04 Jul

ON IP TI SC R SU B

MONDAY, JULY 4, 2011

150 FILS NO: 15139 40 PAGES

www.kuwaittimes.net

Djokovic outplays Nadal to win Wimbledon title

Filipinos fight for US citizenship in Afghanistan

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SHAABAN 3, 1432 AH

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Libyan rebels poised to march on Tripoli Gaddafi can stay in Libya if he quits: Rebel chief

DSK release stuns France PARIS: Dominique Strauss-Kahn’s release from house arrest has stunned French politicians, the public and press, who wonder whether he can emerge clean from a sex crime case and return to the presidential race. Fresh doubts over the credibility of his accuser reignited the story of the decade in France, beating the Monaco royal wedding and the start of the Tour de France as the top topic of dinnertable chatter this weekend. “The incredible comeback of Dominique Strauss-Kahn,” read the headline in Sunday paper Le Journal du Dimanche, which insisted that now “he will never be tried”.

Claims that the Guinean hotel maid who accuses him of trying to rape her lied to police, and was recorded discussing with a drug-dealer the possibility of getting money out of Strauss-Kahn, opened a new act in the drama. “I’m going from one astonishment to another,” said Francois Bayrou, leader of a centre-right minority party. “Only a Hollywood scriptwriter could have imagined such a story.”

Strauss-Kahn, a powerful French politician who was head of the IMF global lender until the scandal hit, walked free and untagged from house arrest on Friday pending his next court appearance after a judge heard the latest claims.

Continued on Page 13

Yingluck Shinawatra of the opposition Pheu Thai Party acknowledges supporters after winning the election at the party headquarters in Bangkok yesterday.

(Inset) Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra reacts as he speaks to journalists at a golf club in Dubai yesterday. — AP

Thaksin party wins polls by a landslide BANGKOK: Thailand’s opposition won a landslide election victory yesterday, led by the sister of former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra in a triumph for red-shirt protesters who clashed with the army last year. Exit polls showed Yingluck Shinawatra’s Puea Thai (For Thais) party winning a clear majority of parliament’s 500 seats, paving the way for the 44year-old business executive to become Thailand’s first

woman prime minister. “I’ll do my best and will not disappoint you,” she told supporters after receiving a call of congratulations from her billionaire brother, who was ousted in a 2006 coup and lives in Dubai to avoid jail for graft charges that he says were politically motivated. “He told me that there is still much hard work ahead of us,” she told reporters.

Continued on Page 13

McD’s to run trucks on own oil

DUBAI: Teenagers take to the ice in the Dubai Ice Rink at a shopping mall yesterday. — AP

DUBAI: McDonald’s is fueling its trucks in the United Arab Emirates with oil from its own vats. Dubai-based Neutral Fuels announced yesterday that it had reached a deal to convert used vegetable oil from McDonald’s outlets in the UAE into 100 percent biodiesel to power the fast food giant’s delivery trucks across the Gulf country. It started testing the biodiesel last year and started producing it for McDonald’s at the end of May. “This one in particular is exciting because I don’t think anyone has really tried that hard to sell this sort of fuel back to the Arabian Peninsula,” said Karl W Feilder, the chairman of the Neutral Group. “It’s the first time we are doing it with a fuel that burns 50 percent cleaner than

normal diesel and has a lower carbon footprint because it’s coming from a waste vegetable product.”

McDonald’s said the biodiesel initiative was part of larger plans in the UAE, which is flush with crude oil but is also trying to stake its claim as a leader in renewable energy. Among other things, McDonald’s is a partner in one of the country’s main environmental watchdogs, the Emirates Environment Group. “McDonald’s UAE has demonstrated a passionate and long-term commitment to investing in environmental initiatives,” said Rafic Fakih, managing director and partner of McDonald’s UAE. Continued on Page13

Jordan navigates Arab Spring warily AMMAN: At the traffic circle in front of the prime minister’s office, demonstrators still crowd the streets every week after Friday prayers. Six months since the protests in this desert kingdom started, hundreds of people still join in weekly chants calling for political reform. They still hold up signs demanding an end to government corruption. But after about an hour of angry speeches, with 100 or so unarmed policemen watching from a polite distance, the protesters shake hands and head home. Friday is the weekend in Jordan, and even demonstrators want to get home to their families.

The protests of the Arab Spring have shaken much of the Middle East, but a handful of countries have found ways to prevent or calm the anger of the streets. Most prominent is Saudi Arabia, the oil behemoth that has headed off potential opposition by spreading the wealth, spending tens of millions of dollars to boost salaries. Then there is resourcestarved Jordan, with its ragged deserts and sputtering economy, where the massive and sometimes-violent protests of early 2011 have quieted to the weekly demonstrations.

At the heart of the political standoff is a halfBritish king trying to avoid the tumult. A darling of Western governments who celebrate him and his Palestinian queen as modern celebrity-monarchs, King Abdullah II has ushered in little democratic reform despite years of promises.

Continued on Page 13

Max 42º Min 33º Low Tide 07:46 & 20:35 High Tide 02:38: 13:01

BENGHAZI, Libya: Buoyed by French arms drops and intensified NATO air strikes on the regime’s frontline armour, Libya’s rebel army said it is poised for an offensive that could put it within striking distance of Tripoli.

The rebels’ announcement late on Saturday came as a prolonged deadlock on the battlefield prompted mounting pressure from countries outside the NATO-led coalition for a negotiated solution to a conflict that has dragged on for four and a half months.

Libya’s rebel chief told Reuters yesterday Gaddafi is welcome to live out his retirement inside Libya as long as he gives up all power, in the clearest concession the rebels have so far offered. ”As a peaceful solution, we offered that he can resign and order his soldiers to withdraw from their barracks and positions, and then he can decide either to stay in Libya or abroad,” rebel leader Mustafa Abdel Jalil said in an interview. “If he desires to stay in Libya, we will determine the place and it will be under international supervision. And there will be international supervision of all his movements,” said Abdel Jalil, who heads the rebels’ National Transitional Council.

Speaking to Reuters in his eastern Libyan stronghold of Benghazi, Abdel Jalil, Gaddafi’s former justice minister, said he made the proposal about a month ago through the United Nations but had yet to receive any response from Tripoli. He said one suggestion was that Gaddafi could spend his retirement under guard in a military barracks.

South Africa, which has taken a lead role in mediation efforts, said that President Jacob Zuma would hold talks in Moscow today with representatives of the International Contact Group on Libya as well as Russian officials. Politically, the rebel NTC received a boost yesterday when Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Ankara recognised the NTC as the legitimate representative of the Libyan people.

Rebel fighters are readying an advance out of their hilltop enclave in the Nafusa Mountains, southwest of Tripoli, in the next 48 hours in a bid to recapture territory in the plains on the road to the capital, spokesman Colonel Ahmed Omar Bani said. “In the next two days the (revolutionaries) will come up with answers, things will change on the frontline,” he said. The rebels had pulled back last week from around the plains town of Bir Al-Ghanam, some 80 km from Tripoli, in the face of loyalist bombardment.

But last week France made a series of controversial weapons drops to rebel fighters in the Nafusa Mountains and NATO has bombarded loyalist positions around Bir Al-Ghanam and elsewhere on the frontline around the rebel enclave. In Gharyan, another Libyan government stronghold near the mountains, NATO aircraft struck eight targets over the previous four days, the alliance said on Saturday. In its daily report for Saturday, NATO said yesterday it had launched 52 strike sorties over Libya, hitting a tank near Gharyan and three armoured vehicles near Zlitan, also on the Nafusa frontline.

Continued on Page 13

in the

news

‘Ramadan on Aug 1’ KUWAIT: According to the latest calculations of the Fentas Observatory, the lunar month of Ramadan is to begin on a Monday, August 1, Meteorologist Adel Al-Saadoun told KUNA yesterday. Al-Saadoun added that the new crescent would be seen in Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries, but would not be visible in Kuwait Sunday evening, though the birth of the new moon, called conjunction (with the sun), occurs Saturday, 9:40 in the evening. (See Page 6)

Navy home from Bahrain KUWAIT: Kuwaiti Navy forces involved with the GCC Peninsula Shield returned home safely yesterday after participating in securing the maritime borders of Bahrain. The Kuwaiti Navy - which spent nearly three months in the provision of Bahraini maritime security and the protection of its territorial waters - came within the joint defense agreement of the GCC. Commodore Jassem Al-Ansari of the Kuwait Naval Forces received the boats upon their arrival, as well as other officials. (See Page 2)

Bahrain adjourns trial

JEDDAH: Jordan’s King Abdullah II (left) meets his Saudi counterpart King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz in this Red Sea port yesterday. — AP

MANAMA: Bahrain’s highest criminal court yesterday adjourned the trial of three former editors for the main opposition newspaper accused of unethical coverage of anti-government protests earlier this year in the Gulf kingdom. The trial of the exeditors from Bahrain’s most widely read newspaper, Al Wasat, is part of a sweeping crackdown on the Shiite-led opposition demanding greater freedoms and more rights in the strategic island nation that hosts the US Navy’s 5th Fleet. The decision to push the next hearing until Oct 11 also could be an effort to avoid further tensions while Bahrain’s Sunni rulers open talks with protest groups and others. At least one of the former editors, Mansoor Al-Jamri, is taking part in the USsupported dialogue that began Saturday.

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Years

MONDAY, JULY 4, 2011

local

SATIRE WIRE

Making of an authentic vacation

Sawsan Kazak KUWAIT: Fish vendor Jalal Majid displaying relatively large zubaidi, at Mubarakiya Market yesterday. — Photos by Ben Garcia

Fish prices increase due to bad weather News

in brief

Co-ops to sell goods at lower prices KUWAIT: The prices of at least 100 commodities will be slashed on the occasion of the holy month of Ramadan, announced Dr Hussain Al-Duwaihes Chairman of Cooperative Unions. He said that the prices of some commodities will be lowered by 20 percentage. The promotional period will be held for a three-month duration starting July 3, is a gift offering from the co-operative union to citizens and expats. Many essential commodities, especially food items can be bought at discounted rates, reported Al-Anba.

He urged cooperative societies to unify prices so that consumers can buy commodities from one co-operative society.

Tests ensure tap water safety KUWAIT: At least 4,120 tests are conducted to ensure that tap water supplied to Kuwait’s homes are pollutant-free. This was confirmed by a recent visit paid by a local daily to the laboratories of the Ministry of Electricity and Water’s(MEW) Water Resources Development Center. Tests are carried out on samples collected from different stations and desalination plants, reported Al-Qabas. “Kuwait’s water quality conforms to the standards of the World Health Organization,” said the center’s Director Meshal Al-Saiedi, corroborating the views of an expert who traveled to the facility to take stock of the situation.

MEW adopts transparency policy KUWAIT: Minister of Electricity and Water instructed all ministry departments to address contracts and project tenders with full transparency, and take every possible step to fight corruption and minimize bureaucracy and red tape. The new recommendations come as the ministry attempts to follow the regulations of the development plan in its second year to reduce excessive levels of bureaucracy in the public sector.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, an MEW official said that the ministry has completed 20 percent of a project to strengthen transparency by posting details on the ministry’s website about the criteria used for selecting winning bids for the project tenders, as well as the specifications for equipment required in purchase bids.The insider further revealed that the ministry plans to go ahead with a KD4.9 million project to create databases containing information about the ministry’s equipment and tenders.

‘Sadu’ items popular in Lebanon BEIRUT: ‘Sadu’ a renowned, centuries-old Arab handicraft, also known as ‘Arabic furniture,’ is the traditional Bedouin art of weaving. Most houses, restaurants and hotels in Lebanon are decorated with Sadu items to celebrate the coming of the holy month of Ramadan, and it is one of the oldest handicrafts practiced by Bedouins. The craft was once widespread in the Arabian Gulf countries, and the desert of Syria, which featured an abundance of the raw materials required, namely sheep’s wool and camel and goat hair, with cotton being imported from elsewhere to create beautifully embroidered products like cushions, rugs and tents.

Local fishermen favor two-year ban

By Ben Garcia KUWAIT: The dusty weather that has gripped the country has led to a 20 percent rise in the prices of one of Kuwait ’s favorite dishes- fish.

According to an official from the Fishermen’s Union in Sharq, who spoke with Kuwait Times on condition of anonymity, the surge in price was expected due to bad weather over the last four days. The Zubaidi variety for example [large size] was priced at KD five per kilogram last week. Now, it is sold at KD 6. The same applies to Hamour variety as well; last week it was sold at KD 4 per kilogram, now it costs KD 5 [the large size]. “The bad weather condition has contributed to the rise in prices when many fishermen prefer to stay ashore.

In addition, summer is already slow [catch by quantity] because most of the fishermen are on leave,” he added.

Compared to last year, prices of fish variety are significantly lower. In fact, Zubaidi, the same size was priced between KD 8 to 10 per kilogram last year. Hamour was priced between KD 6 to 8 per kilogram. “Fish are traditionally not plentiful during summer because we already know that many Kuwaitis and expatriates spend the summer outside [of Kuwait]. So, we see to it that our supply is limited as

per our need,” he opined.

Like shrimps, fishing Zubaidi is also prohibited in Kuwaiti waters from June 1 to mid-August to facilitate reproduction.

At least 20 percent of the market needs are obtained from Kuwaiti waters, the remaining are imported from neighboring countries such as Iran, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Thailand.

Press reports yesterday claimed that the Public Authority for Agricultural Affairs and Fish Resources (PAAAFR) plans to introduce a ban on fishing in Kuwaiti waters for at least two years. Some fishermen in Kuwait did not oppose the plan but demanded ‘full compensation’ instead. “ While we do not know whether they are serious or not, many of us here in the Fishermen’s Union will abide by the plan if implemented. We need a reasonable compensation if it happens.

Anyhow, we only supply about 20 percent of the market need, so what is 20 percent? It can be easily supplied by our neighboring countries who are already the main source of about 80 percent of market needs,” an official from Fishermen’s Union told Kuwait Times.

According to the official, the ban is an addition to the latest in a series of

prohibitions placed by the authority from limited access to fishing areas inside Kuwaiti waters to a ban on fishing nets. “Mind you, we have had enough of bans. We are not allowed to troll for Zubaidis and shrimps. They have already banned the use of nylon nets. What else is new? All we need, if the [PAAAFR] is serious, is a reasonable compensation,” he stated.

Last year, a group of fishermen backed up by Fisherman’s Union staged a few days of protest against PAAAFR fishing ban order on certain zones and the use of nylon nets. The issue was settled amicably. The PAAAFR banned the usage of nylon nets in compliance with the agreement signed between all the GCC countries for ecological reasons.

Kuwait’s Fisherman Union argued that the proposed replacement of nylon nets with cotton ones, was not only flimsy [equipment per se] but also unsuitable for commercial fishing. The Fishermen’s Union claimed that none of the GCC countries who were signatories to the nylon net ban have enforced the ban. Despite the protest held last year, and efforts made by the Fishermen’s Union, the ban was strictly implemented. Many fishermen who were caught flouting the ‘nylon net’ ban and ‘zone fishing’ were reportedly deported.

sawsank@kuwaittimes.net

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hile trying to book a recent trip, I was alarmed at the shocking price of airplane tickets. Tickets that are usually high this time of year are now ridiculously priced. I understand that it is high season now with everyone trying to escape the heat, or rather the dust. But this is gotten out of hand. Normal tickets are priced like business or first class tickets would be.

After having a mini heart attack and finally paying an arm and a leg for your airplane tickets comes the daunting task of booking a hotel; which is quite a budget too. Then, after the planning is done comes the actual traveling. Busy airports, crammed airplanes and long visa lines are but a few joys that await you on your journey.

When you finally get to your destination of choice, tired, exhausted and smelly, you will be greeted with large crowds of obnoxious tourists. Restaurants will be packed, tourist sites will be too busy and all the prices will be hiked way up.

Coming back from the ‘relaxing’ destination will not be a picnic either. Long airport lines, intense security procedures and annoying airplane neighbors that go on and on about their boring vacations is what you will have to endure to come back home.

Once home, you will be faced once again with the unforgiving heat and probably sickening dust.

This barely seems like a vacation but rather an annoyance. This has got me thinking hard about canceling my trip and simply staying in this summer.

With everyone leaving to endure the above mentioned ‘joys’ of traveling, the country will be empty enough to enjoy.

The malls won’t be filled with loitering teenagers, it won’t be impossible to get movie tickets and I might just be able to actually work on my tan this year. But I guess if we didn’t have to pay ridiculous amounts for air fare and hotel and if the locations weren’t filled with tourists just like us, it wouldn’t be an authentic vacation.

KUWAIT: Kuwaiti naval forces involved with the GCC Peninsula Shield returned home safely yesterday after participating in securing Bahrain’s maritime border. The participation of the Kuwaiti Navy, which spent nearly three months in helping maintain Bahraini maritime security and protecting its territorial waters, came within the joint defense agreement of the GCC. Commodore Jassem Al-Ansari of the Kuwait Naval Forces, along with a number of other senior officials, received the boats upon their arrival back in Kuwait.

Praise for Asila Cultural Forum ASILA, Morocco: His Highness the Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah yesterday lauded the noble goals of the 33rd session of the Asila International Cultural Forum, in which 400 politicians, writers, poets, media figures, musicians and artists from 40 countries worldwide are participating.

In a speech at the gathering, delivered on his behalf by Kuwait’s Minister of Information and of Communications Sami Al-Nisf, HH the Amir said that Kuwait and Morocco share many common cultural and civilizational features.

Kuwait is participating in this cultural and intellectual forum, which began here earlier on Saturday out of its conviction that culture is its human inheritance, said the minister on behalf of the monarch.

Since the era prior to its independence, Kuwait has undertaken to deliver a knowledgebased message, he said, citing the country’s multiple cultural, intellectual and literary publications.

HH the Amir thanked the organizers of the forum for spotlighting Kuwait’s culture and civilization during the 33rd session.

He praised the Moroccan city of Asila as a beacon of openness and a conduit for cultural dialogue through its annual forum, which extends bridges of cultural dialogue among peoples and nations through meetings and other events that bring together intellectuals and thinkers. For his part, Morocco’s King Mohammed VI welcomed the State of Kuwait as a guest of honor at this year’s event, as well as the many dignitaries partaking in the gathering.

Migration is a noble and elevated human adventure that reflects an inherent human yearning to find fresh, broader vistas and explore other peoples’ cultures and civilizations which is an effective element in cultural and human interaction as well as coexistence and the creation of greater closeness, said the Moroccan leader.

Human migration is not a worrying phenom-

enon, he continued, but should be welcomed as a sign of cultural and civilizational diversity.

King Mohamed VI urged world governments, non-government organizations (NGOs) and intellectual and academic institutions, as well as mass media, to live up to the role ascribed to them in influencing decision-makers and public opinions to establish values of tolerance, coexistence and positive interaction among civilizations.

Another speaker, Morocco’s Minister of Tourism, Handicrafts and Social Economy, Yasser Znagui, said that highlighting Kuwait’s culture at the Asila International Cultural Forum as a guest of honor is a way of honoring a sisterly country that has played a pioneering role in supporting Arab intellectuals and disseminating Arab and world culture.

This positive gesture also shows fruitful and constructive cooperation between the Kuwaiti and Moroccan peoples in all fields, mainly the cultural one, he added.

The minister also hailed the distinguished and excellent relations between Morocco and Kuwait under the wise leadership of HH the Amir and the Moroccan King.

Around 150 dignitaries from Kuwait are participating in the forum, which this year features a number of seminars about Kuwait’s history and civilization and its political and economic development, as well as its support for Arab and Islamic causes.

Other seminars taking place during the event will touch upon renewable and nuclear energies, migration, and Arab and African media.

The Asilah Festival, which was launched in 1978, is an annual cultural extravaganza in which 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 artists from all around the world to exhibit and share their art and ideas.—KUNA

ASILA, Morocco: Kuwait’s Minister of Information and of Communications Sami AlNisf and other officials at the 33rd session of the Asila International Cultural Forum.

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MONDAY, JULY 4, 2011

Years

LOCAL In my view

Free Trade Zone saga continues

The Advent of Tele-Islamist Sheikhs!

Big losses for shop owners

By Hussain Al-Qatari

By Fouad Al-Obaid

fouad@kuwaittimes.net Twitter: @Fouadalobaid

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t the dawn of last century, new communication technologies became widespread in the United States, paving the way for a new breed of preachers to emerge. The advent of these technologies, namely radio, followed by television offered the clerics far larger congregations to preach and ‘spread the good word to’! Their evangelical mission started on the radio airwaves before moving onto the silver screen, where they increased in notoriety, becoming stars in their own right by capturing millions of fans who listened to them preach and most importantly financially donated lavishly to their ‘churches.’ Those who followed and those who still do see them as modern-day saviors. Yet, our small congregation ministers see them as frauds, and rather more importantly as competitors in the alms race!

Fast forward a century and welcome to Arabia the region where religion is part of society, and where, as such, it is not uncommon for faith to play a big role in the lives of believers. Nevertheless, as with the advent of a new communication age, we today are witnessing a new form of spiritual ‘uplift’ for upon us is a new religious cast that will ensure that if we follow them they will help lead us towards eternal bliss!

Yes, their numbers are increasing on all the major television channels and some are even opening specialty ‘storefronts.’ It’s unnecessary to name them; a simple search on your satellite receiver will allow you to discover that they are increasing in number month-by-month. They are the latest novelty on the digital wave, preying on your credulity to generate a presence and grab power.

For the majority, we Arabs are lazy and happen to be unable to search for truths, rather we are used to being breast-fed with information sugarcoated as knowledge. The reality is that what you come to see in these new Tele-Islamist shows is deeply serious or alternatively entertaining depending on how much credibility you give them. You can either view them, as they’d love you to do, as providing serious specialty news. Conversely you may appreciate their sheer foolishness and see them as Middle Eastern ‘Jerry Springer’ shows!

Let me share with you the main themes you are bound to find; some are quite condescending, with, for instance, many women asking whether it is permissible to pray if they are wearing nail polish?! The answer is no! Whether they can pluck their eyebrows?! The answer is no! Whether on this or that, be it on matters as small as bacteria or as great as the universe and everything in between, the TeleIslamists will give you an edict or ‘fatwa’ on the issue, just like a physician dispensing a prescription!

When they are not giving advice, which is what their entire shows are about, they try to scare you with death and hell or entice you with death and heaven. Ironically, just like you and I, they have no more knowledge of the thereafter than anyone else, yet authoritatively narrate stories or fantasies on what to expect, mixing them with histories of people long dead to make their claims credible. To polish their speech they try to apply basic video editing and pious-sounding tones of voice!

When given a choice of watching Tele-Islamists or music channels all day long I suspect that the benefits of both would be almost identical, for their effect most likely is a pacified crowd that is useless and is unable to think, let alone reflect on matter of great importance. With regards to the ‘religious’ channels they tend to increase and encourage the spread of ignorance for they thrive on being the guardians of religious knowledge; if people became well versed in such knowledge not only would the Tele-Islamists’ role come to fade, so would their influence. What would happen is that people would start to think, to reflect and to put different stories into perspective and this would most certainly lead to ideas that the clerical elites would shun for it might lead to a smarter society, one that could not be controlled, which certainly would not be in their interest.

So, help yourself and your society and start reading about everything and anything, and be critical of information before analyzing it and accepting or rejecting it. Knowledge is a powerful weapon, for once you know, you can no longer claim ignorance...

News

in brief

Actress accuses TV director of assault KUWAIT: A Kuwaiti actress has reportedly accused a famous Kuwaiti T V director of assaulting her.

According to a security insider, the actress, named only as ‘F,’ said that she was filming an episode of a TV series at a house in the Sabah Al-Salem area when the director assaulted her. She has lodged an official police complaint over the incident and an investigation is underway.

MEW collects KD 135 million KUWAIT: Kuwait’s Ministry of Electricity and Water(MEW) has said that it collected KD 135 million in outstanding accumulated debts from consumers during the last two months. The ministry has adopted a new measure to claim these debts, Hamad Al-Hazeem Director of Consumer Affairs at the ministry said. The ministry is entitled to collect a total amount of KD 235 million. With much of it already collected, it is now working toward obtaining the remaining sum. The ministry has also collected an amount of KD 80 million owed to it by telecommunication companies.

KUWAIT: When the municipality closed down his coffee shop in the Free Trade Zone, Abdullah Al-Haqqan thought the glitch would take a few days to be resolved. Although the closure of coffee shops and restaurants in the Free Trade Zone near Shuwaikh Port happened more than six months ago, however, the future of the businesses is still in limbo. “The most frustrating aspect is the fact that there are no clear answers to our questions as business owners and entrepreneurs. I t has been six months and we still haven’t figure out what the problem really is,” he complained.

The three culprits behind the closure of the stores in the Free Trade Zone are the Municipality, the Public Authority

for Industr y, and the M inistr y of Commerce and Industry. Business owners are left running in circles between these three bodies in search of a solution to their dilemma. Finding clear answers to their questions is next to impossible, said Al-Haqqan.

The losses they have suffered in the first few months have been dramatic, with rent and workers’ salaries continuing to be paid monthly despite their inability to make any profit from the businesses which they were forced to shut down.

Several business owners who were affected by the closures have requested a meeting with the M inister of Commerce and Industry Amani Buresli to discuss their businesses’ future with her, but nothing official has yet taken place. At the end of December 2010,

the Municipality closed down the majority of commercial establishments in the Free Trade Zone, with only a handful of exceptions.

The Municipality’s excuse was that these establishments did not have the necessary health permits.

The Municipality refused to issue health permits to these establishments however, due to the fact that businesses in the Free Trade Zone fall under the jurisdiction of the Public Authority for Industry, since it is responsible for all businesses there.

Al-Haqqan explained: “To us business owners the decision to close down our stores seems to be very irrational and not at all logical. We contacted the Municipality, the Public Authority for I ndustr y, and the M inistr y of Commerce, all to no avail.” He added:

“Some of us even filed lawsuits against the decision-makers, but the lawsuits were dropped. We just have to live with it for now and wait until a decision is made.” He added that the majority of store-owners still have their equipment and furniture in place, hoping that the saga will come to an end and they will be able to resume work.

“We still get calls from people who used to frequent our coffee shop.

University students, people who worked in private companies whose offices were near the FTZ, and even those living around Kuwait City prefer the Free Trade Zone since it’s calmer and more quiet than the other areas.

Sadly we are closed, and we cannot reopen until we hear back from whichever authority is responsible,” he said.

Coastguards rescue Iranian crew

KUWAIT: The Ministry of Interior’s General Police Department welcomed a visiting group of children of ministry employees, veterans and martyrs, who were taken on a tour of the department to learn about the process of receiving and responding to emergency calls, as well as finding out more about the contents of police patrol vehicles. The visit was part of the 2011 summer program prepared annually by the ministry’s social care department for children in these groups.

KUWAIT: Kuwaiti coastguards yesterday rescued a crew of eight Iranian men from a sinking wooden boat which had set out for Iran before it foundered. After officials saw that the boat, which was loaded with foodstuffs, was in trouble, coastguards immediately set out in a speedboat, rescuing all eight men from the stricken vessel, said a statement from the Ministry of Interior.

The rescued crew members received the necessary medical attention. The crew have been given adequate medical attention, the statement added, explaining that the vessel had foundered due to an unusually high tide and unfavorable weather conditions.

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Years

MONDAY, JULY 4, 2011

local kuwait digest

Govt’s crime against the young

By Thaar Al-Rashidi

I

s Kuwait’s government aware of the crime that it has committed against thousands of pupils who recently graduated from high school?

Personally, I think the government is aware of what it has done and I consider it a partner in this crime or even the sole perpetrator.

The minimum GPA scores for admission to Kuwait University have been set at 70 percent for Science subjects and 78 percent for Arts subjects, with the number of places available limited to only 6,850. A similar policy has been adopted by the Public Authority for Applied Education and Training, as well as the Information Technology Institute, with both adopting GPA average admission scores only slightly lower than the university’s. Even those wishing to join the army or police must have achieved GPA scores of no less than 70 percent. So - where do those pupils who achieved lower scores and don’t meet the admission criteria go and what should they do?

The only possible answer is that they have to go to private universities. The lowest fees for any private university in Kuwait, however, is not less than KD 1,000 per year. On a yearly basis, if we add the cost of books and ‘services,’ the cost will reach a bare minimum of KD1,700 for each student.

So, a working Kuwaiti man with two sons at even the cheapest private universities will be obliged to pay KD3,400 annually, i.e. KD283 per month. Suppose his salary exceeds KD 1500. if we deduct all his commitments, I don’t think that he will have enough to pay for university fees.

Imagine if his salary is less than KD 1,000 and he has three children at university, then what he will do?!

The Civil Service Commission does not accept candidates whose only qualifications are high school diplomas. So where will our sons go, in a state whose government spends KD600 million on maintaining university buildings, a sum sufficient to pay for the construction of two new universities, a police station, a Central Prison and a ‘Hajana Police’ center, with enough left over to build a three-floor clinic.

Our governments have spent hundreds of millions of dinars on another state university, ‘AlShidadia,’ which has yet to see the light, and, let’s face it, is highly unlikely to ever see it. Yes, this is our government’s style; otherwise, how do you explain how it can be that a state university backed by all the state bodies and agencies has yet to be constructed, whilst tens of private universities have sprung up whilst the government continues to sleep?

We are not a wealthy country and our citizens are unable to provide the university education which their children have a right to, but this education should be at the government’s expense anyway - the same government which spends billions on vague development projects.

If the government were serious a fund would have been established to provide remedial classes for those pupils unable to score the required GPAs to get into ‘Kuwait Harvard University’ or the ‘Kuwaiti Sorbonne Authority for Applied Education and Training.’

In conclusion, the government’s failure to provide for its citizens is a crime not only against the young, but against the whole society. — Al-Anba

BANGKOK: Mohammad Al-Nomes pictured during his visit to the women’s charity providing care for orphans in Thailand yesterday.

Al-Nomes visits women charity for orphans in Thailand BANGKOK: Kuwaiti Minister of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs Mohammad AlNomes visited and pledged continuation of Kuwaiti support to a women’s charity providing care for orphans in Thailand and toured a building constructed by Kuwait at the institution to review activities and services offered.

The minister met the president of the society, discussed the management of the establishment and its system, and pledged continued ministry support. He said yesterday that Kuwaiti support to the establishment dates back to 1965, a

KBC holds open day at Aquapark KUWAIT: The Kuwait Banks Club (KBC) organized an open day for staff members of local banks and their families at the Aquapark recently. A special entertainment program was presented in cooperation with Fantasy Group Company.

The open day lasted for 12 hours from 10am to 10 pm, during which competitions were held for awards that were personally handed over by KBC board member and social committee chairperson Reem Al-Wuqaiyan, KBC Assistant Director Abbas Al-Blushi, and Aquapark’s Public Relations Manager Abdullatif Al-Shemmary.

Al-Wuqaiyan stated in a press statement that many more events will be held this summer.

headquar ters inaugurated in 1967, sports a multipurpose hall, 16 classrooms, and facilities providing care and services for 480 children.

The chairman added Kuwait also presented a donation of $71,000 for maintenance and refurbishing in 2006, and the work was completed in October 2008.

The headquarters are currently used to host social and religious activities for the Muslim community as well, she said, and cultural events especially abound in the month of Ramadan, when Iftar banquets are also organized. — KUNA

Child molested in Bnaid Al-Gar KUWAIT: An Egyptian man drowned only a few meters off Sulaibikhat beach. The Coastguard headed to the location where three people were reported missing. Two swimmers were saved but the third individual’s body was found after several hours of searching. In a separate case, a female citizen and her domestic helper were admitted to Adan Hospital after they nearly drowned near the police club beach in Abu Al-Hassaniya. The 28-year-old maid’s condition is believed to be critical.

Brutal assault A man has been arrested in connection with physically assaulting his son and inflicting serious injuries on him for failing to pass high school examinations. Medical staff members from the Mubarak Hospital where the teenager was admitted, informed police after finding bruises on his body which indicated that he suffered physical assault. This was in addition to the diagnosis of a concussion caused by the head injury. The parents first claimed that their son had fallen from a building. The boy’s mother eventually admitted, however, that his father had beaten him brutally.

The father was arrested while his son continues to recover in the Intensive Care Unit(ICU), reported Al-Rai.

Road accident An Arab man died instantly when he was hit by a speeding sports car on a Salmiya street. Although emergency personnel rushed to the accident location, the man was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police have arrested the Kuwaiti driver who faces legal action, reported Al-Rai. Suspicious death The body of a middle-aged Asian man was found in an Al-Surra area house. Police accompanied by detectives raced to the scene after the homeowner reported discovering the man, a 51-year-old domestic helper, dead. Investigators found evidence which suggests that the victim may not have died of natural causes. The body was

Al-Shemmary receives an award.

strong relationship between the governments of the two countries go back more than 40 years, even before establishment of official diplomatic representation.

She added she visited Kuwait in 1965 when then Amir the late Sheikh Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah made the $60,000 donation for the society. She also met His Highness Sheikh Sabah when he was the foreign minister, and he had allowed her to receive donations back then, which yielded another $15,500.

The society was founded and the

Egyptian swimmer drowns off Sulaibikhat beach

Car burgled Police are on the hunt for a thief who made away with cash and identity cards from a diplomat’s car in Al-Rumaithiya. A case was filed after a top secretary with the Sudanese embassy reported the incident where his car’s window was smashed open, KD 2,000 as well as a credit card and some IDs were stolen. The victim later learnt that an additional KD 2,000 had been withdrawn from his bank account, reported Al-Rai.

Al-Wuqaiyan and Al-Blushi pose with members of the KBC’s social committee.

donation to construct the building housing the society back then worth $60,000.

This visit, he noted, was suggested by Charge d’Affaires in Bangkok Omar AlKanderi.

“I am proud of Kuwaiti support to charities in many countries across the world, including Thailand and Bangladesh, and the state and the ministry shall continue to support charitable work everywhere in the world, as urged

by His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.”

The chairman of the society said the

removed for an autopsy, reported Al-Rai. Child molested An Arab national was arrested in Bnaid Al-Gar after allegedly sexually abusing his neighbor’s six-year-old son. Police received an emergency call from the child’s Iranian mother, reporting that her son explained the ordeal he was subjected to after being lured to the next-door apartment. The suspect denied the accusations, arguing that he could not be indicted based on the testimony of a six-year-old. He has been imprisoned pending test results obtained from the victim’s clothes, reported Al-Rai. Gas cylinder blast An Abu Halifa resident was hospitalized after sustaining severe burn injuries when a gas cylinder exploded. Investigations revealed that the Arab man had been preparing tea when the incident took place. Paramedical staff admitted him to the Adan Hospital, where he was administered preliminary medical attention before being referred to the Babtain specialized medical center to resume treatment, reported Al-Rai. Conman held An Arab man is facing at least 30 counts of fraud after reportedly selling fraudulent air tickets to people through a travel agency in Salmiya. The man was arrested shortly after Rumaithiya police were approached by a number of citizens and residents who reported the incident. The man is expected to face more charges after police learnt that similar complaints were made against the agency he works in, reported Al-Rai. 115 arrested Police arrested 115 illegal residents in raids carried out at different places across the country. Strict measures are being taken against those who failed to avail of the Amiri amnesty that expired June 30.

Violators who had the chance to exit the country or legalize their stay will face tougher restrictions, reported Al-Jarida.

Suicide attempt A teenage girl was admitted to Farwaniya hospital with a severe injury that was sustained during a suicide attempt. An ambulance was sent to a Khaitan apartment where the 15-year-old bled profusely from a stab wound in the abdomen. The girl is in a serious condition and a suicide case was filed after preliminary investigations revealed that the wound was selfinflicted, reported Al-Anba.

Two dead, 10 hurt in road accidents

By Hanan Al-Saadoun KUWAIT: Two Afghani expatriates died, whilst a compatriot and an Indian national were rushed to hospital following a car crash on Wafra Road yesterday.

In a separate incident, an unidentified woman suffered multiple injuries to her head and body in a car accident on Morocco Street. She was rushed to Mubarak Hospital.

In another accident, two Pakistani expatriates, both aged 39, were taken to Farwaniya Hospital after sustaining various injuries in a crash on King Faisal Road.

In a fourth crash, this time on Fahaheel Expressway, a 44-year-old man suffered head injuries, a 35-year-old Egyptian

woman damaged her back, an eight-yearold child suffered lacerations to the forehead and a two-year-old baby sustained injuries to the mouth. All were taken to Mubarak Hospital.

Meanwhile, a 27-year-old Kuwaiti man was taken to Amiri Hospital after suffering fractured bones in his right hand in a car crash in Mirqab.

Kheitan fire Two Kuwaitis, aged 42 and 26, suffered smoke inhalation during a fire at a house in Kheitan. The older man was treated at the scene whilst the younger was taken to Farwaniya Hospital. Firefighters quickly extinguished the blaze.

Lulu Hypermarket launches Amazing Thailand festival KUWAIT: Lulu Hypermarket, the regional retail heavyweight, launched a ten-day festival of Thai products, aptly named ‘Amazing Thailand’, at their Al-Qurain branch yesterday.

Inaugurating the festival, Chet Dherapattana, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Royal Thai Embassy in Kuwait, expressed his appreciation to Lulu Hypermarket for launching this special promotion of Thai products. “This is the second year running that Lulu Hypermarket is conducting the Amazing Thailand festival and judging from the success of last year’s festival, this year will hopefully be even more successful,” said the ambassador. He added that the ten-day festival, which will run till July 12, is a unique opportunity for people in Kuwait to acquaint themselves with the wide variety of products cultivated and produced in Thailand.

On arriving at Lulu Hypermarket in AlQurain, the ambassador was accorded a customary Thai welcome, followed by a cultural program that included traditional dances from different regions of Thailand, rendered exquisitely by a couple of very talented dancers. After officially inaugurating the festival with the cutting of the cake, the ambassador then toured the premises accompanied by the hypermarket’s management.

The Amazing Thailand festival, which is a celebration of the best of Thai food products, is also displaying a wide variety of cuisines from the different regions of the country. A small flavor of this amazing variety is being presented at the Hot-

food counter, where the world renowned ‘Tom yum Kung’ soup is the highlight.

The Amazing Thailand festival at the Lulu Hypermarket is a one-off opportunity to explore the rich and diverse biodiversity of Thailand and to experience its myriad cuisines.

In addition to bringing to the fore the delectable and diverse gastronomic fare of Thailand, the Amazing Thailand festival also makes available a veritable profusion of exotic fresh fruits and vegetables.

Among the striking fruits on display are Rambuttan, Durian, Dragon fruit, Longan fruit, Guava, Sweet Papaya and cantaloupe melon, as well as canned fruits, fruit syrups and canned quill eggs. Other Thai specialty vegetables on offer include Lemon grass, mushrooms, and Kaffir lime.

All the products are on offer at very special prices during the festival.

It is worth mentioning that all the Thai products displayed at the festival are delivered by Lulu Hypermarket’s dedicated export unit based in Thailand, which handles export of Thai products to all the Lulu outlets spread across the GCC. It is also noteworthy that the Hypermarket’s export unit won the ‘Best Friend’ award from the Thai government on two separate occasions for successfully exporting Thai products.

The Amazing Thailand festival is part of Lulu Hypermarket’s clear focus on consolidating its retail dominance in the region through expanding in both existing and new markets in the region, with the aim of reaching their target of opening 100 stores by the end of 2011.

MONDAY, JULY 4, 2011

LOCAL

Kuwait real estate sector poised for robust growth

KUWAIT: Luxembourg National Day celebrations in progress in Kuwait.

Grand Duchy of Luxembourg celebrates National Day KUWAIT: The Foreign Trade Counselor in Kuwait for the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, Iqbal H. Qureshi, recently held a function to celebrate the country’s National Day. Welcoming distinguished guests to the event, Qureshi expressed his sincere appreciation to the ambassadors of Belgium, Netherlands and Hungary for their blessings, support and guidance, and to the Charge d’Affaires at the Indian Embassy for honoring the event with his participation. He also welcomed the Counselor for Economics and Commercial Affairs at the Embassy of Poland, Andrzej Tusin’ski, and French Embassy Counselor Guillaume Lemoine, as well as members of the Belgian and French Business Councils, and thanked them for sharing in the happy occasion.

In particular, he voiced appreciation for the presence of Mousa Bahman, the chairman of the Bahman Group, and other distinguished guests who took time from their busy schedules to attend the event.

He noted that Luxembourg was declared the world’s richest country with the highest GDP, due to a lot of serious work being pursued worldwide under the leadership of the Crown Prince Henri, under the guidance of Minister Krecke, the Minster for Economy and Foreign Trade, through the Luxembourg for Business and Luxembourg for Finance (investment) forums.

He added that with the aim of establishing Luxembourg as a European and

world transit hub, the country is launching a free trade zone at the airport for the storage and processing of documents for high value goods, which will also allow the suspension of VAT and Customs payments, which will only be made on exiting the zone. Under the able guidance of the Prime Minister JeanClaude Juncker, the country is also contributing to the EU financial forum which is trying to provide financial support to troubled countries in the EU such as Greece, Portugal and Spain. With regards to the Kuwait-Luxembourg relationship, Qureshi remarked that this grows stronger every year on the trade side, and the visit of the Foreign Minister of Kuwait to Luxembourg is a further indication of the strong and exciting bilateral relations between the two countries.

Ministry allows cash donations in Ramadan KUWAIT: Charity organizations will be able to receive cash donations throughout Ramadan this year, after the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor (MSAL) lifted a years-long ban imposed on this type of donation during the holy month.

The ministry’s directorate for charity organizations has been notified of the new decision which was taken by MSAL Undersecretary Mohammad Al-Kandari.

Acting director Ahmad Al-Sane’a confirmed in a news report that senior directorate officials will meet with representatives of local charity organizations this week in order to coordinate on the cash collection policy.

“The decision comes as part of the ministry’s ongoing support for charitable work

in Kuwait, stemming from its acknowledgment of the profound work of local charity organizations both locally and abroad”, said Al-Sane’a, adding that numbered bonds will be issued to facilitate the process of tracking the amounts collected and to detect any violations.

On another issue, an MSAL official responded to allegations suggesting that the MSAL is deliberately stalling the process of officially endorsing new nongovernment organizations (NGO), by stating that the final decision on that regard is up to the cabinet, rather than the ministry, to make. The ministr y has also been accused of selecting those NGOs to be accorded official status on the basis of favoritism or ‘wasta.’ —Al-Qabas

Legal action against abusive orphanage staff: Al-Afasi KUWAIT: A Kuwaiti minister has announced that legal action will be taken against all those responsible for abuses allegedly taking place at local children’s homes.

In a press release issued on Saturday following an uproar in local media after the publication of a report revealing numerous serious abuses and other violations by staff at local state-run children’s homes, Minister of Social Affairs and Labor Dr. Mohammed Al-Afasi said, “Abuse of the children of Kuwait will not be tolerated.” The Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor (MSAL) is responsible for running the state’s residential care facilities.

“Anyone with evidence of violations should cooperate with the [MSAL social care department’s] officials so that violators are punished,” he continued.

Dr. Al-Afasi, who is also Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice, explained that the Director of the MSAL’s Social Care Department and the Assistant Undersecretary responsible for its supervision have both been notified of the allegations and instructed to deal urgently with all substantiated claims of wrongdoing.

“Covering up a crime is punishable by law,” the minister went on, a clear warning to anyone with information about violations at children’s homes to provide this information to those investigating the allegations.

Al-Afasi added that whilst he had not seen any such violations during his own unscheduled visits to the state’s orphanages, there is a need to “refer some individuals to the Public Prosecution Service for investigation regarding the allegations.” The report, published in a number of local papers, cites official complaints sent by staff members at some orphanages to the relevant MSAL departments reporting “serious” and “inhuman” abuses committed against the vulnerable young residents of these homes.

The allegations include claims of sexual and physical abuse, with young children being housed in the same accommodation as teenagers.

The report also raises concerns about the lack of any training in socialization skills provided to the orphanage residents which can lead to negative behavior, as well as pinpointing a lack of procedures to protect more vulnerable children from bullying behavior or to separate residents into age-appropriate groups. — Al-Rai

KUWAIT: According to several recently published reports, the outlook for Kuwait’s real estate sector is looking up. After hitting a low in 2009, the real estate market has begun to show signs of recovery and following a moderate expansion in 2010, it appears poised for more robust growth this year.

On April 22, Kuwait Finance House (KFH), the countr y ’s largest Sharia-compliant financial institution, issued a report detailing the first-quarter performance of the domestic real estate sector. The report estimated that the total value of real estate transactions - including residential, investment and commercial segments - grew by 5.3 percent over the previous quarter.

This continues a trend that was set in 2010. According to an April 2011 report, published

by National Bank of Kuwait (NBK), real estate sales, “have been trending higher since the middle of 2009 when the Kuwait and the world economies started recovering from the financial crisis.”

Indeed, NBK found that average monthly real estate sales grew from KD 108.7 million in 2009 to KD 166.1 million in 2010, an increase of nearly 53 percent. In annual terms, this amounts to a total market of nearly KD2 billion in 2010.

The residential segment, which accounted for about 55 percent of this total, exhibited the greatest growth, with sales expanding by 65 percent between 2009 and 2010.

The government’s distribution of plots and units during the middle of 2010 may have been one of the factors that contributed to this rise. By comparison, the commercial segment increased by only 23 percent between the two years, reaching KD 240 million in 2010.

Recent reports project an upward trend for the remainder of 2011. According to KFH, liquidity in the real estate market has increased in recent months, in part thanks to a February 2011 grant of KD 1,000 to every Kuwaiti citizen and a decline in the number of investment oppor tunities in other Arab countries.

In addition, a recent legal decision that will allow Islamic

KUWAIT: Al-Hamra Towers in Kuwait. —Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat

banks to finance the purchase of private residences by individuals may provide another boost to the sector. Indeed, in an April 17 statement to the local press, Abdulla Al-Shemmari, CEO of Arkan Al-Kuwait Real Estate Company, highlighted the potential positive impact of this legal development, noting that since the ruling corporate figures have indicated growing demand for residential properties.

Other factors may play a role too. Earlier in April, a report issued by Emaar Al-Ahlia Real Estate Company emphasized the importance of the decision by the Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA), the country’s sovereign wealth fund, to invest in the local real estate sector. In March the KIA announced that it would launch a five-year, KD1 billion commercial real estate portfolio, to be managed by KFH. In a statement to the state news agency, KIA said that it expected ‘good returns’ in the medium and long term, pointing out the potential to benefit from the ‘steep plunge’ in the prices of commercial real estate. Subsequently, on April 16 a KIA official noted that the fund expects a minimum return of six percent on its investment.

Positive response to the sovereign fund’s move came from the chairman of the Kuwait Real

Estate Union, Tawfiq Al Jarrah, who said, “Such huge liquidity in the real estate market will reflect positively on local investment and real estate firms, and the country’s bourse as well.” However, there have been dissenting views.

Maytham Al-Shakhs, a portfolio manager at Global Investment House, told the press that the KIA’s investment is “a big mistake... because it

to market. Investors had a chance to review domestic and international projects at the Real Estate and Investment Exhibition, held at the Kuwait International Fairground in Mishref from April 11 to 16.

According to Abdulaziz AlKhalid, Undersecretary of the Ministr y of Commerce and Industry, about 30 local and Gulf region companies displayed a variety of real estate

‘A large injection of liquidity into the real estate market could indeed make profitable investments more scarce, but new residential and commercial developments are still coming to market.’ will cause a huge increase in prices. It would have been better to support other sectors like the investment and services sectors.”

A large injection of liquidity into the real estate market could indeed make profitable investments more scarce, but new residential and commercial developments are still coming

and investment projects at the fair.

While real estate prices may remain relatively low for now at least in comparison to their historical highs - the rising demand from both individual homebuyers and institutional investors suggests that this may not be the case for long.

—Oxford Business Group

Security beefed up at airport following terror threat KUWAIT: Security at the Kuwait International Airport was placed on high alert on Saturday after receiving information about a potential terrorist attack.

According to a news report quoting a senior security source, airport authorities received an

international warning about Kuwait’s main airport being featured among a list of many other landmarks that could be targeted, reported Al-Rai. Speaking anonymously, the official revealed that several carriers have received similar instruc-

tions, including one to keep a close eye on travelers who have undergone recent surgical procedures. “ The information explained that the planned terrorist activity could be performed by detonating explosives that are planted inside human or animal

organs,” the official explained.

The warning letter includes recommendations to pay extra attention to passengers who show signs of illness or those with medical attendants and wearing baggy clothes and scarves around their necks.

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Ramadan may start on Aug 1

kuwait digest

Financial setbacks

KUWAIT: According to the latest calculations of the Fentas Observatory, the lunar month of Ramadan is to begin on a M onday, coinciding Aug 1, Meteorologist Adel Al-Saadoun said yesterday.

Al-Saadoun added that the new crescent would be seen in Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries, but would not be visible in Kuwait Sunday evening, though the birth of the new moon, called conjunction (with the sun), occurs Saturday, 9:40 in the evening.

The lunar calendar is the reference Muslims use for marking religious occasions and seasons, and the holy month of Ramadan is the ninth month, and is a month of fasting from sunrise till sunset with more prayers and acts of worship.

The start of Ramadan is not announced according to astrological calculations alone, but testimony of sighting the crescent by two men or a man and two women are required for the call for fast.

Muslims believe Ramadan to be an auspicious month for the revelations of God to humankind, being the month in which the first verses of the Quran were revealed to Prophet, Muhammad (pbuh). —KUNA

By Furhaid Al-Busairi

R

Pakistani Frigate Alamgir on cordial visit to Kuwait Step to enhance relations KUWAIT: The Pakistan Navy’s Frigate, PNS Alamgir (FFG-260), docked at Kuwait’s Shuwaikh Port on Saturday on a “brotherly and cordial” visit, during which its staff would work on further enhancing existing relations between the two countries. “Pakistan enjoys brotherly and cordial relations with Kuwait in all professional fields,” PNS Alamgir Commander Captain Naveed Ashraf told reporters onboard the ship.

“Pakistan Navy ships regularly visit Kuwait to enhance relations and generate goodwill between the two brotherly countries. It is hoped that this visit will reinvigorate bilateral cooperation and interoperability between the two navies in particular,” he added.

PNS Alamgir is in Kuwait from July 2-6, 2001. It is the first visit to Kuwaiti shores.

“This visit will further garner mutual benefits from existing strong bonds of friendship between the two countries,” Captain Ashraf noted.

In response to a question, Captain Ashraf said “our main task concerns maritime security

operations, at which we look at any suspicious dhows and ships that could be involved in illegal activities like transferring or smuggling of counterfeit items, in addition to the ones suspected of conducting terrorist activities in sea.

“Basically, our current mission is to keep good order in the Gulf of Oman and North Arabian Sea,” he stressed.

He carried on saying that tomorrow, he, along with his staff, will meet with a host of high-level Kuwaiti Navy officers, headed by Deputy Chief of Naval Staff Brig Gen Jassem Al-Ansari.

“No joint military exercises

esidents of Kuwait, both citizens and expatriates, face an impending risk. It is one of an economic collapse which looms large over the countr y, given its lopsided spending habits and the financial setbacks that the world faces.

Economic struggles are not easy to surmount. It is not like losing one round and hoping for better luck next time. It is more complicated than that because it jeopardizes the country’s stability. Lack of economic prosperity results in the lack of stability on psychological, social security and political fields.

The world is anxiously watching the economic crisis plaguing Greece. Europe is confused about what proactive measure should be taken: Should they help Greece or defend themselves so that each country can focus on protecting itself?

Countries like Portugal, Ireland and Spain are walking the tightrope in terms of their economic condition. Meanwhile, the United States of America is struggling to find its way out of recession. One day its economy could collapse, wreaking havoc on the rest of the world.

The East is not any more insulated than the West. Japan is still recovering from the tsunami aftermath and the subsequent nuclear crisis.

The Arab world also finds a bleak future ahead, especially among oil rich countries that are reeling under fluctuating oil prices and the emergence of alternative energy sources.

Every country thinks about its future except for Kuwait. We are more concerned about what we can spend today rather than what we can save for tomorrow.

A citizen cannot be blamed for not being well-informed about economic repercussions.

On the other hand, realizing that neither lawmakers nor the government are familiar with the basics of economy is tragic. It does not need an expert to realize that the approach taken in Kuwait leads the country straight to the abyss.

A l l ow a nce s a nd p ay ra i s e s a re b e i ng enforced without conducting thorough studies, put together by distributing wealth among citizens in a bid to solve a problem that does not even exist. While we think that we have solved the imaginary problem of insufficient pay, many other problems are created such as hiking the state budget to more than KD 20 billion, placing the country on the verge of deficit.

I am not against rewarding people’s work with financial compensation. I am simply trying to point out the fac t that Kuwait ’s budget depends on a single source of income, which is oil revenues. Our ancestors were aware of this fact. Therefore, their plans were carefully studied so as to keep in mind the long term repercussions of the decisions made. On the other hand, our current politicians lost their way through which they appeal to voters through more spending. People will be given more of what they have instead of what they do not.

Let us stop talking about the development plan for a while, and instead focus on thousands of graduates who will be seeking job in the future. Thousands of newlyweds will look for a house, millions of cars are going to be poured into the streets, including thousands of s c hool s a nd hos p i t a l s. The re a re s o m a ny demands we desperately need which honestly I do not think the state can achieve. What has b e e n ha p p e ni ng i n re ce nt ye a r s gi ve t he impression that there are people who do not care about Kuwait anymore. —Al-Rai

with Kuwaiti Navy are scheduled this time,” Captain Ashraf asserted.

“Our mission is part of CTF-

150 and we have been conducting these in-between visits to brotherly countries for flagshowing purposes, in addition to scheduled joint exercises,” he pointed out.

CTF-150 (Combined Task Force 150) is a multinational coalition naval task force with logistics facilities at Djibouti established to monitor, inspect, board, and stop suspect shipping to pursue the “War on Terrorism” in the Horn of Africa region, including operations in the North Arabia Sea and the Indian Ocean.

Alamgir — built in 1979 in the United States-is the first OHP

(Oliver Hazard Perry) Class Frigate acquired and commissioned in Pakistan Navy on August 31, 2010 at Naval Station Mayport Florida.

Named after Emperor Aurangzeb Alamgir, sixth Muslim ruler of Great Mughal Empire, the ship is 4,100 tons with overall length of 138.1 meters. It is a multi-mission capable vessel, fitted with potent weapon and sensor systems. The ship is capable of carrying two ASW Origin Helicopters. The mission of the ship is to maintain the standards of professionalism and excellence, which are a hallmark of Pakistan Navy. —KUNA

KUWAIT: The Pakistan Navy’s Frigate, PNS Alamgir at the Shuwaikh Port yesterday.

Premier embarks on Gulf tour today KUWAIT: His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah is set to begin today a Gulf tour that will take him to Saudi Arabia, Oman, UAE, Qatar and Bahrain.

During his tour, he is expected to meet the leaders of the GCC member states on ways and means of further beefing up and cementing bilateral relations in various fields, coordinating political positions as well as the latest regional and international developments.

The tour embodies HH the premier’s keenness on propping up the pillars of fraternity between Kuwait and other GCC member states.

Kuwait has been tied by deep historical bonds with other Gulf nations; based on cooperation, solidarity and good neighborliness as well as firm foundations that stem strength from strong and firm bonds in various domains and on all levels.

Firm ties between Kuwait and other sisterly Gulf nations have not been affected by any crisis or problem. On the contrary, the more trouble they had the stronger their relations became.

For instance, when Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, other GCC member states wasted no time to put all their potential to heavily back the just cause of Kuwait.

Gulf officials always stress, on various occasions, the depth of existing relations between Kuwait and their countries, and identical positions on diverse regional and international issues.

Only 40 days after he came to power, HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad AlJaber Al-Sabah paid a Gulf tour involving Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar and UAE in March 2006.

During this tour, he was awarded for his

great efforts for further bolstering and consolidating bonds between Kuwait and its Gulf neighbors .

HH the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf AlAhmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah paid a similar Gulf tour in January 2007; having been accompanied by HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah.

Meanwhile, prominent media figures in Saudi Arabia underlined the significance of a planned visit by Sheikh Nasser to Riyadh.

They said the visit would surely open the door wide for closer and firmer cooperation and integration between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, given that it is part of continuing mutual tours between both sides, in which officials exchange views on bilateral, regional and international issues.

They spoke highly of the role played by both countries in serving the issues of both Arab and Muslim nations, and their relentless backing to GCC unity and integration as well as their keenness on regional security and stability.

The visit will surely give a staunch push to Saudi-Kuwaiti relations thanks to the existing solid will to safeguard gains notched up by the two countries in the development march, and to boost their capabilities and unity in face of regional challenges, they said.

Speaking to KUNA, Okaz chief editor Ayman Habeeb said the visit comes at a time when a set of critical internal and external challenges are facing the Arab region.

He stressed the special significance of HH the Kuwaiti prime minister ’s visit, where he is expected to meet Saudi King Abbullah bin Abdulaziz and several other Saudi officials on distinguished relations

and cooperation between both sides.

He expressed confidence that the visit would come up with common positive points for both neighboring Gulf nations.

Al Eqtisadiah managing editor Saud AlTawim said the visit would surely boost the favorable results of previous visits between both sides.

He said Kuwaiti-Saudi historical relations are marked by political concord and integration as well as coordination over Arab issues, pointing to the keenness of both sides’ leaderships to prop up this attitude.

The current Arab events require more cooperation and coordination not only between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, but among all the six GCC member states as well, he noted.

For his part, Al Madinah economic editor Hassan Al-Sobhi stressed deep KuwaitiSaudi relations that date back to the premodern Saudi Arabia period, adding that such ties proceed from the fact that both sides share the same destiny and history.

He underlined the deep significance of HH the Kuwaiti prime minister’s visit to Saudi Arabia, which shows both sides’ eagerness to have concerted and coordinated views amid regional and international changes and variables.

He believed that the tour would bring positive impacts on both Arab and Muslim nations, especially as they enjoy much weight at regional and international levels.

In view of the state of affairs in the Arab region and the nature of the dossiers to be addressed by Sheikh Nasser during his Qatar visit Thursday, the visit is of even greater importance and significance, academicians in Doha said.

Media professor and head of teaching staff at Qatar University Dr. Rebeiaa AlKawari said that “Kuwait has played a key role in the region on all fronts since its independence, and most particularly in relation to Arab unity and coordination.

This visit and the deliberation and coordination between Qatar and Kuwait is further proof of commitment to the goal of bringing Arabs closer as we all seek to adjust and address the current difficult situation in the Arab World.

“Our two people share a great deal of history, common goals, and even shed blood shoulder to shoulder back in 1991 in the war to liberate Kuwait. Qatar was among the first countries to stand beside Kuwaiti right and Qataris defended that right on the frontline, most specifically in the battle in Khafji.”

Dean of Academic Affairs at Ahmad bin Mohammad Military College Dr. Khalid AlKhatir meanwhile said the current situation in the Arab world requires effort on the part of the Gulf countries to coordinate stances and prepare the agenda for the next meetings of GCC heads of state.

Apart from reflecting how close the two countries are on social and political level, the visit would most probably accelerate progress on several key economic files, as well as boost investment relations.

This visit also comes on the heel of much interest by Qatari investors in opportunities in the Kuwaiti market.

He also remarked that Kuwait plays a weighty role on both regional and international issues, and contributes immensely to resolving disputes through mediation. This, too, makes the visit of great interest to Qatar, as well as the Kuwaiti leadership. —KUNA

Kuwait hosts Jerusalem youth forum KUWAIT: The International Islamic Charitable Organization (IICO) said Saturday the sixth Jerusalem youth forum will kick off here under auspices of Chairman of the Kuwaiti National Security Bureau (KNSB) Sheikh Mohammad Al-Khaled AlSabah.

The forum, being organized by IICO’s Committee of Palestine in collaboration with the youth association for Jerusalem, aims to educate youth on Jerusalem question and shed light on the root causes of the Arab-Israeli conflict, IICO’s Director Dr. Suleiman Shams-Eddin told reporters here.

“The annual event is part of our efforts to translate works of sympathy into positive actions that could contribute to the promotion of Islamic culture, raise public awareness about key Islamic questions and involve youths in the issues of their nation,” he pointed out.

Dr Shams-Eddin added that the forum, which coincides this year with the celebrations marking Isra and Miraj occasion, will focus on the dangers facing the Islamic identity of the holy city due to the Israeli hostile plots.

Meanwhile chief of the organizing committee and chairman of the youth association for Jerusalem Tareq Al-Shaye’ said event will bolster up cooperation and coordination among the youth communities in the Muslim nations in support for the occupied city.

Founded on June 15, 1988, the Committee of Palestine aims to provide humanitarian relief for the Palestinian people in need, implement productive projects in social, health and educational fields, and protect the identity of the Islamic heritage in the city against the Israeli judaization bids. —KUNA

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Yemen’s Saleh clings to power as unrest rises Aims to run election in 6-8 months after return

SANAA: Anti-government protesters, gesture during a demonstration demanding the resignation of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh in Sanaa, Yemen, yesterday. Dozens of Yemeni troops went missing after a battle with Al-Qaedalinked militants at a sports stadium in the country’s increasingly lawless south, a military official said. — AP RIYADH/SANAA: Yemen’s president, in hospital in Riyadh, will not cede power until he returns to oversee a transition, a Yemeni cabinet official said yesterday, extending a period of political limbo.

The fractious Arabian Peninsula state has been paralysed by six-months of mass protests against President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s three-decade rule. After surviving an assassination attempt last month, Saleh went to Saudi Arabia for treatment. As Saleh clings to power and the political impasse drags on, the southern Abyan province has descended into violence with militants suspected of ties to Al Qaeda seizing two cities.

The United States and neighbouring Saudi Arabia fear a power vacuum in the impoverished country that sits on the border of the world’s top oil exporter and which hosts an al Qaeda branch that has launched failed attacks on US and Saudi targets. They have been pushing for an immediate power transfer. The cabinet official visiting the president yesterday told Reuters Saleh planned to support a Gulf Arab transition plan that has already collapsed three times when the president backed out of signing at the last minute. “Saleh plans to support the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) deal and he asked the foreign minister to do everything to make the plan succeed,” said the

official, who asked not to be further identified. “But in order for the power to be transitioned, the president has to be in Yemen.” He also said Saleh expected to manage the transition himself: “To have a proper election you would need six to eight months and during that period Saleh will still be president.”

Analysts have said the suspected bomb planted in Saleh’s mosque last month would prevent the 69-year-old leader from resuming power even though it did not kill him. Opposition groups and the hundreds of thousands protesting across Yemen want an immediate change in government, which Vice President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi has run in Saleh’s absence.

“Saleh’s return has become impossible and if his health improved, which I doubt, we say to him, stay where you are and take the rest of your family with you,” said Samia al-Aghbari, a prominent activist in Taiz, south of the capital, where tens of thousands camp out daily. “They want to burn this country to the ground.”

Despite the defection of several military leaders and hundreds of troops, Saleh’s son remains in control of the powerful Republican Guard that protesters in Taiz say tried to attack their camp Saturday night. Armed tribesmen defending the protesters shot dead four soldiers and

wounded 12 others. With political talks at a standstill, Yemen is planning to step up military action, hoping to retake areas lost to Islamist militants and armed tribesmen amid rising unrest in the Arab world’s poorest country.

The Defence Ministry has placed a security belt around the southern port city of Aden, which sits near the entry to a shipping lane that channels some 3 million barrels of oil daily.

Aden residents, seeing thousands of refugees pouring in over recent weeks, worry violence could spread from neighbouring Abyan, where clashes are erupting daily. Abyan residents complain of severe fuel, food and water shortages. A military base just outside the militantcontrolled provincial capital of Zinjibar said it has been under siege for more than a month. It appealed yesterday for help from the state, which has yet to send reinforcements.

“We have been blockaded for over a month and have not received human reinforcements, equipment, or even a drop of water in over two weeks,” military officer at the embattled base, Khaled Noamani, told Reuters by telephone. He said some 15 militants and 10 soldiers were killed and dozens injured on Sunday during fierce clashes outside the base. — Reuters

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Hezbollah leader vows not to surrender members BEIRUT: Hezbollah’s leader has vowed never to turn over four members of his Shiite militant group who have been indicted in the 2005 murder of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, saying in a defiant speech that “even in 300 years” authorities will not be able to touch them. In his first comments since the indictments were announced Thursday, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah promised that the country would not see a new “civil war” linked to the findings of the UNbacked tribunal. But Saturday’s assurance came with a tacit warning that peace in Lebanon depends on the government bowing to Hezbollah’s power and not pushing ahead with arrests. Nasrallah also denounced the six-year investigation as a plot by Israel and the United States and said it was “an aggression against us and our holy warriors.” Immediately following the speech, bursts of celebratory gunfire and fireworks erupted in

Beirut. Hezbollah, which gets crucial suppor t from Iran and Syria, has denied any role in the killing and accused the UN-backed tribunal of doing Israel’s bidding. The accusations that Hezbollah — the most powerful political and military force in Lebanon — ad a role in the 2005 Beirut truck bombing that killed Rafik Hariri has the potential to plunge this Arab nation on Israel’s northern border into a new and violent crisis. But Nasrallah sought to allay those concerns and said “there will be no civil war in Lebanon.” “ This is because there is a responsible government in Lebanon that will not act with revenge,” he added. Hezbollah has amassed unprecedented political clout in the government this year, 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 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 little enthusiasm within the current leadership to press forward with the case.

Even if Saad Hariri were still in power, however, it’s unlikely he would be able to force Lebanese authorities to arrest the men — to do so, they would have to directly confront a well-armed militant group that wields serious power over the Lebanese state. The bombing that killed Hariri and 22 other people on Feb. 14, 2005, was one of the most dramatic political assassinations in the Middle East. A billionaire businessman, Hariri

was Lebanon’s most prominent politician after the 15-year civil war ended in 1990. In the six years since his death, the investigation has sharpened some of Lebanon’s most intractable issues: the role of Hezbollah and its massive arsenal, and the country’s dark history of sectarian divisions and violence. Rafik Hariri was one of Lebanon’s most powerful Sunni leaders; Hezbollah is a Shiite group. On Saturday, Nasrallah said the suspects named in the indictment are brothers “who have an honorable history in resisting Israeli occupation.” He went on to accuse top investigators at the tribunal, including the first UN chief investigator, Detlev Mehlis, and his deputy, Gerhard Lehmann, of corruption. The tribunal is full of “financial and moral corruption,” Nasrallah said.

“Do you expect this tribunal to be fair with resistance fighters who fought against Israel?” he said. “This

tribunal, since the beginning, was formed for a clear political target.” The case has further polarized Lebanon’s rival factions — Hezbollah with its patrons in Syria and Iran on one side, and a Western-backed bloc led by Hariri’s son, Saad, on the other.

One of the men named in the indictment, Mustafa Badreddine, has 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 Gar y Berntsen, a former official who ran the Hezbollah task force at the CIA. Nasrallah confirmed the three others also are Hezbollah members in his speech. “ They will not harm us,” Nasrallah said in a comment directed to his supporters. “Despite the tribunal ... Don’t be afraid and don’t be worried about it.” — AP

Captain of Gaza-bound ship held in ‘shocking conditions’ Klusmer charged with felony

CAIRO: An Egyptian veiled woman carries a picture of Sheikh Abu Yahia, a Salafi preacher charged with sparking deadly sectarian violence last May, as she takes part in a protest supporting the Sheikh during his trial session at the Supreme State Security Court in New Cairo, Egypt yesterday. — AP

Trial opens in deadly Egypt sectarian clashes CAIRO: The trial began yesterday of 48 people accused of involvement in deadly Muslim-Christian clashes in May that left 12 people dead, a judicial official said. A new dock was created in the cour troom in order to separate the Muslim and Christian defendants, as security forces surrounded the courthouse and families of the defendants staged protests outside. The 28 defendants present-the search continues for 20 — all pleaded not guilty to charges ranging from premeditated murder and inciting sectarian tension to harming public security.

The clashes on May 7 in the workingclass neighbourhood of Imbaba, an overcrowded maze of residential buildings and shops, left 12 dead and 52 injured. Muslims had attacked the Coptic Saint Mena church in Imbaba in a bid to free a Christian woman they alleged was being held against her will because she wanted to convert to Islam.

Copts scuffled with soldiers, blaming them for not doing enough to stop the fighting.

The clashes prompted hundreds Coptic Christians to hold a sit-in outside the state television headquarters to demand protection. That sit-in was attacked a week later, sparking further clashes that left dozens injured, raising fears of widespread sectarian unrest.

Egypt has been gripped by insecurity and sectarian strife since a revolt that toppled president Hosni Mubarak on February 11 created a security vacuum.

After the clashes, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, which took power when Mubarak was ousted, warned it will “strike with an iron hand all those who seek to tamper with the nation’s security.” Coptic Christians, who account for up to 10 percent of Egypt’s 80-million people, complain of discrimination and have been the targets of several attacks. — AFP

ATHENS: The captain of a US vessel intercepted after it tried to defy a ban and sail for Gaza from Greece was being held in “shocking conditions” yesterday and has not received consular assistance, a lawyer said.

Captain John Klusmer was arrested when the US boat Audacity of Hope-the flagship in a flotilla of pro-Palestinian activists-attempted to leave Greek waters on Friday after Athens banned all Gaza-bound ships from setting sail.

Klusmer was charged with felony and ordered to appear in court tomorrow. The US Boat to Gaza organisation said he was being held in jail in “shocking conditions” and as far as it was aware, had not yet received consular assistance. New York lawyer Richard Levy-a passenger on the boat who has visited Klusmer in jail in a port town near Athenstold enraged US activists that “he had no bed or toilet in his cell, and is receiving no food or water”.

“We’ve offered to pay his bail,” said passenger Robert Naiman, from the Washington-based Just Foreign Policy organisation. “But we have had no indication at all that he will be allowed out of jail before tomorrow.”

The US embassy in Athens was not available for comment. The Audacity of Hope-which was carrying 3,000 letters of support for Palestinians-set sail without warning, leaving behind nine other ships that had hoped to sail together to challenge Israel’s naval blockade on Gaza. It was quickly intercepted by a coastguard vessel with masked, armed men on board. After a two-hour

GAZA CITY: Palestinian children hold Palestinian and Greek flags as they protest in support of the Gaza-bound flotilla in the port of Gaza City, yesterday. 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. — AP stand-off, the boat turned back to a small naval port.

Passengers were free to go but initially chose to stay on board in defiance of the Greek authorities.

Yesterday morning they were back in Athens to “do what we can to help the captain”, including “reaching out to members of the US Congress” for help in getting Klusmer released or improving the conditions in which he is held.

The flotilla has been beset with bureaucratic problems and two cases of “sabotage” over the

Rabbi questioned over ‘racist’ book JERUSALEM: Israeli police briefly detained a rabbi yesterday over his endorsement of a controversial book that justifies the killing of non-Jews in certain circumstances, a police spokesman said yesterday.

News of the brief detention and questioning of rabbi Yaakov Yosef, son of one of Israel’s leading religious leaders, prompted his suppor ters to take to the streets in parts of Jerusalem, burning tyres and blocking the city’s light railway.

Later about 1,000 of his supporters took to the streets, setting rubbish bins on fire and blocking a main Jerusalem road before being dispersed by horse -mounted police and water cannons, an AFP photographer said. Police spokesman M ick y Rosenfeld said police moved against the demonstrators after they started throwing stones at the officers. There were no immediate reports of injuries.

Police detained Yosef for around an hour after he failed to present himself voluntarily for questioning over his endorsement of a book called “The King’s Torah.”

Yosef is the son of rabbi Ovadia Yosef, a highly popular religious leader who is also the spiritual head of the Shas party, which is part of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling coalition. Yosef is the second high-profile rabbi to be questioned over the book , af ter

police last week briefly detained rabbi Dov Lior, a key member of the settler movement. His detention also prompted protests by his students and supporters.

Rosenfeld said Yosef had been “questioned on suspicion of inciting violence and racism” over his support for the book.

“He was released after approximately an hour. After he was held, his supporters burnt tyres near (the main road between east and west Jerusalem) and police also made arrests of three people who were blocking the light railway system,” Rosenfeld added.

Rabbi Lior ’s detention last week prompted rare criticism from Israel’s two chief rabbis, who described it as a “grave offence against the honour of one of the most important rabbis and leaders of religious opinion.” But speaking at the opening of the weekly cabinet meeting yesterday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said there would be no special treatment for rabbis.

“Israel is a nation of laws, as I said a few days ago. Nobody is above the law-and I demand that every Israeli citizen respect the law,” he said. “ The King’s Torah” has stirred up controversy since its publication. Last August, its co-author, settler rabbi Yosef Elitzur was arrested on suspicion of incitement to

last week and only four of the initial 10 boats-two French, one Spanish and one Canadian-were in the running yesterday.

Organisers said three of the boats planned to set sail today morning, despite the Greek ban which is in place “until futher notice”.

Activists said they were “resigned” to being intercepted by the coastguard. A fourth boat, the French Dignity, was going to attempt to sail Sunday, but was thought to be heading for Crete, not Gaza.

The ships will be sailing illegal-

ly because they have not resolved a series of bureaucratic issues and some have had key documents confiscated by the Greek authorities. Israel credited its “diplomatic efforts” for the delays and setbacks that have kept the vessels grounded.

“I welcome all the efforts that have been made to stop the flotilla,” Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman Lieberman said yesterday. “The success... is the fruit of intensive contacts with states in the region and the international community,” he said. — AFP

Iraq military cracks down on militias, arms smuggling

JERUSALEM: Israeli police scuffle with protesting Orthodox Jews, supporters of rabbi Yaakov Yosef, following his release after short time questioning by the Israeli police in Jerusalem yesterday. — AFP violence. But he was freed without charge days later after a court found police had not followed proper procedure.

The book repor tedly says babies and children of Israel’s enemies may be killed in certain circumstances since “it is clear that they will grow to harm us.”

I t also says non-Jews are “uncompassionate by nature”

and that attacks on them “curb their evil inclination.” “Anywhere where the influence of gentiles constitutes a threat to the life of Israel, it is permissible to kill them,” the rabbis wrote.

The book, published earlier this year, has drawn sharp criticism from many rabbis who say it contradicts the teachings of Judaism. — AFP

BAGHDAD: Iraq has launched a military crackdown on smuggling gangs, Al Qaeda militants and Shi’ite militias responsible for recent attacks US forces, security officials said yesterday.

Triggered in par t by a spate of attacks on US forces last month, the crackdown aims to staunch the flow of illegal weapons into mainly Shi’ite southern Iraq from Shi’ite neighbour Iran. In one of the largest offensives, about 3,000 Iraqi troops and police were mobilised against militias and smugglers in southern Maysan province, a provincial official said. June was the deadliest month for US forces in Iraq in three years, and Iraq’s police and army have been under increased attack for months as a year-end deadline nears for the withdrawal of US troops.

US officials blame Iranian-backed Shi’ite militias for many of the attacks.

Maysan shares a long border with Iran.

Major-General Qassim Al-Moussawi, the spokesman for the Iraqi military’s commander-in-chief, said security forces were arresting militants, searching for weapons caches and stepping up patrols to cut down on rocket and mortar fire on US bases.

“We are implementing a tight security plan including all outlaw groups.

Part of this plan is to control Iraq’s border perfectly,” Moussawi said. “ The entry of illegal arms to Iraq is contributing to undermining security, whether the weapons are used against US or Iraqi troops, in assassination operations or armed robbery.”

More than eight years after the USled invasion to oust Sunni dictator

Saddam Hussein, the United States still has around 47,000 troops in Iraq. A full withdrawal is expected by year-end in accordance with a joint security pact.

While overall violence has steadily declined since the height of sectarian conflict in 2006-7, gun and bomb attacks still occur daily, often targeting Iraq’s army and police.

Attacks against US soldiers appear to be rising as Iraq’s leaders discuss the divisive issue of whether to ask Washington to leave some troops beyond December. Fourteen US service members were killed in hostile incidents in June, the largest number since June 2008. Security officials said the offensive is targeting criminal gangs and smugglers in addition to militants linked to Sunni Islamist al Qaeda and members of Shi’ite militias.

US Defense Secretary Robert Gates, in a Reuters interview last week, said Iran was “absolutely complicit” in the growing US casualties in Iraq.

James Jeffrey, the US Ambassador to I raq, said I ran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and its Qods force special operations unit were supplying “significantly more lethal weapons systems” to some Iraqi militias. “Of particular concern, at least to me, is the Sadrist movement. The AAH (Asaib Al-Haq) and the Kata’ib Hizballah are basically nothing more than thuggish clones of their IRGC Qods force masters,” he told reporters in a briefing on Saturday.

Kata’ib Hizballah last month claimed responsibility for a rocket attack on a Baghdad base which killed six US soldiers. — Reuters

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Tribes fear loss of sacred sites near US fire SANTA CLARA PUEBLO: A wildfire that forced federal employees to flee the desert birthplace of the atomic bomb neared the sacred sites of several American Indian tribes on Saturday, raising fears that tribal lands passed down for generations would be destroyed. More than 1,600 firefighters were working to stop the fire in northern New Mexico as it burned through a canyon on the Santa Clara Pueblo reservation and threatened other pueblos on the Parajito Plateau.

The area, a stretch of mesas that run more than 15 miles (25 kilometers) west of Santa Fe, New Mexico, includes the town of Los Alamos and the Los Alamos National Laboratory, the nation’s premier nuclear weapons laboratory. The blaze reached the Santa Clara Pueblo’s watershed in the canyon this week, damaging the area that the tribe considers its birthplace and scorching 20 square miles (50 sq. kilometers) of tribal forest. Fire operations chief Jerome MacDonald said it was within miles of the centuries-old Puye Cliff Dwellings, a national historic landmark.

Tribes were worried that cabins, pueblos and watersheds could be destroyed by the 177-square-mile (460-sq. kilometer) blaze, the largest wildfire in state history. “We were also praying on our knees, we were asking the Creator in our cultural way to please forgive us, ‘ What have we done?”‘ Santa Clara Pueblo Gov. Walter Dasheno said. “Bring moisture so that the Mother Fire can be stopped. But that was not meant to be.” About 2,800 tribe members live in a dusty village nestled in New Mexico’s high desert, near the mouth of Santa Clara Canyon where aspen and blue spruce forests provide relief from the dry desert and ponds provide water for irrigation.

The canyon is north of the town of Los Alamos. Pueblo Fire Chief Mel Tafoya said it was unclear whether cabins in the canyon or the ponds survived the blaze. Members of the state’s congressional delegation have promised federal help for the tribe pending a damage assessment.

Dasheno said that despite the pain of losing an estimated 75 percent of the tribe’s forest to three recent fires, “we are going to come back.” “We’re going to tell the story of what

occurred to our children and grandchildren. And yes, we’re going to cry,” he said.

To Santa Clara’s south, Cochiti Pueblo was also worried about damage to ground cover affecting its watershed. Archaeological sites at the northern end of the blaze at Bandelier National Monument hold great significance to area tribes. About half of the park has burned, Bandelier superintendent Jason Lott said.

Authorities said the fire, in its seventh day, has been fueled by an exceptionally dr y season in the Southwest and erratic winds. It surpassed a 2003 fire that took five months to burn through 94,000 acres (38,000 hectares) in the Gila National Forest.

Crews have managed to keep the fire in Los Alamos Canyon several miles upslope from the federal laboratory, boosting confidence that it no longer posed an immediate threat to the facility or the nearby town. Crews were helped by rain on Saturday afternoon that slowed the fire. “Hopefully we’ll get two to three more days like this and we’ll be fine,” operations chief Jayson Coil said. Los Alamos County Fire Chief Doug Tucker sent some firefighters home to rest so they could resume regular duties once residents return home. A boulder struck a firefighter working on a steep slope, breaking his leg, Coil said.

Hundreds of employees were returning to prepare operations and thousands of experiments for the scientists and technicians who were forced to evacuate days ago. Among the work put on hold were two supercomputers and studies on extending the life of 1960s-era nuclear bombs. A small grass fire caused by a squirrel in an electrical transformer on lab property was quickly extinguished. The fire was at a substation that houses the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center, which is used for nuclear physics experiments including weapons research. A fire on lab property earlier in the week raised concerns about contamination being released into the air. The Environmental Protection Agency sent a monitoring plane to augment air testing by lab and state health officials. Lab officials said nothing abnormal was in the smoke. — AP

Afghan drawdown plan ‘unnecessary risk’ ‘All the gains are still reversible’ KABUL: Top US lawmakers yesterday slammed President Barack Obama’s military drawdown plans for Afghanistan as “risky”, unsupported by his military commanders and a threat to progress made in the last year.

Withdrawal at the rate Obama has planned on-including the removal of 33,000 surge troops by the end of next summer-”is an unnecessary risk and that is why there was no militar y leader who recommended it”, Republican Senator John McCain said during a visit to Kabul.

Joined by fellow Republican senators Lindsey Graham and Joe Lieberman in the Afghan capital, the trio spoke to media after visiting US troops.

Graham described progress in parts of the war-torn country as “really stunning” but warned that “all the gains are still reversible”.

“What I’m mostly concerned about is that the accelerated withdrawal of surge forces has

McCain also lambasted the US leader for not providing adequate troops for the initial 2009 surge-”He didn’t give them the full complement they needed. It was about 10,000 short, which then necessitated a second fighting season,” he said.

“Look, I question whether this was the right decision or not, but I can’t question the president’s patriotism,” he added.

Obama’s announcement pleased practically nobody in Washington-liberals were left wanting more, Republican hawks complained he was going too fast, and top Pentagon officials felt snubbed for having much of their advice overruled by the White House.

The military case for the drawdown, with Obama saying the war aims he set in 2009 had been largely met, was also seen as highly political, as it foreshadowed the argument he will make to voters next year as he runs for a second term. — AFP

McCotter announces White House run WHITMORE LAKE: Michigan Congressman Thaddeus McCotter has officially announced he will seek the Republican Party’s nomination for president. The 45-year-old, elected to his fifth consecutive term in Congress in November, delivered the news Saturday during a festival in Whitmore Lake, 30 miles (50 kilometers) west of Detroit.

He told the crowd Washington needs “someone who knows the future is not big government — it is self-government.” After announcing his candidacy, McCotter grabbed his guitar designed to look like an American flag and performed with his band.

McCotter, a long-shot candidate who is little known outside his district, will join a field of Republican hopefuls that already includes former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, US Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, pizza magnate Herman Cain, former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman and US Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota. — AP

Casey Anthony weeps as prosecutor calls her a liar

ORLANDO: Casey Anthony reacts as the state presents its closing arguments in her murder trial in Orlando, yesterday. — AP

created a perception that we are leaving,” said Graham. “Withdrawal is what the enemy wants to hear and our goal is to make sure they don’t hear withdrawal and the Afghan people don’t hear withdrawal,” he later added.

Both General David Petraeus and Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, have said Obama’s plan was more “aggressive” than they had recommended.

Obama late last month said 10,000 troops would leave this year and all 33,000 personnel sent as part of a surge ordered in late 2009 would be home by next summer, leaving a US force of some 65,000.

There are currently up to 150,000 foreign forces in Afghanistan, including about 99,000 from the United States.

Obama has indicated a series of drawdowns until Afghan forces assume full security responsibility in 2014.

Speaking to CNN’s “State of the Union”

ORLANDO: Casey Anthony briefly broke down yesterday as prosecutors told jurors during closing arguments that she murdered her 2-year-old daughter Caylee because the child prevented her from having a relationship with a club promoter.

The defense began its closing argument by saying there is no proof showing how Caylee Anderson died.

The case has played out on national TV since Caylee’s disappearance in the summer of 2008 and continued through her mother’s trial, with spectators traveling from all over the US to jockey for coveted seats in the courtroom gallery.

Casey Anthony, 25, has pleaded not guilty to a charge of first-degree murder. She could face a possible death sentence or life in prison if convicted of that charge. Anthony also is charged with aggravated child abuse, aggravated manslaughter of a child and four counts of providing false information to law enforcement. The child abuse and manslaughter charges each carry a 30-year prison term if convicted.

In his closing argument, prosecutor Jeff Ashton said Anthony wanted a relationship with her boyfriend, to go out with her friends and to live the carefree life she had lived before Caylee’s birth.

“Something needed to be sacrificed, that something was either the life she wanted or the life thrust upon her. She chose to sacrifice her child,” Ashton said during his 90-minute argument.

Prosecutors contend Caylee was suffocated with duct tape by a mother who then crafted elaborate lies to mislead everyone from investigators to her own parents. Defense attorneys countered that the toddler accidentally drowned in the family swimming pool, and that her seemingly carefree mother in fact was hiding emotional distress caused by alleged sexual abuse from her father. As Ashton spoke, Anthony appeared mostly stone-faced for about the first 45 minutes, but then she closed her eyes and rested her chin on her hand. She began to cry when Ashton said that the story that Caylee drowned was also false.

Ashton said the proof that Caylee’s death wasn’t an accident was that three pieces of duct tape were placed on her face — one on the mouth, one on the nose and one over those to be “thorough.” Defense attorney Jose Baez told the jury that they have more questions than answers and that there is reasonable doubt that Anthony killed Caylee.

The jury was expected to begin deliberating after the closing arguments from both sides.

Ashton began his closing argument by showing a video of Anthony playing with Caylee, causing Anthony to apparently choke back tears. But she quickly regained her composure. He then told the jury that Anthony worried Caylee was getting to the age where she would have told Anthony’s parents that the woman was spending her days and nights with her boyfriend — not going to work and leaving Caylee with a nanny.

“Casey is very bright,” Ashton said. “Her lies are very detailed. ... But when Casey wants to do what Casey wants to do, she finds a way.” He then began to methodically lay out the lies Anthony told her parents, George and Cindy Anthony, about why she couldn’t come home and why she couldn’t produce Caylee after the toddler was last seen June 16, 2008. — AP

WHITMORE LAKE: US Congressman Thaddeus McCotter (R-MI) shakes hands with a young girl before announcing his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination. —AFP

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Serb general Mladic to boycott war crimes court AMSTERDAM: Former Bosnian Serb army commander Ratko Mladic will boycott the UN war crimes court, where he is scheduled to enter a plea tomorrow against charges of genocide during the Bosnian war, his lawyer said yesterday.

Arrested in May after 16 years on t h e r u n , Ml adic fo rmal l y w as charged by the Yugoslavia tribunal in The Hague last month when the defiant general rejected war crimes charges against him as “obnoxious” and “monstrous”.

Mladic is accused over a cam-

paign to seize territor y for Serbs af ter Bosn ia, followin g Croatia, broke away from the Yugoslav federation in the 1990s as the Balk an state broke up during five years of war that killed at least 130,000 people. The 69-year-old career soldier is due to enter the plea after refusing to do so last month, but Belgradebased attorney M ilos Saljic said Mladic would boycott the hearing to demand that he be represented by his own defence lawyers.

“Mladic is not going to appear in the courtroom tomorrow unless he

is forced to. He does not want to do it because he does not have his team of law yer s yet,” S a l j i c tol d Reuters. If Mladic boycotts the hearing or refuses to enter a plea at today’s hearing, judge Alphens Orie will likely enter one of “not guilty” for him.

Mladic ’s former political chief Radovan K aradzic boycotted the start of his trial in 2009 and it is considered unlikely that the tribunal would force Mladic to appear on Monday.

“The tribunal has no official indi-

cation or confirmation that Mladic is not going to appear so I am unable to comment,” court spokeswoman Nerma Jelacic said.

Mladic, who has said he was only defending his country and people during the 1992-5 Bosnia war, has lodged a list of preferred defence lawyers with the court, including Saljic and a Russian lawyer, but the tribunal is still verifying the qualifications and eligibility of the attorne ys. Cour t -a p p oi nte d l aw ye r Aleksandar Aleksic, who represented Mladic at his first hearing, will repre-

sent him today.

Mladic is accused in connection w i t h t he 43-m ont h s i e ge of t he Bosnian capital Sarajevo and the massacre of 8,000 Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica-Europe’s worst massacre since World War Two. H a gue p ros e c utor S e rge Brammertz has said Mladic used his power to commit brutal atrocities and must answer for it, but Serb nationalists believe Mladic defended the nation and did no worse than Croat or Bosnian Muslim army commanders. —Reuters

Morocco protesters to take to streets after reform vote US, France and Spain welcome referendum

MINSK: Belarusian army tanks drive during a parade marking Independence Day in Minsk, Belarus, yesterday. In November 1996, Independence day was set on July 3, the day when Minsk was liberated by the Red Army from the Nazi invaders in 1944. — AP

Lukashenko warns against Belarus ‘revolution’ plot MINSK: Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko warned his opponents yesterday against considering any uprising against his rule as the military staged a Soviet-style show of force in an Independence Day parade.

The opposition failed to perform any significant protest during Lukashenko’s speech but have defiantly called for a “silent” evening demonstration in Minsk, even though past events have been broken up by the security forces.

Almost 4,000 goose-stepping soldiers and 160 pieces of hardware filed past Lukashenko in a sometimes bizarre parade that combined military might with incongruous elements like the Belarus national break-dancing team.

But Lukashenko, dressed in a military uniform and accompanied, as usual, by his young extra-marital son Kolya in similar attire, delivered an icily serious message to the opposition.

“Unscrupulous scenarios of colour revolutions, drawn up in the capitals of other countries, are being imposed on us,” he said, referring to successful popular uprisings in ex-Soviet states like Georgia and Ukraine. “The aim of these attacks is to sow uncertainty and worry and destroy social harmony. They want to put us on our knees and reduce out independence to zero. This will not happen!”

The Internet-based opposition group “Revolution through the Social Network” has vowed to disrupt Lukashenko’s speech with mass clapping and hold two actions in the evening to protest against his crackdown on critics.

But amid a vast security presence, the opposition failed to disturb the speech which went ahead without incident, an AFP correspondent said.

The group’s main page on a Russian social networking site was blocked in what the opposition said was a clear bid by the authorities to thwart their protests. “The authorities are making a titanic effort to break the wave of civil protests,” wrote opposition website Charter 97.

Lukashenko launched a crackdown on the opposition, unprecedented even in the 17 years of his authoritarian rule, after mass protests on the evening of his

landslide December re-election victory.

Dozens of opposition activists have already been imprisoned, including his leading rival in the elections, the former diplomat Andrei Sannikov who was jailed for five years.

Speaking in neighbouring Lithuania last week, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Belarus must “release political prisoners and embark on the path of democratic reform”.

Compounding the political tensions, Belarus is also battling a mounting economic crisis which last week saw it impose price caps on all consumer goods to fight spiralling inflation and suffer a temporary cut in power supplies from Russia.

Meanwhile, Stanislav Shushkevich, who led Belarus from independence in 1991 until he was ousted in 1994, was detained overnight by border police as he travelled on a train from the Lithuanian capital Vilnius.

He said he arrived in Minsk early Sunday after his passport was returned

by Belarussian border guards who confiscated the document for four hours. A group of students travelling on the same train were also detained. “ These are clearly illegal actions undertaken to prevent the protest actions called for on the Internet,” Shushkevich, now a strong supporter of the opposition who met with Clinton in Vilnius, told AFP. Shushkevich became head of the Belarus supreme council, the country’s then highest position, after independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, although he never formally held the title of president. He was ousted in a graft probe spearheaded by the then head of the Belarus anti-corruption committee, none other than Lukashenko.

Belarus’ Independence Day marks the anniversary of the July 3, 1944 re-capture of Minsk by the Red Army from occupying Nazi forces.

Its Independence Day used be held on a different date to mark its declaration of sovereignty from the Soviet Union on July 27, 1991. But it was changed in 1996 in a controversial referendum backed by Lukashenko. —AFP

COPENHAGEN: Vehicles submerged in water after heavy rain in Copenhagen, yesterday. — AP

RABAT: Moroccan protesters were to take to the streets yesterday to push for democratic reforms despite the approval of a new constitution that curbs the near absolute powers of King Mohammed VI. The February 20 Movement, which has organised weeks of demonstrations calling for reforms in the Arab world’s oldest reigning monarchy, has denounced the new constitution as window-dressing and says its approval in Friday’s referendum, passing with 98 percent support, was a sham. The protests were to start in the capital Rabat at 6:00 pm (1700 GMT) and in the main economic hub Casablanca at 7:00 pm. “This constitution does nothing to change Morocco. What we want is a new form of government, the end of corruption and a new economic system,” Omar Radi of the Februar y 20 Movement told AFP. He said the new constitution would not placate protesters and

that he expected more would now take to the streets in anger over the authorities’ unwillingness to pursue genuine reforms.

“We need to keep pressure from the streets and I think many people will join us after this charade of a referendum,” Radi said.

Mohammed VI offered the reforms last month following weeks of protests modelled on the Arab Spring uprisings that ousted long-serving leaders in Tunisia and Egypt and have shaken much of the region.

Under the new constitution, the king will remain head of state, the military, and the Islamic faith in Morocco, but the prime minister, chosen from the largest party elected to parliament, will take over as the head of government.

Other changes would grant more power to parliament, introduce an independent judiciary and provide new guarantees of civil liberties.

Officials say the new constitution is the first step in a process of

democratic reform and that protesters should work with authorities to change the country.

“I would have preferred that these people, who say they are democrats, draw conclusions from the sovereign choice made by the Moroccan people,” Communications Minister Khalid Naciri, a spokesman for the government, told AFP. “They have a duty to adjust their demands to the new reality... and make a positive contribution to the common creation of a new Morocco. Protesting in the streets should not be an end to itself,” he said.

A security source told AFP the authorities would not interfere with the demonstrations as long as protesters acted within the law. Up to now authorities have been relatively tolerant of demonstrations and Radi said any attempt to crack down would backfire. “If they try to prevent this they will only add fuel to the fire,” he said. Western leaders have

hailed Friday’s vote and the new constitution, while pressing the king to pursue further reforms.

On Saturday, the United States, European Union, France and Spain welcomed the referendum, with the EU adding: “Now we encourage the swift and effective implementation of this reform agenda.” Analysts say it is likely the authorities will continue to tolerate the protests, which have been peaceful and have not urged the overthrow of the king, who is widely revered.

“If the February 20 Movement now plays the role of a ‘monitor’ by demanding reforms linked with the implementation of the constitution, like the fight against corruption, I think this is something the authorities need,” said Mohamed Tozy, a political science professor at Casablanca’s Hassan II University.

“But if it moves toward provocation, there risks being a more forceful response from the authorities,” he said. — AFP

Britain to pull hundreds of troops from Afghanistan

LA VILLETTE: French-Norwegian Green party “Europe Ecologie Les Verts” (EELV) candidate for the party’s nomination for 2012 French presidential election, European deputy Eva Joly (C) attends a picnic yesterday in the park of La Villette in Paris, as part of her campaign for the second round of the EELV primaries, after getting 49.75% of votes in the first round ahead of her rival, former French TV host Nicolas Hulot. — AFP

Kosovo, Serbia hail breakthrough deals PRISTINA: Kosovo and Serbia said yesterday the first deals on nuts-and-bolts problems to be solved after Pristina declared independence were a step towards their EU integration.

A five-month EU-brokered dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina produced first results late Saturday as the two sides agreed on freedom of movement and how to resolve problems caused by Serbia holding civil registries since the end of the 1998-1999 conflict.

According to the deal citizens of Kosovo, a former Serbian province, will be able to cross the border with Serbia and move freely across the country with personal documents issued by Pristina authorities, excluding passports. Belgrade so far considered Kosovo vehicle number-plates and ID as invalid, preventing Kosovars from using the shortest route to western Europe.

This was a particular headache for some the 150,000-strong Kosovo diaspora in EU countries. People welcomed the agreement with relief.

Agush Hasani, 62, whose two sons live and work in Germany, hopes to see them more frequently now. “It was a nightmare for them to travel to Kosovo by car as it took around 30 hours” along roads around Serbia, Hasani told AFP. Gani Hoda of a Pristina-based tourist agency said he and most of his fellow colleagues had been waiting for the agreement for a long time. “Our bus, which left Switzerland yesterday, had to take a roundabout route through Italy, Slovenia, Croatia and Montenegro to get to Kosovo instead of going straight across Serbia,” Hoda said.

“The journey is not only 10 hours longer but increases travel expenses by up to 700 euros per bus.” A Kosovo Serb leader, Rada Trajkovic, said the deal will also make the life of the Serb minority in Kosovo easier, which has been unable to travel throughout the territory with identity papers and driving licences issued by Serbian authorities.

“It will be easier to travel but also to visit the cultural heritage which is very important for Serbs here to preserve their identity,” she said.

Serbia has vowed never to recognise Kosovo as a state, considering it as its southern province, but 76 states, including the United States and 22 of 27 EU member states, have recognised its independence in 2008.

The two also agreed to resolve problems caused by the transfer of civil registries. The police of the EU rule of law mission in Kosovo (EULEX) will produce and hand over certified copies of civil registry records currently not in Kosovo, making organised crime, fraud, identity theft more difficult, and easing everyday matters such as divorce. The accords “bring both parties closer to the European Union, they improve cooperation and they improve the lives of ordinary people”, said top EU diplomat Robert Cooper, who has acted as facilitator in the months-long talks. Both Belgrade and Pristina aspire to eventually join EU. “These agreements are an extremely important achievement for both countries... as they conform to Euro-Atlantic standards,” the Kosovo government said in a press release. — AFP

LONDON: British Prime Minister David Cameron is to announce the withdrawal of at least 500 troops from Afghanistan by the end of 2012 following a similar drawdown by the United States, reports said yesterday. The move would take the number of British troops in Afghanistan below the key figure of 9,000 and mark a major step towards Cameron’s stated aim of having all British combat forces out of the country by 2015.

Cameron would announce on Wednesday plans to withdraw up to 800 troops by the end of nex t year, the Sunday Times repor ted. The Sunday Telegraph put the figure at 500 and said they would leave in mid-2012. Britain’s Ministry of Defence said that some troops would be brought home early but refused to confirm details. “UK force levels in Afghanistan are kept under constant review,” a Ministry of Defence spokesman said.

“The Prime Minister has been clear that there will be no UK troops in combat roles in Afghanistan by 2015 and it is right that we bring troops home sooner where progress allows and taking account of military advice.” The withdrawal is in addition to the pull-out of 400 British suppor t staff by Februar y 2012 announced by Cameron in May, 200 of which have already left Afghanistan.

The Sunday Telegraph quoted a senior defence source as warning that reducing the British force too quickly would “send the wrong message” to Afghanistan’s Taliban militants.

Britain currently has 9,500 troops based in Afghanistan’s troubled southern province of Helmand, making it the second largest contributor of foreign forces in Afghanistan after the United States. US President Barack Obama last month ordered all 33,000 US surge troops home from Afghanistan by mid-2012. France quickly followed suit, saying several hundred French troops would leave by the end of this year.

Western nations have set a deadline of the end of 2014 to hand over control of security to Afghan forces despite fears that they are not ready to protect the country from the Taliban.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague confirmed last month that Britain, like the Kabul government and the United States, was in negotiations with the insurgents in a bid to end 10 years of war in Afghanistan.

Cameron held talks with Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari on Friday which partly focused on the situation in neighbouring Afghanistan.

A spokesman for his Downing Street office said that the two leaders “both support the Afghan-led process towards reconciliation and peace”, adding that Cameron had urged Pakistan to play a “constructive role”. Pakistan has long been accused of covertly backing the Taleban or at the very least of failing to crack down on militant sanctuaries in its tribal areas bordering Afghanistan. — AFP

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Afghan war’s deadly toll on US forces hasn’t eased KABUL: Despite US reports of progress on the battlefield, American troops were killed in the first half of this year at the same pace as in 2010 — an indication that the war’s toll on US forces has not eased as the Obama administration moves to shift the burden to the Afghans.

While the overall international death toll dropped by 14 percent in the first half of the year, the number of Americans who died remained virtually unchanged, 197 this year compared with 195 in the first six months of last year, according to a tally by The Associated Press. Americans have been involved in some of the fiercest fighting as the US administration sent more than 30,000 extra troops in a bid to pacify areas in the Taleban’s southern heartland and other dangerous areas. US military officials have predicted more tough fighting through the summer as the Taleban try to regain territory they have lost.

President Barack Obama has begun to reverse the surge of American forces,

ordering a reduction of 10,000 by the end of the year and another 23,000 by September 2012. But the US military has not announced which troops are being sent home, or whether they will be withdrawn from any of the most violent areas in the south and east. Rear Adm. Vic Beck, a spokesman for the US-led coalition in Kabul, said he couldn’t comment specifically on the US death count, but noted that the casualties were unchanged despite the surge in forces. He attributed the overall decline in the international toll to coalition progress on the battlefield, including the discovery of a rising number of militant weapons caches. He also said Afghan security forces are increasingly taking the lead, although recent violence has raised concerns about their readiness to secure their own country.

Beck said insurgents were shifting their focus to attacking civilians, pointing to last week’s attack against the Inter-Continental, a luxury hotel in Kabul, that left 20 people

dead, including the nine assailants. “The enemy is taking the fight more to innocent Afghan civilians because we’re taking it to them pretty hard on the battlefield,” he said.

According to the AP tally, 271 international troops, including the Americans, were killed in the first half of the year — down 14 percent from the 316 killed in the first six months of last year.

With the American deaths vir tually unchanged, the decline reflects a drop off in deaths of troops from other contributing nations. In the first half of the year, 74 of these troops — from countries like Britain, France and Australia — died compared with 121 in the first six months of last year.

In the most recent deaths, NATO said two coalition service members were killed in roadside bombings — one Saturday in the west who was identified as an Italian, and another Friday in the south whose nationality was not available. By contrast, a recent UN report found that May was the

deadliest month for civilians since it began keeping track in 2007, and it said insurgents were to blame for 82 percent of the 368 deaths recorded. The UN does not usually release monthly civilian casualty figures but said it was compelled to do so in May because of the high number.The Taliban have denied targeting civilians and insist coalition claims that insurgents have suffered heavy losses at the hands of foreign troops are false.

Monthly death tolls of foreign forces have varied so far this year, but they fell dramatically in June. Overall, 65 international troops, including Americans, died last month. That’s down 37 percent from the 103 who died in June 2010 — the deadliest month on record for foreign forces. More than 25 died last month in Helmand province in the south where fierce fighting continues in some hot spots, the AP tally showed. “In the areas that we believe were pretty secure, there has been very little violence,” US Marine Corps Maj.

Gen. John Toolan Jr., the commander in Helmand province, said at a recent Pentagon briefing. He said he’s still concerned about nor thern districts like Gereshk and Sangin. He said his forces are working with their Afghan partners to try to keep hold of security gains made in recent months.

“I’m pretty sure, pretty confident we’ll be able to do that, but it won’t be without a fight,” Toolan said. “But it will not be as big a fight, in my estimation, as it has been in the past.” Underscoring the dangers, a roadside bomb ripped through a van carrying a family Saturday in southern Afghanistan, killing all 13 on board — the deadliest incident in a string of attacks since Friday that killed 18 civilians, according to Afghan officials.

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.” — AP

India hints tough measures against new nuke trade rules US, France, Russia stand by commitments: Rao

KOLKATA: Hindu devotees dance during a chariot procession of lord Jagannath in Kolkata, India, yesterday. Jagannath is considered by Hindus to be the lord of the universe. — AP

Gunmen take Swiss couple to Pakistani tribal area QUETTA: Gunmen who kidnapped two Swiss tourists in a volatile southwestern Pakistani province have taken them to a neighboring tribal area that was once a Taleban stronghold, a senior government official said yesterday.

The Swiss tourists, a man and a woman who were traveling through Baluchistan by car, were kidnapped by gunmen Friday as they dined at a hotel in Lorali city.

Officials in the neighboring South Waziristan tribal area have been asked to keep an eye out for “suspicious elements,” said Baluchistan’s home secretary, Zafarullah Baloch. Tribesmen in both areas have also been asked for help, he said.

The five gunmen were speaking Pashtu and drove off with the pair in a green car across the Zhob area of Baluchistan and eventually into South Waziristan, said Baloch. South Waziristan served as the main sanctuary for the Pakistani Taleban before the military launched an offensive in 2009. But many militants still populate the area. The kidnapping is the first such incident involving Swiss citizens in Pakistan, and authorities in Switzerland have set up a task force combining police and intelligence services to work on the case, the Swiss Foreign Ministry has said. The pair’s identity was not disclosed. Baluchistan, which borders Iran and Afghanistan, is a particularly dangerous region in Pakistan. It is the scene of a low-level separatist insurgency, and criminal gangs involved in the kidnapping for ransom trade are common. The Swiss were driving from Punjab province, and when they reached Lorali, about 90 miles (150 kilometers) north of Quetta, the

capital of the province, they were given a police escort, local Pakistan officials have said. However, once they reached its outskirts, beyond the area under police jurisdiction, they were left without security guides.

Most kidnapping victims in the country are Pakistani, but foreign aid workers, diplomats and other foreigners have also been targeted.

Meanwhile, around two dozen Taleban armed with rocket launchers and automatic weapons attacked a police checkpost in northwest Pakistan yesterday, killing three policemen and wounding another, police said.

The militants struck before dawn in Shangla, a district of troubled Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province near Swat where the army claimed to have flushed out Taliban rebels after a fierce offensive in early 2009.

“Three policemen were killed and one injured in the attack,” district police chief Jahanzeb Khan told AFP by telephone.

Shah Hussain, another senior police officer, said Taliban militants were involved in the attack. “ Taleban came from the nearby mountains and managed to flee after the attack,” he said.

Nearly 4,500 people have been killed across Pakistan in attacks blamed on Taleban and other Islamist extremist networks based in the border tribal belt since government troops stormed a radical mosque in Islamabad in 2007.

Militants have stepped up their activities, mostly targeting security forces, to avenge the death of Osama bin Laden who was killed in a covert operation by US Navy SEALs in the Pakistani garrison city of Abbottabad in May. — Agencies

RAWALPINDI: A Gypsy child sleeps over the belongings as his family members wait for transport along the roadside in Rawalpindi, Pakistan yesterday. —AP

NEW DELHI: India’s top diplomat yesterday hinted New Delhi could ban nuclear reactor purchases from countries refusing to sell sensitive nuclear technology to it after suppliers decided to tighten such trade against countries like India.

Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao also said the United States, Russia and France stood by their promises to supply such technology despite last month’s decision by the Nuclear Supplier Group (NSG) to restrict transfer of uranium enrichment and reprocessing technology which can be used to make atomic bombs.

The suppliers’ decision was seen as a blow to nuclear-armed India, which won a waiver from such trade restrictions in 2008, a move that ended its three-decade-long nuclear isolation.

“I think the latest NSG decision is not the end of the road. It is not set in stone. Let me say that,” Rao told a television channel in an interview, the transcript of which was made available in advance by the foreign ministry.

“There is a balance of interest, there is a balance of commitments, there is mutual reciprocity involved. There are leverages that we can exert from our side also,” she said.

When asked if the leverages meant India

would blacklist unwilling countries and ban nuclear reactor purchases from them, she said: “We will defend our interests to the hilt.”

India plans to raise it nuclear power generation capacity to 7.3 GW by end-March from the current 4.7 GW, and hopes to have over 20 GW of such capacity by 2020.

The billions of dollars in contracts up for grabs make India an attractive market for firms like General Electric , Westinghouse Electric-the United States-based arm of Japan’s Toshiba Corp , France’s Areva and Russia’s Rosatom.

“We have an expanding nuclear industry.

This is a great attraction to the rest of the world,” Rao said. Under NSG rules, to import nuclear goods, all nations except the five officially recognised atomic weapons states must usually place nuclear sites under safeguards of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. nuclear watchdog.

But when Washington sealed a nuclear supply accord with India in 2008, it won a unique exemption after contentious negotiations. India gained access to technology and fuel while it was allowed to continue its nuclear weapons programme.

The US ambassador to India has said the waiver to New Delhi is safe and media reports

have cited the French ambassador with similar comments.

India has said it is a responsible nuclear power and that it has an impeccable non-proliferation record that has earned it that exemption. Rao, who last month had unexpectedly successful talks with her Pakistani counterpart, said Islamabad’s view on militancy had “definitely been altered.”

She noted that Pakistan now spoke of the need to tackle non-state actors and safe havens and sanctuaries for militants.

“I think that is a concrete development,” she said, adding The two nations have fought three wars, one of which divided into two the Himalayan region of Kashmir which both countries claim in full. New Delhi accuses Islamabad of aiding militants in Kashmir, a charge Pakistan denies.

Peace talks between the nuclear-armed rivals revived this year after they broke off in 2008 following a raid by Pakistan-based militants on Mumbai. But little concrete has emerged in solving the half-century old dispute between them.

“I am not trying to sound over optimistic about this,” Rao said. “I think we have to be realistic. We have to understand the difficulties in the terrain.” — Reuters

‘Billions worth’ of treasure found in Indian temple THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A treasure trove of gold and silver jewelry, coins and precious stones said to be worth billions of dollars has been found in a Hindu temple in southern India, officials said on Saturday.

The valuables have an estimated preliminary worth of over 500 billion rupees ($11.2 billion), said Kerala Chief Secretary K. Jayakumar, catapulting the temple into the league of India’s richest temples.

The thousands of necklaces, coins and precious stones have been kept in at least five underground vaults at the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple which is renowned for its intricate sculptures.

“We are yet to open one more secret chamber which has not been opened for nearly 140 years,” Jayakumar told AFP. The actual value of the treasure haul can be ascertained only after it is examined by the archaeological department, said Jayakumar.

The temple, dedicated to Hindu lord Vishnu, was built hundreds of years ago by the king of Travancore and donations by devotees have been kept in the temple’s vaults since.

A necklace found on Thursday was 18 feet (six metres) long. Thousands of gold coins have also been found.

Since India achieved independence from Britain in 1947, a trust managed by descendants of the Travancore royal family has controlled the temple.

But India’s Supreme Court recently ordered that the temple be managed by the state to ensure the security of valuables at the shrine.

Until now, the Thirupathy temple in southern Andhra Pradesh state was believed to be India’s richest temple with offerings from devotees worth 320 billion rupees.

The revelation about the huge riches in the Padmanabhaswamy temple has forced police to sharply step install security cameras and alarms.

Authorities also plan to set up a commando force for security, said Kerala director general of police Jacob Punnoose.

“Now it’s known all over the world that the Padmanabhaswamy temple has jewels worth billions of rupees we have decided to assign it maximum security,” Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said. — AFP

KATHMANDU: Nepal’s President Ram Baran Yadav, center, salutes, as he arrives to read out the programs and policies of the Maoist supported United Marxist Leninist communist party led government for the upcoming fiscal year 2011/12 in Kathmandu yesterday. — AP

Bomb explodes near Afghan parliament KABUL: A bomb exploded next to a police post near the parliament building in Kabul yesterday, injuring three officers, police and the interior ministry said.

The blast is the first in the capital since a major Taleban attack at a landmark hotel last Thursday in which 21 people were killed.

“It was an explosion near a police post. Three officers are injured and investigations to determine the cause of the explosion are underway,” Kabul police spokesman Hashmat Stanikzai told AFP. The interior ministry in a statement said the explosion was triggered by an improvised explosive device, or IED, the Taleban’s weapon of choice.

It said the three wounded had been taken to hospital for treatment.

Kabul is the only city under Afghan security control, but a rise in attacks on government departments, and guest houses and shops used

by Westerners in recent years, has chipped away at its reputation for relative safety.

Thursday’s brazen attack has fuelled fears over the ability of Afghan forces to handle security as foreign troops prepare to start drawing down after nearly 10 years at war.

Seven parts of the country are due to be handed from NATO to Afghan security forces and officials from late July.

Some 10,000 US troops will leave Afghanistan this year and 33,000 will go by next

summer, President Barack Obama said last month.

All foreign combat forces are due to leave Afghanistan by the end of 2014. There are around 150,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan, nearly 100,000 of which are from the US, battling a near 10-year Taleban-led insurgency.

Earlier, a suspected militant on a motorbike threw a hand grenade at the gates of a school in north Afghanistan yesterday, injuring 17 children, the interior ministry said in a statement.

The incident took place in Maimana, the main city of Faryab province, the ministry said, adding that the children had been taken to hospital, with two in a serious condition.

“Seventeen school students were wounded when a terrorist gunman riding a motorbike threw a hand grenade at the main gate,” said the statement, which condemned the attack.

“Police have arrested the gunman who committed this action.”

An annual UN report in March revealed that the deaths of Afghan civilians in the war had increased 15 percent to a record high last year, and that insurgents were responsible for three-quarters of the killings.

Foreign forces are due to begin handing over seven areas of the country to Afghan control from next month, after nearly ten years fighting the Taleban-led insurgency, with all combat troops due to leave by the end of 2014. — AFP

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Australia military may scrap all gender barriers CANBERRA: Women fight for militaries around the world but rarely if ever are allowed to take the jobs most closely associated with soldiering — those focused on ground combat in close quarters and even hand to hand. That may be about to change in Australia. A policy overhaul to be decided by Cabinet within weeks would remove all gender barriers from the military next year, arguably making the Australian Defense Force the world’s leader on gender equality.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard, the first woman to lead Australia, and Defense Minister Stephen Smith are among those calling for the change.

Smith has said that “what you do in the forces should be determined by your physical and intellectual capability or capacity, not simply on the basis of sex.” Questions remain, however, about whether troops and the public are ready for women to serve in combat roles. An influential security think-tank warns that it could inflict heavy casualties on Australia’s women warriors. If Australia’s Cabinet supports the policy change it would be in place by the end of 2012. That could give Australian women a chance to qualify for infantry roles in Afghanistan before 2014, when the country plans to withdraw its 1,550 troops.

Gender boundaries have been steadily retreating in Australian defense services for years. The government announced last month that women sailors will be allowed to bunk with men in submarines.

Previously women had to sleep in

female-only six-berth cabins. The shift will enable more women to fill a shortage of submariners by allowing more flexibility in assigning crews.

Australian women also can pilot attack helicopters and fighter jets.

The positions closed off to them are mostly in the army, and include infantry, parachute, commando, special air services, artillery, tank and armored cavalry. Australia’s current policy on women in the military is similar to those of other countries in Afghanistan, including the United States, Britain, Canada and New Zealand. None allow women in roles where their primary function is to fight enemies at close range, though women are trained to be combatready and can potentially find themselves in such gunfights.

Even Israel, which drafts both men and women and is often cited as an example of gender equality in the military, does not allow women to serve in front line ground units such as infantry, armor or special forces. The Australian government announced its commitment to removing gender barriers after a sex scandal broke at the officers’ academy in April. A female cadet accused a male cadet of secretly filming the pair having sex and showing it two his friends via the internet. Two male cadets were charged by police over the incident.

Critics say the government overreacted by ordering six inquiries into issues including the scandal, the treatment of women in the academy and career pathways for women in defense.

Australian defense officials are devising a series of tests to determine whether an individual soldier is physically capable of coping with combat conditions regardless of gender.

The current combat fitness test includes climbing a 16-foot (5-

meter) rope twice without touching the ground while carrying a rifle and wearing a helmet. A soldier wearing a helmet also must carry a soldier similarly dressed over his shoulder while carrying both their weapons 160 yards (150 meters).

There has been no suggestion

TOWNSVILLE: In this May 11, 2011 image provided by the Australian Defense Force, recruit Pvt. Melissa Jessop, a driver with 2nd Battalion Royal Australian Regiment, poses during mission rehearsal exercises at High Range Training Area, Townsville, Australia, prior to deploying to Afghanistan. —AP

that those requirements could be reduced, but Neil James, executive director of the Australian Defense Association, said that overseas experience shows that less than 3 percent of women soldiers would be able to pass them. Women most often fail on the rope climbing because it requires considerable upper body strength, he said.

The association, a respected security think-tank, said there are biomechanical differences between the sexes — differences in muscle distribution, centers of gravity and rate of recovery from physical exertion — that make even physically strong women more vulnerable in combat. In peacetime training exercises, Australian women soldiers are at least five times more likely than men to be incapacitated by injuries to backs, knees and ankles because of biomechanical differences in load-bearing abilities, the ADA said, citing Defense Department records. “For a range of operational, moral and occupational health and safety reasons, it would not be fair to our female soldiers to expect them to fight male soldiers continually in a person-toperson physical sense,” the ADA said in a recent issue paper.

The ADA compared combat roles to the sports world. It said there were no serious calls for women to be included in top-tier football teams, for instance, and noted that battlefields are tougher environments. Eva Cox, spokeswoman for the feminist lobby group Women’s Electoral Lobby,

dismissed the ADA arguments as “a lot of rubbish.” “ To decide that women can’t do something because they’re women and men can’t do something because they’re men is just ridiculous,” Cox said. “ The basis of the decision should be your physical capacity to meet certain criteria, not whether you’ve got par ticular chromosomes,” she added. Cox believes that Australian society now supports eliminating gender barriers, even in the army, though media commentators have been split on the subject. Even without serving in the same intense combat roles, Australian women returning from overseas deployments have been referred for mental health treatment at double the rate of their male comrades, a recent Defense Department study found.

The military has been publicly supportive of the new regime to test combat readiness, but not all soldiers are keen on the idea of women serving in such roles as the infantry. Army Cpl. Stuart Heeney wrote in a letter to “The Soldiers’ Army ” newspaper recently that women should remain barred from infantr y units because “it will change the dynamic due to human nature.” “Blokes will be more interested in impressing women than focusing on their job,” he wrote.

The almost 8,000 women in Au s t r a l i a’s a r my, n av y a n d a i r force account for less than 14 percent of total troop numbers and commanders are keen to recruit more. —AP

HK journalists’ group say freedom under threat Journalists face restrictions inreporting HONG KONG: A Hong Kong journalists’ group warned yesterday that freedom of expression in the city had deteriorated, saying the territory had become intolerant of dissent as Beijing strengthened its grip. The former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997 but retains a semi-autonomous status under the “one country, two systems” model, with civil liberties including freedom of speech not enjoyed in mainland China.

“There are now growing and disturbing signs that the ‘onecountry’ element is overriding ‘two systems’,” the Hong Kong Journalists Association said in its annual freedom of expression report.

“This could have far-reaching implications for Hong Kong’s autonomy and one of its most fundamental rights-freedom of expression and press freedom,” said the group, which represents some 500 journalists.

It said Beijing had “become more aggressive” in its policy towards Hong Kong, resulting in the territory barring visits by mainland dissidents, while the

country’s police had become less tolerant of protesters.

The group said Hong Kong journalists faced growing restrictions in reporting, especially in coverage of public protests, after a TV journalist was among more than 200 people arrested at an anti-government march on Friday.

“We are moving further and further away from an open and transparent society,” association chairwoman Mak Yin-ting told a news conference.

“What we are more wary (of) is (that) the police have taken a tough line towards protests, where even reporters have been barred and human rights

observers were pulled away from the scene,” she said.

The group also called for Radio Television Hong Kong, currently a government department, to be made independent.

In response to the report, the government issued a statement saying it would continue to be “open and accountable” but did not plan to enact a freedom of information law, as called for by the Journalists Association.

Protests are common in Hong Kong, and are largely peaceful and tolerated by authorities. But police have made two mass arrests in recent weeks.

Some 231 people were arrest-

ed and police used pepper spray to disperse demonstrators after a march on Friday by tens of thousands of people venting their frustration at government policies and soaring property prices.

Last month, police held 53 people for illegal assembly after a massive candlelight vigil to mark the anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown in Beijing.

In January, two former leaders of the Tiananmen pro-democracy protests were refused entry to attend the funeral of a Hong Kong democracy icon, prompting criticism that Hong Kong was bowing to pressure from China. —AFP

Family of slain Briton arrives for Japan trial in 2009 after a lengthy nationwide manhunt. While on the run, he underwent extensive cosmetic surgery to change his appearance. The case has generated intense media attention, and the victim’s parents, William and Julia Hawker, were met by a swarm of journalists upon landing at Narita International Airport.

“I’m here to get justice for my daughter,” William Hawker said. “It’s been a long time coming.” Ichihashi, 32, admits to taking Hawker’s life in a book he wrote from prison, “Until the Arrest.” But he doesn’t describe the crime or his motives, instead detailing his life at large, during which he traveled throughout the country in constant fear of arrest and obsessed with plastic surgery.

Hawker, who graduated from Leeds University in England, worked as an instructor at a private language school, where the suspect was a student.

Widely broadcast footage from security cameras at a nearby coffee shop and inside an elevator showed Ichihashi and Hawker together the day before her body was found.

Police offered a reward of 10 million yen ($123,000) for tips leading to his arrest, and wanted posters of Ichihashi were distributed nationwide.

He was eventually stopped on Nov. 10, 2009, by police at the ferry termiTOKYO: Bill Hawker, right, father of murdered nal in the western city of British teacher Lindsay Hawker, is surrounded by Osaka. If convicted of murthe media upon arrival at Tokyo’s international der, he could face the death airport at Narita, east of Tokyo, yesterday. —AP penalty. —AP

TOKYO: The family of a slain British teacher whose body was found in a sandfilled bathtub arrived in Tokyo yesterday to attend the trial of a Japanese man charged with killing her.

Tatsuya Ichihashi is accused of raping and murdering 22-year-old English teacher Lindsay Ann Hawker. Her naked body was found more than four years ago in the bathtub in his apartment in Ichikawa City, just east of Tokyo. His trial begins today at Chiba District Court. Ichihashi was arrested

HANOI: Violinist Ta Chi Hai (L), 72, plays patriotic songs next to Vietnamese protesters as they hold an anti-China rally in front of the Opera House in downtown Hanoi yesterday amid an ongoing territorial row in the South China Sea. —AFP

Anti-China demo in Vietnam despite heavy clampdown HANOI: About 100 anti-China protesters marched peacefully in Vietnam yesterday despite a heavy security clampdown and a vow by both countries to rein in public opinion over tensions in the South China Sea. Protests-which are not common in authoritarian Vietnam-have taken place in the capital Hanoi for five weekends in a row over the maritime dispute. Plainclothes and uniformed security agents poured into the area around the Chinese embassy and sealed off surrounding roads, but about 40 protesters penetrated the cordon to gather some distance from the embassy before marching towards central Hanoi, trailed by riot police and other security personnel.

More people joined the march along the way, shouting that two South China Sea archipelagos, the Spratlys and Paracels, belong to Vietnam.

The two countries have longstanding sovereignty disputes over the potentially oil-rich island groups, which also straddle commercial shipping lanes vital for global trade.

Tensions flared and protests began after Hanoi in late May accused Chinese marine surveillance vessels of cutting the exploration cables of an oil survey ship inside its exclusive economic zone.

In a second incident, Hanoi alleged a Chinese fishing boat rammed the cables of another ship in the 200-nauticalmile zone. Vietnam then held a live-fire naval drill off its central coast. —AFP

KHOST: Filipinos Darby Ortego (R), aged 25, and Von Bolante (L) from the US Army Viper Company (Bravo) 1-26 Infantry posing for a photo at Combat Outpost Sabari, in Khost province, eastern Afghanistan. Ortego, 25, endures gunfire and mine attacks fighting for the United States army in Afghanistan, but this July 4 will be his first as a citizen of the country he serves. —AFP

Filipinos fight for US citizenship in Afghanistan KHOST: Darby Ortego, 25, endures gunfire and mine attacks fighting for the United States army in Afghanistan, but this July 4 will be his first as a citizen of the country he serves.

Ortego, who battles insurgents in the violent eastern province of Khost with Bravo Company, 1-26 Infantry, recently attended a naturalisation ceremony at a US base near Kabul ahead of this year’s Independence Day celebrations.

Like thousands of fellow Filipinos, he sees the US military as a fast-track to American citizenship, securing his own future and also helping his family back home.

“I joined up to get my mom to America,” said Private Ortego, who is deployed at Combat Outpost Sabari in Khost, where US troops clash with Taliban rebels based across the border in Pakistan. “I want to bring my mom from her village in the Philippines to Nevada, where I live. I want her to be with me.” Ortego is one of the roughly 9,000 legal immigrants who join the US armed forces each year from countries as far apart as Panama, Nigeria, Liberia and Turkey.

He has “Green Card” permanent residency in the US, and was living with his divorced father in Nevada when he signed up for the army two years ago.

Other benefits to military service include a free college education, which Ortego says he hopes to use to study business management.

Troop commanders say new citizens fight hard for their privileges. “He volunteered to serve in the army, so he certainly deserves to raise his right hand and take the citizenship oath,” said Ortego’s commanding officer Captain Aaron Tapalman. “Like all soldiers going through the citizenship process, he has always felt completely part of the team. You wouldn’t know unless these guys tell you.”

There are around 25,000 non-US citizens serving in the military, the Pentagon says.

Non-citizens have fought for the US since the 18th century War of Independence, while the US officially started recruiting Filipinos after World War II when it opened military bases in the Philippines.

After the 9/11 attacks in 2001, the naturalisation process for military personnel was streamlined when President George W. Bush scrapped waiting requirements for active sol-

diers. In the last 10 years, nearly 69,000 immigrant troops have become US citizens while serving.

Naturalisation takes just months for serving military personnel compared to years for regular legal immigrants.

Unemployment and poverty in their homeland have driven millions of Filipinos abroad to search for work, often on construction sites or as domestic staff.

“It is better in the US because there are more opportunities. You can find a job and they will pay a decent amount,” said Ortego, who sends money back to his family in Northern Samar province.

But the sacrifices he now has to make for himself and his mother are significant.

“Army life is tough, this is a stressful environment,” he said. “There are bad days here, IEDs (improvised explosive devices) and small arms fire.

“My mom is scared for me. It is a mother’s thing. She misses me a lot, I’ve only seen her briefly once in the last two years when she stopped overnight in Los Angeles just to say hi. “I keep telling her, when I get citizenship, you guys are going to be in the US with me.”

In the week leading up to July 4 this year more than 24,000 new Americans civilian and military-are passing through naturalisation ceremonies, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services said, with events for members of the armed forces being held in Kuwait and Baghdad as well as Kabul.

At an often emotional occasion, participants raise their hands and swear the oath of allegiance before receiving official certificates. Also taking the military path to citizenship is Von Bolante, 24, who moved from the city of Tacloban outside Manila to Hawaii when he was 12.

Bolante, who serves alongside Ortego in Bravo Company, admits it seems “a bit odd” to serve in a nation’s army and yet still have to apply to be a citizen.

“But I might as well as be American by now anyway, it is my adopted country,” he said. “I was working in a grocery store in Hawaii and wasn’t getting anywhere so I joined up.”

On his first patrol in Afghanistan, Bolante watched from a hill as his platoon mates were hit by an IED in a field. —AFP

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ne ws Jordan navigates Arab Spring warily Continued from Page 1 The king sits at the helm of a sprawling intelligence service, a carefully lubricated patronage system and a US-trained military. The economy is largely dependent on aid from Washington and Saudi Arabia. Government opponents say their phones are bugged and houses watched. At times, such as during national and municipal voting in 2007, his regime has blatantly rigged elections, critics say.

In Jordan, the king does face increasing criticism, but even the angriest political protesters seldom hold him responsible for their country’s troubles. His family dynasty, the Hashemites, rose to power centuries ago as the protectors of the holy city of Makkah. That, combined with the elaborate system of patronage aimed at powerful local leaders, has earned them immense loyalty among the Bedouin tribes who make up the traditional core of Jordanian society. “The king is not a problem for us,” said Anis Musharbash, a courtly, gray-haired doctor and communist party member at a recent Friday protest. “ Who wants a revolution?” asked Musharbash, holding out his hands as he was firing a rifle. “Pow! Pow! Pow! Pow! Pow!” Then he shook his head: “We just want this country to change, step by step.”

It’s the central irony of modern Jordan: The man with the most political power is still widely seen as being above the political fray. So while the protesters want large-scale reform - more power shifted from the palace to parliament, an end to government corruption, inflation brought under control - few want an end to Hashemite rule. “There is a moral contract between the Jordanian people and the Hashemites,” said retired general Ali Habashneh, a government critic. “We want them to remain as kings, to secure for us a good life and freedom.”

Analysts see few generalizations in the countries that have avoided the full force of the Arab Spring.

Different countries have taken different approaches to seeking peace with protesters, whether it’s money in Saudi Arabia or legal reform in the tiny sultanate of Oman. Jordan has a badly troubled economy, but its overall issues are more complex: a divide between the king’s bedouin allies and Palestinian refugee families who want more political power; worries over nearby Israel, which many Jordanians see as a frightening presence; grumbling discontent over Queen Rania, whose beauty and fashion sense make her popular in the West, but who is seen with suspicion in conservative bedouin circles. Then there is political reform.

In Jordan, the palace insists it wants many of the same reforms as the protesters, including constitutional and legal changes that would curtail some of the king’s vast powers. He currently heads all three branches of government, and commands the army and the intelligence service. He names the prime minister, can dissolve parliament at will, and is a major influence on legislation. Listening to his advisers, it’s hard to imagine the king, educated at the elite Massachusetts prep school Deerfield, becoming a commoner anytime soon.

“His Majesty is a liberal: economically and politically,” said Faisal Fayez, the speaker of parliament and a close ally of the king. “But His Majesty also knows the structure of Jordanian society. He knows reform will take time.” His critics, though, wonder if he really wants change. “There may be some reforms over the next six months or a year, but we think they will be really limited,” said Jamil Abu-Bakr, spokesman for the Muslim Brotherhood, Jordan’s largest opposition group. AbuBakr predicts any changes would only come in response to democratic shifts elsewhere in the Mideast.

The Brotherhood wants the king stripped of much of his power, and says Abdullah is coasting on the reputation of his father, King Hussein. Though he survived a

string of assassination plots over the years, Hussein died a much-beloved king, an adventurer who loved jets and motorcycles, and who made peace with Israel.

He also launched political reforms following bloody 1988 riots, including the first parliamentary elections in 22 years and the revival of multiparty politics. While Hussein became king as a teenager, Abdullah, son of his father’s British-born second wife, was a career military officer before suddenly being named crown prince just ahead of Hussein’s 1999 death. While that has left many critics grumbling that he’s still learning to navigate palace politics, the goodwill Hussein nurtured is also paying off.

“There is no political blood in this country, and we are harvesting the benefits of that,” said Mohammad Al-Momani, a professor of political science at Yarmouk University. “People criticize the government, they criticize the regime. But at the end of the day, there’s no sense of needing revenge.” It’s a sharp contrast to what happened in Bahrain, where protests earlier this year moved from demands for a constitutional monarchy to the overthrow of the king after a bloody crackdown by the regime.

While Jordan is not a police state, it can be easily mistaken as one: the often-thuggish secret police; the manipulated elections; the fawning royal stories in the government-controlled media; the thousands of billboards with the king’s face gazing upon his subjects.

However, the reality is complicated. It’s illegal to criticize the king here, but prosecutions are rare and those convicted often get royal pardons. The secret police are feared, but are not the constant, threatening presence as in countries like Syria and Libya. If some politicians say their phones are tapped, even the harshest critics speak fairly openly.

Abdullah has been talking about reform since coming to power, when he even floated the idea of a British-style constitutional democracy. But little was undertaken until the protests, which began over rampant inflation, and the specifics of any reforms remain unclear. The king insists his early plans were thwarted by regional turbulence, like the US-led invasion of neighboring Iraq and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, along with entrenched politicians and bureaucrats at home. Royal insiders say the former intelligence chief also convinced the king that reform could lead to the rise of Muslim militant politicians.

Today, though, it may be the economy that could slow reforms or lead to more protests. While Amman is a modern, outwardly wealthy city, Jordan is struggling with a vast foreign debt, rising inflation, rampant unemployment and poverty. “What makes (the king) not sleep at night is the economy,” said Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh. To push through political reform “he’s got to have the economy under control.” The king also now even faces occasional criticism from his bedrock supporters, the bedouins. They dominate the army and the police, and hold most government jobs.

Over the years, though, their power has been reduced by rising numbers of Palestinians - “West Bankers” as they are known here - who now run many of the country’s top businesses.

A 2005 census said Palestinians officially made up 43 percent of Jordan’s 5.9 million people, though unofficial estimates put them at more than 60 percent. Earlier this year, a public letter signed by 36 bedouin tribesmen and retired military commanders laid out a string of criticisms, from worries over the economy to issues with Queen Rania, who they say has undue political influence. While few of the signers were prominent, simply making such criticism in public was a watershed. “The tribes, we believe in the Hashemite monarchy,” said Habashneh, the retired general and one of the signers. “When this trust itself is being touched, then there is serious danger.” — AP

DSK release stuns France Continued from Page 1 Television pictures of him emerging smart and smiling from a New York courthouse contrasted with the walk of shame by an unshaven and handcuffed suspect that had shocked France in the days after his arrest on May 14. “This is a complete reversal. The idea that the case may be dismissed is incredible,” Sabine de Marigny, 44, a fashion designer, told AFP on a Paris street.

The violent nature of the accusations - that he chased the maid around his hotel suite, grabbed her vagina and forced her to give him oral sex - had prompted mourning for France’s image in the world.

Despite all this, a poll published by Harris Interactive yesterdayshowed a majority of 49 percent of French people now approved of StraussKahn returning to politics, with 45 percent opposed. Previous polls had showed that 60 percent of French people believe the sex assault claims were a set-up to bring down Strauss-Kahn, previously the favourite to beat President Nicolas

Sarkozy in next year’s election.

Strauss-Kahn’s political career had been widely declared over after the scandal, which shook up his opposition Socialist Party and prompted its leader Martine Aubry to declare that she would run for president. Friday’s court hearing left the Socialist campaign wide open, and many in France no longer knowing what to think, after weeks of soul-searching about sex and sexism in French public life. “The DSK affair allowed us to shed light on and ask questions about our morals - perhaps even to change them,” wrote senior editor Olivier Jay in Le Journal du Dimanche. “It is up to us not to make the media stoop low even when the public seems to demand it, and to reserve the right to simply say: We do not know.”

The doubts cast on the maid’s case prompted calls by some Socialists for the party’s candidateselection process to be extended to allow Strauss-Kahn time to enter.

Francois Hollande, the Socialists’ former leader currently polling as favourite to beat Sarkozy in Strauss-

Kahn’s absence, said he was open to such a move, as did Segolene Royal, a former presidential challenger also running in 2012. Royal on Friday had played down the prospect of Strauss-Kahn returning, but said on Saturday that she could accept such a move “without difficulty”.

There were fresh mutterings of a conspirac y yesterday. “It was a political assassination,” said a close ally of Strauss-Kahn, greater Paris regional councillor Michele Sebban, on RCJ radio. She dropped vague hints calling into question the role of the management of the Sofitel hotel, part of the French Accor group, in which the alleged assault took place, and that of the New York police in the unfolding of the scandal. “There are many questions that remain unanswered,” Sebban said. The nature of the alleged action by the hotel management, also referred to by another Strauss-Kahn ally, was not specified. Accor responded in a statement that the claims could be “defamatory”. — AFP

MALMOE, Sweden: A man dives yesterday from a bridge offering a panoramic view in with thunderclouds gathering over Denmark on the other side of the Oresund Strait. — AFP

McD’s to run trucks on own oil Continued from Page 1 Neutral has capacity to produce 1 million liters of biodiesel a year in its Dubai facility and can double that amount if it increases the number of shifts. It would not say how much oil will be produced by McDonald’s more than 80 outlets in the Emirates, but says it’s enough to power the chain’s vehicles in the country. It is not the first time McDonald’s has run its vehicles on biodiesel, having done so in England and most recently Austria.

But it would be the first time any company has tried to do it in the Middle East, a region where the incentives are lower to use alternatives fuel because oil is so cheap and plentiful.

The McDonald’s trucks are also being fueled with pure biodiesel - not a mix as seen in many parts of Europe and the United States. “One reason to do that is prove to people that you don’t have to modify your vehicle to run biodiesel,” Feilder said. “The technology is

so good and McDonald’s oil of such good quality that we can produce biodiesel for the same price that you can buy normal diesel on the street.”

The fact the McDonald’s announcement is happening in the United Arab Emirates is no accident. The UAE has taken a lead in recent years among Gulf nations in attempting to promote renewable energy in the region and tackle global warming. Abu Dhabi is home to Masdar, a government-run company focused on lowemission technologies that is building a futuristic cleanenergy city in the desert outskirts of Abu Dhabi. It also is base for the International Renewable Energy Agency, a new organization established to promote renewable energy such as wind, solar and other nonpolluting energy sources. “Things have changed a lot in the last couple of years,” Feilder said. “There is more money spent in this country than any Gulf country on sustainable initiatives and the educational process required for bringing this knowledge to the masses.” — AP

Thaksin party wins polls by a landslide Continued from Page 1 With nearly all votes counted, Yingluck’s party won a projected 263 seats with Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva’s Democrat Party taking 161, according to the Election Commission. Abhisit conceded defeat. “I would like to congratulate the Puea Thai Party for the right to form a government,” he said. Exit polls by Bangkok’s Suan Dusit University showed Puea Thai doing even better, winning 313 seats compared to just 152 for the Democrats, dismal enough to threaten Abhisit’s job as party leader.

Yingluck’s supporters were jubilant, erupting in roars and cheers as television broadcast the exit polls. “Number one Yingluck”, some shouted. “Prime Minister Yingluck” screamed others, as party members slapped each other on the back.

“Yingluck has helped us and now Puea Thai can solve our problems and they’ll solve the country’s problems,” said Saiksa Chankerd, a 40-year-old government worker.

The results were a rebuke of the traditional establishment of generals, old-money families and royal advisers in Bangkok who loathed Thaksin and backed Abhisit, an Oxford-trained economist who struggled to find a common touch. “People wanted change and they got it,” said Kongkiat Opaswongkarn, chief executive of Asia Plus Securities in Bangkok. “It tells you that a majority of people still want most of the things that the ex-prime minister had done for the country in the past.”

The size of Puea Thai’s victory could usher in much-needed political stability after six years of sporadic unrest that featured the occupation of Bangkok’s two airports, a blockade of parliament, an assassination attempt and protests last year that descended into chaotic clashes with the army. “Chances of blocking Puea Thai in the near term are severely limited,” said Roberto Herrera-Lim, Southeast Asian analyst at political risk consultancy Eurasia Group. “The instability everyone has been worried about now looks less likely. The military will have to be pragmatic now.”

Yingluck was feted like a rock-star by the red shirts who designated entire communities in Thailand’s rugged, vote-rich northeast plateau as “red shirt villages” to help mobilise supporters, each festooned with red flags and Thaksin posters. “ This win is very important because it will determine Thailand’s destiny,” said Kwanchai Praipana, a red-shirt leader in Udon Thani province, where the movement had set up hundreds of red villages in recent weeks. The red shirts accuse the

rich, the establishment and top military brass of breaking laws with impunity - grievances that have simmered since the 2006 coup - and have clamoured for Thaksin’s return.

Thaksin said he would “wait for the right moment” to come home. “If my return is going to cause problems, then I will not do it yet. I should be a solution, not a problem,” he told reporters in Dubai. Thaksin, a former telecommunications tycoon, scored landslide election wins in 2001 and 2005 and remains idolised by the poor as the first politician to address the needs of millions living beyond Bangkok’s bright lights.

Yingluck electrified his supporters, ran a disciplined campaign and promised Thaksin-style populist policies, including a big rise in the national minimum wage and free tablet PCs for nearly one million school children. Abhisit had warned of instability if Yingluck won, blaming the red shirts for unrest last year in which 91 people, mostly civilians, were killed. They cast Thaksin as a crony capitalist, fugitive and terrorist who condones mob rule.

But Abhisit’s denial that troops were responsible for a single death or injury last year was mocked even in the Democrat stronghold of Bangkok. A web-savvy generation could, with a few mouse-clicks, watch videos on Youtube showing military snipers firing on civilians, eroding his credibility. Abhisit’s backers want Thaksin to serve a two-year prison term. They dismiss Yingluck as a simple proxy for her brother. Throughout the six-week campaign, the two sides presented similar populist campaigns of subsidies for the poor, improved healthcare benefits and infrastructure investment including high-speed rail systems across the country - a style of policymaking known in Thailand as “Thaksinomics”.

The clear majority should make it easier for the opposition to execute those promises but could also fan inflation if they pursue a plan to lift the minimum wage to 300 baht ($9.70) per day - a roughly 40 percent increase. The election is Thailand’s 26th since it became a democracy in 1932, ending seven centuries of absolute monarchy. Since then, it has seen 18 military coups or coup attempts. Opinion polls had predicted Puea Thai would win about 240 seats, short of a majority. In that scenario, smaller parties would have been crucial, possibly helping the Democrats stay in power if they had managed to form a coalition government. Yingluck said her party was in talks with Chart Thai Pattana, a smaller party with a projected 20 seats, to join hands in parliament and provide some breathing space. — Reuters

Libya rebels poised to march on Tripoli Continued from Page 1 Gaddafi reacted furiously to the French arms drops to the rebels, calling on his supporters Friday to go and retrieve the weapons. French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe insisted that the arms were meant only to defend peaceful civilians from Gaddafi’s forces and thus fell in line with UN Security Council resolutions on the conflict.

In Benghazi yesterday, Turkey’s Davutoglu also vowed to do “everything” possible to end the fighting a day after Ankara said it was pulling its envoy from Tripoli and adopting fresh sanctions against Gaddafi.

Turkey, the only mainly Muslim member of NATO and an important regional player, has gradually taken a hard line against Tripoli, after at first criticising the Western air strikes. “We think the Transitional National Council is the legitimate representative of the Libyan people,”

said Davutoglu, making Turkey the latest country to recognise the NTC. Asked if Turkey would consider hosting Gaddafi as part of a peace agreement, he said “if there is an agreement being achieved we will do everything, everything possible”.

There was no immediate confirmation from Moscow of the talks between Russian and South African officials and representatives of the NATO-led coalition, but both countries have been outspoken advocates of a negotiated solution. The foreign ministry in Pretoria said the talks in Russia would include all members of the so-called International Contact Group on Libya but could provide no further details.

The Kremlin said in a statement late Saturday that Zuma and President Dmitry Medvedev held a telephone conversation in which they agreed on a “personal meeting in the closest time” but did not say

when it would take place. Pretoria said that the talks had been scheduled for today and that Zuma would leave for them later yesterday. The announcement came shortly after Zuma returned home from an African Union summit in Equatorial Guinea, where the continental grouping adopted a plan for negotiations between the warring Libyan parties. “We are very happy that we have reached this point, that we can now say very soon we will be launching the talks in Addis Ababa and we believe we will get the necessary support from everyone,” Zuma said after the summit.

New elements in the AU plan include provisions for a multinational peacekeeping force organised by the United Nations. The bloc also says that Gaddafi has agreed to stay out of the negotiations, while the rebels have not ruled out his remaining inside Libya so long as he relinquishes power. — Agencies

HONG KONG: Forty skippers set a Guiness world record for the largest simultaneous ‘double-Dutch’ style skip at Victoria Park yesterday. Eight hundred students also set a new Hong Kong record during the event for the largest number of simultaneous long rope skippers. — AFP

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Issues

NOCs hold keys to access for private sector

By Julien Girault tate-owned oil companies are a rising force in the global energy sector as private rivals such as BP and Total seek access to new supplies and push to expand their markets. More than half of the world’s top energy firms, 28 out of 50, are fully state-owned, and these National Oil Companies (NOCs) control almost 80 percent of crude reserves, according to industry publication Petroleum Economist. Heading the biggest companies, as measured by reserves, are NOCs from Iran, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. ExxonMobil, the first entirelyprivate energy group or International Oil Company (IOC) in the top 50, comes in at 11th position.

IOCs such as British energy giant BP, which is the 15th-biggest company in terms of oil reserves, are relying on closer links with NOCs to gain access to huge oil reserves in Gulf countries and Russia. BP chief executive Bob Dudley recently described Russia as a favourable environment for foreign investment, despite his group’s recently collapsed deal with Russian state oil giant Rosneft over exploration in the Arctic. However, Dudley also acknowledged that “like trees, partnerships (between NOCs and IOCs) take time to bear fruits”.

The chairman of state-owned Kuwait Oil Company, Sami Al-Rushaid, recently acknowledged that NOC-IOC tie-ups, were a delicate balancing act.

“We need to explain that we act in the interests of our countries” and not the shareholders of private companies. But he also stressed that such partnerships were essential if NOCs and IOCs were to keep down their costs.”It’s increasingly difficult and costly to develop oil and gas production,” said Al-Rushaid, whose company has struck an agreement with Royal Dutch Shell to enhance technology used to secure oil from reservoirs.

“Our ageing reservoirs need use of customised EOR (Enhanced Oil Recovery) technologies to extend their like and keep production levels,” AlRushaid told a recent energy conference held in London. “Partnerships are critical to sustain technological innovation. It’s vital to have a joint effort on technologies. We are proud of what we do now with Shell on the reservoirs technologies.”

However, relations between NOCs and IOCs are not always so smooth. The head of Venezuela’s state oil giant Petroleos de Venezuela said last month that the “imperialist” United States could “go to hell” after it slapped sanctions on the company over alleged ties to Iran. “We do what best serves the people of Venezuela and what best serves the interests of the Venezuelan state,” said Rafael Ramirez, who also serves as energy and petroleum minister.

Additionally, NOCs are increasingly looking to extend beyond their own borders in a bid to compete with their IOC rivals. China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) last week announced that it had begun operations in Iraq’s Al-Ahdab oil field. The project marks “the realisation of the Chinese oil industry’s goal to develop the high-end oil market in the Middle East,” CNPC said. “NOCs... are increasingly active in cross-border partnerships or other strategic deals,” said UBS bank analyst Philip Wolfe.

Boris Zilbermints, a senior executive at Russian energy giant Gazprom said his company sees itself as an “international NOC”. Speaking recently in London, he said: “We want to explore new areas. For us, the main issue with international majors is that everyone wants to go to Russia, no-one is willing to give us access to their own” energy resources. IOCs are also eyeing potential new opportunities in oilrich Libya and the Middle East, which continue to be beset by unrest. The head of strategy at French energy group Total, Olivier Cleret, believes that the unrest should not hamper his or other Western companies’ efforts to forge ties with NOCs in these regions. “It should not harm our relations,” Cleret told AFP. “It may even be the opposite because the uprisings present new needs.” —AFP

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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.

Bashir faces tough act as south goes

By Alex Dziadosz

s southern Sudanese count down the minutes to independence on July 9, northerners are anxiously contemplating a future with less oil, roaring inflation and emboldened rebellions. The challenges presented by the break-up of Africa’s largest country mean President Omar Hassan al-Bashir will need to strike a delicate balance as he tries to hold together what is left of the nation he has ruled for more than two decades. If he gets it wrong, he needs only look to his North African neighbours to see what could happen next. Popular protests have already pushed out long-ruling strongmen in Egypt and Tunisia and a civil war threatens another in Libya. In Khartoum’s dust-swept souks, shoppers and vendors comment on the split with a blend of sadness, resignation and anxiety. “The southern independence is a big, very big mistake by our government. It is wrong,” Mohamed, a newspaper vendor, said. “Our economy will suffer because we depend on oil. Prices rise every day and inflation will gain more.”

Southerners voted to split off from the north in a January plebiscite, the culmination of a 2005 peace deal that ended decades of civil war in which about 2 million people died. But Sudan’s conflicts go beyond just north and south.

Ethnic groups complaining of marginalisation have taken up arms in the western Darfur region and in areas of the east.

Many fighters in the Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile border states, which will remain in the north, also fought against Khartoum. The diverse rebel movements share a common complaint - a deep-seated resentment of what they see as a near complete domination of Sudan’s power and wealth in hands of a small northern elite.

Analysts say those movements may step up their campaigns after the south secedes, seeing a chance to press for concessions from a vulnerable Khartoum. “The dynamics that underpin other grievances in Sudan - whether in the east, west, far north or the borderlands of Kordofan, White Nile and Blue Nile - do not vanish with the south’s secession,” said Aly Verjee, a researcher at the Rift Valley Institute think tank.

Analysts say the north’s ruling National Congress Party (NCP) has typically dealt with insurgencies with a mix of heavyhanded security crackdowns and attempts to split the rebels by offering deals to some of their leaders. Those tactics may be harder to maintain as diminishing oil revenues drain the north’s coffers. “You can’t just go on paying the salaries of the security and the army and forget about the public servants,” said Fouad Hikmat of the International Crisis Group. That could mean Bashir, a military officer who came to power in a bloodless 1989 coup, may have to seek political solutions more actively. “In one year’s time, if the NCP does not change, does not adapt a new approach that is more about inclusion than security control, then Sudan will be facing very serious problems,” Hikmat added.

But opening up the political system could expose Bashir, wanted by the International Criminal Court on charges of crimes against humanity, to challenges from hardliners in his own party who oppose all concessions to Sudan’s peripheral states - seeing them as a catalyst for more secessionist demands.

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Unencumbered by the south, where the population follows mostly Christian and traditional beliefs, some NCP members might renew their focus on the Islamist ideals that inspired them when they first came to power. The south’s ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) will continue to run an opposition party in the north, but its influence will be diminished.

Sudan has the same ingredients that ignited protests in other Arab countries particularly complaints of political repression and rising food prices, analysts say. But it remains unclear whether Sudan, beleaguered by decades of war, will have the energy for an uprising, especially after the unrest took bloody turns in Libya, Yemen and Syria. “I don’t know if these movements and discontent will translate into a popular revolution on the North African model but it is always worth remembering that popular protests have brought down Sudanese governments before,” said Roger Middleton, a researcher at the Chatham House think tank.

Popular protests helped oust two of Sudan’s rulers after independence, and the memory of these movements is still alive.

So far some small protests, many led by students, have broken out, but have been quickly dispersed by security forces with batons and tear gas. Much of what happens to the north may depend on what emerges in a final deal on sharing out oil revenues, which has yet to be decided with

the south a week away from independence. Any settlement is likely to see the north get less than the 50 percent of revenues from southern oil it currently receives under the 2005 peace deal. To make up for it, analysts say north Sudan could turn increasingly to gold mining,

agriculture and other industries or open up to more foreign investment from willing countries. Bashir’s recent visits to Iran and China could be a prelude to this, as the leader seeks to woo foreign leaders who could help prop up a beleaguered economy. — Reuters

Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir sits at the airport lounge in Khartoum on July 1, 2011 following his arrival from a three-day visit to China that drew condemnation from the United Nations and rights groups. – AFP

Morocco’s Arab Spring only a start

By Michael Mainville

aced with protests like those that ousted the leaders of Tunisia and Egypt and have shaken much of the Arab world, Morocco’s King Mohammed VI made an unusual offer: concessions.

And now that voters have massively backed a new constitution curbing his near absolute powers, analysts say the king will need to follow through on promises of democracy to his increasingly demanding people. “The constitutional reform is an opening granted by the monarchy, a measured and controlled opening,” said Khadija Mohsen-Finan, a regional expert at the University of Paris.

“It may seem enviable in comparison with the rest of the unmoving Arab world, but it is well below the demands of the streets,” she said.

Mohammed VI, who in 1999 took over the Arab world’s longest-serving dynasty, has faced demonstrations since February after the pro-democracy movement sweeping the region reached his country, the westernmost in north Africa.

Using websites such as Facebook and YouTube, the youth-based February 20 Movement has organised weeks of demonstrations that brought thousands to the streets calling for greater democracy, better economic prospects and an end to corruption.

But from the beginning, analysts said, Morocco’s Arab Spring uprising was different. “Some reforms were already underway in Morocco and there was a much bigger openness (to dissent) than in other countries,” said Mohamed Tozy, a political science professor at Casablanca’s Hassan II University, noting

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that protests were largely allowed to go ahead without interference. “And of course the (protest) movement never questioned the legitimacy of the regime” by calling for the overthrow of the monarchy, he said.

Instead, protesters demanded a constitutional monarchy akin to those in Britain or Spain, with the king becoming the figurehead of a democratically elected government. As the protests grew, the king announced a new constitution under which he would remain head of state, the military, and the Islamic faith in Morocco, but the prime minister, chosen from the largest party elected to parliament, would take over as the head of government. Other changes would grant more power to parliament, introduce an independent judiciary and provide new guarantees of civil liberties.

After a referendum campaign fiercely backed by authorities and in the media, more than 98 percent of voters approved the new constitution on Friday. The February 20 Movement, which had urged a boycott of the vote, immediately denounced the result as a fraud. To be sure, analysts said, the new curbs on royal powers are a long way from making Morocco the kind of democracy protesters are demanding, and the kingdom remains firmly in the control of the monarch and his entourage. But as a first step - and a moderate reaction in a region where many regimes have cracked down on protesters with gunfire and arrests Mohammed VI’s response has been held up as an example to other Arab leaders.

“Opponents say that the changes do not go far enough, or they are simply win-

dow-dressing to avoid a revolution,” said Joel Hirst, an analyst at the New Yorkbased Council on Foreign Relations.

“Nevertheless, the Moroccan response to the unrest in north Africa was a response to the people, it was quick, it was sweeping and it was inclusive,” he said.

Still, the referendum and new constitution are only the beginning of a long process, analysts said. “Is the constitution a good framework for Morocco to change, and to change radically? Yes. Will the constitution change Morocco? No. It will depend on the people who will apply it,” Tozy said. Morocco’s authorities will need to move quickly to show real commitment to reforms, Tozy said, and to fight the main sources of discontent in the country: the concentration of power in few hands, endemic corruption and deep economic disparities.

Tozy said early parliamentary elections will probably be held in October and will need to be fair and transparent to help lead to “the emergence of a new political elite”. “(The elections) should be participatory and inclusive,” Hirst said. “Then, a new prime minister can help to move forward changes... Revolutions such as Egypt rarely result in positive advances for the people. Gradual, progressively liberal reforms are what is required.”

The new constitution may have given Moroccan authorities some breathing room, analysts said, but having had a taste of influence, those anxious for change will jump on attempts to slow down democratic reforms. “Profound change will have to come in the behaviour of the Moroccan political elite much more than stipulations in the constitution,” Mohsen-Finan said. — AFP

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MONDAY, JULY 4, 2011

analysis

Thaksin ‘clone’ set to be Thai PM Y ingluck Shinawatra, who is set to be Thailand’s first female prime minister, is a political novice whose biggest asset is also her most controversial - her family name. She is widely seen as a standin for her older brother, the fugitive ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra who describes Yingluck as his “clone” and who has already called to congratulate her on an apparent landslide election victory. According to exit polls, Yingluck has led Thaksin’s Puea Thai Party to a landslide win, with a thumping majority against Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva’s ruling Democrats.

The photogenic 44-year-old businesswoman has run a polished campaign, defying sceptics who said the initial excitement over her nomination as the main opposition candidate for prime minister would soon fizzle out. A smiling Yingluck arrived at Puea Thai headquarters yesterday afternoon, clad in bright purple, to be mobbed by jubilant supporters and the media, but cautioned she wanted to wait for the official results before claiming victory. “Thank you to the people who came out to vote,” she told supporters.

With her groomed appearance, relaxed demeanour and carefully choreographed stage routines, Yingluck - 18 years junior to her controversial big brother - proved a hit on the campaign trail. “There’s no question she’s getting a bounce from excitement over the idea of Thailand having a woman prime minister, the novelty of a fairly young, attractive candidate, and because the Democrats are running such a lacklustre campaign,” said Thailand expert Michael Montesano.

And on top of that is her name - a big plus in the eyes of Thaksin’s fans but a turnoff for supporters of the establishment.

“She could have been a potted plant and that would have been true,” said Montesano, of the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore. Yingluck told AFP while campaigning that she and her brother were similar in their approach. “We are alike in the sense that I have learned from him in business and I understand his vision, how he solves problems and the way he built everything from the beginning,” she said.

Thaksin remains a hugely divisive figure in Thailand. He was ousted in a 2006 military coup and fled the country in 2008 before a court sentenced him in his absence to two years in prison for corruption. He is still adored by many rural and working class voters for his populist policies while in power, but is reviled by the ruling elite who see him as corrupt and a threat to the revered monarchy. Yingluck herself, however, is seen as a fresh face largely untainted by scandal. Accusations by her political foes that she lied in court to protect her brother appear to have had little impact on her popularity.

In contrast to British-born premier Abhisit who is criticised for lacking the common touch, she has refrained from negative campaigning, instead focusing on

her policies and stressing the need for reconciliation after years of unrest. “She’s able to look natural in front of big crowds in a way that the prime minister just cannot, no matter what he does,” said Montesano.

Yingluck was born on June 21, 1967, into one of the most prominent ethnic Chinese families in northern Chiang Mai province, the youngest of nine siblings.

Until recently president of Thai real estate firm SC Asset Corp, she graduated in political science from Chiang Mai University and earned a masters degree in public administration at Kentucky State University in the United States. She returned to Thailand to work for one of Thaksin’s companies as a trainee in the early 1990s, going on to take various positions within her brother’s business empire. She is a former president of the mobile telephone unit of Shin Corp, the telecoms giant founded by Thaksin that was at the centre of a scandal over the tax-free sale of the family’s shares in the group in 2006.

While her business credentials are well known, observers say she has given few concrete clues about what kind of leader she would be. “She is at the moment sticking by what Thaksin has asked her to do in a very detailed way,” said a Bangkok-based Western diplomat. “I don’t think we have yet seen what she is capable of.” — AFP

he seventh graders find their seats quickly and quietly.

They look up expectantly from rows of desks, studying the unfamiliar man with salt-and-pepper hair, dressed in a navy sport jacket, who steps to the front of Room 30 without any introduction. “I’m ... going to tell you guys a story of something that happened in my life before you were born,” the man says. He speaks gently, his tone warm but slightly tentative - a voice that easily reaches the back of the room even as it appeals for careful listening.

“It’s kind of a tough story,” David Kaczynski continues. “There are parts of this story that are painful for me to remember.”

Kaczynski does not mention that he has recounted this story many times, and indeed will repeat it at least twice more today. He does not tell the audience that this fragment of the past is central to who he is in the present. He does not explain that for all the times he has told it, he still is figuring out how to apply its lessons. Better, perhaps, to let this story speak for itself. “The story is about family. It’s about ethics,” David Kaczynski begins. “Does anybody know what ethics is?”

For those old enough to remember, it usually takes just a moment or two for the last name to register. Kaczynski. In 1996, federal agents descended on a tiny Montana cabin and arrested a brilliant but deeply disturbed recluse, Theodore J Kaczynski, for a two-decade mail bombing campaign that killed three people and injured 23 others. Investigators had pursued the anti-technology terrorist known as the Unabomber since the late 1970s. In the end, someone recognized Ted Kaczynski’s idiosyncratic writing and turned him in.

The tipster asked the FBI to let him remain anonymous. But the name soon leaked out: David Kaczynski, the bomber’s devoted younger brother. Until he became known as the brother of the Unabomber, David Kaczynski lived a content and rather anonymous life as the assistant director of a

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Chavez to miss bicentennial celebrations

By Veronica Sardon

Opposition Pheu Thai party leader Yingluck Shinawatra casts her vote in a general election at a polling station in Bangkok yesterday. – AP

Thaksin victory turns eyes to Dubai

By Peter Janssen he apparent triumph of the Pheu Thai party at Thailand’s yesterday polls has shifted attention to Dubai, where the party’s de facto leader, Thaksin Shinawatra, resides in selfexile. According to all exit polls, the Pheu Thai party was slated to win a majority of the 500 parliamentary seats contested nationwide, although the actual numbers will not be known until the Election Commission has assessed various allegations of vote buying and fraud. The assessment could lead to a number of candidates who appeared to win yesterday losing their seats in the coming weeks.

But what seems undisputable is that the Pheu Thai will win a majority, making it the likely leader of the next government, with Thaksin’s sister Yingluck as prime minister, analysts said.

What remains unclear is whether the Thai establishment - the military, royalists, bureaucrats and old business groups - will allow the Pheu Thai to rule. In the Dec 2007 polls, the People’s Power Party, another incarnation of a Thaksin party, won the most seats but was toppled in 2008 by months of street demonstrations and judicial rulings against two of its leaders - Samak Sundravej and Somchai Wongsawat - who were forced to resign.

In that election, the PPP won only about 230 out of 480 contested seats. This time round, the Thaksin victory is bigger.

“Basically a compromise has be found to avoid a repeat of what happened to the PPP in 2008,” said Thitinan Ponsudhirak, a political analyst at Chulalongkorn University. “This time they need to be allowed to govern, but they must govern in a way that is palatable to their opponents,” he added.

A lot still depends on how big the Pheu Thai victory is in the final count. If it is over 300, the establishment will be in a weak position to even push for a compromise. “We know they have a Plan B in their back pockets to block an amendment of the constitution and an amnesty for Thaksin,” said Chris Baker, an author,

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along with his wife academic Pasuk Phongpaichit, of several books on Thaksin. “If the Pheu Thai get an overwhelming majority in the end, it’s going to be more difficult to face them down,” Baker said of the establishment-Pheu Thai face off.

Thailand has witnessed unprecedented political upheaval over the past half decade, with much of it revolving around the role of Thaksin, a former billionaire telecommunications tycoon who introduced populist politics to the country’s traditional mix of money politics. The two main contenders in the Sunday polls were the incumbent, 65-year-old Democrat Party, which has come to represent the establishment, and the Pheu Thai Party.

The Democrats are now expected to get between 132-152 seats, less than their performance in 2007. “My eyes popped,” said one senior Democrat member, commenting on the exit polls.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, the 46-year-old leader of the Democrats, centred his election campaign on accusing the Pheu Thai of being a vehicle for Thaksin to return to Thailand and retrieve 46.5 billion baht ($1.5 billion) confiscated by the courts after his ouster. Thaksin - who has been living abroad to avoid a prison sentence on conflict of interest charges issued after he was removed from power - has indicated that he would like to return to Thailand by December, for his daughter’s birthday.

Yesterday, in two interviews from his base in Dubai, Thaksin played down his planned return, acknowledging that it would cause problems. “I don’t want to be part of the problem, but part of the solution,” he said. Thaksin designated his youngest sister Yingluck, 44, a former businesswoman with no political experience, as the party’s candidate for premier, referring to her as his “clone”. Now that she seems likely to become Thailand’s first female prime minister, analysts are watching to see how much slack Thaksin’s gives his sister to play a lead role. “I’ll be watching how Thaksin responds,” Thitinan said. “If he talks a lot that’s a bad sign. If the focus is on Yingluck, and she’s given face, maybe she can become an interlocutor with his opponents,” he said. — dpa

Plumbing the conscience of Unabomber’s bro

By Adam Geller

Focus

youth shelter in Albany, New York, married to a woman he had known since seventh grade. Ever since, he has yearned for a day when the public and the media might forget the case and his role in it, when merely offering his last name to a stranger did not raise eyebrows.

Yet, in what he acknowledges as a self-inflicted paradox, David Kaczynski keeps the story out there, recounting it in classrooms and churches, to lawmakers and the families of murder victims.

“What would you have done?” he asks. A few weeks ago, the US Marshal’s Service auctioned Ted Kaczynski’s personal effects to raise money for victims. David Kaczynski was sharing dinner with his wife in an Appleby’s restaurant

think, he wrote about it in his blog. “The goal of the auction is entirely worthy,” David Kaczynski wrote. “If there is no other way to compensate the victims of the Unabomber, then let the auction go forward. I will look away ... and I hope it raises a ton of money. But couldn’t we, to the extent we really care about victims, find a better way?” It is a provocative question, especially given who was asking it.

But it hardly is the first time the question has surfaced.

It is one David has been asking himself ever since Ted’s trial. In the lead-up to the 1998 trial, David and his wife, Linda Patrik, sent letters of apology to as many of Ted’s victims as they could locate. A few of the victims responded, including Gary Wright, owner of a com-

comfort me,” David Kaczynski recalls. “I was probably a bit feeling like a victim myself, and I remember Gary saying, there really are victims out there. This is way more than just about you.”

David Kaczynski is a devout Buddhist and his wife is a professor of philosophy, a combination that places a high household value on personal reflection. The experience of having their names leaked and the subsequent storm of media scrutiny had left them embittered. But after talking with Wright, Kaczynski found a new focus. Soon after, a Connecticut man named Sam Rieger turned on the television in a hotel room while accompanying the family of a murder victim to trial. Rieger, of Waterbury, Connecticut, was pres-

This June 10, 2011 photo shows David Kaczynski in a park near a family member’s home in Wheaton, Illinois. – AP near the couple’s home in Schenectady, New York, when he noticed a headline scrolling across a television overhead. “They’re selling Ted’s stuff,” he told his wife, casting a pall over the remainder of the meal.

A few days later, after time to

puter store in Salt Lake City, Utah, who was gravely injured in 1987 by one of Ted Kaczynski’s bombs.

Later, on the telephone, the two men fumbled for words before realizing how much they had in common. “I was very much struck at the end that he’s really trying to

ident at the time of a support group called Survivors of Homicide; his own daughter, Melanie, was murdered in 1994.

The experience convinced him the judicial system was ill equipped to work with victim’s families and forgot them after trial.

“I turned on the ‘Today’ (television) show and there’s Kaczynski talking about his brother. Then all of a sudden he started talking about his feelings toward his brother’s victims, and it was just so shocking because I’ve never seen that before,” Rieger says. Rieger called David Kaczynski, inviting him to speak to murder victims’ families. Later, when the FBI awarded David $1 million for providing the information that led to Ted’s arrest, he asked Rieger to be part of small panel that decided how to parcel out the money, about $750,000 after attorney’s fees - to victims of the Unabomber. Rieger in turn, asked Kaczynski to speak to the annual victim’s advocacy conference held in his daughter’s memory - and inviting him to his son’s wedding.

“Of course you always find a few (victim’s families) who say why do you want somebody like him to come to the conference,” Rieger says. Kaczynski says watching the government spend millions to prosecute his brother convinced him that the justice system should do far more for crime victims and families, by providing money and support to help them make their lives whole. Since 2001, Kaczynski has headed a group that campaigned to end New York’s use of capital punishment. Since that goal was realized, New Yorkers for Alternative to the Death Penalty has retooled, creating a group to offer support to the families of murder victims and pushing for community-based anti-violence programs, even as it struggles to find the money to continue operating.

And Kaczynski, who is 61, continues recounting his story. On this Thursday, visiting classrooms at Robert R Lazar Middle School as part of its annual “Living Lessons” program, the story’s power to get people thinking is almost immediately clear, even with an audience too young to remember the Unabomber. “Does he still live in a cabin?” one girl in the second-tolast row asks David about Ted, with obvious concern. David Kaczynski nods and smiles. “Oh,” he answers gently, “you’re getting ahead of the story.” - AP

enezuelan President Hugo Chavez makes no secret of his love for the spotlight: he always enjoys a good photo-op or the chance to deliver a long, hopefully amusing speech. And yet recent surgery for cancer appears likely to make him miss the bicentennial of Venezuela’s independence from Spain tomorrow. Days before the key date, there is no indication of when Chavez might return to Caracas, and his condition appears to be at least moderately serious, although Venezuelan authorities stress they are optimistic.

Chavez, 56, has been away from Venezuela for almost a month. He travelled to Brazil on June 5, then visited Ecuador and eventually went to Cuba. The long absence led to persistent rumours about his health, then to doubts about his ability to continue to exercise power, and eventually to concrete steps, including the postponement of a summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States. The meeting was originally scheduled to take place on the Venezuelan tourist island of Margarita on Tuesday, but no new date has been set.

In Cuba, renowned for its good doctors but which also offered Chavez a degree of privacy that he would most likely not have enjoyed at home, he said he hoped to have his left knee evaluated, after an injury that had led him to use a cane on his tour. Chavez said he had always been reluctant to undergo routine checkups and had generally paid little attention to his health, an attitude that he defined as a mistake. He thanked historic Cuban leader Fidel Castro for having spotted that something might be wrong beyond his knee. “He interrogated me almost like a doctor, I confessed almost like a patient,” Chavez recalled.

According to Chavez’s own account, Fidel Castro convinced him to undergo a more exhaustive checkup, which found first a pelvic abscess, leading to a first surgery on June 10, and then the discovery of cancer cells and a second operation.

Communist Cuba has for decades taken immense pride in its doctors, which it has exported to many developing countries to improve care for the poor. Chavez thanked Cuban authorities for having put at his disposal “a legion” of such experts.

Chavez has been missing from the public scene for close to three weeks. When he did reemerge, in a brief video with Castro that was aired Wednesday, he looked a lot thinner, although he appeared to be in a good mood. On Thursday, in his message to the Venezuelan people, two things stood out beyond his weight loss: Chavez uncharacteristically read out his speech and spoke for just 14 minutes. This appears to back up Chavez’s own comments that he is “getting out of the abyss”, although full recovery may yet take a while.

Venezuelan authorities have given no indication of just how long that may be, but they continue to stress that Chavez remains well in charge of the country from a distance.

There has been no formal transfer of power to Vice President Elias Jaua, who has insisted time and again in recent days that the president continues to supervise government activity and is making decisions from Cuba. Experts interpret the constitution as saying that a replacement will need to be appointed if the president is away for more than 90 days.

Chavez’s health problems have unleashed uncertainty beyond his return. He is set to stand for re-election next year, and many point out that cancer may change that. In a heavily personal leadership, however, there is so far no natural heir to the popularity and the votes of the charismatic, outspoken and unorthodox Chavez. The president has done his best to reassure supporters.

“We will live, and we will win: see you upon my return,” he said. And yet doubts persist. — dpa

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MONDAY, JULY 4, 2011

sp orts

Capitals sign Vokoun WASHINGTON: The Washington Capitals signed free agent goaltender Tomas Vokoun to a one-year contract, the team said on Saturday.

The Czech Republic native posted a 22-28-5 record last season with the Florida Panthers with a 2.55 goals-against average and a .922 save percentage.

“I’m very excited to join the Washington Capitals organisation,” Vokoun told reporters of a deal agreed on his 35th birthday.

“It is a terrific team with a lot of talent and I look forward to doing everything I can for us to reach our ultimate goal in winning the Stanley Cup.” Vokoun played in the NHL All-Star Game in 2004 and 2008, and has finished in the top ten in save percentage in five of the last six seasons. “We are excited to add an elite veteran goaltender to the Capitals,” Capitals general manager George McPhee added. “We now have a nice blend of talent, depth, experience and youth in the goaltending position.” In international competition, Vokoun won the World Championship in 2005 and 2010 and won a bronze medal at the 2006 Winter Olympics.—Reuters

ISTANBUL: Turkish police have arrested around 40 people, including the president of top side Fenerbahce as part of an ongoing investigation into match-fixing last season, the Anatolia news agency reported yesterday.

Aziz Yildirim was taken into custody early yesterday along with the club’s vice-president Sekip Mosturoglu. Other top flight clubs were involved in the corruption swoop including Trabzonspor in the northeast, but the club’s vicepresident Nevzat Sakar denied that he had been arrested as reported earlier by Anatolia.

Several footballers were also among those arrested in Ankara

including GenÁlerbirligi striker Serkan Calik and Ankarag¸c¸ goalkeeper Serdar Kulbilge, both Turkish international players.

The agency also said that a police search was underway at the headquarters of FenerbahÁe, the reigning champions of Turkey, who also reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League in 2008.

Arrests linked to the investigation also took place in the central town of Sivas where the president of Sivasspor, M ecnun Odyakmaz was taken in for questioning and at Izmir in the west where the cousin of FenerbahÁe midfielder Emre Belˆzoglu was being held. —AFP

LONDON: England’s Stuart Broad has been fined 50 percent of his match fee for showing “serious dissent” at an umpire’s decision during the second one-day international against Sri Lanka, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said yesterday.

The paceman, England’s Twenty20 captain, made “some unacceptable and offensive remarks” to umpire Billy Bowden as he left the field at the end of the Sri Lankan innings, the statement said. A Broad appeal for an lbw was turned down in the last over of the innings and the remarks were made regarding the decision.

“Accepting an umpire’s decision is an essential feature of cricket and part of the game’s unique spirit,” match referee Alan Hurst was quoted as saying in the statement.

“Stuart’s behaviour was not acceptable in any form of cricket, and as a well-established member of his country’s national side and current captain of the Twenty20 International team, he must take responsibility for what he says and does.” —Reuters

Phillies win, Giants tame Tigers

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

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

American League Eastern Division W L NY Yankees 50 31 Boston 48 34 Tampa Bay 46 37 Toronto 40 44 Baltimore 35 45 Central Division Cleveland 44 37 Detroit 44 40 Chicago White Sox 42 42 Minnesota 35 46 Kansas City 33 50 Western Division Texas 44 40 LA Angels 43 41 Seattle 40 43 Oakland 37 47 National League Eastern Division Philadelphia 53 31 Atlanta 49 35 Washington 42 42 NY Mets 41 42 Florida 37 46 Central Division St. Louis 45 39 Milwaukee 45 39 Pittsburgh 42 41 Cincinnati 42 42 Chicago Cubs 34 50 Houston 29 55 Western Division San Francisco 48 36 Arizona 45 39 Colorado 41 42 San Diego 38 46 LA Dodgers 37 47

Hefty fine for paceman Broad

40 held for match-fixing

PCT .617 .585 .554 .476 .438

GB 2.5 5 11.5 14.5

.543 .524 .500 .432 .398

1.5 3.5 9 12

.524 .512 .482 .440

1 3.5 7

.631 .583 .500 .494 .446

4 11 11.5 15.5

.536 .536 .506 .500 .405 .345

2.5 3 11 16

.571 .536 .494 .452 .440

3 6.5 10 11

DENVER: Kansas City Royals pitcher Tim Collins throws in the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Colorado Rockies. The Rockies won 9-6.—AP

TORONTO: Roy Halladay beat his old team and won his sixth straight decision by guiding the Philadelphia Phillies to a 53 win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday in Major League Baseball interleague action.

Halladay (11-3), who took the mound to a standing ovation from the crowd of 44,078, spent the first 12 years of his career with the Blue Jays before being traded to Philadelphia at the end of 2009.

Chase Utley hit a go-ahead homer for NL East-leading Philadelphia Phillies.

Toronto’s Jose Bautista hit his major league-leading 26th home run before Blue Jays manager John Farrell and reliever Jon Rauch were both ejected in a wild top of the ninth. Luis Perez (1-1) got the loss.

Giants 15, Tigers 3 In Detroit, Pablo Sandoval and Brandon Crawford homered in a five-run first inning and Miguel Tejada had a grand slam in a five-run third as San Francisco crushed Detroit. The game was delayed by a thunderstorm in the third inning for 2 hours, 36 minutes, and it ended after midnight. Giants starter Barry Zito (2-1) pitched six scoreless innings, allowing only one walk. He pitched on short rest and stayed in the game despite the long delay. Rigers starter Max Scherzer (9-4) allowed nine runs and three walks over two-plus innings. The Tigers have given up at least 14 runs three times in the past five games.

Yankees 5, Mets 2 In New York, the Yankees notched a season-best seventh straight win, beating the crosstown Mets in their New York showdown. Yankees starter Bartolo Colon (6-3) pitched six shutout innings in his return from the disabled list. The Yankees touched up Mets rookie pitcher Dillon Gee (8-2) in a four-run sixth.

Eduardo Nunez hit a solo homer in the ninth to make it 5-0. Filling in for injured Derek Jeter at shortstop, Nunez also had a pair of doubles after going 4 for 4 in Friday’s 5-1 victory. Jose Reyes left after two innings with hamstring tightness, taking the starch out of the Mets.

Rays 5, Cardinals 1 In St. Petersburg, Casey Kotchman hit a three-run double and scored on Justin Ruggiano’s homer during a five-run sixth inning that gave Tampa Bay victory over St. Louis. Kotchman’s big two-out hit off Kyle McClellan (6-5) put the Rays ahead 31. Rays starter Jeff Niemann (3-4) allowed one run in six-plus innings. for Tampa Bay. Lance Berkman had put the Cardinals up 1-0 with his 21st homer of the season in the fourth.

Indians 3, Reds 1 In Cincinnati, Michael Brantley’s threerun homer was all Cleveland needed to beat Cincinnati. Indians starter Fausto Carmona fell hard while running out a grounder in the third inning, leaving the game with a strained thigh. Frank Herrmann (1-0) took over and retired nine of the 10 batters he faced. Brantley followed Carmona’s fall with his first homer in nearly a month off Homer Bailey (3-3).

Cleveland is 5-0 against its state rival, one win away from the first sweep in the Ohio interleague series’ history.

Braves 5, Orioles 4 In Atlanta, David Ross hit his second career grand slam as Atlanta extended its

winning streak to five by edging Baltimore. Braves starter Tim Hudson (7-6) pitched six innings and center fielder Jordan Schafer made a couple of nice defensive plays for the Braves. Craig Kimbrel worked around a one-out single in the ninth to earn his 24th save. Orioles starter Jake Arrieta (9-5) pitched five innings, yielding five runs.

Pirates 5, Nationals 3 In Washington, Garrett Jones and Andrew McCutchen hit back-to -back homers in the eighth to help Pittsburgh down Washington in the opening game of their first doubleheader in the nation’s capital since the 19th Century.

Jones and McCutchen took Sean Burnett (3-5) deep to left field, both with two strikes on the count, as the Pirates moved two games over .500 for the eighth time this season. Pirates starter Jose Veras (2-2) got the win and Joel Hanrahan got his 24th save in 24 chances this season, tying the club record for consecutive saves opportunities converted.

D’backs 4, Athletics 2 In Oakland, Chris Young had three hits and four RBIs, including a two-run homer, powering Arizona past Oakland. Joe Saunders (5-7) pitched seven-plus innings for Arizona, yielding two runs while improving to 12-4 in 18 career star ts against Oakland. That’s his most wins against any team.

Willie Bloomquist singled twice and scored for the Diamondbacks. Athletics starter Josh Outman (3-3) allowed seven hits and walked three in six innings.

Marlins 9, Rangers 5 In Arlington, Texas, Hanley Ramirez hit a grand slam and solo shot for a career high-tying five RBIs, helping Florida defeat Texas. Logan Morrison also homered for the Marlins while Steve Cishek pitched 2 2-3 innings for his first big league vic tor y. Florida k nocked out Rangers starter Derek Holland (6-4) with a five-run first.

Brewers 8, Twins 7 In M inneapolis, George Kottaras capped a four-run ninth inning with a goahead RBI single that sent Milwaukee to an unlikely victory over Minnesota.

The Twins collected 13 hits in the first four innings while building a 7-0 lead, but had one hit for the rest of the game.

Minnesota reliever Matt Capps (2-4) surrendered five hits while recording just two outs in the ninth. Brewers reliever Takashi Saito (1-1) got the win and John Axford earned his 21st save as Milwaukee snapped a four-game slide.

Angels 7, Dodgers 1 In Anaheim, Jered Weaver got a measure of payback against Clayton Kershaw six days after an undeserved loss in their previous match, leading the Angels over the Dodgers in the Los Angeles series.

Angels starter Weaver (9-4) won his fourth straight decision over six starts, allowing one run through eight innings with eight strikeouts. Last season’s major league strikeout leader reduced his American League-best ERA to 1.92.

Dodgers star ter Kershaw (8-4) was charged with a season-worst seven runs in six innings. He had 10 strikeouts, reaching double figures in that category in three straight starts for the first time in his career. Vernon Wells homered for the Angels.

DENVER: Colorado Rockies second baseman Mark Ellis (top) forces out Kansas City Royals Alcides Escobar at second base but bobbles the throw to first base during the sixth inning.—AP Sox over the Cub in their all-Chicago Padres 1, Mariners 0 In Seattle, an umpiring miscalculation clash. Humber (8-4) improved to 5-1 with helped San Diego beat Seattle. In the a 2.47 ERA in his past six starts. Matt fifth inning, Cameron Maybin walked Thornton pitched a perfect eighth and after just three balls rather than four, and ninth for his third save in seven chances. came around to score the only run of the Juan Pierre singled in the only run. game on Antonio Gonzalez’s single.

Cubs starter Matt Garza (4-7) yielded No argument on the count was made only four singles in his first complete by any Mariners, perhaps because the game with the Cubs and seventh of his scoreboard showed three balls before career, yet took the loss. Cubs manager Doug Fister (3-9) threw the final pitch to Mike Quade was ejected in the second Maybin. Padres starter Cory Luebke (2-2) inning for arguing a call at second on allowed two hits in six innings and three one of three double plays turned by the relievers each got three outs to complete White Sox in the first three innings. the two-hitter. Heath Bell earned his Rockies 9, Royals 6 24th save in 25 chances.

In Denver, Mark Ellis had three douRed Sox 10, Astros 4 bles in his second game with Colorado, In Houston, Darnell McDonald hit a leading the Rockies over Kansas City. three-run homer as Boston notched a Ellis, Todd Helton and Troy Tulowitzki third straight win, overcoming Houston. each drove in two runs for Colorado, Yamaico Navarro went deep for the first which finished with a season-high nine time while Du s tin Pedroia , Adria n extra-base hits. Helton hit his 543rd douGonzalez and Kevin Youkilis each had ble in the eighth, tying him with Hall of three hits and drove in a run for the Red Famer Tony Gwynn for 24th on the career Sox. Andrew Miller (2-0) yielded two runs in six innings. Houston starter J.A. Happ list. Royals starter Kyle Davies (1-7) lasted (3-10) left with two outs in the seventh just three innings in his first start since M ay 1 6 , as K a ns as Cit y los t its fif th and was charged with five runs. straight. Colorado starter Greg Reynolds White Sox 1, Cubs 0 In Chicago, Phil Humber pitched sev- (3-0) made it through five innings, yielden scoreless innings to steer the White ing eight hits.—AP

Phelps wins 200 freestyle MONTREAL: Michael Phelps led from start to finish to win the 200meter freestyle in 1 minute, 47.46 seconds at the Canada Cup on Saturday.

More than 1,500 spectators turned out to the Olympic Pool, a better than average crowd for a swim meet, to see Phelps dominate his one event. Fellow American Matthew Patton was second in 1:49.87, with Canadian Ryan Cochrane third in 1:50.08.

“I didn’t feel like I could really step on it the first hundred,” said Phelps, the American star who turned 26 on Thursday. “I felt kind of weird.

“I usually have easy speed the first hundred and I tried to step on it and I just didn’t have it. Hopefully it’s something we can fix.” Phelps is scheduled to compete in the 100 butterfly late yesterday.

The meet at one of the world’s

fastest pools is being used as a tuneup for the World Aquatic Championships beginning July 16 in Shanghai, which itself is a test leading into the 2012 Olympics in London. At the worlds, Phelps said he will swim in up to seven events — the 100 and 200 butterfly, the 200 free, the 200 individual medley and as many as three relays. He gave up on the 400 individual medley after the 2008 Beijing Olympics, where he won eight gold medals.

There has been concern this year that he is being caught by his rivals.

He lost the 200 freestyle world record to Paul Biedermann at the 2009 world championships, but the German was wearing one of the speed-boosting polyurethane body suits that have since been banned.

Still, Phelps has struggled. He had not lost in the 200 butterfly since 2002 but was beaten three times this year. “Speed is something

that’s always been pretty easy for me to get,” he said. “I’m trying to get my endurance back, plus get my speed back at the same time.

“That makes things little bit more challenging. I would have liked to swim a little faster than that but there’s nothing I can do about that now. The biggest thing is to try to work on the small things that hopefully will make me go faster in three weeks at the worlds.” He said he has beefed up his training regimen the last two months and is “feeling better in the water.

“I’m focused on things that I want to accomplish. There are time standards I would like to hit before (US team) trials next year to see if I’m really ready. If I’m able to hit them this summer then perfect. If not, then I know where my work is. I feel like I’m heading in a better direction than I was a year ago, or six months ago.”—AP

Michael Phelps in action in this file photo.

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SPORTS

Levet wins French Open

NEWTOWN SQUARE: Bill Haas follows through on the swing after teeing off on the third hole during the third round of the AT&T National golf tournament. —AP

Watney, Fowler share lead NEWTOWN SQUARE: Rickie Fowler made six birdies in his opening 10 holes for a 6under 64 to share the third-round lead with World Golf Championship winner Nick Watney at the AT&T National on Saturday.

For all the hype over the fashionable Fowler, he hasn’t won on the US PGA Tour in 46 starts as a pro. He gave himself a chance at Aronimink with a game so dynamic that he missed two putts inside 10 feet and still shot 30 on the front nine.

Watney did his damage on the back nine and became the third player to break the course record on greens that were surprisingly soft. With a 30-foot eagle putt on the 16th, and a daring wedge to 5 feet on the 17th, he shot 27 on the back nine and finished with a 62.

That broke the record of 63 that Steve Marino had about 20 minutes earlier.

Marino matched the record that Chris Kirk posted about an hour before that. Adam Scott had a 66 and didn’t feel as though he had made up much ground.

“I’m quite happy with a 66, to be honest,” Scott said. “But yeah, it doesn’t really stack up against a 62, does it?” Of the 76 players who teed off on Saturday — Vijay Singh withdrew because of a back injury — 40 of them had rounds in the 60s. The tournament, however, remains wide open going into the final round late yesterday.

Fowler and Watney were at 9-under 201, one shot ahead of 36-hole leader KJ Choi, who started and finished well to compensate for some poor shots in the middle. Choi birdied two of his last three holes, including a 30-foot birdie putt on the 18th, to salvage a 69.

Scott, Marino and Webb Simpson — he had a 64 that was easy to overlook — were two shots behind at 7-under 203, while the group at 204 included Kirk and Charlie Wi, who was going along nicely until he played it safe off the 316-yard 13th tee and wound up four-putting for a double bogey.

Fowler isn’t the only player going for his first win. Marino is regarded as among the best to have never collected a tour trophy, and he and Simpson — also win-

less on tour — could have even more at stake late yesterday.

The leading player among the top five not already eligible will be exempt for the British Open. Marino and Simpson also are battling for a higher ranking to see who will be the top alternate — which becomes more significant with Tiger Woods not expected to compete at Royal St. George’s.

Watney, the highest-ranked player at Aronimink at No. 15 in the world, didn’t expect to be part of the mix when he made a mess of the par-5 ninth hole for his second straight bogey. For some reason, certainly one that Watney couldn’t explain, the hole started looking bigger.

He birdied his next two holes, then played a five-hole span in 6 under. He came up one birdie short of matching the tour’s nine-hole record of 26.

“I guess anything is possible,” Watney said. “But I don’t think you ever expect to shoot that low. You don’t go on to the golf course very often anticipating a 62.”

Mark Russell, a vice president of competition in charge of setting up the course, said the watering pattern didn’t change and attributed the soft conditions to more humidity in the air. It doesn’t figure to change much for the final round, with storms in the forecast. The starting times for yesterday where moved up to try to avoid any weather delays.

Watney’s last win was his biggest — a big drive on the 18th hole of the Blue Monster at Doral for a birdie and a twoshot win, proving to himself that he could deliver key shots under pressure.

Fowler is trying to draw on the experience of being a runner-up. He had two good chances last year, laying up on a par 5 late in his round in Phoenix, then losing a lead at the Memorial when he hit a tee shot into the water on the par-3 12th hole.

“I think the biggest thing is just go out and be patient, not get ahead of myself and not get too excited or anxious, just sit back, relax, go through things the same way tonight and just go have some fun tomorrow,” Fowler said. —AP

Crusaders, Reds continue their remarkable odyssey MELBOURNE: The Canterbury Crusaders’ stunning semi-final upset of the Stormers in Cape Town continued their remarkable odyssey in a tragedytinged Super season, but has set them on a collision course with a Queensland Reds team desperate to write their own fairytale ending.

After Christchurch’s devastating earthquake in February ruined their home base, the Crusaders have been a team of wanderers, playing home matches in remote provincial towns and roaming as far as London to keep their season alive.

Little wonder the seven-times champions were able to shrug off the 11,000 km trip to the South Africa conference champions with Saturday’s emotional 29-10 victory that marked the first semifinal won on the road in over a decade.

The Reds’ 30-13 dismantling of the Auckland Blues on Saturday will mean another long-haul flight back to the Antipodes to prepare for the final in Brisbane.

As some 45,000 ecstatic fans who witnessed the Reds’ imperious win over the Blues would attest to, Lang Park has been a house of pain for visiting teams, with only the ACT Brumbies able to break their home dominance this year.

The Crusaders also suffered heartbreak at the Brisbane ground, going down 17-16 in a furious match decided by a last-minute penalty kick by the Reds’ marauding flyhalf Quade Cooper.

That clash, regarded by many as the

most thrilling of the season, was witnessed by a record Super rugby crowd at the ground of 50,000, and organisers expect that to be smashed for Saturday’s final.

For Crusaders captain Richie McCaw, the final is rich reward for a side that has remained unbowed in the face of adversity.

“You get a choice-you can use (travel) as an excuse or you can decide not to,” the All Blacks skipper said after the victory at Newlands.

“I’m really proud of the way the guys all year haven’t used travel as an excuse.

We made a decision when all the carnage happened at home we wanted to stand up for the people at home and what the Crusaders meant.”

One blip from the victory in Cape Town was Andy Ellis coming off after taking a knock. Should the scrumhalf fail to recover for the final, Willi Heinz would be expected to fly over from Christchurch for the game.

The Reds, blighted by injuries in the second half of the season, had few such worries going into Saturday’s semi-final and were heartened by the performance of their big guns.

Flanker Beau Robinson, rampaging back Digby Ioane and outside centre Anthony Faingaa all turned in solid performances after coming back from injury, while fleet-footed winger Rod Davies scored a hat-trick of brilliant tries in just his second game back from a hamstring strain. —Reuters

VERSAILLES: Thomas Levet of France fired a final round of 70 to pull off an upset home win in the French Open at Le Golf National here yesterday.

Levet’s seven-under par total of 277 left him one stroke clear of Thorbjorn Olesen of Denmark and Mark Foster of England. It was 42-year- old Levet ’s fifth European Tour title and his first since he took the 2009 Spanish Open.

But, emotionally for him, it was the first time he had won his home Open, 25 years after he first played on the French Golf Federation’s flagship course outside of Versailles, which was recently awarded the right to host the 2018 Ryder Cup. He becomes the second French winner of the tournament after Jean-FranÁois Remesy, who triumphed in 2004 and 2005.

It also ensures the Ryder Cup player of a berth in next month’s British Open at Royal St George’s in southeast England despite his lowly world ranking of 352.

Joint overnight leaders Mark Foster and James Morrison of England made different starts with Morrison falling away badly and Foster holding firm by parring his first 11 holes.

Ahead of them, the field bunched up with Levet, Scotland’s Richie Ramsay and world No.4 Martin Kaymer all moving into contention.

Levet opened with a birdie,

PARIS: Thomas Levet of France holds up his trophy after winning the French Golf Open, at the Golf National in Saint Quentin en Yvelines. —AP but bogeyed the next two holes before bouncing back with birdies at the fourth and sixth holes.

With the course playing the hardest it had all week, Levet ran off seven pars in a row before a birdie on the 14th moved him clear.

Foster, meanwhile, led for most of the final day, but a double bogey at the 12th — where

he came up short of the green before chipping off the side of it — and another dropped shot at 13 left him with ground to make up and he was unable to drain a 20-foot birdie attempt on the 18th green.

Olesen, the 22-year-old Dane, who finished second at the BMW Italian Open last month, also had a chance to force a play-off with Levet, but he missed a par putt

of around three feet at the last.

Kaymer eventually settled for fourth place, three strokes off the lead, after a closing 73, but that was still enough to ensure he reclaims the World No.3 ranking he lost last week to US Open champion Rory McIlroy.

Ramsay was fifth a fur ther stroke back, and level with Simon Kahn of England, after also closing with a 73. —AFP

Ragan bags Sprint Cup race DAYTONA BEACH: David Ragan earned his first NASCAR Sprint Cup win in his 163rd start on Saturday, taking victory at Daytona and partially making up for the biggest mistake of his young career.

Ragan could have won the season-opening Daytona 500 when he lined up as the leader on a late restart, but was penalized for passing too early, and the potential lifechanging victory instead went to Trevor Bayne.

move on,” Ragan said in Victory Lane.

“I can’t thank my spotter and my crew chief and my team enough. They really humbled me and kept me focused.” The 25-yearold second-generation NASCAR driver found himself leading the pack Saturday for the final two laps, but worried he’d blow it again.

He didn’t, thanks in large part to teammate Matt Kenseth, who was committed to helping his teammate to the finish. And he didn’t need a reminder to stay in his lane on

DAYTONA BEACH: David Ragan (center) celebrates with his team in the victory lane after winning the Coke Zero 400 NASCAR auto race. —AP Now Ragan has his own win at Daytona International Speedway, albeit in the lesser of the races at the famous Florida track. That made little difference to the 25-year-old second-generation NASCAR driver. “Everybody kept talking about (the Daytona 500), and I just tried to take the positive from it and

the restart — the mistake that cost him the Daytona 500.

With the win, Ragan could be in contention for a berth in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship. Ragan jumped to 17th in the standings, and two spots in the Chase will go to the two drivers ranked between 11 and

20 with the most wins.

It could also save the relationship with sponsor UPS, which is in the final year of its contract with RFR. The team learned this week that Crown Royal will not return as primary sponsor for Kenseth, and so far the organization has only one of its four primary sponsors resigned for 2012.

“David has a great future ahead of him and we look forward to many more trips to victory lane with him,” Ron Rogowski, UPS vice president of sponsorship and events, said in a statement immediately after the race.

Kenseth finished second to give RFR a 1-2 sweep for Ford.

Joey Logano, who won his first Daytona race Friday with a Nationwide Series victory, finished third in a Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing.

Kasey Kahne was fourth in a Toyota for Red Bull Racing and Kyle Busch was fifth for JGR. Jeff Gordon made a terrific late-race save to avoid a race-ending wreck and finished sixth in a Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports.

Kevin Harvick was seventh for Richard Childress Racing and claimed the series points lead after an early accident caused previous leader Carl Edwards to finish 37th.

Paul Menard was eighth, while Juan Pablo Montoya and AJ Allmendinger rounded out the top 10. The race was, as expected, more of the two-car tandem style that has taken over at Daytona and Talladega, the two restrictorplate tracks in NASCAR. It was fairly tame until the final 20 or so laps, when the racing got dicey. It got downright chaotic with just over two scheduled laps remaining, when Gordon needed a beautiful save to prevent a massive accident. That set up the first attempt at overtime, which ended with a 15-car accident triggered when Mark Martin and Logano went for the same piece of track space.

Then came the second overtime, which ended with Ragan crossing the finish line first as a second 15-car accident broke out in the final turn. —AP

Lorenzo downs Stoner to win Italian MotoGP MUGELLO: Spanish defending champion Jorge Lorenzo, riding a Yamaha, held off a strong Honda challenge to win the Italian MotoGP here yesterday, his second victory of the season.

Fresh from lowering the track record in qualifying at the Mugello circuit on Saturday, Australian Casey Stoner started on pole and led for the opening 17 laps of the 23-lap race.

But with six laps to go, Lorenzo took the lead with a sublime inside pass on Stoner, pinching the inside lane through a steep, downhill chicane with pinpoint deftness.

“I’m so happy,” Lorenzo told the BBC. “Casey was so quick but little by little, lap by lap I managed to catch him. I saw the opportunity (to take Stoner) on the downhill.”

The victory lifts Lorenzo (133 points) to within 19 of leader Stoner (152) in the championship standings.

Stoner was then ambushed by Honda team-mate Andrea Dovizioso on the final lap, and had to be happy with third place on the podium.

“I did everything I could,” said Stoner, who blamed the hotter conditions for playing havoc with his tyre grip that saw him noticeably slow in the latter stages.

“The tyre pressure went up too high and I lost all grip in the rear and you can’t do anything without it. “I tried to keep a consistent pace but it was just too slow.”

Dovizioso was left bouncing by his second place. “To be the first Italian home in Mugello is something special,” he said. “Last year I was third. It’s something not many people in the world can feel.”

There was no fairytale for Italian legend Valentino Rossi, in his first race in front of his home fans since joining Ducati. ‘The Doctor’, who won here nine times during his career, came in sixth place 26.45sec off Lorenzo’s flying pace.

Yamaha’s American, Ben Spies, who won in Assen last weekend to break Stoner’s series of three straight wins, finished fourth.

Marco Simoncelli, racing under a cloud after being at fault for a first-lap collision with Lorenzo at Assen and a crash with Dani

ITALY: Yamaha rider Jorge Lorenzo, of Spain, celebrates on the podium after winning the Italian MotoGP, at the Mugello race circuit. —AP Pedrosa at Le Mans, avoided any mishaps this time around to claim fifth.

Earlier in the day, Spain’s Marc Marquez, on a Suter, won the Moto2 ahead of Germany’s Stefan Bradl on a Kalex and Bradley Smith of Britain on a Tech3.

The Spaniard started on pole but he was pushed all the way by both Bradl and Smith, who briefly held the lead. It was a third win of the season for Marquez who

closed the gap on Bradl at the top of the overall standings.

And Marquez’s compatriot Nicolas Terol, on an Aprilia, wrapped up the 125cc title ahead of Frenchman Johann Zarco on a Derbi and Maverick Vinales of Spain on an Aprilia.

Zarco took the lead halfway through the race but was pipped at the post by the fast-finishing Zarco who tracked him all the way. —AFP

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sp orts

Sluggish Brazil held

GERMANY: Equatorial Guinea’s Carolina (right) goes for the ball followed

by Australia’s Lisa De Vanna during the Group D match.—AP

Australia edge E Guinea to keep WCup bid alive BOCHUM: Australia kept their World Cup dream alive with goals from Leena Khamis, Emily Van Egmond and Lisa De Vanna giving them a crucial 3-2 Group D win over Equatorial Guinea here yesterday.

A double from Guinean captain Anonman could not lift the African debutantes, who crash out of the tournament with one match to play after losing 1-0 to Norway in their opener. The Matildas needed a win to keep in the running for their second consecutive quarter-final showing after losing 1-0 to Brazil. With three points from two games, their future hinges on the outcome of yesterday’s late clash between unbeaten sides Brazil and Norway, and next Wednesday’s final group game against the Scandinavians.

“I’m pleased with the win-it means we’re still in the competition,” said Australian coach Tom Sermanni. “Hopefully we’re in a position to decide our own destiny.”

Described as “unpredictable” by Sermanni, the Australians found it difficult to control the pacy Africans early on, despite Sydney FC forward Khamis opening for the Matildas after eight minutes.

But there was some controversy in the 16th minute when Khamis hit the post and African defender Bruna caught the ball, believing a free-kick had been awarded, dropped it and played on.

The incident was not seen by Hungarian referee Gyoengyi Gaal, who later apologised through FIFA for missing the obvious handball. Anonman got the equaliser after 21 minutes with a spectacular solo run to the delight of the 15,640 crowd. The 22-year-old dispossessed tumbling striker Servet Uzunlar to race towards goal, beating dithering Australian defender Elise Kellond-Knight and then finishing past advancing goalkeeper Lydia Williams.

Van Egmond and Khamis both missed chances, and Australia almost regained the lead two minutes before the break when Colette McCallum’s free-kick from the edge of the box hit the crossbar.

The 11th-ranked Australians came out battling after the break, with 17-year-old Van Egmond getting her first international goal three minutes later before substitute De Vanna slotted home a third after 51 minutes.

The Africans kept pushing and Anonman, who plays for German club Jena, took advantage of another Uzunlar error to fire past Williams after 83 minutes.

“As a team we could have done a bit better,” said player of the match De Vanna. “The refereeing wasn’t the greatest but that’s how the game is. We got the three points and that’s all that matters.”

Sermanni said he had not seen the handball. “The referee can’t be 100 percent right all the time. I didn’t see it, the referee missed it, you just have to move on,” he said.

Equatorial Guinea coach Marcello Frigerio said he was proud of the effort shown by his side, who are ranked just 61st in the world.

“Our country has a very low ranking. We lost 1-0 to Norway and then had a very close defeat today. This is something we can be proud of,” he said.

“We tried to play a good match and leave a good impression.” Controversy has surrounded the team, with Anonman remaining in the squad despite a pre-tournament gender row, while sisters Salimata and Bilguisa Simpore, both accused of being men, were excluded. “We regret very much that some of our important players had to be left at home,” added Frigerio. Australia play Norway next Wednesday in Leverkusen, with Equatorial Guinea challenging Brazil on the same day in Frankfurt.—AFP

LA PLATA: Brazil made a tame entrance into the Copa America yesterday, missing a host of chances in a goalless draw with ultra-minnows Venezuela at the Estadio Unico in La Plata. The five-times world champions had chances - Milan’s Pato notably hitting the woodwork early on. But the longed-for samba football never arrived and it was soon apparent there would be no repeat of the auriverde’s 7-0 thumping of the vinotinto in a 1999 group opener.

Ronaldo, Rivaldo and Ronaldinho accounted for four of the goals that day and the Brazilians had before yesterday also won all five previous meetings between the two nations in the competition, scoring 25 goals for just one conceded. But the baseballloving Venezuelans have come on since then by leaps and bounds and the only South American country never to make it to the World Cup finals even managed a goalless draw in Brazil during the 2010 World Cup qualifiers. Selecao coach Mano Menezes sent out an attack-minded line-up, led by Santos’ precocious talents Neymar and Paulo Henrique Ganso, who arrived at the event fresh from winning the Copa Libertadores.

With Robinho and Pato also to call in up front, Brazil made an early statement of intent. But they did not follow through. Ganso only played in Menezes’ first match in charge - a 2-0 friendly win last August over the United States but is being talked of as a future mainstay in the side.

However, he and his teammates repeatedly ran into cul de sacs against a resolute Venezuelan defence determined not to be cast as pushovers.

Pato made an early foray but failed to bring the ball under control, then

had a header easily claimed by Venezuela keeper Renny Vega before the latter held a shot from the AC Milan forward at the second attempt.

Pato then hit the bar as Brazil continued to be frustrated. Venezuela were not to be outdone and the impressive Tomas Rincon was held up in his tracks when he was set for a clean run on goal as Bolivian referee Raul Orozco elected to stop play for a foul by Thiago Silva ten minutes before the break.

Brazil then were unlucky as Neymar fed Robinho but Oswaldo

Vizcarrondo made a last ditch block almost on the line.

Then Ganso founde Neymar but he missed the target. The Brazilians have their eye firmly on the 2014 World Cup which they will host - yet they are also after their ninth Copa and fifth in the past six editions.

They first won the regional championship in 1919, adding further triumphs in 1922, 1949, 1989, 1997, 1999, 2004 and 2007.

Argentina and Uruguay hold the record with 14 each. The favorites continued to press after the break -

but had a scare on 59 minutes when Salmon Rondon went down after tangling with Silva in the box. But Orozco booked Rondon for simulation.

Menezes rolled the dice on the hour, withdrawing Robinho and sending on Fluminense’s Fred. Yet it was Venezuela who came close next as Juan Arango dragged an effort wide Elano and Lucas Silva came on for the tiring Pato and Ramires with 15 minutes remaining but the resolute Venezuelan defence, in which Roberto Rosales and Vizcarrondo were outstanding, held firm.—AFP

LA PLATA: Brazil’s Robinho (center) is challenged by Venezuela’s Oswaldo Vizcarrondo (right) and Tomas Rincon during a Copa America soccer match.—AP

Samba girls crush Norway WOLFSBURG: Marta scored twice in a 3-0 win over Norway to lead Brazil into the quarterfinals of the women’s World Cup yesterday.

The five-time FIFA world player of the year struck either side of Rosana’s goal in the 46th minute, scoring the opener in the 22nd before putting the game beyond doubt in the 48th.

On a wet and windy evening at the sold-out 26,000 capacity ground, Norway started best before Marta swung the game in the South Americans’ favor with the opening goal. She might have had a hat trick but for a good save from Ingrid Hjelmseth in the 69th.

Norway will play Australia — which beat Equatorial Guinea 3-2 in

Group D’s earlier game — next Wednesday, to decide who progresses along with Brazil.

Both sides found it difficult to create chances with the slippery surface making the wet ball hard to control and Norway’s pressing game not allowing Brazil any time to settle early on. Rosana’s shot failed to trouble Norway goalkeeper Ingrid Hjelmseth in the first minute before Trine Ronning went wide at the other end minutes later.

Fabiana worked herself into a good position but her attempt to play Cristiane through was intercepted by Norway defender Guro Knutsen Mienna in the seventh. With strong challenges coming from both

sides, the Brazilians made a number of uncharacteristic errors. Ester was unable to control a long pass from Marta that bounced over her head out of play.

Norway’s best chances of the first half fell to Madeleine Giske in the 18th, when the 23-year-old’s first goalbound effort was blocked by Aline’s face and her next was straight at Brazil goalkeeper Andreia. A chorus of boos greeted Marta’s opening goal, but referee Kari Seitz saw nothing wrong with her challenge when Nora Holstad Berge fell to the ground as the two jostled for the ball.

The Brazilian carried on and eluded the challenge of Maren Mjelde with a series of stepovers before

shooting low to the right of Hjelmseth. Norway — the better side up to then — appeared deflated, and Marta almost scored directly from a corner six minutes later.

There were no complaints regarding Brazil’s second immediately after the interval. Marta ran at four defenders before spotting Rosana’s run and playing the perfect ball for her teammate’s second goal of the tournament. Cristiane capitalized on a bad mistake from Mjelde to help create Marta’s second two minutes later.

Once the player of the game had the ball, she simply picked her spot past Hjelmseth. Norway pushed hard for a consolation, but Giske’s effort was over the bar late in the game.—AP

Lorenzo downs Stoner to win Italian MotoGP

RAMALLAH: Palestinian Murad Eleyan (left) and Afghanistan’s Israfeel Kohistani challenge for the ball during a soccer match between the Palestinian and Afghanistan national teams. —AP

Palestinian team advance to next round of WCup qualifiers AL-RAM: The Palestinian team advanced to the next round of Asia’s preliminary qualifying for the 2014 World Cup after drawing with Afghanistan 1-1 yesterday and winning 3-1 overall.

The only one of FIFA’s 208 members which is not a UN recognized state, the Palestinians face Thailand in the second preliminary round.

Palestinian defender Hasam Wadi scored in the 11th minute, before Balal Arezou grabbed an equalizer in the 63rd for Afghanistan.

The Palestinian team defeated Afghanistan 2-0 in the first leg of their World Cup qualifier, played in Tajikistan because of the security situation in Afghanistan. The match was the highest profile soccer game on Palestinian territory to date.

“This is the most important game ever in Palestine,” Palestinian Football Federation chief Jibril Rajoub said. Rajoub is a former Palestinian security chief who spent 17 years in Israeli prisons. He left politics in 2006 and was appointed head of the Palestinian Football Federation and Olympic Committee two years later.

The Palestinian team remains a long-shot to make it all the way to the World Cup in Brazil in 2014. Ranked No. 171 in the world

by FIFA — just six spots behind Afghanistan — the Palestinian team needs to make it

through the second preliminary round to be included among the 20 Asian teams entered in the main draw for World Cup qualifying.

Palestinian athletes need Israeli permits for most travel, either to cross Israel from Gaza or to enter or leave the West Bank — a hurdle that has often kept players from key matches.

Israel’s Olympic Committee said it is trying to facilitate greater movement for Palestinian athletes and Israel’s military said it began easing restrictions on Palestinian athletes last year.—AP

Matches on TV (Local Timings)

COPA AMERICAN (Tuesday) Uruguay v Peru Al Jazeera Sport +2 Al Jazeera Sport +3 Al Jazeera Sport 1 HD

1:15

Chile v Mexico Al Jazeera Sport +2 Al Jazeera Sport +3 Al Jazeera Sport 1 HD

3:45

MUGELLO: Spanish defending champion Jorge Lorenzo, riding a Yamaha, held off a strong Honda challenge to win the Italian MotoGP here yesterday, his second victory of the season.

Fresh from lowering the track record in qualifying at the Mugello circuit on Saturday, Australian Casey Stoner started on pole and led for the opening 17 laps of the 23-lap race.

But with six laps to go, Lorenzo took the lead with a sublime inside pass on Stoner, pinching the inside lane through a steep, downhill chicane with pinpoint deftness. “I’m so happy,” Lorenzo told the BBC. “Casey was so quick but little by little, lap by lap I managed to catch him. I saw the opportunity (to take Stoner) on the downhill.”

The victory lifts Lorenzo (133 points) to within 19 of leader Stoner (152) in the championship standings. Stoner was then ambushed by Honda teammate Andrea Dovizioso on the final lap, and had to be happy with third place on the podium.

“I did everything I could,” said Stoner, who blamed the hotter conditions for playing havoc with his tyre grip that saw him noticeably slow in the latter stages.

“The tyre pressure went up too high and I lost all grip in the rear and you can’t do anything without it.

“I tried to keep a consistent pace but it was just too slow.”

Dovizioso was left bouncing by his second place.

“To be the first Italian home in Mugello is something special,” he said. “Last year I was third. It’s something not many people in the world can feel.”

There was no fairytale for Italian legend Valentino Rossi, in his first race in front of his home fans since joining Ducati. ‘The Doctor’, who won here nine times during his career, came in sixth place 26.45sec off Lorenzo’s flying pace.

Yamaha’s American, Ben Spies, who won in Assen last weekend to break Stoner’s series of three straight wins, finished fourth.

Marco Simoncelli, racing under a cloud after being at fault for a first-lap collision with Lorenzo at Assen and a crash with Dani Pedrosa at Le Mans, avoided any mishaps this time around to claim fifth.

Earlier in the day, Spain’s Marc Marquez, on a Suter, won the Moto2 ahead of Germany’s Stefan Bradl on a Kalex and Bradley Smith of Britain on a Tech3. The Spaniard started on pole but he was pushed all the way by both Bradl and Smith, who briefly held the lead. It was a third win of the season for Marquez who closed the gap on Bradl at the top of the overall standings.

And Marquez’s compatriot Nicolas Terol, on an Aprilia, wrapped up the 125cc title ahead of Frenchman Johann Zarco on a Derbi and Maverick Vinales of Spain on an Aprilia. Zarco took the lead halfway through the race but was pipped at the post by the fast-finishing Zarco who tracked him all the way.—AFP

AMSTERDAM: Dutch hockey players celebrate on the podium after winning the final against Argentina during the women’s Champions Trophy hockey final match.—AP

Netherlands win Champions Trophy AMSTERDAM: The Netherlands won the women’s field hockey Champions Trophy 6-5 on penalties here yesterday, after regular time and 15 minutes of extra time failed to break the 3-3 deadlock with Argentina.

Argentina made the final by winning a protest against South Korea’s inclusion in the final, pushing South Korea out of the final and into the bronze medal game against New Zealand. Argentina stunned Netherlands when Carla Rebecchi scored in the first half minute.

Netherlands pressed in the South Americans’ defensive quarter for long periods until Argentina broke out late in the first half to convert two penalty corners.

Luciana Aymar took a rebound off Joyce Sombroek, Netherlands goalkeeper, and made a backstick flick over Sombroek into goal. Daniela Sruoga put Argentina 3-0 ahead three minutes later, a minute before the break.

Maartje Paumen started Netherlands long road back, converting a penalty corner high inside the right post after the hooter for the break. The Maartje Paumen scoring machine continued early in the second, relying on Netherlands high press on Argentina to earn three more penalty corners.

Maartje Paumen converting two penalty corners early in the second half to equal the score at 3-3. The game opened immediately and became free flowing in the midfield as both teams went for the winning goal. Netherlands held more possession as both teams failed to break the deadlock.

Extra time of 15 minutes of golden goal play

also failed to break the deadlock and the match was decided by a penalty shoot out. For the first time at a Champions Trophy, the penalty shoot out took the form of a competition between a player at the 23 metre line having 8 seconds to score or the goalkeeper to prevent a goal.

Willemijn Bos, Eva de Goede, and Maartje Paumen scored for Netherlands and Carlien Dirske van den Heuvel missed her chance to score. Soledad Garcia, and Delfina Marino scored for Argentina and misses were made by Carla Rebecchi, Luciana Aymar and Daniela Sruoga.

As Daniela Sruoga missed her shot, Netherlands team and support staff rushed onto the pitch and celebrated. Carlos Retegui was pleased with the performance of his young team.

“The team has changed a lot since we won the World Cup in Argentina (September 2010) so I am happy that we could get a result with such a young team and that we are still one of the top teams in the world,” Retegui said. Max Caldas, Netherlands coach, admitted Argentina surprised Netherlands early in the game.

“They jumped on us by scoring three goals with the first three chances they had in the game and we found ourselves down 3-0,” Caldas said. “The team remained calm and we worked our way back into the game,” Caldas said. “We made a fantastic game of it for the public,” Caldas added. New Zealand won the bronze medal 3-2 over South Korea for its first Champions Trophy medal. England beat Australia 2-0 to take fifth place and China won 53 over Germany for seventh place.—AFP

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A star is born, another is reborn at Wimbledon WIMBLEDON: Not a bad day’s work for women’s tennis. In new Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, it has a new star. In runnerup Maria Sharapova, it has a star reborn.

And Serena Williams showed on these lawns that she is several steps down the comeback trail, too. So just why, exactly, were so many people so down not so long ago about the state of the women’s game?

Kvitova’s first major title won’t be her last.

She cracks forehands and backhands like Indiana Jones’ whip. Her left-handed serve, particularly when thumped down out wide, is as slippery as snakes in soapsuds for righties like Sharapova to grab hold of. Kvitova showed the same brand of fearlessness that Sharapova wowed Centre Court with as an insouciant 17-year-old champion in 2004.

The wavy-haired blonde from the Czech Republic is the complete tennis package, with the cool-under-pressure poise that allows champions to convert mere opportunities into actual trophies.

“I don’t think this is the only time she’ll win here,” said 18-time major winner Martina Navratilova. “It’s very exciting. A

new star.” Since the Open era began in 1968, most women — two-thirds, to be precise — have lost their first Grand Slam final.

Kvitova, whose previous Grand Slam best was a semifinal here last year, looked at home on the unfamiliar stage.

Nerves and over-hit forehands cost Kvitova her first service game. But those in the crowd who wondered whether she might simply wilt from that point quickly got their answer when Kvitova immediately broke back. Against players who roll over far easier than the ever-gritty Sharapova, the final score could have been 6-1, 6-1, not 6-3, 6-4 — so convincing was Kvitova’s play.

“And serving it out with an ace, now that’s fashion,” said Martina Hingis, the 1997 champion. Sharapova studied the runner’sup trophy with a detached, only half-interested air. “Obviously, I would have wanted that big one,” the Russian said.

Well, perhaps next time. That can be said with more, although not absolute, confidence now. But it would not have been said a year ago. Then, it seemed that the former No. 1 might never recapture the strength

she lost when her right shoulder first started creaking like an ungreased cog in 2007 and then ultimately failed her in 2008.

She had a cortisone shot to get her through the 2007 French Open, where “I basically played without a shoulder,” and anti-inflammatories and 21/2 hours of treatment each day — acupuncture, massage, ice, “you name it, I do it,” she said — at Wimbledon that year.

She went on an 18-match winning streak after winning the 2008 Australian Open. But the shoulder problems returned with a vengeance not long after she lost in the second round of Wimbledon that year, her earliest Grand Slam exit since her first full season on tour in 2003.

She couldn’t play at the Beijing Olympics, nor at the US Open. The medical verdict: not only had she torn the rotator cuff tendon that helps to stabilize the shoulder but had been playing with the injury for months.

From there, it has been a long and winding road back. Ten weeks of shoulder rehab in Arizona with similarly injured baseball pitchers and football quarterbacks didn’t

stop the pain, so she had to have surgery. At that point, many others might have given up.

Not Sharapova. With her semifinal this year at Roland Garros and, now, her second Wimbledon final, she’s undeniably back. For athletes who once felt invincible, injury confronts them with their own vulnerability. It can make confident world beaters more timid.

There is the shock of discovering that while they are sidelined, the sport they once ruled carries on without them and, sometimes, depression for those, like Sharapova, who can’t be sure how quickly they will heal.

“It’s a little terrifying,” said Sean McCann, the head of the US Olympic Committee’s Sport Psychology department. “Some people don’t have the willpower and drive to pull that off.” Willpower is not something Sharapova lacks. “Even among top athletes, it’s a rather unique story — her ability to fight back multiple times from injury,” McCann said. “Impressive.”

But when Williams, a fourth-round loser

here, is back to her best after her 11 months out with a cut foot and blood clots on the lungs, and when absentee Kim Clijsters’ right ankle is better, how will Sharapova fare then? Her serve is still a weakness.

Successive Sharapova double-faults that gifted the sixth game of the first set of Saturday’s final to Kvitova gave the future champion the momentum, too. Billie Jean King said Sharapova has “fought her shoulder and had to change her swing on her serve.” “Her shoulder is so loose, the joint, that she had trouble knowing where the face of the racket is on the back swing,” she said.

“She’s much better now. If you notice she has a shorter, abbreviated — it’s not abbreviated abbreviated — but it’s shorter and doesn’t come back as far on the back part of her swing as it did when she won here when she was 17.” Still, you can be sure that Sharapova will be out working the practice courts as soon as this disappointment wears off. This wasn’t an epic final. It wasn’t a bore, either. Kvitova and women’s tennis were both winners. — AP

Klitschko defeats Haye to keep all belts in the family

LONDON: Sri Lanka’s Dinesh Chandimal hits a ball from England’s Jade Dernbach during their one-day international at Lord’s cricket ground. —AP

Ton-up Chandimal downs England LONDON: Dinesh Chandimal’s unbeaten 105 saw Sri Lanka to a six-wicket win against England in the third one-day international at Lord’s here on Sunday as the tourists took a 2-1 lead in the fivematch series.

Sri Lanka, chasing 247 to win, finished on 249 for four. Chandimal ended the match with 10 balls to spare by striking a four off seamer James Anderson.

The 21-year-old Chandimal’s hundred was his second in just six matches at this level. England’s total of 246 for seven, which featured captain Alastair Cook’s career-best 119, never looked enough.

That score was put into perspective by

a Sri Lankan second-wicket stand of 112 between Chandimal and veteran opener Mahela Jayawardene, who made 79.

Sri Lanka seamers Lasith Malinga and Suranga Lakmal, as well as leg-spinner Jeevan Mendis, all took two wickets each. The series continues with a day/night match at Trent Bridge on Tuesday.

Brief scores England 246-7, 50 overs (A Cook 119) Sri Lanka 249-4, 48.2 overs (D Chandimal 105 no, M Jayawardene 79) Result: Sri Lanka won by six wickets Series: Sri Lanka lead five-match series 21. —AFP

Scoreboard LONDON: Final scoreboard in the third one-day international between England and Sri Lanka at Lord’s here on yesterday: England A. Cook run out (Sangakkara) 119 C. Kieswetter c Lakmal b Malinga 3 J. Trott c Dilshan b Lakmal 2 K. Pietersen c Randiv b Mendis 41 E. Morgan lbw b Mendis 4 I. Bell c Kulasekara b Lakmal 30 T. Bresnan b Malinga 26 S. Broad not out 1 G. Swann not out 11 Extras (b4, w5) 9 Total (7 wkts, 50 overs) 246 Did not bat: J Anderson, J Dernbach Fall of wickets: 1-18 (Kieswetter), 2-30 (Trott), 3-79 (Pietersen), 4-85 (Morgan), 5-157 (Bell), 6-232 (Cook), 7-237 (Bresnan) Bowling: Mathews 1-0-4-0; Malinga 101-54-2 (1w); Kulasekara 10-1-40-0 (3w); Lakmal 10-0-62-2 (1w); Mendis 10-0-402; Randiv 8-0-33-0; Kandamby 1-0-9-0.

Sri Lanka M. J’wardene c Morgan b Dernbach 79 T. Dilshan b Bresnan 3 D. Chandimal not out 105 K. Sangakkara c Morgan b Swann 25 T. Kandamby lbw b Swann 11 A. Mathews not out 1 Extras (lb7, w18) 25 Total (4 wkts, 48.2 overs) 249 Did not bat: J Mendis, N Kulasekera, S Lakmal, S Randiv, L Malinga Fall of wickets: 1-21 (Dilshan), 2-133 (Jayawardene), 3-194 (Sangakkara), 4230 (Kandamby) Bowling: Anderson 9.2-0-55-0 (1w); Bresnan 9-0-48-1; Broad 10-0-52-0 (8w); Dernbach 10-2-55-1 (8w); Swann 10-032-2 (1w).

Result: Sri Lanka won by six wickets Man-of-the-match: Dinesh Chandimal (SRI) Series: Sri Lanka lead five-match series 2-1

HAMBURG: Vladimir Klitschko beat Britain’s David Haye on a unanimous points decision on Saturday to add the WBA heavyweight title to his three other belts and complete his family’s domination of the division.

The Ukrainian, whose lighter and smaller opponent took him the full 12 rounds despite fighting with a broken toe, was declared the winner 117-109, 118-108 and 116-110 by the two American and one South African judges.

While denied the 50th career knockout he had hoped for, Klitschko-now 56-3 — had more than enough reason to celebrate with his brother and WBC champion Vitali.

They now hold the WBA, WBC, WBO, IBF and IBO belts between them and have achieved their lifelong dream of uniting the division in the family.

“I would have loved to celebrate my 50th knockout,” said the youngest of the brothers, at 35, who was taunted publicly by the trash-talking English showman Haye in the build-up to the fight and had promised to punish him. “I am still not okay with his behaviour before the fight,” added the giant ‘Dr Steelhammer’.

“It’s definitely disgraceful to the boxing fans, to the sport of boxing, the way the man behaved himself. I think the fight talked for itself.

“He connected a couple of punches, I wasn’t hurt in any situation in the fight,” added Klitschko, who said Haye had been more cautious than any of the Ukrainian’s previous opponents that the Briton had criticised.

“We have accomplished our dream and unified all of the best belts in the heavy division. I would call us now undisputed heavyweight champions,” he said.

Klitschko aimed and landed far more blows than Haye, who was unable to connect with his famed ‘Hayemaker’ while being picked off by his opponent’s jab.

The 30-year-old Briton, now 25-2 after his first defeat in seven years, explained afterwards that had more to do with the secret injury he was carrying.

“I broke my toe about three weeks ago,” Haye told Sky television, baring his foot in the ring to prove his point. “I didn’t let anyone know that.

“I’ve been giving it local anaesthetics in the gym... that’s why I stopped sparring.

My Hayemaker wasn’t there, I couldn’t push off my right foot to land that shot. It was really frustrating.” Haye said he had considered pulling out of the fight but had refused to let down the considerable British support among the 50,000 strong

HAMBURG: Heavyweight world boxing champion Wladimir Klitschko of the Ukraine celebrates with his belts after winning his heavyweight unification title bout against David Haye of Britain. —AP crowd who made the trip to Germany for their biggest heavyweight fight in nearly a decade.

“There was no way after all the good fans had paid so much money to come over here, I could not pull out,” he said.

Haye had sauntered into the soccer stadium with England’s three lions on his shirt, the Union Jack on his shorts and a knowing grin on his face after keeping the restless crowd waiting for 10 minutes.

Singing along to the tune of ‘Ain’t no stopping us now’, and with former champion and compatriot Lennox Lewis in attendance, Haye was jostled by the crowd as he forced his way to the ring but oozed confidence while his opponent remained stone-faced.

Yet, after all the hype, he could not deliver on a rainy night in Hamburg.

Klitschko, 30 pounds heavier and with a longer reach, dictated the early rounds and used his weight and height to push Haye to the floor repeatedly.

American referee Genaro Rodriguez docked him a point in the seventh round for the offence but then controversially gave Haye a standing count in the 11th after what had looked like another blatant push.

Haye, who had vowed to ‘make the

Weather forces draw in Windies-India Test BRIDGETOWN: The second Test between West Indies and India ended in a draw on Saturday after the fickle weather that had interrupted the match for days finally halted play.

The match was evenly poised and heading towards an unexpected and thrilling finish when play was abandoned in the last session on the fifth and final day because of bad light after rain had delayed the match at a critical time and soaked the outfield.

Set 281 to win after India made a bold declaration at the start of the day, West Indies were 202 for seven when the teams shook hands and stumps were drawn, 79 runs from what would have been a remarkable victory but also just three wickets from losing the series.

“I’m disappointed to some extent, the last session was a well-placed game, it was evenly poised,” said Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

“My plan was ruined because of the rain, we got a couple of wickets that were needed but bad light spoiled the party.”

India, 1-0 up in the three-match series after winning the opening test in Jamaica, declared their second innings closed at 269-6 more than an hour before lunch, setting West Indies a formidable, but not impossible, target in two-and-a-half sessions. The tourists looked the most likely winners when they picked up three early

wickets, forcing West Indies to revert to survival mode, before Darren Bravo and Carlton Baugh took matters into their own hands and threatened to change the momentum of the match. “A draw, we will take that. As long as we didn’t lose today, I’m quite happy,” said West Indies captain Darren Sammy.

“We had a plan, even down to the last 15 overs we were on course but we lost too many wickets. We have to go all out to win and level the test series.”

Bravo made 73 in more than four-anda-half hours at the crease before he fell when the light was fading fast, leaving Baugh unbeaten on 46. Ishant Sharma, India’s impressive fast bowler who was named man of the match, took 4-53 to finish with 10 wickets.

“I can’t forget this kind of bowling, I’ve never done this kind of bowling ever in my career,” Sharma said. “ The wicket had uneven bounce in the first innings so you just had to put it in the right areas.”

India had resumed on 229-3 and added just 40 runs for the loss of three wickets when the normally conservative skipper called his players in on a lively Kensington Oval pitch still offering plenty of pace and bounce.

For the second time in the match Vangipurappu Laxman had fallen short of a century, departing for 87 after making 85 in the first innings. Laxman had batted

patiently to get within reach of a hundred when he got a thick edge to a short ball from Fidel Edwards outside off stump and deflected it to Sammy at second slip.

Edwards captured all three Indian wickets in the day to finish with 5-76, his ninth five-wicket haul in tests. Virat Kohli was also caught by Sammy at second slip for 27 while Dhoni spooned a catch to Chanderpaul at mid-off for five.

Dhoni’s declaration was vindicated when India captured three quick wickets.

Lendl Simmons departed in the fourth over after making a quickfire 14 off 12 balls, featuring three boundaries, when he edged Sharma to Rahul Dravid in the slips cordon.

Then R amnaresh Sar wan, who has scored just 29 runs in the series, made another early exit for eight when he fended a short-pitched delivery from Praveen Kumar to Suresh Raina at third slip.

Adrian Barath struck three fours and a six before he was also caught by Raina at third slip, leaving West Indies reeling at 55-3.

Chanderpaul joined Bravo at the crease and helped to steady the innings with a painstakingly slow 12 off 87 balls before he was given out leg before wicket to spinner Harbhajan Singh although replays indicated the ball was clearly missing the stumps.

Marlon Samuels, who top scored in the

robot malfunction’, kept his gloves contemptuously low for much of the fight and drew blood from Klitschko’s right nostril in the fourth round before himself suffering a cut to the nose in the fifth. The Briton’s punches were too often wild and off target while Klitschko used his left hook and jab to good effect.

“He’s 30-odd pounds heavier than me and hit me with some of his best shots,” said Haye, who reserved judgement on whether he will retire as stated in October.

“I didn’t go down, I wasn’t hurt at any stage. I think I’ve proved that I’m a great fighter,” he said. “He played it smart and kept hitting me with the jab and occasional right hand, all credit to Vladimir.

“He’s a great fighter and I’ve got a lot of respect for him. Everything that was said in the lead up was for him to come and get me, so I had more chances of landing my shots.”

H aye’s m a n a g e r a n d t ra i n e r Ad a m Booth said he had no argument with the outcome, only with the referee. “I’m disg u s t e d w i t h t h e re fe re e,” h e s a i d.

“A b s o l u te l y d i s g u s te d. Co u n te d h i m (Haye) when he got pushed to the canvas instead of saying something... I let my feelings (be) known to him at the end.” —Reuters

Scoreboard Scoreboard at the end 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 229-3) A. Mukund c Baugh b Edwards 48 M. Vijay c Baugh b Rampaul 3 R. Dravid c Sarwan b Edwards 55 V. Laxman c Sammy b Edwards 87 V. Kohli c Sammy b Edwards 27 S. Raina not out 12 M. Dhoni c Chanderpaul b Edwards 5 Harbhajan Singh not out 6 Extras (b-4 lb-9 w-5 nb-8) 26 Total (for six wickets, declared, 102 overs) 269 Did not bat: P. Kumar, I. Sharma, A. Mithun Fall of wickets: 1-26 2-89 3-154 4-232 5-247 6-253 Bowling: F. Edwards 23-4-76-5 (nb-5 w-1), R. Rampaul 28-6-72-1 (nb-2), D. Sammy 248-45-0, D. Bishoo 27-4-63-0 (nb-1). first innings with an unbeaten 78, fell lbw to Sharma for nine, leaving West Indies in deep trouble at 132-5, when Bravo and Baugh came together.

With Bravo holding up an end, allowing Baugh to go after the bowlers, the pair added 69 for the sixth wicket, forcing India to spread the fielders and start saving runs

West Indies second innings A. Barath c raina b Sharma 27 L. Simmons c Dravid b Sharma 14 R. Sarwan c Raina b Kumar 8 D. Bravo c Dhoni b Mithun 73 S. Chanderpaul lbw b Harbhajan Singh12 M. Samuels lbw b Sharma 9 C. Baugh not out 46 D. Sammy lbw b Sharma 0 R. Rampaul not out 0 Extras (b-5 lb-6 nb-2) 13 Total (for seven wickets; 71.3 overs) 202 Did not bat: D. Bishoo, F. Edwards Fall of wickets: 1-18 2-27 3-55 4-109 5-132 6-201 7-202 Bowling P. Kumar 16-6-41-1, I. Sharma 19.3-4-53-4, A. Mithun 13-3-50-1 (nb-2), Harbhajan Singh 19-2-42-1, SK Raina 4-1-50.

Result: Match Drawn. India lead three-test series 1-0.

Man of the match: Ishant Sharma (India) when a shower forced play to be stopped.

There was another delay when the groundsmen were called to repair an area that was still wet and although West Indies lost Bravo, then Sammy for a duck, the light ultimately ruined any chance of a result. The third and final Test starts in Dominica next week. —Reuters

Djokovic stuns Nadal to clinch Wimbledon title MONDAY, JULY 4, 2011

WIMBLEDON: Serbia’s Novak Djokovic (left) and Spain’s Rafael Nadal (right) hold their trophies.—AP

Grass-chewing Djokovic enjoys sweet success LONDON: Bjorn Borg sunk to his knees, Pat Cash clambered up the stands to hug friends and family in the players’ box and Novak Djokovic celebrated his first Wimbledon triumph yesterday by chewing grass. That is grass he uprooted from Centre Court.

Moments after watching Rafa Nadal’s backhand sail long, Djokovic collapsed on to his back as 15,000 fans rose to their feet to salute Serbia’s first Wimbledon singles champion.

For the next minute, Djokovic’s victory celebrations followed a pattern seen many times before on the most famous stage in tennis. He held his arms aloft and tested the limits of his lungs with a long roar into a corner.

As Serbian president Boris Tadic leapt off his seat in the Royal Box and punched the air in delight, Djokovic crouched down, inspected the worn out grass court in front of him.

Then in a scene never before witnessed at Wimbledon, he tore up a tuft of grass and popped it into his mouth, savoring the taste of his triumph. “I felt like an animal. I wanted to see how it tastes. It tastes good,” grinned Djokovic, who is fast gaining a reputation for unusual celebrations after shaving his hair off on court following Serbia’s Davis Cup triumph last December. “It came spontaneously really. I didn’t plan to do it. You know, I didn’t know what to do for my excitement and joy.” With

that one swift action, he had now used all five of his senses to enjoy his victory.

The hollering fans made sure Djokovic could hear his triumph. He could see and touch his success thanks to the gilded Challenge Cup that was finally in his possession.

But that was not enough for Djokovic, who also wanted to smell and taste “the most special day” of his life.

“It’s really hard to describe this in words. It’s the best day of my life, it’s the most special day of my life,” Djokovic, hugging the trophy tightly to his chest, said following his 6-4 6-1 1-6 6-3 win over the man he will leapfrog as world number one today. —Reuters

WIMBLEDON: Novak Djokovic won his first Wimbledon title yesterday, backing up his soon-to-be No. 1 ranking by beating defending champion Rafael Nadal 6-4, 6-1, 1-6, 6-3.

Djokovic, who was already guaranteed to take over the top ranking from the Spaniard today, extended his mastery over Nadal this season with a fifth straight head-to-head victory. Djokovic assured himself of the No. 1 ranking just by reaching the final. He opened the season with 41 straight wins, including the Australian Open title, but his 43-match winning streak dating to December came to an end against Roger Federer in the French Open semifinals.

“I managed to achieve a lifetime goal and I managed to make my dream come true, all in three days’ time,” said Djokovic, who tossed three of his rackets into the crowd before accepting the championship trophy. “It’s just an incredible feeling that I’m never going to forget. This is the best day of my tennis career.” The win over Nadal improved Djokovic’s record in 2011 to 48-1, with five victories coming against the Spaniard in finals — two on hard courts, two on clay and now one on grass. Yesterday’s win was the first grass-court title of his career.

“He played better than me,” said Nadal, the 2008 and ‘10 Wimbledon champion. “For that reason, he is the champion here.” Serbian President Boris Tadic was in the Royal Box along with several former champions to watch the match on Centre Court, and when Nadal sent a backhand long on match point, Djokovic turned to face them and dropped to the turf, laying on his back with his arms spread wide.

“I will definitely come for some more Wimbledons, more Grand Slam trophies. I mean, this is what I’m born for,” Djokovic said.

“I want to be a tennis champion. I want to win more Grand Slams.”

During the match, it was Djokovic’s incredible movement and precise shot placement that gave him the first two sets. His play dipped in the third, but it returned in the fourth to secure him a third Grand Slam title.

“The feelings that I had at that moment, I really don’t know how to describe. Best feeling I had ever on the tennis court,” Djokovic.

“Winning Wimbledon, looking at my box, 20 people, closest people to me in my life being there, supporting me, getting to share that

moment and that experience with them was incredible.”

Djokovic consistently landed shots while taking advantage of any slight miscues from Nadal. The first and biggest of the first set came in the final game, when Djokovic hit a forehand winner down the line. Nadal followed that with a pair of unforced errors, and the second-seeded Serb won the set on the first break point of the match.

Djokovic dominated the second set, breaking Nadal twice while holding serve easily. It wasn’t until the second game of the third set that Nadal finally managed to do something with Djokovic’s serve, breaking for a 2-0 lead when the Serb dumped a backhand into the net.

Nadal broke again and eventually won the set, and the two traded service breaks early in the fourth. But after Djokovic held to 4-3 in the final set with four straight points, Nadal double-faulted for the first time. He lost the next two points and soon was broken again when he sent a backhand long. “He’s doing great. He’s doing a few things fantastic,” Nadal said. “But I had to play better to win, and I didn’t today. I played little bit less aggressive.”

Nadal had won 20 straight matches at the All England Club, including two of the previous three titles. He missed the 2009 tournament because of injury, but was playing in his fifth Wimbledon final in six years.

“For me it’s a dream another time be back in this final,” said Nadal, a 10-time Grand Slam champion. “Today wasn’t possible. I tried my best as always, today one player play better than me. I will try another time next year.”

The loss to Djokovic yesterday was Nadal’s first in a major final to a player other than Federer. “When I won in 2008 for the first time, the emotions was very high so I can imagine how (Novak feels) today,” said Nadal, who lost to Federer in the 2006 and ‘07 finals.

“It’s a special day and another time I congratulate him.” Nadal injured his left foot in a fourth-round win, but painkilling injections helped him roll through the next two rounds and into the final.

“Seriously, I lose because I am playing against the best player of the moment, the best player of the world tomorrow, and I am the second,” Nadal said. “And when you play against these players and they are playing unbelievable, the normal thing is (to) lose.”—AP

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Diesel cars gain traction slowly in US market

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Iran says won’t cut India oil over payment dispute Page 23 MONDAY, JULY 4, 2011

Lagarde makes debut as new IMF chief under intense pressure

Europe struggles with Act II of Greek debt tragedy Page 26

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Euro zone warns Greeks on sovereignty Euro zone signs off on next aid payment to Greece ATHENS: The Greek Parliament is seen behind tear gas during clashes at Athens’ main Syntagma square,. —AP

BRUSSELS/BERLIN: Euro zone finance ministers have approved a 12 billion euro installment of Greece’s bailout, but signaled that the nation must expect significant losses of sovereignty and jobs.

Ministers in the Eurogroup gave the go-ahead for the fifth tranche of Greece’s 110-billion-euro financial rescue agreed last year, and said details of a second aid package for Athens would be finalized by mid-September. But within hours of Saturday ’s decision, Eurogroup chairman Jean-Claude Juncker warned Greeks that help from the EU and International Monetar y Fund would have unpleasant consequences.

“The sovereignty of Greece will be massively limited,” he told Germany’s Focus magazine in the inter view released yesterday, adding that teams of experts from around the euro zone would be heading to Athens.

“One cannot be allowed to insult

the Greeks. But one has to help them. They have said they are ready to accept expertise from the euro zone,” Juncker said.

Greeks are acutely sensitive to any infringement of their sovereignty and any suggestion that foreign “commissars” might become involved in running the country is an incendiary political issue and could trigger more street protests.

After Saturday’s conference call on Saturday, the 17 euro zone ministers agreed the fifth tranche would be paid by July 15, as long as the IMF’s board signed off on the disbursement. The IMF is expected to meet on July 8 to approve it. The payment will allow Greece to avoid the immediate threat of debt default, but the country still needs the second rescue package, which is also expected to total around 110 billion. Between now and then, finance ministers will work on the “precise modalities and scale” of private creditors’ involvement.

Germany hopes this will eventually total around 30 billion euros, with banks voluntarily buying new Greek bonds when old ones they hold mature, meaning Athens would not have to produce cash to repay its creditors immediately.

Juncker also said Greece must privatise on a scale similar to the selloff of East German firms in the 1990s. “For the forthcoming wave of privatisations they will need, for example, a solution based on a model of Germany ’s ‘ Treuhand agency’,” Juncker said, referring to the privatisation agency that sold off 14,000 East German firms between 1990 and 1994.

Bitter experience Greece’s problems with a lack of economic competitiveness are modest compared with those of eastern Germany, which more than 20 years after communism still has high unemployment. Juncker made no explicit reference to job

losses. But any repeat of Germany’s Treuhand experience may prove bitter for Greeks, who are already suffering soaring unemployment as a recession drags into its third year. Treuhand was supposed to sell state property at a profit but closed with a huge deficit and a legacy of bitterness among the legions of workers whose jobs it destroyed. Four million Germans were employed by Treuhandowned companies in 1990 but only about 1.5 million jobs were left by 1994.

The Greek parliament voted on Thursday to set up a privatisation agenc y under austerity plans agreed with the European Union and IMF which have provoked violent protests on the streets of Athens. Athens must sell off 5 billion euros in state assets this year alone or risk missing targets set under its EU/IMF program, which could cut off its funding needed to keep the government running and

avoid a debt default.

“The current package of measures, which Athens has agreed to, will bring a solution to the Greek question,” said Juncker. However, he added that the Greek tax collection system was “not fully functional”. Athens has repeatedly failed to meet budget targets laid down in the first bailout programme, raising the risk that the crisis will spread across the euro zone if unresolved.

“What is crucial now is to implement parliament’s decisions,” Greek Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos said shortly after the Eurogroup decision. The decision gives Athens breathing but concern is growing among EU officials that the strictures being imposed on Greece, including 28 billion euros of austerity measures between now and 2015, are too harsh and could cause longer-term damage. Financial markets still see an 81 percent chance that Greece will eventually default, and German

Rail protesters clash with police in Italy

Islamic finance to grow in the West BRUSSELS: A Belgian academic and economist launched last December a global network of Islamic Finance lawyers to give legal advice in all aspects of Islamic Finance. The project, called Islamic Finance Lawyers (IsFin) is based on macro-economic observations that money today is mainly in the hands of Islamic financing investors, said Laurent Marliere, a professor in marketing and general manager of IsFin. Speaking to the Kuwait news agency, he explained that there are two reasons for this, high price of oil and secondly the ethical issue. “The Islamic banks have not been shaken by the credit crunch because they had no toxic products so they are also very strong,” he said.

“Islamic finance is fast growing area of finance. Islamic finance is new to the western world. It is going to grow. This is an area moving fast,” said Marliere who has written a dozen books on economics and has 20 years experience working with international law firms.Asked how he came to the idea of Islamic finance the Belgian academic replied that he had specific interest in the subject and he did a one-year course on

Islamic finance.

“I felt the gap in the market. There are only about a dozen global law firms that help Islamic investors do their legal expertise,” he explained.

“The most difficult aspect is to find lawyers specialising in Islamic finance in the western world. It is easy to find a specialist in Kuala Lumpur or Dubai but not here,” said the Belgian economist. “If you seek a lawyer for example in Sweden on sukuk (Islamic bond) investment it will be very difficult. But we have a specialized local lawyer who understand the technicality and culture of Islamic finance,” he asserted. He said Islamic investors today are seeking more secure and stable investments so they seek investments in European countries like Sweden France Germany.

In Europe IsFin has 15 large and reputed law firms as members. He gave as an example that their member in Spain, CUATRECASAS, has as their clients the Spanish government and also Kuwaiti banks. Marliere stressed that “this is not an European project. It is a world-wide project. We are now opening up membership for law firms in the Middle East and Asia,

“he said . Asked why the project is based in the Belgian capital he repelled that Brussels is home to many large international law firms.

Ines Wouters, a Brussels-based lawyer specializing in taxes and a partner in IsFin, told KUNA that one of the main obstacles in the development of Islamic finance is the tax issue.”Islamic finance is something new and each country has different landscape related to regulations and taxes so the idea is how to implement in a particular landscape Islamic finance in order to make it effective, “ she said. Wouters said they have organised seminars for law firms on Islamic finance in Brussels with the participation of scholars from the Muslim world and the West. “ The legal environment in Belgium is actually quite friendly and there are real possibilities to develop projects which are Sharia-compatible either for Muslims but also for nonMuslims,” she noted.

There is big demand here in Brussels of Sharia-compatible products and also how to organise business in Shari-compatible way, she added. — KUNA

Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble told Der Spiegel in an interview that Berlin was making preparations for such an eventeven though it does not expect it to happen.

Private financial institutions have held talks with finance ministry and central bank officials in euro zone countries to discuss under what conditions the private sector would be willing to help finance Greece and by how much.

Those discussions continue, with the involvement of the private sector in the next package a must for several euro zone countries as voters grow increasingly opposed to shouldering the burden of bailing out Greece on their own. But private sector involvement must be voluntar y to avoid triggering another downgrade of Greek debt to default status by ratings agencies, a development which could put the whole Greek banking sector at risk. — Reuters

TOKYO: Passengers get off a train at a station in Tokyo, Japan. Business confidence at major Japanese manufacturers tumbled to its lowest level in more than a year as the impact of the earthquake and tsunami became clearer, the central bank said, but it expects improvement later this year. — AP

TURIN: More than 50 people were injured yesterday when protesters opposed to a high-speed train line linking Italy to France threw stones and firecrackers at police during tense clashes in an Alpine valley. Thousands of people joined mainly peaceful marches in the Susa valley, near Turin, to try to prevent the building of a tunnel they say would damage the environment.

At least 46 police officers and five protesters were injured in scuffles close to the construction site, following injuries in similar clashes earlier this week. Police arrested at least five people and used teargas in an attempt to disperse hundreds of protesters near the enclosure, although some managed to breach the site fences. France and Italy signed a deal in 2001 to build the high-speed line and open a more modern, faster transport link between two of Europe’s biggest economies.

Villagers in the valley have strongly opposed the 15-billion-euro ($21.3 billion) project, which is supported by the government and the local administration. The movement opposing high-speed rail has grown beyond the local area, winning support from a range of groups, from anarchists to Catholics. Police said many of the people involved in the clashes yesterday were using the rally as an opportunity for violence and several had come from abroad. — Reuters

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MONDAY, JULY 4, 2011

business Commodity review

Treasury group weekly money market report

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May Pending Home Sales and June ISM Manufacturing Beat Estimates After a negative 11.6percent drop in April, Pending Home Sales rose in May almost three times more than expected to 8.2percent, as falling prices made properties more affordable. Seasonality effect also might have played a role in the number, as families look to relocate in the beginning of the summer season. Although the May figure registered a jump of 8.2percent compared to April, economists are still reiterating the weakness of the market for existing homes in the US, stuck at levels below 2001.

U.S manufacturing Index rose to 55.3 from 53.5 in May, in a sign that the industry is rebounding after shortages of parts and components from Japan. Federal Reserve officials had mentioned last week that the “temporary” restraint on American production will decline, setting the stage for a pickup in the industry and the economy through year’s end.

Heated Discussions over the National Debt Limit Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced that the chamber will cancel its July 4 recess next week in order to force negotiators to reach a deal on the looming debt limit.

Some reports also suggested that President Obama and Senate Democrats are weighing a scaled-back U.S. budget deal that would avert a looming default but force Congress to tackle the issue again before the 2012 elections. The deal would cover the country’s borrowing needs for seven months and include budget savings of roughly $1 trillion to attract the Republican support. Senate Republican Leader McConnell backed the idea of a short-term deal several weeks ago but other Republicans in the House have no appetite for that approach. S&P said it would cut the US credit rating to “selective default” if they miss August 4 payment.

Consumer Confidence dropped in June and Initial Jobless Claims still above expectation Consumer confidence dropped to a seven-month low in June. The index decreased to 58.5 missing the 61.0 economists’ expectation. Unemployment over 9percent, as well as continued deteriorating housing data, have been weighting on consumer sentiment. The percent age of respondents expecting more jobs to become available

t has been a Wild Wild West lately and a difficult few weeks for commodity players, hedgers and producers, with macroeconomic uncertainty prevailing over stock markets, with risk on and risk off on an intra-day basis and speculative positions being stopped out, washed out, reentering, rebuilding, but not panicking. But most of the erratic moves have been caused by external events such as IEA release, USD volatility and not by rock firm underlying fundamentals supporting commodity prices long-term.

A reduction of speculative longs as observed in recent weeks is structurally positive for commodity assets, which still are run by weather developments, geo-political events and the good old supply and demand fundamentals. Also Chinese speculative volumes reduced as Commodity futures trading in China, the largest buyer of copper and soybeans, tumbled 30 percent in the first half as regulators clamped down on speculation and as the central bank mopped up liquidity to ease rising inflation.

Around $7billion was withdrawn from core commodity investments in May, a level of outflow not seen since the financial crisis. Total commodity AUM experienced a massive decline of $26billion to $425billion, the first decline since August 2010 and the largest since the $55billion fall in October 2008. Stay alert Annie and keep some powder dry for continued volatility ahead.

I

Treasury group market report arkets started the week with abundance of negative news. Greece saw massive protests where police clashed with demonstrators, France registered weaker economic data, Greek parliament took the austerity plan to the vote and doubts were raised over the French debt rollover plan. Moreover, the Dutch finance minister did not help by suggesting that they were not sure the additional Greek aid issues could be resolved by Sunday.

Despite all the uncertainties, there were plenty of positive stories. China’s Wen Jiabao noted the country’s interest in buying an appropriate level of debt of European countries if needed. Merkel said China advised they have a massive interest in a stable Euro. Finally, Trichet reiterated Stark’s comments that he is strongly vigilant and German banks have agreed in principle to use a French proposal as a basis for negotiating a private-sector participation in a Greek debt rollover.

After the Greek parliament approval of the austerity measures, equity markets exploded to the upside helped by the appointment of the French minister Christine Lagarde to head the IMF. Lower EU yields also helped the Euro rally to reach a high of 1.4552 on Friday to close the week at 1.4526. EURCHF broke the bearish trend line, on a wave of CHF selling, which drove the CHF to a low of 0.8526 against the Dollar and 1.2316 against the Euro. The Sterling Pound range traded against the USD on expectation that the BOE will not move interest rates during its next meeting, while it reached a 15-month low against the Euro at 0.9083 to end the week at 0.9038. Commodity currencies had a positive week ending on Friday, with AUD the major outperformer, closing near the high of the week at 1.0770 against the dollar.

Gold declined to a six-week low on a positive risk sentiment following Greece’s bailout. The yellow metal closed the week at $1487 and oil ended the week gaining over 4percent to close at $94.94.

Annie get your gun

slumped to 14.20 from 16.7 in May and the proportion expecting their incomes to decline rose the highest since the past August. Initial jobless claims registered a drop to 428,000 in the week ending June 25, missing economists’ expectation. Economists say that the rate of new claims needs to fall below 400,000 to support a sustainable job growth and reduce the unemployment rate. Claims have not come in below that level since the first week of April.

Europe Greece Parliament Approves the Austerity Measures The world started the week focused on the Greek vote over the austerity measures. The Greek parliament passed the medium-term plan with 155 votes in favor, 138 against and 5 present, hence averting a crisis that would have compared the Lehman meltdown to a “tea party”. Greece’s Finance Minister reiterated on Friday his confidence that the country will meet its privatization targets this year and next. He also welcomed the willingness of banks to take part in the bond rollover. Lastly, he restated that the economy would be contracting by 3.9percent in 2011 while unemployment rate would rise to 16-17percent.

Markets look at the ECB decision next Thursday Once the Greece chapter ended, investors immediately turn their attention over the ECB meeting next week expecting the Bank to raise its main refinancing rate by 25bp to 1.50percent on July 7 while keeping corridor rates and liquidity operations unchanged. As the interest rates hike seems to be a done deal, markets will focus on any hint by Trichet regarding the timing of the next move.

The sharp decline in leading economic indicators suggests that future changes in the monetary stance will be more data-dependent. One other point of interest will be the ECB’s assessment of any potential initiative involving the private sector in a second Greek bailout. President Trichet reiterated that the ECB “did not envisage taking part”.

France and Germany Propose a Debt Rollover Solution for Greece France offered a solution for banks to roll over Greek debt for 30 years. Under the French proposal, bondholders can roll their bonds into a 30-year financing plan. The participants would invest a minimum of 90percent, preferably 100percent of the amount they receive in new Greek government bonds with a maturity at issue of 5 years and bearing interest at a rate of 5.5percent, according to the document dated June 24. The draft said the plan was conditional on informal clearance from rating agencies that it would not trigger a downgrade to default or a similar status for existing or new Greek government bonds.

According to Germany finance minister Schaeble’s, German lenders and insurers have agreed to participate in a plan to continue lending to Greece. Many were surprised by the small size of the rollover plan, as 55percent of German holdings mature after 2020. Germany’s financial institutions will contribute 3.2 billion Euros for Greece, the details of which still have to be finalized.

UK Economy Expands at 0.5percent during the First Quarter UK GDP rose by 0.5percent from the fourth quarter, meeting economists’ expectation. Business investment fell 3.2percent, the most since the third quarter of 2009, and construction plunged 3.4percent. “The economic recovery in the U.K. remains fragile” mentioned BOE chief economist Spencer Dale. “In particular, the continuing squeeze on households purchasing power means there is a risk that spending may weaken further.”

UK PMI drops more than estimates U.K Manufacturing growth fell in June. The figure came at 51.3 missing expectation of 52.3. BOE Governor, Mervyn King has mentioned earlier this month that risks to Britain’s recovery justified the decision to keep the interest rate at the record low of 0.5percent.

The Sterling Pound fell to a 15-month low against the Euro adding evidence that the economic recovery is faltering. After few weeks of data below expectation, investors have dropped all possibility of rate hikes by the BOE anytime soon.

Oil news Indian oil demand was at its second highest level ever in May, with diesel demand at a record high buoyed by greater usage in power generation. Japanese demand already shows signs of improvement, with May demand down by just 90 thousand b/d y/y.

Latest weekly DOE data show a fall in US oil inventories led by crude inventories, while June demand softens on the back of poor distillate demand. The surplus of US oil inventories relative to their five-year average has fallen by 4.1 million barrels in the latest data release and now stands at just 27.1 million barrels.

IEA - OPEC 1-1, IEA scores own goal Oil prices recovered strongly this week as advocated by TAT in our Next Week and Trades on the radar for Saxo Bank Trading Advisory clients and now stand above levels at which the SPR was released. August Brent gained $3.6 to $111.65/bbl while the equivalent WTI contract added $1.8 to $94.56/bbl. Indeed, after the initial knee-jerk reaction lower, it does seem to us that the market is finally viewing the IEA stock release with a fair degree of skepticism and even supporting bullish view, with worries about the possible signals it sends beyond the upfront price developments an focusing on the long-term impact. If in the long-term the oil goes back and the release is essentially borrowing oil from the future, it will have done little to alleviate market tightness for the future. Moreover, if this is viewed as OPEC being unable to meet current demand through its capacity usage or even worse if output is reduced as consumer governments take on the role of the marginal supplier, the negative impact on prices will be extremely short-lived and even positive....short term gain, long term pain!

Natural Gas: Watch the air-conditioners US natural gas prices gained on the week as warmer temperatures approaching supported the market. August contract is trading virtually flat to July, expired and gained from 4.20 to 4.36 during the wobbly week. The approach of warmer temperatures has overcome what still appears to be bearish sentiment in the marketplace. Enthusiasm could be short-lived as EIA-914 and Natural Gas Monthly data released yesterday showed mixed news, tending to be bearish and market to stay in secular range 4.10-4.75 in Q3 2011.

EIA-914: The increase in supply roughly matched that predicted by more contemporaneous pipeline flow data, meaning the market was not necessarily caught off guard by the robust production increase reported. On a y/y basis, production is running well ahead of last year by 4.6 Bcf/d, led by growth in Louisiana. The success of shale gas, in particular from the Haynesville and Marcellus, in boosting these volumes is profound.

Carbon bungee jumped European Union carbon permits fell 20 percent in June, the most since January 2009 as regulators set rules that will prompt more supply and potentially trim demand. The EU plans to sell at least 300 million tons of allowances starting this year and running through 2012, boosting supply. They will be the first sales for the phase than begins in 2013 and ends in 2020. Trading in allowances jumped to a record this

month on ICE as prices plunged to their lowest in more than two years. This week, Carbon regained some strength and trading low 2010 levels which seems low considering the global industrial pick-up.

Precious metals maybe not so precious.

Silver spec’s are out, but investors remain long Silver Silver ETP holdings continue to dwindle, with June set to mark the third consecutive month of outflows also emphasized by recent reduced CFTC data showing only minor longs left in Silver futures.

Gold Gold buckled under the weight of growing investor appetite for risk on Thursday after Greece looked increasingly likely to push through austerity measures, which offset the potentially bullish impact of a weaker dollar.

The price of gold is on course for an eleventh consecutive quarterly gain during the second three months of 2011, so Gold is losing steam as safe haven status and inflation hedge excuses are evaporating. The battle for 1500 continues.

PGM Platinum and Palladium however received supporting news over the cause of the week with risk of political impact from nationalization of South African mines, whilst global car sales data is showing signs of life with Japan picking up again after March disaster, all in all very supportive for PGM. Agriculture - Cliffhanger Corn extended its biggest monthly loss since October 2008 and wheat tumbled to the lowest level in almost a year after the U.S. reported acreage and inventories that topped analyst’s estimates. The USDA surprised the market yesterday and caught investors completely off guard with limit down on corn and wheat contracts on fund selling and stop losses. However, questions remain as to exactly how much of the recent Midwest flooding was captured in the acreage survey, which was conducted in early June. But all in all higher acreage and higher stocks than expected caused 7% selloff in both grains whilst soybeans enjoyed “safe haven” status after figures met expectations.

The massive flooding will likely cause huge revisions of just released data which will be price supportive and recent sell-off is finally taking the heat of food prices and inflation, whilst underlying demand fundamentals are improving rapidly.

Inventories were also reported higher than expected but stocks to use ratios remains almost all time low, so reaction seems overdone. Corn stocks to use ratio is currently below 5%, whilst wheat stocks around 21% of global annual consumption. Corn cannot afford one single weather event and Apollo 13 will take off again.

Rice, our top pick, however raced limit up the daily 50c to 15.05 as USDA slashed its plantings estimate and the impact from Mississippi River flooding has submerged fields whilst the weather has either been too hot or too dry.

Don’t keep your powder dry, start shooting as grain prices are back to Q2 2010 levels pre global weather hiccup.

Wheat prices: Cotton down, Benetton up!

U.S. farmers seeded 9.2 percent more cotton than forecast in March, exceeding estimates by analysts, after prices surged to a record this year according to USDA data. Cotton fell to a seven-month as more orders were canceled from the U.S., the world’s top exporters, and a report showed planting topped estimates Sugar lifted by rain The strongest gainer was sugar, with the front month peaking 8% higher and closing only just 1% higher on the week. Sugar prices have gained on logistical delays at Thai ports and a weak start to Brazil’s harvest. Indeed, also Unica released latest sugarcane production statistics from Brazil’s centre-south which highlighted the wide lag in current crushing compared to year-ago levels.

Global Sugar Organisation Unica said rains in southeastern Brazil slowed harvesting in the first half of June. Rainfall also watered down the cane that was collected, contributing to a 2% decline in recoverable sugar content per ton and a 3.3% decline in ethanol yield..

The global sugar balance remains extremely tight, hence front month old crop will remains extremely volatile for the reminder of the year 2011, with risk clearly to the upside for front contracts whilst deferred remains under pressure.

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 .4370000 .3190000 .2820000 .2920000 .2920000 .0040000 .0020000 .0741440 .7223650 .3810000 .0700000 .7081460 .0040000 .0430000 CUSTOMER TRANSFER RATES .2731000 .4390490 .3966780 .3218620 .2849240 .0531500 .0435570 .2943470 .0350960 .2226300 .0033780 .0000000 .0000000 .0000000 .0000000 .0743840 .7245950 .0000000 .0728460 .7095350 .0000000

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

.2760000 .4480000 .4040000 .3330000 .2930000 .3030000 .0072500 .0035000 .0748890 .7296250 .4010000 .0770000 .7152630 .0072000 .0530000 .2752000 .4424250 .3997280 .3243370 .2871150 .0535590 .0438920 .2966110 .0353660 .2243420 .0034040 .0062120 .0025200 .0032150 .0037320 .0749560 .7301670 .3892500 .0734060 .7149910 .0064000

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 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 GOLD 20 Gram 10 Gram 5 Gram

277.000 140.000 72.000

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 299.200 729.660 3.910 269.900 538.900 36.500 54.500 167.800 48.120 402.400 35.940 6.310

SELL DRAFT 297.700 729.660 3.678 288.400

225.100 46.037 400.900 35.790 6.160

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

0.033 0.239 0.239 3.490 389.520 0.186 93.730 47.300 4.310 231.300 1.860 52.500 712.630 3.290 6.530 75.900 73.250 225.100 43.490 2.639 444.800 45.900 327.900 5.500 9.340 198.263 74.800 274.700 1.200

10 Tola

GOLD 1,543.080

Sterling Pound US Dollar

0.033

387.770 0.185 93.730 3.870 229.800

6.157 3.208 3.693 6.339 674.672 3.519 9.058 5.783 3.924

Kuwait Bahrain Intl Exchange Co. 712.450 3.200 6.360 75.470 73.250 225.100 43.490 2.502 442.800 326.400 5.500 9.130 74.700 274.300

Currency

Rate per 1000 (Tran)

US Dollar Pak Rupees Indian Rupees Sri Lankan Rupees Bangladesh Taka Philippines Peso UAE Dirhams Saudi Riyals Bahraini Dinars Egyptian Pounds Pound Sterling Indonesian Rupiah Nepali rupee Yemeni Riyal Jordanian Dinars Syrian Pounds Euro Canadian Dollars

TRAVELLER’S CHEQUE 442.800 274.300

274.300 3.205 6.165 2.515 3.690 6.360 74.785 73.350 729.300 45.975 447.400 0.00003280 3.910 1.550 389.700 5.750 404.000 293.100

Al Mulla Exchange

Dollarco Exchange Co. Ltd 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

Indian Rupees Pakistani Rupees Bangladesh Taka Philippines Pesso Cyprus pound Japanese Yen Thai Bhat Syrian Pound Nepalese 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

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

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 *Rates are subject to change

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MONDAY, JULY 4, 2011

BUSINESS

Panasonic launches new LUMIX DMC-GF3 World’s smallest and lightest digital camera DUBAI: Panasonic has launched the LUMIX DMC-GH3, the latest member of the New Generation System Cameras for the Middle East market, it was announced yesterday.

The DMC-GF3 weighs only 222g and is the world’s smallest and lightest digital interchangeable lens camera with a built-in flash.

The new DMC-GF3 boasts high image quality with the enhanced Venus Engine FHD and the 12.1-megapixel Live MOS sensor.

Notably, images to be shot in low-lit situations at high ISO sensitivity setting is stunningly clear with highly sharp resolution.

“Professional photographers and average user alike will appreciate the DMC-GH3, which comes armed with an array o features that make taking pictures and recording videos easy and fun,” commented Hitesh

Ojha, Senior Manager, Sales and Marketing AV Categories, Panasonic Marketing Middle East FZE. High-speed, precision Contrast AF system of LUMIX G Micro System realizes world’s fastest level of approx. 0.18 second.

With the combination of touch-control shooting, focusing is ever more quick and accurate thanks to the newly adopted Pinpoint AF. Furthermore, consecutive shooting is also improved for 3.8 fps in full resolution thanks to the redesigned shutter in the new mount unit. The DMC-GF3 records 1920 x 1080 full-HD video in AVCHD format which is superior in both compression efficiency and friendliness with AV equipment for playback. Advanced AF system including practical full-time AF and tracking AF is available in video recording

so that every user can enjoy high quality video recording with maximum ease.

1. Stunningly Slim, Compact Design Even Fits in a Pocket When compared to its predecessor the

GF2, the DMC-GF3 is approx. 16.7% (approx.

35cc) smaller in size and 16.2% (approx. 43g) lighter in weight and comes in a variety of stylish colors - black, white, red, brown and pink.

2. Comfortable Operation in Optimal Design Despite its outstanding compactness, the operation on DMC-GF3 is smooth and easy with optimum layout of control buttons and the newly adopted control dials and touch screen.

3. 1920 x 1080 Full HD High Quality Video Recording The GF3 records not only high quality photo but also stunning video. A dedicated button lets the user instantly start recording full HD videos while shooting photos without

Iran says won’t cut India oil over payment dispute Iran supplies some 12 percent of India’s oil imports TEHRAN: Iran will not cut oil supplies to India despite warning refiners it could do so if months of unpaid bills are not settled soon, the Iranian Oil Ministry’s news website SHANA said yesterday. “A warning has been sent to those refineries that are debtors, but sending such a letter does not mean Iran’s oil exports have been cut, and we have no intention to cut our exports to the Indian market,” SHANA quoted Mohsen Ghamsari, head of international affairs at the National Iranian Oil Co. (NIOC), as saying.

In a letter to Indian refiners dated India is absolutely wrong,” SHANA June 27, Iran threatened to halt oil quoted him as saying. The semi-offisupplies in August unless the prob- cial Fars news agency quoted lem was resolved, sources at the Ghalebani as denying any formal refiners and NIOC told Reuters on warning letter had been sent. “At Friday. India owes Iran $2 billion for bilateral talks, serious warnings were BERLIN: Germany is ready to sell the Left party said they would oil imports in recent months due to given to the Indian side about the more than 200 Leopard tanks to condemn the weapons sale to the payments dispute related to US possibility of halting Iran’s oil exports Saudi Arabia in a multi-billion Saudi Arabia if it were conmoves to isolate Iran, which to India if a solution is not found to euro deal after the governmentís firmed, pointing out it would be Washington suspects of seeking settle its debts. security council gave its stamp of a violation of restrictions on “However, so far no official letter nuclear weapons. Tehran denies the approval last week, Der Spiegel arms exports. The tanks are charge. The payments impasse was from the NIOC has been handed to made by Krauss-Maffei magazine reported yesterday. triggered in December when the the Indian side in this regard,” he said, A government spokesman Wegmann and Rheinmetall.

Reserve Bank of India ended a according to Fars. The Oil Ministry declined to comment on the Der Spiegel said Saudi Arabia regional clearing mechanism under was not immediately able to answer report that said Saudi Arabia has long sought the Leopard Reuters’ questions on the status of US pressure. was interested in acquiring tanks from Germany but the Another NIOC official, Deputy Oil the warning. SHANA said Ghamsari more than 200 2A7+ tanks, say- country had repeatedly turned Minister Ahmad Ghalebani, said that was optimistic about talks with India. ing the government provided down the requests, citing a danalthough some news reports had “The talks with the Indians are still no information on security ger to Israel. The report said the said Iran had already cut its exports under way, and considering our council decisions or individual government no longer considto India, it was not true. “Iran’s crude country’s good relations with India, ered Saudi Arabia a threat for export deals. exports to India are continuing, and we are hopeful that this problem Israel. —Reuters The opposition Greens and the news reported in some media gets solved as soon as possible.” — that Iran has cut its crude exports to Reuters

Germany ready to sell Saudi 200 tanks: Spiegel

having to make any extra settings.

4. Advanced iA (Intelligent Auto) mode for More Creative Freedom - iA Plus The DMC-GF3 has advanced functions that will satisfy experienced photographers, yet is easy enough for beginners of interchangeable lens camera to use comfortably in both photo and video recording with the iA (Intelligent Auto).

5. Rich Options for Further Expandability The LUMIX DMC-GF3 can use any interchangeable lens that complies with the Four Thirds System standard via an optional mount adaptor for the unlimited number of lens properties. The LUMIX DMC-GF3 system camera offers a wide variety of options to choose from to match every shooting situation and shooting style.

KFH offers 21 ATM machines at Citizens’ Service Centers at Ministry of Interior KUWAIT: Acting AGM for Banking Sector at Kuwait Finance House (KFH) Nedal Ameen announced that KFH will offer 21 ATM machines to be installed at service center in the Ministry of Interior, in order to cater to the public, since cash is required to complete procedures. He added that KFH realizes the importance of those heavily visited centers that can be found in all areas in Kuwait, which prompted KFH to offer them ATM machines. He went on to say that KFH had offered the ministry 16 ATM machines in the Traffic and Immigrations Departments, and mentioned that KFH and the ministry are working together to cover the remaining service centers.

Moreover, he stressed that this initiative comes as part of KFH’s plan to spread geographically to serve all clients wherever they are, in addition to its paradigm expansion through improving quality of service and innovation. He stated that KFH is willing to cooperate with all governmental and private authorities to offer them banking services. He highlighted the importance of collective efforts to improve level of service, and asserted

Nedal Ameen that KFH will continue being innovative and present in all pivotal locations to meet the growing demands of clients.

Ameen thanked the ministry for its trust in KFH and for its willingness to cooperate to serve citizens.

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business

KSE at its lowest level since July 2010 GLOBAL DAILY MARKET REPORT Market Commentary The bearish tone from the previous week carried into yesterday’s session, with negative sentiments highlighting the trading. The losses drove KSE to its lowest level since July 20, 2010. No news was out to explain the retreat.

The retreat was broad-based with six out of the eight sectors ending on a negative note.

While the remaining sectors closed flat.

KUWAIT: Commercial Bank of Kuwait held the Al Najma Account draw yesterday. The draw was held under the super vision of the Ministry of Commerce & Industry represented by M r. Abdulaziz Ashkanani.

The winners of the Al Najma Daily Draw are: Hassan Mahmoud M ohammed AbdulMuneam, Badriya AbdulWahab Abbas Khorshed, Bader Hassan Hawalli Mansour Al-Enzi and Zeyad Salman NasrAldeen, who each won 7000 KD. The Commercial Bank of Kuwait announces the biggest daily draw in Kuwait with the launch of the new Najma account. Customers of the bank can now enjoy a KD 7,000 daily prize which is the highest in the country and another 4 mega prizes during the year worth KD

Market Indices Global General Index, market weighted, ended the day down by 1.07 percent, at 190.13 point. Market Capitalization was down for the day at KD31.06billion. On the other hand, KSE Price Index closed at 6,172.9 point, shedding 38.80 points (0.62 percent) to its previous close.

Market Breadth During the session, 91 companies were traded. Market breadth was skewed towards decliners as 55 equities retreated versus 14 that advanced.

Daily Trading Activity Trading activity was down this session.

Total volume traded was down by 14.61 percent with 72.27million shares changing hands at a total value of KD13.99million (13.22 percent lower compared to the day before). The real estate sector was the volume leader today, accounting for 27.26 percent of total shares. The banking sector was the value leader, with 33.59 percent of total traded value. Kuwait Remal Real Estate Company was the most active in terms of values traded during yesterday’s session, with 7.30million shares exchanged at an aggregate value of KD2.33million.

Top Gainers and Biggest Decliners In terms of top gainers, Real Estate Trade Center Co. took the top spot for the day, adding 6.94 percent and closed at KD0.077.

On the other hand, Arab Insurance Group (ARIG) shed 13.16 percent and closed at KD0.132, making it the biggest decliner in the market.

Sectors Wise Out of the six retreating sectors, Real estate stocks paced the losses, with their index dropping by 1.58 percent. First Dubai For Real

Al-Tijari announces Al-Najma winners

Estate Development Company was the major decliner within the sector, slipping by 7.14 percent during the day and closed at KD0.026.

On the other hand, Injazzat Real Estate Development Company reported a 5.32 percent climb, on a solitary trade. The scrip managed to take its place in the top gainers list for the day.

Non-Kuwaiti stocks too were notable decliners. The sector as a whole, presented through the Global Non-Kuwaiti Index, succumbed to the selling pressure, releasing 1.50 percent of its value. Sharjah Cement & Industrial Development Company saw its share value decrease by 1.82 percent.

Telecom giant, Zain Company was a notable decliner, down 1.92 percent and closed at KD1.020. Agility followed with a 1.52 percent drop. The Services index pulled back 1.30 percent by end of yesterday’s session. It is worth mentioning that, Agility’s shareholders canceled the suggested 25 percent capital hike in the AGM held during yesterday’s session. The Financial sector heavily weighted on the market, with a 0.92 percent drop in the

Banking index and a 1.34 percent retreat in the Investment Index. Elsewhere, ALAFCO Aviation Lease and Finance Company has inked an agreement with Thai Airways to lease six Airbus A350-900 XWB aircraft for 12 years of delivery date in 2017. The aircraft value amounts to $1.6billion. The monthly rental charges are 1 percent of the plane’s value. The scrip closed flat at KD0.345.

Corporate News Kuwait Financing & Investment Co. (KFIC) obtained an initial approval from most lenders on its debt restructuring plan. The company is also negotiating with the remaining creditors. A well-informed source at Burgan Bank stated that the lender will not set aside additional provisions in Q2-11 on the back of steep market declines.

Oil News The price of OPEC basket of twelve crudes stood at $107.50 a barrel on Thursday, compared with $106.19 the previous day, according to OPEC Secretariat calculations.

100,000 each on different occasions: The National Day, Eid Al Fitr, Eid Al Adha and on the 19th of June which is the date of the bank’s establishment.

With a minimum balance of KD 500, customers will be eligible for the daily draw provided that the money is in the account one week prior to the daily draw or 2 months prior to the mega draw. In addition, for each KD 25 a customer can get one chance for winning instead of KD 50.

Commercial Bank of Kuwait takes this opportunity to congratulate all lucky winners and also ex tends appreciation to the M inistr y of Commerce and Industry for their effective supervision of the draws which were conducted in an orderly and organized manner.

Egypt’s Olympic sees Electrolux deal in 30 days CAIRO: Egyptian appliance maker Olympic Group said yesterday it was extending the timetable for completion of a takeover of the company by Sweden’s Electrolux by 30 days. “On the evening of June 30, 2011, a new amendment was signed to the memorandum of understanding, entailing an extension of the time to complete the deal by 30 days,” Olympic said in a statement to the Egyptian Exchange. “ This is to allow the par ties an opportunity to finish negotiations and sign the share sale contract and agreements related to the deal,” it said. Economic turmoil in Egypt following a popular uprising that unseated President Hosni Mubarak in February had delayed the deal, which was tentatively agreed upon last October and valued at 2.7 billion Egyptian pounds ($452 million).

Olympic said last month it had agreed to give Electrolux another 15 days to complete due diligence on the deal. The firm has extended the date for completion of the deal several times since the uprising. The chairman of Paradise Capital, the parent company of Olympic, said last week he expected the deal value to be revised lower, given the changes in the country after the political uprising, but did not give further details.

The deal’s fate is likely to influence broader investor sentiment towards Egypt. Foreigners pulled money out of the Egyptian financial market and treasury bills following Mubarak’s overthrow, contributing to a 4.2 percent drop in gross domestic product in the first quarter. Shares in Olympic group were trading 0.7 percent higher at 0944 GMT. The main index was up 1.1 percent. — Reuters

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25

MONDAY, JULY 4, 2011

BUSINESS

In Florida, end of space shuttle program hits hard 8,000 jobs directly depend on Kennedy Space Center TITUSVILLE: The booming tourist area and haven for high-tech NASA jobs known as the “Space Coast” is struggling with sadness, bitterness and fear for the future as the US shuttle program draws to a close. Three decades of human spaceflight driven by the iconic shuttle program have fueled growth in this Atlantic coast beach community, but the end of those glory days are hurtling closer with the final flight of Atlantis on Friday.

SYDNEY: An airline passenger leaves after making enquiries at the Tiger Airways check-in area at the Sydney Domestic Airport yesterday. —AFP

Australia may extend Tiger Airways grounding SYDNEY: Aviation regulators were discussing yesterday whether to seek court approval to extend the grounding of budget carrier Tiger Airways Australia, having revoked its permission to fly over safety fears. Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) on Saturday suspended all Tiger’s domestic services as they posed a “serious and imminent risk to air safety”. The decision-the first grounding of an entire airline in Australian aviation history-followed a series of incidents that raised questions about the carrier’s airworthiness.

CASA spokesman Peter Gibson told AFP a meeting was scheduled with Tiger executives early this week, and much depended on what they brought to the table. “We have a team of people working through the day on various issues and we are due to meet with Tiger in the near future. A lot will on hinge on those discussions,” he said. “The process is that the Civil Aviation Safety Authority can only ground an airline for five working days. To go any longer than that, we must approach the Federal Court, and put a case for extending the grounding.” We’re looking at that issue right now.”

The Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association said the low-cost carrier was likely to remain grounded for “weeks”. “I would doubt very much if Tiger would be back in the air in the next few weeks,” said association chief Steve

Purvinas. “They have quite a way to go before they can satisfy the regulator that their aircraft are going to be in a fit state to fly.” A subsidiary of Singapore’s Tiger Airways, Tiger Australia operates about 60 domestic flights a day, moving up to 9,000 passengers. Australian authorities have been closely monitoring the airline and issued a “show cause” notice in March threatening to vary, suspend or cancel its license over safety worries.

It was ordered to improve the proficiency of its pilots, boost pilot training and checking procedures, address fatigue management issues and ensure “appropriately qualified people fill management and operational positions”. Tiger said it was cooperating fully with the industry regulator and “we wish to reassure the Australian public that safety has and will underpin our operations at all times”.

“Tiger Airways has already taken steps internally to address the specific issues as well as wider safety concerns CASA has raised,” it said. “We are committed to resolving these quickly and resuming our services as soon as possible.”

The grounding comes at the beginning of the busy school holiday period, throwing travel plans into chaos. Budget rivals Jetstar and Virgin are both laying on extra flights to help stranded passengers while Qantas engineers called off strike action scheduled for next week at the request of the government. —AFP

Diesel cars gain traction slowly in US market WASHINGTON: After many fits and starts, diesel cars are gaining traction in the US market, fueled largely by German carmakers including Volkswagen, which opened a plant in May in Tennessee. Diesel auto sales in the United States revved higher this year thanks to some temporary factors, including a shortage of hybrid cars because of disruptions from the Japanese earthquake disaster.US consumers bought an estimated 9,000 diesel cars in May, up 34 percent from a year earlier, according to the research firm Baum & Associates.

Some analysts say the long-term view is getting better as well for diesel, whose image has been tarnished by concerns about smelly cars and poor availability of diesel fuel outside the truck sector.

Diesels have been available in the US for decades, but the market pales compared to Europe where they make up around half the auto fleet. Alan Baum of Baum & Associates said that outside the large pickup truck segment, around one percent of US cars are diesels, and that total diesel market share is expected to be around 4.5 percent this year. By 2015, Baum expects diesel to grow to 6.0 to 6.5 percent, “with all of the growth in the smaller vehicles, meaning the one percent will grow to 2.5 or 3.0 percent.”

The research firm JD Power & Associates sees the US diesel market share at 3.1 percent in 2011, and growing steadily to 7.4 percent by 2017.

Jeremy Anwyl, chief executive at the consultancy Edmunds.com, said prospects appear to be improving for diesel cars, which are cleaner and more efficient than in the past. “The success has surprised even the manufacturers, because for many years diesel has been lagging,” Anwyl said. “If you drive these vehicles you’d never know you were driving a diesel. They drive like regular vehicles.” Anwyl said consumers looking for better fuel efficiency are giving another look to diesels-which typically get 20 to 30 percent better fuel economy than gasoline cars-because of a tight supply of hybrids like the Toyota Prius.

“If you’re looking for a Prius there aren’t any around,” he said. “The tight supply means prices have shot up and that makes alternatives more appealing.” Still, he said diesels “are not cheap” and do better in the luxury segment where the cost difference is not as noticeable. German carmaker Volkswagen is betting on diesel gaining in the US with its new plant

opened in May in Tennessee, where around one in four cars produced is a diesel. The Mexican-made VW Jetta compact is the biggest-selling US diesel car with around 5,000 sold in May, according to Baum. Other diesels are sold by Mercedes and BMW, along with a handful of large trucks from US makers.

US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said the improved fuel economy of diesel cars is a way to wean the US off imported petroleum. “If onethird of all vehicles in the USA were already clean diesel vehicles today, we would be saving 1.4 million barrels of oil every day,” LaHood said at the VW plant opening. “That is equivalent to the amount of oil we currently import from Saudi Arabia.” Although efforts to introduce more diesels to the US have sputtered in the past, some things are different now, said Allen Schaeffer, executive director of the Diesel Technology Forum, a nonprofit group backed by industry.

“For those seeing the products, we are seeing a very strong take rate for diesel cars,” he said. Schaeffer said diesels can now meet US emissions standards, even in states like California with more stringent regulations, thanks to technology improvement and new low-sulfur diesel fuel. In past years, some diesels could not be sold in California and a few other states.

One factor holding back diesel car sales is the cost of fuel. While it had been cheaper than gasoline in the past, it is now more costly, due to higher federal and state taxes and a smaller market for refiners. Schaeffer said the cost differential is bad energy policy and discourages diesel car sales.

“In no case should we tax a more energy-efficient fuel in a way that creates a disincentive,” he said. Jesse Toprak at the consultancy TrueCar.com said many Americans still need convincing. “Most consumers still have the perception that diesels are grandpa’s old loud smoky car,” he said. With diesel cars around 10 percent more expensive than comparable gasoline cars, Toprak said there is “some reluctance by automakers” on introducing new models. Still, he expects a 40 percent jump in US diesel sales this year, albeit from a very low base. But it remains unclear whether automakers will push diesels or look at more advanced technologies like fuel cells.

Baum said growth in diesel will depend on a number of variables including overall fuel costs, taxes and emissions standards. —AFP

The last shuttle mission will trigger the disappearance of some 27,000 jobs either directly or indirectly tied to NASA’s shuttle efforts, according to local officials. “This is really like losing a family member,” said Marcia Gaedcke, president of the Chamber of Commerce of the Titusville area, explaining that residents have experienced some of the well-known stages of grieving. “We have gone through denial-that it’s not going to happen... and we got to anger that it is happening to us,” she told AFP. “Those orbiters are like people to us. They have personality and we think of them as members of our family.” Like many long-time inhabitants of Titusville, Gaedcke is personally linked to the shuttle program: her father, brother and sister have all worked at Kennedy Space Center. She even worked there herself for a while. “Every family here has a story similar to or exactly like that,” she said. But the town of 45,000 people is bracing for the loss of 40 percent of the 8,000 jobs-many held by highly paid and well-educated residents-that directly depend on Kennedy Space Center and vanish with the shuttle.

At one popular restaurant where current and former Kennedy Space Center employees like to gather, the atmosphere was morose when patrons were asked about the end of the shuttle. “It’s very sad to see that,” said Betty Ford, a retiree who worked as a document manager at Kennedy Space Center. She said she has watched nearly every launch, dating back before the shuttle flight in 1981 to first human spaceflights by the Gemini, Mercury and Apollo missions in the 1960s. “Pretty much all of my life I saw the space program,” she said. As to what she planned to do for the final launch, she said only: “It’s kind of a private thing.”

At the King’s Duck Inn, a bar

FLORIDA: Men stand at the base of the space shuttle Atlantis on the launch pad at Kennedy Space Center. Atlantis’ upcoming STS-135 mission will signal the end to NASA’s most successful and longest running space program. —AFP where technicians and engineers-some of whom were recently laid off-like to grab drinks after their shifts, some expressed anger. “We don’t know what the future will be like,” said Garry Broughton, a former engineer with the contracting company United Space Alliance. He recently lost his job after a 32year career there due to layoffs and has entered retirement. “All we know is that more people are losing their jobs on a daily basis,” he said. Broughton said he disagreed with President Barack Obama’s decision to cancel the Constellation program, which aimed to return humans to the moon, in favor of focusing on new projects that could take humans to Mars or an asteroid.

“It was not a good decision, it killed thousands of jobs,” he said.

“We don’t know where we are going... all we know is we will pay

the Russians to put our people in space.” Once the shuttle program ends, the world’s astronauts can hitch a ride on a Russian Soyuz capsule at a cost of $51 million per ticket. “The next five years will be very tough,” said Melissa Stains, president of the Chamber of Commerce of Cocoa Beach, a beach town a short drive from Kennedy Space Center. With the next US human spaceflight a minimum of four years away, she said it will be a struggle for even private companies like Boeing, SpaceX and others to fill the economic void that the shuttle’s closure will leave behind.”Just recently, NASA laid off 450 and SpaceX hired five. So it’s not the same and we need to encourage other business to come,” she said, pointing to hopes that alternative energy companies might come to make use of the abundant wind and sun.

According to the director of the Space Coast Office of Tourism, Rob Varley, the shuttle program averaged several launches per year, and each brought in $5-6 million, meaning a $25-30 million loss per year.

Tourism is focusing on the area’s other attractions, such as offering cruises from nearby Por t Canaveral to Disney World in Orlando, some 45 miles (70 kilometers) away. One sure draw will be the shuttle Atlantis, which will make its retirement home at a section of the Kennedy Space Center open to visitors. But with no more active launches, Varley hopes tourists will want to come watch private companies test their rockets-such launches happen 15-20 times per year, he said.

“Our challenge is going to be how do we keep people engaged in the space program that will continue here,” he said. —AFP

PM excludes gasoline from Australian carbon tax plan

JAKARTA: This file photo shows motorists stuck in the morning gridlock at one of Jakarta’s main roads. Jakarta’s traffic chaos costs Indonesia billions of dollars a year. —AFP

Indonesian capital faces $3bn traffic nightmare JAKARTA: Jakarta’s traffic chaos costs Indonesia billions of dollars a year in a depressing reminder of the gap between the country’s ambitions for growth and its daily realities, analysts said. The Indonesian capital ranked last of all in a global survey of commuter satisfaction in 23 cities published last month by business research firm Frost & Sullivan. The Journey of Experience Index poll of almost 15,000 people around the world found that travelers in Jakarta were the most miserable of all, gloomier even than those in Rio de Janeiro and Cairo-notorious for its dire gridlock.

Respondents in Copenhagen, Seattle and Sydney were most satisfied with their commuting experience, based on criteria such as speed, cost and overall comfort.

But Jakarta scored less than half the marks of New Delhi. One traveler who recently learnt the hard way how frustrating and costly Jakarta’s traffic can be was Australian songstress Kylie Minogue, who had to delay a concert by 30 minutes because her crew were late. Minogue herself avoided the traffic by flying to her June 27 gig in a helicopter, an expense that would be unnecessary in a city with a coherent transport system.

“The economic loss from traffic congestion problems in Jakarta is 28.1 trillion rupiah per year, based on a study I made in 2007,” University of Indonesia environmental engineering expert Firdaus Ali told AFP. So what went wrong? Officials say they

have been unable to keep up with the city’s huge growth over the past three decades and the daily influx of millions of workers from the surrounding urban sprawl. The challenges are indeed immense. National annual growth of private vehicle ownership has averaged 11 to 13 percent for the past decade, well above similar rates in developed countries, according to data from the University of Gadjah Mada. But Institute of Transportation Studies chairman Darmaningtyas said successive Jakarta administrations needed to shoulder the blame for ignoring warning signs and failing to build public transport infrastructure.

“What they did was just facilitate the private vehicle industry. The Jakarta administration has to build a good mass transportation system, bike paths and pedestrian walkways,” he said. Parts of the city are still studded with grimy concrete pillarsthe remnants of a plan to build an innercity monorail that stalled due to mismanagement and funding problems.

Haphazard commercial property development makes matters worse, leaving office blocks and shopping malls in places they never should have been, analysts said. “The Jakarta administration still issues permits for commercial buildings such as malls in areas where they are no longer suitable, creating more congestion,” Indonesia Transportation Society expert Muslich Asikin said. —AFP

CANBERRA: Prime Minister Julia Gillard softened the impact of her unpopular carbon tax plans yesterday by promising it will not increase Australian gasoline prices. She said the tax would never be applied to gasoline despite transport being Australia’s third-largest and fastest-growing source of greenhouse gas emissions. The government plans to tax big polluters for every ton of carbon gas they produce beginning July 1 next year in a bid to reduce Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions.

The plan is weighing the ruling center-left Labor Party down in disastrous opinion polling because of fears about how it will affect costs, particularly electricity costs. Key issues including the tax rate and how compensation will be distributed to help industry and households make the transition to a lower-carbon economy are still being negotiated with the minor Greens party and independent lawmakers whose support is crucial to the plan becoming law.

Gillard ended yesterday some of the most politically damaging speculation that the tax would increase pump prices. “Petrol prices will not be touched by carbon pricing,” Gillard told Australian Broadcasting Corp. television. “The design of this scheme is that petrol will be out now and out for the future.” Her promise will anger the Greens party, which wants the tax applied across the entire economy. Gillard credited rural independent lawmaker Tony Windsor with swaying her to exclude gasoline. Gillard relies on Windsor’s support to maintain a fragile single -seat majority in the House of Representatives. “He has put forward a powerful case for people in country Australia who have got no choice but to jump in their cars and get places,” she said, referring to a lack of public transport outside big cities.

The Australia Chamber of Commerce and Industr y said in a statement the gasoline exemption would will simply shift the price burden of reducing the nation’s emissions to other areas of the economy. The government has promised to slash Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 to at least 5 percent below 2000 levels. Australia is one of the world’s worst greenhouse gas emitters per capita, largely because it relies heavily on abundant reserves of cheap coal for electricity. Conservative opposition leader Tony Abbott opposes polluters being forced to pay anything for the carbon gas that they create. His stance has helped his coalition lead in recent opinion polls. Labor is hoping that public hostility toward the tax will have subsided before Australia’s next elections are due in 2013. —AP

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business

Europe struggles with Act II of Greek debt tragedy BRUSSELS: Europe bought time this weekend to avoid a Greek bankruptcy, but tough negotiations lie ahead to save Athens and prevent the eurozone debt crisis from descending into global drama.

Greece will be able to pay its bills this month after eurozone finance ministers cleared the way late Saturday for the next 12-billion-euro tranche of a 110-billioneuro bailout granted last year by the EU and IMF. But the ministers still need to work on a second rescue package potentially of similar size to ensure Athens can stay afloat until at least 2014, warding off a devastating default that would reverberate across Europe.

“We can’t afford to relax and we need to move forward as fast as possible, both on the eurozone and IMF side,” said Polish

Finance Minister Jacek Rostowski, whose country chairs the rotating EU presidency but is not part of the 17-nation euro area.

European diplomats warn that eurozone finance chiefs are unlikely to finalize a second bailout at their next meeting on July 11 and that Greece may have to wait until September. Negotiations for a new rescue are more complex because some governments, especially Germany, want private investors to share the burden by agreeing to voluntarily “roll over” their Greek debt.

The hope is that banks, insurers and pension funds will buy new Greek bonds to replace those maturing soon, but in a way that will not be interpreted as a default by credit rating agencies.

Their plan won the backing on Friday of a key global finance group, the Institute of

Manuel wants British rebate replaced with lump-sum LONDON: European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said yesterday he wants to replace Britain’s EU budget rebate with an up-front lump sum. Barroso said that “almost nobody” understands the current system and it was time to “go back to the original principles” behind the 1984 deal, in an article in The Sunday Times newspaper.”Over the last 30 years the UK rebate has dominated EU budget negotiations,” the Portuguese wrote. He said the deal was based on the stance that any member state sustaining an excessive budgetary burden in relation to its prosperity “may benefit from a correction at the appropriate time”.

“The new system we are proposing, based on a lump-sum reimbursement, would mean that Britain would be entitled to receive a gross amount of 25.2 billion euros from 2014-2020.” British Prime Minister David Cameron’s government is battling to rein in a record budget deficit. The lump sum would come in the year ahead of the scheduled 2015 general election, The Sunday Times said. British Treasury figures put its rebate for the 2010 calendar year at 3.1 billion pounds and about 26 billion

pounds for the 2007-2013 budget cycle as a whole.

The so-called “ Thatcher rebate” returns billions of euros annually to Britain in place of farm payments to France and Germany. A Treasury spokesman said: “Britain’s rebate is fully justified and we are not going to give way on it.” The then prime minister Margaret Thatcher was infamously caricatured as clobbering fellow EU leaders with her handbag when she won the concession in 1984.The EU budget is run on the basis of a mutual fund rather than on closely-measured balancing of amounts contributed and amounts received under various funding programs.

But Thatcher said she wanted her money back, making use of an understanding when Britain joined the then European Economic Community that it would be able to re-open calculation of its contributions if they became severely skewed, mainly due to the particular structure of British agriculture compared with France and Germany. Her eventually successful campaign was long and caused much bad feeling. — AFP

Greece wary anti-austerity riots may impact tourism ATHENS: With television images of antiausterity rioters clashing with police in Athens, the Greek government hopes the pictures will not affect one of the countr y ’s main moneymakers-tourism.

“Fortunately we do not see many cancellations, but we must be very careful to safeguard tourism and promote Greece’s strong points,” Yiorgos Telonis, chairman of the Hellenic association of travel and tourist agencies (Hatta), told AFP yesterday.

But Telonis warned of the long-term effects the riots may have and would not rule out more cancellations, especially for hotels located around Syntagma, the capital’s main square where most of the clashes took place last week. Greek lawmakers on Wednesday voted a massive austerity package demanded by international creditors as an angry mob protested against the measures outside the Parliament building which overlooks the square. Protestors shattered the marble stairs of the front entrances of three luxur y hotels located around Syntagma square using the rubble as ammunition against the police.

The rioting prompted the high-end King George hotel to evacuate the building. The Association of Athens-Attika Hotel Owners said it supported the decision as well as steps taken by other affected businesses. “The association stands by the hotel that was forced to take extraordinary measures for the protection of its guests and employees,” the association said on Thursday. “Some foreign visitors are afraid of what they see on TV, but this only affects Athens, not the islands,” a travel agent who would not give her name told AFP. “That’s why more and more planes fly directly to the islands, bypassing Athens,” she added. The Greek goverment is trying hard to persuade foreign tourists that Greece is a safe destination. “ These events, although unfortunate, were local

and do not represent in any way everyday life in the city. Visitors in Athens continue to enjoy a secure and tranquil environment and a very vibrant cultural experience,” Minister of Culture and Tourism Pavlos Yeroulanos said.”Greece is a country that provides an excellent tourism product which must not be tarnished in any way. We must now turn the page.”

Yeroulanos told private television channel Skai that a “collective effort” had been undertaken to lure clients from countries like Israel, Russia and Turkey to Greece. “But honestly we don’t get a second chance. What happened the other day was the beginning of a very dangerous situation,” the minister said.

Government efforts to boost tourism in the wake of the political and social upheaval in North Africa that left thousands of tourists to seek other destinations such as Greece seem to be paying off. “There is a five to six percent increase in the number of visitors from last year, with the figure expected to rise to eight percent in the coming months,” the chairman of the association of travel and tourist agencies told AFP. “Only through tourism will Greece achieve growth and reverse the recession troubling the countr y,” Telonis added. Greece’s tourism industry generates 18 percent of gross domestic product. Protests last year against the socialist government’s austerity measures aimed at overcoming a severe debt crisis had specifically targeted key tourism infrastructure including hotels, Greece’s main port of Piraeus and the Acropolis. At the time, the government offered to compensate travelers stranded because of strikes. Price cuts by operators limited the damage to the industry but caused a fall in revenue. The Bank of Greece has said income from tourism was down 7.3 percent to 9.45 billion euros in the period to November 2010. — AFP

ATHENS: Workers use water hoses to clean up debris from Syntagma square in central Athens. Fears are rising that protests will reduce tourism to the popular city. — AP

International Finance (IIF), which represents banks, insurers and investment funds. France, whose banks hold a sizeable proportion of Greek debt, has proposed, among other measures, that lenders roll over their loans into new 30-year bonds, giving Greece more time to put its financial house in order. Greece is also under pressure to swiftly implement 28.4 billion euros in budget cuts and tax hikes, and a 50-billion-euro privatization program, that the parliament approved last week despite riots in the streets of Athens.

“The measures decided by Athens must quickly be implemented. The privatizations must for example begin immediately,” said German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, indicating that a second bailout may have to wait until late 2011. Greek

Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos pledged that Athens would fulfill its end of the bargain. “What is crucial now is the timely and effective implementation of the decisions taken in parliament, so we can gradually emerge from the crisis in the interest of national economy and the Greek citizens,” he said.

The crisis has already spread to Ireland and Portugal, which have received their own bailouts, and other eurozone nations such as Spain and Italy are currently slashing budgets to avoid becoming the next victims.

“European policymakers’ inability to deal with the crisis quickly and decisively is hitting the rest of the periphery,” said the market research group Capital Economics.

With lingering doubts over whether weak-

er eurozone nations will be able to meet their fiscal targets, the London-based firm said the likes of Ireland and Portugal may too need new bailouts next year.

“Spain and perhaps Italy could also come under severe pressure to seek financial assistance, further adding to concerns about the future viability of the eurozone,” it said. With fears mounting that a Greek default would cause shockwaves across the global financial world, the United States has pressed European leaders to act decisively to put a lid on the crisis.”

It is our hope that European leaders continue to make sure that Europe’s response to the crisis is strong, flexible and effective,” US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said during a visit to Madrid on Saturday. — AFP

Lagarde faces challenges from first day on the job ‘WillIMF become more sensible underLagarde?’

WASHINGTON: The International Monetary Fund’s new Managing Director, Christine Lagarde, will make her debut under intense pressure this week, as Greece’s financial woes pose an urgent challenge. The French executive is expected to land in Washington today, the Independence Day holiday for the United States. She will officially begin tomorrow morning and hold a press conference Wednesday.

A “busy work agenda awaits,” declared the IMF in its internal online magazine, while it stressed one of Lagarde’s most pressing items includes the “difficult policy choices needed to help global recovery (and) address the euro area crisis.” “The global economy is being buffeted by continued uncertainty in Europe, uprisings in the Middle East, signs of overheating in some fast-growing emerging market economies, and rising commodity prices that pose a particular challenge for low-income countries,” the publication added.

But the Greek economic crisis eclipses all other priorities. In the immediate term, Greece is expected to receive 12 billion euros from the eurozone and IMF

by July 15 after the ministers approved the fifth tranche of aid from last year’s 110-billion-euro financial rescue package. This round the IMF’s share includes 3.3 billion euros, according to the schedule of payments laid out in May 2010.As part of a longer term strategy, the IMF must find a way to finance a country that in all

PARIS: Christine Lagarde will make her debut as the new IMF chief under intense pressure this week. — AFP likelihood will not be able to return to the markets for longterm borrowing in early 2012, as expected.

In the Greek crisis, Lagarde

transitions to the IMF zone from her eurozone duties as France’s former finance minister. Before securing the job, she promised she would hold the eurozone

Ex-Iceland PM says he saved economy REYKJAVIK: Iceland’s former prime minister Geir Haarde, facing trial over the country’s 2008 financial meltdown, describes the case as a farce, insisting he actually helped rescue the economy from a fate similar to that of Greece. “We saved the country from going bankrupt,” Haarde, 68, told AFP in an interview this week, claiming that if he and his government had acted differently when all the major banks failed in October 2008, the economy could have fallen off a cliff.

“That is evident if you look at our situation now and you compare it to Ireland or not to mention Greece,” he said, adding that the two debtwracked EU countries “made mistakes that we did not make ... We did not guarantee the external debts of the banking system.” When Iceland’s bloated financial sector imploded, its three largest banks alone held assets equal to 923 percent of gross domestic product. “We had to let them go. They went bankrupt. And it turns out now that this was the right thing to do,” Haarde said, pointing out that “there was a banking collapse but the real economy, all the productive capacity in the country, was kept intact and is still running.”

The bank failure plunged Iceland into a deep recession and sent the value of its krona spiraling but it has gradually returned to growth and observers say it may not need to draw down the last installments of an IMF bailout. Not everyone, however, thinks congratulations are in order. Haarde, who as the head of the right-leaning Independence Party held the reins of government from mid-2006 to early 2009, is the only politician in Iceland facing trial over their conduct in the run-up to the financial crisis. If found guilty, he could face up to two years in prison and large fines. A report published last year on the cause of the banking collapse accused Haarde and three other former government minis-

ters, along with a long line of bankers and financial industry insiders, of different degrees of negligence.

But when the new left-leaning parliament was asked last September to determine if any of the politicians should be taken before the Landsdomur, a never-before used special court for cabinet ministers, it only narrowly authorized putting the former government chief on trial. “You ask me what’s it like to be alone in this?” Haarde asks from his seat in the lobby of a downtown Reykjavik hotel, not far from the Culture House, where the special trial is set to resume on September 5.”I’m so happy to be alone!

I’m so happy that my colleagues are not being dragged into this situation,” he said, insisting the trial is “a political farce motivated by some old political enemies who are cloaking this farce under the cover of a criminal trial.”

Among Haarde’s most outspoken accusers is Finance Minister Steingrimur Sigfusson, who heads government junior partner the Left Green Party. He told AFP he felt it was unfortunate that parliament failed to indict other former government ministers but emphasized the commission report finding that Haarde had shown negligence. “I don’t think anyone is saying the crisis could have been completely avoided but couldn’t you at least have done something to minimize the damage?” he asked, insisting “this is not political or personal.” “When it became clear we were heading towards catastrophe ... the record shows very little was done to avoid it,” Sigfusson said, adding that the question of whether the former prime minister can be held criminally responsible will need to be determined by the court. Haarde’s defense has meanwhile seen two requests for dismissal, on technical grounds, rejected by the court, but he hopes it will find in favor of a third request based on what he considers the demerits of the case.”— AFP

countries to the same standards as other member states. “The IMF does not belong to anybody. It belongs to the 187 members of the Fund, and the management of the Fund does not belong to any particular nation or region.

We can’t effectively represent the world’s economic balance of power if certain economies are under-represented,” she said.

Lagarde has said that Greeks must make difficult but necessary adjustments to restore viability in their public finance sector and competitiveness to their country. “This is about a country’s fate, its security. And I believe at that point, we have to ignore the small and big political differences for the service of the country,” she said. In addition she said she wants to ensure some continuity from her predecessor, Dominique Strauss-Kahn. But the two do not hail from the same schools of thought. Strauss-Kahn is a Social Democrat while Lagarde is a “moderate liberal.”

The 2008 Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman said the “serious, responsible, and judicious” Lagarde was still a mystery.

“Under Strauss-Kahn, the IMF was staking out a position as the least dogmatic, most open-minded of the major international organizations. That’s not saying too much, but it was much better than the madmen in authority at the OECD or the BIS,” Krugman wrote on his blog. “So the question is, will the IMF become more sensible under Lagarde? For the sake of the world economy, let’s hope not.” — AFP

Two-third of Britons think economy getting worse: Poll LONDON: Two-thirds of Britons think the economy is getting worse and most are cutting back drastically on their spending to make ends meet in the face of rising food, fuel and energy prices, according to a poll released yesterday. The findings follow a string of retail failures in recent months as shoppers cut back on nonessentials while Britain’s economic recovery remains sluggish. The ICM poll for the News of the World newspaper appeared to indicate that many agreed with the opposition Labour’s party’s view that deep government spending cuts were happening too fast.

In total, 82 percent believed the Conservative-led coalition’s austerity measures were inevitable with Britain’s budget deficit running at about 10 percent of GDP, and 58 percent of those polled said they were necessary. However, two-thirds of those who supported the measures felt they were being brought in too quickly.

The survey also found that a majority — 52 percentthought Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron and finance minister George Osborne were not doing a good job of running the economy. Overall, only 23 percent thought the economy was getting better.

However, more Britons —41 percent-would prefer to have the Conservatives in charge than Labour (25 percent). Labour has called for an emergency reduction in the sales tax until the economy improves and argue that the austerity measures are stifling growth.

However, the government says it needs to stick with the policy of deep cuts to virtually eliminate the deficit by 2015 and maintain the confidence of the money markets. Official data this week showed that Britain’s economy grew by just 0.5 percent in the first three months of 2010, a muted bounce from Q4’s dismal 0.5 percent contraction.

Figures also showed the biggest fall in households’ disposable income in more than 30 years, hit by rising taxes and inflation. The ICM poll of 1,001 adults found more than two-thirds said they were making cutbacks with almost one in three going without basics such as food or heating. Some 78 percent had stopped buying perceived luxury items, such as new furniture and cars, a figure which rose to 90 percent among those aged between 18 to 44.

The downturn in consumer spending has led to a recent collapse of retailers including, home improvement firm Focus DIY, home furnishings retailer Habitat UK, Moben Kitchens owner Homeform, and fashion retailer Jane Norman. Others such as mother and baby products firm Mothercare , chocolatier Thorntons , and electrical firm Comet are closing hundreds of stores between them. — Reuters

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TECHNOLOGY

News

in brief

Small cameras and webcams from Panasonic HAMBURG : Offering compact dimensions of 10.8 cm, 6.7 cm, and 3.3 cm (WHD), the new Pansonic Lumix GF3 system camera is almost as small as a compact camera but much more sophisticated. It allows users to manually set the contrast, focus, white balance, and other parameters, and the lens can be replaced just like with an SLR. The body comes with integrated flash and a 12-megapixel image sensor. It weighs 222 grams. The camera is operated using a three-inch touchscreen. Other features include an optical image stabilizer and a HD video (1080p) recording function. Thanks to a HDMI output, data can be transferred to external devices such as TVs. The GF3 is scheduled to hit stores in July. One of the various models, the DMCGF3K with zoom lens (3.5-5.6/14-42 mm), will sell for 549 dollars. The DMC-GF3C that comes with an extra flat epancakei lens (2.5/14 mm) will cost 599 dollars. Customers who already have a suitable lens can purchase the bare body (DMC-GF3) for about 469 dollars.

Evernote for Phone 7 cell phones CALIFORNIA: The Evernote GTD tool can now be run on cell phones powered by Windows Phone 7.

The service acts as a “virtual memory” for notes of all kinds and records both the time and the current location. The free app is available for download from the Windows Smartphone marketplace. The company also introduced PC versions of the tool for Windows and Mac. The new Internet links feature allows users to insert Evernote notes into other applications such as calendars or to do lists. The corresponding note is accessed with a single click on the link. Another option, so far only available for Windows, makes it possible to save several notes as a complete HTML website, together with a table of contents.

Pure stereo system supports digital radio LONDON: The latest stereo system from Pure supports both analog FM radio as well as the DAB digital radio standard. The stereo, dubbed Sirocco 550, can also play Internet radio broadcasts or stream music from a network or PC via WLAN. Moreover, it comes with a docking station and various interfaces for connecting an iPod or other MP3 players.

The composite output can be used to deliver videos from the web or USB devices to a TV. The device is operated via a built-in OLED display. The system includes speakers and a remote control and sells for 500 dollars.

360-degree HD webcam Munich: Logitech has introduced a new, flexible HD webcam with a swivel option, allowing the C615 to be rotated 360 degrees. Its folding design makes for easy and safe transport. In addition, the autofocus webcam can be mounted on a tripod.

The C615 will hit store shelves in September 2011 and sell for about 80 dollars. The package includes a USB extension cable. —dpa

Spam in May: Free online games targeted Kaspersky Lab has released a report on spam activity of May 2011. Compared with the previous month, the volume of spam in email traffic increased 2.1 percentage points, making up on average 80.8% of the total. A lowering of phishing messages was also noted, while the share of postings containing malware increased.

Terrorism as a cover for cybercrime In May spammers actively used current hot topics in the news to deceive users. In particular, a surge in the number of messages was detected exploiting the news of the death of Osama bin Laden. Such messages contained malicious files as well as links to legitimate payware. News of the death of the world’s No. 1 terrorist was even used in the emails of the so-called Nigerian scammers. The trick they used to attempt to extract funds generally stayed the same: the scammers request payment of a small sum with the promise of being returned a much bigger sum in the future. Worthy of note is the fact that instead of traditional requests for “help”, in a new type of email users are threatened with their accounts being frozen on the pretext of suspicions of their being somehow connected with terrorists.

Malware in spam: Personal data theft and fake antivirus programs Russia has become the world leader in terms of the quantity of malware found in emails detected by antivirus programs. The USA, formerly taking first place, now comes second: the quantity of infected emails sent to American users fell by 3.5 percentage points. The most widespread malware distributed via email was the Trojan-Spy program Trojan-Spy.HTML.Fraud.gen. Worms like Email-Worm.Win32.Mydoom.m, EmailWorm.Win32.Bagle.gt and Email-Worm.Win32.NetSky.q all remained high in the ratings, while newcomers included two Trojan-Downloader.Win32.FraudLoad Trojans. This type of program installs fake antivirus programs on PCs. Online games becoming more attractive to Phishers The most marked changes took place in the ratings of web services attacked the most with the use of phishing emails. 4.67% of all phishing emails were intended to steal passwords for the popular free online game RuneScape. As a result, this platform made its debut in the top ten straight in at No. 3 - way ahead of World of Warcraft - the most popular online game in the world. RuneScape is of interest to cybercriminals more than even user details of the popular social networking site Facebook. But the overall leader in the rating remained the payment system PayPal, which saw a small rise in the number of phishing emails (23.28 percentage points up on the figure for April 2011). The full version of spam activity for May 2011 is available at: securelist.com.

Take no chances with your Facebook security settings Protectyourselffrom unwantedbirthday attention Berlin: Those planning a par ty on Facebook need not only worry that no one will show up, they also have to be sure they don’t accidentally invite the entire network.

When making an invitation, there’s a question box that determines whether or not everyone can see and RSVP to the event. Putting a tick in the box means everyone is invited. Leaving it out means the party is a strictly private affair, with options available for only inviting certain people.

German police have been busy in recent weeks breaking up private affairs that accidentally became block parties.

In early June, a teenager accidentally invited 1,600 people to her 16th birthday in Hamburg, with the evening ending in fistfights, demolished cars, injuries and arrests.

A few weeks later, it took more than 100 police officers to remove 800 party-

goers from a function in Wuppertal after some soccer hooligans got caught up in the excitement.

To protect yourself from unwanted birthday attention, Facebook users can also decide who gets to see their birthday. In the privac y settings under account options, go to Custom Settings. Here you can decide which friends get to know your birthday. It’s even possible to pick different view options for individuals, meaning family members see all, but work colleagues don’t even get to know your birthday.

Next, check to see your settings for all information, especially address and email address. Instead of creating settings for each individual friend, it makes more sense to organize people into groups (Family, College Friends, Work Colleagues), so you can quickly make sure casual contacts don’t get to see your personal data. —dpa

Twitter: World’s pulse in just 140 characters BERLIN: Go to twitter.com and the average neophyte to the Internet short messaging service is bound to get overwhelmed by the virtual blizzard of cryptic messages from unknown persons.

“Who needs this?” many think and drop the service for a while. Most people who have had any experience with Twitter will recognize the confusion from their early days with the service and might remember making the same mistake. But, with the proper settings, it can be a handy tool for gathering information from the entire world - or just one’s circle of friends - at lightning speed.

Twitter is often disparaged as a place where strangers share messages with other total strangers about things that don’t really matter, like what they had for breakfast. But that’s not how Twitter works when you get down to it: you only follow the news of the people who really interest you.

That means the cacophony of millions of voices is filtered down to the ones who are actually relevant, which is the whole point of Twitter. It is a service that allows users to send short messages that reach many people simultaneously.

With approximately 200 million users worldwide, Twitter has become a global information machine.

Newspapers, bloggers, politicians, celebrities - and masses of the completely anonymous - share links to articles, pictures, videos or new messages.

Or they just their thoughts: like what kind of cereal they had for breakfast.

Those who send information are tweeters. Those who read it are followers.

Co-creator Jack Dorsey came upon the idea as he was working on a messaging system for the taxi industry. The 140-character limit is a hangover from the early days, when Twitter was based on text messaging services. Ultimately, the internet won out as Twitter’s primary platform. To subscribe to other people’s Twitter feeds, you first need to set up your own profile. Doing so only requires an email address and a unique user name. Once that’s linked with the @ character, it becomes the most important part of your Twitter presence. It’s the way you are recognized, contacted or found.

From there, you can essentially get started. Just be sure to mind some ground rules of communication. If a message starts with another user’s name and the @ symbol, you are writing a message to that person, which can be viewed by everyone. There is a Direct Message option for those who

want to communicate directly and privately, like in an email. That’s done by writing a capital D at the start of a message instead of using the @. Be careful here as there have been several well-known cases of people accidentally broadcasting private conversations to the whole world because they forgot the D. The most recent was US Congressman Anthony Weiner who accidentally publicized a picture of his crotch he’d meant to only send to one individual.

A Retweet allows a tweeter to repeat a message from another user to one’s own group of followers.

Retweets can be recognized by the letters RT at the start of a message. That’s one of the instruments that makes Twitter so powerful. Retweets help important messages to spread quickly.

For example, when al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was killed in May, many Twitter clients received a hint of the news long before the official announcement. That’s because a former employee of former US defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld tweeted that he had heard from a reliable source that bin Laden was dead.

The source was hardly a household name and he never would have been able to spread the news through normal media circles. Except that one of his Twitter followers is a media reporter for the New York Times, Brian Stelter. Stelter retweeted the original message, noting that the original author had once worked for Rumsfeld.

And, since Stelter has more than 60,000 followers, the news quickly spread like wildfire.

Every new Twitter user first needs a basic level of sources. The Twitter website provides a list of popular tweeters as an aid. Additionally, an algorithm helps provides suggestions based on your choice of subscription channels.

Another method is to simply copy the follower list of another user with similar interests. Or, if you’re interested in a celebrity or an athlete, there’s usually information to be had on their websites or through internet search engines.

You can tell if a tweeter is the real deal by checking for the “verified” icon next to their name: a small blue circle with a white checkmark. Many access Twitter via twitter.com, but there are programs that help access Twitter via PC or smar tphone. Those include Echofon or TweetDeck, which was recently purchased by Twitter. To help keep an overview of the flood of information, users can also set up lists based on specific topics. —dpa

EMC honored with three prestigious industry awards EMC Corporation announced it has been named the winner of three Spring 2011 Technology Services Industry Association (TSIA) STAR Awards for Best Use of Metrics and Business Intelligence, Best Professional Services in Enabling Customer Success and Best Education Services for Enabling Customer Success. These three services awards further advance EMC’s elite status as a two-time Hall of Fame Lifetime Achievement Award winner.

The awards were announced at the recent Technology Services World ( TSW ) conference in Santa Clara, California. “At EMC, services are a critical component to the total customer experience we provide to our customers.

We pride ourselves in delivering services and support that continue to set the pace in the marketplace. Accolades like the TSIA STAR Awards help demonstrate our capabilities and commitment to delivering differentiated services and knowledge transfer to our customers,” said Howard Elias, President and Chief Operating Officer, EMC Information Infrastructure and Cloud Services.

“As customers and partners build their cloud and Big Data infrastructures, EMC continues to expand its technology and services portfolio to enable them to successfully transform IT and elevate the skills of their people.”

The STAR Awards recognize technology companies that display exceptional leadership, innovation, and commitment in developing and implementing best practices. This year EMC was honored with the following three awards: ● For the second consecutive year, EMC was recognized for Best Use of Metrics and Business Intelligence for its customer-focused metrics and bench-

marking program within its customer service organization. ● EMC was also recognized for Best Professional Services Enabling Customer Success by demonstrating organizational commitment to and record achievement in enabling customer success. ● The third award was for Education Services Excellence in Enabling Customer Success, which highlights EMC’s relentless commitment to learning and closing the knowledge and skills gap by educating not only its employees, but its customers and partners as well. “ The STAR Awards program is a long-standing honor in the technology services industry, recognizing organizations that exemplify and demonstrate exceptional innovation and leadership in the major disciplines of technology services,” said JB Wood, president and CEO of TSIA. “EMC has clearly demonstrated its high-level commitment to delivering world-class results in the areas of Professional Services, Customer Support and Education Services, and it was an honor to recognize them at our TSW event.”

Companies seeking the STAR Award undergo a rigorous evaluation process, with the winners selected by TSIA’s service discipline advisory board members. Since 1990, the STAR Awards have become one of the highest honors in the service and support industry, acknowledging the contribution of companies of all sizes to the continual improvement of service and support delivery industry-wide. For information on the STAR Awards, go to www.tsia.com/awards_and_certifications/star_awards.html.

CALIFORNIA: File photo shows the Google logo at the Google headquarters in Mountain View. —AFP

Avoid Google’s data gathering zeal BERLIN: Whether with Gmail, Docs, Maps, Calendar, Analytics, YouTube or its eponymous search engine, Google is always busy trying to gather as much information about its users as possible so it can craft personalized advertising. To put a lid on that gathering frenzy, install the Firefox add-on GoogleSharing, advises German magazine iX. The expansion activates a proxy server between the user and Google, diverting search requests and, thereby, creating anonymity.

It’s also worth taking a look at the setting of the various Google services and set which data can be transmitted and stored. When setting up a Google account, it’s standard to activate something called a web history. That means all search requests made while one is logged on are saved in a file. That makes turning off the history a good idea. It also means you might not want to regularly be logged in with your Google account.

Turning to Google Talk, the company’s

instant messenger service, the magazine recommends setting it so that individual conversations are no longer saved.

Picking more secure secrecy options will prevent conversation partners from linking chats with your account.

It’s also best to deactivate all functions in Google’s Toolbar that automatically link internet addresses or information about websites visited with a person’s account. Google even offers a site where the so-called DoubleClick cookie can be deactivated. Google stores business-related personal information for advertising that might appeal to the user in this file. Other experts point to possible data security problems in other Google services, assuming they are used with a general Google account.

Those include the mobile telephone location finder Latitude, the online payment system Checkout, which can be used in Android Market, or Health, a storage platform for electronic patient files. —dpa

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Copper kills 97% of hospital ICU bacteria NEW YORK: Antimicrobial copper surfaces in intensive care units (ICU) kill 97 percent of bacteria that can cause hospital-acquired infections, according to preliminary results of a multisite clinical trial in the United States. The results also showed a 40 percent reduction in the risk of acquiring an infection.

Safety group sets kids’ drawstring safety rules CHICAGO: The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) on Friday set a new federal safety rule, saying drawstrings in certain children’s clothing are now considered substantial product hazards. The 5-0 vote finalized that jackets and coats with certain neck or hood drawstrings and those with certain waist or bottom drawstrings would be specified as substantial product hazards.

FDA chides Novartis on vaccine promotion WASHINGTON: Novartis AG falsely implied that its Menveo meningitis vaccine was approved in a manner consistent with guidelines from an influential US advisory group, health regulators said in a letter to the Swiss drugmaker. The US Food and Drug Administration in the letter dated June 24 and released on Friday said some statements in a recorded phone call and professional slides from March were “false and misleading.”

Special infant formula may not prevent allergies NEW YORK: Despite pediatric guidelines endorsing “allergy-friendly” whey-based infant formulas, a new study finds the products don’t ward off allergies in babies at high risk for sensitivities. Babies with a family history of allergies to foods or environmental allergens who were fed Nestle’s NAN Hypoallergenic whey product after they stopped breastfeeding were just as likely to develop allergies later as children who were fed milk or soy formulas, researchers report in The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Epidemiology.

Arsenic linked to kidney cancer NEW YORK: People with moderately elevated levels of arsenic in their urine may have an increased risk of kidney cancer-particularly if they have high blood pressure and kidney disease, a new study suggests. The findings, reported in the Journal of Urology, do not prove that arsenic contributes to kidney cancer, however. One possibility, the researchers say, is that kidney cancer, by impairing the kidneys’ ability to filter waste from the body, leads to increased arsenic levels in the urine.

Near-Earth asteroid passes over Atlantic Ocean LOS ANGELES: An asteroid with an estimated girth as large as a garbage truck soared within 7,500 miles of the Earth as it passed harmlessly over the Atlantic Ocean, according to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The space rock, measuring 5 to 20 meters in diameter, followed the same near-Earth path that scientists had earlier predicted, looping around the planet in a boomerang-shaped trajectory, JPL spokesman DC Agle said.

Benefit of mammograms greater than thought CHICAGO: The longest-running breast cancer screening study ever conducted has shown that regular mammograms prevent deaths from breast cancer, and the number of lives saved increases over time, an international research team said Tuesday. The study of 130,000 women in two communities in Sweden showed 30 percent fewer women in the screening group died of breast cancer and that this effect persisted year after year.

Gene machines may help save endangered Tasmanian devil CHICAGO: Scientists are using high-tech gene sequencing machines in a desperate attempt to save the Tasmanian devil from an infectious cancer called devil facial tumor disease that is threatening to wipe out the species. “The disease is like nothing we know in humans or in virtually any other animal. It acts like a virus but it actually is spread by a whole cancerous cell that arose in one individual several decades ago,” Penn State University’s Stephan Schuster, who is working on the project, said in a statement.

Wayward baboon, likely from park, captured in US HOWELL TOWNSHIP: A wayward baboon that apparently escaped from an amusement park and became a mini-celebrity, appearing at a golf course and being followed on Twitter , was captured Saturday after spending three days on the lam. The animal appeared to be unharmed when it was found and tranquilized at a farm in southern New Jersey. The farm isn’t far from Six Flags Great Adventure’s Monkey Jungle in Jackson Township, which has about 150 baboons that are part of a drive-through safari.

Park officials confirmed the capture and said they believed the animal was theirs. But they won’t know for sure until it’s assessed and they can see if it has a microchip that’s embedded in all their baboons.

Numerous online followers tracked the baboon’s travels after it initially was spotted Thursday. Many posted on a tongue-in-cheek Twitter account created by a person posing as the baboon.

Park spokeswoman Kristin Siebeneicher said the baboon, which appeared to be an adolescent, would be taken to the park for a physical exam and health assessment. She said all of Great Adventure’s baboons are vaccinated, fenced in and implanted with microchips beneath their skin, but they are not counted daily because they sleep outside in the Monkey Jungle preserve.

And if it turns out that it was one of their baboons that escaped, park officials want to know how it got out because they have found no signs that an escape occurred. Police and park officials had been looking for the baboon since Thursday afternoon, after a driver saw it near a major highway.

A short time later, a woman reported that the baboon was sitting on her back porch. Several sightings were then reported in nearby residential areas on Friday, and officials thought they finally had the baboon cornered in a tree at a local golf course on late Friday afternoon. But an attempt to shoot a tranquilizer dart at it failed, and it ran off into the woods.

Officials had said the baboon didn’t pose a threat to residents but as a precaution warned them not to approach it if they encountered it. They believed the animal was frightened and was just trying to find its way back home.— AP

NASA’s final four: Fate grants them farewell flight FLORIDA: America’s longest space-flying streak ends this week with the smallest crew in decades, three men and a woman who were in high school or college when the first space shuttle soared 30 years ago. History will remember these final four as bookending an era that began with two pilots who boldly took a shuttle for a two-day spin in 1981 without even a test flight. That adventure blasted space wide open for women, minorities, scientists, schoolteachers, politicians, even a prince. On Friday aboard Atlantis, this last crew will make NASA’s 135th and final shuttle flight. It will be years before the United States sends its own spacecraft up again.

Commander Christopher Ferguson, copilot Douglas Hurley, Rex Walheim and Sandra Magnus are delighting in their good luck.

“We’re very honored to be in this position. There are many people who could be here,” said Ferguson, a retired Navy captain. “When the dice fell, our names were facing up.” NASA managers were looking for space vets when they cobbled together this minimalist crew with seven space flights among them, to deliver one last shuttle load of supplies to the International Space Station. They are an eloquent, colorful bunch in their 40s, accepting if not embracing the spotlight. Ferguson is a drummer for an astronaut rock ‘n’ roll band. Hurley is nuts about NASCAR; his cousin is married to crew chief Greg Zipadelli. Walheim is a former shuttle flight controller; his graphic designer wife creates the mission patch every time he flies, always on Atlantis. Magnus is arguably the first outof-this-world chef : She whipped up Christmas cookies and Super Bowl salsa aboard the space station in late 2008 and early 2009, using , as do all good chefs , ingredients on hand.

They were originally recruited to be a rescue team. The idea was that back in May, if anything seriously damaged Endeavour during its final flight, Ferguson and his team would have rushed to the space station and brought those astronauts home.

If no rescue was needed, the original plan went, Ferguson’s crew simply would not fly, and Atlantis would be sent to a museum along with the two other retired shuttles. But early this year, NASA decided to add one more flight. Since Atlantis was being groomed for a potential rescue anyway, NASA reasoned, why not make a cargo run with a year’s worth of food and other provisions to keep the space station well-stocked. That added a new wrinkle: What if Atlantis were damaged? There are no more shuttles to rescue them.

The only viable option is the Russian Soyuz spacecraft. The capsules can carry a maximum three people at a time, and at least one must be Russian. That’s why Atlantis’ crew was capped at four, instead of the usual six or seven. It will be NASA’s first four-person shuttle crew since 1983.

Ferguson and his short-handed crew know there’s a chance , about 1-in-560 , that they could be stranded at the space station because of flight damage to Atlantis. If that happens, it will take close to a year to get the last person home.

Hurley, a Marine, drew the long straw.

The travel sequence is based on roboticarm and spacewalking skills, as well as accumulated exposure to cosmic radiation. That last factor alone prevents Magnus, a former space station resident,

with the pricey Russian Soyuz to get US astronauts to and from the space station.

For Americans, that means just a handful of flying opportunities a year. Compare that with the 35 to 50 seats that the shuttles typically provided each year. Little wonder, then, that NASA’s astronaut corps has shrunk to 61 active members.

Only the youngest and most patient are willing to wait out these conflicted, money-tight times.

Few people, it seems, can agree on

SPACE: In this April 25, 1990 photo by the STS-31 crew aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery, shortly before the Hubble Space Telescope was deployed, showing the extended golden solar blanket which will suply power to the Telescope. The giant spacecraft is being put in orbit to gather information about a large variety of astronomical objects, from neighboring planets and stars to the most distant galaxies and quasars. —AFP from spending too long a time in space.

Hurley , who is married to astronaut Karen Nyberg and has a 1-year-old son , looks at the bright side. “If it works out that way, I get a yearlong expedition for nine months of training, so that’s a pretty good return on the investment,” he said.

He points to Magnus, a scientist whose specialty is in cathodes and radar, who trained four years for a mere four-month station stay. Yearlong space missions are exceedingly rare; only three Russian cosmonauts have attempted it. The longest an American has spent in space, at a stretch, is seven months. That’s how far NASA’s astronauts are willing to go, these days, for a shot at space.

Until private companies get piloted spacecraft flying , an estimated three to 10 years out , NASA will have to stick

where NASA should aim next. The moon, an asteroid, Mars? And how best to get there? As the debate and uncertainty drag on, Ferguson said he has seen no ill feeling toward NASA by those still toiling in the shuttle program. Thousands more layoffs are coming as soon as Atlantis lands, on top of the thousands of jobs already lost.

Ferguson rejects suggestions that the US space program is headed downhill with the shuttle’s retirement. “Hopefully, we’ll see 10 years of good quality science out of the space station,” he said. “We still have a vibrant program going on.”

Despite two horrific accidents that killed 14 astronauts and destroyed two spacecraft, the shuttle program has carried more people than any other space fleet: 355 people from 16 countries. That

includes Saudi Arabia, which flew a prince aboard Discovery in 1985.

Space miles logged by the five shuttles: 537 million, with 4 million more to come this mission. “ There is not an American who doesn’t look upon an ascending shuttle with a certain sense of American pride, hair on the back of your neck, chills, call it what you will,” Ferguson said. The space shuttle is “a quintessential American vehicle,” said Walheim, a retired Air Force colonel who will serve as the flight engineer. “You point to that and people know it’s from the United States, so I think we’re losing that piece of identity.” The four astronauts feel the extra burden of putting “the best possible face forward for the last go-around of this,” as Ferguson describes it.

This should not be a time of mourning, these astronauts say, or for secondguessing the shuttle retirement decision made seven years ago by President George W Bush in the aftermath of the Columbia disaster. Ferguson and his crew want this final flight to be a celebration.

They point to the Hubble Space Telescope, which was launched and repaired by shuttle crews, as well as the International Space Station. Nearly onethird of the 135 shuttle flights were spent building or supplying the nearly 1 million-pound (450,000-kilogram) orbiting laboratory.

For now, Atlantis’ astronauts are focused on the coming cargo mission, humble as it is. They will provide roboticarm support for a spacewalk by two space station astronauts. But most of the work involves hauling supplies from Atlantis into the station, and carting out broken equipment and junk for disposal back on Earth.

One thing Ferguson did not count on, when mapping out the training flow months ago, was all the emotional conversation that has added to the crew’s already long workdays. Almost every shuttle worker they encounter wants to share a story: How long they have worked at Kennedy Space Center and what the shuttle program means to them. “At the end of the day ... we’re like, wow, there’s a lot of emotion here,” Ferguson said. “But they’re all stories that we want to hear.” Ferguson expects “the enormity of it to hit us” at wheels-stop on landing day , July 20, the 42nd anniversary of man’s first steps on the moon, if the schedule holds.

The astronauts say they will have to be pried from the cockpit. Magnus expects to shed tears as she sits on the runway, “contemplating 30 years of a spectacular program.” “We are blessed to have been a part of it. All of us, not just perhaps the chosen few who are lucky enough to fly it, but as a country,” Ferguson said. Until then, he said, “We’re just trying to savor the moment. We want to be able to say, ‘We remember when. We remember when there was a space shuttle.”‘—AP

Polar bears’ threatened status upheld in US court WASHINGTON: A US federal judge upheld the status of polar bears as a species threatened by climate change, denying challenges by a safari club, two cattlemen’s organizations and the state of Alaska. The ruling by District Judge Emmet Sullivan confirmed a 2008 decision that polar bears need protection under the US Endangered Species Act because their icy habitat is melting away.

The legal challenges-some contending polar bears don’t need this protection, others

maintaining the big white bears need more-were launched after the US Fish and Wildlife Service included this Arctic mammal on its list of threatened species. The state of Alaska, Safari Club International and two cattlemen’s groups claimed the federal government’s decision to list the polar bear was “arbitrary and capricious and an abuse of agency discretion,” according to a memorandum opinion released with the ruling. On the other side, environmental groups including the Center for Biological

Diversity, urged that polar bears be listed as endangered, which offers greater protection than that provided for wildlife classified as threatened.

The heart of the judge’s decision was whether the Fish and Wildlife Service had made a rational decision in its 2008 listing. The judge noted that the wildlife agency took three years to “evaluate a body of science that is both exceedingly complex and rapidly developing,” considering 160,000 pages of documents and some 670,000 com-

ments from a wide range of interested parties.” “The court finds that plaintiffs (who challenged the listing) have failed to demonstrate that the agency’s listing determination rises to the level of irrationality,” Sullivan wrote. “... the Court finds the (wildlife) service’s decision to list the polar bear as a threatened species ... represents a reasoned exercise of the agency’s discretion based upon the facts and the best available science as of 2008 when the agency made its listing determination,” the judge wrote.

Environmental activists gave the decision measured praise.

Greenpeace called it “bittersweet,” the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Center for Biological Diversity said stronger protections were warranted. However, Kassie Siegel of the Center for Biological Diversity’s Climate Law Institute said in a statement: “This decision is an important affirmation that the science demonstrating that global warming is pushing the polar bear toward extinction simply cannot be denied.”—Reuters

Medicare proposes change in anemia drug usage

MELBOURNE: Melbourne Zoo’s newest primate baby, a three week-old Colobus monkey, is held in the arms of her mother Clover, in Melbourne. Keepers have not been able to determine the sex of the newborn monkey which is pure white and won’t display any black markings until it’s several months old.—AFP

LOS ANGELES: The Medicare federal health insurance program has proposed removing its requirement that kidney dialysis providers keep patient hemoglobin levels above a set minimum, which could lead to lower use of Epogen, the anemia drug sold by Amgen. The government health plan said last month that it had no plans to change its reimbursement terms for anemia drugs used to treat kidney patients.

But in a statement on its website, the agency proposed retiring a requirement that patients’ hemoglobin, or red blood cell, levels be kept above 10 milligrams per deciliter.

It said such an action would be “consistent with revised US Food and Drug Administration guidelines.” Last week, the FDA changed the labels for Amgen’s Epogen and Johnson and Johnson’s Procrit to call for lower dosing of the anemia drugs, which have been linked in recent years to safety concerns such as increased risk of heart problems.

“Clinicians should use the lowest dose of ESA (erythropoiesis stimulating agent) sufficient to reduce the need for red blood cell transfusions,” Patrick Conway, chief medical officer at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) said in the statement. Amgen said it recognizes that the labeling for ESAs has changed, but is concerned that the proposal would remove an important

safeguard designed to protect dialysis patients from being undertreated.

The Medicare guidelines “should have a measure that protects patients from hemoglobin levels that fall too low,” the biotechnology company said in an emailed statement. Sales of the anemia drugs have declined steeply in recent years, but Amgen’s Epogen, along with its second-generation drug Aranesp, and J&J’s Procrit are still expected to generate around $6 billion in 2011 sales, according to data from Thomson Reuters Pharma. The proposed change would apply under Medicare’s quality performance standards for “bundled” payments to dialysis providers and would affect payment years 2013 and 2014, the agency said. CMS projected that its payment rates for dialysis treatments would increase by 1.8 percent in 2012, representing projected inflation of 3 percent less a projected productivity adjustment of 1.2 percent. It also estimated that federal payments to dialysis facilities in 2012 would total $8.3 billion. While Medicare traditionally covers just elderly and disabled Americans, kidney disease patients are an exception. The program covers all those with end stage renal disease under a decades-old law. Medicare said it would accept comments on the proposed rule until the end of August and will respond to them in a final rule to be issued by November 1.—Reuters

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International gathering on climate change opens BERLIN: An international gathering on climate change opened yesterday to prepare the ground for a UN summit on the issue in Durban, South Africa in December. The meeting, attended by representatives from some 35 countries, was opened by Germany’s Environment Minister Norbert Roettgen and South African Foreign Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashbane.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel was due to address the gathering later yesterday. In her weekly video podcast broadcast on Saturday, she called for the Durban meeting to hammer out a global, legally-binding agreement to ensure that global warming, due to carbon emissions, be limited to two degrees Celsius. “A number of countries have announced (in the wake of the 2010 Cancun summit) voluntary measures, but these will not suďŹƒce to reach our objective,â€? Merkel said. “We also need measures, targeted measures, and if possible treaties that are legally binding.

That’s what will be diďŹƒcult. But in any case, time is running short as the Kyoto Protocol is soon to expire,â€? she added.

European Union and US leaders have however already warned that there will be no binding deal on emissions at this year’s climate summit in South Africa. “The good news is that there is a general recognition of the necessity of a legally-binding agreement,� EU climate action commissioner Connie Hedegaard said in April. “The bad news is no legally-binding agreement deal will be done in Durban.�

The key issue for participants ahead of Durban is how to bring timid agreements reached in Cancun, Mexico in December to life.—AFP

Oil spilled into Yellowstone River

BERLIN: German Environment Minister Norbert Roettgen, center, delivers the opening speech of the Petersberg Climate Dialogue in Berlin yesterday.—AP

A Word of Solutions

WASHINGTON: An oil pipeline in northwestern US state Montana has ruptured and spilled crude oil into the Yellowstone River, a key tourist attraction in the region that runs through a famed national park, the pipeline operator acknowledged late Saturday.

ExxonMobil Pipeline Company said the leak developed Friday on the section of the pipeline that runs from Silver Tip to Billings, both in Montana. The pipeline has been shut down and the segment where the release occurred has been isolated, the company said in a statement. The amount of oil released into the river remains undetermined. “We recognize the seriousness of this incident and are working hard to address it,â€? the company said in a statement. “Our principal focus is on protecting the safety and health of the public and our employees.â€? ExxonMobil also promised “a thorough investigationâ€? of the leak. Considered one of the most scenic Western US rivers, the Yellowstone River starts in northwestern Wyoming and ows northward through Yellowstone National Park, feeding Yellowstone Lake and creating famous Yellowstone Falls. It is one of the principal tributaries of the upper Missouri River. Although the spill lies downstream from Yellowstone National Park, the river is seen as a major tourist attraction along all of its length. OďŹƒcials with the Environmental Protection Agency were expected to arrive at the scene of the spill early yesterday, The New York Times reported. — AFP

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Qurtuba High School held a graduation ceremony for its graduates for the academic year 2010/2011 at the school grounds. The principal and teachers of the school and a large number of students and their families attended the ceremony.

Kuwait House of National Works organized a musical night and dinner banquet in honour of the Egyptian Minister of tourism Muneer Abdul Noor during his visit to the country recently.

MONDAY, JULY 4, 2011

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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.

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NSS-Kuwait conducts blood donation camp

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ational Service Society (NSS-KUWAIT) Charity Wing has conducted a blood donation camp at the Central Blood Bank in Jabriya on 24th June 2011. The camp was attended by more than 40 members who have come forward to donate their blood voluntarily irrespective of their other engagements on

a Friday afternoon. NSS Kuwait is encouraging blood donation among its members as an act of charity. It is a great feeling to know that it saves someone’s life. It gives the blood donor a great inner satisfaction and accomplishment. We have taken up blood donation as a regular activity and a part of the NSS culture to

donate blood once every three months. The overwhelming participation received from NSS members is very encouraging to continue with many other charitable activities this year. The Charity Convener Hari Nair thanked each and every one who participated in this great act of charity.

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.

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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 ■■■■■■■

Comilla Probashi Parishad selects office bearers

C

omilla Probashi Parishad, an esteemed sociocultural organization in Kuwait, held general meeting at Rajdhani Restaurant in Kuwait City, to introduce its 5th Executive Committee [2011 - 2013].

Ataul Gani Mamun was selected as President for the 2nd time by unanimous consensus and Shah Karim as General Secretary for the new committee. Other office bearers are Vice

Presidents -Hussain Uddin Ahmed, Amritlal Datta, Ali Abdul Wahid; AGS Mohammad Dulal Bhuiyan, Mustafiz Rahman; Organizing Secretary Mesbah Uddin Salim, Joint Organizing Secretary - Belal Hussain; Publicity Scretary - Shaheen Mohamad Ismail; Welfare Secretary - Nooruzamman; Cultural Secretary - Mahafuzur Rahman; Executive Members - Sharif Mezanur Rahman, Mustafiz Rahman,

Kabir Hussain, Ashiq Ahmed, Kamaluddin, Mobarak Hussain, Ismail Muzumdar, Jamal Hussain, Ershad, Enam Miyah and Syedullah.

The Advisory Committee Members are - Jehangir Patwary, Haji Abul Kasem, Abdul Kuddoos and Chief Advisor of the Committee Mohammed Nasser The general meeting was presided

by Mohammed Nasser and guests of

honor Eng Sadequr Rahman, Jehangir Patwary and Abdul Kuddoos.

For the last five years, the members of the organization have devoted their time to help needy Bangladeshis especially from the district of Comilla, such as contributing money to parents for the marriage of their daughters, incentives for poor intelligent students, air tickets for the needy to return back to Bangladesh, etc.

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 co-operation 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.

Karim Koreitem receives congratulations of the jury for achieving a 20/20 rating in the test in mathematics.

French School achieves best results on GCC level

T

he French School of Kuwait proudly announced that it has achieved 80 percent success in the French baccalaureate. The headmaster and teachers of French school of Kuwait received the

congratulations of the President of the Jury of Baccalaureate in Abu Dhabi for achieving 100 percent success from the first group of tests. 80% of candidates received an honorable mention or very honorable.

Greetings Happy Birthday Mama Wel We wish you good health and more happiness..

Greetings from: Daddy Jebong, Alexis, Aliya, Family and Friends.

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.

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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

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

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.

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.

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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

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MONDAY, JULY 4, 2011

Years

TV PROGRAMS

00:45 01:40 02:35 04:25 05:20 06:10 07:00 07:25 07:50 08:40 09:10 10:05 11:00 11:55 12:20 12:50 Coast 13:45 14:40 15:30 16:00 16:30 17:00 17:25 18:20 18:45 19:15 20:10

Dogs 101 Untamed & Uncut Into the Pride I Was Bitten Animal Cops South Africa My Cat from Hell Lemur Street The Really Wild Show Farm Life Breed All About It Must Love Cats Cats 101 Michaela’s Animal Road Trip Lemur Street Wildlife SOS Animal Park: Wild on the West Animal Cops Houston Animal Precinct RSPCA: On the Frontline The Really Wild Show Jeff Corwin Unleashed Natural Born Hunters Cats 101 Breed All About It Planet Wild Crocodile Hunter Dogs/Cats/Pets 101

00:25 One Foot In The Grave 00:55 The Weakest Link 01:40 Ray Mears’ Northern Wilderness 02:30 The Weakest Link 03:15 New Tricks 04:05 Keeping Up Appearances 04:35 Fimbles 04:55 Balamory 05:15 Teletubbies 05:40 Gigglebiz 05:55 Fimbles 06:15 Balamory 06:35 Teletubbies 07:00 Fimbles 07:20 Balamory 07:40 Teletubbies 08:05 Gigglebiz 08:20 Fimbles 08:40 Balamory 09:00 Teletubbies 09:25 Gigglebiz 09:40 Keeping Up Appearances 10:40 The Weakest Link 11:25 Monarch Of The Glen 12:15 Doctors 12:45 One Foot In The Grave 13:15 Ray Mears’ Northern Wilderness 14:10 Keeping Up Appearances 15:45 Monarch Of The Glen 16:35 The Weakest Link 17:20 Doctors 17:50 One Foot In The Grave 18:20 Ray Mears’ Northern Wilderness 19:10 Monarch Of The Glen 20:00 The Weakest Link 20:45 Doctors 21:15 Eastenders 21:45 Holby City 22:40 The Fixer 23:30 Live At The Apollo

00:00 00:50 02:20 03:50 05:30 07:30 08:20 09:15 11:15 12:05 12:55 13:40 14:25 17:20 18:10 19:00 19:50 20:35 21:20 22:10 23:00

Rick Stein’s French Odyssey Masterchef: The Professionals Design Star Rick Stein’s French Odyssey Masterchef: The Professionals New Scandinavian Cooking Antiques Roadshow Come Dine With Me New Scandinavian Cooking Antiques Roadshow Cash In The Attic Bargain Hunt Come Dine With Me Sweet Baby James New Scandinavian Cooking Antiques Roadshow Cash In The Attic Bargain Hunt Come Dine With Me The Home Show Come Dine With Me

00:00 BBC World News 00:10 World Features 00:30 Horizons 01:00 BBC World News 01:30 Asia Business Report 01:45 Sport Today 02:00 BBC World News 02:10 World Features 02:30 Our World 03:00 Newsday 03:30 India Business Report 04:00 Newsday 04:30 Asia Business Report 04:45 Sport Today 05:00 Newsday 05:30 Asia Business Report 05:45 Sport Today 06:00 Newsday 06:30 Hardtalk 07:00 BBC World News 07:30 World Business Report 07:45 BBC World News 08:30 World Business Report 08:45 BBC World News 09:30 World Business Report 09:45 Sport Today 10:00 BBC World News 10:30 World Business Report 10:45 Sport Today 11:00 BBC World News 11:30 Hardtalk 12:00 BBC World News 12:30 World Business Report 12:45 Sport Today 13:00 BBC World News 13:30 World Business Report 13:45 Sport Today 14:00 GMT With George Alagiah 15:00 BBC World News 15:30 World Business Report 15:45 Sport Today 16:00 Impact With Mishal Husain 17:30 World Business Report 17:45 Sport Today 18:00 BBC World News 18:30 Hardtalk 19:00 The Hub With Nik Gowing 20:30 World Business Report 20:45 Sport Today 21:00 World News Today With Zeinab Badawi 22:30 World Business Report 22:45 Sport Today 23:00 BBC World News America 23:30 Hardtalk

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

African Voices World Sport World Report World Business Today CNN Marketplace Middle East Piers Morgan Tonight Talk Asia News Special World Sport News Special World Report The Best Of Backstory World Report World Sport World View World Business Today World One World Sport African Voices Fareed Zakaria Gps News Stream World Business Today International Desk The Brief World Sport Prism International Desk African Voices Quest Means Business Piers Morgan Tonight Connect The World

01:15 03:05 04:55 06:45 08:35

Ulee’s Gold-PG After Dark, My Sweet The Red Shoe Diaries-18 Wild Orchid Just Another Story-PG

10:00 12:05 13:30 15:05 16:30 17:55 19:30 22:00 23:35 23:50

Man Of LA Mancha-PG Sibling Rivalry-PG Mystery Date-PG Road Rage-PG Nashville Beat-PG Speechless-PG The Group-PG A Green Journey-PG Mgm’s Big Screen-FAM Stigmata

00:00 Angry Planet 00:30 Glutton For Punishment 01:00 Planet Food 02:00 Distant Shores 02:30 Glutton For Punishment 03:00 Planet Sports 04:00 Globe Trekker 05:00 Angry Planet 05:30 Glutton For Punishment 06:00 Globe Trekker 08:00 Intrepid Journeys 09:00 Planet Sports 10:00 Julian And Camilla’s World Odyssey 11:00 Inside Luxury Travel-Varun Sharma 12:00 Globe Trekker 13:00 Planet Food 14:00 Intrepid Journeys 15:00 Essential Specials 16:00 Globe Trekker 17:00 Inside Luxury Travel-Varun Sharma 18:00 Planet Food 19:00 Globe Trekker 20:00 Cruise Today 20:30 Travel Oz

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 Codename: Kids Next Door 07:25 Cow And Chicken 07:50 Angelo Rules 08:05 Cartoon Network Dance Club 08:15 Adventure Time 08:40 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien 09:05 Chowder 09:30 Chowder 10:00 Batman: The Brave And The Bold 10:55 Ben 10 11:45 Bakugan Battle Brawlers 12:35 Samurai Jack 13:25 Fantastic Four: World’s Greatest Heroes 14:15 Robotboy 15:05 The Secret Saturdays 15:50 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien 16:35 Bakugan: New Vestroia 17:15 Chowder 18:05 Hero 108 18:30 Cartoon Network Dance Club 18:45 The Marvelous Misadventures Of Flapjack 18:55 Chowder 19:20 Adventure Time 19:45 The Grim Adventures Of Billy And Mandy 20:10 Courage The Cowardly Dog 20:35 Cow And Chicken 21:00 Best Ed 21:25 Foster’s Home For Imaginary Friends 21:50 Robotboy 22:00 Adventure Time 22:25 Hero 108 22:50 Ben 10 23:15 Bakugan Battle Brawlers 23:40 Chowder

INKHEART ON OSN ACTION HD

00:40 07:00 07:50 08:45 09:10 10:05 10:30 10:55 11:25 12:20 13:15 14:10 15:05 16:00 16:55 17:50 18:45 19:10 19:40 20:05 21:00 21:55 22:50 23:45

Stan Lee’s Superhumans Battle Machine Bros Street Customs 2008 How It’s Made Mythbusters Cake Boss Border Security Time Warp Huge Moves Mighty Ships Ultimate Survival LA Ink Dirty Jobs Battle Machine Bros Mythbusters Extreme Fishing Cake Boss Border Security Auction Hunters How It’s Made Flying Wild Alaska Danger Coast Swords: Life On The Line Extreme Fishing

00:30 Sci-Trek 01:20 The Gadget Show 02:10 What’s That About?

03:00 The Colony 04:45 Weird Or What?

05:40 Cool Stuff And How It Works 06:10 The Future Of...

07:00 Da Vinci’s Machines 07:55 Head Rush 07:58 Sci-Fi Science 08:26 Weird Connections 08:55 Stephen Hawking’s Universe 09:45 Nextworld 15:45 Weird Connections 16:10 Brainiac 17:00 Through The Wormhole With Morgan Freeman 17:50 Sci-Fi Science 18:15 The Gadget Show 18:40 Things That Move 19:30 Nyc: Inside Out 20:20 Da Vinci’s Machines 21:10 The Gadget Show 22:00 Things That Move 22:50 Nyc: Inside Out 23:40 The Gadget Show

00:05 00:30 01:45 02:10 03:25 04:15 05:30 05:55 07:00 08:15 09:30 10:45 12:00 13:15 14:30 15:45 17:00 18:15 19:30 20:45 22:00 23:15 23:40

Western Extreme Elk Chronicles Fall Flight Ducks Unlimited Western Extreme Elk Chronicles Fall Flight Ducks Unlimited Cowboys Ultimate Match Fishing Pro Cowboys World Class Sports Fishing Legends of Rod & Reel Tarpon Of Boca World Class Sports Fishing Legends of Rod & Reel Tarpon Of Boca World Class Sports Fishing Legends of Rod & Reel Tarpon Of Boca Cowboys Ultimate Match Fishing Pro Ultimate Match Fishing Pro

00:05 Unwrapped 00:30 Diners, Drive-Ins And Dives 00:55 Unwrapped 01:20 Unwrapped 01:45 Lidia’s Italy 02:10 Lidia’s Italy 02:35 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 03:00 Barefoot Contessa 03:25 Guy’s Big Bite 03:50 Guy’s Big Bite 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 Paula’s Party 21:10 Everyday Italian 22:00 Lidia’s Italy 22:25 Lidia’s Italy 22:50 Boy Meets Grill 23:15 Boy Meets Grill 23:40 Good Eats - Special

00:20 01:10 02:00 02:45 03:35 04:25 05:15 06:00 06:20 07:05 07:55 08:20 08:35 09:00

Replacements Fairly Odd Parents A Kind Of Magic Stitch Kim Possible Emperors New School Stitch Emperors New School Phineas & Ferb Suite Life On Deck Good Luck Charlie Fish Hooks Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Jake & The Neverland Pirates

09:10 09:25 09:40 09:50 10:10 10:35 10:50 11:15 12:00 12:45 13:30 15:20 15:45 16:10 16:35 17:25 17:50 18:15 18:45 19:10 20:00 20:25 20:50 21:15 21:35 22:00 22:25 22:50 23:15 23:35

Jungle Junction Handy Manny Jake & The Neverland Pirates Sonny With A Chance Fish Hooks Phineas And Ferb Shake It Up Good Luck Charlie Wizards Of Waverly Place Hannah Montana Camp Rock The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody Fish Hooks Shake It Up Wizards Of Waverly Place Hannah Montana Fish Hooks Suite Life On Deck S3 Shake It Up Good Luck Charlie Wizards Of Waverly Place Jake & Blake Hannah Montana Phineas & Ferb Good Luck Charlie Shake It Up Hannah Montana Sonny With A Chance Wizards Of Waverly Place Jonas

06:00 Kid Vs Kat 06:20 Kick Buttowski 06:40 Pokemon Dp: Sinnoh League Victors 07:05 Phineas & Ferb 08:05 Kick Buttowski 08:30 American Dragon 09:00 I’m In The Band 11:30 Pair Of Kings 11:55 Phineas & Ferb 12:45 Kid Vs Kat 13:50 The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody 14:15 The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody 14:40 Zeke & Luther 15:05 Kick Buttowski 15:35 Pokemon Dp: Sinnoh League Victors 16:00 I’m In The Band 16:25 Aaron Stone 18:55 Kick Buttowski 19:20 Kick Buttowski 19:45 Kid Vs Kat 20:15 Kid Vs Kat 20:40 I’m In The Band 21:05 The Avengers: Earths Mightiest Heroes 21:30 Zeke & Luther 22:00 The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody 22:20 The Super Hero Squad Show

00:25 Style Star 01:25 25 Most Memorable Swimsuit Moments 03:15 E! Investigates 04:10 Sexiest 05:05 Reality Hell 05:30 Wildest TV Show Moments 06:00 THS 07:50 Behind The Scenes 08:20 E! News 09:15 Holly’s World 09:45 Holly’s World 10:15 25 Hottest Hollywood Cougar Tales 12:05 Extreme Close-Up 12:35 Fashion Police 13:05 Khloe And Lamar 14:05 Kourtney And Khloe Take Miami 14:35 E!es 16:25 Behind The Scenes 16:55 Kimora: Life In The Fab Lane 17:55 Holly’s World 18:25 Holly’s World 18:55 E!es 19:55 Kendra 20:25 Kendra 20:55 Chelsea Lately 21:25 Kourtney And Kim Take New York 21:55 Kourtney And Kim Take New York 22:25 Style Star 22:55 Fashion Police 23:25 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 23:55 Kourtney And Kim Take New York

00:15 Final Fu 01:30 Eds Up 02:20 Fantasy Factory 04:50 Lucas Oil Ama Motocross Championships...

06:30 FIA European Drag Racing 2008 08:00 Quattro Events 2009 08:25 FIM World Supermoto 2010 10:55 Ride Guide Mountainbike 2009 11:45 Fantasy Factory 12:10 Man’s Work 12:35 Glutton For Punishment 13:25 Mantracker 14:15 World Combat League 15:05 Ride Guide Mountainbike 2009 15:55 Fantasy Factory 16:20 Man’s Work 16:45 Quattro Events 2009 17:10 FIM World Supermoto 2010 19:40 Mantracker 20:30 Glutton For Punishment 21:20 Final Fu 22:10 World Combat League 23:00 Fight Girls 23:50 Glutton For Punishment

00:30 The Will: Family Secrets Revealed 01:20 Nightmare Next Door 02:10 Deadly Women 03:00 Autopsy: Most Shocking Cases 03:50 The Will: Family Secrets Revealed 04:45 Crime Scene Psychics 05:15 On The Case With Paula Zahn 06:10 Life Or Death: Medical Mysteries 07:00 Murder Shift 07:50 Forensic Detectives 08:40 Real Emergency Calls 09:30 Mystery Diagnosis 10:20 The Will: Family Secrets Revealed 11:10 FBI Files 12:00 True Crime With Aphrodite Jones 12:50 Disappeared

12 ROUNDS ON OSN MOVIES ACTION 13:40 Mystery Diagnosis 14:30 Real Emergency Calls 15:20 The Will: Family Secrets Revealed 16:10 FBI Files 17:00 Forensic Detectives 17:50 Murder Shift 18:40 Real Emergency Calls 19:05 Mystery Diagnosis

00:00 Shadow Hunters 01:00 Wild Amazon 01:55 Tiger Queen 02:50 Monster Fish 03:45 Deep Jungle 04:40 Sahara 05:35 Sahara 06:30 Bonecrusher Queens 07:25 Restless Planet 08:20 Dangerous Encounters With Brady Barr 09:15 Tiger Queen 10:10 Monster Fish 11:05 Deep Jungle 12:00 Valley of The Wolves 13:00 Cheetah Blood Brothers 14:00 World’s Weirdest 15:00 Built For The Kill 16:00 The Last Lioness 17:00 Monster Fish 18:00 Dangerous Encounters With Brady Barr 19:00 Cheetah Blood Brothers 20:00 World’s Weirdest 21:00 Built For The Kill

00:45 It’s Alive-R 02:15 John Carpenter’s Ghosts Of Mars-PG15 04:00 Se7en-18 06:15 The Sum Of All Fears-PG15 08:30 Inkheart-PG 10:15 A Knight’s Tale-PG15 12:30 Ransom-PG15 14:30 Inkheart-PG 16:30 S.W.A.T.-PG15 18:30 Ransom-PG15 20:30 Bangkok Adrenaline-PG15 22:00 The Boondock Saints 2: All Saints Day-18

00:00 Curb Your Enthusiasm 00:30 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 01:00 The Colbert Report 01:30 Boondocks 02:00 Neighbors From Hell 02:30 That Mitchell And Webb Look 03:00 Malcolm In The Middle 03:30 Hope And Faith 04:00 The New Adventures Of Old Christine 04:30 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 05:30 Will And Grace 06:00 According To Jim 06:30 Coach 07:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 08:00 The New Adventures Of Old Christine 08:30 Malcolm In The Middle 09:00 Will And Grace 09:30 Sons Of Tucson 10:00 Seinfeld 10:30 According To Jim 11:00 Coach 11:30 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 12:30 The New Adventures Of Old Christine 13:00 Hope And Faith 13:30 Tyler Perry’s House Of Payne 14:00 According To Jim 14:30 Sons Of Tucson 15:00 Two And A Half Men 15:30 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 16:00 The Colbert Report 16:30 Coach 17:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 18:00 Malcolm In The Middle 18:30 Hope And Faith 19:00 Seinfeld 19:30 Sons Of Tucson 20:00 The League 20:30 It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia 21:00 The Daily Show Global Edition 21:30 The Colbert Report Global Edition

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

03:30 ICC Criket World 04:00 Futbol Mundial 04:30 NRL Premiership 06:30 Mobil 1 The Grid 07:00 Golfing World 08:00 PGA European Tour 12:30 Golfing World 13:30 Ladies European Highlights 15:00 Mobil 1 The Grid 15:30 NRL Premiership 17:30 World Hockey 18:00 Golfing World 19:00 AFL Highlights 20:00 PGA European Highlights 21:00 ICC Criket World 21:30 Mobil 1 The Grid 22:00 Masters Football

8 Mile-18 Dead Snow-PG15 The Forsaken-18 The Stepfather-PG15 12 Rounds-PG15 Deceit-PG15 Hardwired-PG15 12 Rounds-PG15 Raising Cain-PG15 Mindhunters-18 Gothika-18 Ballistica-PG15

Tour

Tour

00:00 Can’t Buy Me Love-PG15 02:00 Land Of The Lost-PG15 04:00 The Good Girl-PG15 00:00 V8 Supercars Championship 06:00 America’s Sweethearts-PG15 01:00 V8 Supercars Extra 08:00 Suburban Girl-PG15 01:30 Le Mans Series Magazine 10:00 The Out Of Towners-PG15 02:00 UFC 132 Prelims 12:00 How To Go Out On A Date In 03:00 UFC 132 Queens-PG15 06:00 UFC Unleashed 14:00 12 Men Of Christmas-PG15 07:00 WWE Bottom Line 16:00 Can’t Buy Me Love-PG15 08:00 Le Mans 18:00 Reality Bites-PG15 14:00 V8 Supercars Championship 20:00 Without A Paddle-PG15 15:00 WWE SmackDown 22:00 The Ugly Truth-PG15 17:00 WWE Vintage Collection 18:00 Duathlon 18:30 Powerboats 21:00 UFC 132 Prelims 22:00 UFC 132 01:45 Vanilla Sky-18 04:15 2012-PG15 07:00 Nativity!-PG 09:00 The Sunset Limited-PG15 11:00 Flying By-PG15 13:00 Malibu’s Most Wanted-PG15 00:00 Top 10 15:00 Dean Spanley-PG 01:00 Fashion Avenue 17:00 The Sunset Limited-PG15 19:00 The Time Traveller’s Wife- 01:55 Big Boutique 02:25 How Do I Look?

PG15 03:20 Whose Wedding Is It 21:00 Without A Paddle-PG15 Anyway?

23:00 Harry Brown-18

00:00 The Enchanted Mountain-PG 02:00 Free Willy 3: The Rescue-FAM 04:00 Inspector Gadget’s Biggest Caper Ever-FAM 06:00 The Enchanted Mountain-PG 08:00 Looney, Looney, Looney Bugs Bunny Movie-FAM 10:00 Free Willy 3: The Rescue-FAM 12:00 A Simple Wish-FAM 14:00 Dr. Dolittle 2-PG 16:00 Casper Haunted ChristmasFAM 18:00 A Simple Wish-FAM 20:00 My Fair Madeline-FAM 22:00 Dr. Dolittle 2-PG

00:00 2:37-R 02:00 Creation-PG15 04:00 School Of Rock-PG15 06:00 Secret Origin: The Story Of DC Comics-PG 08:00 Planet 51-PG 10:00 The People Speak-PG15 12:00 Creation-PG15 14:00 Hey Hey Its Esther Blueburger-PG15 16:00 Planet 51-PG 18:00 The Boys Are Back-PG 20:00 Animal Kingdom-PG15 22:00 My Best Friend’s Girl-18

00:00 07:00 08:00 11:00 11:30 12:00 14:00 15:00 18:00 20:00 21:00 23:00

AFL Premiership Trans World Sport Masters Football ICC Cricket World NRL Full Time Live NRL Premiership Trans World Sport Masters Football Super Rugby Super Rugby Highlights NRL Premiership AFL Highlights

01:30 Ladies European Highlights 03:00 FEI Equestrian World

Tour

04:15 Married Away 05:10 Homes With Style 05:35 Area 06:05 Clean House 07:00 Big Boutique 08:00 Homes With Style 09:00 Fashion Avenue 09:55 How Do I Look?

10:50 Whose Wedding Is It Anyway?

11:50 Clean House: Search For The Messiest...

12:50 Clean House 13:45 Top 10 14:15 Mel B: It’s A Scary World 14:45 Jerseylicious 15:40 Ruby 16:35 Giuliana And Bill 17:30 How Do I Look?

18:25 Ruby 19:25 Big Boutique 19:50 Fashion Avenue 20:20 Clean House 21:15 Top 10 21:40 Top 10 22:10 Ruby 23:05 Bridalplasty

00:00 Mummy Forensics 01:00 Ax Men 02:00 IRT: Deadliest Roads 03:00 UFO Hunters 03:55 Roswell: Final Declassification 05:00 The Universe 06:00 Mummy Forensics 07:00 Ax Men 08:00 IRT: Deadliest Roads 09:00 UFO Hunters 09:55 Roswell: Final Declassification 11:00 The Universe 12:00 Mummy Forensics 13:00 Ax Men 14:00 IRT: Deadliest Roads 15:00 UFO Hunters 15:55 Roswell: Final Declassification 17:00 The Universe 18:00 Mummy Forensics 19:00 Ax Men 20:00 IRT: Deadliest Roads 21:00 IRT: Deadliest Roads 22:00 How The States Got Their Shapes

Classifieds MONDAY, JULY 4, 2011

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 Sharing accommodation available for decent Indian Hindu or Catholic bachelors or family with Mangalorean Catholic family in a window A/C building off 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 flat 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) Sharing accommodation available for RC Goan or Mangalorian bachelor in a flat near Khaitan Jamiya.

Rent KD 40/-. Contact: 99453500. (C 3480) 28-6-2011 Separate room in Mulhak at Al-Jabriya near Al-Hadi Hospital for single Muslim bachelor, kitchen & phone, satellite facilities, semi furnish. Rent KD 70 per month from July 2011. Contact: 99546413.

(C 3476)

Separate room with separate bathroom available for single lady or bachelor or couple in C-A/C flat with drawing kitchen and satellite facilities in Salmiya, Amman Street, new building in very nice location.

Contact: 55230154.

(C 3478) 27-6-2011

FOR SALE Pilates Power GYM” with price KD 50/-. A quality thane fitness product along with owner’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 Pajero Jeep - 2002, silver color, 4 doors (6 Clr) - CC 3000, KD 1,750/-. Contact: 66729295. (C 3481) Honda City 2009, white color, 16,000km, KD 2,350/-.

Contact: 55323839.

(C 3482) 28-6-2011 For sale, dining table, 4 chairs, wooden, all Center Point, iMac computer, 21”, JVC hi-fi 5DVD and many other items. Tel: 66603401 27-6-2011

SITUATION VACANT 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

SITUATION WANTED 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 We are inviting marriage proposals from Pakistani families for our MSc daughter from Mughal family.

Contact Email: wasimughal2003@yahoo.com (C 3495) 4-7-2011 Proposal invited for Marthoma male, 29 years, company foreman. Invite proposal from MOH staff 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 JZR IMP THY ETH UAE DHX ETD MSR FDB GFA QTR KAC JZR FCX JZR KAC JZR BAW JZR KAC KAC FDB KAC KAC KAC KAC UAE QTR ABY ETD GFA SHY MEA JZR JZR IRC MSR RBG KAC KAC MSR SYR UAL RJA FDB OMA QTR

Flt 642 205 331 772 620 853 370 305 614 67 211 138 544 503 201 555 412 531 157 1541 206 302 53 352 284 344 362 855 132 125 301 213 1125 404 165 121 6521 623 3557 618 672 610 341 982 640 57 645 140

Arrival Flights on Monday 4/7/2011 Route AMMAN DAMASCUS ATHENS ISTANBUL ADDIS ABABA DUBAI BAHRAIN ABU DHABI CAIRO DUBAI BAHRAIN DOHA CAIRO LUXOR DUBAI ALEXANDRIA MANILA / BANGKOK ASSIUT LONDON CAIRO ISLAMABAD MUMBAI DUBAI COCHIN DHAKA CHENNAI COLOMBO DUBAI DOHA SHARJAH ABU DHABI BAHRAIN ANTALYA BEIRUT DUBAI BAHRAIN LAMERD SOHAG ALEXANDRIA DOHA DUBAI CAIRO DAMASCUS WASHINGTON DC DULLES AMMAN DUBAI MUSCAT DOHA

Time 0:05 0:25 0:30 1:15 1:45 2:25 2:55 2:55 3:05 3:10 3:15 3:20 4:40 5:15 5:25 6:10 6:15 6:20 6:30 7:10 7:15 7:50 7:55 8:05 8:10 8:20 8:20 8:25 9:00 9:10 9:30 9:35 10:45 10:55 11:10 11:15 11:20 12:10 12:55 12:55 13:15 13:20 13:25 13:30 13:35 13:50 14:00 14:15

SVA KNE KAC JZR QTR KAC KAC BBC JZR KAC MLR ETD UAE KAC GFA SVA JZR JZR ABY JZR ALK KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC AIC JAI FDB OMA JZR VOS MEA DHX KLM UAE GFA QTR UAL JZR TAR JZR MSR DLH JZR PIA

500 745 788 257 134 546 550 45 535 118 403 303 857 154 215 510 777 239 127 213 227 104 1672 542 786 744 614 674 774 575 572 61 647 179 81 402 372 445 859 217 136 981 135 327 185 612 636 539 239

JEDDAH JEDDAH JEDDAH BEIRUT DOHA ALEXANDRIA SOHAG DHAKA / BAHRAIN CAIRO NEW YORK COLOMBO / DUBAI ABU DHABI DUBAI ISTANBUL BAHRAIN RIYADH JEDDAH AMMAN SHARJAH DEIREZZOR COLOMBO / DUBAI LONDON DUBAI CAIRO JEDDAH DAMMAM BAHRAIN DUBAI RIYADH CHENNAI / GOA MUMBAI DUBAI MUSCAT DUBAI BAGHDAD BEIRUT BAHRAIN AMSTERDAM DUBAI BAHRAIN DOHA BAHRAIN BAHRAIN TUNIS DUBAI CAIRO FRANKFURT CAIRO SIALKOT

14:30 14:45 15:00 15:10 15:15 15:30 15:35 15:45 15:50 16:15 16:40 16:50 16:55 17:00 17:15 17:20 17:25 17:35 17:40 17:50 18:00 18:35 18:40 18:50 19:00 19:15 19:20 19:25 19:25 19:30 19:35 20:00 20:10 20:10 20:15 20:15 21:00 21:05 21:15 21:25 21:35 22:00 22:10 22:15 22:35 22:50 23:00 23:30 23:55

Airlines JZR AXB DLH KLM BBC AIC PIA AFG IMP THY ETH UAE FDB DHX ETD MSR QTR JZR RJA GFA JZR BAW KAC FDB JZR KAC KAC JZR KAC KAC KAC UAE ABY QTR ETD GFA SHY KAC MEA JZR KAC JZR JZR IRC KAC MSR KAC RBG MSR SYR

Flt 1540 390 637 447 46 982 206 406 332 773 620 854 68 371 306 615 139 164 643 212 120 156 545 54 534 153 671 256 787 549 617 856 126 133 302 214 1126 165 405 776 541 212 238 6522 103 624 785 3558 611 342

Departure Flights on Monday 4/7/2011 Route CAIRO KOZHIKODE FRANKFURT AMSTERDAM DHAKA AHMEDABAD / CHENNAI PESHAWER / LAHORE KABUL ATHENS ISTANBUL BAHRAIN / ADDIS ABABA DUBAI DUBAI BAHRAIN ABU DHABI CAIRO DOHA DUBAI AMMAN BAHRAIN BAHRAIN LONDON ALEXANDRIA DUBAI CAIRO ISTANBUL DUBAI BEIRUT JEDDAH SOHAG DOHA DUBAI SHARJAH DOHA ABU DHABI BAHRAIN ANTALYA ROME / PARIS BEIRUT JEDDAH CAIRO DEIREZZOR AMMAN LAMERD LONDON SOHAG JEDDAH SOHAG / ALEXANDRIA CAIRO DAMASCUS

Time 0:20 0:25 0:40 0:55 1:00 1:05 1:10 2:00 2:00 2:15 2:30 3:45 3:50 3:55 4:05 4:05 5:00 6:55 7:00 7:10 8:20 8:25 8:35 8:40 8:50 8:55 9:00 9:10 9:15 9:20 9:35 9:40 9:50 10:00 10:15 10:20 11:45 11:45 11:55 12:00 12:00 12:05 12:10 12:20 12:30 13:10 13:30 13:35 14:20 14:25

Directorate General of Civil Aviation Home Page (www.kuwait-airport.com.kw)

RJA FDB KAC UAL OMA KAC KNE SVA JZR KAC QTR KAC KAC JZR BBC VOS ETD MLR QTR UAE GFA ABY JZR JZR SVA ALK JZR KAC KAC JAI FDB JZR JZR KAC KAC OMA MEA KAC DHX KLM UAE GFA FCX QTR KAC KAC TAR JZR JZR KAC UAL MSR

641 58 1671 982 646 673 746 501 178 773 141 613 743 538 46 82 304 404 135 858 216 128 184 266 511 228 134 1501 283 571 62 528 268 331 351 648 403 543 373 445 860 218 102 137 301 205 327 554 504 411 981 613

AMMAN DUBAI DUBAI BAHRAIN MUSCAT DUBAI JEDDAH JEDDAH DUBAI RIYADH DOHA BAHRAIN DAMMAM CAIRO DHAKA BAGHDAD ABU DHABI DUBAI / COLOMBO DOHA DUBAI BAHRAIN SHARJAH DUBAI BEIRUT RIYADH DUBAI / COLOMBO BAHRAIN BEIRUT DHAKA MUMBAI DUBAI ASSIUT BEIRUT TRIVANDRUM COCHIN MUSCAT BEIRUT CAIRO BAHRAIN BAHRAIN / AMSTERDAM DUBAI BAHRAIN BAHRAIN DOHA MUMBAI ISLAMABAD DUBAI / TUNIS ALEXANDRIA LUXOR BANGKOK / MANILA WASHINGTON DC DULLES CAIRO

14:30 14:35 14:40 14:45 15:00 15:10 15:30 15:45 16:00 16:05 16:15 16:20 16:25 16:40 17:00 17:00 17:35 17:40 17:45 18:05 18:15 18:20 18:25 18:30 18:35 19:10 19:10 19:30 20:00 20:35 20:40 20:50 21:00 21:00 21:05 21:10 21:15 21:55 22:00 22:05 22:25 22:30 22:30 22:35 22:45 22:55 23:05 23:10 23:35 23:40 23:40 23:50

34

MONDAY, JULY 4, 2011

s ta rs CROSSWORD 368

STAR TRACK

CALVIN & HOBBES

Aries (March 21-April 19) You may find your loved ones are particularly helpful today.

Others will express an appreciation of your ability to act and get things done. Someone is sympathetic with your position and helps you to feel understood. This is a time when you can expect a little boost, some sort of extra support or recognition from those around you. You may feel that you are in touch and in harmony with others. The support you need is available to you, just for the asking. The family car that has given you or a family member trouble recently will be ready for that trip to the country fair or trade day. Thoughts that come to you today will begin to turn into some positive future plans. Later, this evening is a good time to read a romantic book or take in a movie.

Taurus (April 20-May 20) There is the possibility of new visions or sudden insights.

This is a good time to reshape and renew your philosophy or religion, during which your imagination is at full tilt. There are breakthroughs in compassion and communion. Language becomes of interest to you and you may find yourself looking for language learning tapes from which to learn. Because so many people in your living or work area speak a different language, you may want to get to know these people better. This afternoon would be a good time to go to a planetarium show, museum or even the zoo. Sharing stories or attending a movie with your loved ones will be a time worth remembering. There is good conversation between two of you.

POOCH CAFE ACROSS 1. A defensive missile designed to shoot down incoming intercontinental ballistic missiles.

4. The seventh month of the Moslem calendar.

9. A long depression in the surface of the land that usually contains a river.

13. Large brownish-green New Zealand parrot.

14. An anti-TNF compound (trade name Arava) that is given orally.

15. A material effigy that is worshipped as a god.

16. (botany) Of or relating to the axil.

18. A unit of information equal to one million (1,048,576) bytes.

19. An instrumentality invented for a particular purpose.

21. United States writer of poems and plays about racial conflict (born in 1934).

24. An item of factual information derived from measurement or research.

25. A soft yellow malleable ductile (trivalent and univalent) metallic element.

26. A piece of furniture that provides a place to sleep.

27. The capital and largest city of Georgia on the Kura river.

30. Not easy.

31. An Indian side dish of yogurt and chopped cucumbers and spices.

34. A rechargeable battery with a nickel cathode and a cadmium anode.

38. A condition (mostly in boys) characterized by behavioral and learning disorders.

39. A river in north central Switzerland that runs northeast into the Rhine.

40. A loose sleeveless outer garment made from aba cloth.

41. No longer having or seeming to have or expecting to have life.

43. A bluish-white lustrous metallic element.

45. Affect with wonder.

51. A midnight meeting of witches to practice witchcraft and sorcery.

54. Come into the possession of something concrete or abstract.

55. Before noon.

56. (Old Testament) The second patriarch.

59. An indehiscent fruit derived from a single ovary having one or many seeds within a fleshy wall or pericarp.

61. Lacking self-confidence.

62. A short synopsis.

65. Being one more than ninety.

66. Relating to or characteristic of or occurring on the sea or ships.

67. Rig used in drilling for oil or gas.

68. A local computer network for communication between computers.

69. Being one hundred more than three hundred.

DOWN 1. Jordan's port.

2. A chain of more than 200 islands about 400 miles long in the western central Pacific Ocean.

3. A flat-bottomed volcanic crater that was formed by an explosion.

4. An intensely radioactive metallic element that occurs in minute amounts in uranium ores.

5. A large fleet.

6. A sharp hand gesture (resembling a blow).

7. The eleventh month of the civil year.

8. Having undesirable or negative qualities.

9. Italian baroque composer and violinist (1675-1741).

10. A Hindu goddess who releases from sin or disease.

11. The scene of any event or action (especially the place of a meeting).

12. Fragrant resin obtain from trees of the family Burseraceae and used as incense.

17. The capital of Morocco.

20. A city in northwestern Turkey.

22. Cubes of meat marinated and cooked on a skewer usually with vegetables.

23. A nonflammable liquid (trade name Ethrane) used as an inhalation general anesthetic.

28. A soft silvery metallic element of the alkali earth group.

29. The capital and chief port of Qatar.

32. A sweetened beverage of diluted fruit juice.

33. Empty rhetoric or insincere or exaggerated talk.

35. 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.

36. The blood group whose red cells carry both the A and B antigens.

37. An official prosecutor for a judicial district.

42. A Chadic language spoken south of Lake Chad.

44. A Chadic language spoken south of Lake Chad.

46. A Portuguese province on the south coast of China and two islands in the South China Sea. 47. A highly unstable radioactive element (the heaviest of the halogen series).

48. Locate and correct errors in a computer program code.

49. The capital and largest city of Bangladesh.

50. At full speed.

52. United States tennis player who was the first Black to win United States and English singles championships (1943-1993).

53. Common Indian weaverbird.

57. A logarithmic unit of sound intensity equal to 10 decibels.

58. To make a mistake or be incorrect.

60. Being ten more than one hundred thirty.

63. The ratio of the circumference to the diameter of a circle.

64. Being one more than one hundred.

Yesterday’s Solution

Gemini (May 21-June 20) An important relationship, perhaps an older person or someone in authority, may come into focus today. There could be some tension or sense of opposition requiring compromise or negotiation on your part. An opportunity for understanding and even growth is available.

Independence, as well as anything unusual or different, is valued. You may enjoy getting away from routine and doing something completely different. You are at home where there is a lot of communication, investigation and exploration.

Fascinated by social interchange, you tend not to be emotional and are somewhat surface-oriented. You will enjoy variety and change today. New ideas, writing, researching and other pasttime activities fill your day.

Cancer (June 21-July 22)

NON SEQUITUR

In-depth discussions with friends or family today find you at your mental best. There is a vast amount of contemplation over where the next twenty years are taking you. Consider writing down your thoughts about where you think the trends are taking you and include the people close to you as well. Decide on a date and perhaps you could write that date on a calendar. Put them in an envelope with pictures of those that are close to you and tape it to the back of a picture or a picture frame. Youth, preparation for the week ahead and many things for which to be grateful enter your mind. You enjoy the area of dreams and images and can easily grab the attention of many. You give great parties and you could consider being a party planner.

Leo (July 23-August 22) You have deep commitments and appreciate sacrifice and duty on the part of others. You may be sensing the shuffle of energy this year and are reminded many times throughout the day to stop and listen to your intuition. You also may be using your energies to inspire and encourage someone. You are a domestic at heart and love the family life—a true romantic. There are discussions this day about vacations and favorite places to spend a vacation. You may later decide to fine-tune a few of these ideas into a fixed plan for a future vacation. Searching the Internet for ideas of travel clothes or places to stay is a fun activity. You will enjoy music, psychology or some form of poetry tonight, perhaps by creating your own.

Anything is possible.

ZITS

Virgo (August 23-September 22) Your own growth and success may be linked to questions of security—home and family, in particular. This may be a time during which you can get ahead by finding your limits and establishing a home base from which to move forward. Real estate may be the biggest subject moving to the topic for the day. You have a natural sense for communicating with others, especially those younger than yourself. There are clear thoughts about the past flooding in today that may cause you to seek out an old friend. Fun conversations about old times will likely come into play. There is much laughter and plans for future get-togethers. Close relationships take on more depth, power and importance. There is just enough time for romance!

Libra (September 23-October 22)

MOTHER GOOSE AND GRIMM

You may find yourself being put to good use by your friends, or it could be that circumstances force you to reorganize and be more conservative. All of this day should go rather smoothly. You are great at bringing out the best qualities of others; discovering hidden talents and planning surprise results.

You employ your new and innovative ideas regarding the social scene today. This may mean you enjoy the pomp and circumstances that come with special entertaining.

You are spontaneous and on the move. You are most original when concentrating on areas of home and family. You are a support to others; even if you are unaware. You may find yourself with your friends by the evening—enjoying each other’s company, perhaps in having a dinner party.

Scorpio (October 23-November 21) You appear perhaps more charming and refined than usual.

You will have a grasp for abstract and spiritual ideas and the ability to present or communicate these to others. Now could be the right time to bring the attention around to you. Perhaps you will have an opportunity to plan a visit with a distant relative. Your sense of direction may be very keen and you sense that the time is right for a visit. There are opportunities to relax this evening. There is much to be grateful for and it is easy for you to express your appreciation to loved ones. Although this may have been a fun day away from work, you may find that as this day ends, you look forward to the coming workweek and all the challenges that await your attention.

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21) Difficulties and blocks could present some problems this morning, but if you bide your time, things will work out successfully. Push and you could regret your actions. This is a good time to reflect and understand your own situation, just how you feel about yourself. Today brings with it opportunities for self-expression and lends itself to your particular ideas and thoughts. A healing could occur today through favorable conversations with those you love. Religious issues may become a topic of conversation. You value the essential unity behind all religions.

You could bring imagination and religious understanding to physical and scientific studies. Polite, but not too close, you enjoy being with friends and family. Laughter and future plans are easy to find.

Capricorn (December 22-January 19)

To

Interactions with friends today play an important part of your morning. Relationships with close friends are quite good. This is a day you wisely take to slow the usually busy tempo—visit, catch up on your loved ones activities and plan a few of your own. Feeling cared for and needed is comfortable; the lack of these things can cause an instinctive feeling of uneasiness. You always try and help others to feel included, important and needed. Be frugal, however, in the use of your quick wit. If you are not a teacher or a psychiatrist you may want to consider a volunteer service that encompasses these subjects. Exercise or an outdoor activity early in the evening will help you stay relaxed and clear-minded. You may even enjoy watching a recorded game of sports.

Yesterday’s Solution Yester

Aquarius (January 20- February 18) You may find yourself more than eager to acquire things today. Your current appreciation for almost everything you see may lead you to indulge too much—careful. Perhaps you have found a garage sale, flea market or country fair to visit today. You can be the perfect socialite, however, and can use the same techniques at different times and make a charity or group gathering successful. You may also find a willing helper with this project. Always welcome in a group—you are a connoisseur of all things bright and kind. You are a peacemaker and are determined to make a positive difference in your surroundings. This is a good time to create some sort of reading room or breakfast nook with hanging baskets of ivy, etc.

Pisces (February 19-March 20)

Word Sleuth Solution

Others value you for your ability to make practical decisions.

You could be working to organize people at a fun gathering today.

This could mean a church social or a work picnic or any number of many other fun get-together events with friends, family or co-workers. You have a natural sense of what people want. Clear decisions affecting others and good commonsense ideas could be made now. You have a need to be bold, rash and even a little foolish—to dare. There may be a need to develop a more outgoing impulsiveness—the pioneer spirit. You have opportunities to discover and work through any difficulties, blocks or all manner of hot spots. Congratulations with your progress in using positiveassertiveness techniques—success is yours!

A

y

e niv rsar n

MONDAY, JULY 4, 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 GEN GENERAL NERAL OF CIVIL A AVIATION V VIA AT TION DEPARTMENT METEOROLOGICAL L DEP PA ARTMENT DA AY: Y Sunday DAY:

WWW .MET.GOV V..KW W WWW.MET.GOV.KW

03/07/2011 03/07/201 1

Ministry of Interior

Ext.: 26 2627 627 - 2630

Fax: 24348714

19:00

Time Issue Time

Expected Weather Weather e for the Next 24 2 Hours

website: www.moi.gov.kw For labor-related inquiries and complaints: Call MSAL hotline 128

BY Y NIGHT: NIGHT:

Dust will subside gradually with moderate to fresh north wes westerly sterly wind, with speed of 20 0 - 45 km/h

BY Y DA AY: DAY:

Hot with w moderate to fresh north westerly wind, with speed of o 25 - 45 km/h causing raisi raising ing dust

WARNING W A ARNING

No Current Warnings Warnin a ngs

STATION ST TAT TION

Al-Madena

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

MAX. REC.

MIN. MIN N. EXP EXP. P.

Al-Mangaf

23711183

KUWAIT KUW WA AIT CITY

43 °C

3 °C 31

Al-Shuaiba

23262845

24812000

KUWAIT KUW WA AIT AIRPORT AIRPOR RT

43 °C

3 °C 31

Al-Jahra

25610011

Amiri Hospital

22450005

NUWAISEEB NUW WAISEEB A

46 °C

3 °C 30

Al-Salmiya

25616368

Maternity Hospital

24843100

W A AFRA WAFRA

44 °C

3 °C 30

Mubarak Al-Kabir Hospital

25312700

SALMI

42 °C

2 °C 24

Chest Hospital

24849400

ABDALY ABDAL LY

44 °C

2 °C 27

Farwaniya Hospital

24892010

JAL ALIYAH ALIY YAH A

43 °C

2 °C 26

Adan Hospital

23940620

F A AILAKA FAILAKA

Ibn Sina Hospital

24840300

43 °C

2 °C 27

Al-Razi Hospital

24846000

PORT AHMADI POR RT

42 °C

3 °C 31

Physiotherapy Hospital

24874330/9

UMM AL-MARADEM AL-MARAD DEM

36 °C

3 °C 31

W A ARBA A - BUBYAN BUBY YAN A WARBA

44 °C

27 2 °C

Hospitals Sabah Hospital

Clinics Rabiya

4732263

Roudha

22517733

Adhaliya

22517144

Khaldiya

24848075

Keifan

24849807

Shamiya

24848913

Shuwaikh

24814507

Abdullah Salim

22549134

SFC. CHAR CHART RT

03/07/201 03/07/2011 1 120 1200UTC 00UTC

POLICE STATION

4 DA DAYS AY YS FORECAST Temperatures Temperatures DAY DA AY

DATE DA AT TE

WEA WEATHER AT THER R

Monday

04/07

T uesday Tuesday Wednesday W eednesday Thursday

Wind Wind Speed

Wind Wind Direction Direction

MAX.

MIN.

hot + raising dust d

44 °C

31 °C

NW

25 - 45 km/h

05/07

hot

44 °C

32 °C

NW

15 - 40 km/h

06/07

hot

45 °C

32 °C

NW

15 - 35 km/h

07/07

hot + raising dust d

46 °C

33 °C

NW

20 - 45 km/h

PRAYER P PRA AY YER TIMES

RECORDED RECORDE ED YESTERDAY YESTERDA AY AT AT KUW KUWAIT WA AIT AIRPOR AIRPORT RT

Fajr

03:18

MAX. Temp.

M Temp.

43 °C

Sunrise

04:52

Temp.

MIN. T M emp.

31 °C

Zuhr

1 1:52 11:52

MAX. RH M

15 %

Al-Nuzha

22526804

Industrial Shuwaikh

24814764

Al-Khadissiya

22515088

Asr

15:26

MIN. RH

06 %

Dasmah

22532265

Sunset

18:51

Wind MAX. W M ind

N 68 km/h

Bneid Al-Ghar

22531908

Isha

20:23

TOTAL RAINFALL T OT TA AL L RA AINF FA ALL L IN 24 HR.

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

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Ahmadi

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25654300/3

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22633135

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25330060

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25722290

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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

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36

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Years

MONDAY, JULY 4, 2011

li fe s ty le

Cooper recalls

G O S S I P

stage stabbing

Harris promises ‘special’ bond

aomie Harris thinks the next James Bond film will be “very special”. The British actress is a contender for a leading role in the forthcoming Sam Mendesdirected movie - which sees Daniel Craig reprise his role as the iconic British spy - and although her part is not confirmed, she believes having met the filmmaker it will be a particularly good film in the franchise. She said: “It would be great to be part of Bond but nothing is confirmed yet. Sam Mendes is an amazing director and a

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really, really lovely man as well. “He’s got brilliant ideas.

From meeting them, I think it’s going to be a very special Bond.” The 34-year-old star has watched the spy movies, but does not have a favorite film, instead preferring the acting talents of eccentric singer Grace Jones, who previously appeared as May Day in ‘A View to a Kill’. She told Empire magazine: “Grace Jones did a Bond that I thought was really cool. She wasn’t a Bond girl, though. She was more of a villain!”

Donald to take flying lessons oward Donald is going to learn to fly. The Take That singer has ordered a special vehicle that can travel both in the sky and on water, and is planning to study for his pilot’s license ahead of taking delivery of the craft. He said: “I’m going to be doing my private pilot’s license. I ordered a plane last year from America.”It’s an amphibious plane so it can land on water and land. “That doesn’t arrive until 2013 so I’ve got to learn to fly one before it arrives. It’s always been one of my ambitions to fly a plane. Can’t wait.” Once Howard gets his pilot’s license, he joins a host of famous faces who can fly planes. Tom Cruise, John Travolta, Angelina Jolie and Blur stars Dave Rowntree and Alex James can all take control in the sky. Last year, supermodel Gisele Bundchen passed her written exam for her pilot’s license. Keith Douglass, president of Shoreline Aviation, a company that provides private jets and aviation lessons, said at the time: “She’s very dedicated. She flies at least three days a week. Flying a helicopter isn’t easy - it’s a handful, because you can’t stop flying and just cruise, but she’s doing great.” Hilary Swank took lessons ahead of her role as famous aviator Amelia Earhart in ‘Amelia’, and admitted at the time she planned to continue training to get her full pilot’s license. She explained: “I’d like to get my license and continue to go up on my own. “I flew for 19 hours, but they couldn’t let me go up when they were shooting. I taxi the plane - but that’s on the ground, and I would like to see this through.”

H lice Cooper once stabbed himself on stage. The ‘School’s Out’ hitmaker is known for his spectacular stage performances and admits things often go wrong - though he refuses to let any mishaps disrupt the concert for fans. He said: “One night I used a sword on stage and I stick it in the stage. I used a sword and went like that and went right through my leg and came right out the other end. “At the time you have so much adrenaline on stage I didn’t really feel it- it hurt a little bit but it wasn’t like, ‘Oh that’s the worst thing ever’ and I kind of went, ‘Well I’m in the moment right now, It’s in my leg, leave it there’.”

Alice admitted fans just assumed the accident was a apart of the show, while his band were worried, but he managed to stem the blood flow eventually himself. He told BANG Showbiz: “The audience thought it was a trick, the band knew it wasn’t a trick- the band went, ‘Whhhat?’ Because

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every time I’d move, it would spurt a little. “Then of course after the shows over and the adrenalines gone...owww! I took a bottle of whisky and I poured it on to cauterize it.”

Alice, 63, is used to injuring himself on stage, and admits sometimes it takes days before he realizes how seriously he has damaged himself. He said: “Every night something happens. I fell off the stage in Vancouver one night and broke all my ribs on the right side and got back up and finished the show because you didn’t really feel it right then. “I had about twenty-eight stitches in my head and didn’t really realize I had a concussion until about the fourth song and all of a sudden I started seeing double. When the shows going you don’t stop the show, no matter what happens, you keep the show going.” Alice returns to the UK for his ‘Halloween Night of Fear’ tour in October. Tickets for the six shows are available from www.livenation.co.uk.

Lewis happy with new man

vril Lavigne thinks fans who have tattoos of her likeness are “incredible”. The ‘What the Hell’ hitmaker - who has several inkings herself - admits it can be “weird” to see the length some people will go to prove their love for her, but she is flattered by the attention. She said: “Lots of fans have the same tattoos I’ve had done, but I have seen portraits of myself. They looked like me. That’s the most important thing, isn’t it? “One guy had a black-and-white portrait of my face on his shoulder. Is it weird? Yeah but it’s pretty incredible. It makes you think, ‘Wow my music has had an impact on their life - someone is really dedicated.” The 26year-old star also admitted she still enjoys hearing her own music on the radio as it makes her feel “proud”. She told Q magazine: “Whenever a song of mine comes on the radio I don’t switch off. Never. It’s awesome. Makes me proud. “Whenever I get to the end of making an album, I take a copy home and play it for my friends and ask them what they think. Of course, they always like it.”

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eona Lewis is “really happy ” with her new boyfriend. The ‘Bleeding Love’ hitmaker has enjoyed showing German backing dancer Dennis Jauch around her home town of Hackney, east London, and says the pair are having a lot of fun together. She said: “I’m really happy with my new boyfriend. “He’s been staying with me in Hackney and he’s met all my family. I still have my flat here, so when I’m not working I’m back home near my mum and dad. “My mum always says she just wants me to be happy and I really am at the moment. We’re having a lot of fun.” Leona began dating Dennis soon after splitting from long-term boyfriend Lou Al-Chamaa and she admits the upheaval in her personal life will be reflected in her next album. She added in an interview with Reveal magazine: “A lot of things have changed over the past year. “I wanted to put my heart into my lyrics, so most of my new album has a darker tone to it. It’s not just about my ex, or any one person.

It’s a mix of emotions. “But it’s not all sad. I’m in a really happy place right now, so there are some upbeat tracks on there too.”

Reynolds blasts competitive actors yan Reynolds finds competitive actors “toxic”. The ‘Green Lantern’ star doesn’t believe a movie set can work well if the cast can’t get along and spend too much time trying to do better than one another. He said: “It’s toxic on a set when you’re competitive with other actors. Whenever I’ve worked with another actor who’s been competitive, usually nine times out of ten it’s backfired on them - they’ve had a really unsatisfying experience. A film is so collaborative. It’s the sum of its parts.” One person Ryan does enjoy working with is Sandra Bullock, and he would love the chance to reunite with his ‘Proposal’ co-star in future.

He said: “My producing partner is incredibly close with Sandra we all met up about 10 years ago and we’ve been good friends since. I never thought we’d do a film together but it worked out.

“Movies like that are so contingent on that chemistry - it’s a rare thing if you get it, so if I was going to do another romantic comedy I would hope it would be with Ms Bullock.”

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Dogg wants UK home noop Dogg wants to live in the UK. The 39-year-old rapper - who has three children, 16-year-old Corde, Cordell, 14, and Cori, 10, with wife Shante - thinks he would “enjoy” himself if he was forced to relocate from America. He said: “Would I live in the UK? I wouldn’t mind living here. I think I could really enjoy myself. “You know what, I’m going to say this and I mean it, if all else fails and I’ve got to shake, rattle ‘n’ roll and get on the woowop, this is going to be my heeyah

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zone. Yessuh.” Snoop is a big fan of British television and is still hopeful of one day landing a role on hit UK soap opera ‘Coronation Street’ - though he is not a fan of rival show ‘EastEnders’. He added in an interview with Q magazine: “I’ve still got to see if they’re going to have me on ‘Coronation Street’. I’d love to be on there. What are you waiting on? It’s Snoop Dogg, I’m here again. “ Would I settle for a part on ‘EastEnders’ instead? Naaaah, I don’t know about that.” —Bang Showbiz

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MONDAY, JULY 4, 2011

Years

lifestyle M U S I C

&

M O V I E S

‘A Better Life’ tells

A Latino immigrant’s story

Radiohead ventures into Chinese social media

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stranger’s plight lodged itself in producer Paul Junger Witt’s heart, pushing him for 25 years to bring the dramatized story to life on screen.”A Better Life,” the result, is the rare Hollywood film that focuses on a Latino family in the United States and, rarer still, takes an intimate view of the price paid by illegal immigrants making their bid for the American dream. The movie, in limited release in Los Angeles and New York and opening elsewhere starting Friday, is intended to be apolitical regarding the immigration issue, Witt said, but he wants it to spark more than ticket sales. “I think people on both sides can politicize it and that’s not unhealthy, because it will promote dialogue and discussion. This issue isn’t going away,” he said.

“If that’s one of the results of this film coming out, so be it. It needs to be talked about.” In the mid-1980s, a gardener working for Witt’s neighbor in Los Angeles lost his truck to a thief. The neighbor offered to help file a police report but the gardener declined, admitting he was in the country illegally and couldn’t risk contact with authorities. “The story stayed with me for years,” said Witt, the veteran producer behind “The Golden Girls” and other hit TV series along with films including “Insomnia” and “Three Kings.” He began working with a writer to fashion a script for Sony, but the studio dropped the project. After many years and repeated screenplay revisions, writer Eric Eason came in and produced what Witt calls a “beautiful script.”

Director Chris Weitz (“Twilight Saga: New Moon”) brought his clout to the project and Summit Entertainment, the studio behind the “Twilight” series, agreed to produce and distribute the film. Additional financing came from Lime Orchard Productions for the project, which Witt said was completed for less than $10 million.

The project benefited from relationships, Witt said. Producer Christian McLaughlin, who shared Witt’s passion for the story, connected him with Eason and, later, with Weitz. Spanish cinematographer Javier Aguirresarobe, who worked with Weitz on “New Moon,” shot “A Better Life.” “One of the interesting things about the film was how motivated everybody was top to bottom.

We had people come in at under the rate they were getting because they so much wanted to be a part of this project,” Witt said. The main character is Carlos Galinda, a Mexican immigrant who labors as a gardener and is a single parent to teenager Luis.

Mexican film star Demian Bichir, who appeared in Showtime’s “Weeds,” plays Carlos, with newcomer Jose Julian as his son.

“I got the script and I fell in love with it right away,” said Bechir. “It thought it was real. I thought it was powerful.” Carlos works a long day tidying the yards of the city’s affluent, crashes on the couch in his tiny East Los Angeles house so that young Luis can have the bed, then gets up and does it again. His goal is to keep his son, whose friends already are being drawn into gang life, on the path toward a diploma and a secure future.

When the older Latino man who employs him decides to retire, he talks Carlos into buying his truck and gardening equipment —despite Carlos’ misgivings about the dangers of driving without a license and the threat of exposure if something goes wrong. The theft of the truck triggers events that put his freedom and his dreams for his son in jeopardy. “A Better Life” roams across the whole of Los Angeles, recording the palm trees and impressive homes that often make it into films and the elements that don’t, including tattered neighborhoods and groups of day laborers jockeying for work on street corners.

Every effort was made to ensure authenticity and provide a strong, mostly Latino voice among the cast, crew and community advisers, Witt said. Weitz has his own Hispanic connections: His grandmother is Mexican-born actress Lupita Tovar and his wife, Mercedes Martinez, is Cuban- and Mexican-American. “We were really motivated to make this accurate and real as possible. We surrounded ourselves with those who knew this story, knew these people, knew these neighborhoods, to make sure what we did reflected a truth. And I think we were successful,” Witt said.

He is philosophical about the film’s protracted journey. “It happens. And it happens for a good reason,” Witt said, noting the growing intensity of the immigration debate. “This is a much more important film than had it been made 20 years ago.”

Now he and others who share his passion wait and hope for the movie to make its mark with both the Latino and a wider audience.

“I believe in the power of moviemaking. I believe in the power of film,” Bechir said.

“If we’re lucky, two things will happen: People’s hearts are going to be touched and people’s minds will be opened after they watch ‘A Better Life.”‘ Then the conversations should start, Witt said. “If the film can be responsible for dialogue instead of screaming, then it’s a good thing. I don’t care what someone feels about immigrants coming in (to the movie), but if they come out knowing they are dealing with people, they can still feel what they do politically — but know this is about people.”—AP

Scott rocks sassy new look, music at Essence

File photo : Yorke of Radiohead performs as a special guest on the Park Stage at Glastonbury Music Festival, in Glastonbury, England. —AP

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adiohead has taken a tentative step into censored Chinese cyberspace, even though the British rock band has been critical of China’s human rights record. Radiohead recently launched a page on the “weibo” site of leading Chinese Internet portal Sina.com. “Weibo,” which translates as “microblog,” is the Chinese-equivalent of Twitter. But the band has only posted a single message on Friday. It says “testing the weibo.” Sina.com checks the authenticity of celebrity weibos and has certified the Radiohead weibo as genuine. The move comes despite Radiohead’s activism against Chinese government policies.

The rock group has performed at Free Tibet concerts and in December, posted a note on its official website urging fans to campaign for the release of Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo, who won the Nobel Peace Prize last year. “You know it makes sense,” the band said.

Such comments will be unthinkable on Radiohead’s Sina microblog. The Chinese government screens Internet content for material it deems politically sensitive, such as calls for greater autonomy in Tibet and commentary on the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown. Foreign social media sites such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter are blocked.

Microblogs are required to delete questionable posts. Sina CEO Charles Chao told Forbes magazine in March that its weibo has at least 100 employees monitoring content 24 hours a day. In a recent example of suspected celebrity censorship, Hong Kong actress-singer Gigi Leung last year removed an excerpt from a news story about a Chinese activist’s court case from her Sina weibo account. Fans believe Leung was muzzled but her agent said she

removed the story herself after some of her followers left messages saying they were upset by the story.

Radiohead’s testing of the weibo platform highlights the dilemma facing foreign acts eager to tap the massive potential of the Chinese market because they must be willing to subject themselves to some degree of censorship.

Foreign musicians have been scrutinized after Icelandic singer Bjork shouted “Tibet!” during a 2008 concert in Shanghai following a song called “Declare Independence.”

A year later, another British rock group, Oasis, scrapped its planned debut in China, saying Ministry of Culture officials were offended by the fact that front man Noel Gallagher performed at a Free Tibet concert in New York City in 1997.

There was much speculation about whether Chinese censors would set restrictions on antiestablishment icon Bob Dylan when he performed in China in April. Dylan said in May that Chinese officials asked him for a song list but didn’t censor it. Radiohead’s appeal in China is clear from the big following its weibo quickly drew. The website now has nearly 49,000 followers and its terse first message has drawn 3,800 comments and already been reposted nearly 10,000 times.

“Is this for real?” user BrattyB said. “OMG ... PLS COME TO SHANGHAI !!!PLS!!!!” another user, Stephan Li, wrote.

Radiohead is not the first western celebrity to set up a weibo. Others include Tom Cruise, Microsoft founder Bill Gates and NBA players Ron Artest and Kevin Garnett — although the number of their followers trail far behind Chinese celebrities. A US -based publicist for the band did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.—AFP

Historic wins for

Memac Ogilvy & Mather at Cannes Festival

(From left) Nicolas Courant, Creative Director Memac Ogilvy Label Cherifa Benslamia, Strategic Planner Memac Ogilvy Label Mehdi Lamloum, Conceptualizer, Digital planner Memac Ogilvy Label Hayet Ra’s-Skanderani, Managing director, Mindshare Tunis Syrine Cherif, Managing Director, Memac Ogilvy Label Maria Luisa Francoli Plaza, Media Jury President .

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emac Ogilvy & Mather further cemented its position as the Middle East’s leading communications agency by winning gold and bronze awards in the Media and Press categories respectively at the 58th Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity (more commonly known as the Cannes Lions), which just concluded. furthermore, among all the MENA-based agencies which entered their work both in the Film and Grand Prix for Good categories, Memac Ogilvy was the only one shortlisted.

Memac Ogilvy Label Tunisia supported by sister agency Mindshare won a shining Lion d’Or (Gold Lion) in the Media category for their ‘June 16th 2014’ brand campaign. This is the first ever Gold Lion awarded to a Tunisian agency.

The agency enrolled major Tunisian brands and media to ‘pretend’ it was June 16th, 2014, three years after the first scheduled free elections in the country. Via fictional news reports, radio debates and bulletins, the campaign presented Tunisia as a modern, prosperous democratic country where people freely express their hopes, dreams and desires. To protest the economic standstill, people returned to work and the brands involved in the campaign resumed their marketing activities -prompting others to follow suit- thus injecting much needed funds into the country’s battered economy. In addition to the direct, positive economic aspects of this ground-breaking work, the campaign started

numerous conversations and dialogues in the online community. The campaign was the most talked-about topic on French Twitter.

Eddie Moutran, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Memac Ogilvy, said: “I am extremely proud of our team in Tunisia for their incredible work on this initiative. This achievement, however, would not have been possible without the support of our clients, who shared the team’s vision and I am grateful for their involvement.

The results of the campaign, and the resulting Gold Lion at Cannes, not only further confirm our standing in the industry but, more importantly, it shows the world that enthusiasm, leadership and creativity are alive and well throughout the MENA region.”

In the Press category, Memac Ogilvy Dubai took the Bronze Lion for their anti-censorship print campaign for the Reporters Without Borders organization. The ads showed images of world leaders such as Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton or Vladimir Putin, with parts of the pictures blurred so as to suggest something inappropriate when in fact there was no such need for censorship.

“The Cannes Lions is by far the most prestigious competition for the communication industry, be it for broadcast, print, digital, public relations, advertising and other disciplines. With nearly 29,000 entries from all over the world, simply being shortlisted is a major achievement so being awarded is simply indescribable. Our agency has been in this industry for over 26 years and we have grown from a handful of people to now over 500 employees in 13 offices all across the MENA region. This is a great day for Memac Ogilvy and a great day for creativity in the region” added Moutran.

In addition to Memac Ogilvy’s wins, Ogilvy & Mather globally had its best year ever at the competition, securing its highest place ever in the much-coveted “Network of the Year” category and winning second place. The agency won more Gold Lions than any other agency network.

In total, this year Ogilvy & Mather has won 61 Lions across all categories. The company scooped up 12 Gold, 17 Silver and 32 Bronze awards, as well as having 133 Finalists in this year’s festival.

Tham Khai Meng, Worldwide Chief Creative Officer at Ogilvy & Mather, commented: “As we celebrate our founder, David Ogilvy’s centennial, it feels appropriate and right that we have had our best performance in history in Cannes. Our performance tops off a historic week for Ogilvy. I am very proud of everyone who has contributed to our success. Thanks to all our clients and to every one of our 18,000 Ogilvy colleagues around the world for making this happen. Congratulations.”

Swift

postpones Louisville concert for illness

Kanye West performs at the 2011 Essence Music Festival in New Orleans, Saturday. —AP

N Dame Helen Mirren holds the special prize for the outstanding achievement in the career of acting and devotion to the principles of K Stanislavsky’s school, during the conclusion ceremony of the Moscow International Film Festival in Moscow, Russia, Saturday. — AP

eo-soul artist Jill Scott brought a sassy new look, new music and a surprise performance with soul-singer Anthony Hamilton on the second day of the Essence Music Festival. Scott performed some of her timeless hits Saturday evening such as “Long Walk,” and “The Way” and drew heavily on tunes from her new release, “The Light of the Sun.” She delighted fans when Hamilton joined her on stage to perform their current hit, “So In Love,” which has helped push the new album to No 1 — her first release to do so. Scott was among the headliners for Saturday’s festival, which also featured performances by El Debarge, Chaka Khan and the night’s closer, rapper Kanye West. — AP

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aylor Swift is postponing a show for the first time in her career. Swift had to postpone Saturday night’s sold-out show at the Yum Center in Louisville under doctor’s orders because of an illness. She tweeted the bad news to fans: “This is my first time having to do this. I’m so, so sorry.”

Within 20 minutes hundreds of followers had responded with get-well wishes, which were already among the most popular international trends on Twitter for the day. Swift postponed the show until Oct 11. She’s due for a short break before returning to the road in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Friday in support of her multi-platinum “Speak Now” album. —AP

MONDAY, JULY 4, 2011

lifestyle F E A T U R E

A Mariachi Cesar Batista tunes up his violin while awaiting for customers at the Mariachi Plaza.

LA’s mariachis In this photo taken June 8, 2011, mariachi musicians stand at the Mariachi Plaza by the Boyle Heights Metro Station in Los Angeles. —AP photos

form union in bid to boost prices

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he musicians looking for work at the city’s famed Mariachi Plaza are singing the blues these days. With the number of gigs plummeting by more than half over the past two years, competition has gotten so cutthroat at the square that fistfights and shouting matches have erupted as musicians underbid each other to land scarce jobs. Now a group of veteran plaza musicians have banded together to form a type of mariachi labor union to stop what they call “mariachi pirates” from slashing prices to half the going rate.

“Mariachi is culture and it’s the way we earn our living,” said guitarist Arturo Ramirez, president of the United Mariachi Organization of Los Angeles. “We have to protect it. This is unfair competition.” But others complain the new organization simply aims to muscle out lower-priced competitors. “It’s unjust,” said Rafael Flores, as he stood on the curb with a guitar. “This plaza doesn’t belong to anyone.

We’re all here trying to work.”

For many Mexican-Americans, birthdays, christenings and weddings aren’t complete without a traditional mariachi band, which usually comprises two types of guitars, trumpets and violins with five or six members forming a typical group. Decked out in Mexican cowboy outfits known as “charro” suits and the iconic wide-brimmed sombreros, the mariachis play the mournful ballads of lost love and lively two-step rhythms that many grow up with.

Mariachi Plaza, in the heart of the heavily

Mariachi musicians stand at the Mariachi Plaza.

immigrant neighborhood of Boyle Heights on the edge of downtown, has been known as the place to contract a band since the 1940s.

It’s now an anchor of city lore with huge colorful murals of mariachis blanketing walls and a bandstand and benches donated by the Mexican state of Jalisco, the birthplace of mariachi.

As they wait for customers, costumed musicians stroll about the square, trilling trumpets

and plucking violins, or stand on the curb handing out business cards to passing motorists. The tradition of a public hiring hub comes straight from Mexico, where Mexico City and Guadalajara both have similar mariachi squares.

With as many as 400 musicians regularly frequenting the Boyle Heights plaza, a cottage industry has sprung up around it to serve them. Down the street, a shop sells musical

instruments and storefront seamstresses stitch the outfits. An old hotel next to the square, now being redeveloped, for decades served musicians arriving from Mexico, instrument cases in hand.

Although it’s always been competitive, in recent years the atmosphere at the plaza has gotten ugly. As the faltering economy dried up work, more amateurs arrived hoping to earn a few dollars. They underbid the professional mariachis, who have spent years building their reputations and rely on music as their primary source of income.

Established rates are about $50 per hour per musician, said Ramirez, who heads Mariachi Los Dorados de Villa and has been working out of the plaza for 25 years. Most groups require minimums of several hours or charge for travel and setup time, as well as the performance. But interlopers are charging as low as $150 an hour for a band-or $20-30 per hour per musician - and advertising in homedelivered flyers, so people aren’t even coming to the plaza to seek mariachis “They’re mariachi pirates,” said Jacinto Tiznado, a union organizer who also noted that professional mariachis work as registered business and pay taxes. “They don’t even have the whole suit or know all the songs. Their artistic quality is low.”

With business bouncing back somewhat this year, a core group of musicians launched the United Mariachi Organization a couple of months ago in an effort to recoup lost market share and shore up prices.

So far, about 150 members have enrolled, agreeing to charge the $50 hourly minimum, said Ramirez, who charges $350 per hour for his five-piece group. The group charges $10 a month in dues and gives members an official ID card. The organization will also help members deal with booking agency contracts after numerous complaints of bounced checks and reneged-on prices. For customers, hiring a union musician will ensure an authentic mariachi experience, hopefully ending gripes about performance quality from low-priced groups, Ramirez said. “People come to the plaza and complain about the band they hired,” he noted.

Eventually, the organization hopes to provide workshops for musicians to improve their craft. Many players, born into mariachi families, learned informally. For Flores and other musicians, pricing is a function of supply and demand. Flores, who declined to say how much he charges, said he’s had to work in factories and odd jobs to make ends meet. If customers are not willing to pay higher rates, musicians must lower theirs, he noted. “The recession has been very hard,” Flores said. “We have to eat.” Ramirez said he can’t force any musicians to join the organization, nor out of Mariachi Plaza, but if musicians can’t charge the going rate, he thinks they should go elsewhere to seek work. “We’re not trying to impose anything on anybody nor are we denying work to anyone,” Ramirez said. “But this is hurting the plaza.”—AP

Cuisine to excite the mind, as well as the palate

Prince William and his wife Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge speak to the captain at their arrival at HMCS Montreal, Port of Montreal in destination of Quebec City. — AFP photos

The Duchess of Cambridge carries a desert as she takes part in a food preparation demonstration at the Quebec Tourism and Hotel Institute.

British royals’ cross-Canada tour hits bump in Quebec

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rince William and his bride Catherine’s first official foreign trip as newlyweds turned grim Saturday when Quebec republicans welcomed them to Montreal shouting “down with the monarchy.”“We will never bend, Willy go home!” some 60 protesters shouted outside a Montreal children’s hospital the royal couple visited. “French Quebec!” and “Parasite go home!” they chanted. The group pounded on buckets as the couple entered the hospital without acknowledging them, drowning out a much larger group of well-wishers, many of whom cried out “We love you Kate!”

Outside the Quebec tourism and hotel business institute, a line of riot police with shields and rooftop snipers watched over a second group of protesters behind a barricade when the royal couple arrived for a cooking class. Britain conquered the former French colony of Quebec in 1763, but its culture and language survived, and today it is a bastion of French culture in North America.

British rule, however, still evokes resentment in some quarters of the Canadian province. The first of Saturday’s demonstrations was organized by a group rattling for the defense of the French language in North America. Its president, Mario Beaulieu, told AFP the duke and duchess’s visit “raises the issue of francophone assimilation,” as well as “the linguistic purging of Quebec, in which the Canadian government is complicit.”The monarchy “is an obsolete institution, anti-democratic and sexist, and Quebec wants none of it,” he added.

As a member of the Commonwealth,

Canada’s official head of state is the British monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, who is represented by a governor general. But a poll released on the eve of William and Kate’s visit found that a third of Canadians want to cut ties with the British monarchy. In Quebec, where 83 percent of the population speaks French and only 10

percent speak English, disaffection with the royals runs as high as 60 percent, according to the Angus Reid survey.

Quebec twice rejected independence in referendums in 1980 and 1995, the last time by a narrow margin.

Separatists would like to hold a third vote, but recent infighting has marred

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge chat with a young cancer victim during a tour of Sainte-Justine children’s hospital.

their organization. Prince William, second in line to the British throne, and his wife celebrated Canada Day among hundreds of thousands of adoring fans in Ottawa, with fireworks and musical performances on Friday. The duchess of Cambridge smiled broadly and exchanged polite banter as she shook hands with the crowd for longer than the intended hour.

The Quebec leg of their trip, however, includes no major public events, apparently an attempt to reduce possible confrontations with anti-monarchists or separatists like the one that embarrassed William’s father, Prince Charles, when he visited in 2009.

Quebec separatists clashed with riot police outside an army hall at the time, delaying the arrival of the prince of Wales.

William and Kate sailed aboard a navy frigate to Quebec City for a tour yesterday of the historic fortified quarter known as the Citadel. There, the couple met the members of the Royal 22nd Regiment, the most famous francophone unit in the Canadian Forces, and face more protests called for by the Quebec nationalist group RRQ. William and Catherine are very likable, the group’s Patrick Bourgeois said, but are being used by Ottawa to give the world a false impression that Quebec’s separatist movement has faded away and its members now accept being part of a Canadian federation dominated

by Anglo-Saxons. Earlier Saturday, the couple planted a ceremonial tree at the Ottawa residence of the governor general symbolizing their everlasting “love and marriage” and unveiled a massive painting at the Canadian War Museum. —AFP

The new restaurant, Romera, is housed in the luxury Dream Downtown Hotel. —AFP

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here is cuisine which aims to excite the palate, and cuisine to please the eye. Argentine neurologist-turned-chef Miguel Sanchez Romera, however, has another proposition: restaurant fare which, with originality and purity, awakens and excites the brain. When he opens his high-concept “Romera” restaurant next month in New York’s edgy meatpacking district, the Michelin-ranked chef will be serving up what he calls “neurogastronomy” meant to deliver complete sensory experience on a plate.

“My formula is sensory hyperrealism. It is the same as when you are painting something, or sculpting something that is hyperreal,” Sanchez Romera, who also studied fine arts but did not finish, told AFP. Just as an artist who works in a hyper realistic style aims to provide a high-definition version of reality, Sanchez Romera said his 12-course prix fixe menu will offer patrons a heightened culinary experience, nourishing the mind as well as the body.”Cooking is a sensory event, neuro-sensorily speaking,” the selftaught chef explained.

“It involves the five senses, it involves memory, it involves intelligence, it involves the emotions,” said Sanchez Romera, who emigrated to Spain in 1979 and worked in medicine for more than a quarter century. His high-concept food concept cuisine brings his expertise as a neurologist into the kitchen, drawing upon an understanding of how the human brain experiences dining. “It is the beauty, and the impact, that bring home the extreme degree of reality,” said the 57-year-old in his native Spanish.

Sanchez Romera’s romeranewyork.com website expands on his culinary philosophy, which it says draws on “taste-memory and the emotions of food” in creating “the most unique cuisine in the world.”The new restaurant is housed in the luxury Dream Downtown Hotel, with funding from IndianAmerican entrepreneur Sant Chatwal. Sanchez Romera’s rise has been meteoric, beginning, inauspiciously enough, after he started regularly cooking elaborate meals for friends. One, a French wine expert, was the first to ask why he was not in the food business as a professional “artist”.

So at around the age of 40, Sanchez Romera traveled to France for the first time, a sojourn which led him to a restaurant near Lyon where the food mirrored his own culinary vision, inspiring him to try his hand at creating his own establishment.—AFP

MONDAY, JULY 4, 2011

lifestyle F E A T U R E

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city in Taiwan declared yesterday “Lady Gaga Day” as the pop diva’s first visit to the island sparked a frenzy among dedicated fans and local media. Lady Gaga, sporting a black and white wig, red trousers and a red dress with leopard-print sleeves, was given a key to Taichung city by the mayor at a ceremony attended by hundreds of enthusiastic supporters. “On behalf of Taichung, I now declare today ‘Lady Gaga Day’...which also belongs to all of her fans,” mayor Jason Hu said. Earlier in the day, hundreds of her fans-known as “Little Monsters”defied summer heat to parade on the street dressed in costumes and wigs.

One man wore a raw meat’s head, the TVBS cable news network reported, in apparent homage to an outfit made of raw meat that Lady Gaga wore to the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards. “My father is a butcher. I try to link Lady Gaga’s creativity with my family’s business,” he said.

Another fan won a prize from the event’s sponsors for his costume consisting of a white mask and a cloth festooned with paper money, which is burned by local people to soothe the spirits of dead loved ones.

“Death is not the end of life,” he said. “Lady Gaga has set a very good example for people encouraging us to pursue our dreams, whatever they may be. I’m so glad that I will be able to see her tonight.” The 25-year-old singer, ranked this year’s most powerful celebrity by Forbes magazine, is among the most popular international entertainers in Taiwan and her visit made the front pages of major newspapers.

Last night’s performance, which will be attended by 4,000 fans, is part of a five-day tour promotional tour of Taiwan for her new album “Born This Way”. Lady Gaga told the crowd she would return to the island next year for a concert with tickets on general sale. —AFP

Fans of international pop sensation Lady Gaga dress in costume.

US pop diva Lady Gaga waves as she poses with children from the Tai Ya tribe from eastern Taiwan while visiting the central Taichung government offices yesterday. Lady Gaga is visiting the island for a five-day promotion tour for her new album ‘Born This Way’. —AFP

A fan of Lady Gaga shows her enthusiasm.

A little fan of international pop sensation Lady Gaga dresses in costume with Gaga’s name in Chinese on her bra.

A fan of US pop diva Lady Gaga.

Lady Gaga hugs an indigenous Taiwanese boy.

Radiohead ventures into Chinese social media

MONDAY, JULY 4, 2011

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West Bank

uses past to predict future

Samaritan priest Hosni al-Samir speaks at the Samaritan Museum in the West Bank city of Nablus on January 14, 2011. — AFP

Samaritan priest Hosni al-Samir points to the Samaritan Museum sign.

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n the northern West Bank city of Nablus, a small and ancient Samaritan community is managing to make ends meet by dabbling in the age-old practice of fortune-telling. University Avenue, in the hill-ringed city of Nablus, is lined with white banners with the names of Samaritan priests, renowned among their Palestinian neighbors for astrology and divination.

Palestinians go to the Samaritans’ booths along the avenue or to their homes on nearby Mount Gerizim hoping to find answers to their most pressing problems. The Samaritans claim to be the true children of Israel who left Egypt with Moses and consider themselves the guardians of the authentic Mosaic tradition. They say it is the Jews who over time diluted the religion revealed by Moses. Some 750 Samaritans live in the Holy Land, around half in the Israeli city of Holon near Tel Aviv, while the remainder reside on Mount Gerizim, which they consider a sacred place.

Hosni al-Samir, a 67-year-old Samaritan priest, says his people have been studying the stars for millennia.

“We have inherited astrology books for thousands of years,” he told AFP. “The most recent one we use goes back almost 450 years.” The practice is restricted to the priestly class, which represents about a third of the total community, he says, adding that the use of astrology and numerology should not be confused with witchcraft or parlor tricks. “We do not believe in sorcery, reading palms or coffee grounds or performing exorcism,” he said. “All this is baseless quackery.”

“We practice astrology by asking the name of the mother, the husband or wife, and we predict illness, marital breakdown or loss of work.” Samir, who started studying the ancient arts at the age of 12, says that each letter of a person’s name has meaning and that the 22 letters of the ancient Hebrew alphabet used by Samaritans each correspond to a body part.

“The Samaritans have astrology books that are found nowhere else and are able to predict the beginning of each lunar month, and lunar and solar eclipses,” he added. The Samaritan capability for divination, he says, comes from their reputed descent from the Israelite tribe of Levi-the tribe of the biblical character

Joseph who, according to scripture, interpreted dreams for the Egyptian pharaoh.

For villagers, forecasts are unbeatable The priest says the split between the Israelites and Samaritans occurred when King Solomon built his temple in Jerusalem while the Samaritans insisted that the proper site of God’s presence is Mount Gerizim in the biblical district of Samaria, from which they take their name. In Nablus, local shopkeeper Akil Khalil Johari, who works next door to one of the fortunetellers’ booths, says it attracts a wide array of clients.

“Palestinians, mainly villagers, consult them and are convinced that the Samaritans’ forecasts are unbeatable,” Johari said. “There are Palestinians living in the United States who go to them when they visit this country.”

He says the astrologers see clients for five hours starting from 8:00 am, and a preliminary consultation costs 150 shekels ($44, 30 euros) although the price of a full prediction can range from 500 to 5,000 shekels (up to $1,450/1000 euros). Not everyone however is happy with the service. Umm Firas, a 28-yearold Palestinian woman from Jerusalem, consulted the Samaritans several times in recent months.

“I went to Mount Gerizim to ask for a reading when my troubles with my husband got worse,” she told AFP. “I gave them my name, his name and those of my children and all the information they asked for. “They put a veil on me and took from me an ounce of gold at a price of more than 2,000 Jordanian dinars ($2,817/1,985 euros),” she said. At the session, the astrologer told her that everything would work out with her husband.

But he got it completely wrong. ”I was desperate and needed an answer but it did me no good. I divorced my husband, who married a Russian woman who worked with him,” she complained. “I lost my gold to the Samaritans.”

But Samir says nobody is compelled to give gold.”We tell them: ‘Give what you like’,” he said. ”At the end, after the priest has retired to meditate upon a solution and make calculations and analyses, and to consult the astrology books-which can take days-he has the right to be paid like any other business.” —AFP

Samaritan priest Hosni al-Samir stands next to a Torah scroll in his office.

‘holy hair’

Indian keeping the West fashionable

A Hindu devotee has his hair cut at the Tiruthani Muragan temple in Tamil Nadu on April 24, 2011 as thousands of devotees attend the temple to have their hair cut and offer it to Lord Muruga.

—AFP photos

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trong religious belief and Europe, where demand for hair prepare and export them for use spirituality coupled with sky- extensions is highest. ”Our across the world. The practice has rocketing demand from favorite god is Lord Muruga. We even become a lucrative sideline fashion-conscious Western had lots of problems, like debt, for temples, who use the money women has made India the world- many types of problems,” said raised for charitable activities. leader in the hair extension trade. Perumalswamy, a 45-year-old Some suppliers have also gone The South Asian country has long mother-of-two. ”I had prayed for into business themselves, cutting been the world’s biggest exporter my son to get married. I had out the need for wholesalers. The of human hair and companies promised that if he gets married, vogue for hair extensions among Hollywood actresses like Gwyneth involved in the sector estimate then I would offer my hair.”

The marriage took place a few Paltrow and other celebrities has that the business is now worth up to 8.5 billion rupees (nearly $200 months ago and so she came to pushed up demand for the beauty million) a year. Hair is offered as a Tiruttani to uphold her part of the product.

Cheaper synthetic hair was sacrifice to the hundreds of thou- bargain. Tonnes of tresses are cut sands of gods in the Hindu pan- every day and mostly sold at auc- popular in the 1990s and caused a theon for reasons as diverse as tion to wholesalers, which then slump in business for Indian firms wanting to ward off ill-health and misfortune or to bring luck and fortune.

The practice is common in southern India, especially at temples in Tamil Nadu state where people from all over the country come to be shaved. But those in the hair trade that feeds off the ritual fear for the future, as modern India changes on the back of its recent economic boom, opening up the vast country to more secular, consumerist pursuits and outside influences. “There has been a change of trend in the reduction of the younger generation going to the temple and tonsuring their hair,” said George Cherian, chief executive of Raj Hair International in the state capital Chennai. “They might cut their hair length halfway through but not necessarily fully shave their hair,” he told AFP TV. For now though, business remains brisk. On a religious festival day, up to 1,000 people, including 50 to 60 women, undergo the ritual at the Tiruttani temple north of Chennai. Indian women like Anandi Perumalswamy are the mainstay of the industry, even if their lives are a world away from the fancy salons in the United States and Hindu devotees have their hair cut at the Tiruthani Muragan temple.

but human hair is now favored, adding to its market value.

Currently one kilogram of Indian hair fetches on average $250: 15 years ago the cost was $20 per kilo, said Cherian. The most expensive type is “remy” hair, which is shaved directly from the scalp. It makes up 25 percent of the market; “non-remy” hair, which accounts for the rest, comes from comb waste.

“Indian hair is the most sought after for the only reason that it belongs to the same Caucasian race to start with,” said Cherian.

“And the natural color black matches the hair color of the Africans as well as, when bleached... the color of the Europeans or the Americans.”The end product is supplied to women like Fereena West, who goes to the ColourNation salon in central London, where a full head of natural Indian hair can cost more than $3,000 and take up to four hours to put in. “The hair extensions that I get, they’re quality. They’re 100 percent human hair and they are quite expensive but you have to pay for what you get,” said the 25year-old part-time model. At the exclusive michaeljohn salon, also in London, one client who gave her name only as Natasha said getting extensions was money well spent. “It’s about 600 pounds ($970), which includes the hair and the cost of the stylist, so for me, three times a year, it’s worth it,” she said. “Hair extensions have become very popular because celebrities like (the singer and television presenter) Cheryl Cole have them and it’s become more known. “But I actually think it applies to an awful lot of people and not just celebrities. I think a lot of people have them because it’s stylish and because it helps the hair look good.” — AFP