03 Jul

ON IP TI SC R SU B

SUNDAY, JULY 3, 2011

India’s rural poor give up on power grid, go solar

Greece arrests captain of Gaza-bound flotilla’s boat

www.kuwaittimes.net

SHAABAN 2, 1432 AH

Fabled lifestyle of Sydney is under cloud

Kvitova stuns Sharapova to win Wimbledon crown

NO: 15138

dialogue after upheaval

40 PAGES

150 FILS

20 23 begins 38national 8Bahrain Kuwait ends Bahrain naval mission

Maid’s lies jeopardize DSK case NEW YORK: The hotel maid who accused former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique StraussKahn of sexual assault may have inflicted fatal damage on her own case by lying to prosecutors about her life story and what she did in the moments after the suspected attack, legal experts said. The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office revealed Friday that the 32year-old woman had committed a host of minor frauds to better her life in the US since arriving in the country seven years ago, including lying on immigration paperwork, cheating on her taxes, and misstating her income so she could live in an apartment reserved for the poor.

Days after Strauss-Kahn’s arrest, the maid made a telephone call to a significant other who was incarcerated in Arizona, and that also raised suspicions, said Dominique Strauss-Kahn a law enforcement official with knowledge of the investigation. The official spoke to AP on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to speak publicly about the case. In a letter to Strauss-Kahn’s lawyers, prosecutors also said she had misrepresented what she did immediately after the alleged attack by Strauss-Kahn - instead of fleeing his luxury suite to a hallway and waiting for a supervisor, she went to clean another room and then returned to clean Strauss-Kahn’s suite before reporting the encounter.

That change in her story, and the revelations about her past, weren’t enough to kill the case entirely, but prosecutors acknowledged their position had been shaken, and agreed to a defense request that StraussKahn be freed immediately from house arrest. The revelations in a case once considered iron-clad came as a shock; prosecutors and police had said repeatedly that the hotel maid was found to be a credible witness.

“Rape cases are especially difficult to try,” said Linda Fairstein, who oversaw the sex crimes prosecution unit in the Manhattan district attorney’s office for 25 years.

Continued on Page 13

MONACO: Monaco’s Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene wave to guests as they leave after a religious wedding ceremony at the Monaco Palace yesterday. (Inset) Charlene puts the ring on the finger of Albert II during their religious wedding at the main courtyard of the palace. — AP/AFP

Prince Albert and Charlene say ‘I do’ MONACO: Prince Albert II of Monaco and his South African bride Princess Charlene married in a religious ceremony yesterday, solemnising their union in front of 800 royal and celebrity guests. Arrayed in a stunning Armani gown cut from 130 m of silk and studded with 40,000 crystals, the world’s newest royal stole occasional smiling glances at her husband during the ceremony, which followed Friday’s civil wedding. Archbishop Bernard Barsi of Monaco asked each whether they accepted each other “for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part.” Both replied with a firm: “Yes.” Then the couple - Charlene, noticeably less tense than she had been at the first ceremony, and occa-

sionally smiling - exchanged rings in 18-carat white gold and platinum by the House of Cartier. South African singer Pumela Matshikiza celebrated with a popular, upbeat wedding song from Charlene’s homeland: “Diviner of the roadways, the knock knock beetle / It just passed by here, the knock knock beetle.”

As the couple left the palace, arm in arm, he in his cream officer’s uniform, the bells of the principality’s many churches rang and guests showered them with rose petals. Some 800 guests attended the service in the palace, and another 3,800 were outside watching on a large screen, cheering as popular guests like James Bond actor Roger Moore Continued on Page 13

Max 42º Min 33º Low Tide 07:01 & 19:59 High Tide 04:23: 15:37

MANAMA/KUWAIT: Talks between Bahrain’s opposition and pro-government groups began yesterday, aimed at healing deep rifts opened when the state’s Sunni rulers crushed protests led by the majority Shiites earlier this year. The opposition has expressed doubts about whether the national dialogue, decreed by King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa, can accomplish anything, noting that it only has 35 of the 300 seats at the bargaining table.

Across the town, witnesses said some 500 protesters marched from nearby Shiite villages towards the Pearl roundabout, the epicentre of mass protests this year, and were dispersed by riot police using tear gas.

Meanwhile, Kuwaiti naval forces yesterday ended a mission to secure Bahrain’s maritime border they began in March, the official KUNA news agency reported. “The Kuwaiti naval task force in the Kingdom of Bahrain ended today (Saturday) its mission to contribute to the protection of the maritime border of Bahrain and securing it in cooperation with the Bahraini navy, which began in March,” KUNA said. Kuwaiti Sunni Islamist MPs had announced before the naval deployment that they would move to question the prime minister in parliament for not sending troops to Bahrain.

Khalifa bin Ahmed Al-Dhahrani, chairman of the dialogue and also a speaker of parliament, told the forum: “We start without conditions or limits, our only condition is accepting one another.” The Gulf Arab kingdom off the coast of Saudi Arabia is the home base of the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet. Bahrain’s Shiites took to the streets in February and March to demand political reforms, inspired by uprisings that toppled the rulers of Tunisia and Egypt. The Sunni rulers crushed Bahrain’s movement with martial law and help from security forces from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Thirty people are estimated to have died, hundreds were arrested, and thousands lost their jobs.

Hardline Sunnis accused the protesters of pursuing a sectarian agenda backed by the non-Arab Shiite power Iran, across the Gulf. Bahrain has historically been a focus for strains between Gulf Sunni monarchies and Iran.

Hoping to defuse tension, the king lifted martial law a month ago and called a dialogue to discuss political, economic, social and legal reforms with “all options” on the table. After lengthy internal debate, Wefaq, the leading Shiite opposition group, decided to join the dialogue, but said it would pull out if the talks did not move toward greater Shiite representation in government.

Wefaq says it is underrepresented in the forum and that there are too many people to reach any meaningful consensus. “The whole of Bahrain will be much better if we have an elected government,” said Wefaq spokesman Khalil Al-Marzouq. Dhahrani told participants that any agreed proposals would be taken to the king, who “will pass it on to legal organisations for the necessary implementation”. Bahrain has an elected assembly but the ruling Al-Khalifa family appoints cabinet ministers and the upper house.

Continued on Page 13

Morocco ‘yes’ vote slammed RABAT: Morocco’s “Arab Spring” protesters said they were undeterred despite a landslide victory for King Mohammed in a referendum on constitutional changes they say do nothing to ease his autocratic grip on power. Preliminary results of Friday’s poll showed 98.5 percent of voters approved the text on turnout officials estimated at 73 percent. Opposition said the turnout figure looked inflated and alleged irregularities in voting procedures. The charter explicitly grants executive powers to the government but retains the king at the helm of the cabinet, army, religious authorities and the judiciary.

The result followed a state media campaign in favour of the “yes” vote that appealed to a widespread sense of loyalty to

the king, who is head of the Arab world’s longest-serving dynasty and a staunch Western ally. The result will also be scrutinised by Gulf monarchies who have so far dodged reform calls. Western partners of Morocco urged the king to enact reforms swiftly and to listen to the demands of representatives of citizen movements.

“We shall continue to be the only real opposition in this country, the opposition in the street,” Najib Chawki, one of the coordinators of the leaderless “February 20” street movement, which wants a parliamentary monarchy under which the powers of the king and political elite are checked by the legislature. “Tomorrow we will see how people react,” he said of nationwide rallies the group has called for today. Protests staged

last Sunday drew tens of thousands to the streets of the capital Rabat, economic hub Casablanca and the port Tangiers.

Mohammed, 47, has had some success in repairing the legacy of human right abuses, high illiteracy and poverty he inherited after his late father’s 38-year rule ended in 1999.

Yet critics say there remains a wide disparity between rich and poor, and complain of failings over human rights and the rule of law.

Ali Bouabid, of the executive committee of the main Socialist Union of Popular Forces (USFP) party, queried voting procedures at his local polling station on his Facebook page. “I handed in my voter’s card and asked if they should verify my identity. I was told ‘we don’t do this’,” he wrote.

Continued on Page 13

Assad sacks Hama gov after protests

Gaddafi vows to hit Europe TRIPOLI/MADRID: Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi vowed to attack “homes, offices and families” in Europe in revenge for NATO air strikes but US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said he should quit instead of issuing threats. In a telephone address relayed to some 100,000 supporters in Tripoli’s Green Square on Friday evening, Gaddafi urged NATO to halt its bombing campaign or risk seeing Libyan fighters descend on Europe “like a swarm of locusts or bees”.

Gaddafi forces continued to shell the rebel-held coastal town of Misrata yesterday, a NATO official said.

Libyan TV reported that NATO bombs had caused casualties in the central region of Al-Jufrah, but have no further details. Gaddafi, who along with his son and spy chief faces an international arrest warrant for crimes Continued on Page 13

SARAJEVO: Syrian boys wave national flags during a protest of support for the Syrian people in front of UN Mission to Bosnia headquarters yesterday. Dozens of Syrian citizens gathered in Sarajevo to rally against the Syrian regime, showing support for the protests currently taking place in cities throughout the country. — AFP

TRIPOLI: A Libyan boy poses with a toy gun during a demonstration against NATO at a UN building yesterday. — AP

DAMASCUS: Syrian President Bashar alAssad sacked the governor of Hama yesterday, a day after half a million rallied against the regime in the hotbed city, as activists said the crackdown on dissent claimed 28 new lives. Anti-regime dissent billowed on Friday in response to a call by a Facebook group for massive protests to demand the ouster of Assad and his autocratic regime. In Hama alone there were 500,000 people on the streets, activists said, calling it the single largest demonstration of its kind since the pro-democracy movement erupted on March 15.

Assad reacted to the affront by sacking the governor of Hama, a city with a bloody past where an estimated 20,000 people were killed in 1982 when the army put down an Islamist revolt against the rule of his late father, Hafez Al-Assad.

“The Syrian president signed a decree today relieving Doctor Ahmad Khaled Abdul Aziz of his post as governor of Hama,” said a news flash on state television.

An anti-Assad activist said Abdul Aziz was viewed as leaning toward the protesters by reportedly urging security Continued on Page 13

A

y

e niv rsar n

Years

SUNDAY, JULY 3, 2011

local

Grillers keep heat on with summer seminars In My View

The useless existence of cyber police Hussain Al-Qatari

hussain@kuwaittimes.net

T

witter has been ruined for Kuwaitis. It’s finished.

Done. Over. The microblogging website used to be a lovely breath of fresh air, offering an insight into the minds of funny, smart and witty people. Now it has become the dirty backyard, where everyone throws insults at everyone else, and sectarianism, racism and sexism thrive and flourish. It is ruined!

A series of funny incidents took place lately where a number of Twitter users were arrested by the state security police, raising suspicious about the existence of cyber police on Twitter. The arrest of two extremists because of what they wrote on their personal profiles was something inevitable given their extremist sentiments and offensive writings.

What is absurd is the fact that normal users - not ones with extremist background - began to appear as Twitter celebrities, and some cases of mysterious disappearances only added more drama to the overall scene.

The Internet is a large and deep web, and controlling what people say or do on it is doable, but needs competence and dedication, things I doubt the Ministry of Interior’s cyber police team has. Extremist opinions in Kuwait will always exist if no serious solution is applied.

Extremism cannot be uprooted by imprisoning Twitter users and blocking websites or interrogating bloggers. This useless existence of a cyber police force is not even close to being useless as putting a band-aid on a gushing wound - it is more useless than that. If no serious measures are taken to counter extremism, everything else is only child’s play.

PM’s Riyadh visit ‘added value’ JEDDAH: The upcoming visit of His Highness the Kuwaiti Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammed Al-Sabah to Saudi Arabia gives an “added value to the exceptional bilateral ties between the two countries,” said a Kuwaiti diplomat on Saturday.

The Kuwaiti Consul General in Jeddah and the Permanent Representative of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Saleh Al-Saqubi noted that this visit, due to take place on Monday, would further advance the two countries’ cooperative ties to serve their best interests. The deep-rooted Kuwaiti-Saudi relations are “formally and informally exceptional,” the Kuwaiti diplomat said.

He added that any efforts to promote and develop bilateral ties have the utmost attention of HH the Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah and the Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz. Kuwait’s Acting Minister of Amiri Diwan Affairs Sheikh Ali Jarrah Al-Sabah announced recently that HH the Prime Minster would begin a tour of Gulf nations on Monday. — KUNA

Top priority for MPs KUWAIT: Anti-government MPs plan to coordinate over the summer in order to avoid having two grilling motions presented against His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammed Al-Sabah, be debated in the same session when the parliament resumes work after the summer recess.

MP Abdurrahman Al-Anjari of the National Action Bloc (NAB), who is a co-sponsor of one of the grilling motions, along with Popular Action Bloc (PAB) leader Ahmad Al-Saadoun, revealed that the MPs are planning to call for the second grilling motion, which is jointly sponsored by the PAB and the Development and Reform Bloc (DRB), to be put on hold if the two motions are scheduled for debate on the same day.

The first grilling motion was presented when the latest new cabinet was sworn in early May, but the cabinet requested that the motion be assessed by legal experts for verification of its constitutionality, which resulted in the debate being delayed.

The second grilling motion was submitted during the last day of the parliamentary term, which ended last Thursday. Al-Anjari confirmed in his recent statement that the anti-government parliamentary bloc will ensure that the two grilling motions are not merged to be debated in one session - which would be seen as resulting in the grilling motions’ sponsors’ arguments being weakened.

Meanwhile, DRB MP Dr. Walid AlTabtabaei said that the Nahj coalition - an alliance of anti-government MPs demanding the appointment of a new prime minister with a new

approach - will host several seminars during the summer recess to explain the subjects which the latest grilling addresses.

The next parliamentary isn’t set to begin until near the end of October, but anti-government lawmakers seem determined to utilize the long break in gearing up for resuming their longstanding antipathy to the premier. So far, debate of the two grilling motions against HH Sheikh Nasser AlMohammed has been perceived as a top priority for MPs, who are also looking into the possibility of filing other interpellation motions. “ The interpellations achieved many good points as they gradually made citizens more aware of the performance of the prime minister,” said PAB MP Musallam Al-Barrak, adding, “This gradual realization influenced the way lawmakers voted on the noconfidence motion against the premier”. Al-Barrak also alleged further incidents of corruption and failure in the process of implementing the development process as the PAB focuses on future grillings.

MP Nadji Al-Abdulhadi agrees that the public are frustrated with the lack of achievements concerning the development plan, which he claimed is the result for the cabinet’s approach “in which they gave attention to political struggles more than the projects’ implementation.”

Most spectators aren’t optimistic of seeing any end to the ongoing parliament-cabinet struggle when the new parliamentary term starts at October 25, with most speculating that tensions will continue to worsen amid speculations that the PAB is also gear-

ing up to submit a grilling motion against Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Dr. Mohammad AlSabah.

In another development, the parliamentary committee assigned to probe accusations of irregularities in an $800 million contract signed between the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) and the international petroleum giant Shell, is expected to finalize its report before the end of the summer break, according to committee member MP Saleh Al-Mulla. Meanwhile, committee chairman Dr. Ali Al-Omair explained that information received by MPs regarding the case will be collected throughout this month ahead of the start of Ramadan in early August, while investigations will continue throughout the holy month.

On a separate issue, the Minister of Cabinet Affairs Ali Al-Rashid has rejected allegations that a program broadcast on the state’s official TV station (KTV) hosted a religious figure who issued a fatwa rendering the recently debated grilling of the prime minister illegitimate from a religious standpoint. Responding to a parliamentary enquiry from MP Ali Al-Deqbasi, AlRashid said that the series in which the programme featuring the religious expert appeared focused on national unity. Al-Rashid, who was information minister when the programme in question was broadcast, said that one episode of the series in question showed interviews with members of Kuwait University’s Faculty of Sharia, in which one faculty member gave his personal opinion on the grilling motion in question. — Agencies

Security crackdown thwarts bedoon demo plan KUWAIT: The heavy security measures taken to prevent any bedoon (stateless) residents from gathering for a demonstration in Irada (Determination) Square opposite parliament on Friday succeeded in preventing the protest, which had been called for on social networking sites, according to a security insider.

The measures, which included setting up checkpoints at the exits to Sulaibiya and Jahra, where most of Kuwait’s bedoon population lives, as well as maintaining a large police presence in the square and closing the parking lot there, were implemented at the behest of senior

Ministry of Interior (MoI) officials, who cited the legislation preventing all non-Kuwaitis from holding any public protest in justification.

MP Musallam Al-Barrak said that any demonstration by bedoons could be self-defeating, negatively affecting their hopes of obtaining basic rights. He added, however, that protests are a natural result of bedoon people’s frustration at the government’s failure to fulfill the promises which it made to the country’s stateless people previously: “It appears that the government isn’t serious about ending this crisis as there have been no significant

achievements since the previous protests,” said the MP, referring to the harshly-suppressed demonstrations by bedoon people in Sulaibiya and elsewhere earlier this year. “Delaying [resolution of ] this issue without taking any definite steps moves that situation onto the verge of explosion,” he warned. Another MP, Nadji AlAbdulhadi, said that the calls for bedoon people to take part in demonstrations were not a “wise decision,” claiming that Kuwait’s government and parliament are on the same page on the government’s efforts to fully deal with the problem within the next five years. — Agencies

KUWAIT: Abandoned houses located in Maidan Hawally could serve as an ideal breeding ground for crime. The Municipality has been asked to look into this matter.— Photos by Fouad Al-Shaikh

6,899 traffic citations issued across Kuwait over weekend KUWAIT: A total of 6,899 traffic citations were issued across Kuwait during the weekend, with 14 people being arrested at police roadblocks and 265 vehicles impounded.

Ministry of Interior (MoI) Traffic Department officers in Hawally issued the largest number of citations to motorists 2,421 in all - as well as impounding 39 vehicles. Their colleagues from the Operations Division, meanwhile, issued 1,150 citations, as well as arresting 14 motorists and confiscating 162 vehicles, with 176 of the citations being issued to drivers around the busy airport area. In the Capital area, 1,133 citations

were issued to motorists, with 41 vehicles towed away, whilst a further 901 citations were issued to drivers in Farwaniya and 17 vehicles were detained.

Jahra traffic officers issued citations to a total of 632 drivers over the same period, whilst their colleagues in Ahmadi issued 434.

In Mubarak Al-Kabeer, meanwhile, officers issued 52 citations, as well as impounding six vehicles. In the press release issued to announce the figures yesterday, the Traffic Department urged all motorists in Kuwait to comply with driving regulations for their own and other road-users’ safety.

In My View

Corruption of the young mind

Fouad Al-Obaid

fouad@kuwaittimes.net Twitter: @Fouadalobaid

D

ear readers, we find ourselves at a unique position in time. We are living in an era of great distress. Every day, we witness the spread of a modern day cancer named ‘ignorance.’

We are living during times when the availability of knowledge increases everyday; the general wisdom of our people keeps falling. This calamity should prompt the masses to stop and reflect on the nature of things. We need to realize that we are the ones who can create history or become history.

Nations rise and fall. Histories are written and forgotten, and people will come to pass. This is the nature of humanity as we know it. What is important, and relevant today is the history of nation-states. More crucially, it is the history of our very own Kuwait. We need to realize that the dangers we face today are multiple and grave. We are on a path that is unsustainable for infightings between politicians and the ruling family. It also helps spread hostilities to the wider society. It fans the flames of sectarianism and tribalism.

In light of the unraveling plot, we the people can either be passive audiences to a tragedy in the making, or active proponents to a situation that will affect us should matters turn sour. We are all responsible. Societies are nothing but a grouping of individuals that share commonalities and are bound by a flag and set territory. What we need to realize is that our first line of defense is the education of a thirsty mind, one that can build wonders or alternatively wreck havoc.

Our native society has been one of principles, which slowly withers due to a global force that is pitted against two camps at odds. Our modern society has veered away from the honorable, hard working, just society that mixes religious zealots and libertarian freaks. The latter are fighting one another fiercely - making fools of themselves while at it.

Being lazy and trying to party all day long just as much as trying to play the pious role and spending much time engaging in useless activities are both synonyms of unproductivity. Hours spent in diwaniyas just as much as hours spent listening to sermons come down to the same outcome, nothing is created but a lethargic society that is incapable of growing up, and is in constant need of a welfare state to take care of its every needs.

People want to grow up and be treated like adults. However, in our country we are asking to be taken care-of like children who are unable to do anything useful. Let us be reminded that such babysitting is happening at a time when enemies of all sorts are creeping up our neighborhood.

Inaction during the short-run might still salvage us from the harms to come. However, in the long run what we have built for ourselves and this society of ours is corruption in its vilest form, the corruption of the mind and of its abilities to think.

The ability to think, create and innovate are the most powerful tools any society can lay its hands on. The human mind is the source of all man-created ideas, objects and notions. Left without this ability or corrupted by society, the ability to use our brains is rendered ineffective. Without this ability, we ask to walk freely into the abyss of history, laughing and chanting while we do so!

Let us ask if this the fate we want for ourselves.

Further, let us question whether such is the legacy we want to pass down to our children. Dear citizens, it is up to us to script the history of our nation, that is unless we do nothing and allow ourselves to become history.

Traffic accident court cases decline by 31% KUWAIT: A recent study conducted on traffic accidents indicate that the number of cases deliberated by Kuwaiti Courts has declined by 31 percent in 2010. A total number of cases registered in 2010 were 16,892 when compared to 24,495 cases in 2009.

The study which was published in an annual statistic journal prepared by the Ministry of Justice, an average number of cases were presented and finalized in the Court. At least 33,318 cases were held during the period between 2006 to 2010, reported Al-Anba.

The study showed that jail sentences have declined from 481 cases in 2009 to 337 case in 2010 (29.9 percentage). While driving licenses can be revoked from 413 in 2009 to 344 in 2010 by 16.9 percent.

The number of deaths caused by traffic accidents declined from 394 in 2009 cases to 262 cases in 2010, a decline in 33.5 percentage.

The total fine imposed has increased from KD 485,437 in 2009 to KD 700,472 in 2010.

SUNDAY, JULY 3, 2011

LOCAL Satire Wire

The damage is already done

KU accused of sexism in admission policy Confusion, anger among parents, students

By Sawsan Kazak

sawsank@kuwaittimes.net

F

or weeks now headlines over the scandalous rape charges against the former International Monetary Fund chief have gripped the world.

Dominique Strauss-Kahn was accused of a brutal rape by a maid in an upscale hotel in New York. The maid, originally from Guinea, claimed that Strauss-Kahn chased her through his hotel suite and forced her to perform sexual acts.

Following these accusations the former IMF chief was snatched from his Air France flight minutes before it was scheduled to take off and taken into NYPD custody. Since then Strauss-Kahn had to pay $1 million in bail and $5 million bond, and was placed on house arrest as he tried to defend himself of these charges.

As shocking and scandalous as it all sounds, the story has now taken a strange twist. Strauss-Kahn was released from house arrest on Friday and is now a free man. Prosecutors in the case have recently expressed doubts over the maid’s credibility.

It has been revealed that the authorities in New York have discovered inconsistencies involving her asylum application. Prosecutors believe she lied on the application form, claiming she had been raped in her native Guinea.

Other discoveries included multiple cash deposits totaling $100,000 into her personal bank account.

Even more damning was the fact that the maid’s story changed when she admitted that following the incident she cleaned another room and even returned to begin cleaning Straus-Kahn’s room without alerting her boss.

In light of all these findings, the former IMF chief and French presidential hopeful was allowed to leave his home and was given back the $1 million in bail money and the $5 million bond that he paid. But after what? This man will have the title of ‘rape accused’ for as long as he lives and doubts over his ‘innocence’ will always loom.

A reputation is a delicate thing that once tarnished is almost impossible to repair. The money and freedom can be given back, but very little can be done about his tarnished name.

I am not trying to say that he is a completely innocent victim who has been framed as proof of sexual activity between the accused and accuser has been found. But American police might have jumped the gun when it came to prosecuting this man.

A small amount of investigation might have provided them with reasonable doubt and the procedure of arresting him might have been different. Finding out about the inconsistencies in the maid’s story could have been reason enough to not make such a disgraceful arrest.

Furthermore, if she did falsely accuse him of rape, this does no favors to women around the world who have actually been raped. Making a false rape allegation would make it harder for women accusing other men of rape to be taken seriously as it will cast doubt on the motives behind their allegations. If it is proven that she has faked the charges, she needs to be punished as much, if not more than Strauss-Kahn has suffered.

By Hussain Al-Qatari KUWAIT: Not only does Kuwait University segregate male and female students, it also has a sexist admissions policy. According to the new Kuwait University admission policy for the upcoming school year, the minimum GPA for admission to certain faculties is higher for girls than for boys. This has caused a lot of confusion and anger among both parents and prospective students, especially since no clarification was given on this policy.

Female students who wish to join the Faculty of Architecture must have a GPA of 95 percent in high school, as opposed to male students who are only required to score 90 percent. Engineering female students must have a high school score of 89

percent. The male students only need to score 84 percent.

Female applicants to Kuwait University’s medical school must have score at least 95 percent. However, male students can enroll if they have scored only 90 percent.

Heba Al-Hamdan, a 50-something old mother says her daughter’s options seem to have narrowed although she did much better than her male cousins of the same age. “She will have to choose a different faculty and completely forget about what she has been planning to study. Meanwhile parliament members do not care about any of this, but focus on bickering over other trivial matters instead,” she said.

Heba’s daughter who recently received her high school diploma scored 93 percent which automatically eliminates her chances

of joining architecture or medical school, two specialties in high demand.

Adnan Al-Boloshi, another concerned parent said that the university must be completely oblivious to the fact that girls outnumber boys. “Many people think that segregation is better since it is conservative and suits this society, but it looks like Kuwait University is not happy with segregation. They are forced to minimize the number of girls on their campuses by making enrollment conditions harder on them,” he said.

The 50-year-old parent said that both his son and daughter have graduated this year, and both will be applying to Kuwait University. The list of options seem to be getting smaller because of the new admissions policy.

“My son wants to study mass communication and my daughter is not sure what she wants to do anymore. It is just frustrating to think that my daughter who has a better score than her brother will not be able to enroll in certain faculties because of this biased policy,” he complained.

Kuwaiti columnist Iqbal Al-Ahmad wrote about this issue in her column on Thursday.

She said, “It is a big disappointment to see that the parliamentarians did not appear to be concerned about this. Even though they are the ones who must defend human rights and ensure that there is justice to all members of this society.”

She poses a question, “Why are girls who are dedicated and strong-willed unable to join the faculty they want? Is it because they were not born men?”

Al-Noumas inaugurates Thai sports complex BANGKOK: Kuwait’s Minister of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs yesterday inaugurated a sports complex named after His Highness the Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah AlAhmad Al-Sabah in Bangkok.

The dynamic complex, constructed with the help of generous donations from Kuwait, represent the policies of Their Highnesses the Amir and the Crown Prince and their commitment to the principles of brotherhood and equality, as well as to the need to assist poorer nations in Asia, Africa and elsewhere in the world said the minister, Mohammad Al-Noumas, in his inaugural speech.

Kuwait’s assistance for the sports complex project, said to be worth $4 million, helped to ensure that it was constructed to the highest standards, said the minister, adding that Kuwait

has been supporting various projects in Thailand since 1964, which marked HH the Amir’s first visit to the Southeast Asian nation in his capacity as foreign minister.

Amongst the other guests at the prestigious ceremony were senior Thai officials, diplomats and highlevel Islamic figures, along with members of the press.

Another speaker at the event, Sharif Barasan, a senior Islamic figure in Thailand, expressed gratitude for the many forms of support provided by Kuwait to his country through various channels, including the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development and several charitable and social organizations. “Sports are open to people of all ages, and Prophet Mohammad (Peace Be Upon Him) called for the practice of sports in a number of his hadiths,” noted Barasan. — KUNA

New Sultan Center opens in Shaab Park Special summer classes for students KUWAIT: The Kuwait Teachers Association (KTA) has announced that registration for special summer classes for intermediate and high school level students is now open.

Senior KTA official Dr Abdulraheem Al-Kandari said the program will be held in collaboration with the Dr Abdulraheem Ministry of Education.

Al-Kandari Classes will begin from July 10 and will last till August 17. Tuition classes will be held for girls in the starting 9 am to 1pm. For boys classes will be held from 4.30 to 8.30 pm. Classes will be held at the following centers: * Al-Mansouriya Elementary School for girls.

Telephone number: 22516758 * Hasna Bent Muawaya Intermediate School for Girls at Al-Qusour. Telephone number: 25423160 * Essa Al-Hamed School for Boys at Al-Qadesiya.

Telephone number: 22564271/ 216 * Al-Qurain School for Boys in Al-Qurain.

Telephone number: 25410726 * Saleh Al-Ruwayeh School for Boys at Al-Ardiya.

Telephone number: 24882430 Registration fees : KD 35 per subject for intermediate phase and KD 45 for high school students.

MoH officials face tough questions over false expenses claims KUWAIT: State Audit Bureau (SAB) inspectors are reportedly currently reviewing the bonuses paid to senior health ministry officials for their participation in various committees and working groups, with some of the ministry officials apparently receiving tens of thousands of dinars for these duties.

According to a Ministry of Health (MoH) insider, the SAB inspectors have already prepared a list of ministry officials who have received vastly inflated bonuses which contravene Civil Service Commission (CSC) and SAB regulations. The insider claimed that some MoH officials exploit their positions to obtain wholly unearned funds, such as obtaining bonuses for participating in overseas missions when they did not and claiming ‘overtime’ bonuses for work done in their regular working hours. The SAB is also examining earlier agreements between the health ministry and Kuwait Airways for services provided by the airline for patients sent overseas for medical treatment, the insider revealed. — Al-Jarida

KUWAIT: British Ambassador Frank Baker and other officials at the opening of the store. — Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat KUWAIT: The Sultan Center has further extended its expansion plan with the opening of its sixty-third (63) store at the Shaab Park Kuwait. The store was inaugurated yesterday under the patronage of the Ambassador of The United Kingdom to Kuwait, Frank Baker. Also attending the opening were local dignitaries, as well as a number of customers, suppliers and media representatives.

The new store has a unique location in the middle of Shaab Park, allowing customers to enjoy an integrated blend of family entertainment and gourmet grocery shopping, said a press release issued to announce the new opening. The new outlet is perfectly attuned to meeting world class standards of quality, assisted by the Sultan Center’s 30-year history in the retail industry.

Ayman Sultan, TSC’s Chairman and Group Managing Director, said that the Sultan Center’s Shaab outlet is a part of the group’s well-studied expansion plan both in Kuwait’s domestic market and overseas. “We aim to raise

our services to new heights in order to exceed our customers’ expectations and keep pace with the great development witnessed by the retail sector over the past few years,” he said.

The new store represents an ultimate destination for true connoisseurs seeking quality, variety and freshness, said the press release, adding that the outlet features a variety of leading brands that have carved out a niche in the grocery food industry, all of which are among the top in their categories whether they be concerned with fresh food, other supermarket goods or homecare.

In addition to products from all over the world TSC has added a complete range of over 900 British products ranging from beverages and snacks to daily dairy shipments, with many new items added weekly. Many of the items on offer at the new outlet are being made available to customers here for the first time, and are only available at TSC Shaab. In addition, the new store also carries a wide vari-

ety of natural and organic products which perfectly matches the objectives of all consumers pursuing a health living lifestyle.

Amongst the treats on store at the new store for gourmands craving authentic international food are a tempting array of fresh food stands serving ready-made signature dishes ranging from Japanese sushi to Italian pizza, salads and a wide range of hot food, as well as freshly baked bread, cakes and other items, juices and coffees, all lovingly prepared from the finest ingredients and innovative flavors.

TSC currently operates 63 outlets across Kuwait, Jordan, Oman, Lebanon and Bahrain and has secured its position as Kuwait’s premier retailer and one of the Gulf’s leading businesses. With its well-established infrastructure TSC, is perfectly positioned for future expansion, both in Kuwait and abroad. For more information regarding TSC visit www.sultan-center. corn.

A

y

e niv rsar n

Years

SUNDAY, JULY 3, 2011

local kuwait digest

Lawmakers, teachers

By Iqbal Al-Ahmad

I

t appears that all the achievements garnered by female lawmakers since their election to the Kuwaiti Parliament will go unnoticed following the most recent session in which they were blamed for the failure to pass teachers allowances’ bill. Headlines of newspapers published the following day focus mostly on blaming the four women MPs that caused the draft law to be rejected because it failed to gain two more votes. This is due to the fact that two voted against it while the other two abstained from doing so.

Moreover, the papers quoted angry teachers expressing frustration at the female MPs’ stances, holding them fully responsible for the failure of what they perceive is their long overdue right.

When they choose not to support the allowances bill, the female lawmakers put into consideration the impact of such a regulation at the country’s best interest. This stance, was of course, overlooked by teachers in attendance during the voting session. They were anxiously waiting for the Parliament to pass the privileges that other MPs had promised.

Another fact that was overlooked during the voting session, is the fact that more male lawmakers voted against the bill or abstained from voting than female lawmakers (42 out of 61 parliament members voted for the motion).

But male MPs hog the spotlight simply because their performances have been keenly observed.

Therefore, I believe it is unfair that only female lawmakers are blamed for the fact that the entire Parliament has failed to pass the bill.

In my personal point of view, I believe that teachers - like all other state employees - should have to be paid allowances based on their performance. Rewarding financial privileges to productive staff is the best way to encourage dynamic work performance in the public sector.

At the same time, I cannot really blame teachers if they ask for a general allowances that are not based on a performance assessment criteria.

Unfortunately, there are several other jobs in the public sector that have received the same treatment. I sincerely hope that teachers’ frustration does not reflect negatively on the quality of local education. I know that teachers are keen on protecting their messages from external influences. However, there may be others who feel vastly ignored and unable to keep up the hard work if they feel they are not being properly rewarded.— Al-Qabas

KUWAIT: Municipality officials remove abandoned cars in Jahra area over the weekend.

Municipality shuts 6 Ahmadi restaurants KUWAIT: The Kuwait Municipality has shutdown six restaurants in Ahmadi governorate in the past six months for violations including licensing irregularities and a lack of adequate hygiene.

In response to an enquiry from Councilor Ashwaq Al-Madhaf about the

penalties imposed on restaurants which fail to comply with health and safety regulations, Acting Municipality Director Abdullah Amadi explained that of the six restaurants shut down one had used an entire additional level without a license and hired workers without health certifi-

Promotional sales on Ramadan food items

By Nawara Fattahova KUWAIT: Of late, some consumers have complained about an increase in the prices of some commodities, an allegation which most co-operative societies have consistently denied. The Union of Cooperative Societies has created a pricelist which has been circulated in all the co-operative societies.

Recently, a consumer brand that produces soups, coffee and chocolates hiked their prices. Most co-operative societies removed its products from aisles.

Nevertheless, some co-operative societies offer items at higher rates.

The Kheitan Co-operative Society has been selling the so-called brand, “This well-known brand offers milk, chocolate, coffee, soups, and other products. They

increased prices two months ago and so we had to display it. We offer promotions and offers on some products to attract people,” Mohammed Ayyad from the Kheitan Co-operative Society told the Kuwait Times.

Promotional sales held on some food stuff during the holy month of Ramadan has become a common practice. During this month, people buy more food, especially special dishes and food stuff consumed during the month.

“During Ramadan, we will hold festivals in which special offers are made about four or five times during the month. These are held in cooperation with the co-operative society and other supplying companies. Different items such as rice, oil, sugar, chicken are included in the promotional mix,” highlighted

Mohammed Ayyad.

Some cooperative societies are planning to add more items, “In addition to the basic commodities included in the promotion every year such as the jelly, qamaraldeen, ice cream, Vimto and other items during Iftar, some items will also be included such as tinned foods or washing powder,” said Abu Yousif from the Rihab Co-operative Society.

Price hikes and demands cannot always be imposed, and some times, retail companies propose that promotional sales be held, “ The retailer demands a promotion after receiving an approval from the Ministry of Commerce.

In July and August, purchases are weaker so the companies try to promote their goods. Soon, our customers will find special offers in the co-operative society,”

added Abu Yousif.

Citizens that receive subsidies from Shamiya and Shuwaikh Co-operative Society stand to benefit this year, “The Ramadan basket of subsidized food stuff will be much richer. New items valued at about KD 30 will be added to the Ramadan basket such as oil, qamaraldeen, and much more,” noted Mahmoud from the Shamiya and Shuwaikh Co-operative Society. These co-operative societies denied hiking prices. Abu Ahmad from the Ahmadi Cooperative Society noted that there were no marked price rises from the Union of Cooperative Societies. He noted that the discounts will be offered on drinks, rice, mohalabiya, sweets and others. The promotion will begin during the middle of this month.

Ramadan programs to be strictly monitored

Al-Shaabi message ROME: Kuwaiti Ambassador Sheikh Jaber Duaij Al-Ibrahim Al-Sabah with some of the guests.

By Abdullah Al-Mujaihem

L

to close due to the failure to maintain basic levels of hygiene, the senior official explained, whilst two other restaurants shut down in Ahmadi were closed for dealing in expired foodstuffs and using an unlicensed warehouse to store food, the letter added. — Al-Qabas

Cooperative societies deny price increases

kuwait digest

ike many others in Kuwait, my attention was caught drawn to the demonstration held by citizen Abbas Ghloum, better known as Abbas Al-Shaabi (Arabic for popular - a moniker he earned owing to his outspoken support to for the Popular Action Bloc). In his words, Al-Shaabi protested against the fact that he was barred from entering the Parliament without giving any explanation. They also prevented them from practicing as the lawmaker’s secretary without giving an early warning.

Of course, Al-Shaabi has the right to complain against a legal action taken against him viewed at as being unfair. I have to agree that the procedures that ban his entry to the Parliament, should have included investigations which unfortunately never took place.

Frankly, as citizens, we have never been informed about the complete incident behind AlShaabi’s ban. This means that the Parliament’s bureau failed to be transparent with regard to explaining the errors that Al-Shaabi committed which warranted the ban.

People know that a similar ban is usually placed if the person in question commits an error after being warned. However, it is done after his associate MP is notified.

Citizens are currently waiting to receive results of an investigation that PAB member Musallam AlBarrak announced will be held today. Al-Barrak, who hires Al-Shaabi as his personal secretary in the Parliament argues that the ban decision is aimed at jeopardizing Popular Action Bloc(PAB).

Regardless of which argument is true, I believe that Al-Shaabi delivered a very important message. “I am a Shiite citizen defended by Sunni citizens,” Al-Shaabi might not be fully aware of the impact created by this statement.

He pointed out a subject that is very important from a standpoint, which is the fact that Kuwait’s national unity will always be a redline that all members of its society defended. Perhaps, not everyone can gauge the deep meaning behind this simple statement. The fact that it conveys is testament to the unity shown by citizens throughout Kuwait’s history, such as the Al-Qurain Battle when Sunni and Shiite Kuwaitis paid their lives as a price for the freedom of their country against Iraqi invaders. — Al-Rai

cation, whilst another had constructed an extension without receiving authorization or a license. Another common cause for penalizing restaurants is when they are found to be selling food items unfit for human consumption, he added.

Another of the restaurants was ordered

Kuwaiti heritage art, music ceremony in Rome ROME: Ambassador of the State of Kuwait in Italy Sheikh Jaber Duaij Al-Ibrahim AlSabah held a ceremony last night for Kuwaiti heritage art and music within the framework of the second Kuwaiti Cultural Exhibition of Art, Photography, and Music.

Sheikh Jaber also made clear that the embassy organized such musical ceremony in which some of the Kuwaiti heritage tunes have been played as a completion of the Kuwaiti arts festival in Florence.

He also expressed his happiness over the remarkable success made by the Kuwaiti art exhibition in Florence which was held under the sponsorship of the Italian-Kuwaiti Frienship Society and in cooperation with the Media Information Department of the Kuwaiti Ministry of Information for the second consecutive year in what proves the ability of art and culture to help different peoples communicate, and to establish bridges of friendship among them.

Sheikh Jaber also referred to special influence of music and arts on the Italian people who are known for refined and heightened artistic sense, and their major contributions to the rise of fine arts, noting that various Kuwaiti and Arab cultural and artistic events were met by a high turnout from the Italian public.

He also hailed the praiseworthy contribution of the Ministry of Information to this field, asserting the importance of the cul-

tural dimensions in creating a favorable atmosphere that help strengthen the ties of friendship among peoples, and pave the way for cooperation among countries in various domains.

The ceremony was attended by Antonio Capuano, Advisor to the Italian Prime Minister on Kuwait, and Abdullah AlKhaledi, Director of the Media Information Department of the Ministry of Information along with a galaxy of Kuwaiti and foreign officials.

Meanwhile, Capuano expressed his appreciation of the ceremony, and the atmosphere of hospitality, while asserting his great appreciation for the efforts made by the Kuwaiti ambassador, and Kuwait’s keenness on organizing such cultural events.

Delegation of the Kuwaiti Ministry of Information organized a three-day artistic festival at the Public Square of Santa Maria Novella in Florence, one of the city most famous and most picturesque tourist squares. The festival includes holding a documentary exhibition of photos from the archives of the Kuwait News Agency, a pavilion for the Arabic calligraphy creations, a miscellaneous of old shipbuilding methods and Kuwaiti traditional boats.

A documentary was screened at the section titled “the ornaments of popular weaving from Al-Sadu House,” retelling the story of Kuwait’s past and present. — KUNA

Women’s rights draft law to be reviewed KUWAIT: The Council of Ministers will review today a report on women’s civil rights. Officials said that the government has promised to pass a law that includes recommendations put forward by the women’s committee.

Concerning the grilling motion filed against His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah, officials said that the government will

follow a new strategy to confront the interpellation motion and provide satisfactory solutions to all questions posed, reported Al-Anba.

The Ministry of Commerce Dr Amani Boursley will review a report about steps taken to avoid a price rise. Meanwhile, the government will ask the Minister of Planning and Development to formulate a clear report on financing the plan.

KUWAIT: The Information Ministry issued a warning to satellite television channels and producers to not telecast any programs during the holy month of Ramadan without obtaining prior permission from the ministry.

The ministry also stressed that it will closely monitor all activities and take appropriate legal action against those that flout the Audio-Visual law.

Furthermore, the ministry pointed out that some television channels and production companies continue to bla-

tantly violate regulations without heeding to the ministry’s warnings.

The ministry said that major art production companies have been cooperative and that over 25 programs have been approved over the past three months, reported Aljarida. Some officials said that some programs submitted to the ministr y were rejected on the grounds of violating public decency.

“Some producers do this deliberately to gain more fame and publicity so that they can be marketed,” officials said.

All stages of Bahraini national dialogue to be ‘transparent’ MANAMA: The chairman of Bahrain’s Representatives Council and chairman of the National Dialogue, Khalifa Bin Ahmed AlDhahrani, has reiterated that all stages of the national dialogue will be “transparent and objective.”

In his speech during the opening of the national dialogue yesterday, Al-Dhahrani asserted that the people of Bahrain are facing a historic opportunity to overcome this critical period through a national dialogue without any preconditions.

The goal of this national dialogue is to bring together all components of society and different opinions as well as common denominators that contribute towards further development in all fields, he stated.

Al-Dhahrani explained that after the conclusion of the dialogue sessions, moderators of the meetings will submit their conclusions,

including the points of agreement or disagreement, to the National Dialogue chairman. Thereafter, the chairman will submit these results to the Bahraini King for reference to the constitutional institutions to take necessary action, with each body acting according to its area of competence.

“The national dialogue is an opportunity for everyone to reach a consensus on further enhancing the reform process, based on our national principles and unity,” he said. “We start without conditions or limits; our only condition is accepting one another, and our limit is the consensus among the segments of the Society.”

The National Dialogue is based on four main areas: political, economic and social factors, as well as rights, in addition to a session devoted to discussion of Bahrain’s foreign residents. — KUNA

‘Who will understand our needs?’

KUWAIT: A number of disabled Kuwait University students have expressed dissatisfaction at the services they receive at the university and at what they say is a complete lack of understanding of their needs.

Kuwait student Fahad Al-Muwaizri said that the university’s Sharia faculty lacks even basic facilities for disabled students, such as wheelchair ramps, especially at the mosque entrances, as well as having insufficient special parking spaces for disabled drivers.

“We’ve asked the Dean many times to provide the necessary ramps, but our demands have fallen on deaf ears,” Al-Muwaizri told local daily Al-Jarida.

Another student, Met’eb Al-Fadhli, expressed anger at the suffering endured by disabled KU students and at what he said was the indifference of the majority of teaching staff at the university towards disabled students’ needs. Al-Fadhli also claimed that some able-bodied students have been forging disability badges to fraudulently use the parking spaces reserved for disabled drivers.

“The university doesn’t financially support us,” said Al-Fadhli, who is blind, adding that

he had been compelled to buy special equipment to enable him to write in Braille at a cost of KD2,000, as well as having to pay KD500 extra for textbooks in Braille, since the university provides no assistance with such items.

Another student, Hassan Ali, claimed that many able-bodied students use the university’s toilets and lifts for the disabled, which prevents the genuinely disabled from being able to reach classes or lectures on time.

Another visually impaired student, Fahad Al-Enezi, said that the university library has no Braille editions of textbooks, which he said has hampered his efforts to complete the necessary research and assignments for his course on time. Responding to the students’ points, Dr. Abdul Rahim Theyab, the Dean of the KU’s Student Affairs department, said that the Dean’s Office has contacted all the university’s departments to request full reports on their requirements to help them provide a better service to KU’s disabled students as soon as possible so that these can be submitted to the Rector’s office in order to make the necessary arrangements in the shortest possible time. — Al-Jarida

SUNDAY, JULY 3, 2011

LOCAL

Telecom firms blame MoC for high internet prices No solution in sight

KUWAIT: Scenes from heavy sandstorms over the weekend.

— Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat

More sandstorms throughout July, warns meteorologist KUWAIT: Residents of Kuwait recovering from last weekend’s heavy sandstorms should prepare themselves for more of the same, with further suffocatingly dusty weather set to afflict the country for the rest of July, according to a local meteorologist.

“Waves of sandstorms of varying intensities are expected throughout July, with less intensity in the first couple of weeks of the month,” said expert meteorologist Saleh AlUjairi.

Explaining that the weekend’s sandstorms were caused by northwesterly winds blowing from desert areas in Jordan, Iraq and Saudi Arabia, Al-Ujairi added that this year’s unusually heavy sandstorms have several causes, with recent rainless winters, the almost complete lack of vegetation in Kuwait and heavy military activity in desert areas loosening the sand and making it easier for it to be blown away by strong winds being the principal culprits.

The weather forecast is set to improve for Ramadan, however, with Al-Ujairi predicting that the weather would be hot and dry by early August and would remain that way throughout the holy month, with daytime temperatures expected to rise to around 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit) for the month.

Meanwhile, the weekend’s sandstorms saw movements of shipping traffic in the Gulf suspended for hours, but failed to affected air traffic, with Kuwait

International Airport reportedly operating as normal.

The effects on fishing, with fishing vessels prevented from setting out by the almost total lack of visibility in the Gulf, saw fish prices at the local market rise as a result, with some customers complaining that the market inspectors’ failure to work weekends meant that the retailers were able to increase their prices without worrying about facing any penalties. — Agencies

KSSC Ramadan activities KUWAIT: The Kuwait Sea Spor ts Club(KSSC) will host a slew of activities as part of special programs created for the holy month of Ramadan starting early next month.

Khalid Al-Foudari KSSC Secretar y General and Head of Cultural and Social Committee announced that a religious competition highlighting activities will be held, in addition to holding card games, billiards and dominos.

Moreover, he indicated that the special

‘Girgean’ festival will return this year during the middle of Ramadan, featuring the best cultural competition. They noted that a cookery competition will be held to host the ‘best traditional dish’ competition to be held the following day. Separately, AlFoudari urged KSSC members to register names of outstanding children that will be awarded during a ceremony that will be held at the KSSC premises under the patronage of honorar y chairperson Sheikha Dr Suad Al-Sabah.

Top suspect in Hariri murder familiar name in Kuwait jail KUWAIT: Mustafa Badr Al-Din, one of four Hezbollah members whose names are included in the indictment report on the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Al-Hariri, is wellknown to Kuwait’s security authorities due to his involvement in terrorist incidents in the Gulf nation in the early eighties.

Most people in Kuwait are more familiar with him by his alias ‘Elias Al-Saab,’ the extremist who forced his strong personality on guards and inmates of the Central Prison where he served time for the bombings of the US and French embassies in Kuwait back in 1983, in which 63 people died. Al-Din, who used the ‘Elias Al-Saab’ pseudonym to enter Kuwait earlier in the year, was arrested one month after the attacks when he was caught loitering suspiciously around the then-state security headquarters in Dasman. He was subsequently jailed for his involvement in planting explosive material on the trucks that targeted the two embassies, as well as the Shuaiba power plant.

In jail, Al-Din, an amputee with a wooden leg, quickly became best known for his aggressive attitude. At one point, he attacked a guard, slashing him across the face with a sharp razor; during questioning about the incident, he told officers that he had actually wanted to “cut [the guard’s] head off.” Al-Din also told the prosecutor in his case that he didn’t recognize Kuwait’s sovereignty.

“Saab was very hardheaded, and I was always caught off guard by his barbaric way of speaking”, said the social supervisor assigned to handle Badr Al-Din’s case at the time. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official recalled that AlDin addressed him by the moniker ‘Bright lightning,’ rather than using his name or job title. “He would threaten me constantly, either with harm to myself or my family members who, surprisingly enough, he knew the names of,” the official added.

Eventually, ‘Bright lightning’ grew so concerned at the repeated threats against him that he asked Badr Al-Din’s

fellow detainee, Yousef Al-Musawi, to intervene. “Al-Musawi was the leader of the group that committed the bombings,” the official explained. “After obtaining enough information to confirm this truth, I realized that asking him to explain to Saab that my duty there was only to help was the only way to make the threats stop.”

In 1988, top Hezbollah militant Imad Mughniya led an operation in which a Kuwait Airways Corporation (KAC) plane was hijacked in Bangkok, Thailand and forced to fly to Algeria with more than 110 people on board. One of the hijacker’s demands was to ensure that AlMusawi and Badr Al-Din - who were serving life terms in Central Prison over the 1983 - were released. “When [Mughniya] called for Al-Musawi’s picture first, I realized that he was more important to Mughniya than Saab,” the social supervisor said.

Mustafa Badr Al-Din remained in prison for a further two years after that hijacking, however, until the 1990 Iraqi Invasion when he blew off the door of his cell using explosives assembled from basic materials, including chicken bones, salt and cockroaches. “Notes containing similar bomb-making instructions were found on several inmates during Saab’s detention,” the official explained. “When asked about their sources, all the inmates said they got them from Saab,” he continued, adding that Al-Din was considered a headache by the guards for many reasons, including his habit of “welding plastic pen lids into door locks on a daily basis.”

Ever since his escape, Badr Al-Din has risen steadily in Hezbollah’s ranks. He is believed to currently be Hezbollah’s top military commander, replacing his former brother-in-law, Imad Mughniya, who was assassinated in Damascus, Syria in 2008. His contributions are perceived as essential to Hezbollah’s military advancement, mainly in the field recruiting people for the “resistance force” in both Lebanon and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, as well as creating security breaches in the Israeli army.— Al-Rai

KUWAIT: The increasing prices charged by Kuwaiti internet service providers continue to trouble local internet users, with no solution apparently in sight. According to the representatives of local telecommunications firms, the Ministry of Communication has principal responsibility for the problems since it has increased the fees charged to the companies for using the ministry’s lines.

The communications ministry does not buy services from international internet companies, but resells them locally, they say, forcing companies to route their lines through ministry exchanges and charging high premiums for its service.

One MoC insider said that the companies had attempted to bypass the ministry, but the firms deny this claim, alleging that the ministry regularly cuts off internet services at will.

The annual cost to telecom companies of renting an ‘STMI’ 145 MB (MegaByte) broadband line from any international company has now risen to over KD7,000 per year, according to a telecom firm representative, with the telecom firms then paying a similar amount on top of that to the MoC, prompting the companies to pass on the costs to users.

The communications ministry collects fees from all telecom firms for using fiber-optic lines at a rate

of KD300 per kilometer, with the length of many of these lines reaching up to 600 kilometers each, the insider explained, adding that the estimated cost to local telecom firms of each Megabyte of power can reach KD1,500 per year, whilst service subscribers pay around KD100 or more (dependent on the offers available), meaning that the companies have to sell the same package to more than 15 subscribers in order to even recoup their initial cost, and at least double the number of subscribers if they wish to make a profit.

Each of the telecom firms providing internet services is supposed to have a surplus capacity of at least 10 percent, said the insider,

but all find themselves compelled to rely on whatever they have in order to avoid the need to purchase extra capacity, given the expense involved.

The telecom firm insider suggested that the MoC must either allow companies to buy the services direct from international distributors and connect directly, which would halve prices immediately, or reduce the fees it charges telecom companies, insisting that the ministry does not provide a service that justifies such high charges. If it fails to do this, the insider concluded, the telecom firms will have no option but to raise prices and continue supplying an unsatisfactory service to Kuwait’s internet-users.

MPW to execute 21 road projects KUWAIT: The Ministr y of Public Works(MPW) plans to execute 21 road-related projects. The ministry has compiled a list of these projects and its current status and the impending date of execution.

The planning committee at the Municipal Council reviewed this list and has referred it to the Municipality. Awataf Al-Ghunaim,

Assistant Undersecretary and Ministry of Public Works said that Damascus has begun a development project after finalizing the design and the project.

It will be completed by May 2014. She said that the Fifth and Sixth Ring Road projects will be placed for a bid on October 1.

These projects will be completed in July

2015, reported Al-Anba.

The Sixth Ring Road leading to residential areas in Al-Jahra will be completed on 6 November 2013. She expected the Third Ring Road project to be completed by November 1 , 2013.

The Fourth Ring Road project will be completed by the end of 2015.

y

A

6

e niv rsar n

Years

SUNDAY, JULY 3, 2011

LOCAL Women’s housing law increases demand for condo complexes

Kuwaiti youth in police net for harassing woman Scores injuredinSalmiya café brawl KUWAIT: A young Kuwaiti man is facing a charge of sexual harassment after following a female compatriot from her home to the Ahmadi polyclinic where she worked before trying to chat her up. The woman told police that she had purposefully ignored the driver who tailgated her car from her family’s home in Fintas to her workplace. When she got to the polyclinic, the persistent young man followed her inside, accosting her to ask for a “prescription for [his] broken heart.” The object of his affections, tiring of his attention, called police to report him for harassment, and he was taken for questioning. The lovestruck pest denied her accusations, arguing during questioning that the complainant had no evidence of his actions and insisting that he had gone to the polyclinic seeking medical advice. The man has been referred to the relevant authorities for further questioning.

Café brawl Police are investigating a brawl at a Salmiya café that ended in a number of those involved being taken to Mubarak Hospital with knife wounds. The case began after a Kuwaiti couple received a call from one of their sons telling them that he and five other family members had got into a knife fight at the café.

The worried couple immediately called police, who rushed to the café, but found that the young men had been taken to the hospital, where they were receiving treatment to their injuries. They were referred to the relevant authorities for questioning, with some apparently giving conflicting statements as to what sparked the brawl.

Three-floor fall An Ethiopian woman was rushed to Jahra Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU) after sustaining serious injuries when she fell from a thirdfloor balcony of an apartment block in Qairawan. According to detectives, the woman was hanging laundry out to dry on the balcony of the flat where she worked as a housemaid when she lost her balance and fell off it, plummeting to the ground. Her horrified sponsor immediately called for an ambulance and the woman was taken to hospital.

Cupid in trouble Police are hunting for thieves who broke into a marital agency employee’s car and stole a briefcase containing personal informat io n o n 2, 000 female lon ely hearts. The Kuwaiti car-owner told police that he had lef t the car unlocked whilst popping into his ho use fo r a m omen t to fetc h something, discovering the case containing the sensitive personal info rmat io n missin g wh en h e came back out.

Jahra streaker Police who rushed to the scene after receiving reports of a naked man wandering around Al-Qasr in Jahra found the unclothed culprit fast asleep beside a car parked in a ro a d s i d e a re a t h e re. Th e Bangladeshi streaker, who was apparently heavily intoxicated, was taken into custody. Police are also reportedly set to carry out a number of raids on apar tment blocks and converted houses in Jahra area housing male Asian laborers, with some of the houses accommodating up to 200 men.

The police operation follows a sharp increase in the number of complaints from local residents a b o u t s o m e o f t h e wo r k e r s h o u s e d t h e re b e h av i n g i n a n immoral fashion.

Daft drunks Three GCC nationals stopped at a land border checkpoint were taken into police custody after customs officers determined that all were extremely drunk.

by anchoring boats and yachts.

“S evere damage is usually detected on coral reefs during seasons of heavy cruising activity, especially due to their vulnerabilit y at being used as anchoring tools,” Buresli said, adding that the floating markers have been very helpful in protecting coral reefs in

Fantastic Three

By Mubarak Al-Maousherji s if we didn’t have enough internal problems, and as if the relationship between the Cabinet and the parliament was in its best shape ever and national unity was overwhelming Kuwaiti society, some lawmakers have decided to ‘import’ conflicts from outside the country and take over people’s attention with events taking place in other countries.

First came the Bahraini crisis, which divided people either with or against the government there and eventually led to an interpellation against the prime minister.

Then came the Syrian crisis, as lawmakers held demonstrations and seminars demanding that Kuwait’s government condemn the violence and go as far as severing bilateral ties - actions which the Syrian embassy described as interference in their internal affairs.

They didn’t stop there, with our parliament’s ‘Fantastic Three’ travelling to the Turkish border with Syria and launching criticism and accusations against Syria’s regime, something that not only threatens Kuwait’s relations with Syria but which could also create problems for Kuwaitis during their time there or in Lebanon.

Moreover, their actions gave Syria’s government more reasons to claim that the revolution there is sponsored by Islamist political parties from the Arab world. Don’t be surprised if Kuwait’s prime minister faces a new grilling following the parliament’s break for the government’s failure in supporting Syria’s protestors.

Foreign politics is the sole concern of foreign ministries. Lawmakers have the right to monitor the government in that regard and give their recommendations through the parliament’s foreign affairs committee.

This is common sense, but apparently it doesn’t apply to those MPs desperately seeking media attention through demonstrations and unnecessary trips abroad. —Al-Rai

A

Card-players caught Police arrested three Asian men who were caught gambling at a tailor’s shop in Salhiya. Officers were tipped off about the men’s card-playing activities by a female customer, and found the three men sitting around a table with cash and playing cards on it.

Paranoid car-owner A Kuwaiti man whose car was stolen from the open area near his h ome wh ere h e par ked it demanded that police give his case extra attention for fear that his vehicle might be used in illegal activities by the thieves. The man explained that he had gone to the trouble of removing the license plates from the vehicle on parking it there so that it would be less attractive to car thieves.

He explained that he was concer n ed th at th e car migh t be used in cr imin al ac tivities by thieves, which would lead to his being falsely accused since the vehicle is registered in his name.

—Al-Rai, Al-Anba

Diving team installs new buoys KUWAIT: The Kuwait Diving Team has installed six new buoys, located east to the Uraifjan coral reefs, at depths ranging between 11 and 14 meters. Hamad Buresli, Operation Coordinator explained that the step is part of the annual maintenance work around islands that help protect the reeds from damage created

KUWAIT: The introduction of new legislation on housing for Kuwaiti women, providing a housing loan of KD70,000 for all those who meet the eligibility criteria, has led to a sharp increase in demand for condominium apartments across Kuwait.

In its weekly report issued yesterday, Coldwell Banker Kuwait, the Kuwaiti branch of the international estate agency franchise body, stated that this increase in demand had in turn motivated the country’s major real estate businesses to purchase tracts of land in order to construct large condominium complexes.

The report added that the scarcity of available investment opportunities in the Kuwaiti real estate market and the fluctuating per formance of the Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) had pushed up the prices of profitable properties, including empty plots of land and apartment blocks, by five to ten percent in recent months.

The Coldwell Banker Kuwait report stressed that revenues from profitable condominium complexes have been unaffected by the turbulent economic and political conditions of the market, remaining unchanged even during the most difficult periods, with their rental values and occupancy rates seeing no fall.

The report also referred to the importance of utilizing long-term financial tools in the local real estate market in a way that heeds the nature of the real estate projects which need to see their capital restored over a long period of time, adding that this is positively reflected in the kind of real estate projects undertaken by the private sector.

It also underlined the need for the local financial markets to change their approach to the real estate sector for a short to long-term one in order to protect the projects’ financial income during the preliminary construction stages. The global banks, which rely on financing facilities to promote real estate development projects, adopt an approach that employs ‘grace periods’ of up to 10 years, the report pointed out.

On the company’s real estate portfolio, valued in the billions, the report said that the process of assembling such a portfolio would have a positive effect on the local real estate sector and consequently on the sums allocated to the portfolio, which would in turn have a positive influence on the commercial and residential real estate sectors.

In conclusion, the report noted that there is a sense of anticipation among many of the firms with investments in the regional countries that have recently seen major upheavals, particularly since these companies’ policies on these investments were established prior to the recent regional developments. —KUNA

kuwait digest

southern islands.

Al-Uraifjan’s coral reefs are located 5.15 kilometers southeast of AlFahaheel’s shore, and are considered one of the richest areas of marine biodiversity in Kuwaiti waters. The location is surrounded by 70 buoys that form sea markers for docking purposes.

KU panel to supervise student elections

Kuwaiti charity sends food aid to Sudan

KUWAIT: Kuwait University Dean of Student Affairs Dr Abdulrahim Thiab formed a higher committee yesterday to supervise the University elections and student affairs for 2010-2011.

The head of the committee is Assistant Dean Saif Al-Farhan who aims to ease the elections and student affairs for the upcoming year, Dean Office said in a press statement.

The committee’s purpose is to make decisions and set procedures according to university rules and regulations, it added.

The committee also has to provide a report to the Dean of Student Affairs, containing all activities and suggestions. —KUNA

KHARTOUM: The Kuwait-based charity Direct Aid International, formerly known as the Africa Muslims Agency, yesterday saw off a humanitarian aid convoy which intends to reach those affected by the recent violence in Sudan’s South Kordofan region.

The convoy consists of 10 trucks, each loaded with 120 tonnes of food, Direct Aid International’s Sudan office told KUNA. The aid will be distributed amongst 1,000 families, and is enough to fulfill their needs for a month.

The South Kordofan region has been witnessing armed confrontations between the Sudanese government and armed rebels in the south of the country for a month now. The fighting has so far resulted in the deaths of 70,000 people, according to UN estimates, while Sudanese President, Omar Al-Bashir has ordered raids on the rebels to continue. —KUNA

ASILA: Information and Communications Minister Sami Al-Nisf welcomes former information minister Mohammad Al-Sanousi.

ASILA: Dr Mohammad Al-Roumaihi is welcomed by a member of the Kuwaiti embassy in Morocco.

Asila Int’l Cultural Forum hosts Kuwait as guest of honor ASILA, Morocco: Asila International Cultural Forum started activities yesterday, with the State of Kuwait being the guest of honor, featuring participation of many Arab and international politicians, intellectuals and artists.

Kuwait’s Minister of Information and Minister of Communications Sami Al-Nesf addressed the opening ceremony of the Forum on behalf of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.

Around 150 people from Kuwait will participate in the Forum, due until July 22, which will mark Kuwait’s Amir’s fifth anniversary in office.

The Forum will include seminars about Kuwait’s history and civilization, its political and economic development, as well as its support to Arab and Islamic causes.

which studio and performing artists from all over the world, journalists, writers, painters, musicians and dancers participate.

It is the most important art festival in Morocco and is considered a forum for the artists from all ASILA: Dr Abdullredha Asiri and Dr Sulaiman Al- around the world to illustrate their Askari being welcomed upon their arrival. art and ideas.

Seminars, for example, will also Asilah is a fortified town on the touch upon renewable and nuclear northwest tip of the Atlantic coast of energies, migration, Arab and Morocco, about 50 km from Tangier.

African media.

Its history dates back to 1,500 B.C., Asilah Festival, started in 1978, is when the Phoenicians used it as a an annual cultural extravaganza in base for trade. —KUNA

Italian university to award honorary Doctorate to Sheikh Mohammed ROME: The prestigious university of Perugia has decided to award the honorary doctorate degree to Kuwaiti Deputy Prime Minister, and Foreign Minister Sheikh Dr. Mohammad Sabah Al-Salem AlSabah at the outset of the new academic year.

The university of Perugia decided to bestow such degree upon Sheikh Dr. Mohammad, the Kuwaiti top diplomat, in recognition of his role in preserving global stability.

Advisor to the Italian Prime Minister on Kuwait Antonio Capuano told KUNA yesterday that the academic senate of Perugia university has unanimously agreed upon awarding Sheikh Dr. Mohammad AlSabah the honorary doctorate degree in international relations during the annual ceremony ushering in the new academic year.

The university of Perugia takes its name from the eponymous capital city of Umbria region, and Sheikh Dr. Mohammad who will receive the certificate of honorary doctorate at the

opening ceremony of the academic year, will give a special lecture on the international politics before the university professors, top scientific and literary figures as well as statesmen in the presence of Italian Foreign Minister and in accordance with the time-honored academic traditions of the university.

Capuano said that awarding such high-level rank to Sheikh Dr. Mohammad comes in view of the pivotal role which State of Kuwait, and its leaders play on the regional and international scene, while Italy regards Kuwait as an element of stability in the region as a whole.

He also made clear that Italy seeks through such awarding, which comes from one of its most prestigious universities, to show its great appreciation for the Kuwaiti Foreign Minister, and to assert the precious value associated with his sustainable, and praiseworthy efforts at the regional and international levels when it comes to the management of crises.

Capuano also referred to the subsidy provided by Kuwait to poor and developing countries along with its role on boosting international cooperation.

Further, he said that this Italian scientific honoring of Sheikh Dr. Mohammad emanates from Italy’s special view of the State of Kuwait as the main gateway to the Arab Gulf states region, and a country with a political weight when it comes to determining political matters in this region, while Italy itself is keen on being Kuwait’s partner, and its main gateway to Europe.

Finally, Capuano said that his naming by Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi as the latter’s advisor on Kuwait following the visit made by His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber AlSabah to Italy last year as a proof of the specificity of such ties, noting that this is the first time that Italian premier taps a special advisor on relations with a given region or country. —KUNA

SUNDAY, JULY 3, 2011

Venezuelan president’s cancer revelation rattles Venezuela

Afghan attacks kill 18, family on board a van Page 11

Page 9

3 civilians killed in strike South Yemen tribal head seeks talks with militants

SANAA: Thousands of Yemenis take part in an anti-regime demonstration in the capital Sanaa yesterday one day after hundreds of thousands of protesters staged huge rallies across Yemen calling for the departure of all figures in the regime of President Ali Abdullah Saleh.—AFP ADEN/SANAA: A powerful tribal leader in southern Yemen has called for talks between the army and suspected Islamist militants who have seized control of a provincial capital as a political crisis in Yemen drags on. With mass protests demanding an end to President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s 33-year rule still paralyzing the Arabian Peninsula state, its southern province of Abyan has been scene to violence after militants suspected of ties to Al Qaeda took control of its capital Zinjibar last month.

Militants, who also seized the city of Jaar several months ago, have clashed with Yemeni forces almost daily.

Residents say the province is suffering severe food, water and power shortages due to the continuing unrest. Sheikh Tareq Al-Fadli, a tribal head in Abyan and prominent leader of Yemen’s southern separatist movement, called for a

meeting next tomorrow between residents, army leaders and members of the militant group for what he termed an “investigation of current events”.

Opponents of Saleh, who is recovering in Riyadh from injuries sustained in a June assassination attempt, accuse the government of intentionally giving more room to Al Qaeda and Islamist militants to spark fears that Yemen could collapse into chaos without the veteran leader at the helm. Both neighbouring Saudi Arabia and the United States have been targets in foiled attacks by al Qaeda’s Yemen wing. Ali Mohsen, a top general who defected to the protest movement months ago, added his voice to the opposition’s argument in a statement released yesterday.

“We fear the terrorists will seize all of Abyan province, and that is the hope and dream of the government to scare

the world that its demise would be a victory for Al Qaeda, which is utterly deceitful,” he wrote. It is unclear whether Sheikh Fadli will succeed in setting up talks between militants and the army.

His call for a temporary truce ahead of talks failed to end fighting. Residents in Zinjibar said three civilians were killed yesterday when military planes bombed what they thought was a militant hideout. Local papers have recently reported dozens of casualties among militants and the army.

Clashes have escalated since militants on Wednesday seized a stadium near Zinjibar, which the military had been using as a makeshift base to load and transport supplies. A local official told Reuters 25 soldiers held hostage after the stadium siege were released yesterday evening. There had been no negotiations, and the official suspected a lack of supplies forced the militants to release the soldiers, who were severely dehydrated and had not been fed.

Unrest yesterday also spread to Taiz, 200 km (120 miles) south of the capital.

Medics said armed tribesmen shot dead three soldiers and wounded eight others when security forces tried to attack a central square where tens of thousands of protesters demanding Saleh’s resignation have camped out for over five months. In the capital Sanaa, where tens of thousands of protesters are also camping out, the opposition restarted discussions about setting up its own transitional assembly to run the country even as the president and his supporters continue to cling to power.

Mohammed Al-Sabry, a spokesman for the bloc of political opposition parties, said the plans were not complete and would need to be reviewed again next Saturday.

“A committee presented a plan and we discussed it and gave some observations, and it was referred back to the committee to reformat for the next meeting,” he said. Sources told Reuters the opposition was also considering offering amendments to a Gulf Arab proposal for a power transition, which Saleh, after initially approving, backed out of three times. —Reuters

A

y

e niv rsar n

SUNDAY, JULY 3, 2011

Years

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

Jordan cabinet reshuffle fails to calm opposition AMMAN: Jordan’s Prime Minister Maaruf Bakhit reshuffled his government yesterday, triggering the ire of an opposition that has been demanding the cabinet’s resignation over allegations of corruption. The Islamist opposition dismissed the reshuffle as a “provocation,” while analysts said it did little to improve the government’s credibility in a country that has seen protests since January calling for general reforms.

King Abdullah II issued a decree approving the first reshuffle of the cabinet, which was formed in February, bringing in nine newcomers, and changing the portfolios of two ministers. Mazen Saket, who was in charge of political development in the first line-up, became interior minister,

replacing Saad Hayel Srur, the staterun Petra news agency reported.

Abdullah Abu Rumman, the head of the press and publications department, was appointed information minister, replacing Taher Adwan, a veteran journalist who resigned last month in protest against proposed “restrictive” laws.

Ibrahim Omush and Abdullatif Wreikat were named ministers of justice and health, respectively, after Hussein Mujalli and Yasin Hesban resigned in May over a decision to allow a tycoon convicted of corruption, Khalid Shahin, to leave prison for medical treatment in the United States. Shahin and three others, including a former minister, were sentenced last year to three years in jail

over graft payments as part of a $2.1billion project to upgrade the Jordan Petroleum Refinery Com, which runs the kingdom’s sole refinery.

In Februar y, the government allowed Shahin to travel to the United States but there was an outcry in Jordan when, in April, he was spotted in a London restaurant. “The reshuffle is provocative and challenges the feelings of thousands of Jordanians who have been protesting for reforms, including the resignation of the government, dissolution of parliament and early elections,” Hamzah Mansur, chief of the powerful Islamic Action Front (IAF), told AFP. “The new changes are against the will of the people and entrench the current way of forming governments as well as corruption.”

The IAF, the political arm of Jordan’s Muslim Brotherhood, as well as other groups, are demanding sweeping reforms, including a new electoral law and an elected prime minister. “The reshuffle is useless. The government has become a burden on the political system,” said Mohammed Masri, political analyst at the University of Jordan’s Centre for Strategic Studies. “It will not improve the government’s credibility.

It is not matter of changing names.

Policies need to be changed,” said Masri.

“The people want the government to resign,” he added. Masri said that the people now equate the government with corruption. “For people, it has become the government of Shahin and government of the casino.”

MPs on Monday failed to impeach Bakhit for his alleged role in a suspected graft case about a multi-milliondollar deal that his government signed with a British-based company to build a casino, between 2005 and 2007 when he first served as premier.

MPs have cleared Bakhit, despite a parliamentary committee report which has found the premier partially responsible-triggering a nationwide outcry. At least three MPs have resigned in protest against the lower house’s decision not to impeach Bakhit, local news reports have said.

Jordanians have been protesting since January to demand political and economic reforms and an end to corruption, and calling for the resignation of the government.—AFP

Greece arrests captain of Gaza-bound boat

BAGHDAD: Children play at a park in central Baghdad, Iraq yesterday. —AP

Iran denies US hikers were mistreated in jail NEW YORK: Iran denied in a statement issued by its UN mission on Friday that two US citizens detained on spying charges have been mistreated, saying they had consular contact and a visit from their families. Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer, together with Bauer’s fiancee Sarah Shourd, were arrested by Iranian forces on July 31, 2009, on suspicion of spying after crossing into Iran from neighboring Iraq.

Shourd, who was released on bail in September and returned home, has insisted the trio were innocent hikers who unintentionally crossed the unmarked border into Iran. The families said in a letter released on Thursday that Fattal and Bauer had been subjected to psychological torture as a result of extreme isolation, had been denied access to their lawyer and to consular visits from Swiss diplomats who represent US interests in Iran.

The letter, addressed to Ahmed Shaheed, the United Nations human rights investigator on Iran, also claimed Fattal and Bauer were assaulted and sexually harassed by a prison guard. “Two years later, Shane and Josh are still in prison in deplorable conditions,” Shourd said at a press briefing at the United Nations earlier in the week. Iran’s mission to the United Nations called these “baseless allegations” in a press statement released late on Friday.

“We categorically deny Ms Shourd’s recent false claims and the repeat of the

same allegations by some family members, about the treatment of the two US citizens by Iranian authorities,” the statement said. The families said they met with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon earlier in the week and said in a press release on Thursday that Ban had called Bauer and Fattal’s imprisonment “totally unacceptable.” A UN spokesman could not immediately vouch for the accuracy of the quote.

Iran’s statement also alleged there are Iranian citizens “imprisoned in the US under false and unproven accusations.” It called on the United Nations to “play an effective role” in clarifying “the fate of ... imprisoned Iranians in the US “ Bauer and Fattal pleaded not guilty at a closed-door court hearing on Feb. 6. Iran is scheduled to hear the case against them on July 31.

Under Iran’s Islamic law, espionage can be punished by execution.

Iran’s statement said “any attempt to politicize the matter beyond its legal nature would be harmful and useless”.

The case has further complicated relations between Tehran and Washington already fraught over Iran’s nuclear activity. The US State Department in June renewed its call on Iran, with which Washington has no diplomatic ties, to release the two men. Western powers suspect Iran is trying to develop nuclear weapons under the cover of an atomic energy program. Tehran denies this, saying its nuclear activity is entirely peaceful. — Reuters

ATHENS: Greek authorities have arrested the captain of a boat that is part of a Gaza-bound flotilla trying to deliver humanitarian aid to the Palestinian territory, officials said yesterday.

The 60-year-old captain, whose name was not released by authorities, was being held at Piraeus police headquarters and will remain there until a court hearing Tuesday. Greece’s coast guard said the captain of “The Audacity of Hope” faces charges of trying to leave port without permission and of endangering the lives of the boat’s passengers.

The latter charge is a felony. The boat was carrying 36 passengers, four crew and about 10 members of the media. Its attempt to sail Friday night from the port of Perama, near Athens, was thwarted by coast guard speedboats.

On the same day, Greece had announced it was banning vessels heading to Gaza from leaving Greek ports.

In Jerusalem, Israel has denied claims it sabotaged ships trying to breach its sea blockade of the Gaza Strip. Activists have accused Israel of damaging two ships docked in Turkey and Greece that were part of a flotilla attempting to reach the Palestinian territor y. Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor dismissed the sabotage charges as “ridiculous,” calling them “sad conspiracy theories.”

Selcuk Unal, a spokesman for the

ATHENS: The activist ship “Audacity of Hope” is moored by the Greek coast guard base in the town of Peramat, near Athens, Greece, Friday,—AP Turkish Foreign Ministry, said authorities had determined that there was no act of sabotage on an Irish vessel in the flotilla that docked in the Turkish port of Gocek on the Aegean Sea. Israel says it imposed the blockade in 2007 to stop weapons reaching the Islamic militant group Hamas that rules Gaza. Activists describe the blockade as a form of incarceration for the Palestinians.

Nine activists on a Turkish boat were killed last year in an Israeli raid on a similar flotilla. In a statement, the Middle East Quartet of Mideast mediators, the US, UN, EU and Russia, said it remained concerned about the difficult conditions facing Palestinians in Gaza, but noted “a marked increase in the range and scope of goods and materials” entering Gaza over the last year.

Iran smuggles weapons to Iraq, Afghanistan: Report

Diplomats: Mideast Quartet to meet UNITED NATIONS: Mideast mediators will meet on July 11 to try to spur a resumption of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations as the Palestinians prepare to seek recognition as an independent state, diplomats and a UN official said Friday. The meeting of the socalled Quartet, the US UN, European Union and Russia, will take place in Washington, a UN diplomat and UN official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because consultations have been private.

September looms large in the quest for Mideast peace because Israel and the Palestinians have agreed on President Barack Obama’s target of September 2011 for a peace agreement, a date endorsed by the EU and much of the world.

When US -brokered direct IsraeliPalestinian negotiations resumed last September, Obama announced at the General Assembly’s annual ministerial meeting that a peace treaty should be signed in a year. But those talks collapsed weeks later after Israel ended its freeze on building settlements.

The Palestinians insist they will not resume peace talks until Israel stops building settlements in occupied areas. Israel maintains that the Palestinians should not be setting conditions for talks and that settlements didn’t stop them from negotiating in the past. With no sign of talks being revived, France, Britain and Germany launched an initiative in March to restart the stalled negotiations by proposing the

outlines of a final settlement to the IsraeliPalestinian conflict including starting negotiations based on pre-1967 borders.

They wanted UN Secretary-General Ban Kimoon and the European Union to propose a settlement text at a meeting of the Quartet. But the United States, Israel’s closest ally, blocked Quartet meetings on the proposal in March and April, saying it wasn’t the right time and a meeting wouldn’t produce anything that would help restart the talks. UN diplomats said they hope the July 11 meeting will not be canceled. In May, Obama outlined his “vision” for achieving Israeli-Palestinian peace, which the Quartet strongly endorsed.

In their statement, the Quartet agreed that Obama’s starting point , borders for Palestine, security for Israel , provides “a foundation for Israelis and Palestinians to reach a final resolution of the conflict through serious and substantive negotiations and mutual agreement on all core issues.” But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed Obama’s starting point for negotiations as “indefensible,” saying the pre-1967 borders with agreed land swaps would leave major Jewish settlements outside Israel.

He also insists that Jerusalem must remain in Israel hands and that the Palestinians recognize Israel as a Jewish state, accept a demilitarized Palestinian state, and drop demands for Palestinian refugees to return to Israel.—AP

It urged those wishing to deliver goods to Gaza to do so through “established channels,” which include Israeli and Egyptian crossings. The Quartet “urges restraint and calls on all Governments concerned to use their influence to discourage additional flotillas, which risk the safety of their participants and carry the potential for escalation,” the statement said.— AP

CAIRO: Egyptian new Foreign Minister Mohammed El-Orabi, right, accompanies his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu, as he arrives at the Egyptian Foreign Ministry headquarters in Cairo, Egypt yesterday.—AP

Muslim Brotherhood welcomes US talks CAIRO: Egypt’s powerful Islamist movement, the Muslim Brotherhood, said Friday it is willing to hold talks with the United States, taking up an offer of dialogue seen as an implicit recognition

by Washington that the group will likely hold significant political power in Egypt’s post-Hosni Mubarak era. The Brotherhood’s bid for prominence comes at a time of growing discontent by pro-democracy protesters toward the military council that took power in Egypt after Mubarak’s ouster in February.

Thousands of pro-democracy protesters waving Egyptian flags and banners rallied Friday in Tahrir Square, demanding speedy trials for former regime figures and policemen accused of killing protesters during the 18-day revolt that claimed 846 lives. The demonstration came after clashes broke out earlier this week between police and protesters pushing for faster reforms.

More than 1,000 people were injured and more than 30 arrested in the melees.

The Brotherhood has largely stayed clear from the recent protests, denouncing most of them as unfocused and unnecessar y. Brotherhood spokesman Mohammed Ghozlan was responding to comments by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Thursday that the Obama

administration is reaching out to the fundamentalist group in a “limited” effort to build ties and promote democratic principles. “We welcome dialogue with America to remove any misunderstandings and bridge gaps,” Ghozlan told The Associated Press.

He said it would be the first time the Brotherhood holds talks with the United States.

However, there were reports of indirect and informal contacts between Brotherhood and U.S. officials several years ago, particularly when the group was represented in Egypt’s former parliament. Neither side gave any indication of when the talks would take place. The Brotherhood was banned for decades and was heavily suppressed

by Mubarak’s regime, which was closely allied to the United States. But the ban was lifted after Mubarak’s ouster, and the Brotherhood is campaigning hard for upcoming parliamentary elections.

Since it is the country’s most organized political force, it is expected to make a strong showing and is very likely to be a member in the next government. Saying the U.S. seeks a real democracy in Egypt, President Barack Obama has acknowledged the Brotherhood should be allowed to operate freely in politics. —AP

WASHINGTON: The Iranian military smuggled new deadly munitions to its allies in Iraq and Afghanistan in recent months in order to to accelerate the US withdrawals from these countries, The Wall Street Journal reported late Friday Citing unnamed US officials, the newspaper said the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has supplied its allies with rocket-assisted exploding projectiles, which have already killed American troops.

The officials said Iranians had also given long-range rockets to the Taliban in Afghanistan, increasing the insurgents’ ability to hit US and other coalition positions from a safer distance, the report said. “I think we are likely to see these Iranian-backed groups continue to maintain high attack levels,” Major General James Buchanan, the top US military spokesman in Iraq, told The Journal. “But they are not going to deter us from doing everything we can to help the Iraqi security forces.”

Violence k illed more Iraqis last month than at any time since September, figures showed on Friday after the US reported deaths that also made June the deadliest month for its troops in Iraq for three years. The Baghdad government blames Al-Qaeda for most of the 271 deaths of its citizens last month, while the US military accuses Iranian-backed Shiite insurgent groups for the attacks that killed 14 Americans.

Data compiled by the health, interior and defence ministries showed that 155 civilians, 77 policemen and 39 soldiers died in attacks last month, 34 percent more than the 177 killed in May. The majority of American troops killed in June died in rocket attacks against military bases, or by roadside bombs that targeted their convoys. Last month’s toll was the highest since June 2008, when 23 American soldiers were killed, at a time when US forces were directly involved in fighting insurgents.—AFP

A

y

e niv rsar n

SUNDAY, JULY 3, 2011

Years

i n t e r n at i o n a l

Mexico state vote kicks off 2012 presidential race ECATEPEC: Eruviel Avila hardly behaved like a candidate with a 30-point lead heading into today’s vote for the governor of Mexico state, a post his party has never lost in more than 80 years. The plain, slightly paunchy 42-year-old campaigned from morning till night, promising to eliminate the vehicle tax to benefit cab and bus drivers, wooing support from the powerful political party of the teachers and spending what one national newspaper said was more per day than Felipe Calderon did to win the presidency in 2006. That’s because so much more is at stake. Avila’s Institutional

Revolutionary Party, or PRI, needs a commanding victory to create momentum going into the July 2012 national election, where the PRI wants to regain the presidency it lost in 2000 after 71 years of uninterrupted rule.

The front-runner in presidential polls, Enrique Pena Nieto, is the current PRI governor in Mexico’s most populous state, which at 15 million people is larger than some Latin American countries and home to the sprawling, impoverished suburbs that surround Mexico City. Even though Pena Nieto lay low, not even showing up at Avila’s closing rally, he

Former president Franco of Brazil dies at age 81 BRASILIA: Former Brazilian President Itamar Franco has died of a stroke. The Albert Einstein hospital in Sao Paulo says in a statement that the 81-yearold Franco died yesterday morning.

He had been hospitalized since May after being diagnosed with leukemia and pneumonia. Franco was known as the leader who in the 1990s tamed inflation in Latin America’s biggest country. He became president in 1992

after Fernando Collor de Mello stepped down to avoid being impeached as a result of corruption charges. Franco was elected vice president in 1989. As president, he launched the Real Plan, which is considered Brazil’s most successful antiinflationary program. It was created by his finance minister, Fernando Henrique Cardoso, who was elected president in 1994. — AP

OTTAWA: Prince William’s wife Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, arrives for Canada Day celebrations on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Friday. —AP

is the real candidate in today’s vote.

“A narrow margin will embolden the opposition,” said Harley Shaiken, director of the University of California, Berkeley, Center for Latin American Studies. “A demanding margin is something the PRI will trumpet and use to get those on the fence to see that the train is leaving the station, and it’s best to get on board.” The other two major parties, trailing in the polls and lacking the coalitions that have beat the PRI in other states, also are trying to send a national message , that a vote for the PRI is a return to the past, when the “dinosaurs”

ed by the wildfire. Joe Reinarz, a fire official who had also worked at one of the large Arizona wildfires this season, said the fire did not grow significantly on Friday and that containment lines were holding but were no guarantee.

“Everything we’ve seen this summer doesn’t indicate that an old fire is going to stop much. It’s unusually dry in the Southwest,” he said. The fire has blackened more than 162 square miles in the last six days, making it the largest in New Mexico history. Erratic winds and dry fuels helped it surpass a 2003 fire that took five months to burn through 94,000 acres in the Gila National Forest.

A key challenge Friday was stopping the flames from doing more damage to the lands of Santa Clara Pueblo. The fire had made a run north toward the reservation earlier this week, hitting the pueblo’s watershed and cultural sites. Santa Clara wasn’t the only Indian community feeling the effects of the fire.

To the south, Cochiti Pueblo was also worried about damage to ground cover affecting its watershed.

Also, the Pajarito Plateau has

NEW MEXICO: Firefighter Brandon DeLong conducts a burnout operation while battling the Las Conchas fire near Los Alamos, NM Friday.—AP

the mid-to-high 20s in surveys by the newspapers Reforma and El Universal. Those polls have a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. Avila wouldn’t comment on what a victory means for the national race. But Miguel Angel Osorio Chong, delegate to the PRI’s national executive committee, agreed the state is a bellwether. “We’ll find out in this process Mexico’s preference,” he said.

The PAN and PRD tried early on to form a coalition to defeat the PRI, as they did last year to win the PRI stronghold states of Oaxaca, Puebla and Sinaloa. —AP

Venezuelan president’s cancer revelation rattles Venezuela Chavez remains in charge CARACAS: President Hugo Chavez’s disclosure that he is being treated for cancer is raising questions about whether he will be able to run for reelection next year and how his illness may impact the future of his socialist movement in Latin America. While Chavez remained in Cuba recovering from surgery that removed a cancerous tumor, he sought to assure his supporters that he remains in charge and expects to fully recover.

“We’re optimistic and we know we’ll get out of this,” Chavez said in a telephone interview on Cuban television Friday night. He said he planned to meet with some of his Cabinet ministers to discuss agriculture projects and other issues.

“No one expected this illness. But it is useful for us to rise above it as we are doing,” Chavez was quoted as saying by the state-run Venezuelan News Agency. “It is going to strengthen us.” Questions remain about how sick Chavez is. He announced Thursday night that a surgery had successfully removed the tumor in his pelvic region, though he didn’t give details about what kind of cancer he had or say how soon he might return home.

In the streets, hundreds of the ailing leader’s supporters poured into a downtown plaza, shouting “Onward, commander!” They wrote get-well messages on large paper signs, including some that read “Chavez forever.” Carmen Gonzalez, a 57-year-old laboratory technician who joined the crowd, said she was praying for Chavez. “It has pained me a lot, and

Los Alamos officials plan for return of residents LOS ALAMOS: With firefighters holding their ground against the largest wildfire ever in New Mexico, officials at the nation’s premier nuclear weapons laboratory and in the surrounding city planned for the return of thousands of evacuated employees and residents. The blaze was several miles upslope Friday from Los Alamos National Laboratory, boosting confidence that it no longer posed an immediate threat to the facility. Thousands of experiments, including those on two supercomputers and studies on extending the life of 1960s-era nuclear bombs, have been put on hold because of the fire.

“I anticipate that we are going to be able to bring the laboratory back up in a way that’s smooth and continues to maintain the safety and security that we’re responsible for,” Lab Director Charles McMillan said.

Authorities didn’t give a timetable for when they would lift evacuation order that began Monday for the town of Los Alamos, home to 12,000 people. But some county workers were already back to prepare for the eventual rush of utility service calls, as well as possible flooding from surrounding mountainsides denud-

wielded power through coercion, corruption and intimidation.

Avila faces Alejandro Encinas, 57, from the leftist Democratic Revolution Party, or PRD, which won the presidential vote in the state of Mexico in 2006 despite PRI domination of state and local offices. Trailing third is Luis Felipe Bravo Mena, 58, of Calderon’s conservative National Action Party, or PAN, which won the presidential vote there in 2000.

Avila is heading into today’s vote with the biggest margin for a PRI candidate since 1993, polling near 60 percent with Encinas trailing in

hundreds of archaeological sites at Bandelier National Monument that hold great significance to area tribes. About half of the park has burned, Bandelier superintendent Jason Lott said. “The impact to our pueblos is unprecedented,” said US Rep. Ben Ray Lujan, D-N M. More than 1,200 firefighters were on the lines trying to slow down the flames as National Guard troops, state police officers and deputies patrolled neighborhoods and enforced evacuation orders.

Fire operations section chief Jerome Macdonald said parts of the fire in Santa Clara canyon burned hot while other areas saw less damage because of overnight temperatures and lighter winds.

In Los Alamos, fire officials said that crews worked to keep flames from spreading down a canyon that leads to the lab and the town. Los Alamos Fire Chief Doug Tucker said a small fire lit to remove fuels was steadily burning and being monitored by 200 firefighters. The canyon runs past the old Manhattan Project site in town and a 1940s-era dump site where workers are near the end of a cleanup project of low-level radioactive waste, as well as the site of a nuclear reactor that was demolished in 2003. Most of the town’s displaced residents have been staying with friends or family. The American Red Cross has set up two shelters where 110 people have been staying. Evacuees at the shelter at the Santa Claran Hotel Casino in Espanola, about 20 miles from Los Alamos, said the first night was the most difficult because of the commotion of people settling in and getting used to sleeping in a room with dozens of strangers.

“Being alone in my apartment, I know what sounds it makes. My refrigerator kicks on, I hear the footsteps in the hallway. I’m used to that,” said Michael Calloway, who took shelter at the casino. After two nights, the evacuees said they have a rhythm that for Cynthia Springer includes picking a spot away from a loud snorer. “I don’t know if I snore,” said evacuee Scott Jonze, who lives alone in his apartment in Los Alamos. “But my cat can tell you.”

Santa Claran shelter manager Don Hughes said that about 30 people who spent the first night there have found other places to stay.—AP

not just me. I feel that it’s the whole country,” she said. “Those who are in charge, like the vice president, have to lead the country forward.” Vice President Elias Jaua assured Venezuelans on Friday that there was no need for Chavez to cede his duties as president.

“The president is going to be (in Cuba) for the time period his doctors prescribe,” Jaua said, noting that the National Assembly has authorized Chavez to remain in Cuba for as long as needed.

Venezuelan state television aired prerecorded video of a meeting in Cuba on Wednesday in which Chavez was shown discussing road projects and other issues with his brother Adan, his foreign minister and a military chief. The effort to portray business as usual comes after three weeks of uncertainty in which Chavez was largely out of sight and speculation was rife that he might be seriously ill. Before his speech on Thursday, Venezuelans had heard only that Chavez had undergone surgery to remove a pelvic abscess.

The 56-year-old Chavez was noticeably thinner and pale as he disclosed he had two operations in Cuba, including one that removed a tumor in which there were “cancerous cells.” The socialist leader had previously vowed to win re-election next year and govern for another decade or more. Now he has yet to say whether that plan still stands. His illness has created uncertainty in a political system that has been dominated by Chavez during his more

than 12 years in power. A weakened Chavez also poses potential challenges for his long-running efforts to counter US influence and rally the radical left in Latin America and beyond. Some analysts predict that if Chavez’s illness worsens, his socialistinspired Bolivarian Revolution movement might face troubles due to the lack of a clear successor. “Chavismo without Chavez doesn’t exist,” said Joel D. Hirst, an international affairs fellow at the Washington-based Council on Foreign Relations. “The revolution is really about one man.” “If for some reason Chavez was not able to continue as president or to run in the 2012 election, it would produce a tectonic shift in Latin American politics.” If Chavez were to die or resign, the vice president would serve the remainder of Chavez’s term.

Venezuelan historian Agustin Blanco Munoz, who wrote a book about Chavez, predicted that “he is not going to resign.” He said strongman leaders such as Chavez are unlikely to step down because “they feel they are the chosen ones, that they’re the supreme ones.” Diego MoyaOcampos, a political analyst with IHS Global Insight in London, called Chavez’s announcement a “gamechanger” because there is no obvious political heir.

Chavez revealed limited details about his illness, saying that the tumor was in the pelvic region and that “there were no complications” in the surgery. He said he was continuing to receive treatment in Cuba, though it was unclear what sort.

“Statistically, it would most likely be a colorectal cancer,” said Dr. Michael Pishvaian, a cancer specialist at Georgetown University’s Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center who was not involved in the Venezuelan leader’s treatment.

“It’s not unheard of for a gastrointestinal cancer, particularly colorectal cancer, to have broken through the colon and be surrounded by an abscess, a collection of infected cells,” he said. In such cases, the cancer is discovered when cells from the abscess are examined later. A second surgery might be done to remove any additional cancer and nearby lymph nodes to see whether it had spread.

“The potential for recovery all really depends on the type of cancer and the stage of the cancer,” Pishvaian said.

Gen. Henry Rangel Silva, a military chief and a member of Chavez’s inner circle, assured the country that Venezuela’s stability “is guaranteed” while the president recovers. “He will be in our country soon,” Rangel said, without giving a return date.

Venezuela is preparing to celebrate the 200th anniversary of its declaration of independence from Spain on Tuesday, but it’s unclear whether Chavez will be able to attend the festivities. The government postponed a summit of Latin American and Caribbean leaders earlier in the week, citing Chavez’s health. Some analysts have predicted growing divisions and possibly infighting within Chavez’s movement if he is absent for an extended period. He has already been in Cuba since June 8.—AP

y

A

10

e niv rsar n

Years

SUNDAY, JULY 3, 2011

INTERNATIONAL

Clinton: Gaddafi threats won’t deter NATO mission US secretary brushes aside Gaddafiwarning MADRID: The US and Spain said yesterday they won’t let Muammar Gaddafi ‘s threats of retaliatory attacks in Europe deter their mission to protect Libyan civilians and force him to leave power after four decades of often unpredictable and sometimes violent rule. “Instead of issuing threats, he should be putting the well-being and interests of his own people first,” US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said. “He should step down from power.” Speaking in Spain on the last leg of a three-nation European tour, Clinton brushed aside Gaddafi ‘s brazen warning Friday that unless NATO halted air attacks against his regime, he would retaliate with attacks on civilians in Europe.

MOGADISHU: Somali Government soldiers and a civilian woman, right, run during clashes between Islamist insurgents and Somali government soldiers backed by African Union, AU, peacekeeping forces in Mogadishu’s southern Bakara market neighborhood yesterday. —AP

Somalia: US took bodies of militants after strike NAIROBI: US military forces landed in Somalia to retrieve the bodies of dead or wounded militants after a US drone strike targeted a group of insurgents, Somalia’s defense minister told The Associated Press on Friday.

The operation is at least the second time US troops have landed in Somalia after a targeted strike, though no forces have been stationed there since shortly after the “Black Hawk Down” battle that left 18 Americans dead in 1993. Defense Minister Abdulhakim Mohamoud Haji Faqi called on the US to carry out more airstrikes against the Al-Qaeda-linked militants, though he admitted that Somali officials appear not to have been informed about the June 23 operation near the southern coastal town of Kismayo beforehand.

“But we are not complaining about that. Absolutely not. We welcome it,” Faqi told AP. “We understand the US ‘s need to quickly act on its intelligence on the ground,” he said. “We urge the US to continue its strikes against Al-Shabab because if it keeps those strikes up, it will be easier for us to defeat Al-Shabab.” US officials have increased their warnings that the threat from Somalia’s al-Shabab militant group is growing and that militants are developing stronger ties with the Yemen-based Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. New Pentagon chief Leon Panetta told lawmakers last month that as the core Al-Qaeda leadership in Pakistan undergoes leadership changes, with the killing of Osama bin Laden, the US needs to make sure that the group does not relocate to Somalia.

The only American military base in Africa is in the tiny nation of Djibouti, which lies on Somalia’s northern border.

US troops can also operate from Navy ships moving through the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean. In 2009, US helicopters swooped over a convoy carrying the Al-Qaeda fugitive Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan, who was killed in the US raid.

Elite commandos rappelled to the ground and collected two bodies.

Faqi said the June 23 attack was carried out by a US drone, and that after the attack US forces picked up militants who were either killed or injured.

Residents in Kismayo reported hearing helicopters hovering overhead the night of the operation. “We have intelligence reports from our own sources that the US army picked up militants after the strike,” Faqi said, declining to disclose them. He said that the Somalia government would release the militants’ names when they’re confirmed by DNA tests.

In late 2009 the US deployed drone aircraft to the island nation of Seychelles.

A US official said then that the drones were primarily for anti-piracy efforts but that he couldn’t rule out their use over Somalia. Rashid Abdi, a Somali expert with the International Crisis Group, said if the drone strikes are conducted with “sensitivity ” they would cripple AlShabab without causing a public outcry over civilian deaths. “Any increased for-

eign military involvement carries its own risks. However, short, sharp and surgical strikes to take out foreign jihadists or degrade Al-Shabab may not be a bad thing,” he said. “Due care must be taken to avoid civilian deaths.” The approximately 9,000 African Union forces in Somalia , led by troops from Uganda and Burundi , have gained ground in an offensive this year against Al-Shabab fighters. The Pentagon is sending nearly $45 million in military equipment to those two nations to help their troops in Mogadishu. The aid includes four small, shoulder-launched Raven drones, body armor, night-vision gear, communications and heavy construction equipment, generators and surveillance systems.

Lt Col Paddy Ankunda, spokesman for the AU peacekeepers, welcomed the US assistance, saying it will help the force increase its surveillance abilities. “With the help of drones, we can locate insurgents in real time and deal with them decisively,” he said.

He also urged the US to increase its strikes against militants to destroy insurgents’ command and control capabilities.

“If you eliminate Al-Shabab leadership, you are limiting their power to conduct successful military operations,” Ankunda said.

Even as the US says it will increase its focus on Al-Qaeda and its affiliates, Faqi said Al-Shabab fighters make an easier target than militants in Pakistan or Yemen, because Somalia has few mountainous areas that can serve as hideouts.

He said he didn’t believe militants in Somalia are as experienced as in other parts of the world. Still, US officials have said they believe that Al-Shabab counts hundreds of foreign fighters , including veterans of the Iraq and PakistanAfghanistan conflicts , among its ranks.

A Somali soldier last month killed Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, a top Al-Qaeda operative and the mastermind behind the 1998 bombings of US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.

Somalia hasn’t had a functioning government since 1991, a state of chaos that has allowed militancy and piracy to flourish. Faqi said the US pays the bulk of the army’s salary, along with Italy, and that his government gets logistical and capacity building supports from America. He said his government is grateful but needs even more help with hospitals, communication equipment and vehicles. Faqi said Al-Shabab is in a “very, very difficult situation nowadays, financially, militarily and morally,” and that any sustained aerial strikes would further weaken the militants, who control large swaths of the country’s southern and central regions, including portions of the capital, Mogadishu, despite the success of the African Union offensive.

“There is mistrust among its top leaders, and between Somalis and foreigners.

So I believe that new aerial strikes against its leaders will be another nail in the coffin of Al-Shabab,” he said. —AP

Gaddafi told a large pro-government rally in Tripoli that “homes, offices and families” would become legitimate military targets. It was unclear how Gaddafi would make good on his threats and despite his past backing for various militant groups, whether the latest outburst amounted to anything more than a political rallying cry from a leader given to outlandish rhetoric. He delivered his message by telephone from an unknown location.

Paul Rogers, professor of peace studies at Bradford University, said he believed Gaddafi would struggle to launch any kind of operation against Europe. “I would have thought he is so engaged in trying to survive, that starting any operation out of Libya would be difficult,” he said. “The real question is whether there are any operatives abroad already who could be motivated to start some actions.” Libya once provided arms to the IRA, but Rogers said he did not believe Gaddafi could deal again with Northern Ireland.

There are some Irish splinter groups operating outside the peace process, but they are contained within Ireland.

British officials said they were taking the threats seriously, but no special security precautions had been put in place. They also believed that Gaddafi ‘s military capability had been significantly weakened by NATO attacks.

Norway and Sweden also said that no extra security measures would be taken.

“He’s now verbalizing something that we had been preparing for once the military operations began,” said a British government official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk about security matters.

Appearing alongside Spanish Foreign Minister Trinidad Jimenez at a news conference in Madrid, Clinton said Gaddafi must end military operations. She insisted

MADRID: Spanish King Juan Carlos (R) welcomes US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (L) at the Zarzuela palace in Madrid yesterday. Clinton yesterday called on European leaders to make a powerful response to economic crises rippling across Europe. —AFP that NATO’s mission to protect civilians was on track and that the pressure on Gaddafi to cede power was mounting. “The rebels are gaining strength and momentum,” Clinton said. “We need to see this through.” Jimenez said Gaddafi ‘s threats wouldn’t diminish Spain’s resolve. “We will continue exerting the same military and political pressure,” she said,

“to protect Libyan citizens from the threat and the use of military violence by Colonel Gaddafi .”

Asked about the opposition by some African leaders to the international arrest warrant against Gaddafi , his son Seif alIslam and Libya’s intelligence chief, Clinton noted that the referral for action came in a United Nations resolution.

ABIDJAN: Undertakers carry the coffin of Frenchman Yves Lambelin, head of Sifca a real estate company operating in western Africa yesterday in Abidjan during his funeral ceremony. Lambelin and four employees at the Abijan Novotel were kidnapped last April 4 by supporters of ousted former president Laurent Gbagbo before being executed. —AFP

Trial begins in South Africa attack on Rwandan general JOHANNESBURG: The trial of six men accused of trying to kill a prominent Rwandan dissident who found a haven in South Africa has barely begun, and already it has raised diplomatic concerns over Rwanda’s alleged involvement in a crime outside its borders. Since it started Tuesday with testimony evocative of a movie thriller, the trial over the June 2010 shooting attempt on Lt. Gen. Faustin Kayumba Nyamwasa has also raised bigger questions.

The government of President Paul Kagame, accused of violating human and democratic rights, has repeatedly denied having anything to do with the shooting that wounded Nyamwasa, a complex figure who has been accused of wartime atrocities and was once close to Kagame.

A second, related trial expected to begin July 25 may offer more revelations in a case that presents a delicate diplomatic challenge for South Africa. And not just South Africa, said Jennifer Cooke, director of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a US think tank.

“If this allegation is true, I think they

(Rwandan officials) will find there is a limit to what the international community will stand for,” Cooke said. The United States and Britain are key allies of Rwanda that have supported Kagame as the leader who helped bring an end to his country’s genocide and has since transformed it into an economic success story. Cooke said support for Kagame already appears to be fraying. She noted British police warned some Rwandan exiles living in the U.K. that their lives were in danger, and the threat is believed to have emanated from the Rwandan government. “The fact is that these kinds of allegations are mounting,” Cooke said.

Clayson Monyela, spokesman for South Africa’s foreign affairs ministry, said Friday he could not comment on a pending court case. Monyela confirmed, though, that South Africa’s ambassador to Rwanda has not returned since he was recalled “for consultations” in August. The trial has also been stalled by inadequate translation, the judge’s brief illness and even a power cut. Before adjourning Friday, only one witness was able to com-

plete his testimony. The prosecution witness, a longtime friend of one of the accused plotters from Rwanda and Tanzania, is in hiding with his wife and three children under police guard because he says he fears Rwanda’s government.

He testified that his friend told him “Rwandan soldiers” masterminded the plot.

The Rwandan government hired a South African lawyer to observe the proceedings against the six East African suspects. Nyamwasa is to testify during the next round, scheduled to start in late October. The long break is necessary because it’s difficult to coordinate the schedules of several defense teams, the judge and the prosecutor. In court this past week, two police body guards sat nearby as Kalisa Mubarak, a 36-year-old Rwandan who immigrated to South Africa in 2003, testified in English and Kinyarwanda. Mubarak said he has known one of the accused, former Rwandan soldier Amani Uriwani, since the two were children. —AP

Nigeria, Gabon and South Africa, the three African members of the Security Council, voted in favor, she noted.

A number of Africa’s leaders said Friday at an African Union conference in Equatorial Guinea that they wouldn’t respect the warrant, causing some concern that Gaddafi may be able to find haven across large parts of the continent. But Clinton said the majority of African nations supported international justice in this case. On Afghanistan, Clinton thanked Spain for its support in training policemen and improving health care, and expressed condolences for two Spanish soldiers killed in a roadside bomb attack earlier this week. The two diplomats said they’d work hard as the international coalition transfers greater responsibility to Afghan authorities.

Clinton also voiced support for Spanish economic reform efforts, while trying to steer clear of wading into internal Spanish politics. She was scheduled to meet later yesterday with Spain’s king, prime minister and the leading opposition candidate heading into next year’s election.

Spain is struggling with soaring unemployment as nearly one in five is out of work, and it was the last major economy to emerge from the global recession. Spain’s government has raised the retirement age and made it easier for companies to fire workers, while trying to simultaneously cut debt and stimulate the economy. “I know how politically difficult many of the actions are that the current government has taken on,” Clinton said.

“President Obama has taken (on) some very difficult political issues and has been roundly criticized, because these are controversial.” She said the 2008 economic collapse meant countries had to “make responsible decisions regardless of the political controversy or consequences.” —AP

SUNDAY, JULY 3, 2011

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

Afghan attacks kill 18, family on board a van Second bomb kills rescuers KABUL: A roadside bomb ripped through a van carr ying a family yesterday in southern Afghanistan, killing all on board , the deadliest incident in a string of attacks that killed 18 civilians, according to officials. The Ministry of Interior said four women and two children were among 13 people killed in the van in Shamulzayi district of Zabul province.

In neighboring Kandahar province, two civilians riding a donkey were killed Friday night when the animal stepped on a bomb in Maruf district, said Gen Abdul Raziq, police chief of the district’s province of Kandahar. When villagers came to recover the bodies, another roadside bomb went off killing two more civilians, he said. President Hamid Karzai condemned the attacks, saying in a statement that “bombings that kill innocent civilians are the work of people who don’t want the nation to have a life without sadness.” Also in the south yesterday, two gunmen on a motorcycle killed Wakil Mohammad Khan, a member of the local council in Nahri Sarraj district of Helmand province, the Interior Ministry said.

In the north, a local government official in Ghazi Abad district of Kunar province was ambushed yesterday morning by militants as he drove to work with his son and two body guards,

said provincial spokesman Wasifullah Wasifi. The son and bodyguards were later released, but the disctrict chief’s whereabouts are not known, said Wasifi. Separately, NATO reported the deaths of two coalition service members in roadside bombings, one yesterday in the west and the other Friday in the south. Italian defense officials said the service member killed in the west was an Italian who died when a bomb exploded near a village in Farah province.

In the capital Kabul, about 500 demonstrators chanted “Death to the Pakistan military!” and “Long live Afghanistan!” in protest against deadly rocket attacks. The rocket strikes have killed at least 36 civilians, including 12 children, along the eastern border with Pakistan in recent weeks.

The protest, organized by a group known as the National Participation Front, called on the international community to warn Pakistan against the attacks.

Group director Najibullah Kabali accused the Pakistani army and intelligence service of launching rocket attacks on innocent civilians in Nangarhar and Kunar provinces. Pakistan on Monday denied Afghan accusations that it fired hundreds of rockets into the two eastern provinces in Afghanistan, killing 36 people. —AP

KABUL: Afghan men take part in a demonstration against Pakistan in Kabul yesterday. Around 500 Afghans joined a protest on the streets of Kabul against what Afghanistan says are Pakistani rocket attacks which have left dozens of people dead. —AFP

Pakistan college contest: Praise for bin Laden

HYDERABAD: An activist of regional Telugu Desam Party, center, carries a small domestic gas cylinder as others carry placards during a protest against recent price hike of petroleum products in Hyderabad, India yesterday.—AP

Pakistan mounts search for Swiss hostages QUETTA: Pakistan has launched a search operation and engaged tribal elders to help secure the release of a Swiss couple abducted in the insurgency-hit southwest, officials said yesterday. The Swiss nationals were kidnapped on Friday while travelling in impoverished and sparsely populated Baluchistan province, which borders both Iran and Afghanistan. They were seized in Loralai district, 170 kilometres (105 miles) east of the provincial capital Quetta, provincial home secretary Zafarullah Baloch told AFP. “We have launched an intense search. We have alerted police and paramilitary troops and we have also contacted tribal elders to help us locate the abductees,” said Sohail-urRehman, deputy commissioner of Loralai.

Loralai police chief Ghulam Ali Lashari said officers had found the couple’s Volkswagen vehicle abandoned in Killi Nigah area.

The couple arrived at Sirki Jungle checkpoint at about 5:45 pm (1245 GMT ) on Friday, registered as Swiss tourists and were allowed to enter an area controlled by tribal police, Lashari said. Officials quoting witnesses said “some unknown gunmen intercepted the Swiss couple when they were travelling in Killi Nigah area and took them away to an unknown place.” “Our priority is

their safe recovery,” Rehman said “We have no clues so far, we have received no demand, no ransom demand from the kidnappers.”

Provincial home secretary Baloch said the search operation had been extended to three districts-Loralai, Zhob and Qila Saifullah. Security had been increased on roads and tracks in these districts, he added.

“Our focus is Zhob” which borders Afghanistan and Pakistan’s lawless tribal areas in the northwest, Rehman said.

Security forces were remaining vigilant to ensure the gunmen do not shift them to Afghanistan or the tribal areas, he said.

Officials said the pair had entered Baluchistan from Dera Ghazi Khan district in Punjab province and might have been heading for Quetta, perhaps on their way to Iran. The Swiss foreign ministry yesterday confirmed the kidnapping, saying that it is the first case of abductions of Swiss nationals in Pakistan.

The embassy in Islamabad “is in permanent contact with the local authorities, as well as its partners on the ground,” said the ministry, adding that Swiss authorities are also in contact with the family members of the two abductees. —AFP

Maoist rebels kill 6 in India PATNA: Maoist rebels shot dead six villagers in eastern India early yesterday, suspecting them to be police informers, police said.

Bihar state police chief Neelmani, who uses only one name, said the attackers put on the uniforms of Indian paramilitary soldiers in the attack early yesterday to avoid detection by police.

They later fled on two tractors. The attack happened in Kairali, a village 140 miles (220 kilometers) east of the state capital of Patna.

Five villagers died on the spot and one succumbed to bullet wounds later in a ho spital, N eelman i told Th e Associated Press.

Inspired by Chinese revolutionary leader Mao Zedong, the rebels have fought the Indian government for more than four decades. They have tapped into anger among the rural poor over being left out of the country’s economic gains. The rebels demand land and jobs for the poor and often target government forces.— AP

India PM makes ‘off-the-record’ Bangladesh swipe NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh claimed many Bangladeshis are “very anti-Indian”, in controversial remarks posted on his official website which were later removed for being “off the record”.

The comments, splashed in Bangladeshi newspapers yesterday, could strain relations between the South Asian neighbours just as they have been improving. Singh’s statements to newspaper editors in New Delhi earlier in the week come ahead of an official visit to Bangladesh by Indian foreign minister S M Krishna set for July 6 to 8.

Singh’s claim, posted on the prime minister’s website on Wednesday, said “we must reckon that at least 25 percent of the population of Bangladesh swear

by the Jamaat-e-Islami and they are very anti-Indian”.

The Jamaat-e-Islami is Bangladesh’s largest Islamist party and was part of the four-party Islamist-allied government between 2001 and 2006.

Singh added that Jamaat-e-Islami members “are in the clutches, many times, of the ISI so the political landscape in Bangladesh can change at any time.”

India has long suspected members of the ISI, Pakistan’s Inter-Ser vices Intelligence spy agency, of planning attacks on India, including the deadly 2008 assault on Mumbai by Pakistanbased guerrillas. The prime minister’s office removed the remarks from his website on Friday, saying they had been made “off the record”. —AFP

LAHORE: Two months after the covert US raid that killed Osama bin Laden, posters emblazoned with images of the burning World Trade Center towers appeared at the country’s largest university advertising a literary contest to glorify the slain Al-Qaeda chief. The poem and essay competition at the prestigious Punjab University shows the footholds of hard-line Islamists on college campuses and growing efforts to raise their profile and influence even in the relatively cosmopolitan atmosphere of Pakistan’s culture capital, Lahore.

The contest’s organizers have kept their identities hidden. But many students and teachers suspect it is being held by a power ful Islamist student group that has increasingly enforced its conservative religious views on the rest of the campus , sometimes violently. The Islami Jamiat Talaba, which is connected to Pakistan’s largest Islamist party, has denied involvement, saying it doesn’t participate in secret activities. But its leaders have publicly acknowledged that many members support bin Laden and have a profound hatred for the US. The group’s rising ambitions have intensified fears about the radicalization of Pakistan’s educated middle classes, who make up a large part of the public university’s population. The educated classes have been seen as a bulwark against militant groups such as the Taleban in the nucleararmed country.

The ability of Islami Jamiat Talaba, or Islamic Student Group, to gain ground on the university , even though many students reject its radical views , also reflects a general unwillingness of Pakistani authorities to challenge the power ful Islamist forces.

“Whoever is America’s friend is a traitor!” roared the head of the student group, Zubair Safdar, in an inter view with The Associated Press. His views were echoed by 19-year-old student Bismah Khan as she read one of the posters promoting the bin Laden contest. One of three topics for the essay section was: “Osama, a thorn piercing the hearts of infidels.”

The group holding the contest identifies itself only as “Sheik Lovers”, a reference to bin Laden, who’s often called the “Sheik” , and provided an email address for contestants to submit their entries by June 30.

Attempts by the AP to contact organizers by email went unanswered, and it’s unclear what kind of prizes would go to the winners. Many students said they opposed the contest, reflecting the low support for bin Laden, Al-Qaeda and militant groups across the nation. “The killer of humanity cannot be a great person,” said student Ali Akbar.

A survey taken after bin Laden’s death by the Washington-based Pew Research Center showed that 12 percent of Pakistanis have a favorable view of Al-Qaeda. But only 10 percent approve of the US Navy SEAL operation that killed him May 2 not far from Islamabad.

The raid humiliated Pakistan because the government was not told about it beforehand. The survey of some 1,251 Pakistanis had a margin of error of 4 percentage points. Expressing opinions freely can be dangerous business at Punjab University, which has an enrollment of roughly 30,000, because of the risk that members of Islami Jamiat Talaba will deem them against Islam, said students and teachers.

The group has effectively seized control of running the dormitories and sends groups of men across campus to enforce its strict brand of Islam: music is forbidden and men and women are not allowed to sit together outside class. It also discourages the formation of rival student groups.

“Their idols are people like Osama bin Laden and (Taleban leader) Mullah Omar,” said Sajid Ali, the head of the university’s philosophy department.

One of these “Vice and Virtue” squads last week beat up a philosophy student who was sitting with a female classmate, said

LAHORE: In this June 24, 2011 photo, Pakistani student supporters of right-wing student union Jamiat rally at the Punjab University in Lahore, Pakistan. As questions swirl in Pakistan about the covert US raid that killed Osama bin Laden, posters emblazoned with images of the burning World Trade Center towers have appeared at the prestigious university advertising a writing contest to glorify the slain Al-Qaeda chief. The banner reads “promote modest, pro-Islam and segregated culture for male and female students in the Punjab University.” —AP Safdar, head of the student group and universit y spokesman K hurram Shahzad.

Teachers who cross the group also have allegedly been targeted. “The university is not a date point,” said Safdar. “If boys and girls walk holding hands, sit together back to back or lay on the lawn, this is not Islamic culture,” he said.

Some of the philosophy students, mainly girls, staged a protest after the beating, shouting “Go Jamiat Go!” and “Shame Jamiat Shame!” But several members of the group appeared and pushed away the protesters.

Attempts by the administration to rein in the group have been stymied by the influence of its parent organization, the Jamaate-Islami party, which many politicians rely on for votes, teachers said.

Earlier this year, members of both groups rallied tens of thousands of people across Pakistan in support of a man who murdered a liberal provincial governor because of his criticism of harsh laws for insulting Islam.

One of the ways the student group increases support on campus is by targeting new students, many of them from rural areas, and giving them extra food in the cafeteria and special concessions for tea, juice and facilities such as laundr y, students and teachers said. They also grant them positions within the group around campus, giving them a taste of leadership.

“They are very vulnerable,” said Naumana Amjad, an assistant psychology professor.

“They are influenced quickly.” Concern is rising in Pakistan about the participation of well-educated Pakistanis in militant groups, rather than just poor students streaming

out of radical Islamist schools in remote parts of the country.

The Pakistani-American man who tried to detonate a car bomb in New York City ’s Times Square last year, Faisal Shahzad, was well-educated and came from an affluent Pakistani family. He said he acted out of anger about US attacks on Muslims overseas. Others have expressed frustration with Pakistan’s alliance with the US. A medical doctor and an engineer were allegedly involved in an attack on the regional office of Pakistan’s most powerful intelligence agenc y in Lahore in 2009, according to police records. Two other medical doctors allegedly supported militants who attacked the M arriott Hotel in Islamabad in 2008 and two mosques of the minority Ahmadi sect in Lahore in 2010, the records said.

Three former members of Islami Jamiat Talaba allegedly acted as hosts and facilitators for a Pakistani Taleban suicide squad that attacked a mosque near army headquarters in the garrison city of Rawalpindi in 2009, killing 35 people, said intelligence officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

Hafiz Mohammad Iqbal, dean of the education faculty at Punjab University, said students were in danger of being radicalized because of the lackluster quality of education at public universities relative to private schools and the poor job prospects after graduation. This environment can lead students in “the direction of radicalism and extremism,” he said.— AP

Afghanistan district governor kidnapped ASADABAD: Suspected militants have kidnapped the governor of a volatile Afghan district near the border with Pakistan, a senior local official said yesterday. Musafir Khan Qayumzai, district governor of Ghazi Abad, was snatched Friday along with his son and two bodyguards, said Kunar provincial governor Sayed Fazlullah Waahedi.

“When he was en route to his office from home, he was taken out of his car by unidentified men and was taken away,” Waahedi said.

He added that local officials have now “taken steps to release the district governor through tribal mediation and negotiation with the Taleban .” The Taleban and other militants frequently kidnap police, soldiers and NGO workers in Afghanistan but it is relatively rare for them to target prominent local politicians.

The Islamist militants are waging a near ten-year long insurgency against President Hamid Karzai’s Afghan government, its security forces and foreign troops which support the administration. — AFP

y

A

12

e niv rsar n

Years

SUNDAY, JULY 3, 2011

international

Thai election rivals in final push for votes 170,000 police deployedtoprotectpollingstations BANGKOK: Thailand’s rival political camps launched a last-minute appeal for votes yesterday on the eve of a hard-fought election seen as crucial to the future of the kingdom after years of often bloody unrest. About 170,000 police are to be deployed to protect polling stations for the tense vote, which comes little more than a year after Bangkok was rocked by its worst civil violence in decades.

Polls show the main opposition Puea Thai Party, allied to fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, enjoying a lead over current leader Abhisit Vejjajiva’s ruling Democrats ahead of today’s election. The two main parties drew their campaigns to a close with election convoys through

others to vote for someone face a six-month jail term or a 10,000baht fine ($324) or both,” said national police spokesman Major General Prawut Thavornsiri.

There is also a ban on alcohol from 6:00pm until midnight today. Thaksin, who was ousted in a 2006 coup and now lives in

proxy of her older brother, who describes his sibling as his “clone”.

“Please give a chance to this woman to bring reconciliation back to this country,” Yingluck told a huge crowd late Friday at a campaign rally at a Bangkok stadium. In the last hours of her campaign, Yingluck greeted

BANGKOK: Thai opposition Puea Thai candidate Yingluck Shinawatra (C), the sister of fugitive expremier Thaksin Shinawatra, parades in a convoy as she campaigns in Bangkok yesterday.—AFP central Bangkok, the site of deadly clashes between opposition protesters and security forces last year.

As the two main rival camps criss-crossed the capital in trucks, many voters were leaving the city to return to their hometowns to cast ballots. After 6:00pm (1100 GMT) any campaigning is banned, including by “tweeting” or making other online social network comments. “Any candidates or even ordinary people who convince

Dubai to escape a jail term for corruption, picked his youngest sister to run in his place for prime minister in a move that has reinvigorated the opposition. Many think Thaksin will continue to call the shots if his party wins the vote, and its campaign slogan”Thaksin thinks, Puea Thai does”appears to leave little doubt.

Yingluck Shinawatra, tipped to become Thailand’s first female prime minister, is a political novice widely seen as the political

passers-by with the traditional Thai “wai” gesture from her convoy. She also held one finger up, urging people to vote for her party-number one on the party list.

Her brother is still adored by many rural and working class voters for his populist policies such as cheap healthcare while in power, but is reviled by the ruling elite who see him as corrupt and a threat to the revered monarchy.

“As long as Thaksin thinks, Puea Thai has to do it-to find ways to

give Thaksin back his seized 46 billion baht ($1.5 billion),” Abhisit told his own campaign rally late Friday.

“The country cannot move forward. Puea Thai does everything for one person,” added Abhisit, who has urged voters “to get rid of the poison of Thaksin.” Last year Thailand’s Supreme Court confiscated more than half of the former telecoms tycoon’s wealth, after ruling he had abused his power while in office. Parties linked to Thaksin, the former owner of Manchester City football club, have won the most seats in the past four elections, but the courts reversed the results of the last two polls, angering his supporters.

The ex-premier is a hugely divisive figure in Thailand, where he faces a raft of criminal charges including terrorism-an accusation linked to the mass opposition protests by his “Red Shirt” supporters last year. More than 90 people, mostly civilians, died in a series of clashes between the mostly unarmed demonstrators and soldiers firing live rounds.

The opposition has proposed an amnesty for convicted politicians if it wins the election-a move apparently aimed at bringing Thaksin home. But many doubt the Bangkok-based elite in government, military and palace circles would allow him to return a free man. The royals’ staunch military backers loom large over all elections in a country that has seen 18 actual or attempted coups since the monarchy ceded absolute power in 1932 in favor of a parliamentary system.

Thailand’s Western allies are pressing the nation to allow democracy to run its course. US State Department spokesman Mark Toner on Friday called on Thailand to ensure the vote is “free and fair.” —AFP

Japan trudges into power-save mode YOKOSUKA: In the muggy, unlit shed next to a Nissan car factory near Tokyo, four men in polo shirts were spending their day yesterday staring at computer screens, monitoring how much power the firm’s plants and offices across eastern Japan are using. So far, on the first day of the working week under a new summertime schedule, there appears to be no danger of their setting off a warning alarm, triggered when near the limit on electricity use set by Japan’s struggling utilities.

The factory itself, which makes the Leaf electric car and Juke crossover among others, is humming with heat and activity. For Japanese auto and auto parts makers, yesterday marked the start of a Saturday-to-Wednesday working weekan industry move to cut power use at peak times. The nuclear crisis that the March 11 earthquake and tsunami triggered at Tokyo Electric Power’s (Tepco) Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex has brought about a nation-wide energysaving drive unseen in Japan since the oil crisis in the 1970s.

With the tsunami-ravaged Tepco plant still leaking radiation and public opinion likely to derail the restart of some 30 commercial reactors now shut for inspection, the government has ordered big companies to cut their peak power consumption by 15 percent this summer, starting on July 1.

Failure to comply could mean blackouts-a disruptive, worstcase scenario that manufacturers are desperate to avoid.

“The priority is to make sure we don’t impede production,” Yuji Kishi, senior manager of Nissan Motor’s environment and energy control group, told reporters at the Oppama factory in Yokosuka yesterday. “This is one way for us to help the economy recover.” At the Oppama plant, that means workers on the early shift start an hour earlier, at 5:30 in the morning, and the late shift moves back by an hour in order to ease the burden on the grid during the peak midafternoon hours.

Most Japanese companies entered austerity mode as soon as the disasters hit in March, switching of lights and idling elevators. The environment ministry is setting an example by targeting an even bigger reduction of 25 percent through painstaking steps like turning off more than half of its printers during peak hours, dimming monitors, and asking workers to bring in their own cold drinks so it can unplug vending machines.

The power shortage has given birth to “super cool biz” business attire this year, taking the “cool biz” fashion adopted six years ago a step further: polo shirts are in, and buttondown shirts without ties are out. Still, the real test lies in the weeks and months ahead, as the mercury climbs to usher in Japan’s infamously humid summer. One manager at a major data management company said that with all the computers on, the temperature in the office was already rising to 32 degrees Celsius, testing workers’ endurance.

“It’s so hot you lose your concentration,” she said, asking that she and her company not be identified. “It can’t be good for productivity. Everyone just sits there fanning themselves all day. You see people with cold towels wrapped around their necks.” Elsewhere, companies like Sony and Canon have introduced their own daylight savings, bringing forward the work shift by an hour. Japan, unlike many countries, does not adjust its clock for the summer.

Retailer Seven & I Holdings , the operator of Seven-Eleven, intends to switch to energy-efficient LED lighting at thousands of stores, set up solar panels at some, and bring in cooler uniforms. —Reuters

HONG KONG: Police carry away a protester during a sit down demonstration on a main thoroughfare, in Hong Kong yesterday. Hong Kong police said they had arrested 231 people after a march by tens of thousands of protestors venting their frustration at government policies and soaring property prices. —AFP

Hong Kong arrests 231 after anti-govt demo HONG KONG: Hong Kong police arrested 231 people and used pepper spray during a demonstration by tens of thousands angered at government policies and soaring property prices, officials said yesterday.

Organisers said up to 218,000 people took to the streets Friday, the 14th anniversary of the former British colony’s return to China, to vent frustration at a slew of issues including a controversial plan to scrap byelections.

Police estimated the crowd at 54,000 and said some protesters refused to disperse after the march ended and were detained for illegal assembly and causing obstruction in public places. Television news footage showed police using pepper spray in attempts to disperse the demonstrators following a standoff which lasted a few hours as the group refused to leave.

Some were later forcibly removed, handcuffed and carried into police trucks after scuffling with police.

“To restore peace and social order, as well as to guarantee public safety and to let the normal traffic resume, police decided to act and arrest the protesters,” the police said in a statement. The 231 were released after having their details recorded, a police spokesman told AFP. Out of the 231, 52 were released on police bail. Such arrests

are rare in Hong Kong, which was returned to Chinese rule in 1997 but retains a semiautonomous status with civil libertiesincluding the right to protest-not enjoyed in mainland China.

“The demonstrators were very peaceful.

They were just having a sit-in protest to make their demands heard,” outspoken lawmaker Leung Kwok-hung, who was among those arrested, told AFP. “I don’t think there is any reason for the arrests,” he added. Organizers have said the huge turnout at the rally, one of the biggest in recent years, was mainly due to a controversial government proposal to scrap byelections if a seat is vacant and instead fill it based on previous results.

The proposal has been widely criticized by lawmakers and the legal professional body as infringing on voters’ basic rights.

Analysts have warned that the current level of dissatisfaction with the government is close to the levels in 2003, when a record 500,000 people took part in the annual pro-democracy march that year. The unexpected show of people power at the 2003 march forced the government to shelve a controversial national security bill and was a key factor for the unpopular then chief executive Tung Chee-hwa to step down the following year. —AFP

YANGON: Myanmar’s pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, right, is greeted by Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd on her arrival for their meeting at the Australian ambassador’s residence yesterday in Yangon, Myanmar. —AP

Australia’s Rudd meets Suu Kyi in Myanmar YANGON: Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd held over two hours of talks with Myanmar’s pro-democracy hero Aung San Suu Kyi yesterday in Yangon, a day after meeting the new president.

The first delegation from Canberra since Myanmar’s new army-backed government came to power said “they are expecting some change here”, said Han Thar Myint, a spokesman for Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD).

Rudd, the former Australian prime minister, “discussed Australia’s continued assistance to Myanmar as its second largest donor”, the spokesman told AFP. “He gave their views on Myanmar regarding human rights and democracy, and how they are trying to help us.”

Rudd met President Thein Sein in the capital Naypyidaw on Friday, one of the few visiting foreign diplomats to do so.

Suu Kyi was released from house arrest late last year and was told this week by the new army-backed government to halt all political activities, saying they broke the law. Suu Kyi was freed in November after seven straight years of house arrest, less than a week after an election in Myanmar that critics said was a charade aimed at hiding military rule behind a civilian facade.

Shortly after her release, Rudd told t h e N o b e l p e a ce l a u re a te by te l e phone that Australia would continue to be her “reliable friend” in the future.

Australia’s development aid to the country has increased from AUS$29.1 million (US$31 million) in 2009-10 to AUS$47.6 million in 2011-12, a statement from Canberra said last month. It i s s e t to re a c h AU S $ 5 0 m i l l i o n by 2012-13. —AFP

China jails Tibetan writer: Rights group BEIJING: A young Tibetan writer has been sentenced to four years in jail after he co-wrote essays addressing China’s policies in the Himalayan region since unrest erupted in 2008, a rights group said yesterday. Tashi Rabten, the editor of a banned magazine called Eastern Snow Mountain, was sentenced last month in Aba, in China’s southwestern province of Sichuan, the International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) said.

According to the US-based group, he had been detained for more than a year before he was sentenced, and three other writers who worked with him were jailed in December. ICT did not say what charges were brought against him. Tashi Rabten, who was set to graduate from university, had co-authored a collection of essays titled “Written in Blood”, the group said.

This addressed the situation in Tibetan areas since March 2008, when violent anti- government unrest erupted in Lhasa, capital of Tibet, and subsequently spread to neighbouring provinces with significant Tibetan populations. Calls to the Aba I ntermediate People’s

Court, where ICT said Tashi Rabten was sentenced on June 2, went unanswered. The county government would not comment when contacted by AFP. ICT said the magazine was the first published Tibetan-language journal about the “crackdown from 2008 onwards, offering a critical perspec tive reflec ting a prevailing sense of despair and loss, but also a way forward.”

The Chinese government argues that Tibetan living standards have improved markedly in recent decades under Communist Par ty rule, pointing to the billions of dollars in spending on infrastructure and development projects. But tensions run deep in Tibetan areas, where many Tibetans accuse the government of trying to dilute their culture, and criticise what they view as increasing domination by China’s majority Han ethnic group. In April this year, locals and security forces clashed at the famous K ir ti monastery in Aba after a monk set himself on fire and died in apparent protest against the government, rights groups said. —AFP

40 miners trapped, three dead in China’s disasters BEIJING: A coal mine flood in southwestern China trapped 21 miners underground, while a cave-in at another mine yesterday killed at least three workers and left 19 others sealed off, officials said. Rescuers scrambled to reach the miners at the Niupeng coal mine in the county of Pingtang in Guizhou province yesterday morning, according to a staffer from the Pingtang work safety bureau. The staffer would only give her surname, Chen, as is typical for officials. Chen confirmed rescuers were at the mine and the cause of the flood was under investigation, but did not have any details about the rescue.

The official Xinhua News Agency said 29 miners were working in the mine when the flooding occurred and that eight made it out safely. In a separate coal mine accident also yesterday, at least three miners died, leaving 19 others trapped when portion of the mine collapsed in the city of Heshan in China’s southern Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, said an official at the Heshan city work safety bureau who refused to be named. China’s coal mines are the world’s deadliest.

Thousands of miners are killed every year. The massive demand for coal induces many producers to cut corners and sidestep regulations. —AP

Bomb blast kills man in restive south Philippines COTABATO: The Philippine military says a bomb explosion near a mosque in a restive southern province has killed one man. Militar y spokesman Lt Col Prudencio Asto says the roadside bomb went off late Friday in Maguindanao province. Police have blamed Muslim rebels for a similar bombing outside a government office in nearby Nor th Cotabato province earlier this week.

Soldiers found two other mor tar rounds attached to cellphones in neighboring Sultan Kudarat province the same day. Asto said yesterday that the 27-year-old victim was hit by shrapnel in the head. Fragments of an 81 mm mortar shell and electronic circuits have been recovered at the scene. The main Muslim rebel group and the government have been engaged in peace talks. —AP

A

y

e niv rsar n

SUNDAY, JULY 3, 2011

Years

ne ws Gaddafi vows to hit Europe Continued from Page 1 against humanity, has vowed to fight to the end and branded the NATO operation a colonial aggression aimed at securing Libya’s oil riches.

“Retreat, you have no chance of beating this brave people,” Gaddafi said in his address broadcast on Friday. “They can attack your homes, your offices and your families, which will become military targets just as you have transformed our offices, headquarters, houses and children into what you regards as legitimate military targets,” he said. “If we choose, we can descend on Europe like a swarm of locusts or bees. We therefore advise you to retreat before you face catastrophe.”

Clinton yesterday brushed off Gaddafi’s remarks and stepped up calls on him to quit. “Instead of issuing threats, Gaddafi should put the wellbeing and the interests of his own people first and he should step down from power and help facilitate a democratic transition,” Clinton told a news conference during a visit to NATO member Spain. Spanish Foreign Minister Trinidad Jimenez, whose country was targeted

by Islamist militants in simultaneous

train blasts in 2004 that killed 191, said the alliance stance was unchanged.

“Spain’s and the international coalition’s response is to maintain the unity and determination with which we have been working these past months,” she said. Gaddafi’s speech came as Libyan rebels, who had advanced to within 80 km of the capital were stopped in their tracks by a barrage of rocket fire from government forces, underlining the dogged resistance of Gaddafi troops to a five-month revolt. Coalition military officials refuse to characterise the situation on the ground as a stalemate after a 104-day bombing campaign that has strained alliance firepower and tested unity, with internal divisions over strategy surfacing. A rebel advance from the Western Mountains to just outside the small town of Bir Al-Ghanam this week had raised prospects of a breakthrough, but they have been pinned down by Gaddafi forces who on Friday attacked with Russian-made Grad rockets.

Analysts say part of NATO’s strategy is to use the attacks to hinder efforts by authorities to put down any future uprising in Tripoli. Britain’s defence ministry said Apache helicopters hit three tanks and a bunker firing position in an

attack on an army camp west of Tripoli late on Friday. London-based Asharq AlAwsat newspaper reported that Gaddafi’s representatives had been meeting officials from France and Britain on the Tunisian island of Djerba.

Citing unnamed sources from the Gaddafi and opposition camps, the newspaper said Gaddafi was willing to step down if he was spared prosecution and allowed to live in his hometown of Sirte, northern Libya, with guarantees for his security.

African Union leaders offered on Friday to host talks on a ceasefire and transition to democratic government, but left open whether there was any future role for Gaddafi. “We understood that the spirit of the document is that Gaddafi will not have a role to play in the future of Libya,” Mansour Sayf al Nasr, the rebel’s representative for France, told reporters at the summit in Equatorial Guinea. Gaddafi’s officials have yet to react publicly to the plan. A document seen by Reuters at the end of the summit said member states would not execute the arrest warrant for Gaddafi, leaving open the possibility that he could go into exile in one of the African Union’s 53 nations. — Reuters

Morocco ‘yes’ vote slammed Continued from Page 1 LONDON: People unload balloons from a van in southwest London yesterday. — AP

Maid’s lies jeopardize DSK case Continued from Page 1 “But they are nearly impossible to try when you find out the witness has already lied to you. The prosecutors and police, they took her word over the word of one of the most powerful men in the financial world.”

Investigators have gathered forensic evidence in the case, including traces of Strauss-Kahn’s semen found on the woman’s work uniform, but that evidence alone isn’t enough, said Fairstein, now a crime novelist. “The DNA clearly suggests there was some kind of sexual exchange between DSK and the woman, but it tells you nothing about whether it was forcible,” she said. “It can be deposited by consent or by force. Her credibility is the entire case. You have to believe her story.” But she also said that her transgressions don’t mean her story is false. “Bad people, people who lie, they’re still sexually assaulted,” she said. “So I think what everybody is trying to do now is bring her back again, and say ‘OK, you were dishonest about these things, now we have to figure out what really happened between you and this man’.”

At a minimum, questions about the woman’s credibility could leave a jury doubtful that she was telling the truth about what happened. They also raise the possibility that the woman herself could be in legal trouble, if the government decides to seek punishment for her past fibs and fabrications. Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R Vance, Jr said the charges, which include attempted rape, will stand for now. But prosecutors had a legal duty to turn over the uncovered information to the defense, and they were continuing their investigation.

In a letter sent to Strauss-Kahn’s lawyers, they disclosed several instances in which they believed the woman had lied about herself or the circumstances of her life. They said she’d made up being gang raped and beaten in her homeland of Guinea to enhance her application for political asylum in 2004. She now says she was raped there, but not as she initially said. US officials are often presented with fabricated stories by people seeking refugee status in the country, and the nation’s immigration courts are filled with instances of immigrants who have been caught embellishing personal histories to meet the strict conditions for being granted asylum.

Lori Adams, managing attorney of the legal aid group Human Rights First, said that many people in the immigration system don’t have a lawyer, and they blunder through proceedings without fully realizing the potential repercussions of embellishing their life stories. “A lot of people are on their own, or are poorly advised, and could be tempted to present their story in a certain way that might not be truthful,” she said.

“Sometimes people get desperate.” She said that if the woman’s application was based on fraud, the Justice Department could seek to reopen the case and have her thrown out of the country.

Her attorney Kenneth Thompson said she went to prosecutors to tell them the truth, and she had initially feared she’d be deported if she told them why she real-

ly left: because she was a victim of genital mutilation and she didn’t want her daughter, now 15, to be similarly affected, Thompson said. Prosecutors said the woman had also been lying on her tax returns about how many dependents she had in order to increase her tax refund and had misstated her income to avoid losing her apartment reserved for low-income people.

While it wasn’t detailed in the letter, prosecutors have also raised other questions about the woman’s credibility. Prosecutors located a recording of the woman, days after Strauss-Kahn’s arrest, talking about the case and mentioning Strauss-Kahn’s wealth in a phone call to a man incarcerated on a drug charge, a law enforcement official told AP, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss matters not made public in court. The woman also raised questions by saying she knew little about tens of thousands of dollars others have deposited in bank accounts in her name, the official said. Authorities suspect the money might be drugrelated, the official said.

Thompson acknowledged the recording, but said any suggestion his client was involved with a known dealer or money launderer was a lie. “I have not heard that tape,” Thompson said. But he said that when he discussed the recording with prosecutors, “I said, ‘Did she change her story to this guy in prison?’...They told me no.” He said that since the start of the case, the woman has been consistent in the most important part of her story, saying that as she began cleaning StraussKahn’s suite he grabbed her breast, violently knocked her down and forced her to perform oral sex. He said she suffered bruises and torn ligaments.

Strauss-Kahn, who resigned his post at the powerful global lending organization, has denied the charges.

He is due back in court on July 18. His attorney, Benjamin Brafman, said he believes his client will be vindicated. The one-time French presidential contender is now free to travel the US while he awaits trial.

He had been under a pricey house arrest in a ritzy Tribeca townhouse after posting a $6 million cash bail and bond. He smiled as he left the court Friday, handin-hand with his wife. His attorneys said they are pleased with the decision, and cautioned again not to rush to judgment. His passport remains surrendered and he can’t leave the country. Strauss-Kahn and his wife, French journalist Anne Sinclair, had dinner at a restaurant on Manhattan’s Upper East Side on Friday night before returning to the house in Tribeca. StraussKahn dined on pasta pappardelle with truffles, and the tab ran to around $600, according to the restaurant owner.

Former French government minister Jack Lang said he spoke with Sinclair to offer the couple moral support. Lang told the AP yesterday that she is relieved but wouldn’t go into detail about the couple’s upcoming plans. Lang, who has known Strauss-Kahn since the 1970s, urged him to come back to France and join the 2012 presidential race. “He could be a good candidate” Lang said, dismissing concerns that Strauss-Kahn’s image has been sullied by the charges he tried to rape a hotel maid in New York. — AP

Bahrain begins national dialogue...

Continued from Page 1 Yesterday’s discussions were mostly ceremonial, with a recital from the Holy Quran, a speech and presentations. By early afternoon, the main hall was empty. The government had sought to ease tensions before the start of the dialogue, offering some concessions such as the launch of an investigative panel led by law professor Cherif Bassiouni, an EgyptianAmerican war crimes expert who is also heading a UN inquiry into events in Libya. Most, though not all, Saudi troops are being withdrawn and there are fewer armoured vehicles and tanks on the dusty streets of Manama, although checkpoints still dot the streets.

King Hamad, in a speech televised on the eve of the talks, said: “It will be a true dialogue in every respect and no section of Bahrain’s wide and diverse society will be ignored.” But many in the Shiite majority were lukewarm, arguing it did not meet their core demands of political reform or the release of hundreds still

in jail. “No dialogue without the downfall of the regime,” shouted the protesters near the Pearl roundabout.

Others cried: “Down (King) Hamad!”

Security forces cleared the area in March and razed its iconic statue.

The roundabout is still sealed off and surrounded by armoured vehicles and barbed wire. Protesters told Reuters by telephone that they had marched through several villages before they were stopped at a checkpoint on a road leading to the roundabout. Riot police broke up the march with tear gas and sound grenades, they said. A week ago, eight prominent Shiite opposition leaders were sentenced to life in prison. Small protests erupt in many Shiite villages at night, which are snuffed out by police with tear gas.

Wefaq’s three delegates who attended yesterday’s session, were not optimistic the dialogue will lead to meaningful reforms. “It started as a monologue,” said one of the three, Bushra Al-Hindi. “The agenda has been previously set by the government in order to exclude talks about

critical issues, such as moving along with a process that will reshape the country into a constitutional monarchy.” Wefaq’s leader, Sheikh Ali Salman, had told supporters on Friday that his group will stick to its calls for the Sunni monarchy to loosen the grip on power and allow people to elect a government.

Delegates from Bahrain’s secular opposition party, Al Waad, also attended the talks. They held a picture of their leader, Ibrahim Sharif the most prominent Sunni politician who has been imprisoned along with 20 other opposition leaders for plotting to overthrow Bahrain’s 200year-old monarchy. Amid the crackdowns, Wefaq staged a mass resignation of its 18 lawmakers in the 40member lower house of parliament.

Two former lawmakers are in custody and on trial on anti-state crimes.

Wefaq said one of them, Jawad Firooz, was listed on the party’s fivemember delegation to the talks although he didn’t attend yesterday’s opening session because he remains in detention. — Agencies

Others questioned why only 13 million voters were registered from a total of nearly 20 million Moroccans of voting age.

The street movement has failed to attract the mass support of popular uprisings that toppled the leaders of Tunisia and Egypt, and the result raises questions over its future path. In Bahrain, which began talks on Saturday between opposition and pro-government groups after protests earlier this year, the leading Shiite opposition group Wafeq gave the new constitution a cautious thumbs-up and said it could serve as a model. “Even though the king will preserve presidential powers ... such as the sole privilege of appointing the security apparatus, the progress which this new constitution has brought is an important development in

Morocco’s path towards democracy,” Wafeq said.

France, which maintains close links with the North African state which was once its protectorate, welcomed a “clear and historic decision” that contrasted to what it called the repression encountered

by Syrian and Yemeni street movements. In a statement, the European Union hailed steps to boost parliament’s role and the independence of the judiciary and called on them to be implemented quickly and effectively. “This is the end of the beginning. The referendum is just a step,” said a Western diplomat who declined to be named. “We now have to see how sincere the king is about reform...They know that a crackdown will not go down well with the West.”

Lise Storm, senior lecturer in Middle East studies at the University of Essex, said it appeared to be

“game over” on any prospects of a genuine parliamentary monarchy for now. “The international community should increase its pressure on Morocco to introduce significant reform, not just perform cosmetic surgery. Now is really the time, and the opportunity seems to have been wasted,” she said.

Aboubakr Jamai, editor of the French-language version of independent news portal Lakome.com, said the king’s ability to ensure ordinary Moroccans benefited from the economic growth seen at five percent next year could be critical. “The monarchy remains under Arab Spring pressure to behave itself politically and economically,” he said. “If the king enjoys popularity among ordinary Moroccans it’s because they are not aware how much of their social problems is the result of bad governance from the palace.” — Reuters

Assad sacks Hama gov after protests Continued from Page 1 forces to avoid another bloodbath after at least 65 people were killed in a crackdown last month in Hama. “(The governor) is accused of being sympathetic to the demonstrators,” said Beirut-based Syrian activist Omar Idibi, who speaks on behalf of a network of anti-government activists. It wasn’t clear if Abdul Aziz had ordered security forces to leave the city, however.

Another activist said the governor was a likely scapegoat by an embarrassed regime that has struggled to quell demonstrations. “For the Baath party, they need to blame somebody,” said Beirut-based activist Wissam Tarif, referring to Syria’s ruling party.

Most of Friday’s victims were killed in Idlib province, where troops backed by tanks have swept through villages all week to crush dissent. “Sixteen people were killed” in Idlib on Friday, Ammar Qorabi, the head of the National Organisation for Human Rights, said yesterday. Three of them were women who died when the army shelled a chicken hatchery in the village of Al-Bara, Qorabi said.

Another 10 people were killed when security forces opened fire to disperse protests in several cities, including eight in the central protest hub of Homs and two in the Damascus neighbourhood of

Qadam. One person was reported killed in Syria’s second-largest city Aleppo and another in the Mediterranean coastal city of Latakia. A previous death toll provided by activists late Friday gave a figure of 11 civilians dead, including a 50-year-old woman and her 20year-old daughter in Al-Bara.

Friday’s protests followed a call from the Facebook group, The Syrian Revolution 2011, which urged people to rally, branding July 1 “the Friday of departure”. “We don’t love you ... Go away, you and your party,” it said in a message addressed to Assad. Qorabi, in a statement, said Friday’s protests were among the biggest since midMarch and had spread to more Syrian regions. “The number of protesters who took to the streets on Friday was one of the largest.

Demonstrators marched in at least 268 Syrian regions compared to 202 regions last week,” he said.

Varying reports had put the turnout in Hama alone at more than half a million. The head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Rami Abdel Rahman, spoke of 500,000 protesters and said this was “the biggest demonstration since the Syrian Revolution broke out.”

Another activist said that “more than 400,000 marched” while a third said that more than 200,000 people gathered in the city’s Assi Square, stretching for more than one kilo-

metre, and that there was no sign of security forces. There were similar scenes elsewhere across the country, including in Homs, another hotbed of protest and Syria’s thirdlargest city, where one activist said “more than 100,000 people” rallied as tanks were deployed.

Homs was the focus of a report released yesterday by the New Yorkbased rights watchdog Human Rights Watch, which denounced a rising death toll there and security forces for “terrorising people”. Citing Syrian rights groups and witnesses, HRW said 21 people had been killed in a government crackdown in Homs since June 17. “During the city’s ongoing protests, security forces have beaten protesters with clubs, vandalised private property and broken into homes where they suspected protesters had sought refuge,” HRW said. “Security forces dressed in civilian clothes have detained protesters repeatedly, often travelling in taxis to approach and detain people,” it added.

“Syria’s authorities accuse protesters of being ‘armed gangs,’ but it is their security forces who terrorise people,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at HRW. More than 1,360 civilians have been killed in the government’s crackdown against pro-democracy protests since mid-March, according to human rights groups, while thousands have been arrested. — Agencies

Prince Albert and Charlene say ‘I do’ Continued from Page 1 and former French first lady Bernadette Chirac arrived. Aside from France’s President Nicolas Sarkozy and the kings and queens of Sweden and Belgium, the crowd included fashion designers, models, sportsmen, more minor royals and senior officials from the tiny principality.

Organisers hoped the glamour of the spectacle would distract from gossip after Monaco officials privately admitted there is “truth” in a rumour that Albert faces a paternity test following a claim by a pregnant former lover. Reports the princess was furious and threatened to leave when she learned her prince’s latest secret had overshadowed the build-up to the wedding, but the event itself has gone smoothly and the Monegasques are philosophical.

Organisers admitted, however, that there had been a “hiccup” in preparations following an incident at Monaco’s heliport, but did not confirm reports that Charlene had contemplated fleeing home to South Africa. “We can’t remake the prince. It’s a modern marriage. Charlene has known him for a long time and accepts it,” shrugged a 30-something wellwisher, insisting on remaining anonymous like many of Monaco’s 7,810-strong native population.

Albert, at 53, is two decades older than his blonde bride and has two children from previous relationships.

But even if a third or a fourth is confirmed he will still not have an official heir until his lawful wife bears him one. “We just want the Grimaldi dynasty to continue,” said a 72-year-old Monegasque, a direct descendant of a group of Genoan migrants who settled the rocky Riviera outcrop and future tax haven in 1775.

Guests arrived in a cavalcade of 200 BMW 7 Series limousines and striding across the red carpet towards the palace, with early arrivals including Czech supermodel Karolina Kurkova and retired tennis ace Henri Leconte. Pop star Jean-Michel Jarre received warm applause from locals still grateful for the previous night’s spectacular concert. Heels were high, hats were broad and many guests seemed to have ignored a request for covered shoulders.

The bride and her beau set off across the city state in an open-topped Lexus hybrid, number plate 001M, a gesture to the prince’s green credentials amid otherwise extravagant scenes of champagne quaffing and fireworks. They were cheered by onlookers as they crossed the city state towards a tiny chapel dedicated to Monaco’s patron saint, St Devote, where Charlene deposited her bouquet in line with local tradition.

Charlene, seemingly calm throughout the earlier ceremony, burst into tears as the young choir sang. The wedding feast will be held at the opera house opposite the casino, a site of glamour in an otherwise grim jungle of concrete 1970s blocks, and - with private banking the source of much of the city-state’s wealth. — AFP

14

SUNDAY, JULY 3, 2011

op i ni on

THE LEADING INDEPENDENT DAILY IN THE ARABIAN GULF ESTABLISHED 1961

Founder and Publisher

YOUSUF S. ALYAN Editor-in-Chief

ABD AL-RAHMAN ALYAN EDITORIAL : 24833199-24833358-24833432 ADVERTISING : 24835616/7 FAX : 24835620/1 CIRCULATION : 24833199 Extn. 163 ACCOUNTS : 24835619 COMMERCIAL : 24835618 P.O.Box 1301 Safat,13014 Kuwait.

E MAIL :info@kuwaittimes.net Website: www.kuwaittimes.net

Issues

US drug war and racial disparities

By Bernd Debusmann he numbers tell the story of a criminal justice system blighted by racial disparities in drug law enforcement: African-Americans make up around 12 percent of the US population, account for 33.6 percent of drug arrests and 37 percent of state prison inmates serving time for drug offenses. The figures come from Human Rights Watch, a New York-based watchdog which complains in its 2011 report about “overwhelming racial disparities” in drug incarcerations despite the fact that blacks and whites engage in drug offenses at equivalent rates. The Sentencing Project, an advocacy group which has tracked disparities in the criminal justice system for the past 25 years, says the black-white gap cannot be explained by disproportionate criminal behavior.

While African-Americans are the minority most affected by racial disparities, they are not the only one, according to Human Rights Watch: “Black non-Hispanic males are incarcerated at a rate more than six times that of white non-Hispanic males and 2.6 times that of Hispanic males. One in 10 black males aged 25-29 were in prison or jail in 2009; for Hispanic males the figure was 1 in 25; for white males only 1 in 64.”

Such statistics have been studied for years by academics, lawyers, and law enforcement experts but public debate has been subdued. This is changing in the wake of sharply critical reports timed to coincide with the 40th anniversary of President Richard Nixon’s declaration of the war on drugs in June. There is growing recognition that the war has been a costly mistake.

But winding it down would require fresh thinking at all levels of the government and the criminal justice establishment and there is little evidence of that from the man who, in January 2004, declared that “the war on drugs has been an utter failure. We need to rethink and decriminalize our marijuana laws ... we need to rethink how we’re operating in the drug war. Currently, we are not doing a good job.” That was then-state Senator Barack Obama, no stranger to drugs in his youth. In his memoir, Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance, he wrote that when he felt down “pot had helped, and booze, maybe a little blow (cocaine) when you could afford it”. Good thing he wasn’t caught - many of the young black men arrested for drug offenses and thus getting a criminal record find it virtually impossible to get a job.

Their plight is documented in a detailed examination of racial inequality in the American criminal justice system, a book entitled The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, by Michelle Alexander, a civil rights lawyer. She argues that the crackdown on drug use initiated by Nixon revived old racial biases and are a new form of segregation..

“Once you are labeled a felon,” she writes, “the old forms of discrimination - employment discrimination, housing discrimination, denial of the right to vote, denial of educational opportunity, denial of food stamps and other public benefits, and exclusion from jury service are suddenly legal. As a criminal, you have scarcely more rights ... than a black man living in Alabama at the height of Jim Crow. We have not ended racial caste in America, we have merely redesigned it.”

This is a harsh judgment and food for a debate which might hasten a long overdue review of the criminal justice system and an investigation into why the United States is the world’s leading jailer. It has 5 percent of the world’s population, 25 percent of the world’s prisoners and an incarceration rate five times as high as the rest of the world.

There will be no quick answer, and no quick exit strategy from the drug war. Legislation is pending - the National Criminal Justice Commission Act - for the establishment of a blue-ribbon commission to review the criminal justice system and recommend reforms within 18 months. The bill is sponsored by Lindsay Graham, a Republican Senator from South Carolina, and Jim Webb, a Democratic Senator from Virginia, and won the backing in June of the US Conference of Mayors, an organization that represents cities with a population of 30,000 or more. The mayors noted the need to reduce incarceration, reform drug policies and eliminate racial disparities.

How likely is this to happen? There is reason for pessimism. Since Obama took office, the rhetoric on drugs and incarceration has changed. —Reuters

T

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

Saleh exit, power transfer seen soon

By Sami Aboudi ven if Ali Abdullah Saleh wants to cling to power in Yemen, experts say an assassination bid may not have killed him but has succeeded in preventing him from resuming the presidency because of the wounds he has sustained. Analysts believe that efforts are now focused on mapping out a path for a peaceful transition of power in Yemen to avert civil war and to persuade his family to relinquish their control of the army and security forces.

Vice President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who has been running day-to-day affairs since Saleh’s departure for treatment in Saudi Arabia following the assassination attempt in June, said that the president was so severely injured that it was uncertain when he will return to the country. Hadi told CNN in an interview that he saw Saleh immediately after the bomb attack and the Yemeni leader had a piece of wood between his ribs in his chest and burns to his face, arms and upper body.

This, combined with a failure to produce a much-promised video recorded message to reassure Yemenis about his health, has added to speculation that Saleh may never go back to rule Yemen. “The talk now is not over whether the president will return or not, but on how a peaceful transfer of power will take place,” said Ibrahim Sharqieh, deputy director of the Brookings Doha Institute in Qatar.

“What is probably happening now is an intense discussion and debate on the final scenario for Saleh’s exit from power,” he added.

Months of protests against Saleh’s threedecade rule, combined with an emboldened Islamist insurgency associated with al Qaeda in the south, has pushed the impoverished Arabian Peninsula country to the brink of civil

E

war. The United States and Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, fear that the chaos in Yemen may pave the way for a resurgent AlQaeda to carry out attacks against their interests in the region and beyond.

US Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs, Jeffrey Feltman, during a visit to Yemen earlier this month, called for a peaceful and speedy transition of power in Yemen. “It is time for Yemeni political leaders to work together for an immediate and peaceful transition of power,” Feltman told a news conference in Sanaa. Saudi Arabia wants to see a strong central government in neighbouring Yemen that will work to keep Islamist militants in check. At the same time, Riyadh wants to avoid any radical influence on its own people.

Analysts say behind-the-scenes efforts are likely to deal with any future role for close relatives of Saleh, including his son Ahmed, a general in charge of the powerful Republican Guards and a key player in the president’s absence. Talks are also likely to address any future role for Saleh’s ruling General People’s Congress party and his family members, who have been playing a key role in confronting Islamist militants in the south.

In a rare comment to the media, Ahmed Ali Abdullah Saleh recently said in comments carried by Yemen’s state news agency Saba that he backs a dialogue that the vice president was holding with the opposition on a possible transfer of power. “Among the points of contention are what will happen to the political system and how to accomplish the next stage,” Sharqieh said. “”Many parties want the ruling party to play a role in the future,” he added.

Analysts say Saudi Arabia was effectively keeping Saleh under “hospital arrest”, while negotiations over his exit from power are being finalised. They say differences with the

United States over the transfer of power have delayed a deal on Saleh’s departure. But Saudis may have grown alarmed following reports that Islamists in the south appeared to be gaining ground. The Islamist militants who had seized control of the city of Zinjibar in May, allegedly in collusion with Saleh in what his opponents describe as a Machiavellian attempt to show that only his rule can prevent an Al-Qaeda takeover, have made significant gains.

“The Saudis realise that this is the end of the Saleh regime, but they are not comfortable with the succession options,” said Ghanem Nuseibeh, founder of Cornerstone Global Associates and senior analyst at Political Capital. “They want to make sure who they will be dealing with a new Yemeni government. The Saudis don’t want elections. They just want a strong government, and this is a big difference they have with the Americans,” Nusseibeh said.

Saleh, a shrewd politician who came to power in a 1978 coup, has resisted US and Saudi pressure to hand over to his deputy under a Gulf initiative designed to ensure a smooth and peaceful transition. He had repeatedly backed out of signing the plan drafted by his wealthier neighbours, hoping that protesters who had been demonstrating for months in Sanaa and other Yemeni cities will run out of steam and go home.

Opponents charge that Saleh had even sought to drag the country into a civil war by attacking demonstrators on the streets and by going after the leader of the powerful Hashed tribal federation. Although a ceasefire brokered by Saudi Arabia between government forces and the Hashed gunmen was

holding, Yemen has sunk more into chaos, with fuel shortages, power cuts and frequent explosions and gunfire. “There is a consensus now within Yemen to remove the president,” said Khaled Al-Dakhil, a Saudi political science professor. — Reuters

UN faces big challenge as Sudan splits

By Louis Charbonneau s southern Sudan prepares to secede on July 9, the United Nations is gearing up to become guardian of what will soon be its 193rd member state - the poor, conflict-ravaged but oil-producing South Sudan.

The world body has its nation-building work cut out for it in the south, which is scarred by decades of civil war, tribal conflicts and poverty. There is no guarantee of success, and failure to create a viable South Sudan could destabilize the entire region, analysts warn. “We estimate that we’ve got around two to three years to get South Sudan on its feet,” a UN official told Reuters. “It’s not much time when you’re helping build a new state.”

Highlighting the importance of the role of the United Nations in South Sudan, several years ago the United Nations had the only large-scale printing press in what will soon be called ‘South Sudan.’ The world body, its peacekeepers and agencies have built schools, roads and hospitals in the south. Complicating the situation is the increasingly hostile attitude of Khartoum - headed by the suspected orchestrator of a genocidal campaign in Darfur, President Omar Hassan Al-Bashir - towards the south, the United Nations and the West as the north seeks to crush multiple insurgencies on its territory.

There is also the problem of flagging oil revenues which could prove to be a major burden for the south’s inexperienced politicians and government offi-

A

cials. “Their (the south’s) projected oil revenues are not realistic,” said a UN diplomat on condition of anonymity.

“They’ll have income, but not enough to cover their spending.” The south controls about three quarters of Sudan’s oil reserves but the south is landlocked and needs to ship oil across the north due to a lack of alternative pipeline routes.

Sudan produces about 500,000 barrels per day. Despite their commercial dependency on each other, the north and south are locked in unresolved disputes and conflicts in volatile border regions like Abyei, Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile, where northern and southern forces and allied militia have clashed repeatedly in recent months.

Even with the deployment of a large joint UN-African Union peacekeeping force in western Sudan, peace remains elusive in Sudan’s devastated western Darfur region, where rebels continue to clash with north Sudanese troops and militias in a conflict that erupted in 2003.

The south has ample offers of support from governments that want it to succeed. Aid is pouring in from the United States and Europe, and China is investing heavily. “There is a lot of goodwill from the donors towards south Sudan but also a risk that aid will not be coordinated enough,” said Fabienne Hara of the International Crisis Group.

Despite encouragement from the United Nations and Western governments, investors will approach South Sudan with caution.

“Even if worst-case scenarios are

averted, as we expect, the overall investment climate in both Sudans will continue to be extremely challenging, particularly in the south,” the Eurasia Group said in a new report on Sudan. “Khartoum could still occupy - or try to occupy - oil regions near the border, but the greater risk over time may come from disaffected rebel groups and communities within the fragile new nation in the south,” Eurasia Group said.

The United Nations and friendly governments will also have to help the south democratize, human rights experts say. “As the Arab world fights for its freedom, oppression and human rights abuses in north Sudan continue unchecked,” said Osman Hummaida, head of the African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies. “And in the south, corruption and authoritarian rule is increasing. The opportunity to help the people of Sudan will slip through the fingers of the international community unless this is dealt with now,” he added.

On July 8, a day before the south officially secedes from the north, the UN Security Council is expected to approve the deployment of up to 7,000 UN peacekeepers in the south. If, as expected, it is approved, the new UN mission in the south will be headed by the charismatic Norwegian diplomat Hilde Johnson, currently deputy director of the UN children’s foundation UNICEF and author of a new book on Sudan.

Johnson’s task will not be easy. The United Nations routinely has to make do with substandard troops, as was the case in Abyei before the Security

Council set up a separate Ethiopian peacekeeping force for the disputed region, which both Khartoum and Juba would like to control.

The U.N. mission for south Sudan, tentatively called UNMISS, will be the fourth separate blue-helmeted force in Sudan, the others being in Dafur, Abyei and a mission called UNMIS that monitors compliance with the 2005 northsouth peace deal that ended decades of civil war. The north wants UNMIS out by July 9, though Security Council diplomats say that the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China are joining forces to pressure Khartoum to allow UNMIS to remain for three months after the south secedes in line with the results of a January independence referendum. To highlight the UN commitment to the south, the world body’s press office has said that SecretaryGeneral Ban Ki-moon will be in the southern capital Juba on July 9.

The presence of a major global figure like Ban is intended to give the new state an instant burst of legitimacy, UN officials say. But diplomats say little can be done to stabilize the south if the north and south continue to go at each other’s throats. Michel Bonnardeaux, a spokesman for UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations, said that stability in Sudan will ultimately depend on the two sides making peace. “Now is the time for both the north and the south to think of the long-term benefits of working together, not short-term political gains at the other’s expense,” he said. — Reuters

15

SUNDAY, JULY 3, 2011

analysis

Hezbollah poised to ride out indictments

By Elizabeth A Kennedy n a country with a history of scores left unsettled, Hezbollah is in a strong position to ride out an indictment accusing a high-ranking member of one of the most dramatic political assassinations in the Middle East. The Shiite militant group has spent the past year laying the groundwork for thwarting any move to implement the all-but-inevitable indictment in the 2005 murder of former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri. It has warned to “cut off the hand” of anyone who tries to arrest its members and repeatedly cast doubt on tribunal’s investigation. The work appears to have paid off.

Since the Netherlands-based court released the indictments Thursday, there has been no real sign that Lebanese authorities are willing to arrest the four suspects, including Hezbollah militant Mustafa Badreddine. To do so, they would have to directly confront the Iran- and Syria-backed militant group that is firmly in control of the Lebanese state. Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah planned a speech yesterday to address the indictment.

The most prominent of the four people named in the indictment is Badreddine, who appears to have a storied history of militancy. He is suspected of building the powerful bomb that blew up the US Marine barracks in Beirut in 1983, killing 241 Americans, mostly Marines, according to a federal law enforcement official and a book “Jawbreaker”, by Gary Berntsen, a former official who ran the Hezbollah task force at the CIA. He also is the brother-in-law of the late Hezbollah military commander Imad Mughniyeh and is suspected of involvement in the 1983 bombings of the US and French embassies in Kuwait that killed five people. Hezbollah has always had serious muscle, boasting a guerrilla force that is better armed and stronger than the national army.

I

But the group has amassed unprecedented political clout in the government, having toppled the previous administration in January when then-Prime Minister Saad Hariri - the slain man’s son - refused to renounce the tribunal investigating his father’s death. The new premier, Najib

tle enthusiasm within the current leadership to press forward with the case. And the indictments do indeed threaten to ignite fresh violence in Lebanon. In the six years since Hariri’s death, the investigation has sharpened the country’s sectarian divisions - Rafiq Hariri was one of Lebanon’s

In this picture taken on Nov 12, 2010, Hezbollah fighters parade during the inauguration of a new cemetery for their fighters who died in fighting against Israel in a southern suburb of Beirut. – AP Mikati, was Hezbollah’s pick for the post. He issued a vague promise Thursday that Lebanon would respect international resolutions as long as they did not threaten the civil peace.

The ambiguous wording leaves ample room to brush aside the arrest warrants if street battles are looming. The Cabinet is packed with Hezbollah allies, so there is lit-

most power ful Sunni leaders, while Hezbollah is a Shiite group. It has also heightened other intractable debates, including the question of the role of Hezbollah - and its vast arsenal, which opponents want dismantled.

Walid Jumblatt, a Hezbollah ally and leader of the tiny Druse sect, warned Friday that the indictments could lead to new civil

strife in Lebanon and painted the case as a matter of justice versus stability.

“As much as justice is important for the martyrs and the wounded, so too civil peace and stability is the hoped-for future,” said Jumblatt, whose own father was a victim of a political assassination in Lebanon and who was once an ardent supporter of the tribunal before switching alliances.

“Civil peace is more important than anything else.” He pointed to widespread fears that the case could further divide the countr y, which has been recovering from decades of bloodshed, including a 15-year civil war that ended in 1990 and more recent sectarian battles.

The younger Hariri and his allies, now relegated to the opposition, and the international court will likely push for action against the four. But there is little they can do to force the government to do so.

Lebanese authorities have until the end of July to serve the indictments on suspects or execute arrest warrants. If they fail, the court’s recourse is to publish the indictment. Details in the indictment about the investigation into the killing - so far kept under wraps - might in theor y prove embarrassing to Hezbollah, but the group is unlikely to be severely hurt by them.

While Jumblatt appeared to be offering a stark choice - either turn a blind eye to a dastardly crime, or run the risk of chaos Hezbollah’s leader has taken another tack.

Nasrallah has worked tirelessly to convince the Lebanese that the tribunal is not fit to deliver justice. For more than a year, he has gone on a media offensive against the tribunal, taking nearly every opportunity to call it biased, politicized and a tool of archenemy Israel. He also said early on that he knew Hezbollah would be accused of the crime, a pre-emptive strike that dampened the impact of Thursday’s indictment and bolstered his credentials as the man in charge in Lebanon. — AP

Hariri indictments to widen political strife

By Mariam Karouny ndictments by a UN-backed court seeking the killers of statesman Rafiq AlHariri, which Lebanese officials say accuse Hezbollah members, will widen the country’s political rift and increase sectarian tension. The long-awaited indictments will embolden the opposition led by Hariri’s son, Saad, whose unity government was toppled by Hezbollah and its allies in January after he refused demands that he renounce the tribunal. However, analysts say the increased tension is unlikely to turn violent or lead to a repeat of the 2008 sectarian clashes in which at least 85 people were killed and which brought the country to the brink of another civil war.

Hariri’s March 14 coalition, which includes Christian and Druze figures, will step up pressure on Sunni Muslim Prime Minister Najib Mikati, whose cabinet is dominated by Shi’ite Hezbollah and its allies, to hand over suspects. “The opposition is going to be fierce and will be focused on him (Mikati) more than anyone else. They consider him the soft spot in the government facing the Sunni street,” Lebanese analyst Nabil Bumounsef said. “He is exposed. The conflict between the opposition and the majority will increase.. March 14 will escalate, he will be in the middle,” he added.

Hezbollah, a powerful militant movement supported by Syria and Iran, has for months been at odds with Saad Al-Hariri, backed by the West and the Sunni Arab kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Tiny Lebanon,

I

with around four million people, has always been a battleground for bigger regional powers. Syria, which had a military presence for 29 years until 2005, remains the most influential ex ternal player in Lebanon’s sectarian politics.

But most regional and international powers which have a say in Lebanon’s politics are themselves facing problems and are unlikely to want to shoulder the additional burden of getting embroiled in another Lebanese crisis. Syria’s President Bashar AlAssad, a strong backer of Hezbollah, is struggling to contain a 14-week uprising against his rule, while Saudi Arabia’s elderly King Abdullah has already had to address turmoil in neighbouring Yemen and Bahrain. “If you look around you nobody wants a fight. The region is boiling in sectarian tension. So Saudi does not encourage Hariri to spark anything. It is not in its interests,” a Lebanese official said.

In Lebanon itself, ordinary Lebanese showed little interest in the indictments handed over on Thursday. Life on the streets was normal on Friday, a contrast from when Mikati was appointed to form the government in January and Hariri suppor ters took to the streets in protest.

“Nobody in Lebanon - the majority nor the opposition - has the interest or the capability to make problems in the street,” said Bumounsef.

Hezbollah denies any role in Hariri’s killing and has said it will never allow any of its members to be handed over to the tribunal for trial. The content of the indictments, which were not officially released, came as

little surprise. Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said last year the tribunal would target the group, and Lebanese and foreign media had mentioned two of the names which officials say were listed in the indic tments. But officials allied to Hezbollah, which say the tribunal is an Israeli tool, said they were alarmed by the timing of the indic tments which were handed over as Mikati’s cabinet, which was formed just two weeks ago after months of wrangling, met to agree its policy statement. Lebanese governments traditionally deliver a policy statement before heading to parliament for a vote of confidence. The vote is expected next week. “It is clear that the tribunal works based on politics. Its indictments and everything else related to it are designed to deliver a message,” said one of the officials. “They wanted to sabotage the government and put it in an awkward position.” The carefully-worded statement “stressed the (importance of ) truth in the crime against Rafiq Al-Hariri” and said it would monitor the progress of the court.

Mikati urged Lebanese to be “reasonable and far-sighted” to ensure that “those who want to target the country and push us towards strife miss their chance”.

The 2005 assassination of Hariri, seen as a Sunni leader, plunged Lebanon into a series of crises which included killings, brief internal fighting and a 34-day war between Hezbollah and Israel in 2006. The main question is whether Lebanon is going to hand over the suspects for trial. Hezbollah, which is both a political party and a heavily armed group, is highly secretive about its

military wing, making the mission of security forces to find the suspects - let alone arresting them - almost impossible. “The group will not confront the state. If they want them, they need to find them first,” said a Hezbollah ally.

Few people have heard of the names of the suspects or know exactly what positions they hold, even though two of them are believed to be senior figures. Even fewer people k now if they were inside Lebanon. Interior Minister Marwan Charbel said Lebanon will cooperate with the tribunal, but held out little prospect that the security forces would track down suspects.

“We can implement (the indictments) in the ways we see appropriate,” he said. “There are many wanted people in Lebanon. We raid their place of work and residences and we don’t find them, but we are carrying out our duties. We will go and raid and if we find them we will bring them and if we don’t find them we will tell the judicial authorities we did not find them.”

Lebanon has 30 days to try to carry out the arrests. If no one is arrested the defendants can be tried in absentia. Hezbollah officials declined to comment but Nasrallah was expected to give a speech yesterday.

The Future Movement, which is led by Hariri, said after meeting on Friday that it will vote against Mikati’s government when parliament meets next week. It said it considered the government’s policy statement as a “coup against the tribunal” and said it “drags Lebanon into the trap of deepening the internal division and confronting the international community”. — Reuters

US overtures to Brotherhood show pragmatism

By Yasmine Saleh US decision to resume contact with the Muslim Brotherhood is a pragmatic move that recognises its popular appeal in post-revolution Egypt and may also help Washington deal with other Islamist movements in the region. The United States was behind the curve of Arab world politics as popular uprisings swept its secular, autocratic allies from power in Tunisia and Egypt and others in Libya and Yemen saw bloody rebellions against their decades-long rule. Acknowledging groups whose views resonate most among Arab voters, even if those views can contradict Western liberal values, could help the US regain the initiative and ensure its influence still holds if Egypt’s democratic project succeeds.

“The Brotherhood is now the most powerful force in Egypt and the US knows it will have to deal with it,” said Shadi Hamid, director of research at the Brookings Doha Center. The US decision, reported first by Reuters on Wednesday , was confirmed by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and welcomed by the Brotherhood. The group was founded in 1928 as a religious body to promote Islamic values in Egyptian society, turning later into a political force that resorted occasionally to armed combat. It renounced violence years ago and its stated vision now combines a conservative brand of Islam with the goal of a civil, democratic state.

The movement was officially banned but tolerated under former President Hosni Mubarak, who was ousted by an uprising in February.

A

It is now seen as the political player best prepared for parliamentary elections due in September. “There is now an intention among the Americans to agree to deal with the current of non-violent political Islam and accept its presence in power,” said Egyptian military expert Safwat Al-Zayaat.

But the overtures to a group sympathetic to Palestinian militant group Hamas - which rules the Gaza Strip and has vowed to

near Tel Aviv. “The Muslim Brothers are the big opponents of the peace treaty with Israel ... There’s a risk of the treaty being cancelled.”

Another Israeli analyst, Gabriel Ben-Dor at the University of Haifa, said he saw no problem for Israel, even possible benefits if the move helps Washington better understand “how the political forces in the new Egypt are aligning”. Israel Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said: “We are not making

speech at Cairo University in 2009 and American congressmen have met with Brotherhood parliamentarians. More official, and more regular, contacts could evolve into tentative cooperation on broader regional issues, with the US anxious to ensure that a democratic Egypt will keep the peace treaty with Israel. Brotherhood officials have played down the prospect of scrapping the 1979 Camp David accords if they ever achieved

In this May 18, 2011 picture, supporters attend a Muslim Brotherhood electoral rally in the Munib neighborhood of Cairo. – AP destroy Israel - is likely to upset Washington’s strongest Middle Eastern ally.

“The American attempt to reconcile with the Muslim Brotherhood is a big problem for Israel,” said Eytan Gilboa, a Middle East expert at Bar-Ilan University

any comment now”. Other Israeli officials contacted by Reuters said they were still gathering more information.

US officials have long had informal relations with Brotherhood figures. Some were present at President Barack Obama’s landmark

enough power to sway foreign policy, insisting that they would keep deals that are in Egypt’s interest.

Egyptian commentators say a dialogue with the Brotherhood would give the United States one more channel to influence more militant groups such as Hamas and

Lebanon’s Hezbollah, which have cooperated with the Brotherhood and share some of its goals.

“America could also use Egypt’s Brotherhood to pressure Hamas to accept certain things when needed,” said Emad Gad, a senior researcher at the al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies.

The benefits for the Brotherhood, which welcomed the prospect of formal contacts with Washington, seem less obvious.

Spokesman Mohamed Saad ElKatatni told Reuters they would help “clarifying our vision” and would not signify any interference in Egypt’s internal affairs. But Brotherhood supporters might fear the movement’s leadership are selling out their principles to gain influence with Washington, still unpopular among many Muslims over the US-led wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

“Technically it gives them more legitimacy on the political front, and internationally,” said Amira Salah-Ahmed, a 28-year-old Egyptian journalist. “But at home it could discredit them and make people more suspicious of their intentions given the unpopularity of the US among Egyptians, especially now after the revolution when people are eager for more sovereignty.” The Brotherhood has said it will contest no more than half of the seats in what would be Egypt’s first truly democratic parliament in decades and will not run for the presidency as it does not seek to dominate the government. “ They will be seen to be power seekers, which contradicts what they have said repeatedly,” said Gad. — Reuters

Focus

Bashir’s arrest depends on collaboration

By Marie-Laure Michel e may have an arrest warrant against him, but Sudan’s President Omar Al-Bashir continues to jet around the world in defiance of the International Criminal Court, which depends on the goodwill of states to catch him. Wanted for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Darfur, Bashir on Friday flew back to Sudan after a three-day official visit to China, where he was given the red-carpet treatment. The visit drew a rebuke by the United States and UN human rights chief Navi Pillay’s “disappointment”, but nothing happened to the Sudanese leader in Beijing.

China slapped down criticism, saying it had not signed the Rome Statute, the ICC’s founding document, which was ratified by 116 countries promising to cooperate with the independent world crimes court.

“China is a permanent member of the UN Security Council, which focused the prosecutor’s attention on the situation in Darfur. It would have been logical to support what the Council asked for,” said ICC jurist Fadi El-Abdallah, who works in the court’s information section. “China sells arms to Sudan, which are used in Darfur and they (China) are looking for oil. China favours its economic interests in Africa above any other considerations,” added a source close to the UN, who asked not to be named.

The ICC, which does not have its own police force, on Monday issued its second arrest warrant against a head of state, Libya’s Moamer Kadhafi, for crimes against humanity committed since a rebellion broke out there in mid-February. Despite having an arrest warrant issued against him in 2009 for war crimes and crimes against humanity, Bashir has travelled abroad numerous times. Most recently he went to Djibouti, but he has also been to Kenya and Chad. All three countries are state parties to the Rome Statute.

With each visit, ICC judges “informed” the Security Council and the Assembly of State Parties to the Rome Statute so “any appropriate measures can be taken by its members.” “There has been no success up until now,” El-Abdallah admitted. But he added: “We have more and more positive feedback from states, including nonparties to the Rome Statute,” citing Libya as an example. In Libya’s case, the UN Security Council resolution referring the situation to the ICC was unanimously adopted whereas with Sudan, it was through majority vote only, El-Abdallah pointed out.

“Omar Al-Bashir’s arrest does not fall in the domain of miracles, but strategy,” the source close to the UN stressed. “It’s necessary to mobilise intelligence services, to have political will, to have financial means and soldiers if necessary. It’s just like what happened in the case of arrests in the former Yugoslavia,” the source said. “The calendar depends on the mobilisation of the international community, there is no magic recipe,” said a source within the prosecutor’s office.

Meanwhile, Kenya acknowledged having made an error by inviting Bashir to attend a ceremony in August last year to promulgate its new constitution. Said the source close to the UN of Kenya’s blunder: “They invited Bashir once, but won’t do so again. They were ‘slaughtered’ by the United States and all their ambassadors were called in in Europe’s capitals.” — AFP

H

Zuma’s backers seek concessions

By Peroshni Govender outh African President Jacob Zuma’s trade union and party youth supporters are seeking concessions in return for backing him for a second term, fanning investor fears over the future of Africa’s biggest economy. The COSATU labour federation expressed frustration at a strategy meeting this week at being marginalised by Zuma, despite having helped him win leadership of the African National Congress and the presidency, held by the ANC since 1994. “Help us help you. We don’t like the space we are in now,” COSATU’s general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi said on the sidelines of the meeting. “We don’t like the politics of this moment.”

Despite his leftist credentials, Zuma’s economic policies have largely remained pro-business, driven by the treasury and central bank - easing investor concerns of a radical shift to the left. With an ANC leadership election due next year and a presidential election in 2014, the labour federation and fellow political heavyweights the ANC Youth League are stepping up the pressure, although as yet no direct challenger has emerged.

COSATU, which represents 2 million workers, wants more labour friendly legislation that would drive up costs for employers and severely weaken the rand. It is also demanding a crackdown on corruption, which has broad support both locally and internationally. The ANC Youth League led by the populist Julius Malema who once said he would “kill” for Zuma, is also now at odds with him. It has called for the nationalisation of mines and a huge land seizure, plans analysts say would bankrupt the country.

Investors are worried Zuma might make concessions to one or both sides, although disagreements between them could work in his favour. The 30-yearold Malema, who appears to have his eye on the presidency, has the support of millions of poor and young disillusioned blacks who have been excluded from economic gains made after the end of apartheid 17 years ago. It is unlikely that he can pose a direct challenge to Zuma at the ANC’s next elective conference but his grassroots support could set him up as a presidential hopeful in the next decade.

“A lot of leadership discussions are being cast in terms of whether Malema is the future president and is the raft of policies he represents, the raft of policies that are waiting in our future,” our future,” said analyst Nic Borain. Zuma has made it clear that the youth league’s proposal to nationalise mines is not government policy but has created a committee to investigate its viability. COSATU is concerned about Malema’s rising influence, saying he is backed by what it calls a “predatory elite” of businessmen set on lining their pockets, allegations Malema denies. —Reuters

S

SUNDAY, JULY 3, 2011

sp orts

Hincapie matches milestone FRANCE: When George Hincapie pushes down on his pedals to start the Tour de France for a 16th time late yesterday, the American will equal the record of race appearances set by Dutchman Joop Zoetemelk in 1986.

The 38-year-old rode his first Tour with the Motorola team in 1996 and has participated in every edition since, helping Lance Armstrong win the race seven times from 1999 to 2005. The New Yorker’s best final placing was 14th in 2005, when he won a stage in the Pyrenees, and the three-times American road champion also held the leader’s yellow jersey for one day in 2006. “This record thing is making me nervous for the first time in many years at the start of the Tour,” said Hincapie, now riding for the BMC team led by Australian Cadel Evans. “When I started, I was hoping to spend ten years as a pro and ride a couple of Tours. I could never imagine I would ride that many,” he added. Hincapie is actually in his 18th professional season and was reunited with his first team director, Jim Ochowicz, when he joined BMC last year.—Reuters

SAO PAULO: Olympic and world swimming champion Cesar Cielo has tested positive for the banned substance furosemide but escaped suspension, the Brazilian Aquatic Sports Confederation (CBDA) said on Friday. Cielo, the world record holder in the 50 and 100 metres freestyle, and three other swimmers tested positive for the diuretic at the Brazilian national championships in May and had been warned, the CBDA added. “ There was no indication of blame or negligence,” the CBDA said on its website, adding “(it is proven) there was no improvement in their performances.”

The CBDA named the other

three swimmers as Nicholas Santos, Henrique Barbosa and Vinicius Waked. The four had their results scratched.

Cielo, who won the gold medal in the 50 freestyle in Beijing, said in a statement that at a hearing of the CBDA he was able to prove a supplement he regularly took was contaminated.

“I’ve always used that supplement and never had a previous control shown a problem ... I think this was an isolated case,” Cielo said. “Throughout my career I’ve always been very careful with all medication I’ve taken. I consider myself an exemplary athlete in this respect.”—Reuters

Gayle blames board for feud BRIDGETOWN: Chris Gayle has finally broken his silence on his long feud with the West Indian Cricket Board, dismissing suggestions he did not want to play international cricket and laying the blame with the board. The former test captain released a long and emotional statement saying he had wanted to resume his international career but his attempts to reconcile with the board had been fruitless so he had been forced to go elsewhere. “I have now reached the stage where I have to say that enough is enough,” he wrote in the statement. “I have come to the bitter realisation that I am not wanted by the board and all that has gone before in terms of reconciliation is a sham and a mockery. “I see it as a scam to fool the people of the West Indies and the world into believing that they were serious about my returning to West Indies cricket.” Gayle, an explosive opening batsmen, has played 91 tests, scoring two triple-centuries, and 223 oneday international for West Indies.He was not selected for the current series against India and on Thursday, the 31-year-old announced he had signed for Sydney Thunder in Australia’s revamped domestic Twenty20 tournament. —Reuters

Howard lifts Phillies over Jays

MLB results/standings Major League Baseball results and standings on Friday.

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

American League Eastern Division W L 49 31 47 34 45 37 40 43 35 44

PCT .613 .580 .549 .482 .443

GB 2.5 5 10.5 13.5

Cleveland Detroit Chicago White Sox Minnesota Kansas City

Central Division 43 37 44 39 41 42 35 45 33 49

.538 .530 .494 .438 .402

.5 3.5 8 11

Texas LA Angels Seattle Oakland

Western Division 44 39 42 41 40 42 37 46

.530 .506 .488 .446

2 3.5 7

Philadelphia Atlanta Washington NY Mets Florida

National League Eastern Division 52 31 48 35 41 41 41 41 36 46

.627 .578 .500 .500 .439

4 10.5 10.5 15.5

St. Louis Milwaukee Pittsburgh Cincinnati Chicago Cubs Houston

Central Division 45 38 44 39 41 40 42 41 34 49 29 54

.542 .530 .506 .506 .410 .349

1 3 3 11 16

San Francisco Arizona Colorado San Diego LA Dodgers

Western Division 47 36 44 39 40 42 37 46 37 46

.566 .530 .488 .446 .446

3 6.5 10 10

NY Yankees Boston Tampa Bay Toronto Baltimore

Brazil’s Cielo tests positive

ANAHEIM: Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Dee Gordon makes a leaping catch on a fly ball hit by Angels Erick Aybar during the ninth inning of their interleague baseball game.—AP

TORONTO: Philadelphia’s Ryan Howard hit a go-ahead two-run single in the ninth inning, helping the Phillies rally for a 7-6 win over the Toronto Blue Jays in Major League Baseball interleague play on Friday.

With the Phillies trailing 6-5, Placido Polanco led off the ninth with a walk against closer Frank Francisco and Chase Utley followed with a fly to left that Juan Rivera misplayed into a double, putting runners at second and third.

Howard then singled to center, giving Francisco (1-4) his fourth blown save in 13 chances.

Danys Baez (2-3) pitched one inning of relief for the win, and Antonio Bastardo closed it out for his fourth save. Philadelphia’s late comeback overcame a couple of homers by the Blue Jays, who have homered in a season-high nine consecutive games.

Giants 4, Tigers 3 In Detroit, Pablo Sandoval hit a tiebreaking double in the top of the ninth inning and San Francisco hung on on when Detroit’s Brennan Boesch lined into a double play with the bases loaded. The Giants were coming off back-toback losses to the Cubs — both in Chicago’s last at-bat. They nearly fell again in similar fashion. After scoring three runs in the top of the ninth, San Francisco allowed two in the bottom half before shortstop Brandon Crawford caught Boesch’s soft line drive and stepped on second to effect the double play, ending the game. Giants closer Brian Wilson (6-1) got the win, but only after blowing a save for the second straight day. Jeremy Affeldt came on and earned his third save.

Detroit’s Jose Valverde (2-3) took the loss.

Yankees 5, Mets In New York, the Yankees took advantage of a generous umpiring call to beat the Mets in the all-New York series. Reyes electrified the Mets crowd when he tagged up from first on a fly to deep center.

He took off for third when the relay bounced away from Eduardo Nunez, but Nunez threw to third base and Alex Rodriguez made a sweep tag that on replay appeared to miss Reyes, who was sliding headfirst. The umpire was behind Rodriguez when he called Reyes out. Mark Teixeira hit a two-run double for the Yankees and Nunez had an RBI single among his career-high four hits. Rodriguez and Robinson Cano had RBI doubles, and Ivan Nova (8-4) pitched five effective innings to help the Yankees win their season-high sixth straight game. Jonathon Niese (7-7) gave up three runs in six innings for the Mets in his first start since leaving a June 25 start with a rapid heartbeat.

Cardinals 5, Rays 3 In St. Petersburg, Colby Rasmus hit a threerun homer during a wild eighth inning that featured four ejections, leading St. Louis to victory over Tampa Bay. Rasmus, who also had a run-scoring groundout during the second inning, connected for his fourth homer in the past seven games for the Cardinals, who have won four straight. Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon was ejected earlier in the inning, and three Rays — Howell, David Price and Elliot Johnson — were thrown out after Rasmus went deep. Cardinals starter Jake Westbrook (7-4) struck out seven over seven scoreless innings to take his first victory in three weeks. Tampa Bay starter Wade Davis (76) allowed six hits in seven innings.

Indians 8, Reds 2 In Cincinnati, Grady Sizemore hit the first of Cleveland’s three homers as the Indians made it four wins from four against Ohio state rival Cincinnati this season. The Reds have struggled mightily against the American League.

The defending NL Central champs are 5-11 in

OAKLAND: Athletics’ Coco Crisp (left) scores behind Arizona Diamondbacks catcher Miguel Montero during the fifth inning of an interleague baseball game.—AP interleague play. Sizemore hit his first homer in three weeks off Bronson Arroyo (7-7). Asdrubal Cabrera and Carlos Santana also connected.

Indians starter Justin Masterson (6-6) went eight innings for his first win since April.

Braves 4, Orioles 0 In Atlanta, Jair Jurrjens threw his first career shutout, steering Atlanta past Baltimore. Jurrjens (11-3) became the first National League pitcher with 11 wins and lowered his NL-best ERA to 1.89. He kept his nohit bid alive until conceding a single in the seventh. Jason Heyward ended a long homerun drought for the Braves, who earned their fourth consecutive win and moved a seasonbest 13 games over .500. Orioles starter Jeremy Guthrie (3-10) threw five scoreless innings before giving up Heyward’s first homer since April; a two-run shot in the sixth.

Baltimore has lost four straight.

Nationals 2, Pirates 1 In Washington, Matt Stairs drove in the winning run in the bottom of the ninth to give Washington a tight win over Pittsburgh.

Stairs’ drive off the right-field wall scored Alex Cora to give Davey Johnson his first win as Washington’s interim manager. Stairs began the day just 4 for 32 with no RBIs as a pinch hitter. Nationals closer Drew Storen (5-2) pitched the ninth to get the win while Tim Wood (0-3) took the loss for Baltimore.

Rangers 15, Marlins 5 In Arlington, Nelson Cruz homered and had six RBIs on his 31st birthday, powering Texas to a big win over Florida. Adrian Beltre drove in four runs with three hits for the Rangers, who got their first seven runs in 3-2/3 innings off Anibal Sanchez (6-2) whose Marlins season record of 14 consecutive starts without a loss came to a sudden halt. Michael Young led off the second with a walk and put the AL Westleading Rangers ahead to stay when he scored on the first of Taylor Teagarden’s two doubles.

Texas starter Alexi Ogando (8-3) had a careerhigh eight strikeouts.

Athletics 5, D’backs 4 In Oakland, Rich Harden pitched six strong

innings in his season debut to lead Oakland over Arizona. Harden allowed four hits in his first start for Oakland in three years. Andrew Bailey worked the ninth for his seventh save.

Hideki Matsui had two RBIs, while Ryan Sweeney, Coco Crisp and Cliff Pennington each drove in a run for the Athletics. Crisp also took a catch which robbed the Diamondbacks of a homer, while Matsui picked up his first steal since 2007. The Diamondbacks have dropped five of six, and starter Josh Collmenter (4-5) lasted just 4 2-3 innings, yielding five runs.

Dodgers 5, Angels 0 In Anaheim, Hiroki Kuroda pitched seven scoreless innings to steer the Dodgers past the Angels in the all-Los Angeles series.

Kuroda (6-9), who struck out four and walked one, had dropped a career-worst six consecutive decisions but had a solid 3.54 ERA during the losing streak. Aaron Miles went 4 for 4, while Dee Gordon stole home on the front end of a double steal for the Dodgers.

Tony Gwynn Jr. went 3 for 3 with three walks.

Angels rookie Tyler Chatwood (5-5) gave up 12 hits in five-plus innings.

Twins 6, Brewers 2 In Minneapolis, Jim Thome hit a three-run drive for career homer No. 594, powering Minnesota past Milwaukee. After a two-hour rain delay, Twins starter Francisco Liriano (5-7) gave up a first-inning homer but allowed only three hits after that while going seven innings.

The Twins won their third straight and snapped a seven-game losing streak to the Brewers, who lost their fourth straight and fell out of a first-place tie with St. Louis in the NL Central. Minnesota scored five runs — two unearned — off Yovani Gallardo (9-5).

Mariners 6, Padres 0 In Seattle, Jason Vargas pitched his third shutout of the season, leading Seattle to victory over San Diego. Vargas (6-5) struck out seven and walked none in his fourth career complete game. He is the first pitcher ever to have three shutouts at Safeco Field in the same season. Padres starter. Dustin Moseley

(2-8) allowed five runs in 4 2-3 innings.

Red Sox 7, Astros 5 In Houston, Adrian Gonzalez hit a goahead two-run double after Dustin Pedroia drove in a pair of runs during Boston’s six-run seventh inning that lifted the visitors over Houston. Marco Scutaro started the game with his third homer of the season, but Boston didn’t get another hit until J.D. Drew began the seventh inning with a single. Josh Reddick and Drew Sutton each drove in a run before Pedroia’s bases-loaded single with one out tied it 5-5 and set up Gonzalez’s clutch swing.

Boston’s Dan Wheeler (1-1) got the win and Jonathan Papelbon gave up a two-out single before taking his 16th save. Astros reliever Sergio Escalona (1-1) got the loss.

White Sox 6, Cubs 4 In Chicago, Alexei Ramirez hit a two-run homer to lead the White Sox over the Cubs at Wrigley Field in the all-Chicago clash. Ramirez connected in the seventh and Juan Pierre had a tiebreaking two-run triple later in the inning, sending the White Sox to their third straight win.

The Cubs remain the only team in the majors without a three-game winning streak this season. They had been leading 4-2 after Aramis Ramirez hit his 300th homer in the sixth off Edwin Jackson (5-6), but the White Sox immediately responded in a big way against Randy Wells (1-3). White Sox closer Sergio Santos pitched the ninth for his 18th save.

Rockies 9, Royals 0 In Denver, Juan Nicasio pitched eight scoreless innings to direct Colorado to a comfortable win over Kansas City. Nicasio (31) struck out four and got the Royals to hit into 16 groundouts. Danny Duffy (1-3) got the loss. Mark Ellis had three hits, including a two-run homer, in his Colorado debut after being acquired from Oakland. Troy Tulowitzki connected on a two-run homer for the Rockies, Todd Helton added a two-run double and Charlie Blackmon got the first homer of his major league career, on his 25th birthday.—AP

Reds clinches Super 15 semi, secure home final BRISBANE: Rod Davies crossed for three tries and flyhalf Quade Cooper was brilliant in every facet except his place kicking as Queensland beat Auckland 30-13 yesterday to secure a home Super 15 final.

The Reds, who finished atop the standings at the end of the regular season, scored four tries to one in the win over the Blues and will meet either the Cape Town-based Stormers or the Canterbury Crusaders next weekend in Brisbane, where they’ve only lost once this season.

The Reds’ revival under Ewen McKenzie has been remarkable over the last two seasons, lifting from 13th place in 2009 to now reach their first final since the Super 12 kicked off in 1996.

“It’s a reward for the effort the boys have put in,” Queensland captain James Horwill said. “It’s exciting, but there’s a job to be done so we’ve just got to keep a lid on that, build up to it.

“It’s well documented we had darker days ... a lot of this group was a part of it. To now be playing a home grand final is a massive achievement, but the last hurdle is the hardest one.”

Davies was the first Queenslander to score a Super rugby hat-trick, the speedster playing a pivotal role in bringing the final to Australia for the first time since the Canberra-based ACT Brumbies’ premiership in 2004. His first try was a gamble, risking conceding a try to intercept a long ball from Lachie Munro as the Auckland attackers gathered outside and sprinting 75 meters to score untouched in the 12th minute.

Cooper missed two shots at goal but made up for it with a stunning solo effort on the right touch line in the 30th minute. After gathering a downfield kick from Stephen Brett, he fended off Munro, stepped through a defender and dummied twice in a 40-meter run before passing inside to Ben Tapuai, who needed fingertip control to hold on and score.

The Blues had a big chance to hit back but couldn’t convert amid some desperate defense and the Reds countered immediately. Cooper carved up the Blues defense with some more slight-ofthe-hands before switching inside for Scott Higginbotham, who was dragged down inside the quarter.

The play broke down but Cooper landed a penalty to make it 15-0 for the Reds, who were dominating the points despite only seeing onethird of the possession.

Lock Chris Lowrey caught the Queensland defense asleep with a try as the halftime siren sounded and the Blues got back to 15-10 early in the second when Luke McAlister landed a 48-meter penalty goal. The Blues threatened to score again with an enterprising attacking raid that started on their own tryline but was shut down by Digby Ioane’s tackle on Brett.

But the Reds scored again when Davies burst onto a looping, cutout pass from Cooper, beat one defender and touched down in the 47th minute to make it 20-10. Cooper smashed his conversion attempt into the upright and it was waved away, his fourth miss from six attempts.

McAlister landed another penalty to cut the gap to seven points, but from then it all went the Reds way. Fullback Jared Payne inexplicably tried to chip kick from his own tryline and only managed to turn it over to Ioane. —AP

BRISBANE: Chris Lowrey of the Auckland Blues of New Zealand (center) is tackled by Liam Gill (left) and Jono Lance of the Queensland Reds of Australia during their Super Rugby semifinal match.—AP

A

y

e niv rsar n

SUNDAY, JULY 3, 2011

Years

sp orts

India well positioned in Test against West Indies

FRANCE: James Morrison of England hits the ball out of the bunker on the 18th hole, on the third day of the French Golf Open at the Golf National in Saint Quentin en Yvelines.—AP

Choi ties course record NEWTOWN SQUARE: KJ Choi of South Korea birdied five of his last six holes for a six-under-par 64 that tied the course record and gave him a two-shot lead after two rounds of the AT&T National on Friday.

Choi capped his sizzling round with a one-foot tap-in for birdie at the 605-yard, par-five ninth after his approach shot nearly fell into the cup. He stood at seven-under-par 133.

Americans Justin Leonard (67), Chris Riley (66) and Bo Van Pelt (66), and Charlie Wi (66) of South Korea shared second place at five-under-par 135.

Four players were tied on 136, including American Jeff Overton, who fired a 65 to get back into contention. Choi, who missed the cut in his last start at the US Open two weeks ago, caught fire on Aronimink’s front nine after beginning his morning round at the 10th.

His final birdie matched the 64 shot by 2010 champion Justin Rose of Britain in the second round last year. Choi said he had not been aware what the course record was.

“But as I kept making birdies, I noticed that the reactions of the gallery, the peo-

ple were very positive and I started feeling that I’m working toward a special round,” he said through a translator.

“I’m not really a records kind of guy. I don’t really pay attention. My style is just playing hole by hole, trying my best each hole, each shot. When I heard I tied the record, I felt very happy, very pleased about that.”

Choi won the inaugural AT&T National when it was played at Congressional in Bethesda, Maryland, in 2007. The tournament was switched to Aronimink a year ago so that Congressional could prepare the course for this year’s Open, and it will return to Congressional for the next three years.

Choi will try to become the first player to win the event hosted by Tiger Woods twice and add to his victory earlier this season at the Players Championship. First round co-leader Adam Scott of Australia followed his opening 66 with a one-overpar 71 and was at three-under 137, a total he shared with American Rickie Fowler. American Hunter Haas, who also had a 66 Thursday, posted a 74 in the second round and faded out of contention.—AP

Cook, Huston shoot 63s in Montreal Championship BLAINVILLE: John Cook and John Huston shot 9-under 63s on Friday to match the course record and share the first-round lead in the Montreal Championship, the Champions Tour’s lone Canadian event.

Cook, a two-time winner this year, and Huston, coming off his first victory on the 50-and-over tour, each had 10 birdies and a bogey on the Fontainebleau Golf Club course on Canada Day. They matched the course mark set last year by D.A. Weibring in the inaugural tournament.

Cook had a chance to break the course record, but his 8-foot birdie putt on 18 skirted the left side of the cup. “It broke a little more than I thought,” Cook said. “I thought that it was going to break pretty good to the left, but I didn’t think that it was going to swing quite that much and it swung across the hole. I hit it perfect speed so I hit a nice putt.”

Cook couldn’t recall how many course records he currently holds, acknowledging that “I do own a few.” “ They ’re always good, especially at tournaments,” Cook said. “That’s what you like is to shoot or break course records in tournaments, that’s nice.”

Huston, the Dick’s Sporting Goods Open winner Sunday in New York , birdied the final five holes.

“Momentum is everything in golf and it’s definitely a great feeling to win last week and come out here and get off to a good start,” said Huston, playing in just his fourth Champions Tour event.

Defending champion Larry Mize was two strokes back along with Joey Sindelar, Tommy Armour III, Jeff Sluman, Jay Haas, Dan Forsman and Lu Chien-soon. “ You can’t get too far behind on the first day or you’ll have problems,” Sindelar said. “Red numbers here isn’t even enough.”

Fulton Allem, R W Eaks, Vicente Fernandez, Corey Pavin and Hal Sutton had 66s, and Tom Lehman, a three-time winner this year, topped a group at 67.

Sixty-nine players broke par on the first day, matching a Champions Tour record set three weeks ago at the Greater Hickory Classic.

“Today was a perfect day,” said Cook, second behind Mize last year. “I mean there was barely any wind, the greens were soft, they were beautiful speed. It was really ripe for some good scoring and there was some good scoring out there.”—AP

BRIDGETOWN: The familiar figures of Rahul Dravid and Vangipurappu Laxman guided India to safety and toward a position to push for an unlikely victory in the second test against West Indies in Barbados on Friday.

The duo, who often torment teams with long and stubborn innings, both completed half-centuries to steer India to a commanding position of 229 for three in their second innings at stumps on the fourth day at Kensington Oval.

That gave the tourists an overall lead of 240 with seven wickets in hand and only one day remaining in a low-scoring match that has been interrupted by torrential rain but may yet produce a result.

“They’re 1-0 up so you might say they don’t have to chase the game so we have to hope to bowl them out and see if there’s a possibility of a run chase,” West Indies coach Ottis Gibson told a news conference.

“We just have to be very positive and try and win the test match. At this stage, we’re still hopeful that we can bowl them out.”

While a draw still looms as the most likely result, India at least appeared to be out of any danger and building toward a position where they could set up an early declaration on the final day.

“If they are generous and give us a target, and give us a target we can chase, it could make a very interesting last day,” said Gibson. “ They might think they have enough now but we have to think and assume that our batsmen can chase it down.” Laxman, who topscored with 85 in the first innings, finished the day unbeaten on 72 with Virat Kohli on 26. The pair added 75 for the unbroken fourth wicket without taking any risks or trying to increase the run-rate.

Laxman had also shared a 65run stand with Dravid, who made 55, after his patient hundred in last week’s first test in Jamaica gave India their series lead.

Dravid also batted cautiously after surviving a let-off on nine when he spooned a catch to Adrian Barath at midwicket, the fielder tumbling sideways to claim a low catch.

Dravid stood his ground after Barath told the umpires he was not

BARBADOS: India’s Ishant Sharma (left) celebrates with a teammate after taking the wicket of West Indies’ Lendl Simmons (not shown) during the fifth day of the second cricket Test match.—AP certain if he had caught it before the ball touched the grass and the slow-motion video replays proved inconclusive, ensuring the batsman was given the benefit of the doubt.

“Dravid is a very fair player. I’m sure if Adrian said he was convinced he caught it, he would have taken his word ... the right decision was made in the end,” Gibson said.

India started the day on 23 for no wicket, adding 206 runs, for the loss of a wicket in each session as the West Indian paceman toiled hard on a lively pitch still full of pace and bounce.

Opener Murali Vijay departed early for three when he feathered a catch to wicketkeeper Carlton Baugh off paceman Ravi Rampaul, then Abhinav Mukund went for 48 after lunch when he gloved a catch behind off a bouncer from Fidel Edwards after being struck in the head by the same bowler.

“Any human being who is out there will tell you, when you come back your body tells you are at war, it’s a state of shock,” said Mukund, playing in just his second test.

“But I wanted to convince myself that I can face fast bowling. Being hit happens in test cricket. “It’s been

really tough, bounce is really steep, it’s been a good test for me in the West Indies.”—Reuters

SCOREBOARD Scoreboard at the close of play on the fourth day of the second test between West Indies and India at Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados on yesterday: India first innings 201 West Indies first innings 190 India second innings (overnight 23-0) A. Mukund c Baugh b Edwards 48 M. Vijay c Baugh b Rampaul 3 R. Dravid c Sarwan b Edwards 55 V. Laxman not out 72 V. Kohli not out 26 Extras (b-4 lb-8 w-5 nb-8) 25 Total (for three wickets, 89 overs) 229 Still to bat: S. Raina, M. Dhoni, Harbhajan Singh, P. Kumar, I. Sharma, A. Mithun Fall of wickets: 1-26 2-89 3-154 Bowling: F. Edwards 17-4-58-2 (nb-5 w-1), R. Rampaul 21-5-51-1 (nb-2), D. Sammy 24-8-45-0, D. Bishoo 27-4-63-0 (nb-1).

Bad time for lock-out, says marketing expert NEW YORK: The National Basketball Association’s decision to lockout players has come at a bad time with the National Football League already embrioled in a labor dispute, according to a marketing and crisis management expert.

NBA Commissioner David Stern declared a lockout after their collective bargaining agreement with players expired at midnight on Thursday, saying the salary system in the $4 billion league had to be changed to keep team owners from losing money.

The ongoing NFL lockout started in March after club owners and players could not agree on how to divide $9 billion in revenues.

“Nobody in the public is receptive to a fight between millionaires and billionaires,” Ronn Torossian, CEO of 5WPR, a New York public relations firm specialising in crisis management, told Reuters on Friday.

“For better or for worse the NBA will absolutely suffer because of the NFL. People are just not receptive to these sorts of fights, given the state of the world, given the state of the economy.”

Stern said he understood there were risks involved in locking out the players, who currently make an average salary of about $5 mil-

lion a year.

“I’m not scared,” Stern told reporters after last-ditch talks on Thursday with the Players Association failed to bridge the gap between the two sides. “I’m resigned to the potential damage that has been caused to our league.

“And as we get deeper into it, these things have the capacity to take on a life of their own.

You never can predict what will happen.” The NBA says 22 of its 30 teams lost money last season and that players’ salaries had to be controlled to allow teams to be profitable.

In contrast, owners of clubs in the profitable NFL say they are seeking a bigger cut of the revenues in order to better grow the game and build new stadiums.

Duke University law professor Paul Haagen, a sport law expert, suggested there could be more sympathy for the NBA labour struggle than for the NFL. “The central difference appears to be the NBA needs concessions more critically than the NFL,” Haagen told Reuters.

Torossian said the distinction might be lost on fans. “There is no sympathy at all for that fight. You can explain to me that this one isn’t making money, or that one isn’t making money,” he said.

“But when you’re charging hundreds of dollars to attend a game, it just doesn’t score you any empathy points. “Especially since we’re still in a difficult economic time. It’s important to realise that times are still tough in America and I’m spending a lot for entertainment and I have a lot of different options.”

Stern was resigned to some fan backlash. “I think our fans will have a negative view of why can’t you work this thing out,” he said. “So I don’t expect anything good to come out of this. This is just what happens in labor today.”

Torossian called it a “lose-lose” battle.

“The longer it drags on, the more damaging it is,” he said. “There is always the danger of a public backlash and that speaks not just to fans but to corporate sponsors as well.”

The public relations man said he believed there would be little damage to the NBA if an agreement was reached without threatening the start of their season in late October.

“You still have time before you have longlasting damage,” Torossian said. If the labor impasse drags on, that could cause trouble.

“The NFL for example, is getting into a real danger zone,” said Torossian, casting an eye toward the early September start of the professional football season.—Reuters

Martin edges Bayne for pole DAYTONA BEACH: Mark Martin bumped Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne from the pole at Daytona International Speedway with a qualifying run that put him in elite company.

Martin took his first pole of the season, but 50th of his career.

He’s only the eighth driver in NASCAR history to win 50 poles.

The milestone run for the 52year-old came in his 811th start at a track where he’s winless in 52 career star ts. But he doesn’t question his lack of success at Daytona, even though he’ll line his Chevrolet up late yesterday next to baby-faced Bayne, who turned 20 just days before winning the Daytona 500 in his first career start. “The place doesn’t owe me a thing,” Martin insisted.

“In fact, I owe the place and the sport a great deal for just letting me be a part of it.” Bayne held the pole in his Ford for much of the qualifying session until

Martin’s late run bettered his lap.

It’s been a whirlwind five months since Bayne won the 500, a victory that launched him into stardom.

But his season was paused when he was hospitalized for a week in May and treated for what doctors at the Mayo Clinic called an inflammatory condition but Bayne believes was Lyme disease.

He originally thought he had been bitten on his arm by a spider a few weeks before symptoms that included double vision landed him in the hospital.

Bayne has run just one Sprint Cup race, two weeks ago at Michigan, since his release.

Clint Bow yer, who had a chance to win the 500 until he was involved in a late accident, qualified third in a Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing. He was followed by Jeff Gordon, who is Martin’s teammate at Hendrick Motorsports and has already said

he’s committed to working with Martin in Saturday’s race.

David Ragan, who lost his shot to win the 500 when NASCAR penalized him for passing too early on a late restart, qualified fifth in a Ford for Roush Fenway Racing. Dale Earnhardt Jr., who is marking the 10-year anniversary of his emotional 2001 win here, qualified six th for Hendrick Motorsports.

Andy Lally, a sports car veteran who led TRG Racing to a two-lap victory in the Grand Touring class here in January in the prestigious Rolex 24, qualified a career-best seventh.

Jimmie Johnson was eighth, putting him in position to work with teammate Johnson. A J Allmendinger was ninth in a Richard Petty Motorsports Ford, and Paul Menard rounded out the top 10 for RCR. JJ Yeley and Tony Raines both failed to make the 43-car field.—AP

DAYTONA: NASCAR driver’s Elliott Sadler (2), Aric Almirola (center) and Danica Patrick (7) collide after they crossed the finish line in the NASCAR Subway Jalapeno 250 auto race in the Nationwide Series at Daytona International Speedway.—AP

SUNDAY, JULY 3, 2011

S P ORT S

Argentina escapes shock Copa upset

GERMANY: Sweden’s Therese Sjogran (left) and North Koreaís Kim Su Gyong go for a header during the Group C match. — AP

Sweden edge N Korea in Women’s World Cup AUGSBURG: A second-half goal from Lisa Dahlkvist steered Sweden to a 1-0 victory over North Korea yesterday and the brink of the quarterfinals at the women’s World Cup. The young North Korean team, which had five teenagers in its starting lineup, wilted in the second half and was eliminated from the tournament with two losses.

The United States can join the Swedes at the top of Group C — and qualify both teams for the last eight — if it beats Colombia in a later game in Sinsheim.

Sweden made the breakthrough in the 64th minute, when Linda Forsberg crossed into the middle and Therese Sjogran picked out the unmarked Dahlkvist for a simple finish from close range. North Korea was unlucky not to equalize in the 73rd minute when Ri Unhyang’s header from a corner was cleared off the line by Sara Thunebro.

However, only a lack of finishing by Sweden’s tall strikers Lotta Schelin and Jessica Landstrom prevented their side from winning by a bigger margin.

“Anyway, for me, it doesn’t matter. I am satisfied,” coach Thomas Dennerby said.

“Hopefully, we have lots of games left for the Swedish team, and they can create chances and score then.” For North Korea, it always was going to be a tough

challenge. With midfielder Kim Su-Gyong as young as 16, it faced an experienced Swedish squad which also physically towered over them.

“They are very young and haven’t got a lot of experience,” North Korea coach Kim Kwang-Min said. “In the second half they had much less energy. They also lacked concentration and we didn’t convert the chances.”

From the outset, Sweden took the game to North Korea and Schelin saw a shot in the second minute sail just wide.

The North Koreans, who had also held the United States to a goalless stalemate until the second half of their opener before losing 2-0, managed to keep a neat passing game going for an hour— but struggled to create any real chances.

The Swedes were more direct and had opportunities before halftime and just after the break, with Dahlkvist missing a clear chance on the counterattack. The North Koreans also survived a frantic goalmouth scramble in the 52nd minute, just two minutes before Dahlkvist broke the deadlock.

The only disappointment for Sweden came on the hour mark, when captain Caroline Seger was yellow-carded for a run-in with the referee and will miss now miss her team’s final group game against the United States. —AP

LA PLATA: Argentina escaped a shock upset in their Copa America opener on Friday when substitute Sergio Aguero’s late volley earned the hosts a 1-1 draw with Bolivia.

Bolivia soaked up the pressure in the first half before snatching the lead early in the second through Edivaldo Rojas. The hosts had to wait until the 77th minute for the equaliser when Aguero slammed the ball home. Argentina’s Lionel Messi was marked tightly by the Bolivian defense and had few chances to shine.

“It is not what we expected, now we must improve and we win our remaining (group) matches,” a visibly disappointed Messi told reporters. “Now we need tranquility.”

Having weathered a first-half storm at the Ciudad de La Plata stadium, Bolivia stunned Argentina two minutes into the second half when Jhasmany Campos hit a corner low to the near post where Rojas back-heeled it past goalkeeper Sergio Romero.

Marcelo Martins looked set to give Bolivia a two-goal lead on the hour when he beat Argentina’s offside trap but Romero dived to touch the ball away from the striker’s feet then got up to block his second effort.

“We had a couple of situations that if we’d put them away we could have won the match,” Bolivia’s Argentine -born coach Gustavo Quinteros said.

“I think the team settled and were more solid in the final minutes of the first half and almost all of the second,” he told news conference.

“For us, after such a short time working together and few matches, this is a good result that motivates us to carry on.”

Argentina equalised with 13 minutes left when Nicolas Burdisso chested down a cross from Marcos Rojo and Aguero volleyed home.

Minutes after his goal, Aguero might have snatched a win for the hosts but his shot brought a diving save from Bolivia goalie Carlos

LA PLATA: Argentina’s Sergio Romero makes a save against Bolivia’s Marcelo Martins Moreno during a Copa America soccer match. — AP Arias. The draw was a positive result for Bolivia, said goalscorer Rojas. “This result is very important psychologically for our next match (against Costa Rica),” he told a news conference.

While the first half was dominated by Argentina, the only shot on target came from the ultra defensive Bolivians’ single chance when Martins squared the ball to Rojas and his weak but well-directed shot was saved by Romero.

Apart from that chance it was almost oneway traffic towards the Bolivia box with Argentina winning a string of corners but failing

Preview

Brazil wary of Venezuela

US advance into q-finals SINSHEIM: The United States cruised into the quarter-finals of the women’s World Cup here yesterday with a 3-0 thrashing of Colombia in their second Group C match.

Goals from Heather O’Reilly, Megan Rapinoe and Carli Lloyd ensured the two-time winners remained unbeaten ahead of their game against Sweden, who also advance with maximum six points, after earlier beating North Korea 1-0.

Colombia and North Korea crash out of the tournament after losing both their games and will play each other in their final group game on Wednesday with nothing but pride at stake.

World number ones the USA, who beat North Korea 2-0 in their opener, dominated from the outset and their South American rivals could have been further behind at half-time but for some big saves from Sandra Sepulveda.

Sepulveda, 23, did well to keep out an Amy Rodriguez effort after just three minutes. Striker Abby Wambach almost put the Olympic champions ahead after seven minutes only for Sepulveda to again block the powerful effort, which left her needing ice applied to her hand.

Rodriguez tried to fire in the rebound but sent it over. Three minutes later Rodriguez missed another chance but O’Reilly made no mistake after 12 minutes, slamming past the beleagured Sepulveda with a glorious effort from

distance. For the goal celebration the entire US team lined up and saluted US military personnel among the sell-out 25,475 crowd who had travelled from bases in nearby Heidelberg in southwestern Germany.

The match was the first not involving hosts Germany to be sold out. The USA pushed forward again, with Wamback sending a header over on the half hour mark, while Sepulveda again proved solid when faced with a 36th-minute Lauren Cheny shot.

Katerin Castro looked to have got the equaliser before the break only for the Estudiantes striker to be ruled offside.

Rapinoe came on as a second-half substitute for the Americans and five minutes later she found the net after a Cheney assist, leaving Sepulveda with no chance.

Seven minutes later Stephanie Cox set up Lloyd for the third. The US forwards piled forward in search of more goals, with Wambach missing two quickfire opportunities on 65 and 66 minutes and a golden Rapinoe effort hitting the crossbar.

Colombia’s Orianica Velasquez had a chance to get one back four minutes from time but her weak effort was held

by US goalie Hope Solo.

The USA next play Sweden in Wolfsburg on Wednesday, with North Korea and Colombia going head to head in Bochum. —AFP

GERMANY: United States’ Heather O Reilly celebrates scoring the opening goal during the Group C match between the United States and Colombia at the Women’s Soccer World Cup. — AP

to get a clean shot on target.

The hosts almost broke through when striker Ezequiel Lavezzi broke in from the right and sent a low shot just wide of the far post. Messi then linked with Carlos Tevez but the moved fizzled out for a corner, and midfielder Esteban Cambiasso was unable to capitalise on a loose ball after a jinking Messi run.

In an exciting finish, either side could have snatched victory as Argentina created chances while Bolivia attempted to hit them on the break. —Reuters

CAMPANA: Brazil’s Neymar kicks the ball during a training session of the 2011 Copa America soccer tournament. — AP

LA PLATA: Brazil will approach their Copa America opener against Venezuela with caution here today after seeing arch-rivals and hosts Argentina held 1-1 by lowly Bolivia on Friday.

Venezuela, ranked 68th in the world, are well used to being the whipping boys of their continent but Bolivia have already shown that success requires more than turning on the ‘jogo bonito’ (beautiful game). Brazil will thus be on their guard in the knowledge that their opponents reached the quarter-finals last time out, albeit at home.

Moreover, Venezuela nudged Peru and Bolivia down to the bottom of the rankings in the last regional World Cup qualifying tournament, proving that the baseball-loving Caribbean nation are no mugs with the ball at their feet these days. Brazil coach Mano Menezes, in his first tournament in charge after succeeding the maligned Dunga last summer, says he knows there is a certain “pressure” to deliver a third straight continental crown, as well as show the Selecao are on track for their own World Cup in 2014.

“But I am feeling calm, as we have been working very well. A little tension is normal at the start of a tournament,” Menezes told reporters on Friday at the team base in Campana, north of Buenos Aires.

Menezes says he wants to take the game to the Venezuelans but is aware that shocks can and do occur-witness the fact that Cesar Farias’ men managed a goalless draw in Brazil in the 2010 World Cup qualifiers.

“They will do their utmost to make life difficult for Brazil,” Menezes predicted. “We will have to dictate the pace and play well.”

Pace should not be in short supply and with a three-pronged attack in the shape of Robinho, Alexandre Pato and Neymar waiting to spring on their rivals, the outcome should be a formality.

“We know where we are and what we are about in facing Venezuela at the Copa America,” says Menezes, who is refusing to think about the latter stages of the event. “We do not have to think about either Argentina or Uruguay as they are not our current rivals. For now it’s about the groupVenezuela, Paraguay and Ecuador,” concluded Menezes. After Venezuela, the auriverde go up against Paraguay in Cordoba, where they will then complete their group programme against Ecuador on July 13. —AFP

Samba girls clash for supremacy WOLFSBURG: Brazil coach Kleiton Lima has warned his Samba Girls they need to improve as they clash for supremacy in Group D of the women’s World Cup with former champions Norway here today. Both teams have a strong history in the tournament with the Scandinavians winning in 1995 and Brazil finishing runner-ups four years ago. Although both won their opening matches-Brazil beat Australia 1-0 and Norway tamed Equatorial Guinea by the same scoreline -the sides were made to work hard and will be looking for an improvement.

The tie could also have a potentially pivotal role in the tournament as it could decide who will finish Group D leader, which is important to avoid a possible quarter-final clash against the United States.

Brazil captain Aline said the team know what is expected against the 2000 Olympic champions.

“All our efforts are now on Norway.

People expect a lot of us and we have to play well not to disappoint them.

There’s lots of room for improvement and that’s just what we’re going to do,” she said. Polyvalent midfielder Rosana, who scored her first World Cup goal, said the team wanted to build on the positives of the Australia game.

“A match like that (Australia) gives you confidence for the next. I’m hope-

ful that my goal can open the floodgates for even more in the next match,” added Rosana. Lima said he was hoping for an improvement in form and for superstar Marta to finally be able to spark the team after the five-time FIFA World Player of the Year failed to fire against the Mathildas.

“We have to improve,” said Lima.

“Whenever we have the possibility to play in a collective fashion we do it,” he said. “We need Marta but we need the ten other players. She’s a weapon we have and no other team have it but us.

“We need Marta but we need the ten other players to be victorious.”

Norway striker Emilie Haavi admitted her ninth-ranked side got off to a rusty start against newcomers Equatorial Guinea. “We’re going to have to do better against Brazil. However, after that win we’re confident now - and I’m really excited about that match. Brazil are one of the best teams in women’s football,” she said The teams have met seven times, with world number three Brazil claiming three wins, Norway two, and two matches ending in a draw.

Brazil however have a better record against Norway in the world tournament winning their two previous meetings in 1999 and 2003. Australia and Equatorial Guinea meet in the second Group D game in Bochum today. — AFP

Paraguay out to seize their chance SANTA FE: Paraguay may be one of the lesser lights in the South American footballing firmament - but they have designs on making a strong Copa America showing and plan to make short work of Ecuador today.

Although Ecuador’s neighbors Bolivia have shown that Andean nations can play a bit by almost shocking Argentina in Friday ’s curtain-raiser, Paraguay have experienced heads on board in the shape of striker Roque Santa Cruz and attacking partner Lucas Barrios.

Brazil, bidding for a third straight continental title, are hothouse favorites to top Group B. But second place is up for grabs and Santa Cruz intends to get off to a flier and ensure that the Paraguayans work up some momentum before facing the auriverde in Cordoba next Saturday.

“I have faith in this team and we want to make a strong pitch for the Copa. We can put teams under pressure and have strong attacking potential,” insisted the 29-year-old, who spent part of last season on loan from megabucks Manchester City with former club Blackburn.

Santa Cruz is a Copa stalwart having made his tournament debut at 17 while he notched a treble against Colombia at the last edition in Venezuela in 2007. Paraguay, under Argentinian coach Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino, see themselves as a dark horse bet though they have not won the event since 1979.

Winger Cristian Riveros says the team will respect Ecuador but at the same time he feels tha “they don’t have the players they did in 2002 and 2006” when the Andeans reached the World Cup final stages.

Even so, Riveros notes that “they have players starring in very competitive leagues,” such as Manchester United’s Diego Valencia. —AFP

y

A

19

e niv rsar n

Years

SUNDAY, JULY 3, 2011

S P ORT S

Murray’s curse is he’s playing in a great era WIMBLEDON: “Andy! Let’s win one, come on!” came a man’s booming and pleading voice from high in the Centre Court crowd, with a London accent as thick as dark ale. Sorry, mate, not this year. Maybe, dare it be said, not ever.

Andy Murray’s curse is being a tennis player in the era of Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and, increasingly now, Novak Djokovic. Two of those three are among the greatest players ever. And Djokovic can’t be too bad, because from Monday he will be ranked ahead of them as the new No. 1.

And Murray? Well, Britain’s best player in 70-plus years is undeniably very good, better at this Wimbledon than he has ever been. But by no stretch of the imagination will he ever

be great.

In a less exceptional period of men’s tennis, for instance in that briefest of windows between Pete Sampras’ last Wimbledon title in 2000 and Federer’s first in 2003, perhaps Murray would have bagged his first major by now.

Instead, Murray risks becoming to tennis what Raymond Poulidor was to the Tour de France. “The eternal second,” the French called their beloved bear-like rider who finished runnerup three times and third four times in the 1960s and ‘70s.

Like Murray, Poulidor’s career was cursed by spanning an era of greatness in cycling, trapping him between Jacques Anquetil and Eddy Merckx, who both won the Tour five times. At 24, Murray must not and is not giving

up hope. Minutes after his third consecutive Wimbledon semifinal loss, 57, 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 on Friday to Nadal, Murray was already looking ahead.

“It’s a very tough era, I think, in tennis. Tennis right at the top of the game is exceptional,” he said. “So not only to get level with those guys, but to push past them, you need to work harder than them. That’s what I need to try to do.” In so many ways, Murray is so close.

“I need to work 2, 3 percent harder,” he said, giving a neat numeric gauge of just how close to Nadal, Federer and Djokovic he thinks he is.

Murray’s service returns compete with Djokovic’s as the best in the game right now. Repeatedly, he rocked Nadal back on his heels with returns fired at his feet.

At

Wimbledon, Murray has learned to cope with the pressure of British expectation exceptionally well.

It cannot be easy to bear the hopes of a nation that has never seen a homegrown men’s champion in color, and has only black and white news reels of Fred Perry, in 1936, to prove to young Britons that, yes, a British man can, in fact, win on these green lawns that, every year since, have been invaded by champions from foreign shores.

Murray, sometimes sour, rarely if ever effusive, is hard to warm to. But, with time, the Wimbledon crowds have taken him into their hearts. You should have heard Centre Court roar, seen the men in blazers and ties leap to their feet and the women in smart frocks wave their Union Jack flags on

small sticks, when Nadal limply fired the ball into the net to give Murray the first set.

But Murray still can’t get over the hump into the final, nor over the humps in his mind. His habit of setting mental traps for himself is as amazing as it is dismaying. The trigger for Murray’s brainstorm this time was over-hitting an easy forehand that would have given him two break points when leading 2-1 in the second set. Characters made of sterner stuff, like Nadal, would have brushed off the disappointment and carried on. Not Murray. He lost the next seven games.

“It’s tough,” he said later. “But, you know, I’m giving it my best shot each time.” Unfortunately for Murray, his best may never be enough. —AP

Dutch defeat S Korea, to meet again in WCT final AMSTELVEEN: The Netherlands beat S o u t h K o re a 2 - 0 i n Wo m e n’s Champions Trophy field hockey yesterd ay, a n d t h e p l ayo ff resul t w as good enough for both to advance to the final.

Af ter Argentina topped New Zealand 3-2 in the early playoff, South Korea could afford not to lose by more than two goals to reach its first Trophy final in 16 years. The Koreans held on, and advanced ahead of Argentina on a countback of goals, ending the hopes of the three-time defending champion.

The Dutch are in the final for a record ninth time, and have a chance to equal Australia’s record of six titles.

South Korea’s only title was the second ever Trophy, in 1989.

Yesterday, the omens weren’t good

for South Korea when Kim Lammers sent in a reverse stick shot after just 25 seconds. Cho Eun Ji hit the left post, then the Netherlands scored its second in the 29th through Carlijn Welten.

Chances were few in the second half, as the Koreans held possession to try to starve the Dutch. Argentina was virtually unstoppable in the first half against New Zealand. Agustina Soledad Garcia scored the opener, set up Luciana Aymar for the second, and her shot rebounded for Rocio Sanchez Moccia to make it 3-0. New Zealand’s Clarissa Eshuis scored from a penalty corner just before halftime, and her team had the better of the second half, but could produce only another penalty corner goal for Charlotte Harrison. The teams will meet for third today. —AP

AMSTERDAM: Marieke Veenhoven-Mattheussens of The Netherlands (left) battle for the ball with Okju Kim of Korea, during their women’s Champions Trophy hockey match. —AP

Indian shooters need changes, says Bindra MUMBAI: India’s sporting culture and infrastructure, as well as its attitude towards Olympic disciplines, must change if it hopes to produce world-beaters on a consistent basis, Abhinav Bindra, the country’s only individual Olympic gold medallist, told Reuters.

In a country obsessed with cricket, India’s first individual Olympic gold came in 2008 when baby-faced shooter Bindra won the 10m air rifle event in Beijing.

While some blame a lack of funding for India’s dismal record, others find fault with the country’s sports infrastructure which they feel is inadequate for a nation of 1.2 billion people. With cricket eating up the bulk of India’s corporate sponsorship, Bindra wants a change of attitude towards Olympic sports.

“There are a variety of reasons why we haven’t won gold medals before. I will say it has something to do also with our (sports) culture,” Bindra told Reuters in a telephone interview.

“In the last many years I don’t think many young people got into a (Olympic) sport and stuck with it for a long period of time. “One of the reasons is that it is not lucrative enough ... very few people invest in Olympic sports.”

While cricket academies mushroom across the country, Olympic sports, barring shooting, are pursued largely by the poorer sections of society.

The 28-year-old marksman, who recently booked his spot for next year’s London Games, said changes had to be implemented at grass-roots level for India to become competitive on the international stage.

“To stand up to worldwide competition, we need a very strong set-up at home that produces athletes right from the beginner’s level and has the sustained back-up for the same athlete to finally go and win an Olympic medal,” he said.

“And over the last many years I think this is perhaps one thing that has been

lacking.” Private initiatives have started supplementing government efforts but Bindra does not expect any immediate results.

“I would say things are looking brighter but we still have a very long way to go before we get competitive in the Olympic countries,” Bindra, who hails from an affluent family, said. “In my case it was a sustained effort. I was fortunate to have the backing of my parents to start off with and towards the Beijing Olympics the Mittal Champions Trust came into the picture and they helped me a lot. “ They helped me not just with resources but also found me world class know-how in terms of sports psychologists and physical trainers and to get the best that was available to me.”

Bindra, who became the first Indian shooter to win a World Championship gold medal at Zagreb in 2006, dislikes talking about the pressure of being the country’s only individual Olympic gold medallist.

“I think this is something which is more of an external burden which I don’t necessarily want to lift,” Bindra said. “Externally ... perhaps when everybody keeps asking me this ... I don’t really like it but that’s something I got to deal with.

“My having won a gold medal in Beijing is not going to be an extra advantage. It does not have any bearing on how I perform in London in a year’s time,” he said.

“Beijing was great but its over and I am looking forward to London with a clear mind and a clean slate.” India will bank heavily on shooting to add to their tally of medals in London and eight shooters have already qualified for the 2012 Games.

“The future of the sport in India is very bright. We have a lot of new, young shooters and a lot of them have already qualified for London,” he said.

“Shooting is a sport which has got us medals at the highest level in the last five to six years right from 2004. It’s a testimony to the talents that we have.” —Reuters

FRANCE: The pack rides through the Vendee region during the first stage of the Tour de France cycling race. —AP

Gilbert takes yellow at Tour de France FRANCE: Philippe Gilbert won yesterday’s first stage of the Tour de France to take the yellow jersey, while defending champion Alberto Contador lost more than a minute because of a late crash.

The Belgian champion, who dazzled fans by winning three classics in April, left it late before speeding ahead from the pack and kissing his jersey as he crossed the line. “It was the last 500 meters, I had a lead ... (and) I went for it,” Gilbert said. “It was an extreme effort and I was able to take advantage.”

Gilbert, who has notched 13 victories between race and stage wins this year, had been a favorite to win the opening stage.

He clocked 4 hours, 41 minutes, 31 seconds for the sun-baked 191.5 kilometer (119 mile) ride from La Barre-de-Monts to Mont des Alouettes in the western Vendee region.

Two-time Tour runner-up Cadel Evans of Australia was second, three seconds back — making him the best performer among the expected title contenders and Norway’s Thor Hushovd was third, six seconds off the pace.

The 3,430-kilometer (2,131-mile) race that ends July 24 on Paris’ Champs-Elysees is shap-

ing up as a battle among riders like Contador and last year’s runner-up Andy Schleck of Luxembourg. Three -time champion Contador, a Spaniard, beat Schleck by just 39 seconds last year. However, they both ran into trouble towards the end of yesterday’s stage.

With about nine kilometers (5.5 miles) left, Astana rider Maxim Iglinskiy knocked shoulders with a fan on the roadside, causing a mass crash that delayed Contador and split the pack. About 40 riders stayed in front. The Spaniard finished 1:20 after Gilbert and is 82nd overall.

Schleck too got slowed down by yet another crash near the end, and finished the stage in 39th place. But according to race rules about crashes within last three kilometers, he was credited with the same time as the pack he was in — six seconds behind Gilbert — and placed 33rd overall.

Among other possible title contenders, Belgium’s Jurgen Van den Broeck lies fifth overall, Levi Leipheimer of the United States is 38th, and Briton Bradley Wiggins trails in 50th place — all six seconds behind the

Belgian stage winner.

A total of five crashes took down riders in the nervous debut stage, including Movistar leader David Arroyo of Spain and Linus Gerdemann, the Leopard Trek rider who won the Tour of Luxembourg this year.

Belgium’s Jelle Vanendert paid for his courtesy. Near the front of the main pack around the 63-kilometer (39-mile) mark, the Omega Pharma-Lotto rider held out his left arm to warn those behind him of a roadway median — a gesture that caused him to lose control of his bike. He tumbled to the ground with his helmet bouncing and his sunglasses skidding away, while several others fell in his wake. All of those involved returned to the race.

While the stage was mostly flat, the end was tricky. Riders had to scale the bumpy Mont des Alouettes — a three-kilometer (1.8mile) hill — up to the finish, so it was not tailor-made for traditional sprinters. In a break with recent tradition, the Tour opener this year was not an individual time-trial prologue, with riders instead embarking right away on a full stage. —AP

Canterbury power past Stormers CAPE TOWN: The Canterbury Crusaders powered past the Stormers 29-10 yesterday to set up a Super 15 rugby final against the Queensland Reds and end 12 years of home team dominance in the playoffs.

New Zealand’s seven-time champions beat the Stormers at Newlands through tries from winger Sean Maitland and center Robbie Fruean, and 19 points from Daniel Carter, to become the first side to win a semifinal on foreign soil since 1999.

The Christchurch-based Crusaders qualified for an incredible 10th final in the last 14 seasons, even after a February earthquake devastated their home city in the first week of the competition. The disaster forced them to move to five separate venues — including one in a different hemisphere — for their “home” games.

The convincing victory gives the Crusaders the chance to cap an emotional season with an eighth title in the 16 professional seasons of Super rugby.

Bryan Habana went over for the Stormers’ only try just before halftime, but the South African outfit couldn’t make a second straight final after an ultra-impressive performance from the Crusaders.

The Crusaders were on top almost from start to finish, producing an allaround show that underlined their status as Super rugby’s most successful team ever. Even a 15-hour, 7,000-mile (11,000-kilometer) journey to South Africa — where they had lost three semifinals in the last four seasons _ couldn’t wear down the Crusaders.

From the moment All Blacks flyhalf Carter kicked their opening points in the 14th minute, the Crusaders were in control of the southern hemisphere championship’s second semifinal to glide into next weekend’s grand final against Australia’s Reds.

CAPE TOWN: Stormers Jaque Fourie (center) fights for the ball during a Super Rugby game against the Crusaders. —AP The Stormers lost scrumhalf Dewaldt Duvenage to injury before kickoff and then captain Schalk Burger at halftime after he broke a thumb. But the 2010 runners-up were hampered, more than anything, by a shaky, ill-disciplined performance under immense pressure from the visitors.

Stormers No. 10 Peter Grant nudged over a penalty in the seventh minute for an early lead for the home team. But having themselves lost starting No. 9 Andy Ellis to injury early in the match, the Crusaders leveled with Carter’s first shot and Maitland stunned Newlands with a 50-meter break a minute later after he intercepted a

loose pass from Nick Koster.

Three more kicks from Carter opened a commanding 16-3 lead after 24 minutes for the ruthless Crusaders, who pounced on any Stormers error.

A desperate interception by center Jaque Fourie, running toward his own tryline, saved a second Crusaders try after a Fruean bust up the middle on 30 minutes. Fruean’s reward did come minutes later when Sonny Bill Williams slipped a pass away with one of his renowned offloads as he was tackled and his center partner skipped clear of the defense to score.

Carter’s fifth success made it 23-3, forcing the stunned Stormers into des-

perate, catch-up rugby even before halftime.

Turning down kicks at goal in search of a try, the Stormers crossed in the 39th when Habana forced his way home from a quick tap penalty five meters out. Grant’s conversion gave the Cape Town team a glimmer of hope at 23-10 — but ultimately it mattered little.

The Stormers introduced on-loan Saracens hooker Schalk Brits for the injured Burger at halftime, but the Crusaders continued their unstoppable march to the final in Brisbane against the regular-season table-topping Reds —AP.

Gilbert takes yellow at Tour de France

Argentina escapes shock Copa upset

19

18

SUNDAY, JULY 3, 2011

Murray’s curse is he’s playing in a great era Page 19

WIMBLEDON: Petra Kvitova (left) of the Czech Republic and Russia’s Maria Sharapova hold their trophies after Petra Kvitova defeated Maria Sharapova in the ladiesí singles final at the All England Lawn Tennis Championships.—AP

Kvitova lifts Wimbledon crown WIMBLEDON: Petra Kvitova won her first Grand Slam title yesterday by beating Maria Sharapova 6-3, 6-4 in the Wimbledon final, finishing with an ace and dropping to her knees in disbelief.

Kvitova was playing in her first major final, but it was three-time Grand Slam champion Sharapova that showed her nerves. The 2004 Wimbledon winner double-faulted six times, including twice to get broken to 4-2 in the first set.

“It was about the serve, for sure, and the return,” said Kvitova, who lost in the semifinals last year. “I know that she’s return very well, but I know that I can return her serve also. I knew that she make some double-fault.”

The 21-year-old Czech is the first

left-handed woman to win the Wimbledon title since Martina Navratilova in 1990. Using a fastpaced and well-placed forehand, Kvitova did little wrong on Centre Court as Czech greats Navratilova and Jana Novotna sat in the Royal Box with a host of other former Wimbledon champions.

“It’s hard to find some words if I’m standing here with the trophy and see the great players in the Royal Box,” Kvitova said on court after the match. “ Well, I’m so happy that I won.”

Navratilova, who gave Kvitova two thumbs up shortly after match point, was just as elated.

“A new star,” said Navratilova, a nine-time Wimbledon champion. “It didn’t happen overnight, but she’s a

champion. It’s great.” Kvitova kept Sharapova on the run with 18 winners, and never seemed to lose confidence despite being broken three times. “She was hitting really powerful and hitting winners from all over the court. She made a defensive shot into an offensive one,” Sharapova said.

“And, yeah, just kind of laid on a lot of those shots. I think she was just more aggressive than I was, hit deeper and harder, and got the advantage in the points.” Sharapova was the clear favorite entering the match. Besides winning the title at the All England Club in 2004, she also won the US Open in 2006 and the Australian Open in 2008. Shoulder surgery in October 2008 slowed her career, but she returned to the semifinals at a Grand

time to get into game action before serving.

Whatever the reason, it appeared to be a smart move because she broke for a 1-0 lead as Kvitova missed three forehands.

Sharapova’s serve was then tested for the first time in the next game, and although she only had one fault in five attempts, she lost four of the points to even the score at 1-1.

“Maybe I wasn’t as ready after the serve as I should have been, and she just got the first good hit,” Sharapova said. “I was always kind of late.”

Sharapova wasted her second chance at a break in the third game, and then gifted a break to Kvitova a few games later.

With the score 30-30, Sharapova

Slam tournament for the first time since 2008 at the French Open last month.

“Besides the fact that I lost, I think this is a big step for me, being here in the final,” Sharapova said. “(I) feel like I’m improving this year. That gives me a tremendous amount of confidence for the rest of the year.

“Considering that I hadn’t been past the fourth round in a few years, this gives me a lot of confidence.”

Sharapova had not lost a set heading into the final. But she struggled with her serve in the semifinals, doublefaulting 13 times before beating German wildcard Sabine Lisicki.

Sharapova won the toss at the net before the final and elected to receive, perhaps because she wanted some

Colombia see off Costa Rica JUJUY: Colombia defeated 10-man Costa Rica 1-0 yesterday in the second match of the Copa America. Adrian Ramos scored in the 45th minute, finally breaking through after Costa Rica’s Randall Brenes was sent off in the 28th on a straight red card.

Colombia leads Group A from Bolivia and Argentina following their 1-1 draw on Friday in the tournament opener. Costa Rica, playing as a guest team in the South American championship, is without a point and is fielding a youth team, as is Mexico. “To start with a victory always gives you confidence,” Ramos said. “It wasn’t a clear victory, but the important thing is that we won.” Colombia was unimpressive, seldom dominating a short-handed team featuring mostly young, inexperienced players. Colombia could get a shock when it faces Argentina on Wednesday with the Gauchos under pressure at home after a disappointing opening match. Brenes was sent off after a hard tackle, but Colombia struggled to take advantage.

Ramos broke through on an individual effort. Taking a through pass, he raced into the area and then dribbled around Costa Rica goalkeeper Leonel Moreira before slotting home from short range.

Colombia star forward Falcao Garcia seldom had the ball in position to strike and went off in the 77th. Colombia coach Hernan Dario Gomez said this week he would resign if the team failed to reach the quarterfinals. Despite a poor game, the victory was a big step for Colombia to reach the second round.

Two-time defending champion Brazil opens play today in Group B against Venezuela, and Paraguay faces Ecuador. Brazil has won four of the last five titles, and defeated Argentina in the last two finals. Meanwhile, Chile captain Claudio Bravo has played down the age gap between his side and Mexico’s youngsters ahead of their Copa America clash on Monday, saying there is not much difference between the two teams.

Mexico are fielding an under-22 side at the tournament in Argentina, while Chile are putting out their first team. The Mexicans have also dropped eight players from their squad due to a disciplinary scandal and have replaced them with relatively inexperienced youngsters.

But Bravo, Chile’s first choice goalkeeper, pointed out that the Chileans themselves are hardly old men. “If you take the average age of our side it’s also very low,” Bravo told a news

produced her second double-fault of the match. The third came two swings later. Trailing 5-2, Sharapova doublefaulted again to open the eighth game. But she did manage to hold and force Kvitova to serve out the set.

Kvitova broke Sharapova again in the opening game of the second set, with the Russian double-faulting for the fifth time to give the Czech a break point. The pair twice traded breaks later in the set, but Kvitova held to win the championship dish for the first time.

“Last year was like I hadn’t many chances to win. Serena played so well,” Kvitova said of her 2010 semifinal loss to the younger Williams sister. “I was young and I didn’t think that I can beat her. “Today, I felt that I can.”—AP

Djokovic, Nadal in dream showpiece

ARGENTINA: Colombia’s Radamel Falcao Garcia (front left) and Costa Rica’s Francisco Calvo fight for the ball during a Copa America soccer match.—AP conference in Mendoza on Saturday ahead of their opening group match in nearby San Juan. “We played the qualifiers (for the 2010 World Cup) with an average age of 21, 22. You can’t underestimate them (the Mexicans) because of their age, or for the problems they’ve had recently.” Earlier this week the Mexican Football Federation sent eight players home for violating team rules during a training camp in Ecuador. CCT V footage from the team hotel showed women entering the players’ rooms.

Bravo, 28, was part of the youthful Chile squad that made it through the group stage of last year’s World Cup in South Africa before falling to Brazil.

Chile and Mexico are in Group C at the Copa America, alongside Uruguay and Peru who meet in Monday’s early game.—Agencies

Matches on TV (Local Timings)

Copa America Brazil v Venezuela Al Jazeera Sport +2 Al Jazeera Sport +3 Al Jazeera Sport 1HD Paraguay v Ecuador Al Jazeera Sport +2 Al Jazeera Sport +3 Al Jazeera Sport 1HD

22:00

0:30

LONDON: Often overshadowed by his classic duels with Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal’s rivalry with Novak Djokovic has been brewing slowly and it will come to the boil today when the world’s two best players contest the 125th Wimbledon men’s final. The dream showpiece pits Djokovic, the man the ATP computers will show is the new No.1 in the rankings on Monday, against the bullish Spaniard who is showing every sign that he can chase down Federer’s record of 16 grand slam titles. While Andy Murray briefly raised hopes that Britain would have its first Wimbledon men’s finalist for 73 years by leading Nadal in the semis, there is no doubt that the final is befitting the sport’s blue-riband tournament.

Djokovic trails their series 16-11 but during a remarkable year for the Serb winning-machine he beat Nadal in consecutive finals in Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid and Rome.

While the first two in that burst were on his favored hard courts the latter were on Nadal’s beloved red dirt. Should he prevail on Centre Court’s lawn today and become the first player to beat Nadal at the All England Club since Federer in the 2007 final, it would rubber-stamp Djokovic’s lofty new status more effectively than ranking points.

The 24-year-old has never beaten Nadal in a best of five set match, however, and he knows that the Mallorcan will be sweating blood to claim a second consecutive French Open/Wimbledon double. “I’m ready for long rallies, long points,” Djokovic, who will fulfill his boyhood dream by playing in his first Wimbledon final, told reporters. “I need to be physically ready, which I am. I feel fit in this moment, and mentally obviously motivated. “The four times I won against him this year can probably help me in some ways mentally prior to this match.” While iron-man Djokovic’s 41-match winning streak from the start of the year to the French Open semi-finals has propelled him to the top of the rankings, Nadal remains the more feared warrior in head-to-head combat at grand slams.

The 25-year-old will be appearing in his 13th grand slam final and so far he has lost just two, both against Federer at Wimbledon while he was still adapting his topspin game to the subtleties of grass. —Reuters

A

y

e niv rsar n

Business

VIVA launches fastest Internet

Years

Page 22 US auto sales up Page 23

SUNDAY, JULY 3, 2011

US construction spending falls 0.6%

India’s rural poor go solar

Page 26

Page 23

ATHENS: Athenians walk next to broken window of a building in central Athens. — AP

Eurozone to approve Greek aid tranche Finance ministers race to avoid Greece default BRUSSELS: Eurozone finance ministers will approve the next tranche of emergency aid for Greece and discuss a second three-year financing plan for Athens on July 11, eurozone officials said yesterday. The release of the 12 billion euro ($17 billion) tranche from the euro zone and the International Monetary Fund has been made possible after the Greek parliament passed austerity and reform laws on Wednesday and Thursday, removing the threat of a near-term debt default.

“The conditions are now in place for a decision on the disbursement of the next tranche of financial assistance for Greece and for rapid progress on a second assistance package,” European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and European Council President Herman van Rompuy said on Thursday. But Germany, which funds much of the European Union part of Greece’s bailouts, said the laws must be turned into action. “Parliament’s decisions are one thing and their implementation another,” said Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle.

“The latter is what is most important, if we want to strengthen the common European house and Greece particularly,” he told Greece’s To Vima newspaper in an interview published yesterday. Athens has repeatedly failed to meet budget targets laid down in the first bailout agreed last year with the EU and

International Monetary Fund, raising the risk that the crisis will spread across the euro zone. Greece’s second financing program is to run from 2011 to 2014 and will come on top of the existing 110 billion euro program.

The ministers are unlikely to give much new detail on the second financing program after their discussions, to be held by telephone at 1600 GMT. Euro zone official sources said yesterday’s conference call concentrated mainly on releasing the next tranche of aid for Greece, the fifth under last year’s bailout deal.

“The ministers really focused the meeting on the fifth tranche. The fact that they are not meeting in person means that there are no major obstacles to decide on this,” said one euro zone official, who asked not to be named.

EU leaders made a commitment to the second program at their last summit on June 23-24, which should satisfy the IMF’s condition that the euro zone must promise to finance Greece 12 months ahead for the IMF to contribute. They also said funding for the program would be from euro zone taxpayers but also from a substantial, voluntary contribution of private investors via a Greek debt rollover. The additional external financing for Greece in that period, from both private and public money, could be about 80-90 billion euros, officials have said. Greece is expected to raise another 30 billion euros from

privatization in that time.

HOW MUCH FROM THE PRIVATE SECTOR Yesterday the finance ministers from the 17 countries using the euro and the President of the European Central Bank Jean-Claude Trichet discussed how much of the 80-90 billion euros could come from the private sector. Private financial institutions held talks with finance ministry and central bank officials in euro zone countries last week to discuss under what conditions the private sector would be willing to help finance Greece and by how much.

The involvement of the private sector in the next package is a must for several euro zone countries as voters grow increasingly opposed to shouldering the burden of bailing out Greece on their own. But the private sector involvement has to be voluntary so as not to trigger a further downgrade of Greek debt to default status by ratings agencies, a development which could put the whole Greek banking sector at risk.

The Institute of International Finance, a global association of financial institutions, said on Friday that the “private financial community is ready to engage in a voluntary, cooperative, transparent and broad-based effort to support Greece given its unique and exceptional circumstances”. German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble has said

Vodafone takes control of Indian mobile group NEW DELHI: British mobile phone giant Vodafone is taking full control of its Indian joint venture by buying out its local partner Essar Group, a statement said yesterday, ending a troubled relationship. Vodafone, which has sought to make India a crown jewel in its expanding emerging markets portfolio, said it will pay Essar Group companies $5.46 billion for the one-third holding in Indian mobile-phone services provider Vodafone-Essar.

“The settlement marks the end of a four-year partnership between Vodafone and Essar in India, during which Vodafone Essar has grown to reach almost 140 million subscribers,” the British firm said in the statement. Vodafone had announced plans for the buyout in March after friction between Vodafone and the Essar Group, founded by billionaires Shashi and Ravi Ruia, became more public over the valuation of Essar’s minority stake. The deal caps a process which began when Vodafone bought a 67 percent stake in Hutchison Essar Ltd from Hong Kong-based Hutchison Whampoa for $11.1 billion in 2007, marking its first foray into India.

The company, which was renamed Vodafone Essar, now is the third-largest mobile operator in India’s fiercely competitive market. Vodafone’s pact

with Essar gave the Indian conglomerate an option to sell its stake in Vodafone Essar to the British firm for $5 billion. The figure of $5.46 billion to be paid to the Essar Group is higher than the $5 billion initially announced and reflects tax on the transaction. However, Vodafone has insisted it doesn’t have to pay tax on the initial 2007 deal with Hutchison Whampoa that gave it control of Vodafone-Essar.

It argues the deal was between two companies based outside India while Indian authorities counter that tax must be paid on the transac tion because it involved an asset based in India. India’s Supreme Court is slated to hear the dispute over the Vodafone-Hutchison transaction on July 19.

The tax department is seeking $2.6 billion in tax from Vodafone, plus up to the same amount in penalties, on the $11.1 billion Vodafone-Hutchison deal. Vodafone’s purchase of Essar’s stake pushes the British firm slightly above the 74 percent foreign companies are allowed by law to hold in Indian telecom firms. Vodafone chief executive Vittorio Colao said in May the company could sell some of its Indian business in an initial public offering (IPO) to comply with local foreign directinvestment rules. — AFP

German banks wanted to roll over 3.2 billion euros’ worth of Greek bonds maturing to 2014. French banks have reached an agreement on how to roll over part of their

Greek debt holdings, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said, but did not indicate the total amount. A further meeting on July 11 will help to finalize the second financing

package for Greece, but some officials said they would not be surprised if the final decision were taken by finance ministers only in September. — Reuters

A

y

e niv rsar n

SUNDAY, JULY 3, 2011

Years

BUSINESS

Al Hanandeh appointed CEO of Zain Jordan AMMAN: Zain Group, the leading mobile telecommunications operator in the Middle East, is pleased to announce the appointment of Ahmad Al Hanandeh as CEO of Zain Jordan, effective July 1, 2011. The appointment follows the departure of Dr Abdul Malek Al Jaber who ended his two-year contract as CEO of Zain Jordan and has decided to dedicate his immediate future to his family while pursuing personal business interests. Dr Al Jaber also relinquishes his role as Zain Group Chief Operations Officer.

Al Hanandeh, a Jordanian national, comes to Zain Jordan with an impressive professional track record, having joined as Chief Financial Officer of the successful Zain Sudan mobile operation in March 2011. Before that, he was for

four years the General Manager of Posta Plus, the Gulf-based company specializing in world-class delivery, courier and postal services across the Middle East. From 1994 to 2006, he was a key member of the Aramex Group initially joining as an accountant and rising to country manager of several of Aramex’s Asian operations.

Welcoming the new CEO of Zain Jordan to the role, Nabeel Bin Salamah, CEO of Zain Group said, “Ahmad Al Hanandeh brings to his new job the skill sets, energy and experience needed in one of Zain’s most dynamic operations. Equally important is that fact that his recent background is heavily grounded in meeting customer expectations, one of the main pillars of our core business and we are confident that

he has the tools to build upon the distinguished achievements of Dr Al Jaber in further cementing Zain’s position as the leading telecommunications operator in Jordan”.

For his part, Mr Al Hanandeh said: “It is a great honor to join such a talented team, one that has an exceptional track record and earned a reputation for hardwork, dedication and innovation in putting Jordan on the global telecom map. I look forward to working closely with them on the roadmap of success and remarkable achievements set by Dr Al Jaber. I would also like to thank the Zain Group and its senior management for the opportunity to contribute to the economic and social development of my country by leading one of Jordan’s most dynamic and recognizable brands.”

Al Hanandeh is confident that the company would maintain its current momentum of leadership in the Kingdom. “Zain Jordan will continue to place a premium on providing an unparalleled service to its loyal customers and building solid ties within the local community.” He added that he is looking forward to working in partnership with the Telecom Regulation Commission and the Ministry of Telecommunications and ICT, as well as all the other relevant parties in the sector to help achieve the vision of His Majesty King Abdullah Bin Al Hussein in making Jordan an oasis of technology and innovation in the region. Al Hanandeh is married with three children. He graduated in Banking and Finance from Yarmouk University, Jordan in 1994.

Chevrolet Tahoe outpaces its segment average score

VIVA launches fastest Internet

JD Power Initial Quality Study

A new internet plan with speed up to 42.2 Mbps KUWAIT: Kuwait Telecommunication Company, VIVA, is proud to launch the fastest Internet with a speed up to 42.2 Mbps for the first time in Kuwait.

VIVA CEO, Salman Al-Badran commented “VIVA has always taken pride in introducing high speed and reliable Internet services. Our network, covering all regions in Kuwait has been upgraded to cope with the latest mobile broadband technologies and to address the increasing demand from our customers for high Internet speed. It is our goal to meet our customers’ expectation and to lead the development of telecommunication sec-

tor in Kuwait as we always did” Powered by the latest HSPA+ technology and nationwide coverage, this all new 42.2 Mbps Internet plan allows VIVA customers to enjoy an impeccable browsing and download experience on the move and in their houses.

This plan can be purchased from any of VIVA branches along with all new high speed internet USB modem. For more information about VIVA’s latest promotions customers can visit any of VIVA branches or authorized dealers, or simply visit the website www.viva.com.kw

Salman Al-Badran

Citi offers Mideast global window services from UAE DUBAI: Citi announced yesterday the launch of its Middle East Global Window providing Middle East investor clients with a regionally based custody service. Citi will provide local service for its Middle East Global Window clients from its UAE and Bahrain Custody Operations Centers. With the addition of the Middle East Global Window, Citi is now able to service Global Custody clients through eight strategically placed operations centers including New York , Canada, London, Hong Kong, Luxembourg, Jersey and Singapore.

Th rou g h i t s M iddl e East Gl o b al Window, Citi has the capability to service local market participants on the business days markets are opened delivering full treasury and foreign exchange services on the Middle East working week (from Sunday to Thursday) through local treasuries specializing in regional currencies.

C i ti ’s M i d d l e E a st Gl o b al Window, designed to service Institutional Investors

investing into the Middle East region, will cover, inter alia, the following regional markets: United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar and Tunisia. The Global Window regional market access compliments the 95 markets available through Citi’s Global Custody offering.

Richard Street, Managing Director, Head of Securities and Fund Service for Middle East and Pakistan at Citi, said, “I am delighted to announce the opening of our Middle East Global Window as yet another building block in our structure to service local Investor clients through local operations and capabilities. The Middle East Global Window is another example of Citi’s unique market ability to locally deliver Investor Services capabilities which address the unique requirements of local Institutional Investors and regional Asset Managers.”

Global Custody provides a one-stop

Ahmad Al Hanandeh

service for transaction settlement, safekeeping, administration, and reporting of global investments through a single access point and a consistent product offering. Citi’s industry-leading global proprietary network, high quality client service via regional service centers and advan ced processi ng te c hnol ogi e s enables it to offer a tailored service to meet the needs of Investor clients.

Steve Donovan, Managing Director, Global Transac tion Ser vices Head for Middle East and Pakistan, said, “The addition of the Middle East Global Window to the Securities and Fund Services Product Suite further emphasizes Citi’s commitment to both the Middle East region and clien ts based h ere. We cont i nue to expand our Global Transaction Services products in the region and the Middle East Global Window is another example of how Citi delivers local service solutions from within the Middle East.”

problems and drive improvement. In the Middle East, Chevrolet’s commitment to quality has helped the brand increase yearto-date total sales by 31 percent, while retail sales have increased 91 percent from a year ago. In addition, in May, Chevrolet posted its fifth consecutive month in 2011 of double-digit sales growth.

DETROIT: Chevrolet’s commitment to quality is recognized where it matters most - in the opinion of customers. Four Chevrolet vehicles ranked in the top three in their respective segments in the 2011 JD Power and Associates Initial Quality Study.

Chevrolet Tahoe was the highest-performing large crossover/SUV, and outpaced its segment average score by 9 percent. In addition, Suburban placed third in the segment just behind its GM stable mate GMC Yukon. This is the third consecutive year GM models have occupied the top three spots in the large crossover/SUV segment, and the second consecutive year Tahoe has ranked highest.

Chevrolet Camaro finished second among midsize sporty cars and Chevrolet Avalanche placed third in the competitive large pickup segment. “We believe the latest JD Power results reflect Chevrolet’s commitment to deliver high-quality cars our customers can depend on,” said Rick Scheidt, US vice president, Chevrolet Marketing. “We are working hard to make all Chevrolet models the highest-performing in their segments.”

The 2011 IQS is based on responses from more than 73,000 purchasers and lessees of new 2011 model year vehicles surveyed after 90 days of ownership. The study includes a 228-question survey designed to provide manufacturers with information they can use to quickly identify

EXCHANGE RATES Commercial Bank of Kuwait US Dollar/KD GB Pound/KD Euro Swiss francs Canadian Dollar Australian DLR Indian rupees Sri Lanka Rupee UAE dirhams Bahraini dinars Jordanian dinar Saudi riyals Omani riyals Philippine peso Egyptian pounds

.2700000 .4360000 .3910000 .3270000 .2770000 .2860000 .0040000 .0020000 .0743610 .7244760 .3810000 .0700000 .7102170 .0040000 .0430000

.2765000 .4460000 .4000000 .3380000 .2860000 .2960000 .0072500 .0035000 .0751080 .7317570 .4010000 .0770000 .7173540 .0072000 .0530000

US Dollar/KD GB Pound/KD Euro Swiss francs Canadian dollars Danish Kroner Swedish Kroner Australian dlr Hong Kong dlr Singapore dlr Japanese yen Indian Rs/KD Sri Lanka rupee Pakistan rupee Bangladesh taka UAE dirhams Bahraini dinars Jordanian dinar Saudi Riyal/KD Omani riyals Philippine Peso

CUSTOMER TRANSFER RATES .2739000 .4383220 .3937040 .3298810 .2794040 .0527850 .0424850 .2888690 .0351930 .2211720 .0033790 .0000000 .0000000 .0000000 .0000000 .0746020 .7267180 .0000000 .0730590 .7116130 .0000000

.2760000 .4416830 .3967220 .3324100 .2815460 .0531900 .0428100 .2910830 .0354630 .2228680 .0034050 .0061740 .0025260 .0032210 .0037420 .0751740 .7322900 .3903820 .0736200 .7170690 .0063820

Al-Muzaini Exchange Co. ASIAN COUNTRIES Japanese Yen Indian Rupees Pakistani Rupees Srilankan Rupees Nepali Rupees Singapore Dollar Hongkong Dollar Bangladesh Taka

3.437 6.121 3.207 2.511 3.835 222.850 35.451 3.700

Philippine Peso Thai Baht Irani Riyal - Transfer Irani Riyal - Cash

6.329 8.939 0.271 0.273

Indonesia Iranian tuman Iraqi dinar Japanese yen Jordanian dinar Lebanese pound Malaysian ringgit Morocco dirham Nepalese Rupees New Zealand dollar Nigeria Norwegian krone Omani Riyal Pakistani rupees Philippine peso Qatari riyal Saudi riyal Singapore dollar South Africa Sri Lankan rupees Sterling pound Swedish krona Swiss franc Syrian pound Thai bhat Tunisian dollar UAE dirham U.S. dollars Yemeni Riyal

GCC COUNTRIES Saudi Riyal Qatari Riyal Omani Riyal Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham

73.629 75.866 717.160 733.360 75.184 ARAB COUNTRIES

Egyptian Pound - Cash Egyptian Pound - Transfer Yemen Riyal Tunisian Dinar Jordanian Dinar Lebanese Lira Syrian Lier Morocco Dirham

48.350 46.281 1.263 201.900 389.910 183.100 5.961 35.385

EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIES US Dollar Transfer 276.000 Euro 392.470 Sterling Pound 442.290 Canadian dollar 280.770 Turkish lire 168.400 Swiss Franc 331.530 Australian dollar 288.250 US Dollar Buying 274.800

0.033 0.240 0.240 3.500 390.650 0.186 93.990 47.400 4.320 232.000 1.866 52.600 714.700 3.300 6.550 76.120 73.470 225.750 42.610 2.646 446.100 45.000 328.900 5.500 9.360 198.263 75.020 275.500 1.200

0.033

388.900 0.185 93.990 3.880 230.500 714.520 3.210 6.380 75.690 73.470 225.750 43.610 2.510 444.100 327.400 5.500 9.160 74.920 275.100

GOLD 1,547.580

10 Tola GOLD 20 Gram 10 Gram 5 Gram

277.000 140.000 72.000

Sterling Pound US Dollar

Dollarco Exchange Co. Ltd

Bahrain Exchange Company COUNTRY Australian dollar Bahraini dinar Bangladeshi taka Canadian dollar Cyprus pound Czek koruna Danish krone Deutsche Mark Egyptian pound Euro Cash Hongkong dollar Indian rupees

SELL CASH 300.100 731.790 3.930 290.700 540.500 36.600 54.600 167.800 48.260 403.500 36.050 6.330

TRAVELLER’S CHEQUE 444.100 275.100

SELL DRAFT 298.600 731.790 3.688 282.200

225.800 46.171 402.000 35.900 6.170

Rate for Transfer US Dollar Canadian Dollar Sterling Pound Euro Swiss Frank Bahrain Dinar UAE Dirhams Qatari Riyals Saudi Riyals Jordanian Dinar Egyptian Pound Sri Lankan Rupees

Selling Rate 275.050 287.490 444.215 401.375 331.306 728.544 74.862 75.499 73.310 387.165 46.124 2.508

Indian Rupees Pakistani Rupees Bangladesh Taka Philippines Pesso Cyprus pound Japanese Yen Thai Bhat Syrian Pound Nepalese Rupees Malaysian Ringgit

6.157 3.208 3.693 6.339 674.672 3.519 9.058 5.783 3.924 91.361

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 Nepali rupee Yemeni Riyal Jordanian Dinars Syrian Pounds Euro Canadian Dollars

Rate per 1000 (Tran) 275.100 3.210 6.135 2.520 3.700 6.360 75.000 73.565 731.400 46.115 445.600 0.00003280 3.910 1.550 390.900 5.750 401.000 286.300

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 (Per 1000) 274.800 401.800 444.500 287.000 3.420 6.160 46.065 2.506 3.675 6.360 3.205 731.700 74.900 73.460

A

y

e niv rsar n

Years

SUNDAY, JULY 3, 2011

business

US auto sales up Japan still hurting

MANGALORE: Sharan Pinto installs a solar panel antenna on the roof top of a house in Nada, a village near the southwest Indian port of Mangalore, India. — AP

India’s rural poor go solar NADA: Boommi Gowda used to fear the night.

Her vision fogged by glaucoma, she could not see by just the dim glow of a kerosene lamp, so she avoided going outside where king cobras slithered freely and tigers carried off neighborhood dogs. But things have changed at Gowda’s home in the remote southern village of Nada. A solar-powered lamp pours white light across the front of the mud-walled hut she shares with her three grown children, a puppy and a newborn calf. Now she can now cook, tend to her livestock and get water from a nearby well at night. “I can see!” Gowda said, giggling through a 100-watt smile. In her 70 years, this is the first time she has had any kind of electricity.

Across India, thousands of homes are receiving their first light through small companies and aid programs that are bypassing the central electricity grid to deliver solar panels to the rural poor. Those customers could provide the human energy that advocates of solar power have been looking for to fuel a boom in the next decade. With 40 percent of India’s rural households lacking electricity and nearly a third of its 30 million agricultural water pumps running on subsidized diesel, “there is a huge market and a lot of potential,” said Santosh Kamath, executive director of consulting firm KPMG in India.

“Decentralized solar installations are going to take off in a very big way and will probably be larger than the grid-connected segment.”

Next door to the Gowdas, 58-year-old Iramma, who goes by one name, frowned as she watched her neighbors light their home for the first time. At her house, electrical wiring dangles uselessly from the walls.

She said her family would wait for the grid.

They’ve already given hundreds of dollars to an enterprising electrician who wired her house and promised service would come.

They shouldn’t have to pay even more money for solar panels, she insisted. But she softened after her 16-year-old son interrupted to complain he was struggling in school because he cannot study at night like his classmates. “We are very much frustrated,” she said. “The children are very anxious. They ask every day, ‘Why don’t we have power like other people?’ So if the grid doesn’t come in a month, maybe we will get solar, too.”

Despite decades of robust economic growth, there are still at least 300 million Indians a quarter of the 1.2 billion population who have no access to electricity at home.

Some use cow dung for fuel, but they more commonly rely on kerosene, which commands premium black-market prices when government supplies run out. They scurry during daylight to finish housework and school lessons. They wait for grid connections that often never come.

When people who live day-by-day on wage labor and what they harvest from the land choose solar, they aren’t doing it to conserve fossil fuels, stop climate change or reduce their carbon footprints. To them, solar technology presents an elegant and immediate solution to powering everything from light bulbs and heaters to water purifiers and pumps. “Their frustration is part of our motivation. Why are we so arrogant in deciding what the poor need and when they should get it?” said Harish Hande, managing director of Selco Solar Light Pvt Ltd. The company, which is owned by three foreign aid organizations, has fitted solar panels to 125,000 rural homes in Karnataka state, including the Gowdas’, outside the west coast port of Mangalore. Getting the technology to low-income customers is not easy. They need help with everything from setting up their first bank accounts and negotiating loans to navigating the fine print of payment contracts.

To find new clients, agents must go doorto-door in remote settlements, sometimes crossing rivers, hiking mountains or wading through wetlands to reach them. But the sales pitch leads to reliable profits. Solar panels take little space on a rooftop, the lights burn brighter than kerosene lamps and they don’t start forest fires or get snuffed in strong winds.

Unlike central power, solar units don’t get rationed or cut.

Buying solar panels is more expensive than grid electricity, but for people off the grid it compares well with other options. One of Selco’s single-panel solar systems goes for about $360, the same or less than a year’s supply of black-market kerosene. And government subsidies mean customers actually pay less than $300. In two years, India’s government hopes the off-grid solar yield will quadruple to 200 megawatts - enough to power millions of rural Indian homes with modest energy needs. Boommi Gowda’s family signed up for its solar system within weeks of seeing one at the home of neighbor Babu Gowda, who is not related but shares the common regional last name.

“With kerosene, you have to carry the lamp around wherever you go. The light is dim, and smoke fills the room and spoils the paint,” said Babu Gowda, a sprightly 59-year-old. He finally decided on solar after losing his dog to a tiger from the neighboring national park. Now light from his home wards off predators. “I kept waiting and thinking the grid would come, and after years I was angry. But now I’m thrilled,” he said. “Now we have light. We can move on, maybe expand with another solar panel and get a TV.” What’s predicted for India’s solar market is not unlike the recent explosion in cell phones, as villagers and slum-dwellers alike embraced mobile technology over lumbering landline connections. There is now at least one mobile phone link for every two people in the country.

The government has pushed for manufacturers and entrepreneurs to seize the opportunity. Its solar mission - an 11-year, $19 billion plan of credits, consumer subsidies and industry tax breaks to encourage investment - is fast becoming a centerpiece of its wider goal for renewable sources, including wind and small hydropower, to make up 20 percent of India’s supply by 2020.

Solar alone would provide 6 percent a huge leap, since it makes up less than 1 percent of the 17 gigawatts India gets from renewables alone. The federal government leads a massive campaign titled “Light a Billion Lives” to distribute 200 million solar-powered lanterns to rural homes, while also supporting the creation of so-called “solar cities” with self-contained micro-grids in areas where supply is short. Solar power is making inroads in smaller ways as well. Near Nada, some schools send students home with solar-charged flashlights to study at night, and the temple town of Dharmasthala, visited by 10,000 pilgrims a day, offers free water purified through solar filtration. Another Hindu temple in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh boasts one of the world’s largest solar-powered kitchens, preparing 30,000 meals a day, while western Gujarat state has experimented with a solar crematorium. Even in the Himalayan frontier state of Arunachal Pradesh, where the sunshine is not India’s brightest, Buddhist monks have installed solar panels to heat water at the 330year Tawang Monastery. Solar panels are becoming a must-have luxury item on dowry lists, even for those who have electricity but are annoyed by power cuts. And the capital of New Delhi requires hotels, hospitals and banquet halls to have solar water-heating systems.

Even Tata Power, India’s energy giant and main supplier of coal-sourced grid power, is eyeing the off-grid market while it plans large solar and wind installations to feed into the network. “Decentralized and distributed power from renewables is where we see a lot of growth. There are many suitable technologies.

All that’s needed are entrepreneurs,” Tata’s chief sustainability officer Avinash Patkar said.

India’s government is desperate to expand its energy options as its fast-moving economy faces chronic electricity shortages. Last year’s 10 percent shortfall is expected to increase to 16 percent this year, according to the Central Electricity Authority. Within 25 years, India must increase electricity production fivefold to keep up with its own development and demand, the World Bank says. India is planning new nuclear plants and quickly building more coal-firing plants, but it’s also working to take better advantage of its renewable energy opportunities. —AP

MANGALORE: Pushpa Gowda (center) shares a light moment with her family and neighbors the evening after they installed solar light in her house in Nada village on the outskirts of Mangalore, India. — AP

DETROIT: Gas prices hit a sweet spot for automakers last month. They fell far enough to spur pickup truck sales, yet remained so high that small cars sold well, sometimes just hours after reaching dealers’ lots. That made June a good month for General Motors and Ford, which have traditionally relied on truck sales and now have strong line-ups of smaller, fuel-efficient models as well. Toyota and Honda couldn’t take advantage, however. Their sales plummet more than 20 percent each as they ran short of cars because of the ongoing problems from the March earthquake in Japan.

Those declines - and the continuing weakness in the US economy - meant sales grew more slowly in June than they might have. US sales rose 7 percent to 1.05 million. Analysts had expected a double-digit gain. Sales aren’t expected to pick back up until fall, when Japanese production is at full capacity. “Some consumers have decided to sit on their hands and delay their purchases,” said Don Johnson, GM’s vice president of US sales. General Motors Co and Ford Motor Co both said their sales rose 10 percent. And the Chevrolet Cruze small car vaulted past perennial best-sellers like the Toyota Camry and the Honda Civic to become the bestselling car in America. Chrysler Group’s sales increased 30 percent thanks to popular new products like the Jeep Grand Cherokee and Chrysler 200 sedan.

Gas prices averaged $3.68 per gallon in June, cheaper than in May but hardly inexpensive. It was enough to change some buyers’ behaviors. “There is a certain portion of consumers that react to gas prices almost on a daily basis, and they decide what to buy based on those prices,” said Jesse Toprak, vice president of industry trends and insights for car pricing site TrueCar.com. The drop in gas prices lured more pickup truck buyers.

Chrysler reported a 35-percent increase in Ram truck sales, while Chevrolet Silverado sales rose 5 percent. Any jump in pickup sales helps the Detroit automakers, which sell more than five times as many pickups as foreign-based brands. But even Nissan Motor Co benefited. Sales of its Frontier small pickup rose 51 percent.

Ford said even pickup buyers had their eye on gas prices. More than half of F-150 buyers chose smaller V-6 engines over V-8s. It was the first time smaller engines outsold larger ones since the 1980s. Small cars also remained hot sellers. Sales of

the Cruze more than doubled those of the car it replaced, the Chevrolet Cobalt, while sales of the Ford Fiesta subcompact were up 438 percent from last June. But automakers could have sold more small cars without the supply disruptions in Japan.

Sales of the Toyota Prius hybrid fell 61 percent to 4,340, their lowest level in seven years, according to TrueCar.com, while Honda Civic sales were down 35 percent.

US automakers sold as many small cars as they

PORTLAND: A Nissan Leaf is shown at the unveiling of a solar-powered electric car charging station in Portland, Ore. US sales rose 11.4 percent on strong demand for its top-selling Altima and new Leaf electric car. — AP could make, but they couldn’t meet the demand for small cars alone. The industry began June with a 30-day supply of compact and subcompact cars, and inventory has only gotten tighter, Ford’s top US sales analyst George Pipas said. Chevrolet has only 18 days’ worth of the subcompact Aveo to sell.

Some new Ford Focus small cars sold within hours of arriving at dealerships. A 60-day supply is more typical.

Toyota said it expects to deliver 36,000 Prius hybrids to US dealers this summer and eventually top last year’s sales. Don Esmond, Toyota’s senior

vice president for automotive operations, said the company expects production in Japan to be back to normal levels by the end of this month, while North American production will be back to 100 percent in September. But concerns about the weak economy are hanging over the industry.

Unemployment remains high, incomes are flat and consumer confidence - an important measure of whether or not cars will sell - slipped to a sevenmonth low in June.

Some analysts are already lowering their expectations for the year. Don Johnson, GM’s vice president of US sales, said he now expects total industry sales to be at the low a range of 13 million to 13.5 million vehicles. JD Power and Associates lowered its full-year sales forecast slightly to 12.9 million.

“Things aren’t quite as healthy in the current environment as expected earlier this year,” said Jeff Schuster, JD Power’s executive director of global forecasting. The rate of auto sales has slowed considerably since before the Japan earthquake.

Automakers began 2011 on track to sell more than 13 million cars and trucks this year.

But if sales remain at the pace seen in June, annual sales would instead be 11.5 million. As recently as 2005 annual sales were approaching 17 million. Still, there are reasons to believe that demand is there. Ford said the average age of a car on the road has risen to a record 11 years, and many of those cars will need to be replaced soon.

Once Honda and Toyota are back in the game, they will also have to offer plenty of deals to win back customers who have been shopping competitors like Hyundai and Nissan, said Jack Nerad, editorial director of Kelley Blue Book. That will help get buyers back into showrooms.

Other automakers reporting Friday: Volkswagen AG said its US sales rose 35 percent on strong demand for its Jetta midsize sedan and other models. Nissan Motor Co said sales rose 11.4 percent on strong demand for smaller vehicles. Sentra compact car sales rose nearly 31 percent. Hyundai Motor Co sales were up 15.6 percent, led by the Elantra compact car.

The Korean automaker sold 59,209 vehicles in June, up from 51,205. Kia Motors Corp reported its best June ever with sales up 41 percent to 45,044.

The hottest seller was the new Optima midsize sedan at 7,099. That’s almost six times more Optimas than were sold a year earlier.— AP

Nissan shifts schedules YOKOSUKA: Nissan’s plant is busily rolling out the Leaf electric car and other models on a Saturday, having shifted production schedules for an aggressive nationwide effort to fight the power crunch created by a tsunami-crippled nuclear plant. “Setsuden,” or “save electricity,” is now Japan’s biggest buzzword. The March 11 disaster sent several reactors at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant into meltdowns, prompting the government to demand that major companies, shopping malls and universities reduce electricity consumption by 15 percent. Starting Saturday, Nissan Motor Co. and other Japanese automakers are working weekends and instead taking Thursday and Friday off.

The reworked schedule is for July, August and parts of September, to spread out electricity consumption at plants and offices during peak power-need periods. “This is an emergency,” Nissan Senior Manager in

charge of environment and energy control Yuji Kishi said during a tour of the Oppama auto plant for reporters.

The setsuden program applies to office workers as well, who are starting their days early at 8 am.

Those needing to do overtime are restricted to certain floors, so the rest of the headquarters building in Yokohama can go dark, all in the name of setsuden. Kishi said Nissan is already simulating electricity use for next year, assuming all nuclear plants are shutdown, to be prepared to slash electricity use by an even bigger 25 percent compared to last year. “It will be a tough challenge,” he said. “But it is not impossible for us.”

Nissan showed its beefed up “smart meter” control room, which had been set up under normal times to monitor electricity consumption at its auto plants.

Now, the series of large-screen monitors and computers more closely watch electricity consumption,

even at its headquarters and technical center offices, and predict what the use would be 30 minutes ahead, so assembly lines or air conditioning can be shut down, if needed.

Setsuden has grown evident everywhere. Trains are running on reduced schedules, escalators and elevators have stopped running, neon signs are turned off and the usually suitclad “salarymen” have begun to wear T-shirts and go tie-less in “Super Cool Biz” attire to survive thermostats at 28 degrees Celsius.

Toyota Motor Corp, the world’s top automaker, is carrying out similar setsuden efforts, including turning off room lights, and setting computers to power-consumption mode, spokeswoman Kayo Doi said. The campaign involves other sectors.

Japanese electronics maker Panasonic Corp. has set up a “task force” to come up with electricity-saving measures, including encouraging employees to work at home. The gov-

ernment has warned that blackouts would become needed if demand exceeds supply. Intentional violators of the 15 percent reduction target for companies face fines of up to 1 million yen ($12,400).

The limit does not apply to households, but the government has urged them to conserve energy as well.

Some Japanese were rushed to the hospital for dehydration and heat stroke, partly from overzealous setsuden. Pressure to save on power is coming when Japanese automakers are trying to drive up production, as the suppliers recover from the quake and tsunami in northeastern Japan.

Parts shortages had disrupted production, but it’s expected to be back at pre-disaster levels soon. And so Nissan is also changing summer holiday schedules and adding night shifts to crank out cars when power use is lower. Keeping auto assembly plants going is a priority for the automakers. —AP

Joyalukkas opens its first showroom in Al Khobar AL KHOBAR: The world’s favorite jeweler, Joyalukkas has opened its first jewelry showroom in Al Khobar, KSA. The showroom, located in Lulu Hypermarket, Al Khobar features jewelry collections and a wide range of designs that are unique and has already earned the appreciation of millions of jewelry lovers around the world. This grand showroom was inaugurated by Bader Abdul Aziz Al Fozan, the East Region Director of Sagia and attended by various other dignitaries and top executives of the Joyalukkas Group.

The spacious state-of-the-art showroom has a fantastic mix of Gold, Diamond, Platinum, Pearl and Precious Stones jewelry to captivate the hearts of jewelry lovers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The showroom has been built based on the Joyalukkas global standards and guidelines and features exquisite contemporary, international and ethnic collections that are popular around the world. “It feels great to finally announce our first showroom opening in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. We have been working patiently for a long time towards this and I am sure many jewelry lovers have been eagerly awaiting our arrival in KSA. We are also proud to have such a prestigious location like Lulu Hypermarket, Al Khobar, KSA for our first showroom. This state-ofthe-art showroom perfectly compliments the high standards we have set for Joyalukkas showrooms

around the world.” said Joy Alukkas, Chairman of Joyalukkas Group. The first Joyalukkas showroom in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been created in signature Joyalukkas style, to offer jewelry shoppers convenience, choice & breathtaking designs. The showroom features a wide range of chic, contemporary, ethnic and traditional jewelry to appeal to the varied tastes of jewelry lovers in KSA.

Florentina, Akshaya, Masaaki Pearls, DiRoyale, Ovio, Spring, Trestelle, Magnus, Perfekt and more crafted in all forms of jewellery i.e. gold, diamonds, precious stones, platinum and pearl also add to the dazzle of the Joyalukkas offering.

All these exquisite designs will be packaged under the trust and reliability of Joyalukkas and will carry certifications and approvals from accepted global bodies. Joyalukkas

The showroom staff has been specially trained by international experts on sales & customer service aspects to ensure the Joyalukkas promise of choice, quality, world class service, value and more importantly a delightful experience in jewelry shopping. World renowned exclusive collections of Joyalukkas like Aamira, Baki Amore, Ebru, Mermaid, Teens & Twenties, Zenina,

has a global customer base of over 10 million jewelry lovers and hence strongly understands every need and aspirations of all types of jewelry buyers. ‘Trust’ is a key within jewelr y buyers and Joyalukkas takes all the necessary steps to keep the customers assured at all times. Joyalukkas offers 100% buy back and exchange on most of the jewelry sold through its show-

rooms globally.

“To celebrate our opening and to make the occasion special for jewelry customers in Al Khobar we have planned a series of offers and gifts. On purchase of diamond jewelry worth SR 10,000 or more we will gift the customer a Nokia C5 mobile phone, on purchases worth SR 20,000 and more the customer will receive a 32” LG LCD TV and on purchases worth SR 30,000 and more we will gift them a Dell Inspiron Laptop Free. Also we are offering free gifts with every purchase. We feel a celebration is not special if we don’t include our valued customers in it. I hope they enjoy the celebration we have planned for them and assure them of our best at all times” added John Paul Joy Alukkas, Executive Director, Joyalukkas.

Joyalukkas is an ISO certified group with 80 plus showrooms in eight countries across the world Joyalukkas has also been the proud recipient of the many prestigious awards in jewelry by many renowned bodies around the world. Joyalukkas is a Superbrand and has also received recognition from HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President & Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai under the Dubai Quality Awards Program for the retail chain strict adherence to quality and international standards in jewelry retailing. Joyalukkas has also been awarded the ‘Retailer of the Year’ by Retail ME.

A

y

e niv rsar n

SUNDAY, JULY 3, 2011

Years

BUSINESS

KSE ends in the red zone KUWAIT: Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) ended last week in the red zone. The price index closed with a decrease amounted to 0.83%, while the weighted index declined by 0.52% compared to the closings of the week before.

Moreover, last week’s average daily turnover declined by 2.23%, compared to the preceding week, whereas trading volume average recorded a retreat of 17.33%.

KSE performance last week was under the pressure of selling trend, which included both the blue chips and small stocks as well. Yet, the small stocks had the lion share from the selling deals, except for Tuesday, when blue chips stocks were the main subject for it, especially for Banks sector.

Nevertheless, some selective buying deals were present on the market, yet, it wasn’t enough to change the market behavior, but it lightened its losses. The market recorded this performance due to the absence of any positive motivation for the traders, as the economic situation is unchanged, while the internal political problems are always present on the scene. By the end of the week, the price index closed at 6,211.7 points, down by 0.83% from the week before closing, whereas the

Kuwait Stock Exchange Weekly Report weighted index registered a 0.52% weekly loss after closing at 434.01 points.

Sectors’ Indices Five of KSE’s sectors ended last week in the red zone, while the other two recorded increases, whereas the Insurance sector’s index closed with no change from the week before. The Non Kuwaiti Companies sector headed the losers list as its index declined by 4.31% to end the week’s activity at 6,184.7 points. The Real Estate sector was second on the losers’ list, which index declined by 1.64%, closing at 2,131.8 points, followed by the Investment sector, as its index closed at 3,958.5 points at a loss of 1.45%. The Bank sector was the least declining as its index closed at 11,829.5 points with a 0.08% decrease. On the other hand, last week’s highest gainer was the Industry sector, achieving 0.26% growth

rate as its index closed at 4,468.5 points. Whereas, in the second place, the Food sector’s index closed at 4,343.5 points recording 0.19% increase.

Sectors’ Activity The Real Estate sector dominated total trade volume during last week with 77.73 million shares changing hands, representing 24.78% of the total market trading volume. The Services sector was second in terms trading volume as the sector’s traded shares were 21.58% of last week’s total trading volume, with a total of 67.69 million shares. On the other hand, the Banks sector’s stocks where the highest traded in terms of value; with a turnover of K.D. 21.46 million or 30.73% of last week’s total market trading value. The Services sector took the second place as the sector’s last week turnover of K.D. 17.60 million represented 25.20% of the total market trading value.

Market Capitalization KSE total market capitalization declined by 0.57% during last week to reach K.D. 30.63 billion, as six of KSE’s sectors recorded a decrease in their respective market capitalization, except for one sector, whereas the Insurance sec tor ’s market capitalization remained the same from the week before. The Non Kuwaiti Companies sector headed the decliners list as its total market capitalization reached K.D. 1.89 billion, decreasing by 3.43%. The Investment sector was the second in terms of recorded decline with 1.60% decrease after the total value of its listed companies reached K.D. 2.41 billion. The third place was for the Real Estate sector, which total market capitalization reached K.D. 1.75 billion by the end of the week, recording a decline of 1.03%. The Services sector was the least declining with 0.10% recorded decrease after its market capitalization amounted to K.D. 7.66 billion. On the other hand, the Food sector headed the growing sectors as its total market capitalization reached K.D. 744.56 million, increasing by 0.10%.

y

A

25

e niv rsar n

Years

SUNDAY, JULY 3, 2011

BUSINESS

Clinton urges strong Europe response to debt crisis MADRID: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton yesterday called on European leaders to make a powerful response to economic crises rippling across Europe.

During a visit to Madrid she also praised reforms by Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero to revive the economy and rein in debt aimed at calming market fears that Spain will follow in the footsteps of Greece, Ireland and Portugal in seeking a financial bailout.

“It is our hope that European leaders continue to make sure that Europe’s response to the crisis is strong, flexible and effective,” Clinton told a joint news conference with Spanish Foreign Minister Trinidad Jiminez. “Under

Zapatero’s leadership the Spanish government has taken important steps to strengthen its finances, restore the banking sector and improve its competitiveness. We understand how difficult these steps are. “And we k now that Spain still faces significant challenges as it works to consolidate its finances, bring down unemployment and overcome the legacy of the global economic crisis,” Clinton added.

Zapatero’s government has raised taxes and slashed spending to bring down the public deficit and has reformed the labour law to make it easier to fire workers to encourage hiring and bring down a jobless rate of just over 21 percent, the highest

in the developed world. The reforms have fueled demonstrations and hurt the government’s popularity but Clinton said she was confident that Madrid “will continue the process of reform. “I want to say publicly how much we understand it takes time and patience to make these changes and see them through,” she added. Her comments echoed those of US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, who earlier this month warned that ambitious fiscal reform plans put in place in several European nations will take years, not months, to bear fruit.

Last week US Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke warned that failure to resolve the European

sovereign debt crisis could threaten the stability of the global financial system if a solution is not found. “We are mostly just following the situation closely and making sure as best as we can that our own institutions are wellpositioned relative to sovereign debt in the so-called peripheral countries,” he said, referring to the smaller, ailing eurozone economies such as Greece, Ireland and Portugal. “A disorderly default in one of those countries would no doubt roil financial markets globally. It would have a big impact on credit spreads, on stock prices, and so on. And so in that respect, I think the effects in the United States would be quite significant,” he added. —AFP

MADRID: US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton (right) is greeted

by Spanish Foreign Minister Trinidad Jimenez at Viana Palace yesterday in Madrid. —AP

Obama: Nothing can be ‘off-limits’ in US budget August2 deadline looms WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama said yesterday that “nothing can be off-limits” in the budget debate - even though Republicans have said tax increases are. The president said every tax break and federal program must come under scrutiny. With an Aug 2 deadline looming to raise the government borrowing limit, the president used his weekly radio and Internet address to call on Congress to make a deal. He also renewed his call for Congress to eliminate some tax breaks for the well-off as part of any agreement. Republicans want deep spending cuts without any tax increases while Obama and Democrats call for what they term a “balanced” approach.

Australian Tiger Airways subsidiary grounded CANBERRA: An air safety watchdog yesterday grounded all Australian domestic flights of a Tiger Airways subsidiary for this week, saying the budget airline twice flew under the minimum allowed altitude. About 35,000 passengers are affected, and more could follow if the airline fails to quickly address regulators’ concerns.

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority announced that Tiger Air ways Australia’s entire domestic fleet of 10 airliners was grounded for five business days because continuing flights would pose a serious and imminent risk to air safety.

“We don’t have confidence in the ability of Tiger to continue to manage the safety of their operations,” safety authority spokesman Peter Gibson said. He said he understood that Tiger was the first national carrier in Australia to have its entire fleet grounded. Australian Transpor t Minister Anthony Albanese said 35,000 passengers will be affected. “That is extremely regrettable, but I think the Australian public expects safety to always come first,” he told reporters.

Rivals Virgin Australia and Jetstar, a budget subsidiary of Australian flagship carrier Qantas Airways, announced yesterday they would fly additional services to accommodate some of the stranded passengers. The airline, which entered the Australian aviation market three years ago, alerted passengers in a statement that services will remain suspended until July 9. Fares will be refunded. “Tiger Airways continues to cooperate fully with the industry regu-

lator and safety underpins our operations at all times,” the airline said, adding that it was committed to working with the safety authority to restore service as soon as possible.

Tiger, the fourth-largest domestic airline in Australia, operated between all state capitals and several regional cities. Tiger flights bet ween the Australian west coast city of Perth and Singapore are unaffected. The grounding is another blow to the bottom line of Singapore-based Tiger Airways Pty Ltd, and to passenger confidence after weeks of intermittent flight cancellations due to clouds of volcanic ash over southern Australia since Chile’s Cordon Caulle volcano began erupting June 4.

Gibson said the airline had t wice breached air safety regulations in two weeks by flying under the minimum allowed altitude on approaches to its Australian airport base in Melbourne.

The latest breach was on Thursday.

The authority responded to previous safety concerns in March by adding conditions to the airline’s license to operate in Australian skies, including improvements to pilot training, fatigue management and maintenance. The safet y authorit y will await Tiger ’s response to its concerns before deciding whether to ask the Federal Court next week to continue the suspension.

A failure to resolve the issues could lead to the airline’s Australian license being permanently canceled. Tiger is 49 percent owned by national carrier Singapore Airlines Ltd. and 11 percent owned by state - owned investment company Temasek Holdings. —AP

WaMu settles class action suit for $208.5 million LOS ANGELES: Washington Mutual Inc and its fellow defendants have agreed to pay $208.5 million to settle a class-action lawsuit stemming from the lender’s collapse in 2008, the biggest US bank failure in history. The defendants and lead plaintiff Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board outlined the terms of the agreement in documents filed with US District Court in Seattle on Thursday.

The pact calls for Washington Mutual to pay $105 million, for a group of underwriters that includes Goldman, Sachs & Co, to pay $85 million, and for Deloitte & Touche LLP to kick in another $18.5 million. In exchange, the plaintiffs have agreed to dismiss all claims against the lender and its co-defendants. The settlement must be approved by a bankruptcy cour t overseeing Washington Mutual’s reorganization plan. In 2008, the federal government seized WMI’s flagship bank, based in

Seattle, and sold its assets to JPMorgan Chase & Co for $1.9 billion.

Plaintiffs ranging from huge pension funds to small individual investigators accused WMI and its banking executives of securities fraud, claiming the bank’s lending standards and practices were misrepresented, questionable business practices were not disclosed and federal financial reports were misleading.

The Ontario teachers’ pension fund has claimed it lost $24 million from alleged wrongdoing by WMI and the other defendants. Under the terms of the settlement deal, WMI and the other defendants did not admit any wrongdoing. Last month, WMI scrapped a proposed bankruptcy reorganization plan after negotiations to resolve shareholders’ objections failed. The company’s current reorganization will be subject to a confirmation hearing starting next week. —AP

That means one that also includes new revenue in the form of higher taxes for some, though Democrats steer clear of using phrases like “tax increases” or “higher taxes.” “Now, it would be nice if we could keep every tax break, but we can’t afford them,” Obama said.

“Because if we choose to keep those tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires, or for hedge fund managers and corporate jet owners, or for oil and gas companies pulling in huge profits without our help - then we’ll have to make even deeper cuts somewhere else.” “Nothing can be off-limits, including spending in the tax code, particularly the loopholes that benefit very few individuals and corporations,” the president said.

Lawmakers and the administration are seeking deficit cuts in the range of $2.4 trillion over the coming decade to balance a similar increase in the debt limit - one that ’s large enough to keep the government afloat past the November 2012 election. Currently the debt limit is $14.3 trillion, and Treasur y Secretary Timothy Geithner says it must be raised by Aug. 2 to avoid defaulting on the government’s financial obligations for the first time in the nation’s history. With both sides dug into their positions, it’s not clear how compromise will be reached, though the Senate canceled its plans to take a July Four th

recess this week in order to stay in Washington and work on the problem.

Obama expressed confidence a deal could be made and instead of singling out Republicans as the barriers to agreement, he directed his message to Democrats and Republicans alike. “We’ve got to cut the deficit, but we can do that while making investments in education, research and technology that ac tually create jobs,” the president said. “ We can live within our means while still investing in our future.

That’s what we have to do. And I’m confident that the Democrats and Republicans in Congress can find a way to give some ground, make some hard choices, and put their shoulders to wheel to get this done.”

Republicans used their weekly address to criticize Obama on the economy and renew their opposition to tax increases. “The president and Democrats in Congress must recognize that their game plan is not working.

It’s time to acknowledge that more government and higher taxes is not the answer to our problem,” said Sen. Dan Coats, R-Ind. “It’s time for bold action and a new plan to address our current crisis.” Coats said that it was time for the government to “stop spending money we don’t have and to enact policies that will grow our economy and get Americans back to work.” —AP

WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama leaves the White House in Washington on Friday, July 1, 2011, for Camp David, Md. —AP

Difficult Co-Worker? Deal with it!

KUWAIT: We are surrounded by diverse types of people in all facets of our lives; the workplace is naturally no exception.

Some co-workers can be agreeable, cooperative and responsive while others can fall under the “Difficult People” umbrella.

Difficult can vary from being too picky, to failing to keep commitments, to over criticizing, etc... Taking into consideration the fact that one spends at least a third of his/her day at the workplace means shrugging off feelings of unease is not really feasible as this would only impel stress levels to climb and eventually employee productivity to suffer. Bayt.com career experts share below their Top Tips for dealing with difficult people at the workplace: Tip #1: Put yourself in your co-worker’s shoes: Try asking yourself why your co-worker is being difficult. What are the reasons behind his hostility/ insecurity/ under delivering? Only once you develop a better understanding of where the other party is coming from and define what is affecting his/ her actions, will you be able to take this to the next level. Fact: gathering as much information as possible in order to analyze the real problem is greatly recommended. Get in touch with oth-

er associates who have previously - or still do - interact with the difficult co-worker and get as much feedback as possible so that you can better review and assess the situation.

Tip #2: Maintain an open mind: Stay flexible while assessing the situation and observe it from all different angles. This will allow you to draw different scenarios that could be implemented (bearing in mind the end result should reflect a winwin situation for both ends).

Fact: the way to do his is to not

take it personally and to stay grounded. We all have our flaws and neither you nor your coworker can be “per fect”, so focus on the bigger picture rather than the minor details.

Tip #3: Communicate explicitly with your co-worker: Do not fret about being transparent and laying all your cards on the table. If a co-worker’s behavior is not one you can manage to tolerate, or one that you deem inappropriate or unfair, pointing it out politely, professional-

ly and in private is absolutely acceptable. Fact: You can expect difficult people to strongly rebel at first and react with rage but rest assured, once they see where you’re coming from and realize this will work for not only your benefit, but also theirs (and the mutual projects you’re engaged in), they will cool down and give it serious thought - at the end of day, no employee wishes to see his, his team’s, or his depar tment ’s quality of work being negatively impacted by his own destructive behavior.

Tip #4: Agree to disagree: So he/ she does have points of weaknesses but he/she must also have areas of strength (otherwise, how can he/she possibly still be working with you in the office?) Praise assets and be honest about what you admire (explaining why) - and what you “dislike” (explaining the negative effect this has on both your jobs). Fact: All that “difficult people” may need at times is a simple nudge, a wake-up call to push them to take constructive action.

Tip #5: When nothing else

works, resort to higher authorities: You do not, of course, expect change to happen overnight and your “co-working conscience” calls you to allow some time for your coworker to absorb the situation you’ve discussed and work towards making it better. Are the months rolling by with no positive initiatives flickering in the air? Does it look like your serious and heartfelt conversation has not been acknowledged? That productivity levels are still deteriorating- as a result- rather than improving?

Now is the time to refer to your superior. Fact: No manager wants to hear an employee complain, so do NOT be an office whiner! Instead, have all your documented facts in hand and share them with your manager. You are concerned about the quality of work and not rushing to judge a mere personality trait that you simply are not fond of. Once the management acknowledges this and once they realize that the company’s productivity is at stake, they will take the necessary measures! Don’t let the blame factor find its way to your heart. You have done your part but the other party has not... which calls for further intervention.

A

y

e niv rsar n

SUNDAY, JULY 3, 2011

Years

business

Economic recovery turns 2: Feel better yet?

WASHINGTON: This is one anniversary few feel like celebrating. Two years after economists say the Great Recession ended, the recovery has been the weakest and most lopsided of any since the 1930s.

After previous recessions, people in all income groups tended to benefit. This time, ordinary Americans are struggling with job insecurity, too much debt and pay raises that haven’t kept up with prices at the grocery store and gas station. The economy’s meager gains are going mostly to the wealthiest.

Workers’ wages and benefits make up 57.5 percent of the economy, an all-time low. Until the mid2000s, that figure had been remarkably stable about 64 percent through boom and bust alike.

Executive pay is included in this figure, but rankand-file workers are far more dependent on regular wages and benefits. A big chunk of the economy’s gains has gone to investors in the form of higher corporate profits. “The spoils have really gone to capital, to the shareholders,” says David Rosenberg, chief economist at Gluskin Sheff + Associates in Toronto.

Corporate profits are up by almost half since the recession ended in June 2009. In the first two years after the recessions of 1991 and 2001, profits rose 11 percent and 28 percent, respectively. And an Associated Press analysis found that the typical CEO of a major company earned $9 million last year, up a fourth from 2009. Driven by higher profits, the Dow Jones industrial average has staged a breathtaking 90 percent rally since bottoming at 6,547 on March

9, 2009. Those stock market gains go disproportionately to the wealthiest 10 percent of Americans, who own more than 80 percent of outstanding stock, according to an analysis by Edward Wolff, an economist at Bard College.

But if the Great Recession is long gone from Wall Street and corporate boardrooms, it lingers on Main Street: Unemployment has never been so high - 9.1 percent - this long after any recession since World War II. At the same point after the previous three recessions, unemployment averaged just 6.8 percent. The average worker’s hourly wages, after accounting for inflation, were 1.6 percent lower in May than a year earlier. Rising gasoline and food prices have devoured any pay raises for most Americans. The jobs that are being created pay less than the ones that vanished in the recession.

Higher-paying jobs in the private sector, the ones that pay roughly $19 to $31 an hour, made up 40 percent of the jobs lost from January 2008 to February 2010 but only 27 percent of the jobs created since then. Kathleen Terry is one of those who had to settle for less. Before the recession, she spent 16 years working as a mortgage processor in Southern California, earning as much as $6,500 in a good month, a pace of about $78,000 a year. But her employer was buried in the housing crash. She found herself out of work for two and a half years. As her savings dwindled, the single mother had to move into a motel with her three daughters.

They got by on welfare and help from their church and friends. Terry started taking a 90-minute

bus ride to job training courses. Eventually, she found work as a secretary in the Riverside County, Calif., employment office. She likes the job, but earns just $27,000 a year. “It’s a humbling experience,” she says. Hard times have made Americans more dependent than ever on social programs, which accounted for a record 18 percent of personal income in the last three months of 2010 before coming down a bit this year. Almost 45 million Americans are on food stamps, another record.

Ordinary Americans are suffering because of the way the economy ran into trouble and how companies responded when the Great Recession hit. Soaring housing prices in the mid-2000s made millions of Americans feel wealthier than they were. They borrowed against the inflated equity in their homes or traded up to bigger, more expensive houses. Their debts as a percentage of their annual after-tax income rose to a record 135 percent in 2007.

Then housing prices started tumbling, helping cause a financial crisis in the fall of 2008. A recession that had begun in December 2007 turned into the deepest downturn since the Great Depression. Economists Kenneth Rogoff of Harvard University and Carmen Reinhart of the Peterson Institute for International Economics analyzed eight centuries of financial disasters around the world for their 2009 book “This Time Is Different.” They found that severe financial crises create deep recessions and stunt the recoveries that follow. This recovery “is absolutely following

the script,” Rogoff says. Federal Reserve numbers crunched by Haver Analytics suggest that Americans have a long way to go before their finances will be strong enough to support robust spending: Despite cutting what they owe the past three years, the average household’s debts equal 119 percent of annual after-tax income. At the same point after the 1981-82 recession, debts were at 66 percent; after the 1990-91 recession, 85 percent; and after the 2001 recession, 114 percent. Because the labor market remains so weak, most workers can’t demand bigger raises or look for better jobs. “In an economic cycle that is turning up, a labor market that is healthy and vibrant, you’d see a large number of people quitting their jobs,” says Gluskin Sheff economist Rosenberg. “They quit because the grass is greener somewhere else.” Instead, workers are toughing it out, thankful they have jobs at all. Just 1.7 million workers have quit their job each month this year, down from 2.8 million a month in 2007.

The toll of all this shows in consumer confidence, a measure of how good people feel about the economy. According to the Conference Board’s index, it’s at 58.5. Healthy is more like 90. By this point after the past three recessions, it was an average of 87.

How gloomy are Americans? A USA Today/Gallup poll eight weeks ago found that 55 percent think the recession continues, even if the experts say it’s been over for two years. That includes the 29 percent who go even further - they say it feels more like a depression. — AP

Construction spending falls 0.6 percent in May Americans reluctant to build and buy

CALIFORNIA: A Toyota dealership is shown in San Jose, Calif. Manufacturing activity recovered somewhat last month from a sharp slowdown in May. High gas prices cut into consumer spending and there was an auto parts shortage stemming from Japan’s March 11 earthquake. — AP

US factories busier after spring slump NEW YORK: US factory activity picked up last month after a sluggish May, helped by lower gas prices and some easing of supply disruptions. The Institute for Supply Management, a trade group of purchasing executives, said Friday that its index o activity rose to 55.3. The sector has now grown for 23 straight months. Last month’s growth was the slowest in 20 months. The stronger reading was an optimistic sign that the economy could be strengthening after a spring slump.

Stocks jumped after the report was released. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 152 points in midday trading, and broader indexes also rose. “This is additional evidence that the recent slowdown in economic activity was temporary,” said Steven Wood, chief economist for Insight Economists. “However, the strength of the recovery is an open question given other factors.” A reading above 50 indicates that the manufacturing sector is expanding. Still, growth was muted from earlier this year, when the index topped 60 for four straight months.

And other areas of the economy remain weak, such as housing and job growth. Construction spending declined in May to a seasonally adjusted pace of roughly $758 billion, the Commerce Department said Friday. Budget cuts at the state and local level led to a sharp drop in government spending. And

home builders cut spending again, chiefly on apartment projects. Overall, construction spending was barely above an 11-year low hit in February. And it is roughly half the $1.5 trillion pace considered healthy by most economists.

Analysts say it could be another four years before construction returns to healthier levels.

The economy grew only 1.9 percent in the January-March period, the government said last week. Most economists predict growth to be similarly weak in the current April-June period. But gas prices are falling. The average price per gallon was $3.55 on Friday. That’s down from nearly $4 per gallon in early May. Cheaper gas should allow consumers to eat out more often and spend more on discretionary purchases, such as furniture and appliances. Consumer spending makes up 70 percent of economic activity.

And the impact of a parts shortage stemming from the March 11th Japan earthquake appears to be easing. All three US automakers on Friday reported stronger sales in June after a slump in May. The ISM report gives investors some hope that growth will be stronger in the second half of the year, said IHS Global Insight economist Nigel Gault. There were slightly more new orders for goods in June, and employment picked up.

Manufacturers are adding to their stockpiles again. Economists are also counting on a recovery in auto production to boost second half growth.

Deutsche Bank economists estimate that improved auto manufacturing could add as much as a full percentage point to third and fourth quarter growth. Some signs from abroad are troubling, too.

Chinese manufacturing slipped to its slowest pace in 28 months in June, dragged down by rising interest rates and declining exports, according to surveys released Friday in China.

That suggests problems in the US. The factory sector has been the primary driver of the recovery, growing now for 23 straight months. And strong growth overseas has been a key part of that growth for large manufacturers of industrial equipment and machinery, such as Caterpillar Inc. The ISM, a trade group of purchasing executives based in Tempe, Ariz, compiles its manufacturing index by surveying about 300 purchasing executives across the country. — AP

WASHINGTON: Builders began work on fewer projects in May, led by steep declines in apartment construction and less spending by state and local governments.

Construction spending declined 0.6 percent in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $757.9 billion, the Commerce Department said. That put overall spending barely above an 11-year low hit in February.

And it is roughly half the $1.5 trillion pace considered healthy by most economists. Analysts say it could be another four years before construction returns to healthier levels. The weak construction spending data showed Americans are reluctant to both build and buy. Home construction fell 2.1 percent. But much of the decline was because an equal decline in apartment building, which can be volatile from month to month.

Construction of single-family homes dropped 0.3 percent.

Spending on government projects fell for the eighth consecutive month. The 0.8 percent in May dropped government construction spending to a seasonally adjusted $276 billion annual rate, the weakest pace since February 2007. State and local governments accounted for all of the declines in government spending. They have been cutting back on building projects as they deal with large budget deficits. In May, construction spending at the state and local level fell 1.2 percent to $246.6 billion - the lowest point since November 2006.

ARIZONA: Construction workers spend time on the roof of a house in the Estates at Cameron Ranch, in Gilbert, Ariz. — AP Spending at the federal level rose 2.1 percent to $29.6 billion.

“This still-rocky environment is still hur ting consumer confidence,” said Jennifer H. Lee, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets. Homeowners are renovating their houses rather than moving. Builders are struggling

to compete with a wave of foreclosures that are forcing down prices of previously occupied homes. Older, re-sold homes are a comparative bargain and in great supply. The median price for a previously occupied home in May was $166,500. New homes are about $56,100 higher,

Spanish government to help struggling mortgage holders MADRID: Spain’s government has approved measures to help the soaring number of homeowners, many jobless, who cannot pay their mortgages. The government has since midMay faced demonstrations across the country from “indignant” protesters who have won broad public support in decrying the state of the economy and corruption. Among their demands are changes to Spain’s strict mortgage foreclosure laws.

Under Spanish law, banks have the right to auction houses in a foreclosure. If no buyers appear, as is often the case, the bank can take ownership of the house for 50 percent of its value.

Deputy Prime Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba said this percentage would be raised to 60 percent, which will leave a defaulter with a smaller debt to pay off. “Nobody will be able to take hold of the house of anyone for less than 60 percent of its value,” he told a news conference after a weekly cabinet meeting where the measure was approved.

The government will also raise the amount of a borrower ’s monthly income that can not be seized by a bank in case of default on a home loan to 961 euros ($1,390) from 641 euros, Rubalcaba said. If the defaulter has dependents, a further 30 percent per

family member will remain untouchable. “ These are measures aimed essentially at protecting those who cannot continue to pay their mortgages,” said Rubalcaba. The number of foreclosed properties in Spain has climbed 10-fold over the past three years, according to Idealista.com, the country’s largest property website.

During the first quarter of the year there were nearly 22,000 foreclosures in Spain, according to government statistics. There were 93,000 during all of last year.

Spain’s unemployment rate shot up to 21.29 percent in the first quarter, the highest in the industrialized nations, following the collapse of a property bubble in 2008. The “indignant” want the government to change the law to allow homeowners to walk away from their entire debt by handing over the keys to their properties as in many other countries. In recent weeks the protesters have successfully blocked the eviction of dozens of homeowners by preventing court officials from entering homes to serve eviction notices. A poll published yesterday in daily newspaper El Pais found 86 percent of Spaniards back the proposal that banks be required to write of a mortgage debt if a homeowner gives the lender their house. — AFP

or nearly 31 percent.

The gap is largely due to the flood of foreclosures and short sales, when lenders accept less than what’s owed on mortgages.

“Given the glut of homes on the market and in the foreclosure pipeline, homebuilders have little incentive to build,” said Sam Bullard, senior economist at Wells Fargo Securities. The Obama administration’s signature foreclosure-prevention program is struggling help many at-risk borrowers permanently lower their mortgage payments. More than half of the 1.6 million homeowners who have entered the program have fallen out entirely. That compares with roughly 731,000 homeowners who have had their mortgages permanently lowered as of May. Of those who have received modifications, roughly 21,300 homeowners, or 3 percent, have had the principal amounts on their mortgages reduced, according to the US Treasury Department. The median principal amount reduced is $69,532, or about 32 percent of the loan.

Lenders are not required to reduce principal amounts. Building on private projects fell 0.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $477 billion in May. Non-residential construction, which includes factories, offices, amusement and recreation, lodging and transportation, ticked up 0.1 percent in May. That increase would have been larger but was pulled down by weak commercial construction spending. — AP

Exxon Mobil to pay $1.5bn for gas leak TOWSON: Exxon Mobil Corp has been ordered to pay more than $1.5 billion in damages to 160 families and businesses affected by a 2006 gasoline leak in Maryland. Jurors awarded more than $1 billion in punitive damages, after earlier awarding $495 million in compensatory damages.

The ruling in Baltimore County Circuit Court follows a $150 million award in 2009 involving about 90 households, which Exxon is appealing. The Irving, Texas-based oil company said the facts do not support the latest ruling and that it will appeal it as well.

The 2006 leak occurred in Jacksonville, a small, affluent community about 20 miles north of Baltimore. An underground pipe burst beneath an Exxon gas station, allowing more 26,000 gallons of gasoline to escape. Many residents get their water from wells and the spill led the state to order well monitoring in the area to judge contamination.

The plaintiffs had claimed lost property values as well as emotional stress. “As we’ve stated throughout the last five years, we sincerely regret this unfortunate accident.

We apologize to the Jacksonville community and have devoted significant resources to clean-up, recovery and remediation activities,” Exxon said in a statement. “As soon as the leak was discovered, we immediately took responsibility and, sparing no expense, began cleanup activities working under the Maryland Department of Environment’s oversight and direction.” Exxon Mobil asked the Maryland Department of the Environment in January 2010 for approval to stop monitoring some of the 248 private wells near the Jacksonville station. MDE agreed to the oil company’s request to stop monitoring 130 of the wells. Exxon Mobil also stopped delivering bottled water to those homes. Exxon shares rose 44 cents to $81.82 in afternoon trading. — AP

A

y

e niv rsar n

SUNDAY, JULY 3, 2011

Years

TECHNOLOGY

Wireless network could harm GPS systems WASHINGTON: New test results show that a proposed nationwide wireless broadband network would produce significant interference with GPS systems used for everything from aviation to highprecision timing networks to consumer navigation devices. Changes to the proposal could reduce interference, but wouldn’t eliminate it. The findings, based on extensive equipment tests conducted in Las Vegas, increase pressure on the Federal Communications Commission to block a Virginia company called LightSquared from launching the network, which is designed to compete with superfast systems being rolled out by AT&T and Verizon Wireless.

Although the FCC in January gave LightSquared approval to build the system, the agency said it would not let the company turn on the network until GPS interference problems are resolved. The agency required LightSquared, GPS equipment makers and GPS users to establish a working group to study the matter.

That group filed its report with the commission on Thursday, with the two sides offering different interpretations of the test results.

LightSquared insisted that the interference problems are fixable.

But GPS equipment makers, and companies and government agencies that rely on GPS technology, warn that the planned network would jam their systems because LightSquared would use airwaves close to those already set aside for GPS. They say that sensitive satellite receivers - designed to pick up relatively weak signals coming from space -

could be overwhelmed when LightSquared starts sending high-powered signals from as many as 40,000 transmitters on the ground. GPS signals, they say, will suffer the way a radio station can get drowned out by a stronger broadcast in a nearby channel.

“The FCC needs to consider other options for the LightSquared signals where they do not run up against the laws of physics,” said Charles Trimble, co-founder of Trimble Navigation Ltd., which makes GPS systems.

With the working group report complete, the FCC will now seek public comments. The FCC said it will review the report, adding that it has “a longstanding record of resolving interference disputes.”

The working group’s report follows the release of federal test results that also found significant interference with GPS systems used by a broad cross-section of government agencies, including the Coast Guard, the Federal Aviation Administration and NASA. Faced with growing GPS industry resistance, LightSquared last week proposed to launch its network using a different slice of airwaves located farther away from GPS frequencies. It also proposed to transmit signals at lower power levels to ensure that its network would not interfere with most nearby GPS systems.

Most of the testing conducted by the working group was based on the company’s original plan to use airwaves next to the GPS band.

The working group said that plan would produce significant, across-the-board interference.

Among the findings: GPS systems used for aviation would be unavailable over entire regions of the country at normal aircraft altitudes.

• GPS receivers built into cellular devices could experience interference at significant distances from LightSquared’s base stations resulting in delayed or inaccurate location readings.

• Space-based GPS receivers used in NASA science missions could be disrupted.

Although the working group conducted only limited testing based on LightSquared’s proposal to use different airwaves, it said the change could reduce problems for some GPS receivers, including those used in aircraft navigation and cellphones.

LightSquared, however, acknowledges that other GPS devices, particularly high-precision receivers used in construction and agriculture, would still experience significant disruption.

LightSquared maintains that the interference is largely a problem of the GPS industry’s own making. That’s because GPS receivers are picking up signals outside their own bands - in frequencies licensed to LightSquared.

That had never presented a conflict until the FCC provisionally approved LightSquared’s wireless broadband network. Until now, that spectrum has been used primarily for satellite communications, with only limited ground-based wireless service to fill coverage gaps. GPS receivers can easily screen that out.

LightSquared, which is based in Reston, Va., •

also insists the problem can be fixed by installing better filters in GPS devices to screen out its signals. Those filters, LightSquared says, cost as little as 5 cents each.

GPS manufacturers say that solution is speculative because such filters do not yet exist and were not available for testing. They add that although filters might work with some GPS receivers, such as those embedded in cellphones, they would not work in all GPS equipment and could significantly degrade performance and battery life. Bronson Hokuf, an engineer with GPS maker Garmin Ltd., also said it would be nearly impossible retrofit hundreds of millions of existing GPS devices already in use. The working group said installing new filters in GPS equipment used for aviation, for instance, would be very expensive and could take at least 10 years. Although the FCC has promised that it won’t let the LightSquared network harm GPS systems, it is eager to see the company succeed.

The FCC views the network as one part of a broader government push to free up more airwaves for mobile broadband services to keep up with the explosive growth of online apps, mobile video and other bandwidth-hungry wireless applications.

The agenc y also hopes LightSquared will help it advance its goal of bringing high-speed Internet connections to all Americans. The company, which plans to wholesale network access to other companies that will rebrand the service under their own names, has pledged to reach 260 million Americans with its coverage by 2015. — AP

Consortium prevails over Google for Nortel patents Nortel’s patents cover many technologies

HAVANA: Bloggers participate in the first meeting about twitter social networking in Havana, Cuba, July 1. A few dozen members of Cuba’s small but growing Twitter community met for the first time Friday, connecting strange faces to familiar usernames and commiserating about woeful Internet access on an island with the second-worst connectivity rates in the world. — AP

Havana’s small community of Twitterati meets IRL HAVANA: A few dozen members of Cuba’s small but growing Twitter community have met in real space for the first time. They got to put unfamiliar faces with familiar user names, and they commiserated about the woeful Internet access on an island that has the secondworst Web connectivity rate in the world.

Gathering at a downtown Havana pavilion, Cuba’s Twitterati wrote their online handles on name tags emblazoned with the Cuban flag and the hash tag used to organize the event, TwittHab. One by one they introduced themselves, told of their history with social media and compared numbers of followers. “Many of us didn’t know each other.

This is about stepping out from behind the ‘at’ symbol,” said “alondraM,” who was only identifying herself by her username.

Next to her, “cuba1er.plan,” a.k.a.

Alejandro Cruz, said Cubans like him are increasingly using social media to share interests and information.

Their ranks are still relatively sparse because Cuba lags far behind the rest of the world in connectivity, besting only the Indian Ocean island chain of Mayotte, according to a report by the consulting firm Akamai Technologies Inc. The decades-old US economic embargo has left Cuba without a hardwired connection to the rest of the world, and the island relies on slow, costly satellite service. The Twitter users expressed hope things will soon speed up now that an undersea fiber-optic cable to Venezuela has arrived in Cuba. It could go online this month. For now, plodding dial-up is about the only option - and even those accounts have historically been hard to get and prohibitively expensive for most Cubans. The government says it must use its limited bandwidth carefully and gives priority to usage with what it deems a social purpose.

Cuba’s National Statistics Office reported last year that just 2.9 percent of islanders said they had direct Internet access, most through their schools and workplaces, though that number doesn’t reflect the black market sale of minutes on dial-up accounts. The real figure is more likely between 5 percent and 10 percent, said Ted Henken, a professor of sociology and Latin American studies at Baruch College in New York who has traveled to Cuba frequently and is writing a book on social media and civil society on the island.

It all creates unique challenges for tweeters in Cuba. For one thing, their local audience is relatively small. Also, cost and availability limit how much time they can spend connected. And while Twitter is popular in other nations among smartphone-toting technophiles,

limitations here mean most Twitter interaction happens on computers. When users here want to send a tweet from the field, they send a cellphone text message to an overseas number that converts and posts it, said Mario Leonart, a 36-year-old from Villa Clara known online as “maritovoz.”

It’s expensive: $4 for the initial setup, plus $1 per tweet. Send 20 tweets and you’ve already equaled Cuba’s average official monthly salary. Some get around that by hitting up followers abroad when they start to run low on funds, Henken said, citing the case of one tweeter he monitors. “Like most Cubans he doesn’t have a whole lot of money to be able to do this, but he tweets all the time,” Henken said. “So he must have this feedback from people who follow him, because they put money in his account.”

Nevertheless, Henken said, Twitter’s immediacy and the fact that Cubans are learning to take it mobile are creating an incipient “new narrative” that at least has the potential to challenge state domination of information. “Just like in the rest of the world, it can be used as a form of pushing back against the mainstream media - and, of course, in Cuba the mainstream media is the official government media,” Henken said. “So it does act as a corrective on what’s happening or gives another version of events.”

For a little more than an hour Friday, the tweeters talked about strategies for staying connected and dreamed aloud about having Internet in their homes.

The event was organized by Leunam Rodriguez, a 26-year-old radio station employee who has been tweeting for just a few months.

Rodriguez, who doesn’t fall into either the pro- or anti-government camps, pitched the meet-up as an apolitical gathering.

But when the venue was moved from a pizzeria to the Cuba Pavilion, Yoani Sanchez, known internationally for her blog writings opposing the government, complained that the meeting had been “kidnapped” by officialdom. Ultimately she skipped both the gathering and the handful of tweeters who met at the pizzeria. Rodriguez denied that the site change was politically motivated.

“I’ve said that I don’t belong to any organization. I’m just a Cuban,” he said.

Henken said tweeting in Cuba will involve politics, no matter what individual tweeters might want.

“I think Twitter is political even when it’s not political,” he said. “The (Cuban) system is very monolithic; therefore even if you use Twitter to promote a sewing circle ... it’s political because it is unfiltered.” — AP

NEW YORK: A consortium that includes leading smartphone makers Apple and Research In Motion prevailed over Google last week with a $4.5 billion cash bid for about 6,000 patents and patent applications from bankrupt telecomequipment maker Nortel Networks Corp. The group offered about five times more than Google’s initial bid of $900 million. Phones running Google’s Android system compete with Apple’s iPhone and RIM’s BlackBerry devices.

Nortel’s patents cover many technologies, including data networking, semiconductors and wireless systems known as fourth generation, or 4G. Nortel said the portfolio “touches nearly every aspect of telecommunications and additional markets ... including Internet search and social networking.” David Berten, a partner at Global IP Law Group, which advised Nortel on the sale, said the patents resulted from about $40 billion in investments over 15 years, through Nortel’s own research and development and through acquisitions. He said the patents cover every aspect of telecommunications, including the handsets, the equipment used in cell towers and the connections from there to wired networks.

“Anytime you’re plugged into data networks, there are patents that pop up,” he said. The sale comes as manufacturers of phones are suing one another over such common features as swiping gestures on touch screens. Such lawsuits help distract competitors and, through substantial royalty settlements, could allow patent holders to capitalize on their rivals’ success in the market. Apple has sued Taiwan’s HTC Corp., which makes Android phones. Microsoft has sued Motorola Mobility Inc. over Android phones, too.

Patent experts described the sales price as unprecedented, akin to what companies pay to buy complete businesses, not just the intellectual properties. “What you are looking at is a list of the companies that are in this incredibly active battle for the mobile computing platform,” said Ron Epstein, CEO of Epicenter IP Group, a patent broker not involved in the Nortel auction.

“Clearly patents are being deployed as an important strategy asset in winning that battle.”

Having a patent could allow one smartphone to have distinguishing features over another, or it could raise the cost for a rival to make the product if it has to pay licensing fees, Epstein said.

In a statement Friday, Google General Counsel Kent Walker called the outcome “disappointing for anyone who believes that open innovation benefits users and promotes creativity and competition. We will keep working to reduce the current flood of patent litigation that hurts both innovators and consumers.” Google

TORONTO: In this Feb. 25, 2009 photo, a man walks past a company sign at a Nortel Networks office tower in Toronto. Bankrupt Canadian telecom group Nortel Networks Corp. July 1, 2011, said it is selling all of its remaining patents and patent applications to a consortium including Apple, EMC, Ericsson, Microsoft, Research In Motion and Sony for $4.5 billion in cash. — AP

had said it wanted the patents to defend itself against lawsuits from other companies until Congress enacts broader changes to the patent system to help reduce such litigation. Google gives away its Android software for free, counting on its wider use to drive usage of other Google services, such as search and maps.

The winning consortium consists of: Apple Inc of Cupertino, California, maker of the iPhone, iPad and other popular devices; Research in Motion Ltd. of Waterloo, Canada, which makes the BlackBerry; Microsoft Corp of Redmond, Washington, which is pushing phones running on its Windows operating system and operates the search engine Bing; EMC Corp of Hopkinton, Massachusetts, the world’s biggest maker of data-storage computers; LM Ericsson AB of Stockholm, Sweden, which makes wireless equipment; and Sony Corp of Tokyo, which makes a range of consumer-electronic devices and has a joint venture with Ericsson for mobile phones.

That Google wasn’t part of the consortium suggests that “folks view Google as a very successful player they are very concerned about,” Epstein said. The patent auction, which was originally slated to take place June 20, had been postponed by one week as Nortel cited “the significant level of interest” in the sale of its patent portfolio. A former tech highflier in the 1990s, Nortel at its zenith had more than 95,000 employees and a market capitalization of nearly

$300 billion. At one point in 2000, Nortel accounted for a third of the market value of the Toronto Stock Exchange. But it grew too quickly and overpaid for acquisitions.

Nortel also ran into problems, including an investigation into its accounting practices, which led to shareholder lawsuits. Nortel filed for bank ruptc y protection in the US and Canada in January 2009, hobbled by a sharp downturn in orders from phone companies and looming debt payments. The filing came one day before it was due to make a debt payment of $107 million. It has been selling its operations off one piece at a time since then.

Nortel Chief Strategy Officer George Riedel said “the size and dollar value for this transaction is unprecedented, as was the significant interest in the portfolio among major companies around the world.”

Ericsson said it had contributed $340 million to the bid. Ericsson had already purchased many of Nortel’s other assets, including its wireless network business in 2009 for $1.13 billion. RIM said it contributed $770 million. It was not known how much each of the other companies paid, or how they will share or split the patents.

EMC would only describe the amount as “not material” to its overall finances. The deal is expected to be completed in the third quarter of this year and will need approval from US and Canadian bankruptcy courts in a joint July 11 hearing. — AP

Cell-phone company decries planned Bangladesh fees DHAKA: The head of Bangladesh’s leading mobile phone company says the burgeoning industry’s growth could be jeopardized if the government moves ahead with a proposed license renewal charge.

The country is due to renew its 15-year second-generation licenses for four mobile operators later this year, but the chief executive officer of Grameenphone Ltd., a joint venture with Norwegian Telenor ASA, says the government’s plan would give his company a “punishment” for being the country’s biggest in terms of market share and revenues. Tore Johnsen said the company will have to pay more than the other three companies for the same frequencies used to provide services.

According to the government proposed 2G license renewal guidelines, the license fees charged to Grameenphone will be multiplied based on each company’s use of the frequency. Grameenphone’s fees would be multiplied by 1.6, while the multipliers for the other oper-

ators would range from 0.45 to 1.1.

“This is unfair. This is illegal,” Johnsen told The Associated Press on Thursday in an interview. “This is sort of discrimination against us, and Bangladesh’s telecommunication laws do not support it.” The operators recently met Finance Minister A.M.A. Muhith and appealed for reviewing the license renewal rules.

Johnsen left open the possibility of a lawsuit but said Grameenphone wants to avoid legal action. The government says it is looking into the issue but nothing has been decided yet.

Grameenphone is the mobile market leader in Bangladesh with more than 33 million subscribers, or about 45 percent of the market. The company signed up 6.7 million new subscribers and crossed the $1 billion revenue mark in 2010 — up 14.4 percent from the previous year. The sector is booming in Bangladesh, a nation of 160 million people.

About 75 million of them now have cell phones, according to the state -run

Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission. Johnsen said the sector has room to grow if there are “long-term, predictable” regulatory measures, and if the companies feel comfortable to invest more in improvements such as 3G telecommunication services. He, however, praised the government’s recent measures to reduce by 200 takas ($2.85) from 800 takas ($11.42) the tax for each new service connection.

CityCell, a joint venture with Singapore’s SingTel; Robi, jointly owned by Malaysia’s Axiata and Japanese NT T DoCoMo; and Banglalink, owned by Egypt’s telecom giant Orascom, are the other companies that are to renew their licenses for their operations in Bangladesh. There are two other mobile phone companies — one is operated by a state-run company and another by India’s Bharti Airtel — but they do not need license renewal for now. The country’s six mobile operators have invested about $5 billion in the sector. — AP

A

y

e niv rsar n

SUNDAY, JULY 3, 2011

Years

H E A LT H & S C I E N C E

Russia says abortion ads must carry health warning MOSCOW: Russian lawmakers, worried about a falling birth rate, passed a law yesterday that abortion advertisements must carry a health warning. Russia has one of the world’s highest abortion rates and cutting this could help it stem a demographic disaster that is looming as its population shrinks.

Under the new law approved by the lower house of parliament, 10 percent of the space used in abortion ads must carry a list of possible negative consequences for women, including infertility, RIA news agency reported.

According to the lower house’s site,

duma.gov.ru, 2007 saw 1.5 million abortionsalmost on a par with the number of children born that year.

“These ads make young girls believe they won’t have any problems interrupting a pregnancy,” RIA quoted parliamentarian Viktor Zvagelsky as saying of current advertisements.

He said the law was drawn up as “the situation with abortions in Russia was depressing.”

Though the Soviet Union was the first country in the world to legalise abortion on request in 1920, dictator Josef Stalin outlawed it again, from 1936 until he died in

1954, to try to boost the birth rate.

The Communists later encouraged new births with prizes and money, but since they were ousted two decades ago Russia’s population has steadily dropped. It shrunk by more than 12 million between 1992 and 2008, to around 143 million.

The United Nations predicts that by 2050 Russia’s population will have dropped by almost a fifth from today to 116 million. It has said overcoming racism and taking in more migrants could help Russia boost its population. Health experts say key factors in

the decline are poor diet leading to heart disease, heavy drinking by men, an HIV/AIDS epidemic spurred by heroin abuse and a high number of violent deaths.

The bill is expected to pass the upper house and be signed into law by President Dmitry Medvedev without problem.

T h e c o u n t r y ’s i n c r e a s i n g l y p o w e r f u l Orthodox church weighed heavily into the a b o r t i o n i s s u e a y e a r a g o, c a l l i n g f o r t o u g h e r r u l e s t o r e d u c e t h e i r n u m b e r.

Feminists argued this would hurt women’s rights. — Reuters

US firm wins approval for new blood thinner Alternative to popular injection Lovenox

A handout graphic rendering released by Eurekalert! and created by Esben Horn shows a rendering of an anomalocaridid, an ancient sea predator, showing its spiny head limbs presumably used to snag prey, and a series of blade-like filaments in segments across the animal’s back, which scientists think might have functioned as gills. — AFP

Killer horse virus spreads in Australia SYDNEY: Australian officials were yesterday working to isolate potential victims after uncovering two more cases of the deadly horse-borne Hendra virus, which has erupted in a second state.

Spread to humans from horses, Hendra can lead to fatal respiratory illness and has killed four of the seven people who have contracted it in Australia since it was first documented in 1994.

A fresh outbreak was detected in northern Queensland state last month, with nine people undergoing tests after exposure to a sick animal.

Queensland authorities said they had discovered a second case, about 70 kilometres (40 miles) from the first farm, which had forced two horses to be put down. The outbreaks were not believed to be linked.

“Test results overnight have confirmed this as a case of Hendra virus infection,” Biosecurity Queensland said.

“There are eight other horses on the property that are being monitored closely.” Officials said as many as six people may have been exposed to the infected animal. A third case had also been identified in neighbouring New South Wales

state, according to biosecurity officials there, who stressed it was unlikely to be linked to the Queensland outbreaks.

It is only the second time Hendra has been found in New South Wales. “The horse had been in a paddock containing a fig tree, so it is likely that flying foxes were the source of infection,” state health director Jeremy McAnulty said. Nine people exposed to the sick horse were being tested for the killer virus, but McAnulty said they were at low to medium risk.

“All of the human infections that have occurred in the past have been linked to high level exposures to infected horses,” he said. Named after the Brisbane suburb in which is was first documented and believed unique to Australia, Hendra is believed to be carried by fruit bats (flying foxes) and spread via their urine and droppings.

The bats, which have no symptoms of disease, then pass the infection to horses, possibly via half-chewed fruit or other water or food they contaminate, and these animals then transmit it to humans.

Around 50 horses have died, or had to be put down, in 15 outbreaks of the virus since 1994. — AFP

WASHINGTON: Johnson & Johnson said yesterday that US regulators have approved its new type of blood thinner shown to reduce deadly blood clots in patients who have undergone knee and hip replacements. The Food and Drug Administration decision makes rivaroxaban the first US-approved drug that works by blocking a clotting protein called factor Xa. That’s in contrast to older blood thinners that work by preventing platelets from sticking together.

The once-a-day pill will serve as an alternative to the popular injection Lovenox, which is the standard treatment for patients who have undergone orthopedic surgery. The drugs had similar results in head-to-head trials, including similar rates of side effects such as major internal bleeding. J&J said its new drug would be priced similarly to Lovenox, which is marketed

by French drugmaker Sanofi-Aventis SA. “The combination of tissue damage and immobility can lead to large blood clots in the legs, which can break off and travel to the lungs,” said Dr. Paul Chang, vice president of J&J’s Jansen Pharmaceuticals unit. J&J first filed its application for rivaroxaban in July 2008, but in May 2009 the FDA delayed making a decision on the drug after raising concerns about internal bleeding risk. The drug’s label will carry a warning about that side effect as

Scientists discover brightest quasar LOS ANGELES: A team of European astronomers, glimpsing back in time to when the universe was just a youngster, says it has detected the most distant and earliest quasar yet.

Light from this brilliant, starlike object took nearly 13 billion years to reach Earth, meaning the quasar existed when the universe was only 770 million years old - a kid by cosmic standards. The discovery ranks as the brightest object ever found. To scientists’ surprise, the black hole powering this quasar was 2 billion times more massive than the sun. How it grew so bulky so early in the universe’s history is a mystery. Black holes are known to feed on stars, gas and other matter, but their growth was always thought to be slow.

The discover y was reported in Thursday’s issue of the journal Nature.

Since quasars are so luminous, they guide astronomers studying the conditions of the cosmos following the Big Bang, the explosion believed to have created the universe 13.7 billion years ago.

Researchers are constantly trying to out-

do one another in their quest to see the universe as an infant. The deeper they peer into space, the further back in time they are looking.

The previous record holder was a quasar that dated to when the universe was 870 million years old.

The new quasar - with the tonguetwisting name ULAS J1120+0641 - was identified in images from a sky survey taken by the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope perched near the summit of Mauna Kea, Hawaii. The discovery was confirmed by other telescopes. “It’s like sifting for gold. You’re looking for something shiny,” said lead researcher Daniel Mortlock, an astrophysicist at Imperial College in London. In an editorial accompanying the research, Chris Willott of the Canadian Astronomy Data Center called the quasar a “monster” that could upend current theories about the growth of black holes.

“The existence of this quasar will be giving some theorists sleepless nights,” said Willott, who was not part of the discovery team. — Reuters

GSK kicks off over-the-counter drugs sale LONDON: GlaxoSmithKline is pushing ahead with the sale of a clutch of non-prescription products, which may fetch around $2.5 billion, and will send out details to bidders shortly, people familiar with the matter said.

Following initial expressions of interest from a wide range of potential buyers, an information memorandum on the assets is due to go out either next week or the week after, the sources said on Friday.

Prospective bidders will then have about four weeks to put in non-binding offers.

Britain’s biggest drugmaker said in February it planned to sell several non-core over-the-counter (OTC) products with combined sales of around 500 million pounds ($800 million), representing about 10 percent of its total consumer healthcare business.

Industry analysts have estimated the assets-which include painkillers, vitamin supplements and the diet pill Alli, all sold primarily in Europe and the United States-might fetch between 1.5 billion and 2 billion pounds. A number of rival producers of OTC remedies have expressed interest. The auction, being run by Goldman Sachs, has also attracted a strong showing from private equity houses, the sources said.

Consumer healthcare is a favoured investment sector for private equity players, who have an appetite for carve-outs from Big Pharma and like the defensive nature of a business that has stable cash flows.

The world’s largest buyout firms, including Blackstone, KKR, Apax and CVC, all have an interest in healthcare.

Non-prescription medicines are also a major focus for a number of GSK’s rivals, including Sanofi , Novartis and Johnson & Johnson , some of whom may want to pick up assets now on the block.

Certain product lines could also appeal to smaller players such as Sweden’s Meda, which acquired other OTC medicines from GSK in a deal last December.

Despite the divestment, consumer healthcare will still remain a priority area for GSK. The company aims to focus its portfolio on top brands in Western markets and concentrate heavily on fast-growing opportunities in emerging markets. — Reuters

well as itching, muscle pain, blisters and fainting.

Rivaroxaban was discovered by German drugmaker Bayer Healthcare, which already markets the drug in 110 countries around the world. J&J will market the drug in the US under

the brand name Xarelto.

While Friday’s decision is an important step for J&J, the larger market opportunity for the drug is in treating patients with irregular heartbeats caused by a condition called atrial fibrillation. The FDA is due to rule on that use in

Evidence ‘increasingly against’ phone cancer risk LONDON: Despite a recent move to classify mobile phones as possibly carcinogenic, the scientific evidence increasingly points away from a link between their use and brain tumours, according to a new study yesterday.

A major review of previously published research by a committee of experts from Britain, the United States and Sweden concluded there was no convincing evidence of any cancer connection.

It also found a lack of established biological mechanisms by which radio signals from mobile phones might trigger tumours.

“Although there remains some uncertainty, the trend in the accumulating evidence is increasingly against the hypothesis that mobile phone use can cause brain tumours in adults,” the experts wrote in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.

The latest paper comes just two months after the World Health Organisation’s ( WHO) International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) decided cellphone use should be classified as “possibly carcinogenic to humans”.

Anthony Swerdlow of Britain’s Institute of Cancer Research, who led the new review, told Reuters the two positions were not necessarily contradictory, since the IARC needed to put mobile phones into a pre-defined risk category.

“We are trying to say in plain English what we believe the relationship is. They (IARC) were trying to classify the risk according to a pre-set classification system,” Swerdlow said.

Other things deemed by the IARC to be possibly carcinogenic include items as diverse as lead, pickled vegetables and coffee.

Mobile phone use has risen hugely since the early 1980s, with nearly 5 billion handsets in use today, and controversy about their potential link to the main types of brain tumour, glioma and meningioma, has never been far away.

The largest study to date, published last year, looked at almost 13,000 mobile phone users over 10 years.

Swerdlow and colleagues analysed its results in detail but concluded it gave no clear answer and had several methodological problems, since it was based on interviews and asked subjects to recall phone use going back several years.

Significantly, other studies from several countries have shown no indication of increases in brain tumours up to 20 years after the introduction of mobile phones and 10 years after their use became widespread, they added.

Proving an absence of association is always far harder in science than finding one, and Swerdlow said it should become much clearer over the next few years whether or not there was any plausible link.

“This is a really difficult issue to research,” said David Spiegelhalter, Winton Professor of the Public Understanding of Risk at the University of Cambridge, who was not involved in the study.

“But even given the limitations of the evidence, this report is clear that any risk appears to be so small that it is very hard to detect-even in the masses of people now using mobile phones.”

Swerdlow is chairman of the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection’s Standing Committee on Epidemiology. The commission is the international body, recognised by the WHO, that constructs guidelines for exposure limits for nonionizing radiation.

Since mobile phones have become such a key part of daily life-used by many for websurfing as well as talking- industry experts say a health threat is unlikely to stop people using them. — Reuters

Key color pigment found in ancient birds WASHINGTON: An international team of researchers using sophisticated x-ray technology has found chemical traces of a key color pigment in 100-million year old fossilized birds that once formed their feather patterns.

The study, reported Thursday in the journal Science, provides a glimpse into the biochemistry of prehistoric animals and greater understanding of their diets and environment. Working at Stanford University’s National Accelerator Laboratory in California, the author’s discovered chemical traces of a

pigment, known as eumelanin, that is one of the coloring agents responsible for brown eyes and dark hair in many modern species, including humans.

“This is a pigment that evolved a very, very long time ago, but is still actively synthesized by organisms on the planet,” said geochemist Roy Wogelius of the University of Manchester, one of the leaders of an international team that reported the discovery.

“We found a way to map it and show its presence over 120 million years of geological

time passing,” he said.

“It is a direct relationship between you, me, and some extremely old organisms.”

Using synchrotron radiation, the researchers examined two fossilized birds, Confuciusornis sanctus, which lived 120 million years ago, and had the first known birdlike beak, and Gansus yumenensis, considered the oldest modern bird, which lived more than 100 million years ago and looked a bit like a modern grebe, a type of freshwater diving bird. — AFP

HOUSTON: The STS-135 crew practices rendezvous and docking with the International Space Station while being observed in the Systems Engineering Simulator at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. Commander Chris Ferguson, top left, mission specialist Rex Walheim, top right. Pilot Doug Hurleyis bottom right. The session marked the crew’s final scheduled training in the ‘Dome’ in preparation for the final mission of the space shuttle program on July 8. — AP

A

y

e niv rsar n

SUNDAY, JULY 3, 2011

Years

H E A LT H & S C I E N C E

CDC reaches abroad to stem outbreaks ATLANTA: When a patient in Uganda fell ill with the terrifying Ebola virus last month, the advice of US disease experts helped local officials contain its spread.

“You didn’t read about it in the papers because for the first time ever we identified a single case, not an outbreak,” said Thomas Frieden, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The Atlanta-based CDC is expanding its involvement in cases of illness overseas, from helping track the source of the highly toxic E. coli outbreak in Germany to homing in on the cause of cholera in the aftermath of Haiti’s earthquake.

The aim is to stop epidemics before they can reach the United States. So far this year, there have been 156 cases of measles, the highest number since 1996, and all of them imported.

“It’s a lot cheaper to identify something at its source, before it comes to our shores,” Frieden said during a tour of CDC headquarters in Atlanta.

He said the CDC has more than 50 staff members in outposts around the world, replicating a program it first implemented at home to teach state health authorities how to best contain outbreaks.

“We are building systems so we don’t have to be there forever. It’s very similar to what CDC has done over the past 50 years in the United States,” Frieden said. The efforts are starting to pay off, as seen in Uganda.

Ebola causes a very serious hemorrhagic fever that has caused dozens of frightening and deadly outbreaks across Africa and threatened endangered gorilla populations as well as people.

Frieden said the case was handled perfectly. The lab identified the infection, the hospital used proper control measures and even the mortuary handled the body properly- preventing infection that can occur at funerals.

“That was possible because we helped build the capacity in Uganda to detect it on the spot,” he said.

Frieden said if Mexico had had a

better system for detecting flu, the CDC would have known about the 2009 H1N1 swine flu pandemic sooner, which would have speeded the availability of vaccines.

H e w a s re l u c t a n t to c r i t i c i ze Germany’s handling of the recent E. coli outbreak, the deadliest ever re c o rd e d, w h i c h h a s s i c k e n e d 4,000 people.

But Frieden said the United States recently had a small, three-state outbreak of the more common E. coli 0157:H7, part of a class of bacteria known as Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli, or STEC. The E. coli strain that caused the German outbreak was also in this class.

“There were just a tiny handful of cases, but because we do DNA fingerprinting, we knew they were linked and we very quickly identified hazelnuts as the source and had them pulled,” Frieden said.

As a result, there were just eight cases in the United States. “ That type of system is very important,” Frieden said. — Reuters

Farewell to Pain…

Australia cigarette plan facing new legal threat SYDNEY: A second global tobacco giant has flagged legal action over Australia’s plain packaging plan for cigarettes, warning of violations of its intellectual property rights, a report said yesterday.

British American Tobacco said it stood ready to take Canberra to court over the plan to put cigarettes in bland, logo-free packets with graphic health warnings from next year in a drive to lower smoking rates.

The Hong Kong-based Asian arm of tobacco giant Philip Morris launched a lawsuit this week claiming the plan breached a bilateral investment treaty between Hong Kong and Australia by forcibly removing trademarks and other intellectual property.

British American said it faced similar issues.

“British American Tobacco Australia has always said that with any attempt to introduce plain packaging we will defend our intellectual property,” a spokesman told The Australian newspaper.

“We don’t want to end up in court and we hope that situation can be avoided, but if the government

Al-Seef Al-S Seef Hospita Hospital al

keeps pushing ahead with its plans for plain packaging then unfortunately court is where it will end up.”

The spokesman said Canberra would likely face “numerous legal challenges both domestically and internationally” over the proposal.

British American’s managing director David Crow had written to the health minister highlighting concerns about the proposal raised by the EU, Mexico, Indonesia, China, Brazil and other countries, according to The Australian. Philip Morris has said it has a “very strong legal case and will be seeking significant financial compensation for the damage to our business.”

Canberra says 15,000 Australians die of smokingrelated diseases every year, and that tobacco use costs the country Aus$31.5 billion ($34 billion) annually in healthcare and lost productivity. Although Australia would be the first country in the world to mandate plain packaging, New Zealand, Canada and Britain have considered a similar approach and are closely watching developments. — AFP

From

9 Jul y to 1 6 Jul International Inter national Visiting Doctors Program m y 201 1 Omar Omar-Pasha O Omar -Pasha M.D. – Intern International national Expert in Treatment Treatme ent of Chronic Pain Un niversity of Cologne/ Germanyy (1976) Graduatee of College of Medicine at University (1984) General Surgery Surgery Specialist Hanover/ Germany G Specialization Specializ zation in hand and chronic pain pain surgery surgery (1984 – 1989) Establishment Establish hment of a specialized surgical surgicaal and chronic pain clinic in Hamburg Haamburg (1989 – 2005) Chronic pain surgery, surgery, hand- and foot surgery surgery at Maria Stern Hospital/ Hospittal/ Bonn (2005 – 2011) Services: Ser vicess: A]b]aU` ]bjUg]jY UbX ]bjUg]jY hfYUhaYbh cZ W\fcb]W dU]b. 6UW_ dU]b ! 7\Ygh dU]b ! BYW_ dU]b ! UVXca]bU` UbX aYbh cZ W\fcb]W dU]b. 6UW_ dU]]b ! 7\Ygh dU]b ! BYW_ dU]b ! UVXca]bU` U UbX A]b]aUU` ]bjUg]jY UbX ]bjUg]jY hfYUha pelvic pain. Spinal stenosis, Discogenic Discogeenic pain 7\fcb]W dU]b. \YUX

7\fcb]WW dU]b. \YUX ZUWY UbX bYW_" Hf][Ya]bU` bYifU`[]U ZUWY UbX bYW_" Hf][Ya]bU` f bYifU`[]U WfUb]U` bYfjY ]bZ`UaaUh]cb UbX ibgiWWYggZi``m hfYUhYX WfUb]U` bYfjY ]bZ`UaaUh]cb UbX ibgiWWYYggZi``m hfYUhYX migraine migrain ne DU]b ]b bYfjYg cZ h\Y gd]bY UbX gd]bU` bYfjY fcchg DU]b ]b bYfjYg cZ h\Y gd]bY UbX gd]bU` bYfjY fcchg DU]b cZ U`` dYf]d\YfU` bYfjg DU]b cZ Z U`` dYf]d\YfU` bYfjg 7\fcb]W dU]b ]b `]aVg <UbX UbX Zcch gif[Yfm 7\fcb]W W dU]b ]b `]aVg <UbX UbX Zcchh gif[Yfm For Reservation Reservation and Furt Further ther inquires: DU]b XiY hc WUbWYf DU]b Xi iY hc WUbWYf

60014054

To a advertise dvertise on tthis his page l t t us: please contact

Dermatology tology & CCosmetology osmetology t Derma t General Medicine t Int Internal ernal Medicine t Ent tO Ophthalmology phthalmology t PPeadiatric eadiatric t Ob & G Gynecology ynecology

tO Orthopedic rthopedic t XX-ray -ray & Ultrasonograph Ultrasonography g y t General Ph Physician ysician t Dental t LLaboratory aboratory t Pharmac Pharmacyy

Cosmetology C osmetology C Clinic. linic.

248 33 199 ads@kuwaittimes.net

Non N on SSurgical urggical FFacelift, acelifft, Antii AAgeing ggeingg W Wrinkle rinkle Frown Li / Pigmenta Pigmentation D b Chin Frown Lines g tion Double Chin Correction Botox Correction i Sk SSkin kiin RRejuvenation ejuv ox / FFillers illers j enation Bot Painless Dermaroller, Painless Laser Laser Hair Removal Dermar ollerr, H i Removal Skin Skin Whitening Whitening & Brighting Brightinng VVail aail TTreatment reatment

Wee A W Accept ccept All All Major Ma ajjor IInsuramce nsuramce C Cards ards FARWANIYA FA ARWANIYYA - OPP. OPP P. POLICE POL LICE STATION ST TAT TION Behind B ehind Magadheer Magadheer Commercial Comm mercial Complex Complex

s - 65561619 TEL: 24734000 6

shifakuwait@gmail.com shifak uwait@g gmail.com www.shifakuwait.com www.shifakuwait.com Working m to to 12:00am Working i Hours: 8.00 am

y

A

30

e niv rsar n

Years

SUNDAY, JULY 3, 2011

W H AT ’ S O N

American Bilingual School holds graduation ceremony The American Bilingual School (ABS) in Kuwait celebrated the graduation of its 8th grade students held at its school building. It was attended by school’s staff and the students’ families.

Scientific Center launches summer camp

T

he Scientific Center kicks off its summer camp for 2011 on Sunday, July 3, 2011, which will feature many activities held in weekly camps from Sunday to Thursday between 9:30 am and 2:30 pm.

Kids between the ages of eight and twelve are allowed to participate in the camp, as they will engage in educational and artistic workshops, in addition to visits to the aquarium and the Discovery Hall, as well as behind the scene trips and iMAX movie shows.

Salmiya region Malayalam classes

K

ala, Kuwait free Malayalam classes began June 25th in the Salmiya zone as informed by Salmiya regional Bhashasamithi.

A bhashasamithi was formed which was inaugurated by General Convenor P.K.Janardhanan. Kala Central Committee members Shinoj Mathew and J.Saji also attended the meeting. Rajesh P.R was selected as the Salmiya regional Convenor followed

by Reji.K.Jacob and Madhusoodhanan as Joint Convenors and Sailesh Kannoth, Suresh Babu, Kunjumon, Manoj Mathew Thomas, Rajan C. Kulakkada, Shinoj Mathew, J.Saji and PR Kiron as other Samithi members.

For registrations and other information kindly contact: 66767297, 66081623 or 97496171.

Al Jahra Copthorne Hotel & Resort appoints Dina as communications manager

D

Aware Arabic courses “The AWARE Management is glad to announce that Ramadan Arabic language courses will begin on August 7th till September 15th, 2011. AWARE Arabic language courses are designed with the expat in mind. The environment is relaxed & courses are designed for those wanting to learn Arabic for travel, cultural understanding, and conducting business or simply to become more involved in the community. We cater to teachers, travelers & those working in the private business sector.

AWARE Arabic courses highlight ● Introductory to Level 4 Arabic language basics ● Better prepare you for speaking, reading and writing Arabic ● Combine language learning with cultural insights ● Taught in multi-nationality group settings ● Provide opportunities to interact with Western expatriates and native Kuwaitis/Arabs.

For more information, call 25335260 or log onto: www.aware.com.kw

Farewell party Mubarak Al-Kabeer Hospital PICU organized a farewell party to Dr. Daisy Khera who is leaving Kuwait.

Venal Thanima 2011

V

enal Thanima 2011, threeday summer personality development camp for children will begin on Thursday, 7th July at United Indian School, Abbassiya.

The camp conducts in the auspices of Thanima with the cooperation of Kerala Children’s Film Society.

P. Vijayakrishnan, well known film critic, director and national award winner, will be the camp director.

Fun, frolic, laughter, storytelling, facts and films will fill the slots of the camp. Baby Somatheeram, President, Kerala Children’s Film Society, P.J Antony, Executive Editor, Jeevan

TV among others will lead various sessions.

The three-day workshop will open windows into the fields of music, dance, drawing etc. 40 children will be admitted in the camp in a first come first serve basis. For details contact 66791096, 94418975 and 99703872.

ina Ghazali is the newest member of the Al Jahra Copthorne Hotel & Resort family bringing along 5 years of experience to the hotel.

Starting her hospitality career as a sales executive, Dina managed to experience the needs of the market and got to know the technicalities and the challenges of selling in this industry.

Having this background Dina decided to redirect her career path to the Communications and marketing field in the hospitality industry to be able to facilitate the means of selling.

Dina’s reputation started echoing loud in the market, which has created her the opportunity of becoming the new Communications Manager of Al Jahra Copthorne Hotel & Resort. Her dedication, passion and teamwork contribution will be her biggest strength in her role.

Al Jahra Copthorne Hotel & Resort is a member of Millennium & Copthorne Hotels. “You are the centre of our World” is the promise of the group in making a memorable experience for each and every guest to cherish long after they leave the hotel. Getting to know the inspiring promise of the company is what made Dina eagerly excited to join the hotel.

“Welcome to the Oasis in the desert” are the first words spoken by Dani Saleh the General Manager of the hotel to Dina, as she entered the hotel lobby. Dina replied saying “Setting my eyes on the hotel while getting closer to it, made me feel that it is truly an Oasis in the desert”

A

y

e niv rsar n

Years

31

SUNDAY, JULY 3, 2011

W H AT ’ S O N

Embassy Information EMBASSY OF ARGENTINA In order to inform that 23rd of October 2011, will be Argentine national election where all Argentinean citizen residents permanently in Kuwait can vote only if they are registered at the Electoral Register of the Argentine Embassy. The procedure of inscription ended on 25 of April 2011. To register it is necessary that Argentinean citizens should come personally at the Argentinean Embassy (Block 6, street 42, villa 57, Mishref) and present the DNI and four personal photos (size 4x4, face should be front on white background). For further information, contact us on 25379211.

■■■■■■■

Cambridge School Kuwait

T

he Cambridge English School held a graduation ceremony for its high school students at the Radisson SAS Hotel. The event was attended by the British Ambassador to Kuwait Frank Baker, as well as other diplomats and social figures.

EMBASSY OF AUSTRALIA The Embassy encourages all Australians to register their presence in Kuwait through Smartraveller Online (see link below).

Australians who are registered are asked to update their details. The information provided will assist us in contacting you in an emergency. www.smartraveller.gov.au Kuwait citizens can apply for and receive visit visas to Australia online at www.immi.gov.au.

This usually takes two working days. All others visa applications are handled by the Australian Visa Application Centre Tel. 22971110. Witnessing and certifying documents are by appointment only, please contact the Embassy on 2232 2422. The Australian Embassy is open from 8.00am to 4.00pm, Sunday to Thursday.

■■■■■■■

EMBASSY OF BRITAIN The Visa Application Centre (VAC) will be closed on the same dates above. The opening hours of the Visa Application Centre are 0930 - 1630 Application forms remain available online from the UKBAs’ website: www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk or from the Visa Application Centre’s website: www.vfs-ukkw.com. And also, from the UK Visa Application Centre located at: 4B, First Floor, Al Banwan Building (Burgan Bank Branch Office Building), Al Qibla area, opposite Central Bank of Kuwait, Kuwait City. For any further inquiries, please contact the Visa Application Centre: Website: www.vfs-uk-kw.com E-mail:info@vfs-uk-kw.com Telephone:22971170. The Consular Section will also be closed on the same dates.

For information on the British Embassy services, visit the British Embassy website: www.ukinkuwait.fco.gov.uk ■■■■■■■

EMBASSY OF CANADA The Embassy of Canada is located at Villa 24, Al-Mutawakel St., Block 4 in Da’aiyah.

Please visit our website at www.Kuwait.gc.ca.

Canada offers a registration service for all Canadians travelling or living abroad. This service is provided so that Consular Officials can contact and assist Canadians in an emergency in a foreign country, such as a natural disaster or civil unrest, or inform Canadians of a family emergency at home. The Embassy of Canada encourages all Canadian Citizens to register online through the Government of Canada Travel Website at www.voyage.gc.ca. The Canadian Embassy in Abu Dhabi provides visa and immigration services to residents of Kuwait. Individuals who are interested in visiting, working or immigrating to Canada are invited to visit the website of the Canadian Embassy to the UAE at www.UAE.gc.ca.

Effective January 15, 2011, the only Temporary Resident Visa (TRV) application form that will be accepted by CIC is the Application for Temporary Resident Visa Made Outside of Canada [IMM 5257] form. All previous Temporary Resident Visa application forms will no longer be accepted by CIC and instead will be returned to applicants. Should old applications be submitted prior to January 15, 2011 they will continue to be processed.

To ensure that the most recent version of the Temporary Resident Visa application form is being utilized, applicants should refer to the CIC website.

As of January 15, 2011, forms are to be filled in electronically. The Embassy of Canada is open from 07:30 to 15:30 Sunday through Thursday.

■■■■■■■

EMBASSY OF GERMANY The Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Kuwait wishes to announce that as of 1 May 2011, the external service provider Al Qabas Assurex is operating a Visa Application Centre in support of the German Embassy. Short-term visa applications for travels to Germany (e.g. for tourism, visits, business) are to be submitted to the service provider Al Qabas who for your convenience will ensure that all relevant documents are included in your application. Your personal appearance at the Application Centre is not required. Address of the Visa Application Centre: Al Qabas Assurex Sanabel Tower (Al-Babtain) Mezzanine (M3) opposite Sharq Mall Kuwait 22924444 Fax: 22924442 Further information are available on the following websites: www.kuwait.diplo.de www.qavisa.com ■■■■■■■

EMBASSY OF KENYA The Embassy of the Republic of Kenya wishes to request all Kenyans resident in or training through Kuwait to register with the Embassy. We are updating our database. This information is necessary in order to facilitate quick assistance and advise in times of emergency. Kindly visit in person or register through our website www.kenyaembkuwait.com. The Embassy is located in: Surra Area - Block 6 - Street 9 Villa 3 Tel: 25353362 - 25353314; Fax: 25353316.

■■■■■■■

EMBASSY OF NIGERIA The Nigerian embassy has moved its office to Mishref. Block 3, Street 7, House 4. For enquires please call 25379541. Fax25387719. Email- nigeriakuwait@yahoo.com or nigeriankuwait@yahoo.co.uk ■■■■■■■

EMBASSY OF SLOVAK REPUBLIC On the occasion of the Day of the Apostles St. Cyril and St. Methodius, the Embassy of the Slovak Republic will be closed on Tuesday, July 05, 2011, and will resume its duties on Wednesday, July 06, 2011, the Business hours of the Consular Section is from Monday to Wednesday from 10:00 till 13:00 hrs.

A

y

e niv rsar n

SUNDAY, JULY 3, 2011

Years

TV PROGRAMS

00:45 01:40 02:35 03:30 04:25 05:20 06:10 07:00 07:25 08:15 08:40 09:10 10:05 10:30 11:00 11:55 12:50 14:40 15:35 16:30 17:25 18:20 19:15 20:10 21:05 22:55 23:50

Dogs 101 Untamed & Uncut Air Jaws Air Jaws 2 I’m Alive Animal Cops South Africa America’s Cutest...

Meerkat Manor Michaela’s Animal Road Trip The Really Wild Show Jeff Corwin Unleashed Must Love Cats Extraordinary Dogs Project Puppy Dogs 101 Dogs/Cats/Pets 101 Swarm Chasers Trophy Cats Dogs 101 Chris Humfrey’s Wildlife Escape to Chimp Eden Tigers Attack Swarm Chasers Dogs 101 Into the Pride I Was Bitten The Real Lost World

00:05 Robin Hood 00:45 Strictly Come Dancing 02:50 Red Cap 03:40 BBC Electric Proms 2008 04:35 Fimbles 04:55 Balamory 05:15 Teletubbies 05:40 Gigglebiz 05:55 Fimbles 06:15 Balamory 06:35 Teletubbies 07:00 Gigglebiz 07:15 Fimbles 07:35 Balamory 07:55 Teletubbies 08:20 Gigglebiz 08:35 Fimbles 08:55 Balamory 09:15 Teletubbies 09:40 One Foot In The Grave 10:10 BBC Electric Proms 2008 11:00 Robin Hood 11:45 The Weakest Link 12:30 Casualty 14:10 The Weakest Link 15:40 Doctors 18:10 Robin Hood 18:55 Doctor Who Confidential 19:10 BBC Electric Proms 2008 20:00 Ray Mears’ Northern Wilderness 20:50 Monarch Of The Glen 21:40 New Tricks 22:35 Moses Jones 23:25 Bleak House

00:00 Antiques Roadshow 02:35 Cash In The Attic USA 03:40 Come Dine With Me 12:05 New Scandinavian Cooking With Andreas Viestad 15:50 New Scandinavian Cooking 18:20 New Scandinavian Cooking With Andreas Viestad 18:45 New Scandinavian Cooking With Andreas Viestad 19:10 Come Dine With Me 20:50 New Scandinavian Cooking With Andreas Viestad 21:15 New Scandinavian Cooking With Andreas Viestad 21:40 Design Star 23:10 Rick Stein’s French Odyssey

00:00 00:10 01:00 01:30 02:00

BBC World News The Chinese Are Coming BBC World News Middle East Business Report BBC World News

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

World Features Newsnight BBC World News World Features Spirit Of Wimbledon BBC World News Dateline London BBC World News The Chinese Are Coming BBC World News Click BBC World News Newsnight BBC World News India Business Report BBC World News Fast Track BBC World News World Features Spirit Of Wimbledon BBC World News World Features Dateline London BBC World News World Features Horizons BBC World News World Features Third Eye BBC World News Newsnight BBC World News World Features The Bottom Line BBC World News Sport Today Click BBC World News Extra Time BBC World News The Chinese Are Coming BBC World News India Business Report BBC World News Third Eye BBC World News Sport Today Click BBC World News Spirit Of Wimbledon BBC World News World Features Extra Time

00:00 The Best Of Backstory 00:30 World Sport 01:00 World Report 01:30 News Special 02:00 World Report 02:30 Inside Africa 03:00 Nepal’s Stolen Children 04:00 Piers Morgan Tonight 05:00 The Best Of The Situation Room 06:00 World Sport 06:30 News Special 07:00 World Report 07:30 The Best Of Backstory 08:00 World Report 08:15 CNN Marketplace Middle East 08:30 Cnngo 09:00 World Report 09:15 CNN Marketplace Africa 09:30 News Special 10:00 World Sport 10:30 Cnngo 11:00 African Voices 11:30 Talk Asia 12:00 Nepal’s Stolen Children 13:00 World Report 13:30 World Sport 14:00 Piers Morgan Tonight 15:00 Fareed Zakaria Gps 16:00 State Of The Union With Candy Crowley 17:00 International Desk 17:30 Inside Africa 18:00 News Special 18:30 World Sport 19:00 Prism 19:45 CNN Marketplace Middle East 20:00 International Desk 20:30 News Special 21:00 World Report 21:30 News Special 22:00 Piers Morgan Tonight 23:00 Fareed Zakaria Gps

00:00 Travel Notebook 01:00 Indian Times 02:00 Trabant Trek 02:30 Destination Cuba 03:00 Julian And Camilla’s World Odyssey 04:00 Globe Trekker 05:00 Travel Notebook 06:00 Globe Trekker 08:00 Planet Sports 09:00 Glutton For Punishment 09:30 Angry Planet 10:00 Nomad’s Land 11:00 Great Scenic Railways-Us And Canada 11:30 Essential 12:00 Globe Trekker 13:00 Essential Specials 14:00 Indian Times 15:00 Travel Notebook 16:00 Globe Trekker 17:00 Essential 17:30 Rudy Maxa’s World 18:00 World’s Greatest Motorcycle Rides 19:00 Globe Trekker

00:05 Cow And Chicken 00:30 Cramp Twins 00:55 George Of The Jungle 01:20 Adventure Time 01:45 Eliot Kid 02:10 Ed, Edd n Eddy 02:35 Ben 10: Alien Force 03:00 The Powerpuff Girls 03:15 Chowder 03:40 The Secret Saturdays 04:05 My Gym Partner’s A Monkey 04:30 Ben 10: Alien Force 04:55 Best Ed 05:20 Skunk Fu! 05:45 Cramp Twins 06:10 Eliot Kid 06:35 The Marvelous Misadventures Of Flapjack 07:00 Ed, Edd n Eddy 07:25 Chop Socky Chooks 07:50 Chowder 08:15 Ben 10: Alien Force 08:40 Bakugan: Gundalian Invaders 09:05 Batman: The Brave And The Bold 09:30 The Secret Saturdays 09:55 My Gym Partner’s A Monkey 10:20 Cartoon Network Dance Club 10:30 Angelo Rules 10:55 Batman: The Brave And The Bold 11:17 Bakugan Battle Brawlers 11:39 Ben 10 12:04 Batman: The Brave And The Bold 12:26 Bakugan Battle Brawlers 12:48 Ben 10 13:13 Batman: The Brave And The Bold 13:35 Bakugan Battle Brawlers 13:57 Ben 10 14:22 Batman: The Brave And The Bold 14:44 Bakugan Battle Brawlers 15:06 Ben 10 15:31 Batman: The Brave And The Bold 15:53 Bakugan Battle Brawlers 16:15 Ben 10 16:40 Batman: The Brave And The Bold 17:02 Bakugan Battle Brawlers 17:24 Ben 10 17:49 Batman: The Brave And The Bold 18:11 Bakugan Battle Brawlers 18:33 Ben 10 18:55 Best Ed 19:20 Adventure Time 19:45 Cow And Chicken 20:10 The Marvelous Misadventures Of Flapjack 20:35 Courage The Cowardly Dog 21:00 The Powerpuff Girls 21:25 Ed, Edd n Eddy 21:50 Cartoon Network Dance Club 22:00 Batman: The Brave And The Bold

THE SUM OF ALL FEARS ON OSN ACTION HD

00:40 01:35 02:30 07:00 07:50 08:45 09:40 10:30 11:25 12:20 13:15 14:10 15:05 17:20 18:15 19:10 19:40 20:05 21:00 21:55

I’m Alive Behind Bars How It’s Made Extreme Engineering Mighty Ships Huge Moves I’m Alive I’m Alive Flying Wild Alaska Sarah Palin’s Alaska LA Ink The Next Great Baker Cake Boss Mythbusters Flying Wild Alaska Danger Coast Danger Coast Swords: Life On The Line Mythbusters Stan Lee’s Superhumans

00:30 Nextworld 01:20 The Gadget Show 02:10 What’s That About?

03:00 Sci-Fi Science 03:25 Sci-Fi Science 03:50 How Stuff Works 04:45 Engineered 05:40 Cool Stuff And How It Works 06:10 Superships 07:00 How The Universe Works 07:55 Brainiac 08:45 Head Rush 08:48 Sci-Fi Science 09:15 Weird Connections 09:45 Punkin Chunkin 2010 10:35 Space Pioneer 14:45 The Gadget Show 15:35 Patent Bending 16:00 Head Rush 16:03 How Stuff’s Made 16:30 How Does That Work?

17:00 Bang Goes The Theory 17:50 When Weather Changed History 18:40 The Future Of...

19:30 The Tech Show 20:20 The Gadget Show 21:10 Through The Wormhole With Morgan Freeman 22:00 The Future Of...

22:50 The Tech Show 23:40 Mega World

00:05 01:20 01:45 03:00 03:50 05:05 05:30 07:00 08:15 09:30 10:45 12:25 12:50 13:15 13:40 14:05 14:30 16:10 16:35 17:00 18:15 19:55 20:20 20:45 21:10 22:00 22:25 23:15 23:40

Adventures Abroad Western Extreme The Wingshooter Fall Flight Adventures Abroad Western Extreme The Wingshooter Speargun Hunter World Class Sports Fishing Legends of Rod & Reel Randy Jones’ Strike Zone Outdoor’s 10 Best Outdoor’s 10 Best Fisher’s ATV World Fisher’s ATV World Fisher’s ATV World Randy Jones’ Strike Zone Outdoor’s 10 Best Outdoor’s 10 Best Fisher’s ATV World Randy Jones’ Strike Zone Outdoor’s 10 Best Outdoor’s 10 Best Fisher’s ATV World Fisher’s ATV World Fall Flight Ducks Unlimited Ducks Unlimited Western Extreme

00:05 Unwrapped 00:30 Diners, Drive-Ins And Dives 01:45 Food Network Challenge 02:35 Chopped 03:25 Ultimate Recipe Showdown 04:15 Good Eats - Special 04:40 Unwrapped 05:05 Ten Dollar Dinners 05:30 Paula’s Best Dishes 05:50 Paula’s Party 06:35 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 07:00 Chopped 07:50 Guy’s Big Bite 08:15 Everyday Italian 08:40 Good Deal With Dave Lieberman 09:05 Ten Dollar Dinners 09:30 Paula’s Best Dishes 09:55 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 10:20 Diners, Drive-Ins And Dives 10:45 Lidia’s Italy 11:10 Unwrapped 11:35 Paula’s Party 12:25 Everyday Italian 12:50 Paula’s Best Dishes 13:15 Good Deal With Dave Lieberman 13:40 Ultimate Recipe Showdown 14:30 Lidia’s Italy 14:55 Unwrapped 15:20 Boy Meets Grill 15:45 Chopped 16:35 Guy’s Big Bite 17:00 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 17:25 Lidia’s Italy 17:50 Everyday Italian 18:15 Paula’s Party 19:05 Good Eats - Special 19:30 Food Network Challenge 20:20 Unwrapped 20:45 Unwrapped 21:10 Lidia’s Italy 22:00 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 22:25 Barefoot Contessa 22:50 Guy’s Big Bite 23:15 Guy’s Big Bite 23:40 Good Eats - Special

00:20 00:45 01:10 02:00 02:45 03:35

Replacements Replacements Fairly Odd Parents A Kind Of Magic Stitchv Kim Possible

04:25 05:15 06:00 06:25 06:45 07:10 07:30 08:00 08:25 10:30 12:00 14:00 14:50 15:15 16:00 16:45 17:50 19:10 20:55 21:25 21:50 22:15 22:40 23:05 23:30

Emperors New School Stitch Jungle Junction Handy Manny Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Jake & The Neverland Pirates Fish Hooks Sonny With A Chance Yr 2 Suite Life On Deck S3 Dadnapped Fish Hooks Wizards Of Waverly Place Hannah Montana Good Luck Charlie Shake It Up Suite Life On Deck S3 Fish Hooks Luck Of The Irish Wizards Of Waverly Place Fish Hooks Phineas & Ferb Suite Life On Deck S3 Sonny With A Chance Jonas La Hannah Montana

06:00 Kid Vs Kat 06:20 Kick Buttowski 06:40 Iron Man: Armoured Adventures 07:05 Pokemon Dp: Sinnoh League Victors 07:30 Phineas & Ferb 08:20 Suite Life On Deck S3 08:45 Pair Of Kings 09:10 Kid Vs Kat 09:30 Rekkit Rabbit 09:50 Zeke & Luther 10:40 I’m In The Band 11:05 The Super Hero Squad Show 11:30 The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody 11:55 Kick Buttowski 12:15 Kid Vs Kat 12:35 American Dragon 13:00 Life Is Ruff 14:30 Kick Buttowski 14:55 Rekkit Rabbit 15:20 Kick Buttowski 15:50 Rekkit Rabbit 16:15 Kick Buttowski 16:40 Rekkit Rabbit 17:05 Kick Buttowski 17:30 Rekkit Rabbit 17:55 Suite Life On Deck S3 18:45 Phineas & Ferb 19:10 The Avengers: Earths Mightiest Heroes 20:00 X Men 20:25 Zeke & Luther 20:50 I’m In The Band 21:15 Aaron Stone 21:36 American Dragon 22:00 Kick Buttowski 22:21 I’m In The Band

CHANGING LANES ON OSN MOVIES ACTION 17:00 Murder Shift 17:50 FBI Files 18:40 Life Or Death: Medical Mysteries 19:30 Real Emergency Calls 20:20 On The Case With Paula Zahn 21:10 Disappeared 22:00 Nightmare Next Door 22:50 Deadly Women

00:00 01:00 01:55 02:50 03:45 00:25 Fashion Police 04:40 00:55 Chelsea Lately 05:35 01:25 E!es 06:30 02:20 E! Investigates 07:25 04:10 Sexiest 08:20 05:05 Reality Hell 09:15 05:30 Wildest TV Show Moments 10:10 06:00 THS 11:05 07:50 Behind The Scenes 12:00 08:20 E! News 13:00 09:15 Kendra 14:00 10:15 Married To Rock 15:00 11:10 Kimora: Life In The Fab Lane 16:00 12:05 E! News 17:00 13:05 Fashion Police 13:35 Keeping Up With The 18:00 19:00 Kardashians 20:00 14:05 THS 21:00 15:00 Khloe And Lamar 15:55 Kourtney And Kim Take New 22:00 23:00 York 16:55 17:55 18:55 19:55 20:55 York 21:25 21:55 22:25 23:25 23:55

Strike Force Project Manta How Big Can It Get The Real Serengeti Shadow Hunters Triumph of Life Monster Fish Moray Eels: Alien Empire Hooked The Real Serengeti How Big Can It Get Zambezi World’s Weirdest Shadow Hunters Wild Amazon I, Predator Intimate Enemies Crocodile King The Real Serengeti 21st Century Shark I, Predator Intimate Enemies Crocodile King The Real Serengeti 21st Century Shark

Behind The Scenes E! News Holly’s World 00:00 A Lonely Place For Dying-PG15 Kimora: Life In The Fab Lane Kourtney And Kim Take New 02:00 Bugsy-18 04:00 Double Cross-PG15 06:00 I, Robot-PG15 Khloe And Lamar 08:00 The Core-PG15 Khloe And Lamar 10:15 Darkness Falls-PG15 E! News 11:45 The Sum Of All Fears-PG15 The Soup 14:00 The Core-PG15 Chelsea Lately 16:15 A Knight’s Tale-PG15 18:30 The Sum Of All Fears-PG15 20:45 John Carpenter’s Ghosts Of Mars-PG15 00:15 Final Fu 22:30 Se7en-18 01:30 M1 Selection 2010 02:20 Ride Guide Mountainbike 2009 04:00 Carpocalypse 04:50 Lucas Oil Ama Motocross 00:30 The Daily Show With Jon Championships...

Stewart 05:40 Lucas Oil Ama Motocross 01:00 The Colbert Report Championships...

01:30 Boondocks 06:30 FIA European Drag Racing 02:00 Saturday Night Live 2008 03:00 10 Things I Hate About You 08:00 Quattro Events 2009 03:30 How I Met Your Mother 09:40 FIM World Motocross 04:00 The New Adventures Of Old MX1/MX2...

Christine 13:00 BMX Megatour 04:30 The Tonight Show With Jay 13:50 Glutton For Punishment Leno 14:40 Fantasy Factory 05:30 Will And Grace 17:10 I’ll Do Anything 06:00 According To Jim 18:00 Glutton For Punishment 06:30 Coach 18:50 Lucas Oil Ama Motocross 07:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon Championships...

08:00 The New Adventures Of Old 19:40 Lucas Oil Ama Motocross Christine Championships...

08:30 10 Things I Hate About You 20:30 BMX Megatour 09:00 Will And Grace 21:20 Eds Up 09:30 8 Simple Rules ...

22:10 Glutton For Punishment 10:30 According To Jim 23:00 I’ll Do Anything 11:00 Coach 23:50 Final Fu 11:30 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 12:30 The New Adventures Of Old Christine 13:00 How I Met Your Mother 00:30 A Haunting 13:30 Will And Grace 01:20 The Haunted 14:00 According To Jim 02:10 Ghost Lab 14:30 8 Simple Rules ...

03:00 A Haunting 15:00 8 Simple Rules ...

04:45 Crime Scene Psychics 15:30 The Daily Show With Jon 05:15 On The Case With Paula Zahn 06:10 Life Or Death: Medical Stewart 16:00 The Colbert Report Mysteries 16:30 Coach 07:00 Forensic Detectives 17:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 07:50 Murder Shift 08:40 Life Or Death: Medical 18:00 Malcolm In The Middle 18:30 Hope And Faith Mysteries 19:00 Seinfeld 09:30 Real Emergency Calls 19:30 Sons Of Tucson 10:20 Fugitive Strike Force 20:00 Two And A Half Men 11:10 FBI Files 20:30 Curb Your Enthusiasm 12:00 On The Case With Paula Zahn 21:00 The Daily Show With Jon 12:50 Solved 13:40 Life Or Death: Medical Stewart 21:30 The Colbert Report Mysteries 22:00 Neighbors From Hell 14:30 Real Emergency Calls 22:30 That Mitchell And Webb Look 15:20 Fugitive Strike Force 23:00 Boondocks 16:10 Forensic Detectives

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

Freight-PG15 Double Cross-PG15 Blood River-18 Ghost Town (TV Movie)-18 The One-PG15 Changing Lanes-PG15 The Stepfather-PG15 The One-PG15 Deceit-PG15 8 Mile-18 Dead Snow-PG15 The Forsaken-18

03:00 05:00 08:00 10:00 12:00 14:00 15:00 19:00 19:30 20:30 21:00

Rugby Union Rugby Union Live NRL Premiership NRL Premiership Super Rugby Trans World Sport Live PGA European Tour Futbol Mundial Trans World Sport ICC Criket World PGA European Tour

v00:00UFC 132 Countdown 01:00 WWE NXT 02:00 WWE Vintage Collection 03:00 Live UFC 132 Prelims 04:00 Live UFC 132 07:00 WWE Vintage Collection 00:00 Hope Springs-PG15 08:00 WWE Bottom Line 02:00 I Love You Beth Cooper-PG15 09:00 WWE NXT 04:00 Happy Ever Afters-PG15 10:00 WWE SmackDown 06:00 Bandslam-PG15 08:00 Did You Hear About The 12:00 V8 Supercars Extra 12:30 Le Mans Series Magazine Morgans?-PG15 13:00 Live Le Mans 10:00 The Good Girl-PG15 19:00 UFC 132 Prelims 12:00 America’s Sweethearts-PG15 20:00 UFC 132 14:00 Suburban Girl-PG15 16:00 Hope Springs-PG15 18:00 Land Of The Lost-PG15 20:00 Road Trip: Beer Pong-18 22:00 Mumford-18

01:00 03:15 05:00 07:00 09:00 10:30 13:15 15:00 17:00 19:00 21:00 23:30

Broken Embraces-18 Mean Girls-PG15 Furry Vengeance-PG15 Everybody’s Fine-PG15 Fantastic Mr. Fox-FAM 2012-PG15 Phoebe In Wonderland-PG Nativity!-PG Fantastic Mr. Fox-FAM Grown Ups-PG15 Inglourious Basterds-18 Agora-18

00:00 The Trumpet Of The SwanFAM 02:00 Ed-PG 04:00 Kung Fu Magoo-FAM 06:00 The Trumpet Of The SwanFAM 08:00 Inspector Gadget’s Biggest Caper Ever-FAM 10:00 Aliens In The Attic-FAM 12:00 Shorts-PG 14:00 Dr. Dolittle-PG 16:00 The Enchanted Mountain-PG 18:00 Shorts-PG 20:00 Free Willy 3: The Rescue-FAM 22:00 Dr. Dolittle-PG

00:00 Saint John Of Las Vegas-18 02:00 Elle: A Modern Cinderella Tale-PG15 04:00 Coco Before Chanel-PG15 06:00 Accidents Happen-PG15 08:00 The Missing Person-PG15 10:00 School Of Rock-PG15 12:00 Percy Jackson And The Lightning Thief-PG15 14:00 Secret Origin: The Story Of DC Comics-PG 16:00 The Missing Person-PG15 18:00 Creation-PG15 20:00 Bond Of Silence-PG15 22:00 The Wolfman-18

00:00 Futbol Mundial 00:30 AFL Premiership 03:00 Super League 05:00 NRL Premiership 07:00 Live NRL Premiership 09:00 European PGA Tour 13:30 Ladies European PGA Tour Highlights 14:30 Masters Football 17:30 NRL Premiership 21:30 Masters Football

01:30 Ladies European Highlights 02:30 ICC Criket World

Tour

00:00 01:00 01:55 02:25 03:20 04:15 05:10 05:35 06:05 07:00 08:00 09:00 09:25 09:55 10:50 11:50 20:20 20:45 21:15 22:10 23:05

Homes With Style Fashion Avenue Big Boutique How Do I Look?

Whose Wedding Is It Anyway?

Married Away Homes With Style Area Clean House Big Boutique Clean House Top 10 Top 10 Homes With Style Bridalplasty Giuliana And Bill Fashion Police Clean House Comes Clean Giuliana And Bill Jerseylicious Ruby

00:00 01:00 02:00 03:00 05:00 06:00 07:00 08:00 09:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 21:55 23:00

Ancient Discoveries America: The Story Of The Us Decoding The Past 300 Spartans: The Last Stand Ancient Discoveries Ancient Discoveries America: The Story Of The Us Decoding The Past 300 Spartans: The Last Stand Ancient Discoveries Ancient Discoveries America: The Story Of The Us Decoding The Past 300 Spartans: The Last Stand Ancient Discoveries Ancient Discoveries America: The Story Of The Us Decoding The Past UFO Hunters Roswell: Final Declassification The Universe

01:05 Wild Orchid 02:55 Species 04:45 Semi-Tough 06:35 A Prayer For The Dying 08:25 Haunted Honeymoon-PG 09:50 Seven Hours To JudgementPG 11:20 Speechless-PG 13:00 Article 99-PG 14:40 Mgm’s Big Screen-FAM 14:55 Gaily, Gaily-PG 16:40 Escape Clause-PG 18:20 Hannah And Her Sisters-PG 20:05 Invasion Of The Body Snatchers 22:00 Stigmata 23:40 Dirt-PG

Classifieds SUNDAY, JULY 3, 2011

Skylon: S k l N New reusable bl space plane l conceptt A British company is promoting a new reusable space plane transport, the Skylon. Its hybrid engines would burn both atmospheric air and an onboard store of liquid fuel. The robotically flown ship would take off like a plane and glide to a landing. Its payload bay could be rigged to carry a passenger compartment, but most often would carry aloft cargo bound for the International Space Station or a satellite to be launched.

ACCOMMODATION Sharing accommodation available for a single person in a fully furnished CA/C building, in Farwaniya near Burger King with kitchen & parking facilities. If interested please contact: 99038601.

(C 3490) 2-7-2011

A typical mission Takeoff

Hydrogen tank Liquid oxygen tank

Operational comparison

Space shuttle

Â&#x2021; 6N\ORQ XVHV WKLV V\VWHP ZKLOH VWLOO LQ WKH DWPRVSKHUH UHDFKLQJ D VSHHG RI DERXW 0DFK RU DERXW PSK NSK

3D\ORDG ED\V IW

P

ORQJ

IW

P

ORQJ

Â&#x2021; 6N\ORQ WDNHV RII OLNH DQ DLUSODQH HQJLQHV EXUQ FRROHG H[WHULRU DLU DQG OLTXLG K\GURJHQ DV LW FOLPEV

Skylon

Payload bay

$ERXW PLOOLRQ

Cost per launch

WRQV* PHWULF WRQV

Maximum payload*

WRQV* PHWULF WRQV

$ERXW

Cost per pound (0.45 kg) of payload

$ERXW

Â&#x2021; 7KH 6N\ORQ HQWHUV D PLOH KLJK NP

HTXLWRULDO ORZ (DUWK RUELW

PLOOLRQ

PLOOLRQ HXURV

,QWR ORZ (DUWK RUELW

Sharing accommodation available for decent Indian Hindu or Catholic bachelors or family with Mangalorean Catholic family in a window A/C building oďŹ&#x20AC; Rashid Hospital, Shara Amman, Salmiya.

Contact: 55995437/ 99200186.

(C 3487) 30-6-2011 Spacious bedroom with separate bathroom available for sharing in a two bedroom two bathroom ďŹ&#x201A;at in Abbasiya, near United Indian School for Keralite couples from June 5 onwards. Contact: 66846299. (C 3484) 29-6-2011 Spacious hall available from July onwards near Edee Stores, Salmiya, suitable for classes like Breathing/ Aerobics etc.

Please contact: 55394933.

(C 3479)

Climb

SABRE engine

A radical new jet/rocket hybrid engine design Â&#x2021; 2QH UHDVRQ ERRVWLQJ FDUJR LQWR RUELW FRVWV VR PXFK LV WKDW ERRVWHUV KDYH DOZD\V KDG WR FDUU\ D KHDY\ VXSSO\ RI OLTXLG R[\JHQ EXUQHG ZLWK K\GURJHQ WR JHQHUDWH WKUXVW Thrust T hrrus st noz zzle es nozzles

Hy Hydrogen ydro ydro oge en pump

PrePre reebur rner burner

Â&#x2021; 7KH 6$%5( HQJLQHV DYRLG WKLV SUREOHP E\ ´EUHDWKLQJ DLUÂľ XQWLO UHDFKLQJ XSSHU DWPRVSKHUH WKHQ VZLWFKLQJ WR RQERDUG OLTXLG IX XHOV VZLWFKLQJ WR RQERDUG OLTXLG IXHOV VDYLQJ PDQ\ WRQV RI ZHLJKW

Heat He eat exchanger exc ex xc change er Z KHUH UH DLU LV V VXS SHU U FRROOHG ZKHUH DLU LV VXSHU FRROHG

Ramjet R amje et et Liquid Drive Dr riv ve ve Air A ir burrne ners rs oxygen oxy ox xy ygen pump turbines turrb bine ne es c omprressor burners compressor

Â&#x2021; $W DQ DOWLWXGH RI PL NP WKH HQJLQHV VZLWFK WR URFNHW PRGH VWDUWLQJ WR EXUQ DQ RQERDUG VXSSO\ RI OLTXLG R[\JHQ WKH DLU LQWDNHV DUH VKXW GRZQ

Re-entry

Air int nta take ke intake

Â&#x2021; 'XULQJ UH HQWU\ 6N\ORQ LV LQVXODWHG E\ WKH FRPELQDWLRQ RI D KHDW UHVLVWDQW H[WHULRU VKHOO RI JODVV DQG FHUDPLF DQG DQ LQQHU OD\HU RI KHDW UHIOHFWLYH WLWDQLXP Â&#x2021; $GGLWLRQDO FROG K\GURJHQ LV XVHG WR FRXQWHUDFW UHVLGXDO KHDW

SITUATION VACANT

SITUATION WANTED

FOR SALE Pilates Power GYMâ&#x20AC;? with price KD 50/-. A quality thane ďŹ tness product along with ownerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s manual and 1 hour workout video. Visit www.thane.com to view the machine. Contact: 99430379.

(C 3485) New iPad2 32GB, dishwasher, washing machine, oil room heater, pedestal fan, computer table/ chair, indoor outdoor plants, Ikea book case, garden hose.

Contact: 23983631/ 99435795.

(C 3486) 30-6-2011

Need baby sitter part time or stay-in at Al-Muthana, Kuwait City. Contact: 66809431. (C 3493) A well organized lady is needed to do light cleaning and cooking for a single Arab/ American man living in a house located in Salmiya. Working hours: 3:00pm to 8:30pm. Salary: KD 85/ month. Telephone: 66417504. (C 3492) Full time and part time website developers, designers, administrators, sales and marketing specialists.

Email: thinkq8@gmail.com (C 3494) 3-7-2011

Commerce graduate, Indian (Keralite) seeking employment as Accountant/ Junior Accountant in good companies. Visa transferable, ready to join. Contact: 66509373. (C 3491) 3-7-2011

MATRIMONIAL Proposal invited for Marthoma male, 29 years, company foreman. Invite proposal from MOH staďŹ&#x20AC; in Kuwait. Email: vijige orge83@yahoo.com / vijigeorge83@gmail.com (C 3489) 2-7-2011

DIAL 161 FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION In case you are not travelling, your proper cancellation of bookings will help other passengers to use seats Airlines RJA MLR IMP JZR BBC THY ETH KAC UAE DHX ETD JZR JZR FDB GFA QTR MSR KAC FCX JZR KAC BAW JZR KAC KAC IRA KAC KAC KAC FDB KAC KAC UAE QTR ABY IRA ETD GFA MEA IRC FCX MEA JZR JZR JZR RBG KAC MSR UAL RJA KAC FDB

Flt 642 1405 331 267 41 772 620 108 853 370 305 269 189 67 211 138 614 544 201 555 412 157 1541 206 382 615 284 302 332 53 678 352 855 132 125 603 301 213 406 6801 203 404 165 121 561 3553 672 610 982 640 774 57

Arrival Flights on Sunday 3/7/2011 Route AMMAN COLOMBO / DUBAI ATHENS BEIRUT DHAKA / CHITTAGONG / DUBAI ISTANBUL ADDIS ABABA GENEVA / LONDON DUBAI BAHRAIN ABU DHABI BEIRUT DUBAI DUBAI BAHRAIN DOHA CAIRO CAIRO DUBAI ALEXANDRIA MANILA / BANGKOK LONDON CAIRO ISLAMABAD DELHI SHAHRE KORD DHAKA MUMBAI TRIVANDRUM DUBAI MUSCAT / DUBAI COCHIN DUBAI DOHA SHARJAH SHIRAZ ABU DHABI BAHRAIN BEIRUT AHWAZ DUBAI BEIRUT DUBAI BAHRAIN SOHAG ALEXANDRIA / SOHAG DUBAI CAIRO WASHINGTON DC DULLES AMMAN RIYADH DUBAI

Time 0:05 0:15 0:30 0:35 1:05 1:15 1:45 2:05 2:25 2:55 2:55 3:05 3:10 3:10 3:15 3:20 3:50 4:40 5:25 6:10 6:15 6:30 7:10 7:15 7:20 7:35 7:40 7:50 7:55 7:55 8:00 8:05 8:25 9:00 9:10 9:25 9:30 9:35 10:05 10:15 10:30 10:55 11:10 11:15 12:30 12:55 13:15 13:20 13:30 13:35 13:40 13:50

QTR KAC SVA KAC KAC JZR QTR KAC JZR ETD UAE GFA SVA JZR JZR ABY JZR FDB ALK JZR KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC JAI SYR FDB OMA VOS MEA KAC KAC DHX UAE KAC GFA QTR AFG UAL AIC JZR JZR JZR MSR DLH AXB JZR KLM BBC JZR PIA

140 562 500 788 746 257 134 1802 535 303 857 215 510 777 239 127 213 63 227 177 166 542 618 786 614 102 674 572 341 61 647 81 402 552 512 372 859 172 217 136 405 981 981 135 787 185 612 636 389 539 447 45 481 205

DOHA AMMAN JEDDAH JEDDAH ABU DHABI / DAMMAM BEIRUT DOHA CAIRO CAIRO ABU DHABI DUBAI BAHRAIN RIYADH JEDDAH AMMAN SHARJAH DEIREZZOR / ALEPPO DUBAI COLOMBO / DUBAI DUBAI PARIS / ROME CAIRO DOHA JEDDAH BAHRAIN NEW YORK / LONDON DUBAI MUMBAI DAMASCUS / ALEPPO DUBAI MUSCAT BAGHDAD BEIRUT DAMASCUS TEHRAN BAHRAIN DUBAI FRANKFURT BAHRAIN DOHA KABUL / DUBAI BAHRAIN CHENNAI / AHMEDABAD BAHRAIN RIYADH DUBAI CAIRO FRANKFURT KOZHIKODE / MANGALORE CAIRO AMSTERDAM / BAHRAIN DHAKA / BAHRAIN SABIHA LAHORE

14:15 14:20 14:30 15:00 15:05 15:10 15:15 15:25 15:50 16:50 16:55 17:15 17:20 17:25 17:35 17:40 17:50 17:55 18:00 18:00 18:40 18:50 18:55 19:00 19:20 19:25 19:25 19:35 19:55 20:00 20:10 20:15 20:15 20:15 21:00 21:00 21:15 21:20 21:25 21:35 22:00 22:00 22:05 22:10 22:20 22:35 22:50 23:00 23:10 23:30 23:35 23:45 23:50 23:55

Airlines AXB JZR DLH AIC MLR IMP THY BBC ETH UAE FDB DHX ETD MSR QTR JZR JZR RJA GFA VOS JZR BAW IRA FDB KAC JZR KAC KAC KAC KAC JZR KAC KAC UAE ABY QTR ETD GFA KAC IRA JZR MEA IRC FCX MEA KAC JZR JZR KAC

Flt 394 1540 637 976 1405 332 773 42 620 854 68 371 306 615 139 560 164 643 212 94 120 156 614 54 1801 534 171 671 117 745 256 561 787 856 126 133 302 214 773 602 212 407 6802 204 405 541 776 238 103

Departure Flights on Sunday 3/7/2011 Route COCHIN / KOZHIKODE CAIRO FRANKFURT GOA / CHENNAI COLOMBO ATHENS ISTANBUL DUBAI / DHAKA BAHRAIN / ADDIS ABABA DUBAI DUBAI BAHRAIN ABU DHABI CAIRO DOHA SOHAG DUBAI AMMAN BAHRAIN DUBAI / KANDAHAR BAHRAIN LONDON SHAHRE KORD DUBAI CAIRO CAIRO FRANKFURT DUBAI NEW YORK DAMMAM / ABU DHABI BEIRUT AMMAN JEDDAH DUBAI SHARJAH DOHA ABU DHABI BAHRAIN RIYADH SHIRAZ DEIREZZOR / ALEPPO BEIRUT AHWAZ DUBAI BEIRUT CAIRO JEDDAH AMMAN LONDON

Time 0:15 0:20 0:40 0:50 1:15 2:00 2:15 2:20 2:30 3:45 3:50 3:55 4:05 4:50 5:00 5:55 6:55 7:00 7:10 8:00 8:20 8:25 8:35 8:40 8:45 8:50 8:55 9:00 9:05 9:05 9:10 9:15 9:25 9:40 9:50 10:00 10:15 10:20 10:20 10:25 10:50 11:05 11:15 11:45 11:55 12:00 12:00 12:10 12:30

Directorate General of Civil Aviation Home Page (www.kuwait-airport.com.kw)

KAC RBG JZR MSR RJA FDB UAL KAC KAC KAC SVA JZR QTR KAC KAC JZR ETD QTR UAE GFA ABY JZR SVA FDB JZR JZR JZR ALK KAC KAC JAI FDB SYR KAC KAC OMA MEA KAC DHX UAE GFA FCX QTR KAC KAC JZR JZR JZR KAC UAL MSR KAC

785 3554 176 611 641 58 982 551 673 617 503 480 141 613 511 538 304 135 858 216 128 184 511 64 786 204 134 228 283 361 571 62 342 343 351 648 403 543 373 860 218 102 137 301 205 502 554 530 411 981 613 415

JEDDAH ALEXANDRIA DUBAI CAIRO AMMAN DUBAI BAHRAIN DAMASCUS DUBAI DOHA MEDINAH / JEDDAH SABIHA DOHA BAHRAIN TEHRAN CAIRO ABU DHABI DOHA DUBAI BAHRAIN SHARJAH DUBAI RIYADH DUBAI RIYADH DAMASCUS BAHRAIN DUBAI / COLOMBO DHAKA COLOMBO MUMBAI DUBAI ALEPPO / DAMASCUS CHENNAI COCHIN MUSCAT BEIRUT CAIRO BAHRAIN DUBAI BAHRAIN BAHRAIN DOHA MUMBAI ISLAMABAD LUXOR ALEXANDRIA ASSIUT BANGKOK / MANILA WASHINGTON DC DULLES CAIRO KUALA LUMPUR / JAKARTA

13:30 13:35 13:40 14:20 14:30 14:35 14:45 14:55 15:10 15:35 15:45 16:00 16:15 16:20 16:30 16:40 17:35 17:45 18:05 18:15 18:20 18:25 18:35 18:40 18:40 18:55 19:10 19:10 20:00 20:20 20:35 20:40 20:55 21:00 21:05 21:10 21:15 21:55 22:00 22:25 22:30 22:30 22:35 22:45 22:55 23:05 23:10 23:35 23:40 23:40 23:50 23:50

34

SUNDAY, JULY 3, 2011

s ta rs CROSSWORD 367

STAR TRACK

CALVIN & HOBBES

Aries (March 21-April 19) You draw emotional sustenance and a sense of security from ideals, friends and social involvement now. You may be helping friends most of this day. Perhaps your friends are moving this weekend or you will lend a helping hand in some project that your friends want to start. You work in a team effort very well and may find this the perfect opportunity to get to know your friends better. General good feelings and a sense of harmony make this a happy time.

You could be most persuasive with others and the day just seems to present a natural time for self-expression, lending itself to your particular ideas and thoughts. Expect a sense of support and good will from those around you. A good conversation with those you love is possible.

Taurus (April 20-May 20) Being more in touch with your roots is a keynote of the cycle that now takes hold in your life. This has to do with feelings, but it’s more than that: it’s about making the things you feel and care about a reality. At some levels, this means a greater focus on family life—parents, children, relatives, the whole domestic scene. On a somewhat broader scale, you are likely to find yourself interested in real estate property. Nurturing is where it’s at in your life now: making things grow and taking care of them, planting seeds that will develop and survive far into the future—that’s what it’s all about for you at this time. This evening a gathering of friends can be enjoyed. You could find yourself enchanting others with your imagination and stories.

POOCH CAFE ACROSS

1. A large number or amount.

5. Cause a floating log to rotate by treading.

10. Electronic warfare undertaken to prevent or reduce an enemy's effective use of the electromagnetic spectrum.

13. Chief port of Yemen.

14. A village of huts for native Africans in southern Africa.

15. The seed of the cereal grass.

16. The sound made by a cat (or any sound resembling this).

18. Title for a civil or military leader (especially in Turkey).

19. Fiddler crabs.

20. Place in a grave or tomb.

22. A rechargeable battery with a nickel cathode and a cadmium anode.

24. City in northwestern Jordan.

26. (of a young animal) Abandoned by its mother and raised by hand.

27. The work of caring for or attending to someone or something.

30. The month following July and preceding September.

32. A religious belief of African origin involving witchcraft and sorcery.

38. A tricycle (usually propelled by pedalling).

40. The blood group whose red cells carry both the A and B antigens.

41. A loose sleeveless outer garment made from aba cloth.

42. Fragrant resin obtain from trees of the family Burseraceae and used as incense.

44. A public promotion of some product or service.

45. Thorny shrub or small tree common in central Argentina having small orange or yellow flowers followed by edible berries.

48. A fraudulent business scheme.

52. A small pellet fired from an air rifle or BB gun.

55. An implement used to propel or steer a boat.

59. Type genus of the Alcidae comprising solely the razorbill.

61. The law enforcement agency in the Justice Department.

62. A chronic disease of the nose characterized by a foulsmelling nasal discharge and atrophy of nasal structures.

64. The 22nd letter of the Greek alphabet.

65. Title for a civil or military leader (especially in Turkey).

66. Small often spiny insectivorous mammal of Madagascar.

67. The last (12th) month of the year.

DOWN 1. Willing to face danger.

2. (Norse mythology) Ruler of the Aesir.

3. (informal) Very tired.

4. A short sleep (usually not in bed).

5. A radioactive transuranic element.

6. A self-funded retirement plan that allows you to contribute a limited yearly sum toward your retirement.

7. Disparaging terms for the common people.

8. The syllable naming the sixth (submediant) note of a major or minor scale in solmization.

9. A feeling of strong eagerness (usually in favor of a person or cause).

10. Annual to perennial herbs of the Mediterranean region.

11. Any tropical gymnosperm of the order Cycadales.

12. English economist noted for his studies of international trade and finance (born in 1907).

17. A benevolent aspect of Devi.

21. An ancient city in northern Portugal.

23. The United Nations agency concerned with civil aviation.

25. The French-speaking capital of the province of Quebec.

28. Norwegian mathematician (1802-1829).

29. A journey in a vehicle driven by someone else.

31. A compartment in front of a motor vehicle where driver sits.

33. Harsh or corrosive in tone.

34. A small cake leavened with yeast.

35. Any of numerous local fertility and nature deities worshipped by ancient Semitic peoples.

36. The elementary stages of any subject (usually plural).

37. The cry made by sheep.

39. (Islam) The man who leads prayers in a mosque.

43. A metabolic acid found in yeast and liver cells.

46. A foot traveler.

47. A soft gray ductile metallic element used in alloys.

49. Open-heart surgery in which the rib cage is opened and a section of a blood vessel is grafted from the aorta to the coronary artery to bypass the blocked section of the coronary artery and improve the blood supply to the heart.

50. An elaborate song for solo voice.

51. The feeling of distress and disbelief that you have when something bad happens accidentally.

53. A dull persistent (usually moderately intense) pain.

54. Concerning those not members of the clergy.

56. Botfly larva.

57. A decree that prohibits something.

58. Used of a single unit or thing.

60. A digital display that uses liquid crystal cells that change reflectivity in an applied electric field.

63. A radioactive element of the actinide series.

Gemini (May 21-June 20) The world just seems to click this morning. There may be an opportunity to communicate with a teenager or parent today, when there may have been difficulty making yourself understood in the past.

The effort that you or another person has put forth to heal and grow shows great success. Close relationships take on more depth, power and importance now.

Learning what makes people tick is a past time you seem to enjoy, not necessarily to pry, but for lessons and a feeling of universality. Your instinctive orientation at this time is toward getting down to what is most important—making your ideas work. Appreciating things of value also plays a bigger role in your life. This can be a financially favorable period.

Cancer (June 21-July 22)

NON SEQUITUR

Teaching or taking a class in some form of creative art is fun and keeps your attention most of this day. An opportunity to drop in on garage sales or perhaps a flea market gives you a chance to observe the demands and interests of the public. You can pattern your art sales around similar items that grab people’s attention. If you are working a garage sale or actually working in a retail shop, you will easily draw in the customers. You have a natural ability to use emotions in productive ways. Each day, each hour and every instant, you are choosing what you want to look upon, the sound you want to hear and the witnesses to what you want to be the truth for you. You may decide to relax with a book or chat with a friend this evening.

Leo (July 23-August 22) In-depth discussions and probing conversations find you at your mental best this morning. Everyone seems to have their responsibilities and errands to run but there is time later today to bring people together in an atmosphere of fun and camaraderie. You may have decided on a vegetable garden for this summer. Today is a good time to tend that garden—you will have plenty of help. You may decide to begin one of those mulching containers. A heightened interest in health and diet may create in you the desire to plant vegetables along with the other plantings. Family or friends come together this evening for fun and games. This evening is a good time for a barbecue and to try your hand at some sort of low fat homemade ice cream.

ZITS

Virgo (August 23-September 22) Your broadmindedness seems to create a save-the-world type of mindset. Perhaps you will want to check out some volunteer group or in some way help refugees from another country. You can influence and encourage others to do this type of volunteer work as well. Your inner resources and emotions are accented. As you probably know by now, you are a pioneer and leader.

You can expect a sense of support and goodwill from family and friends for whatever you want to involve yourself with at this time. There is talk with a sibling about dieting or health care—yours or others. New techniques only bring you back to the healthy meals, less fat solution. You may decide to add two protein breaks during the day to keep your energy up and cut the hunger urges.

Libra (September 23-October 22)

MOTHER GOOSE AND GRIMM

Scorpio (October 23-November 21) You may have been thinking about a proposal that was offered to you recently. Perhaps a community office or service is something you could add to your special talent just now. This may mean serving a political office or just walking around to get people to sign a petition. You will be able to make a positive difference if you only take a small amount of time to act on this now. You could even have a special gift for spanning the generation gap, bringing older and younger spirits together. A lifelong trait of yours is to help with lost animals, needy children, older people and the downtrodden. There may be a special program to encourage others to adopt abandoned animals or some other similar activity may be where your energies are used today.

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21) Although you have a hard time parting with your collections, you will be determined in becoming more organized today. You aim to have a place for everything. Perhaps you have decided not to have a garage sale at this time. You have ways in which to express your creative side. You have great creative talent and may gain some insight into a project that could bring in some additional income to your family. Ideas about some science fiction story, or at the least, the beginning of an outline for a story is possible. Words and thoughts sort of magically appear, illuminating whatever subject is at hand. You really do have very different ideas and ways of expressing them. Your home environment will reap the reward of your loving care.

Capricorn (December 22-January 19)

To

Yesterday’s Solution

You tend to avoid getting personal when it comes to your own emotions and would rather keep sensitive matters at arm’s length. You do not mind getting into the personal business of others, if they need counseling. It is easy for you to be helpful and no worries about you repeating information would come into question. There is a chance to understand those around you and to have a special time with someone you love. General good feeling and a sense of support and harmony make this a happy time. If you are shopping this afternoon, remember that you do not have to rush. Later today you may decide a theme change is in order for your home. You tend to be very traditional and you could find yourself changing to a ranch or southwest style.

Most of your day consists of helping others. You will discover new ways to communicate and interact with others. You may find yourself more talkative and easy-going than usual. Perhaps you are giving a lecture, or performing as a guide for others. An informative dialogue with an older person may take place today. Learning what people like and what they don’t like turns on your curiosity; you love watching people and the interaction between friends and lovers.

Your instinctive orientation at this time is toward getting down to basics; healing may be a subject that is becoming more interesting to you and learning new ways to lead others and solve problems is most mind grabbing. You like to solve puzzles and dilemmas, yours or others.

Yesterday’s Solution Yester

Aquarius (January 20- February 18) Beware of the temptation to perceive yourself unfairly treated.

Remember that when you find yourself feeling as though others take advantage of you, it may be because of your choice to allow these situations to happen. Learn tools of conversation that will help you deal with difficult situations— not necessarily difficult people. Try to be clear about your choices as it will save you from most tricky situations and present to you a freedom you never thought you could have. If your emotions are self-destructive, learn ways to change your outlook.

You may not be happy with results of investments today—this particular opportunity may have positive energy later. Today is a reflective day rather than one of expression or action. Count your blessings.

Pisces (February 19-March 20)

Word Sleuth Solution

You are at your mental best with sharp ideas and clear thoughts. This is an excellent time to make decisions and take care of mental work. Personal matters you have put off these last few weeks can now be completed. You feel a love of order and law—an appreciation for responsibilities and duty. Everything conspires to value and bring out your unique and unusual qualities.

You could come up with new solutions or inventions. You may find yourself a tutor to a young person this evening. This could involve some musical instrument or some new technique. This evening may bring about some opportunities to stop and reflect and understand your own situation, just how you feel about yourself. Time with your loved ones is refreshing.

A

y

e niv rsar n

SUNDAY, JULY 3, 2011

Years

i n f o r m at i o n FIRE BRIGADE

STATE ST TAT TE OF KUW K KUWAIT WA AIT

112

Tel.: T el.: e 161

DIRECTORA DIRECTORATE AT TE GENE GENERAL ERAL OF CIVIL A AVIATION V VIA AT TION METEOROLOGICAL DEP D PA ARTMENT DEPARTMENT DA AY: Y Saturday DAY:

WWW .MET.GOV V..KW W WWW.MET.GOV.KW

02/07/2011 02/07/201 1

Ministry of Interior

Ext.: 2627 262 27 - 2630

Fax: 24348714

07:00

Time Issue Time

Expected Weather Weather for the Next 24 4 Hours Hot wi with ith moderate to fresh north westerly w wind, with speed off 25 - 50 km/h causing raising g dust

BY Y DA DAY: AY:

website: www.moi.gov.kw Dust will westerly w subside gradually with moderate m to fresh north weste erly wind, with speed of 20 - 40 km/h

NIGHT:: BY Y NIGHT

For labor-related inquiries and complaints: Call MSAL hotline 128

No Current W Warnings aarnings

WARNING W A ARNING STATION ST TAT TION

Hospitals Sabah Hospital

24812000

MAX. EXP EXP. P.

MIN.. REC.

KUW WA AIT CITY KUWAIT

42 °C

31 °C

KUWAIT KUW WA AIT AIRPORT AIRPOR RT

43 °C

31 °C

45 °C C

29 °C C

Amiri Hospital

22450005

NUWAISEEB NUW WA AISEEB

Maternity Hospital

24843100

WAFRA WA AFRA

44 °C

29 °C

Mubarak Al-Kabir Hospital

25312700

SALMI

41 °C

25 °C

Chest Hospital

24849400

ABDAL LY ABDALY

45 °C

29 °C

Farwaniya Hospital

24892010

ALIY YA AH JAL ALIYAH

44 °C

29 °C

Adan Hospital

23940620

FA AILAKA FAILAKA

42 °C

28 °C

Ibn Sina Hospital

24840300

POR RT AHMADI PORT

43 °C

31 °C

Al-Razi Hospital

24846000

M UMM AL-MARADEM

37 °C

31 °C

Physiotherapy Hospital

24874330/9

WA ARBA A - BUBYAN BUBY YA AN WARBA

45 °C

29 °C

Clinics

SFC. CHAR CHART T

02/07/201 1 0000U UTC 02/07/2011 0000UTC

4732263

Roudha

22517733

Adhaliya

22517144

Sunday

03/07

Khaldiya

24848075

Monday

04/07

Keifan

24849807

Tuesday Tuesday

05/07

Shamiya

24848913

Weednesday Wednesday

06/07

Shuwaikh

24814507

Abdullah Salim

22549134

Al-Nuzha

T emperratures Temperatures DAY DA AY

DATE DA AT TE

WEA WEATHER AT THER

MAX.

MIN.

Wind Wind Direction Direction

Wind Wind Speed

du ust hot + raising dust

43 °C

31 °C

NW

25 - 50 km/h

ust hot + blowing du dust

44 °C

32 °C

NW

20 - 45 km/h

ust hot + blowing du dust

45 °C

32 °C

NW

20 - 45 km/h

hot

45 °C

33 °C

NW

15 - 35 km/h

PRAYER PR RA AY YER TIMES

RECORDED D YESTERDAY YESTERDA AY A AT T KUW KUWAIT WA AIT T AIRPOR AIRPORT T

Fajr

03:17

MAX. MA AX. Temp.

Temp.

41 °C

22526804

Sunrise S i

04 52 04:52

MIN. Temp.

MI IN T IN. emp.

31 °C

Industrial Shuwaikh

24814764

Zuhr

11:52 11:52

MAX. RH M

19 %

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

24892674

Al-Omariya

24719048

N.Kheitan

24710044

Fintas

3900322

22418714

Al-Shohada’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

POLICE STATION

4 DA DAYS AY YS FORECAST

Rabiya

Al-Madena

15:26

MIN. RH M

18:52

MAX. Wind MA AX. W ind

Isha

20:23

TOTAL RAINFALL T OT TA AL L RAI INF FA ALL L IN 24 HR.

un nless otherwise stated.

All times are local time unless

22434064 22435865 22544200 22547133 22515277 22616662 25714406 22530801

THE PUBLIC AUTHORITY FOR CIVIL INFORMATION Automated enquiry about the Civil ID card is 1889988

06 %

Asr Sunset

Al-Madena Police Station Al-Murqab Police Station Al-Daiya Police Station Al-Fayha’a Police Station Al-Qadissiya Police Station Al-Nugra Police Station Al-Salmiya Police Station Al-Dasma Police Station

NW W 64 km/h 00 mm

02/07/11 02:52 UTC 02/07/11

V1.00

T1.06

PHARMACIES

AIRLINES

ON 24 HRS DUTY GOVERNORATE

PHARMACY

ADDRESS

PHONE

Ahmadi

Sama Safwan Abu Halaifa Danat Al-Sultan

Fahaeel Makka St Abu Halaifa-Coastal Rd Mahboula Block 1, Coastal Rd

23915883 23715414 23726558

Jahra

Modern Jahra Madina Munawara

Jahra-Block 3 Lot 1 Jahra-Block 92

24575518 24566622

Capital

Ahlam Khaldiya Coop

Fahad Al-Salem St Khaldiya Coop

22436184 24833967

Farwaniya

New Shifa Ferdous Coop Modern Safwan

Farwaniya Block 40 Ferdous Coop Old Kheitan Block 11

24734000 24881201 24726638

Hawally

Tariq Hana Ikhlas Hawally & Rawdha Ghadeer Kindy Ibn Al-Nafis Mishrif Coop Salwa Coop

Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St Salmiya-Amman St Hawally-Beirut St Hawally & Rawdha Coop Jabriya-Block 1A Jabriya-Block 3B Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St Mishrif Coop Salwa Coop

25726265 25647075 22625999 22564549 25340559 25326554 25721264 25380581 25628241

Kuwait Airways Jazeera Airways Jet Airways FlyDubai 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 Aeroflot

22433377 177 22924455 22414400 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 22958787 22453820/1 22404838/9

PRIVATE CLINICS Ophthalmologists Dr. Abidallah Al-Mansoor 25622444 Dr. Samy Al-Rabeea 25752222 Dr. Masoma Habeeb 25321171 Dr. Mubarak Al-Ajmy 25739999 Dr. Mohsen Abel 25757700 Dr Adnan Hasan Alwayl 25732223 Dr. Abdallah Al-Baghly 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-Awadi 22616660 Dr. Adel Al-Hunayan FRCS (C) 25313120 Dr. Leons Joseph 66703427 Psychologists /Psychotherapists

Paediatricians

Plastic Surgeons Dr. Mohammad Al-Khalaf

22547272

Dr. Abd Al-Aziz Al-Rashed

Dr. Abdal-Redha Lari

22617700

Dr. Zahra Qabazard

Dr. Abdel Quttainah

25625030/60

Family Doctor Dr Divya Damodar

23729596/23729581

Psychiatrists Dr. Esam Al-Ansari

22635047

Dr Eisa M. Al-Balhan

INTERNATIONAL CALLS

22613623/0

Gynaecologists & Obstetricians DrAdrian arbe

23729596/23729581

Dr. Verginia s.Marin

2572-6666 ext 8321

Endocrinologist 25340300

25710444

Dr. Sohail Qamar

22621099

Dr. Snaa Maaroof

25713514

Dr. Pradip Gujare

23713100

Dr. Zacharias Mathew

24334282

(1) Ear, Nose and Throat (2) Plastic Surgeon Dr. Abdul Mohsin Jafar, FRCS (Canada)

Dr Anil Thomas

3729596/3729581 22641071/2

22655539

Dr. Majeda Khalefa Aliytami

25343406

Dr. Anesah Al-Rasheed

22562226

Dr. Ahmad Al-Khooly

25739272

Dr. Abidallah Al-Amer

22561444

Dr. Salem soso

22618787

Dr. Faysal Al-Fozan

22619557

Dr. Abdallateef Al-Katrash

22525888

Dr. Amer Zawaz Al-Amer

22610044

Dr. Abidallah Al-Duweisan

25653755

Dr. Mohammad Yousef Basher

25327148

Dr. Bader Al-Ansari

25620111

Neurologists

Dr. Adnan Ebil

22639939

Dr. Sohal Najem Al-Shemeri

25633324

Dr. Mousa Khadada

22666300

Dr. Jasem Mola Hassan

25345875

Gastrologists

25728004

Dr. Nadem Al-Ghabra

25355515

Dr. Sami Aman

22636464

Dr. Mobarak Aldoub

24726446

Dr. Mohammad Al-Shamaly

25322030

Dr Nasser Behbehani

25654300/3

Dr. Foad Abidallah Al-Ali

22633135

Soor Center Tel: 2290-1677 Fax: 2290 1688

info@soorcenter.com www.soorcenter.com

Dr. Kamal Al-Shomr 25329924 Physiotherapists & VD Dr. Deyaa Shehab

25722291 22666288

Rheumatologists:

Dr. Fozeya Ali Al-Qatan

Dr. Latefa Al-Duweisan

Dr. Ahmad Al-Ansari 25658888

Dr. Musaed Faraj Khamees

Dentists

Internists, Chest & Heart

25339330

25655535

Dr. Shamah Al-Matar

General Surgeons

Dr. Abd Al-Naser Al-Othman

Dr. Naif Al-Mutawa, Ph.D. 2290-1677 Susannah-Joy Schuilenberg, M.A. 2290-1677

Dr. Adel Al-Awadi

25330060

Dr. Khaled Al-Jarallah

25722290

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 Consultant Cardiologist Dr. Farida Al-Habib MD, PH.D, FACC Inaya German Medical Center Te: 2575077 Fax: 25723123

2611555-2622555

William Schuilenberg, RPC 2290-1677 Zaina Al Zabin, M.Sc. 2290-1677

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

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

Central African 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) Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Falkland Islands Faroe Islands Fiji Finland France French Guiana French Polynesia

00236 00235 0056 0086 0057 00269 00242 00682 00506 00385 0053 00357 0090392 00420 0045 00246 00253 001767 001809 00593 0020 00503 0044 00240 00291 00372 00251 00500 00298 00679 00358 0033 00594 00689

y

A

36

e niv rsar n

Years

SUNDAY, JULY 3, 2011

li fe s ty le F E A T U R E S

Youth forming a choir of 22,239 young singers perform on July 1, 2011 in the Estonian capital Tallinn, opening the three-day youth song and dance festival, a tradition launched in Estonia in 1869.

—AFP photos

Giant youngsters’ choir takes to stage in

tiny Estonia ore than 22,000 youngsters-from China to Canada-took to the stage as a single choir Friday in the small Baltic republic of Estonia, where music is seen as a bedrock of the national identity. A total of 22,239 performers gave the opening performance of a three-day song and dance festival, tapping into an unbroken tradition stretching back almost 150 years, organizers said. Besides the Estonian youngsters, decked out in folk costumes, the choir also included 404 singers from eight other countries: Canada, China, Finland, Latvia, Luxembourg, Nor way, Sweden and Switzerland.

The visiting children had to a certain amougn of Estonian, a language that often bemuses outsiders.”All foreign singers had to learn songs in Estonian and send in their recordings in January 2011,” Kaija Velmet, from the organization team, told AFP. The choir, whose members’ average age was 14, was formed from individual ensembles drawn from across this European Union nation of 1.3 million.

After months of practice at home, they headed to Tallinn this week for final rehearsals. “I’m at this giant song festival for the second time,” Stella Ploom, 12, from the village of Kaapa in southern Estonia told AFP. “It’s nice to be here because it is such a deep part of Estonian culture, but I also like being able to spend most of the week singing with friends,” she added.

Kaapa choir-mistress Helbe Kits said her young charges met the challenge with gusto. “ The children are a bit tired, because it’s been unusually hot, with temperatures of up to 30 Celsius, but they all seem happy despite the long rehearsals,” Kits told AFP. Estonia’s mass song festivals for adult choirs started in 1869, when the country was part of Tsarist Russia, and have taken place every five years since then, withstanding the travails of history.Estonia won independence in 1918 but its freedom was snuffed out by the Soviet Union during World War II. The youth festival was launched in 1961. The festivals were the cradle of what became known as Estonia’s “Singing Revolution”, a string of mass demonstrations against Soviet rule that began in 1987 and united 300,000 protesters in song. — AFP

M

T

cised. The stadium plays a central role in the German sports and cultural calendar, hosting Berlin’s main football team, the 2006 World Cup final, concerts by the likes of U2 — and in September Pope Benedict XVI will hold a mass there. The eclectic list of weekend attendees includes former European Commission president Jacques Santer, a tribal king from Ghana and a former Slovenian prime minister who will play the EU anthem, Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy”, on the harmonica. Yoga, though, the originally Eastern combination of meditation, controlled breathing and body postures that has exploded in popularity in the West in recent decades, is the main focus.

The event will be “the world’s biggest yoga camp”, according to Ravi Shankar’s biographer Francois Gautier. “It will be a chance for the public to get to know all the different kinds,” operations director Christoph Glaser told a news conference ahead of the festival. The event also celebrates the 30th birthday of the Art of Living Foundation, created

by Ravi Shankar, one of India’s bestknown spiritual figures whose public appearances draw vast crowds. The

55-year-old’s foundation is a not-forprofit, educational and humanitarian non-governmental organization dedicated to creating a “stress-free mind and a violence-free society”.

Based in Bangalore, India, it has also helped in conflict resolution in places such as Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Iraq, disaster relief, female empowerment and environmental sustainability.

Ravi Shankar, always dressed in white and sporting a long dark beard, is one of India’s five most influential people, according to US magazine Forbes. He is also on social networking website Facebook, needless to say. He once studied under Maharishi Mahesh Yogi-the guru who famously inspired the Beatles.

He is not to be confused with the world-famous sitar player Ravi Shankar, also associated with the Fab Four.

Millions of people overseas are believed to follow his breathing techniques. “Unless we have a stressfree mind and a violence-free society, we cannot achieve world Peace,” he says. Further information can be found at http://www.worldculturefestival.org, where live webcasts of the event will be available. —AFP

Vienna Opera

ens of thousands of yoga fans were expected in Berlin this weekend for a huge festival organized in the German capital’s 1930s Olympic Stadium by one of India’s best-known gurus, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. The July 2-3 World Culture Festival is billed as a “unique celebration of harmony in diversity”, bringing together a hoped-for 70,000 participants from 151 countries. All will take back home with them “unique sights, sounds, tastes and the mesmerizing variety of all the world continents in one place”, the organizers promise. Dance and music troops from around the globe will perform, climaxing in a grand finale involving 30 pianos and 2,000 guitars as well as a mass “Peace Meditation”.

Figures from government, business and academia as well as “spiritual leaders, peacemakers and renowned personalities” will “exchange their views and spread the message of peace, unity and harmony in diversity”. The venue was built for the 1936 Olympic Games, infamously intended by Adolf Hitler to showcase Aryan racial supremacy, but since then its Nazi ghosts have been steadily exor-

T

Record first season at

Tens of thousands due at Berlin yoga fest

he French reign at Vienna’s venerable State Opera has kicked off with a bang, bringing in record revenues and attendance numbers in its very first season. With 331 opera, ballet and children’s performances over the past 10 months, the Staatsoper saw an impressive attendance average of 98.33 percent, it announced Friday.

For opera performances alone, this even went as high as 99.7 percent. Meanwhile, the 584,974 tickets sold throughout the 2010-2011 season brought in some 29.53 million euros ($42.78 million). “These figures are fantastic and show the attachment of the Viennese audience-one of the most demanding in the world-to the Staatsoper, as well as its agree-

ment with the renewal process that began 10 months ago,”Frenchman Dominique Meyer, who took over as opera director on September 1, 2010, told AFP. Even the long neglected ballet company has seen a massive revival, with the Staatsoper filled to 99.9 percent of capacity for Rudolf Nureyev’s “Don Quixote” earlier this year. The Staatsoper has practically been under French rule since Meyer took over in September from the Romanian-born Ioan Holender, who ruled over the opera house for 18 years. A compatriot, former Paris Opera etoile Manuel Legris, is now in charge of the ballet company, while musical director Franz Welser-Moest, an Austrian, completes the trio. —AFP

The director of the Vienna state ballet Michel Legris performs with Nina Polakova during the general rehearsal of the ballet ‘In the night’ at the Vienna state opera. —AFP

SUNDAY, JULY 3, 2011

lifestyle

Santana, McLaughlin open Montreux jazz on high note

C

In this undated file photo provided by New Line Productions shows actor William Hurt in a scene from ‘A History of Violence.’—AP

5 most formidable movie mobsters T

here’s been no shortage of movies made about mobsters over the years; their power and brazenness understandably hold a fascination for Hollywood and filmgoers. But some gangsters are more fearsome than others. One of the most infamous of all is James “Whitey” Bulger, the New England mob boss who was captured last week after 16 years as a fugitive, and who helped inspire Jack Nicholson’s character in Martin Scorsese’s 2006 Oscarwinner “The Departed.” He’s our inspiration this week to take a look at five of the most formidable movie mobsters of all time: • Marlon Brando as Don Vito Corleone in “The Godfather” (1972): Of course, we have to start here, but what more can we say that hasn’t been said a million times before? Brando’s quietly intimidating performance as the aging patriarch of an organized crime family set the standard for portrayals of Mafia leaders-at least in the first part of Francis Ford Coppola’s ambitious, ground-breaking trilogy. Al Pacino’s Michael Corleone is truly frightening, but Brando’s shadow looms large over everything. He’s been endlessly worshipped, quoted and parodied, and deservedly so. Brando’s work is nothing short of iconic, and it earned him an Academy Award for best actor, which he famously wouldn’t accept in protest. See, the Academy made him an offer he COULD refuse. Ba-dum-bum.

• Ray Liotta as Henry Hill in “Goodfellas” (1990):

Scorsese was robbed, of course. On no planet should “Dances With Wolves” ever win the best-picture Oscar over “Goodfellas,” which remains one of the director’s masterpieces. All his stylistic signatures are there: the fluid movement and the rock soundtrack; the colorful characters and the visceral violence. But at the center of it all is Liotta, doing the best work of his career as a resourceful up-andcomer who rises to the top of the mob heap, only to find he’s in over his head. He’s just as dangerous as he is boyishly handsome and charming-resourceful and clever but capable of volatility. He’s snorting lines, he’s stirring the sauce, he can do it all.

• James Cagney in multiple roles: Playing a tough guy was one of Cagney’s strong suits, and that persona was indelibly on display in several classic gangster movies. In 1931’s “The Public Enemy,” he plays Tom Powers, a volatile Chicago gangster on the rise who has some creative uses for grapefruit. In 1938’s “Angels With Dirty Faces,” he plays Rocky Sullivan, who grew up in a tough part of New York and returns as a career criminal, only to cross paths with the priest who was his childhood best friend. Michael Curtiz’s film features plenty of stereotypes and a moral undercurrent, but Cagney is at his brash best, and the performance earned him the first of his three Academy Award nominations for best actor.

• Ben Kingsley as Don Logan in “Sexy Beast” (2001): Part of the allure of this performance is that it’s so vastly

Marlon Brando is shown in a scene from Paramount Pictures “The Godfather,” in this undated promotional photo. —AP different from the kind of quiet, dignified work we ordinarily associate with Kingsley: He’s the anti-Gandhi. He’s just tremendous here, and the role earned him an Oscar nomination for best supporting actor. As a foul-mouthed, guntoting, butt-kicking British thug, Kingsley is unpredictable, impossible to stop watching. His performance alone would make “Sexy Beast” worth seeing, but it punctuates a stylish noir thriller that’s totally addictive.

• William Hurt as Richie Cusack in “A History of Violence” (2005): Hurt also earned a supporting-actor Oscar nomination for his performance as a passively threatening Philadelphia mob boss. He shows up toward the end of the movie and has only a single scene, one that’s unlike any other in the film with its dark sense of humor.

Parading around an ostentatious castle of a home, he plays the role with a mix of affection, menace, paranoia and regret, laying on the most charming guilt trip with just a touch of insanity. Even though he barely appears in director David Cronenberg’s twisty thriller, he nearly steals the whole movie.—AP

G

year hiatus, the band is preparing to release its second, self-titled album, due out July 19 on Jive/Essential Records.

Recovery was a slow process, aided in large part by his cousin, Burlap lead singer Steven Delopoulos.

Doctors didn’t know whether Philippidis would play guitar the same way because of the damage he suffered, and he was nervous to even pick one up.

“Initially I was slow, and I put it down, and didn’t look at it again, and said, ‘Nuh uh. Not gonna do this.’ That was depressing me. It was like, ‘Oh my god, oh my god,”‘ he said.

Philippidis panicked, but his doctor reassured him that it would take time for his brain and nerves to reconnect.

Delopoulos would drive from New Jersey to visit his cousin nearly every weekend. Instead of pushing him back into music before he was ready, they would play the Xbox video game “Halo” and trash talk each other.

“The thing about Johnny is he’s really good at guitar, but whenever we play ‘Halo’ .” “Oh, he’s trash talking right now,” interrupted Philippidis, as the two joke around. Eventually,

N

Burlap to Cashmere Delopoulos began testing out a few song ideas in front of Philippidis, and the album track “Orchestrated Love Song” took shape.

“Picked up a guitar, and I think we wrote the opening lick to that song, which was like not complex, but it made me feel like, ‘OK, wait, I can still do this. My hands are still moving,”‘ said Philippidis. Little by little, Burlap to Cashmere began to reemerge. The band had broken onto the scene in 1998 with its major-label debut, “Anybody Out There?” Met with critical acclaim and multiple Dove Awards, they generated a dedicated following and quickly established themselves as an exceptional live act.

However, relentless touring took its toll, and they went on hiatus in 2001.

“Steven and I will always play music together,” said Philippidis. “We’ve been doing it since we were like 8.

We’re cousins. But this strengthened the fact that we needed to do it soon, because we realized at that point, well, life is fleeting.” Drummer Theodore Pagano heard some of the new songs and got onboard. He was at a crossroad in his own life, going through a divorce and having decided to leave his job in London, designing a 20,000-square-foot (1858square-meter) concept store for National Geographic that wasn’t working out. After Burlap’s initial breakup, Pagano quickly established himself as a top name in the interior design world. He designed all the top-floor room sets for Ikea and then did the same thing for Apple stores. Pagano became an organizational and driving force behind Burlap to Cashmere that eventually scored them another major-label record deal. —AP

Review: Selena Gomez sounds generic on 3rd album

S

elena Gomez & the Scene, “When the Sun Goes Down” (Hollywood Records) There comes a point when a Disney or Nickelodeon star tries to make the transition to official recording artist. This is Selena Gomez’s moment. Musically speaking, Gomez is no Miley Cyrus or Vanessa Hudgens-that’s because she’s better. She’s got a decent voice, and showcased that on last year’s “A Year Without Rain,” a pop ballad that still sounds good. There’s nothing as good as that on “When the Sun Goes Down,” Gomez’s third album with her band the Scene.

“Who Says,” a song about self-worth, is the best track. It’s the lead single, but there aren’t

In this photo US guitarist Carlos Santana, right, and British guitarist John McLaughlin, left, perform yesterday.—AP

China documentary directors say they enjoy freedom

Folk rockers Burlap to Cashmere back from tragedy uitarist John Philippidis woke up groggy from a monthlong coma in a hospital room full of people. He disregarded doctors urging him to stay in bed and slowly shuffled to the bathroom. As he went to wash his hands, he reflexively looked up in the mirror and saw a closed eye, a head the size of a basketball and his face disfigured beyond what he thought could ever be repaired. “I started laughing,” Philippidis said in a recent interview with The Associated Press. At the time, he couldn’t remember that two ex-Marines and a female accomplice had beaten him to within an inch of his life and left him for dead during a random, road rage incident just miles from his home in the New York borough of Brooklyn.

Doctors took his reaction as a good sign-and it was. “I just remember that feeling of being reminded right there in that moment that you’re alive. Whatever happened to you, you’re alive,” said Philippidis.

That was 2005. Today, 33-year-old Philippidis is feeling more alive than ever. His recovery sparked a reunion with award-winning, folk-rock band Burlap to Cashmere, and after a 12-

arlos Santana and John McLaughlin performed tunes by John Coltrane, Bob Dylan and Led Zeppelin, ushering in the 45th edition of the Montreux jazz festival with a spiritual note from the 1960s and 70s. The two legendary guitarists kicked off Friday night’s concert with “The Life Divine” and closed with “A Love Supreme”, both tracks from their 1973 gold album “Love, Devotion and Surrender”.

Their acoustic version of Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven” was a highlight of a nostalgic concert at Montreux, one of Europe’s most prestigious summer jazz festivals, which runs until July 16. “Coltrane, Dylan, Zeppelin-we grew up with all of them. The next one is a real favorite of mine from the Mahavishnu Orchestra,” said McLaughlin, introducing “The Creator has a Master Plan” from his pioneering fusion band.

Santana, dressed head to toe in white, his black curls touching his shoulders, also struck a meditative chord during the gig, which featured mariachis and Latin-influenced percussion. “John and I have a lot in common, we resonate spiritual feelings and resonate with having fun. It is not just Mother Teresa, the Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu who get to have fun. “Our highest purpose is to touch your heart.

Miles Davis, Billie Holiday, Marvin Gaye, and Dylan, we love all them all and pay tribute and celebrate the supreme spirit of a great drummer, if not the greatest drummer ever, Tony Williams,” Santana, 64, told the crowd.

Cindy Blackman, Santana’s second wife, joined on drums in a powerful rendition of “Vuelta Abajo”, a tribute to the late American jazz drummer Williams who played with Miles Davis and McLaughlin. “These tunes go back 150 years. Any more old hippies out there?” quipped the silverhaired McLaughlin, now 69. “It was a very special music that we played at that time. Cindy has taken the tradition of Tony Williams and pushed it further.”

Santana and McLaughlin sat together front stage without the other nine musicians for two moving duets on acoustic guitars, “Naima”, a Coltrane composition also from their “Love, Devotion and Surreder” album, and “Lotus Land”. “At this point in our lives, it is all about perception...So make a conscious choice to make every day the best day of your life,” the Mexican-born American Santana said to cheers. “Downstairs Blues”, by Elvin Jones, got the crowd rocking, with Blackman on drums. For an encore they played “Miles Davis (Black Satin)” and a “Love Supreme”, the crowd chanting the lyrics, while Montreux festival founder Claude Nobs jumped in on harmonica. B.B. King will join the pair on the famed Montreux stage on Sunday night.

“Montreux is known for special meetings of stars,” Swiss fan David Pittet said as the lights went on. —Reuters

any other songs like it. For the rest of the disc Gomez is typical, offering radio-friendly tunes about “dancing forever” and partying till “the sun goes down.” How original. Gomez gets help from some heavyweights: She has writing credits from Britney Spears and Katy Perry, but those tunes sounds like leftovers.

She’s better off collaborating with singers who have yet to reach diva stardom: Singersongwriter Priscilla Renea co-wrote “Who Says,” and English singer Pixie Lott lends a hand on the enjoyable groove “We Own the Night.” —AP

In this CD cover image released by Hollywood Records, the latest release

by Selena Gomez & the Scene, “When the Sun Goes Down,” is shown. —AP

for us ... What should we be afraid of?” Zhou ews of the arrests of prominent said. Zhou cited the examples of two fellow Chinese dissidents like Ai Weiwei and filmmakers. They include Xu Xin, who interLiu Xiaobo has dominated headlines viewed disgruntled parents of a deadly and painted a picture of harsh oppression December 1994 fire in a remote western and censorship. But two independent town that killed more than 300 children stagChinese documentary makers attending a ing a performance at a local theater for his Hong Kong festival say they enjoy a great six-hour documentary “Karamay.” Some pardeal of creative freedom and can tackle most ents believe that preferential escape for offisubjects they are interested in-in part thanks cials attending the performance led to the to the dissidents’ sacrifices. “On the surface deaths. Thirteen local officials were senpeople think that making documentaries in tenced to jail terms of up to seven years for China is a very difficult task, that we are negligence and the parents were paid comdoing something that the (Chinese pensation, but many still think the governCommunist) party doesn’t like. That is not ment hasn’t done enough. necessarily the case,” director Zhou Hao said Another documentary maker, Zhao Liang, during a public talk on the sidelines of the 2011 Chinese Documentary Festival in Hong Kong late Friday. “I think we enjoy a significant amount of space,” he said.

Zhou, who used to work as a photographer for the state-run Xinhua News Agency, described the Chinese documentary scene as “a hundred flowers bloom,” using a Chinese idiom. “There are all sorts of movies. There are movies that examine different sides of different issues.” He said that people often ask him if he worried about the conseChinese director Zhou Hao stands in front of a screen quence of his work. “But my showing his documentary feature ‘The Transition Period’ understanding is that you during a presentation ceremony of the Chinese can basically film everything Documentary Festival in Hong Kong .—AP you want to film. The key question is whether you made the 2009 film “Petition,” which docuwant to shoot something. If you want to ments the plight of China’s so-called “petishoot something, you can definitely do it,” tioners” — regular citizens who descend on Zhou said.

Beijing to seek justice for wrongdoing by “Of course there are restrictions in the local officials. “Aren’t they still alive?” Zhou mainland, but I think the tougher restrictions asked. There is a caveat to Zhou’s and Ma’s come from the heart of the filmmakers. The comments. fear comes from ourselves. I think the other Filmmakers like the two of them can factors are irrelevant,” he said. Fellow direcenjoy wide latitude thanks to the advent of tor Ma Zhandong agreed. “If you like what affordable and small digital cameras. The you are doing, you can overcome the hurdles,” he said. Zhou added that he felt he and sheer vastness of the country also makes it impossible for Chinese officials to police his fellow filmmakers are the beneficiary of the sacrifices made by high-profile dissidents every independent director. But underground filmmakers who operate outside like Ai, the avant-garde artist and activist who was released last week after nearly three the system-officially sanctioned projects must have their scripts and final cuts months in detention for alleged tax evasion. approved by censors-cannot secure comCritics view the case as political persecution. mercial releases. —AP “There are many people taking the heat

SUNDAY, JULY 3, 2011

lifestyle T R A V E L

Fabled

Sydney lifestyle under a cloud S

ydney regularly ranks high on lists of the world’s best cities, with its booming economy, enviable beaches and a laid-back, sun-kissed lifestyle-but critics see clouds on the horizon. The cosmopolitan jewel in Australia’s crown has a reputation for arts, fashion, commerce and culture and on a beautiful day down by the harbor, feasting on fresh seafood, it is hard not succumb to its charms. But its fabled lifestyle is under threat from creaking infrastructure, traffic congestion, rising prices and a population

next 25 years, presenting some serious challenges to urban planners.

While many live the good life, Sydney is seen as a city of two halves, with some residents housed in downtrodden and fastexpanding suburbs, mostly in the west, where crime is rife. They face crowded roads, ageing trains and buses for their daily commute, some of the most expensive housing in the world and rising living costs. Even Prime Minister Julia Gillard, who resides at The Lodge on the harbor opposite the

File photos show Sydney residents making their way to shops in the central business district. — AFP photos

boom. “I love living here. Sydney really does have so much going for it,” said Linda Townsend, an Australian mother-of three who has also lived in London, Atlanta and Hong Kong.”But I’ve also travelled widely enough to know that Sydney is not the best city for many things. Living here has its daily struggles and stresses. “It’s become very expensive, the transport isn’t good and it’s getting worse.” Sydney is the country’s most populous city, with some 4.5 million people already crammed into its borders. And it is growing faster than anticipated, with forecasts that it could pass six million within the

Opera House when in Sydney, acknowledges that being in the country’s premier location is not all it’s cracked up to be.

“The government understands families are doing it tough and Sydney is an expensive place to live,” she said recently. A key gripe of Sydneysiders is its creaking infrastructure. Critics blame the problems on a lack of vision by the former New South Wales state Labor government that was turfed from power this year. Bernard Salt, a leading commentator and advisor to corporate Australia on demographic trends, said Sydney had been mismanaged. “There’s

been poor vision and a lack of courage,” he said, saying the 1990s will be remembered for the 2000 Sydney Olympics and “all available resources being sucked into that”. “Then in the 2000s they realized the roads were congested, transport didn’t work and now we’re paying for it.”

In an attempt to sort out the mess, former premier Nick Greiner was appointed in May by the new Liberal government to develop five and 20-year infrastructure plans to help guide the city’s future. Part of Sydney’s problem has been its inability to attract cash from federal funding body Infrastructure Australia, which has repeatedly rejected its submissions as inadequate.

This has meant major Sydney transport needs remain unmet and people sit in traffic jams, on overcrowded buses that travel at a snail’s pace, or on trains that haven’t been upgraded in years.

“The challenge is there for the government to build the infrastructure we need to stop congestion crippling our city,” National Roads and Motoring Association president Wendy Machin said. Affordable housing is

another hot-button issue. Costs have surged, with median Sydney house prices now among the world’s most expensive, according to consultancy group Demographia. This has put the Australian dream of owning a house with a backyard out of many people’s reach. Rhonda Daniels, an expert in urban planning at the Institute of Transport and Logistics at the University of Sydney, said the city must address these issues urgently if it wants to keep its reputation as a great place to live.

Yet despite the challenges, she disputes that Sydney’s sought-after lifestyle is under threat. “If a city is growing, then it means people are still attracted to its lifestyle, even if it has its drawbacks,” she said. “People can’t have it both ways.” John Latto, an Irishman who emigrated to Sydney to escape the overcast skies and cold weather of Belfast, agrees. “People complain about Sydney, it’s too expensive, the roads are packed, but look at it,” said the 31-year-old landscape gardener, as he pulled on his wetsuit to have a surf at Manly beach. “I don’t care what they say, this is paradise.” —AFP

Have a radical time in Berkeley, California F

or a one-time hotbed of protest, this liberal college town is pretty chill these days.

You’re more likely to hear rumblings about the latest in the food revolution than people power. But you can still have a radically good time here, whether you’re interested in searching out the hidden gems of the tree-studded campus of the University of California or getting a glimpse of the city’s tie-dyed past. Getting to Berkeley from San Francisco is fairly simple. By car you drive east across the Bay Bridge and continue on I-80 east. Take the exit for University Avenue which dead-ends at the west side of campus.

On the way, detail-oriented fans of the classic movie “The Graduate” may realize that in addition to his many other problems, Dustin Hoffman was driving the wrong way when he appeared to zip along the bridge’s upper deck to Berkeley.

The upper deck is one-way westbound into San Francisco. Don’t have a car, or don’t want to hassle with Berkeley’s scarce parking? Take the Richmond BART commuter train to the Downtown Berkeley stop, just a block from the west side of campus.

Here are a few highlights of what to do next: Campus crawl: The central UC Berkeley campus, covering 178 acres (72 hectares), is open to the public and is a subject worth studying. Don’t stop at Telegraph Avenue or Sproul Plaza. Walk on in and experience the sylvan setting and interesting architecture.

Free campus tours are available with a reservation; an elevator ride up the iconic Campanile,

a 300-foot (91.4-meter) bell and clock tower, costs $2. The observation platform, 200 feet (61 meters) up, gives a great view on a clear day.

Want to dine like a dean? The public can lunch in the Faculty Club white-tablecloth dining room set in the center of campus. The draw here is not so much the fare as the academic ambience-and the chance to tune into some intellectually stimulating discussions. Coffee’s a big part of campus life and the Free Speech Movement Cafe at

Renovation complete on Charleston

City Market

Moffitt Library serves up a little counterculture with your caffeine with exhibits focused on a famous 1964 protest that helped usher in an era of college uprisings.

If you’ve got kids in tow, the life-sized cast of a T Rex in the Valley Life Sciences Building is worth a look. Telegraph trip: From Sproul Plaza head for Telegraph Avenue and check out the sidewalk vendors selling tie-dyed apparel, hand-made jewelry and T-shirts, posters and pins emblaA worker puts some finishing touches on the Great Hall of the Charleston City Market in Charleston, SC, after a $5.5 million renovation. — AP

A

Photo shows people as they walk through Sproul Plaza near the Sather Gate on the University of California, Berkeley campus .

A man reading outside at the Caffe Strada in Berkeley, Calif. — AP photos

zoned with ideological statements that range from the profound to the profane.

Step into Amoeba Music (2455 Telegraph Ave.) to check out the eclectic musical selection, or browse Moe’s Books (2476 Telegraph Ave.), a local institution stocked with everything from antiquarian treasures to gently used best-sellers.

People’s Park is near campus, off Telegraph Avenue, bordered by Haste and Bowditch streets and Dwight Way. In 1969, police and state troopers responded to a protest in and around the park, and a young man named James Rector was fatally shot while watching from a rooftop. The incident is memorialized in a nearby mural. The park itself is small, and while it hosts the occasional rally or concert, today it is largely the province of the homeless. Eat your greens: Gather, a restaurant on the west side of campus, caters to herbivores and carnivores alike, offering cutting-edge vegan and vegetarian food as well as hearty meat dishes. Check out the seats, made from recycled leather belts, and try the vegan charcuterie, a specialty. —AP

$5.5 million, 18-month facelift has given a new look to the Charleston City Market, among the oldest city markets in America and one of the most popular attractions in this coastal city that attracts millions of visitors each year. “Everything exceeded our expectations. It turned out better than we imagined,” said Barry Newton, the general manager of the market.

Repairs and spruce-ups were needed for the four buildings that date to early the 1800s and were last improved almost 40 years ago. In all, the market buildings encompass 37,000 square feet (3,438 square meters) and have almost 150 vendors.

The work that began early last year consisted of repairing roofs, painting, repointing brick, adding signs and other upgrades to three open-air market buildings in the city’s Historic District. The last phase consisted of renovations to the adjoining enclosed Great Hall building that reopens to the public on Monday.

The changes to the Great Hall should be most noticeable to visitors. A dark sidewalk winding past enclosed individual shops has been replaced with a center aisle open to stalls on each side like a shopping mall. Skylights and new lighting along the length of the air-conditioned building make it more airy and show off the architectural details like roof beams.

The hall boasts 20 tenants-it had 11 before the renovations-and is anchored by the Charleston Historic Foundation shop. There are two new eateries and new merchants including an outdoor shop, toy store and Gullah art gallery celebrating the culture of slave descendants on the Carolinas coast.

In the market, visitors can buy everything from clothing and jewelry to Gullah sweetgrass baskets. There are about 60 basket weavers in the market area. Tourism is an $18.4 billion industry in South Carolina, and Charleston welcomes about 4 million visitors a year.

Newton estimates most of them visit the market during their stay. “You have to come to the City Market. It’s a must-do,” he said.

“This is like Christmas in June,” said Chuma Nwokike, who is opening his Chuma Gullah Gallery in the Great Hall to complement his other gallery uptown.

“We have always loved the market because people are always coming into our store asking how to get to the market,” he said, adding that he hopes his new gallery can serve as a sort of welcome center for Gullah attractions in the area.

Bill Ussery is no newcomer. He has had a shop in the market since the last renovation.

“We were just blown out of the water because it’s so beautiful after 37 years,” he said, adding it may be easier to attract customers to his gourmet shop now than before when visitors had to enter individual stores in the Great Hall. “Now, once people are in the building, they are really in your store,” he said. The market land was given to Charleston in 1788 by Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, a delegate to the Constitutional Convention, with the provision it always be used for a public market. There is a common misconception the market was used to sell slaves before the Civil War, but it was not.

The market renovation of the 1970s was a catalyst for the renaissance in Charleston in recent decades. — AP

SUNDAY, JULY 3, 2011

lifestyle T R A V E L

Solved puzzle reveals fabled

Cambodian temple

Foreign tourists walking around the Baphuon temple in Siem Reap province, some 300 kilometers northwest of Phnom Penh.

I

t has taken half a century, but archaeologists in Cambodia have finally completed the renovation of an ancient Angkor temple described as the world’s largest three dimensional puzzle.

The restoration of the 11th-century Baphuon ruin is the result of decades of painstaking work, hampered by tropical rains and civil war, to take apart hundreds of thousands of sandstone blocks and piece them back together again.

“When I first saw how devastated the monument was, I never thought we would be able to put it back together,” said Cambodian restorer Ieng Te, who joined the project as a young student in 1960 and was tasked with numbering stones.”I am so happy and excited that we were able to rebuild our historic temple,” the now 66-year-old said as he oversaw the final construction activities at the site.

On a recent rainy morning workers were adding a final layer of paint to newly-installed wooden staircases at Baphuon, one of the country’s biggest temples after Angkor Wat, the largest

structure in the famed Angkor complex.

It is one of the last jobs to be done before the temple reopens to the public next week, finally revealing itself in full glory after spending decades in pieces.

Cambodian King Sihamoni and French Prime Minister Francois Fillon will be among the first to tour the impressive three-tier temple during an inauguration ceremony today.

The story of the 10-million-euro ($14m) renovation began in the 1960s when a French-led team of archaeologists dismantled the pyramidal building because it was falling apart, largely due to its heavy, sand-filled core that was putting pressure on the thin walls. The workers numbered some 300,000 of the sandstone blocks and laid them out in the surrounding jungle. But efforts to rebuild the crumbling towers and lavishly ornamented facades abruptly came to a halt when Cambodia was convulsed by civil war in 1970. The records to reassemble Baphuon, including the numbering system, were then destroyed by the hardline communist Khmer Rouge

A combo of pictures created on June 30, 2011 shows (top) a handout picture taken in November 1998 and received from the Ecole Francaise d’ExtremeOrient (EFEO) on June 30, 2011 in which workers restore the Baphuon temple in Siem Reap province, some 300 kilometers northwest of Phnom Penh and (bottom) the restored temple on June 17, 2011. — AFP photos

A view of the Baphuon temple in Siem Reap province.

French architect Pascal Royere from the Ecole francaise d’Extreme-Orient (EFEO) posing at Baphuon temple.

Cambodian workers removing stones at Baphuon temple.

Foreign tourists looking at Baphuon temple.

which took power in 1975. In 1995, when the area in northwestern Cambodia was again safe to work in, the French government-funded project was restarted under the leadership of architect Pascal Royere from the Ecole francaise d’Extreme-Orient (EFEO).

“It has been said, probably rightly so, that it is the largest-ever 3D puzzle,”

Royere told AFP. The team carefully measured and weighed each block and then relied on archive photos stored in Paris, drawings and the recollections of Cambodian workers to figure out where each part fits. “We were facing a threedimensional puzzle, a 300,000-piece puzzle to which we had lost the picture.

And that was the main difficulty of this project,” Royere said. “There is no mortar that fills the cracks which means that each stone has its own place. You will not find two blocks that have the same dimensions.” The restoration of Baphuon, one of Angkor’s oldest ruins, was com-

pleted in April and Royere said it was a moment of joy for the 250-strong, mainly Cambodian, team. Finishing the “unique” undertaking was “a collective satisfaction because it was a complicated project,” he said.

Built around 1060 by King Udayadityavarman II in honor of the Hindu god Shiva, Baphuon was the country’s largest religious building at the time, 35 meters high (114 feet) and measuring 130 by 104 metres (426 x 340 feet). In the 16th century, a 70-metre long reclining Buddha statue was built into a wall on the second level using stones from the top of the temple. These two phases of construction, hundreds of years apart, further complicated the restoration, said Royere, and working during the rainy season proved another major challenge. But those struggles are behind him now and as the Frenchman watched camera-toting tourists amble along the long elevated walkway that leads to the temple, he said he was confident the site would become a top attraction.

Located at the heart of the Angkor park, it “certainly promises to be a great success,” he said. Gazing up at Baphuon, first-time visitor to Cambodia Gayle Sienicki from Washington DC marveled at the temple’s long journey to recovery.”It’s just amazing, I mean truly amazing, that they could take these bits of stones and figure out how to put them all back together,” she said.

“I’m in awe. I think this is just the coolest thing.” — AFP

e niv rsar n

y

A

Giant youngsters’ choir takes to stage in tiny Estonia Years

SUNDAY, JULY 3, 2011

36

British model Kate Moss and British guitarist Jamie Hince pose for photographers with unidentified bridesmaids, after their wedding in the village of Southrop, England, Friday, July 1, 2011.—AP

Kate Moss - Jamie Hince wedding shuts roads

T

he wedding of supermodel Kate Moss to rockstar Jamie Hince in the Cotswolds caused roads to be shut off to residents.

Villagers and guests had to use permits to enter Little Faringdon, Oxfordshire, and Southrop, Gloucestershire. Gloucestershire County Council confirmed it had closed the road outside St Peter’s Church, Southrop. There was also a large police presence. The couple are said to be holding a festival-themed, three-day party.

Some residents were reportedly upset by the tight security and road closures yet a large group of people waited to catch a glimpse of the wedding party. Moss wore an elegant sleeveless ivory dress, with gold detailing, and a long veil, accessorized with a floral headband.

Hince, guitarist with rock band The Kills, who she met in 2007, wore a pale grey suit.

Exclusive deal The ceremony saw Moss’s daughter, Lila Grace, as one of 15 bridesmaids, all dressed in ivory. The wedding party was cheered by residents as it left the church, before posing for pictures for the waiting media. World-famous photographer Mario Testino photographed the couple, reportedly as part of an exclusive deal with Vogue magazine. It is understood that a reception and wedding party will take place in a series of marquees which have been erected behind the model’s mansion, with a metal fence outlining the perimeter of her estate. Local residents were given permits so they could reach their homes. Among the expected party guests were fashion designers Stella McCartney and Dame Vivienne Westwood, supermodel Naomi Campbell, actor Jude Law and his ex-wife Sadie Frost and Topshop boss Philip Green.

Gloucestershire Constabulary said: “The bride and groom have agreed to pay towards additional policing in order to reduce the impact on the taxpayer.” The spokesman added: “Our priority is to ensure there is minimal disruption to the village due to this event. “This is due to the potential for a large increase in numbers of people and vehicles in the village.” The Civil Aviation Authority denied press reports of a no-fly zone in effect around the property.—BBC news

British model Kate Moss and British guitarist Jamie Hince pose for photographers.

Kate Moss and Jamie Hince pose for photographers, after their wedding.

Barnes art collection nears final days at old home A

fter nearly a decade of lawsuits and bitter debate, the world famous Barnes art collection is about to move from its original wooded, suburban setting outside Philadelphia to a bustling boulevard in the city’s cultural district. Workmen are still busy constructing the Barnes’ new, modern building in an area of Philadelphia known as Center City that is home to government offices, shops, museums and open-air spaces modeled after the Champs-Elysees in Paris. Once it debuts in spring 2012, the new home is expected to cost $150 million, including expenses to move the collection.

The Barnes, named after Philadelphia physician Albert Barnes, who died in 1951, contains some 800 paintings by famous artists including

181 pieces from Renoir and 69 by Cezanne. The Barnes Foundation, which controls the collection, believes the paintings constitute one of the world’s great collections of French impressionist, post impressionist and modern art. But the Barnes’ move from its stately mansion in Merion, a suburb that some civic leaders thought was inconvenient for tourists, has not come without a lot of complaints, and some recent visitors believe it should stay at its original home.

The collection’s final day there is set for July 3. “I am going to miss this so much,” said Lynne Rosenbaum, of Marlton, NJ “I think this is one of the jewels in the museum world,” adding that she was “very upset” at the move. Nearly a decade of litigation has taken place since the change

was made public, and a largely critical documentary film, “The Art of the Steal,” was released in 2010. In fact, the legal wrangling has not quite ended. A further court hearing is scheduled for August at which a group called The Friends of the Barnes will ask the court, once again, to order the collection to remain in Merion forever, upholding the terms of Dr. Barnes’s will.

But Barnes’ watchers believe the odds are against the group because Judge Samuel Ott, who will rule on the suit, has previously decided it could move. So, many Barnes’ lovers have been making the trek to Merion one last time in recent weeks. “For the last two months, we’ve been packed,” said Barnes docent Hildy Jaffe, as she stood in the doorway of the facility’s biggest display room

with dozens of paintings, including the Card Players by Cezanne that is one of the most popular at the Barnes. The room famously features a 47-foot long mural called The Dance II by Henri Matisse that dominates the arches on one side of the main gallery.

New is old is new, again The new building sits on 4.5 acres in Center City that also is home to the famous Rodin Museum and the Philadelphia Museum of Art several blocks away. It is decidedly modern, but does retain a few architectural features that are strongly reminiscent of the Merion mansion, a 1922 structure made of French limestone.

The new building’s facade is done in a similar Israeli limestone, according to project director William W McDowell III.

The interior might seem familiar to visitors, McDowell said, during a walking tour in which he dodged construction workers and wheel barrows. The main gallery is nearly identical to the one in Merion, he said.

The rooms are the same size, the paintings will be hung in familiar positions, and even the white oak floors will be reminiscent of Merion.

The new facility is bigger, though, because it includes additional gallery space for temporary exhibits of borrowed paintings, plus larger meeting rooms and a bigger library. The 23room Merion mansion, which sits amid a well-to-do residential neighborhood, will continue to be used as a training facility for those interested in another fascination of Dr Barnes, horticulture.

It will house classrooms for those

wanting to learn more about the plants and trees in the 12-acre arboretum that surrounds the building. It will also house Barnes’ offices and perhaps an archive of thousands of Barnes’ documents. Meanwhile, officials at the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corp. are looking forward to next spring when the new facility is scheduled to open. “I think it will encourage more (hotel) stays,” said Meryl Levitz, president of the corporation. Aside from the art, she said that “Physically, (the facility) is just so beautiful.” The corporation, however, has no forecasts as to how many more visitors the Barnes might draw to Center City, and Levitz knows of no studies done by others, either. —Reuters