21 Dec 2011

CR IP TI ON BS SU

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2011

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Conspiracy Theories

Stop preaching us

By Badrya Darwish

badrya_d@kuwaittimes.net

I

usually shun away from touching on religious issues because I feel they are very sensitive and could cause misunderstanding, which in all honesty I can live without. Many people have different views when it comes to religion. But sometimes you are faced with opinions that test your patience to the utmost and you want to criticize them. This is what happened to me yesterday when I received a leaflet from religious clerics. In the leaflet they advise and warn people that with the approaching of Christmas, the Muslim nations should not greet Christians on the occasion of Christmas and New Year. They appealed to the Muslim world not to celebrate with Christians on these occasions.

Many clerics from different parts of the Muslim world have been calling for the same thing.

According to them, Muslims are sinning if they greet Christians. The leaflet said that celebrating with Christians means that there will be other sins like drinking, dancing, festivities and committing fahisha (adultery). At this point I lost my patience. I would like to remind all these clerics and philosophers that if somebody intends to get drunk, become an alcoholic or a drug addict, or commit adultery, he does not need to wait for Christmas and New Year. Are these clerics living in cuckoo land and they don’t know what is going on around them in the Middle East?

By the way I would like to enlighten them that Christmas in the West is a family gathering. I agree that on New Year’s eve, people go out, dance and celebrate. It won’t be an exaggeration if I say that some 40 percent of the Muslim nation celebrates throughout the year. They have girlfriends, commit fahisha under the table and drink. They don’t wait for the New Year celebrations to do that. Maybe, on that day they are tired and go to sleep.

These clerics are advising us not to greet and celebrate with our Christian friends. Wouldn’t it be a sin not to greet my Christian friends and colleagues? Why isn’t it a sin then that we are depending on the non-Muslim world for about everything in our life. Even the paper for the leaflets that these clerics spread is made by the West. The printing machines are their making too.

The cell phones they tweet with or the Internet and Facebook is all made by the West. The control of the Net system is hosted either in the US or in Europe. The medicine we are taking when we are sick; the hospitals and equipment we are taken care of is all made in the West. The cars we drive and the boats we use as well as the planes we fly on are all made in the West. From A to Z our life is dependent on what the West makes. Even most of our food. Though we are agricultural countries, it is amazing that we get most of our cheeses, dairy products, milk and chicken either from Europe, Australia or Brazil etc. I don’t want to name the whole atlas.

Imagine it guys, the clothes we are wearing the Arabian textiles - are also made in non-Muslim countries. Even good quality headgear (the socalled gutra) is made in France, England or Geneva. What are you talking about? Are you only worried about the Christmas greeting? For God’s sake stop preaching us. When my eye hit the leaflet, I thought the clerics were going to talk about the situation in Egypt or Syria or the escalation of the appalling situation and lack of unity between the Arab countries. They are only worried about greetings on Christmas days.

They are not worried about building a strong Muslim nation advanced in all fields like the old empire which existed 1,000 years ago. For God’s sake, look around you and land on Planet Earth!

RIYADH: GCC leaders attend the closing ceremony of the Gulf Cooperation Council’s annual summit yesterday. Kuwaitís Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah (inset left) and Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz (inset right) are seen during the meeting. — KUNA/AFP

Registration of election candidates starts today

By B Izzak KUWAIT: The Interior Ministry announced yesterday that the registration of candidates for the National Assembly elections will start today after the Amiri decree setting the early polls on Feb 2 was published in the official gazette yesterday. The registration of the hopefuls will continue for 10 days including Fridays and public holidays and will end on Dec 30, according to a statement by the interior ministry. Withdrawal of candidates will also start as of today but will continue until four days

before election day.

Under the Kuwaiti election law, candidates must be Kuwaiti by birth, with naturalized citizens excluded, and must be included in election rolls and must be 30 years of age on the day of the election. Candidates, males and females, also must know how to read and write Arabic fluently and should have not been convicted of a crime unless they have been rehabilitated.

The registration will open at the election department in Shuwaikh residential area from 7.30 am until 1.30 pm every day. At the registra-

tion, candidates will pay a deposit of KD 50 and then submit the receipt at the main police station in their constituency. Under the Kuwaiti election system, Kuwait is divided into five electoral districts and each elects 10 MPs to the 50-seat Assembly, but each voter is allowed to vote for a maximum of four candidates. Public employees who wish to contest the Assembly elections must cease to exercise the duty of their jobs before filing their nomination papers, while judges and prosecutors must resign their jobs before they file.

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RIYADH: Gulf states yesterday expressed support for a Kuwaiti port project disputed by Iraq and urged Baghdad to step up its efforts to normalise ties with its neighbour, 20 years after the Gulf War. The GCC also urged Syria’s government to immediately halt its “killing machine”, and called on arch rival Iran to stop interfering in their internal affairs. The six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council also pledged to implement comprehensive reforms and strengthen economic and military integration as a first step towards forming a union.

Rulers of the GCC “support Kuwait concerning the Mubarak Al-Kabir port since it will be built on Kuwaiti land and within its territorial waters”, they said in the statement. Baghdad claims the seaport, once completed, would strangle its shipping lanes in the narrow Khor Abdullah waterway that serves as its entrance to the Gulf, through which the vast majority of its oil exports flow. Kuwait insists the port will not affect Iraq. Khor Abdullah is a narrow waterway that separates Iraqi and Kuwaiti shores off Bubiyan Island where the megaport is being built, and leads to Iraq’s Umm Qasr port and other smaller ports.

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Outcry grows as Cairo violence enters 5th day CAIRO: Egypt’s military faced growing outrage at its heavy-handed tactics against protesters yesterday as the country’s forensic chief said most of the 13 people killed in five days of clashes had been shot. Riot police used rocks, batons and live ammunition to disperse protesters demanding an end to military rule overnight and into the morning, witnesses said. The clashes have piled pressure on the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), with both liberals and Islamists facing off in Egypt’s first post-revolt elections condemning its handling of the transition.

In Cairo’s Tahrir Square, medics said four peoCAIRO: Hundreds of Egyptian women march yesterday against recent viople were killed overnight. Health ministry officials lence used against them in clashes between police and protesters. —AP

Kim’s body on display SEOUL: North Korea put the body of its late leader Kim Jong-Il on display in a glass coffin yesterday and heaped praise on his son and successor, amid world wariness at the transition in the nucleararmed nation. US President Barack Obama pledged to defend regional allies such as South Korea and Japan after the reclusive communist state made the shock announcement Monday of Kim’s death at the age of 69. South Korea’s government sent its sympathies to the North Korean people despite frosty relations following two deadly border incidents last year. And it said it would scrap a plan to display Christmas lights near the tense border because its neighbour is in mourning.

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PYONGYANG: The body of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il lies in state in a glass coffin at the Kumsusan Memorial Palace yesterday. —AFP

told state television there had been no deaths, but that four people had been injured. One witness told AFP that a 14-year-old child had been treated in the field hospital for a bullet wound to the chest. Health ministry official Adel Adawi told state television that of more than 600 injured since Friday, 106 remained in hospital. “One man is currently undergoing surgery after a gunshot went into his back and out through the stomach,” Adawi said. Forensics chief Ehsan Kamil Georgi said nine of the 13 people killed “were wounded by gunshots”. One of the dead “breathed his last breath in detention in the south Cairo court, before he was presented to the prosecution.

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Muslims taken off flight sue 2 US carriers NASHVILLE, Tennessee: Two Muslim men who say they were kicked off an airplane in May after the pilot objected to their presence are suing Delta Air Lines Inc and a regional carrier that operated the Delta Connection flight from Memphis to Charlotte, North Carolina. According to a suit filed Monday in federal court in Memphis, Masudur Rahman Masudur Rahman and Mohamed Zaghloul were traveling to Charlotte to attend a conference on anti-Muslim discrimination at the time.

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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2011

LOCAL

Upcoming Parliamentary polls will be ‘different’ Change is the only thing constant

By Nawara Fattahova KUWAIT: After dissolving the Parliament last month, the doors were opened to new candidates to register for running for elections which are slated to be held in February. The candidates willing to run for office have already started holding symposiums and gatherings to promote their programs. After the dramatic event of breaking into the Parliament, and the protests and demonstrations which ensued, many people wonder if the former MPs still have a chance to win again. What do the experts think about the chances of victory for new candidates as well as former ones?

Dr Shamlan Al-Eisa, Professor of Political Science at the Kuwait University thinks that the next Parliament will be more different.

“The percentage of change is 10 percent as five of the former MPs announced that they will not be running for office and 10 percent of the 50 MPs were eliminated. I expect the change in Parliament to rank between 40-50 percent,” he told the Kuwait Times.

According to him, the real challenge will be in the Bedouin areas in the Fourth and Fifth constituencies. “We don’t know who will be running yet. The young Bedouin will try to get seats in the Parliament. In the past, small-

er tribes were eliminated during the by-elections. We don’t know the percentage of change this time, but there will be change for sure,” he added.

The inside areas include the First, Second, and Third Constituency. “The challenge for the inside areas will be between the Shiite themselves. In areas such as Salwa, Bayan, Mishref, Rumaithiya, Daeya, or Dasma, the competition is mainly between the Shiites and the Awazim Tribe. There is also a challenge between the Sunni Islamist; Brotherhood and Salafi,” said Al-Eisa.

“The Third Constituency is replete with candidates. The Second Constituency is also interesting as Jassem Al-Khorafi is not running for elections, and the challenge is between liberals or Salafi represented by Mohamed Al-Saqer or Khalid Sultan,” he explained.

He thinks that women candidates don’t stand a good chance. “There is an intention to put down women candidates. The political awareness is low. Women don’t choose women, and they choose the Salafi as their husbands vote for them.

The problem with the women candidates is that they are not united. If they were united, they would have a very good chance.

They have to work on changing the family

law, which is the worse law that oppresses women. I think that Maasouma Al-Mubarak from the First Constituency is the best candidate,” said Al-Eisa.

Political activist Naser Al-Masri expects to see the next Parliament without any woman candidate or with only one representative.

“The experience with women candidates is very bad, except Aseel Al-Awadhi. Women won’t vote for women candidates as the former MPs didn’t leave a good impression. In the Fourth and Fifth Constituency, women have no chance,” he said.

Al-Masri also expected to have more opposition candidates in the next Parliament.

“I think that the former opposition MPs will succeed again and be even more aggressive. I also expect to have new candidates from the opposition, even if they are independent or from a different political party,” he said.

According to him, monitoring and inspection will be higher than during the previous elections. “The nation will closely watch the candidates as people are now more aware and educated, and completely against political bribes. People are looking for change, and I expect to have many new young candidates.

The young Bedouin now don’t agree to silently follow the leader of the tribe as they are more educated,” explained Al-Masri.

Smuggling attempt foiled

By Hanan Al-Saadoun KUWAIT: Customs officials at the Sulaibiya border foiled an attempt to smuggle 150 tons of diesel into Lebanon. The consignment documents showed that the shipment contained liquid soap.

The driver was referred to concerned authorities.

Car accidents A car crashed into a palm tree along Arabian Gulf Road at midnight yesterday near the Flag Square. Rescue personnel rushed to the scene and found that it had caught fire, killing the driver and a passenger. The car was prised open to free the bodies. In another incident, a six-year-old Kuwaiti child sustained a head injury in a car accident that took place along Ghazali Street near Al-Saidawi.

He was admitted to Sabah Hospital. A 16-year-old citizen died in a car accident that took place in Shuaiba. The body was removed for an autopsy. A 27-year-old citizen fractured his right thigh bone in a car accident that took place along King

Fahad Road near Shuaiba. He was admitted to Adan Hospital.

A 49-year-old Saudi national fractured his ribs and suffered internal bleeding in a car accident that took place along Salmi Road. He was admitted to Jahra Hospital. A 25-year- old citizen fractured his left thigh bone in an incident where his car caught fire near the American Hospital situated along Gulf Road. He was admitted to Amiri Hospital.

KUWAIT: The Commercial Bank of Kuwait (CBK) made a financial contribution to support sports activities organized by the Public Authority of Industry (PAI), as part of the CBK’s efforts to support social activities in Kuwait. Bani Al-Ajmi PAI’s Deputy General Manager for Financial and Administrative Affairs received a check from Waleed Helali CBK’s Regional Director for Banking Services.

KFAED allots KD3m for Sri Lankan university KUWAIT: A loan agreement was signed yesterday in Colombo between the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka and Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED), whereby the fund will provide a KD 3 million loan to Sri Lanka for financing the South Eastern University of Sri Lanka Development Project.

The Loan Agreement was signed by Secretar y, Ministr y of Finance and Planning P.B. Jayasundera, on behalf of Sri Lanka, and by Deputy Director General Hesham Al-Waqayan, on behalf of KFAED. The Project represents Phase I “B” of a Development Plan, for the University of South Eastern Sri Lanka in Ampara District that aims to support the social development and economic growth of Sri Lanka by improving the quality of Degree Courses at the said University to reflect regional and national needs. It is also hoped to increase student numbers, by developing the necessary academic

infrastructure and introducing new demand-driven degree programs.

The Project consists of construction works for specialized colleges and modern facilities for the new University campus.

It also includes the execution of a big part of the infrastructure and external works, procurement, and installation of furniture and educational and information technology equipment required for the computer center in addition to consultancy services for the design and supervision of the project implementation. With this loan becoming effective, KFAED will have provided 12 loans to Sri Lanka as the fund has previously provided it with 11 loans to finance projects in various sectors totaling about KD 49.6 million.

The fund has also provided Technical Assistance to Sri Lanka worth KD 250, 000 to assist in the carrying out of a feasibility study for Moragolla Hydropower Project. — KUNA

GCC to implement Saudi king’s speech

Mishap A 35-year- old Egyptian suffered a spinal injury after suffering a fall at a mosque that is under construction in Mangaf. He was admitted to Adan Hospital.

Man stabbed A 25-year-old citizen was stabbed in his left shoulder and cuts to the right hand during a fight that took place in Jlaiah. He was taken to Adan KUWAIT: The car accident along Arabian Gulf Hospital.

Road yesterday.

KUWAIT: Kuwaiti Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah AlKhalid Al-Hamad Al-Sabah said yesterday that GCC leaders listened with great interest to the speech addressed by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud at the opening ses-

sion of GCC 32nd Summit - which carried important implications to turn the GCC joint cooperation into a union. Remarks of Sheikh Sabah Al-Khalid’s - who is also the Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs - came after the conclusion of the summit held in Riyadh. — KUNA

Kuwait contributes $50,000 to G-77 Trust Fund UNITED NATIONS: Kuwait late Monday contributed $50,000 to the Group of 77 (G77) Perez-Guerrero Trust Fund established by the General Assembly in 1983 to promote South-South Cooperation.

The fund was established to support activities in economic and technical cooperation among developing countries members of the G-77, in order to achieve national or collective self-reliance, according to the priorities set by them.

It is named after Manuel Perez-Guerrero who died in 1985 after a long and distin-

guished career as a high-level government official in Venezuela and as an international civil servant after serving as SecretaryGeneral of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in the late sixties and early seventies.

Contributions to the fund are channeled through the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), following the approval by the G-77 and China.

Argentinian Ambassador Jorge Arguello, chairman of the G-77, thanked Kuwait’s Permanent Representative to the

UN Ambassador Mansour Al-Otaibi for the contribution and promised that it will be used for a good cause.

He said following the meeting, “this contribution by Kuwait is very, very important. It reflects the growing role that is being played by the G-77 and China in the international arena.” The money the fund receives is not earmarked for any project, or for any country. “It is up to the committee of experts to analyze every project presented to the fund, then allocate the money to that project,” Arguello said. —KUNA

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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2011

local

Women candidates focus on ‘full rights’ KUWAIT: Women candidates running in the Second Constituency are paying close attention to demands and ambitions of nearly 3,000 female voters in the same constituency, in order to focus on these issues in their campaigns.

Votes of female citizens in the Second Constituency, who are considered to have larger social freedom compared to other constituencies which remain under tribal dominance, were pivotal in helping former MP Dr Salwa Al-Jassar make it to the Parliament. AlJassar is running again in the 2012 elections, along with a number of female activists and businesswomen who understand that meeting the ambitions of female voters is the key to have a suc-

KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah returned home yesterday accompanied by an official delegation after participating in the 32nd session of the GCC Supreme Council in Riyadh. HH the Amir was received at Kuwait International Airport by HH the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, senior sheikhs, Deputy Chief of the National Guards Sheikh Mishaal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, HH Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, and the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber AlMubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah.

US withdrawal deterrent to Iran’s security threat Temporarily stationed in Kuwait

By Ben Garcia

KUWAIT: The US soldiers who pulled out from Iraq and are now temporarily stationed in Kuwait can act as a strong deterrent to any security threat from Iran, said a defense analyst. Speaking to Kuwait Times in a telephonic conversation, Dubai-based military analyst Riad Kahwaji, CEO of Inegma (an institute for Near East and Gulf military) said that the presence of US soldiers in Kuwait should not be viewed as a provocative act in the United States or even Kuwait . It somehow acts as a strong deterrent to any aggression or threat from neighboring Iran. “They’re not in Kuwait to interfere with the country’s national security and political issues. Kuwait and the US have their own security and defense pact, they ’re not supposed to stay in Kuwait for a long period. So people should not worry,” he noted.

According to Kahwaji, military forces who came from Iraq cannot be used to any military confrontation with anybody else. “I don’t think Iran sees it as provocative too. They moved out from Iraq as promised and their nearest station is Kuwait.

So they will automatically use Kuwait as their exit point,” he explained. Kahwaji said, the possible confrontation with Iran which is being floated by some observers, could be through air or naval assaults and not by land operations which need a large number of troops. “Huge number of troops will not be necessary in the event of a war with Iran. Ground troops will be used only in a scenario of aggres-

sion by enemies entering their territories, for example,” he asserted.

Kahwaji further explained that Kuwait is one of the most prepared countries in the Gulf State when it comes to security and defense issues. “We knew what they have experienced. Therefore compared to other states in the GCC, they’re the most alert and ready militarily. They have enhanced if not powerful air, naval and ground capabilities. They have defense pacts with other GCC countries not to mention their allies; so they are ready for any threat internally.” The US soldiers currently stationed in Kuwait also have a short-term affect on their economy.

“On the economic front, I think it will be good for the country because they’re in Kuwait and since they’re there, they can spend their money.”

A report by Associated Press has noted that Pentagon has transferred at least 4,000 soldiers from Iraq to Kuwait. It is part of Pentagon’s strategy that ends the Iraq war but positions a strong US force just across the border in Kuwait, and across the region to reinforce the United States’ commitment to the Middle East and prevent a power vacuum when tens of thousands of US forces who have served in Iraq are gone. Some US soldiers have been shifted to Kuwait.

So it is close enough to serve as a quick reaction force if needed in Iraq or any of the nearby countries, the report said. The US has had a substantial presence in Kuwait for years, even before the start of the Iraq war. Pentagon officials have been clear all along. They expect to

News

in brief

KD20m to improve electricity network KUWAIT: The Ministry of Electricity and Water(MEW) is expected to sign contracts valued at an estimated KD 20 million in connection with multiple projects to improve the capacity of substations and distribution networks in the country. According to a report, the projects include the construction of eight main electricity transformers in Al-Rai, Al-Jewan and Al-Adan to improve power distribution in these areas and prevent supply disruptions resulting in an overload during the summer. The projects also include connecting locations like Sabah Al-Ahmad, Saad Al-Abdullah and Jaber Al-Ahmad with the electricity distribution network.

Special GCC status KUWAIT: The Gulf Cooperation Council plans to allow special status to Jordan, Egypt and Morocco . The countries will enjoy a standing that is akin to a full member.

Sources said that the three countries will not enjoy the advantages that GCC citizens enjoy. However, they can benefit from annual financial assistance, grants, oil and increased investment. Also, A Saudi military jet plane crashed into Tabouk area while undergoing training operations yesterday. The pilot, a member of Saudi Falcon Show team was parachuted to safety.

KDT removes marine litter KUWAIT: Kuwait Dive Team, the Environmental Voluntary Foundation, said yesterday that they were able, for the third consecutive day, to clean and remove from sea 50 tons of marine litter and metal waste in Oshairij sea coast, north of the country. Head of the operation team, Walid Al-Shatti, said that cleaning operations included lifting old sinking ships and removing old fishing nets, noting that their work will continue to get rid of tons of waste and litter which include wooden ships that could destroy sea environment. “The work will continue until we have a clean and a beautiful beach, I call on the owners of ships, which tally 20 ships, to immediately begin evacuating their ships, that could cause pollution to environment,” Al-Shatti added.

continue and expand US military relations with countries in the Middle East, particularly as a hedge against Iran, AP report stated.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has said that he expect that about 40,000 US troops to be stationed across the Middle East after troops are pulled out of Iraq.

But some were not equally impressed about the troop’s presence here. A Kuwaiti in his early 40’s said that their presence in Kuwait is an unwelcome development. “My personal view is that their presence here can be very intimidating to Iran,” he observed.

“They knew their numbers are significantly high. For some Iranians, it’s a provocative act. I hope it will not escalate into another war or confrontation,” he added. A Kuwaiti woman in her late 30’s viewed their presence as a burden for their government. “It will affect (us) economically because their needs will be provided by our countr y.

Whether we like it or not, we support US troops directly or indirectly. Maybe we are going to pay their salaries too, who knows,” she commented. Another citizen also aired his concern in a social context.

Relating her argument to the differences in culture, she argued that criminality and engagement in indecent acts could rise.

An expat said that the news of their presence in Kuwait doesn’t concern him at all. “So I don’t care what they do as long as we are all safe. Maybe A war will break out, we don’t k now, I hope not. We don’t know how Pentagon or the CIA are doing their job.”

cessful campaign.

“The Second Constituency includes numerous businesswomen who run medium and large projects, and are hoping to elect a representative who can protect their rights and legislate regulations which boost their competition chances in the labor market”, said candidate Aroub Al-Refa’ei to a local daily. She also acknowledged health, education and housing security as top priority to female voters, which she said she will be focusing on as well in her campaign. Meanwhile, candidate Rasha AlSayegh echoed female voters’ disappointment in the performance of former female MPs “who failed to address matters of top concern for Kuwaiti women

in the Parliament”. Al-Sayegh asserted the importance of achieving full equality between male and female citizens in Kuwait, mainly with regard to jobs.

“Kuwaiti women, especially citizens in the Second Constituency, are looking for legislations that give them more freedom”, she said, adding that “combating regulations that restrict women’s rights” will be her top priority if she made it to the Parliament. Similarly, candidate Rihab Buresli said that women should obtain full rights “protected by the constitution”, insisting that granting their rights shouldn’t be restricted to the political field, but must also extend to include the social and economic fields.— Al-Qabas

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Years

LOCAL

Fake stamp racket busted in Hawally Network run by a female citizen

KUWAIT: The Breast Cancer Team from the Princess Margaret Hospital in Kuwait.

Breast cancer team visits Kuwait KUWAIT: The Breast Cancer Team from the Princess Margaret Hospital, one of the four hospitals within the University Health Network, recently collaborated with their counterparts at the Kuwait Cancer Control Center in November. This visit counts as one of many where specialized teams will be visiting Kuwait as part of the University Health Network’s ongoing commitment to enhance cancer care in Kuwait, provide clinical expertise to the Kuwait Cancer Control Center, thereby strengthening cancer service delivery.

The main purpose of this visit was to improve cancer care processes for patients and better integrate departments to develop a patient-centered healthcare system.

Present at the Kuwait Cancer Control Center were a multidisciplinary team of 30 experts, comprising of medical and surgical oncologists, physicians, technicians, nurses and allied health professionals (physiotherapists, social workers, and dieticians) who supported the patient through all phases of cancer prevention, screening, diagnosis and treatment. This team allows the patient to be the hub of all operations resulting in efficient and improved service. During the week, UHN and KCCC surgeons worked alongside one another to do breast cancer and breast reconstruction surgery.

“Breast Cancer is the number one type of cancer diagnosed in women in Kuwait.” stated Dr. Ahmed Al Awadhi, KCCC Medical Director. “Through our collaboration and partnership with the University Health Network to develop a patient-centered philosophy, we will be able to improve and develop cancer

services for our patients at the Kuwait Cancer Control Center.

The University Health Network (UHN) signed an agreement with the Ministry Of Health in the State of Kuwait on Sept 8, to provide clinical expertise to KCCC and strengthen cancer service delivery at the KCCC by focusing on areas such as radiation medicine, medical oncology, surgical oncology and laboratory medicine. The University Health Network is a teaching and academic health science center and one of the largest medical research centers in Canada.

Through this collaboration, the UHN offers the citizens of Kuwait access to the best internationally-certified cancer services, while ensuring continuous improvement of cancer research both in Kuwait and Canada. UHN also focuses on improving nursing and physician education, health administration and information technology. The UHN continues to expand its experience internationally while developing systems and innovative approaches that would benefit both UHN and the State of Kuwait.

University Health Network encompasses Princess Margaret Hospital, Toronto General Hospital, Toronto Western Hospital, and Toronto Rehabilitation Institute. The scope of research and complexity of cases at University Health Network has made it a national and international source for discovery, education and patient care. It has the largest hospital-based research program in Canada, with major research in cancer, cardiology, transplantation, neurosciences, rehabilitation sciences, surgical innovation, infectious diseases, and genomic medicine.

KUWAIT: Police busted a network run by a female citizen who specialized in selling forged stamps that are used in transactions forwarded to state departments. An employee at the Hawally Immigration Department called the police unit at the department after discovering a forged stamp in a transaction forwarded by an expatriate man. The man told officers that he bought the stamp from a Filipina woman who was standing near the stamp -vending machine. The woman, who was still near the machine was immediately placed under arrest. She confessed to working for a female citizen who provided her with forged stamps to sell them to people at reduced prices compared to the original ones. Police arrested the Kuwaiti woman after issuing a warrant to raid her home. Dozens of forged stamps were found at the woman’s place of residence, as she confessed that she uses the help of multiple Asian residents 8to sell the stamps at migration departments around Kuwait. The woman is in custody while search is ongoing for her accomplices.

Drug possession Three people were recently arrested on Abdullah Port road for drug possession, while one of them was taken directly to serve a 10year jail sentence he was sentenced to in a previous case. Patrol officers pulled over a vehicle with three people whose behavior was suspicious. Police first apprehended one of the suspects after his identity revealed that he is wanted in a criminal case. The other two

were placed under arrest after hashish was found with them.

Confident thief Police are looking for a suspect who left his ID at a camp he recently robbed at knifepoint before escaping. The owner of the camp in AlMutlaa jumped to the aid of the camp’s janitor as he was being physically assaulted by the thief. But the suspect took a knife out of his pocket as soon as the man approached him.

The thief returned to his car shortly after stealing the man’s personal belongings. But when he noticed the man writing down the license plate number of his car, the thief reportedly stormed out of his car, threw his own ID to the man, before driving away from the scene. The perplexed camp owner headed to the Jahra police station afterwards and reported the case. He provided the thief’s ID to police to help them catch him.

Infiltrator held Traffic police arrested an illegal resident who has been living in Kuwait for years after re-entering the country illegally following his deportation. The suspect, who is a GCC citizen, was caught in Jahra after a hot pursuit.

Details revealed that he was deported in 1996. He was referred to the proper authorities for further action.

Citizenship dilemma Hawally police apprehended a young man after discovering that he is living illegally in Kuwait after his Kuwaiti citizenship was can-

celed a year ago. This was discovered when he was stopped at a checkpoint. He was taken to the proper authorities to verify his legal status when police at the checkpoint learned that he no longer holds the Kuwaiti citizenship.

Preliminary investigations revealed that a decision to revoke the man’s citizenship was taken a year ago while he was serving jailtime in an Arab country.

Ex charged with theft A Kuwaiti man pressed theft charges against his ex-wife, accusing her of stealing his cash and belongings while he was serving time in jail. The citizen had returned from another GCC country where he spent time in prison over drug charges, only to discover that KD 19,000 he had in his bank account was missing, along with all the furniture in his apartment. In his statement to police, the citizen said that the thefts were likely committed by his Kuwaiti exwife who he separated with during his time in jail. Investigations in the case are ongoing.

Death threat A case was filed at the Mubarak Al-Kabeer police station after a woman reported death threats against her and her children by her housemaid. In her statement to officials, the woman explained that the threats were made after she confronted her maid for beating her children. Moreover, the woman indicated that her father, who is the maid’s sponsor, usually defends the maid during altercations.

Investigations in the case are ongoing. — AlRai, Al-Watan, Al-Anba

KUWAIT: The Saad Al-Abdullah Police Academy held a seminar recently to highlight the role played by the Committee in Charge of Removing Violations on State Property. The event was attended and supervised by the Ministry of Interior’s Assistant Undersecretary for Training and Learning Affairs Lt Gen Sheikh Ahmad Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah.

Consumers in Kuwait spend 26% of their income buying groceries

Demonstrators used violence against police KUWAIT: Jahra has witnessed several waves of violent bedoon demonstrations recently.

Field commander for security operations said that in addition to a number of security men being attacked during the protests, many police vehicles were also destroyed by the demonstrators, with ample help from activists.

They did not respond to orders to control themselves in spite of many patient attempts, according to reports.

Demonstrators used violence against police in order to achieve their demands.

Ministry of Interior called upon them to end their demonstration and consider a legal recourse to achieve their rights but instead of responding in a civil manner, they turned violent which forced police try to control them by using water cannons.

KUWAIT: General shopping, including groceries, continue to be important priorities for consumers in Kuwait, according to findings of the latest MasterCard survey on Consumer Purchasing Priorities General Shopping. On average, consumers surveyed in Kuwait, spend 26 percent of monthly household income on general shopping items like groceries. A majority (54 percent) spend 11-30 percent of their monthly income on general shopping whereas, on average, women (31 percent) tend to spend significantly more than men (24 percent).

In terms of frequency, 46 percent of consumers in Kuwait shop for groceries and other general items at least once a week. Supermarkets are the most visited outlets, with 87 percent consumers claiming to visit

them. The next most popular outlets are hypermarkets (80 percent) followed by standalone shops (30 percent) and convenience stores/minimarts (23 percent).

In addition, 31 percent of consumers in Kuwait said that they plan to spend more on general household shopping when compared to previous months. At least 57 percent said they intend to spend as much as they did in previous months.

Cash (93 percent) is the most preferred method of payment for general household shopping for those who spend below KD 13.96 in value.

However, for those that spend between KD 13.96 -27.92, in addition to cash (59 percent), debit/ATM cards (29 percent) and credit cards (12 percent) are also popular. For general shopping, those who spend above

KD 27.92 in value, debit/ATM cards are the most popular (41 percent) followed by cash (35 percent) and credit cards (22 percent). “Consumer sentiment in Kuwait continues to be buoyant and retail spend on household necessities such as groceries, personal hygiene items and cleaning goods reflects this upbeat outlook.

The latest MasterCard findings should encourage supermarkets, hypermarkets and other merchants to continue providing superior offerings to this loyal customer base. It is also interesting to note that in Kuwait, a significant number of consumers opt to use their debit/ATM cards for general shopping needs, highlighting a potential growth market for the future,” said Safdar Khan, Marketing Manager, Qatar, Oman and Kuwait, MasterCard Worldwide.

GCC supports Mubarak Al-Kabeer port RIYADH: The Supreme Council of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) expressed here yesterday full support to the State of Kuwait to building Mubarak Al-Kabeer port as it would built erected on Kuwaiti territory, within its territorial waters and in line with UN resolutions.

The supreme council, at the conclusion of the 32nd session, voiced confidence that Iraqís full implementation of international obligations regarding Kuwait would boost confidence and relations between the two neighboring countries.

The GCC leaders, in their final communique, reiterated respect of Iraqís independence, territorial unity and regional safety as well as non-interferring in its internal affairs to prevent division. They also respected its Arab and Islamic identity.

The supreme council hoped Iraq, considering the ìbrotherlyî relations with the six GCC countries, would not interfere in the their domestic affairs and stop the media campaigns which were counter-productive. It called on all political parties and forces in Iraq to live up to their responsibilities to build a united, stable and prosperous Iraq in the wake of the American forcesí withdrawal.

The supreme council said it was important that Iraq fully comply with UN resolutions related to the former Iraqi regimeís invasion of Kuwait, including the completion of maintenance of border signs in line with UN resolution 833 and paying compensations for Iraqi farmers in accordance with UN resolution 899. The supreme council also called on Iraq to locate whereabouts of prisoners and missing of Kuwait and other countries, return the national archive and properties of Kuwait. It also urged the UN and relevant organizations to continue their endeavors to end this file. — KUNA

By Hanan Al-Saadoun KUWAIT: Asima police are on the hunt for two masked men, one of whom toted an AK-47 machine gun. The duo attempted to rob the cash box of an Egyptian money collector in Doha around noon yesterday. A security source said the suspects drove a white car, possibly stolen, and shot at the victim. He was admitted to Sabah Hospital. An eye witness stated that one of the suspects tried to shoot at him from a close range but failed to steal the cash box.

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Local

Power of youth can usher political change in Kuwait Election places Kuwait at crossroads KUWAIT: Three former parliamentarians believe that organizing elections successfully will be a difficult task “as there are people whose personal interests contradict with honorable members of the Parliament.” The National Action Bloc (NAB) members Marzouq Al-Ghanim, Saleh AlMulla and Aseel Al-Awadhi have expressed hope in the capabilities of young citizens to “achieve the change that Kuwait needs.”

Speaking in a seminar hosted by Administrative Sciences College, three former MPs were asked about the situation they expect, will prevail in Kuwait following the Parliament’s dissolution. AlGhanim replied, “[the elections] have placed Kuwait at crossroads while citizens can chose to either move forward toward a bright future or run around in circles.”

“Wars of accusations” are likely

to follow among candidates during elections.

Al-Ghanim expressed hope in Kuwaiti youth “to elect an honorable Parliament that achieves change with Kuwait’s needs.”

Al-Mulla said that achieving political reform should be the main focus of attention in election campaigns instead of educational and health reform “that candidates usually focus on.” The former lawmaker also reiterated NAB’s rejection of the notion that former minister Ahmad Al-Fahad AlSabah would return to the Cabinet or any other former minister.

Meanwhile, a candidate from the fifth constituency indirectly announced the health sector as the main focus of election campaign, criticizing the Ministry of Health’s contract with universities abroad to run public hospitals in Kuwait. “The MoH is preparing to

sign a KD 100 million contract with [John Hopkins University Hospital] to run a number of public hospitals in Kuwait, a deal that raises suspicions on squandering public funds,” said lawyer Faisal AlKandari in a press conference held recently. Moreover, the candidate accused the MoH of sponsoring illegal operations by allowing citizens to travel abroad as part of deals to win MPs’ support, reported Al-Rai. In other news, tribes who dominate majority of voters in the fifth constituency are reportedly preparing to hold primary elections Friday and Saturday to elect candidates who will exclusively obtain votes during the 2012 elections. According to a report, the Awazem, Ajman, Mutair and Hawajer tribes are coordinating to hold illegal tribal primary elections at hidden locations like base-

ments of candidates’ homes. The Ministry of Interior is holding investigations to detect suspicious gatherings at diwaniyas where primary elections can be hosted, reported Jarida.

Separately, former MP Ghanim Al-Mie’a was released from the Public Prosecution Department on a KD 5,000 bond on Monday after being summoned for investigations on the multi-million dinar deposits case. Al-Mie’a is the thirteenth former lawmaker to be investigated in the graft scandal since the Parliament was dissolved earlier this month. The others are Mikhled Al-Azmi, Husain AlHuraiti, Saleh Ashour, Dulaihi AlHajri, Askar Al-Enizy, Husain Mizyed, Saadoun Hamaad, Khalad Al-Dumaitheer, Yousuf Al-Zalzalah, Saad Zunaifer, Mubarak AlKhurainej and Khalid Al-Adwa, reported Al-Qabas.

Committees to oversee elections

KUWAIT: The Ambassador of Bhutan Dasho Sherub Tenzin hosted a reception in Crowne Plaza Hotel on the occasion of 104th National day. High ranking officials, diplomats and media persons attended the function. — Photos by Joseph Shagra

KUWAIT: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense and Interior Sheikh Ahmad Al-Humoud Al-Sabah issued yesterday an order calling for the formation of a committee at the Interior Ministry to overlook the security preparations ahead of the legislative elections taking place early in 2012. He also issued another order for the establishment of another committee to vet all applications from candidates seeking to delve into the upcoming elections.

Both committees are manned by high ranking officials from the Ministry of Interior and others whose tasks involve ensuring that the public will go to the polls unhindered by traffic jams or unruly crowds.

The vetting committee-for the first time in Kuwaiti elections-will be overseen by the Ministry of Justice, in an unprecedented bid to ensure optimum transparency and fairness to every applicant. —KUNA

KUWAIT: The National Guard celebrated the graduation of a new batch of non-commissioned officers from the special military academy recently.

Radiation in Mutlaa area KUWAIT: Sources revealed that the state’s officials have received a secret report regarding huge radiation pollution in Mutlaa area.

Sources said that radiation test made by specialists from MoD have proven the availability of radioactive material in the area and this radiation is the main cause of dangerous diseases like cancer and asthma.

Concerned parties are in talks with international technical teams who will come to find a suitable solution for it. Sources said that the cause of radiation was the Iraqi invasion as some radioactive materials were dumped there, which have been emitting harmful radiation since. They also claimed that the report is being dealt with in top secrecy. —Al-Shahed

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LOCAL

kuwait digest

in my view

Carpe diem

Reform starts with society

By Priyanka Saligram

By Terki Al-Azmi s we look forward to what we hope is a promising future, most of us in Kuwait are eager to see an end to all forms of corruption in the country. But in order to achieve both, we first must understand the main aspects based on which the journey towards reform can be started. In my opinion, society is the main foundation from where reform can be achieved. Other foundations include the government (Cabinet and Central Bank), the Parliament, the media, education, and private sector. The question is, how is the society going to lead the process towards reform?

The reason I believe the society can push for reform is because I can sense movements from young citizens who aim to vote responsible candidates to represent them in Parliament. These efforts remain somewhat overshadowed by the lack of similar awareness in constituencies that feature tribal dominance. Maybe in ten to thirty years, the tribal influence will eventually give in to increasing eagerness of citizens to vote who they

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The reason I believe the society can push for reform is because I can sense movements from young citizens who aim to vote responsible candidates to represent them in Parliament. These effor ts remain somewhat overshadowed by the lack of similar awareness in constituencies that feature tribal dominance. Maybe in ten to thirty years, the tribal influence will eventually give in to increasing eagerness of citizens to vote who they really believe are capable of achieving reform in the country. really believe are capable of achieving reform in the country.

In the meantime, the government is required to enforce anticorruption regulations and select leaders who can ensure that these regulations are implemented in state departments. The Central Bank is also required to make sure that all necessary transparency regulations are fully implemented in inflated bank accounts.

The MPs, meanwhile, are responsible for passing legislations to help ensure that the Cabinet will tackle corruption. Media and education play important roles in supporting efforts to reform by instilling values to create citizens who reject corruption. The private sector is required to contribute toward pushing the development process forward. They point out any case of corruption that can be detected in the public sector.

But for reform to be achieved, it should start from the society. The approach that a society adopts, outlines the roadmap towards the future of its country.— Al-Rai

kuwait digest

Unity is power

By Iqbal Al-Ahmad t is a repeat of past elections’ scenario. As candidates began preparations to run for elections, we find that their numbers are on the rise.

Candidates from all parts of the society are running; some of them for the first time, others for the tenth time. Some of them believe that their chances of reaching the Parliament are very strong. Others are contesting because they’ve got nothing to lose.

In the meantime, ‘wars’ are going to take place between parties looking to settle their differences.

I’m using the term war because I know for certain that someone is going to be negatively affected by the conflicts that might take place during election campaigns. In all probability, it is going to be the Kuwaiti people. A large numbers of youth activists will make their political debut by contesting the 2012 elections. These activists come from all parts of Kuwait and have potential to hope for a better future. However, their current enthusiasm might eventually kill early political hopes.

There are many young candidates running in the second and third constituencies, who all have the qualifications to become successful parliamentarians. The problem with that is the fact their large numbers make it difficult for voters to choose between them. The votes will get divided among many candidates, limiting their chances during elections in favor of veteran candidates.

There are a lot of voters who promote the youth.

That doesn’t necessarily guarantee their victory.

Personally, I support the causes of youth activists and endorse their hopes to reach the Parliament.

Therefore, I urge young activists to work on reducing their numbers in the second and third constituencies so that they can feel the public support that they actually have. I call young candidates to put national good ahead of vested interest.

Unity is power. I hope young activists will exert concerted efforts to receive voters’ strong and focused support. — Al-Qabas

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priyankasaligram@kuwaittimes.net hat’s the one thing that makes you give something all you’ve got? Push yourself harder and faster, as if possessed? The one thing that makes your eyes light up and sends an adrenaline rush coursing through your veins? The one thing that makes you jump out of bed and want to seize the day without a moment to lose? What’s that one single thing that you think you were born to achieve?

I was thinking about the fire in our bellies that we start out with when we’re young, believing that we can change the world, given half a chance. Somewhere along the line, priorities get reorganized, perspectives change, viewpoints mature and we lose that strong sense of purpose that had once formed our backbone.

It’s like youngsters who rebel against their families and the ‘establishment’ before ending up estranged from their own blood, living on the streets, smoking funny stuff, sleeping with guitar in hand, and going hungry for days - all to pursue their musical dreams doggedly to become rockstars one day. Soon, the big money starts pouring in; access opens to places others can’t even dream of, where they wine and dine with the Who’s Who of the world, drift around in swanky wheels, pose on red carpets and lead the bling-bling life. After this, when they try to write more songs of desperation and depression while sitting well-fed and watered in their LA penthouses, the words just don’t flow easy. And when it’s finally forced out, listeners think “What the beep are YOU cribbing ‘bout, buddy? I saw pictures of you at the Playboy Mansion, driving a XYZ, for cryin’ out loud!”

That’s how it works, whether we realize it or not.

Great love has led to revolutions and greater hatred has led to bloody revolutions. It’s nothing but the passion: the teeth-clenching love, the blood-boiling tears, the maddening frustration, or plain murderous rage that fuels us to keep coming up for air every time we start sinking. Sometimes we give up halfway thinking “Maybe this isn’t meant to be, after all” or someone will hammer some sense into our heads, telling us that we’re just shadowboxing against the wall, so you might as well give up, kid. Or, oftentimes, you find yourself losing focus altogether, resting back one day to realize that you’ve got everything you ever wanted (hamdulillah): A picture-perfect family, a fancy-sounding designation, an obese bank-balance, and a cozy nest - so what more do I need in life?

That’s a comfortable stage everyone reaches after a while. It’s a natural progression and the main distinguishing factor between, say, one Steve Jobs who believed in “staying hungry and foolish” - even when he owned more moolah than the US Treasury - and the rest of us Average Joes. Once you’re happy and content, and can’t find anything that makes you clench your fist till it bleeds, what next? What makes you push yourself and frankly, what is there to push yourself more for?

There’s a simple solution to avoid falling into this comfortable quicksand: self-motivation. It’s like they say, “The secret to a successful marriage is to keep falling in love again and again - with the same person.” The trick to reignite that dim spark, which used to be a roaring fire in the belly, is to find new things to hate, newer things to love, and create innovative ways to do what you’ve been doing over the years. Excelled in tennis before? Now pick up the squash racquet. Always hated bureaucracy? Start a campaign to weed it out. Bored to death of politicians? Great, run for office. Can’t find a book good enough to read? Go on and write your own bestseller! Self-motivation may be just a chapter in Industrial Psychology Studies, but it’s actually a neverending course in real life.

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in my view

Like Gaddafi, like Assad

By Ahmad Al-Najjar ashar Al-Assad may not speak like the late atrocities under the carpet? It is possible, before an Muammar Gaddafi, but he surely repeats his ludi- expected ruthless massacre that took place in Homs, popcrous arguments. The Syrian people and the world ularly dubbed the capital of the revolution. Activists at large were shocked to hear that Assad is not leading abroad and on the ground say that the planned massacre the Syrian government and that he’s not in charge of the may parallel that of Hamas in 1982, suffered at the hands Syrian forces that murder people in cold blood! Assad of current Assad’s father and uncle.

Most plausibly, it seems to be a last-ditch effort and dropped this bombshell with ABC’s Barbara Walters in his first personal interview in the American media since legal stunt aimed at exonerating himself from the monthe uprising. He shunned responsibility for the human strous crackdown of his security forces against a belearights violations being committed: “They’re not my guered people trying to catch a breath of freedom after forces, they are military forces that belong to the gov- four decades of iron-fisted rule. It may, well be the case of ernment. I don’t own them, I’m president. I don’t own a dictator saving his neck by throwing all the weight on the country. So they’re not my forces.” How ironic that his subordinates, in the wake of looming international such comments were uttered by a dictator with full and outcry and punishment.

One thing is for sure, the autocracy in Syria is sending unchallenged authority in a country where Assad and his cronies are themselves the law. Assad is not only mixed signals as part of its campaign to mislead Arab and commander-in-chief and head of the government, he is world opinion. This was quite apparent in the way the detaching himself from the leader of the Baath party, Syrian regime timed the rare military exposition more than a week ago along the constitutionally-manwith the official announcedated leader of the ment of accepting the nation and society. Thus, Assad seemed out of tune with the Arab League’s proposal to if any world leader owns crisis in his country and was eerily apasend observers to the his country, it would be thetic to the murder and torture of country. Assad and his Assad of Syria. But if gang were offering the that’s not enough, in the thousands of his citizens, including stick and the carrot at the opinion of one of his supchildren, writing off those violations same time, flexing their por ters in the travesty military muscles while prethey call a Parliament, the as individual mistakes. He was clearly senting a gesture of good ophthalmologist turned hiding truth and denied knowledge will. The military display dictator should lead the that Ibrahim Al-Qashoosh’s throat was was unique and the first in whole world. a long time. If only that Assad’s interview slit and mutilated. His chant became military might was put to replies are reminiscent of the most popular chant of the revolugood use to return the Gaddafi’s ranting when he Golan Heights to Syria or denied having any formal tion. When asked about the arrest of reply to Israel’s bombpost in Libya, and that if children, he coldly asked: “Where?” If to ing in 2007 of a suspected he did, he would have Assad truly doesn’t know and is not in nuclear reactor in Deir Azhurled his resignation letZour or its assault on Ain ter at the Libyan people’s charge, then the last thing he should As-Saheb in 2003 or the face! Assad seemed out of be is president, and if the opposite is repeated Israeli violations tune with the crisis in his of Syrian airspace and country and was eerily true he’s simply covering up his crimes. right over presidential apathetic to the murder palace! and torture of thousands All of this denial comes amid news about a plan to of his citizens, including children, writing off those violations as individual mistakes. He was clearly hiding truth exile Assad and his family to some Arab or Eastern and denied knowledge that Ibrahim Al-Qashoosh’s throat European country to escape prosecution by his people or was slit and mutilated. His chant became the most popu- the international community, as reported by the Londonlar chant of the revolution. When asked about the arrest based Arabic newspaper ‘Al-Hayat.’ The solution might be of children, he coldly asked: “Where?” If Assad truly does- similar to the GCC proposal signed by Yemen’s Ali n’t know and is not in charge, then the last thing he Abdullah Saleh, which granted him impunity for his should be is president, and if the opposite is true he’s sim- crimes. Assad, however, doesn’t seem too interested. If ply covering up his crimes and should be tried by his peo- the Syrian tyrant continues his massacres, eventually, the final destination may be the neighboring sewage pipe to ple for committing crimes against humanity.

Is Assad sending an implicit message to the world that that of Libya’s departed despot, a rat-hole reserved for things are out of his control? Not likely, because his other him ever since the killing of Gaddafi, where the graffiti interviews and comments aimed to downplay the crisis in spells Assad’s name.

It’s not known what Gaddafi told Assad in their last his country and portray that the situation is totally under control. It might it be a case of delusion associated with phone conversation before being captured, but it the disbelief at the country-wide sedition and abhorrence might have gone something like this: “I’ll be waiting for of his people towards him. There’s probably a little of that you.” or “We were wrong all the way, don’t repeat my too. Gaddafi had displayed similar denial when he mistake.” The latter, however, is unlikely. It’s clear claimed the people love him and would do anything for though that Assad doesn’t know about anything other him, months before he was overthrown. Could it be the than terrorizing his people and squandering resources. usual false propaganda and the practice of sweeping Like Gaddafi, like Assad.

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kuwait digest

Where is the police?

By Aziza Al-Mufarrej f we elect the same MPs, they will keep the benefits and we will have plenty to be disappointed about.” A person called me up to tell me that I had won two watches, one for ladies and another for gents, along with 50 shopping coupons.

I realized that this must be from one of those fraudsters that specialize in duping citizens. I asked him about the requirements, and I received a prompt reply seeking my name and KD 25. He asked me to hand these over to a representative before handing over the gift. I told him that I don’t want the gift for him and his wife, and he replied that he was unmarried. I then hung upon him with the last words that he would be able to marry with the money stolen from Kuwaitis! The same call was made to one of my friends, but this time the gift offer was different. It was KD 300 and she was asked to hand over KD 20 to the representative. My friend welcomed the idea and asked the caller to deduct KD 20 and send the remainder with the representative. The caller

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refused. And so, the phone receiver was slammed in his face. This con artist’s ploys failed because we are not naive and are experienced. Yet, the son of our third friend fell into the trap and paid KD 25 to the thief. When he told his mother about what happened, she called up the said company and threatened to file a police case. He did it the same day.

Our question is : where is the police?

Note: Why do only private, foreign schools take students on cleaning campaigns to parks and beaches? Why don’t government schools do the same so that our children learn the value of cleanliness?

• A joke goes like this. After the Israeli occupation of Jerusalem in 1967, the Jews announced that they would enter into a deal with the Jordanians to share the Wailing Wall. I t was allegedly agreed that the Jews keep the wall while the Jordanians decided to cry. This matter will apply to us if we elect an assembly in which the same ex MPs are present. — Al-Watan

kuwait digest

The warrant officer-like political group

By Thaar Al-Rashidi here is a well-known saying that goes like, “The warrant officer is the luckiest among the soldiers.” It implies that a warrant officer is treated on par with an officer although he is not one. At the same time, the penalties imposed on personnel who enjoy the rank of sergeant or lower are not applicable to him.

We can use this analogy to draw comparisons with a political bloc that behaves like the warrant officer. In the last political battle before the government resigned, the group failed to justify its ‘elastic’ position. Its position was ambivalent to such an extent that if you ask any analyst about its real stance, he would say, “it moved between blocs in a way that puzzled everyone.”

But I tell you, it has played the game of warrant officer very well. The bloc’s head rests with the authority and the heart lay elsewhere.

The next period, the period of current elections, is not more suitable for that political group. It doesn’t have to take an ambivalent stance anymore. The upcoming period does not require that political groups hide. All that was practiced all the while will come to the fore. The recent press release of an announcement that it is returning to public does not remove the fact that a ‘temporary marriage’ of sorts took place with the government. The divorce papers do not deny that marriage took place.

On the contrary, it confirms it. I shall consider your return a good step. You must gain trust in your voters’ base. All gratitude must be expressed to the youths who forced you to separate from government. My advice is to not contest elections with the mentality of a warrant officer. This is a very idiotic thing for you to do. — Al-Anbaa

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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2011

Police fire tear-gas, beat Chinese protestors

Turkish police detain 38, most of them journalists Page 9

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Philippines flood toll tops 1,000 Aquino pledged aid to communities hit by disaster CAGAYAN DE ORO: Philippine authorities yesterday began burying the dead from flash floods that have left more than 1,000 dead or missing, as President Benigno Aquino declared a national disaster. Aquino flew to Mindanao island to inspect the ports of Cagayan de Oro and Iliganchoked with drying mud, crumpled homes, and hundreds of decomposing corpses after being struck by tropical storm Washi on the weekend.

Two dump trucks arrived at the public cemetery in Iligan at dusk, with soldiers unloading 38 coffins of victims who have been identified and claimed by relatives, who cried and lit candles as they witnessed the burial. On Monday as the stench of rotting bodies grew unbearable and health fears rose, local authorities had announced plans for burials in mass graves but after intense criticism they hastily arranged individual tombs.

“It is not like digging a hole and sticking them in there. They are being given apartmentstyle compartments, and I think it’s pretty decent,” Iligan city Mayor Lawrence Cruz told AFP as he led the first of the burials.

A priest sprinkled holy water on each coffin before it was pushed into the tombs. Cruz said that forensics experts were taking fingerprints and DNA samples of the many other unidentified bodies at overflowing local mortuaries and that dozens more cadavers would be ready for burial today.

Aquino pledged aid to the slum communities hit by the disaster, which the government has said left 957 people dead and 49 others missinga toll they fear could rise as bodies swept out to sea begin to surface.

The president pledged to repair damaged roads and water systems, mass housing units in safe relocation areas, and water level sensors for all major river basins across the country to help

ILIGAN CITY: Soldiers carry coffins of flash flood victims during a mass burial yesterday at a public cemetery in Iligan city in southern Philippines. Dozens of grieving relatives of the victims wept openly during funeral rites presided by a Catholic bishop at nightfall in Iligan city. — AP communities avoid similar disasters. He said he would sign an order declaring a national “State of Calamity” to make the necessary funds available.

“But in return we expect you to refrain from moving back to those places that put your lives at constant risk,” Aquino said in a speech at an evacuation centre. Unicef, the United Nations

children’s agency, appealed for $4.2 million (3.2 million euros) yesterday to help an estimated 200,000 children who are victims of the flood.

Meanwhile the UN Secretary General’s

Special Representative on Disaster Risk Reduction, Margareta Wahlstrom, said the Philippines should draw lessons from the natural disaster. “The first is that more must be done to ensure early warning systems are effective in an age when climate change is intensifying the impact of typhoons,” she said in a statement from the UN information office in Manila.

“The second is to understand the deadly cocktail of exposure and vulnerability created by poverty, rapid urbanisation and deforestation which results in huge loss of life, homes and hard-won development gains when a storm of this magnitude strikes.”

Officials and experts said many of the dead were informal settlers living in shantytowns built on river sand bars made up of soft and unstable sediment. But Cagayan de Oro Mayor Vicente Emano said that despite the president’s words, he would be unable to stop survivors returning unless the government can offer them homes elsewhere. “ These people will insist on going back because they have no other place to go back to.

Are you going to shoot them?” he said on ABSCBN television. Washi brought heavy rains that swelled rivers, unleashing flash floods and landslides that struck in the dead of night. The death toll rose sharply yesterday as the bodies of people who were swept out to sea were recovered.

“It (the death toll) is still going up and it will reach a thousand. There are still cadavers floating at sea,” Benito Ramos, the civil defence office chief told AFP. A British national was among those killed by the storm, Britain’s Foreign Office said. Authorities likened the impact to Ketsana, one of the country’s most devastating storms which dumped huge amounts of rain on Manila and other parts of the country in 2009, killing 464 people. — AFP

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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2011

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

Algerian troops in Mali to combat Qaeda groups BAMAKO: Algerian troops have crossed into Mali to help government forces combat groups affiliated to AlQaeda, officials and witnesses told AFP yesterday. “Algerian troops are currently stationed in northern Mali to assist the Malian army in the fight against terrorism,” a high-ranking military official said.

He would not divulge the number of Algerian troops now based in Mali nor the expected length of their stay.

“We know there is a team of instructors of at least 15, including officers,” a diplomatic source said, also on condition of anonymity.

Customs officials told AFP they saw a convoy carrying Algerian military between the northern towns of Kidal and Tessalit, near the Algerian border.

Al-Qaeda-linked groups have been active in Algeria, Mali, Niger and Mauritania for a decade but their activity has picked up since the fall of

Moamer Kadhafi scattered the slain Libyan strongman’s arsenal across the region.

Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and a splinter group that surfaced earlier this month-the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa-currently hold 12 European hostages. In April 2010, the four countries formed a Committee of Joint Chiefs (CEMOC), based in the Algerian town of Tamanrasset, to coor-

dinate their military efforts against AQIM. CEMOC army chiefs meet every six months but had never yet organised joint patrols, with the smaller countries criticising the group’s powerhouse Algeria for failing to send more help. Algiers for its part has complained that Mali was the committee’s weak link, blaming Bamako for allowing AQIM to set up bases on its territory and releasing jailed militants in

exchange for hostages.

A source close to the Malian defence ministry said a meeting between Malian and Algerian top brass was due to take place in Bamako today. World security analysts have voiced concern that while “Al Qaeda central” has been weakened in 2011, the group’s franchise in Africa could become a new terror hub posing a threat far beyond the four countries currently most affected. — AFP

Syria urged to apply deal as deaths mount Team of observers to head to Damascus

ANKARA: Turkey’s President Abdullah Gul (R) welcomes his Palestinian counterpart Mahmoud Abbas (L) at the entrance of the Presidential Palace in Ankara yesterday. — AFP

Iranian exiles in Iraq may accept UN plan PARIS: The leader of an exiled Iranian opposition group said yesterday it would agree to a United Nations plan to move residents of a dissident camp in Iraq to a new location, depending on certain conditions and guarantees.

The settlement known as Camp Ashraf, some 65 km (40 miles) from Baghdad, is the base of the People’s Mujahideen Organisation of Iran, or PMOI, an Iranian opposition group that Washington officially considers a terrorist group.

The Iraqi government, which is friendly with Tehran, has said it intends to close down the camp, home to an estimated 3,000 Iranian dissidents, by the end of this year, leaving less than two weeks to work out a solution.

As described by US officials on Monday, the UN plan would move the residents to a location near the Baghdad airport, where the United Nations would monitor them and process them for possible resettlement as refugees.

In a statement, PMOI leader Maryam Rajavi said the camp’s residents were “in principle” prepared to relocate on condition that the United Nations, United States and European Union support and endorse the proposal and that the Iraqi government guarantee the residents’ security and well-being.

The fate of Camp Ashraf is one of the main unresolved issues left over after US

forces withdrew from Iraq this month.

Residents of the camp have long said they fear for their safety at the hands of Iraqi authorities without US protection.

In April, the camp was the scene of clashes between residents and Iraqi security forces, during which 34 people were killed, according to a UN investigation. US officials have urged residents to accept the UN plan.

Rajavi said Baghdad had refused US, UN or European Union forces protecting the camp, so the group wanted “minimum” guarantees before it would accept the plan. Its demands include no Iraqi forces being allowed within the camp, independent UN and US observers based at the new settlement, the end of harassment of camp residents, provision of medical supplies and international supervision of the transfer of residents and all belongings to the new camp.

Resettling the dissidents in other countries will not be easy given that some may be afraid to return to Iran, where they could be viewed as enemies of the state, while others may be regarded as terrorists by the United States or other nations.

In the 1970s the group, which is also known as the Mujahadin-e Khalq (MEK), led a guerrilla campaign against the USbacked Shah of Iran, including attacks on US targets. It says it has since renounced violence. — Reuters

DAMASCUS: At least 100 Syrian army deserters were killed or wounded in clashes yesterday as Damascus faced new demands to halt its bloody ninemonth crackdown on dissent. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which provided the casualty figures, also said 36 civilians were killed around the country, 23 of them in the northwestern province of Idlib where the deserters lost their lives.

In Cairo, the Arab League said an advance team of observers would head to Damascus tomorrow to lay the ground for monitors overseeing a plan to which Syria agreed on Monday.

“After clashes that broke out this morning with the regular army, 100 deserters were besieged then killed or wounded between the villages of Kafruwed and Al-Fatira” in the Idlib district of Jabal al-Zawia, the Britainbased rights group said.

“Dozens of civilians, including many activists, are also surrounded by the Syrian army in Kafruwed,” it said in a statement received in Nicosia, quoting activists on the ground. It also said 14 members of the security forces were killed in southern Daraa province, where the protests broke out in midMarch.

The Observatory reported on Monday that up to 70 deserters were gunned down as they tried to flee their military posts in the Idlib towns of Kansafra and Kafruwed. The organisation, which said 40 civilians were killed on Monday, urged Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi to “intervene immediately to end this eventual massacre.”

Arabi’s deputy Ahmed Bin Helli said in Cairo that “an advance team (of observers) will head to Damascus tomorrow.” The team would include security, legal and administrative observers, with human rights experts expected to follow, and be headed by fellow assistant secretary general Samir Seif al-Yazal.

Bin Helli said General Mohammed Ahmed Mustafa al-Dabi, former head of Sudanese military intelligence and state minister for security arrangements, was named to head the mission. Dabi, who coordinated between the Sudanese government and the

DAMASCUS: A handout picture released by the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) shows Syrian security forces carrying the coffin of Hammoud Chadh, who the agency said was killed in recent violence in the country, during his funeral outside the Tishrin military hospital in Damascus, yesterday. — AFP joint United Nations-African Union peacekeeping troops in the western Sudanese region of Darfur, is expected in Cairo soon to get his marching orders from Arabi.

Damascus has pledged to cooperate fully with the terms of the agreement, but the promise seemingly failed to persuade many world powers. Rulers of the Gulf Cooperation Council urged Syria yesterday to immediately halt its “killing machine” as well as end the bloodshed and “lift all signs of armed conflict.”

The United States also expressed doubt that Syria was genuine in its promise. “A signature on a piece of paper from a regime like this, that has broken promise after promise after promise, means relatively little to us,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Monday.

And Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch, said the Arab League needs to show that its observers are “independent and able to work effectively” to dispel “well-founded fears of yet another Syrian stalling tactic.” The observer

mission is part of an Arab peace plan endorsed by Syria on November 2, which also calls for a halt to violence, releasing detainees and the withdrawal of the military from towns and residential districts.

Despite signing the accord, Syria has failed to convince either the opposition or Western governments pushing for tough UN action that it is willing to follow up its words with deeds.

“Violence must immediately end, the military withdraw, political prisoners be released and unhindered humanitarian access be granted,” said German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle.

“We will therefore judge the agreement of the Syrian leadership with the Arab League not by its words but only by actions, namely their immediate implementation,” he added.

Chancellor Angela Merkel was “deeply worried” about the violation of human rights and has called on Damascus to stop violence against civilians as well as against army deserters, the German government said.

The opposition Syrian National Council charged that Damascus’s

Palestinian factions begin key Cairo talks

Palestinian who plotted to kill rabbi defiant after release DAHYIAT EL BARID: A Palestinian jailed

by Israel for plotting to kill one of its most influential rabbis said after his release on Sunday that he had no regrets about the path he had chosen. Salah Hamouri, 26, was one of 550 prisoners freed to complete a deal in which Israel released 1,027 prisoners for soldier Gilad Shalit, who was held captive in the Gaza Strip for more than five years.

Many of the 450 prisoners freed on Oct. 18 under the Egyptian-brokered swap for the soldier had been serving life sentences for deadly attacks. None of those freed in the second stage, on Sunday, had been convicted of perpetrating any killings, though some such as Hamouri were involved in plotting violence, or involvement in non-lethal attacks.

Hamouri, of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) militant group, was jailed along with two accomplices in 2005 for seeking to kill former Israeli chief rabbi Ovadia Yosef, now 91.

“This man is and will remain a symbol of racism and fanaticism in Israel,” Hamouri said in an interview with Reuters.

Asked about his imprisonment, Hamouri, whose French mother had appealed to France to help win her son’s release, said separation from friends and family had been difficult, but added: “I am certain of the path and the choices that I have chosen.”

The outspoken Yosef, a mentor to Shas, a powerful religious party and junior partner in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s conservative coalition government, has on a few occasions made strong anti-Palestinian remarks and wished death on them.

In a sermon in 2000 Yosef likened Palestinians to snakes, drawing strong rebukes from both Israeli and Palestinian leaders and a year later he said Arabs should “be shelled with missiles...to destroy them.” In his latest edict in August 2010 Yosef said: “Abu Mazen (Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas) and all these evil people should perish from this earth ... God should strike them and these Palestinians-evil haters of Israel-with a plague”.

Hamouri’s release was conditional on Yosef’s consent, which he gave earlier this month, enabling him to go free as part of the deal for Shalit, just several months before his prison term was to have expired. “This is a final attempt from the occupation to give this racist man a human face,” Hamouri said of Rabbi Yosef ’s nod. Fluent in French, Hamouri, who also holds a French passport, told Reuters he wanted to go to France to thank those who campaigned for his release. “Freedom represents life, and to be free now, surrounded with my friends and family, I feel alive and hopeful again,” he said. — Reuters

acceptance of observers was merely a “ploy” to head off a threat by the panArab bloc to go to the UN Security Council. “It’s all about implementation,” said Britain’s UN ambassador Mark Lyall Grant. Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem pledged his government’s full cooperation with the observer mission and expressed hope the bloc would lift sweeping sanctions it imposed on Damascus last month.

“Signing the protocol is the start of cooperation with the Arab League and we will welcome the observers’ mission from the Arab League,” Muallem said on Monday. Syria blames the unrest on “armed terrorist groups”-not peaceful protesters as maintained by Western powers and rights groups-and Muallem said he expected the observer mission to vindicate that position. On Monday the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly approved a resolution condemning human rights abuses in Syria, where the UN estimates more than 5,000 people have been killed in the crackdown since mid-March. —AFP

TUNIS: Tunisian Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali speaks to the press after his meeting with the Tunisian President yesterday at Carthage Palace in Tunis. Tunisia is in the midst of a major social and economic crisis and observers say it is vital to get a new government up and running as soon as possible. The three main parties in the constituent assembly, Ennahda and its allies on the left — Marzouki’s Congress for the Republic (CPR) and Ettakatol — have been negotiating for two weeks on the makeup of the cabinet. — AFP

Hezbollah denies money laundering charges BEIRUT: Lebanon’s Hezbollah is denying US allegations of involvement in a $300 million laundering scheme and drugs trafficking, with its deputy leader claiming in comments published yesterday the charges were false and that America was “not fooling anyone” with accusations meant to harm his anti-Israeli group.

Sheik Naim Kassem said the Iran-backed Shiite Muslim group does not follow “a religiously prohibited path” to develop its resources and that the accusations were part of US efforts to tarnish Hezbollah’s image. His remarks to supporters Monday evening followed accusations by US federal authorities last week that Lebanese finan-

cial institutions wired more than $300 million to the United States in a laundering scheme they said used the US financial system to benefit Hezbollah.

“America’s allegations of money laundering or financing the group from narcotics money are not fooling anyone,” Kassem said. The remarks, published on Hezbollah’s website yesterday, were the group’s first on the issue. The US government said in the lawsuit filed in a Manhattan federal court that it seeks nearly a half-billion dollars in money-laundering penalties from some Lebanese financial entities, 30 US car buyers and a US shipping company. —AP

CAIRO: Representatives of all the Palestinian factions began meeting in Cairo yesterday to discuss ways of implementing a stalled reconciliation deal, delegates said. But officials played down expectations of a breakthrough, with Fatah delegation head Azzam al-Ahmed telling AFP he did not expect any agreement on the key issues of security and an interim government “before the end of January.”

“This meeting has one aim: to put in place mechanisms for ending the Palestinian division,” he said.

On the agenda were questions relating to a range of key issues, including the formation of a caretaker cabinet, security, social reconciliation, parliamentary and presidential elections and reformation of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), he said.

Izzat al-Rishq, a senior official from the Hamas delegation, said yesterday’s talks demonstrated that all the Palestinian factions were committed to forming a united front. “Through this meeting, all the Palestinian national movements are reaffirming their determination that 2011 will not finish without putting an end to the division,” he told AFP. Officials from the rival Fatah and Hamas movements have been holding talks in Cairo since Sunday to discuss ways of implementing a landmark reconciliation deal which was signed in May but which has never got off the ground. On Thursday, Palestinian president and Fatah chief Mahmud Abbas will preside over a meeting of the PLO Commission, a body set up in 2005 to examine ways of reforming the organisation, Ahmed said.

All the faction leaders belong to the PLO Commission, and Thursday’s meeting was to be attended by Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal and Islamic Jihad head Ramadan Shallah. Neither faction currently belongs to the PLO, although discussions are under way to restructure the body in order to let them join.

Both Meshaal and Abbas were expected in Cairo on Wednesday, officials said. The deal signed between the two former rivals in May called for the establishment of a caretaker cabinet which would prepare for legislative and presidential elections within a year, but it was never implemented. — AFP

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Phone hacking Russian style: Opposition under fire MOSCOW: In a sign Vladimir Putin’s allies may be getting serious about tackling the biggest protests of his 12-year rule, a loyal media outlet has published telephone calls of an opposition leader laced with profanities denigrating colleagues and followers.

True to Russia’s history of KGB-style stings, the recordings appear aimed at sowing discord within the fragmented opposition movement which this month united behind mass protests against Putin following a disputed parliamentary election.

The www.lifenews.ru Internet site, which local media says is partly owned by Putin ally Yuri Kovalchuk, published six hours of recordings of conversations between opposition leader Boris Nemtsov and other members of the protest movement. “She is a ...... but what the hell can I do about it? She doesn’t listen,” the recording purports to show Nemtsov saying of Yevgeniya Chirikova, a

35-year-old opposition campaigner who also took part in the mass protests.

Nemtsov, a former cabinet minister who was once tipped as possible Kremlin leader during the rule of Boris Yeltsin, said the recordings had been heavily edited and partly falsified in an attempt by Putin’s supporters to splinter the opposition.

“Parts of the recordings are genuine, part are heavily edited and parts are simply fake and falsified,” Nemtsov told Reuters by telephone.

Nemtsov said the publication was an attempt by Putin and Kremlin acting chief of staff Vladislav Surkov to undermine a day of mass protests planned across Russia on Dec. 24. “The aim of Putin and Surkov is to prevent a mass meeting on the 24th and to split the opposition,” Nemtsov said. “They will not succeed: it will have the opposite effect and more people will come out.”

Surkov’s office did not return a call for

comment. A spokesman for Kovalchuk’s Bank Rossiya refused to say if there were any links between Kovalchuk and Lifenews, requesting written questions.

Lifenews said it did not know of any links with Kovalchuk, who Forbes says has a net worth of $1.5 billion.

Nemtsov said he had offered his apologies to Chirikova for his comments but that the publication had contravened his rights as a Russian citizen and his lawyers were working on getting a criminal case opened. In Russia, only state security services or their commercial cousins have the resources to carry out such extensive ‘phone hacking’ so the recordings may also indicate the enduring influence of the secret police in Russian politics.

Russia’s secret police have long meddled in Moscow politics, even coining the Russian word ‘kompromat’ - or compromising material - to describe potentially damaging information used for blackmail.

While Putin was head of the Federal Security Service (FSB) in 1999, the security services were suspected of having a hand in the airing of a video purporting to show Russia’s top prosecutor cavorting in bed with two women. Lifenews, which has delivered scoops such as the Jan. 24 suicide bombing at Russia’s biggest airport by building close contacts with the law enforcement agencies, did not say where it had got the recordings.

Ashot Gabrelyanov, the 22-year-old chief executive of News Media which owns Lifenews, refused to say if he had got the recordings from the security services. “You as a reporter yourself know I cannot disclose my sources,” he said by telephone. “The cynicism of the opposition leaders is 10 on the Richter scale,” Gabrelyanov said on his twitter account. “Dudes, in five years in show business I have never heard such an outrage.” He said he would publish more recordings. —Reuters

Boris Nemtsov

Turkish police detain 38, most of them journalists Arrests focus on alleged links with Kurdish militants

SEA OF OKHOTSK: Photo provided by Russia Emergency Situations Ministry, Far Eastern Branch press service yesterday, shows an unidentified survivor of an oil drilling platform “Kolskaya” being evacuated from Magadan to a helicopter in the Sea of Okhotsk. The Kolskaya capsized Sunday, leaving 14 of its crew confirmed dead and 39 still missing. — AP

Russia mourns victims of rig disaster as search goes on MOSCOW: Russia’s northern Murmansk region marked a day of mourning yesterday for victims of the weekend sinking of a drilling rig in icy seas, as rescuers hunting for 39 missing crewmen found only empty liferafts. Questions were mounting about the decision to tow the rig with 67 people on board across the Okhotsk Sea in far eastern Russia during a severe storm, and survivors described scenes of chaos during the rescue operation.

Rescuers were continuing with the search for the missing for the third day after Sunday’s sinking but hopes of finding anyone alive were fading after a ship spotted empty liferafts from the rig. Fourteen survivors were picked up on Sunday after the Kolskaya capsized and sank within 20 minutes in seas over 1,000 metres (3,000 feet) deep as it was being towed from the Kamchatka peninsula towards the island of Sakhalin.

It was Russia’s worst disaster on water since July when 122 people drowned in a pleasure boat accident. Eleven bodies have so far been recovered from the Okhotsk Sea, while another three have been sighted, officials said, taking the official death toll to 14.

“This is not a cruise liner able to transport nearly 70 people through the entire Okhotsk Sea,” said one of the rescued crewmen, Ivan Mishinyov. “He knew it could not be done,” Natalia Dmitriyeva, the daughter of another crew member, said of the towing operation in remarks broadcast on television.

Others also took issue with the rescue operation, saying the victims had been expected to help themselves out of the water. “They thought we would be clambering up, but we were already too weak,” said the rig’s chief Alexander Kovalenko.

“Everyone cried: ‘Lifeboats, lifeboats, rafts.’

“I do not know why captains of the rescue vessels did not drop their rafts,” a visibly shaken Kovalenko said in remarks

broadcast on television. Rescuers have so far refused to declare the remaining 39 missing dead, stressing they needed to find the rest of the crew, alive or dead.

“Hope springs eternal,” Alexander Ivelsky, spokesman for the emergencies ministry based in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, told AFP. The Murmansk region-home to more than 30 members of the crew-was in mourning Tuesday, with flags lowered and the cancellation of entertainment events, governor Dmitry Dmitrienko said.

“Today we are grieving and mourning all the victims of the terrible catastrophe in the Okhotsk Sea,” Dmitriyenko said in a video statement. “We don’t yet know the exact number of the dead and missing, but we already know that quite a large number of residents of the Murmansk region perished.”

A container ship spotted a partially damaged lifeboat and a liferaft full of water early yesterday, but neither carried any survivors or bodies, the federal sea and river transport agency said. Officials said Sunday that four liferafts had been found with no one on board, with crew members in wetsuits able to survive freezing temperatures for only around six hours.

President Dmitry Medvedev has ordered a probe but Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who plans to win back his old Kremlin job in a March poll, has not so far made a public statement on the tragedy. Investigators said Monday that they were probing breaches of safety regulations, a frequent cause of accidents in the country. The rig’s owner Arktikmorneftegazrazvedka (AMNGR) defended the professionalism of the rig’s managers, saying towing at sea was a “complicated operation”. Officials said the Kolskaya, which was engaged in exploration for Gazflot, a subsidiary of gas giant Gazprom, had experienced technical problems before the accident and had been forced to pump water out of one of its air tanks due to a leak. — AFP

ISTANBUL: Police detained at least 38 people, most of them journalists, in dawn raids across Turkey yesterday as part of an investigation into alleged links between Kurdish activists and armed separatist militants, security officials and media said.

Turkey already has some 70 reporters in jail, one of the highest numbers in the world, but says they are in prison for other crimes, not there for their work. Jailing more journalists could fuel accusations that Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan’s government is intolerant of dissent and is trying to tame the media. But while the economy continues to grow rapidly, widespread public discontent is unlikely.

Police arrested 25 people in Istanbul, most of them journalists. Reuters witnesses saw Agence France-Presse photographer Mustafa Ozer being led away from his house by police. AFP in Turkey confirmed he had been detained. More than 10 journalists from the pro-Kurdish Dicle news agency were also arrested, state-run Anatolian news agency said. A lawyer for Dicle said only

police remained at the agency’s Istanbul office, copying documents and computer hard drives.

She said she did not yet know how many reporters had been taken into custody.

Hundreds of people, including elected mayors, are already on trial on charges of ties to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) armed group as part of the same investigation which began two years ago. In Diyarbakir, the main city in Turkey’s restive mainly Kurdish southeast, police held at least six people, and carried out searches in 10 offices and houses belonging to Dicle staff, officials said. Simultaneous raids were also conducted in the capital Ankara, Izmir and other cities where arrests were also made.

Police also searched offices of several other news agencies across Turkey, seizing computers and documents, CNN Turk said. Last month, more than 100 people were detained in similar raids which coincided with a surge in PKK attacks on Turkish security forces. These triggered military strikes against guerrilla bases in the mountains of neighbouring northern Iraq.

South Sudan’s president makes first visit to Israel JERUSALEM: South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir yesterday visited Israel for the first time for talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other top officials, a foreign ministry statement said. “This is a working visit of just one day,” a diplomatic source said, indicating that the aim was to keep the visit “low-profile” at the request of South Sudan.

Kiir, who arrived late on Monday, visited the Yad Vashem Holocaust museum early on Tuesday before holding talks with his Israeli counterpart Shimon Peres and was to have a working lunch with Netanyahu, Israeli sources said.

He was also expected to meet Defence Minister Ehud Barak and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman during the afternoon before leaving in the early evening, officials said. The Sudanese leader, who is travelling with his ministers for foreign affairs, defence and for the presidency, was met on arrival by deputy foreign minister Danny Ayalon, a ministry statement said.

“Your choice of Israel as one of your first destinations to visit as president demonstrates the deep friendship and the natural partnership which exists between South Sudan and Israel,” Ayalon told him. Israel recognised South Sudan and established full diplomatic relations with Kiir’s government shortly after it declared independence in July following a 22year civil war with the mostly-Muslim north.

The Jewish state does not have relations with Khartoum, which it has accused of serving as a base for Islamic militants, and instead supported the rebel movement of the mainly Christian and animist south during the war. Israel’s ties with the rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Movement, which is now the south’s ruling party, have reportedly long been close, with the Jewish state allegedly providing arms during the war, although neither side has publicly acknowledged any weapons transfers. Ayalon said there was “great potential” for shared activity between the two nations and described the visit as having “great importance” for bilateral ties. South Sudan’s route to independence-implementing a peace deal with Khartoum, after which it joined the United Nations-was “the proper model” which should also be adopted by the Palestinians, Ayalon said. “The story of your independence ought to set a very good example for anyone interested in achieving a lasting peace in the Middle East. A country cannot emerge virtually,” he said referring to Palestinian attempts to secure full UN membership in a move which has greatly angered Israel.— AFP

Belarus holds dozens at candle-lit protest MINSK: Belarussian police detained dozens of people who took part in a candle-lit protest against President Alexander Lukashenko late on Monday, a year after he was re-elected for a fourth term in a vote his opponents criticise as fraudulent.

The Minsk police department said yesterday 32 people faced court hearings on charges such as taking part in illegal protests and hooliganism. In Belarus, those can lead to fines or arrest for up to two weeks.

The detentions followed a fresh call from the West for Belarus to release political prisoners and open up its authoritarian political system. Lukashenko, who has run the former Soviet republic since 1994 tolerating little dissent, faced an unusually large public protest after his re-election in December 2010 when tens of thousands of people ral-

The investigation is focused on an organisation called the Union of Kurdistan Communities (KCK), which the PKK established in 2005 with the aim of creating its own Kurdish political system, according to a 2009 indictment. Some 150 politicians and activists are already being tried in Diyarbakir, where a large courtroom has been specially built. Similar trials are being held in other cities across Turkey.

The arrests of yet more journalists could also spark further criticism in the European Union, which Turkey is aiming to join. Due to the proliferation of such cases, Turkey has fallen to 138th out of 178 countries reviewed for the World Press Freedom Index by Reporters without Borders, a media freedom pressure group, from 101st in 2007.

More than 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict between the PKK and the state since the militants launched their armed insurgency in 1984. Turkey, the United States and European Union list the PKK as a terrorist organisation. — Reuters

lied in central Minsk.

Police cracked down on the protest then, arresting hundreds including several opposition presidential candidates, prompting condemnation and sanctions from the West. On Monday, dozens of people commemorated the event by lighting candles at the site of the protest. Many were detained by police, although the majority were released soon afterwards, according to human rights group Vesna-96. “ The police were rather rough. They grabbed those who lit candles,” an eyewitness told Reuters. “They would grab one or two people out of the crowd, drag them to the ground and put them into (police) buses.”

Separately, women’s rights group Femen from neighbouring Ukraine said yesterday it

had lost contact with three of its activists who staged a topless protest in Minsk on Monday and may have been detained.

The United States and the European Union have jointly called on Belarus in recent days to release and rehabilitate all political prisoners and voiced concern about deteriorating rights conditions in the year since the December 2010 crackdown.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton urged Minsk in a joint statement to free former presidential candidates Andrei Sannikov and Nikolai Statkevich who were jailed after the protest. They also expressed “grave concern over new laws that will further restrict citizens’ fundamental freedoms of assembly, association and expression and that target support to civil society”. — Reuters

JERUSALEM: In this photo released by the Israeli Government Press Office, Israeli President Shimon Peres, right, meets with the President of South Sudan Silva Kiir at his residence in Jerusalem, yesterday. The president of South Sudan is visiting Israel, which is building ties with Christian-led east African countries also threatened by Islamic extremism. — AP

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Californian teen sentenced for killing gay student VENTURA: A teen who fatally shot a gay junior high classmate in the back of the head during a computer lab nearly four years ago was sentenced Monday to 21 years in state prison, capping an emotional case that focused attention on how schools deal with sexual identity.

Brandon McInerney, 17, dressed in a white T-shirt and blue pants, didn’t speak at the hearing, but his lawyer said his client was sorry for killing 15year-old Larry King. “He feels deeply remorseful and stated repeatedly if he could go back and take back what he did, he would do it in a heartbeat,” Scott Wippert said. McInerney will report to prison next month, after he turns 18. He pleaded guilty to seconddegree murder, voluntary manslaughter and unlawful use of a firearm after jurors deadlocked during his trial as an adult on a first-degree murder charge.

Several jurors said afterward that they didn’t think McInerney should

have been tried as an adult. McInerney had just turned 14 when he shot King in front of shocked classmates at E.O. Green Junior High School in Oxnard on Feb. 12, 2008. Prosecutors alleged it was a hate crime driven by homophobic rage because King wore girl’s clothing and flirted with McInerney.

The killing became a flashpoint for gay rights groups that said it was further evidence that children often pay a horrible price when they come out.

Comic Ellen DeGeneres, a lesbian, weighed in on her talk show and said gays shouldn’t be treated as secondclass citizens. Because of pretrial publicity, the trial was moved from Ventura County to Los Angeles County.

King’s father, Greg King, read a fourpage letter lambasting everyone from jurors, who he called incompetent, to the media for not focusing enough on school leaders “bungled” handling of his son’s situation. He said the shooting had scarred students who testified,

calling it their “9/11.” School administrators were criticized for not doing enough in the weeks leading up to the killing at the Oxnard school to quell a simmering feud between the two boys and for allowing King to wear heels and makeup. School district officials said they were upholding federal law by protecting Larry King’s right to express his sexual orientation.

Greg King blamed the school district for not heeding requests by his wife to help tone down their son’s flamboyant behavior, despite having a plan that called for preventing the boy from drawing attention to himself.

“The school could have and should have prevented Larry from engaging in the provocative behavior he was involved in,” he said. He saved his strongest statements for McInerney, who he said his family couldn’t forgive.

“You took upon yourself to be a bully and to hate a smaller kid, wanting to be the big man on campus,’” Greg King

said to McInerney on behalf of his wife. “‘You have left a big hole in my heart where Larry was and it can never be filled.’” King’s family and Deputy District Attorney Maeve Fox wore buttons with the teen’s face on it, while some of McInerney’s supporters wore powder blue wristbands that read “Save Brandon.” Some teachers and jurors also attended the hearing.

Outside court, Dawn Boldrin, a teacher who gave King her daughter’s homecoming dress, had kind words for both of the teens. “I probably would just hug him,” Boldrin said when asked what she would do if she could meet McInerney. “I know he’s a good kid.”

During the trial, prosecutors portrayed McInerney as a teen who couldn’t control his anger and was influenced by white supremacist ideology.

Jurors rejected the claim that the killing was a hate crime. Prosecutors said the plotted killing was first-degree murder and that McInerney should be

punished as an adult. Defense attorneys, who unsuccessfully argued to keep the case in juvenile court, said McInerney reached an emotional breaking point after King’s advances.

They said he snapped when he heard King wanted to change his first name to Latisha.

Under teams of the plea bargain, McInerney’s murder conviction was stayed and he received the harshest possible sentence under California law for voluntary manslaughter - 11 years and use of a firearm - 10 years.

McInerney is ineligible for time served for good behavior because he pleaded guilty to murder. Following the hearing, defense attorney Robyn Bramson said McInerney is close to getting his high school diploma and plans to take advantage of any opportunity afforded him in prison. “I really think this is a story that if you follow up in 21 years you’ll find a kid who has rehabilitated himself,” she said. — AP

Republicans spark turmoil over tax deal ‘We’re here, we’re willing to work’

COLORADO: Longmont police respond to three separate weather-related accidents as snow falls on Colo. Hwy. 66 at Francis Street in Longmont, Colo., on Monday. A major storm is bringing blizzard conditions to Colorado’s southeastern corner, where ranches and farms have been hit hard by drought. — AP

Deadly snowstorm halts travel in US WICHITA: Fierce winds and snow that caused fatal accidents and shuttered highways in five states crawled deeper into the central US early yesterday, with forecasters warning that pre-holiday travel would be difficult if not impossible across the region.

Hotels were filling up quickly along major roadways from eastern New Mexico to Kansas and travel throughout the region was difficult. Nearly 100 rescue calls came in from motorists in northern Texas as blizzard conditions forced closed part of Interstate 40, a major east-west route, Monday night.

New Mexico shut down a portion of Interstate 25, the major route heading northeast of Santa Fe into Colorado and Clayton police dispatcher Cindy Blackwell said her phones were “ringing off the hook” with calls from numerous motorists stuck on rural roads. About 10 inches (25 centimeters) of snow had fallen in western Kansas before dawn Tuesday, and several more inches - along with strong wind gusts - were expected, National Weather Service meteorologist Marc Russell said.

“We’re talking about whiteout conditions,” he said. The storm came after much of the country had a relatively mild fall. Except for the October snowstorm blamed for 29 deaths on the East Coast, there’s been little rain or snow. Many of the areas hit Monday enjoyed relatively balmy 60-degree (15-degree Celsius) temperatures just 24 hours earlier.

Authorities said six people have died as a result of the bad weather. Four people were killed when their vehicle collided with a pickup truck in part of eastern New Mexico where blizzard-like conditions are rare, and a prison guard and

inmate died when a prison van crashed along an icy roadway in eastern Colorado. The snowstorm lumbered into the region Monday, turning roads to ice and reducing visibility to zero. The conditions put state road crews on alert and had motorists taking refuge and early exits off major roads across the region.

Linda Pape, general manager of the Clayton Super 8 motel in Colorado said it was packed with unhappy skiers who had been headed to lodges in Colorado and elsewhere in New Mexico.

Bill Cook, who works at the Best Western in Clayton, said he hadn’t seen such a storm since the 1970s, when cattle had to be airlifted with helicopters and the National Guard was called in to help out. His hotel was packed Monday with people “happy they have a room,” and some of the children were playing outside in the snow.

Though some drivers were inconvenienced, farmers and meteorologists said the storm was bringing much needed moisture - first rain, then snow as temperatures dropped - to areas of Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas that had been parched by a drought that started in the summer of 2010. Virginia Kepley, 73, spent Monday afternoon baking pumpkin bread to give as Christmas gifts while snow fell on her farm near Ulysses, Kansas. “I decided to try to get as much done today in case the electricity goes off and I can’t make it tomorrow,” she said.

Kepley was grateful for the snow after some of her family’s wheat never got enough moisture to sprout last season. A new crop had been planted in the fall for harvest next summer. “It is wonderful for the wheat,” Kepley said. “At least we have wheat we can see this year.” — AP

NEW YORK: Mary Anne Figoski, second from left, receives a flag from a police officer during the funeral of her son, Officer Peter Figoski, while Paulette Figoski, left, Frank Figoski, fourth from right, and Peter Figoski’s daughters, Caroline, third from right, Christine, second from right, and and Corinne Figoski look on in Babylon, N.Y., Monday. — AP

WASHINGTON: Republican lawmakers are expected to reject a bipartisan compromise on extending a payroll tax holiday and unemployment benefits, in a new twist to a bitter year-end Washington showdown.

Time is running out for Congress to act on President Barack Obama’s demand for a plan to alleviate the pain of the middle class and help the jobless: if lawmakers cannot produce within 11 days, 160 million Americans face a tax hike.

The row ensures that a year of bitter division and recrimination in US politics will end in even deeper discord, setting the stage for what is likely to be an ugly year of partisan bickering as Obama seeks reelection in 2012.

The imbroglio had seemed solved on Saturday when Republicans and Democrats in the Senate agreed to extend the payroll tax holiday for an interim period of two months, along with jobless benefits for around two million people. But Republicans in the House of Representatives, swayed by the conservative Tea Party faction, revolted, swapping an initial coolness for the extension, and calling instead for another year at lowered payroll tax rates.

“Our members do not want to just punt and do a two-month, short-term fix where we have to come back and do this again,” Republican US House Speaker John Boehner told reporters on Monday night.

“We’re here. We’re willing to work,” he said.

Originally, Republican leaders planned to hold votes on Monday night, but after a long meeting of party lawmakers put off the action on the bill until Tuesday.

It appeared that some in the Republican caucus were unwilling to cast a vote that would effectively raise payroll taxes that all workers contribute to the retirement savings system from the current 4.2 percent to 6.2 percent.

Republican leaders may simply decide to shelve the Senate plan, and vote instead on a motion calling for a conference of House and Senate lawmakers to seek a fresh deal.

That solution may not work however, because Senate Democratic Majority leader Harry Reid has refused to bring his members back to Washington after sending them away for their Christmas and New Year holiday at the weekend.

Senior Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer said the House Republican plan was merely a bid to squelch the legislation but avoid taking the blame, as Obama slams Republicans for depriving Americans of a tax cut.

“House Republicans claim to support this middle class tax cut, but they are really trying to bury it in a committee,” Schumer said.

“Speaker Boehner is using one of the oldest tricks in Washington of claiming to support something and then sending it to a legislative

from his most conservative members. They also said that the White House had made no attempt to contact the Republican leadership over the issue.

Obama has said he will not begin his Christmas and New Year vacation in his native Hawaii until the payroll tax holiday, designed to stimulate the economy, is extended and unemployment benefits are also assured.

The Senate deal also thrusts the contentious Keystone XL pipeline, to carry oil

WASHINGTON: House Speaker John Boehner speaks at a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Monday. Partisan to the core, Congress careened toward a holiday-season standoff Monday on legislation to prevent a Social Security payroll tax increase for 160 million workers on Jan 1. — AP graveyard.” A new round of dysfunction on Capitol Hill would also likely deepen already acute cynicism towards Congress felt by most American voters, and could shape the emerging battlefield of Obama’s 2012 reelection bid.

Obama had originally asked for a year-long payroll tax extension but settled for a twomonth reprieve for workers as Democrats in the Senate were unable to agree with Republicans on how to pay for the tax cut.

House Republican sources disputed reports that Boehner had reversed his position on the Senate compromise after a revolt

from Canada’s tar sands to the US Gulf Coast, back onto the political agenda. Obama had put off a decision on the project, which pits environmentalists against labor unions and business interests in his political base, until after his bid for a second term, drawing Republican howls.

But as part of the compromise Obama had to accept language forcing him to reconsider it within 60 days, putting him in a dicey political spot and enraging environmentalists who lean Democratic and campaigned against the project. — AFP

Japan, US unite on North Korea, differ on Iran WASHINGTON: The United States and Japan put on a united front Monday after North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il’s death but the allies showed differences elsewhere with the Asian economic giant refusing to stop oil imports from Iran. President Barack Obama spoke by telephone with Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and “underscored the United States’ commitment to the defense of our close allies, including Japan,” the White House said in a statement.

Japan’s Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba had just arrived on a previously scheduled visit to the United States when North Korea announced that Kim had died, sending shockwaves through policy circles in Washington and Asia. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, meeting with Gemba, said that the United States would coordinate closely with its allies Japan and South Korea amid the large question marks in its impoverished and nuclear-armed neighbor. “ We both share a common interest in a peaceful and stable transition in North Korea as well as ensuring regional peace and stability,” Clinton said. “ We reiterate our hope for improved relations with the people of North Korea and remain deeply concerned about their well-being,” she said. Gemba

agreed with the US stance and urged renewed efforts over a top concern for Japan-the fate of its citizens who were abducted by North Korea in the 1970s and 1980s to train the regime’s spies.

“We share the recognition that it is important to make sure that the latest events would not negatively affect the peace and stability on the Korean peninsula,” Gemba said.

In another sign of the tight security ties, Japan announced that it has chosen US-built F-35 stealth jets as its next-generation mainstay fighter in a deal estimated to be worth more than $4 billion. But the two sides differed on Iran. The United States is drumming up pressure around the world against the Islamic regime over accusations it is developing nuclear weapons.

Gemba pointed to Japanese sanctions on Iranian institutions but said: “I conveyed my view that there is a danger of causing damage to the entire global economy if the imports of Iranian crude oil stop.” The US Congress has approved legislation that would force foreign institutions to choose being dealing with Iran’s central bank-the main conduit for oil sales-and doing business with US banks. A senior Japanese official said that Gemba did not formally seek a waiver as the legislation has not taken

effect but explained Tokyo’s concerns. “Iran may just get more money after the sanctions. From this point it may not work out, so we have to be very careful when we take any measures,” the official said on condition of anonymity.

Japan has traditionally maintained cordial relations with Iran, although in recent years it has

pared down its energy investments in the Islamic republic due to the concerns over its nuclear program.

But Japan, the world’s third-largest economy, has virtually no fossil fuel resources on its own. In October, 7.7 percent of its crude oil came from Iran, according to Japan’s Ministry of Economics, Trade and Industry. — AFP

Chinese protestor charged over LA consulate shooting LOS ANGELES: A Chinese-born activist was charged Monday with firing shots at China’s consulate in Los Angeles following a human rights protest outside the building last week, police said. Jeff Baoliang Zhang, a 67-year-old originally from Shanghai, turned himself in to police a few hours after last Thursday’s shooting, which left a number of bullet holes in the front of the diplomatic building. He was initially booked for attempted murder, for allegedly firing a 9mm handgun at a security guard, but he was charged on Monday with assault with a semiautomatic firearm and shooting at an inhabited dwelling, prosecutors said.

He was being held in a Los Angeles Police Department detention center in lieu of $100,000 bail, but prosecutors want him to be jailed without bail, said deputy district attorney John Gilligan. If convicted, Zhang faces more than 20 years in state prison, prosecutors said.

Zhang was “part of a small protest related to human rights in mainland China. Acting independently from the other protesters, he opened fire on the consulate building and then drove away in his car,” an LAPD spokesman said. The security guard involved, Cipriano Gutierrez, said he feared for his life in the shooting, which occurred when about 20 people were inside the consular building.

“I hit the ground and I was praying,” he said, according to the local CBS affiliate TV station. “I grabbed phone books and put them over my head. — AFP

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Philippine court orders arrest of former general MANILA: A Philippine court has ordered the arrest of a retired army general accused of involvement in the kidnappings of two student activists, officials said yesterday. The arrest warrant for retired Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan was issued in Bulacan province north of Manila where army troops under him are suspected of abducting University of the Philippines activists Karen Empeno and Sherlyn Cadapan on June 26, 2006. The two remain missing.

Palparan, who became a lawmak-

er after retiring in 2006, is one of the highest-ranking army officers to face arrest for alleged rights violations.

He has denied any wrongdoing.

Raymond Manalo, one of several witnesses, has testified in court that he met Empeno and Cadapan while the three were in the custody of a r my o f f i cer s u n d e r Pal p a ra n i n 2006. He said military authorities suspec ted they were communist guerrillas or sympathizers. Manalo said he later escaped from military

detention.

The military has said Empeno and Cadapan were never in its custody.

Military officials have promised to cooperate in Palparan’s investigation. Clerk of court Melba David said Palparan would not be allowed to post bail. Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo said police and government agents were searching for Palparan, and that two military cod e fe n d a n t s h a d s u r re n d e re d to authorities yesterday.

Left-wing activists have linked Palparan to several abductions and killings of activists when he led an army command that battled Marxist guerrillas. They welcomed his arrest warrant. “I hope this will encourage other victims to come out and file criminal complaints,” left-wing Rep. Teddy Casino said. “ This case may help end the atmosphere of impunity if successfully prosecuted.”

President Benigno Aquino III, who assumed power in June last year, has

promised to bring justice to victims of human rights violations but rights groups have said he did little during his first year, specifically in prosecuting military and police violators.

Palparan, who has been barred from leaving the country without government permission, attempted to board a flight to Singapore on Monday but was stopped by immigration authorities at Clark airport north of Manila, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said. —AP

Police fire tear-gas, beat Chinese protestors Villagers demand release of three community leaders BEIJING: Police fired tear-gas and beat demonstrators who stormed government buildings in southern China yesterday to protest a power plant, witnesses said, in the latest violent unrest to hit the country.

Residents of Haimen, a town in the province of Guangdong, are demanding the coal-fired plant be moved, saying it is damaging their

pendently confirmed. AFP calls to the local government in the town of Haimen went unanswered. A woman contacted by telephone at the local public security bureau denied there was unrest in the town.

Haimen is only around 115 kilometres (70 miles) northeast of Wukan village, where residents are

Guangdong, China’s wealthiest province and the country’s manufacturing hub.

Photos posted online purportedly of the protest scene showed dozens of police armed with batons and shields lined up along a stretch of road. Other photos showed protesters surrounding a government building with dozens

HAIMEN: Chinese residents block a highway as they protest to demand the coal-fired plant be moved in Haimen township, in south China’s Guangdong province yesterday. Police in riot gear fired tear-gas and beat demonstrators who stormed government buildings in southern China to protest a power plant, witnesses said, in the latest violent unrest to hit the country. —AFP health, demonstrators told AFP by telephone.

They said a 15-year-old boy had been killed and more than 100 others badly beaten by riot police, although this could not be inde-

in open revolt against the local government after what they say is years of illegal land grabs. There is no indication that the protests are related, but they are part of an upsurge in social unrest in

standing on the roof of the entrance.

“They are still firing tear gas right now, lots of people are crying and they are on the ground,” a protester told AFP, estimating that 100

to 200 riot police had confronted residents. “If they continue, we will come out tomorrow and keep protesting. They are starting to beat people now,” he said, before hanging up.

Another demonstrator told AFP that 10,000 residents had blocked a highway into the town to “get attention” after the local government refused to see them. “We are protesting because we want the power plant to move away. Lots of local people have illnesses such as cancer,” a resident said.

State media reported last month that a 7.4-billion-yuan ($1.17-billion) expansion of a power plant in Haimen had failed environmental tests. Toxic metals found in local waterways, such as lead, zinc and nickel, “exceeded the standard level”, Caixin said.

Three decades of rapid economic growth have left most waterways in China severely contaminated and protests over environmental pollution are increasing. The villagers of Wukan are threatening to march on government offices today if their demands for the release of three community leaders and the body of a fourth, who died in police custody, are not met.

Villagers also want a full investigation into what they say are years of illegal land grabs that has cost many local farmers their livelihood.

The recent outbreak of unrest will be a key concern for stabilityobsessed leaders in Beijing as they prepare for a once-in-a-decade transition of power that begins next year.

Despite attempts to censor the web and a virtual black-out in China’s state-run media, weibos-Chinese microblogs similar to Twitter-have buzzed with news of the Haimen and Wukan protests. —AFP

Karzai wants immediate halt to NATO night raids KABUL: Afghan President Hamid Karzai yesterday demanded an immediate halt to NATO-led night raids after the military insisted the operations will continue despite the recent death of a pregnant woman. Karzai has led public criticism of the controversial raids, saying they endanger lives and harass local communities, and repeatedly called on US-led international forces to stop entering Afghan homes.

The latest spat comes after the pregnant wife of an antidrugs official was killed during a raid in the eastern Paktia province in the early hours of Saturday when NATO-led forces returned gunfire coming from a compound.

NATO has defended the operations as the safest way of targeting insurgent leaders, insisting they will continue but with the increasing involvement of Afghan special forces.

“The president of Afghanistan wants an immediate halt to the night raids and house searches of Afghans,” presidential spokesman Aimal Faizi said.

“He doesn’t want any foreigner to go to the homes of Afghans and search their homes.” A loya jirga meeting of Afghan elders last month made halting the raids a condition of a strategic partnership document being negotiated with Washington. The agreement will govern the relationship between American troops and the Afghan government after the scheduled withdrawal of combat troops in 2014.

“What NATO officials say is in total contradiction to the decisions of the loya jirga, to the demands of the Afghan people... and it is in total contradiction to what the president of Afghanistan wants,” Faizi said. “One of the main reasons that we have not been able to agree on a strategic partnership is the problem of night raids on Afghan houses.”

He said the Afghan government would have no problem with the raids if they were “100 percent conducted by Afghans”. “We don’t want the war on terrorism to be fought inside people’s houses,” he added.

The spokesman for NATO’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), Brigadier General Carsten Jacobson, said in 85 percent of night raids no shot is fired and they cause less than one percent of civilian casualties.

“Night operations remain the safest form of operations conducted to take insurgent leaders off the battlefield,” he said Monday. Jacobson said it was in everybody’s interests to “Afghanise” the night raids as quickly as possible, that numbers of Afghan special forces were being increased, and that Afghan troops were involved in almost all such operations. The raid on Saturday targeted a leader of the Taleban-linked Haqqani militant network, NATO said, but the Paktia provincial governor described it as an “arbitrary operation”. The provincial anti-drugs chief was detained but has since been released. A suspected insurgent remains in custody. —AFP

SRINAGAR: Kashmiri government teachers shout slogans as Indian police detain them during a protest in Srinagar, India, yesterday. Police in Indiancontrolled Kashmir yesterday detained dozens of government teachers who took out a protest demanding hike in salary and regularization of their jobs. —AP

Police charge Kashmir officials over critical text SRINAGAR: Indian authorities have filed charges against Kashmir education officials over a textbook for first graders that illustrates the word “oppressor” with a sketch resembling an Indian police officer. Anti-India sentiment runs deep in the Indian-controlled part of the disputed Himalayan region, where violent confrontations routinely erupt between stone-throwing protesters and baton-wielding police.

Police official Shailandra Mishra said yesterday that authorities were angered by an Urdulanguage textbook illustrating the word “zalim,” or oppressor, with a drawing of a mustachioed man wearing a cap and uniform and carrying a bamboo club similar to those carried by Indian police.

Police charged officials responsible for the creation and publication of the book, along with the head of the government-run board of education, with criminal conspiracy, sedition and defamation Monday. The charges could carry a 10-year sentence.

Mishra also said the word was inappropriate in a book for such young students. Sheikh

Bashir, chairman of the board of education, said the body had already issued a notice to delete the picture from the textbook. “We’ve initiated a departmental inquiry to know why the mistake occurred. Let me assure that it was not a deliberate attempt or a conspiracy to defame the police,” he said.

Last year, police arrested a college lecturer on charges he gave his students an English exam filled with questions attacking a crackdown on demonstrations challenging Indian rule in the region. Police accused the lecturer of promoting secession and spreading disaffection against the state.

Kashmir is divided between Hindu-majority India and predominantly Muslim Pakistan, but claimed by both in its entirety. Though many living in Indian-controlled Kashmir are agitating for independence or merger with Pakistan, India considers it illegal to question the country’s claim to the region. Indian forces have largely suppressed a violent rebellion that broke out in 1989, but Kashmiris have turned instead to holding street protests. —AP

MUMBAI: Indian President Pratibha Patil inspects a guard of honor as she arrives for President’s Fleet Review (PFR) of the Indian Navy in Mumbai, India, yesterday. A PFR is conducted once in the tenure of a president who is also the supreme commander of the armed forces to showcase the naval prowess and its strike capabilities. —AP

India’s president calls for better maritime security ON BOARD INS SUBHADRA: India’s president yesterday stressed the need to improve maritime security, as the energy-hungry nation grows and ramps up offshore oil and gas exploration activity.

Conducting only the 10th presidential fleet review since independence in 1947, Pratibha Patil said safeguarding India’s coastal waters was “a major requirement for the social and economic well-being of our country”.

“The oil exploration activities off our coasts and at sea are of significant economic importance,” she said in an address on board the naval patrol ship INS Subhadra. “Therefore, the protection of our coast, our ësea lines of communications’ and the offshore development areas is a major pre-requisite of our nation’s development.”

The 77-year-old head of state, who is also supreme commander of India’s armed forces, took the salute of sailors from 81 ships anchored within sight of Mumbai’s landmark Gateway of India monument. She also witnessed a ceremonial fly-past of fighter jets and helicopters.

Maritime security has been pushed up the homeland security agenda since 10 Pakistan-based Islamist militants hijacked an Indian fishing boat and forced it to sail to Mumbai in November 2008. The gunmen slipped under the coastguard and naval radar before launching an audacious assault on landmark targets in the financial and entertainment hub, killing 166 and injuring more than 300.

Offshore oil and gas fields are becoming increasingly important as India imports about 80 percent of its crude oil and has been frantically trying to find new, domestic fuel sources as the country’s economy grows. Major companies involved in exploration include India’s largest private sector firm, Reliance Industries, which earlier this year signed a $7.2 billion deal with BP to tap reserves

off India’s east coast.

Meanwhile, India’s cabinet was expected to approve yesterday a landmark anti-corruption bill which was the focus of nationwide demonstrations in August that rocked the government. The cabinet meeting, initially scheduled for the afternoon, was postponed to 7:30pm (1400 GMT), an official in the prime minister’s office said.

The new legislation would create a powerful new “Lokpal” or ombudsman tasked with probing and prosecuting senior politicians and civil servants suspected of graft. In August, veteran Indian activist Anna Hazare held a 12-day hunger strike to protest against an initial draft of the bill, saying it was a toothless measure incapable of curbing the rampant corruption it was meant to target.

His campaign brought millions of ordinary Indians onto the streets in cities across the country, in a national outpouring of anger and frustration at the culture of bribery and kick-backs that permeates every level of Indian society.

The public response was a shock for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s coalition government, which has been tainted by a series of high-profile corruption scandals.

The precise details of the bill to be discussed by the cabinet yesterday are not known. The main dispute has been over who would fall under the ombudsman’s ambit, with the Hazare campaign insisting that it should include the prime minister, the judiciary and lower-level civil servants.

Hazare has threatened a second hunger strike beginning December 27 if the final version of the bill presented to parliament falls short of his demands.

The current parliamentary session was scheduled to end on Wednesday, but the parliamentary affairs minister’s office said the house would reconvene for three days from December 27 to consider a series of outstanding bills. —AFP

Thai army chief opposes change to royal insult law BANGKOK: Thailand’s powerful army chief expressed opposition yesterday to amending the country’s lese majeste law, recently criticised by the West, saying those who opposed it should move abroad. Critics say that Thailand has suppressed freedom of expression with stepped up use of the legislation, under which anyone convicted of insulting the king, queen, heir or regent faces up to 15 years in prison on each count.

“It is not appropriate to discuss this.

Personally I will do my part for national security in protecting (the monarchy),” General Prayut Chan-O-Cha told reporters. When asked about activists calling for reform of the law, he said they “must go and live in foreign countries”.

“Although we are a democracy, don’t go too far,” he added. The United States, the European Union and the United Nations have expressed concern over recent convictions, which have also sparked small protests both for and against the law in the Thai capital Bangkok.

A 61-year-old Thai man was jailed last month for 20 years for sending text messages deemed insulting to the monarchy, while a US citizen has since been handed

two-and-a-half years in prison for defaming the king. The convictions intensified debates on the issue on social media websites, although a committee was set up earlier this month to clamp down on online insults to the monarchy.

Despite mounting rights concerns, deputy prime minister Chalerm Yubamrung was also on the defensive when asked about the law yesterday. “I think there is no need for any changes.

Why do we need change when the law is already good?” he said.

“I don’t want to comment on this issue, but whoever wants to amend this law, their lives will not be prosperous,” he told reporters at Government House. Last week, the US embassy in Bangkok requested users on its Facebook page to refrain from abusive language, after a torrent of angry messages from Thais defending the law and the monarchy.

About 100 royalists also gathered in front of the US embassy on Friday in support of law following the criticism from Washington. Opponents of the law say it has increasingly been used in Thailand to stifle free speech, particularly under the last government, which was supported by the Bangkok-based elite. —AFP

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NEWS ABU DHABI: Emirati guide their camels during the Mazayin Dhafra Camel Festival in the desert yesterday. The festival, which attracts participants from around the Gulf region, includes a camel beauty contest, a display of UAE handcrafts and other activities aimed at promoting the country’s folklore.

—AFP

Iraq VP to fight terror charges as row deepens BAGHDAD: Iraq’s Sunni Arab vice president denied terror charges against him and vowed to defend himself in a defiant news conference on Tuesday as rival leaders called for urgent talks to resolve a worsening crisis. Just days after US forces left the country and on the eve of the national unity government’s first anniversary, Iraq’s fragile political truce looked as if it was already unravelling. A warrant was issued for Vice President Tareq alHashemi’s arrest on Monday, spurring his Iraqiya bloc to say it would boycott cabinet meetings. And over the weekend, Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki called for the sacking of Deputy premier Saleh alMutlak, a Sunni who has branded the Shiite-led government a “dictatorship”.

The White House voiced concern over the developments as US Ambassador James Jeffrey met Iraqi leaders, although Maliki’s office ruled out any mediation over the charges against Hashemi. “I swear to God that I never committed a sin when it comes to Iraqi blood,” Hashemi told a news conference in the Kurdish regional capital Arbil. “I suggest transferring the case to Kurdistan. On this basis, I will be ready to face trial.” He called for representatives of the Arab League to take part in the investigation and any questioning, and said apparent confessions aired on

state television linking him to attacks were “false” and “politicised”.

Hashemi also questioned upbeat statements about the state of Iraq from Barack Obama, telling reporters: “I am surprised by the statements of the US president, when he said that Iraq had become democratic and had an independent judi-

Tareq Al-Hashemi cial system.” Officials issued the warrant for Hashemi’s arrest on Monday, after earlier banning him from travelling overseas.

At least 13 of the vice president’s bodyguards have been detained in recent

weeks, although it was unclear how many remain in custody.

Hashemi’s office said only three were arrested, and has complained of “intentional harassment” in the form of blockade of his home by security forces for several weeks, as well as other incidents.

State television has shown footage of what the interior ministry said were confessions by Hashemi’s bodyguards to planning and carrying out terror attacks, and receiving funding and support from the vice president. The Baghdad security operations command issued two statements yesterday, saying security forces would carry out the warrant against Hashemi, and claimed an insurgent who developed car bombs had provided details of the vice president’s involvement.

Maliki and other leaders have called for talks to resolve the political crisis, but the premier’s spokesman told AFP he would not accept any mediation over the charges against Hashemi. “The prime minister will not compromise the blood of Iraqis, no matter what the price,” Ali Mussawi said. “The justice system should carry out its role. No one should block the work of justice, and we must allow it to complete all stages of the investigation in Hashemi’s case.” —AFP

Kim’s body on display Continued from Page 1 North Korea has furiously objected to the plan as “psychological warfare”.

In Pyongyang, state television showed a sombre dark-clad Kim Jong-Un, youngest son and successor to his father, viewing the corpse along with other high officials. He observed a moment of solemn silence, then circled the bier. An honour guard armed with AK-47s watched over the late Kim, dressed in his trademark khaki tunic partially covered by a red flag and surrounded by blossoms of his namesake flowers, red “kimjongilia”, at Pyongyang’s Kumsusan Memorial Palace. The body of Kim Jong-Il’s father, founding president Kim Il-Sung, is on display elsewhere in the palace. Outside one of the capital’s main performance centers, mourners carried wreaths and flowers toward a portrait of Kim Jong Il. Groups were allowed to grieve in front of the portrait for a few minutes at a time. Kim’s bier was decorated by a wreath from Kim Jong Un along with various medals and orders.

The North has decreed 13 days of nationwide mourning for Kim Jong-Il, who presided over a devastating famine but still found funds to build missiles and nuclear weapons during his 17 years in power. State media have reported scenes of mass grief following his fatal heart attack on Saturday, which the regime kept secret for two days until a tearful TV announcer revealed it and urged people to rally round his youngest son. Despite the nation’s hardships, state TV aired footage of near-hysterical mourners, young and old alike, pounding the ground and the North’s official news agency carried extensive fresh lamentations yesterday.

It touted the inexperienced Jong-Un as the “pillar of our people”. “At the frontline of our revolution stands Comrade

Kim Jong-Un, the great successor of the Juche (self-reliance) revolution and the outstanding leader of the party, military and people,” it said. It cited North Koreans pledging their loyalty, quoting Pak Chol Yong, Korean People’s Army soldier, as saying: “We will devotedly safeguard General Kim Jong Un with arms, closely rallied as one in mind around him.”

Jong-Un, who is in his late 20s, was catapulted into the limelight after his father suffered a stroke in Aug 2008. Last year he was made a four-star general and given top ruling party posts. “This is a turning point for North Korea whose reins have been taken by a new generation,” said Cheong Seong-Chang, of Seoul’s Sejong Institute think-tank. But analysts said there would be little turbulence - at least for now since regime members at present have a vested interest in preserving the status quo.

Observers predict that the younger Kim will be eased into power under the tutelage of his aunt and her husband.

Obama spoke by telephone to Japan’s Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda following a conversation with South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak soon after the death announcement. “The president underscored the United States’ commitment to the defence of our close allies, including Japan,” the White House said in a statement. “He also conveyed the importance he places on maintaining the stability of the Korean peninsula and the region.” North and South Korea have remained technically at war since their three-year conflict ended only in an armistice in 1953. The United States stations 28,500 troops in the South, and another 50,000 in Japan. Kim Jong-Il in the mid-1990s presided over a famine that killed hundreds of thousands of his people. Severe food shortages continue and a third of children are stunted by malnutrition, according to UN estimates. —Agencies

GCC backs Mubarak port project...

Continued from Page 1 Ending an annual summit in Riyadh, GCC rulers also urged Iraq to “implement its international commitments towards Kuwait” in a bid to “enhance trust between the two countries and strengthen their relations”. Last week the UN Security Council called on Iraq to step up efforts to normalise ties with neighboring Kuwait, still recovering from the Saddam Hussein-era invasion. UN envoys are looking for greater progress in helping pin down the fate of Kuwaitis and other foreigners missing since the 1990 war. Property and most of the Kuwaiti national archives also remain missing.

The two neighbors have not settled their border and Iraq still has to pay almost $20 billion in war damages.

The Gulf is the main export outlet for Iraqi oil, which accounts for the lion’s share of the country’s revenues, and Baghdad has started major work to modernise its outdated ports and plans to build a new port of its own. The GCC also called on all parties in Iraq “to build a safe, united, stable, and prosperous Iraq” following the withdrawal of US troops from the country.

In the statement, the GCC members called on Syria to “immediately halt its killing machine”. They appealed for Damascus to “put an end to bloodshed, lift all signs of armed conflict and release prisoners, as a first step towards implementing the (Arab) protocol”. Syria signed the accord with the Arab League on Monday after weeks of prevarication in the hope the 22-member bloc will lift sweeping sanctions against the regime.

“If there was goodwill when the protocol was signed, then these steps must be immediately taken,” said Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal, adding the initiative was “proposed to prevent a civil war”.

Despite the accord, at least 100 mutinous troops were killed or wounded yesterday, a day after up to 70 deserters were gunned down while trying to flee their posts, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. More than 5,000 people have been killed in the Syrian regime’s nine-month crackdown on dissent, the United Nations estimated on Dec 12.

In its concluding statement, the Gulf Cooperation Council also called on Iran to stop meddling in the internal affairs of the group’s members. “Stop these policies and practices... and stop interfering in the internal affairs” of Gulf nations, it said, expressing concern over Tehran’s attempts to “instigate sectarian strife”. The Gulf states also called on their Shiite neighbour to “fully cooperate” with the International Atomic Energy Agency, adding GCC members were committed to a Middle East “free of weapons of mass destruction”.

The West fears Iran’s nuclear program masks a push to develop an atomic weapons capability, a charge Tehran denies. Saudi-Iranian relations have deteriorat-

ed since 1,000 Gulf troops entered Bahrain to help the Sunni monarchy crush Shiite-led democracy protests in February and March. The ties worsened when US justice officials announced in October that they had foiled an Iranian plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to Washington. And tensions remain high even though the Iranian intelligence chief was in Riyadh last week to clear up misunderstandings over the alleged plot. On Monday, the last of American troops withdrew from Shiite-dominated Iraq, further heightening Gulf fears over growing Iranian and Shiite influence in the region.

The Gulf Arab nations, with the exception of Bahrain, for the most part evaded the turmoil of the Arab Spring. In Saudi Arabia, however, Sunni-Shiite tensions have risen with several Shiite demonstrators from Eastern Province killed in anti-government protests.

Saudi Arabia, like Bahrain, accuses Iran of instigating the unrest among the Shiites in their country, and fear existing sectarian strife in Iraq could inflame existing tensions within their borders.

In response to the region’s unprecedented upheaval, GCC chief Abdullatif Al-Zayani said the group’s six members agreed to “adopt Saudi King Abdullah’s initiative to make the GCC countries a single entity”. On Monday, King Abdullah asked the GCC leadership to “move from a phase of cooperation to a phase of union,” arguing the region’s “security and stability are threatened” and that such challenges require “vigilance and a united stance”.

The group also announced the establishment of a development fund worth about five billion dollars for Jordan and Morocco, though it did not clarify whether either nation would join the alliance of oil-rich monarchies. The GCC has “decided to create a Gulf development fund which begins by providing support to development projects in the Kingdom of Jordan and the Kingdom of Morocco worth 2.5 billion dollars for each,” said the statement. “The supreme council has assigned the finance ministers of its members to study the statute and structures needed to create the fund.”

Jordan and Morocco are the only Arab kingdoms not in the GCC, which comprises Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, and has remained an exclusive club since its inception in 1981. No practical measures have yet been taken to bring them into the group, despite a GCC proposal in May that they both join. Jordan is an immediate neighbour of GCC heavyweight Saudi Arabia and a major trading par tner of alliance countries, but Morocco is geographically distant from the Gulf. The oil-rich Arab states of the Gulf, which have seen entrenched regimes in Egypt, Tunisia, and Libya fall, are seeking reliable allies in the region, singling out fellow monarchies. —AFP

Registration of election candidates...

Continued from Page 1 In another development, police forces set up checkpoints inside Taima area in Jahra yesterday as stateless people, or bedoons, vowed to demonstrate for the second day in a row to demand citizenship and other basic rights. The security presence prevented large groups of protesters from gathering like the previous day as the interior ministry vowed it will firmly prevent any attempt to demonstrate by bedoons, insisting that only Kuwaitis have the right to assembly and gather under the law.

The ministry also said in a statement that pictures tak-

en by its media departments have clearly shown that a number of bedoons committed serious acts of violence against security men, resulting in the injury of several policemen and damage to ministry vehicles. The ministry however admitted that due to violence committed by bedoons, the special and police forces were forced to use sound and tear gas canisters besides water cannons to disperse the protesters, who refused ministry orders. The police action has brought condemnation by rights activists and organisations who strongly deplored the use of force to disperse the bedoons who were demonstrating peacefully.

Muslims taken off flight sue 2 US carriers Continued from Page 1 Rahman, who is an adjunct instructor of Arabic at the University of Memphis, has said he was dressed in traditional Indian clothing. Zaghloul, who is a religious leader with the Islamic Association of Greater Memphis, was dressed in Arab garb that included traditional headgear.

The two passed through regular security screening and were waiting at the gate to board when they were pulled out of line and subjected to a second security check, according to the suit. They were questioned about their trip and their luggage and belongings were searched before the men were cleared and allowed to board. Shortly after the plane pulled away from the gate, the pilot announced the aircraft was returning to the terminal. Once there, according to the suit, the men were pulled off the plane, asked more questions and searched again, this time with a “comprehensive body pat down”. Although they were again cleared to board, the pilot refused to allow them back on the plane, the suit claimed. The plane began to depart without the men when an unnamed airline official called it back and it returned to the gate for a second time. The suit claims the official then boarded the plane and spoke with the pilot, who said he would not allow Rahman and Zaghloul on the plane because their presence could make other passengers uncomfortable. According to the suit, the official told passengers that

anyone who was apprehensive about the presence of the two men could take a different plane and would be given a generous voucher. There were no takers. The pilot still refused to allow the men to board and they were booked on a later flight, the suit said.

Delta and Atlantic Southeast Airlines Inc, which is owned by SkyWest Inc, issued a statement Monday that read: “Atlantic Southeast and Delta oppose discrimination in any form from any source, and our employees act at all times in the best interest of passenger safety and security. We cannot comment further on pending litigation.” Both airlines are based in Atlanta. Federal regulation allows an airline to refuse to transport an individual who it decides is unsafe. The plane’s captain has ultimate authority.

But the decision cannot be made solely on the basis of person’s race, color, national origin, religion, ethnicity, or sex.

“Defendants excluded Mr Rahman and Mr Zaghloul because of the way they looked,” the suit claims. “They had beards, wore traditional Arabic clothing, and were visibly foreign. Defendants unlawfully relied upon these characteristics to conclude that Mr Rahman and Mr Zaghloul were security threats, disallowing them from utilizing their purchased tickets.” The suit said the two were traveling to a conference on “‘Islamophobia’, and how Muslims religious leaders could help address this issue”. The suit seeks unspecified compensation for the men’s losses and injuries as well as punitive damages. —AP

Outcry grows as Cairo violence...

Continued from Page 1 The cause of death was traumatic injury to the head that causes internal bleeding,” he said. Meanwhile, Interior Minister Mohammed Ibrahim urged security forces and troops to exercise “maximum self-restraint” as he toured the outskirts of Tahrir Square where the worst fighting has taken place. Georgi’s statements cast doubt on the military’s insistence that it does not fire live rounds at protesters. The SCAF - which took power when a popular uprising ousted Hosni Mubarak in February - denies ordering the use of force against protesters but admitted troops had beaten a veiled woman after ripping her clothes.

A picture showing the woman sprawled on the ground, helmeted troops towering over and kicking her, her stomach bared to reveal her bra, has encapsulated the heavy hand used against protesters and sparked nationwide outrage. Footage on social networking sites showed troops beating protesters, sometimes leaving them motionless on the ground, but it is the attacks on women that have enraged the country. “The forces that violate the honour (of women),” read a headline in the independent daily Al-Tahrir

above a picture of a soldier grabbing a woman by the hair as another raised a club over her.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Monday accused post-revolution Egypt of failing its women as she denounced the stripping and beating of the female protester as “shocking”. In unusually strong language, she accused Egypt’s new leaders of mistreatment of women both on the street and in politics since the revolt that overthrew Mubarak. “This systematic degradation of Egyptian women dishonours the revolution, disgraces the state and its uniform, and is not worthy of a great people,” said Clinton.

Female protesters held a protest in Tahrir Square yesterday to denounce the attacks on women and call for an immediate end to violence against protesters. On Monday, the SCAF said the army “does not use force against protesters” but qualified those in Tahrir as “people seeking to destroy the state... not the honourable people of the January 25 revolution”. However, it admitted troops had attacked the veiled female protester. “Yes, this happened.

But you have to look at the circumstances around (the incident),” said SCAF General Adel Emara. “We are investigating it, we have nothing to hide.” —AFP

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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2011

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Clashes in oil region threaten Kazakh leader

By Dmitry Solovyov, Mariya Gordeyeva iots by oil workers in western Kazakhstan suggest pressure is mounting for President Nursultan Nazarbayev to relax the rigid authoritarian system he has built in the vast Central Asian state, which is fast losing its veneer of stability. Officials say 14 people were killed in Friday’s clashes following the dismissal of oil workers in Zhanaozen in western Kazakhstan and another person was killed when violence spread to a nearby village on Saturday. It was a local crisis that had long been simmering and local authorities had failed to master. “People want to be heard, but there are no mechanisms which would allow people to be heard...This results in such brutal methods,” Kazakh political analyst Aidos Sarym said. “Zhanaozen actually threatened the unity of our nation.” “In general, there is a need to slacken the reins. Public mechanisms are needed. There are things which should be discussed in parliament,” he said. “There must be modernisation of society, of the political system.”

Nazarbayev, a 71-year-old former steelworker, has ruled the oil-producing steppe nation since Soviet times and overseen rapid market reforms crowned with fast economic growth and more than $120 billion in foreign direct investment. But there is a huge discrepancy between the liberal economic model and the one-man political system under which Nazarbayev has sweeping powers, brooks no dissent and leads the ruling Nur Otan party in the former Soviet republic of 16.6 million.

Popularly known as “Papa”, Nazarbayev has ruled the world’s ninth largest country with an iron fist, ignoring criticism at home and abroad after crackdowns on independent media and dissidents. He called early parliamentary elections in January that will install at least a nominal opposition presence in what is now a one-party chamber. But he has turned a deaf ear to Western calls to respect broader commitments he has made to democracy. Nazarbayev remains popular in Kazakhstan, which has seen much instability in neighbouring states such as Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. He was shown on state television moving from one celebratory gala to another in his futuristic new capital Astana as clashes were breaking out on the 20th anniversary of independence from the Soviet Union. In the clashes, oil workers and their supporters confronted police and torched numerous official and private buildings in Zhanaozen. They were the deadliest clashes since Soviet times. Thousands of oilmen had been on strike in the Mangistau region since May, demanding a rise in wages. About 2,000 striking workers were fired and the state machinery largely ignored the oil workers’ complaints. “It is a formidable challenge that has been thrown down to Nazarbayev,” said Alexei Malashenko, an expert at the Carnegie Moscow Centre think tank. “He simply slept through it, missed the blow ... and afterwards a disproportionate reaction followed.”

“The protests also exposed the main weakness of the political system that Nazarbayev has crafted in 20 years of his rule - it works as long as the leader is strong and relatively young,” Lilit Gevorgyan, analyst at His Global Insight. “At the time of transition, all the achievements born out of political and economic stability can be wiped away if political turmoil follows.” The Kazakh authorities have sought to shift blame away from Nazarbayev.

Yermukhamet Yertysbayev, a close adviser to the president, said foreign funding had fuelled the riots, but declined to elaborate. He said the situation was firmly under control.

“There will be no Arab-style revolution. You can see that Kazakhstan is calm,” he said. “Kazakhstan’s entire multi-national population supports the head of state.”

Asked about a rally on Sunday in the city of Aktau, capital of the Mangistau region, he said: “You know, there are also rallies in New York and Cairo ... Citizens have the right to protest, so let’s not draw global conclusions.”

Amirzhan Kosanov, a Kazakh opposition leader, dismissed any suggestion of foreign involvement. “I am afraid that these allegations about foreign provocateurs...will become a reason for the authorities to refuse to analyse the true causes of the events in Zhanaozen,” Kosanov wrote on his Facebook page. In addition to the dead, about 100 people were wounded in the clashes and a state of emergency has been declared in Zhanaozen. The authorities blamed the bloodshed, arson and looting on “hooligans and oilmen who joined them”.

They imposed a curfew in Zhanaozen and now control all movement in and out of the city, although they say the situation has generally calmed down. — Reuters

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Arab Spring stretches ‘Islamist’ tag to limits

By Tom Heneghan he open politics spawned by the Arab Spring have stretched the term “Islamist” to its limits, covering everyone from hip moderate young Muslims to long-bearded hardliners bent on imposing a divine dictatorship. The rainbow of varieties of political Islam has forced world media to start using unfamiliar terms such as Salafi - an ultraconservative champion of an Islamic state - to bring out some of the diversity in the emerging Muslim democracies. Even local analysts and journalists in the Middle East find themselves fumbling for nouns and adjectives to describe exactly where a party stands in the spectrum of political options that find inspiration in the region’s main religion.

Khaled Salah, editor-in-chief of the Cairo daily Al-Youm AlSabe, said the lines separating different Islamists were often so unclear that no agreed terms have emerged. “It’s very difficult even for Egyptians to understand the differences between the Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafis and the other groups,” he said. Ibrahim Negm, senior adviser to Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa, said the Islamist parties agreed on a role for religion but little else. “It’s wrong to put them all into one basket,” he said. “Their interpretations and tools are radically different.” Islamist, originally a French academic neologism for advocates of a political role for the religion, seemed to fit the bill while the region was ruled only by military dictators or monarchs who jailed faithbased challengers. Iran’s Islamic Republic seemed to be the model, even though it was a theocracy run by a Shiite hierarchy that has no equivalent among the Sunni Muslims who make up the majority in the Arab states of the Middle East.

Since pro-democracy demonstrations began a year ago, Islamist politicians have become prime minister in Tunisia and Morocco and Egypt’s main rival Islamists, the Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafis, are leading in its staggered elections. Egypt, the Arab world’s largest nation, offers the widest selection of options for Muslims who want their faith to be reflected in some way in the new political landscape. The

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Muslim Brotherhood, which deposed President Hosni Mubarak used as a bogeyman to justify his perennial emergency rule, has emerged as the broad middle ground of Islamism here.

Founded in 1928 by Hassan al-Banna as an Islamic political and social welfare movement, its Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) has garnered almost 40 percent of the vote so far in the threestage parliamentary elections due to finish in January. Its leaders advocate a gradual move towards a more Islamic society, telling voters they want more morality in public life but won’t impose veils on women or scare away foreign tourists by banning bikinis and beer from Egyptian beaches. Still, in a Western country, Muslim Brothers would be among the staunch social conservatives, something like the evangelical wing of the Republican Party in the United States.

Political analyst Abdel Rahim Ali discerned three factions within the Brotherhood, depending on whether they stressed social and religious work, moderate political change or a more militant focus on achieving an Islamic state. “It’s hard for these factions to stand up publicly because the leadership has firm control,” he said. To the right of them are the Salafis, who have picked up over a quarter of the votes so far - the big surprise of these voting rounds. These ultratraditionalists used to say democracy was un-Islamic but jumped on the election bandwagon this year. They want sharia, the Islamic moral and legal code, to become the law of the land soon and establish a Muslim supremacy that would bar Christians - who make up 10 percent of the population - and women from high office.

Trying to allay voter fears, a spokesman for their political party Al-Nour said a Salafi government would not destroy the preIslamic art of ancient Egypt in a replay of the Taleban’s destruction of Buddhist statues in Afghanistan in 2001.

Abdel Moneim El-Shahat said it would rather cover some statues with wax so tourists would still visit Egyptian museums but not be confronted with immoral sights. The most militant are jihadis who want to impose an Islamic state by violence.

They are banned but Al-Gama’a Al-Islamiyya, which has renounced violence since taking part in the 1981 assassination

of President Anwar Sadat, formed a party and ran. To the left of the Muslim Brotherhood, in what would be the centre to centre-right in the Western political spectrum, are former Brotherhood members running on more moderate platforms.

The main party here is Wasat (Centre), which split off in 1996 and advocates a more liberal interpretation of Islam that is consistent with liberal democratic views. One former Brotherhood member, the stubble-bearded independent presidential candidate Abdel Moneim Abul Futuh, recently expounded his liberal views in a glossy magazine amid liquor and fashion ads and shots of skimpily-dressed socialites. Unlike Wasat party founders, however, he was expelled from the Brotherhood because he chose to run for president after the group said it would not field a candidate. He did not split over any ideological principle though he was on the reformist wing.

Islam is so much a part of the self-identity of Muslim countries that many in the Middle East - including even some among the religious minorities - think it’s only natural that it would have some place in a democratic political system. Justice is such a key concept in the Holy Quran that the word figures in the names of Islamist parties in Egypt and Morocco as well as in Turkey’s ruling AKP (Justice and Development Party), which has Islamist roots but is officially secular.

In Egypt, this offers an immediate appeal to many voters who have thrown off an autocrat, Mubarak, whom they blame for creating a gaping divide between rich and poor and between his favoured elite and ordinary Egyptians. Tunisia’s Islamist party was called the Islamic Tendency Movement before changing to Ennahda (Renaissance) in 1989 because the secular state banned faith-based parties. Rachid Ghannouchi, Ennahda’s founder and a leading theorist of moderate Islamism, told Reuters in Tunis last month that Western readers imagined everything from conservative democrats to violent extremists when they read the term Islamist. Asked if he had a better word for those who support what he called “applied Islam”, he thought aloud for a while and then said with a shrug: “I think Muslim would be the right term.” —Reuters

The power behind the throne in N Korea eal power in North Korea now probably belongs to a coterie of advisers following the death of Kim Jong-il, not his youngest son, an untested man in his 20s who has been anointed the “Great Successor”.

These advisers will decide whether North Korea launches military action against South Korea to strengthen the succession around Kim Jong-un - or seeks a peaceful transition.

Confucian respect for age and the influence of the military means the younger Kim lacks the untrammeled authority of his father or grandfather, North Korean founder Kim IlSung. The most powerful adviser is Jang Song-thaek, 65, brother-in-law of Kim Jong-il.

Jang is a survivor of the bloody tradition of purge and political rehabilitation that kept the two elder Kims in power for more than six decades. “Jang has played a considerable role during Kim Jong-il’s illness of managing the succession problem and even the North’s relations with the United States and China,” said Yang Moo-jin of the University of North Korean Studies. “Jang is in overall charge of the job of making it formal for Kim Jong-un to be the legal and systematic leader by pulling together the party and the military.”

Jong-un is Kim Jong-il’s third known son and was given official titles only last year. He was hailed by state media this week as the “Great Successor” to his father, who died on Saturday of a heart attack. Jang had the full backing of his brother-in-law, who named him to the National Defence Commission in 2009, the supreme leadership council Kim Jong-il led as head of the military state. That appointment was part of a flurry of moves Kim Jong-il made following a stroke in 2008 which probably brought home the reality that, unlike his father at his death in 1994, he was unprepared for a trusted son to take over.

The commission has been the pinnacle of power in North Korea and which Kim had used to preach his own version of political teaching called Songun, or “military first”. The naming of Jang as a vice chairman of the commission effectively catapulted him to the second most powerful position in the country. It also put him in line to become caretaker leader of the dynastic state in the event Kim was unable to orchestrate a gradual transition

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of power and the grooming of Jong-un.

Jang, who also holds the humble title of a department chief in the ruling Workers’ Party, disappeared from public for two years before returning in 2006, widely believed to have been purged then rehabilitated as part

As the party’s light industry department chief, Kim Kyong-hui, 65, is the link that ties Jang to the ruling family. She had been the person Kim Jong-il had increasingly turned to in recent years for advice and friendship, analysts in Seoul say. She is also believed to have

Late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il (left) rides an escalator as he visits a Pyongyang supermarket. The two people immediately behind him are his sister Kim Kyong Hui, and his son Kim Jong Un. The sister’s husband, Jang Song Thaek, is two behind Kim Jong Un, in light jacket. Kim had visited the supermarket on Dec 15, 2011. The photo was the last distributed of Kim Jong Il prior to his death on Dec 17, 2011. — AP of a power struggle involving backers of Kim’s second and third wives. He is considered a pragmatist who earned Kim Jong-il’s trust because of his understanding of domestic politics and economic policy. Jang ranked 19th on the list of 232 officials of the funeral committee for Kim, behind his wife and the sister of the dead leader, Kim Kyonghui. Jong-un heads the group.

had a drinking problem, which had kept her sidelined for months at a time. But she was the most active companion of Kim Jong-il during his frequent field guidance trips, according to the North’s state media. Few observers believe either Jang or his wife will try to push the junior Kim out and grab power for themselves. “That would kindle a power struggle that will get out of control, and they

will know better than to do that,” said Yang of the University of North Korean Studies.

With the military already very powerful, there appears to be little risk of a coup or the kind of regime change seen in the Arab world this year. Ri Yong-ho, the rising star of the North’s military and its chief of staff, is ranked fourth on the list of funeral committee officials, an indication of the power he wields not only in the army but as Kim Jong-il’s confidante in domestic politics. Ri, despite being on good terms with Jang, provides an ideal balance to the power of Kim’s brother-in-law.

“Jang was loyal but he was very powerful, and that could have been a source of anxiety to some degree (to Kim Jong-il),” said Paik Haksoon, an expert on the North’s powerful structure at the Sejong Institute.

The North’s power elite is formally a threepronged structure of the military, the Workers’ Party of Korea and the parliament.

The National Defence Commission is the state’s supreme leadership body, which Kim headed. The Workers’ Party of Korea was also headed by Kim until his death and a general meeting last year was meant to revive its status as the primary source of power.

Parliament is headed by Kim Yong-nam, a loyal but passive figurehead who analysts say poses no threat to the transition.

They also say it is unclear how the individual interests of the elite will work to drive the state through what is the closest thing to a power vacuum it has known. One thing is clear - the elite want to survive and know they cannot afford a power struggle. “The North Korean leadership is united,” said Andrei Lankov of Kookmin University in Seoul. “They understand that they should hang together in order not to be hanged separately.” Jang, his wife Kim and Vice Marshal Ri are expected to make sure Jong-un survives as the third generational leader and that North Korea holds together at least through the centenary of Kim Il-Sung’s birth in 2012.

“These people make up a crisis management community,” said Cho Min of the Korea Institute for National Unification. “They will be ensuring that everyone understands that it is in no one’s interest to try to stand up against Kim Jong-un.” — Reuters

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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2011

Years

sp orts Ortiz, Berto set for rematch LAS VEGAS: Andre Berto will try to avenge the only loss of his career when he faces Victor Ortiz in an all-American welterweight fight on February 11 at Las Vegas, promoters announced on Monday.

Southpaw Ortiz won a unanimous decision over Berto last April in a fight that saw Berto knocked down in the first round, Ortiz flattened in the next round and both fighters sent to the canvas in round six. Ortiz took the World Boxing Council welterweight title but lost it last September to unbeaten US star Floyd Mayweather in a controversial fourthround knockout while Ortiz was distracted while talking to the referee. “I’m prepared to go to war again with Berto,” Ortiz said. Berto, 28-1 with 22 knockouts, won the International Boxing Federation title in his most recent bout when Slovenian Jan Zaveck retired after five rounds because he could not see out of his right eye. But Berto dumped the IBF title so he could make the 12-round rematch against Ortiz, 29-3 with 22 knockouts. — AFP

Hopkins-Dawson rematch ordered LAS VEGAS: Bernard Hopkins has been ordered by the World Boxing Council to fight Chad Dawson in a mandatory rematch after their first meeting was ruled no contest after a controversial finish. But Hopkins, who remains the WBC light-heavyweight champion and the oldest champion in boxing history, he turns 47 on January 15, and Dawson were given a clause that opens the door to possible interim fights. The WBC order, made at its annual convention, comes after Hopkins’ first fight against Dawson last October was changed from a loss to a no contest after the referee did not call a foul on Dawson for slamming

Hopkins to the canvas. Hopkins landed on his shoulder, suffering an injury that stopped the fight.

Hopkins says he will be back to 100 percent by March and looks to defend his crown, which the WBC returned to him before the verdict change was made.

Economics might dictate different opponents.

Hopkins had looked at unbeaten super middleweight Lucian Bute, but the CanadianRomanian wants to face unbeaten US star Andre Ward, who won the Super Six tournament last weekend. Hopkins is 52-5 with two drawn and 32 knockouts.

Dawson is 30-1 with 17 knockouts. — AFP

Rooney joins racing set LONDON: Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney has become the latest English footballer to take up a direct involvement in racing by buying a horse set to go into training with Tom Dascombe.

Dascombe’s yard in Cheshire, north-west England, has been backed financially by Rooney’s United team-mate and fellow England forward Michael Owen, whose Brown Panther was the stable’s star during this year’s English flat season, with the colt winning at Royal Ascot. “I can confirm that Wayne and Coleen (Rooney’s wife) have bought a horse,” a spokesman for Dascombe said Monday.

“I can’t confirm all the details as yet as it’s very early stages. ‘He’s been down here and obviously liked what he saw and he’s bought a yearling to go into training with us next year.”

There have long been a number of links between English football and horse racing with United manager Sir Alex Ferguson one of several owners who are, or have been, involved in soccer. — AFP

NHL results/standings

Canucks close Wild gap

Boston 3, Montreal 2; Los Angeles 3, Toronto 2 (SO); Dallas 5, Anaheim 3; Colorado 3, Philadelphia 2 (SO); Detroit 3, Edmonton 2; Vancouver 4, Minnesota 0. (SO denotes shootout)

Avalanche overwhelm Flyers

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

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

Eastern Conference Atlantic Division W L OTL GF 20 8 4 112 18 8 4 87 18 11 4 107 18 13 1 90 10 14 6 69 Northeast Division 22 9 1 111 16 13 4 102 16 13 3 89 15 14 4 102 13 14 7 87 Southeast Division 18 9 6 90 15 13 4 89 16 14 1 91 14 16 2 87 10 18 6 86 Western Conference Central Division 21 8 4 111 21 10 1 107 19 9 4 82 17 11 4 85 9 20 4 80 Northwest Division 20 9 5 84 20 11 2 110 16 17 1 91 14 15 4 82 14 16 3 89 Pacific Division 19 12 1 85 17 10 3 86 16 13 3 84 15 14 4 72 9 19 5 78

GA 94 67 88 92 97

PTS 44 40 40 37 26

63 108 94 116 92

45 36 35 34 33

84 97 96 107 116

42 34 33 30 26

98 71 69 84 111

46 43 42 38 22

76 80 102 94 90

45 42 33 32 31

89 74 85 81 110

39 37 35 34 23

VANCOUVER: Vancouver goaltender Roberto Luongo made 33 saves to earn his first shutout of the season as the Canucks beat the Minnesota Wild 4-0 on Monday to close within three points in the fight for leadership of the NHL’s Northwest Division. Henrik Sedin scored a goal and added two assists to extend his points streak to three games and twin brother Daniel added three assists for the Canucks. Ryan Kesler, Alex Burrows and Jannik Hansen also scored for Vancouver. At 20-9-5, the Wild are off to their best start in franchise history, even after their fourth straight loss.

viding a tonic after entering the game with six losses from seven and seeing coach Terry Murray dismissed.

John-Michael Liles and Matt Frattin scored for Toronto.

STARS 5, DUCKS 3 In Dallas, Michael Ryder scored the go-ahead goal in the third period after Dallas wasted a three-goal lead, and the Stars went on to beat Anaheim. With the game

locked 3-3, Ryder skated up the middle and converted Loui Eriksson’s setup for Ryder’s 11th of the season. Eric Nystrom added an insurance goal.

Dallas’ Alex Goligoski and Mike Ribeiro scored powerplay goals over a 24-second span in the second period.

Brenden Morrow also netted for the Stars. Teemu Selanne and Lubomir Visnovsky got the goals for the Ducks. — AP

BRUINS 3, CANADIENS 2 In Boston, David Krejci scored off his skate to break a second-period tie and Boston held on the edge Montreal and notch their fifth straight NHL win. Tim Thomas stopped 33 shots while Benoit Pouliot and Brad Marchand also scored for the Bruins. Tomas Plekanec and Erik Cole scored for Montreal, which has not been able to improve its fortunes by changing its coach, losing both games since and remaining in last place in the Northeast Division.

AVALANCHE 3, FLYERS 2, SO In Denver, Ryan O’Reilly scored in the first round of a shootout to give Colorado victory over Philadelphia and its sixth consecutive win at home. Jean-Sebastien Giguere turned away a shot by Matt Read in the shootout for the Avalanche, who are 8-1 after regulation and undefeated in six shootouts. The Flyers had tied it in the final minute of regulation with their goalie pulled, on Wayne Simmonds’ 10th goal of the season.

RED WINGS 3, OILERS 2 In Edmonton, Drew Miller scored with 4:15 remaining in the third period to lift Detroit over Edmonton.

Dan Cleary and Jiri Hudler also scored for Detroit. Ryan Jones and Jordan Eberle netted for the Oilers, who have lost four in a row.

KINGS 3, MAPLE LEAFS 2, SO In Toronto, Dustin Brown scored the only goal of a shootout as Los Angeles wrapped up a bizarre road trip with victory over Toronto. Justin Williams and Brown scored in regulation for Los Angeles, with the win pro-

VANCOUVER: Alexander Edler #23 of the Vancouver Canucks hits Jarod Palmer #79 of the Minnesota Wild along the side boards during the third period in NHL action on December 19, 2011 at Rogers Arena. — AFP

Davis ditches Lakers and Heat for Knicks

KIFF League: Chinchinim storm into quarterfinals Joe Gomes scores hat-trick KUWAIT: Striker Joe Gomes scored a hat-trick against Santos United to help CRC Chinchinim qualify for the quarters in the Kuwait Indian Football Federation (KIFF) League 2011-12 for J P D’Mello Memorial Trophy played at the MOH Grounds, Shuwaikh. Chinchinim became the first team to qualify for the knock-stage with still a game in hand. Chinchinim led 2-0 at half time with a goal apiece from Leslie Alemao and Joe Gomes. Joe Gomes was a treat upfront. He moved superbly and foxed the Santos defence time and again.

Santos began the second half brightly but seasoned Chinchinim goalkeeper Anthony Fernandes was too confident under the bar to allow any danger. Joe Gomes further dented all hopes of a Santos comeback with two quick goals to seal the match 4-0. Joe, who tops the scoring chart with 6 goals so far, was adjudged man of the match. The award was presented by Cajetan Pereira.

Man-of-the-match trophies presented at the end of every KIFF league game are sponsored by Kuwait’s Al Muzaini Exchange Co. DHL beat AVC 2-0 The DHL-AVC game was confined to midfield for the first ten minutes. A yellow card was shown to Francis of AVC for rough play. AVC made the first inroads winning a free kick just outside the box but failed to convert it into a goal. DHL responded quickly and in great fashion with midfielder Seby Barbosa applying finishing touches to a great through ball by Terence. Terence turned scorer 2 minutes later after being sent through on goal with a delightful ball by Seby Barbosa (2-0). DHL dominated rest of the game from thereon until the final

minute. DHL stopper back John Furtado was a guiding force behind the team. AVC came good only in spells which DHL dealt very well. The match ended with DHL turning out comfortable winners. DHL top their group with 7 points, AVC have 4 points from 3 matches. Seby Barbosa was awarded man of the match; the trophy was presented by Santos United president Carmo Santos.

Goa Maroons 1 Curtorcares 0 The Maroons-Curtorcares match began at a frantic pace with Curtorcares dominating, keeping possession and creating chances. Maroons tried their best to get possession of the ball, but found it quite difficult.

Curtorcares looked the livelier team on the day as they looked dangerous every time they got forward only to be denied by Maroons goalkeeper. After a dull beginning to the second half, where Curtorcares were again

the better team, Maroons scored a goal which came as surprise even to the spectators. It was perhaps the only real chance Maroons got in the match and they converted it. Curtorcares did succeed to put the ball past Maroons goalkeeper late into the match but it was rightly ruled offside. Curtorcares put up a spirited performance late into the match to clinch an equalizer but Maroons defense led by captain Ian D’Souza stood strong. Bonny Niasso of Maroons was presented man of the match at the hands of United Goans president Pascoal Afonso. Earlier Indian Strikers were docked 3 points for turning late for their match against Skynet Raiders FC. The opponents were also awarded with 2 goals as per international FIFA rules. The next round promises exciting matches. Former champions United Friends Club play rookies Gulf Cable. Don Bosco plays Goa Maroons in a mouth-watering match while in-form Navelim face Sparx FC in a second round encounter.

All matches of the league are officiated by KIFF Referees. The KIFF league consists of 19 clubs affiliated to KIFF. They are AVC Sports & Cultural Association, CRC Chinchinim, Curtorcares United, DHL Sports Club, Don Bosco Orator y, FC Spar x, Goan Overseas Association, Gulf Cable Football Club, Indian Strikers, Kuwait Goan Association, Malabar United Football Club, Navelim Youth Centre, Real Betalbatim Football Club, Santos Football Club, Santos United, Skynet Raiders Soccer Club, United Friends Club, United Goans Center and YRC Rising Stars. The teams are drawn into 4 groups; top 2 teams from each group qualify for the knock-out stage of the league. The final is scheduled for 15th June 2012.

NEW YORK: NBA free agent guard Baron Davis took phone calls from the Miami Heat and Los Angeles Lakers, but the offer he accepted on Monday came from the New York Knicks. Davis, dropped by the Cleveland Cavaliers last week under a salary amnesty program in the new NBA collective bargaining agreement, signed with the Knicks for the veterans minimum salary of $1.4 million.

Goodbye LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. So long Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and all his hometown friends.

Hello Carmelo Anthony, Amare Stoudemire and Tyson Chandler. “Those teams did call and I have a great respect for both organizations, but for me it was just the opportunity to play in New York and to play on this team,” Davis said. “I always kind of rise to the occasion when I’m playing against the Knicks and playing in the Garden. It’s just an unbelievable opportunity and I’m ready to accept the challenge.”

Davis will still be paid the $28 million he is owed in the two remaining years of his contract, but the figure will not count against the Cavaliers’ salary cap, making it easier to take the minimum and help New York cap issues. A bigger priority, Davis said, was the front-court lineup of Anthony and Stoudemire flanking Chandler. “A big reason why I came here was because of the front line,” Davis said. “You just think about two 20-plus scorers on your front line and then a guy like Tyson Chandler, who’s a defensive stopper and a great defensive leader. “For me it’ll be great to get out on the floor and just play with guys at that talent level.”

After struggling with rebuilding sides Cleveland and the Los Angeles Clippers last season, Davis is anxious to get on the court for the Knicks. But he will have to wait.

A herniated back disc is expected to sideline him for eight to 10 weeks. “The first order of business is just get him healthy and make sure that when he is able to play, he’s ready to go,” Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni said. “Just adds another weapon to already a pretty good group.”

Davis has career averages of 16.5 points and 7.3 assists in 12 NBA seasons. Last season he averaged 13.1 points and 6.7 assists a game.

Biyombo signs with Bobcats Bismack Biyombo, a teen forward from the Democratic Republic of Congo, signed with the NBA Charlotte Bobcats on Monday after buying out his contract with Spain’s Fuenlabrada. The Bobcats said Biyombo had signed a rookie contract and that they would pay half of the $1.5 million buyout fee that Biyombo was required to pay the Spanish side so he could play in the NBA this season. The 19-year-old African uses the buyout clause to erase the remaining two years on his contract to join Charlotte ahead of Sunday’s start of the NBA season. — Agencies

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49ers leave Steelers in the dark with 20-3 win Roethlisberger throws three interceptions NEW YORK: A pair of stadium power outages could not prevent the San Francisco 49ers from overcoming the Pittsburgh Steelers 20-3 on Monday in a gritty matchup between playoff-bound teams. The

lights went out at Candlestick Park on two occasions, delaying the game’s start for 20 minutes before again halting the action for about 15 minutes early in the second quarter.

The blackouts, however, had lit-

tle effect on the home side, who controlled the game from start to finish. “It was unusual, you don’t expect to deal with something like that - let alone twice,” 49ers quarterback Alex Smith told reporters

SAN FRANCISCO: Pittsburgh Steelers strong safety Troy Polamalu (43) tackles San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Kyle Williams (10) in the second quarter of an NFL football game in San Francisco on Monday, Dec 19, 2011. —AP

Packers’ loss leaves more questions than answers

NFL result/standings NFL result and standings on Monday.

San Francisco 20, Pittsburgh 3.

American Football Conference AFC East W L T OTL PF PA PCT New England 11 3 0 0 437 297.786 NY Jets 8 6 0 0 346 315.571 Miami 5 9 0 1 286 269.357 Buffalo 5 9 0 0 311 371.357

National Football Conference NFC East Dallas 8 6 0 1 348 NY Giants 7 7 0 0 334 Philadelphia 6 8 0 0 342 Washington 5 9 0 1 252

296.571 372.500 311.429 300.357

Green Bay Detroit Chicago Minnesota

13 9 7 2

NFC North 1 0 0 5 0 0 7 0 1 12 0 1

480 395 315 294

297.929 332.643 293.500 406.143

233.714 278.500 293.286 395.071

New Orleans Atlanta Carolina Tampa Bay

11 9 5 4

NFC South 3 0 0 5 0 1 9 0 0 10 0 0

457 341 341 244

303.786 281.643 368.357 401.286

343.571 382.500 313.500 319.429

San Francisco Seattle Arizona St. Louis

11 7 7 2

NFC West 3 0 1 7 0 0 7 0 0 12 0 1

327 284 273 166

185.786 273.500 305.500 346.143

Baltimore Pittsburgh Cincinnati Cleveland

AFC North 10 4 0 0 10 4 0 0 8 6 0 0 4 10 0 1

331 285 305 195

236.714 218.714 283.571 274.286

Houston Tennessee Jacksonville Indianapolis

10 7 4 1

AFC South 4 0 0 7 0 0 10 0 0 13 0 0

343 279 207 211

Denver Oakland San Diego Kansas City

8 7 7 6

AFC West 6 0 0 7 0 0 7 0 2 8 0 0

292 317 358 192

Ailing Williams out of NZ tournament MELBOURNE: Seven-times grand slam champion Venus Williams has withdrawn from her Australian Open warm-up event in New Zealand due to “health reasons,” placing her participation in the year’s first grand slam in doubt. American Williams, who has been receiving treatment for Sjogren’s syndrome, an auto-immune disease, had been given a wild card for the Jan 2-7 Auckland Classic. “After playing a number of recent exhibition matches, Williams told her agent Carlos Fleming she was not ready to play in Auckland,” a statement on the tournament’s website said.

“We are disappointed to have lost a player of her caliber. While with-

of the light issues. “It was a big game with two 10-win teams. This game was about respect.” San Francisco forced Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, playing through an ankle sprain, into two first-quarter interceptions to limit Pittsburgh’s air attack and take a 60 halftime lead. The 49ers squeezed the life out of the Steelers in the second half. Smith tossed a one-yard pass to Vernon Davis for a 13-3 third quarter lead before Frank Gore capped a drive with a five-yard touchdown run with 9:10 left in the contest.

San Francisco finished with just 287 total yards but dictated the action to keep pace for a top NFC playoff seed. “I think we need to acknowledge that was 49ers football. We played the game on their terms,” said Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin. “We didn’t do enough. We had an opportunity and didn’t seize it.” Having already clinched the NFC West Division, the 49ers (11-3) are tied with New Orleans for second in the conference, two games behind leaders Green Bay with two games to play.

Roethlisberger finished with 330 passing yards but three interceptions for the Steelers (10-4) who had their four-game win streak snapped and missed the chance to take the outright lead in the AFC North. Pittsburgh are tied for first with Baltimore. —Reuters

drawals of this nature are part and parcel of sport, we sincerely feel for the fans who will also be disappointed by the news of Venus’s withdrawal,” tournament director Richard Palmer added in the statement. Williams withdrew from September’s US Open with Sjogren’s, a chronic disease where white blood cells attack moisture-producing glands and can cause dysfunction of organs and body systems. The five -times Wimbledon champion, who changed her diet to include more vegetables after suffering fatigue from the disease, said last month that she hoped to return to the tour full-time in 2012 and to top the rankings.—Reuters

WASHINGTON: In a season where the Green Bay Packers have had an answer for everything, there are suddenly questions that are not so easily explained. The National Football League (NFL) season was turned on its head Sunday when the Packers lost to the stumbling Kansas City Chiefs 19-14, ending their hopes of a perfect season after winning their first 13 games in a row.

Was the Packers letdown a little blip or a sign of a bigger problem and is Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers still the league’s most valuable player in waiting? Did the Chiefs discover a chink in the Packers’ armor or did the injury-hit Packers simply have a bad day at the office? With two weeks remaining of the regular season, the debate has reopened over who exactly is the NFL’s best team with Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints (11-3) and Tom Brady and the New England Patriots (11-3) getting plenty of consideration after impressive weekend wins.

Brees is on target to rewrite the NFL’s single season passing record after throwing five touchdowns in Sunday’s 42-20 win over the Minnesota Vikings (2-12) while Brady delivered a quarterbacking master class to Tim Tebow’s Denver Broncos (8-6), winning 41-23, as the Patriots rolled to a sixth straight victory. The Packers appeared befuddled against a Kansas City Chiefs (6-8) team that had lost five of their last six games and earlier in the week fired head coach Todd Haley and appointed Romeo Crennel as interim caretaker.

No reason to panic, declared the Packers, who dismissed the loss as nothing more than a small bump on the road towards their ultimate goal of defending their Super Bowl crown. “There is no comfort in losing I can tell you that,” Packers All-Pro cornerback Charles Woodson told reporters.

“We do understand, even with losing this game, that our focus is on what we all play the game for and we assured ourselves a spot in the playoffs. “We will continue to play hard these next couple of games, try to win those game and go into the playoffs doing what we want to do.” There were plenty of other head-scratchers on a wacky weekend of games, including the first win this season for the Indianapolis Colts.

Winless after 13 games, the Colts finally ended their barren run with a 27-13 victory over the Tennessee Titans (7-7). The San Diego Chargers (7-7) and Seattle Seahawks (7-7), two teams left for dead, both breathed new life into their postseason hopes with upset wins. After six consecutive losses, the Chargers have won three straight following a shock 34-14 demolition of the Baltimore Ravens (10-4) to surge back into the AFC post-season picture. The Seahawks, grounded after a 2-6 start to the campaign, have taken flight, pounding the Chicago Bears (7-7) 38-14 to notch their fifth win in six games and get back into the NFC hunt. —Reuters

Arab Games: Kuwait grab more medals DOHA: Kuwaiti swimmer Abdullah AlThuwaini won the Silver medal in the men’s (100-meter) competition, in the 12th Arab Games hosted currently by in Qatar. Al-Thuwaini was in a close encounter with Tunisian excellent

swimmer Osama Maloli, who won the Gold, his 10th consecutive medal so far, with a recorded time 55.92.

Egyptian swimmer Mohammad Hussain won the Bronze with 65.85, his second medal, followed by Kuwaiti

swimmer Shuaib Al-Thuwaini in fourth place with recorded time of 58.89. Kuwaiti sprinter Abdulaziz AlMandil won the Bronze medal in the (110-Meter) Hurdles race. Al-Mandil recorded time was 13.78 seconds, fol-

DOHA: (Left to right) Kuwait’s Abdulaziz Al-Mandil, Iraq’s Rami Kareem, Algeria’s Othman Hadj Lazib, Saudi Arabia’s Ahmad Khader Al-Mawled and Algeria’s Lyes Mokddel compete in the men’s 110m hurdles final at the 2011 Arab Games in the Qatari capital Doha yesterday. —AFP

lowing Saudi Arabia’s Ahmad AlMawled who won the gold medal with 13.61 seconds. Participants in this race were eight players representing Oman, Lebanon, Iraq, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait.

On another front, Kuwaiti shooter Abdullah Turqi Al-Rashidi won the Bronze medal in single Skeet competition. Al-Rashidi won the Bronze medal after fierce competition with Egyptian contender Azmi Muhailba, who won the Silver medal. UAE shooter Sheikh Said Al-Maktoum won the Gold medal with 146 skeet hits. In the general shooting team Skeet competition, the Kuwaiti team won the Bronze medal, third post in competition. The Kuwaiti team made 355 skeet hits in total, following the Qatari team who won the Gold medal with 358 skeet hits. The UAE team won the Silver medal with the same amount of hits 358, but the Qatari team won the gold medal based in overall performance and regulations of the competition. —KUNA

BELO HORIZONTE: View of the Minerao Stadium in Belo Horizonte. The Minerao Stadium is in reform for the FIFA World Cup Brazil 2014. —AFP

Brazil aims to shrink World Cup’s carbon cleat-print BELO HORIZONTE: With solar panels, recycled stadium seats and rain water sprinklers, Brazil hopes to make the 2014 World Cup the most environmentally-friendly yet. At a dozen stadium construction and renovation sites around the country, builders are hoping to meet or even exceed new FIFA recommendations aimed at reducing the carbon footprint of the world’s biggest sporting event.

“We are no longer accepting engineering works that do not take into account environmental sustainability,” Jose Roberto Bernasconi, the head of the Sao Paulo architecture and engineering syndicate (Sinaenco-SP) said.

Brazilian authorities are racing to build or renovate 12 stadiums in time for the event, and Sports Minister Aldo Rebelo pledged earlier this month that work on the venues will largely be completed ahead of schedule.

However, FIFA President Sepp Blatter expressed concerns over the weekend about Brazil’s preparations, and other top officials have complained about the lack of infrastructure and poor public transpor t and roads. But at the Governor Magalhaes Pinto stadium in the southeastern city of Belo Horizonte, planners say they have exceeded the world football body ’s sustainability guidelines and are looking to secure an official certification from the US Green Building Council.

Renovators of the stadium-first built in 1965 — are adding a six-million-gallon rainwater collection system and are deliberately sourcing materials locally to reduce fuel emissions. All of the concrete removed from the original structure was reused in the renovations or other nearby projects, some 800,000 cubic meters of dirt removed from the

site was used to patch up mining damage, and the original 50,000 seats were donated to local stadiums and gymnasiums. “Everything was reused. There was no other waste or discarded materials that could have been reused,” said Vinicius Lott, of the state government’s Sustainable Cup project.

Builders plan to install some 6,000 solar panels on the roof to provide electricity to some 1,500 nearby homes.

“There’s an idle roof receiving a lot of sunlight. So we decided to cover it with photovoltaic cells and turn it into a solar power plant,” says Alexander Heringer, an electrical engineer involved in the project. The $6.5 million solar plant will generate some 1.5 megawatts per houra tiny fraction of the thousands of megawatts produced by a hydroelectric dam-but the costs should be fully recovered during its 25-year life span. The operating costs are also expected to be “very cheap” because the panels will require little maintenance and will be cleaned by rain water, Heringer said.

Brazil plans to offer an international tender for the panels-which cannot be manufactured domestically-and Heringer said German, Chinese, Korean, Spanish and I talian firms have expressed interest. After the stadium’s completion, the state government plans to launch similar solar projects at another stadium and an international airport.

Belo Horizonte, with some 2.5 million residents, expects to host six 2014 World Cup matches and three Confederations Cup matches in 2013.

The city-Brazil’s sixth largest-plans to welcome 100,000 tourists during the World Cup, and the Minas Gerais state expects up to $2.8 billion in both public and private investments leading up to the event. —AFP

Wataniya Telecom supports Kuwait Teams in Arab Games KUWAIT: Wataniya has always played a vital role in promoting sports in Kuwait.

From organizing Go-Karting events that encourage safe driving to sponsorships of football clubs, Wataniya continues to encourage the youth through healthy competition which fosters a team spirit.

Wataniya Telecom has stepped forward to show full support to the Kuwaiti Teams that are participating in the 12th Arab Games tak ing place in Qatar nowadays.

The Arab Games are an important regional event where athletes compete in more than 40 different sports categories. All the Arab nations from around the region participate in this esteemed sports meet. The Arab Games started on December 9th and up to date Kuwaiti athletes have earned 37 medals; 10 gold, 10 silver and 17 bronze ones. The Kuwaiti athletic teams consist of professional players in both single and group sports such as: Tennis, judo, taekwondo, karate, archery, basketball, table tennis, squash, golf, athletics and

equestrian, bodybuilding, gymnastics, bowling, billiards, weightlifting, boxing, swimming, fencing and cycling.

Commenting on Wataniya’s role in the 12th Arab Games Abdolaziz Al Balool, their Public Relations Director said: “We are delighted to be taking part in such a great event like the Arab Games 2011. The sponsorship of the Arab Games 2011 demonstrates our efforts in going beyond the borders of Kuwait and extending our suppor t regionally at prominent events where Kuwaiti sports teams are participating. I would like to wish all the participants success at the games.”

Wataniya Telecom has a proud history of supporting key events that fuel excitement about sport and the sporting lifestyle. Wataniya Telecom continues to act as a major supporter of youth events on regional and international basis. The 12th Arab Games will end on December 23rd, 2011. Worthy to mention, the first Arab Games took place in 1953 in Alexandria, Egypt.

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SCOREBOARD DHAKA: Scoreboard at stumps on the fourth day of the second and final Test between Bangladesh and Pakistan in Dhaka yesterday: Bangladesh 1st innings 338 (Shakib Al Hasan 144, Shahriar Nafees 97; Aizaz Cheema 3-73, Umar Gul 3-102) Pakistan 1st innings (overnight 292-3): Mohammad Hafeez c Rahim b Nazmul 14 Taufeeq Umar c Nafees b Nazmul 130 Azhar Ali c Rahim b Shakib 57 Younis Khan c Rahim b Sunny 49 Misbah-ul-Haq c Mahmudullah b Shakib 70 Asad Shafiq lbw b Robiul 42 Adnan Akmal st Rahim b Shakib 53 Abdur Rehman c Mahmudullah b Shakib 24 Umar Gul c Sunny b Shakib 11 Saeed Ajmal b Shakib 0 Aizaz Cheema not out 1 Extras (lb3, nb16) 19 Total (for all out; 154.5 overs) 470 Fall of wickets: 1-23 (Hafeez), 2-150 (Azhar), 3-245 (Umar), 4-293 ( Younis), 5-359 (Misbah), 6-389 (Shafiq), 7-430 (Rehman), 8-464 (Gul), 9-465 (Ajmal), 10-470 (Akmal).

Bowling: Shahadat 16-1-82-0 (nb10), Robiul 23-3-78-1 (nb6), Nazmul 24-5-61-2, Mahmudullah 15-2-45-0, Shakib 40.5-7-82-6, Sunny 27-4-95-1, Nasir 9-0-24-0.

Bangladesh 2nd innings: Tamim Iqbal c Misbah b Gul 21 Mohammed Nazimuddin b Rehman 12 Shahriar Nafees lbw b Gul 0 Mohammad Mahmudullah c Rehman b Cheema 32 Nasir Hossain not out 30 Shakib Al Hasan c Azhar b Cheema 6 Mushfiqur Rahim not out 7 Extras (b5, lb1) 6 Total (for five wickets; 35 overs) 114 Fall of wickets: 1-24 ( Tamim), 2-24 (Nafees), 3-54 (Nazimuddin), 4-76 (Mahmudullah), 5-95 (Shakib).

Bowling: Gul 7-1-23-2, Cheema 10-1-41-2, Rehman 13-5-251, Ajmal 5-1-19-0.

sp orts

Bangladesh in trouble Pakistan on top despite Shakib’s all-round efforts DHAKA: Shakib Al Hasan became the first Bangladeshi to hit a century and take five wickets in an innings in the same test but his efforts look like being in a losing cause after Pakistan seized control of the second test. All-rounder Shakib followed his first-innings 144 with the bat by snapping up six for 82 with the ball as the hosts bowled out Pakistan, already 1-0 up in the twomatch series, for 470 on the fourth day yesterday.

However, pacemen Umar Gul and Aizaz Cheema then claimed two wickets apiece as Bangladesh limped to 114 for five in their second innings, trailing the visitors by 18 runs overall. Nasir Hossain (30) and Mushfiqur Rahim (seven) were still at the crease when bad light ended play for the day. “Shakib’s performance was great,” Pakistan allrounder Mohammad Hafeez told a news conference. “That was something special. He bowled really well after scoring the hundred. I praise him because he is doing a wonder ful job for Bangladesh.” Pakistan captain Misbahul-Haq made his 14th test half-century before he became Shakib’s first victim of the day, caught at slip by Mahmudullah for 70. Asad Shafiq was next to go, leg before for 42 after being deceived by a swinging ball from Robiul

Islam. Shakib then had Abdur Rehman (24) caught by Mahmudullah before Gul (11) top-edged a delivery from the slow left-armer to Elias Sunny at mid-on.

Saeed Ajmal went for a duck three balls later, bowled by Shakib, and Adnan Akmal was stumped by Mushfiqur for 53 in the spinner’s next over.

DROPPED CATCHES Bangladesh coach Stuart Law was unhappy his side dropped six catches though. “That is an area of concern for us,” said Australian Law. “You’ll never take every catch that comes your way but for the easy ones we have to be switched on. “When you’re dropping good players you’re giving them two chances. There’s no excuse, there are no 38-year-olds running around for us out there.” Bangladesh’s relief at taking all 10 Pakistan wickets subsided quickly when Gul struck twice in two balls before tea to reduce the home side to 24 for two. Gul had Tamim Iqbal caught

by Misbah at first slip for 21 although video replays suggested the ball might have hit the opener on his helmet. The paceman then trapped Shahriar Nafees leg before for a duck. Rehman bowled Nazimuddin for 12 before Cheema dismissed Mahmudullah (32) and Shakib (six). — Reuters

DHAKA: Pakistan’s Umar Gul (left) plays a shot as Bangladesh wicket keeper Mushfiqur Rahim, center, jumps during the fourth day of the second cricket test match at Mirpur in Dhaka yesterday. — AP

Venezuela a new world for Swiss-raised player

OKLAHOMA: Oklahoma State’s Peter Uihlein watching his shot during match play at the NCAA Division 1 men’s golf championship at Karsten Creek golf course in Stillwater, Okla. — AP

Peter Uihlein turns pro with an eye on Europe JACKSONVILLE: Former US Amateur champion Peter Uihlein is turning pro and is willing to travel. In a decision that reflects the changing nature of a global game, Uihlein announced Monday he would not return for his final semester at Oklahoma State and will begin his career exclusively on the European Tour, not only through sponsor exemptions but even on Europe’s second-tier Challenge Tour.

Uihlein, one of America’s top prospects, signed with Chubby Chandler of Britishbased International Sports Management, joining a stable that includes Lee Westwood, British Open champion Darren Clarke and Masters champion Charl Schwartzel. The idea of turning pro in Januar y was to give the 22-year- old Uihlein an entire year to try to earn full status on a major tour. What makes this decision unusual was an American starting off in Europe.

“There has been a great list of players who cut their teeth in Europe,” Uihlein said, mentioning Adam Scott, Rory McIlroy and Schwartzel. “They all started in Europe and gained great experience by playing different courses. It’s a new challenge.” Uihlein will make his pro debut against the best.

He is to play Jan. 26-29 in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship, a tournament that boasts one of the strongest fields of the year with defending champion Martin Kaymer, world No. 1 Luke Donald, McIlroy, Westwood and Tiger Woods.

He also is expected to play in the Qatar Masters and Dubai Desert Classic, and possibly the Avantha Masters in India. Uihlein won the US Amateur in 2010 at Chambers Bay and was the No 1 amateur in the world for 12 months. He played on two Walker Cup teams, twice was named AJGA Player of the Year and won nine amateur and college tournaments in an 18-month span. He was the Ben Hogan Award winner in 2011.

Taking advantage of a rule that allows amateurs to go to Q-school, he failed to advance out of the second stage on the

PGA Tour, and two weeks ago at the European Tour qualifier in Spain.

Uihlein is the youngest son of Acushnet chief executive Wally Uihlein, who has a keen understanding of the global nature of golf. “Obviously, we have discussed where the ‘world’ of golf is headed,” his father said in an email. “It is as if he is leaving ‘home’ to see just how much game he has, not unlike many years ago (when) one would leave the rural community and move to the big city. In today’s global economy, you leave your home country and see if you can establish a global resume.” Chandler said there was no rush to sign corporate endorsements for Uihlein, instead letting him worry only about his golf.

“I don’t know if this is a new trend, but Wally thinks pretty deeply about the world game,” Chandler said Monday. “It’s fun for us to have the responsibility of looking after him. He’s a bit of pioneer, leading the way. This might start others doing the same sort of thing. The interesting thing about Peter is that he wants to do this, and he feels capable that he’s going to do it.”

Uihlein said he would have had to stretch himself thin to graduate on time in May, though he wants to finish his degree. He played only once for the Cowboys this fall, taking time off to recharge after a busy summer in which he played in three majors, two other PGA Tour events and the Walker Cup. “I loved my time at OSU. It was unbelievable experience and I’m definitely going to miss it,” Uihlein said. “But the timing made perfect sense. I talked to my dad about it, and it seemed like a good opportunity.”

Wally Uihlein spent the bulk of his year going through an ownership change Acushnet was purchased by a Korean consortium - and watching his son in three majors and the Walker Cup. His wife, Tina, traveled with their son to most of the tournaments. And now? “I guess she can rack up the miles like me,” Uihlein said with a laugh.—AP

DIELSDORF: Frank Feltscher knew he had made the right decision as he lined up in the player’s tunnel with Lionel Messi on the opposing side and 100,000 people in the stadium to watch the game. Until that afternoon, Feltscher, born and raised in Switzerland, had been used to playing in front of only a few thousand people, often in freezing stadiums, in the Swiss Super League with his club Grasshoppers.

But, barely two months after playing for Switzerland in the European under-21 championship in Denmark, the midfielder found himself in the Venezuelan national side facing Messi’s Argentina in a friendly in Calcutta. “I was in India, there were 100,000 people. I was in the starting line-up, against Messi,” he told Reuters in an interview at the Grasshoppers canteen. “When I was in the tunnel before the game, I thought I was in a film.” Having been raised in Switzerland and played for the country at various youth levels, including the squad which finished as runners-up in Denmark, it seemed logical that he would he progress to their senior side. But when the phone rang with an invitation to play at full international level, it came not from Switzerland but distant Venezuela. Feltscher’s mother is from Venezuela and he had faced a dilemma increasingly common for

young players as he found himself having to choose which country to play for. Although Feltscher had only made a few visits to the countr y, he knew he had to make a quick decision.

NEW STORY “It was a shock and it wasn’t easy, because on one hand I expected the Swiss team but they didn’t call me, so I know it was time to decide,” he said. “I spoke to my family, with friends, but nobody told me what I had to do, they told me to do what my heart told me.” “I said in football and in life, you can’t wait. I have to grab the opportunity. Venezuela is on a positive upwards cur ve after the Copa America and I want to be part of this story. I called them and said ok.” He added: “It was like leaving a girlfriend after 10 years. I knew it was the right decision, but I still had a lot of memories of Switzerland. It was ending and a new story was starting.” Although he was raised in one of the world’s safest and most organized countries, Feltscher said there was never any hint of culture shock in a country often seen as the opposite..

“Ever ything was better than I expected, the organization, the people, the team, it was all very positive. “They received me very well, like a lost brother. I felt very quickly part of the family.”

FIRST GOAL The fairytale continued after his debut in India. Feltscher’s first competitive international was a 2-0 defeat in Ecuador in a World Cup qualifier, where he struggled to cope with the high altitude, but days after that Venezuela pulled off a sensational 1-0 win over Argentina. They drew the next game 1-1 in Colombia with Feltscher scoring the equalizer, earning him a mention from President Hugo Chavez the following day even if he could not pronounce his name. “They told me he was talking about my goal on the television, although I think he called me Fletcher,” he said.

Playing in the Swiss league and the South American qualifiers are two worlds, added Feltscher, whose younger brother Rolf has now followed suit and also opted for Venezuela. “You play in front of thousands of people, who go mad in the stadium, one pass, one move and they’re all making a noise,” he said. “We return to Switzerland and you play in front of 5,000 or 6,000 people and you have to motivate yourself. It’s not easy.”

Venezuela are the only South American team never to have qualified for the World Cup but, having taken seven points from their first four games, Feltscher believes they can make the breakthrough. “I want to tr y to do something with

Venezuela, to live something, to be part of a story and make 30 million Venezuelans happy.”

Feltscher’s departure is something of a blow for Switzerland which has invested heavily in youth development but, with so many players coming from immigrant backgrounds, often risks losing them to other countries. Croatia’s Mladen Petric and Ivan Rakitic, who were raised in Switzerland but chose to play for Croatia, are among those who have gone elsewhere. A Swiss FA spokesman said that it was never good when a player chose to play for another national team, however only a handful had taken that option while a great many others had stayed with Switzerland.

The SFV added that some players such as Petric and Rakitic had played fewer big tournaments that they would have done if they had stayed with the Swiss, who have qualified for the last two World Cups. Feltscher said that it was not a decision he had taken lightly and advised other players to remember that playing for a national team was a huge responsibility. “It’s not just any old thing to play for a country,” he said. “Behind a decision like that are millions of people, the pride of the public and that’s something you cannot play with.” “You can’t go and play for a country and then change your mind.”— Reuters

Lazaroni joins growing list of sacked Qatar coaches DOHA: Qatar have sacked coach Sebastiao Lazaroni after less than five months in charge despite the Brazilian taking the Gulf side to the brink of the fourth round of World Cup qualifying. A short Qatar Football Association (QFA) statement late on Monday said the coach had been removed after “a series of weak performances” and highlighted the team’s exit at the group stage of the ongoing Arab Games they are hosting as the final straw. Qatar are undefeated in second place in Group E of the third round of World Cup qualifiers in Asia ahead of their final match in February away to pool leaders Iran, who they trail by two points.

A draw in Iran should be enough to quali-

fy for the 10-team fourth round although Qatar could qualify even in defeat as they boast a considerably better goal difference over third-placed Bahrain, who are three points behind and host Indonesia. Lazaroni’s was only appointed in August this year, succeeding Serbian Milovan Rajevac who was sacked because of the “rather alarming fashion” in which Qatar had edged “humble” Vietnam 4-2 over two legs in the second round. The QFA said Lazaroni’s successor will be well aware of Qatari soccer and will be announced soon. The 2022 World Cup hosts have never qualified for the finals and are ranked 95th by world governing body FIFA.— Reuters

OneAsia Tour adds three new events BANGKOK: The OneAsia Tour, the upstart golf circuit engaged in a regional turf war with the Asian Tour, will expand from 11 to at least 14 events in its fourth season next year with a total prize pool of $16 million. “We had five events in that first year, held 10 tournaments in 2010, and featured 11 this season. It has been a rapid growth which provides endless opportunities to our members,” tour commissioner Sang Y Chun said in a statement.

“It is also extremely rewarding to stage events in places like Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia and we are confident further additions will be made to the sched-

u l e i n 2 0 1 2 .” The tour, formed by the Australian, Chinese and South Korean golf associations, opens with the $1 million Indonesia Open from March 15-18 and includes two new tournaments in China and another in Malaysia.

Despite some teething problems the OneAsia Tour has become a growing bugbear for Asian Tour chief Kyi Hla Han who has accused the new circuit of poaching events. OneAsia officials say their tour offers a more attractive product for players and that the region’s markets and talent pool are big enough for two circuits to coexist.— Reuters

Sebastiao Lazaroni

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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2011

sports

Suarez handed 8-match ban for racial abuse Uruguayan found guilty of abusing United’s Evra LONDON: Liverpool striker Luis Suarez has been banned for eight matches and fined 40,000 pounds ($62,800) for racially abusing Manchester United defender Patrice Evra during a Premier League match at Anfield in October, the FA said yesterday. Uruguay international Suarez was found guilty of misconduct after using “insulting words” towards Evra during the game on Oct 15, including a reference to the France defender’s color.

The ban is suspended pending the outcome of any appeal lodged by Suarez after an FA Independent Regulatory Commission “found a charge of misconduct against Luis Suarez proven”. The FA announced the decision against Suarez, who has repeatedly denied the allegations, on

its website (www.thefa.com) after a hearing that began on Dec 14 at an undisclosed location in north-west England. The commission said: “Mr Suarez used insulting words towards Mr Evra during the match contrary to FA Rule E3(1). The insulting words used

by Mr Suarez included a reference to Mr Evra’s colour within the meaning of Rule E3(2).

“Mr Suarez shall be warned as to his future conduct, be suspended for eight matches covering all first team competitive matches and fined the sum of 40,000 pounds.” The three-man commission, which comprised Paul Goulding QC, Brian Jones, the chairman of the Sheffield & Hallam FA, and the former Stoke City player and Sunderland manager Denis Smith, said

Chinese referee admits bribes BEIJING: A well-known Chinese referee confessed in court yesterday to accepting bribes for fixing local and international matches, amid a series of corruption hearings involving top football officials. Huang Junjie admitted to accepting more than $246,000 in bribes to fix two international friendlies as well as six Chinese club matches between 2005 and 2009, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

The veteran of more than 20 yearswho in 2009 was among three shortlisted for best Chinese referee of the year-also confessed to accepting bribes from his colleague Zhou Weixin to sway results, the report added.

Zhou is facing charges of corruption as well as bribing civil servants, Xinhua said. The tainted matches that Huang officiated include a 2007 exhibition match between English Premier League champions Manchester United and China’s Shenzhen FC, and a 2009 fixture between Shanghai Shenhua and Australia’s Sydney FC. Corruption hearings against some of China’s top footballing officials kicked off Monday with Zhang Jianqiang, the former head referee of the Super League, in court to face

charges of accepting match-fixing bribes totalling $409,600.

Referee Lu Jun, who had previously officiated World Cup and Olympic football matches, will stand trial today while about 20 other former officials and referees are to face the courts later this week. The hearings are part of a crackdown on corruption that have reached the top echelons of the game in China, and led to the downfall of the head of the Chinese Football Association (CFA) Gambling, match-fixing, crooked referees and poor performances by the national team made the sport the laughing stock of increasingly indifferent fans, and a matter of state concern.

According to state media, CFA officials routinely fixed matches, including national team and league games, by allegedly buying off the teams or referees involved.

Association officials also reportedly accepted pay-offs from players who wanted to be named to the national team-a practice widespread among league clubs also. Sponsors abandoned the sport, and state television network CCTV refused to broadcast Super League games. — AFP

Arsenal aim to finish higher than Hotspur LONDON: Arsenal keeper Wojciech Szczesny has conceded the 12-point gap between his team and Premier League leaders Manchester City is “too big” for the Gunners to dream about challenging for the title this season. But he insisted there is still something worth fighting for this term - finishing higher than arch north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur.

Szczesny believes Arsenal will have to wait until the new year before they reassess their targets for the season following Sunday’s 1-0 loss to City.

Defeat at Eastlands left Arsenal in fifth place, three points behind fourth-placed Chelsea and five shy of Spurs in third.

Results over the busy Christmas period, starting today away to Aston Villa are key to the Gunners’ hopes of making up ground, according to Szczesny. “It is too big a gap but we hope we can make it smaller and then we can talk about challenging for the title,” said the Poland international. “We are confident going into the Christmas period that we can get the results. “Getting above Tottenham is the main target. We don’t want to finish below them no matter what.

“That’s just my personal ambition because I am one of the fans and so it means a lot to me to finish above them. I am confident we will do so. “They will slip up eventually,” he added. “They have been in good form-you have to give it to them-but I am confident we are a better side and will finish above them. “Time will tell if they can handle the pressure but they look good at the moment.

Hopefully they will drop points in the

second half of the season.”

Arsenal matched City in all departments barring the scoreline on Sunday and their performance gave Szczsesny confidence that there was little to separate the Gunners and the league leaders in terms of quality. “They just got the winning goal and that was the difference,” he said. “But we showed that we are just as good as the richest team and possibly, at the moment, the best team in the league so that gives us confidence we can beat everyone else.” Arsenal travel to Villa Park without defender Johan Djourou, out for up to three weeks with a groin problem.

Djourou’s absence could mean Laurent Koscielny switches to right back, with Thomas Vermaelen and Per Mertesacker in central defense. Ignasi Miquel, 19, could be drafted in at leftback. In addition to manager Arsene Wenger’s headaches in the back four, Alex Song is suspended after he received his fifth booking of the season against City. Villa, meanwhile, hope to have Darren Bent back for the game against Arsenal-and it will come as some relief to the striker after he was castigated by fans for going shopping during Sunday’s 2-0 defeat by Liverpool. Bent was ruled out of the Liverpool game with a thigh injury and spent Sunday morning having treatment.

He was then spotted Christmas shopping while his team were being beaten at Villa Park. Bent, Villa’s record signing, who has scored five times this season, later used Twitter to reassure supporters he was fully behind the team. — AFP

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger

it will provide written reasons for its decision in due course following which Suarez will have 14 days to appeal.

EVRA COMPLAINT Evra, 30, made the complaint immediately after United’s 1-1 draw at Liverpool but investigations into the case before the formal proceedings took two months to prepare. He reported his concerns to referee Andre Marriner, who included it in his match report. Evra also made the allegations against 24-year-old Suarez in an interview with Canal Plus, telling the French TV station the Uruguayan had used a racist insult to him “at least 10 times”.

Evra said: “There are cameras. You can see him (Suarez) say a certain word to me at least 10 times.”

Both players spoke to FA officials during the investigation and there have been suggestions Suarez was unaware language that is acceptable in Uruguay is viewed as racist in Europe. Suarez told Uruguayan media last month: “There is no evidence I said anything racist to him. I said nothing of the sort. “There were two parts of the discussion - one in Spanish, one in English. “I did not insult him. It was just a way of expressing myself. I called him something his team mates at Manchester call him, and even they were surprised by his reaction.”

Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish and the club have been fully supportive of Suarez while United manager Alex Ferguson has stood just as firmly behind Evra.— Reuters

Liverpool’s Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez

French Preview

French foursome vie for Christmas number one PARIS: Montpellier, Paris Saint-Germain, Lille and Lyon will all be bidding to end the year on top of the French top flight in the final round of fixtures before the winter break today. PSG were prevented from returning to the summit after being held to a 0-0 draw by Lille on Sunday, which left them below leaders Montpellier on goal difference. Defending champions Lille and Lyon are two points back, in third and fourth place respectively. Of the top four, Lille are the only side who face a home match today, as they welcome third-bottom Nice to Stade Villeneuve d’Ascq. Montpellier visit Evian and Lyon are at Valenciennes, while PSG will take on Saint-Etienne-who are unbeaten in six games-at the imposing Stade GeoffroyGuichard, in what will be the final Ligue 1 fixture of 2011.

After a three-game losing streak in late November and early December, PSG had got their title bid back on track with successive wins over Auxerre and Sochaux prior to Sunday’s stalemate with Lille. Should Montpellier fail to win at Evian, victory for PSG would give them the honorific title of autumn champions, but Coach Antoine Kombouare says his only motivation is to finish the year as strongly as possible. “I don’t think about that,” he said. “What comes to mind is the need for recovery so that we can produce a great performance today. “A very important match is waiting for us at Saint-Etienne. We’ve played an extra game, (against Athletic Bilbao in the Europa League), so we have one less day to recover. “They will be waiting for us in The Cauldron (Stade Geoffroy-Guichard). We need to give ourselves a big push before our well-deserved holidays, because it’s been five tough months.” Despite their huge summer investment, PSG have yet to find a consistent winning formula and sports daily L’Equipe awarded a string of low marks to their attacking players after the draw with Lille. The newspaper was equally unimpressed by Lille’s attacking trio of Eden

Hazard, Joe Cole and Moussa Sow, but PSG goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu’s score of 7/10 paid testament to the fact that the visitors created the better chances.

Unbeaten in 16 matches and devoid of European distractions following their Champions League elimination, Lille look well placed to mount a strong defense of their title in the second half of the campaign. Lille coach Rudi Garcia, though, insists that the club from the capital remain the favorites. “Looking at Paris’ investments, it’s normal that they should be aiming for the title and be at the top of the table,” he said. “We sold lots of players and made few signings, and we don’t box in the same weight class.” Garcia also warned that the draw at PSG would count for nothing if his

MONTPELLIER: Montpellier’s forward Geoffrey Dernis (right) is congratulated by forward Olivier Giroud after scoring a goal during the French L1 football match Montpellier vs Toulouse on December 17, 2011 at the Mosson stadium in southern France. — AFP

Neymar, Uruguay and Japan illuminate 2011 PARIS: The year 2011 witnessed the birth of a new global superstar, as Neymar inspired Santos to a first Copa Libertadores title since 1963 and threatened to crash Europe’s hegemony of the Ballon d’Or. Already a YouTube sensation due to his distinctive mohawk hairstyle and jaw-dropping dribbling ability, Neymar confirmed his reputation by guiding Pele’s old club back to the summit of the South American game.

He scored the opening goal in the 2-1 defeat of Uruguayan giants Penarol in the second leg of the Copa Libertadores final, before stealing the show and finishing top scorer as Brazil won the Under-20 South American Championship.

He could not repeat his success with the senior side at the Copa America, but the 19-year-old was still the only player based outside Europe to be named on the 23-man shortlist for the FIFA Ballon d’Or. His performances for club and country saw him strongly linked with a move to Real Madrid but in November he committed himself to Santos until the 2014 World Cup, when he will carry the hopes of the host nation on his shoulders.

One of the year’s most enduring images captured Pele embracing Neymar after the Copa Libertadores final in the middle of the Pacaembu pitch in Sao Paulo. The great Brazilian was even moved to declare Neymar a “more complete” player than Barcelona’s Lionel Messi, but Neymar came out second-best in Sunday’s Club World Cup final as Messi scored twice in a 4-0 Barca win. “Messi is the best, there’s no question about that,” said Santos coach Muricy Ramalho. “He’s been building up to be the best player for many years, but Neymar is improving and in the future he will be the best.” With Brazil and hosts Argentina both crashing in the last eight at the Copa America, Uruguay were able to claim a 15th continental crown, which followed on from their superb fourth-place finish at the 2010

side did not beat Nice, who moved to within a point of safety by winning 2-0 against Valenciennes on Saturday.

Montpellier have gone off the boil in the last fortnight, losing at Valenciennes and then being held to a 1-1 draw by Toulouse at the weekend. Victory at Evian would crown a remarkable start to the season by Rene Girard’s men though, and suggest that their unlikely title challenge is not about to wilt in 2012. “Everyone would be happy if Paris were autumn champions,” said Girard.

“But we’re only at the halfway stage and it’s not over.” Toulouse, level on points with fifthplaced Saint-Etienne, host Brest today, while seventh-placed Rennes will seek to halt an arresting run of five games without victory when they tackle improving Bordeaux. — AFP

World Cup. After eliminating old enemies Argentina on penalties and beating Peru 2-0 in the semi-finals, they crushed Paraguay 3-0 in the final through an early strike from player of the tournament Luis Suarez and a Diego Forlan brace. “I’m really proud of the way we played and the way we did it,” said Uruguay captain Diego Lugano after hoisting aloft the trophy at Buenos Aires’ fabled Estadio Monumental.

“We’ve made a lot of people very happy.”

A month after controversially winning the right to host the 2022 World Cup, Qatar welcomed the cream of the Asian continent to Doha for the Asian Cup in January. Although a logistical success, the tournament was notable for poor attendances, but it concluded with a high-quality final decided by a fine extra-time volley from Tadaneri Lee that gave Japan a 1-0 win over Australia. The Blue Samurai also tasted success in the women’s game, with Japan securing their first ever World Cup title after beating the United States on penalties in the final in Frankfurt in July.

Mexico had two reasons to celebrate as well, following up their triumph in the CONCACAF Gold Cup with success in the Under-17 World Cup on home soil. For all the on-pitch spectacle, 2011 will go down as a black year for world football’s governing body FIFA after a succession of corruption scandals saw the organization’s name dragged into the gutter. Sepp Blatter won a fourth consecutive term as president in June, but only after his main rival, Mohamed bin Hammam, had been removed from the race over bribery allegations that would eventually earn him a lifetime ban.

“I cannot go now,” vowed Blatter in December. “I haven’t finished my mission. The organisation’s image needs to be improved.”

The FIFA chief also announced plans to introduce goal-line technology in time for the 2014 World Cup, despite objections from UEFA president Michel Platini. — AFP

Atalanta say not linked to alleged betting scam ROME: The coach of Serie A side Atalanta, Stefano Colantuono yesterday said the club was not in any way implicated in an alleged betting scam as police moved to question their suspended former skipper Cristiano Doni. “We have done nothing. What we achieved (promotion last season as champions of Serie B) we won on our own merits,” Colantuono told a news conference. “We won the championship by a large distance,” he added of a side which has consolidated its position in lower mid table of the top flight.

Doni, 38, has already been suspended for three-and-a-half years by the Italian Football Federation’s disciplinary committee while Atalanta were handed a six-point penalty.

Doni insists he is innocent of involvement in a “last bets” scandal, five years on from another match-fixing scandal dubbed Calciopoli which saw Juventus relegated and four other clubs handed points penalties.

Those involved in the “Last bet” skulduggery are alleged to have contacted players to buy at least three Atalanta games last season to help rig bets for a network based in Singapore but stretching as far as Eastern Europe. The affair was front page news in the Gazzetta dello sport, which headlined “And they carried on cheating...”

State prosecutor Roberto Di Martino heading up the investigation said he believes that what has been uncovered so far is “just the beginning.” “This page does no honor to Italian sport,” sighed the chairman of the Italian Olympic Committee (Coni), Gianni Petrucci, who said the latest allegations “have shocked our world.”“We are all perturbed but our leagues also must be. La Lega (the Italian league authority) met yesterday but nothing was said about what has happened.

They only spoke about the carving up of the money.” — AFP

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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2011

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Italian League Roundup

Italian leaders Juventus look to strengthen title credentials

WOLVERHAMPTON: Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Roger Johnson (left) and Stoke City’s Peter Crouch seen in action in this file photo, during their Premier League match at the Molineux stadium. —AP

Man City prepare for grueling Stoke clash LONDON: Every Premier League match Manchester City play for the next few months is sure to be billed as a test of the table-toppers’ title credentials and that will be the case when they face Stoke today. Tony Pulis’s side, renowned for their physical approach, recently ended title -chasing Tottenham’s 11 match unbeaten league run. City too suffered a wobble, going down 2-1 to Chelsea, but bounced back last weekend with a 1-0 win over Arsenal in a high-class encounter. That suggested the team assembled so expensively by City manager Roberto Mancini and the club’s wealthy Abu Dhabi owners had the stomach, as well as the skill for a title fight. But their resolve is sure to be tested

by Stoke, who provided Italian manager Mancini with his first opponents after he succeeded Mark Hughes at Eastlands two years ago.

City won that match and also beat Stoke in last season’s FA Cup final.

However, the Potters are now on a run of four straight league wins and a wary Mancini said: “It will be hard against Stoke. They are a strong team, who defend very well. It will not be an easy game.” Reigning champions Manchester United, currently two points behind City, will look to maintain the pressure on their local rivals when they travel to Fulham. United may have suffered a shock Champions League exit at the hands of unheralded Basel but back in the Premier League it has been business as usual for Sir Alex Ferguson’s men with subsequent wins over Wolves and QPR. “It was a disappointment (exiting the Champions League),” said Ferguson, in charge at Old Trafford for the past 25 years. “We have to do something about it and I think the players have done that.”

Tottenham, seven points behind City, face Chelsea in an intriguing London der-

by tomorrow. Chelsea could be 12 points adrift of top spot by the time they kickoff at White Hart Lane but striker Daniel Sturridge has said anyone who thinks they are out of title contention is “stupid”.

“There are still five months to go and people would be stupid to assume we’re out of the title race,” he said after scoring in a frustrating 1-1 draw away to Wigan on Saturday.

Chelsea captain John Terry is set to be fit for today’s match despite a training ground scare on Monday where the England centre back “pinched” his Achilles tendon. Spurs though will be without winger Aaron Lennon because of a hamstring injury suffered in last weekend’s 1-0 win over Sunderland.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has conceded the Gunners, away to Aston Villa on Wednesday, have all but abandoned hope of winning the title following a defeat by City that left them 12 points off the summit. “It will be difficult to close the gap on City now, but we will try,” said Wenger. “This was a game we couldn’t afford to lose.”

Liverpool, fresh from a 2-0 win over Villa, will hope the hearing into allegations striker Luis Suarez racially abused Manchester United’s Patrice Evra in October, is settled by the time they kickoff away to relegation candidates Wigan today. Newcastle, held to a goalless draw

by Swansea last time out, will look to revive their bid for a top four spot at home to West Brom today. “Our best team can compete with any team in this Premier League,” said Magpies boss Alan Pardew. “Whether we have got a strong enough squad to keep us consistently in the top seven all year, we will have to wait and see.” In other today matches QPR are at home to Sunderland while Swansea, another promoted side, travel to Everton. —AFP

Fitness boost for United’s boss ahead of Fulham trip MANCHESTER: Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson believes the club’s injury problems are finally starting to clear up as he prepares to head to Fulham yesterday. The first half of United’s campaign has been dominated

by Ferguson contending with one of the worst injury lists in his 25 years in charge at Old Trafford. His midfield has been hit badly, with Anderson ruled out for the season with a knee problem, Darren Fletcher being given indefinite leave as he looks to overcome a chronic bowel condition and Tom Cleverley currently missing with an ankle injury.

At the back, Nemanja Vidic has also been ruled out of the rest of the campaign with a knee problem, while Rafael will step up his return from a shoulder injury with a run out for the reserves. But Ferguson, who is also without Michael Owen, was buoyed by forwards Javier Hernandez and Dimitar Berbatov returning to his squad for the 2-0 victory at QPR last weekend. Ferguson has fended off suggestions he should look to add to his squad in January due to the high number of absentees and he thinks the worst of his problems are over.

“The injuries are improving a bit,” Ferguson said. “It’s getting a little bit better. “It’s good to have those two players (Berbatov and Hernandez) back, and Rafa’s training now, he maybe just needs a reserve game. “Obviously, we’d still like to have Anderson and Cleverley back, and a couple of others, but in the main we’re pleased with what we’ve got at the moment.” Reigning champions United have forced their way back into the Premier League title race over the past few weeks and trail leaders Manchester City, who host Stoke today, by just two points. United also boast the only

unbeaten away record in the top four divisions of English football, with six victories and two draws on their league travels.

Ferguson’s men have also tightened up their defense following the 6-1 defeat by City in October and they have managed five clean sheets in the seven Premier League matches since. Northern Ireland international centreback Jonny Evans, who has replaced Vidic in the side, thinks United’s current defensive strength has given them a major advantage. “A clean sheet is all you can ask for as a defender,” Evans said. “It doesn’t matter how you play, if you get a clean sheet you’re happy. “It really helps when the team is working really hard around you as well. The front players and the wide men work hard to make things a lot easier for you.” Fulham striker Bryan Ruiz has warned United he cannot wait to face the champions at Craven Cottage.

The Costa Rican has played the full 90 minutes in Fulham’s last three matches and scored his first goal at Craven Cottage in the 2-0 victory over Bolton last weekend. Ruiz, 26, struggled in the early weeks of this season after joining in a £10.6 million deal from FC Twente in August but he feels he is finally starting to show what he can do. “I’m really enjoying it here,” he said. “I feel really fit and it’s very good because I’m playing 90 minutes now and I’m running a lot so it’s very good for my confidence. “Against Manchester United it will be very difficult but we will try to enjoy ourselves, take the game very seriously and try to win.” Fulham striker Bobby Zamora should overcome a knee problem to feature against United but Australia goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer, Simon Davis and Steve Sidwell are injured. —AFP

ROME: Italian league leaders Juventus must negotiate a tough midweek trip to third-placed Udinese if the Old Lady of Turin is to go into the holiday period top, fending off their opponents and AC Milan. The Milanese, currently two points adrift of top spot, could go top in their own right yesterday, a day before Juve’s game, if they can win at midtable Cagliari. This final pre-holiday round of league action should in fact have been the first of the season - but the games fell victim to a strike which delayed the start of the campaign back in August.

Juve have yet to lose in the league this season but they will have to work hard to pull off maximum points at the Stadio Friuli against an Udinese side known as little zebras - owing to their Juvelike black and white stripes. After finishing fourth last season to earn a shot at the Champions League qualifier - they ultimately went out to Arsenal - Udinese had to regroup having lost three stars.

Chilean winger Alexis Sanchez joined Barcelona, Gokhan Inler, who switched to Napoli, and Christian Zapata, who joined Spain’s Villareal. But they have still managed to keep in touch with last season’s form, winning nine and losing only two of their 15 games to date. They also have the meanest defence with just nine goals conceded.

Sunday brought a 2-2 draw with fellow highflyers Lazio - a match where coach Francesco Guidolin sprung a surprise in leaving hotshot Antonio Di Natale on the bench to begin with. That means he is fresh to face Juve. On the debit side for Udinese, defen-

sive linchpin Mehdi Benatia is suspended. Juve coach Antonio Conte will hope that could be a factor which tips the balance.

Massimiliano Allegri’s AC Milan meanwhile head to Sardinia to visit a Cagliari side which boasts just one win in the last ten games.

Inter Milan, still in the race in fifth under Claudio Ranieri despite their woeful start to the season, will seek a fourth straight success as they take on Lecce. Napoli, sixth and 12 points off the pace after their weekend home loss to Roma, will look to get back on

tear, the recovery time will be four weeks,” he wrote on Twitter.

Palermo meanwhile must regroup after chairman Maurizio Zamparini, nicknamed “coacheater,” carried out the 39th sacking of his career Monday in dumping Devis Mangia following

TURIN: Juventus players celebrate their 2-0 win over Novara at the end of a Serie A soccer match at the Juventus stadium on Sunday, Dec 18, 2011. —AP Chairman Massimo Cellino, who has already fired two coaches this season, may soon start thinking of sharpening the axe once again if Davide Ballardini cannot manage a revival.

Elsewhere, Lazio will look to stay in touch with a win over Chievo while 2010 champions

Matches on TV (Local Timings)

track against a Genoa side with whom they are level on points, while Roma themselves will attempt to leapfrog Napoli with a win over fifth bottom Bologna.

Napoli’s Argentine forward Ezequiel Lavezzi will be out for around four weeks after injury his right thigh against Roma. “I have a

the weekend loss to fellow islanders Catania - the ninth managerial casualty of the season so far. Palermo are in midtable but have struggled to impress after the close-season losses of Javier Pastore and Salvatore Sirigu to Paris SG and Antonio Nocerino to AC Milan.—AFP

No loan deal for Tevez, Mancini tells AC Milan

English Premier League Newcastle v West Brom Abu Dhabi Sports HD 7

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Man City v Stoke Abu Dhabi Sports HD 3

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Aston Villa v Arsenal Abu Dhabi Sports HD 6

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QPR v Sunderland Abu Dhabi Sports HD 9

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Everton v Swansea Abu Dhabi Sports HD 8

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Fulham v Man United Abu Dhabi Sports HD 5

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Wigan v Liverpool Abu Dhabi Sports HD 4

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LONDON: Transfer talks between Manchester City and AC Milan over Carlos Tevez appear to be heading for stalemate after coach Roberto Mancini yesterday again ruled out loaning the Argentine striker to the Serie A side. Manchester City are expected to meet AC Milan chief executive Adriano Galliani tomorrow, a source close to

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Carlos Tevez the club said, but neither team appears to be willing to change their stance over a permanent deal.

“We’re not going to take him outright, we’re offering a free loan with the right to buy in June,” Galliani told Italian press on Monday.

But Mancini yesterday said this was unacceptable and indicated the Premier League leaders will take a tough stance on the issue. “We want Carlos to come back and play football and the

City, United lock horns in FA Cup tickets row LONDON: Manchester United have complained to the English Football Association (FA) over their allocation of tickets for next month’s eagerly awaited FA Cup clash with Manchester City, reports said yesterday. FA rules state that visiting teams are entitled to a ticket allocation equivalent to 15 percent of capacity, which would give United 7,100 tickets to the January 8 showdown at Eastlands.

City, however, have only offered United 5,500 tickets - 11 percent of capacity-citing safety reasons.

Local media reports said that the issue came to light during discussions about ticket arrangements for a possible replay, when City learned they would only receive 8,500 tickets — 11 percent-for any return match at Old Trafford. United enjoy a special dispensation from the FA rules because Old Trafford’s 76,000 capacity is far greater than any other club in England. The spat is likely to heighten anticipation surrounding the third-round clash, which comes with City and United locked in a neck-and-neck league title race.

United are also determined to avenge their 61 humiliation by City at Old Trafford earlier this season. —AFP

best solution for us is to sell him. We can’t let him leave on loan,” he told reporters. The former Inter Milan manager also said it set a bad precedent for City to allow key players to go out on loan deals.

“But when we want to sell them, they have to go on loan. This is not good. It is not correct for the other players. “Manchester City paid Carlos a lot of money for three years. It is correct that if one club, it could be Milan, Juventus, PSG, Inter, want him, they pay Carlos for his value. This is correct.”

The meeting between the clubs was expected to take place in Manchester after Galliani told Italian media on Monday that he will be travelling there to discuss the move after fighting off competition from French side Paris St Germain. “ Tomorrow we have an appointment with Manchester City for Tevez but it will probably not be the decisive one to conclude negotiations,” Galliani said. “The player wants to come to us and not PSG (Paris St Germain) and we hope City accept the offer.” Speculation about the future of the former Boca Juniors, West Ham United and Manchester United player has been rife since his public fall out with Mancini.

City fined Tevez four weeks wages, which was later reduced to two for refusing to come off the bench to play in a Champions League match against Bayern Munich on Sept 27. Mancini subsequently offered Tevez an olive branch if he apologized but then shut the door on a possible return after the player missed training and returned to his homeland without the club’s permission. AC Milan have been vocal in their pursuit of Tevez but appear unable to match the valuation put on the striker signed by City from Manchester United for 25.0 million pounds ($38.83 million) in July 2009. Tevez has not played a match for City since a League Cup win over Birmingham City on Sept 21.— Reuters

Arsenal, Chelsea fixtures ‘a doubt’ LONDON: Arsenal and Chelsea could be forced to postpone their Dec 26 Premier League fixtures because of a strike planned by London Underground train drivers which threatens to bring the capital to a halt. Arsenal are due to play Wolverhampton Wanderers at the Emirates on the Boxing Day bank holiday while Chelsea are scheduled to meet neighbors Fulham at Stamford Bridge in the capital’s other Premier League match.

The strike could also affect lower division games with the Championship (second division) matches between Watford and Cardiff City and Millwall and Portsmouth also under threat. Leyton Orient’s match with MK Dons and Brentford’s clash with Bournemouth in League One (third division), as well as the League Two (fourth division) fixtures between Wimbledon and Oxford United and Dagenham & Redbridge and Barnet could also be postponed.

In a statement Arsenal said: “We are closely monitoring the situation together with all the relevant agencies including the Metropolitan Police, Transport for London, London Underground, The Premier League, Wolverhampton Wanderers FC and Islington Council. “The paramount concern to Arsenal Football Club is the duty of care we have towards the Arsenal supporters, Wolverhampton Wanderers supporters, matchday employees and indeed everyone who is planning to attend this match.” The planned strike is the result of a dispute over workers’ bank holiday pay but the legality of the walkout has been challenged by the transport authorities and will be decided in the High Court in London today. —Reuters

49ers leave Steelers in the dark with 20-3 win

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DOHA: Kuwait’s forward Bader Al-Mutawwa (center) plays as a goalkeeper as Jordan’s Abdullah Salem (right) scores a goal from the penalty spot during their 2011 Arab Games semi-final football match in the Qatari capital Doha yesterday. (Inset) Baha Suleiman (right) of Jordan jumps to head the ball with Talal Al-Amer of Kuwait during their semifinal football match yesterday. Jordan defeated Kuwait 2-0.—AFP

Jordan trounce Kuwait 2-0 DOHA: Kuwait football team lost 0-2 to Jordan in the Arab Games in a semi-final match that saw tragic events in its dying minutes. Jordan’s two goals were scored by Abdullah Theeb. The first in the 96 minute and the second through a penalty shot at Kuwaiti striker Bader Al-Mutawwa who had

to replace goalkeeper Khaled Al-Rashidi after he was sent out. Kuwait had many chances but were all fruitless, either hitting the post or saved by the Jordanian keeper.

Jordan will meet Bahrain in the final, while Kuwait will play for the bronze against Palestine. — KUNA

AC Milan win 2-0, take

Blackburn bottom after derby defeat Bolton 2

provisional Serie A lead ROME: A day after the latest arrests in a match-fixing investigation, Serie A action resumed yesterday with AC Milan taking the provisional lead following a confident 2-0 win at Cagliari. Milan went ahead after four minutes with an own goal by Cagliari defender Francesco Pisano, who was attempting to prevent Antonio Nocerino from redirecting a cross from Robinho into an empty net. Zlatan Ibrahimovic then sealed the match on the hour mark, taking a pass from Robinho and chipping the ball over charging Cagliari goalkeeper Michael Agazzi with the tips of his toes.

Ibrahimovic’s 11th goal of the season left him alongside Atalanta’s German Denis as the Serie A’s leading scorers. “I’m doing well and the squad is helping me a lot,” Ibrahimovic said. “But we can play even better.” Milan moved one point in front of Juventus, which visits third-place Udinese today.

“It was important to get three points and end the year in the best manner possible,” Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri said. “Tomorrow we’ll see what the others do.” Earlier, Fiorentina drew 0-0 at Siena in a Tuscan derby, moving both clubs one more spot above the relegation zone.

On a rainy and windy night at the Stadio Sant’Elia in Sardinia, Allegri once again defied Silvio Berlusconi, lining up Robinho alongside Ibrahimovic instead of Alexandre Pato like the Milan president has suggested. Robinho proved to be the right selection, as the Brazil forward sprinted past two defenders and drew Agazzi out of

position to set up Milan’s opener, then set up Ibrahimovic’s goal. “We’ve got three or four of the best strikers in Europe, if not the world,” Ibrahimovic said. “It doesn’t matter to me who plays.” Albin Ekdal had a chance to equalize for Cagliari in the 14th with a long, curling shot but Milan goalkeeper Christian Abbiati pushed the powerful effort wide.

Two minutes after Ibrahimovic’s goal, the Sweden striker appeared to suffer from a stomach problem, bending over at the waist for a moment, then kneeling down on one knee. Milan’s medical staff helped Ibrahimovic off the pitch, but he came back on a minute later and said after the match that he was fine. Pato replaced Robinho in the 74th and had a chance two minutes from the end but shot directly at a defender. With the next Serie A round not until Jan 7-8, Milan will go to Dubai after Christmas for a midseason training camp. Also, Milan vice president Adriano Galliani is planning to meet with Manchester City on Thursday to discuss signing striker Carlos Tevez.

In Tuscany, both sides had several chances, with Siena striker Emanuele Calaio heading onto the crossbar in the 28th minute and Fiorentina’s Stevan Jovetic and Alessandro Gamberini being denied from within the area. Fiorentina moved six points clear of the relegation zone, while Siena moved three points clear of the bottom three squads - Cesena, Novara and Lecce - which each play today. — AP

Blackburn 1

LONDON: Blackburn Rovers were left bottom of the English Premier League after a 2-1 Lancashire derby defeat at home to fellow relegation candidates Bolton Wanderers at Ewood Park yesterday. Bolton, who kicked off as the league’s basement club and remained in the bottom three even after this win, enjoyed a sensational start. Mark Davies put them ahead inside five minutes and Nigel Reo-Coker made it 2-0 on the half-hour. Davies’s goal reignited the terrace taunts from Rovers fans towards manager Steve Kean, who has been under fire since he was appointed by Venky’s, the Indian-based poultry firm that owns the club, a year ago.

However, the jeers were stilled when

Blackburn striker Aiyegbeni Yakubu pulled a goal back with 23 minutes left. Cries of “Kean Out” could be heard all round Ewood Park after Bolton took a fifth minute lead when, after Rovers failed to clear a corner, David Ngog cut the ball back to Mark Davies whose first-time shot beat Paul Robinson. And a well-worked move saw Bolton, also managed by a Scot in the form of Owen Coyle, double their lead in the 30th minute.

Reo-Coker, making the most of yet more poor defending, burst through the middle and found Martin Petrov on the left. Morten Gamst Pedersen failed to deal with Petrov’s mishit cross but Reo-Coker, despite having his back to goal, was still able to turn and strike a low shot past Robinson. But in the 67th minute Blackburn pulled a goal back when Yakubu, played in by Junior Hoilett, lofted the ball over Bolton goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen. And in the fourth minute of stoppage time Rovers nearly equalized only for defender Christopher Samba to power a header wide of the post.

Bolton are now second-bottom, two points above Rovers but still two shy of safety.—AFP

Wolves crawl out of relegation zone Wolves 2

Norwich 2

WOLVERHAMPTON: Wolverhampton Wanderers equalized twice yesterday to sal-

vage a 2-2 Premier League draw with visiting Norwich at Molineux. Former Wolves midfielder Andrew Surman put Norwich ahead in the 12th minute only for Sylvan Ebanks-Blake, who replaced the axed Kevin Doyle, to level before halftime. Substitute Simon Jackson restored Norwich’s lead with his first touch but Ronald Zubar’s first goal of the campaign with eight minutes left rescued Wolves. The result lifted Wolves one spot to 16th place in the standings, two points above the relegation zone.— AP

Marseille break into top five PARIS: Marseille, France’s only former European champions, broke provisionally into the top five in Ligue 1 yesterday after a 3-1 win at Nancy which closed the gap on leaders Montpellier and Paris Saint Germain to six points. Didier Deschamps’ side, champions in 2010, made a poor start to the season but have since begun to string some form together and this was their sixth win in their past eight league games. Stylish midfielder Mathieu Valbuena gave the 1993 European Cup winners an 18thminute lead with a low drive after an interchange with Loic Remy.

But Nancy, struggling to keep out of the bottom five with only one win in ten home outings, levelled through Reynald Lemaitre, who bundled in from close range eight minutes before the break to rouse the 20,000 crowd at the Stade Marcel-Picot. The home faithful’s hopes were dashed, however, as just four minutes later Cameroon star Stephane Mbia headed home a tailor-made cross from Morgan Amalfitano. Marseille were turning the screw and after having an effort ruled out for offside it fell to Lucho Gonzalez, set up by Valbuena, to complete the win with a near post finish at the death.

Today, Montpellier, Paris Saint-Germain - still reputedly keen on bringing David Beckham to the City of Light for a career swansong - Lille and Lyon will all be out to end the year on top in the final round of fixtures before the winter break. PSG were prevented from returning to the summit after being held to a 0-0 draw by Lille on Sunday, which left them below Montpellier on goal difference while defending champions Lille and Lyon are two points further back. PSG visit Saint Etienne, Montpellier visit Evian, Lille host third-bottom Nice and Lyon are at Valenciennes.—AFP

Madrid hammer Ponferradina 5-1

CAGLIARI: AC Milan’s Brazilian forward Robinho (left) fights for the ball with Cagliari’s Belgian midfielder Radja Nainggolan yesterday during an Italian Serie A football match at Cagliari’s Sant’Elia communal stadium. — AFP

MADRID: Real Madrid brought the curtain down on 2011 by hammering lowly Ponferradina 5-1 at the Bernabeu yesterday to ease into the last 16 of the Copa del Rey. Already two goals up from the first-leg, Madrid coach Jose Mourinho sent out a largely second-string side that added further goals from Jose Callejon and Nuri Sahin in the opening period. For Turkey midfielder Sahin it was a first goal since moving to Madrid from Borussia Dortmund in the summer.

French youngster Raphael Varane and substitute Joselu also got on the scoresheet after the break before Callejon got his second late on.

Acoran Barrera scored a consolation for third-tier Ponferradina, but that was a minor blip for the tournament holders, who progressed 7-1 on aggregate. Elsewhere yesterday, Espanyol completed a 4-2 aggregate victory against secondtier Celta Vigo, while Mallorca overturned a firstleg deficit to beat Primera Liga rivals Sporting Gijon 2-1 on aggregate. The 2010 Cup winners Sevilla were in action yesterday against lowerleague San Roque. Fresh from winning the Club World Cup in Japan, Barcelona defend a 1-0 firstleg lead when they entertain third division side Hospitalet tomorrow.— AFP

Jose Callejon

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LAGOS: International Monetary Fund’s Managing Director Christine Lagarde (center) sits between Nigerian Central Bank Governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi (left) and Nigeria’s Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as they hold a joint press conference after her visit yesterday. — AFP

World economy at a ‘very dangerous juncture’: IMF High jobless rate, slowing growth pose threat LAGOS: IMF chief Christine Lagarde warned that the world economy is at a “ver y dangerous juncture”, when she spoke yesterday of the potential impact of economic crisis on poorer nations during her first visit to Africa as head of the fund.

“Currently the world economy stands at a very dangerous juncture,” Lagarde told a roundtable on Africa’s economic future in the Nigerian city of Lagos.

The International Monetary Fund managing director spoke of a crisis of confidence with high unemployment and slowing global growth. She said the IMF’s revised global growth forecast expected in January looked to be lower than the previous one in September, which was four percent, already down from June’s outlook.

“And what ’s more, there are downside risks on the horizon that are really threatening the recovery process that had started” after the 2008-09 financial crisis, she said.

The IMF has said Europe’s worsening economy and financial market turmoil meant it will revise downwards its predictions of the global

economic growth contained in its World Economic Outlook report published three months ago.

Early this month, the UN also cut its world growth forecast to 2.6 percent in 2012 from four percent in 2010, warning the global economy is “teetering on the brink of a major downturn.”

Lagarde said on Monday during meetings with Nigerian officials that the European debt crisis posed a risk for “all economies of the world.” The euro-zone debt crisis abated slightly yesterday with an agreement on extra funds for the IMF, strong data from Germany and a good bond sale in Spain which boosted stocks and the euro.

But the deal on funds for the IMF, aimed at allowing the crisis lender to come to the aid of European nations caught up in the debt crisis, fell short of targets, with Britain again shunning its neighbors.

Meanwhile, the Fitch ratings agency warned that the EU’s EFSF bailout fund could lose its triple A rating if its main sponsors Germany and France were downgraded.

Lagarde did not comment directly

on the new pledges of funds from European nations for the IMF, nor did she respond to a question on Britain’s stance on the issue.

She said during the roundtable in Lagos that European leaders “have made some very strong decisions,” but added later that “it’s going to boil down to implementation.”

Lagarde spoke of the impact on trade and finance, among other areas, that could cause trouble across the globe. “Those problems seem a world away, but they are not a world away because what we see very clearly is channels of contagion between those advanced economies and the rest of the world,” she said. Lagarde was to leave Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation and the continent’s largest oil producer, later yesterday for the neighboring countr y of Niger.

Niger is one of the world’s poorest countries and heavily dependent on trade with Europe, par ticularly France. Lagarde is expected to also visit South Africa in the coming weeks. — AFP

US holiday shoppers step up buying NEW YORK: After taking breather from a record spending spree, holiday shoppers came out again in force last week. But they’re procrastinating more than last year, meaning that stores will depend even more on a last-minute surge in the final days before Christmas, according to one measure. Sales at stores opened at least a year rose 3.4 percent for the week ended Saturday, compared with the previous week, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers-Goldman Sachs Weekly Chain Store Sales Index, released yesterday. The increase followed two consecutive weekly declines, compared with the previous weeks, as shoppers took a break after a discount-fueled spending spree over the Thanksgiving weekend, the official start of the holiday shopping season. Sales for the recent week rose 4.6 percent compared with a year ago. “Consumers were out in force this past week trying to complete their holiday shopping,” said Michael P. Niemira, chief economist at the International

Council of Shopping Centers.

“However, despite the latest week’s pickup, consumers are still behind in their holiday-gift completion rate relative to last year.” According to a poll of 1,000 shoppers conducted by ICSC and Goldman Sachs, shoppers on average completed 70 percent of their holiday buying as of Sunday.

That compares with 74 percent at the same time a year ago. Moreover, 9 percent of shoppers polled hadn’t even started their holiday buying, up from 6 percent last year.

The weekly index is a sales proxy for 24 major stores, including Target Corp, Costco Wholesale Corp. and Macy’s. —AP

Aramco halting Riyadh refinery KHOBAR: Saudi Aramco plans to partially shut its 120,000 barrels per day (bpd) Riyadh refinery in January for planned maintenance, trading sources said. The crude distillation unit (CDU) will be shut for at least 10 days from Jan. 11, one trading source said. It could remain offline up to 30 days, a second one added. A 30,000 bpd hydrocracker would be down for 30 days from Jan. 6 while a 30,000 bpd catalytic reformer would be brought offline for 23 days from Jan. 6, one of the sources said.

The refinery produces diesel, gasoline and fuel oil for domestic use. “The gasoline and diesel supply will be affected, resulting in more gasoline imports (to the kingdom)” a trader said.

The state energy firm also plans to shut some units at its largest 550,000 bpd Ras Tanura refinery for maintenance in March, sources said last week.

The Ras Tanura refinery alone supplies more than 30 percent of the kingdom’s fuel demand. — Reuters

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business US, EU eye 2012

Denial no longer

By Byron Wien

Dubai’s Drydocks pins debt deal hopes on outside help

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n both sides of the Atlantic, if we continue on our present paths the outcome will not be pleasant. In the US the wakeup call was Congressional Super Committee failure to build a credible plan to reduce the budget deficit by $1.2 trillion over ten years.

In Europe it was the rise in the cost of raising government funds in Italy and Spain, culminating in November with the lack of bids for part of an auction of German debt and a sudden rise in interest rates. It appeared that doing nothing and muddling through were incompatible. The verdict was delivered in European and American stock markets by a resumption of the equity price free fall experienced in August and September.

I question whether we can narrow the budget gap without raising some revenues. Tax revenues have declined from 18% of GDP for most of the past 60 years to 15% now.

Declining revenues account for about 40% of the increase in the budget deficit since 2007. The recession and slow recovery account for some of this shortfall, but tax relief has been an important contributor to the problem. The tax preferences enacted during the last Bush administration expire in 2012. If not extended, important additional revenue would be collected, but the absence of these benefits could severely impact economic growth.

Both parties are saying that the American people will decide which direction the country should move in when they vote for president in November, but the budget issue is likely to be a major campaign topic and should dominate the dialogue in Congress for all of next year.

Congress will have to pass legislation that includes entitlement cuts, revenue increases and measures to reduce unemployment. Such a program will require political parties to compromise. That seems unlikely now based on current partisan hostility, but not implausible. Democratic agreement to extend some of the Bush tax cuts may convince Republicans to agree to revenue increases in other areas of the tax code.

Outside of Washington, the fundamental background for US equity earnings and the economy is positive.

Investors are closely following events in Europe and becoming increasingly anxious. If Europe slips into recession it will have a negative impact on the US economy. European policy makers are facing an impasse over sovereign debt problems as we are in the US over the deficit. Countries unable to meet their obligations, like Greece, Portugal and Italy, believe the ECB should print money, buy their bonds, fund their deficits, keep their governments running as usual and lower interest rates. The ECB and its principal backer, Germany, have been buying debt in the open market in attempt to defer the crisis point from occurring, but troubled countries seem unable or unwilling to implement reforms to get back on track. The trigger point has come in the form of rising interest rates. Greece has long had double-digit rates on its sovereign debt, but this is considered a small factor not to be systematically threatening to all Europe. Spain and Italy are another matter. With 10-year sovereign bonds for those countries approaching or exceeding a 7% yield which is unaffordable over the long run, the crisis is here. Even Germany, whose yields are closer to 2%, had trouble selling all the debt it wanted to bring to market in late November, and economic data in Germany has been softening. Neither the ECB nor Germany want to continue funding economies doing little to improve fiscal circumstances. Italy’s debt is 120% of GDP and is the third largest debtor nation after the US and Japan. Politicians in Italy enjoy high salaries, generous annuities , and 600,000 official cars, compared with 75,000 in the US. The pension system needs reform, the barriers limiting access to professions and trades need removal and tax evasion tackled. Italy will not get major aid until Mario Monti proves he can institute reforms. He is going to have a tough fight with many Berlusconi holdovers in Parliament. I believe a combination of the EU, European Financial Stability Facility, the IMF and the central banks of industrialized countries can provide transitional aid for weaker countries to reform, but help will not be forthcoming until improvements are underway, and popular resistance to the austerity required is expected.

No financial support sought from Dubai govt DUBAI: Drydocks World, a unit of Dubai World, expects to complete its long-delayed debt restructuring by the end of March 2012 and hopes joint ventures in Asia will provide it with much needed finance, its chairman said yesterday.

The shipping firm is looking to extend debt repayments for between five and eight years, Khamis Juma Buamim said. That timeframe would be similar to the restructuring deal reached by parent Dubai World with its creditors last year.

“We are not asking for government support. I’m not saying we don’t need it. There are always other avenues to get support,” Buamim told reporters on the sidelines of an event in Dubai.

The shipbuilding unit of Dubai World is not regarded as a strategic asset by Dubai, meaning it has had to negotiate its own debt solution. It is eyeing joint ventures for its southeast Asia business, Buamim said, which could be sold off later to prospective partners if they proved to be successful.

“We are having a lot of discussion on this. International companies came forward for a joint venture. We are very hopeful,” he said. “The (ship) yards would be owned by us initially but if it’s successful they would want ownership rights.” But he said the company would not want to sell a majority stake in the operations. Buamim said he expected the company’s profits to grow by about 15 percent next year. Drydocks World’s debts stem from a multibillion-dollar loan which it took out to fund its expansion in Singapore. Drydocks has its major ship and rig building facilities in southeast Asian countries such as Singapore and Indonesia. The $2.2 billion facility, taken out in October 2008, comprised a $1.7 billion three-year loan paying 170 basis points and a five-year $500 million loan with a 190 basis points margin, according to Thomson Reuters data. The firm is now hoping to have a restructuring deal in place by the end of March, with debt repayments extended for between five and eight years, Buamim said.

“We are looking at continuing on the interest (payments) we have previously agreed on,” he added. The proposed timeframe would be similar to the $25 billion

restructuring deal reached by parent Dubai World with its creditors, which extended its debt repayments through new five and eight-year facilities with reduced margins.

As part of the agreement, Dubai World got $9.3 billion of new capital from the Dubai authorities to assist its restructuring. Drydocks World’s restructuring has been going on for a number of months. Buamim told Reuters in August that a deal would not be reached this year, having initially targeted April 2011 for the agreement.

Chavan Bhogaita, head of the markets strategy unit at National Bank of Abu Dhabi, said a Drydocks debt deal by March would be positive for the emirate, already under scrutiny over looming high-profile debt maturities in 2012.

Dubai was hit hard by the global financial crisis, which sent property prices slumping by more than 50 percent and forced several state-owned entities to restructure their

Qatar royals, Luxembourg to buy Dexia private bank BRUSSELS: Qatar and Luxembourg are to buy bailed-out Dexia’s private banking arm for 730 million euros ($950 million), less than analysts had estimated, as the Franco-Belgian group is broken up. Qatar’s Al-Thani royal family will acquire 90 percent of Banque Internationale Luxembourg (BIL) via their Precision Capital investment group, Dexia said yesterday.

The deal follows Precision’s agreement in October to buy the private banking business of Dexia’s Belgian rival KBC. Morgan Stanley estimated the value of BIL at 1.0-1.7 billion euros in October, with reports at the time saying the overall price was likely to be around 1 billion euros.

“It (the price) looks a bit low,” KBC Securities analyst Dirk Peeters said yesterday. “But everyone knows that Dexia have to sell. They may have been willing to pay 800 to 900 million euros, but thought they’d put in a lower offer.”

KBC has a ‘reduce’ rating on Dexia shares, with a 0.10 euro price target. Dexia shares were down 3.9 percent at 0.32 euro at 1034 GMT, underperforming a 1 percent rise in the Stoxx 600 banks index. Dexia was bailed out by Belgium, France and Luxembourg in October, with Belgium

nationalizing Dexia’s Belgian banking business.

Luxembourg will buy the remaining 10 percent of BIL, Dexia said yesterday.

Qatar has previously invested in European banks, among them British lender Barclays in an emergency fund-raising three years ago. Dexia BIL’s stakes in Dexia Asset Management Luxembourg and RBC Dexia Investor Services will be sold separately. Its portfolio of legacy securities and stakes in Dexia LDG Banque and Parfipar will be transferred to Dexia.

The BIL sale is a further step towards dismantling Dexia. French state bank Caisse des Depots and La Banque Postale, France’s post office bank, are to take stakes in French financing arm, Dexia Municipal Finance. Dexia also has to dispose of its 50 percent stake in a joint venture with Royal Bank of Canada, RBC Dexia Investor Services, as well as Dexia Asset Management and its fastgrowing Turkish operation, DenizBank.

The group has secured temporary financing guarantees from Belgium, France and Luxembourg of 45 billion euros to cover its borrowings for six months, but has still to secure such guarantees for the longer term. — Reuters

debts. “Investors may also be looking to the Drydocks situation as a barometer by which to gauge the banks’ willingness to cooperate with Dubai Inc entities...,” Bhogaita said.

Negotiations have been complicated by the presence of hedge funds in the Drydocks negotiating group, with one New York-based distressed debt investor, Monarch Alternative Capital LP, launching legal action in a London court seeking claims of $45.5 million in October.

Buamim said Monarch is asking for a summary judgement in the case.

Talks with syndicate banks are also ongoing to secure a working capital facility, Buamim said. Drydocks agreed a $200 million credit facility with banks in January.

Bookrunners on the original 15-lender syndicate were BNP Paribas, HSBC Mashreq, Standard Chartered and Lloyds TSB Bank among others. — Reuters

Oman telecom firms to get new spectrum DUBAI: Oman Telecommunications Co (Omantel) and rival operator Nawras are in talks with the Gulf Arab state’s regulator to be assigned coveted lower-frequency spectrum to aid surging demand for mobile data. Lower frequencies, which travel faster, penetrate better and are more cost-effective, are usually held by the military and the government defense establishment.

Without new spectrum allocations, Nawras and Omantel, which have seen their mobile data subscriber base nearly double in the year to September, would need to build more towers or raise data tariffs and cut bundle sizes to slow demand. “The lower frequencies are more hardy, they travel further and go inside buildings more easily,” Ross Cormack, chief executive of Nawras, a unit of Qatar Telecom (Qtel), told Reuters. “Higher frequencies penetrate buildings much less well.

“You don’t mind if you’re in Hong Kong or a place where you’ve got a huge number of people in a tiny area because you will have a lot of base stations anyway, but in our country you have a challenge. You have to build more base stations to reach people and to provide in-building coverage.” Oman, the second-largest country in the Gulf after Saudi Arabia and slightly bigger than Italy, has one of the lowest population densities globally at about nine people per square kilometre.

This compares with 99 for neighboring United Arab Emirates and 1,646 for tiny island kingdom Bahrain.“With lower frequencies, you can get to more people with just one base station,” said Cormack. “That’s even more important in a country where people have built thick-walled properties with small windows to protect from the heat.” —Reuters

EXCHANGE RATES Commercial Bank of Kuwait US Dollar/KD GB Pound/KD Euro Swiss francs Canadian Dollar Australian DLR Indian rupees Sri Lanka Rupee UAE dirhams Bahraini dinars Jordanian dinar Saudi riyals Omani riyals Philippine peso Egyptian pounds

.2730000 .4320000 .3600000 .2950000 .2660000 .2750000 .0040000 .0020000 .0753770 .7343730 .3810000 .0710000 .7199210 .0040000 .0430000

CUSTOMER TRANSFER RATES US Dollar/KD .2769000 GB Pound/KD .4327810 Euro .3621850 Swiss francs .2974060 Canadian dollars .2681580 Danish Kroner .0487210 Swedish Kroner .0403800 Australian dlr .2767060 Hong Kong dlr .0355710 Singapore dlr .2121510 Japanese yen .0035500 Indian Rs/KD .0000000 Sri Lanka rupee .0000000 Pakistan rupee .0000000 Bangladesh taka .0000000 UAE dirhams .0754190 Bahraini dinars .7347750 Jordanian dinar .0000000 Saudi Riyal/KD .0738600 Omani riyals .7195010 Philippine Peso .0000000

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

ASIAN COUNTRIES 3.598 5.337 3.154 2.436 3.341 213.250 35.672 3.580 6.336 8.873 0.271 0.273

.2815000 .4420000 .3700000 .3080000 .2770000 .2850000 .0070000 .0035000 .0761340 .7417540 .4020000 .0770000 .7271560 .0072000 .0520000 .2805000 .4384070 .3668940 .3012730 .2716440 .0493540 .0409050 .2803040 .0360340 .2149100 .0035960 .0053280 .0024700 .0031320 .0034840 .0763990 .7443280 .3967470 .0748200 .7288550 .0064410

Saudi Riyal Qatari Riyal Omani Riyal Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham

CC COUNTRIES 74.150 76.402 722.230 738.540 75.715

ARAB COUNTRIES Egyptian Pound - Cash 47.500 Egyptian Pound - Transfer 46.282 Yemen Riyal/for 1000 1.272 Tunisian Dinar 189.860 Jordanian Dinar 392.670 Lebanese Lira/for 1000 1.865 Syrian Lier 6.003 Morocco Dirham 33.814 EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIES US Dollar Transfer 277.950 Euro 370.650 Sterling Pound 431.930 Canadian dollar 268.420 Turkish lire 153.940 Swiss Franc 300.620 Australian dollar 277.000 US Dollar Buying 277.750 GOLD 315.500 159.000 81.500

20 Gram 10 Gram 5 Gram

Australian dollar Bahraini dinar Bangladeshi taka Canadian dollar Cyprus pound Czek koruna Danish krone Deutsche Mark Egyptian pound Euro Cash Hongkong dollar Indian rupees Indonesia Iranian tuman Iraqi dinar Japanese yen Jordanian dinar Lebanese pound Malaysian ringgit Morocco dirham Nepalese Rupees New Zealand dollar Nigeria Norwegian krone Omani Riyal

SELL CASH

280.500 741.730 3.880 272.400 548.000 43.800 49.800 167.800 48.090 367.000 36.540 5.650 0.032 0.212 0.242 3.680 396.090 0.189 90.090 46.600 4.290 215.300 1.807 47.900 724.450

3.310 6.750 77.150 74.470 214.960 35.960 2.657 437.000 41.300 301.000 5.100 9.330 198.263 76.040 279.300 1.330

10 Tola

GOLD 1,672.920

SELL DRAFT

279.000 741.730 3.457 270.900

215.000 46.334 365.500 36.390 5.265 0.031

724.270

299.500 5.100 9.110 75.940 278.900

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

Sterling Pound US Dollar

Dollarco Exchange Co. Ltd Selling Rate

US Dollar Canadian Dollar Sterling Pound Euro Swiss Frank Bahrain Dinar UAE Dirhams Qatari Riyals Saudi Riyals Jordanian Dinar Egyptian Pound Sri Lankan Rupees Indian Rupees Pakistani Rupees Bangladesh Taka Philippines Pesso Cyprus pound Japanese Yen Thai Bhat Syrian Pound

278.950 273.160 433.935 365.820 297.605 738.695 75.925 76.570 74.345 392.660 46.390 2.446 5.299 3.121 3.462 6.351 684.255 3.670 8.980 5.875

Australian Dollar Canadian Dollar Swiss Franc Euro

Rate per 1000 (Tran)

US Dollar Pak Rupees Indian Rupees Sri Lankan Rupees Bangladesh Taka Philippines Peso UAE Dirhams Saudi Riyals Bahraini Dinars Egyptian Pounds Pound Sterling Indonesian Rupiah Yemeni Riyal Jordanian Dinars Syrian Pounds Euro Canadian Dollars Nepali rupee

Currency

Transfer Rate (Per 1000)

281.40 273.00 302.12 365.82

437.00 3.70 3.820 5.600 2.650 4.000 3.310 76.35 741.00 48.10 395.00 725.00 77.20 74.95

278.850 3.105 5.260 2.455 3.475 6.385 76.010 74.505 741.200 46.395 438.200 3.190 1.550 396.100 5.750 368.400 273.300 3.690

Al Mulla Exchange

UAE Exchange Center WLL Currency

435.65 3.63 3.461 5.250 2.448 3.302 3.106 75.90 741.73 46.31 396.71 724.71 76.89 74.46

Kuwait Bahrain Intl Exchange Co. Currency

395.210 0.188 90.090 3.310 213.800

3.115 6.350 76.720 74.470 214.980 36.960 2.447 435.000

TRAVELLER’S CHEQUE 434.000 278.900

Rate for Transfer

Bahrain Exchange Company COUNTRY

Pakistani rupees Philippine peso Qatari riyal Saudi riyal Singapore dollar South Africa Sri Lankan rupees Sterling pound Swedish krona Swiss franc Syrian pound Thai bhat Tunisian dollar UAE dirham U.S. dollars Yemeni Riyal

286.00 276.00 305.00 371.50

Transfer Rate (Per 1000)

Euro 365.300 Pound Sterling 434.800 Canadian Dollar 270.700 Japanese Yen 3.580 Indian Rupee 5.262 Egyptian Pound 46.295 Sri Lankan Rupee 2.444 Bangladesh Taka 3.425 Philippines Peso 6.340 Pakistan Rupee 3.105 Bahraini Dinar 741.650 UAE Dirham 75.900 Saudi Riyal 74.400 *Rates are subject to change

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Saudi, Qatar bourses come under pressure KAMCO MARKET REPORT KUWAIT: In a month that was cut short to 17 trading sessions due to the long Eid Al-Adha holidays, the Tadawul All Share Index (TASI) witnessed its index buck its previous month’s positive trend and shed 119.74 points or 1.92 per cent to close the month at 6,104.56. Lack of local market catalysts had investors tracking global events, which thereby dictated the course of trade during the month. Although the Kingdom’s economy is supported by strong fundamentals and amply liquidity, there are growing fears that another global economic recession brought about by the EU zone debt crisis would slow down the fiscal stimulus pace in the region. Greece calling for an abrupt referendum on the EU bailout deal put together in October, increased speculations that the ongoing crisis in Europe would endanger the global economy coupled with Moody’s Investor Ser vice’s announcement that Banks in 15 European nations (including the largest lenders in France, Italy and Spain) may have their subordinated debt ratings cut to reflect the potential removal of government support and that the problems stemming from the EU debt crisis may lead multiple countries to default on their debts or exit the euro, weighed on investor sentiments and shaped the performance of the market during November. Losses incurred during the month led the TASI to extend its YTD-11 losses to 7.80 per cent from a loss of 5.99 per cent in October.

The Petrochemical sector witnessed its market cap shed 3.7 per cent to SAR 453.1 bn mainly on the back of concerns that increased volatility in oil prices coupled with the debt crisis lingering in Europe would disrupt the global economic recovery and thereby impact the sector’s future profitability.

Saudi Banking Sector In November, TADAWUL market capitalization dropped nearly 2.3 per cent to SAR 1.21 trillion ($322.6bn) as compared to SAR 1.24 trillion ($330.1 bn) recorded in October-11.The market heavyweight Banking sector, which represents nearly 25 per cent of the aggregate market cap,

witnessed its market cap shed 2.7 per cent to SAR 299.8 bn ($80bn) from SAR 308.2bn ($82.2bn) a month earlier as the prevailing uncertainty brought about by the protracted European debt crisis and weak global economy weighed on investor sentiments. During the month, international rating agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) rated Saudi Arabia’s banking system as one of the safest in the world, moving the Kingdom’s Banking

GDP is projected to record its highest growth rate in eight years as a result of a robust oil prices along with a surge in oil production and public spending. The fiscal surplus is expected to widen in 2011 despite a massive rise in spending by the government, buoyed by high oil prices and production as well as a sharp increase in the country’s foreign assets. The oil sector is expected to have expanded at an exceptional rate so far this

Industry Country Risk Assessment (BICRA) to Group “2” from Group “3”, making it the lowestrisk banking sector in the Middle East. The ratings agency also assigned an economic risk score of “3” for the Kingdom, reflecting its view that there is “Intermediate risk” in economic resilience, “Low risk” in economic imbalances, and “Intermediate risk” in credit risk.

year, mainly on the back of an increase in crude oil production which had been ramped up in response to the shortage brought about by Libya due to its political crisis. Average crude oil production was running at 9.2 mln bpd in the first nine months of 2011, around 12 per cent higher than the corresponding period of 2010.

Economic Outlook On the economic front, Saudi Arabia’s real

Inflation Saudi Arabia’s annual inflation eased to 5.2 per cent in October as compared to 5.3 per

cent in September. On a month-on-month basis, inflation slowed to 0.5 per cent in Oct-11 from 0.9 per cent in Sept-11. SAMA expects inflationary pressures to continue during Q411 due to surging global food prices.

Qatar exchange review Lack of market catalysts coupled with the sell-offs in international and regional markets led the QE 20 index to buck its previous month positive trend to drop 0.03 per cent to record 8,594.86. Global equity markets continued their slump in November as the European debt crisis reinforced investor fears of a possible recession. The QE 20 Index moved sideways during the month as the bourse alternated between fears of a worsening global economic situation and optimism of a strong economy that is supported by strong fundamentals and ample liquidity. During November, the aggregate market capitalization dropped 0.15 per cent to QAR 449.7 bn compared to QAR 450.4 bn at the end of the previous month.

The Banking & Finance sector rose 0.54 per cent to QAR 185.8 bn at the end of Nov-11 as compared to the previous month. The sector continued to trudge in positive territory over upbeat investor sentiments.

Amidst lingering global and regional concerns, the banking sector has remained wellcapitalized and profitable, with comfortable asset quality. Going forward, credit growth is expected to remain strong driven mainly by increased spending by the government in infrastructure projects which may accelerate working capital requirements and project term financing requirements. Trading ac tivit y d e c re a s e d d ur i ng t he m ont h a s vol um e dropped 11.8 per cent to 120.5 mn shares while value fell 25.2 per cent to QAR 4.1 bn. On year-to- date, the QE 20 Index has outperformed its peers in the GCC region by recording a marginal loss of 1.03 per cent as compared to the double digit declines incurred by a majority of its counterparts.

Businesses, consumers upbeat in Germany Euro-zone woes fail to dampen year-end sentiment

PALO ALTO: Construction worker Will Capper works on a new house in Palo Alto, California. A surge in apartment construction gave builders more work in November. But 2011 is still shaping up to be one of the worst years in history for homebuilders. —AP

Asia markets mixed as N Korea fears ease HONG KONG: Asian markets were mixed yesterday as initial concerns about regional tensions after the death of North Korea’s Kim Jong-Il subsided, although European debt woes continued to drag on sentiment. With attention turning to the leadership succession in Pyongyang, markets were relieved that there seemed to be no internal turmoil in the nuclear-armed state, providing dealers an opportunity to pick up cheap stocks. Seoul, which tumbled 3.4 percent on Monday, rebounded yesterday to end 0.91 percent higher, adding 16.13 points, to 1,793.06. Tokyo rose 0.49 percent, or 40.36 points, to 8,336.48 and Hong Kong ended 0.06 percent, or 9.99 points, higher at 18,080.20.

However, Sydney slipped in late trade and ended 0.18 percent, or 7.3 percent, lower at 4,053.1, while Shanghai shed 0.10 percent, or 2.31 points, to 2,215.93. Regional markets tumbled Monday after news Kim had died, throwing into uncertainty the future of the isolated communist state, which for years has raised regional tensions with its erratic behavior and nuclear capability.

However, analysts said that with his son Kim Jong-Un hailed in state media as the “great successor” there seemed to be some stability and likely a minimal impact on financial markets.

But in the medium-to-longer term, geopolitical risks will remain until the succession process is completed. “If internal disputes erupt in North Korea, there may be some impac t on stocks, but under current circumstances further selloffs are unlikely,” Yumi Nishimura, senior market analyst at Daiwa Securities, told Dow Jones Newswires.

“Uncertainty over the European situation remains, which should weigh on stocks,” Nishimura said. With the threat of a possible downgrade hanging over the euro-zone, the currency bloc’s debt crisis continues to plague markets. Standard & Poor ’s is still to make a decision on whether to cut the ratings for 15 of the euro area’s members, including Germany

and France, after it put them on watch before a crucial summit earlier this month.

With most analysts regarding the summit’s agreement inadequate to solve a credit crunch, there are concerns S&P will announce a downgrade, making borrowing even harder and unleashing grim prospects for the euro-zone.

On Friday, Moody’s cut Belgium’s credit rating by two notches, while Fitch lowered its outlook on France’s triple-A rating to negative from stable and put six other nations on downgrade watch.

Adding to nervousness was news that plans for a 200 billion euro ($260 billion) boost to International Monetary Fund coffers to help troubled economies also fell short, with only euro members so far putting in and non-members, including Britain, refusing to take part. Eurozone chief Jean-Claude Juncker said after a three-and-a-half-hour conference call between finance ministers that just 150 billion euros had been pledged.

The refusal by Mario Draghi, head of European Central Bank, to buy even more bonds-effectively printing money so that governments can pay their debts-has also weighed. The ECB insists it is up to governments to put their financial house in order and not for the bank to help them out with a course of action that could easily stoke inflation.

The European Union treaty “forbids monetary financing of states” by the ECB, Draghi insisted. The euro stood at $1.3038 in Europe yesterday, up from $1.2996 in New York Monday, and at 101.53 yen, from 101.37 yen. The dollar was at 77.88 yen, slightly lower from 78.02. The South Korean won, which slumped to almost 1,200 against the dollar following the news of Kim’s death, sat at 1,161.20. On oil markets, New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in January, gained $1.16 cents to $95.04 a barrel. Brent North Sea crude for February was up $1.21 cents to $104.85. Gold was trading at $1,604.25 an ounce at 1025 GMT, against $1,594.85 an ounce late Monday.—AFP

BERLIN: German business and consumer confidence ended 2011 on a high note despite ongoing fears about the European economy, two closely watched surveys showed yesterday. The Ifo Institute’s monthly index of business confidence increased to 107.2 points from 106.6, as participants’ assessment of their current situation remained unchanged but expectations for the next six months rose.

“Overall, latest Ifo data give ground for optimism that the German economy will weather the ongoing negative influence from euro-zone debt crisis developments and the general worsening of prospects for external demand from the rest of Europe fairly well,” said Timo Klein, an economist with IHS Global Insight.

Economists had been predicting a drop to 106 amid weakness in the global economy and serious concerns about the financial future of several euro-zone countries.

“The German economy seems to be successfully countering the downturn in Western Europe,” said Ifo president Hans-Werner Sinn.

“This bodes well for Christmas.” Consumer confidence also proved resilient, according to the GfK research institute’s forward-looking indicator for Januar y. It remained unchanged from December’s 5.6 points as people were optimistic “despite rising economic risks and further escalation of the debt crisis.”

There were mixed messages from the survey,

however, as German income and economic expectations both rose but consumers’ willingness to buy dropped significantly, GfK said.

“Willingness to buy did not benefit from the improvement in economic and income expectations...” Gfk said, noting that it still remained at a “comparatively high level.” GfK said its survey of 2,000 consumers was almost complete before the most recent EU summit in Brussels and that it is unclear whether the inclination to hold back on purchases may now be resolved with the broad agreement reached there.

But it also said that while economic expectations are “defying the rising fears of recession,” that might change as the debt crisis hurts German exports. “With most German companies operating at above average capacity, the labor market is very robust and unemployment figures continue to fall,” GfK said. “Whether this trend can be sustained remains to be seen - the European debt crisis is increasingly likely to become a problem for Germany’s export economy.” Dutch consumer confidence, by contrast, fell sharply in December to below the deepest lows of 2008 and 2009, according to a new report yesterday. The differing outlook is unusual, given the two economies’ close trade links and common view on economic policy, as the Dutch government has consistently backed German policies throughout the crisis.

The country’s Central Bureau for Statistics

pointed to worries over the Dutch housing market, wage stagnation, and forecasts for a mild recession in the Netherlands in 2012 as key differences. Ifo, which surveyed approximately 7,000 German businesses, said that their assessment of their current situation remained unchanged for the third month in a row, while expectations for the next six months ticked up for the third month in a row. Earlier this month, Ifo lowered its forecast for German growth for 2012 to 0.4 percent because of the financial turmoil and a cooling global economy.

The government’s independent economic advisers last month predicted that output would expand by 0.9 percent in 2012. Both forecast growth of 3 percent this year. Another German think tank, the IfW institute, on Tuesday lowered its 2012 growth projection from 0.8 percent to 0.5 percent, while Essen’s RWI institute lowered its forecast from 1 percent to 0.6 percent.

Carsten Brzeski, an economist with ING Global Research said that while it is clear that the German economy is cooling, the Ifo results indicate it is “heading towards a soft patch but not falling off the cliff.”

“The length of the soft patch will to a large extent be determined by the management of the debt crisis,” he said. “The German economy should remain the stronghold of the euro-zone.

It is faltering, but not falling.” Toby Sterling in Amsterdam contributed to this report. — AP

Australia warns of ‘sharp’ European downturn

LONDON: A general view shows posters and tents forming part of the Occupy London Stock Exchange (LSX) protest camp outside St Paul’s Cathedral in central London yesterday. — AFP

Al Rajhi Steel picks BNP for $3bn project float DUBAI: Saudi Arabia’s Al Rajhi Steel has appointed BNP Paribas as the financial adviser for an initial public offering of its $3 billion steel project north of Jeddah, Middle East Economic Digest said yesterday.

The timing of the IPO on the Saudi stock exchange is still unclear, London-based MEED said, but the shares are likely to be priced at 10 riyals ($2.67) each, equivalent to par value in the kingdom. The new steel complex is situated in King Abdullah Economic City is one of six purpose-built communities which are aimed at attracting investment and add development to the country.

At least one local bank is likely to be appointed to a lead manager role at a future date, one banker told Reuters, to provide the necessary infrastructure required to market an IPO in Saudi Arabia’s retail investor-dominated equity markets. —Reuters

SYDNEY: Australia’s central bank yesterday said there was a “non-trivial” possibility of a severe contraction in the euro-zone economy, leaving the door open for further interest rate cuts in 2012. The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) said downside risks to the global economy from Europe’s sovereign debt woes had increased of late “though the timing and magnitude of any effects... remained very difficult to predict”.

“The news on Europe had been notably weaker and it remained unclear as to how the current situation would be resolved,” the RBA said in the minutes of its December 6 policy meeting. “It seemed highly likely that the sovereign credit and banking problems would weigh heavily on economic activity there over the period ahead, and there was a non-trivial possibility of a very sharp contraction.”

The RBA cut the official interest rate by 25 basis points for a second consecutive month to 4.25 percent in December, and the meeting’s minutes, published Tuesday, showed European jitters were its main concern. Board members saw it as a situation with few easy answers and an outcome that remained “very difficult to judge.” “If recent efforts were successful in moving towards a solution, confidence should improve,” the bank said. “On the other hand, a much worse outcome was possible, involving a severe

contraction in the European economy, which would have global effects notwithstanding the capacity of the authorities in Asia to apply more stimulatory policies.” Though the strains in Europe had been somewhat offset by more positive data out of the United States, the RBA said Asia’s growth had slowed, noting that central banks in China and Brazil were cutting their interest rates.

Commodity prices had also eased from peaks seen earlier in the year, leading inflation to moderate in a number of key economies.

Domestically, there were signs of solid expansion both within and outside the key mining sector but confidence was muted and the bank said it seemed prudent to offer a “modest reduction” in rates to stimulate activity. The Australian dollar rose to 99.30 US cents from 99.15 ahead of the minutes on the bank’s strong endorsement of the local economy, but analysts said its cautious tone indicated that further cuts could be on the cards.

“The comment that credit conditions had tightened in Australia and that companies remain cautious about increasing hiring shows the bank is very focused on what’s happening in Europe and the impact on the economy and banking sector,” said Macquarie analyst Brian Redican.—AFP

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KSE equities advance GLOBAL DAILY MARKET REPORT KUWAIT: Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) ended yesterday’s session on a higher note and the advance was broad-based with five out of eight sectors ending in positive territory. All major indices posted last minute gains after moving sideways most of trading hours.

Investor sentiments cheered up after GCC leaders discussed a number of political and economic topics in 32nd Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit.

Global General Index (GGI) ended the day up by 0.36 percent, at 179.81 point. Market capitalization was up for the day, reaching KD29.39bn. On the other hand, KSE Price Index closed at 5,822.8 point, adding 10 points (0.17 percent) to its previous close.

Market Breadth During the session, 107 companies were traded. Market breadth was skewed towards advancers as 40 equities advanced versus 26 that retreated. Trading activity was mixed yesterday. Total volume traded was up by 0.12 percent with 115.23mn shares changing hands at a total value of KD13.26mn (10.11 percent lower compared to Monday’s session). Real Estate sector was the volume leader. The sector accounted for 38 percent of total shares exchanges. Buying interest was clearly witnessed on shares of Abyaar Real Estate Development Company with 21.52mn shares exchanged. The services sector was the value leader, having 27.26 percent of total traded value.

In terms of top gainers, Kuwait Business Town Real Estate Company was the top gainer for the day, adding 11.90 percent to its share value and closing at KD0.024. It’s worth mentioning that Kuwait Stock Exchange

decided to resume trading in the company ’s shares, effective December 20, 2011, after the latter held its AGM. On the other hand, United Gulf Bank shed 4.95 percent and closed at KD0.192 making it the biggest decliner in the market.

Sectors On a sector-by-sector basis, five out of the eight sectors inched higher during the day.

Industrial stocks spearheaded advancers, with the sector index adding 0.76 percent. Kuwait Cement Company closed up by 2 percent at KD0.510. While Kuwait Metal Pipe Industries & Oil Services Company was the biggest gainer in the sector, adding 7.46 percent to close at KD0.144. Global Insurance Index registered an increase of 0.58 percent during the day. The Index

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2011

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have witnessed a positive performance since December 13, 2011 registering a monthly increase of 2.43 percent so far.

Warba Insurance Company was the sole gainer in the sector, and registered a 8.06 percent gain, closing at KD0.134.

Heavyweight, Global Banking Index was also a notable gainer, registering 0.53 percent increase on the back of the gains registered in National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) stock which increased by 1.79 percent to close at KD1.140 and Kuwait Finance House stock which increased by 1.14 percent to close at KD0.890. On the other hand, Global Non-Kuwaiti Index witnessed the steepest decline of 0.90 percent on the back of the retreat registered in both United Gulf Bank and Gulf Finance House by 4.95 percent and 2.35 percent, respectively.

Corporate news Contracting and Marine Services Company (CMS) rebutted on the local press news published on the company’s forecasts of strong financial results for FY2011, adding that it did not deliver any profit outlook or plans for future projects. A first-hand source had told Al-Dar newspaper that the KSE-listed company has a threeyear backlog of operations locally and overseas, declining to give further details. It added that CMS will focus on the Libyan oil market over the coming period, pending political stability there.

Oil News Price of Kuwaiti crude oil dropped $0.88 to $101.89pb on Monday compared to $102.77pb last Friday, Kuwait Petroleum Corporation said in a statement yesterday.

Oil boosted by supply worries, better data LONDON: Threats to supply in Iran and Kazakhstan and stronger economic data lifted oil by over $1 yesterday, outweighing rumbling concerns on the euro-zone.

Brent crude was $1.46 higher at $105.10 a barrel by 1004 GMT. However it is still down 5 percent this month. US crude was up $1.20 at $95.08 a barrel.

Hundreds of oil workers held a third day of protests in the capital of Kazakhstan’s western oil-producing region on Monday after at least 15 people were killed in the state’s deadliest riots in decades. The country’s crude production is estimated at around 1.6 million barrels per day, similar to Libya’s before its civil war.

There were renewed concerns over supplies from Iran, after the OPEC member said crude production had dropped due to lack of investment in oil fields as the country faces the West’s toughest ever sanctions over its nuclear program. “Iranian risk is still on the bullish side, and it depends how (Kazakhstan) develops, it could have an impact on supply and add to other issues,” said Olivier Jakob, analyst at Petromatrix in Zug, Switzerland.

The Islamic Republic is also struggling with crude sales with top buyer China slashing volumes by about half for January of typical imports as the two haggle over terms. “It appears increasingly likely that Iran may need to turn to floating storage-effectively

reducing its near-term crude supply-as it has at times in the past when it has had difficulty placing crude,” JPMorgan analysts said in a report.

“Iran followed Saudi Arabia’s lead in raising OSPs to record levels for January loadings, and given potential payment and political difficulties associated with purchasing Iranian crude, it is unsurprising that some buyers are searching for alternatives.”

Market participants were also watching developments in OPEC producer Iraq after the departure of U.S. forces. Iraq issued an arrest warrant for Sunni Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi, after the government obtained confessions linking him to what the official called terrorist activities.

Gains were capped by ongoing concerns that the euro zone debt crisis could tip the global economy into a recession. A plan to boost crisis funds parked with the IMF failed to reach a $200 billion hoped-for target.

However data from Germany showing rising business sentiment followed fresh signs of US economic growth accelerating with data on Monday pointing to a potential recovery in the beleaguered US housing market next year.

Ahead of weekly inventory reports, US crude stocks were expected to have fallen last week, with distillate stockpiles slightly lower and gasoline stockpiles up, a Reuters survey of analysts showed. — Reuters

NCC awarded major cleaning contracts

By A Saleh KUWAIT: Kuwait Stock Exchange announced yesterday that the National Cleaning Company has won a five-year tender offer by the Municipality of Kuwait to provide cleaning services. While the

company has been awarded the contract worth of KD17.55 million on behalf of the company, KD31.99 million worth of contract has been awarded on behalf of the company’s fully owned subsidiaries, the KSE website said. The company also said it is back on trading on the bourse.

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10 years after default, Argentina emerges from crisis BUENOS AIRES: Ten years after declaring the biggest debt default ever, Argentina has emerged from the crisis by rejecting the austerity measures now being put in place to shore up the euro-zone.

It was a period of tremendous upheaval for the key South American country, which saw five presidents in two weeks, 33 dead, thousands of people pouring into the streets in fiery protests, hundreds of children scouring through trash for food and unbridled vandalism.

“What did we do? We said that the dead do not pay their debts and that, in order to honor them, we had to first renew growth,” President Cristina Kirchner said last week as she called the European debt crisis a “reflection of Argentina in 2001.” Her late husband and predecessor Nestor Kirchner, president from 2003-2007, boosted consumer confidence by encouraging reduced borrowing rates and making more subsidies available.

And the policy worked. Since 2003 the country ’s average economic growth has been around 9.0 percent, with the exception of 2009 when the economy contracted 0.9 percent in the midst of an international crisis.

Consumption is booming and unemployment has stabilized at around 7.0 percent. “The European crisis is similar to Argentina’s crisis,” said Belen Olaiz

of the Abeceb economic analysis institute. “ The austerity measures and deflation showed no positive results,” she told AFP. But International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde has rejected the comparison, noting that those European countries that are now underwater have the support of their European partners.

Just as euro-zone countries are struggling today to save their monetary union, Argentina first tried to keep its peso pegged to the dollar, as required by law. It agreed to an IMF austerity plan and faced a long recession and rising unemployment.

But on December 1, 2001, a freeze on all deposits aimed at halting a run on the banks and shoring up financial institutions triggered the country’s biggest economic and social crisis.

It was a desperate measure taken after $22 billion was withdrawn from Argentine banks in just three months.

It also marked the end of the dollarpeso parity, with the Argentine currency being devalued by some 70 percent. Four days later the IMF refused a $1.26 billion loan to Argentina, meaning the country could no longer meet its obligations. On December 23, the government declared the biggest debt default in history, $100 billion.

It then took the extraordinary step of refusing to negotiate with creditors, instead imposing its own conditions.

Britain to shake up bus market, rail fares jump LONDON: Britain’s competition regulator yesterday outlined measures to boost competition in the bus industry, making it easier for new entrants to gain a foothold and preventing existing operators from staking out territory or undermining rivals.

The Competition Commission said its proposals, which include reforms to ticketing and ensuring fair access to bus stations, represented the biggest change in the industry since it was deregulated 25 years ago. Its plans, designed to ensure a better service and more competitive fares for travellers, were outlined in a final report from the watchdog and came as rail operators published details of the big price rises facing commuters next year.

“In many areas bus operators face little or no competition, leading to passengers facing less frequent services and, in some cases, higher fares than where there is some form of rivalry,” the watchdog said.

There were 1,245 bus companies in England, Scotland and Wales carrying 2.9 billion passengers a year, it said, but 70 percent of the journeys were with Arriva, FirstGroup , Go-Ahead, National Express and Stagecoach.

Analysts said there were few surprises in the recommendations, and shares in the major operators were little changed on Tuesday morning.

The best way to tackle the problem was to encourage increased competition, the commission said.

Measures to prevent operators from

destabilising smaller rivals would include restrictions on increasing frequencies, or “over bussing”, in the short term to damage competing services, and a higher level of scrutiny on mergers.

The proposals, if effective, could come as relief to Britons who have seen motoring costs soar and who face higher rail fares in the New Year.

The Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) said tickets would rise by an average of 5.9 percent in January, just below the 6 percent cap set by the government.

Around half of all fare increases are determined by the inflation rate in July plus one percent.

The government had proposed hiking fares by inflation plus three percent to increase rail funding by those that use services, but finance minister George Osborne said in November he would not be implementing the change. ATOC’s chief executive Michael Roberts said money raised by fares helped pay for new trains, faster services and better stations.

“The long-standing government approach to sustaining rail investment is to cut the contribution from taxpayers and increase the share paid for by passengers,” he said. National Express, which operates buses and trains, also yesterday said trading remained strong across all of its divisions and predicted it would deliver “significant earnings growth” at its non-rail businesses in 2012. —Reuters

IMF chief warns Nigeria over Europe debt crisis LAGOS: The head of the International Monetary Fund is warning that Nigeria could be affected by Europe’s escalating debt crisis. IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde says Africa’s most populous nation could be impacted because of its high volume of global trade and foreign investment.

She advised officials to keep reserves and build their resistance to shocks, and

pointed to the country ’s success in weathering previous global crises.

Lagarde delivered the warning Monday in Nigeria’s capital, ahead of a Tuesday meeting in the commercial capital of Lagos. Yesterday, she said the IMF wants to give more technical help to support growth to create jobs in Africa. Lagarde’s trip also will take her to neighboring Niger. — AP

By restructuring its debt, Argentina was thus able to secure a 75 percent reduction. Talks have since dragged on for years to reach a deal with the Paris

“This model was possible because the world changed radically,” said Marina Dal Poggetto of Bein & Associates. “Prices for raw materials

BUENOS AIRES: Photographs taken by photojournalists during the riots of December 2001 caused by the Argentine economic crisis of that year, are displayed in front of the Congress in Buenos Aires yesterday. — AFP Club on a plan to repay the $6-8 billion Argentina still owes to creditor nations. Yet this approach, the flipside of the one now underway in the eurozone, would not succeed in struggling European countries like Greece.

like soy have quadrupled, the dollar has weakened and interest rates have remained low.” The significant growth rate is powered by high global prices for natural resources and soy beans, of which Argentina is one of the world’s

biggest exporters. The price of a ton of soy is currently over $500, more than double what it was in 2001 when president Fernando de la Rua was forced from office amid a financial crisis and riots over austerity measures. But the Kirchner model also has its Achilles heel-a 35 percent annual increase in public spending and an inflation rate of between 25 and 30 percent this year, according to economists. And Argentina has become a pariah on world markets now forced to finance itself from different national sources, like nationalized private pension funds, social security and the central bank. Furthermore, Kirchner is facing a currency crisis amid concerns over capital flight, lower currency reserves and a race for the dollar.

Her government has created a new Office of Financial Investigation in a bid to slow an outflow of capital that has put a dent in the country’s foreign reserves. Economists estimate capital flight has neared $68 billion over the past four years, including $22 billion this year alone, prompting the government to implement strict new exchange controls to try to stem the flow. Kirchner’s October 23 reelection with 54 percent support did not, however, bring more consumer confidence. Instead, Argentines increased their purchases of dollars to protect their assets. — AFP

AT&T drops $39bn bid to purchase T-Mobile No 3 operator Sprint says ‘duopoly’ averted LOS ANGELES: AT&T Inc is hanging up on its $39 billion bid to buy smaller wireless provider T-Mobile USA, nearly four months after the US government raised concerns that it would raise prices, reduce innovation and give customers fewer choices.

The long-expected announcement left AT&T grumbling about a shortage of airwaves to expand its services, while scrappy competitor TMobile remains up for sale by German parent Deutsche Telekom. The formal end of the deal was heralded by critics. No 3 carrier Sprint Nextel Corp had feared “an undeniable duopoly” between the proposed new entity and current leader Verizon Wireless. The two companies would have controlled almost 80 percent of the cellphone market had the deal gone through.

“This result is a victory for the millions of Americans who use mobile wireless telecommunications services,” Deputy U.S. Attorney General James Cole said. “A significant competitor remains in the marketplace and consumers will benefit from a quick resolution.”

The Justice Department had sued on Aug. 31 to block the merger, and the Federal Communications Commission’s chairman came out against it last month. That prompted the companies to withdraw their FCC application while they strategized their next move.

Sanford Bernstein analyst Craig Moffett said the announcement was “a bit of an anticlimax.” “This is like receiving the divorce papers for a couple that’s been separated for years,” he said.

AT&T’s purchase of fourthranked T-Mobile, announced in March, would have made it the largest cellphone company in the US. AT&T is now the secondlargest wireless carrier, with more than 100 million subscribers, behind Verizon Wireless, with 108 million. Sprint has 53 million, followed by TMobile at 34 million.

T-Mobile endured without much investment from its parent company and without the highest-end devices such as Apple Inc.’s iPhone. It offered

value packages to customers who brought phones from other carriers. Regulators feared the loss of T-Mobile as a competitor would hurt consumers.

AT&T will now have to pay Deutsche Telekom $3 billion in cash as a breakup fee and give it

phone industry. Cellphone companies have been clamoring for more airwaves to meet growing demand for faster downloads on smartphones and tablet computers. The company said the deal would have solved that problem for a time, and without

The logos of the communications companies AT&T and Deutsche Telekom. AT&T said that it is ending its $39 billion bid to buy TMobile USA after facing fierce government objections. — AP

WASHINGTON: Chairman, CEO and president of AT&T Randall Stephenson (left) and CEO of Deutsche Telekom AG Rene Obermann (right) testify during a hearing before the Intellectual Property, Competition and the Internet Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee in this file photo. — AFP about $1 billion worth of airwaves, known as spectrum, that AT&T doesn’t need for the continued rollout of its high-speed “4G” network. It will also enter into a roaming agreement with Deutsche Telekom so that AT&T’s and T-Mobile’s customers can use each other’s networks.

AT&T will take an accounting charge of $4 billion in the current quarter. In pulling out, AT&T said the government’s attempts to block the deal do not change the challenges of the wireless

it, “customers will be harmed and needed investment will be stifled.”

AT&T said it will continue to invest, and it called on the government to quickly approve its purchase of unused spectrum from Qualcomm Inc. and come up with legislation to meet the nation’s long-term needs. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said the commission agreed with AT&T that Congress should authorize an auction for additional spectrum. The FCC has

proposed persuading television stations to give up their airwaves in exchange for sharing in auction proceeds.

Besides such an auction, AT&T could also buy spectrum from satellite TV operator Dish Network Corp., which could require an FCC waiver because it is licensed for satellite use.

Many people believed that AT&T had overstated the spectrum crisis. AT&T already has an ample supply of unused wireless spectrum that it plans to use to expand its network over the next several years.

And much of T-Mobile’s spectrum is already in use, so the deal wouldn’t have resulted in fresh airwaves becoming available. Furthermore, AT&T has made great strides in addressing network congestion in such cities as New York and San Francisco not by tapping its unused spectrum, but by upgrading its cell-tower equipment. Moffett said AT&T’s spectrum needs aren’t so grave that it needs to make a large acquisition right away. The decision to end the bid could be a bigger problem for T-Mobile than for AT&T. Deutsche Telekom has been eager to sell T-Mobile and isn’t keen on investing more in the company, which has seen revenue decline slowly with the flight of higher-profit contract customers.

Besides missing out on many of the hottest smartphones, TMobile has stuck to updating its existing 3G network to achieve 4G speeds. By contrast, competitors have moved to all-new networks that use LTE, or long-term evolution, technology specifically designed to carry data. Both AT&T and Verizon are building LTE networks, and Sprint intends to use the technology, too. Still, Moffett believes it’s too soon to write off T-Mobile, saying it has a good network with lots of room for more customers.

“I think they could surprise some people and be a more important force in the market than people are giving them credit for,” he said. AT&T’s stock fell 8 cents to $28.66 in afterhours trading Monday after the news came out. Earlier, it closed the regular session down 11 cents. — AP

Finnish ministry sees ‘recession possibility’

ABUJA: Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Nigeria Finance Minister (left) and Christine Lagarde, International Monetary Fund Chief arrived at the Presidential palace in Abuja yesterday. — AP

HELSINKI: Finland faces the possibility of a recession, as finance ministry officials yesterday predicted growth of just 0.4 percent in 2012, down from 2.6 percent this year. “Next year, growth will slow to 0.4 percent, suggesting the possibility of a recession,” Mika Kuismanen head of the ministry’s forecasting unit told reporters.

However, he said that growth of GDP in 2013 could rebound to 1.7 percent. The latest 2012 growth forecast from the ministry corresponds with a similar prediction made last week by Finland’s central bank. The ministry

attributed the slackening of economic growth in Finland to a weakening economic performance in its major trading partners in Europe.

“When global trade declines, Finnish trade falls more. But when global trade increases the corresponding increase Finnish trade isn’t as fast,” Kuismanen noted. In spite of encouraging unemployment data released earlier in the day, ministry officials projected that the unemployment rate would rise to 8.1 percent in 2012. The ministry said less upward pressure on consumer prices would result in inflation falling to 2.7 percent next year, still high-

er than the average in the euro area. The forecast projected that the public finances deficit would deepen to 1.4 percent of GDP. Meanwhile, the outlook saw central government debt climbing from 42.9 percent of GDP this year, to 45.6 percent of GDP in 2012, and 47.8 percent in 2013. Finland, where the heavily export-reliant economy was hard-hit during the 2008-09 global financial crisis, also suffered a devastating recession in the mid1990s, with the collapse of its banking system, 20 percent unemployment and a damaging debt crisis. — AFP

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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2011

business

Manufacturing: An economic cornerstone

By Markus Wildi

O

ne of the most s i g n i fi c a n t turning points in the stor y of the human race was the Industrial Revolution in the 18th century.

Innovations like the steam engine drove the emergence of a manufacturing sector which, in turn, propelled humankind into an era of unprecedented sustained economic growth. For the first time, the masses benefitted from better living standards and the creation of new wealth.

For the next three hundred years, manufacturing formed the cornerstone of the world’s most powerful economies. Prosperity, in most instances, was linked directly to a thriving manufacturing base that created jobs, encouraged cross-border trade and boosted government revenues.

In the years immediately after World War II, the United States dominated world manufacturing and emerged as an economic superpower that helped the European economies and Japan back to their feet. We then saw the emergence of the so-called Asian Tigers, followed by the BRIC nations - Brazil, China, India, and Russia - who successfully used their tremendous human resource pool to establish themselves as manufacturing powerhouses.

Somewhere along the line, however, manufacturing started to give way to a ‘service economy’ in the United States and other Western countries. As a Time magazine article from October 1960 put it: “The biggest sector of the (US) economy is no longer the production of such tangibles as appliances, cars, houses; it is the performance of services, ranging from medical checkups to European trips and cha-cha lessons. In this new economy, there are 33 million employed in performing services compared to only 27 million working at producing things.

In the last quarter, consumer spending for goods dropped $2.5 billion, but spending for services continued to rise by another $2 billion.” Some might argue that an overreliance on service-based industries can, and has, led to higher unemployment and overall economic decline. The fact is that manufacturing creates jobs in a way that the service sector simply cannot. A new manufacturing facility supports an entire value chain demand for raw materials, construction, energy, supplies and, of course, services.

To illustrate this point, World Bank data shows that while manufacturing accounted for only 20 percent of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the Middle East and North Africa region from 2003 to 2011, it accounted for 55 percent of all jobs created during that period. These numbers demonstrate the tremendous impact manufacturing can have on job creation and, consequently, on economic growth.

That is not to say, however, that there is no need for a service component in a country’s economy. Every robust economy needs a proportionate amount of service-related and manufacturing focus and investment.

The challenge, as many countries have learned, lies in getting that equation right. The Middle East’s visionary leaders have long realized the importance of a balanced approach to sustainable growth, a fact that is reflected in concerted efforts to diversify their economies.

For example, the State of Kuwait has been actively pursuing an economic diversification program under the guidance of His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. It is significant that the country’s National Development Plan (NDP) and the Kuwait Vision 2035 both make provisions for encouraging growth in both manufacturing and service-related industries.

With projected investments in capital projects expected to reach into trillions of Dollars across the Middle East over the next decade, there is a clearly a concerted push towards investment of resources with an eye on the big picture.

Unsurprisingly, much of the focus in the region falls into four broad categories: transportation and infrastructure, energy, consumer goods and health and nutrition. It is also no coincidence that these categories correspond with the social and economic ‘global megatrends’ that Dow Chemical consciously aligns its innovation efforts and business investments with.

The strategic approach of countries, like Kuwait, which have facilitated the growth of manufacturing through legislation and a policy of incentivizing growth, can serve as a powerful example for some Western economies.

As some of them struggle to cope with rising unemployment and floundering GDP rates, there are valuable lessons to be learned from the Middle East on the role governments can play in encouraging a revival of the manufacturing sector.

What’s more is that if you take a close look at any of the world’s great challenges you will find that manufacturing is central to the solution. The world needs semiconductors and microprocessors; wind turbines and solar cells; advanced batteries and state-of-the-art medical devices.

Manufacturers make these things, and these things, in turn, will remake our future. — Markus Wildi is president of Dow Middle East. He is responsible for driving The Dow Chemical Company’s growth strategy in the region.

Al-Tijari wins ‘Best Commercial Bank in Kuwait 2011’ award World Finance accords recognition KUWAIT: Commercial Bank of Kuwait announced that it has been awarded the prestigious “2011 Best Commercial Bank in Kuwait” Award by the “World Finance” one of the world renowned and most influential financial & banking magazines.

Commenting on Commercial Bank of Kuwait’s winning of this award, Elham Mahfouz, Acting CEO, said: “We are proud to win this prestigious Award in recognition of our endeavors to provide our customers with innovative and tailor-made corporate banking products and services to our corporate and retail clientele customer base . This Award signifies also the trust our customers accorded to us and we

would like to extend our sincere thanks to them for their confidence in Commercial Bank and promise them to continue our endeavors to provide them with the developed and state-of-the-art banking services to satisfy their needs. Our professional teams will persistently dedicate themselves to analyze the market and requirements of miscellaneous groups of customers to meet their needs and ambitions”.

Commercial Bank of Kuwait’s success in winning this Award was announced in London where winners were selected by a Judging Panel comprising international industry experts from prominent financial institutions, along with

“World Finance Magazine “ subscriber- based voting in London.

Commercial Bank of Kuwait winning this Award reflects the firm position the Bank enjoys in the local banking industry as the second oldest bank incorporated in Kuwait , along with the superior banking services and products the Bank offers to its retail and corporate customers that cater to and best suit all their needs. The Bank’s role in supporting Kuwait’s economy is best emphasized through its endeavors to lend financing to the leading projects in Kuwait and financing the infrastructure projects offered under the State’s ambitious development plan.

10%, discount exclusively for AUB Cardholders at Crocs KUWAIT: Ahli United Bank (AUB) in cooperation with Crocs announced an innovative promotion exclusively designed for AUB’s credit card holders. As part of AUB’s effort to provide its credit card holders with a world of benefits that compliment their needs, Crocs is offering them a discount of 10% on all their products. The participation of Crocs in AUB’s Instant Pearls Program is an added value to the program in terms of variety of the services provided to AUB credit card holders. AUB continues to enhance its strategic alliances with successful retailers such Crocs which reinforces AUB commitment to constantly deliver added value services & privileges to its customers. Founded in 2002, Crocs, Inc is a designer, manufacturer and retailer of footwear for men, women and children under the Crocs brand. All Crocs brand shoes feature Crocs’ proprietary closed-cell resin, Croslite(tm), which represents a substantial innovation in footwear. The Croslite material enables Crocs to produce soft, comfortable, lightweight, superior-gripping, non-marking and odor-resistant’s shoes. These unique elements make Crocs footwear ideal for casual wear, as well as for professional and recreational uses such as boating, hiking, hospitality and gardening. The versatile use of the material has enabled Crocs to successfully market its products to a broad

range of consumers. Crocs shoes are sold in more than 125 countries and come in a wide array of colors and styles. Along with our rapid success, we still stand behind to the core values of Crocs Footwear. We are committed to making a lightweight, comfortable, slipresistant, fashionable and functional shoe that can be produced quickly and at an affordable cost to our customers. We thank you for your support and look forward to providing you with exciting new Crocs designs in the years to come. Kuwait, through Ali Abdulwahab is having 5 stores.

AUB additionally extends its cardholders the “Pearl Rewards” Program which offers 3 pearl points for every KD 1 spent with AUB credit cards anywhere in the world. These Points can be converted to equivalent air miles and redeemed at any of the three leading airline Partners; Kuwait Airways, Qatar Airways & Gulf for free flights, upgrades, hotel accommodation....etc.

So the more you use your credit card, the more air miles you earn to enjoy free flights, upgrades, hotel accommodation and lots more additional benefits offered by each Airline’s Membership Program”.

AUB credit holders also get free worldwide travel and emergency medical insurance family coverage when tickets are purchased using AUB credit cards.

Al Tijari announces winners of daily Najma Account draw KUWAIT: Commercial Bank of Kuwait held the Al Najma Account draw on December 18, 2011. The draw was held under the supervision of the Ministry of Commerce & Industry represented by Ahmed Al Hamad.

The winners of the Al Najma Daily Draw are: Disney Lawrence Mathias — KD 7000, Ammar Hisham Mohd Malek— KD 7000, Mohammed Nabil Nassar Khan — KD 7000, Essa Ali Abdullah Al Haddad — KD 7000, Shakir Ahmed Albahi Ibrahim— KD 7000.

The Commercial Bank of Kuwait announces the biggest daily draw in Kuwait with the launch of the new Najma account. Customers of the bank can now enjoy a KD 7,000 daily prize which is the highest in the country and another 4 mega prizes

during the year worth KD 100,000 each on different occasions: The National Day, Eid Al Fitr, Eid Al Adha and on the 19th of June which is the date of the bank’s establishment.

With a minimum balance of KD 500, customers will be eligible for the daily draw provided that the money is in the account one week prior to the daily draw or 2 months prior to the mega draw. In addition, for each KD 25 a customer can get one chance for winning instead of KD 50.

Commercial Bank of Kuwait takes this opportunity to congratulate all lucky winners and also extends appreciation to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry for their effective supervision of the draws which were conducted in an orderly and organized manner.

Al-Shammary wins brand new BMW 2011 ‘Win a Car Every Week’ campaign from VIVA continues KUWAIT: Kuwait Telecommunications Company VIVA continues to distribute new cars for the lucky winners in the ongoing and successful “Win a Car Ever y Week ” campaign that was launched for prepaid customers.

Anfal Al-Shammary was the lucky winner of a new 2011 BMW 3 Series for the 12th week.

VIVA is thrilled with the success of its launching of its campaign for its prepaid customers offering them the opportunity to win a luxurious car every week and the will continue with the surprises by offering the New 2011 BMW X1 to the customers in the upcoming draws.

Winner Anfal Al-Shammary for the 12th Week won a brand new 2011 BMW 3 Series whereby representatives of the Ministry of Commerce and VIVA executives attended the draw that took place at VIVA head office. The campaign will continue for several weeks to enable customers as many opportunities as possible to enter a draw for the chance to win a new car every week, whereby the upcoming draws will bring with it a joyful surprise to our customers with the chance to win the New 2011 BMW X1 .

VIVA aims to create, design and promote unique campaign offers to provide all of its customers infinite opportunities to participate in exciting promotions to endorse subscribers’ loyalty, as well as provide subscribers and customers instant track of the winners

This offer is applicable to prepaid customers where they can enter into the draw through two options, the first option is to subscribe with 500 fils per day containing infinite local minutes and local messages on the VIVA network as well as free calls from VIVA to VIVA. For every 500 fils spent, the customers is entitled the 1 chance to enter the draw.

The second option for prepaid customers includes subscribing to t h e K D 7 a n d f u l l a n d u n l i m i te d BlackBerry Services subscription, where customers will gain fifteen points upon subscription.

Customers are able to subscribe to both options in order to enter the draw to win a luxurious car, where their points will be accumulated and carried on to the next draw.

To subscribe for the 500 fils daily service, the costumer has to send a text message with number ‘1’ to ‘535’, or send a text message with number ‘2’ to ‘535’ for the Black Berry monthly unlimited local service, which will qualify him/her to enter the draw. Customers interested in subscribing to this offer can send the code “GO” via SMS Text Message to the number ‘535’.

Elham Mahfouz, Acting CEO

Joyalukkas begins ‘Season of Giving’ promotion To commemorate the end of the year and celebrate the arrival of 2012, Joyalukkas has announced a special promotion under the banner, ‘Season of Giving’. This promotion is exclusively created for the diamond and polki jewelry lovers to make their celebrations special during this period.

“It’s that time of the year when we would like to make it special for our customers. So we plan to offer an incredible 50 percent discount on all our diamond and polki jewelry collections. In addition to this, we are also offering a special diamond pendant set, which includes a ring, pendant and pair of earrings for only KD. 399,” said John Paul Joy Alukkas, Executive Director, Joyalukkas Group.

Joyalukkas has recently introduced a new and extensive range of diamond and polki jewelry collections at their showrooms and this promotion will offer the customers the opportunity to buy the new jewelry collections at a great discount.

The ‘Season of Giving’ promotion will run across the Joyalukkas showrooms in the GCC from 21st December to January 2, 2012. Joyalukkas has also introduced a wide collection on all other variants of jewelry, including gold, precious stones, platinum and pearl jewelry.

Gold rises as euro rebounds LONDON: Gold prices rose in Europe yesterday as the euro strengthened versus the dollar, but gains were capped by concerns that policymakers’ efforts to address the euro zone debt crisis are falling short and could keep European assets under pressure.

Spot gold was up 0.8 percent at $1,606.00 an ounce at 1012 GMT. While spot prices are still up more than 12 percent this year, analysts say they will likely struggle for traction from here if the dollar starts strengthening again. The dollar’s gains versus the euro on the back of the crisis have weighed on gold in recent months, putting the metal on track for its first quarterly loss in more than three years.

“All the bull-run dynamics are still in place, but you have this trend of the strengthening dollar, positive data out of the United States as opposed to weak data out of Europe,” said VM Group analyst Carl Firman.

“A strengthening greenback has traditionally seen gold in dollar terms decline, and that is what we’re seeing. For a safe haven, you’re looking at the dollar really. There’s a lot of volatility in gold, in commodities, in other asset classes.”

The euro rose 0.4 percent versus the dollar after yields at a Spanish treasury bill auction came in lower than expected, triggering stop-losses on some short positions in the single currency. Sentiment towards the unit remained fragile however, as concerns over the debt crisis lingered.

Euro zone ministers agreed on Monday to boost IMF resources by 150 billion euros to ward off the debt crisis and won support for more money from EU allies, but it was unclear if the bloc would reach its 200 billion euro target after Britain bowed out. “The broader market continues to be dissatisfied with policymakers’ reluctance for the ECB to become the lender of last resort or boost the euro area stability fund,” said Andrey Kryuchenkov, an analyst at VTB Capital.

European shares, meanwhile, rose after better-thanexpected German business sentiment data, while safe-haven German bunds fell.

Gold prices are set to struggle to make up significant ground for the rest of the month, with traders wary of adding to long positions before year-end, analysts said. Gains are unlikely unless they can move back above their 200-day moving average, a key technical level breached last week, just above $1,620 an ounce.

“Profit-taking and year-end book squaring by large investors, including mutual funds and macro hedge funds... help explain the recent drop in prices,” said HSBC in a note.

“Gold prices may stay weak but volatile for the rest of this year, we believe, as trading volume is likely to dry up in the run-up to the year-end holidays.”

Last week’s price drop has stimulated some demand from Europe and the Middle East, dealers say. Beyond that, analysts say demand from China ahead of the Lunar New Year in late January could help support prices. Among other precious metals, silver was up 1.8 percent at $29.25 an ounce, tracking gold. Spot platinum was up 1 percent at $1,419.50 an ounce, while spot palladium was up 1.6 percent at $613.71 an ounce.

Swiss trade data released yesterday showed Russia exported 5.16 tons of palladium to Switzerland in raw, powdered and semi-finished form in November. Russia is the world’s biggest palladium supplier, selling both mined metal and government stockpiles onto the market. Speculation that its official stocks may be close to exhaustion have pushed up prices in recent years. That statistics also showed South African platinum imports reached their highest monthly level this year in November, at 3.7 tons.— Reuters

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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2011

TECHNOLOGY

Juror in Microsoft case at peace with decision SALT LAKE CITY: The lone holdout juror who prevented a Utah company from getting as much as $1.2 billion from one-time rival Microsoft Corp for alleged antitrust violations says he’s at peace with his decision. Corbyn Alvey, a 21-year-old security guard from Magna, told KSL-TV (http://bit.ly/ubPwcB ) that he didn’t think there was enough evidence presented during the two-month trial in US District Court in Salt Lake City to support the claims of Provo-based Novell Inc. Novell sued Microsoft in 2004, claiming the software giant duped it into developing the once popular WordPerfect writing program for Windows 95 only to pull the plug so Microsoft could

gain market share with its own product. Novell says it was later forced to sell WordPerfect for a $1.2 billion loss.

“I walk away feeling honestly myself, and I can’t speak for the other jurors, that I made the right decision even if it resulted in a hung jury,” Alvey said Saturday.

“There were so many inferences that needed to be drawn that I felt that it was unfair to Microsoft to go out on a limb and say, ‘yes.’”Alvey described the three days of jury deliberations as stressful. The 11 other jurors sided with Novell. “Obviously, I wanted to convince them to agree with me and they wanted to convince me to agree with them,” he told KSL.

Bill Gates testified last month that he had no idea his decision to drop a tool for outside developers would sidetrack Novell. Gates said he was acting to protect Windows 95 and future versions from crashing. Novell argued that Gates ordered Microsoft engineers to reject WordPerfect as a Windows 95 word processing application because he feared it was too good. Alvey said the jury agreed on the technical aspects of the case but disagreed on what Novell could have accomplished “but for” Gates’ decision.

“There was a lot of speculation in this ‘but for’ world,” he said. As for Gates’ testimony, Alvey said, “The man

was a little sarcastic at times. If anything, it provided a little break from the monotonous questions and answers ... I think from his testimony, what I heard, and what I saw in the emails, Bill Gates was a man who took every threat extremely seriously.” Jury foreman Carl Banks said he tried hard to get a verdict. “It was a tough case. It was long and it was hard and it was grueling,” he said. “We gave it our best shot.” Novell attorneys have said they would seek to retry the case with a new jury.

Microsoft said it would file a motion asking the judge to dismiss Novell’s complaint for good and avoid a second trial. — AP

Parents break rule to help young kids join Facebook

TAIWAN: A man walks past a billboard displaying a handset of Taiwan smartphone maker HTC in Taipei yesterday. — AFP

Apple scores hit on HTC in US patent case SAN FRANCISCO: Apple on Monday scored a hit in an ongoing patent brawl with mobile handset giant HTC with a US trade authority ruling the iPhone maker has rights to features using onetap screen commands. The International Trade Commission gave Apple part of what it wanted in a “limited exclusion order” directing that HTC stop bringing offending smartphones into the United States effective on April 19, 2012.

Taiwan-based HTC expected to be able to adapt the Android-powered handsets to sidestep the trouble with the single patent before the deadline.

The move was likely to come at the cost of removing some features smartphone users enjoy and came as part of an ongoing campaign by Apple to cobble the momentum of smartphones powered by Google’s Android software.

The patent affects functions such as touching a smartphone screen to follow a Web link or call a phone number displayed on a page. The decision was deemed final and sent for review by the staff of US President Barack Obama, who was unlikely to overrule it. The final order came with the commission reversing a prior decision and ruling in favor of HTC on patented technology that would have been harder to design out of hand-

sets.

Technology giants have taken to routinely pounding one another with patent lawsuits. Apple has accused HTC and other smartphone makers using Google’s Android mobile operating system of infringing on Apple-held patents.

HTC in October ramped up its patent war with Apple with ammunition provided by California-based Google, the force behind Android mobile software.

Google transferred to HTC a set of patents that the company used to amend intellectual property infringement complaints against iPhone maker Apple in the United States.

Microsoft has also accused Android phones of using its patented technology, with litigation or licensing deals between companies being the selection of outcomes. HTC in October was dealt a setback in its patent infringement claim against Apple, after an initial ruling by a US trade authority sided with the California-based tech giant. A judge at the Washington-based ITC made an “initial determination” that Apple had committed “no violation” of patent law. HTC, which stands for High Tech Computer Corp., is Taiwan’s leading mobile phone manufacturer and a major producer of Android smartphones. —AFP

ILLINOIS: Nancy Gerstein is a savvy marketing executive who knows a lot about Facebook.

She supervises corporate Facebook pages for her company’s clients. So Gerstein had no qualms when her 11-year-old daughter recently told her that she had created an account on the social media site while she was at a sleepover with a friend. She even helped her daughter finish establishing the Facebook page. “Compared to some of the other things out there, it’s fairly innocent. The adult stuff is supposedly blocked,” she said. “I know the importance of Facebook.”

Gerstein is one of many parents across the nation who are helping their preteen children get on Facebook despite the company ’s requirement that users must be at least 13 years old. These parents say Facebook, the world’s biggest social networking site, is useful and so popular among their children that it’s nearly impossible to stop them from joining. “It’s very difficult to stop something like this when all of her friends are on it,” Gerstein said, noting that her daughter and her daughter’s friends all have computers. “There’s only so much you can do.”

Kira Kurka’s 9-year-old daughter joined Facebook during a sleepover with friends, and Kurka, who lives with her family in Chicago, helped her 11-year-old son become a member. “I want him to embrace technology, and I think social media is very powerful,” Kurka said. A recent study published in an academic journal last month found that 36 percent of all parents surveyed knew that their child joined Facebook before age 13 and that 68 percent of these parents helped their child create their account.

The study, titled “Why Parents Help Their Children Lie to Facebook About Age: Unintended Consequences of the ‘Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act,’” also found that 55 percent of parents of 12-year-olds report that their child has a Facebook account. The overwhelming majority of those parents, about 82 percent, knew when their underage child signed up, and 76 percent helped in creating the account, according to the study, which was published in the Internet journal First Monday, firstmonday.org.

Nicole Jackson Colaco, a public policy manager at Facebook, said the study “makes important points, particularly in relation to parents that actively assist their children under 13 in joining Facebook even though they know it violates our policy. “The report also highlights the difficulty in implementing age restrictions on the Internet and underlines the need to continually work to keep kids safe online,” Colaco said in a statement.

Facebook, like other websites, established the requirement that users must be at least 13 in response to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, or COPPA, of 1998 and a regulation within it called the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule, which took effect

ILLINOIS: Local mom Nancy Gerstein allows her child to use Facebook despite age restrictions that would otherwise keep her off the social networking site. — MCT April 21, 2000.

“The primary goal of COPPA and the rule is to place parents in control over what information is collected from their young children online,” according to the Federal Trade Commission. “The rule was designed to protect children under age 13 while accounting for the dynamic nature of the Internet. As a result of COPPA, website operators must obtain affirmative consent from parents before children under 13 can create an account.”

Although the law does not require websites to bar children under 13, “the industry response to the law has led to age restrictions,” said Jason M. Schultz, one of the authors of the study of preteens on Facebook and an assistant clinical professor of law at the University of California Berkeley School of Law.But parents across the country, including Gerstein and Kurka, are helping their children get around the restriction because they see the value of the wealth of information and communication on the Internet.

“It’s really helped her with her computer, language and social skills. She really knows the keyboard and excels at social media now.

It’s useful for school and everyday life,” Gerstein said. Besides, “many parents are not aware there’s a minimum age for signing up for Facebook,” said Eszter Hargittai, one of the Facebook study’s authors and an associate professor of communication studies at Northwestern University. The study found that 53 percent of parents think Facebook has a minimum age and that 35 percent of those parents think that it is a recommendation and not a requirement.

Gerstein said she was unaware of

Facebook’s 13-year-old age limit until another mother blamed her for her daughter’s joining the website’s community. At that point, Gerstein’s daughter was already online. The other mother said that after Gerstein’s daughter had signed up, her daughter had followed suit. Kurka now knows the website has an age limit. Her children don’t use Facebook much, and they are on it only with other children from school, Kurka said. “It’s another means of communication for them,” she said.

Kurka said she monitors her children’s computer use. She has warned them about visiting suspicious websites because they might get computer viruses or come across strangers. “I trust them wholeheartedly.

They’re good kids,” she said. “They’re smart and savvy and never get into trouble.”

Gerstein’s daughter, whom the Tribune is not identifying to protect her privacy, said that joining Facebook was simply a way to interact with her friend.

“I didn’t get why there was an age restriction,” the girl said. “It didn’t bother me at all.

I’m not visiting inappropriate sites.” Her privacy settings allow only Facebook visitors who on her friends’ list can see any information about her. She knows predators exist online.

“You can block them and interact with friends, and leave if you want to,” she said. Jean Retzinger, assistant director of the Media Studies Department at the University of California in Berkeley, said parents who use Facebook may feel better able to monitor their children’s online activities because they are also on the website. Gerstein agreed. “I believe that social media is here to stay,” she said. “You should stay on top of it. You have to be online; your kids are.” — MCT

These shades put a screen right before your eyes ou really wont care about how big an LCD screen is on your portable media player after using the Vuzix Wrap 1200 video eyewear. Videos play in front of your eyes on a pair of 852 x 480 LCD displays in a 16:9 aspect ratio. Vuzix describes the viewing experience similar to watching a 75-inch display from 10 feet away. For the most part you just plug into your iPod or whatever you content is stored on, and turn on the glasses.

A pair of AA lithium ion batteries (included) gives about 7 hours of video playback in 2D or 3D. Users can adjust the brightness and sound comes from the detachable premium quality noise-isolating stereo earphones, which come with three sizes of noise isolation inserts and a soft carrying case. You also get a composite AV cable (RCA) for connecting to other devices such as gaming. The price is a little steep but the quality and portable aspect makes them shine. With your iPod in your pocket and connected to the eyewear, a cross-country flight will never be the same.

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sound system is also available for $30 more. A company representative said the swappable headbands will be available for purchase shortly.

Big, customizable headphones pack up small Sol Republic has introduced headphones called Tracks, which can be disassembled in seconds and customized to your specific taste, specifically with different color headbands, speakers and cables. Sol Republic is a new company and wisely bragged in a recent press release that one of its founders “was a former senior executive of Monster Cable and credited for driving the widely popular Beats

by Dr. Dre line of headphones at Monster.” In addition to the design aspect, I guess its important to note that the sound is pumped

Solar charger will keep small electronics going The Keystone Solar USB Power PAK is a pocket-sized solar charger for powering up and charging small electronic gadgets. With the help of the sun, a built-in 1500 mAh Lithium-Polymer battery is charged but also can be charged by connecting its USB port to any computer. The pack has a high efficiency mono-crystalline solar panel built into it and is rated by the company to be fully charged after 5-6 hours of full sun or about 4 hours from its USB connection.

I found it to take a little longer than that, but being able to charge from the sun was intriguing. When the PAK itself if fully charged it will automatically shut off so overcharging is not an issue. The only complaint I have (so far) about the new iPhone 4S is the battery, which seems to last about 7-8 hours before begging for a charge, so having a portable battery source is a must. Combine that with being able to charge it away from a wall outlet makes these a great combination.

The PAK comes with five connector tips, which is about all you need to charge just anything these days. This includes micro and mini USB, along with gaming connectors and an iPod/iPhone specific cable. A strap (included) also can be attached to the battery so users can make it accessible to the sun by hanging on the outside of backpacks, computer bags or just about anything where sunshine hits.— MCT

Vuzix Wrap 1200 video eyewear play in front of your eyes on a pair of 852 x 480 LCD displays in a 16:9 aspect ratio. —MCT out crystal clear as I sit here zoned out writing and listening to 70s on SiriusXM radio.

The headphones also have great padding for extended wear, which make it an allround great product costing just $99.99.

While I could care less about the bendable headband and its color choices, I know many will love it. What I like about the disassembling aspect is it makes it much easier to pack and go. Typically I avoid headphones like these because they take up too much of my computer bags space, but to be able to size it down for easy packing is a big plus. Since the cord, which has a 3-button remote and microphone on it, is removable, it can be replaced with ease instead of having to send the whole unit in if a repair is needed.

The Tracks are powered by the SOL Republic V8 Sound Engine personal speaker system but if you want a little more out of your headphones the Tracks HD with the V10

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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2011

health & science

US seniors turn to community to avoid nursing homes WASHINGTON: Determined to avoid ending their days in a retirement center, elderly Washingtonians living in the shadow of Capitol Hill are working together in a village-like community to stay in their homes. “I wouldn’t want to be in a nursing home. I love my independence too much and doing what I want,” said Ramon Gonzalez, a dapper blue-eyed and white-haired 86-yearold, who has trouble walking due to persistent knee pain.

But the idea of having to leave his home filled with art books and jazz records, reminders of his younger days, fills him with horror. And the former US Navy translator is attached to his neighborhood near the US Congress, with its charming Victorian homes and brick-paved streets. “I have to account to no-one, to say I’m going over here or over there. You have to do

it in a nursing home; I don’t want any of this,” he said. He is a member of Capitol Hill Village, a non-profit neighborhood group launched in 2007. It is among 66 “villages” - 120 are in planning-spread across the United States and based on a model that started in Boston in 2001.

Largely dependent on volunteers, the group provides retirees with services like transportation, shopping, small repairs, often for free or at reduced prices. Although the village does not provide medical care, it helps seniors keep living in the comfort of their own homes, said executive Katie McDonough, one of the group’s only two full-time salaried workers. The service costs $530 annually per person, $800 for households and just $100-200 for people with low incomes.

Membership dues account for half of

the budget, supplemented by donations. The village, as it is known by its 360 members (including 260 households), also provides a 24/7 telephone answering service where seniors can ask for help from a pool of 215 volunteers from transportation to doctors, lawnmowing or filling out paperwork.

Conferences, theater outings, diners and gymnastic lessons are also on offer on a list detailed at the association’s website capitolhillvillage.org, said Pamela Causer.

The 68-year-old former computer consultant, who helps answer the phones and has lived on Capitol Hill for 39 years, is one of many members who play a dual role as volunteers.

Logical step-”I’m not a big participant with group things,” she acknowledged, adding: “When you retire you can’t just stay home, you have to have inter-

action with other people. That’s the reason why I work with the office, I feel like giving something back.” Causer did live in a nursing home, for 20 days last year after getting knee surgery. But that’s an experience she does not want to repeat in the long term.

“The big thing is to be able to stay in your own house,” she said. “As people get older, they worry more and more about that, and they have more and more needs-things you used to be able to do that you just can’t do now.”

Founding village member Judy Canning, 69, said it was very American to get organized in bottom-up fashion.

“These days in America, you cannot count on government support for anything social,” she added. Canning acknowledged however that in times of major accidents or sickness, even Capitol Hill Village members are forced

to leave their homes. But she stressed the group helps the elderly stay in their homes longer and even to die there. That’s a wish shared by more and more seniors as the country braces for some 78 million “baby boomers,” born during the post-World War II baby boom, to enter retirement.

Candace Baldwin of the Village-toVillage Network that links the different community groups calls the challenge “monumental.” Starting in 2011 and for the next 20 years, 10,000 people will celebrate their 65th birthday each day, according to US Care. And in 2030, one out of every five Americans will be older than 65 and 21 million others-four times more than today-will be over 85.

“The village movement is a logical step in this evolution as it provides a way for older adults to ‘age in the community,’” said Baldwin. — AFP

Earth-sized worlds spotted Another big advance in the search for exoplanets

CALIFORNIA: Trent Arsenault is seen holding a magazine and posing for a photograph at his home in Fremont, Calif. Arsenault has fathered 14 children in the last five years through free sperm donations to childless couples he meets on the Internet. — AP

Fertile sperm donor draws criticism from FDA, doctors SAN FRANCISCO: Physicians and the federal government cited the case of a San Francisco Bay area man who has fathered 14 children as an example of the risks posed by the informal market for sperm donations, which doctors consider unsafe but some people call a civil liberties issue. Trent Arsenault, 36, of Fremont offers his sperm for free to women he meets through his website. In addition to the 14 already born, he says four more are on the way. In the meantime, he is contesting a US Food and Drug Administration order to cease and desist. While sperm bank donors remain nameless and some men offer their sperm through anonymous ads on Craigslist, Arsenault’s site is filled with photographs of the trim, blond Midwest native. In its letter, the agency describes Arsenault’s service as a business.

Arsenault disagrees. “This is not a business or a clinic. It’s just people partnering up to have a baby out of compassion,” he said. Arsenault says he donates sperm out of a sense of service to help people who want to have children but can’t afford conventional sperm banks. The 36year-old minister’s son has four more children on the way. “I always had known through people praying at church that there’s fertility issues,” Arsenault told The Associated Press. “I thought it would just be a neat way of service to help the community.”

The FDA sent Arsenault the letter late last year telling him he must stop

because he does not follow the agency’s requirements for getting tested for sexually transmitted diseases within seven days before giving sperm. The FDA did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Violators of FDA regulations on human cells and tissues face up to a year in prison and a $100,000 fine, according to guidelines published on the agency’s website. Arsenault gets tested regularly, but following the FDA’s rules would make it impossible to keep offering his sperm for free, he said. “ The regulations may be little bit strict, but I think that’s appropriate,” said Dr Mitchell Rosen, director of the University of California, San Francisco Fertility Preservation Center. Rosen said it’s not uncommon for women to use donated sperm from someone they know. But trusting a donor who is being honest about his background is no substitute for screening for diseases that could be passed on to the mother or child, he said. A sperm bank will also isolate the actual sperm cells from the donor’s semen, which reduces the risk of passing along pathogens, Rosen said. “In this situation there’s no reduction of risk.

It’s just as if they’re going out and having a one night stand.”

At the time of the FDA letter, the Silicon Valley computer security specialist had made 328 sperm donations to 46 women, a number he said is now higher.

He can continue to donate sperm while the case is pending. — AP

Seattle officials vote to ban plastic bags SEATTLE: The Seattle City Council voted Monday to ban single-use plastic bags from groceries and other retail stores, joining a growing trend among cities that embrace green values. The ordinance, which was approved unanimously following months of discussion and debate, takes effect in July 2012. It includes a provision to charge a nickel fee for the use of paper bags, to encourage people to bring their own bags when they go shopping.

The paper bag fee is not unique. In Washington, DC, businesses that sell food or alcohol must charge 5 cents for each carryout paper or plastic disposable bag. The ban is expected to reduce pollution, free up landfill space and improve the environment.

Seattle’s residents use 292 million plastic bags and 68 million paper bags a year. About 82 percent of paper bags are recycled, while only 13 percent of plastic bags are recycled.

Nearby communities such as Mukilteo, Edmonds, Bellingham and Portland also have banned plastic bags. Numerous municipalities across the country - including Eugene, Ore., Austin, Texas, and Jackson, Wyo. - are also considering laws to restrict the use of plastic bags. The Seattle council voted to charge a 20-cent fee on paper and plastic bags in 2008, but the plastics industry spent $1.4 million backing

a referendum to overturn it. Voters defeated the fee in 2009. Officials in the industry haven’t said whether they would launch another referendum, but they have stated they’d push for a statewide bag recycling program similar to those in several states.

Councilmember Mike O’Brien, the bill’s prime sponsor, said he felt the months of work on this proposal, with lots of input from both businesses and environmental groups, resulted in an ordinance that will work for everyone.

He noted that low-income people who can show eligibility in a food assistance program will not be charged the paper bag fee. Council President Richard Conlin commended the council and advocates for the positive way the ordinance evolved and the substantive public involvement in the process. “It’s going to really make a difference for our environment,” he said.

During a short public comment session at the beginning of the meeting, four people dressed as “bag monsters” in costumes made from plastic bags serenaded the council with a holiday tribute. Only one person spoke out against the ordinance, saying she wondered if the ban would really help the environment and remove plastic already in the Puget Sound. Even in the Evergreen state, reaction to the ban vote was mixed. — AP

PARIS: Astronomers yesterday said that for the first time they had spotted two Earthsized worlds orbiting a Sun-like star, in another big advance in the search for so-called exoplanets. One of the planets is just three percent bigger than Earth and the other is 13 percent smaller, which would make it a bit tinier than Venus, they reported online in the British science journal Nature. The planets are inferred to have a rocky composition similar to Earth’s but they orbit so close to their star, Kepler-20, that the temperature is likely to be far too high to nurture life.

The larger planet, Kepler-20f, completes a “year” in 19.5 days and may have a thick water-vapour atmosphere, while the smaller one, Kepler-20e, zips around the star in just 6.1 days. Spotting the pair is a technical feat.

They are the smallest exoplanets to be found since the first world beyond our Solar System was officially detected in 1995.

Their distance, too, is enormous: Kepler-20 is 3,900 light years from Earth. So far 708 planets have been netted in 534 star systems, according to a tally compiled by the Extrasolar Planets Encyclopaedia (http://exoplanet.eu/catalog.php). Almost all are gas giants or are located too close or too far from their star to allow water-the stuff of life-to exist in liquid form. Only three have been confirmed as being rocky and orbiting in the “Goldilocks zone,” where the temperature is balmy. Two of the three are Gliese 581d and HD 85512b, orbiting stars that are cooler and smaller than the Sun. The third is Kepler-22b, unveiled on December 5, which is 2.4 times the size of the Earth, orbiting a Sun-like star every 290 days. The two new discoveries were found by a team led by Francois Fressin of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, using NASA’s Kepler orbiting space telescope.

A 600-million-dollar mission launched in March 2009, Kepler monitors more than 150,000 stars for tiny wobbles in light. This could signal a planet which is passing in front of the star and is thus dimming the light reaching the telescope. So far, Kepler has

notched up 2,326 “planet candidates”-sightings that could turn out to be exoplanets if they are confirmed by further observations.

NASA astronomers assign the name of Kepler and a number to a star where the telescope

SPACE: This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image shows the nearby spiral galaxy M74 . Bright knots of glowing gas light up the spiral arms, indicating a rich environment of star formation. Messier 74, also called NGC 628, is an example of a grand-design spiral galaxy that is viewed by Earth observers nearly face-on. Its perfectly symmetrical spiral arms emanate from the central nucleus and are dotted with clusters of young blue stars and glowing pink regions of ionized hydrogen (hydrogen atoms that have lost their electrons). — AFP

France may order women to remove their implants PARIS: Up to 30,000 French women and perhaps tens of thousands more around the world may have to have defective breast implants removed after several suspicious cases of cancer, officials said yesterday. A decision on whether to order the removal of the implants, produced by the Poly Implant Prothese (PIP) company, will be made by the end of the week, after a report from the National Cancer Institute on December 23. “The question we are asking is: yes or no, do we need to recommend to women to have these implants removed?” a health ministry official said.

For now, the official said, the “causal link” between the implants and cases of cancer “has not been established” and “there is no urgent health risk”. Quoting several senior medical officials, French newspaper Liberation reported Tuesday that the decision had already been made and that health authorities will order the implants to be removed. It was not immediately clear how many foreign women may have been given PIP prod-

has found exoplanets. The exoplanets are then identified by a lower-case letter in order of discovery-for instance Kepler-12b is the second exoplanet to have been found orbiting the star Kepler-12. — AFP

ucts but the firm was once the world’s third-largest producer of silicone implants, producing 100,000 per year and exporting 80 percent of its output.

Liberation said 300,000 women around the world had received PIP implants. PIP was shut down and its product banned last year after it was revealed to have been using non-authorized silicone gel that caused abnormally high rupture rates of its implants. Health officials said last week that eight cases of cancer, mainly breast cancer, had been reported in women who had received the PIP implants. “It is urgent for all women who have PIP implants to return to see their surgeons,” French government spokeswoman Valerie Pecresse told LCI television, adding that costs of removal would be covered by state health insurance. “The government will announce its action plan by the end of the week,” she said. “But we must first of all proceed with a census of women who received these implants and are potentially in danger.” — AFP

LA SEYNE-SUR-MER: A picture shows employees of breast implants Poly Implant Prostheses (PIP) manufacturer demonstrating in front their factory in La Seynesur-Mer southern France. The French government health agency said all women who have PIP breast implants, thought to be dangerous, should have them removed. — AFP

Fake-tan lotion users tend to stay out of sun NEW YORK: Women who use lotions and gels to produce a fake suntan tend to cut back on outdoor sunbathing and use of tanning beds, with close to 40 percent who use such products saying they limited their time in the sun, US researchers said. The findings, published in the Archives of Dermatology, mean that the products may be a way to convince women seeking a tan to reduce ultraviolet (UV) radiation exposure, which is linked to a higher risk of skin cancer, the researchers said. “The message I give is, your natural skin color is where you were born to be, but if you really want to be tan get it out of a bottle,” said Suephy Chen, a dermatologist at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, who worked on the study. “Getting a tan out of a bottle is incredibly safe, whereas getting tanned from tanning beds and lying out is not.” Chen noted that while there’s still controversy among skin doctors about whether they should be promoting any tanning product or if the only message should be that natural skin color is best, years of warning about cancer risks from other forms of tanning clearly aren’t getting through to younger generations.

The US National Cancer Institute estimated that there were more than 1 million new cases of nonmelanoma skin cancer in 2010 in the United States, and fewer than 1,000 deaths. For the more dangerous melanomas, 2011 was expected to see about 70,000 new cases and close to 9,000 deaths. Researchers surveyed 415 women living on or around the Emory University campus who ranged in age from 18 to 71, but most were under 26. They reported how often they tanned outside or in tanning beds, or used sunless tanners. About half said they’d used sunless tanning lotions, gels or spray-ons in the past year, and at least 70 percent reported tanning in the sun. One-quarter said they’d recently used a tanning bed. While women who used tanning products said they were also more likely to seek other types of tans, close to 40 percent said they had decreased their sun exposure or use of tanning beds because of the products. The top reasons for using sunless tanning products were safety and to avoid wrinkles, the researchers said. Some people with sensitive skin may get a rash, but in general the products are safe.

Daniel Sheehan, a dermatologist at Georgia Health Services University in August, said that some dermatologists might consider it a mixed message to suggest sunless tanning products when patients really shouldn’t want to tan at all. — Reuters

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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2011

H E A LT H

Troubled Pakistanis turn to exorcism for help KARACHI: A girl in a long black shirt screams incoherently, banging her head against a wall at a Sufi shrine in the Pakistani city of Karachi. Sania Haneef’s family says she is possessed by a demon.

Doctors could not help, so they brought the college student, kicking and screaming, to be exorcised by the spirit of a saint. The West mostly associates Pakistan with Taleban militants who force women to cover from head to toe, blow up girls’ schools and carry out suicide bombings. But Islam in the South Asian nation of 180 million is far more diverse.

Many flock to shrines like the one where Haneef’s relatives seek solace in the Sufi strand of Islam abhorred by militants and considered more liberal in its philosophy than other branches followed by Shiites and Sunnis. “Sania has been possessed since she was six years old,” her brother, Mohammed, said, describing how an evil spirit, known as a jinn, would speak through her in a man’s voice.

“The shrine has captured the spirit. Sania will be cured soon. None of us is leaving until that happens.” Pakistanis are beset by problems-violence, crippling power cuts, poverty and dilapidated hospitals are but a few. The government, seen as inept and corrupt, offers little relief. Many people think their suffering is inflicted by evil spirits intent on destroying marriage prospects, businesses and health, and that only Sufi saints can help. But that’s a risky belief in Pakistan. Militants, including the al Qaedalinked Taleban, have over the years bombed Sufi shrines which they consider heretical.

During an annual celebration this year at one in the central Pakistani town of Dera Ghazi Khan, the Taleban dispatched suicide bombers who killed 41 people. A double suicide bombing in 2010 at Pakistan’s most important Sufi shrine, in the city of Lahore, killed about 42 people. But fears of possession, and life’s many challenges, keep driving people back to the shrines. Sufism is a mystical form of Islam which adheres closely to the traditions of Islam but also reflects secularism and universalism in spiritual matters. It is especially strong in Sindh

province, where Pakistan’s biggest city and commercial hub of Karachi is located.

JINNS HAVE SEX WITH US “The whole concept of jinns, which previously would have been a belief in some other kind of spirit, has been converted into Islamic parlance,” said Ali Khan, an anthropologist at the Lahore University of Management Sciences. Self-proclaimed exorcists thrive on these beliefs. They claim special powers from God which enable them to help people cope with everything, from domestic disturbances to infertility and impotence. Some even say they can help people find love.

In a dimly lit shack just outside a shrine, Syed Aliuddin, wearing a white robe and silk cap set with a green stone resembling an emerald, listens to people lament. One man, an electrician, complains his wife is disobedient. In a carefully rehearsed ritual, the exorcist with a white beard writes prayers on strips of paper and douses them in water. Customers then drink it, believing his promise that it only takes 10 minutes to take effect. Aliuddin says he can fight 18,000 types of evil spirits made from fire.

Like others in his trade, he is keeping pace with the information age, running his own website and offering consultations by email and mobile phone.

“Some possess bodies out of jealousy, others out of love, some have other motives,” said Aliuddin, who charges between 50 rupees (55 cents) and 250 rupees a session, which last up to 30 minutes. “Jinns swim inside us when they possess us, feed on us, have sex with each other and with us.” The more serious the issue, the more radical the cure. Jamila Bibi turned to the Abdullah Shah Ashabi shrine in the ancient, dusty town of Thatta in Sindh province. Her son, Muhammed, began having violent fits four months ago. The 18year-old is chained by his ankle to a wall. He sits silently, staring at others who are chained or are praying. “We want him to be close to the spirit of the saint. We have had to chain him so he doesn’t hit other people,” she said.— Reuters

Avian flu breakthrough raises question of potential risk MILWAUKEE: A University of Wisconsin-Madison scientist who is an expert on the avian flu virus is under federal scrutiny because of concerns his new research may fall into the wrong hands. The scientist is Yoshihiro Kawaoka, an eminent professor of virology in the School of Veterinary Medicine who has done research on H5N1, also known as avian or bird flu. His work and similar research independently done by a Dutch scientist have raised concerns in science journals and on an NBC News report that aired Thursday night that touched on such controversial issues as bioterrorism and scientific freedom.

Kawaoka has created a contagion virus in his lab, a UW official confirmed. But the official said he couldn’t discuss the nature of the virus because it would compromise the publication of Kawaoka’s research. A Science magazine report detailing the work done by Dutch scientist Ron Fouchier of the Erasmus Medical Center in the Netherlands reported that Fouchier had developed a man-made H5N1 avian influenza strain that had been genetically altered and is now easily transmissible between ferrets. Fouchier reported that studies show that any influenza strain passed among ferrets has also been transmissible among humans and vice versa.

The Science report, which focused on Fouchier’s studies, said Kawaoka’s research came up with comparable results. “The research by the Kawaoka and Fouchier teams set out to answer a question that has long puzzled scientists. Does H5N1, which rarely causes human disease, have the potential to trigger a pandemic?” the magazine reported. In response, UW spokesman Terry Devitt said Science magazine had not seen Kawaoka’s research. “Equating the two ... is a mistake,” Devitt said in an email.

Devitt said Kawaoka’s work was no longer under review by the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity. That board provides advice to the National Institutes for Health regarding research that may pose a threat to public health and/or national security. Devitt said the board “made recommendations regarding the contents of the manuscript and those recommendations will be respected as we work with the journal,” Devitt said. A spokesman for the advisory board

was not available for comment. Interim UW Chancellor David Ward said he had been briefed about Kawaoka’s research about a month ago and said he was confident that the level of security involving Kawaoka’s research was adequate.

“In general, I am very comfortable with the way the university has created security around this. ... We do deserve questions from the public about the fact that this could potentially, you know, be a problem. But the people doing the research were conscious of this right from the start, evaluated the trade-offs and I think my conclusion was there is really no public threat with what has happened.” Ward added that he supported the publication of Kawaoka’s findings. Devitt added that the H5N1 virus had been studied on campus and elsewhere for years. He said it would be inaccurate to describe H5N1 as a pandemic virus.

“We have comprehensive and stringent biosafety and biosecurity measures in place,” Devitt said. “Those measures are constantly reviewed and updated. Also, the university is subject to federal oversight of work with this and other agents, including unannounced inspections.” Nevertheless, the leaders of the Center for Biosecurity at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center raised questions about the research. “We are playing with fire,” said an editorial published online Thursday by the center. The editorial warned that researchers went too far when they genetically engineered an avian flu strain that could be spread quickly among humans.

“There are no guarantees that such a deadly strain of avian flu would not escape accidentally from the laboratory,” said the editorial in the peer-reviewed journal Biosecurity and Bioterrorism. The article was written in response to the Dutch research, but it also applies to avian flu research at UW, a spokeswoman for the Center for Biosecurity said Friday. The Dutch experiment was performed by internationally respected scientists in biosafety conditions considered top of the line, the editorial noted. “The risk of a person accidentally becoming infected and starting an outbreak with this strain is low.

But it is not zero,” it said.

An accidental escape of an influenza strain from a lab in 1977 led to widespread flu epidemics, the editorial says. “Given the potential global consequences of an accident with the newly modified strain of avian flu, we are playing with fire.” The Center for Biosecurity said in its editorial that it didn’t oppose research in highcontainment labs using dangerous pathogens, including H5N1, but research to develop diagnostics, medicines and vaccines for the most threatening infectious diseases does not require engineering lethal viruses to make them more transmissible between humans.

A critical tenet of the advancement of science is the publication of new research in a form that allows other scientists to reproduce the work, the editorial notes, adding: “This principle should be followed in almost all conceivable circumstances.

But in this circumstance, it shouldn’t.” “Publishing the methods for transforming the H5N1 virus into a highly transmissible strain would show other scientists around the world how to do it in their own labs,” it continued. “One concern is the possibility that the strain would be recreated for malevolent purposes. Even disregarding this risk (which we shouldn’t), scientific publication would encourage others that this is a research initiative worthy of additional exploration. ...

Whether this experiment is published or not, it is a reminder of the power of biology and its potential. We need new approaches for the rapid development of large quantities of medicines or vaccines to protect us against new emerging viruses. But engineering highly transmissible strains of avian flu is not the way to get us there.”

Devitt added that UW officials feel publishing Kawaoka’s work won’t pose a risk beyond what is already known about influenza viruses. “For example, the genome of the 1918 flu virus, which is far more pathogenic than the virus in question, is already publicly available,” he said. Devitt said Kawaoka’s research and the work of other scientists is the best defense against a virus that could become pandemic in nature. “Based on a review of the research by the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity and at their recommendation, any publication will be crafted to minimize the opportunity for misuse,” Devitt said.—MCT

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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2011

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ICS holds Winter Carnival

Greetings

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Happy birthday to Ahmed Idrees! Best wishes from Talat Talha Maliha Madiha, Bilal Talal, Sulaiman Sahar Samar, Mohammad Ali Pogi, Taha, Maha, Faisal, and Wasmia.

he much awaited Winter Carnival, hosted by ICS, Kuwait, finally unfolded on December 1, 2011.

Held every year with great enthusiasm, fun and frolic, it is eagerly looked forward to by all. The day was indeed a fun filled one with mouthful of eats, games, exciting prizes and above all a gala time with friends and dear ones. Students from Indian Public School, Kuwait and a few other schools visited the fete as it was open to all.

The carnival was inaugurated by the Chairman, Thomas Chandy. He was all praise for the marvelous efforts put in by the staff and students of ICS. Games stalls of classes IV to IX included Lucky Corner, Ringing the Bottle, “JalTarang”, Breaking the Pyramid, Lucky draw, Spot the alphabets in order, Car Race and many more.

A very special segment catering to the interest of the kids were put up by “Kidsland”. As compared to the previous years, this year, Kidsland introduced new and exciting variety of water games which pulled the maximum crowd. Kids could be seen pestering their parents and hovering around the play area throughout the day. Henna and face painting added glamour to the fiesta.

The baby show and fashion parade of Classes I and II was indeed enthralling.

The costumes of fairies, princesses, typical Indian attires and the like were showcased. The Baby Show of kindergarten was the limelight of the fete. All eyes were glued to the stage as cute and

bubbly babies made their appearance.

To top it all was an array of mouthwatering eateries beckoning the crowd.

“ICS Dhaba” needs special mention as it was entirely managed by the senior students. The zest and zeal, by which they

prepared and served, revealed their culinary expertise.

The carnival concluded with the Raffle Draw and the release of the school magazine “Quintessence”. The Principal Shanta Maria James, spoke in high

esteem of the endeavors of the staff and students of ICS in making this winter carnival a distinguished one. Special thanks to the parent community for their cooperation and the management for their encouragement.

AOU holds meeting

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rab Open University management held its first open meeting with students for the academic year 2011-12. The event was attended by Deputy Regional Director for Academic Affairs, Professor Marwan Al-Aqaidi, Director of the AOU’s Kuwait branch Dr Nayef Al-Mutairi, and Director of Students ‘Affairs, Mesfer Al-Omar. The meeting gave the opportunity to students to shed light on some of the problems they are facing, including test scheduling.

Search for ‘Miss Kislap ng OFW Kuwait 2012’

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ilipinos are savoring world’s attention after a successful venture in the 2011 international beauty competition. Two of our contenders made it on top, winning first and third runners-up respectively in the international pageantry.

Gwendolyn Ruais finished first runner-up [2011 Miss World] while Shamcey Supsup finished third runner up in the 2011 Miss Universe. Believe it or not, beauty pageants have become an essential part of Filipino culture whether at home or abroad.

In line with this reality, the Filipino Association for Culture and Arts in Kuwait (FCAK) announces the beginning of search for ‘Miss Kislap ng OFW Kuwait 2012’. Filipina candidates must be 18-years old and above. First screening is set on Friday, December 23, at Skyzone Restaurant, Fahaheel, from 11 pm onwards. Screening will run for one month and grand finals will be held on February 24. For details please contact the following numbers: 66032010 (Buboy), 66631086 (Joanne) 66476918 (Tony), 66157937 (Bong).

ICSK Sports Day is an athletic affair

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ports Day at ICSK was a special occasion this year as the oldest school in Kuwait celebrated its record tenth CBSE Kuwait Clusters Annual Athletic Championship, proving beyond doubt that ICSK, is a force to reckon with not only in academics, but also on the sports ground. Inaugurated by the Chief Guest, Satish C Mehta, Ambassador of India to Kuwait, the 37th Annual Athletic Meet of Indian Community School Kuwait was held in a grand manner at Kaifan Stadium on Dec 9, 2011.

For the first time in the history of ICSK Sports Day, the parade was inspected by the chief guest. As the four houses Seva, Sahyog, Santhosh and Shanthi stood in attention, led by the senate members from the four branches, the ambassador inspected the parade. After this the chief guest accepted the salute of a dazzling march past. As the senate led with the

school flag flying high, the contingents comprising of the students in the four houses marched in unison brilliantly. The stars of the day were the athletes of ICSK who won the CBSE Kuwait Clusters Athletic Championship for a record tenth time. There was a roar of applause as they marched past the dais. The school band came in for a special round of applause as the bandleader threw the mace into the air and saluted the chief guest.

Another first for ICSK was the Lighting of the Torch which was lit by the ambassador and handed over to Abigale Individual Champion under 16 girls. It was a visual treat as the champions took a lap in the stadium with the torch. Satish C Mehta in his address congratulated the management, teachers and the students for the astounding and sensational march past of the various houses. In chairman’s address,. Ashok Kalra said that the Board

of Trustees is indeed proud of ICSK’s achievements in the sports arena and the management would take extra effort to maintain the glory in the years to come.

He also mentioned that this achievement would not have been possible but for the hard work of the students, the dedication of the PE teachers and the support of the parents.

The four branches put up wonderful displays. ICSK Khaitan showed the spirit of sportsmanship in ICSK winning its 10th championship trophy. Junior Branch showed the summer season in its colorful display with beautiful costumes. Amman Branch showed the importance of yoga in our lives in their display. Senior Branch Salmiya projected beautifully the theme, India - Unity in Diversity. Various track events took place alongside and the winners were awarded medals and certificates by the guests.

The Sports Day was graced by the honorary members of the Board of Trustees of ICSK Ashok Kalra - Hon Chairman, Archibald Menezes - Hon Vice Chairman, Rajan Daniel - Hon Secretary, Dinesh Kamath - Hon Treasurer, Vijayan Karayil and Francis Machado - Hon Joint Secretaries and the Principals of various schools of Kuwait and many distinguished invitees. Members of the Council of Elders and other board members were also present to encourage the students. Principals S Ilango, Fathima M, Sridevi Pradeep, Dr Sam T Kuruvilla and Vice Principals of the branches of ICSK coordinated the huge event. The members of the Parent Advisory Committee, who are ever willing to support all school events, graced the occasion with their presence. The ICSK fraternity is confident that the golden arena of sports and games will be extended for many more years to come.

Blood donation camp

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n the auspicious occasion of the 100th day of inception, Kozhikode District NRI Association 101 members voluntarily donated blood with an exalted feeling of being able to save valuable lives.

Blood transfusions are required to many individuals who suffer from leukemia and various other major diseases. It is often considered as a benevolent act but actually it has noteworthy health benefits for the donors as well. The striking fact is that most of the members rushed towards Jabriya Blood Bank with a whole hearted mind to donate blood and to be involved in that noble activity. KDNA is pleased to be of service to the community.

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ecember 10 was a much awaited morning for the Carmelites. It was the Sports Festival 2011 held at The Kuwait Association of Athletic Federation-Keifan. Despite the nip in the air, the day was filled with sunshine as the athletes warmed up and raced to victory.

The Ambassador of India to Kuwait Satish C Mehta presided over the function, which was attended by other dignitaries. The March Past by the different squads, in vibrant colors triggered off the festival and the meet was declared open to a release of balloons.

In true spirit of sportsmanship the sports captain David Daniel took the oath.

Much to the delight of every parent, each and every child participated in an array of drills, Pom Pom, Karate, Aerobics to mention a few that displayed excellent technique and coordination and was a treat to the eye. The highlight of the day was the track and field events that built up the competitive spirit in each Carmelite, as the scores on the score board changed to seal their fate. The climax was the award ceremony, wherein the four squads gathered in true team spirit and applauded as the scores rolled in. The Rubies Squad won the championship followed by Topaz as runners up. The cheering was deafening as the athletes went up the podium to receive accolades for their excellent performance. Kudos to the Carmelites.

May our motto ëexcelsiorí ring out loud and clear, instilling the spirit of camaraderie, sportsmanship, team spirit and fair play.

Carmel Sports Festival 2011

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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2011

W H AT ’ S O N

Embassy Information EMBASSY OF BRAZIL The Embassy of Brazil requests all Brazilian citizens in Kuwait to proceed to the website www.brazil.org.kw (Contact Us Form / Fale Conosco) in order to register or update contact information. The Embassy encourages all citizens to do so, including the ones who have already registered in person at the Embassy. The registration process helps the Brazilian Government to contact and assist Brazilians living abroad in case of any emergency. nnnnnnn

GUST inaugurates Click.Art.Perform.Sing Carnival

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he Gulf University for Science and Technology inaugurated its first Click.Art.Perform.Sing (C.A.P.S. On) hosted by the university’s student Photography Club with the support of the Office of Student Life. The Carnival was a day to be remembered with its creativity and vibrancy and focused on not only entertainment, but true talent of the university students.

C.A.P.S On brought liveliness and col-

or to the university with the aim to bring out people’s talents; which is obvious in the name. Photographers, artists, performers and singers took flight and broadcast their talents vibrantly. The event was inaugurated by Dr Shuaib Shuaib, GUST President, Dr Robert Cook, Vice President for Academic Affairs, Dr Sabah Al-Quaddoumi, Vice President for Academic Services and Dr Lee Caldwell, Dean of the College of Business

Administration.

The event opened with a grand circus performance, followed by competitions, plays, interviews and dances. Members of the student Talent Club at GUST bloomed and took part in the performances. Dr Sabah Al-Qaddoumi was interviewed on stage by the student-run Media Club and gave students the chance to speak their mind and ask any questions or inquiries they had.

The event also had a very charitable angle in which all displayed photographs and paintings were auctioned off, with the proceedings fully going to charity. Members of the Anime Club dressed up and impersonated Anime cartoon characters bringing out their love for Anime and making it a reality.

Art in all its representations was there at GUST and it was an enjoyment for all audiences.

EMBASSY OF CANADA The Embassy of Canada is located at Villa 24, Al-Mutawakel St., Block 4 in Da’aiyah. Please visit our website at www.Kuwait.gc.ca. The Embassy of Canada is open from 07:30 to 15:30 Sunday through Thursday. The reception is closed from 12:30 to 01:00 pm for lunch break.

Consular Services for Canadian Citizens are provided from 09:00 until 12:00 on Sunday through Wednesday.

Canada offers a registration service for all Canadians travelling or living abroad. This service is provided so that Consular Officials can contact and assist Canadians in an emergency in a foreign country, such as a natural disaster or civil unrest, or inform Canadians of a family emergency at home. The Embassy of Canada encourages all Canadian Citizens to register online through the Government of Canada Travel Website at www.voyage.gc.ca.

The Canadian Embassy in Abu Dhabi provides visa and immigration services to residents of Kuwait.

Individuals who are interested in visiting, working or immigrating to Canada are invited to visit the website of the Canadian Embassy to the UAE at www.UAE.gc.ca. nnnnnnn

EMBASSY OF GERMANY

The Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Kuwait wishes to announce that as of 1 May 2011, the external service provider Al Qabas Assurex is operating a Visa Application Centre in support of the German Embassy. Short-term visa applications for travels to Germany (e.g. for tourism, visits, business) are to be submitted to the service provider Al Qabas who for your convenience will ensure that all relevant documents are included in your application. Your personal appearance at the Application Centre is not required. Address of the Visa Application Centre: Al Qabas Assurex Sanabel Tower (AlBabtain) Mezzanine (M3) opposite Sharq Mall Kuwait 22924444 Fax: 22924442 Further information are available on the following websites: www.kuwait.diplo.de www.qavisa.com nnnnnnn

EMBASSY OF INDIA The Embassy of India will remain closed December 25, 2011 (Sunday) “Christmas Day”. nnnnnnn

EMBASSY OF KENYA

BSK geography students visit Mutla Ridge

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n a chilly Tuesday morning, the Year 7 students from The British School of Kuwait arrived with great excitement ready to carry out a day of fieldwork in the Mutla Ridge region of Kuwait. The aim for the students would be to focus on the natural processes such as weathering and rock formation. An

enthusiast group exited the bus on arrival to the desert, keen to get investigating. Here, their focus would include looking at the processes involved in changing the great landscape and the microbes we find in it.

There were four activities which each student had to complete during the fieldwork; a weathering investiga-

tion, soil sampling, microbe variety survey and food chain documentation. The fieldwork supported a unit of study the students have completed on rocks and weathering; vital skills needed in geography today. It was therefore pleasing to see everybody getting stuck into the work with such great enthusiasm.

The Embassy of the Republic of Kenya wishes to request all Kenyans resident in or training through Kuwait to register with the Embassy. We are updating our database. This information is necessary in order to facilitate quick assistance and advise in times of emergency. Kindly visit in person or register through our website www.kenyaembkuwait.com. The Embassy is located in: Surra Area - Block 6 - Street 9 Villa 3 Tel: 25353362 - 25353314; Fax: 25353316. nnnnnnn

EMBASSY OF NIGERIA The Nigerian embassy has its new office in Mishref. Block 3, Street 7, House 4. For enquires please call 25379541. Fax- 25387719.

Email- nigeriakuwait@yahoo.com or nigeriankuwait@yahoo.co.uk nnnnnnn

EMBASSY OF PERU Peruvian Permanent Expo will be temporary close from December 2lst 2011 to January 21st 2012. The Expo will reopen on January 22nd 2012 and offer once again “Peruvian Private Gastronomy Tasting Lunches” and much more like Peruvian culture, tourism, trade and great possibilities of investment. nnnnnnn

‘Open Bowling Tournament’ to be concluded

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he Bowl Room” launched its first month long Bowl Open Tournament in the Bowl Room at 360 Mall. The tournament will be concluded on December 23 and so far Ali Al-Bloushy is ranking the first

place whereas Ibrahim Al-Doubayan falls second among other 100 bowlers.

The tournament, which started on November 28, witnessed the presence of many professionals and enthusiasts bowlers who are competing in a thrilling

and adventurous atmosphere. During the closing ceremony the dedicated bowlers will receive valuable prizes as a gratitude for their efforts in the tournament.

It is worth mentioning that “The Bowl

Room” contains 16 public lanes and a VIP Room which can accommodate a large number of bowlers and allow companies and individuals to enjoy a pleasant time while playing their favorite sport.

EMBASSY OF RUSSIA Embassy of the Russian Federation invites all the Russian residents in Kuwait to visit the Consulate for registration and updating your database. This information is necessary for promptly notice, assistance and warning in case of emergency. The consulate reception hours: 10:00 - 13:00, Sunday - Wednesday.

The Embassy is located in Kuwait City, Daiya, Block 5, Diplomatic campus, Plot 17. Tel: (+965) 22560427, 22560428. Fax: (+965) 22524969, email: rusposkuw@mail.ru, consdepkuw@mail.ru Information also available on the website: www.kuwait.mid.ru nnnnnnn

PHILIPS, X-cite unite women for healthy hair

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odern women work hard to take care of themselves and look their best, which means putting their hair through very drastic treatments. In fact, 6 out of 10 women have damaged hair. In response to this issue, Philips has created a series of new products including the top of the range ProCare hairdryer and straightening iron that will help busy women style their hair quickly while minimizing damage. This range is available at All X-cite by Alghanim Electronics outlets in Kuwait. In addition to the launch of the product range, Philips has enlisted the expertise of three super specialist hair care professionals to act as consultants for product development and respond to women’s needs with solid advice and information about adequate hair care as well as types of styles that diminish hair damage.

Philips partnered with professional hair care experts Andy Uffels, Marilyn Sherlock and Sima Asvadi to develop the Women Against Cruelty to Hair campaign. As well as educating women about healthy measures to take for hair care, the threesome will also provide advice on the correct usage of heat styling tools plus step-by-step guidance on

how to easily create styles. Marilyn Sherlock, Hair Expert and Chairman of the Institute of Trichologists says, “Women don’t need to be cruel to their hair to achieve the style they want. By understanding their hair properly and caring for it using the correct products, tools and styling techniques, we will help women create great looks with more style and less damage.” As part of the campaign, X-cite and Philips set up a hair care guidance kiosk at Avenues till December 18, 2011 where people were able to see the full range of products on display. A specialist hair care professional was also present to provide specialized information on how to treat hair properly and prevent damage to hair.

Recent research has revealed that women spend an average of 30 minutes per day damaging their hair while 60 percent of women utilize heat to style their hair once a week or more, a factor that increases hair damage to up to 33 percent. The new Philips hair care range enables women to dry, straighten, style and retouch their hair daily and safely while limiting the amount of damage to their hair. The hair care range also includes styling solutions for every women, hair type and budget.

EMBASSY OF SOUTH AFRICA On the occasion of Christmas & Good Will Day, the South African Embassy will be closed from Thursday, December 22, 2011 to Monday, December 26, 2011. Please note on Tuesday, December 27, 2011, working hours will be from 8:00 to 10:00. The Embassy will resume its normal working hours on Wednesday, December 28, 2011, from Sunday to Thursday. Please note that the Working hours will be from 8:00 to 16:00 & the Consular Section operation hours will from 8:30 to 12:30.

On the occasion of the New Year, the Embassy will be closed on Sunday, January 1, 2012.

Please note on Thursday, December 29, 2011, working hours will be from 8:00 to 10:00. The Embassy will resume its normal working hours on Monday, January 2, 2012, as follows: Please note that the working hours will be from 8:00 to 16:00 & the Consular Section operation hours will from 8:30 to 12:30.

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00:50 01:45 02:40 03:35 04:30 05:25 06:20 07:10 08:00 08:25 08:50 09:15 09:40 10:10 11:05 12:00 12:55 13:20 13:50 14:45 15:40 16:30 17:00 17:30 18:00 18:25 19:20 20:15 20:40 21:10 22:05 23:00 23:55

00:30 01:00 02:00 02:50 03:40 04:10 04:40 04:50 05:00 05:15 05:20 05:40 06:00 06:10 06:20 06:35 06:40 07:00 07:10 07:30 07:40 07:50 08:05 08:10 08:30 08:40 09:00 09:10 09:25 09:35 09:45 10:05 10:20 10:40 11:40 12:25 13:15 13:45 14:15 15:10 16:40 17:30 18:15 18:45 19:15 20:10 21:00 21:45 22:15 22:45 23:40

00:00 00:30 01:00 01:30 01:45 02:00

I’m Alive Animal Cops Phoenix Monster Bug Wars Into The Lion’s Den I’m Alive Dogs 101: Specials Animal Cops Phoenix Miami Animal Police Monkey Life Dick ‘n’ Dom Go Wild Talk To The Animals Chris Humfrey’s Wildlife Breed All About It Your Very First Puppy Dogs 101: Specials Animal Cops Houston Bondi Vet Wildlife SOS Animal Cops Specials 2009 Animal Cops Phoenix Monster Bug Wars Monkey Life Dick ‘n’ Dom Go Wild Talk To The Animals The Really Wild Show Dogs 101: Specials Dogs 101 Bondi Vet Breed All About It Dogs 101: Specials Monster Bug Wars Wildest India Untamed & Uncut

One Foot In The Grave Last Of The Summer Wine The Weakest Link Holby City Doctors Last Of The Summer Wine Little Robots The Large Family Boogie Beebies Poetry Pie Tweenies Balamory Little Robots The Large Family Boogie Beebies Poetry Pie Tweenies Charlie and Lola Balamory Little Robots The Large Family Penelope K, By The Way Poetry Pie Tweenies Charlie and Lola Balamory Little Robots The Large Family Penelope K, By The Way Poetry Pie Tweenies Charlie and Lola Balamory My Family The Weakest Link The Planets Doctors EastEnders Holby City My Family The Planets The Weakest Link Doctors EastEnders Holby City The Planets The Weakest Link Doctors EastEnders Casualty Gracie!

BBC World News America Hardtalk BBC World News World Business Report Sport Today BBC World News America

02:30 Asia Business Report 02:45 Sport Today 03:00 BBC World News 03:30 Asia Business Report 03:45 Sport Today 04:00 Newsday 04:30 Asia Business Report 04:45 Sport Today 05:00 Newsday 05:30 Asia Business Report 05:45 Sport Today 06:00 Newsday 06:30 Asia Business Report 06:45 Sport Today 07:00 Newsday 07:30 Hardtalk 08:00 BBC World News 08:30 World Business Report 08:45 BBC World News 09:30 World Business Report 09:45 BBC World News 10:00 BBC World News 10:30 World Business Report 10:45 Sport Today 11:00 BBC World News 11:30 World Business Report 11:45 Sport Today 12:00 BBC World News 12:30 Hardtalk 13:00 BBC World News 13:30 World Business Report 13:45 Sport Today 14:00 BBC World News 14:30 World Business Report 14:45 Sport Today 15:00 GMT With George Alagiah 15:30 GMT With George Alagiah 16:00 Impact With Mishal Husain 17:30 World Business Report 17:45 Sport Today 18:00 BBC World News 18:30 Hardtalk 19:00 The Hub With Nik Gowing 20:30 World Business Report 20:45 Sport Today 21:00 BBC World News 21:30 World Business Report 21:45 Sport Today 22:00 World News Today With Zeinab Badawi 23:00 World News Today With Zeinab Badawi 23:30 World Business Report 23:45 Sport Today

00:15 Samurai Jack 00:40 Megas XLR 01:05 Robotboy 01:30 Squirrel Boy 01:55 George Of The Jungle 02:20 Cramp Twins 02:45 Chop Socky Chooks 03:10 Best Ed 03:35 My Gym Partner’s A Monkey 04:00 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien 04:25 Generator Rex 04:50 Adventure Time 05:15 The Marvelous Misadventures Of Flapjack 05:40 Chowder 05:55 Powerpuff Girls 06:30 Ed, Edd n Eddy 06:55 I Am Weasel 07:20 Squirrel Boy 07:45 Cow & Chicken 08:00 Ben 10: Ultimate Challenge 08:25 Angelo Rules 08:50 Best Ed 09:15 The Marvelous Misadventures Of Flapjack 09:40 My Gym Partner’s A Monkey 10:05 The Grim Adventures Of Billy & Mandy 10:30 Courage The Cowardly Dog 10:55 Cow & Chicken 11:20 I Am Weasel 11:35 Adventure Time 12:00 Ben 10 12:25 Bakugan Battle Brawlers 12:50 The Secret Saturdays 13:15 Samurai Jack 13:40 Ben 10: Alien Force 14:05 Codename: Kids Next Door 14:30 Skunk Fu! 14:50 My Gym Partner’s A Monkey 15:15 The Marvelous Misadventures Of Flapjack 15:40 Ed, Edd n Eddy 16:05 Camp Lazlo

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2011

TV PROGRAMS 16:30 Chowder 16:55 The Grim Adventures Of Billy & Mandy 17:25 Cow & Chicken 17:50 Courage The Cowardly Dog 18:15 I Am Weasel 18:40 George Of The Jungle 19:05 Foster’s Home For Imaginary Friends 19:30 Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated 19:55 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien 20:20 Generator Rex 20:45 Bakugan: Gundalian Invaders 21:10 Sym-Bionic Titan 21:35 Star Wars: The Clone Wars 22:00 Hero 108 22:25 Adventure Time 22:50 The Grim Adventures Of Billy & Mandy 23:00 Ben 10 23:25 Bakugan Battle Brawlers

00:00 00:25 01:15 02:00 02:50 03:35 04:25 05:15 06:00 06:20 Cody 07:05 07:55 08:10 09:00 10:45 12:00 12:45 13:10 13:30 14:20 15:00 16:35 17:00 17:25 17:50 18:15 18:45 20:00 20:25 21:15 22:00 22:50 23:15

Kim Possible Fairly Odd Parents Stitch Replacements Emperor’s New School Stitch Replacements Fairly Odd Parents Hannah Montana The Suite Life Of Zack And Wizards Of Waverly Place Phineas And Ferb Good Luck Charlie Camp Rock Wizards Of Waverly Place Shake It Up Fish Hooks Fish Hooks Suite Life On Deck Wizards Of Waverly Place Go Figure So Random Fairly Odd Parents Good Luck Charlie Fish Hooks Shake It Up A.N.T. Farm Good Luck Charlie Hannah Montana Suite Life On Deck Shake It Up Sonny With A Chance Wizards Of Waverly Place

00:00 Programmes Start At 7:00am KSA 07:00 Kid vs Kat 07:10 Phineas And Ferb 08:20 Have A Laugh 08:25 I’M In The Band 08:50 Kick Buttowski 09:15 Kickin It 10:55 Phineas And Ferb 11:20 Zeke & Luther 11:40 Have A Laugh 11:45 I’M In The Band 12:10 American Dragon 12:35 Kid vs Kat 13:00 Pokemon Movie 14:35 Zeke & Luther 15:00 Kick Buttowski 15:25 I’M In The Band 15:50 I’M In The Band 16:10 Have A Laugh 16:15 Zeke & Luther 16:40 Zeke & Luther 17:05 Phineas And Ferb 18:20 Pair Of Kings 18:45 Escape From Scorpion Island 19:10 Rekkit Rabbit 19:35 Spiderman 19:55 Have A Laugh 20:00 The Avengers: Earths Mightiest Heroes 20:25 Phineas And Ferb 20:50 Kid vs Kat 21:15 Zeke & Luther 21:40 Kick Buttowski 22:05 Phineas And Ferb 22:30 American Dragon 22:55 I’M In The Band 23:20 Zeke & Luther

THE GREAT DEBATERS ON OSN CINEMA

00:15 05:40 06:05 07:00 07:25 07:50 08:45 09:10 10:05 10:30 10:55 11:25 12:20 13:15 15:05 18:45 19:10 19:40 20:05 20:35 21:00 21:30 22:25 23:20

River Monsters How It’S Made Dirty Jobs Wheeler Dealers Fifth Gear Overhaulin’ How Stuff’S Made Mythbusters Cake Boss Border Security Scrappers Curiosity Mythbusters Real Superhumans Stan Lee’S Superhumans Cake Boss Border Security Scrappers How It’S Made How Stuff’S Made Cash Cab Us Penn & Teller Tell A Lie Mythbusters Curiosity

00:40 The Gadget Show 01:05 The Tech Show 01:35 Superships 02:25 Stunt Junkies 02:50 Sci-Fi Saved My Life 03:40 Cosmic Collisions 04:35 The Gadget Show 05:00 The Gadget Show 05:25 How Stuff’s Made 05:50 Superships 06:40 One Step Beyond 07:10 Brainiac 08:00 Scrapheap Challenge 08:50 Through The Wormhole With Morgan Freeman 09:40 The Tech Show 10:10 Weird Connections 10:35 The Gadget Show 11:00 The Gadget Show 11:25 Brainiac 12:20 Sci-Fi Science 12:45 How Stuff’s Made 13:15 Sci-Fi Saved My Life 14:05 Through The Wormhole With Morgan Freeman 14:55 One Step Beyond 15:20 Stunt Junkies 15:50 Superships 16:40 Weird Connections 17:05 Scrapheap Challenge 18:00 Through The Wormhole With Morgan Freeman 18:50 Sci-Fi Science 19:15 The Tech Show 19:40 Weird Or What?

20:30 What’s That About?

21:20 Through The Wormhole With Morgan Freeman 22:10 The Gadget Show 22:35 The Gadget Show 23:00 Weird Or What?

23:50 What’s That About?

00:15 Barefoot Contessa 00:40 Kid In A Candy Store 01:05 Unique Sweets 01:30 Gourmet Farmer 01:55 Guy’s Big Bite 02:45 World Cafe Asia 03:35 Food Network Challenge 04:25 Barefoot Contessa 05:15 Luke Nguyen’s Vietnam 05:40 Unwrapped 06:05 Chef vs Britain 06:30 Paula’s Best Dishes 06:50 Food Network Challenge 07:35 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 08:00 Chopped 08:50 Guy’s Big Bite 09:15 Everyday Italian 10:05 Paula’s Best Dishes 10:55 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 11:20 Kid In A Candy Store 11:45 Gourmet Farmer 12:10 Unwrapped 12:35 Paula’s Party 13:25 Everyday Italian 13:50 Paula’s Best Dishes 14:15 World Cafe Asia 14:40 Luke Nguyen’s Vietnam 15:05 Everyday Italian 15:30 Paula’s Best Dishes 15:55 Unwrapped 16:20 Good Eats - Special 16:45 Chopped 17:35 Guy’s Big Bite 18:00 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics

00:20 Special Agent Oso 00:50 Jungle Junction 01:15 Little Einsteins 01:40 Higglytown Heroes 02:10 Jo Jo’S Circus 02:30 Special Agent Oso 03:00 Jungle Junction 03:15 Jungle Junction 03:25 Little Einsteins 03:50 Higglytown Heroes 04:20 Jo Jo’S Circus 04:40 Special Agent Oso 05:10 Jungle Junction 05:35 Little Einsteins 06:00 Higglytown Heroes 06:30 Jo Jo’S Circus 06:50 Jungle Junction 07:15 Higglytown Heroes 07:45 Handy Manny 08:00 Special Agent Oso 08:15 Jungle Junction 08:45 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 09:10 The Hive 09:20 Handy Manny 09:35 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 10:05 The Hive 10:15 Mini Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh 10:25 Timon And Pumbaa 10:45 The Hive 10:55 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 11:15 The Little Mermaid 11:45 Little Einsteins 12:10 Imagination Movers 12:30 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 12:45 Lazytown 13:10 Handy Manny 13:25 Jungle Junction 13:40 Imagination Movers 14:05 The Hive 14:15 Special Agent Oso 14:25 Imagination Movers

15:15 15:40 16:05 16:30 16:40 16:55 17:20 17:45 18:00 18:20 18:30 18:55 19:25 19:50 20:05 20:25 20:40 20:50 21:20 21:30 21:55 22:20 22:35 22:50 23:15 23:25 23:40 23:55

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Jake & The Neverland Pirates Handy Manny The Hive Jake & The Neverland Pirates Imagination Movers Lazytown Jungle Junction The Hive Handy Manny Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Jake & The Neverland Pirates The Little Mermaid Special Agent Oso Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Jungle Junction The Hive Jake & The Neverland Pirates The Hive Imagination Movers Little Einsteins Jake & The Neverland Pirates Jungle Junction Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Timmy Time Handy Manny Jungle Junction Mickey Mouse Clubhouse

00:25 Kendra 00:55 Style Star 01:25 E!es 02:20 E! Investigates 03:15 25 Most Stylish 04:10 Sexiest 05:05 Extreme Hollywood 06:00 THS 07:50 Behind The Scenes 08:20 E! News 09:15 Bridalplasty 10:15 THS 12:05 E! News 13:05 THS 17:55 E! News 18:55 THS 19:55 E!es 20:25 E!es 20:55 Chelsea Lately 21:25 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 21:55 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 22:25 E! News 23:25 Chelsea Lately 23:55 Keeping Up With The Kardashians

00:00 BMX Megatour 00:50 Dragrace High 01:40 Mantracker 02:30 World Combat League 03:20 Dragrace High 04:10 BMX Megatour 05:00 Ed’s Up 05:50 Mantracker 06:40 World Combat League 07:30 Ride Guide Mountainbike 2009 09:00 The Alli Show 09:25 Blood, Sweat And Gears 10:15 Lucas Oil Motocross Championships 2009 11:55 Glutton For Punishment 12:45 Fantasy Factory 13:35 Dragrace High 14:25 Mantracker 15:15 World Combat League 16:05 Glutton For Punishment 16:55 Fantasy Factory 17:45 The Alli Show 18:10 Blood, Sweat And Gears 19:00 Lucas Oil Motocross Championships 2009 20:40 Mantracker 21:30 Dragrace High

00:40 Extreme Forensics 01:30 The Haunted 02:15 A Haunting 03:05 Couples Who Kill 03:50 Deadly Women 04:40 Extreme Forensics 05:25 The Haunted 06:15 A Haunting 07:10 Life Or Death: Medical Mysteries 08:00 FBI Files 08:50 Forensic Detectives 09:40 Fugitive Strike Force 10:25 Life Or Death: Medical Mysteries 11:10 Real Emergency Calls 11:35 Who On Earth Did I Marry?

11:55 On The Case With Paula Zahn 12:40 Disappeared 13:25 Fugitive Strike Force 14:15 Life Or Death: Medical Mysteries 15:00 Real Emergency Calls 15:25 Who On Earth Did I Marry?

15:50 On The Case With Paula Zahn 16:35 Disappeared 17:20 FBI Files 18:10 Forensic Detectives 19:00 Fugitive Strike Force 19:45 Real Emergency Calls 20:10 Life Or Death: Medical Mysteries 20:55 Who On Earth Did I Marry?

00:00 Reverse Exploration 01:00 Meet The Natives 02:00 Treks In A Wild World 03:00 Cycling Home From Siberia 03:30 Deadliest Journeys 04:00 Amazing Adventures Of A Nobody: Europe 04:30 Which Way To 05:30 Graham’s World 06:00 Reverse Exploration 07:00 Meet The Natives 08:00 Treks In A Wild World 09:00 Cycling Home From Siberia 09:30 Deadliest Journeys 10:00 Amazing Adventures Of A Nobody: Europe 10:30 Which Way To 11:30 Graham’s World 12:00 Reverse Exploration 13:00 Bluelist Australia 13:30 Word Travels 14:00 Cruise Ship Diaries 15:00 Pressure Cook 16:00 Around The World For Free 17:00 Nomads 18:00 Treks In A Wild World 19:00 Bluelist Australia 19:30 Word Travels 20:00 Cruise Ship Diaries 21:00 Pressure Cook 22:00 Around The World For Free

SHUTTER ISLAND ON OSN MOVIES HD

00:00 The Thin Red Line-18 03:00 Deadly Impact-18 04:45 Game Of Death-PG15 06:45 Ong Bak 2-PG15 08:30 The Librarian: The Curse Of Judas Chalice-PG15 10:00 Wyatt Earp-PG15 13:15 From Paris With Love-PG15 15:00 The Librarian: The Curse Of Judas Chalice-PG15 16:30 Tracker-PG15 18:15 From Paris With Love-PG15

01:00 Shrink-18 03:00 Alabama Moon-PG15 05:00 Slipstream-PG15 07:00 My Son, My Son, What Have You Done?-PG15 09:00 My Name Is Khan-PG15 11:45 Mee Shee-PG 13:30 Shrek Forever After-FAM 15:00 The Great Debaters-PG15 17:15 Mee Shee-PG 19:00 The Social Network-PG15 21:00 The LXD: Secrets Of The Ra 23:00 Death Race 2-18

00:30 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 01:00 The Colbert Report 01:30 American Dad 02:00 Neighbors From Hell 02:30 South Park 03:00 Friends 03:30 Friends 04:00 Will And Grace 04:30 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 05:30 Seinfeld 06:00 Two And A Half Men 06:30 Melissa And Joey 07:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 08:00 Will And Grace 08:30 Friends 09:00 Seinfeld 09:30 How I Met Your Mother 10:00 Traffic Light 10:30 Melissa And Joey 11:00 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 12:00 Two And A Half Men 12:30 Will And Grace 13:00 Friends 13:30 Seinfeld 14:00 Melissa And Joey 14:30 Traffic Light 15:00 How I Met Your Mother 15:30 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 16:00 The Colbert Report 16:30 Outsourced 17:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 18:00 Friends 19:00 Friends With Benefits 19:30 Traffic Light 20:00 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 21:00 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

01:00 Sleep Dealer-18 03:00 Game Of Death-PG15 05:00 Child’s Play 3-18 07:00 The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course-PG15 09:00 Batman: Under The Red Hood-PG 10:30 Avatar-PG 13:15 The Sorcerer’s Apprentice 15:15 Batman: Under The Red Hood-PG 17:00 Iron Man 2-PG15 19:15 Smokin’ Aces 2: Assassin’s Ball21:00 Lake Placid 3-18 23:00 Neowolf-18

16:00 What’s The Worst That Could Happen?-PG15 18:00 It’s A Wonderful Afterlife 20:00 The Lonely Guy-PG15

01:00 03:00 05:00 07:00 09:00 11:00 13:00 15:00 17:00 19:00 21:00 PG15 23:00

Howl-18 City Of Life-PG15 Malibu’s Most Wanted-PG15 Home-PG15 My Last Five Girlfriends-PG15 Flicka 2-PG15 A Lot Like Love-PG15 The Eclipse-PG15 My Last Five Girlfriends-PG15 Crazy On The Outside-PG15 The LXD: Secrets Of The Ra-

UFC Unleashed UFC Unleashed UFC 131 WWE Vintage Collection WWE Tough Enough Speedway Intercontinental Le Mans Cup V8 Supercars Championship V8 Supercars Championship Prizefighter WWE SmackDown Speedway Power Boats UIM Power Boats UIM UFC 132 Prizefighter

Shutter Island-18

00:00 Pocahontas & The Spider Woman-PG 02:00 Ulysses-PG 04:00 Ramses Of Egypt-PG 06:00 Tangled-FAM 08:00 Turandot-PG 10:00 The Little Engine That CouldPG15 12:00 Turtle Hero: Part I-FAM 14:00 Ulysses-PG 16:15 Young Fisherman-PG 18:00 The Little Engine That Could 20:00 Ramona And Beezus-PG

00:00 01:00 02:00 03:00 04:00 07:00 08:00 09:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 15:00 16:00 16:30 17:30 18:00 19:00 20:00 23:00

02:00 03:00 04:00 07:00 08:00 09:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 16:00 18:00 19:00 19:30 20:00 23:00

UFC Unleashed Intercontinental Le Mans Cup Trans World Sport Speedway Masters Football Intercontinental Le Mans Cup Trans World Sport WWE NXT WWE Vintage Collection Speedway Masters Football Intercontinental Le Mans Cup Powerboats UIM Speedway Volvo Ocean Race Highlights Trans World Sport WWE Vintage Collection UFC 132 UFC Unleashed

03:00 HSBC Sevens World Series 06:30 SPL Highlights 07:00 Darts PDC World Championship 12:00 World Cup of Pool 13:00 World Pool Masters 14:00 Ping Pong World Championship 15:00 Masters Football 18:00 Trans World Sport 19:00 Golfing World 20:00 ICC Cricket World 20:30 World Hockey 21:00 Futbol Mundial 21:30 SPL Highlights 22:00 Live Darts PDC World Championship

01:30 SPL Highlights 02:00 World Cup of Pool 03:00 World Pool Masters 04:00 Ping Pong World Championship 05:00 Scottish Premier League 07:00 Golfing World 08:00 Masters Football 11:00 World Hockey 11:30 Asian Tour Highlights 12:30 Asian Tour Golf Show 13:00 European Senior Tour Highlights 14:00 European Senior Tour Highlights PDC World 00:00 What’s The Worst That Could 15:00 Darts Championship Happen?-PG15 20:00 Asian Tour Highlights 02:00 Out Cold-PG15 21:00 Asian Tour Golf Show 04:00 Babe-FAM 21:30 European Senior Tour 06:00 Babe: Pig In The City-FAM Highlights 08:00 Like Mike-PG 22:30 European Senior Tour 10:00 16 To Life-PG15 Highlights 12:00 Cats & Dogs-PG 23:30 European Challenge Cup 14:00 Mr. Baseball-PG

00:00 Lost Worlds 01:00 Seven Deadly Sins 02:00 How The Earth Was Made 03:00 American Restoration 03:30 Pawn Stars 04:00 Pawn Stars 04:30 American Restoration 05:00 American Pickers 06:00 Lost Worlds 07:00 Tales Of The Gun 08:00 How The Earth Was Made 09:00 American Restoration 09:30 Pawn Stars 10:00 Pawn Stars 10:30 American Restoration 11:00 American Pickers 12:00 Lost Worlds 13:00 Tales Of The Gun 14:00 How The Earth Was Made 15:00 American Restoration 15:30 Pawn Stars 16:00 Pawn Stars 16:30 American Restoration 17:00 American Pickers 18:00 Lost Worlds 19:00 Tales Of The Gun 20:00 How The Earth Was Made 21:00 Hell’S Battlefield 22:00 Soviet Storm: WWII In The East 23:00 Betrayal: The Battle For Warsaw

00:05 Big Rich Texas 01:00 Jerseylicious 02:00 Videofashion Daily 02:55 Videofashion News 03:25 How Do I Look?

04:20 Whose Wedding Is It Anyway?

05:15 Whose Wedding Is It Anyway?

06:10 Homes With Style 06:35 Area 07:05 Clean House 08:00 Videofashion News 08:30 Videofashion News 09:00 Videofashion Daily 10:00 Open House 10:25 Open House 10:55 How Do I Look?

11:50 Whose Wedding Is It Anyway?

12:50 Clean House: Search For The Messiest...

13:50 Clean House 14:45 Videofashion Daily 15:45 How Do I Look?

16:40 Kimora: Life In The Fab Lane 17:35 Jerseylicious 18:30 Big Rich Texas 19:25 Clean House: New York 20:25 Open House 20:50 Open House 21:20 Clean House 22:15 Tia And Tamera

01:35 Mgm’s Big Screen-FAM 01:50 Lord Of The Flies-PG 03:20 Angel Of Desire 04:55 Caged Fury 06:30 California Casanova-PG 08:05 Khartoum-PG 10:10 Crime And Punishment (1998)-PG 11:40 Flight From Ashiya-PG 13:25 Danielle Steel’s Heartbeat-PG 15:00 Memories Of Me-PG 16:45 Love Bites-PG 18:25 Mgm’s Big Screen-FAM 18:40 Big Stickup At Brink’s-PG 20:20 Kidnapped-PG

Classifieds WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2011

ACCOMMODATION

DIAL 161 FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION

Sharing accommodation available for Indian bachelors in old Riggae, sector-1, street-1, Jada-3, near Noor Bakala. Contact: 97525930.

(C 3787) 20-12-2011

FOR SALE Arrival Flights on Wednesday 21/12/2011 Airlines Flt Route JZR 185 DUBAI PIA 205 LAHORE/PESHAWER JZR 267 BEIRUT JZR 539 CAIRO QTR 6130 DOHA ETH 2620 ADDIS ABABA ETH 620 ADDIS ABABA THY 772 ISTANBUL UAE 853 DUBAI QTR 138 DOHA DHX 370 BAHRAIN FDB 67 DUBAI ETD 305 ABU DHABI GFA 211 BAHRAIN BBC 43 DHAKA KAC 544 CAIRO THY 770 ISTANBUL DHX 170 BAHRAIN FAH 201 DUBAI JZR 555 ALEXANDRIA JZR 529 ASSIUT BAW 157 LONDON KAC 412 MANILA/BANGKOK AFR 6702 PARIS KAC 206 ISLAMABAD FDB 53 DUBAI KAC 352 COCHIN KAC 302 MUMBAI KAC 362 COLOMBO KAC 344 CHENNAI UAE 855 DUBAI ABY 125 SHARJAH QTR 132 DOHA ETD 301 ABU DHABI FDB 55 DUBAI GFA 213 BAHRAIN FCX 203 DUBAI IRA 603 SHIRAZ RBG 3555 ALEXANDRIA KNE 839 JEDDAH JZR 165 DUBAI RKM 310 RAS ALKHAIMAH IRM 5066 MASHAD MEA 404 BEIRUT SVA 9305 JEDDAH KAC 382 DELHI MSR 610 CAIRO JZR 201 DAMASCUS CLX 792 LUXEMBOURG KAC 672 DUBAI GFA 219 BAHRAIN MSR 621 ASSIUT SYR 341 DAMASCUS FDB 57 DUBAI KAC 790 MEDINAH UAL 982 WASHINGTON DC DULLES IRC 6791 MASHAD KNE 745 JEDDAH SVA 500 JEDDAH SVA 9303 JEDDAH RJA 640 AMMAN ABY 123 SHARJAH KAC 284 DHAKA JZR 257 BEIRUT KAC 546 ALEXANDRIA QTR 134 DOHA SVA 3908 JEDDAH JZR 561 SOHAG IYE 824 SANAA/DOHA JZR 213 DEIREZZOR/ALEPPO ETD 303 ABU DHABI UAE 857 DUBAI KAC 550 SHARM EL SHEIKH/SOHAG GFA 215 BAHRAIN SVA 510 RIYADH JZR 269 BEIRUT RBG 3564 ASSIUT ABY 127 SHARJAH JZR 777 JEDDAH ALK 227 COLOMBO/DUBAI JZR 177 DUBAI FDB 63 DUBAI KAC 542 CAIRO KAC 618 DOHA JZR 787 RIYADH KAC 786 JEDDAH KAC 614 BAHRAIN KAC 674 DUBAI AIC 975 CHENNAI/GOA KAC 166 PARIS/ROME KAC 102 NEW YORK/LONDON KAC 774 RIYADH FDB 61 DUBAI JAI 572 MUMBAI OMA 647 MUSCAT DHX 372 BAHRAIN VOS 81 BAGHDAD MEA 402 BEIRUT GFA 217 BAHRAIN QTR 136 DOHA UAE 859 DUBAI JZR 135 BAHRAIN SAI 441 LAHORE JZR 239 AMMAN UAL 981 BAHRAIN AXB 393 KOZHIKODE/COCHIN DLH 636 FRANKFURT

Time 0:20 0:25 0:45 0:50 1:15 1:15 1:45 2:15 2:35 2:40 2:55 3:05 3:10 3:15 3:40 4:40 4:50 5:15 5:30 6:00 6:20 6:40 6:45 7:00 7:40 7:45 7:50 7:55 8:20 8:25 8:30 9:00 9:05 9:15 9:20 9:55 10:30 10:40 10:45 11:05 11:20 11:45 11:50 11:55 12:00 12:45 12:55 13:00 13:15 13:20 13:25 13:30 13:45 13:50 14:00 14:05 14:20 14:25 14:30 14:35 14:40 14:45 15:00 15:00 15:20 15:25 15:30 16:10 16:35 16:45 16:50 16:55 17:10 17:15 17:20 17:30 17:35 17:40 17:45 18:00 18:15 18:40 18:50 18:55 19:05 19:10 19:20 19:25 19:30 19:30 19:35 19:40 20:00 20:10 20:15 21:00 21:15 21:20 21:25 21:35 21:40 21:55 22:40 22:45 23:00 23:40 23:50

Departure Flights on Wednesday 21/12/2011 Airlines Flt Route Time UAL 981 WASHINGTON DC DULLES 0:45 AXB 390 MANGALORE/KOZHIKODE 0:50 AIC 982 AHMEDABAD/HYDERABAD 1:05 DLH 637 FRANKFURT 1:20 PIA 206 LAHORE 1:25 ETH 2621 ADDIS ABABA 2:15 KAC 283 DHAKA 2:40 ETH 621 ADDIS ABABA 2:45 QTR 6131 DOHA 2:45 THY 773 ISTANBUL 3:15 VOS 94 DUBAI/KANDAHAR 3:30 KAC 381 DELHI 3:30 FDB 68 DUBAI 3:45 UAE 854 DUBAI 3:50 DHX 371 BAHRAIN 3:55 ETD 306 ABU DHABI 4:00 QTR 139 DOHA 4:55 BBC 44 DHAKA 5:00 THY 771 ISTANBUL 5:50 JZR 164 DUBAI 6:55 GFA 212 BAHRAIN 7:00 JZR 200 DAMASCUS 7:30 FDB 54 DUBAI 8:25 KAC 545 ALEXANDRIA 8:30 BAW 156 LONDON 8:40 AFR 6702 DUBAI/HONG KONG 8:45 KAC 671 DUBAI 9:00 JZR 256 BEIRUT 9:00 KAC 549 SHARM EL SHEIKH/SOHAG 9:15 KAC 789 MEDINAH 9:25 JZR 560 SOHAG 9:30 JZR 212 ALEPPO/DEIREZZOR 9:35 UAE 856 DUBAI 9:40 ABY 126 SHARJAH 9:45 ETD 302 ABU DHABI 10:00 KAC 117 NEW YORK 10:00 FDB 56 DUBAI 10:05 QTR 133 DOHA 10:10 KAC 177 FRANKFURT/GENEVA 10:35 GFA 214 BAHRAIN 10:40 RBG 3563 ASSIUT 11:25 JZR 268 BEIRUT 11:25 IRA 602 SHIRAZ 11:40 FCX 204 DUBAI 11:45 KNE 840 MEDINAH/JEDDAH 11:55 KAC 541 CAIRO 12:00 JZR 776 JEDDAH 12:15 KAC 103 LONDON 12:30 RKM 311 RAS ALKHAIMAH 12:50 MEA 405 BEIRUT 12:55 IRM 5065 MASHAD 13:20 SVA 2305 JEDDAH 13:30 KAC 785 JEDDAH 13:40 JZR 176 DUBAI 13:50 MSR 611 CAIRO 13:55 GFA 220 BAHRAIN 14:20 MSR 622 ASSIUT 14:30 FDB 58 DUBAI 14:35 SYR 342 DAMASCUS 14:45 CLX 792 VIETNAM 14:45 KAC 673 DUBAI 15:05 KNE 746 JEDDAH 15:10 UAL 982 BAHRAIN 15:20 IRC 6792 MASHAD 15:20 ABY 124 SHARJAH 15:25 RJA 641 AMMAN 15:35 KAC 617 DOHA 15:40 SVA 503 MEDINAH/JEDDAH 15:45 JZR 786 RIYADH 15:50 SVA 2303 JEDDAH 16:05 KAC 613 BAHRAIN 16:20 KAC 773 RIYADH 16:25 SVA 2308 JEDDAH 17:00 JZR 238 AMMAN 17:15 IYE 824 SANAA 17:35 ETD 304 ABU DHABI 17:35 JZR 538 CAIRO 17:40 QTR 135 DOHA 17:45 UAE 858 DUBAI 18:10 GFA 216 BAHRAIN 18:15 RBG 3556 ALEXANDRIA 18:20 ABY 128 SHARJAH 18:25 SVA 511 RIYADH 18:35 JZR 266 BEIRUT 18:45 JZR 134 BAHRAIN 19:05 ALK 228 DUBAI/COLOMBO 19:10 FDB 64 DUBAI 19:20 JZR 184 DUBAI 19:55 KAC 361 COLOMBO 20:20 FDB 62 DUBAI 20:40 KAC 331 TRIVANDRUM 21:00 DHX 171 BAHRAIN 21:00 KAC 351 COCHIN 21:05 JAI 571 MUMBAI 21:10 OMA 648 MUSCAT 21:15 KAC 543 CAIRO 21:55 DHX 373 BAHRAIN 22:00 MEA 403 BEIRUT 22:20 GFA 218 BAHRAIN 22:25 FAH 102 DUBAI 22:30 QTR 137 DOHA 22:35 KAC 301 MUMBAI 22:45 JZR 554 ALEXANDRIA 22:45 UAE 860 DUBAI 22:50 KAC 205 ISLAMABAD 23:00 JZR 502 LUXOR 23:35 KAC 415 KUALA LUMPUR/JAKARTA 23:45 SAI 442 LAHORE 23:50

Directorate General of Civil Aviation Home Page (www.kuwait-airport.com.kw)

Delivery Van 2010, 2009 & 2006, Bus - 2008 Toyota HiAce. Contact: 66052331.

(C 3790) 21-11-2011 Toyota Corolla 1.8XLI, model 2006 color white, excellent condition, 88,000 km, Price KD 2,300/-, area Salmiya.

Contact: 55427307. (C 3784) 19-12-2011

SITUATION WANTED

Indian 26 years experiences in Accounts, Finance, Commercial sector. Can implement Accounts setup, Finalization of Accounts, control of department.

Seeking suitable senior position. Contact: d.manabendra@yahoo.com / 66598202. (C 3788) Palestinian having 6 years experiences in Accounts can handle Payroll, BRS, A/R, A/P, Financial Report.

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(C 3789) 20-12-2011 Indian male 29 yrs, B.Com., MBA having six years rich experience in finance and

investment in Kuwait, seeking suitable placement.

Fluent in English, Arabic & Hindi. Proficient on MSOffice, Tally, Accpac, Focus etc., Article # 18 transferable. Contact: 66516791.

(C 3785) 19-12-2011

CHANGE OF NAME I, Moidin Kunhi Badiyar Husan S/O Husan Kunhi Urmene Moidin, holder of Indian Passport No: F4932532 have changed my name to MOHAMMED MOHIDEEN for all purposes.

(C 3786)

I, Shaikh Vali, Shaikh Imam holder of Indian Passport No. 3972054 hereby change my name to Shaikh Mettala Vali. (C 3783) 18-12-2011

I, Marshal Agnelo Lawrence, holder of Indian Passport No. F5623328 hereby change my name to Marcelo Agnelo Lourenco.

19-12-2011

In this Nov 27, 2009 file photo, Zhu Zhu Pets are quickly claimed at Toys “R” Us by holiday shoppers in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania.

Why are toys selling out?

Might be mom blog buzz

E

mily Vanek is not buying up a bunch of LeapPad Explorers herself, but she may be at least partly to blame for some stores selling out of the $99 children’s tablet this holiday season. “The LeapPad is incredible,” the Denver mother of three boys wrote to the 6,000 readers of her ColoradoMoms.com blog. “Not only do kids get to have a toy resembling their parents’ tablet, it’s durable and my favorite part?! It’s not just mindless games they are playing.”

These days, mommy bloggers don’t just gab about spilled milk and poopy diapers. In fact, they’ve become so influential in the $22 billion toy market that toy makers go to great lengths to get their seal of approval. Their thumbs-up is particularly important during the holiday shopping season when toy makers hope to create the next hit toy.

It’s a major shift for toy companies, which have always given out samples of new dolls, games and other playthings to drive sales. Five years ago, they handed out 98 percent of those products to TV stations, newspapers and magazines. But today, as much as 70 percent go to bloggers. Mattel Inc, the world’s largest toy company, has a database of about 400 mommy bloggers and their location, interests and the children’s ages. Canadian toy maker Spin Master, which makes the trading card game Redakai, hired a dedicated staffer whose only job is to reach out to mommy bloggers. And small toy maker Cepia Inc, which makes robotic Zhu Zhu pets, gets feedback from mommy bloggers before its toys hit shelves.

It’s hard for toy makers to ignore the monstrous number of mommy bloggers. Nationwide, there are about 4 million or so mommy bloggers who influence millions of other parents around the world. “Mommy bloggers started because they wanted to share things about a new baby, but the most influential ones got into social media and realized they could make a difference,” says Maria Bailey, whose BSM Media firm helps companies pick mommy bloggers with the most reach on the Twitter and Facebook social media websites. “Sometimes that difference is as simple as directing a mom to a toy that will save money.”

That’s why when LeapFrog Enterprises wanted to roll out its LeapPad Explorer kid-size tablet, it reached out to 200 of the top mommy bloggers. The goal? To get them to generate buzz for the tablet by throwing “mommy parties”.

The Emeryville, California-based company sent each blogger a kit that included a LeapPad, a game for it and coupons. LeapFrog also sent tips on how many people to invite (about 5 adults and 15 kids) and suggested recipes (ice cream sundaes).

For bloggers like Vanek, the Denver mom who bills herself as the “go-to answer for all things mom and kids in Colorado”, it was a chance to be a hero of sorts to other parents and their kids. “It not only lets my own children get to try out the newest/hottest toys, it allows them to share them with their friends,” she says. “It allows me to get to have my own friends over for something better than a Tupperware party where I’m doing a hard sales pitch.”

But for LeapFrog, it was an opportunity to get word-ofmouth going early. It was the first time the company had hosted “mommy parties,” but it seems to have paid off. The company declined to give sales numbers, but the LeapPad has been selling out online and in stores across the country this holiday season. Earlier this year, SpinMaster also used mommy bloggers to get the word out about its reformulated Moon Dough, a non-sticky PlayDoh-like moldable substance. Within weeks of the company sending samples to more than 500 bloggers, there were thousands of postings about the new product online. “After playing with our other Moon Dough set just a few days before, I could immedi-

ately tell that this Moon Dough was much less flaky,” blogged ohsosavvymom.com, a mom in San Antonio, Texas with more than 3,600 Twitter followers.

Harold Chizick, vice president of global communications at Spin Master, says in part because of reviews like that, the product had a double-digit increase in sales, though he declined to give details. If the company had used traditional ways to get the word out, Chizick says, the roll out would have taken several months or longer. “It was much faster than expected,” he says.

Sometimes, buzz from bloggers can backfire. “If they like something word gets around very quickly, if they don’t like something, word will also get around quickly,” said Timetoplaymag.com’s Jim Silver, a long time toy expert who works with mom bloggers to review products on his website. In 2009, after Mattel released a silhouette of its new “tween” Dora the Explorer that seemed to deviate from the tomboy-esque look of the original doll, a number of bloggers complained. One on Cafemom.com wrote: “Can’t they leave anything to the imagination these days?”

Mattel, which had hoped the silhouette would generate excitement ahead of the launch of the new doll, decided to release the full image of the Dora early to reassure moms that the doll wasn’t too fancied up. Crayola also faced scrutiny from mom bloggers this year when its Crayola Colored Bubbles, a product with a wand that kids can blow colored soap bubbles through, caused stains. After bloggers gave it negative reviews, Crayola made some changes, including updating the packaging and adding a warning about the possibility of stains. “It’s just like handing kids a bunch of fabric dye and telling them to throw it around,” a blogger on Mommybrunchtales.com wrote.

Still, most toy makers find the risk is worth the reward.

Cepia LLC was relatively unknown until mommy bloggers made its Zhu Zhu pets a hit in 2009. Laura Kurzu, Cepia’s senior vice president of marketing, works with bloggers every step of the way to develop toys, including a Zhu Zhu building set that it tweaked due to blogger comments.

“Bloggers can be really great evangelists for the brand, but you have to be invested in listening to what they say to you,” she says. “You can’t just throw something out there and expect gratuitous support.” — AP

The LeapPad Explorer

34

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2011

stars CROSSWORD 534

STAR TRACK

CALVIN & HOBBES

Aries (March 21-April 19) Something may spell out your need to reorganize and be more conservative. Later today, you may find your friends calling on your talent in some special way. This should all work out well. Your more reserved side will be what others see. You will soon be playing the part of the listener and that is something that most people appreciate. There are far too many talkers and just not enough real listeners! Listening is how you learn. If there is any disagreement today you know how to agree to disagree, in a very diplomatic way.

Those around you appreciate your kindness and helpful behavior; you can always present new ideas when your listener is ready. You enjoy your friends—they are a great source of strength and encouragement.

Taurus (April 20-May 20) You will feel a sense of satisfaction and completeness from the choices you make today. Religion, philosophy, law and education are some of the considerations lately. Sympathy for others is an emotional quality that takes on a greater importance now. It is common sense, not information that counts most just now. Your taste in art and appreciation of the artist is keen. You may not want to purchase too many things just now but you will enjoy having a list of items that you would like to eventually add to your possession as investments and conversation pieces for your home. Your sense of value is strong.

This is also a super time to just sit back and enjoy what you have. A sense of support and harmony make this a relaxed time.

POOCH CAFE ACROSS 1. The compass point that is one point south of due west.

4. Marked by smartness in dress and manners.

10. Remaining after all deductions.

13. Headdress that protects the head from bad weather.

14. Small space in a tissue or part such as the area between veins on a leaf or an insect's wing.

15. South American wood sorrel cultivated for its edible tubers.

16. Water frozen in the solid state.

17. A family of Sino-Tibetan languages spoken in southeastern Asia.

19. The act of scanning.

21. A midwestern state in north central United States.

22. Port city of Denmark in eastern Jutland.

24. God of love and erotic desire.

25. (informal) Of the highest quality.

27. A radioactive element of the actinide series.

28. Large dark brown North American arboreal carnivorous mammal.

30. A region of Malaysia in northeastern Borneo.

34. A summary that repeats the substance of a longer discussion.

38. Title for a civil or military leader (especially in Turkey).

39. A constellation in the southern hemisphere near Telescopium and Norma.

40. Before noon.

44. A Chadic language spoken south of Lake Chad.

46. A silvery ductile metallic element found primarily in bauxite.

47. In bed.

48. A rare silvery (usually trivalent) metallic element.

49. (Sumerian and Akkadian) A demon personifying death.

52. The blood group whose red cells carry both the A and B antigens.

54. A Hindu prince or king in India.

56. A doctor's degree in religion.

59. Someone who bakes commercially.

61. Avatar of Vishnu.

65. A fatal disease of cattle that affects the central nervous system.

66. A fictitious name used when the person performs a particular social role.

68. A loose sleeveless outer garment made from aba cloth.

69. The 7th letter of the Greek alphabet.

70. A state in midwestern United States.

71. A light touch or stroke.

DOWN 1. A mixer incorporating a coil of wires.

2. An indehiscent fruit derived from a single ovary having one or many seeds within a fleshy wall or pericarp.

3. Water at boiling temperature diffused in the atmosphere v 1.

4. East Indian tree bearing a profusion of intense vermilion velvettextured blooms and yielding a yellow dye.

5. A member of a widespread group of Amerindians living in northeastern South America.

6. A tricycle (usually propelled by pedalling).

7. Chiefly perennial grasses of cool temperate regions.

8. English essayist (1775-1834).

9. An intensely radioactive metallic element that occurs in minute amounts in uranium ores.

10. The Hebrew patriarch who saved himself and his family and the animals by building an ark in which they survived 40 days and 40 nights of rain.

11. A very light brown.

12. (military) Signal to turn the lights out.

18. Type genus of the family Arcidae.

20. Plant with an elongated head of broad stalked leaves resembling celery.

23. An associate degree in applied science.

26. Half the width of an em.

29. A federal agency established to coordinate programs aimed at reducing pollution and protecting the environment.

31. Found along western Atlantic coast.

32. A fit of shivering.

33. The (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb.

35. A period marked by distinctive character or reckoned from a fixed point or event.

36. Open-heart surgery in which the rib cage is opened and a section of a blood vessel is grafted from the aorta to the coronary artery to bypass the blocked section of the coronary artery and improve the blood supply to the heart.

37. Having the deep slightly brownish color of gold.

41. Tough Asiatic grass whose culms are used for ropes and baskets.

42. A member of a Mayan people of southwestern Guatemala.

43. Soft white semisolid fat obtained by rendering the fatty tissue of the hog v 1.

45. A river in north central Switzerland that runs northeast into the Rhine.

50. American professional baseball player who hit more home runs than Babe Ruth (born in 1934).

51. American Revolutionary patriot.

53. Strong woody fibers obtained especially from the phloem of from various plants.

54. Before noon.

55. Any of various strong liquors distilled from the fermented sap of toddy palms or from fermented molasses.

57. A small cake leavened with yeast.

58. According to the Old Testament he was a pagan king of Israel and husband of Jezebel (9th century BC).

60. Large brownish-green New Zealand parrot.

62. The part of the nervous system of vertebrates that controls involuntary actions of the smooth muscles and heart and glands.

63. Type genus of the family Myacidae.

64. An informal term for a father.

67. A silvery soft waxy metallic element of the alkali metal group.

Yesterday’s Solution

Gemini (May 21-June 20) You should experience all the benefits of this most powerful planet. You may find yourself in a talkative and quick-witted mood. Ideas are clear and accessible. This could be a good time for thinking over your own affairs. You may have a conversation with an older person or someone in authority. Your energy is high and your creative juices are flowing, ready to be applied to the work at hand. If you give your best effort now, considerable success will follow. There may be a bit of a tendency to ignore your responsibilities and go out among your friends and do some socializing. Unfortunately, reality will probably demand that you tend to business and forget your friends for the moment.

Laugh with the family this evening.

Cancer (June 21-July 22)

NON SEQUITUR

You have a natural sense for communicating with others, especially those younger than yourself. Clear thoughts about the past may also be flowing in today, creating a big sense of nostalgia. Certain smells, songs or pictures could be triggering your response to the past. These thoughts will be mostly pleasant, but could have you thinking about some areas that were less than perfect. In some cases, it is true what they say about letting sleeping dogs lie. Enjoy the pleasant memories and turn loose of the bad ones. Your mind is exceptionally sharp, with the result that you may be able to work out the most difficult problems. This afternoon may be a good time to socialize and enjoy those personal friends that bring you joy.

Leo (July 23-August 22) You could find yourself representing or speaking for your company or communicating about your skills. Positive energies are in your corner. You may even feel that all your hard work this year has been worth the effort. Doubts are no longer part of your daily thinking. You are sure of yourself and know that you make good decisions and your co-workers can depend on you as well as you can depend on them. Your motto may be to move full speed ahead. You are ambitious and your supervisors detect the high achievement status. You are practical and will continue to be successful for yourself and your company. You should find this an exceptionally good day for anything job related. You may find new methods of working that will help simplify the process.

ZITS

Virgo (August 23-September 22) This is a time that you could be enjoying and appreciating your ties to others. Marriage and other close relationships give rise to great expectations now, as a new cycle gets underway in your life. It may seem to you that a little breeze has blown that same interest in socializing to others that you work with or in the strangers that smile as you shop or drive. It would be good if we could enjoy the friendly interactions and polite expressions all year. This afternoon you could be viewed as the perfect person to put in charge of some project requiring a conservative mind. Expect some new and fresh approaches in your habit patterns. Nighttime hours seem to be made for having fun this week and that is what you do this evening.

Remember—work tomorrow.

Libra (September 23-October 22)

MOTHER GOOSE AND GRIMM

This could be a time of challenge from a career standpoint.

Some of the requests coming to you at this time may be stressful.

You must know you are ready, willing and able to extend your energies and your time to learn and accomplish what is set before you. It is a compliment to be asked and eventually, you will be the one doing the asking of others. It is your response to requests from higher-ups at this time that will help influence and guide others. Your primary goal will be to do things that make you proud of yourself and the way that you get things done. Diet, exercise and work all will somehow mean more to you at this time. Finding a place for all of your interests is a good thing. Organization will probably be the number one key.

Scorpio (October 23-November 21) You are happy to be with others and to have work. On top of your regular job, you may be sought after as just the person for a particular job. You are ready to dive in and accomplish what you can. Your attitude is positive and many co-workers have discovered that about you. The attitude that you have when you have times of doubt determines the time you stay in a quandary and you are determined to get in and get out of whatever difficulty you find. Your directional abilities are in high focus. It is important during this time to stay focused and discourage co-workers from too much chatting on the job. You want to accomplish your work and be recognized for the quality of work that you provide. Obstacles are about to disappear.

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21) This is a positive day to sign contracts, conclude business deals or make future plans. The things that will peak your interest and stir your heartstrings are adventures that take you completely out of your realm of thinking. You will need to travel, possibly internationally, to achieve a particular goal. There are new worlds, new cultures and new and different approaches to things. A time of romantic crusades, a universal love that could conceivably steal your heart away. This could even be the love of a place, versus an individual. You want the freedom to explore places where no person has gone before. These are very deep and powerful longings. Expect pleasant conversations with others and be like a sponge—absorb new ideas and thoughts.

Capricorn (December 22-January 19)

To

There are new concepts that you are aware of and may find yourself talking about with co-workers. It is an excellent time to solicit the help of others, though it’s important that you truly know the needs of your company or business before asking. Your sharp mind will see all aspects from all angles. Any high-level mental pursuits should be rewarding and stimulating. Your ability to make good commonsense decisions both for yourself and others is an admirable trait just now. Expect to make some clear-cut decisions that will affect others. Something you are doing or something that you own could spur compliments from others. It’s always nice to have flattery as it usually indicates that you are doing something right.

Yesterday’s Solution Yester

Aquarius (January 20- February 18) Welcome all new ideas. You should take every opportunity to get outside and enjoy the natural world as well. Work will seem easier and your creative side will become more expressive. You should feel more relaxed as well. If ever there was a day to work with groups, this is it! Your acute sensitivity to other people’s moods will help you tame and reshape the most frustrated attitude as one would play a violin. You enjoy good relations with family members and the financial position is on the upswing. You must be practical in personal decisions about finances. You could be feeling a particular closeness to lovers, children and other people that are near and dear to your heart. Being well-thought-of for your gifts and talents is a wonderful feeling.

Pisces (February 19-March 20)

Word Sleuth Solution

Your smart shopping is to be envied. Of course, with your ability to socialize, you can be a very good salesperson. Importer, exporter or buyer for a department store would not be an unusual option as a profession for you. There may be much responsibility at this time but much of your work is recognized by people that may not express appreciation. Perseverance, however, is crucial to your own sense of accomplishment—you will be glad you finished what you set out to accomplish. You may take on an easygoing manner to friends and family just now. The need to relax and enjoy the home setting is great. You may decide to do some sort of creative work that will add to the atmosphere or comfort of your surroundings. This is a good time to return a favor.

A

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Years

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2011

i n f o r m at i o n

FIRE BRIGADE

112

Al-Madena

22418714

Al-Shohada’a

22545171

Al-Shuwaikh

24810598

Al-Nuzha

22545171

Sabhan

24742838

Al-Helaly

22434853

Al-Fayhaa

22545051

Al-Farwaniya

24711433

Al-Sulaibikhat

24316983

Al-Fahaheel

23927002

Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh

24316983

Ahmadi

23980088

Al-Mangaf

23711183

Al-Shuaiba

23262845

24812000

Al-Jahra

25610011

Amiri Hospital

22450005

Al-Salmiya

25616368

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

Ministry of Interior website: www.moi.gov.kw For labor-related inquiries and complaints: Call MSAL hotline 128

Hospitals Sabah Hospital

POLICE STATION Al-Madena Police Station Al-Murqab Police Station Al-Daiya Police Station Al-Fayha’a Police Station Al-Qadissiya Police Station Al-Nugra Police Station Al-Salmiya Police Station Al-Dasma Police Station

Clinics Rabiya

4732263

Roudha

22517733

Adhaliya

22517144

Khaldiya

24848075

Keifan

24849807

Shamiya

24848913

Shuwaikh

24814507

Abdullah Salim

22549134

Al-Nuzha

22526804

Industrial Shuwaikh

24814764

Al-Khadissiya

22515088

Dasmah

22532265

Bneid Al-Ghar

22531908

Al-Shaab

22518752

Al-Kibla

22459381

Ayoun Al-Kibla

22451082

Al-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

Al-Ardhiya

24884079

Firdous

24892674

Al-Omariya

24719048

N.Kheitan

24710044

Fintas

3900322

22434064 22435865 22544200 22547133 22515277 22616662 25714406 22530801

THE PUBLIC AUTHORITY FOR CIVIL INFORMATION Automated enquiry about the Civil ID card is 1889988

PHARMACIES

AIRLINES

ON 24 HRS DUTY GOVERNORATE

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

Hawally

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

Kuwait Airways Jazeera Airways Jet Airways FlyDubai Qatar Airways KLM Air Slovakia Olympic Airways Royal Jordanian Reservation British Airways Air France Emirates Air India Sri Lanka Airlines Egypt Air Swiss Air Saudia Middle East Airlines Lufthansa PIA Alitalia Balkan Airlines Bangladesh Airlines Czech Airlines Indian Airlines Oman Air Turkish Airlines Aeroflot

171 177 22924455 22414400 22423888 22425747 22434940 22420002/9 22418064/5/6 22433388 22425635 22430224 22921555 22438184 22424444 22421578 22421516 22426306 22423073 22422493 22421044 22414427 22416474 22452977/8 22417901/ 2433141 22456700 22958787 22453820/1 22404838/9

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. Mousa Khadada 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

info@soorcenter.com www.soorcenter.com

3729596/3729581

Neurologists

22639939

Dr. Abd Al-Naser Al-Othman

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

Dr. Naif Al-Mutawa, Ph.D. 2290-1677 Susannah-Joy Schuilenberg, M.A. 2290-1677

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

INTERNATIONAL CALLS

25330060

Dr. Khaled Al-Jarallah

25722290

Internist, Chest & Heart DR.Mohammes Akkad

24555050 Ext 210

Dr. Mohammad Zubaid MB, ChB, FRCPC, PACC Assistant Professor Of Medicine Head, Division of Cardiology Mubarak Al-Kabeer Hospital Consultant Cardiologist Dr. Farida Al-Habib MD, PH.D, FACC Inaya German Medical Center Te: 2575077 Fax: 25723123

2611555-2622555

William Schuilenberg, RPC 2290-1677 Zaina Al Zabin, M.Sc. 2290-1677

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0093 00355 00213 00376 00244 001264 001268 0054 00374 0061 0043 001242 00973 00880 001246 00375 0032 00501 00229 001441 00975 00591 00387 00267 0055 00673 00359 00226 00257 00855 00237 001 00238 001345

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00236 00235 0056 0086 0057 00269 00242 00682 00506 00385 0053 00357 0090392 00420 0045 00246 00253 001767 001809 00593 0020 00503 0044 00240 00291 00372 00251 00500 00298 00679 00358 0033 00594 00689

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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2011

lifestyle G O S S I P

Geldof waiting to wed eaches Geldof won’t get married for at least another two years. The TV star got engaged to rock star Thomas Cohen earlier this year but she says they have no plans to tie the knot in the near future. She said: “I got engaged six months ago, but we are only just making it public now. “We first met four years ago and we bumped into each other last Christmas on Portobello Road in Notting Hill, London, and started dating again - and that’s also where he asked me. It was romantic. I’m really happy. “But we don’t want to get married for a couple of years yet.”

Peaches - whose whirlwind marriage to musician Max Drummey ended in divorce after just six months in 2009 - says the couple are currently concentrating on renovating the new house they have just bought. She told Britain’s Star magazine: “We’ve just bought a house together in Whitechapel in east London. It’s a Victorian three-bed house and I’ve spent the whole of today trying to sort the mortgage - it’s strange adult territory!

And it’s been a real bitch getting it, too. They nearly didn’t let me have it - maybe it’s because they recognized me. It’s the perfect place and size, and we got it pretty cheap for what it is. “I can’t wait to start decorating! I’m obsessed with buying vintage sofas off eBay for £200. I have five! I don’t see the point of paying £300 for a new one. Thomas came round my flat today, which is tiny so you can barely move for sofas!”

P

Butler rescued at big-wave surfing spot erard Butler is OK after being rescued during filming for a movie at Mavericks, a treacherous Northern California surf break known for stories-high waves. The 42-year-old “Of Men and Mavericks” star was held underwater Sunday afternoon when a set of 15-foot waves rolled in. The San Mateo County Times says filmmakers were shooting Butler paddling out with competitive surfers Greg Long, Zach Wormhoudt and Peter Mel. A safety patrolman on a Jet Ski swooped in and picked up Butler. Wormhouldt says the actor was shaken up but not seriously injured. Butler was taken by ambulance to Stanford Medical Center for examination, and he was later released. “Of Men and Mavericks” is about Santa Cruz surfer Jay Moriarty, who conquered Mavericks as a teen but died in a free-diving accident in 2001 when he was 23. Butler’s publicist Rupert Fowler didn’t immediately respond to an email message sent yesterday.

G

T

Axe factor for Jones?

on Bon Jovi wants duped fans to know he’s not dead, and he has posted a photo proving it. False reports of the New Jersey-born musician’s death spread online after a fake news release surfaced on social media sites. Bon Jovi is shown in a picture on his Facebook page holding a sign that reads, “Heaven looks a lot like New Jersey.” Below that is scrawled Monday’s date. Bon Jovi was performing at a charity concert that night at the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank. His publicist confirmed Bon Jovi was alive and well and playing the show.

J

Jolie is learning French

he Oscar-winning actress’ six children - Maddox, 10, Pax, eight, Zahara, six, Shiloh, five, and three-yearold twins Knox and Vivienne - can all speak the language fluently and she wants to able to keep up with them so is having lessons. She said: “I’ve been writing and staying with the kids. I think I should learn French and be a better cook - basic really good life stuff. I’m teve Jones has reportedly been axed from the US ‘X Factor’. The 34year-old presenter - who was slammed as “utterly irrelevant” by one critic - will not have his existing contract renewed for a second season after receiving “terrible reviews”. An insider told the Daily Mirror newspaper: “Steve keeps saying that living in Los Angeles is a dream come true. He loves the weather and the women, and he loves working on ‘X Factor’ - it’s just a shame that the US public has not warmed to him. “He got terrible reviews from critics when he started and things haven’t got better. There have been mistakes and he just doesn’t seem to have the knack for dealing with contestants. “The executives at Fox have already decided not to renew his contract and so, short of a miracle happening, it is pretty much a done deal that he will not take part next season.” It is believed the Welsh star could be replaced by Pussycat Dolls singer Nicole Scherzinger, who took up a role on the judging panel alongside L.A. Reid, Paula Abdul and show boss Simon Cowell after Cheryl Cole was sensationally fired from the series after just four rounds of auditions. A US ‘X Factor’ spokesperson said: “No discussions have been had and no decisions will be made about any new contracts until the New Year.” Steve has previously blamed his “rude” presenting manner - which saw him fail to comfort axed 13-year-old hopeful Rachel Crow when she collapsed to the floor in tears live on air on “screaming” producers. He said: “I’m wearing an earpiece and there’s about five people screaming, ‘Shut Paula up.

Shut her up now. Move on.’ I’m going to have hearing damage in this ear by the end of series. “I feel terrible because I feel on occasions I’m coming across as rude and abrupt and that’s really not me. I cherish every word that comes out of Paula.”

Jovi: ‘Heaven looks a lot like New Jersey’

S

McAvoy’s Christmas love

always doing something. I never shut my brain off. I always have something going on. “I’ve been studying French on and off my whole life, and I figured, my kids can speak it, and it’s embarrassing that I can’t as well as they can, so now.” Angelina - whose late mother Marcheline Bertrand had French-Canadian ancestry - is more determined than ever to learn the language and

Craig perfect choice for ‘Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’ aniel Craig was perfect for ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’ because he comes from the “cold, dark” and “depressing” part of the UK. The actor plays lead character Mikael Blomkvist in the Hollywood adaptation of the Swedish thriller novel, and was convinced he could do the tough part justice because he’s from the North of England, which he feels shares much in common with Scandinavia. He told The Sun newspaper: “I’m from the UK, we have a lot in common. I mean, we are all from the frozen North. “It gets cold, it’s dark for most of the year, we are depressed. We like a drink, we like singing, we like storytelling and we like scaring each other.”

Although his American co-star Rooney Mara doesn’t share the same background, Daniel was very impressed with the way she tackled her role as gothic, tattooed, computer hacker Lisbeth Salander. In an interview in The Sun newspaper, he said: “She’s fantastic in this part. I’ve just been incredibly impressed by her commitment. “Her work was not about suffering - she just got on with it and did it. “I mean it was like having a 15-year-old teenage boy walking around the set in a bad mood most of the time. For me, that’s what Salander in the book was all about.” ‘The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo’ is in cinemas this month.

says it has become a priority in her life. Although it is difficult, Angelina - who is in a long-term relationship with Brad Pitt - is confident she will be able to master it. Being quizzed by Clint Eastwood for Interview magazine, she said: “Now, I have to. I’ve kind of half tried everything. It’s like deciding to write something or deciding to direct or make a score of a film. It has to become a priority.”

Radcliffe

feels like a ‘fraud’

D

ames McAvoy enjoys the build up to the Christmas period. The ‘X-Men: First Class’ actor - who plays the lead role of Arthur in animated movie ‘Arthur Christmas’, directed by Sarah Smith - is a huge fan of the anticipation leading up to December 25 and can listen to festive tunes all of the year and not just during the traditional time. Asked his favorite thing about Christmas, James said: “Not only Christmas Day, but the whole build up. Making mulled wine or having Christmassy-type food.

I’m in the mood to listen to Christmas songs throughout the year.” He particularly enjoyed his role in the familyfriendly movie - which also features the voices of Jim Broadbent, Hugh Laurie and Bill Nighy - because he is the “most warped” member of the cast. He said: “Arthur is innocent in the extreme, and he is enthusiastic to a fault about Christmas. Of all the Christmas clan he is probably the most warped and slightly touched.”

J

aniel Radcliffe often thinks of himself as a “fraud”.

The 22-year-old actor is starring in his first movie, horror flick ‘The Woman in Black’, since the ‘Harry Potter’ franchise ended, and although he has been learning a lot on set he admits he still panics about his own ability from time to time. Daniel - who started playing the schoolboy wizard when he was just 11 -said: “Sometimes I really feel like I’m getting the hang of it, because I never really had a process. My process was mainly that I hit my marks and I said my lines. So I’m kind of trying to find a process that allows me to find a sure fire way into a character, if it doesn’t come easily. “I’m working on that. And there are some days when I feel like, ‘Yeah, God, I’m actually learning something, this is great!’ And there are some days when I go, ‘Oh God, I’m never going to feel good at this. I’m never going to feel like I’m not a fraud.’ “ However, the British star admits he gets “fired” up by those who think he will not be able to be a success following on from playing Harry. In an interview with the new issue of Empire magazine, the 22year-old actor said: “I’m very motivated by the doubts of others. Whenever I hear people talk about the Potter kids as if we are not going to be able to make it out of the series, that really lights a fire under me.”

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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2011

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Review

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‘Extremely Loud’ is incredibly phony

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t Is no surprise that the grief-drenched Sept. 11 drama “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close” should turn out incredibly mawkish. A cloying exercise in sentimentality, the film also winds up extremely annoying, even infuriating. Director Stephen Daldry’s film, featuring Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock, centers on the worst day most Americans have lived through, an event whose memory still pains even those who suffered no personal loss in the terrorist attacks. Yet it exists in some bizarrely contrived alternate reality through which Daldry and screenwriter Eric Roth, adapting Jonathan Safran Foer’s novel, fabricate the perfect cleansing ritual for a Sept 11 Manhattan family in mourning. Perfect for them, that is, not for a movie audience.

This story is not a catharsis. It is a cheat that has nothing to do with overcoming sorrow in the real world, where Sept 11, 2001, happened. That said, in fairness, fans of the book might like Daldry’s approach, which is a true class act in its production and the talent involved. Along with Hanks and Bullock, the compelling cast includes Max von Sydow, Viola Davis, Jeffrey Wright and John Goodman in small but effective roles.

Newcomer Thomas Horn, the 13-year-old star who was cast after the filmmakers saw him on a “Jeopardy!” kids episode, is a mixed bag, holding his own among the adult actors but, through no fault of his own, forced to behave with excessive shrillness much of the time.

That is because his character, Oskar Schell, may or may not have Asperger’s syndrome, a form of autism (his medical tests, we’re told, were inconclusive). You make allowances in life for people you encounter with autism, but spending two hours with a fictional character possessing autistic qualities can be grating. Oskar is a compulsive, unsociable kid, whose difficulties relating to the outside world are tempered by imaginative mind games and pastimes engineered by his father, Thomas (Hanks). In flashbacks throughout the film, Thomas appears as teacher, guide and nurturer for

Oskar. Thomas challenges his son to bridge the gap between his inner world and reality, inspiring the boy with puzzles, mystery treks around the city and tales of an ethereal New York City “sixth borough” that simply floated away to who knows where.

After Thomas dies in the collapse of the World Trade Center towers, Oskar is left adrift. Alone with his mother, Linda (Bullock), with whom he always has had an awkward relationship, Oskar finds home life more strained than ever, his mom mired in her own grief. Then Oskar discovers a key among his father’s belongings with the name “Black” attached. Convinced it is a clue to a vital

secret his dad left for him to reveal, Oskar sets forth to visit everyone named Black listed in the New York phone books in hopes of finding the lock that key will fit. Accompanying him on many of these journeys is a mute lodger (von Sydow) who lives with Oskar’s grandmother and may or may not be the grandfather that left Thomas to grow up without a dad himself decades earlier.

The filmmakers never really explore the parallels between von Sydow’s character and Oskar’s fatherlessness; with his ancient, sad but compassionate eyes, von Sydow gives an expressive performance, but he is there mainly as someone Oskar can talk with on his adventures. If not for

In this image released by Warner Bros. Pictures, Thomas Horn portrays as Oskar Schell and Sandra Bullock portrays Linda Schell in a scene from ‘Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close . —AP

von Sydow, the film might have been even more awash in voice-over narration by Oskar, which nearly suffocates the story early on. It is relentless, a torrent of strange associations and connections Oskar uses to make sense of the world, representative of the boy’s breathless first-person narration in Foer’s novel, but way too much of an earful in a film.

The movie does provide a lovely visual travelogue through the nooks and crannies of New York, and Daldry does not shy from reviving terrible memories by depicting the burning towers or victims leaping to their deaths. Cinematographer Chris Menges provides a wispy, dreamlike sheen to the film that nicely complements Oskar’s fairy-talein-Manhattan quest. “Extremely Loud” has heartfelt moments of redemption and reconciliation, particularly in scenes with Davis and Wright as a couple of the people Oskar encounters on his search. And it is hard not to tear up a bit as Bullock’s seemingly callous Linda reveals what she has been up to while little Oskar wanders the city.

Hanks is at his most lovable as the finest dad a troubled kid - any kid, really - could ever have. As everyone works through the pain, it all sounds so sweet and life-affirming. Yet it feels so extremely soppy and incredibly phony. “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close,” a Warner Bros. release, is rated PG-13 for emotional thematic material, some disturbing images and language. Running time: 129 minutes. Two stars out of four.

Motion Picture Association of America rating definitions: G - General audiences. All ages admitted.

PG - Parental guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children.

PG-13 - Special parental guidance strongly suggested for children under 13. Some material may be inappropriate for young children.

R - Restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

NC-17 - No one under 17 admitted. — AP

‘We Bought a Zoo’ not as hairy as it looks S

ometimes, reacting to a movie is all about the expectations you bring with you as you walk into it. “We Bought a Zoo” is about a family that,what else?, buys a zoo. It is as high-concept as you can get, outside of maybe “Attack of the Killer Tomatoes” or “I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry,” and it’s equally straightforward in wearing its heart on its sleeve. We know to expect this ahead of time because “ We Bought a Zoo” comes from Cameron Crowe, the writerdirector of “Say Anything ...,” “Jerry Maguire,” “Almost Famous” and, more recently, the 2005 flop “Elizabethtown.”

We know there will be some poignantly phrased life lessons in store for this family as they struggle to reconnect after the mother’s death.

The whole exercise could have been agonizingly mawkish, and/or filled with cheap, lazy animal-poop jokes. And yet, it’s not. It actually is surprisingly charming and more emotionally understated than the material would suggest, and much of that has to do with Matt Damon’s performance. He is an actor incapable of faking it, one who cannot mail it in, and so he brings great authenticity and gravitas to the role of Benjamin Mee, a widower and father of two. (“We Bought a Zoo,” which Crowe co-wrote with Aline Brosh McKenna, is based on a true story with some tweaks.)

Six months after his wife died of cancer, Benjamin is struggling to move on.

He’s having trouble dedicating himself to his career as a Los Angeles newspaper columnist and finds himself squabbling

with his troublemaking teenage son, Dylan (Colin Ford); meanwhile, his younger daughter, Rosie (Maggie Elizabeth Jones), is an impossibly adorable angel. Benjamin thinks a change of scenery might help, so he quits his job and moves the family to a rustic, rambling house on 18 acres outside the city. Seems perfect - except that the land includes an animal park that has fallen into disrepair. Since Benjamin is a writer and not a zoologist, he has no idea what he’s doing. He gets some help from the park’s ragtag, hippie crew, led by Scarlett Johansson as the hottest zookeeper on the planet.

Moving to a zoo - spoiler alert! - eventually helps everyone reconcile. No big shocker there. And no, this does not occur through the mystical power of the animals radiating positive vibes to the universe. The lions and tigers and bears are mercifully free of cloying anthropomorphism. Basically, father and son are just stuck in the middle of nowhere and the necessity for teamwork thrusts them back together. Dylan also makes friends with the only other kid his age on the grounds, the ebullient Lily, played by Elle Fanning.

Yes, “We Bought a Zoo” is sentimental and overlong, and full of obligatory fish-

out-of-water physical humor. But everyone is so good in it, especially Damon, who brings real emotional truth to his character’s grieving process, that it’s hard not to be won over. Johansson has a nononsense likability about her performance, and the suggested romance between her character and Damon’s, while easy to predict, isn’t milked for easy heart-tugging. It’s a beautiful film, too: Everything is bathed in this sort of magical sunlight, the work of cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto (“Brokeback Mountain,” “Lust, Caution”), which enhances the sensation that anything is possible. This is the first feature from Crowe since the heavy-handed, overly quirky “Elizabethtown,” and while it is not a complete return to form, it is close enough. “ We Bought a Zoo,” a 20th Century Fox release, is rated PG for language and some thematic elements.

Running time: 123 minutes. Two and a half stars out of four.

Motion Picture Association of America rating definitions: G - General audiences. All ages admitted.

PG - Parental guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children.

PG-13 - Special parental guidance strongly suggested for children under 13. Some material may be inappropriate for young children.

R - Restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

NC-17 - No one under 17 admitted. —AP

Actor Tom Cruise and wife Katie Holmes attend the US premiere of ‘Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol’ at the Ziegfeld Theatre on Monday in New York. —AP

Larsson’s partner chides ‘Dragon Tattoo’ marketing

‘Free Ride’ author on Google, Hollywood and newspapers F

or anyone who follows film, television, publishing and newspapers-our culture industry — Robert Levine, the former editor of Billboard and a New York Times alum, has written a must-read book.

In his “Free Ride: How Digital Parasites Are Destroying The Culture Business And How The Culture Business Can Fight Back,” Levine details how in less than two decades the Internet, dominated by technology companies like Google, has undermined the foundations of venerable institutions such as Warner Bros. and the New York Times.

Not only do movie studios and record labels have to reconsider their business models, but they also have to worry about their very existence. There is no one-size-fits all solution, but Levine - who lives in Berlin - presents a variety of new business models and strategies to rescue these companies-from Hollywood’s UltraViolet to newspaper paywalls to online music streaming services like Spotify.

TheWrap: Let’s start with Google, since you devote an entire chapter to it. What’s so offensive about how the company operates?

Levine: It’s so omnipresent that people almost don’t realize its there. What’s really interesting is the extent to which our conversation about new media is shaped by Google from its funded think tanks to its human rights council. The extent to which they are everywhere in the debate is sort of spooky. So should people view Google as evil? A couple of people have said, what do I have against them? Maybe that’s my fault as a writer, but I don’t have anything against them. Google is a fantastically successful company that makes some great products. They spend a lot of money to lobby and are extraordinarily effective at

doing that. I don’t think that’s evil, I think that’s business. But Google influences the world in less obvious ways and people should know more about it.

Has Google improved its stance on intellectual property at all since you wrote your book? Every few months Google will announce it’s improving its antipiracy practices. I think it’s improving but it usually makes these announcements when it’s under pressure. They have a lot of people whipped into frenzy about how SOPA [Stop Online Piracy Act] is the end of free speech online. There are a lot of very smart people who make smart points about why bills are flawed or bad, but a lot of those people are funded by Google and that’s kind of bullshit. If we want to have a serious, smart debate, Google is not helping that debate. They are standing in the way of that debate.

Populist sentiment seems to always side with the technology/telecommunications side of the argument. Why is that? There is something about Hollywood that conveys offensive excess. The amount of money some people in Hollywood make is just absurd and indefensible. On the other hand, there are a lot of people in Silicon Valley that make money that is absurd and indefensible, too, they just don’t spend it in ways as grating on the American public.

The stereotypical guy in Hollywood making $15 million a year has a Ferrari and a list of mistresses. In Silicon Valley, that guy still drives a Prius and wears a denim shirt and chinos. He comes across as more likable and less threatening. Is that reputation for greed warranted? They have a bad reputation that they earned, but that’s not a legal argument. The idea that some people are nice and others are not doesn’t really have any effect on the law. Companies are greedy.

That’s their job. If a company is not greedy, we call it a badly run company. Venture capitalists aren’t that likable either. I don’t think Jeff Bezos is a sympathetic character; he’s just smart enough to stay out of the newspaper. The tech business goes out of their way not to show how rich they are.

On the topic of Hollywood, almost all the studios are sinking a lot of money into UltraViolet to help solve the piracy problem. Is this the solution? It’s a really fantastic idea, but I don’t know about the execution. Its debut was inauspicious to say the least; people seem to have had a lot of problems with it. That’s a bad sign.

On the other hand, plenty of successful products got off to a bad start. What’s interesting about UltraViolet specifically is how can you offer people something more than piracy and UltraViolet does that. So how can the “culture business” overcome piracy? People are more convenience sensitive and less price sensitive than anyone thinks. Companies need to make legal commerce as convenient as possible and illegal commerce as inconvenient as possible. The goal should not be to eliminate piracy; that’s not realistic.

The goal is to make it as inconvenient as possible.

If you could make it so piracy is only on shady sites (in) Russia where you’re risking your credit card, that would dissuade a lot of people. A lot of businesses seem to be banking on advertising rather than having to charge higher prices though. What’s wrong with that model? At time when advertising is worth less than ever, it’s being counted on to be worth more than ever? There’s quite a bit of dissonance. Well Google does just fine. According to a recent study, Google generates 44 percent of online advertising revenue. —Reuters

Journalist Eva Gabrielsson, pictured in Stockholm, Sweden, on Jan 15, 2011, longtime girlfriend of the Swedish author Stieg Larsson, who wrote the novel ‘The Girl With The Dreagon Tattoo’ before he died in 2004, aged 50. — AP

T

he longtime partner of late Swedish crime writer Stieg Larsson says he wouldn’t have approved of merchandise being linked to this week’s release of a Hollywood adaptation of his bestselling novel, “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.” Eva Gabrielsson said Monday that Larsson would have instead used the buzz around his work to call attention to violence and discrimination against women. “We would never have sold any rights for merchandising,” Gabrielsson said. “It has nothing to do with books.”

H&M has released a Dragon Tattoo Collection, created by costume designer Trish Summerville, that it says is inspired by Lisbeth Salander - the tattooed anti-heroine of Larsson’s books and the film which opens Wednesday in the United States. Gabrielsson and Larsson were a couple for more than 30 years, but never married.

Larsson didn’t leave a will, so his brother and father inherited the rights to his works when he died of a heart attack at age 50 in 2004. The two have rejected Gabrielsson’s suggestions that they are using Larsson’s legacy for profit, and say they will donate their earnings to causes he supported, including an anti-racism magazine that he worked for as a journalist. Still, Gabrielsson expressed concern that the political dimension of Larsson’s books, including the feminist undertones, would be overlooked by the film’s hype. She claims Larsson wanted to show that gender imbalances exist even in Sweden, one of the world’s most egalitarian societies. —AP

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2011

lifestyle F E A T U R E S

Lady Gaga voted AP Entertainer of the Year

Y In this Nov 6, 2011 file photo, singer Lady Gaga poses with her awards following the MTV European Music Awards 2011, in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

ou might say that Lady Gaga’s year really began in an egg. That’s how she arrived at the Grammys in February, encased in a large, translucent pod carried by scantily clad dancers. When she “hatched” onstage, she effectively gave birth to “Born This Way,” performing the eponymous lead single of her second studio album and anthem to self- acceptance. In 2011, the album would carry her around the world, where she rarely went unnoticed.

After a year of extravagant globe-trotting and relentless advocacy of tolerance, Lady Gaga has been voted Entertainer of the Year by members of The Associated Press.

There were 135 ballots submitted by US news organizations that make up the AP’s membership. Editors and broadcasters were asked to cast their ballots for who had the most influence on entertainment and culture in 2011. “I am humbled and honored to be named ‘Entertainer of The Year’ by The Associated Press,” Lady Gaga said in a statement Monday signed “Mother Monster.” “My deepest gratitude to the broadcasters and journalists who’ve supported me over the years, and in turn, are now supporting the loves of my life: my fans. Thank you for believing in ‘Born This Way.’ May you continue to brave the dreams of Showbiz.”

Lady Gaga narrowly edged out the late Apple founder Steve Jobs by three votes. Many others received numerous votes, including Taylor Swift, Charlie Sheen, Adele and the cast of “Harry Potter.” Previous winners of the AP Entertainer of the Year include Betty White, Swift, Tina Fey and Stephen

Singer Lady Gaga gives her autographs to fans upon arrival at Narita international airport in Narita, east of Tokyo, yesterday. Lady Gaga is in Tokyo for a music event. —AP in Rome in June, she said, “We beckon for compassion, understanding and above all we want full equality now.” “I am a child of diversity,” she said. “I am one with my generation.”

Lady Gaga will be ringing in the New Year with typical showmanship. She’ll be the featured guest on Dick Clark’s annual “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve” special from New York City’s Times Square. Meanwhile, Christmas shoppers can walk through the holiday display she designed at Barney’s in New York: 5,500 square feet (510 sq. meters) of bright colors, crazy shapes and a gigantic cartoon statue of the superstar herself. — AP

In this Feb 13, 2011 file photo, Lady Gaga accepts the award for best pop vocal album at the 53rd annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles.

In this Sept 24, 2011 file photo, Lady Gaga performs during the iHeartRadio music festival in Las Vegas.

In this Feb 13, 2011 file photo, Lady Gaga arrives at the 53rd annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles. —AP photos Gaga was a regular presence at award shows throughout the year. She won three Grammys in February, including best female pop vocal performance. She won two MTV Video Music Awards. She was recently nominated for three Grammys for next year’s awards, including best album.

This summer, her infamous meat dress - made of layers of Argentinean beef - was put on display at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. She visited the White House and appeared as the musical guest on “Saturday Night Live.” She performed at former President Bill Clinton’s 65th-birthday bash with an ode to Marilyn Monroe. She remained the person most followed on Twitter, with more than 17 million Little Monsters or more people than the inhabitants of Greece and Ireland combined. And for the mark of true fame, she was parodied

by Weird Al Yankovic, who turned “Born This Way” into “Perform This Way.” She collaborated with a number of music legends, including Elton John (“Hello, Hello” for “Gnomeo & Juliet”), Tony Bennett (“The Lady Is a Tramp”) and Cher (“The Greatest Thing”). She continually released ambitious videos, most recently the 13-minute epic “Marry the Night.” It had 5 million views in less than 48 hours. “She gets people talking,” says Greg Retsinas, digital director of the Press Democrat of Santa Rosa, Calif. “She’s a polarizing figure not just in music and fashion but in pop culture and society. In a recent week, I heard her referenced personally by my 9-year-old daughter, a prominent local CFO and an airline pilot, all glowingly.”

With the help of the MacArthur Foundation and Harvard University, Lady Gaga also founded the Born This Way Foundation, a nonprofit focusing on youth empowerment and “issues like self-confidence, well-being, anti-bullying, mentoring and career development.” She has spoken frequently about such issues. At EuroPride, a gay pride concert

Colbert. But it was Lady Gaga whose eminence in 2011 stood out most to voters. While accepting the best pop vocal album Grammy for her previous disc, “The Fame Monster,” earlier this year, she said stardom was an adjustment for her. “When I wrote ‘Born This Way,’ I imagined (Whitney Houston) was singing it because I wasn’t secure enough in myself to imagine I was a superstar,” she said.

When the album was released in May, 1.1 million copies sold in the first week, partly aided by a dramatic discount from Amazon, which sold it for 99 cents. But it was an industry-shattering moment because an extraordinary 60 percent of sales in the first week were digital downloads. Altogether, it outsold the next 42 albums on the Billboard chart combined. As of October, worldwide sales had surpassed 8 million copies. “One of my greatest artworks is the art of fame,” the 25-year-old told “60 Minutes” earlier this year. “I’m a master of the art of fame.”

Lady Gaga, whose real name is Stefani Germanotta, is prepping for a “Born This Way” tour. Her “Monster Ball Tour” was still going strong earlier this year, which went a long way toward making her, according to Forbes, the highest grossing female musician in 2011. The magazine, which compiled pretax income earned from May 2010 to May 2011, said Lady Gaga earned $90 million. Paul Pronovost, editor of the Cape Cod Times, called Lady Gaga’s “A Very Gaga Thanksgiving” - a bizarre ABC holiday special hosted by the singer - “a brilliant reach to mainstream America.”

“Transcendent performers like Lady Gaga come around as often as Halley’s Comet,” says Pronovost. “She has that rare gift of sophisticated self-promotion, so outlandish at times you just can’t look away” and the talent to back it up. “This is Madonna 4.0.” The concerts spawned an HBO special, which was nominated for five Emmys Awards and won one. Lady

In this Oct 28, 2011 file photo, singer Lady Gaga addresses a news conference in New Delhi, India.

In this Nov 6, 2011 file photo, Lady Gaga performs at the MTV European Music Awards 2011, in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Recipes of dead celebrities featured in new book C

omedian Frank DeCaro is best known for his stint on “The Daily Show with John Stewart” but the comedian and talk radio host is now dishing out recipes. In his third book, “The Dead Celebrity Cookbook: A Resurrection of Recipes From More Than 145 Stars of Stage and Screen,” DeCaro provides the ingredients for actress Mae West’s fruit compote and comedian John Ritter’s favorite fudge along with other recipes from deceased stars. The 49-year-old performer spoke to Reuters about his inspiration for the book, how he found the recipes and which are his favorites.

Q: Where did the idea for the book come from?

A: “When I was at Northwestern University in the early 1980s, my friends threw a ‘dead celebrity’ party. All the guests came dressed as stars who had gone to the great studio commissary in the sky. Everyone from Adam and Eve to Sid and Nancy were at that party. Our host was dressed as Judy Garland and carried a pill bottle that read “Take until dead.” It was one of the best parties I’ve ever been to. We didn’t have any ‘dead celebrity’ food at that party, though, and that sort of planted the seed for the

‘Dead Celebrity Cookbook.’”

Q: There are over 145 recipes. How did you get them?

A: “Ever since that party, I’ve been collecting out-ofprint cookbooks, supermarket flyers, spiral-bound manuals that came in microwave ovens in 1975, old magazines-anything that has a celebrity recipe in it. I curated the recipes from those sources, borrowing the lists of ingredients and rewriting the instructions so they made sense for modern home cooks.”

Q: Do you know if any of these celebrities actually cooked the dishes?

A: “I certainly think they enjoyed them, even if someone else did the cooking. (Michael) Jackson was said to love sweet potato pie. Who doesn’t? Gary Coleman’s recipe (chicken vegetable soup) had a note attached that suggested it was one he grew up eating. As for Miss Crawford, I’d very much like to believe Joan poached her own salmon, if you’ll pardon the expression.”

Q: How did you decide to organize and categorize them all?

A: “In a way that made sense to me as a lover of pop culture, and in a way in which readers could best appreciate the celebrities themselves and the amazing work they did while they were alive.”

Q: Have you baked any of the recipes yourself?

A: “I taste-tested about a third of them, some of are really delicious; some, not so much.”

Q: Do you have a personal favorite?

A: “Liberace’s sticky buns! I made 24 of them and ate nine before they were cool enough to handle.

They’re so good!”

Q: Who is this book for? Movie and TV buffs, foodlovers, pop culture aficionados, those who collect Hollywood memorabilia or your gay best friends?

A: “I did this book for home cooks with a sense of humor. Pop culture junkies will love the chance to reminisce about stars. But really, I wrote it for people who don’t know who these celebrities are: younger readers, for instance. I hope they discover these stars and their work through this book.”

Q: Any plans for follow-up cookbooks?

A: “This is only the first in what I hope will be a series of ‘Dead Celebrity Cookbooks.’ It may have an irreverent title, but the book is a love letter to the stars. It’s important to me that audiences don’t forget these incredibly talented people. They may be gone, but their work-and their recipeslives on.” Frank Sinatra’s Barbecued Lamb (serves 6) 1 (7 lbs) leg of lamb, boned and butterflied 1 cup olive oil 8 tablespoons wine vinegar 2 cloves garlic, crushed 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup prepared mustard Combine oil, vinegar, garlic, and salt to make a marinade.

Place lamb skin side up in a shallow pan and pour the marinade over it. Slather mustard on skin side. Cover and let marinate overnight. Place lamb mustard-side down on a very hot grill, five inches from flame. When brown on one side, turn. Cook about one hour total, checking for doneness at 45 minutes. Slice thinly to serve. — Reuters

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2011

lifestyle F E A T U R E S

Roll up your sleeves at the caviar workshop

H

alf a dozen people huddle elbow-to-elbow in a glass cabin the size of a broom cupboard. It is close to freezing inside but all wear broad grins.

Hardly surprising since this is a caviar-tasting class. Turquoise drums of the prized black sturgeon’s eggs are stacked up the walls of the maturing chamber at Cafe Prunier, a Paris caviar house which holds weekly caviar tasting and cookery workshops over the Christmas holidays. Scooping generous dollops from a small, chilled tin, cafe manager Alexandre Fauche lays them on the back of each taster’s hand-in the dip between thumb and forefinger-to warm it very gently before they hoover it up.

“Now crush the eggs between your tongue and palate,” he instructed. “Delicious!” came the verdict from Michael Chetrit, a 38-year-old insurance worker who was treated to the workshop as a birthday gift. “It melts in the mouth-I was expecting something much crunchier, saltier.”

Outside on Paris’ Place de La Madeleine, people hurry by with the last of their Christmas shopping. But inside time is suspended, as the tasters carefully consider each precious mouthful.

Nadine Velnon, a retired travel agent who had tasted caviar just once before, let out a groan of pleasure at the nutty rush: “It’s strong and incredibly smooth at the same time,” said the 60-yearold, taking part with her grown son.

After running through the house’s three main varieties-all of farmed caviar, which now accounts for the lion’s share of the world market-the group headed upstairs to the bar to learn the rudiments of caviar cuisine. “We’ll start with a walnut blini-it brings out the hazelnut flavor in the caviar,” suggested Renata Dominik, the cafe’s Polish chef. “You need at least three or four grams on a canape to get the full effect,” she explained, handing out crunchy toast slices that paired caviar with spinach leaf and house smoked salmon.

‘What Bill Gates has for breakfast!’

Caviar topped a tiny cylinder of sea bream tartare, on a bed of diced mango and tart apple, or a shot glass-full of cream of Jerusalem artichoke. And the finale-luxurious in its simplicitywas a thimbleful of creamy scrambled egg with caviar: “What Bill Gates has for breakfast!” quipped a participant. “They’re simple recipes to start with-but caviar really turns them into something else,” said Velnon.

Exports of wild sturgeon eggs have been severely restricted since 1998 under UN quotas to protect the species from overfishing, and for the past two years, there have been none available on world markets, save for black gold trafficked illegally from the Caspian Sea shores.

As the supply of wild sturgeon’s eggs dries up, producers have turned to farmed alternatives, whose global production has soared from 500 kilograms (1,100 pounds) in 1998 to 150 tones today. Prunier’s eggs come from its own farm in southwestern France, developed over the past 20 years with a species of sturgeon called Acipenser baeri.

The eggs are prepared with one of three recipes, from salty, Iranian-inspired at one end, to light and nutty at the other extreme, via a classic, mediumsalt variety-left to mature from one to 12 months at between minus one and plus three degrees Celsius. Caviar prices have fallen sharply as farms yield economies of scale, opening up new possibilities for chefs, Fauche explained. “Back in the days of Iranian caviar, chefs used to dot two or three grams on a fish,” he said. “Nowadays, we spread 15 grams on a filet of John Dory-so you can really feel the flavor.” Prunier recently slashed its basic caviar price by 40 percent, so a 30-gramme tin-enough for a tasting session for two-will set you back 50 euros, far short of the 200-odd euros charged for the same amount of wild caviar.

Though wary of taking the product too far downmarket, Prunier hopes with its workshops to capture a new, younger clientele “who still think caviar is reserved for an elite,” said Fauche. —AFP

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Lady Gaga voted AP Entertainer of the Year

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File photo shows Miss Venezuela Eva Ekvall, second from left, stands with other contestants as they wait for the announcement of the winner in Bayamon, Puerto Rico. —AP photos

Former Miss Venezuela dies of breast cancer at 28 F

ormer Miss Venezuela Eva Ekvall, whose struggle with breast cancer was closely followed by Venezuelans, has died at age 28. Her family said Ekvall died Saturday at a hospital in Houston. Ekvall was crowned Miss Venezuela at age 17 in 2000, and the following year she was third runner-up in the Miss Universe pageant in Puerto Rico. She went on to work as a model, actress and television news anchor. She also authored a book, “Fuera de Foco” (“Out of Focus”), about her struggle with cancer, which

included images by Venezuelan photographer Roberto Mata.

She told the newspaper El Nacional in an interview last year after the book was published that “I needed to send the message of the need for cancer prevention.” On the cover was a portrait in which she appeared with makeup and her head shaved. The book also included images of her while going through chemotherapy. “I hate to see photos in which I come out ugly,” Ekvall told El Nacional. “But you know what? Nobody ever said

cancer is pretty or that I should look like Miss Venezuela when I have cancer.” At the time, she was hopeful of overcoming cancer and wanted to write more.

Ekvall’s family said in a statement Sunday that her remains were being cremated in Houston on Monday and that a service is to be held in Venezuela once her remains are returned to the country. Ekvall said in a 2007 interview published in Venezuelan news media that although her mother is Jamaican and

her father is American of Swedish and Hungarian descent, “I feel more Venezuelan than anybody.” She was married to radio producer John Fabio Bermudez and had a 2-year-old daughter.

In her book, Ekvall had described her joy at the birth of her daughter saying “that happiness, although (the daughter) may not know it or understand it, keeps me alive today.” The book included emails that she wrote to friends providing updates on her treatment and thanking them for their

support, as well as short essays by relatives and friends reflecting on her ordeal. Her father, Eric Ekvall, recalled in the book that his mother, also named Eva, had died of the same type of cancer at age 39. “Those who know Eva know she doesn’t give up,” he said of his daughter. “She fights for what she wants.”

Her death brought an outpouring of condolences from Venezuelans, including from some prominent artists and politicians who praised her in messages on Twitter. One drawing

posted online depicted her as an angel with white wings and a pink ribbon on her chest. Ekvall’s husband posted a photo on Twitter Sunday showing a close-up of his hand holding hers, resting on a bed, with the words “Always together ... I love you wife.” —AP

Ballet keeps POLISH SENIORS (From left) ) Members of the Barborka pensioniers dancers group Gabriela Koscielniak, Ola Szczepanska, Halina Rycombel, Anna Nierobis and Monika Bator perform the French cancan on November 30, 2011 at a community center in Lazy. — AFP photos

(From left) Gabriela Koscielniak, Ola Szczepanska, Halina Rycombel, Anna Nierobis and Monika Bator perform Swan Lake.

Members of the Barborka pensioniers dancers group prepare to perform a Russian Kalinka.

on their toes D ressed in white tutus, seven pensioners from a village in southern Poland love to get on their tiptoes to dance ballet classics like Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake”.

All these new-found ballerinas are grandmothers-one is even a great-grandmotherand the oldest member of the troupe is 73. “If we stayed at home all the time to do dishes, we’d just be like old grannies,” declares Ola Szczepanska. The 63-year-old dancer quickly changes costumes in a makeshift dressing room at the community centre in Lazy, a town of 6,000 in Poland’s southern Silesian coal mining region.

Tutus for Swan Lake are swapped for red skirts and white peasant tops for a dance to the tune of the 19th-century Russian folk song “Kalinka”, the second in the evening’s repertoire. Dubbing themselves Barborka, after Saint Barbara-the patron saint of coal minersthe dance troupe performed for members of a senior citizens’ university on the Christian feast of Saint Andrew on November 30. Everything is well planned out, down to the last detail.

The dancers’ village of Kopalnia pays for the cost of the dance classes and touring, but these seniors use their meager pensions to pay for the costumes, which are not particularly cheap. The white muslin tutus had to be custom-made as stores with dance apparel do not carry the plus sizes these ladies wear.

“When I see myself in this costume, I completely forget that my waistline is 120 centimeters (47 inches) in size!” exclaims Monika Bator, 65, who worked as a saleswoman in a tobacco shop for 40 years. “Now I can really let my hair down!” A belly dance is next in the line-up before a Bollywood-style number and a lively and exhausting French Cancan ends the evening’s performance.

Stage fright The audience bursts into applause demanding an encore, and these dancers are happy to oblige despite their fatigue. The seniors’ dance fever all started three years ago. For

a laugh, the women decided to don their tutus for the first time to perform a version of Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake” at a party marking the December 4 feast of Saint Barbara-a special day in the heart of this coal mining community. Friends and neighbors in their village of Kopalnia-Polish for mine — loved the performance.

“We gulped down a little vodka before to overcome the stage fright,” recalls Anna Nierobis, the 73-year oldest dancer in the troupe. “We used old curtains to sew our first tutus ourselves. To look like ballerinas, we wore white stocking and T-shirts instead of dancers’ leotards,” she adds wistfully. Today, these dancers are being invited to perform on television and slowly but surely gaining fame across Poland. “Young people congratulate us for our courage,” says Halina Rycombel, at 56, the youngest dancer.

Their costumes are now made by a professional seamstress, while their dancing shoes are custom-made by a cobbler. “Learning to dance in your sixties and seventies is a real challenge,” admits Karolina Slowik, the group’s choreographer. “They can’t dance ballet on their toes and none of them studied ballet when they were young, but they are all highly motivated and disciplined,” says Slowik, who could easily be one of their granddaughters.

Rehearsals are in a hall with mirrors, once a week and more often before an important show. Next, they would like to try Flamenco, says Slowik.

“The hardest part for me is to keep my arms in the air and to stay on my toes during Swan Lake,” admits Anna Nierobis. “I’ll stop the day I run out of strength,” she vows. For now, no one is thinking of quitting and the group is even considering admitting new members as several other local grandmothers are keen to set aside their knitting needles, kick up their heels and have the time of their lives. —AFP

Gabriela Koscielniak performs Bollywood inspired dance.

Members of the Barborka pensioniers dancers group prepare to perform Swan Lake.