RI PT IO N BS C SU THE LEADING INDEPENDENT DAILY IN THE ARABIAN GULF
40 PAGES
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 27, 2010
SAFAR 12, 1431 AH
French report calls for ban on full veil
Sri Lanka heads for contested election result
Israel rejects UN Gaza war probe call
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NO: 14622
150 FILS
Murray knocks Nadal out of Australian Open PAGE 18
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‘Illegal’ car race kills 8 Kuwaitis
KUWAIT: HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah kisses the national flag before a flag-hoisting ceremony at the Bayan Palace yesterday. — KUNA (See Page 2)
in the news Awqaf to rate sermons KUWAIT: The Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs announced yesterday a new system to rate and evaluate preachers delivering Friday sermons. Undersecretary for Mosques’ Affairs Walid Al-Shuaib told the press that the system was still under development but it would be implemented soon to ensure that the sermons were up to standard. Preachers should stick to certain criteria while delivering their sermons in mosques and should abide by the system in order to evaluate their work, stated the official.
KUWAIT: Eight Kuwaiti youths were killed and 14 others injured, seven in critical condition, when several cars collided during an unofficial car race, a security source and witnesses said yesterday. However, an Interior Ministry statement put the death toll at five Kuwaitis. Ministry Spokesman Colonel Mohammed Al-Sabr added in the statement that three Kuwaitis, a Syrian and a bedoon are among those wounded. Dozens of youths watched the race in Doha on the Sixth Ring Road exit to the Entertainment City around midnight Monday when the accident took place, witnesses told AFP. Two of the racing cars went astray, smashed into four other parked vehicles, hitting many spectators which caused the number of
casualties to rise, a security source said. A number of senior security officials rushed to the scene along with paramedics and units from the fire department and forensics. An accident report has been registered at the Sulaibikhat police station. Illegal car races are common in this affluent state where car ownership is very high. There are around 1.4 million registered vehicles in Kuwait which has 1.1 million citizens and 2.3 million foreign residents. Around 400 people die of road accidents and thousands are injured or maimed every year in Kuwait. Al-Sabr urged parents to monitor the actions of their children for their safety, adding that the ministry had previously and repeatedly warned of what he described as “traffic chaos”. — Agencies
Rashed: Time ripe for amending constitution Panel approves bill for power shareholding companies By B Izzak
Moody’s downgrades NIG KUWAIT: Moody’s Investor Service yesterday downgraded the corporate family and probability of default ratings of Kuwait’s National Industries Company Holding and maintained negative outlook. It also downgraded ratings on $475-million sukuk or Islamic bonds issued by NIG, the largest private industrial and investment groups in Kuwait, to B1 from Ba3, the ratings agency said in a statement. The negative outlook reflects the exposure to the rollover of some larger credit facilities which fall due in the current quarter leaving NIG highly reliant on the continued support of its core banks, Moody’s said. NIG is a major holding company in the state and has a large number of subsidiaries and affiliates, all of which are affected by the downgrading.
Kharafi, Hyundai win deal KUWAIT: Kuwait’s Kharafi Group and South Korea’s Hyundai Engineering and Construction have won a KD 328 million ($1.14 billion) contract to develop a port in Kuwait, a local daily said yesterday. The firms won the tender for the second part of the first phase of the project on Boubyan island, which includes designing and building the seaport, Kuwaiti daily newspaper Al-Rai said in an unsourced report. In 2004, Kuwait approved a $3.47 billion plan to develop the island into a commercial port to position itself to play a key role in Iraq’s reconstruction after the 2003 US-led invasion.
KUWAIT: Pigeons frolic in a puddle of rainwater in Salmiya yesterday. – Photo by Joseph Shagra
Gulf growth prospects improve DUBAI: Most Gulf Arab states will enjoy higher growth rates this year than previously expected, helped by global recovery, but debt woes in the United Arab Emirates will weigh on the outlook, a Reuters poll showed yesterday. The global finan-
cial crisis trimmed output and froze credit in the world’s top oil exporting region last year, sending some of the key players such as the UAE into a downturn. But global recovery is seen helping revive investment and credit growth.
Qatar will remain the region’s leader with a 16.1 percent jump in gross domestic product this year thanks to massive expansion of its natural gas facilities, according to the median forecast of economists Continued on Page 14
biggest spenders on thoroughbreds. He also bankrolls the world’s richest horse race the Dubai World Cup - and is determined to put the Middle East’s biggest social and sporting event on a par with Royal Ascot and the Kentucky Derby. “They all have lots of history and have produced many champions,” said Saeed Humaid Al-Tayer, the Chairman of Dubai Racing Club and Chief Executive of Meydan, a government-run company spearheading the project. “We’d like to do the same,” Al-Tayer told AP in an interview. The inaugural race on the new 1.75 km track with a synthetic surface will take place tomorrow. Continued on Page 14
KUWIAT: Liberal MP Ali AlRashed yesterday renewed calls for amending the 1962 constitution, saying time is ripe for such change but it requires courage. The lawmaker, who last year resigned from the liberal National Democratic Alliance and has become an ardent defender of the government, said in a statement that now is “the best appropriate time to amend a number of articles of the constitution”. A few weeks ago, Rashed stirred a wave of protests from opposition lawmakers when he openly called for amending the constitution which has not undergone any change since its promulgation in November of 1962. Rashed said that among the main changes needed was to increase the membership of the National Assembly from the current 50 members in order to allow the government to have more members. Under the constitution, the number of ministers cannot exceed one-third of the Assembly membership. Currently, the maximum number of the Cabinet is 16 Continued on Page 14
Israel says Erdogan fuels anti-Semitism JERUSALEM: An internal Israeli Foreign Ministry document accuses Turkey’s prime minister of fueling anti-Semitism with his criticism of Israel, an official said yesterday, threatening to spark a new diplomatic row with one of its few Muslim allies. The ministry’s report comes two weeks af ter Israel’s deputy foreign minister enraged Turkey by summoning the country’s ambassador for a humiliating public reprimand shown on Israeli TV. Although Israel
was forced to apologize, the report said the reprimand made it clear to Turkey that there must be a limit to its criticism. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been a fierce critic of Israel’s military offensive in the Gaza Strip last year. The report accused Erdogan, leader of an Islamic-oriented party, of going too far with his rhetoric and creating “negative public opinion” toward Israel. Continued on Page 14
Alien life could already be here LONDON: For the past 50 years, scientists have scoured the skies for radio signals from beyond our planet, hoping for some sign of extraterrestrial life. But one physicist says there’s no reason alien life couldn’t already be lurking among us - or maybe even in us. Paul Davies, an awardwinning Arizona State University physicist known for his popular science writing said yesterday that life may have developed on Earth not once but several times. Davies said the variant life forms - most likely tiny microbes - could still be hanging around “right under our noses - or even in our noses”. “How do we know all life on
earth descended from a single origin?” he told a conference at London’s prestigious Royal Society, which serves as Britain’s academy of sciences. “We’ve just scratched the surface of the microbial world.” The idea that alien microorganisms could be hiding out here on earth has been discussed for a while, according to Jill Tarter, the director of the US SETI project, which listens for signals from civilizations based around distant stars. She said several of the scientists involved in the project were interested in pursuing the notion, which Davies earlier laid out in a 2007 article published in Scientific Continued on Page 14
Search on for victims, answers
Dubai to open $2bn horse racing complex DUBAI: The opening of Dubai’s $2 billion race track is the latest indication that the indebted Gulf sheikhdom has no plans to scale down ambitions to host high profile sports events, particularly those close to its ruler’s heart. Despite a struggle to pay the bills for its boom time excess, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum - a long time horse enthusiast and one of the world’s premier endurance riders - is in no mood to save when it comes to horses and racing. The new Meydan racing facility includes two race tracks, a grandstand for 60,000 spectators, a 290-room-with-aview luxury hotel, a marina and a racing museum. Sheikh Mohammed is among the
KUWAIT: Kuwaiti men and security officers look at car damaged when several cars collided overnight early yesterday. — Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat
DUBAI: Pakistani laborers fix the fences at the Meydan Grandstand and Race Track Jan 24, 2010. — AP
BEIRUT: Officials yesterday sought to determine why an Ethiopian airliner veered off course on takeoff from Beirut before crashing at sea, as rescuers searched for the black boxes and additional victims. Transport Minister Ghazi Aridi told AFP the pilot of the ill-fated plane had initially acknowledged control tower instructions before the jet suddenly went off in a different direction. “He rogered instructions to go in one direction but then the plane deviated and when the control tower tried to reach him they lost contact,” he said. Aridi said the search yesterday was concentrated in a 35-sq-km area off the coast just south of Beirut’s airport. “There are no answers until we find the black boxes,” he said. Ethiopian Airlines Flight 409 tumbled in a ball of Continued on Page 14
HANAWAY, Lebanon: Relatives mourn near the coffin of prominent businessman Hassan Tajeddine – from a very rich and influential Shiite family in southern Lebanon and a strong Hezbollah supporter - during his funeral in this southern village near the port city of Tyre. — AP
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NATIONAL
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Solidarity the focal point of Amir’s speeches KUWAIT: As Kuwait marks the fourth anniversary of His Highness Sheikh Sabah AlAhmad’s ascent to the throne as the 15th Amir of the State of Kuwait, it is clear to the nation that ensuring solidarity and the higher interests of the homeland are the core focus of his policies. Throughout his speeches, the Amir has stressed the principles of fraternity, respect, and diligence to further the state’s interest. In his speech marking the last ten days of Ramadan last year, His Highness stressed “Kuwait is what binds us together, what we all turn to in refuge, what our martyrs sacrificed their lives for and what many devoted countrymen give their lives for. Each and every one of us is responsible, and each shall be judged in this respect.” Expressing similar sentiments in an address late last year, His Highness said “Kuwait’s true strength and sovereignty lies within our solidarity and loyalty.” Speaking about this statement, Kuwait Journalists Association Advisor Dr Ayed Al-Manna said “in a few words, the Amir reminded everybody of the need to shun division and return to basics, after friction threatened to compromise our social fabric.” He added, “Such transparent plea and non-negotiable principles could only bring forth a favorable response on the part of the public, and the return to calm and to solidarity further stressed the nature of the bond between leader and subjects in Kuwait.” Al-Manna
also pointed out that His Highness never underplayed the value of freedom of expression or the constitutional rights of both the legislative and executive authority, though he did stress that both should do their utmost to maintain constructive cooperation and a smooth relationship. Within this atmosphere, the state approved a very ambitious and expensive development plan involving both the private and public sector in an effort to turn the state into a regional economic center and example of social and overall human development, he remarked. Still on the point of shunning discord, Dr. Faris AlWuqayyan, a researcher at Kuwait University’s Center for Future and Strategic Studies, said that the Amir’s speeches always had solidarity and rising above sectarianism, tribalism, and other divisive phenomena as their focal point and emphasis. This emphasis on these factors was the same means through which His Highness’ leadership managed to sustain progress towards prosperity for the homeland and through which he urged that the interests of the public be met and their rights guaranteed, the researcher stressed. Undoubtedly, maintaining this path and ensuring that Kuwaitis rise above social and other hurdles and challenges is a giant task, the academic noted, and one to which all citizens much contribute, if they are truly to heed the guidelines stressed in the Amir’s speeches. — KUNA
National Assembly Speaker, the Prime Minister and members of the NA council during the ceremony. His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah and His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah attend the flag hoisting ceremony yesterday. — Photos by KUNA
Military personnel performing a military parade during the ceremony.
Amir attends flag-hoisting ceremony
His Highness the Amir while hoisting the flag.
Charity organizations urged to be transparent KUWAIT: The Charity Organization Department of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor has adopted a work plan prepared by the Ministry’s committee. The committee is in charge of monitoring charitable work that the Department undertakes. It focuses on the importance of enforcing law on all the charitable organizations especially with regard to penalties imposed on those
who fail to address offenses committed. Certain organizations have committed a number of violations, the work plan stated. An improvement was noticed in these organizations’ commitment to the law, which include quick response to warnings to fix violations. Furthermore, the work plan asserts that comprehensive monitoring operations on charity work continue to be pur-
sued and that it be further expanded to include procedures like conducting searches at mosques around the country, and keep tabs on unlicensed charity collection procedures. In addition, the work plan also asserted that charitable organizations abide by regulations of public labor law to appoint staff members and ensure that all workers who work for them have valid residencies registered
with the organization they work for. This procedure aims to avoid charitable work from being misused. Special inspection teams will be created to carry out search operations, reported Al-Qabas. The work plan further called for increasing the level of cooperation and coordination between charitable organizations and the Ministry, as well as other concerned government directorates.
Cop accused of rape held for questioning KUWAIT: The Kuwaiti Attorney General, Consultant Rashid AlOthman, has ordered that a policeman accused of abusing his position to abduct and rape a number of Asian women be detained in the country’s Central Prison for 21 days while the charges against him are investigated. The order was issued after the Public Prosecutor heard the testimony of the officer who arrested the accused man, who said that the suspect had used his patrol vehicle during working hours to abduct Asian women shortly after arresting them for residency violations, taking them to apartments where he would rape them before taking them into police custody. The accused allegedly took advantage of the women’s fear of further legal problems to ensure their silence about his crimes. The officer was eventually arrested after one of his victims, a Sri Lankan woman, filed a complaint against him, reported AlQabas. He is also expected to face further charges after a further three women, all Indonesian, also filed separate charges against him. A Public Prosecution Department official insisted that the accused would not be allowed to avoid punishment for his crimes by virtue of his position if found guilty, emphasizing its commitment to enforcing law and order equally against all offenders. The official also asserted that security officials and police officers are treated in the same way as normal citizens when facing any criminal charges, being suspended from their work for the duration of any trial and sacked if they are found guilty since the Ministry of Interior wants to remove any such individuals from among its staff.
KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber AlSabah attended a State flag-hoisting ceremony at the Bayan Palace yesterday. The ceremony was attended by His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, National Assembly Speaker Jassem AlKhorafi, senior sheikhs, Deputy Chief of National Guard Sheikh Meshal AlAhmad Al-Sabah, HH Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah, Minister of Amiri Diwan Affairs Sheikh Nasser AlAhmad Al-Sabah, senior state officials, army, police and National Guard commanders. HH the Amir’s motorcade arrived at the Bayan Palace at 10:30 am, having been warmly welcomed by members of the army, police, National Guard and anti-fire squad. 21 bullets were fired as a sign of welcome to HH the Amir upon arrival. The ceremony began with the singing of the national anthem, and HH the Amir hoisted the state’s flag.
in my view
A question of climate By Fouad Al-Obaid
T
hey talk of the melting north and don’t care about the boiling south. The winds of fortune are spinning and the concern today is about who will lose. We are in a global battle, or at least that is what we are being told. We are entering a new era. Are we trying to be bold? To the current MPs I advise you to take hold of the matters at stake. Questioning is good perhaps even healthy. Action, I learned, is far stronger than words. I hope the MPs take hold of the challenges ahead. United we stand to gain from passing opportunities. I believe that the dangers we face today come from the breaking up of our social fabric. Our national morale is collapsing, tarnished by endless skirmishes between vying interest that do not see the big picture. As a country with only a million nationals we somehow find excuses to exasperate our differences. Instead, we ought to block and prevent the slightest of gaps. We must be aware that our neighbors’ instability might end up on our borders. I believe we need to work harder to forge an identity that will last into the next century. We need to see the reflection of our lives and its effects on our generation that
Amiri sends greetings to India KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah sent a cable of congratulations yesterday to the Indian President Pratibha Patil, on the occasion of her country’s Republic Day celebrations. Meanwhile, His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf AlAhmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad AlAhmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah sent similar cables to India. —- KUNA
is yet to come. We ought to lay a strong foundation, one of solid ethics, and good practices that are to be adopted by the vast majority. We are at times our worst enemy for not seizing the possibilities that life throws our way. Many talk of culture as though it is something that we ought to stick to religiously. We are the fruit of a global culture, one that has a demand for the resources we have under our blessed ground. In exchange for this resource we have acquired riches and material wealth. Our next step is to develop indigenous industries and specializations that will provide us with world class innovations. As a society we have contributed to the well being of many countries with our various generous offerings. We have provided gifts, grants and development aid that has helped many. We have developed our society from one that had knowledge of only what was necessary for a simple society built by the sea and confronted by the desert. Now, we are a country that has built schools, roads, universities, and libraries; one that is able to integrate and take its rightful place amongst the community of nations. That strategy is one that we ought not forget. It was crafted by our leaders to whom we owe much of our last decade’s prosperity. fouad@kuwaittimes.net
MP calls for relocating ministry headquarters KUWAIT: The Deputy Head of the Municipal Council, Shayaa Al-Shayaa has called for relocating the headquarters of ministries, located currently in south Surra, to the Seventh Ring Road’s perimeter. He has proposed this solution to the area’s persisting traffic jam problem. Al-Shayaa further explained that the area is plagued by a daily traffic jam crisis. It is mostly created by people who are headed to the Ministries’ buildings, a
problem that not only paralyzes traffic in the area but also significantly pollutes its atmosphere, reported AlWatan. Furthermore, Al-Shayaa asserted on the importance of taking immediate action, especially in view of an expected increase in the rate of traffic jams when the Jaber Al-Ahmad Hospital, located in the area, will be opened. This hospital is touted to be the largest in the country, covering an area of 225,000 square meters.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
NATIONAL
3 API holds workshop
Natural resources ‘a curse’: New report KUWAIT: A recent economic study indicates that natural resources could be a curse for those na tions w hose economies are heavily reliant on them. The findings w ere revealed during a w orkshop held yesterday morning at the Arab Planning Institute. The w orkshop show cased a study
entitled ‘Taxes, Natural Resources Endow ment, and the Labor Supply in the Arab countries.’ “[The possession of] natural resources is a curse,” said economist Weshah Razzaq, the author of the report. “It is a curse in the sense that in the labor market it acts like a tax, reducing w orking hours and productivity. It also creates a w edge betw een the marginal product of labor and the real w age.”
For the report, Razzaq has devised a model with which he aims to fill the gap of missing data in the Arab world. “Arab countries do not produce data on labor supply, which is hours worked per person per week, and that makes policy discussions fuzzy and misguided,” said Razzaq in the report. The lack of data on working hours in the Arab world motivated Razzaq to develop a model that could predict this value by measuring various other factors, such as income, consumption, and tax rates. The model was then applied to data from G7 countries, in order to verify the information’s accuracy. Later on, the model was applied on the data available from Arab countries, and the results from the two experiments were compared. “We found that Tunisia has the most productive workforce in the Arab world,” said Razzaq, “although workers
on oil revenues plays the same role as increasing taxes on lowering workers’ productivity levels. The study also found that GCC countries could “obtain higher benefits from workers in terms of hours worked, and
By Ahmad Saeid
KUWAIT: Indian Ambassador Ajai Malhotra meets his compatriots (top) at the embassy function yesterday. — Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat
Indians celebrate Republic Day KUWAIT: The festivities to commemorate the 61st Republic Day of India opened in Kuwait yesterday, with the unfurling of the National Flag by the Ambassador Ajai Malhotra. This was followed by the singing of the National Anthem. Ambassador Malhotra then read out the Address to the Nation by the President of India, Pratibha Patil, and addressed the gathering of Indian nationals who had assembled at the Indian Embassy premises.
Thereafter, school children from three Indian schools in Kuwait sang patriotic songs and an all-girls brass band of the Indian Community School in Kuwait performed to the delight of those attending the celebrations. This was followed by an Open House reception at which hot Indian snacks and other refreshments were served to all those present. The festivities were attended by nearly 5,000 Indian nationals hailing from all walks
of life, including project workers and domestic workers, representatives of Indian associations, engineers, doctors, accountants, and other professionals, technicians, traders and businessmen, besides embassy staff and their families. The 600,000 strong Indian community is the largest expatriate presence in Kuwait and a microcosm of India’s rich diversity. Several major newspapers in Kuwait issued special supplements to mark India’s Republic Day.
there produce approximately 8.2 percent of the average production of workers in G7 countries.” When the model was applied on GCC member states’ economies, the conclusion was that the increased dependency
higher levels of welfare if they reduced the oil share in production and diversified their economies.’ Another interesting conclusion of the study is that poverty could be reduced effectively by reducing tax rates.
This article has been removed in compliance with the proposed ‘amendments’ to the Press and Publication Law. This is part of Kuwait Times’ campaign against the proposed amendments
in the news
Kuwait, Canada sign cancer treatment deal TORONTO: Visiting Kuwaiti Health Minister Dr Hilal Al-Sayer and Canada’s University Health Network (UNH) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at developing the different cancer treatment services offered in Kuwait’s hospitals. Speaking following the signing ceremony here on Monday night, which was also attended by Kuwait’s Ambassador to Canada Musaed Al Haroun, Dr. Al-Sayer said that the agreement included a ten-year strategic plan to raise Kuwait’s health services to UNH-adopted standards. Besides improving the Information Technology services used in the country’s hospitals, the Canadian side will also work on developing management in Kuwaiti cancer treatment centers including surgical, radiotherapy and chemotherapy treatment, the minister explained. He said that the cooperation agreement will also cover the diagnostic, education and training fields, while the electronic communication system and the provision of training courses in Canada for Kuwaiti physicians are also included. The agreement is expected to help Kuwait provide better healthcare services, as well as enhancing and improving the health ministry’s investment in and education of Kuwaiti medical staff, said the minister. The minister, who arrived here earlier this week, is also scheduled to visit the United States to sign similar cooperation agreements during his trip. Meanwhile, Ambassador Al-Haroun praised the MoU signed by Kuwait and Canada on the development of Kuwait’s cancer treatment services, saying that the agreement will contribute to increasing and developing investments in the health field, the exchange of expertise, and the training of Kuwaiti doctors. It will also boost the Kuwaiti-Canadian relations, he added. The ambassador praised the minister and his accompanying delegation’s visit to Canada, voicing hope that the trip would be an opportunity to find new ways of reinforcing the health and medical ties and cooperation between the two countries, especially in the training field. Ambassador Al-Haroun said that KuwaitiCanadian relations have witnessed a turning point on all levels. — KUNA
KUWAIT: The head of Arab Planning Institute Eisa Al-Ghazali (left) and Economist Weshah Razzaq at the workshop. —Photo by Ahmad Saeid
Farwaniya Hospital traffic problems KUWAIT: Municipal council member Engineer Jassar Al-Jassar has submitted a proposal to change the junctions at the entrance and exit to Farwaniya Hospital into roundabouts. Al-Jassar said that the current traffic light system used at these points cause extreme tailbacks, reported Al-Jarida. The council member said that these traffic problems affect patients, visitors and hospital staff, as well as causing regular painful accidents, as reported daily by Kuwait newspapers.
Inter-cultural dialogue skills KUWAIT: The Inter-Cultural Communications and Dialogue Center will hold a lecture on the skills of interaction among cultures and preventing communication conflicts today. Director of the Center Abdulaziz Al-Duaij said that the Head of the GulfEuropean Studies unit and Political Sciences and International Relations lecturer at Kuwait University Dr Muna AlMuhammad will deliver the lecture. The lecture comes as an implementation of the center’s strategy to increase cooperation between civilizations and to clarify the real image of Islam in the West, he pointed out. He said that a group of KU lecturers, social figures, and foreigners were invited to attend the lecture.
KUWAIT: Sheikha Latifa Al-Fahad Al-Salem Al-Sabah and Hijran Huseynova at the signing ceremony. — KUNA
Kuwait, Azerbaijan sign deal on women, family affairs KUWAIT: The State of Kuwait and the Republic of Azerbaijan have signed here yesterday an agreement on cooperation in the field of women, child and family affairs. Kuwait was represented by chairperson of the cabinet’s Women Affairs Committee Sheikha Latifa Al-Fahad AlSalem Al-Sabah while Azerbaijan was represented by Chairperson of the State Committee for Family, Women and Children Affairs Hijran Huseynova. Addressing reporters at the signing ceremony, Sheikha Latifa said the Kuwaiti women have traditionally enjoyed a welldeserved high social status throughout history. “The Kuwaiti government is keen on providing the due care and support to women and children out of the principle of her constitution and international obligations,” Sheikha Latifa underscored. “The State of Kuwait works with the concerned local, regional and international organizations to provide protection to
the young generation from the early stage of their life on,” she said. “Today’s document is part of Kuwait’s efforts to strengthen cooperation with friendly countries and share experience with them in the field of women and child affairs,” she added. Sheikha Latifa hailed Mrs. Huseynova’s visit to Kuwait, voicing hope that the agreement would add to the close ties between the two Muslim nations. The ceremony was attended, from the Kuwaiti side, by Undersecretary of Foreign Ministry Khaled Al-Jarallah, Assistant Undersecretary of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor Awatef Al-Qattan chairperson of the legal office of the cabinet’s Women Affairs Committee Hoda Al-Shaiji, chief of the committee’s technical office Ahmad Al-Bustan and the committee’s advisor Hessa Al-Shahin, and, from the Azeri side, Ambassador to Kuwait Shahin Abdullayev. — KUNA
US official to visit Kuwait WASHINGTON: US Deputy Treasury Secretary Neal Wolin will be visiting Kuwait next month as part of a Gulf tour that will also include Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, it was announced here yesterday. The Treasury Department said that Wolin will travel to Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait from Feb 13 to 17. It added that the US official will meet during his visit with senior government officials, regulators, and members of the private sector. His talks are expected to focus on a range of issues including “stabilizing and growing regional economies, the development of clean energy jobs and sustainable energy resources, and improving the security of the financial system.” On Feb 14, Wolin will participate in a panel hosted by the Jeddah Economic Forum on global economic governance after the financial crisis,” the Department indicated.
GCC environmental meeting KUWAIT: Climate change will top the agenda of the Arab Gulf environmental committee meeting hosted by Kuwait, said the head of the country’s environmental agency yesterday. Dr. Salah Al-Moudhi, the Director General of the Environment Public Authority (EPA), said on the sidelines of the meeting that the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) leaders have adopted several key environmental protection policies which officials have already put into practice. Al-Moudhi said that the participants also reviewed alternative and renewable energy and implementing the mechanisms of sustainable energy and uniting their efforts on issues related to climate change, cooperation with the World Bank and other international environmental agencies.
ABU DHABI: A Kuwaiti balloon at the international ballooning festival in Austria.—KUNA
Balloon team returns ABU DHABI: A Kuwaiti team is heading back after taking part in an international ballooning festival in the East Tyrol region of Austria, revealing that their performances and participation met with great warmth and encouragement from spectators at the event. Abdulaziz Al-Mansouri, the head of the team which maneuvered the balloon which bears the image of His Highness the Amir, said that the festivalgoers also enjoyed performances by teams from the host country, Britain, France, Switzerland and Holland. He added the team sought to best represent Arabs and Kuwaitis through cultural interaction with the public and through their exemplary conduct throughout the event. The team also extended its thanks to the organizing committee for its excellent reception and hailed the Kuwaiti officials and authorities, especially the Minister of Oil and of Information Sheikh Ahmad Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah, for their support for the team’s activities. — KUNA
NATIONAL
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Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Press freedom in peril
Proposed government amendments criticized
Panel debates audio-visual bill KUWAIT: The parliamentary Educational, Cultural and Guidance Committee yesterday considered amendments to the audio-visual draft law, and agreed to invite chief editors and satellite channel officials to a meeting in order to exchange
views in this respect. Emerging from the meeting, the committee chairperson, MP Salwa Al-Jassar told reporters that the committee was keen to carefully consider the government proposed changes to the existing law. She added that the
committee will ask editors-inchief of the local press and satellite channel officials to seek their views and opinions about the proposed amendments ahead of a parliamentary meeting with the government for further deliberations. —KUNA
kuwait digest
A ‘military coup’ on freedom of expression he political situation has progressed rapidly during the first month of this year. The month has been full of surprises, the beginning of which was marked by banning Sheikh Mohammad Al-Uraifi’s entry to Kuwait. The incident was embroiled in a controversy especially after the Ministry of Interior took contradictory steps by first facilitating his entry and then banning it, wrote Khalid Al-Suwaifan in Al-Anba. He expressed hope that the continuing debate would die down peacefully. The second important development has been in the form of proposed amendments to the press law. Many are of the opinion that the said amendments considerably limit the freedom of expression. ‘...this makes us wonder why the present law has not been enforced instead of introducing amendments? Is it right to punish someone who respects the law, simply because there are others who break it?’ he wrote. The proposed amendments can be likened to a type of ‘military coup’ on the freedom of expression,
T
Al-Suwaifan asked. Three years have passed since the press law was approved and the amendment was made as a reflex action on the Ministry of Information’s part. ‘This is not the right way to approve laws,’ he asserted. The existing law is relatively comprehensive, and if there is a need to amend them, it should not be done at the expense of freedom of expression. ‘Let the amendments be only used to double the penalty on those who abuse national unity or insult His Highness the Amir or those who try to stir discord among people. Journalists should be protected against the consequences of publishing the truth. We thank God that the Minister of Information is no longer authorized to pass amendments and the power has been transferred to the NA council,’ the writer believes. He goes on to express hope that the NA council would refrain from approving the new law, especially if the amendments prove to be stifling in nature; after all Kuwaitis are proud of their press freedom and freedom of speech that is guaranteed by the Constitution.
KJA to present own set of amendments
Al-Anba
KUWAIT: The Kuwait Journalists Association (KJA) is reportedly drafting its own version of audio-visual and press laws. It has launched a series of coordinated operations with media organizations to receive recommendations. This proposed law, which will be
finalized today, before being presented to a Member of the Parliament next week will include the nullification of the Information Minister’s authority to provide and cancel licenses to press and TV stations. This is in addition to rejecting the stricter penalties that were featured
in the proposed amendments made by the Minister on the law. Furthermore, the KJA believes that from a legal standpoint, the Ministry should wait at least 10 years before making amendments on the audio-visual law, reported Al-Qabas.
The KJA plans to direct all its efforts towards prevent the proposed amendments from being enforced. Its legal consultants have recently met to discuss the recommendations made by editorsin-chief of local daily newspapers and the heads of TV channels.
law Press
To whom it may concern
A
we find that thousands of citizens have found themselves in hot water after being lured by MPs’ promises,’ he points out. Their failure to pay dues has left them facing legal actions. Citizens were foolishly waiting for government to take action so that they could be relieved from obligations. Through this, MPs have manipulated people’s fate so that they can push for a legislation which first needs to meet the best interests of the country as a whole. ‘Talking about the audio-visual law, I have learnt that some MPs who called for the interpellation of the Information Minister have rejected the proposed amendments,’ the writer states. He concluded his article by questioning the MPs’ fear of adding more stringent penalties to the existing law.
MPs
s citizens speculate on the fate of loans’ write-off draft law, they fear that it will eventually be neglected, similar to the audio-visual law, which the Information Ministry has failed to enforce properly, let alone propose amendments on it, wrote Rashid Al-Radaan in Al-Watan. The writer feels that it’s no secret that legislations often get enforced only after they succeed in achieving coordination between the Parliament and the Cabinet. Those that highlight points of conflict between the two authorities are most likely to fail. While the ministries are forced to enforce an adopted law, reality shows that the Cabinet is incapable of enforcing legislations that do not meet their desires. ‘Returning to the loans’ write-off draft law,
Constitution
Al-Rai
kuwait digest
Arrivals
Unrestricted information here has been a great deal of talk lately about media freedom and rules, with all the talk accompanied by numerous fears and concerns, writes Nada Al-Mutawa in Al-Jarida. This has taken me back in my mind to the extraordinary meeting held two years ago by Arab information ministers during which they proposed restrictions on Arab satellite channels. This was not really a significant proposal since some members of the ministerial committee were absent while others objected, rejecting moralistic patronage and the attempt to further restrict liberties in the Arab world. The reasons for the rejection of this proposal are many, with numerous Arab countries like Kuwait, Lebanon, Bahrain, Iraq, the UAE and Egypt full of competent media people who enjoy the existence of free unrestricted media that include local and satellite channels. They rely on commitments formed over long periods and largely dependent on trust
T
Officer Restrictions!!
Al-Qabas
without the need for humiliation. On the Arab League’s subsequent report that followed the meeting in question, the proposals were a random and scattered bunch of twelve proposals concerning methods of regulating satellite broadcasting and reception. Any reader glancing through them for the first time will discover that they stick to general principles like transparency of information, the need to demonstrate commitment to freedom of expression and to guarantee citizens’ rights to follow events. At the time, I proposed ideas on the best way in which the information ministry could collect information, given the ministry’s status as the umbrella protecting and sheltering Kuwaiti media personnel, seeking the help of competent administrators to investigate ways of developing the Kuwaiti media and establishing electronic centers for the storage of media documentation and encouraging the phone-in chat shows that Kuwaiti TV has become known for.
The gist of the issue is that media enthusiasts will realize the importance of the ‘information mission’ at present, especially regarding intellectual leadership and influencing younger generations. This means that we have to take an interest in encouraging dialogue of a ‘diplomatic and cultural’ nature that aims at gaining allies and forming new friendships overseas and locally in order to distinguish our press as a truly free one without restrictions. What we are seeing at present is the emergence of possible strategies for the audio-visual legislation to deal with ‘information problems’ or ‘delicate parliamentary tensions.’ In the end, MPs’ promises about the protection of freedom must be accompanied by demands for a free media without restrictions. The government has a golden opportunity to establish a long-term media strategy that avoids penalizing the majority for the minority’s misuse of information.
NATIONAL
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
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Fashion, dining, entertainment, private tuition top spending categories
Consumer confidence in Kuwait on the rise By Velina Nacheva KUWAIT: Despite the global, regional and local economic challenges, a recent consumer survey indicates that consumer confidence in Kuwait is buoyant, with the mood increasingly optimistic. According to the MasterCard Consumer Confidence Index, compared to last period’s survey results, consumer confidence in Kuwait has moved from neutral to optimistic. In the latest forwardlooking survey, consumer confidence has risen across all of the Middle East countries, with responses indicating that the polled consumers have become optimistic about the first half of 2010. The credit card company’s survey was released at a press conference held in the JW Marriott Hotel yesterday. The biannual MasterCard consumer confidence index,
which is conducted across six countries in the Middle East, including the Levant, measures consumer confidence on prevailing expectations in the market for the next six months based on five components: economy, employment, regular income, the stock market and quality of life. During his presentation entitled ‘Kuwait and Middle East Consumer Market Outlook,’ Raghu Malhotra, MasterCard Worldwide’s area business head for the Middle East, Gulf Countries, stressed that consumer confidence in Kuwait has significantly increased and “consumers appear to be optimistic about the future.” He revealed that the top spending categories for consumers in Kuwait were fashion and accessories, dining and entertainment, as well as private tuition for children. The index which is calculated based on the percentage
KUWAIT: Raghu Malhotra addressing a press conference at the JW Marriott Hotel yesterday. — Photos by Joseph Shagra response figures with zero as the most pessimistic, 100 as the most optimistic and 50 as neutral, was introduced in 2004. The consumer confidence for the second half of last year far exceeded that voiced in the first half, rising from 49.5 percent to 70.9 percent. Moreover, according to the survey “consumer sentiment
amongst Kuwaiti consumers towards the Stock Market has significantly increased compared to the previous period (71.2 vs 25.4). The overall positive consumer sentiment is also reflected in the areas of regular income (82.0 vs. 45.2), employment (71.0 vs. 59), the economy (69.4 vs. 45.2) and quality of life (61.0
KUWAIT: Sumit Mittal is seen in attendance of the survey release yesterday. vs. 47.8).” The Kuwait consumer index is consistent with consumer optimism for elsewhere in the Middle East, including the Levant, where some 74.5 polled expressed optimism for the next six months. On a Middle East level, the survey found that young people
in Lebanon are extremely optimistic, although the older generation of Lebanese are extremely pessimistic about the outlook for the next six months, explained Malhotra. Also, consumer confidence in the United Arab Emirates increased significantly, from 29.6 in the previous period to 86.1. This was the largest
Index score increase in the Middle East and the Levant markets, Malhotra explained. Consumer confidence in Qatar and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia also increased respectively to 89.2 and 83.2 compared to the previous period, while the survey found that Egypt has moved from a period of pessimism in the previous index (32.2) to optimism (59.5). On a final note, Malhotra concluded that the consumers’ outlook for Kuwait “is optimistic,” with savings being an important element for those polled and that “there will be buoyancy.” The MasterCard consumer confidence index surveyed 2,400 consumers across six countries in the Middle East and the Levant region from Oct 1 to Nov 9, 2009. At the event, the credit card company presented the MasterCard Worldwide Survey of Consumer Purchasing Priorities. In Malhotra’s words,
consumer spending in Kuwait over the next six months will be mostly on fashion and accessories, dining, entertainment and private tuition, followed by upgrading the home and buying a car. According to Malhotra, 91.27 percent of the respondents in the Middle East said that “savings is important or very important” to them. In Kuwait, Malhotra explained, some 55 percent of the consumers are saving only for precautionary purposes compared to some 70 percent in the Middle East. The reasons for saving in Kuwait, Malhotra observed, are for investment, upgrading the home and purchasing a car. According to Malhotra, both the Middle East and Kuwait registered a reduction in precautionary saving. Sumit Mittal, the Vice President and Account Manager for Kuwait, MasterCard Worldwide also attended yesterday’s event.
Expats ignore price rise noise By Ben Garcia KUWAIT: Expatriate communities in Kuwait try to ignore the threats of commodity price rises which have been demanded by cooperative society suppliers in Kuwait. Speaking to the Kuwait Times, expatriate shoppers expressed a belief that price rises would only affect regular Co-op customers rather than other consumers purchasing items from other supermarkets nationwide. “If [the reports of price rises are] true, maybe it will only affect the prices of Co-op products,” suggested one female consumer expat who remains convinced that she will be unaffected. “I have no problem with that, I am not buying groceries from any Co-ops. There are lots of supermarkets available nowadays and they all want my presence as their customers; in fact they are competing with some special promotions/discounts just to get me. So I stopped buying from [the Co-op],” she stated. The increasing number of supermarkets in
Kuwait has led to a lively spirit of competition for shoppers’ custom. “For me, as long as there are supermarkets willing to give more discounts, I don’t think we should be bothered,” said another shopper. “Why should I buy things in the Co-ops when I can get them cheaper in other supermarkets?” Cooperative societies in Kuwait have confirmed their plan to raise prices, but although some reports suggest the increases have already been introduced, they haven’t been implemented in many outlets yet. “We received a request from suppliers, so some of the prices have really increased, but we are not in the position to answer anything for now regarding the price rises as we are not the right person to talk about regarding the planned increases,” said a duty officer at Hawally Cooperative Society. Earlier, some co-ops officials admitted receiving a request from suppliers to increase commodity price by 20-80 percent offering no clear reason for the steep rises; there has been
Need for more road safety awareness By Nawara Fattahova KUWAIT: Five Kuwaiti youths died yesterday in a horrific car crash apparently caused by reckless driving and showing off behind the wheel, with a young driver and five bystanders being killed when the teenage motorist lost control of his vehicle, plowing into a crowd of onlookers. Many of the other youths present were rushed to hospital following the tragic incident. The high number of accidents in Kuwait has been blamed on a variety of factors, including reckless driving, showing off and simple lack of concentration on drivers’ part, among other things. One Ministry of Interior official said that the main responsibility for the deaths of so many youths in car accidents lies with parents’ failure to stop their children, many of whom don’t even have licenses, from driving. Others have suggested, however, that much of the responsibility lies with the MoI, which should maintain stricter control on the roads, particularly in the areas which are known for hosting illegal car racing activities. Most of the serious and fatal car accidents in the country are caused by young drivers, said Jassem a 26-year-old Kuwaiti, adding that there should be facilities provided to keep these young thrill-seekers away from main thoroughfares. “The Kuwaitis are known for their passion for fast driving and performing dangerous maneuvers with cars,” he told the Kuwait Times. “Before, there used to be a racing track, but now that’s been removed by the Municipality. The young guys don’t have a suitable, safe place to practice their hobby, so they’re simply racing on the streets. There should be a suitable place, fully equipped to safety and security standards to keep them safe while giving them the chance to enjoy their hobby.” Insurance also plays a part in preventing drivers from going too mad behind the wheel or forcing them to be careful. “Here we implement certain criteria in the comprehensive insurance policies,” explained Hussein, an official with one of Kuwait’s leading insurance companies. “We consider different aspect such as the motorist’s driving history, his age and many other factors.
More attention is paid to the luxury cars, such as the home address, workplace, whether it’s the first car or the second and so on.” Hussein explained that certain insurance packages have more problems than others. “The ‘Third Party’ mandatory insurance is the key problem. At the company, we can regulate the comprehensive policy and even refuse to insure some drivers. Also, not all drivers have this policy. But the ‘Third Party’ liability coverage is obligatory for all vehicles and is regulated by the government. The fee is very low and gives rights to sizeable compensation for the drivers,” he told the Kuwait Times. The points system used elsewhere is not currently implemented in Kuwait, Hussein explained, although insurance companies are calling for changes in the relevant legislation to introduce it. “We are calling on the government to introduce a law that will implement the points system, even in Third Party liability cases,” he said. “Also, many drivers aren’t competent to drive on roads and as they’re considered a risk, their driving licenses shouldn’t be renewed or they should at least be paying high insurance premiums, which will lead to them driving more safely and concentrating more to avoid paying money.” Another major issue for insurance companies is establishing liability for an accident, explained Mohammed AlFarhan of Ain Insurance. “We search for the driver whose fault it is - this matters in deciding the compensation we’ll pay. We’ll also increase the premium for the policy for drivers below 25 years of age. On the other hand, we offer discounts for drivers who don’t have accidents and a No-Claims Bonus on their next insurance package, or offer them other advantages,” he stated. Al-Ain also works closely with the Traffic Department in organizing awareness-raising activities to reduce the number of traffic accidents in Kuwait. “The insurance companies are now engaged in intense competition to offer the best services,” said Al-Farhan. “Our company, for instance, is offering a life insurance policy and personal accident cover with every Third Party and comprehensive policy.”
some speculation, however, that the noises about price increases were politically motivated with the management board election at the Kuwait Union of Cooperative Consumer Societies imminent. “There are some Co-op aspirants who are making up stories to make it appear that they’re protecting the rights of consumers and so they are using this as a step for their ambition and campaign to win,” one observer, who asked not to be identified, claimed. Nonetheless, some Kuwaiti consumers are disappointed over the plan to increase commodity prices. “I hope their effort won’t succeed. I remember price increase early last year, the reason they cited was because of the global crisis. What’s their reason these days? I hope it’s not about greed. The global economy is back on track so why the chaos of price hikes? Why now? Why should we be penalized. Maybe they can reduce the price instead of increasing it,” said a disgruntled Kuwaiti consumer. Some expatriate consumers told the
Kuwait Times that they should have their salaries increased before any price rises are introduced. “Why do we always have to shell out an additional amount from our pockets when we are not compensated by increases in our salaries?” said one expat shopper. “Everything here in Kuwait has gone up, from apartment rents to health insurance and what have we got so far? No pay rise!” Meanwhile, the parliamentary finance committee has approved legislation on commodities trading and price setting, which aims to protect consumers from price increases. This step comes at a time when wholesalers are threatening to stop their supplies from reaching the market should their demands for price increase be rejected, amid warning from the Ministry of Commerce that it will prosecute prices manipulators. A number of local Co-op heads have also confirmed that price increases have been put in place on a diverse range of goods.
This article has been removed in compliance with the proposed ‘amendments’ to the Press and Publication Law.
Teenager injured in fight By Hanan Al-Saadoun KUWAIT: A 15-year-old Sudanese national sustained deep wounds to both his thighs after getting involved in a street fight. The young man was admitted to the Farwaniya hospital. Citizen hurt A 40-year-old citizen fractured his foot after missing a step and falling from a high building in Fahaheel. He was admitted to Adan hospital. Car accidents A 16-year-old citizen fractured his right limb, a 26-year-old compatriot suffered back and shoulder injury and a 36-year-old suffered cuts to his forehead in a car accident that occurred along Fahaheel Expressway. They were admitted to Adan hospital. Also, an 18-year-old bedoon suffered deep gashes to his chin in a car accident that occurred in Mubarak Al-Kabeer. He was admitted to Adan hospital. Food poisoning A 44-year-old Egyptian suffered from a case of food poisoning. He was admitted to Farwaniya hospital.
Motorbike accident A young male citizen suffered severe injuries after he lost control of his motorbike on the 3rd Ring Road between Al-Nuzha and Al-Rawdha. The accident occurred when his vehicle lost traction due to spilt irrigation water of the asphalt. He was taken by ambulance to Amiri Hospital and police opened a case for the incident. Kidnap case Three days after she was reported missing from her family’s home, a Syrian teenage girl showed up at the Ferdous police station. She reported that she was kidnapped by an acquaintance. Officials arrested the alleged kidnapper and sent him in for investigations. Bootleggers arrested Ahmadi police arrested three Indians and two North Koreans for making and selling alcohol. The arrest occurred in Mahboulah where the bootleggers were found at their headquarters before they could escape. Police found 418 bottles of homemade liquor while making the arrests. The men were sent to the proper authorities.
This is part of Kuwait Times’ campaign against the proposed amendments
‘Power outage unacceptable’ KUWAIT: MP Askar Al-Enizi described the recent power outage that hit Jahra as “an unacceptable error that should never take place again.” He drew attention to the calamity of this situation with public services being disrupted, notably at the Jahra Hospital. Furthermore, Al-Enizi criticized the absence of back-up generators which could have powered the area instead of waiting till the problem was resolved. It could have at least prevented hospitals from failing to provide timely services and
traffic lights to go out of service, reported AlWatan. During the same time, Al-Enizi acknowledged the role that the Electricity and Water Minister, Dr Badr Al-Shuraian had been taking to ensure that follow up measures are being taken. Also emergency teams were deployed to repair the main cable that provides power supply to the area. This is in addition to forming an investigation committee to uncover the causes of the incident.
NATIONAL
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Wednesday, January 27, 2010
CSD to perform better
Municipality simplifies complaint services By Nawara Fattahova KUWAIT: Reporting a violation or filing a complaint has been made easier by the Kuwait Municipality, which has simplified the procedure by offering these services on their official website. This new service was added to their official website as The CSD has many different duties and functions, they receive transactions and complaints both directly and indirectly. The department replies to inquiries made by individuals and directs their concerns to the department best suited to meet their needs. The department is also responsible for studying all complaints, monitors the procedure of any complaint transaction, and informs the submitter of the result. Their most important and recent project involves updating the Municipality website. “We have recently updated the section on
KUWAIT: Mohammad Al-Kandari cutting the ribbon to inaugurate the Food Expo 2010.
Food exhibition opens at Mishref By Nawara Fattahova KUWAIT: Food companies are offering competitive prices at the food exhibition that opened yesterday at the Kuwait International Fair Ground in Mishref. An array of frozen and canned food, sweets, olives, pickles, fish and hamburgers await food lovers at the fair that will last till Feb 6. “We have slashed our prices for this fair. All the stuff being sold here are at discounted prices. It’s a good chance to come and buy while the fair is ongoing,” said Ahmad, a salesman at a candy pavilion at the exhibition. Mohammed Al-Kanderi, Undersecretary of the Social Affairs and Labor was present during the event’s launch yesterday. He spoke during the occasion. “No trader can manipulate the local market price. Some companies tried to increase the prices of some products, it is important that the market mechanism works. Also, Kuwait does not impose taxes on income and the customs fees are very low. According to many studies conducted on product prices, the prices in Kuwait are better when compared to other countries,” he said. The government subsidizes essential commodities. “This forces companies to reduce the prices on food products. The
KUWAIT: Al-Kanderi on a tour of the exhibition. —Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat Ministry of Commerce and Industry is performing its duty by monitoring price hikes. They take legal action against offenders,” he added. According to Al-Kanderi, the Co-op societies were set up to serve consumers, “The shareholders also receive their revenues for purchases that touch 15 percent. Also, many consumers buy products at low prices that is nearer to the cost price in some cases. It’s not possible for the government to
interfere in setting up prices for all the commodities and products. They regulate the basic products and subsidize it,” he explained. He went on to say, “The Kuwait International Fair Company (KIF) has decided to organize this exhibition in this time (February) to raise its standard so that it can earn its rightful place at an international fair in the future. Also, the large number of participating companies in this exhibition are in the favor of
the consumer,” Al-Kanderi concluded. At least 24 different local and international companies are participating in the Food Expo 2010. “Another food fair will be held during next Ramadan. I hope that the firm in charge will support the KIF in organizing international fairs, which will benefit local and GCC traders. In terms of prices, I see that they are regulated by demand and supply,” stated Abdulrahman Al-Nassar, Executive Director of KIF.
per the instructions of the Minister of Municipal Affairs and the General Director of the Municipality. It will also allow the Citizen Service Department (CSD) to better perform their duties to the public. Media outlets were invited to witness the performance of these new functions during a press conference yesterday at Municipality headquarters.
citizen services,” said Mudhi Al-Harbi, Director of the Citizen Service Department. “This is where we receive complaints and follow up with the responsible institutes. We also developed an electronic system to receive, save, and follow-up on complaints inside the department. We’ve even received complaints regarding the minister himself.” The new updating has many advantages. “We have added the function of attaching documents to applications and transactions,” Al-Harbi continued.
“This way we won’t have to make the people come just to bring in their documents, which may not even be complete. This way we can review their documents and tell them if something is missing. They will then only have to come to finish a transaction. We will deal with any complaint in complete confidentiality. This information will remain anonymous for other parties. People can visit our website at www.baladia.gov.kw and submit their complaints, suggestions or inquiries. This is a service for all, citizens and expats,” he concluded.
HRW report under fire KUWAIT: Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Khalid AlJarrallah criticized the recently released Human Rights Watch report which accused Kuwait of human rights violations. He described the report as “unjust” towards Kuwait and added that parts of the report were incorrect, reported Al-Qabbas. Al-Jarrallah further noted that they will meet with the International Human Rights Organization in Geneva next May to answer all questions regarding Kuwait’s violations of human rights. His statements were made at a press conference held after a seminar discussing the relationship between Lebanon and the UN’s Security Council. The seminar was organized by the Diplomatic Institute with participation from the Lebanese Foreign Minister, Fawzi Saloukh. Al-Jarrallah expressed faith in Lebanon’s ability to represent all Arab countries at the Security Council. Al-Jarrallah also addressed the latest visit of the Speaker of the Iranian parliament, Ali Larijani, to Kuwait. He said the official was invited by Parliament Speaker Jassem Al-Khorafi to discuss bilateral relations and denied that the meeting included any discussion of the continental shelf issue. He addressed Kuwait’s participation in the London Convention, set to discuss the Yemeni issue. He indicated that the Minister, Sheikh Mohammad Al-Sabah, will lead Kuwait’s delegation to the convention in order to show support for Yemen.
KUWAIT: Saudi Prince Meteb bin Abdullah bin Abdulaziz receiving a National Guards memento. —KUNA
Kuwait-Saudi ties hailed KUWAIT: The Directorate of Moral Guidance in the National Guards issued yesterday a special bulletin on the occasion of Saudi Deputy Chief of the National Guards for Executive Affairs, Prince Meteb bin Abdullah bin Abdulaziz’s visit to the country. The bulletin explored the close relationship between the Kuwaiti National Guards and the Saudi National Guards, through the historical records of visits made by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud to the Kuwaiti National Guard camp in the early eighties when he was crown prince, in
addition to his meeting with His Highness Sheikh Salem Al-Ali Sabah, Chief of the National Guard. The bulletin also included visits of the Saudi Deputy Chief of the National Guards for Executive Affairs to the Kuwait National Guards on several occasions “in which he expressed close cooperation between the two institutions throughout history.” The deputy editor-in-chief of the National Guards bulletin, Col Mohammed Farhan said in an editorial, that Kuwaiti-Saudi relations are in continuous development and prosperity, under the wise leadership of both country leaders. —KUNA
Spring Festival opens in Entertainment City
Anwar Al-Nisf
A number of cartoon characters pose with a group of children.
One of the cartoon characters
Clowns participate in events.
KUWAIT: The Entertainment City, one of the most prominent facilities of the Touristic Enterprises Company (TEC), is preparing to launch its annual ‘Spring Festival.’ It is scheduled to take place between January 29 and February 12. On this occasion, Head of the TEC’s Operations and Activities Department, Anwar Abdulwahab Al-Nisf asserted that the company’s commitment to provide visitors with special activities. The Entertainment City (EC) has prepared it to include several activities including the inauguration ceremony hosted by ‘Al-Nojoom’ Kuwaiti band. Other activities that feature popular bands and cartoon characters will also be held. Furthermore, Al-Nisf announced that special events will be held on Mondays whereas only female visitors will be allowed on Fridays. A 50 percent discount will be offered on a selected number of rides in the park, in addition to three other rides that are offered to the public free of charge. He said that special events for children will be held on February 5th and 12th with the participation of cartoon characters. Al-Nisf said that prizes have been allocated for winners of competitions that will take place during these events. The Entertainment City will open between 11:00 am and 11:00 pm everyday during the ‘Spring Festival’ event.
Children pose with cartoon characters.
Children pose with cartoon characters.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
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INTERNATIONAL
Israel rejects UN Gaza war probe call: Minister Military exonerates itself of any systematic wrongdoing
HALABJA: An Iraqi Kurdish man lays flowers on the grave of a relative killed in the Halabja attacks in 1988 in the northern town of Halabja yesterday. — AFP
Kurds in Halabja celebrate ‘Chemical Ali’ execution HALABJA: Hundreds of Kurds took to the streets of the Iraqi town of Halabja yesterday to celebrate the execution of ‘Chemical Ali’, hanged for the gassing of some 5,000 of its residents in 1988. “The execution is just and it fills me with a joy that I cannot describe,” said Kulala Mohammed, 40, who lost two brothers in the attacks. “I went to pray at the grave of my brothers and to tell them: ‘You can now rest in peace. Your enemy has gone forever and Halabja can be reborn,’” he told AFP. Ali Hassan Al-Majid, better known by his macabre nickname, was hanged on Monday after being ordered executed for the Halabja attack, the fourth death sentence handed down against the infamous henchman of executed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. In the town’s cemetery, relatives gathered at 11:35 am, the exact time 22 years ago that Majid’s forces launched their deadly cocktail of mustard gas and the nerve agents Tabun, Sarin and VX on the small town. Mourners stood in prayer around a Halabja memorial for victims of the atrocity, while others laid wreaths of flowers along the rows of tombstones where they were buried. Aras Abed, vice president of the association of Halabja victims who lost 12 family members, said he was “swimming in happiness.” “The enemy of the Kurds and of all humanity got what he
deserved,” he said. Karwan Adham, who represented some of the victims at the trial, said: “Everyone who commits such crimes and who murders should suffer the same fate as Ali Hassan Axl-Majid.” Three-quarters of the victims at Halabja, thought to have been the deadliest ever gas attack against civilians, were women and children. In March 1988, as Iraq’s eight-year war with Iran was coming to an end, Kurdish peshmerga rebels, with Tehran’s backing, took over the farming community of Halabja, near the border. The Iraqi army responded by bombing the area, forcing the rebels to retreat into the surrounding hills, leaving their families behind. Iraqi jets then swooped over the small town and for five hours sprayed it with nerve agents. Majid had already been sentenced to death for genocide over the Kurdish offensives that left an estimated 182,000 Kurds dead in the 1980s, and for war crimes committed during the ill-fated 1991 Shiite uprising in southern Iraq. In March last year, the Iraqi High Tribunal handed down a third death sentence for the 1999 murders of dozens of Shiites in Sadr City and Najaf. The Iraqi government said his execution “happened without any violations, shouting or cries of joy,” in sharp contrast to his cousin Saddam’s death on the gallows in December 2006. — AFP
US Senate may act on Iran sanctions in ‘weeks’ WASHINGTON: The US Senate may take up legislation to slap sanctions on Iran “in the next few weeks” to pile pressure on Tehran over its suspect nuclear program, the chamber’s top Democrat said yesterday. Senate Democratic Majority Leader Harry Reid said that he and his Republican counterpart, Senator Mitch McConnell, were “committed to finding a time to do this” and that lawmakers could act “in the next few weeks.” Reid said the measure, which would impose new unilateral US sanctions aimed at choking off Iran’s imports of gasoline, will create new pressure on the Iranian regime and help stop Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.” Iran has rejected global calls to limit its nuclear program, notably by freezing uranium enrichment, and denies Western charges that what it calls a civilian energy drive masks a push to acquire nuclear weapons. While Iran is a major producer of crude oil, it lacks the capacity to refine the product, forcing it to import 40 percent of its gasoline. If the Senate approves the measure, it would need to craft a compromise version with the House of Representatives, which approved its own version on December 15. The legislation, which includes sanctions that can be slapped on foreign companies with more than 20 million dollars of investments in Iran’s energy sector, was approved by the Banking Committee at end of October. Iran’s top suppliers of refined petroleum are Swiss companies Vitol and Glencore, Dutch-Swiss Trafigura, France’s Total, Britain’s British Petroleum, and Indian company Reliance. — AFP
Iran accuses US of seeking to use Internet against it TEHRAN: Iran’s supreme leader accused the United States yesterday of trying to use the Internet as a tool to confront the Islamic Republic, declaring that such a policy only showed Washington’s frustration. Last week, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton challenged Beijing and other governments to end Internet censorship, placing China in the company of Iran, Saudi Arabia and others as leading suppressors of on-line freedom. The Internet has become a battleground during domestic turmoil in Iran after June’s disputed election, with the authorities blocking access to some opposition websites and pro-reform Iranians using it to spread word of new protests. Government officials have portrayed the opposition protests that erupted after the presidential poll as a foreign-backed bid to undermine Iran’s Islamic system of government. “The Americans have said that they have allocated a $45 million
budget to help them to confront the Islamic Republic of Iran via the Internet,” state television quoted Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as saying in a speech. “This decision shows the height of the enemy’s frustration. They have spent tens of billions of dollars in the past (in confronting Iran), but have achieved no results,” he said. The US Senate voted in July to adopt the Victims of Iranian Censorship Act which authorizes up to $50 million for expanding Farsi language broadcasts, supporting Iranian Internet and countering government efforts to block it. Iran has accused the West of waging a “soft” war against the Islamic state with the help of intellectuals and others inside the country. The United States cut ties with Iran after its 1979 Islamic revolution, which toppled the US -backed Shah. Tehran and Washington are now at odds over Iran’s disputed nuclear work. — Reuters
JERUSALEM: Israel will not set up a special panel to investigate last winter’s Gaza offensive, a Cabinet minister said yesterday, rejecting a key demand of a UN report that accused the military of war crimes. Information Minister Yuli Edelstein said Israel would submit a document to the UN later this week that deals only with Israel’s own investigations of its conduct during the three-week war. Those investigations have been conducted by the military, which has exonerated itself of any systematic wrongdoing. “To the best of my knowledge, there is no intention to create an investigative committee,” Edelstein told Israel Radio, saying he had checked with his colleagues in the Cabinet. It was not certain that Edelstein’s comments were Israel’s last word on the subject. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was out of the country, and his office declined comment. The UN report accused both Israel and Gaza’s Islamic militant Hamas rulers of war crimes and urged both to independently probe their wartime conduct. The UN General Assembly endorsed the report last November, giving the sides until Feb. 5 to respond. By rejecting calls for an independent inquiry, Israel could open itself to international war crimes proceedings. But Israeli leaders are worried that forcing soldiers to testify could hurt morale and make troops wary of taking part in future battles. Israel, which considers the report to be deeply flawed, “will relay a document addressing something very specific, namely, the character and credi-
bility of internal investigations that took place in Israel,” Edelstein said. Although Israel denies wrongdoing, it is worried about the report, which has battered its image internationally. Netanyahu recently called the report one of Israel’s three biggest strategic challenges , along with Iran’s nuclear threat and militants’ rocket attacks that had sparked the Gaza war. Israel launched the Gaza offensive after years of rocket barrages on its southern region. More than 1,400 Palestinians, including more than 900 civilians, were killed, as were 13 Israelis. Large chunks of Gaza were devastated and have not been repaired because of an ongoing Israeli and Egyptian blockade. The UN report, authored by veteran war crimes prosecutor Richard Goldstone, accused Israel of deliberately targeting Palestinian civilians and intentionally destroying infrastructure, homes and livelihoods. Powerful forces in Israel have arrayed against appointing an independent panel with sweeping investigative powers. Netanyahu, who will ultimately decide the case, has said he doesn’t want to see Israeli officers hauled before such a panel. But in deference to the international outrage, top defense officials would be open to having prominent civilian jurists examine the military’s own investigations, without empowering them to call soldiers to testify, defense officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to report on confidential discussions.— AP
RAFAH: In this Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2009 file photo, an explosion from an Israeli airstrike is seen in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip. Israel will not set up a special panel to investigate last winter’s Gaza Strip offensive, a Cabinet minister said yesterday, rejecting a key demand of a UN report that accused the military of war crimes. — AP
INTERNATIONAL
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Wednesday, January 27, 2010
NATO names Briton as Afghan civilian head BRUSSELS: NATO yesterday named Britain’s ambassador to Kabul to be its new civilian representative in Afghanistan, who will administer reconstruction efforts and act as a counterpart to the military commander, US Gen Stanley McChrystal. Ambassador Mark Sedwill, 45, served as a UN weapons
inspector in Iraq in the 1990s. He has been ambassador to Kabul since April 2009. NATO SecretaryGeneral Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Sedwill’s core functions will include strengthening engagement with other international organizations, primarily the United Nations, engaging with the Afghan govern-
ment and improving coordination among provincial reconstruction efforts. In the past, however, the post lacked the authority to coordinate and redirect civilian aid programs and make sure they were following priorities set by the Afghans and their international partners.
“I have full confidence in Ambassador Sedwill, who will have my full support,” Fogh Rasmussen said. The new appointee will succeed Fernando Gentilini of Italy, the fourth NATO civilian representative in Kabul _ who is leaving Kabul after a two-year tour. The move comes two days before the start of an inter-
national conference in London, where Afghan and international officials will map plans to shore up the Kabul government as the US and its allies rush 37,000 more troops here to confront the Taliban. The United Nations’ top official in Afghanistan, Kai Eide, recently complained that some provincial reconstruction
teams, combined civilian-military units working on development projects around the country, are “doing their own thing” and are not linked to the Afghan government’s development priorities. U.N. officials say that has contributed to inefficiency in the reconstruction effort, which has lagged
despite billions of dollars committed to Afghanistan since the US and its allies ousted the Taliban from power in 2001. The new NATO appointee will also be tasked with coordinating the Afghan government’s plans to pacify low-and middle-ranking Taliban fighters through offers of money and jobs. —AP
Fighting due to govt offensive to wrest back control of town
Eight killed in battle for key western Somali town
HINDELOOPEN: A couple dressed in traditional Dutch clothes from Friesland province on a horse-drawn sled, pose for photographers in Hindeloopen, northern Netherlands yesterday, where people gathered to watch the national contest of an old form of Dutch synchronized skating. —AP
Sudan’s ousted PM vows to end ‘totalitarianism’ KHARTOUM: Sudan’s former prime minister Sadiq Al-Mahdi yesterday vowed to put an end to “totalitarianism” and resolve the conflict in Darfur by taking power at elections in April. Mahdi, who was ousted 21 years ago in a military coup that brought President Omar alBeshir to power, said victory for him in the presidential poll “would be a return to normal.” “I have not been fired by the people, I have been fired by the guns. Now it is possible for the people to reinstate whom they believe represents their interest, represents aspirations,” he said in an English statement at a news conference. “We think our program is going to dismantle totalitarianism, is going to resolve all the problems of the peace agreements and create conditions for Sudan united on new principles or neighborhood between two sisterly states,” he added. The presidential, legislative and regional elections due to take place in April are a key element of a 2005 peace deal between Beshir’s government in the mostly Muslim north and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) in the largely Christian south that brought an end to a 22-year civil war. Under the agreement, the south is to vote on an indepen-
dence referendum in 2011. Mahdi, 74, heads the influential Umma party and is spiritual leader of “Ansar,” a Sufi brotherhood that venerates the famous Mahdi who defeated British colonial forces under General Gordon in 1885. Descended from Sudan’s legendary Islamist ruler, Sadiq alMahdi has held the premiership twice before, in 1966-67 when he was just 30, and again after his party won Sudan’s last multi-party elections in 1986. Umma is the main opposition party in the north. Beshir heads the ruling National Congress Party (NCP). The SPLM is a former southern rebel movement which has chosen as its presidential candidate Yasser Arman, a secular Muslim from north Sudan who made common cause with the grouping during the devastating civil war. The death toll from ethnic violence over the past year in parts of the south surpassed that in the western region of Darfur, which has relatively stabilized since ethnic rebels took up arms against Khartoum in 2003. Three-hundred thousand people were killed in that conflict, according to UN estimates. Beshir is wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes in the region. —AFP
KHARTOUM: Former Sudanese premier and opposition candidate Sadiq Al-Mahdi speaks during a press conference in Khartoum yesterday. Mahdi said he would contest the upcoming April election with a plan to dismantle “totalitarianism” and resolve the conflict in Darfur. —AFP
MOGADISHU: Heavy clashes yesterday between pro-government militias and Islamist insurgents fighting for control of the western Somali town of Beledweyn have left at least eight dead, officials and witnesses said. The fighting in Beledweyn, which lies 300 kilometres (185 miles) north of Mogadishu and near the border with Ethiopia, erupted when pro-government forces launched an offensive to wrest back control of the town from insurgents. “The allied enemies of Allah who were armed by the Ethiopian government attacked our bases in Beledweyn but we defeated them and killed many of them,” Sheikh Mohamed Moalim Harun told AFP by phone from Beledweyn. “Their bodies are still strewn across the streets,” he added. Harun is a senior commander for the Hezb Al-Islam movement, a hardline insurgent group allied with the Shebab, a even more radical Islamist movement whose leader recently proclaimed allegiance to Osama bin Laden. Residents said the clashes, which involved exchanges of machinegun fire and mortar shells, were the worst they had seen in a long time. “The fighting was the heaviest Beledweyn has seen recently,” local resident Ali Osman told AFP. “I saw eight people killed in the clashes, most of them combatants.” “In the morning, the pro-government fighters pushed back the Shebab and Hezb al-Islam militants to the western part of town but they were later defeated and have now left the city,” he added. “Around eight people have died and many of those residents who had been reluctant to flee the city since this latest round of fighting started late last year are leaving the town today,” Abdullahi Ahmed, another resident, said. “I don’t think anybody will want to stay here after this,” he added. Other witnesses gave the same minimum death toll. Pro-government militia commander Adan Buqay confirmed the clashes but could not say how many people died. “There was heavy fighting in the town and several people, most of them fighters, were killed but I don’t have the detail,” he told AFP. The Shebab and Hezb al-Islam took control of most of the city last week after more heavy fighting. They also stormed and looted offices used by two foreign aid agencies. Beledweyn, a key town lying near the border with Ethiopia, has changed hands countless times recently as Hezb al-Islam, the Shebab, the Sufi group Ahlu Sunna wal Jamaa, government forces and various local warlords vie for supremacy. —AFP
in the news US suspends aid to Kenya’s education ministry NAIROBI: A US diplomat says the US has suspended a five-year plan to fund Kenya’s education programs because of corruption allegations. Ambassador Michael Ranneberger says this follows claims that Kenyan officials misappropriated 100 million Kenyan shillings ($1.3 million) of Kenyan government and donor funds intended for the country’s much-lauded free primary school education program. Kenya’s Finance Ministry audited the program late last year and found the funds missing. Britain announced in December it was suspending its funding of the program. When Kenya started the program in 2003, it earned praise across the world because more than 1 million children who had never been to school enrolled.
Nigerian opposition politician shot dead
Spanish town says OK to nuclear waste site
LAGOS: Gunmen shot dead a prominent opposition politician in Nigeria’s southwestern Ogun State amid rising tensions ahead of general elections next year, police said yesterday. “Chief Dipo Dina was killed Monday night in Ota by unknown gunmen who ambushed his vehicle,” a senior police officer told AFP. “We are still investigating the circumstances of his death,” he said. Police said the motive behind the killing is unknown. Dina, who like many politicians held the traditional title of chief, was the opposition Action Congress’s gubernatorial candidate in a disputed April 2007 poll. Tensions have been rising as the country prepares for general elections in 2011. Several prominent politicians, including a justice minister and two gubernatorial candidates, have been shot by unidentified gunmen in recent years. A gubernatorial poll in southern Anambra State on February 6 is being seen as a test case next year’s election.
MADRID: A small Spanish town has become only the second to volunteer to host a nuclear waste dump that is becoming a hot potato for the government. The city hall of Asco voted yesterday 7-2 in favor of building the facility, which will cost §646 million ($910 million) and create 300 jobs in Spain’s northeastern Catalonia region. Demonstrators have rallied for the past two days against the project. Spanish media said opponents of the plan laughed in the town hall chamber when the mayor said he was not backing the project because of money. Spain has eight nuclear reactors that provide 19 percent of the country’s electricity. The waste they generate is currently stored at those plants but the government wants to build one site for the waste from all of them.
JOS: A Christian resident of Nassarawa Gwom district of central Nigerian city of Jos inspects a church burnt in the four-day Christian-Muslim sectarian violence which left about 300 dead and 18,000 residents displaced in Jos on January 24, 2010. —AFP
SMS role in Nigeria slaughter: Groups LAGOS: Text messages that urged people to murder and then burn their victims’ bodies helped stoke inter-religious violence in central Nigeria that killed hundreds of people last week, police and rights activists said yesterday. Rights activists have identified at least 145 texts that circulated on mobile phones in the central city of Jos, the epicentre of four days of Muslim-Christian clashes that authorities said killed 326 people. “The messages helped escalate the violence in Jos in that some of them instructed people on how to kill, dispose of and burn bodies,” said leading rights activist Shehu Sani. The texts were aimed at “spreading rumours and inflaming tensions,” said Sani, who heads a coalition of 32 Nigerian civil and human rights groups called the Civil Rights Congress. One of the messages seen by AFP read: “War, war, war. Stand up ... and defend yourselves. Kill before they kill you. Slaughter before they slaughter you. Dump them in a pit before they dump you.” In Kuru Karama, a former mining village and Muslim enclave in a Christian district south of Jos, attackers who killed more than 150 villagers disposed
of the bodies systematically. Corpses were stuffed in water wells, pits, and sewer and irrigation canals, while others were burnt. Community leaders and health workers have put the death toll at more than 550. Dozens of cars, houses, churches and mosques were set ablaze during the violence, which was condemned by Muslim and Christian leaders. Another text message warned of alleged plans to attack Christians and churches on Sunday, saying: “Brother, please act in any way you can. Alert other brethren.” Another urged Christians to shun food sold by Muslim hawkers alleging it could be poisoned, while another claimed political leaders were planning to cut water supplies with the intent to dehydrate and weaken members of one faith. To a lesser extent, chats on social networks such as Facebook also helped users embolden their beliefs. “Different Facebookers have taken stands in defence of their religion,” said Sani. Leaders of both faiths told their followers to ignore the messages. Police are trying to pinpoint the source of the messages, police spokesman Mohammed Lerama said.
However, tracing the origins of the messages may prove an uphill task given that Nigeria is yet to start registering phone SIM cards. “The communication infrastructure has played a part in all major cases of recent atrocities in Africa... in transmitting vile messages,” said Chidi Odinkalu of the Open Society Initiative citing the 2007 postelection violence in Kenya and most recently the riots in Uganda’s capital Kampala. Mandatory SIM registration is set to kick off in Nigeria in March, according to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). “We think it is relevant at this time. Not only have the security agencies reported some breaches, we feel it will assist to track users,” said NCC spokesman Reuben Muoka. Nigeria has more than 70 million cellphone line subscribers, or about one line per every two people. The Open Society Initiative said yesterday it had called an urgent meeting of civil society groups on Thursday to seek an independent investigation into the killings. More than 300 people suspected of involvement in the violence have been arrested. —AFP
Nigerian army pledges to stay out of politics ABUJA: The head of Nigeria’s army has pledged his commitment to protecting democracy and promised to stay out of politics at a time when President Umaru Yar’Adua’s two-month absence has raised questions about who is in charge. Lieutenant General Abdulrahman Dambazau, chief of army staff, said the army had remained “neutral but absolutely committed to the survival of our nascent democracy” and would continue to do so despite attempts to drag it into politics. Yar’Adua has been in Saudi Arabia receiving treatment for a heart condition since late November but has not formally handed executive powers to his deputy, raising uncertainty about who is steering government in Africa’s most populous nation. Nigeria emerged from decades of coups and military rule ten years ago but the military remains a potent background force, with retired generals reinventing themselves as politicians and businessmen and still pulling the strings of power. “The barracks is not a political battlefield and our soldiers are not tools to be used for creating disunity,” Dambazau said in a speech late on Monday to mark the commissioning of an army base in the capital Abuja. “The Nigerian army affirms its commitment to its constitutional responsibilities and will continue to contribute meaningfully to the entrenchment of democracy in Nigeria.” Nigeria has seen some turbulence in Yar’Adua’s absence. Clashes between Christian and Muslim gangs killed hundreds in the central city of Jos last week, while there have been street protests and court challenges to the legality of government decision-making with the head of state away. Investment decisions in subSaharan Africa’s second biggest economy have been put on hold amid the political uncertainty while analysts say progress on key oil sector, electoral and banking reform bills has also slowed.
Political analysts including a former US envoy have warned the country is on the brink of constitutional crisis and that if the uncertainty is drawn out the military could intervene. “Meddling in political issues does not complement our constitutional role in any way, shape or form. I therefore warn all members of the armed forces to steer clear of politics,” Chief of Defence Staff Air Chief Marshall Paul Dike said. “Ours is a military that is mindful of its past, conscious of its present and hopeful of the future,” he said. A decade after Nigeria’s last military ruler ordered his troops to “forever resist the seduction and temptation of political power”, democracy still has a fragile hold on Africa’s most populous nation. Since General Abdulsalam Abubakar ceded power in May 1999, polls have been far from exemplary in a nation that sees itself as the biggest democracy in the black world. Corruption remains endemic, poverty widespread and infrastructure shambolic. “Nigeria’s military, though much weakened, continues to regard itself as the ultimate custodian of the state,” former US ambassador to Nigeria John Campbell said in a paper published last month. Dambazau made no direct reference to the absence of Yar’Adua, but did speak about unrest in the central city of Jos. Christian leaders have accused the military of deploying predominantly Muslim soldiers to quell the violence and have called for an investigation of what they say were targeted killings, according to local newspaper reports. “We ... noted that some persons who apparently do not value peace are hell-bent on creating disaffection between the military and the public, particularly with reference to the Jos crisis,” Dambazau said. “We want to state categorically that in the Nigerian army our religion is esprit de corps, while our tribe is the military profession and our training has placed us above primordial sentiments,” he said. —Reuters
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INTERNATIONAL
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Haiti’s homeless plead for tents after earthquake PORT-AU-PRINCE: The dusty soccer field lined with spacious tents is an oasis for earthquake survivors among Haiti’s homeless sheltering in acres (hectares) of squalid camps. Competition for the canvas homes has boiled into arguments and machete fights, a sign of the desperation felt by the hundreds of thousands of people without homes struggling for shelter in this wrecked city. Haiti’s president has asked the world for 200,000 tents and says he will sleep in one himself. Fenela Jacobs, 39, lives in a 4-by-4-meter (13-by-13-foot) abode provided by the Britainbased Islamic Relief Worldwide. She says the group offered her two tents for 21 survivors but she ended up putting everyone in one tent after people threatened to burn both down if she didn’t give a tent up. Still, she says living in the 2-meter-tall (6-foot-high) khaki home with a paisley interior is better than the makeshift shelters crafted from bed sheets propped on wooden sticks where her family was living before. “It’s a lot more comfortable,” Jacobs said, though she added it gets really hot inside the tent in Cazo, a Portau-Prince neighborhood hidden in the hills behind the international airport. Tents are in desperately short supply following the 7.0-magnitude quake on Jan. 12 that killed at least 150,000 people. The global agency supplying tents said it already had 10,000 stored in Haiti and at least 30,000 more would be arriving. But that “is unlikely to address the extensive shelter needs,” the International Organization for Migration stressed.
The organization had estimated 100,000 family-sized tents were needed. But the UN says up to 1 million people require shelter, and President Rene Preval issued an urgent appeal Monday calling for 200,000 tents and urging that the aircraft carrying them be given urgent landing priority at Port-au-Prince airport. In solidarity with earthquake victims, Preval plans to move into a tent home on the manicured lawn of his collapsed National Palace in downtown Port-au-Prince, Tourism Minister Patrick Delatour told The Associated Press. “It is a decision that the president has made himself,” Delatour said. The secretary-general of the Organization of American States, Jose Miguel Insulza, planned to visit Haiti yesterday to study relief efforts. The Haitian government and international groups were preparing a more substantial tent city on Port-au-Prince’s outskirts. Brazilian army engineers with the UN peacekeeping force in Haiti have cleared and leveled 12 acres (five hectares) north of the city, planned as the first of more than a halfdozen sites that officials hope will shelter the displaced before the onset of spring rains and summer hurricanes. Col. Delcio Monteiro Sapper said the Interamerican Development Bank wants to clear a total of 247 acres (100 hectares) owned by Haiti’s government that could house 100,000 quake refugees. Helen Clark, administrator of the UN Development Program, said providing shelter is a pressing priority that requires innovative
PORT-AU-PRINCE: A woman sits with a baby among newly erected tents provided by the Portuguese Mission in the Delmas 33 neighborhood of Port-au-Prince Monday. — AP solutions. “China, for example, set up 400,000 semipermanent houses after the Sichuan earthquake,” she said in a statement. “Similar initiatives will need to be considered and supported for Haiti.” On the soccer field in the Cazo neighborhood, the tents are marked “Qatar Aid,” a gift from the Gulf state, but some Haitian quake survivors have personal-
ized theirs, one flies a Haitian flag, another has a Jamaican flag with a picture of Bob Marley. “This was miserable,” said Islamic Relief Worldwide’s Moustafa Osman, from Birmingham, England, pointing to the few remaining homemade shelters at the site. “People were living like this everywhere.” Osman’s own supply of 1,000 tents has yet to make its way to Haiti, stuck somewhere en
route or possibly even waiting in containers that have arrived at Port-au-Prince airport but have yet to be unpacked. He persuaded a Qatari search and rescue team that was leaving Haiti to donate their 82 tents. He desperately needs at least 16 more for the soccer field settlement, which houses 500 people. Latrines and showers are also yet to arrive. Osman doesn’t speak the local Creole language, so he went to a mosque and hired two Haitians to translate for him. He said he made clear to them that “we are not here for the Muslims, we are here for all the people.” He then negotiated with the St. Claire Roman Catholic Church for permission to use the field on their land for his camp and cleared it with Haiti’s government. Fights broke out Sunday when workers were distributing tents, with families trying to get the shelters and others competing for space. Osman confiscated a machete and temporarily evacuated his staff from the camp. He worries there will be violence if he doesn’t get the tents needed to house the remaining families. He hired two men among the refugees, clad them in blue vests marked Islamic Relief Worldwide and put them to work as go-betweens linking the people in the camp and his staff. In Montreal on Monday, US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and officials of more than two dozen donor nations and international organizations met to assess the progress of the relief effort. The Haitian government asked the inter-
national community to provide $3 billion for Haiti’s reconstruction, the tourism minister said. Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive told the conference his impoverished nation lost 60 percent of its gross domestic product in the quake. US officials say the rescue phase of the operation is over and the focus has shifted to relief and recovery. “Outside of the food area, the two prime worries are: one, medical services or medical equipment, and, two, shelter,” said Lewis Lucke, US special coordinator for relief and reconstruction. He said officials are seeing so many people unable to return to their homes that they are scrambling to get them plastic sheeting and other shelter. “This is one of our main priorities.” The UN reported yesterday that more police officers were reporting for duty and Port-au-Prince was generally secure but there had been isolated looting. It said commerce was increasing, with banks, supermarkets and gas stations returning to operation. The US government is donating its old and unused embassy building in downtown Port-au-Prince to Haiti’s government, which will use it as a temporary legislature, according to Delatour, the tourism minister. The building, next door to the partially collapsed Parliament building, will be rented at a nominal $1 a year, Delatour said. One senator was killed in the collapse and another was trapped for days, but rescued. There are 54 confirmed American dead in Haiti, and US officials were seeking to confirm 36 other possible deaths, State Department spokesman Gordon Duguid said Monday. — AP
World Social forum activists denounce corporate greed Leftist gleefully criticizing those hit by the financial crisis
CARACAS: University students shout slogans against Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez during a protest in Caracas, Monday. — AP
Removal of anti-Chavez TV channel spurs protests CARACAS: Police and supporters of President Hugo Chavez clashed with students in cities across the country Monday during protests over the government forcing an opposition channel off cable TV. One youth was reported killed and 16 people suffered injuries. The biggest confrontation occured in Caracas, where police fired tear gas and plastic bullets to scatter thousands of students who tried to march on the headquarters of Venezuela’s state-run telecommunications agency. At least six demonstrators and a journalist were treated for injuries. In the western city of Merida, a youth was killed during fighting between anti- and pro-Chavez forces and clashes when police tried to separate the rival groups, Justice Minister Tareck El Aissami said late Monday. Merida Gov. Marcos Diaz told the state-run ABN news agency that the victim was a high school student named Jossimir Carrillo Torres. Nine police officers were injured in the melee, El Aissami said. Demonstrations erupted
over the government ordering cable companies to drop Radio Caracas Television Internacional early Sunday. RCTV had defied new rules requiring local cable channels to carry mandatory programming, including some of Chavez’s speeches. Police fired tear gas as protesting students tried to approach the headquarters of the state telecommunications agency, where several hundred Chavez backers gathered to support the government’s action. Some were seen throwing rocks and bottles at antiChavez protesters. “Freedom of expression is a right that we all embrace, and it must be defended,” said Alejandro Perdomo, 19, who accused Chavez of attempting to silence his critics. The crowd chanted: “It will return, Radio Caracas will return!” Students also staged street demonstrations in the cities of Barcelona, Maracay and Valencia. The government says RCTV violated recently approved regulations that require two dozen local cable and satellite channels to tele-
vise Chavez’s speeches whenever he deems it necessary. The channel, which has been fiercely critical of Chavez for years, did not transmit the president’s speech Saturday to a rally of supporters. Five other channels were also dropped from cable, but none of them were as widely watched as RCTV. Diosdado Cabello, director of Venezuela’s telecommunications agency, defended the government’s actions, reiterating Monday that RCTV and the other dropped channels violated the law. “They don’t want to comply with the law, they want to do whatever they want,” he said. During an interview broadcast on state television, Cabello said one of the removed channels, TV Chile, had contacted the telecommunications agency to “correct things” and discuss its possible return to the airwaves. RCTV was forced to move to cable in 2007 after Chavez refused to renew its license for regular airwaves, accusing the station of plotting against him and supporting a failed 2002 coup. — AP
Clinton ‘deeply resents’ foreign criticism on Haiti WASHINGTON: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said yesterday she “deeply resents” foreign criticism of the US response to the earthquake in Haiti, saying the United States was doing as much as it could. “I deeply resent those who attack our country, the generosity of our people and the leadership of our president in trying to respond to historically disastrous conditions after the earthquake,” Clinton told State Department employees at a forum marking one year in office. Clinton did not single out critics but said that “some of the international press either misunderstood or deliberately misconstrued” the US deci-
sion to send thousands of troops to Haiti. The United States needed to send both troops and civilians “to deliver aid to the Haitians who desperately needed it,” Clinton said. “We’re scrambling as quick as we could to do everything we needed in the past two weeks,” she said. Leftist allies Venezuela, Bolivia and Cuba have criticized the United States for its response to the quake, accusing US forces of occupying the country rather than helping its people. A senior Italian official separately deplored a lack of a coordinated international aid effort in Haiti, saying that the United States had “too many officers” there and
could not find a capable leader. Clinton told the State Department employees that directions had been sent to US embassies around the world to counter criticism of the Haiti relief effort. She pointed to the response as a model for the future, saying that the United States should be ready to fight against allegations it sees as unfair. “I have absolutely no argument with anyone lodging a legitimate criticism against our country. I think we can learn from that and we are foolish if we keep our head in the sand and pretend we can’t,” she said. “What we’re asking for is that people view us fairly,” she said. — AFP
PORTO ALEGRE: Leftists in Brazil for a week of protests against capitalism denounced corporate greed on the second day of the World Social Forum, saying yesterday that big companies humbled by the global meltdown must be prevented from controlling natural resources and harming the environment. In Peru, for example, foreign and domestic miners are vying for concessions to explore for gold, silver and zinc on traditional Indian lands where tribe members eke out a living from small farms threatened by contamination, said Carlos Candiotti, leader of an anti-mining group. “These companies come into our territory without our approval, but the state must recognize our rights because we’re the owners, with ancestral rights to the land where we live,” Candiotti said. Now in its 10th year, the social forum is a counterpoint to the World Economic Forum starting today in the Swiss ski resort of Davos, and leftist leaders are gleefully criticizing the bankers and business titans hit hard by the financial crisis. But they said nations that have exerted greater state control over economies as a result of the meltdown must go further, warning that large corporations will try to reassert their grip on the world and push policies that critics say emphasize reliance on free markets at the expense of social welfare. “We need to make sure the neoliberals never take over again,” said Arthur da Silva Santos, president of Brazil’s largest confederation of labor unions. “There are just a few hundred companies today that hold all the cards for the global economy.” In a sweltering conference hall filled with activists wearing shirts emblazoned with the image of legendary revolutionary Ernesto “Che” Guevara, Hildebrando Velez Galeano drew raucous cheers when he urged citizens of developing nations in South America and elsewhere to “take the economy away from the hands of the capitalist speculators who are destroying it.” “We have to decolonize our territory and declare it free of CocaCola and Monsanto,” said Galeano, a leader of the Colombian chapter of the environmental group Friends of the Earth. Tens of thousands were expected to mass inside a soccer stadium yesterday night for a speech by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who has received mixed responses in years past at the social forum. Greeted like a rock star in Porto Alegre in 2003 just after becoming Brazil’s first working-class president, Silva was booed in 2005 by some who felt he turned into too much of a pro-business centrist once in office, despite instituting popular social welfare programs that aim to help tens of millions out of poverty in Latin America’s largest nation. — AP
PORTO ALEGRE: Women activists participate in a march during the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre, Brazil, Monday. People gathered to kick off five days of criticizing against capitalism at the World Social Forum. — AP
INTERNATIONAL
10
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
N Korea may be preparing missile launch, say reports SEOUL: North Korea issued two nosail zones near its disputed western sea border with South Korea, officials said yesterday, a possible indication the country may be preparing to conduct missile tests. The no-sail zones were designated just south of the western maritime border , in South Korean-held
waters, from Monday through March 29, said a South Korean Defense Ministry official on condition of anonymity, citing department policy. YTN television network cited a military official as saying that the North designated the no-sail zones possibly to conduct missile tests or
other military action. South Korea was trying to find out why the North made the no-sail zone announcement. Pyongyang did the same in the past before carrying out missile tests and military maneuvers, the Defense Ministry official said. The North has also issued no-sail zones if bad weath-
er was expected. One of the zones is where navy ships from the two Koreas fought a brief yet bloody gunbattle in November that left one North Korean sailor dead and three others wounded, according to Yonhap news agency. The Defense Ministry said it couldn’t confirm the report.
The disputed sea border, drawn by the UN Command at the end of the Korean War, is a constant source of military tension between the Koreas, with Pyongyang insisting the line should be redrawn further south. The dispute also led to bloody naval skirmishes in 1999 and 2002. North Korea
has sent mixed signals to the South recently. Pyongyang offered talks on restarting stalled joint-tour programs and a joint industrial complex in the North earlier this month. But communist country has also escalated its rhetoric with the powerful National Defense Commission
threatening to attack the South and break off all dialogue over a reported South Korea contingency plan to handle turmoil in the North. The two Koreas are still technically at war because their 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty. —AP
Death penalty over deadly July riots
China sentences 4 to death in Xinjiang
HONG KONG: Five Hong Kong legislators, from left, Albert Chan, Alan Leong, Tanya Chan, Leung Kwok-hung and Wong Yuk-man hold the resignation letter outside the Legislative Council in Hong Kong yesterday. —AP
Five Hong Kong lawmakers resign to press for democracy HONG KONG: Five Hong Kong opposition legislators resigned yesterday to pressure Beijing for direct elections, in what some consider a desperate bid to revive the campaign for democracy in this semiautonomous former British colony. Flashing victory signs, the lawmakers from the League of Social Democrats and Civic Party held up their resignation letters for photographers before handing them over to the secretary of Hong Kong’s Legislative Council. “My resignation is in keeping with my campaign promise. I want to fight for direct elections,” said lawmaker Alan Leong. “Today’s resignations are meaningful. Today’s resignations are proactive.” A British outpost for more than 150 years, this wealthy financial hub of 7 million people was returned to China’s communist regime 13 years ago under a special political status that promises Western-style government and civil liberties. But Beijing has withheld democracy. The territory’s leader is chosen by an 800member committee and its legislature is half elected, half chosen by interest groups. China ruled in 2007 that Hong Kong can’t elect its leader until 2017 and its entire legislature until 2010. Hong Kong’s democracy activists say locals are ready now to
choose their leaders. In their latest campaign, the two opposition parties hope to pressure China by having the five legislators , one from each of Hong Kong’s five electoral districts , resign, forcing a special election that would pit pro-democracy and pro-China candidates against one another in what they say will be a de facto referendum on democracy. The resignation plan highlights the dire situation of Hong Kong’s democracy movement. When Hong Kong was on the verge of return to Chinese rule in 1997, its democracy activists warned that the authoritarian Chinese government would crack down on freedom. But those fears never materialized, with Hong Kong’s opposition figures and freewheeling press left largely untouched. The democracy campaign enjoyed a brief revival in 2003, when the Hong Kong government tried to pass a national security bill wanted by Beijing. Many Hong Kongers considered it too draconian, and half a million people marched in protest. But protest numbers have dwindled since then as locals turned their attention to economic issues. With public interest waning, democracy activists are looking for a new spark.
“They are doing this partly out of frustration,” Chinese University of Hong Kong political scientist Ma Ngok said. “They feel they need to do something more radical, try something new.” The resignationturned-referendum plan is a long shot. Recent polls show tepid public support. Hong Kong’s leading opposition party, the Democratic Party, chose not to take part. Already one leading pro-Beijing party has said it will boycott the special elections. Others could follow suit. The Chinese government has recently warned the legislators not to resign. There was no immediate Chinese comment yesterday. Hong Kong leader Donald Tsang said in a statement the “so-called referendum” has no legal grounding. “The government will not recognize it,” he said. “Legislators should do their jobs and fulfill their constitutional duty through the legislature. They shouldn’t quit easily.” The Hong Kong government is required by law to organize special elections as soon as possible, but no deadline is set in the law. Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau spokeswoman Bonnie Yip said yesterday the government will follow the law but declined to give a timeframe for the byelections. —AP
China, Dalai Lama envoys to meet after stalemate BEIJING: Beijing told the Dalai Lama yesterday to make the best of the first meeting between Chinese officials and the Tibetan spiritual leader’s envoys in 15 months but publicly showed no sign of easing its hardline stance on their disagreements. Two envoys of the Dalai Lama were to arrive in China yesterday to resume talks on Tibet after the lengthy deadlock. The end to the stalemate came as a surprise after the acrimony and uncertainty that followed the last meeting in November 2008. Chinese officials then refused to discuss the status of China-ruled Tibet and insisted that they would only address the return of the Dalai Lama, who fled to exile in India in 1959. “We hope the Dalai Lama will cherish the opportunity and make a positive response to the central government’s requests,” the United Front Department of the Communist Party, the
office that handled past talks, said in a statement that did not go into specifics about China’s requests. At the last talks, the Dalai Lama’s envoys proposed a way for Tibetans to meet achieve more autonomy within the framework of the Chinese constitution, a key demand of the minority community. But China apparently rejected the plan, saying it would not allow Tibet the kind of latitude granted to the territories of Hong Kong and Macau. The Dalai Lama’s office said Monday the decision to send envoys Lodi Gyari and Kelsang Gyaltsen was made at the end of last week, when China made moves to bind Tibet closer to the rest of the country and extend hardline policies there, including appointing a former soldier as Tibet’s new governor. China promised at the same time to increase investment for Tibet and Tibetan communities at a rare high-
level policy conclave on the Himalayan region. Tibetans complain such policies have diluted or repressed their religion, language and culture in favor of the majority Han Chinese. The spiritual leader’s office did not give details about the new talks’ agenda and said the envoys are expected back in India early next month. A Tibetan exile leader, however, said Monday he doubted they would be fruitful. “The holding of the talks does not mean that there will be tangible results, and we do not hold any hope,” Samdhong Rinpoche, the prime minister of the Tibetan self-proclaimed governmentin-exile, told the Voice of Tibet radio service based in Norway on Monday. Officials at the spiritual leader’s office and the Tibetan self-proclaimed government in exile could not be reached in India yesterday, a national holiday. Tibetan areas have been tense in recent years, with
the minority community complaining about restrictions on Buddhism, government propaganda campaigns against their revered Dalai Lama and an influx of Chinese migrants that leave the Tibetans feeling marginalized in what they see as their homeland. Those feelings boiled over in an antiChinese uprising in 2008 that shocked Beijing leaders. The new talks were welcomed by the United States, Britain and Canada. “The administration hopes this meeting will produce positive results and provide a foundation for future discussions to resolve outstanding issues,” U.S. State Department Spokesman P.J. Crowley said. Britain’s Foreign Office Minister Ivan Lewis, who visited Tibet and Beijing last year, urged both sides to “enter these talks in good faith and to make progress towards meaningful autonomy for Tibet.”— AP
BEIJING: A court in China’s Xinjiang region sentenced four people to death over deadly riots in July, bringing to 26 the number of those condemned to die for the unrest, a government official said yesterday. The verdicts were handed down on Monday by a court in the regional capital Urumqi, scene of the violence that pitted mainly Muslim Uighurs against China’s Han ethnic majority, leaving nearly 200 dead and over 1,600 injured. “They were sentenced yesterday by the Urumqi Intermediate Court,” a spokesman at the Xinjiang government who gave only his surname, Li, told AFP. “Four people were sentenced to death, one was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve and eight others got prison terms of up to life.” A death sentence with a reprieve is normally commuted to life in prison. Monday’s sentences brought to 26 the number of people who have been reported executed or condemned to die over their roles in the unrest, some of the worst ethnic violence in China in decades. The Xinjiang Daily newspaper said verdicts came in five separate cases with the 13 defendants charged with the “violent crimes of attacking, smashing, looting and burning”, a Chinese term that means violent rioting. The defendants’ names provided by the Xinjiang Daily appeared to be Uighur, the Turkic-speaking Muslim minority group that has long complained of Chinese repression. During the initial eruption of violence on July 5, Uighurs attacked Han Chinese, but in subsequent days mobs of Han roamed the streets seeking revenge. Uighurs say the violence was sparked when police cracked down harshly on peaceful demonstrations in Urumqi that were held to protest the beating deaths of two Uighur migrant workers at a factory in southern China. Authorities quickly implemented a clampdown on communications in and out of Xinjiang after the riots, blocking Internet access, text messages and international phone calls. These restrictions have only just been lifted, although the Internet is still only partly accessible. China says it faces a serious separatist threat in Xinjiang and has vowed harsh retribution for those found guilty of wrongdoing in the unrest. State media said earlier this month that funding for public security in Xinjiang would nearly double in 2010. A budget proposal placed before Xinjiang’s legislature called for 2.89 billion yuan (423 million dollars) to be spent on public security, up from 1.54 billion yuan in 2009, the official China Daily reported. But exiled Uighurs say Beijing exaggerates the separatist threat to justify harsh controls in the strategic western region, which is rich in energy reserves and borders on several central Asian countries. Earlier this year, authorities also issued orders to step up identity checks and monitor religious activities in Xinjiang in a renewed bid to quash terrorism, separatism and extremism, state media reported. —AFP
TSOYING: A naval personel mans an air-defence system installed on a Lafayetteclass frigate from the Taiwanese navy during a drill off Tsoying, the island’s leading naval port yesterday. —AFP
Taiwan arms sale latest test for US-China ties BEIJING : China warned the US yesterday that an upcoming arms sales to Taiwan would further damage their relations, the latest in a flurry of disputes elevating tensions between Washington and Beijing. President Barack Obama’s administration has been consulting with Congress ahead of a formal announcement of the sale, which is likely to include Black Hawk helicopters and Patriot missiles, senior US congressional aides told The Associated Press. China opposes all arms sales to the island, which it considers a renegade province, and will likely suspend US military exchanges in response. Speaking to reporters at a regularly scheduled news conference, Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu mentioned no specific measures under consideration, but warned that any arms sales would “impair the larger interests of China-U.S cooperation.” “Once again, we urge the US side to recognize the sensitivity of weapon sales to Taiwan and its gravity,” Ma said. China and the US should respect each other’s stances on “core issues,” he said, using Beijing’s shorthand for matters of sovereignty and territorial integrity. Taiwan is just one of a slew of sensitive issues over which Beijing and Washington have already clashed or are likely to in coming months, many prompting aggressive responses from China. In recent days, China warned of damage to ties after US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s relatively mild criticisms of
China’s Internet censorship and calls to investigate cyberattacks against Google. The search giant has threatened to pull out of the world’s most populous online market if Beijing doesn’t relax Internet censorship. Yesterday, a government spokesman rebuked Washington for Clinton’s comments, saying they aimed to discredit China. An editorial in the People’s Daily the same day accused US politicians of using the issue to “meddle in other nations’ affairs on the one hand and to consolidate American hegemony in cyberspace on the other hand.” An expected meeting between Obama and the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, considered a separatist by Beijing, will also likely raise tensions. In addition, the two are tussling over China’s massive trade surplus and accusations that it undervalues its currency to boost exports. Washington is also growing impatient with China’s unwillingness to sign on to new nuclear sanctions against Iran and an apparent willingness to accept a nuclear-armed North Korea despite Washington’s demands that Pyongyang end its enrichment programs. High-profile disagreements over human rights and measures to address climate change have further sharpened the tone of discussions. “Selling arms to Taiwan is a mistake that will bring negative effects to the development of the China-US relations and shows the American government’s lack of strategic insight,” Liu Jiangyong of Tsinghua University’s Institute of
International Studies said yesterday. The sale highlights Beijing’s complicated relationship with Taiwan, which split from the mainland amid civil war in 1949 and has forged an increasingly independent identity. Since the election of Taiwan’s China-friendly President Ma Ying-jeou in 2008, Beijing has played down its threat to use force to bring the island under its control, while pressing ahead with economic dialogue and easing off its campaign to humiliate and isolate the island internationally. Direct scheduled flights have opened, Chinese tourists can now visit Taiwan, and a new round of talks on a free trade agreement began yesterday in Beijing. China sees such improvements as bolstering its argument against arms sales to Taiwan, which the US has agreed to eventually end on condition the island is not threatened. Many Taiwanese, however, consider Washington’s willingness to sell defensive weapons as a sign of enduring US commitment to a longtime ally and fellow democracy. Although the US broke diplomatic relations with Taiwan in 1979, it remains legally bound to ensure the island is capable of defending itself. The arms sales are also driven in part by Beijing’s booming military spending and the more than 1,000 ballistic missiles it has pointed at Taiwan. Chinese pressure has effectively prevented virtually all other countries from selling military equipment to Taiwan, making US willingness to sell Taiwan weapons all the more crucial. —AP
North Korea declares ‘no sail’ zone off west coast: Ministry SEOUL: North Korea has announced a twomonth ban on shipping near its disputed sea border with South Korea, Seoul’s defense ministry said yesterday, in a move set to heighten tensions after a naval clash in November. Yonhap news agency said South Korea’s military was checking whether the announcement was part of preparations for more short-range missile launches. A ministry spokeswoman said the no-sail zone had been imposed in waters near South Korea’s Baengnyeong Island off the west coast from January 25 to March 29. She said the exact location would be announced today. Yonhap said the zone extended north of the island and along the disputed border, and also stretched east of the island where November’s firefight erupted. The border known as the Northern Limit Line, which the North refuses to recognize, has been a persistent flashpoint. There were deadly naval clashes in the area in 1999 and 2002. Seoul said November’s clash broke out when a North Korean patrol boat crossed the line and refused to turn back despite warnings. The brief but intense battle left the North’s boat retreating in
flames and one South Korean craft with bullet holes in its hull. There was no information on any North Korean casualties, while the South’s crewmen were unhurt. Last month the North warned South Korean ships to avoid the border area, saying its coastal artillery would target it in firing exercises. Its naval command said at the time the move came in response to “reckless military provocations” from the South. Naval tensions have remained despite recent efforts by the sanctions-hit North to upgrade or restart joint business projects with the South. In addition to its ballistic missile launches, Pyongyang has many times in recent years testfired short-range missiles at sea. Efforts to restart six-nation nuclear negotiations are currently stalled over the North’s demand for early talks with the United States on a pact to formally end the 1950-53 Korean War. Analysts have said the communist state could try to fuel tensions to strengthen its case that a peace deal is urgently needed. The United States and South Korea say the North must return to nuclear talks before any discussions on a peace pact. —AFP
INTERNATIONAL
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
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Election monitors reporting turnout of up to 80 %
Lanka votes in tense post-war election NEW DELHI: Indian soldiers dressed in colorful clothing perform on motorcycles during the Republic Day parade in New Delhi, yesterday. — AP
Security tight as India marks national day NEW DELHI: Paramilitary soldiers and police set up road blocks and snipers took positions atop government buildings as hundreds of thousands of people turned out to celebrate India’s national day yesterday. India celebrates its Republic Day on Jan. 26 every year, but this year security measures were notched up following intelligence reports of a possible terrorist attack by Islamic militants. Last week, the Indian government put its airports on high alert amid reports that Al-Qaedalinked militants planned to hijack a plane. Security has also been tightened at all major government telecommunications and power installations, police said. At least 15,000 paramilitary soldiers were deployed in and around the capital of New Delhi to ensure safety along the route of the annual parade, the highlight of India’s Republic Day festivities, said police spokesman Rajan Bhagat. In downtown New Delhi, hundreds of thousands of people gathered to witness the parade , a showcase of Indian military and cultural pomp , under the eyes of police. South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, who is on a four-day official visit to India, was the main guest at the parade, which included marching bands and contingents of soldiers and schoolchildren and an aeronautic display by air force planes. India is observing the 60th anniversary of the 1950 adoption of its constitution. The country gained independence from Britain in 1947. Islamic militants attempted to disrupt celebrations by crossing from Pakistan into Indian Kashmir early
yesterday, said J.B. Sangwan, a Border Security Force official. He accused Pakistani soldiers of firing at Indian border posts to provide cover for the extremists. “There was heavy gunfire from the Pakistani side directed at Indian border posts,” Sangwan said. Indian soldiers returned fire, Sangwan said. A different version of events came from the Pakistani side. A military official , who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media , said Indian forces fired first and Pakistani soldiers responded. Neither side reported casualties. India and Pakistan have fought two wars over control of Kashmir, the Himalayan territory that both claim in its entirety. More than a dozen militant groups have fought Indian forces since 1989, seeking independence for the Muslim-majority state or its merger with Pakistan. In Srinagar, capital of Indian-administered Kashmir, hundreds of young men protested Indian rule hours after Republic Day celebrations ended. Chanting “We want freedom” and “Indian forces leave Kashmir,” protesters hurled rocks at police and paramilitary soldiers at a dozen places, said police officer Sajad Ahmed. Police fired tear gas and swung batons to disperse the demonstrators, Ahmed said, but no injuries were reported. In India’s restive northeast, several separatist groups called for a boycott of national day, but thousands of people defied the strike and thronged to celebrations to mark the day.— AP
Suicide bomb near US base injures 9 in Kabul KABUL: A suicide bomber struck near a US military base in Kabul yesterday injuring at least nine Afghans, police and the NATO force said, just days ahead of a global summit on tackling a Taleban -led insurgency. The attacker detonated a car packed with explosives near the main gate of Camp Phoenix, a military base on the outskirts of Kabul on the main road to the eastern provinces. Other NATO member states also have a presence in the camp. Although there was no immediate claim of responsibility, the bombing bore the hallmarks of the Taleban, who are waging an increasingly deadly insurgency to topple the Afghan government and oust foreign troops. “There was a suicide car bomb attack near Camp Phoenix. The suicide attacker detonated his car close to an international forces convoy,” Kabul police chief Abdul Rahman told AFP. He said nine Afghan civilians including three who worked as interpreters for the foreign forces were injured, adding: “The situation is under control.” NATO’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said it was “aware of an explosion outside the main gate of Camp Phoenix that occurred this afternoon at approximately 5:00 pm (1230 GMT)”. “Initial reports indicate the cause of the explosion was a vehicle-borne IED,” the force said, referring to an improvised explosive device in a car. The bombing comes just over a week after seven Taleban gunmen armed with suicide vests launched an attack on civilian and government buildings near the presidential palace in Kabul, killing five people. The January 18 attack on Kabul was one of the most dramatic strikes on the capital since the 2001 US-led invasion ousted the Taleban government, sparking the insurgency by remnants of the regime.
Afghanistan on Sunday postponed a parliamentary vote for four months in the face of the insurgency and a lack of funds, a move welcomed by the UN, which had raised concerns about graft and logistics. Afghan President Hamid Karzai is in Istanbul seeking to win support for a plan to convince Taleban foot-soldiers to lay down their arms in exchange for jobs and money. Tomorrow, the Afghan government and its foreign backers will meet in London to try and hammer out possible solutions to the insurgency, but the Taleban leadership have repeatedly rebuffed any attempts at peace talks. US officials have said the militants will have to see the tide turn against them on the battlefield before they come to the negotiating table, and tens of thousands more foreign troops are to be deployed this year. US President Barack Obama has pledged 30,000 more troops to the Afghan conflict which, along with 10,000 more from other NATO members, will swell the foreign force to about 150,000 by the end of this year. The Taleban and other insurgent groups have refused any talks until all the foreign forces leave Afghanistan, and frequently attack the troops across Afghanistan, with a record 520 foreign military casualties last year. Camp Phoenix was the site of another suicide blast last November, when both foreign soldiers and Afghan civilians were injured in a similar attack. Afghan soldiers are trained at the base by international troops, who have put the training of Afghanistan’s security forces at the heart of efforts to hand over responsibility for fighting the Taleban insurgency. Karzai wants to boost the Afghan police and army from the current 190,000 to 300,000 by mid next year, and will use the conference in the British capital Tomorrow to drum up funding for the scheme.— AFP
COLOMBO: Sri Lankans voted in their first post-war presidential election and was seen as too close to call by political observers. Allies in the defeat of yesterday amid claims of violence and voter intimidation after a bitter and the Tamil Tiger rebels in May, the two men had a very acrimonious falling out highly personal campaign. The contest was a straight fight between the after the conflict ended and both ran campaigns that sought to take personal incumbent, Mahinda Rajapakse, and his former army chief Sarath Fonseka, credit for the military victory. Polls closed at 4:00 pm with election monitors reporting a turnout of up to 80 percent in the south of the island, but a far weaker showing in the Tamildominated north, where voters were rattled by a series of predawn bomb blasts. Both sides predicted victory when results are announced today and blamed each other for the pollrelated violence in several areas that prompted a negative verdict from observers. “We can’t say it was a free and fair election because there were a number of incidents all over the country,” said D M Dissanayake, national coordinator of the independent Centre for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV). Another group, the Campaign for Free and Fair Elections, also raised doubts, citing voter intimidation and administrative obstacles that prevented voters in northern areas from casting their ballots. Fonseka himself could not vote because his name was absent from the 2008 electoral register used for the poll, but the Election Commission said that would have no bearing on his COLOMBO: A Sri Lankan woman shows her finger marked with indelible ink after casting her eligibility for the presidency. vote at a polling station near Madamulana, 178 kilometers (110 miles) south of Colombo, Sri That did not prevent lawmakers Lanka yesterday. —AP from Rajapakse’s ruling party appearing on television to say Rajapakse cast his ballot in election only four years into his “There was a high poll military campaign since dogged he might be disqualified. his southern home constituency six-year term to seize on the (turnout) and that will ensure by allegations of war crimes. The vitriolic nature of the of Mulkirigala and told reporters victory over the Liberation that Sarath Fonseka will be But from close allies on the campaign, coupled with the perhe was confident of securing a Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). president,” he told reporters. battlefield they became irreconsonal animosity between the second term. Opposition leader Ranil Last May, Rajapakse and cilable enemies after Fonseka, a two main candidates and the “We must be ready to face Wickremesinghe said after Fonseka-both from the majority 59-year-old political novice, reported poll irregularities, are the challenges of reaching new polling closed that it had been Sinhalese community-wiped out decided to challenge his former likely to fuel concerns that the heights after this vote,” said the “by and large” peaceful despite the LTTE, who had fought for a boss at the ballot box on an antiloser might reject the result, 64-year-old, who called the some incidents in the north. Tamil homeland since 1972, in a corruption platform.— AFP triggering fresh unrest. Ahead of the election, Fonseka had alleged the government would intimidate voters and was preparing a coup if it lost. He had been accused in turn of working with a militia of army deserters to disrupt the ballot. Inside Menik Farm, an internment camp for war-displaced Tamils in the north, people queued for hours to cast their ballots. About 5,000 men and women, some nursing infants, lined up under the hot sun in front of a school building in the sprawling complex of makeshift huts and tin-roofed buildings that housed nearly 300,000 at its height last year. “I’m very thirsty and tired and we’ve had little to eat, but I’m here to vote. I’m voting for a new government,” Vijaya Letchchami, 60, told AFP after waiting for four hours to have her say at the ballot box. She, like the vast majority of Tamils that AFP spoke to in the highly militarised Tamil-dominated north, said she was voting for Fonseka, who she saw as better for ethnic minorities. An estimated 80,000 people remain in camps which are strictly restricted for the media. About 200,000 were freed at the end of last year under pressure from the United Nations, which described conditions in them as “appalling.”
Karzai wins backing for strategy to woo Taleban ISTANBUL: Afghan President Hamid Karzai won regional support yesterday for his efforts to cajole Islamist insurgents to lay down their arms, as Germany offered more troops and cash for the ravaged nation. After talks with his Turkish and Pakistani peers, as well as officials from countries such as China, Iran and Russia, Karzai described moderate Taleban fighters as “sons of the Afghan soil” who should be brought back into the fold. And in a joint statement after the meeting in Istanbul, the participants declared that they “support the Afghan national process of reconciliation and reintegration ... in a way that is Afghan-led and -driven.” The Turkish-hosted talks form part of the build-up to a major conference in London on Thursday where Karzai hopes to secure Western support for his strategy of wooing Taleban fighters with the lure of jobs and money. That strategy already appears to have won the endorsement of Germany, whose Chancellor Angela Merkel announced yesterday that her government would ask par-
liament for another 500 troops for Afghanistan. She said Berlin would also provide 50 million euros (70 million dollars) to a 500-million-dollar global fund to bring insurgents into the mainstream and roughly double development aid to 430 million euros. Berlin currently has about 4,300 troops in Afghanistan. Merkel’s government wants to increase that by 500 as well as offer 350 reservists who could be deployed for a limited period. Karzai meanwhile told reporters in Istanbul that the reintegration of Taleban followers was essential to national unity, provided they were not followers of Osama bin Laden’s Al-Qaeda network. “Those Taleban who were not part of terrorist networks or Al-Qaeda are the sons of the Afghan soil,” Karzai said. “They are thousands and thousands and thousands and they have to be reintegrated.” On Monday, Karzai said he would appeal at the conference in London for Taleban names to be removed from a UN blacklist. The idea had previously met resistance
but “as we are talking today, there is more willingness that this can be reconsidered,” he said. While there was no immediate reaction to the proposal, Taleban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid stated last week that “the only political solution is that the foreign forces and the Afghan government surrender to us.” Attacks by Islamist insurgents have been on the upsurge in recent months. In the latest attack, at least five Afghan civilians were wounded yesterday when a suicide bomber in a car laden with explosives struck near a foreign military base in Kabul. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs noted that US generals David Petraeus and Stanley McChrystal had drawn parallels between Afghanistan and reconciliation schemes that had worked with factions in Iraq. Gibbs did not comment in detail on Karzai’s plan. But he said Washington was open to “a similar path to what happened in Iraq... provided that whoever this is accepts the Afghan constitution, renounces violence, and publicly breaks with groups that advocate violence.” — AFP
OPINION
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Africa mulls how to manage new wealth By Natsuko Waki
A
s Africa moves from a significant fiscal deficit largely funded by aid to a continent with a fiscal surplus, the search is on for a framework to manage countries’ resource-driven wealth. Some - such as Nigeria, Angola and Tunisia - are considering launching sovereign wealth funds (SWFs), which would accelerate the already rapid growth of the $3-trillion industry. But in sub-Saharan Africa, the challenges posed by such plans are significant: on the one hand is the need for a vehicle to invest windfall surpluses for future generations and ringfence today’s wealth from greedy leaders. On the other, investing offshore - as do the sovereign funds of major developed and emerging economies - would be political dynamite in Africa. In many African countries, badly in need of infrastructure and poverty reduction, the funds would be more likely to be deployed at home. “With a move from deficit to surplus and the commodities boom which affected many countries in Africa, they face a new reality where they have resources that they have to save for next generations,” said Efraim Chalamish, an SWF expert and global fellow at the New York University Law School. Particularly important for Africa is the assumption that political instability in such countries would endure: “You want to make sure there are many different mechanisms for the next government and money will be there for next generations and pay for national pensions, liabilities, etc.” Africa’s current account balance has improved in the past few years, with the total balance standing at 3.3 percent of gross domestic product compared with 1.3 percent in 2004, according to data from the African Development Bank. Its fiscal balance has moved to a surplus of 2.8 percent of GDP from a deficit of 0.1 percent in 2000. That would leave room for extra capital to be allocated to wealth funds. As some African countries hit an oil jackpot, governments have started to consider introducing a system to effectively manage their new surplus. Nigeria’s Senate has been working on legislation to create an SWF to soften any impact that falling oil prices may have on the OPEC member’s economy. Sub-Saharan Africa’s second biggest economy has around $41.6 billion in foreign exchange reserves. Angola, which expects 2010 oil revenues of $16.6 billion, is considering a Norwegian-style fund. In Tunisia, which has foreign exchange reserves of around $10 billion, lawmakers are calling for the creation of a national fund to help unemployment, according to a report by Magharebia, a website sponsored by the United States Africa Command. And Ghana could also be a contender as it looks to reap the first benefits of oil production in late 2010. But New York University’s Chalamish said he had advised one government which
approached him recently for guidance on running an SWF to wait, and first think hard. “The fact that many countries in Asia and the Gulf did it, it doesn’t mean you have to do it,” Chalamish said. “It’s like a club. You really want to become part of the club because it shows the strength of your own economy and traditionally it involves economics, politics, power, passion... Even weak governments feel this is the way of executing global economic expansion and to have an impact in the world.” Home investment is often seen by sovereign funds in major developed and emerging economies as something of a taboo, except in a severe economic downturn, because the domestic recycling of the surplus risks fanning inflation. Asian or Middle Eastern funds invest in a diverse portfolio including equities, alternative assets and private equity-style stakes in companies. SWFs in Norway and Azerbaijan are not allowed to invest domestically. Libya’s $65 billion fund, set up in 2006, is Africa’s biggest and invests mostly in European countries, such as Italy. Domestic investment inflates the economy. For fastgrowing Africa - where not all countries have robust central banks and a monetary mechanism, uncontrollable inflation could scare away potential foreign investors. But governments may have no choice but to invest at home, using sovereign funds to complement state spending to improve infrastructure, raise productivity and establish its position as a viable investment destination within frontier markets. According to the World Bank, the continent needs around $93 billion a year to address its infrastructure needs. Only half of that is being spent at the moment. For example, in Angola, two-thirds of people still live on $2 a day or less even as billions in oil reserves and Chinese loans have helped rebuild infrastructure devastated by a 27-year civil war that ended in 2002. “In all other cases half the idea is to go globally and invest in riskier assets,” Chalamish said. “Here the purpose is different. It’s really to invest locally and to build national champions, in terms of local manufacturing and labour markets that these funds are supposed to support.” Gary Smith, head of central banks, supranational instutitions and SWFs at BNP Paribas Investment Partners, said countries coming into wealth should take a “ladder” approach: when they reach a certain wealth level they would benefit from a sovereign fundbased framework to manage their reserves. “They trigger certain points, like the rungs on the ladder, certain wealth points are passed, and they create a new institutional framework with a clear definition of responsibility,” he said. “In countries where an institutional framework has been perhaps weak in the past, having a clear and unambiguous institution to take care of money is an excellent idea. It can help countries that had problems managing their wealth.” — Reuters
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Egypt Islamist arrests highlight militancy fears By Marwa Awad
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gypt has been rounding up youths accused of links to Islamist groups over the past months, reflecting a growing suspicion that militant ideologies are wooing recruits to carry out sporadic attacks. There are no signs of a return to an insurgency of the scale of the 1990s, when Egyptian security fought gun battles to quash an organised Islamist rebellion to set up an Islamic state. But concern about the rise of Islamists in Yemen has turned attention on Egypt, the home turf of Al-Qaeda’s No. 2 Ayman Zawahiri and of leading Islamist thinkers over the decades. For now, Egypt’s crackdown on any Islamists, including the Muslim Brotherhood that long ago renounced violence, may have stemmed any flow of militants abroad but small groups could emerge to fill a gap left as moderate Islamists are squeezed. “What is likely to appear are random and small violent groups of youth with no direction and no security record,” said analyst Khalil AlAnani, who specialises in Islamist movements. The government of President Hosni Mubarak, whose predecessor was gunned down by militants, has clamped down on youths viewed as potential militant recruits since a bomb killed a tourist in 2009 in Cairo. It was the first such attack since 2006. Youths who surf websites on making weapons or gather donations for places like Gaza, even those who frequent mosques teaching Quranic recitations, have been detained indefinitely on charges of planning attacks, lawyers representing them say. Yahya Abdel-Fattah Al-Azab, a prayer leader in a mosque in Mansoura in the Nile Delta, says his son was one of more than 20 youths rounded up in October. He has not heard from him since. “I and my son have called on Muslims to support the
people of Gaza. If non-Muslims abroad in Europe have done it, how can Muslims here not take part?” the sheikh told Reuters, denying his son had any links to violent groups or ideologies. Egypt’s blockade of Gaza since the Islamist group Hamas took control in 2007 has drawn criticism particularly from Islamists at home and abroad who accuse Cairo of doing Israel’s bidding. Mubarak said on Sunday securing Egypt’s borders would stop new militant attacks and said his security forces would quash a “widening circle” of violent Islamist ideologies or groups. Security sources said among arrests in Mansoura late last year was a group charged with possessing explosives and weapons. “New branches (of militants) are spreading in the region, led by a new generation claiming affiliation to AlQaeda but whose operations are no longer centralised or directed by Al-Qaeda’s central base in Afghanistan,” said General Nashaat Hilali, a former assistant to Egypt’s interior minister. Recruits for such groups emerging elsewhere in the region tended to be home grown, he said, adding Egyptian groups that have targeted the Egyptian state in the past did not have a global agenda, even if members later travelled abroad. Osama bin Laden’s taped message broadcasted on Sunday, claiming responsibility for a failed Dec 25 plane attack, was seen as a bid to draw in new Arab supporters in particular for AlQaeda, though some analysts said its popularity was waning. The risk advisory group Janusian said in a December report that the breakup of at least two cells in Egypt in 2009 and other incidents “suggest a resurgent militant underground”. It also said Egyptian militants had turned up in Yemen. Analysts in Egypt said there was no firm evidence of fresh Egyptian recruits heading to Yemen and that any who did turn up would more likely be of an older genera-
tion of militants who went to Afghanistan and may now be seeking a new frontline. Islamist groups have been targeted on and off for decades in Egypt, historically a nation of leading Islamist thinkers
like Sayyed Qotb, a Brotherhood leader executed in 1964. But a fierce crackdown followed President Anwar Sadat’s 1981 assassination and then during the 1990s uprising by Al-Gama’a Al-
Islamiya and Egypt’s Jihad group, which targeted ministers and Western tourists. Al-Gama’a was also blamed for a failed bid to kill Mubarak in 1995 in Addis Ababa. — Reuters
Asian flag carriers fight to survive
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sian flag carriers, once proud symbols of unique cultures, dynamic economies and exotic tourist destinations, are looking more like national albatrosses this year. In an industry hard hit by a host of horrors in the past two years, including record-high oil prices, pandemics, recession and declining exports, Asia’s national carriers have fared worse than many of their not so nationalistic rivals. Japan Airlines Corp (JAL), once Asia’s biggest airline in terms of revenues and currently the biggest regional debtor owing a whopping $25.6 billion, was on Jan 19 forced to declare bankruptcy as part of its rehabilitation strategy. This is its fifth bailout in nine years. In China, the government in January injected $1 billion in China Eastern Airlines Co to buy out Shanghai Airlines Co, as part of efforts to consolidate the country’s aviation scene under three state-owned airlines - China Southern Airlines Co, China Eastern and Air China Ltd. The government had already injected $2 billion into China Eastern last year and may soon have to help Air China - which announced a loss of $1.35 billion for 2008 take over Shenzhen Airlines. India’s aviation sector posted a combined loss of $2 billion in the fiscal year to March 2009, of which more than half was accounted for by the pathetic performance of national flag carrier Air India, which notched up losses of $1.2 billion. While private airlines such as Jet, Kingfisher IndiGo and Spicejet are expecting to return to profit in the new financial year, Air India anticipates a similar sea of red ink. An estimated $1 billion will be required to keep the Indian flag carrier afloat. Even South-East Asia’s service-oriented, award-winning national carriers - Singapore Airlines Ltd, Malaysia Airlines (MAS) and Thai Airways International - have flown into rough weather. In the first and second quarters of this fiscal year, Singapore’s national carrier posted losses of $212.7 million and $114 million, respectively. Singapore Airlines said that for the period from April 2009 to March 2010 it would reduce capacity by 11 per cent and decommission a
total of 16 passenger aircraft. It has also reached an agreement with Airbus to delay the delivery of eight A380 superjumbo jets by six to 12 months. MAS chalked up a $88.6-million loss as of September 30, and Thai posted a net loss of $636 million in 2008, its first loss in 43 years. Although by year-end 2009 it was back in the black with a modest profit. The losses are hardly unique to Asian airlines. “Projected losses for 2009 are about 11 billion dollars worldwide,” said Andrew Herdman, director-general for the Association of Asia-Pacific Airlines. “For Asia-Pacific-based carriers losses in 2008 were 4.8 billion [dollars] and 2009 will be similar, about 4 billion.” While all Asian airlines were affected by the downturn, they were not affected equally. As Asian exports dwindled and business executive travel dried up during the recession, airlines’ cargo and premium-class services suffered the biggest hits. “So a big national carrier with maybe 20 per cent of its revenues coming from cargo and another 20 per cent from premium business-class traffic on long-haul routes would have been severely impacted,” Herdman said. Far less hit were the no-frill, short-haul, leisure market airlines such as Air Asia, Australia’s Jetstar Aiways and Indonesia’s Lion Air, all of which posted profits last year. Indonesia’s national carrier Garuda might want to thank the European Union for barring its long-haul flights to Europe for safety concerns. By concentrating on its huge and farflung domestic market the flag carrier notched up a profit of $71.7 million in 2008 and is looking to a similar performance in 2009. “Garuda is lucky because it has a huge captive market, unlike Singapore Airlines,” Indonesian industry expert Dudi Sudibyo said. It has announced plans to restart its European routes but might want to think twice. Low cost carriers have proven remarkably successful in attracting the cost-conscious leisure market with cheap fares, no-frill flights - bearable on short-haul routes - and by using efficient narrow-bodied aircraft for their fleets. In Europe, the low-cost carriers now dominate the leisure sector, knocking the charter operators out of the market. — dpa
Yemen Qaeda hub risks belt of instability By Cynthia Johnston
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l-Qaeda militants could strengthen their foothold in Yemen and form part of a belt of Islamist instability linking Asia to Africa if the government in Sanaa fails to crack down decisively against them, analysts say. An impoverished country that is strategically located on one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes, Yemen has declared war on Al-Qaeda under pressure from Washington and Saudi Arabia, its oil-producing neighbour. Over the past weeks, it has claimed to have killed six Al-Qaeda leaders in an air strike in the north, captured three militants close to the Saudi border and shot dead another member in an exchange of gunfire in Lahj province in the south. But even if these early successes prove true - Al-Qaeda disputes local leaders were killed in the strike -Yemen faces a daunting challenge containing militants who will hunker down and seek to exploit their ties to like-minded groups in Somalia, Afghanistan and Pakistan to sow regional chaos. “Al-Qaeda in Yemen is a regional command. It is not a national command. It is a command for the whole Arabian peninsula. So theoretically at least we are talking about seven states,” Dubaibased security analyst Mustafa Alani said. The most direct threat from a stronger Al-Qaeda foothold in Yemen is to Saudi Arabia, which shares a 1,500
SANAA: A Yemeni woman and her daughter walk past members of the Yemeni anti-terror unit securing an area outside a court where suspected Al-Qaeda members were on trial in Sanaa yesterday. – AFP km porous land border with its southern neighbour. Saudi Arabia halted an Al-Qaeda campaign in the kingdom in 2006 after a wave of attacks on foreign residential compounds, government targets and energy installations. But last year, the Yemeni and Saudi wings of the group merged to form the Yemen-based Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). Its Christmas Day
attempt to blow up a US-bound airliner made it clear that the merged branch has its sights on targets far beyond mountainous Yemen’s borders. Hassan Abou Taleb, an analyst at the Cairo-based Al Ahram Centre, said one issue of concern is a strengthening of ties between Yemen-based Al-Qaeda and militants in Somalia, a failed state that is home to pirates who prey on
international shipping. Worried about such an alliance, Yemen has already ramped up coastal security to block entry of Somali fighters disguised as Horn of Africa refugees. Somalia’s Al-Shabaab movement, seen by Washington as Al-Qaeda’s proxy, and with known links to Yemen militants, has said it was ready to send backup to Yemen should the US carry out strikes there. “If both Al-Qaeda in Yemen and the religious youth in Somalia united ... can you imagine what would happen in the future? I think a lot of damage, a lot of instability,” Abou Taleb said. “Also this will encourage Al-Qaeda to spread more and more, not only in the Arabian Peninsula but also in Africa.” Al-Qaeda is no newcomer to the Gulf region. Yemen is the ancestral homeland of Osama bin Laden and has long been a support base for his followers, who have sought to forge links with tribes in areas where government control is already weak. Militants bombed the Navy warship USS Cole in Aden harbour in 2000, killing 17 US sailors. Two years later an Al-Qaeda attack damaged a French supertanker in the Gulf of Aden. Other Gulf states are also rich in targets for the militant group, which has long condemned Arab regimes it believes have brought decadence and Western influence to the Muslim heartland. Kuwaiti authorities said in August they had foiled an Al-Qaeda-linked plan to bomb a US Army camp and an oil
refinery. Yemen, an Arab state verging on collapse, has been tasked with stopping Al-Qaeda at home in order to prevent it from expanding its reach. The Obama administration is considering proposals to sharply expand Pentagon powers to assist forces in Yemen. But even with US backing, analysts are sceptical about the government’s ability to clamp down on Al-Qaeda. Yemen has one of the weakest central governments in the Arab world and is already overstretched in its fight against a separate northern Shiite revolt and southern separatists. It also faces a water shortage and is battling to turn around declining oil output from mature oilfields. An international conference in London this week will examine ways to boost aid while ensuring the government is held accountable for economic reform. Air strikes of the kind Yemen used in attacks on the house of local Al-Qaeda leader Ayed Al-Shabwani in recent weeks are unlikely to prove an effective weapon in the longer-term and could even end up stoking resistance. Theodore Karasik of the Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analysis likened the strikes to “aggravating a bees nest”. \“If they (AlQaeda) are really squeezed they can just pick up and run to someplace else,” he said. “But the way the situation is going now it only seems to me it might actually get worse before it gets better.” — Reuters
ANALYSIS
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
13
Google row caps rapid souring in Sino-US ties By Marianne Barriaux
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wo months ago US President Barack Obama visited China and pledged with his counterpart Hu Jintao to apply a concerted political might to solve the world’s toughest problems. Today, the idea of a “Group of Two” coalition appears to be a mirage after clashes on Internet freedom, climate change, trade issues, the yuan’s value, US arms sales to Taiwan and a visit to the US by the exiled Dalai Lama. Google’s threat to leave China has exposed fault lines in ties between Beijing and Washington, and the row could signal the start of a difficult phase in their relationship, analysts say. “We’re headed down a path marked hardline, and statesmanship will be required to turn us away from it,” said Beijing-based political analyst Russell Leigh Moses. The US Internet giant’s complaint over cyberattacks and censorship has quickly escalated into a major diplomatic row, adding to the list of thorny issues already separating the United States and China. And the latest spat follows recriminations stemming from December’s Copenhagen cli-
A man uses a computer at the guests waiting area inside Google China’s headquarters building in Beijing Monday. – AP mate conference in which China was accused of deal-spoiling tactics and sending comparatively junior delegates to meet with Obama. Google this month said it could ditch its Chinese search engine, and perhaps leave China altogether, over hack attacks which it said originated in the Asian giant. It also says it will no longer bow to Chinese state censors. At first, the shock
announcement attracted a muted response from Beijing and Washington, with Chinese officials insisting it would not affect trade ties. But a speech last week by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton - in which she urged a thorough probe of the Google attacks and questioned Beijing’s curbs on the world’s biggest online community - upped the stakes considerably. Chinese foreign ministry
spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said Clinton’s speech had been “harmful” to bilateral relations, and Beijing later angrily denied involvement in the Google attacks -indicating a significant change in tone, experts say. “The closer that Clinton gets to Google, the more it seems to many people in the Chinese government that this is a conspiracy, a concerted turn in strategy towards Beijing,” said Moses.
“Most Chinese officials understand the downside to a downturn in Sino-American relations but a number of them are willing to pay that price because they don’t want to be seen as being weak.” Jean-Pierre Cabestan, a professor of political science at Hong Kong Baptist University, described the Google row as a “potentially explosive issue” for the Sino-US relationship, as Washington had questioned Beijing on sensitive issues. “It relates to issues of foreign and domestic policy, in a way that might be even more sensitive than the traditional issue of human rights, because it touches on the control of information and society by the government in power,” Cabestan said. Sarah McDowall, a political analyst for research group IHS Global Insight, agreed, saying Clinton’s speech had backed China into a corner. “Overall, the Chinese government cannot avoid politicisation of the issue it has to stick by domestic Chinese legislation governing censorship for reasons of political stability,” she said. The US leader has said he is “troubled” by the attacks on Google, according to the White House; China’s state media responded
by accusing Washington of “double standards” on issues of Internet freedom. Analysts also suggested that Obama - perceived in some domestic circles as soft on China - could be adopting a tough line on the Google issue to curry favour with US voters ahead of this year’s crucial mid-term elections. “He may take advantage of the Google situation to adjust his strategy towards China,” said Hu Xingdou, a professor at the Beijing Institute of Technology. China and Google could still work things out, but that possibility was becoming more and more remote as the row continued to simmer, analysts said. “The sense one gets is... (China’s) going to insist Chinese law be enforced and that would mean Google continuing to censor itself,” said Paul Harris, head of the social science department at the Hong Kong Institute of Education. “My sense is that Google won’t give in, and if that happens, what level of business is Google going to be able to keep in China, and what is going to be the reaction from Washington?” he said. “I think that relations will be going downhill, and rather quickly and steeply.” — AFP
Bad news just piling up for Democrats By Liz Sidoti
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n only a week, the already difficult political situation facing Democrats ahead of this fall’s midterm elections grew even more troubling. And the bloodletting may not be over. The latest blows: Vice President Joe Biden’s son opted out of a Senate run in Delaware, giving Republicans better-than-even odds of taking over the seat Biden held 36 years, and a moderate Democrat in an Arkansas swing-voting district announced his retirement, the second in as many weeks. All that comes atop Democrats’ loss of Edward M Kennedy’s Senate seat to Republican Scott Brown in Massachusetts, and as the White House builds up its political team to prevent defeats up and down ballots nationwide come November. “We had a little bit of a buzz saw this week,” President Barack Obama said at the end of the most politically problematic week of his presidency. That comment was about his endangered health care overhaul plan, but it could extend to electoral politics ahead of his first midterm elections as president. Just a year ago, Democrats were boasting about the launch of a new era. Obama’s party was salivating at the thought of padding its comfortable majorities after several Republicans announced they would retire rather than run again. Now, Democrats are on defense over biggovernment, big-spending policies. An anti-Washington wave is sweeping the country. And people are furious over a 10 percent unemployment rate and Wall Street bailouts. Failed recruitments and growing retirements make it more likely that Democrats will emerge from the 2010 midterms with fewer numbers in Congress, which would pose challenges for Obama’s agenda. However, Democrats still are likely to retain control of the Senate, and probably the House, too. To stanch the bleeding, Obama has turned to his 2008 campaign manager to oversee the White House’s midterm efforts from the Democratic National Committee. “This past week has definitely been a hard one, for all of us,” David Plouffe wrote Monday in an email meant to rally Obama backers. “It’s at moments
like these when we need you most.” Republicans have their problems, too. Cash is one. Others include primary challenges from conservative “tea party” candidates against establishment candidates. And voters still don’t have a high opinion of the Republicans. But Republicans have momentum in the wake of Brown’s Massachusetts victory. The Republican Party reports a recruitment windfall in the House and Senate, with on-the-fence candidates emboldened by the more friendly environment. With Brown’s win, Democrats control the Senate 59-41. Republicans would need to pick up 10 seats, and not lose any, to gain control. It’s not impossible. In January alone, they’ve found two other ripe opportunities to win Democratic-held seats in the Senate Beau Biden’s decision to pass up a Senate run to run for re-election as Delaware’s attorney general automatically made Republican Rep Mike Castle, a popular former governor, favored to win. In bowing out, Biden cited not the thorny political environment but a need to focus on prosecution of a high-profile child molestation case. Also at risk is Democratic Sen Byron Dorgan’s seat in conservative-tilting North Dakota. Stunning Democrats, Dorgan said just after the new year that he would not seek re-election. North Dakota’s Republican governor, John Hoeven, quickly jumped into the race. Democrats haven’t fielded a candidate yet. Democrats’ woes in the Senate are partly of Obama’s own making. He plucked several Democrats from the Senate to fill his administration, and those seats also are now vulnerable. Sen Michael Bennet of Colorado, appointed to fill Interior Secretary Ken Salazar’s term, is in a primary, and Sen Kirsten Gillibrand, appointed to fill Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s seat, also may face a primary challenge. The Republican Party is competing hard for Obama’s old seat; Sen Roland Burris, who was appointed to the seat, is not running. Following Connecticut Sen Chris Dodd’s retirement, Washington insiders have been on high alert for hints that other troubled Senate Democrats will bow out to make way for stronger candidates.
Among the most vulnerable incumbents: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas. Given a political environment tipping its way, the Republicans are also keeping an eye on Sens Barbara Boxer in California and Arlen Specter in Pennsylvania. In the House, Republicans
need a net gain of 40 seats to take back control. That’s a long shot, but less of one than it was at the start of 2010. Two moderate Democrats in as many weeks in Arkansas’ swing districts have chosen to retire rather than face re-election in a problematic political environment. The retirements of Reps Vic
Snyder and Marion Berry bring to 12 the number of Democratic House retirements, compared with 14 for Republicans. Democrats, however, fear privately that they are just the first ripples in what could become a flood of House retirements creating pickup opportunities for Republicans. — AP
Lafontaine exit could unite left By Madeline Chambers
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he departure of Oskar Lafontaine, a fiery populist who turned the Left party into a political force, could help unite Germany’s leftist opposition and shake Angela Merkel’s hold on power in the longer-term. Lafontaine, battling cancer, announced on Saturday he would not renew his candidacy for the leadership of the Left party, signalling his retreat from national politics, where he has been an influential figure for decades. Without him in the picture, the chances of a three-way alliance between the Left, the Social Democrats (SPD) and the Greens has risen, raising the risks for Chancellor Merkel and her conservatives ahead of the next federal election in 2013. The animosity between Lafontaine and the SPD, the party he once ran but abandoned in 2005, has been a major obstacle to a leftist coalition at the federal level, though it has not prevented cooperation in several states. “The festering wounds between the Left and the SPD can now start to heal,” said Peter Loesche, emeritus professor of politics at the University of Goettingen. “That doesn’t mean they will get together immediately but they will test the water in the next couple of years and see how far they might be able to work together in certain areas.” The SPD saw its support slump to a post-war low of 23 percent in a September election and its only way back to power in Germany’s crowded party system is through new partnerships. There are still major policy differences between the SPD and the Left on issues ranging from Afghanistan, where the Left supports an immediate pullout, to taxes and labour policy. Bridging these gaps will take time and Merkel’s conservatives will try to exploit voter concerns about the Left’s radical agenda and communist leanings to prevent a meaningful new leftist challenge. But the departure of Lafontaine removes a prominent target. The 66-year-old Lafontaine was dubbed “Europe’s most dangerous man” by a British newspaper when he was finance minister under SPD Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder in the late 1990s. After resigning that post in 1999 due to policy differences with his boss, Lafontaine went on to found a new far-left movement called WASG, which later joined forces with the successor party to East Germany’s
communists to form the Left party in 2007. Thanks partly to Lafontaine’s talents as a campaigner and orator, the Left won a surprising 11.9 percent in the election in September, stealing millions of votes from the SPD. It now has seats in 12 of Germany’s 16 assemblies, including six in western Germany. Some in the SPD are already signalling a readiness to open up to the Left. On Sunday, a group of lawmakers from the Left, SPD and Greens published a letter in a leading newspaper calling for a debate on three-way cooperation at the federal level. Andrea Nahles, the SPD’s general secratary and one of its senior leaders, also appeared ready to work with the Left if the party was ready to change. “The Left must now decide if it wants to become a party with a programme, with a broad-based responsibility or whether it continues to be a private stage for individual populists,” she told Bayerischer Rundfunk radio. One risk is that the Left, comprising former East German communists, Marxists from western Germany and disaffected SPD members, may veer even further to the left in the post-Lafontaine era. Some analysts also expect the party to lose ground in western Germany without “Lafo”, though they are likely to remain a force in eastern states. “In the West, the Left grew up as a protest party and through Lafontaine they found a narrative and gained the confidence to win. But if they can’t find someone to fill his shoes, the Left in the West will shrink,” said Klaus-Peter Schoeppner, head of polling group Emnid. “The implication for the federal level is that the Left will diminish as a force overall,” he added. For now, SPD leader Sigmar Gabriel is playing down the likelihood of any quick change in the relationship between the parties. He told the Sueddeutsche Zeitung on Monday that the SPD needed to focus on winning back voters itself rather than looking to other parties. He may be keen to ensure he does not alienate moderate SPD voters that analysts say will be essential to making gains in Germany’s next election. But Gabriel is from a younger generation that rose to prominence in the SPD after the divisive split between Schroeder and Lafontaine, and is widely seen to be more open to cooperation if it can bring the party back to power. — Reuters
Blackouts, devaluation hurt Chavez in poll year By Frank Jack Daniel
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s he prepares for elections in September, Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez faces the biggest threat to his popularity in years, hit by a weak economy, electricity blackouts and revelations of government graft. The Marxist former soldier has had a troubled start to his 12th year in office, forced to devalue the currency he had dubbed the “strong” bolivar and order sweeping power cuts to save energy across South America’s top oil exporter. The Jan 8 devaluation increased the amount of bolivars the government receives for every dollar of oil it sells, and unless crude prices drop, will stimulate the economy and fund the social spending that underpins Chavez’s popularity. But with inflation high and likely to rise and voters tired of officials many see as mediocre and corrupt, Chavez may face a struggle to keep control of the 165-seat parliament despite problems opposition parties have creating a united front. Chavez allies won all the seats in the last legislative
election in 2005 after the opposition boycotted the vote. About a dozen lawmakers have since switched sides. The next presidential election is not due until 2012. A banking scandal that exposed vast fortunes made by businessmen close to the government has disgusted many in the poor neighborhoods clinging to hills around Caracas that are core to Chavez’s support. “What socialism is this, what revolution is this?” asked government worker Sergio Pinto, in a street painted with portraits of China’s late communist leader Mao Zedong and Venezuelan heroes. “They say it’s bad to be rich but they live in luxury. It’s double-speak.” More than a dozen banking
executives were jailed and a senior minister
resigned in the government clean-up of 11 mismanaged small banks that began November, but the image remains of great wealth among other cabinet members. Chavez has hinted he has another larger bank in his sights. A takeover would further rock the economy. The failure of rains last year due to the El Nino weather anomaly reduced the electrical generating capacity in a country that depends on hydro-power. A lack of investment to keep up with demand has aggravated the situation. In a rare sign of vulnerability, Chavez called off rolling cuts in Caracas this month after anger at a chaotic first day of outages that left people stuck in elevators or in dangerous parts of town without street lighting. “This is a shared responsibility,” Pinto said. “Previous governments did nothing, but neither has this one.” Chavez risks major industrial and social problems if rain does not bring relief in a few
months. He accepts that mistakes have been made but accuses opponents of stirring up rebellion against his government. After years saying a devaluation of the bolivar would hurt the poor, Chavez’s hand seems to have been forced by the energy shortages that will slow economic recovery. The staggered blackouts that started two weeks ago will hit homes and industry outside of the capital Caracas every two days until at least May, and are, along with water shortages, a reminder that all is not well now an oil boom has petered out. “It is likely to only heighten uncertainty and deeper anxiety among most Venezuelans. The country may well be heading into a politically tumultuous year,” said Michael Shifter of Washington thinktank Inter-American Dialogue. Some opponents scent blood in Chavez’s current woes but the ex-tank soldier still has around 50 percent popular support, and a big campaign war chest. “This is not going to matter much, because oil prices are rising, he will start to hand out money to the social programs and people soon forget,” a housewife who
only gave her name as Jaqueline said in Caracas after the devaluation. Chavez also heads to the elections backed by a new law that allows new electoral districts and reduces proportional representation and which opponents say makes it harder for them to compete. John Magdaleno, a political scientist at Venezuela’s Simon Bolivar University, said the new law means the opposition’s small parties will struggle to gain ground. “The government will also count on a cohesive ruling party and a weak and fragmented opposition that has so far failed to capitalize on Chavez’s weakness,” said Patrick Esteruelas of political risk analysts Eurasia Group. Oil prices are stronger than they were last year and Chavez has also recovered from far worse situations. In 2002, massive street protests led to a coup that temporarily toppled him. An oil strike then drove the economy into the ground for months. He quickly bounced back, reaching a peak of popularity by building health clinics and education projects that led to his triumphant 2006 re-election. — Reuters
focus
We send docs, not soldiers By Fidel Castro
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n my Reflection of Jan 14, two days after the catastrophe in Haiti, which destroyed that neighboring sister nation, I wrote: “In the area of healthcare and others the Haitian people has received the cooperation of Cuba, even though this is a small and blockaded country. Approximately 400 doctors and healthcare workers are helping the Haitian people free of charge. Our doctors are working every day at 227 of the 237 communes of that country. On the other hand, no less than 400 young Haitians have been graduated as medical doctors in our country. They will now work alongside the reinforcement that traveled there yesterday to save lives in that critical situation. Thus, up to one thousand doctors and healthcare personnel can be mobilized without any special effort; and most are already there willing to cooperate with any other State that wishes to save Haitian lives and rehabilitate the injured. The head of our medical brigade has informed that the situation is difficult but we are already saving lives.” Hour after hour, day and night, the Cuban health professionals have started to work nonstop in the few facilities that were able to stand, in tents, and out in the parks or open-air spaces, since the population feared new aftershocks. The situation was far more serious than was originally thought. Tens of thousands of injured were clamoring for help in the streets of Port-au-Prince; innumerable persons laid, dead or alive, under the rubbled clay or adobe used in the construction of the houses where the overwhelming majority of the population lived. Buildings, even the most solid, collapsed. Besides, it was necessary to look for the Haitian doctors who had graduated at the Latin American Medicine School throughout all the destroyed neighborhoods. Many of them were affected, either directly or indirectly, by the tragedy. Some UN officials were trapped in their dormitories and tens of lives were lost, including the lives of several chiefs of MINUSTAH, a UN contingent. The fate of hundreds of other members of its staff was unknown. Haiti’s Presidential Palace crumbled. Many public facilities, including several hospitals, were left in ruins. The catastrophe shocked the whole world, which was able to see what was going on through the images aired by the main international TV networks. Governments from everywhere in the planet announced they would be sending rescue experts, food, medicines, equipment and other resources. In conformity with the position publicly announced by Cuba, medical staff from different countries - namely Spain, Mexico, and Colombia, among others - worked very hard alongside our doctors at the facilities they had improvised. Organizations such as PAHO and other friendly countries like Venezuela and other nations supplied medicines and other resources. The impeccable behavior of Cuban professionals and their leaders was absolutely void of chauvinism and remained out of the limelight. Cuba, just as it had done under similar circumstances, when Hurricane Katrina caused huge devastation in the city of New Orleans and the lives of thousands of American citizens were in danger, offered to send a full medical brigade to cooperate with the people of the United States, a country that, as is well known, has vast resources. But at that moment what was needed were trained and well-equipped doctors to save lives. Given New Orleans geographical location, more than one thousand doctors of the “Henry Reeve” contingent mobilized and readied to leave for that city at any time of the day or the night, carrying with them the necessary medicines and equipment. It never crossed our mind that the president of that nation would reject the offer and let a number of Americans that could have been saved to die. The mistake made by that government was perhaps the inability to understand that the people of Cuba do not see in the American people an enemy; it does not blame it for the aggressions our homeland has suffered. Nor was that government capable of understanding that our country does not need to
beg for favors or forgiveness of those who, for half a century now, have been trying, to no avail, to bring us to our knees. Our country, also in the case of Haiti, immediately responded to the US authorities requests to fly over the eastern part of Cuba as well as other facilities they needed to deliver assistance, as quickly as possible, to the American and Haitian citizens who had been affected by the earthquake. Such have been the principles characterizing the ethical behavior of our people. Together with its equanimity and firmness, these have been the ever-present features of our foreign policy. And this is known only too well by whoever have been our adversaries in the international arena. Cuba will firmly stand by the opinion that the tragedy that has taken place in Haiti, the poorest nation in the western hemisphere, is a challenge to the richest and more powerful countries of the world. Haiti is a net product of the colonial, capitalist and imperialist system imposed on the world. Haiti’s slavery and subsequent poverty were imposed from abroad. That terrible earthquake occurred after the Copenhagen Summit, where the most elemental rights of 192 UN member States were trampled upon. In the aftermath of the tragedy, a competition has unleashed in Haiti to hastily and illegally adopt boys and girls. UNICEF has been forced to adopt preventive measures against the uprooting of many children, which will deprive their close relatives from their rights. There are more than one hundred thousand deadly victims. A high number of citizens have lost their arms or legs, or have suffered fractures requiring rehabilitation that would enable them to work or manage their own. Eighty per cent of the country needs to be rebuilt. Haiti requires an economy that is developed enough to meet its needs according to its productive capacity. The reconstruction of Europe or Japan, which was based on the productive capacity and the technical level of the population, was a relatively simple task as compared to the effort that needs to be made in Haiti. There, as well as in most of Africa and elsewhere in the Third World, it is indispensable to create the conditions for a sustainable development. In only forty years time, humanity will be made of more than nine billion inhabitants, and right now is faced with the challenge of a climate change that scientists accept as an inescapable reality. In the midst of the Haitian tragedy, without anybody knowing how and why, thousands of US marines, 82nd Airborne Division troops and other military forces have occupied Haiti. Worse still is the fact that neither the United Nations Organization nor the US government have offered an explanation to the world’s public opinion about this relocation of troops. Several governments have complained that their aircraft have not been allowed to land in order to deliver the human and technical resources that have been sent to Haiti. Some countries, for their part, have announced they would be sending an additional number of troops and military equipment. In my view, such events will complicate and create chaos in international cooperation, which is already in itself complex. It is necessary to seriously discuss this issue. The UN should be entrusted with the leading role it deserves in these so delicate matters. Our country is accomplishing a strictly humanitarian mission. To the extent of its possibilities, it will contribute the human and material resources at its disposal. The will of our people, who takes pride in its medical doctors and cooperation workers who provide vital services, is huge, and will rise to the occasion. Any significant cooperation that is offered to our country will not be rejected, but its acceptance will fully depend on the importance and transcendence of the assistance that is requested from the human resources of our homeland. It is only fair to state that, up until this moment, our modest aircraft and the important human resources that Cuba has made available to the Haitian people have arrived at their destination without any difficulty whatsoever. We send doctors, not soldiers!
NEWS
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French report calls for ban on full veil PARIS: A parliamentary panel that wants Muslim women to stop veiling their faces recommended yesterday that France ban such garb in public facilities, including hospitals and mass transit, and refuse residence cards and citizenship to anyone with visible signs of a “radical religious practice.” The nearly 200-page report contains a panoply of measures intended to dissuade women from wearing allenveloping veils in France. However, there is no call to outlaw such garments worn by a tiny minority of Muslims - in private areas and in the street. The 32-member, multiparty panel heeded warnings that a full ban risked being deemed unconstitutional and could even cause trouble in a country where Islam is the second-largest religion. The language in the report was carefully chosen in an effort to avoid offending France’s estimated 5 million Muslims the largest such population in western Europe - and accusations of discrimination. Muslim leaders have already complained that the debate over the full veil coupled with an ongoing debate on French national identity has left some Muslims feeling their religion is becoming a government target. The topic of the all-encompassing veil is charged with passion and politicking, and the panel failed to reach a consensus on whether any action was warranted, and what kind, despite universal agreement that veils covering the face are not wanted in France. The report culminates
a six-month inquiry into the wearing of all-encompassing veils that began after President Nicolas Sarkozy said in June that they are “not welcome” on French territory. Such veils are thought to be worn by only several thousand Muslim women who, most often, pin a “niqab” across their faces, hiding all but the eyes. Worn with a long, dark robe, such clothing is customarily associated with Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states. The veil is widely viewed in France as a gateway to extremism, an insult to gender equality and an offense to France’s secular foundation. A 2004 French law bans Muslim headscarves from primary and secondary school classrooms. As hearings proceeded, “it appeared to members of the panel that the wearing of the full-body veil threw out a challenge to our Republic. It is unacceptable,” the report said. Equality between men and women and the principle of secularism are frequently cited in the report as French values compromised by the face-covering veil, viewed as radical dress. Among its 18 proposals, the panel recommends modifying the code governing asylum and foreigners residing in France to ensure refusal of a resident card to those who “manifest a radical practice of their religion”. A more drastic recommendation would refuse citizenship for “failure to assimilate” to those who “manifest a radical practice of their religion.” The code currently mentions “propagation of
extremist theses” as reason for refusing citizenship. The measure likely to curry the least favor with critics and - if passed - directly affect all Muslim women who cover their faces is the proposed ban on veils in all public facilities. As envisaged by the panel, such a ban would be legal and “apply to all public services and therefore to public transport.” Hospitals and schools would be included. Such a ban would require that people show their faces when entering the facility and “keep the face uncovered throughout their presence,” the report says. Failure to do so would result “in a refusal to deliver the service demanded”. That means, for instance, that a woman seeking state funds commonly accorded to mothers would walk away empty-handed. It was not immediately clear whether the government, or parliament, would take up any or all of the report’s recommendations. A leading lawmaker in the governing party, Jean-Francois Cope, has already presented an initiative seeking a ban on such veils in the street - dividing the panel. Any action on the report would not come before March regional elections. A first, easy step would likely be passage of a resolution - a policy statement which carries no legal weight denouncing the veil. Sarkozy was visiting a Muslim cemetery yesterday in the north that was desecrated several times. It holds the bodies of Muslim soldiers who fought for France. — AP
Deadly blast destroys Baghdad forensics HQ BAGHDAD: A suicide car bomber struck a police crime lab in central Baghdad yesterday, killing at least 21 people and injuring dozens a day after suicide attacks hit several hotels favored by Western journalists, officials said. The timing of the blast, a day after Iraq hanged Saddam Hussein’s cousin and stalwart “Chemical Ali”, prompted speculation that the latest attacks were retaliation by Sunni insurgents. But the top American commander in Iraq, Gen Raymond Odierno, said he saw “absolutely no connection” between the bombings Monday that killed at least 41 people and the execution. The US military did not have any immediate comment on yesterday’s bombing. “We didn’t turn Chemical Ali over until yesterday afternoon. ... There was no way anybody could have known about that,” Odierno said yesterday during a question-and-answer session with reporters in his office at Camp Victory, the sprawling US military headquarters on the outskirts of Baghdad. This week’s bombings highlight a pattern of increasingly large and well-planned attacks on high-profile targets in the capital. They began with coordinated suicide
attacks in August against the Foreign and Finance ministries that killed nearly 100 people. Since then, Baghdad has been hit repeatedly with major attacks every few months targeting government offices. On Monday, the targets shifted to hotels frequented by Western journalists and security contractors. Nearly 450 people have been killed in Baghdad since the August strike. Each wave of attacks has dealt another blow to the Iraqi government before March 7 parliamentary elections. Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki is struggling to answer for security lapses. The execution of Ali Hassan Al-Majid was likely to raise pre-election tensions between the Shiite-led government and minority Sunnis, who are already angered by a candidate blacklist they claim is being used as a political tool to undercut rivals. More than 500 names have been placed on the list for suspected links to Saddam’s Sunni-dominated regime. While there has been no formal claim of responsibility for the attacks at the hotels and against the Ministry of Interior offices, Odierno said it appeared to be the work of Al-Qaeda. Multiple bombings are a hallmark of the terror network.
Family members arrived in Baghdad to collect Al-Majid’s body for burial in the family hometown Tikrit later yesterday, a day after he was hanged for atrocities such as the mass killing of Kurds in a poison gas attack in 1988 and other crimes against humanity. Local authorities demanded a quick and simple burial without chanting or firing shots in the air as is common in Iraqi funerals, said an official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to media. The time of the burial was not made public. Rescue crews were combing through the rubble, looking for casualties of yesterday’s bombing. Officials say the majority of those killed were likely police officers who worked in the forensic investigation office at Tahariyat Square in the central neighborhood of Karradah. At least 82 people were reported injured. Police and hospital officials said the bomber tried to drive a pickup truck through a checkpoint and blast walls protecting the forensic evidence office. Among those confirmed killed were 12 police officers and some civilians visiting the office. Officials said more than half the wounded were police. —AP
Rashed: Time ripe for amending constitution Continued from Page 1 including the prime minister. The lawmaker also called for allowing ministers to participate in the no-confidence vote against their colleagues, which is not allowed under the constitution. Rashed meanwhile blasted both the National Democratic Alliance, which he claimed has diminished, and the Popular Action Bloc which he accused of working on the bases of conspiracy theories. Any proposal to amend the constitution must be submitted by the Amir or two-thirds of the National Assembly and the amendments must be passed by a two-thirds majority. In a related development, the head of the Assembly’s legal and legislative committee MP Hussein Al-Huraiti said that the issue of holding Assembly sessions
without the presence of the government should be settled by the constitutional court. He said that the constitutional court should be asked to interpret article 116 of the constitution which deals with holding legal sessions of the National Assembly. A number of MPs said they will submit proposals to make it possible to hold sessions without the government after ministers boycotted a special session last Thursday to debate a law for people with special needs. At present, the presence of at least one Cabinet minister is a precondition for holding Assembly sessions. In other business, the Assembly’s public works committee yesterday approved a draft law stipulating to set up public shareholding companies with the purpose of building power plants. The bill also stipulates that 50 percent of the
shares will be sold to citizens in an initial public offering, a maximum of 24 percent will be held by the government and at least 26 percent will be sold in an auction to companies listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange and specialized foreign companies. The 26 percent stake will be awarded to the company that makes the highest bid. The contract for the project will be for 40 years. The law states that at least 70 percent of the company’s workforce must be Kuwaiti. Rapporteur of the company MP Faisal Al-Mislem said the bill will provide a fundamental solution to the chronic power problem in the country, and “the blackout in Jahra two days ago is an example of this”. He said that the bill will be sent for debate in the Assembly in the next regular session on Feb 2 and urged the government for cooperation.
Dubai to open $2bn horse racing complex Continued from Page 1 The race complex will be officially opened for this year’s Dubai World Cup on March 27. A 1,200-m turf race worth $1 million was added for the 2010 event, making the 15th Dubai World Cup an eight-race meeting, hosting four Group 1, two Group 2, one Group 3 thoroughbred races and one Group 1 Purebred Arabian race - all worth a combined $26 million, a staggering amount in an economic recession that has seen Dubai’s economy plunge deep into the red. Many have wondered whether the Arabian Gulf sheikdom will be able to afford to continue bankrolling big-money events in tennis, golf and horse racing after Dubai’s massive debt problems surfaced late last year. For decades, Dubai has worked hard to build itself into a financial power and the Middle East’s entertainment and sports hub. The buildup has raised its international profile and led the emirate to consider bidding for the 2020 Olympics. Dubai poured millions into sports infrastructure in the past decade, including building Sports City a cluster of large venues that will stage
sports and entertainment events. It also has academies for golf, tennis, football, rugby, cricket and swimming. But the emirate’s inability to pay for its opulent skyscrapers and artificial islands built with borrowed money has led to doubts that Dubai can afford to complete other ambitious projects, like the Meydan race course, under construction since 2007. While Al-Tayer acknowledged that Meydan was affected by the economic downturn, he says there was never any doubt that it would be completed in time for the 2010 World. “It’s been a period we’re all learning from, but ‘not delivering’ is not listed in our books,” Al-Tayer said. The Meydan Racecourse features a lefthanded 2,400-m turf circuit outside of a 1,750-m synthetic track. A 1,200-m turf straight course, adjoining the outside track makes it ideal for a straight grass sprint, the circuit’s developers say. Like at the old race course at Nad Al Sheba - razed to the ground following last year’s World Cup there are no betting windows at Meydan. Any form of gambling is illegal in Dubai, one of seven Arab Muslim city-states that
make up the United Arab Emirates. Mohammed and his family have been among the highest spenders at major American thoroughbred auctions dating to the 1980s, often paying millions of dollars for top bloodstock even during market downturns. The sheikh’s goal of winning a Kentucky Derby has been amplified in recent years with some record-shattering purchases of not just stallions but also mares, including Playful Act, which he bought in 2007 at Keeneland for an unprecedented $10.5 million. The highest finish for a Godolphin horse in the classic race was sixth, by China Visit in 2000. Mohammed bulked up his horse operations in the United States with the 2001 purchase of Jonabell Farm in Lexington. Seven horses owned by the sheikh’s Godolphin Racing stable ran in the Kentucky Derby last year. Earlier this month, Mohammed bought 360 acres of land in Aiken County, South Carolina for a race horse training center that will include a one-mile dirt training track. Meydan is also a top sponsor of this year’s World Equestrian Games in Lexington. — AP
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Search on for victims, answers Continued from Page 1 fire into the Mediterranean early Monday just minutes after takeoff in stormy weather. The Boeing 737-800 bound for Addis Ababa had 90 passengers and crew on board. All are presumed dead. Lebanese officials have ruled out foul play and said the bad weather was likely to blame. Experts have said extreme turbulence or wind shear may have caused the pilot to lose control of the plane, which apparently exploded before crashing. Captain Habib Karam, the former head of the pilots’ union for Lebanon’s national carrier Middle East Airlines, said the pilot probably flew straight into cumulonimbus thunder clouds which would cause him to lose control of the plane. “If a pilot flies into this type of cloud, it’s over,” he said. Ethiopian Airlines said its pilot had 20 years of experience and was familiar with the aircraft. Health Minister Mohamed Jawad Khalifeh said 14 bodies and some body parts had been recovered so far by an international task force including ships from the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), a US navy destroyer as well as aircraf t from France and Britain. The army said debris from the plane, including part of
the left wing, had washed up on shore. “We are sparing no efforts in our search,” an army spokesman told AFP, adding crews would continue working through the night. A senior Lebanese security official said authorities were relying on the USS Ramage, which has specialised sonar equipment, to locate the flight recorders and pieces of the plane. “We also have divers and we are using specialised equipment that can go down as deep as 200 to 300 metres,” he said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Washington and France have also sent experts to assist the Lebanese government in its probe. Officials said there was virtually no hope of finding any survivors given the time that had elapsed, and were pinning their hope on the black boxes to provide answers to the tragedy. Witnesses reported seeing a ball of fire as the plane plunged into the Mediterranean at 2:37 am (0037 GMT) just south of the airport. The 83 passengers comprised 54 Lebanese nationals, 23 Ethiopians, one French, one British, one Iraqi, one Syrian, one Turkish and another of as yet undetermined nationality. There were seven Ethiopian crew members. The French passenger was identified as Marla Sanchez Pietton, wife of France’s ambassador to Lebanon.
Khalifeh said authorities in Addis Ababa were sending DNA samples from families of the Ethiopian passengers to assist in identif ying the victims. Ethiopia’s Foreign Minister Seyoun Misfin was also expected in Beirut late yesterday. Lebanon’s cabinet was holding a meeting yesterday evening with the crash topping the agenda. Most of the Lebanese passengers were Shiites from the south with business interests in Africa. Black flags were draped on poles along a main road in Tyre, a port city. One Lebanese victim, identified by the passport still in his pocket, was buried near Tyre yesterday. At the Government Hospital in Beirut, somber families gathered outside, eager for any news of loved ones. “We don’t have much hope left,” said Adnan Bahr, a relative of 24-year-old Yasser AlMahdi. “They’re all gone with the sea.” Ethiopian Airlines, which was established in 1946 and operates an allBoeing fleet, is considered one of Africa’s best carriers. The airline had not been involved in a major accident since 1996, when a Nairobi-bound jet was hijacked by three Ethiopians seeking political asylum. The aircraft crashed into the Indian Ocean off the Comoros when it ran out of fuel, killing 125 of the 175 people on board. — Agencies
Gulf growth prospects improve Continued from Page 1 polled between Jan. 14-25. The previous Reuters poll in November forecast the economy of the world’s largest gas exporter would grow by 12.5 percent this year. The latest poll was based on responses from 20 analysts. Saudi Arabia, the largest Arab economy and the world’s top oil exporter, is expected to grow by 3.8 percent this year, well up from an anaemic 0.2 percent in 2009 as state spending remains high and private consumption picks up. “In terms of real GDP, the region will do better than the US and Europe but ... it will lag Asian growth,” said John Sfakianakis, chief economist at Banque Saudi Fransi-Credit Agricole Group in Riyadh. “But the region is not going to witness robust growth: it is going to be a gradual recovery because the global recovery will be a long recovery and a gradual recovery,” he said. OPEC -member Kuwait should emerge from a downturn this year, growing by 3.4 percent, a slightly faster pace than Bahrain, while Oman should see GDP growth of 4.0 percent in 2010. However, the growth prospects of the
UAE - the second largest economy in the Arab world - have deteriorated due to the impact of debt restructuring in Dubai’s flagship companies. The UAE is seen growing 2.5 percent this year, the slowest pace in the Gulf, down from a November forecast of 2.9 percent. But the world’s third largest oil exporter would still improve from an estimated contraction of 1.4 percent in 2009. Dubai rattled global markets in November when it sought a debt delay on $26 billion linked to its flagship conglomerate, Dubai World. The UAE central bank and Abu Dhabi lent an overall $20 billion to Dubai last year to help its neighbour restructure debts. All ten analysts that answered the question said Abu Dhabi was likely or very likely to step in again to help Dubai. Six believed a default of a Dubai government-linked company was unlikely or very unlikely in 2010 with the remaining four saying it was likely. “If any of Dubai government-owned entities defaults on their obligations that would also cast a dark shadow on Abu Dhabi,” said Farah Ahmed Hersi, senior economist at Masraf Al Rayan in Doha. “After all there is no state called Dubai
but the state called the United Arab Emirates.” The poll also showed the market estimating Dubai’s debt pile including the state-owned companies at $101.3 billion, up from $80 billion officially reported last year. Inflation was seen staying well below 2008 record peaks this year across the Gulf after some countries such as the UAE and Qatar experienced falling prices in 2009 due to sluggish household demand, weak credit growth and lower rents. “There is nothing on the radar that inflation is going to be a problem in 2010 even in the Gulf, where there has been quite a significant amount of public spending,” said James Reeve, senior economist at Samba Financial Group in London. Saudi Arabia should see the highest inflation of 4.4 percent in 2010, while the UAE was likely to have the lowest consumer price growth at 2.5 percent, well below over 10 percent seen in most Gulf countries in 2008. Oil prices, which more than doubled over the past year, were likely to improve Gulf fiscal balances in 2010, allowing the governments to sustain large stimulus packages unlike in other parts of the world. — Reuters
Alien life could already be here Continued from Page 1 American in which he asked: “Are aliens among us?” So far, there’s no answer. And ever finding one would be fraught with difficulties, as Davies himself acknowledged. Unusual organisms abound - including chemical-eating bacteria which hide out deep in the ocean and organisms that thrive in boiling-hot springs - but that doesn’t mean they’re different life forms entirely. “How weird do they have to be suggest a second genesis as opposed to just an obscure branch of the family tree?” he said. Davies suggested that the only way to prove an organism wasn’t “life as we know it” was if it were built using exotic elements which no other form of life had. Such organisms have yet to be found. Davies also noted that less than 1 percent of all the world’s bacteria had been comprehensively studied - leaving plenty of time to find unusual organisms. “You cannot tell just by looking that a microbe has some radically different inner chemistry,” he said. Davies’ call for alien-hunting scientists to look to their own backyards came as one of the pioneers of the search for extraterrestrial intelligence told the conference the job of finding proof of alien life in outer space may be more difficult than previously thought. Frank Drake, who conducted the first organized search for alien radio signals in 1960, said that the Earth - which used to pump out a loud mess of radio waves, television signals and other radiation has been steadily getting quieter as its communications technology improves. Drake cited the switch from analogue to digital television - which uses a far weaker signal - and the fact that much more communications traffic is now relayed by satellites and fiber optic cables, limiting its leakage into outer
space. “Very soon we will become very undetectable,” he said. If similar processes were taking place in other technologically advanced societies, then the search for them “will be much more difficult than we imagined.” But Drake said scientists at SETI were excited by the possibility of using lasers to send super-bright flashes of light into space for a tiny fraction of a second. The flashes could theoretically be seen up by an advanced civilization up to 1,000 light years away, and Tarter said infrared versions of the devices could possibly send beams even further. But Drake noted that the interstellar equivalent to turning a flashlight on and off only works if a prospective alien civilization wants to get in touch to begin with. “For this to work ... There has to be altruism in the universe,” he said. Meanwhile, astronomer and President of the Royal Society Martin Rees said science had made enormous progress in the search for planets grouped around other distant stars - a discipline he stressed did not exist in the 1990s. “Now we know that most of the stars, like the sun, are likely to have planetary systems around them and we have every reason to suspect that many of them have planets that are rather like our earth,” Rees told Reuters in an interview. He said great strides in space search techniques over the last decade had removed one of the big obstacles in finding other worlds, and possibly even complex life forms, in our Milky Way galaxy of 100 million stars. “Indeed, we live in very exciting times,” he said. And judging by the 250 eminent scientific minds who have gathered to attend the conference on the “The detection of extra-terrestrial life”, he is not the only enthusiast. The meeting is the first in the Royal Society’s 350-year history to discuss
alien life forms. Hugely significant projects like the launch last spring of NASA’s Kepler spacecraf t, a space observatory designed to find earth-like planets in the cosmos, as well as the use of more advanced satellites have brought us closer to solving one of the universe’s greatest mysteries, Rees said. “Kepler is the first one capable of detecting substantial numbers of planets no bigger than the earth. So we will know within two or three years which are earth-like and in earth-like orbits in the sense of being the right distance from their parent star.” Rees, who is professor of cosmology and astrophysics at Cambridge University and holds the honorary title of Astronomer Royal, also believes mankind is on the cusp of unlocking one of life’s greatest mysteries. “I’m certainly pretty confident biologists will understand the origin of life on earth this century. I suspect in 20 years we will have much clearer ideas of how life began,” he said. “And that is going to be very important to answering how likely it is to have started elsewhere and where to look.” He added: “If we understood how life began on earth, that would give us a clue to how likely it was to originate elsewhere and what the optimum environments were.” Those expecting the exotic aliens of sci-fi films should extra-terrestrials be discovered will be disappointed, however. Many top minds say extra-terrestrial life may be totally beyond our sensory abilities and comprehension. “Even those who believe complex life is widespread, aren’t especially optimistic about cur rent searches getting positive results,” Rees said. “There may be advanced life of a kind we can’t conceive, a kind that doesn’t reveal itself by electromagnetic radiation - a kind that isn’t communicating at all.” — Agencies
Israel says Erdogan fuels anti-Semitism Continued from Page 1 “He does this by repeating motifs in his speeches of describing the suffering of the Palestinian people in Gaza and blaming Israel of committing war crimes, going as far as using anti-Semitic expressions and incitement,” the report said. It said Erdogan, for instance, does not distinguish between “Israeli” and “Jewish”, turning criticism of Israel into anti-Jewish diatribes. It also said he has turned a blind eye to anti-Semitic references in the Turkish media and has made ignorant and insulting comments about Jews. Excerpts of the ministry’s report were published in the Haaretz daily and confirmed by an Israeli official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was discussing a confidential document. In Turkey, Foreign Minister Ahmet
Davutoglu rejected the charge. “To criticize Israel is not anti-Semitism,” he told independent NTV television. “Criticism of Israel’s policies should not be given other meanings.” He called on Israel to lift its blockade of Gaza. Israel and Turkey have forged close military and economic ties in recent decades. Turkey has given Israel a rare ally in the Muslim world, while for Ankara the alliance has boosted its standing with the West. Last year, the Turks mediated several rounds of indirect peace talks between Israel and Syria. The alliance, however, has become strained since Erdogan’s party came to power in 2002 - and particularly since the Gaza war. Some 1,400 Palestinians were killed, including about 900 civilians, according to Palestinian and international human rights groups. Israel, which launched the operation to halt years of Hamas rocket attacks,
says the militant group caused civilian casualties by hiding in residential areas. In a sign of the poor relations, Israeli officials said this week that Israeli tourism to Turkey has plummeted about 45 percent over the past year. Tourism officials said 300,000 Israelis went to Turkey last year, compared with 560,000 in 2008. Turkey had been a popular destination for Israelis, attracted by low prices and the convenience of a 90-minute flight. Yossi Fattal, head of the Israel Tourist and Travel Agents Association, said politics and tourism are inextricably linked. “This is not only about political differences, but something more basic, about the personal relationship between the countries,” he said. “Unless something meaningful is said by the (Turkish) government, the drop in numbers will continue.” — AP
SPORTS
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
15
Di Resta set for Force India, McLaren in no hurry debut on Feb. 1 in Valencia before champions Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton get their hands on it. Di Resta, 23-year-old cousin of IndyCar champion Dario Franchitti who has tested a McLaren previously and been supported by the team and engine partners Mercedes, was not an option to replace de la Rosa. “Paul will be running I believe in the majority of the Friday sessions (at grand prix weekends) for Force India, so it’s a great opportunity for him, said Whitmarsh, whose McLaren team have a cooperation agreement with
LONDON: Britain’s Paul di Resta is set to become a grand prix regular as Force India’s reserve driver while compatriot Gary Paffett will be McLaren’s main tester, according to team principal Martin Whitmarsh. The McLaren boss told Reuters after the Mercedes launch in Stuttgart that his team needed to replace Spaniard Pedro de la Rosa, who has taken a race seat at Sauber, but were in no hurry to do so. Paffett, who is racing in the German Touring Car (DTM) championship with Mercedes this season, will give the new McLaren its test
Force India. “I’m happy for him. he’s going to push like hell to make his case to have a race drive at Force India during the course of this year.” Formula One teams have always had the option to put reserves in the car during Friday practice to make up for the lack of testing during the season, but rarely do so. “If you are trying to win a championship, to not allow your principal drivers the Friday session is not something we would contemplate,” said Whitmarsh. “But its something that
some other teams are looking at and it’s a great opportunity for Paul.” McLaren are due to present their team and new car on Friday but Whitmarsh said only Paffett would be named alongside Hamilton and new arrival Button. “Gary probably did 60 days in the simulator last year for us and he’ll do the same sort of number and maybe a bit more this year. But he’s got other commitments so we need another driver,” he added. “We are seeing what’s happening at the moment. There’s no great panic.
We are very confident in Gary, we’ve worked and supported Gary for a number of years. “At the moment we’ve got two race drivers who are pretty keen and eager and are working hard at Woking but during the course of the year we will see what happens. “I might be wrong, but one can imagine that the driver market and maybe the entrants will be slightly more volatile than they have been in recent years,” added Whitmarsh, referring to paddock fears that some of the new teams could struggle to keep
going. “I sense that there will be some drivers who think they are gainfully employed at the moment who may be available in the future.” Meanwhile, Australian Daniel Ricciardo and New Zealander Brendon Hartley will be reserve drivers for the Red Bull and Toro Rosso Formula One teams this season, Red Bull announced yesterday. The two, both backed by Red Bull in junior series, will alternate the reserve driver duties on a race-byrace basis. Ricciardo, a 20-year-old from Perth, is the current British F3 champion
while Hartley, also 20, finished third in the 2008 British F3 championship before moving to the F3 Euro series. Both took part in a young driver test in Spain last month. “Daniel and Brendon will sit-in on the briefings and debriefs, attend driver meetings and familiarise themselves with the everyday workings of the garage and pit wall,” Red Bull said in a statement. Red Bull, championship runnersup last year, also have Australian Mark Webber as one of their two race drivers. —Reuters
NHL results/standings NHL results and standings on Monday. Pittsburgh 4, NY RANGERS 2; St. Louis 2, CALGARY 0; VANCOUVER 3, Buffalo 2. Eastern Conference Atlantic Division W L OTL GF GA PTS New Jersey 34 15 1 138 110 69 Pittsburgh 33 20 1 172 152 67 Philadelphia 26 22 3 155 144 55 NY Rangers 24 22 7 137 145 55 NY Islanders 23 21 8 139 157 54
Buffalo Ottawa Montreal Boston Toronto
Washington Florida Atlanta Tampa Bay Carolina
Chicago Nashville Detroit St. Louis Columbus
Colorado Vancouver Calgary Minnesota Edmonton
Northeast Division 30 14 7 145 28 21 4 147 25 23 5 140 23 20 8 127 17 26 10 139
125 154 144 131 182
67 60 55 54 44
Southeast Division 33 12 6 195 22 21 9 144 22 21 8 156 21 20 10 132 16 28 7 132
143 153 166 157 172
72 53 52 52 39
Western Conference Central Division 35 13 4 170 29 19 3 143 25 18 8 131 23 21 8 137 20 25 9 142
120 142 133 146 180
74 61 58 54 49
Northwest Division 30 15 6 153 136 32 18 2 170 127 26 20 6 132 134 25 23 4 145 156 16 28 6 133 172
66 66 58 54 38
Pacific Division San Jose 35 10 8 179 128 78 Phoenix 29 18 5 139 135 63 Los Angeles 29 19 3 151 143 61 Anaheim 24 21 7 148 164 55 Dallas 22 19 11 148 168 55 Note: Overtime losses (OTL) are worth one point in the standings and are not included in the loss column (L).
CALGARY: St Louis Blues’ Cam Janssen (left) fights with Calgary Flames’ Brian McGratton during the first period of an NHL hockey game. —AP
Penguins beat slumping Rangers NEW YORK: Chris Conner, recalled from the minor leagues earlier in the day, netted two goals as the Pittsburgh Penguins scored one minute apart in the third period to beat the slumping New York Rangers 4-2 in the NHL on Monday. After Artem Anisimov gave the
Rangers their only lead 9:15 into the third with his second goal of the night, Evgeni Malkin got Pittsburgh even at 9:46 - 16 seconds into a power play. Conner then fired in a rebound of Sidney Crosby’s shot one minute later to put the Penguins back in front. Pascal Dupuis’ empty-netter
sealed Pittsburgh’s fourth win over the Rangers this season with 39.8 seconds left. Canucks 3, Sabres 2 At Vancouver, British Columbia, defenseman Brad Lukowich scored a third-period goal as Vancouver earned a victory
over Buffalo. Thomas Vanek leveled the game on a power play 1:49 into the period, but Henrik and Daniel Sedin combined on a nice play to set up Lukowich for the winner. Mikael Samuelsson and Henrik Sedin also scored and Daniel Sedin had two assists for the Canucks,
who have won five straight games for the first time since March 2007. Roberto Luongo made 30 saves as Vancouver moved into a tie with Colorado atop the Northwest Division. Adam Mair also scored, and Miller made 22 saves as the Sabres dropped the final four games of
Haye to make his first defence against Ruiz LONDON: WBA heavyweight champion David Haye will face twice former champion John Ruiz when he defends the title for the first time in Manchester in April. Briton Haye, 29, who defeated towering Russian Nikolai Valuev in Nuremberg in November, will fight the 38-year-old American on April 3. Ruiz, known as “The Quietman”, lived up to his nickname when he failed to show up to the news conference announcing the fight in Manchester yesterday. “We sent him first-class tickets and booked him into a very nice hotel but he’s not here, maybe he’s in an intensive training camp,” Haye said. “I think Ruiz is very underrated. In 50-odd fights he has only been stopped once, he’s always grinding people down. He is used to being the small guy in the fight, he’s fought some big guys, and he seems to find a way to smudge their work. “This fight will be completely different to the Valuev fight. He’s the same size as me, a lot faster than my prior opponent and I’m looking at boxing a completely dif-
ferent fight.” Ruiz held the title from March 2001-March 2003 and February 2004-December 2005 and is sure to test Haye’s capabilities. Haye’s trainer Adam Booth said they would be taking his threat very seriously. “John Ruiz has been at world level for a very long time and he is the master of making talented fighters look less than ordinary,” he said. “He’s done it throughout his career. David and I both know that this fight is a massive banana skin in David’s plans of staying world champion and unifying the titles. Looking beyond John Ruiz would be the biggest mistake we could ever make and we are certainly not going to do that.” Haye said he was looking forward to fighting on home soil “Now it’s time to showcase my skills again in front of the great British public and I’m delighted to have the fight at Manchester’s MEN Arena,” he told Sky Sports. “I’ve been there on many nights to watch Ricky Hatton, Joe Calzaghe, even Mike Tyson, and the atmosphere was always tremendous.” —Reuters
season-long seven-game road trip. Blues 2, Flames 0 At Calgary, Alberta, Ty Conklin made 34 saves for his third shutout of the season as St. Louis beat Calgary. Patrik Berglund and David Perron scored for St. Louis. The Blues moved within four
points of the Flames and the Detroit Red Wings, who are tied for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Calgary has lost six in a row and is winless in its past seven. The Flames are 0-5-1 in their past six games at the Pengrowth Saddledome. —AP
French feel the heat with midweek Top 14 fixtures
David Haye to defend his title against John Ruiz on April 3.
PARIS: French clubs face a massive test of their strength in depth when Top 14 action resumes today, in some cases just days after hard-hitting action in European competition. Two of the four French teams that on the weekend booked their passage into the European Cup quarter-finals, Stade Francais and Clermont, are in action today, facing tough away matches against Castres and Racing-Metro respectively. Fellow qualifiers Toulouse are away to Albi while Biarritz travel just a couple of kilometres north to face Basque rivals Bayonne. Stade Francais, who will play Toulouse in the European knock-out stage, have been suffering domestically and coach Jacque Delmas was not overjoyed about having to play second-placed Castres with his team having just seen off Bath. “Once more we follow up on a weekend European Cup game with an away match in the Top 14 against one of the leaders today,” moaned Delmas. “I don’t know if the people who take the decisions have played rugby. They certainly played like me (when the game was amateur) but that was another sport. “It’s no longer possible, it’s un-doable. It’s ruining our sport, our competition. We’ve said it once, we’ve said it again. “Faces change but we still remain doing the same stupid things. We can’t pour a litre-and-ahalf of water back into a one-litre bottle. We have to find some solutions because it’s very complicated.” Table-toppers Clermont, whose next European clash is a daunting away trip to defend-
ing champions Leinster, also have a tough assignment against fifth-placed Racing-Metro. The Parisians will be slightly fresher, having last played on Thursday, winning their European Challenge Cup game 19-17 against Wasps. Racing will be bidding to shake off a twomatch losing run after nine wins on the trot and crucially nail down a berth in the top four, with that quartet then playing off to determine the championship’s victor. “We have a number of weaknesses,” admitted Racing coach Pierre Berbizier. “At the moment we have a lot of work to do and a lot of aspects to improve. “But I think there’s a good level of progression. “We have managed to get the better of our rivals more often. The goal from now on in will be to get our game up and running as we want it and to impose it on our rivals, something we’re still not capable of doing.” In other games today, Brive host Montauban, and Montpellier travel along the Mediterranean coast to Toulon, for whom England fly-half Jonny Wilkinson is in talks about extending his contract - but will be absent on international duty. “We’re having talks about it,” said Wilkinson, who orchestrated Toulon’s 42-10 thrashing of Castres in the European Challenge Cup on Saturday, a result that lined up a quarter-final against Welsh region Scarlets. “I’m really happy here,” added the Englishman. “The team is fantastic. It’s really great: the players, the coaches, the people, the Mayol stadium. “It’s a pleasure and I hope that all will go well. I have a lot of ambition for Toulon.” —AFP
SPORTS
16
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Downturn will not impact 2012 crowds — Coe LONDON: The 2012 Olympics will enjoy full stadiums despite the global economic downturn, London Games chief Sebastian Coe said yesterday. The former gold medallist also said a possible change of government in 2010 would not disrupt plans. “I don’t for one minute doubt we will have anything other than full stadia in this country,” Coe told Reuters in an interview. “People ‘get’ sport whether it is at corporate level or whether it is among ordinary families like myself.” London organisers have said they are determined to
avoid a repeat of the empty seats witnessed at many of the venues at the 2008 Beijing Games, despite Britain only just coming out of its longest and deepest recession in decades. About nine million tickets for the Olympics and Paralympics will go on sale in 2011, raising about 400 million pounds ($645.4 million). Ticketing policy and prices have yet to be finalised but the aim of offering some more cheaply, in the region of 20 pounds, was dealt a blow when the well-attended softball and baseball events were removed
from the Games. “What is our overall objective?”, Coe asked. “It is very clear. We want full stadia ... with tickets are possible at affordable prices.” This year will be a defining one for how the Olympics will look, in terms of operational policy such as venues and signing-up volunteers, and logistical matters including transport and technology, Coe said. Organisers may have to handle a change of government during this period if the main opposition Conservative Party
wins the election as polls predict. London 2012 has been a Labour Party project, closely associated with former Prime Minister Tony Blair. Olympics minister Tessa Jowell has been in her post throughout, offering stability and continuity. Coe said organisers would continue to deliver “irrespective of who their political masters were”, pointing to the smooth transition following the change of London mayor in 2008. “The project was business as usual the following day,” he said. “Whatever happens in (the) May (election) I think we ... have politically worked
across the spectrum. I see very little change.” One contentious issue an incoming government is likely to face is the future of the main stadium in the Olympic Park in Stratford, east London. At the moment no anchor tenant has been identified but Coe has been adamant the promise of a permanent athletics track should stand. The new owners of Premier League soccer club West Ham United reopened the debate this month when they said they had set their sights on moving to the Olympic stadium. Coe did not dismiss the idea of a sport such as
Asada aims to test triple axel before the Olympics
Mao Asada performs during practice in this file photo
Randall carries US cross-country hopes TORONTO: American cross-country skier Kikkan Randall bounced back from a potentially fatal blood clot in her lower leg and is now closing in on a chance to end her nation’s decades-long drought in the sport at the Olympics. Randall, 27, was sent to hospital twice in April 2008 with a big blood clot in her lower leg and doctors said it could prove fatal if it worked its way into her lungs. For Randall, who started out on skis the day after her first birthday, going down a hill her father made in their front garden, the news was a blow following a season where she became the first United States woman to win a World Cup event in cross-country. “I had never been inactive and forced on my back for so long,” Randall told Reuters in a telephone interview. “All I could do was stay positive, but I was certainly concerned about what it was going to mean for my career.” Randall got cleared to ski again after some six weeks off, and last month she swept the women’s events at the US Cross Country Ski Championships to take her total of national title wins to 14. Despite the good build-up to next month’s Winter Olympics, Randall is quick to point out that her preferred technique will not be used in Vancouver, hurting her chances of a medal. The Olympics alternates between classic and freestyle
cross-country skiing styles at each Games. Randall, whose training includes half-squats using weights of about 315 pounds (142 kg), has had most of her success in freestyle, where skiers can power themselves in a style similar to speed skaters. In classic, skis must move parallel to each other in machine-groomed tracks. “Realistically, while I would like to go in gunning for a medal, I know that it’s going to be a little bit more of a challenge with the classic technique,” said Randall. “But I know that if it doesn’t happen this time around I’ve got another great opportunity four years from now because I plan on being in this sport for a while.” Randall is not ruling out a shot at a medal next month, though she admits a top-12 finish would be quite an achievement for her in the classic technique. Whatever happens, Randall will stand out at the Olympics as she often dyes her hair for races in a bid to shake of the image of her sport as boring. Previous choices have included pink and the colours of the American flag. She has not decided what colour to sport next month, but her hair was pink when she won her World Cup race in Russia. Cross-country skiing is in Randall’s blood. She is the niece of two former Olympians: Chris Haines, who was on the US team in 1976 in Innsbruck, and Betsy Haines, who raced at the Lake Placid Games four years later. —Reuters
SEOUL: Mao Asada will have one last chance to test out her triple axel before the Olympics when she hits the ice at this week’s Four Continents figure skating championships. The 2008 world champion from Japan is favored to win the competition which begins today in Jeonju. Longtime rival Kim Yu-na of South Korea is skipping the event in favor of training for the Vancouver Olympics. “I can expect good results at the Olympics if I produce a good result here,” Asada said, adding she was in “really good condition.” Asada will be fending off Japanese teammate Akiko Suzuki, the bronze medalist at last month’s Grand Prix finals and another Olympic contender. In pairs, world silver medalists Zhang Dan and Zhang Hao of China will be looking to improve on their third-place finish at the Four Continents last year with a win in Jeonju. Victory would set them up nicely for their second Winter Olympics. Also expected to compete in South Korea are Keauna McL aughlin and Rockne Brubaker of the United States, who finished a disappointing fifth at the US nationals, and Meagan Duhamel and Craig Buntin of Canada, who also narrowly missed Olympic berths. Up-and-coming stars headline the men’s and ice dancing competitions. The men include world junior champion Adam Rippon and Ryan Bradley of the United States, Denis Ten of Kazakhstan and Shawn Sawyer of Canada. The ice dancing competition kicks off with the “golden waltz” in the compulsories today. Competitors include Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje of Canada, who won the bronze at Skate Canada, and the 2009 world junior champions, Madison Chock and Greg Zuerlein of the United States. Asada and her triple axel will undoubtedly take center stage in Jeonju, with fans watching to see if the Japanese star can maintain the momentum from her victory at nationals last month after a lackluster season. A powerful jumper, the 19year-old Asada has gone headto-head with Kim since their time as juniors and in recent years have taken turns seizing the top spot. She is one of the few women in history to successfully land the triple axel in competition. Asada grabbed the world title in 2008, and whipped out her triple axel at the 2008 Grand Prix finals in Goyang, South Korea, to edge past Kim for the title on the South Korean’s home turf. Kim bounced back with a huge opening-season win at the Trophee Bompard in Paris, and claimed the world championship and Grand Prix titles in 2009. She’s now heavily favored to win gold in Vancouver in what would be South Korea’s first Olympic medal in figure skating. Asada, meanwhile, failed to qualify for the Grand Prix final af ter a poor show at the Rostelecom Cup, allowing teammate Miki Ando to shine. Ando finished second to Kim at last month’s Grand Prix final and will be heading to the Olympics. But Asada dazzled at the Japanese nationals, winning her fourth straight title and reigniting hopes that she’ll stage a come-from-behind win at her Olympics debut in Canada. She put her triple axel through the grind at training yesterday, noting that she launched into the jump 17 times during practice. Asada said she felt even stronger than at the nationals. The Four Continents takes place today through Saturday at Hwasan Ice Arena in the historic city of Jeonju, 240 kilometers (150 miles) south of Seoul. —AP
soccer sharing the facility but said: “Having the track and field facility in that stadium has not altered at all. There is no change of circumstance”. The stadium could be used to support a possible bid by UK Athletics to host the 2015 world championships. Coe described that as a “very sensible thing to look at in terms of the ongoing legacy story. “We always said we wanted the Games to inspire other major championships coming to these shores so that is a very logical and sensible thing to look at,” he added. —AP
Gatlin learns how to sprint again
Justine Gatlin returns after a four-year doping ban
Miller back in the fold and going for gold KITZBUEHEL: The words ‘safe’ and ‘Bode Miller’ are not usually found in the same sentence but the world’s most controversial ski racer believes they should be. Having been reconciled with the United States team after his acrimonious split in 2007, the 32-year-old Miller, who many believed was about to quit at the end of last season, appears ready for a surprise assault on an Olympic gold medal in a bid to fill the only gap in his impressive trophy cabinet. Miller, who once infuriated US officials by admitting that he had skied while “wasted”, showed his credentials 11 days ago in Wengen when he won the super-combined to claim his 32nd World Cup win and his first for nearly two years. Since then, he has threatened to add to his tally without quite delivering. The day after his win, he was on the point of taking the lead in the downhill when he crashed in sight of the finish. A week later, he was among the best in training for the Hahnenkamm downhill in Kitzbuehel and, in the race itself on Saturday, led at the top of the course before losing time lower down and finishing ninth.
“The goal this season was to be strong for Wengen and Kitzbuehel, then peak at the Olympics,” Miller told the US ski team’s website (usskiteam.com) before Kitzbuehel. “I feel like I have a setup now in all four events where I can be a threat to win and be on the podium. It’s been a long time since I really felt like that.” Miller, who has won four world championship gold medals and two World Cup overall titles, has built up a reputation for a win-or-crash approach which has earned him a legion of fans around the world. After his win in Wengen, however, he was keen to emphasise his prudent side. “I always feel I’m a pretty smart skier,” he said. “I make mistakes but there are reasons I have started 400 World Cup races and never had a serious injury. “It’s not a coincidence that I’ve had the longest sequence of World Cup races in the world.” Well known for letting his hair down, Miller shrugged off criticism of his failure to win a medal in five attempts in Turin four years ago by saying he had got to party Olympic style, which embarrassed the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and drew the wrath of US officials. —Reuters
Bode Miller in action in this file photo
RALEIGH: Justin Gatlin is learning how to sprint again, a fact that has little to do with the American’s four-year absence from athletics under a doping ban. With a new coach and a new philosophy on running, the former Olympic and world champion is working hard to get back to top speed. “Everything I learned I had to throw it out the window and learn a whole new technique,” Gatlin told Reuters in a telephone interview from Naples, Florida. Maximum velocity is now his aim. “Maximum velocity is your top end running speed, the maximum speed you can generate down the track,” said Gatlin’s new coach, Loren Seagrave. “Although people spend a heck of a lot of time on the start, it (maximum velocity) is the single biggest determinant of who wins and who doesn’t win,” said the veteran coach. “Particularly in the men’s races, as they are looking at dipping well into the 9.5s, because people are not decelerating any more. The only reason they are decelerating is because of celebration,” Seagrave added. Gatlin, the 2004 Olympic 100 metres champion and 200 metres bronze medallist, has not competed since 2006 when, then coached by Trevor Graham, he failed a doping test for excessive amounts of testosterone, the second positive of his career. He was banned for two years in 2001 for a failed test for amphetamines, but the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) reduced the suspension to one year after Gatlin pointed out the substance was found in medication he had taken since childhood for attention deficit disorder. His current ban expires on July 24. “I have a second chance to redeem myself,” said the soonto-be 28-year-old. “To go out and prove to the world that I am a great athlete.” The goal was to have Gatlin running some of the fastest times in the world by late August and early September, Seagrave said. “He has got all the physical tools to be able to run in the (9.)70s, maybe even the 60s,” the coach said. It could be up to 18 months before Gatlin reached his full potential, Seagrave stressed. Fast 100 metres times will be necessary for Gatlin to keep up with today’s top sprintersJamaican double world record holder Usain Bolt, American world silver medallist Tyson Gay and Jamaican Asafa Powell, the former world record holder. “I could beat them before,” Gatlin said. “I don’t see why I can’t run with them. Times don’t scare me. You’ve got to respect the times but I feel if one man can do it, then the next man can.” His personal best of 9.85 seconds and even his 2006 world record-equalling 9.77 seconds that was nullified by his doping ban are significantly slower, however, than the best marks of Bolt (9.58 seconds) and Gay (9.69). “I think he’s going to have his hands full, not only by me and Asafa and Tyson, but other young and upcoming athletes,” Bolt told the Jamaica Observer. Gatlin, though, said he did not believe his age or long absence would be a deterrent. “I think that me sitting out for this while, having this hiatus, has elongated my life in the sport,” he said. “I think it is prime time for me.” Whether the 2005 double sprint world champion will run again in prime time one-day meetings is debatable. Organisers of the new Diamond League circuit and key European meetings have agreed in principle not to invite athletes who have served major doping bans. “If that’s how they feel at this point, that is how they feel,” Gatlin said. “Hopefully (if) they want excitement at their track, they want fast times and good competition, they will see past those kinds of things. “I feel that it is so wrong for different meets to try to blackball people when these people have been weighed and they have served their time.” Both the IAAF and USA Track & Field (USATF) said they would not interfere with organisers determining who competes in their meetings. “Meet directors have always had the freedom to use their own discretion as to whom they invite,” USATF spokeswoman Jill Geer said in an e-mail. The IAAF had a similar reaction. “Our position is simply that the athlete is eligible after coming back from doping suspension, and we don’t interfere with the choice of individual meeting directors,” spokesman Nick Davies said. Gatlin has repeatedly denied knowingly taking performance-enhancing drugs and has severed all links with Graham, who was banned for life from coaching after being convicted of lying to federal agents in connection with the Bay Area Laboratory Cooperative (BALCO) doping scandal. Twice last year, USATF sent Gatlin to tell his story to small groups of young athletes, focusing on the importance of competing clean and the consequences of failing a doping test. “We felt that young athletes could learn from Justin’s mistakes,” Geer said. Gatlin tried out for several National Football League (NFL) teams without success before deciding to stay in athletics. “It was like, why should I be someone like a walk-on or someone trying to make his way up to the top, when I can go back to a sport where I once was a king,” Gatlin said. “I can’t be without track, and hopefully track can’t be without me too long.” —Reuters
SPORTS
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
17
Tamim hits 150 as B’desh fight back
LA QUINTA: Bill Haas holds the trophy after winning the Bob Hope Classic golf tournament. —AP
Haas wins Hope Classic LA QUINTA: Bill Haas made a short birdie putt on the 18th hole to earn his first PGA Tour victory at the Bob Hope Classic on Monday, beating Matt Kuchar, Tim Clark and Bubba Watson by one stroke with an 8-under 64. Haas was the last of three co-leaders to play the 18th, and an outstanding approach shot allowed him to two-putt his way to a 30-under 330 finish. “I’d been wanting to win from the first tournament I played, but it’s a process, and there’s a lot to it,” said Haas, a rookie in 2006. “It’s special, but I don’t know if it’s a monkey off my back. I know how hard it was to win, and I’m grateful.” Kuchar and South Africa’s Clark both had birdie chances on the par-5 18th at the Arnold Palmer Private course, but both missed their putts. Fourth-round co-leader Watson birdied the 18th to grab a share of second place. After grinding through five rounds on four courses over six days in the rain-delayed tournament, Haas couldn’t celebrate until his final shot. He’s the 27-year-old son of Jay Haas, the 1988 Hope Classic champion. After father and son practiced together in nearby Indian Wells last
weekend when Bill Haas missed the cut at the Sony Open, Jay Haas traveled back from his own Champions Tour event in Hawaii just in time to watch his son finish the final round with back-toback birdies. “It’s definitely neat that down the road, 22 years from now, we can look at both our names on the list here,” Bill Haas said. “I’m not trying to compare myself to him. He’s almost unreachable.” They’re the eighth father-son combination to win on the PGA Tour, but Bill Haas spent most of the day trailing Kuchar, who came from three shots back and rocketed up the tight leaderboard. He had eight birdies in his first 11 holes, but just one in the last seven. After rain wiped out Thursday’s play and threatened throughout Friday in the PGA Tour’s only five-round, four-course event, the Hope Classic was extended to Monday. The tour’s next event is close by at Torrey Pines, making travel easy _ but the top Hope finishers may want to take an extra day to catch their breath after a nail-biting finish. Rookie Alex Prugh, who shared the lead with Watson entering the final
round, started slowly but closed with three straight birdies to finish fifth at 28 under in his third career PGA Tour event. Veteran Mike Weir was sixth at 26 under. Kuchar’s fast start also didn’t shake Clark, who has never won on the PGA Tour. He has a runner-up finish for the sixth straight year, including his 2006 finish at the Masters. Kuchar went ahead with six birdies on the front nine at the Palmer course, surging past Watson and Prugh early in the round. Haas stayed close to Kuchar’s blistering pace with five birdies on the first eight holes, and Clark caught up on the 15th hole with a 61/2foot birdie putt. After five straight pars, Kuchar made a near-perfect tee shot on the 130-yard 17th before calmly making a 16-foot birdie putt. Clark wouldn’t be shaken, answering with a birdie putt of his own in the next group — and after Watson missed his birdie putt, Haas nailed his own. “As I was making my way through the back nine, I thought 30 under would have been a good score,” Kuchar said. “And there it was. It was the winning score.”—AP
DHAKA: Bangladeshi opener Tamim Iqbal put India’s attack to the sword with a blistering 151 on the third day of the second and final Test in Dhaka yesterday. The left-hander dominated a record 200-run stand for the second wicket with Junaid Siddique (55) as Bangladesh reached 228-3 in their second innings at stumps. But the hosts still face a stiff task to save the match as they need 83 more runs with seven wickets in hand to make India bat again after conceding a 311run lead. The tourists lead 1-0 in the short series following their 113-run win in the opening match in Chittagong last week. Iqbal completed his second hundred off just 101 balls, the fastest by a Bangladeshi in Tests. His stand with Siddique was also Bangladesh’s highest for any wicket in Test cricket. Bangladesh’s previous best was 191 between Mohammad Ashraful and Mushfiqur Rahim for the sixth wicket against Sri Lanka in Colombo in 2007. “This innings is so far my best. I wanted to bat throughout the day. I played my natural game. I always enjoy scoring against India. If I had stayed unbeaten, it would have been good for the team,” said Iqbal. “If we had not lost two wickets towards the end, we would have been on top. I hope one batsman now makes a big score and another 60 or 70 runs, then we will be in a competitive position.” Iqbal, 20, delighted the crowd with bold strokeplay, smashing three sixes and 18 fours in his careerbest knock. He spared neither seamers nor spinners as he kept playing attacking shots on both sides of the wicket. Indian seamer Zaheer Khan struck in the third over when he had Bangladeshi opener Imrul Kayes (five) caught by substitute Dinesh Karthik, who dived forward to hold on to the ball at short cover. The visitors then had to wait for more than 51 overs for the next breakthrough as Iqbal and Siddique bolstered the innings with their contrasting knocks. Zaheer broke the partnership when he had Siddique caught behind. The Bangladeshi batsman, who relied more on singles and twos, hit only five fours in his 144-ball knock for his fifth Test half-century. The Indian seamer then got a big wicket in the day’s penultimate over when he had Iqbal caught behind, claiming his third victim. “He (Iqbal) played well. He is a very aggressive player. We were pleased to get him out at the end of the day. It was very important for us,” said India coach Gary Kirsten. “We now need to get early wickets tomorrow. We have got two days left and the wicket is fantastic to bat on.” India earlier declared their first innings closed at their lunch total of 544-8 in reply to the hosts’ 233, with skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni making a solid 89. The visitors added 85 to their overnight total of 459-5, with Dhoni alone contributing 67. The Indian captain, on 22 overnight, completed his 17th Test half-century when he lofted seamer Rubel Hossain over mid-off for a boundary. —AFP
DHAKA: Bangladesh’s Tamim Iqbal celebrates his century on the third day of the second cricket Test match against India.
SCOREBOARD DHAKA: Scoreboard at stumps on the third day of the second and final Test between Bangladesh and India yesterday: Bangladesh 1st innings 233 (M. Mahmudullah (Sharma), 8-544 (Dhoni). Bowling: Shafiul 23-1-86-3 (w1), Shahadat 22-296 not out; I. Sharma 4-66) 91-1 (nb2), Rubel 28-1-115-0 (nb8), Shakib 34-3India 1st innings (overnight 459-5): 118-2, Ashraful 9-0-38-1, Mahmudullah 15-0-78G. Gambhir c Rahim b Shafiul 68 0, Siddique 1-0-9-0, Raqibul 1-1-0-1. V. Sehwag c Rahim b Shahadat 56 Bangladesh 2nd innings: R. Dravid retd hurt 111 Tamim Iqbal c Dhoni b Zaheer 151 S. Tendulkar c Kayes b Shakib 143 Imrul Kayes c sub (Karthik) b Zaheer 5 M. Vijay c Mahmudullah b Shakib 30 Junaid Siddique c Dhoni b Zaheer 55 MS Dhoni st Rahim b Raqibul 89 Shahadat Hossain not out 2 Harbhajan Singh c Rahim b Shafiul 13 Mohammad Ashraful not out 2 Zaheer Khan c Shahadat b Shafiul 0 Extras (b7, lb4, w2) 13 I. Sharma c Rahim b Ashraful 13 Total (for three wickets; 60 overs) 228 P. Ojha not out 1 Fall of wickets: 1-19 (Kayes), 2-219 (Siddique), Extras (b3, lb6, nb10, w1) 20 3-233 (Iqbal). Total (for eight wickets decl; 133 overs) 544 Fall of wickets: 1-103 (Sehwag), 2-146 Bowling: Zaheer 14-1-63-3 (w1), Sharma 11-2(Gambhir), 3-421 (Tendulkar), 4-436 (Vijay), 5- 38-0, Harbhajan 17-3-59-0, Ojha 11-1-46-0, 459 (Harbhajan), 6-467 (Zaheer), 7-518 Sehwag 7-2-11-0 (w1).
Baumgartner unveils mission to the edge of space Aerospace legend Colonel Joseph Kittinger introduces Red Bull Stratos research effort to capture data from Mach 1 freefall DUBAI: Pilot Felix Baumgartner announced his intention to expand the boundaries of aerospace exploration by attempting to become the first person ever to break the speed of sound with his own body. Baumgartner hopes to ascend in a capsule lifted by a helium balloon to the upper reaches of the stratosphere to at
captured by the mission’s world-leading scientists could promise new standards in aerospace safety and enhanced possibilities for human flight. In a dramatic landscape draped in black and lit in blue on the 40th floor of a New York high-rise, United States Air Force Colonel (Ret.) Joseph Kittinger, who in 1960 launched a stratospheric jump from
and many have died in the attempt,” Kittinger said. “But I believe that with our unique assets, an extraordinary mission team, the dedication of Red Bull, and Felix Baumgartner’s outstanding skills, Red Bull Stratos will succeed.” Kittinger, Baumgartner (best known for being the first person to fly across the English Channel with a carbon wing in 2003), Red Bull Stratos Medical Director Dr. Jonathan Clark and Technical Project Director Art Thompson provided an overview of the mission, which we will expect to launch in North America with a target launch date in 2010. “This is truly a step into the unknown. No one can accurately predict how the human body
least 120,000 feet and, protected by a full pressure “space suit,” launch a freefall jump that could exceed Mach 1.0 — more than 690 miles per hour — before parachuting to Earth. If successful, the Red Bull Stratos mission hopes to establish four world records; the data
102,800 feet that opened the door for space exploration, and whose records Baumgartner aims to break, introduced the Austrian pilot to media from around the world during a briefing in New York City. “People have been trying to break my records for fifty years,
will react in the transition to supersonic speeds,” said Baumgartner. “But we’ve got to find out. Future aerospace programs need a way for pilots and astronauts to bail out at high altitude in case of emergency.” Clark, who served as a crew surgeon for six Space Shuttle missions, confirmed that data captured from the mission will be shared with the scientific community, and noted that he expects long awaited medical protocols to be established as a result. He also commented, “I think one of the most profound benefits of Red Bull Stratos is going to be the inspiration for our youth... The kind of stuff Felix is doing is like the early astronauts and cosmonauts.” Red Bull Stratos has secured
specialized technical communications from Riedel Communications that will facilitate the coverage of the Red Bull Stratos mission with a live
TV broadcast and live webcast delivered by Microsoft Silverlight. In parallel the mission will also be streamed on mobile plat-
forms through a mobile application powered by Ovi by Nokia. Global broadcaster, the BBC, will produce a special 90-minute documentary, which will air
exclusively in the US on the National Geographic Channel and be distributed globally to national broadcasters by BBC Worldwide.
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Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Murray to play Cilic in semi as Nadal retires
MELBOURNE: Andy Murray of Britain reacts to a point won against Rafael Nadal of Spain during their Men’s singles quarterfinal match at the Australian Open. — AP
Doubles greats honored MELBOURNE: One of the world’s best doubles partnerships was honored yesterday as Mark Woodforde and Todd Woodbridge were inducted into the Tennis Australia Hall of Fame. The pair, who won 61 doubles titles, including a record six Wimbledons, two Australian Opens, two US Opens and a French Open, said the recogntion matched their Grand Slam achiviements.
“I think it’s such an incredible honor and probably equal, if not better, than winning the Wimbledons and the Olympics because I think it just reflects back about how well you succeeded in the sport,” Woodforde said. A Davis Cup win for Australia in 1999 and Olympic gold in Athens in 1996 and silver in their last tournament together at the Sydney Games in 2000 capped off their playing careers. — AFP
MELBOURNE: Justine Henin of Belgium returns to Nadia Petrova of Russia on her way to winning their Women’s singles quarterfinal match at the Australian Open. — AP
Henin and Zheng set up semi-final showdown MELBOURNE: Former world number one Justine Henin and Chinese battler Zheng Jie set up an unlikely Australian Open semi-final after both enjoyed straight sets quarter-final wins yesterday. Henin beat a determined Nadia Petrova of Russia 7-6 (7/3), 7-5 before Zheng created yet more history by beating another Russian, Maria Kirilenko, 6-1, 6-3. After becoming the first Chinese player into the Wimbledon semi-finals in 2006, Zheng has now achieved the same honour in Australia. However, to achieve even greater glory she will have to overcome a player who has won seven Grand Slams, including the 2004 Australian Open, and one whom Zheng admits is one of her favorites. Henin kept her fairytale comeback well on track when she beat Petrova in one-hour 51 minutes, the first time since round one that the 27-year-old has been off court in under two hours. The dangerous Petrova had been in excellent form heading into the match, highlighted by her 52 minute thrashing of Kim Clijsters in the third round and her win over third seed Svetlana Kuznetsova in the fourth. There was little between the two players as they went shot for shot on a hot day on the Rod Laver Arena but Henin was able to lift her game at crucial moments in both sets. “I think I’ve improved a lot in this tournament since in Brisbane,” Henin said, referring to the warm-up Brisbane International tournament where she lost in the final to Clijsters. “I haven’t been able to play well in the tough moments and this week, in this tournament, I’ve been able in the last few days to do it.
“Even if I’m getting older, I still have this fighting spirit, and that’s a good thing.” Petrova said she would not be surprised if Henin won the tournament. “She has a good shot-I mean, she has a really good round in the semi-finals,” Petrova said. “Whoever she’s going to face in the final, I’m sure, you know, she has a good shot at it.” Zheng also impressed as she took control early against the 23-year-old Kirilenko, who took to the court with her left thigh heavily bandaged and called for a medical time out at the end of the first set. The Chinese player raced through the first set in just 34 minutes as she broke Kirilenko twice, her all court coverage and accurate groundstrokes proving too much for her opponent. Kirilenko was obviously hampered by her leg injury and wasn’t able to get any power behind her shots, making them easy pickings for the determined Zheng. “First of all, I admire her (Henin) because she is so strong mentally,” Zheng said. “I always watch her play, how do you say, I enjoy watching her play. “Secondly, I think it is a tough match for me, is a big challenge, but I like it.” Zheng won her first Grand Slam title in 2006 when she took out the Australian Open doubles. “I feel this court is lucky for me so I hope I can be here at the end of the week,” she said. By reaching the semis, the 26year-old from Chengdu will also return to the top 20 for the first since June last year. The final two quarter-finals will be played today, with Serena Williams taking on Belarusian Victoria Azarenka and Venus Williams up against China’s Li Na. — AFP
MELBOURNE: Andy Murray will play Marin Cilic in a semi-final at the Australian Open after an extraordinary day when defending champion Rafael Nadal succumbed with injury yesterday. The fifth seeded Scot became the first Briton to reach the Australian semifinals in 33 years after Nadal withdrew from their quarterfinal troubled by a right knee injury. Murray was leading 6-3, 76 (7/2), 3-0 at the time the Spanish world number two called it quits. Fourteenth seed Cilic became the first Croatian to reach the semifinals after his gripping fiveset victory over American Andy Roddick. Cilic, at 21 the youngest of the eight quarter-finalists, wore down the seventh seeded Roddick, 7-6 (7/4), 6-3, 36, 2-6, 6-3 in three hours 50 minutes. But it was just a precursor to a dramatic night on Rod Laver Arena asMurray moved a step closer to becoming Britain’s first Grand Slam winner since Fred Perry in 1936. Murray created some history of his own when he became the first Briton since John Lloyd in 1977 to qualify for the Australian Open semis. “He’s my favourite player to watch just because of what he brings to the court with all his energy and I’m gutted for him,” Murray said of Nadal. The 22-year-old Scot has yet to drop a set after five matches. Nadal said the knee felt similar to last year when he was forced to withdraw from Wimbledon, where he was defending champion, with tendinitis. “It was in the end of the second set. It felt similar to what I had last year,” he said. “After that I couldn’t get down properly, so it was impossible to win the match. I said sorry to Andy for that.” Murray will go into his semifinal against the 14th seeded Cilic after spending only twoand-a-half hours on court against such a physical player as Nadal for a tournament total of 10 hours. In comparison Cilic is the marathon man of the tournament, expending 18 hours eight minutes on court for his five matches. Murray was impressive with his offensive game against one of the best defensive players and his serve was a strong point, 13 aces and winning 77 percent of his first serves. He broke the Spanish left-hander’s service four times and gave up his serve twice. Cilic continued his splendid tournament with his second victory in three matches against Roddick, breaking the American power server five times and dropping his own six times. “Today was a tough match mentally and for Murray it’s going to take also a lot of energy out of me,” he said. “So we’ll see how I’m going to be able to survive. “I think the biggest thing is to try to recover as much as I can and to try to be ready so I can play at my level.” It was his third five-set match of the tournament. Yet again it was more heartbreak for Roddick as he fell short in his bid to add to his sole Grand Slam title from the 2003 US Open. Roddick is the last American male Grand Slam winner, the longest major title drought for the proud tennis nation. But he was not too disappointed, given a sore shoulder. “To be able to push it and have a shot, I thought it was a pretty good effort,” Roddick said. “I hit the ball about as well as I could throughout the whole match. I still hit the ball pretty well in the fifth.” Roddick had a medical timeout after the first set to seek treatment for the painful right shoulder. — AFP
SAN ANTONIO: Chicago Bulls’ Derrick Rose drives to the basket against the San Antonio Spurs during the fourth quarter of an NBA basketball game. Chicago won 98-93. — AP
Cavaliers beat Heat MIAMI: LeBron James hit two free throws for the winning points after a scary tumble with 4.1 seconds left as the Eastern Conference-leading Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Miami Heat 92-91 on Monday. Dwyane Wade, who missed a jump shot at the buzzer, finished with 32 points for Miami, all but two of them in what was an epic first half shootout between superstars. But he missed two big free throws with 41.2 seconds left, part of a 1 of 6 showing from the line by the Heat in the fourth quarter — and it cost Miami dearly. Shaquille O’Neal scored 19, Daniel Gibson had 15 and Anderson Varejao finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds for Cleveland. Wade had 10 rebounds and five assists for Miami. Jermaine O’Neal finished with 18 points, Michael Beasley had 16 and Rafer Alston and Udonis Haslem each scored 10 for the Heat. Celtics 95, Clippers 89 At Boston, Paul Pierce scored 22 points and Rajon Rondo had 16 points and 12 assists to lead Boston to a win on a TD Garden floor that had to be continually wiped because of condensation. Boston forward Kevin Garnett played his second straight after missing 10 consecutive games with a hyperextended right knee. He finished with 17 points in 30 minutes. Rasual Butler led the Clippers with 17 points. The slippery parquet floor forced ball boys to mop one end while play was going on at the other for most of the game. Early in the game, it appeared a few players slipped, causing a brief delay with 2:28 left in the first quarter. Pacers 109, 76ers 98 At Philadelphia, Danny Granger scored 26 points and Dahntay Jones had 18 points as Indiana earned a split of the home-and-away series with Philadelphia. Jones scored seven straight points late in the fourth quarter that helped the Pacers put this one away and improve to 6-18 on the road. Brandon Rush scored 16 points, and Troy Murphy had 11 points and 12 rebounds for the Pacers. Andre Iguodala scored 22 points and Allen Iverson had 20 for the Sixers. Grizzlies 99, Magic 94 At Memphis, Tennessee, Zach Randolph had 23 points and 19 rebounds, and O.J. Mayo added 20 points as Memphis won its 11th straight home game. Marc Gasol added 19 points, and Rudy Gay had 15 for Memphis. Mike Conley finished with 14 points and seven assists for the Grizzlies, who snapped the Magic’s three-game winning streak. With the victory, the Grizzlies matched their 24 win total from last season. Dwight Howard led Orlando with 27 points, 15 rebounds and six blocks, while Rashard Lewis scored 19 points. Vince Carter had 15, while Jameer Nelson and J.J. Redick had 11 each. Hawks 102, Rockets 95 At Houston, Josh Smith had 22 points and 10 rebounds as Atlanta snapped a 10-game losing streak in Houston. Joe Johnson scored 20 points and Jamal Crawford added 17 as the Hawks won in the Toyota Center for the first time in seven visits. Aaron Brooks scored 15 points and had five assists and Carl Landry added 16 points for the Rockets. Houston has lost seven of 11, including three of its past four home games. Bulls 98, Spurs 93 At San Antonio, Derrick Rose shook off flulike symptoms to score 27 points as Chicago beat San Antonio for its third straight win. Kirk Hinrich added 18 points for the Bulls, who again impressively beat a Western Conference team with a winning record on their seven-game road swing. They surprised Houston and Phoenix last week. Tony Parker scored 20 points for the Spurs, who have lost five of six. Manu Ginobili scored 14 but was denied twice while barreling to the rim in the final 33 seconds. Jazz 124, Suns 115 At Salt Lake City, Carlos Boozer had 21 points and 20 rebounds, and rookie Wesley Matthews scored 10 of his career-high 21 points in the fourth quarter as Utah rallied for a win.
Andrei Kirilenko had 25 points and Deron Williams finished with 18 points and 11 assists for the Jazz, who trailed by 17 in the third quarter. Steve Nash had 15 points and 15 assists, making him the eighth player in NBA history to surpass 8,000 assists. Nuggets 104, Bobcats 93 At Denver, Chauncey Billups scored 27 points, and Aaron Afflalo matched his career high with 24 points as a depleted Denver beat Charlotte for a season-high seventh straight win. Stephen Jackson had 22 points and Gerald Wallace added 20 for the Bobcats, who lost their third in a row since a franchisetying six-game winning streak. The Nuggets were playing without leading scorer Carmelo Anthony, who sprained his left ankle in overtime Saturday against New Orleans. They lost forward Kenyon Martin to an ejection late in the second quarter, and early in the fourth quarter, Denver’s Chris Anderson got his feet tangled underneath the basket going for a rebound and crashed to the floor and didn’t return. Hornets 98, T’ Blazers 97 At Portland, Oregon, Chris Paul made a 15-foot jump shot with 3.8 seconds remaining to lift New Orleans over Portland. With the Hornets trailing by a point, Paul was left wide open at the free throw line when he caught a pass and buried the shot. Paul led all scorers with 24 points and had 12 assists. Marcus Thornton had 19 points, David West scored 18 and Emeka Okefor added 14 for New Orleans. Juwan Howard and LaMarcus Aldridge had 16 points apiece for Portland. — AP
NBA results/standings NBA results and standings on Monday: Indiana 109, Philadelphia 98; Boston 95, La Clippers 89; Cleveland 92, Miami 91; Memphis 99, Orlando 94; Atlanta 102, Houston 95; Chicago 98, San Antonio 93; Denver 104, Charlotte 93; Utah 124, Phoenix 115; New Orleans 98, Portland 97. Eastern Conference Atlantic Division W L PCT GB Boston 29 13 .690 Toronto 23 22 .511 7.5 NY Knicks 17 26 .395 12.5 Philadelphia 15 29 .341 15 New Jersey 3 40 .070 26.5 Central Division Cleveland 35 11 .761 Chicago 21 22 .488 12.5 Milwaukee 18 24 .429 15 Indiana 16 29 .356 18.5 Detroit 15 28 .349 18.5 Southeast Division Atlanta 29 14 .674 Orlando 29 16 .644 1 Miami 23 21 .523 6.5 Charlotte 21 22 .488 8 Washington 14 29 .326 15 Western Conference Northw est Division Denver 30 14 .682 Utah 26 18 .591 4 Portland 27 19 .587 4 Oklahoma City 24 20 .545 6 Minnesota 9 36 .200 21.5 Pacific Division LA Lakers 33 11 .750 Phoenix 26 20 .565 8 LA Clippers 20 24 .455 13 Sacramento 15 28 .349 17.5 Golden State 13 29 .310 19 Southw est Division Dallas 29 15 .659 San Antonio 25 18 .581 3.5 Memphis 24 19 .558 4.5 Houston 24 20 .545 5 New Orleans 24 20 .545 5
SPORTS
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
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Time has come to tackle the debt, says UEFA LONDON: Half of Europe’s leading clubs are losing money with more than 20 percent facing huge deficits, UEFA’s general secretary Gianni Infantino has told Reuters in an interview. Despite revenues going up, European soccer’s governing body UEFA is becoming increasingly concerned and will publish a report on the scale of the problem next month before bringing in new tougher regulations later this year. The new rules will be part of UEFA’s club licensing regulations in 2012-13, meaning that from 2013-14 clubs must break evenonly spending the money they gen-
erate-or risk facing exclusion from the Champions and Europa Leagues. UEFA does not believe major clubs will start to fold but it is worried that if the financial problem is not tackled now, it could spiral out of control. “I would not paint such a cataclysmic picture of major clubs folding because football has always shown there can be solutions but having said that, we are seriously worried to see these trends. The clubs themselves are worried, the leagues are worried,” Infantino said. “These are the reasons that
pushed us to take the decision to do something and what is healthier and what can bring a more sustainable model than saying you cannot actually spend more than the revenues that you generate. “One could say if a club goes bust ‘who cares?’. But we care. We care for that club and all the other clubs who would have problems because one club has gone and not paid them and then there is a spiral,” added Infantino. “We are doing this after very detailed research which we will publish next month. Our report has analysed 650 clubs all over Europe and it shows around 50 percent of
those clubs are making losses every year-and 20 percent are making huge losses every year. “Huge losses mean more than 20 percent of their revenue. It also shows of these 650 clubs more than one-third are spending 70 percent or more of their income on salaries only-which is worrying,” said Infantino. “The other element, which is again worrying, is that last season revenues in European football generally went up by 10 percent which is very positive. But, on the other side, the increased costs have gone up 11.5 percent and player salaries have gone up 18 percent.”
As a result UEFA’s Financial Fair Play (FFP) initiative was sanctioned by the executive committee last year. With the backing of all the game’s stakeholders including wealthy owners like Chelsea billionaire Roman Abramovich, that will mean that from the 2013-14 season, clubs must break even or face sanctions which could mean exclusion from European club competition. UEFA draws a distinction between clubs in debt and those making losses. UEFA will not penalise clubs in debt to their own banks but those who owe money to other clubs, or who have not paid their players and staff salaries.
Clubs who continually lose money over a multi-year period will also face sanctions. “The main reason for financial fair play is it is a tool to help improve the long-term stability and the financial health of European club football,” Infantino said. “It should help clubs live within the revenues they generate.” UEFA will not, and under European law cannot, impose a limit on the salaries players earn but Infantino says that under the new rules clubs might have to cut the amount they spend on salaries. “The limit would be the breakeven rule. You could spend 80 per-
cent of your income on salaries if the rest of your costs are 20 percent, travel costs, for example, everything, that is ok. But if your other costs are higher then the salaries have to go down.” There will be some exceptions to the new rules, says Infantino, for example, if a club incurs losses because it is funding a new stadium, or improving its ground or investing in a youth acadamy. “Ironically, the fact there was a global financial crisis has helped in arguing it was the right thing to do, to get everyone on board,” he said. “We are not in a crisis now but it is time to act.” —AP
Nani backs Rooney to shoot down Man City MANCHESTER: Manchester United winger Nani believes team-mate Wayne Rooney’s form can make the difference as United seek to overcome Manchester City in their League Cup semi-final second leg here today. City hold a 2-1 advantage from last week’s first game at Eastlands, with a place in the final against Aston Villa at stake.
League Cup preview
LONDON: Arsenal’s French manager Arsene Wenger kicks a ball in this file photo. —AP
Wenger busy ahead of Arsenal’s game at Villa LONDON: Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is juggling injury concerns and the demands of the January transfer window while preparing his players for a game at Aston Villa that could return the team to the top of the Premier League. Today’s match is followed by similarly tough meetings with Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool, so Wenger could have done without the distractions. Central defenders William Gallas and Thomas Vermaelen are the only players to have started all of Arsenal’s 22 Premier League matches, but the former will have to struggle through a back injury if he is to feature at Villa Park. “Until now, he has been clear of injuries,” Wenger said. “But we have played him on the limit a few times where we didn’t know before the game how long he would last.” Gallas sat out Sunday’s FA Cup loss at Stoke and was replaced by Sol Campbell for his second club debut. Any worsening of Gallas’ condition could lead to a renewed reliance on the former
England international. And Wenger is also working on his squad for the remainder of a season he hopes will end with the club’s first Premier League title since its unbeaten 2003-04 campaign. Wenger let Switzerland defender Philippe Senderos join Everton on loan until the end of the season and will also give England under-21 midfielder Jack Wilshere a chance to prove himself at another club. Wilshere has played seven games this season, but none in the Premier League. “I will let him go out on loan without any doubt,” Wenger said. “I want him to go to the right club and play.” With Manchester United having played at the weekend, Arsenal can retake the lead from the defending champions with victory at Villa Park. Arsenal is two points back and ahead of Chelsea on goal difference, although the Blues host Birmingham in another of today’s four matches. Sunderland is at Everton in another, while Wigan is at Blackburn.—AP
English League Preview
Celta gunning for Atletico MADRID: Second-division strugglers Celta Vigo have outperformed in this season’s King’s Cup and coach Eusebio Sacristan puts it down to the absence of the pressure the team is under in the league to win three points every game. The only side from outside the top flight left in the last eight, Celta have a decent chance of advancing to the last four when they host Atletico Madrid tomorrow after they earned a 1-1 draw in Madrid in last week’s quarter-final first-leg. “It’s been a competition in which we have felt very much at home from the start,” Sacristan said in an interview with the Faro de Vigo newspaper published yesterday. “Perhaps our younger
players haven’t felt the pressure you are under in the league to win the three points,” he added. “It has created a really strong sense of excitement being able to get through the ties and beat first-division sides and has helped us grow as a team.” Celta, relegated to the second division at the end of the 2006/07 season and cur-
favourites, despite the fact that we played a very good match in Madrid. If we let our level drop for a moment the quality of the Atletico players will be decisive.” Sevilla, the 2007 winners and conquerors of holders Barcelona in the last round, have one foot in the semifinals after they win 3-0 at Depor in the first leg and host the Galicians today. In other all-La Liga second-legs, Getafe host Real Mallorca on Thursday with a 2-1 lead from the first leg and Racing Santander travel to Osasuna today after winning 2-1 at home last week. In the semi-finals, in the first two weeks of February, Sevilla or Depor would play Getafe or Mallorca and Celta or Atletico are set to meet Racing or Osasuna. —AP
Spanish League preview rently in 17th spot out of 22, have never won the Cup, having lost three times in the final, while Atletico last triumphed in 1996. “You have to bear in mind that we are facing one of the best teams in the Spanish league, with players of enormous potential,” Sacristan said. “They remain the
Ryan Giggs opened the scoring last Tuesday, only for former United player Carlos Tevez to score twice to put City in the driving seat for what is sure to be a highly charged return match in the wake of Tevez’s acrimonious public spat with former teammate Gary Neville. United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has insisted that United’s away goal should count for nothing, as they should secure their trip to Wembley in normal time. He has also hinted that Rooney’s desire to play in every game and natural enthusiasm means that the England striker is unlikely to be rested after scoring all four goals in United’s 4-0 win over Hull at the weekend. Nani was also impressive against Phil Brown’s Tigers as he made his comeback following several weeks out with an ankle injury. The winger was hoping to fill the void left by Cristiano Ronaldo but has struggled for form this season. However, he thinks he can build on his display against Hull. He said: “Everyone is very happy. It’s great to be top of the table and it’s given everyone a lot of confidence. We’re playing well, scoring goals and feeling good. “The game against City will be very hard, but it’s great that we have someone like Wayne who is in good form and feeling confident. “It’s great to see one of your strikers score four goals and it gives everyone confidence because we know we have someone who can score goals in every match. “I’m sure it’ll be a fantastic atmosphere against City and I’d love to be involved. Hopefully we can get the win. “It was very frustrating to be out injured, but it happens in football. I’m back now and I feel very good. “I was happy with my performance against Hull and I just want to keep improving every week so I can help the team be successful.” Ferguson has already confirmed that Rio Ferdinand, who returned from a back problem against Hull, is unlikely to feature against City as he looks ahead to Sunday’s vital Premier League game at Arsenal. City lost 4-3 at Old Trafford in September but Brazilian defender Sylvinho thinks their playing style is perfectly-suited to playing away from home. Roberto Mancini’s side beat Scunthorpe 4-2 in the FA Cup on Sunday and he is likely to make a host of changes for the short trip to United. City are potentially just 90 minutes away from a first major final since 1981 and Sylvinho thinks that Mancini has given his side the confidence to kill United off in what is sure to be an intense atmosphere.—AFP
LONDON: Manchester United’s English forward Wayne Rooney leaves the pitch in this file photo with the match ball after scoring all four goals in the 4-0 victory in the English Premier League football match against Hull. —AFP
City talking to Brazilian clubs over Robinho loan: Mancini MANCHESTER: Robinho wants to go back to his native Brazil on a loan deal to boost the striker’s hopes of featuring in the World Cup in June, Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini said yesterday. On the eve of the club’s League Cup semi-final second leg at Manchester United, Mancini said City were in talks with Robinho’s former team Santos and Sao Paulo about a potential loan move. “I think the big problem for him ... is there is a World Cup in June and he wants to play,” Mancini told reporters. “If he doesn’t play it’s a problem for the national team but I must decide what’s best for my team in every game. “I must decide between five or six strikers and it can be difficult for me and for him.” Mancini said he saw the longterm future of Robinho, who joined from Real Madrid in 2008 for a British record 32 million pounds ($51.64 million), at City but would allow him to move on a temporary basis if the conditions were right. “If everything is ok for me, for the club, for Robi, it’s possible he will play for another team,” said the Italian. “Santos or Sao Paulo are possible but it’s important that Robinho is happy, the club is happy and everyone is happy. “Sometimes this is possible and it can happen. In Italy it’s the same. You buy a fantastic player like Robinho for a lot of money and he needs to play for another club,” added Mancini. —Reuters
LONDON: Manchester City’s Robinho reacts after scoring a goal in this file photo. —AP
Matches on TV (local timings) English Premier League Aston Villa v Arsenal ....................... ShowSports 1 ShowSports 2 Chelsea v Birmingham .................... Sho Shasha Blackburn v Wigan .......................... Show Comedy Extra Everton v Sunderland ...................... Show Series Extra 1
22:45
Al Jazeera Sport +5 Al Jazeera Sport +3 Scotland Premier League
22:45
Celtic v Hibernian ........................... 22:45 Abu Dhabi Sport 2
23:00 23:00
St Mirren v Rangers ........................ 22:45 Abu Dhabi Sports 2 Italian Cup
English League Cup Man United v Man City .................. 23:00
Al Milan v Udinese .......................... 23:00 Al Jazeera Sport +1
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Organisers relaxed over Egypt v Algeria security BENGUELA: Africa Nations Cup organisers insisted yesterday they do not expect a repeat of the violent clashes sparked by November’s World Cup play-off between Egypt and Algeria when the bitter rivals face off again in tomorrow’s semi-final. Unconfirmed reports suggest Algeria will have upwards of 1,000 fans in Benguela while Egypt are expecting around 400 but the high costs of travel to Angola as well as stringent entry visa requirements may lead to far fewer fans turning up. Those numbers are but a fraction of the crowds that attended November’s play-off in Kartoum
and the final World Cup qualifier before that in Cairo, which both prompted violent incidents that sparked a diplomatic row between the two countries. Egypt and Algeria’s foreign ministers, speaking by phone yesterday, agreed on the importance for both sides of approaching the match in Benguela “wisely”, an Egyptian ministry spokesman said. The Arab League also called for the two countries to overcome their differences and “prove that the friendship and historic ties between Egypt and Algeria are too strong to be affected by a temporary crisis”.
FIFA security officer in charge of the Benguela match venue, Abel Mbengue, refused to volunteer any information as regards to any special measures being put in place to ensure a trouble-free Nations Cup semi-final between the fierce North African rivals. “It’s against protocol to publicly discuss the security for this match,” he told AFP at the Terminus Hotel in Lobito. A Confederation of African Football (CAF) official, who wished to remain anonymous, said they do not expect any problems on Thursday and that adequate arrangements had been put in place to prevent any injuries at
action in Group C, which featured Egypt, Nigeria, Benin and Mozambique. But attendance has slipped for subsequent matches. “There have not be any major security breaches here, bar the arrests of some people who sneak in unauthorised cameras into the arena,” added the CAF official. “We will of course separate both sets of fans inside the stadium to guard against any problems.” Egypt international striker Mohamed Zidan has already stoked the fire of this perennial rivalry between his country and Algeria, describing the game as “war” and saying The Pharaohs
had to win it to confirm they deserve to be at the World Cup, and not Algeria. “It will be a matter of life and death in that game. For both sides it will be like a war,” said the Borussia Dortmund star. “For us, it is a chance to show the world that we deserve to go to the World Cup and if we beat them, we will be able to watch the World Cup with pride.” Egyptian officials though have tried to downplay the animosity between the two teams, inisting that this is only a sport and nothing more. Their Algerian counterparts, on the other hand, flew into
Benguela yesterday afternoon on a chartered flight but refused to discuss the match with reporters and preferred instead to head straight to their hotel in Lobito, about 35 kilometres outside Benguela. Algeria coach Rabah Saadane has sought to play down fears of any repetition of the stormy and violent scenes that were triggered by their last three encounters against Egypt. “In our three games against Egypt ever ything passed off smoothly on the pitch. You have to stop talking about that (the animosity between the two countries),” he insisted. —AFP
Reds fail to find the net to see off Wolves
Portsmouth 1
West Ham 1
West Ham held by Portsmouth LONDON: Danny Webber came off the bench to claim his first Premier League goal as Portsmouth avoided what would have been a moralesapping defeat to fellow strugglers West Ham at Fratton Park. The Hammers were on track for a much-needed three points after taking the lead with a scrappy effort from club captain Matthew Upson seven minutes into the second half. But Webber’s 75th-minute goal reduced the damage suffered by Avram Grant’s side, who nevertheless remain bottom of the table, four points adrift of the side above them, Hull, and five away from safety. West Ham had taken the lead following an in swinging cross from Alessandro Diamanti, which found its way into the net off Upson after Younes Kaboul, who was initially credited with an own goal, had appeared to make contact. Portsmouth should have equalised when Mark Wilson sent a free header wide ten minutes later and the home fans were finally rewarded for their patience two mintues after Webber came off the bench. The former Manchester United trainee was played in by John Utaka and he beat the advancing Robert Green with a low shot that slipped through the keeper’s legs. Webber nearly snatched a winner when he flicked Utaka’s cross from the left just over the bar but a draw was just about the right result after an opening period that had been a tale of two goalkeepers with Pompey’s Asmir Begovic and Green both excelling. Portsmouth, who had learned earlier in the day that they will be allowed to acquire new players on free transfers or loan deals before the end of the transfer window, were without injured midfield duo Papa Bouba Diop and Michael Brown. The Hammers meanwhile were boosted by the sight of England striker Carlton Cole taking his place on the bench following his recovery from a knee injury. —AFP
the headline game. “We do not envisage any problems as has been the case since the competition started at our centre. “There was a security meeting yesterday morning and if need be, we would tighten security but there is nothing to suggest that right now,” he said. Benguela has hosted six first round matches as well as Monday’s quarter-final between champions Egypt and Cameroon. And for each of these games, over 1,000 security personnel were deployed. The brand-new Ombaka Stadium was filled to its 35,000 capacity on the opening day of
Wolves 0
Liverpool 0
LONDON: Tottenham Hotspur’s Jermain Defoe (top left) is tackled by Fulham’s Chris Baird during their English Premier League soccer match at the White Hart Lane stadium. —AP
Bentley shines as Spurs put Fulham to the sword Tottenham 2
Fulham 0 LONDON: Tottenham strengthened their grip on fourth place in the Premier League after a 2-0 win over London rivals Fulham at White Hart Lane yesterday. A first-half goal from England striker Peter Crouch and a second from the previously out-of favor David Bentley secured the win for Spurs, who remain on course for a Champions League spot af ter Liverpool’s draw at Wolves allowed the north Londoners to open up a three-point gap between the teams. While the hosts will be glad to have ended a disappointing recent run, Roy Hodgson’s Fulham continue to struggle and have now lost four league games in a row af ter a strong start to the campaign. The visitors’ preparation was disrupted by Manchester United’s announcement that they had agreed a fee for England Under-21 defender Chris Smalling, who has impressed since breaking into the team last September. Despite the speculation, Hodgson felt that the centre-
back was sufficiently focused and named him in the starting eleven. But Tottenham’s started the game in electrifying fashion, creating two opportunities within the first two minutes. With their first attack Jermain Defoe’s neat flick set up Tom Huddlestone on the edge of the area, but Australia goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer dived full length to turn the former Derby man’s powerful drive wide of the post. Fulham absorbed the early pressure and threatened themselves in the 12th minute, Heurelho Gomes in the Spurs net reacting quickly to smother the ball at Bobby Zamora’s feet after a smart through ball by Hungary’s Zoltan Gera. Crouch broke the deadlock for the hosts in the 27th minute, but most of the credit will be laid at the feet of Luka Modric. Two Fulham defenders were comfortably guiding the ball over the dead-ball line until the Croatia midfielder nipped in to pull the ball back and cross for Crouch, who threw out a leg and poked the ball past Schwarzer. Spurs were guilty of throwing away the lead twice during Saturday’s FA Cup match with Leeds, so it was understandable that they curtailed their attacking instincts for a while after that. —AFP
EPL results/standings Bolton 1 (Lee 35) Burnley 0; Portsmouth 1 (Webber 76) West Ham 1 (Upson 52); Wolves 0 Liverpool 0; Tottenham 2 (Crouch 27, Bentley 60) Fulham 0. Playing today Aston Villa v Arsenal; Blackburn v Wigan; Chelsea v Bir mingham; Ever ton v Sunderland. English Premier League table after yesterday’s matches (played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals against, points): Man Utd 23 16 2 5 53 19 50 Arsenal 22 15 3 4 59 25 48 Chelsea 21 15 3 3 52 18 48 Tottenham 23 12 5 6 44 24 41 Liverpool 23 11 5 7 40 26 38 Man City 21 10 8 3 42 30 38
Aston Villa Birmingham Fulham Everton Stoke Blackburn Sunderland Wigan Bolton West Ham W’hampton Burnley Hull Portsmouth
21 21 22 21 21 22 21 20 21 22 22 22 22 21
10 9 7 6 6 6 6 6 5 4 5 5 4 4
6 6 6 8 7 6 5 4 6 8 5 5 7 3
5 6 9 7 8 10 10 10 10 10 12 12 11 14
29 21 26 30 19 23 30 23 29 29 17 22 20 19
18 19 26 34 26 39 38 44 42 38 38 44 46 33
36 33 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 20 20 19 15
LONDON: Rafael Benitez silenced his critics with victory over Spurs less than a week ago. But his detractors will be back in full voice again after their hugely disappointing 0-0 draw with relegation-threatened Wolves at Molineux yesterday. If the interest emanating from Juventus is serious, regarding the Spaniard taking over as their next manager, opposition to his departure from Anfield will be reducing even further as a result. Their inability to dispose of a Wolves team who had lost their previous three league games and failed to score a goal was painful to behold and once again the tactics of the Liverpool manager have been placed under the microscope. The lowest scorers in the Premier League against the side with only 17 goals away from Anfield in all competitions did not bode well and it was attritional stuff. Even with Steven Gerrard back after missing two games with a hamstring problem, Liverpool looked a million miles away from the side of their halcyon days and Alan Hansen’s goal that delivered their last victory at Molineux back in 1979. Gerrard was clearly still not fully fit and it was beyond the wildest expectations for him to conjure a match-winning performance on his own and Liverpool’s decision to play with a solitary striker in Dirk Kuyt again raised question marks over the cautious tactics of Benitez. His lack of adventure, against a side shot with self-doubt and a lack of confidence was staggering and once again Alberto Aquilani was the most expensive substitute the Premier League has seen for some time as he watched in despair at Liverpool’s ineffectiveness. Wolves were in no mood for adventure either, desperate to improve on a run of seven defeats in their last ten games, but employing Kevin Doyle as a lone striker meant chances for them would be at a premium. Accepting them has been Wolves’ Achilles heel all season and their regular failing came back to haunt them after they had frustrated Liverpool with their flooded midfield for over half an hour. Counter-attacking from deep, Matt Jarvis exposed the danger of playing Jamie Carragher out of position as a right-back, because of his lack of pace and Doyle, one of the few genuine players of class at McCarthy’s disposal, reacted swiftly to force his way ahead of Martin Skrtel and meet the winger’s low cross at the near post. But his instinctive flick was not delicate enough to defeat Pepe Reina. Doyle was a constant menace, his willingness to cover the miles incredible and even in his solitary role, Liverpool’s nerves creaked every time he was in possession. He forced one save from Reina with a header, whilst off balance and another rising shot from 25 yards flew over the target with Reina again scrambling to position himself. —AFP
LONDON: Liverpool’s Dirk Kuyt (right) is tackled by Wolverhampton Wanderers Karl Henry during their English Premier League soccer match. —AP
Lee helps Coyle silence critics Bolton 1
Burnley 0 BOLTON: Lee Chung-Yong helped Bolton manager Owen Coyle silence the taunts from for mer club Burnley as the South Korea midfielder sealed a 1-0 win over the Clarets yesterday. Coyle was facing the team he left in acrimonious circumstances just three weeks ago and Lee’s first half strike ensured the fierce abuse that rained down on him from Burnley’s travelling supporters eventually petered out. Even more importantly, the result allowed Bolton to move out of the Premier
L eague relegation at the expense of local rivals Burnley. Coyle knew he was in for a hard time from the 5,000 Burnley fans who made the short trip across Lancashire and they didn’t waste any time showing their distate for the Scot. Formerly proclaimed as “God” by Burnley’s supporters, Coyle was deluged with abusive chants from the away end, while one banner read “He is not the Messiah”. Brian Laws’ visitors were looking to end a woeful run on the road during which they had taken only one point out of a possible 33. But after a scrappy start, Bolton should have taken the lead when Fabrice Muamba found himself clear on goal after being released by Matt
Taylor but the midfielder shot wildly over the crossbar. Bur nley finally found some attacking rhythm and Chris Eagles squandered a golden opportunity when he mishit the rebound af ter Jussi Jaaskelainen parried Steven Fletcher’s shot. Christian Kalvenes threatened for Burnley with a rasping shot that beat Jaaskelainen but finished the wrong side of the post. Bolton responded superbly as Lee gave them the lead in the 35th minute with his fifth goal of the season. The Korean has been in superb form since moving to the Reebok Stadium at the start of the season and he demonstrated his quality with a clipped shot that hit the underside of the bar and
crossed the line despite Michael Duff ’s attempt to clear. David Nugent had a chance to equalise for Burnley when he raced onto Eagles’ pass but Jaaskelainen raced off his line to save. Bolton stepped up the pace at the start of the second half with Lee and Kevin Davies both seeing efforts go wide of the target. When Muamba had a shot from 25 yards deflected to safety in the 62nd minute, Laws had clearly had enough and sent on striker Frederic Nimani for his debut. Yet Bolton finished stronger and substitute Ricardo Gardner saw his effor t tur ned away by Jensen, but Coyle’s men had already done enough to claim the points. —AFP
Ferdinand faces three game ban
LONDON: Bolton’s Zat Knight (right) heads the ball away from Burnley’s Steven Fletcher during their English Premier League soccer match at The Reebok Stadium. —AP
LONDON: Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand could be banned for three games after the Football Association charged him with violent conduct for apparently elbowing an opponent. Ferdinand only returned to action after three months out on Saturday but was filmed clashing with Hull forward Craig Fagan. United won 4-0 to return to the top of the Premier League but the FA charged him yesterday after watching the video of the match. Ferdinand must respond to the charge today and the FA will hear the case tomorrow. The England inter national would miss matches against Arsenal, Por tsmouth and Aston Villa if banned. —AP
Al-Shabab Account partners up with Coffee Republic
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Wataniya becomes golden sponsor of Concours D’ Elegance
Britain crawls out of recession but Q4 disappoints
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Wednesday, January 27, 2010
www.kuwaittimes.net
US deficit projected at $1.35tn Economy continues to recover from recession WASHINGTON: The latest congressional budget estimates yesterday predict a $1.35 trillion deficit for this year as the US economy continues to slowly recover from the recession. The Congressional Budget Office report predicts a sluggish economic recovery and continued high deficits that present political problems for President Barack Obama and his Democratic allies. The White House is under considerable pressure to cut deficits — the red ink hit a record $1.4 trillion last year — or at least keep them from growing. Encouraged by last week’s Massachusetts Senate victory, Republicans are hitting hard on the issue, and polls show voters increasingly concerned ahead of elections in November. The report sees a slow rebound of the economy, with unemployment averaging 10.1 percent this year as the economy grows by just over 2 percent. It would grow only slightly more next year with an unemployment rate of 9.5 percent. “Economic growth in the next few years will probably be muted in the aftermath of the financial and economic turmoil,” the CBO report says. The latest estimates also see a $1.35 trillion deficit for the current budget year, dropping to $980 billion next year — but only if a host of tax cuts enacted under President George W. Bush are allowed to expire. It is a sobering reminder of the fundamental imbalance of the federal government’s budget that comes just days before Obama’s Feb. 1 budget submission. The White House says Obama will propose a three-year freeze on domestic agency budgets, though the savings would barely make a dent. It has not said whether Obama proposes tax hikes or cuts to spiraling health and pension benefit programs. The deficit would slide to $480 billion by 2015, CBO says, but only if tax cuts on income, investments and large estates are allowed to expire at the end of this year. Most budget experts see deficits as far higher once tax cuts and other policies are factored in. The 2010 deficit figure is in line with previous estimates and would be a slight decline from last year’s $1.4 trillion shortfall. But plans afoot on in Congress Hill for a new jobs bill and a coming Obama request for war funds would add to the total. The figures arrived just hours before the Senate is likely to reject a White House-backed plan to establish a bipartisan task force to recommend steps to curb the deficit. The figures bring continued bad news on the deficit, keeping the pressure on Obama and congressional Democrats to demonstrate they are serious about taking on the flood of red ink. The spending freeze, expected to be proposed by Obama during the State of the Union address today, would apply to a relatively small portion of the federal budget, affecting a $477 billion pot of money available for domestic agencies whose budgets are approved by Congress each year. Some of those agencies could get increases, others would have to face cuts; such programs got an almost 10 percent increase this year. The federal budget total was $3.5 trillion. —AP
NEW YORK: Shoppers walk past a billboard for an Abercrombie & Fitch store in New York. Consumer confidence rose past expectations in January, the third straight monthly increase as Americans begin to feel slightly better about business conditions and the job picture, according to a survey released yesterday. —AP
US retail industry sales seen up 2.5% for 2010 SAN FRANCISCO: US retail sales should rise 2.5 percent this year, signaling that store chains have made it through the worst of the downturn as improvements in the housing and job markets bolster shoppers’ confidence, a trade group forecast yesterday. The 2010 forecast from the National Retail Federation marks an expected improvement from a 2.5 percent drop in 2009 and a 1.3 percent increase in 2008. The data covers retail industry sales, excluding automobiles, gas stations, and restaurants. Major retail shares tracked by the Standard & Poor’s Retail Index rose 1.1 percent in early trading. Data released by the Conference Board yesterday also showed US consumer confidence rose for the third straight month in January to the highest since September 2008. But this year’s retail industry sales forecast, while calling for growth, is still a modest one. Excluding the past
two years of recession, a 2.5 percent rise in retail industry sales would mark the lowest year-over-year increase since 1995, when the trade group began tracking such figures. “I wouldn’t describe this as a very strong year,” said NRF Chief Economist Rosalind Wells in an interview. “We’re not going to have a Vshaped recovery in the economy, and we won’t have a V-shaped recovery in consumer spending or retail sales. It’s a slow return to a more normal level.” US retailers just completed a better-than-expected holiday sales season. Holiday retail sales rose 1.1 percent in 2009, according to the NRF, beating its own forecast for a 1 percent drop in sales for the NovemberDecember period. Retail chains were able to improve upon a dismal 2008, when holiday sales fell 3.4 percent, by cutting inventories and offering more targeted
discounts to attract frugal shoppers. The question looming is whether retailers can keep that momentum going in 2010 as consumers remain under pressure and joblessness stands near a 26-year high of 10 percent. For 2010, Wells expects consumers to keep a frugal mind-set with a focus on values. That should help sales at discount retailers, warehouse clubs and off-priced retailers like Wal-Mart Stores Inc, Costco Wholesale Corp and TJX Cos Inc. “In 2010, the retail environment will remain difficult, but the improved economy and easy comparisons will result in positive sales gains,” the NRF stated in its Retail Sales Outlook report. While the employment picture is “far from pretty,” the NRF said the size of the monthly job losses has diminished and employment may start to grow this year. “The hope is that as the year goes
on, we’ll see improvement in the job market. When that happens, we’ll see a better consumer confidence level, we’ll see higher incomes, and that will all contribute to making consumers feel better and loosening up the pocket book,” Wells said. The housing market also is showing signs of stabilization, she said. “We think the housing market has bottomed,” Wells said, adding that a recovery in housing would help boost home values, consumer confidence and demand for home goods, like furniture or bedding, she said. Wells also said there is already some improvement in sales among more upscale retailers. “The high-end retailers are seeing better business because their consumer is a little less worried about losing their jobs,” she said. But retailers facing the biggest challenges for 2010 are those catering to middleincome shoppers. —Reuters
27 million people became unemployed in 2009: UN DAVOS, Switzerland: Twentyseven million people around the world lost their jobs in 2009, the UN labor agency said yesterday, warning of a jobless recovery in a report released on the opening day of the World Economic Forum. About 12 million of the newly unemployed were in North America, Japan and Western Europe, the International Labor Organization said. The jobless jumped by nearly four million in both Eastern Europe and Latin America, while unemployment rates were more stable last year in Asia, Africa and the Middle East. The figures point to the need for a “global jobs pact” to
boost employment around the world, the ILO said. “Avoiding a jobless recovery is the political priority of today,” ILO chief Juan Somavia said. “We need the same policy decisiveness that saved banks now applied to save and create jobs and livelihoods of people.” In an 82-page report, the Geneva-based agency said it expected unemployment to remain high through 2010, with perhaps an additional 3 million people in the rich world losing their jobs or unable to find employment as they enter the job market. Not all the unemployed were fired from jobs. The ILO said youth unemployment has
increased by over 10 million in the last two years, the worst surge since the agency began compiling global statistics in 1991. To address the problem, the ILO wants governments to adopt a two-pronged approach of employment creation and better unemployment benefits, even if the latter may prove a disincentive for some people looking for jobs. It said the global unemployment rate was 6.6 percent last year, but that the true scope of the problem was much worse because over 600 million workers and their families were surviving on less than $1.25 a day. Another 200 million were hovering just above the internation-
al poverty line. And while many workers in the United States and rich nations may fret over their next paycheck, their conditions are invariably better than in other places in the world. The ILO said working conditions were deteriorating especially in areas of low labor productivity, such as sub-Saharan Africa. The ILO timed its report for today’s start of the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, where 2,500 business and political leaders will spend five days debating financial reforms, job creation strategies and other key elements of economic recovery. —AP
ILO chief Juan Somavia
Qatar does not expect OPEC output change DOHA: OPEC is unlikely to adjust output quotas at its next meeting in March if oil prices remain at current levels, Qatar’s oil minister said yesterday. “If it stayed in the levels of the $70s I don’t think so,” Abdullah Al-Attiyah, told reporters on the sidelines of a MEED conference. US crude fell $1 to Qatar Oil Minister $74.26 a barrel yesAbdullah Al-Attiyah terday, just marginally off the $75 to $80 a barrel range that top oil exporter Saudi Arabia and other OPEC members have said was fair for both consumers and producers. But uncertainty over the pace of the global economic recovery and with it oil demand was still a big concern, Attiyah said. “What worries me is the global economy, who can say what growth will be this year.” Yesterday, crude came close to a one-month low on concern that fiscal measures by taken by China, the second-largest world oil consumer would restrain oil demand growth. Demand in the United States, the world’s top oil consumer looked sluggish as refineries there last week continued to process less oil than they have done in 25 years, outside a hurricane season. Qatar would hit its liquefied natural gas (LNG) production capacity target of 77 million tonnes per year (tpy) by the end of 2010, Attiyah said. Capacity currently stood at 54 million tpy, he said. New LNG projects due to start up this year will help to push Qatar’s economic growth to 16 percent in 2010, up from around nine percent last year the central bank governor said yesterday. Qatar continued to study the impact of rapid development on its North Field, the world’s largest pure gas field, Attiyah said. Qatar’s priority as to ensure its longevity, he added. “Oil and gas companies maximise production and say “bye-bye Charlie,” he told reporters. “But we are a country and we have to survive.” Qatar declared a moratorium in 2005 while it studied the impact of rapid development of the field on the reservoir. The OPEC member will also seek to push through projects delayed because of high construction costs, Attiyah said. “We deferred some projects in 2008 when construction costs were high, but now costs are coming back down,” he said. “So contractors should sharpen their pencils because there will be some new projects coming.” Qatar delayed projects to build a new refinery, a new petrochemical plant and to develop the Barzan gas field. Qatar and its partner ExxonMobil aimed to award contracts to develop the Barzan field this year, Attiyah said. Gas from the Barzan field would supply rapidly growing demand in Qatar’s domestic market. The small Gulf Arab state was aiming to produce about 19 million tons of petrochemicals annually in 2010, Attiyah said, adding that a new ethylene cracker at the industrial city of Ras Laffan was starting-up phase. —Reuters
Dubai World not sending QE2 liner to S Africa DUBAI: Dubai World investment arm Istithmar World said yesterday it abandoned a plan to send the Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2) to South Africa, saying it is looking at the best option to maximize the value of the liner. “Cape Town was one of a number of options. It is no longer being considered,” the company said in an e-mailed statement,
without specifying a reason for the decision. It added there were a number of options being considered for the liner and the company is studying which will “best maximize the value of the vessel”. Istithmar World, the investment arm of debtladen conglomerate Dubai World, operates the liner, which is currently moored in Dubai. —Reuters
Iraqi parliament endorses $72.4 bn 2010 budget BAGHDAD: The Iraqi parliament yesterday passed a 2010 budget that sets federal spending at 84.7 trillion Iraqi dinars (around $72.4 billion) and a deficit for this year of 22.9 trillion dinars ($19.6 billion), lawmakers said. The budget sets an expected oil price of $62.5 per barrel and puts expected average oil exports, virtually the sole source of government revenue, at 2.15 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2010, lawmakers said. “The parliament has approved today the budget of 2010,” said Kurdish member of parliament Sami al-Atrushi, a member of the chamber’s finance committee. The deficit amounted to 27 percent of total spending and was to be financed with surpluses from previous years and also through domestic and external borrowing, the budget law said. Alaa Al-Sadoun, head of the finance committee, said the new oil projections were an increase from the 2009 budget, which put expected oil exports at 2 million barrels per day and the oil price at $50 a barrel. In a novel move, the parliament included in the new budget a clause setting aside $1 for each barrel of oil produced for oil-producing provinces to use in investment projects, said Ali Hussain Balou, head of parliament’s oil and gas committee. Other provinces involved in oil refining and gas production will receive similar set-asides. The Iraqi government is hoping that a spate of new oil deals will transform its struggling oil sector and increase production that still hovers around pre-invasion levels. The 2010 budget law also includes authorization for Iraq to seek a $4.5 billion financing arrangement with the International Monetary Fund and contemplates $2 billion in financing by the World Bank. —Reuters
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BUSINESS
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
First output from Pearl GTL plant expected early 2011
Shell Qatar investments at $21billion, surpasses Exxon DOHA: Royal Dutch Shell’s $21 billion investment in energy projects in Qatar would make it the largest private investor in the country, surpassing rival ExxonMobil, a senior company executive said yesterday. Shell expected to complete construction by the end of 2010 on the world’s largest energy project, a $19 billion plant to produce superclean fuels from gas, said Gerrit-Jan Smitskamp, the company’s regional vice-president for finance. The plant would cost up to $19 billion. That investment, in
addition to the $2 billion it is spending on building a new liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant in the country that would also be completed this year, would make Anglo-Dutch oil giant Shell Qatar’s largest private investor, he said. The Pearl gas-to-liquids (GTL) plant is divided into two production lines, or trains. The first would be completed by the end of 2010 and the second in early 2011, Smitskamp said at a MEED projects conference. “With the first train, we will start commissioning by the end of the year, moving to first pro-
duction by 2011,” he said. The LNG production facility, also known as a train, was also due for completion by the end of the year, he said. Qatargas train 7, with capacity to produce 7.8 million tons per year of gas, would be the last of new LNG trains in Qatar’s current expansion plan. It would take capacity in the world’s largest LNG exporter to 77 million tpy. Shell has a 30 percent stake in the plant, with the rest belonging to state oil firm Qatar Petroleum. Despite the huge investment, the 140,000 barrels per
day GTL project would still be profitable, Smitskamp said. “We took the final investment decision (FID) when the oil price was around $40, and we envisaged the project would run there so at $70 to $80 its probably the same,” he said. The plant’s margins would also benefit from free gas, Smitskamp said. Free feedstock was part of the original agreement with Qatar to build the plant, he added. “Unlike a crude oil refinery that has to pay for crude oil as a feedstock, gas is free for us. So we only have operating
costs.” The Pearl project is employing around 50,000 people, who have poured twice as much concrete as that used to build the world’s tallest building, the recently-opened Burj Khalifa in Dubai, Smitskamp said. Most of the fuel produced at Pearl would be sold into Shell’s global supply system, rather than contracted out to individual buyers on a longterm basis, he said. Some of the jet fuel produced may go to Qatar Petroleum, while some gas oil may be mixed with Shell’s current blend, he said. — Reuters
Abu Dhabi raises light crude supply for March DUBAI: The United Arab Emirates said yesterday it will supply more light crude to Asia for March than for February, while deepening its curb on supply of heavy Upper Zakum. Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC) will supply Murban crude at 10 percent below contracted volumes in March, versus a 13 percent cut for February, the state oil firm said. ADNOC plans to supply Lower Zakum and Umm Shaif at 10 percent below contracted volumes as well, compared with a 15 percent cut for February, it said. The increase in supply of the lighter grades may be to meet higher demand in Asia, spurred by improving secondary refining margins and robust naphtha cracks. But it will supply heavy Upper Zakum grade at 15 percent below contracted volumes, versus a 10 percent cut for February. ADNOC produces most of the crude pumped by OPEC member the United Arab Emirates, the world’s third-largest oil exporter. UAE, together with core Arab Gulf OPEC members Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar have been the most disciplined in both cutting and complying with agreed output cuts since late 2008. OPEC members agreed last month to keep supply curbs unchanged and crack down on those in its ranks who are failing to comply with restrictions in a bid to drain bulging global fuel inventories. — Reuters
Al-Dhahar Area Co-operative Society announces campaign Puncture shop for lubricants, tyres and batteries KUWAIT: Al-Dhahar Area Co-operative Society as per their commitment towards supporting their inhabitants & their franchisees, to give always the best quality product with competitive prices, have launch a campaign from January 17, 2010 to February 28, 2010. The promotion has been launched in the auspicious presence of Turky Jamaan Al-Sanitair, Chairman of Board - Al-Dhahar Area Co-operative Society, board members and Ahmad Ramadan- vice president of Gulf Express Company a subsidiary of Al-Babtain Group. To sponsor this campaign they have selected Gulf Express Company as subsidiary of AlBabtain Group due to their best professional expertise in Lubricants, Tyres and Batteries and mutual strong relationship. Gulf Express Co has a very strong service network of sales & service outlets spread all around the Kuwait market, there are 8 such well equipped outlets backed up by qualified trained staffs, which are best in Middle East. Gulf Express is one of the few companies in Kuwait which deals in product mix in car accessories with lubricants, tyres, batteries & car care products etc. They are the exclusive distributor for Total Lubricants, which is one of the major market players in the lube market in Kuwait
with 10% market share. Total’s product range includes high quality product Quartz 9000 5W 40 which is 100 % synthetic oil, Quartz 4X4 15W 50 Synthetic technology, which is an exclusive Total product for all SUV & 4X4, and Quartz 5000 20W 50 Mineral Technology for petrol engines. Dunlop Tyres: It is no.1 market leader in Kuwait with highest market share. Dunlop is known for its Quality & Safety, it comes as original fitment in all the Japanese, American & European cars such as BMW, Mercedes, Jaguar, Audi, etc. It also has one year warranty. Maxxis Tyres: It is known as a fit & forget tyre because of top quality. Its market share is growing & it is supported by a very strong sales & service team. Maxxis is at no.11th position in the list of international tyre companies worldwide. It also has one year warranty. Federal Tyre: Very good technology with 20 years technical collaboration with Dunlop and 20 years technical collaboration with Bridgestone. It has PCR, cars, 4X4 & LCV tyres. It also has one year warranty. Regarding GS Batteries: It is present in Kuwait market since last 60 years & enjoying very good reputation. Mother company is more than 120 years old. All the sizes are available for Japanese, American, European & Korean cars. It covers one year warranty.
Al-Shabab Account partners up with Coffee Republic KUWAIT: National Bank of Kuwait (NBK), the leading bank in Kuwait and the highest rated in the Middle East, announces the addition of Coffee Republic to its extensive list of Al Shabab’s discount partners. Al Shabab has partnered up with the most demanded retail outlets in Kuwait to offer customers the best deals in Kuwait. The latest offer gives customers a 15% discount at any of the Coffee Republic outlets in Kuwait. Currently Coffee Republic is located at 360 Mall, Kuwait Trade FreeZone, Galleria 2000, and Kuwait City. “Coffee Republic has a growing niche of young patrons specifically our own Al Shabab cardholders, and have extended a special 15% discount on all food and beverages purchased from any of their locations throughout Kuwait.” stated Ebtihaj Al-Roumi Executive Manager Consumer Banking Group adding “Coffee Republic has grown in popularity due to its choice locations and excellent range of beverages, and we strive to bring the best discounts from locations we know are highly favored by our youth here in Kuwait, so those who aren’t yet Al-Shabab accountholders can head to our Kuwait University Al Shabab branch or any of our branches all over Kuwait to apply and start reaping the benefits.” Al-Shabab is the youth account which caters to the various financial needs of the youth in the country. The account is for customers who fall in the age group of 17-23 years. Al-Shabab offers customized financial pack-
Ebtihaj Al-Roumis ages to suit the requirements of students during the years they are obtaining their college education. The account encourages the culture of saving and rewards customers with the highest savings and some of the best prizes in the country.
Saudi Arabia’s Tasnee to build metals smelter JEDDAH: Saudi Industrial Group Tasnee plans to build an integrated smelter for copper, lead and zinc in the kingdom as it looks to diversify away from petrochemicals, a company executive said. The plant’s construction in the Red Sea port of Yanbu would depend on finding the right international technical and financial partners, Ian V Hesford, business development consultant for mining and metallurgy at Tasnee said in an interview in Jeddah on Monday. “We have completed our pre-feasibility studies ... but it is at the stage where we will be looking for partners,” Hesford said. Hesford said the smelting operation would have a capacity of 100,000 tons per year of each material, with plans to expand copper to 200,000 tons. Lead and zinc capacity growth would depend on market conditions, but he said the plant would be designed to be easily expanded. A joint venture between Tasnee and Saudi-based Nabaa Industrial Development and Investment Co that will develop the project has yet to be finalized, he added. Tasnee and Nabaa are looking to form a project development firm to promote metals, minerals, petrochemicals, power and water projects, Hesford said.
Tasnee has a 10 percent stake in Al Masane Al-Kobra Mining Co (AMAK) which is developing an underground mine with ore reserves estimated at about 9 million tons containing zinc, copper, gold and silver. AMAK will provide the raw material for the proposed smelter, AMAK’s general manager, Zeyad Al-Tawil told Reuters. “When you say Tasnee you say Jubail - petrochemicals. It wants to be a diversified company known for all of these products not just petrochemicals,” he said. Tasnee’s unit Cristal, which took over Australian mineral sands producer Bemax Resources Ltd, is the world’s second biggest producer of titanium dioxide pigments, Hesford said. Most of Saudi Arabia’s oil is located in the Eastern coast, while minerals are in the Arabian shield, on the western coast. Exploration in minerals in Saudi Arabia is still in the early stages, Hesford said. “If you are to explore for minerals properly (in Saudi Arabia) it takes a lot of time and a lot of money so it needs a concerted effort by the government, by private companies. It’s just not easy and therefore it’s slow,” he added.— Reuters
FASTtelco signs contract with ‘Blue Coat’ KUWAIT: FASTtelco announced signing a partnership contracts with a global, industry-leading company specialized in internet, communications technology and networking systems that connect and empower businesses, banks and government entities. Omar Kaaki, FASTtelco’s General Manager, said that the company is privileged to be a “Blue Coat” Premium Partner. “Blue Coat” is specialized in providing best of breed technologies that help network operators enhance their internet offerings and data networks for end users by 50%, compared to other companies who don’t use and invest much on such hi-tech solutions and applications. This in turn will give competitive advantage to corporate, bank and government entities by offering utmost levels of network security. Kaaki added that FASTtelco is the first company in the region to offer complete solutions to clients along with various telecom services such as internet, data communications and stock trading services. This comes as a result of the company’s constant strive to offer the latest technologies and services that satisfy customers’ growing demands whilst adopting the best prac-
tices and operations to enable organizations, banks and government entities to benefit from such advanced systems without being forced to contract with more than one company. It’s really a one-stop-shop for all communication needs. By signing this agreement, FASTtelco adds a new global affiliate to its broad list of partners specialized in various communication fields. In addition of being a Blue Coat Premium Partner, the company is also a Cisco Certified Partner that provides a cluster of cutting-edge infrastructure and telecom solutions. Aiming to stay at the forefront of industry and offer clients up-to-date, first-class solutions that help optimize their operations and give them control and assurance to focus on their emerging business opportunities, FASTtelco offers Managed Services dedicated to the development of services and solutions as well as customer service. Kaaki mentioned that this agreement was a result of the sincere efforts of the Research & Development department of FASTtelco which aims to provide the company and its clients with the state of the art technologies to enhance the business performance.
EXCHANGE RATES TRANSFER CHEQUES RATES
Commercial Bank of Kuwait US Dollar/KD GB Pound/KD Euro Swiss francs Canadian Dollar Australian DLR Indian rupees Sri Lanka Rupee UAE dirhams Bahraini dinars Jordanian dinar Saudi riyals Omani riyals Philippine peso Egyptian pounds
.2830000 .4620000 .4010000 .2720000 .2680000 .2550000 .0045000 .0020000 .0776790 .7568070 .4020000 .0750000 .7419170 .0045000 .0500000
.2920000 .4700000 .4090000 .2810000 .2770000 .2640000 .0075000 .0035000 .0784600 .7644130 .4180000 .0790000 .7493730 .0072000 .0570000
US Dollar/KD GB Pound/KD Euro Swiss francs Canadian dollars Danish Kroner Swedish Kroner Australian dlr Hong Kong dlr Singapore dlr Japanese yen Indian Rs/KD Sri Lanka rupee Pakistan rupee Bangladesh taka UAE dirhams Bahraini dinars Jordanian dinar Saudi Riyal/KD Omani riyals Philippine Peso
CUSTOMER TRANSFER RATES .2861500 .4638860 .4034570 .2741930 .2699760 .0541910 .0392950 .2572790 .0368280 .2038330 .0031820 .0062610 .0025100 .0034060 .0041920 .0779470 .7594070 .4046970 .0763460 .7436230 .0062200
.2882500 .4671630 .4063070 .2761360 .2718890 .0545740 .0395730 .2590960 .0370890 .2052770 .0032040 .0063050 .0025280 .0034300 .0042220 .0784440 .7642510 .4075640 .0768330 .7483660 .0062640
US Dollar Sterling pounds Swiss Francs Saudi Riyals
.2882500 .4671630 .2761360 .0768330
Al-Muzaini Exchange Co. EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIES US Dollar Transfer Euro Sterling Pound Canadian dollar Turkish lire Swiss Franc Australian dollar US Dollar Buying
287.450 406.310 467.300 272.500 193.140 276.400 258.430 285.000
ASIAN COUNTRIES Japanese Yen Indian Rupees Pakistani Rupees Srilankan Rupees Nepali Rupees Singapore Dollar Hongkong Dollar Bangladesh Taka Philippine Peso Thai Baht Irani Riyal - Transfer Irani Riyal - Cash
3.208 6.255 3.396 2.508 3.905 205.620 37.021 4.159 6.181 8.717 0.301 0.292 ARAB COUNTRIES
Egyptian Pound - Cash Egyptian Pound Yemen Riyal Tunisian Dinar Jordanian Dinar Lebanese Lira
55.500 52.783 1.381 215.200 406.120 194.220
Syrian Lier Morocco Dirham
6.321 36.480 GCC COUNTRIES
Saudi Riyal Qatari Riyal Omani Riyal Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham
76.694 79.013 747.110 763.800 78.324 GOLD
20 Gram 10 Gram 5 Gram
220.000 113.000 58.000
Dollarco Exchange Co. Ltd US Dollar Canadian Dollar Sterling Pound Euro Swiss Frank Cyprus Pound Bahrain Dinar UAE Dirhams Qatari Riyals Saudi Riyals Jordanian Dinar Egyptian Pound Indian Rupees Pakistani Rupees Sri Lankan Rupees Bangladesh Taka Philippines Pesso Japanese Yen Thai Bhat Syrian Pound Nepalese Rupees
287.300 273.340 465.470 408.400 275.470 704.180 761.850 78.200 78.845 76.640 405.415 52.940 6.230 3.405 2.510 4.170 6.205 3.200 8.715 5.540 3.950
Kuwait Bahrain Intl Exchange Co. Currency US Dollar Pak Rupees Indian Rupees Sri Lankan Rupees Bangladesh Taka Philippines Peso UAE Dirhams Saudi Riyals Bahraini Dinars Egyptian Pounds Pound Sterling Indonesian Rupiah Yemeni Riyal Jordanian Dinars Syrian Pounds Euro Candaian Dollars
Rate per 1000 (Tran) 287.250 3.405 6.235 2.520 4.165 6.255 78.245 76.720 763.700 52.805 471.300 0.0000306 1.550 408.100 5.750 410.700 278.200
Al Mulla Exchange Currency 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
Transfer rate 287.100 407.850 468.200 273.000 3.195 6.220 52.780 2.509 4.159 6.205 3.400 764.100 78.200 76.550
BUSINESS
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
23
Lack of empty tanks seen blocking storage plan
Saudi Arabia faces hurdles in storing crude in Okinawa TOKYO: Saudi Arabia faces difficulties using J apan’s Okinaw a Islands as a petroleum storage hub, since there are few empty government tanks available and access to them is uncertain until 2011, industry sources say. The blockage is a headache for the kingdom as the importance of China and the rest of Asia grow s and as other producers have already
DAVOS: A worker cleans the stage in the plenary room on the eve of the opening of the World Economic Forum (WEF) yesterday. The Swiss resort of Davos hosts the WEF from January 27 to 31, 2010. — AFP
GM nears agreement to sell Saab to Dutch automaker DETROIT: Negotiators for General Motors Co are close to striking a deal to sell the Swedish Saab brand to Dutch luxury automaker Spyker Cars, according to a person briefed on the talks. No agreement has yet been signed, the person said, although trading of Spyker shares was suspended yesterday in Amsterdam in anticipation of the deal being finalized. A Dutch regulator said the trading was halted “pending a press statement” by the company. An announcement could come after the market closes in Amsterdam, which is 11:30 am EST (1630 GMT). Spyker Cars NV spokesman Mike Stainton has declined comment on why trading was suspended. Shares were up 2.8 percent at €3.90 ($5.50) before the regulators stepped in. Spyker’s shares leapt 70 percent Monday on speculation about the Saab deal. The companies said Monday they were in talks but had not reached a deal. On Monday, GM CEO Ed Whitacre Jr. said the automaker is in “advanced talks” with Spyker but was continuing to phase out Saab’s operations. The sale of Saab is part of GM’s restructuring plan as it tries to recover from last year’s short stay under US bankruptcy protection. The company is dumping the Saturn and Pontiac brands and is trying to sell Hummer to a Chinese heavy equipment maker. It wants to focus on four core brands: Buick, Chevrolet, GMC and
Cadillac. GM has begun winding Saab down, though its 3,400 employees have not yet been laid off. A deal for Spyker to buy Saab by itself is unlikely: Spyker sold 23 cars in the first half of 2009, its most recent reporting period, and it posted a net loss of €8.7 million. The 6year-old company has yet to make a profit, but it says funding for its operations have been guaranteed through 2010. Money for a deal to buy Saab could come from Spyker’s largest shareholder, Russia’s Conversbank Financial Group, or other shareholders. It would also likely involve a large loan from the European Investment Bank, backed by the government of Sweden. Stainton said the financial structuring of a deal would only be made public at the time it was announced. Spyker’s shares have been rising since its Chairman Victor Muller first began a public campaign wooing GM in early December. Saab Automobile sold around 90,000 cars in 2008, a 30 percent decline from 2007. With another sharp sales decline expected, it filed for protection from creditors while it reorganized in February 2009. Saab’s US sales last year amounted to only 8,680, down 59 percent from 2008 as consumers stayed away from the brand due to uncertainty over its future. GM filed for bankruptcy itself in June and previous attempts to sell Saab by a Dec. 31 deadline failed. — AP
Human Dimensions announces launching of ‘Thomas International Middle East’ KUWAIT: In the framework of its expansion in the Kuwaiti market and regional levels, Human Dimensions (HDC), a Kuwaiti company and a subsidiary of Altanmiya Holding Co, announces the launching of its new division - “Thomas International Middle East”. Ghassan Ahmed, the General Manager of Human Dimensions Company has announced on January 12th 2010, the establishment of its new division, “Thomas International Middle East”, which will be dedicated to providing consultation services utilizing Thomas International Systems’ psychometric tests and job profiling assessments. Thomas International ME is now working in the field and offering its human resources products and services to companies in Kuwait, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Sultanate of Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Yemen, Iran, and Iraq. Leveraging its expertise and in-house talent, the division serves every company that it works with, develop a stronger, more productive, and cohesive staff that is equipped to
meet the challenges of modern business in the global environment. Thomas International ME plans to expand in the MENA countries through partnerships, with the aim of assigning partners, offering our partners the ideal solutions and services in assisting companies to achieve low turnover and high workforce productivity. In addition, we will be organizing monthly workshops for a period of “one day” intended to bring about awareness among HR managers and other decision makers, including an introduction to the DISC theory in measuring psychological traits in the work environment, applying the Thomas personal profile analysis (PPA), and human job analysis (HJA) systems to determine the Thomas psychological characteristics of individuals, and the psychological requirements of jobs, respectively. Throughout the year, Thomas International ME will be organizing specialized seminars that cover HR development and assessment topics, featuring the latest advances in this constantly changing field.
Last month, Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Ali Al-Naimi said the kingdom had signed a deal to put “millions of barrels” of crude oil in commercial storage in the Okinawa islands in southern Japan. For the kingdom, the ability to store at no cost crude that can be shipped in a matter of days to its Asian buyers, and in Japan, from which it is seeking more direct investment, was seen as helping to seal the deal. For Japan, which picks up the tab, the deal brings the right to be able to purchase the stored crude first, an especially valuable option in times of shortages during emergencies. The likely destination for storage of the Saudi crude is the Okinawa Oil Base, a crude storage facility jointly owned by Japan refiners Nippon Oil Corp and Cosmo Oil. Not only does the facility have the space to store the 5 million to 6 million barrels of mostly Arab Extra Light
laid the groundw ork to use storage in the region in a bid to expand markets and possibly start short-haul sales. “The Saudis w ant to put the crude in as soon as possible in order to deepen relations w ith China, India and Southeast Asia, so they are frustrated by the delay,” one industry official said.
and Arab Light grades the Saudis are looking to park, it also offers supertankers the capability to dock directly at port to transfer crude oil. The terms of the final agreement will likely mirror those of one finalized last month, by which Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) agreed to store crude at Nippon Oil’s Kiire reserve base. But before that happens, a big hurdle needs to be cleared. “When ADNOC put crude in Kiire there were open tanks, but they don’t have any open tanks down there,” said an industry source who spoke on condition of anonymity. Strategic petroleum reserves in not only Okinawa, but all across the archipelago, are filled, likely forcing Japan’s government to offer up crude in storage on the spot market to make space for the Saudi grades. “It will probably be offered by closed tender to Japanese refineries,” and trading houses, a crude trader at a Japanese trading firm said. “But there were all these
restrictions, such as having to use Japanese registered vessels, and it couldn’t be sold outside Japan,” the trader added. Custom clearance with duties and petroleum tax has already been paid on up to 70 percent of the crude oil stored at OCC, making it pricy to sell within Japan, since domestic vessels are required and difficult to sell abroad, one industry source said. “If we could get some of the cargoes cheaply there is a chance we’d take some, but the likelihood of that happening is slim to none, I think,” said a crude buyer for a Japanese refiner. All these factors look like keeping Saudi from taking advantage of storage facilities in Okinawa soon. “These issues are not something that can be settled quickly and easily, I think it will take some time, at least a year, maybe even two or three,” a senior crude trader at a Japanese refiner said. — Reuters
Egypt’s OCI, Morgan Stanley form infrastructure JV CAIRO: Egypt’s Orascom Construction Industries (OCI) has formed a 50/50 joint venture with Morgan Stanley to develop and invest in infrastructure in the Middle East and Africa, the companies said yesterday. Governments across the region, particularly of oilrich Gulf states, are pouring billions into infrastructure to battle the global downturn. OCI has focused on projects such as transport and water treatment since Egypt unveiled its stimulus packages. The firms have put up hundreds of millions of dollars for the venture, and plan to boost that to billions through debt and taking other partners, OCI Chief Executive Nassef Sawiris told Reuters, declining to give specifics because of legal regulations. Sawiris said that Morgan Stanley would bring a great deal to the venture “in terms of its networking, putting structure into the venture, as well as financing. They will support us in deal initiation through some of their global partners.” The deal could help OCI, Egypt’s biggest listed builder, juggle more work by providing a partner willing to absorb some of the risk that comes with longterm projects. Morgan Stanley would benefit from OCI’s regional expertise, analysts said. “From Morgan Stanley’s side it’s obvious they want to get in with someone who is pretty strong in execution, with a lot of relationships in the region, with a big workload,” said Beltone analyst Ismail Sadek. “It’s a good deal for Morgan Stanley.” The venture is studying investments in power generation, port construction, waste water management and other projects, Sawiris said. “Obviously the countries where we are strongly present will probably have the larger deals,” he added, listing Egypt, Algeria and Gulf Arab countries. As of September 2009, infrastructure projects represented 60 percent of OCI’s $7.2 billion backlog of outstanding projects, the construction firm said. Morgan Stanley Infrastructure, an investment platform, manages $4 billion of investments. “The coming decade will require higher investment rates in infrastructure to sustain economic growth in the Middle East and Africa,” Global Head of Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Sadek Wahba said in a statement. Shares in OCI traded down 0.1 percent by 1055 GMT, less than the benchmark index <.EGX30>, which shed 1.4 percent in a broad sell-off. OCI, which lists its shares in Cairo and London, has interests in construction and fertiliser production. Many analysts predict it will do well this year as fertilizer prices continue to rise. “2010, as expected, is proving to be a stronger global fertiliser demand year. Prices are moving up and demand is picking up,” Sawiris said. “We think 2010 will be a solid year, and will continue in 2011.” — Reuters
Wataniya Telecom becomes golden sponsor of Concours D’ Elegance KUWAIT: Wataniya Telecom, over and above, continues to reach thriving relationship with community, and decided to take part in one of the most highly-regarded, judged exotic car show in the world. Wataniya Telecom stands up as the golden sponsor to a one of a kind event aims at presenting luxurious yet prestigious classic cars show called Concours d’ Elegance which was held Jan 21. The first event for Concours d’ Elegance in Kuwait has highlighted on the Kuwaiti people’s great passion for automobiles and showcased cars the country has had since 1910’s decade when the first car, a Belgium-made Minerva arrived on its shores. In fact, the year 2010 marks the 100th anniversary since the first car entered Kuwait thanks to Sheik Mubarak bin Sabah Al Sabah (1896-1915). “Our initiative in being the golden sponsor of the Concours D’ Elegance comes from our faith in the charming unique and new events to take place in Kuwait, and we strongly believe
Kuwaiti society deserves to be part in this. Wataniya is honored to have sponsored the four days automobile event and aiming to take part in more similar creative events.” Abdul Aziz Al-Balool PR Manager at Wataniya expressed. It was a very successful event, as it attracted a big number of intrigued and interested audiences, Wataniya is very proud to have contributed to the event’s success. Prizes according to the car type were given out to the participants. Some of the categories of cars of which prizes were given were: Best Preserved Car, Most Elegant Car, Vintage Class, Modern Classic & Post-War Classics. For those who have passion and exquisite taste for unique and elegant cars, they have undeniably enjoyed the show. The event was held at Marina Crescent Jan 20th to 24th 2010 under the patronage of Prime Minister HH Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Ahmad AlJaber Al-Sabah.
Incredible India promotion kicks off in Abu Dhabi
ABU DHABI: Indian Ambassador Talmiz Ahamed along with Yusuffali MA and other officials checking out some of the products on display as part of the Incredible India promotion being held at Lulu hypermarkets. Also seen in the picture are EMKE Group CEO Saifee Rupawala, Bajaj Electricals CMD Shekhar Bajaj and Eastern Group Managing Director Nawas Meeran.
ABU DHABI: The 15-day-long India festival kicked off in Abu Dhabi yesterday. The festival being hosted by LULU hypermarkets in the UAE in association with India Tourism Promotion council and Eastern Group, was inaugurated by Indian Ambassador Talmiz Ahamed. The festival will showcase a range of traditional art forms, cuisines, products and host of entertainment acts and contests. After the inauguration Talmiz Ahamed said, “It’s really a very good initiative to showcase the rich heritage of India especially as Indian Republic day is on 26th January. The multicultural residents of UAE can enjoy the rich fare of Indian cuisine, handicrafts, and fruits &vegetables and the cultural performances. I am sure these kind of steps go a long way in further strengthening the long standing Indo-UAE relationship”. Some of the specialty items on display include an 86 kilo single tapioca root, an Elephant Yam weighing 58 kg, Lemon weighing 6 kg and other rare and huge vegetables &
fruits. Special counters have been set up to sample and sell a large variety of Indian delicacies ranging from snacks and short eats from different parts of India to Biriyanis and other authentic dishes from all over India. “This is part of our policy to showcase the specialties of different countries of the world. We have already conducted festivals of Italy, UK, Thailand, Indonesia, Canada and Australia and next month we will be having the Philippine festival. This not only helps us reach out to the multi-ethnic community of UAE but also bring in a new dimension to shopping and retail” stressed Yusuffali MA, Managing Director of Lulu Hypermarket group. Folklore artists have been specially flown in from India and they will be performing daily at different Lulu stores throughout the UAE. To add to the theme, shoppers have a chance to win one of the 100 all expenses paid holiday packages to 3 exotic Indian destinations i.e., Agra (Taj Mahal), Jaipur or Munnar (Cochin).
ABU DHABI: Indian Ambassador Talmiz Ahamed along with Yusuffali MA and other officials checking out some of the rare Indian vegetables on display as part of the Incredible India promotion being held at Lulu hypermarkets.
24
BUSINESS
Kuwait stocks turn bearish Global Daily Market Report KUWAIT: The Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) along with most GCC stock markets ended yesterday’s trading session in the red, reversing Monday’s gains. Furthermore, the market witnessed losses in all indicators and a majority of the sectors backed by losses in several of the blue chip stocks. Global General Index (GGI) shed 0.94 points (-0.51 percent) during yesterday’s session to reach 183.39 points. Furthermore, the KSE Price Index decreased by 15.40 points (-0.22 percent) yesterday and closed at 7,068.60 points. Market capitalization was down KD153.96mn today to reach KD29.94bn. Market breadth During the session, 131 companies were traded. Market breadth was skewed towards decliners as 69 equities retreated versus 34 that advanced. A total of 102 stocks remained unchanged during yesterday’s trading session. Trading activities ended on a mixed note yesterday as volume of shares traded on the exchange decreased by 7.55 percent to reach 601.91mn shares. However, value of shares traded increased by 3.24 percent to stand at KD70.43mn. The Investment Sector was the volume leader for the day, accounting for 33.54 percent of total shares traded. The same sector was also the value leader, accounting for 28.10 percent of total market value. International Financial Advisors saw 82mn shares changing hands at a total traded value of KD9.05mn, making it the volume and value leader for yesterday. In terms of top gainers, United Industries Company was the top gainer in the market, adding 9.26 percent and closed at KD0.118. On the other hand, Aqar Real Estate Investment
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Dubai hits 7-week low on S&P spat; stocks fall MIDEAST STOCK MARKETS
Company was the biggest decliner for the day, dropping by 7.27 percent and closed at KD0.102. Regarding Global’s sectoral indices, they all ended on a negative note, except for Global Insurance Index which was unchanged and Global Industrial Index which was the only gainer. The index ended the day up 0.77 percent backed by United Industries Company being the top gainer in the market. Furthermore, Kuwait Cement Company posted a 1.69 percent gain during yesterday’s trading session and closed at KD0.600. In terms of decliners, Global Food Index took the top spot, down 4.44 percent. Heavyweight Kuwait Foodstuff Company
(Americana) was the reason for the index’s decline. The scrip ended the day down 5.63 percent and closed at KD1.340. Livestock Transport &Trading Company was the other scrip in the sector that ended in the red, down 1.43 percent and closed at KD0.345. Global Non-Kuwaiti Index was the second biggest decliner in the market with a 1.74 percent loss backed by several companies in the sector ending in the red and only one gainer. Egypt Kuwait Holding Company and Ahli United Bank were contributing factors to the index’s decline by ending the day down 4.92 percent and 1.32 percent, respectively.
Global’s special indices also ended on a negative note today with Global High Yield Index being the top loser. The index ended the day down 2.38 percent backed by heavyweight Kuwait Foodstuff Company (Americana). The price of OPEC basket of twelve crudes stood at $71.97 a barrel on Monday 25/1/2010, compared with $73.02 the previous Friday, according to OPEC Secretariat calculations. The Kuwaiti crude oil decreased $1.88 in Monday’s trading to settle at $71.23 per barrel compared with last Friday’s trading, according to the Kuwaiti Petroleum Corporation (KPC) yesterday.
Kuwait’s Ambassador to Malaysia Monthir Al-Isa has stressed that local and foreign investors were equally treated according to Kuwaiti laws. Among the major attractive laws for foreign investors is the law decreasing taxes from 55 percent to 15 percent and the law on the protection foreign investors and treating them as local investors, he said. Kuwait encouraged foreign investments, allowed non-Kuwaitis to own shares in Kuwaiti shareholding companies, and combated money laundering. The law regulating direct investments of foreign capitals in Kuwait allowed foreign ownership to reach 100 percent, he added.
DUBAI: Dubai’s bourse slunk to a seven-week low yesterday, a day after Standard & Poors ended coverage on a top Dubai company. Most Middle East markets also declined, tracking declines in world markets and oil prices as fears mounted over the pace of a global economic recovery. Dubai’s index fell 3.6 percent to its lowest level since Dec 9. On Monday, S&P cut and then withdrew its rating for Dubai Holding Commercial Group (DHCOG), which is owned by the emirate’s ruler, citing the firm’s “materially weaker” cash position and a lack of information. The S&P move was the latest blow to the emirate’s financial reputation and follows government-owned Dubai World’s shock debt standstill request in November. “Are people in the full knowledge of the facts? The answer is no and so investors can’t make cogent investment decisions,” said Keith Edwards, head of asset management at Dohabased The First Investor. “The opacity of Dubai throughout this whole debacle has led to more severe problems-it’s all about disclosure and we can’t answer how big the problem is.” This uncertainty is heightening selling pressure, with investors taking the safe option and exiting the market. If you don’t have full disclosure, you can’t price in the investment risk, which means the market becomes more speculative,” said Edwards. Emaar Properties lost 7.6 percent, while Union Properties fell the maximum 10 percent as Credit Suisse cut its price target for the developer. “Retail traders are mainly driving the market, which continues to be very volatile - this is to be expected until we see Q4 figures and can gauge the direction of the market,” said Chamel Fahmy, Beltone Financial regional senior sales trader. Saudi Arabia’s index fell for the first day in three after Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC) dropped 2.2 percent in its biggest one-day loss for nine weeks as sliding oil prices spurred investors to sell petrochemical stocks. “Saudi investors are worried international markets will correct, especially after Obama’s bank plan - this will create volatility and could change the direction of global markets,” said Youssef Kassantini, head of discretionary portfolio management at Rasmala Investment Saudi. On Thursday, US President Barack Obama announced plans to curb US banks’ proprietary
trading. Japan’s Nikkei fell to a five-week closing low and European shares were also down after China clamped down on lending, potentially dampening a global recovery, while Standard & Poor’s also cut its rating outlook on Japan. Oil prices fell on fears China’s initiative could limit demand for crude in the world’s secondlargest energy user. Crude fell 1.1 percent to $74.46 a barrel at 1334 GMT and is on course for its lowest close for five weeks. Egypt’s index fell for a third day after Orascom Telecom (OT) lost 6.4 percent ahead of a rights issue. Bank Muscat climbed 4.1 percent, despite reporting a fourth-quarter loss on larger-thanexpected provisions, helping Oman’s index to end higher. “Going forward, it looks like the bank has written off its bad loans and the market doesn’t expect it to make further provisions,” said Sayed Quadry, vice-president of business development at Amwal Investment in Muscat. “After two days of gains, I would expect some profit-taking on the market tomorrow.” YESTERDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS DUBAI The index fell 3.6 percent to 1,556 points. ABU DHABI The benchmark dropped 0.4 percent to 2,599 points. SAUDI ARABIA The measure fell 0.9 percent to 6,256 points. EGYPT The index fell 1.3 percent to 6,569 points. OMAN The index climbed 0.5 percent to 6,439 points. KUWAIT The index slipped 0.2 percent to 7,068 points. QATAR The measure fell 2 percent to 6,576 points. BAHRAIN The index fell 0.2 percent to 1,472 points. —Reuters
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
BUSINESS
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Traders fear China slowdown would stunt global recovery
China tightening worries spook investors, hit stocks SHANGHAI: Fears of more Chinese policy tightening spooked global markets yesterday after Beijing ordered some banks to comply immediately with a planned increase in reserves and a report suggested earlier attempts at curbing lending had failed. The developments prompted concern that the central bank would get more aggressive about reining in credit to fend off inflation
JAKARTA: The company sign of a Matahari Department Store is seen in their new building in Jakarta yesterday. US-based global equities group CVC Capital Partners has agreed to take over Indonesia’s biggest department store chain for $765 million, local media reports said yesterday.— AFP
Indonesia to kick off $1bn green investment fund JAKARTA: Indonesia plans a $1 billion green investment fund this year to drive infrastructure developments that aid growth and help cut greenhouse gas emissions, a finance ministry official said yesterday. Indonesia has promised to slash its emissions by at least 26 percent from business as usual levels by 2020 but recently re-elected President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has also vowed to boost economic growth to 7 percent or more by 2014. At global climate talks in Copenhagen last month, Yudhoyono announced a plan to develop the Indonesia Green Investment Fund, which will catalyze infrastructure development that could speed economic growth, boost food and clean water production and also help cut emissions blamed for global warming. Indonesia’s sovereign wealth fund the Government Investment Unit will put $100 million into the fund and a further $900 million will come from foreign governments including Norway and Australia, plus institutional investors, said Edward Gustely, a senior adviser to the Ministry of Finance. “We’re in the initial stages but the target is to have this fund operational within this year,” Gustely told Reuters, adding the fund would rival Brazil’s Amazon Fund in size and scope. “There’s no reason why this can’t, in the next five years, scale to $5 billion or more.” Brazil launched its Amazon Fund last year to promote sustainable development and scientific research in the world’s largest rain forest, with donations from European countries and the first projects unveiled last month. Indonesia last year became the first country to launch a legal framework for a UN-backed scheme
called Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation, allowing polluters to earn tradeable carbon credits by paying developing nations not to chop down their trees. Indonesia’s green investment fund will not offer loans or grants but rather top-up funding needed for projects where a bank lender is seeking an additional equity injection. “Many technology providers and project sponsors don’t have the balance sheet to top up the required equity needed to secure financing,” said Gustely. “We would come in and play a catalyst role to ensure good projects with good asset quality, with good expertise and proper management, can be deployed and proceed.” The Copenhagen talks failed to achieve a legally binding agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions but projects like the Indonesia Green Investment Fund were a way for countries to take initiative at home, said Gustely. “This is driven by how to create more food, water and energy in a sustainable fashion while trying to achieve Indonesia’s growth objectives,” he said. Fitrian Ardiansyah, climate change program director for WWF Indonesia, welcomed the fund but said more needed to be done to reduce Indonesia’s greenhouse gas emissions. “The Indonesian government heavily subsidies fossil fuels, but investment in renewable energy sources is too expensive. The government must help the private sector by making investment in renewable energy sources cheaper, which will address the problem. But at the moment coal plants continue to be built, which does not help,” he said. — Reuters
Qu Hongbin, chief China economist with HSBC in Hong Kong, said five major banks had suggested they had received instructions from authorities last week to slow new lending, but not stop it. “We continue to expect more quantitative tightening measures to cool new lending in the coming months,” Qu wrote in a note to clients, adding that he expects a rate increase as early as the second quarter. “That said, we do not believe that Beijing will slam the brakes on credit growth this year, not least because Beijing also has other more effective policy tools to deal with rising overheating risk-slowing down the pace of new infrastructure projects,” he said. China has been one of the main drivers of the global economic recovery in the absence of a strong rebound in the West and investors fear a slowdown there would stunt its demand for commodities and other imported goods. The punitive increase in the amount of reserves some banks have to set aside, which was ordered last week, also came after a newspaper report said China’s efforts to curb bank lending were meeting with mixed success, fueling fears that policymakers may take tougher action soon. Chinese banks extended 1.45 trillion yuan ($212 billion) in new loans during the first 19 days of the year as they scrambled to front-load lending, the 21st Century Business Herald reported, suggesting that Beijing is finding it hard to slow robust credit growth which the government fears could lead to the economy overheating. The People’s Bank of China has been
and asset bubbles, potentially dragging on growth in the world’s third-largest economy. China implemented a planned increase in required reserves for some banks yesterday, sources said, sparking heavy selling of Asian stocks that underscored how sensitive global investors are becoming to Beijing’s tightening of monetary policy.
BEIJING: Chinese laborers clear a piece of land as heavy machinery continue to tear down a remaining building to make way for construction of a new highrise building in Beijing yesterday. Property prices in Chinese cities continued to soar in December 2009, raising concerns that speculators were creating a property bubble and that a significant portion of the government’s $586 billion stimulus package had been channeled into asset markets.— AFP withdrawing funds from money markets over the past several weeks, and earlier this month started pushing short-term bill rates higher. High-ranking officials have been warning bankers of the dangers of excessive lending for months, amid reports that some of the money from loans was being used to speculate in property and stock markets. China’s tightening moves come as investors around the world are increasingly worrying that the global recovery may lose momentum as authorities unwind emergency stimulus
policies put in place to combat the global recession. South Korea reported yesterday that its recovery lost steam by the end of last year due to waning government spending, and analysts say it now faces a more serious threat if demand ebbs in China, its biggest export market. Other data showed Britain finally crept out of recession in the fourth quarter, but only just and with far weaker growth than expected. China’s central bank surprised markets yesterday by leaving yields unchanged in its closely watched one-year bill
sale, after increasing them in the two previous auctions. But analysts said it was likely only a pause in tightening aimed at leaving enough cash in the system for the long Lunar New Year holidays which begin in the middle of next month. “The auction result shows the central bank wants to stabilize expectations a bit to avoid large market swings. So it is pausing the uptrend in bill yields,” said Liu Jinyui, analyst at China Merchants Bank in Shenzhen. Taiwan’s benchmark index suffered its biggest one-day drop in six months while the
Shanghai Composite and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index both dropped 2.4 percent in a broad Asia equity retreat. Commodities and higheryielding currencies also fell while the yen jumped as investors moved into lower-risk assets considered to be safer havens. Reuters reported last week that CITIC Bank, the country’s seventh-largest bank, and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), the top lender, had been instructed to raise their reserve ratios after excessive lending. Chinese media reported that other big lenders had suspended lending in some areas of the country. The Guangzhou Daily said the Bank of China had suspended lending in the southern city of Guangzhou, and that some branches of China Construction Bank and Agricultural Bank of China had also stopped making new loans for now. The crackdown on banks followed the PBOC’s first moves to wind down the ultra-loose monetary conditions that had helped fuel the economy’s rapid rebound, which in turn buoyed the economies of many of its Asian neighbors. It raised overall bank reserve requirements on Jan. 12, a move that went into effect Jan. 18, but some analysts noted those moves may have only prompted some lenders to push out loans even faster ahead of implementation of the measures. Many analysts expect the central bank to resume gradual tightening following the Lunar New Year holidays in midFebruary, eventually leading to increases in benchmark interest rates. — Reuters
Mauritius CB predicts 4.5% growth in 2010
SEOUL: South Korean men walk past a commercial sign in a shopping district of Seoul yesterday. South Korea’s GDP growth slowed in the fourth quarter, but the central bank maintained its forecast of a strong expansion this year for Asia’s fourth largest economy.— AFP
South Korean economic growth slows to 0.2% SEOUL: South Korea’s economic growth sputtered to a near halt in the final three months of 2009 following vigorous expansions the previous two quarters as exports and consumer spending shrank. Gross domestic product grew 0.2 percent in the three months ended Dec. 31 compared with the previous quarter, the Bank of Korea said yesterday. GDP had expanded 3.2 percent in the third quarter, the strongest performance in more than seven years. Economists shrugged off the latest number largely as a necessary correction and said South Korea — Asia’s fourth-largest economy — is likely to grow close to 5 percent this year, a solid performance. But some said the slower growth will add to pressure on the central bank to leave interet rates at a record low for now. Oh Suk-tae, regional head of research at Standard Chartered First Bank Korea in Seoul, said the expansion in the second and third quarters was simply “too strong” and the economy was taking a break. “This kind of slowdown is quite natural,” said Oh, who calculated the 0.2 percent growth figure as equaling an annualized expansion of 0.7 percent. The central bank does not issue an annualized figure. Asian countries have been leading a recovery in the world economy, which slumped in the aftermath of the global financial crisis that erupted in September 2008. Though China and India are growing at a torrid pace, some economies — including Japan, Australia and Singapore — have shown signs of renewed weakness. David Cohen, director of Asian economic forecasting at Action Economics in Singapore, remained
optimistic about the region’s growth prospects, citing strong December export data. “It’s still looking quite promising,” he said. South Korea’s economy grew in every quarter in 2009 after shrinking 5.1 percent in the final three months of 2008 amid the collapse in demand for exports. The Bank of Korea steadily slashed its benchmark interest rate to a record low 2 percent and the government pumped nearly 50 trillion won ($43.4 billion) of stimulus into the economy in the form of extra spending and tax cuts from late 2008 through 2009 as authorities worldwide took similar measures to revive growth. South Korea’s economy began a slow ascent, growing 0.1 percent in the first quarter, 2.6 percent in the second and 3.2 percent in the third, boosted by a gradual recovery in export markets and aided by weakness in the South Korean won, which made the country’s products more competitive, particularly against Japanese rivals. But in the fourth quarter, manufacturing contracted 1.3 percent, construction shrank 1.4 percent and exports fell 1.8 percent, the central bank said, putting the brakes on growth. Private spending — which includes outlays by consumers — shrank 0.1 percent. The central bank said that GDP expanded 0.2 percent in 2009, though that was sharply down from the 2.2 percent growth recorded the year before. It also marked the worst annual performance since a 5.7 percent contraction in 1998 when the country was mired in the Asian financial crisis. Standard Chartered First Bank Korea’s Oh said he expects GDP to grow 4.8 percent this year. — AP
ANTANANARIVO: Mauritius’ economy will expand by 4.5 percent in 2010, up from an earlier government forecast of 4.3 percent, barring any policy change or major external shock, the head of the central bank said. Governor Rundheersing Bheenick told Reuters that an upward revision for the global economy by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) would provide the Indian Ocean island’s almost $10 billion economy with an “upwards pull”. “It seems like the (global) recovery will be robust and we can only benefit from that,” Bheenick told Reuters in a telephone interview late on Monday. “Although there are some worries about the timing and coordination of exit strategies in major markets, we do not believe there is any risk of a double dip or prolonged stagnation,” he said. Gross domestic product growth slowed to 2.8 percent in 2009 from an above 5 percent average for the previous three years, as demand for key exports dropped and local consumer demand crumpled. The Indian Ocean island exports textiles and sugar and is a popular tourism destination for visitors from Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia. It also has a thriving offshore financial sector. Bheenick said he expected headline annual inflation to accelerate to 3 percent by June 2010 from 2.5 percent in December. The year-on-year inflation rate, a measure some analysts follow closely, would reach 4 percent in June, up from December’s 1.5
percent, he said. But he said inflationary pressures at home were under control with external shocks from rising commodity, oil and food prices presenting the greatest risk to consumer prices on the importdependent island. “With none of these on the cards right now we do not see any reason to be nervous about inflation.” He said the currency reflected fundamentals and he foresaw no need to change the bank’s key repo rate. Bheenick also insisted his job was safe after an increasingly acrimonious feud among the board at the Bank of Mauritius forced him in November to reject calls from a majority of board members to resign. The Monetary Policy Committee’s next scheduled meeting is in March, although the governor has been under pressure from exporters to call an early MPC meeting. “We do not see any need for monetary easing. We have no major credit shortage. On the contrary, we have a slight credit overhang which we are trying to mop up.” The central bank, he said, had freed up the foreign exchange market with weekly spot-tothree-month forward swap transactions since late December that have totalled some 100 million rupees ($3.4 million). Mauritius’ currency appreciated to a 14-month high of 27.90 rupees to the dollar on Dec. 15. “The forex market had almost seized up as exporters hoarded their (foreign) currency and began clamouring for an immediate depreciation.” — Reuters
MANILA: Protesters from a women’s group hold cups filled with sugarless coffee and bread during a protest at the department of trade office in the financial district of Manila yesterday to symbolize their demand for the government to enforce strict regulation on sugar and bread prices. — AFP
Aer Lingus sees revenue decline, tweaks model DUBLIN: Lossmaking Irish airline Aer Lingus will introduce new “additional” paid products for passengers in an attempt to reverse a trend of falling revenues in 2010, it said yesterday in reporting lower than expected bookings for the first quarter. The former state airline, which has fended off two takeover attempts by Irish rival Ryanair, has said it would have to cut costs and jobs to safeguard its independence. It said yesterday that in 2009 it had made an operating loss and burnt through 400 million euros ($566 million) in gross cash but had a strong balance sheet with sufficient liquidity for investment needs in the short term and for lease repayments. To enhance revenue, it said it would “unbundle” paid product options for passengers, offering low
fares for the majority with additional premium “enhancements” on demand. Ryanair, which has some of the industry’s lowest costs and carries six times as many passengers as Aer Lingus, makes money from “ancillary revenue” by charging extra for such things as meals and baggage and has even toyed with the idea of charging a toilet fee. “The group currently expects 2010 full year revenues to be lower than 2009, with the first half of 2010 being particularly weak,” Aer Lingus said in a statement ahead of a presentation for investors. “In addition, the severe weather conditions of January 2010 have resulted in a lower than expected level of bookings for the first quarter of 2010,” it added. — Reuters
Toyota plans to sell 8.27 million vehicles TOKYO: Toyota said yesterday it plans to sell 8.27 million vehicles worldwide this year, up 6 percent from 2009, showing the world’s No 1 automaker is optimistic about recovery after being battered by the global slowdown. Toyota Motor Corp — which makes the Prius hybrid, Lexus luxury model and Camry sedan — sold 7.81 million vehicles worldwide in 2009, down 13 percent from the previous year. The number includes group companies Daihatsu Motor Co, which makes small models, and truckmaker Hino Motors. Toyota had appeared almost unstoppable until the financial crisis of late 2008 struck, sending auto demand in the US and other parts of the world
crashing. It sold 8.972 million vehicles globally in 2008, and expectations were high it would top 10 million in coming years. In 2010, sales in Japan are expected to grow 7 percent to 2.13 million vehicles, while overseas sales were expected to grow 6 percent to 6.14 million, according to Toyota. Toyota’s president normally holds an annual news conferences to announce the sales targets. But the announcement this year came in a release. Toyota President Akio Toyoda, the grandson of the company’s founder, who took office last year, has been playing down growth ambitions, making comments that stress the crisis the company faces and its need to
return to basics to make appealing cars. The automaker has also suffered a huge blow to its image in announcing two massive recalls within the space of two months in the US to fix accelerator pedals that get stuck. Last week, Toyota said it was recalling 2.3 million vehicles in the US In November, it had recalled 4.2 million vehicles due to gas pedals that could become trapped under floor mats, causing sudden acceleration. That problem was the cause of several crashes, including some fatalities. Some vehicles were involved in both recalls. In recent years, Toyota had been aggressive in moving into small trucks and other larger vehicles that deliver bigger
profits in the North American market, rather than sticking to the small cars on which Japanese automakers had built their reputation. Rival Honda Motor Co chose to stick to small models, avoiding the big losses Toyota has suffered in the last two fiscal years. Like other Japanese automakers, Toyota has been shifting its focus to China and other Asian markets for growth opportunities as auto sales in the US and Japan have largely stagnated despite some signs of recovery. Toyota expects to sell more than 800,000 vehicles in China this year, up 13 percent from last year, and 62,000 vehicles in India, up 12 percent. — AP
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Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Japan central bank keeps interest rate unchanged TOKYO: Japan’s central bank kept interest rates just above zero yesterday, pledging to fight deflation and preserve recovery in the world’s second-biggest economy. The Bank of Japan policy board voted unanimously to keep the overnight call rate target at 0.1 percent, as widely expected even amid a resurgent yen. The central bank has maintained the superlow interest rate since December 2008 when it was cut from 0.3 percent. Helped by export demand from emerging economies, Japan’s economy is improving, the central bank said. But it expects stagnant growth until the middle of next fiscal year starting April. “Japan’s economy is picking up mainly due to various policy measures taken at home and abroad, although there is not yet sufficient momentum to support a self-sustaining recovery in domestic private demand,” Bank of Japan Gov Masaaki Shirakawa told reporters. The central bank yesterday narrowed its forecast for economic contraction and now projects gross domestic product to fall 2.5 percent this fiscal year through March. In October, it had predicted a 3.2 percent contraction. The board expects GDP to expand 1.3 percent next fiscal year, up from 1.2 percent it forecast in October. On the deflation front, however, the central bank said prices will probably keep falling for
S&P lowers Japan credit rating outlook
TOKYO: Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa (R) listens to questions during a press conference at the BOJ headquarters in Tokyo yesterday. —AFP another couple of years. It pledged to maintain an extremely easy monetary policy to help boost prices. “The central bank recognizes that it is a critical challenge for Japan’s economy to overcome deflation and return to a sustainable growth path
with price stability,” Shirakawa said. Deflation can drag down an economy by lowering company profits, leading to wage cuts and postponed purchases by wary consumers. Japan is especially sensitive to the issue after experiencing the “Lost Decade”
in the 1990s, when it was beset by extended price falls. Japan’s recovery also faces other headwinds, including a resurgent yen. The Japanese currency has gained about 3 percent against the dollar since the beginning of the year. The dollar fell
TOKYO: Standard & Poor’s lowered its assessment of Japan’s fiscal health yesterday, threatening a credit rating cut if the economy stays weak and debt remains sky high. In a surprise move, S&P affirmed the country’s “AA” long-term debt rating but revised its outlook to “negative” from “stable.” “The outlook change reflects our view that the Japanese government’s diminishing economic policy flexibility may lead to a downgrade unless measures can be taken to stem fiscal and deflationary pressures,” S&P said in a statement. Japan shoulders the biggest public debt burden among industrialized countries and S&P predicts the country’s debt will balloon to 115 percent of gross domestic product over the next several years. Other developed nations including Britain and the US could also face headwinds for their credit ratings as government debt swells due to massive deficit spending to prop up struggling economies. With Japan struggling to sustain a fragile economic recovery, its young government has prioritized economy-boosting spending over fiscal discipline. Lifting the purchasing power of voters has become all the more important amid a slide in Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama’s approval ratings. Recent media polls have shown voters growing increasingly disenchanted with the Democrats since to 89.86 yen yesterday afternoon. A strong yen hurts the competitiveness of exporters like Toyota Motor Corp and Sony Corp and erodes the value of their overseas earnings. The central bank last month introduced a 10 trillion yen ($111 billion)
they swept into power last summer. A top party official is mired in a fundraising scandal, and Hatoyama was forced to replace his finance minister when Hirohisa Fujii quit earlier this month due to health problem. A new stimulus package worth 7.2 trillion yen ($80 billion) in spending passed the lower house Monday and is set for upper house approval later this week. Next on the agenda is a record $1 trillion budget for the next fiscal year starting April, which will require the government to issue some 44.3 trillion yen ($492 billion) in bonds. “The policies of the new Democratic Party of Japan government point to a slower pace of fiscal consolidation than we had previously expected,” S&P said. S&P is maintaining Japan’s “AA” rating — its third highest — for now based on international assets, the yen’s status as a reserve currency, the financial system’s resilience and the diverse economy. Japan’s gold and foreign exchange reserves of more than $1 trillion are second only to China’s, it said. The credit rating agency said it will be monitoring policy, particularly Japan’s medium-term fiscal plan scheduled for release by mid-year. Christian Carrillo, senior rates strategist at Societe Generale in Tokyo, suspects Japan’s sovereign credit rating might take a hit if the government is forced to issue more than 44.3 trillion yen in bonds, “which might happen in the second half of 2010.” —AP
loan program in an attempt to foster liquidity after the yen rose to a 14year high against the dollar. Analysts said the bank may have to do more in the coming months. “The need for more quantitative easing is as strong as ever,” said
Testufumi Yamakawa, chief Japan economist at Goldman Sachs. Probable options include extending the low-interest lending facility or buying more short-term government bonds, Yamakawa said in a report. —AP
Britain crawls out of recession but Q4 growth disappoints Weak figures cast doubt over recovery, blow for Labor LONDON: Britain only just crept out of an 18-month recession at the end of 2009, suggesting any monetary tightening remains a long way off and raising fears about the prospects for recovery ahead of an election due by June. The Office for National Statistics said yesterday gross domestic product rose by
0.1 percent between October and December, well below analysts’ forecasts for growth of 0.4 percent and lower than all the predictions in a Reuters poll. For 2009 as a whole, the economy shrank by 4.8 percent- the worst yearly performance since records began in 1949. The Labor government has been banking on a strong bounce back to growth to help overturn its poor opinion poll ratings before an election expected in 100 days, but these weaker than expected figures make a political comeback even trickier. “You can see there is a lot of uncertainty and therefore you would expect as you come out of recession for things to fluctuate,” Labor finance minister Alistair Darling said. “I think we are now on a path to recovery ... you need to maintain your support, don’t pull the rug from under our feet at the very time that we can see recovery.” Sterling fell and gilt futures rose after data, which also showed output fell 3.2 percent from the same period a year ago. From peak to trough, the economy contracted six percent-far worse than the downturns of the early 1980s and 1990s. “We know there are significant headwinds in Q1,” said Ross Walker, an economist at RBS Financial Markets. “Overall, the headline is disappointing but actually the underlying picture looks more worrying.” Most analysts predict the Bank of England will halt its 200 billion pound asset buying to pump LONDON: Shoppers look into a shop window at Oxford Street in London yesterday. The end of the UK’s program-designed money into the economy-next longest-ever recession should finally be confirmed in official figures published yesterday with a GDP estimate month, but yesterday’s GDP for the fourth quarter of 2009 expected to show the UK is no longer in recession. —AP figures are likely to boost expectations that any interest rate rises from the current record low of 0.5 percent are many months away. Nonetheless, whichever party wins the election will have to enact dramatic fiscal tightening at some point to rein in a record budget deficit, which will be a major drag on growth. The government has a four-year plan BERLIN: Germany is examining state to build a European military transporter and Turkey. to halve the deficit- set to top 12 loan guarantees for Airbus parent EADS has been hit by three to four year delays Airbus has said it cannot keep buildpercent of GDP this year. But to help support its troubled A400M mili- and soaring costs. Airbus parent EADS ing the plane without financing help, the Conservatives, ahead in tary transport plane, a source close to wants governments to pump in 5.2 billion blaming part of the delays on political opinion polls, say that is inadequate and pledge to start tightnegotiations among its European part- euros, while vowing to absorb other meddling in industrial choices and a rigid ening fiscal policy this year, earners said yesterday. risks. contract, but has offered to build fewer lier than Labor. The source, who asked not to be Top customer Germany has rejected planes for the same price rather than tap “After this great recession, named, added that the seven European the request but seemed, ahead of yester- new cash. This would involve postponany signs of growth are welNATO countries involved in the delayed day’s negotiations, to be ready to seek ing some planes to a later tranche. come,” said Conservative ecoproject had the same goal but different financial solutions to avoid finding itself Opening financial negotiations last nomics spokesman George approaches. isolated. week were labeled “constructive,” but Osborne. “We urgently need a “The goal is the same but the ways to EADS declined to comment. Sources insiders said they produced deadlock new model of economic growth achieve it can be completely different,” close to the negotiations said the idea of with no significant new proposals on the that includes a credible deficit the source told Reuters. The source was advances had been floated before but had table. reduction plan that keeps mortspeaking as Airbus and officials from pur- not led to firm proposals. It remained Talks were due to resume yesterday gage rates low, creates jobs and chasing nations braced for further crisis unclear how far the idea would appeal to afternoon at the German defense mindoesn’t choke off recovery.” While Prime Minister talks in Berlin over the fate of the Airbus, which has threatened to pull the istry grouping junior ministers and Gordon Brown has argued his A400M troop plane, with time steadily plug on Europe’s largest defense project defense officials together with highdecisions have helped Britain running out before a Jan. 31 deadline to with the loss of 8-10,000 jobs without level representatives of Airbus and weather the global storm, the tackle splurging costs. new support, or other European coun- EADS. UK is the last of the major Prospects for a quick fix looked tries involved in the talks. French President Nicolas Sarkozy economies to exit the downturn. uncertain as French and German governThe A400M was designed to carry said on Friday he may address the future The latest figures may also ment leaders prepared to take up the troops and heavy equipment to support of the A400M directly with German increase doubts about the pace issue next week if lower-level talks global military and humanitarian opera- Chancellor Angela Merkel if the talks of global recovery as Britain is failed to rescue the key European pro- tions. A total of 180 planes are on order fail to broker an accord. The two will also the first G7 country to ject. from seven countries- Britain, France, hold a regular bilateral summit in Paris report GDP figures for the The 20 billion euro ($28 billion) plan Germany, Spain, Belgium, Luxembourg on Feb. 4. —Reuters fourth quarter. —Reuters
Germany mulls loan plan as A400M talks resume
LONDON: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) President Thomas Mirow is pictured during a press briefing in central London Monday. EBRD President Thomas Mirow held a press briefing on Monday on the region’s outlook for 2010 and the Bank’s future investment priorities. —AFP
Siemens plans to restructure BERLIN: German industrial giant Siemens announced better-thanforcast earnings results yesterday but said it was also about to carry out a restructuring in the face of an expected fall in full-year profit. Net profit rose to 1.53 billion euros ($2.15 billion) between October and December, the first quarter of the company’s 20092010 fiscal year, from 1.23 billion euros a year earlier, Siemens said in a statement. Analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires had forecast a net profit of 864 million euros. “Earnings for the first quarter provide a gratifying snap-shot of the current situation,” Siemens
chief executive Peter Loescher said in a statement. “The actions we took at a very early stage are now cushioning us from the ongoing repercussions of the global recession,” he said. “We will continue to tackle all challenges decisively and in a responsible manner. Only such an approach can ensure Siemens’ long-term success.” The company, foreseeing “challenging” conditions in the manufacturing sector and on financial markets, said it expected a fall in profit in its key sectors to between 6.0 and 6.5 billion euros this year from 7.7 billion in 20082009.
Finance Director Joe Kaeser told a press conference that “in activities affected by structural market changes and competition or by technological developments ... adjustments are necessary.” Loescher added that the measures envisaged would “affect specific activities and sites.” No further details were provided. Loescher said Siemens trade unions would be informed of the plans on January 28. Siemens shares rose 2.5 percent at the Frankfurt stock exchange to 66.27 euros on an overall weaker market after the company released its results. —AFP
Novartis says Q4 profit rises 54% to $2.32bn GENEVA: Swiss drug maker Novartis AG yesterday reported a 54 percent rise in fourth-quarter net profit to $2.32 billion on strong sales and favorable exchange rates, and announced the appointment of Joe Jimenez as its new chief executive. Earnings per share rose 53 percent to $1.01 from $0.66 in the same quarter of 2008, when Novartis posted a net profit of $1.51 billion. The results met analysts’ expectations and Novartis share rose 1.4 percent to 56.50 Swiss francs ($54.16) on the Zurich exchange. Sales of Novartis products, which include the hypertension drug Diovan and anticancer drug Glivec — known as Gleevec in the United States, rose 28 percent to $12.93 billion in the September-December period from $10.08 billion the previous year. “The fourth quarter has been especially strong,” outgoing CEO Daniel Vasella told reporters in a conference call, noting that Novartis benefited from better exchange rates and the shipment of large orders of swine flu vaccine in the final three months of 2009. Vasella said the planned takeover of eye-care company Alcon Inc., which has met with resistance from some minority shareholders, would “propel Novartis to the global leadership position in eye-care and create a new growth platform.”
Novartis said it has appointed Jimenez, the head of its global pharmaceuticals division, to succeed Vasella effective from Feb 1. Jimenez, a US citizen, is a graduate of Stanford University and the University of California, Berkeley. “After 14 years as CEO it is the right time to complete the carefully planned CEO succession process, which started over a year ago,” Vasella said. The 56-year-old medical doctor, who is regarded in his native Switzerland as a symbol of the country’s powerful pharmaceutical industry, will retain his post as chairman of the board. Novartis offered a positive outlook for 2010, predicting mid-to-high single digit growth in its pharmaceuticals division and mid single digit growth overall. Vasella said much would depend on whether the Alcon deal proceeds as planned. “That is the swing factor,” he said. Novartis, which already owns 25 percent of Alcon, has said it will buy Nestle SA’s 52 percent stake for $28 billion in cash before carrying out a merger with Alcon that would give it control of the remaining 23 percent held by minority shareholders. Some minority shareholders have launched legal action in protest against what they perceive as an unfairly low offer to them of approximately $153 per share, compared with $168 per share that Novartis is paying Nestle. —AP
TECHNOLOGY
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
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Le Guin to submit petition opposing Google book settlement WASHINGTON: American fantasy fiction author Ursula K. Le Guin is to submit a petition to a US judge yesterday signed by 365 other writers opposing the legal settlement that would allow Google to scan and sell millions of books online. Le Guin’s petition asks Judge Denny Chin to exempt the United States from the revised legal settlement reached between Google and US authors and publishers over the Internet giant’s vast digital book-scanning project. Chin is scheduled to hold a hearing on the revised agreement on February 18. Google and the Authors Guild
and the Association of American Publishers reached the settlement last year to a copyright infringement suit they filed against the Mountain View, California, company in 2005. Under the settlement, Google agreed to pay 125 million dollars to resolve outstanding claims and establish an independent “Book Rights Registry,” which would provide revenue from sales and advertising to authors and publishers who agree to digitize their books. Amid objections from France, Germany and others, the revised deal narrowed the
definition of books covered under the settlement to those registered with the US Copyright Office by January 5, 2009 or published in Australia, Britain, Canada or the United States. Exempting the United States from the settlement-as demanded by Le Guin and the other signatories to her petition-would effectively torpedo the agreement. In her petition, which is available on her website, ursulakleguin.com, Le Guin said the settlement was negotiated by the Authors Guild “without consultation with any other group of authors or American authors as a whole.” “The Guild cannot and
does not speak for all American writers,” she said. “Its settlement cannot be seen as reflecting the will or interest of any group but the Guild.” She said the National Writers Union, the American Society of Journalists and Authors, and the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America were among those opposed to the settlement. “We ask that the United States also be exempted from the settlement,” she said. “We ask that the principle of copyright, which is directly threatened by the settlement, be honored and upheld in the United
States.” “We urge our government and our courts to allow no corporation to circumvent copyright law or dictate the terms of that control,” Le Guin said. Opponents of the settlement between Google and US authors and publishers have until Thursday to lodge objections with Chin’s Southern District of New York court. The US Justice Department, whose copyright and anti-trust reservations about the original agreement forced the parties to go back to the drawing board, has until February 4 to make its views known. Last week, the heirs of American author John
Steinbeck and folk singer Woody Guthrie dropped their opposition to the settlement, which Google says would make millions of books, including many which are now outof-print, available online. “If approved by the court, this settlement stands to unlock access to millions of books in the US while giving authors and publishers new ways to distribute their work,” a Google spokesperson said. Among the Authors Guild members supporting the settlement are Wally Lamb, Simon Winchester, Beverly Cleary, Amy Tan, Scott Turow, Garrison Keillor and Elmore Leonard.— AFP
Promises to preserve local news and public affairs shows
Comcast still has persuading to do JERUSALEM: In this photo taken on Monday, Jan. 25, 2010, Jewish Orthodox youth play video games in an Internet cafe in Jerusalem. Ultra-Orthodox Israeli rabbis are targeting a new foe in the decidedly impious world of the Internet: They’ve demanded a boycott of their community’s own Web sites, accusing them of disseminating “filth and abominations.” — AP
Ultra-Orthodox rabbis seek boycott of their own Web sites JERUSALEM: Prominent ultraOrthodox Israeli rabbis are targeting a new foe in the decidedly impious world of the Internet: They’ve demanded a boycott of their community’s own Web sites, accusing them of disseminating “gossip, slander ... filth and abominations.” It’s the latest flashpoint in a long-simmering battle by ultraOrthodox, or haredi, rabbis to preserve their influence over hundreds of thousands of followers in an era when the forces of technology are growing ever more powerful. The ultra-Orthodox portals do not contain the seamy material that traditionally has been the main target of rabbinical ire. But the sites, which publish articles on politics, economics, health and religion, do offer freewheeling discussions with irreverent and unmonitored reader responses — including direct criticism of rabbis’ authority. A reader responding to a recent report on alleged bribery in an ultra-Orthodox school in the Tel Aviv area posted a photograph of the “hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil” monkeys, likening them to municipal, school board and rabbinical officials. Another reader, commenting on a legal dispute that made its way from a religious court to a secular court, predicted that the “harediban” — a play on the word “Taleban” — would lose their grip on the community. For rabbis in the insular haredi world, the principles of freedom of speech and the public’s right to know are alien concepts, said Avishay Ben Haim, religious affairs reporter for Israel’s Maariv daily. The sites, largely run by members of the haredi community, provide a rare outlet for public discourse. “They set the agenda,” he said. “They are threatening the old elite.” The very existence of haredi Web sites gives the Internet a cloak of legitimacy in the ultra-
Orthodox world. That’s an anathema to rabbis who have labored hard to throw up walls between their community and the outside world, said Menachem Friedman, an expert on Jewish religious society in Israel. “If there are haredi Web sites, then it means the Internet is kosher,” with all the openness to the outside world that legitimacy would imply, he said. An estimated 650,000 haredim, Hebrew for “God fearing,” live in isolated enclaves across Israel and study in closed school systems. These communities, easily recognized by their bearded men in long black coats and brimmed hats, have minimal contact with the rest of the world. But like it or not, the outside world is trickling into their cloistered existence, and technology has been a major battleground. Television was an early target and remains off-limits in many ultra-Orthodox homes. Cellular phones were another point of contention, with rabbis ordering the use of “kosher” filters out of fear the phones would be used to access sex sites or other objectionable material. Haredi rabbis have been railing against the dangers of the Internet for a decade. In one infamous incident, the family of Israel’s Sephardic chief rabbi, Shlomo Amar, had a 17year-old boy kidnapped and beaten at knifepoint after he became acquainted with the rabbi’s daughter through an Internet chat room and later met her unchaperoned — an ultra-Orthodox taboo. Amar was not charged in the case. But the rabbis haven’t been able to keep out the Web entirely. They have offered a dispensation to businesspeople and others who use it to make a living. And filters devised over the years have permitted the ultra-Orthodox to strictly screen content, allowing the Internet to flourish in their midst. Now, the rabbis are try-
ing to plaster the cracks in the haredi world’s self-imposed walls. In a letter published recently in ultra-Orthodox newspapers, 21 top rabbis called for an Internet boycott, specifically of the haredi sites, which they said were “defaming the haredi community” and spreading slander and filth. “We must vilify these sites and purge them from our midst,” said the letter. Even if the sites themselves aren’t guilty of objectionable conduct, “they are making people use the despicable Internet, which has harmed so many Jewish souls,” added the letter, which has been posted on the same haredi Web sites they wanted boycotted. Web site operators did not return calls or e-mails seeking comment. In the US, home to the world’s second-largest Jewish community after Israel, there’s been no similar boycott call, said Rabbi Avi Shafran, spokesman for the haredi Agudath Israel of America group. But he said he could identify with the rabbis’ concerns. The blogosphere “may have worthy offerings but it is saturated, too, with hatred, lies, halftruths and slander,” Shafran said in an e-mail. He said when sites allow anonymous comments, “the potential for what is Jewishly wrong is magnified exponentially.” Agudath Israel of America has never maintained a Web site, Shafran said, for fear that would “send a subliminal message to people that the Web is a place they should regard as benign.” So far, the boycott calls in Israel have already claimed significant victories. At least two sites have shut down and key figures have resigned from another. But insiders doesn’t expect the ban to squelch Internet use. “The Internet broke down the walls of the ghetto that the haredi world built up,” said Ben Haim, the Maariv reporter. — AP
SANTA CLARA: Texas Instruments hand held devices on display at a computer store in Santa Clara, Calif., Monday. Texas Instruments says its fourthquarter profit soared on a rebound for its chips that run a wide range of consumer gadgets and industrial products. — AP
WASHINGTON: Before Comcast Corp. can transform the entertainment business by taking control of NBC Universal, it must convince Washington that the plan won’t hurt rivals and consumers. And the promises the cable company has made so far don’t impress opponents who want federal regulators to attach strict conditions to the deal. To But consumer groups and competitors say Comcast is offering token concessions that don’t address their biggest fears about the NBC combination. “Comcast is either promising to do what it was already planning to do or simply what it is required to do by law,” says Corie Wright, policy counsel at the public interest group Free Press. “I don’t think Comcast can just tie a bow around the status quo and call it a public interest commitment.” Comcast is quick to defend its position. “We think we have made significant and meaningful commitments that are designed to ensure the deal is pro-consumer,” says Comcast Executive Vice President David Cohen. Now it is up to Washington to decide. The Justice Department and the Federal Communications Commission are examining Comcast’s plans to buy a 51 percent stake in NBC Universal from General Electric Co. for $13.75 billion. Those reviews could last up to a year. Congressional hearings are also scheduled for February. The government will scrutinize the implications of allowing a company with nearly 24 million cable customers and nearly 16 million broadband subscribers to take control of so much popular programming. Comcast already owns cable channels, including E! Entertainment and the Golf Channel. It also has a controlling interest in the Philadelphia 76ers and Flyers, and its SportsNet Philadelphia channel carries Flyers, Phillies and Sixers games. NBC Universal would give it the NBC and Telemundo broadcast networks; 26 local TV stations; popular cable channels
show that it would not abuse its control over NBC’s broadcast networks, cable TV channels and movie studios, the largest US cable provider is making nine pledges, including a vow not to move the NBC broadcast network to cable and a commitment to expand public interest programming.
MASSACHUSETTS: In this Aug. 6, 2009 file photo, the Comcast logo is displayed on a TV set in North Andover, Mass. Comcast insists it is offering substantial assurances that guarantee its won’t use its control over NBC’s broadcast networks, cable TV channels and movie studios to harm consumers or competitors. — AP such as CNBC, Bravo and Oxygen; the Universal Pictures movie studio and theme parks; and a stake in Hulu, which distributes TV programming online. This week, Comcast and NBC will file paperwork with the Justice Department to comply with the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act, an antitrust law governing mergers and alliances. It will also file a public interest statement with the FCC, which must approve the transfer of NBC’s broadcast licenses. Those filings will provide more detail on Comcast’s public interest commitments. Already, though, two key elements are clear: Comcast promises to keep providing free, over-theair broadcasts of the NBC and
US not to back away from Internet freedom push WASHINGTON: The United States has given notice it will not back away from an Internet freedom push that has raised hackles in China amid a dispute between Beijing and Web giant Google over cyberattacks. “We are aware that China has a different position with respect to restricting information,” State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said Monday. “We think this is inconsistent with the information environment and prerequisites of the 21st century,” Crowley told reporters. “So we will continue to promote the free flow of information, unfettered access to information, the ability to have virtual freedom of association. “These are all, we believe, fundamental tenets of the environment that we live in, and we will not back away from advocating that this should be something that all countries should promote,” Crowley said. The spokesman recalled that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton delivered a major policy speech on Internet freedom last week in which she talked about “being able to surf the Internet without restrictions.” Beijing lashed out at Clinton’s speech on Friday, saying it was “harmful” to Sino-US relations, which are already dogged by trade and currency issues and US arms sales to Taiwan, and a Chinese spokesman on Monday denied any state involvement in the cyberattacks which Google said originated in China. The Internet giant has said that following the cyberattacks on the email accounts of Chinese human rights activists it is no longer willing to censor Web search results in China even it that means it has to leave the country. Google has not yet stopped censoring search results on google.cn, but Google chief executive Eric Schmidt said last week it would happen soon. A spokesman for China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said Monday that the “accusation that the Chinese government participated in (any) cyberattack, either in an explicit or inexplicit way, is groundless and aims to denigrate China.” “China’s policy on Internet safety is transparent and consistent,” the spokesman told state news agency Xinhua, saying the country with the world’s largest online community was itself the “biggest victim” of hacking. — AFP
Telemundo networks, and it pledges to extend the FCC’s “program access rules” to the local NBC and Telemundo stations it would acquire. The program access rules are designed to ensure that satellite TV and other rival video services can carry channels owned by cable companies. The rules require cable companies to make their channels available to rivals on equal terms. Comcast says the program access rules do not automatically apply to local NBC and Telemundo broadcast programming and insists that its offer to extend the rules is therefore significant. However, other FCC rules already prohibit broadcast sta-
tions from reaching exclusive distribution agreements and require them to negotiate in good faith. And either way, competitors fear Comcast will still ratchet up prices for — or even withhold — must-have national and local programming, including NBC broadcasts and regional sports, says Matt Polka, head of the American Cable Association, which represents smaller cable companies. For one thing, Comcast’s rivals note, even as Too soon to say whether new trend emerging, it is seeking to overturn those same rules in court. What’s more, many rivals believe the program access rules are not very meaningful anyway. Bringing a complaint to
the FCC is slow and costly and the commission doesn’t enforce the rules aggressively, they say. What Polka wants _ and what Comcast so far has not offered _ is a commitment to submit to arbitration in disputes and a pledge not to pull a broadcast signal during negotiations. Polka also wants Comcast to promise not to require rival cable and satellite TV services to carry niche channels in order to get access to must-have programming. “Comcast’s pledges don’t address the harms that will result from this unprecedented consolidation of distribution and content,” says Susan Eid, senior vice president of regulatory affairs for DirecTV Inc. People who run small, independent cable channels fear that Comcast could stop carrying channels that compete with its own, or relegate rival channels to premium tiers with fewer subscribers. Comcast is promising to add new two new “independently owned and operated” channels to its digital lineup each year for three years. But that’s not enough for Charles Herring, president of WealthTV, an independent channel focused on lifestyle and entertainment programming. Two channels a year on a network that carries hundreds is “inadequate and insulting,” Herring says. Comcast also has not defined what it means by “independent” channels. Herring fears the company could count programming owned by other big media companies. WealthTV has filed a complaint with the FCC accusing Comcast of discrimination for refusing to carry its programming even as it carries a similar channel partially owned by the cable giant. — AP
Microsoft: Google likely to face questions on ads BRUSSELS: Microsoft Corp.’s top lawyer said Monday that Google will inevitably have to answer questions about its huge market share in selling advertisements linked to results from its search engine. Microsoft’s general counsel Brad Smith said the search advertising market has become “the fundamental economic engine for content online” and “the gateway to content on the Internet.” “Whenever you have a company that has more than a 90 percent market share in a key market, it is inevitable that people will have questions to ask. We say that with some experience,” he said after giving a speech in Brussels. Unlike Microsoft, Google Inc. has never been formally investigated by the European Union executive and the only EU scrutiny of its advertising business came when it asked regulators to approve its $3.1 billion purchase of online ad tracker DoubleClick. The EU waved through the deal in March 2008. French President Nicolas Sarkozy said earlier this month that French antitrust regulators should look at Google’s dominant position in the online ad sector. However, the European Commission, which would deal with any Europe-wide competition problem, has said it sees no issue with Google’s dominant position in advertising unless there is “any implication or suspicion” that it is abusing its near-monopoly to hike prices or squeeze rivals and suppliers. Smith confirmed that Microsoft sees Google as a direct rival, saying they were both active in some of the same product markets. Microsoft trails Google in search, with a European market share of 2 percent. But Microsoft provides the most-used Web browser,
Internet Explorer, which competes with Google’s Chrome and others. Smith laid out his vision of what regulatory changes are needed to keep pace with a shift toward cloud computing _ where software services are used online, on-demand, instead of stored on a user’s computer. He said that calls for new thinking on data privacy, saying ultimately a global treaty on data protection or free trade agreements may be needed to govern the constant data transfers across the world that will be part of cloud computing. He said Europe’s 27 governments should set an EU-wide deadline on how long companies should store data — Smith suggested 12 months — to replace the current patchwork of limits between six months and two years. Microsoft also advocates a federal privacy law in the United States, he said, and is concerned about different laws emerging at state level. Smith said security concerns may require giving the right to cloud service providers — such as Microsoft — to take legal action to sue hackers or others who try to hack into data hosted in “the cloud.” He said Microsoft’s vision of cloud computing saw its own proprietary software in use alongside open source programs — with both using “open formats” to allow different software to work smoothly together. EU regulators fined Microsoft in 2004 for not providing technical information to rivals that wanted to make software compatible with Microsoft’s servers. The company last year promised changes to share some data on its products with others. — AP
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HEALTH & SCIENCE
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Alternative prostate cancer vaccine shows promise WASHINGTON: A prostate cancer vaccine that uses relatives of smallpox virus helped patients with advanced and otherwise untreatable cancer live longer, US researchers reported on Monday. The vaccine, called Prostvac-VF, is being developed by BN ImmunoTherapeutics, a division of Danish biotech firm Bavarian Nordic. Tests on 125 men with advanced prostate cancer that was resistant to drugs
showed they lived more than 8 months longer than men not treated with the vaccine, said Dr. Philip Kantoff of the DanaFarber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School in Boston, who helped lead the study. “The average survival for these men is two years,” Kantoff said in a telephone interview. “At three years, 30 percent of the men who got the vaccine were still alive.” He said a larger study with more men
was being planned for later this year. The study, reported in part at several cancer meetings over the past few months, is detailed in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Prostvac takes a different approach from and is earlier in development than Dendreon Corp’s prostate cancer vaccine, called Provenge. Both are so-called therapeutic vaccines, which treat a disease as opposed to vaccines that prevent infection.
The Dendreon vaccine uses a patient’s own immune system cells, manipulating them to better fight the cancer and then reinfusing them. “So it is a cell-based vaccine,” said Kanthoff, who worked on both studies. “(Prostvac) is a virus that has been engineered genetically.” The viruses are the same cowpox virus that forms the basis of the smallpox vaccine and a bird virus called fowlpox. They are
genetically engineered to carry prostate specific antigen or PSA, which is made only by prostate cells. Prostate tumors make excess amounts of PSA and the vaccine is designed to focus the immune system on these out-of-control tumor cells.Kanthoff said he is not sure which vaccine works better. “It’s just exciting to think that you can alter the immune system,” he said. “To me it is not one versus the other. Both companies are rejoicing
in the fact this might work, and the whole field is rejoicing.” Prostate cancer is the second-leading cancer killer of US men, after lung cancer, with more than 192,000 cases diagnosed in 2009 and 27,000 deaths, according to the American Cancer Society. Analysts have predicted a prostate cancer vaccine might become $1 billion drug if approved for use among men with early stage disease. — Reuters
Health overhaul still critical WASHINGTON: The US Congress has not placed President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul on the back burner in order to address electionyear voter anger at the sour economy, a top lawmaker said Monday. “We have more than one front burner,” Democrat Dick Durbin, assistant Senate majority leader, told reporters. “And we understand, as the president does, health care is a critical part of our agenda.” But Durbin acknowledged a shock election defeat last week that cost Obama’s allies their 60vote supermajority meant Republicans now had the power to block historic legislation that had advanced thus far solely with Democratic support. “Now, with 59 votes, we have to find a different path,” Durbin said. “We’ve put so much effort in this, so much hard work, and we are so close to doing some significant things; now we have to find the political path that brings us out. And it’s not easy,” he said. Durbin had tough words for senators, including some swing-vote Democrats, who concluded that a surprise Republican victory in Massachusetts last week meant US voters wanted lawmakers to
PARIS: A replica of a condom shaped balloon, the ‘Condomfiere,’ is set up at the Palais de la Decouverte yesterday in Paris, as part of a campaign created by French association CondomFly. The 40 meters high Condomfiere will fly on every continent from next December 1st, the World Day against AIDS, to promote condom use and prevention against sexually transmitted diseases. — AFP
US teen pregnancy rate up after 10-year decline Too soon to say whether new trend emerging WASHINGTON: The US teen pregnancy rate rose in 2006 for the first time in more than a decade, reversing a long slide, a US think tank reported yesterday. The overall teen pregnancy rate was up 3 percent in 2006, with a 4 percent rise in the rate of births and a 1 perThere were 71 pregnancies per 1,000 US girls aged 15-19. In 2006, 7 percent of all teenage girls got pregnant, according to the report. Fewer black teenage girls got pregnant, closing a gap with Hispanic teens. But rates among both groups were still significantly higher than for white teens, the report said, and
rates went up for all ethnic groups. “We’re not quite sure yet whether this is just a blip or whether it’s the beginning of a longer upward trend,” Larry Finer, Guttmacher’s director for domestic research, said in a telephone interview. “It’s interesting to note that this flattening out of the rate and the increase in the rate is hap-
cent rise in the rate of abortions, according to the report by the Guttmacher Institute. The United States has higher rates of teen pregnancy, birth and abortion than in other Western industrialized countries.
pening at the same time that we’ve seen substantial increases in funding for abstinenceonly programs,” Finer said. “We do know that when we saw the big decline in the ‘90s, that a lot of that decline was due to improved contraceptive use among teens.” The abstinence-only programs, backed by many social
conservatives who oppose the teaching of contraception methods to teenagers in US schools, received about $1.3 billion in federal funds since the late 1990s. The Obama administration’s 2010 budget eliminated spending for abstinence-only, shifting funds to pregnancy prevention education that include abstinence along with “medical-
slow down the overhaul. He noted that the Medicare health care program for the elderly was due to go bankrupt in seven years and that, over the next decade, the number of uninsured in the United States would climb from 47 million to 57 million people while the cost of an average health-insurance plan for a family of our would double. “Those are the realities, the harsh realities. And those who say, ‘Go slow; do just a little bit, maybe do nothing; come back to this later,’ ignore the fact that those problems will just get worse and not better,” said Durbin. Durbin played down the prospects that Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi would have settled on a way forward by Obama’s marquee State of the Union speech on Wednesday.“We don’t like deadlines around here, because we usually don’t meet them. And I think in this instance, both the speaker and the majority leader need a little time to talk to their members,” he said. “A matter of days won’t make the difference if we can find our way through this,” said Durbin. — AFP
Mobile toilets hit Dhaka’s streets DHAKA: Bangladesh has ordered an emergency deployment of 100 mobile toilets in its capital to head off a worrying rise in public defecation, Dhaka’s mayor said yesterday. Sadeque Hossain Khoka told AFP the sprawling metropolis, which has an official population of 12 million, has only 48 public toilets — one for every quarter of a million residents. “We have launched 100 mobile toilets, which will be carried around manually on tricycle vans. They will be strategically placed so that
people don’t have to use road corners to answer the call of nature,” he said. Unofficially, Dhaka’s population tops 20 million, when vast slums on the city’s outskirts are included. The tin-sided mobile toilets are plastered with colourful advertisements including quotes from a famous Bangla poem which tells people: “Let’s do good work, no matter where you were born.” They also carry posters urging people not to treat streets and open spaces as public toilets.
The mobile toilets will charge five taka (3.5 cents) for people to defecate and two taka to urinate, and are now available for 12 hours a daybetween 8am and 8pm. Dhaka’s chief city planner, Sirajul Islam, said the authorities had adopted the mobile toilet plan after failing to identify sufficient plots of vacant city-centre land on which to build permanent public toilets. “The situation has become so bad on some roads that you cannot walk there. This is spreading disease,” he said. — AFP
ly accurate and age-appropriate” information. New Mexico led the states with the highest teenage pregnancy rate with nine percent, followed by Nevada, Arizona, Texas and Mississippi. New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, Minnesota and North Dakota had the lowest rates of teen pregnancies. — Reuters
FDA okays Novo-Nordisk’s diabetes drug Victoza WASHINGTON: US health officials on Monday approved Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk’s once-daily injection for treating type 2 diabetes but said more safety studies are needed before it can be cleared as a first-line treatment for the
disease. The Food and Drug Administration said it approved the drug, Victoza, to help lower blood sugar levels when coupled with diet, exercise and other diabetes medicines. It was not recommended as an ini-
tial therapy for patients who have not been able to control their diabetes with diet and exercise alone. Novo Nordisk A/S, the world’s top producer of insulin, is one of more than a dozen companies developing new
therapies to compete in the $5.1 billion US diabetes drug market, which is growing as the disease becomes more prevalent. Some 23 million Americans have type 2 diabetes, which disrupts the body’s ability to break down
BANGKOK: In a file picture taken on November 18, 2004 a Tiger crosses a small stream at the Sri Racha tiger zoo, in Chonburi province southeast of Bangkok. Governments must act decisively to prevent the extinction of tigers in Southeast Asia’s Greater Mekong region, where numbers have plunged more than 70 percent in 12 years, the WWF said yesterday. — AFP
carbohydrates and control blood sugar. In April, a panel of government experts were split, voting 6 to 6, on whether the FDA should approve Victoza, also known as liraglutide, in the face of evidence it caused cancerous thyroid tumors in rats and mice. “It is not known if Victoza could cause thyroid tumors or a very rare type of thyroid cancer called medullary thyroid cancer in people,” the FDA said. “For this reason, Victoza should not be used as the firstline treatment for diabetes until additional studies are completed that support expanded use.” Victoza, belongs to the GLP-1 family of diabetes medications, which also includes Byetta, marketed by Eli Lilly & Co. and Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc. Both drugs help control blood sugar by increasing insulin production, slowing the body’s absorption of sugar. Novo’s drug would enjoy an advantage over Byetta because it requires one injection per day, instead of two. The company said it expects Victoza, which has been approved in Japan and Europe, to be on the US market within weeks. US-traded shares of Novo Nordisk rose $1.62, or 2.5 percent, to $67.50 in after-hours dealings after the FDA’s announcement late Monday. — AP
ST PETERSBURG: Russian homeless men and women take cover from the cold in a tent in central St Petersburg late on January 25. The tent, installed by local humanitarian organization Nochleshka, is designed to hold 40 people although organizers say sometimes up to 80 homeless people spend the night. Temperatures in the city reamain around -25 degrees celsius (-13 fahrenheit). —AFP
Canada: G8 to focus on maternal, child health OTTAWA: Canada will use its presidency of the Group of Eight leading nations to push for improvements in maternal and child health in poor countries, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said in an editorial published yesterday. Canada is chair of the G8 this year and will host a summit in June. It also will co-host a summit of the Group of 20 leading and developing nations, which is now the main forum for discussing the global economy. Harper said it is unacceptable that 500,000 women die in pregnancy or childbirth every year and that 9 million children die before their fifth birthday. “Members of the G8 can make a tangible
difference in maternal and child health and Canada will be making this the top priority in June. Far too many lives and unexplored futures have already been lost for want of relatively simple health care solutions,” he wrote. Harper said solutions such as providing clean water, vaccinations and better nutrition, as well as funding the training of health workers, are inexpensive. “We have an obligation to assist those that are most vulnerable to hardship. Canada hopes members of the G8 will rally together on this,” said the editorial, which was published in the Toronto Star and La Presse newspapers. — Reuters
WHATʼS ON IN KUWAIT
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Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Embassy information EMBASSY OF SRI LANKA The Embassy of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka will celebrate the 62nd Anniversary of Sri Lanka’s National Day at the Embassy premises at 8:30 am on 04.02.2010. The ceremony will include the hoisting of the national flag, reading of National Day messages, remembrance of national heroes, religious ceremonies followed by a reception. All Sri Lankan nationals and wellwishers are cordially invited for the event. Sri Lanka Embassy - Block-l0, Jabriya, Kuwait. (Tel. 25339140, 25339150) EMBASSY OF KENYA
Gethealthykuwait.com team of expert nutritionists with officers and employees of the General Department of Implement Provisions.
Kuwait Police combats obesity ethealthykuwait.com, Kuwait’s largest national health campaign for better nutrition and weight management, announced today that has helped over 100 police officers get healthier during a full-day outreach visit to the Ministry of Interior’s General Department of Implement Provisions (GDIP) in Farwaniya, bringing the total number of people getting healthy with gethealthykuwait.com to 2834 people since the launch of the initiative in June 2009. Gethealthykuwait.com expert nutritionists from Diet Care and Taiba Hospital, the founders of the campaign, provided each officer with a private one-on-one consultation, arming them with information about their nutritional status and the steps needed to lead a healthier lifestyle. The consultations are based on individual check-ups based on weight analysis, glucose tests, and cholesterol tests provided onspot by gethealthykuwait.com’s outreach team. Gethealthykuwait.com’s Chief Nutritionist and Diet Care’s Operational Manager, Sami Al Bader said: “High-demand and high-stress work environments, such as law enforcement,
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can take its toll on the people working in these environments. Health complications may have the biggest impact on a person confronted with daily rigorous conditions. Our goal is to help Kuwait get healthier, including police officers who often think of the safety and security of others before themselves. Gethealthykuwait.com visited the General Department of Implement of Provisions to remind them to think about their health and act on leading a healthier lifestyle.” Gethealthykuwait.com’s Head of Testings and Taiba Hospital’s Chief Operating Officer, Rashed Al Fadala said: “We would like to thank the GDIP for opening its doors to gethealthykuwait.com and for joining us in the fight against obesity in Kuwait. Officers of the Ministry of Interior may lead very challenging lifestyles, and as gethealthykuwait.com, we aim to ease the way into making positive health changes and bettering their lifestyles.” Gethealthykuwait is a community initiative funded by Diet Care and Taiba hospital to provide every individual in Kuwait the opportunity for free on-spot health testing, and free nutri-
tional consultation by expert dietitians from Diet Care, the leading provider of diet and nutrition services in Kuwait, and Taiba Hospital, the leading independent hospital in Kuwait. Manned by a team of expert dietitians, Gethealthykuwait.com conducts weekly visits to offices, schools, and malls offering on-spot testing and consultation. In each of these visits, the gethealthykuwait.com team will offer free cholesterol tests, blood sugar level tests, weight assessments and free consultations. To motivate and inspire people, gethealthykuwait.com is offering a free vacation for three people to the magical island of Bali, Indonesia, for the person who loses the most percentage of his body weight. The winner of the trip will be announced in the fist week of November, but the community outreach will not stop there. People will have a second opportunity to reach their weight goals and health requirements during its second cycle as new tickets will be issued next year to Bali for the top three people enrolled in GHK with the most percentage of body weight loss.
The Embassy of the Republic of Kenya is happy to inform the general public and visitors to Kenya of a reduction in the cost of tourist visas by 50%, continuing through all of 2010. Additionally, in recognition of the family travel segment, Kenya is giving a complete waiver of visit fees to children aged 16 years and below. Visitors are urged to take this opportunity and experience unique Kenyan beach holidays on palm fringed, sandy beaches, safaris in the country’s famous national parks, and activity based tourism. For more information contact the Kenya Embassy located at Surra, block 6, Street 9, Villa No.3. Tel. 25353314/ 25353362 or visit the Mission’s websites www.kenyaembkuwait.com & www.magicalkenya.com. Official timings are 8:00 am - 4:00 pm, Sundays through Thursdays. EMBASSY OF GREECE
More than 100 officers at the General Department of Implement Provisions are on their way to a healthier lifestyle.
Kuwait English School participates in KNPC workshop
The Embassy of Greece has the pleasure to announce that with a view to promote business interaction and commercial relations between Greece and Kuwait and to present further support for the Kuwaiti importers, it requests all Kuwaiti Companies dealing with or representing Greek Companies in Kuwait to contact this Embassy as soon as possible and to provide by fax or e-mail the following information: (Name of the company, tel no, fax no, e-mail, type of business, name of the Greek companies/clients). The Embassy’s contacts are as follows: e-mail: gremb.kuw@mfa.gr; fax: 24817103, and tel no: 24817100, 24817101, 24817102. EMBASSY OF INDIA The Embassy of India has further revamped and improved its Legal Advice Clinic at the Indian Workers Welfare Center, and made the free service available to Indian nationals on all five working days, i.e. from Sunday to Thursday every week. Kuwaiti lawyers would be available at the Legal Advice Clinic daily from Monday to Thursday, while Indian lawyers would be available on Sundays. Following are the free welfare services provided at the Indian Workers Welfare Center located at the Embassy of India: [i] 24x7 Helpline for Domestic Workers: Accessible by toll free telephone no. 25674163 from anywhere in Kuwait, it provides information and advice exclusively to Indian domestic sector workers (Visa No. 20) as regards their grievances, immigration and other matters. [ii] Help Desk: It offers guidance to Indian nationals on routine immigration, employment, legal, and other issues (Embassy premises; 9 AM to 1 PM and 2 PM to 4.30 PM, Sunday to Thursday); (iii) Labour Complaints Desk: It registers labor complaints and provides grievance redressal service to Indian workers (Embassy premises; 9 AM to 1 PM and 2 PM to 4.30 PM, Sunday to Thursday); (iv) Shelters: For female and male domestic workers in distress; (v) Legal Advice Clinic: Provides free legal advice to Indian nationals (Embassy premises; Kuwaiti lawyers 3 PM to 5 PM, Monday to Thursday; Indian lawyers 2 PM to 4 PM on Sunday); and (vi) Attestation of Work Contracts: Private sector worker (Visa No. 18) contracts are accepted at the Embassy; 9 AM to 1 PM; Sunday to Thursday; Domestic sector worker (Visa No. 20) contracts are accepted at Kuwait Union of Domestic Labor Offices (KUDLO), Hawally, Al-Othman Street, Kurd Roundabout, Al-Abraj Complex, Office No 9, Mezzanine Floor; 9 AM to 9 PM, Saturday to Thursday; 5 PM to 9 PM on Friday.
elebrate Ability”, a two month campaign initiated by Kuwait National Petroleum Company, commenced with the Green Unit at Kuwait English School on Sunday. “”During this period we will be conducting art workshops at various establishments and schools throughout Kuwait that deal with children with disabilities”, said Sarah Hashem, Controller III in the External Communications Department of KNPC Corporate Communications Department. Sarah said she will visit over 21 establishments and schools catering to
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between 200 and 300 students. KNPC will provide all of the basic materials for each workshop requested. The thirty students in the Green Unit at Kuwait English School (KES) participating in the KNPC workshop on Sunday chose mirror painting. Doreen, a 12 year old student in GY, said she enjoyed the activity. “I painted a tree house in the wood” she said, pointing to a carefully outlined and filled in landscape scene. Fahad in GB was adding the finishing touches to a unique eye sketch that had a bright yellow background.
Abdulwahab, a 13 year old student in GM, enthusiastically pointed to his artwork, an abstract created in dazzling colours, featuring his favourite colour: red. Eshraq, 16, said she made a flowery portrait especially to decorate her bedroom. Yousef, 19, said he made his mirror for his friend Mr Khaled at the Khorafi Centre where he is employed. Rawan, a student in GE, said she made her mirror as a gift for class teacher Esmat Al Qunni. Esmat, also Head of Public Relations at the Green Unit, said hopefully the art-
Inauguration of 2nd Mega Islamic seminar coupon distribution n connection with the 2nd Mega Islamic seminar to be conducted by Kuwait Kerala Islahi Centre (KKIC) from Feb 24 to 27, 2010, the distribution of seminar coupon was inaugurated by Program Committee Chairman Khaleel Adoor, presenting the coupon to E.K Abdul
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Razzak. KKIC President P.N Abdul Latheef Madani presided the function. Gen. Secretary T.P Abdul Aziz, Finance Sec. Sadath Ali Kannur, Dr.P.K Abdul Razzak Sullami, Salih Batha, Said Muhammad, Haris Aideed, K.P Usman and Thaha Thangal attended the event.
work can be sold to raise money for the Green Unit. Lyndsay Benson, classrooom assistant, said the special needs of the students participating in the workshop at KES included dyslexia, autism, and Downs Syndrome “everything that can possibly be, including some slow learners”. Sarah’s next visit is to a goverment facility for children with a specific handicap, where she will teach the children how to paint silk scarves. Sarah said every year KNPC used to vist children with special needs and take
photographs, but she felt this was not enough. “There is such a stigma about disability in Kuwait” she said, “we are taking baby steps to show their ability”. On March 27th, KNPC will organise an Open Day for the families of the schools visited to showcase the completed artwork. This is an event to celebrate the children and their talent”, Sarah said. The family day will be a carnival style event, with games activities, food stations, face painting, and music; “a fun day to be had by all”.
EMBASSY OF PHILIPPINES The Embassy of the Philippines wishes to inform the Filipino community in the State of Kuwait, that the recent supreme court decision to extend the registration of voter’s applies only in local registration in the Philippines under Republic Act no. 8189 and does not apply to overseas voters which is governed by Republic Act no. 9189, hence it has no impact on the plans and preparations on the conduct of overseas absentee voting. The overseas absentee voting for presidential elections will start on 10 April 2010 and will continue uninterrupted until 10 May 2010 daily at the Philippine Embassy. Registered overseas absentee voters are advised to schedule their days off in advance to avoid complications in their schedules. Qualified voters are encouraged to get out and vote.
Send to What’s On upcoming events, birthdays or celebrations by email: local@kuwaittimes.net Fax: 24835619 / 20
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WHATʼS ON IN KUWAIT
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Indian Community (senior) School celebrates Cultural Day he ICSK (Senior) branch celebrated its Annual Cultural day on 16th January 2010, an evening which saw the talent of its students in the performing arts reach its zenith. The cultural Panorama that unfolded on stage earned superlative praise, both from the special invitees, to the vast multitude of the knowledgeable audience that was present on the occasion. The colourful cultural Kaleidoscope encompassed a variety that was nothing but unique. In keeping to tradition, the programme commenced with recitation of verses from the Holy Quran followed by the National Anthems of Kuwait and India. Among the special guests gracing the occasion, were the chief guest R. Kuppanna, General manager, Kuwait India International Exchange company, Ashok Kalra honorary Chairman of the school Board of Trustees, Archie Menezes, honorary Vice Chairman, Rajan Daniel, honorary Secretary, other honorary members of the Board, Sridhar , parent representative to the Board from the senior school, other members of the Parent Advisory Council, Principals & Vice principals of ICSK school branches. Before the curtain unfolded for the opening act, the traditional lamp was lighted by the guests spreading a serene glow that set a beautiful ambience for the start of the cultural show. First to take centre stage, were bright young spirited kids wearing a smile on their faces, for the welcome song. It was followed by a semi classical dance but with a contemporary feel, drawing loud applause from the audience. Music and dance was followed by drama in the form of a Hindi skit., Aise ........ Aise..... focusing on ‘a day in the life of a student’. Rajasthan the land of majestic forts and palaces came alive with a lively dance based on popular Rajasthani folk music. Mesmerising the audience next, was ‘Glamorous India’ wherein models walked the stage showcasing the breadthtaking beauty of the traditional textiles, weaves and jewellery from diverse states of India, a presentation that was awe inspiring in its grandeur. Mrs Julie George, Principal of the Senior School presented the Annual Report through a power point presentation giving details of the activities, curricular and co-curricular held during the course of the year, highting the achievements of individual students in different fields of school life. A resume of the CBSE results for class X & XII March 2009 followed. The chief guest Kuppanna in his address, shared with the audience a wide range of his experiences and urged
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the student community to strive towards perfection for success in life. Honorary Chairman Ashok Kalra, was highly appreciative of the quality performances put up by the participants and expressed his desire to see many more of them in the days to come. The Senate magazine’ Adventus’ was releasd on the occasion. The project provides yet another avenue to the students & teachers to horn their literary and artistic skills, a project that has earned deep appreciation of the ICSK management. Once again, the curtain unfolded, this time for two patriotic numbers set to melodious music. The beautiful lyrics being ‘Hoton Pe Sachai Rehti Hai .......................... and Veer Veer Desh Hamara ....................... Next to come up was the dramatization of scenes from five classical Shakesperean tragedies where in the audience was transported to the world of Royal Opera. From tragedy to joy - through an invigorating Koli Dance - the joyous fisher folk of coastal Maharashtra singing ‘ Dolkar Dolkar ............ made the audience dance to their tune. Drama once more, this time a Hindi Skit ‘Parasmani’ the magical stone powerful theme matched by equally powerful performances and stage settings made it an act worth watching. And now, it was time for some real action, vigour and energy of boys brought the house down with their item number Tan Tana ......... The message “To Err Is Human to Forgive Divine” was conveyed through the ‘Prodigal Son’ an English skit that depicted the story of an everlasting relationship between a father and his son. Fusion of the Indian and the Middle Eastern Cultures through dance steps choreo graphed to scintillating music was a visual treat. The legendary ‘Michael Jackson’ came alive on stage with the rendition of his evergreen number “ We are the World”. The spirit of the western world stayed for a little longer as stunning dance sequences based on the ‘Hip Hop’ style took center stage. The grand finale came in the form of ‘ Bharat Ke Anmol Ratna’ a presentation which was a toast to India’s rich heritage bringing into spotlight jewels of India, poets, writers, dramatists, emperors , leaders and statesmen, people who have made India proud through the centuries and made those who were witness to it, prouder. Shilpa Sajeev delivered the Welcome Address while Kavya Nair proposed the vote of thanks bringing the curtain down to the colourful cultural panorama. The verdict ‘ A Superlative Show’.
Greetings
BSK holds Careers Day Professor at the University of Kuwait. He spoke about what an Architect has to consider when designing buildings. Finally, Mrs Amar, who is a very successful business woman, spoke to the students about having a vision for the future and that with hard work and focus, you can become successful. This is how she achieved her dream. She also chatted to the students about the forthcoming ‘Heritage Village’ in Kuwait, which is a project her company is involved in. Tutor Group 6.1, had a fabulous afternoon and thoroughly enjoyed their PSHE lesson. Although they are only twelve years of age it is never too early to start thinking about careers and future presentations will build on this introduction.
t The British School of Kuwait, students from Years 6 to 9 have weekly lessons in PSHE, which deals with personal, social and health issues; one of these being careers. Recently, three kind parents gave up their time and came to talk to Miss Estelle’s tutor group 6.1. Zahoor, a Design Engineer, began with a very detailed presentation about the forthcoming building and design projects in Kuwait. He explained how there were many components to a building and that there were many opportunities to gain skilled jobs in construction. Khattab then followed with an interesting presentation about being an Architect. Khattab is trained in Architecture and he is currently Assistant
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appy 12th birthday to our dear Jennie Nazareno. May God bless you and always H keep you in good health. Best wishes from mom and dad, Husseini family, Castulo family, Karam family, Zeinab family and Narbakte family.
Khattab, Associate Professor of Architecture at Kuwait University speaking at BSK Careers Day.
Wedding package at Movenpick Hotel & Resort Al Bida’a
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hen it comes to the memory of a lifetime, experience it at the M?venpick Hotel & Resort Al Bida’a Kuwait. Here, all the right ingredients join together so that your celebration is everything you dreamed it would be . . . . . and even a little bit more. Authentic. Timeless. Never be forgotten. The perfect venue for the perfect occasion. For engagements with style and weddings with flair, we’ll help turn your dreams into reality. Whether you are planning for a perfect wedding or a memorable engagement party, make the M?venpick Hotel & Resort Al Bida’a your first choice and enjoy the unique advantages that only we can offer. •
Swiss efficiency combined with an Arabian touch to give all guests that extra special warm welcome and unmatched
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service Creative cuisine and mouth-watering dishes prepared by our international chefs or meet oneon-one with any of our multi-lingual kitchen experts to create the perfect menu Spacious Tent overlooking the sea can accommodate up to 300 guests Spacious ballroom can accommodate up to 300 guests A personal wedding specialist will guide you from start to finish, so your wedding day will be a delight to the senses that is truly an occasion to remember Complimentary Spa treatment “You have dreamed this day a thousand times. Our beautiful resort with elegant banquet facilities and deluxe accommodations create the perfect setting for lasting wedding memories.”
Zahoor, Design Engineer with Gulf Consult addressing the BSK students at Careers Day.
Announcements Today Lecture by Dr Muna: TIES Center presents: “Intercultural Communication Competence” a lecture by Dr Muna A. Ali PhD. Dr Muna head of the Euro-Gulf studies Center at Kuwait University as well as the Prof. of Political Science & International Relations. Her lecture will focus on avoiding communication conflicts when interacting both socially and in work related activities with other cultures. Join us for an intercultural experience and test your communication skills! Wednesday, January 27th from 7 to 8:30 pm at Ties Center Shuhada, Block 4, Street 413, Villa 67, Call 25231015 or 97798222. JANUARY 29 Drawing contest: The Kuwait RSC (Risala Study Circle) is conducting drawing contest (“NIRAKOOT”) for children as part of its Zonal conference. Venue On 29th January 2010 Friday at 4 pm in Abbasiya community hail. The participants have categorized as Junior and Senior (up to 7 year old as junior, in between 7 and 12 as senior) those who are interested to join the contest may call 66009656, 99118976 or Email at rsckuwait@gmai1.com before 22nd January. MARCH 26 CRYcket 2010: the 13th annual crycket tournament is scheduled to be held on
Friday, 26th March 2010 at the KOC Hockey Grounds, Ahmadi. This tournament is organized by FOCC (Friends of Cry Club). Friends of CRY Club (FOCC) is associated with CRY (Child Rights and You), India and its main objectives are to create awareness of the underprivileged Indian children, help restore their basic rights, strive to provide support in personal development of the Indian children in Kuwait and bring out the qualities of social commitment in them. FOCC has been organizing CRY awareness programmes for children through its two annual events CRYcket (Cricket match for children below 14 years organized annually since 1997) and CRY chess tournament (for children of all ages organized annually since 2005) - and ‘Brain Bang’ programme which is an ongoing bi-weekly Accelerated Learning activity. CRYcket will be played by 24 teams of children and about 500 spectators are expected for this special one-day event. The deadline to receive the registration forms is 18th March 2010, however registration may be close earlier if the available slots of 12 teams in each category are filled. A colourful souvenir will be released to mark the 13th year of FOCC’s activities in Kuwait. For details how to become a sponsor and/or to advertise in the Souvenir or to volunteer as a FOCC member, pls visit www.focckwt.org or email focckwt@yahoo.com
INFORMATION
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Wednesday, January 27, 2010 FIRE BRIGADE Operation Room 777 Al-Madena 22418714 Al-Shohada始a 22545171 Al-Shuwaikh 24810598 Al-Nuzha 22545171 Sabhan 24742838 Al-Helaly 22434853 Al-Fayhaa 22545051 Al-Farwaniya 24711433 Al-Sulaibikhat 24316983 Al-Fahaheel 23927002 Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh 24316983 Ahmadi 23980088 Al-Mangaf 23711183 Al-Shuaiba 23262845 Al-Jahra 25610011 Al-Salmiya 25616368
Ministry of Interior website: www.moi.gov.kw
For labor-related inquiries and complaints: Call MSAL hotline 128 HOSPITALS 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
POLICE STATION Al-Madena Police Station Al-Murqab Police Station Al-Daiya Police Station Al-Fayha始a Police Station Al-Qadissiya Police Station Al-Nugra Police Station Al-Salmiya Police Station Al-Dasma Police Station
24874330/9 CLINICS
Roudha
22517733
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22517144
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24848075
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24849807
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24848913
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24814507
Abdullah Salim
22549134
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22526804
Industrial Shuwaikh
24814764
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22515088
Dasmah
22532265
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22531908
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22518752
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22459381
Ayoun Al-Kibla
22451082
Al-Mirqab
22456536
Sharq
22465401
Salmiya
25746401
Jabriya
25316254
Maidan Hawally
25623444
Bayan
25388462
Mishref
25381200
W.Hawally
22630786
Sabah
24810221
Jahra
24770319
New Jahra
24575755
West Jahra
24772608
South Jahra
24775066
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24775992
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24311795
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24884079
Firdous
4892674
Al-Omariya
4719048
N.Kheitan
4710044
Rabiya
4732263
Fintas
3900322
THE PUBLIC AUTHORITY FOR CIVIL INFORMATION Automated enquiry about the Civil ID card is 1889988 AIRLINES
PHARMACIES ON 24 HRS DUTY GOVERNORATE Ahmadi
PHARMACY Sama Safwan Abu Halaifa Danat Al-Sultan
ADDRESS Fahaeel Makka St Abu Halaifa-Coastal Rd Mahboula Block 1, Coastal Rd
PHONE 23915883 23715414 23726558
Jahra
Modern Jahra Madina Munawara
Jahra-Block 3 Lot 1 Jahra-Block 92
24575518 24566622
Capital
Ahlam Khaldiya Coop
Fahad Al-Salem St Khaldiya Coop
22436184 24833967
Farwaniya
New Shifa Ferdous Coop Modern Safwan
Farwaniya Block 40 Ferdous Coop Old Kheitan Block 11
24734000 24881201 24726638
Hawally
Tariq Hana Ikhlas Hawally & Rawdha Ghadeer Kindy
Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St Salmiya-Amman St Hawally-Beirut St Hawally & Rawdha Coop Jabriya-Block 1A Jabriya-Block 3B
25726265 25647075 22625999 22564549 25340559 25326554
EMERGENCY 112
PRIVATE CLINICS Ophthalmologists: Dr. Abidallah Al-Mansoor Dr. Samy Al-Rabeea Dr. Masoma Habeeb Dr. Mubarak Al-Ajmy Dr. Mohsen Abel Dr Adnan Hasan Alwayl Dr. Abdallah Al-Baghly
25622444 25752222 25321171 25739999 25757700 25732223 25732223
Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT): Dr. Ahmed Fouad Mouner 24555050 Ext 510 Dr. Abdallah Al-Ali 25644660 Dr. Abd Al-Hameed Al-Taweel 25646478 Dr. Sanad Al-Fathalah 25311996 Dr. Mohammad Al-Daaory 25731988 Dr. Ismail Al-Fodary 22620166 Dr. Mahmoud Al-Booz 25651426 General Practitioners: Dr. Mohamme Y Majidi 24555050 Ext 123 Dr. Yousef Al-Omar 24719312 Dr. Tarek Al-Mikhazeem 23926920 Dr. Kathem Maarafi 25730465 Dr. Abdallah Ahmad Eyadah 25655528 Dr. Nabeel Al-Ayoobi 24577781 Dr. Dina Abidallah Al-Refae 25333501 Urologists: Dr. Ali Naser Al-Serfy 22641534 Dr. Fawzi Taher Abul 22639955 Dr. Khaleel Abidallah Al-Awadi22616660 Dr. Adel Al-Hunayan FRCS (C) 25313120 Plastic Surgeons: Dr. Mohammad Al-Khalaf 22547272
22434064 22435865 22544200 22547133 22515277 22616662 25714406 22530801
Dr. Abdal-Redha Lari Dr. Abdel Quttainah
22617700 25625030/60
Family Doctor: Dr Divya Damodar 23729596/23729581
Dr. Dr. Dr. Dr. Dr.
Zahra Qabazard Sohail Qamar Snaa Maaroof Pradip Gujare Zacharias Mathew
25710444 22621099 25713514 23713100 24334282
(1) Ear, Nose and Throat Psychiatrists Dr. Esam Al-Ansari 22635047 Dr Eisa M. Al-Balhan 22613623/0 Gynaecologists & Obstetricians: Dr Adrian Harbe 23729596/23729581 Dr. Verginia s.Marin 2572-6666 ext 8321 Dr. Fozeya Ali Al-Qatan 22655539 Dr. Majeda Khalefa Aliytami 25343406 Dr. Ahmad Al-Khooly 25739272 Dr. Salem soso 22618787 General Surgeons: Dr. Abidallah Behbahani 25717111 Dr. Amer Zawaz Al-Amer 22610044 Dr. Mohammad Yousef Basher 25327148
Paediatricians: Dr. Abd Al-Aziz Al-Rashed 25340300
Rheumatologists: Dr. Adel Al-Awadi 25330060 Dr. Khaled Al-Jarallah 25722290
(2) Plastic Surgeon Dr. Abdul Mohsin Jafar, FRCS (Canada)
25655535 Dentists:
Dr Anil Thomas
3729596/3729581
Dr. Shamah Al-Matar
22641071/2
Dr. Anesah Al-Rasheed
22562226
Dr. Abidallah Al-Amer
22561444
Dr. Faysal Al-Fozan
22619557
Dr. Abdallateef Al-Katrash
22525888
Dr. Abidallah Al-Duweisan
25653755
Dr. Bader Al-Ansari
25620111
Neurologists:
Internist, Chest & Heart: DR.Mohammes Akkad 24555050 Ext 210 Dr. Mohammad Zubaid MB, ChB, FRCPC, PACC Assistant Professor Of Medicine Head, Division of Cardiology Mubarak Al-Kabeer Hospital Tel: 25339667 Dr. Farida Al-Habib MD, PH.D, FACC Consultant Cardiologist Tel: 2611555-2622555 Inaya German Medical Center Te: 2575077 Fax: 25723123
Dr. Sohal Najem Al-Shemeri 25633324 Dr. Jasem Mola Hassan
Internists, Chest & Heart: Dr. Adnan Ebil 22639939 Dr. Mousa Khadada 22666300 Dr. Latefa Al-Duweisan 25728004 Dr. Nadem Al-Ghabra 25355515 Dr. Mobarak Aldoub 24726446 Dr Nasser Behbehani 25654300/3
Physiotherapists & VD: Dr. Deyaa Shehab 25722291 Dr. Musaed Faraj Khamees 22666288
25345875
Gastrologists Dr. Sami Aman
22636464
Dr. Mohammad Al-Shamaly 25322030 Dr. Foad Abidallah Al-Ali
22633135
Endocrinologist: Dr. Abd Al-Naser Al-Othman 25339330 Dr. Ahmad Al-Ansari
25658888
Dr. Kamal Al-Shomr
25329924
Psychologists/Psychotherapists Soor Center Tel: 2290-1677 Fax: 2290 1688 info@soorcenter.com www.soorcenter.com Dr. Naif Al-Mutawa, Ph.D. 2290-1677 Susannah-Joy Schuilenberg, M.A. 2290-1677 William Schuilenberg, RPC 2290-1677 Zaina Al Zabin, M.Sc. 2290-1677
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00240 00291 00372 00251 00500 00298 00679 00358 0033 00594 00689 00241 00220 00995 0049 00233 00350 0030 00299 001473 00590 001671 00502 00224 00592 00509 0031 00504 00852 0036 0034 00354 0091 00873 0062 0098 00964 00353 0039 00225 001876 0081 00962 007 00254 00686 00965 00996 00856 00371 00961 00231 00218 00370 00352 00853 00389
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
33 ACCOMMODATION Sharing accommodation available near Amiri hospital, Sharq, couple or working ladies or bachelor. Contact: 67766273. (C 20247) 27-1-2010 Sharing accommodation available with a Keralite Christian family in Abbassiya with separate bathroom in a C-A/C flat from 26th January. Call: 99412951. (C 20241) Room with attached bath available in new C-A/C, two bedroom, two toilet, flat in Abbassiya, to share with Sri Lankan couple. Contact: 66552905. (C 20245) Two rooms available C-A/C in Salmiya near Indian Public School, starting from 1st Februry for single, couple or working ladies. Contact: 97972920. (C 20240) Accommodation available in Farwaniya behind Crowne Plaza in a flat, G. floor, prefer Goan or Manglorean, rent KD 50. Contact: 97277454. (C 20242) Sharing accommodation available in Hawally behind Dar Al Shifa hospital with two bedroom + 2T, central A/C and shaded car parking. Contact: 99485424. (C 20243) Sharing accommodation available for Indian, working ladies in a two bedroom, CA/C flat in Maidan Hawally, opposite 4th Ring Road, near Al Safat American Medical Center with a Keralite lady with all facilities. Call: 99325130, 25649970. (C 20246) 26-1-2010 Sharing accommodation, bachelor or family, central A/C building, bathroom attached, near Garden store. Contact: 65662085,
66274078. (C 20236) 25-1-2010 Furnished sharing accommodation available for a Keralite bachelor or family in Abbassiya. Contact: 66577233. (C 20234) 24-1-2010
FOR SALE Mitsubishi Gallant, model 2003, silver gray color, very good condition and insured up to October 2010, price fixed KD 1050. Please call: 97563505. (C 20249) Household items for sale, kitchen cabinets, couch love seat, etc. ATV 50cc E-ton runs great! Call any time 67039015. (C 20248) 27-1-2010 Toyota Corolla 2009, white color, run only 15,000 km, excellent condition, price KD 3,850, Contact: 66050484, interested person only. (C 20239) 26-1-2010 Lancer 2007, full option, Glx, km 68,000, super condition, KD 2100. Tel: 60048674. (C 20235) 25-1-2010
MATRIMONIAL Proposals invited for Keralite Marthomite boy, 30, 172, MoH male nurse, from CSI, Marthomite girls working in Kuwait. Going for vacation in June. Contact: mathewmerin@hotmail.com 27-1-2010
CHANGE OF NAME
No: 1462٢
Old name: Vinodkumar Raghavan Ezhuthassan, Passport Number F 9952256, new name: Vinodkumaar Raghavan Ezhuthassan. (C 20216) SITUATION VACANT
A lady cook is needed to work for a single Arab American man in an apartment located in Salmiya. She must know how to cook Arabic and Chinese food. The job also requires light cleaning. Working hour is 2 pm to 8:30 pm. Salary is KD 100. Tel: 66417504. (C 20244) 26-1-2010
25620738. (C 20214)
SITUATION WANTED Indian male, (MBA Finance) with 2.5 years Accountant experience in India, currently seeking for job, proficient in Tally 9,SAP fico, MS Office. Holding valid transferable visa no. 18. Contact: 65547019,
Sri Lankan maid, 15 years experience in Kuwait, 3 years experience in US, cooking, cleaning, ironing, good with children, fine with pets, excellent English, prefers American or British family. Contact: 97918699. (C 20237)
Colombo/Dubai Dubai Bahrain Riyadh Abu Dhabi Jeddah Amman Sharjah Bangkok Dejrezzor Beirut Colombo/Dubai Washington DC Dulles Cairo Baghdad Dubai Cairo Dubai Kandahar/Muscat Paris/Rome Jeddah Bahrain Riyadh London Damascus Singapore/Abu Dhabi Doha Mumbai Tehran Muscat Alexandria Damascus Beirut Sanaa/Bahrain Chennai/Mumbai Bahrain Beirut Doha Dubai Amsterdam Bahrain Beirut Doha Bahrain Baghdad Abu Dhabi Dubai Kozhikode/Mangalore Frankfurt Amman Dubai Lahore/Peshawar
Departure Flights on Wednesday 27-01-2010 Airlines Flt Route Time Tunis Air 328 Dubai/Tunis 00:01 Jazeera 0528 Assiut 00:05 Pakistan 240 Sialkot 0035 United A/L 981 Washington DC Dulles 00:40 Indian 576 Goa/Chennai 00:50 Lufthansa 637 Frankfurt 01:20 Kuwait 203 Lahore 02:20 Ethiopian 620 Bahrain/Addis Ababa 02:30 Kuwait 283 Dhaka 02:55 D.H.L. 371 Bahrain 03:15 Turkish A/L 1173 Istanbul 03:15 Kuwait 381 Delhi 03:30 Emirates 854 Dubai 03:50 Etihad 0306 Abu Dhabi 04:10 Qatari 0139 Doha 05:00 Air France 6782 Dubai/Hong Kong 06:10 Wataniya Airways 1020 Dubai 07:00 Jazeera 0524 Alexandria 07:00 Jazeera 0164 Dubai 07:00 Wataniya Airways 2000 Cairo 07:30 Jazeera 0112 Abu Dhabi 07:35 Jazeera 0446 Doha 07:40 Gulf Air 212 Bahrain 07:45 Wataniya Airways 1120 Bahrain 07:50 Jazeera 0422 Bahrain 07:55 Global 094 Muscat/Kandahar 08:00 Wataniya Airways 2300 Damascus 08:10 Kuwait 545 Alexandria 08:30 British 0156 London 08:55 Kuwait 671 Dubai 09:00 Kuwait 561 Amman 09:15 Jazeera 0456 Damascus 09:25 Arabia 0122 Sharjah 09:35 Kuwait 101 London/New York 09:35 Emirates 856 Dubai 09:40 Qatari 0133 Doha 10:00 Etihad 0302 Abu Dhabi 10:20 Wataniya Airways 2002 Cairo 11:30 Gulf Air 214 Bahrain 11:40 Kuwait 165 Rome/Paris 11:45 Jazeera 0342 Bahrain/Sanaa 11:50 Iran Air 604 Isfahan 11:50 Kuwait 743 Dammam 11:55 Jazeera 0172 Dubai 12:00 Kuwait 541 Cairo 12:00 Wataniya Airways 2100 Beirut 12:05 Jazeera 0492 Jeddah 12:15 Jazeera 0366 Deirezzor 12:20 Jazeera 0238 Amman 12:25 Kuwait 785 Jeddah 13:40 Egypt Air 611 Cairo 13:55
Flight Schedule Arrival Flights on wednesday 27/01/2010 Airlines Flt Route Jazeera 0263 Beirut Gulf Air 211 Bahrain Kuwait 544 Cairo Ethiopian 620 Addis Ababa Turkish A/L 1172 Istanbul D.H.L. 370 Bahrain Emirates 853 Dubai Etihad 0305 Abu Dhabi Qatari 0138 Doha Air France 6782 Paris Jazeera 0503 Luxor Jazeera 0527 Alexandria Kuwait 416 Jakarta/Kuala Lumpur Jazeera 0529 Assiut British 0157 London Kuwait 412 Manila/Bangkok Falcon 201 Bahrain Kuwait 302 Mumbai Kuwait 332 Trivandrum Kuwait 676 Dubai Emirates 855 Dubai Arabia 0121 Sharjah Qatari 0132 Doha Etihad 0301 Abu Dhabi Gulf Air 213 Bahrain Wataniya Airways 1121 Bahrain Iran Air 605 Isfahan Jazeera 0447 Doha Kuwait 204 Lahore Jazeera 0165 Dubai Jazeera 0425 Bahrain Wataniya Airways 1021 Dubai Jazeera 0113 Abu Dhabi Kuwait 382 Delhi Egypt Air 610 Cairo Lufthansa Cargo 8292 Frankfurt Kuwait 672 Dubai Syrian Arab A/L 341 Damascus Wataniya Airways 2301 Damascus Jazeera 0525 Alexandria Wataniya Airways 2001 Cairo Saudi Arabian A/L 500 Jeddah Kuwait 562 Amman Kuwait 744 Dammam Jazeera 0457 Damascus Qatari 0134 Doha Kuwait 284 Dhaka Kuwait 546 Alexandria Royal Jordanian 800 Amman Jazeera 0173 Dubai
Time 00:05 01:05 01:15 01:45 02:15 02:15 02:35 03:00 03:25 04:25 05.35 06:10 06:25 06:30 06:40 06:45 07:00 07:55 08:05 08:10 08:30 08:55 09:00 09:35 10:45 10:45 10:50 11:00 11:05 11:05 11:10 11:20 11:20 12:45 12:55 13:20 13:25 13:30 13:35 13:45 14:20 14:30 14:35 14:40 14:45 15:00 15:10 15:30 15:40 16:05
Mihin Lanka Emirates Gulf Air Saudi Arabian A/L Etihad Jazeera Jazeera Arabia Thai Jazeera Wataniya Airways Sri Lankan United A/L Wataniya Airways D.H.L. Wataniya Airways Kuwait Kuwait Global Kuwait Kuwait Kuwait Kuwait Kuwait Kuwait Singapore A/L Kuwait Jet A/W Kuwait Oman Air Egypt Air Jazeera Wataniya Airways Jazeera Indian Gulf Air Middle East Qatari Emirates K.L.M. Wataniya Airways Kuwait Jazeera Jazeera Global Jazeera Jazeera India Express Lufthansa Wataniya Airways Wataniya Airways Pakistan
403 857 215 510 0303 0493 0239 0125 519 0367 2101 227 982 2003 473 1025 542 674 093 166 786 614 774 104 552 458 618 572 512 0647 618 0459 2103 0343 993 217 402 0138 859 0443 1129 502 0449 0429 091 0117 0185 389 638 2201 1029 205
16:40 16:55 17:05 17:15 17:15 17:30 17:35 17:40 17:45 17:45 17:50 18:05 18:15 18:20 18:30 18:40 18:50 18:55 19:00 19:00 19:10 19:20 19:30 19:35 19:40 19:45 20:00 20:05 20:05 20:20 20:35 20:40 20:55 20:55 21:00 21:05 21:20 21:35 21:40 21:55 22:00 22:00 22:10 22:15 22:20 22:25 22:40 23:15 23:30 23:40 23:45 23:55
FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION 161
Kuwait Wataniya Airways Syrian Arab A/L Kuwait Lufthansa Cargo Wataniya Airways Jazeera Kuwait Saudi Arabian A/L Kuwait Kuwait Kuwait Royal Jordanian Qatari Kuwait Mihin Lanka Gulf Air Etihad Emirates Arabia Jazeera Wataniya Airways Jazeera Wataniya Airways Jazeera Global Jazeera Jazeera Thai Sri Lankan Wataniya Airways Wataniya Airways Kuwait Kuwait Kuwait Jet A/W Oman Air Egypt Air Singapore A/L Gulf Air D.H.L. Kuwait Kuwait Middle East Falcon Jazeera Qatari Kuwait Emirates K.L.M. Jazeera Jazeera Kuwait
551 1024 342 673 8292 2102 0458 511 501 501 773 613 801 0135 617 404 216 0304 858 0126 0262 511 0184 2200 0116 092 0448 0428 520 228 1128 1028 368 343 351 571 0648 619 457 218 171 801 675 403 102 0188 0137 301 860 0443 0526 0502 411
Damascus Dubai Damascus Dubai Sharjah Beirut Damascus Tehran Jeddah Beirut Riyadh Bahrain Amman Doha Doha Dubai/Colombo Bahrain Abu Dhabi Dubai Sharjah Beirut Riyadh Dubai Amman Abu Dhabi Baghdad Doha Bahrain Bangkok Dubai/Colombo Bahrain Dubai Colombo Chennai Cochin Mumbai Muscat Alexandria Abu Dhabi/Singapore Bahrain Bahrain Cairo Dubai Beirut Bahrain Dubai Doha Mumbai Dubai Bahrain/Amsterdam Alexandria Luxor Bangkok/Manila
14:20 14:25 14:30 14:30 14:50 15:10 15:30 15:35 15:45 16:10 16:10 16:20 16:25 16:30 16:35 17:40 17:55 18:00 18:10 18:20 18:25 18:30 18:35 18:40 18:40 18:50 18:50 19:00 19:05 19:15 19:15 19:30 20:20 20:50 20:55 21:10 21:20 21:35 21:45 21:55 22:00 22:00 22:10 22:20 22:30 22:30 22:35 22:45 22:50 22.55 23:25 23:50 23:55
SPECTRUM
34 CROSSWORD 882
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Calvin Aries (March 21-April 19) Like everyone else,
clear messages are available to you now. Instead of studying a situation, it is time to bring unsolved problems to an end. You are at your most practical when it comes to dealing and working with others. You know just what to do and can act without haste and emotion. You are called on to make use of your natural abilities and common sense. A need to be respected is an emotionally charged issue in your life at this time. You develop a knack for organizing things and people, as a sense of ambition and practicality takes hold. This may mean that you have been put in charge of a community play or a neighborhood party. A close friend will be glad to help you—if you ask. Relax this evening—perhaps an early movie. Taurus (April 20-May 20) Finally, clear messages are
available—instead of studying a situation, it is time to complete the project. People will say what they mean and mean what they say. Your attitude is positive and one of cooperation. You may pitch in and help where angels fear to tread. You may find that you are moving into a position of influence in the work place now. There is better clarity now than ever before. With a little nudge in the right direction regarding legal, technical or mechanical problems, a solution will develop. Financial opportunities come to your attention today in an unexpected way. These are positive and deserve your attention. Although there is much activity now you can fall asleep tonight knowing you have accomplished good things.
Pooch Cafe
ACROSS 1. (Irish) Mother of the ancient Irish gods. 4. Harsh or corrosive in tone. 8. Not reflecting light. 11. Light informal conversation for social occasions. 12. Small European freshwater fish with a slender bluish-green body. 13. Title for a civil or military leader (especially in Turkey). 14. An organization of countries formed in 1961 to agree on a common policy for the sale of petroleum. 15. (informal) `johnny' was applied as a nickname for Confederate soldiers by the Federal soldiers in the American Civil War. 16. The federal agency that insures residential mortgages. 17. An anxiety disorder characterized by chronic free-floating anxiety and such symptoms as tension or sweating or trembling of lightheadedness or irritability etc that has lasted for more than six months. 22. The 3 goddesses of fate or destiny. 25. Having or localized centrally at a focus. 29. Relating to or concerned with a city or densely populated area. 31. A Chadic language spoken south of Lake Chad. 32. A soft silvery metallic element of the alkali earth group. 33. The blood group whose red cells carry both the A and B antigens. 34. A workplace for the conduct of scientific research. 37. The basic unit of money in Romania. 41. The sixth month of the civil year. 43. A light touch or stroke. 46. A member of an American Indian people of Yucatan and Belize and Guatemala who once had a culture characterized by outstanding architecture and pottery and astronomy. 47. A nucleic acid consisting of large molecules shaped like a double helix. 48. A loose sleeveless outer garment made from aba cloth. 49. (Old Testament) In Judeo-Christian mythology. 50. A river in north central Switzerland that runs northeast into the Rhine. 51. Any of several small ungulate mammals of Africa and Asia with rodent-like incisors and feet with hooflike toes.
Gemini (May 21-June 20) Your intuitive powers are sharp today—you seem to find the answers you need. Others find you fun-loving, with a quiet satisfaction that life is good and all things turn out swell. You may be a bit difficult to pin down today as a variety of projects and subjects hold your interest. Consider building or erecting some sort of area where you can enjoy some form of meditation—perhaps a water garden or herbal garden. This is a great way to gain a focus. You need the respect of others and you work best when you can advise or guide and see productive results from your efforts. Forgive a family member today. The one completely true thought that you can hold onto regarding the past is that the past is no longer here. Your creative side is showing this evening.
Non Sequitur
Cancer (June 21-July 22) Lay out specific guidelines in all your professional agreements for now so that you are not vulnerable to power plays. Do not undervalue yourself or your talents. Take a chance on your natural abilities. Superiors will be asking favors from you today. The return on your efforts will be worth twice over the energy spent— so do your best. Education and travel are possible soon. Your friends may request your help this afternoon—and that could include the travel. Perhaps someone is moving or expecting the arrival of some new equipment. This will all go rather well as everyone may want to pitch in for a pizza party after the work is completed. Take some time this evening to reflect and understand your own situation. An attitude of appreciation prevails. Leo (July 23-August 22) Stress adds tension and restlessness but it also adds a challenge to complete, compete, achieve and reach beyond the normal and all sorts of positive possibilities—look at the positive. Your friends have two important roles to play in your life just now—fun and harmony. Pay attention to your friends . . . they may also have some good ideas. All of those plans you have been making this month can be successfully put into effect soon—there is much enthusiasm to plan and take action. Sex and healing are obvious needs that play a bigger role in your life now. As the subject of taxes, investments and other financial ties or obligations come into your mind, you will set aside some time to organize. Agree upon a secret sign to tell your sweetheart you love them.
Zits
Virgo (August 23-September 22) Finally, clear messages are available—instead of studying a situation, it is time to end unsolved problems. Taking care of business is a major theme where your emotional orientation is concerned. You crave organization and practicality—and you want to get things accomplished. Pension, insurance or profit sharing plan subjects may be handled successfully—and it is about time. Any confusion you had about your job in the past will be cleared up now. New projects can be started— your mind is full of plans and ideas. Educate yourself in the best nutritional care and teach others to do the same. The result is a long and happy life! Treat yourself right after such a busy day . . . rest this evening, you have been busy!
DOWN 1. Highly excited. 2. Plant with an elongated head of broad stalked leaves resembling celery. 3. In bed. 4. A public promotion of some product or service. 5. A bottle with a stopper. 6. Made agreeably cold (especially by ice). 7. A young woman making her debut into society. 8. A Chadic language spoken south of Lake Chad. 9. Title for a civil or military leader (especially in Turkey). 10. An official language of the Republic of South Africa. 18. Thorny shrub or small tree common in central Argentina having small orange or yellow flowers followed by edible berries. 19. African tree having an exceedingly thick trunk and fruit that resembles a gourd and has an edible pulp called monkey bread. 20. Someone who works (or provides workers) during a strike. 21. A radioactive transuranic element. 23. A colorless and odorless inert gas. 24. A soft silvery metallic element of the alkali metal group. 26. A compartment in front of a motor vehicle where driver sits. 27. A highly unstable radioactive element (the heaviest of the halogen series). 28. A white soft metallic element that tarnishes readily. 30. Large herbivorous tropical American arboreal lizards with a spiny crest along the back. 35. (Babylonian) God of storms and wind. 36. Common Indian weaverbird. 38. Tropical starchy tuberous root. 39. A small cake leavened with yeast. 40. South African term for `boss'. 42. The most common computer memory which can be used by programs to perform necessary tasks while the computer is on. 44. A room or establishment where alcoholic drinks are served over a counter. 45. Having undesirable or negative qualities.
Libra (September 23-October 22) The educational classes that you have been thinking about lately could become a serious undertaking now. If you are not going to take a class, you might think about giving a class in the subject matter you know best. Community colleges pay nicely for a citizen to teach the community about some profitable or indemand subject. This could be anything from how to make shoes to computer savvy elder. A sudden opportunity for a business trip may be planned soon and you could enjoy some great surprises. Stability in the work place and in the home satisfies a deep emotional need now. Sports and recreational activities improve your fitness level and afford you time to enjoy yourself and your friends . . . you could enjoy some group sports.
Mother Goose and Grimm
Scorpio (October 23-November 21) You have been trying
to put through some new projects, methods or employee interests in the work place—your voice will be heard. You may be making headway in the work world today. Finally, clear messages are available—instead of studying a situation, it is time to bring unsolved problems to an end. There may be a hint of new ways to make money through an investment. Check this out and then double-check—it may be worth your time. As usual, a break for exercise will help you regain your energies. This is an excellent time to study and improve your mind. Your creativity and artistic abilities carry you toward your goals. Increasing confidence occurs when you recognize the progress you are making at this time. Sagittarius (November 22-December 21) Round table discussions are possible in the work place today. Getting in over your head is possible so think about what is already on your things-to-do list before you volunteer your services. This is a great time to be with others and to work together. Speculative ventures show tremendous promise and may provide excellent resources. Finally, instead of studying a situation, it is time to bring unsolved problems to an end. Job and family begin to take up most of your time now and you enjoy your interaction with everyone. You may find that friends and many personal interests are in a flux of change—the changes are all positive! Casual friends are in a positive upswing. Romance and other things that tug at the heart-strings come your way.
Yesterday’s Solution
Capricorn (December 22-January 19) Finally,
yester
Yesterday’s Solution
to
INTERNATIONAL CALLS Kuwait Qatar Abu Dhabi Dubai Raas Al Khayma Al-Shareqa Muscat Jordan Bahrain Riyadh Makkah - Jeddah Cairo Alexandria Beirut Damascus Allepo
00965 00974 009712 009714 009717 009716 00968 009626 00973 009661 009662 00202 00203 009611 0096311 0096321
Tunisia Rabat Washington New York Paris London Madrid Zurich Geneva Monaco Rome Bangkok Hong Kong Pakistan Taiwan Bonn
0021610 002127 001212 001718 00331 004471 00341 00411 004122 0033 00396 00662 00852 0092 00886 0049228
Word Sleuth Solution
clear messages are available—instead of studying a situation, it is time to end unsolved problems. Outer circumstances are good and it should be easy to push forward in projects and in all areas of your life. Things may seem almost magical in the way they work out. You may be able to enjoy and value your own life situation today or feel especially kind towards a friend or loved one. A visitor in your home this evening may compliment you on your tastes or belongings. This is a mentally and socially active period. Drastic measures to tone up the body are not necessary at this time. Try recreational activities or team sports. This is a favorable activity and you will enjoy the results of the exercise as well as the interaction with people. Aquarius (January 20- February 18) A story, a job, a child or one of the many subjects that you love, have your attention today and may cause you to dream and think or remember stories from long ago. Perhaps books you have read or things people have told you will spur your imagination to write a song or create a story outline or to write a play. You may have done this before, but at this time, there are energies all around you that only you can twist and turn into a real entertainment for others to enjoy. Now . . . be aware that your friends or family may not be a bit interested in your ideas just now, so write down your ideas, record them to listen to later or join a club that has similar interests; one for writers or musicians, etc. Your energies with this project will be well rewarded. Pisces (February 19-March 20) You could be in the limelight, especially with superiors. You may find that you really enjoy your job or the responsibility it entails. The conservative attitude is the best attitude right now. Finally, clear messages are available—instead of studying a situation, it is time to bring unsolved problems to an end. Your finances show improvement and you may have a significant chance to move ahead with some important plans very soon. You think you have forgotten a birthday or some other special day—make every effort to attend to this tonight. Make sure they know you truly care. You could be in a mood of self-enjoyment and can appreciate your own better qualities this evening. Music is a great aid to relaxation and romance.
TV PROGRAMS
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
35
Orbit listings / Show listings AMERICA PLUS 00:00 Lost 01:00 Janice Dickinson 02:00 Grey’s Anatomy 03:00 The Closer 04:00 One Tree Hill 05:00 Lost 06:00 GMA Recorded 08:00 GMA Health 08:30 What’s the Buzz 09:00 The Closer 10:00 Grey’s Anatomy 11:00 Ally McBeal 12:00 One Tree Hill 13:00 The Closer 14:00 Ally McBeal 15:00 GMA Live 17:00 GMA Health 17:30 What’s the Buzz 18:00 One Tree Hill 19:00 Lost 20:00 The O.C. 21:00 Without a Trace 22:00 Grey’s Anatomy 23:00 Supernatural ANIMAL PLANET 00:50 Animal Cops Houston 01:45 Killer Whales: Up Close and Personal 02:40 Untamed & Uncut 03:35 K9 Cops 04:30 Animal Cops Houston 06:20 Lemur Street 06:45 Monkey Business 07:10 Aussie Animal Rescue 07:35 Vet on the Loose 08:00 Wildlife SOS 08:25 Pet Rescue 08:50 Animal Precinct 09:45 The Planet’s Funniest Animals 10:40 Aussie Animal Rescue 11:05 Animal Cops Houston 11:55 The Jeff Corwin Experience 12:50 Wildlife SOS 13:15 Pet Rescue 13:45 The Planet’s Funniest Animals 14:40 Killer Whales: Up Close and Personal 15:35 Lemur Street 16:00 Monkey Business 16:30 Pet Rescue 16:55 Vet on the Loose 17:25 Wildlife SOS 17:50 Aussie Animal Rescue 18:20 Animal Cops Houston 19:15 Planet Earth 20:10 Shark after Dark 21:10 Animal Cops Houston 22:05 Untamed & Uncut 23:00 Planet Earth 23:55 Animal Cops Houston BBC ENTERTAINMENT 01:05 Building Wonders 01:55 Mission Africa 02:55 The Whistleblowers 03:45 Blackjack 04: Sweet Science 05:15 Building Wonders 06:35 Bargain Hunt 07:20 Balamory 07:40 Tweenies 08:00 Fimbles 08:20 Teletubbies 08:45 Yoho Ahoy 08:50 Tommy Zoom 09:00 Balamory 09:20 Tweenies 09:40 Fimbles 10:00 Teletubbies 10:25 Yoho Ahoy 10:30 Bargain Hunt 11:15 Coast 12:15 Mission Africa 12:45 Amazon Abyss 13:15 The Weakest Link 14:00 Eastenders 14:30 Doctors 15:00 Bargain Hunt 15:45 Cash In The Attic 16:15 Blackadder II 16:45 2 Point 4 Children 17:15 The Weakest Link 18:00 Doctors 18:30 Eastenders 19:00 The Whistleblowers 19:50 Model Gardens 20:10 Antiques Roadshow 21:00 The Weakest Link 21:45 Doctors 22:15 Eastenders 22:45 Goldplated 23:35 Casualty BBC LIFESTYLE 00:05 Ching’s Kitchen 00:30 Masterchef Goes Large 01:20 Cash In The Attic Usa 01:45 Hidden Potential 02:10 Living In The Sun 03:00 Ainsley’s Gourmet Express 03:30 Ching’s Kitchen 04:20 Masterchef Goes Large 05:20 Cash In The Attic Usa 05:45 Hidden Potential 06:10 Living In The Sun 07:00 10 Years Younger 08:00 Antiques Roadshow 08:50 Cash In The Attic Usa 09:35 Hidden Potential 10:00 Gary Rhodes’ Local Food Heroes 11:30 Living In The Sun 12:20 Antiques Roadshow 13:10 10 Years Younger 14:00 Gary Rhodes’ Local Food Heroes 15:35 Daily Cooks Challenge 16:30 Cash In The Attic Usa 16:50 Hidden Potential 17:15 Antiques Roadshow 18:05 10 Years Younger 18:55 Living In The Sun 19:45 Daily Cooks Challenge 20:15 Daily Cooks Challenge 20:40 Masterchef Goes Large 21:05 Ainsley’s Gourmet Express 21:35 Ching’s Kitchen 22:00 Fantasy Homes By The Sea 22:50 The Clothes Show 23:40 Ainsley’s Gourmet Express BBC WORLD 00:00 Bbc World News - U 00:30 Hardtalk - U 01:00 World News Today: Business Edition - U 01:45 Sport Today - U 02:00 Bbc World News - U 02:30 Hardtalk - U 03:00 Bbc World News America - U 04:00 Bbc World News - U 04:30 Asia Business Report - U
04:45 05:00 05:30 05:45 06:00 07:00 07:30 08:00 08:30 09:00 09:30 10:00 10:30 10:45 11:00 11:30 11:45 12:00 12:30 13:00 14:00 14:30 14:45 15:00 16:00 17:00 17:30 18:00 18:30 19:00 20:00 20:30 20:45 21:00 21:30 22:00 23:00 23:30
Sport Today - U Bbc World News - U Asia Business Report - U Asia Today - U World News Today - U Bbc World News - U Hardtalk - U Bbc World News - U World Business Report - U Bbc World News - U World Business Report - U Bbc World News - U World Business Report - U Sport Today - U Bbc World News - U World Business Report - U Sport Today - U Bbc World News - U Hardtalk - U Bbc World News - U Bbc World News - U World Business Report - U Sport Today - U World News Today - U World News Today - U Bbc World News - U Hardtalk - U Bbc World News - U Fast Track - U World News Today - U Bbc World News - U World Business Report - U Sport Today - U Bbc World News - U Hardtalk - U World News Today - U Bbc World News - U Our World - U
CARTOON NETWORK 00:15 Out of Jimmy’s Head 00:40 Chop Socky Chooks 01:05 Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends 01:30 Cramp Twins 01:55 George of the Jungle 02:20 Adrenalini Brothers 02:45 Gadget Boy 03:10 Ed, Edd n Eddy 03:35 Class of 3000
23:50 Megas XLR CINEMA CITY 01:00 Who is Cletis Tout? - PG15 03:00 Harrison Montgomery - PG 05:00 Ba’al - PG15 07:00 Who is Cletis Tout? - PG15 09:00What If God Were the Sun? - PG 11:00 All Roads Lead Home - PG 13:00 The Man from Earth - PG 15:00 The Moon and the Stars - PG15 17:00 Double Whammy - PG15 19:00 Prelude to a Kiss - PG15 21:00 Silver City - PG 23:00 I Me Wed - PG15 CNN INTERNATIONAL 00:00 Connect The World 01:00 Backstory 01:30 World Sport 02:00 The Situation Room 03:00 World Report 04:00 World Business Today 04:30 World Sport 05:00 World Report 06:00 Anderson Cooper 360 07:00 World Report 07:30 Talkasia 08:00 World Report 08:30 Backstory 09:00 World Report 10:30 World Sport 11:00 World Report 11:30 World Business Today 12:00 World Report 12:30 The Screening Room 13:00 Larry King 14:00 World Report 14:30 World Sport 15:00 World Report 16:00 Amanpour. 16:30 Talkasia 17:00 World Business Today 18:00 International Desk 19:00 The Brief 19:30 World Sport 20:00 Prism 20:30 The Screening Room 21:00 International Desk 22:00 Quest Means Business
Across The Universe on Show Movies 1 04:00 The Powerpuff Girls 04:15 Robotboy 04:40 The Secret Saturdays 05:05 Chowder 05:30 Ben 10 05:55 Best Ed 06:20 Samurai Jack 06:45 Cramp Twins 07:10 Eliot Kid 07:35 The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack 08:00 My Spy Family 08:25 Chowder 08:50 Best Ed 09:15 Chop Socky Chooks 09:40 Ben 10: Alien Force 10:05 Bakugan Battle Brawlers 10:30 Fantastic Four: World’s Greatest Heroes 10:55 Skunk Fu! 11:20 My Gym Partner’s A Monkey 11:30 Squirrel Boy 11:55 Robotboy 12:20 Camp Lazlo 12:45 The Powerpuff Girls 13:10 Class of 3000 13:35 Ed, Edd n Eddy 14:00 Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends 14:25 Codename 14:50 Ben 10 15:15 My Gym Partner’s A Monkey 15:40 Squirrel Boy 16:05 Eliot Kid 16:35 George of the Jungle 17:00 Skunk Fu! 17:25 Fantastic Four: World’s Greatest Heroes 17:50 Bakugan Battle Brawlers 18:15 The Secret Saturdays 18:40 Ben 10: Alien Force 19:05 Casper’s Scare School 19:30 Total Drama Action 20:00 The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack 20:25 Chop Socky Chooks 20:50 My Gym Partner’s A Monkey 21:05 Ed, Edd n Eddy 21:30 Skunk Fu! 21:45 The Secret Saturdays 22:10 Ben 10: Alien Force 22:35 The Life & Times of Juniper Lee 23:00 Camp Lazlo 23:25 Samurai Jack
23:00 Amanpour. 23:30 World One DISCOVERY CHANNEL 00:00 Destroyed in Seconds 01:00 Miami Ink 02:00 Street Customs 2008 02:55 American Chopper 03:50 Chop Shop 04:45 Mythbusters 05:40 Factory Made 06:05 Ultimate Survival 07:00 Extreme Engineering 07:55 Chop Shop 08:50 Street Customs 2008 09:45 How Do They Do It? 10:10 Mythbusters 11:05 Ultimate Survival 12:00 Destroyed in Seconds 12:55 How Do They Do It? 13:25 Factory Made 13:50 Fifth Gear 14:15 American Chopper 15:10 Miami Ink 16:05 Mythbusters 17:00 Ultimate Survival 18:00 Destroyed in Seconds 19:00 Street Customs 2008 20:00 How Do They Do It? 20:30 Factory Made 21:00 Smash Lab 22:00 Time Warp 23:00 Mythbusters DISCOVERY SCIENCE 00:40 Mega World 01:30 Download: The True Story of the Internet 02:20 Eco-Tech 03:10 Discovery Project Earth 04:00 Beyond Tomorrow 04:50 Race to Mars 05:45 Cool Stuff & How it Works 06:10 Green Wheels 06:40 One Step Beyond 07:10 Download: The True Story of the Internet 08:00 Junkyard Mega-Wars 09:00 Race to Mars 10:00 Sci-Trek 10:55 How Stuff’s Made 11:20 Stunt Junkies 11:50 Download: The True Story of the Internet 12:45 Green Wheels
13:10 13:40 14:35 15:30 16:25 16:55 17:50 18:45 19:40 20:30 21:20 22:10 23:00 23:50
One Step Beyond Race to Mars Sci-Trek What’s That About? How Stuff’s Made Junkyard Mega-Wars Brainiac Mega World How It’s Made Fantastic Food Factories How It’s Made Mythbusters How It’s Made Fantastic Food Factories
DISNEY CHANNEL 00:00 My Friends Tigger and Pooh 00:20 Handy Manny 00:45 Special Agent Oso 01:10 Lazytown 02:00 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 02:45 Handy Manny 03:10 Special Agent Oso 03:35 Brandy & Mr Whiskers 04:00 Fairly Odd Parents 04:25 Hannah Montana 04:45 I Got A Rocket 05:10 Wizards Of Waverly Place 05:35 Phineas & Ferb 06:00 Higglytown Heroes 06:10 My Friends Tigger and Pooh 06:35 Handy Manny 07:00 Special Agent Oso 07:20 Lazytown 08:10 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 09:00 Handy Manny 09:25 Special Agent Oso 09:45 Brandy & Mr Whiskers 10:10 Fairly Odd Parents 10:35 Hannah Montana 11:00 I Got A Rocket 11:25 Wizards Of Waverly Place 11:45 Phineas & Ferb 12:10 Suite Life On Deck 12:35 Replacements 12:55 American Dragon 13:20 Kim Possible 13:40 Famous Five 14:05 Fairly Odd Parents 14:30 Phineas & Ferb 14:55 Replacements 15:15 I Got A Rocket 15:40 Wizards Of Waverly Place 16:00 Hannah Montana 16:25 Sonny With A Chance 16:45 Fairly Odd Parents 17:10 Phineas & Ferb 17:35 Suite Life On Deck 18:00 Wizards Of Waverly Place 18:25 Hannah Montana 18:45 The Replacements 19:00 Jonas 19:25 Suite Life On Deck 19:50 Wizards Of Waverly Place 20:15 Sonny With A Chance 20:40 Hannah Montana 21:05 The Suite Life of Zack & Cody 21:30 The Suite Life of Zack & Cody 21:50 The Replacements 22:00 American Dragon 22:25 Kim Possible 22:50 Famous Five 23:15 Fairly Odd Parents 23:35 Phineas & Ferb E! ENTERTAINMENT 00:15 Streets Of Hollywood 00:40 E! Investigates 01:30 25 Most Stylish 02:20 Sexiest 03:15 Ths Investigates 05:05 Dr 90210 06:00 Ths 07:45 Style Star 08:35 E! News 09:00 The Daily 10 09:25 Reality Hell 10:15 Ths 11:05 Ths 12:00 E! News 12:25 The Daily 10 12:50 Leave It To Lamas 13:40 Ths 15:25 Behind The Scenes 15:50 Behind The Scenes 16:15 E!es 17:10 Kourtney And Khloe Take Miami 17:35 Kourtney And Khloe Take Miami 18:00 E! News 18:25 The Daily 10 18:50 Streets Of Hollywood 19:15 Battle Of The Hollywood Hotties 19:40 E!es 20:30 Ths 21:20 Perfect Catch 22:10 E! News 22:35 The Daily 10 23:00 Dr 90210 23:50 Battle Of The Hollywood Hotties
09:30 2010 AT&T U.S. Figure Skating Championships Compulsory Dance Spokane, WA 11:00 NFL: NFC Championship 14:00 Golf Central International 14:30 Hyundai A League Highlights 15:00 Mexican Soccer: Teams TBA (tentative) 17:00 Torneo de Verano Salta, Argentina 19:00 Dream Team Season 8 20:00 NHL: New Jersey Devils at Ottawa Senators 23:00 Torneo de Verano Salta, Argentina
Highlights 16:00 International Pairs World of Golf 16:30 Premier League Classics 17:00 Weber Cup Bowling 18:00 Barclays Premier League 20:00 Futbol Mundial 20:30 Barclays Premier League 22:45 Live Toshiba Mid-Week Special 23:00 Live Premier League SHOW SPORTS 3 01:00 Premier League 03:00 Premier League World 03:30 Futbol Mundial 04:00 Weber Cup Bowling 05:00 European Challenge Cup 07:00 PGA European Highlights 08:00 Futbol Mundial 08:30 European Challenge Cup 10:30 Gillette World Sport 11:00 Weber Cup Bowling 12:00 PGA European Highlights 13:00 Portuguese Liga 15:00 Futbol Mundial 15:30 European Challenge Cup 17:30 Futbol Mundial 18:00 PGA European Highlights 19:00 World Of Golf 19:30 European Tour Weekly 20:00 Premier League Classics 21:00 PGA European Highlights 22:00 European Tour Weekly 22:30 Futbol Mundial 23:00 Live Premier League
FRANCE 24 00:00 News And Magazines - U 00:30 The France 24 Interview - U 01:00 News And Magazines - U 21:30 The France 24 Debate - U 22:00 News And Magazines - U MGM 01:00 Until September 02:35 Final Combination 04:10 Wish You Were Here 05:40 Married To It 07:30 Queen Of Hearts 09:20 Defiance 11:00 The Man Inside 12:40 The Escape 14:10 Nicholas Nickleby 16:20 Lady in White 18:10 Hennessy 19:55 The Russians Are Coming 22:00 Hair NAT GEO ADVENTURE 00:30 Meet The Natives - Usa 01:30 Culture Shocks 02:30 Destination Extreme 03:00 Madventures 03:30 Surfer’s Journal 04:00 Bondi Rescue 04:30 Destination Extreme 05:00 Madventures 05:30 Departures 06:30 Meet The Natives - Usa 07:30 Culture Shocks 08:30 Destination Extreme 09:00 Madventures 09:30 Surfer’s Journal 10:00 Bondi Rescue 10:30 Destination Extreme 11:00 Madventures 11:30 By Any Means 12:30 Jailed Abroad 13:30 Jailed Abroad 14:30 Destination Extreme 15:00 Madventures 15:30 Surfer’s Journal 16:00 Bondi Rescue 16:30 Destination Extreme 17:00 Madventures 17:30 By Any Means 18:30 Jailed Abroad 19:30 Jailed Abroad 20:30 Destination Extreme 21:00 Madventures 21:30 Surfer’s Journal 22:00 Bondi Rescue 22:30 Destination Extreme 23:00 Madventures 23:30 By Any Means
Sweeney Todd on Super Movies
NAT GEO WILD 00:00 Secret Shark Pits 01:00 Planet Carnivore 02:00 Hunter Hunted 03:00 Amazon Claws 04:00 Hidden Worlds 04:30 Snake Wranglers 05:00 Superfish 06:00 Secret Shark Pits 07:00 Planet Carnivore 08:00 Hunter Hunted 09:00 Amazon Claws 10:00 Hidden Worlds 10:30 Snake Wranglers 11:00 Frogs - The Thin Green Line 12:00 Wild Russia 13:00 Polar Bear Alcatraz 14:00 Monkey Thieves 14:30 Monkey Thieves 15:00 Dam Beavers 16:00 Hidden Worlds 16:30 Snake Wranglers 17:00 Frogs - The Thin Green Line 18:00 Wild Russia 19:00 Polar Bear Alcatraz 20:00 Monkey Thieves 20:30 Monkey Thieves 21:00 Dam Beavers 22:00 Hidden Worlds 22:30 Snake Wranglers 23:00 Frogs - The Thin Green Line
EXTREME SPORTS 00:00 Strikeforce 01:00 FIM World Motocross Championships 2008 02:00 Ticket To Ride 03:00 Strikeforce 04:00 Transsyberia Rally 2008 05:00 Ride Guide Snow 2008 06:00 F.I.A European Drag Racing 07:00 FIM World Motocross Championships 2008 08:00 F.I.A European Drag Racing 09:00 I-Ex Season 2 10:00 FIM World Motocross Championships 2008 11:00 Ticket To Ride 12:00 F.I.A European Drag Racing 13:00 I-Ex Season 2 14:00 Ride Guide Snow 2008 15:00 Ticket To Ride 16:00 F.I.A European Drag Racing 17:00 I-Ex Season 2 18:00 FIM World Motocross Championships 2008 19:00 Fim World Motocross Championships 2009 20:00 Ride Guide Snow 2008 21:00 I-Ex Season 2 22:00 Ticket To Ride 23:00 Fim World Motocross Championships 2009
ORBIT NEWS 1 00:00 ABC Now Bell/ Good Money LIVE 00:30 ABC NOW Top Line / Inside the Newsroom 01:00 ABC NOW Nature’s Edge (Mon) 01:30 ABC NOW World News Webcast + Daily Download 02:00 ABC Nightline 02:30 ABC World News Live 03:00 NBC Nightly News Live 03:30 ABC World News (Tue) 04:00 NBC Today Show 07:00 NBC Nightly News (Tue) 07:30 ABC Nightline Live 08:00 ABC World News (Tue) 08:30 NBC Nightly News (Tue) 09:00 Newshour with Jim Lehrer 10:00 ABC Nightline 10:30 NBC Nightly News (Tue) 11:00 ABC World News Now Live 12:30 NBC Early Today Live 13:00 ABC America This Morning Live 14:30 NBC Early Today 15:00 NBC Today Show Live 19:00 ABC Now Money Matters / Bell 19:30 ABC NOW / Good Money 20:00 MSNBC Live Dr. NANCY 21:00 MSNBC Live Andrea Mitchell Reports 22:00 PBS Newshour with Jim Lehrer 23:00 MSNBC Countdown w/K. Olbermann
FOX SPORTS 01:00 Torneo de Verano Mar Del Plata, Argentina 03:30 NHL: New Jersey Devils at Ottawa Senators 06:30 The Golf Channel - TBA 09:00 Golf Central International
ORBIT NEWS 2 00:00 MSNBC Live 01:00 MSNBC Live Hardball 02:00 MSNBC News Live The Ed Show 03:00 MSNBC (As Live) Hardball 04:00 MSNBC Live Countdown w/K.
Olbermann 05:00 MSNBC Live The Rachel Maddow Show 06:00 MSNBC (as live) Countdown w/K. Olbermann 07:00 MSNBC (As Live) The Rachel Maddow Show 08:00 MSNBC (As Live) Hardball 09:00 MSNBC (as live) Countdown w/K. Olbermann 10:00 MSNBC (As Live) The Rachel Maddow Show 11:00 MSNBC (As Live) The Ed Show 12:00 MSNBC (as live) Countdown w/K. Olbermann 13:00 MSNBC First Look (Live) 13:30 MSNBC Way Too Early w/W. Geist (Live) 14:00 MSNBC (taped) Hardball 15:00 MSNBC (taped) The Ed Show 16:00 MSNBC (taped) Countdown w/K. Olbermann 17:00 MSNBC Live Morning Meeting with Dylan Ratigan 18:00 MSNBC Live Morning Meeting with Dylan Ratigan 19:00 MSNBC Live 20:00 MSNBC (taped) Hardball 21:00 MSNBC (taped) Countdown w/K. Olbermann 22:00 MSNBC (taped) The Rachel Maddow Show 23:00 MSNBC Live PLAYHOUSE DISNEY 08:00 Special Agent Oso 08:25 Handy Manny 08:50 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 09:15 Imagination Movers 09:40 Chuggington 10:10 Handy Manny 10:30 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 10:50 Special Agent Oso 11:15 Imagination Movers 11:40 My Friends Tigger and Pooh 12:05 Chuggington 12:55 Handy Manny 13:05 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 13:50 Imagination Movers 14:10 Little Einsteins 14:30 Special Agent Oso 14:55 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 15:20 Jo Jo’s Circus 16:10 Higglytown Heroes 17:00 Happy Monster Band 17:05 My Friends Tigger and Pooh 17:30 Happy Monster Band 17:35 Handy Manny 18:00 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 18:25 Special Agent Oso 18:50 Chuggington 19:00 Imagination Movers 19:25 Handy Manny 19:50 Chuggington 20:00 Special Agent Oso 20:15 Little Einsteins 20:40 Handy Manny 20:50 My Friends Tigger and Pooh 21:00 End Of Programming SHOW COMEDY 00:00 Friends 00:30 Seinfeld 01:00 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 01:30 The Colbert Report 02:00 Sit Down, Shut Up 02:30 The Book Group 03:00 Home Improvement 03:30 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 04:00 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 04:30 The Colbert Report 05:00 Tyler Perry’s House Of Payne 05:30 Will And Grace 06:00 Two And A Half Men 06:30 Home Improvement 07:00 Fresh Prince Of Bel Air 07:30 Ellen 08:00 Tyler Perry’s House Of Payne 08:30 8 Simple Rules.. 09:00 Watching Ellie 09:30 Malcolm In The Middle 10:00 Will And Grace 10:30 Two And A Half Men 11:00 Til Death 11:30 8 Simple Rules.. 12:00 Ellen 12:30 Watching Ellie 13:00 Rita Rocks 13:30 Tyler Perry’s House Of Payne 14:00 Home Improvement 14:30 Malcolm In The Middle 15:00 Friends 15:30 Seinfeld
16:00 Ellen 16:30 Watching Ellie 17:00 Rita Rocks 17:30 8 Simple Rules.. 18:00 Will And Grace 18:30 Two And A Half Men 19:00 Til Death 19:30 Malcolm In The Middle 20:00 Friends 20:30 Seinfeld 21:00 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 21:30 The Colbert Report 22:00 Sit Down, Shut Up 22:30 The Book Group 23:00 Nut Case 23:30 Til Death SHOW MOVIES 1 01:00 Jolene - 18 03:00 Across The Universe - PG 15 05:30 The Forgotten Coast - PG 15 07:00 Christmas In Wonderland - PG 09:00 Phoebe In Wonderland - PG 11:00 Sydney White - PG 15 13:00 Spiderwick Chronicles - PG 15:00 Phoebe In Wonderland - PG 17:00 Sydney White - PG 15 19:00 Spiderwick Chronicles - PG 21:00 Definitely Maybe - PG 15 23:00 21 - PG 15 SHOW MOVIES 2 00:30 Easy Rider - 18 02:30 After Sex - R 04:00 The Firm - PG 15 06:30 Stan Lee: The Condor - PG 07:45 Sicko - PG 15 10:00 Broken Bridges - PG 15 12:00 Year Of The Dog - PG 15 14:00 Pootie Tang - PG 15 16:00 Broken Bridges - PG 15 18:00 Year Of The Dog - PG 15 20:00 Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day - PG 15 22:00 Crossing Over - PG 15 SHOW MOVIES ACTION 01:00 Boot Camp - 18 03:00 High Heels And Low Lifes - PG 15 05:00 Walking Tall 3: Lone Justice PG 15 07:00 Stargate: The Ark Of Truth PG 09:00 Rogue - PG 15 11:00 Highlander: The Source - PG 15 13:00 Termination Point - PG 15 15:00 Rogue - PG 15 17:00 Highlander: The Source - PG 15 19:00 Loaded - PG 15 21:00 El Orfenato - 18 23:00 Punisher: War Zone - 18 SHOW MOVIES COMEDY 00:00 Where’s Marlowe? - 18 02:00 The Allnighter - PG 15 04:00 Are You Ready For Love - PG 06:00 Drillbit Taylor - PG 15 08:00 The Allnighter - PG 15 10:00 Making Mr Right - PG 15 12:00 Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid PG 14:00 Mr. Bean’s Holiday - PG 16:00 Making Mr Right - PG 15 18:00 Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid PG 20:00 What Rats Won’t Do - PG 15 22:00 Man About Town - 18 SHOW MOVIES KIDS 00:30 Ghostbusters Ii - PG 02:30 Asterix Aux Jeux Olympiques FAM 04:30 Robin Hood: The King’s Return - FAM 06:15 That Darn Cat - PG 08:00 Daddy Day Camp - FAM 10:00 The Totenwackers - PG 11:45 Hammer Boy - PG 13:15 Mostly Ghostly - PG 15:15 Genghis Khan - PG 17:15 Yogi’s Great Escape - PG 19:00 Mostly Ghostly - PG 21:00 The Totenwackers - PG 22:45 Hammer Boy - PG SHOW SPORTS 1 01:00 Premier League 22:30 Live Toshiba Mid-Week Special 22:45 Live Premier League SHOW SPORTS 2 01:00 Premier League 15:00 PGA European
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SHOW SPORTS 4 01:00 WWE Vintage Collection 02:00 UFC - The Ultimate Fighter 05:00 Live NCAA Basketball 07:15 WWE Vintage Collection 08:15 UAE National Race Day 09:00 Rat Race 11:00 Bushido 12:00 WWE Vintage Collection 13:00 FIA GT 15:00 Rat Race 15:30 FIM World Cup 16:00 NCAA Basketball 19:45 UFC - The Ultimate Fighter 22:45 Live Scottish Premier League SKY NEWS 00:00 News, Sport, Weather - U 01:00 Sky News At Ten - U 02:00 Sky News Tonight - U 02:30 Press Preview - U 03:00 Sky Midnight News - U 03:30 Cbs News - U 04:00 News On The Hour - U 04:30 News, Sport, Weather - U 05:00 News On The Hour - U 05:30 News, Sport, Weather - U 06:00 News On The Hour - U 06:30 Cbs News - U 07:00 Sky World News - U 07:30 Sky World Review And Business Report - U 08:00 Sky World News - U 08:30 Sky World Review And Business Report - U 09:00 Sunrise - U 12:00 The Live Desk - U 13:00 Sky News Today - U 15:00 Pmq’s - U 15:30 Sky News Today - U 16:00 The Live Desk - U 17:00 Afternoon Live - U 20:00 Live At Five - U 20:30 Live At Five - U 21:00 Sky News At Six - U 21:30 Sky News At Six - U 22:00 Sky.com News - U 22:30 Jeff Randall Live - U 23:00 News, Sport, Weather - U 23:30 News, Sport, Weather - U SUPER COMEDY 00:30 The Jay Leno Show 01:30 Drew Carey Show 02:00 The Ellen Degeneres Show 03:00 Everybody Loves Raymond 03:30 Late Night Show With Jimmy Fallon 04:30 Jimmy Kimmel Live 05:30 The Jay Leno Show 06:30 The Simpsons 07:00 Frasier 07:30 Drew Carey Show 08:00 The Tonight Show With Conan O’ Brien 09:00 The Ellen Degeneres Show 10:00 Jimmy Kimmel Live 11:00 Everybody Loves Raymond 11:30 Frasier 12:00 The Simpsons 12:30 Drew Carey Show 13:00 The Jay Leno Show 14:00 The Tonight Show With Conan O’ Brien 15:00 Late Night Show With Jimmy Fallon 16:00 The Ellen Degeneres Show 17:00 Everybody Loves Raymond 17:30 Frasier 18:00 Jimmy Kimmel Live 19:00 Notes From The Underbelly 19:30 All Of Us 20:00 The Jay Leno Show 21:00 The Tonight Show With Conan O’ Brien 22:00 Late Night Show With Jimmy Fallon 23:00 Reno 911 23:30 Jimmy Kimmel Live SUPER MOVIES 01:00 Penthouse - PG15 03:00 A Previous Engagement PG15 05:00 Sweeney Todd - 18 07:00 Penthouse - PG15 09:00 Max Payne - PG15 11:00 Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden? - PG15 13:00 The 11th Hour - PG 15:00 The Last Mimzy - FAM 17:00 Final Destination *3* - PG15 19:00 The Prestige - PG15 21:00 The Timekeeper - PG 23:00 Blood Diamond - 18 TCM 00:50 02:30 05:00 05:30 07:20 08:00 09:35
Martin’s Day (1984) How the West Was Won The Screening Room X Y & Zee (1972) The Screening Room Angels with Dirty Faces Raintree County
Star listings (UAE timings) Star Movies 16:00 Kyle Xy 16:50 V.I.P. 17:00 Reaper 17:50 One Day At A Time 18:00 Painkiller Jane 18:50 Starsky & Hutch 19:00 Ghost Hunters International 19:50 V.I.P. 20:00 Reaper 20:50 One Day At A Time 21:00 Painkiller Jane 21:50 Starsky & Hutch 22:00 [V] Tunes 23:00 How I Met Your Mother 23:30 NGC Program 00:00 [V] Tunes 01:00 [V] Tunes 02:00 7th Heaven 03:00 The Simpsons 03:30 The King Of Queens 04:00 According To Jim
05:00 05:50 06:00 06:50 07:00 07:50 08:00 08:50 09:00 09:30 10:00 10:50 11:00 11:50 12:00 13:00 14:00 14:30 15:00
Ghost Hunters International V.I.P. Bones One Day At A Time Kyle XY Starsky & Hutch Reaper V.I.P. How I Met Your Mother The Bold And The Beautiful 7th Heaven One Day At A Time Bones Starsky & Hutch [V] Tunes Ghost Hunters International The Simpsons The King Of Queens According To Jim
Granada TV 20:30 Strange But True? (Series 4)
21:00 Drivers From Hell 22:00 Emmerdale 22:30 Coronation Street 23:00 Drivers From Hell 00:00 Parkinson (Series 6) 01:00 60 Minute Makeover (Series 3) 02:00 Romance Wednesday: Cold Feet (Series 2) (Double Bill) 04:00 Vroom Vroom (Series 2) 05:00 Emmerdale 05:30 Coronation Street 06:00 Parkinson (Series 6) 07:00 60 Minute Makeover (Series 3) 08:00 Romance Wednesday: Cold Feet (Series 2) (Double Bill) 10:00 Vroom Vroom (Series 2) 11:00 Emmerdale 11:30 Coronation Street 12:00 Parkinson (Series 6) 13:00 Coach Trip (Series 1) * 14:00 Romance Wednesday: Cold Feet (Series 3) (Double Bill)
16:00 Emmerdale 16:30 Coronation Street 17:00 Parkinson (Series 6) 18:00 Coach Trip (Series 1) * 19:00 Romance Wednesday: Cold Feet (Series 3) (Double Bill) Channel [V] 22:00 [V] Plug 22:30 The Playlist 23:00 Loop 00:00 Backtracks 01:00 Double Shot 02:00 [V] Plug 02:30 The Playlist 03:00 Loop 04:00 [V] Countdown 06:00 Double Shot 07:00 Backtracks 08:00 Loop 09:00 [V] Plug 09:30 Double Shot
10:00 11:00 12:00 12:30 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 18:30 19:00 20:00 21:00
Backtracks [V] Tunes [V] Plug The Playlist Loop Parental Control Double Bill [V] Tunes Backtracks [V] Tunes [V] Plug The Playlist Loop Parental Control Double Bill [V] Tunes
Fox News 20:00 Happening Now 22:00 The Live Desk 00:00 Studio B with Shepard Smith Live 01:00 Your World with Neil Cavuto 02:00 Glenn Beck with Glenn Beck 03:00 Special Report with Bret Baier
04:00 The FOX Report with Shepard Smith 05:00 The O’Reilly Factor 06:00 Hannity 07:00 On the Record with Greta Van Susteren 08:00 The O’Reilly Factor 09:00 Hannity 10:00 On the Record with Greta Van Susteren 11:00 Glenn Beck with Glenn Beck 12:00 Fox Report 13:00 Special Report with Bret Baier 14:00 The O’Reilly Factor 15:00 FOX & Friends First Live 16:00 FOX & Friends Live 18:00 America’s Newsroom National Geographic Channel 20:00 ABOUT ASIA -Rivers And Life : Yangtze 21:00 Adventure Wanted -White Water
Challenge S1-6 22:00 Blowdown -Rocket Tower S1-4 23:00 Carrier -Super Secrets S1-3 00:00 Inside: FBI Stake Out 01:00 ABOUT ASIA -Rivers And Life : Yangtze 02:00 Predator CSI -Man-Eating Lions 03:00 Bizarre Dinos 04:00 Bite Me With Dr. Mike Leahy India 3 05:00 ABOUT ASIA -Rivers And Life : Yangtze 06:00 Wildlife Photographers 07:00 Adventure Wanted -White Water Challenge S1-6 08:00 Inside: FBI Stake Out 09:00 Nat Geo Junior -Wild Chronicles : 15 09:30 Nat Geo Junior -What Would Happen If... : 8 10:00 Predator CSI -Man-Eating Lions 11:00 Wildlife Photographers
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Wednesday, January 27, 2010
wants to be an actress he three-year-old daughter of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes is so keen to follow in the footsteps of her thespian parents she has already started having private lessons. A source told Britain’s Star magazine: “Suri loves her dance classes so much that when she started asking her mom to act, Katie couldn’t say no.” The idea to have lessons was Suri’s, although Tom has previously admitted he would be happy for his daughter to become an actress. He said: “I’d love it. I’d love it! Acting is... a great life, to get to entertain people and create characters and stories.” Tom, 47, and Katie, 31, are thought to have spent over a million dollars since she was born providing her with everything she needs in life, including weekly French and Spanish lessons and regular tap-dancing classes. Suri was even given her own £18,000 replica race car to cruise around the neighborhood in, after she became obsessed with watching motor racing on TV.
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Eva Longoria-Parker plans to have children soon he ‘Desperate Housewives’ actress insists she and her husband, basketball player Tony Parker, are getting ready to start a family very soon. She said: “It’s a matter of time.” Eva, 34, also revealed her relationship with 27year-old Tony works because they are friends as well as lovers. She revealed in an interview with new! magazine: “We are just best friends. I love his company and I am married to the person I want to be with. “I cannot ask for more. We respect each other as people and as a couple, and we trust each other. The best thing is that he loves to surprise me and I love to be surprised. “Our relationship is more solid than ever and we have so much fun together. Tony and I would love to be together forever. But the only way you get to forever is one day at a time.” Eva also enjoys being betrothed to a younger man because Tony has such a passion for life which also inspires her. She said: “He has an amazing passion for everything he does, but the best is his innocence about love and relationships. And we love to travel. We love laughter and music and we keep healthy.”
Lavigne’s Las Vegas trip
o t m a h k c Be a n g i des l e t o h y r u lux ai b u in D
vril Lavigne went on a girls-only trip to Las Vegas. The ‘Girlfriend’ singer - who filed for divorce from her estranged husband Deryck Whibley in October 2009 - recently whisked away some of her closest female friends for a five-day break in ‘Sin City’ to party and have fun. A source told America’s Star magazine: “All she wanted was a girls’ weekend. She had a strict no-boys-allowed rule. She needed to let loose. She’d had it up to there dealing with men.” Avril splashed out over $750 a night for the women to stay at the luxurious Vdara hotel and spa in the
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Portman is dating a ballerino he ‘Brothers’ actress is said to be smitten with Benjamin Millepied - who is a member of the New York City Ballet - after meeting him last year when he choreographed her new movie ‘Black Swan’. A source told the New York Post newspaper: “They’ve been dating since the fall, although she told friends that she hasn’t gone public with it because she was waiting to see if things got serious.” Although she is said to be dating a ballerina, it seems his skills haven’t rubbed off on Natalie. She recently revealed she was a terrible dancer and was finding her role in ‘Black Swan’ challenging because she hasn’t retained the skills she learned as a child. She said: “I’m in full ballet mode right now playing a ballerina in ‘Black Swan’. I danced until I was like 13, but I definitely remember being better than I am. I was like, ‘Wow, I was pretty good as a kid.’ Then I went into ballet class, and I was like, ‘I’m not good at all. I really suck.’ So it’s been challenging.” — BangShowbiz
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new CityCenter complex. On one night out to the Bank nightclub, which is located inside the Bellagio hotel, the 25-year-old pop star treated fellow revelers to a short impromptu sing-along as she partied with friends and ignored the advances of any men. The source added: “They took shots of Patron tequila when they weren’t drinking vodka. She couldn’t have cared less about any of the men ogling her. They closed down the clubs every night they went out. They had a blast. Then for the hangovers, they hit Vdara’s spa before doing it all again.”
Aniston donates $500,000 to the Haiti relief appeal he ‘Marley and Me’ star gave the generous amount to charities Doctors Without Borders, Partners in Health and Americares to help aid victims of the two devastating earthquakes which have hit the Caribbean nation in the past two weeks. Jennifer also took part in Friday night’s Hope for Haiti Now telethon, which has so far raised $58 million for the Caribbean nation, where at least 150,000 people have died. Jennifer, 40, is the latest in a long line of celebrities to donate money to the cause. Leonardo DiCaprio gave $1 million, through the Leonardo DiCaprio Fund, which will help with immediate relief efforts as well as with longer-term redevelopment and infrastructure projects, including a focus towards sustainable development. George Clooney - who helped organized the telethon - also donated $1 million to the relief effort. Other stars to have given help to the disaster-stricken state include Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, Wyclef Jean and John Travolta.
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ictoria Beckham has been offered £25 million to design a luxury hotel in Dubai. The former Spice Girls singer was personally approached by the ruler of Dubai, Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, who asked her to lend her talents to the project after meeting Victoria, 35, and her 34year-old husband David when they holidayed in the Gulf last summer. The hotel will be located on a fashion-themed island called Isla Moda off the Dubai coast, which is part of The World development - a man-made archipelago of 300 islands constructed in the shape of a map of the landmasses of the Earth. A source revealed: “Even in these credit-crunched times, the fee offered to Victoria was astronomical. She was absolutely stunned.” Victoria not yet decided whether to sign up, but if she accepts the offer she will work with Karl Lagerfeld on the creation for Dubai, which is part of the United Arab Emirates. A spokeswoman for Victoria said: “Victoria is always keen to look at ways of growing her business, but for now her focus is New York fashion week next month.”
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‘Pretty Woman’ changed Roberts’ life
ulia Roberts says ‘Pretty Woman’ had a “profound effect” on her life. The 42-year-old actress has a special place in her heart for the 1990 movie - in which she played a down-on-her-luck prostitute called Vivian Ward - because of the way it changed her life. She said: “‘Pretty Woman’ had a profound effect on my life, so I have an incredible affection for that movie. But it’s like picking your favorite friend, it’s
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impossible. There are different reasons to love all of my movies.” Roberts - who along with her co-star Richard Gere helped the movie rake in over $460 million at the box office has really enjoyed working with ‘Pretty Woman’ director Garry Marshall again on new movie ‘Valentine’s Day’. She added to America’s OK! magazine: “He’s just one of my favorite people in the world, and I owe my career to him. He took a chance on me when it wasn’t the easiest decision to make, and he really stood up for me. He’s a great director. It’s insane the people that are in ‘Valentines Day’. This movie is just about people loving each other and missing out and getting it right, and it’s pretty incredible.” The all-star cast of ‘Valentine’s Day’ includes Jessica Alba, Jessica Biel, Bradley Cooper, Patrick Dempsey, Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner and Anne Hathaway among others.
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Music & Movies
innie Madikizela-Mandela was never consulted about a new movie on her turbulent life and marriage to Nelson Mandela, her lawyers told the filmmakers in a letter leaked yesterday to South African media. Jennifer Hudson, who scooped a best supporting actress Oscar in 2007 for her performance in the musical “Dreamgirls”, said in November that she would be starring in the film that would bring a “powerful part of history” to cinema screens. Titled “Winnie”, the film is directed by South African film-maker Darrell J. Roodt, whose work includes “Cry, The Beloved Country” and “Sarafina.” But a letter from her attorney Bowman Gilfillan said MadikizelaMandela was “extremely concerned” to hear about the film, saying “she has never been approached for con-
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Haiti charity album to top US pop chart he ‘Hope For Haiti Now’ benefit album will debut at No 1 on the US pop chart today, becoming the first digitalonly release to achieve this feat in the nearly 54year history of the Billboard 200. Industry sources suggest that the 20-track ‘Haiti’ album, featuring performances culled from last Friday’s ‘Hope For Haiti Now’ telethon, sold close to 150,000 downloads in the sales week ended on Sunday. Given that the set was on sale for only two days, its tally is all the more impressive. Susan Boyle’s ‘I Dreamed a Dream,’ which had been tipped to return to No 1, will hold at No 2 with sales of about 80,000 units. —Reuters
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After loss, Rae heals with music I
n the months after her husband died, Corinne Bailey Rae was fixated on the grieving process-specifically, whether there is a right and a wrong way to mourn. It’s not as if Rae acted inappropriately after the death of Jason Rae from a drug overdose in 2008. The Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter, who dazzled the music world in 2006 with her sunny, silky self-titled debut, dropped out of sight after the tragedy. She spent a good part of her day simply resting, and when she felt like it, taking walks or spending time with loved ones. She was also confused, in a haze, not knowing how to go forward after the destiny she thought she had was forever altered. “I’m not familiar with that kind of shock that lasts all that amount of time,” she recalled. “It just sort of takes ages to sink it. You feel it and then you don’t feel it; you know what’s happened and then you don’t really know what happened. ... “Somebody wrote me a letter saying that you need to surrender to it, which I was like, ‘Well, how do I surrender?”‘ While Rae still has not come to terms with her loss, she has determined that the grieving process is unique and different for everyone. And for her, it included channeling her emotions into her music. The result is her touching, tender new album, “The Sea,” started before the death of her husband but finished nearly a year later. “There are other people that have had these similar experiences ... all different kinds of loss, and I feel like a lot of people don’t really sing about it in popular music,” said an upbeat, reflective Rae during a recent interview. “I want to be that one voice that is saying that this is also a human experience that is worth making music about.” —AP
In this file picture taken on November 5, 2009 Winnie MadikizelaMandela, former wife of Former South African President Nelson Mandela dressed in Xhosa tribe garbe. —AFP
sent at all,” according to The Star newspaper. “It is difficult to understand how a production bearing the name of an individual who has not been consulted at all could ever be appropriate or tell the full story of that individual’s life as media reports suggest this production is intended to,” the letter said, according to the paper. “This is certainly the case here, where our client has not responded to allegations and comment which have been made about her, precisely because she has sought to protect her sphere of personal privacy as best she can in extremely difficult and turbulent times,” it added. Gilfillan’s office decline to comment on the report, citing lawyer-client confidentiality. Madikizela-Mandela campaigned tirelessly for her husband’s release during his 27-year imprisonment in the apartheid era. However her image
was tarnished by a series of scandals including her links to the kidnap and murder of a young activist and a 2003 conviction for fraud. She separated from Nelson Mandela in 1992, two years after his release, but she remains a leading South African figure in own her own right. The ruling African National Congress placed her fifth on its party list in last year’s elections, a sign of prestige that guaranteed her a seat in parliament. The film had already stoked controversy in South Africa when Hudson was tapped to play the role, sparking outrage among local actors who complained that South African talent had again been overlooked by Hollywood. The Clint Eastwood film “Invictus”, about South Africa’s 1995 Rugby World Cup victory, stars Morgan Freeman playing Mandela and has been a hit on local screens. —AFP
ʻBlue Valentineʼ tedious look at a broken marriage lue Valentine” is a black-sympathy card to a marriage on the rocks. Starring Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams, this US dramatic competition entrant will stir initial interest based on that pairing, but the grinding regurgitation of the dissolution-we’re sick of this couple long before the film is over-will stimulate viewers to file(out) for an annulment midway through. “Blue Valentine’s” best prospects may be on DVD, targeting Cassavetes’ admirers, and Europeans who are stimulated by the aesthetics of hand-held cinema over-punctuated with close-ups. In this done-love story of Dean and Cindy, director/co-writer Derek Cianfrance intercuts the relationship: He shows it in is flat last days, while flashing back to its puppy-love beginnings. In essence, Dean and Cindy now hardly recognize the person they once married: Dean is balding, lazy and combative, while Cindy is frustrated that she gave up on her intellectual potential by getting pregnant. Cianfrance further counterpoints the drastic differences by the production aesthetics. The flirty-early days are enlivened by the bounce of a hand-held camera and a vibrant visual pallet, while the death-gurgle days are hardened by a unrelenting succession of close-ups and dim lighting. Ultimately, the heavyhanded and annoyingly obvious aesthetic wears thin. Further enervating the story’s potency is the narrative redundancy. Several scenes could be cut without sacrificing the film’s acute, clinical depictions. Fortunately, the performances are fleshed out and telling. Gosling layers his character’s charm with an eruptive and credible anger. In his down-spiraling antics and tantrums, he is understandable and sympathetic. Williams stirs her performance splendidly: Her contained actions powerfully reveal the despair and hopelessness of a woman who was once a vibrant bride. —AP
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From left, actors Faith Wladyka, Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams attend the premiere of ‘Blue Valentine’ during the 2010 Sundance Film Festival on Sunday. —AP
Renee Zellweger to join 60th Berlin film fest jury scar-winning actress Renee Zellweger will join the jury for the 60th Berlin Film Festival next month that will pick the winner of the coveted Golden Bear top prize, organizers said yesterday. The star of the “Bridget Jones” franchise will sit on a seven-member panel chaired by Academy Award-nominated German director Wer ner Herzog at the February 11-21 event, the festival said in a statement. Also judging the competition will be Chinese actress Yu Nan, Italian director Francesca Comencini, Somali novelist Nuruddin Farah, Ger man actress Cor nelia Froboess and Spanish producer Jose Maria Morales. The jury is to hand out the prizes at a glittering awards ceremony on February 20. Highlights of this year’s line-up include
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Picture taken on February 12, 2009 shows US actress Renee Zellweger posing during a photo call for the film “My One and Only”. —AFP
fresh releases by Roman Polanski, Martin Scorsese and Michael Winterbottom and the festival opener “Apart Together” (Tuan Yuan) by China’s Wang Quan’an. Zellweger, 40, clinched an Academy Award for best supporting actress in 2004 for the US Civil War drama “Cold Mountain”, which also featured in competition in Berlin. Herzog, 67, was nominated for a best documentary Oscar in 2007 for “Encounters at the End of the World” and is a festival-circuit favorite for cult classics such as “Nosferatu”, “Fitzcarraldo” and the 2005 documentary “Grizzly Man”. The Berlin Film Festival, known as the Berlinale, ranks second below Cannes among Europe’s top film festivals. Last year’s jury president was Oscar-winning Scottish actress Tilda Swinton. —AFP
Chinese city renames mountain after ʻAvatarʼ A
city in central China has renamed a mountain after the US blockbuster movie “Avatar,” which set a Chinese box office record until its run in the country was cut short. The majestic peak in Hunan province previously known as “Heaven and Earth Pillar” or “South Sky Pillar” has been officially renamed “Avatar Hallelujah Mountain,” the Zhangjiajie city government said in a statement. The statement, posted Monday on the government’s website, said the peak was believed to have inspired a floating mountain, one of the most dramatic
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images in the movie, set on fictional Pandora. Juxtaposing photos of the mountain with stills from the film, a report in the local Xiaoxiang Morning News said a Hollywood photographer came to the area on a four-day trip in December 2008 and shot a number of photos that were used by the film’s artists. The futuristic adventure was released in both 2-D and 3-D versions January 4 and has become China’s all-time boxoffice champion, topping 80 million dollars in sales, state media said last week. However, its 2-D run in China end-
ed on Friday amid reports it was pulled ahead of schedule by the government to make way for the patriotic biopic “Confucius,” about the ancient Chinese philosopher. It is still running in 3-D. The Xiaoxiang Morning News said officials expect the mountain’s similarity to the film version to trigger a tourism boom during the week-long Spring Festival holiday starting on February 14. The mountain is in the Wulingyuan Scenic Area, which is famed for its soaring sandstone pillars and was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992. —AFP
Tim Burton to head Cannes’ film jury merican filmmaker Tim Burton will head the jury at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival. The “Edward Scissorhands” and “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” director says heading up the ninemember jury in May is a “great honor.” Organizers of the French Riviera festival made the announcement
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Tuesday in a statement quoting Burton’s reaction. Burton says: “After spending my early life watching triple features and 48-hour horror movie marathons, I’m finally ready for this.” The 63rd Cannes festival will be held May 12 to 23. The rest of the jury will be announced later. —AP
Another world tour? Maybe, says Tina Turner
Winnie Mandela angry over Jennifer Hudson biopic
eteran pop star Tina Turner may yet call her troupe of dancers out for another world tour, though for the moment she prefers home-cooked dinners and a stress-free life. Sitting in the front row at the Giorgio Armani Prive fashion show in Paris on Monday, the 70-year-old looked radiant in a sparkling black top that revealed ample cleavage, her trademark mass of curls piled up high. “People wanted to see me, so many were holding signs up saying, Thank You,” she said of her 2008 tour, which grossed $47.7 million. “I haven’t made a decision yet,” she told Reuters when asked if she would stage another tour. “I didn’t make a plan for a big tour, with big stadiums. I’m not saying I won’t do it, get the girls out and do something, but I haven’t decided.” Turner has for decades been one of the world’s most successful performers, roaring out hits like “Simply The Best” and “What’s Love Got To Do With It” in stagestomping, high-octane concerts. At Armani, as models prepared backstage for an haute couture show of sweeping white gowns and folded skirt suits, Turner said she liked simple clothes for everyday wear but still had a passion for racy outfits. “My favorites are short skirts that work for heavy dancing,” she said. “I have a short torso, and it looks better with a short skirt.” And even if another exhausting round of concerts is not imminent, waiting fans may console themselves with the prospect of a new album. “Recording is something that’s always easier than touring. I wouldn’t mind, but nothing’s come my way right now and that’s fine,” Turner said with a smile. Unfazed by the scrum of photographers around her, she said while she loved performing in public, she could see the advantages of a more quiet life. “I have dinner parties, I can go to parties, there’s more freedom when you’re not working,” she said. “I’m just enjoying life.”— Reuters
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Dancing Philippine jailbirds in new Jackson Internet hit
Thom Yorke of Radiohead performs at a benefit concert on behalf of the Oxfam Haiti Relief Fund on January 24, 2010 in Hollywood, California. —AFP
group of dancing Philippine prisoners has created a new Internet video hit with a spectacular routine led by Michael Jackson’s choreographer dancing to the title track of his posthumous DVD. The clip has generated more than 600,000 hits on the video sharing wesbite YouTube since it was uploaded Friday by Sony Entertainment ahead of yesterday’s global release of the late superstar’s “This is It” DVD. The four-minute, 26second film shows Jackson choreographer Travis Payne leading 1,200 inmates clad in regulation orange prison trousers and black shirts featuring the DVD’s logo through a well-synchronized jail yard routine. Sony said Payne and his crew spent two days this month at the maximum security jail in the central Philippine city of Cebu to record the dance as part of the promotion for the launch of Jackson’s DVD. —AFP
Radiohead does big things for Haiti at small venue adiohead raised more than $500,000 for Haiti earthquake relief at a special weekend concert that attracted celebrities and diehard fans. The band performed for more than two hours Sunday at the Henry Fonda Theatre. The star-studded crowd included Justin Timberlake, Jessica Biel, Charlize Theron, Anna Paquin and Daniel Craig. Attendees bid online for tickets, with proceeds going to Oxfam International, a group that works with developing countries. Prices went as high as $4,000 for a pair of tickets. The closing minimum bid was $475. Lead singer Thom Yorke joked with the crowd about the ticket prices, saying, “What did you do to get a ticket? Get money from your dad? Or blackmail your boss?”
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Timberlake took in the show from the floor in the general admission area, singing along with the band’s hits, which included “Fake Plastic Trees,” “Paranoid Android,” “Lucky” and “The Bends.” “I love them for the same reason everyone loves Radiohead,” Timberlake told The Associated Press. “I have been listening to them since I was 13.” At work on a new album, Radiohead took a break from the studio to put together the special one-time benefit show at the 1,300-seat theater, a relatively small venue for the band. Funds also were raised from the sale of limited-edition show posters, which went for $25 each. Oxfam volunteers collected cash donations dropped into green buckets at the theater’s entrance. —AP
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Wednesday, January 27, 2010
German designer Karl Lagerfeld acknowledges the public after the Chanel spring-summer 2010 haute couture collection show yesterday in Paris.
hanel basked in luminous pastels yesterday with a spring-summer 2010 haute couture show dubbed neon Baroque by the label’s uber-designer Karl Lagerfeld. Oversized pillars that lined the walls of the show’s venue glowed with a fluorescent rainbow as the models minced down the catwalk in buttery yellow culotte suits, fancy plissed tank dresses in baby blue silk and ankle-length gowns in frothy pink on boots with silver rococo heels and pearl-studded soles. The polychromatic show represented a break from the high contrast black-and-white collections that are the storied label’s marque de fabrique. Lagerfeld called working without black a “challenge” but said the idea for the color-soaked show came in “electronic flashes I get in my head.” “I saw it in a dream and I made the sketches ... at five o’clock in the morning,” he told Associated Press Television News. Some of the looks had a dreamlike quality. An off-the-shoulder bubble dress awash in tiny silk ruffles evoked sea foam, or a cloud. The wedding dresswhich traditionally closes haute couture displays-had silver sequin-covered sleeves and a fluffy train in marshmallow pink. Little blobs of silver, like liquid mercury, dotted the seams of the peaked-shouldered jackets which were paired with high-waisted culottes. Never one to neglect his accessories, Lagerfeld decked the models out in fingerless gloves like the ones he often sports in silver lame and fastened fancy bows into their massive winged bouffants.—AP
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Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel
Chanel glows in sweet pastel rainbow
Fashion
Models wear wedding outfits for Chanel’s spring-summer 2010 Haute Couture fashion show. — AP / AFP photos
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Fashion
Armani looks heavenward with lunar couture show iorgio Armani gave stars the moon on Monday, with a spring-summer 2010 haute couture collection of red carpet-ready looks full of lunar luster. For his premiere Prive label, the perma-tanned Italian designer served up skinny pant suits, strapless cocktail dresses and tulip bodiced evening gowns in shimmering off-white and gray hues and sequin-encrusted black. Did anyone say Oscars? Anne Hathaway —one of a bevy of A-list guests who showed up for the show, all decked out in Armani, of
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course — said she wasn’t sure she’d attend this year’s Academy Awards, but added that she had her eye on “about seven” looks from the collection. “I’m have a few events in mind, and if Mr. Armani would be generous enough, I’d love to wear them,” Hathaway told journalists after the show, without specifying what events she was referring to. Certainly, whatever the occasion, she couldn’t go wrong with the princess bustier dress in gleaming white silk shot through with shiny lurex and bedazzled with sequins
or the peak-shouldered blazer and skinny pants in opalescent pink. In keeping with the collection’s moon theme, Armani replaced the suits’ buttons with oversized crescent closures and added full moon shaped flaps to the dresses’ necklines. One long and lean evening gown in midnight blue had a crescent shape cutout on the back, and some of the models carried rhinestone-encrusted new moon clutches. Still, the collection broke little new ground for Armani, whose clean lined suits and classic dresses have attracted a small army of
fans among top players in Hollywood and beyond. Tina Turner, who was a seat down from Hathaway, said she trusted Armani to keep her looking her best. “I can always depend on going to the closet, getting something at the last minute and not worrying about ‘does it work? Does it go?’ You can depend on his clothes to make the affair work for you,” said Turner, who was rocking a low-cut Armani top in blinding black sequins.—AP
Models wear creations by Italian fashion designer Giorgio Armani during the Armani Prive Haute Couture spring/ summer 2010 fashion collection, in Paris, Monday.
German model Heidi Klum, right, presents her wax figure at Madame Tussauds in Berlin, Germany, on Monday. —AP photos
www.kuwaittimes.net
Centuries-old Holy City cellar at heart of Byzantine battle n Arab-Israeli shopkeeper is locked in a Byzantine battle with the Coptic Church over an ancient Jerusalem cellar, in a saga involving Christianity’s holiest site and a 12th century Muslim general. Lawyers on both sides expect authorities to decide soon whether the disputed basement adjacent to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is sacred or not, and whether the Egyptian Christians or the Israeli Muslim can claim ownership. The legal battle over the centuries-old vaulted stone cellar has been festering for 14 years in the heart of the Holy City, a flashpoint of political and religious conflict.
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built in the fourth century. Its destruction seven centuries later provided an impetus for the Crusades. It was rebuilt in 1048 following agreement between the Byzantine Empire and the region’s Muslim rulers. “Here is a monastery, below is also a monastery,” says Orshaleme, clad in a black gown, an embroidered hood covering his head, as he points to the ground below the patriarchate. Not so, says lawyer Reuven Yehoshua, who represents storekeeper Hazam Hirbawi. “For 800 years this cellar was used as a garbage dump,” says Yehoshua. The entrance to the basement, which can be
Coptic Archbishop Anba Abraham stands inside a disputed ancient basement adjacent to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on November 3, 2009. —AFP It has as many twists and turns as the Old City, a maze of narrow streets and intrigue, and features top Middle East political players. Antonios alOrshaleme, general secretary of the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate in Jerusalem, insists the basement is holy ground and was once part of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, revered by most Christians as the site where Jesus was crucified and buried. Orshaleme says the vast cellar, which runs under both the patriarchate and the grocery store, had been a church at least as long as the Holy Sepulchre, but remains vague as to when it was last used as such. The church was
seen from above through a mesh of wire, is cluttered with a jumble of discarded objects. Yehoshua points to a 1921 survey that describes the basement as being “disgusting” and filled with cesspools. “This is what they say is a holy place?” Yehoshua asks, shaking his head. A history buff, Yehoshua bases his arguments on a wealth of ancient documents, including one showing that Salah ad-Din-the 12th century military commander who defeated the Crusaders-issued a writ giving Muslims control of the area where the store is now located, and the basements below it. Orshaleme admits that part is true and
points out, with a smile, it goes to show Christians were the original owners. “This whole area was part of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Salah ad-Din made the church smaller and surrounded it with Muslims so it could not grow strong again.” The modern dispute started in 1996 when Hazam Hirbawi was sent by his father to the cellar to pick up a stone he needed to repair a wall in the building, only to find 10 Copts digging and clearing out mud and rubble. “I asked what they were doing. They said: ‘We’re fixing our place’,” said Hirbawi. “We kicked them out,” he adds. Orshaleme says Hirbawi had no right to interfere with the Copts. “Hirbawi came down and made problems with workers from the church.” The Coptic Church, which is predominantly Egyptian, took its case to the Egyptian authorities, who in turn raised it with then Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. “Arafat told (Egyptian) President Hosni Mubarak the Copts could have it, as a gift from him to Egypt,” says Hirbawi, who like his father is Arab-Israeli. Hirbawi’s father refused to cave in and was eventually arrested by agents from Arafat’s Preventive Security, who took him to the Palestinian political capital Ramallah. The dispute rapidly snowballed and hawkish Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who served a first term at the time, sent forces to surround Ramallah. The elder Hirbawi was released three days later and took the issue to the Israeli authorities. The issue is one of clout for the Copts, a comparatively small denomination and among those who share ownership of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre under a fragile agreement which hasn’t always been enough to prevent brawls between rival monks. For Hirbawi, it’s a question of principle. “Nobody can take what you own by force. And it is forbidden for something that belongs to Muslims to be taken by a Christian.” —AFP
The oral poetry of the Arabian Peninsula T very much like classical Arabic, others treating themes such as ghazl or love sounding more colloquial. I will introduce two more traits of oral poetry that have not gotten the full attention they deserve. One has to do with the fact that oral poetry is performed. I mean by this that it is produced in a performance, in an act of creation, one that involves not just speech but also usually music and dance. The aesthetics of oral poetry involves the entire body-and the different senses of the body-in
Steven C Caton
he subject of this lecture is the oral poetry of the Arabian Peninsula, known by various names such as al-shicr alnabati ‘Nabati poetry’ or a shiir al-shaabi ‘popular poetry’. The first half of the lecture asks what we really mean when we say that this poetry is “oral”? Do we mean that it is not written, or that its basis is in the spoken rather than the written language? Any number of renowned nabati poets were literate, composed their poetry in the act of writing, and
wrote their verses down in manuscripts, thus rendering the divide between orality and literacy a blurry one. As for the kind of Arabic employed in these poems, is it one of the local dialects spoken on the Arabian Peninsula rather than the classical Arabic of the Quran? Some poems are indeed steeped in the local vernacular tongue, and yet the diction of every poem also shows traces of the classical language and whole poems will vary in this respect depending on their themes, the religious ones sounding
what we might call an embodied and dramatic act. We forget this when we focus on the text. The fact that oral poetry is performed, that its composition is enacted, leads to another of its distinguishing traits too often overlooked by its students which has to do with social context or occasion, or what in Arabic is often called the munasibah. There are two senses in which such an occasion can be understood, a ritual occasion such as a wedding celebration, a dispute mediation or an cid festivity that is per-
formed collectively and according to certain social conventions or rules, and an occasion in the sense of an event, whether ordinary or everyday or extraordinary and historically important which does not unfold according to set procedures or rules. Oral poetry is occasional in both senses; it is composed for a particular ritual occasion and is inseparable from it (it is a ritual act) and in the sense that it can refer to or describe an event or a problematical situation which it is the poet’s intent to solve. These two kinds of occasional performances of poetry will be demonstrated through examples of two genres from the northern tribes of Yemen, using both slides and audio tapes for illustrative purposes. These genres are the zamil and the balah. To what extent is this poetic system unique to Yemen, and to what extent is it found elsewhere on the Arabian Peninsula? This question is answered in the second half of the lecture by examining diwans of Arabian poetry and the scientific analyses of this poetry made in the twentieth century. It is argued that the system is, in fact, more general than one might suppose. The implications of these findings for cultural legacy projects in the Gulf will be discussed in the conclusion of the lecture. Given the importance of poetry to the cultural identity of Arabs in this region and elsewhere in the Middle East, what is being done to preserve or more interestingly reinvent this tradition as a system rather than only one of its genres, the qasidah?
Indian youth perform a Punjabi traditional folk dance, the Giddha during Republic Day celebrations at the Guru Nanak Stadium in Amritsar yesterday. Blanket fog in the capital obscured India’s 61st Republic Day celebrations with the annual military parade in New Delhi held under heightened security due to fears of militant attacks. —AFP
Top Spanish chef to close El Bulli for two years l Bulli, the Spanish restaurant repeatedly crowned the world’s best, will temporarily close in 2012 and 2013, its famed avant-garde chef Fer ran Adria announced yesterday. “No meals will be served in El Bulli in 2012 and 2013,” he told a news conference at Madrid Fusion, the annual international culinary conference focusing on the cuttingedge in haute cuisine. “But El Bulli is not closing down. These are not two years on sabbatical. I need time to
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decide how 2014 is going to be... I know that when I retur n it will not be the same,” said the father of socalled molecular gastronomy. El Bulli, on Spain’s northeastern Catalan coast, was last year named the world’s best for the fourth year in a row by Britain’s Restaurant magazine. Other publications have similarly raved about Adria and his food. But Adria said he found working 15 hours a day “difficult.” “It’s like telling (British designer) John Galliano to go work in a
factory,” he said. Adria and Heston Blumenthal in England have since the late 1990s rocked world cuisine by using science to “deconstruct” and rebuild food. Taste-bud treats on the menu of Adria’s threestar restaurant have included oyster meringue, hot ice cream, frothy truffle cappuccino and liquid ravioli, while vegetables are turned into lollipops or whipped foams. He has had to respond to critics who say the chemicals used in his “molecular gas-
Salon du Chocolat
Ferran Adria
tronomy” make it unhealthy. “Homemade ice-creams, those which are excellent, must have a stabilizing substance to avoid crystallization. Sugar goes through a chemical and physical transformation. Chocolate contains lecithin. Agar is a thick substance that has been used in Japan for centuries,” he said once in response to criticism from another top Spanish chef, Santi Santamaria. “The tomato also has a chemical composition,” he said. —AFP
Rare daguerreotype camera up for auction in Austria ne of the forerunners of the modern-day camera by Jacques Daguerre dating from 1839 could sell for a record price for such items at auction later this year, a Vienna art gallery said yesterday. There are barely a dozen daguerreotype cameras still in the world today, most of which are housed in museum collections. But Galerie Westlicht in Vienna has been commissioned to sell a rare one bearing the signature of its designer Jacques Daguerre (1787-1851) and it is scheduled to come under the hammer in the Austrian capital on May 29. When the gallery auctioned an unsigned daguerreotype camera in 2007, it sold for a record 576,000 euros (812,000 dollars). Gallery director Peter Coeln revealed that the vendors this time were a family of opticians from northern Germany “who would like to remain anonymous”. “The current owner was given it by his father in the 1970s as a present for getting his opticians’ diploma,” Coeln told AFP. The camera-with its sliding box made out of pine and a lens by Parisian opticians Vincent and Charles Chevalier-is in good condition, It carries a seal by the maker Alphonse Giroux, who was Daguerre’s brotherin-law, and Daguerre’s signature is clearly legible. “There is no serial number, unlike other apparatus in use at the time. But it carries in the initials ‘uv’, which suggests it may have been made for someone of the higher classes in the 19th century,” Coeln said. The gallerist said he hoped the camera would be sold to a French buyer “since France is the country where photography was invented.”—AFP
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French chocolatier Stephane Treand displays an opera themed chocolate made sculpture at the opening of the Salon du Chocolat at Tokyo’s Isetan department store yesterday. Some 70 famous chocolatiers will exhibit their products through February 1. —AFP
Japanese chocolatier Koichi Izumi displays chocolate masks and opera themed chocolates. —AFP
The owner of the Westlicht Gallery, Peter Coeln. —AFP
Find of huge Mayan head suggests significant city rcheologists have discovered a huge Mayan sculptured head in Guatemala that suggests a littleknown site in the jungle-covered Peten region may once have been a significant city. The stucco sculpture, which is 10 feet (3 meters) wide and 11.5 feet (3.5 meters) tall, was buried for centuries at the Chilonche ruins, close to the border with Belize. The recent discovery of the head, which dates from the early Classic period between 300 to 600 AD, means the site is much older than previously thought. The Maya often constructed new buildings using older ones as foundations. “It could be an imaginary being, something from the underworld, perhaps linked to a Mayan deity,” Polytechnic University of Valencia professor Gaspar Munoz, part of the team of archeologists that found the head, told Reuters. Unlike Guatemala’s famous Mayan cities of Tikal and El Mirador, little excavation has been carried out at Chilonche. Looters, looking for artifacts to sell on the black market, had dug a small tunnel passing the buried sculpture, which is similar to others decorating a solar observatory at another site, Uaxactun. Guatemala’s Peten region is home to dozens of Mayan ruins, but the largely jungle-covered area is plagued by looters, poachers and smugglers taking cocaine to Mexico. —Reuters
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