave,” space thriller “Gravity” and crime caper “American Hustle”-are all frontrunners for the coveted best picture prize to be handed out on March 2. In the acting categories, Cate Blanchett leads the pack for her turn in Woody Allen’s “Blue Jasmine” while Matthew McConaughey is widely tipped for his portrayal of homophobic AIDS activist Ron Woodroof in “Dallas Buyers Club.”

For supporting cast, Jared Leto’s role as Woodroof’s unlikely transsexual business partner has put him ahead of the field, while Lupita Nyong’o could take home a statuette for her big-screen debut in “12 Years a Slave.” But all bets are off for the big prize of the night, the winner of which will be announced at the end of the 86th Academy Awards ceremony hosted by US talk show host Ellen DeGeneres.

No shoo-ins this year “One thing is confirmed for certain: There will be genuine suspense until the last envelope is opened,” wrote Variety’s Tim Gray after Britain’s Baftas, the last major awards show before the seasonclimaxing Oscars. Voting for the famous golden statuettes began on Valentine’s Day, and the nearly 6,000 voting members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences have until Tuesday afternoon to cast their ballots.

That is when exhausted nominees can in theory sit back after their monthslong marathon campaigns of media interviews, red carpet appearances and publicity spots, which come to a frenzied peak for the 12 days of actual voting. It has been a long awards seasonextended by the Winter Olympics in Sochi, which bumped the Oscars from February into March. And it has also been one of the most grueling, partly due to the bumper crop of films vying for glory.

Big field for best picture Nine films are up for best picture: “American Hustle,” “Captain Phillips,” “Dallas Buyers Club,” “Gravity,” “Her,” “Nebraska,” “Philomena,” “12 Years A Slave” and Martin Scorsese’s “The Wolf of Wall Street.” “12 Years a Slave,” a harrowing true story of a black man sold into slavery, won the top prizes at the Golden Globes and the Baftas. Its British director Steve McQueen would be the first black

File photo shows Oscar host Ellen DeGeneres opens the 79th Academy Awards telecast, in Los Angeles. —AP

File photo shows from left, Bono, Larry Mullen, Jr, The Edge and Adam Clayton, of the Irish band U2, winners of the award for best original song for “Ordinary Love” from the film “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom,” arrive at The Weinstein Company’s Golden Globes after party at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. —AP

This image released by Focus Features shows Jared Leto as Rayon in a scene from “Dallas Buyers Club.” —AP

This image released by Fox Searchlight shows Michael Fassbender, left, Lupita Nyong’o and Chiwetel Ejiofor, right, in a scene from the film, “12 Years A Slave.” —AP

filmmaker to win the Oscar for best picture. And “Slave” star Chiwetel Ejiofor could yet pip McConaughey for best actor.

The film earned nine Oscar nods, including one for Michael Fassbender in the best supporting actor category for his searing turn as a sadistic slave owner.

Two other films share top honors for most nominations with 10 apiece”American Hustle” and Mexican director Alfonso Cuaron’s “Gravity.” Cuaron is the frontrunner for the best director prize, and his star Sandra Bullock earned high

praise for her work in the 3D space drama, prompting some to suggest she could cause an upset in the best actress race.

Australian Blanchett remains the firm favorite in that category-the revival of child sex abuse allegations against Allen seems to have had little impact on her chances-despite a strong field also containing Bullock, Meryl Streep (“August: Osage County”), Judi Dench (“Philomena”) and Amy Adams (“American Hustle.”) The star-studded Oscars broadcast will include perform-

ances by Irish rockers U2 and a first Oscars turn by veteran Bette Midler. It will be preceded by the usual fashion extravaganza on the red carpet, as Tinseltown’s finest parade along Hollywood Boulevard and into the Dolby Theatre.

Legendary Hollywood kingpin Harvey Weinstein, behind recent Oscar winners “The King’s Speech” and “The Artist,” said the sheer number of good 2013 movies squeezed out others that would normally have made the cut. He has thrown his considerable muscle behind moving Irish

family drama “Philomena,” after other Weinstein-backed films failed to make the best picture shortlist, including “August: Osage County” and “Lee Daniels’ The Butler.” “Last year, (‘The Butler’) would have been a lock for a nomination with my hands tied behind my back and blindfolded,” said Weinstein in a recent interview. “This year, it’s different. No frontrunner, three movies tied for first place, and one, the little Irish film, charging up on the outside lane,” he added, plugging “Philomena” to the last. —AP

50 Cent back at Daytona looking for a kiss

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This July 25, 2008 file photo shows Maria von Trapp, daughter of Austrian Baron Georg von Trapp, smiling during a press conference at the Villa Trapp in Salzburg, Austria. —AP

Maria von Trapp of ‘Sound of Music’ fame dead at 99

Cent wants to get kissed or die tryin’ at Daytona. The rapper was back for Daytona 500 weekend a year after he tried to plant an awkward smooch on Fox reporter Erin Andrews. He failed to connect - but 50 Cent has big plans for his follow up. “I was looking forward to kissing somebody,” 50 Cent said Saturday. He didn’t have to look far. 50 Cent shared a stage with Swan Racing drivers Cole Whitt and Parker Kligerman.

“I’m going to kiss Cole,” 50 Cent said. “Only if I win,” Whitt responded. 50 Cent, who launched an ultrasuccessful, six-times platinum debut with “Get Rich or Die Tryin’” in 2003, was at Daytona to celebrate his latest business deal. He brought his headphones and audio line into NASCAR via a partnership with Swan Racing. The rapper - born Curtis Jackson - will have branding for his SMS Audio line on both of Swan Racing’s cars for Sunday’s Daytona 500. The logos will also be on Kligerman and Whitt’s uniforms, and the drivers will be featured on Swan-branded SMS Audio headphones.

Kligerman took 50 Cent for a wild spin around Daytona in the pace car and hit 135 mph early in the day. “I didn’t know a Camry could do that!” 50 Cent said. Kligerman, who went airborne and landed on the roof in his first full Daytona 500 practice, kept 50 Cent and the car on four wheels. He was thrilled to be associated with one of his favorite artists. He said his favorite 50 Cent song is “How To Rob.”“That was the one in high school a lot of my friends talked about all the time,” Kligerman said. “But for pump-up song, I know you’ve heard this a lot, but ‘Many Men.’” This was just the warm up. Who knows what’s in store for race day? In the strangest part of the buildup to last year’s Daytona 500, 50 Cent brought back memories of Joe Namath’s awkward attempt to plant one on Suzy Kolber when he tried the same move with Andrews on pit road. She turned her head one way, then the other, only allowing the “Candy Shop” rapper to get a peck on the cheek.

“I wanted to kiss her, man,” 50 Cent said. “She han-

dled it amazingly.” He’s such a NASCAR fan, 50 Cent might be willing to spend some big bucks and invest in team ownership. “I want to belong here. I like it,” he told The AP. “I want to have ownership in a team.

Someone should look forward to me investing in a team. I just like it. The energy of the actual racing is cool.” He’s been busy with his day job. After battling with his major label for years, 50 Cent has decided to become an independent artist. He left his longtime record label, Universal Music Group’s Interscope Records, and Eminem’s imprint, Shady/Aftermath. The Grammy winner and his G-Unit Records have signed a distribution agreement with Caroline, the independent label at Capital Music Group. Capitol is one of the many labels that are part of Universal Music Group.

Jackson is an admitted former crack dealer turned rapper who has built an empire beyond entertainment. He invested early in Vitamin Water and has expanded his business interests into clothing and now audio equipment. Going independent was just another business decision.

“I can make deals now that I couldn’t make under that structure,” he told The AP. “On the brand extension, it’s obvious I’ve been the leader in that actual area. When I fell in love with hip-hop culture, it was actually the opposite, it would be selling out. To be an artist and be associated with a major corporation was a crossover. I had enough of a bad-boy image at that point to do what I wanted to do and knew it was bigger business-wise.” 50 Cent is about ready to drop his next album, “Animal Ambition.” The first songs he plans to release are called “Don’t Worry About It,” and “Smoke.” Smoke, like Tony Stewart? “Nah, this one was produced by Dr Dre.” Dr Dre produced songs on 50 Cent’s new album, perhaps triggering the latest hiphop rivalry: Which rapper has the freshest headphones, Beats by Dr Dre or SMS Audio? “I’m listening to mine, he’s listening to his,” 50 Cent said, laughing.

Before he left the DIS media center, 50 Cent met actor Gary Sinise of “Forrest Gump” fame and yelled, “Run Forrest!” before they shook hands. —AP

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aria von Trapp, a member of the Austrian family whose escape from Nazi Germany and subsequent musical career inspired the famed musical “The Sound of Music,” has died at the age of 99, according to newspapers quoting her brother.

Von Trapp died Tuesday but the news was confirmed Saturday by her half-brother Johannes von Trapp, according to the New York Daily News. Von Trapp died of natural causes at her home in Vermont, the paper reported.

No one was immediately available to comment at the Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe, Vermont, or at the original family home, Villa Trapp, in Austria. Von Trapp was one of seven children of the Austrian Naval Captain Georg von Trapp and his wife Agathe Whitehead von Trapp. The father remarried after his wife died and had three more children with his second wife, Maria Augusta von Trapp, who taught the children music and wrote a book that became the inspiration for stage and film productions of that made the story a classic.

The von Trapp family left Austria in 1938 and performed musical numbers across Europe and the United States before settling to live in Vermont, where they ran a resort. —Reuters

Rapper 50 Cent, left, jokes with driver Cole Whitt, right, during a new conference before practice for Sunday’s NASCAR Daytona 500 Sprint Cup series auto race. —AP

(From left) Host Jimmy Fallon, actor Will Ferrell, First Lady Michelle Obama during the “Ew” skit on Thursday during comedian Fallon’s inaugural week as the new “Tonight Show” host. —AP

First lady pays visit to new ‘Tonight Show’ host

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ichelle Obama stopped by Jimmy Fallon’s revamped “Tonight Show” to chat about family life in the White House and promote two of her causes, healthy eating and fighting fat. The first lady also put in a plug for her husband’s health care law. Mrs Obama appeared in a silly skit with Fallon and comedian Will Ferrell. Then, in a sit-down interview Thursday, told Fallon, who’s wrapping up his first week as host of the long-running NBC show, that President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden are getting ready to show America “how they move.”

With her signature charm and humor, Mrs Obama also talked about the challenge of raising two young daughters, ages 12 and 15, in the rarified world of the White House. “They want nothing to do with us,” she laughed. “They really want normalcy and the White House isn’t normal,” Mrs Obama said. “I’ll say ‘Don’t you want to invite your friends over to watch a movie?’ They say ‘No one wants to come here.’” She then cautioned that her older daughter turns 16 this summer and is ready to learn to drive. “Ladies and gentlemen in DC watch out,” she warned with a laugh. “Malia Obama on the road. Frightening.”

The first lady also took advantage of her national TV audience to talk about her Let’s Move exercise and diet initiative.”What we’re asking people to do is show us how you’re moving. We want people to Facebook it, Tweet it, Instagram it.” She wants to see “how people around the country are moving.” The hashtag is #LetsMove. If there’s enough response, “we’ll have a little surprise. The president, and maybe the vice president, will show us how they move,” Mrs Obama said. She also pitched the Affordable Care Act, encouraging young people to sign up for health insurance before the end of March deadline. Young adults, she said, can now be covered for as little as $50 a month, “less than the cost of gym shoes.” —AP

Rolling Stones rock Abu Dhabi in first Middle East show

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intage hell-raisers, the Rolling Stones played their first ever concert in the Middle East on Friday - a gig to 30,000, mostly Western fans in culturally conservative Abu Dhabi. A swaggering Mick Jagger, dressed in black sequins and red satin - later donning a red feather boa strutted across the stage, showing little sign of his advancing years as he sang hits including “It’s Only Rock ‘n Roll”, “Honky Tonk Women”, “Brown Sugar” and “Sympathy for the Devil”.

But unlike an appearance by Madonna in the Gulf Arab state in 2012 - which featured erotic dancing, provocative outfits and bare-chested monks - the concert passed off without controversy.

The band - all in their late 60s and early 70s - delighted fans who had travelled from around the United Arab Emirates for the only Middle East show at the start of a tour that moves on to Japan, Macau, Australia and New Zealand.

“For their first gig in the Middle East, it was magic. It’s history,” said British expat Lisa Ball-Lechgar after the two-hour concert during which Jagger, guitarists Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood and drummer Charlie Watts performed 19 songs. —Reuters

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2014

lifestyle F A S H I O N

Cavalli scorches Milan with ring of fire catwalk M

odels in furs paced around a ring of fire at Roberto Cavalli’s catwalk show at Milan Fashion Week on Saturday, which was picketed by animal rights protesters. The typically over-the-top designer put a water feature in the centre of a large tent next to Milan’s Arco della Pace, around which a ring of fire was lit at the start of the show as models circled. The autumn/winter 2014-2015 ready-to-wear collection featured flapper dresses, large fur shoulder wraps and long skirts with flames lapping up the sides. Fashion editors tweeted the show was “unbelievable” and they “loved it”, although more than a few fashionistas could be seen struggling from the intense heat in the front row-dabbing their faces and fanning themselves to stay cool.

Cavalli opened his largest shop in the world in Milan this week, which includes furniture, kitchenware and even wallpaper. Asked by Il Sole 24 Ore business daily if he was looking for a business partner, the Florentine designer joked he would like patronage from the Medici family. “As a Florence creative my great capacity is creating, unfortunately I do not have the same capacity in managing,” he said. He added: “The person who can allow me only to dream in my creativity does not exist, maybe they are not even born”. — AP

Survival guide

for would-be fashionistas in Milan

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oing to fashion week in Milan for the first time can be a bewildering experience, with a round of catwalk shows and celebrity parties filled with potential pitfalls and social faux pas. Preparations for buyers and press must start at least a month before with requests for invitations sent out to each of the dozens of labels taking part, as access to the shows by the biggest names is often severely limited. Once you have packed a suitcase or two of color-matched outfits and armed yourself with a sheaf of card invites, here are some dos and don’ts to help would-be fashionistas navigate an event that is part glamour, part business: 1. Shades on the catwalk: Worn by Vogue US editor Anna Wintour, sunglasses are positively encouraged-the darker the better-but make sure you are able to make your way to your seat without stumbling in the darkness before the shows.

2. Standing out: Fashion accessories like fluorescent hats, feather fascinators or sparkly shoes can help you stand out from the crowd and maximize your chances of getting snapped by one of the sea of “street photographers” outside the show.

3. “Ciao darling”: Do be effusive and use a lot of superlatives when describing collections, parties or designers, but being ingratiating is a big no-no and wide-eyed enthusiasm must be accompanied by frequent moaning about being tired or how other fashion weeks were better.

4. Kissing: The two-cheek kiss is a must, but getting it right is crucial to avoid mutual embarrassment. It is not really “air kissing”, as there is physical contact, but it is only the cheeks that barely touch-so no lips on cheek.

5. Fashionably late: It is something of a fashion week truism, but do arrive at least 15 minutes after the scheduled start time for the catwalk. Real fashionistas are still greeting the front-row denizens as the show begins.

6. Networking: Fashion weeks are not all about glamorous socializing, there is a lot of deal-making happening on the sidelines.

Have business cards at the ready and remember to respect appointments or promises to meet up later.

7. Connected: Social media have become a must for the modern-day fashionista and there is often a race to be the first to upload pictures from the show. Do put your phone down occasionally though to actually appreciate the designs.

8. Outfits: Wearing something showstopping and genuinely fashionable is better than a lot of designer stuff. Outfits should be changed at least twice a day-some fashionistas have changing room vans following their limousines.

9. Posing: Many photographers both outside and inside the catwalk shows are there more to take pictures of the attendees than the models. Do pose in front of them, but only if you are sure at least one will take your picture!

10. Party animal: Make an effort to go to as many parties as possible, even if you are exhausted, as they are the key to networking.

But never stay too long and never ever be the one loitering near waiters to hog the free food and drink. — AFP

Models wear creations for Roberto Cavalli women’s Fall-Winter 2014-15 collection, part of the Milan Fashion Week, unveiled in Milan, Italy, Saturday.

—AP/AFP photos

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2014

lifestyle F A S H I O N

Russians up in arms at ban on lacy panties

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ussia and two of its ex-Soviet neighbors are set to impose a ban on certain types of lace panties, sparking public fury and even a lingerie-themed street protest. Coming under a complete ban this summer in Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus are lace or net knickers that have a high synthetic content, due to a new hygiene rule. The rule is set to come into force in the Russia-led customs union of the three countries and has prompted plenty of amusement and newspaper photographs of women’s bottoms, but also fears over a return to Soviet-style regulation of everyday life.

“Lacy panties are heterosexual propaganda to adults,” wrote Moskovsky Komsomolets daily, referring to a recent Russian law banning so-called gay propaganda to minors.

“Bureaucrats are poking into women’s knickers,” complained Express Gazeta tabloid. “What? I’m emigrating,” Russian pop star Viktoria Daineko wrote on Twitter. Other bloggers mockingly posted pictures of shapeless kneelength undergarments. “Coming soon to all girls in the country,” one said.

Underwear retailers raised concerns that much of their sexier lingerie will fall under the ban, while other observers saw a return to Soviet-style arbitrary rules and lack of choice. In Kazakhstan’s former capital of Almaty, three women protested by putting lacy knickers on their heads and attempted to lay them at an independence monument last weekend. “They have robbed the people so much that we can only give away the last thing we have,” said one of the protesters, Zhanna Baitelova, a journalist at Assandi Times newspaper.

A woman chooses lacy pants at an outdoor market in St Petersburg, on February 19, 2014. — AFP

Models present creations for fashion house Marni as part of autumn/winter 2014 Milan Collections during the Women’s fashion week yesterday in Milan.

“Now they’re even deciding what kind of underwear we should put on,” she told AFP. The protesters-two journalists and an art critic-were promptly arrested, found guilty of petty hooliganism and ordered to pay fines of around $100. In Belarus, the leader of opposition party Belarussian People’s Front, Alexei Yanukevich, also lashed out at the rule: “They are literally stripping us Belarussians down to our pants!” he said in a statement released by the party. “First they’ll put our women in pantaloons, then they’ll put us in wadded jackets,” one commentator who gave his name as Vasya wrote grimly on Belarussian independent news website Charter 97, referring to prison uniform. But not everyone agreed, saying the ban had health benefits. Svetlana Romanenko, chair woman of the Consumers’ League of Kazakhstan, told AFP: “We are talking here about almost 100-percent synthetic underwear and if it’s really harmful to human health, then of course I think this will be better.”

Market worth four billion euros Last year Russian stores complained to the ministry of trade and industry that up to 90 percent of synthetic underwear could disappear from stores due to the ban, which sets minimum absorbency for garment material at six percent. The InCity brand wrote an appeal saying that the most popular synthetic material in its panties has only three percent absorbency, asking Russia to intervene to change the wording, but this month it emerged that the ban would go ahead on July 1.

The Russian underwear market is worth around four billion euros, according to the Russian union of textiles and light industry. Around 60 percent of this is panties.

Russians prefer to buy imported underwear, which makes up 80 percent of sales.

Strongman Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko this month at a meeting with small business owners acknowledged fears that they will not be able to fulfil the Customs Unions rules. “I don’t want to put a noose on the neck of the Belarussian people because of the Customs Union,” Lukashenko said. In a store for the Milavitsa brand, based in Belarus, an assistant told AFP: “Up to 90 percent of our range is underwear made of synthetics. But the panties have a cotton insert. We’re hoping that they won’t be banned.” — AFP

New Louis Vuitton designer is star of Paris fashion

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our months after Paris fashion bid farewell to Marc Jacobs, the man who transformed Louis Vuitton into a global style giant, all eyes will next week be on his successor. Former Balenciaga designer Nicolas Ghesquiere’s first show for the Parisian luxury brand will be the highlight of nine days of ready-to-wear catwalk shows for autumn/winter 2014-15 due to begin on Tuesday. In emotional scenes rarely seen in the rarefied world of high fashion, the US designer-under whose stewardship “Vuitton mania” saw queues around department stores-received a standing ovation on news that his October show was to be his last.

Credited with taking Vuitton from “stodgy luggage house” to one of the most sought-after brands in the world, particularly in the lucrative Asian market, Jacobs’ departure after 16 years marked the end of an era. “That’s one hell of an act to follow,” Vogue magazine commented at the time, while website fashion.com warned that living up to 50year-old Jacobs’ “fearless and fabulous” showmanship would be among the many challenges his successor would face.

The designer left Vuitton, which marks its 160th anniversary in 2014, to concentrate on a stock exchange flotation of his own brand. Announcing the much-tipped Ghesquiere’s arrival at the brand in November, Vuitton said the Frenchman would take responsibility for catwalk shows, ready-to-wear collections and shoes and accessories. Industry journal Women’s Wear Daily predicted that Ghesquiere “known for his exacting couture-like approach” would help Vuitton in its “quest to build a more upscale and elite reputation after years of rapid global expansion”.

Vuitton is parent company LVMH’s most profitable brand, accounting for more than 70 percent of annual sales of its fashion and leather goods division which also includes the brands of Celine, Givenchy, Fendi and Kenzo. It turned in sales estimated at 7.3 billion euros ($9.9 billion) in 2012 but since then has had difficulty in generating growth.

Leather goods are estimated to account for up to 90

percent of Vuitton sales. Ghesquiere parted company with fashion house Balenciaga in November 2012 following a 15-year tenure and the industry had been awash with speculation about where he would re-emerge. Dior was reported to have courted him as a replacement for the disgraced British designer John Galliano after he was ousted over an anti-Semitic outburst.

File photo taken on October 2, 2013 shows US designer Marc Jacobs acknowledging the public at the end of the Louis Vuitton 2014 Spring/Summer ready-to-wear collection fashion show in Paris. — AFP

The ‘most anticipated catwalk show this season’ Among Ghesquiere’s many admirers is the Twilight actress Kristen Stewart who fronted his Florabotanica campaign during his time at Balenciaga. “If I have to walk red carpets, if I have to be in fashion... then I want to be with him,” she told Marie Claire’s March edition. And Jacobs is reportedly just as eager as the rest of the fashion world to see how Ghesquiere’s first show unfolds on March 5. “I am curious to see what he’ll do. I mean we have such different aesthetics,” he was recently quoted as saying by DazedDigital.com.

“This is possibly the most anticipated catwalk show this season,” added Harper’s Bazaar magazine.

Another attention-grabbing debut, meanwhile, will be that of young Chinese-born French designer Yiqing Yin who was named creative director of Leonard in January, replacing Italian Raffaele Borriello. Yin, who left China for France at the age of four, had until recently been known largely for her experimental couture style.

Since January 2012, her fashion house has taken part in the couture shows in Paris as a guest member of the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture. But last year she received a huge boost when “Amelie” star Audrey Tautou chose to showcase her work in her role as mistress of ceremonies at the Cannes film festival. The fluttery, micropleated “Absinthe” dress in mint organza and silk chiffon she created for the occasion was described as a “work of art” by fashion website Red Carpet Fashion Awards. The autumn/winter 2014-15 shows in Paris get underway on Tuesday with over 90 shows scheduled over nine days, wrapping up on March 5. — AFP

‘12 Years a Slave’ wins big at NAACP Image Awards

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MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2014

A body-painted model displays a creation during an art show as part of the International Beauty Expo ‘Nevskie Berega’ (Neva River Banks) in St Petersburg on February 22, 2014. — AFP

Japan mascot shows bear necessities for marketing success A

clumsy bear mascot for a remote Japanese farming region has rocketed to superstar fame and notched up an unlikely marketing triumph in a nation obsessed with all things cute. The life-sized Kumamon and his now nationally ubiquitous image-red cheeks and doughy physique-are found on everything from pastries and keychains to airplanes and purses. Most local mascots linger in relative obscurity but Kumamon draws hundreds of camera-toting fans at public events. He makes national television appearances and his wobbly signature dance-once performed for the emperor and empress-has notched up more than two million views on YouTube.

Rivalling the success of Hello Kitty or Mickey Mouse in Japan, the black bear has rung up a commercial fortune for his rural birthplace, and become a closely-watched marketing case study. The phenomenon has tickled officials from his home in Kumamoto, a prefecture in the far south which barely registers with many Japanese, let alone outsiders.

“Definitely Kumamoto’s prominence has increased in the eyes of the public,” said Masataka Naruo, brand officer for the local government. The rise of Kumamon-who has more than 300,000 followers on Twitter-is all the more striking given the ferocious competition among mascots, known in Japanese as “yuru-kyara” (laid back characters). They are pressed into service to represent everything from cities to companies or even prisons, with the licensed character industry worth about $30 billion a

tal figurines made by luxury name Baccarat. But mascot challengers are everywhere, including Funasshii, the unofficial mascot of an area near Tokyo.

The cuddly yellow “pear fairy” rocks out with a vigorous dance that has struck a chord with a population who grew up on cartoons and “manga” comic strips.

And in a place where fame can disappear in a blink of an eye, Kumamon’s future rests on staying relevant as a local spokesman, not national fame, said Shogo Toyota from Osaka’s Research Institute for Culture, Energy and Life. “Kumamon’s true role is to be a medium for boosting Kumamoto’s brand image,” he said.

That point is not lost on regional officials who want to bring the bear back to his roots. “What we’re trying to sell is not Kumamon, but Kumamoto prefecture,” Naruo said. — AFP

year, including copyright and merchandising. That is more than the Japanese, who love to read, spend on books. In just two years, Kumamon has generated $1.2 billion in economic benefits for his region, including tourism and product sales, as well as $90 million worth of publicity, according to a recent Bank of Japan study.

Cooking up winning recipe The national craze marks an auspicious combination of charm, calculated planning and good fortune. TV show writer Kundo Koyama, best known for his work on the Iron Chef cooking series, was charged with promoting the prefecture when a new bullet train service linking Kumamoto with the commercial hub of Osaka was being launched in recent years. Koyama then asked celebrated art director Manabu Mizuno to create a campaign logo, and threw in the cuddly Kumamon as a bonus.

But his folksy construction won over local officials who were advised to let businesses use his image free of charge as long as it promoted the region, directly or indirectly. And instead of selling a little-known area of the country and local products such as plums or chestnuts, they marketed the bear. “In big cities, all of Japan’s prefectures are constantly engaged in this fierce competition for publicity to lure tourists, investment and to promote local products,” said Naruo, the brand officer.

“But city people get their guard up when they see that kind of thing, so we needed to come up with a new and eye-

‘Kumamon,’ a clumsy bear mascot of Kumamoto prefecture attends a food products event to promote products from Kumamoto prefecture in Tokyo yesterday. — AFP photos catching way to promote Kumamoto.”

That included a national tour with the once-publicity shy bear now seen bungee-jumping, holding witty press conferences, or taking a dip in Japan’s famous hot springs. The prefecture’s governor lectured at his alma mater Harvard University last year with its sales titan by his side.

Cuddly challenger Free licensing and promoting the character rather than the region was a key reason for Kumamon’s success as his image could be used in national campaigns, while the generic design appealed to a wide audience. That meant Kumanon could appear on bread or T-shirts, as well as BMW’s MINI or crys-

As luxury market slows, accessories lead the way W owned shoe label, said the company was planning to open two mono-brand stores in Beijing and Shanghai and looking to expand in the Middle East after opening stores in Dubai and Riyadh.

“These are markets in major upheaval, major expansion,” he said, showing off a collection that ranged from sandals with ornate patterns and gold trimmings to the company’s signature “Blade” pumps with impossibly high heels. “Eighty percent of our production is exported and we want to widen our global distribution,” said Casadei, who grew up next to the shoe factory set up by his parents in 1958 near the seaside town of Rimini in northeast Italy.

ith sales in the global luxury sector starting to slow, Italian shoes and handbags stand out as power ful growth engines as the middle classes in emerging economies indulge the urge to accessorize. Companies like Casadei and Furla, which showed off their latest collections at Milan Fashion Week alongside the catwalk shows, are reaping the benefits.

“Our turnover grew by seven percent last

Italian luxury shoemaker poses with a model at his show room during a Milan’s Women’s fashion week autumn/winter 2014 collections. — AFP photos

Creations of Italian shoemaker Alberto Moretti are displayed at his showroom.

year,” family-owned Furla’s chief executive Eraldo Poletto told AFP in an interview in his Milan showroom, showing off a line of pastelcolored bags inspired by Japanese flower prints. Poletto said the best-performing markets for Furla were Japan and Asia as a whole and tourist centers in Europe-part of what he called a “Silk Road” of well-heeled shoppers

that connects Dubai and Moscow, Singapore and New York.

“This is kind of our moment,” the executive said at a crowded presentation where international buyers in town for fashion week browsed the wallets, clutch bags and satchelswith fur trimmings, pastel colors or animal prints. Cesare Casadei, chairman of his family-

A recent study by the consultancy Bain & Company found accessories were the fastestgrowing part of the luxury goods market, with an estimated increase in 2013 of four percent from 2012 compared to a rate of two percent overall. Leather and accessories were the “resilient champions”, the report said. It also

found that Italian luxury brands have gained the largest market share of luxury sales, moving from 21 percent in 1995 to 24 percent now, nearly equaling French brands’ share of 25 percent.

‘Wardrobe as art exhibition’ Jane Reeve, the new chief executive of Italy’s fashion chamber, said Italian shoes were all about the “precision and excellence” of small artisans. “I’ve always had a fetish for shoes!” the Milan-based Reeve laughed, saying that growing up in Britain she had dreamt of one day importing Italian shoes. Alberto Moretti, a young luxury shoemaker whose designs are worn by stars from Elton John to Lady Gaga to Cameron Diaz, said the distinguishing characteristic of Italian craftsmen was the creativity of individual masters. The craftsman “becomes a designer too”, said Moretti, whose only mono-brand store is in Saint-Tropez in France but who is also reaching out to Hong Kong, Singapore and South Korea and planning to open in Milan or Paris by the end of 2014.

Asked the eternal question of how many pairs of shoes a woman should have in her closet, Casadei said: “Limitless”. “I like to imagine the wardrobe as an art exhibition. You cannot say it is complete with these paintings, there is always another one to add that completes the collection that little bit more,” he said. “It is an accessory that no woman will ever forget. Every woman can remember the first time she wore heels-she has photographed the moment for life.” — AFP