RI PT IO N BS C SU THE LEADING INDEPENDENT DAILY IN THE ARABIAN GULF
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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2010
Polish scientists find three Neanderthal teeth
Obama’s 2010 budget deficit soars to record $1.56 trillion
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in the news Fire at oil gathering centre KUWAIT: Firemen were yesterday trying to douse a blaze that broke out at an oil gathering centre, the state-run Kuwait Oil Company said, adding that production has not been affected. The official KUNA news agency quoted KOC acting deputy general manager Hashem Hashem as saying the fire broke out in a tank at Gathering Centre 10 in Magwa, in the state’s oil-rich southern region. “The incident did not cause any injuries and daily production has not been affected,” Hashem said. Fire teams rushed to the scene and were trying to control the fire and prevent it from spreading, he said. Gathering centres are used to store and purify crude oil extracted from the ground, separating the water, associated gas and solid impurities. They can hold up to 300,000 barrels of oil at any given time. KOC says it currently has 21 operational gathering centres.
SAFAR 18, 1431 AH
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NO: 14628
Beyonce’s six appeal dominates Grammys
Kuwait eyes 3.5m bpd oil target for 2015
Women 17% of workforce
Israel officers on alert
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$16bn marked for projects in ’10/11
NBK profit up 4%
JERUSALEM: The Israeli army said yesterday it has warned its top officers to be on guard when traveling abroad following the mysterious death of a Hamas commander in Dubai. Hamas has accused Israel of carrying out the Jan 20 slaying of Mahmoud Al-Mabhouh and vowed revenge, hinting it could attack Israeli targets abroad. Hamas has historically limited its attacks to Israel and the Palestinian territories. Although Israel has not acknowledged any role in the killing, military officials said yesterday they were taking the threats seriously and had instructed senior officers, military attaches and soldiers on study leaves to exercise caution when traveling abroad. The officials said the military fears Hamas could try to capture Israeli officers outside the country.
African title means the world to Egypt
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KUWAIT: Kuwait’s largest lender, the National Bank of Kuwait, announced yesterday it posted net profits of $925 million in 2009, up four percent on the previous year’s $886 million. The rise came even after it took additional and voluntary provisions as a precaution against any further deterioration in economic conditions because of the global financial crisis, NBK said in a statement. Its operating income rose two percent to $1.808 billion at the end of last year from $1.773 billion in 2008, the statement said. Return on assets was 2.2 percent, while the return on equity (ROE) recorded 18.4 percent for the year. “The increase in our operating income provides strong reassurance as to our ability to continue delivering strong results from our core businesses inside and outside of Kuwait,” CEO Ibrahim Dabdoub said. (See Page 21)
KUWAIT: Women comprise 17 percent of the manpower in the public sector, and 7 percent at the legal, diplomatic and military sectors, according to recent statistics by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor. These statistics come as part of procedures to address the challenges of women and children issues, as the state aims to support women in achieving higher ranks in the economic sector. The increase in the number of women in the labor force comes due to the privileges that they are entitled with by the labor law, while the government has ensured their right to achieve social support in case of inability to secure jobs.
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KUWAIT: People enjoy the warm weather on a bridge near a beach yesterday. The temperature is predicted to go down gradually in the coming days, becoming cold at night, especially in desert areas. — Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat
KUWAIT/ABU DHABI: The Cabinet has allocated KD 4.78 billion ($16.6 billion) for capital spending in the next fiscal year starting April 1 as part of a four-year development plan, a government statement said yesterday. The allocations will be spent on development projects in the state during the fiscal year that runs until March 31, 2011, said the statement that was issued after the Cabinet’s weekly meeting. It did not name the projects but said five public shareholding companies would be established to implement them, and one of the projects is for power generation. The plan encourages the participation of the private sector along with the public sector in the projects, KUNA said. “(Plan includes) establishment of shareholding firms, one for warehouse and borders in northern Kuwait, a health insurance company, a low-cost buildings companies, Al-Khairan City Co and a firm for the generation of electricity,” KUNA said. Continued on Page 14
KUWAIT: National Guard Chief HH Sheikh Salem AlAli Al-Sabah waves as he meets National Guard commanders and officers in his office yesterday. — KUNA
Sheikh Salem meets Guard commanders KUWAIT: National Guard Chief HH Sheikh Salem Al-Ali Al-Sabah received National Guard commanders and officers in his office yesterday on the occasion of his recovery and safe arrival back home from an overseas medical tour. On this occasion, Sheikh Salem voiced happiness at the warm welcome he had received upon arrival home back from HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, HH the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf
Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad AlAhmad Al-Sabah and other Kuwaiti leaders, public figures and citizens. He also appreciated great efforts by Deputy Chairman of the National Guard Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah for serving the National Guard, urging its staff to be sincere sons who should have a spirit of amity and love. Continued on Page 14
MP Barrak against Jordan revoking Palestinians’ citizenships clemency for maid
AMMAN: Human Rights Watch called on Jordan yesterday to stop stripping its citizens of Palestinian origin of their nationality, saying that thousands were threatened by arbitrary steps that deprived them of basic civil rights. The New York-based lobby group said that between 2004 and 2008 alone more than 2,700 of Jordanian citizens of Palestinian origin had been victims of random administrative moves taken without warning, in violation of the country’s nationality law. “Jordan is playing politics with the basic
rights of thousands of its citizens,” Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement released on the launch of the 60-page report in Amman. “Officials are denying entire families the ability to lead normal lives with the sense of security that most citizens of a country take for granted,” she added. Those deprived of their nationality cannot own property, have access to education or take part in public life, HRW said in its report titled “Stateless Again: Palestinian-origin Jordanians deprived of their
nationality.” Jordanians of Palestinian origin who settled after the creation of Israel in 1948 have become a majority in the country of over 6 million. Most vulnerable were over 250,000 citizens expelled by Kuwait for perceived sympathy with Iraq’s invasion in 1990, who were now at risk of losing their nationality, Christoph Wilcke, senior researcher at HRW, told reporters. Jordanians of Palestinian origin who are stripped of their nationality become Continued on Page 14
Iran honors Khomeini amid political tensions
TEHRAN: An Iranian woman holds a portrait of Iran’s late revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini during celebrations marking the anniversary of the Islamic revolution at the Behesht-e Zahra cemetery yesterday. — AP
TEHRAN: School bells rang out as trains and ships throughout Iran sounded their horns yesterday, marking the 1979 return from exile of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who triggered a revolution that spawned an Islamic state now mired in a political crisis. Reformist ex-president Mohammad Khatami, now a strong backer of anti-government protesters, urged his supporters to join the Feb 11 march that marks the toppling of the US-backed shah 31 years ago. Yesterday’s nationwide clamour, at precisely 9:33 am (0603 GMT), marked the moment Khomeini’s chartered Air France 747 touched down at Tehran’s Mehrabad airport on Feb 1, 1979. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and other senior officials paid homage to the cleric at his golddomed mausoleum in southern Tehran. The celebrations that began yesterday climax on Feb 11, the anniversary of the fall of shah who had ruled Iran for nearly four decades, but who fled two weeks before Khomeini’s return. The charismatic cleric assumed the role of the Islamic republic’s supreme leader, a post he held until his death in 1989. Continued on Page 14
Deqbasi: Fingerprint all expats
By B Izzak KUWAIT: Opposition lawmaker MP Musallam Al-Barrak questioned yesterday if Philippines Vice President Noli de Castro has visited Kuwait to plead for the life of a Filipina domestic maid who has been sentenced to death for stabbing to death the daughter of her employer. In a question to State Minister for Cabinet Affairs Roudhan AlRoudhan, the lawmaker demanded to know the reasons of the visit if it had already taken place and if one of them is to plead for commuting the death sentence on
Jakatia Pawa. He also inquired about the nature of the Kuwaiti response to the request if it had been made. Pawa’s death sentence had been confirmed by the court of cassation for murdering Dalal Al-Naqi about two years ago. Her execution awaits only the signature of the Amir, who also has the right to commute the sentence. In 2008, Kuwait commuted the death sentence on May Vecina, a Filipina maid who murdered her employer’s seven-yearold son and attempted to kill the child’s older siblings. In June last year, Vecina was Continued on Page 14
Qaeda cell plotted to attack US base
BAGHDAD: Mohammed Haider, 2, is held by his mother at a hospital after he was wounded in a suicide attack yesterday. — AP
Female suicide bomber kills 54 Shiite pilgrims BAGHDAD: A female suicide bomber mingling among Shiite pilgrims in Baghdad detonated an explosives belt yesterday, killing at least 54 people, officials said. The bombing was the first major strike this year against pilgrims making their way to the southern city of Karbala to mark a Shiite holy day. It came as a security official warned of a possible increase in attacks by insurgents using new tactics to bypass bomb-detection methods. The bombing raises fears of an escalation of attacks as hundreds of thousands of Shiites head to Karbala to mark on Friday the end of 40 days of mourning following the anniversary of the death of Imam Hussein, a revered Shiite figure.
The bomber hid the explosives underneath an abaya - a black cloak worn from head to toe by women - as she joined a group of pilgrims on the outskirts of Baghdad’s Shiite-dominated neighborhood of Shaab, said Maj Gen Qassim AlMoussawi, Baghdad’s top military spokesman. The bomber set off the blast as she lined up with other women to be searched by female security guards at a security checkpoint just inside a rest tent, Al-Moussawi said. A police official said 54 people, including 18 women and 12 children, were killed and 117 were wounded. Continued on Page 14
KUWAIT: Six Kuwaiti citizens with alleged links to Al-Qaeda had plotted to attack a major US military base in the state, a Kuwaiti secret service officer told a criminal court yesterday. The officer’s remarks appeared to contradict the view of the public prosecutor who, when the trial opened in December, withdrew the key conspiracy charge against the six Kuwaitis. The officer, who identified himself as Abdel Aziz Salem, said during yesterday’s hearing that the investigation he carried out shows the suspects also planned similar attacks on US military targets in Bahrain. He said they were in contact with some people in the Gulf state and that he received information about the plot from “secret sources in Kuwait and also from Bahrain” which led to the arrest in August of five of the suspects. The sixth suspect is already serving a life term in jail for an attack in 2002 on the US military in Kuwait that lef t one American soldier dead. The six men have categori-
cally denied the charges, claiming that their confessions were extracted under torture by the emirate’s secret service. Judge Hisham Abdullah produced forensic reports stating that four of the six suspects have injuries on various parts of their bodies but the officer said he was unaware of how the men sustained those injuries. In the first hearing in December, the public prosecutor withdrew the key charge of the plot to attack the US military base at Arifjan, 70 km, south of Kuwait City. The officer, however, insisted yesterday that the six men had planned to sneak into the huge base, which is home to thousands of US troops, and detonate there a truck full of explosives. The next hearing has been scheduled for Feb 15. In August the interior ministry said that the men were suspected of being members of an Al-Qaeda cell that was preparing to attack Camp Arifjan and other key installations. Continued on Page 14
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Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Kuwait’s Disabilities Act
NA panel, govt reach compromise formula KUWAIT: The Parliamentary Committee on disabled person yesterday reached an agreed upon formula with the Government on the second reading of the Disabilities Act and decided to lift its report to the National Assembly for discussion and voting at a session tomorrow. Minister of Communications and Minister of State for National Assembly He highlighted the Government’s attention with persons with special needs, pointing out that the presence of three ministers at a meeting today and the reaching of a compromise formula confirms the concern of the Council of Ministers and interest in the persons with special needs. He said that a total agreement has been reached on all articles of the law despite the high financial cost, where the government confirmed that this cost can not be an obstacle to such laws, and for this particular segment, a matter which
Affairs Dr. Mohamed Al-Busairi told reporters after the meeting that the government, and by the directives of HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Mohammad Al-Ahmad AlSabah and cooperation of members of the committee, “reached this compromise formula and the law will be passed Wednesday.”
contributed to the parliamentary-governmental consensus. He added that the government would never hesitate to support this segment of the society. The minister asserted that the house, and before the spring vacation, will approve the Disabilities Act, hoping that the development plan and the Capital Market Authority would also be approved as “the fruit of cooperation and coordination between the two authorities.” For his part, Minister of Social Affairs and Labor Dr. Mohammed Al-Afasi said
that the act is essentially a draft law, meaning that its source is the National Assembly, therefore, the government must have an opinion on it, saying that the government had welcomed it in principle and at the same time expressed its reservations and observations on it. The minister said that the government’s reservations were not directed against the law or against the disabled, but rather aimed at maintaining the law and remove the obstacles so as to apply its articles on the ground, particularly with regard to the financial burdens. — KUNA
connect the dots
Omar in world politics By Meshary Alruwaih osts made by Omar, the would-be suicide bomber of the Detroit flight, in a number of online ‘Islamic’ bulletin are all over the Net now. Many of these were posted about five years ago when Omar was only eighteen years old. The one that gained more popularity, even Friedman of NY Times used in one of his article, is where he says “I imagine how the great jihad will take place, how the Muslims will win...and rule the whole world, and establish the greatest empire once again.” There is another post that appears less frequently in news articles. For me, it’s the key to understand why such a promising young Muslim man lost his way. In Jan 2005 Omar said, “I’m in a situation where I don’t have a friend, I have no one to speak to, no one to consult, no one to support me, and I feel depressed and lonely, and I do not know what to do.” Well, Omar found friends in transnational ‘Islamic’ terrorist groups who helped him to figure out what to do: Bomb a US airline. Indeed, when an ambitious young Muslim has the energy to act globally in the name of Islam, terrorists have the most sophisticated and intellectually advanced answer. Terrorists are not as naive as we think. At least not their leaders; they have considerable skills of what is called in International Relations and social research in general ‘process tracing.’ They can easily trace a pattern of causality between opening a new Starbucks outlet in Kuwait and an Israeli rocket hitting Gaza. Of course, this is not the most respected research method in International Relations since you can simply trace any-
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KUWAIT: National Guard Chief Sheikh Salem Al-Ali Al-Sabah receiving commanders and officers of the National Guard in his office yesterday. Sheikh Salem returned to Kuwait last week after undergoing successful medical treatment outside the country. — Photos by KUNA
MP calls to reinstate sports clubs boards KUWAIT: The Secretary of the Parliament MP Dulaihi Al-Hajri accused the Minister of Social Affairs and Labor of stalling the country’s sporting activity. He accused him of failing to prevent this action despite conducting negotiations with the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Al-Hajri asserted that the Cabinet should take a firm stance on the sports crisis which has escalated considerably during recent times. He accused the Minister and the Public Authority for Youth and Sports (PAYS) of failing to protect the rights of athletes. He further urged the Cabinet to overrule the order that was passed to dissolve the boards of ten local sports club, and present a draft law of amendments to amend the sports regula-
tions in accordance with the requests of the IOC. Furthermore, Al-Hajri said they would begin taking actions against the Cabinet’s ‘bias and incapability,’ after the Minister failed to address the persisting issues. He further said that they would fight “attempts made by PAYS to manipulate to reinstate boards of the abruptly dissolved clubs.” These attempts have exposed the real reason behind the dissolution decision, reported Al-Watan. Moreover, Al-Hajri announced that along with other MPs, he is currently planning to present an interpellation motion against the Minister of Social Affairs and Labor “for failing to hold PAYS officials accountable for the suspension of Kuwaiti sporting activities.”
in the news Jahra power outage denied KUWAIT: In response to the power outages that hit AlJahra last week, the Ministry of Electricity and Water (MEW) has released a statement denying that occurrence of the incident. It stated that only a minor power glitch had taken place that affected four houses in Al-Qasr owing to a malfunction in a secondary transformer which was struck by lightning. The Ministry had previously issued an official apology to the residents of Al-Jahra for the blackout. They referred senior officials to the scene and asked them to examine the situation. An order was made to form an investigation committee to determine the cause of the power cuts, reported AlWatan. In light of the issue, MPs urged the ministry to ensure that no such incidents recur in the future. Annual scouting camp KUWAIT: Minister of Education and Higher Education Dr Moudhi AlHumoud on Sunday affirmed the importance of scouting camps in instilling patriotic sentiments, along with a spirit of leadership and dedication to hard work in the minds of the young. Speaking on the sidelines of the inauguration of the annual scouting camp, themed, ‘Scouting is the symbol of national unity,’ the minister affirmed the ministry’s enthusiasm for holding the annual event. Teams of scouts from Lebanon, Oman and Tunisia are taking part in the camp, which includes diverse cultural, sports and scouting activities and games. Ahmad
Farman, a senior scouting official, explained that the motto for the event was chosen on the basis of the Amiri address that affirmed necessity of boosting the national unity and renouncing all forms of fanaticism. Kuwait aid to Haiti KUWAIT: Kuwait Red Crescent Society (KRCS) volunteers headed to Haiti yesterday on a plane carrying 50 tons of tents for the victims of the quake that hit the country three weeks ago. Head of KRCS’s delegation Jasim Qambar said that the aid was sent to Haiti in line with directions of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. His Highness the Amir had ordered providing a $3.5 million urgent humanitarian aid to Haitians. Qambar said that KRCS Board Chairman Barjas Al-Barjas was keen on stressing the humanitarian role of the Kuwaiti society in Haiti and was following up the developments of the quake and its effects on the people. He pointed out that people of Haiti faced great humanitarian challenges because of the earthquake. Another plane with tents is expected to reach Haiti on Friday, he added. The quake that hit Haiti on Jan 11 left great damage and killed about 200,000 people. KU hires students KUWAIT: Kuwait University appointed 108 of its students to temporary work experience posts in various departments during its first semester, announced a senior university official yesterday.
thing to anything in such a complex and open system. But, apparently it works with some 18-year-old excited Muslim youths like Omar, especially when it becomes a part of the only ‘Islamic’ vision in the twentieth century. Yes, I’m sorry to say that ‘Islamic’ terrorists today offer the most theoretically disciplined and sustainable ‘Islamic’ vision of world politics. Aside from that, what we have is less than frequent fatwas made by Islamic scholars regarding specific conflicts or incidents. But our respected scholars are not specialized in international relations, they have to deal with wide range of issues from family relations to world politics. They simply do not have the time or the needed expertise to develop a contemporary theoretical framework to counter that of terrorists. Given the complexity of the issues involved, the study of Islam and International Relations is a lifetime career that requires focused and sustained intellectual effort. On the other hand, you have Muslim international relations researchers and political scientists, some of whom, do not even know what to make of Islam in world politics. How can they when the nature of the research they conduct is about explaining the behavior of units under a materialist structure where culture has no place?! Yet others do take account of Islam, but the outcome of their research is more like a collection of normative statements that lack the analytical sharpness and durability of theory. There is a clear gap between Islamic scholars and Muslim International Relations researchers, one that is filled by terrorists-they represent themselves as the only experts in conceptualizing world politics in Islamic terms. Aside from the word ‘empire,’ which does not really describe Islamic universalism, Omar did not say anything extreme or radical when he said, “I imagine how the great Jihad will take place, how the Muslims will win...and rule the whole
world...” The problem was that Omar had no sense of place, he did not know his place in the social structures of today’s world politics where crossing the boundaries between the inter-human domain, to the transnational domain, and interstate domain has never been easier. And accordingly, he did not know what are the opportunities and limitations of jihad in his domain, the inter-human domain. That is where the soul of Islamic Umma can be found, that is where ideas about Islamic banking, climate change solutions, labor rights, international relations theories, scientific innovations take place before they transcend to the transnational domain, and condition the behavior of the interstate domain. Bombs, rockets, balance of power and security issues are the jihad of states, no matter how reluctant they are to carry it, it remains in their domain-not yours. We all want to see Islam win and rule the world. It will never do it by only a superior military power or by dominating the interstate domain. Islam will rule the world when the ethics of Islamic banking dominate global financial structures, when Islamic environmentalists offer better solutions to climate change, when Islamic methodology dominates social research in major academic institutions. Islam will win when you see Muslim NGOs all over Haiti help earthquake victims. In short, Islam will rule the world when it wins over the moral authority of the world and that is a battle in the inter-human domain where you are located. In my mind, we lost Omar and will lose many others because they lack a sense of place in the social structure of world politics and subsequently the opportunities and limitations within. That is where an Islamic International Relations Theory comes to the picture. meshary@kuwaittimes.net
BEIRUT: Kuwaiti schoolgirls pose for a group photograph with Ambassador Abdelal Al-Qenai yesterday. — KUNA
Kuwaiti schoolgirls visit Lebanon BEIRUT: Kuwait has contributed a total of $300 million to reconstruction efforts in Lebanon following the Israeli war on the country in the summer of 2006. This was announced by Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED) Country Representative Mohamed Sadeqi yesterday on the occasion of a current visit by Kuwait’s brilliant schoolgirls. The visit has been organized
by the KFAED for Kuwaiti girls to encourage them to maintain their brilliance and to boost their national loyalty, he said. The Kuwaiti fund established an office in Lebanon in January 2007 to set out a strategy of action for contributing to reconstruction efforts in the country, he added. Kuwait is in the forefront of those countries which provide aid and assistance to Lebanon thanks to distinguished rela-
tions between Kuwait and Lebanon, Sadeqi pointed out. The fund has used its aid in serving various development sectors in Lebanon, including the building of new schools, hospitals and emergency centers, he said. The KFAED has pledged to rebuild 24 villages and restoring over 11,000 housing units in south Lebanon, he added. Meanwhile, Kuwaiti Ambassador to Lebanon Abdelal Al-Qenai hailed Kuwaiti-
Lebanese relations as firm and strong. The ambassador said Kuwait attaches much attention to economic and social development in Lebanon, mainly water, electricity and sewage projects. Lebanon was in the forefront of those countries which condemned the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, he said. At the end of the meeting, the visiting Kuwaiti girls presented a commemorative shield to the Kuwaiti ambassador. — KUNA
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Tuesday, February 2, 2010
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Egyptians celebrate historic African Cup win KUWAIT: Expatriate Egyptians took to the streets of Kuwait on Sunday night, singing and dancing until the early hours of Monday morning in celebration of their national team’s historic seventh consecutive win in the Africa Cup of Nations football tournament earlier on Sunday evening. Egyptian team members also won many of the ‘Best Player’ titles in the tournament, with the record-breaking series of tournament triumphs being celebrated by compatriots around the world.
Govt fails to address ‘misconduct’ within KAC KUWAIT: The government has failed to act in addressing the alleged serious misconduct within Kuwait Airways Corporation (KAC), with members of the parliamentary finance committee reportedly refusing to meet with KAC officials to address the problems, referring the officials instead to the finance and communication ministers. There have been complaints from some KAC staff of bureaucratic ‘paralysis’ stop-
ping any preventive action against the senior officials responsible for the alleged misdemeanors, with a number of airline personnel voicing concerns that the forthcoming privatization could see the airline’s fortunes going into freefall due to their actions. The officials are accused of seeking to profit as much as possible from their positions before the airline is privatized and they lose these privileges.
Among the actions which the senior officials are accused of, it’s alleged that their criteria for selecting pilots are based on wasta rather than ability or experience, with staff suggesting that this issue requires the intervention of His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser AlMohammad Al-Sabah. Senior KAC officials are also accused of using their posts to promote a culture of favoritism and bureaucrat-
ic red tape rather than discouraging it, with personnel saying that any complaint falls on deaf ears. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has also been held partially responsible, with a number of sources suggesting that its failure to intervene in the airline’s affairs has allowed such misconduct to continue, reported Al-Qabas. On the issue of aircraft maintenance,
kuwait digest
Govt transparency
‘P
eople should be made aware of the legacy, experiences of their respective countries,’ wrote Dr. Mohammad Abdulmuhsin Al-Meqatea in Al-Qabas. Governmental directorates, parliaments and the judiciary should be committed towards carrying out responsibilities that are connected directly with the main functions of the country and its people. These functions are generally attributed to the State, regardless of the individuals and bodies that have carried them out either successfully or unsuccessfully. Given this fact, it becomes a necessity that the government come up with a clear system that ensures that the public be made aware of the procedures carried out in running their State as per the regulations of the Constitution. It stipulates the importance of transparency which is essential to publicly monitor the performance of the government. This will solidify the concept of freedom and democracy. Based on this notion, many works and documents need to be made available to the public through the rule of law. The writer suggests that these regulations be implemented in three main phases. First: Allow people to gain access to information, Second: Remove the ‘confidentiality’ tag from anything previously deemed ‘top secret,’ and Third: Regulate the right to sue any that fails to provide people with access to information. Cabinet meetings, confidential sessions of the parliament and its committees, Supreme Council of Justice’s sessions, in addition to the work carried out by the Central Bank, Investment Authority and other governmental directorates should be made available to the public to eliminate all forms of secrecy.
Students get acquainted with Kuwaiti aid efforts CAIRO: Current visit paid by top Kuwaiti students to Egypt is an ideal opportunity to get acquainted with Kuwaiti aid for development in the country, a Kuwaiti official said yesterday. Ahmad Al-Sarraf, Supervisor of the program “Be with the Distinguished,” sponsored by the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED) said following arrival of the students that Egypt is one of the countries that have a long history of relationship with the KFAED. Egypt, he elaborated, is one of the most benefitting countries from the KFAED through a number of various development projects. He went on to say that Egypt was chosen to be the destination of the visit because there are some projects currently carried out by the KFAED. This consequently helps knowing the Kuwaiti efforts in the field of supporting the brotherly and friendly countries, particularly on the infrastructure projects, he said.
Sarraf also made clear that there are a lot of cultural and tourist landmarks in Egypt worth visiting, pointing out that it is a cultural, tourist and recreational trip that aims at promoting the national sense and encouraging the brilliant students to continue their excellence in what brings benefits to their country. He pointed out that the delegation is going to meet during this trip with a number of Egyptian and Kuwaiti officials like the Egyptian minister of international cooperation who approves any development projects that the KFAED wants to carry out in Egypt and the Kuwaiti ambassador to Egypt Dr. Rashid Al-Hamd and some other officials. Sarraf said that the delegation will inspect some development projects that were funded by Kuwait through the KFAED like the educational buildings in Ismailia, which were reconstructed by the KFAED following the 1992 earthquake. — KUNA
KAC’s engineers have indicated that their main problem lies in a lack of skilled maintenance workers, a culture of stifling bureaucracy and a lack of spare parts. Given these shortcomings, KAC pilots have complained of severe psychological pressure, saying that their performance and duties are assessed according to ‘wasta’ rather than proficiency, skill or qualifications.
In another development, the Foreign Ministry yesterday called travelers to Malaysia not to carry a lot of money. The ministry’s General Consulate said in a press release that those heading to or leaving Malaysia and carrying $10,000 or more must declare that to customs. It urged travelers to comply with the decision of the Central Bank of Malaysia, warning that violators will be prosecuted.
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Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Bangladesh-based university for women thins the gender gap
AUW grooms women in Asia to become tomorrow’s leaders By Velina Nacheva
KUWAIT: Frank Dailles (left) and Faisal Al-Sheikh. — Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat
Boat-lovers make a date for Abu Dhabi Yacht Show By Nawara Fattahova KUWAIT: The 2nd Abu Dhabi Yacht Show (ADYS) being held in Abu Dhabi’s prestigious Yas Marina from February 25-27 is a true nirvana for yachting aficionados, attracting yacht-lovers from across the region. The show, the Middle East’s first and only event specifically for yachts over 25 meters in length, is going all out to attract Kuwaiti visitors this year. More boats are sold in Kuwait than in any other individual market in the GCC, explained Frank Dailles, the director of the Informa Yacht Group (IYG), the organizers of the event. “This and the continuously expanding marina landscape offer enormous opportunities for the yachting industry to thrive,” he said yesterday, speaking during a press conference held at Kuwait’s Le Notre Restaurant. “Being in Kuwait presents a very exciting opportunity for a yachting and boating enthusiast like me, considering this country’s dominant position within the regional marine market,” Visitors from Kuwait are among the most soughtafter by exhibitors at the ADYS, said Dailles, and represented one of the largest markets for last year’s highly successful ADYS inaugural event. “The Kuwaiti market is the largest in the Gulf in terms of boat numbers and Kuwaiti yacht and boat owners therefore rank high on the prospect list of many of the show’s international and regional exhibitors,” he explained. “At the same time, the show presents Kuwaiti yacht-lovers with the chance to see the latest the industry has to offer without having to travel half way around the world to do so.” The Kuwaiti market has always had a strong appeal within the region’s marine industry as a whole, Dailles continued. “Geographically, Kuwait occupies a strategic position at the head of the Gulf and currently has the region’s strongest yachting market - more boats are sold in Kuwait than any other individual market in the GCC,” he revealed. “This and the state’s continuously expanding marina landscape offer enormous opportunities for the yachting industry to thrive in Kuwait, as well as in the rest of the Gulf.” The 2nd ADYS, which this year is being held for the first time at the spectacular Yas Marina, part of Abu Dhabi’s Yas Island entertainment venue, will host a stunning flotilla of 25 magnificent yachts that have so far been confirmed for the show. The push to win Kuwaiti visitors’ support for the
ADYS comes as Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA), the headline ADYS sponsor, revealed that Kuwait last year entered its top 20 rankings for key hotel guest markets. “Last year Abu Dhabi welcomed some 9,081 Kuwaiti guests to its expanding hotel portfolio, which made the state the 20th most productive market for us, and this is a market we wish to further penetrate as we advance with our target this year of attracting 1.65 million hotel guests,” explained Faisal Al-Sheikh, the ADTA’s Events Manager. Al-Sheikh explained that even more facilities have been added this year to attract more visitors from Kuwait. “We believe our comprehensive events portfolio, of which ADYS is a key element, will assist in bringing us additional business from Kuwait, both for our business tourism and leisure propositions,” he continued. “Air access from Kuwait to Abu Dhabi has been enhanced over the past year with Etihad, the national airline of the UAE, and Kuwait’s own Jazeera Airways servicing the route.” According to Dailles, the 2009 inaugural ADYS event saw vessel sales totaling over US$100 million (KD 28 million), confirming the growing importance of the Arabian Gulf as a key superyacht and megayacht market. In addition, he announced that in keeping with Abu Dhabi’s commitment to sustainable progress, the ADYS has made a commitment to assess the carbon footprint of next month’s show with a view to reducing emissions at future shows, as well as purchasing the carbon credits necessary to offset the expected carbon footprint of the event. “The ADYS fully supports initiatives that will help reduce carbon emissions and promote responsible use of non-renewable energy resources,” Dailles stressed. “Our commitment to reduce the carbon footprint of this year’s event is a contribution to the efforts of the Abu Dhabi government to help create a more sustainable future for the UAE.” ADYS 2010 is being held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the emirate’s Armed Forces. Aside from headline sponsors ADTA, Bentley will be the exclusive associate car sponsor and Ulysse Nardin the official watch sponsor of the event. Other supporters include broadcast partners CNN and Al Arabiya, The Times, Etihad and The National as official newspapers.
KUWAIT: Integrating women from underprivileged backgrounds into the mainstream socio-economic avenue by mentoring them to become leaders and change their environment is one of the pivotal missions of the Asian Former British prime minister Tony Blair, whose spouse Cherie Blair is a patron of AUW, also attended the event. He explained that he and his wife share one thing in common, “The great belief in education a belief in education as a liberator of the human mind and also as a liberator of the human spirit.” In his words, attending the university will allow young women from across Asia to get the education that “they need and deserve.” He asserted that the university will tell young people that “no matter what your circumstances or how many challenges your country has, we are going to stand by you,” he added, “There is no more precious gift that you can give someone than to give them the chance to education.” Cherie Blair, who is also a Founder of the Cherie Blair Foundation and an advocate for human rights, addressed the event explaining that she has personal reasons to support educational initiatives. “I, too, was the first person in my family to go to the university,” she said. Blair, who earlier last year launched the Cherie Blair Fellowships at AUW, said that the new campus is fantastic in its vision; the staff is so committed to teaching and transmitting their knowledge to the girls; the students are enthusiastic and talented and eager to grasp the opportunity for themselves and for their societies. She asserted, that the university brings together two major things, “the importance of education and the need to support women to play their full role in our societies.” In the global economy, the people are important for success and they are the driving force of the global economy, Blair said. The key to success for nations now and in the future will be the ability to harness the tal-
University for Women, Chittagong. The university, is the outcome of a collaboration between prominent international universities, charities and local community organizations. It hosted an event in Kuwait that gathered Kuwaiti and international supporters, patrons, AUW students and guests. The event was held in Arraya Ballroom, Sharq on Sunday evening.
KUWAIT: Tony Blair (left) and Cherie Blair addressing the Asian University for Women event in Arraya Ballroom, Sharq on Sunday evening. — Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat and Fouad Al-Shaikh ents and potential of all its citizens. And that means women as well as men, she added. AUW, an institution of higher education that currently provides brighter opportunities to over 300 women from 12 countries across Asia and the Middle East, is the tool that can provide better future women who come from challenged backgrounds. Located in Chittagong (Bangladesh), AUW educates young, meritorious women who hail from diverse backgrounds with the spirit of entrepreneurship and leadership. AUW aims to graduate women who are to become innovative professionals, service-oriented leaders in the businesses and communities in which they live. AUW which reshapes the understanding of liberal arts in Asia, also aims to mentor pro-
moters of intercultural understanding and sustainable human and economic development worldwide. Quoting statistics about the high illiteracy levels for women in some Middle Eastern and Asian countries Lulwa Al-Mulla, Member of International Council of Advisors for the AUW, stated that “the grim state of affairs is undeniably dragging our communities behind.” She further argued that illiteracy is the major culprit of the instability in the region. “The road to eradicating underdevelopment begins with promotion of high quality education,” Al-Mulla said. Al-Mulla who herself visited the AUW two months ago recalled her visit saying, “ I witnessed a vibrant academic body driven by the desire for academic excellence, personal
growth and independence.” On his part, Kamal Ahmad, Founder and CEO of the Asian University for Women Support Foundation, a US-based NGO that handles AUW’s fund-raising initiatives, introduced the idea of the university, provided a glimpse of the academic programs, campus establishment plans and the plans for the future. He explained that 25 percent of the students will be drawn from Bangladesh and the remainder will be from across Asia. Farida Royesh, an Afghan student at the AUW Access Academy narrated her story and explained how joining AUW changed her life. Royesh who is currently involved in communication and creative work clubs wants to become an advocate for women’s rights and to work in the parliament in Afghanistan. Born in what she calls “mujahedeen-controlled” village, she was only four when the family was forced to migrate to Pakistan because her father was a writer. “Honestly, I didn’t have a childhood, “ she said at the start of her story. Today, after becoming one of the selected girls to continue her education in AUW, she eagerly addresses the issue of how can a girl bring change to her future and to the future of women overall. Having developed a strong interest in anthropology, democracy and human rights, Royesh aspires to embrace one of the university’s goal to become a role model and a leader for women in her native Afghanistan. She shared her first impressions, her conviction to pursue higher education, and her dreams as part of AUW. “Thanks to AUW my dreams are now alive and attainable,” she said elaborating that she is obligated to serve her country and the community. For more information about AUW visit: www.asian-university.org.
NATIONAL
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
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‘Iran frightened of American presence in the Gulf’
Region faces tough choices By Ahmad Saeid KUWAIT: Strategic experts said there is no positive outcome for Gulf Cooperative Council (GCC) states in a standoff between Iran and the US in the Arabian Gulf. “The possible outcome of this standoff is limited to bad versus worst scenarios,” said strategic expert Sami Al-Faraj. He explained that the bad is having so much military presence in the Gulf, while the worst would be a military confrontation between Iran and the West. Al-Faraj argued that the tension in the region will continue to escalate until Iran gives in to the conditions of the West and provide assurances that its nuclear program is strictly used peacefully. “If we consider the American political doctrine we clearly see that there is no chance the US will allow Iran to have nuclear weapons,” he said. The strategist added that many observers in the West think Iran is only buying time in its negotiations. “According to intelligence agencies Iran will be capable of producing nuclear missiles this year, although estimates vary from one expert to another as to what month this could happen,” he said. Al-Faraj, who is head of the Kuwaiti Center for Strategic Studies, asserted that the Iranians are now searching for someone to negotiate with but can find no willing parties. “Even Russia has changed its position on this regard. They now support sanctions against Iran,” he said. Al-Faraj went on to say that the West has no choice but to
confront Iran in this regard. “Having a nuclear program comes with an added value. It provides the opportunity to enrich uranium for nuclear missiles. This coupled with the fact that Iran has tested long-range missiles that can reach countries in western Europe provides the West with a simple equation. It means nothing short of standing in front of Iran’s nuclear ambitions,” he concluded. A recently conducted poll by AlJazeera.net showed that more than 91 percent of participants think the presence of American missile systems in the Gulf provide protection for countries in the region. Military experts think this move could be strictly strategic. “I think the procedure taken by the US is normal,” said military expert Saber Al-Suwaidan. “It could just be a routine redistribution of forces in the Gulf but executed in such a way as to provide extra pressure on Iran about its nuclear program,”. Al-Suwaidan said that the action does send a strong message to the Iranian leadership. The West is showing Iran that it is serious in its demand that Iran listen to the international community, which is becoming increasingly uncomfortable with Iranian behavior. “I think that the Iranian leadership always has two different policies, one internal and the other external,” said AlSuwaidan, retired head of the Kuwaiti Air Force. “The internal policy is geared towards selling the idea that the government is confi-
KUWAIT: Hala February, an annual shopping festival in Kuwait, officially began on Jan 29 with a parade of colors at the Souq Sharq Mall in Sharq. The festival literally means ‘hello’ or ‘welcome February’ will last until Feb 23 with a host of activities that appeals to every segment of society. However, many expatriates have expressed disapproval on the manner in which the festival is being organized and conducted here. They believe it lacks the ‘real elements’ of a festival that uplift the spirits, glorifies spending and merry making. For many, the shopping discounts offered are too little if not limited to selected products and services. “It is not worth the wait. I can shop anytime in the malls and anywhere in Kuwait and enjoy huge discounts. I don’t know what the Hala festival is for. I cannot understand,” said Mercy, a Filipina expat who has been working in Kuwait for over 10 years. Mercy said that the Hala February is just another
in the news Pollution research KUWAIT: The Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research is set to conduct a research project to evaluate pollution levels in state hospitals, health facilities and schools, announced a senior KISR official on Sunday. The evaluations will be carried out through the use of sensitive air pollution measuring equipment in hospitals, schools and the Um Al-Hayman health center, reported Awan. The project aims to measure air pollution levels in all these facilities.
A US soldier walks past the launcher of a Patriot missile PAC-3 system during the Air Power Day at the US airbase in Osan, south of Seoul in this October 11, 2008 file photo. The Pentagon last Friday unveiled plans to sell more than six billion dollars worth of arms to Taiwan, including missiles and helicopters, but did not meet Taipei’s request for F-16 fighter jets. Amid speculation that Washington was preparing to act on Taiwan’s request for weapons, China warned Washington against more arms sales to the island. The arms package includes Patriot missiles, Black Hawk helicopters and communications equipment for Taiwan’s F-16 fleet, but no new fighter aircraft, which had been part of Taipei’s wish list, according to the Defense Cooperation Security Agency. — AFP dent in its capability to defend its interests and achieve its goals. The external policy, in my view, indicates that Iran is frightened of any possible attack from Western powers because they know their
Inmates priority KUWAIT: The Ministry of Health asserted the importance of according greater priority to medical cases referred from jails and rehabilitation centers. The new instructions were made at the behest of a direct order from the Ministry’s Undersecretary, Dr. Ibraheem Al-Abdulhadi. A disagreement has been ongoing between the Health Ministry and the Interior Ministry over this issue mainly related to the medical fees that expat prisoners have to pay, reported Al-Watan. No agreement has also been reached on the hospitals to which these prisoners are referred to. Dust expected KUWAIT: Kuwait is expected to experience changeable weather conditions accompanied by a chance of thunderstorms, high winds and dust storms said local meteorologist Jamal Ibrahim. Ibrahim added that similar conditions have already affected several other countries in the region, including Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine, and some parts of Saudi Arabia, reported Al-Qabas.
month and she didn’t even feel that something special was going on during the period. “Such festivals should be made colorful and lively. They should hold more live shows to entertain customers or shoppers, not just a select few,” she said. Margaret, an Indian expatriate shares the same opinion. “Organizers should arrange a lively event to uplift the spirit of shoppers. They should allow live concerts, international artistes to come forward and promote the event. They should light the streets colorfully, should arrange fireworks too, but there weren’t any, so where is the festive mood,” she asked. A regular visitor to the annual event commented that she did not like the opening ceremony this year. “I like the opening held at Salem Mubarak Street in Salmiya. Maybe because I’m used to watching the opening there. This year, I did not like the one in Sharq. Activities are not so hilarious, it’s boring,” Nancy a Czech national, said. She also noticed the lackluster advertising campaign
regime will not be able to survive such an assault,” he added. “We hope Iran will be rational about this and listen to the advice of friends and succumb to international will,” he concluded. In a related subject,
which killed the spirit of excitement. “If you entice me with an ad, perhaps I can join the crowd, or perhaps shop for one or two pieces. But there were very few advertisements. I don’t know, maybe it’s because of global economic crisis?” she said. But Ahmad, a teacher from Syria claimed that most people are indifferent towards the Hala festival in Kuwait. “Many of the young Kuwaitis nowadays spend money in Dubai rather than Kuwait. Most of them are out shopping and enjoying life in Dubai, thanks to the two-week school vacation,” he said. Ahmad suggested that more expatriate communities are being targeted rather than Kuwaitis. This is because they have money to spend and buy products. “If they cannot encourage people from outside Kuwait to come and shop in Kuwait, they should shift focus toward boosting domestic spending. This can be done by encouraging people who are already in Kuwait to spend. They can do it if they give more importance to expatriates,” he argued.
kuwait digest
The magic of privatization
S
ome members of Parliament, along with several writers and economists, speak of privatization as though it is a ‘secret code’ that will release magical energies and qualitatively develop all of Kuwait, wrote Bader AlDaihani in his column yesterday in Al-Jarida. Many countries have found that they still suffer socially, politically and economically from transferring ownership from the government to the private sector, he continued. Many countries have learned their lesson from the world financial crisis and have decided to review their privatization programs, Al-Daihani wrote. It is important that MPs not exaggerate the effect privatization programs will have on our future, he wrote. They have to be careful so as to avoid being accused of being biased and having a conflict of interest, Al-Daihani added. ‘Privatization has many shapes and forms,’ he explained. ‘There can be a total transfer of ownership from the state to the private sector or a contractual relationship between the state and the private sector. This would allow the private sector to manage some activities of the public sector and execute public projects. The government could also lease contracts to investment revenues and capital by the private sector while the government sets regulations and monitors
the private sector,’ he explained. With the exception of total ownership transfer from the public sector to the private sector, the state is still the sole owner of the assets and public revenue of the properties, Al-Daihani wrote. Therefore, citizens could still question, through the Parliament, how those revenues and assets are used, he added. Contrary to that, in the case of total ownership transfer, the authority of spending revenue and assets would be moved to the private sector and not subject to public questioning, he pointed out. ‘This is something that must be taken into consideration when the National Assembly discusses the privatization law. It is, related to the core of democracy itself, especially in relation to public responsibility,’ he added. In his article, he emphasized that the private sector plays an important role in all countries development process but is subject to each country’s circumstance. The economic pattern, market size and situation, nature of the private sector, and size determines how best to develop a country, he continued. ‘It is impossible to compare the private sector’s successful economic experience in productive capitalist industrial countries to private sectors in third world countries where economies suffer from structural problems,’ he concluded.
Kuwait MPs to visit Gaza KUWAIT: Kuwait’s parliamentary executive committee, led by National Assembly Speaker Jassem Al-Khorafi, has accepted an invitation from the Arab Inter-parliamentary Union (AIPU) to visit Gaza on February 15-17. The Kuwaiti parliamentary team set to visit Gaza will be headed by MP Mubarak AlKhurainij, with members
KUWAIT: The Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor’s (MSAL) family nursery department is to invite all its voluntary staff to a meeting following the spring break to inform them of its new voluntary work strategy. The department is keen to improve the services provided to the abandoned children it cares for, said department director Dr. Fahad Al-Wardan The department’s move follows recent controversy over some voluntary staff at local children’s homes who were accused by the MSAL’s volunteer work evaluation committee of breaking the rules and regulations there and violating the children’s privacy, resulting
in the volunteers’ dismissal. The charges against the volunteers did not result in any legal cases being brought against them, however, reported AlJarida. Al-Wardan said that the department has now introduced a new strategy whereby volunteers are to be divided into different categories, namely new, active and outstanding, with those in each category being allocated different rights and duties according to their status. The new classifications are being introduced in order to ensure that all volunteers adhere to the department’s rules and regulations and perform their duties correctly, he explained.
Kuwaiti appeals for arsonist son’s arrest
Expats dismayed with Hala February By Ben Garcia
MSAL dept introduces new volunteer system
including MP Ali Al-Omair, among others, Al-Khurainij told reporters following a committee meeting yesterday. The committee has also approved an invitation from the AIPU to take part in its 16th conference in Cairo on March 14. The Kuwaiti parliamentary delegation at the event will be headed by Parliament Speaker Jassem Al-Khorafi.
The committee also accepted an invitation from the InterParliamentary Union (IPU) to participate in its 122nd conference in Bangkok, Thailand, on March 27-April 1, as well as approving the formations of a number of parliamentary friendship committees, together with parliamentary draft budgets and final account statements. — KUNA
press reports yesterday quoted sources in the Defense Ministry as saying that Kuwait “is not prepared to put its military forces on high alert in preparation of a potential conflict between the United States
and Iran.” The quoted source also said that Kuwait had not given a green light for a US missile defense system to be installed on its land to defend against any potential Iranian strike.
KUWAIT: An elderly Kuwaiti man who accused his son of burning down the family home in the AlOyoun area has told detectives that his son had phoned him and his wife the night before threatening to set fire to the house, but nobody had taken him seriously since he had issued such threats before. The father said that he was once undergoing treatment in Jahra Hospital when his son arrived at his bedside carrying a can of petrol and threatening to pour it over him and set it alight, adding that this incident had been reported to police at the time, reported Al-Anba. The citizen said that he had reported his son several
times over previous incidents when the young man threatened both his parents and siblings, but no move had been made to arrest him, despite the fact that he had been previously charged over incidents involving the harassment of a neighbor of the family. The concerned father suggested that his son is suffering from severe psychological problems, adding that the young man is a source of real fear for all the family members and calling upon Interior Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Khalid AlSabah to ensure that his son is arrested and sent to a suitable facility for treatment for his psychological problems.
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NATIONAL
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Maintenance work at Kuwait Towers
Painting works in progress.
KUWAIT: Maintenance and Improvement Operations at the Kuwait Towers, one of the prominent facilities of the Touristic Enterprises Company (TEC), was launched as part of the comprehensive development plan to be undertaken at the TEC’s administration. This announcement was made by the TEC CEO, Khalid Abdullah Al-Ghanem, who said that the company’s board has set a main goal to improve its facilities in accordance with the latest technology to increase efficiency. The maintenance operations will include works performed on all three towers of the facility, at the interior and exterior. The operations include installing steel supporters at the middle tower, cleaning works at the little tower, as well as the main tower. AlGhanem further explained that once the outside works are finished, the maintenance works will be conducted on the main tower including restaurant halls and the viewing sphere. The company has allocated a special budget for this process, said Al-Ghanem. The company is preparing to carry out several projects in 2010 that will mark a shift in the service provided to visitors at its facilities. Visitors to the Towers will not be affected by the maintenance work carried out outside. The internal work will be carried out in scheduled phases.
Workers erect steel supporters.
Outside operations being carried out.
Workers carry out works on the outside of one of the towers.
A view of the cleaning work undertaken at the little tower.
Cleaning works at one of the towers.
Khalid Abdullah Al-Ghanem
Police foil two kidnap attempts Three women, child rescued KUWAIT: Police managed to free a female citizen and her child from their Kuwaiti kidnapper, who took them from Qairawan. Officers responded to the emergency phone call of the kidnapped woman and were able to locate the vehicle used in the incident. They caught the assailant in Sabah AlNasser and referred him to the proper authorities. In a similar incident, Jahra police arrested a young man who took two women from a shopping mall in Farwaniya. One of the two women informed a friend in a text message to call police for help. Police were able to locate the vehicle and arrest the kidnapper in Sulaibiya. Authorities brought the two girls and their assailant to the Andalus police station for further investigations. Driver held An Afghani truck driver was arrested in Sabhan for forging official documents from the Ministry of Transportation. The arrest occurred after an officer noticed that the stamps on the drivers documents were fake. The owner of the truck, a citizen, was summoned for investigations and he denied having prior knowledge of the forged documents. Both the driver and the owner were taken to the Sabah Al-Salem police station for investigations. Woman threatened A citizen forced a woman to sign a KD 10 thousand promissory note at knifepoint after confronting her in Al-Qasr. The criminal took the woman’s phone number and threatened to call the police on her if she told anyone. After he escaped the woman went to Al-Naeem police station and filed a complaint. Youth stabbed A 16-year-old citizen was stabbed in the left shoulder during a fight between a group of young citizens in Um Al-Haiman. Police and paramedics responded to the emergency and the brawlers fled as soon as the authorities arrived. The injured was taken to Adan Hospital and police pursued the brawlers. Criminal arrested Ahmadi investigators arrested a man wanted for a series of crimes. The fugitive had 11 criminal
cases opened against him and was sentenced to 22 years in prison for the 18 crimes he committed, including sexual assault, armed robbery, murder attempts and weapons possession. The arrest occurred in Kabad after police responded to complaints regarding an armed man roaming the area. After some resistance, the criminal was apprehended and found in possession of an unlicensed weapon. He was taken to the Public Prosecutor and sent to the Central Jail. Fugitive escapes A high ranked officer was investigated for violating a direct order and allowing a fugitive to escape from custody. The fugitive, a Bangladeshi man, was arrested on charges of operating an international phone call center inside four of his tailoring shops. The Bangladeshi was ordered to be deported as a direct order from the head of the General Department of Criminal Investigations, Sheikh Ali Al-Yousuf. Suicide attempt A 25-year-old Indian man attempted suicide by consuming insecticides in a polyclinic in Wafra. His action came as an act of protest against the company he works for after they failed to pay him his salary. He was taken to Adan Hospital where medical teams were able to save his life. A case against him was opened in the area’s local police station. Nervous breakdown A 46-year-old female citizen suffered a nervous breakdown after her car caught fire while driving in West Mishref. An emergency call was made by pedestrians after the woman pulled her car over and escaped her vehicle. Firefighters and paramedics responded to the emergency and extinguished the blaze. Paramedics took the woman to Amiri Hospital. Road accident Two Egyptians were admitted to Adan Hospital with severe injuries after their vehicle overturned on Wafra Road. Police and paramedics responded to the emergency and freed the two men from their vehicle. Investigations indicate that a malfunction of the front tire caused it to overturn.
Six injured in road accidents By Hanan Al-Saadoun, KUWAIT: A 40-year-old Pakistani truck driver was taken to Jahra Hospital yesterday after suffering a gash to his forehead when his lorry overturned on Salmi Road Also yesterday, a 45-year-old Egyptian man was taken to Farwaniya Hospital after he sustained head wounds in a collision near the Farwaniya police roundabout. On Sunday, meanwhile, a ten-year-old boy was taken to Jahra Hospital after suffering a fractured right thighbone in an
accident on Sunday involving an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) In a similar incident on the same day, a 17-year-old Kuwaiti youth sustained heavy bruising all over his body in another ATV accident, this time just after the Arifjan Bridge on King Fahad Road. He was taken to Adan Hospital. Meanwhile, a 19-year-old Kuwaiti man was airlifted to Adan Hospital by military helicopter after suffering injuries to his skull and eye in a collision on Failaka Island the same day. Also on Sunday, a 40-yearold Syrian man was taken to
Amiri Hospital after suffering cuts to his head in a car accident on Damascus Street. Police beating accusation An 11-year-old Egyptian boy and a 32-year-old Egyptian man, both claiming to have been beaten by Special Forces officers, were transferred from Farwaniya medical center to the local hospital. Face off A 38-year-old Egyptian man was taken to Mubarak Hospital after sustaining a deep gash to his face in a fight.
INTERNATIONAL
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
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Ex-militant seeks sanctuary in Palestinian jail RAMALLAH: Mahdi Abu Ghazali says he went to prison voluntarily out of fear for his life. No ordinary inmate, he is reachable on his cell phone. Abu Ghazali turned himself in to Palestinian security forces in the West Bank on Jan 7, together with eight other Palestinians who were told they risked sharing the fate of three men shot dead by the Israeli army two weeks earlier. “We were advised by the security forces that we should go to prison to preserve our lives,” Abu Ghazali said by phone from Jnaid prison, run by the Palestinian Authority near Nablus. A former member of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade, Abu Ghazali thought he
Palestinian official denies any Israeli role in detention was safe from pursuit by Israel, which has occupied the West Bank since 1967. He had been included in an Israeli amnesty that had covered scores of members of the Fatah-affiliated militant group, he said. Yet so was one of the three men killed by the Israeli army in Nablus on Dec. 26. The army suspected the three former alAqsa Martyrs’ Brigade men of killing a Jewish settler two days earlier. The Palestinians who detained Abu Ghazali told him of Israeli allegations that he was planning to avenge the Nablus killings-a charge
he flatly denied. “It was 10:30 pm. They said we had until midnight to get to Jnaid prison or the other side (Israel) would act in its own way,” Abu Ghazali said. The security forces’ swift action to ensure no further bloodshed reflects Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s determination to avoid paralysis in the peace process with Israel spiraling into violence in the West Bank. Yet such detentions pose a public image problem for the security forces. They strongly reject accusations of collaboration with Israel from critics
including the Hamas Islamist group that governs Gaza. “We do not imprison anyone according to what Israel wants,” said Adnan Dameri, spokesman for the Palestinian security forces which exercise control over islands of West Bank territory under interim peace agreements with Israel. SAFER INSIDE The men in Jnaid prison had been detained out of genuine concern for their lives, he added, describing the three killings in Nablus as Israeli “executions” aimed at undermining public confidence in the
Palestinian security forces. The Israeli army has said the three had ignored orders to surrender. One of them was found holding a gun. None of them had opened fire. The soldiers had assumed each was “armed and dangerous”, the army said. An investigation by B’Tselem, an Israeli human rights organization, has raised “a grave suspicion that the soldiers acted unlawfully”. In at least two of the cases, the soldiers had made no attempt to arrest the men, it said. Abu Ghazali, who fought in the armed Palestinian uprising, or Intifada, earlier this decade, said he believed Israel was hoping to provoke a violent response. It
would not come from him, he added. Aged 36 and married five months ago, he says he had been trying to build a normal life in Nablus, where he had been working at his brother’s shoe shop until his recent detention. He spent several years in an Israeli jail during the Intifada. It’s no surprise he is treated well by his current jailers: the Palestinian security forces in the West Bank are dominated by Fatah. Although he is now in a Palestinian jail, Abu Ghazali has no doubt that his release date depends on Israel. “The security forces are convinced that Israeli allegations are groundless,” he said. — Reuters
Somali insurgents unite, profess loyalty to Qaeda Al Shabaab rebels unite with southern militia MOGADISHU: Somalia’s hardline Al Shabaab insurgents have agreed to join forces with a smaller southern militia and both groups professed their loyalty to Al-Qaeda. The failed Horn of Africa state has not had an effective central government for nearly two decades, leading to the rise of warlords, heavily armed criminal gangs and pirates who have been terrorizing shipping off
ADDIS ABABA: Sudan’s President Omar Al-Bashir (center) takes part in the 14th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union at UN Conference Hall in Addis Ababa on Sunday, Jan 31, 2010. — AP
African leaders focus on the continent’s hot spots Rising tensions in oil-rich, secessionist south Sudan ADDIS ABABA: African Union heads of state focused on rising tensions in oil-rich, secessionist southern Sudan yesterday as they reviewed their response to the continent’s many crises and conflicts. Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, who on the 14th summit’s opening day had to relinquish the 53state body’s presidency to Malawi, warned that Sudan could become “another Somalia”. Tension has been mounting in Sudan in the runup to a 2011 referendum in which the south is widely expected to choose independence from Khartoum, only six years after signing a peace deal. Many observers fear that a secession in oil-rich Sudan- Africa’s largest country, bordering nine others-could further destabilize one of the continent’s most volatile regions. “If the South has a right to separate itself then there’ll be danger for the South,” he said, Gaddafi said at press conference late Sunday. “The outbreak of war will not be between the North and the South, it will be within the South itself. The South itself is not united,” he said. “It could become fragile and coveted by its neighbors (with a view to) taking the resources, oil or something else,” he warned. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who attended the first day of the summit, also put special emphasis on the fate of Sudan. “The UN has a big responsibility with the AU to maintain peace in Sudan and make unity attractive... This year will be crucially important for Sudan with the election in three months and the referendum in a year,” he said Sunday. “In the AU we believe that till the last minute we should work with all the Sudanese stakeholders to be sure we promote peace in the country,” AU Peace and Security Commissioner Ramtane Lamamra, told journalists. He said the AU respected the will of the Sudanese people but: “Nevertheless, we are making sure that unity is attractive”. For Bona Malwal, a member of the Sudanese delegation and ambassador to the AU, it is too late to do that. “It is already too late. We have asked this help for a long time. But
now the people of the south have made up their mind. They are in favor of independence. Time is running out,” he said. “The international community can still be involved to help the two parties to handle the aftermath of the referendum in a peaceful manner,” he said, adding: “The Khartoum government will never stop the decision of the people of the South”. At his press conference, Gaddafi, who was replaced as the chair of the organization by Malawian President Bingu wa Mutharika, complained that the “AU president has no prerogatives”. He also bemoaned the lack of progress on his own pet project: intensifying the political integration of the billion-strong continent to achieve a “United States of Africa”. But he firmly ruled out any idea of reducing Libyan funding or commitment to the body. “There’s no question of going backwards,” he said. Relief was palpable in the corridors of the AU headquarters, after a year during which Gaddafi and Jean Ping, who heads the body’s executive arm, publicly expressed contradictory views on some of the continent’s main crises. In their meetings yesterday, African leaders were also expected to review the situation in Somalia, where a weak internationally-backed government is struggling to fend off an Islamist insurgency. They will also review the performance of the AU’s peacekeeping mission there, almost three years after it was deployed. Among other issues yesterday’s agenda are climate change and the International Criminal Court (ICC). The AU’s relations with the ICC have been fraught since the court slapped Sudan’s President Omar Al-Bashir with an arrest warrant over the atrocities committed in Darfur since 2003. Bashir arrived in the Ethiopian capital on Friday. In a report released around two weeks ago, Human Rights Watch pilloried the AU for supporting the embattled Sudanese leader, arguing that such a move was a blow to the entire institution’s credibility. — AFP
“We have agreed to join the international jihad of Al-Qaeda ... We have also agreed to unite Al Shabaab and Kamboni mujahideen to liberate the Eastern and Horn of Africa community who are under the feet of minority Christians,” the statement said. “We have united to revive the military strength, economy and politics of our mujahideen to stop the war created by the colonizers, and to prevent the attacks of the Christians who invaded our country.” In this context, “Christians” is believed to refer to Ethiopian troops who invaded Somalia in late 2006 and then withdrew, and to Ugandan and Burundian peacekeepers serving with the African Union’s AMISOM force in Mogadishu. The statement appeared to have been signed by senior rebels including Sheikh Hassan Turki, commander of the Kamboni militia, and the reclusive Al Shabaab leader, Ahmed Abdi Godane. Security experts believe Shabaab’s total manpower is no more 5,000, while there are a few hundred Kamboni militiamen. In the capital Mogadishu, insurgents fired mortar bombs at the presidential palace overnight, prompting return fire by troops there that killed at least 16 people, medical officials and resi-
dents said. ARTILLERY BATTLES IN MOGADISAHU Violence has killed at least 21,000 people in the failed Horn of Africa nation since the start of 2007 and driven another 1.5 million from their homes, helping trigger one of the world’s worst humanitarian emergencies. Al Shabaab rebels routinely fire at the white-
JERUSALEM: Israel’s military has reprimanded two senior officers for the firing of shells, which contained white phosphorous, in a populated area near a UN compound during the Gaza war, the army said yesterday. In the official response to a damning UN report on the 22-day war handed to Secretary General Ban Kimoon on Friday, Israel said a brigadier general and a colonel had been disciplined for the actions after an internal army inquiry. “The special command investigation
New law may allow doctors to carry guns Shiite south, is tribal demands for compensation if a patient dies. Doctors in Diwaniya, where tribal customs often have the upper hand over the rule of law, conducted three sit-ins last year to protest. The Iraqi cabinet endorsed a draft law in January that would allow doctors to carry weapons, outlaw tribal demands for compensation and make attempted extortion of doctors punishable by a prison sentence or fines. Many doctors say that carrying a gun is not an option. DAY OF TERROR On a quiet day recently in the emergency room of the Medicine City hospital in central Baghdad where Latif is the doctor in charge, around nine doctors staffed a 22-bed ward. Two were busy examining an elderly woman, others were chatting. Most said they had been verbally abused, hit with stones and threatened with a gun. Doctor Nesrat Shaker, 30, said he understood the anger of relatives of patients whose lives doctors are unable to save. “Sometimes they have a right, but doctors can’t do their work while 1,000 eyes are watching them,” Shaker said.
HOBYO: An armed Somali keeping vigil along the coastline at Hobyo town, northeastern Somalia. —AFP washed hilltop Villa Somalia palace compound from other parts of Mogadishu. Troops at the palace often launch shells back. Residents and medical officials said several bombs struck around the city’s northern Suqa Holaha, or livestock market. “At least 16 people died and 71 others were wounded in four districts of Mogadishu,” Ali Yasin Gedi, vice chairman of
the Elman Peace and Human Rights Organization said. At an African Union summit in the Ethiopian capital on Friday, Somalia’s Foreign Minister Ali Jama’ Jangeli called for more AU troops to help about 5,000 peacekeepers from Uganda and Burundi who are based in the Somali capital. His Kenyan and Sudanese counterparts backed the call.
Djibouti has said it would send 450 soldiers soon. On Sunday, Al Shabaab spokesman Sheikh Ali Mohamud Rage called on Djibouti to reconsider its decision. “We warn the Djibouti government and strongly recommend that it not send its troops here, otherwise there will be bad consequences for it,” Rage told reporters in Mogadishu. — Reuters
Israel reprimands 2 top officers over Gaza war
Attacks ebb but Iraqi doctors face death, extortion, threats BAGHDAD: Iraqi doctor Mussab Abdul-Latif recalls the time a man threw a brick at him, accusing him of not doing his job well, as he tried to organize medical help for victims of a bombing in the southern city of Basra. The incident was just one of hundreds of attacks, threats, kidnappings and tribal demands for blood money that doctors in Iraq routinely suffer at the hands of relatives of patients who die or feel a little pain. “We are not supermen. Citizens want magic,” said Latif. “If we conduct a surgical procedure and a patient cries out, they think a doctor should be beaten. We are supposed to do everything without pain and that is simply impossible.” Violence in Iraq has ebbed over the past two years as the sectarian slaughter between majority Shiites and once dominant Sunnis ended, but Iraqi doctors still face daily dangers. Considered among the elite of Iraqi society, medical specialists became a target of insurgents and militias seeking to sow mayhem, and kidnappers in search of rich ransoms. Hundreds have been killed since 2003 and many more fled abroad. A big problem, particularly in the
its long coastline. Western security agencies say the country has also become a safe haven for Islamist militants, including foreign jihadists, who are using it to plot attacks across the region and beyond. In a statement dated last Friday but seen by Reuters yesterday, Al Shabaab and the smaller Kismayubased Kamboni rebel group said they had put their differences behind them.
Shaker said he was once threatened with a gun by soldiers who had brought one of their comrades in for treatment after he had been shot in the leg. Shaker tried to stop the bleeding but could not work under the constant shouting by the soldier’s colleagues and the threat of their weapons. Eventually, hospital security guards helped him flee while the emergency room closed for the day in protest. “We lived in terror that day,” said Shaker. “(But) the joy I get from my work overshadows the problems that I face.” The Health Ministry said part of the problem was that hospitals did not have enough security measures in place. “As a consequence we do not achieve our aim of treating patients in an appropriate way,” said the deputy minister of health, Khamis Al-Saad. In one recent case in Diwaniya, officials said that relatives of a patient who died in surgery managed to extort 80 million Iraqi dinars ($74,000) from a doctor. “If the government were strong, it would not let them dare to do these things,” said Doctor Mekki Jaafar of the Diwaniya health directorate. — Reuters
revealed that, during the course of a military operation in Tel El Hawa, IDF (Israeli army) forces fired several artillery shells in violation of the rules of engagement prohibiting use of such artillery near populated areas,” the response said. The two men, whom local media identified as Brigadier General Eyal Eisenberg and Brigade Commander Colonel Ilan Malka, were found guilty for “exceeding their authority in a manner that jeopardized the lives of others.” A military spokesman said that they were
issued written reprimands that will now be included in their personnel files. The two men were reprimanded “for using artillery... into a built up area,” he said. “They were punished not because the weapons had some amounts of white phosphorous but because they were fired in a populated area.” The incident occurred on January 15, 2009 when the military fired white phosphorous shells in the vicinity of a compound of the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) in Gaza City with the intent of
Israel govt closes probe on shooting of US protester JERUSALEM: Israel has decided not to press charges against police involved in firing a tear gas canister that left a US protester severely brain damaged, the justice ministry said yesterday. Tristan Anderson, a 39year-old activist from California, was shot in the head in the West Bank town of Nilin on March 13, 2009 during a protest against Israel’s controversial separation barrier. He can only communicate with basic sounds after being in a coma for months and undergoing several brain surgeries at a Tel Aviv hospital, according to Jonathan Pollak, a friend and fellow activist who has visited him recently. The justice ministry said the state prosecutor had closed the case without indicting anyone following an internal police investigation. “The case was closed because there was no proof of criminal behavior by the police,” ministry spokesman Moshe Cohen said without providing further details. The police also declined to comment on the investigation. The family’s lawyer Michael Sfard vowed to appeal the decision and accused the authorities of “grave negligence.” Sfard said that based on his own findings, including the testimony of seven witnesses, Anderson was shot by a border policeman standing 60-70 meters away with a clear view of him.
“The demonstration was actually for all practical purposes over. There was still a kind of cat and mouse activity between some border policemen and some protesters,” Sfard told reporters. But he insisted that Anderson, who was standing next to a mosque at the time, had not thrown any rocks and was not involved in the clashes. In a video taken immediately after the shooting and shown to reporters, tear gas canisters are still raining down as medics in orange vests lift Anderson onto a stretcher, his face covered in blood. Hundreds of Palestinian, Israeli and international protesters hold weekly demonstrations in Nilin and other nearby West Bank towns to protest the Israeli barrier, which has carved off large tracts of farmland. The gatherings usually turn violent, with Palestinian youths hurling stones and Israeli forces firing tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the crowds. A number of Palestinians have been killed during the protests in recent years. Israel says the projected 723 kilometers of steel and concrete walls, fences and barbed wire is needed for security. The Palestinians view it as a land grab that undermines their promised state. To date Israel has built 57 percent of the projected barrier, most of it inside the West Bank. — AFP
obscuring Israeli troop positions from Hamas fighters in the area, local media said. International law prohibits the use of white phosphorous shells in heavily populated civilian areas, but allows them in open areas to be used as cover for troops. The UN report, authored by South African judge and former international war crimes prosecutor Richard Goldstone, was released in September and accused both Israel and Palestinian militants of war crimes. — AFP
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Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Northern Ireland rivals near power-sharing deal Breakdown would trigger snap election HILLSBOROUGH: Rival Northern Ireland parties were close yesterday to clinching a deal on police and justice powers and end a lengthy row that has threatened to bring down their government. With talks due to resume after a break on Sunday, Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen has cancelled a meeting in Madrid with the Spanish prime minister and was ready to go to Belfast if agreement were achieved, an Irish government spokesman said. Downing Street would not comment on British Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s plans. A deal between predominantly Roman Catholic Sinn Fein and the mainly Protestant Democratic Unionist
Party (DUP) would give Northern Ireland its first justice minister and be one of the boldest steps since the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, which ended three decades of sectarian violence that killed 3,600 people. A definitive rift between Sinn Fein and the DUP would almost certainly trigger a snap election in the British province, where the former foes share power. But after around 100 hours of talks at Hillsborough Castle outside Belfast last week-the longest unbroken negotiations in the history of the peace process-the two sides said agreement was close. “I think they’re coming to the final phase. Progress has been made,”
said Conor Murphy of Sinn Fein late on Saturday. There were no discussions on Sunday. “There has been considerable advancement. There seems to be greater certainty and clarity,” said Edwin Poots of the DUP. Sinn Fein, which wants to see the province united with Ireland, has pressed for an early date for transfer of the justice powers most associated with British control during the years of violence. It has accused the DUP, which wants Northern Ireland to remain part of Britain, of stalling. The DUP denies the charge. Apart from the date, talks have faltered over a parades commission, which oversees the province’s Orange Order
Protestant marches. The DUP wants this form of oversight abolished. Sinn Fein, which sees the parades as provocative, wants it to remain. Before leaving Northern Ireland last Wednesday, Brown and Cowen gave the two sides a deadline of last Friday to come up with proposals or Britain and Ireland would publish their own. They have yet to do so. A British government spokesman said they were instead awaiting the outcome of the ongoing talks. Brown said last Wednesday he believed it was feasible for the Northern Ireland Assembly to consider plans on devolving policing and justice powers in March and to implement them in early May. — Reuters
Qaeda offers to help Muslims in Nigeria Militants to assist in training, providing weapons DUBAI: An Al-Qaeda group in North Africa has offered to give Nigerian Muslims training and weapons to fight Christians in the West African country, where more than 460 people were killed in sectarian clashes last month. Vice President Goodluck Jonathan sent in the military to halt the violence after four days of clashes between Christian and Muslim mobs armed with guns, knives and machetes in the area round the city of Jos in central Nigeria. “We are ready to train your people in weapons, and give you whatever support we can in men, arms and munitions to enable you to defend our people in Nigeria,” the statement by Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) said. It was signed in the name of Abu
Mus’ab Abdel-Wadoud, who was described as the “emir”, or leader, of the group, and appeared on Islamic websites that often carry statements from groups using the Al- Qaeda name around the world. “You are not alone in this test. The hearts of Mujahideen are in pain over your troubles and desire to help you as much as possible, in the Islamic Maghreb, Somalia, Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine, Chechnya,” it said. Nigeria has roughly equal numbers of Christians and Muslims, though traditional animist beliefs underpin many people’s faith. About 1 million people were killed in Nigeria’s 1967-70 civil war, and there have been outbreaks of religious unrest since then. But more than 200 ethnic groups generally live
peacefully side by side in the West African oil producer. Last month’s violence erupted after an argument between Muslim and Christian neighbors over the rebuilding of homes destroyed in previous clashes in 2008. A Nigerian man tried to bomb a USbound plane on Dec 25 in an attack claimed by Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, a Saudi-Yemeni group using the Al-Qaeda name and based in Yemen. AQIM kidnapped a Frenchman and three Spaniards in the Sahara late last year and said it would kill the French hostage by the end of January unless Mali freed four Al-Qaeda prisoners. French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said yesterday the group had extended the deadline. AQIM has waged
a campaign of suicide bombings and ambushes in Algeria but in the past few years has shifted many of its activities south to the Sahara desert. Last year it killed a British tourist, Edwin Dyer, after kidnapping him on the border between Niger and Mali while he was attending a festival of Tuareg culture. The group also said it shot dead a US aid worker in the Mauritanian capital Nouakchott in June last year and carried out a suicide bombing on the French embassy there in August that injured three people. Saharan states have been planning a regional conference to map out a joint response to the Al-Qaeda threat for more than a year, but the gathering has been postponed repeatedly. — Reuters
Britain deploys body scanners at airports UK raises terror threat level to ‘severe’ LONDON: Britain introduced body scanners at Heathrow airport yesterday, a measure rushed in after a failed attempt by a Muslim extremist with explosives strapped to his leg to bomb a US-bound passenger plane from Amsterdam. The scanners, which see through clothes to produce an image of the body, have caused unease among human rights campaigners who fear an invasion of passengers’ privacy as well as the disproportionate scrutiny of Muslim travelers by authorities. “Given the current security threat level, the government believes it essential to start introducing scanners immediately,” said Transport Secretary Andrew Adonis. Britain raised its terrorism threat level to “severe”, the second-highest level, on Jan 22, days before London was due to host two international conferences on Yemen and Afghanistan. The conferences took place last week without any security incident. The British government has been particularly concerned about the botched attempt by suspect Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a Nigerian national, to blow up a plane bound for Detroit on Dec 25 because he was a student in London between 2005 and 2008. Abdulmutallab boarded the US flight at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport, which already has 15 body scanners and plans to install
more. France and Italy have also signaled they would start using the devices at their airports. In a statement, Adonis said airports at Heathrow and Manchester, northern England, were the first required to use the scanners and others would follow. Scanners will be introduced at Birmingham airport (in central England) this month. “In the immediate future, only a small proportion of airline passengers will be selected for scanning. If a passenger is selected for scanning, and declines, they will not be permitted to fly,” he said. An interim code of practice for security staff stipulated that passengers should not be selected for scanning on the basis of gender, age, race or ethnic origin, Adonis said. He added that the government would launch a public consultation on the rules that should be applied in the use of scanners, with a view to producing a final code of practice. The merits and uses of body scanners have been vigorously debated in Europe since the failed Christmas Day bombing. The European Union’s new transport chief, Siim Kallas, said last month member states should refrain from using the devices until the bloc agrees on rules to protect privacy and health. But the bloc’s anti-terrorism chief, Gilles de Kerchove, said days earlier that all EU countries should introduce them. — Reuters
MOSCOW: Police officer detains a participant of an unauthorized anti-Kremlin protest in downtown Moscow on Sunday, Jan 31, 2010. Several hundred demonstrators gathered in a central Moscow square, defying a ban imposed by authorities. — AP
‘Mutiny’ hits elite Russian riot police MOSCOW: In the latest scandal to hit Russia’s police, members of an elite anti-riot force have written to the president complaining of serial violations by their superiors, a report said yesterday. The letter by some 10 policemen from a Moscow-based OMON riot police unit, copies of which have been sent to President Dmitry Medvedev and the general prosecutor’s office, is largely unprecedented in the force. The OMON (Special Purpose Police Unit) - usually known for loyalty to the authorities-is notorious for its work in dispersing opposition demonstrations. “A mutiny is brewing in a division whose main task is to suppress people’s street protests,” said The New Times, an opposition weekly, which also interviewed the letter’s authors. In the letter, an excerpt of which was published in the magazine, the policemen said their chief had told them that “you are slaves and should do what I want” and that each person should detain three people by the end of the shift. “We can work 10-15 days in a row, 17-20 hours a day without lunch,” the letter added. A Kremlin spokesman said he was not immedi-
ately aware of the situation. The policemen-all with the rank of warrant officer and senior sergeant-also told the magazine their battalion had become “a money-making structure”. Police officers make money protecting prostitutes and essentially renting out their underlings to disperse protests and help conduct hostile takeovers of businesses, among other tasks, the report said. The New Times said that the authorities turn a blind eye to the clear violations and in return the riot police ask no questions when they are told to disperse protests which the police bosses say are paid for by “foreign special services”. The country’s police have been rocked by scandals in the past months, including multiple deaths at the hands of police officers. The crimes resonated so deeply that Medvedev pledged drastic reforms in late December. In November, provincial Russian policeman Alexei Dymovsky accused his superiors of corruption in a video posted on YouTube that became an immediate sensation and appealed to Prime Minister Vladimir Putin for help. Instead, he was fired and then arrested in January. — AFP
HILLSBOROUGH: Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams (right) walks with Martin McGuinness during negotiations at Hillsborough Castle, Co Down in Northern Ireland. — AP
Key risks to watch in Nigeria LAGOS: Nigerian President Umaru Yar’Adua’s absence of more than two months for medical treatment is clouding what could otherwise be a bright investment climate in sub-Saharan Africa’s second biggest economy. The political uncertainty poses risks to everything from oil and banking reforms to peace in the oil-producing Niger Delta. Following are some of the factors investors are watching. PRESIDENTIAL SUCCESSION Yar’Adua has been in a Saudi Arabian clinic since Nov 23 but has not formally handed over power to Vice President Goodluck Jonathan, an omission his critics say is in breach of the constitution and which risks bringing government to a halt. The Senate, former heads of state and exministers, the Nigerian Bar Association and the opposition have all called on Yar’Adua to formally notify parliament of his absence, a move which would allow Jonathan to become acting president. But the cabinet has twice passed resolutions saying it believes Yar’Adua remains fit to govern, following the line of the ruling People’s Democratic Party. Some analysts fear the stalemate could continue for months as the cabal around Yar’Adua refuses to relinquish power. What to watch: Updates on his health. Yar’Adua is being treated for a heart condition and has a chronic kidney complaint but very little is known of his current medical state. No government minister has publicly said they have recently spoken with him and he has not been seen in public throughout his absence. jockeying for who runs in 2011 polls. Whether or not he returns to office is only the first step in returning Nigeria to political stability. More important will be who the ruling party chooses as its presidential candidate for 2011 polls, a figure who could quickly overshadow Yar’Adua if he returns or Jonathan if he takes over. NIGER DELTA Nigeria’s main militant group MEND on Saturday called off a three-month old ceasefire in the oil-producing Niger Delta and threatened to unleash an “all-out onslaught” on Africa’s biggest oil and gas industry. The announcement piles further pressure on Nigeria’s leaders to resolve the impasse over the presidency and threatens to disrupt oil output in the world’s eighth-biggest exporter. Nigeria’s light crude is popular with US and European refiners as it is easily processed into fuel products, meaning disruption to supplies can have a quick market impact. Attacks on the country’s energy infrastructure helped lift global oil prices to record highs near $150 a barrel in 2008. Yar’Adua was the driving force behind an amnesty program last year which saw thousands of gunmen including key MEND field commanders hand over weapons in return for clemency and the promise of stipends, re-training and investment in the region. MEND was severely weakened by the amnesty, with some of its top field commanders handing over weapons, and it remains to be seen how much operational capacity the group has left. But without Yar’Adua, it will be difficult to get the amnesty program back on track. What to watch: MEND’s ability to carry out attacks. Even those militants who did accept amnesty are unlikely to have handed over all of their weapons and it takes little to strike at thousands of kilometers of exposed pipeline in the jungle creeks. the military response. The army has so far said it is monitoring the situation but any operation to flush out the rebels is likely to lead to an escalation of violence. attacks on oil services companies. Firms including Royal Dutch Shell, Chevron, ExxonMobil, Total and Agip have born the brunt of attacks in the past but MEND has said it will now also target their suppliers and contractors. investment rollback. Shell said on Friday it was selling stakes in three onshore licenses as part of its global strategy. It said it remained committed to Nigeria, but analysts believe the move was partly motivated by continued insecurity. GOVERNMENT SPENDING, CORRUPTION Nigeria’s financial markets have so far largely
shrugged off the uncertainty over the presidency but matters will become more critical if the situation is not resolved before the end of March, when a supplementary 2009 budget expires. Government is already the country’s biggest spender and the 2010 budget, which foresees a rise in spending of a third, will need to be signed by the head of state if the government is to avoid paralysis, civil servants are to continue being paid, and infrastructure projects are to progress. The quality and transparency of spending is also key. Analysts fear corruption-one of the major brakes on foreign investment in Nigeria-will flourish if Yar’Adua’s absence and the resulting uncertainty are prolonged. What to watch: With the Senate and House of Representatives currently saddled with debate over the absence of the president, the progress of the 2010 budget through parliament could slow. Government is the country’s largest employer and any signs that ministries or government agencies are not spending as they should, or that contractors are not being paid, could trigger a slowdown in consumer spending and the broader economy. POLICY STAGNATION With the campaign period due to begin later this year, Nigeria has a short window of opportunity to pass badly needed electoral, banking and oil sector reforms before political minds are focused on winning votes, and policy stagnates. That window of opportunity is instead now being taken up with politicking over Yar’Adua’s succession. Key policy victims could include reforming electoral laws, the oil sector and banking, as well as the renewal of key oil licenses held by Royal Dutch Shell and Chevron: What to watch: If an electoral reform bill before parliament fails to pass, there is little hope Nigeria will avoid the sort of chaotic polls seen in 2007 which were followed by years of legal wrangling that hampered government business. if the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), touted by government as key to solving everything from funding woes at joint ventures with foreign oil firms to ending fuel subsidies, fails to pass before election campaigning begins around June, it is unlikely to see the light of day before mid-way through the next electoral term. banking reforms driven by Central Bank Governor Lamido Sanusi were helped by strong presidential support. Sanusi badly needs parliament to pass legislation to create an asset management firm that could soak up bad bank loans and get the banks lending again. ETHNIC OR RELIGIOUS UNREST Clashes between Christian and Muslim gangs in January in central Nigeria, which has seen frequent bouts of ethnic and religious unrest, forced Goodluck Jonathan to deploy the army in his first major use of executive powers. The unrest has been contained for now but such bouts of violence have in the past been orchestrated by rival political factions, highlighting Nigeria’s fragility as it approaches the campaign period for 2011 elections with no clear leadership. What to watch: Any renewed signs of volatility in the “Middle Belt”, the fault-line between Nigeria’s Muslim north and Christian south. FOREIGN INVESTMENT Financial markets have so far largely shrugged off the uncertainty, with the naira broadly stable against the US dollar and equity valuations looking attractive after sharp falls last year. Analysts say the currency stability is likely to continue to lure fixed income investors, the amnesty in the Niger Delta should boost oil production, and the 140 million population still shows strong potential from banking to telecoms. What to watch: Any further comments from the international community, which is beginning to pay attention to the uncertainty. The United States and Europe have urged its leaders to respect the constitution as it tries to resolve the impasse. Any currency weakness. Previous bouts of political instability have prompted capital flight, but with much foreign capital already having left in the wake of the global credit crisis the risk this time is seen as relatively limited. — Reuters
Terrorism watchdog backs control orders PARIS: An employee of French state owned underground rail company RATP checks the bag of a passenger using a newly installed Ionscan 500DT explosives and narcotics detection scanner at the Bibliotheque Francois Mitterand station in Paris. — AFP
LONDON: Britain’s terrorism watchdog gave his backing yesterday to one of the country’s major security measures, home curfews on suspected militants, despite recent court rulings casting doubt on the future of the system. “Control orders” allow terrorism suspects not charged with any crime or who cannot be deported, to be kept under curfew for up to 16 hours a day and restrict who they can communicate with or meet. The aim is to allow the government to keep tabs on suspects
against whom there is not enough evidence for a prosecution or if evidence cannot be made public because it would compromise intelligence sources. But human rights campaigners have long criticized the measures, introduced shortly before the London 2005 suicide bombings which killed 52 people, arguing they violate fundamental freedoms. Last year, Britain’s then top court dealt a severe blow to the regime, ruling that the government had to disclose its case against suspects and that
failure to do so breached the individuals’ human rights. However Lord Carlile, the independent reviewer of counter terrorism legislation, said the control orders were still “viable and necessary” and there was no better way of dealing with the risk such individuals posed. “It is my view and advice that abandoning the control orders system entirely would have a damaging effect on national security,” he said in a report. “There is no better means of
dealing with the serious and continuing risk posed by some individuals. I have been unable to find, or devise, a suitable alternative for the important residue of cases that cannot be dealt with by prosecution.” Carlile did say the system needed some reform, and those who the government wanted merely to stop going abroad should face less draconian Travel Restriction Orders. Since last year’s court ruling, the government has been forced to revoke
control orders against some suspects rather than reveal the evidence held against them. Last week, London’s High Court cancelled orders against two men after they successfully argued the measure contravened their human rights. However, about a dozen orders remain in place. “Control orders remain an important tool to deal with a small number of suspected terrorists who cannot be prosecuted or deported,” Home Secretary Alan Johnson said in a statement. — Reuters
INTERNATIONAL
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
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Mistrust in the eyes of rescued Haitian children CROIX DES BOUQUETS: The 33 children rescued from an alleged kidnapping by Americans who said they are missionaries huddled together at an orphanage late Sunday outside Port-au-Prince, visibly mistrustful of adults. A oneyear old girl, dressed in red and surrounded by children aged four, five and seven, glared at adults who came to find out how she was doing. She firmly clutched the hands of a friend, who seemed to be about four years old, seated on a bench next to her. The children were rescued from being illegally taken out of Haiti by Americans who say they belong to a US-based charity. Patricia Vargas, the regional director of the orphan charity SOS Children, said that for legal reasons the children’s identity cannot be revealed. Vargas answered a call from Haitian authorities to meet the children, who were returned from the border with neighboring
Dominican Republic, on Saturday. “The majority of these children have families. Some of the older ones said their parents are alive, and some gave an address and phone numbers,” said Vargas, a Costa Rica native in charge of SOS Children operations in Central America, Mexico and the Caribbean. Haitian police seized five men and five women with US passports, as well as two Haitians, as they tried to cross late Friday into the Dominican Republic carrying the children aboard a bus, Haitian authorities said. Haitian Culture and Communications Minister Marie Laurence Jocelyn Lassegue said Sunday that the children had no documents. While the children rested at the SOS Village, an oasis of sorts amid the widespread devastation in the Haitian capital, the year-old girl does not loosen the grip on her friend’s hand. The older children take
turns protecting her, sitting her on their laps and giving her warm hugs. Inside the SOS Village scores of volunteers from places like Chile, Guatemala and Costa Rica do not hide the shock over the news. “Even if we had elements to suspect that this was happening in Haiti after the earthquake, is a shock,” said SOS spokesman Georg Willeit, a native of Austria. Willeit takes visitors around one of the center’s cabins, which is decorated like a home, but also makes sure that no outsider questions the children. “Several of them were very scared last night,” said Willeit. Three young teenage girls were taking special care of “the baby,” a girl about seven months old wearing a light-blue outfit and cap that arrived Saturday so malnourished and dehydrated that she spent the night in the hospital. “The little girl has trouble eating, she does not know how
to,” said Willeit. Haitian officials have warned that child traffickers could take advantage of the chaos after the quake, and that legitimate adoption agencies may rush to take orphans before proper checks have been conducted. The 7.0-magnitude quake on January 12 killed 170,000 people, made more than one million homeless and left many children vulnerable in the Americas’ poorest nation. Volunteers said that after the quake parents flocked to the orphanage carrying pictures to identify their children, hoping to find them there. Nearly half of Haiti’s population is under the age of 18, and children are seen at all hours in refugee camps and in the rubble-covered streets. Some of the children may simply be out of parental sight, as mothers and fathers spend much of the day rushing from one place or another trying to get a donated tent, or some food and water. — AFP
Haiti quake shatters students’ dreams PORT-AU-PRINCE: Before an earthquake destroyed most of their schools, giggling students in starched uniforms and blue hair ribbons lined the streets of Haiti’s capital - visions of hope and innocence. Many of those students now live in squalid camps, their dreams and city shattered. “With everything that has already happened in the past few years - the floods, hurricanes, unrest - these children cannot afford to lose more time outside school,” said Berdadel Perkington, 40, a teacher giving an impromptu math lesson to a group of children outside the collapsed National Palace. Some schools outside the earthquake zone were expected to reopen yesterday. But it could be a month or longer before students in Port-au-Prince resume their studies, said MarieLaurence Jocelin Lassegue, minister of culture and communications. About 200 of the city’s schools were pulverized in the Jan 12 earthquake. Some colleges and technical schools may never reopen. A large number of the estimated 200,000 who died in the earthquake were students and teachers. Outside the capital, schools braced for a huge influx of students, many new. About 300,000 people have fled Port-au-Prince. “The children are in shock and they are traumatized,” said Lassegue. “Some of them have lost their friends, their parents. It’s like the end of the world for some of them.” Kent Page, a spokesman for UNICEF, said it is critical for children to get back to class so they have a sense of normalcy. But schools - reopening them, restaffing them, restocking them, relocating them - are just one of many urgent priorities here. The Ministry of Education - its own building destroyed and its partners, including UNICEF, are still assessing damage. UNICEF estimates that 75 percent of the capital’s schools were destroyed or damaged. It said Haiti has some 16,000 schools overall - 6,000 of them in affected areas - and an estimated 600,000 students. In other developments: - The UN World Food Program and its partners, including World Vision, borrowed an approach to food delivery that has worked in other disaster zones. The agencies distributed coupons in Haiti’s capital to be redeemed for bags of rice at 16 sites. The coupons were given mainly to women, the elderly and the disabled. Men could redeem coupons for women who were busy taking care of children or who otherwise could not make it. “Our experience around the world is that food is more likely to be equitably shared in the household if it is given to women,” WFP spokesman Marcus Prior said. -The White House said it was resuming the military airlift of critically injured earthquake victims, having received assurances that additional medical capacity exists in US hospitals. The flights had stopped four days earlier, worrying doctors in Haiti who said hundreds would die without specialized care. - The US Army Corps of Engineers has been asked to build a 250-bed tent hospital to relieve pressure on the US Navy hospital ship Comfort and on Haitian facilities where earthquake victims are being treated under tarpaulins in hospital grounds. - An effort to help Haitian children led 10 US Baptists into the arms of police when they were caught trying to bus 33 children to the Dominican Republic. — AP
PORT-AU-PRINCE: Babies born just after the earthquake lie in the critical tent at a hospital in Port-auPrince, Haiti. — AP
US launches largest Asian war games in Thailand China media decries Washington’s ‘arrogance’
CIUDAD JUAREZ: Soldiers stand inside a blood stained room after a group of gunmen opened fire on a gathering of students killing at least 13 and injuring dozens in the northern border city of Ciudad Juarez. — AP
24 killed in Mexico CIUDAD JUAREZ: At least 24 people were killed in separate incidents in northern Mexico Sunday as the country reeled from a wave of drug-related violence. 0In Ciudad Juarez, gunmen drove up to a house where a high school party was in full swing and opened fire killing 14 people and wounding 17 others, the city public safety agency said. Most of the victims were “youngsters”, said the Chihuahua state attorney general’s office. Witnesses said the gunmen drove up to the house in several cars, first shooting at people gathered outside the dwelling, then pursuing some of the youngsters who jumped over a fence to get away. “A young man was celebrating his birthday with his schoolmates... and when the host of the party came out to drop off his girlfriend” the shooting broke out, a neighbor said. Local press reports said the party host’s father was among the dead. Other sources said the young people were members of a
local soccer team celebrating a championship victory, the Reforma daily reported on its website. The shooting took place in Ciudad Juarez, the city on the border with the US state of Texas that holds Mexico’s record in bloodshed, with more than 2,500 people killed last year in drug-related gangland crimes. It was the third mass shooting of youngsters in Mexico since September when, within two weeks, 28 youths were killed in two separate shootings at drug rehabilitation centers. Meanwhile, 10 people were killed and 11 were wounded when gunmen attacked a bar in the city of Torreon, in the northern state of Coahuila. Most of the victims were students aged between 19 and 25, authorities said. The war waged by several powerful drug cartels in Mexico has already left 15,000 people dead. The government has deployed 50,000 troops and thousands of police in an effort to put the violence under control. — AFP
How Beijing’s anger could hurt ties with Washington BEIJING: China has threatened to punish the United States for plans to sell some $6.4 billion of arms to Taiwan, the disputed island that Beijing calls its own. Here is how China’s anger could be felt: MILITARY TIES China has said it will curtail military contacts with the United States, returning to a freeze imposed in 2008 after the Bush administration flagged the arms sale to Taiwan. China’s official Xinhua news agency said a planned visit by US Defense Secretary Robert Gates later this year will be shelved, as will talks between the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Chief of General Staff, Chen Bingde, and the Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mike Mullen. Mutual visits by Chinese and US navy ships will also be affected, said the report. Defense contacts between China and the United States have, however, always been limited and so there will be scant effect on US operations. Some analysts have also said Beijing might stage more missile tests to demonstrate its anger. COMMERCIAL SANCTIONS China has said that US companies involved in selling arms to Taiwan will face “corresponding sanctions”, breaking with Beijing’s long-standing reluctance to use formal sanctions in international disputes. The vague warning did not specify when any sanctions would take effect, but companies that could be affected include Sikorsky Aircraft Corp, a unit of United Technologies Corp; Lockheed Martin Corp; Raytheon Co; and McDonnell Douglas, a unit of Boeing Co. Beijing could face challenges that any such sanctions violate commitments to open trade it has made as a member of the World Trade Organization. In response, it could argue the sanctions are a legitimate act to protect national security. Even without official penalties, China can informally punish foreign governments and businesses through adverse decisions on tenders, contracts and regulatory disputes. ECONOMIC AND CURRENCY TIES China is the world’s third-biggest economy, behind Japan and the United States, and holds foreign exchange reserves worth $2.4 trillion. Economists have estimated about two-thirds of those reserves are invested in US dollar-denominated assets. While China is the single biggest holder of US Treasuries owning at least $776.4 billion of US government debt at the end of June 2009, according to statistics-there have been no signs Beijing will use broader trade penalties or its dollar holdings to punish Washington. Doing that, or even hinting at it, would jeopardize the value of China’s own assets and alarm investors. Beijing appears too focused on shoring up economic growth to risk such
steps. Trading in offshore one-year dollar/yuan nondeliverable forwards on Monday indicated investors foresee a slightly slower appreciation for China’s yuan, with Beijing less willing to heed Washington’s calls for a currency rise. INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION China has said cooperation with the United States over regional and international problems will be hurt by the dispute, but the Chinese Foreign Ministry did not spell out what issues could be affected. The government is likely to show its anger in oblique ways, such as delaying talks or downgrading representation at them, rather than through substantive policy reversals. Washington has looked for stronger Chinese support over several international worries, chiefly the nuclear ambitions of Iran and North Korea. China is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, and so has the power to veto any proposed resolutions. Its rising influence and status as the world’s biggest developing country also give it clout over issues such as climate change and international financial reforms. BILATERAL DIPLOMACY China’s Foreign Ministry has cancelled one scheduled meeting between senior Chinese and US officials, a vice-minister level meeting on strategic security, arms control and nuclear non-proliferation. Other bilateral talks are also likely to be curtailed or downgraded. They could include a dialogue on human rights that President Barack Obama and President Hu Jintao agreed to during their summit in November. It is less clear whether China will show its anger by delaying, shifting or downgrading regular Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT) talks scheduled for later in the year, or the higher-level Strategic and Economic Dialogue due to be held in Beijing around mid-year. Washington officials were recently in Beijing to discuss preparations for those two meetings, and Chinese President Hu is expected to visit the United States later this year. PUBLIC OPINION Chinese media and Internet sites have sounded public anger about the proposed arms sales and the dispute will stoke anti-American sentiment. In a 2008 poll of Chinese public views of the United States by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, 46 percent of respondents said the Taiwan issue was the biggest problem in China-US relations-by far the most popular response. Public anger over the arms sales has already produced calls for boycotts of American companies and products. Similar protests against French, Japanese and US companies in past years have erupted and then quickly petered out with little lasting effect on their sales in China. — Reuters
RAYONG: The US military began its largest war games in the Pacific region yesterday-an annual training exercise with troops from Thailand, Japan, Indonesia and Singapore, now joined by South Korea. At the opening ceremony in the eastern Thai province of Rayong, US Ambassador Eric G John said that the “Cobra Gold” exercise, now in its 29th year, had become a “multinational showcase event”. “The US continues to view this exercise, which is our premier training event in Thailand, as an important symbol of US military commitment to maintaining peace and security in Asia,” he told the audience. John welcomed South Korea’s participation in the event, which runs until February 11 and will see soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen from the six countries taking part in operations across Thailand. He said the focus of the exercise was on joint peacekeeping operations and humanitarian and disaster responses, for which it offered “unparalleled” preparation, citing the 2004 tsunami relief operation as an example. “It’s imperative that our separate militaries learn to work with each othertogether-and rehearse for the day their services are needed to answer that call for help,” he said.
“As Cobra Gold is the US military’s largest exercise in the Pacific region-and indeed, the largest exercise of its kind in Asia-we welcome the contributions of all the nations who will participate in the coming days,” he said. In total representatives from more than 20 countries will participate, observe or support, he added. Thailand and the United States are long-time allies, but a large sum of US military assistance to the Southeast Asian nation was suspended after a Thai coup in 2006. The aid was resumed after elections in December 2007. Meanwhile, China’s state media accused Washington yesterday of “arrogance” and “double standards” in going ahead with arms sales to Taiwan, saying Beijing’s threat to penalize US companies over the deal was very real. The Pentagon sparked the latest challenge to Sino-US ties under President Barack Obama when it approved the 6.4-billion-dollar sale to Taiwan of Patriot missiles, Black Hawk helicopters, mine-hunting ships and other weaponry. China responded furiously, saying it would suspend military and security contacts with Washington and impose sanctions on US companies involved in the deal. Beijing, which
considers Taiwan part of its territory, also warned of “serious harm” to relations. The state-run China Daily and the Global Times accused Obama of being insincere when he said during a visit in November that he did not seek to “contain” China. “China’s response, no matter how vehement, is justified,” the China Daily said, adding the US move “exposes the US’s usage of double standards and hypocrisy on major issues related to China’s core interests”. “Washington’s arrogance also reflects the stark reality of how a nation’s interests could be trampled upon by another,” it said. In an official diplomatic protest, China said the row would endanger cooperation with the United States on “key international and regional issues.” It did not elaborate, but the comment comes as Washington seeks Beijing’s help in curbing the nuclear programs of Iran and China’s ally North Korea. China has repeatedly rejected tougher sanctions on Iran, stressing diplomacy as the only way to resolve the long-running dispute. But in the context of the Taiwan deal, the Global Times said sanctions “can be an effective alternative to other hardline measures to deal with a diplomatic dispute”. — Agencies
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Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Malaysia’s Anwar faces career-breaking sodomy trial KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim faces trial today on sodomy charges that threaten to neutralize the former deputy premier who was sacked and jailed on similar allegations a decade ago. Anwar spent six years in prison before rallying the opposition to stunning gains in 2008 elections, in the most potent challenge ever faced by the multi-ethnic coalition that has ruled Malaysia for half a century. He has condemned the new allegations leveled by a 24-year-old former aide, which could see him jailed for up to 20 years, as a conspiracy to end his political career and raised doubts he will get a fair hearing. “I’m shocked with the (government’s) impunity to go on with such a case despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary,” he said last week. The trial was originally due to start last July but has been repeatedly delayed as the defense team pursued legal maneu-
vers including bids to obtain access to prosecution evidence like medical reports and CCTV footage. Anwar’s lawyer Sankara Nair said he would file another delay application at the start of today’s hearing in the High Court but said there seemed to be a campaign to push ahead with the trial. “The fact that they’re not giving us certain crucial documents which they ought to give us has certainly had an emasculating effect in our preparation of the defense,” he said yesterday. Human rights group Amnesty International has sharply criticized the charges against Anwar, who in his first trial was brought to court with a black eye after a vicious beating from the police chief. “The Malaysian authorities have resorted to the same old dirty tricks in an attempt to remove the opposition leader from politics,” Amnesty Asia-Pacific director Sam Zarifi said in a statement.
Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim
“Anwar’s case has rightly raised doubts among the international community and investors about Malaysia’s commitment to justice and the rule of law.” The trial looms after a torrid few months in Malaysian politics, with the opposition beset by infighting and the government struggling to handle a religious row that has seen places of worship firebombed and vandalized. Bridget Welsh, a Southeast Asia analyst from Singapore Management University, said the trial was a “high-risk strategy” for Prime Minister Najib Razak, who came to power last year on a reform platform. “The fact that the trial’s moving forward is already damaging. They can’t get away from the fact that they seem to be victimizing the leader of the opposition,” she said. “It’s also going to be seen as a test for Najib and his government over the type of tactics they use and how they carry out
and implement power.” Welsh said the trial, which defense lawyers say could drag on for up to eight months in a highprofile test for Malaysia’s much-criticized justice system, could prove to be a “long, painful process for both sides”. “The trial is going to continue to test the coherence of the opposition as a whole, it will raise doubts over Anwar among some in the opposition,” she said of the 62-year-old who is struggling to maintain party discipline. Anwar, a married father of six, was a star finance minister before being sacked in 1998 amid a policy row with then-premier Mahathir Mohamad during the Asian economic crisis. He was convicted of sodomy and corruption but the sex charge was overturned and he was freed in 2004. Mass protests broke out when he was jailed a decade ago and he has said he “cannot preclude” a repeat of those turbulent days if he is convicted once again. —AFP
Pyongyang’s guns silent as Koreas discuss joint project Destitute North seeking more money from South
This undated picture, released from North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency yesterday shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il (center) inspecting the command of Korean People’s Army large combined Unit 630 at undisclosed place in North Korea. — AFP
in the news 8 dead, tens feared drowned JAKARTA: Eight people were killed and more than 20 others are feared to have drowned after their speed boat sank in heavy seas off eastern Indonesia last week, officials said yesterday. “One Chinese national was found alive. We’ve also pulled out eight bodies from the water... they were all bloated,” provincial search and rescue team head Amin Bin Tongke said, adding that the search for survivors continued. Maluku province police spokesman John Huwae earlier said 35 people including 25 Chinese nationals were on the 12-metre long vessel, which was travelling from Aru to Tual islands when it sank on Thursday due to bad weather. The boat’s skipper had ignored warnings from the meteorological office about bad weather, Huwae said. Indonesia’s 234 million people are spread across 17,000 islands and are heavily dependent on a network of ships and boats, which have a poor safety record. Up to 335 people were killed when a heavily overloaded ferry sank off Sulawesi island in January last year.
Man kills 9 on bus rampage BEIJING: A bus dispatcher in northern China hijacked a company vehicle yesterday after a dispute with his boss and went on a driving rampage, killing nine people and injuring 11 others, state media reported. The man, surnamed Zhang, got into a fight with his boss and injured him with a dagger before stealing the bus and driving away into the streets of the city of Tianjin, the official Xinhua news agency said. The 40-year-old motored through the streets, ramming into people and killing nine bystanders, the report said. Police dispatched dozens of police cars to the scene, and Zhang ran into three of them, injuring four policemen, before finally being caught. Authorities were investigating the case, the report said.
Kim ‘heartbroken’ over N Koreans’ corn diet SEOUL: North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il has vowed to end his people’s dependence on corn, state media reported yesterday, in a rare acknowledgment of his regime’s failure to improve living standards. Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the North’s ruling Communist Party, said Kim’s immediate ambition is to end his people’s dependence on corn for subsistence and to feed them rice and wheat products instead. “I’m the most heartbroken by the fact that our people are still living on corn,” Kim was quoted as saying in a report monitored by South Korea’s Yonhap news agency. “What I must do now is to feed them white rice, bread and noodles generously.” The paper did not disclose when or where Kim’s remarks were made. Kim also urged North Koreans to keep a vow made to his father, the late president Kim Il-Sung, to build a nation whose people do not know of such things as meals made of corn, it said. Last month Kim described “white rice and meat soups” as a long-cherished dream for North Koreans while admitting to failing to deliver an acceptable standard of living for the communist nation’s people.
China: ‘no concessions’ on Tibet’s sovereignty Beijing sticks to hard line in talks on Tibet BEIJING: China told representatives of the exiled Dalai Lama that it would make “no concessions” on Tibetan sovereignty during just-concluded talks between the two sides, state media reported yesterday. China stuck to its hard line in its first talks with Tibetan envoys in 15 months, refusing to discuss changes to the Himalayan region’s status and thus dashing hopes of a breakthrough. Chinese negotiator Du Qinglin said yesterday he told the Dalai Lama’s representatives that Beijing was only willing to address the future of the exiled spiritual leader - not any greater autonomy for Tibet. Du, head of the United Front Department of the Communist Party, the government department that handles the talks, said China’s national interest was inviolable, and “there can be no room for discussion, no room for compromise” on territorial issues. China maintains that Tibet has been part of its territory for centuries, but many Tibetans say the region was functionally independent for much of its history. At the last talks in 2008, the Dalai Lama’s envoys proposed a way for Tibetans to achieve more autonomy under 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. Chinese officials said they were only willing to discuss the return of the Dalai Lama, who fled to exile in 1959. The Tibetan government-in-exile in Dharmsala, India, said last week it hoped the two sides would be able to revisit the proposal for greater autonomy. But Du’s remarks, carried by the official Xinhua News Agency and posted on the United Front Department’s Web site, made clear there was no such progress.
BIHAR: Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama smiles during the last day of teachings at The Kalachakra Ground near The Mahabodhi Temple in Bodhgaya in this file photo. —AFP “The only thing there is to discuss, on the premise that you give up separatist words and actions, is the future of the Dalai Lama and the people around him,” Du said. “We hope the Dalai Lama will face reality squarely and return to the patriotic stance.” Beijing demonizes the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize laureate and says he seeks to destroy China’s sovereignty by pushing independence for Tibet. The Dalai Lama has maintained for decades he wants some form of autonomy that would allow Tibetans to freely practice their culture, language and religion under China’s rule, not independence.
Du said the exiles’ calls for a “greater Tibet” incorporating all Tibetan-inhabited areas, a region occupying about onequarter of China’s total territory, and a higher level of autonomy violated the Chinese constitution. He said only if the Dalai Lama abandoned such requests could there be a basis for contact. But the Dalai Lama has always sought an arrangement “where Tibet can enjoy genuine autonomy within the framework of the Chinese constitution,” said Thubten Samphel, the spokesman of the government-in-exile in Dharmsala. The Dalai Lama’s envoys, Lodi Gyari and Kelsang Gyaltsen, returned to India early yesterday after meeting officials in Beijing over the weekend, according to Chhime R Chhoekyapa, the Dalai Lama’s secretary. Details about the discussions from the Tibetan delegation were not immediately available. After arriving in the Indian capital, the two envoys were expected to go to the northern Indian hill town of Dharmsala to brief the Tibetan prime minister-in-exile, Samdhong Rinpoche, on the talks, he said. 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 Tibetans feeling marginalized. Those feelings boiled over in deadly antiChinese riots in 2008 that shocked Beijing’s leaders. China’s decision to hold the talks could have been prompted by signals from US officials in recent weeks that Obama might soon meet the exiled Tibetan leader - something Chinese officials are keen to avoid before President Hu Jintao travels to Washington, possibly in April. The new talks were welcomed by the United States, Britain and Canada.—AP
SEOUL: Envoys from the two Koreas discussed the operations of a joint industrial park yesterday, days after Pyongyang rattled the peninsula by firing artillery near a disputed sea border between the rivals. The meeting took place as a senior US diplomat headed to the region for talks aimed at prodding the reclusive North back to international nuclear disarmament discussions and ahead of a rare visit by a senior UN envoy to Pyongyang next week. Analysts say pressure is mounting on the destitute North to end its year-long boycott of the six-country, disarmament-for-aid talks. Pyongyang may try to improve its bargaining position with military moves that underscore the threat it poses to the economically vibrant region. North Korean artillery, which last week fired hundreds of rounds into its waters on its side of the sea border off the west coast, was silent over the weekend. Envoys from the South crossed the heavily armed border for talks over the Kaesong industrial park, the last joint project between the states where South Korean firms use cheap North Korean labour and land to make goods. “The talks focused on areas including the scale of payments to the North and security concerns of the South,” a Unification Ministry official said. Results of the talks may not be known until today, local media said. The park is one of the few sources of legitimate foreign currency for the North’s leaders who have been pressing the South to increase rent and wage payments for its nearly 40,000 workers at the complex located about 70 km northwest of Seoul. Markets were spooked when the North began the live-fire artillery exercise on Wednesday and by Seoul’s return fire. Shares in Seoul briefly retreated and the won fell against the dollar, but the moves were quickly reversed. Market players said the subsequent days of artillery shooting have had no significant impact on trading, but served as a reminder of the risks of investing on the peninsula. US Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell, who was due to arrive in Tokyo yesterday and head to Seoul the following day, was expected to discuss the conditions the North has attached to returning to the stalled nuclear talks. The North has demanded an end to UN sanctions imposed after its nuclear test in May 2009 that have jolted its broken economy and a peace treaty with the United States to replace the ceasefire that ended the 1950-53 Korean War, which could then help open up international finance for Pyongyang. The North’s main newspaper issued a statement directed at Campbell saying the United States should drop its confrontational style and cold war thinking. The top UN political official will travel to North Korea for wide-ranging talks, the United Nations announced on Sunday. Lynn Pascoe, under-secretary-general for political affairs, would visit North Korea from Feb 9-12 to discuss “all issues of mutual interest and concern in a comprehensive manner”, it said. —Reuters
What’s at stake in trial of Malaysia’s Anwar? KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim will go on trial today on charges of sodomy, the second time he has faced what he says are political allegations aimed at ending his challenge to the government. Anwar, 62, was convicted of sodomy in August 2000 and sentenced to jail in a trial whose conduct was condemned internationally. The conviction came on top of a six-year sentence for corruption. Critics say both convictions were aimed at destroying the heir apparent to then-premier Mahathir Mohamad, for opposing Mahathir’s management of the 1998 Asian financial crisis. The current trial had been scheduled to start in July but was delayed due to appeals by Anwar’s lawyers. If found guilty, Anwar could be jailed for 20 years, ending his political career. WHAT HAS CHANGED SINCE JULY? Anwar has been on the stump recently, holding rallies, some of which have attracted thousands of supporters, but still a far cry from the tens of thousands of people that attended his rallies in 1998. Since July, a row has erupted over whether Christians have the right to use the word “Allah” or whether it is unique to the Muslim Malay population.. While the case may inflame passions, it is unlikely to lead to major riots. But it has drawn a line between the opposition, which supports the Christians, and a government unable to take a firm stand. SHOULD INVESTORS BE CONCERNED? Yes, after the Allah row, a caning sentence handed down to a young woman caught drinking beer and continued worries about corruption, Malaysia has been getting its share of bad publicity. This was the year in which Prime Minister Najib Razak was to enact substantial economic reforms before putting his coalition government on an election footing in 2011. Although elections do not have to be held until 2013, they are likely to come in 2012. Faced with the row over “Allah”, and the prospect that ethnic Chinese and ethnic Indian voters will not return to the government fold, Najib may seek to avoid unpopular reforms. Najib is to review fuel subsidies and any radical reform could add to the government’s unpopularity if it hits poorer Malays. Last year, the government backed off price hikes for electricity and natural gas. Without spending and subsidy reform, efforts to rein in the budget deficit which hit a 20-year high of 7.4 percent of gross domestic product in 2009 could be in danger. Reforms so far have drawn praise but little cash from funds. Malaysia saw the third-biggest drop in foreign exchange reserves of any emerging market country in 2009, according to research from investment bank UBS. Scared by the global financial crisis and uncertain politics after the 2008 election, foreign investors withdrew $35 billion between Q2 2008 and Q2 2009. Foreign ownership of Malaysia’s stock market stood at 20.8 percent at the end of 2009, according to data from Bursa Malaysia, less than the 21 percent in March before Najib took over the failing leadership of the National Front coalition. WHAT HAPPENS TO THE OPPN IF ANWAR IS JAILED? Malaysia’s three-party opposition alliance, despite its election successes in 2008 and in recent by-elections, is prone to bickering and indecision. Anwar is the glue that holds the sometimes uneasy alliance of Islamists, a mainly ethnic Chinese party and reformers together. If he is sidelined, the government might be able to price the opposition apart, winning over the Pan Malaysian Islamic Party. There is no obvious successor to Anwar and there have been rumblings over the quality of his leadership as well as signs some opposition legislators may shift to the government. WHAT WILL BE THE IMPACT ON THE GOVERNMENT AND NAJIB? The government is obsessed with Anwar at every level. The trial could harden opposition to Najib and if Anwar is found guilty with dubious evidence or procedure, it will certainly tarnish the reputation of Malaysia and its prime minister. The row over religious rights could see the government’s vote banks in the states of Sabah and Sarawak, where there are large Christian minorities, come under threat. Sarawak has 31 MPs and Sabah 25 and between then they are home to just two opposition MPs. The government has 137 seats in a 222-member parliament. To get the mandate he needs to push through reforms, Najib needs to improve on the 2008 election showing in which the government lost its two-thirds parliamentary majority. Without it, the government cannot change the constitution. —Reuters
INTERNATIONAL
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
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Sri Lanka in biggest military purge after coup fears COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s president yesterday sacked a dozen senior military officers whom the defense ministry said were a “direct threat to national security” after last week’s presidential elections. A military official said it was the army’s biggestever purge and went beyond a 1962 shake up following a coup attempt by volunteer officers against late prime minister Sirima Bandaranaike. “What we have just witnessed is the biggest single shake up in the army,” a top official who declined to be named said. “The sacking is also coupled with several drastic changes in key positions.” President Mahinda Rajapakse had accused the defeated opposition of planning to assassinate him after he beat former army general Sarath Fonseka in the bitterly fought January 26 poll. Security forces kept Fonseka under siege while election results were announced on
Wednesday, and 15 retired officers working at Fonseka’s offices were later arrested. The military official said 12 top officers, including three major generals, were sacked to thwart any attempted coup by Fonseka’s supporters inside the military. The defense ministry in a statement said an undisclosed number were “sent on compulsory retirement” because they were considered a “direct threat to national security”. The ministry said the officers had breached military discipline by becoming involved in politics. Rajapakse and Fonseka were close allies in the massive offensive that finally crushed the separatist Tamil Tigers in May, but they fell out after the victory and went head-to-head in the presidential elections. When he resigned from the military in November and launched his illfated bid to unseat the president, Fonseka accused Rajapakse of falsely suspecting
COLOMBO: Sri Lankan police officers stand guard at the entrance of the pro-opposition newspaper office after it was sealed, in Colombo. — AP
in the news Clashes in Indian Kashmir SRINAGAR: Rock-throwing protesters clashed with government forces in Indian-controlled Kashmir yesterday, a day after a police-fired tear gas shell struck and killed a boy. Police and paramilitary soldiers fired tear gas to quell the protests, which took place in at least three places in Srinagar, Indian Kashmir’s main city, said Hemant Lohia, a top police officer. There were no reports of new injuries. On Sunday evening, 14-year-old Wamiq Farooq was struck in his head by a tear gas shell fired by police just after a protest against Indian rule ended, said the boy’s neighbor Shakeel Bhat. Thousands of people gathered at Farooq’s home yesterday and carried his body for burial, shouting slogans like “We want freedom” and “Indian forces leave Kashmir.” Lohia said the officer who fired the tear gas Sunday was suspended. “Preliminary investigation suggests that it was a callous and irresponsible action on the part of the officer,” he said.
Dalai Lama envoys return DHARAMSHALA: Envoys of the Dalai Lama returned to India yesterday following secretive talks in China on the future of Tibet that marked the resumption of dialogue after a 14-month hiatus. The two envoys, who flew to China a week ago, held meetings with Chinese government representatives which began in the central province of Hunan before moving to Beijing at the weekend, the Dalai Lama’s senior secretary Chhime Chhoekyapa said. Chhoekyapa declined to provide any details of the talks, the first between the two sides since November 2008. There was no immediate comment from Beijing but the Chinese government has scheduled a press briefing for today. Envoys Lodi G Gyari and Kelsang Gyaltsen will travel to the northern
Indian hill town of Dharamshala later yesterday to brief the prime minister of the exiled Tibetan government, Chhoekyapa said. At the last round of talks in 2008, the Tibetans handed over a memorandum insisting their demands for autonomy in the mountainous Buddhist enclave were in line with China’s constitution.
Afghans seek Turkish help ANKARA: Afghanistan has asked Turkey, the sole mainly Muslim member of NATO, to establish modern schools teaching Islam and providing education for girls in the war-torn country, the Afghan education minister said in remarks published yesterday. The two countries have signed a protocol on cooperation in education, with the “modernization of Islamic education” in Afghanistan a crucial issue, Farooq Wardak said in an interview with the English-language Hurriyet Daily News. Turkey’s governmentrun high schools that combine the teaching of Islam with regular sciences, known as imamhatip, could be a model for Afghanistan, Education Minister Farooq Wardak said. “I visited a few imam-hatip schools in Ankara and saw that they give a balanced education there. Sixty percent of their curriculum is normal education, 40 percent is Islamic,” he said. “I have asked Turkish officials to establish some imamhatip schools in Afghanistan. Learning from their experiences, we will be able to achieve a balance in our own Islamic education system,” he added. The imam-hatip schools, tasked by law to raise Muslim clergy, are popular among conservative Turks, but hardline secularists suspect them of being a breeding ground for Islamist movements hostile to the country’s secular system.
Students rail against UK visa suspension KATHMANDU: Students in Nepal yesterday reacted angrily to a British decision to suspend their visa applications, accusing the authorities in London of “playing with people’s lives”. Many said they had already paid thousands of pounds for courses in Britain, which they now feared they would not be able to attend. “I have spent a whole year applying for higher education in Britain and now I don’t know what I am going to do,” said Rabin Bhattarai, 22, who was hoping to study in London. “My classes start on February 10 and I have already paid 3,600 pounds (5,700 dollars) to the college.” Britain said Sunday it had temporarily suspended student visa applications from northern India, Nepal and Bangladesh to investigate a sharp rise in the
number of applicants. The suspension followed recent media reports that unscrupulous businessmen were helping thousands of migrants from south Asia to obtain places at bogus colleges in Britain. Authorities in Nepal said the increase in student visa applications came after Britain relaxed rules in 2008. “The new policy encouraged a lot of students to opt for Britain instead of the United States or Australia,” said Narayan Krishna Shrestha, head of the foreign study department at Nepal’s education ministry. “After that, the number of students going to Britain in a single month exceeded the total number for the whole of the previous year.” According to figures supplied by the ministry, 24,824 people left Nepal last year to study abroad,
6,627 of whom went to Britain. Richard Stagg, the British high commissioner in New Delhi, said the suspension was necessary as “some applicants are attempting to abuse our visa processes and we will not let that happen”. India has yet to make any official reaction to the suspension, while the Bangladesh foreign ministry said it wanted normal service to resume as soon as possible. “We want genuine students to study in England,” a spokesman said. “We don’t want anything that may harm the causes of authentic students.” The British High Commission in Dhaka received 9,500 visa applications from Bangladeshi students between October and December 2009 - up from 1,200 the same period in the previous year, he said. — AFP
Political violence kills 17 in Karachi KARACHI: At least 17 people have been killed in three days of political violence in Pakistan’s commercial capital Karachi, police said yesterday. Karachi police chief Waseem Ahmed said the violence erupted on Friday, when activists of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) clashed with those of the Awami National Party (ANP). Both the MQM, which dominates Karachi, and the ethnic Pashtun ANP are in a coalition led by President Asif Ali Zardari, who is already under pressure from a raging Taleban insurgency, the possibility that some of his aides will be prosecuted under revived corruption charges and a troubled economy. While investors in Pakistan have got used to almost daily Islamist violence in the northwest, bloodshed in Karachi has a more direct impact on financial market sentiment. “At least 17 people have been killed in three days,” Ahmed said. An International Monetary Fund loan package of $7.6 billion agreed to in November 2008 helped Pakistan avert a balance of payments
crisis and shore up reserves. The IMF increased the loan to $11.3 billion in July last year. About 67 people have been killed in political violence in Karachi since the start of 2010, according to police. Gangsters and the drug mafia have taken advantage of the tension, officials say, increasing the chances that violence could get worse. Karachi has been largely been free of Islamist violence over the past couple of years, but a bomb at a minority Shiite Muslim procession in late December fuelled concern that the militants were expanding their fight to the city. The city of around 18 million is home to the central bank and main stock exchange and is also the country’s main industrial base. Pakistan’s two main ports are in Karachi and most foreign companies investing in Pakistan have offices there. It is also a major transit point for military and other supplies to Afghanistan for the US- and NATO-led anti-insurgency effort, and any trouble can directly affect those supplies. — Reuters
him of planning a coup. Rajapakse also carried out a major shake-up of the army over the weekend, transferring 40 officers and promoting several considered loyal to his administration. Fonseka told reporters in Colombo yesterday that he “was very surprised to know that I had so many loyal people at the very top and middle level in the army”. He accused Rajapakse of politicizing the military and said his party workers and supporters were still being harassed. “Even retired army officers who helped me have been taken in (to custody), and no one knows where they are being held,” he said. Fonseka said the government had targeted his office to prevent his party from collecting evidence to mount a legal challenge to the election result. Rajapakse won 58 percent of the vote, trouncing
Fonseka, who got 40 percent, after a contest that many had expected to be much closer. Rajapakse called the vote four years into his six-year term to capitalize on popular support for the defeat of Tamil rebels that ended a decades-long separatist war. The government insisted the election was free and fair but the United States has pressed for a probe into the charges of vote fraud. The European Commission too issued a statement calling for an investigation. Before polling day, the country’s independent election commissioner had complained about misuse of state resources for the president’s reelection campaign and bias in the state media. KD Knight, chairman of the Commonwealth observer mission, said Fonseka would have to find hard evidence of malpractice to launch any legal challenge to the result. — AFP
Mystery deepens over Taleban leader ‘death’ ‘Dead’ Pakistani militia leader to appear on TV PESHAWAR: Mystery deepened over the fate of Pakistan Taleban leader Hakimullah Mehsud yesterday following fresh reports of his death as his militant faction promised he would appear alive in a video. US missile attacks Speculation about his death surfaced after a January 14 US drone strike on the Taleban stronghold of North Waziristan, near the Afghan border, but Mehsud purportedly released two audio statements denying his demise. On January 17, a day after Mehsud’s last statement, a US drone carried out another attack that officials said also targeted the militant leader. Killing Mehsud would be a coup for the United States, which stepped up its drone war in Pakistan after the warlord claimed the December 30 bombing that killed five CIA officers and two contractors in southeastern Afghanistan. Speaking to AFP from an undisclosed location, Tehreek-e-Taleban Pakistan (TTP) spokesman Azam Tariq denied “baseless and negative propaganda” reports that Mehsud was dead. “Soon we will release his video showing he is alive,” the spokesman said. Pakistani officials said they were seeking confirmation of differing reports about his possible demise-published by The New York Times and briefly on Pakistan’s state television Sunday. “The report is confusing and we are not sure. We are investigating. We are trying to
have repeatedly targeted Mehsud, the head of Pakistan’s powerful Taleban group and involved in a December suicide attack on the CIA in Afghanistanthe deadliest attack on the US spy agency in 26 years.
MAMOUZAI: Pakistani Taleban commander Hakimullah Mehsud arrives to meet with a group of media representatives in this file photo. —AFP
get confirmation,” a senior intelligence official said. There were reports Mehsud was wounded when a US missile hit his vehicle on January 14 in the Shaktoi area of North Waziristan. He was reportedly taken more than 100 kilometers to Orakzai, elsewhere in Pakistan’s lawless tribal belt, for medical help but the intelligence official told AFP that the doctor in question had denied he treated Mehsud. “It could be Mehsud’s own bluffing game. The report may have been circulated to divert US attention because he was being repeatedly chased and targeted by the US spy planes,” he said. Pakistan, which has been fighting off accusations from the United States about not doing enough to eradicate the Taleban and Al-Qaeda menace on its soil, has placed a 50-million-rupee (600,000-dollar) price on Mehsud’s head. Prominent tribal affairs expert Rahimullah Yusufzai said the fact that state television station PTV said Mehsud had been buried in Orakzai, gave the reports more importance but emphasized the region was an intelligence black hole. “Orakzai is a tribal area. There is no government, no army... They (the military) have
no means to verify. Local people are scared of the Taleban. They don’t speak. The army will only wait for some intercepts,” he said. Yusufzai said the onus was on the Taleban to produce a video prove of life. “It is possible he is wounded but nothing is final and it will remain a controversy until Taleban admit (he is dead),” he said. The New York Times said Pakistani and US officials were increasingly convinced that Mehsud died from wounds suffered in a drone strike, although they could not offer proof. A US administration official in Washington said intelligence reports came close to a definitive conclusion-about 90 percent certainty-that Mehsud had died from wounds suffered in a drone strike on January 14. The paper said he was believed to have been buried in Pakistan’s tribal belt, the vast semi-autonomous area that US officials call AlQaeda’s headquarters and where Pakistan has mounted an offensive against the Taleban. Mehsud assumed leadership of the TTP-blamed for the deaths of thousands of people in attacks across Pakistan-after his predecessor, Baitullah Mehsud, was killed in a US drone strike last August. — AFP
US casualties sow seeds of anger and frustration Hunger for revenge running high among US Marines SOUTHEAST OF MARJAH: Anger, frustration and a hunger for revenge are running high among US Marines as casualties mount on the frontline of the battle against the Taleban in southern Afghanistan. On a base near Marjah, a Taleban stronghold in Helmand province, Marines are grieving the deaths of a sergeant and corporal killed by the remotecontrolled bombs that have become the scourge of the longrunning conflict. Commanders try to keep the men’s rage in check, aware that winning over an Afghan public wary of the foreign military presence and furious about mounting civilian casualties is as crucial as any battlefield success. “It causes a lot of frustration. My men want revenge, that is only natural,” says First Lieutenant Aaron MacLean, 2nd Platoon commander of the 1st Battalion, 6th Regiment Charlie company. “But I keep telling them that the rules are the rules for a reason. If we simply go crazy and start shooting at everything, in the long run we will lose this war because we will lose the support of the population.” He too is frustrated, accusing the Taleban of manipulating the rules of engagement by using women and children as shields and shooting from hidden positions before dropping their weapons and standing out in the open. “They know we can’t shoot them if they don’t carry guns or without positive identification. They are fighting us at another level now,” MacLean said. MacLean recently led his unit on a routine foot patrol near Marjah, expected to be the scene of a major offensive this month to drive the insurgents from one
HELMAND: US Lieutenant Aaron McLean (third left), holds identification tags surrounded by his men, as they pay tribute to Sergeant Daniel Angus and Lance Corporal Zachary Smith from 1st Battalion, 6th regiment who were killed on the battlefield. — AFP of their last bastions of control. What the Marines encountered was a likely precursor of the battle to come. They were met by fierce gunfire from Taleban gunmen who pinned them down for three hours at the expense of two of their men. One corporal stepped on an improvised explosive device (IED) - the remote controlled bombs now the main weapon in the Taleban arsenal and which military intelligence officials say claim up to 90 percent of foreign troop lives. The corporal’s legs were blown off and he was
thrown meters into the air. A second IED killed a sergeant who rushed to the corporal’s aid as bullets flew everywhere, MacLean said. Three others were wounded in the clash, making it one of the bloodiest days for US Marines since US President Barack Obama’s December announcement of a fresh troop surge in the war to eradicate the Taleban. The death toll of foreign soldiers fighting in Afghanistan under US and NATO command hit 44 in January-the highest for the
month since the war began more than eight years ago-compared with 25 in January 2009. The number of Americans who died last month in the conflict now in its ninth year was almost double the number for January last year, at 29 compared with 15, according to the icasualties.org website, which keeps a running tally. The US and NATO currently deploy 113,000 troops in Afghanistan, with another 40,000 due over the course of the year as part of a renewed strategy that emphasizes devel-
opment and the “reconciliation” of Taleban fighters. Most of the incoming troops will be deployed in Helmand, which along with neighboring Kandahar province has been the hub of the insurgency since the Taleban regime was removed from power in late 2001. MacLean’s unit is among the first Marines outfit to be sent into Helmand since the surge was announced. On the day of the ambush, Marines hunkered down in tents inside the camp as information about the encounter came in.—AFP
OPINION
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issues
US reverts to type By Simon Tisdall
P
ouring billions of dollars’ worth of the latest hi-tech military hardware into the volatile heart of the Middle East looks at first glance like an act of extreme recklessness. Like George Bush before him, Barack Obama is stoking an unpredictable conventional arms race in a region that is already primed to explode. But if Obama, the selfstyled champion of change, is extending and escalating the weapons buildup begun by his bellicose predecessor, it’s because he has an ever more persuasive reason to do so. That reason is Iran or, more specifically, the increasingly threatening regime headed by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his pugnacious sidekick, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The general principle underpinning the US and Arab missile deployments in the Middle East, detailed in reports from Washington is as old as warfare itself. The maxim, Si vis pacem, para bellum, meaning “If you wish for peace, prepare for war,” is usually attributed to the Roman writer Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus. Now the 21st-century people’s tribune currently occupying the Oval office has adopted it as his own. The immediate cause for alarm, meanwhile, as seen from Washington, London and the Arab Gulf, is Iran’s refusal to freeze its suspect nuclear program, as demanded by several UN security council resolutions. An informal Dec 31 deadline set by Obama and the Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, for substantive progress passed without a serious response from Tehran. The recent uncovering of a secret nuclear plant buried in the hills near the holy city of Qom, suspicions about the existence of other clandestine facilities, and new evidence of Iranian attempts to design an atomic warhead that could be loaded on a long-range missile have combined to persuade western countries that much tougher sanctions must be imposed on Tehran. But the problem is far bigger than that. Iran’s spurning of Obama’s unclenched fist, the regime’s apparent disinterest in a broader re-engagement after a 30-year estrangement is feeding a belief in western capitals that new sanctions, even if agreed (and China as usual is dragging its feet), will not be enough. Iran’s execution last week of two pro-democracy activists, and its new accusations against German diplomats who it accuses of fomenting political unrest, are but the latest manifestations of a mood of aggressive defiance of international opinion that has taken hold in Tehran since last June’s bitterly disputed elections. Hence the perceived need in Washington for a more for-
ward-leaning defensive military posture as well as an intensified diplomatic, political and economic blitzkrieg. The collateral charge sheet against Iran meanwhile lengthens steadily. It already includes its support for Hezbollah in Lebanon, for rejectionist groups opposed to an Israeli-Palestinian peace, and for violent Baathist and Sunni Muslim elements in Iraq. As General David Petraeus, head of US central command, made clear last week when he spoke at the Institute for the Study of War in Washington, possible Iranian involvement in Yemen in a proxy war with arch-rival Saudi Arabia has opened another potential front in the standoff with Tehran. The weekend’s purposefully timed, unattributable but wholly official briefings in Washington detailing US regional missile, naval and land defence plans in the Gulf can thus be seen not merely as a response to the nuclear stalemate but to the more broadly daunting prospect a hostile Iran bent on regional hegemony, challenging western interests, menacing energy supplies, and directly threatening Israel. Yet while US actions are explicable, they are not necessarily wise. It’s possible Tehran will adhere to Renatus’ maxim and bow to superior strength. More plausibly, Obama’s gambit may come to be seen as a gamble with peace, rendering the very war he seeks to avoid more likely, at least in the shorter term. Pushing more advanced weapons systems into the Gulf raises the chances of armed confrontation, deliberate or otherwise. It will help justify Iranian hardliners’ claims about the “Great Satan’s” malign intentions, undermine pro-western reformist arguments, and may spark a reciprocal arms buildup; and it will by no means ensure that insecure Gulf states, calculating that a US military umbrella will always be conditional and impermanent, will eschew nuclear weapons programs of their own. By its missile deployments, and through this weekend’s publicity, the US hopes to reassure its Arab friends. It seeks to de-fang Israeli hawks demanding swift military action. It wants to deter Iran, not fight it. But Washington, perhaps, is also inadvertently signalling to friends and enemies alike that the new era of engagement with old adversaries that ostensibly dawned one year ago is drawing prematurely to a close. Officially, the US still wants to talk to Tehran. In practice, meaningful dialogue now looks less likely. In Iran, after 12 months in office, Obama has got nowhere by making nice. He didn’t try that hard. He didn’t try for that long. And now it seems the US is reverting to type. — Guardian
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Air security ‘blacklist’ angers US allies By Christian Lowe and Lamine Chikhi
A
irline security measures introduced by Washington after a failed attempt to blow up a flight on Christmas Day risk backfiring because they have angered important US partners in the fight against Al-Qaeda. Saudi Arabia, Algeria and Nigeria have voiced their displeasure at their inclusion on a 14-strong list of countries where passengers departing for the United States are to be subject to especially rigorous pre-flight screening. None of them have said publicly they will scale back security cooperation with the United States in response, but relations have been left frayed and Washington was worried enough to assign a senior diplomat to try to repair the damage. “The United States is behaving like a bull in a china shop,” said Mohamed Lagab, an Algerian lecturer in political science who has close ties to his country’s government. Washington announced the new security measures soon after Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a Nigerian man described by US officials as an Al-Qaeda operative, tried unsuccessfully to detonate explosives hidden in his underwear on a Dec 25 flight as it approached the US city of Detroit. The 14 countries on Washington’s list are Cuba, Iran, Syria, Sudan, Afghanistan, Algeria, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia and Yemen. Several independent analysts have said the list does little to plug the security gaps exposed by the bomb attempt. Meanwhile for some US allies, inclusion on what they perceive as a terrorism blacklist has been a shock and an insult. Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry has sent a request to the US State Department to clarify the move, Western diplomats and a Saudi security source said. A Saudi Foreign Ministry spokesman could not be reached for comment. The world’s largest petroleum exporter, Saudi Arabia has almost entirely stamped out a wave of domestic Al-
Qaeda violence that began six years ago. “This is probably the first measure by the Obama administration in its global campaign against terrorism. It is a very disappointing measure for us, because what we were expecting was a deeper and more efficient cooperation,” the Saudi security source said. In Nigeria, Information Minister Dora Akunyili said her country’s inclusion was “unfair”. She warned that bilateral relations between Nigeria and the United States, purchaser of 45 percent of its oil exports, could be at risk. In Algeria, Foreign Minister Mourad Medelci summoned the US ambassador and said Algeria’s inclusion in the list was “unfortunate, unjustified and discriminatory”. There was also grassroots anger in Algeria, a North African oil and gas producer where security forces have made progress in clamping down on an AlQaeda-linked insurgency. “I don’t think we deserve this,” said Farouk Guettouche, a 44-year-old unemployed man. “We’re not Afghanistan.” US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Janet Sanderson flew to Algiers last week for what she said afterwards were “frank” talks focusing on the security list. She said she was also having consultations on the issue with other US allies. “Let me assure you that my government has heard you,” she told reporters in Algiers. “What we are trying to do is to create a system that responds to the everchanging conditions that the terrorists seem to be able to exploit.” Washington is anxious not to hurt diplomatic ties because important security cooperation is at stake, especially with Saudi Arabia and Algeria, two countries in the frontline of the battle against AlQaeda. The United States is relying on Saudi assistance to help prevent Al-Qaeda expanding its foothold in neighbouring Yemen - the focus of intense US attention after the Yemeni arm of Osama bin Laden’s network claimed responsibility for the Christmas Day bomb plot. Turki Al-Sahil, who covers diplomatic and security issues at Saudi Arabia’s Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper, said securi-
ty cooperation with Washington would bounce back. “Saudi Arabia and US strategic interests are bigger than this,” he said. Security ties with Algeria are less robust. The United States needs its help to con-
tain the spread of Al-Qaeda in the vast and poorly policed Sahara desert, but Algeria’s government is ambivalent about a growing US role in the region. “The Americans’ interests and their security
are at stake,” Algeria’s Liberte newspaper wrote about the list. “They should remedy their mistake and by doing so encourage Algeria to continue its implacable fight against terrorism.” — Reuters
One intifada was enough R By Marzouq El-Halabi
ecently I have been hearing again the all-too-familiar Palestinian threat that the lack of progress in the negotiations with Israel will eventually lead to a third intifada. Some Palestinians even speak about the option of a third intifada as if they are going to a wedding celebration or a night of pleasure in Vienna! Although it is true that Israeli politics have shifted away from the path of negotiation and reconciliation, and are veering towards renewed violence against Palestinians, this does not justify a third Intifada. In fact, it is now clear that the second intifada has undermined more than benefited Palestinian national aspirations. While the first Palestinian intifada at the end of the 1980s was a legitimate popular struggle that led to the Oslo Accords, the second intifada was unnecessarily violent and brought two Israeli military campaigns against the West Bank and Gaza, inflicting heavy damage to the Palestinian cause - politically, economically and morally. For this, we cannot blame the Israelis alone. The fact that the Palestinian factions chose the path of violence makes them also culpable. Moreover, the fact that the Palestinians at the time did not disassociate their struggle from international fundamentalist terrorism and did not counter the link that Al-Qaeda, for example, made between its actions and the Palestinian cause, gave Israel an excuse to make an analogy between Hamas violence and international terrorism. Actually, the main reasons for the outbreak of the second intifada were internal Palestinian factors, such as attempts by Hamas to compete with Fatah and other factions over who has a ‘monopoly’ over the Palestinian cause, supported by a growing focus on sacrifice and martyrdom. The result of this intifada was a political split between the Hamas ‘state’ in Gaza and the national authority in Ramallah, morphing into internal violence, which produced scenes that are no less horrific than those produced by the occupation and which brought the late Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish to wonder which martyr will enter heaven first, the one killed by his own brethren or the one killed by enemy fire!
The Palestinian struggle has been plagued by a propensity to expend lives without consideration, as if those leaders of the struggle consider people, especially the Palestinian youth, as cannon fodder or fuel for a revolution, to be disposed of at will. Preoccupation with the victims did not include attempts to reduce their numbers. Scores of Palestinian youth have been victims to the idea of sacrifice and martyrdom, many more than the resistance actually required. As a result, martyrdom has become more significant than liberation, and sacrifice more important than ending the occupation. The just Palestinian cause of demanding an end to the occupation and establishing Palestinian sovereignty became immoral ever since it stopped dedicating its resources to life and freedom and began to use human beings as pawns to internal fighting. It is now becoming more apparent that we have other non-violent options which are ultimately superior both politically and morally. In the last few years we have seen a proliferation in non-violent activities. Villages like Naalin and Bilin have been engaging in weekly protests against the separation wall for several years. An official Palestinian decision at this stage, to adopt the non-violence option in the framework of continuing the struggle with Israel would mean a historic adjustment of the Palestinian struggle, opening up new horizons, internally and externally. It would mean that the time of expending human lives without restraint and making political and material sacrifices without due accountability would be over. It would mean that the Palestinian would have his dignity restored and the right to life would triumph over the idea of martyrdom. Nobody can doubt Gandhi’s nationalistic feelings, or Martin Luther King’s resoluteness. Palestinians can be similarly resolute without stepping over into armed action or endless violence. Non-violence does not undermine the credibility of Palestinian demands or the just cause of this people. One intifada was enough. NOTE: Marzouq El-Halabi is a writer, columnist and political advisor. He writes a regular column for Al-Hayat newspaper — CGNews
Pakistan’s ‘Bunker President’ emerges fighting By Sami Zubeiri
M
onths out of the public eye earned him the nickname “Bunker President,” but Pakistan’s Asif Ali Zardari has made a lively comeback, desperate to drum up support as challenges mount, analysts say. Zardari “is fighting for his political survival,” international relations professor Mutahir Sheikh told AFP, as ministers face corruption cases, Islamist unrest grips the nation, and relations with the powerful military falter. Sporting a towering white turban and vigorously pumping his arms behind a plate of bullet-proof glass, Zardari in January toured Punjab province addressing members of his Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) with rousing speeches. Punctuated with frequent cries of “Long Live Pakistan!” his tour made television news nearly every day - in contrast with the first year of his presidency when public engagements were a rare and sombre affair. But analysts warn his rabble-rousing could backfire. “Zardari is doing local and provincial politics instead of behaving like the nation’s president,” said retired general and political analyst Talat Masood, accusing the president of
Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari speaks to the media during a press conference with Turkish President Abdullah Gul and Afghanistan’s President Hamid Karzai after their Turkey-Afghanistan-Pakistan Trio Summit Meeting in Istanbul on Jan 25, 2010. – AFP misreading the public mood. “He is trying to deflect attention from the problems being faced by the people who want leaders to deliver.... The country is facing a plethora of problems, internal and external, as well as pressure from the Taleban.” Zardari’s approval
ratings have steadily declined since the PPP won elections in February 2008 on a wave of support after the assassination less than two months earlier of his wife, two-time prime minister Benazir Bhutto. Inflation, a crippling power shortage and other economic woes are
pressuring everyone from the poorest slum-dwellers to wealthy landowners, while Islamist violence has killed more than 2,900 people since July 2007. Tensions have simmered between Zardari and the army for months, notably over a US aid package, which has raised jitters in a nation that only emerged from a long spell of military rule two years ago. Then, on Dec 16, the Supreme Court overturned a decree shielding government figures including Zardari from prosecution, with courts reopening corruption cases against hundreds of people including ministers. “Zardari wants to show he can fight,” said Hasan Askari, a visiting professor at Johns Hopkins University. “He wants to tell the military and the judiciary he will contest any effort to oust him. But challenges are there and he will remain under pressure.” Zardari is immune from prosecution while in office, but his immunity and his eligibility for the presidency can be challenged. After the Supreme Court verdict, experts predicted that such a challenge could happen within days, but so far there has been little movement, while opposition party the Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) also remain muted. Askari said Zardari’s opponents may
just be biding their time to see how he weathers the political storm created by the Supreme Court ruling. Zardari has seized this window to launch his comeback after largely confining himself to his presidential palace amid security fears after the death of his wife, only venturing out for frequent foreign trips. In PML-N stronghold Punjab, the largest and most populous province and the political heartland of Pakistan, he donned local dress complete with the traditional “pug” or turban which is a symbol of Punjabi dignity. He had already appeared in southwest Baluchistan province and central Sindh, Bhutto’s home province and a PPP heartland, although audiences have been hand-picked party workers gathered under extremely tight security. “Zardari, who already has Sindh in his hand, is trying to consolidate his party in Punjab because it is a politically important province,” said Sheikh, head of international relations at Karachi University. Analysts are divided over Zardari’s future. Sheikh believes the recent publicity blast has had some impact and weakened the opposition, but others say Zardari has too many enemies and his time in power is running out. “I doubt he can survive. He is overwhelmed with problems,” said Masood. — AFP
ANALYSIS
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
13
Chavez’s socialist project badly hobbled By Ian James
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new slogan appearing on the Tshirts and banners of anti-government protesters in Venezuela sums up a growing sentiment about President Hugo Chavez after 11 years in power: “You struck out.” The list of strikes against Chavez keeps growing: Latin America’s worst inflation, increased blackouts, runaway violent crime and a scandal involving bankers close to his government. The socialist-inspired governing model that Chavez calls his Bolivarian Revolution - named after 18th-century independence leader Simon Bolivar - is weakened and hobbling. And though Chavez retains close ties with a bloc of leftist governments from Bolivia to Nicaragua, many Latin Americans don’t see Venezuela’s oil-funded populism as viable. Among Venezuelans, Chavez’s popularity slipped below 50 percent in polls late last year. The protest slogan “you struck out” recently appeared on banners held up during Venezuelan baseball games, which Chavez himself follows closely, and spread to signs and shirts during street demonstrations. Last week, thousands gathered to denounce the government for yanking the antiChavez channel RCTV from cable television, and clashes involving riot police, government supporters and antiChavez students left two youths dead. Also last week, Chavez’s vice president and defense minister, Ramon Carrizalez, resigned citing personal reasons. State-imposed economic controls,
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez delivers a speech during a meeting with the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the countries that integrate the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA) at the presidential palace in Caracas on Jan 25, 2010. – AFP meanwhile, have failed to contain 25 percent inflation, rapidly eroding the earnings of the poor who have been Chavez’s core of political support. Chavez’s devaluation of the currency this month - aimed at allowing the government finances to boost public spending - is expected to push prices even higher. To counter that, Chavez deployed inspectors and soldiers to check, threatening to expropriate any businesses engaging in price-gouging. Some have been temporarily shut down. The government recently seized a French-controlled retail chain, Exito.
Chavez’s foes say such measures will only further discourage private investment, which fell 7.6 percent last year amid the nationalization of banks, coffee producers and oil field service companies. Critics also decry a banking scandal that broke in November in which several bankers with close government ties were arrested on charges of financial crimes. Other problems weighing on Chavez include: • A hydropower-dependent electrical grid at risk of a devastating collapse as drought pushes water levels precar-
iously low. The government has imposed electricity rationing, but Chavez called off rolling outages in Caracas after complaints of mistakes, including power cuts to hospitals and stoplights. • Declining output by the key oil industry caused in part, experts say, by inadequate investment and inept management. • A crime rate so alarming that police no longer release complete murder statistics, even as Venezuelans consistently deem crime their No. 1 concern. The government reported 12,257 homicides in the first 11 months of 2009, putting Venezuela among Latin America’s most violent countries. Critics say Chavez recognizes he is in a bind, explaining his increasingly confrontational attitude toward an opposition he apparently sees as a growing threat. They say he’s afraid he could lose control of the National Assembly in elections due in September. Elsewhere in Latin America, Chavez is also highly unpopular. A regionwide survey last year by Chilebased Latinobarometro found only 27 percent said they had a favorable opinion of Chavez. Chile’s newly elected president, Sebastian Pinera, salted the wound by saying during the campaign that Chavez’s Venezuela is “not a democracy”. Chavez also seems to carry less clout abroad these days. His bitter complaint that the US deployment of troops in Haiti for earthquake relief efforts looks like a military occupation was vehemently echoed only by the leaders of Cuba, Bolivia and
Nicaragua. And despite his antagonism toward Washington, which he accuses of backing the failed 2002 coup, Chavez is linked inextricably to the US because it is the top buyer of Venezuelan crude. But to those predicting the beginning of the end for Chavismo, the president advises: “They should get some good chairs so that they can sit and wait.” Indeed, for many leftist leaders in Latin America, Chavez’s success in galvanizing Venezuela’s poor has been an encouraging example. Chavez has leveraged those alliances to amplify his voice. And for all the recent complaints, Chavez remains Venezuela’s most popular politician, aided by populist programs including cash benefits for single mothers and health clinics staffed by Cuban doctors. He has plenty of money to pump into those programs, especially after the devaluation effectively doubled Venezuela’s oil earnings when converted into local currency. Insisting his revolution is far from finished, Chavez has dared opponents to petition for a recall vote like the one he survived in 2004 with 58 percent. “They say I should quit,” Chavez said last week, “because I’m not worth anything, because the country is collapsing. ... Well, why don’t they hold a recall referendum then?” His biggest strength may lie in the weakness of Venezuela’s opposition, which has yet to capitalize on the erosion in support for Chavez, who is up for re-election in 2012. Not a single challenger has emerged who seems capable of breaking his hold on power. — AP
Stabilising Yemen will test stamina of donors By Alistair Lyon, Special Correspondent
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or once the world is attending to Yemen, thanks to a botched AlQaeda attack on a US airliner. Western and Arab donors met in London last week to translate their alarm about the threat from Yemen-based militants into practical help to President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s government. They will need to keep up a concerted, long-term effort to help Yemen defeat the poverty, conflict and corruption on which Islamist radicals thrive if they want to reduce the risk of more assaults like the Dec 25 attempt to bomb a Detroit-bound plane. The task is as delicate as it is daunting because, as US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton hinted, the wily Saleh’s style of governance is itself part of the mess Yemen is in. “Yemen must take ownership of the challenges it faces,” she said, urging the Sanaa government to enact reforms, combat corruption and improve the business and investment climate. The United States and its allies have sought to assist Yemen before, only for interest to falter after initial gains. “Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) emerged in Yemen partly because the US phased out its support after most of the ‘first-generation’ jihadis were successfully locked up,” said Philip McCrum of the Economist Intelligence Unit in London. Similarly, past efforts to spur economic and social progress in Yemen, which ranks 140th out of 182 countries on the UN Human Development index, have run aground: a 2006 donors conference pledged $4.7 billion but little has been spent, partly due to Yemen’s incapacity to absorb the funds. No new money was promised in London, but Yemen’s rich Gulf Arab neighbours said they would meet in Riyadh on Feb 27-28 to consider “barriers to effective aid” - which include corruption - before discussing reforms with the Sanaa government. McCrum said Gulf oil producers were more directly
exposed to security risks seeping from an unstable Yemen than the West. “They have the most to lose should Yemen fail and the most to gain should they manage to stop it tipping over the brink.” For its part, Yemen promised to work on reforms and to start talks on a programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). “This is a step forward, but does not really deal with the issue of widespread corruption,” said Pauline Baker, president of the Washington-based Fund for Peace. “That is at the heart of the dysfunction of the Yemeni state and must be part of the reform agenda if the country is to begin to stabilise.” Saleh has stayed president for three decades partly by manipulating a complex web of patronage to keep the support of powerful tribes and military and security elites. Persuading him to unravel that web and curb cruder forms of graft will be among the tough challenges for a new international “Friends of Yemen” reform group due to start work in March. Abdul-Ghani Al-Iryani, an independent Yemeni analyst, said restoring stability required such a coordination mechanism among Western and Gulf donors, especially Saudi Arabia. “With this, Yemen now has the world as its ally in tackling the deep structural distortions in its political system. This is an opportunity that must not be lost,” he said. The West seems to have heard the Yemeni government’s message that a narrow security focus on Al-Qaeda cannot rescue a country racked by a northern revolt and separatist unrest in the south. Economic weakness fuels these conflicts. Yemen’s prime minister estimates unemployment at 35 percent. Oil output is falling and a water crisis threatens the future of 23 million Yemenis, whose number swells more than 3 percent a year. “Crude oil output, the mainstay of government revenue and exports, has been in decline since 2000. Barring major new discoveries, exploitable oil
reserves could be exhausted in a relatively short period,” said an IMF note on Yemen last week. New gas exports will provide some cushion for dwindling oil, it said, but noted that lower crude prices and output, coupled with weaker foreign direct investment and remittances, had already put pressure on Yemen’s fiscal and external accounts. Christopher Boucek, an associate at the Carnegie Endowment for
International Peace, said foreign powers had taken an important first step by agreeing to work together on Yemen. “This will need to be followed up with sustained and thorough concrete action. Focus on the systemic challenges confronting Yemen, including a failing economy and numerous human security dilemmas, is vital in order to address the grievances that fuel militancy,” Boucek said. Without international help for the Sanaa government, he added: “Yemen’s
problems will not stay in Yemen.” Nearly half of all Yemenis live on less than $2 a day - and Al-Qaeda is exploiting their despair, Yemeni officials say. “In Yemen, cash trumps ideology,” said McCrum, the Economist Intelligence Unit analyst. “The economy is therefore key to stability. Yemeni tribes would much rather access public services than AQAP cash and the uncertainty that comes with it. “Yemen is not a failed state yet. It can be rescued.”— Reuters
No quick breakthrough in Afghan talks By Peter Graff
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resident Hamid Karzai has launched a high profile push to reconcile with his “disenchanted brothers” in the Taleban, but few in Afghanistan see hope for a quick breakthrough while fighters smell victory on the battlefield. At a conference in London last week, the international community backed Karzai’s efforts to start talks and donors promised hundreds of millions of dollars for a new fund to pay fighters to lay down their arms. Karzai has called on Taleban leaders to attend a “loya jirga” peace council which he hopes to hold within weeks. He will travel this week to Saudi Arabia, which has helped in the past in efforts to reach out to militants. Western countries, eyeing an exit from an eight-year-old war that they no longer believe has a purely military solution, are more amenable than ever to a role for rehabilitated Taleban. They hope that a major offensive this year backed by 30,000 extra US troops - whose first big operation is expected to be launched within days - will help push the Taleban to the negotiating table. But at a time when fighters are tightening their hold over much of the country and inflicting record losses on a superpower that already says it will start pulling out next year, it is hard to see why guerrillas would agree to lay down their arms. So far the Taleban show no sign of backing away from their main demand that all Western forces withdraw from Afghanistan before they will enter talks. “These efforts will not bear fruit,” said Wahid Mujdah, a writer who served in the foreign ministry under the Taleban. “I do not see any change, because the Taleban are abiding by their old stance and I cannot see anything new on the part of Karzai either.” On the battlefield, Washington says it expects to make firm progress this year that can push fighters to talks, but results, at least in the short term, are likely to be bloody
and mixed. A first “surge” of US troops ordered by Obama early in 2009 has given the 110,000-strong NATO-led force more control of one of the main Taleban heartlands in Helmand province. A second surge of another 30,000 announced by Obama in December will have its first impact this month with another big advance in Helmand. Yet while the Americans have been able to make gains in districts where their extra troops are active, fighters have been on the march elsewhere, creating Taleban shadow governments in places in the north and west once under Kabul’s control. Militants have been able to inflict unprecedented casualties on Western forces, hurting public support for the war in key US allies such as Britain and Canada, and have mounted ever-bolder commando-style raids on provincial capitals and Kabul itself. In announcing the additional troops, Obama also said he would begin withdrawing them in mid-2011, a move seen among many Afghans as giving the Taleban an incentive to run out the clock. So far, the Taleban have not replied to Karzai’s invitation to attend the loya jirga, a traditional meeting of elders which has been used to resolve national crises throughout centuries of Afghan history. “If they wanted to take part in such jirgas, then they wouldn’t have fought for eight or nine years,” Former Pakistani ambassador to Afghanistan Ayaz Wazir told Reuters last week. Few details have yet been given about the new reintegration fund, intended to offer cash and jobs to former fighters who come in from the cold. The initiative was much ballyhooed at the London conference, but Western officials acknowledge that similar programmes in the past have failed, with poor control over who receives the money and few safeguards to prevent them from returning to the fight. Asked last month how he knew the new reintegration program would be an improvement on previous attempts, US envoy Richard Holbrooke said: “it can’t be any worse”. — Reuters
China to West: We’ll help but don’t rush us By Natsuko Waki and Tamora Vidaillet
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he world turned its spotlight on attention-shy China at this year’s gathering of business chiefs and policymakers, pleading it to lead a global recovery and wave its wand to solve economic imbalances. It got a halfway positive response. China sent its biggest ever delegation of 54 executives to Davos, with a keynote speech from Vice Premier Li Keqiang and panel appearances from the deputy central bank governor and the head of the country’s biggest investment bank, symbolising its status as a fully-fledged member of the world economy. Despite that, the Chinese did their best to keep a low profile at the World Economic Forum, while firmly saying they would move at their own pace and on their terms and demanding the rest of the world pull its weight too. China is trying to be a good citizen. Vice Premier Li and deputy central bank governor Zhu Min both pledged that Beijing would stick with moderately easy monetary policy even as the world’s third largest economy is growing rapidly. By not curbing its runaway growth too aggressively, China is keeping the engine of world growth running and trying to spur domestic demand - a move which will help to correct global imbalances. This stance won praise
Chinese Executive Vice-Premier Li Keqiang addresses the assembly on second day of the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting on Jan 28, 2010 in Davos. – AFP from senior officials, including the Group of 20 envoy from South Korea, this year’s chair of the global forum, and International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn. But China does not want to rush. Asked about Beijing’s credibility given that it made the same promises of addressing imbalances four years ago, Zhu Min said: “It’s a long process, it’s not an overnight thing. It will probably take another 5 years or 4 years. You
will see improvement day by day, year by year. “We need global coordination on structural change ... for us to increase consumption and for others to increase consumption or to increase savings,” he said. The West is keen on China to play a bigger leadership role. It may even secretly envy China’s command economy. “The world wants to hand the baton off to China,” said Stephen Schwarzman, chief executive of
Blackstone. “One reason why the West looks at China and perhaps overvalues its ability to be a global leader is simply the fact that it can make decisions when other parts of the world know what the problems are but can’t quite get there in terms of making decisions.” China has started taking a role not just as the world’s growth leader but also with other pressing global issues, such as climate change. Li said China would tackle climate change and ensure that economic growth became more efficient with regards to the use of resources and environmental concerns. “The Chinese position has been quite positive and even in the climate change area it became more flexible,” Il Sakong, South Korea’s chief G20 envoy and presidential adviser, said. But despite its meteoric growth, rural parts of China are still struggling with poverty and underdevelopment, suggesting that Beijing will want to focus on problems at home first and foremost. Li Daokui, Director of the Centre for China in the World Economy at Tsinghua University, said China was like the 16-year-old prodigy basketball player Yao Ming - who is already two metres tall but very young and going through growing pains. “The height is there. However, the muscle isn’t there. The skills, the capacity isn’t there and moreover, the reading ability of the
rules of the game isn’t there,” Li said. “We are very busy dealing with domestic issues.” The power shift towards the East will also transfer decision-making authorities away from the G7 to G20. However, the consequences might not be all good, with power more evenly distributed in a multi-polar world. “One must expect in such a situation there will be more consolidation but more difficulty to arrive on any consensus. Therefore economic growth will slow down,” Tony Tan, chairman of Government of Singapore Investment Corp, said. “It’s not a very optimistic prospect. When countries are rising, developing, it’s not a stable situation and I think the world will be forcibly a more uncomfortable place in years ahead.” Any number of potential flare-ups such as recent rifts between Beijing and Washington -could also jeopardise the willingness of China and the West to work together. China threatened on Saturday to impose sanctions on US arms firms and cut cooperation with Washington unless it cancels a newlyannounced $6.4 billion arms sale to Taiwan, in an unprecedented move signalling China’s growing global power. The dispute deepens a rift with Washington, which already encompasses trade, currency, Tibet and the Internet. — Reuters
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Malaysia’s courts in dock on Anwar trial By Razak Ahmad
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alaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim heads for trial today on a charge of sodomy, placing the country’s courts under scrutiny again after his doubtful conviction for the same offence almost a decade ago. Anwar was tried first on corruption charges and then for sodomy after his sacking as Deputy Prime Minister in 1998 amid a political feud with then premier Mahathir Mohamad. His case drew a chorus of international criticism with then-US Vice President Al Gore saying at the time that the trial “mocked international standards of justice”. Although Malaysia’s top court ultimately overturned the conviction, doubts remain as to whether the 62-year-old Anwar, who represents the biggest political threat to the government that has run Malaysia for 52 years, will get a fair trial. This time, he is charged with sodomising a male aide in a trial that has been dubbed “Sodomy 2” by the Malaysian media. “For political cases, the public has grave concerns about the independence of the judiciary,” said Lim Chee Wee, vice president of the Bar Council of Malaysia. “There is also the upcoming Anwar ‘Sodomy 2’ trial where the presently available evidence suggests selective prosecution.” Malaysia’s government has a long history of curbing the power of the judiciary, starting in 1988 when Mahathir sacked the country’s top judge amid a political row that could have seen the man who became the country’s longest serving premier removed. The Anwar trials further undermined trust in the courts and public confidence in the judiciary ebbed further after a judicial appointments fixing scandal in 2007, prompting the government to initiate a judicial reform effort. Court rulings against the government in recent months have provided a glimmer of hope the judiciary has not been completely emasculated. One on Dec 31 supported the rights of Christians to use the word “Allah” for God. But with the National Front government battling to reassert its control over this Southeast Asian country, Anwar’s trial may be too politically sensitive for a fair hearing, said Zaid Ibrahim, a former law minister who was tasked with judicial reform but who quit the government in 2008. “Well, I don’t think much has changed (since Anwar’s last trial),” said Zaid, now a member of the opposition. “When we talk about judicial independence we are talking about politically sensitive cases involving ministers and the government.” The government has denied any interference and has promised that Anwar would receive a fair trial. Mahathir’s attack on the judiciary in the 1980s came after he narrowly survived a challenge to his leadership. While there is no leadership challenge to current Prime Minister Najib Razak, he is struggling to rebuild confidence in his own political party. Najib’s United Malays National Organisation, and the 13party National Front coalition that it leads conceded control of five states and lost its two-thirds parliamentary majority in national and state elections in 2008, their worst ever showing. Voters, upset over rising corruption, failed reform
pledges and increasing complaints of minority marginalisation, have since handed the opposition victories in seven out of nine by-elections held since the national polls. Promises by Najib to end corruption and to rebuild the multi- ethnic nature of the ruling coalition that relied in the past on support from ethnic Chinese and Indian voters have been damaged by a multi-billion dollar graft scandal at a port and by attacks on churches over the “Allah” row. Data from the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report show Malaysia’s judicial independence global rankings fell to 53rd place in 2009 from 47th place in 2008. Its scores are well below regional leaders Hong Kong and Singapore which ranked 14th and 19th respectively, undermining Najib’s bid to woo new foreign investment to help diversify the country’s export-dependent economy. Foreign bondholders in the scandal-plagued Port Klang Free Zone have sought a government guarantee for the bonds, fearing a Malaysian court could invalidate their claims due to the issue of fake guarantees for the bonds. Malaysia has made some progress in cleaning up its commercial courts, dogged by complaints of delays and inefficiency, said the Bar Council’s Lim, who noted that trial disposal rates had shot up to 597 in 2009 from 87 in 2008. Efforts to reduce trial times drew praise from Malaysian International Chamber of Commerce and Industry Executive President Stewart Forbes whose body represents 1,000 members with over 110 billion ringgit ($32.23 billion) of investments here. “Certainly, it’s fair to say that over the last 18 to 24 months, there has been a marked improvement in that aspect of the judiciary,” he said. However, businesses remain concerned by poor perceptions of the overall quality of the judiciary. “It may not simply be because one or other particular case, but unfortunately at the moment and over the last few years in Malaysia, the judiciary has been pulled into a large number of elements of debate vis-avis a whole range of court cases and issues,” Forbes noted. As well as the improved trial times for commercial cases, some lower courts have recently exercised their independence and ruled against the government in politically sensitive cases. The recent ruling on the “Allah” case that allowed a Catholic newspaper to use the word in its Malay language editions has been hailed by critics, including Anwar, as a sign of judicial independence. The Kuala Lumpur High Court recently reversed a ban on a book of essays on Islam and women’s rights which the government contended contradicted official teachings on Islam and in May last year, it ruled a government takeover of the opposition-ruled north eastern state of Perak was illegal. Critics say such rulings are rare and at times get overturned by the higher courts, as was the case in the Perak verdict which is now before the country’s highest court, the Federal Court. “At the lower level courts, there are independent minded judges but at the higher level courts, we’ll have to wait and see because there are lots of issues still not resolved,” said Zaid, the former law minister. — Reuters
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Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Wudu goes hi-tech Polish scientists find KUALA LUMPUR: A Malaysian company has invented a machine it says will help Muslims purify themselves before prayers without excessively wasting water. The ornate, green-coloured machine comes with automatic sensors and basins to curb water usage during wudu, an Arabic word used to describe the act of washing the face, arms and legs before prayers. The wudu, or ablution, rite precedes the five daily prayers Muslims are obligated to perform. There are more than 1.7 billion Muslims in the world, with the majority in Africa and the Middle East where water supplies are scarce. Inventors AACE Technologies is counting on rich countries in these two regions to snap up the machines that will be available in the next six months and cost $3,000-$4,000 a piece. “Saving water is a motivation for people to adopt this
system rather than the conventional methods, where there’s a lot of water wastage,” AACE Chairman Anthony Gomez told reporters while launching the product in the Malaysian capital. The device, which also emits recorded Quranic verses and is 1.65 m tall, only uses 1.3 litres of water compared to the conventional methods, which usually involve leaving faucets running for the duration of the washing ritual, which can last for several minutes, Gomez said. “During the haj, two million people used 50 million litres water a day for wudu. If they introduce this machine they are saving 40 million litres per day,” he said, referring to the annual Muslim pilgrimage to Makkah. The Gulf city of Dubai has shown interest in acquiring the product for its airport, Gomez said, adding that the machine
took two years to develop at the cost of $2.5 million. AACE also wants to target mosques and offices with new models that can be wall mounted in a group of six. Muslims heading for prayers in mainly Muslim Malaysia had mixed feelings about the high-tech, but pricey, invention. “The idea is good and it is built in line with Islamic teachings. But water in this country is cheap, so it is still not worthwhile to have this machine,” an officeworker who gave his name as Aminuddin told Reuters. But a tourist from neighbouring Singapore, which has little water supplies, said the machine would help conserve natural resources. “Nothing is impossible. Of course we are trying ways and means to new products, those that can save mankind, those that can save nature,” Azman Mohamed Noor. — Reuters
Yemeni rebels deny Saudi sniper attacks Opposition politician gunned down SANAA: Yemeni Shiite rebels denied yesterday their snipers were operating inside Saudi Arabia and said Saudi war planes were striking targets across the border. Saudi Arabia has accused the insurgents of mounting sniper attacks from inside its territory even after the rebels offered a ceasefire last week and pledged to withdraw from the kingdom. Riyadh last week declared victory over the rebels. “We stress that there was no exchange of fire with the Saudi army, nor is there a presence of snipers from any side,” the rebels said in a statement. The rebels said Saudi war planes had struck targets on Sunday across the Yemen-Saudi border region that was also being pounded by Yemeni forces. Yemeni soldiers had killed 20 insurgents in the same area on Sunday, state media reported at the time. Yemen’s government, also battling a resurgent Al-Qaeda and souther n separatists, has been fighting the rebels on and off since 2004. But the conflict intensified last summer when Sanaa launched an assault to quash the latest upsurge in violence. Riyadh stepped into the fray in November when rebels seized some Saudi territory, prompting Saudi Arabia
to launch a militar y offensive. The insurgents accused Riyadh of allowing Yemeni forces to use its territory to attack the rebels. Western powers and Saudi Arabia fear impoverished Yemen could become a failed state whose instability Al-Qaeda could exploit. Al Qaeda’s regional wing is based in Yemen. Following last week’s rebel truce offer, Riyadh had demanded that Yemeni rebels withdraw snipers, return six missing Saudi soldiers, and pull back further from the border to allow for a buffer zone inside Yemen secured by the Yemeni army. Yemen’s government has rejected a separate ceasefire offer from the Shiite rebels, and a government source said Yemeni forces had arrested a suspected arms dealer, who had been supplying weapons to the rebels. His son was also arrested. The official said the pair, accused of supplying machine guns, rocket-propelled grenade launchers and sniper rifles to the rebels, had been flown by helicopter to the capital to face charges. Yemen’s conflict with the rebels, who complain of social, religious and economic discrimination in the Arabian Peninsula state, has rumbled on since 2004. It has displaced around 250,000 people, according to the United Nations.
In south Yemen, a Yemeni provincial opposition politician thought to be active in a southern separatist movement was gunned down in the street, his party and local residents said yesterday. The Yemeni Socialist Party said Saeed Ahmed Abdullah bin Daoud was shot dead on Friday in the town of Zinjibar in southern Abyan province, adding on its website that the province was in “an unprecedented state of disorder”. Zinjibar residents said bin Daoud, a member of the Socialist party’s leadership committee in the town, was also involved with separatists seeking independence from the central government. There was no immediate word on the reasons for the killing. Southern secessionists represent a potent threat for President Ali Abdullah Saleh. North and south Yemen united in 1990 under Saleh, who had been president of the north since 1978. The bumpy merger led to a brief 1994 civil war won by the north. Southerners complain of discrimination and say state jobs and resources have gone to the north ever since. Saleh, an ally of the West in the fight against Al-Qaeda, has said he is open for dialogue with separatists if they renounce violence, but diplomats see no movement toward this. — Reuters
Iran honors Khomeini amid political tensions Continued from Page 1 During his conservative rule, Iran became embroiled in a brutal conflict with Saddam Hussein’s neighbouring Iraq. More than a million people were killed on both sides during the war. Khomeini backed Islamist students who stormed the American embassy in the capital in Nov 1979 and took its personnel hostage for 444 days, prompting Washington branded the “Great Satan” by Iran - to sever ties with Tehran. Relations between Iran and the United States have slid steadily downhill during the rule of hardliner Ahmadinejad, who was controversially re-elected last June in an election the opposition claims was massively rigged. Tension has also peaked between Iran and the West over Tehran’s nuclear program, which world powers believe is masking an atomic weapons program despite repeated denials by Iranian leaders. “I am sure the Iranian people will do something on February 11, which will disappoint the enemies and the tyrants completely,” Ahmadinejad said in a short address at
Khomeini’s mausoleum. In a speech attended mostly by military personnel and relatives of those killed in the war with Iraq at the Behesht Zahra cemetery south of Tehran city, ex-parliament speaker Gholam Ali Haddad Adel insisted that Iranians “are sticking to the commitment made 31 years ago”. “They are telling the tyrants that they are moving full steam ahead to defend the revolution,” Haddad Adel said as the crowd chanted “Death to America! Death to Israel!” The backdrop of this year’s anniversary is Ahmadinejad’s re-election, which triggered one of the worst political crises in the history of the Islamic republic. Some early pillars of the regime including Mir Hossein Mousavi prime minister under Khomeini - and former parliament speaker Mehdi Karroubi have turned into its bitter opponents, accusing the authorities of “fraudulently” re-electing Ahmadinejad. Powerful figures such as ex-presidents Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and Khatami have also backed opposition groups, in turn shaking the regime’s foundations and bitterly dividing the clergy. Violent clashes since the election
between opposition supporters and security forces have killed dozens, wounded hundreds and seen thousands of arrests. Hundreds of people have been put on trial accused of trying to topple the regime. Iran executed two dissidents on Thursday for their alleged role in post-election violence. The authorities have warned that they will crack down on protesters if they stage another anti-government demonstration on Feb 11, when traditionally hundreds of thousands of Iranians take to the streets in celebration. Mousavi and Karroubi have implicitly called on their supporters to demonstrate on that day, Karroubi’s website Sahamnews.org said on Saturday, while Khatami urged his supporters on yesterday to join the annual march. “This year hopefully people from all persuasions and positions will mark the 31st anniversary of the revolution,” he said on the website of his organisation, Baran. “We are also the defenders of the revolution and if we have complaints let us talk. Civil protest should not be met with pressure, suppression, jail or even execution,” he said. “People have the right to protest.” — AFP
3 Neanderthal teeth WARSAW: A team of Polish scientists said yesterday they have discovered three Neanderthal teeth in a cave, a find they hope may shed light on how similar to modern humans our ancestors were. Neanderthal artifacts have been unearthed in Poland before. But the teeth are the first bodily Neanderthal remains found in the country, according to Mikolaj Urbanowski, an archaeologist with Szczecin University and the project’s lead researcher. Urbanowski said the teeth were unearthed in the Stajna Cave, north of the Carpathian Mountains, along with flint tools and the bones of the woolly mammoth and the woolly rhinoceros, both extinct Ice Age species. The researchers also found a hammer made of reindeer antler and bones of cave bears bearing cut marks, indicating they were eaten by the Neanderthals, Urbanowski said. “The cave bears were big, dangerous animals and this sup-
ports the view the Neanderthals were really efficient hunters,” he said. The findings were reported by the German science journal Naturwissenschaften in an online article dated Jan 28. The article focused mainly on one of teeth, providing evidence for the claim that it is from a Neanderthal about 20 years old at the time of death. Urbanowski said that tooth has undergone the most analysis but the team is nearly certain the other two along also belonged to Neanderthals who lived 100,000 to 80,000 years ago. The placement of the teeth along with flint tools has led the team to hypothesize that the site could have been some kind of primitive burial site, which would point to a belief in the afterlife. “How they treated their dead is cr ucial to understanding how human-like they were,” he said, but he stressed that much more research is required on that question. — AP
Sheikh Salem meets Guard commanders Continued from Page 1 He praised the National Guard staff as always living up to their leaders’ expectations and hopes, and as being examples for all other military and civil organizations to follow. He also announced a donation of KD 30
Continued from Page 1 stateless, in many cases for a second time after 1948, the rights group said. It said the revocation of citizenship was based on an arbitrary interpretation of Jordan’s decision to sever legal and administrative ties with the West Bank, which was part of the kingdom until captured by Israel in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. Their citizenships were revoked without warning during routine dealings with the bureaucracy, with no administrative or judicial channels to contest their loss of nationality, he said. A Jordanian interior ministry official dismissed the report. “These accusations that Jordan is revoking citizenships in an arbitrary manner are totally baseless and unfair...” Adel Al-Hadid told Reuters. Interior Ministry spokesman Karim Naber claimed Jordan did not revoke anyone’s citizenship but “only
suspended” giving social security numbers “pending reunification of families” in the West Bank. Most Palestinians hesitate to take their cases to the courts, fearing legal steps would only finalize their loss of Jordanian citizenship, Wilcke said. A few Palestinian Jordanians have had their citizenship reinstated, often with help from the royal court, Wilcke added, but provide no definitive figure. Defending the measure, Interior Minister Nayef Al-Qadi recently said the government wants Jordanians of Palestinian origin to clarify their status by renewing permits that recognize them as West Bank citizens in order to preserve their Palestinian identity. Those permits are extremely difficult to obtain, given Israel’s restrictive policies on granting residency rights to Palestinians, Wilcke said. A bigger future political role for Jordanians of Palestinian origin has stirred fears by main-
ly indigenous tribal Jordanians that they will permanently settle in the kingdom regardless of the fate of the Arab-Israel conflict. They say a wider political role for Palestinians will only serve Israel’s interests where many right wing voices clamour to resolve the Palestinian refugee problem at Jordan’s expense by forcing on their permanent settlement in the kingdom. Human Rights Watch urged the appointment of an investigative commission to reinstate nationality to those arbitrarily deprived of it with fair compensation. Jordan ruled the West Bank and east Jerusalem from 1950 until 1967, when Israel seized the territories in war. In 1988, Jordan renounced all claims to the West Bank. Most of Jordan’s Palestinians fled successive ArabIsraeli conflicts since 1948. But there is no clear breakdown on how many Palestinians come from the West Bank. — Agencies
MP Barrak against clemency for maid Continued form Page 1 granted a full pardon for good behavior while in jail, according to de Castro. Barrak however said that his questions are based on the principle of respecting final court rulings and that “Kuwaiti blood is not cheap and not a subject for political bargains”. He also asked the minister about what prevents the Kuwaiti government to refuse to receive the Philippine vice president if the purpose of his visit was to plead for the life of the maid who brutally killed a Kuwaiti citizen. Barrak also inquired about the reasons
for delaying the implementation of final court rulings because such a delay opens the door for political bargains. The lawmaker warned that the Kuwaiti people will never forgive the Kuwaiti government if it accepts to commute the death sentence on Pawa. If this happens, people will realize that the Kuwaiti blood is cheap, he said. In another development, MP Ali AlDeqbasi called on the government to apply a fingerprint system for all expatriates entering the country from all entry points in order to prevent the arrival of people who had been deported. Deqbasi said in his proposal that some expatriates who
had been deported from Kuwait managed to return after changing their names and using new fake names. He said that adopting a modern fingerprint system will curb this phenomenon. Meanwhile, the government and the Assembly committee for people with special needs struck a compromise deal on a draft law that grants benefits to handicapped people. Last week, the government boycotted a special session to approve the bill in the second and final round of voting, saying its cost was too high on public coffers. The voting is now expected to take place tomorrow.
million for on-duty and retired staff of the National Guard as a “gift from the father to his sons”. For his part, Sheikh Meshal vowed that his body would obey all directives and advice of Sheikh Salem. He revealed there would be a fresh reshaping of the National Guard, which was deliberately delayed until Sheikh Salem returned
home, noting that the move would surely boost the military, cultural and technical preparedness of the National Guard. Based on the “the right man in the right place” principle, the move, which will include the merger of some similar units, mainly aims to further improve and revamp the National Guard, he said. — KUNA
$16bn marked for projects in ‘10/11 Continued from Page 1 The plan has been referred to HH the Amir for approval, and will then be referred to the parliament, the agency added. Kuwait will base its 2010/11 budget on an oil price of $43 a barrel, the finance minister said yesterday. In the 2009/10 fiscal year which ends in March, Kuwait assumed its main revenue earner would fetch $35 a barrel. “No... $43,” Mustapha Al-Shamali told reporters at the National Assembly when asked about a report in Al-Watan that said the 2010/11 budget would be based on $45 a barrel. Head of the Assembly’s budget committee MP Adnan Abdulsamad meanwhile said that oil production in the new budget is set at 2.2 million barrels per day and that the exchange rate of the dollar at 292 fils. The dollar rate at present is 287.6 fils. Adel Al-Wugayan, secretary general of the higher planning council which prepared the plan told Al-Qabas daily yesterday that $7.7 billion will be spent on oil projects and $8.9 billion on non-oil projects. A further $7.7 billion will be contributed by the private sector during the coming fiscal year, Wugayan added. The Assembly last month gave its initial approval to the state’s four-year plan, which stipulates spending $129 billion on development projects. The plan, the first since 1986, includes such mega projects as developing a new business hub called Silk City estimated to cost $77 billion, a major container harbour and a 25-km causeway. It also includes a railway and metro system, new cities and additional spending on infrastructure, particularly in the health and education sectors. The ultimate goal of the plan, which runs until fiscal year 2013/2014, is to turn
Kuwait into a regional trade and financial centre. The second and final vote is expected to take place this week. Kuwait has amassed huge foreign assets in the past decade on the back of high oil prices. The value of these assets is estimated at about $230 billion. Kuwait, which says it holds 10 percent of global crude reserves, pumps about 2.2 million barrels per day. Separately, Kuwait aims to boost crude production capacity by 350,000 barrels per day (bpd) in the next five years, a top Kuwait oil official said yesterday. “We are at 3.15 million bpd capacity today, and hopefully will push to reach the target of 3.5 million bpd in 2015,” Mohammed Husain, deputy chairman of state oil and gas producer Kuwait Oil Company, told reporters on the sidelines of an energy event in Abu Dhabi. Kuwait is the world’s fourth-largest oil exporter, but its output is constrained by its adherence to OPEC production targets. Husain declined to say what the country is pumping, but said it was at its OPEC quota. Output from the Gulf state was around 2.28 million bpd in January, according to a Reuters survey. New oil and gas gathering stations were due to start up that would continue Kuwait’s long path to repairing damage to facilities from both a fire and an explosion in 2002, he said. “We are rebuilding capacity lost in the fire,” he said. A new oil and gas gathering centre would add a further 165,000 bpd to Kuwait’s capacity after the facility was tested this month, he said. The facility is known as GC-24, he added. Another facility, known as an early production facility, in Northern Kuwait, would add 20,000 bpd capacity, he said. The facility was likely to be delayed from a June startup date, he added. A second gathering centre, GC 16,
in Western Kuwait would add further capacity of 100,000 bpd, he said, although he gave no start date for that. Kuwait boosted capacity early last year through adding nearly 400,000 bpd at the Greater Burgan oilfield, Husain said. That took output capacity at Burgan, one of the world’ largest oilfields, to 1.7 million bpd, he added. Kuwait had experienced some problems with its plans to boost gas output from a deep Jurassic formation in the north, he said. Output was below the 175 million cubic feet per day that Kuwait had hoped to reach by now, he said. He declined to estimate what output was, but another official told Reuters output was around 100 million to 110 million cfd, he said. Kuwait planned to boost output to 600 million cfd from the layer by 2012 and to 1 billion cfd by 2015-2016, Husain said. The gas came from six fields in the north which all shared the gas layer, Husain said. Like its neighbours, Kuwait’s gas demand for power generation has risen as petrodollars have fuelled growth. Gas output stood at around 1.1 billion cfd to 1.3 billion cfd depending on oil output, he said. Most of Kuwait’s gas is produced as a by-product of oil output. KOC holds about 2.85 million bpd of Kuwait’s 3.15 million bpd crude capacity, he said. The remaining 300,000 bpd was Kuwait’s share of capacity in the Neutral Zone, he added. The zone is a region between Kuwait and Saudi Arabia that dates back to 1920s treaties to establish regional borders. OPEC has kept its official output limits unchanged since late December in 2008, when it agreed to cut supply by a record 4.2 million bpd in response to a slide in demand and prices sparked by the global economic slowdown.— Agencies
Female suicide bomber kills 54 Shiite pilgrims Continued from Page 1
Jordan revoking Palestinians’ citizenships
SZCZECIN, Poland: One of three Neanderthal teeth discovered in Poland is pictured. — AP
A hospital official confirmed the casualties. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media. Witnesses described a chaotic scene in the minutes after the blast. Raheem Kadhom, 35, said he was standing nearby when a huge fireball erupted among the pilgrims. Pilgrims were “on the ground, covered in blood and crying for help,” he said. “Banners were all over the ground and covered in blood.” The blast was so powerful it knocked some out of their slippers and shoes, which were scattered across the ground, he said, adding how people put the wounded in cars, taking them to hospitals rather than wait for ambulances. Despite an overall decline in violence in Iraq, Al-Qaeda and other Sunni extremists have routinely targeted pilgrims in an attempt to stoke sectarian strife and weaken the Shiite-dominated government. The vast numbers of pilgrims and the distances many of them must travel at predictable times of the year make it all but impossible to guarantee their safety against extremist groups. The pilgrims targeted yesterday were walking from the northeast Diyala province and other areas north of Baghdad, police said.
During a pilgrimage in February of last year, a female suicide bomber attacked a tent filled with women and children resting during the walk to Karbala, killing 40 people and wounding 60 others. A month before that, a suicide bomber dressed in women’s clothing and hiding among Iranian pilgrims killed more than three dozen people outside a mosque in Baghdad’s Shiite neighborhood of Kazimiyah. Security forces were put on alert shortly after yesterday’s attack, Al-Moussawi said. “We informed all checkpoints to be careful and to intensify the search procedures,” he said. Iraqi authorities lack enough policewomen to conduct searches of female travelers at most checkpoints, and security forces have been reluctant to use bombsniffing dogs against people because of cultural sensitivities. Al-Moussawi warned insurgent groups were using new tactics to smuggle explosives past security forces. “Terrorist groups have come up with ways to hide explosive substances that cannot be detected with bomb detector sets,” he said in a statement posted on his website. Iraq’s forces have been using a bombdetection device at checkpoints across the country that Britain banned for export after questions were raised about whether it works. Iraqi security officials have insisted
it works, though they began their own investigation after the US military also said the device did not work. Meanwhile, Baghdad’s military command has referred 134 members of Iraq’s security forces for investigation. They are suspected of negligence for the security lapses that allowed last week’s suicide bombings at three hotels and Baghdad’s main crime lab, Al-Moussawi said. Also, Iraq’s election planning has been mired in controversy over the banning of candidates for suspected ties to Baath Party, with some Sunnis claiming the blacklist is an attempt by the Shiite-led government to undermine their candidates. US Ambassador Christopher Hill told The Associated Press yesterday that the elections need to be widely accepted as fair otherwise protests by the losers will bog down the new government. Hill believes that a fierce controversy over a ballot purge of candidates who are suspected Saddam Hussein loyalists will likely be resolved before the vote. An estimated 450 candidates have been barred from the ballot for suspected links to Saddam’s now outlawed Baath Party. Hill said he believes Iraq’s government will open its vetting process to show voters why certain candidates were disqualified from running. — AP
Qaeda cell plotted to attack US base Continued from Page 1 The men are also charged of planning to manufacture explosives, the illegal possession of weapons and of hiding long-time AlQaeda suspect Mohsen Al-Fadhli, who is being tried in absentia. Fadhli has been on
the run since Jan 2005. An eighth suspect, Mohammad Al-Dossari, is also being tried in absentia in the case and is also on trial in Lebanon over terror charges. A US defence department spokesman said last year that US forces in Kuwait had been targeted for attack but added that it
was unclear if the suspects were linked to Al-Qaeda or planned to strike Camp Arifjan. About 15,000 US soldiers are stationed in Kuwait, which is also used as a transit point for thousands of US soldiers going to and from neighbouring Iraq. Bahrain is home to the US Fifth Fleet. — AFP
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NHL results/standings NHL results and standings on Sunday. Pittsburgh 2, Detroit 1 (SO); Washington 3, Tampa Bay 2; Florida 2, NY Islanders 0; Los Angeles 3, New Jersey 2; Phoenix 4, Dallas 2; NY Rangers 3, Colorado 1. (SO denotes shootout win) Eastern Conference Atlantic Division W L OTL GF GA PTS New Jersey 35 17 2 146 122 72 Pittsburgh 34 21 1 175 157 69 Philadelphia 27 23 3 160 149 57 NY Rangers 25 24 7 143 154 57 NY Islanders 23 25 8 143 172 54
Buffalo Ottawa Montreal Boston Toronto
Northeast Division 32 14 7 149 127 31 21 4 157 157 25 25 6 143 152 23 21 9 130 136 17 28 11 149 197
71 66 56 55 45
Washington Florida Atlanta Tampa Bay Carolina
Southeast Division 37 12 6 214 149 24 22 9 149 158 24 22 8 165 174 22 21 11 138 162 19 28 7 145 176
80 57 56 55 45
Western Conference Central Division Chicago 37 14 4 180 129 Nashville 30 21 3 151 152 Detroit 26 19 10 142 147 St. Louis 24 22 9 143 153 Columbus 22 26 9 149 188
78 63 62 57 53
Northwest 34 18 30 18 27 20 27 24 16 31
Division 2 178 132 6 156 143 8 143 142 4 153 163 6 137 184
70 66 62 58 38
Pacific Division 36 10 9 187 134 33 18 5 154 145 33 19 3 166 151 24 20 11 157 177 25 23 7 152 172
81 71 69 59 57
Vancouver Colorado Calgary Minnesota Edmonton
San Jose Phoenix Los Angeles Dallas Anaheim
WASHINGTON: Mike Knuble No.22 of the Washington Capitals skates with the puck in this file photo. —AFP
Capitals stop Lightning WASHINGTON: Alex Ovechkin scored with 6:26 left as the Washington Capitals equaled a franchise record with their 10th straight win Sunday, beating the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2. The reigning two-time league most valuable player slid on one knee and into the boards to celebrate his 35th goal of the season, a shot from the slot that beat Mike Smith to the stick side. The score rescued the Capitals after Washington blew a twogoal lead. Nicklas Backstrom and Brooks Laich also scored for the Capitals, whose doubledigit winning streak matches the team mark
set Jan. 27-Feb. 18, 1984. Washington has outscored opponents 47-21 during this run. Martin St. Louis and Steven Stamkos scored for Tampa Bay.
Penguins 2, Red Wings 1 At Pittsburgh, Sidney Crosby scored in both regulation time and in a shootout as Pittsburgh overcame Jimmy Howard’s second successive 46-save game to beat Detroit in the rivals’ first game since Pittsburgh won Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals. Daniel Cleary’s deflection of Brad Stuart’s slap shot midway through the third period sent the game to overtime, where
Pittsburgh survived playing short-handed for the final 1:21. Crosby and Malkin then scored against Howard in the shootout, while both Red Wings shooters — Pavel Datsyuk and Jason Williams — failed against Marc-Andre Fleury, who made 23 saves. The Penguins are 7-0 in shootouts.
Rangers 3, Avalanche 1 At Denver, Marian Gaborik had his 10th career hat trick and rookie Chad Johnson made 34 saves for his first NHL win as New York snapped a five-game losing streak. The hat trick was Gaborik’s first since he had five goals for Minnesota against the
Rangers on Dec. 20, 2007. He joined the Rangers as a free agent over the summer after spending his first eight seasons in Minnesota. Cody McLeod scored for Colorado.
Kings 3, Devils 2 At Newark, New Jersey, Wayne Simmonds and defenseman Drew Doughty scored in the final 1:46 to give Los Angeles its sixth straight victory. Simmonds equalized with 1:46 to play with a long backhander, and Doughty scored the winner on a power play with 27.3 seconds left.
Michal Handzus also scored, and U.S. Olympian Jonathan Quick made 26 saves to help the Kings post the first 5-0 trip in team history. The winning streak is the Kings’ longest since also winning six straight in 2002. Travis Zajac and Johnny Oduya scored for New Jersey.
until his firing last June. Keith Yandle scored his fourth goal in four games, and Peter Mueller and Radim Vrbata added goals for the Coyotes, 3-0 against the Stars this season. Steve Ott and Fabian Brunnstrom scored for Dallas.
Coyotes 4, Stars 2
At Sunrise, Florida, Tomas Vokoun made 33 saves for his career-high seventh shutout of the season, and Jordan Leopold and Keith Ballard scored for Florida. Vokoun had four shutouts in January. Rick DiPietro made 23 saves for New York. The Islanders have lost five straight. —AP
Panthers 2, Islanders 0 At Dallas, Shane Doan had a goal and two assists and Ilya Bryzgalov made 38 saves as Phoenix stretched its winning streak to four games in Coyotes coach Dave Tippett’s return to Dallas. Tippett coached the Stars from 2002
Massa back on track as F1 fires up again
Mercedes reveals 2010 F1 car VALENCIA: Formula One team Mercedes GP revealed its 2010 race car yesterday, with the delighted Michael Schumacher driving for the first time in three years. The former Brawn GP team rolled out its W01 car at Valencia’s Cheste Circuit, with Nico Rosberg kicking off the three-day testing by setting the third-fastest time before the lunch break. Seven-time F1 champion Schumacher, 41, who this year makes his return following a short retirement, earlier posed for photographs with the new car alongside Rosberg while nodding his head in delight. While Schumacher was out running his first laps since the 2006 Brazilian Grand Prix, fellow German driver Rosberg gave a positive impression of the car, which last year helped Jenson Button to the championship and Brawn GP to the constructors’ title - from 39 laps. “There are so many new circumstances that I cannot feel is it a winner or is it not a winner. It generally felt very good but impossible to be sure of how the performance is by now,” Rosberg said, putting emphasis on how the ban on refueling will shape the new season. “In recent years you would have a better impression, but now with the fuel level you really don’t know what other people are running either.” Rosberg, who was just under half a second back of Ferrari driver Felipe Massa, said he felt “at home” with his new team after four years at Williams. “Honestly it felt really similar, it was a really nice feeling,” said Rosberg, who added that the biggest change was adapting to the physical quirks of a new car. Aside from the new silver-andgreen livery, the most notable change to Mercedes’ first F1 car in more than 50 years was the nose section, which features its own take on a configuration begun by Red Bull last season. Once both drivers adapt to the car, they will also have to work together, with Rosberg already motivated by Schumacher’s arrival. “It has given me a little bit extra motivation I must say, just that little touch extra to have him there,” Rosberg said. “I get on well with him for now and he respects me also and I respect him, so it’s good. I think we can get on very well and be very good teammates.”— AP
SPAIN: Mercedes’ German driver Michael Schumacher poses in front of the new Mercedes GP W01 car during the Ricardo Tormo racetrake in Cheste, near Valencia yesterday.—AFP
VALENCIA: Formula One burst back to life yesterday with Michael Schumacher presenting his new Mercedes and Ferrari’s Felipe Massa back on track six months after suffering life-threatening head injuries. Completing a hattrick of comebacks, veteran Spaniard Pedro de la Rosa made his first appearance in three years as a fully-fledged racing driver when he tested the new Sauber. Schumacher, coming out of retirement at the age of 41 and three years after his last race with Ferrari, had to watch as team mate Nico Rosberg was given the honor of starting the first test since the 2009 season ended in November. The seven times world champion will try out the new W01 ‘Silver Arrow’, an evolution of last year’s championship-winning Brawn with a fuel cell doubled in size to satisfy the ban on refueling, in the afternoon. Massa cemented his return with his first competitive session since he crashed at the Hungarian Grand Prix in July after being hit on the head by bouncing debris from compatriot Rubens Barrichello’s car. Barrichello was also out on track in the new Williams, making a low-key debut with the team deciding against a formal launch. Britain’s Gary Paffett gave the sleek-looking new McLaren its test debut, before world champion Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton get their hands on it later in the week. Poland’s Robert Kubica made his Renault debut, after moving from BMW-Sauber while Switzerland’s Sebastien Buemi gave the new Toro Rosso first run. The STR5 is the first car Red Bull-owned Toro Rosso have built and designed separately from the Red Bull Racing team, in line with new regulations banning “customer cars”. Principal Franz Tost hailed “a landmark year” for the Ferrari-powered team. “After four years of working in collaboration with Red Bull Technology, the STR5 is the first car that 100 percent down to our own endeavors,” he said. While others shrink, Toro Rosso have taken on an extra 80 staff and expanded their facilities as well as commissioning a wind tunnel in Britain that was bought from Red Bull. “Making predictions...is a dangerous trap but if pushed, I would say we must aim to finish in the top eight in the constructors’ championship,” said Tost. None of the four completely new teams are attending the Valencia test, with Virgin Racing due to unveil their new car online on Wednesday and Lotus firing up their car’s engine for the first time next Friday before a launch on Feb 12. Spanish-based Campos Meta have yet to name a partner to Brazilian Bruno Senna while the North Carolina-based US F1 team plan to carry out their first tests in Alabama. Red Bull, last year’s overall runners-up, are also missing the opening test to give themselves more time to push development as are Force India. —Reuters
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Teter uses halfpipe as charity springboard WASHINGTON: Hannah Teter has led such a charmed life that the Olympic snowboard champion even has an ice cream flavor named after her: The Maple Blondie. The easygoing, 23-year-old Vermont native has fame and fortune, and concedes that making a living doing tricks on a snowboard is not a bad way to go through life. Yet social awareness has a big place in the soul of the 2006 Olympic halfpipe champion, the youngest of five siblings, who began snowboarding at the age of nine. “I’ve always felt really lucky and really privileged with my life, how I grew up and the opportunities I’ve had,” she told Reuters
in a recent telephone interview. “From a young age I knew if I were ever to make it big in the world that I would want to be somebody who was going to give back and be a positive role model. “After the last Olympics, it was a prime opportunity to do something.” After reaching the top of the podium at the 2006 Turin Olympics, Teter embarked on a charitable mission through her website Hannah’s Gold (www.hannahsgold.com) to help an impoverished town in Kenya to acquire basic necessities. “The slogan is, ‘A world that works for everybody, including everybody,’ We’re
starting with Kenya, getting them clean water, and then hopefully branching out,” the American said. “I’ve got a lot of my sponsors on board.” Despite her time-consuming charitable work, Teter maintains her focus on defending her title at this month’s Vancouver Games. Four years after winning the gold, Teter knows she will have to be even better this time around. “It’s definitely going to be a whole different ball game because there are so many good athletes from around the world who really want it,” she said. “Whoever goes the biggest, does their tricks the highest- with
style-is going to bring it home that day. I have some stuff up my sleeve. “I know the judges love girls who can do everything really high in the air, so that’s definitely in my mindset. It’s a matter of doing what I already have big, and then throwing some new stuff in there.” Teter is expected to face her stiffest challenges from compatriots Kelly Clark, the 2002 Olympic halfpipe champion, Gretchen Bleiler, who won the silver in Turin, and Australian Torah Bright. Regardless of where-or if-Teter lands on the podium in Vancouver, her work aiding the less fortunate will continue. Her newest
sponsor is Samsung, the electronics giant which has joined Vermont-based Ben & Jerry’s ice cream among the companies helping with the Olympian’s charity work. Teter laughed about The Maple Blondie ice cream-named because Hannah’s Gold makes money from the sale of Vermont maple syrup, and Teter is blonde-but said it paid dividends. “All of the proceeds I make from Maple Blondie go to my charity, and you can read about the charity on the back of the pint,” she said. “It’s really cool. It’s an amazing thing for my efforts in Kenya.” There is more. After finishing second in
a grand prix event in Utah last month, Teter donated her $10,000 winnings to the earthquake victims in Haiti. “I’ve always wanted to make an impact,” Teter said of her philanthropic work. She visited Kirindon, Kenya, last October and said it “fuelled the fire” to continue giving. “You don’t really get the full grasp of something until you see it for yourself,” she said. “You can’t really wrap your mind around it. “To see the tragedies, the kids with AIDS, the kids that are sick. The people have nothing but are still happy. They smile and want to hug you. It was a huge eye-opener for me.” —Reuters
US Crane ends title drought in San Diego
CANADA: This undated image shows a view of the Olympic Village at Whistler in British Columbia, Canada. Surrounded by the pines in the Cheakamus valley, the Whistler Olympic village will host 2,800 athletes and officials and will be after the Olympics a new neighborhood including 350 accommodation for local residents.—AFP
Chinese women plan dramatic game debut BEIJING: China’s women plan a dramatic debut on the Olympic curling sheet in Vancouver later this month by sweeping their way to a surprise gold medal. The band of students from icy Harbin, who live and train at Beijing Sports University, rocked curling circles when they won the world championship in South Korea last year. After ranking second in the qualification for the Olympics, the former skaters are determined to upset hosts and favorites Canada at the Feb. 12-28 Games. “We try to be like five fingers on one hand that
hold the fist together to make a team,” Chinese skip Wang Bingyu, 25, told the Xinhua news agency. “As newly crowned world champions and (an) Olympic rookie team, we will naturally be under a lot of psychological pressure. In order to focus on each rock, you have to turn that pressure into your power.” As curling, which originated in 16th-century Scotland, has a very short history in China, experienced Canadian Dan Raphael was brought in to coach the team after the last Winter Olympics. “Definitely, my goal is to take the Chinese girls to the Olympic gold,” he said. —Reuters
Kuwait’s national sailing team
Sailing team heads to Morocco for tournament KUWAIT: The Kuwaiti national sailing team headed to Morocco in order to participate in the 2nd Morocco Sailing Tournament set to take place between Feb 7-12, which will feature participation from a number of European countries and world champions according to a press release. The Kuwaiti delegation will be led by head of the Kuwait Sea Sports Club and head of the sailing and rowing committee, Khalid Al-Fodari, while it includes national couch Mohammad Al-
Hamdan, and contestants Ahmad Al-Failakawi, Ibraheem Al-Furaih, Masoud Al-Masoud and Abdul-Aziz Anbar. It is set to hold a training camp for a week at ‘Tatwan’, with participation from Moroccan coach Mohammad Zanzoul. Al-Fodari further hoped that the Kuwaiti team achieves success in the tournament, as a token of appreciation for the Kuwaiti people for the occasion of the National Holidays. He also thanked the Public Authority for Youth and Sports for their continuous support.
SAN DIEGO: American Ben Crane sank three lengthy birdie putts on his way to clinching a first PGA Tour title in more than four years with a one-shot victory at the San Diego Open on Sunday. Crane overhauled thirdround leader Ryuji Imada of Japan with three birdies in the first five holes and survived a nervy finish at Torrey Pines to card a two-under-par 70 for a 13-under total of 275. The 33year-old missed a three-footer to bogey the 17th but he parred the last on the brutal South Course to earn his first win on the US circuit since the 2005 Milwaukee Championship. “I was working so hard with my caddie coming down the last few holes just to not get involved in the score and outcome and all that,” Crane told reporters after earning the winner’s cheque for $954,000. “It was a grind but I’m very thankful I came out on top. It’s really cool to know I’m going in the right direction.” Australian Mark Leishman, the 2009 PGA Tour rookie of the year, birdied two of the last three holes for a 68 and a tie for second with compatriot Michael Sim (71) and American Brandt Snedeker (69). South African Ernie Els was a further stroke back after closing with a 69 but the expected last-day charge by three-times champion Phil Mickelson failed to materialize. The American world number two, making his first tournament appearance of the year, bogeyed the first three holes en route to a 73 and 19th place at eight under. “I was really excited about playing, maybe I was a little over-anxious,” Mickelson said. “I got off to a terrible start and throughout the round I didn’t get much out of it.” Crane began another sunkissed day on the California coastline two strokes behind the pacesetting Imada and he recorded his first birdie at the par-four second where he struck a superb approach to three feet. At the tricky third, he benefited from a two-shot swing to move one ahead of Imada, a lead which he never relinquished. Crane rolled in a 45-foot birdie putt up the hill while his Japanese playing partner bogeyed after three-putting from long range. Two holes later, the American picked up his third shot, ramming in a 22-footer and pumping his right fist in celebration after the ball disappeared into the cup. Out in a flawless three-under 33, Crane drained a 48-footer at the parthree 11th to keep his closest challengers at bay. “I made two putts today that you certainly never expect to make,” he said of his two birdies from more than 40 feet. “I was not trying to make those putts, I was just trying to put a good stroke on it, and they happened to go in.” Crane collected his first bogey of the round at the parfive 13th, where he threeputted from 14 feet, and also stumbled at the par-four 17th when he pushed his short par putt wide of the left edge of the cup. Despite finding the right rough off the tee at the par-five last, Crane laid up in two on the way to a regulation five and a one-stroke victory. Australian Robert Allenby made a strong bid for his fifth PGA Tour win with five birdies in the first 13 holes but he fell out of second place by losing five shots in four holes. — Reuters
LA JOLLA: Ben Crane holds the winners trophy after his 13 under par victory during the final round of the 2010 Farmers Insurance Open. —AFP
Cox faces disciplinary hearing BERLIN: US sprinter Crystal Cox could face an International Olympic Committee disciplinary hearing after the 2004 Olympics women’s 4X400 meters relay alternate was banned for doping, the IOC said yesterday. Cox, who won a gold medal as an alternate, has been banned for four years and had all her results since 2001 disqualified for using prohibited anabolic agents and hormones between 2001 and 2004. “The IOC is looking into the file and considering setting up a disciplinary commission,” IOC
spokesman Mark Adams said. Traditionally, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has stripped national relay teams of medals when a team member, including alternates, has been suspended for or admitted to doping. Cox ran in the preliminary round of the 2004 Athens Games women’s 4x400 relay where the American team of Monique Henderson, Monique Hennagan, Sanya Richards and Deedee Trotter won gold. Russia took silver and Jamaica bronze. If the United States were to be stripped
of the Athens gold because of Cox’s suspension, it would be the fourth Olympic relay medal an American team has lost because of doping since 2000. The IOC stripped the 2000 Olympics US women’s 4x100 bronze medallists and 4x400 gold medal winners because of doping admissions by sprinter Marion Jones. It also took the 2000 Sydney Games gold medals of the US men’s 4x400 relay team which included Michael Johnson because of doping violations by Jerome Young and Antonio Pettigrew. —Reuters
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Four grand slam ‘very possible’ for thrill-seeking Federer LONDON: Roger Federer described his performance against Andy Murray to win the Australian Open title as possibly the best of his career and his words were not intended just to make the tearful Scot feel better. Improbably the 28-year-old Swiss, who notched a 16th grand slam title with his 63 6-4 7-6 victory, appears to be still improving, which for the players hoping to garnish their own CV’s with majors is a frightening prospect. Few who watched his performance against Murray would doubt that Federer has a real shot at emulating Rod Laver by sweeping all four grand slam titles this year, especially with his claycourt nemesis Rafael Nadal troubled by his creaky
knees. Physically, Federer is in his prime, while he also appears to have found an emotional nirvana. He is playing with no pressure and for him, first and foremost, tennis is fun. At the end of the an intense third-set tiebreak he looked as though he could play all night if needed while Murray, one of the most durable players on the circuit was spent. Mentally Federer is blessed with inner peace. The magic of becoming a father has given him a purpose outside tennis. His rivals may have hoped that marriage and twin daughters would blunt his edge but the opposite appears to be the case. “My game is not as taxing as other
players’ games. I also think I have a very relaxed mind when it comes to the game of tennis,” Federer told reporters when asked whether his domination could last until beyond his 30th birthday. Whereas a few years ago the weight of making history weighed on his shoulders, particularly at Roland Garros where Nadal upset his equilibrium, Federer now seems to be playing for thrills. Against Murray, Federer even seemed to relish digging holes for himself in some of the rallies just so he was forced to dip into his apparently bottomless box of tricks, be it a net-skimming slice or a forehand winner flicked off his toes. “I really want to try to enjoy my end to my career, because I’ve reached already
so many goals I thought were never possible. I really want to enjoy the tour, and that’s what I’m doing at the moment,” Federer said. “I’ve always had a clear vision of how my life is and that’s helped me to go through better and tougher phases.” Technically too, Federer’s game appears more solid. Rallies of 20 or 30 strokes never used to be his cup of tea with his natural instinct favouring an earlier kill. Murray peppered Federer’s backhand all night with some stunning play of his own, but more often than not the ball came back with interest. His forehand, which is always played at full-tilt whatever the circumstances and prone to occasional malfunctions, was simply devastat-
ing every time Murray failed to land his shots within a footprint of the baseline. So, what are the chances of Federer reaching 19 grand slam titles at the US Open in September? His first obstacle is the French Open where he finally got the monkey off his back last year by claiming the trophy for the first time by beating the man who beat Nadal, Robin Soderling. The real test would be if Nadal is back to his best and Federer has to beat the Spaniard to retain the title. It is a big if, however, with the Mallorcan still way off his best as the claycourt season approaches. Wimbledon is Federer’s favorite playground and unlike Roland Garros, where a dozen or so griz-
zled claycourters can do real damage, the list of players capable of beating him can usually be counted on two fingers...if that. The US Open produced a shock last year when powerhouse Argentine Juan Martin del Potro ambushed Federer in the final, depriving him of a sixth successive title. It is still a long way off but Federer, whatever he says in public, will know that 2010 could be his last chance of becoming the first man since Laver to win a calendar year grand slam in the professional era. “I won’t just put the entire calendar just around trying to win the calendar Grand Slam,” Federer said. “It’s something if it happens, it’s great, but it’s not something that’s my number one goal. Whatever happens happens.” — Reuters
Murray needs ‘new help’
KUWAIT: Sheikh Basil Al-Salem Al-Sabah during the press conference. —Photo by Joseph Shagra
Quarter Mile Club hosts first press conference By Nawara Fattahova KUWAIT: After the declaration of the Kuwait Quarter Mile Auto and Motorcycle Club last November, Chairman Sheikh Basil Al-Salem Al-Sabah held the club’s first press conference. The conference came following the chairman’s trip abroad for medical treatment and was held at the Messila Palace yesterday. At the conference the club announced the official change of their name from the Kuwait Quarter Mile Auto and Motorcycle Club to the Kuwait Quarter Mile Club. Sheikh Basil first thanked HH. the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah for his generous sponsorship and support of the team, which is participating in the seventh and final round of the International Quarter Mile Championship in Qatar on Feb 25. “HH the Amir is the first supporter of sports in Kuwait,” noted Sheikh Basil during the press conference. “When we told His Highness about the championship he gave his orders to provide the team with all the facilities to make sure the team participated and represented Kuwait to the best of their abilities.” The Kuwait Quarter Mile Club will be completely different from the Kuwait Motor Sports Club (KMSC). “The activities that we provide are different from those offered by the KMSC. We will focus on four asphalt sports: the quarter mile, drifting, carting, and the driving skills
race. There is no conflict between the two clubs and we are cooperating so that in the end we both work for the benefit of Kuwait car sports,” he added. The Club’s race track is expected to be ready in two years depending on official procedures. “The track will be called Salem Al-Sabah Racing Track and will be located in the Araifjan area. If the procedures were simplified for us, like getting a B.O.T contract for instance, we could start working on the project by next year. It will be built to the best international standards,” continued Sheikh Basil. The chairman also thanked the Public Authority for Youth and Sports (PAYS) for acknowledging the Kuwait Quarter Mile Club. “At the beginning they refused because it is not allowed for there to be two clubs for car sports. After we explained the difference between the two clubs they understood and recognized us,” he explained. He praised Kuwait’s champions for their tremendous achievements in the regional and international championships. “The Kuwaiti team always ranks at the top. Although this car racing sport is very expensive and they do not get any financial support they still earn top positions in most championships. I really thank them from the bottom of my heart. I also thank the border forces for simplifying our traveling needs and for transferring cars to Kuwait, Bahrain, The United Arab Emirates and Qatar,” Sheikh Basil concluded.
Pakistan to investigate Australian whitewash LAHORE: Pakistan’s cricket chief yesterday formed a panel to investigate the team’s crushing defeat in Australia and rejected the resignation of a senior official over the humiliating whitewash. Pakistan were routed 3-0 in the Tests and 50 in the one-day matches. It was their fourth straight 3-0 reverse against Australia in Tests and only their second whitewash defeat in oneday cricket. After the one-day series loss on Sunday, Pakistan’s chief selector Iqbal Qasim resigned, saying he was disappointed with the team’s performance. But Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ijaz Butt rejected Qasim’s resignation as “premature”. “I have requested him to continue as chief selector until the World Twenty20 and besides that I have formed a six-man committee to evaluate the Australia defeats,” he told reporters. PCB chief operating officer Wasim Bari will head the committee. The other members are PCB governing board member Wazir Ali Khoja, former Pakistan player Haroon Rasheed, PCB director Zakir Khan, former team manager Yawar Saeed and PCB legal adviser Taffazul Rizvi. Butt, who faced public calls for his own resignation after Pakistan’s fourth defeat in the one-day series last Friday, with protesters burning his effigy, promised a fair analysis of the drubbing. “We have to look into the reasons for the defeats and we will remove the flaws so our cricket can move forward,” said Butt, who took over in October 2008. But the 56-year-old Qasim vowed not to withdraw his resignation. “My decision is final and I am thankful to Mr
Butt for his kind words. I will not change my decision,” Qasim told AFP. A symbolic funeral for Pakistan cricket was held recently in the southern city of Hyderabad after Pakistan were blanked in the three-Test series by Australia. “We are going to address the grey areas and do our best to remove those flaws,” Bari earlier told AFP. “The top weakness is in our fielding,” he acknowledged. “Nearly 30 dropped catches on the tour of Australia and New Zealand and six, seven runouts speak of the great weakness in fielding and we are looking for a specialist fielding coach to improve this area.” Pakistan will play a Twenty20 match against Australia at Melbourne on Friday before returning home. Butt last week hinted at major changes in team captaincy and managementblamed by experts as the main reason for defeat. Veteran player Mohammad Yousuf was appointed captain after Younus Khan withdrew from the tour of New Zealand and made himself unavailable for the Test series in Australia. But former pacemen Sarfraz Nawaz and Abdul Qadir demanded change in the PCB. “The officials of the PCB have failed to deliver,” Nawaz told AFP. “There must be change at the top and if that doesn’t happen our performance will not improve.” “We need a new set-up because the incumbent officials have failed,” said Qadir. “We need new blood in the team and if that comes from the under-19 team it would help the team grow in the longer run.” Pakistan’s under-19 team finished runnersup to Australia in the Junior World Cup held in New Zealand last month.—AFP
LONDON: Andy Murray needs to tap into the knowledge of some of the “icons of the game” if he is to move from grand slam contender to champion, according to sixtime major winner Boris Becker. Murray was in tears after Sunday’s 6-3 6-4 7-6 defeat by Roger Federer in the Australian Open final, his second grand slam final defeat after he was swept aside by Federer in the 2008 US Open. Sunday’s loss was closer, but not much, as only in the third set did the Briton begin to show the aggression and risk-taking necessary to disturb Federer’s cruise to his 16th grand slam. Becker said that Murray had played the best major tournament of his career in Melbourne but that it had also revealed that he needs to work on his aggression. “How assertive he was in the final was always going to be crucial. At the very start of the match he went head to head with Roger, but he then reverted to his usual defensive game, and allowed Roger to play such great tennis,” Becker wrote in Britain’s Daily Telegraph. “Even when he had set points, in the third set, he could not take the big step. He tried to attack, but a midcourt forehand let him down. It is not a shot he would usually select, and on the big points, tennis players revert to instinct. “It was a revealing moment, and one which showed that Andy now needs to improve technically, to ingrain the killer shot so deep inside him that it becomes instinctive to play it at the right moment, like Roger. That is the next stage in his progression. “I was looking at Andy’s box during the match and there was no one up there who knows what it is like to be out in a grand slam final. Don’t get me wrong, “Team Murray” are first rate - they have made Andy the third best player on the planet but you cannot learn the skills you need out on the centre court from a book, or from hearsay. “You need to talk to people like John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors, someone Andy would listen to and respect. For Murray, it is now about playing the right shot at the right time, not running or going to the gym.” Becker, who won Wimbledon three times, the Australian Open twice and the US Open once, ruled himself out of the job but said Murray needed someone who has achieved the ultimate in the game to be alongside him in the slams to “talk about the five or so make-orbreak shots in a match, and how best to play them.” “Andy will be among the top men’s players over the next five years, but if he wants to be above them, not amid them, he needs to have someone in his corner who knows what it is like to win a grand slam, to climb the Mount Everest of tennis,” Becker said. “The air is thin up there, and Andy needs to surround himself with people who have been to the summit, who can describe to him how they got there, and how he can as well.” —Reuters
MELBOURNE: Andy Murray of Britain gestures during a press conference after he lost to Roger Federer of Switzerland in the Men’s singles final match on Sunday. —AP
Happy, healthy Lindsey Vonn is ready for Olympics ST. MORITZ: Lindsey Vonn heads to the Vancouver Olympics happy and healthy after enjoying a perfect day Sunday. “Now I feel like I’m ready,” Vonn said after winning a super-G race at St. Moritz, her final World Cup engagement before the Feb. 12-28 games. “I’m definitely in the best shape I’ve ever been in. Mentally and physically prepared.” Vonn kept her promise to first take care of World Cup business. She extended her lead in the overall standings, clinched the super-G title with two races to spare and took instant revenge against a course that on Saturday tricked her out of a chance to go unbeaten all season in downhill. Minutes before racing Sunday, she even got near a television to watch her good friend Roger Federer on his relentless victory march at the Australian Open. Best of all, Vonn completed her 26-race, pre-Olympic program with nine wins, confident and injuryfree. “I’m really relieved that I made it through the World Cup with no injuries,” Vonn said. “That is absolutely the worst thing that could possibly happen. It’s kind of been on my mind.” Vonn then reeled off the names of three expected rivals in speed events who succumbed to season-ending knee injuries in
the past 10 days. Nadia Fanchini’s nasty crash Sunday caused serious damage to both knees. The 23-year-old Italian got bronze in downhill when Vonn won world championships gold last February. Olympic downhill silver medalist Martina Schild landed badly in training at St. Moritz last Wednesday, days after fellow Swiss Fraenzi Aufdenblatten fell in a giant slalom at Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. Switzerland already lost its top downhill prospect in the offseason. Teenager Lara Gut, who got the worlds silver behind Vonn, dislocated her right hip in a training spill. “You see injuries and see things like that happen,” the 25-year-old Vonn reflected. “All you can do is stay focused on your race. That comes from maturity. “Having that mental strength is really important, not just for World Cup racing but also for the Olympics.” Vonn cited the racers’ creed that skiing cautiously to avoid injury often ends up causing one. Aggressive tactics worked well Sunday as she mastered the bottom half of a Corviglia course shortened for safety reasons because of strong winds higher up the mountain. Vonn wanted to “take revenge on the hill” for the frustration she felt Saturday when her bid for a sixth win in as many downhills was
knocked off course by hitting a hole in the snow. She placed fifth and let winner Maria Riesch close the gap in their race for the overall title, before recovering all that ground and more on Sunday as her German friend finished 11th. “It’s great to come back strong after a disappointing day,” said Vonn, who said her husband Thomas helped talk her through putting the loss into perspective. Vonn now returns to the US women’s team base in Austria before flying out this week for a brief pit stop at home in Park City, Utah, then on to chase her Olympics destiny as a designated star of the show. Vancouver will be her third Olympics though perhaps the first where all is aligned to win the first medal she craves. At the 2002 Salt Lake City Games, Vonn said: “I was a kid, it doesn’t really count.” She has also learned a lesson from Turin where she raced after getting injured in a downhill training crash that sent her to hospital. On Whistler Mountain, she’ll save the aggressive stuff for race day. “I think that’s a better plan than trying to win the training run,” she joked, having got this far unscathed. “I feel healthy, I feel strong, I have self-confidence. They’re all the things I need going into Vancouver.”—AP
SWITZERLAND: Lindsey Vonn of the United States speeds down the course during the alpine ski Women’s World Cup Super-G race in St. Moritz in this file photo. —AP
SPORTS
18 Soccer snippets Sevilla loan Kone MADRID: Sevilla have agreed to loan Ivory Coast striker Arouna Kone to the Bundesliga’s Hanover 96 until the end of the season, the La Liga club said on their website yesterday. Kone, 26, joined Sevilla from PSV Eindhoven in 2007 for a then club record fee of 12 million euros ($16.85 million) but has struggled to make an impression. He missed most of last season with a serious knee injury. Sevilla said Hanover did not have an option to make the move permanent.
Robinho for Santos SAO PAULO: Robinho has been presented as a Santos player, stepping out of a helicopter with Pele to be greeted by thousands of fans. Robinho’s arrival yesterday follows an announcement last week by Manchester City that it was sending the 26-year-old Brazilian on a sixmonth loan deal to Santos, where he made his breakthrough and where he hopes to revive his playing form after being used sparingly in England. Robinho has been a regular on the Brazil national team, but he’s worried his lack to playing time may jeopardize his chances of making the team for the World Cup later this year in South Africa.
Shame heaped on death for African football PARIS: Sports fans, grab a pen and paper or log into e-mail and send this message to the heartless bureaucrats who run African football: “Sirs, shame on you for totally mishandling the terrorist attack on Togo’s team.” Their decision this weekend to ban Togo from the next two editions of the Africa Cup of Nations, punishing the shell-shocked squad for pulling out of this year’s competition, heaps injustice upon death. It multiplies the suffering of Togolese footballers still haunted by the machinegunning of their bus on Jan 8, as they were en route to their matches. The attack killed three people, wounded eight and rendered utterly meaningless and irrelevant everything that happened on-field in the tournament that ended this Sunday. Nearly one month on, Togo captain Emmanuel Adebayor says the memories give him nightmares every night. He found
the perfect choice of words to condemn the banning of his team: “This decision is monstrous,” he told French sports daily L’Equipe. Like petty apparatchiks everywhere, the Confederation of African Football conjured up a rule to try to justify the unjustifiable. Its statement said Togo was banned “in conformity with article 78” - as if that somehow makes it right. It provided a Web link to the now infamous regulation. The rule says teams that withdraw at short notice from the biennial tournament can be suspended for two following editions and be fined. It says nothing about the need for compassion and common sense. Climbing on the highest but lamest horse it could find, CAF portrayed the punishment as an effort to preserve the independence of African football. It said the Togolese players themselves wanted to compete in the tourna-
ment despite the attack on their bus but that Togo’s government forced them home. Such political interference in footballing matters breaks CAF rules, it argued. Talk about picking the wrong moment to take a stand. Trying to prevent politicians from meddling in sports could be commendable ... in other situations. Not this time. Not when people have been killed. Not when Adebayor notes that Togo assistant coach Abalo Amelete was being buried on the same day that CAF’s executive committee took its decision. “As we speak, his loved ones are at the cemetery,” Adebayor said. “Can you imagine their reaction when they find out?” No surprise then that the Manchester City forward reserves his bitterest words for CAF president Issa Hayatou. From the moment the gunmen opened fire on Togo’s bus to now, the organization that Hayatou
MADRID: Real Valladolid have sacked coach Jose Luis Mendilibar after a poor run of from, the La Liga club said yesterday. The head of the B team Onesimo Sanchez has been appointed as his replacement and will be presented today. “The club have decided to look for a drastic solution to a negative run of results that have gone on too long,” Valladolid said in a statement on their website. “Of the last 31 games in La Liga (taking in the final 11 of last season) the side have only won three times.”
Celtic land Kamara GLASGOW: Celtic have signed Senegal striker Diomansy Kamara on loan from Fulham in a move that casts further doubt on the future of the Hoops’ Australian forward Scott McDonald. As well as bringing in Kamara, Celtic announced yesterday that they had done a permanent deal to bring Motherwell’s teenage winger Paul Slane to Parkhead.
‘Golden Bench’ award
Ukraine name new coach KIEV: Myron Markevich was named as Ukraine coach yesterday with the task of leading the national team to the 2012 European Championship. Markevich, 58, quit his club FC Metalist Kharkiv to replace Olexiy Mykhaylychenko who failed to take Ukraine to this year’s World Cup finals after losing to Greece in the playoffs. Yuriy Kalitvintsev, who led Ukraine to victory in the 2009 UEFA European Under-19 Championship, will assist Markevich.
CAIRO: Egyptian national soccer goalkeeper Essam El Hadary (right) talks to Alaa Mubarak, the son of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, with the African Cup of Nations soccer tournament trophy after their arrival at Cairo airport yesterday. —AP
Setubal hold Rio Ave LISBON: Setubal drew 2-2 with Rio Ave and Pacos Ferreira beat Academica 2-1 in the Portuguese league on Sunday. The results mean Setubal moves up to 13th in the standings and Rio Ave stays eighth; Pacos Ferreira stays 10th and Academica drops to 12th. Benfica rejoined Braga atop the standings after beating Guimaraes 3-1 on Saturday. Braga and Benfica have been neck-and-neck throughout the
season. Carlos Martins scored twice and Pablo Aimar once for Benfica, which was enjoying its best start to a season in 19 years, while Guimaraes cut the deficit through Nuno Assis. On Friday, Braga beat Sporting 1-0. Also on Saturday, third-place Porto beat Nacional 4-0. Naval beat Belenenses 1-0, and Leiria beat Olhanense 2-0. Late yesterday it’s Leixoes vs. Maritimo.—AP
Braafheid joins Celtic BERLIN: Bayern Munich defender Edson Braafheid has been loaned to Celtic until the end of the season after failing to clinch a starting spot in his first season in Germany, the Bavarian club said yesterday. “The five-time Dutch international has been given on loan to Celtic until the end of the season,” the club said on their website (www.fcbayern.de). The 26-year-old joined from Twente Enschede before the start of the season but made only a handful of apperances and none in the league since late October.
leads has acted poorly. “He must clear off,” Adebayor was quoted as saying. “The only thing Hayatou and his friends know how to do is to award the organization of the Africa Cup to countries that give them the most money.” Making this worse is that CAF, in its statement, recognized that Togo’s dazed and confused players were in two minds about whether they should compete in the tournament following the attack by suspected separatists in the oil-producing Cabinda region of Angola, which hosted this cup. Some players initially said that they no longer wanted to take the field. Who can blame them? Others later said that they wanted to play to honor their dead teammates and their Angolan bus driver, who also was killed. Togo President Faure Gnassingbe apparently tipped the balance by calling
Adebayor and urging the team to come back. “We have to mourn our dead. We go back home to do this,” Adebayor said as he boarded the presidential plane sent by Togo’s government. Could the players have refused? Should they have played even while their goalkeeper Kodjovi “Dodji” Obilale lay with bullet fragments in his stomach in a South African hospital? Should Adebayor simply have ignored the “deep despair” he said he felt after the Togo team’s media officer, Stanislas Ocloo, died in his arms and focused instead on the business, so inconsequential in comparison to life and death, of scoring goals? Only a bully would punish Togo for not having done so. Instead of doing a service to African football, barring the players from the Africa Cup for the next four years seems mean, cold and grossly unfair. —AP
African title means the world to Egypt
Valladolid sack coach
MILAN: Cagliari boss Massimiliano Allegri was handed Italy’s “Golden Bench” award yesterday after his peers voted him Serie A coach of the year ahead of Inter Milan manager Jose Mourinho. “I am happy for this recognition, I don’t feel it was a duel with Mourinho. I’m not happy because I beat him but because great coaches have voted for me,” Allegri, who guided his modest team to ninth last season, told a ceremony. Outspoken Mourinho, who won the league in his first season at Inter last term, has repeatedly clashed with fellow Serie A coaches.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
PORTUGAL: Benfica’s Angel Di Maria (left) from Argentina, runs past Guimaraes’ defender Alex Martins da Costa (right) during their Portuguese League soccer match.—AP
LUANDA: Victory at the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations had a significance for coach Hassan Shehata and his Egyptian ‘Pharaohs’ far beyond a record third consecutive title. They arrived in Angola last month desperate to prove they should have been among the five African qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, the first to be staged on the continent. And what better way to make that point than beat four of the five World Cup qualifiers who competed at the Nations Cup Nigeria, Cameroon, Algeria and Ghana. The 4-0 semi-finals rout of the Algerian ‘Desert Foxes’ was especially sweet as this was the team that eliminated Egypt from the World Cup with a 1-0 play-off victory in Sudan last November. Pre-tournament favorites Ivory Coast were the only World Cup qualifiers the ‘Pharaohs’ missed as the west Africans made a shock quarter-final exit to Algeria after an extra-time thriller. Egypt got a taste for the big time in South Africa last year, competing in the World Cup dress-rehearsal Confederations Cup tournament, and far exceeded expectations by losing narrowly to Brazil before stunning Italy. The triumph over the World Cup holders seemed to drain too much energy from the north Africans, though, and they crumbled 3-0 to the United States and were eliminated after the first round. For the second Nations Cup in succession, the international media placed the ‘Pharaohs’ among the frontrunners but no one ventured so far as to suggest they could complete a title hat-trick. Just as in Ghana two years ago when they defended a title won on home soil in 2006, the ‘Pharaohs’ were considered a spent force, full of ageing players in the twilight of their careers and incapable of conjuring up fresh heroics. Add the loss through injury of team superstar Mohamed Aboutraika, fellow midfielders Mohamed Barakat and Mohamed Shawky and striker Amr Zaki to injury and it appeared the 2010 title defense was doomed to fail. The absence of Aboutraika, scorer of the only goal in the 2008 final victory over Cameroon, was a particularly bitter blow as he ranks among the greatest African footballers never to play in Europe. Shehata, a stern, silverhaired 60-year-old who succeeded Italian Marco Tardelli six years ago, was his usual quiet, media-shy self and if there were doubts he was not letting anyone know. On the rare occasions he opens up in public, the former national team star stresses teamwork over individual brilliance, and he also has an uncanny knack of unearthing fresh talent. Amr Zaki burst onto the international stage with a couple of goals in the 4-1 semi-final thrashing of Ivory Coast two years ago and this time it was the turn of Mohamed ‘Gedo’ Nagy. An attacking midfielder from the unfashionable Al-Ittihad club, Nagy was the supersub who finished leading scorer at the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations with five goals while Samuel Eto’o bagged a meager two and Didier Drogba one. True to form, wily old fox Shehata kept Nagy on the bench until 19 minutes from full-time in a dour final against Ghana when he replaced Emad Motaeb and with extra time looming came his moment of glory. — AFP
FRANCE: Lyon’s Bafe Gomis (right) challenges for the ball with Paris Saint Germain’s Sammy Traore (left) during their French Division One soccer match at Gerland stadium.—AP
Lyon maul PSG in French League PARIS: Bafetimbi Gomis and Cris scored late goals as Lyon rallied from a goal down to beat 10man Paris Saint-Germain 2-1 on Sunday and move into fourth place in the French league. PSG dominated the first half and had enough chances to put the match beyond Lyon’s reach after Mevlut Erding’s ninth league goal of the season put the visitors ahead in the 11th minute. But after PSG defender Mamadou Sakho was sent off for a clumsy challenge on Gomis, PSG defended for over 30 minutes with 10 men and could not hold out as Gomis equalized in the 77th and Cris headed the winning goal four minutes later. “The goal gave us the three points but we shouldn’t just focus on that. We couldn’t get going early on, it was a tough start,” Cris said. “We’re out of the (French and League) Cups, but there are other competitions. We shouldn’t give up.” PSG was aggrieved about the straight red card shown by referee Philippe Kalt, but Lyon also hit the post three times with goalkeeper Apoula Edel beaten every time. Gomis nearly had a second goal but the crossbar denied him in the 88th minute. “We thought we’d done the hard work, the goal put us in a good position. We had a lot of chances to kill this game off and we couldn’t take them,” PSG coach Antoine Kombouare said. “We left the door open for Lyon to come back at us. We could have held it together with 10 players but we conceded two goals from free kicks. That’s unacceptable at this level.” Bordeaux leads the standings with 48 points from 22 games, Montpellier is second with 42 points, Lille has 40 and Lyon has 39 to lead both Monaco and Auxerre on goal difference. PSG took the lead when Stephane Sessegnon took a corner from the right and Erding expertly nipped ahead of his marker to clip the ball inside the near post. Lyon goalkeeper Remy Vercoutre then tipped Erding’s shot just past the post moments later, and PSG striker Guillaume Hoarau saw his shot sail just wide after Erding nodded a long ball down to his feet. With PSG completely dominating, Sessegnon burst forward and found space just inside the penalty area, but the Benin midfielder tried to smash the ball past Vercoutre instead of placing it. Lyon almost got back into the match just before halftime with a lucky deflection when Jeremy Toulalan’s shot hit the
leg of PSG defender Sammy Traore and then the post. Erding was proving hard to handle for Lyon’s defense and only a superb double save from Vercoutre prevented the Turkey striker making it 2-0 in the 49th. Vercoutre stopped Erding’s header and then dived at his feet to block the rebound. “I’m happy for Remy, he is very brave and is very close to his teammates. He had a great game tonight,” Lyon coach Claude Puel said. The match changed in the 59th minute, though, when Gomis sprinted clear and Sakho made a desperate lunge, missed the ball and caught Gomis’ heel. Kalt initially appeared to indicate there was no foul, but changed his mind, thus prompting an angry reaction from PSG’s players as they surrounded him and the linesman. Sakho’s red card left prompted Kombouare to replace winger Ludovic Giuly with defender Christophe Jallet. Edel saved midfielder Cesar Delgado’s shot, and was saved by his post again when Gomis’ shot flashed past him. But Edel was powerless to stop Gomis scoring from close range after Dejan Lovren headed a corner toward goal and the ball bounced off Edel’s chest and straight to Gomis lurking one yard (meter) out. Edel could little again to stop Cris scoring with a looping header moments later after Lisandro Lopez had flicked the ball on. Having taken off both Giuly and Erding after Sakho’s red card, Kombouare had little attacking options left. Earlier, defender Jean-Pascal Mignot scored late in the second half as Auxerre beat Saint-Etienne 1-0. Slovenia winger Valter Birsa floated a corner to the near post and Mignot placed his header firmly past Jeremie Janot after 77 minutes. Saint-Etienne striker Gonzalo Bergessio had a goal disallowed for offside moments later. Valenciennes was held to a 1-1 draw at home against Sochaux. Valenciennes striker Johan Audel opened the scoring in the 20th minute with his fifth league goal of the season, but defender Damien Perquis equalized for Sochaux in the 53rd. On Saturday, defending champion Bordeaux drew 0-0 at home to struggling Boulogne. In Saturday’s other games, it was: Le Mans 1, Toulouse 3; Lille 1, Lens 0; Monaco 3, Nice 2; Nancy 1, Lorient 0; Rennes 4, Grenoble 0, and Montpellier 2, Marseille 0.—AP
Haitian children dreaming of football glory in stadium camp PORT-AU-PRINCE: On the dusty artificial turf of Haiti’s national stadium a group of children played out their football fantasies, kicking the ball next to scrappy shelters, ignoring the stench from human waste on the sidelines. The boys are among the 4,000 refugees that fled to the Sylvio Cator stadium following the cataclysmic January 12 earthquake that destroyed much of the capital Port-au-Prince. These kids know they could have it much worse-here attention to their uprooted lives is diverted by sport. James Ly Harchill, 6, watched his friends shoot penalties into the full-sized goal mouth. Pretty much every shot goes in; the cross bar is twice the height of the diminutive pre-teen keeper. “We play football everyday,” Harchill smiles proudly, bouncing his half-deflated ball on the spongy artificial surface. The boy loves football, his favorite team is Brazil, and he wants to play for Haiti when he grows up-some things even an earthquake can’t change. What the disaster did do was take away
southern Haiti’s professional and amateur playgrounds. In contrast to its neighbor on the island of Hispaniola, the baseball-crazed Dominican Republic, Haiti’s passion is football. Before the earthquake impromptu games sprung up on any space available, with packs of youngsters kicking up dust amid the mountains of trash that litter the poorest country in the western hemisphere. Now all open space, especially the Port-auPrince parks, have been turned into refugee camps, home to hundreds of thousands of Haitians that huddle in make-shift tent villages. Haiti’s national football championship, which would have resumed this weekend, has been suspended for at least six months, said Gary Nicolas, president of the National Football League. The earthquake “was a true disaster for Haitian football,” Nicolas said. The go-to Internet page for Haiti football scores, www.haitifoot.com, is down and its front page directs visitors to an aid donation website.— AFP
SPORTS
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
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Wigan turn to Moses for relegation fight LONDON: Wigan signed exciting young forward Victor Moses from Crystal Palace for a reported fee of 2.5 million pounds (2.85 million euros) on the last day of the mid-season transfer window yesterday. Moses, who was born in Nigeria but has played for England under-19s, signed a three-and-a-half year contract at the DW Stadium following a sale triggered by Palace’s move into administration last week. The 19-year-old, described as a “special talent” by Wigan boss Roberto Martinez, had also been a target for Championship leaders Newcastle but he has opted to join Wigan’s battle for top-flight survival. “To play in the Premier League is a dream and I
want to thank Roberto Martinez and Wigan for giving me the chance to do that,” Moses said. “I’m sad to leave Palace because they’re a great club and gave me my chance in football and I want to say thanks to everyone there. But I need to prove myself now at Wigan and I’m going to focus on getting in the team and doing well for my new club.” The move is the latest chapter in what has been an extraordinary life story for Moses, who came to England as an 11-year-old asylum seeker following the murder of his father, a Christian minister, and mother, during an outbreak of sectarian violence in his home city of Kaduna, northern Nigeria. Martinez added: “Victor has been a big
hit for Crystal Palace, and now he has the chance to grow and mature in the Premier League. “He is a real player in the making, and he now needs to show the right character and dedication to match his undoubted talent and I think he can make a terrific impact at Wigan Athletic over the coming months and years.” Moses is cup-tied for Wigan’s FA Cup fourth round replay with Notts County on Tuesday but will be available for Saturday’s Premier League match at Sunderland. Elsewhere, South Africa’s Benni McCarthy completed his long anticipated move to relegation threatened West Ham from Premier League rivals Blackburn Rovers. The striker joined for an undis-
closed fee on a contract that will keep the 32-year-old at Upton Park until 2012. “This is a great club. The reason why I am happy that it has finally happened is because about five years ago I had a disappointing experience when I thought I was going to be a West Ham player until (former club) FC Porto pulled out and I had to go back,” McCarthy, South Africa’s record goalscorer, said. McCarthy had grown disillusioned with his lack of first-team starts under Rovers manager Sam Allardyce and wanted a move to ensure regular football in the run-up to the World Cup finals in South Africa in June and July. Fulham completed the signing of Italy Under-21 striker Stefano Okaka on
loan from Roma until the end of the season after allowing Senegal forward Diomansy Kamara to move to Celtic in a similar deal. Okaka’s move came after Fulham forwards Andy Johnson and Clint Dempsey both suffered minor knocks in recent weeks. Fulham manager Roy Hodgson also signed Nicky Shorey on loan until the end of the season from Premier League rivals Aston Villa yesterday. The England international was recalled from his loan spell at second tier Nottingham Forest last week by Villa manager Martin O’Neill, who has allowed the 28-year-old to move to London where Fulham are struggling at left-back because of an injury to Paul Konchesky. Fulham completed a productive day of
transfer activity when they signed German teenager Christopher Buchtmann from Liverpool on an 18-month contract. The 17-year-old can play at left-back or in midfield. David Nugent extended his loan spell at Burnley from Premier League basement club Portsmouth until the end of the season while the Clarets also signed Chelsea defender Jack Cork on loan for the same period. And with the transfer window on the verge of closing, Manchester City were reported to be interested in signing Middlesbrough winger Adam Johnson. Hull rejected a five million pounds (5.7 million euros) offer for Stephen Hunt, their Republic of Ireland midfielder, from Premier League rivals Wolves. — AFP
Cech sees key week ahead for Chelsea
BUENOS AIRES: River Plate’s Rodrigo Rojas (center) from Paraguay, fights for the ball with Banfield’s Roberto Battion (right) and Marcelo Bustamante (left) during an Argentinean League soccer match. — AP
Argentinos draw with Boca BUENOS AIRES: Ismael Sosa scored a stoppage time equalizer as Argentinos Juniors twice came from behind to draw 2-2 with Boca Juniors in the Argentine Clausura tournament Sunday. In the day’s other matches, Sebastian Fernandez scored to give defending champion Banfield a 1-0 win at River Plate, Gonzalo Castillejos hit a late winner to give Lanus a 3-2 home win over Huracan, and Newell’s Old Boys drew 0-0 at home with Independiente. The results conclude the first round of fixtures in the Clausura tournament, which runs until May. The opening half of the league season, called the Apertura, finished in December. Martin Palermo scored the first goal for Boca against Argentinos after following up a Riquelme shot in the 45th minute. Boca seemed to be controlling the match until the 82nd minute when defender Ezequiel Munoz diverted a
free kick into his own net to level the scores. Three minutes later, Riquelme curled a shot into the far corner from the edge of the box to re-establish the lead, but Sosa stabbed the ball into the net following a free kick in the 3rd minute of stoppage time to claim a draw for Argentinos. Earlier in the day, Fernandez scored the winner for Banfield against River after receiving a pass from Walter Erviti in the 30th minute. River has struggled in recent tournaments and looked weak in attack without Diego Buonanotte, who will miss the rest of the season after suffering serious injuries in a car crash in December. Elsewhere, Castillejos scored his second goal of the game in stoppage time to help Lanus come from two goals behind to win 3-2 against Huracan. Patricio Toranzo opened the scoring for Huracan in the 19th minute with a looping shot that slipped
through goalkeeper Agustin Marchesin’s fingers. Gaston Machin added a second from a tight angle in the 25th. Castillejos pulled a goal back for Lanus in the 74th minute, but Huracan still looked safe until the 85th minute when Gonzalo Garcia received a red card for handling in the box and Maximiliano Velazquez equalized from the penalty. Diego Latus hit the post for Lanus in the 88th minute, before Castillejos sealed the comeback victory with the winner in the 91st minute. In the day’s other match, Apertura runner-up Newell’s Old Boys played out a scoreless draw with Independiente. In other results from the weekend’s first round fixtures it was: Godoy Cruz 1, Gimnasia La Plata 0; Estudiantes La Plata 3, Arsenal de Sarandi 0; Tigre 0, Chacarita Juniors 2; Velez Sarsfield 1, Colon de Santa Fe 1; Racing Club 3, Rosario Central 0; Atletico Tucuman 0, San Lorenzo 1. —AP
Terry’s future as England captain remain unclear LONDON: John Terry’s future as England captain remained under scrutiny yesterday after the British government’s sports minister said the Football Association needs to look into allegations over his private life. The FA was widely reported to be leaving the decision on the Chelsea defender’s position to coach Fabio Capello, but sports minister Gerry Sutcliffe said whoever fills the role of England captain should behave off the field as well as on. Sutcliffe said reports that the married Terry had an affair with the partner of England teammate Wayne Bridge “call into question his role as England captain.” “On the field, John Terry is a fantastic player and a good England captain,” Sutcliffe said. “But to be the captain of England you have got to have wider responsibilities for the country.” Terry had been in line to lead England at this year’s World Cup until last week when a judge lifted a court order that had prevented media from reporting the allegations. The FA has yet to comment on Terry’s position, but Capello is likely to be questioned on the subject at Sunday’s draw in Warsaw for the 2012 European Championship. The opinion of the players in the England squad will likely be crucial to Capello’s decision. Capello, an Italian, is known as a strict disciplinarian. The allegations may be about to get even
Chelsea’s captain John Terry more lurid after publicist Max Clifford said the woman at the center of the furor was considering speaking publicly. Clifford is now representing Bridge’s ex-partner, Vanessa Perroncel. “She basically said, ‘What do I do?” Clifford said yesterday on GMTV television. “‘Journalists are knocking down my door, I’ve got people running round taking photos everywhere I go, I never sought this, I never asked for this, and I’ve never spoken to anybody.’ “I went through what could hap-
pen, the various permutations if she talked to the media, if she doesn’t talk to the media. And obviously that’s what she’s thinking about and deciding what she wants to do in the next day or so.” Bridge released a statement saying his only concern is for the welfare of the child he had with his ex-partner, but several of his Manchester City teammates offered support Sunday when they wore T-shirts under their team shirts bearing the phrase “Team Bridge.” — AP
HULL: Goalkeeper Petr Cech is convinced Chelsea have the perfect opportunity to establish a lead at the top of the Premier League this week that could prove highly significant come the end of the season. Carlo Ancelotti’s side, which won 2-1 at Burnley on Saturday, will use the game in hand they possess over Manchester United and Arsenal at Hull City. Then, on Sunday, they host Arsene Wenger’s Gunners in one of the highest profile fixtures of the calendar. Cech, the Czech Republic international, was hoping his side would then be perfectly positioned in the league once Champions League hostilities, which see Chelsea pitted against Inter Milan, begin again. “Now we have games coming up fast,” he said. “We have to take advantage of it and we’ve got a game in hand at Hull. If we win that one we will open up a gap at the top. We have to keep winning our games, and if the others start dropping points it’s the best scenario for us.” John Terry provided the winning goal at Burnley despite revelations that the married father-of-two had an affair with the girlfriend of former Stamford Bridge team-mate Wayne Bridge, now at Manchester City. Those led to calls for him to be stripped of the England captaincy but Ancelotti made it clear he would continue to wear the armband for his club. “He is the captain and he will be the captain,” said the Italian, who confirmed that Terry would remain an automatic pick for the Hull game. “The players have never lost trust in him.” Hull’s worries are of a different nature as a 2-2 draw at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday left them still in the relegation zone. Failure to beat fellow strugglers like Mick McCarthy’s team could prove costly but Tigers manager Phil Brown was confident his players could rise to the occasion against potential title winners. “I thought last season and the stats have pointed towards it last season and again this season, that physically, physiologically and technically, everything, we have put our best foot forward against the top six, top seven teams,” he said. “I asked us to put our best foot forwards against the teams around us because that is the bread and butter. I have no doubts we will put our best foot forward on Tuesday.” Chelsea’s Burnley win was achieved without Didier Drogba even though the striker had returned from African Cup of Nations duty with the Ivory Coast. Brown admitted he was mulling over his tactics ahead of a match where the powerful front-man could well return to the starting line-up. “There seems to be an innate sense that 4-4-2 belongs to England or 4-4-2 is an English system,” he said. “Tactically, a lot of English managers are more aware than just 4-4-2. We played it against Wolves because we thought it was an opportunity against some of our nearest rivals in the Premier League and at home. “Where Chelsea are concerned, that might be a different ball game. They play 4-3-3 and they have been, it might be different now Drogba’s back and you have to be aware.” — AFP
LONDON: Chelsea’s Nicolas Anelka (left) is seen with teammate Florent Malouda after scoring against Burnley in this file photo. —AP
Saints stand in way of Rangers Cup hopes GLASGOW: St Johnstone stand in the way of a fifth successive domestic cup final appearance for Rangers as the two sides prepare to meet in the League Cup semifinal at Hampden tomorrow. The Ibrox side have had an incredible record in cup competitions since Walter Smith returned to the club in January 2007 with the manager having led his side to four victories at the national stadium. The league leaders lost year’s League Cup final to Old Firm rivals Celtic and a win for Smith’s side would take them one step closer to the first stage of a potential domestic treble. In tomorrow’s semi-final, the Gers boss will also cross swords with one of his former players Derek McInnes who has led his St Johnstone side to mid-table respectability in their first season in the Scottish Premier League. “We’ve done well in cup ties since we came back. Hopefully that can continue but we’ll need to play
well to win,” said the Rangers manager. “A lot of promoted teams have a flying start then struggle but St Johnstone keep going. We were lucky to win up there earlier in the season. “Derek McInnes has coped with the demands - they’ve not had a spectacular run but there’s been a steadiness about them.” Rangers will be without top-scorers Kenny Miller and Kris Boyd but fellow forward Steven Naismith is available after he returned from injury when he came off the bench in Saturday’s win against Falkirk. The Gers defeated St Johnstone on penalties in the Scottish Cup semi-final of 2008 when McInnes was still a rookie manager and is on the look-out for revenge at Hampden. “It still bothers me. I was delighted with the players but with Queen of the South in the final we had a real chance to win a trophy,” McInnes said. “Until we get to a final - and win - the pain will always be there.”
Today, Jim Jefferies takes charge of Hearts as they clash with St Mirren in the other semi-final at Fir Park. The former Kilmarnock manager returned to the club he managed from 1995 to 2000 on Friday following the sudden departure of Csaba Laszlo. His first game in charge on Saturday ended in a 1-0 defeat to St Johnstone but Jefferies led Hearts to a Scottish Cup victory in 1998 and will be desperate to return to Hampden this year. However St Mirren player Hugh Murray said the Buddies players want to use today’s semifinal to bury the disappointment of losing last year’s Scottish Cup semi-final to Rangers. “The semi-final last year was one of the biggest disappointments I’ve had in 14 years at the club,” Murray said. “ This is our chance to put that right and hopefully we can show a better performance at least and see where it takes us.” —AFP
Flamengo trounce Fluminense RIO DE JANEIRO: Brazil striker Adriano scored a hat-trick to give national champions Flamengo a 5-3 win over Fluminense in a spectacular Carioca (Rio de Janeiro) championship derby on Sunday. After trailing 3-1 at halftime and having defender Alvaro sent off in the 63rd minute, Flamengo enjoyed an inspired performance at the Maracana from their two strikers Adriano and Vagner Love. “We play for each other, we’re both top level players and we’re chasing the same objective, to get to the World Cup,” Adriano said as both strikers talked to reporters. Fluminense scored twice in the opening half hour through Andre and Argentine midfielder Dario Conca and could have had more goals as they were in complete control but were without injured striker Fred. Adriano pulled one back with a penalty after Juan was brought down but defender Cassio restored
Fluminense’s two-goal advantage following a goalmouth melee from a corner. Flamengo were a changed team in the second half and had equalized by the 54th minute with goals by Vagner Love and midfielder Kleberson. Adriano, top scorer in the 2009 Brazilian championship, won the match for Flamengo when they were a man short. He tapped in from a cross by Vinicius Pacheco eight minutes from time and completed his hat-trick with a stoppage-time breakaway. Corinthians, a man short from the ninth minute when Roberto Carlos was sent off, withstood strong pressure from Palmeiras to beat them 10 in their Paulista (Sao Paulo) championship derby. Already without Ronaldo, who is nursing a thigh muscle injury, Corinthians lost their other World Cup winner when the former Real Madrid left back was shown a straight red for a bad tackle
from behind on Joao Arthur. “For me, it was harsh, but what can I do?” Roberto Carlos told reporters as he left the field. “What a referee mustn’t do is spoil a ‘classico’ like that.” Corinthians went ahead two minutes before the sending off with a headed goal from Jorge Henrique and had goalkeeper Felipe to thank for a string of saves as they beat biggest rivals Palmeiras for the first time in three years. Two minutes from time, Palmeiras midfielder Cleiton Xavier was sent off for dissent, his second bookable offence. Paulista title holders Corinthians snatched the lead in the standing from Santos, who beat Oeste 2-0 on Saturday after a prematch visit from Robinho who has returned to his first club on a sixmonth loan from Manchester City. Internacional beat Gremio 1-0 in Porto Alegre in their big derby in the Gaucho (Rio Grande do Sul) championship. — Reuters
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NBA results/standings NBA results and standings on Sunday. Denver 103, San Antonio 89; LA Lakers 90, Boston 89; Cleveland 114, La Clippers 89; Orlando 91, Detroit 86; Philadelphia 83, New Jersey 79; Toronto 117, Indiana 102; Phoenix 115, Houston 111 (OT); Minnesota 112, NY Knicks 91; Oklahoma City 112, Golden State 104. Eastern Conference Atlantic Division W L PCT Boston 29 16 .644 Toronto 26 22 .542 NY Knicks 18 29 .383 Philadelphia 16 31 .340 New Jersey 4 42 .087
GB 4.5 12 14 25.5
Central Division 38 11 .776 23 22 .511 20 25 .444 16 32 .333 15 31 .326
13 16 21.5 21.5
Cleveland Chicago Milwaukee Indiana Detroit
Southeast Division Orlando 32 16 .667 Atlanta 30 16 .652 Charlotte 24 22 .522 Miami 24 23 .511 Washington 16 30 .348
1 7 7.5 15
Western Conference Northwest Division Denver 32 15 .681 Utah 28 18 .609 Portland 28 21 .571 Oklahoma City 26 21 .553 Minnesota 11 38 .224
3.5 5 6 22
LA Lakers Phoenix LA Clippers Sacramento Golden State
Pacific Division 37 11 .771 28 21 .571 20 27 .426 16 30 .348 13 33 .283
Southwest Division Dallas 30 17 .638 San Antonio 27 19 .587 New Orleans 26 21 .553 Memphis 25 21 .543 Houston 25 22 .532
9.5 16.5 20 23 2.5 4 4.5 5
EAST RUTHERFORD: New Jersey Nets’ Yi Jianlian, of China, is pressured by Philadelphia 76ers’ Elton Brand (left) and Thaddeus Young (right) during the third quarter of an NBA basketball game. The 76ers defeated the Nets 83-79.—AP
Lakers defeat stumbling Celtics, Cavs roll BOSTON: Kobe Bryant sank a go-ahead fallaway jumper with 7.3 seconds left to give the Los Angeles Lakers a 90-89 victory over Boston on Sunday and send the struggling Celtics to their sixth loss in eight games. The Celtics, who led by 11 points in the fourth quarter, nursed a one-point lead until Paul Pierce was called for an offensive foul for pushing off as he jumped to shoot with 28 seconds left. Bryant, who shot just 8 for 20 in the game, dribbled down the shot clock before stepping back from defender Ray Allen and making a basket to give Los Angeles the lead. Bryant finished with 19, and Andrew Bynum had 19 points and 11 rebounds. Rajon Rondo had 21 points and 12 assists for the Celtics. Cavaliers 114, Clippers 89 At Cleveland, LeBron James scored half of Cleveland’s 46 points in the first quarter as the Cavaliers equaled an NBA record with 11 3-pointers in the opening period of their victory over Los Angeles.
The 46 points tied a franchise mark for most in a quarter, and Cleveland’s 16 3-pointers fell one shy of the team record for a game. Cleveland has won eight straight. James, who finished with 32 points and 11 assists, fueled the early outburst by making his first seven shots — including four 3s. Cleveland made 3pointers on seven consecutive possessions during the spurt. Thunder 112, Warriors 104 At Oklahoma City, Kevin Durant scored a season-high 45 points to take over second place in the NBA scoring race as Oklahoma City beat Golden State. Durant made 16-of-21 shots and ended up two points short of the highestscoring output of his career. Russell Westbrook added 28 points and eight assists. Corey Maggette scored 26 points for Golden State and Monta Ellis added 25, including a pair of 3-pointers that got the Warriors within three late. But he missed a potential game-tying 3-
pointer with 1:06 left, and the Warriors didn’t score again. Nuggets 103, Spurs 89 At San Antonio, Kenyon Martin scored 27 points as Denver won again without Carmelo Anthony. The NBA’s leading scorer missed his fourth consecutive game with a sprained ankle but the Nuggets still bounced back af ter Oklahoma City ended their eight-game win streak Friday. Anthony could return Monday. Chauncey Billups scored 25 and J.R Smith had 18 for the Nuggets, who’ve breezed through the new year so far. Denver went 12-3 in January. George Hill scored 17 points in place of San Antonio’s own injured star, Tony Parker. The point guard sat out for the second game with a left ankle sprain. Magic 91, Pistons 86 At Aubur n Hills, Michigan, J.J. Redick scored 17 points and Dwight Howard overcame free-throw problems to put up 16 points and 14 rebounds as
Orlando beat struggling Detroit. The victor y means Orlando’s Stan Van Gundy will coach the Easter n Conference in the All-Star game Feb. 14 in Arlington, Texas. Rodney Stuckey had 18 points and Tayshaun Prince added 16 for Detroit, which lost its fifth straight. Suns 115, Rockets 111 At Houston, Amare Stoudemire scored a season-high 36 points and Steve Nash handed out 16 assists as Phoenix beat Houston in overtime. Nash scored 11 points and grabbed a season-high eight rebounds, and Grant Hill added 19 points for the Suns, who snapped a five-game road losing streak. Phoenix has won nine of its last 12 games in Houston. Aaron Brooks scored 24 points after shooting poorly in the first half and Trevor Ariza had 21 for the Rockets. Raptors 117, Pacers 102 At Toronto, Chris Bosh had 26 points and 15 rebounds, and Andrea Bargnani
scored 17 points as Toronto won its fifth straight game. Former Pacers guard Jarrett Jack scored 16 points and was one of seven R aptors to reach double figures as Toronto shot a season-best 60.2 percent (50 for 83) and topped 100 points for the 13th straight game. Luther Head scored 15 points as Indiana lost its third straight. Troy Murphy and Brandon Rush each had 14. 76ers 83, Nets 79 At East Ruther ford, New Jersey, Andre Iguodala scored 14 points, including seven in a key portion of the third quarter, leading Philadelphia over New Jersey. The victory snapped a three-game losing streak for Philadelphia, while the lowly Nets (4-42) kept pace with the 1972-73 Sixers for the worst record in NBA history. The Sixers had five players in double figures, with Samuel Dalembert adding 12 points and 11 rebounds, L ou
Williams scoring 11 points and Elton Brand 10. Jarvis Hayes came off the bench to score a season-high 18 points for the Nets. Brook Lopez also had 18 points and eight rebounds, while Yi Jianlian had 15 points and 11 boards. T’wolves 112, Knicks 91 At Minneapolis, Kevin Love had a career-high 25 points to go with 11 rebounds as Minnesota exacted a little payback on New York. Ryan Hollins had 16 points and three blocks in his second straight strong game since being inser ted into the starting lineup for the Timberwolves, who lost by 27 points at Madison Square Garden last week. Wilson Chandler scored 27 points for the Knicks (18-29), who fell 11 games below .500 for the first time since Dec. 2 when they were 4-15. Jared Jeffries had 14 points and six rebounds for the Knicks, who have lost three in a row. —AP
Schaub shines as AFC win Pro Bowl
MIAMI: Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson (10) picks up a flag during the NFL football Pro Bowl. —AP
MIAMI: Matt Schaub of the Houston Texans fired two touchdown passes and was named MVP after sparking the AFC to a 41-34 victory over the NFC in the annual Pro Bowl game on Sunday. More than 70,000 turned out at Dolphin Stadium but many drifted away during the second half of what was a light-contact, high-scoring friendly encounter between the league’s two conferences featuring 987 total net yards gained. The game, usually played in Hawaii the week after the Super Bowl, was switched to South Florida during the run-in to the NFL’s biggest event. Next Sunday, the NFC’s New Orleans Saints take on the Indianapolis Colts of the AFC in the Super Bowl and quarterbacks Peyton Manning of the Colts and the Saints’ Drew Brees watched the Pro Bowl game from the sidelines. “The rules are geared for the offense. We have three outstanding quarterbacks, the game is made for the fans and they enjoyed it,” AFC head coach Norv Turner of the San Diego Chargers told reporters. His opposite number, Dallas Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips, said: “It’s a no-defense game. They decided the defense was going to put their hands behind their backs so you are going to have a lot of scoring-but that is what we wanted to see.” Schaub was delighted with his MVP award. “There was a ton of talent on this field and it has been a great experi-
ence,” he said. “It is a huge honor to be named MVP with all these great players here.” The score was level 14-14 at half-time, with Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers throwing two touchdowns for the NFC. Diluted by the absence of many big-name players, the game nonetheless came alive in the third quarter when the NFC grabbed the lead. Donovan McNabb, the Philadelphia Eagles quarterback, passed to his team mate, wide receiver DeSean Jackson, who weaved past opponents to run home a 58-yard touchdown. That prompted two touchdowns and a field goal from the AFC but their victory was not secured until the fourth quarter when Tennessee’s Chris Johnson ran home from two yards. Meanwhile, New York Jets coach Rex Ryan has apologized for making an obscene gesture towards a Miami Dolphins fan after a picture of the incident appeared on the internet. Ryan, in South Florida for Sunday’s Pro Bowl, attended a Mixed Martial Arts event the previous evening, where he was photographed making a one-fingered gesture. “It was stupid and inappropriate,” Ryan said in a statement. “I wouldn’t accept that type of behavior from one of the coaches or players and it’s unacceptable from me. I apologize to the Jets organization, the National Football League and NFL fans everywhere.” The Dolphins fan who took the picture, David Hildenbrand, told the
MIAMI: Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning (right) talks to Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Ochocinco (left) on the sidelines during the NFL football Pro Bowl. —AP Miami Herald website he had shouted “Dolphins rule, Jets suck” at Ryan. Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum issued a statement on the team’s website (www.newyorkjets.com) criticizing Ryan. “Rex showed extremely poor judgment and his conduct was inappropriate,” Tannenbaum said. “He knows he was wrong, has apologized and we have accepted his apology. Any other actions regarding this incident will be addressed internally by the organisation.” The Indianapolis Colts and New Orleans Saints will contest the Super Bowl in Miami on Feb 7. Meanwhile, Indianapolis Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney is doubtful for next week’s Super
Bowl, the team said on Sunday. Freeney has not practiced since last week’s AFC Championship game win over the New York Jets and the team responded to speculation by releasing a statement. The Colts said Freeney has a “low, third-degree ankle injury. Similar to a basketball (ankle) injury. We feel he’ll be questionable (for the game).” Indianapolis face the New Orleans Saints in Miami on Feb.7. Colts quarterback Peyton Manning, already in the city for Sunday’s Pro Bowl, said he was unclear over Freeney’s status or any impact his absence could have on the team. “It’s hard to speculate at this point. Dwight’s one of our best players, we know that, but all season
long coach Caldwell has talked about picking up the band act. “Someone’s got to step up and if Dwight’s not able to go it will be tough but somebody else will step up and we’ll feel confident in whoever that is,” he told reporters. Tight end Dallas Clark said he was sure that Freeney would give his all to be fit... if he could. “With Freeney, he has had injuries before where they said he’s not going to play and he has come back,” Clark said. “He is a competitor and one of the toughest guys on our team and I never expect him to miss anything, because of the character he has and the kind of guy he is. “I hope he can play. He is a game changer.” —Reuters
Wataniya Airways brings the Festival to Kuwait
Burgan Bank CEO Jonathan Lyon retires
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Obama 2010 budget deficit soars to record $1.56tn
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Tuesday, February 2, 2010
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NBK reports net profits of $925 million for 2009 Bank posts 4% Y-o-Y growth • Net operating income grew to $1,808 million
NEW YORK: The National Debt Clock is shown yesterday in New York. President Barack Obama sent Congress a $3.83 trillion budget yesterday that would pour more money into the fight against high unemployment, boost taxes on the wealthy and freeze spending for a wide swath of government programs. — AP
US spending edges up, savings at 6-mth high WASHINGTON: US consumer spending rose slightly less than expected last month as savings jumped to a six-month high, indicating that households remained too cautious to spend despite an improvement in incomes. The Commerce Department said yesterday spending rose 0.2 percent after increasing by an upwardly revised 0.7 percent in November. Consumer spending in November was previously reported to have climbed 0.5 percent. It was the third straight monthly gain in spending. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected consumer spending, which normally accounts for over two-thirds of US economic activity, to rise 0.3 percent last month. “The December spending numbers were revised up, so the weaker numbers for January
are not so bad,” said Gary Thayer, chief macrostrategist at Wells Fargo Advisors in St. Louis. US stock index futures rose slightly after the data, while government bond prices were steady at lower levels. For the whole of 2009, spending fell 0.4 percent, the largest drop since 1938. Boosting consumer spending is critical to putting the economy on a sustainable recovery path, but a 10 percent unemployment rate is pressuring households. The economy grew at a 5.7 percent annual pace in the fourth quarter, its fastest clip in six years, driven by a sharp slowdown in the rate at which businesses reduced stocks of unsold goods, the government said on Friday. Consumer spending slowed to a rate of 2 percent after rising 2.8 percent in the July-September period, the GDP report showed. — Reuters
Toyota tells dealers parts on way to fix gas pedals WASHINGTON: Toyota Motor Corp said yesterday its dealers should get parts to fix a sticky gas pedal problem by the end of this week as the automaker apologized to customers and tried to bring an end to a recall that has affected 4.2 million vehicles worldwide. The company said in a statement that it has begun shipping parts and is training dealers on the repairs. Some dealers will stay open around the clock to fix the 2.3 million cars and trucks affected by the recall in the US. Technical bulletins on how to install the new parts should arrive at dealers by midweek, the company told dealers in an e-mail. It was not clear exactly when repairs would start, although dealers have said they’ll begin as soon as possible.
The automaker also said yesterday it would suspend production of eight US models affected by the recall this week, with factories restarting on Feb 8. Toyota suspended sales of the models last week, but spokesman Mike Michels said dealers can begin selling the cars as soon as they are fixed. However, cars already on the road will be the dealers’ first priority, he said in an e-mail. Jim Lentz, president and chief operating officer of Toyota Motor Sales, said in the statement that nothing is more important than customer safety. In a video clip released by the automaker, Lentz said he wanted to “sincerely apologize to Toyota owners. I know that our recalls have caused many of you concern and for that I am truly sorry.” — AP
Stocks up as earnings support; trend flat MIDEAST STOCK MARKETS DUBAI: Most Middle East markets rose yesterday, shrugging off declines on global exchanges, as further earnings announcements and steadying oil prices boosted regional sentiment. Dubai made its largest gain for a week, Abu Dhabi was up for a fourth day and Qatar rose, although this trio are in the red for 2010 and analysts say volumes are insufficient to spark a sustained uptrend. Bahrain and Egypt rose, but Saudi Arabia fell for a fourth day in five and Kuwait and Oman also declined. World shares slunk to three-month lows on concerns about Chinese inflation and Greece’s debts, but underperforming Gulf Arab markets seem less in danger of a further correction after markedly underperforming their global peers over the past year and so should move sideways for now. “The market has priced in the worst for stocks across the board, regardless of sector, and so when results do come out we’re seeing a positive reaction even if the figures are bad,” said Samer AlJaouni, general manager of Middle East Financial Brokerage Co. National Bank of Abu Dhabi rose 1.8 percent after reporting a
slight drop in quarterly profit. The stock is down 12.2 percent in seven weeks as investors worry about UAE lenders’ likely provisions. Emirates Telecommunications Corp (Etisalat) climbed 0.9 percent after fourth-quarter profit rose 40 percent. This missed forecasts, but Vyas Jayabhanu, head of investments, Al Dhafra Financial Broker, said local investors were increasingly turning to Etisalat, seen as a safe haven amid sustained volatility and increasing risk aversion. “Our customers are parking funds in Etisalat for the long-term,” said Jayabhanu. Dubai’s Union Properties rose 3.9 percent after saying a luxury hotel could be sold, potentially easing a liquidity squeeze, with the troubled developer rescheduling 2.8 billion dirhams ($762.3 million) of debts. Saudi Arabia’s index dropped slightly and weakening oil prices may weigh on long-term sentiment. Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC) lost 1.4 percent and has fallen 6.5 percent from Jan. 20’s 15-month high as sliding crude prices dampen demand for petrochemicals stocks. “Prices of oil have always
been a key factor for Saudi Arabia’s economy, however in terms of actual linear correlation the relationship between oil prices and the TASI was not statistically significant,” said Abdullah Alawi, Head of Research at Aljazira Capital in Jeddah. “For 2010 however, we believe this correlation will increase as oil prices play a bigger role in the governmental budget and also as a gauge for world economic health.” Oil was up 0.4 percent at $73.18 a barrel at 1154 GMT, trimming its losses to 11.3 percent in three weeks as concerns about the world economy and future demand weigh. Qatar’s index rose for a second day in three, but is down 5 percent this year and not far from a six-month low. “Most portfolio managers have already taken their positions in Qatar and so Qatar continues to underperform,” said a Kuwaitbased analyst who asked not to be identified. National Bank of Kuwait rose 3.8 percent after the lender’s fourth-quarter profit quadrupled, beating an analysts’ forecast. It slipped to a nine-week low intraday before its earnings were released mid-session. — Reuters
KUWAIT: National Bank of Kuwait (NBK), the largest Kuwaiti bank and the highest rated in the Middle East, announced net profits of $925 million (KD 265.2 million) for 2009, up 4% from the previous year. The increase in profits was attained even after taking additional and voluntary general provisions as a precaution against any further deterioration in economic conditions and financial markets due to the global financial crisis. NBK’s operating income rose to $1,808 million (KD 518 million) from $1,773 million (KD 508 million) in 2008, total assets reached $45 billion at the end of 2009 and shareholders’ equity rose to $6 billion. Other profitability indicators remained strong by regional and international standards: Return on Assets (ROA) was 2.2% while the Return on Equity (ROE) recorded 18.4% for the year. Ibrahim Dabdoub, NBK’s Group Chief Executive Officer, noted that the achievement of a net profit growth of 4%, despite the unfavorable domestic and regional operat-
NBK Chairman Mohammed Al-Bahar ing environment, underscores the Group’s solid financial position. “The increase in our operating income provides strong reassurance as to our ability to continue delivering strong results from our core businesses inside and outside of Kuwait.” NBK’s Board of Directors has recommended the distribution of a cash dividend equivalent to 40% of the nominal value of the share (40 fils per
share). The board also recommended a bonus share distribution of 10% (10 shares for every 100 shares) to shareholders of record at the time of the General Assembly meeting. Dabdoub viewed NBK’s impressive results against the backdrop of a global crisis as a confirmation of the bank’s ability to sustain its strong performance through challenging market conditions. He credits this performance to the Bank’s progressive, yet conservative strategy, sound risk management policies, excellent governance, stable management team, as well as its clear vision. “These fundamental strengths have also contributed to advancing NBK’s ranking to 38th among the world’s 50 safest banks in 2009 by Global Finance, as well as to maintaining our credit rating as the top rated bank in the Middle East.” “Our regional expansion strategy proved successful as confirmed by the resilience of our profits and the diversity of our income sources”, Dabdoub added. “Our operations outside Kuwait contin-
ued to provide a stronger foundation for the stability of our profits with growing contributions from Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey.” In addition to its leading regional standing, NBK remains the dominant franchise in its domestic market. Its domestic market position has been recently enhanced with the acquisition of a 40% stake in Kuwait’s smallest Islamic institution, Boubyan Bank. The acquisition gives NBK access to the growing Islamic banking market in Kuwait. NBK is the highest rated bank in the Middle East by Moody’s, Standard & Poor’s, and Fitch NBK’S 2009 KPIs
Ratings. The Bank’s ratings are supported by its strong capitalization, high asset quality, prudent lending, and its much disciplined approach to risk management, in addition to its experienced and highly qualified management team. NBK currently enjoys the largest presence in Kuwait with 70 branches, as well as a growing regional and international network comprising an additional 106 branches covering 16 countries in both the MENA region and the world’s leading financial centers including London, Paris, New York, Geneva, China, Vietnam, and Singapore.
22
BUSINESS
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
LG Electronics posts highest Q4 earnings in its history $12.2 billion in revenue, operating profit of $382m
Abdulsalam Al-Bahar, Chairman of Wataniya Airways
Airline named exclusive carrier for ‘Layali Febrayer’
Wataniya Airways brings the Festival to Kuwait KUWAIT: Wataniya Airways marked the start of Kuwait’s month of celebration yesterday, with the announcement of its official support of Layali Febrayer, Kuwait’s famous music and poetry festival. Layali Febrayer is one of the biggest concerts and festivals to take place in the Gulf and brings some of the most creative and exciting artists, singers, writers and intellectuals to Kuwait from all over the Arab world. This year, to mark the celebrations, Wataniya Airways is giving lucky fans the
chance to win the flight of a lifetime with their favorite Arab celebrity, through a prize draw. Furthermore, Wataniya Airways has made its First Class service available to all the attending artists, and intends to use this opportunity to showcase the best of Kuwaiti hospitality to this unique and valued group of guests. Abdulsalam Al-Bahar, Chairman of Wataniya Airways said: “Layali Febrayer is one of the best festivals in the region with a world-class mix of music, poetry and performance. We’re excited to be
part of the festivities, and particularly to have the chance to welcome such noted individuals aboard our service.” The event, organized by Al Watan TV, is a unique moment on the Kuwaiti calendar, bringing some of the Arab world’s best loved talent and celebrities to perform in front of thousands of loving fans at the Layali Febrayer stage during the month of February. Among the famous names expected to perform at Layali Febrayer are Bashar Al-Shatti, Miami Band, Mohamed Hamaki, Miriam Fares,
AUB increases ownership stake to 79.6% in Ahli United (Egypt) KUWAIT: Ahli United Bank BSC (AUB) announced an increase in its stake in Ahli United Bank, Egypt (AUBE) from 35.3% to 79.6%, completed through a formal tender offer to all AUBE shareholders. Fahad Al-Rajaan, Chairman of AUB & AUBE commented, “we are pleased by the increase and consolidation of our stake in AUBE. This was achieved by a path breaking innovated tender offer, applied for the first time in Egypt, providing all shareholders a choice between a full cash sale or a security exchange fully in a transparent and equitable manner”. He added “Our additional investment of EGP 985 million ($181 million) reflects our confidence in the future economic prospects of Egypt and will be followed by significant investments to upgrade our corporate and retail capabilities in AUBE”. Headquartered in Bahrain and widely recognised amongst best performing banks in the GCC, Ahli United Bank has successfully solidified its position as a premier, pan Gulf-Middle Eastern financial institution, offering a full range of conventional and Sharia-compliant banking services to customers across the region. Through its focused and successful ‘connecting for growth’ strategy, AUB today integrates a network of 7 subsidiary and managed affiliate banks with 118 branches in 7 countries and serving a wide customer base of 500,000 clients in Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Iraq, Egypt and the United Kingdom.
Fahad Al-Rajaan, Chairman of AUB & AUBE In 2009, AUB was named ‘Best Bank in the Middle East’ for the fourth consecutive year by New York-based Global Finance, the bank enjoys solid investment grade ratings and the highest accorded to a Bahrain-based bank, by international rating agencies: Standard & Poor’s, Fitch and Capital Intelligence {“A-”(stable), “A-”(stable) and “A” (Stable) respectively} with a Stable outlook.
Fadil Shakir, Shirine Abdul Wahhab, Abdullah Rueishid, Abu Baker Salem, Asalah, Nabil Sheil, Yara, Hussein Al Jasmi, Wael Kafoury, Angham, Aseel Abu Baker, Ahlam, Asmaa Al-Mnawar, Muhammad Abdo, and for the first time in years the famous Algerian singer Warda; each representing the best talent in the Arab world. Tickets can be obtained from various retail outlets, including Virgin Megastores and the Ice Skating Rink. For more information please visit: www.febq8.com
Saudi companies not to see better times soon: Survey RIYADH: Improving economic conditions could take some time before they reflect on Saudi firms’ bottom line, according to a survey by Banque Saudi Fransi released yesterday. Almost half of 824 surveyed firms expect inflation to rise in the coming two quarters and only a third consider boosting their inventories during this period, the survey’s results showed. “Optimism is surely on an upward curve, (but) managers think it could take some time before the better economic climate filters down to their bottom line,” the bank said. Businesses are still waiting for hard evidence before they start adjusting their plans to their assumptions of a likely pick-up in consumer demand in 2010, it added. “Companies are, in general, certain that the worst of last year’s slowdown has passed; what they are divided on is when business activity and demand will pick up substantially”. The growth in the private sector-which accounts for about 46 percent of the kingdom’s gross domestic product (GDP) — hit a 14-year low of 2.5 percent in 2009. The global economic slowdown coupled with a drop in oil revenues-the domestic economy’s backbone-slowed the Saudi economy to the verge of contraction in 2009, likely eking out growth of 0.15 percent compared to 4.3 percent in 2008. Problems were further aggravated by multi-billion dollar debt defaults last year by some family-owned firms, which made banks more meticulous on lending and hurt profits after rapid lending growth over the previous six years. As a result, unemployment among the native Saudi population more than doubled to 15.2 percent in 2009 from 6.2 percent a year earlier, Fransi said in a previous report. “A pick up in the pace of bank credit is a precondition to an economic revival, particularly for the private sector,” Fransi said in Sunday’s survey. Caution appears to still prevail: almost 59 percent of respondents said lending fell below their expectations, down from 61.8 percent in a previous survey during the fourth quarter of 2009. The survey also showed that just a third of surveyed firms plan to raise their prices in the next two quarters down from 35.9 percent in the fourth quarter’s survey while those planning to lower prices rose to 9 percent from 8.2 percent. — Reuters
UAE’s Dana Gas hopes to return to net profit in Q1 DUBAI: Dana Gas, the Gulf’s only listed natural gas company, expects to swing back to a net profit in the first quarter after reporting two consecutive quarterly losses amid writeoffs and asset impairments. The Abu Dhabilisted firm said first-quarter profit figures will benefit from higher production, a marked rise in oil prices and effective managing of costs. “We are entering the first quarter with
confidence. I expect Dana Gas to be delivering positive net profit after tax in Q1,” Chief Financial Officer, James Dewar told Reuters in an interview yesterday. Separately, Dana’s Egyptian unit is targeting a 20 percent boost in oil and gas output this year and spending would be more than last year’s $170 million, the unit’s president told Reuters. Earlier in the day, Dana
Gas posted a fourth quarter loss of 193 million dirhams ($52.5 million), well short of analysts’ forecasts, after 2009 accounting write-offs and the impairment of some oil and gas assets. “The level of impairments and write-offs in 2009 was unusual, but our balance sheet is robust.” Dewar said. Dana wrote off a portion of the carrying values of its inventory and
investment properties, mainly in Egypt, to reflect their current market price, he added. “The impairment charges are from operations in Nigeria and Tunisia, but they are not significant assets and the market is not factoring these in. If it wasn’t for these items, the company probably would have made a quarterly profit,” said Hatem Alaa, HC senior research analyst in Cairo. — Reuters
KUWAIT: LG Electronics, Inc (LG) yesterday reported record revenues and operating profits in the fourth quarter of 2009, reflecting the results of the company’s successful strategy and competitiveness during the current recession. Results for full year 2009 also showed strong revenue growth and record operating profits versus the previous year. Record sales and operating profits were reported for the three months ending Dec. 31, 2009. Sales on a global basis (including LG’s overseas subsidiaries) rose 6.8 percent to KRW 14.3 trillion ($12.2 billion) year-over-year. Operating profit was up to KRW 446.7 billion ($382 million) resulting in a margin of 3.1 percent, 2.3 percent points higher than the fourth quarter last year. 2009 annual sales on a global basis soared 12.5 percent to a company record-high level of KRW 55.5 trillion ($43.4 billion) with operating profit recording KRW 2.9 trillion ($2.3 billion). Consolidated sales including subsidiaries rose 15.3 percent year-over-year to KRW 73.0 trillion ($57.1 billion). Consolidated operating profit reached KRW 4.2 trillion ($3.3 billion), for a margin of 5.8 percent. The LG Home Entertainment Company saw fourth quarter sales rise by 18 percent to KRW 5.9 trillion ($5.0 billion), returning an operating profit of KRW 271.6 billion ($232 million) for a margin of 4.6 percent, 5.2 percent points higher than the previous year, as a result of strong product leadership and rising demand for LCD TVs and
Plasma TVs. Unit sales of total flat panel TVs jumped 52 percent year-over-year to 6.6 million sets from 4.3 million. Quarter-over-quarter unit growth was also seen in both LCD TVs and Plasma TVs, 38 percent and 29 percent respectively. Annual sales reached KRW 19.6 trillion ($15.3 billion), jumping 19.9 percent from the previous year, mainly led by record unit sales of 19.5 million flat panel TVs. On the whole, profitability increased due to higher sales and more aggressive cost management. The LG Mobile Communications Company reported sales of KRW 4.2 trillion ($3.6 billion) in sales, 7.4 percent lower than the 2009 fourth quarter. Operating profit of KRW 55.8 billion ($48 million) in the 2009 period resulted in a margin of 1.3 percent. Handset revenues were KRW 3.9 trillion (4 3.3 billion), a 5 percent decline from the same quarter in 2008, while operating profit reached KRW 66.5 billion ($57 million), resulting in a margin of 1.7 percent. Unit shipments of handsets saw an increase of 32 percent yearover-year and 7 percent quarter-over-quarter to 33.9 million units, which resulted in a record 117.9 million units being sold in 2009 versus 100.7 mil-
lion units in 2008 due to robust growth in North America, Europe and emerging markets. Price erosion and an increase in marketing expenses for yearend inventory clearance and emerging market channel expansion resulted in lower profitability compared to the third quarter. Yearly sales for the Mobile Communications Company increased 13.5 percent to KRW 18.2 trillion ($14.2 billion), with the handset division alone seeing an increase of 17.3 percent year-over-year to KRW 17.1 trillion ($13.4 billion). The LG Home Appliance Company posted a sales increase of 6.8 percent to KRW 2.5 trillion ($2.1 billion) on a KRW base in the fourth quarter, compared with the same period last year. Recovery of demand in emerging markets contributed to this growth yearover-year. The company’s product competitiveness resulted in an operating profit of KRW 75.7 billion ($65 million), resulting in a margin of 3.1 percent. Despite low demand by seasonality, greater sales in emerging markets and ongoing cost reduction generated a higher margin year-over-year. Total sales for full year 2009 rose 10.9 percent over 2008 to KRW 9.5 trillion ($7.4 billion).
KUWAIT: Left to right): R Kuppanna, GM, Kuwait India Intl Exchange, Samir Bhattacharrya, GM (Retail Banking), SBI, Shailesh Kumar Gupta, Chief Manager (NRI Services), V B Ramani, DGM, KIIEC and K Chinmaya, AGM, KIIEC.
SBI officials visit Kuwait India Int’l Exchange Company office KUWAIT: Samir Kumar Bhattacharrya, General Manager (Retail Banking), State Bank of India, IBG, Corporate Centre, Mumbai along with Shailesh K Gupta, Chief Manager(NRI Services) was in Kuwait on 25th and 26th January 2010 for business discussions with Kuwait India International Exchange Company to promote SBI’s market share in remittances and ways to strengthen its services to NRIs in Kuwait. State Bank of India is the largest Bank in India. As at the end of 2009, the number of customers maintaining Savings Bank account
with SBI had crossed the 100 million mark. SBI is having about 12,000 branches and about 18,000 ATMs in its network. As at 31/12/2009, SBI’s total deposits was about Rs.7,700 billion (about $167bn) and advances stood at Rs 5,989 billion (about $ 131bn). Given its aggressive business expansion plans being pursued in the areas of Branch expansion, Rural Kiosks, Staff recruitment, overseas acquisition, Point-of-sales terminals and mobile banking, O P Bhat, Chairman of SBI appears to be all set to achieve the by-line seen in SBI’s press releases - “The Banker to Every Indian”.
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 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
.2820000 .4560000 .3960000 .2680000 .2660000 .2510000 .0045000 .0020000 .0779230 .7591820 .4020000 .0750000 .7442460 .0045000 .0500000 CUSTOMER TRANSFER RATES .2870500 .4578800 .3984380 .2706710 .2683670 .0535150 .0389200 .2535370 .0369520 .2035310 .0031810 .0062400 .0025180 .0033970 .0042050 .0781920 .7617920 .4059670 .0765860 .7459580 .0062400
.2930000 .4670000 .4050000 .2780000 .2770000 .2610000 .0075000 .0035000 .0787060 .7668120 .4180000 .0790000 .7517260 .0072000 .0580000 .2891500 .4611140 .4012520 .2725880 .2702680 .0538940 .0391960 .2553280 .0372130 .2049720 .0032040 .0062840 .0025360 .0034210 .0042350 .0786900 .7666500 .4088430 .0770740 .7507150 .0062840
US Dollar Sterling pounds Swiss Francs Saudi Riyals
.2891500 .4611140 .2725880 .0770740
Al-Muzaini Exchange Co. EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIES US Dollar Transfer Euro Sterling Pound Canadian dollar Turkish lire Swiss Franc Australian dollar US Dollar Buying
288.350 404.000 465.700 273.320 192.700 275.930 254.500 286.000
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
3.240 6.251 3.407 2.513 3.909 206.000 37.160 4.171 6.174 8.745 0.301 0.292 ARAB COUNTRIES
Egyptian Pound - Cash Egyptian Pound Yemen Riyal Tunisian Dinar Jordanian Dinar Lebanese Lira
55.500 52.780 1.386 213.430 407.400 194.830
Syrian Lier Morocco Dirham
6.327 36.134 GCC COUNTRIES
Saudi Riyal Qatari Riyal Omani Riyal Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham
76.934 79.261 749.500 766.200 78.570 GOLD
20 Gram 10 Gram 5 Gram
205.000 101.000 52.000
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
288.200 272.205 464.760 408.055 180.480 706.390 764.245 78.450 79.094 76.886 406.687 52.720 6.225 3.390 2.510 4.180 6.165 3.200 8.725 5.555 3.960
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) 288.150 3.410 6.230 2.525 4.175 6.220 78.495 76.960 766.200 52.775 467.800 0.0000306 1.550 409.400 5.750 406.500 275.900
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 287.900 402.600 462.200 272.000 3.195 6.219 52.645 2.510 4.164 6.170 3.400 766.200 78.300 76.650
BUSINESS
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
23
UAE’s Etisalat planning to raise stake in Indian unit Firm buys rest of stake in Atlantique Telecom for $75m DUBAI: Etisalat, the UAE’s Emirates Telecommunications Corp, said it is to raise its profile in India and Africa by boosting its stake in its Indian unit and buying the rest of its African venture. The telecoms operator, which currently holds 44.7 percent of Etisalat DB, said it is seeking approval to raise its stake to 50 percent, plus one share. Etisalat, which on Sunday posted a 40
Mohammed Al-Shehab, CCO of Zain Kuwait
Zain celebrates Hala February with irresistible offers KUWAIT: Zain the leading telecommunication Company in Kuwait announced yesterday the launch of February Promotions for a limited period during the Huge and national Hala February Festival Aiming at providing the best and most innovative services and promotions to its customers, and reaching out to their ultimate expectations; Zain introduces its February Offers that enables customers to get irresistible chances by offering valuable internet packages and promotions on Blackberry’s & eGo’s during Hala February Festival ,the promotions will be on the most Attractive Packages and irresistible prices on Blackberry’s Models the 9700 Onyx for135 KD , Javelin 8900 for 79 KD and Gemini 8520 for the price of 49 KD when subscribing for a year. Other attractive offers are the e-Go Packages with internet speeds 21.6 Mbps and 7.2 Mbps , each Zain customer will get a free eGo device plus 1 month free subscription on the Premium and Super packages upon 1 year commitment. Also upon 1 year commitment with the Standard package , price of the e-Go device will become 1KD only . Along with the Blackberry and e-Go promotions , Zain will continue providing ticket sales for Layali February Concerts in the dedicated Zain branches (Avenues, 360, Souq Sharq and
Airport), in addition Barny Show Tickets will be available at Avenues , 360, souq sharq to all. “Zain has established itself as the leader in providing the most innovative and attractive promotions and services in Kuwait,” said Mohammed Al-Shehab, CCO of Zain Kuwait. “we are delighted to introduce these irresistible offers during Hala February Festival and Zain Al-Layali as Zain is the main Sponsor of this huge national event . Along with the Blackberry and ego offers, Zain had announced earlier the availability of Layali February and Barny Show Tickets in the following Zain branches (Avenues, 360, Souq Sharq and Airport) Tickets will be sold during the festival period exclusively to Zain customers. Al-Shehab added “Zain as promised will reveal more surprises during the festival in terms of offers, promotions, activities and many prizes offered exclusively to its customers. He emphasized that the company would spare no effort to ensure that its offers and innovative services are available to all community sectors adding that the Company strove hard to fulfill clients’ best hopes, as was reflected by the successive new and unique services it offered day after day delivering on our Zain brand promise of ‘A wonderful world’.”
percent rise in fourth quarter net profit, bought its Etisalat DB stake for about $900 million in 2008. Jamal AlJarwan, Etisalat’s international chief, declined to comment on the Indian expansion plan. The Arab world’s second-largest telecom operator, also said on Monday it had bought the rest of its stake in Africa-focused company Atlantique Telecom for $75 million.
Etisalat operates Atlantique Telecom as part of a 10-year management contract ending in 2015, it said. Atlantique holds majority stakes in seven telecommunications organisations in Africa, including in Niger, Togo and Gabon, Etisalat said in a statement on the bourse website, in which it called the company Atlantic Telecom. Etisalat has faced increased compe-
Burgan Bank CEO retires KUWAIT: Burgan Bank announced yesterday that its CEO, Jonathan Lyon will be retiring after spending nearly six years at the Bank. Lyon spearheaded numerous projects during his time at the Bank and saw the Bank evolve into one of the leading banks in the country today. According to the Banks Chairman, Tariq Abdul Salam, “When Jonathan joined the Bank in 2004 he was tasked with developing an aggressive growth strategy to reposition the Bank as one of the key players in the market with aspirations to go regional. His contribution and achievements have been outstanding even through the recent economic crisis. The Bank has achieved so much under his
leadership and has grown substantially over the last 5 years to now become one of the most dynamic regional Banks. On behalf of the Board and the Management of the Bank, I thank Jonathan for his commitment and dedication which was driven by a clear vision and great leadership; and we wish him all the very best with his retirement”. Jonathan Lyon said, “The six years that I have spent at Burgan Bank were truly challenging and I am well satisfied with the success of the journey that has brought us to where we are today - a vibrant, successful, growing regional bank. The time has come now for me to retire and I leave behind a very successful and dedicated team of profession-
als whom I am confident will continue to pursue our vision to become one of the leading banks in the region. I thank the Chairman, Tariq Abdul Salam and members of the board for their leadership and support at all times. I would also like to extend my thanks to the management of the Bank and all employees for contributing to the success which they should all be very proud of.” Raed Al-Haqhaq, Chief Banking Officer - SGM, will be the acting CEO and will assume all responsibilities as well as his current role. Masaud Hayat, Managing Director - Burgan Bank, will continue to overlook the business and support Raed in his new interim role.
Jazeera offers round-the-clock service at Kuwait Airport New 24-hour service for making and changing bookings KUWAIT: Kuwait-based regional carrier, Jazeera Airways, the has opened its Jazeera sales desk at Kuwait Airport on a 24-hour basis, in a move that allows the airline to better serve its Guests by offering a round-the-clock service. The 24/7 sales desk offers reservation services and can carry out booking modifications and changes, as well as provide itinerary print-outs. The sales desk can also receive payments for reservations that
are made via the Guest Contact Centre for those customers who prefer to make payments using cash or a KNET debit card, rather than paying with a credit card via the phone. Stefan Pichler, CEO, Jazeera Airways, said of the benefits to Guests: “We are pleased to announce our new 24-hour sales desk service in Kuwait Airport. This will provide Guests with a much more efficient and convenient round-the-
clock booking service, broadening payment and reservation options and facilitating any modifications and changes to tickets.” The 24/7 opening of the ticket desk at Kuwait Airport follows on from what has been a busy year for the airline: during 2009, Jazeera opened new sales outlets across its network, launched Business Class and added new aircraft to its fleet. Jazeera Airways currently operates a
Saudi’s AMAK sees metals production by mid-2011
Orbit Showtime network launches 8 new channels Global Direct to participate in InfoConnect-10 KUWAIT: Global Direct, the most prominent company in Pay TV entertainment in Kuwait announced their participation in the 29th International Information technology, Office Systems and Communications Exhibition (InfoConnect-10) organized by Global Connection held at the International Fairs Ground, Hall 6; under the patronage of the Minister of Communications. Amal Rhali, Kuwait Country Director, said “Global Direct has been a regular participant of this event since 2001 and we are proud to continue our support this year especially that is an exceptional business one for the industry with the merger of Orbit and Showtime in July 2009 and the most recent brand relaunch as OSN - Orbit Showtime Network. OSN subscribers will be able to enjoy like never before superb entertainment on our exclusive 75 channel platform with a wider selection of channels from award winning movies, series and international sports. The extensive channel line-up and packages are all available at our newly designed and attractive booth. We promise to offer an exceptional customer experience. OSN has exclusive deals with the leading Hollywood studios such as Disney, Paramount, DreamWorks, Sony Columbia, NBC and Universal. OSN also has exclusive rights for premium sports including the world’s most popular football league the Barclay’s Premier League as well as other major sporting events. OSN also takes
Amal Rhali, Kuwait Country Director the lead in broadcasting the best International Series, showing the latest episodes of Desperate Housewives, Lost, Prison Break, Heroes, 24 and Ugly Betty, and many others, one full year before any other channel.” OSN Arabia is one of the 8 new channels launched by OSN yesterday (on February 1.) The content of this unique and exclusive channel is fully dubbed in Arabic. Rhali went on to say that “We dedicated a corner for the sales of ART (Arabic Radio & Television) the popular TV bouquet in the Middle East. “Gulfnet is also present in the booth that continuously provides competitive DSL prices and services. Rhali added that Gulfnet DSL services provide cost effective and reliable Internet service
to residential users in Kuwait Gulfnet is the region’s leading solutions and service provider in the communications and media sectors.” Moreover, Rhali stressed the fact that “Our continuous support and participation in this exhibition, comes from a history of success, with many thanks to the professional organizers and the visitors, as we were successful in getting closer to our customers to hear their feedback and comments, as well as introducing our services. Global Direct’s Wide range of products and services are designed to cater the needs of individual and corporate subscribers and to be consistent in its ability to offer fast, reliable and high quality services to all its clients.”
tition in its home market after its monopoly was broken in 2007 by Dubai-based du. It currently operates in 18 countries, including Egypt and India. The company is one of a number of Gulf Arab telecom operators that have expanded overseas after losing their monopolies at home. Shares of Etisalat closed 0.9 percent higher at 11.1 dirhams in Abu Dhabi. — Reuters
KHOBAR: Saudi-based al Masane al Kobra Mining Co (AMAK) expects to start base and precious metals production at its mine bordering Yemen by mid-2011, a company executive said. The mine will have an estimated annual output of 700,000 tons of sulphide ore, which will include 34,000 tons of copper concentrate; 54,000 tonnes of zinc concentrate; as well as 193,000 ounces of silver and 7,600 ounces of gold, Zeyad Al-Tawil, Amak’s general manager told Reuters in a recent interview. The development of the mine and commissioning of the mill plant would start by the end of March, when the company hopes to secure a government loan, he said. The project, which includes the development of the underground mine, the mill plant and other facilities is estimated to cost at least 750 million riyals ($200 million), Tawil said. “The plant is 85 percent complete,” Tawil said. “We
spent, up to now, about 300 million riyals.” Saudi Arabia has very little base metal production capacity at present. The Mahd Ad’Dahab copper mine, north of Jeddah, has an annual production capacity for an estimated 1,000 tons of copper in concentrates and 2,000 tons of zinc in concentrates, according to the Reuters Metal Production Database. Reserves at the Amak mine, north west of Najran could sustain output for 12 years, Tawil added. Proven ore reserves are estimated at 8.3 million tons with about 3.9 percent zinc, 1.1 percent copper, about 0.9 grams of gold per ton, and 29 grams of silver per ton. Tawil said the project is economically feasible as labor and diesel fuel costs are low. “The revenue is excellent, the internal rate of return will be more than 15 percent with the price nowadays, but we expect the price of copper, gold, silver, zinc to increase rapidly and this will give us more revenues,” he said.
The company will provide raw material for Tasnee’s planned copperlead-zinc smelter in Yanbu, he said. Delays in securing a loan from state-run Saudi Industrial Investment Fund (SIDF) have delayed production which was due to start in April this year, Tawil said. “We applied for SIDF to obtain a $100 million loan ... We hope to obtain it by the end of March to complete the project and to be one of the major producers of copper and zinc in Saudi Arabia,” Tawil said. Amak has plans to sell shares to the public for future expansion, Tawil said without giving a timeframe. Companies based in the Gulf are now relying more on government institutions’ funds to take part in project financing as banks have tightened lending. Last year, the state-run Public Investment Fund (PIF) took measures to increase its financing support for projects in the kingdom. — Reuters
fleet of 11 Airbus A320s. Each aircraft is fitted with the airline’s signature leather seating, while the Jazeera Business Class cabin offers business travellers a little extra convenience including easy booking, special check-in counters, 40 kilograms baggage allowance, access to airport lounges and an exclusive in-flight service and entertainment. The airline flies to destinations in the Middle East, North Africa and Iran.
Toshiba takes part in Info-Connect 2010 KUWAIT: Toshiba Gulf Computer Systems Division, through its distributor Arabian Business Machines Co. Kuwait (ABM) takes part in Kuwait’s most anticipated IT event of the year the Info Connect 2010. “Toshiba continually looks at strengthening its market reach within the region, and our presence at Info Connect is an excellent avenue to express our commitment to our customers and to continue to lead industry innovation,’ shares Lester Govias, Country Manager for Kuwait, Qatar and Oman, Computer Systems Division, Toshiba Gulf. ABM Kuwait strategically supports Toshiba in beefing up its presence within the Kuwaiti market through large accounts and SMB’s. “We are driving an active measure to increase the number of sales channels of Toshiba through recruitment of new players in the retailer side, which allows us to assert Toshiba’s role as a major player in the notebook business,” says Rabih Aboul-Hosn, CIS / Marketing Manager of Arabian Business Machines Co. “Compared to the previous year, Info Connect was successful, and we are confident this year’s event will exceed all expectations in terms of direct sales.” The 12 meter by 9 meter stand will showcase the full range of Toshiba laptops with over 35 different models, along with the latest Toshiba netbooks, PC Options and Peripherals.
The North Face Kishtwar jacket receives ispo outdoor award The North Face, the world’s premier supplier of authentic, innovative and technically advanced outdoor apparel, equipment and footwear, was awarded an ispo Outdoor Award with its Kishtwar Jacket, a technical Summit Series(tm) soft shell that offers outdoor athletes maximum protection from the wind without compromising on state-of-the-art design or finish. The ispo Outdoor Award, an international prize for the best outdoor innovations of the winter 2010/11, was given to the Kishtwar Jacket in the category Textiles. Submitted products were examined by an international panel consisting of representatives of media, retail and independent industry experts.
Judging criteria focused on innovation, user-friendliness, design and technical aspects of the products submitted.
Rene Skytte, Product Director for The North Face EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa), comments: “The North Face has always been committed to product leadership and we are especially proud of this award because it comes from an independent panel of leading Outdoor industry repre-
sentatives in recognition of the innovative qualities of the Kishtwar Jacket.” The new Men’s Kishtwar Jacket is a Summit Series soft shell designed specifically for highly aerobic endeavors in foul weather. The Kishtwar is cut from a new patented tech fabric - Polartec Power Shield(r) Pro -
which boasts a highly abrasionresistant face for protection against rock faces and rugged terrain, a water-repellent surface that sheds both rain and snow, and a non-restrictive Alpine fit that promotes maximum mobility for high exertion activities. A fully adjustable, fixed hood, moulded cuff tabs and a hideaway hem cinch cord resolutely deny the elements, while a chest pocket and hand pockets hold essentials. Super breathable and equally water resistant, the Kishtwar is the jacket of choice for high output, winter weather adventures. For its Fall 2010 launch, the Men’s Kishtwar is featured in the colourways TNF Red, Asphalt Grey and Black.
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BUSINESS
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
GLOBAL DAILY MARKET REPORT
KSE faces selling pressure KUWAIT: The Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE), along with major indicators and Global General Index ended yesterday’s session on a mixed note posting either marginal gains or losses. It is worth mentioning that the market could have suffered greater losses if it wasn’t for National Bank of Kuwait announcing better than expected FY2009 results. GGI added 0.49 points (+0.27 percent) during yesterday’s session to reach 181.62 points. However, the KSE Price Index decreased by 10.40 points (-0.15 percent) yesterday and closed at 7,014.90 points. Market capitalization was up KD100mn yesterday to reach KD29.67bn. Market breadth During the session, 115 companies were traded. Market breadth was skewed towards decliners as 57 equities retreated versus 29 that advanced. A total of 120 stocks remained unchanged during the trading session. Trading activities ended on a mixed note yesterday as volume of shares traded on the exchange decreased by 24.95 percent to reach 322.37mn shares. However, value of shares traded increased by a marginal 0.09 percent to stand at KD50.97mn. The Investment Sector was the volume leader for the day, accounting for 31.31 percent of total shares traded. The Banking Sector was the value leader, accounting for 28.59 percent of total market value. International Financial Advisors saw 33.92mn shares changing hands, making it the volume leader. In terms of value traded, National Bank of Kuwait took the top spot with a total
Ankara comes online from April 5
Qatar Airways announces launch dates for new routes
traded of KD8.31mn. In terms of top gainers, Real Estate Asset Management Company was the top gainer, adding 8.33 percent and closed at KD0.130. On the other hand, United Industries Company shed 7.58 percent and closed at KD0.122, making it the biggest loser. Regarding Global’s sectoral indices, six out of the eight ended today in the red. Out of the two gainers, Global Banking Index was the biggest gainer with a 2.16 percent gain backed by heavyweight National Bank of Kuwait announcing better than expected FY2009 results. The scrip ended the day up 3.77 percent
and closed at KD1.100. Heavyweight Kuwait Finance House also contributed to the index’s gain by ending the day up 3.85 percent and close at KD1.080. In terms of decliners, Global Services Index took the lead with a 1.15 percent loss in value. Heavyweight Zain was a contributing factor to the index’s decline by posting a 2.20 percent loss and closed at KD0.890. In addition to Zain, Agility also ended in the red with a 1.75 percent decline to end the day at KD0.560. Global Industrial Index was the second biggest decliner, down 0.63 percent backed by United Industries Company being the
top decliner in the market. Furthermore, ACICO Industries Company also ended in the red, declining by 1.23 percent and closed at KD0.400. Global’s special indices ended on a positive note except for Global High Yield Index which was the only decliner. The index ended the day down 0.33 percent backed by Mubarrad Transport Company ending the day down 1.32 percent and closed at KD0.075. The price of OPEC basket of twelve crudes stood at $71.01 a barrel on Friday 29/1/2010, compared with $71.40 the previous day,
according to OPEC Secretariat calculations. Market news National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) board of directors recommended the following dividends for the fiscal year that ended on 31/12/2009: cash dividend at 40 percent of par value (40 fils per share) and bonus share distribution at 10 percent of paid-in capital (10-for-100). Shareholders of record on the general meeting date will be eligible for these dividends. The dividend proposal is pending the approval of shareholders and competent authorities. Annual dividends will be financed from profits.
DOHA: Qatar Airways yesterday unveiled the launch dates of four recently-announced new routes for 2010 as part of the airline’s continued aggressive expansion strategy. The launch of flights to Copenhagen, Ankara, Tokyo and Barcelona comes during a busy five months for the award-winning airline. The announcement comes a month after Qatar Airways revealed its new routes for 2010 and just days after the airline confirmed it will begin daily non-stop services between Doha and Bengaluru, formerly known as Bangalore, from February 22 to mark the airline’s 11th Indian destination. Beginning March 30, Qatar Airways adds Copenhagen to its European network with four flights a week, non-stop from Doha, the airline’s operational hub. After Stockholm, the Danish capital becomes the second Scandinavian destination served by Qatar Airways - the only Gulf carrier serving the region. A week later, starting April 5, Qatar Airways spreads its wings further into Turkey with the addition of four non-stop services a week from Doha to Ankara, supporting its existing scheduled services to Istanbul. And from April 26, Qatar Airways expands its operations in the Land of the Rising Sun with daily flights to the Japanese capital, Tokyo. The flights will be operated from Doha via Osaka, representing a significant increase in capacity for the Japanese market. Seoul, which is currently served via Osaka will be de-linked from the Japanese city to become a daily non-stop service from Doha, beginning March 28. Starting June 7, Qatar Airways’ European network receives another boost with non-stop flights between Doha and the Mediterranean port city of Barcelona - after Madrid, the airline’s second
Copenhagen set for March 30 launch Spanish destination. Details of the airline’s planned flights to Sydney, its second Australian destination, will be announced later. “The next few months will prove to be yet another exciting period of growth with such diverse business and leisure destinations being added to Qatar Airways’ growing network,” said Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker. “It further strengthens our resolve to fly to the heart of political and business capital cities across the world, giving passengers more choice to get to their final destination. “Passengers can plan their travels now that we have announced the launch dates of these great destinations and we look forward to welcoming them onboard to experience our award-winning service.” With six new routes on the horizon, Qatar Airways will increase its global portfolio from 85 to 91 global destinations across Europe, Middle East, Africa, South Asia, Far East, North America and Australasia. The carrier currently operates a modern fleet of 77 aircraft.
BUSINESS
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
25
Plans for emissions cap and trade revenue dropped
Obama 2010 budget deficit soars to record $1.56 trillion WASHINGTON: Former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing on AIG. Former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said yesterday, the country would have suffered Great Depression-era joblessness, near 25 percent, if the government hadn’t arranged the financial system bailout. — AP
UK manufacturing surge tempered by lending dip LONDON: British manufacturers revved up the pace of activity to a 15-year high last month, according to a survey yesterday, suggesting the economy made a strong start to 2010 after a limp return to growth at the end of last year. However, a slowdown in the pace of mortgage lending and the first fall in mortgage approvals in more than a year injected some uncertainty about the sustainability of any upturn. Market reaction to the manufacturing figures was muted as they merely reinforced the widely held view that the Bank of England will announce a pause in its 200 billion pound ($325 billion) quantitative easing (QE) programme later this week. The CIPS/Markit manufacturing purchasing managers’ index jumped to 56.7 last month from an upwardly revised 54.6 in December, its highest since October 1994 and well above analysts’ forecasts for a reading of 54.0. The improvement came after new orders rose at their fastest pace in six years-helped by stronger domestic and export demand-and output growth was the fastest since June 2006. But analysts questioned the divergence between the PMI surveys and official data, as the PMI has signalled growth for several months but GDP figures showed the economy grew a lacklustre 0.1 percent in the final quarter of 2009. “At face value (PMI) would appear to imply that the sector is at the start of a new purple patch, which we’re a little bit skeptical about,” said Philip Shaw, economist at Investec. New orders rose at their fastest pace since January 2004, with an index reading of 60.4, with the improvement driven by the sharpest growth in export orders since data were first collected in 1996, suggesting the weak pound is giving a boost to British manufacturers. And the pick-up in demand meant many firms had to take on more staff, pushing the employment index above the 50-point level that separates expansion from contraction for the first time since April 2008. There were also signs that inflation pressures are picking up, with input prices rising at the fastest pace since September 2008, reflecting higher commodity prices, while output prices accelerated at their fastest since October 2008. However, figures from the Bank of England, also published yesterday, suggested money supply growth was still tight, and raised doubts about the sustainability of an upturn. The central bank’s preferred measure of M4 — excluding intermediate and other financial corporationsdipped 0.5 percent in December, while headline M4 fell at its fastest monthly pace on record. The Bank of England’s QE scheme was designed to pump money into the economy by buying assets with newly-created money. The number of loans approved for house purchase fell to 59,023 in December from 60,045 in November, while mortgage lending growth also eased. “While the factory figures are encouraging, it is difficult to peg recovery hopes on one month’s exporters’ data when domestic liquidity and demand conditions remain depressed at the peak of the policy stimulus,” said Lena Komileva, G7 market economist at Tullet Prebon. “With the BoE widely expected to stop asset purchases this week, consumers face considerable uncertainty given the prospect of a higher cost of living, higher mortgage rates, and higher taxes, which puts the sustainability of the recovery at risk in the later part of the year.” — Reuters
WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama yesterday projected the US budget deficit would soar to a fresh record in 2010, challenging his push for fiscal responsibility while driving to defeat double-digit unemployment. Dubbed an old-style liberal tax-and-spender While maintaining policies this year aimed at protecting a still-fragile economic recovery, in common with other major industrial nations, Obama will save money by curbing 120 federal projects, including a powerfully symbolic mission to return to the moon, but invest more in education and research. Initial market reaction was muted and analysts were surveying the numbers with a healthy dose of skepticism. “It is still tinkering around the edges. One has to look at more meaningful things in terms of what will actually reduce the deficit, (which is) the revenue picture,” said Marc Ostwald, a strategist at Monument Securities in London. Polls show voters are worried by the weak condition of US finances, and Obama plans to create a bipartisan fiscal commission to figure out options on taxes and spending. Obama’s budget for the fiscal year to Sept. 30, 2011, which is subject to change by the US Congress, forecast a deficit of $1.56 trillion in 2010, equal to 10.6 percent of the economy measured by gross domestic product (GDP). This rise was partly due to spending associated with a package of emergency stimulus measures Obama signed last year. The increase in the deficit compared with a $1.41 trillion shortfall in 2009 that amounted to 9.9 percent of GDP. But this funding gap was forecast to dip to $1.27 trillion in 2011, or 8.3 percent of GDP, and fall to roughly half that as a share of the economy in the final year of Obama’s term in 2012, meeting a key pledge. The budget incorporates healthcare legislation before lawmakers. But an administration official told Reuters $646 billion in projected rev-
by his Republican opponents, Obama is under pressure to convince investors and big creditors like China that he has a credible plan to control the country’s deficit and debt over time.
President Barack Obama delivers remarks on the economy at a recreational-vehicle manufacturing plant in Wakarusa, Indiana. President Obama yesterday projected the US budget deficit would soar to a fresh record in 2010, challenging his push for fiscal responsibility while driving to defeat double-digit unemployment. — AP enue from a controversial capand-trade climate change bill had been dropped from the budget, implying the White House is doubtful the measures will pass Congress. “To continue job creation and to continue economic growth over time, it is important to bring those out-year deficits down,” White House budget chief Peter Orszag told reporters. US economic growth jumped by 5.7 percent at an annual pace in the fourth quarter, but this has yet to translate into greater hiring, and unemployment of 10 percent is near a 26-year high.
Discontent over the jobless rate translated into political. defeat for Obama’s Democrats in a recent election for the US Senate in Massachusetts, foreshadowing significant losses for the party in midterm congressional elections in November. To boost jobs, Obama is setting aside $100 billion in 2010 in tax credits aimed at small businesses as well as investments in clean energy and infrastructure, before starting to tighten the country’s fiscal belt the following year. “We’re trying to kind of accomplish a soft landing in terms of our fiscal trajectory
to avoid the risk of 1937 where we do excessive deficit reduction too quickly,” Orszag said ahead of the budget’s formal 10:00 am EST (1500 GMT) release. Economists say a premature withdrawal of policies aimed at boosting growth helped prolong the Great Depression in the 1930s and Obama is determined to avoid repeating that mistake. But he must also ensure that investors don’t lose confidence in the US ability to put its fiscal house in order. As a result, the budget outlines measures to cut over $1 trillion from the deficit over
the next decade, and almost twice this amount once the declining cost of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are taken into account, Orszag said. Obama previewed some of these steps in his State of the Union address last week, including letting tax cuts lapse for affluent Americans, a fee on big banks to recoup losses on a taxpayer bailout during the 2008 financial crisis, and a three-year freeze on domestic spending outside national security. The White House says that allowing taxes to rise on families making above $250,000 a year will raise an estimated
Brussels mulls anti-trust moves by BA, American, Iberia airlines BRUSSELS: The EU’s competition watchdog said yesterday it is considering concessions made by British Airways, American Airlines and Iberia to alleviate competition concerns over their transatlantic tie-up. In April, the European Commission opened proceedings amid concerns about agreements between British Airways, American Airlines and Iberia, all
members of the Oneworld airline alliance. According to reports, the EU commission told British Airways, American Airlines and Iberia that they may have to give up take-off and landing slots to press ahead with their transatlantic tie-up. The three airlines said in 2008 that they had signed an agreement to cooperate on flights between North America and Europe to help overcome soaring
fuel costs and falling demand. Last October, the commission warned the three airlines that the deal could be in breach of anti-trust rules. Then the regulator sent a formal “statement of objections” to the companies. “British Airways, American Airlines and Iberia offered commitments in order to alleviate the commission’s concerns,” the commission, which polices competition
issues in the EU, said in a statement yesterday. “This proposal requires further investigation before the commission reaches any conclusion as to the next steps,” it added. Before deciding whether the proposals are a sufficient remedy for the EU and public concerns, the commission said it was seeking the opinions of “a number of key market players.” — AFP
Brazil Cosan, Shell in $12bn merger deal SAO PAULO: Brazil’s Cosan, the world’s largest ethanol and sugar processor, said yesterday it signed an agreement to merge its ethanol and fuels distribution business in the country with Royal Dutch Shell in a deal valued as much as $12 billion. Cosan said it has 180 days to discuss the nonbinding memorandum of understanding exclusively with Shell International Petroleum Company Ltd. As part of the transaction, Cosan will transfer to the merged entity its sugar, ethanol, fuels distribution and energy generation business, with assets valued at $4.925 billion and debt of $2.524 billion. Cosan said Shell will contribute its retail fuels and aviation distribution business and will inject about $1.625 billion into the merged company in up to two years. Cosan will contribute another $300 million in cash over five years. — Reuters
BERLIN: View taken yesterday in Berlin shows the so-called debts ticker (Schuldenuhr) indicating the increasing of the German national debt per second, as the growth of the debt per second has been changed from 4439 euros into 4481 euros per second. — AFP
$678 billion over 10 years; the bank fee is projected to recoup $90 billion in that time; while the domestic spending freeze will trim $250 billion from the deficit. Obama expects to save $20 billion in 2011 from the spending clampdown by ending or paring back 120 programs, including the NASA space agency’s project to return to the moon. However, these proposals will need congressional backing and that may be difficult to secure. Even if all of these measures are adopted, the deficit will remain above the goal of 3 percent of GDP that Obama seeks, and he plans to create a bipartisan fiscal commission to review spending cuts and tax increases to achieve this target. But Republicans are reluctant to serve on the panel from fear this gives Obama cover to raise taxes, while some members of his own Democratic party oppose cuts in spending. The fiscal commission will be charged with balancing the budget excluding interest payments on the debt by 2015, or curbing it to 3 percent of GDP when these costs are included. Obama’s emphasis on fiscal restraint could appeal to politically independent voters, who moved away from Democrats in the Massachusetts race. The president, whose own approval ratings have declined to about 50 percent, blames the surge in red ink on his predecessor, President George W Bush. Obama argues the deficit was projected to top $1 trillion when he took office in January 2009 amid two wars and a recession that hit government revenues and led to an increase in spending for programs such as unemployment benefits. — Reuters
Dubai looms over DBS’s Q4 earnings SINGAPORE: Writedowns related to troubled Dubai could have spoilt the party for DBS, Southeast Asia’s biggest bank, in an otherwise strong fourth quarter. DBS had an exposure of S$558 million ($396 million) to a unit of Dubai World — the only credit under the standstill notice-and analysts say the Singapore bank could take a loss of as much 30 percent on the loan. That could dampen a strong OctoberDecember quarter for DBS, a period when loan growth expanded and fees from capital markets surged for most regional banks. DBS-which could still post its second consecutive quarterly growth in earnings despite the writedowns — will kickstart the results season for Singapore banks on Friday. “Total operating income has recovered since the first quarter last year to pre-crisis level and we anticipate it to continue,” said Brandon Ng, an analyst at Philip Capital. “What can throw a spanner in the works is the allowance required for the Dubai World Finance exposure.” Despite the Dubai loss for DBS, loan losses from corporate exposures for banks in general may be easing as economies recover. That, and a flurry of rights equity issues last year, are expected to make it unnecessary for Southeast Asia’s big banks to raise new capital immediately. Eyes are on DBS’s new CEO Piyush Gupta and on how he could expand the bank’s reach outside its two main markets, Singapore and Hong Kong. Malaysia’s top two lenders, Malayan Banking (Maybank) and CIMB, are also expected to report strong quarterly results, underpinned by rising loan growth, lower credit costs and stable margins. Maybank’s earnings will receive an extra boost from improvements in its Indonesian unit, said Nomura analyst Julian Chua. For the full year, it may beat the record net profit of 3.18 billion ringgit ($931.7 million) earned for the year ended June 30, 2007, he said. The November listing of mobile phone operator Maxis is expected to boost CIMB’s fee income in the fourth quarter and Singapore CapitaLand’s shopping mall trust’s $2 billion IPO in the same month could push up the fees DBS earned as an adviser. — Reuters
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BUSINESS
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
China, India factories buzzing, recovery intact
BEIJING: Young Chinese walk past an elderly handicapped beggar in a street in Beijing yesterday. While China’s economy grew 8.7 percent in 2009, the red-hot growth rate has raised inflation fears which have already forced Beijing to cut bank lending to deter a consumer splurge on cars and property. — AFP
BEIJING: China’s manufacturing powered ahead in January, providing more evidence of its robust economic health to markets fretting about Beijing’s policy tightening and the dire state of government finances around the world. A pair of surveys showed yesterday that China’s vast manufacturing industry expanded at close to record pace last month as the world’s thirdlargest economy continues to lead the global recovery. India, another emerging power that avoided recession and is coming out strongly from a soft patch, saw its factory sector expanding at the fastest clip in nearly 11/2years. Euro-zone and US purchasing managers’ surveys, due later on Monday, are also expected to confirm a pick-up in manufacturing in major developed economies after. Ressia in January recorded its second expansion in activity in the last 18 months. South Korean and Australian manufacturing surveys showed improvement too, in part feeding off China’s growth burst in the past quarter
that brought it back to its cruising speed of more than 10 percent. With interest rates at record lows and budgets deficits at multi-year highs after costly crisis-fighting efforts, investors are keen to see any signs that the recovery spurred by massive policy stimulus can carry forward without more public aid. The cost of preventing the global recession from turning into depression will be evident in US budget estimates due at 1500 GMT. The White House will predict a record $1.6 trillion deficit for the fiscal year 2010, a congressional source told Reuters. Fears that Greece, Portugal and other smaller euro zone countries will struggle with servicing their heavy debt have also soured market sentiment, prompting investors to shun risky assets and driving stock markets lower. Beijing’s steps to cool buoyant credit growth to prevent overheating also fanned concerns that they may prove too heavy-handed and derail the upturn at a time when other big
economies have yet to regain their momentum. Chinese bank lending slowed sharply in the final 10 days of January, according to a newspaper report, but there was little evidence yet in yesterday’s data that the crackdown was hurting activity. An index based on an official survey of purchasing managers last month eased from a 20month high in December but remained firmly in expansionary territory, while an index derived from a companion poll by HSBC scaled an all-time high. Both reports also showed a further rise in cost pressures leaving the authorities little choice but to keep tightening policy after they have steered debt yields higher at auctions, raised banks’ reserve requirements and reined in lending. “Industrial activity continues to accelerate, implying stronger GDP growth in the first quarter. But rising input and output prices also point to greater inflationary pressure, which will likely prompt more tightening measures in the coming months,” said Qu Hongbin,
chief economist for China at HSBC. Markets found little comfort in the PMI data, focusing instead on the likelihood of further policy tightening. “Fears about stronger monetary tightening remained the key negative factor today,” said Li Wenhui, analyst at Huatai Securities in Nanjing. The official survey also showed a rise in imports, a welcome news for several Asian economies, which heavily rely on the upturn in Chinese demand for a recovery in their exports. In fact, South Korea, Asia’s fourth-largest economy reported that its exports to China jumped 88 percent yearon-year in January, even as overall export data disappointed markets and month-on-month growth was moderating. Despite growing concerns that Beijing’s tightening campaign will sap demand for South Korean exports, January’s purchasing managers’ survey marked the fastest manufacturing expansion in more than two years, largely due to still rising export orders. — Reuters
Influx of immigrants unpopular among local Singaporeans
Singapore seeks to cap low-skilled job-seekers SINGAPORE: Singapore will be less welcoming to low-skilled job seekers from abroad as it seeks to cap the proportion of foreigners in the workforce at current levels of about one-third amid growing unhappiness among its citizens. Singapore depends on foreigners to staff its factories and construction sites but the numbers have risen sharply in recent years. About one-in-three “We want to maintain the current balance as it is,” Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong, another member of the committee, told a media briefing. The committee recommended gradually raising the levies firms must pay to hire foreigners to restrict demand and raising productivity among locals and foreign workers already in Singapore. The measures will affect foreigners earning less than S$2,500 ($1,775) a month. The proposals underline Singapore’s efforts to reinvent itself in the face of competition from China and India. In recent years, the government has promoted new industries such as pharma-
ceuticals, private banking and casinos by lowering taxes and providing other incentives. Tharman said the measures proposed were “nuanced” in that foreign workers were critical to Singapore and the citystate needed to attract highly skilled people from overseas to attain its goal of becoming a global business hub. Singapore set up the economic strategies committee in May 2009 at the height of the city-state’s worst-ever recession. The key recommendations have been accepted by the government and will be discussed during the Feb 22 budget debate. Other recommendations include
of Singapore’s 3 million workforce is now foreign compared with about 10 percent back in 1990. “We cannot increase the number of foreign workers as liberally as we did over the last decade, or else we will run up against real physical and social limits,” an economic strategies committee led by Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said in a report yesterday. shifting the country’s port further west to create land for a new development next to the existing central business district. The large influx of foreigners in recent years has become a sore point among local Singaporeans who fear the newcomers compete for jobs and push down wages. The government has announced steps to reduce housing, health, childcare and educational benefits enjoyed by foreigners who hold “permanent residency” status ahead of a general election that will likely be held this year. The People’s Action Party has been in power since 1959. “As elections are looming, the gov-
ernment needs to address the public grievance and comes up with populist policies to please the voters,” said an Asian diplomat who declined to be named. “Foreigners are an easy target to pick.” Song Seng Wun, an economist with Malaysia’s CIMB, said demand for construction workers would fall as major projects like the country’s two multi-billion-dollar casino resorts are near completion. But other sectors still need foreign labor. “I am not sure how Singapore can get by with less foreign workers unless of course they are turned into permanent or local residents,” Song said. — Reuters
Ryanair says industry slump not ended yet
TOKYO: Former Japan Airlines President Haruka Nishimatsu bows during a news conference in Tokyo, shortly after Japan’s flagship carrier filed for bankruptcy in one of the nation’s largest corporate failures. — AP
Japan’s JAL to decide on alliance partner soon TOKYO: The new leaders of Japan Airlines said yesterday the carrier will decide on its alliance partner “as soon as possible” but wouldn’t provide a timeframe for a decision on sticking with American Airlines or shifting to Delta. Speaking at his first press conference as president, Masaru Onishi told reporters that discussions were continuing within JAL and the company’s stance was “neutral.” “Under new management, the company is seriously reviewing the issue from scratch, without being influenced by previous discussions,” he said. Japan’s flagship airline filed for bankruptcy two weeks ago with $25.6 billion in debt and is planning a major restructuring under new leadership. Their first major decision will be to pick an alliance — oneworld or SkyTeam. American and Delta Air Lines are locked in a heated battle for JAL and its lucrative Asian routes. At stake: a big revenue stream, more power to help shape overseas customer options and ticket prices and the potential to one day fly aircraft and passengers on JAL’s routes. Delta and its partners have offered JAL $1 billion to leave oneworld. American and its partners say they will give JAL $1.4 billion to stay. New chairman Kazuo Inamori declined to provide details of talks, except to say they were ongo-
ing. Under its restructuring, JAL will slash nearly 16,000 jobs, reduce pensions for retired staff, cut routes and shift to more fuel-efficient aircraft. Its shares will be delisted from the Tokyo Stock Exchange Feb. 20, wiping out investors. Inamori, the 78-year-old founder of Kyocera Corp., was tapped to lead JAL through the process. He described JAL as a “symbol of Japan to the rest of the world” and expressed confidence that the restructuring would be successful. “It’s very important that we resurrect JAL for the country and its economy,” he said, sitting to Onishi’s right. Inamori acknowledged Monday that he was new to the airline industry and repeatedly reminded reporters that he had only been on the job a few days. But he said he brings to the job decades of experience as a proven business leader. Inamori also founded Japan’s No. 2 mobile carrier KDDI Corp. and is a respected entrepreneur with unique management ideas. He became a Buddhist monk after retiring and extols “amoeba management” theories, in which each business unit is self contained and generates its own revenue. He has written 11 books on management and achievement, including “Respect the Divine and Love People” and “Your Dream Will Come True Without Fail.” — AP
DUBLIN: Irish airline Ryanair raised its profit forecast and said an industry slump it has exploited to expand rapidly at the expense of less nimble rivals is set to continue, sending its shares sharply higher. “Generally we’re quite positive on recession,” Ryanair Chief Financial Officer Howard Millar said. “At this point there is really no sign (of an) end yet.” Europe’s biggest low-cost airline led blue chip gainers after it said it is still gaining market share from the continent’s leading flag carriers Air France-KLM and British Airwayswhich have signalled their business is stabilizing — and Deutsche Lufthansa. It also said fares were declining less than anticipated after it cut loss-making winter capacity and replaced it with more promising new routes. Ryanair, which in December broke off talks with Boeing on a potential order of up to 200 aircraft, said it was still planning to scale back investments from 2013, when it could start returning cash to shareholders. “Until then, it will grow as previously expected and they will have to stimulate demand by lowering ticket prices,” Commerzbank analyst Johannes Braun said. “Nothing will change.” Ryanair, which last
year posted its first loss in 20 years after writing down the value of its minority stake in former takeover target Aer Lingus, said in January fares would stay flat on average during the current calendar year. To meet its long-term profit growth targets, Ryanair would have to raise fares “somewhere down the line”, Millar said. Its shares rose 5.7 percent to 3.54 euros by 1115 GMT, making it the biggest percentage gainer on a FTSEurofirst 300 index that fell 0.2 percent. Aer Lingus, which has been struggling to turn profitable, said last week it would try to position itself somewhere between Ryanair’s no-frills model and fullservice carriers to increase revenue. “People who generally standin the middle of the road generally get run down by a juggernaut,” Ryanair’s Millar said, though he reiterated Ryanair was unlikely to make a third bid for its smaller Irish competitor. Ryanair’s net loss of 10.9 million euros ($15.3 million) in the third quarter to the end of December compared with a 118.8 million euro net loss a year earlier and a forecast for a net loss of 35.1 million euros by in-house broker Davy. — Reuters
SEOUL: A vendor bargains with a customer over the price of shoes at a shopping district in Seoul. South Korea’s exports surged in January, posting their biggest gain in more than two decades as shipments of auto parts, semiconductors and consumer electronics rose amid the global economic recovery. — AP
ATHENS: People are reflected on a mirror as they look at second hand goods in a street market in central Athens, on Sunday. With the economy contracting and their incomes stagnating, Greek people are increasingly using markets as they search for bargains.— AP
EU’s Almunia says Greek fiscal cuts achievable BRUSSELS: Greece’s fiscal cutback plans are ambitious, surrounded by risks but achievable and the European Commission fully endorses them, EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said yesterday. Almunia’s remarks, exclusive to Reuters, come two days before the Commission publishes recommendations on how and by when Greece should reduce its huge budget deficit below the European Union’s ceiling of 3 percent of gross domestic product. “What we are saying to the Greek authorities is: your stability program has established ambitious targets and objectives and we fully endorse these ambitious objectives,” Almunia said. “We consider that the achievement of these objectives in the coming three years, before the end of 2012, is absolutely necessary. These objectives are achievable but they are surrounded by risks.” The Commission, the 27-country EU’s executive, will publish on Wednesday its opinion on the Greek long-term deficit-cutting plan, which aims to reduce the budget shortfall to below 3 percent in 2012 from 12.7 percent in 2009. Such a recommendation can be issued under the new EU treaty when the economic policies of an EU member are not in line with the broad policy guidelines adopted by the bloc or risk jeopardizing the proper functioning of the 16-country euro-zone. Greece’s financial problems have sparked talk about a possible bailout by the EU and fears about the stability of the euro area.
Almunia said the Greek government was aware of the risks surrounding its deficit plan. “In our recommendations, we are creating a process of monitoring the implementation of the program that includes the need to adopt additional measures in case some of those risks will materialize,” he said. “We will not accept slippages on the path to the targets,” he added. “Every time we see slippages, because some risks materialize, we will ask for additional measures to correct these slippages. We take note that the Greek authorities in the stability program stand ready to immediately adopt additional measures if, in our monitoring process, we ask them for it.” He said that in its recommendations the Commission would ask Athens to implement all the measures outlined in its stability program involving expenditure cuts, revenue increases and structural reforms. “For this to happen, a very precise implementation and monitoring of the implementation is needed,” Almunia said. “Never before have we established so detailed and tough a system of surveillance, monitoring and reporting and, if necessary, adoption of additional measures to avoid slippages,” he said. The Commission recommendations will be adopted by EU finance ministers at their next meeting on Feb. 15-16. Greece will have to submit its first report on the implementation of the steps by March 16, then by May 15 and after that every three months. — Reuters
Gazprom profits fall sharply MOSCOW: Russian energy giant Gazprom, the world’s biggest gas firm, said yesterday net profit in the first nine months of 2009 fell 36 percent due to lower sales volumes and higher Central Asian gas prices. Net profit in the period fell to 479.3 billion rubles ($15.70 billion) from 751.2 billion rubles ($24.7 billion) in the same period in 2008, Gazprom said in a statement. Gazprom said the drop in earnings reflected higher operating costs due to an increase in the price paid by the company for gas supplies purchased from Central Asian states. The cost of purchased gas soared 64 percent over the period, Gazprom said, while the cost of purchased oil fell by 17 percent. Russia’s leading supplier of gas in Central Asia is
energy-rich Turkmenistan. A pipeline rupture in April virtually halted Turkmen gas supplies to Russia and they were only restored last month under a new price formula after a nine month break that strained diplomatic relations. Sales for the nine months period were down 7.1 percent at 2.41 trillion rubles ($79 billion) due to a decrease in the volume of gas sold. However net sales of gas to Europe increased slightly as a hike in prices made up for lower volumes. But net sales of gas to former Soviet countries dropped nine percent, reflecting a 50 percent fall in volumes while prices were raised by almost 87 percent. Among Gazprom’s major clients in the former Soviet
Union is Ukraine, which last year waged a bitter conflict with the company over gas prices which left much of Europe cut off from Russian supplies for a fortnight. This year, analysts say Ukraine has built up sufficient reserves to reduce the size of its purchases. Gazprom, which has its roots in the Soviet Union’s gas ministry, now has 17 percent of the global gas market and 60 percent of the Russian market. The state retains a controlling stake in the company. Europe’s reliance on Russian gas supplies has caused concern in Brussels and the European Union is looking to bring supplies direct from Central Asia and the Caucasus via the planned Nabucco pipeline. — Reuters
TECHNOLOGY
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
27
Amazon to give in to Macmillan over ebook pricing In an abrupt turnaround, the bookselling giant has reversed the stance it had taken with Macmillan over ebook pricing Amazon has given in over the pricing of ebooks which prompted a row with the publishers Macmillan - to the extent that Amazon stopped selling both Macmillan’s ebooks and its physical books in its US store. The initial move had generated a great deal of entirely acceptable heat for Amazon, which wanted to be able to set the prices of ebooks and was prepared to use its power in selling physical ones to do it. “Describing the move, Macmillan chief executive John Sargent signalled the impasse may not be resolved any time soon, sparking speculation that the row could affect Amazon operations outside its home market, including in the UK.” “Amazon and Macmillan both want a healthy and vibrant future for books. We clearly do not agree on how to get there. Meanwhile, the action they chose to take last night clearly defines the importance they attribute to their view.
We hold our view equally strongly,” said Sargent.” Wiser heads now seem to have prevailed at Amazon. In a new posting on its site (which is certified Amazon official we don’t want any old bod turning up claiming to be speaking for Amazon), the Amazon Kindle team says: “We have expressed our strong disagreement and the seriousness of our disagreement by temporarily ceasing the sale of all Macmillan titles. We want you to know that ultimately, however, we will have to capitulate and accept Macmillan’s terms because Macmillan has a monopoly over their own titles, and we will want to offer them to you even at prices we believe are needlessly high for e-books. Amazon customers will at that point decide for themselves whether they believe it’s reasonable to pay $14.99 for a bestselling e-book. We don’t believe that all of the major publishers will take the same route as
Macmillan. And we know for sure that many independent presses and self-published authors will see this as an opportunity to provide attractively priced ebooks as an alternative.” Where “attractively priced” means “priced at the price we tell you to set”. However, it’s clear that what Macmillan wanted to do was to set its own end prices - an intriguing case of resale price maintenance. Perhaps more precisely, Macmillan wanted to set the wholesale price, and also wanted to be sure that the wholesale price for an ebook wouldn’t interfere with its physical books’ price. And of course Apple having released the iPad and allowing publishers to set their own ebook prices - high, low, wherever - is also going to have played on Amazon’s collective mind. There’s going to be more to play out on this. But the publishers have won this round for certain. — Guardian
Aliens visiting Earth will be just like humans: Scientist Extra-terrestrials likely to possess human foibles such as greed, violence and a tendency to exploit others’ resources. CAMBRIDGE: Governments should prepare for the worst if aliens visit Earth because beings from outer space are likely to be just like humans, a leading scientist is claiming. Extra-terrestrials might not only resemble us but have our foibles, such as greed, violence and a tendency to exploit others’ resources, says Simon Conway Morris, professor of evolutionary paleobiology at Cambridge University. And while aliens could come in peace they are quite as likely to be searching for somewhere to live, and to help themselves to water, minerals and fuel, Conway Morris will tell a conference at the Royal Society in London tomorrow. His lecture is part of a two-day conference at which experts will discuss how we might detect life on distant planets and what that could mean for society. “Extra-terrestrials ... won’t be splodges of glue ... they could be disturbingly like us, and that might not be a good thing we don’t have a great record.” The US space agency’s search for alien life is based upon the mantra “follow the water”, a strategy reflecting the fact that, on Earth, where there’s water there’s life. Recent missions have revealed ice on the moon and Mars. Astronomers have detected more than 400 planets outside our solar system, some of which sit in the “Goldilocks zone” where the temperature is neither too hot nor too cold for liquid water to form. Conway Morris will argue that alien life is most likely to occur on a planet similar to our own, with organisms made from the same biochemicals. The process of evolution will even shape alien life in a similar way, he added. “My view is that Darwinian evolution is really
Alien visitors to Earth may be as acquisitive as humans. quite predictable, and when you have a biosphere and evolution takes over, then common themes emerge and the same is true for intelligence. “If you have a planet much smaller than ours, the gravity is so weak it loses its atmosphere. If the planet is much bigger, its gravity is so strong that everything crawls around on the ground, because you don’t have to fall far to break everything. It’s fantastically dull.” The meeting is the first in a series that marks the Royal Society’s 350th anniversary. Future conferences will tackle the science of ageing, vaccines, stem cells and geoengineering: the use of technology to protect the planet from the adverse effects of climate change.Albert Harrison, a professor of psychology at the University of California, Davis, who is speaking at the meeting tomorrow, will raise concerns about the radio signals humans are sending out to any eavesdropping aliens. Scientists have used telescopes to listen for alien broadcasts for more than 20 years, but we have also beamed our own signals into
space. Harrison wonders if we might be sending the wrong kind of messages. “Some of them are serious, but there’s a lot of hoopla, like love letters and commercials. What would we make of an alien civilisation if the first thing we translated from them was a commercial for a snack food?” he said. In the spring, scientists will debate whether Earth should be more proactive in trying to make contact with aliens by broadcasting signals to solar systems that might harbour life. Some enthusiasts believe any alien civilisation capable of reaching us can only have survived long enough to develop the necessary technology by solving major social problems, such as war, poverty and discrimination. Harrison disagrees. “I do think there’s a risk in active searches for extra-terrestrials. The attitude seems to be they’re friendly, they’re a long way away, and they can’t get here. But if you wake up one morning and an armada of extra-terrestrial spaceships are circling Earth, that prediction won’t necessarily hold,” Harrison said.
If life has evolved elsewhere in our cosmic neighbourhood, we should find out by detecting their waste gases in the atmosphere of their planet or by discovering remnants of extra-terrestrial microbes in meteorites or alien soil samples, he said. Harrison dismisses fears of public panic if alien life is discovered, of the kind which reportedly followed Orson Welles’ infamous radio broadcast of War of the Worlds in 1938. “The public reaction was overstated. Most people who thought the broadcast was real took sensible actions to protect themselves,” Harrison said. “Surveys suggest most people think they will be fine, but they worry about others freaking out.” Ted Peters, professor of systematic theology at the Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary in California, has surveyed religious groups to understand whether confirmation of extra-terrestrials could trigger the collapse of religion on Earth. His research suggests not, but he believes Christians should clarify whether God’s creation covers the whole of space or just Earth. — Guardian
iPhone-like environment could shut out the next computing revolution
Apple iPad will choke innovation Apple’s new iPad tablet computer could hamper innovation and cause long-term damage if it becomes a hit, according to experts. Just as Steve Jobs tries to wow the world with the “magical” new device - unveiled on Wednesday at a media-saturated launch event in San Francisco - leading industry figures have told the Guardian that the machine marks a fundamental shift in the way the computer industry works. The iPad, a 10-inch touchscreen computer that will cost upwards of £300, was greeted by many admirers as a significant step forward. But in developing it using the closed model of the iPhone, industry insiders said, Apple could wrestle even more power away from its rivals and partners. “It’s chilling,” said Brewster Kahle, a technology veteran and director of the Internet Archive. “We may be seeing the iPhone-ification of the Macintosh.” The concerns come because - contrary to the predictions of many pundits - the iPad is more like a scaled-up version of the iPhone than a scaled-down laptop computer. That means it can only run one program at a time, and even then those applications must be approved by Apple before they can be loaded on to the machine. This is the opposite of the traditional model used by the computer industry, where the makers of operating systems have little or no control over what software their users buy or download. Kahle told the Guardian that such a lockdown would prevent major innovation from software developers. “They really control the horizontal and the vertical by going with the iPhone platform... I think it’s discouraging,” he said. “The future is controlled, and it’s controlled by Apple.” Referring to some major
Cutting off the next chapter? Steve Jobs flicks through an ebook on the Apple iPad. innovations like web browsers, email and instant messaging, he added that Apple could easily block in favour of developing a competing product or simply limiting new ideas. “All of those started out as independent applications by independent organisations that were not in the plan of any of the platform makers,” he said. “If you were to come up with these now on the iPhone, you couldn’t even get out of the starting gate.” Kahle, whose organisation is trying to assemble a vast library of digital assets for access by the public, is not the only person concerned that the move to what Harvard professor Jonathan Zittrain calls “tethered appliances” could have long-lasting effects on modern culture. The Free Software Foundation staged a protest at the launch event and argued that the iPad could set a prece-
dent that would fundamentally change the way we related to technology. “This past year, we have seen how human rights and democracy protesters can have the technology they use turned against them by the corporations who supply the products and services they rely on,” said Peter Brown, executive director of the FSF. “Your computer should be yours to control. By imposing such restrictions on users, Steve Jobs is building a legacy that endangers our freedom for his profits.” Apple has previously come in for criticism for its seemingly arbitrary approval policy for applications submitted for use on the iPhone - a system that has seen some applications banned from going on sale for containing “sexual content”, while allowing others get through. Last summer, Google
accused its Silicon Valley neighbour of unfairly blocking rival companies from putting their software on the iPhone, a claim that led to an investigation by US regulators. Kahle, who oversees the OpenLibrary project that aims to put millions of books online, also said that he hoped Apple’s iTunes model would not become as dominant as it has in the music world - and that the company would open up the system to benefit everyone. “Apple is going towards having a single store and aggregating everyone into that store. That is not the web, that is a pre-web world. We think that you not only want interesting applications that weren’t predicted and weren’t previously approved by Apple, but you want people to be able to set up and sell and lend books. Does this do that? I see no indications yet.” — Guardian
Picking a Twitter client means looking at space savings, oversight MUNICH: Twittering, tweeting to some, is about more than just sending 140-character text messages through the internet. That’s plain to see by a simple look at the various clients vying for the right to make your access to Twitter easier. These small programs come with many functions and are geared to meet various demands - some people want better coverage, others want ease in reading. Ultimately, the decision usually rest upon whether the Twitter follower accesses the internet from a PC at
home or on the go with a mobile phone or smartphone. Clients do more than just reproduce Twitter’s web interface. They help save time and clicks, says Nicole Simon, a social media expert and author of a German blog about the Twitter phenomenon. “And they help you to see everything with one glance: new Tweets, answers and results of specific searches.” As a bonus, they let people post comments simultaneously on other sites like Facebook or Myspace. Nonetheless, the original
Twitter interface remains the favourite, says Manuel Schreiber of Chip, a German computer magazine. But TweetDeck is another widely used tool. “Twitterfeed, which allows a user to publish his comments on Facebook as well, is the most favoured client.” Clients are geared mostly toward PCs. A practical option for an ambitious user is a trimmed-down client like Twhirl, says Sven Wiesner, a social media advisor who also runs a German blog on tweeting. Twhirl sits on a person’s desktop, just like
an instant messenger program. Twhirl includes the functions of any good Twitter client, says Wiesner. Packed with standard functions like uploading photos, picking favourite Tweets and functions like Reply, Retweet or Direct Message at the push of a button, Twhirl also offers a selection of URL shortcuts. It’s also a good idea to opt for customizable notification for incoming replies and direct messages. Twitter users can also download add-ons like Twitterfox, a sleek tool designed for Firefox use on net-
books and notebooks. The point here is to provide good oversight. Thus, functions like Listen, Direct Messages and Mentions are all easy to see. “The size of the client is also important. Some tools take up a whole screen, others make do with simple notification windows.” Some people have multiple Twitter accounts, to separate their private from their personal lives. Tweetdeck and Seesmic Desktop are for those people, says Wiesner. “Both clients work independently of the operating system and are real
jack-of-all-trades when it comes to lots of Twittering.” However, both take up the whole desktop. Mobile tweeters put a lot of value in an easy-to-understand interface. And, since different mobile phone models have different size screens, there are clients that are better and less suited for every mobile out there, says Wiesner. “While Android smartphones and the iPhones have big, comfortable touchscreens, making them ideal for Twitdroid and Tweetie, other people with more classic mobiles and Blackberries
have a choice of other clients.” Thus, it all comes down to personal taste. Most people want to see everything at a glance or be able to write replies quickly, says Simon. Others want to be able to send Tweets with a time delay or set up groups on their PC, which they can then access while underway. “But it’s not just about functions, that’s why it’s so important to try them out.” As a general rule of thumb, if you’re not missing anything and you’re not troubled by the client, you’ve probably got the right one. –dpa
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HEALTH & SCIENCE
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
British author Pratchett wants to test assisted suicide law LONDON: British author Terry Pratchett who has Alzheimer’s called yesterday for allowing seriously ill people to argue for assisted suicide before a panel-and volunteered to act as a test case. Pratchett says tribunals should be set up which could allow people with serious illnesses to die with assistance without the fear that those who help them could face prosecution.
“If I knew that I could die at any time I wanted, then suddenly every day would be as precious as a million pounds,” Pratchett was to say in a lecture yesterday, according to pre-released extracts. “If I knew that I could die, I would live. My life, my death, my choice,” says Pratchett, best known for his comic-fantasy “Discworld” series of novels. He announced he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s dis-
ease in 2007. Assisted suicide is against the law in Britain and can be punished with a jail term of up to 14 years. But the subject is highly controversial, particularly following recent high-profile court cases of two mothers who helped their sick children to die, one of whom was jailed and the other cleared. A Daily Telegraph/YouGov poll out yes-
terday found that four out of five people believe that people should be allowed to help terminally ill relatives to take their own lives. YouGov surveyed 2,053 people. Last year, the Director of Public Prosecutions for England and Wales, Keir Starmer, published interim guidelines on when assisted suicide cases should be prosecuted. These said that while there were some
factors which could weigh against the chances of someone being prosecuted, such as the victim asking for help, assisted suicide was still a criminal offence. But campaigners want more clarity, although those opposed to assisted suicide say changing the law could put seriously ill people in a vulnerable position. “To argue that if you are terminally ill you deserve less protection from the law
than do the rest of us is highly discriminatory as well as dangerous,” Peter Saunders, director of campaign group Care Not Killing, told the BBC. “Many cases of abuse involving elderly, sick and disabled people occur in the context of so-called loving families and the blanket prohibition of intentional killing or assisting suicide is there to ensure that vulnerable people are not put at risk.” – AFP
‘Exercising in short spurts may be an effective way to fit exercise into busy schedules’
Short workouts target fitness gadabouts NEW YORK: Long work hours and short attention spans are driving more people to take exercise in smaller, meatier doses. Instead of demanding “People just don’t have as much time anymore,” said fitness expert and trainer Amy Bento. “More people are trying to survive the economy with multiple jobs.” The American Council on Exercise has listed shorter, more intense workouts among the top exercise trends for 2010, as consumers approach fitness with time and money in mind. Taking aim at the time-challenged and the easily bored alike are DVDs offering fitness in 10-minute morsels. Bento’s “10 Minute Solution: 5 Day Get Fit Mix”
delivers five 10-minute bursts of cardiovascular, resistance training and stretching through a mix of kickboxing, aerobics, light weights and yoga. “We tried to put together a mix of activities that are necessary for a well-rounded fitness program in a user-friendly format,” said Bento. “You can do whatever fits your needs.” Of course fitness takes more than 10 minutes. The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and the American Heart Association say at least 30 minutes of exercise five to six days a week is required for fitness, and one hour five to six
clients pound the treadmill for an hour at a time, some fitness experts have created short, swift workouts for the busy and the bored.
days a week for weight loss. “You need to string together the workouts,” Bento said. “Say, kickboxing for 10 minutes, and then yoga for 10 for stretching, or abs. We break it up to keep people interested. Also, if you only have 10 minutes in the morning, you can come back at night and do another 20,” she said. To date there are 25 “10 Minute Solution” DVDs, with workouts ranging from Latin Dance Mix, to Boot Camp to Pilates. Bento, who has been teaching fitness for more than 20 years, has done four of them.
“Any fitness level can do any of these DVDs,” she said. “If you’re a beginner you can build your stamina to go through each workout. And it’s only 10 minutes.” But Dr. Philip S. Clifford, an expert with ACSM, questions whether the 10-minute concept is demanding enough. “Exercising in short spurts may be an effective way for some people to fit exercise into their busy schedules,” said Clifford, a professor of anesthesiology and physiology with the Medical College of Wisconsin. “My concern is that it seems easier to get busy and
skip a 10-minute segment or two,” Clifford explained. “There is no way that 10 minutes of aerobic exercise is adequate for maintaining cardiovascular fitness or aiding in weight loss.” He thinks exercise by DVD has its limitations. “The intensity of exercise may vary dramatically from person to person, even using the same video,” he said. Clifford said while it doesn’t matter whether you work out in a single session or several short ones, the latter might be more difficult to maintain. — Reuters
Mexico tackles child obesity MEXICO CITY: Mexico’s rich diet of tacos, tortillas and tortas (large sandwiches), which is jokingly nicknamed “Vitamin T,” has steered its children to the top of world obesity charts. The concerned government last week launched a new campaign to battle obesity, which it estimates to cost the health system some 3.2 billion dollars per year. “Obesity and excess weight are one of the biggest health challenges that Mexico is facing today,” President Felipe Calderon said as he introduced the national public-private plan to improve eating habits, mainly among children. Nine-year-old Diego attends a school in a middleclass neighborhood of Mexico City, and he said the food was healthier than it was three years ago, when there were many fried dishes made from corn. But he added that they still sell “quesadillas”-rolled corn pancakes filled with cheese and sometimes fried in fat-as well as popcorn layered in butter and sugar-filled drinks. There was only one and a half hours per week of physical exercise, he added. “And that’s only when the teacher comes, which is not all the time, and sometimes we’re punished and we don’t go outside.” Calderon admitted that Mexico had the highest amount of overweight adults in the world, which means a Body Mass Index (a statistical measure that compares weight and height) of more than 25. Its children had the highest rates in the world for obesity, which means a BMI of more than 30. The president deplored that Mexico spent 3.24 billion
BETHESDA: This July 2, 2009 image shows an overweight male. Overweight septuagenarians are less likely to die within 10 years than people of “normal” weight in the same age group, an Australian study said January 28, 2010. The study in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society followed 4,677 men and 4,563 women aged 70 to 75 for a ten-year period from 1996. In addition to their “body mass index,” or BMI, which estimates a person’s body fat, the researchers also took into account the state of their health and their lifestyle. Participants whose body mass index was classified as overweight were 13 percent less likely to die than those classified as being of normal weight. — AFP
dollars to treat illnesses linked to excess weight and obesity in 2009, such as diabetes, which is the number one cause of death in the country. The new plan is based on a French project known as EPODE, which has shown success at reducing child obesity through physical activities, weight monitoring and promoting drinking water and eating fruit and vegetables. Food and drink advertising in Mexico is already supposed to promote healthy eating and exercise, but the requirement is often ignored. And the battle against obesity is not easy here, where street vendors outside schools across the country sell vast selections of brightly-colored sweets and enticing fried foods. Some private schools have already introduced initiatives to improve diets, with varying success. Veronica Kim, the mother of two children of nine and 10 who study at a private school in Mexico City, said the healthy food the school offered was too expensive. At least there were more sports on offer at private schools, Kim added. Outside the public school, Maria Esther Sanchez, Diego’s grandmother, said she struggles daily to persuade the nine-year-old to turn to fruit from tacos. Mary, the manager of the school’s food shop, said she had been told to help children improve their eating habits, but added she had weight problems herself. “We weren’t educated to eat healthily. Our food is full of fat and flour,” Mary said. “The worst thing is that the tastiest dishes are the most fatty ones.” — AFP
Population ageing is one of the biggest challenges of our century
Ageing Asia population problem ‘serious as climate change’ SINGAPORE: Longer lifespans, falling fertility rates and growing ranks of elderly people in Asia can pose problems as serious as the impact of climate change, a leading expert warned yesterday. Yves Guerard, secretary general of the International Actuarial Association, said at a pensions industry conference in Singapore that the ageing issue was a “big, immediate, urgent problem” for the world’s most populous region. “I will compare that with climate change. We prefer not to believe in that because it’s inconvenient,” he said, referring to former US vice president Al Gore’s celebrated environmental documentary “An Inconvenient Truth”. Problems linked to ageing populations will complicate Asian economies’ recovery from the global financial crisis, said Guerard, whose organisation’s members deal with complex insurance forecasting systems. “Longevity increases combined with the decrease in fer-
tility are pushing up the dependency ratio and the burden of the recovery,” he said. Countries with a large number of elderly people and a low birth rate will face demographic and economic problems supporting a large number of seniors, Guerard said. Tan Hak Leh, deputy president of the Life Insurance Association of Singapore, said Asia’s elderly population would far outstrip those in the rest of the world in 40 years. “Asia’s population of those above 60 years old is estimated to quadruple by 2050 to 1.2 billion people... four times the size of senior citizens in the US and Europe combined,” he warned at the conference. Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Hong Kong are among the world’s 10 fastestgreying territories, Tan said. Guerard said efforts to solve the “longevity problem” by raising the retirement age to allow the elderly to continue contributing economically were making slow progress.
“Countries have been very slow in moving up the retirement age, and even those that move it up move it in a very timid way,” he said. “When you increase the retirement age by two years, you are not catching up very much in increases in longevity.” Australia yesterday unveiled a 43 million Australian dollar (38 million US) plan to keep older people in the workforce in a bid to ward off an economic slowdown expected as the growing population ages. Treasurer Wayne Swan said Australia’s population was expected to rise by 14 million to 36 million by 2050 with a much higher proportion aged 65 or over, leaving fewer workers as health costs soar. “If we are going to get to the point where there is going to be 2.7 working Australians for every person aged over 65, not five as there currently are, now in anyone’s book, that’s a big challenge,” he told reporters in Canberra. — AFP
Study weighs benefits of transplants for leukaemia LONDON: Leukaemia patients who have blood stem cell transplants survive just as long on average as those who undergo the more invasive procedure of having a bone marrow transplant, scientists said yesterday. But patients with acute forms the blood cancer appear to do better if they have bone marrow as opposed to blood stem cell transplants, the scientists said, suggesting that for some the benefit of the complex treatment is greater in the long run. Bone marrow transplants involve the collection of stem cells from the bone marrow—a complicated procedure in which the patient must have a general anaesthetic
and surgery. In peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (PBSCT), stem cells are collected from blood, avoiding some of the complications of bone marrow collection. Researchers from the Charite Medicine University in Berlin, Germany, looked at survival rates in 329 patients from 42 transplant centres in 13 European countries, Israel and Australia who had received PBSCT or bone marrow transplants. They found that rates of survival after 10 years were similar, at 49.1 percent for blood stem cell recipients and 56.5 percent for bone marrow transplant recipients. But they found ìnotable differ-
ences in survival in patients with acute leukaemias’, they said in the study published in the Lancet Oncology medical journal. After 10 years, patients with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) had a survival probability of 28.3 percent after bone marrow transplant compared with 13.0 percent after PBSCT. In patients with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) the probabilities were 62.3 percent for bone marrow and 47.1 percent for blood stem cell transplants. “Different patient groups might still benefit from transplantation with bone marrow,” the researchers concluded. —Reuters
AHMEDABAD: Family members of Indian Army servicemen participate in a Yoga Shibir (yoga workshop) led by Swami Ramdev at Rawlley Stadium in the Army Cantonment in Ahmedabad yesterday. Some five thousand people including servicemen and schoolchildren participated in the session. — AFP
WHATʼS ON IN KUWAIT
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Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Embassy information EMBASSY OF VIETNEM he Embassy of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in the State of Kuwait has the honor to inform that the Embassy remains closed from Sunday 14th February to Thursday 18th February, 2010 for its Tet Holidays (Traditional Lunar New Year Holidays). The Embassy will resume its normal work on Sunday 2lst February, 2010.
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EMBASSY OF SRI LANKA The Embassy of Sri Lanka will be closed on Thursday, Feb 4, 2010 on the occasion of Sri Lanka’s 62nd National Day.
Father with the teachers
A Tearful and emotional farewell O ur lady of Arabia Church was packed to its capacity with almost 600 children on Friday the 29th of January, during the 9.00 a.m. mass. This was the last mass in Kuwait by their favourite Father Teo, who was leaving Kuwait that night. In an emotional farewell message, Father Teo asked the children to spread the message of love to one and all. The song from Abba: I have a dream moved everyone to tears. The children promised Father to be good children. The Mass celebrated by father was an inspiring one to one and all alike. After the Mass, there was a small programme put up by the little children. The orchestra led by Lorna, comprised only of little children, who played a variety of musical instruments. Father Teo, who himself is a musician played the violin at the request of the children. After the programme, it was really very moving to see little children running towards father and kissing him. It was indeed a tearful moment for everybody. The new Parish Priest Father Andrew Francis was also present during this occasion.
Father bidding Farewell
Chittagong Samity, Kuwait awarded bank cheques for rickshawa distribution
hittagong Samity Kuwait has handed over the cheque among its lucky members those who won last year’s raffle draw, in a discussion meeting held in Dosti restaurant on 14th January 2010. Each winner member shall donate a rickshaw to a destitute family in his local area in Bangladesh. The discussion meeting was presided over by the Samity President Zafar Ahmed Chowdhury M.Com. Along with the Samity executives political leaders and social activist were present in the
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program. Also were present more than two hundred guests including socio-political leaders, engineers, businessmen and journalists. Each of the winner member of the Samity had awarded bank cheque worth of fifteen thousand taka. The winners shall donate this money to their respective local destitute families. Joint secretary Shamsul Alam had recited verses fro the holy Quran. The program was presented by Ilias Chowdhury. Speakers in the meeting urged all existing expatriate societies to come
forward with such program following the Chittagong Samity. Also they reminded all to lend a helping hand to the needy ones in accordance with their financial ability, and in doing so they must remit their hard earnings to Bangladesh through banking channel to strengthen the national economy. The Samity President Zafar Ahmed prayed for the well being of the Samity as well as thanked all for attending the program. The program was ended in dinner party hosted by the Samity.
Friends of Kannur fifth anniversary in April riends of Kannur expatriates association (FOKE) will celebrate its fifth anniversary on April 16th at Dai’ya auditorium. Well known artists from Kerala will showcase their talents along with the colorful program by FOKE members. In connection with this, a meeting was held in abbasiya and a 50 member committee was
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formed exclusively for the success of the day long anniversary program. FOKE will conduct an amateur Drama competition also on the same day from morning 10:00 am. Teams who wish to participate in this drama competition should register their names with the organizers before February 15th. Winners of the drama competition will
get cash award and trophies. Annual Golden FOKE award, given to the successful personalities from Kannur district in various fields of arts, literature and sports will also be presented on the same day. Distribution of raffle draw in connection with anniversary celebration was inaugurated during the meeting held at Abbasiya last day.
EMBASSY OF KENYA 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
Father playing violin
KKMA-Tiffany painting contest winners announced T
he Kuwait Kerala Muslim Association (KKMA) announced the winners of the KKMA-Tiffany grand final drawing contest held for students of Indian schools in Kuwait. The winners were chosen based on a grading matrix and announced in three categories of Excellent, Merit and Recognition awards from each category respectively. At a tough contest participated by 1000 final contestants, the United Indian School bagged the highest number of points by winning 11 awards out of total 56 and thus earning 39 points. The Indian Educational School (IES) emerged as the runner up by gaining seven awards with 28 points, whereas the Carmel School of Kuwait became 3rd in the row with 5 winners and 15 points. The Contest dubbed as ‘World Peace: KKMA-Tiffany Painting Contest’ was conducted under the kind patronage of Mr. Ajai Malhotra, His Excellency the Ambassador of India to Kuwait for promoting a culture of nonviolence and peace among young children by raising awareness about these concepts. The competition was open to all students of Indian Schools in Kuwait and divided into four categories Primary School (Class 1 to IV), Upper Primary School (Class V to VII), Secondary School (Class VIII to Class X), and Senior Secondary School (Class XI and Class XII). A press release from KKMA stated that a total number of 3000 entries were received during the first phase of the contest held in July-October 2009. Children’s from 18 Indian schools in Kuwait participated in the contest. The contest was held in two phases. In Phase 1, each of the entrants was requested to submit one piece of drawing which responds to the theme, World Peace. A judging panel then reviewed all entries and 1000 semi-finalists were selected to advance to phase two final competitions on 15 January 2010. All final art works were reviewed by a judging panel headed by Artist Srinivasan who commented saying that the KKMA drawing contest was such a huge success not only because of the plenty of wonderful works the officials received, but because of several positive commentaries from the parents. Nevertheless, the judges and the officials of the KKMA opined that the children should be given more such opportunities to participate in theme based drawing contests for nurturing their creativity and imagination as most of the children tries to copy what they were taught by their art teachers or recreating previously learned symbol set that has been memorized.
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 well-wishers are cordially invited for the event. Sri Lanka Embassy - Block-l0, Jabriya, Kuwait. (Tel. 25339140, 25339150)
The list below shows the details of winners in each category of award in an alphabetical order and not on any ranking within each award group.
EXCELLENT AWARD Category 1: Primary School (Class I to IV): GOUTHAM SURESH (Indian Community School Kuwait ICSK Amman), GRIFFIN GEORGE PUTHENPURAYIL (Indian Community School Kuwait - ICSK Khaitan), MALAVIKA VIDHUGOPAN (Carmel School Kuwait), NANDAKRISHNAN MUKUNDAN (Indian Educational School - IES), SHAWN ANNA SAJAN (United Indian School). Category 2: Upper Primary (Class IV to VII): AAWANI JAYAPRAKASH (Indian Educational School - IES), ABITHA GEORGE THOMAS (Indian Educational School - IES), GAVIN GEORGE (Indian Community School Kuwait - ICSK Khaitan), LAVANYA LILLY GEORGE (Gulf Indian School), SIBIL SARA SEN (United Indian School). Category 3: Secondary School (Class VIII to X): AISWARYA BALAGOPAL (United Indian School), DIVYA MAHADEVAN (Indian Educational School - IES), M H S GULZAR AHMED (Indian Central School), TESSA SUSAN JOHN (United Indian School), VIVEK UNNIKRISHNAN (Indian Community School Kuwait - ICSK Amman). Category 4: Senior Secondary School (Class XI and XII): None qualified for Excellent Award in this category. MERIT AWARD Category 1: Primary School (Class I to IV): AYMAN TANVEER PALOJI (Indian English Academy School - IEAS), GAYATRI DEVI (United Indian School), ISRA M.D SHALIM (Integrated Indian School), MOHAMMED EMON (Indian Public School), RICHA ABRAHAM (Carmel School Kuwait). Category 2: Upper Primary (Class IV to VII): ADITYA JAYPAL (Indian Educational School - IES), ARJUN NARAYANAN KUTTY (Indian Community School, ICSK Senior), FLENCY THANKACHAN (Indian Community School - ICSK Khaitan), HANAN ABDULLA (Fahaheel Al Watanieh Indian Private School - FAIPS), KRUPA ANN MATHEW (United Indian School), RESHMA ABRAHAM (Carmel School of Kuwait), VINAYAK UNNIKRISHNAN (Indian Community School - ICSK Amman).
Category 3: Secondary School (Class VIII to X): FIONA SUNNY KURIAN (United Indian School), GRESHMA LIZ GEORGE (Indian Central School), MUHAMMAD MANSAF KHAN (Indian Community School - ICSK Senior), PRATYUSH.V (Indian Educational School (IES), REHANA MAHFUZ (Fahaheel Al Watanieh Indian Private School FAIPS). Category 4: Senior Secondary School (Class XI and XII): LUBAINA WAHID ALI (United Indian School), MARIYAM BEGUM (United Indian School), RASEL AHMMED (Indian Central School). RECOGNITION AWARD Category 1: Primary School (Class I to IV): ABDUL SALAM (Integrated Indian School), ABHINAYA SRINIVASAN (Indian Educational School - IES), CHETAN RAJESH (Gulf Indian School), JOEL SAJU (India International School), MALVIKA KRISHNA. K (Integrated Indian School), MEGHA CHANDRAN (India International School)MOHAMMED RUSHDI (Integrated Indian School). Category 2: Upper Primary (Class IV to VII): JULIA ROSE PANIKULAM (Gulf Indian School), NADIYA NUR FAIZA (Jabriya Indian School), NETRA RADHAKRISHNAN (United Indian School), RANLI WARANGANA LIYANAGE (Carmel School Kuwait), SEBASTIYAN AHILAN (Al Rashid Indian School), SHAMID KHAN SULTAN (Kuwait Indian School), SHAYAN IQBAL (Kuwait Indian School). Category 3: Secondary School (Class VIII to X): AFIA M PATHAN (United Indian School), GOLDAN NIVETHITHA (Fahaheel Al Watanieh Indian Private School - FAIPS), KAMAR AYMAN AL YOUNIS (Al Amal Indian School), KEVIN PONNACHAN (Indian Central School), NEHAL AMIT JAJAL (Fahaheel Al Watanieh Indian Private School FAIPS). Category 4: Senior Secondary School (Class XI and XII): IMMANUEL AMRITA RHEMA (Fahaheel Al Watanieh Indian Private School - FAIPS), SHOBHA SAM ATTUPURATH (Carmel School Kuwait). In addition, all finalist participants will be awarded with qualifying certificates. An Award ceremony to honor winners and participants will be held on 12 February 2010 at Indian Community School, ICSK Khaitan at 6:00 PM.
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. 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.
WHATʼS ON IN KUWAIT
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
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Karti Chidhambaram’s Kuwait visit
arti Chidhambaram (son of Mr. Chidhambaram, Home Minister of India), visited Kuwait for attending the “15th ASIAN YOUTH TENPIN BOWLING CHAMPIONSHIPS” held in Kuwait. Executive Members of
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Frontliners, received him in the airport and gave a warm welcome on the cold morning. Under the auspices of Prime Minister of Kuwait HH Sheikh Naser Al Mohammad Al Ahmad Al Sabah the games were conducted. He has been invited as a Special Guest,
since he is the President of Indian Bowling Association and he encouraged the Indian team. Karti, with the Indian Team had an exclusive meeting with H. E Ajay Malhotra, Ambassador of India, Kuwait.
H.E. expIained to Karti about Indian Embassy’s many services such as Legal Advise, Solutions to various Visa issues, making the awareness among the workers and other facilities given to them, to improve their standards were also dis-
cussed during this brief and effective meeting. Karti, appreciated the Indian Embassy, for all their efforts and support that they are extending to the local resident Indians. Also he was glad to see the Frontliners
Free Arabic language course in IPC
Future Eye Theatre launch ceremony KUWAIT: Future Eye Theatre, Kuwait, a new theatre friendship for the Indian expatriate community in Kuwait, will be launched during a two-day cultural event. Celebrated theatre personality and filmmaker Priyanandanan will inaugurate the theatre at 7.30 pm on February 4, 2010 at a function at the Indian Central School, Abbassiya. The maiden production of the Future Eye Theatre ‘Kallan Kayariya Veedu’ will be staged during the event. Future Eye will honor two theatre personalities —K P Balakrishnan and K K Shemej Kumar on the occasion. On the second day (Friday, February 5), Future Eye will conduct a day-long theatre workshop from 10 am to 4.30pm at the United Indian School auditorium, Abbassia. For free registration mail to: future_eye_theatre@yahoo.com
team for their tireless services being done to Indian Community, both in Kuwait as well as back home. End of the second day Karti Chidambaram, left Kuwait with a great satisfaction and good memories
PC and all its branches is opening FREE Arabic Language Course. Courses are offered for beginners and advance levels available during weekdays and weekends. Islamic and Quran courses are also presented in different languages. Classes will commence on March 2, 2010. Registration is on!
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Call the nearest IPC branch: Cams (Men): 22418934 Salmiyah: 25733263/97533263 Salwa: 25637900/94064491 Jahra: 24558830/97509063 Rawdah : 22512257/97290278 Kheitan: 24735627/99285459 Mangaf: 23723002 ext. 124/127.
Aware holds diwaniya on role of women veryone is cordially invited to Aware’s diwaniya on “The Ideal yet Unpopular Role of Women,” by Sharifa Carlo. The French economic philosopher, Jules Simon said “Women have started to work in textile factories and printing presses etc and the government is employing them in factories where they can earn a few francs. But on the other hand, this has totally destroyed the basis of family life. The husband may benefit from his wife’s earnings, but apart from that, his earnings have decreased because now he is competing with her for work.” What is the ideal role of women? Should women work? Can women work? Should women only be housewives? What is the best role for them? Come by and find out for yourself tomorrow at 7 pm.
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he Premier Football Academy Under 14’s team played three matches over a busy weekend against Goal Academy, Hassan Abul Academy and GAC Indian Teams with defences on top and the games ending in closely fought draws and honours even. The busy fixture schedule continues throughout February and March as the team prepares for participation in further overseas tournaments in April and May. The players train three times a week under the expert guidance of English F.A. coaches Liam O’Brien and Junior Walters, following the www.evertonway.com coaching program.
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Adopt a pet
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atchon is a very alert white persian cat! His eyes are wide - watching everything going on around him. Batchon would do best in a home with children over 8.
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llie is a male persian mix. He is sweet, psychic, and knows when you need a cat in your lap. He is friendly with other cats and is about two years old.
Pakistani pop star concert cancelled By Mohammad Omer undreds of Pakistani expatriates were shocked on Thursday when they reached the venue of a concert in Hawally. They were informed that the program was cancelled because the organizers could not acquire the visa for pop singer Ibrar-ul-Haq. This show was organized by the CEO of the Star Associate Real Estate Company. He announced that he was going to celebrate the fourth anniversary of his company by hosting a concert with the renowned Paksitani pop singer on Jan 28 and 29. Tickets were sold on a large scale and made available at Pakistani restaurants and several other locations. Hashim Khan and his organizers explained that they tried their best to obtain a visa for Ibrar’s visit. As soon as they succeed a new date for the show will take place and the old tickets will be valid, he said. A large number of Pakistani expats and families contacted the Kuwait Times and described their problem. They said that the sale of the tickets started 15 days earlier and that they were kept in the dark about the cancellation of the program. They demanded that the Pakistani Embassy take action against the organizers. They added that obtaining a visa for any celebrity is not a problem because they can be obtained from any hotel within 48 hours. Many who sold the tickets expressed concern because they are being questioned by those who bought tickets from them.
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illy is a 1-year-old female terrier mix. Lilly is a gorgeous dog that is just as happy as can be. She has a slight deformity to her front right leg that she was born with but she has no idea. She has a wonderful spirit and will do best in a home with children over 8 and gets along well with other dogs.
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hoto is a 10 month-old male mix breed. Shoto is an active dog with a very loving temperament. Shoto gets along well with other dogs and needs room to run. He will do best in a villa with a garden and with children over 12.
Send to What’s On upcoming events, birthdays or celebrations by email: local@kuwaittimes.net Fax: 24835619 / 20
INFORMATION
32
Tuesday, February 20, 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
Adhaliya
22517144
Khaldiya
24848075
Keifan
24849807
Shamiya
24848913
Shuwaikh
24814507
Abdullah Salim
22549134
Al-Nuzha
22526804
Industrial Shuwaikh
24814764
Al-Khadissiya
22515088
Dasmah
22532265
Bneid Al-Ghar
22531908
Al-Shaab
22518752
Al-Kibla
22459381
Ayoun Al-Kibla
22451082
Al-Mirqab
22456536
Sharq
22465401
Salmiya
25746401
Jabriya
25316254
Maidan Hawally
25623444
Bayan
25388462
Mishref
25381200
W.Hawally
22630786
Sabah
24810221
Jahra
24770319
New Jahra
24575755
West Jahra
24772608
South Jahra
24775066
North Jahra
24775992
North Jleeb
24311795
Al-Ardhiya
24884079
Firdous
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
Kuwait Airways Wataniya Airways Jazeera Airways Jet Airways Qatar Airways KLM Air Slovakia Olympic Airways Royal Jordanian Reservation British Airways Air France Emirates Air India Sri Lanka Airlines Egypt Air Swiss Air Saudia Middle East Airlines Lufthansa PIA Alitalia Balkan Airlines Bangladesh Airlines Czech Airlines Indian Airlines Oman Air Turkish Airlines
22433377 24379900 177 22477631 22423888 22425747 22434940 22420002/9 22418064/5/6 22433388 22425635 22430224 22425566 22438184 22424444 22421578 22421516 22426306 22423073 22422493 22421044 22414427 22416474 22452977/8 22417901/2433141 22456700 22412284/5 22453820/1
INTERNATIONAL CALLS Afghanistan Albania Algeria Andorra Angola Anguilla Antiga Argentina Armenia Australia Austria Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia Botswana Brazil Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad Chile China Colombia Comoros Congo Cook Islands Costa Rica Croatia Cuba Cyprus Cyprus (Northern) Czech Republic Denmark Diego Garcia Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador England (UK)
0093 00355 00213 00376 00244 001264 001268 0054 00374 0061 0043 001242 00973 00880 001246 00375 0032 00501 00229 001441 00975 00591 00387 00267 0055 00673 00359 00226 00257 00855 00237 001 00238 001345 00236 00235 0056 0086 0057 00269 00242 00682 00506 00385 0053 00357 0090392 00420 0045 00246 00253 001767 001809 00593 0020 00503 0044
Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Falkland Islands Faroe Islands Fiji Finland France French Guiana French Polynesia Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Gibraltar Greece Greenland Grenada Guadeloupe Guam Guatemala Guinea Guyana Haiti Holland (Netherlands) Honduras Hong Kong Hungary Ibiza (Spain) Iceland India Indian Ocean Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Italy Ivory Coast Jamaica Japan Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Latvia Lebanon Liberia Libya Lithuania Luxembourg Macau Macedonia
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
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
33
ACCOMMODATION Sharing accommodation available near Amiri hospital Sharq, couple or working ladies or bachelor. Contact: 55941621. (C 20274) 2-2-2010 One self contained room, suitable for single person, preferably Goans. Rent KD 60. Contact: 25627593. 1-2-2010 One room to let in a three bedroom flat in Khaitan on the airport avenue. Suitable for a Westerner ,a young couple or a single male high flying executive. Call 97850290 Sharing accommodation
available for decent Indian bachelor at Salmiya near Edee store, rent KD 60. Contact: 99838117, 25635450. (C 20264) Furnished single room accommodation available in a 2 bedroom and 2 bathroom flat for Muslim working lady in Farwaniya. Contact: 67056991. (C 20265) 31-1-2010
66332875. (C 20262)
Hi Dine supermarket. Contact: 99702105. (C 20254)
Sharing accommodation available in a C-A/C flat near Jabriya Indian school for decent family or working ladies, Jabriya, area 10. Contact: 99606946. (C 20257) 30-1-2010
FOR SALE KIA Opris 2005 model, sunroof, censor alloy ring CD player inside beige, outside color blue, full option, 74,000 mileage. KD 2,800. Tel: 66013800. (C 20272 2-1-2010
Sharing accommodation available in Abbassiya. Only for Keralite couples and ladies bachelors. Contact: 97134824. (C 20258)
Separate room available in Hawally Tunis street, Near Al Ghanim in 2 bedroom/bathroom C-A/C new flat with separate bathroom & balcony with family. Contact: 99380453. (C 20252)
Sharing accommodation available in Abbassiya with Malayali family, for decent bachelor or couples. Contact:
Furnished single room accommodation available in a flat for executive Muslim bachelor in Abbassiya, near
Pentium 4, Intel, 40GB HDD, 256 MB RAM, CD ROM, 56K modem, sound card, speakers, 17” CRT monitor, ready for internet, KD 35. PIII, Intel, 20 GB HDD, 128 MB RAM with 15” monitor, KD 15. Contact: 66244192. (C 20269)
Jazeera Qatari Kuwait Kuwait Royal Jordanian Jazeera Emirates Gulf Air Saudi Arabian A/L Etihad Jazeera Arabia Jazeera Wataniya Airways Jazeera Sri Lankan United A/L Jazeera Wataniya Airways DHL Wataniya Airways Kuwait Kuwait Kuwait Kuwait Jazeera Kuwait Kuwait Indian Kuwait Kuwait Jet A/W Wataniya Airways Oman Air Saudi Arabian A/L Jazeera Gulf Air Kuwait Middle East Qatari Emirates Kuwait Jazeera Jazeera Global Jazeera Jazeera Egypt Air Egypt Air Shaheen Air Lufthansa Wataniya Airways Wataniya Airways Wataniya Airways Pakistan
Damascus Doha Dhaka Alexandria Amman Dubai Dubai Bahrain Riyadh Abu Dhabi Amman Sharjah Deirezzor Beirut Riyadh Colombo/Dubai Washington DC Dulles Bahrain Cairo Baghdad Dubai Cairo Dubai Doha Paris/Rome Dubai Bahrain Riyadh Chennai/Goa New York/London Amman Mumbai Jeddah Muscat Jeddah Damascus Bahrain Jeddah Beirut Doha Dubai Beirut Doha Bahrain Baghdad Abu Dhabi Dubai Cairo Luxor Lahore/Karachi Frankfurt Amman Dubai Bahrain Karachi
Internet card - Fast Telco for sale, original price KD 55, required price KD 10. Contact: 66451465. (C 20270) 1-2-2010 Toyota Camry, 1997 in excellent condition, registered until Jan 2011. Price KD 1,200 for interested buyers only. Call: 67056666. 1992 model Cressida Gl, excellent condition, price KD 600. Tel: 99687598. Seat Toledo, model 2003, 1.6cc, mileage 81,000, good condition, owned by KFH, lease to own KD 56, remaining KD 1444, golden insurance. Call: 99820216. (C 20260) 30-1-2010
SITUATION VACANT
Required cook for house, good experience all kinds of food continental, good salary. Part time/ full time. Contact: 66519719, 23901053. (C 20261) 30-1-2010
SITUATION WANTED Egyptian accountant (English) seeking for job, having 2 years experience, prepared CMA part 1, proficient in Quickbooks, peach tree, hold ICDL. Contact: 65864734. Email: ahmed1osama@hotmail.com
MATRIMONIAL CHANGE OF NAME Groom wanted for RC girl, 23, 5.4, from Ernakulam, MBA (HR & MKT), working as Assistant HR Manager in a reputed MNC, seeking alliance from Roman Catholic family, professionally qualified persons. Chavara matrimonial ID: er15509. Contact: mail2bnj@gmail.com (C 20263)
I, Abbas Hajji Ali Shahab Shahida wife of Abbas Hajji Ali Shahab, born on 2nd September 1966, holding Indian Passport Number F8462504, shall henceforth be known as Shahida Abbas Hajji Ali Shahab Shahida. (C 20271) 1-2-2010
TRANSPORT Transport available 24 hours for hospitals, schools. We have bus coasters model 2004. For any more details please contact: 99589409. (C 20275) 2-2-2010
LOST Policy No. 630001571 Habib Ur Rehman Awan, Policy No. 630001523 Amanat Ali, Policy No. 633002284 Amar, have been lost. Anyone finding within one month report to State Life Kuwait. Phone: 22452208. (C 20273) 2-2-2010
Flight Schedule Arrival Flights on Tuesday 02/02/2010 Airlines Flt Route Jazeera 0263 Beirut Tunis Air 327 Tunis/Dubai Wataniya Airways 2011 Sharm El Sheikh Royal Jordanian 802 Amman Wataniya Airways 2103 Beirut Gulf Air 211 Bahrain Kuwait 544 Cairo Jazeera 0513 Sharm El Sheikh Turkish A/L 1172 Istanbul DHL 370 Bahrain Jazeera 0241 Amman Emirates 853 Dubai Etihad 0305 Abu Dhabi Qatari 0138 Doha Ethiopian 622 Addis Ababa/Bahrain Air France 6770 Paris Jazeera 0503 Luxor Jazeera 0527 Alexandria Kuwait 416 Jakarta/Kuala Lumpur Jazeera 0529 Assiut Jazeera 0481 Sabiha British 0157 London Kuwait 352 Cochin Kuwait 206 Islamabad Jazeera 0161 Dubai Kuwait 302 Mumbai Kuwait 676 Dubai Kuwait 362 Colombo Emirates 855 Dubai Kuwait 286 Chittagong Arabia 0121 Sharjah Qatari 0132 Doha Etihad 0301 Abu Dhabi Gulf Air 213 Bahrain Wataniya Airways 1121 Bahrain Jazeera 0447 Doha Jazeera 0165 Dubai Jazeera 0425 Bahrain Wataniya Airways 1021 Dubai Jazeera 0113 Abu Dhabi Iran Air 619 Lar Middle East 404 Beirut Yemenia 825 Sanaa Pakistan 239 Sialkot Egypt Air 610 Cairo Jazeera 0171 Dubai Kuwait 672 Dubai Wataniya Airways 2301 Damascus Jazeera 0525 Alexandria Jazeera 0257 Beirut Wataniya Airways 2001 Cairo Kuwait 552 Damascus Kuwait 744 Dammam
Time 00:05 00:10 00:15 00:35 00:50 01:05 01:15 01:25 02:15 02:15 02:30 02:35 03:00 03:25 03:30 04:35 05:35 06:10 06:25 06:30 06:35 06:40 07:40 07:40 07:45 07:55 08:10 08:20 08:30 08:35 08:55 09:00 09:35 10:45 10:45 11:00 11:05 11:10 11:20 11:20 11:50 11:55 12:35 12:50 12:55 13:05 13:25 13:35 14:05 14:10 14:20 14:35 14:40
0457 0134 284 546 800 0173 857 215 510 0303 0239 0125 0367 2101 0497 227 982 0427 2003 473 1025 542 674 618 166 0177 614 774 575 102 562 572 1201 0647 506 0459 217 786 402 0136 859 502 0449 0429 081 0117 0185 612 606 441 636 2201 1029 1129 215
14:45 15:00 15:10 15:30 15:40 16:05 16:55 17:05 17:15 17:15 17:35 17:40 17:45 17:50 18:00 18:05 18:15 18:15 18:20 18:30 18:40 18:50 18:55 18:55 19:00 19:05 19:20 19:30 19:30 19:35 19:40 20:05 20:15 20:20 20:35 20:40 21:05 21:10 21:20 21:35 22:00 22:00 22:10 22:15 22:20 22:25 22:40 22:45 23:00 23:05 23:30 23:40 23:45 23:55 23:55
Departure Flights on Tuesday 02/02/2010 Airlines Flt Route Time Egypt Air 607 Luxor 00:01 Jazeera 0528 Assiut 00:05 India Express 390 Mangalore/Kozhikode 00:30 United A/L 981 Washington DC Dulles 00:40 Tunis Air 328 Tunis 01:00 Indian 982 Ahmadabad/Chennai 01:05 Pakistan 206 Lahore 01:10 Bangladesh 044 Dhaka 01:15 Lufthansa 637 Frankfurt 01:20 Safi A/W 216 Kabul 02:30 Kuwait 283 Dhaka 02:55 Turkish A/L 1173 Istanbul 03:15 DHL 371 Bahrain 03:15 Emirates 854 Dubai 03:50 Etihad 0306 Abu Dhabi 04:10 Ethiopian 622 Addis Ababa 04:15 Qatari 0139 Doha 05:00 Air France 6770 Dubai/Hong Kong 06:20 Jazeera 0164 Dubai 07:00 Wataniya Airways 1020 Dubai 07:00 Royal Jordanian 803 Amman 07:05 Jazeera 0524 Alexandria 07:20 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 Wataniya Airways 2300 Damascus 08:10 Kuwait 545 Alexandria 08:30 Jazeera 0256 Beirut 08:35 British 0156 London 08:55 Jazeera 0170 Dubai 09:00 Kuwait 671 Dubai 09:00 Kuwait 551 Damascus 09:10 Jazeera 0456 Damascus 09:25 Arabia 0122 Sharjah 09:35 Emirates 856 Dubai 09:40 Kuwait 117 New York 10:00 Qatari 0133 Doha 10:00 Etihad 0302 Abu Dhabi 10:20 Kuwait 173 Frankfurt/Geneva 10:20 Wataniya Airways 2002 Cairo 11:30 Gulf Air 214 Bahrain 11:40 Kuwait 743 Dammam 11:55 Kuwait 541 Cairo 12:00 Jazeera 0172 Dubai 12:00 Wataniya Airways 2100 Beirut 12:05 Jazeera 0366 Deirezzor 12:20 Jazeera 0238 Amman 12:25 Kuwait 103 London 12:30 Iran Air 618 Lar 12:50
FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION 161
Middle East Yemenia Pakistan Egypt Air Wataniya Airways Kuwait Kuwait Jazeera Jazeera Wataniya Airways Jazeera Jazeera Kuwait Kuwait Kuwait Kuwait Kuwait Royal Jordanian Qatari Gulf Air Etihad Emirates Arabia Jazeera Saudi Arabian A/L Jazeera Jazeera Wataniya Airways Jazeera Global Jazeera Wataniya Airways Sri Lankan Wataniya Airways Kuwait Kuwait Wataniya Airways Jet A/W Oman Air Kuwait Gulf Air Saudi Arabian A/L DHL Kuwait Middle East Jazeera Qatari Kuwait Emirates Jazeera Jazeera Egypt Air Jazeera Kuwait
405 825 240 611 1024 673 561 0496 0176 1200 0426 0458 617 785 501 773 613 801 0135 216 0304 858 0126 0262 511 0184 0116 2200 0448 082 0428 2102 228 1028 361 343 1128 571 0648 331 218 507 171 675 403 0188 0137 301 860 0636 0526 613 0502 411
Beirut Doha/Sanaa Sialkot Cairo Dubai Dubai Amman Riyadh Dubai Jeddah Bahrain Damascus Doha Jeddah Beirut Riyadh Bahrain Amman Doha Bahrain Abu Dhabi Dubai Sharjah Beirut Riyadh Dubai Abu Dhabi Amman Doha Baghdad Bahrain Beirut Dubai/Colombo Dubai Colombo Chennai Bahrain Mumbai Muscat Trivandrum Bahrain Jeddah Bahrain Dubai Beirut Dubai Doha Mumbai Dubai Aleppo Alexandria Cairo Luxor Bangkok/Manila
12:55 13:35 13:40 13:55 14:25 14:30 14:35 14:40 15:05 15:10 15:25 15:30 15:35 15:45 16:10 16:10 16:20 16:25 16:30 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 19:30 20:20 20:50 21:00 21:10 21:20 21:25 21:55 21:55 22:00 22:10 22:20 22:30 22:35 22:45 23:10 23:20 23:25 23:45 23:50 23:55
SPECTRUM
34 CROSSWORD 888
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Calvin Aries (March 21-April 19) Someone may try to
fool you today—careful! On the positive side, it is a good day to just reflect or help others. On the negative side, there may be a failure to communicate. Do not be afraid to ask questions. Also, it’s important at this time not to let personal relationships interfere with your work. You might accomplish more to sit alone. If possible, save the new projects for another day. You should find a constructive manner to release the tremendous gusto that you feel. Leisure activities with friends could be enjoyed. Do not hide beneath a shell—open up to loved ones this evening. Ask questions, become involved in the daily concerns of loved ones. Working together in accomplishing fun things builds fun memories; fishing, sports, cooking, crafts, etc. Taurus (April 20-May 20) Your search to find ways in which to add to the finances is becoming successful. It may be possible that a part time job opportunity has surfaced. Now is a time when you enjoy good relations with family members and the financial position may also improve because of your association with a relative. This may also be a time of inheritance. This is a feel good day! Friendships are a source of great pleasure and you, in turn, should be quite popular. This harmony should be very useful in easing past tensions in a relationship or in concluding some difficult financial matters. The time is ripe for a sudden and unexpected change in the normal routine of family life. You could be planning a move. Perhaps your change is a change of job. Members of your family want to help and you can expect a most positive time of togetherness.
Pooch Cafe
ACROSS 1. A platform raised above the surrounding level to give prominence to the person on it. 5. A Kwa language spoken by the Yoruba people in southwestern Nigeria. 8. Airtight sealed metal container for food or drink or paint etc.. 11. A city in northern India. 12. A colloid in a more solid form than a sol. 13. A constellation in the southern hemisphere near Telescopium and Norma. 14. Any of numerous local fertility and nature deities worshipped by ancient Semitic peoples. 15. The compass point that is one point north of due east. 16. The Tibeto-Burman language spoken in the Dali region of Yunnan. 17. A colorless and odorless inert gas. 18. A radioactive element of the actinide series. 20. An associate degree in applied science. 22. Informal terms for a mother. 23. According to the Old Testament he was a pagan king of Israel and husband of Jezebel (9th century BC). 25. In bed. 27. (of reproduction) Not involving the fusion of male and female gametes reproduction". 30. A soft silvery metallic element of the alkali earth group. 31. A light touch or stroke. 33. Title for a civil or military leader (especially in Turkey). 35. A white metallic element that burns with a brilliant light. 36. A state in southeastern United States. 38. A sock with a separation for the big toe. 43. (botany) Of or relating to the axil. 46. An informal term for a father. 48. A silvery soft waxy metallic element of the alkali metal group. 49. (Irish) Mother of the Tuatha De Danann. 50. The blood group whose red cells carry both the A and B antigens. 51. A cord that is drawn through eyelets or around hooks in order to draw together two edges (as of a shoe or garment). 53. (Old Testament) In Judeo-Christian mythology. 54. An official prosecutor for a judicial district. 55. Title for a civil or military leader (especially in Turkey). DOWN 1. A Chadic language spoken south of Lake Chad. 2. Any culture medium that uses agar as the gelling agent. 3. A self-funded retirement plan that allows you to contribute a limited yearly sum toward your retirement. 4. A deep bow. 5. How long something has existed. 6. Cubes of meat marinated and cooked on a skewer usually with vegetables. 7. The inner and longer of the two bones of the human forearm. 8. A compartment in front of a motor vehicle where driver sits. 9. An edilbe seaweed with a mild flavor. 10. Submerged aquatic plant having narrow leaves and small flowers. 19. The 22nd letter of the Greek alphabet. 21. A native-born Israeli. 24. A legal document codifying the result of deliberations of a committee or society or legislative body. 26. Having undesirable or negative qualities. 28. A rare silvery (usually trivalent) metallic element. 29. A loose sleeveless outer garment made from aba cloth. 32. Harsh or corrosive in tone. 34. A highly unstable radioactive element (the heaviest of the halogen series). 37. Wearing or provided with clothing. 38. An intensely radioactive metallic element that occurs in minute amounts in uranium ores. 39. (Babylonian) God of storms and wind. 40. A small cake leavened with yeast. 41. A unit of length (in United States and Britain) equal to one twelfth of a foot. 42. (Greek mythology) Goddess of the earth and mother of Cronus and the Titans in ancient mythology. 44. (Irish) Mother of the ancient Irish gods. 45. The most common computer memory which can be used by programs to perform necessary tasks while the computer is on. 47. A flat wing-shaped process or winglike part of an organism. 52. A soft white precious univalent metallic element having the highest electrical and thermal conductivity of any metal.
Gemini (May 21-June 20) You should take note not to be controlling with superiors. You will find yourself a magnet to others and may enjoy a group luncheon today. People just flock to you and enjoy your company. Interactions with the opposite sex on a professional level may occur often today. All of the world loves a lover and today that is you! What a day to declare your love for someone! This is a great time for new beginnings! Your awareness of relationships far outstrips your ego’s needs. Do not waste a day like this by being alone. You are very congenial—SMILE! Once you clear away the more base feelings of love, you will turn a relationship into a higher, more meaningful one. Your relationship grows deep. Put some effort into delighting the senses.
Non Sequitur
Cancer (June 21-July 22) This is a day that should flow along particularly well. This is an excellent day to take on—perhaps, mentally difficult projects. You could broach a subject with someone you were too shy about before now—ask for a raise or speak publicly. Past fears just melt away. Good luck! Maternal instincts may come to the forefront now and you make every effort to please most anyone. Also, there is a strong wish to make your surroundings as pleasant as possible. You may purchase flowers for the table this afternoon. You do well in activities that include children or young people. You may even find that you are quite talented at entertaining these young folks. You may very well spend the day thinking about past accomplishments and future plans. Leo (July 23-August 22) Relations with a spouse or business partner are on solid ground. Mental stimulation from others is most helpful for you right now. It is a good idea to make every effort to move with gentle action and low tones when communicating with others. A heavyduty project should have great success with your attention. You may experience some negativity during a group discussion this afternoonpatience; this is short-lived. You will find good results happen when you find extra time to spend with a difficult person-listening is a good thing. At home this evening you find enjoyable interactions with young people. Stability and permanence satisfy a deep emotional need. Expressing affection should come easily and it does much good for your disposition.
Zits
Virgo (August 23-September 22) There is a perfect balance between your career needs and personal needs today. Neither side of you has to struggle with the other. You have a super-sensitive awareness of the moods and needs of others, making this an excellent time to run seminars or work with groups. This evening there may be offers to expand your talents—learn or express yourself in writing, music, poetry, etc. We are always evolving into a new cycle, learning, moving and encountering new experiences. You may feel as though you are blocked if you do not put forth the effort to go for the whole experience. You are extremely creative and when given the opportunity to excel in your field of talent—you excel! Trust in your wonderful self! This is an extremely creative period. Libra (September 23-October 22) Job interviews or proposals for advancement can be positive and possible now. You may experience a great deal of misunderstanding in your professional life at this time. There may be conflicts about the direction of certain projects or . . . people working under you may not perform to your standards. This may also be a magical time for you. The situations of today point to the exact changes you must make to really feel that you are on the right path of your life journey. Opening up to a close friend may help you gain a focus. You may find yourself helping a young person with a project or homework this evening. You will be inclined to engage in conversations of a serious matter with loved ones. Relationships are in good shape!
Mother Goose and Grimm
Scorpio (October 23-November 21) There is much
contemplative thinking about your work today. There should also be a great deal of communication, which could prove most beneficial with people of the opposite sex. Problems in the workplace may surface—or emotional problems at home may seriously interfere with your concentration at work. Concentrate on the job at hand first! There are opportunities later to clear away any problems. You will notice some financial growth that has not been previously available. You may, however, have to move quickly in order to secure a tidy profit. This evening is the perfect time to engage in heartfelt discussions with loved ones, or to iron out any differences with friends. Any misunderstanding can now be put aside—a healing is in order. Sagittarius (November 22-December 21) You should expend great motivation in moneymaking efforts today—success will follow. However, you should not be impulsive or quick to act; it would be better to spend time carefully examining your work and make the necessary adjustments. A period of great mental activity and inspiration has begun. You have a lot on your mind and feel a strong need to communicate and gather ideas. Realize that this is a busy time at work for you and allow yourself more time for each project, problem customer or instructions to others. Do not take your work home with you. The good feelings are back this afternoon! Smooth over any misunderstandings between you and a friend, or lover today—express your love. Surround yourself with beauty.
Yesterday’s Solution
Capricorn (December 22-January 19) This is
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
not a good time to make any concrete decisions about a relationship or business deal. The decisions and actions of today will have long lasting effects. Think things through and give your answer or thinking on a particular matter later. Your path of self-development and expression is becoming more and more unusual—setting you apart from the crowd and from all that is traditional. This may mean a shift from your normal job description—an opportunity to excel. You show a great deal of interest in all family matters, particularly the general living environment in the home. Further, you may find yourself talking or listening to the family members of your household on a one-on-one basis. A new understanding is unfolding. Aquarius (January 20- February 18) At this time, you may actively be concerned about the welfare of others in your business—or people who work under you. Your creative ideas are good—ready to be applied to any situation. You are buoyed with confidence to succeed at any project you attempt. This is an excellent time to sway others to your cause through speeches or arguments— your thinking is most lucid. In addition, this is a good time to lead the way on a project, for your originality is unusually heightened. Companionship with others is most rewarding. To you dreamers of impossible dreams, you just might make them come true today. Do not let your high spirits get too far ahead of the discipline and attention to detail necessary to make any dream a reality. Pisces (February 19-March 20) You are realistic about your abilities and expectations for success. Your nature will most likely be very calm now, as you take a serious attitude to your life. This is an excellent time to sit down alone and get many things accomplished. You feel successful and able to handle difficult situations. Good advice from a guide or older person may be forthcoming. Something electric is in the air and your charisma shines! Your ability to effectively communicate with both friends and colleague is increased. The practical use of your time and passion will most certainly pay off nicely. This evening is a good time to be with friends or loved ones. You may attract a new love interest—if you are interested. If you are not involved in a love relationship, you could be soon.
TV PROGRAMS
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
35
Orbit listings / Show listings AMERICA PLUS 00:00 Doctor Who 01:00 Life on Mars 02:00 Knight Rider 03:00 Dawsons Creek 04:00 Life on Mars 05:00 Inside the actors Studio 06:00 Heroes 07:00 Doctor Who 08:00 Hotel Babylon 09:00 Saving Grace 10:00 Knight Rider 11:00 Dawsons Creek 12:00 Heroes 13:00 Inside the actors Studio 14:00 Knight Rider 15:00 Life on Mars 16:00 Hotel Babylon 17:00 Saving Grace 18:00 Doctor Who 19:00 Heroes 20:00 Inside the Actors Studio 21:00 Flash Forward 22:00 Inside the actors Studio 23:00 Rescue Me ANIMAL PLANET 00:50 Animal Cops Phoenix 01:45 How Not to Become Shark Bait 02:40 Untamed & Uncut 03:35 I’m Alive 04:30 Animal Cops Houston 05:25 Animal Cops Phoenix 06:20 Lemur Street 06:45 Monkey Business 07:10 Aussie Animal Rescue 07:35 Dolphin Days 08:00 Wildlife SOS 08:25 Pet Rescue 08:50 Animal Precinct 09:45 All New Planet’s Funniest Animals 10:40 Aussie Animal Rescue 11:05 Animal Cops Phoenix 11:55 The Jeff Corwin Experience 12:50 Wildlife SOS 13:15 Pet Rescue 13:45 All New Planet’s Funniest Animals 14:40 How Not to Become Shark Bait 15:35 Lemur Street 16:00 Monkey Business 16:30 Pet Rescue 16:55 Dolphin Days 17:25 Wildlife SOS 17:50 Aussie Animal Rescue 18:20 Animal Cops Houston 19:15 K9 Cops 20:10 Surviving Sharks 21:10 Animal Cops Phoenix 22:05 Untamed & Uncut 23:00 K9 Cops 23:55 Animal Cops Houston BBC ENTERTAINMENT 00:45 Holby City 01:45 Coast 02:45 Amazon Abyss 03:45 Holby City 05:55 Amazon Abyss 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 Ancient Rome 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 Holby City 20:00 Holby City 21:00 The Weakest Link 21:45 Doctors 22:15 Eastenders 22:45 The Whistleblowers 23:45 Judge John Deed 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 Saturday Kitchen 04:00 Boys’ Weekend 04:30 Ching’s Kitchen 05:00 Masterchef Goes Large 05:20 Cash In The Attic Usa 05:45 Hidden Potential 06:15 Living In The Sun 07:00 Coleen’s Real Women 08:10 Antiques Roadshow 09:00 Cash In The Attic Usa 09:25 Hidden Potential 09:45 Gary Rhodes’ Local Food Heroes 11:30 Living In The Sun 12:20 Antiques Roadshow 13:10 Coleen’s Real Women 14:00 Gary Rhodes’ Local Food Heroes 15:40 Daily Cooks Challenge 16:30 Cash In The Attic Usa 16:50 Hidden Potential 17:10 Antiques Roadshow 18:00 Coleen’s Real Women 18:50 Living In The Sun 19:40 Daily Cooks Challenge 20:10 Daily Cooks Challenge 20:40 Masterchef Goes Large 21:05 New British Kitchen 21:30 New British Kitchen 22:00 The Home Show 22:50 10 Years Younger 23:40 Boys’ Weekend BLOOMBERG 00:00 Street Smart with Carol Massar and Matt Miller 01:00 Charlie Rose 02:00 Morning Call 04:00 The Trade 06:00 The Bloomberg Edge 07:00 Asia Confidential with Bernie
Lo 09:00 Start-Up 10:30 Countdown 12:00 Briefing 13:00 FirstUp with Scarlet Fu 14:00 Inside Track with Deidre Bolton and Erik Schatzker 15:00 Inside Track with Deidre Bolton and Erik Schatzker 16:00 In the Loop with Betty Liu 18:00 InBusiness with Margaret Brennan 19:00 InBusiness with Margaret Brennan and Francine Lacqua 20:00 Bloomberg News 21:00 Bloomberg News 22:00 Charlie Rose 23:00 Street Smart with Carol Massar and Matt Miller BOOMERANG 00:00 Top Cat 00:25 Wacky Races 00:50 Dexter’s Laboratory 01:15 Johnny Bravo 01:40 Dastardly And Muttley 02:05 King Arthur’s Disasters 02:30 Popeye 02:55 Scooby Doo Where Are You! 03:20 Help! It’s the Hair Bear Bunch 03:45 Mike, Lu & Og 04:10 Time Squad 04:35 Sheep In The Big City 05:00 The Perils of Penelope Pitstop 05:25 A Pup Named Scooby-Doo 05:50 Johnny Bravo 06:15 Dexter’s Laboratory 06:40 Popeye 07:05 The Jetsons 07:30 The Flintstones 08:00 Looney Tunes 08:25 Tom & Jerry 08:55 Popeye Classics 09:20 The Perils of Penelope Pitstop 09:45 A Pup Named Scooby-Doo 10:10 Dexter’s Laboratory 10:35 Johnny Bravo 11:00 Dastardly And Muttley 11:30 The Flintstones
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 Eliot Kid 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 Squirrel Boy 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 23:50 Megas XLR CINEMA CITY 01:00 Iris - 18 03:00 Run Papa Run - PG 15
All The Boys Love Mandy Lane on Show Movies 12:00 12:25 12:50 13:15 13:40 14:05 14:30 14:55 15:20 15:45 16:10 16:35 17:00 17:20 17:45 18:00 18:30 19:00 19:30 20:00 20:20 20:45 21:10 21:35 22:00 22:25 22:50 23:15 23:40
The Jetsons Looney Tunes King Arthur’s Disasters Top Cat Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo Help! It’s the Hair Bear Bunch Mike, Lu & Og Time Squad Sheep In The Big City The Scooby Doo Show Hong Kong Phooey Popeye Classics Tom & Jerry Top Cat Wacky Races Dastardly And Muttley The Scooby Doo Show Johnny Bravo Dexter’s Laboratory Popeye The Perils of Penelope Pitstop King Arthur’s Disasters The Jetsons The Flintstones Looney Tunes Tom & Jerry The Scooby Doo Show Hong Kong Phooey Tex Avery
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 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
05:00 Moll Flanders - PG 15 07:00 Maradona: The Hand Of God PG 15 09:00 Teknolust - PG 15 11:00 Calendar Girls - PG 15 13:00 There’s Only One Jimmy Grimble - PG 15 15:00 Quand J’etais Chanteur - PG 15 17:00 Bopha! - PG 15 19:00 Ripley’s Game - PG 15 21:00 Losing Isaiah - PG 23:00 Liberty Heights - 18 DISCOVERY CHANNEL 00:00 Untamed & Uncut 01:00 Miami Ink 02:00 Street Customs 2008 02:55 American Chopper 03:50 Chop Shop 04:45 Mythbusters 05:40 How Stuff Works 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 How Stuff Works 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 How Stuff Works 21:00 Building the Future 22:00 Man Made Marvels China 23:00 LA Hard Hats DISCOVERY ID 00:40 Dr G: Medical Examiner 01:30 Fbi Files 02:20 A Haunting 03:10 Forensic Justice 04:05 Dr G: Medical Examiner 05:00 Forensic Detectives 05:55 Real Emergency Calls
06:20 07:10 07:35 08:00 08:50 09:40 10:30 11:20 12:10 13:00 13:50 14:40 15:30 16:20 17:10 18:00 18:50 19:40 20:30 21:20 22:10 23:00 23:50
Dr G: Medical Examiner Ghosthunters Ghosthunters Forensic Detectives Fbi Files Extreme Forensics The Prosecutors Forensic Detectives Fbi Files Guilty Or Innocent? Diagnosis: Unknown Fugitive Strike Force Forensic Detectives Fbi Files Extreme Forensics The Prosecutors Forensic Detectives Fbi Files Guilty Or Innocent? Diagnosis: Unknown Fugitive Strike Force Deadly Women Undercover
DISCOVERY SCIENCE 00:40 Mega World 01:30 Robocar 02:20 Mighty Ships 03:10 Mega Builders 04:00 Beyond Tomorrow 04:50 Ten Ways 05:45 How Stuff’s Made 06:10 Green Wheels 06:40 One Step Beyond 07:10 Robocar 08:00 Junkyard Mega-Wars 09:00 Ten Ways 10:00 Mighty Ships 10:55 How Stuff’s Made 11:20 Stunt Junkies 11:50 Robocar 12:45 Green Wheels 13:10 One Step Beyond 13:40 Ten Ways 14:35 Mighty Ships 15:30 Download: The True Story of the Internet 16:25 How Stuff’s Made 16:55 Junkyard Mega-Wars 17:50 Brainiac 18:45 Mega World 19:40 Eco-Tech 20:30 Discovery Project Earth 21:20 How It’s Made 22:10 Mythbusters 23:00 Eco-Tech 23:50 Discovery Project Earth DISNEY CHANNEL 00:00 My Friends Tigger and Pooh 00:20 Handy Manny 00:45 Special Agent Oso 01:10 IMAGINATION MOVERS 01:35 Lazytown 02:00 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 02:25 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 IMAGINATION MOVERS 07:45 Lazytown 08:10 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 08:35 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 Sonny With A Chance 20:15 Hannah Montana 20:40 Wizards Of Waverly Place 21:05 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!es 01:30 Extreme Hollywood 02:20 Sexiest 03:15 20 Hottest Women Of The Web 05:05 Dr 90210 06:00 THS 07:45 Style Star 08:10 Style Star 08:35 E! News 09:00 The Daily 10 09:25 Perfect Catch 10:15 THS 12:00 E! News 12:25 The Daily 10 12:50 Wildest TV Show Moments 13:40 THS 15:25 Behind The Scenes 16:15 E!es 17:10 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 18:00 E! News 18:25 The Daily 10 18:50 Streets Of Hollywood 19:15 Battle Of The Hollywood Hotties 19:40 THS
21:20 Kendra 21:45 E!es 22:10 E! News 22:35 The Daily 10 23:00 Dr 90210 23:50 Battle Of The Hollywood Hotties
18:00 PGA European Tour Highlights 19:00 Premier League Classics 19:30 Premier League Classics 20:00 Barclays Premier League Highlights 21:00 Futbol Mundial 21:30 Fut Brasil 22:00 Snooker Welsh Open
EXTREME SPORTS 00:00 Strikeforce 01:00 FIM World Motocross Championships 2008 02:00 Ticket To Ride 03:00 Strikeforce 04:00 LG Action Sports World Championships 05:00 Ride Guide Snow 2008 06:00 F.I.A European Drag Racing 07:00 FIM World Motocross Championships 2008 08:00 Sacred Ride 09:00 I-Ex Season 2 10:00 FIM World Motocross Championships 2008 11:00 Ticket To Ride 12:00 Sacred Ride 12:30 Sacred Ride 13:00 I-Ex Season 2 13:30 I-Ex Season 2 14:00 Ride Guide Snow 2008 14:30 The Sorsa Project 15:00 Ticket To Ride 15:30 Ticket To Ride 16:00 Sacred Ride 16:30 Sacred Ride 17:00 I-Ex Season 2 17:30 I-Ex Season 2 18:00 FIM World Motocross Championships 2008 19:00 FIM World Supermoto 2008 20:00 Ride Guide Snow 2008 20:30 The Sorsa Project 21:00 I-Ex Season 2 21:30 I-Ex Season 2 22:00 Ticket To Ride 23:00 FIM World Supermoto 2008 FOOD NETWORK 00:00 Chopped 01:00 Throwdown With Bobby Flay 02:00 Food Network Challenge 03:00 Iron Chef America 04:00 Throwdown With Bobby Flay 05:00 Teleshopping 08:00 Giada At Home 08:50 Barefoot Contessa 09:15 30 Minute Meals 10:05 Rescue Chef with Danny Boome 11:00 Tyler’s Ultimate 12:00 Barefoot Contessa 13:00 Giada At Home 14:00 30 Minute Meals 15:00 Barefoot Contessa 16:00 Grill It! with Bobby Flay 17:00 Barefoot Contessa 17:30 Barefoot Contessa 18:00 Tyler’s Ultimate 19:00 Rescue Chef with Danny Boome 20:00 Grill It! with Bobby Flay 21:00 Barefoot Contessa 22:00 Food Network Challenge 23:00 Iron Chef America NAT GEO WILD HD 00:00 Buffalo Warrior 01:00 Hunter Hunted 02:00 Dogtown 03:00 Silence Of The Bees 04:00 Hunter Hunted 05:00 Dogtown 06:00 Buffalo Warrior 07:00 Hunter Hunted 08:00 Dogtown 09:00 Silence Of The Bees 10:00 Hunter Hunted 11:00 Dogtown 12:00 Animal Extractors 13:00 Thunder Beasts 14:00 Bug Brother 15:00 Dangerous Encounters 16:00 Monster Fish Of The Congo 17:00 Monster Fish 18:00 Bug Brother 19:00 Dangerous Encounters 20:00 Monster Fish Of The Congo 21:00 Monster Fish 22:00 Animal Extractors 23:00 Thunder Beasts ORBIT NEWS 1 00:00 ABC Now Bell/ Good Money LIVE 00:30 ABC NOW N&W / Now you Know / ESPN 01:00 ABC NOW Top Line / Inside the Newsroom 01:30 ABC Nightline Twitter 02:00 McLaughlin Group 02:30 ABC World News Live 03:00 NBC Nightly News Live 03:30 ABC World News (Mon) 04:00 NBC Today Show 07:00 NBC Nightly News (Mon) 07:30 ABC Nightline Live 08:00 ABC World News (Mon) 08:30 NBC Nightly News (Mon) 09:00 Newshour with Jim Lehrer 10:00 ABC Nightline 10:30 NBC Nightly News (Mon) 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 ORBIT NEWS 2 00:00 MSNBC Live The Dylan Ratigan Show 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
SHOW SPORTS 3 00:00 PGA European Tour Highlights 01:00 Super League 03:00 Premier League Classics 04:00 Weber Cup Bowling 05:00 Weber Cup Bowling 06:00 PGA European Tour Highlights 07:00 Portuguese Liga 09:00 Barclays Premier League Highlights 10:00 World Sport 10:30 Premier League World 11:00 Premier League Classics 12:00 Scottish Premier League Highlights 12:30 PGA European Tour Highlights 13:30 Portuguese Liga 15:30 Premier League World 16:00 PGA European Tour Highlights 17:00 Barclays Premier League Highlights 18:00 Portuguese Liga 20:00 Super League 22:00 Futbol Mundial 22:30 Barclays Premier League Highlights 23:30 PGA European Tour Highlights
The Strangers on Super Movies 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 The Daily Rundown 18:00 MSNBC Live 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 OSN MOVIES HD 01:00 House - PG 02:00 Hannah Montana / Miley Cyrus - FAM 03:30 Iron Man - PG 15 06:00 The Truman Show - PG 15 08:00 Cloverfield - PG 15 10:00 The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas - PG 15 12:00 Evan Almighty - PG 14:00 Cloverfield - PG 15 16:00 The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas - PG 15 18:00 House - PG 19:00 C.s.i. - PG 15 20:00 The Heartbreak Kid - 18 22:00 The Kingdom - 18 PLAYHOUSE DISNEY 08:00 Special Agent Oso 08:25 Handy Manny 08:50 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 09:15 Imagination Movers 09:40 Chuggington 09:55 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 12:15 Special Agent Oso 12:55 Handy Manny 13:05 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 13:30 Imagination Movers 13:50 Little Einsteins 14:10 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 14:30 Special Agent Oso 14:55 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 15:20 Jo Jo’s Circus 15:45 Jo Jo’s Circus 16:10 Higglytown Heroes 16:35 Higglytown Heroes 17:00 My Friends Tigger and Pooh 17:25 Chuggington 17:35 Handy Manny 18:00 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 18:25 Special Agent Oso 18:50 Chuggington 19:00 Chuggington 19:10 Imagination Movers 19:35 Handy Manny 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 MOVIES 00:00 All The Boys Love Mandy Lane - 18 02:00 Clubbed - 18 04:00 Dog Days Of Summer - PG 06:00 A Previous Engagement - PG 15 08:00 No Reservations - PG 15 10:00 Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins - PG 15 12:00 Pink Panther 2 - PG 15 13:45 Uncross The Stars - PG 15:30 No Reservations - PG 15 17:30 Shine A Light - PG 15 19:30 The Chronicles Of Narnia: Prince Caspian - PG
22:00 Welcome Jenkins - PG 15
Home
Roscoe
SHOW MOVIES ACTION 01:00 Mean Machine - 18 03:00 Storm Warning - 18 05:00 H.i.t. - PG 15 07:00 Mercury Man - PG 15 09:00 Past Lies - PG 15 11:00 The Vanishing - R 13:00 Somebody Help Me - PG 15 15:00 Past Lies - PG 15 17:00 Species: The Awakening - 18 19:00 Pulse 2 - 18 21:00 Scorpion - 18 23:00 Gangster Exchange - 18 SHOW MOVIES COMEDY 00:00 Orange County - PG 15 02:00 Prom Wars - 18 04:00 Rat - PG 06:00 Child Star - PG 15 08:00 Girl’s Best Friend - PG 15 10:00 Slap Shots 3 - PG 15 12:00 More Of Me - PG 15 14:00 Get Smart’s Bruce And Lloyd Out Of Control - PG 15 16:00 Orange County - PG 15 18:00 Lymelife - PG 20:00 The Matchmaker - PG 15 22:00 Knocked Up - 18 SHOW MOVIES KIDS 00:00 Chill Out: Scooby-Doo - FAM 02:00 The Seven Of Daran: Battle Of Pareo Rock - FAM 04:00 The Secret Garden - PG 06:00 Surf’s Up - PG 08:00 Daffy Duck’s Quackbusters FAM 10:00 The Secret Garden - PG 12:00 Dennis The Menace Strikes Again - PG 14:00 The Seven Of Daran: Battle Of Pareo Rock - FAM 16:00 Rugrats The Movie - FAM 18:00 The Flash - PG 20:00 Olsen Twins: Holiday In The Sun - FAM 22:00 Dennis The Menace Strikes Again - PG SHOW SPORTS 1 01:00 Futbol Mundial 01:30 Premier League World 02:00 Scottish Premier League Highlights 02:30 Premier League 04:30 Barclays Premier League Review 06:00 Futbol Mundial 06:30 Premier League World 07:00 Barclays Premier League Review 08:30 Premier League 12:30 Barclays Premier League Review 14:00 Premier League 16:00 Premier League Classics 17:00 Scottish Premier League Highlights 17:30 Premier League World 18:00 Premier League 2009/10 20:00 Portugol 20:30 Futbrasil 21:00 Premier League Classics 21:30 Premier League World 22:00 Scottish Premier League Highlights 22:30 Goals Goals Goals 23:00 Premier League SHOW SPORTS 2 01:00 Scottish Premier Highlights 01:30 Goals on Monday 03:00 PGA European Highlights 04:00 Scottish Premier Highlights 04:30 World Sport 05:00 Super League 07:00 Goals on Monday 08:30 Scottish Premier Highlights 09:00 Super League 11:00 Weber Cup Bowling 12:00 World Hockey 12:30 Goals on Monday 14:00 Scottish Premier Highlights 14:30 World Sport 15:00 Super League 17:00 Weber Cup Bowling
League Tour League
League
League
SHOW SPORTS 4 00:30 UFC The Ultimate Fighter 01:30 NFL Pro Bowl 04:00 UFC The Ultimate Fighter 05:00 UFC The Ultimate Fighter 06:00 UFC The Ultimate Fighter 07:00 WWE ECW 08:00 FIM World Cup 08:30 UAE National Race Day 09:00 Brain Cell 09:30 NCAA Basketball 11:00 Bushido 12:00 WWE ECW 13:00 Red Bull X-Fighters 15:00 UAE National Race Day 15:30 Brain Cell 16:00 NCAA Basketball 18:00 UFC 109 Countdown 19:00 NCAA Basketball 21:00 UFC The Ultimate Fighter SKY NEWS 00:00 News, Sport, Weather 00:30 News, Sport, Weather 01:00 Sky News At Ten 01:30 Sky News At Ten 02:00 Sky News Tonight 02:30 Press Preview 03:00 Sky Midnight News 03:30 Cbs News 04:00 News On The Hour 04:30 News, Sport, Weather 05:00 News On The Hour 05:30 News, Sport, Weather 06:00 News On The Hour 06:30 Cbs News 07:00 Sky World News 07:30 Sky World Review Business Report 08:00 Sky World News 08:30 Sky World Review Business Report 09:00 Sunrise 12:00 The Live Desk 12:30 The Live Desk 13:00 Sky News Today 16:00 The Live Desk 16:30 The Live Desk 17:00 Afternoon Live 20:00 Live At Five 20:30 Live At Five 21:00 Sky News At Six 21:30 Sky News At Six 22:00 Sky.com News 22:30 Jeff Randall Live 23:00 News, Sport, Weather 23:30 News, Sport, Weather
And And
SUPER MOVIES 01:30 One Last Breath - PG 15 03:30 Hindsight - PG 15 05:00 Grace Is Gone - PG 15 07:00 Fred Claus - PG 09:00 Last Of The Romantics - PG 15 11:00 Eavesdrop - PG 13:00 Iron Man - PG 15 15:15 Fred Claus - PG 17:00 Greetings From The Shore PG 19:00 Last Of The Romantics - PG 15 21:00 The Memory Keeper’s Daughter - PG 15 23:00 The Strangers - PG 15 TCM 00:40 03:20 05:00 08:00 09:30 12:55 15:10 17:50 19:30 21:15 23:00
Raintree County Adam’s Rib Mutiny on the Bounty Boys’ Town Ben Hur 2001: A Space Odyssey Raintree County Echoes of a Summer Butterfield 8 December The Honeymoon Machine
THE HISTORY CHANNEL 00:40 Tunnellers 01:30 Deep Sea Detectives 02:20 Warriors 03:10 Modern Marvels 04:00 Ice Road Truckers 3 04:55 Ax Men 05:50 Dogfights 06:40 Tunnellers 07:30 Deep Sea Detectives 08:20 Warriors 09:10 Modern Marvels 10:00 Ice Road Truckers 3 10:55 Ax Men 11:50 Dogfights 12:40 Tunnellers 13:30 Deep Sea Detectives 14:20 Warriors 15:10 Modern Marvels 16:00 Ice Road Truckers 3
Star Listings (UAE Timings) Star Movies 20:45 Hackers 22:30 VIP Access 23:00 Delirious 00:45 Nightwatch 02:25 Super Troopers 04:00 Hackers 05:45 Delirious 07:30 Nightwatch 09:05 Super Troopers 10:45 Wild Hogs 12:25 VIP Access 12:55 Nuclear Hurricane 14:25 Swimfan 15:50 Sandlot: Heading Home 17:30 Alien (Director’s Cut) 19:25 At First Sight STAR 20:00 20:55 21:00 21:30 22:00 23:00 23:30
World 7th Heaven Charlie’s Angels According To Jim Friends Beauty and the Geek Whose Line Is It Anyway? According To Jim
00:00 00:30 01:00 01:55 02:00 02:55 03:00 06:00 06:55 07:00 07:55 08:00 08:55 09:00 10:00 10:30 11:00 11:30 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 16:30 17:00 17:30
Friends Everybody Loves Raymond Murder She Wrote V.I.P. SHARK Who’s The Boss? Grammy Awards 2010 Murder She Wrote V.I.P. 7th Heaven Who’s The Boss? SHARK CHARLIE’S ANGELS Beauty and the Geek Whose Line Is It Anyway? According To Jim Friends Everybody Loves Raymond 90210 Ugly Betty Lipstick Jungle Two And Half Whose Line Is It Anyway? According To Jim Friends Everybody Loves Raymond
18:00 18:55 19:00 19:55
Beauty and the Geek V.I.P. David Letterm Who’s The Boss?
Granada TV 20:30 Airline (Series 5) 21:00 Revenge TV 22:00 Emmerdale 22:30 Coronation Street 23:00 Revenge TV 00:00 The Paul O’Grady Show 01:00 Fight School 02:00 Mystery Tuesday: Eleventh Hour 03:30 Strange But True? (Series 4) 04:00 Drivers From Hell 05:00 Emmerdale 05:30 Coronation Street 06:00 The Paul O’Grady Show 07:00 Fight School 08:00 Mystery Tuesday: Eleventh Hour 09:30 Strange But True? (Series 4) 10:00 Neighbourhoods From Hell 11:00 Emmerdale 11:30 Coronation Street 12:00 The Paul O’Grady Show
13:00 14:00 15:30 16:00 16:30 17:00 18:00 19:00
60 Minute Makeover (Series 3) Mystery Tuesday: Too Good To Be True Strange But True? (Series 4) Emmerdale Coronation Street The Paul O’Grady Show 60 Minute Makeover (Series 3) Mystery Tuesday: Too Good To Be True
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 The List 05:00 [V] Tunes 06:00 Double Shot 07:00 Backtracks 08:00 Loop 09:00 [V] Plug 09:30 Double Shot 10:00 Backtracks
11:00 12:00 12:30 13:00 14:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 18:30 19:00 20:00
[V] Tunes [V] Plug The Playlist Loop [V] Countdown Backtracks [V] Tunes [V] Plug The Playlist Loop [V] Countdown
Fox News 00:00 Happening Now 02:00 The Live Desk 04:00 Studio B with Shepard Smith Live 05:00 Your World with Neil Cavuto 06:00 Glenn Beck with Glenn Beck 07:00 Special Report with Bret Baier 08:00 The FOX Report with Shepard Smith 09:00 The O’Reilly Factor 10:00 Hannity 11:00 On the Record with Greta Van Susteren 12:00 The O’Reilly Factor 13:00 Hannity 14:00 On the Record with Greta Van Susteren
15:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 22:00 23:00
Glenn Beck with Glenn Beck Fox Report Special Report with Bret Baier The O’Reilly Factor FOX & Friends First Live FOX & Friends Live America’s Newsroom America’s Newsroom
National Geographic Channel 20:00 Megastructures -USS Ronald Reagan 21:00 Helicopter Wars -Taliban Gambit 22:00 Ground War -Warrior Weapons 23:00 Theme Week -Naked Science : Super Diamonds 00:00 Air Crash Investigation -Falling From The Sky S4 01:00 ABOUT ASIA -Megastructures : SMART Tunnel 02:00 Situation Critical -Hollywood Shootout 03:00 Animal Extractors -Double Trouble Gators S1-4 04:00 Predator CSI -Mutant Devils 05:00 ABOUT ASIA -Megastructures : SMART Tunnel 06:00 Meet The Natives -1
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Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Lifestyle
60th Berlin film fest goes back to East-West roots he star-studded 60th Berlin Film Festival starting next week will go back to its roots bridging East and West, organizers said yesterday, this time uniting hot Hollywood fare with fresh Asian releases. The anniversary edition of the Berlinale, the first major European cinema showcase of the year, will celebrate a tradition of crossing frontiers with more than 400 films in the line-up, festival director Dieter Kosslick said. “We will start off with a beautiful film from China,” he told reporters, referring to Wang Quan’an’s “Apart Together”
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(Tuan Yuan) on February 11, a world premiere that will kick off the 10-day competition for the Golden Bear top prize. “Now, 20 years after German reunification, we will show a story about people driven apart by the collective and how they become reunited.” “Apart Together” is a period drama about a soldier forced to flee Chairman Mao’s forces for Taiwan in 1949 who reunites with the love of his life decades later. The main program will feature releases from 18 countries including new pictures from Martin Scorsese and Roman Polanski, currently under house
Berlinale festival director Dieter Kosslick cuts a birthday cake yesterday in Berlin, ahead of the presentation of the 60th Berlin film festival. —AFP
arrest in Switzerland awaiting possible extradition to the United States on charges of unlawful sex with a then 13-year-old girl in a three-decades-old case. Polanski’s “The Ghost Writer” stars Ewan McGregor and Pierce Brosnan, who are expected in Berlin alongside Leonardo DiCaprio with Scorsese’s new thriller “Shutter Island” and Bollywood heartthrob Shah Rukh Khan appearing in “My Name is Khan”. Also awaited on the red carpet are Gerard Depardieu, for the world premiere of the French competition film “Mammuth” by
Benoit Delepine co-starring Isabelle Adjani, James Franco for the competition entry “Howl” about beat poet Allen Ginsberg, and Ben Stiller in “Greenberg” by US indie star Noah Baumbach. The main program will wrap up February 20 with a screening of “About Her Brother” (Otouto) by Japanese master Yoji Yamada, 78. That night, a jury led by German director Werner Herzog and including Renee Zellweger (“Bridget Jones’ Diary”) will hand out the Golden and Silver Bear prizes at a gala ceremony. The event wraps up the following day. —AFP
ollywood stars Matt Damon and Morgan Freeman took to the red carpet in London on Sunday for the British premiere of “Invictus”, about Nelson Mandela and the 1995 Rugby World Cup. The film, directed by Clint Eastwood, draws on the then South African presi-
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dent’s efforts to unite his post-apartheid country ahead of the tournament being held on its soil, which the Springboks won amid joyous scenes. Eastwood, who also attended the premiere, told BBC TV: “It is a very interesting approach for a politician to take, to use sports to
bring about the reconciliation of a country. “It just seems like Mandela was very creative in that regard.” Freeman plays Mandela, whose relationship with the white captain of the South African team, Francois Pienaar, played by Damon, is at the heart of the film. “He realized that if he could talk them into winning, it would do a lot for the nation-and it did, obviously,” said the veteran American actor, who voiced his hope that the film will receive an Oscar nomina-
US actor Matt Damon, right, and former South African rugby union team captain Fran-ois Pienaar. —AFP US actor Morgan Freeman jokes as he arrives in London’s Leicester Square.
US director Clint Eastwood
tion. Eastwood admitted that the “tricky aspect” of making the film was the rugby itself-not a sport widely played in the United States. “It’s a tough sport to fake, you have to actually play the game and photograph it,” he said. —AFP
midst continuing reports of other singers being approached to front Aerosmith, Steven Tyler and his handlers are taking steps to reassert his position in the band. Tyler’s Los Angelesbased attorney, Skip Miller, fired off a letter to Aerosmith manager Howard Kaufman last week, independently obtained by Billboard.com, requesting that Aerosmith’s management “immediately cease and desist from engaging in acts and conduct to the harm and detriment of your own client, Aerosmith, and our client who is one of its members.” Miller subsequently told Billboard.com that on behalf of Tyler he has called a meeting of Aerosmith’s “shareholders” on Feb. 9 to discuss the band’s future, including such matters as the recording of a new album and tours this year of Europe and South America. The four-page letter also states that “we reserve all of our legal rights and remedies in this matter, including, without limitation, pursuing legal action for damages and other appropriate relief.” “Steven Tyler does not want lawsuits,” said Miller. “We do not want to go in that direction. The direction we want is Aerosmith, with Steven Tyler, touring in Europe, touring L atin America, releasing a new album ... This is the direction it’s all intended to go. It’s just amazing to me current management would be taking any other position.” Aerosmith’s management declined comment. Miller
‘Transformers,’ ‘Land of the Lost’ lead Razzies ransformers: Revenge of the Fallen” made a fortune. “Land of the Lost” tanked. Both films are equal earners at the Razzies, though, grabbing seven nominations each yesterday, including worst picture of 2009 and worst-acting slots for Will Ferrell and Megan Fox. Other worst-picture nominees: Sandra Bullock’s romance “All About Steve,” the action tale “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra” and the Robin Williams-John Travolta comedy “Old Dogs.” Bullock earned a worst-actress nomination for “All About Steve.” She’s expected to score an Academy Award nomination today for her hit drama “The Blind Side.” “ She could be the first person ever to win a Razzie and an Oscar in the same weekend,” said John Wilson, founder of the Golden
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In this film publicity image released by Universal Pictures, Will Ferrell, left, Anna Friel, center, and Danny McBride are shown in a scene from, “Land of the Lost.” —AP Raspberry Awards, now in their 30th year of singling out Hollywood’s low points. Winners will be announced March 6, the
Thomas Haden Church, left, Sandra Bullock, center, and Bradley Cooper are shown in a scene from ‘All About Steve.’ —AP
night before the Oscars. Razzie voters also are making worst-ofthe-decade picks. The worst-picture nominees are Travolta’s “Battlefield Earth,” Tom Green’s “Freddy Got Fingered,” Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez’s “Gigli,” Lindsay Lohan’s “I Know Who Killed Me” and Madonna’s “Swept Away.” Affleck and Travolta are up for worst actor of the decade, along with Eddie Murphy, Mike Myers and Rob Schneider. Lohan, Lopez and Madonna are nominated for the decade’s worst actress, along with Mariah Carey and Paris Hilton. Wilson said the worst-actress category probably would come down to Hilton and Lohan, while “Eddie Murphy I would guess would be pretty hard to beat as worst actor of the decade.” —AP
Aerosmith
Stars come out for Steven Tyler eyes suit to British premiere of stop Aerosmith replacement Mandela rugby film A
says he has not yet received a response from Kaufman or any of Aerosmith’s other representatives. As for what the next step will be if Aerosmith continues with its search for a new singer, Miller said, “We’ll cross that bridge if and when we come to it. I hope we don’t. I don’t think we will.” Tyler is undergoing therapy for a painkiller addiction brought on by or thopedic problems. The location of his treatment is unknown, but recent public appearancessinging karaoke at a bar in Palm Springs, Calif, and signing autographs and singing over the public address system at a Home Depot in Rancho Mirage-led to speculation that he’s at the nearby Betty Ford Center.
Not wanted Miller says the Jan. 27 letter was prompted by Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry’s recent comments in the Canadian press about replacing Tyler and by a meeting earlier in January attended by Kaufman; Tyler’s music attorney, John Branca; and Tyler’s new manager, Allen Kovac of 10th Street Entertainment. Kaufman, according to Miller, “said point blank he didn’t think Steven should be part of Aerosmith, flat-out said the band would be better off without Stevenwhich, in my opinion, is a very questionable management decision by a fiduciary.” Miller’s letter argues that “the animus and negativity you have expressed towards Mr Tyler has created an inability to protect both Steven as an indi-
vidual and the band as a whole. This behavior directed towards a person committing to rehabilitation and recovery is detrimental and hurtful on both a personal and professional level. This is a time Steven has dedicated to transform his life.” Miller pointed to Tyler’s Dec 22 statement, in which the singer “confirms his desire to be a part of Aerosmith” and accuses Kaufman of “playing band members off against one another instead of seeking to solidify their relationships and unify them for the overall good of the band ... Contrary to all common sense, you are seeking to bring about the replacement of Steven Tyler. Aerosmith without Steven Tyler is like the Rolling Stones without Mick Jagger, or U2 without Bono. While this man-
agement strategy may get the band on the road a few months sooner, it ultimately could destroy Aerosmith.” Miller added, “Can you imagine the manager of the Rolling Stones calling for the replacement of Mick Jagger? It’s just absurd ... Tyler is very unique, distinctive. Steven is Aerosmith, along with the others. He’s the guy the public knows. He’s the singer. I’m blown away that the current manager would even suggest something like (replacing him).” Both the letter and Miller said that Tyler has been writing songs for a new Aerosmith album and will be ready to perform at the proposed European and South American dates later in the year. —Reuters
ʻLostʼ UK Booker Prize from 1970 to be awarded wenty-two books published in 1970 and not considered for the Booker Prize because of a reorganization of the rules could finally win the prestigious literary award 40 years on, organizers said yesterday. The list of candidates includes several winners of the Booker Prize, now called the Man Booker Prize, including Iris Murdoch for “A Fairly Honorable Defeat” and JG Farrell for “Troubles”. Murdoch won the annual prize honoring English-language works by authors from the Commonwealth and Ireland for “The Sea, The Sea” in 1978 and Farrell won in 1973 for “The Siege of Krishnapur.” A panel of three judges will decide on a shortlist of six novels to be announced in March, and the winner will be voted for by the public via the Man Booker Prize’s website. The winner of the Lost Man Booker Prize will be announced in May.
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Following is the full list of candidates: Brian Aldiss - The Hand Reared Boy H.E.Bates - A Little Of What You Fancy? Nina Bawden - The Birds On The Trees Melvyn Bragg - A Place In England Christy Brown - Down All The Days Len Deighton - Bomber J.G.Farrell - Troubles Elaine Feinstein - The Circle Shirley Hazzard - The Bay Of Noon Reginald Hill - A Clubbable Woman Susan Hill - I’m The King Of The Castle Francis King - A Domestic Animal Margaret Laurence - The Fire Dwellers David Lodge - Out Of The Shelter Iris Murdoch - A Fairly Honourable Defeat Shiva Naipaul - Fireflies Patrick O’Brian - Master and Commander Joe Orton - Head To Toe Mary Renault - Fire From Heaven Ruth Rendell - A Guilty Thing Surprised Muriel Spark - The Driver’s Seat Patrick White - The Vivisector. —Reuters
A combo picture made on January 29, 2010 in Bucharest shows six photos taken by Romanian photographer Dragos Lumpan, depicting the last transhumance of a shepherd’s family in a country still deeply rural but rapidly changing. Titled ‘Romania today’, the month-long exhibition opened on January 29 at the National Museum of Contemporary Art (Mnac), in the palace built by former dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, and is part of a wider documentary project on Europe organized by the European Central Bank (ECB). —AFP
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Tuesday, February 2, 2010
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Fashion
Lady Gaga leads Grammys’ galactic fashion parade ll eyes on the red carpet at Sunday’s Grammy Awards went straight to Lady Gaga and her solar-system gown that was totally out of this world. Lady Gaga has become fashion’s favorite chameleon and she didn’t disappoint with this shiny, silvery, three-dimensional number that was created in collaboration with Giorgio Armani. She then opened the show in a green fairy-wing bodysuit-with matching green sparkle booties, of course. “I am honored to be wearing Armani this evening. The series of pieces Mr Armani created for me are truly iconic; they represent not only beautiful fashion, but my spirit and essence as an artist,” she said in a statement. Fergie, in an electric blue Emilio Pucci strapless dress with a swath of silver snaking from her shoulder to the high hemline, along with the other Black Eyed Peas, continued the galactic vibe set by Lady Gaga. Heidi Klum also had a futuristic twist to her nudeand-rose Pucci micromini with splashes of silver, and Jennifer Hudson captured that spirit with the geometric, clear plastic bracelets she wore with her short, banded black dress by Victoria Beckham that had an open neck, nipped waist and peplum. Hudson, Beyonce-who wore a strong-shoulder, mermaid-hem gown in gray that had just the right amount of decollete-and Taylor Swift-in a Kaufmanfranco sequin-covered, off-the-shoulder gown in midnight blue-all hit a balanced note between style and the sophistication that comes not with age but so many redcarpet appearances. Rihanna’s high-neck white gown with cascading ruffles and emphasized hips by Elie Saab was sort of a modern take on old-world Victoriana. Other outfits on parade outside the Staples Center in Los Angeles that deserved notice included Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland in a chic coral-and-black gown by Victoria Beckham that fit her like a second skin. Katy Perry made her statement with hot pink lips but her champagne dress with goldand-pearl floral embellishment by Zac Posen was understated and elegant-at least by Grammy standards. Toni Braxton wore a dovegray, one-shoulder gown by David Meister while Melanie Fiona also did the asymmetrical top, but hers was black and had a pouffy black trumpet skirt by Christian Siriano. “It made me feel like old Hollywood,” she said. “It’s classic, like I think my music is.” Britney Spears wore a black lace dress with black bodysuit by Dolce & Gabbana, and Ciara wore a black lace jumpsuit and crystal studded jacket with tails and shoulder pads by Givenchy. Nicole Kidman wore a movie starworthy black Prada gown with a halter neckline. Jennifer Lopez, who had one of the most famous Grammy fashion moments in a plunging-V gown back in 2000, again wore Versace, this time a silver chain-mail dress with white chiffon overlay. There was also a strong showing of gray, which is sort of unexpected considering the crowd. Miley Cyrus did a steely long-sleeve minidress and chunky heels, and Pink wore a gray-to-black ombre gown with a jeweled neckline and waistband. Her supershort hair highlighted her other bling: diamond bracelets, pendant-drop earrings, pave ring and hair brooch, all by Neil Lane. Keri Hilson complemented the crystal waist on her blush-colored Dolce & Gabbana strapless with a huge Neil Lane cocktail ring. Carrie Underwood pulled off the fashion-forward cutout look in an asymmetrical white gown with silver leather stripes across the bust and shoulders by Georges Chakras, and Mary J Blige did the same in her slashed-top hot pink gown. —AP
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Lady Gaga performs at the Grammy Awards. —AP photos
Centrepoint brings Italian fashion to Kuwait
n a constant endeavor to provide its customers up to the minute fashion, Centrepoint recently added Italian youth fashion icon Underground Music Movement (UMM), to its rock chic gamut. Underground Music Movement was born in the 80’s as a record label and rapidly succeeded as one of the reference labels in the house music scene worldwide. Famed for clothing that epitomizes urbane youth ethnicity, UMM is an eclectic collection of casual wear that draws inspiration from the 80’s & 90’s clubbing culture that went beyond the sphere of music to leave an indelible mark on lifestyle. Speaking on this joyous occasion Mr Saibal Basu, Chief Operating Officer, Landmark Group said; “We are extremely elated to join hands with UMM. As an Italian fashion house that symbolizes youth, it was just apt for us to bring us closer to our customers. Centrepoint is constantly expanding and with this in mind, has always endeavored to get global brands from across the world to the Middle East. We are confident that our customers will be ecstatic with the latest offering at Centrepoint.” Mr Gennaro Cristillo (CEO, UMM) added; “We were eager to expand our brand in the Middle East and it gives us great pleasure to enter the markets through Splash, given their wide presence and ever growing customer base. We are confident that this collaboration will take each of our brands to new levels.” With its music inspired clothing, this Italian fashion house will still offer great value to the Centrepoint customer with its edgy and uber chic designs all the time keeping in mind that Centrepoint is all about great fashion for less. The UMM collection is exclusively available in Splash at all Centrepoint stores and Splash, The Avenues.
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Fergie
Toni Braxton Mary J Blige
Heidi Klum
Beyonce
Rihanna
Taylor Swift
Katy Perry Lady Gaga arrives on the red carpet.
Jennifer Hudson
Miley Cyrus
Jennifer Lopez
Nicole Kidman
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Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Awards
Swift wins Grammy best album; Beyonce wins 6 eyonce became the most decorated female on a Grammy night as she collected six trophies, including song of the year for her anthem “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It),” but it was another divaTaylor Swift-who nabbed the top honor, album of the year, for her best-selling “Fearless.” Swift, who won a total of four awards, jumped around like the 20-year-old kid that she is when she beat out Beyonce, the Dave Matthews Band, Lady Gaga and the Black Eyed Peas for the honor. “Oh wow-thank you so much! I just hope that you know how much this means to me.... that we get to take this back to Nashville,” said Swift, whose “Fearless” was last year’s bestselling album of any genre. “Oh my God, our families are freaking out in their living rooms,” she added. “My dad and my little brother are losing their minds in the living room right now.” Although Beyonce also lost out on record of the year, which went to the Kings of Leon’s “Use Somebody,” the entertainer still owned the most awards of the evening. Beyonce, who in 2004 won five Grammys on the strength of her debut album “Dangerously in Love,” a mark tied by the likes of Alicia Keys, Norah Jones and Lauryn Hill, Amy Winehouse and Alison Krauss, reached that milestone again Sunday en route to the new record. She is the first to reach that mark twice. She shared the song of the year trophy with three writers for “Single Ladies” and also won best R&B contemporary album for “I Am ... Sasha
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Taylor Swift poses with her awards.
performance and two awards for “Run This Town” with Rihanna and Kanye West. Rihanna-who was forced to bow out of last year’s awards as a performer after being assaulted by thenboyfriend Chris Brown, accepted the trophy along with Jay-Z and with Beyonce’s young nephew in tow. West-who has kept a relatively low profile since his dustup with Swift a few months back-was a notable no-show. Maxwell, up for six awards, also won his first Grammysbest R&B male vocal for the ballad “Pretty Wings” and best R&B album for “BLACKsummers’ night.” The album marked the R&B croon-
Fierce.” “This has been such an amazing night for me and I’d love to thank the Grammys,” Beyonce said after winning best female pop vocal for “Halo.” The Kings of Leon were a bit more entertaining when they picked up their record of the year trophy, the family quartet’s third of the night. “I’m not going to lie, we’re all a little drunk. But we’re happy drunks,” said lead singer Caleb Followill. Lady Gaga won two Grammys during the pretelecast ceremony but didn’t get a chance to show her multitude of outrageous dresses during the primetime show, losing out on record, song and album of the year. But she made her presence felt when she kicked off the night with a sequined green leotard with massive shoulders as she sang her Grammy-nominated hit “Poker Face,” then brought out Elton John as they melded her song “Speechless” and his classic “Your Song” together in a performance that featured dueling pianos, and glitter-painted faces. Swift, who was second to Beyonce in Grammy nominations with eight nods, also won best country album among her other awards. The victory capped an amazing run for Swift, whose “Fearless” is only her second album. Her selftitled debut was a platinum success but “Fearless,” with songs like “You Belong With Me,” took her into the superstar stratosphere, as she won accolades across genres. Another country act to take a top award was the Zac Brown Band, which won best new artist. The Black Eyed Peas also had three trophies, as well as Jay-Z, who won for best rap solo
er’s return after an absence of eight years from the music business. Many participants in the program wore red cross buttons in support of Haiti earthquake relief. Mary J. Blige joined Andrea Bocelli in a rousing rendition of “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” which was not only designed to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the song’s big Grammy wins, but to raise money for the people in Haiti. The performance, introduced by Haitian native Wyclef Jean, will be available via iTunes.com/target, with the funds going to earthquake relief. The show also included a special 3-D tribute to Michael Jackson featuring a video clip he made of “Earth Song” as Usher, Carrie Underwood, Celine Dion, Jennifer Hudson and Smokey Robinson sang along. Jackson’s young children, Prince and Paris, accepted a lifetime achievement award for their late father. “Through all his songs his message was simple, love. We will continue to spread his message and help the world,” Prince said. Actor and comedian Steve Martin, who will be presenting the Oscars next month, saw an awards ceremony from the winner’s side at the Grammys, taking the award for best bluegrass album for “The Crow: New Songs for the 5-String Banjo.” In a tribute to the late guitar legend Les Paul, British guitarist Jeff Beck and Irish singer Imelda May performed Paul’s “How High the Moon.” Beck won the best rock instrumental performance award, while English rockers Judas Priest won for best metal performance. —AP
Beyonce performs on stage
Taylor Swift reacts as she accepts the album of the year award at the Grammy Awards on Sunday, in Los Angeles.
The Black Eyed Peas with their awards for Best Pop Vocal Album, Best Short Form Music Video and Best Pop
Green Day and the cast of American Idiot.
Performance
by a Duo or Group with Vocals.
Beyonce accepts the award for best female pop vocal performance.
Jason Crabb accepts the award for southern, country, or bluegrass gospel album.
Green Day pose with their awards for the Best Rock Album award.
Maxwell holds awards for best R&B performance and best R&B album.
Stephen Colbert celebrates after winning the Best Comedy Album award for A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift Of All!
Lil Wayne (L) and Eminem perform during the Grammy Show.
Placido Domingo, right presents Jay-Z and Rihanna, with the award for the Best Rap/Sung collaboration for ‘Run This Town’.
Bela Fleck, left, and Sascha Paladino hold their contemporary world music awards for ‘Throw Down Your Heart: Tales From the Acoustic Planet Vol 3- Africa Sessions.’
David Farias, Max Baca, Oscar Garcia and Lorenzo Martinez Los Texmaniacs, from left, David Farias, Max Baca, Oscar Garcia and Lorenzo Martinez hold awards for best tejano album for ‘Borders y Bailes.’
Musician Lady Gaga poses backstage with her awards for Best Dance Recording and Best Electronic Dance Album.
Kings of Leon with their award for record of the year for ‘Use Somebody’.
Members of the Zac Brown Band with their award for best new artist.
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Awards
Jacksonʼs 3-D tribute is a hit at Grammy Awards n a mix of the mystical and gimmicky, Michael Jackson posthumously paid tribute to both Mother Earth and 3-D video on Sunday’s Grammy Awards telecast. The occasion was a lifetime achievement award for Jackson from the Recording Academy. But the much-awaited spectacle was the 3-D live-andfilm number with the King of Pop heard performing his “Earth Song,” accompanied by on-stage stars as well as images from nature that had multitudes of Grammycast viewers peering through the red-and-blue-lensed 3-D glasses they scored beforehand from their local Target store. This big event arrived about two-thirds into CBS’ three-hour live shindig from Los Angeles’ Staples Center. It was introduced by Lionel Richie, who said the performance was meant by Jackson as a call to action against the destruction of Nature and animals by humans. The performance began with footage of waterfalls and rain forests with Jackson heard declaring, “I respect the secrets and magic of Nature,” as the song began its message of preserving the planet. The lyrics were affecting enough: “Did you ever stop to
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From left, Jennifer Hudson, Celine Dion, Smokey Robinson,Usher and Carrie Underwood perform during a tribute in honor of Michael Jackson. notice all the blood we’ve shed before? Did you ever stop to notice this crying Earth, its weeping shores?” But with the sight of a little girl blowing the seeds of a
dandelion seemingly right into a viewer’s living room, every viewer had to be captivated-at least, viewers with the 3-D glasses. Viewers without glasses saw
slightly offset red and greenish images. Not so captivating. In turn, the background panoramic visuals were supplemented by onstage singers Celine
Dion, Usher, Carrie Underwood, Jennifer Hudson and Smokey Robinson to powerful effect-and, when captured at the proper angles, they stood in distinct 3-D relief against the film background. Through it all, Jackson reigned in photos across the sprawling panorama. As Richie explained in his introduction, the performance piece was produced as a key element of Jackson’s planned comeback concerts in London in July 2009 — shows that never happened because of his June 25 death in Los Angeles. A part of the clip was included in Jackson’s movie documentary “This Is It,” but the full production of “Earth Song” had not been seen before and was billed by the Grammys as the first time an awards show had featured such a 3-D sequence. Of course, the 3-D effect, however much still a novelty, is no stranger to TV. A year ago, NBC aired an episode of its actionadventure series “Chuck” in 3-D, as well as a commercial during the Super Bowl promoting the animated feature “Monsters vs Aliens.” Recently, two major cable networks-ESPN and Discoverysaid they plan to start beaming 3D entertainment into homes reg-
Michael Jackson’s children Paris, right, and Prince Michael Jackson II accept the Lifetime Achievement award on behalf of their father at the Grammy Awards on Sunday. ularly. And earlier in the day Sunday in Britain, pub-goers in nine pubs became the first public audiences
to witness a live sports event broadcast in 3-D as they watched a soccer match: Manchester United beat Arsenal 3-1. —AP
Musicians Elton John and Lady Gaga
Keith Urban poses with the award for the Best Male Country Vocal.
Luis Enrique holds the tropical latin album award for ‘Ciclos.’
Annual Grammy Awards
David Getta poses with his award.
Robert Downey Jr. introduces a performance.
T-Pain with his award.
Record of the Year: “Use Somebody,” Kings of Leon Album of the Year: “Fearless,” Taylor Swift Song of the Year: “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On it),” Beyonce Knowles New Artist: Zac Brown Band Pop Vocal Album: “The E.N.D.”, The Black Eyed Peas Female Pop Vocal Performance: “Halo,” Beyonce Knowles Male Pop Vocal Performance: “Make It Mine,” Jason Mraz Rock Album: “21st Century Breakdown,” Green Day Rock Song: “Use Somebody,” Kings of Leon R&B Album: “BLACKsummers’night, “Maxwell” R&B Song: “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It),” Beyonce Knowles Rap Album: “Relapse,” Eminem Rap Song: “Run This Town,” Jay-Z, Rihanna and Kanye West Best Rap/Sung Collaboration: “Run This Town,” Jay-Z, Rihanna and Kanye West Country Album: “Fearless,” Taylor Swift Female Country Vocal Performance: “White Horse,” Taylor Swift Male Country Vocal Performance: “Sweet Thing,” Keith Urban Latin Pop Album: “Sin Frenos,” La Quinta Estacion Contemporary Jazz Album: “75,” Joe Zawinul & The Zawinul Syndicate Classical Album: “Mahler: Symphony No 8; Adagio from Symphony No 10” Traditional Gospel Album: “Oh Happy Day,” various artists Dance Recording: “Poker Face,” Lady Gaga Electronic Dance Album: “The Fame,” Lady Gaga Alternative Music Album: “Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix,” Phoenix Spoken Word Album: “Always Looking Up,” Michael J Fox Comedy Album: “A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All!” Stephen Colbert Traditional World Music Album: “Douga Mansa,” Mamadou Diabate. Contemporary World Music Album: “Throw Down Your Heart: Tales From The Acoustic Planet, Vol 3 -Africa Sessions,” Bela Fleck. Reggae Album: “Mind Control - Acoustic,” Stephen Marley. Tropical Latin Album: “Ciclos,” Luis Enrique. Latin Pop Album: “Sin Frenos,” La Quinta Estacion. Latin Rock, Alternative Or Urban Album: “Los De Atras Vienen Conmigo,” Calle 13. Regional Mexican Album: “Necesito De Ti,” Vicente Fernandez. Tejano Album: “Borders Y Bailes,” Los Texmaniacs. Norteno Album: “Tu Noche Con...Los Tigres Del Norte,” Los Tigres Del Norte. Banda Album: “Tu Esclavo Y Amo,” Lupillo Rivera.
Singer Pink performs onstage.
From left, Mathew Cullen, Mark Kudsi, Javier Jimenez, Anna Joseph and Patrick Nugent hold the best music video award for The Black Eyed Peas’ ‘Boom Boom Pow.’
T-Pain,left, Slash and Jamie Foxx. —AP / AFP photos
Andrea Bocelli and Mary J Blige.
Mamadou Diabate holds the traditional world music award he won for “Douga Mansa”.
Dave Matthews band performs at the Grammy Awards.
www.kuwaittimes.net
Talk of parties dominates Grammy carpet India’s AR Rahman strikes Grammys gold
Tia Carrere, left, presents AR Rahman with the best song written for motion picture, television or other visual media award. —AP ndian composer AR Rahman scored a double triumph at the Grammy Awards Sunday, scooping two early honors for his music from Oscar-winning film “Slumdog Millionaire.” Rahman won the first Grammy of the pre-show at the Staples Center in the best compilation soundtrack for a motion picture category before his “Jai Ho” won in the best motion picture song category moments later. “This is insane, god is great again,” Rahman said as he accepted his second award before a VIP audience. Rahman’s rivals in the soundtrack category includ-
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ed Steve Jordan for “Cadillac Records,” Quentin Tarantino for “Inglourious Basterds”, and the producers of “Twilight” and “True Blood.” In the best song category Rahman’s beaten rivals included Bruce Springsteen for his song “The Wrestler,” from the Oscar-nominated movie of the same name. The Grammy success comes after Rahman earned two Oscars for his music in “Slumdog Millionaire” at last year’s Academy Awards. The talented music maestro picked up the best original score statuette before scooping the best song Oscar. —AFP
he Grammy Awards give the music industry a reason to party like-well-like rock stars, and the party begins on the red carpet outside Staples Center. It was there on Sunday that guests greeted their fellow musicians, talked about the weekend’s festivities and speculated about what Lady Gaga would wear this time. Gaga’s getup: Keri Hilson, John Legend, Ringo Starr, Seal and numerous others spent a good part of their time on the
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‘Avatar.’ Anyway, who knows. I want to be surprised.” Alice Cooper’s guess? “I think she’ll be wearing a Lionel train set on her head tonight, with the full smoke and everything like that. I wouldn’t be surprised, and I’ll be disappointed if she isn’t.” Seal said Gaga’s outfit was the “main topic of debate” on the carpet. His wife, “Project Runway” host Heidi Klum, was among those eager to see the pop star’s Grammy ensemble. “I don’t personally know her
Lady Gaga, center, arrives at the Grammy Awards.
red carpet guessing what envelope-pushing outfit Lady Gaga would arrive in. “I’m going to go with lettuce,” said best new artist nominee Hilson, who wore a body-hugging Dolce and Gabbana gown. Rappers Redfoo and Sky Blu of LMFAO predicted the avant-garde artist would wear “probably a fish tank, with live fish and a snorkel.” Starr said “she may be all in blue, like
music,” Klum said. “But I am definitely intrigued by all her outfits. They’re so out there and I do want to know what she’s wearing, to be honest.” Gaga didn’t disappoint. She arrived in a shiny, silvery, three-dimensional number that was created in collaboration with Giorgio Armani, then changed into a green fairy-wing bodysuit with matching green sparkle booties
Pink performs “Glitter in the Air”.
to open the show. Standing up for Haiti: Wyclef Jean noted that he wore a Haitian flag on his back when he first appeared at the Grammy Awards with the Fugees back in 1996. He was back in support of his native country again on Sunday, this time asking for continued help as the country tries to recover from this month’s deadly earthquake. Like Jean, several people at the Grammys wore tiny red crosses on their clothes in support of the effort. “The Haitian people are strong, we are African people,” he said. “We thank all of America for your support.” He introduced a duet of Mary J Blige and Andre Bocelli singing “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” and urged fans to buy it on iTunes to support the relief effort. Pink in the sky: Pink was the highest performer at this year’s Grammys, dangling from swaths of silk fabric from the Staples Center ceiling as she twirled and spun in an elegant, airy dance while singing “Glitter
in the Air” during a show-stopping performance. A gymnast for eight years, Pink said she has performed the daring, dangling routine 160 times during her most recent tour and wanted to show it off at the Grammys. “I did the trapeze on the MTV awards and I
wanted to do something a little more sophisticated,” she told reporters backstage. She admitted she got a little turned around during the routine, as the lights above her created a kind of strobe effect. But she said all the twirling and spinning actually made her voice sound better. “I
Colbie Caillat accepts the award for pop collaboration with vocal for ‘Lucky’. —AP photos
would say that no one else has an excuse to lip-synch,” she said. We are the world: For some Grammy guests, the musical celebration won’t end with Sunday’s awards. Many said they are planning to participate in a new take on the charity song “We Are the World” at a star-studded recording session . Among those set to perform on the revamped track: Jason Mraz, Akon, Bono, Wyclef Jean, Carlos Santana, Enrique Iglesias, Usher, Toni Braxton and Lady Gaga. Quincy Jones announced last week that he planned to redo the 1985 hit to benefit earthquake recovery in Haiti. Producer RedOne, who will also be working on the song, said being asked to participate is “the biggest honor a musician can ever do.” “Having Quincy, our father of music ... and Lionel Richie asking me to contribute and help, I said of course, because this is not about me,” he said. “It’s about Haiti.” —AP