22 Dec 2011

CR IP TI ON BS SU

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2011

Egyptians back at polls after deadly clashes

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MUHARRAM 26, 1433 AH

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7Hopefuls 27 20 9 register for 40 PAGES

polls, seeking change Hammad asks court to stop elections over legality

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KUWAIT: (From left) Former MP Salwa Al-Jassar, candidate Mohammed Al-Hafiti (brandishing his registration fee in small notes), former opposition MP Falah Al-Sawwagh, former speaker and opposition MP Ahmad AlSaadoun and Shiite former MP Rola Dashti register for the upcoming parliamentary elections yesterday. — Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat

By B Izzak

Gulf economies to slow, stay strong DUBAI: Economic growth is likely to slow in most of the Gulf’s wealthy oil exporters next year but governments will remain able to spend to counter the impact of any global slump, a Reuters poll of analysts showed yesterday. Gross domestic product in Saudi Arabia, the biggest Arab economy and the world’s top oil exporter, is expected

to expand 4.0 percent in 2012, down from an estimated 6.7 percent this year, according to the median forecast in a global poll of 18 analysts. Next year’s growth forecasts were cut for all six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council compared with the last Reuters poll, which was conducted in Continued on Page 13

DAMASCUS: People gesture toward a statue of a solider during a rally at Umayyad Square yesterday.— AP

and Rola Dashti. Only Aseel Al-Awadhi did not register. Mubarak expressed hope that women will at least fare the same as in the 2009 elections when four females made history by winning the first ever parliamentary seats. But she nevertheless conceded that women politicians have been under a powerful campaign to discredit them.

Ashour said he expected at least 50 percent of the Assembly will be changed while younger candidate Abdullah Shuja Al-Otaibi expected a massive change of up to 80 percent. Al-Otaibi, a 34-year-old standing for election for the first time, said it was youths who forced the dissolution of parliament and Continued on Page 13

Son sobs as ‘millions’ mourn Kim

Syria oppn urges UN action on ‘massacre’ Five Iranian engineers abducted DAMASCUS: The opposition Syrian National Council urged the UN Security Council and Arab League yesterday to hold emergency meetings after regime forces “massacred” more than 200 people in two days. Syria, which held war games on Tuesday to test preparedness against any invasion, accused the opposition of pushing for foreign intervention and trying to sabotage an Arab-brokered deal for observers, but ignoring calls for talks.

KUWAIT: A total of 109 candidates including six women filed nomination papers on the first day of registration as most of the new hopefuls expected that at least half of the members of the dissolved National Assembly will be changed. Still, nine former MPs in the outgoing Assembly registered for re-election including two ex-MPs who have been questioned by the public prosecution over the corruption scandal believed to have accelerated the dissolution of the Assembly. Saleh Ashour and Mukhled Al-Azemi both filed to run from the first constituency, which saw the largest number of candidates - 31 - including two

women on the first day.

Prominent among those who filed were veteran opposition figure Ahmad Al-Saadoun who praised the decision of HH the Amir in defusing tension in the country by dissolving the Assembly. Al-Saadoun, a former threetime Assembly speaker, told reporters that it was very early to speak about the speakership race and the opposition’s main priority will be the independence of the judiciary. Former Assembly speaker Jassem Al-Khorafi dropped out of the race, fuelling speculations that AlSaadoun may bid to reclaim the coveted post.

Among other former MPs who signed yesterday were three of the four women lawmakers -Maasouma Al-Mubarak, Salwa Al-Jassar

Reacting to reports of hundreds of civilians being killed this week, the SNC called for an “emergency UN Security Council session to discuss the regime’s massacres in Zawiyah mountain, Idlib, and Homs, in particular”. It also appealed for an “emergency meeting for the Arab League to condemn the bloody massacres... and cooperate with the United Nations in taking the necessary measures to protect Syrian civilians.”

Continued on Page 13

SEOUL: North Korea said yesterday that millions of grief-stricken people turned out to mourn “Dear Leader” Kim Jong-Il, whose death has left the world scrambling for details about his young successor.

The North’s propaganda machine has cranked into action to secure the late dictator’s legacy and build up the same personality cult for his youngest son Kim Jong-Un, who inherits the world’s last communist dynasty. Television footage broadcast yesterday showed tears streaming down JongUn’s reddened face as he stood before his father ’s body.

It lies in state in a glass coffin at Pyongyang’s Kumsusan Memorial Palace, surrounded Kim Jong-Un by red kimjongilia flowers named after the leader, whose death aged 69 was announced on Monday by a tearful television presenter. The new ruler, clad in a black Mao suit, shook hands with distraught visitors in dark attire or military uniforms, occasionally bowing to them. Beijing’s ambassador to North Korea was among those who laid wreaths, China’s official Xinhua news agency reported.

Continued on Page 13

ISA TOWN: A Bahraini woman takes part in a demonstration in front of the ministry of labour yesterday. — AFP

Fired Bahrain Shiites want their jobs back DUBAI: Dozens of Bahraini Shiite employees fired over pro-democracy protests rallied yesterday demanding a return to work, a day after authorities said 181 would be reinstated. Doctors, some contesting sentences of five to 15 years, nurses, teachers, oil and aluminium workers and civil servants gathered outside the labour ministry, an AFP correspondent said. Many Shiite employees were either dismissed or suspended indefinitely in the wake of a brutal crackdown on a Shiite-led month-long protest

in February and March.

According to Bahrain’s labour union, 377 civil servants were dismissed, and 171 out of 449 suspended remained so.

At the government-owned Alba aluminium company, 405 were suspended.

“They’ve dismissed the elite of this country,” said consultant orthopaedic surgeon Ali Alekri, wearing his doctor’s gown and carrying a Bahraini flag. He faces a 15year jail sentence and is among a group of 20 medics sentenced to between five Continued on Page 13

in the

news

Turkey accident leaves 25 dead ANKARA: Twenty-five people including 15 students were killed yesterday when a brick-loaded truck collided with a bus in southeastern Turkey, the local governor said. The crash took place near Salat village in Diyarbakir province, and 16 people were injured in the crash, Anatolia news agency quoted provincial governor Mustafa Toprak as saying. Twenty-four of the victims died at the accident scene, while another died in hospital in neighbouring Batman province. Four of the injured people were in critical condition. The rector of Siirt University said 15 of the dead were students from the university, Anatolia said. The bus was going to Siirt province from Diyarbakir. Television footage showed dead bodies lying on the road, and loads of bricks alongside wrecked vehicles. Toprak said speeding caused the accident.

Iran launches news channel in Spanish MADRID: Iran yesterday launched a television news service for Spanish-speakers worldwide, the channel said. HispanTV, financed by the Iranian government, broadcasts from Tehran, screening news and documentaries in Spanish around the clock. The channel plans “to reach millions of people in Latin America, the United States and Europe,” a statement on its website said. “The launch is today around 3:00 pm” (1400 GMT), said a publicist for the channel in Spain, Lola Garcia, yesterday. She said the channel was run by the Iranian state and has three staff in Madrid, with several Spanish and Latin American journalists working at its base in Tehran, “and correspondents around the world.” Spanish newspaper El Pais reported that Saudi Arabia plans to launch another Spanish-language channel, Cordoba Television, next month.

Daggers hidden in book at US airport WASHINGTON: The US Transportation Security Administration said officers found two throwing daggers hidden in a hollowed-out book at a checkpoint at Reagan-Washington National Airport. A TSA spokesman said a passenger was stopped Monday when officers found the knives in the person’s carry-on bag.

The daggers measured just over a half-foot long and were hidden in the hardcover book.

The passenger was flying to Chicago and surrendered the knives and book. The TSA has the authority to fine passengers who bring deadly weapons into the airport checkpoint. It was not known if this was done in this case. A spokesman for the airport did not immediately ARLINGTON, Virginia: Two throwing daggers are hidden in a return a call for comment. hollowed-out book at a checkpoint at Reagan Airport. — AP

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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2011

Years

LOCAL

KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, HH the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and other dignitaries at the awards ceremony held yesterday by the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences at Salwa Al-Ahmad Hall.

Advancement of science top priority of Kuwait Amir attends KFAS awards ceremony KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah AlAhmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah sponsored and attended an awards ceremony held yesterday by the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences (KFAS) at Salwa Al-Ahmad Hall in the Marina Hotel.

His Highness was received upon his arrival to the venue by KFAS Director General Dr Adnan Shehabeldin and members of the board. The ceremony was also attended by senior officials topped by His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf AlAhmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, senior sheikhs, Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Ahmad, Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, and Deputy Minister of Amiri Diwan Affairs Sheikh Ali Jarrah Al-Sabah.

The ceremony started with the national anthem and a recitation from the Holy Quran followed by a speech by the KFAS Director General. Dr Shehabeldin expressing pride in achievements and scientific standing of Kuwaiti and Arab researchers. He added care for scholars and advancement of sciences is a Kuwaiti priority, even back in the days when life was harder and state finances and resources modest.

He noted the development in the education sector was due to cooperation between the government on one hand and the citizens and businessmen on the other, and the state made leaps

since the establishment of the first regular school, Al-Mubarakiyah School, and continued to expand in bringing qualified staff from abroad as well as in sending Kuwaitis to study at leading regional and international institutions. The care given to the sector was increased upon the discovery of oil, he said, and model schools were built and students sent for study at prestigious universities. These students returned home with the best education and contributed to the following boom.

Dr Shehab-eldin remarked the special developments of establishing Kuwait University and Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR) in the 1960s out of belief in the role of science in the country’s renaissance. He noted that KFAS is now marking its own 35th anniversary and still pursuing the policy and aiming at objectives set by its founder the late Amir Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad AlJaber Al-Sabah, which stress on private sector involvement.

Amid great accelerating scientific advancements, KFAS is even more eager to pursue the latest and to foster talent and care for the qualified to enable them to contribute to their nation’s advancement. This was echoed in the Amir’s initiative of founding the Sabah Al-Ahmad Center for Giftedness and Creativity.

As productive as KFAS has been over 35 years, the chairman said, there is still a need to regularly re-consider prioriies and areas of focus, and this was achieved through re-assessment of all functions and activities compared to peer institutions and a following plan for development of performance, drafted by KFAS board upon the Amir’s directives.

The strategic plan for the next five years was drawn with contributions by leading local and international experts and consultants, and KFAS is now eager to more effectively encourage potential and invest in talent.

The future plans revolve around four factors: Spreading and improving science teaching, encouraging the talented, and creating a suitable environment; bolstering state institutions’ research

capacities and coordination among state bodies with focus on areas of energy, water, and the environment; encouraging creativity and commercial applications and patents within a comprehensive system for science and technology; encouraging development of scientific and technological abilities of the private sector and encouraging the creation of a knowledge-based economy.

KFAS future projects include Scientific Center expansions, a project for the improvement of the teaching of math and science, and providing support to talented students in cooperation with educational bodies, the chairman said, concluding with expression of gratitude for the Amir’s sponsoring and gracious attendance of this awards ceremony.

After the KFAS chairman’s speech, Dr Habib Zaidi addressed the attendees on behalf of those honored. He said generations of Kuwaitis and Arabs grew up inspired by publications including Al-Arabi Magazine, Al-Arabi Al-Sagheer, and the Arabic issue of the renowned magazine Scientific American (Al-Oloom). There was also Alam Al-Fikr, and the State of Kuwait produced one great work after the other in the development of culture and education for the masses in the region.

This prize, too, is one such effort inspired by the state’s keenness to spread knowledge, science, and culture. With great care when it comes to choice of themes and assessment of applications and papers submitted, the prize could fittingly be called the (Arab Nobel), Dr Zaidi said.

The prize is known for its transparency, high standards and criteria, and it is a great honor for any researcher or scholar to receive a KFAS award, as it would attest to his unique standing.

Dr Zaidi expressed gratitude, on behalf of those honored, to His Highness the Amir, to the KFAS Director General, to KFAS staff, and the organizing committee of this ceremony. After the two speeches, His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah presented the awards and the certificates of merit for 2010. — KUNA

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2011

LOCAL

Kim Jong Il

KUWAIT: Abd Al-Rahman Alyan , Editor-in-Chief of Kuwait Times, is seen signing the book of condolences at the Embassy of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea on the second day of the demise of their ‘Dear Leader’. A cross section of the Kuwaiti community, diplomats and friends paid a rich tribute to late Kim Jong Il. — Photos by Joseph Shagra

‘Duped’ Indian workers to be repatriated in phases Kuwait, India to sign MOU on health

By Sajeev K Peter KUWAIT: Around 80 Indian workers, the majority of them from the state of Punjab, who have been deceived by their employers in Kuwait, will be repatriated in a phased manner, said Indian Ambassador yesterday. “The first batch of 16 workers will be sent back to India in a couple of days’ time as their residential statuses have been regularized,” said Ambassador Satish C Mehta , addressing a year-end press conference at the Indian Embassy.

banks have taken over their finances, and the hapless workers were thrown into a pathetic condition.

“These people could neither go out of their houses, fearing police arrest, nor could they support themselves as they had no financial resources,” he said.

He said the Embassy interfered in the matter when it received a formal complaint from the workers. “We visited their camp in Jleeb and found out that they were staying in a very deplorable condition. There was no electricity, water or food,” he said.

KUWAIT: Indian Ambassador Satish C Mehta, accompanied by First Secretary Vidhu P Nair, addresses a press conference at the Indian Embassy yesterday.

— Photo by Sajeev K Peter

The workers were brought to Kuwait on temporary visas by the Kuwaiti firm, Arab Centre for Commerce and Real Estate, along with two of its sister companies Ahmad Raeda Ghulam Ashkanani and TGM Ltd, around four months ago. However, they were rendered illegal residents as the companies failed to obtain long-term residencies (No 18) for the workers.

Vidhu P Nair, Indian Embassy First Secretary, told the Kuwait Times that the companies that recruited the workers declined to pay their salaries and asked the workers not to come to the work sites. The companies claim they ran into serious financial difficulty, as

Nair said the embassy moved them to a better camp in Hasawi and provided them with food, financial assistance and hospital or other medical care.

At the official level, the Embassy has been meeting with the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor and also with Director General of the Department of Immigration.

“Following our meetings with the authorities, the Ministry of Interior issued a strict warning to the erring companies to find resources to renew the residences of the workers.”

“Now the issue is being resolved and measures have been taken to regularize their residency statuses. The first batch

will be repatriated in two days and others will follow suit subsequently,” he said. Kuwait and India have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on labor, manpower development and employment in 2006. A joint working group (JWG) had been set up under the provisions of the MOU to execute the mechanism. The JWG met in 2008 and 2010 and a third meeting will take place in New Delhi in the first half of 2012.

The Ambassador said at the meeting that the Embassy is very lenient towards the runaway maids, who have been given shelter by the Embassy even though they have no legal labor contracts.

The Ambassador said, “India-Kuwait relations are historical, deep-rooted and extensive covering a broad spectrum of areas of mutual interests. The visits this year of S M Krisha, the External Affairs Minister, and E Ahamad, Minister of State for External Affairs, underline the importance of the bilateral relations,” he pointed out.

Bilateral trade between India and Kuwait touched $12 billion this year, with the exports from India touching nearly a record $2 billion, he said.

Tourist arrivals from Kuwait to India recorded a 10 percent growth this year, signaling a spurt in people-to-people interaction. The employment growth also reported a 10 percent growth, with 71,000 employment contracts being finalized with the Kuwaiti authorities, he said. The Embassy’s consular services also grew sharply in 2011, as it serviced over 150,000 applications.

The Ambassador said that the Embassy has felt the need to hold more frequent Indian cultural events in Kuwait, as requested by many Kuwaiti friends here. Ambassador Mehta said Kuwait and India are expected to finalize a memorandum of understanding in the health sector in 2012. There are thousands of Indians working in Kuwait’s healthcare sector as doctors, nurses and other paramedical employees.

State officials illegally pass candidates’ transactions KUWAIT: A former lawmaker said that senior officials from state departments allow some candidates to pass transactions illegally so as to boost popularity among voters.

“There are assistant undersecretaries and directors in state departments who facilitate the passing of illegal transactions. They are part of political groups with high influence,” said former MP Naji Al-Abdulhadi in a statement without naming any state official or candidates involved. He named the Ministries of Social Affairs, Municipality Affairs, Housing Affairs, Education and Commerce as departments where the alleged activities take place. “Some [senior officials] are seen in diwaniyas of some candidates where ‘suspicious deals’ are carried out,” Al-Abdulhadi added. They asked HH the Prime Minister

Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah to “fire any minister who has been found guilty of passing illegal transactions for candidates.”

Meanwhile, former MP Falah Al-Sawwagh said that he and eight other former oppositionist lawmakers rejected all accusations leveled against them while testifying in the Parliament’s storming incident November 16, including charges in connection with leading citizens to an illegal demonstration. “If the cases were filed to prevent us from being reelected, then that’s fine as long as what is best for Kuwait is achieved,” Al-Sawwagh said, referring to the stipulation by which their nomination to the 2012 elections and subsequent election can be avoided in case they are convicted, reported Al-Rai.

KG students to learn English KUWAIT: Mariam Al-Wateed, Assistant Undersecretary at the Ministry of Education, has chaired a meeting of a number of specialists to discuss the advantages of teaching English language to students in kindergarten. Teaching English language at this level will be under probation in the six governorates, said Sakeena Ghbom.

The meeting discussed the importance of the role of teachers, in particular teaching students at this level. The

ability of the teacher in language is a very important one at this phase. Teachers can disseminate information to students in the most effective ways by using books and other available teaching methods.

Sakeena Ghbom, English language inspector, suggested employing English language graduates from Kuwait University in kindergartens after giving them intensive teacher training courses. — Al-Anba

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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2011

Years

LOCAL Letter to Muna Al-Fuzai

kuwait digest

New approach on education

Two anti-corruption cases

By Ibrahim Al-Awadhi

F

ormer French president Jacques Chirac was sentenced to prison after being found guilty of corruption during his tenure as the head of state in last Thursday’s trial. This case is a prime example of political corruption being put to an end and protecting public funds. muna@kuwaittimes.net

The fact that the current investigations involving former MPs are limited to anti-money laundering law means that the Public Prosecution Department cannot press corruption charges against the former MPs. In Kuwait, legal procedures were taking place simultaneously with Chirac’s trial in France. Several former MPs were summoned by the Public Prosecution Department (PPD) in connection with investigating large deposits made to bank accounts. The main difference between the two cases is that Kuwait’s embezzlement case will be shelved.

The charges pressed against former lawmakers were based on complaints made by local banks. This regulation, passed in 2002, allows the Public Prosecution Department to investigate cases pertinent with money laundering. The law identifies money laundering as a financial transaction that aims to cover an illegal source of money.

The fact that the current investigations involving former MPs are limited to anti-money laundering law means that the Public Prosecution Department cannot press corruption charges against the former MPs. This means that politicians will be freed if investigations prove that no criminal act was committed, regardless of whether these funds were paid as political bribes. This situation could have been avoided if the Parliament had enforced anticorruption and wealth disclosure laws, based on which the former MPs could have been probed. Of course, it is too late to do anything about that now. While former MPs charged with corruption might not be convicted in criminal charges, I believe that the cases they are involved will greatly jeopardize their political careers. As voters prepare to head to ballot boxes in February, it’s important that they realize the gravity of this scandal and what it did to Kuwait’s political and economic reputation.

The reason I mentioned the comparison between Jacques Chirac’s trial and Kuwait’s case is to show the difference between a nation that chose to commit to justice and transparency, and a nation in which people elect parliamentarians incapable to even legislate anticorruption laws. — Al-Rai

twitter @munaalfuzai Dear Muna, enjoyed reading your article about education in Kuwait. I agree with you about the importance of education. In fact, I would go one step further and say that education is the single most important policy that the country must address.

The national curriculum, contrary to popular belief, should not be a random array of subjects tossed together and later to be regurgitated in an exam. A curriculum is the entirety of students’ learning experiences intended to build character. The key is to teach the content in a way that develops competencies, skills and attitudes that these kids need. I agree with your point regarding recitations. We are not serving our kids any favor by memorizing text. It is competitive out there and these kids need to find their competitive advantage. What education needs to achieve is a student body that is able synthesize, criticize and analyze information.

Just omitting events such as the holocaust, for example.

What this creates is intolerance towards Jews e.g. The Jews are bad people and they made up the story to get sympathy and distorted information. I also agree with your point regarding the importance of religious tolerance. Education should promote acceptance of other belief systems, cultures and customs. Unfortunately, after spending 12 years being told that you are the ‘chosen’ people and everyone else is going to hell usually produces the opposite effect. A country as rich as Kuwait can do so much to invest in education. I agree that we need to revolutionize education. Besides the pressing matter of addressing the content of the curriculum, there is also the issue of the delivery of the content. Kuwait needs to develop a proper teacher training program. The college teachers must be the most competitive to get into and only the best are selected. Once graduated, proper measures should be taken to continually assess and improve the level of instruction these kids receive. This can be administered by having things such as structured observation sessions with constructive feedback, peer evaluations and observation and continuous professional development, whereby teachers are educated about the latest tools, techniques and technologies available.

We need to create a culture that truly respects the field of teaching, and most importantly those that teach K-12. As a college level teacher myself, I feel that teaching in a primary school is seen as less ‘prestigious’ than university level lecturing. This should not be the case, in fact after heavily investing in K-12 education, it ought to be the main focus.

I always remind my students of a quote by Einstein: “We can’t solve the problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.” When you think about it, how are kids expected to solve problems in ‘our’ way, when ‘new’ ways of thinking are not enforced.

Yours sincerely, Fay

I kuwait digest

The dissolution controversy

By Abdullah Al-Naibari

P

rocedures which led to the dissolution of Parliament has raised many controversies regarding whether they were in line with legal and constitutional regulations or not. These controversies were fed by opinions of legal experts and constitutional professors, who gave different interpretations on the subject. Constitutional experts Dr Mohammad Al-Mulaifi and Dr Mohammad Al-Muqatea say that the former Cabinet of former Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah does not have constitutional authority to make the request based on which Parliament was dissolved. That is because this Cabinet has already resigned.

Meanwhile, experts quote the Constitution stipulating that new Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak AlSabah was supposed to exercise his authority only after forming a new Cabinet or reappointing the outgoing Cabinet on an interim basis. That did not happen. However the prime minister requested the dissolution of Parliament before he formed the new Cabinet. On the other hand, there are analysts who argue that until a new Cabinet is formed, the outgoing Cabinet remains in power as caretaker Cabinet, who can still practice their duties as per Article 103 of the Constitution. This renders the request for

the dissolution of Parliament constitutional. Others argue that the dissolution is not a matter of extreme urgency, and can be put on hold until a valid Cabinet is formed. This renders the decree of dissolution invalid.

There are arguments which state that the request for the dissolution decree was made as per the desire of HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, who has the authority to appoint a Prime Minister. This argument is met with a counter argument which states that this theory does not go in line with constitutional regulations, which state that Parliament can only be dissolved on the basis of a certain condition which render the presence of the current Parliament no longer probable. Decrees are identified in law as decisions prepared by Parliament and sent to HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah AlAhmad Al-Sabah to enforce them. This means that the Amir’s exclusive constitutional authority to dissolve Parliament needs to be based on the approval of the Cabinet. Therefore, the Cabinet must first agree that the Parliament is no longer fit to remain, and make the dissolution request to HH Amir Sheikh Sabah AlAhmad Al-Sabah, who has the sole authority to make that decision. With that in mind, we can conclude that the proper way to dissolve the Parliament should

have started with assigning the new Prime Minister to form a new Cabinet, who then sends the request to dissolve Parliament to HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah. The fact that Parliament was dissolved based upon the request of a resigning Cabinet contradicts the parliamentary system.

The controversy this situation created, absorbing the headlines of local dailies for days, has at least allowed citizens to become more familiar with the correct constitutional manner in which a very important procedure such as the dissolution of Parliament must pass through. It might be too late to readdress the dissolution of Parliament now, especially that an error in the procedure was never confirmed. Even if that can still be possible, it would probably take too much time, which Kuwait to cannot afford to lose right now. I was just hoping that something could be done shortly after the dissolution occurred to correct the unconstitutional error in order to prevent any future problems that could result.

This was not that hard to do, when the procedure only needed the new Prime Minister to reappoint the resigning ministers temporarily so as to submit the dissolution’s request the proper way. I am not sure what happened exactly to prevent this from taking place. — Al-Qabas

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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2011

Years

local

Great touristic potential for Kuwait’s second city

UK demands Kuwait hand over child porn suspects KUWAIT: British authorities are reportedly coordinating with Kuwaiti counterparts in a bid to extradite two suspects accused of running an online child porn network from Kuwait. The pedophiles have lured hundreds of victims from the United Kingdom. A report carried by Al-Rai daily yesterday quoted a senior diplomatic source in Kuwait who confirmed that British authorities want the suspects to face trial in British courts. The suspects were previously released on KD50 bail each following a brief detention in the same case.

Speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the subject, the source explained that the case began with multiple reports made by parents of underage boys and girls in Britain. The parents stated that their children were blackmailed by online pedophiles. The pedophiles forced the children to send nude photos by threatening to expose private information about them they hacked from their computers.

Reports from victims of the criminal network have reached hundreds, including the cases of three girls who attempted suicide as a result of pressure they were under, the source reveals. “Following extensive investigations, the UK’s electronic police were able to find out that the child porn network was operating from Kuwait, after which they contacted Kuwaiti authorities”, the source said.

Local investigations led police to identify two residents living in Jahra and registered as Bedoon (stateless) residents, he added. The suspects were found to have used their computers to hack into computers of the victims identified in the case. The State Security Service arrested the suspects soon afterwards and took them to the Public Prosecution for investigation. Questioning revealed that the two are actually Syrian nationals who are claiming to be bedoons. The two were eventually released on bail following investigations, the source said.

“British authorities were infuriated to learn that two suspects involved in a serious child port crime were freed this easily, prompting them to contact their Kuwaiti counterparts and demand stricter measures, on par with the suffering of the victims and their families”, the source said.

The two suspects were soon caught inside a camp at an undisclosed location, which they were using as a hideout following their release.

Their arrest came following an investigation which was launched after the two were not found at their homes when police headed to re-arrest them, the source added. The two remain in custody of Kuwaiti authorities, while UK authorities are reportedly uncomfortable with a trial in Kuwait given the circumstances of their arrest. “[UK authorities] demand that the suspects are handed over to be trialed in the UK”, the source said.— Al-Rai

Eyeing the future

By Nawara Fattahova KUWAIT: The Center for Gulf Studies at the American University of Kuwait (AUK) hosted a panel discussion in cooperation with the Arabana Project entitled ‘Subbiya: Building Kuwait’s Second City’ to discuss the social and cultural implications associated with the development plan in Subbiya. This event was held on Tuesday at its premises in Salmiya.

Experts in architecture, archaeology, social geography, and tourism participated in this discussion to examine the various social and cultural aspects related to this project and the region where it will be constructed.

Dr Farah Al-Nakib, the Director of the Center for Gulf Studies, presented an introduction on the Subbiya project and the proposed “Silk City” which the Kuwait Municipality is currently developing in cooperation with the private sector. “The Center for Gulf Studies wanted to shed light on this highly significant national project, which is unfortunately not receiving enough media and public attention.

It’s an important issue for the future of Kuwait and the young generation who are the residents of this city,” she pointed out.

Dr Derek Kenet, Senior Professor of Archeology at Durham University, who is conducting excavation work in Subbiya, commented on the historical aspects pertaining to the area and surrounding region. He described the rich archeological finds in Subbiya, which include some of the oldest representations of seafaring vessels ever found in the world. “It was suggested that creating awareness of Subbiya’s thriving past would not only contribute to developing a touristic aspect to the city, but could also help create an identification to Kuwait’s ancient population. It’s also great for educational purposes, and schools can take their students to

Car accidents

By Hanan Al-Saadoun

KUWAIT: At least 1,300 bottles of liquor valued at KD 65,000 were seized by authorities of General Department for Drug Control recently. The accused said that he received the liquor from an Asian, who is being sought.

— Photo by Hanan Al-Saadoun

KUWAIT: A 33-year- old Jordanian fractured a leg, a 21-year-old suffered multiple injuries, a 25-year-old suffered multiple injuries and a 48-year-old citizen fell unconscious in a car accident that took place in Hawally. All victims were admitted to Mubarak Hospital.

A 31-year-old Egyptian sustained multiple injuries in a car accident that took place along Fifth Ring Road near Bayan.

He was admitted to Mubarak Hospital.

A 26-year-old bedoon suffered a neck fracture in a car accident that took place along the intersection between Gulf Road and Hamad Al-Mubarak Street. He was admitted to Mubarak Hospital.

Hit and run case A 25-year-old Syrian fractured his feet after being run over by a car in Hasawi. He was admitted to Farwaniya Hospital.

witness the historical remains,” he stated.

As for the socio-geographic perspective of the project, Dr Abdulrasool AlMousa, Professor of Geography at Kuwait University, explained that the prospect of being far away from the congestion of the capital city might encourage Kuwaitis to look forward to the promising future of Subbiya. “Although the new city would only be across a bridge passing over Kuwait Bay, the general idea of a new commercial, economic, recreational and residential city in itself makes it sound as if it is far and distant from the old city crowd,” he said.

Dr Al-Mousa also raised several important questions on the issue, asking how Kuwaitis, the vast majority of who work in

the public sector, could be encouraged to relocate away from Kuwait City, and how the demographic nature of the new city would be managed.

The occupied space of Kuwait’s land is a percent of the total space. “The rest of the lands are for oil and military purposes.

If we changed the housing area, we will solve the problem of traffic and congestion,” noted Dr Nasser Abulhasan, cofounder of AGi Architects in Kuwait.

In terms of tourism and recreation, Nabil Shashatari, the General Manager of Safir Hotels Group in Kuwait discussed the touristic aspect of the new city. “The Safir Heritage Village project in Failaka Island is a resort as well as an environmentallyfriendly village with many elements of

The AUK discussion in progress — Photo by Joseph Shagra

attraction to the public and the tourists.

Unfortunately Failaka is a local tourist destination, as most expats and foreigners don’t know about this place. It’s also a bit limited by the high-sea and low-sea. I think that Subbiya could also have great touristic potential. I’m sure that Subbiya will enhance the interest of other tourist areas and places,” he said.

During the event, several panelists and audience members expressed their concern over whether the failures of city planning in Kuwait City would be repeated in Subbiya, such as the construction of large, expensive villas that are increasingly unaffordable to the local population.

Dr Nasser Abulhasan stressed the importance of policymakers engaging the public on plans for Subbiya before taking any action. He warned that a lack of transparency in the planning stages could lead to a failure to meet the needs and desires of Kuwait’s population.

The audience remained engaged throughout the discussion, with several young Kuwaitis asking how they could get involved in the decision-making process.

While many expressed skepticism, Dr Abulhasan urged the public to approach the issue with optimism, saying that if the population is proactive about expressing how they envision the future city, there is great potential to create a thriving residential community in Subbiya.

This event is the first of three panel discussions to be co-hosted by the AUK Center for Gulf Studies and the Arabana Project that will address the various impacts and implications of Subbiya’s development. The second panel discussion will focus on the environmental implications of building in Subbiya, and the third will examine the economic and geo -strategic aspec ts. They are planned for January and February 2012, respectively.

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LOCAL Commercial stores asked to abide by rules KUWAIT: Municipality ’s Director General Ahmad Al-Subeeh called on owners of shops, restaurants and coffee shops to abide by the licensed spaces according to the municipality rules.

Any violations in annexing extra spaces will be considered as a violation of the regulations and systems, stressing that the municipality will close all shops breaking the rules, Al-Subeeh said.

Head of Hawalli Municipality Emergency Team Riyadh Al-Rabe’ announced closing 16 shops in Hawalli and Salmiya areas, following visits of municipality inspection teams.

Violations included adding unlicensed spaces, and operating shops, before receiving the municipality approval, he added.

The campaign included a number of cafes, restaurants, call center shops, clothing and food catering shops, he said.

Shops receiving former orders of administrative closure, were considered as violating the law, he mentioned.

The unlicensed extra spaces are estimated between 100 to 200 meters, which were taken without any consideration to the negative consequences of such an action, he added.

This could be of a great danger to lives and would affect the safety of the buildings and commercial malls, he affirmed.

The municipality inspection teams will pay further visits to such shops to check on thier commitment to municipality laws, he said. — KUNA

KUWAIT: Uzbekistan Ambassador to Kuwait Xoshimov Abdurafiq Abduvaliyevich hosted a party at the embassy building this week to celebrate his country’s National Day. The event was attended by a number of state officials, diplomats and other dignitaries. — Photos by Joseph Shagra

Photography team captures images of polluted beaches KUWAIT: The Kuwait Environment Protection Society photography team detected many pollutants during its field trips to the beaches in Kuwait.

Sameerah Al-Khalifa, Head of the team, told the press yesterday, “during field trips made by the team to document environmental phenomena at Shuwaikh, Sulaibikhat and the Free Trade Zone area beaches, they

noticed many pollutants that reflect how badly the environment is contaminated.” “ The pollution was seen in the derelict plastic bags, empty containers and buildings remnant,” she pointed out. She stressed that the beaches in Kuwait play a vital role in hosting and protecting many mycological life forms, sea creatures, migrating and

local birds. However, their camera lenses captured many violations that put these life forms, the environment as well as human health in danger, he added. Al-Khalifa noted that the team will continue to catch these harmful environmental phenomena with their cameras and present them to the concerned officials in the hope of seeking a solution for this problem. — KUNA

Morphed photos of three girls uploaded online Drunk surrenders to police KUWAIT: Police are investigating the case in which pranksters uploaded morphed nude photos of three teenage girls online. The three close friends, aged between 17 and 19, turned suspicious after they began receiving lewd phone calls from strange men. After a brief online search, the girls were shocked to find their fake pictures on social networking websites, with their names and phone numbers mentioned nearby. The girls informed their parents about the horrifying discovery, after which their parents filed a complaint with Rumaithiya police station. Police identified three female suspects who are friends of the victims. They are believed to be responsible for uploading the pictures.

Drunk man A drunk man in an inebriated condition walked into a police station and surrendered himself.

Officers at the Sulaibikhat police station were startled when a man, identified as an Iranian national, behaved strangely. He was immediately imprisoned after police learnt that he was drunk. A case was filed.

Road rage A man was arrested in connection with physically assaulting a retired military personnel in a traffic accident that took place in Jahra.

Police headed to a street after receiving a report about a man who suffered a facial injury while caught

up in a heated argument with another driver. The victim identified himself as a retired serviceman from the Army and provided police with a license plate number. Police later identified the car owner as a Ministry of Interior officer, explaining that his car was used by his brother-in-law. The suspect was then summoned for investigations, during which, he admitted to attacking the retired military man.

Pregnant maid A domestic worker was arrested after her hidden pregnancy exposed an illicit affair she had with a shopkeeper. The Nepalese woman was first taken to the hospital by her Kuwaiti employer who noticed that her abdomen had enlarged. A medical check-up revealed that she was eight months pregnant. She eventually admitted to having had an extramarital affair with an Asian shopkeeper of a nearby baqala (small grocery store). She was held at Al-Jahra police station.

Woman assaulted Police are on the hunt for two domestic helpers who reportedly injured a female employer. A senior female citizen who fractured her legs was admitted to Adan Hospital. She explained to police that her injuries were sustained from a physical assault. She added that the suspects escaped after attacking her. A case was filed for investigations.

Breach of trust Jahra police are trying to trace the whereabouts of an Egyptian resident who has been accused of stealing money from compatriots. Police learnt about the case after an Egyptian woman pressed charges against a compatriot who was employed in an office which delivered goods and money. The complainant added that the suspect disappeared shortly after he was entrusted with items and KD 80 in cash.

Drug overdose Police and paramedical staff reached a house in Al-Ahmadi governorate where a drug addict reportedly fell into a coma after a suspected case of drug overdose.

Paramedics found a male citizen lying in an unconscious state, with drug related paraphernalia found nearby. He was rushed to the nearest medical facility. However, the victim was pronounced dead upon arrival. A case was filed.

Domestic troubles A man was arrested in Abdullah AlMubarak after he coerced his wife to accompany him from her workplace.

Police reached the scene minutes after the incident was reported and intervened. It was later revealed that the couple were separated and that the woman rejected her husband’s demands to return home. The husband now faces criminal charges.

— Al-Watan, Al-Rai, Al-Anbaa

Chest Hospital hosts Canadian medical team KUWAIT: A Canadian medical team from McGill are introducing non-surgical medical treatments for children in Kuwait with congenital heart defects.

Dr Ziyad Hijazi, a consultant in congenital heart diseases and defects in children and adults, is being hosted by Kuwait Chest Diseases Hospital.

The Chest Diseases Hospital issued a statement yesterday saying that Dr Hijazi’s will divulge a number of medical treatments of diseases resulting from congenital heart defects without conducting surgery during his one-week. Dr. Hijazi will review the latest findings of the newest technol-

ogy and Cardiac catheterization devices used to cure such diseases.

These will include the cultivation of heart valves without surger y. Dr. Hijazi is the Head of the Center for Congenital and Structural Hear t Diseases at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. — KUNA

Kuwaiti democracy ‘safeguard against unrest’ VIENNA: The State of Kuwait has adopted a democratic tradition, since its declaration of independence in 1961, which contributed to safeguarding the nation against unrest and revolutions which are overtaking some countries of the Arab world, said Tunisian human rights activist and lawyer Abdul Nasser Al-Owaini yesterday.

After giving a lecture here sponsored by the Tunisian Home Society entitled “Revolutionary change and democratic transition”, Al-Owaini said that the current action within the Kuwaiti Parliament stems from the country’s old democratic experience. It most particularly stems from a balance between a country that is led by an Amir, and people who enjoy freedom of opinion and expression within the restraints and controls stated in the country’s constitution. —KUNA

KUWAIT: Public Authority for Youth and Sports(PAYS) Chairman Faisal AlJazzaf bid farewell recently to the outgoing Ambassador of China to Kuwait, Huang Jiemin. The two held a meeting in Al-Jazzaf’s office at the PAYS headquarters building.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2011

Indian govt set for showdown over anti-graft bill

Czechs bid farewell to Havel in national mourning Page 10

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Egyptians back at polls Calm returns to Tahrir Square after five days of violence

CAIRO: Egyptian women chant slogans during a protest demanding the military step down in Cairo, Egypt yesterday. Thousands of women marched through central Cairo demanding Egypt’s ruling military step down in an unprecedented show of outrage over soldiers who dragged women by the hair and stomped on them, and stripped one half-naked in the street during a fierce crackdown on activists the past week. —AP CAIRO: Egyptians returned to the polls yesterday in a phased parliamentary election after five days of violence in Cairo that has cast a pall over the transition to democracy and drawn a US rebuke of Egypt’s security forces. Tahrir Square and surrounding streets were quiet through the night for the first time in a week. A night earlier, police and soldiers had used tear gas and batons to chase protesters demanding an end to army rule out of the square.

The latest confrontations, in which 13 people have been killed, made for a turbulent backdrop to Egypt’s first election since Hosni Mubarak was toppled in February. Even before the vote got under way in November, a flare-up in Tahrir killed 42. Nine provinces, mostly outside the capital, held run-off votes yesterday and today in the election that is being held in stages over six weeks and ends on Jan. 11.

The ruling army council, which took over from Mubarak, has said it will not let the transition be derailed and has pledged to hand power to an elected president by July. But protesters in the square want the army to return to barracks far sooner. “God willing, we will complete the revolution by Jan. 25 by bringing down the army council,” said 25year-old protester Mahmoud, who declined to give his full name. The uprising against Mubarak began on Jan. 25, 2011 and lasted 18 days. Near where he spoke, the authorities have erected walls of concrete blocks, barring access from the square on roads leading to the parliament, the cabinet and Interior Ministry where violence has been the most fierce. A few hundred hardy protesters were still in and around the square yesterday, surrounded by streets strewn with rocks exchanged between them and security forces. Some protesters held up bullets and cartridge cases they say were used against

them. Traffic passed through other parts of the big square. The clashes have driven a wedge between those determined to stay on the streets and other Egyptians frustrated by the turmoil, which has damaged the economy and scared off foreign tourists, and now desperate for a return of order. Many still see the army as the only institution capable of achieving this.

“All demonstrations should stop to end this violence until we finish elections and elect a president then all the demonstrators can voice their concerns through members of parliament,” said Erian Saleeb, 64, who works in the floundering tourist industry. But many have been shocked by images of police and soldiers hitting protesters with batons even after they fell to the ground and, in one case, dragging a prone woman by her black robe, exposing her bra, and then kicking her. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton this week referred to that incident of the beaten woman as “particularly shocking” and cited other cases of women protesters sexually assaulted.

“This systematic degradation of Egyptian women dishonours the revolution, disgraces the state and its uniform and is not worthy of a great people,” she said, in some of the strongest US criticism of Egypt’s new rulers.

The United States, for which Egypt under Mubarak was a crucial ally, gives Cairo $1.3 billion a year in military aid. The Egyptian foreign minister responded yesterday that Egypt would not accept any meddling in its own affairs. “Egypt does not accept any interference in its internal affairs and conducts communications and clarifications concerning statements made by foreign officials,” the state news agency quoted Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr as saying. “Matters like that are not taken lightly,” he was quoted as saying, in his response to a question about Clinton’s remarks. —Reuters

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EU court upholds bar on terrorism listing for Iran group BRUSSELS: The EU’s highest court upheld a decision yesterday that keeps an Iranian opposition group off the EU’s terrorist black list, just days before a deadline to resettle thousands of activists stranded in Iraq by US withdrawal. France had appealed a decision by a lower EU court that ordered the European bloc to remove the People’s Mujahideen Organisation of Iran (PMOI) from its terrorism list, but the European Court of Justice rejected

the appeal. It upheld a 2008 decision by the ECJ’s court of first instance, which held that the EU had failed to provide the PMOI with evidence that formed the basis of a decision to keep it on the terrorism list.

“The adoption of such a decision must, in principle, be preceded by notification of the incriminating evidence and by allowing the person or entity concerned an opportunity of being heard,” it said. The PMOI, which

strongly opposes Iran’s clerical rulers, waged a violent insurgency against the Shah in the 1970s and staged attacks on US interests, but now says it has renounced violence and supports secularism and democracy.

Despite lobbying on the group’s behalf, the United States still lists it as a terrorist organization. The EU dropped its terrorist designation in 2009 after the 2008 court case. EU officials said the decision was based on the legal

case and not a result of concluding that it was no longer a terrorist group.

The group’s status is an important issue right now, as it could affect the fate of 3,000 activists stranded at a camp in Iraq, where they were once guests of former leader Saddam Hussein and later received protection from US troops.

The government of Iraq, which is friendly with Tehran, says it will close the camp by the end of this year, leav-

ing just days to resolve their fate.

Residents say they fear for their safety now that US troops have withdrawn from Iraq this month, ending their nine-year presence.

Washington has tried to persuade the activists to accept a U.N. plan to move to a new camp near Baghdad airport. From there, they could eventually be resettled abroad, which is easier to organise if countries do not list them as terrorists. — Reuters

Iraq PM tells Kurds to hand over Sunni VP Charges open new round of sectarian tensions

SANAA: Armed Yemeni tribesmen loyal to Sheik Sadeq Al-Ahmar, the head of the powerful Hashid tribe, stand near Sheik Al-Ahmar’s house in Sanaa, Yemen yesterday. — AP

Yemenis march 270km to demand Saleh’s trial SANAA: Thousands of Yemenis are marching 270 kilometres (170 miles) from Taez to the capital Sanaa demanding President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s trial for alleged crimes against anti-government protesters. The demonstrators, who are being joined by fellow Yemenis from towns and villages along the road to Sanaa, began their journey on foot yesterday morning and are expected to reach the capital on Sunday.

They are marching in protest against the Gulf-sponsored transition plan that gave Saleh and his closest relatives immunity from prosecution in return for his resignation after more than 33 years in power. Fifty women are leading the march of mainly young protesters who launched the uprising against Saleh’s rule in January, according to the organizers from the Taez-based Youth Revolutionary Union. They said the march was expected

to swell to more than 50,000 protesters by the time it arrives in the capital. The mass uprising has been met with a brutal government crackdown, leaving hundreds of people dead and thousands more wounded. The organizers said they hoped the march will pressure the newly formed unity government to withdraw the promise of immunity for Saleh and other regime officials involved in the violent crackdown on the pro-democracy protests. The tens of thousands of Yemenis who have braved the streets of the capital demanding regime change in recent months have held weekly protests against the Gulf Cooperation Council plan that promised Saleh immunity. For the time being, Saleh holds the title of honorary president until elections are held in February when he will formally resign in favor of his deputy, Vice President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi. —AFP

Egypt’s Salafists tell Israel they will keep the peace JERUSALEM: A spokesman for Egypt’s main Salafist party yesterday pledged that the hardline Islamist group would respect the peace treaty with Israel in an unprecedented interview with an Israeli radio station. “We are not against the (1979 peace) agreement but we say that Egypt is committed to the agreements signed by the previous governments,” AlNur spokesman Yusri Hammad said in a telephone interview with Israel’s army radio, in which he spoke in Arabic.

“If there are some clauses that the people of Egypt want to change in the agreements, then these belong on the negotiating table,” he said. “We respect all treaties.” Al-Nur is the main party of the Salafists, whose members follow a strict form of Islam dominant in Saudi Arabia. The hardline faction was initially part of the Democratic Alliance coalition led by the Muslim Brotherhood, but they broke away to form the Islamic Alliance, which calls for a strict interpretation of

Islamic law.

Hammad said the Salafists image had been “distorted” by the media and by other elements who were against Islamist elements ruling Egypt. The interview prompted surprise in Israel that a member of the Egyptian Salafist movement would grant an interview to an Israeli media outlet, particularly one associated with the military. “We were surprised by this interview,” a senior government source told AFP. “It gives us, without any doubt, something to think about regarding what is happening in Egypt.”

Hammad’s remarks were made as Egyptians turned out to vote in the runoff of a second round of legislative polls.

Since voting began just over three weeks ago, Egypt’s main Islamist parties Al-Nur and the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party-have emerged as the front-runners, trumping their liberal rivals. — AFP

TEHRAN: Iranian customers buy sweets and nuts at a shop for the Yalda feast, an all-night celebrations of the longest night of the year, in Tehran, Iran yesterday.

Yalda is a tradition going back thousands of years to when Zoroastrianism was the predominant religion of ancient Persia. Yalda, marked on the winter solstice, recognizes the symbolic victory of light over darkness as day time starts growing longer and nights become shorter. —AP

BAGHDAD : Iraq’s Shiite prime minister told Kurdish authorities yesterday to hand over the Sunni vice president, who fled to the semiautonomous region to escape an arrest warrant on charges he ran hit squads targeting government officials. The charges, leveled a day after the last American troops left Iraq, have opened up a new round of the Shiite-Sunni sectarian tensions that pushed the country to the brink of civil war just a few years ago.

Tariq Al-Hashemi, the country’s highestranking Sunni political figure, said Monday the allegations by his longtime rival, Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki, are fabricated and politically motivated. He accused Al-Maliki of concentrating power in his hands and torpedoing national reconciliation between Sunnis and Shiites. “I do not allow myself and others to bargain over Iraqi blood,” Al-Maliki said in his first public comments on the warrant. He said Iraq is a unified county, and the Kurdish authorities should hand over Al-Hashemi to the Iraqi justice system. “If they will not hand him over or let him flee or escape, this will lead to problems,” the premier said.

There has been speculation that AlHashemi may try to flee the country to Turkey, which shares a border with the northern Kurdish region. The Sunni minority dominated Iraq under Saddam Hussein until he was ousted by the US -led invasion in 2003. The Shiites have held power ever since, and many Sunnis feel the Shiite-led government is determined to keep the them from ever regaining positions of power.

The charges raised suspicions that AlMaliki ordered the arrest of Al-Hashemi as part of a campaign to consolidate his hold on power out of fear that Sunnis inside and outside of Iraq are plotting against him. The conflict has sharpened the divisions in what is shaping up to be one of the most serious

political confrontations in Iraq in years. AlHashemi denied charges he paid his bodyguards to kill government officials during the heyday of Iraq’s Sunni insurgency. Most of the accusations date back to the height of the internal war in 2006 and 2007, when neighbors turned on neighbors and whole sections of Baghdad were expunged of one Muslim sect or the other.

Al-Hashemi fled to the Kurdish region on Sunday, before the arrest warrant was announced and before purported confessions from his bodyguards aired on Iraqi television Monday evening. On Sunday he was barred from leaving the country.

Al-Maliki effectively runs the Interior Ministry, where the charges originated. AlHashemi’s Sunni-backed party, Iraqiya, which shares power in al-Maliki’s government, has repeatedly accused the prime minister of hoarding power and last weekend boycotted parliament because al-Maliki refused to give up control over key posts such as the defense and interior ministries. The prime minister has not appointed permanent ministers of defense or interior since he came to office a year ago.

Al-Hashemi has taken refuge in the Kurdish region, which is part of Iraq but has its own security forces. The Iraqi army and national police do not operate there. As long as the Kurdish officials allow him to stay there, he is effectively immune from prosecution in Baghdad. The Kurds, who have been trying to work out a solution to the crisis, are also wary of al-Maliki’s perceived authoritarian streak.

But they have also clashed with Sunni politicians from Iraqiya over the future of disputed areas in northern Iraq claimed by both Baghdad and the Kurds.

The charges have thrown Iraq into crisis just days after the last US troops left the

country and ended a nearly nine-year war.

Vice President Joe Biden called both Al-Maliki and Osama Al-Nujaifi, the speaker of the Iraqi Council of Representatives, late Tuesday. He stressed to Al-Maliki the “urgent need” for him to meet with leaders of other political blocs to help resolve the crisis.

Al-Maliki is also pushing for a vote of no confidence against the Sunni Deputy Prime Minister, Saleh Al-Mutlaq, also a member of Iraqiya. Al-Hashemi addressed the charges against him at a news conference in the northern city of Irbil on Tuesday. He said the case was “fabricated” to embarrass him and Iraqiya. When asked whether Al-Hashemi could get a fair trial in Iraq considering that the confessions have already aired on television, Al-Maliki defended the treatment of the vice president.

“We gave the dictator Saddam a fair trial, and we will guarantee a fair trial for AlHashemi,” he said. Al-Maliki also threatened to appoint new cabinet ministers if the ministers from Iraqiya do not attend Cabinet sessions.

However, he said that Iraqiya would be able to keep those positions and nominate new people from within their ranks. Iraqiya has not indicated whether it will pull out of the government, but al-Maliki seemed prepared for that eventuality. He did not address Iraqiya directly, but during his opening remarks raised the possibility of having a simple majority government instead of the current broad-based unity coalition.

Right now, Iraq has a unity government that includes all the major factions, including Iraqiya and al-Maliki’s State of Law alliance.

The unwieldy government makes it extremely difficult to make decisions, but supporters say it lessens the risk of violence that could result if large segments of the population are cut out of power. — AP

Reporter for Lebanese daily detained in Syria BEIRUT: A Syria correspondent for Lebanese daily As-Safir was detained at a rally against President Bashar AlAssad in Damascus, an editor at the newspaper told AFP yesterday. “We lost contact with our correspondent Mohammed Dahnoun yesterday (Tuesday) during a protest at Midan Square in the Syrian capital and believe he has been detained,” the editor said, requesting anonymity.

“Eyewitnesses say they saw security forces drag him away from the crowd,” he said, adding that Dahnoun had likely been covering rather than par ticipating in the protest. A Facebook page has been set up demanding the release of Dahnoun, who is 30 years old and hails from the northwestern Syrian city of Idlib, according to the page. Dahnoun has been writing for As-Safir’s youth supplement for nearly five years and in recent months has written on the crisis in Syria.

As-Safir is considered supportive of Syria and its ally, Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah. Since the outbreak of anti-regime demonstrations in March, however, the paper has published editorials critical of Assad’s crackdown on the rallies. Damascus in July banned As-Safir over its coverage of the anti-Assad protests. In a column last week, owner Talal Salman hinted that Assad should step down, slamming the regime’s accusations that terrorist gangs were behind the revolt as “unacceptable by any standards of logic.”

“Will he learn from Gamal Abdel Nasser after the defeat of 1967 and save his countr y?” Salman wrote, referring to the popular pan-Arab Egyptian leader who stepped down after the Six Day War between Israel and Egypt.

“Bashar al-Assad alone holds the answer.” Forces loyal to Assad have cracked down brutally on the uprising, killing more than 5,000 people, according to UN estimates.

Thousands others, including bloggers, journalists and activists, are believed to have been detained. The opposition Syrian National Council yesterday urged the UN Security Council and Arab League to hold emergency meetings after regime forces reportedly killed more than 200 people in just two days. — AFP

TEL AVIV: Foreign migrant workers from the Philippines celebrate an annual ChristmasHannukah party in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, Dec 17, 2011. —AP

In Israel, a higher profile for Christmas TEL AVIV: The founders of Neve Shaanan, a neighborhood in southern Tel Aviv, planned their streets in the shape of a seven-branched candelabra - a symbol of their Jewish faith.

Ninety years later, the streets are full of Christmas decorations, reflecting a flowering of Christianity in Israel’s economic and cultural capital.

Tens of thousands of Christian foreigners, most of them laborers from the Philippines and African asylum seekers, have poured into the neighborhood in recent years. They pray year-round in more than 30 churches hidden in grimy apartment buildings. But in late December, their Christian subculture emerges in full force in the southern streets of Tel Aviv, whose founders called it the “first Hebrew city.”

On the Saturday before Christmas, the center of festivities was the city’s central bus station, a hulking seven-story maze of concrete. A plastic green fir spewed fake snow from its top in a shop near the main entrance. Christmas carols blasted from storefronts full of rice and noodles. Giggly young Filipino women took photographs with a Santa Claus figure to send to their friends and parents.

A few blocks north of the station, pastor Ruby Austria held her arms up and led prayers for 80 worshippers, most of them Filipino women, at a makeshift church on the third floor of an apartment building. Women wept, clutching small children and singing along to

Austria’s prayers and a keyboard accompaniment. Nearly all of them were in Israel illegally because they lost their work permits when they had children.

“God is embracing us,” Austria said. “May we see the true meaning of Christmas, that each of us will be able to see it in our lives and family.” Romeo Moralit, 35, arrived in Israel five years ago to work as a caregiver. He planned to buy a musical Santa Claus statue to bring cheer to his home, he said. Tel Aviv’s Christmas celebrations paled in comparison to Manila’s.

“In the Philippines you see decorations everywhere, twinkling lights, and songs playing in all the shopping malls,” he said.

For some, the holiday punctuates the divide between parents and children. Nancy Domingo, who arrived in Israel 14 years ago from the Philippines, said her eldest daughter did not plan on eating traditional Filipino Christmas food. The 7-year-old, like the other children of migrant workers here, has grown up steeped in Israeli Jewish culture.

The girl speaks Hebrew, learns about Jewish holidays in school and is familiar with Jewish dietary laws, such as the ban on pork. “If I cook pork she won’t eat it because in school they tell her pork is not clean,” Domingo said.

“She doesn’t know Christmas, only Hanukkah.” Nearby, a mostly African church called Lift Up Your Head, runs an annual trip to Jerusalem’s Old City and Bethlehem. —AP

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Officials step up efforts to find missing toddler WATERVILLE: As the FBI stepped up its efforts to find a 20-month-old girl who disappeared from her father’s home over the weekend, investigators combed through trash bins, drained a stream and pored over more than 100 leads offered by the public. Waterville Police Chief Joseph Massey refused to speculate Tuesday on whether Ayla Reynolds was alive, saying authorities are focused on finding her. The investigation remains a missing-person case, he said.

Meanwhile, in his first public statement, the girl’s father, Justin DiPietro, said he doesn’t know what happened to her. “I have no idea what happened to Ayla, or who is responsible,” he said. “I will not make accusations or insinuations towards anyone until the police have been able to prove who’s responsible for this.”

The Portland Press Herald reported that DiPietro released the statement through the Waterville Police Department, saying his family and friends will do “everything we can to assist in

this investigation and get Ayla back home.”

Massey said the FBI launched a door-to-door canvass of neighbors to glean any information that may lead them to the little girl.

“We’ve ruled out nothing,” said Massey, whose central Maine agency has combined efforts with firefighters, state police, game wardens and the FBI. Ayla was last seen when DiPietro, put her to bed Friday night. He called police to report her missing the following morning, saying he found her bed empty. “I have shared every piece of information possible with the police,” DiPietro said in his statement.

On Tuesday, a state police evidence vehicle remained outside the home that DiPietro shared with his mother in Waterville. State police stationed outside the house told reporters that the DiPietros were not there. Their whereabouts were unknown to the public, and The Associated Press could not find phone numbers for them. While the neighborhood was canvassed, police were check-

Top Argentine official found hanged at summit Police try to determine whether suicide, crime or accident MONTEVIDEO: A top Argentine official was found hanged Tuesday in his hotel room in Montevideo during a summit meeting of the South American trade group Mercosur, police said. Ivan Heyn, 33, the undersecretary of trade, was found dead around 3:00 pm (1700 GMT ) at the Radisson Hotel downtown, police spokesman Jose Luis Rondan told a news conference. “He apparently died by hanging” with a belt, Rondan said.

He said police were trying to determine whether it was a suicide, a crime or an accident. A Uruguayan official earlier said Heyn had committed suicide.

A source close to the case told AFP on condition of anonymity that Heyn was naked when he was found, nearly six hours after his death. An investigat-

ing judge told local media that the circumstances surrounding Heyn’s death remained unclear. News of his death shocked the Mercosur summit, attended by the presidents of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela.

Argentine President Cristina Kirchner was informed about the death while she was attending a closed door meeting of the presidents, and was so upset she was seen by her doctor, according to the Uruguayan official. But Kirchner, who is supposed to assume the presidency of the bloc during the summit, later returned to the meeting with the other presidents.

Organizers meanwhile canceled a planned official picture of the leaders.

Security was beefed up at the hotel, where some of the leaders attending

the summit are staying. Argentina’s embassy confirmed Heyn’s death, and said in a statement that Uruguayan authorities were taking “all the necessary legal steps with regard to this tragic incident.” Heyn was a promising economist who belonged to the Peronist youth group La Campora that supports the government of Kirchner and supported the previous government of her late husband, Nestor Kirchner. A former leader of the Argentine University Federation, Heyn was an undersecretary in the Ministry of the Economy during Cristina Kirchner’s first term. He took up his new post just 10 days ago after Kirchner’s reelection. A telegenic commentator, he was often featured on state television explaining government policy. — AFP

Mayan region launches apocalypse countdown MEXICO CITY: Seize the day. Only 52 weeks and a day are left before Dec 21, 2012, when some believe the Maya predicted the end of the world. Unlike enthusiasts of other doomsday theories who suggest putting together survival kits, southeastern Mexico, the heart of Maya territory, plans a yearlong celebration. Mexico’s tourism agency expects to draw 52 million visitors by next year only to the regions of Chiapas, Yucatan, Quintana Roo, Tabasco and Campeche. All of Mexico usually lures about 22 million foreigners in a year.

It’s selling the date, the Winter Solstice in the coming year, as a time of renewal.

Many archeologists argue that the 2012 reference on a 1,300-year-old stone tablet only marks the end of a cycle in the Mayan calendar. “The world will not end. It is an era,” said Yeanet Zaldo, a tourism spokeswoman for the Caribbean state of Quintana Roo, home to Cancun. “For us, it is a message of hope.”

Cities and towns in the Mayan region will start the yearlong countdown. In Chiapas the town of Tapachula on the Guatemalan border will start a countdown on an 8-foot digital clock in the main park exactly a year before the mysterious date.

In the nearby archaeological site of Izapa, Maya priests will burn incense, chant and offer prayers.

In the tropical jungle of Quintana Roo, between the resorts of Cancun and Playa del Carmen, people are putting messages and photos in a time capsule that will be buried for 50 years. Maya priests and Indian dancers will perform a ritual at the time capsule ceremony. Yucatan state has announced plans to complete the Maya Museum of Merida by next summer.

“People who still live in Mayan villages will host rites and burn incense for us to go back in time and try to understand the Mayan wisdom,” Zaldo said.

The Maya reputation for wisdom has people taking the alleged prediction seriously.The Mayan civilization, which reached its height from 300 A.D. to 900 A.D., had a talent for Astronomy Its Long Count calendar begins in 3,114 BC, marking time in roughly 394-year periods known as Baktuns. Thirteen was a significant, sacred number for the Mayas, and they wrote that the 13th Baktun ends on Dec. 21, 2012.

The doomsday theories stem from a stone tablet discovered in the 1960s at the archaeological site of Tortuguero in the Gulf of Mexico state of Tabasco that describes the return of a Mayan god at the end of a 13th period. Believers have taken the end-of-the world fears to the Internet with hundreds of thousands of websites and blogs. “The Maya are viewed by many westerners as exotic folks that were supposed to have had some special, secret knowledge,” said Mayan scholar Sven Gronemeyer. “What happens is that our expectations and fears get projected on the Maya calendar.”

Gronemeyer of La Trobe University in Australia compares the supposed Mayan prophecies to the “Y2K” hype, when people feared all computer systems would crash when the new millennium began on Jan. 1, 2000. For some reason, Gronemeyer says, people have ignored evidence that dates beyond 2012 were recorded. The blogos-

PLAYA DEL CARMEN: This June 1, 2007 shows a Mayan priest taking part in a ceremony before 22 traditional Mayan canoes cross the Yucatan Channel, from the mainland near Playa Del Carmen, Mexico, to Cozumel Island, in a ten mile pilgrimage in honor of the Mayan goddess Ixchel. —AP phere exploded with more speculation when Mexico’s archaeology institute acknowledged on Nov 24 a second reference to Dec 21, 2012, on a brick found at other ruins. “Human beings seem to be attracted by apocalyptic ideas and always assume the worst,” Gronemeyer said. It’s all a bit frustrating for serious Mayan researchers whose field has made huge strides in recent years. “This new historical and archaeological knowledge is so much more interesting and mind-blowing than the fantastical claims about Maya prophecies one sees on T V, books or on the Internet,” David Stuart, a specialist in Mayan epigraphy at the University of Texas at Austin, said in an email to The Associated Press. “We’re dealing with thousands of newly deciphered texts and tr ying to weave together a coherent picture of Maya history and culture, which to me is as exciting as it gets.” While the 2012 hype might increase interest in the Maya, “that will probably be offset by the long and difficult effort ahead to correct the ubiquitous lies and misconceptions, even after 2012 has come and gone,” he wrote. Jonnie Channell of Albuquerque, New Mexico, says that 2012 “is going to be one of those things where people are definitely going to have to plan,” not because of impending apocalypse, but because hotel rooms in the Maya region are probably going to be full.

Channell, who owns Maya Sites Travel Services, is surprised that she already has 24 reservations for three tour packages she is offering to major Mayan ruin sites in the week leading up to the solstice. She named one “Beginning the New Calendar Era Under the Yucatan Stars.” “We put together these tours, and we’ve got lots of signups, and people are excited about it,” she said. “If anybody think it’s going to be the end of the world, then they better stay home.”— AP

ing out trash bins across the city. A stretch of Messalonskee Stream a few blocks from DiPietro home was drained nearly dry so wardens could get a better look, both from the ground and from an airplane overhead, officials said.

Massey said each of the 100 leads that have been given to police was being followed. Ayla’s mother said she’s trying to remain optimistic that her daughter is OK. Trista Reynolds said she’s trying to keep it together for an 8-month-old son who remains in her care but acknowledges the past few days have been tough. “Sometimes I think that she’s OK. Sometimes I start thinking that the worst can happen. That’s how I’ve been feeling. I lay my head down at night and wonder where she is. Am I going to see her again? Do I get to see her beautiful smile?” Reynolds said of her daughter Ayla. “She’s my little girl.”

Police said both of Ayla’s parents, who live separately, continued to cooperate with police. “Ayla Reynolds is etched in all our minds and reminds

every investigator why it’s important to stay focused and committed to the task at hand: to bring Ayla back home,” Massey said. The Reynolds family was advised after meeting with Waterville police to return to their homes 75 miles to the south in Portland to let police conduct their investigation. Reynolds and her older sister, Jessica, were staying in a hotel Tuesday to keep away from the media frenzy. “I’m watching my sister fall to pieces,” Jessica Reynolds said. “I don’t think she has any tears left to cry.”

Trista Reynolds told The Associated Press that she and DiPietro never lived together as a couple.

But Reynolds said a drinking problem prompted her to enter rehabilitation in Lewiston for 10 days in October; she said that although her mother and older sister cared for Ayla during that time, child welfare agents intervened to place the girl with DiPietro. Last week, Reynolds filed court papers that she hoped would lead to the return of her daughter. —AP

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EU court rejects US challenge to airline emissions charges BRUSSELS: Europe’s top court yesterday threw out a US-led challenge to new charges for carbon emissions across EU airspace, opening up fears of a possible trade war which could also draw in China. North American airlines had challenged a European Union decision to include as of January 1 all carriers in a carbon trading system targeting heavy polluting industries as part of the EU’s efforts against climate change.

US carriers had argued that the decision was discriminatory and amounted to a backdoor tax. But the European Court of Justice ruled that the EU’s approach was “valid,” and that it “infringes neither the principles of customary international law at issue nor the Open Skies Agreement” covering trans-Atlantic flights.

Despite a clear threat of reprisals

issued by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the Luxembourg-based judges said that non-EU airlines could “choose” whether to make commercial flights to and from EU airports.

As a result, the EU system “infringes neither the principle of territoriality nor the sovereignty of third states, since the scheme is applicable to the operators only when their aircraft are physically in the territory of one of the member states of the EU.” Furious US, Canadian and other carriers say their inclusion in the Emissions Trading System (ETS) violates international aviation pacts, but the European Commission said after the ruling that the ETS would enter force as scheduled.

“After crystal clear ruling today, EU now expects US airlines to respect EU law, as EU respects US law,” EU climate

change commissioner Connie Hedegaard wrote on Twitter. A highranking source in the aviation sector told AFP that “the court’s judgment risks unleashing a trade war between Europe and the United States.” Chinese and Indian airlines also said earlier this year they could launch similar cases. In a letter to EU officials dated December 16, Clinton listed 43 nations from Argentina to Russia to Venezuela also opposed to the EU move. “Halt or, at a minimum, delay or suspend application of this directive,” she wrote. “Reengage with the rest of the world.

“The United States stands ready to engage in such an effort. Absent such willingness on the part of the EU, we will be compelled to take appropriate action.” Already in October, the US House of Representatives passed a bill directing the US government to forbid

US carriers to take part “in any emissions trading scheme unilaterally established by the European Union.”

Underscoring the potential for a significant trade row, China reportedly got its retaliation in early in June by blocking an order by Hong Kong Airlines for billions of euros worth of Airbus aircraft.

Airbus and rival US planemaker Boeing have already been locked horns in a seven-year-long battle over government subsidies at the World Trade Organization. Under the EU scheme, airlines would have to pay for 15 percent of the polluting rights accorded to them in 2012, the figure then rising to 18 percent between 2013 and 2020. UN agency the International Civil Aviation Organization last month urged the EU to exclude foreign carriers from the

new rules. In a statement Tuesday ahead of the ruling, European airlines already expressed fears of a damaging trade war should the EU executive stick to its guns. “The real issue is political, not legal,” said Ulrich SchulteStrathaus of the Association of European Airlines (AEA). “Even if the ECJ decides that the EU ETS conforms with EU law, this will not resolve nonEuropean countries’ vehement hostility,” she said.

The case was brought by the Air Transport Association of America and the US airlines American Airlines, Continental and United Airlines, joined by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the National Airlines Council of Canada. The complaint was first filed in a British court, which then asked the EU court to state whether the directive was valid. — AFP

Czechs bid farewell to Havel in national mourning

ADDIS ABABA: File photo of Swedish journalist Martin Schibbye (2-R) talks to his lawer Abebe Balcha at an Ethiopian courtroom, on November 1, 2011, in Addis Ababa. —AFP

Ethiopia convicts Swedish pair of supporting terrorism ADDIS ABABA: An Ethiopian court yesterday convicted two Swedish journalists of supporting a terrorist group, with the prosecution calling for a maximum sentence of 18 years and six months in prison. “Guilty as charged, period, unanimous vote. They have shown that they are esteemed journalists, but we cannot conclude that someone with a good reputation doesn’t engage in criminal acts,” Judge Shemsu Sirgaga told the cour t. “ They have not been able to prove that they did not support terrorism,” Shemsu said, speaking in Ethiopia’s Amharic language. The conviction attracted a barrage of criticism from rights groups and Sweden. Reporter Mar tin Schibbye and photographer Johan Persson were arrested in Ethiopia’s Ogaden region on July 1 in the company of rebels from the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) after entering Ethiopia from Somalia.

Both the freelancers were also found guilty of entering Ethiopia illegally.

Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt said Schibbye and Persson are innocent and must be set free. “Our position is and continues to be that they were in the country on a journalistic assignment.

They must be released as soon as possible in order to be reunited with their families in Sweden,” Reinfeldt said in a statement after the verdict.

Reinfeldt said the government was “already making high-level contact with the Ethiopian government.” Amnesty International also called for the immediate and unconditional release of the pair.

“The government chooses to interpret meeting with a terrorist organization as support of that group and therefore a terrorist act,” Amnesty ’s Ethiopia researcher Claire Beston said. “Amnesty International believes there is no evidence that the men were supporting the objectives of the ONLF, or were guilty of any criminal wrongdoing,” she added.

Media rights group Reporters without Borders said it was “scandalized” by the court decision. Both reporters appeared expressionless at the verdict, according to an AFP reporter in the court, but it was not clear whether they understood the judge since they had no translator.

They had earlier admitted contact with the ONLF and to entering Ethiopia illegally, but rejected terrorism charges including accusations they received weapons training. Last month, charges of participating in terrorism were dropped for lack of evidence. Prosecution lawyers called for a combined sentence of 13 years for the terrorism charges with a further five years and six months for illegal entry. Judges retired from the court yesterday to consider a decision on sentencing, which is due on December 27. The court was crowded with people including family members of the Swedes, a dozen international journalists as well as diplomats.

As Persson left court he embraced his parents. Schibbye told reporters in Swedish as he left that “there will be more rounds” in the trial. The two said they met ONLF chiefs in London and Nairobi before meeting with about 20 members of the group in Ethiopia, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the Somali border. Persson said meeting with the ONLF contacts was for professional reasons only, as part of their investigations on the activities of Swedish oil company Lundin Oil the two were to report on. But the judge dismissed this, saying as he read the verdict that he had not found the defence’s evidence “convincing.” “If the aim of the journalists was to report on the oil company they could have done all of this legally-if that was their main objective,” Shemsu said. “Since they were caught with (ONLF) rebels we find it difficult to believe they only came to find that information.” —AFP

Father calls Norway killer ‘worst terrorist’ since WWII BERLIN: The father of Norwegian right-wing extremist Anders Behring Breivik, who killed 77 people in twin attacks in July, says his son is the “worst terrorist” since World War II, in an interview released yesterday. Jens Breivik, 76, a retired diplomat who lives in the south of France, told German news weekly Stern that he last had contact with his son about six years ago by phone but that he now wanted to visit him in prison.

“I want to look him in the eyes.

Perhaps I am in a position to arouse feelings in him,” he told Stern in comments published in German. “He is the worst terrorist since the Second World War. He killed 77 innocent people and isn’t even showing remorse,” he added in an interview. Breivik, who divorced Anders’s mother when he was one year old, said they did not have much of a father-son relationship and had no common interests. But he indicated he felt a sense of guilt.

“Probably all that wouldn’t have happened if I had looked after Anders

more,” he added. Behring Breivik killed a total of 77 people on July 22, most of whom died when he embarked on a shooting spree on the island of Utoeya, some 40 kilometres (25 miles) northwest of Oslo.

He had earlier set off a car bomb outside government buildings in Oslo, killing eight people. His father had worked in one of the now destroyed government buildings in the 1990s, Stern said. Now in custody at the highsecurity Ila prison near Oslo, Behring Breivik, 32, is scheduled to go on trial on April 16.

A psychiatric evaluation of the confessed killer who claimed to be on a crusade against multiculturalism and the “Muslim invasion” of Europe, concluded late last month that he suffered from “paranoid schizophrenia”. If confirmed by a panel of experts and the Oslo court, that conclusion will most likely mean Behring Breivik cannot go to prison but instead will be sent to a closed psychiatric institution for treatment. —AFP

PRAGUE: Thousands gathered in Prague’s historic city centre yesterday as the Czech Republic began three days of national mourning to bid final farewell to Vaclav Havel, the icon of the 1989 Velvet Revolution. In the early morning chill, some 10,000 mourners mostly in black, some carrying Czech or Slovak flags, joined a solemn procession taking the former president’s coffin from a church through Prague’s narrow cobbled streets to Prague Castle, the seat of Czech presidents.

Havel died on Sunday, aged 75.

A dissident playwright, Havel led the nation through the bloodless 1989 Velvet Revolution that toppled Soviet-backed communism in then Czechoslovakia. He then went on to serve as president of Czechoslovakia from 1989 to 1992 and subsequently the Czech Republic from 1993 to 2003 when the former Czechoslovak federation split peacefully into two states.

“Mr Havel was a model of a man who longs to live in truth and in harmony with his inner conscience, and who is not afraid to suffer for that,” said Jaroslav Mino who had travelled to Prague from eastern Slovakia. “I studied nuclear physics in Prague and now I’ve come back,” said Mino who had travelled some 650 kilometres (400 miles) to pay his respects, dressed in a traditional Slovak embroidered vest and a black hat.

“It’s time to remember Havel and some of his moral appeals which are absent from today’s politics-it’s all about business and money, and I think they should start with the people themselves instead,” said Mino who was also carrying a Slovak flag. Slovakia has declared Friday, the day of Havel’s funeral, a day of national mourning. Flags flew at half mast across the Czech Republic yesterday, the first day of national mourning, as theatres, cinemas and music clubs cancelled performances.

After arriving at Prague Castle, the coffin was placed on a horse-drawn gun carriage also used for the funeral of the first Czechoslovak president, Tomas Garrigue Masaryk, in 1937. Six horses took the coffin draped in the red, blue and white Czech flag

to the castle’s vast, vaulted-ceiling Vladislav Hall, where it will lie in state for two days.

“Vaclav Havel was a remarkable personality who is difficult to classify clearly and assess superficially,” President Vaclav Klaus said in a speech at Prague Castle.

“He became a symbol of changes under way and people projected their hopes in him” after 1989, added Klaus, who described his predecessor as “a brave man of firm opinions and standpoints”. Yesterday’s procession started at the Prague Crossroads, a spiritual centre created by Havel in a disused church, where his coffin had been viewed by the public for the past two days. In the clapping crowd in downtown Prague, Vladimir Dlouhy, minister of trade and industry under Havel’s presiden-

PRAGUE: Soldiers cover the coffin of former Czech President Vaclav Havel with a Czech flag before their procession to the Castle in Prague yesterday. —AFP cy, remembered his former boss.

“Some loved him and some disagreed with him, but he fundamentally changed our lives as the leader of the Velvet Revolution,” Dlouhy said. Martina Smith, Havel’s secretary in the

Spain’s austerity leader takes power MADRID: Spain yesterday swore in its new conservative Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, putting him at the helm to steer the country out of an economic crisis through tough spending cuts. The bearded Galician, 56, took the oath of office with one hand on the Constitution, a month after voters confronted by a worsening economy ousted the governing Socialists in an early election.

With more than five million people unemployed and warnings of a fresh recession looming, Rajoy has vowed to create jobs, clean up banks and reassure investors over the country’s finances by immediately passing budget reforms. He has promised to deepen the spending cuts that have already have hit hospitals and schools in some regions, bringing thousands onto the streets in protest in recent months.

“I swear to fulfill faithfully the duty of the head of government with loyalty to

1990s, was also in the procession. “It’s a personal affair for me. I wanted to bid farewell and accompany him on this journey,” said Smith whon now lives in Australia. “He was very popular and people felt close to him.

And for me, those were wonderful years, and he a fantastic man.” On Friday, the coffin will be taken to St Vitus Cathedral for a memorial service and a requiem mass.

Friday’s event will be attended by scores of leaders including French President Nicolas Sarkozy and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton with her husband, former US President Bill Clinton.

Among dignitaries who have confirmed their presence at the funeral are the presidents of Germany, Poland, Austria, Slovenia,

the King, and to safeguard the Constitution,” Rajoy said in a televised ceremony at the Zarzuela palace. He has said he will announce the names of the ministers in his government yesterday evening. The new cabinet is due to formally take office today and hold its first meeting on Friday. Among names frequently cited for the key post of economy minister are his party’s economic chief Cristobal Montoro, European Central Bank board member Manuel Gonzalez-Paramo and former IMF head Rodrigo Rato. Rajoy’s warnings of further austerity did not stop his Popular Party winning the November 20 general elections and seizing control of the 350-seat Congress, which on Tuesday voted by a majority of 187 to install him as premier.

“I know that things are going to be difficult, but I am keen, I have hope and determination to take Spain forward,” Rajoy told reporters on Tuesday. — AFP

MADRID: From left, former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, Spain’s King Juan Carlos, Queen Sofia, and new Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy pose at the Zarzuela Palace after a swearing in ceremony, in Madrid, Spain yesterday. —AP

Georgia, Slovakia, Lithuania and Estonia. The office of Klaus said the guest list would be completed by yesterday afternoon. After the service, Havel’s body will be cremated in accordance with his family’s wishes. —AFP

Kenyan jets kill ten in south Somalia air raid MOGADISHU: Kenyan fighter jets pounded rebelheld southern Somalia in a strike that Nairobi said yesterday had killed Al Qaeda linked fighters but witnesses claimed caused several civilian deaths.

Military jets targeted several locations late Tuesday in Hosingow in the Lower Juba region, close to the Kenyan border, local elders said.

“There were at least three military planes that dropped bombs on Hosingow, and one hit a house killing civilians”, said Abdi Isak, a witness. “There were 11 people, most of them civilians, killed in the raid.” “One of the bombs struck near a street where people were running their businesses-they dropped bombs and went away without knowing who they have killed,” Ahmed Yusuf, another witness told AFP. “More than ten have died and 13 others are injured, some of them seriously,” he added.

The Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) yesterday claimed responsibility for the raid, saying it believed it had killed a senior Shebab commander it did not name. “KDF carried out two air raids on an Al Seabab camp close to the Kenyan border,”it said in a statment. “It is believed a senior Al Shebab commander, former Al Shebab administrator and over 17 fighters died. The administrator’s family is likely to have been residing with the fighters,” it added.

Kenya has launched several bombing raids in the region since begining an offensive against the Al-Qaeda-linked Shebab rebels two months ago.

“We call on all peace-loving Somalis not to interact with members of Al-Shebab as KDF intensifies the air attacks in South-Central Somalia,” it added. The hardline insurgents, who control large parts of southern Somalia but are facing increasing pressure from regional armies and government forces, condemned the airstrikes.

“The cowardly enemy has targeted civilians in Hosingow and killed more than 10 innocent civilians after their military jets bombed houses,” regional Shebab official Sheikh Abukar Ali said.

“They have targeted civilian areas and committed crimes, but we will not let them go with the innocent blood of our people they have spilt... They will regret this, the mujahideen fighters will avenge the attack,” he added. —AFP

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Afghanistan opening first major train service KABUL: Operators ran the first train down Afghanistan’s first major railroad yesterday, clearing the way for a long-awaited service from the northern border that should speed up the US military’s crucial supply flow and become a hub for future trade. A cargoless train chugged into a newly built station in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif yesterday after a 47mile (75-kilometer) trial run from the border with Uzbekistan, said Deputy Public Works Minister Noor Gul Mangal, who was on hand for the arrival. The new rail line is the first stage of an ambitious plan to link landlocked Afghanistan to its neighbors’ extensive railways for the first time, eventually opening up new trade routes for goods traveling between Europe and Asia. Afghanistan has never had a functional rail network, though many projects have been begun and later abandoned, victims of maneuvers of the 19th century Great Game rivalry between Russia and Britain, and then political bickering in the early 20th century.

Soviet occupiers abandoned a few rail projects in the 1980s, and later years of bitter civil war made such construction impossible.

So the line from the border town of Hairatan to Mazar-i-Sharif marks a milestone in a violence wracked country eager for good news on the horizon. It also

could be a key route for the US troop withdrawal beginning next year and, eventually, a gateway for Afghan exports that would travel its neighbors, said Fred Starr, chairman of the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute at Johns Hopkins University in Washington “It’s actually a big deal. It’s very significant both practically and symbolically,” Starr said. In the short term, service will help release a bottleneck at Hairatan dry port that is now holding up goods - including fuel and other supplies for American troops - while they are loaded off of trains and onto trucks for a hazardous journey over Afghanistan’s northern mountain roads.

“This port of Hairatan is where the bulk of commercial cargo is coming from into the country, so it is very important,” said Juan Miranda, head of Central and West Asia Department of the Asian Development Bank, which funded the $165 million project.

Allowing trains to come straight in will help Hairatan handle up to 10 times as much cargo, from 4,000 tons per month now to 25,000-40,000 tons per month once the service is fully operating, the ADB says. Once in Mazar-i-Sharif, the goods can be transferred to most of the rest of Afghanistan on surface roads. Uzbekistan’s state-owned SE Sogdiana Trans will run the commercial train service, ADB’s Afghanistan

representative Noriko Sato said.

A US military spokesman says the new railway will be key to supplying American troops - and possibly also withdrawing non-lethal cargo during the American troop pullout set to begin next year. “We do not have numbers yet, (but) we anticipate that the rail line will be able to speed the transit of cargo into Afghanistan and out of it,” said Cmdr. Bill Speaks of the Office of the Secretary of Defense. The US has recently shifted much of its supply line to the north from routes going through Pakistan, and the northern routes’ importance was brought into sharp focus last month when Pakistan angered by a disputed NATO strike that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers - closed its two border crossings for US supplies. Just three years ago, about 90 percent of nonmilitary supplies to Afghanistan went through Karachi, Pakistan. Today, close to 75 percent of cargo is shipped through the northern network.

Just as the Pakistani supply line has been attacked by insurgents, the newer northern routes through Mazar-i-Sharif and other cities are likely to also become targets. In 2009, Taleban forces in the northern province of Kunduz hijacked two fuel trucks, resulting in a fiery NATO airstrike that killed dozens.

While many fear instability or even civil war in Afghanistan after 2014 when most foreign forces leave, others are busy planning for a future in which the country could be a hub in a New Silk Road reconnecting spice and silk routes from centuries past.

The 10-country Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation project - supported by the ADB along with the U.N., World Bank and International Monetary Fund - envisions a network of some 2,250 miles (3,600 kilometers) of roads and 1,250 miles (2,000 kilometers) of railway linking China and India to the Middle East and Europe, although the project is far from complete.

For years, Afghanistan’s poor roads and rails have been the project’s missing link to much of that network.

With the northern Hairatan rail line ready to open for business, Afghan officials are already planning to expand its infant railroad with another proposed line to Turkmenistan to the northwest, Mangal said yesterday. He said a delegation would meet with Turkmenistan officials to discuss the expansion at the official inauguration for the Hairatan-Mazar-i-Sharif line, which he said would come soon though he wouldn’t give a date. “This is the first railway in Afghanistan and of course when we inaugurate it there will be a big ceremony, Mangal said. — AP

5 Polish troops killed by bomb in east Afghanistan Taleban immediately claims responsibility for attack

MAHARASHTRA: Indian anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare speaks to the media in his native village Ralegan Siddhi in Maharashtra state, India yesterday.—AP

Indian government set for showdown over anti-graft bill NEW DELHI: The Indian government geared up yesterday for a showdown with opposition parties and civil activists over a landmark anti-corruption bill to be presented in parliament. The new legislation was the focus of mass protests in August, spearheaded by veteran activist Anna Hazare, that saw millions take to the streets of cities across India to denounce the corruption that permeates all levels of Indian society.

The proposed law would create a powerful new ombudsman, or “Lokpal”, tasked with probing and prosecuting senior politicians and civil servants suspected of graft. The Indian cabinet approved a final version of the bill late Tuesday and Sonia Gandhi, the president of the ruling Congress party, vowed to steer its passage through parliament over the objections of opposition MPs and the Hazare campaign.

“I will fight for the Lokpal Bill,” she told a meeting of Congress party members. “I cannot see any reason for us to be defeatist.”

Opposition parties have said they will insist on amendments to the cabinet-approved bill, while Hazare has scheduled a repeat of his August hunger strike that galvanised public opinion behind his campaign. The main points of contention focus on the ambit of the ombudsman’s office and its powers of investigation.

The government bill offers only limited jurisdiction over the prime minister and

requires the ombudsman to put any criminal probes in the hands of the government-controlled Criminal Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Hazare and a number of opposition parties want the ombudsman to control any CBI investigations. “I reject the new version of the bill,” Hazare told reporters in his village in western India. “If the CBI is outside (the ombudsman’s control), then how will the Lokpal be strong? This system will save corrupt politicians,” he said, accusing the government of “cheating” the Indian people by proposing a weak bill.

Gandhi hit out at what she called the “obstructionist” tactics of the opposition and accused the Hazare team of “malicious” criticism. The outpouring of public support for Hazare’s anti-graft fast in August had stunned Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s coalition government, which has been tainted by a series of high-profile corruption scandals.

Hazare confirmed that he would hold a new, three - day hunger strike from December 27 in a public venue in Mumbai.

Government sources said the anti-corruption bill would be formally submitted to parliament on Thursday-the final day of the current winter session. In order to allow a proper debate, an agreement has been reached on an extension which will see the house reconvene for three days from December 27-29. — AFP

COLOMBO: A Sri Lanka’s Marxist People’s Party supporters shout slogans during a demonstration in Colombo yesterday, demanding the government take action to find hundreds of people who have disappeared during the island’s decades long conflict. —AFP

Tamil women exposed to abuse: Rights group COLOMBO: Ethnic Tamil women in Sri Lanka’s former war zones face abuses including sexual violence, trafficking and forced prostitution, an international human rights group said yesterday. The Brusselsbased International Crisis Group said there have been credible allegations of sexual violence against women in those areas at the hands of both security forces and men from their own communities.

The group said many cases go unreported in the country’s north and east, where a 25-year civil war ended in May 2009 when government troops defeated separatist Tamil rebels. Scores of Tamil women live alone, or with young children or elderly parents because their husbands are dead

or in government detention. “The fear of sexual violence in the home is widespread in part because the military’s access is unfettered and women often have no choice but to interact with them,” the group said in a statement.

“There are also alleged incidents of sexual violence when women go to the security forces for information about their detained husbands. These cases are especially difficult to corroborate, perhaps in part because these victims would put their husbands at risk if they came forward.”

Military spokesman Brig. Nihal Hapuarachchi said he has been monitoring events in the former war zones but has not come across any such incident.— AP

KABUL: A roadside bomb blast killed five Polish soldiers in eastern Afghanistan yesterday, NATO and a Polish official said, in the deadliest single attack for the Polish military there. Polish spokesman Jacek Sonta said in Warsaw that the soldiers were in a convoy headed to Rawza, in eastern Ghazni province, when it struck the bomb. The Taleban immediately claimed responsibility for the attack in a text message to journalists. Taleban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said “a Polish tank” was blown up and all its occupants were killed.

Mohamad Ali Ahmadi, deputy governor of Ghazni province, said that Polish soldiers were attending a morning meeting in the Rawza district of Ghazni city, about 77 miles (125 kilometers) southwest of the capital Kabul. One of their vehicles was destroyed by a roadside bomb, he said. AP Television News footage from the scene showed wreckage of what seemed to be a US made Cougar armored terrain transport vehicle.

The blast appeared to have broken the 19-ton vehicle into three large pieces, which lay scattered around a crater not far from some village homes.

Poland is in the process of withdrawing some 100 out of the 2,600 troops it has in Afghanistan.

So far this year, 532 NATO service members have been killed in Afghanistan. The attack on the Polish convoy brings the number of NATO troops killed in December to 16. Also in the east, Afghan police said they shot dead yesterday a would-be suicide bomber before he was able to attack a police station.

Youqib Khan, deputy police chief in Khost province, said policemen identified the wouldbe bomber in front of a bank next to the police station in Khost city and killed him before he could detonate his explosives vest. A search operation was under way because police fear the attacker, who was wearing a vest packed with explosives, might not have been working alone, he said.

Also yesterday, an Afghan military spokesman said the country’s armed forces now number 180,000 troops, a significant step toward having enough troops to replace departing coalition forces. Defense Ministry spokesman Mohammad Zahir Azimi said the troop numbers increased by more than 40,000 in 2011. This brings the military closer to the goal of having 195,000 Afghan troops by next October. “Once we achieve that, then we will start discussing an agreement with international community to expand to 240,000 soldiers,” Azimi

KABUL: The body of a suicide bomber is seen on the ground after he was shot by police in Khost, south of Kabul, Afghanistan yesterday. Youqib Khan, deputy police chief in Khost province, said policemen identified the would-be bomber in front of a bank next to the police station in Khost city and killed him before he could detonate his explosive vest. —AP

said. “And once we have reached that, the Afghan National Army will be able to take control of internal and external security in all of Afghanistan.”

The expansion of the army and police is a critical element in NATO’s exit strategy from Afghanistan. Coalition forces, which started their drawdown this year, are already handing over responsibility for security to the Afghan army and police in selected regions. The process will run through 2014 when international forces are to end their combat role.

Azimi noted that troops are continuing to leave the Afghan military and that the attrition rate remains high, at about two percent a month. This makes it necessary to recruit and train large numbers of men just to keep up the army’s strength levels. Attrition includes all service members leaving the security forces, including those who have completed their terms of service or left due to medical or other reasons, losses in combat and desertions. Critics have said some of the men deserting the security

forces - often with their weapons - are defecting to the Taleban and providing the insurgents with trained new fighters.

Azimi attributed the losses mainly to the problems the men face when they are based far from their homes and families in regions in the east and south, where the insurgency has been the most active. In an unrelated development, The US Army said that eight US soldiers were charged in connection with the Oct. 3 death of a fellow soldier in southern Afghanistan’s Kandahar province. Pvt. Danny Chen, a 19-yearold from New York, NY, was found in a guard tower at Combat Outpost Palace with what the Army described as “an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.” Chen was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Fort Wainwright, Alaska. In a statement, the military said the eight soldiers from Chen’s company faced charges ranging from dereliction of duty, assault, negligent homicide and involuntary manslaughter. — AP

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Dozens of bodies found in Indonesia boat capsize BANYUWANGI: Indonesian rescuers have found the bloated and rotting bodies of dozens of asylum seekers from an overloaded boat that capsized en route to Australia, an official said yesterday. At least 47 survivors were rescued after the vessel, which had a capacity of 100 but was carrying about 250 mostly Afghan and Iranian migrants, sank 40 nautical miles off eastern Java early Saturday.

Hopes of finding more survivors dwindled after the gruesome discovery. “Rescuers have brought 30 bodies to the shore while 10 others are on a navy ship heading to shore,” East Java search and rescue agency chief Sutrisno told AFP. “There are still many bodies scattered and floating on the waters, we cannot tell you how many exactly,” he added. “We found them floating in the

waters near Banyuwangi district, 200 miles (320 kilometres) away from where the boat capsized on Saturday,” Sutrisno said. An AFP reporter on the scene said that at least one of the bodies brought ashore was a young boy around seven or eight years old.

Rescue workers said some bodies were so decomposed that their limbs came off as they were pulled out of the water.

Thirty-four migrants were plucked from shark-infested waters by fishermen on Saturday, and 13 others were found drifting in a dinghy on Monday.

Survivors said they had paid between $2,500 to $5,000 to people-smugglers for the illegal sea journey. While most survivors have been unable to speak coherently due to exhaustion and shock, some of the 13 told harrowing tales of clinging to wreckage for three

days in violent seas, before being rescued by a passing boat.

Survivors also said that crew members and migrants had fought over about two dozen life vests on the doomed boat, and that the crew had abandoned the ship after it capsized in stormy weather. Officials said that two Indonesians found Monday near eastern Java’s Malang city-one of whom identified himself as a fisherman-were crew members.

“The two are crew members. We tried to question them but their condition is still unfit, we have to wait,” Ari Dono Sukmanto, the chief of a national police crime unit told AFP without giving further details.

Local reports and a military spokesman said that three soldiers were being questioned for helping to get the asylum seekers on board the

ill-fated vessel. Detik, a privatelyowned news website, reported that three soldiers had rented fishing boats to transport the migrants to the ferry that capsized.

“We’re questioning three military members for their suspected involvement linked to the boat incident,” East Java provincial military spokesman Sugiyono told AFP. “The three are from Tulungagung military district (near the capsize). They have been brought to a provincial military commandment for questioning,” he said without giving further details.

Survivors said they were heading to Australia’s Christmas Island, a favoured destination for people-smugglers lying closer to Indonesia than Australia, where nearly 50 would-be migrants are believed to have died in wild seas during a shipwreck in

December 2010. The latest capsize is considered the “largest loss of life” yet from a sinking of one of the many boats packed with Asian and Middle Eastern migrants who undertake the perilous voyage from Indonesia to Australia.

Nine migrants died last month when another overloaded boat filled with migrants heading for Australia sank in Indonesian waters.

Australia’s Home Affairs Minister Jason Clare on Monday said the people-smugglers had shown a “callous disregard for human life”. Australian police were assisting in investigations, Sukmanto said.

“Migrants have told us that several people are involved in this case,” he told AFP. “They are part of a syndicate involving Indonesian and foreign people-smugglers.” —AFP

China protesting villagers win rare compromise Authorities give in to demands

HANOI: China’s Vice President Xi Jinping, left, shakes hands with Vietnam’s President Truong Tan Sang as they pose for a photo in front of a statue of late Vietnamese revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh at the presidential palace in Hanoi, Vietnam yesterday. —AP

Xi seeks better ties with Vietnam HANOI: China’s Vice President Xi Jinping, widely expected to take over as top leader from late next year, called for better relations with Vietnam yesterday, saying the two countries should properly handle their differences and do more to build trust. Ties between the Communist neighbors stumbled this year during a bout of friction over conflicting sovereignty claims in the South China Sea. Beijing has since sought to ease concerns about what many countries in the region see as a worrying increase in assertiveness on the issue by China. China and Vietnam “should always adhere to putting differences and contradictions in the right place and handling them properly” China’s Xinhua news agency cited Xi as saying in a meeting in Hanoi with Vietnamese Communist Party chief Nguyen Phu Trong. Xi said the two should strengthen communication, enhance mutual trust and maintain overall stability. The report did not mention the South China Sea by name.

China and Vietnam share a history of communist struggle against foreign occupiers, but also a history of tensions over territorial claims and Vietnamese wariness of its much larger neighbor to the north.

They were briefly at war in 1979, when Chinese forces crossed Vietnam’s frontier.

Vietnam and China-as well as the

Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwanmaintain conflicting claims over parts of the South China Sea, a potentially oil and gas rich body of water crossed by key shipping lanes.

In May and June, Vietnam accused Chinese vessels of harassing Vietnamese ships within Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone. China denied that its ships had done anything wrong. In October, China and Vietnam signed an agreement seeking to contain their dispute over the sea.

Carlyle Thayer, a Vietnam expert at the University of New South Wales at the Australian Defence Force Academy, said Xi’s three-day visit to Vietnam reflected China’s decision to step back from “its counterproductive assertiveness”.

China’s growing military might and its muscular stance toward disputes has given states like Vietnam an incentive to deepen ties with Washington as a counterweight, analysts say. “China is now playing a quiet diplomatic game in the hopes to undermining any possible role by the US as facilitator,” Thayer said. The Chinese government has expressed worry about the United States’ recent burst of diplomatic activity and enhanced military ties in the region, which some commentators call a strategy to encircle and contain China. — Reuters

BEIJING: Southern Chinese authorities have given in to key demands of protesting villagers after a nearly two-week standoff with police, agreeing in a rare compromise to release detainees and return some confiscated land to farmers. Guangdong’s deputy Communist Party secretary Zhu Mingguo told Wukan village protest leader Yang Semao yesterday that four villagers being held by police would be released over the next few days, Yang told The Associated Press.

“So now we are cautiously optimistic,” Yang said. The significance of the authorities’ unusual concession in Wukan depends on how the details are played out, but it could affect the way other protests are handled, particularly in the corner of coastal southern China that has seen periodic unrest over the last few years. To Wukan’s northeast, the coastal town of Haimen saw a second day of protests yesterday over a planned coal-fired power plant.

Conflicts over land disputes and other issues in much of Guangdong province have been intense because the area is among China’s most economically developed, pushing up land prices. In Wukan, Zhu, the provincial official, also told Yang and another village representative that the government would buy back 66 acres (27 hectares) of farmland that had been sold to a developer and return the land to the villagers, Yang said.

There is more farmland that has been sold and is not yet accounted for, Yang said, but he added that he thought the issue would be fairly addressed by higher authorities. “I believe that the central government is attaching great importance to this incident and they won’t let us down and they won’t tolerate the lower-level officials’ irresponsibility,” Yang said.

Wukan, a village of nearly 20,000, has for months been the site of simmering protests by locals who say officials sold farmland to developers without their consent. Villagers drove out local officials and police almost two weeks ago after key village representatives were taken away.

One of the detainees later died in police custody, further angering villagers, who believe he was beaten. Authorities say Xue Jinbo died of cardiac failure. In another concession, Zhu agreed to launch a new investigation into Xue’s death, Yang said. In a further sign that tensions were easing, police withdrew Tuesday night from road checkpoints

they had set up, while villagers removed the tree trunks they had used to block the road, Yang said.

The reasons for the provincial government’s apparently softer approach in the Wukan dispute are unclear, but it marks a dramatic turnaround from days past. Up until yesterday, officials had employed intimidation tactics common in such disputes. Riot police raided the village two weeks ago and took away leaders and set up road blocks to prevent food from being transported in. Officials blamed the unrest on “foreign forces” and threatened to crack down on protest leaders.

But the villagers refused to be cowed and issued an ultimatum at the start of the week, saying they would march to the government offices of the nearby city of Lufeng yesterday if authorities did not meet their demands.

That would have been a direct challenge to police who have set up checkpoints on main

GUANGDONG: Villagers listen to a speech by village leader Lin Zulian at a rally after he met with a senior government official and reached an agreement over illegal land grabs and the death in custody of a local leader in Wukan, Guangdong Province yesterday. —AFP roads outside the village. Yang said the march was called off after the meeting with the provincial official. “Since Zhu gave us a good answer, we should give him some face,” he said. In the town of Haimen, a large group of protesters blocked a highway and set trees on

Loss, fear, threats drive North Korea’s mass grief BEIJING: The scenes of mass grief coming from North Korea - people falling to the ground weeping and cries of anguish amid somber crowds - look forced. More than theatrical, the mass mourning over the death of dictator Kim Jong Il is being driven by a mix of forces. Loss and fear of an uncertain future - the same emotions that many feel at the death of a loved one become contagious in crowds. Added to that are the perils of crossing a police state. Self-interest is at work too, as many North Koreans work for the ruling Workers’ Party, the military and state companies and institutions.

When Kim’s father, North Korean founder Kim Il Sung, died in 1994, the mourning proved infectious to Kim Yeong-nam. No relation to the country’s leaders, Kim said fellow university students in Sinuiju city near the Chinese border wailed spontaneously at news of the death. In the days that followed, Kim found the solemn music and eulogies at staged events at public statues made him cry, even though he did not like the country’s founder. “They play songs and do everything they can to create a somber mood,” said Kim, who defected to South Korea in 1998 and now runs an art troupe of fellow defectors.

Poor and largely isolated from outside information, North Koreans grieve in an atmosphere that is part family mourning, part coercion. The pressures to be part of a group that are present in all societies exert an especially strong force when the costs for resisting them are harsh. Its rigid controls on ordinary life make North Korea different in intensity, but hardly an exception.

Millions of Egyptians thronged Cairo’s streets, crushing scores to death, for the funeral of President Gamal Abdel Nasser in 1970 even as his authoritarian repression left the country unstable. Palestinian communities erupt in cries of anguish and rage in response to deadly Israeli

raids. Much of Britain, and the world, swelled in grief after Princess Diana’s death in a car crash in 1995, though her life had been tabloid fodder for years. It’s the bandwagon effect: a powerful urge to belong to a group that impels people to behave in ways they might not ordinarily.

“Mourning, like laughter, is contagious in a social network,” said Scott Atran, an American anthropologist who studies the psychology of groups at France’s National Center for Scientific Research. Smoking and obesity, among other traits, he said, are often tied to the influence of a person’s social mix. “People usually believe they are slightly exceptional to the norm. But if they want to be part of the group they overexaggerate and go toward the extreme of what they think the norm is,” Atran said.

Such behavior is more pronounced among East Asians, whose societies are more geared

both sides of the road on fire yesterday to demand a response from the government to their demands to stop the construction of a coal-fired power plant, said one of the protesters, a man surnamed Yu. It was the second day of protests in the seaside town. In response to Tuesday ’s protests, the local government said it would temporarily suspend the power plant project, according to a report by the local Shantou Daily newspaper which could not be immediately verified. Protesters were also enraged by reports that two had died during clashes with police Tuesday. A man at the Shantou government office surnamed Wu said no one had died and refused to answer any more questions.

Yesterday, riot police, paramilitary police and firefighters used tear gas and electric batons to try to break up the protest on the highway, said another protester, a 20-year-old

toward the family and larger groups than Americans and other Westerners. Shown a picture of a school of fish with one outlying fish, Americans tend to describe the outlier as a “gogetter” while East Asians say the fish has been “punished” or “ostracized,” he said.

The pressures to belong are accentuated in North Korea. Its government rigidly defines social norms and portrays the leader as a protective father who keeps the nation safe and is deserving of total obedience in return. The message is inculcated through absolute control over the school curriculum and the media. “Bad things have happened to North Koreans who refused the cult of personality around Kim Jong Il. Once in the habit of complying with cult norms, it is not easy suddenly to stop,” Clark McCauley, a psychology professor at Bryn Mawr College, said in an email. — AP

PYONGYANG: Mourners bow as they pay their respects to North Korea’s late leader Kim Jong Il in Pyongyang, North Korea yesterday. —AP

woman named Yang Wanqing. “We’re not afraid, we don’t care about their warnings,” Yang said by phone. “We are not just thinking about the present, we are worrying about our future. In the future the pollution from the plant will be very bad.” —AP

No Christmas at home for detained ex-Philippine leader MANILA: A Philippine court rejected yesterday requests by arrested ex-President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to celebrate Christmas at home and use her cellphone and computer in detention, underscoring recent stunning reversals for a woman once considered among the world’s most powerful. Judge Jesus Mupas of the Pasay Regional Trial Court cited security reasons for denying Arroyo’s request to leave a military hospital where she is detained on electoral fraud charges.

She wanted to celebrate Christmas and New Year at her upscale home in the capital.

But she obtained small concessions. Mupas allowed her family, children and grandchildren to celebrate the holidays with her in her heavily guarded hospital suite from Dec. 24 to 26 and Dec. 31 to Jan. 2.

She will also be allowed to watch TV and listen to the radio. “The court is not inclined to grant (Arroyo) a Christmas furlough,” Mupas said in his order. He said he was allowing her family to visit because “the court is fully aware of the fact that everybody wants to be with his loved ones during Christmas.”

Arroyo’s Nov. 18 arrest curtailed her rights even though she remains a member of the House of Representatives, Mupas said. Mupas had ordered Arroyo’s arrest on Nov 18 in her hospital room, where she had sought treatment for a bone ailment, on suspicion of ordering the rigging of 2007 senatorial elections

to favor her candidates. She has denied any wrongdoing and has hired a battery of lawyers.

Last month, the Supreme Court lifted a travel ban on her, and she attempted to leave the country with her husband. President Benigno Aquino III’s justice secretary, however, defied the Supreme Court order and directed airport authorities to stop her from leaving, fearing she might try to escape from prosecution. Aquino, who won election on a promise to uproot corruption, blames Arroyo for a decade of graft and corruption scandals that eroded public trust in government and held back foreign investment.

Arroyo, however, accused her successor of resorting to “demagoguery to completely destroy my reputation.” Aquino has accused Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona, a former Arroyo chief of staff whom she appointed shortly before her term ended last year, of obstructing Arroyo’s prosecution.

Although Corona has denied favoring Arroyo in his rulings, Aquino’s allies in the House of Representatives impeached the chief justice last week.

Arroyo, a 64-year-old former economics professor and daughter of an ex-president, survived four opposition impeachment bids and four attempted coups during her nine stormy years in power. Arroyo once landed near the top of a Forbes magazine list of the 100 most powerful women in the world. —AP

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NEWS Gulf economies to slow, stay strong Continued from Page 1

demand and prices,” wrote Said Hirsh, Middle East economist at London-based consultancy Capital Economics.

In the United Arab Emirates, the second largest Arab economy, GDP growth is expected to slow to 3.1 percent next year from 3.9 percent in 2011, according to the latest poll, conducted in the past two weeks. Three months ago, analysts predicted 3.8 percent growth next year. Growth is slowest in the tiny kingdom of Bahrain, the only GCC state to suffer major social unrest this year. But its economy has been recovering gradually since the second quarter of 2011 and is projected to accelerate to 3.0 percent next year.

Gulf economies were hit hard by the 75 percent plunge in the global oil price during 2008 and remain vulnerable to any repeat if the Western world falls back into recession.

But analysts, noting oil held up well this year despite the worsening euro zone crisis,

September. The 2012 estimate for Saudi Arabia was reduced from 4.5 percent.

The euro zone debt crisis and signs of slowing growth in China have darkened the outlook for the Gulf, making it harder for companies to raise funds from bank lending and bond issuance, and keeping real estate and equity prices under downward pressure in many countries. In contrast to much of the rest of the world, however, the Gulf states still have ample fiscal reserves which they can use to stimulate their economies.

They ramped up government spending early this year to protect social stability during the Arab Spring uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa, and are now expected to keep spending high to maintain growth.

“Increased government spending should insulate these economies from the negative impact of the global slowdown on oil

think a similar dive is very unlikely. Fitch Ratings predicted this week that oil would average $100 per barrel in 2012, down only moderately from $110 in 2011. Brent crude was trading at $107 yesterday. “The oil market remains tight and rising political risk centred on Syria and Iran is another factor keeping prices high, notwithstanding likely slower demand growth. Global financial linkages remain limited for most countries in the region,” the credit rating agency said.

A moderate drop in the oil price this year would still leave most Gulf states with comfortable budget surpluses. Saudi Arabia’s surplus is expected to drop to 4.8 percent of GDP next year from 12.3 percent in 2011, with the UAE edging down to 6.0 percent from 8.0 percent, the poll found. Kuwait is projected to have a giant surplus of 19 percent of GDP next year. The rise in state spending is pushing up the minimum oil prices which some GCC countries need to

balance their budgets; Saudi Arabia’s breakeven oil price, expressed in terms of Brent crude, is forecast to climb to a median $84.50 next year from $73 this year, the poll showed.

Any fall of the oil price below break-even prices would not spell disaster, however, because countries have plenty of reserves to finance their budgets - Saudi Arabia’s estimated fiscal reserves of $280 billion are equivalent to over a year of government spending. Governments could also issue bonds to their cash-rich banks. The exception to the healthy fiscal picture in the Gulf is Bahrain, which has a high break-even price estimated at $107.50, and which is projected in the poll to run a budget deficit of 5.0 percent of GDP in 2012, after a 2.8 percent deficit in 2011. But many investors expect Saudi Arabia to step in with budget aid for Bahrain if necessary next year, since Bahrain is geopolitically important for

Hopefuls register for polls...

Son sobs as ‘millions’ mourn Kim Continued from Page 1 Elsewhere North Korean media showed mourners braving freezing conditions to pay their respects to Kim senior, seemingly overwhelmed by grief. People in winter coats were shown weeping in a park blanketed with snow, laying flowers for the late leader, who presided over a 1990s famine that killed hundreds of thousands. The North’s official news agency reported at least five million people had visited statues and portraits around the capital Pyongyang to pay respects to the late leader - more than a fifth of the entire population. “These places turned into a veritable sea of mourners who bitterly wept, looking up to portraits of smiling Kim Jong-Il,” it said.

Jong-Un’s televised appearance provided a rare glimpse of the man poised to take the helm of the nuclear-armed nation while still in his late 20s. Yonhap news agency quoted a senior Seoul government source as saying Jong-Un issued his first military order just before his father’s death, commanding all

units to halt field exercises and return to base. “This is clear-cut evidence that Kim Jong-Un has secured a firm grip on the military,” the official was quoted as saying. North Korea’s neighbours and the United States, which is treaty-bound to defend South Korea and Japan, are watching the transition warily.

Kim Jong-Un appears to have been accepted by the rest of the ruling elite as the official face of the new leadership, said Ralph Cossa, president of the foreign policy research institute Pacific Forum CSIS in Hawaii. “They have as much a vested interest in a stable power transition as junior Kim does,” he wrote in a commentary. The senior Kim had repor tedly been grooming his youngest son for the succession since suffering a stroke in Aug 2008. In September last year Jong-Un was appointed a four-star general and given senior party posts.

South Korea, still technically at war with the North, announced it would allow private groups to send condolence messages to its neighbour in another conciliatory gesture.

The move came a day after officials scrapped

Fired Bahrain Shiites want their...

Continued from Page 1 and 15 years by a semi-military court before their cases were referred to a civil court for a retrial.

The charges against the medics include occupying the Salmaniya Medical Complex a few kilometres from Pearl Square, focal point of the anti-government protests. The charges also include arms possession.

Twenty-eight other medics face misdemeanour charges for joining protests.

Authorities said on Tuesday that the case of dismissed civil servants would be closed with the reinstatement of 181 employees on Jan 1.

The Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry, which last month released a scathing report on government misconduct during the spring crackdown, reported 1,624 complaints from people alleging they had been sacked or suspended over the protests. The complaints were made by employees in both the public and private sectors. A national commission formed by the king to implement the inquiry’s recommendations met on Tuesday and said that “critical steps” were being taken to reinstate dismissed employees and university students, and rebuild demolished Shiite places of worship, an official statement said. It said that all workers not referred to the general prosecutor will return to their jobs.

But those laid off are less optimistic than the commission. “If there was a serious initiative to reinstate employees I should be among the first to return,” said Zainab Attiya, 34, who headed the labour ministry’s centre for employment and training before being dismissed after she was detained for 25

days. She was prosecuted on charges of inciting hatred, but her case was closed.

Roqiya Al-Sayed, a nurse at Salmaniya for five years, was on holiday when she received a dismissal letter for not turning up to work, she said. “I have no hope. I’ve asked repeatedly and they keep telling me: go and get a job in the private sector,” she said.

Gynaecologist Haitham Rahma said he has never been involved in politics or joined protests, but he was still dismissed. “I’ve never been against the government,” he said, charging that maybe colleagues who envied him and wanted his post might have “fabricated” evidence against him.

Dismissed Alba workers have heard nothing about returning. “No promises so far,” said Younis Al-Mubarak, adding that most knew they had been fired when their electronic access cards no longer worked.

“They want to humiliate the people,” said Jamila Al-Watani, who was the legal consultant at the government’s environment department. “Yes, I took part in protests. This is my crime,” said Watani. “We will return one day... It is our right.”

Shiite protesters in Bahrain are increasingly heading back to the streets, nine months after a brutal security crackdown was thought to have silenced their democracy movement. While protests inside purely Shiite villages have barely stopped, youths who say they have nothing to lose are now trickling out, some carrying the scars of the mid-March crackdown. This has been happening despite King Hamad’s promise of reforms in response to a critical international probe, including forming a panel to implement its recommendations. — AFP

Syria oppn urges UN action on...

Continued from Page 1 The SNC, a major umbrella group of factions opposed to President Bashar Al-Assad, reported “250 fallen heroes during a 48hour period”. It urged the Security Council to declare the cities and towns under attack “‘safe zones’ that enjoy international protection; and force the regime’s forces to withdraw from said areas”. France denounced what it said was the “unprecedented massacre,” and urged Russia to accelerate talks for a UN Security Council resolution on the crisis. French foreign ministry spokesman Bernard Valero said: “Everything must be put in motion to end this murderous spiral into which Bashar Al-Assad is dragging his people, deeper each day.”

Russia has proposed a Security Council resolution that would denounce violence from both sides. France has called this “unacceptable”, seeking instead a resolution that would directly pin the blame for the violence on the regime and threaten strong international sanctions on Damascus. The SNC’s strongly worded statement came after the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Assad’s forces carried out a “massacre” by killing 111 civilians in the northwestern town of Kafruwed on Tuesday.

The revised toll brings to 123 the number of civilian deaths across Syria for Tuesday, most in Idlib province and 12 in

the flashpoint central city of Homs. In addition, at least 100 army deserters were killed or wounded in Idlib on Tuesday, the Observatory said, adding 14 that security force members were killed in southern Daraa province, cradle of the nine-month uprising. More than 100 deserters and civilians were also reported to have been killed on Monday. The United Nations estimates that more than 5,000 people have been killed in the crackdown since mid-March.

Amid the violence, Assad ally Iran announced that five engineers working at a power plant project in Homs were abducted on Tuesday. It demanded their “immediate release” and called on the Syrian government to take serious and urgent steps to identify the kidnappers and free the hostages. Syrian opposition figures have accused Tehran of aiding Assad’s regime in its deadly crackdown.

The latest violence comes as an advance Arab League team prepares to head to Damascus today to pave the way for some 500 observers. “Since Syria signed the protocol, it has been fully committed to facilitating the mission of the Arab League which will come to see the reality of the crisis,” foreign ministry spokesman Jihad Makdisi told AFP. “Unfortunately, the Syrian opposition is trying to sabotage the protocol and is seeking to push for foreign intervention rather than accept the call to dialogue,” he added. — AFP

Riyadh. Bahrain had no trouble issuing a $750 million Islamic bond last month to international investors, many of them from the Gulf.

Forecasts for inflation in GCC countries fell in the previous two Reuters polls and continued to drop for many countries in the latest poll. Despite strong fiscal spending, slowing global economic growth and a firm US dollar, to which most of the GCC currencies are pegged, are limiting upward pressure on prices and wages. Analysts now expect average inflation of 2.4 percent in the UAE next year after 1.6 percent this year. Previously, the median forecast was for 2012 inflation of 3.0 percent.

Inflationary pressure is believed to be highest in Saudi Arabia because of massive housing and social welfare programs launched in the kingdom this year. Saudi inflation next year is forecast at 5.0 percent, unchanged from the last poll. — Reuters

a plan to display Christmas lights near their shared border - a proposal that had infuriated Pyongyang - and sent its sympathies to the North Korean people. Seoul had resumed the lights display last December, ending a suspension of several years, after a shelling attack by the North on a border island killed four South Koreans the previous month.

South Korea also accuses its neighbour of torpedoing a warship in March 2010 with the loss of 46 lives.

Defectors who fled Kim’s harsh rule for South Korea launched tens of thousands of leaflets across the border by hot air balloon yesterday, denouncing the late leader and calling for an Arab Spring-style uprising in the North. “Rise up, people. Fight bravely like the Africans to end the third-generation succession,” the leaflets read.

The head of a South Korean church that helps refugees from the North said recent signs of a military build-up along the communist state’s border with China suggested fears of an exodus.

“I personally think there is a possibility of a mass defection,” Pastor Kim Seung-Eun, of the Caleb Mission, told journalists in Seoul. — AFP

Continued from Page 1 would be them who “elect an honest chamber that will fight corruption”. “The change in this election will be huge thanks to the young generation who will play a pivotal role in the polls,” Hussein Jamal, contesting for the second time, said after submitting his candidacy for the Feb 2 vote. “The major change and the success of more young candidates will play as a balancing factor in Kuwaiti politics and lead to relative stability,” Jamal said.

New opposition hopeful Al-Humaidi AlSubaie predicted opposition groups would win 33 seats, “the needed majority to control the house and issue anti-corruption and other necessary legislation, achieving stability”. Subaie said that the expected opposition victory would “achieve political stability” and allow parliament to also focus on development plans. Candidates also praised the role of youths in campaigning against corruption while opposition candidates expected a resounding victory for the opposition in the general polls, the fourth since May 2006.

Registration of candidates will continue until Dec 30 and withdrawal of candidates will continue until four days before the day of election.

In a related development, former MP

Saadoun Hammad said yesterday he has filed a lawsuit alleging that the way the Assembly was dissolved was not in line with the constitution and demanded that the administrative court suspend the elections until it can review the case.

The lawsuit was filed at the administrative court which set Dec 29 to review the case, just one day before candidate registration closes. Hammad and several other politicians and legal experts have challenged that the way the previous Assembly was dissolved, saying it breached the constitution and accordingly should be nullified.

The challenge is based on the fact that under Kuwaiti law, it is the government which approves the decree to dissolve the Assembly which is later issued by the Amir. The previous government had resigned along with former prime minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad AlAhmad Al-Sabah. Later, the Amir accepted the resignation and appointed Sheikh Jaber AlMubarak Al-Sabah as the new premier. Sheikh Jaber was sworn in alone by the Amir and then he chaired the resigned Cabinet which approved the Assembly dissolution decree.

Some legal experts said that the government was illegal because it had resigned and that the decree should have been approved by a new government.

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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2011

ANALYSIS

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issues

Russia’s wealth gap wounds Putin

By Lidia Kelly and Maya Dyakina onstantin owns apartments in Moscow and London, drives a $150,000 Mercedes-Benz car and buys his groceries at the expensive Azbuka Vkusa store. At the age of 44 he is part of Russia’s new generation of rich bankers, but is too cautious to let his full name be published in a country where the wealth gap generates anger and resentment.

Pensioner Lyudmila Rybakova can only dream of such a lifestyle. She has never even been to Azbuka Vkusa and makes ends meet by selling strings of dried mushrooms to supplement her 8,000 rouble ($250) monthly pension. “With my pension? What would I buy there? It’s not for people like me. It’s for the rich, it’s just for the rich.”

The gap between rich and poor in Russia is a growing problem for Prime Minister Vladimir Putin as he prepares to return to the presidency in an election next March. During his 12-year rule, as president and then prime minister, Russians have broadly speaking become wealthier than they were in the chaotic years following the collapse of the Soviet Union. But the citizen of Putin’s Russia can easily lose even a modest sense of well being when confronted with the sometimes flambuoyant ostentation of the rich.

In Soviet times privilege was often a well guarded secret.

Many people cited the wealth gap in ditching Putin’s ruling party in a Dec 4 election that cut its majority in parliament. The election also touched off protests by demonstrators who say the vote was slanted to favour United Russia and demand a rerun. There will be no rerun, but the March presidential election could push the same issues to the fore. If a gap has widened between individuals, it is also evident between Russia’s many poor regions and wealthy cities like Moscow and the booming oil heartland.

Real disposable income has slightly declined this year, official data show, and the difference in income between the bottom 10 percent of the population and the top 10 percent grew by nearly one-fifth between 2000 and 2010. As in other former Soviet republics, pensioners are among the worst off because they were too old to make the most of the opportunities offered by the free market that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Moscow is home to 2.65 million retired people and some elderly people have taken part in the recent protests, although many more are young middle-class professionals. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development said in a report this month that the so-called Gini coefficient, a measure of income disparities, was much worse in Russia than the OECD average. The number of Russians who made the Forbes’ list of the world’s billionaires jumped from none in 2000 to 101 last year, with Moscow becoming the billionaire capital of the world. The average monthly salary in Russia, however, was only 21,000 roubles ($670) last year.

“What can I do with 21,000 roubles? Nothing, absolutely, nothing - it’s not money,” said Konstantin, who made his wealth during the turbulent 1990s. “It’s not enough to breathe!” He said he could not imagine getting by on less than 150,000-200,000 roubles a month. “It would be very difficult to do it,” he said. He described his standard of living as “not too bad” and said he did not remember the last time he spent under 200,000 roubles in a month. He has not taken part in the protests.

Russia qualifies as a middle-income country as a whole, but the average pay in three-quarters of more than 80 regions is below the national level. An average monthly wage would buy about 200 loaves of bread in the Azbuka Vkusa store, and 2,000 loaves at one of the many outdoor food markets around Moscow. Rybakova, who for decades worked at a local pencil factory, has never made 21,000 roubles in a month. Now 74, she charges 100 roubles for a string of her mushrooms and considers it a good day if she makes 500 roubles. “Well, such is the fate of people like me,” she said.

Dissatisfaction over income distribution played its role in United Russia’s performance in the Dec. 4 election. The party had its two-thirds majority cut to a slim majority after winning just under 50 percent of the votes cast. “I don’t like United Russia,” said Nina, a pensioner in Moscow who voted for the Right Cause party that did not cross the five percent threshold for representation in parliament. “In 2009, he (Putin) said he would increase pensions by three times but he did so by only two times and has never said, ‘Sorry, we don’t have the money’.” Russia’s Communist Party, which targeted hard-up voters in its election campaign, won almost 20 percent of votes and will have 92 representatives in the 450-seat lower house. “The country has a growing number of dollar millionaires and billionaires. At the other end of the spectrum, there is a huge mass of impoverished people crushed by the threat of unemployment and uncertainty about the future,” the party program says. A high-ranking government official who declined to be identified said: “Putin is not losing his power, but he realises he is losing the people.” —Reuters

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

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

Iraq crisis raises spectre of sectarian strife

By Patrick Markey and Rania El Gamal hen the last American soldiers left Iraq this week almost nine years after the fall of Saddam Hussein, US officials were keen to portray it as a stable, democratic, if still troubled nation.

Just a few days later, the buffer of US military presence gone, Iraq very quickly slipped back into the sectarian squabbling that pits Shiite against Sunni rivals and threatens to destroy their fragile power-sharing deal after only a year. Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki’s Shiite-led government sought the arrest of his Sunni Vice President Tareq Al-Hashemi accusing him of plotting assassinations while demanding parliament fire another rival, his Sunni deputy Saleh Al-Mutlaq, after he compared Maliki to Saddam.

A cartoon in Al Sabaah newspaper captured the crisis: Two American soldiers in helmets talk, their backs turned on three men fighting for a share of Iraq. “We left them in peace and harmony,” one American soldier says to the other as they walk away. Iraqi Sunni discontent has grown since the ascent of the Shiite majority after the fall of Saddam, and many minority Sunni leaders now feel they have been marginalised, left out of the power structure by an increasingly authoritarian leader.

Shiites have worked in an uneasy, power-sharing agreement with the Sunni-backed Iraqiya party and Kurdish blocs for a year since the dis-

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puted 2010 election by splitting key posts: Iraq has a Shiite prime minister, a Kurdish president and a Sunni speaker of the house. Maliki’s moves against two Iraqiya rivals and the struggle between the Shiite leader and his Sunni opponents now risk spiralling into a wider struggle in Iraq, where sectarian sentiment always runs close to the surface.

Shiite leaders say the measures are against specific individuals and not Sunnis in general, but the timing of the moves against two rivals as the Americans leave is dangerously stoking Sunni fears of a Shiite push for more control.

“Gambits like this are always risky; in the past, the United States often used its leverage to get him to back down, and the US military presence helped reassure nervous Sunnis,” said Stephen Biddle at the Council on Foreign Relations. “Now, of course, there is no such military presence and US leverage is much smaller. That makes the stakes and the risks greater.” Underlining the risks - and the possible political impact on US President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign following his decision to pull out troops - the White House said it intervened on Tuesday to urge Iraqi leaders to resolve their differences.

Vice President Joe Biden called Maliki and the Sunni speaker of parliament. He “stressed the urgent need for the prime minister and the leaders of the other major blocs to meet and work through their differences together”, the White House said. One US official called the

charges against Hashemi totally unfounded.

The renewed crisis risks scuttling the complex government set up where dozens of government posts are split among Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish blocs and bring Iraq closer to the sectarian tensions that triggered widespread slaughter in 200607. Upheaval in Iraq could also have broader ramifications in a region where a crisis in neighbouring Syria is taking on a sectarian tone, and Shiite Iran and Sunni Turkey, with a nod from Sunni Arab Gulf nations, are increasingly jostling for influence. Baghdad’s Shiite-led government has moved closer to Iran, and a fall of Iran’s ally, Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, whose Alawite sect is a Shiite offshoot, could shift power to Syria’s Sunni majority on Iraq’s doorstep.

Even the perceived presence of US troops on the ground played a deterrent in Iraq’s sectarian and ethnic mix between Shiite and Sunni, and between the central government and the Kurdish semiautonomous region in the north.

“The current situation suggests US forces were a safety valve,” wrote Iraqi columnist Alaa Hassan. What happens next depends on how far Maliki’s government pushes its investigations, how Sunnis react, and whether other third parties can bring them back from the brink. In a flurry of meetings, US officials, diplomats and Sunni and Shiite leaders have worked this week to calm nerves after Hashemi left to Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region,

where he accused Maliki of fabricating the charges against him.

“This is a worrying situation that is being exacerbated by political rhetoric. Unless there is an effort to calm the situation and engage in dialogue, it could quickly spin out of control,” said one Western diplomat in Baghdad. Deep mistrust has already crippled the power-sharing agreement for a year, blocking deals on everything from a key hydrocarbons law to the appointment of vital security posts like the defense and interior ministers. The dispute has roots in the 2010 election when Iraqiya won the largest number of seats with the support of many Sunnis but failed to muster a governing majority. Shiite parties formed a coalition that allowed Maliki a second term.

Iraqiya joined a unity coalition headed by Maliki, winning posts such as the parliament speakership, one of three vice president posts and the finance ministry. Shiites took the prime minister’s office and Kurds the presidency. But since then Iraqiya says Maliki has failed to live up to power-sharing agreements, including the formation of a strategic policy council post for Iraqiya leader Iyad Allawi, who like Hashemi, is a bitter rival of Maliki. At least nine times over the last year, candidates for the Iraqi defense minister post were put forward, but each time they have been rejected or failed to pass the first stage because of mistrust or squabbling. “They call it a partnership government, but these are not partners, they are adver-

saries,” Mahmoud Othman, a veteran Kurdish lawmaker, said shortly before the crisis. “This is a failed government.” But Iraqiya has little room to manoeuvre. Without the support of other political blocs like the Kurds or a breakaway Shiite group, Iraqiya may find it difficult to walk away from government posts that give it access to political power, and from the 80 seats it holds in the 325-seat parliament. Shiite leaders appear to be betting that divisions within Iraqiya will keep key Sunni figures clinging to their government posts rather than splitting to back Hashemi and trying to scuttle the government.

Even if Iraqiya abandons the government, the constitution would allow the Shiite coalition to work with the Kurdish blocs who would more likely join them to form a majority government, Shiite lawmakers say. “I do not think the political process will collapse because, Iraqiya is already fragmented,” said Sami Al-Askari, a senior lawmaker and a close Maliki ally in his State of Law coalition. Senior Shiite leaders say the charges against Hashemi are tied to plots against Maliki. But, they said, Maliki is unlikely to push authorities to execute the Hashemi warrant because of the expected fallout and uncertain Sunni reactions. “We will leave the door open for Iraqiya, but if they tried to stop the political process, we will go ahead without them,” one senior Shiite lawmaker said. “Arresting the vice president politically is a problem.” —Reuters

Protests may extend army’s predominance

By Marwa Awad iolent unrest by young Egyptians seeking a quick end to army rule could lead to a presidential election being held before mid-2012, as now planned, but even then the military is still expected to wield powerful influence over the nation. Feeling angry and disenfranchised, secularist and largely unorganised protesters have skirmished for a week in Cairo’s central Tahrir Square with soldiers who have beaten men and women to the ground and fired shots to disperse crowds. The flare-up, an escalation of clashes going on since midNovember, has brought to the fore a dissident hard core keen to fight security forces even though the wider public has tired of destabilising, economically damaging unrest and prefer a focus on the process of democratic institutionbuilding.

Largely limited to Tahrir, the disturbances are unlikely to prevent the scheduled completion of a staggered parliamentary election early next month, the first since a popular revolt overthrew longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak in February. But the army’s use of deadly force against recent protesters has appalled many Egyptians for whom the military hitherto was the country’s sole institution above reproach, especially after it declined to stamp out the unrest that drove out Mubarak. Many Egyptians including politicians are now calling for the ruling military council to hold presidential elections - now set for June 2012 - soon after parliament convenes later in January.

“When we swept Tahrir clean in February we erased the blood of the martyrs and buried the revolution when it was born. Our demands have not been met ... Violence is the only way to put the revolution back on track,” said protester Mustafa Ayman. Yet an earlier presidential election would not necessarily eliminate the military’s predominance in a new civilian-governed

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state, the goal of protesters, because all the viable candidates will have to have good relations with the generals. “Political forces and Egyptians angered by the mayhem have called for early presidential elections but that will not neutralise the army,” said political analyst Mohamed Soufar. “At this stage, and in a country run by an unannounced military dictator-

politics,” the source said. This would also mean the army maintaining its economic privileges with enough autonomy to run its business empire. The military’s importance to the economy and more broadly Egyptian stability is underscored by activities such as its road-building and recent loan to the central bank of $1 billion to ease a shortage of foreign reserves.

Egyptian army soldiers carry Zeinab Al-Shogery, 58, in a wheelchair due to a leg injury, as she leaves a polling station after voting in Giza yesterday. – AP ship, any president will need the backing of the army to manage the affairs of the state,” Soufar said.

A source close to the army told Reuters a popular mandate would not be enough to support Egypt’s next president because it would also need the backing of the military elite. “This is a transitional period where one party hands power to another. A deal must be struck. This is

In 2008, the army alleviated a national bread crisis by having conscripts step up production in army bakeries. “We want to reclaim the republic from army rule. But first the army will need certain guarantees to cede power, such as safeguarding its economic holdings and immunity from being held accountable,” said Soufar.

Egypt has been run by strongmen from the military since 1952, when army officers staged a

coup, ousting the king. It is also revered for its surprise war with Israel in 1973. Should presidential elections be held earlier than expected only a few candidates may be able to mount a serious bid.

One of them is former Arab League chief Amr Moussa, who opinion polls and analysts suggest has emerged as the frontrunner for Mubarak’s old position. He has been a popular Egyptian foreign minister and is a well-known public face. Moussa, 74, may be seen as a bridge between the old order and voters seeking stability in the new civilian state. Analysts say his ties to the military make him a favourite of the generals looking for security before formally quitting power. Moussa backs calls to move up the presidential vote, saying Egypt is undergoing a crisis requiring a swift transfer of power to an elected head of state.

But Hassan Nafaa, a professor and antiMubarak activist, said holding a presidential election before parliament has passed a new constitution would risk endowing the new president with the same unlimited powers that Mubarak wielded. “This would open the door to a tug of war between the new president, government and parliament who would fight over limiting powers he already has,” Nafaa said.

Former United Nations diplomat Mohamed ElBaradei is another putative candidate respected among democracy campaigners and internationally but seen by ordinary Egyptians to be out of touch, having spent much of his career abroad. Polls have suggested he may not have a very broad base of support. But his diplomatic pedigree, especially in dealings with the United States, makes ElBaradei a more independent candidate than Moussa or others who were prominent in the old regime. “ElBaradei as president would be a real challenge to the army because he has good relations with the US and can actually marginalise the army’s diplomatic role,” Soufar said. —Reuters

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sp orts Mayweather to take deal LAS VEGAS: Boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr plans to plead guilty to reduced misdemeanor charges in a plea deal resolving felony allegations that he battered his ex-girlfriend, court officials said Tuesday.

Mayweather, 34, will face $3,000 in fines and could be

England axe Ford, Wells

sentenced to between two days and 18 months in the Clark County jail after pleading Wednesday to one count of battery domestic violence and two harassment charges, said Tess Driver, an aide to Clark County District Attorney David Roger. The Las Vegas ReviewJournal first reported the plea deal Tuesday. It also includes an agreement for Mayweather to plead no contest next week to misdemeanor battery and pay a $1,000 fine for poking a 21-yearold homeowner association security guard in the face during a November 2010 argument about parking tickets on vehicles outside the boxer’s home in an exclusive, suburban Las Vegas community. Roger and Mayweather’s lawyers did not immediately respond to messages from The Associated Press. —AP

LONDON: Former England assistant coaches Mike Ford and John Wells are to leave the Rugby Football Union (RFU) with immediate effect, the governing body announced yesterday. Defense Coach Ford and forwards chief Wells reached an agreement with the RFU after they lost their roles with the England team following the side’s World Cup quarterfinal defeat by France in New Zealand in October. Ford and Wells had held their posts since 2006, coaching England through two World Cup tournaments.

Acting RFU chief executive Stephen Brown said: “John and Mike have given great service to England and rugby in this country over many years and their contribution is appre-

Kostelic leads WCup slalom

ciated. “On behalf of the RFU I would like to wish them well in the next stages of their careers.” England team manager Martin Johnson and attack coach Brian Smith had already resigned following a World Cup campaign marred by incidents of alcoholfuelled misbehavior off the pitch.

Several leaked reports into England’s performance painted a damning picture of a divided squad containing greedy players who were led by a coaching staff unable to impose discipline and lacking rugby skills compared to their rivals. Earlier this month, Stuart Lancaster, formerly boss of the reserve England Saxons, was installed as interim coach for England’s Six Nations title defense which starts in February.—AFP

FLACHAU: Defending overall champion Ivica Kostelic used a strong finish in his opening run yesterday to take the lead in a World Cup night slalom. The Croat, looking for his 20th career victory, finished in 55.11 seconds on the Griessenkar course, where conditions were difficult after snowfall throughout the day. Kostelic led Cristian Deville of Italy by 0.14. Kostelic beat second-place Deville for his first win of the season in Beaver Creek, Colorado, earlier this month. Former world slalom champion Manfred Pranger of Austria was another 0.01 behind in third. “The course was pretty nice, the (fresh) snow did not make a lot of difference,” Kostelic said. “I did not race well throughout, just the lower part. You can’t push too hard here.” Marcel Hirscher of Austria, who

leads the overall standings, finished 13th with a 1.27-second deficit. “I can’t explain this. For me, my run was good so I was surprised to see my time,” said Hirscher, who ruled out a second straight Austrian victory after Marlies Schild won the women’s race Tuesday.

—AP

Marshall beat Florida Int’l in bowl clash ST PETERSBURG: Rakeem Cato threw for 226 yards and two touchdowns and Tyler Warner kicked a pair of field goals, helping Marshall beat Florida International 20-10 in college football’s Beef ‘O’Brady’s Bowl on Tuesday. Cato threw TD passes of 31 and 35 yards to Aaron Dobson, the latter putting the game away in the closing seconds. Warner’s 39-yard field goal, set up by a blocked punt, snapped a 10-10 tie with 5:16 remaining.

Marshall (7-6) overcame a slow start to win five of its last seven games and avoid a losing record in its second season under coach Doc Holliday. FIU (8-5) was denied a school-record ninth victory and there was speculation that coach Mario Cristobal may be a leading candidate to fill a job opening at Pittsburgh.

Cato, who is one of 28 players on West Virginia-based Marshall’s roster recruited from the state of Florida, completed 27 of 39 passes and was intercepted once. Dobson had seven receptions for 81 yards, including a TD catch that wiped out a

10-3 FIU lead just before halftime. TY Hilton scored on a 2-yard run for FIU, which also got a 46-yard field goal from Jack Griffin.

Hilton had eight catches for 88 yards, ran for 22 yards on three carries and returned two kickoffs for 36 yards, but quarterback Wesley Carroll had difficulty getting the ball to him in open space in the second half.

Carroll was 19 of 29 passing for 150 yards. Marshall struggled with a tough early schedule this season, losing three games in September before regrouping late tp win four of six, becoming bowl eligible and finishing second behind Southern Mississippi in the Conference USA East Division. FIU is a relative newcomer to the Football Bowl Subdivision. The Panthers only launched their football program in 2002, joined the Sun Belt Conference in 2005 and has made steady progress in five seasons under Cristobal, who led the school to its first Sun Belt championship a year ago. — AP

ST PETERSBURG: Defensive lineman Isame Faciane #99 of the Florida International University Panthers tackles quarterback Rakeem Cato #12 of the Marshall Thundering in the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s St Petersburg Bowl at Tropicana Field. — AFP

Malkin lifts Penguins Capitals end Predators’ 5-game win streak

Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow

Tebow balances philanthropic work, football ENGLEWOOD: There’s a quarterback Tim Tebow can’t wait to meet while in Buffalo for a pivotal late-season game. A special guest showing up at his request. And no, it’s not former Bills star Jim Kelly. Tebow is bringing in Jacob Rainey, a highly touted prep player from a private school in Virginia who had part of his right leg amputated after a severe knee injury during a fall scrimmage. Tebow is looking forward to chatting with Rainey before and again after the Denver Broncos’ game against the Bills on Saturday. For as dedicated as Tebow is about improving on the field, he’s just as devoted to his engagements off it.

That’s why losses really don’t linger. He’s already turned the page after the Broncos’ 41-23 home loss to Tom Brady and the New England Patriots on Sunday. “I’ll move on and continue to be positive and everything,” Tebow said Tuesday.

As if he knows any other way. Tebow has become the center of the football universe since guiding the Broncos (8-6) from the brink of playoff extinction back into contention. Denver leads the AFC West by a game over Oakland and San Diego after rebounding from a 1-4 start under Kyle Orton. The Broncos are in prime position to make the playoffs for the first time since the 2005 season. Tebow’s name and image have been popping up all over as he’s appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated, been mentioned at the Republican debate in Iowa and spoofed during a “Saturday Night Live” skit in which the show playfully mocks his faith.

Although Tebow hasn’t seen the clip yet, his teammates have watched it. “I’ve heard some players have been laughing about it a little bit,” Tebow said. Tebow doesn’t mind all the attention. It gives him a platform for his causes, such as the Tim Tebow Foundation’s “Wish 15” program. On Sunday, he brought in Kelly Faughnan, who is dealing with tumors and seizures. “It gives her an opportunity to have a good time and gives her a little hope and puts a smile on her face,” Tebow said.

“Ultimately, that’s what’s important. As hard as it is to say it, that’s more important than even winning or losing the game.”

With every passing game, Tebow steadily improves in the passing department.

Sure, his mechanics are still rough and his style unorthodox.

But he’s making far better reads and decisions than he was several weeks ago. “He’s not afraid, no stranger to hard work,” coach John Fox said. “He works as hard as any player I’ve ever coached.” Tebow even received quite a backing from the boss himself, John Elway, who gave his strongest indication yet in an interview with The Associated Press that he believes Tebow can transform from a scrambling quarterback into a pocket passer. That meant a lot to the young quarterback. “Mr Elway is obviously one of the best to ever play the game. To get any compliment from him is extremely nice,” said Tebow, 5-0 on the road since taking over the starting job. “He’s been around this game a long time. That’s nice to hear.”

Bills coach Chan Gailey applauds Denver’s bold choice of switching to the unconventional option offense to better fit Tebow’s unique skill set. Gailey always believed that approach could be successful - for a short window anyway. “I thought the first team that had guts enough to try it, it was going to work for about two years,” Gailey said. “Then, defensive coaches in the NFL would catch up to it a little bit. Then, it would be a struggle.” Tebow has proficiently run this offense, just like he did at Florida, where he won the Heisman and two national titles. He has rushed for 610 yards this season, the most by a Denver quarterback and easily surpassing Elway’s best mark (304 yards in 1987).

To Gailey, there’s just one potential flaw with using the read option - keeping the quarterback healthy. That’s a reason why it really hasn’t been tried to the extent it has until now. But Tebow’s built to deliver a few wallops, too. “It’s a long season.

You take a lot of hits. You take a lot of hits when you’re not running option football,” Gailey said.—AP

PITTSBURGH: Pittsburgh’s Evgeni Malkin had three assists to move into a tie for the NHL scoring lead as the Penguins beat Chicago 3-2 on Tuesday to snap the Blackhawks’ fivegame winning streak. Malkin assisted on goals by Chris Kunitz, James Neal and Tyler Kennedy, giving him points in all six games since Penguins captain Sidney Crosby left the lineup again because of recurring concussion symptoms.

Malkin has six goals and nine assists in that stretch, with Tuesday’s contribution helping move Pittsburgh within two points of Atlantic Division leader Philadelphia. Jonathan Toews and Viktor Stalberg had third-period goals for Chicago, which has the most points in the NHL. RANGERS 4, DEVILS 1 In Newark, New Jersey, Marian Gaborik snapped a thirdperiod tie with the first of his two goals and then sealed New York’s win with an empty-netter as the Rangers beat New Jersey. Gaborik, who reached 600 NHL points with his first goal, also helped set up Artem Anisimov’s second-period tally that tied the game 1-1. New York broke the Devils’ four-game winning streak in the first of six meetings between Atlantic Division rivals. Carl Hagelin also scored for the Rangers. Travis Zajac’s first goal of the season had given the Devils a 1-0 lead in the first period.

COYOTES 2, PANTHERS 1 In Sunrise, Florida, Radim Vrbata and Ray Whitney scored to lift Phoenix over Florida. Brian Campbell scored for the Panthers, who suffered their first loss in regulation in nine home games. Florida’s past 13 home games have been decided by one goal. Florida was awarded a penalty shot with 24.5 seconds left in the game because several Coyotes players displaced the net, but Stephen Weiss’ shot was blocked by Coyotes goalie Jason LaBarbera and stopped on the goal line.

FLAMES 2, WILD 1 In Calgary, Jarome Iginla scored the go-ahead goal and added an assist for Calgary, which returned home from a four-game trip and beat Minnesota. Iginla broke a 1-1 tie in the second period. Curtis Glencross added his 11th goal for Calgary, which is unbeaten in its past seven home games.

Pierre-Marc Bouchard scored the lone goal for Minnesota.

said Ovechkin, a two-times NHL most valuable player who has gone 21 games since his last multi-point effort. “The team played together today, played hard, and we deserved to win.”

GAME, SET, AND MATCH Nashville’s Sergei Kostitsyn scored early in the final period to trim the deficit to 2-1 but Semin and Troy Brouwer countered for Washington to delight the soldout Verizon Center crowd. The Predators had played 10 consecutive games decided by a single goal, winning seven of them. “In the first period we lost a couple of oneon-one battles and they scored,” said Nashville coach

Barry Trotz. “They came out with a lot of purpose and a lot of jump and had us on our heels. “We had a couple of chances to get back in it but we weren’t able to get it on track tonight.” Neuvir th, who shut out Winnipeg 1-0 Thursday, benefited from a tight-checking Washington defense to hike his record to 5-6-1 this season after a slow start. The Capitals’ penalty-killing unit was a perfect five-for-five against the Predators and has not yielded a power-play goal in its last 14 chances over four games.

Trotz thought his club still had a chance until Brouwer, on the power play, tipped in a long slap shot by Dennis Wideman to give the Capitals a 4-1 lead with just over six minutes left. — Agencies

NHL results/standings NHL results and standings on Tuesday: Washington 4, Nashville 1; NY Rangers 4, New Jersey 1; Pittsburgh 3, Chicago 2; Ottawa 4, Buffalo 1; Phoenix 2, Florida 1; NY Islanders 3, Winnipeg 2 (SO); Calgary 2, Minnesota 1. (SO denotes shootout win)

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

Eastern Conference Atlantic Division W L OTL GF 20 8 4 112 19 8 4 91 19 11 4 110 18 14 1 91 11 14 6 72 Northeast Division 22 9 1 111 16 13 4 102 16 14 4 106 16 14 3 90 13 14 7 87 Southeast Division 18 10 6 91 17 14 1 95 15 13 5 91 14 16 2 87 10 18 6 86

GA 94 68 90 96 99

PTS 44 42 42 37 28

63 108 117 98 92

45 36 36 35 33

86 97 100 107 116

42 35 35 30 26

Western Conference Central Division Chicago 21 9 4 113 101 46 Detroit 21 10 1 107 71 43 St Louis 19 9 4 82 69 42 Nashville 17 12 4 86 88 38 Columbus 9 20 4 80 111 22 Northwest Division Minnesota 20 10 5 85 78 45 Vancouver 20 11 2 110 80 42 Calgary 15 15 4 84 95 34 Colorado 16 17 1 91 102 33 Edmonton 14 16 3 89 90 31 Pacific Division Dallas 19 12 1 85 89 39 San Jose 17 10 3 86 74 37 Phoenix 17 13 3 86 86 37 Los Angeles 15 14 4 72 81 34 Anaheim 9 19 5 78 110 23 Note: Overtime losses (OTL) are worth one point in the standings and are not included in the loss column (L)

SENATORS 4, SABRES 1 In Ottawa, Erik Condra combined with newly acquired Ottawa center Kyle Turris on the first of Condra’s two goals and lifted Ottawa over Buffalo. Zack Smith scored in the first and Erik Karlsson netted the Senators’ third goal on a power play at 17:49. Condra netted his second with an empty netter to complete the scoring. Jordan Leopold had drawn Buffalo even at 1-1 with a power-play goal in the second.

ISLANDERS 3, JETS 2, SO In Winnipeg, PA Parenteau scored in regulation and added the shootout winner to give New York a win over Winnipeg. Parenteau and Frans Nielsen beat goalie Ondrej Pavelec in the shootout. New York counterpart Evgeni Nabokov stopped two shooters in the tiebreaker. Parenteau and Michael Grabner gave the Islanders a pair of one-goal leads in the first two periods, but Nik Antropov and Andrew Ladd responded for the Jets.

CAPITALS 4, PREDATORS 1 Washington emerged from an offensive slumber and netminder Michal Neuvir th stopped 20 shots as the Capitals snapped the Nashville Predators’ five-game winning streak with a 4-1 victory on Tuesday. The Capitals played suffocating defense and had goals from mainstays Alex Ovechkin, Alexander Semin and Nicklas Backstrom to deflate the surging Predators. It marked the first time since Oct. 30 2010 that Washington had goals from its three top offensive players in the same game.

Capitals coach Dale Hunter, whose record improved to 5-5 since taking over from Bruce Boudreau last month, credited Ovechkin for jump-starting the offense. “He’s a special player and he came out scoring and hitting,” Hunter said. “He was a complete player. In the first period we need a lift and he came out and played hard.” The Capitals had scored just one goal in each of their pervious three games but grabbed a 2-0 first-period lead on goals by Ovechkin and Backstrom. “We want to dictate our game and we want to dictate our style and this system, so it was pretty cool,”

CALGARY: Jarome Iginla #12 of the Calgary Flames fights for the puck in front of Josh Harding #37 of the Minnesota Wild in third period NHL action on December 20, 2011. — AFP

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Corruption at the top dominates 2011 football LONDON: Football in 2011 was dominated by events off the field rather than on it.

Barcelona and Lionel Messi continued to provide some of the most sparkling performances in the sport’s long history and Uruguay further overshadowed Brazil and Argentina at the top of the South American game, but headlines around the world were dominated by allegations of corruption and bribery at FIFA. The sport’s governing body was beset by allegations as behind-the-scenes politicking was thrust into the spotlight by the fallout from its 2010 decision to give future World Cup tournaments to Russia and Qatar.

Sepp Blatter was re-elected unopposed as FIFA president but the year was almost out before he announced details of long-promised reforms. Blatter’s position at the top of FIFA was secured after his only rival for the presidency, Mohamed bin Hammam of Qatar, was forced to withdraw from the June election over bribery allegations that later led to a lifetime ban from the sport. Blatter has hinted that his new Independent Governance Committee could examine cases including the decision to award the 2018 World Cup to Russia and the 2022 event to Qatar. Even the 10 year-old kickbacks case that led to former FIFA President Joao Havelange’s resignation from the IOC is being picked over.

The 95-year-old Havelange, Blatter’s mentor and predecessor, joined the IOC in 1963 and was its longest-standing member. He resigned in December, days before he faced possible suspension for allegedly taking a $1 million kickback from World Cup marketing deals while FIFA president. The IOC closed its ethics investigation into Havelange after his resignation. The appointment of a University of Basel professor - who formerly served on an independent inquiry team examining alleged corruption in the Iraqi oil-for-food program - to spearhead reforms lends credibility to Blatter’s committee.

But whether a body widely criticized for a lack of transparency and accountability can be persuaded of the need for comprehensive change remains to be seen. Blatter was forced to apologize in November for causing outrage among players, officials and even sponsors by suggesting that racial incidents between players on the field could be settled by a handshake at the end of a game. The topic of racism surfaced several times through the year, with England captain John Terry and Uruguay forward Luis Suarez both accused of abusing opponents, while France coach Laurent Blanc came close to resigning following a row about quotas at training academies.

Blanc acknowledged that his crude lan-

guage in a conversation with French Football Federation colleagues was wrong and offensive but said the debate over whether dual nationals of African descent should be in the French system remained valid. Blanc was cleared of discrimination by the FFF. Another immediate challenge facing Blatter and FIFA is the state of Brazil’s preparations to host the 2014 World Cup, which are mired in infighting, corruption allegations and a simple lack of progress. Organizing committee head Ricardo Teixeira - himself linked to the ISL kickback case that claimed Havelange - was embroiled in allegations of bribery and money laundering that saw Brazil sports minister Orlando Silva forced out in October.

The Brazilian government has yet to pass the necessary laws to allow the country to stage the tournament and stadium construction is behind schedule. “The executive committee is worried about that,” Blatter said. “I will myself take up the World Cup in a presidential level and in the first or second month of next year I will go and meet the head of state.” And in a sign of the tensions between various factions, Teixeira snubbed Pele from the 2014 qualifying draw in Rio in July only to see state president Dilma Rouseff appoint the former national team great as her government’s World Cup ambassador.

Brazilian football was dealt a series of

blows in 2011, with the death of former captain Socrates after a lifetime of heavy drinking, a quarterfinal exit at the Copa America and Santos’ 4-0 drubbing by Barcelona in the final of the Club World Cup. Brazil had already failed to impress at Copa America before it missed all four of its penalty kicks in a 2-0 shootout loss to Paraguay. If there was any consolation, it was that rival Argentina exited at the same stage and in the same manner against eventual champion Uruguay.

With Diego Forlan and Suarez up front, Uruguay built on its surprise run to the 2010 World Cup semifinals and routed Paraguay 3-0 in the final to win its first continental title since 1995. There was no such shift in power in Europe, where world and European champion Spain remained the team to beat. With Spain stars including Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta, David Villa and Sergio Busquets in its squad, Barcelona dominated the club scene with a third straight domestic league title, a third Champions League title in six years and the 13th trophy of coach Pep Guardiola’s 31/2-year tenure at the Club World Cup. Predictably, though, Barcelona’s star player wasn’t Spanish. Messi continued to draw comparisons with all-time great Diego Maradona with his seemingly unstoppable dribbling, rampant goal scoring and imagi-

native set-up play. The Argentine finished the 2010-11 season with 53 goals in all competitions - including one in the 3-1 Champions League final win over Manchester United - and is almost certain to win FIFA’s world player of the year award for a third straight year. “We have good players in the team, but he makes the difference,” Guardiola said. “We can compete, but without him we would not have that qualitative leap that we do have with him.”

Elsewhere, American Samoa won its first ever match, North Korea was kicked out of the next Women’s World Cup after five players tested positive for steroids at this year’s tournament, more than 100 players at the Under-17 World Cup in Mexico tested positive for clenbuterol after eating local meat, and Wales manager Gary Speed was founded hanged at home. But if there was a feelgood story, it was Japan’s success at the Women’s World Cup in Germany. Their country devastated by a tsunami and earthquake that left nearly 20,000 people dead or missing, the Japanese players vowed they would inspire their homeland. They did it with an improbable victory in the final, equalizing against the favored United States in the 81st minute and again with three minutes of extra time remaining before winning a shootout 3-1. —AP

Pakistan win second test by seven wickets Pakistan complete series sweep in fading light DHAKA: Left-arm spinner Abdur Rehman broke through Bangladesh’s resistance before Pakistan raced against fading light to complete a seven-wicket win

Mohammad Hafeez led Pakistan’s victory charge with 47 off 52 balls before his attempted slog off Shakib Al Hasan ended at long-on fielder Shahadat Hossain.

Elias Sunny bowled him for 34 off 43 balls with Pakistan two runs away from a win. Misbah-ul-Haq completed the win with a six as Pakistan raced to 107 runs in 20.5

DHAKA: Pakistan’s Younis Khan plays a shot as Bangladesh’s wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim (right) looks on during the fifth day of the second cricket test match in Dhaka yesterday. —AP on the final day of the second test yesterday. Set a winning score of 103, Pakistan had no choice but to try to score quickly to claim a 2-0 series win, playing most of the final two sessions on the fifth day under floodlights. Opener

He added 63 runs with Azhar Ali for the second wicket after first innings centurion Taufiq Umar was dismissed for three when he lofted a catch to Nazimuddin at midwicket off Nazmul Hossain. Azhar was last man out when left-arm

overs amid fears that the umpire might stop play for bad light. “The situation was like that anytime the light could be dropped,” Misbah told a news conference. “Normally we have targeted to finish the game before 10 to 15 overs that’s

why we played quite quickly.”

The hosts were looking comfortable after a delayed start due to fog before Rehman revived Pakistan’s hopes by ending a dogged 117-run sixth-wicket stand between Nasir Hossain and Mushfiqur Rahim to finish with career-best figures of 4-51. Saeed Ajmal then claimed the final two wickets to complete a typical Bangladesh collapse. The home side resumed after lunch on 2005 but lost their last five wickets for 34 to be bowled out in their second innings with an hour remaining before the tea interval.

Rehman bowled Nasir for 79 runs before he had Rahim caught by Ajmal at mid-off for 53 as Bangladesh crumbled after surviving the morning session unscathed.

Nasir struck 11 fours for his maiden test fifty while Rahim hit seven fours. “When Nasir and I batted, I thought it would have been a different game had we batted till tea,” said Rahim. “They’d have found chasing 150-180 quite difficult. That makes me feel bad.

“We lost five wickets the previous night and we fought well today. I think we can learn from these situations.” Younus Khan took a brilliant catch at first slip to send back the next batsman Shahadat off Rehman and Ajmal soon bowled Sunny for four and dragged last man Robiul Islam out of the crease for a stumping to end the innings. —Reuters

DHAKA: Pakistan’s cricket captain Misbah-Ul-Haq (left) and Younis Khan pose for a photo with the tournament trophy after the fifth day of the second cricket Test match between Bangladesh and Pakistan at the Sher-eBangla National Cricket Stadium yesterday. Pakistan beat Bangladesh by 7 wickets. —AFP

Scoreboard DHAKA: Scoreboard after Pakistan completed a seven-wicket victory over Bangladesh on the fifth day of the second and final test yesterday: Bangladesh first innings 338 (Shakib Al Hasan 144, Shahriar Nafees 97) Pakistan first innings 470 (Taufiq Umar 130, Misbah-ul-Haq 70, Azha Ali 57, Adnan Akmal 53; Shakib Al Hasan 6-82) Bangladesh second innings (overnight 114-5) Tamim Iqbal c Misbah b Umar Gul 21 Nazimuddin b Abdur Rehman 12 Shahriar Nafees lbw b Umar Gul 0 Mahmudullah c Rehman b Aizaz Cheema 32 Nasir Hossain b Abdur Rehman 79 Shakib Al Hasan c Azhar b Aizaz Cheema 6 Mushfiqur Rahim c Ajmal b Abdur Rehman 53 Elias Sunny b Saeed Ajmal 4 Shahadat Hossain c Younus b Abdur Rehman 1 Nazmul Hossain not out 8 Robiul Islam st Adnan b Saeed Ajmal 0 Extras (b-9 lb-8 w-1) 18 Total (all out; 82.1 overs) 234 Fall of wickets: 1-24 2-24 3-54 4-76 5-95 6-212 7221 8-226 9-228 10-234

Bowling: Umar Gul 13-4-34-2 (w-1), Aizaz Cheema 15-2-61-2, Abdur Rehman 27-12-51-4, Saeed Ajmal 23.1-6-56-2, Mohammad Hafeez 30-8-0, Azhar Ali 1-0-8-0.

Pakistan second innings Hafeez c Shahadat b Shakib Al Hasan 47 Taufiq Umar c Nazimuddin b Nazmul Hossain 3 Azhar Ali b Elias Sunny 34 Younus Khan not out 16 Misbah-ul-Haq not out 6 Extra (nb-1) 1 Total (three wickets; 20.5 overs) 107 Fall of wickets: 1-7 2-70 3-101 Did not bat: Asad Shafiq, Adnan Akmal, Abdur Rehman, Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal, Aizaz Cheema.

Bowling: Nazmul Hossain 5-1-19-1, Shakib Al Hasan 10-1-47-1, Shahadat Hossain 4-0-26-0 (nb1), Robiul Islam 1-0-8-0, Elias Sunny 0.5-0-7-1 Result: Pakistan won by seven wickets.

Pakistan won the two-match series 2-0.

Australian transition gives India an opening SYDNEY: India, even if you won’t hear them say it, have never had a better chance of clinching their first test series triumph in Australia than over the next month against a host nation in the turmoil of transition. The series may lack the history of an Ashes encounter, or the volatile edge of India-Pakistan clashes, but it is an intriguing match-up between two proud cricketing nations. India have never won a series in South Africa either but have tried for longer (since 1947) and more frequently (this will be the 10th series) in Australia. To India, Australia is the final frontier and for a golden generation of batsmen - Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman - this will be their last chance to conquer it. The likes of Dravid know better than to fall into discussions of whether the tests in Melbourne, Sydney, Perth and Adelaide present their best chance. “We’ve got to play Melbourne well and take it from there,” Dravid said in an ICC podcast this week. “In the past we haven’t started well on tours and hopefully we can this time and the momentum will carry us through.

“We’ll need consistent performances from a lot of players. We’re going to need two or three bowlers to step up and two or three batsmen to step up.”

The batsmen should not be a problem.

The three most prolific test batsmen of all time, Tendulkar, Dravid and Ricky Ponting, will be on display in the series and two of them will be playing for India. Add to that Laxman, who has always excelled against Australia, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and young gun Virat Kohli and you have a formidable line-up if, as Adam

Gilchrist believes, batting dominates the series. “The general view is that wickets have tamed somewhat and the Indian players will certainly find ways to score hundreds in those conditions,” the former Australian great said recently. “I wouldn’t say there will be dead wickets but maybe not as spicy as it used to be in previous years.”

SOUL-SEARCHING Certainly nothing as spicy as the Hobart greentop which bamboozled both Australian and New Zealand batsmen earlier this month and led to the Black Caps winning a test across the Tasman Sea for the first time in 26 years. Australia’s collapse on the final day of that match, coming hard and fast on the heels of their skittling for 47 in South Africa in last month, caused another round of soul-searching and the axing of Phil Hughes and Usman Khawaja. Seven of the 13-man squad for the Boxing Day match, which opens the series at the Melbourne Cricket Ground next Monday, had not played a test before this year and the most experienced batsman, Ponting, has not scored a test century for two years. Former Australia skipper Steve Waugh, who retired at the end of the drawn 2003-4 series against India, still believes the tourists would be wrong to underestimate the task that lies ahead of them. “We’re very difficult to beat in Australia, no matter what team we put out,” he said. “In front of our home crowds, our own conditions. It can be a bit of a hostile environment and our pitches probably suit our bowlers better than any other country.” The emergence of teenag-

er Pat Cummins and 21-year-old James Pattinson as genuine test pace bowlers in Australia’s last three matches had been a great boost to the hosts even if injury has already stalled the former’s career.

IMPROVED RELATIONS Quick bowling in Australia can be hard labor at its most intensive and India have already lost two of their preferred pacemen. Praveen Kumar (fractured rib) and Varun Aaron (back) were ruled out of the tour by injury and replaced by four-test veteran Abhimanyu Mithun and uncapped R Vinay Kumar. But while there are also concerns about Ishant Sharma’s ankle, tall paceman Umesh Yadav impressed against West Indies in his first test series last month and Zaheer Khan has been rested for four months. Zaheer’s departure from England in August because of ankle and hamstring injuries contributed to the 4-0 drubbing the Indians suffered - a humiliation they would go some way to erasing if they won in Australia. Tendulkar’s quest for his century of international centuries adds another absorbing sub-plot to the series, which both teams hope will avoid the acrimony that marked the 2007-8 India tour. The allegations of racist name-calling and bad sportmanship in the “Bollyline” or “Monkeygate” row at the Sydney test marked a low in relations between the two sides. Dravid, in the annual Donald Bradman Oration in Canberra last week, said he thought a repeat was unlikely.

“Both teams will know that they should have done things a little differently in the Sydney test,” he said. —Reuters

KARACHI: Players of Pakistan (bottom) and Chinese hockey teams warm up for a practice session at the National Hockey stadium in Karachi yesterday. —AP

Pakistan hosts first international hockey match after seven years KARACHI: Pakistan marked the first international hockey match played in the country for seven years with a 30 win over China yesterday. Pakistan last staged an international match in 2004 when it hosted the Champions Trophy in Lahore but since then foreign teams have refused to play in the country due to security concerns.

“It is a great feeling to finally to see an international team play in Pakistan. The ice has been broken and once this series ends smoothly we can build on it for Pakistani sports,” Pakistan hockey federation Secretary Asif Bajwa said. The

Chinese will play another three matches in Pakistan in what has been dubbed as the ‘Friendship Series’. “We were able to focus completely on our hockey. Pakistan was the better team today. But we have had no problems with the security and other arrangements so far,” Chinese captain, Song Yi told reporters following the contest at Hockey Club of Pakistan Stadium.

Pakistan captain Mohammad Imran scored two goals to set up the victory, which went some way towards healing dented pride after the Asian Games gold medalists fin-

ished seventh in the eight team Champions Trophy in Auckland.

Bajwa said that the series was important for not only hockey but also other sports in Pakistan. “We are taking no chances with the security because we know the importance of having a incident free series,” he said.

Since the September 11 attacks in the United States, foreign teams have been reluctant to travel to Pakistan in many sports and Asian country was left completely isolated as a sporting venue after militants attacked the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore in March 2009. —Reuters

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Years

S P ORT S

Lille’s double joy eclipsed by PSG revolution PARIS: Lille ended a 56-year silverware drought with a stunning league and French Cup double in 2011, but by the end of the year, the club monopolizing the headlines in France was Paris SaintGermain. The perennial sleeping giants of the French game were shaken from their slumber in the summer, when the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) completed a takeover that transformed PSG into one of the world’s richest sides.

With charismatic former player Leonardo installed as sporting director, the club embarked on an ambitious recruitment drive that saw nine new players arrive at Parc des Princes at a cost of around 90 million euros ($119m).

Tried and tested Ligue 1 performers such as Kevin Gameiro (Lorient) and Blaise Matuidi (Saint-Etienne) formed the basis of that recruitment, but the signing that turned heads across the football world was that of Javier Pastore. The willowy Argentine playmaker had been expected to leave Palermo for a Champions League club, but PSG broke the bank with a 42-million-euro bid that made the 22-year-old the most expensive player in French football history.

The QIA era began with the damp squib of a 1-0 loss at home to Lorient on the season’s opening day but PSG quickly turned things around and were

jostling for position at the league summit as the year drew to a close. Life is never straightforward at PSG, however, and an early exit from the Europa League fuelled speculation about the future of coach Antoine Kombouare, who is reportedly yet to convince the new owners of his worth. Belgian winger Eden Hazard is rumored to feature high on PSG’s wish list, having announced his intention to leave Lille in October after being crowned player of the season for his starring role in the double triumph.

Lille’s success was fitting recompense for a side that proved itself to be both the most appealing and the most enduring over the course of the 201011 campaign. An audacious 89thminute free-kick from Ludovic Obraniak gave them a 1-0 win over PSG in the French Cup final at Stade de France in May and eight days later, a 22 draw against the same opponents secured the Ligue 1 crown. “There are some special reference points among the teams that have won the double,” said Lille coach Rudi Garcia. “ The Bordeaux of Aime Jacquet (1987), the Marseille of Jean-Pierre Papin (1989), the Auxerre of Guy Roux (1996). And we’ve done it.”

After 34 years in the French elite, Monaco sank into Ligue 2 — where they kept sinking-and were joined by

Tottenham eye capital effort against Chelsea LONDON: Tottenham Hotspur have earned themselves the perfect opportunity to celebrate Christmas as London’s top club. Harry Redknapp’s players are already assured of a higher Premier League placing than Arsenal come December 25 and will also keep Chelsea below them if they avoid defeat at home to Andre Villas-Boas’ side today. And third-place Tottenham, who will kick off two points ahead of their fourth-placed visitors, also possess a game in hand over all the other clubs in the running for European qualification.

No wonder therefore that Spurs fans are confident of hosting Champions League football for the second time after a highly-entertaining debut in that competition last season. Tottenham and Chelsea both have some way to go to

catch up with the two Manchester clubs at the top of the table but Sandro, Tottenham’s Brazil midfielder, was confident that could happen, especially if Chelsea were beaten. “It can give us the belief that we can win the title,” he said. “If we win this game, the only way will be up for us. We can make a big statement, although it will be a very difficult game.

“But we are playing at home and that is very good because the support is very good and that helps us. Yes, we can win the title. Why not? Every single player in the squad is good, we are a strong team and our bench is strong as well.” Chelsea have not won any of their last five visits to White Hart Lane and were last able to celebrate victory there in the Premier League in August 2005. — AFP

Ayew win would confirm family dynasty in Africa CAPE TOWN: Ghana winger Andre ‘Dede’ Ayew could cement his family’s status as Africa’s foremost soccer dynasty if he emulates his father by becoming the continent’s Footballer of the Year today.

Ayew is one of three candidates for the 2011 award to be announced in Accra, going up against Seydou Keita of Mali and Ivory Coast midfielder Yaya Toure for the accolade. Ayew’s father Abedi Pele was the first player to win the award three times, winning from 1991 to 1993 mainly for his achievements at club level with Olympique Marseille. Ayew’s successful year at the same club, plus his role in helping Ghana qualify for next year’s African Nations Cup finals, see him make the short-list of candidates.

But it is more likely that his popular bow-legged running style and silky touches, strongly reminiscent of his father, has dominated the thinking of the judges who have controversially omitted several other worthy candidates. Those missing out include Moussa Sow of Senegal, a Ligue 1 winner and top scorer with Lille, and Ivorian Gervinho, his fellow striker at the French champions before joining Arsenal. Ayew, who was just two years old when his father was first named African Footballer of the Year,

will be the sentimental favourite at the gala awards night in Ghana but he faces a strong challenge from Keita and Toure.

OUTFIELD APPEARANCES Mali’s Keita made more appearances for Barcelona last season than any other outfield player and had a brief cameo as a late substitute in the Champions League final win over Manchester United at Wembley in May. But the 31-year-old boycotted Mali’s national team until last month in a dispute with federation officials. Toure scored the FA Cup final winner for Manchester City against Stoke City in May and has been a regular in their ascent to the top of the English Premier League this season. Toure, 28, also played a key role as Ivory Coast achieved the only 100 percent record in the Nations Cup qualifiers. If Ayew wins, he will be the second European-born player to take the award having been born in France in 1989 when his father played at Lille.

Paris-born Frederic Kanoute of Mali won the award in 2007. The African Footballer of the Year is decided by one vote from each of the 53 Confederation of African Football member associations, cast either by the national coach or technical director. — Reuters

MARSEILLE: Marseille’s French forward Andre Ayew poses with his Best African football player trophy at the Vélodrome stadium in Marseille. Andre Ayew won the 2011 BBC Award for Best African football player. — AFP

Lens and Arles-Avignon, with Evian, Dijon and Ajaccio promoted from the second tier. Lille lost Adil Rami, Yohan Cabaye and Gervinho in the summer but gained a new crowd favourite in loan signing Joe Cole, who arrived from

Liverpool but was unable to prevent a group-stage elimination in the Champions League. Marseille retained their League Cup crown and finished second in the league but an appalling return of one win from the opening 10

VILLENEUVE-D’ASCQ: Lille’s Cameroonian midfielder Aurélien Chedjou (right) is congratulated by his teammate Lille’s forward Moussa Sow after scoring a goal during their French L1 football match Lille vs Nice yesterday at Lille Metropole Stadium in Villeneuve-d’Ascq, northern France. — AFP

games of the new season extinguished their title ambitions.

Lyon replaced the unpopular Claude Puel with old boy Remi Garde and joined OM in the Champions League last 16 after a 7-1 thrashing of Dinamo Zagreb helped to procure the unlikely seven-goal swing in goal difference that they needed to progress at the expense of Ajax. In the international arena, France continued to salve the wounds inflicted at the 2010 World Cup, making steady if unspectacular progress under Laurent Blanc. The French Football Federation (FFF) became embroiled in a racism scandal in May, after a secret recording revealed Blanc and other officials speaking in favor of introducing a quota on dualnationality players in French academies. A two-pronged investigation by the federation and the French government cleared Blanc, however, and he saw his team book their place at Euro 2012 with a nervy 1-1 draw at home to Bosnia-Herzegovina in October.

“Progress has not been as quick as we hoped,” admitted Blanc, whose side were drawn alongside England, Sweden and co-hosts Ukraine at Euro 2012. “But we have come a long way, a very long way. “There are still things we need to improve, but the objective for us was to qualify for the Euro and we have done that.” — AFP

Spain end year top of FIFA rankings again Many CAF high climbers fail to make Cup finals ZURICH: Spain remained top of the FIFA rankings and were acclaimed ‘Team of the Year’ for the fourth time running on Friday, while Wales, inspired by the work of their late manager Gary Speed, were declared the year’s ‘Best Mover’. The world and European champions finished 2011 in a familiar position, ahead of the Netherlands and Germany in an unchanged top ten.

Uruguay were fourth, England fifth and Brazil sixth with Portugal, Croatia, Italy and Argentina completing the leading group.

After an outstanding second half of the year during which they beat Montenegro, Switzerland and Bulgaria in Euro 2012 qualifers, Wales climbed to 48th position. Speed, the architect of their renaissance, was found hanged at his home in November, aged 42, after barely a year in the job.

Speed took over after Wales’s final fixture in 2010 and under his management the team rose from 116th in the rankings to a place in the top 50, gaining more ranking points - 330 - in 2011 than any other nation. Bosnia-Herzegovina (20), Panama (49) and Estonia (57) earned their highest placings since the rankings began. The most dramatic leap of all came from American Samoa, who jumped 18 places to 186 thanks to winning a World Cup qualifier for the first time.

CAF RANKINGS The 2012 Africa Cup of Nations line-up is among the most unexpected in the 54 years of the competition and the monthly

FIFA-CAF rankings released yesterday illustrate why. Only Ivory Coast, Ghana, Senegal and Tunisia from the end-of-year top 10 will compete during January and February in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea for the most prestigious CAF national-team prize. Other top-10 nations Egypt, winners of the Cup of Nations a record seven times, Algeria, Nigeria, Cameroon, South Africa and Cape Verde Islands failed to make the cut to varying degrees of surprise. Cape Verde, a group of islands off the west coast of

demise of 2006, 2008 and 2010 champions the Pharaohs as they came last in a mini-league topped by star-less minnows Niger.

South Africa finished second behind Niger in farcical circumstances-playing for a draw at home to Sierra Leone because they wrongly believed goal difference would settle placings when the head-to-head rule applied.

Bafana Bafana (The Boys) stars feigned injury with D-grade acting, substitutions by coach Pitso Mosimane increased caution

FIFA President Sepp Blatter the continent, were not considered likely qualifiers for the threeweek African football showcase and the fortunes of Algeria continuously rise and fall. But the failures of Egypt, Nigeria, Cameroon and South Africa were unforeseen, especially the sudden

Suarez ban angers Liverpool LONDON: Liverpool reacted furiously after Luis Suarez was banned for eight games by the Football Association for racially abusing Manchester United’s Patrice Evra and vowed to fight the verdict. The club said late Tuesday English football’s governing body had been “determined” to find Suarez guilty and in a strongly worded statement said the 24-yearold Uruguay striker had not received a fair hearing. “It appears to us that the FA were determined to bring charges against Luis Suarez, even before interviewing him at the beginning of November,” the statement said. “Nothing we have heard in the course of the hearing has changed our view that Luis Suarez is innocent of the charges brought against him and we will provide Luis with whatever support he now needs to clear his name.”

The allegations relate to a 1-1 Premier League draw between bitter foes Liverpool and United at Anfield on October 15 after which France defender Evra claimed he had been racially abused “more than 10 times in the game”.

Liverpool said they were stunned that such a lengthy ban should be imposed on Suarez - who has been the club’s outstanding player this season - as a result solely of Evra’s testimony. “We find it extraordinary that Luis can be found guilty on the word of Patrice Evra alone when no-one else on the field of play - including Evra’s own Manchester United teammates and all the match officials - heard the alleged conversation between the two players.

“Luis himself is of a mixed race family background as his grandfather was black... It seems incredible to us that a player of mixed heritage should be accused and found guilty in the way he has based on the evidence presented.” Liverpool will be provided with the full reasons for the ruling, but several British newspapers have reported the case centred around Suarez’s use of the word “negro”. It is believed Suarez told the panel this was a descriptive expression and not deemed offensive in his home country. — AFP

when a goal was desperately needed and TV and radio commentators triggered national celebrations through misinformation. While South African supporters danced and sang for some time after a goalless stalemate before the unpleasant reali-

ty seeped through, Nigerians realized immediately the implications of conceding a late equalizer at home to Guinea.

It was the first time since 1986 that the Super Eagles failed to make the African tournament while Cameroon paid the price for taking only one point of a possible six off resurgent Senegal. A further eight 2012 Cup of Nations participants-Morocco, Burkina Faso, Libya, Mali, Gabon, Zambia, Guinea, Angola-made the top 20 this month followed by Botswana, Niger and Sudan.

Equatorial Guinea are 42 out of 53 CAF members listed and the inclusion of such a lowly-placed team is due to host nations being automatically guaranteed a place at the tournament.

Despite a shock-filled year, the top five ranked nations of December 2010 are still there, albeit in different positions with Ivory Coast replacing Egypt at the top of the table. Gabon, Burkina Faso and Guinea have slipped out of the top 10 to be replaced by South Africa, Senegal and Cape Verde while the dramatic drop of Benin (15 to 33) signals a side in steep decline.

Heading in the opposite direction are Sierra Leone (34 to 11) after coming close to reaching the Cup of Nations despite the unwelcome distraction of two coaches wrestling for control. While the sports ministry backed eventual incumbent Lars Mattsson of Sweden and the football association supported local Christian Cole, the Leone Stars defeated and held Egypt, drew twice with South Africa and won and lost against Niger. — Agencies

Terry charged over racism LONDON: Chelsea and England captain John Terry will be prosecuted for the alleged racial abuse of Queens Park Rangers defender Anton Ferdinand in a Premier League match in October, British authorities said yesterday. The decision comes a day after Liverpool striker Luis Suarez was banned for eight matches on Tuesday and fined 40,000 pounds ($62,800) by the FA for racially abusing Manchester United defender Patrice Evra during another game earlier this season.

Terry will appear in court on Feb 1 and could be fined up to 2,500 pounds if found guilty. That is a fraction of his weekly wage but the damage to his image could be more costly. Police had been investigating a complaint that Terr y racially abused Ferdinand during Chelsea’s 1-0 defeat by their west London rivals in October. The complaint came after video footage of the incident was posted on the Internet. “I am satisfied there is sufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction and it is in the public interest to prosecute this case,” Alison Saunders, Chief Crown Prosecutor for London said in a statement. “Mr Terr y will appear before West London Magistrates’ Court on 1 February 2012.”

TERRY DISAPPOINTED Terry has repeatedly denied making a racist comment to Ferdinand, younger brother of the England captain’s long-time international team mate Rio. “I am disappointed with the decision to charge me and hope to be given the chance to clear my name as quickly as possible,” Terry said in a statement reported by British media. “I have never aimed a racist remark at anyone and count people from all races and creeds among my closest friends. “I will fight tooth and nail to prove my innocence.” “I have campaigned against racism and believe there is no place for it in society,” he added.

Chelsea, who play at Tottenham Hotspur today, stood by their captain, a hero with the club’s fans for his loyalty and commitment, and he remains available for selection. “John has made it clear he denies the charge and is determined to do all he can to prove his innocence,” the club said in a statement on their website.

“Chelsea FC has always been fully supportive of John in this matter and will continue to be so. The club finds all forms of discrimination abhorrent and we are proud of the work we undertake campaigning on this important issue.” — Reuters

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2011

S P ORT S

PSG remain top as Montpellier slip-up French League Roundup

UDINE: Udinese’s Mauricio Isla (right) of Chile, and Juventus’ Claudio Marchisio, fight for the ball during the Serie A soccer match at the Friuli stadium in Udine yesterday. — AP

Juventus fail to regain top spot ITALIAN League Roundup ROME: Juventus failed to return to top spot in Serie A yesterday after they were held to a 0-0 draw away at third-placed Udinese. The Old Lady of Turin trail AC Milan - 2-0 winners over Cagliari on Tuesday on goal difference while Udinese are two points behind that duo. Lazio failed to join Udinese on 32 points as they were also held 0-0 by mid-table Chievo later yesterday while 2010 champions Inter Milan’s fast improving form saw them win their fourth match in a row in a 3-1 win over Lecce.

Claudio Ranieri’s side are fifth eight points adrift of the top two. Napoli, whose form in Serie A has not been to the level of that in the Champions League this season, enjoyed their most impressive result of the campaign thrashing Genoa 6-1. Uruguayan international striker Edinson Cavani scored two of them to take his tally for the season in Serie A to nine. Palermo were unable to give new coach Bortolo Mutti a winning start as the 40th coach of the reign of club owner Maurizio Zamparini saw his side let a 2-0 lead slip to a 2-2 draw with strugglers Novara.

Juventus had the better chances of an

entertaining match - Claudio Marchisio scraping the bottom of a post as early as the eighth minute with a rasping shot with the outside of his right foot. Udinese, though, were fortunate to find Juve’s frontman Alessandro Matri off form and he was replaced after 70 minutes. Udinese’s Slovenian goalkeeper Samir Handanovic also played his part blocking Matri’s effort in the 18th minute - beautifully set up by Italy veteran midfielder Andrea Pirlo - and saved a header from Giorgio Chiellini in the 52nd minute.

The hosts preferred to sit back and hit Juventus on the break, Brazilian Danilo Larengeira heading just over the bar in the 57th minute while Matri’s opposite number “Toto” Di Natale was also having an off night. However, despite their managing to hold Juventus at bay their tactics and positioning did not please their coach Francesco Guidolin and eventually his antics got him sent from the touchline in time added on. On Tuesday an own goal

by Francesco Pisano and one from Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic on the hour were enough to give champions AC Milan the three points and send them top. —AFP

ITALIAN LEAGUE TABLE ROME: Italian league table after yesterday’s matches (played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals against, points) AC Milan Juventus Udinese Lazio Inter Milan Napoli Roma Catania Palermo Genoa

16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16

10 9 9 8 8 6 7 5 6 6

4 7 5 6 2 6 3 7 3 3

2 0 2 2 6 4 6 4 7 7

35 27 20 24 22 29 21 20 18 19

16 11 9 13 19 18 19 23 20 24

34 34 32 30 26 24 24 22 21 21

Atalanta Chievo Parma Fiorentina Cagliari Siena Bologna Novara Cesena Lecce

16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16

6 5 5 4 4 3 4 2 3 2

8 5 4 6 6 6 3 6 3 3

2 6 7 6 6 7 9 8 10 11

23 13 21 15 12 14 14 17 8 17

19 18 26 15 17 16 24 29 20 33

20 20 19 18 18 15 15 12 12 9

Late drama as Bayern, Dortmund go through Dortmund’s Owomoyela sent off for second booking BERLIN: A stoppage -time goal by Dutchman Arjen Robben sent Bayern Munich into the German Cup quarterfinals with a nervous 2-1 win at second division VfL Bochum on Tuesday while champions Borussia Dortmund needed penalties to oust gutsy Fortuna Duesseldorf 5-4. Robben struck seconds before the final whistle after Bayern came from a goal down to level early in the second half. “We got a lucky win in the end against a very tough team,” Bayern coach Jupp Heynckes told reporters. “Bochum were outstanding and made our life very difficult.”

Bundesliga champions Dortmund, who played for almost 90 minutes with 10 men after the dismissal of defender Patrick Owomoyela in the 34th minute, were on the backfoot for much of the game against the second division leaders and 1979 and 1980 German Cup winners which finished 0-0. Dortmund defender Lukasz Piszczek almost gifted the hosts an extra-time lead with a clearance that

Today’s matches on TV

English Premier League Tottenham v Chelsea................ 23:00 Abu Dhabi Sports HD 3

Spain Copa del Rey Athletic de Bilbao v Real Oviedo ..0:00 Aljazeera Sport +2 Valencia v Cadiz ........................22:00 Aljazeera Sport +2 Aljazeera Sport 2 HD Barcelona v Hospitalet...............0:00 Aljazeera Sport +2 Aljazeera Sport 2 HD

forced a spectacular save by his goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller.

Dortmund coach Juergen Klopp then got his marching orders for dissent and watched the rest of the game from the stands. Weidenfeller secured a last eight spot for his team after saving one penalty in a dramatic shootout that saw two spot kicks retaken and two yellow cards for Dortmund players. “These were controversial refereeing decisions (to retake the penalties) and that offered a lot of drama for the fans,” said Dortmund central defender Mats Hummels. “It was a fight and I think it is the first time in our club history that we hit all five of our penalties.”

Hoffenheim grabbed a 2-1 win in an all-Bundesliga clash with Augsburg while Nuremberg slumped to a 1-0 home defeat by second division club and local rivals Greuther Fuerth after a 15thminute goal by Edgar Prib as the visitors finished with 10 men. In Bochum, the hosts showed no fear against Bundesliga leaders Bayern and deservedly grabbed the lead midway through the first half with Giovanni Federico tapping in from close range after keeper Manuel Neuer failed to reach a Mirkan Aydin low cross.

Bayern brought on Bundesliga top scorer Mario Gomez for Ivica Olic, who had started instead of the Germany international, after the break and the change paid off as the visitors charged forward. Jerome Boateng hit the crossbar right after the restart and Franck Ribery fired narrowly wide. Toni Kroos was then on target in the 52nd minute after a fine one-two with Gomez to level. But the Bavarians had to wait until stoppage time to finally break Bochum’s resistance with Robben firing in from 10 meters after a pass from Ribery as they continued their quest for a treble this season.

Holders Schalke 04 traveled to Borussia Moenchengladbach yesterday.— Reuters

PARIS: Montpellier ended the first half of the season on a low note with a 4-2 loss at Evian yesterday in a result that let Paris Saint Germain claim the kudos of going into the recess as ‘winter champions’. On the day that Qatari-backed PSG were reported in the local media to have secured the services of David Beckham in the January transfer window the capital-side eked out a 1-0 win at Saint Etienne. Mathieu Bodmer helped PSG into an ultimately decisive 32nd minute lead when in a goalmouth scramble his header hit the left post with Saint Etienne goalkeeper Stephan Ruffier fumbling in vain to stop the ball crossing his line. Ruffier was ‘awarded’ an own goal for his trouble as PSG secured the luxury of looking down on their rivals at Christmas for the first time since 1996-97.

The hard earned result lifted them up to 40 points, three clear of the surprise packages of the campaign so far, Montpellier.

Despite losing some of their edge, this Evian reverse came on the back of defeat to Valenciennes and a 1-1 draw with Toulouse, the Provencal side have won 11 and drawn four to sit second heading into 2012.

Defending champions Lille ended the first half of their title defense with a 4-4 stalemate against strugglers Nice to leave the northern side four points off the pace in third. Former serial champions Lyon are one point back in fourth after coming unstuck 1-0 at midtable Valenciennes.

Rennes, 1-0 winners over Bordeaux, are four th, with Marseille, who had such a wretched start to their campaign, having broken into the top five on Tuesday with a 3-1 victory at Nancy. At home, Montpellier twice gave away the lead against resilient opposition in the shape of promoted side Evian.

After a scoreless first half Younes Belhanda put the hosts in control two minutes after the break, only for Cedric Barbosa to level for Evian five minutes later. France international Olivier Giroud had Montpellier back in front immediately after but goals from Saber Khlifa, Cedric Cambon and Brice Dja Djedje in

PARMA: Parma’s Jonathan Biabiany of France (left) jumps for the ball with Catania’s Nicola Legrottaglie, during their Serie A soccer match at Parma’s Tardini stadium yesterday. — AP

the space of just six minutes did it for Montpellier.

For Giroud that took his tally up to 13 for the campaign, one more than his haul over all of last season. But that was scant consolation for him. “It was a mass drowning, there were too many defensive errors, we couldn’t hope for better this evening,” he said. “We’re frustrated because we led twice and we weren’t able to control the match.” He added: “We’ve ohnly taken one point from three games. The holidays will do us good, we’ll be able to go off and recharge our batteries.” One of Lille’s favorite adopted sons, former Liverpool star Joe Cole was among the scorers for the champions who looked to be heading for a draw only for Nice’s Francois Clerc to grab the points with the winner in the third minute of

injury time. Lyon came away with nothing from their visit to Valenciennes when Aly Cissoko put the ball into his own net just before the half hour in what could be his last match for the seven time former titleholders.

This result ended a sequence of four straight wins for Lyon. Rennes will go into the break feeling on good terms with themselves.

Having mustered a mere one point from the last nine on offer they came away with three against Bordeaux thanks to Jires Kembo’s free kick. Down at the foot of the table bottomside Ajaccio proved they weren’t about to give up their topflight status without a fight, coming away from their visit to Sochaux with a 2-0 win, only their third of the season, to put them on 15 points, three behind Sochaux and Nancy. —AFP

Beckham set for France PARIS: French newspapers yesterday trumpeted the imminent arrival in France of England star David Beckham, saying that he had finally agreed on a lucrative deal to play for Paris St Germain. “All set for Beckham,” headlined L’Equipe sports daily, which carried a full front page photo of the 36-year-old midfielder, whose contract with Los Angeles Galaxy expires at the end of December.

“The English midfielder is expected to sign on in early January for PSG, who are actively preparing for his arrival,” the paper wrote. “The Paris club is planning to celebrate the signing of their new star by organizing a “star-dusted” reception which will take in the ChampsElysees and the Hotel de Ville (City Hall).” Le Parisien also carried a front page picture of the former England skipper alongside the headline: “Beckham in Paris-He has said yes.

“David Beckham has agreed with the Paris club directors to sign an 18-month contract.

His salary: 800,000 euros. His wife Victoria, it seems, has already been finding her way around the posh districts (of Paris).”

However, a spokesperson for Beckhamwhose main aim next year is to play for the Great Britain team at the London Olympicsdenied a deal had been done. “No agreement with any football club has been reached. Any talk of a deal is premature. David is presently considering his options,” the spokesperson said. Another source close to Beckham said it was by no means certain he would opt for PSG as he could remain with LA Galaxy with whom he won the MLS crown last season. The Beckham camp denied similar claims on Saturday when it was reported that he was in Paris and that his former pop star wife Victoria had been looking for a suitable house in the capital for them and their four children.

Rumours of a Beckham move to Paris have been rife for several weeks following the close season purchase of the club by wealthy investors Qatar Sports Investments (QSI). The Gulf company strode into the French capital and bought a 70 percent controlling stake in PSG, with their president Nasser Al-Khelaifi promising “to make the club a great team and a strong brand on the international scene.”

They promptly spent 85 million euros in the

David Beckham

summer to attract new talent including a massive 42 million euros forked out to Italian side Napoli for 22-year-old midfielder Javier Pastore.

The results have been encouraging, with PSG vying for top spot in Ligue 1 in the last round of games before the winter break. But more is expected of a side who have perennially under-achieved, while being the only topflight side playing in one of the biggest fan catchment areas in Europe. Although in the twilight of his career at nearly 37, Beckham is

formidably fit and he can call on years of valuable Champions League experience with former clubs Manchester United and Real Madrid. He is also a sure-fire bet in the world of football gear and equipment marketing and his name on the back of PSG’s shirt would likely be a top-seller worldwide.

Beckham would also put himself in prime position to play a leading role in the British team for next summer’s Olympic Games in his home city of London, an eventuality he has said would be “pretty special for him.” —AFP

Arsenal ‘set to sell’ Arshavin to Zenit MOSCOW: Arsenal is ready to sell out of favor Russian midfielder Andrei Arshavin to his home club Zenit Saint Petersburg for his original transfer sum of 16.5 million euros ($21.6 million), a report said yesterday.

Moscow’s respected Sovietsky Sport daily said Zenit was interested in acquiring the 30-year-old Russia skipper and eventually assigning him to coach its youth club.

Sovietsky Sport said its source confirmed that “Arsenal is ready to enter negotiations with Zenit.” The report comes on the heels of British media speculation that Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger had decided to part with his struggling playmaker during the January transfer window. “We are always interested in Arshavin,” Zenit direc-

tor Igor Korneyev told Sovietsky Sport. “But I can neither confirm nor deny whether we have received an offer.”

Arshavin’s stock soared when he spearheaded one of the most dazzling Russian sides in decades to a semi-final appearance to in the Euro 2008 championship. Arsenal signed him early the following year after paying a 16.5-million-euro transfer and saw him make an immediate impact with six goals in 12 games. But he only scored once in the Premier League in 13 appearances this season and has only started for the squad on six occasions. Arshavin’s return to Russia has been rumored repeatedly and he most recently denied interest in the bigspending Russian upstar ts Anzhi

Makhachkala the new home of Cameroon striker Samuel Eto’o.

But Arshavin is reportedly frustrated that a lack of regular playing time is hurting his chances of making Russia’s Euro 2012 team and is now more serious about making a move.

Sovietsky Sport said all transfer decisions at Zenit were made by the club’s sponsor Gazprom and that the Russian natural gas giant-while currently looking for a striker-had long-term plans for its home darling. “The player’s return is possible if he decides on it,” Gazprom boss Alexei Miller was quoted as saying earlier this month.

“We all have to return to our homelands sooner or later,” Miller said.— AFP

A

y

e niv rsar n

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2011

Years

S P ORT S

Atletico coach on the brink after Cup exit Betis, Zaragoza knocked out by second-tier sides MADRID: Atletico M adrid were dumped out of the King’s Cup 3-1 on aggregate by third-tier Albacete yesterday in what may prove to be a humiliating swan song for embattled coach Gregorio Manzano. On a night of last-32, second leg upsets, Atletico’s struggling La Liga rivals Villarreal also suffered the ignominy of being eliminated by third-tier opposition when they fell 2-0 at home to Mirandes to exit 3-1 on aggregate. The reverse at the Madrigal prompted the departure of Coach Juan Carlos Garrido, with the club hovering just above the relegation places in the league following a spate of injuries to key players.

Real Zaragoza, who are bottom of

La Liga, were undone by second-division Alcorcon 3-1 over the two legs and Cordoba, also of the second tier, claimed the scalp of top-flight side Real Betis on the away goals rule after the tie finished 2-2. After losing last week’s first leg 2-1 at Albacete, who have local hero Andres Iniesta as a major shareholder and the name of the Barcelona midfielder’s vineyard across their shirt fronts, Atletico conceded after just under 20 seconds at their Calderon stadium. The Manchegans stole the ball immediately following the kickoff and forward Victor Curto surged forward before sending a low drive skidding into the bottom corner.

Atletico had plenty of possession but hardly threatened the visitors’ goal and exit the competition amid media repor ts an agreement with former Argentina captain Diego Simeone to replace Manzano has already been sealed. Simeone, a fan favorite when he played for Madrid’s second club, quit as coach of Argentine side Racing Club on Tuesday.

The 42-year-old was quoted as saying in Spanish media yesterday that he had not signed any preliminary accord with Atletico but he had spoken with the club and was hoping a deal could be agreed. “There is a chance,” he said.

“Right now I don’t have a team and they (Atletico) have called me.”

ERRATIC CAMPAIGN Manzano began his second stint as Atletico coach in June, coinciding with the departure of prized forwards Sergio Aguero and Diego Forlan and the arrival of striker Radamel Falcao and midfielders Diego and Arda Turan. He has overseen an erratic campaign which included a 5-0 drubbing at champions Barcelona in La Liga and has left his side in 10th with only 19 points from 16 matches. At his post-match news conference, he apologised to the fans, who targeted the 55-year-old known as ‘the professor’, the players and the club’s board with disgruntled chants during the game. “There are no adjectives we can find to explain that this is a great

disappointment and a disaster,” Manzano said.

“I will give the players time off until Dec. 29 and then we’ll have to think over everything to see what we did right and what we need to look at.” Cup holders Real Madrid wrapped up a 7-1 aggregate win over third-tier Ponferradina on Tuesday and 2011 runners-up Barcelona have a 1-0 advantage when they host third-tier Hospitalet today (2100 GMT).

Athletic Bilbao, Real Sociedad, Osasuna, Malaga, Levante and Racing Santander all went through yesterday, joining Real Madrid, Sevilla, Espanyol and Real Mallorca in the last 16. Valencia drew their first leg 0-0 at third-tier Cadiz and host the south coast side today (1900). — Reuters

Benayoun’s late show sinks Villa Villa 1

Arsenal 2

NEWCASTLE: Newcastle United’s James Perch (left) vies with West Bromwich Albion’s Nigerian striker, Peter Odemwingie during an English Premier League football match at St James’ Park, Newcastle upon Tyne yesterday. — AFP

West Brom stun Newcastle Newcastle 2

West Brom 3

NEWCASTLE: Newcastle’s Senegalese striker Demba Ba maintained his phenomenal Premier League goalscoring record but it was not enough to prevent the Magpies crashing to a 3-2 defeat against West Brom.

The Baggies went ahead on 20 minutes, Peter Odemwingie supplying a cool finish after a defense-splitting through ball from Chris Brunt.

Newcastle got back on level terms in the 34th minute, Ba grabbing his 12th of the season with a curling free-kick. West Brom were back in front on the stroke of halftime however, Gareth McAuley nodding in from close range. Ba looked to have earned a point for Newcastle with his second on 81 minutes but West Brom’s Austrian midfielder Paul Scharner snatched victory with an 85th-minute winner. — Agencies

BIRMINGHAM: Yossi Benayoun left it late to steal the points for Arsenal as the Israel midfielder’s 87th minute header clinched a 2-1 win at Aston Villa yesterday. Arsenal had taken an early lead through Robin van Persie, who now has 34 goals for the calendar year after a first half penalty-equaling Thierry Henry’s club record-and is only three goals away from beating Alan Shearer’s Premier League record. Villa winger Marc Albrighton etched his own name into the history books when he equalized in the second half with the 20,000th Premier League goal, but Benayoun’s header three minutes from time ensured Arsenal won for the eighth time in 10 matches. The Gunners’ victor y moved them level on points with fourth placed Chelsea ahead of the Blues’ trip to Tottenham today.

The hosts have now crashed to four defeats in the last five matches and had Scotland international Alan Hutton dismissed in injury time for an appalling challenge on Thomas Vermaelen. Alex McLeish, the Villa manager, had described Arsenal as “formidable” in the buildup, despite their title hopes lying in tatters, and Arsene Wenger’s side were the dominant force after a nervous opening few minutes. Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szcesny produced a pointblank save from Gabriel Agbonlahor, after an inch perfect cross from Charles N’Zogbia, after seven minutes. But the visitors were handed the initiative on 16 minutes when Theo Walcott won a penalty as he advanced into the area and was needlessly brought down by Ciaran Clark.

The goal came from the most predictable of sources, with Van Persie emphatically ramming home his 16th Premier League goal of the sea-

BIRMINGHAM: Aston Villa’s French midfielder Charles N’Zogbia (up) vies with Arsenal’s French midfielder Francis Coquelin during the English Premier League football match at Villa Park in Birmingham yesterday. — AFP son. Villa required goalkeeper Brad Guzan to rush from his line to prevent Walcott from adding a second shortly afterwards, and the early confidence from the hosts was shattered and replaced with apprehension. Stephen Ireland was recalled by McLeish for his first start since October but the midfielder appeared confused with his role, playing in a deep lying position behind Agbonlahor, and was substituted shortly before half-time with an injury.

Ireland’s replacement, Barry Bannan, came agonizingly close to making an immediate impact by bending a free kick narrowly over with his first touch. But Albrighton wrote his

name into Premier League history nine minutes into the second period when he capitalised on a weak header from Vermaelen to break into the area and coolly slot the ball under Szczesny’s body. Arsenal, and Van Persie, were convinced they should have had another penalty when Stephen Warnock brought down the Dutchman but all he received was a booking. But it was Van Persie’s corner that allowed Benayoun to head home the winner and extend their hoodoo over Villa. The home side’s frustration was complete when Hutton received a second booking for scything down Vermaelen. — AFP

Everton down Swansea

Sunderland overpower QPR QPR 2

Sunderland 3

LONDON: For all their undoubtedly quality last night, Sunderland are retaining a charming inability to do things the simple way. They were superb for around an hour, hopeless for around 25 minutes, and then, for the second time in Martin O’Neill’s short reign, managed to conjure a winner. Mental strength or mental frailty?

At the moment, it is hard to tell. Still, O’Neill’s Sunderland are beginning to look a subtly different team from the one that flailed and ultimately failed under Steve Bruce.

In terms of selection and tactics, there has been little to distinguish the two so far. But the signs were there last night that the professor has managed to impart some of his considerable wisdom to his players. It was the way Sunderland thought their way into the game that allowed them to go into the break ahead and then push their advantage home. They started quietly, but after 10 minutes, they realized that it was at left-back, where QPR’s Armand Traore was up against the in-form

Sebastian Larsson.

The Swede’s ability to deliver an accurate cross in minimal space makes him a dangerous opponent, and against the intrepid but absentminded Traore, space was often considerably more than minimal. His delivery from set-plays was a constant threat, Nicklas Bendtner nudging a free header against the post from one of his free-kicks.

Bendtner was quick to atone when Larsson won a corner on the right minutes later. Kieran Richardson took it, Bendtner muscled past Matt Connolly and headed home from two yards.

This was not a flawless display from the Dane, but his determination showed that he had taken his manager’s recent words of warning to heart. Twice in recent matches, Sunderland had surrendered a one-goal lead and lost the game. While Sunderland were content to sit tight, pass the ball around and wait for an opening, it was QPR who were succumbing to error.

Connolly was caught out a second time, Stephane Sessegnon’s shot deflecting over the bar off Danny Gabbidon. But Gabbidon turned villain early in the second half when his catastrophically misjudged header landed in the path of Sessegnon. Sessegnon was calm itself, holding off Luke Young before rounding Paddy Kenny and slotting the ball into an empty net.

All that was required was for Sunderland to see the game out. —Agencies

Schalke out, Kiel stun Mainz in German Cup FRANKFURT: Borussia Moenchengladbach knocked out title holder Schalke from the German Cup with a 3-1 win yesterday, while fourth-tier Holstein Kiel stunned Mainz 2-0 to reach the quarterfinals for the first time in 68 years. Schalke finished the match with nine men after red cards for top scorer Klaas-Jan Huntelaar in the first minute of the second half and Jermaine Jones in injury time. Rising star Marco Reus scored two goals for Moenchengladbach and played a role in another as the surprise team of the season continued its strong run through two domestic competitions.

Stuttgart beat Hamburger SV 2-1 on two goals from striker Cacau. Kiel had already eliminated two second-division teams to make the third round. The team from northern Germany went ahead after six minutes on an own goal from Anthony Ujah and Steve Mueller secured the victory with a goal in the second half. Hertha Berlin defeated Kaiserslautern 3-1 to reach the last eight for the first time in four years. Hertha won under interim coach Rainer Widmayer after firing Markus Babbel on Sunday. Team officials said Michael Skibbe was expected to be presented on Thursday as new coach. — AP

Everton 1

Swansea 0

LIVERPOLL: Everton supporters are accustomed to celebrating headed goals from their midfielders, only this time they had Leon Osman to thank. It was Osman, rather than the springheeled Tim Cahill, who was the hero as they recorded only their third Premier League victory at home this season. This much-needed victory will ensure Christmas is a little cheerier in the blue half of Merseyside as David Moyes’s team ended a sequence of three matches without a win - as well as finally claiming three points against one of the newly-promoted sides.

For Swansea City the search for that elusive first away win continues, however they could have no argument with the outcome here from a match dominated by two Dutchmen - Everton’s enchanting Royston Drenthe, whose corner created Osman’s 60th-minute winner, and the superb Swansea goalkeeper Michel Vorm.

As expected, Chelsea target Jack Rodwell sat out with a hamstring problem, while midfielder Tim Cahill paid the price for his 27-match goal drought and dropped to the bench. The hosts dominated from the start but could not find a way past the excellent Vorm. Drenthe was the catalyst and whipped in an inviting cross for Louis Saha, whose glancing header crept agonisingly past the post. The summer signing from Utrecht was the hero again when he showed fine reflexes in the 37th minute to deny Magaye Gueye.

Controversy followed, though, when Gueye’s rebound appeared to be clearly blocked by the hand of Ashley Williams. Referee Kevin Friend pointed for a corner, yet even then another presentable opportunity went to waste when Jagielka blazed over after the ball was only halfcleared. There was ironic applause from when, three minutes later, Williams was cautioned for a handball outside the area.

Vorm denied Everton three more times before the break, but his resistance was finally broken in the 60th minute. The lively Drenthe swung in a pinpoint corner from the right and Osman was on hand to head home his second goal in as many games. — Agencies

LIVERPOOL: Swansea City’s Ashley Richards (right) and Everton’s Marouane Fellaini battle for the ball during their English Premier League match at Goodison Park yesterday. — AP

PSG remain top as Montpellier slip-up

Benayoun’s late show sinks Villa

18

19

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2011

Juventus fail to regain top spot

Page 18

LONDON: Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney (center) scores during the English Premier League soccer match between Fulham and Manchester United at Craven Cottage stadium yesterday. — AP

Manchester United rout Fulham 5-0 Fulham 0

Man Utd 5

WIGAN: Liverpool’s Luis Suarez reacts as he leaves the field during their English Premier League soccer match against Wigan at DW Stadium yesterday. — AP

Liverpool grab a point WIGAN: Luis Suarez was unable to inspire Wigan 0 Liverpool to victory at the end of a turbulent 24 hours as Charlie Adam missed a penalty in a 0-0 draw at Wigan Liverpool 0 yesterday.

Kenny Dalglish’s side had to settle for a point after Ali Al Habsi’s stunning second-half penalty save from Adam denied the visitors an eighth victory in nine away games. Suarez is still coming to terms with his unprecedented eight-match ban and a £40,000 fine after being found guilty of racially abusing Manchester United’s Patrice Evra at Anfield in October.

With his agent confirming during the game that he will appeal the controversial Football Association suspension, Suarez put in an impressive display, earning Liverpool’s spot kick with an overhead kick which was handled by Wigan defender Gary Caldwell. Unfortunately for the visitors, the excellent Al Habsi was up to the test, beating out Adam’s well-struck 51st-minute effort with a firm right hand as he dived to his left to earn a deserved share of the spoils for Roberto Martinez’s side.

However, despite the point they nevertheless remain in the bottom three despite a first clean sheet in 15 games. The Liverpool squad - including manager Kenny Dalglish and Suarez - warmed up pre-kick-off wearing t-shirts emblazoned with his number seven. This after leaving fans in little doubt of their support for their troubled team-mate, when issuing a strongly-worded statement on the club’s website backing the South American in the wake of the disputed FA ruling. The visitors dominated the opening half hour and it appeared only a matter of time before they would break the deadlock. Al Habsi had an early warning of what was to come when he beat out a firm 15-yard drive from Jordan Henderson as the midfielder latched onto an inviting cutback from Stewart Downing. — AFP

LONDON: Ryan Giggs continued his remarkable record of having scored in every Premier League season as Manchester United ran out comfortable 5-0 winners over Fulham yesterday. Danny Welbeck, Nani, Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov were also on target as the title holders made sure they went into Christmas still two points behind Manchester City, who had won 3-0 at home to Stoke City earlier on.

Giggs’s first league goal of the season was also the 19,999th goal in Premier League history, with Marc Albrighton going on to net the 20,000th for Aston Villa against Arsenal. Patrice Evra wore the captain’s armband for United on a night when Rio Ferdinand was left out and replaced at centre back by Phil Jones.

France defender Evra knew his performance would be under intense scrutiny following the ban imposed on Liverpool’s Luis Suarez on Tuesday-but the 30-year-old could hardly have had an easier night.

Fulham were outplayed in the first 45 minutes and found themselves three down, although the fourth and fifth were not scored until the match was almost over.

Sir Alex Ferguson made other alterations to the side that had won comfortably at Queens Park Rangers on Sunday with Anders Lindegaard preferred in goal to David de Gea and Giggs drafted into the midfield.

Fulham manager Martin Jol, who was

close to becoming Sir Alex Ferguson’s assistant at Old Trafford a few seasons ago, opted to start without Bobby Zamora despite the forward’s recovery from injury. Jones was hurt within seconds of the kick-off as Clint Dempsey’s arm caught him on the head as they challenged for a high ball and he needed lengthy treatment. Welbeck then gave United the lead in the fifth minute with a smart finish across David Stockdale, the Fulham goalkeeper, from close range. The plaudits also belonged to Nani for a run down the left wing that started on the halfway line and ended with a lay back just before he ran out of pitch, although quite why no defender intervened at any point remains unclear.

Stockdale was behind an effort on the turn from Rooney as Fulham continued to look shaky at the back and it was not long before another move down the left, this time involving Evra, carved the home defense apart again. Fulham survived that scare and suddenly there was a chance for Bryan Ruiz at the other end but Jones put a foot in at the last moment to prevent the Costa Rican from testing Lindegaard from six yards. Jones was substituted straight away however, with Ashley Young coming on in midfield and Chris Smalling switching to the centre of defense.

Another goal was coming and Nani claimed it in the 28th minute, glancing in a header from Giggs’ right wing cross as the Fulham defence once again failed to react.

On half-time Giggs made it 3-0 and United were cruising. Zamora came on for Dempsey for the final five minutes only to see Rooney let fly from distance with a swerving effort that gave Stockdale no chance for his 18th goal of the season, which was also his fourth in three games. Berbatov, who had come on for Welbeck, made it 5-0 in stoppage time with a cheeky back-heel from Antonio Valencia’s pass. — AFP

MANCHESTER: Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero, centre left, is held from the ball by Stoke’s Robert Huth during their English Premier League soccer match at The Etihad Stadium yesterday. — AP

English Premier League table LONDON: English Premier League table after yesterday’s matches (played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals against, points): Man City Man Utd Tottenham Chelsea Arsenal Liverpool Newcastle Stoke Norwich West Brom

17 17 15 16 17 17 17 17 17 17

14 13 11 10 10 8 7 7 5 6

2 3 1 2 2 6 6 3 6 3

1 1 3 4 5 3 4 7 6 8

53 42 31 34 33 20 23 18 27 19

15 14 18 19 25 13 22 28 31 26

44 42 34 32 32 30 27 24 21 21

Everton Aston Villa Fulham Swansea Sunderland QPR Wolves Wigan Bolton Blackburn

16 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17

6 4 4 4 4 4 4 3 4 2

2 7 6 6 5 4 3 5 0 4

8 6 7 7 8 9 10 9 13 11

17 19 18 16 21 17 19 15 22 24

19 23 23 21 21 31 32 30 39 38

20 19 18 18 17 16 15 14 12 10

City celebrate Xmas in style Man City 3

Stoke 0

MANCHESTER: Manchester City will be top of the Premier League on Christmas Day for the first time in 82 years after two goals from Sergio Aguero and another from Adam Johnson allowed them to record a routine 3-0 victory over Stoke and complete a remarkable 2011 at their home ground. The Premier League leaders have won 17 and drawn one of their 18 league games at Eastlands in the calendar year, a dominant record which Stoke never looked capable of challenging.

With former England forward Peter Crouch missing from the Stoke line-up after being sent to hospital on Tuesday for precautionary tests following complaints of headaches and dizziness, the visitors faced an uphill task and packed their midfield with five bodies. It proved a futile gesture from Stoke manager Tony Pulis who swiftly saw the game degenerate into a training ground exercise with City in complete control and the visitors rarely breaking over the halfway line.

The only surprise was that City could not add to the two goals claimed by Aguero, his 14th of the season, and Johnson, starting a league game for the first time in over two months, in the first period. In the 28th minute, the interminable City pressure culminated in David Silva playing through an intricate pass which allowed Yaya Toure to drill the ball low across the face of the six-yard area. Defender Vincent Kompany almost made a telling nearpost touch as Stoke goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen parried the ball on the goal-line, presenting Aguero with the simplest of tap-ins, albeit one from a suspiciously “offside” position.

There was no dispute over City’s second

goal, after 36 minutes, which owed much to Stoke’s defensive incompetence. Dean Whitehead stopped Silva in his tracks in the Stoke area but failed to find Jonathan Walters with his clearance, Johnson collecting the loose ball and depositing it into the bottom left-hand corner of the goal from 20 yards. The goals had been coming, from the 15th minute when Yaya Toure found Johnson just inside the area and the England winger unleashed a superb shot which deflected off Marc Wilson and struck the stanchion. Three minutes later, Samir Nasri played a tidy one-two with Sergio Aguero, darting into the area as he did so and placing a shot just wide.

And, before the half-time whistle, Johnson sent a long-range free-kick around the wall of Stoke defenders, forcing Sorensen into conceding a corner with a sharp dive low to the foot of his right-hand post. Twice in the opening few minutes of the second half, Aguero threatened with shots that were well handled by Sorensen, the latter after he cut in impressively from the by-line. But, after 54 minutes, the contest was well and truly over after Aguero notched his second goal of the evening, one created after Yaya Toure dispossessed Wilson Palacios in midfield. Gareth Barry’s accurate pass found Nasri inside the Stoke area and his cross picked out Aguero who had another routine task in guiding the ball into an empty net.

Aguero continued his one -man onslaught, forcing Sorensen into a save from 18 yards and then missing a glorious opening, steering the ball wide with just the goalkeeper to beat from a Yaya Toure through ball. Wilson’s tame 61st minute header forced City goalkeeper Joe Hart into his first action of the evening, although the effort presented no real danger, before an Aguero through ball found Gareth Barry for a near-post shot which Sorensen blocked well. City substitute James Milner had City’s final chance, deep in injury-time, with a curling shot which Sorensen dived well to smother while Stoke, in complete contrast, had failed to register a single attempt on target throughout the preceding 90 minutes. — AFP

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Japan economic recovery has paused, warns BoJ Page 23

Banks gorge on ECB loans, market cheer short-lived Page 25

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2011

Prosecutors raid Olympus over accounting scandal Page 22

WASHINGTON: Speaker of the House Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, center, holds a meeting with the conference committee on the payroll tax cut yesterday in Washington. From left, Rep Nan Hayworth, R-N.Y., Rep. Dave Camp, R-Mich., House Majority Leader Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va., Boehner, Rep. Renee Ellmers, R-N.C., Rep. Fred Upton, R- Mich., Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga. and Rep Greg Walden, R-Ore. —AP

Republicans under pressure over tax cut WASHINGTON: Republicans were under growing pressure yesterday to agree to a 60-day extension of an expiring payroll tax cut for 160 million workers and end a stand-off with Democrats that threatens to undercut a fragile US economic recovery.

If the Congress cannot reach a deal by Dec. 31, the payroll tax American workers pay to fund the Social Security federal retirement program will rise immediately to 6.2 percent, from 4.2 percent. Many economists and the White House warn that US economic growth will suffer in 2012 as most workers would be hit with an effective $1,000-a-year tax hike.

The Republican-led House of Representatives Tuesday rejected a twomonth extension of the payroll tax cut that had been passed overwhelmingly by their colleagues and Democrats in the Senate, and demanded fresh negotiations on the issue.

Senate Democrats, sensing they have a political advantage on the issue, are refusing to reopen negotiations and most have already left town for the holidays An editorial in the Wall Street Journal, which has often disagreed vehemently with President Barack Obama’s economic policies, gave Republicans a scathing critique of their handling of the payroll tax cut issue, saying they “achieved the small miracle of letting Mr. Obama position himself as an election-year tax cutter.”

The editorial urged Republicans “to cut their losses and find a way to extend the payroll holiday quickly.” The Wall Street editorial page often gives insight into the thinking of the nation’s leading conservatives in business and politics. Wednesday’s editorial, headlined “The GOP’s Payroll Tax Fiasco” suggests widespread anxiety among conser vatives over the House Republican tactics.

A number of Republican senators have also blasted their House colleagues over their handling of the issue. Republican Senator

Scott Brown said: “House Republicans would rather continue playing politics than find solutions” and added that their actions would damage a fragile economy.

Veteran Republican Senator Charles Grassley, in an interview with Iowa radio station WHO, said, “I’m not going to argue with the House of Representatives, but do they want taxes to go up on January first or don’t they?”

But House Speaker John Boehner, the top Republican in Congress, and the No. 2 Republican in the House Eric Cantor, stood firm Wednesday, demanding that Democrats re-enter negotiations to extend the payroll tax cut for a year. “All we’re asking for is to get the Senate members over here to work with us to resolve our differences so we can do what everybody wants to do: extend the payroll tax credit for the next year,” Boehner told reporters.

The House Republican leaders argue that the two-month extension creates uncertainty for workers and employers and is unworkable. The Republican stance on the one-year extension is an about-face from their original position on the issue.

Just days ago, many House Republicans were speaking out against the extension and questioning its stimulative impact on the economy.

They softened their position after Republican leaders warned of a voter backlash in 2012 if the party was seen to be raising taxes on working Americans.

Cantor Wednesday called on Obama to get direc tly involved in the talks to resolve the dispute. The president so far has preferred to keep his distance and instead has been using the bully pulpit of his office to press Republicans to agree to the Senate deal. The showdown has the potential to deliver a political lift to Obama and his Democrats at the expense of Republicans who want to make 2012 a referendum on Obama’s handling of the economy. —Reuters

Saudi dairy giant spends $83m on Argentina farms DUBAI: Saudi Arabia’s largest dairy company said yesterday it is buying Argentine farm operator Fondomonte S.A. for $83 million in a bid to secure access to animal feed. The acquisition will give Riyadh-based Almarai Co. control of roughly 30,000 acres of farmland in the South American nation. Almarai said the deal is in line with the desert kingdom’s policy of “securing supplies and conserving local resources.”

Despite its scorching desert climate, Saudi Arabia for decades produced millions of tons of homegrown wheat with the help of generous farm subsidies. It is now trying to wind down domestic production because of concerns over dwindling water supplies.

Fondomonte operates three farms dedicated to producing corn and soybeans, according to Almarai. The Argentine company’s website says it also grows barley, rice and sorghum. Almarai said it plans to use the crops to feed chickens and cattle. It expects to pay for the deal using in-house cash and loans based on Islamic principles, which generally prohibit the paying of interest.

“This is a relatively significant move, that they’re actually acquiring a company,” said Farouk Miah, an analyst at NCB Capital in Riyadh. “If anything, I think this is the beginning of a trend.”As their populations boom, oil-rich Gulf Arab nations have shown increased interest in recent years in buying up farmland and other agricultural assets overseas to ensure reliable food supplies.

Emirati investors have bought farmland in Pakistan, while Saudi Arabia’s Binladin Group has sought to develop rice fields in Indonesia.

Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund set up a company in 2008 known as Hassad Food specifically to target agricultural investments abroad.

Almarai is one of the Middle East’s largest food companies. It traditionally focused on milk and other dairy products like yoghurt and cheese, but it has recently begun expanding into new product lines such as juices, baked goods and poultry products.

That expansion means “it’s even more critical for them to have secure supplies coming in,” Miah said. —AP

Vietnam launches reform of troubled banking system Page 23

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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2011

business

Aramco to boost oil drilling rigs to pre-2009 levels KHOBAR: State oil giant Saudi Aramco plans to raise the number of drilling rigs it operates to precrisis levels of at least 130 by the second quarter of 2012 as it strives to maintain production capacity levels, industry sources said.

Aramco had seen a sharp decline in rig count from 130 to 104 after the global economic crisis hit demand in 2009. Half of the addition will be for Manifa, an industry source who declined to be identified told Reuters, as Aramco expedited plans to bring the 900,000 barrels per day (bpd) oil field on line by 2014.

“The plan is to increase rigs by the second quarter, whether they make it or not is a different story,” said one source, adding the plan is to have 135 rigs in operation. Industry sources had expected Aramco to keep the level of rigs it operates little changed from 2010 but following disruptions to Libya’s output earlier this year Saudi Arabia increased output.

In March, Simmons & Co analyst Bill Herbert said the state-run energy firm met leading oil service companies including Halliburton to discuss plans to boost the country’s rig count in 2011 and next year

to 118, from around 92 then. “The number of rigs has increased since we want to increase the maintenance of our fields,” said a Saudi industry source.

The rig count is already above 118 now, sources said. The largest OPEC producer and the world’s largest oil exporter is pumping oil at the highest rate for decades. Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said last week the kingdom’s output in November was 10.047 million barrels per day (bpd).

It exported 8.1 million bpd of oil in November, 1.2 million more than its average daily exports during the first nine months of 2011. “They want to

maintain potential, primarily in oil drilling, what they are looking at is to be able to move production up or down depending on what is happening in the world market, they want to have capacity to be able to have flexibility in production,” said a source, who declined to be identified. Aramco declined to comment. The number of rigs Aramco operates fluctuates depending on oil market needs. “It is certainly going to be high, it is a moving target,” said a third source. “For a sustainability point of view they want to replace reserves...and there is a lot of focus on gas,” he added. — Reuters

Prosecutors raid Olympus over accounting scandal raids not considered a factor

TEHRAN: A street money exchanger, puts US dollars in a plastic bag, in Ferdowsi St. in downtown Tehran, Iran, yesterday. The rial hit a record low yesterday, with the US dollar selling for 16,150 rials in foreign currency exchange offices. — AP

Credit Suisse buys HSBC’s private bank in Japan SINGAPORE/TOKYO: HSBC, Europe’s biggest bank, is selling its private bank in Japan to Swiss peer Credit Suisse for an undisclosed sum, part of a strategy to cut $3.5 billion annual costs by quitting businesses or countries where it lacks scale.

HSBC’s Japanese private bank arm fits that bill, having made a profit of just $2 million in the first half. The sale involves assets worth $2.7 billion out of a global private banking empire amounting to $416 billion in client assets at the end of June. HSBC will remain in Japan, where it made a $25 million profit in the first half, mainly due to its investment bank.

Credit Suisse has a larger business in Japan than HSBC and should be able to benefit from cost synergies, one analyst said. Junya Tani, Credit Suisse’s head of private banking in Japan, said the deal showed its “commitment to build a leading private banking business in Japan”.

Bruce Weatherill, chief executive of consultancy Weatherill Executive Consulting, said: “The Japanese market is difficult for western private banks to penetrate, largely because of the cultural issues”. Even outside Japan, private banking is a tough business because the super rich clientele is highly demanding and has considerable pricing power.

HSBC Private Bank limits its services to customers with least $5 million to

invest, a threshold that is lower in some markets. The Japanese unit sought clients with more than 200 million yen ($2.6 million) in financial assets, according to an official at HSBC Japan, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

“Serving this level of client profitably is not a bed of roses. They are more demanding and expect bespoke service at institutional prices,” said Bill Yelverton, executive director at London based specialist consultancy Scorpio Partnership. Some 60 staff work in HSBC’s Japanese private banking business, and will be offered positions at Credit Suisse.

HSBC will retain HSBC Premier, the premium service for affluent-rather than super rich-clients who hold more than 10 million yen in assets, the official said.

The sale is part of a strategy outlined by chief executive Stuart Gulliver in May to cut costs by $3.5 billion.

Asia is a battleground for global and local private banks competing for market share in a region outpacing the United States and Europe in economic growth. Powered by China and India, Asia-Pacific’s millionaire ranks rose 10 percent to 3.3 million last year, just behind the 3.4 million in North America and ahead of Europe’s 3.1 million, according to a Merrill Lynch/Capgemini Asia-Pacific report. — Reuters

TOKYO: Japanese prosecutors raided offices of Olympus Corp and the home of a former executive yesterday in a probe into a $1.7 billion accounting scandal that has threatened the survival of the once-proud camera and medical equipment maker.

Tokyo prosecutors, police and financial regulators have joined forces in a rare joint investigation of the 92-year-old company, which has admitted to hiding huge investment losses via questionable M&A deals and other accounting tricks stretching back over two decades.

Public broadcaster NHK showed dozens of black-suited investigators marching double-file into an office building that houses three Olympus subsidiaries acquired under one of the loss-making schemes, in what has become one of Japan’s biggest corporate scandals.

Investigations moved into high gear after a panel of experts appointed by Olympus to probe the scandal said early this month that two senior former executives masterminded the scheme with the help of investment bankers. It also found that three ex-presidents, including Tsuyoshi Kikukawa who resigned in October over the scandal, had known about the coverup. Japanese TV also showed investigators raiding Kikukawa’s residence, as well as Olympus headquarters in a high-rise office district on the western edge of central Tokyo. Olympus acknowledged the raids in a statement.

“We will continue to cooperate fully with investigativeauthorities in order to bring the facts to light,” it said. “We would again like to apologise deeply for causing great trouble and worry for our shareholders, investors and those we do business with.”

Olympus last week filed five years of corrected accounts, plus overdue first-half results, meeting a Tokyo Stock Exchange deadline to avoid a humiliating delisting, but revealing a much-depleted balance sheet as it tries to put the scandal behind it.

The company could still face delisting if the exchange deems that the company’s accounting deceit was sufficiently grave. Ex-CEO Michael Woodford, who blew the whistle on the scandal after being fired in October, is campaigning to get his job back, but faces long odds in his battle with current management, which is expected to get backing from its bankers for a plan to bring in outside investors to bolster the company’s finances. “I’m tremendously sad that it’s come to this, especially when it could have been avoided depending on the actions of upper management,” Olympus employee Masaharu Hamada

said outside the company’s headquarters as it was being raided.

Hamada has taken legal action against the company in a case unrelated to the accounting scandal, charging that he was subjected to harassment by management after reporting a compliance breach by his supervisor. A lower

early gains that extended a 16 percent surge the day before.

The shares had been under pressure as expectations of a capital raising by the company to shore up its finances stoked fears that existing shareholdings would be diluted, but the market’s attention has begun shifting to the compa-

TOKYO: Pedestrians pass before an Olympus showroom in Tokyo yesterday. Police and prosecutors raided the headquarters of embattled camera-maker Olympus yesterday as a probe into corporate wrong-doing that has shamed Japan stepped up a gear. — AFP Tokyo court has ruled in his favour and the case is now on appeal.

Several dozen reporters and camera operators waited near the headquarters entrance after word leaked that raids were likely at some point during the day, while TV footage showed others chasing a car-load of investigators who drove into an underground garage.

Prosecutors’ raids are often telegraphed to the media in advance to allow TV cameras to film the event. Olympus’ shares were down 0.7 percent at 1,058 yen at midafternoon, giving up

ny’s finances and future prospects. “It’s becoming likely that Olympus will stay listed and there’s already talk of a capital injection,” Tetsuro Ii, the president of Commons Asset Management. He did not think the prosecutors’ raids or any subsequent arrests would have a major impact on the shares.

The market took a favourable view of a media report on Tuesday that Olympus plans to issue about 100 billion yen ($1.3 billion) in new shares, with high-tech blue-chips such as Sony and Fujifilm seen among possible buyers. — 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 .4340000 .3620000 .2970000 .2690000 .2800000 .0040000 .0020000 .0752410 .7330540 .3810000 .0710000 .7186270 .0040000 .0430000

CUSTOMER TRANSFER RATES US Dollar/KD .2771500 GB Pound/KD .4361090 Euro .3642030 Swiss francs .2990720 Canadian dollars .2710250 Danish Kroner .0489970 Swedish Kroner .0406460 Australian dlr .2828870 Hong Kong dlr .0356250 Singapore dlr .2147780 Japanese yen .0035670 Indian Rs/KD .0000000 Sri Lanka rupee .0000000 Pakistan rupee .0000000 Bangladesh taka .0000000 UAE dirhams .0754870 Bahraini dinars .7354390 Jordanian dinar .0000000 Saudi Riyal/KD .0739260 Omani riyals .7201510 Philippine Peso .0000000

Al-Muzaini Exchange Co. ASIAN COUNTRIES

Japanese Yen Indian Rupees Pakistani Rupees Srilankan Rupees Nepali Rupees Singapore Dollar Hongkong Dollar Bangladesh Taka Philippine Peso Thai Baht Irani Riyal - Transfer Irani Riyal - Cash

3.598 5.337 3.154 2.436 3.341 213.250 35.672 3.580 6.336 8.873 0.271 0.273

.2805000 .4440000 .3730000 .3080000 .2790000 .2900000 .0070000 .0035000 .0759970 .7404210 .4010000 .0770000 .7258490 .0072000 .0520000 .2792500 .4394140 .3669620 .3013380 .2730780 .0493680 .0409540 .2850300 .0358950 .2164060 .0035940 .0053390 .0024590 .0031170 .0034600 .0760590 .7410110 .3949790 .0744870 .7256070 .0064420

Saudi Riyal Qatari Riyal Omani Riyal Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham

GCC 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

Bahrain Exchange Company COUNTRY

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

287.500 740.400 3.870 274.600 546.800 43.700 49.700 167.800 47.980 369.500 36.470 5.640 0.032 0.211 0.242 3.670 395.380 0.188 89.930 46.500 4.280 219.500 1.804 47.800 723.150

SELL DRAFT

286.000 740.400 3.450 273.100

216.600 46.290 368.000 36.320 5.290 0.031

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

3.300 6.740 77.010 74.330 216.550 36.430 2.653 441.500 41.300 303.200 5.100 9.320 198.263 75.910 278.800 1.330

10 Tola

GOLD 1,695.940

75.810 278.400

Dollarco Exchange Co. Ltd Rate for Transfer

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 Nepalese Rupees Malaysian Ringgit

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 3.310 92.660

Transfer Rate (Per 1000)

288.33 276.64 305.31 369.92

443.00 3.70 3.820 5.600 2.650 4.000 3.310 76.25 740.00 48.10 395.00 725.00 77.20 74.95

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

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 Australian Dollar Canadian Dollar Swiss Franc Euro

441.29 3.64 3.455 5.257 2.443 3.316 3.100 75.77 740.40 46.23 396.00 723.41 76.76 74.32

Kuwait Bahrain Intl Exchange Co.

TRAVELLER’S CHEQUE 439.500 278.400

Sterling Pound US Dollar

Currency

722.970

301.700 5.100 9.110

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

Currency

394.500 0.187 89.930 3.320 218.000

3.105 6.380 76.580 74.330 216.550 36.430 2.443 439.500

286.00 278.00 305.00 372.00

Currency

Transfer Rate (Per 1000)

US Dollar Euro Pound Sterling Canadian Dollar Japanese Yen Indian Rupee Egyptian Pound Sri Lankan Rupee Bangladesh Taka Philippines Peso Pakistan Rupee Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham Saudi Riyal *Rates are subject to change

277.950 368.300 439.800 273.700 3.580 5.285 46.170 2.441 3.420 6.365 3.095 740.200 75.750 74.300

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Years

BUSINESS

Vietnam launches reform of troubled banking system HANOI: After years of sky-rocketing credit growth to finance development, Vietnam’s banking system is now weighed down by toxic loans that have forced the communist nation to launch tough reforms.

The Southeast Asian country’s financial sector consists of about a hundred bankseither state-owned, private or foreign bank branches. But most have only limited capital and many face a substantial shortfall of cash. In the years to come, the whole setup will have to change.

“There are too many small banks,” said Le Tham Duong, from the Banking University of Ho Chi Minh City. “The challenges are enormous.” After a 14-fold increase in the amount of loans held by banks since 2000, reaching 244 percent of gross domestic product in September 2011 according to the central bank, the system has woken up with a huge quantity of bad debts.

Many result from the inability of stateowned companies and banks to fully follow the market economy principles embraced by the Communist Party in the late 1990s. The trend was further accelerated by the regime’s economic reforms in early 2010, when the government abandoned its sacred dogma of economic growth to tackle macroeconomic imbalances, particularly record inflation, still around 20 percent.

Measures towards credit limitation via higher interest rates in particular have

been taken, making it harder for indebted companies. Official figures today show toxic loans represent about 3.2 percent of all of those registered in the country.

But “they are increasing fast” and “could reach five percent by the end of this year,” said Cao Si Kiem, Vice-President of the Consulting Committee for National Monetary Policy which advises the government.

Many experts distrust the figures, saying bad debts are badly underestimated in a country where opacity still dominates the corporate culture and where transparency of accounts, including the Central Bank, is mere wishful thinking.

Foreign observers suggest at least 10 percent of banks’ assets could be bad loans. “The non-performing loan ratio could easily surpass 15 percent, causing major problems for the banking sector,” said the analyst firm Capital Economics in a recent report.

Under pressure from ratings agencies as well as international donors, who have granted Vietnam seven billion dollars of assistance in 2012, the authorities have announced a plan to restructure the sector. The programme will entail an assessment of the banks’ health before merging some of them, Cao Si Kiem told AFP. “We will strive to halve the number of banks by 2015, in order to have two or three Vietnamese banks capable of competing with regional banks,” said the for-

Last year the near bank ruptc y of state-owned shipbuilder Vinashin, with debts of over $4.4 billion, damaged Vietnam’s financial standing and underlined the haphazard management methods inherited from the planned economy.

Without fundamental reform, another Vinashin cannot be ruled out, observers note, openly worrying about the situa-

mer governor of the Central Bank. The process has just begun with the announcement of the merger of three small banks in Ho Chi Minh City in early December-a move supported by the state.

But analysts say much more painful treatment is needed.

“It is a lot more than putting banks together that needs to be done, you can’t put three banks together and magically solve the bad loans situation. Someone has to absorb the bad debts,” said Tony Foster, of business law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. Experts stress the need to strengthen the participation of foreign players, who could bring bigger financial capacity and sharper know-how.

A foreign bank is currently permitted to hold a 15 to 20 percent stake in a Vietnamese bank, and all foreign shareholders cannot exceed 30 percent. The crisis could “get the government to make decisions that are not entirely consistent with its current ideology, but more realistic,” said Alain Cany, president of Eurocham, the European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam.

He said this would include accepting that, “in some specific cases, foreign banks may have more than 20 or 30 percent”. For him, the nightmare scenario of “chaos in the banking system” is not on the agenda.

But he urged the authorities to be vigilant, including “drastically” reforming the state sector.

tion of some state giants such as Electricity of Vietnam (EVN), which recently announced major losses.

Investors are now crossing their fingers that no new disaster will hamper the difficult but necessary reform of the banking sector. “The reform is likely to succeed.

Unless the crisis is deeper than we think,” said Cany. — AFP

HANOI: A local commercial bank’s employee counts money next to piles of bank notes dong in Hanoi. After years of sky-rocketing credit growth to finance development, Vietnam’s banking system is now weighed down by toxic loans that have forced the communist nation to launch a tough reform. — AFP

Japan economic recovery has paused, warns BoJ European crisis posing serious risk to global outlook

RAWALPINDI: Pakistani passengers board a train at railway station in Rawalpindi on December 3, 2011. Corruption, mismanagement and neglect are driving Pakistan Railways into ruin, ending all goods haulage, leaving millions of passengers stranded and consigning to the scrapheap a much-loved legacy of British rule. — AFP

Mismangement, corruption drives Pakistan railways towards ruin RAWALPINDI: For 44 years, Jaffer Hussain has worked as a porter, hauling luggage around bustling platforms in exchange for handsome tips. But these days, he just sits and waits. “I’ve been working here since 1967. I’ve seen the boom of railways. Now it’s a dead department,” he told AFP, despondent without a single customer for a train heading on the 30-hour journey south to Karachi.

Corruption, mismanagement and neglect have driven Pakistan Railways to the brink.

Haulage and passenger services have been slashed and an urgent rescue is called for to save a much-loved legacy of British rule from the scrap heap.

When Britain closed the curtain on its empire and Pakistan was born in 1947, the country inherited thousands of miles of track and trains provided the most popular and affordable transport for millions.

But as Pakistan has spluttered from crisis to crisis, tarnished by corruption, straining under the near doubling of fuel prices in five years and the expansion of domestic flights, the decline has quickened. Since the current government took power in 2008, the railway has retired 104 of 204 trains in a country larger than Britain and Germany combined.

State-owned, it relies on handouts of 2.5 billion rupees ($2.8 million) a month just to pay salaries and pensions; and faces expected losses of 35 billion rupees ($390 million) in fiscal year July 2011 to June 2012.

In October there was uproar when a retired train driver died outside a bank after waiting three days for his pension.

Railways Minister Ghulam Ahmad Bilour has no illusions about the situation. “The state of railways is very bad,” he told AFP. “It can never become a profitable organisation, if we reduce its deficit, it would be an achievement.”

He blames previous governments for decades of failure to invest, but recognises that the current administration is just as guilty.

The cabinet approved emergency funding of $125 million for the railways in January but it has yet to be released by the finance ministry, Bilour said. He says the ministry requested 300 new engines to return to normal operations “but they did not give us a single penny”.

“We got 69 locomotives in 2004 from China but we did not sign an agreement to get spare parts and the engines started breaking down,” said the minister.

Flying from Islamabad to Karachi takes two

hours and a network of luxury coaches is considered more comfortable, which means that today only the poorest of Pakistan’s 174 million travel by train. “There is corruption and mismanagement at every level,” said former railways minister, Sheikh Rashid Ahmed.

“The workers don’t work, mechanics don’t change the oil and the officials wait for destruction of the machinery to buy new and get commissions.”

But the government is now trying to stave off total ruin. It has released a 600-millionrupee subsidy to repair engines and the board is hoping the private sector can become its knight in shining armour.

“We have devised a strategy to rehabilitate 360 locomotives with the help of the private sector and bring all of them back to working condition in the next three years,” Shafiq Ullah, the secretary of the Pakistan Railways board, told AFP. “By August, we will get all these 69 Chinese locomotives on the track,” said, adding that only six freight trains are operational-a fraction of the 100 goods trains that once used to run.

Independent analysts estimate it will take at least five years and millions of dollars to haul the infrastructure into the 21st century.

“Constant neglect has led Pakistan Railways into such bad shape,” A. B. Shahid, an economy expert and former banker, told AFP. “They need at least three to five years to revive the department, and inject at least 25 billion rupees, for infrastructure and repairing locomotives. They should privatise local trains and improve signalling,” he said.

Saqib Shirani, a former adviser to the finance ministry, said the government should remove interest from central bank loans and end political appointments.

“It shouldn’t be fully privatised but investment in a few sectors like goods trains and some passenger trains will be really fruitful,” he said. But 60-year-old Hussain, despondent in the deserted station at Rawalpindi, fears none of that will come soon enough.

Desperate to repay a 70,000 rupee ($780) debt for his daughters’ dowries, he waits interminably. When a train eventually splutters into view, the hustle and bustle ends in moments. He feels the debt getting heavier on his shoulders. “In past, I could earn up to 500 rupees ($5.50) a day, now I hardly earn 150 rupees ($1.60) which I spend on the day’s meal,” he said. — AFP

TOKYO: The Bank of Japan said yesterday the country’s economic recovery “has paused” because of the slowing global economy and strong yen, as data revealed a growing trade deficit for the export-dependent nation.

The central bank left its key interest rate unchanged at between zero and 0.1 p e r c e n t , but despite the crunch, did not offer any more easing. “The pick-up in Japan’s economic activity has paused, mainly due to the effects of a slowdown in overseas economies and of the appreciation of the yen,” the central bank said after a two-day policy meeting.

“Improvement in business sentiment has slowed on the whole despite steady improvement in domestic demand-oriented sectors,” the bank said in a statement.

It warned the European financial crisis was posing a serious risk to the global outlook.

“The sovereign debt problem in Europe could result in weaker growth not only in the European economy but also in the global economy, particularly through its effects on global financial markets,” it said.

Underlining the difficulties facing Japan’s vital export sector, figures yesterday showed a trade deficit for a second straight month in November, with shipments to the crucial European market hit as the region struggles with its debt crisis.

Flooding in Thailand and a stronger yen also weighed on Asia’s second-largest economy, which is still struggling to get over the effects of the March 11 quake and tsunami disaster, a government official said.

Exports fell 4.5 percent in the month from a year earlier, increasing the trade deficit to 684.73 billion yen ($8.79 billion), the largest trade loss ever for the month of November, the finance ministry said.

Japan’s trade surplus with Europe fell to 27.59 billion yen, with exports down 4.6 percent, the lowest figure for the month since records began in 1979, a finance ministry official said.

The smallest trade surplus ever recorded with Europe was 26.8 billion yen posted in January 2009, he added. Total exports stood at 5.20 trillion yen in November, down for the second straight month.

Electronics, notably computer chips and video equipment were particularly hard hit, the finance ministry said. An increased need for fossil fuels in resource-poor Japan caused by the shuttering of nuclear power plants amid public fears over the safety of the technology also added to the import tally. Imports rose 11.4 percent to 5.88 trillion yen in the month, as a result of higher fuel costs, the finance ministry said.

In October, the balance of Japan’s trade in goods stood at a revised 280.17 billion yen in the red. “At the bottom line is the economic slowdown, especially in Europe... in addition to a high yen,” said Taro Saito, senior economist at NLI Research Institute. “Flooding in Thailand came on top of that,” he said.

“I think the European economy is already in a state of recession, and it will continue to face a very tough time into next year.”

Many analysts expect the BoJ to take further

easing steps-such as expanding its asset-buying facility-over coming months to help ease the pain from the world slowdown.

“As for the outlook, Japan’s economic activity will remain more or less flat for the time being,” the bank said yesterday.

“After that, the economy is expected to return to a moderate recovery path as the pace of recovery in overseas economies picks up, led by emerging and commodity-exporting economies, and (as) reconstruction-related demand after the earthquake disaster gradually materialises.”

In a move that will likely make few waves in financial circles, Japanese credit rating company

Rating and Investment Information Inc. lowered the country’s sovereign debt rating to AA+, the first time a domestic firm has said the country’s debt is not of triple-A calibre.

Citing a debt to GDP ratio of around 2:1, a figure it said was likely to rise, it said: “the path towards the stabilisation of outstanding government debt... is still unclear.”

In October, the BoJ said it would boost its asset buying fund to 55 trillion yen ($707 billion) from 50 trillion yen to help pour more liquidity into the market, with the extra amount earmarked for the purchase of Japanese government bonds. — AFP

TOKYO: Bank of Japan (BOJ) Governor Masaaki Shirakawa speaks before press at the bank headquarters in Tokyo yesterday. The BOJ said that the country’s economic recovery “has paused” because of the slowing global economy, leaving its key rate unchanged at between zero and 0.1 percent. — AFP

Beijing urges US to axe anti-subsidy probe on tyres BEIJING: China urged the United States yesterday to halt anti-subsidy investigations into Chinese tyres and other products since Washington does not recognise China as a market economy.

The call by China’s Commerce Ministry was issued after the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit dismissed an anti-subsidy lawsuit submitted by the US Department of Commerce that targeted tyres imported from China.

“For many years, the United States has been launching anti-subsidy investigations against China which go against World Trade Organisation rules and are not supported by U.S. laws,” the Commerce Ministry said.

“We hope the United States can correct its mistakes as soon as possible and not launch an anti-subsidy probe against China if it does not recognise China’s market economy status.”

China is deemed a “non-market” economy under trade terms negotiated in 2001 as part of

its entry into the World Trade Organisation.

That status has troubled Beijing, which says Chinese exporters are unfairly penalised when trading partners pursue anti-subsidy or antidumping cases against them.

To build an anti-subsidy or anti-dumping case against China, a country can substitute Chinese prices with those of another nation, and one where manufacturing costs are higher, in order to provide supporting evidence for the case.

China says this is unfair because it hinders its export sector, a point reiterated by the Commerce Ministry yesterday.

“The abuse of trade measures is a typical behaviour of protectionism,” the ministry said.

Ties between the United States and China, the world’s two biggest economies, have been fraught with a growing list of trade and investment disputes as rising global economic uncertainty raises tension. — Reuters

Asian markets rise on upbeat US, European news HONG KONG: Asian markets enjoyed some Christmas cheer yesterday as strong US housing data and a successful bond issue by Spain added to upbeat business and consumer sentiment in Germany. Dealers appeared to have overcome their nervousness seen earlier this week following news that North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il had died, leaving the nuclear-armed rogue nation in a state of uncertainty.

Tokyo rose 1.48 percent, or 123.50 points, to 8,459.98 and Seoul surged 3.09 percent, or 55.35 points, to 1,848.41 while Sydney added 2.13 percent, or 86.4 points, to close at 4,139.5. Hong Kong gained 1.86 percent, or 336.25 points, to end at 18,416.45 but Shanghai gave up its morning gains

and slipped 1.12 percent, or 24.78 points, to 2,191.15. Regional traders were given a strong cue

by Wall Street, where the Dow surged 2.87 percent Tuesday-its strongest rally in four weeks-after official figures showed new home starts jumped 9.3 percent in November. The rise is the biggest since April 2010 when tax credits, which have since expired, were driving sales.

The data followed a series of rare encouraging announcements from Europe. In Germany two leading economic indicators came up better than expected. The Ifo economic institute said its closely watched business sentiment index defied expectations for the second month in a row, while a separate survey showed consumer confidence also

holding up despite the long-running European debt crisis. Adding to the Christmas joy Spain, where a new government is due to take over, enjoyed another strong bond auction as it sold 5.640 billion euros ($7.4 billion) of short-term debt, more money than first planned.

The sale pushed down the yield on threemonth bills to 1.735 percent from 5.110 percent in the last auction, a sign of easing tensions in the eurozone. The European Central Bank also played its part in raising confidence when it said it would provide cheap three-year loans to under-pressure banks as it tries to avoid a potential credit crunch and recession. Meanwhile beleaguered Greece said it was nearing a crucial deal with private

banks to write down a chunk of its foreign debt that is expected to save Athens more than 100 billion euros in financing costs.

“Any kind of lift on the macro front or any lack of bad news is good news,” CIMB economist Song Seng Wun in Singapore told Dow Jones Newswires. He added that there were “no disasters from Europe and US numbers show signs it’s not falling off a cliff, with housing market numbers giving some grounds for optimism”.

As negotiations over a new “fiscal union” to combat the eurozone debt crisis opened, the European Union announced a new summit for January 30 as officials struggle to get ahead of the two-year fiscal crisis.

The news from Europe and Washington boosted the euro on Tuesday in New York, where it rose to $1.3131 and 101.88 yen, up from the previous day’s $1.2996 and 101.41 yen. In European trade Wednesday it stood at $1.3160 and 102.37 yen.

The dollar bought 77.77 yen, compared with 77.89.

Monday’s sell-off sparked by Kim’s death has been erased as the handover of power in Pyongyang seemed to go smoothly, with the former strongman’s son Kim Jong-Un hailed by North Korea as the “great successor”. On oil markets, New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in February, advanced 94 cents to $98.18 a barrel and Brent North Sea crude also for February delivery was 54 cents higher at $107.27. —AFP

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Investors prefer to be in standby mode until parliament election GLOBAL DAILY MARKET REPORT KUWAIT: Fluctuation continued to control Kuwait Stock exchange (KSE) during yesterday’s session. Investors prefer to be in standby mode until parliament election finish in February 02, 2012. That means that major indices will keep fluctuating in the next short period. Otherwise, some reaction will appear when listed companies start announcing their financial results for FY2011 and if any catalyst news comes out suddenly that inspire investor sentiment. Market Indices. Global General Index (GGI) ended the day down by 0.62 percent, at 178.70 point.

Market Capitalization was down for the day, reaching KWD29.22bn. On the other hand, KSE Price Index closed at 5,812.1 point, shedding 10.7 points (0.18 percent) to its previous close.

Market Breadth During the session, 106 companies were traded. Market breadth was skewed towards decliners as 37 equities retreated versus 25 that advanced.

Daily Trading Activity Trading activity was mixed on Wednesday.

Total volume traded was down by 9.81 percent with 103.93mn shares changing hands at a total value of KWD13.84mn (4.42 percent higher compared to Tuesday’s session). Investment sector was the volume leader. The sector accounted for 30.73 percent of total shares exchanges. Buying interest was clearly witnessed on shares of AlSalam Group Holding Company with 15.40mn shares exchanged. The services sector was the value leader, having 30.89 percent of total traded value.

Top Gainers and Biggest Decliners In terms of top gainers, Industrial & Financial Investments Company was the top gainer for the day, adding 8.06 percent to its share value and closing at KWD0.0335. On the other hand, Al-Ahlia Holding Company shed 7.14 percent and closed at KWD0.013 making it the biggest decliner in the market.

Sectors Wise By sector, non Kuwaiti stocks paced decliners, shedding 1.52 percent in sector losses.

Egypt Kuwait Holding Company’s 3.70 percent slide to KWD0.260 undermined the sector’s performance. Ahli United Bank also closed down by 2.08 percent at KWD0.188.

Banking stocks lost ground, shedding 1.0 percent. Commercial Bank of Kuwait slipped 2.53 percent during the day. The 20fils drop was the steepest in the banking sector on Wednesday. Three other bank stocks closed in red. National Bank of Kuwait (NBK), Ahli United Bank and Kuwait Finance House (KFH) closed down by 1.75 percent, 1.23 percent and 1.12 percent, respectively.

Global Industrial Index followed down 0.59 percent on the back of Kuwait Cement Company, which dipped by 2.94 percent to close at KWD0.495. While, Kuwait Metal Pipe Industries & Oil Services Company ended the day down 4.71 percent, at KWD0.138.

On the positive side, Global Real Estate Index came in the lead, up 0.39 percent. Kuwait Business Town Real Estate topped the gainers in the sector, adding 6.38 percent to its share value to close at KWD0.025. The stock was suspended since last May and back into trading with a base price of KWD0.021 on December 20 after holding its AGM and EGM on December 18. Global Insurance Index was the only other gainer, up 0.30 percent. Al-Ahleia Insurance Company closed up 1.03 percent, at its highest level since July 24, 2011 at KWD0.490.

Corporate News Gulf Insurance Company announced that it has acquired a 51 percent stake (1.23mn shares) in Dar El Salam Insurance Company (Iraq) for a total value of USD3.42mn. Capital Market Authority (CMA) gave the go-ahead on November 17, 2011, for Tamdeen Investment Company to renew approval to buy back 10 percent maximum of its issued shares for six months as of October 10, 2011 to April 14, 2012. Updating its announcement dated December 11, 2011, Combined Group Contracting Company (CGC) reported inking the UAE-based Ghantoot project. The company’s branch in Abu Dhabi had been earlier awarded tender No. C-1004-004 CMW by the UAE Armed Forces to build concrete grounds and tunnels in the port in addition to building a sewage network and two pumping plants. The contract, which is valued at AED58.20mn (KWD4.42), lasts seven months.

Oil News Price of Kuwaiti crude oil increased by USD1.65 to USD103.54pb on Tuesday compared to USD101.89pb on Monday, Kuwait Petroleum Corporation said in a statement yesterday.

Egypt’s economy to grow 3.1% as inflation seen accelerating CAIRO: Egypt’s economy will grow by only 1.8 percent this fiscal year and 3.1 percent next as it recovers slowly from the political upheaval that ousted president Hosni Mubarak and disrupted the economy, a Reuters poll showed yesterday.

The survey of 10 economists forecast that year-on-year gross domestic product (GDP) in the Arab world’s most populous nation would remain steady at 1.8 percent in the year to June 30, 2012, compared with the last fiscal year, but revised up from the 1.3 percent expected in the September poll. Growth will then pick up to 3.1 percent in 2012/13, but still far short of 6 percent-plus growth rate that economists say Egypt needs to start creating enough jobs for its expanding population of 80 million people.

Egypt’s economy is reeling from a series of violent clashes against the ruling military council since a popular uprising ousted Mubarak in February that sent investors and toursits packing.

But economists say a clear timetable for a transfer of power to civilians could slightly bolster growth in the fiscal year 2012/13.

“We see that growth should pick up in the next fiscal year,” said David Cowan, economist at Citi. “Once we are through the politics, through the elections and everything, one hopes that there is a return to more confidence that should start a slow pickup in investment and some recovery in the tourism sector.”

Tourism, a major source of revenue for Egypt, used to account for over a tenth of GDP before political turmoil deterred visitors. Egypt expects to earn only $9 billion from tourism in 2011, down by about a third on a year earlier.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) fell to $440.1 million in July-September from $1.60 billion a year earlier, helping to create a $2.36 billion deficit in the balance of payments versus a surplus of $14.7 million a year earlier.

“For us the whole battle is to get through all the elections and get a government in place which can start making more concrete policy decisions and

then move forward from there,” Cowan added. A flare-up of violent clashes in Cairo between police and protesters this week has marred a staggered parliamentary election that began on Nov. 28 and ends on Jan. 11, but the army has said a promised transition to civilian rule will go ahead.

Analysts say the most pressing economic threat is the slide in Egypt’s foreign reserves as tourism and export earnings suffer from the unrest and capital flees the country. Reserves have tumbled from around $35 billion at the start of 2011 to about $20 billion at the end of November, and may in coming months reach levels where the central bank is no longer able to prevent a sharp, sudden depreciation of the Egyptian pound. “ They’ve run down their foreign exchange reserves, so effectively they have less and less savings to support the currency going forward,” Cowan said. Pressure on the pound is expected to continue, with forecasts suggesting it will weaken to 6.30 pounds to the US dollar by the end of June and to 6.50 by the end of June 2013 from a seven yearlow of around 6.02 pounds now. A big depreciation of the pound would put upward pressure on inflation, which is seen accelerating to 9.4 percent endJune before easing to 8.9 percent by the end of June 2013 on estimated lower global food prices.

Inflation climbed to 9.1 percent in the 12 months to November, up from 7.1 percent in October. “We are forecasting global food and energy prices to be falling next year. But obviously inflation is going to remain very uncertain depending on what happens with the Egyptian pound as well,” said Said Hirsh, Middle East economist at Capital Economics. “It could deteriorate a lot worse to say 8 pounds to the dollar if there is no agreement on external funding soon, which will obviously make inflationary pressure higher.” Egypt, which turned down an offer of a $3 billion International Monetary Fund loan in June saying it did not need the funds, now says it may resume talks with the organisation. — Reuters

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Dutch regulator keeping close eye on telecom KPN AMSTERDAM: Dutch Post and Telecommunications Authority OPTA has put KPN, the country’s telecoms market leader, under close supervision with immediate effect, saying it may have broken the law to the detriment of consumers and competitors.

KPN and other mobile phone operators in the Netherlands are already under investigation by the country’s competition authority, known as NMA, for possible price-fixing.

But OPTA, which declined to comment on the scope or nature of KPN’s infringements, told Reuters its action was “completely separate” from that of NMA. In a short statement, OPTA said “the risk that KPN is violating OPTA legislation is estimated to be high, with harmful effects on consumers and or on the competition,” citing “behaviours and violations” by the

telecommunications company.

Cynthia Heijne, OPTA’s spokeswoman, told Reuters the regulator had already carried out an investigation of KPN and was now taking action on the basis of its findings. The post and telecoms authority, which is responsible for promoting competition in the communications markets, has far-reaching investigative powers, and its staff may enter the premises, request information, demand disclosure and remove data from a company.

“KPN was surprised by Dutch regulator OPTA’s announcement that it intends to sharpen its supervision of the company in the Netherlands,” the telecoms firm said in a statement. “KPN is aware of a couple of cases which are currently being dealt with to which the OPTA announcement may be related. KPN is firmly of the opinion that it

has acted in compliance with relevant laws and regulation in these cases, which are the subject of a number of legal proceedings.”

A KPN spokesman declined to comment further. KPN shares were up 0.16 percent at 1015 GMT. The largest telecommunications provider in the Netherlands has struggled to reverse a decline in revenues, profits and market share in its domestic fixed-line and mobile businesses in recent quarters as competition intensifies.

Earlier this year, KPN said sales in the Netherlands have been particularly hard hit by consumers bypassing traditional mobile phone and text messaging services in favour of keeping in touch via Facebook, Twitter and instant messaging.

“We already have a discount (in the

share price) following the launch of the NMA investigation,” ING analyst Jeffrey Vonk said.

“OPTA will be looking at all the actions. That process will take a lot of time. The fine could be very modest,” Vonk added, referring to an earlier instance when OPTA fined KPN. OPTA’s statement on Wednesday also cited the previous instance, dating from 2005, when it fined KPN 17 million euros ($22.3 million)over its use of “improper” discounts in the commercial market for fixed telephony and leased lines.

Earlier this month, the competition authority NMA raided the offices of mobile operators KPN, Vodafone, and Deutsche Telekom’s T-mobile as part of a price-fixing investigation.

NMA said at the time that it was investigating whether mobile tele-

coms operators in the Netherlands engaged in cartel practices including price fixing and the sharing of market information.

The competition authority did not name any of the companies under investigation, but KPN, Vodafone, and T-Mobile each issued separate statements saying that NMA officials had been to their offices and that they were all fully cooperating with the authority’s cartel probe.

KPN said at the time that its headquarters in The Hague were raided and that five employees were being questioned by the competition authority.

It said the competition authority was specifically investigating collaborative practices for consumer mobile telecommunications packages as well as KPN’s sales channels. —Reuters

Banks gorge on ECB loans, market cheer short-lived Money expected to help limit credit crunch

TEXAS: This Dec. 18, 2011 photo, shows the framework of a new structure in a KB Home community, in Balch Springs, Texas. KB Home’s fiscal fourthquarter net income fell 20 percent on rising expenses, but its performance beat analysts’ expectations and revenue climbed on an increase in home deliveries and a higher average selling price. —AP

Home purchases up, but sales look weaker WASHINGTON: The number of Americans who bought previously occupied homes rose last month. But the National Association of Realtors says it overstated more than 3 million sales during and after the Great Recession, showing the housing market remains much weaker than previously thought.

The private trade group says sales rose 4 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.42 million.

That’s below the roughly 6 million homes a year that economists say are consistent with a healthy housing market. But it’s ahead of 2008’s revised sales, now considered the worst in 13 years.

The nearly 4.2 million homes sold last year are far fewer than the nearly 7.1 million sold at the peak of the housing boom in 2005. This year is on pace to be slightly ahead of last year’s total of about 4.25 million. The trade group revised its sales from 2007 to 2010 down 14 percent, from more than 20.6 million to nearly 17.7 million. Among the reasons for the lower figures, the Realtors group says: changes in the way the Census Bureau collects data, population shifts and some sales being counted twice.

More than two years after the recession officially ended, many people can’t qualify for loans or meet higher downpayment requirements. Even those with excellent credit and stable jobs are holding off because they fear that home prices will keep falling. Sales are also being hurt by a decline in first-time buyers, who are critical to reviving the housing market.

The new figures show that sales fell in three of the past four years since the housing market began to drop in 2006.

Declining prices and record-low mortgage rates haven’t been enough to boost sales.

The changing numbers could affect how economists view the trade group’s data. It could also affect companies that use the figures for hiring and expansion plans. Sales are measured when buyers close on homes. But many deals are collapsing before that point. One third of Realtors say they’ve had at least one contract scuttled in November and October, up from 18 percent in September.

Contracts have been canceled for any of several reasons: Banks have declined mortgage applications; home inspectors have found problems; appraisals showed a home was worth less than the bid; a buyer lost a job before the closing. The median sales price rose 2.1 percent to $164,200 in November.

The high rate of foreclosures has made resold homes much cheaper than new homes. The median price of a new home is roughly 30 percent higher than the price of one that’s been occupied before - twice the normal markup.

Investors are taking advantage of the discounts. Their purchases made up 19 percent of all sales last month, compared with fewer than 10 percent in healthier housing markets.

Sales rose across the US They increased on a seasonal basis by nearly 10 percent in the Northeast, 4.3 percent in the Midwest, 3.6 percent in the West and 2.4 percent in the South. The glut of unsold homes declined in November to 2.58 million homes. At last month’s sales pace, it would take seven months to clear those homes. Analysts say a healthy supply can be cleared in six months. —AP

Brent rises to $107 on economic recovery hopes LONDON: Oil prices rose to around $107 a barrel yesterday after the European Central Bank’s first ever offer of threeyear loans to banks raised hopes the euro zone would avert a liquidity crisis and head towards economic recovery.

The supply of limit-free and ultra-cheap cash boosted sentiment across financial markets after banks took up a greaterthan-expected 489 billion euros.

The ECB’s successful tender added to optimism after US housing starts and building permits were shown to have jumped to a 1-1/2 year high in November. Brent crude was up 22 cents to $106.93 a barrel by 1152 GMT after posting the biggest one-day percentage rise since mid-October on Tuesday to settle up by $3.09. US crude gained 26 cents to $97.50 a barrel.

“Cheap funding from the ECB has boosted equity markets,” said Michael Hewson, an analyst at CMC markets, adding that gains in stocks had fed through to riskier asset markets. “But the economic fundamentals don’t support the equity rally,” he cautioned. Italy’s sta-

tistics bureau said the economy had slipped into what is expected to be a prolonged recession, and analysts predicted a steeper fall in the fourth quarter and further contractions thereafter as domestic demand slumps.

Fears of a recession in Europe’s thirdlargest economy weighed against Tuesday’s positive German business sentiment for December, underscoring its strength even as growth in neighbouring countries collapses. Italy’s disappointing economic data also contrasted with the outlook for Spain, which appeared to brighten after its short-term financing costs more than halved on Tuesday.

On the supply side, oil investors are worried the escalating tension with Iran over the country’s nuclear programme may disrupt oil shipments from the world’s fifth-largest exporter. Diplomats from the United States, the European Union and other allies have agreed to step up pressure on Iran to force it to resume talks over its nuclear programme, an Italian diplomatic source said. —Reuters

FRANKFURT: Banks gobbled up nearly 490 billion euros in three-year cut-price loans from the European Central Bank yesterday, easing immediate fears of a credit crunch but leaving unresolved how much will flow to needy euro zone economies.

Following a string of failed attempts by euro zone leaders to thwart market attacks on the bloc’s weaker members, hopes of crisis relief before the year-end had been pinned on a massive uptake of the ECB’s ultra-long and ultra-cheap loans.

The near half a trillion euro take-up of ECB funds represented the most the bank has ever pumped into the financial system and exceeded almost all forecasts. A total of 523 banks borrowed with demand way above the 310 billion euros expected by traders polled

by Reuters, “The take-up was massive ... much higher than the expected 300 billion euros. Liquidity on the banking system has now increased considerably,” said Annalisa Piazza at Newedge Strategy.

The funding should bolster banks’ finances, ease the threat of a credit crunch and may tempt them to buy Italian and Spanish bonds, thereby easing the currency area’s sovereign debt crisis.

But analysts said there was little prospect of the cash being hurled at the debt of euro zone weaklings and, while an interbank lending freeze may have been averted, the lack of trust between banks to lend to each other remains unresolved.

Optimism that the lunge for funding would ease Europe’s two-year old debt crisis quickly faded, sending the euro and stocks lower after an initial jump. Banks have struggled to attract funding mainly because of worries about the underlying health of euro zone countries and their exposure to it, so becoming more reliant on the ECB and pledging more assets against those loans may add to the problem.

“It’s helpful. It’s more than a sticking plaster, although it’s by no means the solution longer term,” said Chris Wheeler, bank analyst at Mediobanca in London.

The debt problems of Greece, Portugal, Ireland and now Italy and Spain have taken the euro zone’s troubles to new heights in recent months and raised serious questions about whether the euro, the currency shared by the 17 euro zone countries, can survive in its current form.

While a lending crunch may have been avoided thanks to the ECB’s latest move, it is much less certain that banks will use the money to buy Italian and Spanish government debt, as French President Nicolas Sarkozy has urged, given the competing pressures on them to cut risk, rebuild capital and lend to business. “While this might help to address recent signs of renewed tensions in credit markets and support bank lending, we remain sceptical of the idea that the operation will ease the sovereign debt crisis too,” said Jonathan Loynes, Chief European Economist at Capital Economics.

Banks will not increase their exposure to sovereign debt because European Bank Authority (EBA) rules discourage it, Italy’s banking association (ABI) said. “The EBA rules

are a deterrent for buying sovereign bonds, so not even the ECB’s important liquidity injection ... can be used to support sovereign debt,” ABI director general Giovanni Sabatini told reporters.

Given those doubts, most market experts say only more aggressive and direct buying of government bonds by the ECB will help ameliorate the crisis, something it is reluctant to do.

Italy alone faces about 150 billion euros of debt refinancing between April and March and data on Wednesday showed its economy - the euro zone’s third largest - shrank in the third quarter, while the ABI forecast a recession next year. “The crisis is far from over.

banks in Italy and Spain are each taking more than 100 billion euros.

ECB President Mario Draghi had been pressing banks to take the money since announcing the plans earlier this month. He warned of a chance of a credit crunch on Monday and said that euro zone bond market pressure could rise to unprecedented levels early next year.

The 3-year funds were offered at an interest rate which will be the average of ECB’s main interest rate over the next three years.

That benchmark rate is, after a rate cut earlier this month, at a record low of 1.0 percent.

For some banks the new money could be more than 3 percentage points cheaper than

FRANKFURT: In this Sept. 24, 2007 file picture, the Euro sculpture is pictured in front of the European Central Bank, ECB, building, background, in Frankfurt, Germany. The ECB is lending euro 489 billion (US dollar 639 billion) to the continent’s banks for an unprecedented three years in an effort to bolster Europe’s stressed financial system.

The ECB said yesterday, that 523 banks took the loans. —AP What I am particularly concerned about is the first quarter of 2012, because of financing needs which are very high,” one senior euro zone policymaker told Reuters.

“The fact that the ECB has now made available the 3 year credit lines plus made the collateral more flexible will help banks a lot.”

More than a dozen Italian banks, including top lenders UniCredit and Intesa Sanpaolo, tapped at least 49 billion euros ($64.2 billion) of new three-year loans, according to data and banking sources.

One source from a Spanish bank said nearly all Spanish banks had participated in the 3year ECB auction and taken up between 50 billion and 100 billion euros.

One of the key factors certain to have boosted demand is that banks are now more reliant than ever on central bank funds. The ECB said on Monday, in its semi-annual Financial Stability Review, that this dependency could be difficult to cure. French banks have almost quadrupled their intake of ECB money since June to 150 billion euros, while

they can get on the open market. As part of the deal, they were able to convert one-year loans they took from the ECB in October into the new three-year loans and also will be able to pay it back after just a year if they so wish.

The ECB was already lending banks 515 billion euros before Wednesday but the new loans will not simply stack on top . Banks switched 45.7 billion euros out of the oneyear loans they took in October. They also scaled down their three-month borrowing from the ECB to 30 billion euros from 140 billion and almost halved their intake of oneweek loans this week.

Analysts at Royal Bank of Scotland said the actual amount of new money going in to the system as a result of that juggling reduced the headline number to around 200 billion euros.

“The key question now is whether this net new liquidity addition of close to 200 billion euros will be used to purchase sovereign bonds, lend to the economy or pay maturing bonds,” said RBS economist Nick Matthews. —Reuters

Top EU court to decide airline carbon case, could anger US BRUSSELS: Europe’s highest court will yesterday deliver a final ruling in a case over airline emissions that has triggered tit-for-tat legislation in the US Congress and drawn a threat from US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Under EU law, from Jan. 1 all airlines using EU airports will have to buy permits under the European Union’s emissions trading scheme to help offset the carbon emissions of European flights. A case contesting the legislation was brought to the London High Court of Justice by the Air Transport Association of America, American Airlines and United Continental , but the London court referred it to the European Court of

Justice (ECJ) in Luxembourg.

ECJ Advocate General Juliane Kokott delivered a preliminary opinion in October, in which she said EU legislation did not infringe the sovereignty of other states and was compatible with the relevant international agreements. Typically a preliminary opinion is a very good gauge of the final court ruling by the ECJ’s judges, but Commission officials said they were not complacent.

Critics of the EU rules have argued that under the 1997 Kyoto climate pact, countries agreed to address emissions from aviation jointly through the UN’s aviation body, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

More than a decade on, talks in that forum have not yielded significant progress and Kokott said the EU was within its rights to take unilateral action. The EU already sets a cap on the level of emissions allowed from factories and power plants. Emitters exceeding their quotas must buy carbon permits, while those within their limits can sell any unused allowances.

Peter Liese, a German Christian Democrat who led discussions in the European Parliament on the law, said that including airlines was a modest proposal, which had won unanimous support from the European Council of ministers.

“I cannot imagine a situation where the European Parliament

amends legislation just because of pressure from China or the United States,” he said. “We (in Europe) represent 500 million people and the biggest market in the world.”

But the United States, where environmental legislation has become a focus of disagreement between Barack Obama’s Democrats and the Republicans, has reacted angrily.

Proposed legislation in the US Congress, if passed, would make it illegal to comply with the EU law.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last week wrote to European officials, urging them to reconsider and saying the United States was prepared to take unspecified action. —Reuters

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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2011

business

X-cite by Alghanim Electronics announces second winner of $250,000 KUWAIT: X-cite by Alghanim Electronics announced the second winner of $250,000 Saleh Majed Al-Khamees who purchased 2 iPhone 4S devices from Rai showroom on

December 10, 2011. Saleh expressed his appreciation to X-cite for this amazing prize.

After congratulating the winner, Samer Sayegh, Vice President of X-cite by Alghanim

ABK MasterCard your travel companion KUWAIT: As a commitment to provide means of easy banking services and value added campaigns to its clients, Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait announces the new promotional campaign in collaboration with MasterCard Worldwide, especially designed for ABK MasterCard credit cardholders in an effort to offer them additional benefits.

About this promotion, Stewart Lockie - GM, Retail Banking at ABK explained, “The Bank is always trying to provide services that make banking easier for its customers in Kuwait and overseas.

Hence the collaboration with MasterCard Worldwide to reward customers who use their MasterCard credit cards outside of Kuwait, in addition to easy and safe transactions through their credit cards during travel.

This promotional campaign gives all types of ABK MasterCard credit card holders (Classic, Gold, Titanium, Stewart Lockie World) a chance to win a prize of USD 10,000 weekly for using their credit cards outside of Kuwait to complete their purchases. This promotion coincided with the holiday season when people travel abroad to spend time with their loved ones. “ Lockie added “Every purchase, whatever the amount, made using the ABK MasterCard credit card gives the cardholder an opportunity to enter the draw to win the weekly prize of USD 10,000 which will be credited to the card’s account. There will be a draw of 10 winners’ names during the promotion period which runs until December 31, 2011.

To be a winner of this prize use your ABK MasterCard and enter the draw. We wish ABK customers the best of luck” For more information on how to get ABK MasterCard, visit any of our branches in all areas of Kuwait.

Electronics, spoke of the promotion, “We at Xcite are extremely committed to providing our customers in Kuwait with the best service and achieving the highest level in customer satisfaction. We always aim to excite our customers by bringing them the best products which was translated in introducing two new international brands to the Kuwaiti market: Hisense and Beko.”

Hilal Farhat, Promotions and Advertising Manager at X-cite, also commented on the event saying: “We would like to thank our customers for the trust they placed in us and our promotions; promising more promotions to come in 2012” As part of its strategy in providing the best shopping experience and the most exciting promotions in Kuwait, X-cite by Alghanim Electronics is running in December one of the biggest promotions ever in the history of electronics retail. With another winner announced, there are two remaining draws and thus two lucky winners who will win the $250,000 cash prize.

Starting on December 1, 2011, X-cite by Alghanim Electronics expanded its electronics shopping experience with the launch of its online store, www.xcite.com, a move that furthers X-cite’s pioneering nature in conveniently offering its many products and services.

Burgan Bank sponsors 2012 HORECA exhibition

KUWAIT: Burgan Bank announced yesterday a new partnership with Ali Abdul Wahab Sons & Co. to offer its “BuBa” Kids Account holders a new and exclusive promotions. The bank is offering a 10% discount on selective stores that include Crocs, Nike Stores, and The Athlete’s Foot.

Haneen Al Rumaihi, Head Of Marketing at Burgan Bank, said: “Our new offer with Ali Abdul Wahab Sons & Co. reflects our commitment of providing customers with ideal solutions to enjoy their banking experience.

The “BuBa” Kids Account” is the perfect solution for parents who want to earn more from their savings for their children and at the same time enjoy a wide range of benefits. As part of the account’s scheme, children will also enjoy an exciting range of promotions across the year.”

Burgan Bank’s latest “BuBa” Kids Account is a saving account with an interest, with a minimum opening balance begins at KD 10. The account holders will be in title to enter two

draws that will be held in February and May 2012 to grant them a family trip to Abu Dhabi in collaboration with Ritz Travel, and experience the excitement of Ferrari World.

To find out more about Burgan Bank’s newly launched “BuBa” Kids Account, customers are urged to visit any of Burgan Bank’s conveniently located branches.

25 Winners at the BEST Electronics raffle draw

Ra’ed Al-Haqhaq KUWAIT: Burgan Bank reached an agreement with organizers of the 2012 HORECA Kuwait exhibition to participate as a golden sponsor for the event which takes place between the 22nd and 24th of January 2012 at the Arraya Ball Room - Courtyard Marriott Hotel.

“This agreement reflects Burgan Bank’s commitment to support the fields featured in the event, and to the qualitative exhibitions industry as main contributor to the development of the country’s services economic sector”, said Chairman of the Board of Directors Ra’ed AlHaqhaq in a recent statement. He further acknowledged the exhibition as “an opportunity to meet businessmen and specialists in the fields featured”.

The 2012 HORECA Kuwait is a comprehensive event covering the hospitality, catering and food industry sectors in Kuwait and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

It is organized by the Leaders Group for Consulting & Development in cooperation with Hospitality Services of Lebanon.

‘All new Camry 2012’

Spot it, Photograph it and Win it KUWAIT: MNSS debuts “The New Era 2012 Camry” the best among its segment, it will be on tour at select locations at most of the major malls of Kuwait and its surrounding areas, from Thursday 29th December till Wednesday 4th Jan 2012.

A spokesperson for MNSS Marketing noted: “This will be a Live Sneak-Peak of the New Era Camry 2012, the seventh generation of a global-best seller family car, only to ensure that our valued customers are the first to see the 2012 Camry”.

“This special tour named - “Spot it, Photograph it & Win it - All New Camry 2012” - welcomes customers to follow our set schedule and be where the new 2012 Camry which is identified with the flag, so they take pictures of Camry or even take pictures of themselves and their friends in the new car” he added. “Then they are to upload those pictures on contest section on www.camryq8.com Toyota Kuwait, share it with friends to get maximum number of votes, and the photo with the highest number of Likes will be the winner of a 2012 Camry”.

The new outgoing image of Camry is strongly emphasized once we see the picture; the 2012 Camry has more sharp edges and line look compared to the previous models.

Camry 2012 sophisticated, sporty design in its GLX and SE models, are the best choice for families and sophisticated youth, its spacious interior, improved driving dynamics and a quieter ride.

Introduced twenty years ago, the Camry has evolved over six generations to become the benchmark in the midsize sedan segment, due to its legendary durability, comfort, and unrivaled resale value. The Camry’s low cost of ownership and great resale value, has made it one of the most popular vehicles among families with GLX model and among youth through the SE model.

“The Camry have gained the trust of customers throughout the years - to many - it isn’t just a car; it’s a part of their personality, and their family. It is the type of car you can count on when it comes to durability and quality. Toyota’s engineers have made it their obsession to improve the design, handling, and driving dynamics of the car. Only to achieve their goal so: We are ready... Are you ready? Spot it, photograph it, and you may win it”. www.toyota.com.kw Terms and conditions:

Burgan Bank launches special offers for BuBa account holders

KUWAIT: Under the supervision of Ministry of Commerce, Kuwait Consumer Protection department and in the presence of several customers, BEST Electronics conducted their second raffle draw event whereby 100 customers would win gift vouchers worth KD 100 each and the grand prize of KD 1000 will be awarded to the first prize winner.

The customers entered the raffle draw with coupons collected for every KD 50 of purchases during the campaign. Earlier, 25 winners collected their prizes last week and the second lot of 25 winners was announced this week who took home valuable gift vouchers from Best Electronics. The second draw was also conduc ted at the Best Electronics Showroom in Hawally, Tunis Street and the winners were: Name Nura Eiad Amram Sheahk Sabry Ismael Ouyang Fangbin Ramash Babu Adel Mersidita

Coupon No. 1231 985 474 45 1414 777 197

ShapzaHussien Reem Allaho Al Onoud Akram Mohamed Samer Faisal Mona Al Harbi Mohammed Samer Sayeda Arstan Alema Adel Al Murad Rashed Saaleh Soaad Al Enezy Shahen Al Khaleq Mohammed Ali Alyah Ali Saleh

64 1244 741 1420 671 210 451 1023 399 53 631 338 1142 1448 1347 371 460 238

The chances of winning are still open as there are 50 more of such prizes to be collected including the grand prize of KD 1000 gift voucher which all customers are eligible for. The more the purchase value, the higher will be the chances of winning in the upcoming draws.

Alghanim Electronics, Sony announce guaranteed scratch & win promotion

● Campaign will start on December 29, 2011 at 12 noontime. ● The last day to participate is January 4, 2012. ● The winner will be announced on January 6, 2012. ● This promotion is only valid in Kuwait and for its residents, so Kuwaiti Civil ID is mandatory. ● All employees of Al-Sayer Group and their direct relatives are not allowed to participate. ● The winner will be selected by Al-Sayer Group and will be at the sole discretion of the Company, the participation should be done once only otherwise will be excluded and shared photo should be once and in case finding any repetition, will be also excluded. . ● No cash alternative will be given to the winner

KUWAIT: X-cite by Alghanim Electronics along with Sony PlayStation takes gaming to new destinations this festive season with yet another exciting promotion. X-cite, is running a scratch and guaranteed win promotion for its customers who purchase any Sony PlayStation products for a minimum purchase value of KD 85 or higher on any Sony PlayStation consoles, games or gaming accessories. Each coupon ensures a guaranteed gift which includes camera’s and camcorders, audio systems, MP3 players, LCD TV’s, LED TV’s and much more amazing products offered by Sony. The grand prizes include a chance to win the mega gift of a Holiday package to Lebanon or Turkey. This promotion is valid till the 31st January 2012.

The PlayStation is the one of the pioneers in series of consoles and handheld game devices which has been gaining a lot of popularity over the recent years. Some of the leading PlayStation games include Uncharted 3, PlayStation 3 FIFA 12 and Battlefield. The PlayStation Move which is a motionsensing game controller also has been taking the gaming markets by storm. With the Scratch and Win promotion X-cite is giving its customers a great chance to experience the world of Sony PlayStation.

X-cite offers gamers a unique shopping experience with dedicated Gaming zones offering a wide range of games, consoles, accessories as well as a Gaming expert to guide you in your purchases.

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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2011

TECHNOLOGY

IBM predicts mind-reading gadgets within five years SAN FRANCISCO: Computers and smartphones will be able to read your mind within five years, IBM scientists predict in the company’s annual list of five technology developments likely to become mainstream within the next half-decade. Other advances foreseen by the boffins at the leading technology company include the end of passwords, the demise of junk mail, the use of body motion to power gadgets and the narrowing of the digital divide. “If you just need to think about calling someone, it happens,” IBM said of its mind-reading gadgets. “Or you can control the cursor on a computer screen just by thinking about where you want to move it.” The list was released on Monday.

Mind-reading technology, known as bioinformatics, has already shown up in simple forms from toy makers such as Mattel, and engineers at IBM and other companies “have designed headsets with advanced sensors to read electrical brain activity that can recognize facial expressions, excitement and concentration levels, and thoughts of a person without them physically taking any actions,” the report said. “Within five years we will begin to see early applications of this technology in the gaming and entertainment industry,” IBM said.

Another big change in the tech world will be the obsolescence of passwords, which will replaced by biometric data, the company said. Google has

already shown the way in this with its use of facial recognition technology to unlock the latest version of its Android operating system. “Your biological makeup is the key to your individual identity, and soon it will become the key to safeguarding it,” IBM said. “Imagine you will be able to walk up to an ATM machine to securely withdraw money by simply speaking your name or looking into a tiny sensor that can recognize the unique patterns in the retina of your eye. Or by doing the same, you can check your account balance on your mobile phone or tablet.”

IBM also predicted that within five years those devices are likely to be powered by the slightest movements of your body.

“Anything that moves has the

potential to create energy. In the next five years, advances in renewable energy technology could make it possible for us to draw on power generated by everything from our running shoes to the ocean’s waves,” IBM said. “The water running through your pipes could power on the lights in your house.” It won’t only be the rich and technologically advanced who have access to technology within five years.

By then the digital divide will have disappeared, IBM predicted. “In five years the gap between information haves and have-nots will narrow considerably due to advances in mobile technology.”

The company said that there would be 5.6 billion mobile devices worldwide within five

years, covering 80 per cent of the world population. “As it becomes cheaper to own a mobile phone, people without a lot of spending power will be able to do much more than they can today,” IBM said. The technology pioneer was also bold enough to predict the perennially wished-for end to junk mail, something that manages to outlive all the forecasts for its demise. “In five years, unsolicited advertisements may feel so personalized and relevant it may seem spam is dead. At the same time, spam filters will be so precise you’ll never be bothered by unwanted sales pitches again,” IBM said.

“IBM is developing technology that uses real-time analytics to make sense and integrate data from across all the facets of

your life such as your social networks and online preferences to present and recommend information that is only useful to you.

From news, to sports, to politics, you’ll trust the technology will know what you want, so you can decide what to do with it.”

IBM has been making the annual predictions for five years now and a glance back to 2006 shows an impressive track record. That year it predicted the rise of telemedicine, locationaware mobile devices, real time speech translation and nanotechnology, all of which have become prevalent to one degree or another. The only prediction that was inaccurate was its vision that virtual 3D environments would become a major vehicle for real world commerce. —dpa

App to help women combat sex assault ‘Fight Back’ launched in ‘unsafe’ Delhi

Waiting for ice cream sandwich BERLIN: A lot of people want an ice cream sandwich these days. But they’re going to have to have a little patience.

But it’s not food they’re after. Ice Cream Sandwich is the name of the newest version of the Android operating system.

And many of the people waiting for it might end up disappointed. Android Version 4.0 has been tempting smartphone users with its polished user interface and a few new functions. But a dpa survey of manufacturers says it might be a while yet. And not every new model is necessarily going to get an update.

The delay is a function of variety. A whole series of manufacturers are making Android mobiles, and each of them builds upon the Google software to create its own interface or add special features. “This breadth of functions separates our products from the competition,” explains Ralf Gerbershagen, head of Motorola in Germany. Motorola, for example, has an Android business-ready package. But that means before a new version of Android can be installed, a company’s own programmers have to have a crack at it.

“When there’s an update, then the appropriate project team has to take the time to make the new version of Android match, to make sure that everything functions seamlessly,” says Gerbershagen.

New functions possible with Ice Cream Sandwich include one that allows the camera to be activated out of standby mode, meaning it can recognize upon startup whether the person holding the phone is the owner. The function is called Face Unlock.

In the new version phones with integrated near field communication systems will be able to swap data easily.

There’s also something new in apps.

Since Google has merged the software for smartphones and tablets, developers no longer have to make two versions of everything, which should increase variety and allow hardware makers to focus on only one set of compatibility issues.

Google has a history of naming its new mobile operating systems after

deserts. Version 1.5 was dubbed Cupcake, while 2.3 was named Gingerbread. Version 3.0, which hit the market at the start of 2011, for tablets, is Honeycomb. Ice Cream Sandwich is the logical extension. Samsung will have the first Ice Cream Sandwich mobile. A Galaxy Nexus presentation in October showed what Android 4.0 can do. But the South Korean company still isn’t saying which device will get the new system, although its British subsidiary has said via Twitter that the lucky machine will be the Galaxy S II. Motorola expects an update to its flagship Droid Razr “probably in the first half of 2012.” But earlier versions of the trimmed-down mobile will only have Gingerbread. Other details won’t be available until six weeks after publication of the source codes. Since Google only recently starting uploading those, users will have to at least wait until the new year. From Motorola, there will only be Gingerbread through the end of 2011.

Google is set to take over Motorola’s Mobility mobile division, meaning that Motorola phones might soon get updates faster. But until the deal is done, Motorola users will have to be patient.

HTC is also being coy, saying various of its devices will start using Ice Cream Sandwich “starting in the spring of 2012”.

Models slated for the new system include the XL and XE, as well as the HTC Evo 3D. But the Wildfire and Desire are not listed for a system update. At the same time, the Taiwanese company promises to “continually improve its product portfolio and to announce as early as possible updates with Ice Cream Sandwich for additional devices”.

Meanwhile, Sony Ericsson wants to update all Android smartphones introduced in 2011 from Version 2.3.4 to 4.0.

The company will announce in its blog when it plans to upgrade the Xperia series, which will help out users of the Xperia X10, Xperia Neo and Xperia Play.

LG is also holding out hope for its clients, while saying that it can’t report anything about the planned updates. —dpa

Yahoo synchs more sites with Facebook SAN FRANCISCO: Yahoo! on Tuesday announced that it has ramped up the number of its websites around the world that let visitors automatically share what stories they read with Facebook friends. A feature added in September to Yahoo! News in the United States has been extended to 26 more of the California Internet pioneers websites around the world.

“This is a first step toward using what your friends are talking about as a meaningful source of programming what you are consuming on Yahoo!,” said Yahoo! vice president of social and personalization Michael Kerns.

The feature has been introduced in at Yahoo!

News sites in other countries and added to the California company’s entertainment-oriented US websites omg!, Yahoo! TV, Yahoo! Movies, and Yahoo! Games. “As the world’s most popular online news destination, Yahoo! News delivers the most compelling content on the Web through a combination of local editors, advanced technologies, and now, your friends,”

said chief product officer Blake Irving. Yahoo! aimed to have the feature woven into 100 of its properties next year.

“It is going to be really interesting to see the growth in different regions,” said Yahoo! vice president of social and personalization Michael Kerns. “In the US, Yahoo! and Facebook each reach almost all the audience,” he continued. “In some other regions Facebook is bigger than Yahoo! so we will see if it leads to a meaningful shift (in traffic to Yahoo!).” More than 12 million people have opted to automatically share activity at Yahoo! News with Facebook friends since the social network announced in September the creation of a new class of applications at the service. “We saw greater adoption than we anticipated,” Kerns told AFP. Online traffic from Facebook to Yahoo! News pages more than tripled as people checked out stories their friends had read, according to Kerns. The feature proved particularly popular with people younger than 35 years old. —AFP

NEW DELHI: A smartphone app launched yesterday in the Indian capital Delhi aims to fight a rise in sexual assault cases by enabling women to immediately alert friends or family if they feel at risk. The “Fight Back” app created by Indian non-profit Whypoll will - at the press of a single key - send an SOS message via text message, email and Facebook. Once the SOS is activated, recipients will be able to track the sender’s location via GPS and come to her aid. “I grew up in Delhi and it’s always been an unsafe city. And it just keeps getting worse. As a woman, you just don’t feel comfortable on the roads,” Whypoll co-founder Shweta Punj told AFP. “I was disgusted by the violence and wanted to do something about it.”

Delhi now tops the list of India’s most unsafe cities for women, with 489 reported rape cases in 2010, up from 459 in 2009, according to police statistics. India’s rapid economic growth has thrown open new job opportunities for women, but many feel at risk of harassment or assault while travelling on their own to and from work.

In a 2010 survey by the Delhi government, the United Nations and women’s rights group Jagori ( Wake Up Women), 45 percent of women said they avoided stepping out alone after dark and 65 percent feared taking public transport. The survey also suggested that police needed to play a stronger role in safeguarding the rights of women.

According to Whypoll cofounder Hindol Sengupta, while users can choose to include a number for the Delhi police in their SOS shortlist, the main focus of the app is to aler t friends and family. “Indians

depend far more on their near and dear ones because we don’t trust the system to help us,” Sengupta told AFP. “Once you send the SOS, your friends and

were unaware of the app’s existence. Sengupta admitted that the success of Fight Back would hinge on the police’s efficiency and willingness to take up

Indian languages and expand its reach to include nine more cities by the end of 2012. The app comes a year after volunteer activists in Egypt launched

NEW DELHI: An Indian woman poses with a mobile phone to illustrate a new application alert for women yesterday. —AFP family will take it up with the repor ted cases. “ There is no HarassMap, an initiative which police and pressure them into magic solution to this problem, asks women to send text mesbut we are in talks with the sages with details of their location doing something.”

It is unclear how the police police and we hope the app will when they face sexual harasswill handle complaints sent to help them respond fast in such ment. The aim of HarassMap is to build a map of hotspots where them via Fight Back - designed situations.”

The Fight Back app is priced at women are more likely to be to work with Nokia, Samsung, HTC and BlackBerr y smar t- 100 rupees ($1.90) for a year’s use. assaulted and demand an phones. A number of police offi- Currently available only in English, increased police presence in those cials contacted by AFP said they the creators plan to offer it in places. —AFP

Kaspersky relaunches cloud security KUWAIT: Small and medium-sized enterprises can find it difficult to understand and respond to the latest IT security threats in today’s rapidly evolving threat landscape. As business needs change, operations can become more complex and this in turn can affect IT security. To help channel partners support smaller firms in addressing the security implications of trends such as consumerisation, the increased use of mobile devices and social media, cloud computing, and virtualization, Kaspersky Lab is launching a new edition of Kaspersky Hosted Security, its cloud-based security solution for web and email.

Malware and viruses represent the number one IT security headache for businesses of all sizes and across all sectors closely followed by spam and phishing attacks. More than 70,000 unique malware samples are identified every day by Kaspersky Lab experts. Protecting the business against such web- and email-borne threats is a major challenge particularly for smaller firms who typically do not have relevant IT expertise or resources in place. A cloud-based solution such as Kaspersky Hosted Security represents an ideal option for these firms as it requires no investment in IT infrastructure or equipment, no specialist security skills, and

can be easily scaled up or down to meet changing business needs.

For channel partners the upgraded Kaspersky Hosted Security represents a costeffective solution with a strong business case that is easy to sell, configure, and support.

With a service level agreement guaranteed by Kaspersky Lab, it provides a low-risk platform for added-value services and consultancy such as additional gateway, server and endpoint protection.

“We are delighted to launch this new version of Kaspersky Hosted Security to address a growing business need,” said Ilijana Vavan, Senior Vice President Corporate Sales Europe at Kaspersky Lab. “As the threat landscape continues to grow, smaller firms are as vulnerable and exposed as their larger counterparts, but often lack the budgets and capability to explore and invest in expensive security.

The new edition of Kaspersky Hosted Security has been completely re-built to offer small and mid-sized businesses and their trusted channel partners a powerful first line of defense in web and email protection.”

Kaspersky Hosted Security comprises two modules: Kaspersky Hosted Email Security and Kaspersky Hosted Web Security.

Kaspersky Hosted Email Security reliably and continuously protects businesses against email-borne malware, spam and phishing emails by blocking attacks in the cloud with minimal impact on IT equipment and end users.

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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2011

Years

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Opting to track, not treat, early stage prostate cancer WASHINGTON: John Shoemaker visited six doctors in his quest to find the best treatment for his early stage prostate cancer - and only the last one offered what made the most sense to the California man: Keep a close watch on the tumor and treat only if it starts to grow. Very few men choose this active surveillance option. Yet Shoemaker is one of more than 100,000 men a year deemed candidates for it by a government panel. That’s because their prostate cancer carries such a low risk of morphing into the kind that could kill.

The risk for them is so low, in fact, that specialists convened recently by the National Institutes of Health say it’s time to strip the name “cancer” off these small, lazy tumors. In the meantime, the panel wants more of those men offered the option of delaying treatment until regular check-ups show it’s really needed. That endorsement promises to fuel efforts by the Prostate Cancer Foundation and a few other groups to spread the word to the newly diagnosed.

Shoemaker’s journey shows how difficult that may be, from doctors who don’t even bring it up to the fear factor. “With prostate cancer, you hear the “C” word, so to speak, and people freak out,” says Shoemaker, 69, a businessman from Los Altos, Calif., who was intent on examining all his options. Five

years after his diagnosis - and five biopsies plus numerous blood tests and ultrasound scans later Shoemaker’s happy he found a surgeon who argued against immediate treatment. He’s confident his prostate tumor hasn’t grown, and avoided the pain and side effects of surgery or radiation.

Some 240,000 men a year in the US are diagnosed with prostate cancer. Earlier this month, the NIH-appointed panel found that most have the lowrisk kind, a legacy of using problematic PSA blood tests to screen healthy men for possible signs of this slow-growing cancer that will affect most men’s prostates if they live long enough.

Yet 90 percent of such men choose immediate treatment such as surgery or radiation, risking serious and long-lasting side effects, such as impotence or incontinence, without good evidence about who will live longer as a result. One recent study tracked 731 men diagnosed with early stage prostate cancer for 10 years and found no difference in survival between those who had surgery and those who weren’t treated unless they went on to develop cancer symptoms, an older option known as watchful waiting. Active surveillance is much more aggressive than watchful waiting - men get regular scans, blood tests and biopsies to check the tumor, although the NIH panel found the degree of monitoring can vary

by medical center. Active surveillance is designed to monitor men closely enough that they can get curative treatment quickly if it looks like they’ll need it, well before any symptoms would begin.

“It’s not treatment versus no treatment; it’s about timing of treatment,” Shoemaker’s physician, Dr. Peter Carroll of the University of California, San Francisco, told the NIH. He’s a well-known prostate cancer surgeon who also leads one of the country’s few large active-surveillance programs, tracking more than 900 men for over five years. Most are treatment-free so far, and none has gone on to die of prostate cancer.

What’s the advice for men? The NIH panel said men with a PSA level less than 10 and a Gleason score that’s 6 or less are candidates for this type of active surveillance. The Gleason score measures how aggressive prostate cancer cells look under the microscope. Urologists can provide those numbers.

Then what? Today, what men decide to do next largely depends on the advice of the specialist they wind up seeing, and many either don’t offer active surveillance or present it in a negative way, as doing nothing, the NIH panel learned. There’s also the patient’s instinctive “get it out” reaction. Enter the National Proactive Surveillance Network - at http://www.npsn.net - a collaboration of two large

active-surveillance programs, at Johns Hopkins University and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, with the Prostate Cancer Foundation. First, it aims to educate men about active surveillance.

Within a few months, an interactive section of the site will be added to link men with doctors who offer active surveillance and track how they fare with input straight from the patients themselves, said Hopkins’ Dr H Ballentine Carter. “To me, it’s an individualized approach rather than the one-size-fits-all approach of treating everyone,” Carter says. Beyond whether and how men choose surveillance, behavioral scientist Kathryn Taylor of Georgetown University wants to know how they decide to stick with it. About a quarter of men abandon the observation approach within two or three years, and as many as half by five years, the NIH panel learned. It’s not clear how much of that was because they needed treatment, and how much was just the anxiety or getting tired of repeat biopsies.

Taylor is beginning a study of 1,500 newly diagnosed, low-risk prostate cancer patients at Kaiser Permanente in Northern California to see how many are told about active surveillance and what helped or hindered their decision. “Living with untreated cancer is very difficult,” she says, “and not everybody can do it, not surprisingly.” — AP

50,000 UK women urged not to panic over breast implant scare ‘No evidence of a link to the disease’ LONDON: Health authorities sought yesterday to reassure 50,000 British women who have breast implants made by a French company at the heart of a cancer scare, saying there was no evidence of a link to the disease. France has said up to 30,000 women there may need to remove defective implants produced by the Poly Implant Prothese (PIP) company amid cancer fears, even though no “causal link” to the disease had yet been established.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) in Britain, where up to 50,000 women have been given PIP implants, has urged patients not to panic, although it said they may want to consult their surgeons. “We did extensive genotoxic and chemical tests and we could find no evidence of any safety aspect associated with this filler,” MHRA medical director Suzanne Ludgate told BBC radio.

“We have been working very closely with the professional bodies to look at the incidence of cancer associated with these breast implants and we’ve worked with the cancer registry and we can find no evidence for any association.” She said the agency had also spoken to experts about concerns about breastfeeding, but “could find no danger”. Ludgate added: “There will be a lot of questions that women want to ask... and I’m sure that many of them will want to go and discuss the subject with their implanting surgeon and we would advise them to do that.”

Before being shut down last year for using non-authorised silicone gel, PIP was the world’s third-largest producer of silicone implants. Douglas McGeorge, consultant plastic surgeon and former president of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS), said women with implants should check whether theirs were produced by PIP. “Women with PIP implants should be checked by the clinic where they had their surgery and can then be monitored afterwards,” he said. “These implants have a higher failure rate so there will be women who might choose to have their MORET-SUR-LOING: Joelle Manighetti, 55, member of MDFPIP, Mouvement de Defense des Femmes Porteuses implants removed before that happens, whereas others will be d’Implants et de protheses, an association representing women with breast implants and prosthesis), poses in Moret-sur-Loing, south of Paris.—AFP happy to be monitored.” —AFP

Study: Sleep disorders common among cops

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survey from the United States and Canada found 40 percent of police officers had symptoms of a sleep disorder, including sleep apnea and insomnia. Officers who screened positive for those disorders were also more likely to be burned out, depressed or have an anxiety disorder. Over the next two years, they committed more administrative errors and safety violations and were more prone to falling asleep at the wheel than sound sleepers.

“In general we have this cultural attitude of, sleep is for the weak,” said Dr Michael Grandner, from the Center for Sleep and Circadian Neurobiology at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. “When you’re in an environment where signs of weakness are particularly discouraged, there may be a social pressure to not address sleep problems or to shrug them off,” added Grandner, author of a commentary published with the new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

When police officers in particular suffer from sleep problems, he said, it becomes a public health and safety problem. “It’s not just the people with sleep disorders that are affected,” Grandner told Reuters Health. “If they’re impaired, you’re at risk.” Researchers say police departments could do

more to make sure that officers with sleep disorders receive appropriate treatment, which may include sleep machines, therapy or changes in work schedules.

For the new study, close to 5,000 police officers were surveyed on sleep problems and other health topics. That included Philadelphia officers and Massachusetts state police as well as a broader range of other US and Canadian cops. The officers were on average 38 to 39 years old and most had been in the police force for more than decade.

Dr Charles Czeisler from Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and his colleagues found that 40 percent of the officers screened positive for at least one sleep disorder.

The most common was sleep apnea, which affected a third of cops, followed by moderate or severe insomnia and shift work disorder, which consists of sleepiness and insomnia associated with working at night.

Officers with a sleep disorder were more than twice as likely as healthy sleepers to report depression, emotional exhaustion or burnout and anxiety disorders on their original surveys.

On follow-up questionnaires sent out over the next two years, they were also 40 to 60 percent more likely to report making serious administra-

tive errors, falling asleep while driving or committing a fatigue-related error or safety violation during work.

Poor sleepers reported more citizen complaints and more often showed uncontrolled anger toward a suspect or citizen. “You have people who are sleep deprived, which means that their ability to make good decisions, to respond effectively, to drive emergency vehicles well ... all of those things are impaired,” said Bryan Vila, a criminal justice professor who studies sleep and per formance in cops at Washington State University in Spokane but wasn’t involved in the study. The researchers noted that being heavy increases the risk of sleep apnea, and that almost 80 percent of the officers they surveyed were overweight or obese. Czeisler said the lowest rates of both sleep apnea and overweight and obese conditions were in Massachusetts state cops, and that that’s no coincidence. Those officers get one hour paid exercise time for every work shift, he told Reuters Health, and undergo regular fitness tests that simulate chasing a suspect or dragging a victim, with a bonus in pay if they pass.

“It’s an impressive program and perhaps a model for the nation,” Czeisler said. — Reuters

Surgery complications down with teamwork

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SYDNEY: Western lowland gorilla ‘Mahale’ eats his Christmas treat of popcorn at Taronga Zoo in Sydney yesterday. Various animals were given early Christmas enrichment treats inside boxes wrapped in colourful paper to arouse their curiosity. —AFP

ospitals that introduced a program to boost communication and teamwork among doctors and nurses saw a decrease in surgery-related complications, according to a study. The findings, based on nearly 120,000 operations and published in the Archives of Surgery, come a year after researchers reported a drop in patient death rates with the same program.

Under the system, which is designed to catch medical errors before they lead to harm, the surgery team uses a checklist to discuss the patient and the procedure before starting surgery, then debriefs afterwards.

Patients may be involved in the briefings as well. “Patients like it, staff like it, it is better for morale,” said Douglas Paull, a surgeon at the Veterans Health Administration’s National Center for Patient Safety in Ann Arbor, Michigan, who worked on the study. “(Doctors and nurses) work in teams, we care about one another and we care about the patient, and it shows and outcomes are better,” he told Reuters Health.

Paull and his colleagues compared infections, blood clots and other complications in patients being treated at 42 Veterans Health Administration (VHA) facilities that had implemented the so-called Medical Team Training program, and another 32 that hadn’t. In the year before surgical staff were trained in the communication and teamwork program, hospitals in that group had 90 non-fatal complications out of every 1,000 surgeries, on average. That dropped to 75 in the year after the program was established.

In comparison, there was a smaller drop from 81 complications to 76 for every 1,000 surgeries in facilities that hadn’t taken up the program-which researchers said could have been due to chance. Specifically, facilities implementing the training saw a drop in surgery-related blood clots and both skin surface and deep wound infections. In all, 37 of the 42 facilities with the new system improved their complication rates, versus 22 of 32 hospitals that didn’t have the extra focus on teamwork and communication. — Reuters

Experts urge 18th-century ‘Irish giant’ be laid to rest LONDON: Experts called yesterday for the skeleton of Charles Byrne, the “Irish giant”, to be removed from the British Museum where it has been on display for almost 200 years and buried at sea, as he wanted. Standing at seven feet seven inches tall (2.3 metres), Byrne was a legendary figure and when he died in 1783 at the age of 22, the celebrated surgeon and anatomist John Hunter was keen to acquire his skeleton.

According to a new article in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), Byrne was terrified of becoming one of Hunter’s specimens and wanted to be buried at sea. But the surgeon managed to bribe one of the Irishman’s friends and took his body before it could be laid to rest in the English Channel. Hunter boiled Byrne’s body down to a skeleton and it became a key feature of his anatomy collection. This was later displayed at the Hunterian Museum at the Royal College of Surgeons in London, where it remains today.

In the BMJ article, experts acknowledge the role the skeleton has played in research, including by helping link acromegaly-an unusual condition where someone makes too much much growth hormone-and the pituitary gland.

But Len Doyal, emeritus professor of medical ethics at Queen Mary university in London, and Thomas Muinzer, a lawyer at Queen’s University Belfast, say it is now time to grant Byrne’s wish and give him a peaceful burial at sea.

“The fact is that Hunter knew of Byrne’s terror of him and ignored his wishes for the disposal of his body. What has been done cannot be undone but it can be morally rectified,” they write. “Surely it is time to respect the memory and reputation of Byrne: the narrative of his life, including the circumstances surrounding his death.” They argue that Byrne’s DNA has now been taken and can be used in further research, while his skeleton can be replaced by a fake for the purposes of public education. “As a sign of respect for Byrne’s original desires, his skeleton should be buried at sea as part of a ceremony commemorating his life,” they write.— AFP

HK culls chickens to battle bird flu HONG KONG: Hong Kong culled 17,000 chickens yesterday and suspended live poultry imports for 21 days after three birds tested positive for the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu virus. Health chief York Chow announced the measures late Tuesday after a dead chicken at the city’s main wholesale market and two wild birds tested positive for the virus, which can be fatal to humans.

Authorities raised the bird flu alert level to “serious” and suspended live poultry imports while they trace the origin of the infected chicken, meaning major disruptions to poultry supplies over the busy Christmas period. “It is unfortunate that an avian influenza case is detected before the Winter Solstice, necessitating a halt to the supply of live chickens,” Chow said. “I understand that it will cause inconvenience to the public, and the poultry trade will also encounter losses.”

All chickens at the Wholesale Poultry Market were slaughtered and extra inspections were ordered at chicken farms and hospitals. Authorities confirmed Tuesday that an oriental magpie robin found dead in a secondary school at the weekend had tested positive for H5N1, the second such

case in a week.

Another secondary school was ordered to close for a day for disinfection last Friday after a dead black-headed gull was found with the virus. A school clerk who picked up the bird was taken to hospital with her son, who had developed flu-like symptoms, but both were cleared later. Hong Kong was the site of the world’s first major outbreak of bird flu among humans in 1997, when six people died. Millions of birds were then culled.

The virus, which does not pass easily from human to human, has killed more than 330 people around the world, with Indonesia the worst-hit country. Most human infections are the result of direct contact with infected birds. In people it can cause fever, coughing, a sore throat, pneumonia, respiratory disease and, in about 60 percent of cases, death. Scientists fear H5N1 will mutate into a form readily transmissible between humans, with the potential to cause millions of deaths. Hong Kong is particularly nervous about infectious diseases after an outbreak of deadly respiratory disease SARS in 2003 killed 300 people in the city and a further 500 worldwide.— AFP

HONG KONG: Health workers slaughter chickens at a wholesale poultry market in Hong Kong yesterday. Hong Kong health authorities are slaughtering more than 17,000 chickens at a market after a chicken carcass there was found to be infected with bird flu. — AP

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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2011

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Scientists hopeful in fight to stop bat die-off MONTPELIER: Scientists studying the mysterious ailment that has killed millions of bats in an epidemic that is spreading its way across North America say they have detected a tiny sliver of hope in their search for a way to end what has become known as white nose syndrome. For unexplained reasons, scientists across the Northeast have been finding isolated colonies of little brown bats - once the most common bat species in the region and the hardest hit by white nose syndrome - surviving and healthy.

It’s too soon to say if the surviving colonies represent a nucleus that could eventually repopulate the region where millions of bats once devoured tens of billions of insects every year, but scientists are planning to study the survivors in hopes of learning why.

“You’ve got a tiny little fingernail holding onto the cliff, and that’s good,” said Mollie Matteson, from the Richmond office of the nonprofit Center for Biological Diversity, which has been pushing for more federal research money for white nose.

The scientists are planning to meet next month in Pennsylvania to seek the best ways to learn from the survivors. “It’s been a disease where there’s been one negative thing after another,” said Greg Turner, a wildlife biologist for the Pennsylvania Game Commission, who is helping monitor an abandoned coal mine in Luzerne County, where an estimated 2,000 bats survive and appear to be healthy. “It’s finally nice to see some glimmer of hope.”

Before white nose, the mine held between 50,000 and 80,000 bats in the winter. White nose, caused by a fungus that prompts bats to wake from their winter hibernation and die when they fly into the frigid, insect-less winter landscape, was first detected in New York’s Adirondack Mountains in 2006 and since then it has been spreading across North America. It’s believed to have killed at least a million bats. It’s reached as far west as Missouri and is also spreading west across Canada around the Great Lakes.

The leading hypothesis is that the fungus that causes white nose came from Europe where it has been found on bats, but it does not have the mortality it does in North America, said Ann Froschauer, the lead spokeswoman for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s investigation into white nose.

There’s no reliable estimate of the bat population before the arrival of white nose, but in some caves and abandoned mines where bats

live, up to 99 percent have died, Turner said.

Even if the mortality were to end now, it could be hundreds of years before populations of the slow-reproducing bats could rebound to where they were before white nose, Froschauer said.

The species known as little brown bats were once the most common in the northeast, and they were responsible for eating countless insects every year. Other bat species, such as the large brown bat, while still affected by white nose, aren’t as hard hit.

“What we are trying to do is chip away at the (causes) of this disease,” Turner said. “If there are individuals that are surviving, is there anything we can learn about why?” In New York, biologists have found that some bats at Fort Drum exposed to white nose are reproducing.

“While it’s still too early to make any long-term conclusions from the recent Fort Drum white nose study, the Department of Environmental Conservation is encouraged over the finding that some bats can survive and reproduce despite exposure to the syndrome during winter hibernation over two consecutive years,” said DEC spokesman Rick Georgeson.

In Vermont, biologists have identified 15 colonies in the western part of the state where the numbers of little brown bats, while still far fewer than before white nose appeared, are surviving, said Vermont Fish and Wildlife Biologist Scott Darling. “We visited each and every one of those colonies and to some degree, much to our surprise, they seem to be healthy,” Darling said. “It begged the question, ‘Why are you the lucky ones?’” Darling said there are three basic hypotheses about the survivors that will be studied: Are the bats behaving in ways that keep them from getting infected? Are they from areas that haven’t been infected? Could they have some genetic resistance to white nose that is just beginning to appear? Before white nose, 73 percent of the bats captured by Vermont biologists in summer studies were little browns and 5 percent were big browns. Now, the figure is almost exactly reversed. This summer, Darling said Vermont biologists are hoping to find any of the less common northern long eared bats. Matteson said that while the survivors are good news, much needs to be done to protect the survivors and make it possible for them to reproduce. One method being tried is the use of special bat boxes where the bats would be able to roost in the summer and keep warm when raising their young.— AP

Frankincense production ‘doomed’

STOCKBRIDGE: This March 26, 2009 photo provided by the US Fish and Wildlife Service shows a little brown bat with white-nose syndrome in the Greeley Mine in Stockbridge, Vt. Scientists studying the mysterious ailment that has killed millions of bats in North America said in December 2011.—AP

Water cranks up the heat in chillies PARIS: Scientists yesterday said they had solved a puzzle over why some wild chili plants yield red-hot fruit but others have fruit which is mild. The answer lies in exposure to water, they reported in the British journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. The fiery ingredient in chilies is capsaicinoid, which the fruit exudes to protect itself against a nasty damp-loving fungus called Fusarium.

Researchers led by David Haak of Indiana University went to Bolivia to check capsaicinoid levels in chillies growing along a 300-kilometre (185-mile) line.

In the dryer northeast part of the section,

only 15 to 20 percent of the plants had pungent fruit. The pungency level increased along the line to the wetter southwest, where eventually 100 percent of plants produced high-capsaicinoid fruit. High-pungency chilies pay a price-a “tradeoff ” in evolutionary biology for being able to ward off the fungus.

They produce half as many seeds as low-pungency chilies, which produce more seeds to boost chances of reproductive success in dry conditions. The study looked at a wild strain of chili, Capsicum chacoense, which is native to South America and has never been cultivated. —AFP

LONDON: Trees that produce frankincense, a fragrant resin used in incense and perfumes and a central part of the Christmas story, are declining so fast that production could be halved over the next 15 years, scientists said yesterday. In a study published in the British Ecological Society’s Journal of Applied Ecology, ecologists from the Netherlands and Ethiopia looked at large-scale field studies and predicted that tree numbers could decline by 90 percent in the next 50 years.

If fire, grazing and insect attack, the most likely causes of decline, remain unchecked, then frankincense production could be doomed altogether, they warned. Frankincense, best known in religious teachings as one of the gifts laid before the newborn Messiah, is obtained by tapping various species of Boswellia, a small, deciduous tree that grows across Africa from northern Nigeria to the highlands of Ethiopia and Eritrea. Cutting the Boswellia’s bark produces the frankincense resin, a white substance with a strong, sweet smell. The resin is burnt in churches, mosques and at ceremonies, as well as being used by the perfume industry and in herbal medicines.

Despite its economic importance, incense has been traded internationally for thousands of years, little is known about how tapping affects Boswellia populations. Working in an isolated part of northwest Ethiopia near the source of the Blue Nile, a research team led by Frans Bongers of Wageningen University in the Netherlands studied 13 two-hectare plots, somewhere trees were tapped for frankincense and some where they were untapped.

Over two years, they monitored survival, growth and seed production of more than 6,000 Boswellia trees and used the data to build mathematical models to predict the fate of Boswellia populations in coming years. The forecasts suggest Boswellia populations are declining so dramatically that frankincense production could be halved in the next 15 years. “Current management of Boswellia populations is clearly unsustainable,” Bongers said in a statement. “Our models show that within 50 years, populations of Boswellia will be decimated, and the declining populations mean frankincense production is doomed.”

The researchers found that all the Boswellia populations they studied are declining, not only those from tapped trees, a finding that suggests factors other than tapping are at the root of the problem. Bongers said the main causes of the trees’ decline are likely to be burning, grazing and attack by the long-horn beetle, which lays its eggs under the Boswellia’s bark. The scientists urged local authorities to introduce better management incentives to ensure farmers work harder to protect Boswellia trees. In the short-term this meant preventing fires and beetle attack, Bongers said, but in the longer-term, large areas should be set aside and protected for five to 10 years to allow Boswellia saplings to become established. — Reuters

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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2011

W H AT ’ S O N 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).

PGA groups receive certificates

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remier Goal Academy (PGA) coaching course groups received their end of course certificates from Everton Football Club for completing the skills development course held in November and December 2011.

Diabetes seminar

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ow do we improve quality of life and longevity in people with diabetes? A free seminar for the public by Indian Doctors Forum Diabetes shortens a person’s life by 10 years on an average. It is the major cause for the heart diseases, kidney failures, blindness, stroke and other neurological problems, gangrene, non healing ulcers and amputations and greatly reduces the quality of life in those affected. The quality of life is further decreased by frequent infections, high /low blood sugars, sexual difficulties, side effects of medications, psychosocial factors etc.

This free seminar, under the patronage of Kuwait Medical Association, Indian Doctors Forum in co-operation with Dasman Diabetes Center and sponsored by AMMA Kuwait, aims to educate and empower people with diabetes to manage their health better and to have better quality of life now and in the future.

There will be informative lectures in simple and easy to follow English by top experts in the specialties of diabetes, cardiology, nephrology, ophthalmology and surgery. This will be followed by interactive question and answer sessions with experts in all fields of medicine. A limited number of free blood tests will be done for the registrants on a ‘first come, first served’ basis. This will be on Friday, December 30, 2011 and blood testing will take place between 4:00-5:30 pm and the seminar and interaction will be from 5:30-800 pm at Kuwait Medical Association Auditorium, Jabriya (near Mubarak Hospital and the Blood Bank). For logistic reasons registration will close when the number of registrants reach 500 or on 25/12/11, whichever is earlier. Please contact for queries: Email: ammakuwait@yahoo.com / admin@indiandoctorsforum.org.

YMCA Kuwait conducts award function

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MCA Kuwait conducted Plus Two, Toppers Award Function for the year 2010-11, to encourage young talent in the field of academics at Indian Community School, Salmiya. The program began with the opening song by Mouses Tobin. Parimanam Manoj (General

Secretary) welcomed all the invited guests. The meeting was presided by Babu Johnson (President) Rajan Daniel, Hon Secretary of Board of Trusties Indian Community School inaugurated the function. YMCA felicitated the first and second place of Science and Commerce streams

from all Indian schools. From the first and second places for each school, overall topper was selected from the winners of each stream. The overall first for the science stream was awarded to Immanuel Amrita Rhema from Delhi Public School and Commerce stream awarded to

Nirmal Sajeev Kombara from United Indian School Convener of the above program was Mathew Eapen. Jacob George (Joint Secretary) proposed vote of thanks. The co-sponsor of the program was UAE Exchange. Biju Vellor compeered the program.

Upcoming events New Year Hangama The RAK Dance Academy (RDA) Kuwait, is planning to put a charity event in celebration of its New Year Hangama 2012, on 31st December, 2011, from 6 pm onwards, at Carmel School Khaitan. All participants are well known artists from Kuwait. The main purpose of this celebration is to collect donations and raise money for supporting handicapped children in India. contributions from you. Your attendance is your donation.

Please join for an evening for a good cause. Call 99692266, 65925730 for details.

Aware Center Arabic lessons The AWARE Management is glad to inform you that Winter 1 Arabic language courses will begin on November 20th, 2011 until January 12th, 2012.

AWARE Arabic language courses are designed with the expat in mind. The environment is relaxed and courses are designed for those wanting to learn Arabic for travel, cultural understanding, and conducting business or simply to become more involved in the community. We cater to teachers, travelers & those working in the private business sector. Arabic classes at the AWARE Center are unique because students are provided with the chance to practice their Arabic through various social activities that aim at bringing Arabs and Westerners together.

AWARE Arabic courses highlight: ● Introductory to Level 4 Arabic language basics ● Better prepare you for speaking, reading and writing Arabic ● Combine language learning with cultural insights ● Taught in multi-nationality group settings ● Provide opportunities to interact with Western expatriates and native Kuwaitis/Arabs.

For more information or registration, call 25335260/80 ext 105/104/0 or log onto: www.aware.com.kw.

Rak dance academy new year hangama-2012 The RAK Dance Academy (RDA) Kuwait, is planning to put a charity event as celebration of its New Year Hangama 2012, on 31st December, 2011, from 6.00pm onwards, at Carmel School Khaitan. All participants are well known artists from Kuwait. The main purpose of this celebration is to collect donations and raise money for supporting handicapped children in India.

Advertisement will be published throughout Kuwait absolutely free of charge. We are expecting huge crowd for this event. The fund raised will be beneficial handicapped children. In order to make this event joyous and successful we are seeking kind contributions from you. Your attendance is your donation. Please join for an evening for a good cause. Darla Srinivasulu Achari, 99 692266; Mob: 65728740 K. Eswar Babu, Phone 99692266, Lashmeesha 65925730 Email: rakdanceacademy@gmail.com

KKK inter-house cricket tournament

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t was yet another fascinating annual inter-house cricket tournament for Kuwait Kannada Koota (KKK) members. KKK members are put in four houses named after the rivers in Karnataka; Kaveri, Sharavathi, Hemvathi and Netravathi. Separate exclusive matches were conducted for children and ladies of the Koota.

In the children’s cricket match, Adarsh Bhat was adjudged as the best player. The lady members were divided into Group A and B. Group B captained by Vasudha Bhat won the match while Group A captained Usha Prasad gave a close fight. Vidya Vittal was adjudeged as the best batswoman while Rekha Damodar was adjuged the best bowler.

The men’s finals saw a very close contest of bat and ball between Sharavthi and Hemavathi team.

Hemavathi team chasing 112 runs to win could muster 102 runs in their allotted overs. Sharavathy team won the finals by 10 runs beating Hemavathy team. While Suresh Salian was adjudged as the best batsman from Sharvathy team, Harsha Rao was adjudged as best bowler from Hemavathy team. The executive committee President Nagaraj Subba Rao, Vice President Nagaraj Shanbagh, General Secretary Rajeev Kulkarni and treasurer Praveen along with Sports Secretary Ravi Krishnaswamy took care of all the arrangements to conduct the tournament in a very professional manner.

All the prizes were sponsored by Harsha Rao and Nagaraj Shanbagh proposed the vote of thanks.

Members were served with a sumptuous lunch after the match.

Get ready get set - RunQ8

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egistrations are now open for RunQ8, the annual 10km charity race to be held on January 21, 2012. Organized by the Fawzia Sultan Rehabilitation Institute (FSRI) and Agility, the race route will run from Marina Crescent in Salmiya along the Gulf Road up to the Third Ring Road and back. The race is aimed at supporting health issues affecting our community and raising awareness around them.

In its second year, RunQ8 is promoting road traffic safety. 2011-2021 has been named the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety with a goal to stabilize and then reduce global road traffic fatalities by 2021. In Kuwait, traffic accidents are the third leading cause of mortality and a large number of people and their families are affected by the debilitating effects of injuries caused by road accidents.

Last year, the race raised over KWD 50,000 for the Kuwait University’s Community Eye Health Care Initiative that supports Vision 2020, a joint initiative of the World Health Organization (WHO), and the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB).

RunQ8 invites all members of the community to join in this initiative and help support road traffic safety in Kuwait. To register contact the FSRI office 25720338 or visit the race websitewww.Runq8.org for more details.

There are also pre-race articles and videos produced by FSRI’s specialized sports trainers, physiotherapists, nutritionists and psychologists to help get you ready for the race. Please see our website www.runQ8.org and our Facebook page for updates on our running and walking clinic, race events, and other initiatives.

KERA conducts mass signature campaign

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uwait Ernakulam Residents Association (KERA) conducts mass signature campaign on a memorandum to show the solidarity and support in the Mullaperiyar Dam issue especially to the residents of Idukki, Kottayam, Athanamthitta, Alapuzha and Ernakulam districts of Kerala. The campaign is focusing to obtain signature from minimum 10,000 people from Kerala.

The memorandum is demanding to the authorities to immediately bring

down the water level to 120 feet in the dam to ensure safety of 3.5 million people and properties. Approval to construct a new dam as it fears that a strong earthquake might damage the existing dam. Protect the lives and properties of over 3.5 million citizens.

Find an amicable solution (preferably outside court) to this Kerala-Tamil Nadu dispute. Consider the Government of Kerala commitment to undertake ‘water for Tamil Nadu and safety for Kerala’.

Write to us Send to What’s On upcoming events, birthdays or celebrations by email: local@kuwaittimes.net Fax: 24835619 / 20

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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2011

W H AT ’ S O N

Christmas comes to Lulu Hypermarkets

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ulu Hypermarket, the largest hypermarket and lifestyle shopping destination in the country, is all set to celebrate Christmas and ring in the New Year with exclusive promotions and an array of specialized products for the season. All outlets of Lulu Hypermarket were decorated in anticipation of the recent visit by Santa and Snowman, and are now geared to welcome Xmas with special promotions on a full assortment of Christmas goodies.

Delectable imported chocolates and specially prepared Xmas cakes are on offer for the season, alongside exclusive promotions being run for items like turkeys from Brazil and ducks from Netherlands that are prime ingredients in many traditional Christmas feasts. Also on offer are a wide selection of Xmas trees, glittering tinsels and decorative lights that add to the time-honored allure of this exciting holiday season.

The winter collection of apparel this year is simply fabulous and special promotions on garments and footwear will ensure that customers get top quality products at very affordable prices. The exclusive ‘Buy Two get One Free’ Christmas promotion on garments and footwear will allow customers to buy two pieces and take home a third piece absolutely free of charge.

This special promotion, which will run through Christmas and into the New Year, until 4th January, 2012, is an ideal opportunity for customers to avail of winter clothes at best prices.

Other exciting in-store and online activities are planned for the holiday season, including a Christmas contest on the hypermarket’s Facebook page, where

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.

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people can take part in fun quizzes like the Turkey Quiz, Christmas Tree game, My Christmas Tree and Pose in Santa’s Cap to win a host of prizes.

In addition to providing customers with the largest selection of high-quality products at very affordable prices and displaying a wide range of international and regional brands, the special offers and exclusive

seasonal promotions are part of Lulu Hypermarket’s initiative to continuously bring the best of the world to their customers. By offering an ultra-modern shopping ambience that integrates every conceivable need of consumers under one roof, Lulu Hypermarkets are a lifestyle shopping destination that delivers the right products in the right place at the right time.

Tulu Koota Kuwait holds AGM

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ulu Koota Kuwait held its 12th Annual General Meeting on Friday December 16, at Indian Community School, Salmiya. The grand evening commenced with invocation song by Santhosh Kunder followed by the traditional lighting of lamp

by Managing Committee Members 2011.

Harish Bhandary, General Secretary presented annual report on the activities organized during the year 2011. Annual Financial Report was presented by the Treasurer Yadunath Alva. The President Swarna Shetty thanked everyone for their continued support and wished the new committee lots of good wishes and success in the coming year. The outgoing managing committee members were felicitated by the advisory committee Sudhakar Shetty, Vivek Rao and Satishchandra Shetty. Valuable contributions of Ramesh Kidiyoor, Chandrahasa Shetty and Sanath Shetty in collecting maximum fund during Tulu Parba 2011 was appreciated by presenting mementos.

Returning Officer Purandara Manchi, announced the unanimously elected new Managing Committee members for 2012.

The Managing Committee for the year 2012 is as follows: Ramesh Kidiyoor (President); Sathyanarayan Salian (General Secretary); Vinay Kumar Bhandary (Treasurer); Ronald D’Souza (Cultural Secretary); Suresh Shyam Rao (Welfare Officer); JayalakshmiKarkal (Joint Secretary); A K Ravindra (Internal Auditor); Foustine Pinto (Sports Secretary); and Wilson D’Souza (PRO). The President RameshKidiyoor called upon the members of Tulu Koota Kuwait to extend their whole hearted support to the new committee.

Variety of cultural programs including dances, songs, skits and Christmas celebration were held which entertained the audience. The AGM concluded with Vote of Thanks by the General Secretary Sathyanarayan Salian. The program was beautifully compeered by Deepak Andrade.

Tasty dinner served by Avanti Restaurant was enjoyed by all the attendees.

Children’s Day celebrations at ICSK Khaitan

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.

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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 ■■■■■■■

EMBASSY OF INDIA The Embassy of India will remain closed December 25, 2011 (Sunday) “Christmas Day”.

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EMBASSY OF KENYA

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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.

ovember 14, 2011 was a great day for ICSK Khaitan when the school celebrated Children’s Day with great fervor. The birth anniversary of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru is celebrated as the Children’s Day, as the first Prime Minister of free India loved and admired children. ICSK Khaitan fraternity paid reverential homage to this great leader by organizing various programs on the day.

The day was punctuated with special assemblies organized by the different classes from KG-12.The teachers shared their love for the children by presenting variety programs on the stage. The solo songs, group song and the group dance entertained the students as they relished the presentations with thunderous applause. Students were enthralled to see Chacha Nehru on stage, waving at them.

The Principal exhorted the children to follow the footsteps of the great leader as he was a great visionary and a true philanthropist. Even though he was born in a very rich family he opted to lead the freedom struggle in India and had to serve jail terms many times. As the first prime minister he shaped the new born India to a great nation and inspired millions of Indians. The program filled the hearts of the students with a great sense of pride and admiration for their beloved Chacha Nehru.

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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 ■■■■■■■

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.

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St George Orthodox Reesh Church celebrates 1st anniversary of elevation

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he first anniversary of the elevation of St George Universal Syrian Orthodox Reesh Church as Reesh Church (Major Church) was celebrated along with Holy Qurbana on Friday, December 9, 2011 at the National Evangelical Church of Kuwait (NECK), Kuwait City. Former Patriarchal Vicar for Kuwait, and the Metropolitan of the Kollam Diocese, HG Mathews Mor Theodocius was the Chief Celebrant. Parish Vicar

Reverend Father Sajan T John also spoke on this occasion.

St George Universal Syrian Orthodox Reesh Church was elevated as Reesh Church on December 3, 2010 by the Patriarch of Antioch. St George Reesh Church is one of the biggest parishes of the Malankara Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church in the Middle East with more than 2,000 individual members.

Kala-Kuwait urges center to decide on Mullapperiyar

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he Abbassiya West unit conference of Kerala Art Lovers Association, KALA-Kuwait urged to the Central Government of India to take proper decision on the issue of Mullapperiayar. The resolution passed pointed out that the dam is of ancient architecture and it doesn’t have the modern techniques employed to withstand earthquakes and requested to immediately lower the water level to 120 feet. The unit conference was presided over by Nissar Kondoty while KALA President Sam Pynummodu inaugurated. P.K Sasidharan presented the unit report and Pratheesh read the condolence. The different resolutions were put forward in the conference

by Suresh Kumar, U Vijayan and Noushad Kannor.

Later, the conference unanimously chose Vikas as convener, Sajid C P and Praveen as Joint conveners, Biju Jose, Shaju Ayoor, Sharlette Albert, Sidhaardh, Sunil George, Binoj K as unit executive members. Representing the KALA Central Committee Saji Mathew, Saleem Raj and Vinnu Kalleli participated in the conference. Sajid C P conveyed the vote of thanks.

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 ■■■■■■■

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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Years

TV PROGRAMS

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 14:15 14:45 15:40 16:30 17:00 17:30 18:00 18:25 19:20 19:45 20:15 20:40 21:10 22:05 23:00 23:25 23:55

01:00 01:30 02:00 02:30 03:20 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 09:40 09:45 10:05 10:20 10:40 11:10 11:40 12:25 13:15 13:45 14:15 15:10 15:40 16:10 16:40 17:30 18:15 18:45 19:15 20:10 21:00 21:45 22:15 22:45 23:40

I’m Alive Animal Cops Phoenix Monster Bug Wars Wildest India I’m Alive Dogs 101: Specials Animal Cops Phoenix Animal Cops Specials 2009 Monkey Life Dick ‘n’ Dom Go Wild Talk To The Animals The Really Wild Show Breed All About It Dogs 101 Dogs 101: Specials Animal Cops Houston Bondi Vet Wildlife SOS SSPCA: On The Wildside RSPCA: On The Frontline Animal Cops Houston Monster Bug Wars Monkey Life Dick ‘n’ Dom Go Wild Talk To The Animals The Really Wild Show Dogs 101: Specials Extraordinary Dogs Extraordinary Dogs Bondi Vet Breed All About It Dogs 101: Specials Monster Bug Wars Animal Kingdom Animal Kingdom Untamed & Uncut

Gavin & Stacey Last Of The Summer Wine Last Of The Summer Wine The Weakest Link Casualty Doctors Little Robots The Large Family Penelope K, By The Way Poetry Pie Tweenies 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 Little Robots The Large Family Penelope K, By The Way Poetry Pie Poetry Pie Tweenies Charlie and Lola Balamory My Family My Family The Weakest Link Inside The Royal Wedding Doctors EastEnders Casualty My Family My Family My Family Inside The Royal Wedding The Weakest Link Doctors EastEnders Casualty Inside The Royal Wedding The Weakest Link Doctors EastEnders Elephant Diaries Update Coast

00:05 Kirstie & Phil’s Perfect Christmas 01:45 Rick Stein’s Taste Of Italian Opera 02:40 Chef At Home 04:30 Chef At Home 04:55 Kirstie & Phil’s Perfect Christmas 06:35 Chef At Home 07:40 Chef At Home 08:00 Indian Food Made Easy 08:30 Kirstie & Phil’s Perfect Christmas 09:20 Chef At Home 09:45 Rick Stein’s Mediterranean Escapes 10:35 Indian Food Made Easy 11:25 Indian Food Made Easy 11:55 James Martin’s Champagne 12:20 James Martin’s Brittany 12:40 James Martin’s Brittany 13:05 Chef At Home 15:20 Chef At Home 15:40 Come Dine With Me 17:20 Come Dine With Me 18:10 James Martin’s Brittany 18:35 James Martin’s Brittany 19:00 Kirstie & Phil’s Perfect Christmas 19:50 Rick Stein’s Far Eastern Odyssey: Christmas 21:40 Come Dine With Me 23:20 Come Dine With Me

00:00 BBC World News America 00:30 Hardtalk 01:00 BBC World News 01:30 World Business Report 01:45 Sport Today 02:00 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 09:00 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 17:00 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 20:00 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

00:05 00:30 00:55 01:20 01:45 02:10 02:35 03:00 03:25 03:50 04:00 04:25 04:50 05:15 05:35 06:00 06:10 06:35 07:00 07:15 07:30 07:55 08:20 08:45 09:00 09:25 09:50 10:15 10:40 11:05 11:30 11:55 12:20 12:35 13:00 13:15 13:40 13:55 14:20 14:45 15:15 15:40 16:05 16:30 16:55 17:20 Doo 17:45 18:10 18:30 18:55 19:20 19:45 20:00 20:25 20:50 21:15 21:45 22:10 22:35 23:00 23:25 23:55

The Garfield Show Scooby Doo Where Are You! The Perils Of Penelope Pitstop Droopy: Master Detective The Flintstones Johnny Bravo Duck Dodgers King Arthur’s Disasters The Scooby Doo Show Popeye Classics Tom & Jerry Popeye The Jetsons The Flintstones Looney Tunes Pink Panther & Pals Tex Avery Duck Dodgers The Garfield Show New Yogi Bear Show Bananas In Pyjamas Baby Looney Tunes Gerald McBoing Boing Jelly Jamm Pink Panther And Pals Puppy In My Pocket The Garfield Show Dastardly And Muttley The Flintstones Tom & Jerry Pink Panther And Pals Top Cat New Yogi Bear Show Puppy In My Pocket Jelly Jamm Baby Looney Tunes Bananas In Pyjamas The Jetsons Duck Dodgers Looney Tunes Scooby Doo Where Are You! Tom & Jerry The Perils Of Penelope Pitstop Droopy: Master Detective Wacky Races Scooby-Doo And ScrappyDastardly And Muttley Tom & Jerry Puppy In My Pocket Pink Panther And Pals The Garfield Show Dexters Laboratory Gerald McBoing Boing Bananas In Pyjamas Top Cat Wacky Races Tom & Jerry The Scooby Doo Show Dastardly And Muttley Tom & Jerry Johnny Bravo Dexters Laboratory

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 Eliot Kid 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 Amazing World Of Gumball 15:40 Ed, Edd n Eddy 16:05 Camp Lazlo 16:30 Chowder 16:55 The Grim Adventures Of Billy & Mandy 17:25 Cow & Chicken 17:50 Courage The Cowardly Dog 18:15 The Amazing World Of Gumball 18:40 George Of The Jungle 19:05 Robotboy 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 The Amazing World Of Gumball 22:50 The Grim Adventures Of Billy & Mandy 23:00 Ben 10 23:25 Bakugan Battle Brawlers 23:50 The Secret Saturdays

00:00 Connect The World With Becky Anderson 01:00 Backstory 01:30 World Sport 02:00 The Situation Room 03:00 World Report 04:00 Anderson Cooper 360 05:00 Piers Morgan Tonight 06:00 Quest Means Business 07:00 Erin Burnett Outfront 08:00 World Sport 08:30 Backstory 09:00 World Report 10:00 World Report 11:00 World Sport 11:30 I Report For CNN 12:00 World Business Today 13:00 Backstory 13:30 Mainsail 14:00 World One 15:00 Piers Morgan Tonight 16:00 News Stream 17:00 World Business Today 18:00 International Desk 19:00 The Brief 19:30 World Sport 20:00 Prism 21:00 International Desk 21:30 Mainsail 22:00 Quest Means Business 22:45 CNN Marketplace Europe 23:00 Piers Morgan Tonight

00:15 04:50 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 17:50 18:45 19:10 19:40 20:05 20:35 21:00 21:30 22:25 23:20

Stan Lee’S Superhumans Stan Lee’S Superhumans How It’S Made Dirty Jobs Wheeler Dealers Fifth Gear Overhaulin’ How Stuff’S Made Mythbusters Cake Boss Border Security Scrappers Gold Rush: Alaska Coal Gold Rush: Alaska Gold Rush: Alaska Cake Boss Border Security Scrappers How It’S Made How Stuff’S Made Cash Cab Us Surviving The Cut Frontline Battle Machines...

Kidnap And Rescue

00:40 The Gadget Show 01:05 The Tech Show 01:35 Superships 02:25 Stunt Junkies 02:50 Weird Or What?

03:40 What’s That About?

04:35 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 11:25 Brainiac 12:20 Sci-Fi Science 12:45 How Stuff’s Made 13:15 Weird Or What?

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 Wallace & Gromit’s World Of Invention 20:30 Science Of The Movies 21:20 Through The Wormhole With Morgan Freeman 22:10 The Gadget Show 23:00 Wallace & Gromit’s World Of Invention 23:25 Wallace & Gromit’s World Of Invention 23:50 Science Of The Movies

ECHELON CONSPIRACY ON OSN ACTION HD

00:00 00:25 00:50 01:15 01:35 02:00 02:25 02:50 03:15 03:35 04:00

Kim Possible Fairly Odd Parents Fairly Odd Parents Stitch Stitch Replacements Replacements Emperor’s New School Emperor’s New School Stitch Stitch

04:25 04:50 05:15 05:35 06:00 06:20 Cody 06:45 Cody 07:05 07:30 07:55 08:10 08:35 09:00 10:45 11:35 12:00 12:25 12:45 13:10 13:30 13:55 14:20 15:00 16:35 17:00 17:25 17:50 18:15 19:35 20:00 20:25 20:50 21:15 21:35 22:00 22:25 22:50 23:15 23:35

Replacements Replacements Fairly Odd Parents Fairly Odd Parents Hannah Montana The Suite Life Of Zack And The Suite Life Of Zack And Wizards Of Waverly Place Wizards Of Waverly Place Phineas And Ferb Good Luck Charlie Good Luck Charlie Hatching Pete Good Luck Charlie Good Luck Charlie Wizards Of Waverly Place Wizards Of Waverly Place Fish Hooks Fish Hooks Suite Life On Deck Suite Life On Deck Pixie Hollow Games Good Luck Charlie So Random Fairly Odd Parents Good Luck Charlie Fish Hooks Shake It Up Shake It Up Good Luck Charlie Hannah Montana Hannah Montana Suite Life On Deck Suite Life On Deck Shake It Up Shake It Up Sonny With A Chance Wizards Of Waverly Place Wizards Of Waverly Place

00:25 Kendra 00:55 Style Star 01:25 20 Hottest Women Of The Web 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 Kendra 09:45 Kendra 10:15 THS 12:05 E! News 13:05 Ice Loves Coco 17:25 Ice Loves Coco 17:55 E! News 18:55 Ice Loves Coco 19:25 Ice Loves Coco 19:55 Dirty Soap 20:55 Chelsea Lately 21:25 Bridalplasty 22:25 E! News 23:25 Chelsea Lately 23:55 Keeping Up With The Kardashians

00:00 01:00 01:30 02:00 03:00 03:30 04:00 05:00 06:00 07:00 07:30 08:00 09:00 09:30 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 13:30 14:00 14:30 15:00 15:30 16:00 17:00 17:30 18:00 19:00 19:30 20:00 20:30 21:00 21:30 22:00 23:00 23:30

Treks In A Wild World Bluelist Australia Word Travels Cruise Ship Diaries Pressure Cook Pressure Cook Around The World For Free Nomads Treks In A Wild World Bluelist Australia Word Travels Cruise Ship Diaries Pressure Cook Pressure Cook Around The World For Free Nomads Treks In A Wild World Bondi Rescue: Bali Bondi Rescue Bondi Rescue Travel Madness First Ascent The Best Job In The World Dive Detectives David Rocco’s Dolce Vita David Rocco’s Dolce Vita Departures Bondi Rescue: Bali Bondi Rescue Bondi Rescue Travel Madness First Ascent The Best Job In The World Dive Detectives David Rocco’s Dolce Vita David Rocco’s Dolce Vita

00:00 02:00 04:00 06:00 08:00 10:00 12:00 14:00 16:00 18:00 20:00 22:00

The Final-18 Mirrors 2-18 Arlington Road-PG15 From Paris With Love-PG15 Ballistica-PG15 Tracker-PG15 Echelon Conspiracy-PG15 Ballistica-PG15 Triassic Attack-PG15 Echelon Conspiracy-PG15 Assassination Tango-18 4.3.2.1.-18

01:00 Sinners & Saints-PG15 03:00 The LXD: Secrets Of The RaPG15 05:00 Mee Shee-PG 07:00 Shrek Forever After-FAM 09:00 The Great Debaters-PG15 11:15 The Flyboys-PG15 13:15 Planet 51-PG 15:00 The Social Network-PG15 17:15 Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star-PG15 19:15 Nine Dead-PG15 21:00 Mars Needs Moms-PG 23:00 Peter And Vandy-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

THE FLYBOYS ON OSN CINEMA 09:00 Seinfeld 09:30 Friends With Benefits 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 Friends With Benefits 15:30 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 16:00 The Colbert Report 16:30 Happy Endings 17:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 18:00 Friends 18:30 Friends 19:00 30 Rock 19:30 Wilfred 20:00 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 21:00 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 21:30 The Colbert Report 22:00 Louie 22:30 Neighbors From Hell 23:00 The Cleveland Show 23:30 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon

00:00 01:00 02:00 03:00 04:00 05:00 07:00 08:00 08:30 09:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 17:00 18:00 18:30 19:00 20:00 21:30 22:00 23:00

00:00 01:00 02:00 03:00 04:00 05:00 06:00 07:00 07:30 08:00 09:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 12:30 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:30 22:00 23:00

Terra Nova True Blood Covert Affairs Once Upon A Time No Ordinary Family Good Morning America The Glades Emmerdale Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show The Martha Stewart Show The View Terra Nova Once Upon A Time No Ordinary Family Live Good Morning America The Ellen DeGeneres Show Emmerdale Look-A-Like Eureka The X Factor (US) Look-A-Like Rescue Me The Glades

Drop Dead Diva Off The Map Terra Nova True Blood Once Upon A Time The Chicago Code Drop Dead Diva Modern Family Marathon Coronation Street Law & Order: Los Angeles Off The Map Terra Nova Once Upon A Time Modern Family Marathon Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show Law & Order: Los Angeles Drop Dead Diva Tower Prep The Ellen DeGeneres Show Law & Order: Los Angeles Eureka The X Factor (US) Look-A-Like Rescue Me Supernatural

01:00 Smokin’ Aces 2: Assassin’s Ball18 03:00 Lake Placid 3-18 05:00 Neowolf-18 07:00 The Sorcerer’s ApprenticePG15 09:00 Rocky II-PG15 11:00 Iron Man 2-PG15 13:15 Ip Man-PG15 15:15 Rocky II-PG15 17:15 Age Of The Dragons-PG15 19:00 Icarus-18 21:00 Reykjavik: Whale Watching Massacre-18 23:00 From Within-PG15

00:00 Charlie & Boots-PG15 02:00 It’s A Wonderful AfterlifePG15 04:00 16 To Life-PG15 06:00 Cats & Dogs-PG 08:00 Mr. Baseball-PG 10:00 Hey Hey Its Esther Blueburger-PG15 12:00 Roommates-PG15 14:00 Did You Hear About The Morgans?-PG15 16:00 Charlie & Boots-PG15 18:00 Away We Go-PG15 20:00 She’s Out Of My League-18 22:00 Alfie-18

01:00 Into The Night-18 03:00 Arlington Road-PG15 05:00 Hollywood, I’m Sleeping Over Tonight-PG15 07:00 Searching For Bobby FischerPG 09:00 Preacher’s Kid-PG 11:00 Leaving Normal-PG15 13:00 Hollywood, I’m Sleeping Over Tonight-PG15 15:00 Guarding Tess-PG 17:00 Me And Orson Welles-PG 19:00 Robin Hood (1991)-PG15 21:00 Entre Les Murs-PG15 23:15 Legends Of The Fall-18

01:30 03:45 05:30 07:30 09:00 11:00 13:00 15:00 PG 17:00 19:00 21:00 23:00

Riding In Cars With Boys-PG15 Flicka 2-PG15 A Lot Like Love-PG15 The Eclipse-PG15 Easy A-PG15 The Open Road-PG15 Antwone Fisher-PG15 Where The Wild Things Are-

00:00 01:45 04:00 06:00 PG15 08:00 10:00 PG 12:00 14:00 16:00 18:00 PG 20:00 22:00

Young Fisherman-PG Turandot-PG Turtle Hero: Part I-FAM The Little Engine That Could-

00:15 02:00 04:15 06:00 08:00 10:00 12:00 13:45 16:00 18:00 20:00 22:00

Jake’s Closet-PG15 Public Enemies-18 My Dog Tulip-PG15 Gasland-PG15 The Cake Eaters-PG15 Sounds Like Teen Spirit-PG15 Open Season 3-FAM Gasland-PG15 The Cake Eaters-PG15 Strength And Honour-PG15 Cyrus-18 Relative Stranger-PG15

00:00 01:00 02:00 03:00 04:00 07:00 08:00 09:00 10:00 10:30 11:00 12:00 15:00 16:00 16:30 17:30 19:00 20:00 23:00

UFC Unleashed Intercontinental Le Mans Cup Trans World Sport Speedway Masters Football Trans World Sport Powerboats F1 Intercontinental Le Mans Cup Powerboats Nations Cup Powerboats Nations Cup Speedway Masters Football Trans World Sport Powerboats Nations Cup Speedway Volvo Ocean Race WWE NXT UFC 133 UFC Unleashed

Easy A-PG15 Wrong Turn At Tahoe-18 Mars Needs Moms-PG Machete-18

Last Of The Mohicans-PG Ace Ventura: Pet Detective Jr.Turtle Hero: Part II-FAM Ramona And Beezus-PG Toy Story 3-FAM Ace Ventura: Pet Detective Jr.Shipwrecked-PG Turtle Hero: Part II-FAM

03:00 Golfing World 04:00 Trans World Sports 05:00 European Senior Tour Highlights 06:00 European Senior Tour Highlights Season Review 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 SPL Highlights 18:30 Scottish Premier League 20:30 Trans World Sport 21:30 Futbol Mundial 22:00 Live Darts PDC World Championship

01:30 World Hockey 02:00 World Cup of Pool 03:00 World Pool Masters World Pong 04:00 Ping Championship 05:00 European Challenge Cup 07:00 Golfing World 08:00 Masters Football 11:00 Asian Tour Highlights 12:00 Asian Tour Golf Show 12:30 European Senior Tour Highlights 13:30 European Senior Tour Highlights 14:30 World Hockey World PDC 15:00 Darts Championship 20:00 Volvo Ocean Race 21:30 Volvo Ocean Race 22:30 Asian Tour Highlights 23:30 Asian Tour Golf Show

02:00 03:00 04:00 07:00 08:00 09:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 23:00

UFC Unleashed UFC Unleashed UFC 132 WWE Bottom Line WWE Tough Enough Speedway Le Mans Series Highlights V8 Supercars Championship V8 Supercars Championship Prizefighter WWE Vintage Collection WWE Tough Enough Speedway FIM World WWE NXT UFC 133 Prizefighter

00:40 Extreme Forensics 01:30 The Haunted 02:15 A Haunting 03:05 I Almost Got Away With It 03:50 FBI Case Files 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?

21:20 On the Case with Paula Zahn 22:10 Disappeared 23:00 I Faked My Own Death 23:50 Forensic Justice

Classifieds THURSDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2011

ACCOMMODATION 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

DIAL 161 FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION

FOR SALE Airlines JZR KLM JZR JZR ETH MEA THY UAE QTR DHX MSR FDB ETD GFA KAC THY DHX FAH JZR JZR BAW KAC KAC FDB KAC IRA KAC JZR KAC IRA KAC UAE ABY QTR ETD FDB GFA KNE JZR KNE RKM MEA SVA SYR KAC MSC MSR KNE KAC GFA MSR FDB MSR UAL VOS OMA QTR KNE SVA KAC RJA KAC KAC JZR LMU KAC QTR JZR MLR JZR ETD KAC UAE GFA SVA ABY JZR ALK FDB JZR MSC TAR FDB KAC JZR KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC FDB JAI OMA MSR KAC DHX MEA GFA LMU QTR UAE JZR KAC KLM AIC JZR UAL AXB BBC DLH

Arrival Flights on Thursday 22/12/2011 Flt Route 185 DUBAI 447 AMSTERDAM/BAHRAIN 267 BEIRUT 539 CAIRO 620 ADDIS ABABA 408 BEIRUT 772 ISTANBUL 853 DUBAI 138 DOHA 370 BAHRAIN 612 CAIRO 67 DUBAI 305 ABU DHABI 211 BAHRAIN 544 CAIRO 770 ISTANBUL 170 BAHRAIN 201 DUBAI 503 LUXOR 555 ALEXANDRIA 157 LONDON 412 MANILA/BANGKOK 206 ISLAMABAD 53 DUBAI 352 COCHIN 617 AHWAZ 302 MUMBAI 531 ASSIUT 332 TRIVANDRUM 604 ISFAHAN 362 COLOMBO 855 DUBAI 125 SHARJAH 132 DOHA 301 ABU DHABI 55 DUBAI 213 BAHRAIN 945 JEDDAH 165 DUBAI 789 JEDDAH 310 RAS ALKHAIMAH 404 BEIRUT 9405 JEDDAH 341 DAMASCUS/DEIREZZOR 382 DELHI 9621 SOHAG 610 CAIRO 989 JEDDAH 672 DUBAI 219 BAHRAIN 621 ASSIUT 57 DUBAI 606 LUXOR 982 WASHINGTON DC DULLES 93 KANDAHAR/DUBAI 645 MUSCAT 140 DOHA 745 JEDDAH 500 JEDDAH 552 DAMASCUS 640 AMMAN 788 JEDDAH 284 DHAKA 257 BEIRUT 407 ALEXANDRIA 546 ALEXANDRIA 134 DOHA 535 CAIRO 403 COLOMBO/DUBAI 357 MASHAD 303 ABU DHABI 118 NEW YORK 857 DUBAI 215 BAHRAIN 510 RIYADH 127 SHARJAH 777 JEDDAH 227 COLOMBO/DUBAI 8067 DUBAI 177 DUBAI 9623 SOHAG 328 TUNIS/DUBAI 63 DUBAI 542 CAIRO 125 BAHRAIN 786 JEDDAH 618 DOHA 614 BAHRAIN 674 DUBAI 104 LONDON 562 AMMAN 774 RIYADH 61 DUBAI 572 MUMBAI 647 MUSCAT 618 ALEXANDRIA 178 GENEVA/FRANKFURT 372 BAHRAIN 402 BEIRUT 217 BAHRAIN 409 ASSIUT 136 DOHA 859 DUBAI 135 BAHRAIN 502 BEIRUT 445 AMSTERDAM 981 CHENNAI/HYDERABAD 239 AMMAN 981 BAHRAIN 389 KOZHIKODE/MANGALORE 43 DHAKA 636 FRANKFURT

Time 0:20 0:30 0:45 0:50 1:45 2:00 2:15 2:35 2:40 2:55 3:00 3:05 3:10 3:15 4:40 4:50 5:15 5:30 5:55 6:00 6:40 6:45 7:40 7:45 7:50 7:50 7:55 8:00 8:05 8:15 8:20 8:30 9:00 9:05 9:15 9:20 9:55 10:00 11:20 11:20 11:45 11:55 12:30 12:35 12:45 12:45 12:55 13:05 13:20 13:25 13:30 13:50 13:55 14:05 14:15 14:15 14:20 14:25 14:30 14:35 14:40 14:50 15:00 15:00 15:10 15:20 15:25 16:25 16:40 16:50 16:50 16:55 16:55 17:15 17:20 17:40 17:45 18:00 18:15 18:15 18:30 18:35 18:40 18:50 19:00 19:10 19:15 19:20 19:25 19:35 19:50 20:00 20:00 20:10 20:15 20:45 20:55 21:00 21:20 21:25 21:30 21:35 21:40 21:55 22:00 22:05 22:05 22:45 23:00 23:35 23:45 23:50

Airlines AXB UAL AIC JZR DLH KLM KAC ETH MEA THY KAC FDB UAE DHX MSR ETD QTR THY JZR GFA FDB KAC BAW IRA JZR KAC KAC IRA JZR KAC KAC UAE ABY ETD FDB QTR GFA KNE JZR KAC KAC KNE JZR RKM MEA MSC SYR KAC JZR MSR SVA KNE GFA MSR FDB KAC MSR KAC KNE OMA UAL RJA JZR KAC LMU SVA KAC KAC QTR KAC JZR ETD MLR JZR QTR VOS UAE GFA ABY SVA JZR FDB JZR ALK FDB TAR MSC JZR FDB KAC KAC DHX KAC JAI OMA MSR KAC DHX KAC LMU MEA GFA FAH QTR KAC JZR UAE KAC KLM JZR KAC KAC

Departure Flights on Thursday 22/12/2011 Flt Route 394 COCHIN/KOZHIKODE 981 WASHINGTON DC DULLES 976 GOA/CHENNAI 530 ASSIUT 637 FRANKFURT 447 AMSTERDAM 283 DHAKA 621 ADDIS ABABA 409 BEIRUT 773 ISTANBUL 381 DELHI 68 DUBAI 854 DUBAI 371 BAHRAIN 613 CAIRO 306 ABU DHABI 139 DOHA 771 ISTANBUL 164 DUBAI 212 BAHRAIN 54 DUBAI 545 ALEXANDRIA 156 LONDON 606 MASHAD 256 BEIRUT 671 DUBAI 551 DAMASCUS 604 ISFAHAN 534 CAIRO 787 JEDDAH 101 LONDON/NEW YORK 856 DUBAI 126 SHARJAH 302 ABU DHABI 56 DUBAI 133 DOHA 214 BAHRAIN 946 JEDDAH 356 MASHAD 165 ROME/PARIS 541 CAIRO 790 JEDDAH 776 JEDDAH 311 RAS ALKHAIMAH 405 BEIRUT 9622 SOHAG 342 DEIREZZOR/DAMASCUS 785 JEDDAH 176 DUBAI 611 CAIRO 2405 JEDDAH 990 JEDDAH 220 BAHRAIN 622 ASSIUT 58 DUBAI 561 AMMAN 607 LUXOR 673 DUBAI 746 JEDDAH 646 MUSCAT 982 BAHRAIN 641 AMMAN 124 BAHRAIN 617 DOHA 408 ASSIUT 505 JEDDAH 501 BEIRUT 613 BAHRAIN 141 DOHA 773 RIYADH 238 AMMAN 304 ABU DHABI 404 DUBAI/COLOMBO 538 CAIRO 135 DOHA 82 BAGHDAD 858 DUBAI 216 BAHRAIN 128 SHARJAH 511 RIYADH 266 BEIRUT 8068 DUBAI 134 BAHRAIN 228 DUBAI/COLOMBO 64 DUBAI 328 TUNIS 9624 ASSIUT 184 DUBAI 62 DUBAI 343 CHENNAI 331 TRIVANDRUM 171 BAHRAIN 351 COCHIN 571 MUMBAI 648 MUSCAT 619 ALEXANDRIA 543 CAIRO 373 BAHRAIN 675 DUBAI 410 ALEXANDRIA 403 BEIRUT 218 BAHRAIN 102 DUBAI 137 DOHA 301 MUMBAI 554 ALEXANDRIA 860 DUBAI 205 ISLAMABAD 445 BAHRAIN/AMSTERDAM 528 ASSIUT 415 KUALA LUMPUR/JAKARTA 411 BANGKOK/MANILA

Time 0:40 0:45 0:50 1:15 1:20 1:45 2:40 2:45 2:55 3:15 3:30 3:45 3:50 3:55 4:00 4:00 4:55 5:50 6:55 7:00 8:25 8:30 8:40 8:50 9:00 9:00 9:10 9:15 9:15 9:25 9:35 9:40 9:45 10:00 10:05 10:10 10:40 10:45 10:50 11:45 12:00 12:05 12:15 12:50 12:55 13:30 13:35 13:40 13:50 13:55 14:00 14:05 14:20 14:30 14:35 14:45 14:55 15:05 15:10 15:15 15:20 15:35 15:50 15:55 15:55 16:00 16:15 16:20 16:30 16:45 17:15 17:35 17:40 17:40 17:45 18:00 18:10 18:15 18:25 18:35 18:45 19:00 19:05 19:10 19:20 19:25 19:30 19:55 20:40 20:55 21:00 21:00 21:05 21:10 21:15 21:45 21:55 22:00 22:10 22:15 22:20 22:25 22:30 22:35 22:45 22:45 22:50 23:00 23:05 23:35 23:45 23:55

Directorate General of Civil Aviation Home Page (www.kuwait-airport.com.kw)

PC IBM Pentium 4, small size flat CPU, Intel 2.6GHz, HDD 80GB, Ram 512MB, DVD Writer, Windows XP Professional, 17” LCD, excellent condition. Contact: 99322585/ 99337034.

(C 3792) 22-12-2011 Delivery Van 2010, 2009 & 2006, Bus - 2008 Toyota Hi-

Ace. Contact: 66052331.

(C 3790) 21-11-2011

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.

Contact: amoorree79@hotmail.com / 97901392.

(C 3789) 20-12-2011

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,

Marshal

Agnelo

“I’m a teacher.

All I need are minds for molding.”

McClatchy Newspapers

Substitute teacher. Two words that strike fear in or bring laughs to school classes everywhere.

While it’s true you never know what you’re getting when a stranger enters the classroom, sometimes you really can judge a book by its cover.

Here’s a handy guide to quickly figuring out the sub type you’ve got — and how to get on his or her good side.

THE SUB WHO WANTS TO BE YOUR BUD What they wear: Nice jeans, college T-shirt and an iPod when you’re not looking — they look a lot like a student, come to think of it.

How they teach: Casually, with a lot of pop-culture references and slang. They’ll throw in references to Kanye West and Paris Hilton, just to let you know they can keep up with your world.

How they grade: Always stamp your papers with a “Good Job!” stamp or a smiley-face sticker, no matter how bad your grade is.

What they eat for lunch: They endure the same cafeteria food you do.

How they try to get on your good side: Hand out candy or bring baked goods to class. They also stop to talk to you in the hall about things like movies.

How you can get on their good side: Give them your review of the movie you saw last weekend. Go to them if you have a problem; they might have some good advice since they’re trying so hard to relate to students.

American family looking for live in maid. Contact: 50645422 / 66104141.

(C 3791) 22-12-2011

Fight the fear and flames life, and they’ve vowed revenge for what the profession did to them.

How they grade: F F F F F. You don’t have a chance.

What they eat for lunch: Probably nails and screws, although no one has actually seen them eat. They tend to be private.

How they try to get on your good side: They don’t.

They always make you feel stupid.

How you can get on their good side: Hard to tell if they have one.

THE BLOWOFF What they wear: Sweat pants. Lots of sweat suits.

Don’t get the wrong idea about the whistle around their neck — they’re probably a coach who got pulled in to teach at the last minute.

How they teach: Teach? Right . . . they pop a movie into the DVD player.

How they grade: Grade? Um, probably not. They let you grade your own paper and have you call out how many you missed when they say your name. Come on people!

This is the honor system!

What they eat for lunch: Anything nice and, uh, healthy.

If that’s what you want to call the double-protein, immuneboosting, vitamin-charged energy smoothie they’re drinking.

How they try to get on your good side: They’ll let you have study period all class long.

How you can get on their good side: Bring up questions about last night’s game, especially if you didn’t do your homework.

THE SPLIT-PERSONALITY What they wear: You never know. Could be bow tie or no tie.

How they teach: One class may include cute little stories or a game, and the next could end in detention for every student alive.

How they grade: A, B, C, D, F. Cross your fingers on this one.

What they eat for lunch: Probably a sack lunch. Or fast food. Or cafeteria food. There’s no clearly defined pattern here.

How they try to get on your good side: They let you out of class on time, when the bell rings. Either they don’t want you to be late to your next class or are just really thankful to get rid of you.

How you can get on their good side: Don’t underestimate these subs. Try to get along with them at all times.

Dry air and hot temperatures are fueling wildfires in Southern California. Thousands of firefighters are working to put out the flames.

When Abigail Carrillo, 12, stepped out onto the balcony of her Tujunga, Calif., home recently, she knew she needed to move quickly. “I could see the fire in the mountains, and there was smoke everywhere,” she told TFK. She helped her mother pack up some clothes. Then she grabbed a stack of photographs and her diary and headed out the door. At the evacuation center where her family went to stay temporarily, Abigail stayed positive. “We’re safe here,” she said.

The Carrillos’ house was one of more than 12,000 structures threatened by a fast-moving wildfire in Southern California. The fire started on Aug. 26 in the Angeles National Forest, an area just north of Los Angeles. Within the first week, it had destroyed more than 60 homes and had burned through 219 square miles of forest.

WHERE THE WILDFIRES ARE Because the fire started near a ranger station, it was named the Station Fire. It was the largest of several wildfires burning in California.

Dry air and hot temperatures were fueling the flames.

The Station Fire raged through an area that has not burned for 40 years. Dead trees and leaves have piled up over time. That bone-dry brush helped to feed the fire.

“When it gets into canyons that haven’t burned in numerous years, it takes off,” said Dianne Cahir. She works for the U.S. Forest Service.

Strong, hot gusts of wind are common this time of year in California. But so far, there has been little wind to fan the flames.

YOU CAN PREVENT FIRES “With the winds, it Every year, wildfires destroy would be so much lives and property. Humans worse,” said Los Ange- cause most wildfires accidentally. Here are some ways to les County fire captain help prevent fires.

Mark Whaling.

STRIKING BACK

THE PRISONWARDEN What they wear: Business suit; heels; for women, a tight bun in her hair; few accessories; glasses and possibly a nightstick.

How they teach: Mountains of homework.

They may have been a full-time teacher in a past

SITUATION VACANT

I An average of 1.2 million acres of U.S. woodland burn every year. More than four out of five wildfires are caused by people.

I A large wildfire, or conflagration, is capable of modifying the local weather conditions or producing “its own weather.” — weather.com

— Jack Black as substitute teacher Dewey Finn in “The School of Rock.”

BY C.J. CURTIS AND ERIN GROPE

Lawrence, holder of Indian Passport No. F5623328 hereby change my name to Marcelo Agnelo Lourenco.

GEORGE BREISACHER/THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER/MCT

1. Never play with matches or lighters.

2. If you see kids playing with

matches or lighters, tell them On the ground, thousands of firefight- to stop. Then tell a grown-up.

3. Never leave a campfire ers cleared away unattended. An adult should brush. From the sky, be there at all times. air tankers and heli4. Keep a bucket of water copters dumped water and firefighting chem- near a campfire. icals onto hot spots.

5. Make sure a campfire is out before leaving a campsite.

Many firefighters worked around the clock. “You can’t sleep,” said firefighter Jack Hayes.

“There’s always something you could be doing.”

While thousands of Californians, including the Carrillo family, waited to return home, many more braced themselves for the rest of wildfire season. The blazes are common in California through November.

The state’s governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, sought to reassure residents. “We are fortunate,” he told them, “to have the best-trained, most courageous fire— Suzanne Zimbler fighters in the world.” © 2009 Time Inc. All Rights Reserved.

TIME FOR KIDS and Timeforkids.com are registered trademarks of Time Inc.

34

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2011

s ta rs CROSSWORD 535

CALVIN & HOBBES

STAR TRACK Aries (March 21-April 19) You may find enjoyment in probing your inner workings or some good solid gossip. You find value in your darker, more secretive areas and don’t mind working through some sensitive problems. Managing and directing others in such a good manner could have someone in authority seeking you out for help in performing a particular job. It is a great time to be with others and to work together. Those around you should have no problem in following your lead, as you are most eloquent in speech and communication and can be very persuasive.

Things seem to be very natural for self-expression and you are very creative; write, draw and enjoy your creative self. Expect a very engrossing conversation with someone you love this evening.

Taurus (April 20-May 20)

POOCH CAFE ACROSS 1. Title for a civil or military leader (especially in Turkey).

5. A diacritical mark (an inverted circumflex) placed above certain letters (such as c) to indicate pronunciation.

10. The act of hauling something (as a vehicle) by means of a hitch or rope.

13. An official language of the Republic of South Africa.

14. Lower in esteem.

15. Any of various primates with short tails or no tail at all.

16. God of fire.

17. The Tibeto-Burman language spoken in the Thailand and Burmese borderlands.

18. The basic unit of money in Albania.

19. Twist or braid together, interlace.

21. West Indian evergreen with medium to long leaves.

23. The dialect of Malay used as the national language of the Republic of Indonesia or of Malaysia.

25. A public promotion of some product or service.

26. Any of a number of fishes of the family Carangidae.

28. A silvery ductile metallic element found primarily in bauxite.

29. A member of the Mongolian people of central Asia who invaded Russia in the 13th century.

33. A flexible container with a single opening.

34. A light touch or stroke.

37. The square of a body of any size of type.

39. God of love and erotic desire.

41. A byproduct of inflammation.

42. A heavy odorless colorless gas formed during respiration and by the decomposition of organic substances.

43. According to the Old Testament he was a pagan king of Israel and husband of Jezebel (9th century BC).

45. A bachelor's degree in science.

47. (of a young animal) Abandoned by its mother and raised by hand.

49. The ninth month of the Moslem calendar.

53. Make less active or intense.

57. Affect with wonder.

58. Someone who engages in arbitrage (who purchases securities in one market for immediate resale in another in the hope of profiting from the price differential).

61. Relatively small fast-moving sloth.

62. A state of southwestern India.

63. The superior of a group of nuns.

66. Canadian hockey player (born 1948).

67. A river in north central Switzerland that runs northeast into the Rhine.

68. Smeared thickly.

69. (used as a combining form) Recent or new.

DOWN 1. Essential oil or perfume obtained from flowers.

2. Mentally or physically infirm with age.

3. A bag used for carrying money and small personal items or accessories (especially by women).

4. Surveying instrument consisting of the upper movable part of a theodolite including the telescope and its attachments.

5. Australian shrubs and small trees with evergreen usually spiny leaves and dense clusters of showy flowers.

6. A loose sleeveless outer garment made from aba cloth.

7. Of the appetites and passions of the body.

8. The compass point midway between east and southeast.

9. Kenyan statesman and the first president of independent Kenya (1893-1978).

10. A fine grained mineral having a soft soapy feel and consisting of hydrated magnesium silicate.

11. An organization of countries formed in 1961 to agree on a common policy for the sale of petroleum.

12. Flightless New Zealand rail of thievish disposition having short wings each with a spur used in fighting.

20. A gonadotropic hormone that is secreted by the anterior pituitary.

22. (Babylonian) God of storms and wind.

24. A region of Malaysia in northeastern Borneo.

27. A rotating disk shaped to convert circular into linear motion.

30. Measuring instrument for indicating speed of rotation.

31. A city in northern India.

32. Deeply moved.

35. Jordan's port.

36. A small cake leavened with yeast.

38. A yellow quartz.

40. (British) A waterproof raincoat made of rubberized fabric.

44. An important seaport on the Island of Cebu in the Philippines.

46. A constitutional monarchy on the western part of the islands of Samoa in the South Pacific.

48. An official prosecutor for a judicial district.

50. A flat-bottomed volcanic crater that was formed by an explosion.

51. No longer having or seeming to have or expecting to have life.

52. (Babylonian) God of wisdom and agriculture and patron of scribes and schools.

54. Sweet pulpy tropical fruit with thick scaly rind and shiny black seeds.

55. Any of several weedy vetches grown for forage.

56. The basic monetary unit of most members of the European Union (introduced in 1999).

59. (informal) `johnny' was applied as a nickname for Confederate soldiers by the Federal soldiers in the American Civil War. 60. A fatal disease of cattle that affects the central nervous system.

64. A soft silvery metallic element of the alkali earth group.

65. A state in north central United States.

Yesterday’s Solution

You may have an emotional conflict with someone younger than you. Your feelings, or the feelings of someone who supports you, may need your attention. Your ideas and thoughts may help to sooth a situation and minds can be changed in an instant. Taking the difficult and creating a positive end result is something you are known to accomplish, over and over again. There may be times that you wonder why you are put in a position of anxiousness but it is obvious that you have the moxie and the organized mind to put things right. This afternoon is yours to do with as you please and most of your free time is spent in catching up with unfinished business. You have a craving for soups and breads and new recipes and hidden ingredients make this evening fun.

Gemini (May 21-June 20) Now is the time for you to receive recognition. Peers and superiors give you credit for your hard work. You have more animation in your thought process than you might realize—start using it and surprise yourself.

Now is a good time to resolve any long-standing dispute(s) as well as a good day for work. Get out-of-doors for exercise at the lunch break. Work will seem easier and you should feel more relaxed once you engage in some sort of health-related activity.

Also, love is in full bloom during this time—it’s a good time to fully demonstrate the depth of affection to loved ones. This is a good day—a time when your powers of creativity are great. You are able to solve problems easily, should they occur. Music plays a big part of a romantic evening.

Cancer (June 21-July 22)

NON SEQUITUR

Work objectives are very important to you at this time. Discipline may be where your concentration is focused. Maintain your spirit of enthusiasm—it will help you to stay on target with your goals. Your mind may feel as though it is on a race track. Activities are fast moving and insights easily appear. If it seems that things are moving too fast, step back for a bit. If you do not allow yourself a break from time to time, all of this creativeness could be of little value. Working with partners in an open, natural, creative environment can only bring good fortune at this time. You accomplish a variety of projects today. While you are with friends and family this evening, you use your energy constructively—being slow to anger is a good idea now.

Leo (July 23-August 22)

ZITS

A hobby you have perfected recently may be turning into a very profitable enterprise. Even if you have a day job, the hobby you have could be an attraction to others during your lunch break. You may find your time is spent in teaching or selling your creative works or invention. This inventiveness of yours could also come in the form of children’s stories, candles, mixes of coffees or teas for particular tastes, herbal or scent concoctions all done up in beautiful packaging. Good conversation and enjoyable, non-stress situations make for a great avenue to introduce your private label and a little extra money. This evening you enjoy long conversations with family members while you prop up your feet and take long sips of that herbal tea you made earlier today.

Virgo (August 23-September 22) Something may help you discover a few good and new ways to go forward with a plan regarding your life situation. You may find yourself serving to guide someone younger than you in matters of importance. This is a vital day with lots of energy and action. You may feel focused and even a bit radiant.

This afternoon presents a great opportunity to keep your promise to a family member. Be careful, you may have more fun than you thought possible! Announce early in the day that the evening will require everyone’s attendance. Perhaps a meal or movie together or you decide to invite the family to come along for a ride in the family vehicle, through the many decorated neighborhoods. Early to bed this evening will help to balance your energies.

Libra (September 23-October 22)

MOTHER GOOSE AND GRIMM

Having figured out new ways to communicate or a temperate manner will make conversations and interactions go well. You may find yourself more expressive and proficient than usual. A dialogue with an older person may take place. Someone that you are close to will be very understanding of your feelings and be sympathetic, although it may take some patience on your part to get to that point. You may find that you are appreciated or valued for your feelings or your ability to take action and get things done. Your emotions or the feelings of those around you should be very clear. This is a wonderful time to reflect and understand your own situation—just exactly how you feel. You will enjoy this very-niceday.

Scorpio (October 23-November 21) Today you may decide to do some technical or scientific work that may have been previously neglected. This could include a hobby as well as subjects that are work related. Your imagination is in full swing—you are able to lighten everyone’s spirit without even trying. You long for new experiences. Your emotional nourishment and feeling of protection comes from integrity, friendships and social interaction. Having someone flatter you on anything is always nice. Some form of compliment on your tastes or belongings will find a way to you. You could be working exceptionally hard to find a place for everything and to keep everything in its place. Health and work goals are emphasized for the upcoming year.

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21) Now is the time to concentrate on practical matters. Your energy and optimism go together in helping you to grasp the grandiose picture. Do not forget, however, that the whole is made up of many parts. Each part must be considered and none can be missing or out of place. When working in a group or with a team, don’t stray the course. This is a good day for long-range planning. However, as usual, flexibility will keep things moving. Exercise caution and care in your personal business dealings, both in the physical and financial realm, so as to not get in over your head. Community activities that take place at this time should be both well-attended and successful. A new and healthy relationship may come about during this time.

Capricorn (December 22-January 19) This is a good time to foster a sense of togetherness and team play among group work activity. Do not try to force a particular issue during this time. If you are depending on several different people or the upswing of the dollar to save some business project, you will not have long to wait. There are positive outcomes. If your own expertise has been the guide to a particular project, you have nothing to fear. A very important relationship, perhaps an older person or someone in authority, may come into focus. You may feel a bit of tension or sense of opposition that will require compromise or negotiation on your part. A big opportunity for understanding and growth is at hand. Some good advice from a guide is available.

Yesterday’s Solution Aquarius (January 20- February 18) Today could find you wanting to talk, talk, and talk, as your mind should be quite clear and natural now. Ideas are flowing and come with ease. Taking care of business may be your number one priority. You desire organization and practicality and you simply want to get things accomplished. Work objectives and health take on more importance for you now. Those around you may find you especially witty and a bit on the eccentric side at this time. You will be valued for your independence and unique qualities and could find important breakthroughs regarding your living situation or life conditions. This evening is an excellent time for taking part in social activities. You may talk a friend into teaching you some new dance steps!

Pisces (February 19-March 20)

Word Sleuth Solution

Your very capable ability to manage and direct others will be in high focus. You should find it an exceptionally good time to be with others and to work together. A superior may seek you out as just the right person for a particular job. This is a good day for making decisions, carrying out plans and communicating to others just where you stand. Make sure the dialogue goes both ways, however—others have good ideas too. If you stick to the main subjects and do not become hung up on trivialities, you should accomplish a lot in a group meeting. You are empowered with a clear and inquisitive mind. At this time, working with and discussing ideas with friends can be most rewarding. You enjoy time with your family this evening.

A

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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2011

Years

i n f o r m at i o n FIRE BRIGADE

112

Al-Madena

22418714

Al-Shohada’a

22545171

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24810598

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22545171

Sabhan

24742838

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22434853

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22545051

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24711433

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24316983

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23927002

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24316983

Ahmadi

23980088

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23711183

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23262845

24812000

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25610011

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22450005

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25616368

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24843100

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25312700

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24849400

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24892010

Adan Hospital

23940620

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24840300

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24846000

Physiotherapy Hospital

24874330/9

Ministry of Interior website: www.moi.gov.kw For labor-related inquiries and complaints: Call MSAL hotline 128

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4732263

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22517733

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22517144

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24848075

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24849807

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24848913

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24814507

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22549134

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22526804

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24814764

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22515088

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22532265

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22531908

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22518752

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22459381

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22451082

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22456536

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22465401

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25746401

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25316254

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25623444

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25388462

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25381200

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22630786

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24810221

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24770319

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24575755

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24772608

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24775066

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24775992

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24311795

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24884079

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24892674

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24719048

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24710044

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3900322

22434064 22435865 22544200 22547133 22515277 22616662 25714406 22530801

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24334282

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info@soorcenter.com www.soorcenter.com

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25633324

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25345875

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22636464

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25322030

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25330060

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25722290

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Years

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2011

lifestyle F e a t u r e s

Shoppers walk past a Gingerbread House Christmas decorations at the Grove at Farmer’s Market in Los Angeles, California, on December 20, 2011. US retail sales faltered for the second consecutive month in November, the beginning of the crucial year-end holiday shopping season, official data released last week showed. — AFP

Rungis market, larder of Paris, groaning with seasonal cheer lump turkeys adorned with red ribbons, proud capons trussed up in tinsel-the finest poultry is again the star of the show as French cooks shop for Christmas in Paris’ biggest market. While the French capital sleeps, a vast fleet of trucks and delivery vans perform a ballet in the freezing mist, shipping vast quantities of meat, cheese, vegetables and delicacies to the city’s shops and restaurants. Rungis market is almost a city in its own right, spread over 234 hectares (578 acres), and Christmas its busiest season. The 120,000 tons of food that pass through its alleys in December account for a quarter of its annual trade.

French families traditionally enjoy a lavish evening meal on December 24, Christmas Eve, and-along with oystersbirds are a centerpiece: geese, turkeys, chickens, game birds or capons, stuffed with sweet chestnuts. This year, the must-have bird is the goose, but, as poultry seller Gino Catena warns, wrapped up against the pre-dawn chill in his bright red anorak: “It’s an animal which is relatively pricey per kilo.” With France in the grip of financial crisis, he recommends thrifty shoppers opt for a “poularde” a fattened chicken raised like its male cousin the capon but smaller, weighing in at around 2.5 kilos (five pounds eight ounces).

Foie gras-the liver of a force-fed goose or in this case duck-is considered a luxury in most of the world, but Catena says that in France this year it’s “actually very affordable”, prices having tumbled 10 percent. Christmas is of course a Christian festival, but France’s large Muslim minority need not miss out on the feasting at least, the suppliers now all carry halal turkeys, slaughtered according to Islamic rite. When Paris’ food market was still in the crowded town centre alleyways around Les Halles, it was notorious as a place of chaos and dirt, but the wholesale halls in

P

rogressive deafness profoundly influenced Beethoven’s compositions, prompting him to choose lower-frequency notes as his condition worsened, scientists said on Tuesday. Beethoven first mentioned his hearing loss in 1801 at the age of 30, complaining that he was having problems hearing the high notes of instruments and voices.

P

Rungis are spotless and antiseptic. Workers mill around in hygienic white uniforms and only occasional pearls of bright red blood mark the scrubbed floors. Some stalls specialize in big volume sale, others in luxury. At the firm Masse, foie gras and truffles are flying off the shelves despite the mood of economic foreboding hanging over the country at large.

Eat something decent “The year-end festivities are very important in the lives of the French. They’re used to spending on food, which remains sacred,” says owner Frederic Masse, sorting a batch of truffles at 1,300 euros ($1,700) the kilo (2.2 pounds).

Seafood of all sorts in another big seller, but particularly oysters-a French Yuletide tradition that was threatened this year by a deadly virus which ravaged crops in beds around the French coast. Prices have soared, by between 20 and 40 percent, but demand is high. “People will always stand by the high-end luxury products. If you’re going to enjoy yourself, you might as well eat something decent,” says Thierry Maia, oyster trader with the supplier Reynaud.

His tip to save money: Dutch oysters. “There’s a good quality to price ratio, even if we French are sometimes pretty chauvinist about these things.” In the vast polystyrene crates that line the fish hall, huge king crabs from the cruel Alaskan waters of the Bering Strait lie alongside Arctic char-more refined than trout or salmon-and row upon row of swordfish. The fork-lifts unloading the refrigerated trucks can barely keep up.

“Scallops, prawns, lobster, shrimp... In two hours everything was sold!” grins fishmonger Pascal Pean. “Last week it was tougher, with the storm, but the boats are back at sea now, and there’ll be enough for the holidays.” The clock turns 7:00 am. In the city beyond, French men and women

Writing in the latest issue of the British Medical Journal (BMJ), a trio of scientists in the Netherlands dissected Beethoven’s string quartets. They grouped these works into four ages, ranging from early (17981800) to late (1824-26).

The experts looked at the first violin part in the first movement of each quartet, counting the number of notes above G6, which corresponds to 1,568 Hertz. Use of higher notes decreased as the deafness progressed, they found. To compensate, Beethoven used more middle- and low-frequency notes, which he could hear better when music was performed. But in the late quartets-written by the time he was totally deaf-the higher notes returned.

“When he came to rely completely on his inner ear, he was no longer compelled to produce music he could actually hear when performed, and slowly returned to his inner musical world and early composing experiences,” says the paper. The study is authored

by Edoardo Saccenti, Age Smilde and Wim Saris of the Netherlands Metabolomics Centre in Leiden. A video of the research can be seen on (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLYhIw T5A5c&feature=youtu.be).—AFP

ewer people will fly this holiday season, but flights will still be packed. That’s according to a forecast released Tuesday by the main trade group representing US airlines. About 43.3 million travelers will fly on US carriers over the three-week holiday period, a 1 percent decline from a year earlier, predicts Airlines for America. That works out to about 20,000 fewer people per day.

The trade group attributes the decline to “lingering economic concerns” and high energy prices that are limiting would-be travelers’ disposable income.

About 1.6 million to 2.3 million people are forecast to fly each day between Wednesday and the first week of January. Even with fewer passengers, fliers won’t have more room to stretch out.

Planes will be full because airlines have reduced the number of flights and planes, the trade group said. Packed planes don’t just mean less leg room. They also result in more delays if something goes wrong. Last year, when major snowstorms shut airports and crippled airlines, millions of travelers waited days to find other travel options. If you’re flying in the next three weeks and bracing for a tough trip, here are tips to make your journey jollier.

F

• • • • •

Ludwig van Beethoven By 1812, people had to shout to make themselves understood and in 1818, he started to communicate through notebooks. In his last few years before his death in 1827, his deafness was apparently total.

are waking to coffee and croissants, but in Rungis the night’s work is almost done, for the tradesmen in any case.

The waiters in the Cafe Saint-Aubert still have their hands full-and their heads covered in novelty Santa hats-serving rounds of sandwiches to the tired workers. — AFP

•

At home Check in a full 24 hours ahead of your flight. This will help in getting the seat you want and possibly give you a leg up later on. Some airlines board fliers according to check-in times.

Don’t wrap gifts. The Transportation Security Administration will unwrap anything they deem suspicious. Don’t risk it.

Don’t forget your bags. When you check in online, make sure you indicate if you have a checked bag. Checking in luggage online will save time at the airport.

Pack sensibly. The holidays might not be the best time to stuff a carry-on to avoid a checked bag fee. Overhead bins will be extremely full.

Be informed. Look up the airline’s customer service number and its contract of carriage - the list of rights you have on a flight - on the airline’s website before you leave home. It’ll pay off if something goes wrong.

Brings snacks and an empty water bottle. You can fill the water bottle after you go through security.

At the airport • Arrive early. It’s the easiest way to de-stress your trip.

• Stay connected. There are smartphone applications that let

• •

A file picture taken on December 10, 2010 shows salesmen working at the poultry pavilion at Rungis international food market, near Paris. — AFP

you check everything from the emptiest parking lots to security wait times. You can also sign up for flight alerts though the airlines or travel site, which will let you know if your flight is delayed or canceled.

Wear slip-on shoes. They’re the easiest to get on and off at security. This year, though, kids under 12 won’t have to remove their shoes.

Know security rules. Have your liquids in a plastic bag outside of your suitcase before approaching security. Take off your belt, and remove everything from your pockets (new body scanners are more sensitive to those items than metal detectors.) Have your boarding pass and identification in hand.

— AP

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2011

lifestyle M U S I C

&

M O V I E S

Cannes festival head Gilles Jacob wins new term

A file picture taken on May 19, 2010 shows French General Delegate of the Cannes Film Festival Thierry Fremaux and Cannes Film Festival President Gilles Jacob waiting for guests for the screening of ‘Poetry’ presented in competition at the 63rd Cannes Film Festival in Cannes. — AFP

G

illes Jacob, the 81-year-old president of the Cannes film festival, has secured a new term at the helm of the international movie showcase, along with its director Thierr y Fremaux. Jacob has received the world’s top filmmakers in the Riviera city for the past 30 years, first as Cannes festival director then from 2001 as president, with a mandate that was due to expire after

position. “I couldn’t resist the temptation” to run again, Jacob for his part told AFP. The 50-year-old Fremaux, who has formed a team with him for over a decade, will also stay on until 2014, with expanded executive powers over the festival’s budget, staffing and development. “I will have total freedom to act,” Fremaux told AFP. “It is the start of a new governance at the head of Cannes to guarantee the

its 65th edition on May 16-27, 2012.

Meeting on Tuesday, however, the Cannes board of administrators voted to extend his mandate on until 2014, Jacob told AFP. Several big-name players were rumored to be angling for the top job-even including French Culture Minister Frederic Mitterrand-but according to one board member, “it suited everyone” to keep Jacob in

festival’s future.”

Starting in January, Fremaux will knuckle down to the weighty task of picking the official selection for the upcoming festival, viewing five to seven films a day, submitted by many of the world’s top film directors. “We will continue to combine my experience with his youth and dynamism,” Jacobs said of his partner Fremaux.

“What people see is the pair of us

standing on the festival steps in tuxedos, welcoming the stars-but the truth is we are the workers shovelling coal below deck while everyone parties up above,” he added. The Cannes festival is run as an association whose members are a mix of French state representatives, including of the culture ministry and parliament, and figures from the French film world, from producers to cinemas.—AFP

‘The Iron Lady’ shows Hollywood still struggling to focus 3D technology Thatcher still divides Brits T W seeking its “iTunes moment,” like the arrival of the Apple song purchasing site for the music industry, as pirate copies of films proliferated from DVDs to illegal downloads and online streaming. But signs that 3D has struggled came this year not only from summer box office flops-”Fright Night,” “Conan the Barbarian,” “Glee,” and “Spy Kidsbut also from flagging sales of 3D televisions.

“Two of the major pain points for consumers are still the price of the TV and the need to wear glasses,” market research company NPD said in April, although sales figures later in the year looked better.

Japanese games giant Nintendo was forced to slash the price of its new 3DS console by up to 40 percent in July, following disappointing sales of the new version of its popular console. Nevertheless filmmakers keep embracing the new technology: at the Busan International Film Festival in South Korea in October, low-budget 3D productions were keen to take on the big studios at their own game.

“Budget doesn’t matter, it is story that matters in cinema and it’s the same when you are using 3D,” said South Korean Choo Sang-rok, director of the 3D feature “Persimmon.” Back in Hollywood, Spielberg says that 3D should be used only when appropriate. “I disagree with my colleagues who believe that every film should be in 3D. It’s another tool in a very large tool chest,” he told the industry daily Variety. “I think 3D should be used when there is something to be achieved from it, not just to be able to slam the 3D brand on a movie ad,” he said.

In this image released by Paramount Pictures, There have been reports that Asa Butterfield portrays Hugo Cabret in a scene Spielberg is contemplating making a 3D version of his iconic from ‘Hugo.’ — AP movie “Jurassic Park” by converting it-a process which critics say is breaking “Titanic” in April. But experts say purely a money-making ploy.

Proper 3D movies are filmed using two filmmakers can no longer count on the simple fact of putting “Now playing in 3D” on slightly off-set cameras, the images from the posters to attract cinema-goers wary of which are fed into a moviegoer’s left and paying a few extra bucks for a questionably right eyes by the glasses handed out to improved experience. “3D film distribution watch the film. Converted 3D movies-or in 2011 has been a lesson in learning for “fake 3D”-are films made with normal camstudios and theaters alike,” Jeff Bock, senior eras, but then processed using computers box office analyst at industry data provider in post-production to give the impression Exhibitor Relations told AFP. “While there of multiple layers of depth. A number other were nearly 40 (3D) films released this year, other classic films are also set to be revived studios have been scaling back in terms of in three dimensions, including “Star Wars,” the type of films released in this new for- said Exhibitor Relations expert Bock. mat. The reason? Audiences won’t pay for a Others, like “The Lion King,” have already 3D engagement that isn’t a premium pic- appeared in 3D. Scorsese meanwhile said he was appreture.” The 3D revolution-or the latest attempt to bring 3D to cinema, following hensive after deciding to make “Hugo” in earlier failed efforts-comes as the film 3D. “We were scared,” he told the BBC. “It industry is struggling to reinvent itself as was like walking a tightrope, the whole picthe ways of watching movies multiply. ture.” “People start to have rules: You can’t Hollywood could arguably be said to be do this, don’t do that,” he recalled. —AFP wo years after breakthrough 3D megahit “Avatar,” Hollywood is still struggling to decide how best to use the new technology, as filmgoers tire of the novelty and say no to annoying glasses.

While 2011 ends with a couple of wellreceived 3D movies-including Steven Spielberg’s holiday smash “Tintin” and Martin Scorsese’s “Hugo”-filmmakers need to focus on what works in three dimensions and what doesn’t, say experts. Following a series of 3D flops over the last 12 months, the coming year will see a new crop of releases, including a suped-up version of “Avatar” director James Cameron’s record-

ith hairdo, handbag and hubris, she dominated - and divided - Britain for a decade. Now a film about Margaret Thatcher is doing it all over again. “The Iron Lady” stars Meryl Streep as Britain’s first female prime minister, whose neo-Victorian values and free-market ideology helped transform a battered post-imperial country into an economically dynamic but industrially depleted and increasingly unequal society. But it’s the film’s focus on the personal, rather than the political, that has made Thatcher’s enemies apprehensive and her allies unhappy. “The Iron Lady” depicts Thatcher, now 86, as a frail, elderly figure with dementia, holding imaginary conversations with her dead husband Denis (a genial Jim Broadbent) as she looks back on her life as a double outsider - both a woman and a lowly grocer’s daughter in a male-dominated, patrician Conservative Party.

Streep’s eerily evocative, pitch-perfect performance looks likely to earn her a 17th Academy Award nomination and possibly a third acting Oscar. But the intimacy of the movie’s portrait has led some Conservatives to accuse it of being disrespectful, distasteful, even faintly idolatrous. One lawmaker has demanded a parliamentary debate, telling the House of Commons he was disturbed by the film. “I just wonder why the filmmakers had to go so heavily on the mental illness, the dementia side, when Baroness Thatcher has had a very important life in the politics of this country and the world,” said Conservative legislator Rob Wilson. “It left me wondering about the humanity of the filmmakers who are very subtly denigrating someone who was a great prime minister.”

Thatcher rarely appears in public these days, and her inner circle releases little information about her health. But her daughter Carol - sym-

pathetically portrayed in the film by Olivia Colman - wrote about her mother’s dementia in a 2008 book. Conservative grandee Norman Tebbit, a government minister under Thatcher, also criticized the film, saying the former prime minister was nothing like the “half-hysterical, overemotional, overacting woman portrayed by Meryl Streep” - though he admitted he was basing that judgment on the movie’s trailer. The film’s director rejects the criticisms, but says she’s not surprised by them. “Those two words Margaret Thatcher - are provocative in this country,” said Phyllida Lloyd, a Briton who also directed Streep in the frothy Abba musical “Mamma Mia!” “She still has the ability to set people on one another. People think of her either as St

Margaret who saved the nation, or the she-devil who ruined the lives of millions and bred a culture of greed.” Both sides may find their conceptions challenged by the film, which opens in Australia and New Zealand on Monday, in the US Dec 30 and in Britain on Jan 6. “The left wing are nervous about being asked to feel compassion for someone they think they are supposed to hate,” Lloyd said. “But all we are doing is making her human. “And the right are questioning whether there is something shameful about putting her on the screen with this frailty. But that’s if you feel frailty is shameful - and we don’t.”

Lloyd said she initially hesitated to take on such a polarizing figure. Then she read the script by Abi Morgan (“Brick Lane,” “Shame”), and “realized it was not a political film at all.” —AP

CNN’s Piers Morgan rejects phone hacking claims

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tense and sometimes hostile Piers Morgan has refused to disclose details about the most damning link between himself and Britain’s phone hacking scandal - his acknowledgment that he once listened to a phone message left by Paul McCartney for his then-wife Heather Mills. The CNN celebrity interviewer, testifying through a video link from the US, clashed repeatedly Tuesday with the UK panel investigating media ethics, insisting he never took part in the illegal phone hacking that has led to the closure of a Sunday tabloid he once edited and the arrests of friends and former colleagues.

The stakes were high for Morgan. More than a dozen journalists have been arrested, senior executives with Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. media empire have lost their jobs, and top U.K. police officers have resigned over their failure to tackle the phone hacking scandal. His testimony was given under oath, and Morgan could be subject to criminal proceedings if he is found to have violated any British laws. Morgan’s defense Tuesday was part denial, part apology and a healthy helping of “I don’t recall.” A key line of questioning centered on the comments Morgan made in a 2006 article he wrote for the Daily Mail tabloid. In it, Morgan said he was played a phone message left by the former Beatle on Mills’ answering machine, describing it in

detail and noting that McCartney “even sang ‘We Can Work It Out’ into the answer phone.”

Mills, who went on to divorce McCartney, has charged there was no way Morgan could have obtained the message honestly - an allegation that could prove embarrassing to CNN, which brought the 46-year-old journalist on board in January to replace Larry King. Morgan stubbornly refused

Piers Morgan, host of CNN’s ‘Piers Morgan Tonight,’ leaves the CNN building in Los Angeles, Tuesday. — AP

Tuesday to go into any detail about the message, saying: “I’m not going to discuss where I heard it or who played it to me.” Pressed by inquiry chief Lord Justice Brian Leveson about whether he could provide any evidence to substantiate that he had obtained the message legally, Morgan said he could not. “I can’t start any trail that leads to the identification of a source,” he said. Before his US television career, Morgan ran two British tabloids Murdoch’s now-shuttered News of the World, between 1994 and 1995, then the rival Daily Mirror, which is not connected to the Murdoch empire, where he stayed for nearly a decade. Much of Tuesday’s inquiry focused on the time Morgan spent at the latter, which could revive earlier suggestions that hacking was not confined to journalists working for News International, the British subsidiary of Murdoch’s global media giant, News Corp. Although Morgan showed occasional flashes of humor, the atmosphere was mostly tense during Tuesday’s questioning.

At one point Morgan said he “doesn’t believe” he ever listened to hacked voicemail messages and rejected suggestions he had any contact with the private detectives accused of carrying out many of the tabloids’ dirtiest deeds, saying his subordinates would have been charged with giving them assignments. —AP

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2011

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A scene from the movie ‘In the Land of Blood and Honey’.

As director, Jolie shows heavy hand

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he heavy-handed touch of Angelina Jolie’s directorial debut “In the Land of Blood and Honey” is evident right from the start, when a bomb explodes in a nightclub before our main characters, out on a date, have even shared a word. Throughout the film, Jolie puts politics ahead of story and character, blatantly imposing a message - an altruist message, but a message nonetheless - on the film.

And the result is a movie whose narrative feels like a fictionalized United Nations presentation.

Certainly, Jolie’s bluntness is justifiable. The film, in Bosnian with subtitles, is about the Bosnian War of the early 1990s and the atrocities of genocide that came with it, conducted by the Bosnian Serb Army in an ethnic cleansing of Bosnian Muslims. “In the Land of Blood and Honey” exists as a caution to international inaction, to highlight the horror that transpired in the years before NATO airstrikes and international pressure brought an end to the war in Bosnia and

Herzegovina. Much of it is horrifying to watch. What Jolie depicts on camera (random murder, abysmal rape) is scarcely any less ugly than what transpires just off-screen (mass murder, a slaughtered baby).

In the midst of this is the story of a hesitant, uncertain love between a Bosnian Muslim artist, Ajla (Zana Marjanovic), and a Serbian police officer turned military captain, Danijel (Goran Kostic). They are on opposite sides of the conflict, but the coincidences of Ajla’s imprisonment keep her in Danijel’s orbit. Danijel objects to the war, and his protection of Ajla compromises his stature among his men. But the ravages of war also push him toward less nuanced sympathies. Jolie, who also wrote the screenplay, doesn’t really expand the movie beyond the lovers and it suffers as a result. There is Ajla’s sister (Vanesa Glodjo), who lives underground, and Danijel’s cruel father, Gen Nebojsa Vukojevich (Rade Serbedzija, in the film’s best performance), who

expresses the historical prejudices underlying the war.

It’s easy to criticize Jolie for her showy humanitarianism or to be skeptical of such a glamorous actress trying to direct. Already, she has been something of a lightning rod, accused of plagiarizing the film’s story, exploiting the rape victims of the war, vilifying the Serbs and taking advantage of her position as a goodwill ambassador for the UN refugee agency. But Jolie deserves plenty of credit here.

There are far worse things than using one’s celebrity to bring attention to the dangers of pacifism in the face of war crimes and ethnic cleansing. With the exception of a handful of visual missteps (a shot of shadows dancing on the wall, long fades to black), the film is nicely shot (Dean Semler is director of photography) and atmospheric. It particularly benefits from its largely Budapest locales. (Only second unit material was shot in Sarajevo after protests erupted over the movie’s portrayal of Serbs.)

The cast, mostly Bosnian actors, is largely solid, even when the film’s direction is lacking. But the storytelling is more problematic. There isn’t enough context given to the overall conflict, and the love story feels increasingly myopic as the war drags on and the film’s ambitions broaden.

Instead of finding a way to dramatize international inaction or pursing answers that might help explain genocide, “In the Land of Blood and Honey” makes its case only in the illustration of extreme, intolerable violence. Yes, there is power in simply showing these acts, but they eventually have a ring of calculation. They pass without contemplation, with merely a deadening point-making that cuts off dialogue, rather than facilitates it. “In the Land of Blood and Honey,” a FilmDistrict release, is rated R for war violence and atrocities including rape, sexuality nudity and language. In Bosnian with subtitles. Running time: 127 minutes. Two stars out of four. —AP

Sagging box office looks for a Christmas miracle A Thermal and a Quarter

Bollywood may sing, but Bangalore rocks

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n a damp afternoon on the outskirts of Bangalore, inside a cavernous warehouse that was once an auto-parts assembly plant, a local rock band runs a sound check.

After the lead guitarist of Solder shows up, band members belt out lyrics, and their loud, anthemlike music echoes off the roof of the venue that has hosted many international groups in the past. Only now, local bands are rocking the house. Bangalore, a former manufacturing town known as India’s Silicon Valley, is rapidly becoming one of the nation’s hotbeds of rock music, buoyed by young, middle-class Indians who have money to spare and an appetite for head banging music.

“What we are trying to do is to have Indian rock like we have American rock, Brit rock,” said Siddarth Abraham, Solder’s vocalist, who looks the part with a shaved head, beard and arms laced with tattoos. The band gets together four times a week to practice in a shed behind the drummer’s house, singing out lyrics like “The air of the morning, a summer night’s dream, I welcome each day with Irish Coffee and Cream.”

Some say the city has even given rise to its own sub-genre of music, “Bangalore Rock,” which performers describe as an amalgam of classic rock, hard rock and heavy metal, with a bit of jazz and blues thrown in. All bands sing mainly in English.

“Before it turned into this ‘IT’ capital with a mix of people from all over the country, it had its own Bangalorean identity,” said Rajeev Rajagopal, the drummer for Thermal and a Quarter, a top local group best known by its initials, TAAQ. “Bangalore had this great vibe about it and there was live music here many years

before we started playing. There were older folks we would look up to,” he said.

An ear for rock ‘n’ roll As the music scene in Bangalore has grown in recent years, its followers have offered several theories as to why rock music has taken hold of the city’s youth. Some say a local Indian army garrison popularized western music with its ball dances, a relic of the British Raj. Others credit a sizable Anglo-Indian population with an ear for rock ‘n’ roll, as well as schools such as St Joseph’s College and Christ University, which is the source of some of the city’s most prolific bands.

Many musicians said they were steeped in music from birth. “For me, it was my household. My brother, my parents all listened to rock. We were brought up in that kind of environment,” said Abraham, the Solder vocalist.

As a result of its love of rock, the city has welcomed big-name acts such as Metallica, Deep Purple and Iron Maiden. “We have a theory that if Metallica sees 40,000 people, Steely Dan will bring in 500,000 people if they ever decide to come to India,” said Umesh PN, a theatre consultant and bass guitarist for the now-defunct band RoadCrew. Another theory is that Bangalore’s distance from the entertainment powerhouse of Mumbai and its Bollywood film industry has freed musicians of more commercial concerns.

Uday Benegal, who shared a stage with Chris Barron of the Spin Doctors during nine years in New York and is currently the vocalist for Indus Creed, claimed that for years Bollywood had been “steamrolling” the programming on Indian MTV and another TV music network, Channel V, for over a decade. —Reuters

fter a miserable few weeks at the box office, Hollywood is counting on a flurry of big movies hit theaters that started Tuesday to reinvigorate its business. In fact, between Tuesday and Sunday, five films went and will go wide, while close to half a dozen notable specialty titles will either expand or open, too.

That tally doesn’t even include the film picked to finish No 1 this week, Paramount ’s PG-13-rated “Mission: Impossible-Ghost Protocol,” which expanded wide at 5 pm Tuesday into about 3,400 domestic theaters after a successful $12.8 million start at 450 locations last weekend.

Sony’s R-rated “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” opened two hours later, starting out in about 2,800 locations. Also on Tuesday, Paramount opened Steven Spielberg’s PG-rated “The Adventures of Tintin” at about 3,000 theaters. In limited release Tuesday, Roadside Attractions opened the R-rated Glenn Close drama “Albert Nobbs.”

Then, on Friday, Fox’s PG-rated comedy “We Bought a Zoo” opens wide in about 3,000 theaters, while GK Films’ R-rated “In the Land of Blood and Honey” opens at three arthouses. On Sunday, Disney opens DreamWorks’ Spielberg-directed “ War Horse,” and Summit tries some counterpro-

gramming with its PG-13 sci-fi thriller “The Darkest Hour.” Among specialty fare on Sunday, Warner Bros. opens 9/11 drama “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” at six locations. And the Weinstein Company plans expansions for “The Artist” and “My Week With Marilyn.”

Studios had hoped that the box office would come back to life last weekend, when Warners opened “Sherlock Holmes-A Game of Shadows” and Fox debuted “Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked.” But audiences largely stayed away, and the weekend was down 14 percent compared to last year. The weekend before that-Dec 9-11 — was the worst at the box office since September 2008. And this year’s overall North American box office is about $900 million behind last year’s at the same point in time.

One problem with this weekend and next: Saturday night generally is the best moviegoing night of the week, but this year, both Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve fall on Saturdays, dampening expectations. The movie with the best tracking, according to the research firm NRG, is Paramount/Skydance’s “Mission: Impossible-Ghost Protocol.” Paramount opened the fourth installment in its action series at 425 locations — 300 of them

IMAX-on Dec 16 to build a buzz. It seems to have worked: According to NRG, 89 percent of Americans are familiar with the movie.

The numbers are strongest for men — 92 percent of men younger than 25 and 95 percent of men 25 and older report familiarity with the film. More important, 56 percent of younger men and 54 percent of older ones say they have “definite interest” in seeing the film. The movie, which cost an estimated $145 million to make, has a very nice 94 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Tom Cruise stars in the movie, which Brad Bird directed. Box-office watchers figure “M:I4” will gross around $40 million for its six day holiday period. Sony’s “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,” based on Stieg Larsson’s bestseller, is tracking strong across all demographics, and the studio expects it will gross around $35 million at 2,914 locations through Monday.

Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara star as Mikael Blomkvist and Lisbeth Salander in the movie, which has an 84 percent ranking at Rotten Tomatoes and cost about $90 million to produce. NRG says that 85 percent of Americans are familiar with the movie. Tuesday ’s other wide release, Paramount’s “The Adventures of Tintin,” already has grossed nearly $240 million overseas.

A Kashmiri youth rock band performs during a music competition organized by Indian Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in collaboration with local rock bands in Srinagar yesterday.

The 21 rock bands of Kashmir participated in a competition to encourage the youth in the Muslim-majority Kashmir, where a separatist insurgency against Indian rule that began in 1989 has claimed more than 47,000 lives, according to official figures. —AFP

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Bollywood may sing, but Bangalore rocks

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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2011

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ame boosts the risk of early death for rock stars but the claim that the peril is greatest at the age of 27 is false, according to a study published on Tuesday by the British Medical Journal (BMJ). The theory of the "27 Club" spread earlier this year when Amy Winehouse joined Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain and Brian Jones and other musicians who succumbed to the rock'n'roll lifestyle while in their 27th year. Health statisticians led by Adrian Barnett of the Queensland University of Technology in Australia put the "27 Club" hypothesis to the test. They compiled a data base of 1,046 musicians-solo artists and band memberswho had a No 1 album in the British charts between 1956 and 2007, a net that included balladeers, pop singers, R&B and heavy metal.

The first No 1 was Frank Sinatra's Songs for Swinging Lovers! on July 28 1956, and the last was Leona Lewis' Spirit on November 18 2007. During the period under study, 71 of the musicians died, equivalent to seven percent of the sample. But there was no peak at all in deaths at the age of 27.

On the other hand, musicians in their 20s and 30s were two to three times likelier to die prematurely than the general British population. "The 27 Club is unlikely to be a real phenomenon," says the paper.

"Fame may increase the risk of death among musicians, but this risk is not limited to age 27."

Historically, the big risk period for rock'n'roll fame appears to be the 1970s and early 80s, the researchers say. After that, the number of deaths among the chart-toppers fell sharply. Indeed, there was a period in the late eighties when there were no mortalities at all. Why this is so is unclear-it could be that treatment for drug overdoses and addiction improved, and thus saved musicians in danger. The "27 Club" gained currency with Winehouse's death in July, prompting the explanation that musicians often become famous in their early twenties, and their risk-taking peaks four to five years later.

A more insidious argument was that musicians craving immortality subconsciously became bigger risk-takers, or even committed suicide, in order to join rock's dead elite. Faithful to the principles of scientific rigour, the authors of the study acknowledge that the data trawl has some flaws. Three of the "27 Club" (Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and Jim Morrison) did not have a No 1 album in Britain and were thus excluded. Kermit the Frog also had a No 1 at this time with the Muppets. The bulgy-eyed amphibian and his chums are not known for substance abuse or playing with guns. So in an act of statistical fairness, the study included the mortality rate among the actors who played their parts.--AFP

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anadian retailer La Vie en Rose has discovered an unexpectedly strong demand for its frilly, sexy lingerie among Muslims and is planning a major expansion in Arab countries. Beneath their abayas and veils, women in Arab countries are apparently wearing the same risque lingerie as women in Canada. Saudi women are "very fashion conscious," said vice-president Luc Poirier. "The only notable difference in styles is in nightgowns, which are longer for our Arab clients, below the knees." The Montreal-based company already earns 10 percent of its Can$150 million in annual revenues from 55 stores in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Lebanon, Jordan, Algeria, Egypt, Morocco and Kazakhstan.

But it will increase its store count in the Middle East as part of a major international expansion over the coming years, spurred on by recent political changes in the region and with the help of its partner Al Hokair Group. At a glance, Saudi Arabia may seem like a difficult market for sexy feminine undergarments. Adherence to a strict conservative dress code defined by Islam and tribal customs prohibit women from showing any skin in public, making advertising problematic. In stores, only men are currently allowed to work as sales clerks and there are no changing rooms for women to try on lingerie.

This is starting to change, noted Poirier. Women in Saudi Arabia will soon be allowed to vote in local elections, as well as work in a broader range of jobs, including retailing. This will mean La Vie en Rose can finally recruit female sales clerks to serve a mostly female clientele in the country.

The company's next store openings are set for South Korea and Tunisia, where a revolutionary wave began with the self-immolation of a fruit vendor in protest of police corruption and ill treatment, and spread throughout the Arab world this year. — AFP