25th Aug

IPT IO N SC R SU B

150 Fils

SATURDAY, AUGUST 25, 2012

No: 15548

SHAWWAL 7, 1433 AH

Kuwait engineer, Saudi dentist fighting in Syria Amateur jihad tests Syria rebel resources

New AIDS-like disease found NEW YORK: Researchers have identified a mysterious new disease that has left scores of people in Asia and some in the United States with AIDS-like symptoms even though they are not infected with HIV. The patients’ immune systems become damaged, leaving them unable to fend off germs as healthy people do. What triggers this isn’t known, but the disease does not seem to be contagious.

This is another kind of acquired immune deficiency that is not inherited and occurs in adults, but doesn’t spread the way AIDS does through a virus, said Dr Sarah Browne, a scientist at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. She helped lead the study with researchers in Thailand and Taiwan where most of the cases have been found since 2004. Their report is in Thursday’s New England Journal of Medicine.

“This is absolutely fascinating. I’ve seen probably at least three patients in the last 10 years or so” who might have had this, said Dr. Dennis Maki, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. It’s still possible that an infection of some sort could trigger the disease, even though the disease itself doesn’t seem to spread person-to-person, he said.

The disease develops around age 50 on average but does not run in families, which makes it unlikely that a single gene is responsible, Browne said. Some patients have died of overwhelming infections, including some Asians now living in the US, although Browne could not estimate how many. Kim Nguyen, 62, a seamstress from Vietnam who has lived in Tennessee since 1975, was gravely ill when she sought help for a persistent fever, infections throughout her bones and other bizarre symptoms in 2009.

She had been sick off and on for several years and had visited Vietnam in 1995 and again in early 2009. “She was wasting away from this systemic infection” that at first seemed like tuberculosis but wasn’t, said Dr Carlton Hays Jr, a family physician at the Jackson Clinic in Jackson, Tenn. “She’s a small woman to begin with, but when I first saw her, her weight was 91 pounds, and she lost down to 69 pounds.” Nguyen (pronounced “when”) was referred to specialists at the National Institutes of Health who had been tracking similar cases. She spent nearly a year at an NIH hospital in Bethesda, Md., and is there now for monitoring and further treatment. — AP

ALEPPO: A man carries a four month old baby to hospital after shelling by a regime forces helicopter hit his family’s house in Syria’s northern city of Aleppo yesterday. Syrian forces blitzed areas in and around Aleppo yesterday. — AFP

Max 48º Min 34º

ALEPPO: Talal Mohammad is a long way from Tennessee, and he’s out of his depth. In an olive grove a few miles from the frontlines of Aleppo, he’s at a loss to explain to a battle-hardened bunch of Syrian rebels what exactly this prosperous, US-trained Saudi dentist is doing there - and what he can offer to their cause. “Why have you come?” asked one of his new comrades, sharply, as they shared a traditional evening meal, the iftar to break the Ramadan fast, in the twilight of a makeshift training camp.

“Don’t get us wrong,” the man adds quickly, anxious to show due respect to a guest at this solemn ritual of shared faith in Islam. “We appreciate your solidarity. But if you’d brought us money and weapons, that would have been much better.” Syrians’ war to overthrow President Bashar Al-Assad seems to be drawing ever greater numbers of fellow Arabs and other Muslims to the battlefield, many driven by a sense of religious duty to perform jihad, a readiness to suffer for Islam.

But while some are professional “jihadists”, veterans of Iraq or Afghanistan, Chechnya or Libya, who bring combat and bomb-making skills that alarm the Western and Arab governments which have cheered the rebels on, many of these foreigners have little to offer Syrians but their goodwill and prayers, and plenty have ended up floundering well beyond their comfort zone. For some rebel commanders, they are just getting in the way. “It’s very different on the ground,” Talal Mohammad conceded as he shouldered his laptop and prepared for the short trek to the Turkish border and then a flight back home to Saudi Arabia and the wife and two young daughters he had left behind three weeks earlier, expecting to take part in a swift rebel victory. (See Page 2)

in the

news

US drones kill 18 ISLAMABAD: US missiles slammed into three compounds close to the Afghan border yesterday, killing 18 suspected militants, Pakistani officials said, just a day after the government summoned an American diplomat to protest drone strikes in the country’s northwest tribal region.

The suspected militant hideouts were hit minutes apart. They were located several kilometers from each other in the North Waziristan tribal area, the main militant sanctuary in Pakistan, said intelligence officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to reporters. The US has carried out seven drone strikes in the past week in North Waziristan, ignoring Pakistani protests that they violate the country’s sovereignty.

ALEPPO: A Syrian boy receives treatment after he was wounded when shells, released by a regime force’s helicopter, hit his house in Aleppo yesterday. — AFP

23 Syrians perish BEIRUT: A fighter jet bombed an apartment building yesterday in eastern Syria, killing at least 21 people after rebels in the area made significant advances in the city and took control of a major checkpoint, activists said. In Damascus, shells from mountains overlooking the Syrian capital crashed into the rebellious suburb of Daraya as part of a days-long government offensive to regain control of the area.

Activists said at least 15 people were killed in the shelling and clashes. The air raid on Mayadin, a city in Deir El-Zour province near the Iraqi border, occurred after rebels gained control of a key checkpoint on a bridge over the Euphrates River there, local activist Abu Omar Al-Deery said.

LOCAL SATURDAY, AUGUST 25, 2012

Amateur jihad tests Syria rebel resources Manchester-educated Kuwaiti oil engineer fights in Syria ALEPPO: Talal Mohammad is a long way from Tennessee, and he’s out of his depth.

In an olive grove a few miles from the frontlines of Aleppo, he’s at a loss to explain to a battle-hardened bunch of Syrian rebels what exactly this prosperous, US-trained Saudi dentist is doing there - and what he can offer to their cause. “Why have you come?” asked one of his new comrades, sharply, as they shared a traditional evening meal, the iftar to break the Ramadan fast, in the twilight of a makeshift training camp.

“Don’t get us wrong,” the man adds quickly, anxious to show due respect to a guest at this solemn ritual of shared faith in Islam. “We appreciate your solidarity. But if you’d brought us money and weapons, that would have been much better.” Syrians’ war to overthrow President Bashar Al-Assad seems to be drawing ever greater numbers of fellow Arabs and other Muslims to the battlefield, many driven by a sense of religious duty to perform jihad, a readiness to suffer for Islam.

But while some are professional “jihadists”, veterans of Iraq or Afghanistan, Chechnya or Libya, who bring combat and bomb-making skills that alarm the Western and Arab governments which have cheered the rebels on, many of these foreigners have little to offer Syrians but their goodwill and prayers, and plenty have ended up floundering well beyond their comfort zone. For some rebel commanders, they are just getting in the way. “It’s very different on the ground,” Talal Mohammad conceded as he shouldered his laptop and prepared for the short trek to the Turkish border and then a flight back home to Saudi Arabia and the wife and two young daughters he had left behind three weeks earlier, expecting to take part in a swift rebel victory. “I was going to Syria thinking the liberation was a step or two away,” said Mohammad, who spent a decade studying in the United States. Instead, he found a bitter, grinding, bloody struggle in which his dental qualifications from Tennessee and a willingness to do his bit proved to be of little interest to illarmed rebels facing Assad’s tanks, artillery and warplanes. Senior fighters around Aleppo say it is a common story: “This week alone, I have welcomed to Syria two doctors, a lawyer, a karate trainer and a social worker from Britain,” said one who goes by the name Abu Mohammed and who leads a formation known as the Soqour al-Sham, or Falcon of Syria, Brigade. “We have no shortage of men at all,” he added. But some are more trouble than they’re worth. “I realize it’s a religious duty to come to Syria for many of our brothers,” said Abu Mohammed. “But those who come with no idea how they can help beyond their faith can be a burden.”

EMOTIONAL In conversations with foreign volunteers encountered this month around northwest-

ern Syria, in rebel-held territories between Aleppo and Idlib, a pattern was evident: of piety stimulated into action by graphic coverage of civilian death and suffering on Arab satellite news channels - many controlled by Assad’s enemies; and of a sense of dismay among these visiting jihadists at the scale of the task facing the opposition forces. For some, being in Syria - a historic cultural focus for the Arab world - had more to do with their personal relationship with God than practical aid for the locals. Many Syrian fighters have little time for theology, even as the conflict takes on a sectarian cast between the mainly Sunni Muslim rebels and an army dominated by Assad’s Shiitealigned Alawite minority. Commanders say

come by arranging some $2 million in charity for bereaved families.

Assad says he is the target of a foreignorchestrated plot. Sunni Islamists have long despised the ruling family; Assad’s secular, nominally socialist, father massacred thousands of Muslim Brotherhood rebels in the 1980s. Religious fighters form only a part of the present uprising, though Islamists tend to dominate among the hundreds of foreigners volunteering in Syria.

SECTARIAN For some, underlying a desire to help fellow Muslims - who are after all dying at the hands of people who say they are of the same faith - lurks the wider sectarian confrontation across the Middle East, between the Sunni rulers of powerful Arab states and

TRIPOLI: A Sunni gunman fires his AK-47 machine gun during clashes that erupted between pro and anti-Syrian regime gunmen in the northern port city of Tripoli, Lebanon, yesterday. The latest round of fighting first erupted on Monday in northern Lebanon and at least 15 have been killed in Tripoli this week and more than 100 have been wounded in fighting that is a spillover from Syria’s civil war. —AP their rear lines are already awash with clerics eager to bolster the faith of their young warriors, but that did not stop another imam, Abu Anas, leaving his flock at his mosque in the Egyptian city of Assiut to preach to rebels in the town of Binnish, near Idlib: “I am here to perform jihad for the sake of God,” the 60-year-old preacher said.

“I am doing this for God, not for any gain or prestige, only to please God.” Jihad, he pointed out, was a sacred duty for Muslims but was not only about going into battle. All had their part to play.

For the Manchester-educated Kuwaiti oil engineer who calls himself Abu Hareth, it was television images of children slain in May in the village of Houla which prompted him to leave behind affluent suburban comforts and head for Syria via the rough journey over the frontier from Turkey. “I felt I would be held responsible before God if I allowed the blood of Muslims to continue to be spilled like this,” he said. Though past fighting age, he had assured himself a wel-

a Shiite camp led by Assad’s ally in nonArab Iran. “If what is happening to Sunnis in Syria is not ethnic cleansing by the Alawites, whose hearts are filled with sectarian hatred, what is it?” asked Abu Hareth, taking a swipe at “hypocrisy” among his own Shiite neighbors in the Gulf, who have long complained of Sunni oppression, in Bahrain and Iraq.

Among those volunteering for the frontline was a young Iraqi from Falluja, a bastion of the Sunni insurgency against US occupation and Shiite-led governments that followed the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in 2003: “For me, it’s the same battle,” said the man, who gave his first name as Jawad.

Though he had written his will and was ready for martyrdom, he said, he also did not want any trouble if he did return to his regular job - as an accountant for a Japanese firm in Dubai. “America planted its Shiite stooges in Iraq, and America and Israel are now keeping Assad in power to stifle the awakening of the Sunnis,” asserted Jawad, who said his infant sister had died in

a US raid in Falluja in 2004 and an elder brother was tortured to death by suspected Shiite militiamen.

“I am here,” he said, “To avenge my sister and brother.” Though leaders of the revolt insist they can avoid a repeat of the sectarian and ethnic blood-letting seen in Iraq next door, an influx of Sunni fighters from there and elsewhere, and the mounting bitterness against not just Assad but all Alawites as the war goes on, means some Syrians now fear the worst.

Parisian physiotherapist Ahmad, 42, said a religion rooted in his Moroccan family prompted him to join the Syrian struggle and he now put his faith in the “wisdom” of clerical leaders to hold back the tide of anger: “They won’t allow the Syrian people and the country to become another Afghanistan,” he insisted. But another Moroccan, Abu Qutada, a lawyer educated in Italy, said two weeks around Aleppo had convinced him the war would not end as soon as he had expected. Chatting at a rebel base near the Turkish border, he said: “Rivers of Sunni blood will flow before Syria is liberated from Assad’s tyranny.”

SURPRISES Those foreign volunteers venturing into the country have often been shocked by what they find. Ahmad Bouzyan, a medical student from Sousse in Tunisia, said he was stunned by casualty counts each day that often surpassed the entire death toll for his own country’s pioneering Arab Spring revolution last year. “Every day as we sat at iftar, one or two more would be absent,” he said of his comrades in arms, while preparing to return to his studies after a summer spent on the frontline around the town of Jabal Al-Zawya.

Only faith had kept him going when friends were killed: “We would touch the blood of a martyr and smell a fragrance and a smile would shine from his face.” Others were simply surprised at themselves. A Saudi schoolteacher receiving his first lessons in firing a rifle could not contain his astonishment at what he was doing: “Allahu akbar!” (God is greatest) yelped the 39-yearold from Taif after loosing off a couple of rounds under instruction from a Syrian rebel who barked: “Shoulders back. Don’t be scared.” Giving his family name as Otaibi, the bearded teacher said he had kept his personal jihad from people back home, where the Saudi state is wary of homegrown Islamist militants despite its sympathy for the anti-Assad rebellion.

In any case, few would guess where he was now: “Last time I was in Syria,” he confided, “Was on vacation with a bunch of guys to have fun in Damascus.” For some, the greatest shock, however, remained how little the Syrians were interested in their foreign allies’ presence and how much more pressing was the desperate need for weaponry. — Reuters

LOCAL SATURDAY, AUGUST 25, 2012

Mass absenteeism after Eid Al-Fitr holidays Govt plans punitive measures

Kuwait National Assembly building

Kuwait opposition firm on boycotting future elections KUWAIT: While the Constitutional Court is expected to pass a verdict on the constitutionality of the five-constituencies electoral system by the end of September, the opposition bloc reiterated their commitment to boycott future elections if the verdict requires that the system be changed.

Twenty two members from the bloc agreed during a meeting late Wednesday to “unify their political speech” and ensure that each member obtain the bloc’s approval before making any statement on a subject that reflects the bloc’s general opinion.

“All the smear campaigns claiming that the bloc is suffering internal conflicts are nonsense,” said MP Faisal AlMislem in a statement following the meeting hosted at his diwaniya. The lawmaker further insisted that the bloc; a coalition of oppositionists who dominated majority seats in the annulled 2012 parliament have”unanimously agreed to participate in the Iradah Square demonstration next Monday.”

According to sources, the bloc agreed to assign its coordination committee to handle preparations for the formation of the ‘National Front for the Protection of the Constitution.’ The preparations include “contacting national personalities known for their strong stand in defense of the Constitution, as well as forming a media team to respond to fierce attacks that the bloc is subjected to through media outlets,” said sources who spoke to Al-Qabas.

The sources also spoke about other topics discussed during the meeting, including an agreement to “seek help from constitutional law professors before devising future ideas,” in addition to agreeing to hold weekly meetings “with the next date set next Tuesday at MP Mubarak Al-Waalan’s diwaniya.” In addition, the bloc plans to prepare an assessment of the present situation after Monday’s mass

protest, sources added.

The bloc is expected during the protest that is organized by the opposition-oriented Nahj group and in future statements to continue focusing primarily on “rejecting the notion of forcing the judiciary into the political infighting, demanding that the Cabinet roll back on the challenge on the constitutionality of the five-constituency electoral system, in addition to pressing for prompt dissolution of the 2009 parliament followed by immediate call for elections held as per the current system, and refusing a new electoral system enforced solely by the Cabinet,” said sources.

Dr Al-Mislem explained that while the opposition respects “the Cabinet’s right to refer the electoral law to the Constitutional Court,” they have a problem with “using this right as a means to change the distribution of constituencies which are to be done through the Parliament,” insisting that the option of boycotting future elections is “a correct political step followed in the best democracies,” reported Al-Qabas.

Meanwhile, Al-Watan daily reported quoting sources close to Nahj group that “labor and students unions were invited to take part in Monday’s demonstration which is will feature all 34 members of the majority bloc.”

The sources noted that the group discussed with labor unions the possibility of carrying out strikes as part of public protest if the Cabinet changes the electoral constituencies by passing an ordinance. These rumors were denied by the Kuwait Trade Union Federation (KTUF), who issued a statement yesterday (Friday) rejecting claims that they plan to launch a “mass strike” if the constituencies are changed. The group also agreed to refrain from committing provocative actions to avoid clashing with police.

KUWAIT: Coordination is ongoing to take punitive measures against state employees who took fake sick leaves to link Eid Al-Fitr holidays with the following weekend. Nearly 70,000 staff members were absent from work on Thursday, according to a Civil Service Commission(CSC) source. “The CSC plans to prepare a detailed report about mass absenteeism during Ramadan, especially the last ten days of the holy month, in addition to the two days after the Eid Al-Fitr holiday, based on which the Cabinet can issue decisions to put an end to problem,” said sources who spoke to Al-Jarida.

Initial investigations indicate that 3,146 sick leaves were taken as of Thursday; each lasting three days starting from last Wednesday. “Based on these findings, the CSC began coordinating with the Interior Ministry to detect staff members who left Kuwait through the airport or border checkpoints while on a sick leave,” the source added.

The Education, Health, Information and Social Affairs and Labor Ministries reported the largest number of absentees according to the source, who added that the largest attendance percentages were recorded at the ministries’ headquarters. “Tough penalties including heavy fines await offenders,” he noted, reported AlJarida. In the meantime, Essam Al-Zamel Operations Manager at the Directorate General of Civil Aviation indicated that 75,580 passengers returned to Kuwait

after spending the Eid holiday abroad on board 455 flights between Wednesday and Saturday. The holidaymakers returned from various destinations mainly Dubai, Turkey, London, Malaysia, Bangkok, and Sharm El-Sheikh, reported Al-Anba.

In other news, Al-Jarida daily quoted a source from the Management and Government Restructuring Program(MGRP) to provide at least 6,000 job opportunities for citizens before the end of the year. The government’s system require that a fixed percentage be allocated for staff members to Kuwaiti employees, helping provide job opportunities, reported Al-Jarida.

Meanwhile, Fawzi Al-Majdali, MGRP’s Secretary General Assistant for Labor Forces Affairs, noted that while the private sector creates an average of 1,000 job opportunities annually, expatriate labor forces are usually the most benefitted “as the annual increase in expatriate workers in the labor market is 25 percent.”

Al-Majdali mentioned these statistics when asked about unemployment in Kuwait during an interview with Al-Qabas, in which he also noted that 80,000 citizens are working in the private sector as of last year, compared to only 1,627 in 2001. Al-Majdali expressed hope that the next Parliament would give priority to enforcing the unemployment insurance law which will help effectively end the problem of citizens being laid off from the private sector and receiving allowances from the government, reported Al-Qabas.

‘More efforts needed to arrest Amghara arsonist’

Govt firm on realigning constituencies

KUWAIT: The Municipality’s General Director Ahmad Al-Subaih held security authorities responsible for repeated fire incidents taking place at Amghara scrapyard, arguing that all incidents are “definitely acts of arson,” and demanding more serious measures to nab perpetrators.

Al-Subaih made these statements to reporters covering an Eid Al-Fitr reception he hosted on Thursday, three days after a blaze started at a carpentry warehouse in Amghara.

“The Municipality is working with the Public Authority of Industry and the Kuwait Fire Services Department to stop these incidents by taking measures that include setting up fences between units with gates for entrance and exit,” he said.

Talking about an impending project to relocate Amghara scrapyard to Al-Salmi, Al-Subaih noted that while a decision from the Municipal Council is being discussed, slow procedures between ministries “prolong execution.”

KUWAIT: The threats issued by some parliamentary blocs and political factions to stage demonstrations will not prevent the government from rolling back its request to the Constitutional Court to pass a verdict on the constitutionality of the present electoral constituency system, sources said.

The government is convinced that the reason behind the halt of development and the continued escalation of crisis, is because of the five constituency system that has instilled sectarianism and tribalism, and transformed many blocs into splinter groups to achieve special goals that clash with the higher interest of the country, they added.

This firm conviction (on the government’s part) has turned it from being hesitant to decisive in crushing attempts of political factions to twist the facts and put an end to the stagnation experienced by the country for a long time.

The government has prepared its observations on constituencies on which the next elections will be run, in case the Constitutional Court renders the five-system as unconstitutional.

Sources said the concerned ministerial committees have prepared studies adding that there are two proposals, one is to divide Kuwait into 10 constituencies as was the case since the elections of the constituent assembly in 1961 until 1976, with realignment of the areas and distributing them in a fair way between all constituencies, and allowing each individual two votes.

The second proposal is to return to the 25 constituencies system.

Victim’s lawyer to file case KUWAIT: The lawyer of victim Nawaf Al-Mutairi whose body was found in Jahra desert three days after he was reported missing, will file a complaint against several Interior Ministry officers, claiming laxity in performing duties. They said that scary and painful aspects were discovered in the case. The body was found behind Safat Al-Ghanim in Jahra desert in the end of Ramadan. He said that the Interior Ministry failed to take swift action, leaving the citizen in an isolated area under the scorching sun.

LOCAL

SATURDAY, AUGUST 25, 2012

Police officer charged with attempted murder, battery Ethiopian woman in hospital KUWAIT: A police officer was taken into custody after attempting to kill his girlfriend in Salmiya. The man was arrested along the Fahaheel Highway along with the heavily bruised victim. The Ethiopian woman was reportedly pushed by the suspect from a first floor apartment he had rented for her. He reportedly beat her up and after realizing that she is not dead, he bundled her into his car and drove away. He was stopped after a hot chase by patrol officers who rushed to the scene after receiving reports from eyewitnesses. The man was arrested with possession of a toy gun and live ammunition, while the victim was admitted to the Mubarak Hospital with a heavily bruised face and multiple injuries. According to a security source, the man confirmed that he planned to kill his girlfriend after finding out that she was cheating on him. Investigations further revealed that the man is an officer deployed at a local police station, and not a coast guard officer as he initially claimed. In the meantime, the victim provided details of the case, starting from being pushed to the balcony to assaulting her repeatedly before dragging her to his car. The suspect remains in custody pending further procedures.

Woman drowns Investigations are ongoing to unearth the circumstances behind the death of a female citizen who reportedly drowned inside a hotel’s pool recently. Security officers accompanied by paramedics and crime scene investigators reached the scene shortly after the hotel’s staff reportedly found a dead woman in the pool. The body was taken for the forensic department to confirm the cause of death.

Kidnap and rape A search is ongoing for a male suspect who kidnapped a female pedestrian in Fahaheel and raped her at a deserted area in Mina Abdullah. The Filipina woman reported the case to Ahmadi police immediately after the suspect dumped her at the location where the kidnapping took place. A case was filed for investigations and the woman was referred for a forensic examination.

Drunk driver A drunk driver was arrested after ramming into a tree while fleeing from the owner of a house he trespassed. Patrol officers approached the car that hit a tree in south Surra with two men inside. The man at the passenger’s seat explained to officers that he followed the driver after he

tried to escape and attempted to sexually assault his housemaid at gunpoint. The driver, who was still under the influence of alcohol at the time, was found with possession of a knife and a toy gun. The citizen was taken into custody to face charges.

Drug possession Two young men were arrested with possession of heroin during a recent police raid in Al-Farwaniya. The citizens raised suspicions when they turned visibly nervous as patrol officers approached their car. They were arrested after police found two envelopes containing pure heroin during a search. They were referred to the General Department for Drug Control(GDDC) to face charges.

Ex-wife charged A citizen filed a police report against his ex-wife, accusing her of kidnapping their three children. In statements made to Ali Sabah AlSalem police station officers, the man explained that the woman disappeared after taking their children under the pretext of spending some time with them. He filed a complaint with police after the woman failed to answer the phone when he called her and she failed to return the children on time. A case was filed. — Al-Rai

African woman kidnapped, raped

By Hanan Al-Saadoun KUWAIT: An African woman filed a complaint with Salmiya police stating that she was kidnapped and raped. Police said that upon noticing her, a police patrol vehicle asked her to produce identification. After performing a background check, it was learnt that she was reported absconding. She also claimed to have been kidnapped and raped by a citizen. She was interrogated at the police station, before referring her to immigration detectives.

Citizen arrested Criminal detectives arrested a 23-year-old citizen who confessed to driving the stolen car in which the body of an Indonesian woman was found two days earlier. A source said that he lived with the woman for three years and frequently abused drugs.

He said that while the couple were taking drugs, the woman died. He decided to dispose her body last Wednesday and stole a car for the purpose.

‘Stricter measures to detect forged licenses’ KUWAIT: The Ministry of Interior(MoI) is reportedly planning to take ‘stricter’ measures to detect forged driver’s licenses, which will be withdrawn regardless of the year of issuance, a local daily reported yesterday. As per the new procedures, any security official or Interior Ministry employee will be referred to the Public Prosecution Department if found to be involved in forgery, according to the source who spoke to Al-Qabas.

Ali Alghanim announces winners of Ramadan Instagram competition KUWAIT: Ali Alghanim & Sons Automotive (AAS), exclusive agent and authorized distributor for BMW, MINI, Rolls-Royce, Land Rover and McLaren in Kuwait, announced the four winners for the Instagram competition, which was launched during the holy month of Ramadan from Aug 13 till Aug 17. This was the second phase of the competition in which voting took place on Ali Alghanim & Sons’ official Instagram account to decide the winners. After a fierce voting competition lasting 5 days, AAS announced the four winners —Mohamed Hussein Al-Haddad, Mohamed Salem Al-Husainan, Ali Youssef Abdullah Alali and Abdullah Majed Al-Mutairi.

The winners have been awarded an exclusive tour of the BMW Factory located in Munich. The trip will be sponsored by Ali Alghanim & Sons Automotive Company and it will be a great opportunity to witness how BMW vehicles are manufactured in the state-of-the-art facility. The winners will also have a chance to tour the BMW Welt and fascinating BMW Museum to learn more about the brand’s history and heritage.

Yousef Al-Qatami, General Manager of Ali Alghanim & Sons Automotive said: “We are delighted to announce our official Social Media presence on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. Social Media is becoming increasingly important as a platform to interact with customers”.

“This was the first of its kind competition by Ali Alghanim & Sons Automotive and we are pleased to have concluded it successfully. The idea was to provide our customers and enthusiasts a chance to learn more about the heritage and history of BMW brand by offering an exclusive tour of the factory in Munich. We congratulate the winners and wish our followers best of luck for future competitions”. The competition proved to be highly popular amongst Twitter and Instagram users in Kuwait. Ali Alghanim & Sons Automotive plans to announce a number of interactive activities and competitions in the coming months for

MoH okays e-linking system KUWAIT: Acting Health Ministry Undersecretary, Assistant Undersecretary for Technical Affairs Dr Khalid Al-Shahlawi has approved ‘e-linking’ program between vaccination centers of preventive health centers. Meanwhile, Dr Yousuf Mindakar Director of Public Health said that the order was passed after the program proved successful, adding that the department used a smaller model at Al-Saqer primary health care center first. He said the program will help complete the missed vaccination doses by detecting cases individually , in addition to providing a complete database about patients. —Al-Anbaa

‘Kuwait suffers from security breach’

its followers. Ali Alghanim & Sons Automotive is the exclusive importer for BMW, MINI, Rolls-Royce, Land Rover and McLaren in Kuwait. One of the oldest premium car importers in the region, Ali Alghanim & Sons Automotive began its operations in 1986 when it became the exclusive importer of BMW in Kuwait.

Over the years the company has expanded its reach in the luxury market with the opening of a multi-million dollar showroom in Shuwaikh adjacent to the Airport Road. The importership offers a full range of Customer Support Facilities including a state-of-the-art Workshop, Quick Service, Body Shop, Parts & Accessories, Used car division, Vehicle Financing and 24 hrs Road-side Assistance.

KUWAIT: Kuwait suffers from a security breach, and the evidence lies in the presence of espionage networks in state institutions, said a member of the annulled 2012 assembly Abdallah Al-Taraiji and asked the government to be careful avoid taking risks.

Al-Taraiji said corruption is widespread in all government bodies including the Interior Ministry that is unable to fight corruption, as the ministry has failed to choose the ‘right man in the right place.’ He said ‘I asked the interior minister about the number of Iranians present in Kuwait, but I was surprised that many tried to defame me to the point that when some people nicknamed me Hayef the first, I asserted that I feel honored.’

LOCAL SATURDAY, AUGUST 25, 2012

‘Smart school’ era in Kuwait Educational tech revolution transforming Kuwait education KUWAIT: In an effort to transform education to align with international standards, government and private institutions in Kuwait are turning to the increased integration of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in schools.

The launch of the ‘Education Net’ project is a manifestation of that, connecting every government school and library in Kuwait to a telecommunications data network.

The Ministry of Education in Kuwait is trying to foster the use of information technology in schools by including e-learning in the curriculum. Mid of last year, the Kuwaiti government planned an initiative to offer financial incentives for teachers who use the latest technology, including social networking websites, to communicate better with students.

Mamoun Hajjar, country manager, Kuwait at Brocade Communications says that with the proliferation of modern smart devices, the education sector is ripe for change. The old ‘one size fits all’ classroom paradigm of a teacher lecturing to a classroom full of students cannot hope to compete with the ways that today’s digital natives learn on their own. Schools at all levels are racing to capture the interest and imagination of students by bringing the innovations of elearning technologies and applications into the classroom and the curriculum.

The educational technology revolution is providing a three pronged answer to this question.

The first is making sure that students have access to the wealth of information available on demand via the Internet. The second is challenging them with a wide array of innovative new e-learning applications. Last, but definitely not least, is reaching them through the highspeed communications networks that connect students both in and out of the classroom.

Delivery of bandwidth-intensive e-learning applications such as streaming video and multimedia is

a challenge for virtually every school. Multiple single-purpose technologies are cost-prohibitive. A technology that can be leveraged for multiple uses costs less and provides agility to respond to growing and emerging needs. The answer lies in the deployment of a highperformance campus network.

Intelligent Campus Networks Although most schools have existing wired systems that still provide value, as e-learning needs grow to include new applications, leveraging one IP network to provide connectivity for multiple uses will prove more cost-effective than adding additional wired networks.

More and more, institutions are turning to outdoor wireless broadband networks and indoor wireless LANs as more cost-effective alternatives to wired expansion as the education technology revolution takes hold. These wireless environments can be used simultaneously for data and file transfer, automated testing, video learning, video security, voice calls, and inventory management.

Wireless solutions are also faster and easier to deploy, and simpler to manage, than wired solutions; and only wireless technology enables the mobile access that is crucial for the delivery of anywhere, anytime learning on- or off-campus. With these solutions, each classroom is enriched with data, video, and voice connectivity, while the same network provides connectivity to technical and support staff so that students’ activities are coordinated, and supplies and facilities are fully prepared.

Smart Devices Today’s students live their lives with access to the latest, most functional devices imaginable, such as smartphones and tablets. Schools can capitalize on the opportunity presented by these technologies through the deployment of specialized applications for learning.

Smart devices also pave the way for

1:1 classrooms, which foster a personalized learning environment. In the true 1:1 classroom, students have individual laptop computers, notebooks, tablets, and smartphones, and they are able to simultaneously view streaming video content from the web or from a third-party educational video management system. Each individual student is able to view and work with the content in his or her own way, and also is able to work more

Better Security Schools can also leverage their campus networks to help increase operations efficiency. Universities can use their networks to deliver powerful security solutions, including remote video surveillance.

Wireless networks that connect the campus both indoors and outdoors are ideal solutions for increased

KUWAIT: This file photo shows Kuwaiti young boy Abdulrahman Al-Zanki, the developer behind the ‘Doodle Destroy’game which he offers as a free download via Apple’s iTunes website as an iPhone and iPad application. The image is used for illustrative purposes only. closely with the teacher in one-onone sessions.

Extending the Classroom Next generation, high performance campus networks help schools extend the school day by enabling students to safely and securely access the schools’ learning tools and other educationappropriate materials available on the Internet. This enables them to work collaboratively with peers and to interact with faculty from anywhere on campus. In many cases, they can also access the network

Experts predict humid weather KUWAIT: Operations director at Kuwait international airport, Issam Al Zamel, has said that navigational operations at Kuwait international airport have not been affected by the dust that has enveloped much of the nation.

Further, weather prediction department director at civil aviation, Ali Abdul Nabi Al Mutawaa, said he expects the start of humid conditions soon.

Further, he said that Thursday is expected to be the final day of northwestern winds, which are usually hot, dry and accompanied by sand. He added that the weather map indicates the weakening of the Indian seasons’ low pressure system on the area during the coming days.

The area’s equilibrium is expected to be effected by the low pressure coming from the east and high pressure coming from the west, which will result in calming winds, most of the

from home and from within the community.

time, from the southeast caused by sea breezes coming from waters east of the state.

Starting Friday, northwestern winds will be moderate and their speed will gradually decrease as they begin blowing from the northeast, as humidity increases in the coastal areas and maximum temperatures will register between 44 - 46 degrees. The sea is expected to be moderate, and by noon waves will be light until next Monday.

Al Mutawaa said that beginning Friday night the state will be under the influence of northeastern winds, especially on the coast, which will help carry evaporating waters to the desert areas.

The weather in those desert areas, far from the coast, will see temperatures exceeding 44 degrees and be accompanied by humidity.

This weather is expected to continue until Monday. —KUNA

security for people and things. Highspeed network infrastructures can be exceptionally valuable by integrating existing and new video, access control, and asset management solutions into a more proactive, intelligent campus-wide security system managed at a centralized command center. Such a security system would be easy to use, making monitoring simpler and more effective through built-in intelligence and automatic alerting mechanisms. The end result would be enhanced situational awareness and a faster, more effective response.

Single-Point Management The modern campus network offers the benefit of better management. It enables administrators to manage their entire access switching layer as if it were a single device, from initial deployment to ongoing configuration, software upgrades and monitoring. Single-point management in effect dramatically reduces the cost and time required to manage the campus network lifecycle.

It also improves compliance by ensuring consistent policy among all access layer ports, and increases network availability by reducing human error, which is the number one cause of network downtime.

The advantage of the modern campus network lies in its ability to deliver maximum performance and uptime while paving the way for emerging applications such as BYOD, rich video, virtual desktop environments and unified communications for increased collaboration. This technology also allows administrators to monitor and manage a single network from a single command center, helping to increase campus safety and security, network availability, and performance consistency.

Equally important, an effectively deployed education campus network offer a measurable return on investment (ROI), lowering technology, deployment, and operational expenses and reducing total cost of ownership (TCO).

For educational establishments to get the best of both worlds - a campus environment that accommodates the requirements of the modern educational institute, while providing the bullet-proof resilience, simplicity and costefficiency needed to successfully lay the foundations for today and the future - they need to look to innovative vendors and partners. While there are a number of network solutions available in the market, only a mere handful of these combine data center class performance with a practical pricing model. If you want a campus that can deliver on all your requirements, while offering an in-built path for the future needs you cannot yet predict, there is only one real choice.

Plot to attack Constitution KUWAIT: MP Musallam Al-Barrak said that the continuation of the 2009 council has become the government’s aim, declaring earlier that subjective reasons for dissolving the 2009 council are still applicable, and as a matter of precaution the government resigned and was reformed to consider the decision to dissolve the council.

Al-Barrak continued that it is clear that the procedural mistake in dissolving the 2009 council was, in the first place, like a landmine, planted in the dark, and it is a part of a plot to attack the constitution. The current period in which authorities controlled all power, executive and legislative, is the most dangerous period and the worst.

Suspected tenders shall continue, and the knife shall be given to the owner of failed projects in order that he might cut the growth cake with its heavy costs, which amounted to KD 37 billion, as a reward for his negative role in insulting the

people’s wishes and the legislative authority.

Al-Barrak emphasized that activating the constitutional emirate and elected government does not mean, as shown by the corrupted media, that this is an attack on authority. In fact, it is part of the constitution, since even the constitution in the 4th and 6th articles states that Kuwait is a constitutional emirate and the nation is the source of all authority, while the constitution, itself, called for a popular government since being issued 50 years earlier.

Al-Barrak concluded that it is clear that authorities are working to kill the 2012 council due to the fact that people felt, for the first time, that their well being has been achieved so clearly, and the majority stood for very dangerous cases which caused annoyance to the authority and to other corrupt parties, as in the case of transferring money and depositing money into some accounts, the theft of diesel, and shell contracts.

LOCAL

SATURDAY, AUGUST 25, 2012

Kuwait Fund looks back at 50 years of success (Interview with Abdulwahab Al-Bader, General Director of Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development) Question: Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2011. Can you briefly talk about your journey, milestones and past successes that you value the most?

ANSWER: A great deal happened over the span of 50 years.

We cannot go over all the work done by Kuwait Fund during the last five decades, but we can highlight some major developments such as the expansion of the Fund’s development operations to include all developing country regions, as well as supporting their priority projects in various economic and social sectors. As of now our partners include 104 developing countries spread across the globe.

We take pride in assisting countries to fulfill their aspirations for a better life. We value every project in our multi-sectoral operations that can contribute to increasing the production of goods and services to meet human needs, such as food, electricity, water, transportation facilities, health and education services, as well as others.

excess of your funds for the next five years by the amount of 250 million Kuwaiti dinars. How do you characterize Kuwait’s foreign policy? What is your strategy for the next 10 years? What sort of role will you play in this strategy?

A: Kuwait’s foreign policy has always been open-minded and Kuwait Fund is guided by its principles of close cooperation and friendly relationships. We are open to everybody.

We play a constructive part in the context of Kuwait’s foreign policy. The fact that Kuwait Fund supports 104 countries around the world is really an indicative statement of Kuwait’s foreign policy.

ment. How do you manage to secure adequate funding for the Fund? Are you following a very successful business model that allows you to increase the funding that you provide to other countries?

A: We have not received financial support from the government for over twenty years, so we have been dependent on our own resources. Over the years, we have made good use of our cash position and our investments, whether in the local market or in the international market. At the same time, most of our current loans provide about 20% of our income, while 80% comes from our investment portfolio.

Q: You mentioned that your distribution mainly revolves around Arab countries (54%), with 20% to Southeast Asia and Pacific countries, as well as 17% to African countries, and so on. Do you see this ratio changing, with the rise of Asia, for one?

Q: You are mainly concerned with the fields of transport, communication, energy and agriculture... What is the philosophy behind the allocation of the loans?

A: We try not to do all of the allocation ourselves. It depends on the recipient countries, which decide what our inter-

Q: Can you mention an occasion where Kuwait Fund really made a difference of which you are proud?

A: Every project that achieves great or modest objectives makes a difference. A large project such as the Marwai Dam which doubles electricity generation in Sudan makes a difference by promoting development in various sectors, and a small project for supplying drinking water to small villages in rural areas can have significant impact on alleviating poverty and improving health conditions. We are partners in development, and our work complements that of our partner countries, and work done by others in the field of development cooperation.

Q: Do you think the role of Kuwait Fund is slowly changing with the new challenges of the 21st century, such as food security, economic uncertainty, environmental destruction, energy crisis... ?

A: There is always a change. Every now and then, we come up with an issue that needs working on. Still, let me tell you: challenges come and go, constantly changing, whether it’s food, energy or money.

In my opinion, the biggest challenge that we have is of social nature; socio-economic, more precisely, human resources.

We have to take on all those challenges together and try to find the most suitable way of solving those problems.

We need to be open-minded about the future.

Q: Kuwait fund has a legacy of 718 loans supporting the health and sustainable development worth 4.4 billion KD (15 billion US$). This is your track record. Now, looking into the future, what do you expect to be your main challenges?

A: I think we are doing what could be qualified as never-ending work. We can never stop. Development is a long-term process. We expect to do much more in the coming years, and that is why we have already obtained an approval for increasing our work as well as our commitments. There is always something coming up which needs our input.

Societies go through problems which need to be dealt with.

Some problems might not allow us to reach our targets in the first years, but I’m sure we can learn from them to help us in the future to overcome other problems.

Q: As you mentioned, you have succeeded in raising the

Abdulwahab Al-Bader

A: It depends. We have increased our overall commitments, and at the same time, we are maintaining the 50% average distribution to Arab countries. However, by increasing our commitments, we hope to reach more countries and augment our presence there.

Q: Where is the demand coming from mostly? From which countries?

A: Well, it is coming from everywhere. Arab countries, such as Egypt, Lebanon and Morocco, but also Asia and Africa in an increasing manner.

Q: What is the percentage of non-performing loans in your portfolio? What is the financial situation?

A: That percentage is very small compared to our commitments and compared to the work we are doing. Our financial position is very good currently, which explains why we are increasing our commitments; if it were not the case, we would not be able to do more.

Q: Kuwait fund does not get any support from the govern-

ventions will be, according to their priorities. We might have some wishes, but we respect their priorities. We leave it for them to decide which project they wish for us to help them with, as long as it is financially and economically viable.

Q: Do you see this structure changing in the future?

A: Not so much, but yes, I do see a little bit of change.

Q: How do you assess your financial performance for 2012 and beyond?

A: 2012 might not be financially favourable, but overall I do not expect a very big difference coming along.

Q: What is your opinion of the Arab Spring, the major events that took place last year?

A: I have to be positive about what happened in the Arab world. I think those are good changes. Most changes involve disruption, a situation which is only natural, but we hope in the end a new climate emerges for development and prosperity. — marcopolis.net

Kuwait supports bolstering global security MEXICO CITY: Kuwait’s Ambassador to Mexico Sameeh Hayat delivered late Thursday a lecture on the goals of Kuwaiti foreign policy at the University of Pedregal.

The Kuwaiti diplomat said that his country supports bolstering global security and peace by adhering to international laws and norms govern-

ing relations among world nations. Ambassador Hayat also showcased Kuwait’s commitment to regional and international efforts in various fields namely within economic and human resources development.

He pointed out that since its inception in 1962, Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development

(KFAED) has supported development projects in 102 nations. Hayat added that the Kuwaiti leadership also showcased its commitment to economic and human resources development by providing $2 billion at the 2009 Arab Economic and Social Development Summit, held in Kuwait, to help fund small-medium size enterprises.—KUNA

SATURDAY, AUGUST 25, 2012

Tehran hails summit as diplomatic coup

8

Japan tough but wary on South Korean row

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Sun defies royals, prints naked Prince Harry pics

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OSLO: Self confessed mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik raises his fist in a right wing salute in court room 250 at Oslo central court yesterday. — AFP

Evil or crazy? Unrepentant Breivik jailed Norwegian mass killer sentenced to 21-year maximum OSLO: Norwegian mass killer Anders Behring Breivik was jailed for a maximum term yesterday when judges declared him sane enough to answer for the murder of 77 people last year, drawing a smirk of triumph from the self-styled warrior against Islam. An unrepentant Breivik, 33, gave the Oslo court a stiff-armed, clench-fisted salute before being handed the steepest possible penalty, 21 years. His release, however, can be put off indefinitely should he still pose a threat to a liberal society left traumatized by his bomb and shooting rampage last July.

Justifying blasting a government building and gunning down dozens of teenagers at a summer camp as a service to a nation threatened by immigration, he had said only acquittal or death would be worthy outcomes. But his biggest concern was being declared insane - the sole verdict he had said he would appeal. Judge Wenche Elizabeth Arntzen dismissed a prosecution call for her to label Breivik mad, a ruling that would have seen him confined indefinitely to psychiatric care rather than prison.

Some survivors of the slaughter at the Labor party youth camp on Utoeya island had been keen to see Breivik held clearly responsible for his

actions - and to avoid the insanity verdict that would have triggered lengthy and traumatic appeal hearings. For many Norwegians, still shocked by their bloodiest day since World War Two, the details were academic, however. “He is getting what he deserves,” said Alexandra Peltre, 18, whom Breivik shot in the thigh on Utoeya.

“This is karma striking back at him. I do not care if he is insane or not, as long as he gets the punishment that he deserves.”

Breivik, who had surrendered to police on the island without a fight, admitted blowing up the Oslo government headquarters with a fertilizer bomb, killing eight, on Friday, July 22, 2011, then shooting 69 at the ruling party’s summer youth camp. Dressed in a black suit with a tie and still sporting the under-chin beard familiar from the 10 weeks of hearings that ended in June, Breivik smirked when he entered the courtroom and gave his now familiar, far-right salute when his handcuffs were removed. He smiled again as the judge read out the verdict.

He will not appeal, his lawyer said. “He told me he will accept this verdict,” Geir Lippestad told Reuters. A lawyer for some victims and their families said they, too, were satisfied: “I am pleased,

although that’s not really the right word, and relieved. This is what we hoped for,” said Mette Yvonne Larsen, who represented some of those affected in court.

“I have already received many messages from clients telling me this is justice served and they are happy it’s over and will never have to see him again.” The killings shook the nation of five million which had prided itself as a safe haven from much of the world’s troubles, raising questions about the prevalence of far-right views in a country where oil wealth has attracted rising immigration. Breivik will now be kept in isolation inside Ila Prison on the outskirts of Oslo inside relatively spacious quarters that include a separate exercise room, a computer and a television.

He had described an insane verdict as “a fate worse than death”. Were he to have been found insane and decided to appeal, the entire trial would have had to be repeated. Breivik justified his killing spree arguing that the centre-left Labor party is deliberately destroying the nation by encouraging Muslim immigration. His views, spread over the Internet and aired during the trial, drew support from a few in Europe but even most of the hardest right-wing fringe groups kept

their distance from the self-confessed mass killer.

Although his victims were mostly teenagers, with some as young as 14, he rejected being called a child murderer, arguing that his victims were brainwashed “cultural Marxists” whose political activism would adulterate pure Norwegian blood. He stalked his victims dressed as a policeman, tricking them into thinking he was the help sent from the shore after the initial attack. He then shot them from close range before finishing them with a shot to the head. “I stand by what I have done and I would still do it again.” he said during his court testimony.

Some Norwegians now believe their country must draw on the experience to debate issues like immigration as their oil wealth attracts large numbers of foreign workers. These are being discussed more openly after the killings by Breivik, who believed the government’s immigration policies were adulterating “Norwegian blood” and leading to war with Muslims. One team of court-appointed psychiatrists concluded he was psychotic while another came to the opposing conclusion. To make the ruling more difficult, several other experts who testified described a slew of mental conditions Breivik probably suffered. —Reuters

INTERNATIONAL SATURDAY, AUGUST 25, 2012

Tehran hails summit as diplomatic coup Iran in diplomatic spotlight as it hosts global summit DUBAI: Iran hopes to earn diplomatic kudos over the coming week as it hosts a summit of 120 developing nations, but any jubilation could turn sour over starkly different views on the bloody conflict in Syria. The Islamic Republic’s three-year tenure as head of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), which starts tomorrow, is a chance for Tehran to elevate its international standing as the United States seeks to cripple its economy and isolate it diplomatically over its disputed nuclear program.

Although many analysts say the movement, set up in 1961 to counter big power domination of international relations, has waned since the end of the Cold War, the diplomatic spotlight will give Tehran an opportunity to show Washington has failed to cut it off from the rest of the world.

“Hosting the conference is Iran’s way of breaking the diplomatic embargo,” said Vali Nasr, dean of the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University. Around 35 heads of state or government are attending from the movement’s wide membership that stretches from developing giants such as India to tiny Caribbean islands.

The guest list includes new Egyptian

President Mohammad Morsi - the first Egyptian leader to visit Iran since its Islamic revolution in 1979. United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon will also attend, resisting diplomatic pressure to boycott the event After President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad repeated his view that Israel is a “cancerous tumor” that had no place in the Middle East.

Both are expected to attend an address by Iran’s most powerful figure, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. “The Iranians love a stage. If they handle it diplomatically they will at least bask in the reflected glory,” said Ali Ansari of St Andrews University in Scotland.

As host, Iran will prepare the first draft of the meeting’s final declaration, likely to include statements affirming its right to peaceful nuclear technology, condemnation of Israeli military threats against it and censure of Israel’s occupation of Palestinian lands. “Hosting and chairing NAM has a lot of benefits. It’s the basis for continuing political influence over a significant group of developing nations for three years,” said Professor Peter Willetts of City University. “The host always has key influence over the starting point for discussions.” Where that may differ is on the issue of Syria, Iran’s chief ally in the region in its “axis of resistance” against Israel,

Sunni Arab states and their Western backers.

DISSENT ON SYRIA Willetts’ analysis of a UN General Assembly vote on Aug 3 condemning the Syrian government’s use of force against its own people showed that 70 of the 120 NAM members voted in favor and only 8 voted with Syria, Iran, China and Russia. “Given NAM members have a long history of opposing interference the internal affairs of developing countries, this is an extraordinary demonstration of the revulsion felt by the majority towards the violence in Syria,” he said. “Iran will be very embarrassed in its domestic politics if they have to host an event that ends up condemning the Syrian government.” Another source of embarrassment could spring from Ahmadinejad who has a record of using international events to make firebrand, anti-Israeli speeches. “The supreme leader (Khamenei) should hope that Ahmadinejad doesn’t sink Iran’s diplomatic ship with his loose talk at this rare and important opportunity,” said Meir Javedanfar, an Iranian-born analyst based in Israel.

Western governments do not expect Iran’s turn in the diplomatic limelight to bring it too many rewards. “The risk is if we get to

IAEA seeks nuclear answers from Iran Inspectors want access to Parchin military site VIENNA: The UN nuclear watchdog pressed Iran yesterday to address suspicions about nuclear bomb research in the Islamic state, part of diplomatic efforts to resolve the dispute before any possible military action by Israel or the United States. A flurry of bellicose rhetoric from some Israeli politicians this month has ignited speculation that Israel might strike nuclear sites before the US presidential election in November. On the eve of yesterday’s talks between Iran and the United Nations’ International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), diplomatic sources told Reuters that Iran had installed many more uranium enrichment centrifuges at its Fordow underground facility.

Though the new machines are not yet operating, the move signaled Tehran’s defiance of international demands to suspend enrichment and may strengthen the Israeli belief that toughened sanctions are failing to make Tehran change course. The sources also said satellite imagery indicated Iran had used a brightly colored, possibly pink, tent-like structure to cover a building at a military site which the UN watchdog wants to inspect, raising new concerns about suspected cleansing of evidence of illicit past nuclear work there.

Iran, the Jewish state’s arch-enemy and a major oil producer, denies it is seeking nuclear weapons and has threatened wide-ranging reprisals if attacked. Iran’s envoy to the IAEA, Ali Asghar Soltanieh, said he expected progress in the meeting: “Both sides are

TEL AVIV: Activists covered in white sheets act as dead bodies during a protest against Israel’s possible showdown with Iran over its suspect nuclear program in front of the Defense Ministry office Tel Aviv. — AP trying to bridge the gap,” he told reporters at Iran’s mission in Vienna.

Chief UN inspector Herman Nackaerts, in charge of the agency’s long-stalled inspection effort, said the aim was to reach an agreement on how to resolve the IAEA’s questions about possible military dimensions to Iran’s nuclear program.

Nackaerts, who headed the IAEA delegation, said he would reiterate his request for access to the Parchin military facility, where he believes Iran has undertaken explosives tests relevant for developing a nuclear weapons capabili-

ty. Their meeting is separate from Tehran’s negotiations with world powers that have made little headway since they resumed in April after a 15-month hiatus, but the focus on suspicions about Iran’s nuclear ambitions mean they are still closely linked. Washington says there is still time for diplomatic pressure to work in making Iran curb its nuclear enrichment program, which is the immediate priority of the six powers - the United States, Britain, Russia, China, France and Germany. Refined uranium can have both civilian and military purposes. —Reuters

excited about the event and give more kudos to it than it really deserves,” a Western diplomat said. Last week, the US State Department appeared to play up the influence of the summit, saying Iran was not “deserving” of the role as host and would try to “manipulate participants”. The diplomat said any such move may backfire on Iran. “It may succumb to the temptation to use the movement for its own purposes and cause massive dysfunctionalism in the organization. Moderate members won’t want NAM to be hijacked,” he said.

DAM AGAINST THE US There is little doubt that Iran wants to reconstruct NAM into a more muscular political tool. Iranian media have been full of announcements from officials saying Tehran would breathe new life into it to challenge “Western domination”. Iran’s tenure as chairman of the movement has been described locally as “a show of power against global arrogance” and a “strong dam against the US.” Iran also aims to promote culture and tourism to the more than 7,000 delegates. According to one official, Tehran’s businesses will cash in on $50 million in extra business. —Reuters

Swiss lab to analyze Arafat remains for poisoning GENEVA: A Swiss radiology lab said yesterday it has received the go-ahead from the widow of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to test his remains for poisoning by polonium, a highly radioactive element. “We are waiting for a formal, written letter from the lawyer before travelling to Ramallah” to carry out the probe, a spokesman for the lab at the Lausanne University Hospital Centre, Darcy Christen said.

“Time is of the essence, you could say it’s a question of weeks, not months, because the traceability of polonium diminishes by half every 138 days,” Christen said, noting that this has occurred 20 times since Arafat died aged 75 on November 11, 2004.

The Palestinian Authority also approved the probe, which was requested by Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas after a media investigation found elevated levels of polonium on some of Arafat’s belongings, including clothing he wore before he died at a military hospital outside Paris. French doctors had offered no explanation for Arafat’s death, and many Palestinians believe he was poisoned by Israel, which denies the allegations. The Palestinian committee probing Arafat’s death was “preparing to counter any possible Israeli intervention” which would hinder the exhumation, investigator Tawfiq Tirawi said early this month.

Arafat’s widow Suha Arafat and their daughter lodged a complaint for murder against persons unknown in France on July 31 over the radioactive poisoning claims. Their lawyer in Geneva, Marc Bonnant, told Swiss television on Thursday that she “wanted this investigation ... she’s the one pushing for it, and as a result we will go to Ramallah,” the de facto capital of the occupied West Bank. Polonium is a highly toxic radioactive substance that is rarely found outside military and scientific circles. It was used to kill Russian former spy turned Kremlin critic Alexander Litvinenko, who died in 2006 after drinking tea laced with the substance in London.

The Swiss team will first carry out a fact-finding mission during which they will meet with representatives of the Palestinian Authority, inspect Arafat’s mausoleum and assess technological and scientific capabilities on the ground, Christen said. If they deem the testing to be viable, they will carry out a second mission to take samples from the body. The Swiss experts were among several specialists consulted by the Al-Jazeera news channel, which commissioned the analysis of Arafat’s personal effects. — AFP

INTERNATIONAL SATURDAY, AUGUST 25, 2012

Vacuum of uprising gives Syria Kurds rare freedom AFRIN: On the main road to the northern Syrian town of Afrin, armed men stand beneath green, red and yellow Kurdish flags, welcoming truckloads of their displaced Arab neighbors. They wave through pick-up trucks carrying women and children, granting them passage to Afrin, where a rare safety prevails thanks to a delicate Kurdish balancing act that has granted the population a first taste of autonomy.

The checkpoint is a bold signal of just how radically life has changed for the Kurdish population in the north of the country since the uprising against President Bashar Al-Assad’s regime began in March last year. The men running the post speak openly in Kurdish, and some sport yellow vests featuring black stencils of the face of Abdullah Ocalan, the leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party or PKK. Ocalan is reviled as a terrorist in Turkey where he is serving a life jail sentence for his leadership of a bloody uprising launched in the southeast in 1984.

But in Afrin his picture hangs on walls and in shops, and his face appears in women’s lockets. The change is the result of an understanding the Kurds have reached with both the Syrian government and the rebel forces. State troops have withdrawn from the region, but a token security facility, complete with an untouched portrait of Assad hanging from its facade, remains in Afrin. “They don’t move outside of the building,” says 50-year-old Fathy, who helps man the checkpoint. “They call if they need bread or water and we deliver it to them.”

The rebel army is also banned from entering the region unless they are unarmed and in civilian clothes. “They come to Afrin because our shops and markets are open, they buy food and other supplies. But no one is allowed to enter with weapons.” The only weapons allowed into what the Kurds here refer to as Western Kurdistan are under the authority of the Kurdish Democratic Union Party, or PYD. Turkey has accused the group of being a front for the PKK, which the United States has warned must be denied a safe haven in the region. But while Fathy admits that some of the weapons used to protect the area come from the PKK, he and other residents insist the group is not present in the area. “As Kurds, of course we would like to invite them here, but we know that the Arabs and the international community believe that the PKK are terrorists, so we would not let them come here now. And the PKK respects that,” says Khaled, a 27-year-old Kurd who defected from the Syrian army earlier this year.

Inside Afrin, the regime’s departure has allowed Syria’s Kurds to experience a first hint of long-awaited self-rule. At a newlyestablished cultural centre, a 67-year-old who gives his name as Mr Jangvar is teaching a class of Kurdish woman to read and write their once-banned language. One-by-one, they stand and haltingly repeat the eight vowel sounds of the language. “The Kurdish people were banned from reading and writing Kurdish language, so we learnt person to person in secret,” Jangvar says.

“When someone was found with a Kurdish book he was jailed and tortured.” The centre also offers lessons on Kurdish history, poetry and music, all available for free. In the director’s office, a picture of the Kurdish poet Ehmede Xani hangs opposite the picture of Ocalan. “He’s one of our most important poets,” Khaled says. “His poems are seriously, truly wonderful.” For Arif Sheikhu, a member of the loose coalition of Kurdish parties and town councils that now oversees the region, this new-found autonomy is the result of a decades-long struggle that stands apart from the current uprising.—AFP

Protesters challenge Morsi, Brotherhood Egypt president ‘trying to monopolize power’ CAIRO: More than 200 Egyptians protested against President Mohamed Morsi in Cairo yesterday, challenging the Islamist president and his Muslim Brotherhood group on the street less than two months into his rule with a first test of his popularity. But several liberal groups that are usually critical of the Brotherhood have not backed the protest. Among those staying away is April 6 youth movement, which had helped galvanize the street against ousted President Hosni Mubarak in 2011. Activists behind yesterday’s call to protest accuse Morsi of seeking to monopolize power after he wrested back prerogatives in August that the military council, which had ruled Egypt for a year and a half, had sought to retain for itself.

“Wake up Egyptian people. Don’t fall for the Brotherhood,” said Mahmoud, in his 50s, addressing about 200 people in Tahrir Square, the heart of Cairo where protests brought down Mubarak in February last year. “Egypt is for all Egyptians, not only one group,” said Mahmoud, who only gave his first name, as he stood on a motorbike in the square where traffic was flowing through. Protests tend to build later in the day in the hot summer. The organizers, among them opposition politician Mohamed Abou Hamed, also want a probe into the funding of the Brotherhood, repressed by Mubarak during his 30-year rule but which has dominated the political scene since he was toppled.

In a morning headline ahead of the protests that had been trailed for a few weeks, the independent daily Al Masry Al Youm called the demonstration “the first test for Morsi”. Organizers, who had named several gathering points, said they planned to march towards the presidential palace to protest against Morsi, who was sworn in on June 30, becoming Egypt’s first president who was not drawn from military ranks. “Both Tantawi and the Brotherhood stole the revolution and destroyed Egypt,” said Mohsen Abed Rabuh, a government worker, referring to Field

Marshal Hussein Tantawi, Egypt’s interim ruler, who was dismissed by Morsi this month.

He was speaking in Cairo’s Abbasiya area, near the Defense Ministry, where dozens of protesters had gathered and more were congregating. It was the site of clashes between protesters and soldiers earlier this year when the army was still in charge. The road leading to the ministry was cordoned off. Security officials said it would protect peaceful protests but would act firmly against any lawbreakers after reports in the press and speculation on social media suggested protesters could target Brotherhood premises.

CRITICISMS The Facebook page calling for the protest said it would be “peaceful” and those involved would not resort to violence. April 6 said in a statement before the protest that it disagreed with the Brotherhood on many issues but added: “Does all that and more push us to issue a judgment now to burn the group’s members or premises and exile them from the country?” Ahmed Said, head of the Free Egyptians, another liberal group staying away, wrote on Facebook: “Those who want to bring down the Brotherhood should bring them down via elections.”

Morsi, propelled to the presidency by the well-organized Brotherhood, has formally resigned from the group saying he wanted to represent the whole nation in office. Among criticisms of Morsi have been accusations that he has sought to muzzle the media. Critics point to a trial of two journalists, including the editor of the opposition newspaper Al-Dostour, for insulting the president.

Morsi went some way to deflecting criticism when he issued a law on Thursday, his first use of legislative power he wrested from the army, banning pre-trial detention of journalists. The Al-Dostour editor had been ordered detained just hours earlier.—Reuters

BORDER: Dozens of African migrants cross into southern Israel through the border with Egypt. — AFP

Israel making inroads in halting African migration JERUSALEM: Just a few months ago, Israel was in the midst of a nationwide uproar over the tens of thousands of African migrants who have poured into the Jewish state. Today, that influx has slowed dramatically, following a series of measures meant to halt the new arrivals. The quick results are testament to a get-tough approach that has included the rapid construction of a soon-to-be-completed fence along the border with Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, and a new policy of detaining Africans upon arrival.

But the strategy has come with a price: Advocacy groups accuse Israel of violating international refugee law by cooperating with Egyptian security personnel to round up migrants on the border. They also say more than a thousand Africans are now languishing in mass detention centers set up to hold them. Israeli military spokes-

woman Lt Col Avital Leibovich said she had no immediate information on whether Israeli and Egyptian forces were cooperating in rounding up migrants. Government spokesman Mark Regev had no comment when asked if Israel was carrying out this practice.

Israel, which contends that most of the Africans are not bona fide refugees and are merely looking for work, still has no answer for what to do with the roughly 60,000 Africans living in limbo in city slums.

Danny Danon, who heads a group of lawmakers pushing to expel all unauthorized migrants, credits the border fence and a new policy of long-term detention that makes it impossible for migrants to work and send money back home. “I think Israeli society woke up, albeit too late,” said Danon, a member of the governing Likud Party.

“But (now) there is an understanding that while we’re a Jewish state sensitive to refugees, we cannot become a safe haven for hundreds of thousands of Africans who want to improve their quality of life.” The influx of Africans over the past seven years has ignited a debate over whether Israel’s role as a sanctuary for Jews after the Holocaust obligates it to open its doors to others escaping misery and persecution. But as the number of Africans has grown, some Israelis have said the country’s Jewish character could be threatened by the migrants.

That, and a series of crimes blamed on the Africans, has led to a harsh, sometimes violent backlash.

Migrants have been attacked in several cases and politicians have called them criminals, a “national scourge” and “a cancer in our body.”

Israel is far from alone in its dilemma: European

countries have sought to prevent tens of thousands of people from reaching the continent by boat from Africa and have started implementing a range of border control measures on land and on the high seas. Italy generally puts them into holding centers, then they are sent home if there is no case for political asylum. In Greece, detention camps have been established similar to those built in Israel. In 2011, at least 1,500 people, including women and children, drowned in the Mediterranean Sea trying to reach Europe, according to a recent report by Amnesty International.

Legally, Israel cannot deport most of the migrants because the overwhelming majority - some 85 percent - come from Sudan, an enemy state, and Eritrea, repressive regimes with miserable human rights records. —AP

INTERNATIONAL SATURDAY, AUGUST 25, 2012

Philippines likely to expel China, Taiwan scammers MANILA: The Philippines will likely deport nearly 400 Taiwanese and Chinese arrested in a major telephone scam that swindled millions of dollars from elderly compatriots, police said yesterday. Police made the arrests during raids on 20 houses across Manila on Thursday, after being tipped off by authorities in mainland China and Taiwan, Philippine anti-organized crime task force chief Reginald Villasanta said.

Asked if the suspects would be deported he said: “Before the operation was launched we were provided with the evidence gathered by our counterparts in Taiwan and China. So most likely that is what is going to happen.” Posing over the phone as police officers or state prosecutors in their homelands, the suspects scared mostly elderly victims into transferring their savings into bank accounts of the gang, Villasanta said.

“They would tell the victims their bank accounts are

being used by terrorists or syndicates and should transfer them to a safer account,” Villasanta said. “In reality these accounts are controlled by the syndicate and when the deposits are made they are swiftly cleaned out.” He said the gang stole “millions” of yuan or Taiwan dollars every day, he added. One yuan is worth 15.74 US cents. One Taiwan dollar equals 3.33 US cents.

The gang had been under surveillance since July, however Villasanta said police were not sure how long it had been operating in the Philippines. A total of 385 foreign suspects were arrested along with two Filipinos of Chinese background, said Superintendent Winnie Quidato, operations chief of the task force. Seventyeight Taiwanese suspects were arrested in a similar scam in the southern Philippines in April. The suspects were later deported to face charges at home, authori-

ties said. But sorting out the mainland Chinese from the Taiwanese in the latest case is proving difficult because the suspects are refusing to cooperate with authorities, according to Quidato.

The Philippines has asked the Chinese embassy and the Taipei cultural office for help in identifying them, Quidato said. In February last year the Philippines mistakenly deported to China 14 Taiwanese suspects of another scamming operation that had allegedly swindled US$20 million from mainland Chinese victims. A furious Taiwan denounced the mistake as a blow to economic and cultural ties. China sent the 14 suspects home to Taiwan nearly four months later. Officials at the Taipei cultural office were not available for comment yesterday. Chinese embassy spokesman Zhang Hua said the mission was expected to comment on the arrests later. — AFP

India govt defends Internet blocking Internet expert criticizes cyber blockades

MANILA: Presidential guards carry the flag-draped coffin of the late Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo for a memorial tribute at Malacanang Palace grounds yesterday. Robredo died Saturday when his Piper Seneca chartered plane crashed off Masbate waters in central Philippines. The plane’s pilot and co-pilot also died but his aide survived. — AP

Aquino names ‘first’ female chief justice MANILA: The Philippine president appointed the country’s first female Supreme Court chief justice yesterday and praised her ability to lead the court after her predecessor was removed for constitutional violations.

President Benigno Aquino III was confident Maria Lourdes Sereno will lead “in undertaking much-needed reforms” in the judiciary and “restore our people’s confidence in the judicial system,” presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said.

Sereno has been an associate justice on the 15-member tribunal since August 2010 and was formerly a law professor. Now 52, she will serve on the court until retirement at 70.

Former chief justice Renato Corona was impeached and convicted in May for not disclosing his $2.4 million bank accounts. Aquino had called Corona an obstacle in his anti-corruption campaign. Sereno was one of the minority members of the court who voted in favor of the Aquino government’s order to stop former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo from leaving the country allegedly to evade corruption charges.

Sereno was one of the eight nominees for chief justice submitted to Aquino by the Judicial and Bar Council. In an unprecedented move to show transparency in choosing the

chief justice, the council conducted a televised interview of all 20 aspirants to the post and took questions from the public via Twitter and Facebook.

In a brief statement, Sereno assured her countrymen she would stand by her oath “faithfully to the end of my term.” “This is a serious job that calls for the support of the entire country for it to be successful and I understand the implications of this job,” she said, adding she will announce her proposed judicial reforms soon.

Left-wing Rep Rafael Mariano questioned her independence, saying she will be “politically indebted” to Aquino for her appointment. He challenged her to uphold a Supreme Court decision to break up the Aquino family’s sugar estate and distribute the land to farmers. Farmers’ groups worry that her opinion of compensating the estate owners according to the 2006 fair-market value of the property rather than an earlier year would jack up the amortization payments of farmers who will get the land. Roan Libarios, president of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, said they welcomed her appointment and he believes she will be independent. “She is good for the call of the times for transparency and reforms in the judiciary,” he said.— AP

NEW DELHI: India yesterday defended itself against accusations of heavy-handed online censorship, saying it had been successful in blocking content blamed for fuelling ethnic tensions. The government over the past week has ordered Internet service providers to block 309 webpages, images and links on sites including Facebook, Twitter, Wikipedia, news channel ABC of Australia and Qatar-based Al-Jazeera. The orders were an effort to halt the spread of “hateful” material and rumors that Muslims planned to attack students and workers who have migrated from the northeast region to live in Bangalore and other southern cities. “We have met with success. These pages were a threat to India’s national security and we demanded their immediate deletion,” Kuldeep Singh Dhatwalia, a spokesman for India’s home ministry said. “Spreading rumors to encourage violence or cause tension will not be tolerated. The idea is not to restrict communication.”

But Twitter users, legal experts and analysts criticized the government’s approach, which appeared to have resulted in only partial blocking of material, much of which was still accessible. “The officials who are trusted with this don’t know the law or modern technology well enough,” Pranesh Prakash, program manager at the Centre for Internet and Society research group said. “It is counterproductive. I accuse them of monumental incompetence, given that the main problem is that they are getting really bad advice. “I hope that this fiasco shows the folly of excessive censorship and encourages the government to make better use of social networks and technology to reach out to people.”

Among the content blocked were photographs by AFP and other news agencies from Myanmar in the British Daily Telegraph, a parody Twitter account pretending to be from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and dozens of YouTube videos. ABC issued a statement saying it was “surprised by the action” after content on its website about unrest in Myanmar between Muslims and Buddhists was included on the blocking list. Photographs of clashes in Myanmar are thought to have been circulated on the Internet with fake captions claiming the scenes were from the northeastern Indian state of Assam, where 80 people have died in recent ethnic violence.

Vivek Sood, senior Supreme Court lawyer and an author on Internet legalization, said he believed the government was acting unlawfully in blocking the online material. “It’s completely illegal under the Indian IT Act,” he told The Economic Times. “It’s a gross abuse of power by the government.” Indian journalist Kanchan Gupta, who is often critical of the government, had his Twitter account targeted by a government blocking order in a move he called a “political vendetta”. The government has blamed Internet activity for fanning fears that resulted in tens of thousands of migrants fleeing back to the northeast last week from Bangalore and elsewhere.

Al Jazeera webpages on the blocking list, including a report on the exodus from Bangalore, appeared unaffected by the government orders, the channel’s Delhi bureau chief Anmol Saxena said. Ministers earlier complained they had not received cooperation from websites and social network groups. The government on Thursday said Twitter had agreed to remove six fake accounts parodying Prime Minister Singh. United States State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said that as India “seeks to preserve security, we are urging them also to take into account the importance of freedom of expression in the online world.” — AFP

Tembin pounds Taiwan TAITUNG: Typhoon Tembin swept across southern Taiwan yesterday, toppling trees and ripping off rooftops after thousands of people were evacuated to avoid a repeat of a deadly storm three years ago.

Tembin, characterized as a “severe” typhoon by the Hong Kong Observatory, hit before dawn and ground its way across Taiwan’s southern tip before moving out to sea again, where it was still lingering after dark.

The typhoon left five people injured in its path, according to Taiwan’s Central Emergency Operation Centre.

In Kaohsiung city in the south, a firefighter was electrocuted while handling a power cable ripped off by powerful winds, receiving burns so serious that his right foot may need to be amputated, the centre said.

Another firefighter also received burns in the same accident but was in stable condition after medical treatment, the centre said, adding that three other people were injured by broken glass in Taitung county in the east. Fallen tree trunks covered roads in the south, rocks loosened by torrential rain dropped from mountainsides, and in the coastal village of Tawu a number of rooftops were blown off by strong winds.

In towns along the rugged east coast, thousands of people were evacuated and schools and businesses shut down as communities braced for the typhoon to hit, but Tembin made landfall further south than expected. Island-wide, the number of evacuees topped 7,000. Even though the casualties were fewer than feared, farmers said their livelihoods had been badly affected by the powerful weather system.”This is more serious than we thought it would be,” said Chen Yue-zi, a fruit and nut grower near the eastern city of Taitung, as he looked at his orchard, littered with trees toppled by heavy winds overnight. —AFP

INTERNATIONAL SATURDAY, AUGUST 25, 2012

Japan tough but wary on South Korean row

Monks, politicians kindling hate: Myanmar’s president YANGON: Buddhist monks, politicians and other ethnic Rakhine figures are kindling hatred towards Muslim Rohingya in an area plagued by sectarian violence, Myanmar’s president has warned in a report seen by AFP yesterday. In an unvarnished assessment of the role of Buddhists in unrest in Rakhine state, which has left scores dead on both sides and displaced tens of thousands of people, President Thein Sein also said ethnic Rakhine could not accept the Rohingya as fellow citizens. Decades of discrimination have left the Rohingya stateless and Myanmar’s government considers their 800,000-strong population as foreigners, while many citizens see them as illegal immigrants from neighboring Bangladesh and view them with hostility.

“Political parties, some monks and some individuals are increasing the ethnic hatred. They even approach and lobby both the domestic and overseas Rakhine community,” Thein Sein said in a report sent to Myanmar’s union parliament-which combines the upper and lower houses-on August 17. “Rakhine people are continuously thinking to terrorize the Bengali Muslims living across the country,” he said, using a term frequently used in Myanmar for Rohingya. Thein Sein also said ethnic Rakhine could not envisage sharing their land with people they consider foreigners, echoing comments he made in July calling for camps or deportation of Rohingya. “They cannot consider a situation in which the Bengali Muslims can be citizens,” the president said.

A leading Rakhine political party rejected the findings, saying it had already lodged “an objection” over the report to parliament. “We don’t agree with their review... such a review should not be released in this current time..., it can worsen the clashes,” said Aye Maung, chairman of Rakhine Nationalities Development Party. Myanmar’s authorities have faced heavy criticism from rights groups after clashes between Rohingya and ethnic Rakhine, which according to government figures left 87 people dead.

In response the government on August 18 announced a new 27-member investigating commission, including religious leaders, artists and former dissidents, to probe the causes of the violence and suggest ways forward. The president’s review also found that the economy of Rakhine state had been decimated by the unrest, while both communities are suffering “mental trauma” after the clashes, which saw neighbors turn on each other and thousands of homes torched.

New York-based Human Rights Watch has accused Myanmar forces of opening fire on Rohingya during the June outbreak of unrest, as well as committing rape and standing by as rival mobs attacked each other. —AFP

Debt plan, fx deal on line TOKYO: Japan talked tough yesterday in an emotional row with South Korea, with lawmakers calling on Seoul to end its “illegal occupation” of a disputed island chain, but the prime minister also called for calm and a diplomatic solution to the feud. Tension between the North Asian countries, both close US security allies, flared this month after President Lee Myung-bak became the first South Korean leader to set foot on the islands claimed by both countries.

Lee’s visit and his call for Emperor Akihito to go beyond expressing “deepest regrets” for Japan’s 1910-1945 colonial rule triggered a diplomatic tit-for-tat feud, and a rare veiled threat from Japan to flex its economic muscle. The dispute between Japan and South Korea over the islands known as Dokdo in Korea and Takeshima in Japan has coincided with a stand-off between Japan and China over another island chain that sparked anti-Japanese protests in China last week. Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, accused by the opposition of being too soft on territorial disputes, tried to walk a fine line, fending off criticism while trying to keep the feuds from spinning out of control. “In order to protect our national interests, I will say what we must say and do what should be done,” he told a news conference. “On the other hand, it would do no good to any country if we uselessly fan hard-line opinions at home and escalate the situation,” he added. “The important thing is to seek a solution in peaceful and diplomatic ways.”

But Noda also hardened his rhetoric and, in a break with past practice, referred to South Korea’s control of the islands as “illegal occupation”. “After the end of the war, South Korea started illegal occupation,” Noda said, echoing the language of lawmakers who earlier passed a resolution condemning Lee’s visit to the islands and demanding their return to Japan. That spurred a swift rebuke from Seoul. “We strongly protest the prime minister’s unjust territorial claim to Dokdo which is historically, geographically and by international law our sovereign land ... and urge he immediately withdraw it,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Cho Tai-young said in a statement.

Noda said he had no specific economic steps in mind to take in the dispute, but Finance Minister Jun Azumi earlier suggest-

ed that the government might not extend a currency swap arrangement with South Korea after it expires in October. He also said Japan was weighing a plan to buy South Korean government debt. “Things have reached the point where the Japanese people may not be able to accept the argument that political relations and economic relations are separate,” Azumi told reporters. The Yomiuri newspaper reported

deep in China and South Korea. The territorial disputes show how the region has failed to resolve differences nearly seven decades after the end of World War Two. The row with South Korea sparked a curious stand-off over a letter from Noda to Lee, which South Korea first declined to accept and then Japan refused to take back.

Narushige Michishita, security expert from Japan’s National Graduate Institute for

TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda arrives at a press conference at his official residence in Tokyo yesterday. —AP that Japan was leaning towards aborting its plan to buy South Korean government bonds, saying the government believed it would not be understood by the public, given the diplomatic climate.

‘WORK THIS OUT’ The United States called on Japan and South Korea to find a solution. “Both of these countries are strong, important, valued allies of the United States,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told a briefing on Thursday. “It’s obviously not comfortable for us when they have a dispute between them, so our message to each of them is the same: Work this out, work it out peacefully, work it out through consultation.” Despite close economic ties, bitter memories of Japanese militarism run

Policy Studies, said the intensity of the flareup reflected domestic political pressures but also changing dynamics in the region.

“With rising China and more self-confident South Korea, the region is entering an era of turbulence,” he said.

“Amid a changing power balance between countries and a formation of new order, you will be left behind in a power game unless you are assertive.” Both Japan and South Korea face elections and China is preparing for a once-in-a-decade leadership change later this year. The last thing politicians want is to appear weak in dealing with neighbours over territory. A South Korean newspaper said Noda was trying a “diplomatic gamble” to shore up his dismal ratings ahead of an election his Democrats look set to lose. —Reuters

Myanmar’s media fight for freedom YANGON: Although unshackled from decades of direct censorship, journalists in Myanmar still face repressive laws that can land them in prison and say they will not stop fighting for greater freedom. The end of pre-publication checks is the latest reform by a regime seeking the lifting of Western sanctions, but there are concerns that without wider changes a climate of fear will persist and self-censorship prevail. “Many of the restrictions, laws and regulations that were applied under the old regime will continue to apply under this new system,” said Shawn Crispin, Southeast Asia representative for the Committee to Protect Journalists. “Journalists still run the risk of being imprisoned, harassed and intimidated for their journalism, so for us it’s a half measure at best.”

Myanmar’s censorship board itself has not been abolished and weekly newspapers-independent dailies are still banned-

will have to submit their content to the Press Scrutiny and Registration Department after they go to print. Journalists still live under the shadow of the 1962 Printing Act, which saw many publishers, editors and journalists as well as activists sent to jail during almost half a century of military rule that ended last year. The law ordered publishers to register all printing presses, empowered police to seize material published without approval and a carried a maximum threeyear prison term-and a fine-for anyone in breach.

“As long as the 1962 law stands without being amended, real press freedom will always be in question,” said Nyein Nyein Naing, executive editor at the 7Days News weekly paper. Until the junta-era media laws are scrapped, journalists in the country-ranked 11th worst in the world for press freedom by Reporters Without Borders say they will continue to

seek greater rights. “The censorship body must be abolished.

The Electronic Act must be abolished. The 1962 Printing Act must be abolished. Only after that we can get real freedom of press,” said Hlaing Thit Zin Wai, editor of the Venus Weekly.

Organizers of a journalists’ rally planned for Tuesday to call for wider press freedom said police had rejected their application to protest and they were considering whether to appeal the decision. The media also complain that there was not enough consultation about a new press law that was drafted by the information ministry in secret and is awaiting approval by the cabinet before being sent to parliament. Pre-publication censorship was a hallmark of life under the generals who ran the country for decades and applied in the past to everything from newspapers to song lyrics and even fairy tales. —AFP

INTERNATIONAL SATURDAY, AUGUST 25, 2012

Could King Richard III lie under a car park?

LONDON: A 500-year-old mystery of where England’s King Richard III was buried after his death in battle may finally be about to be solved as archaeologists prepare to search for his bones beneath a city centre parking lot. A team from the University of Leicester starts excavation work today at the car park, where a Franciscan friary known as Greyfriars housed the monarch’s remains after he died at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485 - the last English king to die in battle. “The chances of getting the Greyfriars are about 80 percent. As for Richard III, it’s a real long shot,” said the university’s Richard Buckley.

“Not only have we got to find the Greyfriars building, but we’ve also got to find the precise spot where he was buried,” added Buckley, co-director of the university’s Archaeological Services.

He likened the two-week excavation work to a game of battleships, where archaeologists divide the car park into squares and pick a location in the hopes of hitting the right spot. “It’s very much pot luck in a sense, in that you dig a trench and you may find all sorts of things,” he added. Archaeologists have access to Richard III’s DNA after swab samples were taken yesterday from a direct descendant of the king’s sister,

Canadian-born Michael Ibsen.

If any of the king’s remains are found, they will be reinterred at Leicester Cathedral, just a few steps away from the excavation site. Bosworth Field is around 14 miles away from Leicester in central England and Richard is one of just a few English kings whose final resting place is unknown. Richard, who only reigned for two years, was portrayed as a power-hungry hunchback in one of William Shakespeare’s most famous plays, “The Tragedy of King Richard the Third.” His most infamous reputed deed was the murder of two young prices in the Tower of London.

Richard was crowned at Westminster Abbey in July 1483 and died fighting his enemies led by Henry Tudor. He was the last last Plantagenet king and was followed by the Tudor kings Henry VII and Henry VIII. “If we find him, we’ll be able to answer of all those questions: his height, what his build was and obviously how he died,” said Philippa Langley, secretary of the Scottish branch of the Richard III Society, who is part of the excavation team. “We know the research tells us we’re in the right place, but as with anything else in archaeology, you’re not going to know until you cut the ground.” —Reuters

Sun defies royals, prints naked Prince Harry pics Murdoch’s tabloid breaks ranks with other UK papers

ADDIS ABABA: Acting Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn (center left) walks to pay his respects at the coffin of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, after signing a condolences book, at the national palace yesterday. —AP

Ethiopia’s Hailemariam emerges from shadows ADDIS ABABA: Ethiopia’s new leader Hailemariam Desalegn, expected to assume power following the death of the country’s longtime prime minister, readied for the post yesterday after holding talks with US President Barack Obama. But Hailemariam, 47, a relatively little known politician overshadowed by his mentor Meles Zenawi, who died on Monday, faces tough challenges both internally and across the wider volatile Horn of Africa region. Obama, who telephoned Hailemariam late Thursday, urged him to “use his leadership to enhance the Ethiopian government’s support for development, democracy, human rights and regional security,” the White House said. Hailemariam has also met with South Sudan’s foreign minister and his Kenyan counterpart, who were in Addis Ababa on Thursday to pay their respects to Meles, who died aged 57 after a long illness. Official mourning continues for Meles, with crowds gathering for a third day in the grounds of the National Palace, where photos of the late leader are on display. Scores of police and army officers alongside ordinary citizens, many weeping loudly, have gathered to pay their respects ever since his body was flown home following his death in a Brussels hospital. But the political process continues behind doors. Government spokesman Bereket Simon has said Hailemariam is expected to be formally sworn in in a emergency parliament session at “any time.” In a rare peaceful handover of power in Ethiopian history, former water engineer Hailemariam took over as interim leader on the death of Meles, who had ruled with an iron-fist since toppling dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam in 1991.

A close ally of Meles as deputy prime minister and foreign minister since 2010, Hailemariam was elected deputy chair of the ruling coalition Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) after the party’s fourth win, a landslide victory in 2010. In a country long dominated by the major ethnic groups-most recently the Tigray people, like Meles — Hailemariam notably comes from the minority Wolayta people, from the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region. He served as president for the region-the most populous of Ethiopia’s nine ethnic regionsfor five years. But within the coalition, some of the most influential figures hail from the northern Tigray region, members of Meles’s ex-rebel turned political party, the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front (TPLF). ‘Seen as a figurehead-Analysts have suggested that several others are still jostling for power behind doors in the often secretive leadership, even if in the open they may not take part in the running for the top job. “Many see him as a figurehead, part of a gesture by Meles and the ethnic Tigrayans to give more prominence to other ethnic groups,” said Jason Mosley of Britain’s Chatham House think-tank. He is also a Protestant, unlike the majority of Ethiopia’s Christians, who follow Orthodox traditions. —AFP

LONDON: Rupert Murdoch’s Sun tabloid yesterday became the first British newspaper to defy the royal family by printing pictures of Prince Harry cavorting naked in Las Vegas, stoking a debate about what papers can print in the name of press freedom.

While newspapers across the globe have published the images of Queen Elizabeth’s grandson naked with an unnamed woman after they appeared on a US gossip website on Wednesday, the British media had decided not to do so until this point.

Instead they had agreed to comply, some more reluctantly than others, with a request from lawyers acting for the royal family to respect the privacy of the prince, who is 27 and single. But the Sun decided to break ranks yesterday, publishing a photo over much of its front page of the naked prince covering his genitals with his hands while an unclothed woman hides behind his back in his Las Vegas hotel room.

The top-selling tabloid, part of the British arm of Murdoch’s News Corp, said the grainy pictures were freely available on the Internet and the issue had become one of “the freedom of the press”. “This is about the ludicrous situation where a picture can be seen by hundreds of millions of people around the world on the Internet but can’t be seen in the nation’s favorite paper,” said David Dinsmore, managing editor of the Sun. Since the pictures appeared on the TMZ website, British papers and broadcasters have been grappling with the question of whether to print the photos, taken during the prince’s private holiday while on leave from his job as

an army helicopter pilot. In its TV news bulletins, the BBC showed the Sun’s front page with the photo blacked out, as did Sky TV’s website, while the Times website pixillated Harry’s picture. Harry’s office had contacted the Press Complaints Commission, the industry’s self-regulatory body, to advise that printing the grainy pictures would intrude on the prince’s privacy, in breach of the editors’ code of practice. Commentators said British newspapers, their reputations severely damaged by a phone-hacking scandal centered on Murdoch’s News of the World tabloid and by a subsequent judicial inquiry into press ethics, had been too scared to ignore that view.

Kelvin MacKenzie, a former editor of the Sun, said Murdoch himself would have had to approve the decision to change tack. The media tycoon, who shut the News of the World over revelations staff had illegally accessed voicemails of celebrities, politicians and crime victims, has seen his own reputation tarnished and has been ostracized by leading British politicians who once courted his favor. “A picture like that can’t have been published without Rupert Murdoch getting involved,” MacKenzie told BBC TV. “The issues are too large and too controversial and I salute Rupert for not being cowed by, effectively, the establishment.”

PUBLIC INTEREST The Sun said that as Harry is third in line to the throne, there was a genuine public interest in publishing the photos as they raised questions about his security and his

personal image, a view backed by some arguing for the rights of a free press. Critics said that was a thin excuse and the paper was trying to make money at an individual’s expense, echoing similar claims that have been made repeatedly at the public inquiry.

“Ultimately profit took precedence over good taste,” said Mark Lewis, a lawyer who represents the family of Milly Dowler, a murdered schoolgirl whose phone was hacked

by News of the World journalists.

“The photos are to sell more papers - any pretence at a debate on press freedom is humbug. Lots of images are on the internet that don’t get in the papers.” Chris Blackhurst, editor of the broadsheet Independent, said his decision not to publish the photos was not based on royal pressure or because of fallout from the judicial inquiry led by judge Brian Leveson. “The idea that there’s a public interest is really spurious,” he told BBC radio. “Frankly, what danger was he in? They weren’t wearing any clothes, nobody’s carrying any weapons, the whole thing’s ludicrous.” A spokeswoman for Harry - younger son of heir to the throne Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana - said they had made their views on the prince’s privacy clear and it was ultimately a decision for editors. She refused to say whether any official complaint would be made to the PCC. Such a move would pile pressure on the regulator, strongly criticized over its failure to address the phone-hacking scandal and facing reform or even abolition when Leveson gives his recommendations in the next few months.—Reuters

Putin foe Kasparov faces court after ‘biting’ claims MOSCOW: Chess king turned Kremlin foe Garry Kasparov appeared in court yesterday as he faces the threat of prison for allegedly biting a policeman at the sentencing of the Pussy Riot protest punk band. About 20 supporters cheered Kasparov as he entered the same court that a week earlier drew world condemnation for handing down two-year jail sentences for the three young feminists who performed a “punk prayer” against President Vladimir Putin in a Moscow catheldral.

Private Dozhd television said the 49year-old told the judge in initial remarks that he had already faced the courts on what he viewed as political charges on five

previous occasions. The unusual case against one of Putin’s most seminal critics stems from the arrest of dozens of demonstrators who chanted insults at the Kremlin leader outside Khamovnichesky Court as its judge condemned Pussy Riot. Video footage shows a policeman appearing to hit Kasparov on the head as a group of officers drag him and then shove him into a waiting security bus.

Kasparov has been formally charged with “violating the established procedure for arranging or conducting a meeting” or other group protest-an administrative violation that can lead to 15 days in jail. But the threat of far more serious criminal charges

emerged almost immediately when the arresting officer accused Kasparov of biting him on the hand once he was out of view of reporters’ cameras in the police van. Such an assault conviction could put Kasparov in prison for five years and only further chill already cooling relations between Russia and the West in Putin’s third term.

Kasparov filed slander and illegal arrest charges against the officer earlier this week.

His www.kasparov.ru support group website posted photos of what it said was the original police report showing Kasparov’s name inked into a printed statement about his offences that appeared to be a generic template. —AFP

INTERNATIONAL SATURDAY, AUGUST 25, 2012

Republicans gather in Tampa for Mitt’s moment TAMPA: After a bitter, months-long campaign grind, US Republicans meet here next week to crown Mitt Romney the nominee to challenge President Barack Obama for the White House in November. To be sure, the splashy gala will have its share of red, white and blue confetti and balloons, lavish parties and back-room dealmaking, all part of the patriotism and pageantry of choosing an American presidential candidate. But the 40th Republican National Convention taking place August 27-30 in the battleground state of Florida will be a political pressure-cooker, where Romney will need to buff his image as an accomplished executive, tactful economic repairman, skilled orator and dedicated man of faith and family.

In short he needs to convince Americans, many of whom see Romney as a wealthy businessman who lacks a touch with everyday voters, that the country would be better off jettisoning Obama and going with the Republican alternative for the next four years. “This is our moment,” Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus said Thursday. “The convention is the time when many voters truly tune in,” he added. “The summer is over, the election is on the horizon and now they want to know what we have to say.” Voters have yet to fully embrace the Romney message, despite record spending on campaign ads and clear frustration among some supporters of the president who see him falling short of the hope and change he touted in 2008.

While Obama has been unable to get the sluggish economy out of its slowgrowth trajectory, Romney-the former gov-

ernor of Massachusetts-is trailing in the polls. Earlier this month he unveiled his vice presidential running mate, House Budget Committee chairman Paul Ryan, 42, which led to a modest bump in support. Romney, 65, has been under fire from core conservatives who see him as a flip-flopper on social issues, and choosing pro-life conservative Ryan could provide the ticket with ideological clarity. But aside from rallying the base, Romney must appeal to independent voters as well, particularly those in swing

states. Obama is ahead nationally by 1.4 percent, according to a RealClearPolitics average of polls. And in a majority of the key battlegrounds, such as Florida, Ohio, Michigan and Virginia, Romney is lagging slightly behind.

The convention is a chance to try to turn that around, “an opportunity for Romney to reboot his image with people who have never seen his message on his terms,” explained Jonathan Collegio of American Crossroads GPS, a pro-Romney political

LARGO: Liz, who only wanted to be identified by her first name, holds a sign reading, “Obama’s Drones Kill Americans, Too,” as she joins others in a protest in front of a Raytheon company building which they say is building military drones on August 23, 2012 in Largo, Florida. — AFP

Under fire, Akin gets help from social conservatives Pre-convention battle between party and Christian right?

WASHINGTON: Under fire from his own party for controversial comments on rape, US Republican Representative Todd Akin won the support on Thursday of social conservatives in his effort to stay in Missouri’s US Senate race. Akin met members of the Council for National Policy, a coalition of conservative and evangelical leaders, in Tampa, Florida, as the controversy over his remarks on rape and abortion threatened to harden into a standoff between some Republican leaders and social conservatives.

Akin spent Wednesday night and Thursday in private meetings at the group’s two-day summit, CNN reported. Also on Thursday, the FBI and a spokesman for Akin said the US Capitol Police and FBI were investigating rape threats against Akin and those close to him. “There have been threats of rape of staff, (of) the congressman’s family and the congressman himself, and suggestions that people should die,” Steve Taylor, Akin’s district director and spokesman, told Reuters by telephone. Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, which supports Akin’s Senate bid, said on MSNBC on

Thursday that the meeting in Tampa was a chance for members of the council to encourage the candidate before the Nov. 6 elections. Akin’s meeting was first reported by Politico.

CNN said he had been scheduled to attend the conference long before making remarks on Sunday that set off a firestorm. CNN reported that Akin was encouraged by leading figures in the conservative movement to remain in the Senate race.

Some Republican strategists worry that the furor over Akin, who has deep ties to the Christian right, is shaping up into a standoff between religious conservatives and leaders of the Republican Party who have called for Akin to leave the race against Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill.

Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney and many senior party figures have told Akin to pull out of the Missouri race because of his comment that victims of “legitimate rape” have a natural mechanism to avoid pregnancy. He has apologized for the remarks but defied the demands to quit the race. “We’re talking about someone who misspoke,” Perkins said.

REPUBLICANS ‘CRUCIFY’ AKIN Some evangelicals have expressed doubts about Romney because of his Mormon religious faith and past moderate positions such as his support for abortion rights as governor of Massachusetts. Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, a former presidential candidate who is also a favorite of religious conservatives, criticized party leaders for trying to push Akin out of the Senate race. In an email to supporters, he called the pressure on Akin “sleazy” and said he would campaign with Akin as often as he could. “Do we forgive and forget the verbal gaffes of Republicans who are ‘conveniently pro-life’ for political advantage, but crucify one who truly believes that every life is sacred?”

Huckabee wrote.

Akin has said he will not attend the Republican national convention in Tampa next week. A flash poll by the Democratic firm Public Policy Polling on Monday had Akin leading McCaskill by 1 percentage point. But a survey conducted on Wednesday by the Republican-leaning automated pollster Rasmussen Reports had McCaskill up by 10 points. — Reuters

action group. Among Tampa’s 50,000 attendees, the convention will feature 2,286 delegates and 2,125 alternates, from all 50 states, the capital Washington and five US territories.

Delegates cast their votes for president Monday during the “roll call of the states.”

Romney emerged victorious in May from a hard-fought five-month Republican primary battle this year against more than half a dozen other candidates. Despite divisions between Romney, former senator Rick Santorum and other Republican rivals, party leaders will be stressing unity at the convention and in the 10 weeks leading up to the November 6 election. But a problem lingers in the form of Todd Akin, the conservative Missouri congressman who caused an uproar when he said a woman’s body can prevent pregnancy in cases of rape.

Romney, aware of his struggle to attract women voters, led Republican calls for Akin to stand down from his Senate race, but he has refused. Another storm is brewing-a literal one, in the form of Tropical Storm Isaac, which is forecast to roar ashore in Florida on Monday as a hurricane, potentially flooding Tampa. City officials have urged residents to prepare for the worst, and Priebus has expressed concern about the storm but insisted the show will go on. On Monday the convention hears from the nominee’s wife Ann Romney. Tuesday will see speeches by Santorum, one of the vanquished in the primary race, and New Jersey’s garrulous Governor Chris Christie. Wednesday features former secretary of state Condoleezza Rice and 2008 nominee Senator John McCain, followed by Ryan. — AFP

Martin Luther King tape goes for sale LOS ANGELES: A previously unknown audio tape of an interview with slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr was discovered recently in the attic of a Tennessee home, and a New York collector who bought the recording says he plans to offer it for sale next week. The 10-minute reelto-reel recording was made on Dec 21, 1960, nearly three years before King’s famed “I Have a Dream” speech and more than seven years before he was gunned down in Memphis, Tennessee, collector Keya Morgan told Reuters on Thursday.

Morgan, the proprietor of a Manhattan gallery that deals in historical manuscripts, photos and other artifacts, described the tape as an extremely rare discovery. “It’s like a unicorn,” he said, adding he was struck by the intimate tone of the interview. “The quality is so good, so crisp that it sounds like Dr King is sitting in my parlor having tea with me,” he said. “It’s an intimate, frank, low-key discussion, but he still comes through so clearly and powerfully.”

Despite thousands of letters and other King artifacts he has handled or come across while in business, Morgan said he had heard of just one other original audio recording of King being uncovered since he opened his gallery in 1993.

In the tape, King talks about the concept and importance of non-violent protest and asserts that the sit-in demonstrations aimed at ending racial segregation in public places would ultimately be viewed as a pivotal moment for American society.

“When the history books are written in future years, historians will have to record this movement as one of the greatest epics of our heritage,” he said. “I think the movement represents struggle on the highest level of dignity and discipline.” The tape was recorded by a man in Chattanooga, Tennessee, who interviewed King for a book about non-violence and the civil rights movement that the man never wrote, according to Morgan. — Reuters

INTERNATIONAL SATURDAY, AUGUST 25, 2012

Catholics having a moment in US presidential race NEW YORK: The religious group that seems to be figuring most prominently in the US presidential election right now is the Roman Catholic Church.

With Mitt Romney’s recent choice of Rep Paul Ryan as running mate, this campaign is the first in which Catholics are on both major party tickets. Vice President Joe Biden and Ryan are lifelong Catholics who attend Mass regularly and credit the church with shaping their views. At the same time, New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan will give the benediction at the Republican National Convention.

Dolan, president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, is leading the fight against President Barack Obama’s mandate for health insurance coverage of birth control. And an independent group called the Republican Union PAC has announced plans to spend $1 million in a campaign target-

ing Catholic voters in five battleground states. With little over two months until the election, both Romney and Obama are working to court such voters. Polls show the race is tight and anything can tip the balance, particularly in competitive states like Ohio and Pennsylvania that have sizable Catholic communities.

While Catholics don’t vote as a bloc, they comprise about one-quarter of the electorate, and the candidate who wins Catholic voters usually wins the White House. Obama won the total Catholic vote in 2008, 54 percent to 45 percent, but lost white Catholics, 52 percent to 47 percent. So far this year, neither Obama nor Romney has established a consistent lead among Catholic voters.

Obama had a narrow edge in a July survey by the Pew Research Center, but Romney was slightly ahead among white Catholics. The survey found that half of Catholic voters said Obama best

reflects their views on social issues such as abortion and gay rights. One-third of Catholics said the same about Romney, who opposes abortion rights.

It’s unclear how this week’s focus on abortion rights - sparked by Rep Todd Akin’s comment about women’s bodies preventing pregnancies in the case of “legitimate rape” - will play with voters.

In the Republican primary contests earlier this year, Romney, who is a Mormon, won majorities of Catholic voters, even though his rivals included two Catholic candidates: Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich.

Romney’s invitation to Dolan may be the Republican’s most overt effort yet to attract Catholics. Dolan’s archdiocese is one of more than 40 Catholic groups suing over the birth-control coverage policy, which Romney has been hammering in an ad filled with images of the late Pope John Paul II.

Once reluctant, Michelle embraces campaign trail Mrs Obama consoles victims, fires up supporters MILWAUKEE: Once wary of life on the political scene, first lady Michelle Obama is now embracing her role on the presidential campaign trail where she is more popular than her husband - or anyone else. Obama’s campaign is deploying her strategically in the close fight with Republican Mitt Romney to fire up Democratic supporters in swing states, win over independents and raise money. Chanting supporters stood in a line for more than an hour in the heat at a high school in Milwaukee on Thursday to see her. “Barack has said this election will be even closer than the last one,” she told 2,000 party volunteers. “It could all come down to those last few thousand votes. That one new volunteer that you recruit - that could be the one that puts this election over the top.” She yelled to be heard over their stomping feet.

After the rousing 30-minute speech she switched course as she held a private meeting with victims and family of those killed or injured in a shooting rampage earlier this month at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin. “It’s my honor to be here with you,” a somber Obama told temple secretary Kulwant Singh Dhaliwal and Oak Creek Mayor Stephen Scaffidi. “I’m sorry it’s under these circumstances, but I am anxious to meet with the families and lend whatever support I can,” she said, speaking in almost a whisper. She was due to make another 180-degree turn and travel to Indianapolis later in the day for an essential part of modern campaigning: a fundraising event where she will ask donors to open their pocketbooks to help make sure her husband wins the Nov. 6 election.

LIMITED CAMPAIGNING It was a long way from her first days as a campaigner in the 2008 election when she stirred controversy for saying that her husband’s success had made her proud of her country for the first time in her life. Conservatives criticized

her as insufficiently patriotic and the brief controversy led her to recede from the limelight a bit before she got back into the fray. She eventually become an effective surrogate for her husband four years ago, drawing big, enthusiastic crowds as she helped him make history

two-thirds of Americans approve of her, much more than her husband’s approval rating of about 45 to 50 percent. Romney also polls mostly in the same range as his opponent in November. The Republican’s wife, Ann, is also well liked but she is less well

OAK CREEK: First lady Michelle Obama greets Sikh temple secretary of the board of trustees Kulwant Singh Dhaliwal (left) and Oak Creek, Wis Mayor Stephen Scaffidi, before talking to victims of the August 5th shooting in Oak Creek, Wis. — AP by becoming the first black US presi- known than the first lady and gets lower dent. With unemployment at over 8 ratings. A poll in April gave her a 40 perpercent, this election is tougher. The cent favorable rating. High popularity is first lady, 48, told her husband’s re-elec- often a benefit of being first lady, said tion campaign officials that she would Susan Whitson, a spokeswoman to fornevertheless limit her campaigning to mer first lady Laura Bush. three days a week to be able to see her “She doesn’t have a job description; daughters Sasha and Malia. “My she can make whatever she wants of the approach to campaigning is, ‘This is the job,” Whitson said of first ladies. “She’s time that I have to give to the campaign, taken on issues she cares about. She and whatever you do with that time is humanizes the president. She gives that up to you’,” she told reporters in softer personal side and is able to conFebruary, describing what she told the nect with them. “ Michelle Obama has campaign. “But when it’s over, don’t faced her share of criticism as first lady, even look at me,” she said. “Don’t look from her fashion choices to fondness for this direction. No calls, no anything.” supposedly pricey jewelry and expenDespite her reluctance, polls show that sive vacations. — Reuters

The administration’s birth control mandate exempts houses of worship but includes faith-affiliated employers such as hospitals, charities and colleges.

Obama promised to change the requirement so that insurance companies and not faith-affiliated employers would pay for the coverage. But details haven’t been worked out, and many religious leaders say the compromise appears to be unworkable. Dolan has said the White House policy, among others, is “strangling” the church.

Dolan’s spokesman said the cardinal’s involvement at the Republican convention is not an endorsement. It’s traditional for a Catholic leader to offer prayers at Republican and Democratic conventions. But critics say Dolan’s participation in the convention is the latest of several actions by American bishops that give the appearance they are advocating for the Republicans. — AP

Haiti drenched as Storm Isaac nears PORT-AU-PRINCE: Haiti hunkered down yesterday as forecasters warned that Tropical Storm Isaac could drench the impoverished country still recovering from a killer earthquake.

At 1200 GMT, the center of Isaac was slowly gathering strength and speed some 280 kilometers southwest of Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic, the Miami-based US National Hurricane Center said. Isaac was packing maximum sustained winds of 80 kilometers per hour and moving towards the west at 24 kilometers per hour, the NHC said.

A hurricane watch was in effect for Haiti-meaning that hurricane conditions are possible in the area-and a tropical storm watch was in effect for the Dominican Republic. The fierce weather could spell misery for the roughly 400,000 residents of the western hemisphere’s poorest country who live in makeshift squatter camps more than two years after a massive earthquake that killed an estimated 250,000 people.

‘They remain amongst the most vulnerable, should the storm hit the city,’ said Jean-Claude Mukadi, Haiti’s national director for the humanitarian group World Vision. ‘Without a stable sanitation system or permanent housing, heavy rain and wind can create much larger problems like disease from water contamination,’ he added. Residents in the Dominican Republic, which shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti, and nearby Puerto Rico rushed to erect defenses against the expected wind and rain, set to churn on to Cuba and the southern United States by the weekend.

On the forecast track, Isaac’s center will move near or over Hispaniola on Friday before heading to southeastern Cuba, home to the US naval base and ìwar on terror’ prison at Guantanamo Bay, on Saturday. Isaac could reach Florida as a hurricane early next week, just in time for the Republican Party’s National Convention. ‘Additional strengthening is forecast while the center remains over water,’ the NHC said. Four thousand Republican delegates from around the country will be in Tampa for four days to formally nominate former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney to challenge President Barack Obama in the November 6 election.

City officials have urged residents to prepare for the worst, and Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus has expressed concern about the storm but insisted the show would go on. Isaac is approaching Florida as the state marks the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Andrew, a maximum level category five storm that killed 26 people and left some $26 billion in material damage in 1992. Florida Governor Rick Scott, while stressing that it was still early to predict Isaac’s path, urged residents of the state to prepare for the worst, saying: ‘Every family should be prepared to sustain themselves for up to 72 hours.’ Isaac could dump up to 20 inches of rain on Hispaniola, the NHC said, adding: ‘These rains could cause life-threatening flash floods and mudslides.’ Classes were canceled and hospitals boosted their staff levels in atrisk areas of the Dominican Republic.

Authorities have urged people to prepare for floods, rising waters and mudslides due to heavy rains. — AFP

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Fitch says no downgrade if Spain seeks full bailout

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RBS closing in on rate rigging settlement

Business

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Vietnam markets lose $5bn as banking scandal spreads

SATURDAY, AUGUST 25, 2012

HK apartment fetches record $61 million

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BERLIN: German Chancellor Angela Merkel, right, and Prime Minister of Greece Antonis Samaras, left, at a joint news conference as part of a meeting at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, yesteday. — AP

Merkel gives Greece euro hope ‘We are at the beginning of a new phase in relations’ BERLIN: Chancellor Angela Merkel offered a ray of hope to Greece yesterday, stressing that she wanted the debt-burdened country to stay in the euro-zone and pledging German help after crisis talks with the Greek prime minister.

“I want to say very clearly ... that Greece is part of the euro-zone and I want Greece to remain part of the euro-zone. This guides all our discussions,” Merkel said at a joint news conference with Antonis Samaras.

“I am deeply convinced that the new Greek government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Samaras, is doing everything to solve the problems that Greece is facing.

“We know that this requires great sacrifices ... and Germany has always said that it will support Greece in this,” added the chancellor. For his part, Samaras pledged to stick to all of Greece’s promises to its international creditors and said that he was not asking for more bailout money, but just “breathing space” to implement the necessary spending cuts and reforms.

“I am sure our plan will soon bear fruit. We will hit our targets,” vowed Samaras, speaking through an interpreter, before adding: “Actions speak louder than words.”

“We are at the beginning of a new phase in relations between our two countries,” said the Greek prime minister, as ties had become strained between Berlin and Athens as a result of the near three-year euro-zone debt crisis.

Samaras was kicking off a two-day trip to northern Europe which will take him on Saturday to Paris for talks with French President Francois Hollande.

He is reportedly drumming up support with the leaders of the euro-zone’s two top economies for more time to meet a deadline to cut billions of euros (dollars) from his budget. He declined to specify a timeframe after his Berlin talks, but said a report from Greece’s international creditors, due next month, would show that Athens had “produced results” in its drive to reform its ailing economy.

As part of a 130-billion-euro ($161-billion) bailout package from the EU and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Greece has committed to sweeping reforms and some 11.5 billion euros of cuts in 2013 and 2014.

But amid reports that the budgetary hole is actually closer to 14 billion euros and a recession now in its fifth year, Samaras is thought to

want to spread the cuts over four years. Samaras said he was working to reduce Greece’s budget deficit and the “credibility deficit” caused by the crisis. He also stressed the importance of reviving the economy.

The day before, Merkel met Hollande in Berlin and insisted that Greece redouble its reform efforts but noticeably did not say she wanted Athens to stay in the euro, unlike the French president.

After her meeting with Samaras, Merkel continued to emphasise the importance of an assessment due next month by experts from the EU, European Central Bank and IMF on Greece’s progress in making the required reforms.

A positive report from the so-called Troika is essential for Greece to get the next 31.5-billioneuro installment of funds to keep it afloat. Both Berlin and Paris want Greece to fulfil its commitments to win this next slice of funds, Merkel said.

“Greece can expect that Germany will not take hurried decisions but on the basis of reliable facts,” stressed Merkel. A beaming Merkel had earlier welcomed Samaras for his first official visit abroad and the two listened to their

respective national anthems played by a German military band in unseasonal Berlin drizzle.

The run-up to the meeting was coloured by negative reports about Greece in the German press and renewed pressure on Athens by officials. According to a report in the Financial Times Deutschland, a secret cell has been set up within Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble’s ministry to examine the possible consequences of a Greek exit from the euro-zone.

The paper said the group was working on “calculating the financial consequences” and considering “how to prevent a domino effect onto other euro-zone countries.” And a close ally of Merkel dismissed Samaras’s notion that more time did not mean more money.

“The phrase ‘time is money’ has never been so relevant as in this case and we cannot provide more money,” Volker Kauder, parliamentary group leader of Merkel’s conservative bloc, told ZDF television.

But Samaras hit back. “We are a proud country. We don’t want to rely on borrowed money,” said the prime minister. “We want to stand on our own two feet.” — AFP

business

SATURDAY, AUGUST 25, 2012

Colombia replaces finance minister in surprise move BOGOTA: Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos moved Energy Minister Mauricio Cardenas to head the finance ministry on Thursday in a surprise move for Latin America’s fourth-largest economy.

At the midpoint of his four-year term, Santos asked all 16 ministers to resign, including Finance Minister Juan Carlos Echeverry, and set the stage for a cabinet shuffle aimed at shoring up his slumping approval ratings.

“The challenge ahead is to strengthen, maintain, ensure that Colombia remains a country that has excellent international credibility,” Cardenas said. Cardenas, 50, who helped preside over a boom in the mining and oil industries, will also represent the government on the central bank’s board and seek ways to bolster growth in an economy being hit by the international financial crisis.

Santos, after naming Cardenas, said he was “designed to be finance minister.” He holds a doctorate in economics from the University of California at Berkeley and previously held ministerial posts in economic development and

transport.

“Cardenas is an extremely wellknown and respected economist, with fiscally sound ideas, so from a market perspective this will be well received,” said Alberto Bernal, head of research for Bulltick Capital Markets in Miami.

“What’s more important now for the market is the political makeup for the entire Santos cabinet.” Among other posts that may change hands in coming days are the education, health, interior, agriculture and defense portfolios, according to government sources.

Cardenas, who takes on the new role in about a week, may emulate Echeverry’s vocal stance at the central bank and press policymakers to seek more aggressive measures to ease gains in the peso, among the strongest gaining currencies worldwide.

The central bank meets on Friday to vote on whether to cut its benchmark lending rate to stimulate a slowing economy. Echeverry said he would attend that meeting and “once again try to persuade” the board to more actively purchase dollars in the foreign

exchange market to weaken the peso.

Once an investment pariah as drugtrafficking insurgents kidnapped, killed and attacked authorities in rural areas with bombs, Colombia has seen a dramatic turnaround in the last decade, attracting record foreign investment.

But the 61-year-old Santos has come under a constant stream of criticism from former President Alvaro Uribe and a growing number of attacks by leftist rebels, denting his once commanding popularity.

Known for his lively language and joking with the media, Echeverry will be nominated for a top role in the International Monetary Fund, Santos said.

He is credited with guiding a fiscal rule through Congress that aims to save money during boom times and balance the budget by 2014. He also helped secure investment-grade ratings last year from three major creditrating agencies.

Echeverry said he had asked to leave the government to focus on his family. Santos did not say who would be the next minister of mines and

Fitch says no downgrade if Spain seeks full bailout Nation faces crunch in October

MADRID: Fitch Ratings said yesterday it would not downgrade Spain’s credit rating if it seeks a full-blown sovereign bailout in addition to an existing banking rescue. A Spanish request for euro-zone bailout funds to buy Spanish government bonds “would not prompt negative rating action from Fitch,” it said, two days after Standard & Poor’s gave a similar reassurance. Spain’s euro-zone partners agreed in June to lend up to 100 billion euros ($124 billion) to salvage the nation’s banks, buckling under record bad loans built up since a 2008 property crash. But investors increasingly believe that the country will be forced to request a full bailout for its economy as Spain struggles to borrow money on the international markets at affordable rates.

The nation faces a crunch in October with major debt payments due: Shortterm debt repayments of 9.02 billion euros and long-term repayments of 24.158 billion euros. Speculation is mounting that Spain may ask the eurozone’s European Financial Stability Facility or incoming European Stability Mechanism to buy its newly issued bonds so as to bring down its spiralling borrowing costs.

“Sovereign bond purchases by the EFSF/ESM, especially if supported by secondary market purchases by the ECB, would significantly reduce the risk of a self-fulfilling liquidity crisis,” Fitch said.

This would give Spain affordable market financing and ease pressure on its sovereign ratings, the agency said. “Such external support could provide Spain with the breathing space to implement its ambitious fiscal and economic reforms,” Fitch added. “The credibility of Spain’s fiscal consolidation effort and structural reform programme could also be enhanced by the ‘policy conditional’

nature of such support as Spain would have to agree a Memorandum of Understanding with the ESM/EFSF.” Fitch warned, however, that it would reconsid-

the ESM/EFSF and ECB.” Fitch downgraded Spain to “BBB” from “A” in June, leaving it on a negative outlook, as it warned of the likely cost of restructuring banks

CORDOBA: Manuel Sanchez Gordillo (C), mayor of the village of Marinaleda and member of the regional parliament for the United Left party in the Andalucian regional parliament speaks in a megaphone at a protest in Cordoba, during a march from the town of Jodar to Jaen. A left-wing Spanish mayor who supported the looting of supermarkets to feed the needy joined the protest march on August 16 against the government’s handling of the economic crisis. — AFP er Spain’s ratings if the bond purchases by the euro-zone authorities were aimed at completely replacing private financing instead of just providing support.

“Fitch considers such a scenario as unlikely and its base case is that Spain will make sufficient progress towards addressing its macro-financial imbalances, including the restructuring of the banking sector, that it will retain market access, albeit with financial support from

laden with bad loans and the country’s grim economic prospects. Rival agency Standard & Poor’s said two days earlier it was unlikely to touch Spain’s sovereign debt rating in the event that the government requested a bailout. The agency reduced Spain’s rating in April by two notches to BBB+ and added a negative outlook, warning the government’s budget situation would worsen as the Spanish economy contracts. — AFP

energy. Whoever replaces Cardenas as energy minister will be the third person to hold the post in less than two years.

Cesar Diaz, head of the Colombian Mining Chamber, said he did not believe that would affect investor sentiment. “Officials are important, but more important than officials are the policies of the central government. In this case it won’t affect the sector,” Diaz said.

Others, however, said moving Cardenas to the finance ministry at a critical time for the mining sector, when Colombia is trying to push through a raft of changes, would be negative for the industry.

Some analysts said Defense Minister Juan Carlos Pinzon could be among those leaving the cabinet after a rise in assaults by FARC rebels and a perception that security is deteriorating.

Santos, credited with some of the biggest blows to the rebels, accuses foes of using attacks by rebels as a “political weapon” and dismisses claims by Uribe and his followers that he is failing on security. — Reuters

Oil slips below $115, set for fourth weekly gain LONDON: Oil fell below $115 a barrel yesterday as signs of weakness in the global economy weighed on the demand outlook, although a host of supply-side concerns kept losses in check.

Crude was still heading for a fourth weekly gain because of lower exports from Iran, a drop in North Sea supply due to oilfield maintenance and the risk of weather-related disruption to Gulf of Mexico output.

Brent crude was down 45 cents at $114.56 a barrel by 1103 GMT, up about 0.8 percent on the week. US crude eased 42 cents to $95.85. “Falling equity markets and poorer economic data from the three major oil consumer regions - the United States, China and Europe - have put paid to the surge in oil prices for the time being,” said Carsten Fritsch, analyst at Commerzbank.

European equities were lower yesterday, weighed by concern about the euro zone debt crisis. Reports on Thursday showed China’s factory sector contracted in August and a rise in new US jobless claims.

Brent’s settlement on Thursday at $115.01 was just barely above $115, a technical level that has stood in the way of a further rally this week. Thursday’s close was not strong enough to overcome the resistance, one chart-watcher said.

“We do not consider it enough. If the level fails again tonight then the weekly charts will reinforce the resistance status of $115.00,” said Olivier Jakob, analyst at Petromatrix.

Investors are speculating about the prospect of strong monetary stimulus from the US Federal Reserve. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and other central bank leaders meet in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, next week.

Iran and the fighting in Syria remain a focus for the market. Iran is holding talks yesterday with the UN nuclear watchdog about the Islamic state’s atomic activities. Iranian oil exports have plunged due to Western sanctions over the country’s nuclear programme, and diplomatic sources said on Thursday Iran had installed many more uranium enrichment machines in an underground bunker.

Oil traders are also keeping an eye on Tropical Storm Isaac in the Atlantic for any risk it may threaten US energy supplies in the Gulf of Mexico.

Analysts at Weather Insight, a Thomson Reuters company, gave Isaac a 50 percent chance of moving into the heart of the oil and gas producing region. Another storm, Joyce, has weakened to a depression. — Reuters

business SATURDAY, AUGUST 25, 2012

Syria casts net wide in search of oil deals LONDON: The Syrian government is negotiating deals with firms in London, Singapore and the Middle East to sell crude oil in return for the fuel it needs to survive in the face of an increasingly bloody insurgency, documents seen by Reuters show.

Syria has been starved of diesel for its army and fuel to keep the economy running because U.S. and European Union sanctions have cut off its usual suppliers. As sanctions bite, income from crude oil sales becomes increasingly important.

Despite political support from China and Russia, which have repeatedly blocked U.N. sanctions on Syria and opposed military intervention to end the conflict, President Bashar al-Assad’s fuel and cash lifelines have all but dried up.

“The war is costing him about 1 billion euros a month and he has fewer and fewer resources. We estimate he only has a few months left without the support of Russia and Iran,” French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said this week.

Syria has been largely cut off from fuel supplies as sporadic diesel deliveries from Iran, its main regional ally, are meeting only a fraction of its needs and

fresh deals with Russia have not yet been finalised, Syrian Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Qadri Jamal said this week.

Commercial documents, correspondence, shipping records and other papers reviewed by Reuters show how the Syrian government is seeking and sometimes clinching fuel deals, which even if not huge are vital for the government’s survival.

Syria’s new business partners include firms domiciled in Britain, Egypt and Lebanon, all countries critical of Assad’s crackdown on the opposition.

In one instance, the papers show a Lebanese broker working on behalf of the Syrian government signed contracts in July and August with an Egyptian firm to trade crude oil and refined oil products and has already succeeded in making some deliveries.

While it is not illegal for firms in the Middle East and Asia to deal with the Syrian authorities, many refuse to do so for fear of being associated with a government whose forces have killed thousands of civilians.

“There is a moral threshold to pass for some of the larger actors (while) ... killing is ongoing. This is actually an important factor for the supermajors

and many mid-size oil companies,” said Samuel Ciszuk, an analyst for KBC Energy Economics consultancy.

Syrian oil product imports virtually ground to halt after the national fuel distribution organisation was blacklisted by the European Union in March, cutting off its usual EU suppliers including Greece’s Naftomar and Monaco’s Galaxy Group.

Critics say outside suppliers may be helping Assad cling to power because they are providing households with basic fuel needs and so preventing a wider humanitarian crisis. “Assad will benefit if Syria’s energy needs are somewhat met, it does make him marginally more viable in the short term,” said Ayham Kamel, a Middle East analyst at Eurasia group.

Syria’s thirst for diesel extends beyond the needs of its army’s tanks.

Industry and agriculture have been brought almost to a standstill because there is no fuel to power machinery.

One document shows an oil firm with a London billing address Aurora Finans Limited - hired a vessel from energy company Mar-Link Offshore Services (MLOS) in July to ship 200,000 tonnes of diesel to government-controlled Syria.

The diesel was to be supplied from Malaysia’s state oil firm Petronas, which declined to comment on the deal.

MLOS, which has an office in Singapore, confirmed it had entered into a deal to sub-charter the vessel to Aurora Finans in mid-July but denied the fuel was for delivery to Syria.

“The agreement for vessel charter and purchase of fuel was initially agreed for deliveries to Thailand,” said MLOS director Michael Liburn in an email.

Liburn said the vessel was not authorised for trade outside Asia and that Aurora cancelled the contract in late July when MLOS declined to change the delivery port to Syria.

“We are quite happy to provide fuel to Syria as long as the port of delivery is safe and there are no international restrictions,” Liburn said via Skype last week.

Aurora Finans Limited was incorporated in 2008 by Companies House - the official British body that registers companies - and is up to date with its accounts. Individuals related to the company are all based in Cyprus and occupy similar positions at other firms registered to the same address. —Reuters

RBS closing in on rate rigging settlement RBS fine could be higher than Barclays KARACHI: A Pakistani money exchange dealer displays foreign currency notes at his roadside stall in Karachi yesterday. The Pakistani rupee sank to an all-time low against the dollar yesterday. —AFP

Pakistan rupee sinks to record low against dollar

KARACHI: The Pakistani rupee sank to an all-time low against the dollar yesterday on high oil prices and forex reserve fears as the country repaid nearly $400 million to the International Monetary Fund. The rupee fell to 94.75 to the greenback in trading in Karachi on Friday, down from 94.70 on Thursday, and has now lost 33 percent of its value against the US currency since March 2008.

“The increase in the international oil price... has affected Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves and they could suffer further with the repayment of IMF’s installment due today,” said analyst Mohammad Sohail of Topline Securities.

“These factors have contributed to the panic in the currency market.” In Asian oil markets on Friday, Brent North Sea crude for October delivery stood at $114.54 a barrel, while New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in October was at $95.68.

Syed Wasimuddin, spokesman for Pakistan’s central bank, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), told AFP the country had repaid $397.2 million to the IMF yesterday afternoon.

He said so far Pakistan has repaid $1.3 billion to the IMF. Pakistan had already paid 901.4 million in three instalments previously.

An official in the Ministry of Finance corroborated the repayment and hoped it would have a “minimal effect” on the forex reserves, which stood at $15.18 billion before the IMF payment. —AFP

LONDON: Royal Bank of Scotland is expected to agree a settlement in the next two months with US and UK authorities investigating its role in an interest-rate rigging scandal, according to industry sources, regulatory officials and lawyers familiar with the case.

The part-nationalised bank, which is 82 percent-owned by the government, is working towards a settlement early in the fourth quarter, two of the sources said.

Lawyers said it is likely to be the next bank to settle among all of those being pursued by regulators, with the government keen to protect the value of its stake by removing uncertainties over the issue.

“They are state-owned, they are under more pressure than most to deal with this,” said one London-based lawyer connected to Libor cases.

RBS declined to comment.

“We will stand up and take any punishment that comes our way,” Chief Executive Stephen Hester previously told reporters in a briefing following the bank’s half-year results on Aug 3.

More than a dozen banks are under investigation by regulators in the United States, Europe and Asia for suspected rigging of London interbank offered rate, or Libor, and other similar rates which are used to price trillions of dollars worth of financial products.

Reuters reported in July that RBS and Switzerland’s UBS were two of the banks that had played a central role in the manipulation of rates. Barclays was the first to settle over the issue, paying record fines totaling 290 million pounds ($461 million) in June following investigations by U.S. and

UK authorities. Three of the bank’s leaders, including Chief Executive Bob Diamond, subsequently resigned.

John Mann, a British lawmaker who sits on parliament’s finance committee, reckons RBS could be subject to a worse punishment than Barclays.

“That’s what I’m hearing. The suggestions being made are that RBS was more chaotic than Barclays, the whole way they were operating and, therefore, whatever was being done, RBS was doing it more crudely,” he told Reuters yesterday.

Barclays executives said in July that fines handed out to other banks would “put in perspective” its own punishment, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters.

The revelation of the extent of RBS’s involvement could pile more pressure on Chief Executive Stephen Hester. The bank is also facing punishment over possible breaches of sanctions on Iran and Hester agreed to forego his bonus for the second year running following a computer systems failure in June which caused massive disruption to millions of customers.

Shares in RBS were trading down 2.8 percent at 221.5 pence by 1430 GMT, compared with a 1.3 percent decline in Europe’s bank sector. The UK taxpayer is sitting on a loss of 25 billion pounds on its investments in the bank in 2008 and 2009.

Mann called on British finance minister George Osborne to confirm whether or not he had been briefed on the extent of RBS’s involvement in Libor fixing.

The Treasury had no comment on Mann’s remarks.

RBS confirmed earlier in August it had

dismissed staff in relation to the Libor scandal but gave no indication as to whether it might settle soon with investigators.

The bank said it was co-operating with governments and regulators in the United States, Britain and Japan and with competition authorities in Europe, the United States and Canada.

Other Libor settlements are expected to take more time. Many institutions are trying to evaluate the scale of their involvement compared with others, and whether the rate-rigging was an endemic problem or only concerned a small number of individuals, according to sources at two of the banks.

“By now you know if you have a Barclays-size problem or not, and you’re trying to figure out how to deal with that,” said one person familiar with the settlement negotiations.

The other source said: “This is going to run and run,” adding that the bulk of negotiations over Libor settlements was likely to last well into 2013 and even beyond.

A group settlement is one option banks had looked at. But this would mean lumping together banks which offended to different degrees, and those that did not have an endemic problem across the firm are unlikely to want to do so, the sources said.

RBS and UBS traders are a focus of the global investigation because of their alleged involvement in seeking to influence yen-denominated rates. A former RBS trader based in Singapore alleged this month in a wrongful-dismissal lawsuit that the bank’s internal procedure in London seemed to be that “anyone can change Libor.” —Reuters

BUSINESS SATURDAY, AUGUST 25, 2012

New bank notes symptom of old woes in Nigeria LAGOS: Nigeria is set to unveil a bank note five times more valuable than its largest denomination bill as part of a major overhaul to its currency, a change some worry will further speed devaluation of its currency and hurt the nation’s poorest.

The addition early next year of a 5,000 naira note, worth $31.25, comes less than a decade after the country introduced a 1,000 naira note. Over that time, the worth of the naira continued its long slide and likely will continue to drop, analysts say. The International Monetary Fund issued a report in July suggesting the naira was overvalued by as much as 8.5 percent, an opinion rejected by Nigeria’s Central Bank.

In announcing the new denomination, Central Bank Gov. Sanusi Lamido Sanusi said the new 5,000 naira bill, as well as changing notes from 20 naira (12 cents) and lower into coins, would help the country’s economy by providing a “befitting currency structure.”

Currency troubles have haunted this oil-rich nation for decades. After independence in 1960, Nigeria pegged its naira currency against the value of the British pound and later the US dollar. High oil prices boosted the naira’s value on par with the dollar and the nation’s largest bill for years remained the 20 naira note with the image of assassinated military ruler Gen. Murtala Muhammed. However, the collapse of oil prices in the 1980s saw the value of the naira retrench as officials

implemented unpopular monetary reforms that saw the naira begin its drastic drop in value.

The 5,000 naira note proposed Thursday by Sanusi does have logistical upsides. Large purchases in Nigeria often involve bricks of 1,000 naira ($6.25) notes carried around in black plastic bags. Banks throughout the country must have “bulk counting rooms,” where tellers wearing surgical masks run piles of bills through counting machines. Bank ATMs also can quickly run out of cash over weekends. Sanusi himself noted the highervalue notes will mean there’s less currency in circulation throughout the country.

However, some worry that the new note will spark inflation and other problems. “The emergence of the 5,000 notes will be the fifth time in 13 years of introducing new denomination notes, which invariably accelerates the disappearance of low denomination notes and coins and engenders an inflationary push,” an editorial published yesterday in The Guardian newspaper warned. “Large denomination notes encourage cash hoarding, a profitable boon to counterfeiters and a windfall to corrupt practices.”

In remarks Thursday, Sanusi said that “inflation in Nigeria is a monetary phenomenon,” while pointing to the nations of Germany, Japan and Singapore as nations with large denomination notes and low inflation rates.

However, those nations have manufacturing bases unri-

valed by Nigeria, which has a weak industrial sector and remains almost entirely dependent on crude oil exports for government spending.

Changing smaller denominations to coins represents a risk as well. Sanusi acknowledged the “public apathy” that greeted coins already in circulation. By making up to 20 naira a coin, there will be pressure among those in Nigeria’s informal economy to raise prices to avoid accepting the coins, said Adeola Adenikinju, an economist at the University of Ibadan. That could mean rising prices on everything from tomatoes in the local market to rides on the motorcycle taxis that ply the nation’s congested streets.

In a nation where most earn less than $2 a day, that could be a tremendous pinch on pockets. “I think the central bank is trying to indirectly devalue the currency,” Adenikinju said. “I think it will also have an inflationary effect that will affected many ... Nigerians who are in the informal sector and are on fixed salaries.”

The effect the new currency regime could have on those selling goods in the many local markets that dot Nigerian cities and villages comes as one of the three women to be honored on the new 5,000 naira note is Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti. Ransome-Kuti, the activist mother of the famed Afrobeat singer Fela AnikulapoKuti, led her first major protest against price controls that hurt the lives of market women. — AP

Aer Lingus, Ryanair dig in for drawn-out battle Ryanair in talks with Virgin, BA

SANTA MONICA: Toyota cars are lined up for sale at a Toyota dealership in Santa Monica, California in this February 3, 2010 file photo. New orders for durable goods in the United States surged in July, driven by sharp rises in orders for aircraft and automobiles, government data showed yesterday. — AFP

S&P holds Czech credit ratings, outlook stable PRAGUE: International agency Standard & Poor’s yesterday affirmed the Czech Republic’s foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings and said the export-reliant country’s economic outlook was stable.

S&P said it was sticking to its long-term foreign currency rating of “AA-,” while the local currency rating would stay at “AA.” “Our ratings on the Czech Republic reflect our view of its prudently managed and balanced economy, characterized by low levels of foreign borrowing,” it said.

It also underlined that the Czech central bank had been able to keep both consumer price inflation and interest rates at low levels. The Czech Republic is fuelled by exports, notably of cars produced in the local plants of Germany’s Volkswagen, South Korea’s Hyundai and a joint venture between Japan’s Toyota and France’s PSA Peugeot Citroen. “The Czech economy is small, competitive, and open. Its growth prospects are closely linked to external demand, particularly in its major European trading partners,” underlined S&P. Although the 2004 European Union entrant has not joined the eurozone, many of its key export destinations are in the debt-ravaged currency bloc. In 2009, Czech output shrank by 4.7 percent against the previous year as the global crisis hit hard, paving the way for an austerity drive. In 2010, the Czech economy expanded by 2.7 percent, before growth slowed to 1.7 percent last year. The Czech central bank expects the economy to contract by 0.9 percent this year before a pick-up to 0.8-percent growth in 2013. “In our view, the recovery is likely to be muted in 2013,” said S&P, noting that renewed austerity would weigh heavily on the economy of the nation of 10.5 million people. —AFP

DUBLIN: Aer Lingus called on shareholders to resist budget carrier Ryanair’s 700 million euro ($880 million) takeover bid as the rival Irish airlines dig in for a corporate battle that looks likely to drag into next year.

Both airlines said they did not expect EU antitrust regulators to approve the 694 million euro ($849 million) takeover bid for the former state carrier in a decision due

by Wednesday.

Instead they expect it to move to a longer Phase II process that can last up to 105 working days, which would push a resolution into next year. While Ryanair promised to offer the EU “radical remedies” to address competition concerns, Aer Lingus said the bid was doomed to fail.

“Ryanair’s offer is not in the interests of shareholders, fundamentally undervalues the business and is likely once more to be prohibited by the European Commission,” Aer Lingus said in a statement to shareholders published yesterday.

“The board re-affirms its recommendation that shareholders should reject the offer,” it said. Aer Lingus’ shares have gained 14 euro cent to 1.08 since Ryanair announced its bid in June, but remain 22 cents short of the offer price, implying that many traders are yet to be convinced that the bid will be successful.

The European Commission, which acts as EU competition watchdog, is among the biggest impediments to a deal which was announced in June and is Ryanair’s third attempt to take over the former state carrier.

The EU executive blocked Ryanair’s 2007 attempted takeover of Aer Lingus, saying the combined group would monopolise or dominate 35 routes, leading to consumers paying more. It said Ryanair had not offered to give up enough airport slots to allay its concerns.

MADRID: Chief executive officer (CEO) of Irish airline Ryanair Michael O’Leary looks on during a press conference in Madrid. — AFP Ryanair, which already owns 30 percent Aer Lingus recently about airport slots, a of Aer Lingus, dropped its second offer in second source said. Ryanair, Virgin and 2009. In its statement, Aer Lingus said the British Airways all declined to comment. commission would likely reject the But to allay competition concerns, Ryanair takeover bid, something it can only do will have to go beyond the London hubs of British Airways and Virgin, and show after a Phase II probe.

Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary told jour- there will be sustainable competition on nalists in Madrid on Thursday he expected the 50 routes they compete on across the commission to move to Phase II but Europe.

“If they could get British Airways or said he would offer unspecified remedies to allay competition concerns. Analysts Virgin on board, that would be one tick in expect him to try to convince rival airlines the box, but they will need much more to commit to compete on the 44 routes than that. The trick is proving competition where Ryanair and Aer Lingus currently across the network,” said Merrion Capital analyst Gerard Moore. have no third-party competition.

Moore said Ryanair has a “fighting Ryanair has already held talks with British Airways and Virgin Atlantic about chance” of securing approval, but said possibly opening routes to compete with reversing the European Commission’s a combined Irish airline, according to a decision to reject an earlier bid would be difficult. “It’s tough, but not impossible,” source with knowledge of the talks.

Virgin has spoken to both Ryanair and he said. — Reuters

BUSINESS

SATURDAY, AUGUST 25, 2012

Hong Kong apartment fetches record $61 million HONG KONG: A luxury apartment in Hong Kong has sold for a record HK$470 million ($61 million), making it the priciest condominium in the Chinese city and possibly in Asia, reports said yesterday.

An unidentified buyer paid the HK$75,806 ($9,773) per-square-foot price for the 6,200-square-feet (576-squaremetre) unit at Opus Hong Kong in the upmarket Peak residential area, Hong Kong Economic Journal and Sing Tao Daily said.

The whopping price for the unit, which takes up the entire eighth floor of the 12-storey building, is believed to be Asia’s most expensive apartment and the world’s second most costly after London’s One Hyde Park, Sing Dao Daily said.

The building was designed by the Pritzker Prize-winning architect Frank Gehry. Developer Swire Properties declined to confirm the deal. “We have no information to share at this point,” spokeswoman May Lam-Kobayashi told AFP. She added however that tenants recently leased another unit at the property for HK$850,000 a month. Local

media reported that the sale beat the city’s previous record price of HK$360 million paid for a unit at another luxury property last year.

“This is definitely a new record price for any Hong Kong apartment,” Centaline research head Wong Leung-sing told AFP. “But we think it’s an isolated case as this is an ultra luxury condo,” Wong said, adding that it could not be used as a yardstick to gauge investors’ appetite for luxury apartments in the Asian financial hub.

Property prices in Hong Kong, famous for its sky-high rent and super-rich tycoons, have surged over the past few years due to record low interest rates and a flood of wealthy buyers from mainland China. The property market however has seen a slowdown this year, with sentiment hit by the euro-zone crisis and plans to boost public housing.

Even so, many residents complain they can no longer afford decent accommodation in the city of seven million people, and analysts say property ownership is out of reach even for the upper middle class. — AFP

HONG KONG: This picture taken on August 13, 2012 shows high rise buildings in Hong Kong. A luxury apartment in Hong Kong has been sold for a record 470 million HKD ($61 million), making it the priciest condominium in the Chinese city and possibly in Asia, reports said yesterday. — AFP

Asian markets fall on signs of fading growth China manufacturing activity weakens

BEIJING: Asian markets fell yesterday as disappointment over weak economic indicators from the United States, China and Europe offset hopes for more stimulus from central banks. Oil fell below $96 a barrel after a member of the US Federal Reserve’s policymaking board dampened hopes for additional stimulus.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 declined 1.2 percent to 9,070.76 and China’s benchmark Shanghai Composite Index lost 1 percent to 2,090.81.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shed 1.2 percent to 19,898.43. Traders were dismayed by U.S. data showing the number of people seeking unemployment assistance rose for a second straight week.

Markets rose Wednesday after minutes of the Federal Reserve’s last policy meeting showed bankers favored more stimulus. But they fell Thursday after the president of the St. Louis Fed said officials were considering new data that might make further action unnecessary. “There now once again appears to be a state of confusion as to what the market can expect from the Fed at its next meeting in midSeptember,” analyst Cameron Peacock of Australia’s IG Markets said in a report.

Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea’s Kospi declined 1.2 percent to 1,919.81, while Australia’s S&P ASX 200 was off 0.8 percent at 4,349. In China, a survey found manufacturing activity weakened in August despite repeated government stimulus efforts. HSBC Corp. said Thursday the preliminary version of its purchasing managers’ index fell to a nine-month low of 47.8 on a scale on which numbers below 50 indicate a contraction. New export orders fell at their fastest rate in three years.

Beijing cut interest rates twice in June and is pumping money into the economy through high spending on public works. Several major cities have announced multibillion-dollar spending plans but analysts expect major initiatives to be put off until after a new Communist Party leadership is installed this fall.

US new home sales rose 3.6 percent in July, but DBS Group said that only offset a drop of identical size the previous month. Aside from improved employment and retail sales in July, “the data has been unchanged or slightly worse,” DBS Group economists said in a report.

In Europe, the PMI of overall economic activity in the 17-country eurozone was at 46.6 points in August, up only slightly from July’s 46.5. Analysts said the number shows the eurozone is firmly in recession, which will hurt efforts to reduce debt and boost investor confidence. Any improvement is likely to depend on governments and central banks doing more to reform their economies and boost demand.

The European Central Bank is expected to present in coming weeks a plan to help indebted countries such as Spain and Italy by buying

their government bonds. Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras will travel to Germany on Friday to meet with Chancellor Angela Merkel, and to France on Saturday for talks with President Francois Hollande.

Samaris is asking that Greece be given more time to meet deficit targets and implement reforms. Germany’s finance minister, Wolfgang Schaeuble, poured cold water on that idea, saying more time would not solve Greece’s problems.

In currencies, the euro fell to $1.2542 from $1.2566 late Thursday in New York. The dollar rose to 78.60 yen from 78.47 yen. Benchmark oil for October delivery fell 67 cents to $95.60 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 99 cents to finish at $96.27 per barrel. — AP

TOKYO: A man walks in front of the electronic stock board of a securities firm as Japan’s Nikkei 225 index falls 100.94 points to 9077.18 in Tokyo yesterday. Asian markets fell yesterday as disappointment over weak economic indicators from the United States, China and Europe offset hopes for more stimulus from central banks. — AP

China to hike foreign stakes in brokerages SHANGHAI: China’s stock regulator yesterday proposed allowing foreign investors to hold stakes of up to 49 percent in joint venture securities firms, up from the current 33 percent. The China Securities Regulatory Commission said the planned change followed a pledge made during key talks between China and the United States which were held in May, according to a statement.

At the annual Strategic and Economic Dialogue, US officials urged China to move forward with economic reforms, including allowing more foreign competition in its tightly guarded markets.

Under the proposal-open to public comment for the next month-joint venture securities firms can also expand their business scope after two years of operations, instead of the previous five, the statement said. Beijing allows Sinoforeign joint venture brokerages to underwrite domestic stock and bond issues, offer brokerage services for bonds and do other business as approved by the regulator, according to existing rules.

But a US business group has previously called for greater reform, including equal treatment for all banks and securities houses operating in China. In its annual policy “White Paper” for 2012, the American Chamber of Commerce in China urged Beijing to remove limits on foreign ownership in all financial services sectors.

The latest move by the securities regulator comes amid several other reforms aimed at boosting China’s flagging stock market and improving the quality of listed companies. The regulator has pushed listed firms to hike dividends and granted some foreign institutional investors greater access to the financial markets.

Chinese shares ended down nearly one percent yesterday at the lowest close in more than three years on worries over the slowing domestic economy. — AFP

business SATURDAY, AUGUST 25, 2012

Considering multiple attrition

By Byron Wein Blackstone Advisory Group KUWAIT: Ominous current events dominating headlines recently are likely reflected in equity valuation. Price-earnings ratios, are a reflection of confidence and with what’s going on, confidence in the future is waning. While I remain optimistic, I must recognize that the pattern of negative events and a subdued growth outlook in the developed world may mean that historical multiple ranges could be undergoing downward adjustment.

We’re dealing with a ‘reversion to the mean’. The world has become more complex, more competitive and perhaps more corrupt. It may have always been this way but the reporting wasn’t as good in the past as it is now. Economies have become more indebted and governments, certainly in the developed world and perhaps also in the developing world, have become dysfunctional. These qualitative factors would argue that multiples should be lower as well.

With the background for equities looking bleak, it’s useful to explore positive scenarios. The pattern of both the economy and the market over the past two years has been for the first quarter to be positive, the second and third to be weak and the fourth to be strong. Could that be repeated this year?

I believe the second half will be stronger than the first, but business leaders are reluctant to make longer-term decisions about adding workers and capital spending for three reasons. First, they are having trouble assessing implications of Europe’s lack of a long-term solution to its debt problems. Second, the Affordable Care Act and the Fiscal Cliff have clouded the economic outlook for 2013. Third, the negative presidential campaigns of both parties have drained some hope out of those who would think that leadership in Washington will improve no matter the election outcome.

China’s Q2 real GDP of 7.6% takes the ‘hard landing’ possibly off the table for now, although critics question the accuracy of the figures. The most important cause of uncertainty is Europe. where significant structural change to resolve the debt crisis is needed. Markets were reassured banking union agreement was reached several weeks ago, but it will take time and even that step doesn’t address the fundamental problems. Spain and Italy could continue to borrow at rates that are unsustainable in the long term but their credit markets aren’t open to the private sector. Germany and other austerity hawks have softened their stance on deficit reduction for the weaker countries, but recession looks likely for Europe this year and next with high unemployment possibly leading to the social unrest.

The European Stabilization Mechanism and the European Financial Stability Facility can provide temporary relief to Spain and Italy to keep the governments in operation as deficits are incurred, but these are finite resources and weaker countries will only become

viable when growth resumes, which may take some years. We’ve probably seen the last of the Long-Term Refinancing Operation. The banking union and tighter banking supervision is a positive step but isn’t enough. Deposit insurance will be needed to prevent runs on banks. These measures will enable the weaker countries to “muddle through” into next year when financial problems will intensify again.

Draghi said that the ECB will do “whatever it takes to preserve the euro and it will be enough.” We all know that Europe ultimately needs fiscal and political union, such as we have in the U.S., although that arguably hardly works. Critics state that a political union is impossible because of language and cultural differences. Even then, no politician in Europe is capable of convincing people there that such convergence is a good idea, and a strong stance on the issue could be terminal to one’s political capital.

I now believe that there may be major EU changes as soon as next year. Greece and Portugal aside, I’m worried about Italy and Spain. I thought that the stronger countries recognized they had a lot to lose by an EU break-up and they had the resources to carry the weaker countries through a transition period. I now think the transition period could be infinite and the stronger countries can’t tolerate the profligate ways of their troubled neighbors who lack the political will to force the necessary changes.

Although France is working to help solve the financial problems of the weaker countries, it has plenty of its own. Its Government spending is more than 50% of GDP, unit labor costs are rising and taxes are high and going up. Aside from the financial needs of the governments themselves, the banks in France, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Greece will require almost a trillion euros to cover debt rollovers, loan losses and Basel III capital requirements.

Where will all this money come from?

Stronger countries will be able to borrow money from the ECB because they can demonstrate that they can pay it back.

Weaker countries may have to leave the EU and print money to sustain their economies. It would be a turbulent period and we’re likely heading there.

In the end, a break-up could be positive. Establishing a union of the stronger countries with weaker ones on their own will result in dislocations but a major cause of uncertainty would be removed from markets. There are two alternative outcomes. Germany and other financially strong countries separate from the EU, reverting to their original currencies. This would leave the weaker countries free to devalue the euro, increasing their competitiveness and reducing the value of their historical obligations. The second alternative is for Germany to become the undisputed leader of the Union, where it would determine fiscal policies for others, enabling it to issue low-interest euro bonds to finance the weaker countries.

While I’m apprehensive, we could see US equities rise before year-end and some real values may be developing in Europe over the next year. In America future market appreciation may be more in line with earnings growth, meaning that doubledigit returns from the indexes will be hard to come by. Effective asset allocation will be more important than ever.

Vietnam markets lose $5bn as banking scandal spreads Foreign investors are still in ‘wait and see’ mode HANOI: Vietnam’s stock markets have lost more than $5.0 billion in value this week since the arrest of two top bankers, as experts warned the scandal could tip the fragile banking sector into full-blown crisis.

Both the founder and the director general of Asia Commercial Bank were arrested this week for economic crimes, triggering a run on deposits and forcing the central bank to provide emergency liquidity to the institution.

After a three-day slump, markets rallied yesterday with the benchmark VN Index up 1.75 percent, but the combined market capitalisation of the Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City exchanges had dropped by $5.62 billion dollars since Monday, according to VietStock data.

The arrest of Ly Xuan Hai late Thursday for “deliberate wrongdoing causing serious consequences” came just hours after the Asia Commercial Bank announced he had resigned from the position of director general, Thanh Nien reported.

It deepened the problems facing ACB, Vietnam’s largest private bank, which has seen its share price dive nearly 20 percent and had jittery depositors withdraw at least $384 million since its flamboyant founder was arrested Monday.

ACB shares rose 3.8 percent yesterday, having lost nearly seven percent each day for the last three days.

But the broader risk “is that people lose confidence in the (private) banks and there is a massive bank run... it is a systemic economic risk,” one banking sector foreign expert told AFP on condition of anonymity.

After a decade of rapid, chaotic bank liberalisation, Vietnam has 42 domestic banks, many of which are overloaded with toxic debt. Last year,the government announced aggressive restructuring plans but the drive has stalled.

Multi-millionaire Nguyen Duc Kien, 48, a shareholder in some of Vietnam’s largest financial institutions and one of the founders of ACB, was reportedly involved in drafting the bank reform plans.

His fall highlights the high-risk economic environment where “the line between violation and non-violation when doing business in Vietnam is very small,” one Hanoi-based Vietnamese analyst told AFP. “One can be a very successful businessman today, but can turn into a criminal the very next day,” due to the communist country’s opaque legal and political systems, he said. Kien, who was widely seen as being close to the Prime Minister, has been accused of

wrongdoing at three smaller financial companies where he is chairman. He evaded banking regulations by setting up a web of shell companies, licensed in real estate, through which he funnelled millions of dollars to amass stakes in other banks in his family members’ names, Tuoi Tre said.

The central bank had said Kien’s arrest was not related to the ACB-where he holds a less than five percent stake. One banker based in Ho Chi Minh City said the authorities were trying to “ring fence” the key institution.

Others warned however that it would be hard to restore public trust in the bank, after the arrest of Hai who worked at the ACB for 15 years.

HANOI: Carpenters sit on their motorcycles with their boxes of tools waiting for clients at a corner street in Hanoi yesterday. —AFP The $384 million in withdrawals by depositors was recorded over Tuesday and Wednesday, the ACB’s new director general Do Minh Toan said according to state media reports.

The bank counts global banking giant Standard Chartered as one of its “strategic partners”. The British group has so far remained silent on the matter.

Le Tham Duong of the Ho Chi Minh City-based University of Banks told AFP that the case could eventually have a positive impact. “We can’t leave the system as it is... it is time to clean it up. Today ACB may have some difficulties (but) it will be certainly be much better” in future, he said. In the meantime, most foreign investors “are still in ‘wait and see’ mode,” Singapore-based Tony Nash, managing director of IHS consulting, told AFP. These two arrests are “not a wholesale indictment of the Vietnamese banking system... yet.” —AFP

FDI in India slumps 78% in June NEW DELHI: Foreign direct investment in India slid by 78 percent in June, official figures showed yesterday, amid mounting worries about corruption, bureaucratic delays and lack of economic reforms.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) in June tumbled to $1.24 billion from $5.66 billion in the same month a year earlier, figures posted on India’s Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion website showed.

For the financial first quarter to June, FDI tumbled year-on-year by 67 percent to $4.43 billion, according to the department, with big drops in construction, real estate, mining, and business and financial services.

Overseas investors have increasingly been giving a wide berth to the country of 1.2 billion people, until recently seen as a hot destination for foreign money.

They have been deterred by a string of graft scandals, suffocating red tape, high inflation, sharply slowing growth and the government’s inability to further open up the economy in the face of fierce political opposition. The central bank said India could help reverse the investment decline by shortening investment approval times and sorting out land acquisition issues.

On Thursday, central bank governor Duvvuri Subbarao cited the example of Singapore, an investment hub, to stress the importance of doing away

with cumbersome rules that deter business.

“There is a need to make doing business easy by adopting models like the one in Singapore where multiple agencies/ministries sit together to quickly give a decision clearing investment projects,” he said in the bank’s annual report.

However, the same day, the government postponed deciding on proposed changes to a longawaited land acquisition legislation intended to ease the land acquisition process for industrial projects.

Experts say foreign investment is vital for India, which needs to fund a $1 trillion scheme over the next five years to overhaul its dilapidated ports, airports, highways and other infrastructure seen as key to boosting growth.

Among a host of stalled high-profile projects are South Korean steelmaker POSCO’s plans to build a $12-billion mill. The scheme has hung in limbo since 2005, running into trouble over land rights and environmental clearances. The government set out an ambitious plan to revive stalled economic reforms in current legislative session. But it has been jeopardised by a new deadlock in parliament over allegations the treasury lost out on billions of dollars in revenue when the government gifted away coal mining rights. —AFP

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SATURDAY, AUGUST 25, 2012

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Years

SEAL who wrote bin Laden raid book identified Page 24

A ‘cosplay’ fan poses for photos during the four-day 2012 Animation and Comics Fair at the National Agricultural Exhibition Center in Beijing on August 23, 2012. — AP

Baltimore’s ‘Batman’ just wants to help sick kids Page 25

SATURDAY, AUGUST 25, 2012

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he ‘Complicated’ singer recently got engaged to Nickelback frontman Chad Kroeger and he has given her with a very expensive rock. Jewellery expert Michael O’Connor added of the ring: “A pear shape diamond set in platinum is a nod to vintage glamour and individuality - perfect for a rocker like Avril. The halfmoon diamonds are also rare since they would have to be specially cut to fit on either side of the centre diamond. The centre diamond is approximately 10 carats, with an additional four carats of total side diamonds.” Avril and Chad - who have been dating for around six months - celebrated their engagement by partying in Las Vegas. The couple were “super cuddly and affectionate” as they drank in the gambling city on Tuesday (21.08.12) to celebrate their forthcoming marriage. An eye witness said: “They went to 1 Oak Nightclub in Las Vegas on August 21 to celebrate their engagement. “Avril arrived first with a bunch of male friends and bodyguards, then Chad showed up later and met them inside. Avril was so excited to see her man.

“They were super cuddly and affectionate”. The marriage will be the second for Avril - who wed Sum 41 singer Deryck Whibley in July 2006, splitting three years later - but it is Chad’s first.

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he Beatles legend and actress Pamela Stephenson, 62, pleaded with India’s forest minister Dr Patangrao Kadam for the animal’s release.

Yesterday it was revealed that 13-year-old Sunder will be rescued from his shed hell in India’s Maharashtra district and moved to a wildlife centre.

According to The Sun newspaper the 70-year-old had written: “I have seen photographs of young Sunder, the elephant kept alone in a shed at a temple and put in chains with spikes.“Years of his life have been ruined by keeping him and abusing him in this way. “Enough is enough. Get Sunder out.” Mimi Bekhechi, of animal welfare campaigners PETA, said yesterday: “We are grateful to the forest minister for agreeing to liberate Sunder.” The musician is used to writing notes to express his opinion and use it as a force for change. He recently pledged his support for Russian all girl punk group Punk Riot. The ‘Hey Jude’ singer wrote a letter in support of the band’s members - Maria Alyokhina, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Yekaterina Samutsevich - ahead of their verdict in their trial for ongoing trial for hooliganism motivated by religious hatred. The band was arrested after performing a song attacking Russian leader Vladimir Putin on February 21 in Moscow’s Christ the Saviour Cathedral. Paul has expressed his hope that the law will come down in favour of freedom of expression. He penned: “I hope you can stay strong and believe that I and many others like me who believe in free speech will do everything in our power to support you and the idea of artistic freedom.”

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he showbiz matriarch has been comforting Jack, his fiancee Lisa Stelly, and their baby daughter Pearl in the wake of his diagnosis with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and has been doing her best to assist with their family life. A source told National Enquirer magazine: “Sharon’s always been extravagant when it comes to her kids, but now she stops by Jack and Lisa’s home a few times a week, dropping off groceries and chef-prepared meals. “Sharon’s even sent her housekeeper over to help, even though they’ve got their own cleaning crew and Lisa cleans in-between.” While Sharon’s efforts are appreciated, Jack and Lisa have asked her to stop “meddling” and let them get on with things themselves. The source continued: “Lisa adores her mother-in-law, and knows she has a big heart when it comes to her children, but she’s told Sharon she and Jack can take care of themselves and Pearl. “Jack’s tried to stop mom’s meddling, telling her he’d put on weight, because Lisa loves to cook. But now he’s eating meals for them both.

Sharon just laughs and tells him it’s her ‘job as mom.’” Sharon recently quit ‘America’s Got Talent’ in a move of solidar-

ity with her son, as it was made by network, NBC whom she accuses of withdrawing from offering him a place on reality show ‘Stars Earn Stripes’, allegedly because of his MS diagnosis. She said: “I just can’t be fake. It’s discrimination and it was badly handled. It’s time to move on.”

SATURDAY, AUGUST 25, 2012

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he ‘Big Hoops (Bigger The Better)’ singer - who has previously appeared on the small screen in ‘Roswell’ and ‘One Life to Live’ - will be performing in the episode, which will air in November, E! News reports.

Carmen Electra is also in the next series on the show on its 100th episode, playing a character called Vesta, who is a cross between Dita Von Teese and a Pussycat Doll, according to PerezHilton.com. The Canadian singer and the former ‘Baywatch’ actress are the latest in a number of high-profile stars to appear in past installments of the series, including Billy Ray Cyrus and Kellie Pickler. Other musicians to have appeared in the show include Snoop Dogg, DJ Samantha Ronson - who is best known for dating Lindsay Lohan - and Christina Aguilera. Carly Rae Jepsen will be

appearing in the first episode for the season five of ‘90210’ - which also stars Jessica Lowndes, AnnaLynne McCord and Michael Steger - to be shown on October 8. Speaking of the decision to have Carly involved, executive producers Patti Carr and Lara Olsen said: “We think she’s an exciting artist and are thrilled to be able to have her music on the show again, this time in a live performance in our season premiere.”

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he ‘Mad Men’ star - who has an 11-month-old son, Xander has been spotted out with the film maker on several occasions after meeting on the set of their new film, ‘Sweetwater’.

A source told Life & Style magazine: “They met on the set of the film ‘Sweetwater’. January’s one of the stars, and Noah’s codirecting with his twin brother, Logan.” It is thought Noah is the first person January has dated since welcoming Xander into the world last September. She has refused to say who Xander’s father is and vowed to raise him as a single mother. She recently admitted being a working mother was hard and said she was fortunate she could take her son to work with him when she returned to the set of ‘Mad Men’. She said: “I had to go back to work when Xander was six or seven weeks old, but I’m lucky that I have a job that I can bring him with me. I was able to bring him to work and nurse, and I could see him when I missed him, which was often even though I was only feet away. “‘Mad Men’ has such long hours, and then you go home and you don’t sleep. So it was hard.”

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fter a couple months of casual dating, the guitar-playing musician and the pop star have split. Multiple sources have confirmed to Us Weekly magazine, with one saying: “She’s really upset about it.” Another insider echoed: “She is making it seem like it wasn’t serious with John, but she is hurt.” The budding romance, with 27-year-old singer and 34-year-old John was first reported when they made an “affectionate” appearance together at Soho House in West Hollywood in June. At a Beverly Hills pool party earlier this month, a recentlydivorced Katy and the notorious Lothario “were all over each other” according to one observer. A friend said earlier this month that the ‘Teenage Dream’ singer was ready to get serious with John.

They said: “She doesn’t want to get her heart broken again, but she feels a real connection and wants to see where things go.” His exes include Jennifer Love Hewitt, Jessica Simpson and Jennifer Aniston. Meanwhile, Katy divorced Russell Brand earlier this year, and briefly dated Florence the Machine rocker Robert Ackroyd in the spring. — Bangshowbiz

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he couple recently announced their engagement, and while the bride-to-be would love to marry abroad, the groom is hoping for their nuptials to take place close to home. A source claimed the former ‘Friends’ actress wants a “destination wedding, kind of like eloping with a few friends. There will be the feeling of a vacation, since that’s their favourite thing to do.” However actor/screenwriter Justin has other ideas. The insider told website UsMagazine.com: “Justin wants a New York City winter wedding.” The tone and theme of their future nuptials is also a source of contention. Although 43-year-old Jennifer will want to “celebrate in high style,” the friend explained: “Justin isn’t as flashy as the men she’s been with in the past, so it won’t go too over-the-top.” Though they disagree over the details, in the end, both stars are thrilled to be taking this next step together. A source says of the ‘Horrible Bosses’ star, who divorced Brad Pitt in 2005: “Jen is over the moon about her second chance at a happy marriage.

Lifestyle SATURDAY, AUGUST 25, 2012

SEAL

who wrote bin Laden raid book identified

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he Navy SEAL who wrote an account of the raid that killed Osama bin Laden under a pseudonym was identified Thursday as Matt Bissonnette, who retired from the Navy last summer. Bissonnette was first identified by Fox News. One current and one former US military official confirmed the name, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss military personnel matters.

The book, “No Easy Day,” is scheduled to be released Sept. 11, with the author listed under the pseudonym of Mark Owen.

Penguin Group (USA)’s Dutton imprint, the publisher, asked news organizations Thursday to withhold his identity. “Sharing the true story of his personal experience in ‘No Easy Day’ is a courageous act in the face of obvious risks to his personal security,” Dutton spokeswoman Christine Ball said in a statement.

“That personal security is the sole reason the book is being published under a pseudonym.”

Bissonnette also changed the names of the other SEALs in the account, the publisher says. Efforts to locate Bissonnette for comment were unsuccessful. Special Operations Command spokesman Col. Tim Nye said the retired SEAL could be endangered by being identified, which could also expose those

active-duty SEALs the author worked with in the killing of bin Laden in Abbottabad, Pakistan last year.

The book and the author’s name come out amid debate over the possible damage to US national security by leaks in the media about top secret operations. Yet the book also comes at a time when special operations forces are prominently featured in the media as never before, even as the elite organizations demand secrecy. A rash of new books trumpet special operators’ exploits. For example, “American Sniper,” a best-seller by recently retired SEAL Chris Kyle, details his 150-plus kills of insurgents from 1999 to 2009.

A handful of special operations advocacy groups have sprung up decrying leaks, but they identify themselves by name as former members of some of the elite units, in an online campaign video that slams President Barack Obama for releasing details of the bin Laden raid.

One of the advocacy groups is run by retired Navy SEAL Ryan Zinke, who prominently mentions his time years ago at SEAL Team 6, the top secret unit that carried out the bin Laden raid. Even Special Operations Command made an exception to its normal reticence with the media when it signed off

on the movie “Act of Valor,” which followed active duty SEALs carrying out training exercises that were turned into what looked like real action scenes for the film.

The author of “No Easy Day” is slated to appear in shadow in promotional interviews for the book, meant to conceal his identity.

CBS News’ anchor Scott Pelley said Thursday evening that “60 Minutes” has interviewed the author and will air the interview on Sept 9.

The book is already listed as one of the top 10 books on Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.com.

Beyond the risk he faces now that his identity is known, he could also face legal trouble if the Pentagon determines that he disclosed classified information in the account. US military and intelligence officials say they do not believe the book has been read or cleared by the Defense Department. The Pentagon reviews publications by military members both active duty and retired - to make sure that no classified material is revealed. —AP

Nationalist Japan manga author joins anti-nuclear fight

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This picture shows children playing near a “Doraemon” character at the manga corner, on display during a press preview at the Kawasaki City Fujiko F. Fujio Museum in Kawasaki, suburban Tokyo. —AFP

apan’s anti-nuclear movement has a new supporter: bestselling nationalist “manga” author Yoshinori Kobayashi, known for his controversial defence of Tokyo’s wartime aggression, has joined the growing ranks of those who want the country to end its reliance on atomic power in the wake of the Fukushima crisis. The attack from an unexpected quarter comes as Japan tries to decide the role nuclear energy should play in a new national energy portfolio amid growing pressure from voters worried about safety after last year’s Fukushima atomic disaster, the world’s worst in a quarter of a century.

“Shouldn’t Japan immediately abandon the old science of nuclear power that... is linked to the destruction of the nation, and carry out an energy revolution leading the world?” writes Kobayashi in the afterword to his latest work, a 360-page tome that hit bookstores yesterday. His backing for the anti-nuclear cause reflects the broadening of the base of a movement traditionally linked with left-

leaning activists. “Some in the very right wing of conservative thinkers have become anti-nuclear after 3/11,” said Sophia University professor Koichi Nakano. “The Friday protests also have some rightwingers. It’s not just lefties,” he said. Anti-nuclear protests outside Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda’s office each yesterday have become a feature of Japanese political life.

The March 11, 2011 giant earthquake and tsunami devastated the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant north of Tokyo, triggering meltdowns, spewing radiation and forcing about 160,000 people to flee, many never to return home.

Kobayashi first won fame in the 1990s with a series of comics which presented in manga cartoon style the argument made by ultra-conservative politicians and scholars that Japan’s belligerence in the 1930s and 1940s was aimed at liberating Asia from Western imperialism, and denying wartime atrocities. —Reuters

Robot cat Doraemon receives residency in Japan city

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oraemon, Japan’s robot cat from the future, will celebrate turning minus 100 years old by being given official residence of the city where he will be born, a city official told AFP yesterday. The electronic blue feline, whose cartoon exploits have captivated children across Asia, is to be given a residency certificate for Kawasaki, a city near Tokyo, on September 3, exactly a century ahead of his supposed birth. The city, in which the character’s creator lived, is also home to a popular museum of all things Doraemon and plans to issue copies of the time-travelling robot cat’s residency certificate to fans and visitors.

“Doraemon was created and born in Kawasaki city. In that sense, he has always been a city resident,” Mayor Takao Abe told reporters, according to the online edition of the local Kanagawa Shimbun newspaper. “I hope (the residency cer-

tificate) will bring the museum closer to many people,” he said. The certificate will give Doraemon’s birthday as September 3, 2112, as well as listing his likes-pastries-and his dislikesmice. Doraemon was sent back in time from the 22nd century by a young boy who wanted to alter his family’s historical misfortune. His magic pocket provides an endless supply of fantastical gadgets that help his young friend Nobita Nobi navigate the trials of everyday life. The character first appeared in manga strips in 1969, making the transition to small and big screen over the following decades. Doraemon remains enormously popular in Japan, serving as an instantly recognisable cultural reference across generations. The cartoon series also has a large following in the rest of Asia, including in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and South Korea. —AFP

This photo shows children taking part in a ballroom dancing competition in Hefei, in east China’s Anhui province. More than 90 percent of Chinese pupils in poor rural areas said they love classes in music, arts and physical education, according to the latest survey conducted by the China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation. —AFP

Lifestyle SATURDAY, AUGUST 25, 2012

Baltimore’s ‘Batman’ just wants to help sick kids

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atman, the comic book superhero, stalks the night saving Gotham from villains, but Baltimore’s Caped Crusader just wants sick kids to feel better-a mission undeterred by last month’s deadly shooting at a screening of the fictional hero’s latest movie. Clad in a heavy leather and neoprene Batsuit, the Baltimore man drove up on a recent day to the orthopedic wing of the east coast city’s Sinai hospital in a slick Batmobile-a perfect replica of the Hollywood one. Excitement bubbled over just inside the entrance, where kids in wheelchairs, parents and medical personnel were eagerly watching the Dark Knight arrive.

In a game room set up for the special visit, a cardboard replica of Batman stood amid piles of Batmanthemed crayon boxes, t-shirts, glasses, and necklaces made of bats. The man behind the costume is Lenny Robinson, 48, a tall, muscular father of three adult children. For the last 11 years, the wealthy former businessman has dedicated himself to these visits, bringing gifts and a bit of fun to the young hospital patients. This day, Batman approached 6-year-old Farrah, whose legs were supported by metal braces.

“Farrah, do me a favor,” Batman said, leaning towards the shy little girl, before whispering in her ear. “I never ask kids how they are,” Robinson later explained to AFP. “I say hi, it’s nice to meet you, and I give them a present,” he said. Then he tells them to “do Batman a favor: get better. That will make me very happy.” Robinson took up the Batman mantle at the inspiration of his son, who, he said, was “obsessed

by Batman.” Robinson inherited the obsession, and then transformed it, ultimately organizing his efforts into a charity: superheroesforkids.org.

He doesn’t get paid for his appearances, which average twice a month. Instead he spends some $60,000 (48,159 euros) a year from his own pocket on gifts for the kids. And he spent another $215,000 this year on a new Batmobile, which he donated to the foundation. Robinson, who sold his commercial cleaning business to great profit in 2007, said he has plenty of time and money for the job.

“I swim, go on vacation, and go be Batman,” he

‘I am proud to be Mexican’: Salma Hayek

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alma Hayek says she is proud to be Mexican and that comments suggesting otherwise were “lost in translation.” The 45-year-old actress issued a statement Thursday after German Vogue magazine quoted her as saying she “hardly had any memories of what it is to be Mexican.” “I have never denied my background or my culture,” Hayek says in the statement released by publicist Cari Ross. “I have taught my child to embrace her Mexican heritage, to love my first language, Spanish, to learn about Mexican history, music, folk art, food, and even the Mexican candy I grew up with. I have always been an active part of my community. I have tried my whole life to represent my Mexican roots with honor and Salma Hayek pride. It saddens me when my words are lost in translation and taken out of context to hurt the people of Mexico, whom I love.”

Hayek graces the cover of German Vogue and gives an interview about her role as the leader of a Mexican drug cartel in the Oliver Stone drama “Savages.” Telephone calls seeking comment placed to the magazine late Thursday night went unanswered. This is not the first time Hayek has made remarks about her Mexican background that have drawn attention.

Last year, she quipped to a reporter in Spanish, “If it wasn’t because of my high heels, I would still be in Coatzacoalcos with 10 children.” —AP

Lenny Robinson, a.k.a. “Batman” visits with a sick child on August 16, 2012 at the Rubin Institute for Advanced Orthopedics, Sinai Hospital, in Baltimore, Maryland. —AFP smiled. “It’s a full time job.” “When the kids know he’s coming, there is excitement,” said John Herzenberg, head doctor at Sinai hospital’s orthopedic wing.

“Anything to divert their attention from their troubles and the pain they are having is a good thing.”

dressed as the masked vigilante, his Batmobile was pulled over by police. Officers stopped him because the car-an earlier version of the Batmobile that was really a decked out Lamborghini-wasn’t displaying its license plates. In their place was the bat symbol. The police thought they were pulling over “some rich dude in a freaking Batman outfit” who thought he didn’t have to follow the rules, Robinson laughed.

Then they realized that Robinson had the real plates in the car-and that he was on a superhero mission to visit a local hospital. A video of the incident went viral on the web. But his mission suffered more of a setback last month, when a gunman massacred 12 people and wounded dozens more in a Colorado movie theater, on opening night of the latest installment of the “Dark Knight” trilogy. Two hospitals immediately cancelled their long-planned dates with the Winged Avenger. “The timing was unfortunate for Mr Robinson’s visit, as it was scheduled just three days after the shooting,” a spokeswoman for the St Louis Children’s hospital in Missouri, told AFP. “We felt our patients-and their families-needed some time and distance from those images,” she explained, adding the hospital planned to reschedule the visit. “I understand and respect the hospital’s decision,” said Robinson. “The last thing I want to do is to upset (the children). That would be the opposite of what I want to do.”

Despite the shooting, Baltimore’s Batman remains in high demand across the US-with upcoming stops scheduled for Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and New York. Even European hospitals have requested a visit.

Robinson, who at times adopts the voice of the children’s cartoon character SpongeBob SquarePants to avoid scaring the littlest patients, says, unlike the comic book hero, his Batman has no connection to violence. “I’m the comical, funny, caring, polite, respectful side of Batman,” he insisted. —AFP

The caring, polite side of Batman Robinson has earned local stardom in his hometown, and his fame only grew last spring when,

‘Promised Land’ into awards season

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us Van Sant’s “Promised Land,” which reunites the director with “Good Will Hunting” star Matt Damon, will sneak into theaters for a limited run Dec 28, 2012, qualifying it for this year’s Academy Awards. It will debut in New York and Los Angeles prior to a larger distribution in 2013. Focus was able to move up the planned release because of Van Sant’s quick post-production work, which began 11 weeks ago.

The move speaks to the studio’s confidence in the film, which stars Damon and John Krasinski of “The Office.” The actors also co-wrote the film from a story by literary luminary Dave Eggers.

Damon and Ben Affleck won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for “Good Will Hunting.”

“Promised Land” depicts a salesman for a natural gas company who begins to look at life differently after starting work in a small town. Frances McDormand, Rosemarie DeWitt and Hal Holbrook fill out the cast for the film, which Participant Media co-financed. Focus has a few other potential awards contenders this year, including Wes Anderson’s “Moonrise Kingdom” and Joe Wright’s “Anna Karenina.” Van Sant has twice received Oscar nominations for Best Director, one for “Good Will Hunting” and one for “Milk.” Both films were also nominated for Best Picture but fared better in the writing and acting categories. Each won Best Original Screenplay while Robin Williams won a Best Supporting Oscar for “Hunting” and Sean Penn won the Best Actor Oscar for “Milk.” —Reuters

SATURDAY, AUGUST 25, 2012

Tom Cruise is Jack Reacher in “Jack Reacher,” from Paramount Pictures and Skydance Productions.

Ian McKellen as Gandalf in New Line Cinema’s and MGM’s fantasy adventure, “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” a Warner Bros Pictures release. —MCT photos

Questions abound

as we enter the fall movie season

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aking attendance for big movies you’re looking forward to this fall? You’re going to be marking a lot of hotly-expected films “absent” and handing out tardy slips. From “World War Z” to “The Great Gatsby,” to Sandra Bullock’s sci-fi epic “Gravity” to the renegade cops period piece “Gangster Squad,” you could have built a seriously buzzed-about cinema season over the films yanked for more work or for greener pastures among 2013’s release dates.

But enough bad news. We’ll make do with “The Hobbit” and “The Master,” “Les Miserables” and Liam Neeson (“Taken 2”). It’s the serious cinema season, when comic-book adaptations like “Judge Dredd” open opposite Oscar’s beloved Judge Clint (Eastwood, in “Trouble With the Curve”).

More than anything else, this fall is a movie mystery. Which films will break out, which will earn awards buzz and become Oscar contenders? Will “The Hobbit” (Dec 14) give us Peter Jackson at his hairy-footed best, right at home in his New Zealand “Middle Earth”? Or will we get the Jackson of “King Kong” and “The Lovely Bones,” a technocrat a bit off his game? Can Tyler Perry take over for Morgan Freeman as “Alex Cross” (Oct 19) and score a hit without wearing a dress?

Daniel Day-Lewis may be the spitting image of Honest Abe, but will Spielberg’s epic “Lincoln” (Nov 21) be the Oscar bait everybody expects? Will “Les Miserables” (Dec 14) be as moving as its trailer, and will the original “1 percent vs 99 percent” story surf the zeitgeist to become a blockbuster? Can Tom Cruise overcome a tabloid divorce and fan backlash over his casting as the

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tall and tough detective fiction icon “Jack Reacher” (Dec 21)?

Will Scientology overcome the bad press swirling around Cruise and John Travolta, and “The Master” (Sept 21), a veiled version of the founding of L. Ron Hubbard’s religion?

Should Ben Affleck’s latest high-tone thriller, “Argo,” about smuggling Americans out of Iran (Oct 12), officially make him Warner Brothers’ new Clint Eastwood? Could Russell Crowe’s gamble on a martial arts spatter picture (“The Man With the Iron Fists,” Nov 2), directed by a rapper and “presented” by Quentin Tarantino, pay off? Or will “Les Miz” be his best shot at a comeback?

Is Christmas Day really the right time to release a Tarantino slave-revenge “South-Western” (“Django Unchained”)? Might “Zero Dark 30” take us as far inside the years-long hunt for Osama bin Laden as we’d expect from the people who gave us “The Hurt Locker?” And will the video-game inspired comedy “Wreck it Ralph” (Nov 2) or the Easter Bunny/ Santa/ Tooth Fairy actionadventure “Rise of the Guardians” (Nov 21) rule the animated roost this holiday season?

What dark horse contenders (Terrence Malick’s “To the Wonder,” for instance) will be added to the mix? Or will this fall and winter have us begging for January, when all these delayed movies start trickling out as the (possibly) “best of 2013?” All those movie mysteries and more will be solved between now and New Year’s Eve. Unless, of course, more studios lose their nerve, more films earn tardy slips and the Oscar cupboard looks even more bare than it seems now. — MCT

Daniel Day Lewis stars as President Abraham Lincoln in this scene from director Steven Spielberg’s “Lincoln” from DreamWorks Pictures and Twentieth Century Fox.

Guy Pearce is a vile villain in ‘Lawless’

Review

here are villains. And there are villains. Among the pantheon of evildoers who’ve been robbing, marauding and broom-riding their way through the American cinema

Shia LaBeouf (left) and Mia Wasikowska star in “Lawless”. — MCT

since 1903 (when “Bronco Billy” Anderson committed “The Great Train Robbery”), there have been plenty of bad characters who’ve inspired nightmares, including Lord Voldemort, Darth Vader, the Wicked Witch of the West and Hannibal Lecter. Far fewer provoke genuine fear, however. Or revulsion. Or loathing.

Or even hatred.

The differential in movie villainy - between the bad guy we merely root against, and the bad guy whose demise incites spontaneous applause in a movie theater _ is exemplified by Charley Rakes, the nasty piece of work at the center of director John Hillcoat’s “Lawless.” Opening Wednesday, what Hillcoat called his “country gangster” drama based in the Prohibition-era South features a super-cast of young stars, including Tom Hardy, Jessica Chastain, Shia LaBeouf and Mia Wasikowska. But it’s the veteran Guy Pearce (“Memento,” “LA Confidential” and Hillcoat’s “The Proposition”), who, as Rakes, galvanizes the entire movie and worms his way into the spleen of the audience. Comparisons are elusive, although Jack Palance in “Shane,” in which his character, Jack Wilson, shoots a hapless Elisha Cook Jr in cold blood, or Billy Drago as “The Untouchables’” Frank Nitti, who described

the death of Sean Connery’s character in such gleeful detail that Eliot Ness (Kevin Costner) throws him off the roof, come close to being as vile as Rakes.

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Pearce said from the North Carolina set of “Iron Man 3,” in which he’ll be playing another scoundrel, Aldrich Killian. Rakes the lawman is special, however: In “Lawless,” he comes to the Virginia backwoods prepared to destroy the lucrative moonshine business of the Bondurant brothers (Hardy, LaBeouf and Jason Clarke) and, if necessary, the Bondurant brothers themselves (a real-life Bondurant grandson, Matt, wrote “The Wettest County in the World,” the book from which the movie was adapted). Rakes kills the movie’s sweetest character in cold blood, over an insult, and clearly has issues that manifest themselves in unsavory ways. He’s also an insufferable snob, a preening fop and a font of vindictive cruelty.

“He’s an interesting character,” Pearce said. “And obviously, the film is based on a book, but Rakes really is a Nick Cave invention,” he said of the film’s screenwriter and sometime rock star.

“The character of Rakes in the book is a local, and it’s a different dynamic and situation. —MCT

SATURDAY, AUGUST 25, 2012

Executor is cool under Jackson family pressure

In this 1987 file photo originally released by John Branca, attorney John Branca (left) and Michael Jackson are shown at Branca’s wedding in Beverly Hills, Calif. — AP

A visitor looks at the art installation “SOL Grotto” that was made by using glass tubes that were to be used by the now defunct solar company Solyndra on August 23, 2012 in Berkeley, California. Berkeley artists Ronald Rael and Virginia San Fratello have created the art installation “SOL Grotto” by using an estimated 1,400 of the 24 million unused specialized glass tubes to be used in tubular solar panels made by now bankrupt solar power firm Solyndra. — AFP

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hile family members squabble in public over Michael Jackson’s money, the man who holds the purse strings of the estate is a calm center of the storm. As co-executor of Jackson’s will, John Branca chooses to ignore the erupting dramas and personal attacks and keeps his eye on the future, which he says belongs to Jackson’s mother and children and to the pop star’s musical legacy. He and co-executor John McClain have been successfully pursuing projects to pay off a mountain of debt left by the superstar, to assure the financial future of his three children and to guarantee that Jackson’s music will live forever.

“When Michael Jackson died, he was near bankruptcy,” said Branca, suggesting the future for his three young children was uncertain. “Now we know the kids will be OK.” Branca sat down recently with The Associated Press to discuss the current state of the Jackson estate and projects to preserve Jackson’s image as the King of Pop. But he resolutely refused to address the elephant in the room - recent attacks on him and McClain by some Jackson siblings who were left out of their brother’s will.

They sent a lengthy letter that became public accusing the executors of deceit and manipulation of their mother and claiming that Jackson’s will was a fraud. They have not taken any court action and legal experts say the time to challenge the will, which disinherited them, is long past. Branca and McClain issued a statement calling the accusations “false and defamatory,” adding “we are especially disheartened that they come at a time when remarkable progress is being made to secure the financial future of his children...”

Secure in his knowledge that all four of Jackson’s wills named him as executor, Branca continues to make deals for the Jackson estate that are generating millions in revenue. This week, they announced an agreement with Sony/ATV Music Publishing to administer Jackson’s Mijac Music catalog, which includes such hits as “Beat It” and “Billie Jean.” The deal is expected to generate enough revenues to pay off a remaining $5 million loan by year’s end.

Since Jackson’s death on June 25, 2009, Branca said the singer’s personal debt of $200 million has been paid off and another $300 million tied to his ownership of the Sony and ATV catalogs has been renegotiated. “Michael had a will and a trust and that’s what we follow,” he said.

The estate pays Mrs Jackson $70,000 a month for the children’s support, pays the rent on their mansion in Calabasas, and is picking up bills for other expenses including renovation of their Encino home.

Branca’s AP interview was his indirect response to accusations by Janet, Jermaine, Randy and Rebbie Jackson that the estate was being mishandled. Jermaine later disavowed the incendiary letter and called for peace in the family. But Janet, Randy and Rebbie fired back with a letter of their own reiterating their complaints.

Brimming with excitement, Branca spoke of upcoming ventures he thinks would have delighted Jackson, especially a permanent Jackson-themed extravaganza on the Las Vegas Strip. —AP

‘Expendables 2’ poised T

to repeat at box office

he dog days have arrived at the summer box office.

There are no new superheroes, sequels or kids films.

The weekend’s two widest openers - Sony’s “Premium Rush” and “Hit and Run” from Open Road - are not expected to mount a challenge for the top spot. There’s even a chance that a documentary, “2016 Obama’s America,” will crack the top ten. Last week’s No. 1 film, “Expendables 2” will keep the top spot with around $14 million, industry analysts say.

After that, it will be a scramble between “Bourne Legacy,” which is in its third week, the two new wide openers and “ParaNorman” for the next several slots. All are projected to be in the $10 million range for the three days. “Hit and Run,” which opened Wednesday to $625,000, is expected to gross around $8 million.

Dax Shepherd’s comedy cost $2 million excluding marketing costs.

“Premium Rush,” which Sony is rolling out on 2,100 screens, is an intriguing offering. The plot couldn’t be much simpler: A bicycle messenger, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, is chased around New York City by a dirty cop who wants an envelope that the messenger is carrying. It’s directed by David Koepp, who teamed with John Kamps on the screenplay. Koepp is best known as the writer behind a number of blockbusters, including “Jurassic Park,” “Mission Impossible” and “Spider-Man.” He’s also a part of the writing team on Paramount’s upcoming and still untitled Jack Ryan project starring Chris Pine and Keira Knightly.

“Premium Rush,” however, has more in common with another film written by Koepp, 2002’s “Panic Room.” In that one, directed by David Fincher, Jodie Foster and Kristen Stewart star as a mother and daughter who take refuge in a safe room during a break-in. For Gordon-Levitt, coming off his “Dark Knight Rises” supporting role, “Premium Rush” provides an opportunity to establish himself as a box office force. Michael Shannon, Dania Ramirez and Jamie Chung co-

star. Tom Ortenberg’s Open Road is opening the romantic action comedy “Hit and Run” on 2,700 screens, making it the weekend’s widest opener. Dax Shepard (TV’s “Parenthood”), Kristen Bell, Bradley Cooper, Kristin Chenoweth and Beau Bridges star in the Primate Pictures production. It tells the tale of Charlie Bronson (Shepard), a nice guy with a questionable past who risks everything when he busts out of the witness protection program to deliver his fiancÈe (Kristen Bell) to Los Angeles to seize a once-in-a-lifetime job opportunity.

Shephard wrote the screenplay and shares directing duties with David Palmer. This is the second collaboration for the duo, who also codirected 2010’s “Brother’s Justice.”

The weekend’s other wide opener is “Apparition,” a PG-13 thriller from Warner Bros. Todd Lincoln wrote it and makes his feature directorial debut with the film, in which a couple is haunted by a supernatural presence that is unleashed during a college experiment.

It stars Ashley Greene (“Twilight”), Sebastian Stan (“Captain America: The First Avenger”) and Tom Felton (“Harry Potter”).

Warner Bros. has it in roughly 800 locations. A wildcard in the weekend mix is the anti-Barack Obama documentary, “2016: Obama’s America.”

It’s based on a book by conservative author Dinesh D’Souza, “The Roots of Obama’s Rage.” Rocky Mountain Pictures is aggressively expanding the film, which purports to detail what will happen should the president be elected to a second term, into 1,075 theaters.

That’s a big jump from the 169 theaters it played in last week, when it brought in $1.2 million, a $7,393 per-screen average. The timing is right, with the Republican National Convention opening Monday in Tampa, Fla. Advance ticket sales were brisk according to online ticket broker Fandango, which reported that the documentary was outselling “The Expendables 2” on Wednesday. — Reuters

SATURDAY, AUGUST 25, 2012

W

ednesday is the official start of summer, and with it comes an entire social calendar full of outdoor parties and reasons to give your warm-weather wardrobe a chance to shine. The recent Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic in Jersey City, NJ, got a jump on the season as celebrity attendees cheered on the match in attire that ranged from summery flowing dresses to sleek shorts.

Designer and stylist Rachel Zoe walked the polo grounds in a maxi and black floppy hat, actress Minka Kelly chose a simple white lace dress and actress Zoe Saldana stood out in a plain black T-shirt and black leather shorts.

Emerging among the best-dressed of the celeb bunch was model Alek Wek, in a cream-

D

isgraced British designer John Galliano has been stripped of the Legion d’Honneur, the top French medal he was awarded in 2009 for services to haute couture. Galliano, 51, will no longer have the right to wear the medal following its withdrawal under a decree signed by President Francois Hollande which was published in France’s official journal on Thursday. The former artistic director of fashion house Dior was convicted last year of hurling antiSemitic insults at patrons of a Paris bar. Galliano blamed the outburst on drink and drug problems and went into rehab for two months. He has since kept a low profile, but recent unconfirmed reports suggest he is considering moving to Los Angeles. Dior have replaced him with Belgian designer Raf Simons. — AFP

Participants clap after learning they had broken the record for the World’s Longest Catwalk at Darling Harbour in Sydney yesterday. Scandinavian shoe brand ECCO created fashion history as men and women from all walks of life paraded a latest collection of shoes around Darling Harbour setting a new World’s Longest Catwalk record of 2.812 kms, which beat the existing world record of 2.69 kms set in Turkey in 2011. — AFP

T

colored, cap-sleeve dress by Shoshanna and strappy heels. Her floppy straw hat was a functional, stylish accessory, and a black leather bracelet toughened up the girly look just a tad.

With its flattering silhouette and light color, a dress like Wek’s would be an ideal piece for a dressy summer party - even one that doesn’t involve polo. Look for something with romantic details, such as lace or subtle embroidery, for a similar effect. If you have less than $100 to spend, try the Guipure lace dress from Zara.com for $89.90 or Ladylike lace dress by Pim + Larkin from Piperlime.com for $79.

Fun under the sun requires a versatile hat.

The Magid straw floppy hat from Loehmann’s for $21.99 is an inexpensive way to keep cov-

his summer’s vintage-inspired looks are prolific with pleats. And although we parted ways with the folded fashion staple back in the ‘80s, we shouldn’t be surprised they’re returning. After all, as women’s wardrobes return to dressier, yet simple flapper-style silhouettes, it was only a matter of time before contemporary designers found ways to fold pleats - accordion, box, knife, and organ - into our wardrobes again.

“They can make anyone look sophisticated and ladylike,” said Candice Caprice, owner of Per Lei Boutique in Media, Pa., who could cite pieces with pleats from nearly every designer this spring, from Trina Turke to Diane von Furstenberg. “They add volume without being too bulky. It’s just good design.”

On skirts, on blouses, in color blocks and in prints, pleats are charming, said Nicole Fischelis, fashion director at Macy’s. And there is no such thing as over-pleating; it’s totally acceptable to wear a pleated skirt with a pleated blouse. It was late last summer when I bought a burgundy, tiered pleated frock (reminiscent of Halston’s heritage dress) from Philadelphia’s Chestnut Street Buffalo Exchange.

The dress has a pleated spaghetti-strap top over a pleated calf-length skirt. It’s a longer version of the royal blue dress Sarah Jessica Parker wore in the “Sex and The City 2” movie. That is when I noticed the gathered details slowly edging their way into our fashion consciousness on pastel maxi-skirts and tucked into blush-toned sheer blouses.

But the pleats comeback actually started two years ago when designers Chloe, Zac Posen, Jill Stuart, and J. Mendel sent flowing, pleated maxis down their runways. For some reason, women didn’t gravitate toward the tucks. “People just weren’t ready for the change yet,” Fischelis said.

“Pleats went hand-in-hand with the color trend.

And it took a season or two for color to take hold.”

Similar to our soft spot for color, forecasters say the current pleats pull has a lot to do with the springlike weather we enjoyed in winter - and fashion’s playfully seductive vibe this year. Pleats’ irresistible ways date to the days of the ancient Egyptians, says Clare Sauro, curator of the historic costume collection at Drexel University, when men and women wore floor-length robes, or chitons, with fine pleats throughout the skirts and bodice. In the 17th century, pleats became a mainstay of the aristocratic look, especially in menswear, where starchy cartridge-pleated collars signified class in the same way as white wigs.

By the 19th century, accordion and box pleats, Sauro said, were the domain of children’s sailor suits. And it wasn’t until the 1920s and Coco

ered. For a pair of strappy sandals to wear with any dress or white linen pants, get the Chinese Laundry Women’s Willy dress sandal from Endless.com for $59.93. Wek went minimal with the accessories, forgoing a necklace and earrings for a simple black cuff. For a similar piece, get the Linea Pelle double-wrap harness cuff for $50. It will become a staple, as easy to wear with a dress as it is with a T-shirt and jeans. — MCT

Chanel - everything goes back to Chanel - that pleats became part of the modern-day fashionista lexicon. “The flapper look didn’t just take from elements of menswear,” Sauro said. “This was the first time we saw women being able to embrace their youthfulness.”

And since then, about every 20 years or so, pleats make a comeback. In the ‘60s, pleats were mod, and in the 1980s, they were part of the working women’s uniform - pleated skirt, ruffled blouse, sheer hose. The coolest thing about the recent pleated renaissance is that it extends into all corners of our closets, from evening wear H&M featured a shiny one-shouldered dress I was seconds away from buying this spring - to work attire, as in a fuchsia, pleated tank underneath a navy blazer. And then there is this spring’s perfect Saturday afternoon look - a tank tucked into a long pleated skirt paired with ballet flats. Can pleats be any more pleasant? — MCT

SATURDAY, AUGUST 25, 2012

J

ordana Brewster is one of those actresses who seem to be photographed everywhere. Whether at a premiere, luncheon or album release party, Brewster makes an appearance looking stylish and camera-ready. When she’s not busy on the party circuit, she’s lighting up the small screen as Elena Ramos in the TNT reset of the series “Dallas.” Brewster was recently spotted at the Hollywood Foreign Press Association luncheon at the Beverly Hills

F

or all those who are tired of seeing style and fashion presented solely as a young woman’s game, behold “Advanced Style.” Out in May from PowerHouse Books, this collection of streetfashion photographs of the over-60 set is a joy. Although few of the subjects pho-

Hotel. She kept her cool despite the heat in a lightweight floral print Max Mara dress.

She accessorized with an orange sherbet-colored M.I.L.C.K. clutch from Ela and Christian Louboutin Viola strappy sandal heels. Brewster’s floral print dress is a season staple, perfect for outdoor parties where keeping cool in the heat is a must. For a similar look, try the Asos maxi dress in floral print, $68.12 from Asos.com; the Patterson J Kincaid floral print maxi dress, $118 at SaksFifthAvenue.com; or the Luc by Lucy “long dress on the prairie” maxi from Couturecandy.com for $57. Brewster’s sherbet-colored clutch adds another layer of interest to her outfit. The Hard clutch, $34.99 from Mango, can add a pop of color to all your summer looks. Get the Andrea Morelli ankle strap heels from Yoox.com for $85 for a pair of heels you can wear with a maxi, shorts or trousers. — MCT

tographed on the streets of New York City reveal precisely how old they are, they offer lessons in confidence and style that women of all ages will appreciate, which is exactly why Ari Seth Cohen started Advanced Style, the blog that inspired the book.

Among the stylish figures in the book is the elegant and refined Rose, age 100, pictured in a paisley caftan, Hermes belt and oversized beads. Her credo? “If everyone is wearing it, then it’s not for me.” Alice, posing in a men’s tweed jacket, jodhpurs, boots, fingerless gloves and a silk scarf, says, “Fie on women in sneakers and sweats.”

Then there’s Debra, in electric-blue sunglasses and brocade pants, who approaches getting dressed like an art project and says, “Tomorrow is another day and another look.”

Cohen combs the city looking for elder style on the street. “It’s fun to hang out outside the Carlysle Hotel,” he says, which is where he snapped a photo of actress Elaine Stritch wearing one of her signature menswear-inspired looks. “But I don’t spend too much time on the Upper East Side because a lot of the women there have had a lot of plastic surgery.”

“Advanced Style” is about embracing one’s age, not fighting it, he says. “In society, women are told to back down from fashion as they get older, and they become invisible. I got an email from one woman who said her grandkids were embarrassed by the way she dresses. She showed them my blog, and they changed their minds.”

He has learned that there really is no such thing as age-appropriate dressing. The book features its fair share of traditional

houndstooth suits, silk scarves and sensible shoes, but it also has women in artsy hats and colorful turbans. “Some women think fashion should be more proper, others don’t care at all. If someone is comfortable and confident, that’s what matters,” Cohen says.

“I like to have a mix of eccentric and elegant in the blog and book, because I’m attracted to both extremes.”

Cohen grew up in San Diego, where he spent many afternoons with his grandmothers, Bluma and Helen, watching old movies, trying on clothes and going through scrapbooks of photos showing people dressed to the nines. After he finished school, he set his sights on New York City with an eye toward meeting Mimi Weddell, the 93-year-old model, actress and hat enthusiast whom he had admired from afar after seeing the 2008 documentary film about her life, “Hats Off.” He wrangled an invitation to tea. “She wouldn’t give me cookies, but she offered me brandy,” he remembers of his first meeting with the late Weddell, who was a health enthusiast. “Everything she told me about life and style inspired me.” Cohen began to notice other stylish older women on the streets of New York, “a wonderful city for older people to live in,” he says. And he asked to take their photographs.

Surprisingly, most were not offended. “I have never been shy to go up to people, but I did have to learn my approach. I tell them I’m photographing women 60 and above, and since most of them are 80 and above, they are flattered,” he says. He started the blog as a response to what he saw as a lack of representation of older people in

the media. “Everything I found in my research poked fun,” he says, “which was different from what my eyes were seeing on the street.”

The blog has been a boon for Cohen, leading to freelance work for AARP magazine and exhibitions of his photographs at stores and galleries in Europe. He’s currently working on an “Advanced Style” film, which he hopes to complete this summer, and another book, this one more focused on health and lifestyle for the over-60 set. So at the tender age of 30, how does Cohen feel about his advancing years?

“We all are going to get older. It’s not about me looking forward to it, it’s about me being OK with it,” he says. “I’ve learned how to live my life more fully from the women I have met who are 100 and still doing Pilates. I have a new sense of freedom and have learned to let things go and just accept myself.” — MCT

TECHNOLOGY

SATURDAY, AUGUST 25, 2012

Webcams in newborn ICUs grow as business NEW ORLEANS: Corey Harrington spent the first month of his life in intensive care 150 miles from home, but his parents could see him any time thanks to a webcam in the premature baby’s incubator in Little Rock, Ark. They couldn’t be there because they had another young child to care for and the father had used up his leave during the final weeks of the complicated pregnancy. So instead, Brandi and Charles Ray Harrington of Bentonville, Ark., used the device to further a bonding process that doctors say is crucial. The importance of feeling close to babies - for the babies as well as their parents - has transformed newborn intensive care units around the country. Instead of brief visiting hours, for instance, many allow parents 24-hour access. The next step in the process involves webcam technology that has had applications ranging from peering into eagles’ nests to linking soldiers in war zones with their loved ones back home.

Now parents, grandparents and friends can log in to babycams in hospitals around the U.S. and several countries. At least eight domestic hospitals have installed such systems, and several dozen others are testing trial setups.

Brandi Harrington said nurses at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences hospital often put notes on camera.

She read from some that were captured in screenshots: “I’m now 4 (pounds) 1 oz. Woohoo!” “Be back soon.

Pooping on my own. Gonna try to breathe on my own too.

Taking the breathing tube out.”

The UAMS Medical Center in Little Rock was among the first to install webcams in neonatal intensive care units back in 2006, and it had to create its own system. Now, the chairman of the hospital’s OB-GYN department has passed on his software to a Pennsylvania hospital, while at least two companies are selling contracts for similar systems. At UAMS and Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas, a speaker inside each incubator lets parents coo, talk and sing to their babies. That’s not available through the 53 cameras recently installed at Ochsner Health System near New Orleans by Healthcare Observation Systems LLC of Louisville, Ky. Company owner Blake Rutherford says about 200 of the 600-plus NICUs caring for critically ill newborns have asked for information; he has installed six systems and has trial setups at about 40 other hospitals.

The systems aren’t used by doctors and nurses for clinical care in the US. The system made by Rutherford’s company doesn’t store any video. People watching a baby can take screenshot “photographs,” but the video is gone as soon as it’s transmitted, Rutherford said. Parents use the US systems for free, and they typically get a password which they can share with family and friends - to log in to a secure server to watch their baby.

Developers of the systems say the systems could be adapted for use with different types of patients. For example, Rutherford said he’s been asked about setting up webcams for nursing home residents but hasn’t begun

developing such a system. Laura and David St. Martin can see little Emily Jane in person every day, even though their home in LaPlace, La., is only about a half-hour drive from Ochsner. She was born April 14 at 24 weeks, weighing 1 pound, 3 ounces. Still, they check on her regularly, sometimes at night. It can offer a huge sense of relief, said David St Martin: “If you wake up at 2 in the morning you’re able to pull her up on the camera and see she’s all right.”

Sometimes nurses alert the St Martins to events, such as when they took Emily Jane off a ventilator and substituted a nasal tube to an oxygen tank. “Right after they did that, Susie, her main nurse, called and said, ‘You need to look at the camera,’” Laura St Martin recalled. “I was at work. I looked at the camera and said, ‘Oh, my god!’”

Doctors at the hospital in Little Rock say webcam monitoring of newborns in intensive care is more than a feel-good gimmick in an age of instant communication. Rather, they hope to reduce a number of problems that can occur when the babies go home by increasing bonding with parents.

Premature babies are more likely to be irritable or have physical or emotional problems, said Dr. Curtis Lowery, chairman of the OB-GYN department at UAMS. In turn, the tiny babies are more likely to be shaken or beaten - which doctors think can be avoided through greater bonding. “If their parents haven’t bonded with them, they’ll have problems,” Lowery said. —AP

Microsoft revamps logo for 1st time in 25 years Microsoft hints at changed thinking

ONTARIO: An attendee at the BlackBerry 10 Jam World Tour holds one of the company’s DevAlpha devices at their stop. — AP

RIM begins showing new BlackBerrys to carriers KITCHENER: Canadian phone maker Research In Motion has begun showing its new BlackBerry smartphones to wireless carriers around the world, but the struggling company says it is still months away from starting to sell them. The smartphones running the new BlackBerry 10 operating system are critical to RIM’s survival. RIM executives met with wireless companies this week and provided a glimpse of the much-delayed system. It is due out early next year and comes as North Americans are abandoning BlackBerrys for flashier iPhones and Android phones.

Andrew McLeod, managing director of RIM’s Canadian operations, said Thursday that feedback from wireless carriers has been positive. McLeod said the company will begin to discuss the product launches and other business aspects with the carriers soon. “We’re in the process of finalizing the software,” McLeod said. “It was at a point where we had a confidence level that we could really demonstrate the validity of the products and software. Obviously you don’t want to show something that is not going to wow folks. People were excited with what they saw.”

Alec Saunders, vice president of developer relations for RIM, said RIM is still “months and months” away from shipping the devices. RIM hosted hundreds of app developers at a conference near the company’s headquarters in Waterloo, Ontario on Thursday. Saunders has been trying to rally software developers to build for the new BlackBerry platform. RIM has lagged Apple in app development The new BlackBerrys will be released months after Apple is expected to launch the iPhone 5. Analysts believe the launch will be Apple’s biggest product introduction yet. RIM’s platform transition is also happening under a new management team and as RIM lays off 5,000 employees as part of a bid to save $1 billion.—AP

SAN FRANCISCO: Microsoft’s corporate logo has a new look, setting the stage for a wave of products designed to cast the world’s largest software maker in a new light. The makeover unveiled Thursday marks the first time that Microsoft Corp has revamped its logo since February 1987. The Internet was barely around then, and cellphones were considered a luxury. At the time, Microsoft was putting the finishing touches on the second version of its Windows operating system.

Two of Microsoft’s biggest nemeses Google Inc co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin - were just 13 years old. And Apple Inc co-founder Steve Jobs was just in the second year of an 11-year exile from the company that went on to invent the iPod, iPhone and iPad after he returned.

By revamping its logo, Microsoft is trying to signal that it has changed its thinking and its products to cater to people who are interacting with technology much differently than just a decade ago, let alone a quarter century. Now, more computing tasks are being done on touch-based devices such as smartphones and tablets instead of personal computers tethered to keyboards and mice. Many software applications are now supplied over high-speed Internet connections for a monthly fee instead of being installed on individual computers.

Microsoft believes a radical change to Windows will ensure that the company survives the technological upheaval.

Windows 8, due to hit the market Oct 26, displays software applications in a mosaic of tiles and has been engineered so it works on both touch-based tablets and traditional PCs. The company also is releasing its own Windows 8-powered tablet to compete against the iPad, accompanied by a new version of Office

SEATTLE: The new Microsoft logo is seen reflected in windows at a company store. — AP applications tailored for such devices.

There also will be a Windows 8 operating system for smartphones.

The new logo ushers in “one of the most significant waves of product launches in Microsoft’s history,” Jeff Hansen, the company’s general manager of brand strategy, wrote in a blog post Thursday. The redesign features the Microsoft name in a lighter, straight font called Segoe to replace the italic bold type used in the old standby. The new logo also includes the familiar red, blue, yellow and green colors used in the flag on Microsoft’s Windows operating system, but the colors will be in a square box instead of the curvy template that has been in place for years. Those color boxes invoke the tiles that will be central to Windows 8. “The ways people experience our products are our most important

‘brand impressions,’” Hansen wrote.

“That’s why the new Microsoft logo takes its inspiration from our product design principles while drawing upon the heritage of our brand values, fonts and colors.” The new logo made its debut Thursday on Microsoft’s websites, as well as three of its stores in Boston, Bellevue, Wash. and Seattle, which is located near the company’s Redmond, Wash., headquarters. This is Microsoft’s fifth logo since Bill Gates and Paul Allen founded the company 37 years ago. When it last changed its logo in 1987, Microsoft had been a publicly traded company for less than a year and boasted a market value of about $2 billion. It peaked at more than $600 million in 1999. Now, Microsoft’s market value stands at $254 billion - less than half of Apple’s market value of $623 billion. — AP

TECHNOLOGY SATURDAY, AUGUST 25, 2012

South Korean court rules Samsung didn’t copy iPhone

Review

Samsung’s new Music Hub muddies song ownership LOS ANGELES: Samsung’s new music service tries to combine four things into one: an all-you-can-listen plan like Spotify, a payper-song store like iTunes, an Internet music storage service like iTunes Match and a radio service like Pandora. That’s a great premise at a great price: At $10 a month, Music Hub promises an affordable, ad-free listening experience. In practice, though, Music Hub can make your head spin. There are some redundant and confusing features and not everything worked properly. After trying it out for a week, I was left wondering why this was any better or worse than a pure music subscription plan. Also, Music Hub works only on Samsung’s Galaxy S III phone, which is becoming one of the iPhone’s biggest rivals. The music service could help the Galaxy stand out as Samsung Electronics Co. and Apple Inc. battle in court over how similar their devices look and feel. But I don’t believe it’s an incentive to switch. The first problem is distinguishing Music Hub’s app from others. Several apps on Android devices sound alike and do similar things. This issue is compounded because several Samsung apps are meant to replace Android versions. So you’ll have to distinguish between Samsung’s “Music Hub” (for music) and its “Media Hub” (for TV shows and movies), and avoid Android’s “Music Player,” “Play Store” and “Play Music.”

Assuming you get past this, you then face issues that keep Music Hub from being all it could be.

On paper, combining the four types of music This undated image provided services makes sense. It

by Samsung shows Samsung’s saves you from having to Music Hub app. — AP go back and forth between apps and gives you a consistent user interface. Your favorite song selections move across the different services so you can get better recommendations. And if one service has a shortcoming, there’s another to fill in the gap.

Subscription music plans such as Spotify and Rhapsody allow you to listen to almost any song or album you want as many times as you want for $10 a month. But it can take weeks or months for new albums to appear - notably Coldplay’s “Mylo Xyloto” last year and Adele’s “21” this year. Some artists, including “The Beatles,” hold out completely. Plus, all your songs disappear when you stop paying the monthly fee. Download stores such as iTunes have a wider selection of music. You pay once per song or album rather than monthly, and you own it forever. But you can run up a big tab if you buy a lot of music.

You may also run out of space to store songs on your mobile device. That’s where online storage lockers come in. Prominent ones include iTunes Match and Amazon.com Inc.’s Cloud Player ($25 a year each, though Amazon has a free option for 250 songs).

Songs you own are stored on remote servers operated by those companies, and your device pulls them over the Internet as you’re ready to listen to them. Meanwhile, radio services such as Pandora play songs they select along certain genres, artists or styles. They learn what you like if you give songs a “thumbs up.”

You can discover new music this way, but can’t choose the specific song or album to listen to. —AP

Panel says Samsung violated Apple technology SEOUL: South Korea’s Samsung won a home court ruling in its global smartphone battle against Apple yesterday when judges in Seoul said the company didn’t copy the look and feel of the US company’s iPhone, and that Apple infringed on Samsung’s wireless technology. However, in a split decision on patents, the panel also said Samsung violated Apple technology behind the bounce-back feature when scrolling on touch screens, and ordered both sides to pay limited damages.

The Seoul Central District Court ruling called for a partial ban on sales of products including iPads and smartphones from both companies, though the verdict did not affect the latest-generation phones - Apple’s iPhone 4S or Samsung’s Galaxy S3. The ruling affects only the South Korean market, and is part of a larger, epic struggle over patents and innovation unfolding in nine countries. The biggest stakes are in the US, where Apple is suing Samsung for $2.5 billion over allegations it has created illegal knockoffs of iPhones and iPads.

The Seoul ruling was a rare victory for Samsung in its arguments that Apple has infringed on its wireless technology patents, which previously have been shot down by courts in Europe where judges have ruled that they are part of industry standards that must be licensed under fair terms to competitors.

“This is basically Samsung’s victory on its home territory,” said patent attorney Jeong Woo-sung. “Out of nine countries, Samsung got the ruling that it wanted for the first time in South Korea.”

The ruling ordered Apple to remove the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPad 1 and iPad 2 from store shelves in South Korea, saying that the products infringed on two of Samsung’s five disputed patents, including those for telecommunications technology. The court also denied Apple’s claim that Samsung had illegally copied its design, ruling that big rectangular screens in cases with rounded corners had existed in products before the iPhone and iPad. “It is not possible to assert that these two designs are similar based only on the similarity of those features,” the court said in a ruling issued in Korean that was translated into English by The Associated Press. It also said individual icons in the Samsung products do not appear similar to the icons Apple used in the iPhone. But the court ruled that Suwon, South Korea-based Samsung had infringed on one of Apple’s patents

on the feature that causes a screen to bounce back when a user scrolls to an end image. The court banned sales of Samsung products using the technology, including the Galaxy S2, in South Korea.

Court spokesman Kim Mun-sung said the court’s ruling was to take effect immediately, although companies often request that sanctions be suspended while they evaluate their legal options.

Nam Ki-yung, a spokesman for Samsung, said the company welcomed the ruling. “Today’s ruling also affirmed our position that one single company cannot monopolize generic design fea-

selling in Korea,” said Florian Mueller, a patent expert in Munich, Germany who has been closely following the case.

Courts in Europe, including Netherlands, France, Italy and Germany have rejected similar claims by Samsung that Apple violated its wireless patents, with judges arguing that the patents have become part of industry standards. Standardessential patents are a crucial technology for new players to make products compatible with the rest of the market and must be licensed under fair and reasonable terms.

Europe’s anti-trust regulator launched an investigation earlier this

SEOUL: Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy S III (right) and Apple’s iPhone 4S are displayed at a mobile phone shop yesterday. — AP tures,” he said. Apple did not respond to multiple calls seeking comment. The court also ordered each company to pay monetary compensation to its competitor.

Samsung must pay Apple 25 million won ($22,000) while Apple must pay its rival 40 million won. South Korea is not a big market for Apple, and the ruling is not likely to have a big impact on jury deliberations in the US. However, some industry watchers expressed concern over the South Korean ruling to protect industry standard patents. They say the decision could invite a trade war by giving Samsung and fellow South Korean company LG - both industry standard patent holders - more room to block rivals’ entrance into South Korea if they don’t agree to licensing terms.

“It would mean that foreign companies would either have to bow to Samsung’s and LG’s demands ... or stop

year into whether Samsung was failing to license those patents under fair and reasonable terms. In yesterday’s ruling, the South Korean court said Samsung did not abuse its market power as an industry standard patent holder. Apple filed suit against Samsung in San Diego, California, in April 2011, alleging that some of the South Korean company’s smartphones and computer tablets are illegal knockoffs of Apple’s iPhone and iPad. Samsung denies the allegations and argues that all companies in the cutthroat phone industry mimic each other’s successes without crossing the legal line.

Cupertino, California-based Apple is suing Samsung for $2.5 billion and demanding that the court pull its most popular smartphones and computer tablets from the US market, making the case one of the biggest technology disputes in history. —AP

PayPal to offer in-store payments SAN JOSE: PayPal is expanding its brick-and-mortar payment services to more than 7 million stores across the US in a partnership with Discover Financial Services. EBay Inc.’s payments unit said Wednesday that retailers that take Discover cards will be able to process PayPal payments beginning next year. People will be able to pay using PayPal cards and later, mobile devices.

The move marks the latest step in PayPal’s push into

physical retailers as it expands from offering online payments. PayPal, which eBay bought a decade ago, has more than 50 million active users in the US and is the ecommerce company’s fastest-growing business. Earlier this year it unveiled a mobile payments service, PayPal Here, that lets businesses process credit card payments with smartphones. It rivals mobile payment services such as Square, which recently signed a deal to process pay-

ments at Starbucks locations. PayPal is also accepted as a form of payment at physical Home Depot stores and other retailers as part of its offline push. The deal with Discover lets retailers use the point-of-sale systems that they already have in their stores to accept PayPal payments. San Jose, Calif-based eBay climbed $1.15, or 2.5 percent, to close at $47 Wednesday. Earlier, the stock hit $48.08, its highest level since 2005. — AP

TV listings SATURDAY, AUGUST 25, 2012

00:45 Human Prey 01:40 Untamed & Uncut 02:35 Ultimate Air Jaws 03:30 I Was Bitten 04:25 Wildest Africa 05:20 Monkey Life 05:45 Snake Crusader With Bruce George 06:10 Animal Airport 06:35 Animal Airport 07:00 Ned Bruha: Skunk Whisperer 07:25 Meerkat Manor 07:50 Chris Humfrey’s Wildlife 08:15 Weird Creatures With Nick Baker 09:10 Dick ‘n’ Dom Go Wild 09:35 Breed All About It 10:05 Crocodile Hunter 11:00 Dogs 101: Specials 11:55 Michaela’s Animal Road Trip 12:50 Wildlife SOS 13:45 Michaela’s Animal Road Trip 14:40 Michaela’s Animal Road Trip 15:35 Michaela’s Animal Road Trip 16:30 Michaela’s Animal Road Trip 17:25 Michaela’s Animal Road Trip 18:20 Wildest Latin America 19:15 Galapagos 20:10 Dolphin Days 20:35 Dolphin Days 21:05 Wild France 22:00 Bad Dog 22:55 Dogs 101: Specials 23:50 Untamed & Uncut

00:35 Come Dine With Me 01:25 Celebrity Fantasy Homes 02:15 Celebrity Fantasy Homes 03:00 Saturday Kitchen 03:30 Saturday Kitchen 04:00 Saturday Kitchen 04:25 MasterChef 04:50 Living In The Sun 05:35 Living In The Sun 06:20 MasterChef 06:50 Antiques Roadshow 07:45 Antiques Roadshow 08:40 Antiques Roadshow 09:30 Antiques Roadshow 10:20 Antiques Roadshow 11:10 Masterchef: The Professionals 12:05 Masterchef: The Professionals 13:00 Bargain Hunt 13:45 Bargain Hunt 14:30 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 15:50 Come Dine With Me 16:40 Antiques Roadshow 17:35 Antiques Roadshow 18:30 Antiques Roadshow 19:20 Antiques Roadshow 20:10 Antiques Roadshow 21:00 Cash In The Attic 21:45 Cash In The Attic 22:30 Bargain Hunt 23:15 Bargain Hunt

00:00 00:30 01:00 01:30 02:00 02:30 03:00 03:10 03:30 04:00 04:30 05:00 05:10 06:00 06:30 07:00 07:30 08:00 08:30 09:00 09:30 10:00 10:10 10:30 11:00 11:10 11:30 12:00 12:10 12:30 13:00 13:10 13:30

BBC World News America BBC World News America BBC World News Newsnight BBC World News Our World BBC World News Weekend World BBC World News BBC World News Mishal Husain Meets BBC World News BBC World News BBC World News Fast Track BBC World News BBC World News BBC World News Middle East Business Report BBC World News Click BBC World News Weekend World BBC World News BBC World News World Features Mishal Husain Meets BBC World News World Features Mixed Britannia BBC World News World Features Newsnight

CHAIN LETTER ON OSN ACTION HD 14:00 14:30 15:00 15:10 15:30 16:00 16:15 16:30 17:00 17:30 18:00 18:10 19:00 19:30 20:00 20:30 21:00 21:15 21:30 22:00 22:30 23:00 23:10 23:30

BBC World News Our World BBC World News Weekend World Talking Movies BBC World News Sport Today Fast Track BBC World News Dateline London BBC World News BBC World News BBC World News Final Score BBC World News BBC World News BBC World News Sport Today Fast Track BBC World News Click BBC World News World Features Dateline London

00:10 00:35 01:00 01:25 01:50 02:15 02:40 03:00 03:25 03:50 04:15 04:40 05:00 05:25 05:50

Puppy In My Pocket Tom & Jerry Kids Scooby Doo Where Are You! The Flintstones Pink Panther And Pals Looney Tunes Popeye Classics Dexter’s Laboratory Tom & Jerry Looney Tunes The Scooby Doo Show Johnny Bravo The Flintstones The Jetsons Wacky Races

06:00 06:15 06:35 07:00 07:25 07:50 08:15 08:40 08:55 09:15 09:40 10:05 10:30 10:55 11:20 11:30 11:55 12:20 12:45 13:00 13:10 13:35 14:00 14:15 14:40 15:30 16:20 16:45 17:00 17:25 17:50 18:05 18:30 20:10 20:30 21:00 21:25 21:50 22:15 22:40 23:05 23:20 23:45

Johnny Bravo Dexter’s Laboratory A Pup Named Scooby-Doo Bananas In Pyjamas Jelly Jamm Baby Looney Tunes Gerald McBoing Boing Ha Ha Hairies Pink Panther And Pals The Garfield Show Tom & Jerry Tales Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries What’s New Scooby-Doo? The Looney Tunes Show Dexter’s Laboratory Johnny Bravo Help! It’s The Hair Bear Bunch Pink Panther And Pals The Garfield Show Wacky Races Dastardly And Muttley The Scooby Doo Show Dexters Laboratory Dexter’s Laboratory The Garfield Show Looney Tunes Tom & Jerry Tom & Jerry Pink Panther And Pals Pink Panther And Pals Johnny Bravo Johnny Bravo Scooby Goes Hollywood The Looney Tunes Show Tom & Jerry Tales Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries The Garfield Show What’s New Scooby-Doo? Droopy & Dripple Scooby-Doo And Scrappy-Doo Popeye The Jetsons Duck Dodgers

00:30 Bakugan: New Vestroia 00:55 Bakugan: New Vestroia 01:20 Powerpuff Girls 02:10 Courage The Cowardly Dog 03:00 The Amazing World Of Gumball 03:25 Ben 10 03:50 Adventure Time 04:15 Powerpuff Girls 04:40 Generator Rex 05:05 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien 05:30 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien 05:55 Angelo Rules 06:00 Ed, Edd n Eddy 06:25 Casper’s Scare School 07:00 The Powerpuff Girls 07:15 Hi Hi Puffy Ami Yumi 07:40 Total Drama: Revenge Of The Island 08:05 The Amazing World Of Gumball 08:30 Adventure Time 08:55 Level Up 09:20 Batman Brave And The Bold 09:45 Green Lantern: The Animated Series 10:10 Thundercats 10:35 Hero 108 11:00 Adventure Time 11:25 Grim Adventures Of...

12:15 Courage The Cowardly Dog 13:05 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien 13:30 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien 13:55 Powerpuff Girls 14:45 Thundercats 15:10 Generator Rex 15:35 Ben 10 16:00 Ed, Edd n Eddy 16:50 The Amazing World Of Gumball 17:15 Adventure Time

17:40 18:05 Island 18:30 18:55 19:45 20:00 20:25 21:25 21:50 22:00 22:50 23:40

Regular Show Total Drama: Revenge Of The

00:00 00:30 01:00 02:00 03:00 04:00 05:00 05:45 06:00 07:00 07:30 07:45 08:00 08:15 08:30 09:00 09:15 09:30 10:00 10:30 11:00 12:00 12:30 13:00 13:30 14:00 14:30 15:00 15:30 16:00 16:30 17:00 17:30 18:00 18:15 18:30 19:00 19:30 20:00 20:30 21:00 21:30 21:45 22:00 23:00 23:30

Amanpour World Sport Piers Morgan Tonight World Report Anderson Cooper 360 Piers Morgan Tonight Quest Means Business CNN Marketplace Africa The Situation Room World Sport Leading Women Future Cities World Report CNN Marketplace Africa Backstory World Report CNN Marketplace Middle East The CNN Freedom Project World Sport Open Court The Best Of The Situation Room World Report Backstory The Brief Inside Africa World Report Road To Rio Talk Asia I Report For CNN World’s Untold Stories Backstory International Desk African Voices CNN Marketplace Europe CNN Marketplace Africa The Brief World Sport Aiming For Gold International Desk Inside Africa International Desk Leading Women Future Cities The Best Of The Situation Room World Report World’s Untold Stories

Powerpuff Girls Courage The Cowardly Dog Johnny Test Ben 10: Ultimate Challenge Ben 10 Redakai: Conquer The Kairu Grim Adventures Of...

Codename: Kids Next Door Ben 10 Chowder

00:15 Weird Or What?

01:10 Mobster Confessions 01:35 X-Machines 02:30 Crash Course 03:00 Fifth Gear 03:25 How Do They Do It? Turbo Specials 04:20 Weird Or What?

05:15 How Do They Do It? 05:40 How It’s Made 06:05 American Loggers 07:00 How It’s Made 07:25 Battle Machine Bros 08:15 Mega Builders 09:10 Extreme Engineering 10:05 Man Made Marvels Asia 10:55 Man, Woman, Wild 11:50 Alone In The Wild 12:45 Ultimate Survival 13:40 Ultimate Survival 14:35 Flying Wild Alaska 15:30 Swamp Loggers 16:25 River Monsters 17:20 Hillbilly Handfishin’ 18:15 Against The Elements 19:10 Finding Bigfoot 20:05 Gold Rush 21:00 Deadliest Catch 21:55 Hillbilly Handfishin’ 22:50 River Monsters 23:45 Robson Green’s Extreme Fishing Challenge

00:35 01:25 02:15 02:40

Kings Of Construction What’s That About?

Game Changers Game Changers

03:05 The Gadget Show 03:35 Scrapheap Challenge 04:25 Through The Wormhole With Morgan Freeman 05:15 Kings Of Construction 06:05 What’s That About?

07:00 Game Changers 07:25 Game Changers 07:50 Sci-Fi Science 08:15 Sci-Fi Science 08:40 Head Rush 08:43 Stunt Junkies 09:10 Stunt Junkies 09:40 Nextworld 10:30 Sport Science 11:20 Sport Science 12:10 Sport Science 13:00 Sport Science 13:50 Sport Science 14:45 Curiosity: Is There A Parallel Universe?

15:35 Eco-Tech 16:25 Head Rush 16:28 The Tech Show 16:55 The Tech Show 17:25 Cosmic Collisions 18:15 Game Changers 18:40 Human Nature 19:30 Curiosity: How Does Life Begin?

20:20 Weird Or What?

21:10 Game Changers 21:35 Game Changers 22:00 Curiosity: How Does Life Begin?

22:50 Weird Or What?

23:40 Human Nature

00:25 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 00:55 Style Star 01:25 THS 02:20 THS 03:15 Behind The Scenes 03:40 Extreme Close-Up 04:10 Sexiest 05:05 THS 06:00 THS 07:50 Behind The Scenes 08:20 E! News 09:15 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 10:15 Giuliana & Bill 11:10 Giuliana & Bill 12:05 E! News 13:05 Scouted 14:05 Kourtney & Kim Take New York 15:00 Khloe And Lamar 15:25 Khloe And Lamar 15:55 Ice Loves Coco 16:25 Ice Loves Coco 16:55 E!es 17:25 Mrs. Eastwood And Company 17:55 E! News 18:55 Mrs. Eastwood And Company 19:25 Mrs. Eastwood And Company 19:55 Mrs. Eastwood And Company 20:25 Mrs. Eastwood And Company 20:55 Style Star 21:25 Fashion Police 22:25 E! News 23:25 Chelsea Lately 23:55 Keeping Up With The Kardashians

00:30 01:20 02:05 02:55 03:45 04:30 05:20 06:10 07:00 07:50 08:40 09:30 09:55 10:20 11:10 12:00 12:50 13:40 14:30 14:55 15:20 16:10 17:00 17:50 18:40 19:05 19:55 20:20 21:10 22:00 22:50 23:40

The Haunted Crime Scene Psychics True CSI On The Case With Paula Zahn Extreme Forensics The Haunted Crime Scene Psychics Disappeared FBI Files Murder Shift Mystery Diagnosis Real Emergency Calls Who On Earth Did I Marry?

On The Case With Paula Zahn Disappeared FBI Files Murder Shift Mystery Diagnosis Real Emergency Calls Who On Earth Did I Marry?

On The Case With Paula Zahn Disappeared FBI Files Murder Shift Real Emergency Calls Mystery Diagnosis Who On Earth Did I Marry?

On The Case With Paula Zahn Disappeared The Haunted Ghost Lab A Haunting

TV listings SATURDAY, AUGUST 25, 2012 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00 00:00 01:00 02:00 02:30 03:00 03:30 04:00 05:00 06:00 06:30 07:00 07:30 08:00 09:00 09:30 Lilwall 10:00 10:30 11:00 11:30 12:00 12:30 13:00 14:00 14:30 15:00 15:30 16:00 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 20:30 21:00 22:00 22:30 23:00

00:00 01:00 02:00 02:30 03:00 03:30 04:00 05:00 06:00 06:30 07:00 07:30 08:00 09:00 09:30 Lilwall 10:00 10:30 11:00 11:30 12:00 12:30 13:00 14:00 14:30 15:00 15:30 16:00 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 20:30 21:00 22:00 22:30 23:00

Adventure Wanted Extreme Tourist Afghanistan Travel Oz Travel Oz Weird & Wonderful Hotels Weird & Wonderful Hotels Which Way To Extreme Tourist Afghanistan Travel Oz Travel Oz Weird & Wonderful Hotels Weird & Wonderful Hotels Warrior Road Trip Deadliest Journeys 2 Cycling From Siberia With Rob Don’t Tell My Mother Don’t Tell My Mother Kimchi Chronicles Kimchi Chronicles Gone to save the planet Gone to save the planet Extreme Tourist Afghanistan Travel Oz Travel Oz Weird & Wonderful Hotels Weird & Wonderful Hotels Warrior Road Trip Departures Adventure Wanted Long Way Down On Surfari On Surfari Treks In A Wild World Bondi Rescue: Bali Bondi Rescue: Bali City Chase Rome

Adventure Wanted Extreme Tourist Afghanistan Travel Oz Travel Oz Weird & Wonderful Hotels Weird & Wonderful Hotels Which Way To Extreme Tourist Afghanistan Travel Oz Travel Oz Weird & Wonderful Hotels Weird & Wonderful Hotels Warrior Road Trip Deadliest Journeys 2 Cycling From Siberia With Rob

Lions Behaving Badly Alaska State Troopers Sea Patrol One Ocean

00:00 Outback Wrangler 01:00 Monster Fish 01:55 Expedition Wild 02:50 Shark Men 03:45 Among Great Apes With Michelle Yeoh 04:40 Wildlife Rescue Africa 05:35 Wildlife Rescue Africa 06:30 Hooked 07:25 Hooked 08:20 My Life Is A Zoo 09:15 Caught In The Act 10:10 Africa’s Deadliest 11:05 Python Hunters 12:00 The Living Edens 13:00 Orca Killing School 14:00 My Life Is A Zoo 15:00 Dangerous Encounters With Brady Barr 16:00 Dangerous Encounters 17:00 Python Hunters 18:00 World’s Deadliest Animals 19:00 Monster Fish 20:00 Dangerous Encounters 21:00 Python Hunters 22:00 World’s Deadliest Animals 23:00 The Living Edens

00:00 02:00 06:00 08:00 10:00 12:30 14:30

Chain Letter-R The Godfather II-18 Rocky IV-PG15 Planet Of The Apes-PG15 Kingdom Of Heaven-PG15 I Am Number Four-PG15 Planet Of The Apes-PG15

16:30 Odysseus: Voyage To The Underworld-PG15 18:00 I Am Number Four-PG15 20:00 The Godfather III-18 23:00 Hustle And Flow-18

01:00 03:00 05:00 PG15 07:00 09:00 11:00 13:00 15:00 17:00 19:00 21:00 23:00

Tamara Drewe-18 The Cry Of The Owl-PG15 Marley & Me: The Puppy YearsPage Eight-PG15 The Cry Of The Owl-PG15 Red Riding Hood-PG15 Love Hurts-PG15 Dear John-PG15 Jumping The Broom-PG15 Hanna-PG15 No Strings Attached-18 Blue Valentine-18

00:30 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 01:00 The Colbert Report 01:30 Friends 02:00 Friends 02:30 Seinfeld 03:30 Melissa & Joey 04:30 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 05:30 Weird Science 06:00 Friends 06:30 Samantha Who? 07:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 09:00 Weird Science 10:00 Modern Family 10:30 Samantha Who? 11:00 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 12:00 Friends 12:30 Friends 13:00 Weird Science

13:30 Samantha Who? 14:00 Melissa & Joey 14:30 Modern Family 15:30 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 16:00 The Colbert Report 16:30 Friends 17:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 19:00 Mr. Sunshine 19:30 Mr. Sunshine 20:00 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 21:00 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 21:30 The Colbert Report 22:00 Saturday Night Live 23:00 Seinfeld 23:30 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon

00:00 01:00 02:00 03:00 04:00 05:00 07:00 08:00 09:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 18:30 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00

Criminal Minds Touch Grey’s Anatomy Jane By Design Grey’s Anatomy Criminal Minds Psych Touch Jane By Design Psych Emmerdale Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show Castle Criminal Minds Emmerdale Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show Private Practice Drop Dead Diva C.S.I. C.S.I. New York C.S.I. Miami Grey’s Anatomy

01:00 03:00 05:00 PG15 07:00 09:00 11:00 PG15 13:00 15:00 17:00 19:00 20:45 23:00

Sniper: Reloaded-18 Madso’s War-18 Warriors Of Heaven And EarthRed Faction: Origins-PG15 Taxi-PG15 Warriors Of Heaven And EarthTremors-PG15 Taxi-PG15 Four Brothers-PG15 Thick As Thieves-18 13 Assassins-18 Medium Raw-PG15

00:00 Frenemy-18 02:00 The Night Of The White PantsPG15 04:00 A Guy Thing-PG15 06:00 My Best Friend’s WeddingPG15 08:00 The Bad News Bears (1976)-PG 10:00 My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend-PG15 12:00 The Lightkeepers-PG15 14:00 The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie-PG 16:00 My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend-PG15 18:00 I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry-PG15 20:00 Evan Almighty-PG15 22:00 Greenberg-18

Don’t Tell My Mother Don’t Tell My Mother Kimchi Chronicles Kimchi Chronicles Gone to save the planet Gone to save the planet Extreme Tourist Afghanistan Travel Oz Travel Oz Weird & Wonderful Hotels Weird & Wonderful Hotels Warrior Road Trip Departures Adventure Wanted Long Way Down On Surfari On Surfari Treks In A Wild World Bondi Rescue: Bali Bondi Rescue: Bali City Chase Rome

00:00 Storm Worlds 01:00 Britain’s Greatest Machines 02:00 World’s Toughest Fixes 03:00 A Traveler’s Guide To The Planets 04:00 Hunter Hunted 05:00 The Known Universe 06:00 Racing To America 07:00 Departures 08:00 Storm Worlds 09:00 Britain’s Greatest Machines 10:00 World’s Toughest Fixes 11:00 A Traveler’s Guide To The Planets 12:00 Hunter Hunted 13:00 The Known Universe 14:00 Racing To America 15:00 Departures 16:00 Storm Worlds 17:00 Britain’s Greatest Machines 18:00 World’s Toughest Fixes 19:00 Blowdown

Jane By Design Jane By Design Castle Jane By Design Desperate Housewives Good Morning America The Practice Castle The Ellen DeGeneres Show Desperate Housewives The View Jane By Design Jane By Design Touch Live Good Morning America The Practice The Ellen DeGeneres Show Emmerdale Coronation Street Drop Dead Diva C.S.I. C.S.I. New York C.S.I. Miami Glee

00:00 01:00 02:00 03:00 05:00 06:00 07:00 08:00 09:00 11:00 12:00 12:30 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 16:30 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00

01:00 Henry & June-R 03:15 The Silence Of The Lambs-18 05:15 Manolete-18 07:15 Yona Yona Penguin-PG 09:00 Stone Of Destiny-PG15 11:00 My Afternoons With Margueritte-PG15 13:00 Don’t Look Back-PG15 15:00 Stone Of Destiny-PG15 17:00 Uncorked-PG15 18:30 Scent Of A Woman-18 21:00 Chico & Rita-18 23:00 Jude-18

01:15 03:00 05:00 07:00 09:00 11:15 13:15 15:15 18:00 20:00 22:30

LOVE HURTS ON OSN CINEMA

Legend Of The Guardians-PG Zookeeper-PG15 Open Season 3-FAM How To Train Your Dragon-PG The Karate Kid-PG Green Lantern-PG15 Senna-PG15 The Winning Season-PG15 Burlesque-PG15 Courageous-PG15 Going The Distance-18

00:00 The Three Bears: Dreadful Dangers-FAM 02:00 Moomins And The Comet Chase-FAM 04:00 The Proud Family Movie-FAM 06:00 Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs.

Evil-PG 08:00 Micropolis-FAM 10:00 Supertramps-FAM 12:00 The Proud Family Movie-FAM 14:00 Garfield’s Pet Force-FAM 16:00 Flubber-PG

18:15 20:00 22:00 23:45

Supertramps-FAM The Hairy Tooth Fairy 2-PG Garfield’s Pet Force-FAM Flubber-PG

00:00 MSNBC Hardball W/ Chris Matthews 01:00 MSNBC Politicsnation 02:00 Live NBC Nightly News 02:30 ABC World News W/ Diane Sawyer 03:00 MSNBC The Ed Show 04:00 MSNBC The Rachel Maddow Show 05:00 MSNBC Politicsnation 06:00 NBC Nightly News 06:35 ABC Nightline 07:00 ABC World News W/ Diane Sawyer 07:30 Live NBC Nightly News 08:00 MSNBC The Rachel Maddow Show 09:00 MSNBC The Ed Show 10:00 MSNBC Morning Joe 13:00 MSNBC Caught On Camera 14:00 Live NBC Saturday Today Show 16:00 MSNBC Up With Chris Hayes Saturday 17:57 Live MSNBC Hardball W/ Chris Matthews 18:38 Live MSNBC The Ed Show 19:19 Live MSNBC The Rachel Maddow Show 20:00 Live ABC 20/20 21:00 MSNBC Melissa Harris-Perry 23:00 MSNBC Investigates

00:00 07:00 10:00 10:30 12:30 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 16:30 Cup 18:30 19:30 21:30 22:00

Cricket One Day International Live AFL Premiership Live Rugby Matchday LiveThe Rugby Championship Live Rugby Matchday Olympic Highlights Olympic Highlights Trans World Sport Futbol Mundial Live Rugby League Challenge Trans World Sport The Rugby Championship Live Rugby Matchday Live The Rugby Championship

00:00 NRL Premiership 02:00 WWE SmackDown 04:00 WWE Bottom Line 05:00 Rugby Union ITM Cup 07:00 PGA European Tour 10:30 Live NRL Premiership 12:30 PGA European Tour Weekly 13:00 Rugby Union - The Rugby Championship 15:00 Live PGA European Tour 19:00 Rugby League Challenge Cup 21:00 NRL Premiership 23:00 NRL Premiership

00:00 AFL Premiership 02:30 Rugby Union ITM Cup 04:30 Senior European Tour Highlights 05:30 Golfing World 06:30 Total Rugby 08:00 ITU World Triathlon Series 10:30 Live NRL Premiership 14:30 European Tour Weekly 15:00 Futbol Mundial 15:30 Total Rugby 16:00 Live Rugby Union Currie Cup 20:00 AFL Premiership 22:30 ITU World Triathlon Series

00:00 01:00 03:00 04:00 07:00 09:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 12:30 15:30 16:30 17:00 19:30 21:00 22:00

UFC The Ultimate Fighter WWE SmackDown WWE Bottomline UFC Unleashed WWE SmackDown Live V8 Supercars WWE Vintage Collection WWE Bottomline V8 Supercars Live AFL Premiership WWE Experience Mobil 1 The Grid Live ITU World Triathlon V8 Supercars UFC The Ultimate Fighter UFC 150

what’s on

Birthday greetings

SATURDAY, AUGUST 25, 2012

SEND US YOUR INSTAGRAM PICS

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hat’s more fun than clicking a beautiful picture? Sharing it with others! This summer, let other people see the way you see Kuwait - through your lens. Friday Times will feature snapshots of Kuwait through Instagram feeds. If you want to share your Instagram photos, email us at instagram@kuwaittimes.net

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appy birthday to Melisa. Best wishes from Laila, Baba Salah, Norie Rowena, Christine, Ruby Ninia, Jocelyne, Evelyn Jamil, Kumary, May, Amal Chazx.

Indian Embassy Announcements Indian Embassy passport and visa Passports and Visa applications can be deposited at the two outsourced centers of M/S BLS Ltd at Sharq and Fahaheel. Details are available at www.bls-international.com and www.indembkwt.org .

Consular Open House Consular Wing is providing daily service of Open House to Indian citizens on all workings days from 1000 hrs to 1100 hrs and from 1430 hrs to 1530 hrs by the Consular Officer in the Meeting Room of the Consular Hall at the Embassy. For any unaddressed issues, Second Secretary (Consular) can be contacted.

Furthermore, the head of the Consular Wing is also available to redress grievances.

Indian workers helpline/helpdesk Indian workers helpline is accessible by toll free telephone number 25674163 from all over Kuwait. It provides information and advice to Indian workers as regards their grievances, immigration and other matters. The help desk at the Embassy (Open from 9AM to 1PM and 2PM to 4:30PM, Sunday to Thursday) provides guidance to Indian nationals on routine immigration, employment, legal and other issues. It also provides workers assistance in filling up labour complaint forms.

For any unaddressed issues, the concerned attachÈ in the Labour section and the head of the Labour Wing can be contacted.

Legal Advice Clinic Free legal advice is provided on matters pertaining to labour disputes, terms of contracts with employers, death/accident compensation, withholding of dues by employers, etc. by lawyers on our panel, to Indian nationals on all working days between 1500hrs to 1600hrs.

Ambassador’s Open House The Open House for Indian citizens by the Ambassador is being held on all Wednesdays at the Embassy for redressal of grievances. In case Wednesday is an Embassy holiday, the meeting will be held on the next working day.

Write to us Send to What’s On upcoming events, birthdays or celebrations by email: local@kuwaittimes.net Fax: 24835619 / 20

Patriotic songs Competitions

I

ndo-Kuwait Friendship Society, Kuwait (www.indo-kuwaitfriendshipsociety.com) is planning to conduct competitions in Indian and Kuwaiti Patriotic songs. This is the first time in Kuwait, an Indian Association is organizing contests in “Patriotic Songs” for both Indian and Kuwaiti School students. The first 3 places will be declared separately by Judges who are experts in Indian and Kuwaiti Patriotic songs. Several prizes and awards will be handed over for the winning schools. Pradeep Rajkumar and A K S Abdul Nazar said that IKFS wants let our children learn what they mean as a “Patriotic” to their home country. 4 pages of spot Essay competition related to “Patriotism” also will be held in the same day as a spot registration. 1 girl and 1 boy student from each school can participate in the essay contest. Dr Mohamed Tareq, Chairman of the First Indian Model School in Kuwait “ Salmiya Indian Model School (SIMS) already

confirmed as a Co-Sponsor of the Program.

Conditions apply 1) The competitions are meant for all the Schools located in Kuwait and should be nominated by school authority 2) Each school can select group of 7 students for the ‘patriotic songs’ (Indian and Kuwaiti)” and nominate separately 3) Children of above 12 years till 17 years (VII classes to XII classes) are eligible for the contest. But if School is permitted 4) Musical instruments or KARAOKE mixer should be accompanied by the participating students/Children and the school team should operate and select the mixers 5) Time frame: 7 minutes - Names will be called as “First come” in the Registration The event will be held at the auditorium of “Salmiya Indian Model School” on Saturday, 27th October

2012 from 9:30 am onwards. It will be a full day program with fun and full of entertainments. Food-stalls of different Kuwaiti and Indian tastes will installed.

Dr. Ghalib Al-Mashoor said in a press release that Invitations for all schools located in various parts of Kuwait are already been sent. Schools under one management but from different locations can also participate in the contest individually. As per the school directory, there 23 Indian schools in Kuwait. The last date of receiving names of the participants is scheduled on 2nd day of October, 2012 Gandhi Jayanti day. The entry is free to all and due to 2nd day of Eid Al-Adha holidays, a large crowd is expected to attend in addition to, Senior Kuwaiti and Indian citizens will also grace the function.

All the applications of interest should be sent to: ikfsociety@gmail.com Phone:99430786

IMAX film program Effective: Effective from 26th August 2012 Sunday: ** 9:30am Showtime Available for Groups To The Arctic 3D 10:30am, 6:30pm, 8:30pm Space Junk 3D 11:30am, 5:30pm The Last Reef 3D 12:30pm, 9:30pm Born to be Wild 3D 7:30pm Monday: ** 9:30am Showtime Available for Groups Space Junk 3D 10:30am, 8:30pm To The Arctic 3D 11:30am, 7:30pm, 9:30pm Born to be Wild 3D 12:30pm Journey to Mecca 5:30pm The Last Reef 3D 6:30pm Tuesday: ** 9:30am Showtime Available for Groups To The Arctic 3D 10:30am, 6:30pm, 8:30pm Space Junk 3D 11:30am, 9:30pm Fires of Kuwait 12:30pm The Last Reef 3D 5:30pm Born to be Wild 3D 7:30pm Wednesday: ** 9:30am Showtime Available for Groups The Last Reef 3D 10:30am To The Arctic 3D 11:30am, 5:30pm, 7:30pm, 9:30pm Space Junk 3D 12:30am, 6:30pm Born to be Wild 3D 8:30pm

Thursday: ** 9:30am Showtime Available for Groups To The Arctic 3D 10:30am, 6:30pm, 8:30pm Space Junk 3D 11:30am, 5:30pm The Last Reef 3D 12:30pm, 7:30pm Born to be Wild 3D 9:30pm Friday: To The Arctic 3D Journey to Mecca Born to be Wild 3D Space Junk 3D The Last Reef 3D

2:30pm, 4:30pm, 7:30pm, 9:30pm 3:30pm 5:30pm 6:30pm 8:30pm

Saturday: ** 9:30am Showtime Available for Groups To The Arctic 3D 10:30am, 12:30pm, 3:30pm, 5:30pm, 8:30pm Space Junk 3D 11:30am, 4:30pm, 9:30pm The Last Reef 3D 1:30pm, 7:30pm Journey to Mecca 2:30pm Born to be Wild 3D 6:30pm Notes: - All films are in Arabic. For English, headsets are available upon request.

- “Fires of Kuwait” is in English. Arabic headsets are available upon request.

- Film schedule is subject to changes without notice.

For information call 1 848 888 or visit www.tsck.org.kw

SATURDAY, AUGUST 25, 2012

Aware Diwaniya

“T

he AWARE Center cordially invites you to its diwaniya presentation entitled, “Basic concepts of communication across cultures,” by Laurie Santos on Tuesday August 28 at 7:00pm. If you have lived or worked in a culture that is different from the one in which you were raised then chances are that you have experienced some difficulty in communicating with others. Even when people speak the same language their cultures still play an important role in what they say and how they say it. In fact, the more differences that exist between two people’s cultures, the more difficult it can be for them to communicate effectively. This talk will introduce guests to some basic concepts from the field of intercultural communication, which is an area of research dedicated to better understanding the role played by culture in people’s interactions. By developing a greater awareness of culture (our own and others) we can find ways to better connect with one another. If you are interested in the topic, AWARE Center is the most appropriate place to be on August 28, 2012 at 7:00pm.

Laurie A. Santos, is a Certified Coach with a Master of Science in Law and Justice and a Bachelor of Science in Anthropology. She has over 15 years in Behavioral Sciences and her prior work includes several Managerial and Training positions, as well as a long career with the United States government as a Federal Parole Officer and liasion to federal judges.

While Laurie has lived all over the globe including Europe, Asia, North America, and Africa, she is currently calling Kuwait home but owns a home in Oakland, California.

For more information, please call 25335260/80 or log onto: www.aware.com.kw.

Arabic courses

T

he AWARE Management is glad to inform you that Summer 3 Arabic language courses will begin on August 12, 2012 until September 26, 2012. AWARE Arabic language courses are designed with the expat in mind. The environment is relaxed & 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 highlights * 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.

HEALTH

SATURDAY, AUGUST 25, 2012

Spain regions, doctors defy immigrant healthcare ban MADRID: Some Spanish doctors and regions say they will defy a ban on free healthcare for an estimated 150,000 undocumented immigrants, imposed by the central government as part of spending cuts to avoid an international bailout.

Five of Spain’s 17 autonomous regions - including Catalonia and Andalucia which provide more than a third of national economic output and are not governed by the central government’s ruling People’s Party (PP) - said they would continue to treat immigrants who have no papers.

The ruling conservatives plan to end free treatment from the beginning of September as part of their austerity drive, aimed at cutting one of the euro zone’s largest budget deficits and convincing nervous investors they can control Spain’s finances.

Critics say the number of immigrants without papers is estimated at only about 150,000, so barring them from medical treatment would save very

little and was pandering to prejudice.

“The new law is not ethical, it’s not cost efficient, and it makes no sense for the public health system.

It’s based on myths that immigrants are abusing the system that are not true,” said Alvaro Gonzalez, a specialist at a hospital in the northern region of Asturias who has led opposition to the measure.

The nearly 6 million documented immigrants in Spain, most of them legal residents, account for only 5 percent of the country’s healthcare costs, according to a study by La Caixa bank published last year.

Some doctors in PP-ruled regions also reject a ban which they say is at odds with Spain’s universal healthcare service and could end up costing the state more if immigrants go to hospital emergency rooms instead of seeing a regular doctor.

The Spanish Society for Family and Community Medicine, which initiated the campaign against the

PP ban, says more than 1,400 doctors have signed up, including 22 percent of primary health providers from the PP-governed region of Madrid.

Regions not controlled by the PP have used the ban as a focus for their opposition to central government spending cuts.

Andalucia, ruled by the Socialist Party, hopes the government will change its stance by September, when public workers and labour unions plan protests against spending cuts.

“We are talking about people here, and a universal, free healthcare system that cannot change from one day to the next to stop treating these people,” Maria Jesus Montero, head of Andalucia’s health department, told Reuters.

She said the region was committed to making cuts to reduce its deficit, but not in healthcare and education, which were ‘red lines’ the central government could not cross. — Reuters

Family history foretells early heart disease Major study in Denmark

AHMEDABAD: An Indian man stands with the herd of his cattle near Bagodara, about 75 km west of Ahmedabad yesterday. Cattle from drought hit regions of Saurashtra are migrating towards green pastures in search of food and water due to drought-like conditions. The annual rains that replenish India’s rivers and quench crops to keep this vast, agricultural nation of 1.2 billion fed through the year, were at least 22 percent below normal, several states faced drought and farmers feared grave losses. — AP

Elderly drivers no more dangerous than youngsters LONDON: Elderly drivers are no more likely to die on the road than those in their 20s, according to a UK study that looked at fatal road accidents over a 20year period. There has been a shift in recent years in both the United Kingdom and the United States toward more demanding licensing renewal processes for older adults, who are often assumed to be more dangerous on the road than younger drivers due to reduced eyesight and cognitive abilities.

“The focus is usually on older drivers as a danger to themselves and other drivers,” said Jonathan Rolison, who led the study at the University of Plymouth in the UK. For the study, which appeared in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, Rolison and his colleagues reviewed UK police records on all fatal road accidents reported between 1989 and 2009.

They found that the risk of dying behind the wheel was similar for older adult drivers and young people every time they got in the car. Thirteen in 100 million driving trips ended in fatality among those under 29 years of age, compared to 14 in 100 million trips for

people over 70. The elderly still accounted for fewer driver deaths overall. In 2009, when 1,138 people died behind the wheel, one in 10 was over age 70, while younger drivers accounted for one in four of those deaths. For both drivers and passengers, risks were highest at both ends of the age spectrum and dipped among middle-aged people.

Researchers also looked at figures for those struck and killed while walking and found that the risk of being killed as a pedestrian was five times higher for older people than for the young. Among older adults, 23 trips in every 100 million were fatal, and they accounted for 37 percent of all pedestrian deaths in 2009.

“Assessing whether older adults can drive is important, but the problem is it leads to policies which are becoming tighter and tighter and distracts us from older adults at risk as pedestrians,” Rolison said. “Older adults in a way are the ideal drivers, as they control their exposure to risk ... If it’s a rainy day, the older adults will stay at home, whereas people in middle-age groups still have to go to work or drop kids off at school.”— Reuters

NEW YORK: If you have a relative who died of heart disease before age 60, your own risk of early heart trouble is higher as well, a study involving millions of people in Denmark over three decades has determined. Family history of premature heart disease has long been considered a risk factor for heart problems in future generations, and the new study, which appeared in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, strengthens this evidence.

Researchers found that people with a parent or sibling who died young of heart problems were roughly twice as likely as others to be diagnosed with coronary heart disease - where “plaques” build up in the heart arteries, raising the risk of heart attack before age 50.

They also had double the risk of suffering a ventricular arrhythmia, an often fatal rhythm disturbance in the heart’s main pumping chamber.

“As with other chronic diseases, people should try to find out what they can about their family history,” said Mattis Flyvholm Ranthe, the lead researcher on the study, in an email. Researchers at the Statens Serum Institut in Copenhagen combed through public health data on almost four million Danish citizens born after 1949. Between 1978 and 2008, almost 130,000 of them

were diagnosed with some form of cardiovascular disease before age 50. Those odds were heightened when a first-degree relative had died of heart problems before hitting 60.

But those risks also were elevated when a seconddegree relative, such as a grandparent or half-sibling, had died young. The risk of coronary disease, for example, was 43 percent higher in people with one seconddegree relative who had died before age 60.

“This study tells us that a grandparent’s history is meaningful too,” said Amit Khera, who directs the preventative cardiology program at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. The more relatives who died young, the greater the risk. When two or more first-degree relatives died of heart problems before age 60, a person’s own risk of early heart disease rose five-fold.

It’s not fully clear how much of a difference that lifestyle changes or medication for high blood pressure or cholesterol can make for people with heart disease in their family, but it’s known that those steps help curb heart risk in general. “There’s no reason to suspect that preventive measures wouldn’t apply to these folks as well,” Khera said. — Reuters

Most US kindergartners getting vaccines, risks remain ATLANTA: Most US kindergartners received the recommended vaccines for measles and other preventable diseases during the 2011-12 school year, but local clusters of unvaccinated children still pose a health risk, federal health officials said on Thursday. More than 95 percent of kindergartners were vaccinated for diphtheria, tetanus, acellular pertussis, polio and hepatitis B, meeting federal guidelines, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a new report.

The study found 94.8 percent of kindergartners had received the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine, and 93.2 percent got the recommended two doses of vaccine for chickenpox, slightly below the federal government’s target levels of 95 percent or higher vaccination rates. The study by the U.S. public health and safety agency, which included data from 47 states and the District of Columbia, found pockets where children had not been vaccinated or there was a low rate of coverage. The report did not specify where these clusters were located.

“Although statewide levels of vaccination coverage are at or very near target levels, locally low vaccination coverage for extremely transmissible diseases such as measles remains a threat to public health,” the CDC said.

Last year, there were 17 outbreaks of measles and 222 measles cases in the United States, the highest since 1996, the CDC said.

Most of the cases involved unvaccinated patients who contracted measles in other countries, highlighting the importance of high vaccination rates among U.S. school children, said Dr. Melinda Wharton, deputy director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. “It is of concern when we have these communities in the United States where there’s enough people who have made this decision [not to vaccinate] that if the measles virus is imported from overseas, that it could actually spread and cause an outbreak,” Wharton said. All 50 states offer medical exemptions to vaccines, and some states provide religious and philosophical exemptions as well, Wharton said.—Reuters

CLASSIFIEDS SATURDAY, AUGUST 25, 2012

ACCOMMODATION

CHANGE OF NAME I, Murugesan Uma Mageswari, holder of Indian passport No. E2156446 have changed religion (embraced Islam). Hence I will be known as Safia Begum.

(C 4108) 25-8-2012

Sharing accommodation available for non-smoking Keralites in Mahboula.

Contact: 66725394. (C4107) 22-8-2012

Al-Madena Al-Shohada’a Al-Shuwaikh Al-Nuzha Sabhan Al-Helaly Al-Fayhaa Al-Farwaniya Al-Sulaibikhat Al-Fahaheel Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh Ahmadi Al-Mangaf Al-Shuaiba Al-Jahra Al-Salmiya

22418714 22545171 24810598 22545171 24742838 22434853 22545051 24711433 24316983 23927002 24316983 23980088 23711183 23262845 25610011 25616368

Hospitals Sabah Hospital Amiri Hospital Maternity Hospital Mubarak Al-Kabir Hospital Chest Hospital Farwaniya Hospital Adan Hospital Ibn Sina Hospital Al-Razi Hospital Physiotherapy Hospital

24812000 22450005 24843100 25312700 24849400 24892010 23940620 24840300 24846000 24874330/9

Clinics Rabiya Rawdha Adailiya Khaldiya Khaifan Shamiya Shuwaikh Abdullah Salim Al-Nuzha Industrial Shuwaikh Al-Qadisiya Dasmah Bneid Al-Ghar Al-Shaab Al-Kibla Ayoun Al-Kibla Mirqab Sharq Salmiya Jabriya Maidan Hawally Bayan

24732263 22517733 22517144 24848075 24849807 24848913 24814507 22549134 22526804 24814764 22515088 22532265 22531908 22518752 22459381 22451082 22456536 22465401 25746401 25316254 25623444 25388462

Prayer timings Fajr: Duhr: Asr: Maghrib: Isha:

03:58 11:50 15:25 18:19 19:39

GOVERNMENT WEB SITES Kuwait Parliament www.majlesalommah.net

The Public Institution for Social Security www.pifss.gov.kw

Ministry of Interior www.moi.gov.kw

Public Authority of Industry www.pai.gov.kw

Public Authority for Civil Information www.paci.gov.kw

Prisoners of War Committee www.pows.org.kw

Kuwait News Agency www.kuna.net.kw

Ministry of Foreign Affairs www.mofa.gov.kw

Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affair www.islam.gov.kw

Kuwait Municipality www.municipality.gov.kw

Ministry of Energy (Oil) www.moo.gov.kw

Kuwait Electronic Government www.e.gov.kw

Ministry of Energy (Electricity and Water) www.energy.govt.kw

Ministry of Finance www.mof.gov.kw

Public Authority for Housing Welfare www.housing.gov.kw

Ministry of Commerce and Industry www.moci.gov.kw

Ministry of Justice www.moj.gov.kw

Ministry of Education www.moe.edu.kw

Ministry of Communications www.moc.kw

Ministry of Information www.moinfo.gov.kw

Supreme Council for Planning and Development www.scpd.gov.kw

Kuwait Awqaf Public Foundation www.awqaf.org

information SATURDAY, AUGUST 25, 2012

DIAL 161 FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION In case you are not travelling, your proper cancellation of bookings will help other passengers to use seats Airlines JZR QTR MSR SAI MEA PIA MEA RJA GFA UAE ETD OMA THY FDB MSR QTR JZR THY JZR DHX JZR KAC BAW KAC JZR KAC KAC FDB KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC UAE ABY QTR FDB ETD BAB GFA IRC IRA UAE JZR MSR IRM JZR MSR GFA KAC FDB MPH JZR KNE JZR QTR SVA KAC RJA KNE KAC JZR QTR KAC IRC IZG KAC JZR ETD UAE UAL GFA SVA JZR JZR ABY KAC KAC KAC QTR BAB KAC

Arrival Flights on Saturday 25/8/2012 Flt Route 185 DUBAI 148 DOHA 2140 CAIRO 441 LAHORE 406 BEIRUT 239 ISLAMABAD 408 BEIRUT 642 AMMAN 211 BAHRAIN 853 DUBAI 305 ABU DHABI 643 MUSCAT 768 ISTANBUL 67 DUBAI 612 CAIRO 138 DOHA 503 LUXOR 770 ISTANBUL 1541 CAIRO 170 BAHRAIN 555 ALEXANDRIA 412 MANILA 157 LONDON 416 JAKARTA 529 ASSIUT 206 ISLAMABAD 382 DELHI 53 DUBAI 302 MUMBAI 352 COCHIN 284 DHAKA 344 CHENNAI 362 COLOMBO 855 DUBAI 125 SHARJAH 132 DOHA 55 DUBAI 301 ABU DHABI 436 BAHRAIN 213 BAHRAIN 6793 MASHAD 3407 MASHAD 871 DUBAI 165 DUBAI 618 ALEXANDRIA 5066 MASHAD 325 NAJAF 610 CAIRO 219 BAHRAIN 672 DUBAI 57 DUBAI 975 AMSTERDAM 241 AMMAN 472 JEDDAH 535 CAIRO 140 DOHA 500 JEDDAH 562 AMMAN 640 AMMAN 476 JEDDAH 788 JEDDAH 257 BEIRUT 134 DOHA 538 SHARM EL SHEIKH 6791 MASHAD 4161 MASHAD 118 NEW YORK 357 MASHAD 303 ABU DHABI 857 DUBAI 982 WASHINGTON DC DULLES 215 BAHRAIN 510 RIYADH 177 DUBAI 777 JEDDAH 127 SHARJAH 176 GENEVA 502 BEIRUT 542 CAIRO 144 DOHA 438 BAHRAIN 786 JEDDAH

Time 0:15 0:20 1:00 1:30 1:35 2:05 2:05 2:10 2:20 2:25 2:30 2:50 2:50 3:10 3:20 3:25 3:55 4:35 4:55 5:00 6:00 6:15 6:30 6:35 6:40 7:15 7:30 7:45 7:50 8:05 8:15 8:20 8:20 8:25 8:30 9:00 9:20 9:30 9:35 10:00 10:05 10:10 10:45 11:05 11:25 11:55 12:30 13:30 13:40 13:40 13:45 13:55 14:05 14:15 14:20 14:25 14:30 14:30 14:55 15:00 15:00 15:00 15:15 15:30 15:40 15:45 16:00 16:20 16:35 16:55 17:10 17:20 17:20 17:30 17:40 17:45 17:45 18:00 18:15 18:20 18:40 18:40

FDB KAC QTR MSR JZR KAC KAC IRM JAI KAC IRA AXB OMA MEA QTR KNE KAC GFA KNE ALK KLM UAE JZR BBC SYR ABY QTR KAC JZR FDB JZR AIC GFA UAL JZR DLH FDB MSR THY DHX JAI

63 104 6130 620 175 618 674 5064 572 774 607 393 647 402 146 460 790 221 474 229 415 859 135 43 341 129 136 614 513 61 539 975 217 981 239 636 51 614 772 372 574

DUBAI LONDON DOHA ASSIUT DUBAI DOHA DUBAI MASHAD MUMBAI RIYADH MASHAD KOZHIKODE MUSCAT BEIRUT DOHA MEDINAH MEDINAH BAHRAIN JEDDAH COLOMBO AMSTERDAM DUBAI BAHRAIN DHAKA DAMASCUS SHARJAH DOHA BAHRAIN SHARM EL SHEIKH DUBAI CAIRO CHENNAI BAHRAIN BAHRAIN AMMAN FRANKFURT DUBAI CAIRO ISTANBUL BAHRAIN MUMBAI

Airlines AIC UAL DLH MSR JAI KLM THY MSR THY SAI MEA MEA PIA THY UAE FDB OMA ETD MSR QTR QTR RJA JZR GFA THY JZR BAW FDB JZR JZR JZR ABY KAC KAC KAC UAE QTR KAC KAC FDB

Departure Flights on Saturday 25/8/2012 Flt Route 976 GOA/CHENNAI 981 WASHINGTON DC 637 FRANKFURT 615 CAIRO 573 MUMBAI 413 AMSTERDAM 5465 ISTANBUL 4837 JEDDAH 773 ISTANBUL 442 LAHORE 407 BEIRUT 409 BEIRUT 240 SIALKOT 769 ISTANBUL 854 DUBAI 68 DUBAI 644 MUSCAT 306 ABU DHABI 613 CAIRO 139 DOHA 149 DOHA 643 AMMAN 164 DUBAI 212 BAHRAIN 771 ISTANBUL 534 CAIRO 156 LONDON 54 DUBAI 240 AMMAN 256 BEIRUT 324 AL NAJAF 126 SHARJAH 561 AMMAN 671 DUBAI 787 JEDDAH 856 DUBAI 133 DOHA 537 SHARM EL SHEIKH 101 LONDON 56 DUBAI

18:45 18:45 19:00 19:10 19:15 19:20 19:25 19:30 19:35 19:40 19:50 19:55 20:10 20:15 20:25 20:25 20:25 20:35 20:45 20:55 21:05 21:15 21:15 21:25 21:30 21:30 21:35 22:00 22:00 22:05 22:10 22:25 22:35 22:40 22:55 23:10 23:30 23:35 23:40 23:40 23:50 Time 0:05 0:25 0:30 0:35 0:50 0:55 1:15 2:00 2:15 2:30 2:35 3:05 :20 3:40 3:45 3:50 3:55 4:05 4:20 4:50 5:40 6:50 6:55 7:05 7:10 7:30 8:25 8:25 8:35 9:00 9:05 9:05 9:15 9:20 9:35 9:40 10:00 10:00 10:00 10:05

KAC ETD BAB JZR GFA IRC IRA KAC KAC KAC JZR UAE MSR KAC JZR IRM GFA FDB MSR KAC JZR JZR KNE MPH KAC RJA KNE JZR KAC SVA QTR KAC IRC IZG ETD JZR QTR UAE GFA JZR ABY UAL SVA JZR KAC QTR FDB BAB KAC JZR MSR QTR KAC JAI IRM IRA KAC KAC OMA MEA KNE KAC GFA KNE DHX ALK KLM JZR ABY KAC UAE SYR QTR KAC KAC JZR JZR FDB BBC AXB QTR GFA KAC JZR

107 302 437 356 214 6794 3406 541 165 501 776 872 619 785 176 5065 220 58 611 673 174 538 473 975 617 641 461 512 789 505 135 773 6792 4162 304 238 141 858 216 134 128 982 511 266 613 145 64 439 283 184 621 6131 153 571 5063 604 331 351 648 403 477 543 222 475 171 230 415 1540 120 381 860 342 137 301 205 188 554 62 44 394 147 218 411 504

GENEVA ABU DHABI BAHRAIN MASHHAD BAHRAIN MASHHAD MASHHAD CAIRO ROME BEIRUT JEDDAH DUBAI ASSIUT JEDDAH DUBAI MASHHAD BAHRAIN DUBAI CAIRO DUBAI DUBAI CAIRO JEDDAH SHARJAH DOHA AMMAN MADINAH SHARM EL SHEIKH MADINAH JEDDAH DOHA RIYADH MASHHAD MASHHAD ABU DHABI AMMAN DOHA DUBAI BAHRAIN BAHRAIN SHARJAH BAHRAIN RIYADH BEIRUT BAHRAIN DOHA DUBAI BAHRAIN DHAKA DUBAI ALEXANDRIA DOHA ISTANBUL MUMBAI MASHHAD ISFAHAN TRIVANDRUM KOCHI MUSCAT BEIRUT JEDDAH CAIRO BAHRAIN JEDDAH BAHRAIN COLOMBO DAMMAM CAIRO SHARJAH DELHI DUBAI DAMASCUS DOHA MUMBAI ISLAMABAD DUBAI ALEXANDRIA DUBAI CHITTAGONG KOCHI DOHA BAHRAIN BANGKOK LUXOR

Directorate General of Civil Aviation Home Page (www.kuwait-airport.com.kw)

10:10 10:15 10:25 10:30 10:45 11:05 11:10 11:30 11:45 12:00 12:15 12:20 12:25 13:10 13:20 13:25 14:25 14:25 14:30 15:05 15:05 15:10 15:15 15:25 15:45 15:50 15:50 15:55 16:00 16:00 16:15 16:25 16:40 16:45 17:20 17:30 17:45 18:05 18:20 18:20 18:25 18:30 18:35 18:50 19:00 19:20 19:25 19:30 19:30 20:05 20:10 20:30 20:30 20:35 20:40 20:50 20:50 21:05 21:10 21:15 21:15 21:30 21:35 21:35 21:50 21:55 22:05 22:05 22:10 22:20 22:25 22:30 22:35 22:40 22:45 22:50 23:00 23:00 23:05 23:10 23:10 23:30 23:40 23:45

C R O S S W O R D 7 7 6

SATURDAY, AUGUST 25, 2012

Word Sleuth Solution

Yesterday始s Solution

ACROSS 1. An inflated feeling of pride in your superiority to others.

4. An imaginary elephant that appears in a series of French books for children.

9. The state of needing something that is absent or unavailable.

13. The branch of information science that deals with natural language information.

14. Affect with wonder.

15. Title for a civil or military leader (especially in Turkey).

16. An official language of the Republic of South Africa.

18. United States lawyer and politician who formulated a production code that prescribed the moral content of United states films from 1930 to 1966 (1879-1954).

19. A flat-bottomed volcanic crater that was formed by an explosion.

20. An internal representation of the world.

23. That is to say.

24. A river in north central Switzerland that runs northeast into the Rhine.

25. A plant hormone promoting elongation of stems and roots.

27. (prefix) Opposite or opposing or neutralizing.

29. A blue dye obtained from plants or made synthetically.

31. Any high mountain.

34. Deciduous round-headed Asiatic tree widely grown in mild climates as an ornamental for its heart-shaped leaves and fragrant yellow-green flowers followed by hanging clusters of fleshy orange-red berries.

38. Large semi-evergreen tree of East India.

41. Harsh or corrosive in tone.

42. A member of the Mayan people of the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico.

45. A resource.

46. An island in Indonesia south of Borneo.

48. A small cake leavened with yeast.

51. Large brownish-green New Zealand parrot.

55. A loose sleeveless outer garment made from aba cloth.

59. The habitation of wild animals.

61. A serve that strikes the net before falling into the receiver's court.

62. Cubes of meat marinated and cooked on a skewer usually with vegetables.

63. Having the slant of a bevel.

64. An agency of the United Nations affiliated with the World Bank.

65. A city in central New York.

66. United States writer (born in Poland) who wrote in Yiddish (1880-1957).

DOWN 1. The Uralic language spoken by the Yeniseian people.

2. Used especially of fruits.

3. Large elliptical brightly colored deep-sea fish of Atlantic and Pacific and Mediterranean.

4. A soft silvery metallic element of the alkali earth group.

5. A member of the Semitic speaking people of northern Ethiopia.

6. The cry made by sheep.

7. Absence of an enzyme.

8. A widely distributed system consisting of all the cells able to ingest bacteria or colloidal particles etc, except for certain white blood cells.

9. A Tibetan or Mongolian priest of Lamaism.

10. Small terrestrial lizard of warm regions of the Old World.

11. A series of things depending on each other as if linked together.

12. The unit of measurement for the proportion of gold in an alloy.

17. An accidental hole that allows something (fluid or light etc.) to enter or escape.

21. Made from residue of grapes or apples after pressing.

22. Set down according to a plan.

26. Black tropical American cuckoo.

28. An organization of countries formed in 1961 to agree on a common policy for the sale of petroleum.

30. A unit of length of thread or yarn.

32. The basic unit of money in Romania.

33. Large burrowing rodent of South and Central America.

35. Any of a number of fishes of the family Carangidae.

36. Being one more than two.

37. A condition (mostly in boys) characterized by behavioral and learning disorders.

39. Type genus of the Majidae.

40. A young hare especially one in its first year.

41. The cry made by sheep.

43. A hard gray lustrous metallic element that is highly corrosion-resistant.

44. The compass point that is one point east (clockwise) of due north.

47. Jordan's port.

49. In bed.

50. A Chadic language spoken south of Lake Chad.

52. Type genus of the Alcidae comprising solely the razorbill.

53. A bluish-white lustrous metallic element.

54. Goddess of fate.

56. A Kwa language spoken by the Yoruba people in southwestern Nigeria.

57. A religious belief of African origin involving witchcraft and sorcery.

58. (British) A waterproof raincoat made of rubberized fabric.

60. An associate degree in applied science.

Yesterday始s Solution

SPORTS

SATURDAY, AUGUST 25, 2012

Intellectual disability sports return in London PARIS: Athletes with intellectual disabilities are competing at the Paralympics for the first time in 12 years, after an embarrassing scandal involving Spain’s basketball team. Three sports at the Games in the British capital are open to intellectual disability (ID) athletes-athletics, swimming and table tennisfollowing the introduction of stricter criteria for participation. The categories were dropped for the last two Games in Athens and Beijing after 10 members of the gold-winning Spanish basketball team in Sydney in 2000 were told to hand back their medals because several players had no intellectual disability.

A journalist who played for the side claimed afterwards that “at least 15 of the 200-strong Spanish (Paralympics) team had no physical or mental handicap” and that many participating countries had also selected non-disabled athletes. The president of the International Paralympic Committee, Philip Green, said he was satisfied with new eligibility criteria drawn up by the International Sports Federation for Persons with Intellectual Disability (INAS-FID) to prevent a repeat. “It’s already been used in a number of competitions and I have confidence in that system,” he said in a recent interview.

The re-introduction is a boost for ID athletes and the federations that represent them, who have struggled to gain as much recognition-and funding as other para-sports. “Without the (Paralympic) Games, there’s nothing, no high-level recognition,” said Marc Truffaut, vice-president of the French Federation for Disability Sport (FFSA) and trainer of French long-jump medal hope Daniel Royer. Of the 4,200 athletes expected at the Games, there will be some 200 ID athletes. Pascal Pereira-Leal, the current world number one in the classification at table tennis, is one.—AFP

China plays down golden Paralympic expectations

LONDON: Claire Lomas lights the Paralympic flame cauldron in Trafalgar Square yesterday. — AP

Paralympic cauldron lit in central London LONDON: Partially paralyzed marathon participant Claire Lomas lit the Paralympic cauldron in central London yesterday, one of a slew of events meant to mark the coming of the Paralympic Games across the British capital. Prime Minister David Cameron addressed the crowd gathered at London’s Trafalgar Square just before the cauldron was ignited, saying that the Olympic Games had made his country proud, but that “these Paralympic Games will make our country prouder still.”

“We are going to show the whole world that when it comes to putting on a show, there is no country like Britain and no city like London,” he said. The Paralympics - a competition for disabled athletes - have traditionally garnered far less attention than the Olympic Games, which attract hundreds of millions of spectators and sports enthusiasts from across the globe. Still the event’s profile is rising, and organizers say that more than 2.3 million of 2.5 million tickets for the games have already been sold.

Three other Paralympic flames have been struck at other locations in Britain and Northern Ireland, and are due to be united next Tuesday at the southern England village of Stoke Mandeville before being carried 92 miles (150 kilometers) by 580 torchbearers to the Olympic Stadium in east London, where it will be used to light the cauldron at the opening ceremony of the games on the evening of August 29. Lomas, who uses a bionic suit to move around after being paralyzed from the chest down following a horse-riding accident in 2007, said the experience of lighting the cauldron was “actually quite nerve-wracking.”

Earlier this year, Lomas made headlines when she completed the London marathon route over several days, a bid that raised some 200,000 pounds ($315,000) for a spinal research organization. She smiled broadly and shook her walking poles as she lit the flame. “I was shaking before I went on but it went smoothly,” she said later. Meanwhile, at London’s neo-gothic Tower Bridge, the Paralympic symbol, the Agitos, was moved in to replace the Olympic rings hanging high above the River Thames. The three circling arcs represent Spirit in Motion - the Paralympics motto and the red, blue and green color scheme which incorporate colors from flags from across the world. — AP

BEIJING: A new generation of Chinese athletes arrived in London this week with hopes of dominating the Paralympics, but officials are downplaying chances the streamlined team can match its mammoth 2008 medal haul. China’s Paralympic team swept all aside in Beijing four years ago, with 89 golds and 211 medals in total, more than double its nearest rival Great Britain on both counts.

But its 332 athletes at Beijing-the largest ever Chinese Paralympic delegation-has been reduced to 282 for London, and almost half are debutants at the event.

Jia Yong, vice president of the China Disabled Persons’ Federation, said he hoped China will be among the top three teams in the London medals table. Other officials believe the Chinese athletes will face a stern test on foreign soil. As host four years ago China enjoyed automatic qualification, but failed to qualify for five of the 20 Paralympic sports in London.

“China is facing a much more difficult challenge than in Beijing when we were the host country, as the fight for each and every gold in London will be more intense,” said Wang Naikun, deputy head of China’s London Paralympics delegation.

But China is still expected to top the medals table for the third consecutive games, dominating in athletics, powerlifting, judo and wheelchair fencing. China won 38 of its gold medals in track and field events in Beijing, including the 4x100 wheelchair race, considered one of the most exciting events of the Games.

Eight of the 12 members of the London wheelchair racing team performed in Beijing, including captain and four-time gold medallist Zhang Lixin. But Yang Zhonghua, head coach of China’s running and jumping team, pointed out most of his athletes had never experienced a Paralympics. “These young athletes have never competed in a big event.

They might face difficult situations,” he told the state-run China National Television. “The veterans are also facing potential threats at what will be their last Games. We definitely feel a little pressure.”

China’s wheelchair fencers will be aiming to better their four-medal tally from 2008 with a team that includes three World Champions, and the country also boasts powerful swimming and archery teams. The men’s five-a-side footballers took silver in Beijing, losing to Brazil in the final, but have since gone on to finish runner-up at the 2010 World Cup and win last year’s Asia Cup. The team-which is

BEIJING: Chinese athletes gather for a meeting prior to departing for the London Paralympics 2012 in Beijing. — AFP made up mainly of Armed Forces personnel-will arrive in London after a ninemonth training camp in China’s southeastern Fujian province.

The men’s goalball side-the event involves players throwing a ball into the opponents’ net while blindfolded-are the current Paralympic and World Champions, while the women’s team are also world champions. About half of

China’s Paralympic athletes train at the China Disability Sports Training Center in Beijing. The facility was built in the run up to Beijing 2008 and is the world’s largest training venue for athletes with disabilities. Paralympic officials say China’s success at recent Games has been achieved because disabled people have been given more opportunity to take part in sports over the last 25 years. — AFP

Paralympics GB hoping for more home success PARIS: Paralympics GB is hoping to emulate the medals success of their non-disabled counterparts in the Olympics when the Games start in London next week. Team GB registered its best performance in the Olympics for more than 100 years, winning 29 gold medals and 65 in total, surpassing expectations and taking them to third in the overall table behind the United States and China.

Now, the host nation is hoping to capitalize on the feel-good factor of sporting success when it sends its biggest ever contingent to the Paralympics, the chief executive of the British Paralympic Association, Tim Hollingsworth, said.

“We have got our biggest ever team.

We’re represented in every sport, 300 athletes in total and 700 support staff.

It’s a very big enterprise which we could not do away from home,” he said in a

phone interview. “The Games are going to be a huge success for the rest of the world coming over here. We’ve got the expectations and general public awareness.” The August 29-September 9 Games are set to be a near sell-out, with Hollingsworth attributing that “significant upsurge undoubtedly because of the excitement caused by the Olympics and the desire to be part of it”.

Britain is considered as the “home of the Games” in the Paralympic movement. The forerunner of the first Paralympics in Rome in 1960 was held in Stoke Mandeville, north of London, 12 years earlier for World War II veterans recuperating from spinal injuries.

Notwithstanding history, Britain is an acknowledged power in parasports, having come second in the medal table for the last three Games. —AFP

SPORTS SATURDAY, AUGUST 25, 2012

WNBA Roundup

Sparks end Silver Stars streak at 12 LOS ANGELES: Los Angeles’ Kristi Toliver matched career highs with 29 points and six 3-pointers to lead the Sparks to a 101-77 win over San Antonio on Thursday, emphatically ending the Silver Stars’ 12-game WNBA winning streak. Alana Beard added 21 points as Los Angeles extended a winning run of its own to eight games and moved within a game of Western

Conference leader Minnesota.

Los Angeles avenged a loss to San Antonio at June 24 which was its only home defeat in 12 games this year.

Danielle Robinson had a season-high 22 points for the Silver Stars. The Indiana Fever also improved its playoff positioning by beating the Seattle Storm 68-66, with Shavonte Zellous sinking a buzzer-beating 3-pointer. Indiana

scored the last 15 points of the game to stun the Storm, and crept within 3 1-2 games of Eastern Conference leader Connecticut.

Tamika Catchings had 18 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Fever, who trailed by 13 with 4:04 to go. Camille Little scored 15 points to lead Seattle, who were 0 for 5 from the field and committed four turnovers over the final 3:50.

The loss spoiled Lauren Jackson’s anticipated season debut with the Storm. The three-time MVP, who missed the first half of the season while training with the Australian national team for the Olympics, finished with four points and six rebounds in about 24 minutes. In Thursday’s other game, New York Liberty beat Phoenix 89-77, handing the Mercury their ninth loss on the trot. — AP

Woods edges McIlroy Harrington in control at Bethpage NEW YORK: Tiger Woods overshadowed playing partner Rory McIlroy while Padraig Harrington stole the limelight by taking overall command in Thursday’s opening round of the Barclays tournament in Farmingdale, New York. Wielding a red-hot putter, Irishman Harrington covered his final nine holes in a blistering six-under-par 29 to card a seven-under 64 in the first of the PGA Tour’s four lucrative FedExCup playoff events.

In pursuit of his first victory on the US circuit since the 2008 PGA Championship, three-times major winner Harrington piled up eight birdies and a lone bogey to finish a stroke in front of Americans Nick Watney and Brian Harman. Spaniard Sergio Garcia, who ended a four-year title drought on the PGA Tour by winning the rain-delayed Wyndham Championship on Monday, was among a group of four on 66 while FedExCup points leader Woods opened with a 68 and McIlroy a 69.

Harrington, who also has one eye this week on earning a late call-up for the European Ryder Cup team, was delighted with his putting on the challenging, 7,468-yard Bethpage Black layout. “I’ve been playing well for quite a while, but this is the best I’ve putted, the best I’ve struck my putts, the best I’ve rolled the ball for a long period of time,” the 40-year-old Irishman told reporters after taking only 26 putts. “We had super conditions today. Bethpage is a big, strong golf course, and we got it on a very calm day, which was in our favor.”

Harrington conceded he had learned a valuable lesson about the scoring possibilities at a venue which has staged two US Opens from his American playing partner Troy Matteson, who eagled the fourth hole. “Wow, an eagle!

Imagine making an eagle at a US Open,” smiled Harrington. “If anything, it really helped me because I could see that, ‘Hey, this wasn’t a US Open, there were birdies to be made.’ “So you have to get out of that mindset because level par isn’t winning the tournament this week. It isn’t a US Open,” added the Irishman, who won The Barclays at Westchester in 2005 and tied for second at Liberty National in 2009.

SIZZLING FORM Harrington hopes his sizzling form at Bethpage will help him earn one of two wildcard picks by European Ryder Cup captain Jose Maria Olazabal on Monday, though he accepts he is on the outside looking in. “I’m sure if I went and had a look at the odds, I would be a long-shot to make the team,” the Irishman said. Olazabal later told reporters at the European Tour’s Johnnie Walker Championship in Scotland that Harrington would have to “at least win” at Bethpage to get picked.

Woods, the only triple winner on the 2012 PGA Tour, expressed mixed views about his round after failing to make the most of soft, receptive conditions on a benign morning. “I didn’t quite hit the ball as well as I would like,” said the 14times major winner who was followed by huge crowds as he launched his title bid in the company of world number one McIlroy and 2007 Masters champion Zach Johnson. “I’m going to do some work this afternoon and work on a couple things that I know I need to shore up for tomorrow. But I’m very pleased with the way I putted. I putted great today.”

Woods, who totaled 28 putts, ended the round level with fellow Americans Johnson and four-times major winner Phil Mickelson, British Open champion Ernie Els of South Africa and former world number one Luke Donald of England.

Northern Irishman McIlroy, who clinched his second major title with a stunning eight-shot victory at the PGA Championship earlier this month, was satisfied with his 69, despite losing momentum after the turn. —Reuters

BALTIMORE: Baltimore Ravens defensive back Lardarius Webb (right) breaks up a pass attempt to Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Laurent Robinson in the first half of an NFL preseason football game. — AP

Ravens trounce Jaguars Rodgers leads Packers over Bengals 27-13 BALTIMORE: Joe Flacco completed 27 of 36 passes for 266 yards and two touchdowns before leaving early in the third quarter, and the Baltimore Ravens cruised to a 48-17 preseason victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Thursday night.

Flacco connected with nine receivers, most notably second-year wideout Torrey Smith, who finished with eight catches for 103 yards. Anquan Boldin caught a 5-yard TD pass and Vonta Leach scored on an 8-yard reception.

Baltimore finished with 571 yards total offense and had five drives of at least 80 yards. The 48 points were the most ever scored by the Ravens in a preseason game.

With support from a defense that kept Jacksonville quarterback Blaine Gabbert in check, the Ravens (No 5 in the AP Pro32) built a 20-3 lead before Flacco took a seat.

After opening the preseason with wins over the New York Giants and New Orleans, Jacksonville (No 31) took a step back against the Ravens. Gabbert went 11 for 21 for 117 yards over three quarters, and Rashad Jennings, starting in place of holdout Maurice Jones-Drew, gained 57 yards on 13 carries.

Jacksonville cornerback Rashean Mathis played for the first time this summer following knee surgery, but Jaguars cornerback Aaron Ross was forced from the game with an ankle injury and tight end Zach Miller left in the second quarter with an injured

leg. Against the Giants and Saints, Gabbert drove the Jaguars (2-1) to a touchdown on their opening possession. In this one, Jacksonville started on its own 5 after a Ravens punt and made only one first down - on a 16-yard completion to first-round draft pick Justin Blackmon - before kicking the ball away.

Ray Rice began the subsequent drive with a 28-yard run, but the march stalled inside the 10 before rookie Justin Tucker kicked a 33-yard field goal. It was an unfulfilling score for the Ravens (2-1), who were intent upon improving their inability to get touchdowns when inside the 20. That shortcoming would be resolved in Baltimore’s third drive. Flacco went 8 for 9 for 87 yards and made it 10-0 with a touchdown throw to Boldin.

The march started with a 16-yard pass to Smith, who came up limping but returned later in the series and caught a key thirddown pass. Smith missed last week’s game with a sprained ankle. Following another Jacksonville punt, Flacco went 5 for 5 on a 30-yard drive that ended with a 53-yard field goal by Tucker. In his effort to take the job from incumbent Billy Cundiff, Tucker has made all five of his field goal tries this preseason, including two from beyond 50 yards. Gabbert finally got the Jaguars rolling late in the half, directing a 12-play, 73-yard march that produced a field goal with 56 seconds remaining.

Packers beat Bengals In Cincinnati, Aaron Rodgers ran everywhere, including the end zone. Twice. The MVP quarterback led Green Bay to a big first half Thursday night, running for 52 yards and two touchdowns during a 27-13 preseason victory that got the Packers’ offense moving at full speed. The Packers (No 1 in the AP Pro32) wanted to look crisp coming off a drubbing by Cleveland.

Rodgers led the way, going 12 of 22 for 154 yards with an interception while leading the Packers to 245 yards and a 17-6 halftime lead. He also scrambled six times, scoring on runs of 12 and 5 yards.

“Obviously, you can’t let the quarterback run like we did,” Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said. “When that happens, it nullifies good coverage or a good initial rush, and it wipes out the other good plays you make.”

Running back Cedric Benson made his Packers debut against his former team and ran six times for 38 yards. Benson led the Bengals (No 14) in rushing each of the last four years, but they decided to let him leave as a free agent and signed BenJarvus Green-Ellis. Benson signed with the Packers (1-2) on Aug. 14 and has been learning the play book. He got into a preseason game for the first time and gained 8 yards on a carry up the middle, receiving a mixed reaction from the crowd of 52,584. —Agencies

SPORTS

SATURDAY, AUGUST 25, 2012

Federer and Murray could have rematch NEW YORK: Though no player would admit to looking so far ahead, Novak Djokovic may have been the biggest winner when the US Open bracket was set Thursday. The defending champion and No. 2 seed can reach his third straight final at Flushing Meadows without having to face either Roger Federer or Andy Murray.

Those two, meanwhile, wound up on the same side of the draw and could meet in the semifinals for a rematch of their recent finals at Wimbledon and the London Olympics.

“It’s a question of luck,” Djokovic said when asked about the only true drama in the unveiling of Thursday’s bracket - whether third-seeded Murray would end up on his or top-seeded Federer’s side of the draw. “You try to focus on what’s in your hands, what’s in your power. Thinking about the semifinal at this moment, I don’t think it’s the best thing.”

In the women’s bracket, third-seeded Maria Sharapova drew a possible semifinal matchup against top-seeded Victoria Azarenka and fourth-seeded Serena Williams could play No 2 Agnieszka Radwanska in the semifinals. Rafael Nadal, ranked third, is out of

this year’s tournament with a knee injury, marking the first time since 2008 that the quartet of Federer, Nadal, Djokovic and Murray haven’t been seeded 1 through 4 in some order at the US Open. Taking the fourth seed this year is David Ferrer, who has never made a Grand Slam final, and could face Djokovic in the semifinals.

Of the 16 semifinal spots over the last four Grand Slam tournaments, 14 have been occupied by one of the big four. Only Ferrer, at the French Open, and Jo Wilfried-Tsonga, at Wimbledon, have managed to break the stranglehold. Djokovic has an 8-5 record against Ferrer, including a straight-set win in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open this year. Top-seeded Federer is 8-9 against third-seeded Murray and the two have split their last two matches, both on Centre Court at the All England Club; Federer won the Wimbledon final and Murray took the gold-medal match at the London Olympics.

The potential men’s quarterfinals are Federer vs No 6 Tomas Berdych, who upset him in the 2010 Wimbledon quarterfinals; Djokovic vs 2009 US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro, seeded seventh;

Murray vs No 5 Tsonga; Ferrer vs No 8 Janko Tipsarevic.

Sharapova completed the career Grand Slam at the French Open earlier this year, while Williams has 14 Grand Slam titles and is coming off wins at Wimbledon and the Olympics. Azarenka has one Grand Slam title in Australia this year - while Radwanska’s best finish in a major was her three-set loss to Williams in this year’s Wimbledon final.

Williams’ older sister Venus, who is ranked 47th this week and not seeded, plays American wild-card entry Bethanie Mattek-Sands in the first round and could face sixth-seeded Angelique Kerber in the second. Venus Williams, the 2000 and 2001 champion, pulled out of last year’s U.S. Open hours before she was scheduled to play in the second round, revealing that she had been diagnosed with an autoimmune disease. Four-time major champion Kim Clijsters will begin what she says will be the last tournament of her career against American wild-card recipient Victoria Duval. Clijsters, a 29-year-old Belgian who is seeded 23rd, might face the defending champion, seventh-seeded Sam Stosur, in the fourth round.—AP

Isner, Tsonga advance in Winston-Salem Open WINSTON-SALEM: Defending champion John Isner and top-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga had straight-sets victories Thursday to set up a semifinal match in the Winston-Salem Open. Second-seeded Tomas Berdych and seventh-seeded Sam Querrey also won their quarterfinals at the Wake Forest Tennis Complex in the final hard-court tournament before the US Open. Isner had 21 aces in beating Belgian David Goffin 7-6 (7-5), 6-3, while the sixth-ranked Tsonga needed only 53 minutes to dispatch sixth-seeded Spaniard Marcel Granollers 6-1, 6-2.

Berdych, ranked seventh in the world, beat Belgium’s Steve Darcis 4-6, 6-2, 6-0, and Querrey topped fourth-seeded Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (7-3).

American Isner had 12 aces in the first set against Goffin, who saved four break points in the set to force the tiebreaker. But Isner had four aces in the tiebreaker, and got a key mini-break on the seventh point. Isner then broke Goffin’s serve in the fifth game of the second set, and closed out the set and match with another service break.

“I was pressing a little bit in that first set,” said Isner, 2-1 against Tsonga, including a Davis Cup victory last April. “I was waiting for him to lose the set or make a mistake on a big point rather than me going after the ball. But I was happy with the way I played in the tiebreaker, and I played much better in the second set.” France’s Tsonga, the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 6, had little trouble dealing with Granollers, breaking his first two serve attempts in the opening set, and adding two more service breaks in the second. “I played well,” Tsonga said. “I was into the match from the beginning and played good tennis. I don’t know if he played his best tennis, I think he was a bit injured. But I played good tennis.”

While Berdych’s run of games held on serve ended at 29 with a pair of breaks in the first set, the Czech had 10 aces and broke Darcis’ serve seven times. That included a run of six consecutive breaks over the second and third sets, and Berdych won the last nine games to advance to the semifinals for the third time this season. “He was playing really smart, so I needed to change something,” Berdych said. “I stepped a little bit closer to the baseline, and started to hit the ball a little faster. It changed the whole rhythm.”

American Querrey had 20 aces against Dolgopolov, who also had his serve broken twice in the first set. But the Ukrainian got a key service break in the second set to even the match, and kept Querrey scrambling in the third set.

However, Querrey got two break points in the tiebreaker to go up 5-1, and closed out the match with an overhead winner for his first win in three tries against Dolgopolov. “It seemed that things just changed dramatically in the tiebreaker,” said Querrey, the winner in Los Angeles last month. “It feels good to get the win today, but the matches are going to get tougher. I’m just going to have to play better if I want to keep winning.”— AP

NEW HAVEN: Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic poses with the Emirates Airlines US Open Series trophy after defeating Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic during the New Haven Open at Yale. — AFP

Kvitova clinches US Open Series title NEW HAVEN: Caroline Wozniacki extended her remarkable unbeaten run at the New Haven Open on Thursday, but her quest for a fifth consecutive title may hinge on her right knee.

Wozniacki suffered an injury early in the second set of her 6-2, 6-1 quarterfinal win over Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia. She was hopeful, but not certain, that she would be able to play in Friday’s semifinal against Maria Kirilenko.

“You need to judge whether you can continue or you cannot,” she said. “You need to judge whether it’s going to get worse or it’s not. That’s all decisions you need to make yourself, decisions that are important because you don’t want to jeopardize longterm injury. Doesn’t matter what tournament it is.” On the other side of the draw, Czech star Petra Kvitova clinched the US Open Series title with her quarterfinal win over Lucie Safarova.

The world’s fifth-ranked player had little trouble with her friend and compatriot, recording 10 aces and no double-faults in a 6-3, 6-3 win. The series championship, based on points

earned in five US hardcourt tournaments this summer, makes Kvitova eligible for a bonus of up to $1 million depending on her finish in next week’s US Open. “I’m really proud that I’m champ,” Kvitova said. “Money is not the important thing in the world and in the life. So I’m so glad that I played a lot of matches, good matches. I have great results. I’m here in the semifinal.

That’s important for me to have some confidence for the US Open.”

She will play Sara Errani of Italy, who beat Marion Bartoli of France 6-4, 6-2. Errani jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first set and hung on for the straight set win. She said the key was taking Bartoli off the baseline. “She plays so straight, so strong, and I just tried to change the game to make her run,” she said. Wozniacki is now 20-0 in New Haven. A fifth straight title would tie her with Steffi Graf (Hamburg), Martina Navratilova (Chicago) and Chris Evert (Charleston) as the only players with that many consecutive championships at the same tournament.—AP

SPORTS SATURDAY, AUGUST 25, 2012

China’s Liu speaks out after injury ‘trick’ row BEIJING: China’s star hurdler Liu Xiang insisted he felt “healthy” just moments before injury ended his Olympic career, as controversy erupted over an alleged cover-up.

The former 110m gold medalist, in his first major interview since his spectacular exit in London, told state broadcaster CCTV he “felt healthy standing on the starting line”. Liu also said he would not take part in the next Olympics. The comments were given as reports circulated that CCTV knew in advance that Liu was injured, but was banned from releasing the information by China’s propaganda department.

According to reports quoted by Hong Kong’s South China Morning

Post, broadcaster Yang Jian, who wept live on air, had prepared scripts in advance in case Liu limped out for the second Games running. Liu’s latest injury, markedly similar to his withdrawal in 2008, caused widespread shock in China.

A specially created tribute website quickly drew 28 million messages of support.

“Standing on the line, I felt I was a healthy Liu Xiang. Actually I was having problems on my foot at the time, but I felt I could run fast,” Liu told CCTV, in the interview aired late on Thursday. “(But) when I tried the first hurdle, I felt like I was lashed by a whip.” In scenes strongly reminiscent of Beijing 2008 when a broadcaster also dissolved

into tears-the 2004 champion crashed into the first hurdle in his heat as his right Achilles tendon gave way.

After being helped up, he hopped the length of the course, kissed the last hurdle and was embraced by fellow competitors in one of the enduring images of the London Games. Liu, 29, underwent surgery in London before returning to China, with his future career in serious doubt.

But allegations of a plot to hush up Liu’s injury began circulating on Thursday, and were among the most talked about topics on Sina Weibo, a microblogging service similar to Twitter, which is banned in China. “CCTV and Liu Xiang put

Ashwin, Ojha dismiss New Zealand top half Spinners put India in firm control HYDERABAD: India spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Pragyan Ojha scythed down New Zealand’s top half to put the hosts in firm control of the opening test at the close of the second day yesterday. At stumps, the visitors were 106 for five, trailing India by 332 runs in their first innings.

James Franklin (31) and Kruger van Wyk (nought) were at the crease for New Zealand. Off-spinner Ashwin took three wickets while left-armer Ojha picked up the remaining two to fall after their batting colleagues racked up 438 in their first innings.

“We should be eyeing a follow-on.

With respect to how the wicket is behaving and the weather being a little cloudy, we should be looking to bowl twice and get the job done,” Ashwin told reporters. “If you put 440 on the board you expect yourself to be in a dominant position in the game. It’s a good enough score to dominate the game.” Ojha, who was introduced in the eighth over, struck first when he lured opener Brendon McCullum (22) to drive straight into the hands of Virat Kohli at cover.

Kohli took the next two catches at leg slip off Ashwin to dismiss Martin Guptill (two) and New Zealand captain Ross Taylor (two). Daniel Flynn (16) was adjudged leg before off Ashwin, which reduced New Zealand to 55 for four. Kane Williamson (32) and left-handed Franklin provided some resistance with a 44-run stand for the fifth wicket before Williamson became the last wicket to fall in the day. “The new ball was a little bit hard and the seam was much more upright, something that helped us extract bounce and enabled us get a few wickets up front,” Ashwin said. “As the ball gets old, it would slow up a little bit and we have to be more patient to get wickets today.” —Reuters

HYDERABAD: New Zealand cricketer Daniel Flynn bats during the second day of the first cricket test match against India in Hyderabad yesterday. — AP

Scoreboard HYDERABAD: Scoreboard at stumps on the second day of the opening Test between India and New Zealand in Hyderabad yesterday: India 1st innings (overnight 307-5): G. Gambhir c van Wyk b Boult 22 V. Sehwag c Guptill b Bracewell 47 C. Pujara c Franklin b Patel 159 S. Tendulkar b Boult 19 V. Kohli c Guptill b Martin 58 S. Raina c van Wyk b Patel 3 MS Dhoni c Bracewell b Patel 73 R. Ashwin st van Wyk b Patel 37 Zaheer Khan c van Wyk b Boult 0 P. Ojha not out 4 U. Yadav run out 4 Extras (b6, lb4, w2) 12 Total (for all out; 134.3 overs) 438 Fall of wickets: 1-49 (Gambhir), 2-77 (Sehwag), 3-125 (Tendulkar), 4-250 (Kohli), 5-260 (Raina), 6-387 (Pujara), 7411 (Dhoni), 8-414 (Zaheer), 9-430 (Ashwin), 10-438 (Yadav).

Bowling: Martin 27-4-76-1 (w1), Boult

27-4-93-3, Bracewell 19.1-1-88-1, Franklin 13.2-0-40-0 (w1), Patel 41-9100-4, Williamson 7-0-31-0.

New Zealand 1st innings: B. McCullum c Kohli b Ojha 22 M. Guptill c Kohli b Ashwin 2 K. Williamson c Sehwag b Ojha 32 R. Taylor c Kohli b Ashwin 2 D. Flynn lbw b Ashwin 16 J. Franklin not out 31 K. van Wyk not out 0 Extras (lb1) 1 Total (for five wickets; 42 overs) 106 Fall of wickets: 1-25 (McCullum), 2-29 (Guptill), 3-35 (Taylor), 4-55 (Flynn), 599 (Williamson).

Bowling: Zaheer 5-1-20-0, Yadav 3-04-0, Ojha 15-4-35-2, Ashwin 14-3-303, Sehwag 2-0-4-0, Raina 2-0-6-0, Tendulkar 1-0-6-0.

on a show to trick the world,” posted one user. “For CCTV, tricking the people is the easiest choice,” wrote another.

Coach Feng Shuyong had admitted in the run-up to London that Liu, China’s first male Olympic athletics champion, was troubled by injury. A senior editor of CCTV’s Olympics team told the South China Morning Post that Liu was believed to have suffered a flare-up in training, and was advised by a medical expert that the injury was severe.

“Instructions were circulated among our colleagues saying it should be considered a victory as long as Liu showed up to the starting line,” said the editor, who was quoted anonymously. — AFP

Afghanistan braced for dream clash with Australia SHARJAH: Fast-rising Afghanistan will open another chapter in their remarkable story when they play their first one-day international against former world champions Australia today. War-torn Afghanistan, who gained affiliate membership from the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 2001, took a giant leap two years ago by finishing fifth in the World Cup qualifiers. That earned them the right to play one-day internationals.

They built on their success by qualifying for the World Twenty20 in 2010 and again earned the right to play the same event in Sri Lanka next month. Afghanistan are regarded as a success story in international cricket with most of their players learning the game while living in refugee camps on the border with Pakistan after the Soviet invasion of their country in 1979. Afghanistan captain Nawroz Mangal admitted playing Australia is a big occasion for his team. “Definitely, it’s a big occasion for us and we want to make the best use of it,” said Mangal. “We have done well against Scotland and Ireland but given a chance against Australia is a big thing and we are excited about it.”

Afghanistan took the first step towards playing bigger teams when they faced Pakistan in a one-day match in Sharjah in February and although they lost by seven wickets their performance proved they deserved more chances. “We are thankful to Australia and to the ICC for making this possible,” said Mangal, who has played 21 of the 22 one-dayers Afghanistan have contested so far.

“Australia are real champions and hopefully we can put up a good show.” The 28-year-old Afghan captain hopes his players can improve if they are given more chances against the world’s leading sides. “Definitely it’s our dream to play matches against top teams and if we get such chances regularly our players will improve,” said Mangal.

Paceman Hamid Hasan, who with 24 wickets in 14 onedayers is a star performer, will miss the match as he is still recovering from knee surgery. Australian captain Michael Clarke hoped his team adjust quickly to conditions, especially with the oppressive heat. “They (Afghanistan) know the conditions well than we do but we will try to get accustomed with the conditions quickly,” said Clarke.

“Afghanistan have some good fast bowlers upfront so it will be good cricket.”

The ICC, which contributes approximately 700,000 dollars a year to help develop the game in the newest cricketing nation, showed great delight in the AustraliaAfghanistan match. “This fixture supports ICC’s initiative to provide more opportunities for our top ranking Associate/Affiliate Member teams to play against better opposition,” ICC president Alan Isaac said last month. “We have already seen Pakistan play Afghanistan in Sharjah this year in a high-quality match and we must commend Australia for creating this opportunity,” said Isaac, who took over as president in June this year. — AFP

SPORTS

SATURDAY, AUGUST 25, 2012

Controversy, austerity overshadow Serie A kick-off ROME: Despite the national team’s stellar performance at Euro 2012, a cloud hangs over Italy’s domestic game as the 2012-13 Serie A season gets underway this weekend. Italy’s run to the European Championship final, even if it did end in a 4-0 defeat to Spain, should have galvanized the game on the peninsula. But, while pride in the Azzurri has been restored, Serie A is not the force it once was. These days, Italy’s leading clubs struggle to compete financially with their continental rivals, notably Paris Saint-Germain, who have plundered the likes of Milan duo Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Thiago Silva, Napoli’s Ezequiel Lavezzi and the man seen by many as the next Andrea Pirlo, Pescara’s Marco Verratti, this summer.

Then there is the latest match-fixing scandal to hit the Italian game. As part of the ‘Last Bet’ or ‘calcioscommesse’ affair, Atalanta and Siena will both start the season with points deductions, as will promoted duo Sampdoria and Torino. Of the many individuals pun-

ished for their involvement in the scandal, the most notable is Juventus coach Antonio Conte. The man who led Juve to last season’s title without losing a game has been banned for 10 months for failing to disclose knowledge of two fixed matches while at Siena during the 2010-11 season. Conte can continue to take training and work with the team during the week, but will not be involved on match days.

Instead, assistant Massimo Carrera will fill in, starting with today’s home game against Parma. The Bianconeri remain the team to beat, especially with last season’s runners-up Milan having lost Ibrahimovic and Thiago Silva, as well as Inter-bound Antonio Cassano.

Fans of the Rossoneri have been left looking to the future with a sense of trepidation. “Juve are clear favorites to defend their title,” admits Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri. “We have a good squad with young players who were here last year and now have a bit more

experience and some new faces too, so we should be able to compete for a place in the top three.”

Inter endured their worst season in over a decade last time around, finishing sixth and missing out on Champions League qualification, but the Nerazzurri have placed their faith in 36-year-old coach Andrea Stramaccioni and have made some interesting signings. The signing of Cassano appears quite a coup, while goalkeeper Samir Handanovic, midfielder Walter Gargano and striker Rodrigo Palacio will help give Inter some much needed freshness. “I think the president and all of us thought that it was the right time to try and build something new,” said Stramaccioni.

“This club has gone through a fantastic cycle in the last ten years, but so far ten players have moved on and six have come in. It has been a major change.” Napoli have become a force once again under Walter Mazzarri and won last season’s Coppa Italia, but they

have lost key players in Lavezzi and Gargano. However, Roma are expecting big things after the return of outspoken veteran Czech coach Zdenek Zeman, who led Pescara to promotion last season. He has overseen the arrivals of Italian internationals Federico Balzaretti and Mattia Destro, while popular midfielder Daniele De Rossi decided to stay despite interest from Manchester City.

“We have strengthened our squad more than other clubs. If there was a gap in class, it is now a much smaller one,” De Rossi said. “In terms of staff and players Juve are still stronger than everyone else, but the strongest team does not always win. “I don’t think I can go as far to say that we are going to win the league, but I have a feeling that we will have a great season.” Beyond them, Udinese and Lazio will hope to challenge towards the top again, while the arrival of Vincenzo Montella as coach has left Fiorentina fans optimistic for the season ahead. — AFP

Madrid seek first win

MOSCOW: Russian soccer fans shout anti Anzhi team slogans during the Europa League Qualifying phase soccer match between Anzhi Makhachkala and AZ Alkmaar at Lokomotiv stadium in Moscow. — AP

Moscow fans racially abuse Anzhi players MOSCOW: Anzhi Makhachkala thanked Moscow police yesterday for keeping order and protecting their fans at the Lokomotiv Stadium during a Europa League first-leg tie marred by crowd trouble. “We would like to say special thanks to the Lokomotiv Football Club for providing their home arena for our match,” Anzhi said on their website (www.fcanji.ru). “We also want to thank the Moscow police for providing a high level of security during the match.” Thursday’s match, where Anzhi beat Dutch club AZ Alkmaar 1-0, was attended by several hundred Moscow fans, who racially abused Anzhi players and threw objects on to the pitch. Some fans were pictured giving a Nazi salute and chanting slogans such as “Russia is (only) for Russians” and “Caucasians go home”.

The fans said they were protesting against the club from the volatile North Caucasus region playing their games in Moscow. UEFA has banned Anzhi from playing at home in the violence-plagued Dagestan region this

season for security reasons. Anzhi coach Guus Hiddink criticized the fans’ behavior. “I’m not sure if those were the real football fans,” the Dutchman told reporters after the match. “I think it was a provocation against our club. I don’t know what UEFA will do next. They may ask us to play elsewhere.”

Anzhi striker Shamil Lakhiyalov was even more forthright, saying: “I think it would be better if we play our home games in Europe instead of Moscow.” Thursday’s crowd trouble was the latest in a series of fan violence in Russian soccer. Also on Thursday, police in St Petersburg opened a criminal case after several Anzhi supporters had been attacked by local fans in Russia’s northern capital. Last week, several Zenit St Petersburg supporters said they were badly beaten by police and stadium security staff after a league game against Anzhi in Makhachkala. In March, a fan threw a banana at Anzhi’s Congolese defender Christopher Samba at a league game at Lokomotiv Stadium. — Reuters

MADRID: Champions Real Madrid make the short trip to Getafe tomorrow knowing that even at such an early stage as the season’s second weekend, a win is vital. Bitter rivals Barcelona already have a two-point advantage after their opening day 5-1 thrashing of Real Sociedad. While Madrid could only draw 1-1 at home to Valencia, they were fortunate to come away from Camp Nou with a 3-2 defeat to Barcelona on Thursday night in the Spanish Super Cup first-leg.

Coach Jose Mourinho admitted that Barca were the stronger side on the night and will be looking for a winning performance tomorrow against neighbors who lost their first league outing 2-1 at Sevilla. Barca also have a tricky trip to Osasuna but will have Alex Song and David Villa available to start their first games of the season.

Villa came on as substitute and scored against Sociedad in his first game since last December when a broken leg finished his season. Song is yet to feature since his 19-million-euro signing from Arsenal. For Madrid, Mourinho will again have the luxury of choosing between Karim Benzema or Gonzalo Higuain to partner Cristiano Ronaldo in attack.

Benzema started on Thursday against

Barcelona while Higuain scored his side’s first goal of the season against Valencia last weekend. Jonas Goncalves, who got Valencia’s goal in the Bernabeu, is convinced that his side can improve on last season when they finished third in the league and reached the Europa League and Spanish Cup semi-finals.

“We are working towards going a step further than last season, we have began with a lot of desire and we have to keep that going all season,” he said. Valencia host a Deportivo La Coruna side tomorrow night that had their own positive start to the campaign with a 2-0 win over Osasuna.

One of a number of Deportivo players making his debut for the club in that game was Spanish World Cup winner and exValencia player Carlos Marchena who is looking forward to his return to Mestalla. “It will be special for me, it’s a place in which I spent a lot of time and they treated me very well, but I’m returning with another club that has its own interests so all of those positives will be forgotten on the pitch,” he said. “Valencia has changed so much since I was there, the coach (Mauricio Pellegrino) was then one of my colleagues and he will give the side the character and discipline it had when I played there,” he added. — AFP

Weakened Zenit take on upbeat Rubin MOSCOW: Russian reigning champions Zenit St Petersburg, who lost points against Anzi Makhachkala a week ago, will try to stay top of the domestic league by clinching a win in a home match with Rubin Kazan yesterday. But Zenit face an uphill battle, with a number of first-choice players sidelined through injury and several others uncertain for the clash with the two-time champions, “(Bruno) Alves, (Sergei) Semak and (Aleksandar) Lukovic will definitely miss the match with Rubin,” Zenit manager Luciano Spalletti said.

“Defender (Alexander) Anyukov and midfielder (Roman) Shirokov both have chances to play as they have overcome their injuries, while our forward (Alexander) Kerzhakov remains uncertain for the match.” Spalletti added that Portuguese midfielder Danny has overcame his knee injury and returned to regular training but has yet to regain his best form and is unlikely to be in the starting line-

up. Rubin, who beat Zenit 2-0 in the pre-season Russian Super Cup, are looking for an away win after a disappointing 2-1 defeat at the hands of Spartak Moscow last weekend. “It’s always interesting to play against Zenit at Saint Petersburg,” Rubin defender Roman Sharonov said. “It’s easy to predict that it will be a tough clash. Zenit are especially dangerous on their home ground but I believe we can grab all three points.” Russia’s most decorated side Spartak Moscow, currently one point behind Zenit, will try to beat Terek at Grozny. The ninetime Russian champions earned a moraleboosting 2-1 Champions’ League qualifying win over Fenerbahce on Tuesday but they will be without three of their first-choice players for the match in the Chechen capital. Argentinean defender Nicolasa Pareja has been out with a slight leg injury, while Brazilian midfielder Romulo has ankle ligament damage and is ruled out. — AFP

sports SATURDAY, AUGUST 25, 2012

Mancini eyes more deals before transfer deadline MANCHESTER: Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini insists his side are still working to bring in new players and warned his unsettled stars they will not be allowed to leave until he makes some signings. With a week to go until the August 31 transfer deadline, Mancini, who has only signed Jack Rodwell since the end of last season, remains hopeful of strengthening his squad and has been linked with a host of new recruits. The Italian knows England winger Adam Johnson and Bosnia striker Edin Dzeko are interested in leaving City as they look to gain more regular first-team action.

But, after selling Emmanuel Adebayor to Tottenham this week, Mancini insists he cannot let anyone else go until he brings in more fresh faces. “We have another week. I’m sure we will do what we want next week,” Mancini said yesterday. “We are working, we can’t say a

name or how many players but we are working in the last 10 days. “Adam Johnson is a City player at the moment.

We can’t sell a player if we don’t buy other players, because we won’t have enough players. “We can’t sell our players if we don’t put other players in. We have 19 players at the moment and two or three players injured. It’s impossible.”

Mancini remained coy on the club’s reported bid for Swansea winger Scott Sinclair, but dismissed rumors linking City with an offer for Chelsea defender David Luiz. The City boss has also ruled out a move for Athletic Bilbao’s Javi Martinez, claiming the Spanish side want too much money for the midfielder. “It’s difficult, his cost is too big. It is too high for me,” Mancini added.

Mancini is more concerned with how his side fare without star striker Sergio Aguero and was quick to rule the

injured star out of international duty with Argentina. Aguero was called up

by Argentina’s national side for next month’s World Cup qualifiers before suffering a knee injury in City’s 3-2 win over Southampton tomorrow.

However, Mancini does not expect his top scorer from last season to be fit before City’s league match against Stoke on September 15 and said there is no chance he will play for Argentina before then. “After the international break he will be ready. He will not go away for the internationals,” Mancini said. “It’s his knee, it’s a bad injury but not for six months (as he had feared).

After two weeks he will be able to train.” Aguero’s absence has left Carlos Tevez to lead City’s attack at Liverpool tomorrow. Mancini has been impressed by the Argentina striker, who spent most of last season

Liverpool scrape win as Newcastle hold Greeks Own-goal spares Liverpool Euro blushes PARIS: Liverpool scraped a 1-0 win over Hearts while a Newcastle side shorn of several familiar faces survived sweltering heat to hold Greek side Atromitos to a 1-1 draw in their Europa League play-off round firstlegs on Thursday. Liverpool needed an own goal from Andy Webster with 12 minutes remaining at Tynecastle to see off Hearts in the absence of several first teamers, including England forward Andy Carroll - persistently linked with a return to Newcastle.

Carroll, nursing a sore hamstring, was

Borini did not connect with only for the unfortunate Webster to deflect into his own net.

Veteran Jamie Carragher praised Liverpool’s youngsters, particularly young striker Sterling. “This club’s got a great tradition of bringing young players through and the way the manager wants to play suits him (Sterling) down to the ground,” said Carragher. “He’s come in and done really well and at the age of 17 it looks like he’s got a big future.” Newcastle were play-

EDINBURGH: Hearts’ Scottish defender Andy Webster (center) scores an own goal during the UEFA Europa League Qualifying PlayOff Round first leg football match between Hearts of Midlothian and Liverpool at the Tynecastle Stadium. —AFP not even on the bench as coach Brendan Rodgers fielded Fabio Borini and Raheem Sterling in attack. The Reds also left out Steven Gerrard, Luis Suarez, Martin Skrtel and Glen Johnson with Manchester City to visit in the league tomorrow. Arvydas Novikovas might have given the Edinburgh side a shock lead but Pepe Reina saved well in the Liverpool goal before Borini hit the post at the other end. Liverpool made the breakthrough when Martin Kelly sent in a challenging cross from the right which

ing in Europe for the first time in five years but coach Alan Pardew made nine changes from the side which beat Tottenham in their opening Premier League match at the weekend to give fringe players some game time.

The new faces included Adam Campbell, a second half substitute who became the Magpies’ youngest European debutant at 17 years and 236 days - 64 days younger than former favourite Andy Carroll when he played in Palermo in 2006.

Another getting a rare game was former first choice keeper Steve Harper, who at 37 was handed a start with Dutch international Tim Krul giving way. “In the second half, I was a little bit disappointed we didn’t get the win I thought there were good opportunities - but overall, I was very, very pleased with the performance,” said Pardew, who also gave youngsters Romain Amalfitano and James Tavernier chances to prove themselves in stifling heat at the Peristeri Stadium.

Harper was unable to keep a clean sheet as German striker Denis Epstein gave the hosts the lead on 24 minutes before Ryan Taylor fired home a free kick in first half stoppage time to give Newcastle a good chance of reaching the group stage with the home leg to come. Pardew rang the changes with his team facing a difficult trip to Chelsea on Saturday, though striker Papiss Cisse did feature. Cisse set up a headed chance for Sylvain Marveaux after the break but the Frenchman was unable to find the target.

Cisse then saw former Liverpool reserve keeper Charles Itandje deny him late on as the Senegal international attempted to poach a winner before Konstantinos Giannoulis missed a gilt-edged change for the Greeks. In other games, former European champions Marseille won 2-1 at Moldova’s Sheriff Tiraspol with AndrePierre Gignac bagging the winner.

Japanese star Keisuke Honda scored the only goal for his Russian outfit CSKA Moscow in a 1-0 win at Sweden’s Solna.

Scotland’s Motherwell found Spain’s Levante too hot to handle, going down to goals from Juanlu and Nabil El Zhar. Inter Milan were 2-0 winners at Vaslui with Esteban Cambiasso and Rodrigo Palacio on target while fellow Italian side Lazio won by the same margin at Slovania’s Murta with Brazilian Hernanes and veteran German Miroslav Klose netting. In Greece, riot police used tear gas to separate fans of PAOK Salonica and Rapid Vienna of Austria, where the Greeks won 2-1 after kickoff was delayed for several minutes. —AFP

in self-imposed exile after a touchline row with the Italian. “It’s the first time for a long time that he did a pre-season which is very important for every player.

For Carlos it’s more important because in the last four or five years he did not do a pre-season,” Mancini said.

“I hope he can continue to score and play like this. Now it’s important because we lose Sergio for two or three weeks.” Although Liverpool started their season badly last week with a 3-0 defeat at West Bromwich Albion, Mancini surprisingly claimed they are real title contenders this year. “I think Liverpool will fight for the title this year because they play well, they bought good players,” Mancini said.

“They got a good manager and they changed their style. They will fight for the title.” —AFP

Utd’s Ferguson rules out further signings MANCHESTER: Alex Ferguson has ruled out any more summer signings at Manchester United and insists time is running out for any player looking to leave. Ferguson unveiled Dutch defender Alexander Buttner at yesterday news conference, with the former Vitesse player having completed his move to United on Tuesday.

He follows Shinji Kagawa, Robin van Persie and Nick Powell to Old Trafford while Chilean teenager Angelo Henriquez also completed a move to United this week. But Ferguson insists that there will be no more incoming players despite rumored interest in Mexico’s Hector Herrera. And time is also running out for Dimitar Berbatov, who is trying to seal a move away following the arrival of Robin van Persie. Ferguson told reporters: “We definitely won’t be buying anyone else, that’s for sure. There’s no movement I can tell you about. There’s only a few days left to the deadline and it will all pass quickly, I imagine.”

Van Persie made his debut in United’s 1-0 defeat to Everton on Monday night as a late substitute but Ferguson has revealed the Dutchman could start when United face Fulham at Old Trafford today. The United boss admitted he would prefer the former Arsenal striker to have more games-but is ready to give him a start. He said: “He’s had a few days training since Monday.

In an ideal world he would be better with two or three games under his belt but it’s a home game and there’s every chance he could start.”

Ferguson also revealed that Buttner will provide the right competition for Patrice Evra, as the Frenchman has been playing too much in recent seasons. “It gives us that back up as you said we have defensive injuries at the moment,” he added. “Patrice Evra could play centre back, he has done before in the past but it gives us a stronger squad, that’s the most important thing.” “Buttner’s a straight-forward, attacking, quick full back. He will be a terrific addition to us. “When you consider Patrice Evra for the last five years has played an average of 48 games a season. It’s an incredible statistic and Alex comes now to challenge that position.”

Danny Welbeck signed a new-four year deal with United on Wednesday and Ferguson revealed it was a difficult negotiation with the player’s agent, as the striker’s injury problems coming through the ranks were a concern. But the United boss was relieved to tie the England international down. He said: “It wasn’t an easy negotiation with his agent. It’s always difficult to assess their level at that age. “Bearing in mind that Danny has had growth problems all the time, therefore he had a lot of minor injuries that sometimes kept him out for periods. “Last season was exactly that. He had two injuries but he’s getting stronger and in two years he will be an outstanding player. We’re delighted to get him on a contract.”

Ferguson has now called on his side to bounce back following Monday’s surprise defeat to Everton but knows that they are facing a difficult challenge against Fulham. “I went to see Fulham today, they played very well. The club has grown tremendously since Roy (Hodgson) got them to the Europa League final. “The place is buzzing, full house every week, good atmosphere, their home record is terrific and they’ve got a lot of experienced players-six players over 30. “It won’t be an easy game, we’re at home, we have to make an impact quickly after losing Monday night and we expect that.” —AFP

sports

SATURDAY, AUGUST 25, 2012

Chelsea will make title challenge, Cahill vows LONDON: Gary Cahill insists Chelsea are determined to remain in pole position in the Premier League title race when they face Newcastle today. The Blues moved to the top of the table for the first time in 21 months when they beat Reading 4-2 on Wednesday to make it two wins in two games at the start of the campaign. A third successive victory over Newcastle at Stamford Bridge will confirm the position of Roberto Di Matteo’s side among the early pacesetters and maintain the upbeat mood that has followed victory in last season’s Champions League final.

That defeat of Bayern Munich delivered the one trophy that was missing from the club’s trophy cabinet. But Di Matteo has already declared the priority this season is to close the gap on champions Manchester City and runners-up Manchester United after last

Matches on TV (Local Timings) English Premier League Swansea v West Ham 14:45 Abu Dhabi Sports HD3 Abu Dhabi Sports HD5 Southampton v Wigan 17:00 Abu Dhabi Sports HD7 Norwich v QPR 17:00 Abu Dhabi Sports HD8 Man United v Fulham 17:00 Abu Dhabi Sports HD5 Aston v Everton 17:00 Abu Dhabi Sports HD6 Sunderland v Reading 17:00 Abu Dhabi Sports HD4 Tottenham v Bromwich Albion17:00 Abu Dhabi Sports HD3 Chelsea v Newcastle 19:30 Abu Dhabi Sports HD3 Abu Dhabi Sports HD5

Spanish League Real Sociedad v Celta de Vigo 20:00 Aljazeera Sport +2 Espanyol v Real Zaragoza 22:00 Aljazeera Sport +5 Malaga v Real Mallorca 0:00 Aljazeera Sport +2

Italian League Fiorentina v Udinese Aljazeera Sport +1 Juventus v Parma Aljazeera Sport +1

19:00 21:45

French League Nice v Lille Aljazeera Sport +4 Valenciennes v Ajaccio Aljazeera Sport +9 Reims v Sochaux Aljazeera Sport +8 Nancy v Toulouse Aljazeera Sport +4

18:00 21:00 21:00 21:00

season’s disappointing sixth-place Premier League finish. And England defender Cahill confirmed the Italian’s message has got through to Chelsea’s players. “The manager stressed before the Reading game that we haven’t been top of the league for a long time and, although it’s early, it’s nice to be sitting there,” Cahill said.

“It is something we needed to address this season and it has been drilled into us. “It’s important that we challenge this year and we have made a good start.” The form of Chelsea playmaker Eden Hazard has provided an early highlight with the Belgiam quickly settling into life in the Premier League following his move from French club Lille. But Cahill believes the return of Fernando Torres to the scoresheet will be equally significant as the Spain striker attempts to establish himself as the club’s number one strik-

er following Didier Drogba’s move to China. “Maybe he will relish being the main man this season. He has done that at the start of the season and has been great for us,” he said.

“It is good to see him score so early in the season. He has dealt with pressure before and that won’t be any different for him this time. “He is the main man this year and has got off to a fantastic start. “Fernando has worked hard in training like he always does. Even when he doesn’t score, he works hard for the side. “To get off the mark already is great and he was scoring goals in the European Championship for Spain so he has taken that sort of form into this season.” Newcastle’s starting line-up at Stamford Bridge will bear little resemblance to the one that took to the field for the club’s return to Europe after a five year absence, less than 48

hours before the trip to London.

Magpies manager Alan Pardew utilized his squad for the Europa League play-off first leg 1-1 draw against Greek side Atromitos, but will welcome back the likes of regulars Demba Ba, Fabricio Coloccini, Yohan Cabaye and Cheik Tiote for the return to Premier League action. Pardew’s side face a grueling regular schedule of three games a week if they make it through to the Europa League group stages, and the boss said: “We’ve got a lot of games coming up and it’s important that our best players have their energy levels up. “In the Europa League I’m going to put out a team I think I can win and that might not be all our big hitters.

“Doing that would be impossible, especially with the amount of travelling involved and we have to remember that the Premier League is our bread and butter.”—AFP

Barcelona thump Real in Super Cup BARCELONA: Barcelona came from behind to beat Real Madrid 3-2 on Thursday in the opening leg of the Spanish Super Cup, giving Tito Vilanova a victory in his first meeting as head coach against counterpart Jose Mourinho. The first meeting of the season between Spain’s top clubs provided more of the usual heated rivalry to match the scorching summer night. It lived up to the expectations of the 91,728 fans as Vilanova faced Mourinho a year on from a famous clash that saw the Madrid manager poke his counterpart in the eye.

Tensions off the field had simmered from last August, when an on-field brawl marred Barcelona’s Super Cup triumph. Mourinho and Vilanova shook hands and spoke a few words before the start of a tentative first half that was quickly forgotten after the restart.

Cristiano Ronaldo opened the action-packed second half by heading Madrid in front in the 55th minute, the Portugal forward becoming the first Madrid player to score in four consecutive matches at the Camp Nou. Barcelona equalized on the very next possession as Javier Mascherano picked out Pedro Rodriguez with a perfect long ball and the Spain forward showed fine control before firing past Iker Casillas.

Andres Iniesta’s tricky runs put Madrid’s defense on the backfoot and Barcelona in command, and the Golden Ball nominee forced Sergio Ramos into a poor tackle to set up Lionel Messi’s penalty in the 70th. The Argentina forward’s third goal of the season saw him match Cesar Rodriguez’s club record of 14 goals scored against Madrid. Iniesta calmly skipped past Sami Khedira before drawing two other Madrid players to lay a perfect pass on to the path of the speeding Xavi Hernandez in the 78th and the Barcelona midfielder easily beat Casillas for 3-1.

But substitute Angel Di Maria pulled an important away goal back for Madrid in the 85th from Victor Valdes’ horrendous error as

the Barcelona goalkeeper tried to control Adriano’s back pass only to have possession wrestled away by Di Maria and the Argentina forward scored into an empty goal. The valuable second away goal boosted defending Spanish champion Madrid chances before

his team’s performance despite the Copa del Rey winner’s dominance in possession. “I didn’t like how we played in the first half. A team can change your game plan through its play and Barcelona played well, pressured us a lot and didn’t let us get out to attack,” Mourinho

BARCELONA: Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo from Portugal (center) scores against FC Barcelona during a Spanish Supercup, first leg soccer match at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona. —AP next Thursday’s return at its Santiago Bernabeu stadium. “I would have preferred 31 to 3-2 but we played a good game,” Vilanova said. “The tie is in still in our favor, so generally we have to be happy.”

Mourinho was not entirely displeased with

said. “But we played completely different from the first play of the second half.” The Portuguese coach lashed out at referee Clos Gomez, claiming Pedro was in an offside position on the equalizer. “I’m not surprised he would say that,” Vilanova said. —AP

SATURDAY, AUGUST 25, 2012

Sports

Barcelona thump Real in Super Cup

47

PARIS: Combo photo shows US cyclist Lance Armstrong posing on the podium after winning the Tour de France cycling race. — AFP

Armstrong stripped of titles, banned Battling ‘drugs cheat’ gives up the fight COLORADO SPRINGS: Iconic US cyclist Lance Armstrong was officially branded a drugs cheat yesterday by the US Anti-Doping Agency as it stripped him of his record seven Tour de France titles. Armstrong was also banned from cycling for life by the agency, which said his decision not to pursue arbitration in an effort to clear himself of doping charges leveled in June triggered the action. “USADA announced yesterday that Lance Armstrong has chosen not to move forward with the independent arbitration process and as a result has received a lifetime period of ineligibility and disqualification of all competitive results from August 1, 1998 through the present,” USADA said in a statement.

Armstrong, a cancer survivor revered by millions for his efforts in raising cancer awareness and supporting those stricken by the disease, won cycling’s most prestigious race from 1999-2005. He has long denied doping accusations but said Thursday night that he wouldn’t pursue an arbitration process he believes is “unfair”. “Finished with this nonsense,” Armstrong said. “As is every athlete’s right, if Mr Armstrong would have contested the USADA charges, all of the evidence would have been presented in an open legal proceeding for him to challenge,” USADA chief executive Travis Tygart said in a statement. “He chose not to do this know-

ing these sanctions would immediately be put into place.” USADA cited “aggravating circumstances” under the World Anti-Doping Code in issue a lifetime ban. Such circumstances include involvement in multiple antidoping rule violations and participation in a sophisticated doping scheme and conspiracy as well as trafficking, administration and/or attempted administration of a prohibited substance or method. USADA laid out five anti-doping rule violations for which Armstrong is being sanctioned, beginning with “use and/or attempted use of prohibited substances and/or methods including EPO, blood transfusions, testosterone, corticosteroids and masking agents”. Armstrong is also charged with possession of prohibited substances, including the drugs and doping equipment, trafficking in EPO, testosterone, and corticosteroids, administering or attempting to administer banned drugs to others and “assisting, encouraging, aiding, abetting, covering up and other complicity involving one or more anti-doping rule violations and/or attempted anti-doping rule violations.”

Armstrong had attempted to block USADA’s proceedings against him with a lawsuit, but it was dismissed on Monday. That gave him until Thursday to respond to USADA’s charges. “However, when given the

opportunity to challenge the evidence against him, and with full knowledge of the consequences, Mr Armstrong chose not to contest the fact that he engaged in doping violations from at least August 1, 1998 and participated in a conspiracy to cover up his actions,” Tygart said.

“As a result of Mr Armstrong’s decision, USADA is required under the applicable rules, including the World Anti-Doping Code under which he is accountable, to disqualify his competitive results and suspend him from all future competition.” In battling doping accusations Armstrong has always pointed to the fact that he has never failed a doping test.

Tygart said USADA built its case against him from disclosures from “more than a dozen” witnesses who had first-hand experience of a doping conspiracy on the part of Armstrong’s US Postal Service teams. “As part of the investigation Mr Armstrong was invited to meet with USADA and be truthful about his time on the USPS team but he refused,” Tygart said. USADA said witnesses provided evidence based on their direct observation of doping by Armstrong, or through Armstrong’s admissions to them that he used an array of performance-enhancing drugs including the blood booster EPO, blood transfusions, testosterone and human growth hormone at various times during his career. — AFP