5th Aug

CR IP TI ON BS SU

SUNDAY, AUGUST 5, 2012

03:32 03:42 05:10 11:54 15:30 18:37 20:02

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Tehran test-fires missile with new guidance system

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US soldiers father, son serve in Kuwait

Serena grabs Olympic gold, beats Sharapova

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Opposition bloc seeks to resolve Saadoun, PM rift

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Emsak: Fajer: Shoruk: Dohr: Asr: Maghreb: Eshaa:

Sudan, South Sudan strike oil deal

www.kuwaittimes.net

RAMADAN 17, 1433 AH

602 convert to Islam during first half of Ramadan

By A Saleh

Ramadan Kareem

What to know about Girgian

By Asma Al-Refai

A

sk any parent of a two-year-old and they will tell you that their child will always choose chocolate over broccoli. I know this first hand since my 22 month old son can detect the presence of broccoli a mile away even though I go through great strides to make the broccoli as undetectable as possible! The only time during the year where I try not to stress on the vegetable steamer is during Girgian. Girgian is a three-day cultural event that takes place on the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth day of the holy month of Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic Lunar Year.

I can’t really define the word Girgian because over the years, its meaning has originated from different situations. It is said that Girgian originated from the word ‘gara’a’ meaning “to knock” which is what children do when they approach the houses in order to obtain treats. It is also said that Girgian emerged from the word ‘tugargaa’ meaning “to make noise” which is the sound that is made when the treats collide with each other and with the nuts in the treat’s bag as it moves.

Others say that Girgian came from the word ‘garga’a’ meaning “noise” that was produced when the children used to clap together rocks as they were walking from house to house, signaling happiness and joy. According to some accounts, Girgian was first celebrated then the first incidence dates back to Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) where records show that when his daughter, Fatima, gave birth to the Prophet’s first grandchild, Al-Hassan, she handed out colored sugar to family and friends on the fifteenth day of Ramadan to celebrate the birth of her child.

Therefore, the same event has been repeating every Ramadan for the past 1,430 years until today. During Girgian, children get dressed up in traditional clothing such as the dishdasha for males and dara’a for females and they hang a bag around their necks to collect the treats in. Now-adays, some families customize the bags with the name of the family or the child on it to make it special. Just as the children mentally and physically prepare for Girgian, families too have to prepare for Girgian by purchasing a traditional basket and filing it up with sweets, nuts, and sometimes small toys to hand out when the children arrive.

After the last prayer of the day, Al-Ishaa, the children gather with an adult and start walking from house to house asking for treats. The children are welcomed at the doors and are asked by the people to sing if they want treats. When the children are done singing, a cupful of treats are poured into their bags and they are off to the next house, usually in the form of running. — Courtesy AWARE Center

Max 48º Min 36º High Tide 02:13 & 13:27 Low Tide 07:25 & 19:58

MANCHESTER: Olivia Hamilton, 6, smiles with her face painted before a quarter-final men’s soccer match between Japan and Egypt at the London 2012 Summer Olympics yesterday. Egypt lost 3-0. — AP (See Page 19)

Saudi soldier shot dead Gunman killed in a shootout RIYADH: A Saudi soldier was shot dead patrolling an area populated by minority Shiite Muslims late on Friday, the Interior Ministry said, and one of the gunmen was killed in the ensuing shootout. The deaths bring to 11 the number of people killed in the Qatif area since November in protests by members of Saudi Arabia’s Shiite minority over what they see as entrenched discrimination. “A security patrol was exposed to heavy fire from four armed rioters on motorbikes when pausing at a street intersection in Qatif,” state news agency SPA reported, quoting Interior Ministry spokesman Mansour Turki.

Turki said the gunmen had been arrested after an exchange of fire in which one of them was killed, and said another man suffering a bullet injury had been arrested at the hospital. He added that the incident,

which happened at 11 pm on Friday evening, had led to the death of one soldier, named as Hussein Bawah Ali Zabani, and the wounding of another, named as Saad Miteb Mohammed Al-Shammari, whom he said was taken to hospital.

Saudi Shiites mostly live in the Eastern Province, also home to the kingdom’s oil industry, and complain they lack access to government jobs, education and full rights of worship, charges the government denies. The world’s top oil exporter follows the conservative Wahhabi school of Islam, which regards Shiism as heretical. Protests broke out in Qatif last year when Saudi troops were invited by the government of neighboring Bahrain to help its Sunni royal family quash a popular uprising by the Shiite majority.

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TV show exposes depth of Israel hostility CAIRO: A prank Egyptian talk show that infuriates guests by duping them into believing they are on Israeli TV reveals the antipathy many hold for the Jewish state despite a wintr y peace treaty between the neighbors. “Judgment after Deliberations,” aired nightly by private Nahar satellite television during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, invites guests on the air under the pretence that they are participating in a German talk show.

But once the show is underway, they are told that they are on Israeli television.

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JERUSALEM: Palestinian Muslim women walk outside the Dome of the Rock at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem after prayers. — AFP

KUWAIT: The opposition bloc is looking to arrange a meeting between speaker of the annulled parliament Ahmad Al-Saadoun, and Prime Minister HH Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah- to help “improve the relationship between the two which was marred by increasing differences,” said sources. Speaking on condition of anonymity, sources said that Al-Saadoun has become publically critical of the premier.

“Al-Saadoun is frustrated with Sheikh Jaber who so far has not made a clear position about his Cabinet’s rejection of changing electoral constituencies or meeting promises made to the opposition bloc,” sources said.

The differences seem to be deep, leading Al-Saadoun to become “determined to call for a new prime minister following the next elections - someone who adopts ideologies that fall in line with the opposition bloc’s ambitions of achieving constitutional monarchy and elected Cabinet,” sources added.

Members of the bloc, a coalition of opposition members who dominated the annulled 2012 parliament, are hoping that a meeting between Al-Mubarak and AlSaadoun will help contain the ongoing problem “and eventually lead the latter to abandon his demands to oust Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah,” sources indicated. Meanwhile, MP Husain Al-Qallaf has rejected a call made by fellow Shiite lawmaker Saleh Ashour to cooperate with the bloc. “It is well known that the opposition bloc fought [former Prime Minister HH Sheikh Nasser Al-Sabah] because they believed he favored Shiites,” Al-Qallaf claimed in a statement released yesterday.

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Coptic leader slams ‘unfair’ Egypt cabinet Women, Salafists disappointed CAIRO: Egypt’s new government fails to fairly represent Christians, the acting head of the Coptic Church said yesterday, saying one cabinet seat was not enough to reflect a community that accounts for a tenth of the Muslim country’s population. Islamist President Mohamed Morsi appointed his first cabinet on Thursday that drew heavily on career bureaucrats and included three Islamist politicians, one of whom was given the politically sensitive post of education minister.

Christians who joined Muslims in the 18-day revolt that toppled long-time ruler Hosni Mubarak last year had wanted a more inclusive government to balance the growing influence of Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood. Prime Minister Hisham Kandil’s cabinet appointed two women to his team but disappointed women’s groups. Salafi Muslims who performed strongly in parliamentary elections were not included in the lineup at all.

Bishop Bakhomious, who replaced Pope Shenouda following his death in March after four decades as head of the Coptic Orthodox Church, told Egypt’s Al-Shorouk newspaper he had expected Christians to be better represented. “I will not congratulate the new prime minister on the formation of the government because it is unfair... this ministerial formation came unjust to Copts,” he told the paper. “We had expected an increase in the representation of Copts especially after the number of ministries increased to 35 ministries.

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in the

news

48 pilgrims abducted

Arzouqi crashes out

Gunfight, blast hit Tripoli

TEHRAN: Forty-eight Iranian pilgrims were kidnapped from a bus in the Syrian capital yesterday, their embassy’s consular chief in Damascus told Iran’s state television. “Armed terrorist groups kidnapped 48 Iranian pilgrims on their way to the airport,” Majid Kamjou told the IRIB network, which gave the report on its website.

“There are no reports about the fate of the pilgrims. The embassy and Syrian officials are trying to trace the kidnappers,” he said. Hundreds of thousands of Iranians travel each year to Syria to visit a Shiite pilgrimage site, the Shrine of Zaynab, in Damascus. Tehran is the staunchest ally of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, whose forces are locked in a bloody conflict in Damascus and other cities against rebels his regime describes as “terrorists”. Several dozen Iranian pilgrims and engineers were abducted in December and January, with most being released months later. Many of the rebels come from Syria’s Sunni majority, which is hostile to the support Shiite Iran has shown to the regime of Assad, whose family is Alawite, a Shiite offshoot.

LONDON: Three female Arab shooters, including Kuwait’s Maryam Arzouqi, dropped out of the London Olympics women’s 50m rifle 3 positions after failing to qualify for the final. Out of 46 shooters, Arzouqi came a disappointing 44th with a score of 564, trailing 28 points in the qualification round behind Jamie Lynn Gray, who later went on to win the event in the following final round, which only accepts eight shooters. The remaining Arab shooters not to have qualified include Bahrain’s Azza Al-Qasmi, 33th (576 points) and Qatar’s Bahya Mansour Al-Hamad 46th and last place (555 points). In another development, a dozen people opposed to the Syrian government are protesting the presence at the Olympics of an equestrian rider whose father is under US sanction for supporting the regime of President Bashar Assad. Ahmad Saber Hamsho competed yesterday in the show jumping individual qualifier, producing a clear round in good time on a horse called Wonderboy. Hamsho has been quoted in the British media as supporting Assad. But he says he is only representing Syria, and he is dismissing the protesters outside the gate as “stupid.”

TRIPOLI: A gunbattle between youths allegedly competing for space in a market place and a car blast rocked the centre of the Libyan capital yesterday, leaving one wounded, residents and security sources said. “There was a fight between youths over market space,” Mohammed, a young resident of Al-Rashid neighborhood near Martyr’s Square said. “They were shooting at each other and throwing gelatin,” an easily available TNT-based explosive used in fishing, said the resident, adding that the fighting took place at around dawn. A car blastapparently caused by gelatin-rocked the same area. “The car, a Honda Civic, blew up to pieces,” said a guard stationed at the military police base just meters from where the blast took place. He said the blast could have been caused by “fishing explosives” that were either in or thrown at the car. Senior officers at the same branch declined to comment on the explosion. But a foreign security expert who evaluated the site of the blast confirmed to AFP that the explosion appeared to have been caused by TNT used in fishing.

Kuwait’s shooter Maryam Arzouqi

SUNDAY, AUGUST 5, 2012

local

KUWAIT: Management of the Habayebna Magazine organized its second annual ghabqa at the Holiday Inn in Salmiya recently, featuring large attendance and media coverage. During the event, Sheikha Mariyam Al-Sabah, daughter of Chairperson of the Kuwaiti Khair Charity Foundation Sheikha Feriyal AlDuaij Al-Sabah, delivered a speech in which she expressed gratitude to the magazine for “shedding light on the foundation’s efforts in taking care of orphans”. —Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat

Gulf Bank sponsors Girgian at Al-Kharafi Activity Kids Center Shrimp soup with dill

Lebanese Kunafa

By Movenpick Hotel

KUWAIT: Gulf Bank recently sponsored “Ramadan around the World”, an event held at the Al-Kharafi Activity Kids Center on Aug 1 at 8:30 pm. The event took place at the Convention Center and Royal Suites Hotel, under the Patronage of Sabeeka Al-Jasser, Chairperson of the Al-Kharafi Activity Kids Center. The aim of the “Ramadan around the World” event is to strengthen the noble values and Ramadan traditions in which some embassies participated in by displaying their culture and heritage through their traditional costumes and famous dishes. In addition, each embassy organized a folklore dance that embodied their country’s spirit. The event began with a welcome speech by Sabeeka Al-Jasser in which she expressed her gratitude to Gulf Bank for being the main sponsor of the event, followed by two remarkable theatrical plays; one performed by the children along with a musical band representing Kuwait’s heritage and the second by the Lebanese embassy.

Children were kept entertained by the 99 characters, specially arranged by Gulf Bank to distribute the girgai’an bags.

Those who attended the event, also took part in several activities including henna drawing, face painting, hair braiding and music. Prior to the event, a press conference was held on July 26th at the Al-Kharafi Activity Kids Center where Fawzy AlThunayan, Gulf Bank’s General Manager of Board Affairs spoke on behalf of the Bank. Gulf Bank is committed to being a key player in Kuwait’s social fabric and continues to support such activities throughout the year, reiterating the bank’s commitment to the wider community.

INGREDIENTS: • 2 pieces large shrimps in the shells • 3 cups water, • 1/2 lemon zest • 4 sprigs parsley • 4 cloves garlic • 1 teaspoon tomato paste • 8 peppercorns • 1 medium onion finely chopped • 1/2 cup celery leaves chopped • 2 cloves garlic, minced • 1 medium tomato, chopped • 1 tablespoon fresh dill chopped • 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder • 1 tablespoon olive oil • ground black pepper- to taste • Salt to taste • Lemon wedges for garnish • Cooked rice for serving-optional METHOD 1. Peel the shrimp and place the shells in a saucepan with the water, tomato paste, lemon zest, parsley, garlic and peppercorn. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for 50 minutes.

2. Pour the liquid through a strainer and reserve the liquid.

3. Heat the oil in a large heavy skillet and add the chopped onion and garlic, fresh tomato and the celery.

4. Saute over medium-low heat.

5. Add cumin, salt and pepper and the shrimp. Stir 2 minutes and pour the cup of reserved liquid (from shells) into skillet.

6. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer for five minutes or (until the shrimp is cooked) 7. Sprinkle the serving dish with fresh chopped dill and pour over the hot soup. May be served over top of hot rice.

8. Garnish with lemon wedges.

By Movenpick Hotel Cooking Time: 20 minutes Preparation Time: 25 minutes Serves six persons INGREDIENTS • 5 cups kataifi shredded pastry • 4 tablespoon butter (melted) • 1/2 cup Ricotta cheese • 3 tablespoon plain yoghurt • 2 tablespoon rose water • 1 tablespoon pine nuts(roasted and chopped) INGREDIENTS FOR SUGAR SYRUP • 1 1/2 cup sugar • 2 cup’s water • 1 tablespoon orange flavored water PREPARATION 1. Grease a shallow oven dish 2. Separately place the shredded pastry in a large bowl and add the BBQ ghee and mix thoroughly.

3. Then, take half of this mixture and arrange in the greased dish.

4. Next, mix the Ricotta cheese, sugar, rose water and yoghurt until you get a smooth mixture.

5. Then pipe a layer of the cheese mixture, sprinkle the chopped pine nuts and finish with the remaining shredded pastry mixture.

6. Bake it in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes at 180 C or until it is golden.

7. In the meantime, prepare the sugar syrup by boiling the sugar, water and orange flavored water together for about ten minutes.

8. Pour the sugar syrup on top and the dish is ready to serve.

local

KUWAIT: The Kuwait Journalists Association hosted a Ghabqa recently at its headquarters building in Shuwaikh, on the occasion of the holy month of Ramadan.

The event was attended by Ministry of Information Undersecretary Sheikh Salman Al-Hmoud Al-Sabah, in addition to KJA members and other guests. —Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat

SUNDAY, AUGUST 5, 2012

SUNDAY, AUGUST 5, 2012

LOCAL kuwait digest

Local Spotlight

Dishonesty of our politicians

Street cleaners in Ramadan

By Abdullatif Al-Duaij

W

e thank MPs of the National Action Bloc including Aseel Al-Awadhi, Abdallah Al-Roumi, Adel Al-Sarawi and Marzouq Al-Ghanim, in addition to the speaker, and MP Salwa Al-Jassar, for their acceptance and appreciation of the court ruling, through their attempt to attend the session and reopen the 13th parliamentary term.

We wish a bad time for MP Saleh Al-Mulla, as he attended the Irada Square before that and he caused the dispersion of the National Bloc several times.

Regardless of their stand regarding the 2009 assembly, and the truth about the dishonesty of its members, it remains a legally elected assembly and its members were chosen by Kuwaitis in free elections which no one protested. In fact, most of the 2009 assembly members are honorable and part of the government bloc.

As for the MPs, most of them are independent and there are others who are in opposition to the government. This means that MPs could obey the constitutional court ruling and respect the historical ruling by tactically attending the opening session.

Then they can do whatever they like because they are the majority and because the ministers did not receive the oath of office until the opening session, so they did not receive their membership in the assembly, which means that the parliamentary majority can add the National Action Bloc, either by withdrawing immediately after the opening session and halting the assembly’s work, or allowing the government to be sworn in and then withdraw.

Whatever the decision may have been, the MPs were able to dictate their views and demands without disrespecting the constitutional court’s ruling and without insulting its historic ruling. Yet, it seems that some of them have another problem with the 2009 assembly, other than the MPs who accepted bribes and those who are after them, which may be uncovered in the days ahead.

Deducing from the National Assembly’s session on Tuesday, which was not held, history will record that Kuwait’s National Assembly was dissolved unconstitutionally three times.

The first time was by the late Sheikh Sabah Al-Salem in 1975, the second by the late Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad in 1984 and the third will be credited to the Shabbiha if the 2009 assembly is dissolved due to the lack of a quorum. — Al-Qabas

By Muna Al-Fuzai

muna@kuwaittimes.net

A

kuwait digest

Encouragement for Kuwaiti writers

By Foud Al-Rashidi

I

n every ministry in Kuwait, there is a specific article in the budget known as “encouragement for Kuwaiti writers”. This part of the media budget in every ministry or part of the budget of the minister’s office is usually kept to purchase books by Kuwaiti writers, as well as for encouraging them to write and ultimately encourage writing in general.

What happens, in reality, even in the office of His Highness the Prime Minister, is to “ignore the Kuwaiti writer”, and even treat him as if he came along with his book to beg in front of the authorities’ doors. In spite of their spending an encouraging amount, purchasing a few copies of a book does not cost more than KD 500 - 1,000, which is much lower than buying pencils for the Prime Minister to write in it for one month.

When you go with your book to the Ministry of Education or Ministry of Information, for example, or even to the office of the Prime Minister, you want to present your efforts, such as your work of arts or science or law which you gathered into a book that took you 3 to 12 months to finish and organize it the way it should appear.

There, they meet you with a kind carelessness displayed to you and your papers. While a person coming to seek sponsors for a commercial cooking exhibition can easily receive instant approval and be issued around KD 4,000 - 10,000, and on top of that personal sponsorship from the minister.

But you, the writer, who wrote and tried to make something, whether it was documenting politically or historically for this period of our history, or a PhD essay or masters essay, no one will look at you, and if you want to get what is right for you, for encouragement you should tear up your book and start working on an exhibition for cooking and then you will get what pleases you, and on top of that sponsorship from His Highness, the minister.

Personally, this is at least what we see, or you should look for an MP who mediates with some minister or those in charge of encouraging writers.

NOTE: No wonder that the minister sponsors cooking exhibitions and does not sponsor youth writers.

Haven’t you noticed that the state has only one library, as opposed to 500 restaurants. The defect is very clear. — Al-Anbaa

kuwait digest

What’s in store for Kuwait?

re you k idding? What is the reason behind having street cleaners working on the streets all day long in this heat during the hottest month of the year while they are fasting?

What are they looking for that is so valuable and what is worth removing? Why don’t they start their working hours in the evening? This is outrageous and really abusive, I believe. I wonder why no one is objecting to this.

No one is saying anything against this, and while many Muslims are rushing to the mosques to fulfill their prayers, asking Allah for mercy for their brothers in Syria and many countries around the world, they simply turn a blind eye on their Muslim brothers on the main street next door.

Why is no one calling for action against the cleaners’ companies who force their workers to clean in this heat? These people are not managers who work in air-conditioned offices or use air-conditioned cars. These are human beings, not less than any of us who get forced to take the trash from the streets while not being able to drink or eat, otherwise they would be arrested and spend a month in prison if they do not pay the fine, which is KD100, or do both and still get jailed. What do you call this but abuse and cruelty? Because I fail to find any other name for this.

I believe these companies must be punished with large fines due to their ill treatment against humans, who are forced to work under the sun while fasting and are not allowed to drink or eat for about 15 hours. I also think human NGOs must stand up for those poor workers. They surely need our support and help.

In Kuwait, when the temperature reaches 50, all office employees are required by law to stop working, to leave their offices at once and sometimes this matter does happen, even when many don’t notice that heat because their offices are air-conditioned, though those street cleaners don’t enjoy this luxury as they are grilled, if not fried.

Th i s R a m a d a n i s a b o u t to b e ove r a n d I doubt new laws in this regard, or action, will be taken. But, this needs to be said this year and continue ringing the bell against the violators for years to come.

kuwait digest

By Waleed Al-Ahmad

Two paths in front of us

W

eeks before the opposition announced their petition, in which they call for boycotting elections if the current electoral system is changed, I had already made up my mind to become the first person to head to Irada Square and join protests against participating in the future parliament if the change happened.

There are strong debates these days hinting that the Cabinet plans to alter the current distribution of constituencies which, if this happened, would push Kuwait into further instability. The only thing different, then, would be that the Cabinet would be the one that started the problem this time!

NO: 15530

17

RAMADAN 17, 1433 AH

Which Sura has no Fa’letter in it?

Al Balad Al Fatiha Al Shams

There are strong debates these days hinting that the Cabinet plans to alter the current distribution of constituencies which, if this happened, would push Kuwait into further instability. The only thing different, then, would be that the Cabinet would be the one that started the problem this time!

I do not deny the fact that the previous parliaments have seen personal interests given priority ahead of the common good, but former Cabinets also played a large role in hindering development, as suggested by the recent Alshall report. In that regard, the report explains that parliament had no role in obstructing the first ring road project, the Shadaddiya University project, the Mishref Plant’s meltdown and high roads renovation projects, which all are under governmental control as they are developmental projects.

There are two scenarios that can happen in the upcoming few days. The first scenario sees the government keeping the current 5-constituencies system unchanged and calling for new elections, which I’m positive will see the opposition winning the majority of seats again. Even if the Majority Bloc does not retain all its members, the opposition is likely to maintain its majority in the parliament.

The second scenario would see the electoral system changed, either constitutionally or unconstitutionally, after which the opposition will boycott the elections, opening the door for the next parliament to be controlled by a pro-government majority. In the meantime, the opposition will make sure to keep their voices heard through demonstrations at Iradah Square, leaving Kuwait with two parliaments! — Al-Rai

By Thaar Al-Rashidi

I

n order to know who is right and who is wrong, let us appoint Mr. Twitter as the judge between us. I shall prove with a simple equation that it can be very clear to everyone, yet no one has spoken about it before. In truth, most of those who attack the opposition use nick names and remain unknown, and most of those who write against corruption use their own names.

Did you see the answer? Simply put, the one who is right thinks that he is right and reveals his real name in front of everyone, but those who defend the wrong always tr y to hide behind a nick name, perhaps in fear of receiving ridicule themselves.

The Chinese have an expression that says, “Beware of what you wish for”. So, beware of the 1st constituency, for it is the door from which entry will be made to amend the constitution. Thereafter, it will be impossible to return to what we had before.

Three parliament suggestions were offered and reviewed by the legislative committee in the dissolved current council about this piece of legislation. If one examines it’s details, one will find the general features not clear, not a single suggestion complete, no thread of realism or logic to be found.

The choice is in front of us: To return to 25 or keep the 5 constituencies after reinforcing it.

We have only those two paths in front of us, no third choice, unless keeping the council on hold is the standby plan, in case of an overall failure in choosing.

We must do more than just choose, however, we must declare that the national action bloc members commitment to attend the NA Council session two days back was an application to the principal of their belief in the law and constitution. They want to convey a message that they are neither with this nor that group, and have done so effectively, asking for us to respect their non-committal nature. But under the prevailing circumstances you should decide your stand: “Black” or “White”.

I don’t know why, but after the national action bloc was committed to attend the session, without any one beside them, I remembered the joke about a masked man who raided a tent of drunken men, put the gun in a man’s face and said “Are you with us or with the other group?” He answered hurriedly, “I am with you.” “Ok good, because we are the other group!!” — Al-Anba

SUNDAY, AUGUST 5, 2012

local

KUWAIT: The Commercial Bank of Kuwait visited care homes recently to celebrate girgian activities alongside people with special needs. Various entertainment- filled activities and competitions were held by a team from the bank’s Advertisement and Public Relations Department. “CBK makes periodic visits to social care homes and people with special needs. It is a positive habit that we make sure to carry out during special occasions,” said Assistant General Manager - Advertisement and Public Relations Department, Amani Al-Waraa.

Kuwaiti lawyers form group to defend Egypt’s Mubarak

By Nawara Fattahova KUWAIT: After the Arab Spring revolutions in Egypt, which resulted in the resignation of the former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, a defense committee was formed. Some Kuwaiti lawyers have since volunteered to defend the former president as they feel he deserves competent representation.

The Egyptian Defense of Hosni Mubarak, led by attorney Yusri Abdulrazaq, held a press conference in Cairo to form an international committee to defend the former Egyptian president. During this conference, the volunteer Kuwaiti lawyer Adel Al-Sibei from Kuwaiti Defense of Hosni Mubarak was appointed to attend this conference on behalf of the of the volunteer Kuwait lawyers who are not present in Egypt. This international

committee includes lawyers from different Arab and European countries.

“We are proud to be among the first members of this international defense committee. We support the committee, which will be located in Cairo, financially and morally,” said attorney Dr. Faisal Al-Otaibi, Head of the Kuwaiti Volunteering Defense of Hosni Mubarak. The Kuwaiti Volunteering Defense committee currently consists of four attorneys: Dr. Faisal Al-Otaibi, Adel Al-Sibei, Mohammed Al-Ajmi, and Bashayir Al-Habib. “We have volunteered to defend the former president, as we believe that he performed his role and duties without fault. The mistakes that we witnessed later were not because of him. We realize that there were many foreigners interfering in this revolution, and Mubarak deserves a fair trail, so we are defending him,” AlOtaibi said.

western regions to be developed KUWAIT: Municipal authorities have signed the project of development of in the western region, said Saad AlMuhailbi, Director of Structural Planning, Kuwait Municipality.

Al-Muhailbi told KUNA yesterday that the 13-month five -phase venture includes data gathering and analysis, planning studies, alternatives to structur-

al planning, detail planning and final reports of the project. The venture is being executed in the fifth region, located on the western territories of the country. The 2,396-square kilometer area stretches along Al-Salmi road. Moreover, it is aimed at specifying usage of plots, securing public utilities and planning for future construction. — KUNA

Marines to become martial arts instructors in Kuwait No shortage of physical challenges CAMP BUEHRING, Kuwait: Fourteen Marines with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit have volunteered their time in Kuwait to learn something profound-how to train warriors in the Marine Corps brand of martial arts.

Marines from Combat Logistics Battalion 24 and Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, are currently punching, kicking and grappling their way through a two-week Marine Corps Martial Arts Program, or MCMAP, instructor course.

According to Marine Corps Order 1500.54A, MCMAP is an integrated martial art designed for and executed by all Marines throughout their career and a revolutionary step in the development of martial skills for Marines, replacing all other close combatrelated systems preceding its introduction. It addresses the full spectrum of the force continuum of the battlefield and fulfills the need to build Marines with the mental and character traits required to succeed in the future.

MCMAP contains a similar belt system as civilian martial arts; it begins with tan belt and continues up through several degrees of black belt. Instructor trainers are the Marines responsible for teaching the necessary skills to Marines. The course is taking place because a handful of MCMAP instructor trainers, the Marines who train and certify instructors, realized the MEU would be spending more than a

month conducting sustainment training in Kuwait, and decided it would be the perfect opportunity to run an instructor course, said Sgt. Jose Alvarez, a Bronx, NY, native and 2nd degree martial arts instructor trainer with BLT 1/2.

“The fact that we are going to be here for this long a period of time created a great opportunity for us to do the training,” he said.

Marines volunteered for the course immediately. “I’m very excited about it, it’s a great course,” said Cpl Charles McDonald, a Van Buren, Ark, native and squad leader with Charlie Company, BLT 1/2.

Those Marines are now engaged in a course curriculum that focuses on improving their martial arts abilities, developing their warrior ethos, and teaching them how to instruct. “We teach them the synergy of MCMAP,” Alvarez said. “When you create an instructor, you want to make sure they are mentally strong, have a good will and strong character, and also are able perform physically.”

In the training, the Marines assume the role of both instructor and student. They lead each other in various MCMAP training sessions ranging from striking and grappling matches to small group discussion about warrior ethos.

The first few days of the course serve as an introduction. The Marines conduct a physical

fitness test and combat fitness test to ensure they are able to handle the challenges of the course. Their skills in MCMAP are also evaluated by the course instructors. “We want to make sure they overcome any stage fright they may have,” Alvarez said.

They lead each other in various MCMAP training sessions ranging from striking and grappling matches to small group discussions about warrior ethos. “It’s not about just being a warrior; it’s about being a responsible warrior,” McDonald said. The course has no shortage of physical challenges and is designed to push the Marines to their limit so they can learn to instruct while exhausted, Alvarez said.

“You can never really judge someone until they are tired,” he said. “Once they are tired, that is when their true self will come out.

That’s when you can see who the real person is, and we look for that.”

The Marines are constantly under the evaluation of the instructors to make sure they are able to handle the difficulties associated with teaching MCMAP. They receive written tests and practical application evaluations throughout the course, said Alvarez. Once the Marines complete the course, they will be able to teach and certify Marines in MCMAP up to their level of proficiency. More importantly-they will better be able to train warriors how to fight. — MCT

SUNDAY, AUGUST 5, 2012

LOCAL

Iraqi bill on paying KAC compensation Committee rejects allowances

By A Saleh KUWAIT: The Iraqi parliament discussed yesterday, a bill to allocate $300 million to be paid to the Kuwait Airways as part of the settlement reached recently with regard to paying compensation for damages caused during the 1990/91 Iraqi Invasion to Kuwait.

The bill was presented by the financial, services and construction, and legal committees in the parliament, and urged lawmakers to approve the amount. The settlement also includes investing $200 million in joint projects between the two countries.

Wrong decisions A supreme economic advisory committee has recommended to

the government to “reconsider allowances approved to a certain state department, rejecting proposals that new allowances be paid at the Civil Ser vice Council(CSC),” revealed sources.

“It is important (to do that) in order to curb inflated public sector pay scale. If the government does not proceed with paying allowances approved recently, putting more pressure on the state’s budget that lacks new financial resources to help achieve balance,” said sources.

The committee, formed last year

by HH the Amir to help curb overspending in the state’s budget, mentioned that allowances paid to teachers and oil sector employees are examples of “wrong decisions made without

correct financial basis,” urging “privatization of education and other vital sectors in the state.”

Meanwhile, a recent economic report blamed ministers and other state officials of “hurting the credibility of the government” by continuously criticizing the country’s economic policies.” “Several ministers and state officials criticized the government’s economic policy, but they failed to demonstrate true willingness to execute visions they announced to help solve the problems they brought up,” reads a recent repor t released by Bayan Investment Company.

“Economists lost confidence in such empty statements, which is increasingly hurting the government’s credibility in reforming

the economic sector”.

‘Housing’ appointments The Minister of Housing Anas Al-Saleh assigned the ministry’s Legal Department to verify the legality of appointments made by former minister Shuwaib AlMuwaizri yesterday. “Minister AlSaleh consulted legal opinion before making any decision regarding several complaints made by employees against appointments made by the former minister,” said sources. AlSaleh reinstated Salah AlMudhaf, General Director of the Savings and Credit Bank, based on the opinion of a technical committee who found his termination order made by AlMuwaizri to be illegal.

Bedoon boy stabbed to death KUWAIT: A bedoon boy was killed by his friend who stabbed him in the chest with a knife as they were supposedly joking. A security source said that a Jahra hospital investigator told police that the body of the man had a stab wound in the heart, as doctors attempted to save him. One of the two men said that he was in the Saad Al-Abdallah area with his friend when the victim arrived. According to the perpetrator, he wanted to “play with him and got a knife from my pocket and started to wave it in front of him without any intention to hurt him, but suddenly the victim attacked me and attempted to take the knife away, but as soon he came close the knife penetrated his chest. Then we picked him up and brought him to hospital.”

Investigations are underway.

Lawyer appeal Chairman of “May Allah protect you Kuwait ” law yer Ali Al-Ali has asked First Deputy Premier and Interior Minister Sheikh Ahmad AlHumoud to quickly arrest a Tweeter for insulting I mams Hassan and Hussein and implement the law against all who insult religious symbols. He also threatened to take to the streets if the law is not enforced.

Citizen arrested A citizen was apprehended driving on the coastal road while having Keptagon tablets in his possession.

He repor tedly became confused when he saw a patrol car. The arrest was made when officers in a police patrol noticed a car being driven erratically and said the driver appeared confused. The drugs were found and the suspect was transferred to concerned authorities.

Zain employees visit orphans, elderly KUWAIT: A team of volunteers from Zain, the leading telecommunications company in Kuwait, has been visiting orphanages since the start of the holy month of Ramadan, as part of the company ’s corporate social responsibility program.

Waleed Alkhashti, Corporate Communications and Relations Department Manager at Zain said, “Ramadan presents a special occasion for our organization to communicate and interact with people through our social and charitable programs.”

The visits of Zain’s volunteers intensified especially during the first days of Ramadan, jointly with the Ministry of Social Affairs and

Labor(MSAL), a team of volunteers from Zain visited nurseries, disadvantaged families and the orphanage in Kuwait as part of the organization’s CSR Ramadan program. The visit brought joy to many children and orphans, and touched their hearts by bringing a smile to the children’s faces.

The team of volunteers from Zain showed eagerness to visit homes for the elderly. They expressed willingness to bring joy to the elderly who need greater social networking especially during Ramadan.

Alkhashti said, “Our willingness to remain close to all people in Kuwait’s society has brought about a Ramadan program for the

elderly, the less privileged families and children without parents.”

He added, “Zain will continue to pay such visits to people with special needs and to members of society who need care. Our program for this month is rich in social initiatives such as the distribution of Iftar meals in three Iftar tents in different parts of Kuwait that provide meals to over 2,000 individuals every day.”

Alkhashti concluded, “Zain’s Ramadan events are part of our growing support for charitable and social-oriented programs. We remain committed to continuously extend our social outreach and charity initiatives.”

Nine firefighters injured in Amghara scrap yard fires

By Hanan Al-Saadoun KUWAIT: Nine firefighters were injured while extinguishing a fire that broke out at a wooden warehouse in Amghara scrapyard on Friday. Brig Yossif Al-Ansari, A c t i n g D i r e c t o r G e n e r a l o f t h e Fi r e Direc torate, said that most firefighter teams, 14 stations, were rushed to the scene, in addition to teams from the

National Guard and Kuwait Oil Company.

Al-Ansari added that firefighters suffered tremendously due to the number of fire incidents they faced, coupled with sandstorm and high temperatures. The official asked companies located in the Amghara area to take precautionary measures and follow fire safety procedures to ensure safety during these times of the year. Al-Ansari also said that the increase in

number of fire incidents recently in civilian, commercial, and industrial zones are wearing out firefighters, but noted that following safety procedures in most cases will reduce similar incidents in the future.

The fire depar tment official praised effor ts made by firefighters, including those who joined the efforts by other entities, like the National Guard, officials from the Interior Ministry and food companies.

Child death An Egyptian told Amiri hospital investigators that his infant son died one hour after he was discharged from hospital, though the child had a high fever. The father said he was surprised when, upon returning from the hospital where his four month old boy had received treatment, he found the child’s temperature was too high

so he rushed back to the hospital. The boy, however, died while on the way back to the hospital. Investigations are underway.

Suicide case An Ethiopian woman in her twenties committed suicide by hanging herself inside the bathroom of an AlNaeem police station holding cell.

The woman wrapped a piece of cloth around her neck and hung herself, according to authorities. The woman had previously attempted suicide but had failed. Investigations are underway.

Car burning Ardhiya detectives are investigating the burning of the car of Sergeant Talal Al-Mutairi which was destroyed by fire inside the park ing lot of Far waniya General Security.

Authorities suspect the culprit may have been someone booked earlier for traffic violations. Detectives asked Al-Mutairi to hand over the traffic tickets book that he used during the month his car was burned.

Bedoons arrested Sulaibiya police arrested three bedoons for eating in public. When police searched their car they also found hashish. The three men aged between 17-20 were taken into custody.

Customer rescued An Egyptian expat who owns a cafe in Hawally rescued a customer when he collapsed after smoking too much shisha. The Egyptian took him in his car to Mubarak hospital where he was admitted to the ICU for suspicion of a heart attack and a severe chest infection.

Four-member gang Asima (capital) detectives are continuing their interrogation of four persons who stabbed a Faiha gas station clerk. Police found 250 grams of hashish and more than 30 ready to use joints. One of the suspects is a policeman. Detectives are searching for a fifth suspect.

Govt to criminalize hate speech through ordinance KUWAIT: The government plans to criminalize hate speech by passing a draft law “to limit sectarian instigation that often happen in the society,” a local daily reported yesterday. The new development comes days after the arrest of controversial figure and member of the annulled 2012 parliament Mohammad Al-Juwaihel, for posting insulting remarks on Twitter against the Mutair tribe, one of the largest tribal communities in Kuwait. “The government is working on a comprehensive law that criminalizes hate speech that has been rapidly spreading in the past few years,” said sources. An ordinance will be passed following the dissolution of the 2009 parlia-

ment and before new elections are held.

“The new parliament will be held responsible both politically and socially for this problem which currently lacks a deterrent legal measure,” sources added.

The law reportedly will be applied to ‘speech’ in public and through media outlets, as well as written statements through social networks. “Every statement advocating hate to certain sectors of the society or eliminating them by instigating sectarianism will be prosecuted,” sources explained.

Penalties “which include jail term, fining, suspension, or closure of media outlets” will be left for the court to determine, sources added.

Gulf Bank extends Ramadan greetings to Kuwait’s Blind Association

KUWAIT: Firefighters in action after fire broke out in Amghara yesterday. — Photos by Hanan Al-Saadoun

KUWAIT: Gulf Bank recently made a financial contribution to Kuwait Blind Association(KBA) as part of Ramadan initiatives. This stems from the Bank’s belief in providing the less fortunate or those suffering from a disability with support.

Gulf Bank’s support to the Kuwait Blind Association(KBA) will help maintain, upgrade, and provide new computers which are adapted to the needs of people with impaired vision.

Fawzy Al-Thunayan, Gulf Bank’s General Manager of Board Affairs commented, “We are pleased to know that

our contribution to the Kuwait Blind Association(KBA) will provide those with impaired vision the opportunity to use new software that allows them to speak and interact with computers. Ramadan is the time of year when we try to make a difference in the lives of the less fortunate. It is the perfect time to get closer to our community and to get more involved in supporting organizations. We will continue to be a part of these innovative programs, which help bring enjoyment and practical assistance to everyone during the holy month.”

SUNDAY, AUGUST 5, 2012

Iran tests missile with new guidance system Page 8

Fort Hood suspect fined again for having beard Page 9

JAMMU: An Indian villager watches fast moving water during a flash flood of the Tawi river yesterday. — AFP (See Page 11)

Sudan, S Sudan strike oil deal Two sides still have to agree where border lies

ADDIS ABABA; African Union lead mediator Thabo Mbeki announces yesterday that Sudan and South Sudan have reached an agreement on how to share oil riches. — AFP

ADDIS ABABA: Sudan and South Sudan have hammered out a deal over oil, one of a series of bitter disputes that brought the rivals to the brink of all-out war earlier this year, African Union mediator Thabo Mbeki said early yesterday after long-running talks in the Ethiopian capital. “The parties have agreed on all of the financial arrangements regarding oil, so that’s done,” he said, two days after a United Nations deadline for the two neighbours to resolve their differences on oil and borders expired, and Mbeki said they would meet next month to try to find a compromise on the disputed region of Abyei. Mbeki said a timetable would now be drawn up for the resumption of oil production and exports, which are key to the economies of both deeply impoverished countries.

However, analysts suggest it could take up to six months for South Sudan to be able to resume full oil production. The AU has been mediating the talks to try to resolve disputes that flared after South Sudan became independent in July 2011, following a 2005 deal to end one of Africa’s longest civil wars.

Landlocked South Sudan took with it three-

quarters of the oil held by the previously united nation, but the processing and shipping facilities remained in Sudan. The two sides could not agree on how much Juba should pay to export its crude through northern pipelines and ports, leading the South to shut down production in January after Khartoum began seizing the oil in lieu of payment.

North and South welcomed the agreement to end a deadlock which was crippling the economies of both countries. Oil generates about 98 percent of South Sudan’s revenue.

“We have reached a final agreement with South Sudan on oil transit, and we expect to settle other files under negotiation,” Sudan’s undersecretary at the petroleum ministry, Awad Abdul Fatah, told the official SUNA news agency. Mutrif Siddiq, a Sudanese delegate to the talks, said the deal was “reasonable”, although it did not meet the expectations of either side. Sudan had been seeking up to $36 a barrel in fees, but revised this down to $22.20, compared with $7.61 offered by South Sudan. However, Juba said it had finally agreed to pay $9.48 per barrel, which it said was a “good deal” for the country, according to

a statement. New rates may be set after three and a half years, unless Juba has built proposed export pipelines to Kenya or Djibouti, but they cannot be higher, the statement said.

In addition, Juba agreed to make a “one off payment” to Khartoum of some $3 billion to cover the massive financial gap created by the South’s independence. “This is a good deal...

South Sudan will finally be able to focus its attention and dedicate its full resources to establish our state,” the statement added.

Despite the deal, Juba’s chief negotiator Pagan Amum accused Khartoum of violating a peace plan drawn up by the AU in April, notably by bombing South Sudan, laying it open to sanctions. Mbeki’s announcement came hours after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called for an urgent compromise following talks with South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir in Juba, saying the two nations “remain inextricably linked”. “It is urgent that both sides, north and south, follow through and reach timely agreements on all outstanding issues, including oil revenue sharing, security, citizenship and border demarcation,” Clinton said. “There must always come a point where we look for-

ward and recognise the need to stop fighting over past wrongs so we can build toward a new future,” she added.

Mbeki said Sudan’s President Omar AlBashir and Kiir would meet next month to find an agreement on the border region of Abyei, whose status was one of the most sensitive issues left unresolved at South Sudan’s independence. However, contentious issues remain. Sudan accuses South Sudan of supporting insurgents on its territory, a charge analysts believe despite denials by Juba, which in turn accuses Khartoum of backing rebels south of the border. The two countries fought along their undemarcated frontier in March and April, sparking fears of wider war and leading to a UN Security Council resolution that ordered a ceasefire. Mbeki said an agreement had also been reached between Khartoum, the UN, AU and the Arab League to allow for humanitarian access to Sudan’s conflict-wracked Blue Nile and South Kordofan states. Fighting between Sudanese troops and rebels there has left thousands in a “desperate state” and in need of emergency aid, according to the UN. — AFP

SUNDAY, AUGUST 5, 2012

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

Syrians in Jordan fear hunt from Assad agents IRBID, Jordan: Sultan, a 42-year-old Syrian anti-regime activist, knew he was being hunted, even in this northern Jordanian city where he had taken refuge. The attack came on a crowded street: Two men grabbed him and dragged him into a waiting car, shouting, “It’s him!” In the chaos, Sultan says, he recognized the car’s driver: a Syrian intelligence officer from the Damascus prison where for three months this year Sultan was jailed and tortured for participating in protests against President Bashar Al-Assad. “We can finish him in seconds,” one of the men shouted, Sultan told AP, speaking on condition that his full name not be used to avoid further reprisals.

In the car, they stabbed him with a knife, slashing his neck and head. But the car got stuck in traffic. When Sultan screamed and pounded on the windows, passers-by and police intervened and rescued him, arresting the four Syrian men in the car. The attack, in early July, was the latest in a string of similar incidents in recent months that have raised fears among Syrian refugees that Assad’s regime is extending its crackdown across the border into neighboring Jordan. Refugees and Jordanian officials believe Syrian regime agents are operating in the kingdom on a campaign to hunt down opponent and intimidate those who have fled.

That has Jordanian officials worried over a potentially more extensive campaign of assassinations or bombings ‚Ä” targeting Jordanians as well as Syrians as Damascus lashes out against its neighbor in moves that could drag this US-allied kingdom into Syria’s civil war.

Jordan already faces its more powerful neighbor’s growing anger because it is hosting more than 140,000 refugees who fled the 17-month-old conflict, as well as members of the rebel Free

Syrian Army fighting Assad’s military.

Jordanian political analyst Labib Kamhawi said the kingdom is deeply concerned over Syrian “sleeper cells”.

“There could be killings, or explosions, or assassinations of Syrians and Jordanian personalities,” he said. “There could also be serious border confrontations or incursions.” There has already been one attempted bombing of a Jordanian. Security officials say they arrested a man in June trying to plant a bomb under the car of Jordanian businessman Nidal Bashabsheh, who has been active in helping Syrian refugees.

Bashabsheh was visiting an apartment complex in northern Jordan where he is housing refugees when the man was seen putting the bomb under his car, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to talk to the press.

There is precedent for more. In 1982, when Syria’s regime waged a bloody crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood, Syria massed troops on Jordan’s border, accusing the kingdom of supporting the Islamists. No attack took place, but there was a wave of assassinations of Syrian Brotherhood activists who took refuge in Jordan. In 1970, the Syrian military carried out a short invasion of northern Jordan to protect Palestinians during a Jordanian crackdown on Palestinian factions.

“Assad is seething with anger at Jordan. It’s now like a jigsaw puzzle with all scenarios possible,” said Adnan Hamdan, 50, a cleric who worked in Syria’s Religious Affairs Ministry until he defected to Jordan last Februrary.

Hamdan, now in Irbid, said he has received dozens of emails, text messages, and telephone calls from people with Syrian accents, warning “me that I will be killed because I have been outspoken in the media, exposing Assad’s atrocities against the people.”

Traditionally, Jordan’s relations with Syria have been strained because of the kingdom’s strong alliance with the United States and cordial ties with

on sensitive state security matters.

Recently, Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh admitted that Jordan has toughened its entry regulations and screening for

MAFRAQ, Jordan: In this Aug 2, 2012 photo, a Syrian refugee and her children stand at the entrance to their tent in the Zaatari Syrian Refugee camp. — AP Syria’s arch Israeli enemy under a 1994 peace treaty. Syria’s crisis has only worsened ties. Last year, Jordan’s King Abdullah II suggested Assad must step down over the bloody crackdown. Last week, Jordan inaugurated its first refugee camp for the Syrians, an embarrassment for Damascus. Recent shootings by Syrian troops on refugees at the border have raised Jordanian worries of an incursion, prompting Amman to deploy more troops near the frontier and put air defenses on alert. King Abdullah inspected the frontier and visited with his troops late Wednesday.

In the past few months, Syria has been pressing for the extradition of Syrian army and police defectors, but Jordan declined, according to a security official, who declined to be identified, saying he was not allowed to comment

Syrians to prevent pro-Assad loyalists from operating among refugees.

But the attack on Sultan and others like it suggest regime agents are present. Sultan, who arrived in Jordan in mid-July and works with the FSA, said that before the attack, neighbors in Irbid told him men were asking for him, claiming to have a message from his hometown of Daraa. Terrified, Sultan refused to leave his house for days. “All I thought of is to find another place to hide,” he told AP. Finally, “I went out for a breath of fresh air and to see the sun,” he said. “I thought I’d try my luck, maybe they gave up looking for me.”

That was when the attack came. A Jordanian security official confirmed the July 4 attack on Sultan and said the four men arrested from the car were Syrians. The official would not say more about the case and spoke on condition

of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the press. A former Syrian army captain from Daraa who defected and fled to Jordan said he was attacked in the capital, Amman. He arrived in Jordan on May 8 and quickly heard from fellow Syrians that a group of Syrians was asking about him.

Three days later, three Syrian men and a woman approached him on an Amman street and said they had a letter for a Syrian in the neighborhood.

They seemed unsure if he was the man they were looking for, since he had grown out his beard and dyed his hair since defecting, said the 34-year-old former captain. When he replied in a Syrian accent, they realized he was their man, he said. They put two guns to his head, dragged him into a car and drove to an empty lot where they beat him with clubs, he said. “They said the next time, they’d come back to kill me if I don’t head back to Syria within a week,” he said. “They sped off and left me bleeding from the nose, mouth and head all night.” The captain, his head still creased with the scars, is now in hiding in a city in Jordan’s eastern desert. He spoke on condition his name and exact location not be revealed for fear of being tracked down. In a more mysterious incident, refugees living at the apartment complex run by the Jordanian businessman Bashabsheh reported two attempts to poison the complex’s water supply. Three residents and two members of the Free Syrian Army said that on March 17, a pair of Syrians were caught dumping bags of rat poison into the water tanks on the building’s roof. Then in June, they said, Syrians gave a resident money to dump pills into the tanks. The resident instead turned the money and the pills over to FSA members in the building, who said the pills were found to be cyanidebased. — AP

Iran tests missile with new guidance system Test seen as deterrent against Israeli strikes

BAGHDAD: Iraqi police forces stand guard at a checkpoint in central Baghdad yesterday as security was tightened in neighbourhoods engulfed by a wave of nationwide violence. — AFP

Wave of attacks on Iraq security forces BAGHDAD: A wave of brazen attacks killed dozens of Iraqi soldiers, police and anti-Qaeda militiamen in recent days, but security forces say it pales in comparison with the worst years of violence in the country. At least 49 security forces personnel have been killed and 39 wounded in at least 18 separate shootings and bombings since July 31, and some security forces positions in Baghdad remain strikingly exposed to attack. Most of the violence targeted police or army patrols and checkpoints, though some attacks were against more heavily guarded facilities. Gunmen attempted to use bombs to breach a prison gate in Taji, north of Baghdad, on Aug 1, and employed similar tactics on the anti-terrorism directorate in the capital the day before, which the interior ministry said was an attempt to free inmates. While security forces were killed, the attackers apparently failed to free any of the detainees.

Though there has been a heavy toll from the attacks, members of the security forces in Baghdad said they have been through worse. Death tolls for some months in 2006, 2007 and 2008 reached more than 1,000 people killed, according to official figures, which by comparison put the July 2012 toll at 325. “There is not any fear, because we lived through the hardest days in 2004 and 2005 and 2006, which was when we had the most violence, and attacks were 80 percent more than what is happening now,” said a 28year-old who has been in the federal police for seven years.

“The security situation now is much better than in past years, when we were never able to go out wearing military uniforms,” said the policeman, who spoke on condition of anonymity and was dressed in shorts but no shirt despite being at a guard post in central Baghdad.

“The security situation now is much better compared to 2007 or before,” a 33year-old federal policeman at a nearby store said, also asking that he not be identified by name. “The terrorists are trying to cause gaps in the security forces,” said the policeman, who joined the force eight years ago, adding that

“we do not have any fear or concern, and we are stronger than them.”

And Iraqi army Sergeant Ahmed Hussein, a 30-year-old who said he joined the military eight years ago, insisted that “terrorism never shakes me, and the recent attacks do not plant any fear or confusion among the security members”. “The aim of striking the security forces is targeting the country,” Hussein said. Despite the increased attacks against security forces, some of their positions in Baghdad remain woefully exposed. One federal police checkpoint on a road to the anti-terrorism directorate, which was attacked just days before, consisted of a line of junk spanning the street - a pile of tyres, a plastic chair weighted with a stone, a small metal table, and a coil of barbed wire strung with plastic bags and other trash.

The position, which offered almost no cover, was manned by just two policemen, only one of whom had a rifle.

At a guard post a few blocks away, the shirtless policeman and at least one colleague were escaping the blistering heat inside an air-conditioned shelter made of a makeshift roof covering the area between two concrete blast walls. A blanket covered the entrance, keeping cool air in, but blocking the view out.

Two rifles leaned against a wall inside, but other key equipment including a helmet, boots and body armour were outside the entrance. Only a dirty, fluttering Iraqi flag in a metal stand kept watch over the street.

The attacks on security forces come after Al-Qaeda’s front group the Islamic State of Iraq said in July that it was launching a “new military campaign aimed at recovering territory”. An earlier message posted on various jihadist forums said the ISI would begin targeting judges and prosecutors, and try to help its prisoners break out of jails. When asked about the attacks on security forces, John Drake, a security analyst with AKE Group, said by email that “they may be focusing their efforts on the security forces to make them seem weak in the eyes of the people”. — AFP

DUBAI: Iran has test-fired a new, more accurate short-range missile capable of striking land and sea targets, it said yesterday, a show of strength that underscored its ability to hit shipping in the Strait of Hormuz if attacked.

Israel has said it is considering military strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites if the Islamic Republic does not resolve Western fears it is developing atomic weapons technology, something Tehran denies. Iran says it could hit Israel and US bases in the region if it comes under attack. It has also threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz, the neck of the Gulf through which 40 percent of the world’s seaborne oil exports pass.

“With the fourth generation of the Fateh 110, the armed forces of our country are able to target and destroy land and sea targets, enemy headquarters ... missile seats, ammunition sites, radars and other points,” Defence Minister Ahmad Vahidi said in quotes carried by the official IRNA news agency.

The missile has a range of around 300 km, meaning it could strike Iran’s immediate neighbours and might also be able to hit Hormuz shipping, as well as energy facilities in Saudi Arabia and the US fifth fleet in Bahrain. Such moves would risk a military

response from the United States. “Using new guidance methods, target-striking systems were installed on the missiles and during the flight test ... its ability to hit the target without deviation was proven,” Vahidi said, according to IRNA. “In future programs, all future missiles built by the Defence Ministry will be equipped with this capability,” he added. Iran has made “robust strides” in developing its ballistic missile capabilities, the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies wrote in a 2010 assessment which also said that Iran’s arsenal suffered from poor accuracy.

All of Tehran’s ballistic missiles would be capable of carrying a nuclear payload, the IISS said. Last month, Iran said it had successfully test-fired medium-range missiles capable of hitting Israel, and tested dozens of missiles aimed at simulated air bases. It conducted what it called the “Great Prophet 7” missile exercises at the start of July as a European Union embargo on Iranian crude oil took full effect. Those sanctions, in addition to measures against Iranian banks and US efforts to persuade countries around the world to cut economic ties with Iran are aimed at forcing the Islamic Republic to make concessions on

the nuclear work it says is for purely peaceful ends. “The test firing of the missile is most likely to be a warning to the West and Iran’s Persian Gulf neighbours that Iran too can escalate the level of tensions in the Gulf area,” said Meir Javedanfar, Iran exper t at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya, Israel.

Bruno Gruselle, senior research fellow at the Foundation for Strategic Research in Paris, said any improvements in the accuracy of Iran’s short-range missiles might be a precursor to better long-range ones. “Fateh is a very short range guided rocket and a good platform to test improved guidance,” he said.

“They will have to take that to longer range systems which have very different mechanical constraints during their flight, but they will obviously work on that.”

Vahidi said the missile was intended as a defensive weapon. “These capabilities are defensive and would only be used against aggressors and those who threaten the country’s interests and territorial integrity,” he said. The former head of Israel’s intelligence service Mossad Efraim Halevy on Thursday said on Israel Radio he “would be very worried about the next 12 weeks,” if he were Iranian. —Reuters

Iran feels impact of sanctions TEHRAN: Iran is being hit by a “war” on its economy, according to officials facing tightened US sanctions and renewed Israeli threats of imminent militar y action over Tehran’s nuclear activities. “ This is war,” Ayatollah Ahmad Janati, the hardline chief of Iran’s influential Guardians Council, said as he led Friday prayers in Tehran. Iran needs to mobilise “the nation, government, officials and armed forces” to tackle its “special and serious economic problems” which went beyond the global economic malaise, he said. “We should prepare and break this wave (of economic pressure). We should not surrender,” he said.

Janati said officials under the supervision of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei were tackling the crisis, and he urged national media to avoid “pessimistic” stories and instead focus on news that “make people happy, hopeful and boost their morale”. The United States ramped up sanctions this week with a congressional measure to punish companies doing business with Iran’s energy and oil shipping sector, and an order by President Barack Obama targeting Iran’s oil exports and one Chinese and one Iraqi bank alleged to be fronting Iranian banking transactions.

Existing Western sanctions,

especially an EU embargo, are already taking their toll, nearly halving Iran crude sales, according to an International Energy Agency estimate. China, the biggest buyer of oil still exported, has lashed out at the new US sanctions.

But Obama’s spokesman said on Wednesday that while the sanctions are having “a significant effect,” Iran had “yet to make the choice it needs to make, which is to abandon its nuclear weapons ambitions”. The United States alleges Iran is seeking to develop a nuclear weapon “break-out” capacity. Tehran denies the charge, saying its atomic program is exclusively peaceful.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has renewed a threat to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Netanyahu told visiting US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta on Wednesday: “However forceful our statements, they have not convinced Iran that we are serious about stopping them.” He noted that sanctions, and deadlocked negotiations between Iran and world powers, have not had “any impact on Iran’s nuclear weapons program.”

Khamenei last week underlined that, under the Western pressure, “not only will we not revise our calculations, but we will continue on our path with greater confidence.” President

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad confirmed that when he said Iran had 11,000 uranium enrichment centrifuges operating - hundreds more than reported in a May 25 report by the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency.

But signs of the impact of sanctions are piling up. Iran’s currency, the rial, is trading at over 20,000 to the dollar - around half of what it was worth a year ago.

Ahmad Janati Abbas Memarnejad, the head of Iran’s Customs Organisation, was quoted on the website of state broadcaster IRINN as saying that imports have fallen seven percent in the past four months to $17.3 billion, while non-oil exports had plummeted 16 percent to $12 bil-

lion. Iranian media have shown images of long lines of people waiting to buy subsidised chicken, after prices for the fowl have nearly tripled in the past year because of accelerating inflation.

A closed-door meeting of top Iranian government officials and lawmakers last week agreed to budget cuts as part of a strategy to mitigate the sanctions’ effects, according to Economy Minister Shamseddin Hosseini, speaking to the official news agency IRNA. Iran’s central bank chief Mahmoud Bahmani - who also described the sanctions as “no less than military war” -said on Tuesday that a special sanctionsmanagement cell had been set up in the bank that met daily. “In times of sanctions, we need to carry out asymmetrical economic warfare, which we have begun,” he said, according to IRNA. Leaders have said that Iran should start weaning itself off its dependence on oil exports.

Ahmadinejad said on Tuesday that “we should move towards stopping crude exports”, echoing Khamenei, who called Iran’s reliance on selling crude a “trap” inherited from before the country ’s 1979 Islamic revolution.

Khamenei has ordered Iran to establish a “resistance economy” marked by greater self-reliance and oriented towards building knowledge and skills. — AFP

SUNDAY, AUGUST 5, 2012

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

US lawmakers head home, severe challenges loom WASHINGTON: US lawmakers began their summer vacations Saturday after months of election-year gridlock, with a mountain of unfinished business awaiting their return, including action on taxes, spending cuts and cybersecurity. Senators and House members have left what some congressional aides are calling unprecedented amounts of work on their plate as they recess, with faint chance of avoiding dramatic partisan showdowns in the lame duck session between the November 6 election and the start of the next Congress in early January.

Summer-bound lawmakers often leave legislation hanging, but some aides and observers say 2012 is special, with the so-called fiscal cliff - a confluence of major issues like expiring tax breaks and looming cuts to domestic and military spending staring the country in the midst of election season. “It just feels different

this year,” Dick Keil of Purple Strategies said, citing increasing willingness by Democrats and Republicans to throw down the gauntlet on bills as diverse as postal reform and drought relief.

“Cancellations or threat of suspension of various programs is giving investors pause and contrac tors heartburn,” he said.

An exasperated Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi took to the House floor late Thursday to rebuke Republicans for closing up shop with so much at stake. “They want us to create jobs, they want us to reduce the deficit and they want us to give a middle income tax cut, which the president has suggested and the American people overwhelmingly support,” Pelosi told a nearly empty chamber.

“Instead we have no jobs agenda, no tax cuts for the middle class, no farm bill, no Violence Against Women Act, no cybersecurity strategy, no bal-

anced, bipartisan plan to prevent the sequester,” she said, referring to the automatic spending cuts set to kick in early next year if Congress does not act.

Republicans argue that President Barack Obama’s bid to end tax breaks for families making over $250,000 a year is a job-killer. The Republicanled House is “the only group in town here who’ve taken action to stop the looming tax hikes,” House Speaker John Boehner said. The House passed a bill extending all the tax breaks, but the Senate refused to take it up, instead passing its bill for middleclass tax cuts. September is widely seen as a time to wrap up some key provisions in order to earn the trust of voters ahead of the election.

That’s when emergency assistance for drought-hit farmers, legislation to help the cash-strapped US Postal Service and a major cybersecurity bill are likely to pass after stalling in

Fort Hood suspect fined again for having beard FORT HOOD, Texas: A military judge on Friday once again held the Fort Hood shooting suspect in contempt of court for showing up to a pretrial hearing with a beard he had been ordered to shave. Maj Nidal Hasan, an Army psychiatrist, was fined $1,000 for a second time. The judge, Col Gregory Gross, then sent Hasan to a nearby trailer to watch the rest of the hearing on closed-circuit television, as he has done since showing up with a beard at a June hearing. Beards are a violation of Army regulations. Hasan’s attorneys say he keeps declining to shave because he believes that doing so would violate his Muslim faith.

Last week, the judge held Hasan in contempt and fined him $1,000.

Gross said Hasan would be forcibly shaved at some point before his Aug 20 trial if he doesn’t shave the beard himself. He said he wants Hasan in the courtroom during the court-martial to prevent a possible appeal on the issue if he is convicted. Hasan is charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder in the Nov 2009 attack on the Texas Army post. Hasan, 41, faces the death penalty or life in prison without parole if convicted.

Gross on Friday also ordered a pretrial hearing next week to hear from a prosecution witness and determine if he will testify during the trial. Defense attorneys are challenging the validity of the expert witness, who plans to testify that Hasan is a “homegrown terrorist”,

This undated photo provided by the Bell County Sheriff’s Department shows Nidal Hasan. — AP according to previous pretrial hearing discussions.

A defense expert witness may testify at the hearing to counter the prosecution team’s witness. Gross also approved a defense request for another expert to testify about extenuating circumstances and mitigating factors regarding Hasan’s recommitment to his religious conversion. Prosecutors had objected, saying the defense team already has a mitigation expert and was trying to make the trial more favorable to their client.

The FBI alleges Hasan had contacts with firebrand US-born cleric Anwar Al-Awlaqi, a key leader of AlQaeda in the Arabian Peninsula who

was killed in a Sept 2011 drone strike. The Yemeni-based cleric was also believed to have been instrumental in planning the botched plot by a Nigerian student dubbed the “underwear bomber” who tried to blow up a US-bound airliner on Dec 25, 2009. Hasan, who was born in Virginia to Palestinian parents and raised in the eastern state, had attended a mosque in 2001 where Awlaqi worked and is believed to have continued to communicate with the radical cleric. Set to deploy to Afghanistan weeks after the massacre, Hasan was shot by police officers as they tried to halt the carnage. He was left paralyzed from the neck down. — Agencies

Wind-whipped Oklahoma wildfires destroy homes NOBLE, Oklahoma: Wildfires whipped by gusty, southerly winds swept through rural woodlands north and south of Oklahoma City on Friday, burning dozens of homes as firefighters struggled to contain some of the fires amid 45-degree heat.

Hundreds of people were told to leave their homes in at least four counties, while smoke and flames prompted authorities to close parts of Interstate 44, the main roadway between Oklahoma City and Tulsa, and two state highways. “A man refused to leave. From what I know, he wanted to protect his property, but your life has to be more valuable than property,” Oklahoma County Sheriff John Whetsel said late Friday night.

The sheriff said at least 25 homes, a daycare center and numerous outbuildings had burned in a fire that may have been deliberately set near Luther, a town about 20 miles northeast of Oklahoma City. Deputies were looking into reports about someone in a pickup truck who was seen throwing out newspapers that had been set on fire. By Friday night, the blaze had spread across 80 sq miles.

About 40 structures were destroyed by a blaze near Tulsa. And yet another blaze destroyed at least 25 structures, including a handful of homes, after starting near Noble, about 30 miles south of Oklahoma City, and moving toward Norman, home to the University of Oklahoma.

“I loaded the kids up, grabbed my dogs, and it didn’t even look like I had time to load the livestock, so I just got out of there,” said Bo Ireland, who lives a few miles from where the Noble-area fire started. “It looked to me that, if the wind shifted even a little bit, I would be in the path of that fire. It was just too close.” There were no immediate reports of injuries or livestock losses.

Dayle Bishop said he may not have

LUTHER, Oklahoma: A home burns during a large wildfire on Friday. — AP made it out of his home had a woman not knocked on his door and woken him up. Standing in a convenience store parking lot about 2 miles away from his home, he was pessimistic about its chances. “I know it’s gone,” said Bishop, who works nights as a nurse. “Didn’t even have time to get anything out.” But he noted, “it’s just stuff.” Charles Wright was with his daughter, Christina, along with their cat, at a makeshift evacuation center doubling as a staging area for fire engines, ambulances and other emergency equipment. He said law enforcement ordered them to leave their home in Norman. “Praying for miracles. Praying for the best, that’s all we can do,” said Wright, who managed to pack some clothes, jewelry and legal papers before fleeing.

Ruth Hood splashed water onto two Chihuahua puppies that she grabbed along with several other animals and her children, and left as flames burned in her neighbor’s yard.

She said she couldn’t be sure her home would survive. “No guarantee,” Hood said. With the ongoing drought, high temperatures and gusty winds, it

took little for fires to begin and spread - and there was little crews could do to fight them. “It’s difficult for the firefighters to get into the area because it’s heavily wooded on either side of the smaller roads. When the winds are blowing 25 mph it just blows the embers and fireballs across the roads as if they weren’t even there,” said Jerr y Lojka with the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management.

At mid-afternoon Friday, the temperature in Norman hit 113 degrees, and winds were gusting at 24 mph. “I can tell you the temperatures and the wind are not helping the situation at all,” said Meghan McCormick, a spokeswoman for the Cleveland County Sheriff’s office. Russell Moore, 53, who lives in the Noble area, said he was outside in his yard when a sheriff’s deputy drove down the road and told people to leave. He and his son went to a shelter set up at Noble City Hall. “About all we saw was smoke and a little bit of ash raining down from the sky,” Moore said.

“Everybody was piling into their vehicles and leaving as we were.”— AP

recent weeks, staffers said. But one could fly Air Force One through the chasm that divides Republicans and Democrats over taxes. The White House argues that raising taxes on the wealthy could boost revenue by nearly $1 trillion, close to what Congress needs to trim from the deficit if it wants to prevent the sequester in January.

If Republicans refuse to go along, Democratic Senator Patty Murray said her party is willing to risk racing over the fiscal cliff and into financial chaos in 2013. “Both parties appear perfectly comfortable with playing this game of chicken by going past the election,” Keil observed. Some lawmakers argue that waiting until the lame duck session is the right way to head off the crisis. “I think we need that quiet moment after the election, when cool heads can sit down together,” said House Democrat Sheila Jackson Lee.

Republican Steve King disagreed, saying lawmakers should extend all tax breaks into 2013, when the new Congress can address how to move forward. “We’re into this cycle of perpetual lame duck sessions, and it’s just wrong,” he said.

The Congressional Budget Office has warned that stalemate over how to tackle the year-end fiscal deadlines would likely push the US economy into recession in the first half of 2013. Donald Wolfensberger, a Congress expert at the independent Woodrow Wilson Center, said he envisions one of two scenarios playing out. “They can kick the can down the road a bit more” into 2013, when lawmakers can renegotiate tax breaks as part of broader tax reform, he said. “Or there’s the ‘Let ‘Er Rip’ school - when people go off the cliff and realize how bad things are. That should get people together and compromise.” — AFP

Obama turns 51; plays golf WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama celebrated his 51st birthday yesterday with a round of golf and plans for a quiet weekend at Camp David, taking a break from campaigning three months before Election Day. Obama played golf with a group of friends and aides at Andrews Air Force Base before heading to the presidential getaway in Maryland’s Catoctin Mountains. He returns to campaign mode soon enough, with fundraisers in Connecticut tomorrow and campaign rallies in Colorado on Wednesday and Thursday.

Next weekend, Obama will hold several birthday-themed fundraisers in Chicago, including one at his family’s South Side home. Obama’s campaign used the event to drum up small-dollar donations before the end of the July fundraising deadline, offering two lucky winners the chance to attend the fundraiser at Obama’s red brick home. In an email to supporters, Obama warned that his birthday “could be the last one I celebrate as president of the United States, but that’s not up to me - it’s up to you.” Obama’s team has warned that he could be outspent by Republicans and GOP candidate Mitt Romney.

Obama got some early birthday wishes on Thursday during a rally in Florida, when support-

ers serenaded him with “Happy Birthday.” The president joked that his birthday wishes “probably would have to do with elec toral votes.

Winning Florida wouldn’t be a bad birthday present”. Republicans offered tongue-in-cheek birthday greetings. The Republican National Committee delivered a birthday cake to their counterpar ts at the Democratic National Committee on Friday featuring a picture of a smiling Obama next to the words, “You didn’t bake this.”

The inscription was a reference to a line from an Obama speech last month in which he said, “If you’ve got a business, you didn’t build that.”

Romney has seized upon the line to question Obama’s commitment to small business while Obama and Democrats have said the quote was taken out of context. DNC officials promptly sent the cake back to RNC headquarters, along with a copy of a recent report by the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center that found that Romney’s tax proposal would give millionaires a broad tax cut at the expense of tax breaks enjoyed by many middle-class families. Romney’s team has disputed the study, saying his tax plan would benefit all Americans. In short, just a typical presidential birthday in an election year.—AP

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

A year on from riots, Olympics mask tensions LONDON: A year after riots engulfed London and spread to other English cities, the buzz around the Olympics is sweeping the capital, but with recession hammering the poorest Londoners the threat of unrest lingers.

In Tottenham, the multicultural north London district where the unrest first erupted after police shot dead a young black suspect last August 4, the main road still bears some of the scars of last year’s violence. Houses and shops are still being rebuilt, while signs proclaim the local mayor’s promise to boost activities for youngsters, clean up the streets and pump £4 million ($6.2 million) into local jobs.

“They’re rebuilding the shops, but apart from that nothing’s changed,” said 18-year-old Tamzin as she waited for a bus.

The trainee actress said she did not take part in last summer’s wave of

looting and arson, in which five people were killed and property worth millions of pounds was destroyed. But she added that she understood the frustrations of some of those who did.

“A lot of them did it because they’d had enough. No one cares about them,” she told AFP. “We must get them paid jobs.” Tottenham was rocked by riots before, when racial tensions spilled over into fierce violence in 1985, and the unemployment rate there remains among the highest in London.

Many people fear another flare-up could come at any time. “The situation is fragile, and I think it remains fragile across the whole country,” warned Tottenham lawmaker David Lammy, who has written a book called “Out of the Ashes: Britain after the riots”.

“Unemployment has got worse in Tottenham,” he told AFP. “Austerity is

biting this year, it’s biting people’s benefits and it’s biting our youth services.” But he voiced hope at plans to regenerate the district, and welcomed the decision by Premier League football club Tottenham Hotspur to drop its bid to move from its nearby home into the Olympic Stadium after the Games.

The Olympics have boosted the city ’s morale, Lammy said, but he believes Britain has failed to tackle the root causes of the riots - poverty, bad parenting, obsessive consumerism, and a plethora of other social ills.

“People are watching the Games and they are being inspired and entertained, so I do think this summer that things are different,” he said. “But I don’t think anyone should pretend that just because we have a summer that goes well, the problems have gone away. I wouldn’t predict that we

won’t see rioting again over the next five or six years.”

Tim Newburn, professor of criminology at the London School of Economics, also warned that the capital could slide back into violence.

“Riots are always unpredictable,” said Newburn, whose team interviewed 270 people who joined the unrest in London, Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool for a study on why it happened. Newburn said the rioters shared “a sense of marginalisation and exclusion” as well as anger towards the police, and he blamed authorities for not engaging more positively with young people.

Prime Minister David Cameron, meanwhile, blamed “the moral collapse of society” and promised “zero tolerance” for troublemakers. More than 4,500 people have been arrested for their role in the London riots and

more than 2,900 prosecuted, according to the latest police figures. Across the country, nearly 1,300 people have been sentenced to prison terms averaging 17 months. As of mid-June, half of them had been released. As for the incident which triggered the riots, the circumstances surrounding the police shooting of 29-year-old Mark Duggan remain disputed.

On Thursday, the eve of the first anniversary of his death, the father-offour’s family said they had still not received a full explanation of how he died. “Thirty-one police officers surrounded Mark and he was shot twice why?” Duggan’s mother Pam said.

“One of the last things my partner, Mark’s dad, said before he died a few weeks ago was that he wanted justice for his son.” A provisional date for an inquest into Duggan’s death has been set for Jan 2013. — AFP

S Africa marks 50 yrs since Mandela arrest Zuma, unveils monument in Howick

NAIROBI: US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton meets Kenya’s President Mwai Kibaki at the State House yesterday. — AP

Clinton in Kenya to press democracy NAIROBI: Kenyans must to work together to ensure “transparent” elections next year and avoid a repeat of deadly postpoll violence four years ago, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged yesterday.

“We urge that the nation come together and prepare for elections that will be a real model for the entire world,” the top US diplomat said after talks with President Mwai Kibaki, as she visited Kenya on the latest leg of her Africa tour.

Kenya plunged into violence after the Dec 2007 election in which Prime Minister Raila Odinga - then opposition chief - accused Kibaki as the incumbent president of having rigged his re-election.

What began as political riots soon turned into ethnic killings targeting members of Kibaki’s Kikuyu tribe, who in turn launched reprisal attacks in the country’s worst violence since independence in 1963. Kenya, East Africa’s economic powerhouse, is due in March to hold its first general elections since the violence. “The US has pledged to assist the government of Kenya ensure that the upcoming elections are free, fair and transparent,” Clinton added, speaking ahead of talks with Odinga, a key candidate in the race for the presidency. Kibaki will not contest the next election.

Two presidential hopefuls, Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta and former minister William Ruto, face trial in April in the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity over the post-election killings, charges they deny.

They face counts including orchestrating murder, rape and persecution in the

aftermath of the poll. Clinton had meetings scheduled for later in Nairobi with the outgoing leaders of war-torn Somalia’s government, due to end later this month an eight-year interim period marred by infighting, minimal political progress and rampant corruption.

Ravaged by repeated droughts and over two decades of conflict, Somalia is torn between rival clans, Al-Qaeda-linked insurgents and the Western-backed government, which is propped up by a 17,000-strong African Union force. Kenya, which invaded Somalia last year before joining the AU force, is a key US ally and closely linked to Washington’s efforts to quash Islamist movements in the volatile Horn of Africa region. One person was killed in a grenade attack in a Nairobi suburb late Friday, the latest in a string of blasts in Kenya since its troops invaded southern Somalia to crush extremist insurgent bases there.

Clinton, who visited neighbouring Uganda and South Sudan on Friday, is to travel to Malawi today. On Friday she called for a “compromise” deal between rivals in Juba and Khartoum to resume oil production, stalled in a bitter dispute that brought the newly separated rivals to the brink of all-out war earlier this year. Hours later, in the early hours of Saturday, African Union mediator Thabo Mbeki said that the “parties have agreed on all of the financial arrangements regarding oil.” Mbeki said a timetable would now be drawn up for the resumption of oil production and exports, which are vital to the economies of both deeply impoverished countries. — AFP

Islamist warns Russia after claiming killing MOSCOW: An Islamist militant claimed yesterday a deadly twin attack on two clerics and warned of more bloodshed in a Muslim region of Russia that has been held up as an example of religious tolerance. A man who described himself as the chief guerrilla fighter of the central region of Tatarstan said in a video message posted on a website frequently used by Chechen fighters that he personally ordered last month’s strikes. Tatarstan’s chief cleric Ildus Faizov survived a July 19 car bombing with severe burns while his one-time deputy Valiulla Yakupov died the same day in a hail of bullets moments after stepping outside his front door.

A video posted on the Russian-language KavkazCenter.com website showed a young man who gave his name as Muhammad crouching in the woods with a rifle between his legs and reading from a prepared text. He described himself as the “emir of the mujahedeen of Tatarstan” but gave no name for his organisation. “On July 19, 2012, on my orders an operation was conducted against the enemies of Allah - Ildus Faizov and Valiulla Yakupov,” the lightly-bearded man said.

He issued a stark warning to all moderate Muslim leaders of Tatarstan

who refuse to practise the strict sharia interpretation of Islamic law adhered to by most rebel fighters in the North Caucasus. “We will continue to conduct further operations against the enemies of Allah the Almighty,” he said. “I address all the imams (religious leaders) of Tatarstan. I urge them to return to the fundamentals of sharia and to stop promoting traditional Islam. If any of the imams do not want to or cannot carry out the points established by sharia, they should leave their posts.

That way, you will be protected from the mujahedeen.”

The claim underscores Kremlin concerns of almost ceaseless Nor th Caucasus violence spilling over after two decades to far more peaceful parts of Russia such as the vibrant oilproducing region of Tatarstan.

President Vladimir Putin called the attacks against the clerics a “serious signal” that required tighter security measures and undisclosed “pre-emptive” steps. The attacks came less than three months after Putin returned to the Kremlin for a third term - extending an era of domination that began when he launched a brutal war in Chechnya while still prime minister in 1999. — AFP

HOWICK, South Africa: South Africa unveiled its latest monument to Nelson Mandela yesterday, a new statue along a rural highway marking the spot where he was arrested 50 years ago for his struggle against apartheid.

Mandela, now 94, was arrested as a young liberation fighter on Aug 5, 1962, near the eastern town of Howick, just months after he founded the armed wing of the African National Congress (ANC). He had returned just a few weeks earlier from a trip across Africa drumming up support for the new Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK), or “Spear of the Nation”.

The sculpture is made up of 50 steel rods of between five and 10 metres high and when viewed from a certain angle, Mandela’s image come into focus. “The front of the sculpture is a portrait of Mandela, it has vertical bars which represent his imprisonment,” said the monument’s designer Marco Cianfanelli.

“When you walk through the structure it radiates like a burst of light, which symbolises the political uprising of many people and solidarity.” South African President Jacob Zuma, Mandela’s grandson Mandla Mandela, and others planted trees along a pathway leading to the monument in honour of the the Nobel peace prize winner. At the foot of the trees, wooden signposts were inscribed with the words negotiator, courageous, statesman, leader, prisoner, comrade and character. “We must encourage generations to visit the site because those who do will be inspired,” said Zuma, who unveiled the monument.

Mandela’s life on the lam, dodging apartheid police while making appearances across the country, earned him the nickname “Black Pimpernel”. He was arrested while travelling illegally to Johannesburg from Durban, where he had briefed ANC leader Albert Luthuli on his trip. Police found him disguised as a driver under the false name of David Motsamayi, in the car of the theatre director Cecil Williams. His arrest about 100 km from Durban led to 27 years of incarceration, until

his release on Feb 11, 1990, an event that was watched around the world.

Mandela became South Africa’s first black president in 1994, a unifying force after decades of white minority rule. “I realised that to try and get away would be a gamble,” Mandela said during a visit to the site of his arrrest in 1993, the year he won the Nobel peace prize. “I decided the game was up.” “The arrest itself was done very courteously, very politely. The policeman was doing his duty, he did it according to the law, he was courteous.”

It was never known who sold him out. “He did not make himself known to his friends, including me, because we were watched and followed. It came as a surprise to hear that he had been arrested in Howick,” George Bizos, a lawyer and close friend of Mandela, told AFP. “We learnt later that he was insufficiently cautious.” Mandela made a splash at his trial, arriv-

ing to defend himself in court sporting the traditional Xhosa garb made of leopard skin.

He was jailed for five years for organising an illegal conference abroad and for leaving the country without permission, before being sentenced to life imprisonment in 1964, when the authorities discovered he was the head of the ANC military wing. The anniversary of the arrest “reminds the country of how far we have travelled”, said Verne Harris of the Nelson Mandela Centre for Memory. “Madiba now lives in a democratic South Africa, while 50 years ago he had to fight for freedom,” he said, using the Mandela clan name, a term of respect. “While we still have many challenges and reality is still harsh for many South Africans, we have come a long way.” The anniversary will also be marked by a new “Mandela Day Marathon” on Aug 26 that will end at the new monument. — AFP

HOWICK, South Africa: A sculpture of former South African President Nelson Mandela is presented yesterday, commemorating the 50th anniversary of Mandela’s capture by the apartheid police. — AFP

Aleppo pounded as UN issues warning ALEPPO, Syria: Rebel-held quarters of Syria’s Aleppo came under heavy bombardment by regime forces on Saturday, as a senior security official said the real battle for control of the strategic northern city was yet to come. A hold-out rebel district of Damascus was also pounded, a day after the United Nations deplored the failure of diplomacy to end a conflict that has reportedly claimed more than 21,000 lives in nearly 17 months. Abdel Jabar Oqaida, commander of the Free Syrian Army in Aleppo, said the district of Salaheddin had “come under the heaviest bombardment since the battle began” on July 20 but that loyalists had “not managed to advance”. In what is also a war of words, a senior government security figure said “the battle for Aleppo has not yet begun, and what is happening now is just the appetizer”.

“The main course will come later,” he warned.

More than a week ago, a progovernment newspaper was already proclaiming what was to be the “mother of all battles” as heavy government reinforce ments were being brought in.

And earlier this week, a security official said troops were “testing the terrorists’ defence systems before annihilating them by carrying out a surgical operation”.

The security official yesterday said more reinforcements had arrived and that at least 20,000 troops were already on the ground. “The other side are also sending reinforcements,” the official added, referring to the rebels, who claim to have seized half the

city since they poured in two weeks ago.

Because of restrictions on the free movement of journalists in Syria, none of the claims can be verified. Echoing UN chief Ban Kimoon’s remarks on Thursday that violence was intensifying, a watchdog said July was the deadliest month since the uprising against President Bashar AlAssad’s regime erupted in March 2011. Rami Abdel Rahman who heads the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 4,239 people, the vast majority civilians, died in July, bringing the overall toll since March 2011 to more than 21,000. “The death toll is escalating,” Abdel Rahman said, noting June had been the second-deadliest month. And with thousands more displaced, lacking basic needs and unable to get medical treatment, the Red Cross and this month’s UN Security Council president, France, highlighted

humanitarian concerns.

Loud explosions shook Aleppo as fighter jets and helicopter gunships overflew the city and rebels attempted early in the day to storm the state television building before being driven off by shelling, said the Britain-based Observatory. State media said the army defended the site from “mercenar y terrorist groups.”

Meanwhile, the southern Damascus suburb of Tadamun was hit by some of the “most violent” shelling seen since loyalists launched a huge counter-offensive in the capital last month, the Observatory said.

The violence killed at least 60 people across Syria yesterday, including at least eight in Aleppo province, the Observatory said.

The dead comprised 35 civilians, 18 soldiers and seven rebels. On Friday, a day after envoy Kofi Annan’s resigned in frustration over the failure of an April peace

ALEPPO: Syrian rebels capture an army tank in a neighbourhood currently under their control in this northern city yesterday. — AFP

plan to take hold, UN chief Ban warned world powers they must overcome their rivalries to put an end to a “proxy war” in Syria. And the UN General Assembly voted overwhelmingly to condemn the Security Council for its failure to act and it condemned the regime for using heavy weapons.

Ban said growing radicalisation and extremism had been predicted at the start of the uprising, as had been a “proxy war, with regional and international players arming one side or the other. Following the General Assembly vote, US Ambassador Susan Rice said that, “despite the continued opposition of an increasingly isolated minority, the overwhelming majority of UN members clearly stands resolutely with the Syrian people”. That was an allusion to Russia and China, who voted against the resolution and who had already vetoed three Security Council resolutions on Syria.

But Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said the assembly gave “blatant” support to Syrian rebels and that its backers were the countries providing “mercenaries and arms” to the opposition. China’s deputy ambassador, Wang Min, said pressuring only Damascus would “cause further escalation of the turmoil and let the crisis spill over to other countries in the region”. Yesterday, senior foreign ministry official Wang Kejian accused countries that oppose its position of pursuing their own geopolitical interests and “trying to hinder or even undermine the political settlement process”. — AFP

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Pak tribal justice system often a vehicle for revenge HARIPUR, Pakistan: Suleman Khan demanded justice from the tribal elders.

His wife had slept with another man, he said, and he wanted their permission to seek revenge. The elders deliberated for an hour, and then announced their verdict: Punish the man and his family any way you see fit. Within minutes, Khan and his three brothers had broken into the man’s house. Only his 45-year-old mother, Shehnaz Bibi, and her teenage son were home. Armed with rifles and canes, they dragged Bibi out of the house and brought her to the village square. As dozens of astonished villagers watched, they stripped her naked and dragged her by the ankles, making several circles in the dirt with her body.

After about an hour, Khan and his brothers left. Bibi crawled over to grab her shawl and covered her dust-caked body with it. “All the time, I was thinking, ‘I just want to die right now,’” Bibi recalled, using her head scarf to wipe away tears from her sun-weathered face.

“I thought to myself, ‘I just can’t bear this anymore.’ “ Pakistan straddles the line between centuries-old traditions and iPhone-era modernity, and few societal dilemmas illustrate that better than tribal jirgas, meetings convened by tribal elders such as the one that led to the attack on Bibi a year ago. Jirgas are a cornerstone of tribal societies in Pakistan, from the badlands in the country’s northwest to the plains of Punjab and Sindh provinces.

They decide issues such as property disputes and squabbles over debt, and in

regions where conventional courts are not trusted, locals embrace them as a swift means of obtaining justice.

Often, however, they serve as vehicles for violence and revenge, and often the victims are women. Jirgas routinely settle disputes through a tradition called vani, in which a family is ordered to agree to the marriage of one of its daughters to a male in the “plaintiff ” family.

The daughter can be in her teens, and in some cases she is only a few days old when the marriage contract is signed.

Other verdicts are tantamount to murder. Last year in a village outside the eastern city of Bahawalpur, a Punjabi council of elders known as a panchayat sanctioned the electrocution of a young woman by her family after the woman eloped against their wishes.

“These jirgas are dominated by men from the elite class, local influentials who usually have a very conservative mindset,” said Farzana Bari, a prominent Pakistani women’s rights activist and director of gender rights studies at Islamabad’s Quaid-i-Azam University.

“Their rulings usually give men control over women’s lives. It’s the responsibility of the state and law enforcement agencies to make sure that these jirgas don’t take place.”

Pakistani law on jirgas is murky. The country ’s Supreme Court and other review courts have issued rulings that deem jirgas illegal, but those rulings don’t lay out what constitutes a jirga and don’t establish penalties for taking part

in one. Pakistan’s legal code has no specific law banning jirgas. Though jirgas routinely issue rulings that amount to a crime - such as giving a village the goahead to harm or even execute someone - federal and provincial authorities balk at acting against the councils, experts say, because they don’t want to risk alienating tribal communities and elders who embrace the tradition.

Human rights groups have been pushing for reforms, calling for laws that would make it illegal to convene or participate in jirgas that result in extrajudicial convictions and punishments, said Fouzia Saeed, director of the Mehergarh human rights institute in Islamabad. The issue has gotten the attention of Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry, who in March ordered the country’s top provincial police officials to clamp down on jirgas that involved vani rulings. “It seems we are living in the Stone Age,” Chaudhry remarked at the hearing.

In some parts of Pakistan, jirgas operate as an unsanctioned parallel justice system. Local police tolerate, and even participate in, the meetings. The jirga that decided the fate of Sofia Niaz, a 15year-old doe-eyed girl from a village outside the northern city of Mansehra, was held in a police station. Sofia was already engaged when two men, one of them a distant relative and the other a stranger, kidnapped her in the dead of night and took her to a local madrasa, or Islamic religious school, the young woman said during a recent interview at the court-

HARIPUR, Pakistan: Last year, four men dragged Shehnaz Bibi, 45, pictured July 10, 2012, out of her house stripped her clothes off and dragged her through the village square. — MCT house in Mansehra.

The motive behind the kidnapping never became clear, and the madrasa’s imam returned Sofia to her family unharmed later that night. Nevertheless, Sofia’s fiance insisted that the episode had tainted the girl, and demanded that a jirga be held to settle the dispute. At the station, the police chief, Shah Mohammed Khan, presided over a gathering of elders from the families of the fiance and the two men who kidnapped Sofia. Elders debated for 11 hours, trying to persuade her father to accept their ruling: Sofia would marry Naveed, one of her kidnappers, and her fiance would marry one of the kidnapper’s sisters.

When Sofia’s father, Niaz Mohammed, refused to accept the verdict, Khan locked him in one of the station’s cells.

With the police chief watching, one of the jirga elders put a gun to Mohammed’s head to force him to give in, Sofia said. “I told them: ‘Don’t torture my father. I will agree to marry Naveed.’

Under pressure, I accepted,” Sofia said.

The ceremony was held at the lockup. A month later, Sofia escaped from Naveed’s house and sought the help of a local human rights activist, who took the case to court. A judge granted Sofia a divorce and initiated criminal proceedings against her kidnappers, the jirga members and the police chief. — MCT

Afghan lawmakers vote to dismiss security ministers Border fire, insurgent assassinations prompt revolt

JAMMU: Residents carry their belongings on a horse cart and leave for safer land during a flash flood on the banks of the River Tawi yesterday. — AP

India flash floods leave seven dead LUCKNOW, India: Flash floods and landslides triggered by torrential rains have killed at least seven people in northern India, including three firefighters who were swept away as they helped rescue the stranded, an official said yesterday.

At least 19 other people - all construction workers - were missing and may have been washed away by the floods that hit the Himalayan foothills in Uttarakhand state, said district official R Ramesh. The men were working on a hydro-electric project when they disappeared, he said.

There has been incessant rain in the state since late Thursday and rivers are overflowing their banks. Scores of homes have been washed away and people have moved to buildings on safer ground.

Soldiers are helping to evacuate people to relief camps that have opened in schools and government buildings. Hundreds of pilgrims making an annual trek to Hindu shrines in the region have been stranded.

The state government has advised them not to continue with their pilgrimage till the rains ease up. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna said roads and highways have been badly damaged and at least two bridges have been washed away. Army engineers had been called in to install temporary bridges across the Gangotri River, he said. Heavy rainfall can be deadly in Himalayan hills which are more prone to landslides and flash floods during the monsoon. India’s monsoon season runs from June to September. — AP

KABUL: Afghanistan’s parliament voted yesterday to dismiss the country’s two top security ministers for failing to stop cross-border shelling blamed on Pakistan, in what could be a blow to NATO plans to reinforce stability and handover to Afghan forces. The fractious parliament voted to remove Defence Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak and Interior Minister Bismillah Mohammadi over a series of recent insurgent assassinations of top officials, as well as the cross border fire incidents infuriating many ordinary Afghans as well as politicians.

It was unclear whether President Hamid Karzai would accept the vote by MPs as his administration tries to bolster stability ahead of 2014 presidential elections and NATO’s pullout the same year. The president’s office released a statement saying the beleaguered president, whose popularity has been hit by corruption problems and deteriorating security, would decide on Sunday whether to keep the pair in place, possibly in an acting role. Karzai’s powerful finance minister, Hazarat Omar Zakhilwal, is also under a cloud over accusations aired on Afghan television that he stashed away more than $1 million in overseas banks, with an investighation launched on Saturday by the country’s top anti-corruption chief.

Afghanistan has rushed additional troops and long-range artillery to the mountainous Pakistan border as tensions continue to rise over crossborder shelling which Afghan officials blame on Pakistan’s powerful military. Afghanistan has for months accused Pakistan’s army of firing hundreds of rockets into the two eastern provinces of Kunar and Nuristan, targeting insurgent havens, but also forcing Afghan villagers to flee their homes.

“The defence ministry has reinforced army corps 201 and 203 and has specially created another division from which two battalions have already been sent there,” Defence Minister Wardak told lawmakers before the vote to remove him. “We have also sent long-range artillery and ammunition for use by all army corps,” he said, adding that some artillery was being specially refurbished for the eastern bor-

Bismullah Mohammadi

Abdul Rahim Wardak

der. While both sides and NATO-led foreign troops have been holding top-level meetings to improve border security, Afghanistan’s foreign ministry summoned Pakistan’s Kabul ambassador last week and warned that continued shelling would damage already fragile bilateral ties. Pakistan’s military has rejected the accusation and says it only responds to attacks by militants, including Pakistan Taleban operating from what it says are havens in Afghan territory.

The poorly marked border between the two countries is extremely rugged and remote, running through the foothills of the Hindu Kush and easily crossed in both directions by Taleban fighters and other insurgent groups. Fighting has intensified in Afghanistan over the past few months, with security forces on Thursday killing five insurgents during a pre-dawn raid which prevented a mass attack on central Kabul’s shopping district. As well, militants have assassinated several top officials at the district and provincial level, including the killing last month of a provincial women’s affairs head, as well as a

prominent politician in a suicide attack on a wedding.

Kabul has regularly accused elements in Islamabad’s government and army of backing militants fighting the Western-backed Kabul government, while Pakistan accuses Afghanistan of not doing enough to eliminate militant bases.

Interior Minister Mohammadi showed several pictures of exploded 155mm rocket casings to MPs and told them they should have “no doubt” that they were fired by Pakistani soldiers. “It’s impossible to say that Taliban are involved because these rockets are only in possession of the Pakistan army,” Mohammadi said. Earlier this week, Afghanistan’s spy chief Rahmatullah Nabil said the Pakistani military had fired over 2,100 rockets in the last four months into several districts, with most landing in Kunar and some in less populated Nuristan. Foreign troops are now transitioning security responsibility to the 350,000-strong Afghan security forces as NATOled forces look to withdraw from the unpopular war by the end 2014. — Reuters

Afghan scavengers in Karachi crosshairs

SAPUTARA, India: An Indian man carries a life-size stuffed tiger amidst mist during a monsoon festival yesterday. The month-long monsoon festival began yesterday to promote Saputara, the only hill station of Gujarat state. — AFP

India’s puny monsoon sparks drought fears KHERIKHUMMAR, India: India’s monsoon rains that lash the country each summer arrived late and have been feeble this year, leading to hardship for hundreds of millions of farmers like 61-year-old Rameshwar Dayal.

The much-romanticised annual downpour that normally sweeps in at the start of June in the far south of the country is a lifeline for him and about two thirds of the 1.2-billion population who depend on agriculture for their incomes. But the rains have been so poor that some farmers have decided not to sow crops, spelling more bad news for a slowing economy buffeted by its worst power crisis this week following massive blackouts.

“My fields are completely dry. There have been no rains and I have no artificial irrigation facility to be able to grow food grains,” Dayal told AFP from his village, Kherikhummar, in the northern state of Haryana. Haryana, along with neighbouring Punjab state, is known as

the “bread basket” of India, the source of over 60 percent of food grains such as wheat, maize, rice and pulses that are grown annually. It has been one of the worst affected this year with 65 percent less rain than the longterm average, according to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) in New Delhi.

Nation-wide, the monsoon has been more than 20 percent below its average, sparking fears of drought among farmers who remember vividly the failure of 2009, when India suffered its worst drought in nearly four decades. Another deficient year would cause more harm to India’s slowing economy, which grew at its slowest pace in nine years in the first quarter of the year. Drought would also further spur rising global food prices. India is the world’s biggest producer of pulses and second-biggest producer of rice, sugar and tea. —AFP

KARACHI: Barkat Khan was shot dead as he slept, curled up in the muck in one of the roughest parts of Karachi.

He was a dirt-poor 13-year-old Afghan who never went to school and never dared to dream of a better life.

Friends say he was an innocent victim of an increasingly vicious cycle of ethnic violence in Pakistan’s largest city, a battleground between economic migrants from the northwest and Afghanistan, and original settlers from India. Barkat was one of more than 20,000 children - the vast majority of them Afghans - who work for $2 a day, collecting rubbish dumped by the 18 million residents of Karachi.

They toil from dawn to night, braving the punishing summer climate and health dangers posed by toxic waste. Without passports and legal status, they have little protection. And now they are caught up in one of Pakistan’s most under-reported wars: the violence that tears neighbourhoods of the country’s richest city to shreds, trampling underfoot the unknown and the defenceless.

“Karachi has become too dangerous. People are being killed indiscriminately, among them, my friend,” said a mournful 12-year-old Jamali, picking up a soggy piece of cardboard. He and Barkat came to Pakistan as babies when their parents fled the southern city of Kandahar when US-led troops invaded Afghanistan after the 9/11 attacks. Like tens of thousands of Afghans, the family eventually moved to Karachi in search of work, aban-

doning their first port of call, the southwestern city of Quetta where Taleban and their families are said to have settled. “Barkat started collecting garbage right after arriving in Karachi, along with his father. Our families lived together for some time,” said Jamali. Five years later, Barkat was dead, shot in May at point blank range as he slept outside a food stall that offers free dinners to Karachi’s poorest.

His parents are devastated by the loss of their only child. “Barkat was a lovable boy, very hardworking, who wanted to earn a lot of money to see his parents happy, especially his mother who is shattered after his death,” said his cousin, Mohammad Mukhtar, 19, who also collects rubbish. “Relatives told me that she hasn’t yet recovered from the shock.”

Police say Barkat was an unwitting victim of ethnic and political violence that has reached record levels in Karachi, Pakistan’s economic powerhouse, which accounts for 42 percent of GDP. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan says more than 1,100 people have been killed so far this year - the vast majority without any political affiliation whatsoever. If the killings continue at the same pace, 2012 will top the 1,715 who perished last year, itself the worst death toll in 16 years.

The troubles are blamed on Mohajirs, Urdu speakers who migrated from India after partition and who dominate the city, and an influx of

KARACHI: In this photo taken on May 30, 2012, Afghan trash collectors search for recyclable items on the street in this port city. — AFP Pashtuns from Afghanistan and Pakistan’s northwest. Migration and population growth have put enormous pressure on resources in the Arabian Sea port city, where the economy has been under serious pressure since 9/11. The Mohajirs are represented by the Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM), led by Altaf Hussain, who exiled himself to Britain in 1992 over threats to his life.

It has 52 seats in the Sindh provincial assembly, while the secular Awami National Party (ANP), the leading Pashtun representation in Karachi, has two seats. According to official figures, there are 500,000 Afghans in the city, 80 percent registered as refugees and the rest undoc-

umented or illegal economic migrants. The vast majority of them live in poverty, like Jamali who lives in Koochi, one of three ghettos reserved for Afghans in the city. His family live near the neighbourhood where a UN doctor from Ghana was shot while working on a polio vaccination program that had been condemned by the Taleban. But the ragpickers live at around 400 compounds dotted around the city, divided by bamboo into dozens of cubicles shaded from the sun by polythene sheets. Each cubicle is shared by two to three, who pile up plastic bags stuffed with waste to snatch a few hours’ sleep, before rising at dawn to start again. — AFP

SUNDAY, AUGUST 5, 2012

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

With grey skies over N Korea, leader puts on a happy face SEOUL: Never mind the floods. Enjoy the rollercoaster ride and keep smiling. That seems to be the impression the youthful new dictator of destitute North Korea wants the state propaganda machine to give to a public that may be facing even more than usual food shortages when drought was followed last month by devastating floods. In the past few weeks, the 20-something Kim Jong-un, the third generation of a ruling dynasty better known abroad for its gulags than its compassion, has overturned the austere image that his father nurtured during his years in power.

This week state media showed the leader cheerfully riding a rollercoaster in an outdoor theme park he had opened, clapping performing dolphins and waving to a crowd of young people in bathing suits.

Apart from a brief spell at school in Switzerland, the young man has only known life inside the personality cult that gave his grandfather and father, and now him, god-like status to bolster their rule over the northern half of the Korean peninsula.

But unlike the relative prosperity when founder Kim Il-sung was in power, his grandson has inherited a state that cannot feed itself without Chinese aid, whose factories are rusting away and which relies on the potential threat of nuclear weapons as diplomatic leverage with a world that treats it as a dangerous pariah. “We shouldn’t exclude the possibility that he is just doing what he feels like,” said B R Myers, a prominent expert on North Korea and its propaganda at the South’s Dongseo University.

And he questioned whether the fresh-faced image really presaged wider change in a country where for decades state control has been overwhelm-

PYONGYANG: In this photo taken July 25, 2012, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (center right) reacts on a ride of an amusement attraction as he attends the completion ceremony of the Rungna People’s Pleasure Ground. — AP

ing and poverty routine. “The regime is so wrapped up in its own elite. It’s pitching propaganda at that elite. It’s very risky,” Myers said of the new style, which could be taken by ordinary North Koreans to ignore their plight. The smiling, playful Kim of recent North Korean television footage has come as something of a shock to North Korea watchers, who point especially to the fact that he is seen repeatedly in the company of his attractive, young wife.

The fact that she affectionately holds his arm, and wears short skirts compared with the voluminous national dress normally considered appropriate for North Korean women on formal occasions, has simply further raised eyebrows. “In presenting a trophy wife to North Koreans, he has shown to people he enjoys the perks of his position. It is something he may come to regret,” Myers said.

Kim’s Dear Leader father, Kim Jong-il, was never shown by state media with any of his wives or consorts, only in the company of officials, invariably with notebook and pen to hand to record his words, travelling the country to teach his people how to improve their lot. His reputed fondness for life’s luxuries, such as expensive cognac, was kept out of the public eye.

In the hope of cramping his lifestyle, the United States added luxuries to banned exports to the North as part of sanctions of its attempts to build a nuclear arsenal.

The son has largely avoided being drawn into the issue though early this year his risked international fury by sending up a long-range rocket his government insisted was to launch a satellite but which oth-

ers assumed was a ballistic missile test. It was a failure and, apart from a flurry of speculation of another nuclear test, the question of North Korea as Asia’s biggest single military threat has since gone off the boil. North Korea has long argued that, hemmed in by a hostile United States and its allies, Japan and South Korea, it has no choice but to build up a powerful defence, including a military to which almost a fifth of the 25 million population belong.

The bright new image has been taken by some as raising the possibility of broader change, that will include economic reforms in a country where extreme poverty, and very strong state control, is the norm. But that optimism is met with scepticism by those who doubt that a dynasty that has managed to survive by not changing would dare to open up now.

Some question whether the new leader even has any concept of what reform might mean. “Certainly, his style is different from his father’s,” said Ryoo Kihl-jae, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in the South. “But we should not connect this with recent talk of reforms or opening. If you see the path where North Korea has walked, they tried reforms and opening and people had hopes and expectations. But it’s all been in vain.”

Ryoo said that to see a leader walking arm-inarm with his wife would be “weird” in the South, let alone the ultra-conservative North which made him wonder if Kim really understood what he was doing. “I don’t know if Kim Jong-un realises where his country is right now.” — Reuters

North Korea says floods killed 169, 400 missing UN to send food aid to flood-hit country SEOUL: Floods which hit parts of North Korea in recent weeks killed 169 people and left 400 missing, the state news agency said yesterday, sharply updating earlier casualty figures. It said the floods and torrential rain between late June and the end of July also made 212,200 people homeless and washed away or inundated 65,280 hectares of cropland. United Nations agencies have visited the worst-hit areas to assess aid needs and the World Food Programme (WFP) is sending an initial shipment of emergency food aid. The country suffered a famine in the 1990s that killed hundreds of thousands and still struggles to feed its people even in normal times.

UN agencies estimated last autumn that three million people would need food aid this year even before this summer’s deluge. More than 8,600 houses were destroyed and another 43,770 swamped, and more than 1,400 schools, hospitals and factories collapsed, the news agency said. Official media had previously reported 119 deaths, with 84,000 people made homeless and 45,370 hectares of farmland damaged.

The WFP said its initial assistance would provide victims with an initial ration of 400 gm of maize a day for 14 days, after the UN assessment mission found considerable damage to maize,

ONCHON COUNTY, North Korea: In this July 30, 2012 file photo, a man walks over a damaged bridge after heavy rain. — AP

soybean and rice fields. The mission has said immediate food aid is needed for residents of the worst-hit counties, such as Anju and Songchon in South Pyongan province and Chonnae in Kangwon province. It also stressed that tens of thousands of families urgently need clean drinking water to prevent disease.

Wells had been contaminated by overflowing latrines, creating a high risk of a diarrhoea outbreak, while floods had damaged water sources and pumping stations. Citing government figures, the UN mission said about 50,000 families would need purification tablets or other help to secure clean water. The UN children’s fund UNICEF has ordered 10 million tablets along with other materials. Drugs and IV fluids were also badly needed.

The assessment mission said Thursday a hospital in Chonnae county had already seen a fourfold rise in diarrhoea cases. “In general, unless... needs are addressed, rapid increase in diarrhoea, skin infection and respiratory infections could occur,” it said in a report. Outdated and inefficient agricultural practices, along with a shortage of fertiliser and diversion of food to the military, have contributed to the annual food shortages. The mountainous North is also short of arable land.

But widespread deforestation, partly to clear land for crops, has made the impoverished nation increasingly prone to serious flooding which ends up washing away the harvest. In February the United States reached a deal to offer the North 240,000 tonnes of food in return for a freeze on nuclear and missile tests. But the plan was scrapped after Pyongyang’s failed rocket launch in April, seen by the US and its allies as an attempted ballistic missile test. — AFP

Truman grandson visits Hiroshima memorial TOKYO: A grandson of ex-US President Harry Truman, who ordered the atomic bombings of Japan during World War II, is in Hiroshima to attend a memorial ser vice for the victims.

Clifton Truman Daniel visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park yesterday and laid a wreath for the 140,000 people killed by the Aug 6, 1945, bombing authorized by his grandfather.

Another atomic blast in Nagasaki three days later killed 70,000 more. “I think this cenotaph says it all - to honor the dead to not forget and to make sure that we never let this happen again,” Daniel said after offering a silent prayer.

Daniel is in Japan to attend ceremonies next week in Hiroshima and Nagasaki marking the 67th anniversary of the bombings. His visit, the first by a member of the Truman family, is sponsored by the peace group Sadako Legacy, named after Sadako Sasaki, an A-bomb victim who died of leukemia at age 12. While in the hospital, Sadako folded hundreds of paper cranes after hearing a legend that people who make 1,000 origami cranes can be granted a wish. Origami cranes have since become a symbol of peace.

Daniel met Sadako’s 71-yearold brother, Masahiro Sasaki, who survived the bombing, at a peace event in New York in 2010. They agreed to work together to deepen under-

standing between the two countries, which are still divided over the question of the legitimacy of the atomic attacks.

Daniel said in a statement that he decided to visit Hiroshima and Nagasaki because he needed to know the consequences of his grandfather’s decision as part of his own efforts to help achieve a nuclear-free world. He said he hoped to hear stories from survivors about how they overcame their adversity.

Daniel also is to meet with the mayors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and participate in discussions with students. The peace group also invited the grandson of a radar operator who was on both of the planes that dropped the atomic bombs. Ari Beser’s grandfather, Jacob Beser, was only person who directly took part in both the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings. “I hope we can bring a true reconciliation to atomic bombing survivors, many of them still caught in animosity toward the United States, as well as other survivors of war and their families, and help instill a strong sense of peace among young people,” Sasaki said in a statement. The US government sent a representative the American ambassador - to the annual commemoration of the atomic bombings for the first time two years ago.

Ambassador John Roos also is to attend the Hiroshima ceremony tomorrow. — AP

YANGON: About 60 local journalists march along a busy street calling for press freedoms yesterday. — AP

Myanmar journalists want end to censorship YANGON: Myanmar’s newly assertive press corps rallied yesterday against the suspension of two weekly magazines in a once unthinkable act of defiance against government censors. Dressed in black T-shirts that read “Stop Killing Media”, about 60 journalists held a petition drive to collect signatures from members of the media.

The petition, addressed to President Thein Sein, calls for an end to censorship. Thein Sein has eased censorship as part of sweeping reforms after decades of repressive military rule, but some forms of control still exist, as authorities made clear by suspending the Voice Weekly and Envoy this past week.

The Press Scrutiny Board informed the two weeklies that their publications were suspended for violating regulations, but did not explain further. Reporters at the publications said they suspected the suspensions were linked to articles speculating about the details of an anticipated Cabinet reshuffle. The flourishing of press freedom has brought serious investigative reporting as well as sensationalism, both of which make the government uncomfortable.

A day after the suspension, nearly 100

journalists formed a group called the Committee for Freedom of the Press, which organized yeterday’s rally in which journalists went to six media offices to gather signatures for the petition. “News media are still being censored,” says the petition drafted by the committee. “The recent suspension of (the two publications) shows the threats media face and the negative signs that exist despite the democratization process of Myanmar.” Journalists at the event called it historic. “I’ve been working in media for 14 years, and I’ve never seen anything like this,” said Kyaw Naing, an editor from Voice Weekly. “We’ve never had the opportunity to speak our minds on press freedoms.”

But in a sign of the limitations that still exist, censors declared that information about yesterday’s event was not suitable for publication. Thant Zin, chief editor of The Nation news weekly, said it had hoped to publish a story on its front page and sent a draft to the censorship board, as is required.

They received a prompt reply. “We were informed by the censorship board that this news is not allowed to be published,” he said. — AP

British diplomats to attend Bo wife trial

HIROSHIMA, Japan: Clifton Truman Daniel, a grandson of former US President Harry Truman, prepares for a wreath-laying at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park yesterday. — AP

LONDON: China has granted British diplomats extremely rare access to the trial of the wife of disgraced Chinese politician Bo Xilai for the murder of Briton Neil Heywood, the foreign ministry said yesterday. “We can confirm that British diplomats will attend the trial,” a Foreign Office spokesman told AFP, ahead of the start of the highly politically-charged court proceedings in the eastern city of Hefei on Aug 9. “We are dedicated to seeking justice for (Heywood) and his family and we will be following developments closely,” the spokesman added. “We are glad to see that the Chinese authorities are continuing with the investigation into the death of Neil Heywood.”

The scandal embroiling Bo, who was one of China’s most prominent Communist Party leaders before his downfall this year, is the biggest to strike the Chinese political world in decades. It is highly unusual for foreign diplomats to be given access to such a politically sensitive trial in China.

Bo’s wife Gu Kailai and Zhang Xiaojun who worked for the Bo family - are accused of poisoning Heywood, whose death was initially blamed on excessive alcohol consumption.

The businessman was found dead in a hotel room last November in the south-

western Chinese city of Chongqing, where Bo was the former Communist Par ty leader. Gu, a former international lawyer, faces the death penalty if convicted, although this is often commuted in highprofile cases. China’s official news agency Xinhua said last week there was “irrefutable and substantial” evidence that Gu and Zhang Xiaojun had poisoned Heywood. Investigation results showed that Gu had clashed with Heywood over “economic interests” and he had threatened her son, according to Xinhua.

The case burst into the open in February when Wang Lijun, Chongqing police chief and Bo’s right-hand man, went to a US consulate in southern China to seek asylum and told diplomats of his suspicions about the politician and his family. The scandal is seen as a huge embarrassment for the ruling Communist Par ty and it dashed charismatic Bo’s hopes of promotion to the politburo standing committee - the party’s highest body. Bo, the son of a revered communist revolutionary, is thought to be under house arrest and is being investigated for corruption. He has been stripped of his senior positions with the ruling Communist Party, although he remains a member. — AFP

SUNDAY, AUGUST 5, 2012

NEWS

OTTAWA: 138 skydivers form a massive snowflake formation on Friday, Aug 3, 2012 over Ottawa,Ill. Falling at speeds of up to 220 mph, a group of nearly 140 skydivers shattered the vertical skydiving world record as they flew heads-down in a massive snowflake formation in northern Illinois. — AP

US soldiers - father, US bomb dogs slept in son serve in Kuwait hotel beds: SS scandal GEORGIA: When soldiers with the 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, deployed to Kuwait in June, the group included a father and son assigned to the 203rd Brigade Support Battalion at Fort Benning. Sgt 1st Class Kevin A Gardner Sr is a maintenance supervisor and his son, Spc Kevin A Gardner Jr, is an automated logistical specialist. Their deployment is part of the Sledgehammer Brigade’s mission to promote regional security in the Middle East.

This is not the first time their paths have crossed. Gardner Jr was ending a deployment at Camp Casey, Korea, when his father was deployed there. They met again in January at Fort Benning. “It was the luck of the draw,” Gardner Sr said in a public affairs statement from Camp Buehring, Kuwait. “Neither of us requested to be sent to the same unit.” In talks with others, the son

said soldiers never heard of a father and son serving in the same unit.

“Let alone deploy together,” he said.

There are some advantages and disadvantages to having your father, role model and family support deployed with you. “I hear it all,” said the son, a native of Savannah, Ga. “Like, ‘you know your dad is just a phone call away. And if you mess up, I’m gonna tell your daddy.’” The father said he has tried to let his son experience life and the Army on his own. “I try not to overdo it,” he said.

During a patch ceremony at Camp Buehring on July 6, the elder Gardner was on hand to pin the patch on his son, who also will be promoted to sergeant next month.

“I couldn’t tell you how proud that made me feel knowing he was in it for the long haul,” the father said. From the beginning Gardner Sr has been a part of his son’s career in the Army. The son was at the recruit-

ing station when the father received a telephone call three years ago to help him select a job. “I always wanted my son to go to college, but he told me that school was not for him,” Gardner Sr said. “I had mixed emotions about him joining the Army, but when he graduated from basic training at Fort Sill, Okla., I couldn’t be more proud of my son.”

Gardner Sr. of Cleveland has more than 20 years of service after entering the Army Reserves in September 1992 and active duty in July 1993. Although his son will remain in uniform as he approaches retirement, the father realizes he is experiencing a special moment with his son. “I love my son, and I know he loves me,” the father said. “I am experiencing something a lot of fathers dream of. They wish they were there to see their son grow and become a man. I am experiencing it.” — MCT

Opposition bloc seeks to resolve Saadoun...

Continued from Page 1 In another development, 602 men and women belonging to different nationalities converted to Islam during the first half of Ramadan through the branches of the Islamic Presentation Committee (IPC) around Kuwait. This was

revealed by Abdul-Aziz Al-Duaij, IPC’s Deputy Managing Director, who attributed the large number of converts in Kuwait to “the good treatment that non-Muslims receive in Kuwait,” combined with the IPC’s efforts to spread awareness about Islam. The IPC’s program includes providing care and further awareness to new converts.

TV show exposes depth of Israel hostility Continued from Page 1 The guests-artists, politicians, writers-are invariably outraged. One of them, an actor, slapped the anchor woman. Another grabbed an actor playing the show’s producer and shakes him by the hair. The show, which has also run during previous Ramadans, provides a glimpse into the suspicion, and in some cases outright hatred, Egypt’s cultural elite reserves for Israel.

How people continue to be duped is a mystery, but the anger is palpable. In a recent episode, comedian and guest Ayman Qandil became progressively more agitated as the hostess questioned him about his views on Israel. Then an actor pretending to be a member of the audience called in, telling Qandil she was dismayed to see him on Israeli television. Qandil erupted and attacked one of the show’s cast members before slapping the hostess to the floor.

Another actor and guest, Mahmud Abdel Ghafar, shouted “It’s enough, what’s happening in the country. I don’t want to be part of the conspiracy,” before punching the “producer” and shaking him by the hair. More than 30 years after Egypt became the first Arab country to sign a peace treaty with Israel, many in the public, and particularly intellectuals, remain opposed to Israel, said one of the show’s guests. Actors and journalists can face professional ostracism if they are seen to invite normalization with Israel.

The animosity comes from four wars Egypt fought with Israel between 1948 and 1973, and Israel’s policies towards Palestinians, said political columnist Abdullah Al-Sinawi, who appeared on the show last Ramadan.

“The Palestinian cause is not simply a matter of solidarity. There has been blood, and martyrs,” said Sinawi. Ofer Gendelman, a spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister

Benjamin Netanyahu, said the show encourages hatred of the Jewish state.

“I watched a few episodes of that show and it is clear that it promotes general hatred towards Israel. This show fights Israel and peace with Israel. There is no such show in the world like it-especially in a country that signed a peace agreement with Israel,” he said.

“Audience applauds violent anti-Semitism on Egypt TV,” said a headline about the show in Israel’s right-leaning Jerusalem Post. The reactions by some of the show’s guests reveal a level of anti-Semitic stereotypes intertwined with the political hostility towards Israel.

Among her objections to Israel, one guest averred that God “cursed” Jews, and another mentioned the anti-Jewish forgery, the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, which purports to show that Jews want to control the world. “The show sends a message,” Sinawi insisted.

“They should not see it as anti-Semitism. They should see it as a deep rejection of the Israeli occupation.” This year’s season comes amid a regional upheaval in which long-time dictators have been ousted by democratic rebellions.

Hosni Mubarak, Egypt’s veteran dictator who upheld the peace treaty with Israel, was pushed aside last year by an 18-day uprising. That ushered in military rule and then, in June, an Islamist president, Mohamed Morsi, who was also an anti-Israel activist. Mubarak had managed to keep anti-Israel hostility mostly under control, but after his ouster, militants began to regularly bomb a fuel pipeline to Israel before the Egyptian provider annulled the gas contract, allegedly for lack of Israeli payment. And in September, activists forced the Israeli embassy to close after raiding its reception in a highrise building and tossing thousands of documents out the window. — AFP

WASHINGTON: US security personnel entangled in a prostitution scandal in Colombia in April irritated hotel staff by letting bomb detection dogs sleep in hotel beds and soil the linens, a US military report released on Friday said. Hotel guests “thought to be American” were “bothering and propositioning” college-age female greeters working at the hotel for the Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the report by the US military’s Southern Command.

The report gave details of how unhappy hotel staff contacted US officials the day before President Barack Obama arrived in Cartagena, Colombia, to complain of misbehavior by the US Secret Service (SS) and US military troops who were there to help provide security for the Summit of the Americas. It became the biggest scandal ever to hit the Secret Service, with a dozen of its employees accused of misconduct for bringing women - some of them prostitutes - back to their hotel rooms.

Twelve US military service members also brought “foreign national female guests” to their hotel rooms in Cartagena, according to the report. The US military said last month that it was not pursuing criminal charges against these service members, choosing lesser punishments instead. Prostitution is legal in Colombia and the women had been registered at the hotel as overnight guests. What bothered the staff at the Hotel Caribe, a luxurious colonial-style building, was that some of the Americans’ guests stayed in the rooms past 6 am, when hotel policy said they should be gone.

“El Caribe Hotel allows overnight guests only from 2300 to 0600 because the hotel does not want families and other registered guests to witness their presence,” the report said. After this rule was broken by the Americans, the hotel banned overnight guests for the duration of the summit. US officials met hotel staff twice on April 12 to hear their complaints. One concern was

that “explosive detection dog handlers were allowing their animals to sleep in hotel beds, soil the linens, and urinate and defecate in inappropriate locations on the hotel grounds, leaving the waste,” the military report said.

The military report concluded that there was no evidence that service members’ interaction with the women threatened US national security. “There is no evidence that any of the female guests signed in to hotels by military members to el Caribe Hotel were part of a human trafficking network or associated with the FARC or any other terrorist or drug trafficking organization,” it said. FARC refers to a leftist guerrilla group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-Latin America’s longest-running insurgency.

Eight of the women were interviewed in the presence of US personnel, the military report said. The Colombian police performed a background check on 11 of the women, and none had a criminal record.

However, a 12th woman remains unidentified, the report said. Even though prostitution is legal in Colombia, it is illegal for US service members under US military law. Of the 12 service members involved, nine have been served with “non-judicial” punishments; three of these have requested a court martial, the military said last month.

Two military cases remain under legal review and one was reprimanded but cleared of any violation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. The report said six of the military members accused in the scandal were Army non-commissioned officers. Five others were embedded with the Secret Service explosives detection team.

At least seven of the accused Secret Service employees left the agency and three were cleared. An agency spokesman said on Friday he had no information on the disposition of two other cases. — Reuters

Coptic leader slams ‘unfair’ Egypt cabinet Continued from Page 1 But the formation ignored all the known rights and concepts of citizenship,” he said in the first official comment by the Church on the new cabinet. “It is not right that Copts get treated in this way,” added Bakhomious, who is acting as pope until a successor to Shenouda is elected later this year. In that role, he is the main political advocate for Egypt’s Copts, the largest Christian minority in the Middle East.

Egypt’s Christians and Muslims co-existed peacefully for decades but occasional sectarian clashes have taken a more violent turn following Mubarak’s ouster and the rise of Islamists to power. Christians are worried by an upsurge in attacks on churches which they blame on hardline Islamists, although political analysts say local disputes often lay behind them. In one such incident

last week, a passerby was killed during a fight between a Muslim and a Christian in a village, south of Cairo.

Angry Muslims then robbed Christians in the village and torched their homes, prompting some Christian families to flee. Morsi promised a prompt investigation of the violence and compensation for those who lost possessions.

The tensions between the two communities have been underscored by the appointment of an Islamist to run the education ministry. Christians complain school books discriminate against them and as they include versus from Quran that both Muslim and Christian students are required to study, but make no reference to the Bible.” The time has come for Egypt’s new leadership to end the problems of Christians in Egypt or else the sectarian violence will increase,” said human rights activist Gamal Eid. — Reuters

Saudi soldier shot dead Continued from Page 1 Last month a new round of protests ended with three deaths after police arrested and injured a firebrand Shiite cleric, Nimr Al-Nimr, who had preached sermons urging demonstrations against the government. Ten of the 11 people to have died in Qatif demonstrations since late last year were young Shiite men, killed in what Saudi Arabia said were exchanges of fire, but which local activists described as peaceful protests.

Saudi Arabia and Bahrain have both accused Shiite regional power Iran of fomenting the unrest among members of the sect in both countries, which Tehran denies.

The Interior Ministry in January issued a list of 23 residents of the area who it said were responsible for attacks on security forces, acting at the behest of “a foreign power”, widely understood to mean Iran. Shiites in Qatif, who often raise the Bahraini flag in shows of solidarity with their coreligionists in the tiny Gulf Arab country, have repeatedly said the protests are not organized by Iran. — Reuters

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Issues

Muslims in France after the elections

By Aude Jehan or 3.5 million French Muslims, Ramadan began on Friday, 20 July. Enthusiasm for fasting seems stronger than ever this year, with 71 per cent of Muslims in France observing Ramadan as opposed to 60 per cent 20 years ago, according to the newspaper La Croix. And fast-breaking iftar dinners, such as the welcome iftar at the Grand Mosque in Paris, are attended by newly elected French politicians eager to demonstrate their commitment to a renewed relationship between Muslims and non-Muslims in France following recent elections.

During the last decade in France, however, debates on the role of religion in the public space, migration, social cohesion and other issues have revealed increasing social tensions and polarisation in public opinion. Misperceptions and misinformation often dominate public dialogue about relations between French Muslims and their co-citizens. And things became even worse last year when President Sarkozy’s government banned the wearing of face veils in public places, angering many in the Muslim community. For many, the recent elections seem to offer a change. Muslims in France are hopeful that the new government will bring positive changes. “With the left [in power], we feel closer to the government and to France in general. And France is closer to Muslims”, said a young Parisian Muslim. “Now, we can focus on more important issues, such as jobs.” There are other promising signs that the situation is changing. On 19 July, President FranÁois Hollande met with the Rector of the Grand Mosque of Paris, Dr Dalil Boubakeur.

They discussed issues such as the organization of Islam in France, the training of imams and hate crimes against Muslims. And Boubaker paid tribute to the new French president for the climate of serenity and hope established in the country since his election, particularly for Muslims in France. Two days later, on the second day of Ramadan, French Interior Minister Manuel Valls was invited to break the fast at the Grand Mosque of Paris.

While there is nothing new in French politicians attending official iftars during Ramadan (former President Nicolas Sarkozy and Prime Minister Francois Fillon both did), the 2012 iftar at the Grand Mosque of Paris marks a turning point in French politics toward integrating Muslims into the French Republic.

On 6 July 2012, Minister Valls, inaugurating the Grand Mosque in Cergy, a typical Parisian suburb built in the 1960s, declared: “Islam, in its universal dimension, is an integral element, in its own right, of what France is today.

Too often, Islam has been manipulated; too often it has been seen as a vehicle for suspicion, distrust, and contempt. It is our responsibility to progressively build a French Islam, one that will put down roots in our country.” Blasting former French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s controversial integration and immigration policies as “random and discriminatory”, he has called for more objective procedures.

However, more work is needed to repair years of mistrust and misinformation. If France wants to heal the gap between its Muslim population and the government, it is necessary to explicitly reject the link between socio-economic and cultural issues. For instance, it is time to overcome the stereotypes that “Islamisation” is an explanation for unemployment and economic hardship. It is also imperative for policymakers to change the dominant narrative of French national identity by including Islamic culture and history in discussions of French heritage. Proud of its concept of laicite (denoting the absence of both religious involvement in government affairs as well as the absence of government involvement in religious affairs), France nevertheless needs to create a notion of citizenship that encompasses diverse layers of identity and belonging. One of the main strategies will be to use education in order to dispel the assumption that identities are fixed, not only because of the dangerous consequences of that assumption, but because of its historical inaccuracy. The challenge is to reshape imaginations so that Muslims can be seen as legitimate fellow citizens.

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Aude Jehan is a visiting scholar and a French Embassy Fellow at the Center for Transatlantic Relations at the Paul H Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) of Johns Hopkins University in Washington, DC. This article was written for the Common Ground News Service. — CGNews

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Climate change science, not hype

By Michael D Lemonick ast week, NASA announced that 97 percent of Greenland’s vast ice sheet had undergone at least some surface melting this summer, compared with a normal melt area of about 50 percent. The 2012 figure, said the headline on the space agency’s press release, was “unprecedented.” That’s a powerful word in any context, but it’s especially so when you’re talking about the politically charged topic of climate change. If the melting was unprecedented, it would reinforce the idea that scientists are right about the dangers of human-generated greenhouse gases, and at the same time make it harder for skeptics to take potshots at the science.

The skeptics were naturally delighted, therefore, when it turned out that such widespread melting is anything but unprecedented. It happened most recently in 1889, and it happens, on average, every 150 years or so. This summer’s surface melt has very likely been influenced by global warming, but it might have happened anyway. The same goes for the heat waves that have pummeled large parts of the nation this summer and the drought that’s now destroying crops in the Midwest.

The drama and the hype - alarmist headlines, crowing skeptics, backtracking scientists (or at least, publicists) and a confused public - made me crazy. With one poorly chosen word, climate-change skeptics were handed an opportunity to sow more doubt and confusion about global warming. I work at Climate Central, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research and news

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organization, and a good part of my work is dedicated to putting an end to just that sequence of events. Our central mission is communicating to a general audience what the science is and what it is not.

For the record: The science clearly shows that climate is changing largely as a result of greenhouse gas emissions. The science is equally clear that without rapid and drastic cutbacks in greenhouse gas emissions, the changes are likely to threaten life, property and Earth’s biosphere in all sorts of ways - including melting glaciers and worsening weather crises - by the end of century, and in many cases, much sooner. In fact, some of these changes are already happening. But there is a lot science doesn’t know as well, especially what the link might be (if any) between climate change and specific events. It doesn’t know for certain what the future holds for, say, hurricanes. (The tentative conclusion: These storms could become fewer but more powerful.) It can’t say precisely how high sea level will rise, or how fast.

And there are outliers, scientists with (and sometimes without) legit credentials who doubt the mainstream conclusions.

Yes, scientific “facts” are mutable: As data accumulate, knowledge changes. But just because science adjusts itself to new information (or because outliers invariably exist), it doesn’t make the mainstream wrong. I’m not a scientist; I’m a science journalist. I translate the arcane terminology of experiments, data and theories into everyday English. In the current climate of global warming doubt - in which any uncertainty is used to discredit mountains of confirming data, where even a typo

might promote misunderstanding - the job can be a minefield.

I just co-wrote a climate-change primer for Climate Central: 60 simple, bite-size dispassionate chapters about what scientists know on the topic, no more, no less. Accuracy is always the appropriate goal for a journalist, but for “Global Weirdness,” we were hyper-vigilant. Each chapter was reviewed, down to the comma, by at least one of Climate Central’s doctorate-level staff scientists, and revised based on their critiques. Each chapter was then re-reviewed by at least one scientist outside our organization, drawn from a list of the world’s most eminent experts, and revised again.

It was something like the peer review process that scrutinizes scientific findings before they are published. No writer (and no scientist) particularly likes to have his or her work picked apart in this manner, but it’s the best way we know to get things right. This doesn’t mean our work won’t come under criticism. The very fact that we take mainstream climate science seriously will paint us as partisan hacks in the eyes of those who insist the whole thing is a scam, and that includes some scientists with doctorates of their own. And we’ll no doubt also be criticized by those who think we aren’t scaring people enough.

Without fear, they believe, people might not take action. Who knows, the fear pushers might be right. But as convinced as I am that limiting greenhouse gases is important, I’m grateful for every time a critical scientist or editor has stopped me from making an “unprecedented” error. In the end our best hope is sticking with the science as it is, not as any one person or cause wishes it might be. After all, the truth is scary enough.— MCT

Thank you Mitt Romney

By Dr James J Zogby ith one factually wrong, decidedly insensitive, and patently biased comment, Republican presidential aspirant, Mitt Romney, did more to focus US media attention on the impact of the Israeli occupation on the Palestinian economy than any other development in the past two decades. Romney’s observation that “culture makes all the difference”, which he offered as his explanation for the disparities between the Israeli and Palestinian economies, was so remarkably out of touch with reality that it set off an unprecedented explosion of press commentary in the US and Europe.

In the two days that followed these remarks, the “Palestinian economy” received more than 6,700 mentions in the media. Most of the US major daily newspapers featured articles, commentary, and even editorials taking issue with the Romney quote - highlighting repressive Israeli policies, and not an “inferior culture” as the reason for the poor performance of the Palestinian economy. Most made this point by including citations from the World Bank (“the government of Israel’s security restrictions continue to stymie investment”) and the CIA World Factbook (“Israeli closure policies continue to disrupt labor and trade flows, industrial capacity, and basic commerce...[and] have resulted in high unemployment, elevated poverty rates, and the near collapse of the private sector”).

What is striking is that while these assessments were not new, it took Romney’s remarks to bring them into the public discourse. In fact, when the most recent World Bank report was published just a few days earlier, it received scant attention. The only take away for many reporters was the Bank’s comment that the Palestinian’s were too dependent on foreign aid and that their “economy is currently not strong enough to support...a state” - a line latched onto by opponents of the Palestinian’s bid for statehood. There is no doubt that there are huge disparities between the Israeli and Palestinian economies. In fact, they are significantly greater than Romney stated them to be.

While he cited per capita GDP numbers giving Israel a two to one edge over the Palestinians, the World Bank says the gap is more like 10 to one (and according to other sources, it may even be double that). But it didn’t have to be this way.

Back in 1993 around the time that Israelis and Palestinians were signing the Oslo Accords, the World released a multi-volume study on the Palestinian economy.

The study noted the impact of sustained occupation on the West Bank and Gaza, and the resultant deformity and dedevelopment of sectors of the economy. Nevertheless, the World Bank was bullish on the entrepreneurial spirit of the Palestinians and opined that with investment in infrastructure and freedom, the territories could experience rapid growth. That never happened.

Instead of experiencing the freedom to grow and develop, new hardships were imposed on the Palestinians. In

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fact, in 1994 the Palestinian economy received a devastating hit resulting from the Israeli closure of the territories.

The “closure”, which cut Palestinians off from Greater Jerusalem, and severely limited interaction between Palestinians and Israel, was initially imposed as a temporary “preventive measure” in the wake of the massacre of Palestinians committed by an Israeli settler in Hebron. The “temporary closure” never ended.

During the occupation, the Palestinian lands had been reduced by the Israelis to a dependent economy - with two of the largest sources of wealth being low paying day-labor jobs in Israel and small manufacturing enterprises producing items which Israeli companies then exported with a “Made in Israel” label. With “closure”, over 100,000 Palestinians lost their jobs in Israel and hundreds of small businesses were forced to close because trade with Israel was severely restricted. With the Oslo peace process underway, Israel prospered, with dramatic increases in foreign investment.

Meanwhile, cut off from Jerusalem, their economic hub, and denied the freedom to import raw materials or export finished products, the Palestinian economy languished - with little understanding from US officials or media.

Back then, I was involved with a project, founded by then Vice-President Gore, to promote investment in the Palestinian economy. When I informed the President and Vice-President of the Israeli impediments to investment and the deteriorating economic realities in the still occupied territories, they were concerned, but these matters were given short shrift since their staff countered that raising these issues with the Israelis would only make them defensive and would, therefore, not contribute to

advancing peace negotiations. This, not Palestinian prosperity, was seen as the more important goal.

In 1995, I testified before a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on the Palestinian economy and was asked why Arafat couldn’t be more like South Africa’s Mandela or Russia’s Yeltsin and oversee the creation of a vibrant free market economy in the Palestinian lands. I pointed out, in response, that Mandela and Yeltsin took control of established sovereign states, with developed infrastructures, control of resources and borders - hence, the ability to produce, to trade, and to freely grow their economies. The “Palestine” of Arafat, on the other hand, had none of these attributes. The Authority he headed had no control of their land, resources, or access and egress.

They, therefore, were unable to produce, trade, or grow. While Israelis were experiencing the fruits of peace, Palestinians were becoming poorer, more dependent on foreign aid, and more cynical about “peace.” The situation was not only not sustainable, it was a recipe for disaster. Since my answer did not fit Washington’s dominant “Arafat is at fault” narrative, it was ignored. And this state of affairs has continued to be ignored until the present day - with horrific consequences for ordinary Palestinians. Since the days of Oslo, Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem have more than doubled creating new hardships and humiliation and anger.

For nearly two decades now, Gaza, blockaded and strangled, has had a youth unemployment rate of nearly 80% - meaning that most young men in that “prison camp” have no jobs, no prospects of a job, no ability to even think of marrying and raising a family, and are living in deep despair. In the face of all this, the best Congress could do in recent weeks, was to propose, yet again, to move the US Embassy to Jerusalem, hold hearings on Palestinian corruption, and threaten to cut US assistance should the Palestinians continue with their feeble threat to seek United Nation’s recognition. Then Mitt Romney went to Jerusalem and helped shift the focus of the discussion, at least for a few days. And so I say, thank you, Mitt!

SUNDAY, AUGUST 5, 2012

sp orts

Furyk stays in charge, Woods 13 off the pace AKRON: Rock-steady Jim Furyk maintained both momentum and a two-shot lead in Friday’s second round of the WGCBridgestone Invitational while seventimes champion Tiger Woods again struggled with his putting.

Furyk, who opened with a dazzling seven-under-par 63 in the elite World Golf Championships (WGC) event, followed up with a five-birdie 66 on another steamy day at Firestone Country Club.

The veteran American scrambled superbly to cover his back nine in a flawless two-under 33, posting an 11-under total of 129 to finish two strokes in front of Spaniard Rafael Cabrera Bello, who fired a 65. South African Louis Oosthuizen, the 2010 British Open champion, was at eight under, also after a 65, with laid-back American Jason Dufner a further stroke back after returning a 66.

Woods, who had totalled 33 putts on the slick Firestone greens in the opening round, mixed four bogeys with two birdies for a 72 to end the day a distant 13 strokes off the pace.

Furyk, who clinched the most recent of his 16 PGA Tour victories at the 2010 season-ending Tour Championship, was delighted to retain control of the tournament after starting the day two ahead of the chasing pack.

“At times you go out there and fire a low score one day and it’s hard to follow it up the next and keep that momentum going,” the smiling 42-year-old told reporters.

“So I was able to kind of keep that momentum. I knocked in a couple of

good putts today and made some great saves actually, some good par saves, to keep the round going.”

Furyk saved par four times from bunkers on his back nine before ending the day with his lowest 36-hole score on the PGA Tour.

“I thought it was key to get off to a nice start and see some putts go in,” he said. “I made a good birdie putt at two and saw some birdies go in on the front nine, good putt at nine, and kind of off to

the races. “The back nine was a little bit more making some good saves. I slipped a couple of birdies in there along the way, as well. Good round.”

While Furyk was in an upbeat mood, Woods was a frustrated figure after needing 29 putts in the second round.

“I hit it good, made nothing (on the greens),” the 14-times major winner said.

“I figured something out finally on the 17th hole, but too little, too late.

“I get in these little spells where it’s

AKRON: Tiger Woods plays a shot from a sand trap on the ninth hole during the third round of the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational. —AP

hot or cold. Generally I was a decent putter over the years, but lately it’s been very streaky, I’m making everything or I make nothing.”

Woods, who has triumphed a seasonhigh three times on the 2012 PGA Tour, explained that his putting woes stemmed from the wayward path of his putter.

“I had my lines good, but it’s just setting my path out,” he said. “I was trying to marry the two. I was trying to figure it out last night on the putting green.

“Yesterday was bad putts. Today I had good speed and just still not quite right.

And the putts I did (hit) pure, they were just lipping out. So that’s fine.”

British world number one Luke Donald, struggling on the greens in the late afternoon, carded a 69 to end the day six strokes behind Furyk while defending champion Adam Scott of Australia posted a 70 for a one-over total.

Former US Open winners Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell, both of Northern Ireland, fired matching 67s to sit eight shots off the pace but British Open champion Ernie Els returned a second successive 73 to languish joint 62nd in the 77man field.

“I played solid today,” said the mophaired McIlroy, who romped to victory by a staggering eight shots at the 2011 US Open. “I (double-bogeyed) the first, but apart from that, it was pretty good.

“Making six birdies, it was nice. I’m just trying to keep improving on my score. If I can get lower for the next two days, I won’t be far off.” — Reuters

Rocha grabs lead at Reno-Tahoe Open NEVADA: Brazilian Alexandre Rocha moved into a two-point lead at the Reno-Tahoe Open in Nevada after Friday’s second round of the PGA Tour’s only event played under the Modified Stableford scoring system.

The 34-year-old Rocha, searching for his maiden PGA Tour win, produced seven birdies and an eagle, the latter worth five points, while making three bogeys to sit on 24 at the halfway stage.

Americans JJ Henry and John Mallinger were tied in second place on 22 points - the former boosted by an eagle on the par-five eighth. That hole proved to be a turning point for the Fort Worth-based Henry, who had opened his round with back-to-back bogeys.

“I think I was still asleep for those first two holes in the morning but actually I hit good drives and it was a couple of shaky approach shots that led to two bogeys, but I knew coming into this week that I was playing really well,” Henry said. Mallinger said he believed the scoring system was assisting his game. “This is a new format for me, I’ve never played it before and I’m just trying to get used to getting the score out of my mind and just playing golf. I think it’s actually helped me,” he said.

Overnight leader Andres Romero of Argentina remained in the hunt, three points behind Rocha, despite five bogeys on Friday.

Florida-based Indian Arjun Atwal was level with Romero, after making 14 points in a second round containing nine birdies, although a double-bogey on the third scythed three points off his total. Two-times major winner John Daly was five points off the lead.— Reuters

SUNDAY, AUGUST 5, 2012

sp orts

Rondon negotiating exit

Xavi lauds ‘Ibra’ signing

MADRID: Malaga’s Venezuelan striker Salomon Rondon has not joined the rest of the squad on a pre-season tour to Italy because he is negotiating his exit, the La Liga club said yesterday. “The player remained in the capital of the Costa del Sol because he is immersed in negotiations after an offer was received in the offices of the Rosaleda stadium,” Malaga said in a statement on their website (www.malagacf.com).

Local media reported the 22-year-old was poised to join Russian club Rubin Kazan in a deal worth 10 million euros ($12.34 million).

Malaga announced on Thursday they were undergoing a process of “internal restructuring” amid reports owner Sheikh Abdullah Bin Nassar AlThani, a member of the Qatar royal family, wanted to sell up after only two years. As well as Rondon, the “restructuring” is expected to lead to the sale of other leading players, including midfielder Santi Cazorla to English Premier League side Arsenal, and possibly the departure of Chilean coach Manuel Pellegrini.

Cazorla is also absent from the tour to Italy, where they are due to play a friendly against Serie A champions Juventus in Salerno later on Saturday. Spanish media reported the 27year-old, who made his debut for Malaga in August 2011 after joining from Villarreal, was in London this week to tie up the Arsenal switch. —AP

PARIS: Barcelona and Spain midfielder Xavi Hernandez yesterday admitted that bigspending Paris Saint-Germain will be a major contender in this season’s Champions League ahead of the clubs’ friendly meeting here yesterday.

“PSG are a very good side, they have signed some top level players like Thiago Silva and Zlatan Ibrahimovic to add to the good players that were already there,” said Xavi, who has only just started pre-season training after helping Spain to glory at Euro 2012.

“They are another candidate for the Champions League. They have set themselves the objective of winning the Champions League in the short to medium term and they have the financial means.” It is the French capital club’s signing of Sweden star Ibrahimovic that has really sent shockwaves through the continent’s other leading clubs, and Xavi knows all about the threat posed by ‘Ibra’, who played for the Catalans in 2009-10.

“He is a great signing,” said the 32-year-old. “He performed fantastically for us and he is a top level player. “He can bring a lot to them, and is the signing they needed to go on and win the French title.” Ibrahimovic left the Camp Nou for AC Milan under a cloud two years ago after a reported falling-out with coach Pep Guardiola, but Xavi defended the Swede’s record with Barca. — Reuters

Loeb wins Rally of Finland JYVASKYLA: France’s Sebastien Loeb won the Rally of Finland yesterday ahead of Finnish teammate Mikko Hirvonen, to give Citroen their fifth 1-2 of the season.

Another Finn Jari-Matti Latvala finished third for Ford in the race which gave 38year-old Loeb his 73rd career win and third in Finland after 2008, 2011 and 2012.

Eight-time world champion Loeb led throughout the three-day race and extends his overall championship lead on Hirvonen to 48 points. Hirvonen claimed an additional three points reserved for the winner of the Power Stage (SS18) and finished the race six seconds behind Loeb. — AFP

White Sox win over Angels CHICAGO: Chicago’s Alex Rios hit his second homer of the game, a two-run shot in the 10th inning, to lift the White Sox to an 8-6 victory over the Los Angeles Angels in the American League on Friday.

Rios also hit a solo homer as the White Sox won their third straight. The Angels lost their third straight, with starter Zack Greinke roughed up in his second start for his new team. Adam Dunn singled off Hisanori Takahashi (0-3) to open the 10th. Pinch-runner Jordan Danks stole second with one out before Rios hit his homer. Matt Thornton (4-6) pitched a scoreless 10th for the win.

Yankees 6, Mariners 3 In New York, CC Sabathia pitched a complete game and struck out 10 as New York ended Seattle’s sevengame winning streak.

Sabathia (11-3) improved to 8-0 with a 1.20 ERA in his past eight starts against the Mariners. He gave up three hits - two homers and a double.

Eric Chavez hit a two-run homer and Curtis Granderson had a two-run single off Seattle’s Kevin Millwood (4-9). Chavez became the ninth Yankee with at least 10 homers this season - one shy of the club record set in 1998.

Rays 2, Orioles 0 In St. Petersburg, Florida, BJ Upton joined elite company by hitting his 100th career homer for Tampa Bay, helping the Rays down Baltimore.

Upton put the Rays ahead 1-0 with a fourth-inning homer off Tommy Hunter (4-7). Upton joins Rickey Henderson, Barry Bonds, Bobby Bonds, Cesar Cedeno, Lloyd Moseby, Eric Davis and Hanley Ramirez as the only players to amass 100 homers and 200 steals before age 28. His brother, Arizona’s Justin Upton, hit his 100th career homer earlier in the night at Philadelphia. Tampa Bay’s Matt Moore (8-7) improved to 7-2 in his past 11 starts after pitching 5 1-3 scoreless innings.

CINCINNATI: Reds relief pitcher Aroldis Chapman throws to a Pittsburgh Pirates batter in the ninth inning of a baseball game. — AP

Reds sink Pirates CINCINNATI: Cincinnati’s Mat Latos pitched 7-1/3 scoreless innings and hit a two-run homer as the National League Central-leading Reds opened a threegame series against their closest pursuers with a 3-0 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday.

Latos (10-3) allowed only four hits, and contributed most of the runs too, with only his third career home run, off oppositing pitcher Wandy Rodriguez (710) in the fifth.

Chris Heisey got the other run an inside-the-park homer for the Reds, who have won 14 of 15, are 24 games over .500 for the first time in 13 years and are now 41/2-games clear of the Pirates.

Marlins 5, Nationals 2 In Washington, Josh Johnson outpitched Gio Gonzalez as Miami won the night game to split the doubleheader against Washington.

Johnson (7-7) improved to 9-1 lifetime against Washington. He fell one out short of his first complete game since 2010. He gave up one earned run, struck out nine and walked none, and also got two hits.

Carlos Lee drove in three runs and Jose Reyes had three hits to get the better of Gonzalez (13-6).

In the first game, Adam LaRoche and Mark DeRosa each drove in three runs for the Natioanls, while John Lannan (2-0) took the win.

Miami’s Brad Hand (0-1), recalled from the minors to start the game, gave up seven runs and six walks in 3 2-3 innings.

Cardinals 9, Brewers 3 In St. Louis, rookie Joe Kelly broke a three-start losing streak and drove in the go-ahead run to help St. Louis beat Milwaukee.

Kelly (2-4) allowed three earned runs over 5 2-3 innings. His RBI single off Randy Wolf (3-8) broke a 3-3 tie and capped a four-run outburst in the fourth inning.

D’backs 4, Phillies 2 In Philadelphia, Justin Upton hit his 100th career homer in Arizona’s win over Philadelphia. Shortly after Upton connected off Phillies fill-in starter Kyle Kendrick (4-9), his older brother also hit his 100th homer over in the American League.

Tampa Bay’s BJ Upton went deep in the fourth inning against Baltimore.

D’backs starter Ian Kennedy (10-8) allowed two runs in six innings to take

the win for Arizona, which has won four straight. D’backs starter Ian Kennedy (108) allowed two runs in six innings to take the win.

Dodgers 6, Cubs 1 In Los Angeles, Chad Billingsley won his third straight start since coming off the disabled list, leading Los Angeles past Chicago.

Billingsley (7-9) allowed one run in seven innings and struck out seven.

Catcher AJ Ellis hit two solo homers and had an RBI single for the Dodgers. Cubs starter Jeff Samardzija (7-9) gave up five runs in 5 1-3 innings.

Padres 3, Mets 1 In San Diego, Carlos Quentin scored the go-ahead run in the seventh inning when he knocked the ball out of the catcher’s glove, and San Diego held on to beat New York.

Clayton Richard (8-11) limited New York to one run in seven-plus innings.

The Padres won despite managing only four hits.

Mets starter RA Dickey (14-3) held the Padres to one hit through six innings before San Diego got to the knuckleballer in the seventh, scoring two runs.

Braves 4, Astros 1 In Atlanta, Tim Hudson gave up no earned runs in 7 1-3 innings to remain unbeaten in his career against Houston.

Atlanta improved to 7-1 on its 10-game homestead.

Hudson (11-4) is 5-0 in seven career starts against the Astros. Chipper Jones had a two-run double in Atlanta’s threerun third inning. The Astros are 3-29, the worst 32-game stretch in team history, according to STATS LLC. Astros starter Armando Galarraga (0-1) gave up four runs and a career-worst seven walks in 5 1-3 innings.

Giants 16, Rockies 4 In Denver, Ryan Vogelsong pitched into the seventh inning as San Francisco routed Colorado. The Giants gave Vogelsong (9-5) a 3-0 lead before breaking away in the seventh.

Buster Posey homered among his four hits as the Giants broke out of an offensive slump that had seen them lose seven of eight. San Francisco set a season high for runs. The first four batters reached base as the Giants took a 2-0 lead against former teammate Jonathan Sanchez (0-3). — AP

Tigers 10, Indians 2 In Detroit, Prince Fielder homered and drove in four runs to power Detroit past Cleveland. Fielder also hit a two-run double for the Tigers, who broke open the game with four runs in the fourth inning.

Detroit starter Anibal Sanchez (1-1) allowed one earned run in six-plus innings, taking his first win with his new team after being traded from Miami. The Indians lost their seventh straight. Starter Justin Masterson (7-10) allowed seven runs in four innings.

Athletics 5, Blue Jays 4 In Oakland, the hosts won their second 15-inning game in a week as Jemile Weeks hit a leadoff triple and scored on a sacrifice fly to beat Toronto. Weeks was a star Monday, too, when his sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 15th beat Tampa Bay. This win took 4 hours, 47 minutes; the victory over the Rays lasted more than 5 hours.Toronto lost its sixth in a row but came close to victory. Jeff Mathis hit a tying, three-run homer in the ninth, and Omar Vizquel was thrown out at the plate in the 12th.

Aaron Loup (1-1) became the first Toronto pitcher to bat in an AL game, after the designated hitter spot was lost. Travis Blackley (4-3) pitched three innings for the win.

Rangers 5, Royals 3 In Kansas City, Matt Harrison gave the beleaguered Texas pitching staff a strong start, setting up the win over Kansas City.

The Rangers starters had allowed at least six runs in the previous four games, but Harrison (13-6) held the Royals to two runs in 6 2-3 innings.

CHICAGO: White Sox’s Alex Rios hits the two-run game-winning home run during the 10th inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels. — AP

MLB results/standings Washington 7, Miami 4; Miami 5, Washington 2; Arizona 4, Philadelphia 2; NY Yankees 6, Seattle 3; Detroit 10, Cleveland 2; Minnesota 6, Boston 5 (10 innings); Tampa Bay 2, Baltimore 0; Cincinnati 3, Pittsburgh 0; Atlanta 4, Houston 1; Chicago White Sox 8, LA Angels 6 (10 innings); Texas 5, Kansas City 3; St. Louis 9, Milwaukee 3; San Francisco 16, Colorado 4; Oakland 5, Toronto 4 (15 innings); San Diego 3, NY Mets 1; LA Dodgers 6, Chicago Cubs 1.

American League Eastern Division W L NY Yankees 62 43 Tampa Bay 56 50 Baltimore 55 51 Boston 53 54 Toronto 51 55 Central Division Chicago White Sox 58 47 Detroit 56 50 Cleveland 50 56 Minnesota 46 60 Kansas City 44 61 Western Division Texas 62 43 Oakland 58 48 LA Angels 57 50 Seattle 50 58

PCT .590 .528 .519 .495 .481

GB 6.5 7.5 10 11.5

.552 .528 .472 .434 .419

2.5 8.5 12.5 14

.590 .547 .533 .463

4.5 6 13.5

Mitch Moreland’s three-run homer in the seventh came off Royals reliever Jose Mijares, who had not yielded a home run to a left-handed hitter this season.

Kansas City starter Jeremy Guthrie (3-11) held the Rangers to three runs over six-plus innings but is still winless in three starts for his new team after arriving from Colorado.

Twins 6, Red Sox 5 In Boston, Jamey Carroll had four hits, including a

National League Eastern Division Washington 63 43 Atlanta 61 45 NY Mets 52 55 Miami 49 58 Philadelphia 47 59 Central Division Cincinnati 65 41 Pittsburgh 60 45 St. Louis 57 49 Milwaukee 48 57 Chicago Cubs 43 61 Houston 35 72 Western Division San Francisco 57 49 LA Dodgers 57 50 Arizona 55 51 San Diego 45 63 Colorado 38 66

.594 .575 .486 .458 .443

2 11.5 14.5 16

.613 .571 .538 .457 .413 .327

4.5 8 16.5 21 30.5

.538 .533 .519 .417 .365

0.5 2 13 18

go-ahead single in the 10th that gave Minnesota victory over Boston. Carroll and Justin Morneau both went 4-for-4 - Morneau doubled twice and Carroll once.

Darin Mastroianni led off the 10th with a double.

After third baseman Will Middlebrooks made a spectacular diving catch on a foul ball by Brian Dozier, Carroll singled off Vicente Padilla (4-1). Jeff Gray (61) pitched 1 1-3 innings for the win. Jared Burton picked up the save. — AP

Chiefs demolish Sharks for maiden Super Rugby title HAMILTON: The Waikato Chiefs powered to their first ever Super Rugby title yesterday with a sparkling 37-6 win over the travel-weary Sharks in Hamilton.

The Chiefs lived up to their billing as the most entertaining side in this season’s championship and also outshone the hardworking South African forwards to bury memories of their final humiliation to the Bulls three years ago.

The Chiefs made light of difficult conditions at Waikato Stadium and led through tries by Tim NanaiWilliams, Kane Thompson and Lelia Masaga before Sonny Bill Williams marked his farewell appearance with his side’s fourth and final effort.

The Chiefs become the sixth winners in 17 seasons of Super Rugby competition, while the Sharks simply looked drained by a third straight playoff away from home and have now lost all four of their final appearances.

The Sharks shocked the Queensland Reds in a playoff and overcame the Stormers, who led the regularseason rankings, in the semi-finals but managed only a pair of penalties yesterday from France fly-half Frederic Michalak.

“The boys were getting up in their faces,” Chiefs captain Craig Clarke said. “We’ve got a heap of pride in our defence. We talked about not giving over and keeping them to no tries. “This is awesome.”

The South Africans trailed 13-3 at the interval and had been the best second-half team in the competition going into the final but unravelled as they chased the game as the Chiefs ran the ball back and kicked intelligently. “”The Chiefs were outstanding tonight,” Sharks captain Keegan Daniel said. “”They were outstanding all season.”

After the ignominy of being on the wrong end of the most one-side Super Rugby final when they lost 61-17 to the Bulls in 2009, the Chiefs can now brag of matching fellow New Zealand franchises the Canterbury Crusaders and the Auckland Blues as

HAMILTON: Aaron Cruden (right) of the Waikato Chiefs is tackled by Willem Alberts of the Coastal Sharks during their Super 15 rugby union final match. — AFP champions. The Bulls, the ACT Brumbies and the Queensland Reds are the other former winners.

The Chiefs made clear their intentions from the start, spurning the chance to call the mark in the opening minute and running the ball instead.

Although Michalak put the Sharks 3-0 ahead with a penalty for offside after Ryan Kankowski stole a lineout, the home side forced an attacking turnover by

sheer weight of numbers. That galvanised the Chiefs and Aaron Cruden set in motion the move for the opening try with a chipped kick that Sharks forward Pat Lambie spilled. Referee Steve Walsh played advantage for the knock on and a line break from Williams, in his last match before moving to Japan, helped create an opening on the left for Nanai-Williams to power through from a pass by Andrew Horrell. —Reuters

SUNDAY, AUGUST 5, 2012

sp orts

Pathan bowls India to victory SCOREBOARD PALLEKELE, Sri Lanka: Complete scoreboard of the fifth and final one-day international between Sri Lanka and India in Pallekele yesterday: India: G. Gambhir c Malinga b Senanayake A. Rahane lbw b Perera V. Kohli lbw b Pradeep R. Sharma b Pradeep M. Tiwary c Perera b Malinga S. Raina c Thirimanne b Malinga MS Dhoni c Chandimal b Malinga Irfan Pathan not out R. Ashwin not out Extras (lb10, w6) Total (for seven wickets; 50 overs)

88 9 23 4 65 0 58 29 2 16 294

Fall of wickets: 1-29 (Rahane), 2-77 (Kohli), 387 (Sharma), 4-197 (Tiwary), 5-197 (Raina), 6213 (Gambhir), 7-290 (Dhoni).

Bowling: Malinga 10-0-64-3 (w1), Perera 100-53-1 (w4), Mathews 5-0-29-0, Pradeep 10-0-63-2, Senanayake 10-0-50-1 (w1), Mendis 5-0-25-0.

Sri Lanka: U. Tharanga c Rahane b Pathan 31 T. Dilshan c Zaheer b Pathan 0 L. Thirimanne run out 77

D. Chandimal lbw b Dinda 8 A. Mathews run out 13 C. Kapugedara lbw b Zaheer 9 J. Mendis c Dhoni b Pathan 72 T. Perera c Kohli b Pathan 18 S. Senanayake b Pathan 7 L. Malinga c Raina b Dinda 10 N. Pradeep not out 0 Extras (b2, lb14, w13) 29 Total (for all out; 45.4 overs) 274 Fall of wickets: 1-13 (Dilshan), 2-61 (Tharanga), 3-74 (Chandimal), 4-89 (Mathews), 5-102 (Kapugedara), 6-204 (Thirimanne), 7-252 (Perera), 8-256 (Mendis), 9-266 (Senanayake), 10-274 (Malinga).

Bowling: Zaheer 9-1-53-1 (w8), Pathan 10-061-5 (w5), Dinda 7.4-0-55-2, Kohli 1-0-3-0, Ashwin 9-0-37-0, Sharma 6-0-230, Raina 2-0-12-0, Tiwary 1-0-14-0.

Result: India win by 20 runs Series result: India clinch five-match series 4-1

Kiwis stage comeback KINGSTON: Marlon Samuels struck a fine century for West Indies but New Zealand fought back well on the second day of the second test, bowling out the hosts for 209 in Kingston, Jamaica on Friday.

The tourists lead by 110 runs with eight second innings wickets remaining but a good day was spoilt by their opening batsmen departing late in the final session.

However, after being dismissed for 260 on the first day, skipper Ross Taylor will be delighted by the character shown by his team, in particular the performances of his opening bowlers.

Trent Boult and Doug Bracewell picked up three wickets apiece in a good all-round display from the Kiwis in the field. Samuels, whose centur y was his first in the Caribbean and came on home soil for him at Sabina Park, hit 15 fours and four sixes including one to bring up his ton.

He was the last man out for 123 after holing out to Neil Wagner off Bracewell.

The Jamaican had little support from his team mates with no other batsman making a half-century. West Indies skipper Darren Sammy was the second top scorer with 32.

Boult made the two early breakthroughs

with the wickets of Kieran Powell (10) and Assad Fudadin (5). West Indies were in trouble at 53 for three after Chris Gayle, who had been dropped twice, was removed by Wagner, caught by BJ Watling, having made just eight from 55 balls.

Tim Southee then grabbed the crucial wicket of Shivnarine Chanderpaul (9) who edged a low catch to Taylor. When Narsingh Deonarine, the last of the specialist batsmen, was caught behind off Boult, West Indies found themselves on 83 for five.

Denesh Ramdin made 15 before skipper Sammy and Samuels put on a 49-run partnership that at least gave the hosts the chance to scrape past 200.

New Zealand started their reply well but the test took another turn with spinner Deonarine given two overs near the end and making the most of them to get rid off the in-form Martin Guptill (42) and Watling with both batsmen trapped leg before.

While those wickets will hearten Sammy’s team, New Zealand’s lead heading into the third day remains a promising position for a team who, after a poor tour, are trying to level the two-test series at 11.—Reuters

SCOREBOARD Scoreboard after the second day of the second test between West Indies and New Zealand at Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica on Friday.

New Zealand first innings 260 West Indies first innings (overnight 11-0) C.Gayle c Watling b Wagner 8 K.Powell c Brownlie b Boult 10 A.Fudadin lbw b Boult 5 M.Samuels c Wagner b Bracewell 123 S.Chanderpaul c Taylor b Southee 9 N.Deonarine c van Wyk b Boult 0 D.Ramdin c Williamson b Wagner 15 D.Sammy lbw b Southee 32 S.Narine c Guptill b Bracewell 1 K.Roach c Guptill b Bracewell 0 T.Best not out 0 Extras (lb-4, w-2) 6 Total (all out, 64.3 overs) 209 Fall of wickets: 1-11, 2-17, 3-53, 4-82, 5-83,

6-113, 7-162, 8-177, 9-183, 10-209 Bowling: Boult 17-2-58-3, Bracewell 15.3-346-3 (w-1), Southee 19-5-70-2, Wagner 10-324-2, Williamson 3-0-7-0 New Zealand second innings M.Guptill lbw b Deonarine 42 BJ.Watling lbw b Deonarine 11 N.Wagner not out 2 B.McCullum not out 1 Extras (lb-1, nb-2) 3 Total (two wickets, 21 overs) 59 Fall of wickets: 1-55, 2-56 Bowling: Roach 5-1-17-0 (nb-1), Best 5-116-0, Sammy 6-2-19-0 (nb-1), Narine 3-0-3-0, Deonarine 2-1-3-2 West Indies lead the two-match series 1-0.

PALLEKELE: Irfan Pathan grabbed five wickets as India posted a 20-run victory over Sri Lanka in the fifth and final one-day international in Pallekele yesterday to win the series 4-1.

The paceman finished with 5-61, his second five-wicket haul in one-dayers, as India bowled Sri Lanka out for 274 after scoring a challenging 294-7 in the day-night match.

Sri Lanka were struggling at 102-5 before Lahiru Thirimanne (77) and Jeevan Mendis (72) gave India some anxious moments with a 102run stand for the sixth wicket.

Thirimanne hit three sixes and five fours in his career-best knock before he was run out, and then Pathan removed Thisara Perera (18) and well-set Mendis in the same over. Mendis cracked six fours in his maiden half-century in one-day internationals.

India earlier put in an impressive batting performance, with opener Gautam Gambhir (88), middle-order batsman Manoj Tiwary (65) and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (58) all making half-centuries.

India were under pressure at 87-3 but Gambhir and Tiwary propped up the innings with a 110-run stand for the fourth wicket.

Sri Lanka then got three quick wickets to reduce India to 213-6 before wicketkeeper-batsman Dhoni and Pathan (29 not out) added 77 for the seventh wicket to help their team set a stiff target.

Fast bowlers Lasith Malinga (3-64) and Nuwan Pradeep (2-63) were the main wickettakers for Sri Lanka. Malinga dismissed Tiwary and Suresh Raina off successive deliveries before taking his 200th wicket in one-day internationals when he had Dhoni caught behind.

The Indian skipper smashed one six and eight fours.

Gambhir, who also completed 5,000 one-day runs during his 99-ball knock, was caught by

PALLEKELE: India’s bowler Irfan Pathan (center) celebrates dismissal of Sri Lanka’s batsman Jeevan Mendis (right) during the fifth one day international cricket match.—AP Malinga at point off spinner Sachithra Senanayake after hitting seven fours.

Pradeep bagged two of the first three wickets when he trapped Virat Kohli (23) leg-before and bowled out-of-form Rohit Sharma (4) in successive overs.

Sharma finished the series with just 13 runs in five matches. India made one change from the side which won the last match by six wick-

Figo gets great reception Abdallah Mushari Al-Roudhan tourney KUWAIT: Louis Figo’s presence of the Handball Association Hall gave the crowd of the late Abdallah Mushari Al-Roudhan reason to celebrate.

The bleachers were decorated with Figo’s shirts with Barcelona, Real Madrid and Inter Milan, in addition to the Portuguese national team which carry’s his famous number 7. The crowd, which filled the

hall, kept shouting the name of their favorite star, who is in Kuwait for the first time.

Figo made sure to greet the crowd when he arrived and thanked the fans for their great reception and the organizing committee lead by Khalid Al-Roudhan for the invitation, in addition to selecting him as the tournament’s ambassador around the world.

Celtic kick-off SPL title defence with 1-0 win GLASGOW: Celtic began the defence of their Scottish Premier League title with a narrow 1-0 win over Aberdeen thanks to a late Kris Commons strike at Celtic Park yesterday.

The home fans had celebrated the unfurling of the championship flag before the match but the party atmosphere soon turned flat as they were left frustrated by some resolute defending from the Dons.

With rivals Rangers banished to the third division after being condemned to liquidation, Celtic have been widely tipped to canter to this season’s league title.

However, the Hoops struggled to break down a solid Aberdeen rearguard who restricted the home side to few opportunities before a howler from ‘keeper Jamie Langfield handed Celtic the lead 11 minutes from time.

Commons, who had twice been denied

by Langfield earlier in the match, received the ball back from his own short corner and fired in a low shot that the ‘keeper somehow allowed to squirm past him at his near post.

It was a much-needed boost for Neil Lennon’s side as they prepare to travel to Finland for the second leg of their Champions League third qualifying round tie against HJK Helsinki on Wednesday.

“We got a bit of luck with the goal,” the Celtic manager admitted. “We were in control of the game without being brilliant.

We defended well when we had to but going forward there was a lack of freshness about us. I am just delighted to get the win and clean sheet.” Aberdeen manager Craig Brown was disappointed with his side’s defending at the goal.

“They switched off momentarily and you can’t do that at this level and unfortunately we lost in a soft manner,” Brown said.

“I thought we merited a point at least from the game so there a big disappointment there but we can’t feel sorry for ourselves.”

Lennon made two changes from the midweek 2-1 first-leg win against HJK with captain Scott Brown and Charlie Mulgrew dropping out the squad and Beram Kayal and Anthony Stokes handed star ts.

Aberdeen have strengthened over the summer and manager Craig Brown handed first competitive starts to new boys Jonathan Hayes, Gary Naismith and Niall McGinn, with the latter coming up against his former club.

The game began at a frenetic pace but the home fans had to wait until the 10th minute for their first chance when Joe Ledley held off two Dons defenders in the box only to see his shot-cum-cross smothered by Langfield.

Commons and stand-in captain Georgios Samaras also threatened in the opening period but the Hoops failed to make a first-half breakthrough.

Aberdeen began the second period on the front foot and, when the Hoops defence failed to deal with a Hayes corner, Scott Vernon scooped a shot just over the bar.

Victor Wanyama then saw a shot fly wide but the visitors were restricting Celtic to long-range chances and Langfield stretched to stop a thunderous Commons strike from 25 yards sneaking in.

But, just as it looked like Celtic weren’t going to find a way past the Dons’ rearguard, Langfield’s error gifted Commons the goal that decided the game.

Elsewhere, Hearts became the season’s first SPL leaders with a 2-0 home win over St Johnstone, who had Gregory Tade sent off, thanks to a John Sutton penalty and a late David Templeton strike.

Darren McGregor scored an injury-time equaliser for St Mirren in their 2-2 draw with Inverness Caledonian Thistle, while newly-promoted Ross County opened their SPL account with a 0-0 draw with Mother well and Kilmarnock against Dundee also ended goalless.—AFP

ets as they replaced unfit Virender Sehwag with opener Ajinkya Rahane.

Sri Lanka rested skipper Mahela Jayawardene and left-arm spinner Rangana Herath and brought in batsman Chamara Kapugedara and Senanayake. All-rounder Angelo Mathews led the side. Sri Lanka and India will now clash in a one-off Twenty20 international at the same venue on Tuesday.—AFP

Figo thanked the Kuwaiti people and Al-Roudhan family for allowing him this opportunity. He said this visit will allow him to get an idea about football in this area.

Meanwhile, Khalid Al-Roudhan said the agreement with Figo to be an ambassador for the tournament will play a major role in increasing its popularity in many countries around the world, due to his enormous popularity. He said the agreement includes Figo’s representation of the tournament and talk about its success and activities in many sports and social events. Al-Roudhan thanked fans for their early attendants to receive Louis Figo.

Meanwhile competition of the 15th day Talabat.com qualified for the second round after it held Al-Qdisiya 3-3, as the team of Sheikh Talal AlMohammad continued its outstanding performance as it won for the third consecutive time against Kuwait International Bank 3-2, while UAE’s Al-Wasel team defeated the Black Horse 4-3.

Nissan scores Podium finish at Super GT 2012 DUBAI: The fourth round of SUPER GT took place on Sunday, July 29th at Sportsland SUGO (81 laps, covering 300km), located in Murata town in Miyagi prefecture. After qualifying sixth, the No. 1 S Road REITO MOLA GT-R (Masataka Yanagida/Ronnie Quintarelli) advanced to third in the race. Meanwhile, the GT300-class No. 3 S Road NDDP GT-R ( Yuhi Sekiguchi/Katsumasa Chiyo) took it’s first-ever win in the series.

With the end of the rainy season in the Tohoku region, a fierce heat wave engulfed Sportsland SUGO yesterday. However, on race day morning there were scattered showers, and the air temperature at the race start time stood at 32 degrees, with a comparatively low track surface temperature measured at 42 Celsius.

The track surface had dried out by the time the race was set to get underway, and all cars on the grid wore slicks for the start of the 81-lap event. The NISSAN camp were in a favorable position with the No. 23 MOTUL AUTECH GT-R (Satoshi Motoyama/Michael Krumm) having taken second place in the previous day’s qualifying session, while the No. 12 Calsonic IMPUL GT-R (Tsugio Matsuda/Joao Paolo de Oliveira) sat third.

After the formation lap, all cars approached the first corner at racing speed. It was here that Oliveira in the No.12 GT-R made a bold dash

from the inside and threatened to overtake the pole-sitting No.6 SC430. However, he lost his poise and made contact with the rival #6 machine, going into a half-spin and hitting the No.23 GT-R, which itself was attempting to overtake the #6 on the outside.

The contact resulted in the pair of NISSAN entries spearing off the track and into the run-off area.

Suffering considerable mechanical damage, both machines were

plan on making a full recovery in the 1,000km race at Suzuka next time out.”

The No.1 S Road REITO GT-R started in sixth place for its qualifying performance, and starting driver Quintarelli advanced to fourth place after making it cleanly through the accident on the opening lap. He overtook two more opponents on the uphill section out of the final corner on lap 21, deftly moving into second place. Quintarelli continued

immediately forced to withdraw.

NISMO Director Yutaka Suzuki commented, “All of the updates put into the No.23 car since the last round at Sepang have been successful, so this unfortunate accident is all the more disappointing considering the excellent performance shown in yesterday’s qualifying and this morning’s warm-up sessions. We

to circulate while waiting for a chance to challenge the #6 machine for the top position, but that opportunity didn’t come before he pitted on lap 39 to hand the car over to teammate Yanagida. Yanagida, running in the latter half of the race, came back out on track in third position. Although he gained on the competitors ahead of him, he was

unable to overtake and consequently finished on the third step of the podium.

Having qualified 13th, the #24 D’station ADVAN GT-R (Hironobu Yasuda/Bjorn Wirdheim) rose to ninth at one point during the race before eventually finishing in 10th position.

The No.3 GT-R, contesting the GT300 class, began the race from sixth on the grid. First stint driver Chiyo demonstrated speed right out of the starting gate. He moved up to fourth place on the 27th lap, and then into second on lap 36. As a result of his pit timing, he briefly took over the lead on lap 37, after which he handed the reins to Sekiguchi. Sekiguchi returned to the race in the top spot, was overtaken during his out lap, and then started his comeback once his tyres had warmed back up. After he reclaimed the lead from the No.31 Prius on lap 58, Sekiguchi didn’t let up for an instant, and finished victorious, leaving the second-place finisher a massive 30 seconds behind.

Chiyo commented, “I had to drive the first half of the race, and that meant managing my tyres - so I really worked hard in that respect. I was very happy that I was able to overtake the rivals. “ Teammate Sekiguchi added, “I can still do a better job. After Suzuka, even though the car will be heavier, I think I can put in a good performance.”

18

London 2012 Olympic Games

SUNDAY, AUGUST 5, 2012

Ainslie set up medals showdown WEYMOUTH: Ben Ainslie has been called Britain’s greatest sailor since Admiral Lord Nelson, whose statue high above London’s Trafalgar Square commemorates victory over the French and Spanish fleets in 1805. Now he gets the chance to prove it.

Ainslie won Race 10 of the Finn class regatta on Friday in strong wind and big waves on the English Channel, and his

crowd will watch from the Nothe Fort on Weymouth Bay, waving scores of Union Jacks.

“It’ll be amazing. It’ll be a oncein-a-lifetime opportunity. I’m really looking forward to it,” said Ainslie, the son of a sailor.

Hoegh-Christensen, who finished third in Race 10, leads with 26 points while Ainslie has 28.

Dutchman Pieter-Jan Postma has 42 points.

“Two points ahead, it doesn’t really matter that much,” HoeghChristensen said. “It’ll be whoever

race.” Sailors generally don’t like the Nothe Course because it’s close to shore and the wind is usually tricky.

Then again, HoeghChristensen won Race 1 on that course. “I think it plays a little bit to my favor that we’re going to sail in there, but I still think Ben is the favorite to win the gold,” said the Dane.

Ainslie had a great start in the 10th race and built a lead of about 150 meters approaching the windward mark for the second

LONDON: Britain’s Ben Ainslie competes during the finn dinghy class race at the London 2012 Summer Olympics. —AP expert feint set up a dramatic showdown in his quest to become the most successful sailor in Olympic history.

Ainslie pulled within two points of Denmark’s Jonas HoeghChristensen, who has led the Finn fleet since Race 1 and angered Ainslie on Thursday with a claim that the British star hit a turning mark.

The medals race is today, when Ainslie will try to win his fourth straight gold medal and fifth games medal overall. That would make him the most successful sailor in Olympic history, supplanting Hoegh-Christensen’s countryman, Paul Elvstrom, who won four straight gold What is sure to be a partisan

beats who in the final race. That’s going to show for an epic battle Sunday and looking forward to it.

That’s what we’re here for and why we love racing.”

The top 10 sailors advance to the medals race, which awards double points. Ainslie needs to finish no lower than seventh and ahead of Hoegh-Christensen to win the gold.

Had Hoegh-Christensen finished second in Race 10, Ainslie would have needed to finish two spots ahead of him Sunday to win the gold medal. By passing the Dane, Postma removed that scenario.

“That’s exciting,” Postma said.

“Wow. It will be fantastic. I’m really looking forward to the medal

time. With the Dane in second and Postma in third, Ainslie slowed down and kept looking back at Hoegh-Christensen, as if he was going to try to block the Dane’s wind.

“I had a pretty sizable lead and it was pretty important for me that the Dutch sailor got past Jonas,” Ainslie said. “I did consider trying to help facilitate that. You have to go quite a long way back.

In reality, it was probably too risky.

If something had gone wrong in the final run and I lost space back, I’d look pretty silly.”

Hoegh-Christensen admitted Ainslie’s bluff distracted him and he gave Postma too much space.

“I made a bit of a mistake up the second beat and gave him a little

bit too much room and he punished me. It was stupid, but things happen,” he said. The 10th race was just the third time in 10 races that Ainslie finished ahead of Hoegh-Christensen.

“I waited all week to find the turbo button and get out in front, which is a bit frustrating, but the main thing is I pulled back those points and I’m in a strong position,” Ainslie said.

If Ainslie pulls it off Sunday, he’ll add to his long list of rallying at the Olympics. The last time he didn’t win gold was in 1996, when as a 19-year-old he was handed a bitter defeat by Brazil’s Robert Scheidt and had to settle for silver.

Today could be a big day for Britain’s strong team. Defending Star class gold medalists Iain Percy and Andrew Simpson finished 4-1 in Friday’s two races for 18 points, eight better than the team they beat for the gold in Beijing, Scheidt and Bruno Prada.

The Brazilians went 1-3 and have 26 points.

Sweden’s Freddy Loof and Max Salminen were 2-6 and have 30 points. Those three crews are assured of winning the medals.

Percy and Scheidt are each seeking their third gold medals. Percy also won gold in the Finn class in 2000. Scheidt won gold in the Laser in 1996 and 2004, and silvers in the Laser in 2000 and Star in 2008. Loof has two bronze medals.

In the 49er skiff, Australians Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen went 9-5-4 to hold their lead over New Zealand’s Peter Burling and Blair Tuke (7-2-1).

In the Laser, Australian Tom Slingsby went 15-1 to keep his lead. In Laser Radial, Belgium’s Evi Van Acker went 2-10 to take the lead from Ireland’s Annalise Murphy (2-10). Murphy had won the first four races. Paige Railey, younger sister of Zach Railey, went 21-20 to drop to ninth.

In men’s 470, Britain’s Luke Patience and Stuart Bithell went 4-2 and were in the lead. The women’s 470 opened with Britain’s Hannah Mills and Saskia Clark going 6-1 to take the lead.

Dorian van Rijsselberge of the Netherlands continued to lead men’s windsurfing. Spain’s Marina Alabau continued to lead women’s windsurfing. —AP

LONDON: Jang Song Man of North Korea and his partner Kim Song Nam, compete against South Korea during men’s team table tennis competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics. —AP

South Korea defeats N Korea in T-Tennis LONDON: In one of the most politically charged showdowns of the Olympics, South Korea defeated North Korea in men’s table tennis yesterday.

The tense match was closer than expected, with second-seeded South Korea winning the team competition 3-1 to reach the quarterfinals. The two countries, still technically at war, were playing a game that has often tried to bring them together.

South Korea’s Ryu Seung-min, the 2004 Olympic champion, defeated North Korean Kim Hyok Bong in the fourth match to seal the victory. Late last year the two played as a team in Qatar in an exhibition match to promote world peace. “But on the court we are at war - table tennis war,” Ryu said.

In other men’s matches, top-seeded China defeated Russia 3-1 to advance to the quarterfinals. China has already won gold and silver medals in men’s and women’s singles. It is favored to win both team events, which combines doubles and singles.

In the other two matches, Singapore defeated Australia 3-0, and Japan beat Canada 3-0. On the women’s side, topseeded China and No. 2 Japan reached semifinals Sunday. China defeated the Netherlands 3-0, and Japan won by the same score against Germany.

Today’s men’s quarterfinals will feature: China vs. Singapore, Austria vs. Germany, Japan vs. Hong Kong, and South Korea vs.

Portugal.

Despite the political intrigue for the Koreans, the atmosphere at the 6,000-seat sellout was sporting, with warm applause for each side.

South Korean coach Yoo Nam-kyu, a gold medalist in the 1988 Olympics, said there is always pressure playing North Korea. He described how the two sides chat with each other in the athletes village, but on the court there is always tension.

“We are the same people and speak the same language, but politically we are not very friendly at the moment,” Yoo said.

“From the history we felt we have to win against North Korea - because it’s North Korea. “When we talk, it’s about everyday life. We don’t talk political stuff.”

As is their custom, North Korean players and officials declined to speak to reporters.

The Chinese have won 22 of 26 gold medals in table tennis since the sport was introduced at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. In London, they’ve stayed on task.

“For now I have one gold medal in singles,” said Zhang Jike, who won Thursday in a singles final against teammate Wang Hao, “but for me it’s more important to win gold for the team, as the team event represents the country’s honor. —AP

MacLennan soars to gold

LONDON: Cuba’s Roniel Iglesias Sotolongo fights Brazil’s Everton dos Santos Lopes during the men’s light welterweight boxing competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics. —AP

Zou opens Olympic boxing title defense LONDON: Light flyweight Zou Shiming of China opened defense of his Beijing gold medal with a 14-11 victory over Yosbany Veitia of Cuba yesterday in the Olympic boxing tournament.

Cuba’s Roniel Iglesias upset top-seeded Brazilian light welterweight Everton Dos Santos, while top-seeded light heavyweight Julio La Cruz of Cuba trounced Jordan’s Ihab Almatbouli.

Irish light flyweight Paddy Barnes easily advanced to a quarterfinal bout with India’s Devendro Laishram, who posted a sensational 16-11 upset of fourth-seeded Serdamba Purevdorj of Mongolia, the silver medalist in Beijing. India’s veteran coach, Gurbankhsh Singh Sandhu, said his promising team must move on quickly from AIBA’s decision to overturn the result of welterweight Krishan Vikas’ foulplagued fight against American Errol Spence on Friday night. “We are disappointed, but a rule is a rule,” Sandhu said. “I can’t fight rules. I’m here to train the boxers, and they are here to perform.”

Although two bout results have been overturned in this increasingly wacky tournament, the last of the elite boxers finally hit the ring Saturday for their opening bouts, including the top seeds at light flyweight, light welterweight and light heavyweight.

The Philippines appealed light flyweight Mark Barriga’s 17-16 loss to Kazakhstan’s Birzhan Zhakypov in Saturday’s second fight, but ama-

teur boxing’s governing body declined to consider it because Filipino officials didn’t provide any grounds for their request. At least two attempts at appeals have failed during the Olympics in a sport that frequently features close bouts between evenly matched opponents decided by its highly subjective scoring system.

In a fight that might have matched the two best amateur light welterweights in the world, Iglesias got a sweet decision over Dos Santos, who upset him for the world championship a year ago. Iglesias, the 2009 world champion, took a narrow lead out of the first two rounds with superior speed and precision before holding off Dos Santos, the latest top seed to fall.

Zou is a three-time world champion who became a national hero by winning China’s first boxing gold medal in its home Olympics four years ago, but his road to a repeat is likely to be much tougher.

The cagey veteran with a martial-arts background won last year’s world title and returned to the Olympics as the top seed. Zou struggled at times while surviving an early test from Veitia, whose aggression and toughness nearly turned the result. Cuba fared much better when Almatbouli, Jordan’s first Olympic boxer, lost 25-8 to the top-seeded La Cruz, who toyed with his opponent. La Cruz even showed remarkable sportsmanship toward his overmatched foe, stooping to help Almbatbouli out of the corner after accidentally shoving him to the canvas out of a clinch. —AP

LONDON: Rosannagh MacLennan soared to Canada’s first Olympic gold of the London games yesterday, capturing the women’s trampoline title when defending champion He Wenna of China wobbled during her final routine.

The 23-year-old MacLennan put the pressure on with a dazzling performance through her 10-trick set, rising so high you could fit a couple of double-decker buses underneath her as she flipped and twisted to a personal-best score of 57.305.

After the total flashed, teammate Karen Cockburn turned to MacLennan and told her it was a winner. MacLennan wasn’t so sure. “I didn’t want to get too ahead of myself,” MacLennan said.

Not with two Olympic medalists still to go. But Huang Shanshan - who took bronze in Athens eight years ago - only mustered a 56.730, leaving He as the last hope to give China a second straight Olympic sweep after countryman Dong Dong grabbed gold in the men’s final on Friday.

He cruised through the two-round qualifying, easily posting the top score. Yet she flew wildly offline while warming up for the finals, winding up on one of the red crash pads that protect wayward flyers from injury.

She slowly made her way back to her seat but appeared to be fine when she jumped on as the final competitor. He sailed through her set only to lose control at the very end of her routine, dropping to her knees and forcing her to settle for bronze. “I did quite good today besides that mistake,” said He, who did not wear her medal afterward. “It’s a regret not to see the Chinese flag raised.”

Instead it was the iconic red maple leaf as a Canadian reached the top of the podium for the first time in London.

MacLennan sang along to “O Canada” while trying to hold back tears. “I don’t think anything matches that experience,” MacLennan said.

Despite her stumble, He was able to keep Cockburn from grabbing a fourth Olympic medal. The 31-year-old won bronze when the sport made its Olympic debut in Sydney in 2000 and was runner-up in Athens and Beijing.

Though Cockburn has ceded the top spot to MacLennan, she thought her performance in the finals was good enough to add to her medal stash. Instead, she missed bronze by less than 0.1 points.

“Obviously I wanted to end better than on fourth,” said Cockburn, who now heads into retirement. “I’m happy with my overall career, I’m not happy today.”

Savannah Vinsant became the first American to advance to the Olympic finals since the sport was introduced at the 2000 Games in Sydney. The 19-year-old Vinsant, the youngest competitor in the 16-woman field, came in sixth.

Boosted by a boisterous cheering section that included 10 members of her family, Vinsant overcame the jitters and tried to enjoy the moment.

“It gives me so much more confidence,” Vinsant said. “This gives me the edge. I’m experienced now so for the next Olympic Games, I won’t be so uptight.” —AP

LONDON: Australia’s Jade Close (right) and South Africa’s Bernadette Coston vie for the ball in the women’s hockey preliminary round match at the 2012 Summer Olympics.—AP

Dutch progress to semifinals LONDON: The Netherlands sealed a place in the Olympic women’s field hockey semifinals with a 3-2 win over South Korea yesterday while China beat Britain 2-1 to stay in the running for the medal round.

In other matches, Australia beat South Africa 1-0 to go to the top of its group and Belgium drew 1-1 with Japan. South Korea opened the scoring with a fifth-minute field goal from Cheon Seul-ki, but Lidewij Welten equalized for the Dutch side five minutes later.

The Dutch went ahead on goals by Carlien van den Heuvel and Ellen Hoog either side of halftime and South Korea forward Cheon scored again from a penalty corner with six minutes left to keep pressure on the Dutch side.

But the Netherlands’ defense held and the side won its fourth match in a row to guarantee that the side will finish first or second in its group.

“I think it was good for us that they scored (first), as after that goal we gave so much energy and we were so creative ... I think we were the better team today,” Dutch forward Kim Lammers said.

China ended Britain’s three-game winning streak. Fu Baorong and Zhao Yudiao scored from penalty corners in the second half and Britain’s only goal came in the last minute by Crista Cullen.

“We haven’t beaten Great Britain for the last two years, and we have beaten them here,” China coach Kim Sang-ryul said. “We

played very aggressively - the match was our last chance.”

Britain did not make the most of four consecutive first-half penalty corners. The host team faces reigning Olympic champions the Netherlands on Monday. Kate Walsh returned as Britain’s captain after being out with a jaw injury.

“We all feel very disappointed with the result and the performance,” she said. “We know we can play better than that. We talk about the ‘gold’ mentality - that’s how we go into every game. That’s the standard we set ourselves.”

Jade Close scored the only goal of the Australia game with an eighth-minute field goal. Neither side could take advantage of nine penalty corners to add to the scoring.

South Africa attacked the Australian circle 27 times, nine times more than South Africa.

“It was definitely the strategy to put a lot of pressure on Australia, and it worked well,” South Africa forward Pietie Coetzee said.

“Unfortunately we just could not finish it off.”

Captain Yukari Yamamoto scored in the 58th minute from a field goal to give Japan its draw with Belgium. Jill Boon had given Belgium the lead from a penalty corner at the end of the first half.

Japan and Belgium are at the bottom of their group and will not advance to the semifinals. In games later Saturday, the United States plays New Zealand and Germany takes on Argentina, with all four teams still in the running for playoff spots. —AP

19 SUNDAY, AUGUST 5, 2012

Japan defeat Egypt as Mexico survive Senegal LONDON: Japan stayed on course for an Olympic football double as their men’s team joined the women’s side in reaching the tournament semi-finals following a 3-0 win over 10-man Egypt yesterday.

Goals from Kensuke Nagai, captain Maya Yoshida and Yuki Otsu took Japan through against an Egypt side who played more than half the match a man down after defender Saadeldin Saad was

sent off in the 41st minute for denying Japan forward Manabu Saito a goal-scoring opportunity.

Nagai gave Japan a 14th-minute lead, shooting into an empty net after Egypt goalkeeper Ahmed El Shenawi collided with one of his own defenders in trying to deal with a through ball.

Egypt, despite being down to 10 men, came close to an equaliser when Mohamed El Neny’s dipping shot was well-saved by Japan keeper Shuichi Gonda.

However, shortly afterwards, Japan put the

LONDON: Japan’s Yuki Otsu (left) heads the ball past Egypt’s Ahmed Hegazi (center) during their quarter-final men’s soccer match at the 2012 London Summer Olympics.—AP

result beyond doubt with two goals in the space of five minutes. The unmarked Yoshida’s 78th minute header made it 2-0 before another header, from Otsu, completed the scoring.

Afterwards, a delighted Yoshida said: “The match was perfect. I had chances to score in the group stage and, finally, I managed to score today, so I am very satisfied. “We have to take the medal, that’s all. That’s what I say to the people in Japan,” he added.

Delighted Japan coach Takashi Sekizuka said: “Being able to win in the quarter-finals is brilliant, magnificent.” Japan will play Mexico in the semifinals after the Central Americans survived a dramatic fightback by Senegal to win 4-2. Senegal came from 2-0 behind at London’s Wembley Stadium, in front of a crowd of more than 81,000 to force extra-time.

Mexico will return to Wembley for their last four clash on Tuesday after goalkeeeper and captain Jose Corona made several fine saves. His side side went ahead in the 10th minute when Jorge Enriquez headed in a free-kick and made it 2-0 just after the hour through Javier Aquino.

Moussa Konate, the tournament’s top scorer, pulled a goal back in the 69th minute, for his fifth goal the first that Mexico had conceded this Olympics. And seven minutes later it was 2-2 when substitute Ibrahima Balde headed in from a corner.

In extra-time Giovani dos Santos restored Mexico’s lead before the result was put beyond doubt in the 109th minute when Hector Herrera, who will miss the semi-final through suspension, headed into an empty net. “I’m so happy,” said dos Santos. “It’s an unbelievable experience for me and the team.”

Meanwhile Konate put defeat in perspective by saying: “Today it was our bad day. I’m so happy for my team. This is the first time we have ever played in the Olympics.”—AFP

US passes Lithuanian test thanks to LeBron LONDON: LeBron James answered the challenge of the toughest Olympic opponent yet for the US NBA Dream Team, sparking a late rally to give the Americans a 99-94 victory over Lithuania and a quarter-final berth.

James scored nine of his 20 points in a crucial 12-2 US run late in the fourth quarter, taking the unbeaten multi-millionaire squad on his shoulders just as he did in the NBA Finals leading the Miami Heat to a title last June.

“He took the game over. He was terrific,” US coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “He really made the plays that needed to be made in that last three minutes. To see him respond like that in this setting is one of the real positives from this game.

“For LeBron to just say, ‘Look, I got it. I’m doing this’-people talk with their bodies and actions and he did that. Basically he wouldn’t give the ball up. I think he was saying that.”

Only two nights after unleashing an Olympic record 156-point performance in a shooting practice of a victory over Nigeria, the Americans received a scare from a 1-3 Lithuanian side still fighting to secure a medal playoff berth.

“We had to defend after a his-

torical game and then shoot the ball,” James said. “We want to have a test game. We feel like any team can be beaten in this tournament and if you don’t prepare and play the right way you can be

not in those games. We had a lot of pressure on us and our guys came through.”

Linas Kleiza, an NBA playmaker for Toronto, had 25 points to lead Lithuania. “We tried to minimize

LONDON: US Lebron James reacts to an official’s call during a preliminary men’s basketball game against Lithuania at the 2012 Summer Olympics.—AP beaten. “Lithuania gave us a great game.” Carmelo Anthony also scored 20 points while Kevin Durant added 16 as the US NBA lineup rose to 58-1 since revamping the program after settling for bronze at the 2004 Olympics.

“Winning like we did was terrific for us,” Krzyzewski said. “To be put in a position where every possession counted, we’re usually

turnovers and stop fast breaks and make them shoot contested shots over our hands. At the end they made some steals and got some fast breaks and some dunks,” said Lithuanian starter Martynas Pocius.

“A loss is a loss but we played a really solid game against a really good team. I hope for our team that’s a step forward.” Darius

Songaila sank a jumper to pull Lithuania within 87-86 before James took charge, hitting a 3pointer to start the spurt and a layup to end it in the dying seconds.

“He got into a good rhythm so we kept throwing to him,” US guard Kobe Bryant said. “He had a complete mismatch on him and he kept attacking, getting to the basket and knocking down shots.

“Everybody pretty much kept a calm disposition and a level head. They obviously took advantage of some things that we needed to adjust.”

That would be mainly on defence. “We’ve got to do a better job of communicating defensively, talk more, we know that,” US starting guard Chris Paul said.

“You are always worried. We knew this was going to be a dogfight. Those guys played unbelievably hard. We will probably see them again.” When asked if curtailing practice time was a factor in the US struggle, the coach cited the toll of about 90 total NBA games over six months on James and fellow finalists Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden.

“There’s a physical and mental and emotional price you pay for that,” he said. “We’ve tried to pace them and make sure we’re ready to sprint next week.”—AFP

China buries badminton scandal with two gold LONDON: China recovered from the expulsion of its top seeds in a matchthrowing scandal yesterday when Zhao Yunlei and Tian Qing won the Olympic women’s doubles, as Li Xuerui also took women’s singles gold.

Zhao and Tian beat Japanese fourth seeds Mizuki Fujii and Reika Kakiiwa 21-10, 25-23 for the doubles gold, underlining their strength in depth after world number one pair Yu Yang and Wang Xiaoli were kicked out this week.

Despite the controversy, which also involved players from South Korea and Indonesia, and drew a public apology from China’s head coach Li Yongbo, China are now on course for the first sweep of all five badminton titles.

Zhao also won the mixed doubles on Friday with her boyfriend, Zhang Nan, making her the first player to win two badminton titles at the same Olympics-an achievement that left her in floods of tears.

Later, she said the expulsionswhich prompted the angry Yu’s

immediate retirement-had spurred the Chinese team to win all five golds. Just the men’s singles and men’s doubles remain.

“As athletes we can’t allow ourselves to be upset, we have to focus on what we do,” she said, before being asked if the throwing scandal had motivated China.

“Yes I believe so, because the Chinese team is a great team. If it is challenged it is encouraged to turn it into something positive,” said Zhao.

Meanwhile, China’s Li stunned world number one Wang Yihan 2115, 21-23, 21-17 to win the women’s singles title, leaving her team-mate in tears on the podium.

“Of course winning the gold medal is an exciting moment, but the glory should not be owned by myself alone but by the team,” said Li. “Together with my team-mate, we performed quite brilliantly and gave the crowd an exciting match.”

Li was a last-minute choice in the Olympic squad over former world number one Wang Shixian, after she won the the All-England Open in March.

She was soon 12-7 and 15-8 ahead, moving better than her oppo-

LONDON: Medals table after 14 of 25 events yesterday.

Nation G US 24 China 23 Britain 11 South Korea 9 France 8 Germany 5 Italy 5 North Korea 4 Kazakhstan 4 Russia 3 South Africa 3 New Zealand 3 Japan 2 Cuba 2 Netherlands 2 Hungary 2 Poland 2 Ukraine 2 Australia 1 Romania 1 Canada 1 Denmark 1 Czech Republic 1 Brazil 1 Belarus 1 Slovenia 1 Ethiopia 1

S 11 16 7 2 6 9 5 0 0 13 1 0 9 2 1 1 1 0 10 4 2 2 2 1 1 0 0

B 13 11 8 5 8 6 3 1 0 9 0 4 11 1 3 2 1 4 6 2 6 2 1 4 3 2 0

Tot 48 50 26 16 22 20 13 5 4 25 4 7 22 5 6 5 4 6 17 7 9 5 4 6 5 3 1

Georgia Lithuania Switzerland Venezuela Mexico Sweden Colombia Spain Slovakia India Belgium Indonesia Kenya Mongolia Norway Serbia Croatia Egypt Guatemala Taiwan Thailand Greece Azerbaijan Hong Kong Iran Moldova Qatar Singapore

1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 3 3 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 3 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 1 1 1 1 1

1 1 1 1 4 3 3 3 4 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1

Bryan brothers capture first Olympic gold medal LONDON: America’s Bob and Mike Bryan won their first Olympic gold medal with a 6-4, 7-6 (7/2) victory over French second seeds Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Michael Llodra in the men’s doubles final at Wimbledon yesterday. The Bryan brothers had taken the bronze medal in the men’s doubles in Beijing four years ago. They are the world’s top ranked men’s doubles pair, a position they have held for 297 weeks, and together they have won a record 78 doubles titles including 11 Grand Slams.

They also have an 18-2 record playing for America in the Davis Cup but, after losing in the semi-finals in Beijing and the quarter-finals in Athens in 2004, an Olympics gold was the missing prize.

Now the American duo have the doubles Golden Slam-all four major doubles titles and Olympic doubles gold-and they celebrated in style with an on-court dance routine.

“This is the biggest win of our career right here,” Bob Bryan said. “There was a sense of urgency. This could be our last Olympics.

“We got the bronze in Beijing which we were proud about, but our whole goal for this year was to upgrade that medal to something a bit more shiny and we did it.”

Mike Bryan added: “To play on Centre Court at Wimbledon and win the gold medal is a dream come true. “We could stop tomorrow and we got a big smile on our faces for the rest of our lives.” The Bryans broke in the first game of the match and that was all they needed to take the first set. Tsonga and Llodra pushed harder in the second set and it went to a tie-break, but the Bryans seized the gold after winning a spectacular final point.—AFP

Paes and Mirza bow out LONDON: Leander Paes hinted he would like to continue his controversial mixed doubles partnership with Sania Mirza after the Indian pair bowed out of the Olympics with a 7-5, 7-6 (7/5) quarter-final loss to Belarus top seeds Max Mirnyi and Victoria Azarenka.

The duo were playing together in stormy circumstances after Paes had demanded an assurance that only he would be paired with Mirza, rather than Mahesh Bhupathi or Rohan Bopanna, following a row over Bhupathi’s refusal to play with Paes in the men’s doubles.

Mirza hit out about the arrangement, saying she was uncomfortable at being used as “bait” to keep Paes happy after winning two Grand Slam titles with Bhupathi.

But Paes, who has a singles bronze medal from the Atlanta Olympics in 1996, enjoyed the experience of playing with Mirza enough to consider doing it again in the future.

“We are playing together again and I have found someone I can play with and have fun with,” Paes said after yesterday’s defeat at Wimbledon.

“We were playing the number one players in the world and we put up a good show against them. Mirza added: “In tennis a couple of points either way means a lot, but we reached 5-5 (in the tie-break) against the best pair in the world and we gave it our best.”—AFP

Cagnotto threatens China’s domination

LONDON: China’s Tian Qing (left) and Zhao Yunlei, play against Japan’s Reika Kakiiwa and Mizuki Fujii (unseen) at the final of women’s doubles badminton of the 2012 Summer Olympics.—AP nent, and reacting quicker in the flat, mid-court exchanges. Wang worked hard to get back into it and saved a match point in the second game.

The world champion went 9-5 up in the decider but Li hit back with seven points and built a four-point lead. Then, despite being pegged back to 17-17, she had the guile and variety to close it out. Separately,

Saina Nehwal became the first Indian badminton player to earn an Olympic medal when China’s world number one Wang Xin went off injured and in tears from their bronze medal playoff. Wang was leading 21-18, 1-0 when she was forced to quit after twice collapsing to the court with a knee injury. After the second fall, she was barely able to stand.— AFP

LONDON: Italy’s Tania Cagnotto threatens to disrupt China’s domination of the Olympic diving medals so far after she qualified in second place for today’s final of the women’s 3m springboard. The 27-year-old has a chance of claiming an Olympic medal at her fourth games after finishing Saturday’s semi-final just behind Wu Minxia of China who won the 18-strong final qualifier with a score of 394.40 points.

Cagnotto finished second with 362.10 ahead of third-placed He Zi of China who earned 354.50pts. “I am very happy, but tomorrow in the final I will start again,” said Cagnotto, who profited from a rare mistake

by He on her third dive.

“I am not competing with Wu as she is very strong, but the other Chinese diver, He, made a mistake and it allowed me to come

second, so we will have to see what happens tomorrow.”

Chinese divers have won all four of the gold medals so far at London’s Aquatic Centre as both Hi and Wu are already Olympic champions having paired up to win last Sunday’s springboard synchro and are the reigning world champions.

Despite matching Wu’s tally of 76.50 on her opening dive, Cagnotto has her work cut out to break the Chinese stranglehold in the diving pool after the 26-year-old Wu led from the first round.

The world champion impressed the judges to earn 81.00 points for both her fourth and fifth dives to ensure she won by more than 30 points from her five dives-a considerable margin in diving. Wu, a silver medallist in Athens and bronze in Beijing, also won Friday’s preliminary from Hi, who finished second, and Cagnotto, who qualified for the semi-final in third place. —AFP

Japan defeat Egypt as Mexico survive Senegal

SUNDAY, AUGUST 5, 2012

19

LONDON: Combination of images shows (from left) Jamaica’s Yohan Blake, US’ Justin Gatlin, Jamaica’s Usain Bolt, US’ Tyson Gay and Ryan Bailey competing in the men’s 100m heats at the athletics event of the London 2012 Olympic Games. These five men are amongst the favorites for the Olympic showcase event, the 100 meters sprint race.—AFP

Pistorius, Serena make history Sprint kings cruise LONDON: World record holder Usain Bolt and world champion Yohan Blake stormed onto centrestage at the Olympics yesterday as amputee runner Oscar Pistorius and tennis star Serena Williams made history. Defending 100m champion Bolt clocked 10.09sec in his first round heat for the blue riband event of the Games while Jamaican compatriot Blake timed 10sec.

However, both men were upstaged in front of 80,000 people at the Olympic Stadium by the 9.88sec run by America’s Ryan Bailey.

Former Olympic champion Justin Gatlin clocked 9.97sec while Tyson Gay, the world double sprint champion from Osaka in 2007, came through in 10.08sec. “I expected it, I’m running well, I’m happy, training is great. Reaction was good,” said Bolt, whose build-up to the Games had been hit by a number of worrying niggles. “I’m looking forward to the semifinals.” South Africa’s Pistorius marked his landmark occasion by qualifying for the 400m semifinals with a season’s best of 45.44sec. Pistorius had both legs amputated below the knee before he was

aged one, because of a congenital condition, and runs on carbon fibre blades.

“It’s just an experience to be here. It’s a dream come true,” said Pistorius, whose time was the 16th fastest overall.

Defending champion LaShawn Merritt, who has struggled back from a doping ban, stopped running after 250 metres of his heat and crossed the line at walking pace. “This was my life’s race,” said the 26-year-old American. “I have been around a long time, but I am still young.”

The women’s 100m gold will be decided in Saturday’s evening session while Jessica Ennis, the poster girl for the Games, was poised for heptathlon gold, opening a 188-point lead with just the 800m to run. Women’s double Olympic polevault champion Yelena Isinbayeva safely negotiated qualifying for tomorrow’s final.

Serena Williams clinched her first Olympic singles gold medal with a 6-0, 6-1 demolition of Maria Sharapova in the most one-sided women’s final in the history of the Games.

Williams’ victory, which surpassed Suzanne Lenglen’s 6-3, 6-0 win over Dorothy Holman in 1920 in Antwerp, allowed her to become just the second woman to win a Golden Slam of all four major titles and Olympic singles gold.

“Oh my gosh, I got the gold. Wow, I’m so pumped,” said Serena, who could win a third doubles gold when she teams with sister Venus against Maria Kirilenko and Nadia Petrova.

On the busiest day of the Games so far, with 25 golds to be won, Britain moved into third place in the medals table after two more golds were secured in rowing.

Alex Gregory, Pete Reed, Tom James and Andrew Triggs Hodge led from the first stroke for a fourth successive fours title while Katherine Copeland and Sophie Hosking clinched lightweight double sculls gold. In badminton, Li Xuerui took the women’s singles title before Chinese compariots Zhao Yunlei and Tian Qing claimed the women’s doubles. Later yesterday, American swimming icon Michael Phelps will bring the curtain down on his

glittering Olympic career.

After a slow start to his campaign, swimming legend Michael Phelps could well sign off with his fourth gold medal of the Games as he aims to consolidate his position as the most decorated Olympian in history. The 27-year-old-who claimed a record eight golds in Beijing four years ago-will be strongly fancied to collect the 18th gold of his career, and his 22nd career Olympic medal, in Saturday’s 4x100m medley relay. In other highlights of the final day of action in the pool, China’s Sun Yang will attempt to complete a long distance double by adding the 1,500m crown to the 400m crown won earlier in the games.

Britain’s cyclists will attempt to extend their crushing dominance in the Velodrome, where the hosts have so far won three out of four gold on offer and are on course to match their Beijing haul of seven.

The British team will expect to bag another gold in the women’s team pursuit after a world-record breaking performance to reach the final.—AFP

Gold medalist Serena Williams

Olympics, defining moments still ahead

LONDON: South Africa’s Oscar Pistorius prepares to compete in a men’s 400-meter heat during the athletics in the Olympic Stadium at the 2012 Summer Olympics.—AP

LONDON: There has, of course, been triumph - sideburned British cyclist Bradley Wiggins and powerhouse Chinese swimmer Ye Shiwen stand out. And defeat in many forms, from the near miss of American gymnast Jordyn Wieber’s first, anguishing appearance to the Saudi judoka wiped from the Olympic landscape in just 82 seconds. In swimmer Michael Phelps we have seen the already legendary pass milestones anew. In double-amputee sprinter Oscar Pistorius we praise the virtue of unremitting perseverance and admit it - silently count our blessings. In rower Hamadou Djibo Issaka of Niger, who learned his sport just three months ago, we have found an object of pure affection.

We have glimpsed Britain’s royalty, complete with credentials around their necks. We have seen celebrity’s million-dollar smiles emerging - Gabby Douglas on the beam, Jessica Ennis on the track, Missy Franklin in the pool - and watched eight disqualified Asian badminton players melt down in a burst of disruptive scandal.

For a week, anyone following the games has seen all of this in great measure. So many stories from so many nations: stories that will be told for generations in countries you’ve never visited and probably never will. Gabby the gymnast, encircled in the maelstrom, marveled at it all: “My name’s in the history books,” she said. It was not a boast, only simple astonishment.

In sports, it’s all about the storyline. We hunger for the epic, scour fields of play for the iconic. And the first week of the 2012 Olympic Games has had plenty of all that. “It’s been that lovely mix of the unexpected, the great names from overseas that have come through and those big British moments,” said London organizing committee chief Sebastian Coe. He cited the size of the crowds at track and field, which he said made him - understatedly - “slightly taken aback.” And yet ...

One week in and halfway through, this particular quadrennial five-ring circus is kind of The Almost Olympics - still awaiting a truly dominant story that tops all others, full of fascinating developments that have made big splashes but never truly transcended, at least not yet. That could change today with the marquee performance of the appropriately named Usain Bolt, the Jamaican sprinter and world record-holder who, with his world-champion teammate Yohan Blake, is widely expected to zoom straight into Olympic history books in the 100 meters.

A 21st-century Olympics, giant spectacle though it may be, is but one big show among many. In a world of distractions - and, not incidentally, of tape delays in the United States that begat hand-wringing and Twitter-spoiler annoyance - can the most elemental expression of human physical achievement still score a seat at the attention-span table?

“Of course times have changed, but the stories are still there,” said Teresa Edwards, a former USA basketball player and veteran of five Olympics. “I’m watching the stories unfold, seeing the mission of what the Olympics are all about. These games are great. I wish I was playing. I really do.” Through it all, the Olympic flame still burns brightly. Trouble is, it’s hidden from everyone save those who have tickets to events at Olympic Stadium, where it lives encircled and to the annoyance of many - unspottable. And beyond sports? Let’s not forget one of the games’ most pivotal performers - the host city

itself, London, one of the planet’s most storied, and at this moment in history led by a mayor named Boris who has no problem hogging the spotlight. A huge eastern swath of the city sits bathed in purple and pink and blue, the official colors of these Olympics, which festoon everything from volunteers’ shirts to street signs to miles of very cheerful security barricades.

Few logistical snags have materialized, and - fingers crossed there have been no major security breaches. Londoners, though, seem vaguely flabbergasted that a far-flung section of their city generally ignored until now - a patch once home to giant piles of discarded refrigerators - has finally taken center stage after years of feverish construction. They’re arriving by train in droves, and, thus far, they’re proud of both their Olympians and the show their country’s putting on. “The thing I don’t like is when you get people badmouthing it. I think it’s been brilliant for the country, and I feel really proud of what’s been done,” said Nicole Callaghan, 40, a National Health Service manager from Chelmsford, east of London. “The atmosphere has been fantastic.”

The positivity hasn’t necessarily extended to Twitter. In that virtual arena, sometimes it can seem that the Olympic competition is for a gold medal in snark. One random tweeter went after British diver Tom Daley, making a crack about his late father. Police action followed. Two other athletes were kicked out of the games because of racist tweets. Other Olympians with smartphones are perhaps being more cautious with their thumbs, though Wiggins did, by his own admission, do some drunken tweeting the other night.

To some extent, that’s what happens when a signature athletic event combines with a passel of young people competing in it.

Particularly when you add the attention of millions and a compressed time period during which every tidbit about an Olympian is devoured by the world (though that same world probably didn’t need to know that Ryan Lochte peed in the pool during warmups).

That, of course, coupled with the aggressive corporate sponsorship, is nothing but the sideshow. The main events have been more vigorous to watch, more satisfying to talk about. But still, nothing like, say, Mark Spitz and Olga Korbut in Munich in 1972, Bruce Jenner and Nadia Comaneci in Montreal in 1976, the American hockey team in Lake Placid in 1980 or Ian Thorpe in Sydney in 2000.

Or Phelps in Beijing in 2008, for that matter.

Will the defining moment end up, in retrospect, being Gabby Douglas? Or is it still ahead: Will Oscar Pistorius shine? Will the team of Bolt and Blake rocket into global legend? Will someone we’ve never heard of in the first weekend of August be a household name by the second? “In terms of a signature event, I think everyone has to decide their own,” International Olympic Committee spokesman Mark Adams said Saturday. “If I take my IOC hat off for a moment, I think many Brits would probably say from a British perspective that Bradley winning gold was probably a signature moment for us. We hope there will be many more to come for other countries too.” Taking stock of any athletic event halfway through is probably a doomed exercise in itself. Imagine assessing a no-hitter in the fifth inning or a Super Bowl at the half. Some exciting things have unfolded, but the final pages of the story are, obviously, yet to be told. —AP

Business

US service firms grew slightly faster in July Page 22 Consumer agency probes mortgage insurance deals

SUNDAY, AUGUST 5, 2012

India left in dark by utilities losing $10b

Page 23

Page 25

US Treasury says to raise $5bn from AIG stock sale Page 25

BOSTON: In this July 9, 2012 photo, construction workers continue work on the job in Boston. US service companies, which employ 90 percent of Americans, grew at a slightly faster pace in July. The Institute for Supply Management reported Friday, that its index of non-manufacturing activity picked up slightly last month with a reading of 52.6. That was a tiny improvement from June’s reading of 52.1, which had been the lowest since January 2010. Still, any reading above 50 indicates expansion. — AP

Fired trader draws scrutiny in Libor probe Traders saw nothing wrong with Libor actions: Lawyers NEW YORK: A 30-year-old former Barclays Plc swaps trader in New York, who was fired from the bank in 2010, is among those drawing scrutiny from prosecutors in the deepening scandal over the manipulation of global benchmark interest rates.

US prosecutors in Washington, D.C. are looking at Ryan Reich’s activities while at Barclays between August 2006 and March 2010, said several people familiar with the situation, who declined to be identified because the bid-rigging investigation is ongoing.

Reich, now a portfolio manager with New York-based hedge fund WCG Management, was dismissed from Barclays for allegedly sending inappropriate emails seeking internal bank information, according to two sources familiar with the situation.

One of those sources, who used to work for the bank, said the information Reich sought concerned how the Libor benchmark rate was going to be priced, information that could have been useful for his trading positions.

Reached by telephone on Friday, Reich declined to comment. A spokeswoman at the US Department of Justice did not return phone calls or emails seeking comment. Libor, the London interbank offered rate, is used to set rates on trillions of dollars of contracts for everything from home mortgages to credit cards. The investigation has embroiled banks on both sides of the Atlantic and involves yen and euro rates as well as those for the dollar.

Lawyers familiar with the investigation say federal prose-

cutors continue to reach out to individuals to gauge interest in cooperating or taking pleas. They said prosecutors are expected to begin making decisions on charging individuals late this month or in early September.

Indeed, many of the traders under scrutiny do not believe they did anything wrong because their employers and regulators had some awareness of their activities, the lawyers said. Information released by the New York Fed shows that bank regulators in the United States and Europe knew some banks were submitting low Libor bids during the financial crisis to make institutions appear healthier than they were.

A person familiar with Reich’s dismissal from Barclays said that the young trader, who joined Barclays just two years after graduating from Princeton University, was directed by his supervisors to send the emails and they were aware of everything he was doing.

The person, who did not want to be identified, said the practice of sending emails to gather information on future Libor pricing went back to the 1990s at Barclays, long before Reich joined the firm. “This was systemic at Barclays,” said the person. Barclays declined to comment.

Reich was a part of a low-profile New York trading desk at Barclays that is now increasingly in focus as prosecutors and regulators extend their investigation of the Libor scandal, which began to come to light in 2008. In June, Barclays paid a $453 million penalty to authorities in t he United States and the UK to settle allegations some of its traders

colluded with people at other banks to manipulate Libor. In the United States, federal authorities and regulators are focusing on the activities of the Barclays desk on which Reich worked. It traded U.S. Treasury and U.S. dollar and Canadian dollar interest rate swaps.

Reuters previously reported that Jay Merchant, one of that desk’s top traders, who in 2009 served as head of US dollar swaps trading, is being scrutinized by federal authorities as well. Merchant moved to UBS in late 2009 to run that firm’s swaps desk.

Ritankar “Ronti” Pal, who Merchant reported to and who had overseen all of the desk’s trading since 2006, recently left Barclays, according to people familiar with the matter. A man who appeared at an address listed for Pal declined comment and called for building security to escort a reporter away. Pal didn’t respond to a written request for comment.

The Libor investigation is focusing on allegations that traders at various banks colluded to try and rig the price of Libor to impact the interest rate on swaps, a type of derivative contract. On many swaps, the interest paid is a floating rate, so depending on which side a bank sat on a trade it would have an interest in getting either a lower or higher Libor rate.

One thing authorities are looking into is whether traders at banks were trying to get information ahead of time to know where Libor was going to be set for the next day, or work with other traders to influence the rate. As reported

last week by Reuters, people familiar with the investigation said authorities are looking at whether some individuals on the Barclay’s trading desk tried to influence the rate on Libor by communicating with other traders in London to get a higher return on certain swaps the desk was trading.

Traders at JPMorgan Chase & Co also had dealings with some of the Barclays traders under scrutiny, according to a person familiar with the investigation. JPMorgan declined to comment.

Reich filed an employment arbitration case against Barclays following his dismissal. The case was eventually resolved, though terms were not disclosed.

Another lawyer familiar with the investigation said prosecutors could charge traders with wire fraud, a charge that does not require them to actually have succeeded in manipulating Libor, but merely have sought to do it. Wire fraud is often used when individuals communicate through emails or cell phones as part of a conspiracy charge.

Reich’s current employer, WCG Management, is a macro hedge fund that specializes in trading bonds, currencies and interest rate swaps. It oversees $3.4 billion in assets and is led by Barry Wittlin, a former top proprietary trader with Merrill Lynch.

Officials at WCG did not respond to a request for comment. People familiar with the investigation said there is no indication authorities are looking at the hedge fund and authorities are not looking at any of Reich’s activities at the fund. — Reuters

IMF opens $6.2billion credit line for Morocco

BARCELONA: Rail workers protest against the government’s privatization plans at Sants railway station in Barcelona, Spain. — AP

WASHINGTON: The International Monetary Fund on Friday announced it was opening a “precautionary” $6.2 billion line of credit for Morocco to protect the economy from external shocks.

“The Moroccan authorities have stated that they... do not intend to draw on the line, unless Morocco experiences actual balance of payments needs from a deterioration of external conditions,” the IMF said in a statement.

Morocco will be able to tap $3.55 billion in the first year, the IMF said. Known as the Precautionary and Liquidity Line, the financing is the latest version of a credit line launched in 2010 amid the global financial crisis, available for countries with sound economic policies.

“The PLL will allow the authorities to continue with their home-grown reform agenda aimed at achieving rapid and inclusive economic growth,

while providing them with a useful insurance against external shocks,” the Washington-based institution said.

Morocco has been struggling with drought and the sovereign debt crisis in the eurozone, which is Morocco’s biggest trade partner. IMF managing director Christine Lagarde hailed Morocco’s track record of “strong economic policies and wide-ranging structural reforms.”

The authorities have taken actions to combat high oil prices which are pressuring the economy and the country’s finances, she said. “Notwithstanding these comprehensive policy measures and favorable macroeconomic prospects, Morocco faces external risks linked to uncertainties in the eurozone and potential oil price increases,” she said in the statement. “The authorities intend to treat the arrangement as precautionary.” — AFP

22

SUNDAY, AUGUST 5, 2012

BUSINESS

US service firms grew slightly faster in July

Bayt.com weekly report

How to Survive a Panel Interview?

Retailers reportd better-than-expected results WASHINGTON: US service companies, which employ 90 percent of Americans, grew at a slightly faster pace in July. The Institute for Supply Management reported Friday that its index of nonmanufacturing activity picked up slightly last month with a reading of 52.6.

That was up from June’s reading of 52.1, which had been the lowest since January 2010.

Any reading above 50 indicates expansion. The service sector has now grown for 31 straight months. But even with the July gain, the services index remains far below its recent high of 57.3 hit in February. Part of the strength in the service sector in July came from a rise in the index component which tracks new orders. Service companies include retail, construction, financial services, health care and hotels, among other industries.

Economists said the July reading was encouraging because it at least showed a small rebound after a decline in activity in June. Paul Dales, senior US economist at Capital Economics, said an index reading at this level was consistent with growth in the overall economy at a sluggish pace of 1 percent to 1.5 percent in

the current July-September quarter.

“Although it is encouraging to see the survey strengthen, it still appears as though the economy started the third quarter on a fairly weak note,” Dales said. Overall economic growth, as measured by the gross domestic product, slowed to an annual rate of 1.5 percent in the April-June quarter, down from an already lackluster pace of 2 percent in the January-March period.

The Labor Department said Friday that employers added 163,000 jobs in July, an encouraging sign after three months of sluggish hiring.

The July gain was the strongest since February. Consumer spending, which drives 70 percent of economic activity, has been weak in recent months.

Consumers spent no more in June than they did in May, a month when spending actually fell. However, there was a glimmer of hope that things might be looking up for retailers.

Many major retailers reported betterthan-expected results in July, saying that sales had been helped by hot weather and summer clearance sales. A tally by the International Council of Shopping Centers of 20 major retailers

By Lama Ataya

found revenue in stores open at least a year rose 4.6 percent in July, compared to activity in July 2011.

A separate ISM report this week showed that manufacturing shrank for the second straight month in July. The ISM said its manufacturing index stood at 49.8, little changed from a June reading of 49.7, which had been the first time the survey showed manufacturing contracted in three years.

In recent months, factory activity has weakened along with the broader economy. Manufacturers have been hurt not only by a slowdown in consumer spending in the United States but by Europe’s economic problems and slower growth in China and other emerging markets which has dampened demand for US exports.

The Federal Reserve at a meeting this week decided to hold off providing further support to the economy but signaled that more help could be on the way if economic growth does not revive. Many private economists believe the central bank will decide to launch another round of bond buying at the Fed’s next meeting in September. — AP

he Panel interview” is one of many job interview types reverted to by employers in the Middle East and worldwide when attempting to assess prospective candidates.

Jobseekers tend to share a common perception of panel interviews, that of a strictly uncomfortable setting facing the ‘firing squad’, comprising solely of professionals who would unforgivingly and unceremoniously scrutinize the solitary target- the interviewee.

This perception, needless to say, triggers feelings of apprehension, panic and unease that begin way before the interview has already started and can last the duration of the interview.

Unlike popular belief, employers do not conduct such interviews with the express aim of pushing candidates out of their comfort zone or causing them undue anxiety and stress. Why then do they adopt panel interviews? What does a panel interview entail?

And how can candidates successfully survive one? The career experts at Bayt.com, the Middle East’s leading job site, explain it all below:

“T

Six firms eyeing IPOs next week LOS ANGELES: One of the world’s top soccer clubs is set to make its stock market debut next week along with the companies behind Outback Steakhouse restaurants and the Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s fast-food chains.

Manchester United Ltd., one of the most popular soccer clubs on the planet, is slated to go public with an offering that looks to bring in $300 million.

Bloomin’ Brands, which operates Outback, is looking to raise $300 million in its initial public offering. CKE, which runs the two hamburger eateries, is eyeing a $200 million raise.

The timing of the IPOs coincides with the final week before many on Wall Street go on break until after Labor Day. It also caps a summer IPO season that got off to a slow start due to the fallout from Facebook’s disappointing market debut. Facebook shares began trading publicly on May 18 at the top of their projected IPO range, but ended up closing barely above their IPO price at $38.23 and have fallen sharply in the following weeks. They closed Friday at $21.09, down 45 percent from their starting price.That has put a chill on the IPO market, and the next batch of market newcomers didn’t launch offerings until weeks later.

“Everybody was concerned about Facebook,” said Francis Gaskins, president of researcher IPOdesktop. “That took all the air out of the room for about five weeks.” Since then, the IPO market has bounced back, with several technology companies and specialty retailers going public and doing well since their debut, Gaskins noted.

Retailer Five Below Inc. saw its shares close at a 55.9 percent premium to its debut price on July 19. A day later, the stock of travel-booking website Kayak jumped 28 percent in its first day of trading.

“There’s a big backlog of IPOs, and after Labor Day, as long as the markets don’t tank, the IPO market is expected to come back strongly,” Gaskins said. Shares of Tampa, Fla.-based Bloomin’ are expected to be priced between $13 and $15 each. While shares of Manchester United are projected to be priced between $16 and $20 apiece.

What exactly is a Panel Interview?

A panel interview can be quite similar to the traditional one-on-one job interview in content, but is quite different in context, as it involves the simultaneous presence of all decision makers. Panel members take turns in asking the interviewee, respectively, questions they deem relevant to the position he/she is being interviewed for. Often, each interviewer’s questions tackle a specific area, i.e.: behavioral attitude, professional experience, skills etc.

Once all questions have been asked and answered and the interview is over, each member of the panel rates the interviewee according to his/her own perceptions and conclusions and then a discussion is held to decide whether the candidate is suitable to take on the position or not.

CKE, based in Carpinteria, Calif., is expected to see its shares priced between $14 and $16 each. Peregrine Semiconductor, a technology firm catering to wireless market, is looking to raise $83 million; Performant Financial, which handles collection services on unpaid loans, wants $150 million; and, Stemline Therapeutics, a biotech company, is eyeing a $42 million raise. —AP

Why do organizations adopt Panel Interviews? � Panel interviews are highly time-efficient as they allow all decision-makers involved to assess a prospective candidate simultaneously and come to one final conclusion within a short period of time. � Panel interviews allow for a heightened element of behavioral testing and character assessment. The way the prospective candidate/interviewee behaves when faced with a sophisticated array of panel members allows them to determine whether he/she is capable of handling pressure well and of communicating easily across all levels of an organization. � Panel interviews allow panel members

This undated handout image received 1 November 2004, from the Boeing Company shows a 737-800 series passenger aircraft. US planemaker Boeing said yesterday that Xiamen Airlines, a unit of China Southern Airlines, had agreed to purchase 40 next-generation 737-800s — an order valued at $3.5 billion at list prices. — AFP

to better dissect the details of the candidate’s professional experience, skills, behavior, etc. covering all angles that would be vital to the position itself.

How can the job seeker better prepare for a panel interview? � Bayt.com’s career experts strongly recommend you start with good research.

Research the company’s background and structure, its products, its marketplace and its organizational culture. You will need to be familiar with all these items on the day of the interview. � It is very important for you to prepare yourself mentally for the panel interview.

Take a moment to visualize yourself in that meeting room surrounded by 2 to 6 professionals and answering all their questions confidently. Rehearse, rehearse and rehearse some more! This will give your confidence a great boost once you’re there the day of the interview. � Prepare a set of questions that you will ask the panel members: keep in mind it’s a two-way interview. You are not there to only answer questions. It’s highly recommended that candidates ask their own questions to the panel members concerned. Have your list of intelligent and professional questions ready!

What can you do on the day of the Panel Interview? � Relax and remember you have done your part, you have rehearsed, visualized and you know exactly how to go about this. You know what your major strengths are and you are simply there to communicate them to each and every panel member. � Make eye contact with each panel member and greet them with a smile- try to note down their names and positions so that you know who to address your questions to at a later stage. (It is not advisable to address all your questions to only one member, i.e.: the panel leader). � Take your time in answering every question individually; being in a panel interview means things are moving fast and questions follow each other in quick succession. Stay alert and focus on doing justice to your answers without rambling or losing the thread. � Is a question unclear? Don’t shy away from clarifying what the question is exactly.

Make sure you understand the question correctly before you elaborate. � Take the time to ask the questions you have already prepared in addition to any others that come up during the interview. It is your right to ask questions and it only showcases how interested and interesting you really are!

What should you do after the Panel Interview?

Now that the interview is wrapped up, you should have the names and positions of your interviewers. Just like in the traditional oneon-one interview, it is time for the thank you notes. Make sure you send a thank you note to each panel member separately thanking them for their time and communicating your enthusiasm and suitability for the specific role!

EXCHANGE RATES Commercial Bank of Kuwait US Dollar/KD GB Pound/KD Euro Swiss francs Canadian Dollar Australian DLR Indian rupees Sri Lanka Rupee UAE dirhams Bahraini dinars Jordanian dinar Saudi riyals Omani riyals Egyptian pounds

.2740000 .4390000 .3430000 .2850000 .2780000 .2920000 .0040000 .0020000 .0762440 .7428190 .3860000 .0720000 .7282020 .0430000

CUSTOMER TRANSFER RATES US Dollar/KD .2810000 GB Pound/KD .4411700 Euro .3451940 Swiss francs .2874390 Canadian dollars .2796850 Danish Kroner .0464060 Swedish Kroner .0408440 Australian dlr .2942070 Hong Kong dlr .0362310 Singapore dlr .2252140 Japanese yen .0035850 Indian Rs/KD .0000000 Sri Lanka rupee .0000000 Pakistan rupee .0000000 Bangladesh taka .0000000 UAE dirhams .0765350 Bahraini dinars .7456550 Jordanian dinar .0000000 Saudi Riyal/KD .0749530 Omani riyals .7301550 Philippine Peso .0000000

Al-Muzaini Exchange Co. ASIAN COUNTRIES

Japanese Yen Indian Rupees Pakistani Rupees Srilankan Rupees Nepali Rupees Singapore Dollar Hongkong Dollar Bangladesh Taka Philippine Peso Thai Baht Malaysian Ringgit

3.553 5.072 3.053 2.141 3.173 220.090 36.173 3.425 6.439 8.876 89.338

.2840000 .4500000 .3520000 .2980000 .2860000 .3000000 .0070000 .0035000 .0770100 .7502840 .4060000 .0780000 .7355200 .0510000 .2831000 .4444670 .3477740 .2895870 .2817760 .0467530 .0411490 .2964060 .0365020 .2268970 .0036120 .0051360 .0021550 .0030020 .0034770 .0771070 .7512270 .4004240 .0755130 .7356110 .0067990

Saudi Riyal Qatari Riyal Omani Riyal Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham

GCC COUNTRIES 74.883 77.158 729.380 745.850 76.464

ARAB COUNTRIES Egyptian Pound - Cash 48.250 Egyptian Pound - Transfer 46.466 Yemen Riyal/for 1000 1.309 Tunisian Dinar 176.65 Jordanian Dinar 396.190 Lebanese Lira/for 1000 1.884 Syrian Lier 4.899 Morocco Dirham 32.64 EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIES US Dollar Transfer 280.700 Euro 354.52 Sterling Pound 441.820 Canadian dollar 274.79 Turkish lire 152.400 Swiss Franc 295.01 US Dollar Buying 279.500 GOLD 293.000 148.000 75.250

20 Gram 10 Gram 5 Gram

Australian dollar Bahraini dinar Bangladeshi taka Canadian dollar Cyprus pound Czek koruna Danish krone Deutsche Mark Egyptian pound Euro Cash Hongkong dollar Indian rupees Indonesia Iranian tuman Iraqi dinar Japanese yen Jordanian dinar Lebanese pound Malaysian ringgit Morocco dirham Nepalese Rupees New Zealand dollar Nigeria

SELL CASH

300.400 750.620 3.710 285.600 554.300 46.000 46.600 167.800 47.370 350.600 37.090 5.310 0.032 0.161 0.237 3.700 399.980 0.191 91.710 44.000 4.340 232.400 1.828

46.600 733.150 3.080 6.970 78.070 75.360 227.950 36.440 2.688 447.800 42.700 292.000 4.400 9.270 198.263 76.960 282.600 1.360

10 Tola

GOLD 1,719.380

Sterling Pound US Dollar

732.970 2.990 6.750 77.640 75.360 227.950 36.440 2.140 445.800 290.500 4.400 9.140 76.860 282.200

COUNTRY

TRAVELLER’S CHEQUE 445.800 282.200

SELL DRAFT

298.900 750.620 3.447 284.100

227.900 46.467 349.100 36.940 5.075 0.031

SELL DRAFT

Australian Dollar Canadian Dollar Swiss Franc Euro US Dollar Sterling Pound Japanese Yen Bangladesh Taka Indian Rupee Sri Lankan Rupee Nepali Rupee Pakistani Rupee UAE Dirhams Bahraini Dinar Egyptian Pound Jordanian Dinar Omani Riyal Qatari Riyal Saudi Riyal

300.17 285.53 294.05 350.98 281.80 447.47 3.67 3.449 5.082 2.140 3.191 2.983 76.79 750.34 46.47 401.47 733.41 77.82 75.36

SELL CASH

299.00 285.00 293.00 350.00 283.00 450.00 3.63 3.580 5.300 2.350 3.650 3.150 77.45 750.00 47.80 399.00 736.00 78.00 75.80

Dollarco Exchange Co. Ltd 399.940 0.190 91.710 3.200 230.900

Rate for Transfer

Selling Rate

US Dollar Canadian Dollar Sterling Pound Euro

282.150 285.710 444.395 346.725

Swiss Frank Bahrain Dinar UAE Dirhams Qatari Riyals Saudi Riyals Jordanian Dinar Egyptian Pound Sri Lankan Rupees Indian Rupees Pakistani Rupees Bangladesh Taka Philippines Pesso Cyprus pound Japanese Yen Thai Bhat Syrian Pound Nepalese Rupees Malaysian Ringgit

288.635 746.985 76.795 77.445 75.205 397.730 46.459 2.139 5.063 2.980 3.448 6.739 692.115 4.600 9.025 4.375 3.255 89.740

Kuwait Bahrain Intl Exchange Co.

UAE Exchange Centre WLL

Bahrain Exchange Company COUNTRY

Norwegian krone Omani Riyal Pakistani rupees Philippine peso Qatari riyal Saudi riyal Singapore dollar South Africa Sri Lankan rupees Sterling pound Swedish krona Swiss franc Syrian pound Thai bhat Tunisian dollar UAE dirham U.S. dollars Yemeni Riyal

Currency

Rate per 1000 (Tran)

US Dollar Pak Rupees Indian Rupees Sri Lankan Rupees Bangladesh Taka Philippines Peso UAE Dirhams Saudi Riyals Bahraini Dinars Egyptian Pounds Pound Sterling Indonesian Rupiah Nepali rupee Yemeni Riyal Euro Canadian Dollars

282.200 2.983 5.097 2.150 3.452 6.765 76.935 75.355 749.410 46.525 448.800 2.990 3.195 1.550 352.500 286.800

Al Mulla Exchange Currency

Transfer Rate (Per 1000)

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

282.150 349.000 445.550 284.010 3.650 5.070 46.495 2.141 3.442 6.750 2.985 750.100 76.750 75.250

SUNDAY, AUGUST 5, 2012

BUSINESS

Bonds retain appeal despite rock-bottom yields WASHINGTON: Bond yields are scraping along at record lows, but investors keep buying them, valuing the modest, fixed returns they pay over the bigger potential profits offered by stocks.

Bill Gross of PIMCO, perhaps the nation’s bestknown bond fund manager, declared last week that people should think long and hard before buying stocks at all. Gross said in a letter that “the cult of equity is dying.” Investors have come to expect more growth from stocks than they can possibly deliver, Gross said.

Some strategists say they’ve seen this movie before, and investors are setting themselves up for disappointment if they avoid the stock market completely in favor of bonds. Profits from bonds are so meager, they say, that a portfolio of carefully chosen stocks would be a better bet than sticking only with fixed-income investments.

If you opt for bonds, “you’ll never make more income than what the bond yield pays,” says Margie Patel, managing director and senior portfolio manager with Wells Capital Management, a division of Wells Fargo. At least with stocks, she says, there’s a far greater possibility that the value of the investment will appreciate, in addition to any income you may get from dividends.

For investors brave enough to ride out the market’s current bout of volatility, “you’d do no worse on an income basis than with very conservative fixed-income investments,” such as high-rated corporate bonds, Patel says.

As an example, consider a Microsoft bond due in 2021, which currently pays a yield of 1.6 percent.

For every $1,000 invested in the bond, the holder gets $16 in income every year. That’s less than the

income an investor would collect from dividends on Microsoft stock. Microsoft’s dividend yield at current prices is 2.7 percent, so a $1,000 investment would generate $27 in dividend income every year.

Another point in favor of dividend-paying stocks: Companies are paying out a relatively low portion of their money in dividends, compared to historical averages, Patel says - about 28 percent of their available cash. As companies emerge from their recession-era bunkers, they will likely become less conservative about returning money to shareholders, she says.

In the case of Microsoft, the company has increased its dividend 15 percent over the past five years. Companies that raise their dividends routinely are more likely to continue doing so. One big reason that bond yields are so low is the Federal Reserve. The central bank has bought trillions of US government bonds and mortgage-backed bonds to keep interest rates low. By making safe investments and savings accounts less attractive, the Fed hopes to encourage banks to lend, people to borrow, and investors to seek higher returns in other assets such as stocks.

The yields on the lowest-risk corporate bonds tend to track the yield on the 10-year Treasury note.

Investors believe the risk that a large, established company will default on its debt is relatively remote and doesn’t change very much. As a result, the difference between the yield on that company’s bonds and the yield on the comparable Treasury security - known as the spread - is relatively constant. When Treasury yields are low, corporate bond yields are, too.

Historically, when Treasury yields were higher,

the yield on the 10-year Treasury note was better than the dividends paid by stocks in the S&P 500.

Since 1970, Treasury yields outpaced S&P 500 dividends every month except for a brief period in late 2008 and early 2009, when companies had slashed their dividends and stocks were bouncing back from the worst of the financial crisis.

Until recently, that is. S&P 500 dividends blew past Treasury yields in seven of the 10 months ended June of this year, according to data from Birinyi Associates, a stock market research and money management firm.

Despite the slim returns available to bond investors, money continues to flow out of stock funds and into bond funds, according to Brian Reid, chief economist with the Investment Company Institute, a trade group representing money managers. So why do investors continue to favor bonds? Dan Alpert, managing partner of the investment bank Westwood Capital LLC, based in New York, says slow economic growth and even slower inflation make bonds attractive investments. When inflation is high, it erodes the purchasing power of bonds’ fixed payments over time.

When inflation is low, the opposite happens: the future payouts become more valuable.

The “real” yields on bonds - the amount they pay above inflation - are increasing, Alpert says. Of course, there’s no guarantee that stocks will go up.

Despite her belief that investors are undervaluing stocks, Patel acknowledges that many still feel bitten by market crashes in 2001 and 2008, and by the herky-jerky trading of the past three summers.

Then there are the technological snags that have disrupted normal trading with increasing fre-

quency. On Wednesday, a software glitch at the brokerage Knight Capital caused dozens of stocks to swing wildly as the market was flooded with erroneous orders.

Other recent market failures include the aborted initial public offering of BATS Global Markets in March, Facebook’s chaotic first day of public trading in May, and the May 2010 “flash crash” that sent the Dow Jones industrial average down nearly 600 points in five minutes.

Even when markets are working properly, there are ample reasons for investors to worry about owning stocks. European policy makers have been unable to find a way out of their years-old debt crisis. Stocks fell sharply on Thursday after the head of the European Central Bank failed to announce new measures to bolster investors’ confidence. If Europe experiences a major financial collapse and recession - still a real possibility - stocks could dive yet again. Rob Leiphart, an analyst with Birinyi, says that adds up to fear among regular investors enough to keep them away for some time.

“We’ve had the euro zone issues resurface three summers in a row, huge swings in volatility three years in a row, and people haven’t recovered from the 2001 market yet,” he said. “We just had a really bad decade.”

But that’s no reason to abandon stocks or bonds entirely, analysts said. Reid, of the Investment Company Institute, urged investors to “shy away from people who push them into dumping” one type of investment or another. “Investors that follow an extreme investing strategy . . . are simply ignoring the risks of what they’re investing in,” Reid said. — AP

Consumer agency probes mortgage insurance deals Lenders steered borrowers to their mortgage insurers

TOKYO: A woman holding a parasol walks past an electronic stock board of a securities firm in Tokyo. Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock average was down 1.2 percent at 8,553.68 on Friday as Asian stock markets fell after the European Central Bank’s policy meeting failed to deliver on bold promises of action to overcome the region’s prolonged debt crisis. — AP

Procter & Gamble Q4 up on snack sale NEW YORK: Procter & Gamble Co. said Friday that its net income climbed 45 percent in its fiscal fourth quarter, boosted by the sale of its snacks division. But the world’s largest consumer product maker’s revenue slipped, as price increases were offset by the stronger dollar.

The maker of Tide detergent, Crest toothpaste and other consumer goods also said Friday that it plans to buy back $4 billion in shares this fiscal year. That’s a reversal from June, when the company said it did not plan any share repurchases.

Its shares rose $1.23, or 1.9 percent, to $64.74 in premarket trading. P&G is trying to balance growth in emerging markets, which make up about 30 percent of its sales, with the realities of an uncertain global economy and lackluster market share growth.

Its global market share was down half a percentage point during the quarter, and overall market share was flat or higher in onethird of P&G’s categories. That has improved to 45 percent in the current quarter, helped by raising prices in some areas and lowering them in others.

The pressure is on since activist investor William Ackman disclosed last month taking a 1 percent stake in the company. Ackman has agitated for change at companies including Target Corp. and J.C. Penney. In a call with the media, P&G executives said they are having a dialogue with Ackman’s Pershing Square like the company does with all of its investors, but those discussions are confidential.

After raising prices to offset higher commodity costs, P&G last quarter said would roll

back some prices. The company said rollbacks in some categories like powdered detergents in the US and its blades and razors business have helped those categories regain some lost market share.

Net income rose to $3.63 billion, or $1.24 per share in the April-to-June quarter, up from $2.51 billion, or 84 cents per share last year.

That includes 48 cents per share from the sale of its snacks business.

Excluding that benefit and restructuring costs, it earned 82 cents per share, beating analysts’ expectations of 77 cents per share.

Revenue slipped to $20.21 billion from $20.45 billion last year, slightly below analyst expectations of $20.26 billion. The stronger dollar hurt revenue by 4 percentage points, offsetting the benefit of higher pricing, which helped revenue by 4 percentage points. But revenue excluding acquisitions or selling businesses and some instances of foreign exchange, a figure known as organic sales, rose 3 percent.

For the July to September quarter, P&G expects adjusted net income of 91 cents to 97 cents per share on revenue that is down 4 to 6 percent. That implies revenue of $20.6 billion to $21.04 billion. Analysts expect net income of $1.02 per share on revenue of $21.24 billion.

For this fiscal year, the Cincinnati-based company expects core earnings per share excluding restructuring charges of $3.80 to $4 on revenue that is flat to down 2 percent, implying revenue of $82 billion to $83.68 billion. Analysts expect net income of $3.92 per share on revenue of $84.7 billion. — AP

WASHINGTON: The government’s consumer finance watchdog is investigating deals that transferred billions in premiums charged to mortgage borrowers from mortgage-insurance companies to the banks that made the loans.

The deals amounted to kickbacks, because the banks pressured insurers into them in exchange for a share of the banks’ mortgageinsurance business, according to civil lawsuits filed by borrowers and legal experts.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has served subpoenas to American International Group Inc., MGIC Investment Corp. Genworth Financial Inc. and Radian Group Inc., the companies said in public filings this week. The CFPB asked for documents and answers to written questions about captive mortgage reinsurance deals, they said.

The companies did not respond to requests for comment Friday. Mortgage borrowers whose down payments are less than 20 percent typically must buy private mortgage insurance that protects the bank in case they default. Because mortgage insurers charge roughly the same rates, borrowers generally choose an insurer recommended by their lender.

Lenders routinely steered borrowers to their preferred mortgage insurers, said Mike Calhoun, who was the lead attorney on a class-action suit about the practices in the early 2000s. In return, the insurers shared their premiums with the lender by buying reinsurance from a company owned by the lender at vastly inflated rates.

“It’s just a grossly overpriced reinsurance that is many times more expensive than what arms length reinsurance costs in the general market,” said Calhoun, who now is president of the Center for Responsible Lending, a consumer advocacy group. Banks were typically insulated from any real possibility of loss on the reinsurance, he said.

Mortgage insurers called their payments to banks reinsurance because it is illegal to pay fees or kickbacks in exchange for referrals of business related to mortgages, under a law called the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, or RESPA. Creating costly reinsurance and splitting the borrowers’ fees and premiums was “primarily a way to get around the RESPA referral fee situation,” Calhoun said. Reinsurance usually is used by insurance companies to transfer some of their potential risk to another company. In these cases, they claimed that the risk was transferred in exchange for a reasonable fee. But several civil lawsuits filed by borrowers argued that the risk was not truly transferred and the fees were mere-

Berkshire Hathaway’s Q2 profit declines 9% OMAHA: Second-quarter profits at Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. fell 9 percent because of bigger paper losses on derivatives the company sold, but many of its subsidiaries performed well. The company reported that profits were up in Berkshire’s insurance units. And business improved at the conglomerate’s utility, railroad, manufacturing and retail businesses.

“It was obviously a solid rebound in insurance, but what was really terrific was the non-insurance subsidiaries,” said David Rolfe, chief investment officer at Wedgewood Partners, which invests in Berkshire.

The Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad added $802 million to Berkshire’s net income this year, up from $690 million a year ago. Revenue at the railroad grew about 6 percent thanks to fuel surcharges and a 2 percent increase in total shipping volume. More shipments of consumer goods and industrial products offset weak coal demand.

The addition of specialty chemical maker Lubrizol, which Berkshire acquired last September, also helped profits. Lubrizol

added $322 million to Berkshire’s pretax profits in the quarter. That helped Berkshire’s manufacturing, service and retail unit generate just over $1 billion net income, up from $789 million last year.

Berkshire also said its housing-related business - which include Shaw carpet, Acme Brick, numerous real estate brokerages and the Nebraska Furniture Mart - all showed improvement in the second quarter.

Jeff Matthews, an investor who wrote “Secrets in Plain Sight: Business & Investing Secrets of Warren Buffett,” said Berkshire recorded a good quarter overall with no big surprises.

Matthews said even though Berkshire’s housing-related businesses improved, many of its other manufacturing and retail units reported weaker demand. That raises concerns about the strength of the overall economy.

Berkshire officials do not typically comment on quarterly earnings reports, and they did not immediately respond to a message Friday afternoon. The lack of major catastrophes in the world this year helped

Berkshire’s insurance companies, which include Geico and several reinsurance firms, improve significantly. Last year, Berkshire’s insurance companies incurred $1.2 billion in catastrophe losses related to the earthquakes in Japan and New Zealand and other weather losses in the U.S. and Australia.

Berkshire’s insurance companies added $619 underwriting profit this year, compared to a $7 million underwriting loss last year. Berkshire said it generated $3.1 billion net income, or $1.25 per Class B share.

That’s down from last year’s second quarter net income of $3.4 billion, or $1.38 per Class B share. And last year’s quarter was helped by a one-time $1.25 billion gain.

The results topped the $1.19 per share Wall Street was expecting, according to a FactSet survey.

Berkshire’s revenue grew slightly to $38.5 billion from $38.3 billion. Buffett has said it’s better to look at Berkshire earnings without the derivative losses and investment gains. He says Berkshire’s investment and derivative gains or losses can be misleading because the company rarely sells its investments.—AP

ly a way to attract business from banks.

The mortgage insurers didn’t necessarily want to transfer that risk, because that meant sharing the premiums and fees collected from borrowers.

“The mortgage insurers were bullied into this,” said Guy Cecala, publisher of Inside Mortgage Finance, a trade publication. “The lenders would say, ‘Hey, if you don’t take this, we won’t even give you any business.’”

The reinsurance deals unfairly add to people’s monthly payments while offering them no direct benefit, said Adam Levitin, an authority on consumer finance and a visiting professor at Harvard Law School.

“There really isn’t any insurance here, it’s just cash going around in a loop,” he said. “It’s really as if you’re paying a higher mortgage rate.”

The CFPB’s subpoenas, called Civil Investigative Demands, mean that its enforcement division has launched a preliminary probe of the matter. The investigation could result civil charges against the companies, or might be resolved without any formal action.

A spokeswoman for the CFPB said the agency

does not comment on, confirm or deny activities by its enforcement team. The companies already had responded to similar inquiries about mortgage reinsurance from the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s inspector general, they said in their filings. The HUD probe was transferred to the CFPB after it took over enforcement of the law that allegedly was violated.

AIG said in its filing that the CFPB had allowed it to delay its deadlines for submitting the information because AIG is close to settling a formal enforcement action with the Minnesota Commissioner of Commerce. The company said that “could resolve the investigation.” AIG shares closed up 50 cents, at $31.34.

MGIC shares fell 4 cents, or 4.6 percent, to close 84 cents on Friday. The company had said Thursday that its second-quarter loss widened as homeowner defaults forced it to pay out more insurance claims. MGIC has posted annual losses since 2007, and expects the losses to continue. Genworth rose 20 cents, or 4.9 percent, to $4.32. Radian rose 17 cents, or 6.3 percent, to $2.86. — AP

NEW YORK: Trader Steven Kaplan, center, checks prices as he waits for shares of AIG to resume trading on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange yesterday. The US government says it plans to sell $4.5 billion in American International Group common stock, the latest effort to recoup taxpayer money spent on the largest bailout of the 2008 financial crisis. — AP

After week’s drama, Wall Street could get a break NEW YORK: After a drama-packed week of central bank meetings, economic indicators and corporate earnings, Wall Street just may find some relief in the dog days of summer.

The US Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank dashed hopes for policy action and the July US jobs report stirred the bulls with employment gains well above expectations.

Calendars will be noticeably lighter next week as vacation season hits high gear, offering perhaps a respite to investors wanting to coolly scrutinize their options.

The main Wall Street indices slid for four days before the Labor Department’s report Friday kicked off a powerful rally. Over the course of the week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained a meager 0.16 percent, finishing at 13,096.17 points, the blue-chip index’s highest close since May 3.

The tech-rich Nasdaq rose 0.33 percent to 2,967.90 points. The Standard & Poor’s 500, a broad measure of the markets, advanced 0.36 percent to 1,390.99 points.

Wall Street spent the early part of the week waiting for back-to-back policy decisions from the Fed on Wednesday, and from the ECB on Thursday.

In the end, both the Fed and ECB dashed hopes for

fresh action to jumpstart weak economies, and in the case of the ECB, to take immediate action addressing the eurozone sovereign debt crisis. Stocks slumped.

Then Friday’s highly anticipated jobs report came in, showing the United States added 163,000 jobs in July, well above the 100,000 expected, while the unemployment rate rose a tenth of a point to 8.3 percent. Stocks jumped.

“The sentiment of today’s report is likely to carry into next week,” said Jason Schenker of Prestige Economics.

IHS Global Insight analysts Paul Edelstein and Nigel Gault said the favorable jobs outlook was unlikely to change the Fed’s outlook, which they saw as heading toward a third round of bond-buying to help boost the sluggish economy.

“The report will alleviate fears that the US might be tipping back into recession, but we do not believe that it was strong enough to dissuade the Fed from introducing a new quantitative easing program at its next meeting” on September 12-13, they said.

Earnings season enters the final lap next week.

Briefing.com analysts noted just over 80 percent of the S&P 500 companies had reported quarterly results, with about two-thirds of them having beaten earnings estimates.—AFP

24

SUNDAY, AUGUST 5, 2012

business

Stock market continues its loss series for third week Al-Bayan Investment Report KUWAIT: Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) ended last week in the red zone. The price index ended last week with a decrease amounted to 0.41 percent, while the weighted index declined by 0.38 percent compared to the closings of the week before, whereas KSX-15 Index dropped by 0.77 percent. Furthermore, last week’s average daily turnover decreased by 34.39 percent, compared to the preceding week, reaching KD 10.77 million, whereas trading volume average was 100.47 million shares,

recording growth of 0.85 percent.

The stock market continued its loss series for the third consecutive week due to many negative factors, chief among them the powerful selling operations to a large number of listed companies’ stocks of most sectors. In addition, the speculation trend continued to form a strong pressure factor on the three market indices, which included large and small-cap stocks, causing the market main index to fluctuate in some daily sessions.

On the other hand, Kuwait Stock Market suffered last week from a general weakness in trading activity and decrease in liquidity, as a result of the pause state witnessed by the market due to the delayed semi-annual financial results announcements of many listed companies. The number of declared companies reached 24 percent as of Thursday out of 199 listed companies, realizing net profit KD 340.61 million, with a decline of 46.56 percent when compared to KD 637.31 million for the same period of 2011.

As far as the annual indices performance, all of the market main indices recorded losses. While the price index recorded decrease of 1.56 percent; the weighted index recorded loss amounted to 2.71 percent and KSX15 index retreated by 4.95 percent. However, market capital value reached KD 26.72 billion by the end of the week, recording a decrease of 6.40 percent compared to KD 28.55 billion by the end of 2011.

By the end of the week, the price index closed at 5,723.61 points, down by 0.41 percent from the week before closing, whereas the weighted index registered a 0.38 percent weekly loss after closing at 394.61 points.

Moreover, the KSX-15 index recorded 0.77 percent weekly loss after closing at 950.50 points.

Sectors’ indices Seven of KSE’s sectors ended last week in the red zone, while the other five recorded increases. The technology sector headed the losers list as its index declined by 7.21 percent to end the week’s activity at 978.39 points. The Health Care sector was second on the losers’ list, which index declined by 5.85 percent, closing at 974.36 points, followed by the Basic Materials sector, as its index closed at 895.50 points at a loss of 2.94 percent.

The Telecommunication sector was the least declining as its index closed at 858.80 points with a 0.42 percent decrease.

On the other hand, last week’s highest gainer was the consumer goods sector, achieving 2.40 percent growth rate as its index closed at 958.46 points. Whereas, in the second place, the oil & gas sector’s index closed at 839.68 points recording 1.80 percent increase. The real estate sector was the least gainer as its index closed at

884.57 points with a 0.13 percent increase.

Sectors’ Activity The financial services sector dominated total trade volume during last week with 211.41 million shares changing hands, representing 42.08 percent of the total market trading volume. The Real Estate sector was second in terms trading volume as the sector’s traded shares were 18.03 percent of last week’s total trading volume, with a total of 90.60 million shares. On the other hand, the financial services sector’s stocks where the highest traded in terms of value; with a turnover of KD 14.27 million or 26.50 percent of last week’s total market trading value. The banks sector took the second place as the sector’s last week turnover of KD 11.64 million represented 21.61 percent of the total market trading value.

Market capitalization KSE total market capitalization declined by 0.38 percent during last week to reach KD 26.72 billion. With the end of last week, most sectors of the Kuwait Stock Exchange recorded a decline in value, The technology sector headed the decliners list as its total market capitalization reached KD 64.73 million, decreasing by 5.89 percent. The Basic Materials sector was the second in terms of recorded decline with 2.83 percent decrease after the total value of its listed companies reached KD 563.53 million. The third place was for the Health Care sector, which total market capitalization reached KD 187.63 billion by the end of the week, recording a decline of 1.52 percent.

The Telecommunications sector was the least declining with 0.02 percent recorded decrease after its market capitalization amounted to KD 3.80 billion. On the other hand, The Oil & Gas sector headed the growing sectors as its total market capitalization reached KD 328.99 million, increasing by 3.84 percent. The Consumer Goods sector was the second in terms of recorded growth with 2.88 percent increase after the total value of its listed companies reached KD 609.99 million. The Consumer Services sector was the least Industrials with 1.26 percent recorded growth after its market capitalization amounted to KD 751.17 million.

Why Asian growth did not generate returns during crisis KCIC Weekly Analysis on Asia

KUWAIT: Historically, economic growth and stock markets have shown a positive correlation; countries whose economies grew consistently saw their stock markets do well. The causality, though, is unclear. Does robust economic growth allow stocks to perform better or is it the other way around? The influence probably goes both ways. The effect of economic growth on the price of the stock is relatively straightforward. A company could hardly make any money in a faltering economy.

The price of a stock in any moment is supposed to represent the discounted present value of future payoffs by a firm. Those payouts are ultimately linked to the real economy. But rising stocks also generate growth.

Higher stock prices enable companies to easily borrow and invest, using their own stocks as collateral. This would result in higher levels of investment.

Consumption also improves, becausestock holders would spend more when they see their wealth increase.

However, this theory does not hold when we compare the performance of rich and developing countries since the beginning of the crisis in 2008. The graphcompares the evolution ofthe United States’ and Asia’s (excluding Japan) gross domestic productssince the beginning of the ongoing crisis. Italso depicts the performance ofstock indices for these regions: the MSCI Asia ex-Japan and the Dow Jones (if we use the S&P500 the results are similar).In the five years ending in June 2012, real accumulated GDP growth in the United States was 2.9 percent, for the whole period. Asia exJapan grew 39.1 percent, 13 times more. It could be expected that Asian markets would outperform the US market’s gains,in that same period. Yet, the opposite is true:the US outperformed Asia, with the Dow Jones losing 2.5 percent of its capitalization compared to MSCI Asia ex-Japan’s 14.6 percent loss.The graph shows that the relation between GDP growth and stocks performance was, in fact, strongly negative during the crisis.

The graph compares two sets of variables: a) real GDP growth, a measure of the economic output of an economy, adjusted for inflation, and b) stock markets indices, which are a measure of the total value of the stocks that are traded in a particular stock exchange. We take both indicators for the United States and Asia ex-

Japan and normalize them to June 2007. This process simplifies the comparison, because it assumes that, on that date, all four indicators were at the same level.

Differences between any reading and 100 represent the evolution, in percentage terms, of that indicator since June 2007. If in June 2012 the index shows a value of 139 for Asia’s GDP, it means that GDP grew 39 percent since the beginning of the period.

What explains the divergence between the real economy and the stock markets? First, stock markets represent a smaller share of the real economy in developing countries. Small and medium businesses might be growing fast and producing high profits, but these gainswill not be captured because of their underdeveloped financial markets. Second, a significant part of the growth in these countries is captured elsewhere:sales of Apple in China, for example, are reflected in the US stock markets, not in the Chinese index. Third, if a country faces high levels of competition, or is specialized in low value-added products, it could simultaneously have high GDP growth and poor stock performances. High sales revenues, which result in high GDP growth, will not necessarily lead tohigh profits for producers because of their low margins, resulting in poor stock performance. Also, the fact that developing markets manage a low volume of funds makes them highly sensitive to any inflow or outflow of money. However, the single most important factor explaining the divergence is the fear factor. In periods of uncertainty, investors look for deep and liquid markets that can be exited rapidly if things go wrong. They also try to avoid currency volatility by investing in stocks denominated in the major currencies. The result isa paradox:investors seek to place their assets in companies listed in countries with weaker economic growth. Overall, it is clear that in moments of high uncertainty, the link between economic growth and stock performance breaks. We see this as an opportunity; lower prices in fast growing economies with good demographics present a chance for long-term investors. Higher GDP growth reflects healthier fundamentals and the possibility of future higher returns, once uncertainty fades and fundamentals start playing in again.

SUNDAY, AUGUST 5, 2012

BUSINESS

Solid economic growth expected in GCC NBK’S GCC BRIEF KUWAIT: The next two years are expected to be a further period of solid economic growth in the GCC, supported by high oil prices, strong government financial balances and a continued wave of public spending on infrastructure projects and social items. Real GDP growth is seen dipping from 5.1percent in 2012 to 3.5percent in 2013, though the decline is largely due to a policy-driven cut in oil output from Gulf OPEC members. Non-oil growth a better measure of underlying economic performance - will stay close to 5percent, slightly above the average of the previous 3 years. Oman may be the region’s fastest growing economy in 2013, knocking Qatar off the top spot it has held for 8 years.

Despite a sharp drop in oil prices in 2Q 2012, we expect regional crude oil production to stay close

to its recent high of 17.2 million barrels per day (mbpd) this year, as Saudi Arabia and other Gulf exporters seek to boost stock levels to guard against non-GCC supply disruptions.

Oil prices are assumed to average $110 per barrel (pb) this year and fall to $100 pb in 2013, driven by higher stock levels and a weak global economy.

In response, Gulf oil production is expected to ease back next year.

The risks to the overall growth outlook have nonetheless become more apparent. A long recession or break-up of the euro zone could generate a sharp fall in oil prices, which would weaken Gulf governments’ fiscal positions, undermine confidence and potentially create challenges in financing infrastructure projects.

India left in dark by utilities losing $10b MUMBAI: A decade ago, Chandrakant’s fishing village in India’s financial capital Mumbai lived mostly by candlelight.

What people did not have - electricity they stole. It was easy enough to hook onto the two thin power lines that passed over the village and take a little for themselves.

Today, his settlement has moved up the feeding chain of Mumbai neighborhoods and most residents have city electricity meters. But the loose habits of the past persist. Residents still steal power on special occasions, weddings or funerals that need to be lit brighter than their home meters can bear.

An electrician like Chandrakant - who asked that his full name and that of his neighborhood not be revealed because of his illegal activity - just hooks onto one of four main distribution lines in the village, with the quiet approval of local officials.

India’s power sector is lousy with thieves. Men like Chandrakant are the least of them. As much as 40 percent of the power generated in India is not paid for. The bulk of it is stolen. If that seems unsustainable, it is. India suffered the worst blackouts in history this week, which left over 600 million people without power. The lights are back on, for now, but the crisis is evidence of deep problems in a sector teetering on the edge of bankruptcy for the second time in a decade.

Investigators have yet to pinpoint the cause of this week’s shutdowns. Early, contested reports suggest states were drawing more than their share of power.

Scanty rainfall has driven up demand, as farmers switch on electric pumps for irrigation, and crimped hydroelectric supply, which generates about 20 percent of India’s electricity.

The deeper problem, however, stems from decades of populist pricing and inefficiency that have pushed losses at state utilities to an estimated $10 billion in the year that ended in March, according to the Planning Commission, a top government advisory body. That’s roughly 1 percent of India’s gross domestic product.

Losses from theft aside, state utilities are losing increasing amounts on every unit of electricity they sell because tariffs set by regulators have not kept pace with rising costs. In the most recent fiscal year, utilities lost an estimated 1.07 rupees (about 2 cents) per kilowatt hour, up 40 percent since fiscal 1999.

New Delhi is now contemplating a $21.7 billion bailout for state utilities, last thrown a lifeline in 2001. The problem really begins in the ground, with coal, which accounts for more than half of India’s electricity supply.

Efforts to force Coal India - an inefficient government behemoth with a near monopoly on coal mining - to ramp up supply have foundered. Fights over land acquisition and stalled environmental clearances have made it difficult to open new mines. Power companies now are looking overseas for coal.

In the last four years, the cost to utilities of buying power rose 21 percent -

faster than ever before, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers - but they have been unable to pass that to consumers because of price regulations.

Politicians currying favor with the farm vote have granted free or heavily subsidized power for agriculture, while idealists have fought to bring affordable light to the poor. Much of rural electricity is unmetered, creating opportunities for abuse.

Kameswara Rao, executive director of energy, utilities and mining at PricewaterhouseCoopers in India, said India should force states to raise rates in line with inflation and sell off part of their distribution grids to private companies.

Regulators, however, have been reluctant to raise consumer prices, preferring to push utilities to become more efficient. States don’t want to cede control of their massive utilities, which rake in billions of dollars in annual revenue.

With their rickety finances, state power companies have not been able to keep pace with rising demand and have expanded the grid faster than they can manage it, analysts say.

Even though Indians use very little energy - per capita consumption is a third of the world average - there is not enough juice to go around. India has allocated 14.5 percent or more of its budget to the power sector since 1969, but has managed to add only half has much capacity as planned for the last 15 years.

At peak times, demand outstrips supply by over 10 percent, according to the Planning Commission.” When a network grows you need more staff to police the network. If I don’t see staff for a few months, it’s easy for me to go hook onto a wire,” Rao said. “The utility staff that comes around could just turn a blind eye.

It’s no different than passing a buck to a traffic cop, saying, ‘Hey, let me go.’”

Lack of staff also means broken meters go unfixed and new areas are hooked to the grid before a billing system is in place, adding to losses, he said.

Pressure for price hikes is building, Rao said. Banks have stopped lending to state utilities, which has forced them to ration electricity because they don’t have enough cash to buy more power, he said.

“People get upset,” he said. “They say, ‘Increase the tariff, just give us better supply.’” The failure of Indian utilities has wider repercussions for the economy, argues Eurasia Group analyst Seema Desai.

It puts at risk the finances of private companies that sell utilities power, creating a disincentive to investment in a sector that badly needs it. India’s mainly state-backed banks loaned a lot of money to power companies and face large write-downs that could lead to a credit crunch, she said.

The timing could not be worse for New Delhi, which is under pressure to reduce its fiscal deficit even as slowing growth imperils tax revenue. “Banks will take a hit,” Desai said. “At some point it will fall on the central government to recapitalize the banks.” — AP

It would also damage the prospects for those large corporates undergoing debt restructurings.

Even if the euro zone muddles through, the prospect of a major - and sudden - fiscal contraction in the US in 2013 represents a huge risk to the global economy. Under these conditions, we think Gulf non-oil growth would slow, though avoid recession.

In spite of healthy activity levels and a pick-up in money and credit growth, inflation has generally remained low and even decelerated in some countries. On a weighted average basis, it stood at 3percent in May. The fall in global food prices of 2H 2011 and soft housing markets in the UAE and Qatar have helped, but core inflation also remains subdued. Stable food prices, low inflation rates

abroad, the impact of the strengthening US dollar on import prices and a continued emphasis on cost control amongst regional businesses will help keep price pressures muted. We see average inflation of close to 3percent this year and next.

GCC government spending surged by 22percent last year. Yet the combined GCC budget surplus actually rose to 11percent of GDP thanks to a 49percent jump in oil revenues. While the aggregate fiscal position is sound, rising spending commitments have increased vulnerabilities to lower oil prices. Budget breakeven oil prices now range from $72-115 pb, compared to around $30 pb in 2005. A sustained period of lower oil prices would increase the need for fundamental fiscal reform.

US Treasury says to raise $5 bn from AIG stock sale Over 300 small banks have yet to repay taxpayers WASHINGTON: The US Treasury Department said it expects to raise $5 billion from its sale of American International Group stock, cutting the government’s stake in the bailed-out insurer to 55 percent. The sale, which would bring a profit of about $300 million to the US Treasury, comes as President Barack Obama campaigns for a second term and has been forced to defend his administration’s decision to use taxpayer money to prop up companies during the crisis.

The Treasury Department priced the offering at $30.50 a share, six percent above the $28.72 price needed for the US government to break even on its investment in the insurer. AIG intends to buy up to $3 billion of the offering.

The government has already sold three

tranches in AIG above the break even price, putting Treasury on track to make a profit when it exits the insurer. Treasury has said it will not sell below the break even level.

The sale of 163.9 million shares of AIG stock will reduce the government’s holding in the insurer to 55 percent from 61 percent. The offering is expected to close next week. The insurer received multiple bailouts under both the Obama and Bush administrations, with the government pledging as much as $182 billion in aid.

After the latest sale, the Treasury’s investment in AIG will be about $25 billion.

The Obama administration has been unwinding its position in the politically unpopular financial crisis bailout programs. More than 300 small

banks have yet to repay taxpayers. The administration could sell its remaining stake in AIG this year but has been adamant in saying it will not act for political reasons.

The Treasury hired over a dozen financial institutions to help coordinate and run the offering, including Citigroup Inc, Deutsche Bank Securities, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Securities, Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse. AIG shares closed up 1.62 percent at $31.34 on Friday.

The company is still not overseen by a single regulator and is expected to be slapped with a “systemically important” label from the powerful new US council of regulators. The label would then subject AIG to new rules as well as supervision from the Federal Reserve. — Reuters

LinkedIn stock jumps after 2Q revenue soars

NEW YORK: In this Aug 2, 2012 photo, ironworker Stephen MacGray cuts a steel brace at the World Trade Center construction site, in New York. US employers added 163,000 jobs in July, a hopeful sign after three months of sluggish hiring. — AP

US jobs report presents mixed blessing for Obama WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama got new jobs figures Friday to buttress his argument that he’s presiding over steady, if slow, economic growth. But the government’s report that the overall rate of unemployment actually crept up by one-tenth of a point allows Republican Mitt Romney to keep pressure on Obama to defend his record.

The new unemployment numbers show that private employers added 163,000 jobs in July, the best pace of hiring in five months. The jobless rate rose, however, to 8.3 percent from 8.2 percent in June. Romney jumped on the report, calling the figures a “hammer blow” to middle-class families.

“We’ve now gone 42 consecutive months with the unemployment rate above 8 percent,” Romney said in a statement. “Middle-class Americans deserve better, and I believe America can do better.”

No US president since World War II has been re-elected with unemployment over 8 percent. Obama was expected to comment on the new jobs numbers later Friday at a White House event on middle-class tax cuts.

Romney was campaigning in Nevada, the state with the nation’s highest unemployment rate, before heading to a fundraiser in Idaho.

The economy remains the top issue for voters less than three months before Election Day. While the overall race for the White House remains deadlocked, several polls show Romney with an advantage over Obama on economic issues. A USA Today/Gallup Poll conducted in late July found 50 percent of Americans said Romney is the candidate who would be better at job creation, with 44 percent siding with Obama.

Obama, while acknowledging that economic growth hasn’t come fast enough, has sought to convince voters that the situation could have been far worse. He puts some of the blame for the sluggish recovery on congressional Republicans, accusing them of blocking his proposals for creating jobs.

Friday’s better-than-expected jobs report follows months of dour economic news that erased any doubt that the US was in a summer slump for the third year in a row. The American economy grew at a listless 1.5 percent annual pace from April through June, even slower than the 2 percent rate in the first three months of the year.

From April through June, the economy produced an average of just 75,000 jobs a month, the weakest three months since August through October 2010.—AP

NEW YORK: LinkedIn had strong revenue in the second quarter thanks to growth from ads and the fees it charges for deeper access to its vast trove of professional profiles.

Although net income fell because the company is spending more to grow, revenue increased faster than expected. The company also raised its forecast for the full year.

LinkedIn’s stock rose more than 7 percent after the results came out Thursday, a reprieve after tepid news from other newly public Internet companies - namely Facebook and Zynga. LinkedIn, which went public more than a year ago, is among the best-performing of the newly traded companies, with its stock trading at more than twice the level of its IPO price at a time when Facebook is nearing half.

The results indicate that LinkedIn is playing a greater role in the employment market as millions more people look to find jobs and network online if they do have jobs. LinkedIn said it had 174 million members at the end of June, up 50 percent from a year earlier.

Most of the growth in the second quarter came from overseas as LinkedIn continued to expand outside of the US LinkedIn gets more than two-thirds of its revenue from fees it charges companies, recruiting services and anyone who wants broader access to the profiles and other data on its site. The rest comes from advertising.

LinkedIn, like Facebook, is at the beginning stages of making money from its mobile applications. CEO Jeff Weiner said in a conference call with analysts that LinkedIn launched its first mobile ad test at the end of June, when large corporations such as Shell started running advertisements on LinkedIn’s iPad application. He called the early signs “positive.”

LinkedIn Corp. earned $2.8 million, or 3 cents per share, in the second quarter. That’s down 38 percent from $4.5 million, or 4 cents per share, a year earlier.

Adjusted earnings, which exclude stock compensation expenses and

other items, were $18.1 million, or 16 cents per share, matching analysts’ expectations. Last year, LinkedIn had adjusted earnings of $10.8 million, or 10 cents per share.

Revenue increased 89 percent to $228 million, from $121 million.

Analysts had expected lower revenue of $216 million, according to FactSet. LinkedIn, which is based in Mountain View, Calif., continued to invest in its business during the quarter, hiring 414 employees to bring the total to more than 2,800 worldwide. Overall, marketing, development and other expenses increased 93 percent to $215 million, from $111 million a year earlier.

For the current quarter, LinkedIn said it expects revenue of $235 million to $240 million. Analysts were expecting $236 million. The company raised its full-year guidance. It now expects revenue of $915 million to $925 million, up from the prior range of $880 million to $900 million. Analysts had expected $907 million.

LinkedIn’s stock climbed $6.84 to $100.35 in after-hours trading. The stock had closed down $2.13, or 2.2 percent, to $93.51.

By contrast, Facebook’s stock fell below $20 on Thursday for the first time since going public in mid-May, when the stock priced at $38. It closed at $20.04. Unlike LinkedIn, Facebook disappointed investors with its first earnings report as a public company last week, and the stock has been falling since.

Zynga, the online game maker, has had its stock battered by investors in recent months. Its shares are down 73 percent from their $10 IPO price amid worries about its ability to keep growing revenue from its games, which are played mostly on Facebook.

Meanwhile, Yelp Inc., the online reviews site, has been another bright spot. Its revenue grew 67 percent in the latest quarter, to $32.7 million, surpassing Wall Street’s expectations. Its stock closed nearly 17 percent higher on Thursday, at $22. That’s up nearly 47 percent from its March IPO price of $15. — AP

26

SUNDAY, AUGUST 5, 2012

BUSINESS

Toyota reclaims top spot as world’s largest automaker KUWAIT: Toyota has pushed ahead of General Motors and Volkswagen as the world’s largest automaker in the first half of 2012. According to a new Bloomberg report, the 4.9 million units sold by the Japanese automaker in the first six months of 2012 represents an impressive 34-percent jump. Toyota’s sales beat out GM by 300,000 units and VW by 520,000.

Still, The General’s sales were up 2.9 percent to 4.67 million vehicles sold, while Volkswagen moved 4.45 units, an 8.9 percent increase. While Toyota has enjoyed success in its top markets, North America and Japan, GM and VW have struggled with the economic crisis in Europe.

Mubarak Al-Sayer CEO MNSS confirmed: “The Japanese automaker was

able to accomplish this even in the wake of the disastrous tsunami in its home market and flooding that occurred in Thailand, this increase in sales came to confirm that consumer confidence in Toyota Brand is intact.

The Department of Transportation released results from an unprecedented ten-month study of potential electronics-based causes for unintended acceleration in Toyota vehicles.

NHTSA launched the study at the request of USA Congress, and enlisted National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) engineers with expertise in areas such as computercontrolled electronic systems, electromagnetic interference, and software integrity to conduct the research into whether electronics systems or electro-

magnetic interference played a role in alleged incidents of unintended acceleration, the NHTSA report on Toyota unintended acceleration investigation came out in March 2010, NHTSA enlisted the support of NASA in analyzing the Toyota

electronic throttle control (ETC) system to determine whether it contained any vulnerabilities that might realistically be expected to produce unintended acceleration (UA) in a consumer’s use of

those vehicles. NASA did not find an electronic cause of large throttle openings that can result in UA incidents.

NHTSA did not find a vehicle-based cause of those incidents in addition to those causes already addressed by Toyota recalls of about 10 million units from around the world.

The outcome of NASA’s report coincided Bloomberg report of Toyota sales rebound to reclaim spot as world’s largest automaker, along with the report of JD Powers, which in turn announced Lexus brand at first place on quality assurance among luxury cars, and identified Toyota brand 1st among non-luxury cars.

We at MNSS Al-Sayer continue with our expansion plans to provide services that comply with TMC’s international

Samsung launches new range of printers in Kuwait

ABK’s offer on Avis

Small and medium sized businesses to benefit KUWAIT: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd, a global leader in digital media and digital convergence technologies, today announced their newSamsung CLP-415 and CLX-4195 seriesA4 color laser printers. The printers are designed to helpsmall offices, home offices (SOHO) and small and medium sized businesses (SMBs) streamline their workflow and increase their printing productivity.

The Samsung CLP-415 and CLX-4195 series

printers are the new fleet of powerfulcolor laser printers that not only offer a compact and ergonomic design but also superior color quality. Both printers provide built-in network and user-friendly printing solutionsfor budgetminded SOHO/SMBs. The Samsung CLX-4195 is a multi-functional laserprinter seriesthat streamlines workflow and helps ensures that the office print operation is working efficiently.

With print, copy, scan and fax functionality, the

CLX-4195 offers flexibility and lets users work with minimal barriers. A host of innovative features such as ID Copy, N-up copy, Scan-to-email and the convenient PC fax functionality help ensure that a workforce has the necessary functionality needed to thrive in the modern world of business.

Raj Varma, General Manager - IT Sales Group at Samsung Gulf Electronics said, “Samsung recognizes the unique needs of SOHOs and SMBs in the Gulf and is committed to providing the most cost-efficient, versatile and eco-friendly printing solutions in the market. The CLP-415

and CLX-4195 series A4 color laser printers do just that, giving businesses the opportunity to work smarter in any environment by better managing, monitoring and improving their printing operations.”

Effective cost control with easy eco driver Cost is an important aspect in SMBs, and with Samsung’s Easy Eco Driver enterprises can effectively manage printing options and save overall total cost of ownership (TCO) by disabling unnecessary text, images or space prior to printing. The Eco-simulator within the driver

allows customers to set up their preference and shows how much toner, electricity and paper have been saved in real-time, depending on the settings of the user. In addition, the one touch Eco-button instantly activates previously set Eco-printing function.

Compact and ergonomic design Through the convergence of technology and design, Samsung Printers are now more compact and lighter than existing models in the market, leaving maximum office space for other purposes. The Samsung Design Team created a new compact design by separating the interface and storage zone of a printer, providing a cleaner compact look and ergonomic characteristics. Apart from the external aspects on the CLX-4195 series, the user interface (UI) has also been renewed by implementing a 4.3-inch touch screen display.

Print from any device Samsung Easy Mobile Print enables printing and scanning from any mobile device with Samsung’s network / wireless printers. Users are able to print images, PDFs, web-pages, office documents. The Samsung MobilePrint application can be easily downloaded to the users’ smartphone or tablet. The application supports Android, Windows and iOS smartphones.

Exceptional color quality Both printers are equipped with Samsung’s most up-to-date color printing technology, Rendering Engine for Clean Pages (ReCP), which improves the overall quality and vibrancy of printing and ensures that every printout looks flawless. It automatically sharpens the focus of both graphics and text, while solid objects are overlapped to eliminate white gaps.

Gulf Express Co & Total Marketing launch Total branded car wash KUWAIT: To strengthen TOTAL Lubricants’ retail presence, Gulf Express Co. (an Al-Babtain Group of Co.) & TOTAL Marketing Middle East, have launched the TOTAL branded Car Wash at strategic location in collaboration with Car Service Co. in the auspicious presence of Al-Babtain - Group Business Development Manager Al-Babtain Group, Philippe Cabus, Managing Director - Total Marketing Middle East FZE, and Suwailem Al-Rashidi, owner and GM Car Service Co., in addition to Management teams of Al-Babtain Group & Total Marketing Middle East.

Al-Babtain emphasized that “being close to our customers has been a core principal to our operations and we take pride in being one of fastest growing lubricant brands in Kuwait in a very short

time. These strategically located service centers provide the customers an ideal solution for their

automobile service requirements”. “ TOTAL Rapid Oil Change

(ROC) is a highly professional concept developed by TOTAL globally and with its highly popu-

lar concept of 16-Point Check Up we try to serve the customers in the best possible manner” stated

Philippe Cabus.

TOTAL branded car wash stands for a warm welcoming team, professional services, trust and a selection of high quality TOTAL lubricants.

Al-Babtain Group is committed to improve service center standards in Kuwait over the next few years and by tying up with reputed and like-minded partners, TOTAL branded car wash should become the preferred destination for customers seeking professional solutions for their service requirements.

Suwailem Al-Rashidi added that Car Service Co. launched the “Total branded car wash” specially designed to provide all customers with the best oil change and maintenance services in addition to a comprehensive car cleaning service (interior and exterior).

standards for Toyota and Lexus brands to insure that the needs of our customers are me as we put their satisfaction at the top of our priorities. “ TMC expects to reach a profit of nine billion six hundred million Euros in the fiscal 2012 & 2013, TMC’s large markets in the United States and China has flourished, especially after the company has created new designs to attract customers. Declared last week that sales in the United States rose by 11.6 percent during the month of April compared with April 2011”.

Toyota previously took the top spot as the largest global automaker from GM back in 2008 amidst the American financial crisis, but General Motors reclaimed that title in the wake of Japan’s natural disasters.

Bader Al-Turkait

KUWAIT: In cooperation with Visa, Al-Ahli Bank of Kuwait is offering its customers exclusive benefits and special discounts when renting cars from Avis by using their ABK Emirates Visa Gold and Platinum credit cards.

Bader Al-Turkait, Assistant General Manger of the Retail Banking Division commented “ABK is extremely pleased to offer such value added benefits, through our partnership with Visa, where your ABK Emirates Gold and Platinum Visa credit cards give you access to one of the world’s largest car rental companies. Avis is offering our cardholders a complimentary Avis Preferred membership along with competitive and discounted rates of up to 20 percent on a wide variety of cars.”

So travel, spend and be rewarded with you ABK Visa Credit Cards.

Burgan Bank offer cardholders 12 chances to win iPad 3, Galaxy SIII every month KUWAIT: Burgan Bank announced today that it is offering its cardholders the chance to win an iPad3 and Samsung Galaxy SIII every month.

Each KD10 spent in Kuwait online or in stores using Burgan Bank cards will grant the card holder one chance.

Customers using their cards outside Kuwait, will double their chances to entering the monthly draws. The draw will be carried out at the beginning of each month and the winners will be con-

tacted to receive their prize.

Burgan Bank’s latest promotion is inline with its overall commitment to provide its customers with exclusive benefits that go beyond their banking needs. To find out more about Burgan Bank’s services as well as its latest promotions, customers are required to visit their nearest Burgan Bank branch or contact the call center on 1804080. For more information, customers can log on to the bank’s website on www.burgan.com.

Premium design LG Optimus l7 arrives to Kuwait KUWAIT: LG Electronics (LG) has recently announced that the LG Optimus L7, part of LG’s L-Series lineup of Android smart phones is already available in Kuwait.

This new LG smartphone will conquer everyone due to its unique modern square style and cutting edge technology.

Sporting a premium design that’s comfortable and efficient, with a weight of only 122 grams, LG Optimus L7 has one of the largest-in-class 4.3-inch wide display that allows users to see text in full-size for readability. What differentiates this smart phone is the efficient Smart 1700mAH battery with the Smart Power feature that automatically manages power consumption based on how much battery life is left allowing users to enjoy 708.3 hours, more than 29 days of battery in stand-by time, and 11.1 hours in talk time.

To be up-to date with the latest technological advancements, users will also get to explore the Ice Cream Sandwich Android OS on the Optimus L7, with a smarter and faster ICS OS, they can enjoy the intuitive user interface and advanced multi-tasking capabilities. The Optimus L7 also comes equipped with an advanced six-tenth of a second autofocus camera and a 5MP lens allowing users to capture precious scenes more accurately, whenever and wherever they may be. Additionally, has an internal memory of 2.7 GB and on the other hand it supports for microSD card to 32 GB allowing users to record movies and take pictures every time they want.

As part of the L-Series, The LG Optimus L7 offers timeless style without sacrificing any features or functionality. It has a sleek and slim design that includes both an exquisite style and a comfortable grip which makes it easier to slip into bags or pockets for maximum portability. At 8.7mm, the LG Optimus L7

embodies the design-focused L-Style philosophy with an elegant look accentuated by metallic-decorated edges, a seamless key arrangement and the expansive 4.3-inch wide display providing optimal readability and view ability for a superb user experience.

“For consumers desiring high-end style and sophistication in a smartphone, LG Optimus L7 offers beauty and performance in one smart package,” said D.Y Kim, President of LG Electronics Gulf FZE. “The L7 is a significant addition to our LSeries portfolio and we are confident that it’ll prove highly attractive to users.

We expect it to be one of our most popular smartphones.”

Fund manager: Investors would be wise to go slowly BOSTON: In an era when high-frequency traders exploit split-second stock price movements, Don Taylor sounds like a throwback to a different time. The manager of the highly rated Franklin Rising Dividends mutual fund talks about stock-picking almost like someone evaluating a potential spouse.

“We’re trying to find good companies, and sticking with them,” Taylor says, “unless they get too expensive.”

Taylor’s fund (FRDPX) exemplifies the patient approach to investing that most believe wins out over frequent trading.

He cites Becton Dickinson, a medical device maker added to his stock portfolio in 1996, shortly after he began managing Franklin Rising Dividends. That stock has remained in the fund ever since and frequently has been among the top holdings. So has discount retailer Family Dollar, a stock inherited from his predecessor.

Both have appreciated sharply during Taylor’s tenure, but the biggest pay-

back has come from dividend increases.

Becton Dickinson’s annual payout is $1.80 a share, compared with 23 cents when Taylor bought the stock. The company has increased its dividend 40 consecutive years, thanks to steady demand for its surgical tools, syringes and other medical devices. Around $74 now, the stock has nearly quadrupled since Taylor bought it.

Few of the fund’s stock picks have worked out that well, but it’s hard to argue with the results at Franklin Rising Dividends, which Taylor runs with three co-managers. Had someone invested $10,000 at the fund’s inception in 1987, they would have ended up with $83,797 through June of this year. The fund has a 4-star rating based on its record, and Morningstar analysts give it a bronze-medal rating based on their assessment of future prospects.

The appeal of dividend income hasn’t been lost on investors in an era of ultra-low yields for many bond invest-

ments. Mutual funds specializing in dividend-paying stocks have been consistently attracting new cash, while money has been pulled out of other stock fund categories. Franklin Rising Dividends attracted about $2 billion in net deposits last year, and has grown to $7.9 million in assets.

But it’s not a given that dividendpaying stocks will keep on delivering.

Companies can cut or eliminate dividends, as many banks did in 2009 to conserve cash coming out of the financial crisis. And many investors focus too much on a stock’s current dividend yield, which doesn’t indicate whether a company will be able to maintain that level of payout long-term.

In a recent interview, Taylor discussed how he selects stocks, and offered insights about dividend investing. Here are excerpts:

A: We run stocks through five screens. For starters, they must have increased their dividend payments in eight of the past 10 years, and note made any dividend cuts during that time. And overall, they must have doubled their dividend over those 10 years.

On average, the companies in the fund’s current portfolio have increased their dividends 29 years in a row. The vast majority of them kept on increasing dividends through the financial crisis.

Q: How does your fund narrow it list of potential stocks to buy?

Q: It’s relatively easy to select stocks with high dividend yields (the

Q: Becton Dickinson has been a strong performer for your fund the past 16 years. But you must have had doubts about the stock at some point. What’s kept you in?

A: I don’t recall the market ever getting particularly excited about the stock.

But this company just grinds away, and it works. It doesn’t have to be spectacular.

amount of the annual dividend, divided by the share price). But it’s another matter to find stocks that are likely to continue increasing their dividends. How do you go about that?

A: Think about what the yield on the stock is going to be five, 10 or 15 years from now, based on today’s price. I spend lots of time focusing on the characteristics of a business, and whether it can consistently and predictably grow, and therefore enable the dividend to grow. If it can, it will work. The stock may languish in any given year. But I’m not focused on beating a benchmark on a quarterly basis, as long as the underlying growth prospects are there. I want the dividend growth to come from a company’s business growing, not simply from a payout ratio increase.

Q: Technology companies have become the second most-generous dividend-paying industry group in the S&P 500, and now even Apple is

going to pay a dividend. Do you see lots of opportunity in tech stocks?

A: We’re starting to get a few companies with rising dividend records, and IBM is one of our biggest holdings. (It was second-largest at the end of June, behind Chevron). Still, most of the tech companies that meet our requirement for consistent dividend increases are in industries that are too cyclical, or they have some other issues that I’m not particularly comfortable with. So we don’t own a lot of tech stocks.

Q: For income-oriented investors, what’s a better option now: dividend stocks or bonds?

A: With bond yields so low, investors are looking to the stock market to provide yield. If a company has a very safe dividend - which is what you want if you’re looking for income from stocks rather than from the bond market there is a good chance that dividend will grow. —AP

SUNDAY, AUGUST 5, 2012

TECHNOLOGY

At half-price, Facebook still faces doubts WASHINGTON: Facebook shares have lost nearly half their value since a highly-touted public offering in May, but it’s still not a bargain for some.

Facebook in the past week dropped below $20 a share for the first time since its $38 offering price in May. On Friday, the stock rebounded five percent to $21.09 but remains down a hefty 44.5 percent.

There is some fear that shares could take another hit in mid-August after the expiration of a “lockup”, a 90-day period after the IPO during which insiders are barred from selling.

Michael Comeau of the financial website Minyanville says 268 million shares could come onto the market, in addition to the 460 million that are already floated. And more will become available later this year. “I’m fixated on the 268 million shares that hit in two weeks,” he said. “Will there be enough buyers to satisfy the new supply?” Comeau said analyst full-year earnings estimates on Facebook “are actually coming down” from 51 cents per share to 49 cents. “Declining earnings estimates

are usually a negative indicator for momentum stocks,” he added.

Facebook underwhelmed the market in July when it reported its first earnings as a public company, barely meeting estimates for earnings per share and delivering disappointing revenue growth. The results showed growth for Facebook in overall revenue, operating profits and the number of users - which increased to 955 million by the end of the quarter. But the company indicated in a regulatory filing that as many as 83 million accounts may come from dubious sources - duplicate accounts, pages for pets and those designed to send spam.

Trip Chowdhry at Global Equities Research, who has consistently said Facebook was overpriced, said the company may be a victim of its own success.

“Everybody’s on Facebook. Your parents are on Facebook. Your neighbors are on Facebook,” he said. “So what do people do? They create fake IDs or they go hang out somewhere else. People are

Laptops, tablets and their heat problems BERLIN: The summer’s excess heat isn’t just tough on people. When it hits 30 degrees in the shade, computers can struggle too. Most modern computers come with some kind of safeguards against heat. But that doesn’t mean some extra steps can’t be taken to protect them: not least of all making sure they have enough fresh air.

When temperatures skyrocket, computers might start slowing down. In extreme cases, they might even suffer damage, warns Stephan Scheuer of TUV Rheinland, an agency that rates consumer products. “If the ambient temperatures goes up by 10 degrees for an extended period, then the life expectancy of a computer can half,” says Scheuer.

Short-term temperature spikes don’t have such a dramatic effect, but can still have long-term conse quences. That’s why users should always be on the lookout for signs that a computer is suffering from heat stress. Keep an eye out for lowered performance. Even a ventilation fan that goes on for no apparent reason can be a reason for suspicion. You’re more likely to notice high temperatures in a laptop on the underside,” says Scheuer. As a test, he recommends putting the laptop on one’s lap. If the heat grows unbearable within 30 seconds, then the computer needs a break.

Still, it’s unusual for a computer to crash due to excess heat these days.

Most will shut themselves down as a precaution before it gets that far. “If you’ve had the device at the lake in the sunshine and then try to turn it on, it can be that it won’t start up,” says Juergen Ripperger of VDE, the Association for Electrical, Electronic & Information Technology in Germany.

Some models will also warn about heat problems before an automatic shutdown. But one should not rely on these safeguards, warns Ripperger. If the computer has been overhauled or the battery replaced, some temperature controls might not work anymore. “I would not rule out the danger of fire here,” he says.

Ripperger recommends reading the warning notes in the manual.

Here, users will find how high surrounding temperatures can be.

Otherwise, users just have to be careful about how they go about operating the machine. “The important thing is that warm air can be cleared without hindrance.” That means the computer can’t be set up on a pillow or a blanket, and that the ventilation exits cannot be blocked. Be sure to keep clear the vents on the back or side and ensure that the machine has some space around it. “At least 20 centimetres to the wall,” recommends Scheuer.

You can provide fresh air with a small fan. And be sure to give the computer regular short breaks during the summer and avoid doing demanding jobs like video editing or graphics rendering for long periods. Just like notebooks, tablets can be sensitive to sunshine and heat. These touchscreen devices don’t rely on vents and fans for cooling. That means less annoying noise and that they can be set upon a blanket while working. However, they get away with this by giving off heat via their exterior hull. “In borderline situations, that can become very noticeable,” says Christian Just, an editor with German computer magazine Computer Bild. “But it doesn’t usually become uncomfortable, unless it’s right on the bare skin, if you’re wearing shorts, for example.”

High temperatures can be especially noticeable in models with metallic housing, which conduct heat better than plastic. Demanding games can create such borderline situations. Poor reception areas can also create problems, says Just. “When you’re surfing without a good UMTS network, then the transmission service spins up.” If the heat gets too much, tablets - just like notebooks - can turn themselves off. But Just says this danger is only likely if one uses the tablet in a very sunny holiday destination.

Check out programmes like CoreTemp, SpeedFan or PC Wizard if you want some help monitoring temperatures. But be aware, they only show how hot the processor is. “Other computer parts might be warmer,” warns Scheuer. After all, the processor produces a lot of heat, but is also, generally, pretty well cooled. Keep in mind, as a rule of thumb, electronics shouldn’t get warmer than 60 degrees. — dpa

reducing their engagement on Facebook.”

Chowdhry said it remains unclear if Facebook can “transcend” the current generation of users, or will be replaced by something else. Additionally, he said there is “a lot of uncertainty” about the expiration allowing insiders to sell, adding the stock is still not a bargain. “The stock is reflecting that the company can grow 80 to 90 percent year-over-year, which is impossible,” he said.

Larry Chiagouris, a professor of marketing at Pace University, said Facebook has yet to define its strategy for long-term growth and profits.

Chiagouris said founder Mark Zuckerberg’s mantra that he wants to “help every person stay connected” and “be a great social experience” is too fuzzy.

“That is not focused enough,” he told AFP. “They probably expanded too quickly without articulating their mission. From a profit-making perspective, Facebook has kind of lost its way.” Chiagouris said most important for him is that marketers are cool to expanding the use of the Facebook plat-

form. “The large marketers know exactly how many people are clicking on the ads and to what degree that is helping marketing,” he said.

“Facebook has yet to prove it is a good return on investment.”

Lou Kerner of the Social Internet Fund remains upbeat on Facebook, saying it will rebound similar to Amazon after the dot-com bubble burst over a decade ago. “The lesson I learned from the last bubble is you have to separate what the market is doing from the fundamentals of the business,” Kerner said. “And the fundamentals at Facebook continue to be positive.” One of Facebook’s problems, he said, is that it has “too many customers” especially on the mobile Internet, but that the company will find a way to leverage that massive user base”. “I think it’s turned into a ‘show me’ stock,” he said. “As soon as Facebook shows it can meaningfully monetize its mobile users I think you’ll see the shorts (short-sellers) cover and people lining up to buy.” — AFP

Seven minutes of terror await new Mars rover Anxiety over rover’s Hollywood-style landing WASHINGTON: Space missions are never easy, but what NASA plans to do on Mars early tomorrow morning is bold even by agency standards. At about 1:10 a.m., a spacecraft carrying an SUV-sized rover is scheduled to plunge 81 miles through the Martian atmosphere and execute a complex landing sequence that NASA officials have dubbed “seven minutes of terror.”

If it survives, the Curiosity rover - which cost $2.5 billion to build and launch - will investigate whether the Red Planet ever could have supported life. The plutonium-powered vehicle is equipped with everything from a robotic arm and cameras to a laser and an onboard laboratory to heat and analyze rock samples.

But even NASA officials admit the landing is a gamble. “The Curiosity landing is the hardest NASA robotic mission ever attempted in the history of exploration of Mars - or any of our robotic exploration (missions),” said John Grunsfeld, head of NASA’s science directorate. “This is risky business.” It starts when the landing craft hits the top of the Martian atmosphere at speeds approaching 13,200 mph. As the ever-thickening atmosphere slows the spacecraft’s speed during the next four minutes, the temperature of its 15-footwide heat shield will soar as high as 3,800 degrees Fahrenheit.

When its speed drops to 900 mph - about seven miles above the surface - the spacecraft will pop a 51foot-wide parachute and ditch the heat shield so instruments on its underside can guide the spacecraft closer. That’s the (relatively) simple part. Even with the parachute deployed, the landing craft still will be traveling too fast. So, with a mile to go, it will jettison the parachute and transform into a hovercraft. Eight small “retrorockets” will slow its descent to 2 mph and then at about 66 feet above the planet’s surface - it will attempt the trickiest step.

Because the retrorockets risk stirring up a dust storm - blinding the rover’s instruments - the hovercraft will use nylon cords to gently lower the rover to the surface, in what’s being called a sky-crane maneuver. The hovercraft will then fly off and eventually crash on the Martian surface. If it survives, Curiosity will come to rest at about 1:17 am Monday morning and relay word to the Mars Odyssey orbiter passing overhead. But it will be 14 long minutes before the first signal of success - or failure - reaches mission control at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California. “Is it crazy? Not so much once you get comfortable and you understand it. It’s not a crazy concept. It works,” said Doug McCuistion, director of NASA’s Mars exploration program.

Though complicated, the ulcer-inducing landing isn’t without reason. The 1-ton rover is big - about 10 feet long and 9 feet wide - too big to be encased in air bags and bounced on to the Martian surface, the technique used in 2004 to land two smaller rovers. The larger size is necessary to pack on more instruments.

“We have made great strides in the potential science we can do,” McCuistion said. Ten different instruments, from cameras to a radiation detector, will help Curiosity gather information about Mars’ environment,

specifically clues on whether it is, or ever was, favorable for microbial life.

Though the rover isn’t designed to find life itself alive or fossilized - it can test for carbon-based materials considered biologically essential for life to exist. A 7-foot robotic arm will collect soil and rock samples.

An onboard minilab will analyze the samples’ chemical makeup - including whether the material contains carbon-based compounds such as methane. “The Curiosity rover has the potential to discover the building blocks of life on Mars,” Grunsfeld said. The rover also is equipped with a laser that can zap targets up to 23 feet away, another tool to learn more about the chemistry of the Red Planet. After the laser vaporizes a rock or patch of soil, the resulting gas can be studied for clues about the chemicals inside.

To maximize their chances of finding something interesting, NASA scientists have chosen to land inside a 96-mile crater near Mars’ equator. Gale Crater, named after an Australian astronomer, is layered like a cake and can provide insight into 3 billion years of geological history. Because it’s one of the lowest points on Mars, there’s also the possibility that the water that scientists have proved once existed there may have pooled at the bottom of the crater - important because NASA’s long-standing search for extraterrestrial life revolves around the vital liquid. “Water flows

downhill, and that’s where we’re going,” said Curiosity project scientist John Grotzinger, a geology professor at the California Institute of Technology.

Powered by a nuclear battery, the rover can travel at a maximum speed of about one-tenth of a mile per hour to explore the crater and the foothills of a 3-milehigh mountain, dubbed Mount Sharp, inside it. NASA’s choice of Gale Crater was enabled by the precision afforded by its complicated descent, which is designed to drop the rover inside a landing zone roughly 12 miles by 16 miles. But there’s no guarantee of success. Of about three dozen missions sent to Mars since 1960, fewer than half have succeeded.

And Curiosity already has faced some technical challenges. It was supposed to launch from Cape Canaveral in 2009, but delays in getting key pieces forced NASA to postpone the mission until last November. Even then, not all the software was ready, and NASA had to fix issues tied to “entry, descent and landing” during the nearly nine-month trip to Mars.

More recently, trouble with the ageing Mars Odyssey satellite raised questions of whether the probe could quickly relay word on whether Curiousity had survived the landing - though NASA said that problem has been fixed. That still leaves seven minutes of terror.

“Landing on Mars is always risky,” said McCuistion, but “NASA was created to take on big challenges.” — MCT

(Left) This undated illustration provided by Boeing shows the Crew Space Transportation (CST)-100. (Center) This artist’s rendering provided by Sierra Nevada Space Systems shows the company’s Dream Chaser spacecraft docking with the International Space Station. (Right) This undated computer generated illustration provided by SpaceX shows a Dragon Crew spacecraft in Earth orbit showing solar panels in the process of deploying. — AP

Three firms share $1.1bn of NASA space taxi work WASHINGTON: NASA picked three aerospace companies Friday to build small rocketships to take astronauts to the International Space Station. This is the third phase of NASA’s efforts to get private space companies to take over the job of the now-retired space shuttle. The companies will share more than $1.1 billion. Two of the ships are capsules like in the Apollo era and the third is closer in design to the space shuttle. Once the spaceships are built, NASA plans to hire the private companies to taxi astronauts into space within five years. Until they are ready, NASA is paying Russia about $63 million per astronaut to do the job.

In a statement, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said the move “will help keep us on track to tend the outsourcing of human spaceflight”. NASA hopes that by having private firms ferry astronauts into low Earth orbit, it can focus

on larger long-term goals, like sending crews to a nearby asteroid and eventually Mars. The private companies can also make money in tourism and other non-NASA business. The three companies are the Boeing Co of Houston, Space Exploration Technologies, called SpaceX, of Hawthorne, California, and Sierra Nevada Corp of Louisville, Colorado.

They are quite different companies. Boeing is one of the oldest and largest space companies with a long history of building and launching rockets and working for NASA, going back to the Mercury days. SpaceX is a relatively new company started by Elon Musk, who helped create PayPal and runs the electric car company Tesla Motors. Sierra Nevada has been in the space business for 25 years but mostly on a much smaller scale than Boeing. NASA’s com-

mercial crew development program started with seven companies. The other companies that were not chosen can still build private rocketships and NASA still has the option to hire them to ferry astronauts at a later date, NASA spokesman Trent Perrotto said.

Boeing is slated to get the most money, $460 million for its seven-person CST-100 capsule. It would launch on an Atlas rocket, with the first test flight 2016. The company won’t say how much it would charge NASA per seat, but it will be “significantly lower” than the Russian price, said John Mulholland, Boeing vice president. He said Boeing’s long experience in working with NASA on human flight gives it a “leg up” on its competitors.

SpaceX is already in the lead in the private space race.

The company earlier this year used their Falcon rocket to

launch their Dragon capsule into orbit. It docked with the space station and successfully delivered cargo. NASA plans to give the company $440 million. The capsule holds seven people and will have its first test launch with people in 2015, said spokeswoman Kirstin Brost Grantham. The company will charge NASA about $20 million per seat, she said.

Sierra Nevada’s mini-shuttle crew vehicle called Dream Chaser carries seven people and could be flown without a pilot. NASA would give them $212.5 million. The ship is based on an old NASA test ship design but hasn’t flown as much as SpaceX’s Dragon. “It may appear as though we are behind but in many ways we are more mature,” said Sierra Nevada space chief Mark Sirangelo. Like Boeing’s Mulholland, he said his firm will charge NASA less than the Russians, but won’t give a specific price. — AP

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health & science

Is your problem gluten? Or faddish eating?

ATLANTA: It sounds like an unfolding epidemic: A decade ago, virtually no one in the U.S. seemed to have a problem eating gluten in bread and other foods.

Now, millions do. Gluten-free products are flying off grocery shelves, and restaurants are boasting of meals with no gluten. Celebrities on TV talk shows chat about the digestive discomfort they blame on the wheat protein they now shun. Some churches even offer glutenfree Communion wafers.

“I don’t know whether there’s more people getting this or that more people are noticing” they have a problem, said the Rev. Richard Allen, pastor at Mamaroneck United Methodist Church, north of New York City. Or is it just another food fad? Faddishness is a big part of it. Americans will spend an estimated $7 billion this year on foods labeled glutenfree, according to the market research firm Mintel. But the best estimates are that more than half the consumers buying these products - perhaps way more than half - don’t have any clear-cut reac-

tion to gluten.

They buy gluten-free because they think it will help them lose weight, or because they seem to feel better, or because they mistakenly believe they are sensitive to gluten. “We have a lot of self-diagnosing going on out there,” said Melissa Abbott, who tracks the glutenfree market for the Hartman Group, a Seattle-area market research organization. Fads aside, research suggests more people are truly getting sick from the gluten found in wheat, rye and barley, but the reasons aren’t clear.

In the most serious cases, gluten triggers celiac disease. The condition causes abdominal pain, bloating and intermittent diarrhea. Those with the ailment don’t absorb nutrients well and can suffer weight loss, fatigue, rashes and other problems. It was once considered extremely rare in the U.S. But about 20 years ago, a few scientists began exploring why celiac disease was less common here than in Europe and other countries.

They concluded that it wasn’t less com-

mon here; it was just under-diagnosed.

More recently, a research team led by the Mayo Clinic’s Dr. Joseph Murray looked at blood samples taken from Americans in the 1950s and compared them with samples taken from people today, and determined it wasn’t just better diagnosis driving up the numbers.

Celiac disease actually was increasing.

Indeed, the research confirms estimates that about 1 percent of U.S. adults have it today, making it four times more common now than it was 50 years ago, Murray and his colleagues reported Tuesday in the American Journal of Gastroenterology.

That translates to nearly 2 million Americans with celiac disease. Celiac disease is different from an allergy to wheat, which affects a much smaller number of people, mostly children who outgrow it. Scientists suggest that there may be more celiac disease today because people eat more processed wheat products like pastas and baked goods than in decades past, and those

items use types of wheat that have a higher gluten content. Gluten helps dough rise and gives baked goods structure and texture. Or it could be due to changes made to wheat, Murray said. In the 1950s, scientists began cross-breeding wheat to make hardier, shorter and better-growing plants. It was the basis of the Green Revolution that boosted wheat harvests worldwide. Norman Borlaug, the U.S. plant scientist behind many of the innovations, won the Nobel Peace Prize for his work. But the gluten in wheat may have somehow become even more troublesome for many people, Murray said.

That also may have contributed to what is now called “gluten sensitivity.”

Doctors recently developed a definition for gluten sensitivity, but it’s an ambiguous one. It’s a label for people who suffer bloating and other celiac symptoms and seem to be helped by avoiding gluten, but don’t actually have celiac disease.

Celiac disease is diagnosed with blood testing, genetic testing, or biopsies of

the small intestine.

The case for gluten sensitivity was bolstered last year by a very small but often-cited Australian study. Volunteers who had symptoms were put on a gluten-free diet or a regular diet for six weeks, and they weren’t told which one.

Those who didn’t eat gluten had fewer problems with bloating, tiredness and irregular bowel movements. Clearly, “there are patients who are gluten-sensitive,” said Dr. Sheila Crowe, a San Diegobased physician on the board of the American Gastroenterological Association.

What is hotly debated is how many people have the problem, she added. It’s impossible to know “because the definition is nebulous,” she said. One of the most widely cited estimates comes from Dr. Alessio Fasano, a University of Maryland researcher who led studies that changed the understanding of how common celiac disease is in the U.S. Fasano believes 6 percent of U.S. adults have gluten sensitivity. — AP

Solar superstorm could knock out US power grid Sun’s geomagnetic blast could cost trillions of dollars

MANILA: Members of different religious organizations display their streamers showing their opposition to the Reproductive Health Bill which is debated in Congress during a rally at the EDSA Shrine yesterday. —AP

Philippine Catholics protest proposed birth control law MANILA: Philippine nuns and priests led thousands of Catholics in a protest in Manila yesterday against a proposed law that would provide free contraceptives in a bid to curb population growth. The protesters, mainly dressed in red, gathered at a Catholic shrine to voice opposition to the planned legislation, which would also encourage families to have only two children in an effort to reduce poverty. The proposal, which is expected to face a tough time getting through parliament, has angered the influential Roman Catholic Church in the Philippines which has led opposition and called yesterday’s protest.

Dolly Cruz, a 61-year-old pensioner, attacked the proposal as “contrary to the laws of God”. ‘God gave humans the power of reason to decide what is right and what is wrong for themselves,” she said. Police estimated the crowd at about 7,000.

President Benigno Aquino has strongly backed the law, saying in a statement before the rally that in a situation where

couples “are in no position to make an informed judgment, the state has the responsibility to so provide”.

The Philippines annual birth rate has been steadily declining, but the government points out that some of the poorest regions have the highest rates. The law would use a government health insurance fund to provide birth control pills, condoms and other contraceptives for free. It would give the poor preferential access to family planning services in state hospitals, while lessons on family planning and sex education would become compulsory in schools and for couples applying for a marriage licence.

The House of Representatives, dominated by Aquino supporters, is expected to pass the bill on Tuesday after failing to do so last year. But the Senate, parliament’s upper house, must also pass the law and has come out strongly against it. Both abortion and divorce remain illegal in the predominantly Catholic Philippines. —AFP

PERU: Lita Velasquez feeds cats in the central park of Lima’s upscale seaside Miraflores district. —AP photo

Lima, Peru park is the cat’s meow for felines LIMA: It’s the cat’s meow, a corner of the central park of Lima’s upscale seaside Miraflores district. About 120 felines populate the sidewalks and grass, lounge in the trees and shelter behind the grates of at the Church of the Miraculous Virgin, where they are fed by devoted volunteers. Tourists pose for pictures with the cats, which are generally friendly and accept the caresses of strangers.

But they are not universally adored.

Local resident Mariano Lindley said the smell of cat urine and excrement can be overwhelming. “When they proliferate, they spread disease,” he said. Every once in awhile, unknown cat-haters poison their food, killing a few. And every September, when a cat-eating festival is held south of Lima in the town of Canete, volunteers pull guard duty to ensure they don’t become someone’s lunch.

“Unfortunately, we are in Peru, a place where I think we could use a little more

civilization and humanity,” said Natalie Sanchez, a member of Miraflores’ Voluntary Feline Defense Group.

The 12-member group banded together in 2000 to care for the cats and put some up for adoption. Members gather donations to sterilize the animals and treat them for parasites.

Some of the cats descend from a pair municipal authorities introduced in the late 1990s to control a rat infestation.

Others were abandoned by people tired of caring for them. After a local TV feature this week focused attention on the cat colony, a top official at Peru’s environmental health agency, Micaela Talavera, announced a commission would be created to determine whether they posed a health risk. Sanchez called the announcement an overreaction, saying the cats get constant veterinarian attention. “The cats of Miraflores’ park are part of Miraflores. — AP

WASHINGTON: U.S. weather has been lousy this year, with droughts, heat and killer storms. But a solar superstorm could be far worse. A monster blast of geomagnetic particles from the sun could destroy 300 or more of the 2,100 high-voltage transformers that are the backbone of the U.S. electric grid, according to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS). Even a few hundred destroyed transformers could disable the entire interconnected system.

There is impetus for a group of federal agencies to look for ways to prepare for such a storm this year as the sun moves into an active period called solar maximum, expected to peak in 2013. Some U.S. experts estimate as much as a 7 percent chance of a superstorm in the next decade, which seems a slight risk, but the effects would be so wideranging - akin to a major meteorite strike that it has drawn official concern. Although the likelihood of this kind of geomagnetic storm, like a big hit from a space rock, is extremely low, its impact would be great. By comparison, the probability of a large meteorite hitting Earth is at some fraction of 1 percent. Power blackouts can cause chaos, as they did briefly in India when more than 600 million people lost electricity for hours on two consecutive days in July. However, the kind of long-duration outage that might happen in the case of a massive solar storm would have more profound and costly effects.

There is disagreement on how costly the damage would be, but experts in the U.S. government and industry acknowledge it is a complex problem requiring a coordinated solution. A report by the NAS estimated that about 365 high-voltage transformers in the continental United States are at risk of failure or permanent damage requiring replacement in the event of a solar superstorm. The North American Electric Reliability Corporation, or NERC, which oversees North America’s power grid, disputed the academy’s estimate that hundreds of high-voltage transformers could be lost in a solar superstorm. In a report earlier this year, NERC said a more likely result would be voltage collapse, which would take out power but not destroy transformers. Any power outage would be less protracted in that event.

No power for a year?

The academy’s report noted that replacements for transformers might not be available for a year or more, and the cost of damage in the first year after a storm could be as high as $2 trillion. The most vulnerable areas are the eastern one-third of the country, from the Midwest to the East Coast, and the Nor thwest, as far east as Montana and Wyoming and as far south as California.The national grid was built over decades to get energy at the lowest price from where it is generated to where it is used. A solar superstorm has the capacity to bring that network

down, the academy’s report said. “Historically large storms have a potential to cause power grid blackouts and transformer damage of unprecedented proportions, long-term blackouts and lengthy restoration times, and chronic shortages for multiple years are possible,” the report said.

Richard Andres, an energy and environmental security exper t at the militar y ’s National Defense University (NDU), is helping to coordinate an interagency group to deal with the problem. The failure of the national power grid could be disastrous, he said. In a worst- case scenario, commerce would almost instantly cease, he said, noting he was speaking for himself and not the U.S. government. Water and fuel, which depend on electric pumps, would stop flowing in most cities within hours, modern communications would end and mechanized transport would stall.

Backup power would be vulnerable Backup generators for hospitals, the military and other critical facilities would be vulnerable if they depended on diesel or natural gas, which also rely on pipelines for resupply.

The academy report said more than 130 million people in the United States could be affected. Andres said the death toll could run into the millions in the worst-case scenario. A federal government expert familiar with the subject said the impact of a massive solar storm on the grid was uncertain. — Reuters

First child to receive stem cell trachea transplant doing well after two years KUWAIT: The first child stem cellsupported trachea transplant is functioning well two years on, according to a paper published in the Lancet today. The follow-up of the procedure, carried out in 2010 at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH), shows that the new organ has strengthened and does not appear to have induced any signs of rejection. The 13year-old boy continues to breathe normally, has grown 11 cm in height and has returned to school. He does not require any anti-rejection therapy.

Ciaran Finn-Lynch underwent the transplant in March 2010 at GOSH, when his own trachea was removed and replaced by a donor windpipe laced with Ciaran’s own stem cells so it would not be rejected.

The donated trachea was obtained from a deceased adult in Italy and was stripped of the donor’s cells, down to the inert collagen. Ciaran’s bone marrow stem cells were collected at GOSH, isolated at the Royal Free Hospital (RFH) and returned to GOSH the same day, where they were applied to the implanted trachea inside Ciaran’s body.

Biopsies of epithelial tissues - the lining of the organ - were taken from the patient’s removed trachea during surgery and applied as the new graft was implanted in his body, to kick-start the gradual growth of a lining in the transplanted organ.

The graft was injected with additional cytokines - proteins that stimulate cell growth - to support the growth and differentiation of cells within the new trachea. Following the transplant, Ciaran was given further cell growth-inducing compounds known as granulocyte colonystimulating factors or G-CSF. This is the first attempt to grow stem cells in vivo - within the body rather than in a laboratory - in a

child in an operation of this kind.

In another world-first, a biodegradable stent was inserted to maintain Ciaran’s airway while the cells regrew within the organ over the following six months.

The two-year follow-up shows that the graft has not triggered any immune rejection response in the patient and has formed an adequate lining. The windpipe has not yet achieved normal rigidity but, nonetheless, is allowing Ciaran to lead the life of a normal teenager. The team expects that his body ’s natural tissue repair mechanisms will continue to strengthen Ciaran’s trachea over time.

The Lancet paper calls for more research in a number of areas, to speed up the recovery of structural rigidity within transplanted tracheas and to increase the availability of tracheal scaffolds by boosting the number of organ donors and exploring the use of animal tracheas and synthetic scaffolds.

Martin Elliott, Director of the National Service for Severe Tracheal Disease in Children at GOSH, says: “The ideal outcomes for tracheal transplants in children are normal airway and lung function, good general growth, a decent quality of life, and no further surgical interventions. So far we have achieved this, but we are at the edge of medicine and, similarly to first attempts of organ transplantation in the 1950s, many challenges remain. A second child has since undergone a tracheal transplant at GOSH. Although the graft preparation and the surgery were completed successfully, the child sadly passed away at a later date.”

Martin Birchall, Professor of Laryngology, UCL Ear Institute, says: “Since the treatment plan for Ciaran was devised in an emergency, we used a novel mix of techniques that have proved

successful in treating other conditions. To minimise delays, we bypassed the usual process of growing cells in the laboratory over a period of weeks, and instead opted to grow the cells inside the body, in a similar manner to treatments currently being trialled with patients who have had heart attacks. We need more research on stem cells grown deliberately inside the body, rather than grown first in a laboratory over a long time. This research should help to convert one-off successes such as this into more widely available clinical treatments for thousands of children with severe tracheal problems worldwide.”

Paolo De Coppi, GOSHCC Clinical Senior Lecturer at the UCL Institute of Child Health, says: “For the moment we are limited to engineering relatively simple organs and tissues; it will take longer for us to find ways of fully replacing the body’s more complex organs, such as the heart or the intestine. However, we continue to make advances, such as our recent discovery that stem cells found in the amniotic fluid surrounding the foetus show

A photo shows Ciaran FinnLynch smiling.

good potential for tissue engineering. These cells could one day be used to grow more complex organs which are made up of different types of tissue.”

Ciaran’s transplant team was led by Professor Martin Elliott of Great Ormond Street Hospital, and comprised Professor Paolo Macchiarini, now at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Professor Martin Birchall, Professor of Laryngology, University College London, Dr Mark Lowdell, Royal Free Hospital, and Dr Paolo De Coppi of Great Ormond Street Hospital.

Ciaran’s story On the day he was born, Ciaran’s lungs collapsed and he was rushed to Great Ormond Street Hospital, where he was diagnosed with long segment tracheal stenosis, a condition which leaves sufferers with a very narrow windpipe and difficulties breathing.

At six days old, Ciaran underwent major surgery to reconstruct his airways, remaining in intensive care for a further four months. When Ciaran was twoand-a-half, a metal stent used to hold his airway open eroded into his aorta, causing airway bleeding. He underwent more surgery to replace the damaged part of his trachea with part of a donor trachea, and was finally able to leave hospital after eight months.

In November 2009 a metal stent began to erode into Ciaran’s aorta, again causing a severe bleed. In March 2010 he underwent the pioneering transplant, just four weeks after a donor trachea was found in Italy. The donor organ was combined with Ciaran’s own stem cells at the Royal Free Hospital, and couriered to Great Ormond Street Hospital. This procedure was Ciaran’s only option, and was the first to be performed in a child.

H E A LT H & S C I E NC E

SUNDAY, AUGUST 5, 2012

Dogs are both delicacy and man’s best friend in Vietnam HANOI: At a packed Hanoi restaurant, one of Vietnam’s growing ranks of proud pooch owners tucks into a traditional delicacy to mark the end of the lunar month-a plate of juicy dog. Canine meat has long been on the menu in Vietnam.

But now a growing love of the fourlegged friends means that one man’s pet can be another’s dog sausage quite literally as far as dog bandits are concerned. “We never kill our own dogs for their meat. Here I’m eating in a restaurant so I don’t care which dogs they killed or how,” Pham Dang Tien, 53, said as he chewed contentedly on a plate of boiled dog.

Dog meat is good for health and virility, believes Tien, who sees no contradiction between these monthly meat binges and owning a dog-his family have had a string of beloved pet pooches over the course of 20 years. For many older Vietnamese, dogs are an essential part of traditional Vietnamese cuisine that can coexist with pet ownership. Those dogs that end up on the dinner table are traditionally beaten to death.

When times were hard after the Vietnam War, local authorities in big cities strictly limited pet ownership. But as the popularity of keeping animals at home rises along with the economy and living standards, more young people feel like 16-year-old Nguyen Anh Hong. “I just don’t understand how people can eat dogs-they are lovely pets,” she said. The love affair has a dark side-growing ranks of thieves go from small town to small town in rural areas of Vietnam stealing pets to sell to dog meat restaurants. Although the value of the thefts-dog meat fetches around six dollars per kilo-is too low to concern the Vietnamese police, the loss of a treasured pet to the cooking pot means emotions run high.

From food to fashion Dog-theft related mob violence has spiralled over the last few years. In June,

a man was beaten to death after hundreds of villagers caught him red-handed trying to steal a family dog in Nghe An province, the VNExpress news site reported, triggering an outpouring of public support for the mob. “It’s not right to beat a man to death but anyone in this situation would do the same,” one reader, who lost a pet to the bandits, wrote on the site. In Hanoi’s Reunification Park, hundreds of people now walk their pet dogs every day, showcasing the range of exotic foreign breeds-Chihuahuas and Huskies are particularly popular-favoured by Hanoibased pet-owners.

“In Vietnam now, raising pet dogs has become fashionable,” said Cu Anh Tu, a 20-year-old university student and dog owner. “ The young generation now seems to love animals very much,” he added. In the countryside, local mongrels are kept as pets or guard dogs. It is these, more nondescript, animals which are most vulnerable to the dog bandits.

Most of the dogs served in Hoang Giang’s restaurant are local breeds raised specifically to be eaten-but as local dogs are also kept as pets in the countryside, it is hard to know which animals are stolen, and which are farmed. While exotic pet dogs are found only in cities, “in the countryside people will continue to see dogs as meat,” he said.

Towards a ‘pet loving’ culture Typically, Vietnamese “eat dog meat at the end of the lunar month to get rid of bad luck. That’s what business people often do”, said 30-year-old Giang, a specialist dog meat chef. As he prepared a plate of canine meat in the kitchen of his busy restaurant, Giang told AFP that his small establishment served up to seven dogs a day at that time of the monthand business is reliably solid. Dog is served in a range of ways-from boiled to barbecued-often with shrimp sauce, rice noodles and fresh herbs, he said.

For Nguyen Bao Sinh, a luxury kennel owner in Hanoi, Vietnam needs to move

away from its traditional love of canine meat and learn from other pet-loving cultures.” They (Westerners) love dogs in this life. That viewpoint is very good...

We should love dogs here and now in this life. We should not kill them or beat them barbarously,” he said. Sinh, who run’s Hanoi’s only luxury kennel and grooming parlour for pets, said he has seen a rise in the number of pet-mad Vietnamese.

His establishment offers “hotel rooms” for pets whose owners go away on business or holidays-and even has a cemetery for dogs and cats, where hundreds of pets are buried, and monks perform blessings every year. “It would be better if the state had a law banning the eating of dog meat,” Sinh said. “However, we should not discriminate or look down upon those eating dog meat,” he told AFP, adding that the key was to gradually convince the public to respect and love animals.—AFP

HANOI: Nguyen Bao Sinh, owner of Hanoi’s first private five-storey all-service hotel for pets, holding a dog in a luxury room for pets inside the compound of his pet hotel.

HANOI: Dogs waiting to be slaughtered for meat at a dog slaughterhouse.

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SUNDAY, AUGUST 5, 2012

WHAT’S ON Greetings

appy birthday to Mohd Mamun who celebrates his 27th birthday on 4-82012. We wish you good health and happiness throughout your life. May Allah bless you, best wishes from father, mother, brother, sister, wife, relatives and friends in Bangladesh and Kuwait.

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Attention Kids!

EF VBS 12 starting from Aug 24th 2012. Six Exciting days of singing, games & bible stories for children of all ages. HURRY!!!. Limited Seats. Register Online www.cefkuwait.org

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ormer MP Mohammad Al-Sagr hosted a reception recently on the occasion of the holy month of Ramadan. The event was attended by several diplomats and other dignitaries.

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—Photos by Fouad Al-Shaikh

Competitions in Patriotic songs ndo-Kuwait Friendship Society, Kuwait (www.indokuwaitfriendshipsociety.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 09:30 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

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Register and Win promotion at Q8India.com ity Centre, Kuwait’s premier mega-market, in association with Q8India.com, a leading online Indian community portal, is holding a month-long ‘Register and Win’ promotion campaign. Any resident in Kuwait can participate in the promotion by visiting www.Q8India.com and registering their name, email and phone number. A winner will be picked each day (except Friday), from the list of names registered on the previous day, and receive a free shopping voucher worth KD10 from City Centre.

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Write to us Send to What’s On upcoming events, birthdays or celebrations by email: local@kuwaittimes.net Fax: 24835619 / 20

‘Leniency of Islam’ An unprecedented initiative of KTV2 (English channel) is the new program by the name ‘Leniency of Islam’ presented by Shaikh Musaad Alsane and directed by Hamid AlTurkait. The program is mainly meant to address the expatriates living in Kuwait. Religious questions are received through the program email qislam@tv.gov.kw and sms can be sent to- 97822021 and answered by the lecturer and Imam in Awqaf Ministry Shaikh Musaad Alsane - a Master Degree holder in Sharia and fiqih from Kuwait University.

So don’t forget to watch the program every Friday at 1:00 pm.

Registration for Ramadan STARS Squash Tournament begins Once again this year, the stage is set for the fourth annual ‘Ramadan STARS Squash Tournament’ to be held from August 3 to 9 at the Kazma Sporting Club, Adailiya.

Abdulrahim Al-Awadi, the Chairman of the Higher Organizing Committee has announced that doors are now open for registration to all those who are interested in participating, stating that the deadline for registration will be August 1. The participation in this tournament is open to all and will fall under three categories this year. The first category is for amateurs from ages 17 and above, second category is for professional players from ages 20 and above and

the third category is for ladies 17 and above. Following its last three years of grand success, the 4th annual Ramadan STARS Squash Tournament is being organized during Ramadan for squash lovers who will have an opportunity to practice the sport while being encouraged to develop their skills in a healthy, competitive and social environment. All details pertaining to the tournament and means to participate can be found on the tournaments facebook page under ‘Ramadan Stars Squash Tourney’ or follow the official twitter page @RamadanStars for updates. The registration is taking place at GO SPORT store located at The Avenues Mall. Alawadi also pointed out the great interest the ‘Ramadan Stars Squash tournament’ received from the private sector, where companies took the initiative in sponsoring the tournament. Alawadi expressed his gratitude and thanks to Kazma Sporting Clun, Go Sport, Comtel, Vio, Unite Colors and Alawadi Photography guaranteeing unique prizes for all winners.

Aware Center Ramadan Diwaniya “The AWARE Center cordially invites you to its third Ramadan diwaniya presentation entitled, “The Fascinating and Delicious World of Dates,” by Claudia AlRashoud on Tuesday August 7th, 2012.

One of nature’s most perfect foods, the date holds a special place in the history, hearts, and homes of Kuwaitis.

Dates were once a vital source of sustenance for desert travelers and a staple commodity of Kuwait’s seafaring

trade. Today, the date is still one of the most important cash crops in the region, with between 600 to 700 varieties grown.

Of all the traditional foods eaten during Ramadan, nutritious and delicious dates undoubtedly have the most benefits for those who are fasting. With this Ramadan coinciding with the local date harvest, now is the time to enjoy them, whether you are fasting or not.

Join local photojournalist Claudia Farkas Al Rashoud for a diwanniya presentation that will immerse you in the fascinating world of dates on August 7th, 2012 at 8:00pm at the AWARE Center premises where you will learn about dates in local tradition, culture, cooking, and agriculture, and sample some of the different types of these healthy fruits of the desert.

Originally from California, Claudia Farkas Al Rashoud has enjoyed working as an author and photojournalist in Kuwait since 1979. She was the first female reporter/photographer for the Arab Times newspaper, and her photographs and in-depth feature articles continue to be published in this local daily as well as in many international publications. She has written a number of books, with photographs, about Kuwait which include Kuwait Before and After the Storm, Kuwait’s Age of Sail, Kuwait Kaleidoscope, Dame Violet Dickson (also available in Arabic), and a children’s book about Kuwait’s desert environment and the animals that live in it called What the Camels Said to Santa.

For more information, please call 25335260/80 or log onto: www.aware.com.kw

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SUNDAY, AUGUST 5, 2012

WHAT’S ON

Embassy Information EMBASSY OF AUSTRALIA The Australian Embassy Kuwait does not have a visa or immigration department. All processing of visas and immigration matters in conducted by The Australian ConsulateGeneral in Dubai. Email: info.ausdxb@vfshelpline.com (VFS) immigration.dubai@dfat.gov.au (Visa Office); Tel: +971 4 355 1958 (VFS) - +971 4 508 7200 (Visa Office); Fax: +971 4 355 0708 (Visa Office). In Kuwait applications can be lodged at the Australian Visa Application Centre 4B 1st Floor, Al-Banwan Building Al-Qibla Area, Ali Al-Salem Street, opposite the Central Bank of Kuwait, Kuwait City, Kuwait. Working hours and days: 09:30 - 17:30; Sunday - Thursday. Or visit their website www.vfs-au-gcc-com for more information. Kuwait citizens can apply for tourist visas on-line at www.immi.gov.au/e visa/e676.htm ■■■■■■■

EMBASSY OF ARGENTINE

The Embassy of Argentina requests all Argentinean citizens in Kuwait to proceed to our official email ekuwa@mrecic.gov.ar in order to register or update contact information.

The embassy encourages all citizens to do so, including the ones who have already registered in person at the embassy. The registration process helps the Argentinean Government to contact and assist Argentineans living abroad in case of any emergency.

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EMBASSY OF BANGLADESH

The Embassy of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh in Kuwait will follow the following office hours during the holy month of Ramadan. Sunday to Thursday: 9 am - 3:30 pm. Friday and Saturday: Weekly holidays.

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EMBASSY OF BRITAIN

he Kuwait Society of Engineers hosted a reception recently on the occasion of the holy month of Ramadan. The event was hosted at the society’s building in Kuwait City, and attended by society members as well as guests including former Minister of Electricity and Water Badr Al-Shuraian, and MP Naji Al-Abdulhadi. —Photos by Fouad Al-Shaikh

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Consular section at the British Embassy will be starting an online appointment booking system for our consular customers from Sunday, 01 July 2012. All information including how to make an appointment is now available on the embassy website. In addition, there is also a “Consular Appointment System” option under Quick links on the right hand side on the homepage, which should take you to the “Consular online booking appointment system” main page.

Please be aware that from 01 July 2012, we will no longer accept walk-in customers for legalisation, notarial services and certificates (birth, death and marriages). If you have problems accessing the system or need to make an appointment for non-notarial consular issues or have a consular emergency, please call 2259 4355/7/8 or email us on consularenquirieskuwait@fco.gov.uk. If you require consular assistance out of office hours (working hours: 0730-l430 hrs), please contact the Embassy on 2259 4320.

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EMBASSY OF INDIA During the holy month of Ramadan, the office timings of the Indian Passport and Visa Service Centres of BLS International Visa Services Co, Kuwait, situated at (i) Emad Commercial Centre, Basement Floor, Ahmed Al Jaber Street, Sharq, Kuwait, and (ii) Mujamma Unood, 4th floor, Office No. 25-26 Makka Street, Fahaheel, Kuwait, will be from 8.00 am - 3.00 pm from Saturday to Thursday (i.e. six days a week). Tokens for submission of applications will NOT be issued after 2.00 pm. Delivery of passports and visas will be from 11.00 am onwards. Embassy of India, Kuwait, will maintain its usual working hours.

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EMBASSY OF KENYA The Embassy of the Republic of Kenya wishes to inform Kenyan residents throughout Kuwait and the general public that with effect from June 1, 2012 the Embassy has moved from its current location to a new location in Surra Block 1, Street 8, Villa 303.

Please note that the new telephone and fax numbers will be communicated as soon as possible. For enquiries you can contact Consular Section on mobile 90935162 or 97527306.

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EMBASSY OF MEXICO The Embassy of Mexico is pleased to inform that it is located in CLIFFS Complex, Villa 6, Salmiya, block 9, Baghdad street, Jadda Lane 7. The working hours for consular issues are from 9:00 to 12:00 Sunday through Thursday. The reception is closed from 14:00 to 15:00 hours for lunch break. The Embassy of Mexico kindly requests all Mexicans citizens in Kuwait to proceed to the e-mail: embkuwait@sre.gob.mx in order to register or update contact information. Other consultations or/and appointments could be done by telephone or fax: (+965) 2573 1952 ■■■■■■■

EMBASSY OF MYANMAR Embassy of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar would like to inform the general public that the Embassy has moved its office to new location at Villa 35, Road 203, Block 2, AlSalaam Area in South Surra. The Embassy wishes to advice Myanmar citizens and travellers to Myanmar to contact Myanmar Embassy at its new location. Tel. 25240736, 25240290, Fax: 25240749, e-mail:myankuwait11@gmai1.com ■■■■■■■

EMBASSY OF THAILAND The Royal Thai Embassy in Kuwait, wishes to invite the Kuwaiti companies that deal business with Thai companies or those agencies of Thai commercial companies to visit the Embassy’s Commercial Office to register their relevant information to be part of the embassy’s business and trade database. The Royal Thai Embassy is located in Jabriya, Block 6, Street 8, Villa No. 1, Telephone No. 25317530 25317531, Ext: 14.

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EMBASSY OF PHILIPPINES

In reference to our announcement last July 14 2012 announcing the transfer and opening of our new Philippine Overseas Labor Office due on August 1 , we regret to inform Filipinos in Kuwait that due to unavoidable circumstances, the August 1 opening will be moved to new date August 5. POLO will be closed to public transactions on July 30, 31 and August 1 & 2. For emergency please contact the POLO hotline at Tel 99558527.

SUNDAY, AUGUST 5, 2012

TV PROGRAMS

00:45 01:40 02:35 03:30 03:55 04:25 05:20 06:10 07:00 07:25 07:50 08:15 09:10 09:35 10:05 11:00 11:55 12:50 13:45 14:40 15:05 15:35 16:00 16:30 17:25 18:20 Baker 19:15 20:10 21:05 22:00 22:55 23:50

Deadly Waters Animal Cops Houston Cats 101 Great Animal Escapes Great Animal Escapes Wildest Africa Killer Jellyfish Dogs/Cats/Pets 101 Karina: Wild On Safari Meerkat Manor Bondi Vet Corwin’s Quest Dick ‘n’ Dom Go Wild Breed All About It Crocodile Hunter Dogs 101: Specials Michaela’s Animal Road Trip Wild France Wild France Rescue Vet Rescue Vet Wild Animal Orphans Wild Animal Orphans Cats 101 Bad Dog Weird Creatures With Nick Into The Pride Killer Whales Wild France Monster Bug Wars Wildest Latin America Untamed & Uncut

00:05 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 01:25 Cash In The Attic 02:10 Cash In The Attic 02:55 Bargain Hunt 03:40 Bargain Hunt 04:30 Saturday Kitchen 2007/08 04:55 Come Dine With Me 05:45 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 07:05 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 07:50 Come Dine With Me 08:40 MasterChef Australia 09:25 MasterChef Australia 10:15 MasterChef Australia 11:00 MasterChef Australia 11:50 MasterChef Australia 12:15 MasterChef Australia 13:30 10 Years Younger 14:15 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 14:55 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 15:40 DIY SOS 16:05 DIY SOS 16:30 Holmes On Homes 17:20 Baby Borrowers USA 18:05 Baby Borrowers USA 18:45 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 19:30 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 20:10 Out Of The Frying Pan 21:00 Masterchef: The Professionals 21:50 Masterchef: The Professionals 22:45 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 23:25 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition

00:00 00:30 01:00 01:15 01:30 02:00 02:30 03:00 03:30 04:00 04:30 05:00 05:30 06:00 06:30 07:00

BBC World News London Live Mixed Britannia BBC World News London Live Sport Today Working Lives BBC World News London Live Middle East Business Report BBC World News London Live Spirit Of Yachting BBC World News London Live Dateline London BBC World News London Live Mixed Britannia BBC World News London Live Click BBC World News London Live

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

Newsnight BBC World News London Live India Business Report BBC World News London Live Fast Track BBC World News London Live Sport Today Spirit Of Yachting BBC World News London Live Dateline London BBC World News London Live Worlds Of English BBC World News London Live Working Lives BBC World News London Live Newsnight BBC World News London Live Collaboration Culture BBC World News London Live Sport Today Click BBC World News London Live Mishal Husain Meets BBC World News London Live Mixed Britannia BBC World News London Live India Business Report BBC World News London Live Our World BBC World News London Live Sport Today Collaboration Culture BBC World News London Live Spirit Of Yachting BBC World News London Live Sport Today Mishal Husain Meets

00:10 Puppy In My Pocket 00:35 Tom & Jerry Kids 01:00 Scooby Doo Where Are You! 01:25 The Flintstones 01:50 Pink Panther And Pals 02:15 Looney Tunes 02:40 Popeye Classics 03:00 Dexter’s Laboratory 03:25 Tom & Jerry 03:50 Looney Tunes 04:15 The Scooby Doo Show 04:40 Johnny Bravo 05:00 The Flintstones 05:25 The Jetsons 05:50 Wacky Races 06:00 Johnny Bravo 06:15 Dexter’s Laboratory 06:35 A Pup Named Scooby-Doo 07:00 Bananas In Pyjamas 07:25 Jelly Jamm 07:50 Baby Looney Tunes 08:15 Gerald McBoing Boing 08:40 Ha Ha Hairies 08:55 Pink Panther And Pals 09:15 The Garfield Show 09:40 What’s New Scooby-Doo? 10:05 Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries 10:30 Droopy: Master Detective 10:55 The Looney Tunes Show 11:20 Dexter’s Laboratory 11:30 Johnny Bravo Goes To Bollywood 13:10 Dastardly And Muttley 13:35 The Scooby Doo Show 14:00 Dexters Laboratory 14:15 Dexter’s Laboratory 14:40 The Garfield Show 15:30 Looney Tunes 16:20 Tom & Jerry 16:45 Tom & Jerry 17:00 Pink Panther And Pals 17:25 Pink Panther And Pals 17:50 Johnny Bravo 18:05 Johnny Bravo 18:30 The Jetsons 18:55 The Flintstones 19:20 Dastardly And Muttley 19:45 Popeye 20:00 Dexter’s Laboratory 20:10 The Looney Tunes Show 20:35 What’s New Scooby-Doo? 21:00 Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries 21:25 The Garfield Show 21:50 The Flintstones 22:15 Droopy & Dripple 22:40 Scooby-Doo And ScrappyDoo 23:05 Popeye 23:20 The Jetsons 23:45 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 Regular Show 09:20 Batman Brave And The Bold 09:45 Young Justice 10:05 Thundercats 10:35 Hero 108 11:00 Redakai: Conquer The Kairu 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 Regular Show 18:05 Powerpuff Girls 18:55 Ben 10: Alien Force 19:20 Ben 10: Alien Force 19:45 Ed, Edd n Eddy 20:35 Bakugan: Mechtanium Surge 21:00 Star Wars: The Clone Wars 21:25 Redakai: Conquer The Kairu 21:50 Grim Adventures Of...

22:00 Codename: Kids Next Door 22:50 Ben 10 23:15 Ben 10 23:40 Chowder

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

Living Golf World Sport World Report Talk Asia World Report Amanpour CNN Marketplace Europe CNN Marketplace Africa The Brief CNN Presents CNN Newsroom Eco Solutions Inside Africa World Sport Cnngo World Report CNN Marketplace Middle East Talk Asia World Report CNN Marketplace Europe Business Traveller World Sport Mainsail African Voices The Brief World Report News Special CNN Presents World Report Inside The Middle East Fareed Zakaria GPS State Of The Union International Desk Inside Africa Global Exchange CNN Marketplace Africa Global Exchange CNN Marketplace Middle East World Sport Living Golf

20:00 20:30 21:00 21:30 22:00 23:00 23:30

International Desk African Voices International Desk Cnngo Fareed Zakaria GPS World Report News Special

00:40 Texas Drug Wars 01:35 Surviving Disaster 02:30 How It’s Made 03:00 How Do They Do It? 03:25 How It’s Made 03:55 How Do They Do It? 04:20 How Do They Do It? 04:50 How It’s Made 05:15 How Do They Do It? 05:40 How It’s Made 06:05 How Do They Do It? 06:35 How It’s Made 07:00 How It’s Made 07:25 How Do They Do It? 07:50 American Chopper: Senior vs Junior 08:45 Crash Course 09:10 Fifth Gear 09:40 How Do They Do It? Turbo Specials 10:30 Hillbilly Handfishin’ 11:25 Extreme Fishing 12:20 How It’s Made 12:45 How It’s Made 13:15 How It’s Made 13:40 How It’s Made 14:10 How It’s Made 14:35 Auction Kings 15:05 Auction Kings 15:30 Auction Kings 16:00 Auction Kings 16:25 Auction Kings 16:55 Border Security 17:20 Border Security 17:50 Border Security 18:15 Border Security 18:45 Border Security 19:10 Mythbusters 20:05 Mythbusters 21:00 Stan Lee’s Superhumans 21:55 How Beer Saved The World 22:50 Rattlesnake Republic 23:45 Rattlesnake Republic

00:35 Junk Men 01:00 Junk Men 01:25 Curiosity: Can I Live Forever?

02:15 Game Changers 02:45 Smash Lab 03:35 Smash Lab 04:25 Smash Lab 05:15 Smash Lab 06:05 Smash Lab 07:00 Curiosity: Can I Live Forever?

07:50 Mighty Ships 08:40 Head Rush 08:43 Stunt Junkies 09:10 Stunt Junkies 09:40 Nextworld 10:30 Game Changers 10:55 Game Changers 11:20 Mega World 12:10 Junk Men 12:35 Junk Men 13:00 Sci-Fi Science 13:25 Sci-Fi Science 13:50 Scrapheap Challenge 14:45 Weird Or What?

15:35 Building The Future 16:30 The Tech Show 16:55 The Tech Show 17:20 The Science Of Star Wars 18:10 Game Changers 18:40 Mighty Ships 19:30 Human Nature 20:20 Through The Wormhole With Morgan Freeman 21:10 Junk Men 21:35 Junk Men 22:00 Human Nature 22:50 Through The Wormhole With Morgan Freeman 23:40 Curiosity: Can I Live Forever?

00:25 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 00:55 Style Star 01:25 THS 02:20 E! Investigates 04:10 Sexiest 05:05 Then And Now 05:30 Then And Now 06:00 Christina Aguilera 07:50 Behind The Scenes 08:20 E! News 09:15 Extreme Close-Up 09:45 Extreme Close-Up 10:15 THS 11:10 Ice Loves Coco 11:35 Ice Loves Coco 12:05 E! News 13:05 Style Star 13:35 Style Star 14:05 Kourtney & Kim Take New York 15:00 Kourtney & Kim Take New York 15:55 Kourtney & Kim Take New York 16:55 Behind The Scenes 17:25 Behind The Scenes 17:55 E! News 18:55 Khloe And Lamar 19:25 Giuliana & Bill 20:25 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 21:25 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 22:25 Mrs. Eastwood And Company 22:55 Mrs. Eastwood And Company 23:25 Chelsea Lately 23:55 Keeping Up With The Kardashians

IRON MAN 2 ON OSN ACTION HD

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

A Haunting The Haunted Ghost Lab A Haunting A Haunting On The Case With Paula Zahn Mystery Diagnosis 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

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

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 Australian Families Of Crime American Greed Scorned: Crimes Of Passion

00:00 Making Tracks 00:30 Making Tracks 01:00 Food School 01:30 Food School 02:00 Food Lover’s Guide To The Planet 02:30 Food Lover’s Guide To The Planet 03:00 Lonely Planet: Roads Less Travelled 04:00 Bondi Rescue 04:30 Bondi Rescue 05:00 Food Lover’s Guide To The Planet 05:30 Food Lover’s Guide To The Planet 06:00 Kimchi Chronicles 06:30 Kimchi Chronicles 07:00 Lonely Planet: Roads Less Travelled 08:00 Bondi Rescue 08:30 Bondi Rescue 09:00 City Chase Marrakech 10:00 On Surfari 10:30 On Surfari 11:00 Travel Madness 11:30 Travel Madness 12:00 Bondi Rescue: Bali 12:30 Bondi Rescue: Bali 13:00 Food Lover’s Guide To The Planet 13:30 Food Lover’s Guide To The Planet 14:00 Kimchi Chronicles 14:30 Kimchi Chronicles 15:00 Lonely Planet: Roads Less Travelled 16:00 Bondi Rescue 16:30 Bondi Rescue 17:00 Somewhere In China 18:00 Making Tracks 18:30 Making Tracks 19:00 Latin America On A Motorcycle 19:30 Latin America On A Motorcycle 20:00 Departures 21:00 Banged Up Abroad 22:00 Don’t Tell My Mother 23:00 Gone to save the planet 23:30 Gone to save the planet

00:00 Making Tracks 00:30 Making Tracks 01:00 Food School 01:30 Food School 02:00 Food Lover’s Guide To The Planet 02:30 Food Lover’s Guide To The Planet 03:00 Lonely Planet: Roads Less Travelled 04:00 Bondi Rescue 04:30 Bondi Rescue 05:00 Food Lover’s Guide To The Planet 05:30 Food Lover’s Guide To The Planet 06:00 Kimchi Chronicles 06:30 Kimchi Chronicles 07:00 Lonely Planet: Roads Less Travelled 08:00 Bondi Rescue 08:30 Bondi Rescue 09:00 City Chase Marrakech 10:00 On Surfari 10:30 On Surfari 11:00 Travel Madness 11:30 Travel Madness 12:00 Bondi Rescue: Bali 12:30 Bondi Rescue: Bali 13:00 Food Lover’s Guide To The Planet 13:30 Food Lover’s Guide To The Planet 14:00 Kimchi Chronicles 14:30 Kimchi Chronicles 15:00 Lonely Planet: Roads Less Travelled 16:00 Bondi Rescue 16:30 Bondi Rescue 17:00 Somewhere In China 18:00 Making Tracks 18:30 Making Tracks 19:00 Latin America On A Motorcycle 19:30 Latin America On A Motorcycle 20:00 Departures 21:00 Banged Up Abroad 22:00 Don’t Tell My Mother 23:00 Gone to save the planet 23:30 Gone to save the planet

00:00 Ultimate Disaster 01:00 Convoy: War For The Atlantic 02:00 Mega Bridges 03:00 Crash Science 04:00 Alaskan Killer Shark 05:00 Alaska State Troopers 06:00 Sea Patrol 07:00 Salvage Code Red 08:00 Ultimate Disaster 09:00 Convoy: War For The Atlantic 10:00 Mega Bridges 11:00 Crash Science 12:00 The Last Lioness 13:00 Alaska State Troopers 14:00 Sea Patrol 15:00 One Ocean 16:00 Salvage Code Red 17:00 Convoy: War For The Atlantic 18:00 Megacities 19:00 Big, Bigger, Biggest 20:00 Helicopter Wars 21:00 Dangerous Encounters With Brady Barr 22:00 Pirate Patrol 23:00 Naked Science S2.5

00:00 Killer Dragons 01:00 My Life Is A Zoo 01:55 Bear Nomad

HELEN ON OSN CINEMA 02:50 Dangerous Encounters With Brady Barr 03:45 Expedition Wild 04:40 How Big Can It Get 05:35 Wild Chronicles 06:00 Wild Chronicles 06:30 Animal Fugitives 07:25 Animal Fugitives 08:20 Python Hunters 09:15 Prehistoric Hunters 10:10 In The Womb 11:05 Restless Planet 12:00 The Living Edens 13:00 Lion Battle Zone 14:00 Expedition Wild 15:00 Expedition Wild 16:00 Ultimate Predators GPU 17:00 Caught In The Act 18:00 Built For The Kill Ngt 4 19:00 Monster Fish 20:00 Ultimate Predators GPU 21:00 Caught In The Act 22:00 Built For The Kill Ngt 4 23:00 The Living Edens

00:00 02:00 04:00 06:00 PG15 08:00 10:00 11:45 14:00 16:00 17:45 20:00 22:15

The Cry Of The Owl-PG15 District 9-PG15 The Rocketeer-PG15 True Justice: Deadly CrossingThe Next Karate Kid-PG Tracker-PG15 Iron Man 2-PG15 The Next Karate Kid-PG Ticking Clock-PG15 Iron Man 2-PG15 Windtalkers-PG15 S.W.A.T.: Firefight-PG15

01:00 Mars Needs Moms-PG 03:00 True Story Of Puss’n Boots-PG 05:00 Marley & Me: The Puppy Years-PG15 07:00 The Dukes-PG15 09:00 Mars Needs Moms-PG 11:00 Due Date-PG15 13:00 Not Since You-PG15 15:00 Helen-PG15 17:00 Skirt Day-PG15 19:00 Muhammad And Larry-PG15 21:00 The Roommate-PG15 23:00 Black Forest-PG15

00:30 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 01:00 The Colbert Report 01:30 Friends 02:00 Friends 02:30 Seinfeld 03:30 Perfect Couples 04:00 Weird Science 04:30 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 05:30 Weird Science 06:00 Friends 06:30 Dharma And Greg 07:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 08:00 Weird Science 09:00 Weird Science 09:30 Mr. Sunshine 10:00 Mr. Sunshine 10:30 Dharma And Greg 11:00 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 12:00 Friends 12:30 Friends 13:00 Weird Science 13:30 Dharma And Greg 14:00 Perfect Couples 14:30 Mr. Sunshine 15:00 Mr. Sunshine 15:30 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 16:00 The Colbert Report 16:30 Friends 17:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 18:00 Whitney 18:30 Last Man Standing 19:00 Two And A Half Men 19:30 Happy Endings 20:00 Friends With Benefits 20:30 King Of The Hill 21:00 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 21:30 The Colbert Report 22:00 Saturday Night Live 23:00 Seinfeld 23:30 Friends With Benefits

21:00 Scent Of A Woman-18 23:30 When We Were Kings-PG15 00:00 01:00 02:00 03:00 04:00 05:00 06:00 07:00 08:00 08:30 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

C.S.I. C.S.I. New York C.S.I. Miami Drop Dead Diva Desperate Housewives The View Good Morning America The Practice Emmerdale Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show Desperate Housewives The View C.S.I. Drop Dead Diva C.S.I. Miami Live Good Morning America The Practice The Ellen DeGeneres Show Emmerdale Coronation Street Covert Affairs Bones Burn Notice Top Gear Specials Desperate Housewives

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

Criminal Minds C.S.I. Miami Revenge C.S.I. New York Drop Dead Diva Revenge Criminal Minds Emmerdale Coronation Street Necessary Roughness C.S.I. C.S.I. Miami Drop Dead Diva Emmerdale Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show Necessary Roughness Criminal Minds Emmerdale Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show Necessary Roughness Covert Affairs Bones Burn Notice Top Gear Specials Revenge

01:00 03:00 05:00 07:00 PG15 09:00 11:00 13:00 15:00 17:00 18:45 PG15 21:00 23:00

Ip Man-PG15 The Rocketeer-PG15 Planet Of The Apes-PG15 Snake In The Eagle’s ShadowInside Out-PG15 Planet Of The Apes-PG15 Little Big Soldier-PG15 Inside Out-PG15 From Paris With Love-PG15 The Manchurian CandidateLargo Winch 2-PG15 Dad Savage-PG15

00:00 Tommy Boy-PG15 02:00 Knucklehead-PG15 04:00 The Beverly Hillbillies-PG15 06:00 For Richer Or Poorer-PG 08:00 My Best Friend’s WeddingPG15 10:00 Bubble Boy-PG15 12:00 How To Train Your Dragon-PG 14:00 Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie-PG15 16:00 Bubble Boy-PG15 18:00 The American President-PG15 20:00 Say Anything-PG15 22:00 Coldblooded-PG15

01:00 03:00 05:00 07:00 09:00 11:00 13:00 15:00 16:45 19:00

The Gray Man-PG15 Babies-18 Coyote Ugly-PG15 Le Code A Change-PG15 Witch Hunt-PG15 A Simple Twist Of Fate-PG15 Family Gathering-PG15 Witch Hunt-PG15 Up Close And Personal-PG Antwone Fisher-PG15

00:00 Cemetery Junction-PG15 01:45 Water For Elephants-PG15 03:45 Backwash-PG15 05:15 Game Change-PG15 07:15 12 Dates Of Christmas-PG15 09:00 Tron: Legacy-PG15 11:15 Les Miserables 25th Anniversary-PG15 14:15 Unmatched-PG15 15:30 Mean Girls 2-PG15 17:30 Tron: Legacy-PG15 20:00 Muhammad And Larry-PG15 21:00 Dear John-PG15 23:00 Black Forest-PG15

00:00 The Little Engine That CouldFAM 02:00 Free Birds-FAM 04:00 Hua Mulan-PG 06:00 Cher Ami-PG 08:00 Winner & The Golden Child: Part I-FAM 10:00 Scooter The Penguin-FAM 12:00 Hua Mulan-PG 14:00 Rh+ The Vampire Of Seville-PG 16:00 Alex & Alexis-FAM 18:00 Scooter The Penguin-FAM 20:00 Flubber-PG 22:00 Rh+ The Vampire Of Seville-PG

00:10 Olympic Men’s Basketball 02:30 NRL Premiership 04:30 Futbol Mundial 05:00 Live NRL Premiership 07:00 Live NRL Premiership 09:00 Super Rugby 11:00 Olympic Rowing 12:50 Live Olympic Women’s Athletics 16:25 Live Olympic Men’s Table Tennis 19:35 Olympic Women’s Water Polo 20:45 Live Olympic Athletics

00:00 Olympic Sailing 01:00 Live UFC 04:00 Live UFC 06:00 Trans World Sport 07:00 PGA European Tour Weekly 07:30 Futbol Mundial 08:00 Live NRL Premiership 10:20 Live Olympic Men’s Hockey 13:00 Live Test Cricket 21:00 Live Olympic Men’s Fencing 22:55 Olympic Sailing 23:50 Live Olympic Women’s Beach Volleyball

01:00 Super Rugby 03:00 AFL Premiership 05:30 Total Rugby 06:00 PGA European Tour Weekly 06:30 Futbol Mundial 07:00 Live AFL Premiership 10:00 Total Rugby 10:50 Live Olympic Women’s Basketball 15:05 Olympic Badminton 15:55 Live Olympic Gymnastics 18:35 Olympic Women’s Handball 21:50 Live Olympic Women’s Volleyball

01:00 V8 Supercars 02:00 WWE SmackDown 04:00 WWE Bottomline 05:00 Mobil 1 The Grid 06:00 V8 Supercars Extra 07:00 WWE Bottomline 07:30 V8 Supercars 09:00 Live V8 Supercars 10:00 WWE Experience 11:00 Olympic Sailing 11:55 Live Olympic Women’s Cycling 13:30 Olympic Badminton 14:25 Live Olympic Men’s Shooting 15:25 Live Olympic Men’s Fencing 17:05 Olympic Badminton 17:55 Live Olympic Cycling 21:50 Live Olympic Women’s Handball OR Women’s Basketball

Classifieds SUNDAY, AUGUST 5, 2012

DIAL 161 FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION

Airlines QTR JZR ETH RJA KAC GFA UAE ETD FDB MSR RBG QTR KAC KAC KAC THY CLX DHX JZR KAC BAW KAC KAC JZR IRA KAC KAC KAC KAC UAE ABY QTR FDB IRA ETD GFA UAE MEA MSR MSC JZR JZR KAC MSR SYR KAC KNE KAC QTR SVA RJA KAC KAC ETD UAE UAL GFA SVA JZR JZR ABY KAC KAC KAC KAC MSR MSC KAC KAC KAC JAI KAC AXB FDB OMA MEA QTR GFA KAC ALK KLM UAE ETD KAC QTR LMU AIC FDB GFA UAL JZR DLH JZR THY JAI PIA

Arrival Flights on Sunday 5/8/2012 Flt Route 148 DOHA 267 BEIRUT 620 ADDIS ABABA 642 AMMAN 108 GENEVA 211 BAHRAIN 853 DUBAI 305 ABU DHABI 67 DUBAI 612 CAIRO 3553 ALEXANDRIA 138 DOHA 1742 JEDDAH 544 CAIRO 1746 JEDDAH 770 ISTANBUL 792 LUXEMBOURG 170 BAHRAIN 503 LUXOR 412 MANILA 157 LONDON 206 ISLAMABAD 382 DELHI 555 ALEXANDRIA 615 SHAHRE KORD 284 DHAKA 302 MUMBAI 332 TRIVANDRUM 352 COCHIN 855 DUBAI 125 SHARJAH 132 DOHA 55 DUBAI 603 SHIRAZ 301 ABU DHABI 213 BAHRAIN 871 DUBAI 404 BEIRUT 618 ALEXANDRIA 401 ALEXANDRIA 561 SOHAG 775 JEDDAH 742 DAMMAM 610 CAIRO 341 DAMASCUS 774 RIYADH 472 JEDDAH 538 SOHAG 140 DOHA 500 JEDDAH 640 AMMAN 788 JEDDAH 1762 JEDDAH 303 ABU DHABI 857 DUBAI 982 WASHINGTON DC DULLES 215 BAHRAIN 510 RIYADH 177 DUBAI 777 JEDDAH 127 SHARJAH 502 BEIRUT 542 CAIRO 786 JEDDAH 166 PARIS 624 SOHAG 405 SOHAG 618 DOHA 674 DUBAI 102 NEW YORK 572 MUMBAI 562 AMMAN 389 KOZHIKODE 61 DUBAI 647 MUSCAT 402 BEIRUT 146 DOHA 221 BAHRAIN 514 TEHRAN 229 COLOMBO 417 AMSTERDAM 859 DUBAI 307 ABU DHABI 172 FRANKFURT 136 DOHA 1109 ALEXANDRIA 981 CHENNAI 59 DUBAI 217 BAHRAIN 981 BAHRAIN 239 AMMAN 636 FRANKFURT 539 CAIRO 772 ISTANBUL 574 MUMBAI 205 LAHORE

Time 0:20 0:50 1:45 2:10 2:15 2:20 2:25 2:30 3:10 3:20 3:20 3:25 3:35 4:10 4:15 4:35 4:55 5:00 6:05 6:15 6:30 7:15 7:30 7:35 7:35 7:45 7:50 7:55 8:05 8:25 8:30 9:00 9:20 9:25 9:30 10:00 10:45 10:55 11:25 12:00 12:25 13:00 13:25 13:30 13:35 13:45 14:15 14:20 14:25 14:30 14:55 15:00 16:35 16:35 16:55 17:10 17:20 17:20 17:30 17:40 17:45 18:00 18:15 18:40 18:40 18:55 19:00 19:20 19:25 19:35 19:35 19:50 19:55 20:00 20:10 20:15 20:25 20:35 20:55 20:55 21:05 21:15 21:20 21:25 21:35 22:00 22:25 22:30 22:35 22:40 22:55 23:10 23:40 23:40 23:50 23:55

Airlines AIC FDB UAL DLH JZR MSR DHX JAI THY ETH UAE FDB RBG ETD MSR QTR QTR JZR RJA GFA THY JZR KAC CLX BAW IRA KAC KAC ABY KAC UAE QTR FDB ETD IRA KAC KAC GFA KAC KAC JZR MEA KAC UAE MSR KAC MSC KAC JZR MSR SYR KAC KAC KNE SVA KAC RJA KAC JZR ETD JZR QTR UAE GFA ABY UAL SVA JZR MSR MSC KAC JAI FDB KAC KAC OMA MEA KAC GFA DHX ALK KLM ETD UAE KAC QTR KAC KAC LMU QTR AXB FDB GFA KAC JZR KAC

Depature Flights on Sunday 5/8/2012 Flt Route 976 GOA 52 DUBAI 981 WASHINGTON 637 FRANKFURT 554 ALEXANDRIA 615 CAIRO 373 BAHRAIN 573 MUMBAI 773 ISTANBUL 621 ADDIS ABABA 854 DUBAI 68 DUBAI 3554 ALEXANDRIA 306 ABU DHABI 613 CAIRO 139 DOHA 149 DOHA 560 SOHAG 643 AMMAN 212 BAHRAIN 771 ISTANBUL 774 JEDDAH 537 SOHAG 792 GIALAM 156 LONDON 614 SHAHRE-KORD 171 FRANKFURT 117 NEW YORK 126 SHARJAH 787 JEDDAH 856 DUBAI 133 DOHA 56 DUBAI 302 ABU DHABI 602 SHIRAZ 741 DAMMAM 773 RIYADH 214 BAHRAIN 1761 JEDDAH 541 CAIRO 776 JEDDAH 405 BEIRUT 501 BEIRUT 872 DUBAI 623 SOHAG 10 LONDON 406 SOHAG 785 JEDDAH 176 DUBAI 611 CAIRO 342 ALEPPO 561 AMMAN 673 DUBAI 473 JEDDAH 503 MADINAH 617 DOHA 641 AMMAN 513 IMAM KHOMEINI 538 CAIRO 304 ABU DHABI 238 AMMAN 141 DOHA 858 DUBAI 216 BAHRAIN 128 SHARJAH 982 BAHRAIN 511 RIYADH 266 BEIRUT 621 ALEXANDRIA 402 ALEXANDRIA 361 COLOMBO 571 MUMBAI 62 DUBAI 283 DHAKA 351 KOCHI 648 MUSCAT 403 BEIRUT 543 CAIRO 222 BAHRAIN 171 BAHRAIN 230 COLOMBO 417 DAMMAM 308 ABU DHABI 860 DUBAI 343 CHENNAI 137 DOHA 301 MUMBAI 205 ISLAMABAD 1110 ALEXANDRIA 147 DOHA 390 MANGALORE 60 DUBAI 218 BAHRAIN 411 BANGKOK 528 ASSIUT 415 KUALA LUMPUR

Time 0:05 0:10 0:25 0:30 0:30 0:35 0:40 0:50 2:15 2:45 3:45 3:50 4:00 4:05 4:20 4:50 5:40 6:00 6:50 7:05 7:10 7:35 8:05 8:15 8:25 8:35 8:55 9:05 9:05 9:35 9:40 10:00 10:05 10:15 10:25 10:25 10:25 10:45 11:10 11:30 11:50 11:55 12:00 12:20 12:25 12:30 13:00 13:10 13:20 14:30 14:35 14:40 15:05 15:15 15:45 15:45 15:50 16:25 16:50 17:20 17:30 17:45 18:05 18:20 18:25 18:30 18:35 18:50 19:55 20:00 20:20 20:35 20:40 20:45 21:05 21:10 21:15 21:30 21:35 21:50 21:55 22:05 22:20 22:25 22:30 22:35 22:40 22:45 23:05 23:10 23:10 23:15 23:30 23:40 23:50 23:50

Directorate General of Civil Aviation Home Page (www.kuwait-airport.com.kw)

ACCOMMODATION One big room for couple or bachelor, Filipino only near Gulf Mart Far waniya.

Contact: 94418396.

1-8-2012 Sharing accommodation available for bachelor in Farwaniya near Finger Print Office. Contact: 60375424/ 97220725 (C 4092) 31-7-2012

Prayer timings SITUATION VACANT A Kuwaiti family looks to hire an Indian or Filipino driver. Tel: 96156162 (Akram). (C 4093) 4-8-2012

Fajr:

03:42

Duhr:

11:54

Asr:

15:30

Maghrib:

18:37

Isha:

20:02

FOR SALE Nissan Pathfinder model 2006, silver color, mileage 104,000 km, new tyres and battery, non-accident, price KD 3,600/.

Contact: 99949612. (C 4091) 29-7-2012

No: 15530

MATRIMONIAL Orthodox parents (Ex NRI) invite proposals for their daughter (22/166) B.Tech, fair from parents of professionally qualified boys (M.Tech, B.Tech) with good family background Orthodox or Jacobite.

Email: bsamuel@nascorporate.com.

(C 4094) 4-8-2012

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

34

SUNDAY, AUGUST 5, 2012

stars CROSSWORD 758

STAR TRACK

CALVIN & HOBBES

Aries (March 21-April 19)

Today is an important day in which you can breathe creative energy into a structured situation, Aries. You’ll find that bolstering the aesthetics of your surroundings will help inspire you to be more disciplined and eager to keep things neat and tidy. Take your time and don’t let other people’s anxiety cause you to rush into anything you aren’t ready for.

Taurus (April 20-May 20)

Be a bit more selective in terms of where you put your energy today, Taurus. Don’t waste your time with situations that aren’t healthy or conducive to your aims. You may find it hard to get motivated, but this is fine. This is a good day to lay low.

Your energy is apt to feel rather sluggish, so be conservative with how you use it. Pace yourself throughout the day.

POOCH CAFE ACROSS 1. 100 fen equal 1 yuan.

4. Naked freshwater or marine or parasitic protozoa that form temporary pseudopods for feeding and locomotion.

10. Relating to a recently developed fashion or style.

13. Devoid of warmth and cordiality.

14. 1 species.

15. Any of various primates with short tails or no tail at all.

16. Green algae common in freshwater lakes of limestone districts.

18. Utter a high-pitched cry, characteristic of pigs.

19. Large brownish-green New Zealand parrot.

20. (Greek mythology) A Titan who was forced by Zeus to bear the sky on his shoulders.

21. (combining form) Former.

22. Norse chieftan who became the first duke of Normandy (860931).

24. The blood group whose red cells carry both the A and B antigens.

26. The United Nations agency concerned with civil aviation.

28. 1/1000 gram.

30. The cry made by sheep.

32. Unpleasantly harsh or grating in sound.

36. New Guinea echidnas.

39. A member of an Iroquoian people formerly living on the south shore of Lake Erie in northern Ohio and northwest Pennsylvania and western New York.

40. A plant hormone promoting elongation of stems and roots.

41. An inflammatory complication of leprosy that results in painful skin lesions on the arms and legs and face.

42. Expose to fresh air, as of old clothing.

45. A radioactive element of the actinide series.

46. A white soft metallic element that tarnishes readily.

47. A large bundle bound for storage or transport.

50. (Irish) Mother of the Tuatha De Danann.

55. Small spiny outgrowth on the wings of certain insects.

59. Lean end of the neck.

60. A member of the majority people of Punjab in northwestern India.

62. Electrical conduction through a gas in an applied electric field.

63. A Russian prison camp for political prisoners.

66. According to the Old Testament he was a pagan king of Israel and husband of Jezebel (9th century BC).

67. The syllable naming the sixth (submediant) note of a major or minor scale in solmization.

68. An ancient upright stone slab bearing markings.

69. A small cake leavened with yeast.

DOWN 1. A tax on employees and employers that is used to fund the Social Security system.

2. Not fake or counterfeit.

3. City in Sudan.

4. By bad luck.

5. Informal terms for a mother.

6. A slender double-reed instrument.

7. A sweet flavored liquid (usually containing a small amount of alcohol) used in compounding medicines to be taken by mouth in order to mask an unpleasant taste.

8. A decree that prohibits something.

9. A member of the Circassian people living east of the Black Sea. 10. Powerful mackerel shark of the Atlantic and Pacific.

11. German industrialist who was the first in Germany to use an assembly line in manufacturing automobiles (1871-1948).

12. Lacking or deprive of the sense of hearing wholly or in part.

17. Spiritual leader of a Jewish congregation.

23. A decoy who lures customers into a gambling establishment (especially one with a fixed game).

25. A Dravidian language spoken in southern India.

27. An esoteric or occult matter that is traditionally secret.

29. Aircraft landing in bad weather in which the pilot is talked down by ground control using precision approach radar.

31. A sweetened beverage of diluted fruit juice.

33. A theocratic republic in the Middle East in western Asia.

34. A luminance unit equal to 1 candle per square meter measured perpendicular to the rays from the source.

35. A unit of force equal to the force exerted by gravity.

37. (astronomy) The angular distance of a celestial point measured westward along the celestial equator from the zenith crossing.

38. Type genus of the Alcidae comprising solely the razorbill.

43. (Akkadian) God of wisdom.

44. Goddess of the dead and queen of the underworld.

48. The capital and largest city of Ghana with a deep-water port.

49. An unsteady uneven gait.

51. A small Asian country high in the Himalayas between India and Tibet.

52. The seventh month of the Moslem calendar.

53. Cubes of meat marinated and cooked on a skewer usually with vegetables.

54. Tropical American trees with palmately compound leaves and showy bell-shaped flowers.

56. Oval reproductive body of a fowl (especially a hen) used as food.

57. A radioactive gaseous element formed by the disintegration of radium.

58. A member of the Siouan people formerly living in the Missouri river valley in NE Nebraska.

61. Title for a civil or military leader (especially in Turkey).

62. A very poisonous metallic element that has three allotropic forms.

64. The local time at the 0 meridian passing through Greenwich, England.

65. A chronic inflammatory collagen disease affecting connective tissue (skin or joints).

Yesterday’s Solution

Gemini (May 21-June 20)

Love and romance are coming your way today, but it’s important to be practical, Gemini. Don’t take your relationships for granted. Realize that love doesn’t necessarily mean that everything is perfect.

Structure and discipline are often required in order to maintain a healthy partnership. You should be able to incorporate these elements rather well, so make the most of this energy.

Cancer (June 21-July 22)

NON SEQUITUR

You probably should settle down a bit today in the love and romance department, Cancer.

Realize that your relationships with others aren’t a show or stage act to perform. This is a day when you should listen to feedback from your partner and think about restructuring certain elements of your relationship in order to make things flow more smoothly.

Leo (July 23-August 22)

Sit back and observe others’ behavior today, Leo. Take a look at the people around you and figure out what makes them tick. You’ll find that you can learn a great deal from their actions and mistakes.

Consider your role models and people you wish to emulate. Think about the traits that attract you to certain people and work to adopt those traits yourself.

ZITS

Virgo (August 23-September 22)

Your love life might be a little fragile, and you’ll find that your partner is more sensitive than usual, Virgo. A more caring, emotional approach to a situation will help you form a better connection with your partner. Today you’ll find that clear boundaries need to be established in order to keep things running smoothly between you and your loved ones.

Libra (September 23-October 22)

MOTHER GOOSE AND GRIMM

Things in the love and beauty department should be going rather well for you now, Libra, so it’s a good time to make a move toward the object of your desire. Make sure that you’re being completely realistic in your actions. Realize that you may need some discipline in this area. Maintain a healthy structure within which you can work.

Scorpio (October 23-November 21)

Slow down and take a more reserved, sensitive, and calculated approach to things today, Scorpio, especially when it comes to matters involving love and beauty. You’ll find a greater level of sensuality waiting for you when you’re willing to open up the door even wider. Go after the object of your desire, but make sure that your approach is sensitive and disciplined.

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21)

You may be at a rather climactic point now in the department of love and beauty, Sagittarius.

Your creative levels are peaking and you might feel a strong urge to create something on a giant canvas.

Realize that discipline is needed to get those artistic juices flowing. Don’t let fear stop you. Initiate your dreams and let the details fall into place later.

Capricorn (December 22-January 19)

To

Yesterday’s Solution Yester

Pieces of your life that you’ve tried to avoid for some time may come to the surface today and cause you a bit of trouble, Capricorn. That which isn’t organized or structured is getting more and more chaotic just to teach you a lesson. Take care of things now. Put things in order and become more aware of the ticking of the clock. There’s a reason you need to take care of business.

Aquarius (January 20- February 18)

Cupid has fired his arrow into your heart today, Aquarius, so snuggle up with the object of your desire. You’ll feel more sensual and romantic than usual.

Gourmet foods and fine wines should grace your plate tonight. Realize that there may be an element of restraint that needs to get worked into the equation, but don’t let this stop you from having a good time.

Pisces (February 19-March 20)

Word Sleuth Solution

You may feel a bit of a creative block now, Pisces, but don’t view this as a signal to stop pursuing your artistic goals. The truth of the matter is that discipline is all that’s needed to manifest the things you really want. Don’t let other people’s energies get in the way of where you are now and where you want to be.

Get back in the flow.

SUNDAY, AUGUST 5, 2012

i n f o r m at i o n For labor-related inquiries and complaints: Call MSAL hotline 128 GOVERNORATE Sabah Hospital

24812000

Amiri Hospital

22450005

Maternity Hospital

24843100

Mubarak Al-Kabir Hospital

25312700

Chest Hospital

24849400

Farwaniya Hospital

24892010

Adan Hospital

23940620

Ibn Sina Hospital

24840300

Al-Razi Hospital

24846000

Physiotherapy Hospital

24874330/9

Kaizen center

25716707

Roudha

22517733

Adhaliya

22517144

Khaldiya

24848075

Keifan

24849807

Shamiya

24848913

Shuwaikh

24814507

Abdullah Salim

22549134

Al-Nuzha

22526804

Industrial Shuwaikh

24814764

Al-Khadissiya

22515088

Dasmah

22532265

Bneid Al-Ghar

22531908

Al-Shaab

22518752

Al-Kibla

22459381

Ayoun Al-Kibla

PHARMACY

ADDRESS

Ahmadi

Sama Safwan Abu Halaifa Danat Al-Sultan

Fahaeel Makka St Abu Halaifa-Coastal Rd Mahboula Block 1, Coastal Rd

23915883 23715414 23726558

Jahra

Modern Jahra Madina Munawara

Jahra-Block 3 Lot 1 Jahra-Block 92

24575518 24566622

Capital

Ahlam Khaldiya Coop

Fahad Al-Salem St Khaldiya Coop

22436184 24833967

Farwaniya

New Shifa Ferdous Coop Modern Safwan

Farwaniya Block 40 Ferdous Coop Old Kheitan Block 11

24734000 24881201 24726638

Tariq Hana Ikhlas Hawally & Rawdha Ghadeer Kindy Ibn Al-Nafis Mishrif Coop Salwa Coop

Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St Salmiya-Amman St Hawally-Beirut St Hawally & Rawdha Coop Jabriya-Block 1A Jabriya-Block 3B Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St Mishrif Coop Salwa Coop

25726265 25647075 22625999 22564549 25340559 25326554 25721264 25380581 25628241

Hawally

ST TATE T OF K KUW WAIT A

Tel.: e 161

DIRECTORA ATE T GENERAL GENE OF CIVIL AVIA V AT TION METEOROLOGICAL DEP PARTMENT A

Very e hot h with moderate to fresh north westerly to northerly wind, with speed of 22 - 42 km/h causing raising dust

BY Y NIGHT:

Relatively hot with moderate to fresh north westerly wind, with speed of 25 - 45 km/h causing raising dust

No Current Warnings arnin a

WARNING A

37 °C

22451082

KUW WA AIT AIRPOR RT

48 °C

37 °C

Al-Mirqab

22456536

NUW WA AISEEB

49 °C

38 °C

Sharq

22465401

WAFRA A

49 °C

37 °C

Salmiya

25746401

SALMI

47 °C

34 °C

ABDAL LY

49 °C

36 °C

Jabriya

25316254

JAL ALIY YA AH

49 °C

36 °C

Maidan Hawally

25623444

FAILAKA A

48 °C

35 °C

Bayan

25388462

AHMADI POR RT

47 °C

38 °C

Mishref

25381200

UMM AL-MARADEM

41 °C

36 °C

W.Hawally

22630786

WARBA A A - BUBY YA AN

49 °C

36 °C

Sabah

24810221

Jahra

24770319

South Jahra

ST TATION T

SFC. CHART

04/08/2012 0000 UTC

4 DA AY YS FORECAST Temperatures DA AY

DA ATE T

WEA AT THER

MAX.

MIN.

Wind Direction

Wind Speed

Sunday

05/08

Veery hot and dusty dus

48 °C

37 °C

NW-N

25 - 45 km/h

Monday

06/08

very hot+ rising dust over open areas

47 °C

37 °C

NW-N

20 - 40 km/h

24775066

Tuesday

07/08

very hot

46 °C

36 °C

NW-N

15 - 38 km/h

North Jahra

24775992

Weednesday

08/08

very hot

46 °C

35 °C

N-NE

15 - 38 km/h

North Jleeb

24311795

Al-Ardhiya Firdous

03:42

MAX. Temp.

47 °C

Sunrise

05:10

MIN. Temp.

37 °C

Zuhr

11:54

MAX. RH

14 %

Asr

15:30

MIN. RH

05 %

Sunset

18:37

MAX. Wiind

N 78 km/h

Isha

20:02

TOT TAL AL RAIINF FA ALL L IN 24 HR.

24892674 24719048

N.Kheitan

24710044

Fintas

23900322

RECORDED YESTERDA AY AT KUW WAIT A AIRPORT

RA AYER Y TIMES PRA Fajr

24884079

Al-Omariya

.06 mm

All times are local time unless otherwise stated.

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36

SUNDAY, AUGUST 5, 2012

LIFESTYLE G o s s i p

Eastwood endorses Romney’s presidential bid lint Eastwood just made Mitt Romney’s day. The “Dirty Harry” star and Oscar-winning director of “Unforgiven” and “Million Dollar Baby” endorsed the Republican presidential candidate Friday night during a Sun Valley fundraiser. “I think the country needs a boost,” Eastwood told The Associated Press as he joined other Romney supporters for the private campaign event. In February, Eastwood told Fox News that he wasn’t supporting any politician at that time. Some saw the “halftime in America” ad he made for the Super Bowl as a nod toward President Barack Obama. Eastwood responded then by saying he was not “politically affiliated” with the president. “Now more than ever do we need Gov. Romney. I’m going to be voting for him,” Eastwood told Romney supporters Friday night. “He just made my day,” Romney said. “What a guy.” Standing at Romney’s side, Eastwood said he was filming “Mystic River” in Massachusetts almost a decade ago when he first saw political advertisements featuring Romney, who was running for gover-

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nor at the time. “I said, God, this guy, he’s too handsome to be governor, but he does look like he could be president,” Eastwood joked. “As the years have gone by I began to think even more so about that.” Eastwood, 82, said he hoped Romney would restore “a decent tax system that we need badly ... so that there’s a fairness and people are not pitted against one another as who’s paying taxes and who isn’t.” The actor and director instantly became Romney highest-profile celebrity supporter. Romney has also earned the endorsement of Oscar-winning actor Jon Voight and rock star Kid Rock. A campaign spokesman could not immediately say whether Eastwood would play an active role in the campaign. About 325 people paid as much as $25,000 apiece to attend the event. Eastwood is a part-time resident of Sun Valley.

Tomlinson car gets high bids from fans ne Direction’s Louis Tomlinson has been flooded with buying offers for his Porsche car.

The singer put the vehicle up for sale on auctioning website eBay recently and apparently fans’ parents are eager to win the automobile. The starting bid was £30,000 on Louis’ personalised license plate ‘LT11 BOX’ and there are still seven days left of the auction. A source told The Sun newspaper: “One rich daddy got in touch saying he wanted to buy it for his daughter. He’s had a private bid of £50k already.” Meanwhile Spandau Ballet singer Tony Hadley thinks One Direction should have closed the Olympics Opening Ceremony rather than Sir Paul McCartney. Tony feels Danny Boyle made the wrong choice picking the Beatles legend. He told Absolute Radio: “If I’m honest I would have liked a really young band to have closed it. “If you’ve got Sir Steve Redgrave handing over the torch to the youngsters, it would have been nice to have had One Direction.

They’re our biggest export at the moment, pure pop.

“One Direction with the Royal Philharmonic, with about 100 singers in a choir, behind them. To me that would have been the new generation kind of thing.”

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Khloe would have fun

Eminem is first to have 60m fans on Facebook he rapper and actor has beaten Lady Gaga and Rihanna to the staggering figure, gaining 60,093,667 likes on the social networking site.

According to social media tracker site Star Count, 195,000 of the likes came in the last week. He has long been the most popular person on Facebook, taking over from Michael Jackson - who passed away in 2009 - on the site in February 2011.

Rihanna is the second most popular person after Eminem, with 59,318,829 likes. Meanwhile, soccer star David Beckham has thanked his fans after he reached 20 million likes on his Facebook page. He wrote: “Just seen that we have reached 20 million,

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incredible...a special thank you to everyone, I have the best support out there. (sic)” David recently claimed he was too busy for twitter - which his wife Victoria uses - and would be unable to give it his full attention if he set up his own account. Asked in a twitter chat via the Adidas UK account if he would set up his own page, he replied: “Will have to wait and see, I like to do things properly so will only do it when I can commit to it.”

hosting ‘The X Factor

Paris Hilton ‘saves’ fan’s life

hloe Kardashian would “have so much fun” hosting ‘The X Factor’ USA. The ‘Keeping Up With The Kardashians’ star is one of the celebrities being considered as a possible host for season two of the reality competition series. She told website E! Online: “I’m a big fan of ‘The X Factor’. I’ve always wanted to do hosting or talk show hosting, so it’s definitely something that I would love to do and would be honoured to do. “To be on such a huge show like that with those judges, I would have so much fun doing that.” Khloe says she knows she could take on the show’s boss Simon Cowell. She continued: “I love Simon. I think he’s amazing. I love personalities like that because I’m someone who is very straightforward and I tell it like it is. That’s what he’s doing. He just doesn’t want to blow smoke up people’s asses.” Ashley Roberts is in the running to host the singing show. The former Pussycat Dolls singer had auditioned for producers on the show and will meet with executives at Fox this week to discuss the possibility of her presenting the talent contest after Steve Jones was fired after the first series. Other stars previously thought to be in the running for the job included Stacy Keibler and Kelly Osbourne.

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Snoop Dogg wants to be

Katherine tricked into long break

a judge on ‘American Idol’

atherine Jackson has suggested she was tricked into blocking communication with her grandchildren recently. Katherine made the claim when she filed a declaration as part of her attempt to obtain co-guardianship over Michael Jackson’s children Prince, Paris, and Blanket. In the documents, she says she was scheduled to go on a road trip to New Mexico to watch her sons in concert - but on July 14 an unnamed doctor showed up to her house and told her it was better for her to take a plane instead. Katherine says she obliged however when she got off the plane she found herself in Tucson, where she had been set up at a luxury resort.

According to her lawyer: “Her children took her to a spa ... because she had high blood pressure.” When she got to the resort, Katherine says her phone and iPad were taken away and her in-room telephone was disconnected. She also says her TV had sound but no picture so she didn’t realize she was reported missing. Katherine reports: “At the time, I trusted the people I was with to be honest with me.” The declaration contradicts statements Katherine previously made in an interview with ABC News, when she called her sudden absence last month a “short vacation.” During the interview, Katherine said: “One reason I didn’t call is I just gave up my phone and I didn’t want to have any phone calls while I was here.”

fter hearing of the millions of dollars the judges earn on the television competition, the rapper revealed he is interested in joining the panel. During an interview this week, he said: “I’ll do ‘American Idol’.” Apparently when he was Mariah Carey is earning about $18 million a year for a one-year contract with a renewal option, Snoop Dogg looked to his manager and jokingly yelled: “Get on it!” The music icon is known for often swearing and generally using offensive language. However he said he would be mindful of his tone if he appeared on the family friendly entertainment program. Still the marijuana supporter admitted that he had a limit when it

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The hotel heiress sent the cash to muscular dystrophy sufferer Mike Oliveri, who struggles to afford his healthcare bills, after they struck up a bond when they met at a Los Angeles nightclub earlier this month. Following the gesture, Mike posted a video on his personal website thanking the ‘Simple Life’ star for “saving” his life. In the clip, he says: “I met her about a week-and-a-half ago... I just thought she was a very sweet person... We became friends and... she just sent me $5,000 and saved my life, literally. “Paris, the magnitude of appreciation I have for what you did, you didn’t have to do that.

Just our friendship alone is worth more than you could ever imagine.” Mike goes on to describe the heiress as an “angel” and admits his is grateful to be able to discuss his problems with the 31-year-old star. He continued: “Having somebody to talk to everyday, and somebody that understands, and somebody that cares, I really appreciate what you did and I hope the whole world understands what an amazing person you are. “Words cannot express how I feel. I just want to say, Paris, I love you, thank you so much.” Last month, Paris helped grant a wish for a seriously ill child, Oran, who is confined to a wheelchair, by spending time chatting to the sixyear-old youngster and introducing him to her pets.

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came to cleaning up his image in his personal life. He said: “I’ll clean my act up, but I’m still Rastafari.” The 40-year-old star announced earlier this week that he’s using the name Snoop Lion for an upcoming reggae album. He now considers himself a Rastafarian after what he calls a life-changing trip to Jamaica, and is also releasing a documentary about his rebirth. Both the album and film are called ‘Reincarnated.’

‘American Idol’ returns in January and singer Mariah is filling one of the two seats made available following Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler’s exits last month.

George Clooney is auctioning off his car he ‘Descendants’ actor is selling his 2008 Tesla Signature 100 Roadster to raise funds for relief work in Sudan, with the electric vehicle - which has just 1,700 miles on the clock - expected to fetch up to $125,000. The car - one of the earliest models of the two-seater sports car - will be auctioned off by Gooding & Company at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in Los Angeles on August 19. David Gooding, president and founder of the auction company, said: “We are overjoyed to present George Clooney’s Signature 100 Tesla at Pebble Beach because this is an incredible opportunity to purchase a modern collector car with all the right elements; one-owner, celebrity provenance; historical significance; limited-edition rarity and philanthropic ties.”

Proceeds from the sale will benefit the Satellite Sentinel Project, which was co-founded

by George and activist John Prendergast and uses satellite pictures to monitor the Sudanese region for evidence of “alleged atrocities”. George has long been outspoken about the humanitarian crisis in Sudan and in March, he was arrested with his father and members of congress outside the country’s embassy in Washington for protesting about human rights abuse. He was released from jail the same day he was arrested after posting $100 in bail.

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37

SUNDAY, AUGUST 5, 2012

LIFESTYLE M u s i c

&

M o v i e s

Schwarzenegger says tie-up with Stallone was decades in making rnold Schwarzenegger said he and fellow 1980s action star Sylvester Stallone wanted to work together for decades, but it wasn’t until they met up at a hair salon that their first collaboration came together. The “Rocky” and “Terminator” actors had talked about uniting on screen for 20 years, Schwarzenegger said on Friday, but never found the right script at a time when they were both free of other commitments. “There was always something off. The script was not right, or the studio was not as much interested in it as we were. ... It just didn’t happen,” Schwarzenegger said at a Television Critics Association meeting, where he appeared to promote an upcoming documentary on ESPN website Grantland.com. “Then one day I was sitting at my hairdresser, and Sly came up to me and he said ‘oh man, it would be so great if you could be doing just a little bit of something in my ‘Expendables’ movie,” said the 65-year old actor-turned politician.

At the time, Schwarzenegger was serving as governor of California and had put his action movie career on hold.

He said he agreed right there to film a few hours for “Expendables” on weekends so it wouldn’t take time away from his gubernatorial duties, and that he worked for free. The movie came out in 2010. When Schwarzenegger’s cameo was well-received, Stallone approached him to appear in “The Expendables 2.”

Schwarzenegger, who stepped down as California governor in January 2011, said he did four days of work in Bulgaria on the film, which reaches U.S. theaters Aug. 17.

Their next project came together when Stallone told the producer of upcoming film “The Tomb” that he didn’t want to make the film unless Schwarzenegger was involved. Schwarzenegger liked the script and joined the film - one of five movies he has in the pipeline. While joking that the two were “in love with each other,” he said they have no plans to work on other films together. But he added: “I’m sure ‘Expendables 2’ is going to be a big hit. ... Then (Stallone) will be probably coming back again and asking me to be in the next movie.” In another return to the screen, Schwarzenegger will appear in a documentary short film called “Arnold’s Blueprint” that focuses on the former bodybuilder’s service in the Austrian Army.

Schwarzenegger said his time in the military as a teenager helped shape his future career as a bodybuilder, actor and politician. The story “is about overcoming obstacles,” he said. Schwarzenegger said he worked around his military training to find time for bodybuilding. He later won bodybuilding titles, and used the sport to propel him to international stardom. —Reuters

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Lebanese singers Najoua Karam and Ragheb Alama perform at the Carthage International Festival at the Roman theatre at Carthage in Tunis on August 3, 2012. —AFP

‘Total Recall’ remake will make you recall Arnold’s version he future ain’t what it used to be. That holds doubly true for this generic, cutand-paste remake of 1990’s “Total Recall,” a sci-fi action thriller based on “We Can Remember It for You Wholesale,” a short story by Phillip K. Dick. The first “Total Recall,” an R-rated, rowdy romp starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and directed with his usual over-the-top enthusiasm by Paul Verhoeven (“Showgirls”), was partly set on Mars. The new movie, directed by Len Wiseman (“Underworld”), is decidedly earth-tethered in every way. The closest we get to the Red Planet here is a brief joking spoken reference to it.

The latest “Total Recall” is set in a dystopian future in which the only inhabitable parts of Earth are the United Federation of Britain (which includes much of Europe) and its subjugated outpost, the Colony (Australia). The movie’s hero, Douglas Quaid (Colin Farrell), a factory worker, lives in the Colony and commutes daily at high speed halfway round the world to the UFB for his job.

This quotidian routine is upended when Quaid inadvertently discovers that he has been living a lie. His memory has been erased and his identity replaced. So who is he really? While he tries to find out the answer, he’s on the run from sinister and powerful figures who seem to want him either captured or dead. To further complicated matters, Quaid is also caught betwixt

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and between two women, his new, fake-life wife (Kate Beckinsale) and a paramour from his past (Jessica Biel), both of whom turn out to possess advanced skills in weapon handling and martial arts.

Right from the get go in this new, PG13-rated “Total Recall,” there’s an overload of running, jumping and fighting (with both guns and fists). Eventually, there’s also an extended chase scene involving hover cars that zip around on elevated highways built high up above a city’s surface.

The hover car sequence, along with various other elements in the film, will remind viewers of 2002’s much superior “Minority Report,” which was also based on a short story by Dick (and in which also Farrell

appeared). This new “Total Recall” also suffers by comparison to another Dick-derived classic, 1982’s “Blade Runner,” especially in scenes set in the Colony, the multi-cultural, throbbing, neon and concrete, urban cesspool where Quaid lives.

As he walks around its crowded, danger-

ous streets, you keep expecting him to bump into Harrison Ford. Both of those earlier movies featured distinctive leading characters and involving stories. Not so this “Total Recall,” which rushes pell-mell from one action sequence to the next, with a few paltry attempts at humor and coherent dialogue tossed in between as minor window dressing.

It is nothing more than regurgitated futuristic action claptrap. Farrell shows momentary flashes of the potent combination of danger and mischievous twinkle that once seemed to indicate he had a future as a major movie star. Sadly, though, he is mostly asked merely to grunt and grimace as he sustains yet another bump or bruise while fighting or fleeing the bad guys.

The best way to tell the two leading ladies apart is that Beckinsale has long straight hair and switches between an American and an English accent while Biel sports a ponytail. While both get plenty of chances here to burnish their bona fides as action pin-up babes, it is unlikely the scope of their roles will cause Meryl Streep to lose any sleep. Five minutes after walking out of this “Total Recall,” you’ll be hard-pressed to recall a moment of it. —Reuters

Marilyns from around the world meet for Monroe tributes 34, donning a long 1950s-style black dress with hen a faux Hugh Hefner, clad in his white polka dots. trademark smoking jacket, finishes his “That’s true for most fans. They see a little bit karaoke song, he turns to Marilyn of themselves in her. Her insecurity, her strugMonroe and asks: “Do you want to marry me?” gles to try to be herself in the face of all the The Marilyn look-alike-Canadian Nadine pressure on her, her humanity is such a big Banville-was part of a recent tribute to the iconthing for the fans,” Kasperozoicz said. One of the ic movie star, who died 50 years ago Sunday, event stars was a Marilyn impersonator from held at a hotel just two blocks away from the Netherlands who attracted a crowd of adorHollywood Boulevard. Some 200 Monroe fans ing fans. Decked out in a single-piece light blue from as far away as Italy and Australia met there swimsuit, she flashed sultry smiles in a perfect to honor the real Marilyn Monroe, who was just 36 and at the height of her career when she suc- Marilyn imitation. Another Marilyn impersonator-or “tribute artist” as they like to be knowncumbed to a barbiturate overdose. wore a green velvet dress, a replica of the gown t“I’ve had people say that these Immortal the star sported in “River of No Return” (1954).

Marilyn gatherings have been the highlight of The woman gave an excellent rendition of their life,” said Mary Sims, president of the fan club. “Some of us come from all over the world and Marilyn brought us all together,” she said, her eyes filling with tears. “I get a little emotional,” she apologized. Over the weekend, fans will honor Monroe’s memory at several events, including a banquet at the 20th Century Fox studios and, on Sunday, a memorial service at a Los Angeles Presbyterian church.

Other tributes have already taken place. At a British actress and Marilyn Monroe lookalike Suzie pool party, women Kennedy attends the Immortal Marilyn Pool Party at dressed like extras from the Hollywood Orchid Suites hotel in Hollywood, the 1960s hit show “Mad California, on August 2, 2012. —AFP Men.” Several wore bright “I’m Gonna File My Claim,” the song Monroe red lipstick and dangled long cigarettes from sang in the movie. “It’s my passion,” said Banville, their fingers. Guests included Ernesto Galindez, a 35 year-old from Ottowa, the Canadian capiwho claims to have the largest collection of Marilyn memorabilia in his native Venezuela. His tal. “I fell in love with her when I started to study the character because I’m a singer. She’s an trove comprises checks and other documents amazing person, there’s nobody like her in the signed by the diva, as well-or so he claims-all of world-ever,” Banville said. Her boyfriend, the magazine covers featuring the star.

Morgan Blackbyrne, dressed up as Playboy Freelance writer Leslee Kasperozoicz said magazine millionaire Hugh Hefner, was the one she attributes the enduring interest in Marilyn’s who sang the karaoke song before popping the life to the fact that the star was able to blend big question. “Of course!” Banville answered as the beauty and fickle behavior of a diva with a the crowd of Marilyns sighed adoringly. —AFP heavy dose of vulnerability. “We have so much in common in certain ways” said Kasperozoicz,

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OSN presents a variety of services

By Islam Al-Sharaa KUWAIT: At OSN, subscribers can find a variety of channels that offer different type of TV shows and movies in both Arabic and English. OSN has bought rights from famous Hollywood studios like Disney, FOX and MGM. It also offers 28 channels in HD quality to viewers, in addition to 3D movies. OSN recently launched ‘OSN play’

which is an online service to watch the newest movies and TV shows.

OSN play is a great internet service to let subscribers be able to watch a variety of

movies and series anytime. Starting with the amazing movies that OSN play presents from the classic movies to the newest, in addition to different genres like horror, romance, action and thriller. All these different types of movies will satisfy subscribers and their favorite type of movie.

The registration process is easy for everyone, one only needs a smartcard number.

Moreover, a special service on OSN play website, OSN box office will allow the subscriber to order the newest movies online by making payment on the internet, an easy way to order movies. OSN play also presents Arabic series and TV shows with many different types from reality shows to comedy. Furthermore, it offers sports programs such as basketball, wrestling and rugby. OSN is also considering providing this service on tablets and Mac devices, mobile phones so it can be easily reached by consumers. In addition this service, it does not require any additional payment.

OSN presents a variety of services to consumers which will keep them satisfied and eager for new coming services.

Randy Blythe

Singer of US heavy metal band released in Prague he frontman of the U.S. heavy metal band Lamb of God has been released from a Czech prison on $400,000 bail as police investigate him for allegedly pushing a fan off a stage who later died of his injuries, an official said Friday. A Prague court on Thursday dismissed a prosecution request that Randy Blythe be banned from leaving the country. Blythe’s lawyer, Martin Radvan, said the singer had flown out of the Czech capital for the United States on Friday. The band is based in Richmond, Virginia.

“I’m relieved to be out of Pankrac jail,” Blythe told the private Czech Nova television at Prague’s international airport. “It wasn’t bad but it wasn’t exactly fun.” The 41-yearold was arrested on June 27 when he returned to the Czech Republic for another gig, not realizing that he was being investigated for bodily harm resulting in death during a concert he gave in Prague in 2010, said Radvan.

Blythe told Czech Nova it was “very tragic” the young man had died. “I feel very bad that a fan of my band is dead, that his family has to go through it. That’s terrible. I feel awful for them,” he said. Blythe, who has not been charged with a crime, said he was not aware of what had happened to the fan at Prague’s Abaton club that year and was surprised to be arrested when he returned to the Czech Republic to play a show scheduled for June 28, said Radvan.

“We don’t know yet if (the death) was caused by our client or in a different way,” the lawyer said, adding that the police investigation is unlikely to be completed until winter. Radvan said police believe that during the 2010 concert that the audience member climbed onto the stage and Blythe pushed him off. The fan hit the floor with his head and later died of the injuries, police said. Martina Lhotakova, a spokeswoman for Prague’s Municipal Court, said Blythe was released Thursday when the court upheld a lower court decision that had rejected a request by prosecutors to keep him in custody, fearing he wouldn’t return.

Blythe told media Friday that if requested he would be back. “If it’s necessary for me to return to Prague to go to this court thing, I certainly will,” he said. Tommy Streat, a friend of Blythe’s, organized vigils in support of the singer in Richmond and in Washington, D.C., while the singer was imprisoned. Streat cautioned others not to judge Blythe and the band by their stage personas or their genre, with its thrashing guitars and often dark subjects. He told of a regular guy who cuts his grass, makes time for fans, who helped a homeless man find a place to live and once spent several hours talking a man out of committing suicide.

“The Randy Blythe we know truly has not a bit of malice or ability to cause that kind of harm or take that type of action toward anybody,” Streat said. Streat said Blythe’s release begins his long process to clear his name. “It’s fantastic that he’s gotten through this first step of getting the bail finalized and for everyone to realize that he’s not a flight risk,” Streat said. “He’s an international artist who can’t disappear. It’s a shame it took a month for that to be agreed upon. “The wheels of justice there move a little bit slower than here,” he said. —Reuters

T

SUNDAY, AUGUST 5, 2012

lifestyle

50 years on,

F E A T U R E S

Marilyn’s star power shines bright O

nly 11 years after her death, Elton John sang his ode to Marilyn Monroe. “And I would have liked to have known you, but I was just a kid,” went the lyrics. “Your candle burned out long before your legend ever did.” What John didn’t know was how much truer his words would ring a few decades later.

Monroe passed away a half-century ago today, a murky death that remains one of Hollywood’s most tantalizing mysteries. But look around: Her legend lives on, more vibrantly than ever. In a development this fiercely ambitious actress surely would have appreciated, this 1950’s bombshell has become a 21st-century pop culture phenomenon.

Just flip through a celebrity magazine: Some of-the-moment young starlet or pop singer will be channeling (or outright appropriating) those platinum locks, the bright red lips, moist and slightly parted, and that joyously, almost defiantly curvy figure, sheathed in something skin-tight and glamorous.

In this late October 1956 publicity photo provided by Running Press, Marilyn Monroe, right, with husband Arthur Miller, is shown in the final weeks of filming “The Prince and the Showgirl.” This goddess-like ensemble is in a burnished gold lame.

but not as an actress.

Monroe showed off her dramatic chops in “The Misfits,” for example, and “Bus Stop.” But she is probably best remembered for her delightful comic turns in “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” as the gold-digging Lorelei Lee who sang “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” in that classic pink gown; as the sensuous but ditzy Girl in “The Seven Year Itch”; and as sexy band singer Sugar Kane in “Some Like it Hot.” “Marilyn just leaps off the screen,” says Maltin. “She has a luminosity that transcends everything else.” Still, an entire younger generation is enamored of her for something completely different, says Brandon Holley, editor of

Was that Marilyn on the red carpet at last year’s Teen Choice Awards? No, it was Taylor Swift, wearing a white halter-style dress just like Marilyn’s in “The Seven Year Itch,” in which the actress stood atop a subway grate and let the breeze of a passing train lift her skirts. (Oh, and that dress? It sold at auction last year for a mind-boggling $5.6 million, including commission.)

Was that Marilyn in the Dolce & Gabbana ad a while back? No, it was Scarlett Johansson, all white-blonde hair and ruby lips. And there was Charlize Theron in a Dior ad last year, meeting up with the real Marilyn, not to mention Marlene Dietrich and Grace Kelly, via

CGI. Magazine spreads have featured Nicole Kidman, Lindsay Lohan, Rihanna, Michelle Williams, Viola Davis and others having their Marilyn moment.

Madonna, of course, has famously appropriated Monroe’s look into her image. So have singers Christina Aguilera and Gwen Stefani. In June, on what would have been Marilyn’s 86th birthday, Lady Gaga tweeted “Happy Birthday Marilyn - They’ll never take our blonde hair and lipstick,” along with a picture of herself, Monroe-like. Nicki Minaj says she’s “obsessed with Marilyn Monroe.”

On the big screen, actress Williams earned an Oscar nomination for her moving portrayal of Monroe in “My Week With Marilyn.” And one of TV’s most popular new shows is “Smash” on NBC, which follows a Broadway musical based on Marilyn’s life, with two actresses competing to play her.

Heck, there’s even been a giant Marilyn traversing the country: A 26-foottall, 34,000-pound statue of the actress, white dress billowing and undies showing, by artist Seward Johnson, now resting in Palm Springs, Calif.

And there are plans for much more thanks to the purchase in late 2010 of

Lucky magazine, which draws women in their 20s and 30s. “I think most women under 40 haven’t seen her movies,” Holley says. “For them, she’s a style type - the ultimate hourglass figure. And a lot of women identify with that.”

Christopher Nickens agrees. “Marilyn was the epitome of a certain kind of feminine ideal,” says the co-author of the recently released “Marilyn in Fashion,” a rare look at Monroe’s influence in that field. Her key fashion legacy, he says, was to bring body-conscious clothes into everyday life.

Though she wasn’t seen as a fashion icon during her lifetime, Nickens thinks Marilyn shared something with other style icons like Jackie Kennedy, Grace Kelly, and Audrey Hepburn. “They

didn’t follow trends,” he says. “It’s about knowing yourself and what works for you, and having that confidence.”

Confidence isn’t necessarily something one associates with Monroe, of course. In that Elton John song, “Candle in the Wind,” she’s a beautiful innocent victimized by a terrible Hollywood machine people who “whispered into your brain” and “set you on the treadmill” and “made you change your name.”

That falls into a familiar victim narrative about Monroe, who was indeed victimized as a young girl, according to multiple biographers. Born Norma Jeane Mortenson in 1926, she spent much of her childhood in foster homes, and there are allegations she suffered sexual abuse.

But a victim of Hollywood? Monroe’s latest biographer, Lois Banner, begs to differ. She says Monroe the movie star “was a constructed image” - one the actress herself worked very hard to invent, from the dyed hair (Norma Jeane was a brunette), to the makeup, that breathy voice, and the famous “wiggle walk.”

And her dumb blonde screen image?

Nothing like her, says Banner, a professor of history and gender studies at the University of Southern California. “She was extremely intelligent.”

But why has Marilyn’s appeal only gotten stronger? “First of all, she died very young,” says Banner, freezing her image for eternity. But another reason is the existence of thousands of photographs of Marilyn, bursting with life. “She’s conceivably the most photographed person of the 20th century,” says Banner. The author’s third reason is more cynical: “There’s a lot of people making money off her,” she says.

Which brings us back to Salter, whose company is also using social networking to court a young consumer base for the Marilyn brand. On Facebook, Marilyn has three million-plus fans, 70 percent of them under the age of 24. She also has some 53,000 Twitter followers.

Salter’s brand vision? “To seduce the world with products that capture the iconic personality, style, glamour and elegance of the legendary actress,” according to the promotional materials. “Look at what Marilyn was,” Salter says in a telephone interview. “She’s a total fashion icon. She invented the red carpet. She knew her brand.” “I’ve got the best model in the whole world.” — AP

In this Sept. 9, 1954 file photo, Marilyn Monroe poses over the updraft of New York subway grating while in character for the filming of “The Seven Year Itch” in Manhattan.

In this late October 1956 photo provided by Running Press, Marilyn Monroe, right, wearing a burnished gold lame gown meets the Queen in London.

The photograph is included in a new 2012 book, “Marilyn in Fashion,” published

by Running Press.

Monroe’s estate, which includes her image, by Authentic Brands Group and its partner, NECA. The company’s CEO, Jamie Salter, says he aims to upgrade the Marilyn brand by moving away from cheap souvenirs and developing Marilynthemed cosmetic lines, spas and salons, sportswear, swimwear, footwear, handbags and more. There are even plans for wait for it - the inevitable Marilyn Monroe reality show, in which young women would compete to become a new Hollywood icon.

But just what is the secret of Marilyn’s enduring appeal? It depends on whom you ask - and that’s fitting, really, because Marilyn, more than other iconic celebrities, was different things to different people.

There was, most simply, Marilyn the actress - a Marilyn that often got lost in all the hype, despite her desperate aspirations to be taken seriously. Film historian Leonard Maltin laments that many people know Marilyn “as an image and an icon,”

In this Jan. 14, 1954 file photo, Joe DiMaggio baseball’s famed “Yankee Clipper,” and screen actress Marilyn Monroe, smile cheek to cheek as they wait patiently in Judge Charles Perry’s chambers for their marriage ceremony in San Francisco. The wedding climaxed a romance of more than a year.

In this undated publicity photo courtesy Running Press, Marilyn Monroe is shown in the first photo taken of her in the famous white dress from the “The Seven Year Itch.” For a brief scene in “The Seven Year Itch,” in September 1954, her character strolls on a Manhattan street on a stifling summer evening. When a subway rattles beneath her, Marilyn stands astride a sidewalk vent to catch a cool breeze that swirls her skirt up around her waist.

SUNDAY, AUGUST 5, 2012

lifestyle F E A T U R E S

In this June 2, 1955 file photo, actress Marilyn Monroe, right, in a glamorous evening gown, with Joe DiMaggio, arrives at the theater.

In this undated publicity photo courtesy Running Press, Marilyn Monroe is shown in the first photo taken of her in the famous white dress from the ‘The Seven Year Itch.

— AP/AFP photos

In this May 19, 1962 publicity photo provided by Running Press, Peter Lawford, right, tends to Marilyn Monroe’s fur as she prepares to sing “Happy Birthday” to President John F. Kennedy at a Madison Square Garden gala in New York.

In this July 7, 1958 file photo, actress Marilyn Monroe leaves New York by air for Hollywood, to start work on “Some Like It Hot,” her first film in two years.

In this June 2, unknown year, file photo, actress Marilyn Monroe smiles in a car after arriving tousled from an all-night plane flight from Hollywood to Idlewild Airport, in New York. ”

In this 1959 file photo provided by United Artists, Tony Curtis, left, and Marilyn Monroe are shown in the hilarious, milestone comedy, “Some Like It Hot,” produced, directed, and coscripted by Billy Wilder.

In this July 15, 2011 file photo, the curious gather around Seward Johnson’s 26-foot-tall sculpture of Marilyn Monroe, in her most famous wind-blown pose, on Michigan Avenue, in Chicago.

In this March 1953 publicity photo provided by Running Press, Marilyn Monroe receives an award from Photoplay magazine at the Beverly Hills Hotel, in Beverly Hills, Calif.

She is named “Fastest Rising Star of 1952,” and her choice of attire overshadows the event. The entire gown was made from “one complete circle of fabric.”

Marilyn Monroe, 50 years after death M

Oleg Cassini and Emilio Pucci, the book tells the rarely told stories behind iconic looks such as the white dress she wore over the subway grate in “The Seven Year Itch” and the sequined gown she wore to sing “Happy Birthday” to President John Kennedy.

arilyn Monroe died 50 years ago on Aug. 5, 1962, at age 36. Timed to the anniversary of her death - ruled a probable suicide from acute barbiturate poisoning are a host of books that celebrate and analyze the screen icon.

There have been numerous books written about Monroe in the years since her death, and the new batch doesn’t offer that much revelatory new information about the film star. But some offer interesting new takes on Monroe and illustrate how much her iconic image still captivates and confounds.

“Marilyn: Intimate Exposures” (Sterling Publishing), by Susan Bernard: Packed with pictures, outtakes and memorabilia from author Susan Bernard’s father, photographer Bruno Bernard, “Marilyn: Intimate Exposures” chronicles Bernard’s photos of Monroe in the 1940s and 1950s as she transforms from bubbly pin-up girl

used it as his big break, garnering exclusive rights to the photos and selling them to Life magazine to land the cover. — AP

cally researched take on the star, and it delves into areas such as Marilyn’s stammer and her possible bisexuality at greater length than other biographies.

Here’s a look at some of the latest books: “Marilyn: The Passion and the Paradox” (Bloomsbury USA), by Lois Banner: Author Lois Banner, an academic and gender historian, makes the case in this comprehensive biography that Monroe was a proto-feminist, overcoming a difficult childhood to create a movie star persona, taking complete control of her media image and starting her own production company to fight against an unfair and sexist Hollywood system. It’s an interesting, methodi-

“Marilyn Monroe: The Final Years” (St. Martin’s Press), by Keith Badman: Author Keith Badman takes a meticulously detailed look at the year and a half leading up to Marilyn’s death.

He adopts a breezy authoritative tone, but the narrative sometimes gets bogged down with unnecessary details, such as exact amounts on receipts, and Badman’s asides about what other biographers have gotten wrong.

Norma Jeane to the glamorous movie star Marilyn, along with his memories of the actress.

“Marilyn in Fashion: The Enduring Influence of Marilyn Monroe (Running Press, a member of the Perseus Books Group), by Christopher Nickens and George Zeno: Putting the spotlight on the designers that decorated Marilyn’s famous figure, “Marilyn in Fashion” is an intriguing look at the way Monroe controlled her self-image via fashion. Full of full-color photos and divided in sections by designers such as

“Marilyn & Me: A Photographer’s Memories” (Nan A. Talese/Doubleday), by Lawrence Schiller: Another memoir by a photographer, this slim volume recounts several photo shoots by Lawrence Schiller, including Marilyn’s last, when Monroe filmed a nude scene in a pool for “Something’s Got to Give.” Monroe conceived the stunt to draw attention away from Elizabeth Taylor, who was filming “Cleopatra,” but Schiller

50 years on, Marilyn’s star power shines bright

36

SUNDAY, AUGUST 5, 2012

Indian Muslim devotees offer prayers on the second Friday of the holy month of Ramadan at Moti Mosque in Bhopal, India. Muslims throughout the world are marking the holy month of Ramadan, where devotees fast from dawn till dusk. — AP

Palestinian girls read the holy Qurían at mosque in Rafah in southern Gaza strip. Muslims around the world refrain from eating, drinking and sexual intercourse from dawn till dusk during Ramadan, the holiest month in the Islamic calendar. —MCT

Are we letting the terrorists win?

Prejudice is not the way to go

M

any people now look at Arab Muslims with fear, or treat them with prejudice. Others feel the need to treat them specially, or with “understanding.” This is all unnecessary.

Yes, everyone should be treated with understanding, but not because the World Trade Center fell. It wasn’t Arab Muslims as a whole who committed the act. It was Muslim extremists, members of al-Qaida.

So what’s the problem? After the Timothy McVeigh bombing in Oklahoma City, we didn’t hate whites. When Ted Kacz ynski, the man known as the Unabomber, was caught, we didn’t discriminate against Polish people-or smart people (this terrorist was a Harvard graduate with an IQ of 167).

I think people are prejudiced against Arab Muslims because the Islamic way of life seems different from what they know, that it somehow makes Muslims dangerous. But it’s not the everyday Arab that people are so afraid of; it’s the one in traditional garb. He looks different, which makes him easy to single out.

While people’s reaction to and treatment of Muslims are often unfair, irra-

Zeeshan Zafar, 8, Shaheer Shah, 6, and Mohiib Ameen, 6, eat a snack after breaking the fast during Ramadan at Masjid Bait-Ul-Wahid in Clifton, N.J.

Saman, 8, checks a compass on his fatherís smart phone to make sure heís facing east, in the direction of Mecca, during prayers to celebrate the end of Ramadan in San Diego, Calif. —MCT tional and fueled by fear, it doesn’t mean that terrorism isn’t out there. Muslim extremists certainly are our enemy _ as well as anyone else who seeks to harm

Enjoy festive iftars with

Americans. But people need to make the distinction: Muslim or Islam does not equal terrorism.

Instead, what needs to be stressed is how to spot suspicious activity in general, not just in people of Middle Eastern

descent. While you’re on a plane constantly peeping over at the Muslim man, the white guy with blonde hair and blue eyes sitting next to you could be the one who’s really hiding a box cutter.

Sept. 11 was traumatic and left peo-

ple across the world scared. But discrimination is not the key to coping with what happened. Neither is trying to sympathize with those who really didn’t have anything to do with the incident. Let them live their lives.

Remember that innocent Muslims also died on that day. Muslims were a part of the community in and around the World Trade Center; enough so that there were mosques within the building.

There was even a Muslim site of prayer very close to where the plane crashed into the Pentagon. I’m sure there were innocent Muslims on the plane making last phone calls to their families like every other passenger.

Ten years after 9/11, we must ensure that the morale and safet y of the United States are maintained. Nothing like this can happen again, and we’ve done a good job of that so far. The thousands of rescue workers and nearby residents who developed illnesses or were in other ways affected by the 9/11 attacks must continue to receive support. The day that these things stop happening is the day we really let the terrorists win. — MCT

Home Centre’s

Ramadan and Eid collection T

he Holy Month of Ramadan celebrates compassion and togetherness with family members and friends.

Reflecting on this special occasion Home Centre has unveiled a fresh collection of home accessories and furniture to bring home a hint of tradition and festive glow for your family and guests.

For all those special iftar and suhour gatherings, Home Centre serves elegant collections of tableware and dinner sets fit for a regal banquet. Tea sets in beautiful glazed ceramics are also available. Adorned with gold embellishments and floral designs, these special collections complete the offering. Bold hues and metallic finishes in the dÈcor range are set to lend a vibrant feel to each room.

Furthermore, aesthetically crafted urns, vases and platters in royal shades of purple, gold and red can complement modern and classic settings. Contemporary design meets rustic charm in the hanging incense burners, lanterns and candle holders that exude subtle overtones of peace within your home. Find a variety in store from sleek glass lanterns to ornate filigree lamps. Stylish cushions, place mats and rugs ideally complement the occasion, perfect for dressing up your majlis and living rooms. Also available is an assortment of simple but statement centre-pieces and photo frames.

Home Centre’s Ramadan and Eid collection is specifically created to match the needs and preferences of the local consumers, and echoes a careful balance of richness and sobriety.

For livening up your home this special season, find inspirations from the Home Centre Ramadan Catalogue 2012 that puts together a hand-picked selection of home accessories and furniture pieces.

The catalogue is available in stores and on the brand’s website www.homecentrestores.com Home Centre offers a mix of modern and traditional designs across furniture, furnishings, home accessories, kitchenware and gift options at exceptional value.