20 Jul

ON IP TI SC R SU B

WEDNESDAY, JULY 20, 2011

India reveals ‘world’s biggest’ uranium discovery

Guinean prez escapes assassination bid at home

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SHAABAN 19, 1432 AH

Rebooting the PC industry: Tablets force a shift

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www.kuwaittimes.net

Contador relaunches bid, Hushovd wins stage 16

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Murdoch hit by foam at ‘humbling’ hearing ‘Appalled’ media mogul apologises, says let down by staff

LONDON: A protester hit Rupert Murdoch with a foam pie yesterday as the media mogul testified to British lawmakers on the phone-hacking scandal, in a bizarre finale to what he called the “most humble day of my life”. The 80-year-old News Corporation chief’s Chineseborn wife Wendi Deng leaped up and slapped the assailant, who was dragged off by police after the attack during a parliamentary committee hearing quizzing Murdoch and his son James. The Guardian newspaper and Sky News named the attacker as a comedian called Jonnie Marbles. In a Twitter message shortly before the incident, he said: “It is a far better thing that I do now than I have ever done before #splat.” There was no confirmation of his identity as Scotland Yard had no immediate comment.

The hearing resumed 10 minutes later, with Murdoch apologising to the victims of phone hacking by the now-shuttered News of the World tabloid but denying ultimate responsibility for the scandal. Appearing frail and at times stumbling to a halt in his testimony, he had begun by saying: “I would just like to say one sentence.

This is the most humble day of my life.”

The scandal has rocked Murdoch’s global media empire, sparked the resignation of two of Britain’s top police chiefs, and even placed Prime Minister David Cameron under pressure. Murdoch said it was “not an excuse” but that with a company of 53,000 staff to oversee he could not be held fully responsible for failing to uncover the scandal. Asked whether “ultimately you are responsible for this whole fiasco?”, Murdoch tersely replied: “No”. When pressed over who he blamed, Murdoch said: “The people that I trusted to run it (his media empire) and then maybe the people they trusted.” But he said he was “absolutely shocked, appalled Continued on Page 13

Central Bank: Govt needs to boost spending DUBAI: Kuwait needs to increase government spending and support the private sector to overcome imbalances in its economy, the Central Bank governor said in an interview aired yesterday. The OPEC member’s “one-sided” dependence on oil and the government’s control of all sectors are causing the main imbalances in the economy, Sheikh Salem Abdul-Aziz Al-Sabah told CNBC Arabia television.

“There are three structural imbalances in the Kuwaiti economy... (including) the government’s dominance of economic activity... the private sector investor needs to be given a chance and that will reflect positively on the Sheikh Salem state’s budget,” he said.

Oil revenues in Kuwait, the world’s fourth-largest crude exporter, account for more than 90 percent of state income. A fall in oil prices is one of the risks facing the country’s economy in 2012, Kuwait’s finance ministry has said in a report on its website.

“Without majorly improving the business Continued on Page 13

Max 48º Min 30º Low Tide 09:03 & 21:31 High Tide 03:16 & 14:35

LONDON: Committee members react after a protestor (left in checked shirt) tries to throw a paper plate covered in foam over News Corporation Chief Rupert Murdoch as he gives evidence to a House of Commons committee yesterday. (Inset) A screen grab image shows Murdoch and his son James giving evidence to the committee as Rupert Murdoch’s wife Wendi Deng (center) looks on. — AP/AFP

US holds Libya talks

ASHDOD: The French yacht Dignite/Al Karama (bottom) enters this southern Israeli port flanked by three Israeli naval vessels after being intercepted in international waters as it tried to reach Gaza yesterday. — AFP

Israeli navy seizes Gaza-bound yacht

AJDABIYA, Libya: Libyan rebels, who claimed to have wrested control of Brega from Gaddafi loyalists, said yesterday they were trying to push the enemy far enough west to get the key refinery town out of shelling range. Yet the regime of strongman Muammar Gaddafi denied the town had fallen and said 500 rebels had been killed in the assault.

Meanwhile, amid mounting diplomatic pressure on Gaddafi to step down after four decades in power, US envoys held a rare meeting with regime representatives over the weekend. Saturday’s meeting came a day after the United States and other Western and regional powers recognised the NTC as Libya’s legitimate authority. US officials “met with

regime representatives to deliver a clear and firm message that the only way to move forward is for Gaddafi to step down,” a US official said in Washington. “This was not a negotiation. It was the delivery of a message,” the official said.

“We have no plans to meet again, because the message has been delivered.”

However, Gaddafi spokesman Mussa Ibrahim told CNN television the talks were the start of a diplomatic process and the “first step in dialogue”. Meanwhile, Russian news agencies said that Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Libyan counterpart Abdelati AlObeidi will discuss the current situation in Libya and African Unionled mediation efforts today afternoon in Moscow.

Continued on Page 13

‘Nightmare’ in Homs as death toll rises

Erdogan wishes to visit Gaza ASHDOD, Israel: Israel commandos yesterday boarded a French yacht heading for Gaza in defiance of its naval blockade, and escorted it to shore after what the military said was an uneventful takeover.

An army spokesman confirmed the interception of the MV Dignite/Al Karama had been conducted without violence and said that the crew and passengers were put on an Israeli naval vessel headed to the southern Israeli port of Ashdod. “IDF navy soldiers boarded the Al Karama in an effort to stop it from breaking the maritime security blockade on the Gaza Strip,” a military statement said, indicating the move had come “after all diplomatic channels had been exhausted and continuous calls to the vessel had been ignored.”

Four hours later, the yacht was escorted into Ashdod port by three Israeli warships and the passengers were taken off for interrogation by the police in a move which was denounced by the organisers.

“The boarding (of the yacht) is an act of violence and an illegal act,” the Parisbased organisers said in a statement, describing it as “a new act of piracy against harmless people”. “Forcefully bringing a boat and its passengers to Ashdod port with weapons and military vessels, is an act of violence which must be condemned, just like the blockade of

Gaza,” it said. “We are not yet sure there was no violence, as claimed by the Israeli army, because it has not been possible to contact the passengers.”

The military said the 16 people on board, three of whom are journalists, would be questioned by Israeli police then transferred to the interior ministry and the immigration authorities, with the expectation they would be deported.

Eleven of them are French, while other passengers are from Sweden, Canada, Greece and Israel. Of the three journalists, one is Amira Hass, a veteran Israeli columnist who covers Palestinian affairs for the left-leaning Haaretz newspaper, while the other two work for Al-Jazeera television.

Last month, Israel pledged that foreign journalists covering the arrival of what had been expected to be a 10-ship flotilla to Gaza would not face the same sanction as other participants. The yacht charted its course for Gaza despite Israeli warnings that it would intercept the only boat remaining from a 10-vessel flotilla that had been due to sail for Gaza at the end of June. The Dignite/Al Karama had hoped to reach Gaza around midday but was blocked by at least three Israeli ships in the early morning, with the soldiers making clear they would not allow the activists to reach their destination.

Continued on Page 13

RHYBAT, Libya: A Libyan rebel fighter flashes a victory sign as an aircraft carrying supplies from Benghazi for Libyan rebel fighters departs along a guarded mile-long stretch of road being used as runway in western Libya yesterday. — AP

DUBAI: UAE player Theyab Awana takes a backheel penalty in a friendly against Lebanon on July 16, 2011.

UAE player in trouble for backheel penalty DUBAI: A United Arab Emirates player whose backheeled penalty in a friendly against Lebanon has become an Internet sensation, faces possible sanctions for being disrespectful. Video of Theyab Awana’s goal in UAE’s 72 win on Sunday has been popular on YouTube. Awana approaches the ball to kick what would be a typical penalty but spins and hits with his right

backheel past a stunned goalkeeper. He struts away smiling and several Lebanese players can be seen angrily screaming at him.

The unorthodox penalty has not only angered the Lebanese.

UAE manager Esmaeel Rashed has told The National newspaper the move was “disrespectful” and that Awana could be punished.

Continued on Page 13

DAMASCUS: Activists yesterday accused Syrian forces of trying to sow sectarian strife in the flashpoint city of Homs where the death toll climbed to more than 50 in four days and a pro-government daily called for dialogue to end the “nightmare”. According to the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, at least 13 civilians were shot dead by security forces on Monday and yesterday in Homs, after a bloody weekend that saw 30 people killed in the central city. “Thirteen civilians were killed yesterday and today in several parts of Homs when the army opened fire as it carried out an operation in the city” to quell dissent, Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP in Nicosia.

“The Syrian authorities are carrying out military operations in Homs after having failed in their attempts to sow sectarian divisions in the city due to the foresight of the people of all faiths,” Abdel Rahman said. He also accused the regime of previous attempts to enflame sectarian tensions in other parts of the country, including Latakia, Jableh and Banias.

“The authorities’ plan failed (in Homs) just as it failed in Banias last April” when pro-regime militias opened fire on a mosque in the coastal city with the aim of inciting sectarian tensions, he said.

Regime-friendly daily Al-Watan led its yesterday edition with the headline “Nightmare in Homs”. “Since the outset, everybody has been guarding against a slide towards a sectarian war... which does not distinguish between Christians and Muslims,” the paper said. “But disagreements can only be resolved through dialogue,” it added. Late on Monday, another activist had said that security forces swept into Homs and shot dead a civilian and wounded four others.

Several coaches packed with security force personnel entered the Khalidiyeh neighbourhood of Homs and afterwards gunfire was heard, said Abdel Karim Rihawi. The wounded were taken to Al-Bir Hospital, said Rihawi, who heads the Syrian League for the Defence of Human Rights.

“The shooting continued in more than one area of Homs. The atmosphere is tense. Security and pro-regime militias are invading the neighbourhood, shooting indiscriminately to terrorise people,” pro-democracy Continued on Page 13

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WEDNESDAY, JULY 20, 2011

local

Gang of rapists in police custody

By Hanan Al-Saadoun KUWAIT: Detectives from the Criminal Investigation Department arrested four citizens in connection with abducting one bedoon and subjecting him to sexual abuse two days ago. The four- member gang kidnapped the young man from a cafe in Hawally threatening him at knife point. He was bundled into a car and taken to a deserted area in Suliabiya. The reportedly men took turns to rape him. They abandoned him in an unconscious state. The suspects were arrested in Kabd and confessed to committing the crime.

national were hurt. Both men are 22-yearsold and were admitted to Al-Jahra Hospital. In another incident, a car accident took place at Farwaniya Hospital traffic junction.

A 17-year- old bedoon suffered multiple injuries. A 35-year-old man suffered a case of cardiac arrest. He was rushed to Farwaniya Hospital in a very critical condition. All attempts to revive him were rendered unsuccessful. He passed away a short while later. In yet another motor accident that took place along King Fahad Road below the Shuaiba bridge, three Egyptian expatriates sustained mild injuries. They were 25 and 24-year-old respectively and were admitted to Al-Adan Hospital. the fourth victim was a 38- year-old British national. He was administered treatment on the site.

Freak accident A five-year-old Kuwaiti child accidentally slipped and fell from a recreation facility and fractured his arm. He was admitted to Al-Razi Hospital.

KUWAIT: Three members of gang which kidnapped and raped a bedoon youth.

Motor accidents A car accident took place in Salwa. A 27year- old citizen fractured his right arm and suffered multiple injuries. A 10-year-old Kuwaiti boy was also hurt. Both were admitted to Mubarak Hospital. In another incident, a car accident took place along the Fifth Ring Road, located opposite to Bayan. A 21-yearold citizen suffered a spinal injury and a 23year-old , another citizen, fractured his left arm. He was admitted to Mubarak Hospital.

An accident involving a motorcycle took place along the Fourth Ring Road. A 33-yearold citizen suffered a fatal head injury. He was rushed to Al-Sabah Hospital in a critical condition. He succumbed to injuries shortly.

In a car accident that took place along Doha Expressway, one bedoon and a Saudi

Street fight A noisy quarrel occurred between a group of men in Farwaniya. A 31-year-old Saudi national suffered minor facial injuries and was admitted to Farwaniya Hospital.

Roof collapse Two Asian men were admitted to Mubarak Hospital after the roof of a school collapsed on top of them in Hawally. A third man was freed alive from the rubble and was also admitted to Mubarak Hospital. The three expatriates were performing constructionrelated work when the incident took place.

They their condition is believed to be stable.

Police men attacked Hawally police arrested a GCC national who attacked two policemen. He was arrested within hours of committing the crime. Both policemen were admitted to the nearest hospital after being stabbed with a knife. His car’s number plate was jotted down which helped police trace him in Jahra. He confessed to assaulting police men.

KUWAIT: Some of the 51 Pinay household workers leaving their Jabriya shelter yesterday. (Right) Labor Attache David Des Dicang — Photos by Ben Garcia

51 repatriated Pinoy maids seek safety back home Shattered dreams of a better life

By Ben Garcia KUWAIT: Rowena’s journey to what she believed would be greener pastures resulted in abuse, starvation and false accusations of adultery. After arriving in Kuwait to work as a maid, 32-year-old Rowena Alinsasaguin ate only bread (khubz in Arabic) for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Her most luxurious meal was chicken with rice, which she was given once a week.

“On every other day it was only khubz, without anything on it. I did not come to Kuwait to die. I came here to live and help my family,” she sobbed, recalling her wretched experience. After four months of suffering, she finally called her agency to request a transfer and her request was eventually granted. After the next few months, however, the female employer became suspicious that Rowena was having an affair with her husband. In ‘revenge’ for this imagined romance, Rowena would receive reprimands and beating almost every day.

Rowena, is just one of 51 runaway housemaids who were repatriated yesterday from the Philippines Embassy on a normal scheduled flight via Emirates, flight 304. Almost half a million domestic helpers from the Philippines, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Africa and Indonesia

currently work in Kuwait. They come with financial burdens, sometimes heavily indebted in order to pay for their visas and suffer terrible homesickness, missing children, husbands and parents. On arrival, some are accused of not doing their jobs properly, of being ignorant or of working ‘only’ 18 hours a day. Some of the allegations might even be true. Often, however, these women’s problems spiral out of control and some, unable to handle the crippling workload any longer, let alone the abuse and the inhuman treatment, choose to run way, seeking help at the Philippine Embassy, which, in their words, can help them return home.

Grief-stricken One such tragic story comes from 21-year-old Bayali Wahab, who was aboard yesterday’s flight back to the Philippines. After five months in Kuwait her dream of helping her family back home in Lambayong Sultan Kudarat, lay in ruins. She ran away from her employer’s house when the sponsor’s eight-year-old son threatened to kill her with a knife after she had worked there for barely two months. After the incident, her sponsor agreed to let her go. She was sent back to the local recruitment agency where she was transferred to another sponsor. After working for them for

three months, however, she had still received no salary. At that point, she decided to run away, this time to the embassy. “I badly need this work, but I am not very lucky here so I will try in some other countries when I return to the Philippines,” she said.

A similar story is narrated by 24year-old Aladdine Ardan from Luna Apayao, Cagayan, who worked for her employer for more than a year. The first year was fine, Aladdine explained, but just after she’d completed one year, her female sponsor’s attitude changed radically for the worse. “They hired another two housemaids of other nationalities; [the employers] believed them. They used to tell my employer that I do that and I do this.

They started to hate me, then maltreatment and abuse followed. She would hurl anything at me, from slippers to anything hard that could hurt me. She even push my head against the wall and she accused me of taking her cell phone,” she said.

Home, sweet home The 51 women returning home yesterday were accompanied to Kuwait International Airport by the Philippine Labor AttachÈ to Kuwait, David Des Dicang, who explained that with through mass repatriation the number of runaway housemaids currently staying at the Philippine

Embassy’s shelter has shrunk to 296.

“The number is still big because we are receiving five to 15 runaway housemaids per day. We try our best to send our compatriots home when they come and seek help,” Dicang stressed.

The embassy official admitted that there are some unresolved issues among the runway housemaids who were included in yesterday’s massrepatriation. “We will pursue their cases even in their absence,” he asserted, explaining that amongst these problems are unpaid salaries owed to many of the women, which he insisted will be collected. He advised the overseas labor office in Manila to ensure that it has contact details and addressed for all the women so that the monies owed to them can be transferred to them as soon as they are received.

“We will get [the outstanding salaries] and give the money back to them,” he added. According to Dicang, repatriations will continue on a weekly basis to reduce the number of maids living in the shelter, especially before the start of the holy month of Ramadan. “We are completely aware of the Ramadan workload, so, perhaps we cannot blame them if our workers resort to running away during that month,” he said, adding, “I hope not, but we anticipate that.”

Kuwait takes port issue to UN

KUWAIT: Rescue operation after a roof of a school collapsed in Hawally yesterday.

New team to respond to US State Dept report KUWAIT: The Kuwaiti government is forming a high-level team to prepare official responses to the allegations contained in the US State Department’s latest human rights report, which finds the Gulf nation relegated to the lowest ranking amongst those nations where the practice is widespread.

According to a senior Ministry of Justice (MoJ) official, an agreement has already been reached on the creation of the team, which will feature senior officials from the MoJ, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor (MSAL) and the Ministry of Interior (MoI).

Zakariya Al-Ansari, the director of the justice ministry’s international relations department, the team will focus on disproving the State Department report’s allegations, specifically the claim that Kuwait is not doing an effective job of tackling human trafficking.

Speaking after a meeting on Monday between MoJ and MSAL officials and a delegation of representatives from the US Embassy in Kuwait, AlAnsari said, “During the meeting, the US Embassy team recommended that Kuwait enforce the draft law currently before parliament which concerns building a shelter for human trafficking victims with a capacity for 700 people.” AlAnsari added that the Kuwaiti officials were not promised that the State Department would improve Kuwait’s rankings in its next report, even if Kuwait does implement all the recommendations in this year’s report.— Al-Qabas

KUWAIT: The Kuwaiti government plans to take steps at the international level to respond to Iraqi allegations concerning the planned Mubarak AlKabeer port, according to a parliamentary insider with knowledge of the issue.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the insider said that Kuwait’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Dr. Mohammad Al-Sabah recently met with the US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton and explained the Kuwaiti government’s stance on the issue. Sheikh Dr. Mohammad also urged Clinton to adopt an official stance on the subject especially

since the it concerns a project built entirely within Kuwait’s borders, the insider added.

The government is reportedly preparing to raise the subject with the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), and to contact both permanent and nonpermanent members in order to demand that Iraq cooperates in implementing previous UN resolutions on border demarcation.

Kuwaiti MP Abdulrahman Al-Anjari has added his voice to those condemning Iraqi lawmakers’ alleged “interference in Kuwait’s internal issues,” further asserting that the major port project could help both

countries to achieve significant financial profits once completed. On another issue, Al-Anjari said that he doesn’t trust the government’s ability to tackle a potential economic crisis “while they continue to fight the private sector.” Al-Anjari was speaking following the recent slump in the stock market prompted by negative economic news coming out of the US and Europe, which it is felt could threaten the state’s economy. The Supreme Council of Planning and Development is reportedly ready to assign its economic committee to seek rapid solutions to stabilize the market. — Al-Rai

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WEDNESDAY, JULY 20, 2011

Years

LOCAL

Science, culture fight for spotlight in marriage between relatives Common blood

By Lisa Conrad KUWAIT: The word ‘consanguine’ means ‘of the same blood.’ Marriages where the couple are of common blood was once an interest investigated intensely by anthropologists eagerly trying to uncover the cultural issues attached to it. Now, however, much attention has been turned to the genetic and scientific implications of marriages within the same family.

There are various factors that influence families in encouraging the marriage of family members. In ‘Consanguinity and Reproductive Health among Arabs’, Ghazi Tadmouri, Pratibha Niar, Tasneem Obeid, Mahmoud Al-Ali, Najib Al-Khaja and Hanan A Hamany consider the prevalence of consanguine marriages in the Arab World.

They note that factors such as maintenance of family structure and property, ease of marital arrangements, better relations with in-laws and financial advantages all play a central role in the continuation of the tradition. It also is thought to ease tension between in-laws as they are already related. The report adds that while consanguinity in the Arab world is often assumed to be a trend among Muslim communities, it is also practiced in Christian communities such as in Lebanon, Jordan and Palestine.

Kuwaiti national, Sara, said, “It’s different if you marry within your family, you are less likely to have problems later because you understand and respect each other so much from the beginning. It ’s like strengthening the family unit. That said, two of my brothers married first cousins and were divorced before they reached their one year anniversary. So it’s not guaranteed to keep marriages together, but I think it helps.”

Awareness Recently, Dr Sadeeqa Al-Awadhi, a Consultant Geneticist and Chairperson of the Kuwait Medical Genetic Center warned that marriage between first-degree relatives increases the possibility of genetic diseases, especially in families with a history of such conditions. She urged couples to go to the Kuwait Medical Genetic Center for testing of various medical conditions so that they could go on to make informed decisions about their future.

Awareness and the occurrence of consanguine marriages are rising in Kuwait.

According to the ‘Consanguinity and Reproductive Health among Arabs’ report, in 1969, the rate of consanguinity was at 38.4 percentage. It now stands at 58.4 percentage. However, also interestingly, rates in other Arab countries have dropped significantly. Rates in Lebanon dropped by over half between 1982 and 2001. This may be due to the large number of Lebanese who migrate to work abroad, thus distancing them from their families.

Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait sport considerably higher percentages in general.

Awareness has increased, but needs to continue increasing, says Dr. Ghazi Tadmouri, assistant director of the Centre for Arab Genomic Studies. “Awareness can minimize the probability of having a baby with a disorder. People are asking to be tested more frequently now if they see a certain disorder within their family. This is the first step toward the control of genetic disorders: awareness. Diagnosis is also important, and genetically identified, and family members should be checked to see if they’re carrying the same recessive gene.” Is it likely that couples will go for testing though? “I wouldn’t go for testing.

It’s an insult to suggest that this tradition is going to harm our babies. My family have married cousins for a long time, and we’re all fine. It’s like an insult to your heritage, your ancestr y ”, says Jordanian mother, Lama.

The recessive gene The recessive gene that Dr Tadmouri mentioned is at the root of genetic disorders being passed on between related parents. He explains, “Consanguinity brings together people from the same families, and therefore increases the possibility of them having the same information in recessive genes. In these marriages, genes are carried through ancestry. This is dangerous because the recessive gene will not affect the parent during their lives, but if they marry someone with the same recessive gene, the disease will show.

The increased possibility of similar recessive genes therefore increases the possibility of having children with disabilities. Dr Tadmouri adds, “In the general

population, the likelihood of a couple having the same variant gene is a hundred to one. In cousin marriages, if one partner has a variant gene the risk that the other has it too is far higher - more like one in eight.” However, it is important not to assume that should a disorder be present in a child, it must be a result consanguineous. For example, Dr Tadmouri notes that Kuwait has one of the highest rates of diabetes and hypertension in the world,

‘Science should follow society, it shouldn’t be society following science.’ which are not a result of consanguineous marriages. He adds that consanguinity brings about very rare disorders, which can then be amplified through such marriages.

Reliability Although testing is promoted by doctors, the extent to which they can really reveal the risks of disorders in children of consanguineous parents can be limited. If you don’t have a history of genetic disorders in the family, tests only cover three of four cer tain major disorders, says Dr Tadmouri. Some private labs can check for hundreds of possible disorders, but this does not guarantee that couples can be assured that their future child will not be afflicted by another. Dr Tadmouri adds, “Tests are pre-assumed, in that the person already has a certain genetic mutation and they check the partner. But this doesn’t cover novelties. The only way is beyond the capabilities of diagnostic tests. The tests were formed in developing countries, so concentrate on the disorders prevalent in those regions, which does not mean that they will be accurate for application in the Middle East. We are compiling a database of genetic disorders prevalent in the region now, and we found 950 so far.

However, 250 are not testable as we don’t have genes mapped for them yet.”

Counseling Importantly, Dr Tadmouri stresses the

Heartbroken mom files for divorce to save dying kids KUWAIT: A Kuwaiti woman whose account of losing five of her ten children to leukemia has gained nationwide attention since its publication last week, said on Monday that the best way for her to provide medical attention for her remaining five children, all suffering with the same disease, would be to divorce her Bedoon (stateless) husband, adding that she is filing for divorce solely in order to attempt to save their lives.

The devastated mother, Shaikha Al-Mutairi, whose children were all diagnosed with the blood cancer at birth, has struggled to find a way to secure medical treatment for them due to complications over her husband’s status, which prevent the couple’s children from being able to utilize the state’s overseas treatment program.

In an inter view with a local paper, she said that ever since marrying her husband, a relative, her family has been on a rollercoaster ride. Al-Mutairi explained that the incestuous marriage had led to the genetically transmitted disease,

Fanconi’s anemia, being diagnosed in all ten of their children. The couple’s misery began with the death of their first child, a boy named Ahmad, who passed away at the age of 13 in 1996 as a result of heart failure. The grieving mother added that although the disease can be diagnosed in the early stages of pregnancy, she couldn’t do anything at the time because Kuwaiti law bans abortion for any reasons, including medical purposes.

Although another four of their children died of the condition tragically young, Al-Mutairi and her husband still have three sons and two daughters aged between eight and 23, all of whom face the same fate as their deceased siblings if they don’t receive immediate medical treatment.

Although Kuwaiti law allows female citizens married to Bedoon residents to send children suffering from such conditions to Jordan or Saudi Arabia for treatment which it will fund, the authorities in both countries have refused to issue visas

to the Al-Mutairis’ children due to their large number and, in Saudi Arabia’s cause, due to the fact that they are stateless.

Since their father is a serviceman with the Ministry of Defense, AlMutairi said that she applied on the children’s behalf for them to receive treatment under the program through which the ministry pays for medical treatment in France for the family members of military personnel. It seems, however, that the desperate parents’ applications for the lifesaving treatment have been shelved since they were filed a year ago.

Facing that obstacle, Al-Mutairi later learned from one of the staff members at the overseas treatment program’s main office, that her children’s treatment could be funded if she were divorced or widowed. AlMutairi is now seriously considering resorting to divorce in a desperate bid to save her remaining children’s lives. “I’m willing to sacrifice anything to provide medical treatment for my kids”, she said. — Al-Rai

Twitter trial adjourned

By A Saleh KUWAIT: Kuwait’s Criminal Court yesterday adjourned the trial of political activist Nasser Abul until August 2, ordering that his detention be extended so that his attorney could prepare his case.

Abul is accused of slandering members of the Saudi and Bahraini ruling families and of jeopardizing Kuwait’s relations with brotherly countries in messages posted on social networking website Twitter.

The parliamentary Islamic Constitutional Movement (ICM) has condemned the government’s introduction of legal and political penalties for activists and bloggers using Twitter.

In a statement issued yesterday, the ICM asserted that such restrictions are a violation of the freedom of expression guaranteed in the Kuwaiti constitution, as well as an unjustified repression of the freedom to express objective political criticism via electronic media.

The ICM also urged the cabinet and all relevant authorities to respect the constitution and accept objective criticism more positively.

Meanwhile, on a separate issue, MP Faisal Al-Mislem yesterday urged Kuwait University’s administration to live up to its responsibilities by providing places for the nine female medical students who completed their first year’s studies with flying colors, but have been refused places for the second year.

Al-Mislem also urged the university to provide places for 2,000 more newly graduated high school graduates who meet the university’s admission criteria, despite university staff’s complaints that they are struggling to

cope with the existing large student numbers which they say may be adversely affecting students’ academic potential. “The government and the education minister ought to solve these two problems to spare Kuwaiti students the trouble of having to study abroad as a result of the government’s vacillation and failure to complete the construction of the Shadadiya University, although it was approved in 2004,” Al-Mislem insisted. The MP also voiced skepticism as to how development could be achieved whilst quashing the ambitions and aspirations of the country’s young people.

In other news, the Public Authority for Housing Welfare (PAHW) has reportedly refused to hire a local architects to design the new cultural center in Sabah AlAhmad City, including a condition in the agreement to build the new facility that the work should be carried out in partnership with an internationally renowned architecture firm.

One PAHW insider said that the authority has put forward 20 architectural consultancy firms from around the world as contenders for the contact, with all the firms to submit their final bids by October 9.

On a separate issue, MP Ahmad Al-Saadoun has resubmitted previous questions to interior minister Sheikh Ahmad Al-Humoud Al-Sabah concerning those Kuwaiti citizens whose citizenship status was changed from Article 1 to Article 2. Al-Saadoun said that this amendment of citizenship status directly violates clauses in the country’s 1959 citizenship law, demanding a list of all Kuwaiti citizens whose status was altered, as well as documentation proving that they deserve citizenship according to national law.

importance of counseling for parents, “You must ask them if they are ready to accept the results. What if they find out that they are likely to develop Alzheimers by the time they are 60? They have to be mentally prepared to accept the result.” He adds, “This part of the world lacks in genetic counselors. There are many graduates with the degree but they are not appreciated and do not get work. Medical doctors will be the ones to tell the patients, but it is not their job. It is more like a favor, not a professional practice.”

The options Awareness and testing are the primary preventive measures couples can take if they are concerned about possible genetic disorders being passed on to their children. However, further action is sometimes taken should these measures be skipped or inaccurate. Dr Tadmouri said that test tube babies can actually be tested for disorders before implantation, which therefore eliminates the moral dilemma for parents in having to decide what to do later.

However, this testing can only look for the specific disorder found in their family history, so again it is not guaranteed that the baby will be free of any problems.

Other countries have taken more extreme measures to ensure the reduction of certain genetic disorders. In Cyprus, couples are obliged to undergo genetic tests before marriage . If the wife falls pregnant and the baby is found to have Thalassemia, a genetic blood disorder, she is obliged to have an abortion. “This”, Dr Tadmouri says, “would never happen in the Middle East. Abortion is controversial here and is not a common practice.”

Abortion is legal in Kuwait specifically in the case of a fetus being found to have a disorder. However, many find this distressing, especially in terms of religious and moral standpoints.

The rebuttal “Families in the Middle East have been marrying their cousins for centuries, and they are fine. You don’t see an abnormally high rate of disability in the Middle East, so how is it true that marrying your cousin can increase the risk?”

This comment was a regular feature in various inter views over the topic. Dr

Tadmouri said that in fact in some cases children born of consanguine parents can actually end up enjoying the beneficial genes of both parents, but heightened.

The repor t ‘Consanguinity and Reproductive Health Among Arabs’ also found that higher fertility rates and live births had been reported among consanguineous couples.

He adds, however, that the negative risks tend to over weigh the positive aspects and that the risk of birth defects, in general, for first cousins is between 2 and 2.5 times higher. Given reports from interviewees that, simply, ‘it’s not true’ and hasn’t been seen as a prevalent problem, the question does arise as to whether or not people are really affected as a result of consanguineous marriages.

“People did not know the causes of death in the case of genetic disorders.

There is a high rate of miscarriage in the Gulf because a defect occurs and kills the fetus before birth. As well as sudden death in children and early birth. Similarly, cancer was killing people before, it’s just that we didn’t know what it was yet,” says Dr Tadmouri. And the case of consanguineous couples having perfectly healthy babies and no reports of disorders in their ancestry? “It’s either because the family has no history of disorders, or women had miscarriages that were never explained. It only became an issue in the last 40 or 50 years. The concentration before was on malaria, tuberculosis and typhoid etc.

Then the attention turned to genetic disorders, so it’s a very new investigation that is still growing.”

The future Given the complexity of the situation, what does the future hold? “Science should follow society, it shouldn’t be society following science,” says Dr Tadmouri.

He adds, “If a couple is in love and want to get married, it’s not for us to say it’s a bad idea. We should provide them with as much information and help as possible.

The goal is to be able to understand the disorders prevalent to each population, so that tests can be formed accordingly. We want to make a catalogue for it throughout the region. Catalogues for the UAE Bahrain, Oman and Qatar are near completion, now we’re working on Kuwait.”

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LOCAL

Local Spotlight

in my view

The plastic devils

The flat hunt in Kuwait

Muna Al-Fuzai

By Lisa Conrad

muna@kuwaittimes.net

lisa@kuwaittimes.net

ow many credit cards do you own? Are credit cards burdensome on your budget?

Can you afford not to have any? Credit cards have taken control of our lives today. They have become an indispensable modern day mode of payment. The bathroom might be the only place where they are not used! Although possessing many can be risky, it is not advisable to carry many plastic cards because the owner may end up with no cash to buy as much as a loaf of bread! So, credit cards are here to stay.

But, how can we control their use? How can we continue to remain masters of this small plastic card while conducting transactions that can at times land one in jail? It is right to say that credit cards today have donned the guise of a sweet-talking devil that misguides people, when allowed to take the lead.

Are credit cards tempting? I believe they are.

This is mostly because they fuel one’s lust for shopping and instill a false sense of freedom to purchase anything in an unrestrained fashion. In

he Kuwaiti apartment market is a mysterious, strange entity. It appears relatively easy when you arrive, with ‘for rent’ signs plastered across buildings in areas that you have been eyeing. But when you inquire about available apartments, things start becoming complicated.

Firstly, one-bedroom apartments are hard to come by and when they do come free, are snatched up by eager expats. The best bet is to leave your details with the ‘harris’, janitor, so that when something becomes available you can be the first to know. However, should he notify you that your dream apartment is suddenly free, you can expect to be asked for commission. From my experience, the commission stands at around KD 50 usually.

Now, KD 50 seems a relatively acceptable price to pay in exchange for finally having a home to call your own. But, once you discuss the apartment and agree on the commission, things actually get worse, not better. I have been called regarding the same apartment three times, with each call ensuring me that the apartment will be free in two weeks. I start to imagine how I’ll decorate, what I need to buy in preparation, and remind myself to start packing soon. Three months have passed and I have found myself with no apartment, but an incredibly elaborate furnishing plan.

As the tenant is still in the apar tment I wanted, I began scanning online listings.

Searching online, however, is also a hassle.

Firstly, the prices appear to be higher when listed online than when you go to the building

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How can we control a credit card’s use? How can we continue to remain masters of this small plastic card while making transactions that can at times land one in jail? Credit cards today have donned the guise of a sweet-talking devil that misguides people, when allowed to take the lead. our life today, we need to rely on so many things.

It is always wise to think before you act. So, you buy many things without thinking about your true need for the items and receive a hefty bill at the end of the month, then feel guilty after taking a look at the figures.

Credit cards are expensive and the service charges involved are not cheap either. Those who own many face the difficulty of making payments. So, rather than being able to flaunt one’s status, the card bearers find themselves unable to control their actions.

Having said that, it is also impossible to go without any credit cards these days. It is easier to carry plastic cards than cash. They are a safer option although definitely not one of the cheaper options. Also, in case of loss or theft, one call placed to banks reverts them to their original status! My advice to you would be to use credit cards wisely. Use them when you are financially capable of paying back the entire balance by the end of the month. Do not let the plastic devils take control of your lives!

Muna Al-Fuzai is currently on holiday. This column was originally published last year.

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Op-ed

The only Cabinet changes necessary ith several political fig- further add to the existing prob- mulates the general policy of the ures inside and outside lems; if the elected PM wasn’t Government, pursues its executhe parliament being adequate, which has happened a tion, and supervises the conduct vocal about their preference for lot in nearby countries, and of work in Government departan elected Cabinet in Kuwait led could very well happen in Kuwait ments.” - Ar ticle 123 of the by a Prime Minister selected from given the prevalence of phenom- Kuwaiti constitution. This article outside the ruling family, it ’s ena like sectarianism in Kuwaiti give the Cabinet full authority in important to point out the prob- society. running the state’s affairs accordlem in both the performance and While our constitution might ing to the regulations sponsored management of the current not be perfect or very realistic, it by the same constitution.

Cabinet which is, from our stand- is still very suitable to help the Unfor tunately however, the point, snowballing to alarming government to meet all the Cabinet has for years failed to levels. demands on it and to tackle all commit to its duties as per this There are no constitutional challenges in the development article, which allows violations to restrictions on having an elected process. The problem lies in the thrive in light of the lack of order.

Cabinet, so the real question is fact that the majority of our exist- One of the main problems in the whether this stipulation has ing constitutional regulations are Cabinet’s approach is the lack of become a necessity or a demand. not properly applied. teamwork - this perception is cerTo answer that question, there The reality today is that more tainly bolstered by the impresare several aspects to consider sion that ministers have in explaining why we believe become intolerant of acceptKuwait is still not ready for ‘The reality today is that more ing the opinions of fellow minthis drastic change. people are calling for an elected isters on issues concerning The fact that the premier- prime minister as they see it as their own ministries. ship is selected in the current The real change that we being a way out from the current need way isn’t the cause of the to see in the Cabinet is problem. Like all families in deteriorating situation created not the one that changes its the Kuwaiti community, the by mismanagement of the members or the process by ruling family has sufficient state’s affairs.’ which they are appointed, but members capable of meeting the one that enables the execthe demands for the country’s utive authority to assume its development, and following in people are calling for an elected original duty of running the state the footsteps of their forefathers prime minister as they see it as according to the constitution in a who worked with other members being a way out from the current manner that ensures prosperity of Kuwaiti society in building deteriorating situation created by for the country. This is not an Kuwait. Histor y shows that mismanagement of the state’s impossible or farfetched feat, giv‘Sheikhs’ have had a pivotal role affairs. But the changes that citi- en that it’s how the government in leading Kuwait’s development zens aspire to achieve don’t nec- operated throughout Kuwait’s in recent history, so a failure for essarily have to be attained by development in the second half one Cabinet formed by a prime altering the method of the pre- of the previous century. minister from the ruling family mier’s appointment, when the The answer to the current shouldn’t offer sufficient reason Cabinet could instead fully imple- problems lies in eliminating cento generalize. ment the regulations already tralization in the Cabinet, and An elected Cabinet might not found in the constitution. enabling all of its 16 members to be the best solution to correct “ The Council of Ministers take part in the decision-making the current Cabinet’s perform- (Cabinet) has control over the process in outlining the state’s ance. On the contrary, it might departments of the State. It for- policies. —Al-Qabas

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kuwait digest

self-assessment questionnaire

By Ali Mahmoud Khajah l

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Do you think Kuwait’s oil revenues will not be sufficient enough meet the country’s expenses during the next ten years?

Will you be robbed off your rights if your opponent is an influential VIP? Do you think that our children will be able to create a better future for themselves with current educational opportunities?

Do you think Kuwait’s judiciary system is unfair?

Do you think that big public fund embezzler will be tried?

Do you think that many Kuwaitis are trying to degrade sects, tribes, families or races?

Have you ever used ‘wasta’ even if it violates the law?

Have you ever objected to the use of obtaining ‘fake’ sick leaves to evade work?

Do you think that health services rendered in Kuwait are subpar with no foreseeable hope of a solution?

Do you think there are way too many expatriates living here than the country actually needs?

Do you think competence is not even an aspect for obtaining a senior position?

Do you think arts are appreciated in Kuwait?

Do you regret choosing an MP to represent you in Parliament? l Do you think the current government’s performance is satisfactory? l Do you think the freedom of belief is violated? l Do you think that ordinary citizens are no longer capable of providing for their basic requirements such as a place of residence? l Do you think that Kuwait is rich in financial and human resources, but is on a regressive mode? l Do you think Kuwait’s participation in the international sporting arena was thwarted by Kuwaiti forces? l Do you think citizens’ salaries are paid salaries commensurate with their experience and educational qualifications? l Do you think the demand to write off citizens’ loans is unjustified?

If, my dear readers, you answer ‘Yes’ to five to 10 of them, this means you feel that Kuwait is in trouble. If you answer ‘Yes’ to 11 to 15 of them, this means that our country faces a disaster. If you answer ‘Yes’ to more than 15 of the questions, we can interpret that Kuwait is nose-diving to an abyss. However, even if you answer yes to only one question, we need to work hard to protect Kuwait and lead a dignified life. —Al-Jarida l

‘I have been called regarding the same apartment three times, with each call ensuring me that the apartment will be free in two weeks. I start to imagine how I’ll decorate, what I need to buy in preparation, and remind myself to star t packing soon. Three months have passed and I have found myself with no apartment, but an incredibly elaborate furnishing plan.’ and enquire. Pictures of buildings are rarely provided and areas remain ambiguous, usually listing the location as between two locations.

After the stress of searching both on foot and online, I decided to enquire at an estate agency. Apart from the usual costs that come a lo n g w it h g o in g t h ro u g h a n a g e n c y, I’d assumed that it would be a relatively simple procedure. However, the agent I spoke to insisted on showing me apartments that were either in a totally different location than the one I asked for or much larger than what I wanted. It took me half an hour to convince the eager agent that I didn’t need, or want, a three bedroom apartment.

The arguments she used to try and convince me were incredible. What if I had people to visit? What if I had a pet and I wanted to put it in a spare room, out of the way? What if I got a one-bedroom apartment and then realized later, to my horror, that I had made the wrong decision? The questions were not rhetorical, so answering them was awkward in the worst way as she stared hopefully back at my, smiling politely, face. “But...I don’t want two spare rooms for my hypothetical pet dog.” But the best one she used was out of this world, for which she deserves points for perseverance at least: “Miss, don’t you plan on getting married?

Where are your children going to sleep?”

Before my eyes, the estate agent had not only planned family visits for me, but also made emergency options for when my future dog was annoying me and, later, where my children were going to sleep.

Now, three months after my search began, I have gained the following: an elaborate design plan, a hypothetical family (pet included) and a janitor who appears to take pleasure in hilariously joking about the real status of the apartment I wanted. After all this time, I am back to square one and I’ve realized that the best way really is to go to the buildings themselves and enquire. Choose the location you like, and sweep the entire area until you find something, or the possibility of something coming up later.

Failing that, maybe choose another area.

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LOCAL

KUWAIT: Members of the Kuwaiti Football Team Al-Azraq practicing for the much-awaited ‘2014 qualifier match’ against the Philippines’ Azkals team.

KUWAIT: The Azkals - Philippines’ national football team - arrived in Kuwait yesterday. They were received at the Kuwait International Airport by the Ambassador of the Philippines to Kuwait Shulan Primavera.

— Photo by Ben Garcia

‘Azraq team is ready’ Kuwait football team to take on Filipino rivals

By Ben Garcia KUWAIT: After a rigorous training session held in Lebanon and Jordan recently, the Kuwait Football Team [Al-Azraq] returned home last Friday. The team is in the heat of intensive preparations held here for the much-awaited ‘2014 qualifier match’ scheduled against the Philippines’ Azkals team. The match will be held on Saturday at the Qadsiya Sports Club in Hawally. Sheikh Talal Fahad Al-Sabah, Chairman Kuwait Football Association (KFA) visited the training ground on Monday evening, wished the team well

and expressed his support.

“He dropped by to give our team a morale boost. He just wished our team well and success for the Saturday game.

His presence was greatly valued by our team. Being able to see him here on the ground was quite remarkable,” said Talal Al-Mehteb, Media Relations Officer. Al-Mehteb spoke to the press Sheikh Talal addressed the team at KFA’s headquarters in Adaliya. Some local fans and supporters attended the training session, rooting for the team. A Kuwaiti football fan was confident that the Philippines’ team would be defeated. “I think we are strong enough for Philippines, so I

am sorry Filipinos...we are going to win.” Goran Tufegdzic, the current Serbian head coach of Kuwait National Football Team told Kuwait Times ‘the Azraq team is ready’. “We are ready, our team is definitely ready. We have been training and preparing ourselves for the match,” Goran said, describing the much awaited game as being ‘tough but exciting.’

“While I definitely favor my team, I highly respect the Philippines Football Team as well, they are also a strong, tough contender. We have an edge over them in terms of experience; two of our players are very strong and they are ready for this,” he bragged.

College of Education students asked to re-take course Education woes continue

By Hussain Al-Qatari KUWAIT: In a recent incident, that adds to the poor reputation of Kuwait’s education system, 400 students from the Public Authority for Applied Education and Training’s (PAAET) College of Education were informed yesterday that one of the courses they have been studying throughout this summer semester was cancelled. Students have been studying the cour se si nce a st mou n th , bu t we re o n l y informed yesterday, a week before the final exam, that it was cancelled due to a fault in the registration department.

“The officials were unable to answer our questions at first. We were confused as to

what will happen for all the work we have performed throughout the summer semester.

Are we going to re - do the entire course again? What were the reasons?” wondered Sarah, one of the students.

She added, “We were given a notice that we are no longer registered with that course.

We were shocked, so we tried to get in touch with our instructor who told us that that this was the management’s decision.

The head of the department is at a different campus than the one we study in. After m ovi n g b ac k and fo r t h f ro m c am p us to another to find an answer, my two friends and I were informed that we are not the only ones who are no longer registered; all the students

MPs question ministers

By A. Saleh KUWAIT: MP Walid Al-Tabtabaie has submitted a number of parliamentary questions to Minister of Social Affairs and Labor Dr. Mohammad Al-Afasi concerning the implementation of disability rights legislation introduced last year.

In his questions, Al-Tabtabaie asked Dr. Al-Afasi, who is also the Minister of Justice, about the total number of individuals registered with the Supreme Council of the Disabled as being partially disabled, the number of complaints filed by disabled people about their disabilities being unaccredited, and the procedures to be followed in such cases.

Fellow MP Hassan Jouhar, meanwhile, submitted questions to the education minister on alleged violations of the Public Authority for Applied Education

and Training’s (PAAET’s) scholarship scheme, specifically the eligibility criteria. Jouhar also requested a list of all the beneficiaries of the program from 2008 up to the present. Another lawmaker, Ali Al-Deqbasi, submitted several parliamentary questions to the Minister of Commerce and Industr y Dr. Amani Buresli about food prices and whether his ministry had conducted any recent studies on this issue. He enquired as to what penalties are imposed on merchants who violate the legislation covering this area and raise prices without ministry approval. Al-Deqbasi also asked for information on how goods are priced, whether the ministry has been notified by any retailers of an intention to raise prices, and whether the ministry requests’ producers’ and manufacturers’ receipts from local retailers.

Study to create new pay scale KUWAIT: A study will be conducted on the state departments’ salary scales. Its results will be submitted to the Cabinet in October. Not only the pay will be reviewed in these departments, a revised pay scale that organizes payment of salaries in the private sector will be created.

According to an official, the main goal of the ten-member committee that is preparing the study, is to create a unified pay scale across all state departments, reported AlQabas. The proposed scale will ensure that employees with similar professional and academic qualities are paid same salaries in different departments.

“Not only would that help achieve fairness, but would also regulate the process of making demands for pay increase,” the official said, alluding to the fact that many salary increase demands happen when employees at a certain department feel that they are ignored.

KOC failing in 2030 Strategy’s first phase: SAB KUWAIT: The State Audit Bureau (SAB) has cast doubt on the ability of the state-owned Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) to achieve the objectives in its 2030 Strategy for oil and gas production.

According to its latest report on the subject, the SAB suggested that the 2030 Strategy had been designed without taking into account the difficulties faced in achieving the previous 2020 Strategy. Amongst the problems in attaining the 2020 Strategy, said the report, were the upgrading of oil and gas production facilities in Southeast Kuwait, lengthy delays in constructing crude oil exporting facilities and further difficulties in developing the northern oil fields in cooperation with international companies.

The SAB report further stated that the new strategy had actually seen KOC reduce its daily 2030 production target by 50,000 barrels per day (BPD) from 2,750,000 to 2,700,000 BPD, as well as reducing its gas production target by a third, from 300 million to 200 million cubic feet per day. — Al-Jarida

registered in this course, totaling up to 400, are no longer registered. The class was cancelled.”

The explanation given by the admission department was that the students were, erreneously, allowed to register for nine credits for the summer as opposed to seven.

“The registration department said we will have to re-take this course next semester. One employee there said that the system will not accept our grades af ter we do the final exams. I don’t know why it took them more than a month to wake up to this mistake,” said another student, Hanan. O fficials at the College of Education refused to comment on the subject.

‘Wasta’ protects reckless driver, insists accused cop KUWAIT: Detectives are investigating claims that a traffic policeman has been issuing unlawful citations to motorists, with the accused officer insisting that he is being set up by reckless but politically well-connected drivers using their connections to influential figures.

According to one insider working on the investigation, the traffic officer, who works in the Capital Governorate, was summoned for questioning after complaints were lodged by a Kuwaiti man who received three traffic tickets in succession, which he insists were administered unlawfully.

During questioning, the traffic policeman told the detectives that he had given the motorist in question a ticket after catching him performing driving stunts in front of a Co-op in the area. The officer claimed that the complainant’s brother is a senior investigator at a local police station and had helped him lodge the complaint.

Another veteran police insider said that the officer in question has faced similar complaints from other motorists previously, which the accused officer believes are part of a campaign against him. — Al-Qabas

Born on November 25, 1971, coach Goran was a former star player of Serbia Yugoslavia. His association with Kuwait began in 2002 when he worked as an assistant to Mohamed Ibrahim at Al-Qadsia club. He returned to his former Serbian club FK Mladi Radnik in 2003 to help gain promotion. He once again worked as an assistant coach at Al-Qadsiya from 2005 to 2007 and later catapulted Al- Shabab to the top spot during 2007-2008 season. He was appointed head coach in February 2009. His tactics helped them achieve success in many international games.

Meanwhile, the Philippines’ Azkals Team arrived in

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WEDNESDAY, JULY 20, 2011

LOCAL

School headmaster blows KD180,000 in gambling Woman swindled out of KD 180,000 KUWAIT: A school headmaster has been arrested after conning a Kuwaiti woman into giving him KD180,000 for investment in overseas projects, which he blew within a few days on gambling. The woman told police at Salhiya police station that she and the man had reached an agreement on his investing the money for her in what he said were profitable overseas projects. After she handed over the money, however, he refused to answer her phone calls and a few days later, she decided to visit him at his work to ask about how her investment was faring. He informed her that her money had been wiped out after the project he invested it in, in an Arab country where conditions are currently unstable, failed. When he was unable to provide her with any documents to verify his claims or prove that the money had been invested at all, she went to the police, who launched an investigation. Detectives quickly discovered that the man had been visiting venues suspected of hosting parties where gambling took place, and he was arrested on his way out of one such venue. He admitted during questioning that he had gambled and lost all of his victim’s money. He is currently in police custody awaiting trial.

Fatal crash The body of a 17-year-old boy who died in a tragic crash in Jahra on Monday was left at the crash scene for four hours followi ng a m i s u n d e r s t a n ding b et ween t he authorities over who was responsible for its removal. The youngster had apparently been driving to a local polyclinic when he lost control of the vehicle due to a puncture, with the car smashing headfirst into a concrete barrier, killing him instantly. After he was pronounced dead at the scene, Jahra police said that the process of removing his body for autopsy should be the respo n s i b i li t y of t he J uvenil e C rimes Department, who had not been contacted over the incident. The subsequent misunderstanding meant that the boy’s body was left at the scene for four hours, with the authorities blaming the delay on the prolonged bureaucratic procedures to coordinate in collecting it.

Contraband found A large number of Central Prison inmates have been referred to the relevant authorities for questioning after an unscheduled cell inspection led to the discovery of various contraband items, including a quantity of heroin and 15 cell phones.

Plane death A passenger on a Kuwait Airways (KAC)

Death threats An expatriate from another Arab country is facing a number of charges after making death threats against his former wife so that she’d drop an alimony case she filed against him. After the woman visited Sharq police station to report her husband’s calls, police filed charges of threatening murder and misuse of a communications device, and the man is set to be summoned for questioning.

Shoplifter caught A local man was forced to buy a gold ring for twice its original cost in order to have criminal charges lifted against his wife, who had been caught attempting to steal the item.

The veiled bedoon (stateless) woman was caught by staff at the jewelry shop in Fahaheel attempting to replace the ring she took with another, far cheaper item of jewelry, with the incident also captured on the shop’s CC T V cameras. She was quickly detained as she attempted to leave the shop, with police being called and arriving shortly afterwards. The situation was resolved when the woman’s husband arrived just after the police, agreeing to pay twice the ring’s original price, as the shopkeeper stipulated, in order to have the charges against his wife dropped.

Dazed and confused A man is facing multiple charges after he was arrested in Salmiya whilst intoxicated and in possession of hashish. After passersby called the emergency services hotline to report that a man was acting suspiciously and following female pedestrians around, officers were quickly at the scene, discovering that the man was under the influence of drugs and finding a quantity of hashish and some readyrolled joints in his pockets. He was referred to the General Department of Drug Control (GDDC) for further action.

Dealer busted An expatriate drug dealer was arrested redhanded after selling 10 grams of heroin to an undercover GDDC agent, subsequently leading officers to a further 100 grams hidden in his home. The Indian dealer was set up in a sting operation when his drug-dealing activities by detectives who launched an investigation after his employer reported him missing. He admitted during questioning that he was working for a drug dealer currently serving a sentence in Central Prison, who he may soon get to spend more time with. —Al-Anba, Al-Rai

flight from London died as a result of a suspected heart attack aboard the flight on Monday night. The victim was pronounced dead half an hour before touchdown.

Forensic department officers were present when the plane landed, and the body was removed for autopsy.

Humanitarian relief for Somalia KUWAIT: Two Kuwaiti airplanes will head to drought-ridden Somalia on Thursday to supply medicines and humanitarian assistance to the country’s people.

His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah AlAhmed Al-Sabah ordered to render all possible help to Somalia during the country’s time

of hardship, announced Abd Al-Rahaman AlOun Director of Public Affairs in a press conference. He added that the HH the Amir donated KD 10 million to support humanitarian efforts to ease the suffering of the Somali people.

He emphasized that this is a gesture of love

on Kuwait’s behalf and relief aid will be supplied in coordination with the Embassy of Somalia in Kuwait. The airplanes will take off from Abdullah Al-Mubarak airbase. At least 1.5 million people are believed to be suffering from the worst form of humanitarian crisis to hit the country.

BRUSSELS: Kuwaiti Minister of Health Dr Helal Al-Sayer and President of HealthCare Belgium Rudi Thomaes signed Memorandum of Understanding in Brussels to strengthen cooperation in the field of health care.

Kuwait, Belgium support greater medical cooperation BRUSSELS: Kuwaiti health minister Dr. Helal Al-Sayer met yesterday with Kris Peeters, Minister-President of the Flemish region of Belgium, for discussions on ways to boost cooperation in the medical and health sectors between Belgium and Kuwait.

“It was a very positive meeting and we discussed a lot of possibilities for working together. Healthcare in the Flanders region is a very important sector and we have the ambition to be in the top five of the European countries and regions by 2020,” said Peeters after the meeting.

“We have discussed and given more information about this initiative and we hope that we can work in the future with Kuwait and see what we can do together,” he said.

He stressed that there are numerous possibilities and opportunities to work

together with Kuwait.

“We have a lot of universities which are linked with hospitals and I think we can work together certainly by sending Kuwaiti doctors to Belgium and give them training in specific specialties,” noted Peeters.

“I think the policy of the health minister of Kuwait is very wise in that he wants to train doctors from Kuwait also in other universities and hospitals and that is one of the opportunities that we have to work together,” he added.

Belgium is a federal state comprising three regions, the Flemish region (Flanders) in the North, Wallonia in the South and the capital Brussels region.

Dr. Al-Sayer arrived in Brussels Sunday night on a two-day visit aimed at strengthening medical and healthcare cooperation with Belgium. —KUNA

KFAED aid to Morocco RABAT: Director General of Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED) Abdulwahab Al-Bader stressed here yesterday the depth of relations between the Fund and Morocco, which is the second recipient of KFAED’s finances at a total value of up to $1.2 billion.

Al-Bader said following the signing of a contract between KFAED and the Moroccan government to finance a high-speed train project worth KD 25 million is over 25 years with a grace period and a low interest rate.

The train will link Tangiers with Casablanca.

He also asserted the Fund’s keenness to continue strengthening of bilateral ties and raise the volume of trade exchange between the two countries.

He also stressed the significance of the project which would enable Morocco to enhance its railroad and transport links and facilitate future linkage operations.

He reviewed the Fund’s efforts to keep pace with economic and social development programs in a number of friendly countries, in addition to reviewing the Fund’s activities in coordination with international and regional financial institutions.

He pointed out that the Fund has offered since its establishment 50 years ago 799 loans worth $15.5 billion benefiting 102 countries, 16 of which were Arab countries, 40 African, 35 from Asia and Europe as well as 11 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. —KUNA

Wataniya launches TV channel KUWAIT: Unlimited entertainment, exciting TV shows, daily religious programs and valuable prizes will be available to all the people in Kuwait throughout the month of Ramadan on Wataniya TV Channel.

Today, Wataniya announced the frequency of its new free-to-air TV Channel so that viewers will have sufficient time to tune in and they will not miss out on a single minute of their favorite TV shows when the channel comes to life in Ramadan.

In addition to launching a TV station, Wataniya also gives everyone the opportunity to interact with each other and engage in conversations about the shows watched through an interactive web portal. The web portal www.wataniya.com/tv will make sure that customers never miss an episode! By logging on, customers can stream and watch any older episode of their favorite show that they might have missed. Anyone can enjoy the shows on Wataniya TV Channel by configuring the following frequency: Nilesat, Frequency 10795, Polarization Vertical 27500, FEC 3/4.

The Wataniya TV channel will offer a wide variety of TV programs tailored for the entire family. Apart from telecasting the

top eight Arabic shows of 2011, customers will be able to participate in the daily game show and win valuable prizes all evening during Ramadan.

Viewers will get to watch eight hours of live broadcast with fewer commercial breaks when compared to other channels.

They will also be able to choose from two convenient time slots to watch the replays.

Wataniya TV Channel will air re-runs for all the shows during the rest of day.

‘Wataniya’ channel will air eight hours of live broadcast and re-runs for the remaining hours. Eight top 2011 Arabic shows will be telecast on the TV station: Al-Jileeb, Al Forsa Al Thaniya, Sahir Al Layali2, Samaa’ Thaniya, Al Hob La Yakfi Ahyanan, Banat

Sokar Nabat, Al-Shawaraa Al-Khalfiyah and Kayd Al-Nisaa.’

Abdolaziz Al-Balool, Public Relations Director at Wataniya Telecom commented, “Developing the new TV channel is a dream come true. We have invested a lot of effort in ensuring that our customers only receive the best in entertainment.

This is our token of appreciation to all our loyal customers for their trust and support.”

Al-Balool added, “We wanted to enhance our customer’s experience even further, and that is why we introduced the portal through which people can stay connected and entertained throughout the month of Ramadan.”

DMCP clears over one ton waste KUWAIT: The Dow Marine Conversation Program (DMCP) has helped clear over one ton of waste from Kuwait’s beaches since April 2011, in an effort to preserve the country’s coastal habitats and marine ecosystems. DMCP is a sustained, year-long program introduced by the Dow Chemical Company and en.v as part of Al Yaal, the first nationwide marine conservation initiative to protect Kuwait’s rich marine ecosystem.

An estimated 1,300-kilograms of waste, which included metal, paper and plastic, was collected by 97 volunteers. They covered 64,000 square meters of beach and shoreline during seven beach cleaning events held since the Program was launched in April 2011. Volunteers, along with members from K’S PATH, the Kuwait Diving Team, the Climate Change Project, the Green Target Company, the Kuwait Red Crescent Society (KRCS) and Spread The Passion collected terrestrial marine waste from Doha beach, Sulaibikhat beach and Umm Almaradim island. The collected waste has been recycled. “ The Dow Marine Conversation Program is an excellent example of how cooperation, between businesses and responsible citizens, can help make a difference to our environment,” said Jamel Attal, Country Managing Director, Dow Kuwait. “As a company with a global commitment to preserv-

ing our planet and promoting sustainable practices, it was only fitting for us to support this initiative to help conserve Kuwait’s valuable coastal habitats and marine ecosystems. Its success so far, in clearing over a ton of waste from Kuwait’s beaches, helps validate the need for such a program and we are pleased to have been able to play a role.”

A total of three clean-ups a month are scheduled until the end of December 2011. Efforts are also underway to collaborate with key government entities for large format cleanups, signage installation and waste management facilities, in addition to providing additional research findings on Kuwait’s marine environment.

“Dow’s Marine Conservation Program has seen an encouraging and positive response in its first three months. Members of Kuwait’s wider

community have without a doubt, recognized the program’s aims and objectives,” said Zahed Sultan, Managing Partner and CEO of en.v. “Being the first sustained multi-level program of its kind, Dow’s Marine Conservation Program has set an example of how businesses and society can work together towards promoting environmental consciousness and making a meaningful difference.”

As part of its ongoing efforts, the DMCP has continued to promote interest among youth at various local exhibitions and trade forums, including the Proud to Be Kuwaiti Event, the Kuwait Environmental Month Conference, Kuwait Energy, Water and Electricity 2011 and the Kuwait University’s College for Women’s Vocational Exhibition. Prospective volunteers were signed up on the spot to participate in future clean-up initiatives.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 20, 2011

Death of hacking whistleblower probed in UK

Clinton pushes India on nuclear law, market access

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SILIGURI: A leopard attacks a forest guard in Prakash Nagar village near Salugara in India yesterday. Six people were mauled by the leopard after the feline strayed into the village before it was caught by forestry officials. — AFP

Youths elusive in Indian pensioner politics Average age of cabinet members has risen to 65 NEW DELHI: India’s 78-year-old Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has long promised to introduce young blood into his inner team, but after a reshuffle last week the average age of the cabinet has risen to 65. Fourteen of the 33-member body are in their 70s-well past the public sector retirement age of 60 - including Foreign Minister S M Krishna, aged 79, and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, 76. The other major portfolio is held by Home Minister P Chidambaram, who at 66 is positively youthful by comparison.

In a rapidly modernizing country where half of the population is under 35, according to official statistics, the policy of favoring the wisdom of age over the energy of youth is increasingly being questioned. Analysts suggest the lack of fresh faces in prominent positions might reflect the lack of talent in India’s increasingly family-dominated politics-or it could be a tactic to prepare the stage for a new leader from the Gandhi dynasty and keep out rivals.

The 41-year-old Rahul Gandhi, whose father, grandmother and greatgrandfather were all prime ministers, is widely seen as a leader-in-waiting.

Singh’s reshuffle last Monday “only reminds people that for the Congress you have to be somewhere in your 60s to even begin to be counted as not young,” said Pratap Bhanu Mehta, presi-

dent of the Centre for Policy Research, a think-tank in New Delhi. Of the 11 ministers sworn into new portfolios, three are in their 60s, six were close to 60, and only two are in their 30s, both of whom are close to Gandhi.

“It is very clear that the Congress will allow the formation of a youth-oriented cabinet only after Rahul Gandhi is appointed as the prime minister,” A K Sahi, a political science professor at the Jamia Millia Islamia University in New Delhi said. In 2009, Singh appointed seven lawmakers under the age of 40 to the government as junior ministers, but none of them has been promoted. “So either they are not capable or the Congress has a strategy to keep them away from the limelight,” Sahi said.

Singh said the reshuffle was “a balance between state representation, efficiency of ministers and continuity.”

He also said he had invited Rahul Gandhi, a high-profile MP since 2004, to join the government, but he had declined. Two men in their 30s were appointed to the government as junior ministers, Jitendra Singh and Milind Deora, but Deora’s appointment drew fierce criticism. His father Murli stepped down as minister of corporate affairs before the reshuffle and called on Singh to elevate his son, who was then given charge of the key telecoms ministry.

“You really can’t get more crass than

this. It’s almost a mechanical exercise,” Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, a political analyst and commentator said.

Singh, however, did manage to remove “dead wood to some extent” by dropping three ministers in their 70s, said Thakurta. Halfway through its second term, Singh’s administration has suffered months of negative headlines over corruption scandals, stubbornly high inflation and slowing economic growth. The modest reshuffle drew largely critical reviews in the Indian press, with many commentators saying Singh had missed an opportunity to revitalize a government with new faces.

“I feel the Congress is slowly preparing for an eventual shift (towards younger faces). It is a conservative party and has always refrained from any drastic change,” political analyst Mahesh Rangarajan said. “Indians will have to wait for youth leadership until Rahul Gandhi takes up the top job. This is clearly the Congress strategy because they want the limelight for Rahul.”

Despite being fresh-faced by Indian standards, Gandhi is not particularly young compared with politicians in other countries. British Prime Minister David Cameron and ex-premier Tony Blair both became leaders of their country at the age of 43 and US President Barack Obama took office at the age of 47. — AFP

Boredom, bullets in key Libya rebel base ZINTAN: Everything in the Libyan rebel-held town of Zintan is at a standstill except the fighting. Nobody works any more, shops and schools are shut, cash is scarce and people rely on handouts to eat. For the men, it’s a life of boredom and combat, for the women one of cooking and stress.

When pick-ups packed with rebels, rocket launchers and cannon are not roaring out of the key rebel town in the west, heading for the front, Zintan seems smothered in a heavy drowsiness brought on by the July summer heat.

Since the rebellion against Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi erupted in mid-February, Zintan some 40 kilometers southwest of Tripoli in the Nafusa Mountains has known only warfare and survival. For five months, no one has been paid, and for the past four months there has been no paper money available at either of Zintan’s two banks. This week, one of the two reopened for the first time and local residents flooded the place. Such was the demand that each person was allowed only 200 dinars ($154), an official said. Khalila Ahmed, 65, said he

queued for three hours before reaching the cashier’s counter. “I have no money at home, not a dime since the revolution began. I live on what people give me,” he said.

For months, most people in Zintan have been able to sur vive only because of vital supplies trucked in from Tunisia by a local charity that is funded from abroad. Food stamps can buy enough oil, mineral water, pasta and tomatoes for a few days, but supplies are sporadic and most shops remain closed. “We have nothing, we are totally drip-fed,” said Hana Akra, a 24-year-old medical intern. Zintan was poor even before the conflict, and now it relies on the rebel stronghold in Benghazi in the east for everything.

Al-Wahda Bank was only able to reopen thanks to funds transferred by its management in Benghazi, while the National Transitional Council has, for the first time, also provided money for families in the west. “But they don’t have much, we are waiting for donations or for Gaddafi’s frozen assets to be released,” said Mohammed AlMalul, a local council official. In the meantime, solidarity is the by-word in

Zintan, where pretty much everyone is related. “There was nothing left to eat, but neighbors knocked on the door and gave us vegetables,” said Afaf Boussa, a 20-year-old student.

Wealthier townsfolk load up on supplies in Tunisia, but petrol is also in short supply-only two filling stations have fuel, supplied from across the border.

Petrol is free to those doing the fighting, but too expensive for the wider population: since the start of the conflict, the price of 20 liters in the oil-rich country has risen from 1.5 dinars to 50. Meanwhile at the hospital, doctors can provide only a bare minimum of care. “There is a lack of medicine for chronic diseases, kidney infections, diabetes, hypertension,” said Dr Anis Atia. No one complains, though.

Everyone has had to adapt to a bizarre life in which the excitement of combat punctuates the boredom of waiting around in a city deserted by half of its inhabitants. With no school, schoolgirls mope around. “All my friends have left for Tunisia. I’m bored,” said Fatima, a 17-year-old. —AFP

WEDNESDAY, JULY 20, 2011

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

Queues form to witness Murdoch circus LONDON: It was the biggest show in town, and queues formed hours early outside the London parliamentary building where media tycoon Rupert Murdoch is set to be grilled by lawmakers. Around 40 members of the public were queuing up outside Portcullis House, a modern office block across the road from the Houses of Parliament, where Murdoch was due to face questions from the Culture, Media and Sport committee, a scrutiny panel made up of MPs from parliament’s lower House of Commons.

Murdoch, the Australian-born chairman and chief executive of his News Corporation global media empire, was due to appear in the Wilson Room at 2:30pm yesterday. Murdoch’s car was mobbed by photographers as it arrived at the building and then sped off again. It was not clear if he had managed to get in another way. He will appear alongside his son James, the chairman of News International, the corporation’s British newspaper publishing arm which closed the News of the World tabloid in the

wake of the phone hacking scandal.

Max Beckham, 21, a student from London, was at the front of the public queue for the committee hearings after being the first to arrive at 6:30am. “I’m looking for ward to seeing Rupert Murdoch-he’s the one at the top so to have him under the spotlight is important,” he said. “I don’t think a lot is going to come out of it though-he’s a professional, he knows what he’s doing. But I want to be here for the atmosphere and because it’s a historic occasion.” Armed policemen stood guard outside Portcullis House, where reporters also queued for the first come, first served places.

Two overspill rooms with a video link to the evidence session were set up for those who could not fit in the Wilson Room. The Murdochs were to be followed by Rebekah Brooks, who quit Friday as News International’s chief executive. She was arrested Sunday on suspicion of phone hacking and corruption and bailed until October. Andy Thompson, 40, managing director of

Canadian theatre company The Virtual Stage, said he was on a working holiday to London to see West End shows but decided to attend the hearing after friends said it was open to the public.

“This is the best show in town this afternoon,” he said.

“How often do you get a chance to sit in a room with the Murdochs and Rebekah Brooks while they get grilled by MPs? It’s a completely historic day to be in London. Tom Miller, 22, a law student from London who was also in the queue, said: “I think it’s the first time such a shadow has been cast over police and the press simultaneously. “I find it reassuring that power ful figures such as the Murdochs and Rebekah Brooks can be held to account for their actions. There is a lot of momentum behind this now and the truth will come out, maybe not now but in a few months’ time.” He said the arrest of Brooks was “inevitably going to have an impact on what she can say” before the committee. “She could even

LONDON: A combination of pictures shows News Corporation Chief Rupert Murdoch (left) his son James, (center) who is the current Chairman of News International and former News International Chief Executive Rebekah Brooks. — AFP pull the card of saying nothing, though if committee that travelled to New York in she did that there would be uproar,” he 2007 to interview Murdoch. “I think he will give a good per formance and a said.

Norman Fowler, a former Conservative relaxed performance and I think it would minister under Margaret Thatcher in the be a great mistake to underestimate the 1980s and now a member of the House man,” he said. But he said the committee of Lords, the upper house of parliament, hearing yesterday was “only a step and said he expected a “good performance” the most important step is the public from Murdoch. Fowler was part of a Lord inquiry to follow.” — AFP

Somber twist to UK’s phone-hacking crisis Death of hacking whistleblower probed LONDON: In a somber twist to Britain’s phonehacking crisis, police were investigating yesterday the unexplained death of a whistleblower who implicated the prime minister’s ex-media chief in the row. Former News of the World reporter Sean Hoare was found dead at his home on Monday, less than a year after he became the first named journalist to allege that the paper’s one-time editor Andy Coulson knew about hacking at the tabloid.

Police said the death was unexplained but not thought to be suspicious. Hoare, 47, was reportedly battling drink and drug addiction from his years as a high-rolling showbusiness reporter searching for scoops on the London party circuit. A post-mortem examination was under way yesterday. He first alleged in interviews with The New York Times newspaper and the BBC last year that Coulson, who edited the News of the World from 2003 to 2007 and went on to become Prime Minister David Cameron’s communications chief, knew about voicemail hacking.

“It was endemic. It happened,” Hoare said of phone-hacking, in an interview with the BBC in

March. “People were scared. If you’ve got to get a story, you’ve got to get it, and you have to get that by whatever means. That is the culture at News International,” he said. News International is the British newspaper publishing arm of media mogul Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation global empire, which owned the News of the World but shut it down earlier this month.

Hoare’s claims were passed to Scotland Yard last year but they said he declined to give evidence. Coulson has since been arrested and bailed over allegations of phone-hacking and bribing police. Just a week ago, Hoare made new allegations in The New York Times about journalists making payments to the police, and about the use of “pinging”, the illegal use of mobile phone signals to locate people.

Hoare, whose drink and drug problems led to his dismissal from the News of the World in 2005, was found dead in his home in Watford, a commuter town north of London, the local Hertfordshire Police force said late Monday. “The death is currently being treated as unexplained, but not thought to be suspicious. Police investi-

gations into this incident are ongoing,” said a police statement. “The man’s next of kin have been informed and the family is being supported by police at this sad time.”

Britain’s Daily Mirror newspaper quoted an unnamed friend as saying Hoare “thought that someone was going to come and get him, but I didn’t know whether to believe half the stuff he was saying.” The Daily Mirror is one of the main tabloid competitors of the News Internationalowned newspaper The Sun. Hoare’s death also came as Murdoch was due to testify yesterday to British lawmakers over the scandal.

British newspaper commentators noted that Hoare’s health was damaged from the years of drinking and drug abuse as a showbusiness journalist. “His health never recovered,” wrote The Guardian’s Nick Davies, who has led the paper’s phone-hacking investigation, which uncovered many of the allegations that led to the closure of the News of the World. Davies added that Hoare was “a lovely man.” David Yelland, a former editor of The Sun, paid tribute on Twitter, writing: “Sean Hoare was trying to be honest, struggling with addiction. But he was a good man.” — AFP

Iran installs new nuke centrifuges

LAGOS: British Prime Minister David Cameron (left) and Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan take part in a meeting at the State House in Lagos yesterday. — AFP

British PM pushes trade in Nigeria, but scandal looms LAGOS: British Prime Minister David Cameron visited Nigeria yesterday, pushing a message of trade and democracy before making an early return home to deal with the spiraling phone hacking crisis. Cameron has come under increasing pressure over the scandal, and media tycoon Rupert Murdoch’s appearance before a British parliamentary committee yesterday looked set to overshadow his visit to Africa’s largest oil producer.

After talks with President Jacob Zuma in South Africa on Monday, Cameron flew in to Lagos at the head of a business delegation to call on Africans to use trade, aid and political reform to make the most of “Africa’s moment”. The prime minister has cut short his day-visit to Nigeria to return home and deal with the phone hacking crisis, which has widened since he left London on Sunday afternoon with the resignations of two top policemen. Murdoch, son James and former top aide Rebekah Brooks yesterday faced a dramatic showdown with British lawmakers over the scandal, with the trio to appear before a parliamentary committee. Despite the turmoil dominating the headlines at home, Cameron continued his schedule as planned yesterday morning, first by visiting a vaccination clinic. He was to later give a speech to university students and hold talks with President Goodluck Jonathan. In his speech, he will defend Britain’s decision to spend 0.7 percent of gross national income on aid from 2013, and in particular its efforts to help those suffering from the drought in the Horn of Africa. But he will argue that the fast-growing economies in Africa, coupled with an increasing shift towards democratic governments, presents a huge opportunity for the continent.

“It is now possible to imagine an Africa no longer dependent on aid, and a real source of growth for the whole world,” Cameron and Jonathan said in a joint opin-

ion piece published in Nigeria’s Guardian newspaper. “And the road to get there lies through freeing up the wealth-creating power of enterprise and trade.” On a continent where China has made huge strides as a trade partner, Cameron is to say at the Pan African University that British businesses must act to avoid missing “one of the greatest economic opportunities on the planet”.

Cameron highlighted the progress of democracy in Africa, praising Jonathan on his victory in recent elections, viewed as the fairest in nearly two decades in Africa’s most populous nation despite major flaws.

But he said that it was now “time for the whole of Africa to meet the aspirations of people”, and urged Africans to take action to ensure they have a bigger say in how their countries are run. “ These are the demands the people have made in Egypt, Tunisia and Libya. These are the demands that have propelled the Arab Spring,” he will say. “And these are the demands, which supported by a revolution in trade and enterprise mean Africa can seize its own moment of opportunity.” Security was especially tight during Cameron’s visit, with Nigeria’s north having seen almost daily bomb attacks and shootings in recent weeks blamed on an Islamist sect.

Lagos, the economic capital of some 15 million people located in Nigeria’s southwest, has not been hit by such attacks.

Cameron will now arrive back in Britain today as planned, to prepare for a statement to the House of Commons on the phone hacking crisis, and to answer questions about his own role in the affair. He is under increasing pressure over his decision to hire Andy Coulson, a former editor at the scandal-hit News of the World, which closed last weekend, as his media chief until January. Coulson was arrested earlier this month over alleged hacking and police corruption, although he denies any wrongdoing. — AFP

TEHRAN: Iran said yesterday it has begun installing new centrifuges with “better quality and speed” to enrich uranium in its nuclear facilities, defying international demands it halt its atomic activities. “The installation of new centrifuges with better quality and speed is ongoing. We have announced it and the agency (UN atomic watchdog) has full supervision of them,” Iranian foreign minister spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast told reporters at his weekly press briefing. “They are fully aware that Iran’s peaceful nuclear activity continues to progress. This is another confirmation of the Islamic republic’s successful stride in its nuclear activities,” he added.

He was responding to questions about progress in the installation of new-generation centrifuges, as per a June 8 announcement by Iran’s nuclear chief Fereydoun Abbasi Davani. Abbasi Davani had at the time said “the first cascade of 164 new-generation centrifuges” would soon be installed, without elaborating on the details of the new machines. He had at the same time announced that the Islamic republic would expand its production of 20 percent enriched uranium and move the work from its main enrichment plant in Natanz in central Iran, to a smaller site at Fordo, some 150 kilometers south of Tehran.

Other Iranian authorities have over the past year or so said Tehran was working on new-generation centrifuges capable of enriching uranium up to five or six times faster than those currently in operation. Washington and several European nations called Abbasi Davani’s declarations as “provocation.” Despite being targeted by four sets of UN Security Council sanctions over its refusal to suspend uranium enrichment, Iran remains adamant that it will push ahead with the program.

Iran has long been producing low or 3.5 percent enriched uranium (LEU) at Natanz, but started producing uranium at the higher level of purity of 20 percent in February 2010, ostensibly to make the fuel for a medical research reactor. The UN Security Council in New York has repeatedly ordered Tehran to halt all uranium enrichment until the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has verified the exclusively peaceful nature of its nuclear activities.

Uranium enrichment is the most sensitive part of the program because it can be used to produce both the fuel for a nuclear reactor and the fissile material for an atomic warhead. The West accuses Tehran of seeking to build a bomb under the guise of a civilian power program, a charge which Iran strongly denies. Iran has over 8,000 centrifuges of the first generation IR-1, with nearly 6,000 actively purifying uranium to the 3.5 percent level, according to the latest report by the IAEA, the UN nuclear watchdog, in May. Iran through its enrichment activities has amassed four tons of LEU around 3.5 percent) and 60 kilograms of HEU (highly enriched uranium) of 20 percent, according to the same report.

Iran says it needs the HEU to produce fuel for its medical research reactor in Tehran, as well as several other nuclear research reactors which it says it plans to build.

The IAEA believes, however that since 2008 there have been grey areas in Tehran’s nuclear program. The agency reiterated at its last meeting in June its “concern about the possible existence of hidden nuclear activities,” with military aim, criticizing the “refusal” of Tehran to respond to repeated requests for “clarification.” Tehran vehemently denies all allegations about covert or military aimed nuclear activities and maintains its program is a civilian one. — AFP

AGADEZ: Men sit in front of a truck loaded with belongings of Nigerois returning from battle-torn Libya in the northern Nigerien town of Agadez. — AFP

Niger nationals fleeing Libya mourn riches to rags status AGADEZ: Brooding on an alleyway bench in Agadez’s Amarwatt district, Yassine Souleymane and his fellow countrymen returning from battle-torn Libya have no work and nothing to do. “We’re useless,” he laments. Until recently the 43-year-old earned a good living over the border selling computer hardware in Tripoli. Like 200,000 others who left Niger in search of their fortune, he fled home when fighting broke out between Muammar Gaddafi’s regime and the rebels seeking to topple the defiant leader.

After 13 years he is back, and reduced to living for the past two months with his daughter and her soldier husband-a change of circumstance which fills him with shame.

“It’s embarrassing for me,” he said in his native Housa language. “Business was going well in Libya and I was sending back 150,000 CFA francs (225 euros) to my family every month.” Dressed in a faded robe, Yassine’s childhood friend, tailor AbdoulWahab Alaou, returned from Misrata in western Libya in April. “I left six sewing machines there and credit notes and all my savings worth 300,000 CFA francs (450 euros). Now I’m a parasite,” the 39-year-old said. His concerned brother Ibrahim, with whom he is now living, added: “When he arrived he refused to work, hardly spoke and lost lots of weight. “For the past five years he has been paying for our four young brothers’ schooling.” Twins Hassane and Ousseini, 37, returned from the southern city of Sabha with scarcely a penny to their name. The former said he was the victim of bandits on his route home, the latter that he sold his possessions to pay for tuberculosis treatment. They kill time by drinking tea

and playing cards with others in the dusty streets of the handsome ochre city at the gateway to the desert. “Our mother sells pastries in order to put food in our mouthsisn’t that humiliating for men of our age?” said Ousseini.

“In Libya I earned 50,000 CFA francs (75 euros) a week, I lived like a prince,” said Mahamat Baba, who washed cars for a living and now shares a small room with seven cousins. “Here, I struggle to buy cigarettes,” he said, adding that he often goes to bed with an empty stomach. “Promises” Ibrahim Elhadj Ama, 39, who arrived back three months ago, talks about a “curse”. “I was due to get married in July and my wife was to join me in Tripoli. Everything was cancelled because we have no money.”

Niger Prime Minister Brigi Rafini visited Agadez earlier this month, pledging “substantial” assistance to those returning from Libya. “He made the same promise in May and since then, nothing,” said Ama. The city’s new mayor Rhissa Afeltou has become alarmed at the numbers swelling the ranks of the unemployed. “The north is overflowing with potential farmers and agricultural workers, the state needs to provide these ex-immigrants with financial support,” he said. As the recent arrivals attempt to settle back in, the flood of Nigeriens from Libya continues. With the arrival of every van crammed with bags and bundles, the vast car park at customs is transformed into a giant bazaar. Yahaya Oumarou, formerly a baker in Tripoli, has just sold two bicycles to pay for his fare to Goure, his village in the Zinder region. “My boss gave me them instead of my wages,” he explained. — AFP

Malian troops keep tight control over Qaeda base WAGADOU FOREST: Malian forces are building up their defenses in the Wagadou forest, braced for a counterattack by Al-Qaeda fighters three weeks after wresting the base back from the jihadi group. Three units are now hunkering down in the dense forest, backed by two surveillance aircraft-a gift from France-carrying out flyovers every day and two helicopter gunships. “The abandoned trenches you see here were under construction for the past five months” by members of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), Colonel Gaston Damango, head of operations in the forest zone said.

About two meters deep, the trenches were designed to keep the base supplied with ammunition and allow for jihadists to move around unseen. “There were some real militar y strategists amongst them,” said Damango. Situated 500 kilometers north-east of the capital Bamako, on the border with Mauritania, the Wagadou Forest was to be used by AQIM as a base from which to carry out attacks in the region and store heavy weapons.

The forest, 80 kilometers long and 40 wide, is made up mainly of shrubs and bushes but also includes taller trees with dense foliage that AQIM could use as an observation post. The Mauritanian army, which said the base was “a real threat” against its country, carried out a raid on June 24 in which 15 AQIM followers were killed as well as two soldiers. The

remains of eight burned out vehicles and thousands of spent cartridges scattered on the ground bear witness to the growing intensity of clashes between the Mauritanian army, supported by Mali, and the north African Al-Qaeda branch. “On the day of the attack, the head of operations from the Mauritanian army asked us to bombard an AQIM position in the south-east of the forest,” said Damango. “The Malian army fired a total of 15 shells on the enemy position.”

To Damongo, it is of little importance whether AQIM members left of their own volition, or were flushed out: “The result is they are no longer there today, that they suffered a defeat.” The two armies carried out weeks of operations to secure the area, both before and after the raid in a joint operation called “Benkan”, a word from the Bambara language meaning unity. The Mauritanian soldiers returned home 15 days ago, but are only a few kilometers away.

Military engineering Commander Baidi Diakite said one of the army’s priorities is demining the area of “very dangerous” Czech-manufactured anti-tank mines laid by AQIM. The arrival of the Malian army in the Wagadou Forest has also benefited the local population who have received medical care and food supplies. “In several days we have carried out hundreds of consultations and four operations,” said doctor, Colonel Sidiki Beret at the hospital of nearby town Niono. —AFP

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WEDNESDAY, JULY 20, 2011

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Nuke phase out to hand Kremlin win in Germany Gazprom changing tack on electricity strategy MOSCOW: Russian President Dmitry Medvedev goes to Germany to meet Chancellor Angela Merkel with a stronger hand than ever to win a long-held aim: closer access to consumers in the biggest market for Russian gas. The host is also Russia’s third-largest trading partner, and the relationship has intensified since Germany announced the phaseout of nuclear power by 2022, increasing its need for alternatives. Last week Gazprom, Russia’s gas export monopoly and the world’s largest gas company, announced exclusive talks with Germany’s RWE for a joint venture in power generation, with an implied promise of fatter margins on its German sales.

ZAGREB: A police motorcade transports former Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader after he was extradited from Austria to Croatia moves towards Remetinec prison in Zagreb, Croatia. —AP

Ex Croat PM behind bars, suspected of corruption ZAGREB: Croatia’s former Prime Minister Ivo Sanader was behind bars in a Zagreb prison yesterday after being extradited from Austria as corruption probes involving him threaten to further damage the ruling HDZ party. The 58year-old Sanader, who led the government from 2003 until 2009, was detained in Austria in early December on a Croatian warrant. He fled there just hours after his parliamentary immunity was officially lifted, enabling an in-depth probe of allegations that he was involved in a string of multi-million-euro (dollar) corruption affairs.

Sanader, who has not yet been charged, will remain in custody for a month and is due to be questioned by anti-graft prosecutors tomorrow, his lawyer said. Political analysts emphasize that the political impact of Sanader’s case should not be underestimated. The major corruption affairs that will be brought to light in the country facing economic hardship and gearing up for general elections later this year could harm the ruling HDZ, already lagging in the polls.

Croatia’s economy has been in recession since early 2009 and the recovery is expected to be slow. “The HDZ has already paid a high political price for Sanader’s rule as its rating was seriously damaged due to corruption”, political analyst Davor Gjenero said. Sanader is notably alleged to have instructed state-run firms to make million-euro business deals with a local promotion agency. The money paid for the fictitious services ended up in the pockets of private individuals, including Sanader’s own, and the coffers of his Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) party, according to prosecutors.

The national anti-graft bureau is also probing Sanader for allegedly taking bribes from Hungarian energy giant MOL. The HDZ is trying

to cast Sanader as a lone agent but earlier this month a former party chief accountant was arrested, suspected of handing out illegally obtained cash to various party officials on Sanader’s orders. “After her arrest the Sanader case is no longer an issue of criminal and political responsibility of the former PM, but of political and criminal responsibility of the HDZ leadership,” the Jutarnji List daily commented yesterday.

Sanader’s return comes as Croatia prepares for general elections, announced for December 4 by Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor. The Sanader affair could prove embarrassing for Kosor, his onetime close ally, as the party is trying to shift the blame for the corruption entirely on Sanader. If the former PM decides to hit back and expose who knew what, it could harm the HDZ’s chances in the elections. The conservatives are already low in the ratings with the latest polls predicting a social democrat SDP win. Sanader suddenly stepped down in July 2009, in a move that shocked Croatia and heralded his transformation from a powerful leader to the ‘Public Enemy Number One.’ “Certainly for the next five months the Sanader case will be one of the most important judicial but also pre-electoral issues that will hang over HDZ’s head like a sword,” commented a Novi List columnist. “But for Croatia’s future it is even more important ... to determine if the model of ruling that enabled such corruption is irreversibly behind us or this is just a big show, offering up a scapegoat (Sanader) so that tomorrow ... it will be business as usual?” The fight against corruption is among key criteria Zagreb has to meet to join the European Union.

Croatia, set to join the bloc in mid-2013, has stepped up its anti-graft fight since Kosor took over. —AFP

Medvedev will meet Merkel in Hannover to discuss stronger energy ties, ready to meet a potential increase in German demand for Russian gas.

“Germany’s decision to close its nuclear industry by 2022 opens up new partnership opportunities ... including increasing Russian gas deliveries using the capacity of the Nord Stream pipeline,” the Kremlin said in a briefing paper. Nord Stream, which runs under the Baltic Sea to Germany, will transport 55 billion cubic metres (bcm) (not 63 billion) of gas per year to Europe, around transit countries Belarus and Ukraine, where pricing conflicts have posed a threat to European supplies.

POLITICAL ANGLE Russia, for its part, will make sure the ex-Soviet republics now pressing weak cases for a cut in subsidized prices on Russian gas-take note of its expanded opportunities in a top-paying European consumer country. The talks will also serve as a signal to China, which is driving a hard bargain in long-running price talks on up at 68 bcm per year in Russian gas deliveries to China, 30 bcm of which would come from the same fields which supply European clients.

Gazprom says it should receive the same netback on deliveries to China as it does to Europe, and sources have said that means a price gap of at

News

in brief

Australia probes leaks SYDNEY: Australian police yesterday said anti-corruption officials were examining claims that sensitive intelligence including a national most-wanted list had been leaked to crime gangs. Fairfax newspapers said police watchdogs in two states were investigating how data including a nationwide list of organized crime targets had been supplied to outlawed motorcycle gangs. Gang members said they had paid corrupt police “several thousand dollars” for information including criminal profiles and advance warning of raids, Fairfax said-on some occasions damaging investigations. Victoria state’s deputy police commissioner Tim Cartwright confirmed that allegations had been referred to the Office of Police Integrity (OPI) and the watchdog “may choose to investigate”. “If these allegations were found to have substance it would be concerning. However, at this stage, they are allegations only and the existence of a leak has not been established,” Cartwright said in a statement. “We have no place in this organization for leaks. Leaking sensitive information is a criminal offence. We investigate these matters, we look to prosecute criminally and we look to sack.”

Guinean President Alpha Conde

Guinea new president survives rocket attack CONAKRY: Guinea’s newly-installed president survived a rocket attack on his residence that left one dead yesterday, bringing into sharp focus the challenges he faces to stabilize the country. Alpha Conde addressed the nation on state television hours later in a bid to appease fears that the coup-prone west African country was slipping back into violence barely half a year after he came to power. “My house was attacked last night but I congratulate the presidential guard who fought heroically from 3:10 am until 5:00 am (local and GMT) before backup arrived,” said Conde.

Heavy gunfire erupted around Conde’s house in the capital Conakry’s Kipe district and the president’s residential compound was hit by a rocket, according to witnesses and state radio. Minister in the Presidency Francois Fall said that one member of presidential guard was killed in the fighting. Police had closed access to the administrative Kaloum area in Conakry’s centre yesterday. The tension comes seven months after Conde took office following his victory over rival Cellou Dalein Diallo in the country’s first democratic election since independence from France in 1958.

The 73-year-old faces the daunting task of turning around a nation plagued by half a century of violence and where ethnicity has been systematically instrumentalised by politicians. The election in November 2010 of Guinea’s perennial political opponent won international praise as a transparent poll despite an ensuing police crackdown on protests that left seven dead and hundreds wounded. Conde tried to reassure the population yesterday that his grip on power was tight and that attempts to undermine his plans for reform would fail.

“Our enemies can try everything, but they cannot prevent the Guinean people’s march towards democracy.

Democracy has begun and it will continue, I promised you change and, God willing, change will happen,” he said. —AFP

Muslim convert lashed SYDNEY: An Australian convert to Islam was pinned down and lashed 40 times for drinking alcohol by a group of Muslim men who broke into his home to punish him for breaking sharia law, a court heard yesterday. The man, 31, was allegedly restrained and whipped with a cord in his Sydney house Sunday morning by four men who forced their way in after he went out for drinks with friends. One of the four, Tolga Cifci, 20, appeared in court on charges of aggravated breaking and entering and committing a serious indictable offence. Prosecutor George Lolis said Cifci saw the man’s drinking as “something against Islam” and justified his actions with a “particularized usage of religious law”. He showed “complete and utter disregard for the laws of this particular state”, Lolis said. Cifci was bailed on condition he not leave home without his parents, obey a night-time curfew, surrender his passport and steer clear of the alleged victim. He will return to court in September. A second man, 43, was due to face court today over the incident, charged with aggravated breaking and entering, detaining a person in company with intent to obtain an advantage and two counts of stealing.

Eco-terrorists trial begins BELLINZONA: The trial of three accused eco-terrorists began under heavy security in Switzerland’s highest criminal court yesterday, as authorities began hearing evidence of an alleged plot to blow up an IBM nanotech research center near Zurich. The trial in Federal Criminal Court for an Italian couple and Swiss man living in Italy opened after a one-hour delay because of extraordinary security measures taken by Swiss police who cordoned off the area with metal barriers. The three defendants - a 35year-old man, his 29-year-old wife and their 26-year-old Swiss friend - had been detained after being arrested last year with explosives in their possession. Swiss authorities have linked the three to an Italian group that also has claimed responsibility for bombings in Greece, Switzerland and Italy. The three were stopped in traffic in April 2010 near Zurich, about two miles from what police said was their intended target, the IBM center at Rueschlikon. The research center opened in May.

HANNOVER: German Chancellor Angela Merkel (right) and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev attend a media conference after the signing of economic contracts between Russia and Germany at a meeting of the German and Russian governments in Hannover. —AP least $100 per thousand cubic meters in negotiating positions.

The first line of Nord Stream, which will carry 27.3 bcm-70 percent of the volume Germany imported from Russia in 2010 will be launched in October and the second one next year.

“There may be yet another line (added to) North Stream,” Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Friday.

Gazprom, fighting pricing pressure from spot markets and weak sales due to Europe’s economic downturn, has enjoyed its resurgent position in Europe since the Fukushima nuclear crisis in Japan, saying consumers would be happy to accept new 20-year take or pay deals.

Europeans have been more receptive to Gazprom’s overtures, which have in the past been read in European capitals as an effort by Russia to gain political clout through increas-

ing the continent’s reliance on Russian gas. Reflecting unease about Russia’s politics, a prominent German prize for freedom and democratic change will not be awarded this year after criticism of the award committee’s choice of Putin as one recipient.

ELECTRIC DREAMS “We always said we are happy about each Russian investor who secures jobs in Germany and creates new ones. Russians are just as welcome here as Americans and French,” said Eckhard Cordes, the chairman of Metro who also heads up an influential lobby group representing businesses investing in Eastern Europe. “This is also true for participations in the energy sector,” he said. “The decisive factor is just that adheres to the legal framework set for instance by the Federal Cartel Office.”

Trust concerns are viewed as a

possible stumbling block for Gazprom’s potential deal with longtime partner RWE, but it is now rich in options should that fall through.

CEO Alexei Miller met French energy group GDF Suez, a fellow investor in Nord Stream, to discuss new areas of power cooperation in light of a projected increase in Europe’s gas demand following the March nuclear disaster in Fukushima, Japan. Miller has also said Gazprom was in talks with E.ON and Wintershall to develop gasfired plants. The interest in power marks a turnaround for Gazprom, which just a few years ago took a billion dollar writedown on its generation base but this month moved to expand them, buying power assets from billionaire businessman Viktor Vekselberg. That deal has also raised anti-monopoly concerns in Russia. —Reuters

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

Afghan conspiracy theories as US drawdown begins KABUL: As NATO troops begin to pull out of Afghanistan, conspiracy theories abound among locals suspicious of what they believe are the foreign coalition’s real plans and ulterior motives. News that a first batch of 650 American troops left last week made a splash and was broadcast by the dozen or so local television stations that have sprouted since the 2001 US-led invasion brought down the Taleban. But some Afghans believe that the public departure of American troops in a withdrawal process due to end combat missions by the end of 2014 is merely a front.

“The Americans will never leave Afghanistan,” said Mohammad Ali, a 36year-old shopkeeper in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif, one of seven areas due to move to Afghan security control this week. “They are withdrawing a few thou-

sand of their soldiers as a cover for their long-term plans... They have invested a long time in Afghanistan and will not leave that easily.” NATO says all foreign combat troops will leave by 2015, handing control to Afghan security forces in a process that began this week, as President Hamid Karzai urges the Taleban to reconcile and find a political settlement. On Sunday, New Zealand troops handed over responsibility for the antiTaleban province of Bamiyan, probably the safest in the country. Yesterday, a similar ceremony is scheduled in the volatile town of Mehtar Lam. But some Afghans are deeply suspicious about US war aims, believing that the conflict has always been part of a conspiracy aimed at robbing Afghanistan of its natural mineral wealth, which remains largely untapped.

Afghan and US officials have estimated the mineral wealth could be worth more than $1 trillion, with the sector seeing some Chinese investment so far. “The Americans have achieved all their goals over the past 10 years.

They took all our minerals and now nothing is left so they leave. They don’t need us any more,” said grocer Mohammad Zahir, also in Mazar-i-Sharif.

Like or hate the foreign presence, many Afghans fear the NATO withdrawal could lead to a bloody return to the civil war that gripped the country when rival warlords fought each other for control in the 1990s. With grave doubts lingering over the ability of the national army and police to maintain security, Afghans worry that a civil conflict could be every bit as brutal as it was when Soviet forces left in 1989

and tens of thousands of people were killed.

“My big fear after the withdrawal of the US forces is the return of the former armed groups,” said shopkeeper Ahmad Jawed in the western city of Herat. “They will come back and destroy everything that has been built over the past 10 years.” US President Barack Obama has announced that 33,000 troops sent to bolster counterinsurgency efforts in late 2009, mostly in the volatile southern region, will leave Afghanistan by the end of 2012. The decision was made as Western voters tire of the long war that has cost the lives of thousands of soldiers and billions of dollars in funds, amid a global recession that has hit the US economy hard. But for many Afghans, the United States and its allies are withdraw-

ing for a simple reason: they lost. “I think they’re escaping,” said Jamal Ahmad, an English teacher in Kabul. “After 10 years they have realized that they can’t gain this country so they are leaving. All this transition process, reconciliation and talks with the Taleban are excuses to get out of here.” Back in Mazar-i-Sharif, university student Sayed Rohullah agreed.

“The Americans could not stay any longer, they lost the war and are leaving,” he said. For other Afghans, the killing in Pakistan of Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden by US Navy SEALS in May marked the real end of the war, and they reject publicly-stated aims to bolster the national government and security forces.

“They killed Osama, their war is over, they don’t need to stay here,” Kabul resident Ghulam Haidar said. — AFP

US-China row may take turn for worse at ASEAN summit Beijing unlikely to back down NUSA DUA: Relations between the United States and China could hit another rough patch this week at Asia’s biggest security forum, where some participants will be seeking US help to thwart what they see as Beijing’s expansionism in the South China Sea. Sino-US ties are already being tested-Beijing has reacted angrily to President Barack Obama’s meeting with the Dalai Lama at the weekend, calling it a gross violation of its internal affairs, but stopped short of threatening retaliation.

That row comes only days before US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton heads to the Indonesian resort island of Bali for the annual Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Regional Forum.

The meeting will focus on disputed atolls and islands in the oil-rich South China Sea, and China’s perceived muscle-flexing there. “It could be a rough ARF,” said Simon Tay, chairman of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs, referring to the forum. “The bilateral relationship has not been the best, and this will make it worse.”

Both Vietnam and the Philippines have accused

China of acting aggressively over the past few weeks in asserting its claims to the strategically located and potentially lucrative waters, which straddle vital shipping lanes. Both have been looking to Washington to support their case, while China is adamant about not involving other parties to help resolve the matter. “Chinese leaders can’t be seen to be weak on this issue because of the backlash they will get within the country,” said Ian Storey, a fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore. China, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Vietnam and Taiwan all claim parts of the South China Sea. China’s claim is the largest.

ASEAN foreign ministers, who began their own meeting yesterday, are likely to call for a longawaited code of conduct for all parties in the South China Sea to be finalized by the end of the year.

“Things do not necessarily have to be this slow. We need to see some progress on the South China Sea,” Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said while inaugurating the meeting.

NUSA DUA: An Indonesian worker climbs a flag pole to assist a Vietnam flag outside of the venue holding the Association of South East Asian Nation’s (ASEAN) meeting in Nusa Dua. — AFP

“We need to send a strong signal to the world that the future of the South China Sea is a predictable, manageable and an optimistic one.”

ECONOMIC LIFELINE Although some analysts say the South China Sea dispute could lead to an armed conflict, many feel that would not be in any party’s interests.

China transports as much as 80 percent of its oil imports through the South China Sea, and sends the exports on which its economy relies through the same waters, to Europe, the Middle East and Africa. “It is clearly in no country’s interest for the free flow of maritime trade through the South China Sea to be disrupted, and we are not nearly at that point yet,” Storey added. The value of ChinaASEAN trade reached $171 billion in first six months of 2011, around one tenth of China’s total during that period.

“China’s card is its tightening economic ties with ASEAN, and it will certainly use it to emphasize the common interest between China and ASEAN, especially in view of the weak economies in the US and Japan,” said Joseph Cheng, a professor at City University of Hong Kong. Also, with the US economy in dire straits and China holding over $1 trillion of US Treasury bonds, ties between the world’s largest economy and the second-largest are in a sensitive phase. Nevertheless, US officials said Clinton will emphasize Washington’s position that it has national interests at stake in ensuring that international waterways remain open to navigation and in combating threats such as piracy.

KOREA Diplomats may also be looking for some preliminary groundwork to be done at the ARF meeting on a resumption of the six-party talks on North Korea’s nuclear ambitions. All six partiesthe two Koreas, China, Russia, Japan and the United States - will be at the Bali meeting. But Japan, South Korea and the United States are wary of Chinese efforts to relaunch the talks and want Pyongyang to show clear signs it is ready to change its bellicose behavior, US officials said. The United States may also discuss the question of resuming food aid to Nor th Korea after Washington sent an assessment team to the country in May, but has not yet made a decision on resuming food assistance amid concerns over accountability and transparency. — Reuters

Petraeus shifts from battlefield to run CIA WASHINGTON: As Gen David Petraeus shifts from the Afghan battlefield to run the CIA, he leaves behind a legacy of tactical and spycraft changes that spurred more killings and captures of Afghan militants while reducing insurgent attacks to their lowest level in years, senior US officials in Afghanistan said. From April to this month, officials said, 2,832 special operations raids led to the capture of 2,941 insurgents and the killings of 834. That’s twice the number captured or killed during the same time period a year ago, when special operations forces captured more than 1,350 insurgents and killed 1,031 in roughly the same number of raids, according to figures shared with The Associated Press by NATO headquarters.

No one claims the latest numbers guarantee long term success in keeping the anti-government Taleban factions from reconstituting or driving mid-level Taleban to the negotiating table.

Petraeus warned as he left his post that the gains are fragile, as shown by a series of recent highprofile Taleban assassinations and attacks. But the system Petraeus helped institutionalize - a fusion of intelligence, US law enforcement and special operations hunter-killer teams - is operating at a higher pace and level of synchronization than in any previous year, and is expected to remain a key component, even as conventional forces draw down. Petraeus shares credit for what US officials call a turnaround in Afghanistan with his predecessor, retired Gen. Stanley McChrystal.

The continued raids are intended to pressure mid- and lower-level Taleban to reintegrate with Afghan society, and buy time for the Afghans to step into the breach left by departing US troops, senior administration officials say, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss strategic matters. That picture of Petraeus, as precision-killercommander, is somewhat at odds with the familiar portrayal of the four-star military champion of “soft power” counterinsurgency in Iraq and Afghanistan - using the army’s might to first take territory, but then to help foster nation building.

But many who have worked for him said Petraeus has always been a keen proponent of accurately killing the enemy. Petraeus frequently complains that political leaders, and the media, fail to understand that counterterrorism - tracking

and killing the enemy - is a subset of counterinsurgency. There is even some mild concern in intelligence circles that Petraeus is so comfortable with the targeting side of the counterterrorism equation, that in his new CIA role, his kill-capture strategy may take precedence over the long-term surveillance and slow, painstaking, detective-style work that is the bread and butter of the spy world.

In his last weeks in command in Afghanistan, Petraeus pointed out that the military’s increased kill-and-capture pressure on the Taleban had driven violent attacks down 14 percent lower than last July. US officials explain away high profile attacks like the recent killing of President Hamid Karzai’s half-brother, CIA ally Ahmed Wali Karzai, as spectacular attempts to draw attention or simply score-settling among Afghan power rivals.

They said the lower violence overall is attributed to the lack of expertise of Taleban leaders who have replaced those removed over the past year.

One trend shows that some 2,000 Taleban foot soldiers gave up their arms over the past year, said a senior NATO official, speaking on condition of

KABUL: Outgoing commander of NATO troops in Afghanistan, US General David Petraeus (right) poses for a photo with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm Michael Mullen during a change of command ceremony at ISAF headquarters in Kabul. — AFP

anonymity to discuss the trend.

Senior officials in Kabul said the surge in precision operations is due to a system called counternetwork, designed by McChrystal in Iraq, when he commanded the military’s elite counterterrorism unit, the Joint Special Operations Command. It brings together military special operations, US intelligence agencies and others to track, kill, or capture militants and destroy their network faster than they can rebuild it. The idea is that the constant pressure will drive militants to negotiate or surrender. A key tenet is a preference for capturing militants rather than killing them, where possible. That gives US and Afghan authorities a chance to interrogate them, to find out everything from who controls the network to what drives insurgencies from valley to valley.

One of the first moves by NATO intelligence chief Brig Gen Steve Fogarty when he arrived last fall was to map the Taleban network, using intelligence derived from interrogation, blended with data gathered by US military and Afghan intelligence operatives in the field, as well as electronic eavesdropping and video tracking. “By the time a detainee gets to ... interrogation, we know who you’re associated with, we know why you’re doing this,” said Vice Adm. Bob Harward, a Navy SEAL who ran the detainee operations for more than a year. Detainees’ resistance often crumbles when they realize the interrogators already have a clear picture of their group or region, he said.

“The fundamental value in capturing the enemy is so that you have a better grasp of the environment,” adds counterinsurgency proponent Brig Gen Michael Nagata, a contemporary of McChrystal’s and the second in command at the US Embassy’s military office in Pakistan. “The more you understand the environment, the more effective your choices will be,” said Nagata, who works with the Pakistanis on their hunt for militants on their side of the border. Sometimes, the choice is hunting the leaders, he said. Other times, it’s buying them out of the insurgent business by offering them jobs, all the while buying time for local government to fix the problems that drove them to fight in the first place. As Petraeus frequently expounds, he added, killing is only part of the equation. — AP

NEW DELHI: Indian Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee meets with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (left) in the presence of other dignitaries prior to a meeting at the Cabinet Secretariat yesterday. — AFP

Clinton pushes India on nuke law, market access NEW DELHI: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged India yesterday to amend a law that has put off US companies from participating in the $150 billion nuclear energy market over liability concerns in case of accidents. Clinton opened high-level US-Indian talks with a polite but firm push for New Delhi to get moving on key economic issues as both sides seek to firm up a relationship that thus far has promised more than it has delivered. The United States want India to “tighten up” legislation to protect equipment makers from liability in case of nuclear accidents, saying it is much more stringent than comparable laws in other countries. India is planning to spend some $150 billion on nuclear power, key to meet soaring energy demand.

“We need to resolve those issues that still remain so that we can reap the rewards of the extraordinary work that both of our governments have done,” Clinton said during a news conference with Indian Foreign Minister SM Krishna. Nuclear energy companies such as General Electric and Westinghouse, the US-based arm of Japan’s Toshiba Corp, want to play a role in expanding India’s nuclear energy market.

Clinton’s visit covers a range of bilateral issues including counter-terrorism cooperation, an issue thrown into stark relief by last week’s deadly triple bomb attack on India’s financial capital Mumbai.

Relations between the two countries have warmed since the end of the Cold War, when India was seen as closer to the old Soviet Union. Clinton briefed Indian leaders on US plans to draw down troops in Afghanistan-which New Delhi fears may mean a hasty US exit - as well as on India’s

nuclear-armed rival Pakistan, where the halting battle against Islamic militants has spurred questions about Islamabad’s true intentions. US officials say they are generally pleased with growing levels of security cooperation with India, which range from intelligence sharing on terror networks to joint efforts against maritime piracy.

But India has long been unhappy about what it perceives as Washington’s resistance to sharing critical, real-time information on Islamic militants in Pakistan and Afghanistan that may be plotting to attack Indian targets. Clinton said she welcomed the dialogue between India and Pakistan, resumed earlier this year after they were frozen in the aftermath of the Mumbai attacks, which killed 166 people in 2008 and blamed on Pakistani-based militants.

The Indian and Pakistani foreign ministers are due to meet in New Delhi later this month to push peace efforts forward, key to stabilizing the region, especially as the United States starts to draw down troops from Afghanistan.

Clinton again urged Pakistan to do more to tackle terror groups operating from its country. Clinton will also meet Indian Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, and is expected to press him on promises to open domestic financial and insurance markets, as well as to permit “big box” retail operations which could open the country further to US sales giants such as Wal-mart. She made clear that arms sales, too, are part of the equation, saying India, seen as one of the world’s biggest defense buyers in coming years, could further improve US military cooperation by buying more US weaponry. — Reuters

Iran declares innocence in 1994 Argentina bombing TEHRAN: Iran yesterday declared that the “innocence” would be proved of its nationals accused of the 1994 bombing that leveled a Jewish charity building in Argentina and killed 85 people. “If in fair conditions and within legal procedures a serious effort is made to shed light on this action, the error in this case and the attempt by some to implicate some citizens of our country will become known and the innocence of our nationals will be proven,” Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast told reporters.

Mehmanparast’s comments come a day after Argentinean Foreign Minister Hector Timerman said that Buenos Aires is studying an offer from Iran to cooperate with the investigation into the bombing.

Monday marked the 17th anniversary of the attack that destroyed the seven-story AMIA building in Buenos Aires. Aside from the 85 deaths, 300 people were injured in the blast. Argentine officials allege the attack, the worst terror strike ever on Argentine soil, was carried out by members of the Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah on Tehran’s orders.

But Mehmanparast denied Iran was involved. “As we told Argentine officials and others, we condemn all terrorist actions because we are the largest victims of terrorists,” he said. “This way, it will become clear which countries and what illegitimate regime (Israel) and groups are

working to create ambiguities in this issue and see their interests in keeping the truth in the dark. “We have announced our readiness to continue working (with Argentineans) under the mentioned conditions,” he added.

For years Iran had refused to collaborate with Argentina but on Saturday, Iran’s foreign ministry said in a statement that it was “ready for a constructive dialogue” with Buenos Aires on the case. Timerman said Monday that Argentina had officially received details of Iran’s proposal. “I am going to study it closely, I believe it is a step forward,” he told reporters. Argentina has issued warrants for the arrest of five Iranians, including Ahmad Vahidi, Iran’s current minister of defense; former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and exforeign minister Ali Akbar Velayati, as well as a Lebanese man for their alleged roles in the bombing.

Three days ago, the Argentinean prosecutor investigating issue urged Iran to hand over any suspects in the case. “If the Iranians and their government are ready to cooperate, they should do so once and for all, and the only way possible: by handing over all of those accused in this terrible terrorist attack... and not making statements devoid of content which lead nowhere,” prosecutor Alberto Nisman said in a statement. Mehmanparast evaded queries by reporters regarding Nisman’s demand. — AFP

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Cambodia’s Muslims seek justice for genocide CHRAING CHAMRES: Zakaria Bin Ahmad cannot forget the years of horror under the brutal Khmer Rouge when even praying was to risk death for Cambodia’s persecuted minority Muslims. Many others in his community did not survive the late 1970s reign of terror by the hardline communist regime, which executed Islamic scholars, destroyed mosques, forced Muslims to eat pork and forbade headscarves. “People tried all kinds of ways to pray.

Sometimes while they were driving an ox cart... sometimes in the jungle when we asked to use the toilet, and sometimes while we were washing,” the 61-year-old recalled.

But mostly, he remembers people disappearing, never to be seen again. “Many were killed,” he said quietly in his modest home in the shadow of a modern blue-domed mosque, a source of pride for the town of Chraing Chamres, whose earlier place of worship was destroyed by the Khmer Rouge.

Cambodian Muslims, known as Cham, hope finally to see justice as the most senior surviving Khmer Rouge leaders stand trial for genocide at Cambodia’s UN-backed court over the treatment of the ethnic and religious minority.

“Now we can tell our story,” said Sales Pin Apoutorliep, the religious leader, or hakem, of the Chraing Chamres mosque. “We fully support the trial to tell the truth and to say what happened under the Pol Pot regime,” he said, referring to the regime’s main founder, who died in 1998 having escaped justice. The high-profile genocide trial, which opened in late June, carries particular poignancy for the Cham, whose bloody persecution is an often overlooked chapter of the country’s “Killing Fields” era.

Before the genocide charges were filed against the former Khmer Rouge leaders, the treatment of the Muslim minority was rarely discussed. “In the past, there was little mention about the suffering of the Cham under the Khmer Rouge regime,” said

Farina So, an expert at the Documentation Centre of Cambodia (DC-Cam), which researches Khmer Rouge atrocities. “The Chams’ suffering has not been investigated much,” she added. “They need recognition from the people.” ‘Systematically killed’Nobody knows exactly how many Muslims died

PHNOM PENH: Cambodian-Muslims pray at a mosque in Phnom Penh. Cambodian Muslims, known as Cham, hope finally to see justice as the most senior surviving Khmer Rouge leaders stand trial for genocide at Cambodia’s UN-backed court over the treatment of the ethnic and religious minority.— AFP

Pakistan drone crashes KARACHI: An unmanned Pakistan naval aircraft crashed in the southern city of Karachi yesterday, but there was no damage on ground, police and naval officials said. “It was a Pakistan Navy UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) and it was on a routine training sortie when it was hit by a bird,” said Pakistan navy spokesman Commander Salman Ali. The UAV, commonly known as a drone, is used by the navy for surveillance, reconnaissance and photography, he said. He did not give details on the make and manufacturer of the aircraft.

Senior police official Usman Ghani Siddiqui said the aircraft crashed inside the premises of an oil refinery in Karachi’s Korangi neighborhood, but there was no damage. “ There was a small fire but the situation is under control. There were no casualties,” he said.

Pakistan is developing its own drone technology for surveillance and reconnaissance missions because the United States, which is running a bombing

campaign with drones in the country’s northwest, refuses to give Pakistan the technology. Two companies in Islamabad, Satuma and East West Infiniti, make drones for the Pakistani military. It is not known if the crashed drone belonged to either company.

The US drone campaign is hugely unpopular in Pakistan, where it is considered a flagrant violation of the country’s sovereignty. The United States has made a series of attacks since 2004 in Pakistan’s northwest region as part of its struggle against militancy. According to the New America Foundation, which tracks drone strikes, between 1,561 and 2,461 people have been killed in 254 attacks, mainly in the country’s restive tribal regions. Pakistani officials have criticized them, saying the strikes anger the public and play into the hands of the militants. But strikes that kill highprofile militants would not be possible without Pakistani intelligence, analysts say.— Reuters

China vows to crush any stability threats Clash in Xinjiang leaves 20 dead BEIJING: Chinese Vice-President Xi Jinping vowed yesterday to crack down on separatist forces he said were led by the Dalai Lama, suggesting that China’s heir apparent to the presidency will not ease Beijing’s hardline stance towards the region. Xi, who is widely expected to become president in 2013, made the remarks in his first major speech on the subject, just days after the exiled Dalai Lama leader met US President Barack Obama in Washington, angering China. “(We) should thoroughly fight against separatist activities by the Dalai clique by firmly relying on all ethnic groups ... and complete-

BEIJING: A file picture shows Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping (front) showing a ballot as he speaks while President Hu Jintao (back) looks on during a plenary session of the National People’s Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.— AFP ly smash any plot to destroy stability in Tibet and jeopardize national unity,” Xi said in front of Lhasa’s Potala Palace, the traditional seat of the Dalai Lama. “The extraordinary development of Tibet over the past 60 years points to an irrefutable truth: without the Chinese Communist Party, there would have been no new China, no new Tibet,” Xi said, at an event to mark 60 years since Tibet’s “peaceful liberation”.

Beijing has repeatedly accused the Dalai Lama of being a violent separatist. The Nobel Peace prize laureate denies seeking inde-

under the totalitarian movement, which wiped out nearly a quarter of the population. But the DC-Cam estimates that somewhere between 100,000 and 500,000 of the country’s 700,000-strong Cham community died at the hands of the regime. “It’s still fresh in our eyes,” Sales, who lost his parents

pendence for Tibet, saying he wants a peaceful transition to autonomy for the remote Himalayan region, which China has ruled with an iron fist since 1950, when Chinese troops marched in. China has put Tibetan capital Lhasa under tight security over the past few weeks, according to exiled Tibetan groups, and has also banned foreign tourists, nervous of attempts to disturb government celebrations marking the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party.

Protests erupted across Tibetan parts of China in 2008 and least 19 people died in the violence in Lhasa, most of them majority Han Chinese. Pro-Tibet groups abroad say more than 200 people were killed in a subsequent crackdown. China says that Communist rule has bought untold benefits to what was once a backward and dirt poor region. Communist Party mouthpiece the People’s Daily said in a front-page editorial that over the last six decades Tibet had “thrown off the fetters” of imperialism, “advanced from the dark towards the light” and “gone from being closed to being open”.

Only by “deepening the struggle against the Dalai Lama splittist clique and ... ensuring long-term social stability ... can Tibet tower majestically at the top of the world”, it added.

Rights groups have been watching Xi’s trip to Tibet closely for signs of how policy towards the region may change. Current President Hu Jintao oversaw the introduction of martial law there in early 1989 when he was Tibet’s Party boss.

20 killed in Xinjiang Twenty protesters from China’s minority Uighur community were killed in a clash with police in the ethnically tense northwestern region of Xinjiang, a Uighur exile group said yesterday. State media quoted an official in the region calling Monday’s clash a “terrorist” attack and said four people including a police officer were killed when a crowd set upon a police station in the remote city of Hotan.

But Uighur activists called it an outburst of anger by ordinary members of the mainly Muslim ethnic minority, and accused authorities of attempting to block information on the deadly incident. The Germany-based World Uyghur Congress, citing sources in Xinjiang, said security forces beat 14 people to death and shot dead six others during the unrest. “ The Chinese authorities should immediately cease their systematic oppression to prevent a further escalation of the situation,” said Dilxat Raxit, a spokesman for the group. —Agencies

and four of his siblings under the Khmer Rouge said after finishing his midday prayers.

“Every family has pain.” The mass killings of Muslims, along with an estimated 20,000 Vietnamese, form the basis of the genocide charges against the four Khmer Rouge defendants, who include “Brother Number Two” Nuon Chea and former head of state Khieu Samphan. The four also face a string of other charges including war crimes and crimes against humanity for the deaths of up to two million people through starvation, overwork or execution in a doomed bid to create an agrarian utopia.

Most of those deaths do not fall under the charge of genocide, which is defined by the United Nations as “acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group”. The indictment file against the four elderly defendants states that “the Cham were systematically and methodically targeted and killed” and that the Khmer Rouge sought to eliminate Cham culture, traditions and language. Today, there are around half a million Cham in Cambodia, the majority of them followers of Sunni Islam, and they enjoy full freedom of religion.

But like so many in the southeast Asian nation, they remain haunted by the past. “They reconstructed mosques, they revived their religious and ethnic identity, they opened Islamic schools and taught Islam,” Farina So said. “They are trying to recover from this trauma but it’s a slow process.”

Ahmad’s daughter-in-law Yakin El, wearing a traditional, long-sleeved dress with matching headscarf, said she was “shocked” when as a young girl she first learned of her relatives’ ordeal under the Khmer Rouge. “I’m pleased that they will bring up the Cham suffering during the trial,” the 24-year-old said. “It’s the past but I can’t forget it because most of the Muslims were killed at this time. We have to remember them.”— AFP

Afghan mortars kill Pakistan’s soldiers India urges caution over US pullout MIRANSHAH: Pakistani officials yesterday accused the Afghan army of firing mor tar bombs across the border, killing four Pakistani soldiers and stepping up a recent surge of cross-border violence. The officials said two other soldiers were wounded in the attack in South Waziristan, part of the lawless tribal district on Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan that Washington has called the global headquarters of Al-Qaeda. Afghan officials were not immediately reachable for comment. The deaths came with Afghan President Hamid Karzai due to host his Pakistani counterpart Asif Ali Zardari in Kabul yesterday.

“Four soldiers were killed and two others were wounded in this cross-border attack,” a security official in Pakistan’s northwestern city of Peshawar said, saying that the shelling continued for around two hours. “More than 20 mortar shells were fired from across the border.

Three shells slammed into a paramilitar y Frontier Corps checkpost in Angoor Adda,” he added. Another security official in Wana, the main town in South Waziristan, confirmed the incident and casualties. Both officials blamed the Afghan army for the attack.

In recent weeks tensions have sharply risen on the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan’s Kunar and Nangarhar provinces, which villagers say have been bombarded with hundreds of rocket attacks. Hundreds of Afghans took to the streets in the eastern town of Jalalabad last week chanting “death to Pakistani invaders” to protest against cross-border attacks that they claim have killed dozens of people. Pakistan says its security forces may have fired a few accidental rounds into Afghanistan while pursuing militants. It also says that insurgents from Afghanistan have crossed the border to attack security checkpoints. Taleban and other Al-Qaeda-linked militants have carved out strongholds on both sides of the porous border. Afghanistan and Pakistan blame each other for cross border attacks and responsibility for militant sanctuaries.

Pakistan’s president was in Afghanistan yesterday following talks in Iran, where President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called for a boost in relations. Karzai’s office said Zardari had come to pay his respects over last week’s assassination of the president’s brother, Ahmed Wali

Karzai, known as the “king of Kandahar” and the key powerbroker in southern Afghanistan. But the visit also comes with Pakistan keen to be included in Afghan and US efforts to reach out to the Taleban and broker a political solution to 10 years of fighting in Afghanistan.

India urges caution India yesterday urged the United States to consider the “ground realities” in Afghanistan

against terrorism sponsored by the Taleban,” Krishna said. India’s arch-rival Pakistan helped create the Taleban regime which took power in 1996, imposing an austere brand of Islam on much of Afghanistan. Islamabad switched sides and pledged support to the United States after the September 11, 2001 attacks.

But Indian and US experts believe that Pakistan has maintained ties with Taleban guerrillas in the hope of keeping leverage once US

KABUL: Relatives prepare to bury the body of Mohammed Ashim Watanwal who was killed by armed gunmen during Sunday’s attack in Kabul. — AP and ensure its troop pulldown does not provide space for the re-emergence of Taleban-sponsored “terrorism.” “We have impressed on the United States and other countries who have a major presence in Afghanistan that it is necessary for them to continue in Afghanistan,” Foreign Minister SM Krishna told a joint press briefing with visiting US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

“It is necessary for the United States to factor in Afghanistan’s ground realities so that...

Afghanistan will be in a position to defend itself

troops leave Afghanistan. Washington has already started to draw down troop numbers under a timetable that has attracted criticism for being too fast to hold on to tentative gains.

Krishna said it was crucial for the United States to work closely with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and his government “to create conditions where terrorism will not make any more advances.” After more than two decades without influence in Kabul, New Delhi swiftly established ties with Karzai’s regime after the 2001 US-led invasion deposed the Taleban. — Agencies

Monks teach maleness to Thai ‘ladyboys’ CHIANG KHONG: The 15-year-old aspiring “ladyboy” delicately applied a puff of talcum powder to his nose-an act of rebellion at the Thai Buddhist temple where he is learning to “be a man”. “They have rules here that novice monks cannot use powder, make-up, or perfume, cannot run around and be girlish,” said Pipop Thanajindawong, who was sent to Wat Kreung Tai Wittaya, in Chiang Khong on the Thai-Laos border, to tame his more feminine traits.

But the monks running the temple’s program to teach masculinity to boys who are “katoeys”, the Thai term for transsexuals or ladyboys, have their controversial work cut out.

“Sometimes we give them money to buy snacks but he saved it up to buy mascara,” headteacher Phra Pitsanu Witcharato said of Pipop. Novice monks’ days pass as in any other temple-waking before dawn, collecting alms and studying Buddhism-but every Friday attention turns to the katoeys at the attached school.

“Were you born as a man or a woman or can you not specify your gender - not man or woman?” asked Phra Pitsanu at a recent assembly.

“You cannot be anything else but your true gender, which is a man. As a novice you can only be a man.” The temple has a stricter interpretation than others of rules governing behavior during Buddhist training that is a key childhood experience for many Thai boys. Pupils are banned from using perfume and make-up and prohibited from singing, playing music and running.

“We cannot change all of them but what we can do is to control their behavior to make them understand that they were born as a man... and cannot act like a woman,” said Phra Pitsanu. The Kreung Tai temple has run the course for boys aged between 11 and 18 since 2008, after former principle Phra Maha Vuthichai Vachiramethi devised the program because he thought reports of katoeys in the monkhood had “affect-

ed the stability of Thai Buddhism”.

Struggling with his sexuality-He said that he hopes the teaching methods will be rolled out to other temple schools to “solve the deviant behavior in novices”. It is an attitude that enrages gay rights and diversity campaigner Natee Teerarojanapong, who said trying to alter the boys’ sense of gender and sexuality was “extremely dangerous”. “These kids will become self-hating because they have been taught by respected monks that being gay is bad. That is terrible for them. They will never live happily,” he said. Gay and katoey culture is visible and widely tolerated in Thailand, which has one of the largest transsexual populations in the world, and Natee said the temple’s program is “very out of date”. But Phra Atcha Apiwanno, 28, disputed the idea that society accepted ladyboys and said he joined the monkhood because of social stigma about his sexual identity.

“The reason I became a monk is to train my habits, to control my expres-

sion... I didn’t want to be like this,” he said. Monks have had limited success in their project-three of the six ladyboys to have graduated from the school are said to have embraced their masculinity, but the remaining three went on to have sex changes.

Pipop said he has struggled with his sexuality at the temple. At home in Bangkok he dressed like a girl, putting on make-up and taking hormones until he developed breasts, but he has since stopped the treatment and wears only a surreptitious dab of powder at the temple. He does not believe he will live up to his family’s hopes that he will become more manly. “I can make them proud even (if ) I’m not a man,” the teenager said, adding he had given up his ambition to be an airhostess and now aspires to work in a bank. He thinks he will have a sex change after graduation. “Once I leave the monkhood the first thing I want to do is to shout, to scream out loud saying: ‘I can go back to being the same again!’”— AFP

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Central Bank: Govt needs to boost spending Continued from Page 1 environment, and urgent and quick capital spending, there will be no growth, and without giving the private sector a chance, the future outlook will be limited,” the central bank governor added.

Last month, the parliament approved a KD 19.4 billion ($71 billion) state budget for the 2011/12 fiscal year, the biggest since at least 2003. Sheikh Salem was quoted by state news agency KUNA on Sunday as saying the country’s economy had imbalances which needed to be corrected, but giving no details. Kuwaiti banks still see lending risks but their growth path is “comfortable” without surprises, Sheikh Salem told the channel. “Of course their (banks’) situation would have been better if they expanded their credit activity, but they see that there are still risks,” he said.

Private sector credit in Kuwait grew by 2.4 percent year-on-year in June, after edging up 0.7 percent in May, but it is still far below around 10 percent growth seen in 2009. The governor said the central bank and the Capital

Markets Authority (CMA) were in negotiations to reach an agreement on regulating investment firms. “We are in negotiations with the CMA regarding (our roles), and we hope to reach an agreement to assign roles and responsibilities in order to change our scheme in regulating investment firms,” Sheikh Salem said.

In May, the central bank told investment firms they must have separate licences to operate their lending and investment businesses as it eliminates regulatory overlap with the CMA. “Most investment companies don’t disclose enough information. Especially the illiquid ones or some of the unlisted investment firms have a lot of issues with the banks,” said Mahdi Mattar, chief economist at CAPM Investment in Dubai. “Given the lack of transparency, bank lending has not really recovered in Kuwait. On top of that, banks and investors have been waiting for a stimulus package to be implemented for about two years now and nothing has happened,” he said. The bylaws of the Gulf Arab state’s newly formed CMA came into effect in March and are still not fully implemented. — Reuters

‘Nightmare’ in Homs as death toll rises Continued from Page 1

NEW YORK: A man lies down next to the fountains at Columbus Circle yesterday to try and beat the heat as temperatures in the city rose close to 32 Celsius. — AFP

US heartland suffers killer heat, humidity CHICAGO: A searing heatwave brought summer misery to the American heartland and caused more than a dozen deaths as it blanketed up to 17 US states in soaring temperatures and oppressive humidity. The weather is responsible for at least 13 deaths in the central United States, which has seen a string of days with temperatures topping 38 Celsius, according to officials.

The heat has been coupled with near record humidity - a miserable combination that forecasters said would persist into next week. The steamy weather is expected to move eastward in the coming days.

“A combination of very hot temperatures and high humidity will create dangerous heat indices over the central US,” said the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

NOAA predicted the oppressive heat and humidity “will spread into the eastern US this week.” A National Weather Service spokesman meanwhile told AFP that more than 1,000 heat records had been broken across the United States in the past month.

Intense high temperatures in Oklahoma are reported to have caused roads in the southern plains state to buckle, while dozens of people required medical treatment, according to the Daily Oklahoman newspaper, which

reported that on Monday Oklahoma City saw its 28th day of triple-digit temperatures this year. The central US states of Illinois and Indiana were expecting temperatures and humidity indices above 46 Celsius with even worse weather predicted in some areas by tomorrow. Monday’s heat index reached 51 Celsius in the northwestern Illinois town of Freeport, according to the NWS, and even topped a tropical 54 Celsius in parts of Iowa.

Meanwhile, residents of normally temperate Minnesota, unaccustomed to extreme heat, broiled in sweltering heat which, combined with the humidity, felt like 50 degree Celsius. Forecasters said high pressure in the upper atmosphere ensured that the searing weather would remain in place in the heartland for days on end, and would not spare the eastern United States. The US east coast already yesterday was beginning to feel the effects of the oppressive weather, which was expected to reach New York, Washington DC and the rest of the eastern seaboard full force by midweek, according to NOAA. Each year heat kills 162 people on average in the United States, more than hurricanes (117 on average), floods (65), tornadoes (62) or lightning (48). Just last month, NOAA released data showing that 30-year temperatures across the

United States had risen appreciably - by some 1.5 degrees Fahrenheit. “The climate of the 2000s is about 1.5 degree Fahrenheit warmer than the 1970s,” said Thomas Karl, director of NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center. The 30year baseline is used by scientists to understand climatic trends, including climate change.

Further west, temperatures were nearer to normal in states like California and Arizona, although there were red flag fire alert warnings in parts of Nevada and Utah, according to the National Weather Service. Arizona has also been hit by a series of towering dust storms over the last few days, which triggered flight delays and power cuts. Meanwhile, temperatures of up to 42 degrees were forecast yesterday in Phoenix, down from 44 degrees last weekend.

In southern California, which hit a record 45 degrees Celsius in downtown Los Angeles last September, temperatures were expected to peak in the high 20s Celsius yesterday - perfect beach weather for the Golden State. But authorities nevertheless felt the need to open “cooling centers” for residents not lucky enough to have air conditioning even as it urged those who do to use it sparingly, so as not to tax the state’s over-extended electrical grid. — AFP

UAE player in trouble for backheel penalty Continued from Page 1 A meeting was set for late yesterday in which the team will decide what action to take against Awana, including a possible suspension or fine. “This should have not happened,” Rashed told the newspaper. “I think what happened is disrespectful. We cannot accept anyone in our

team who does not respect the opponent.” UAE coach Srecko Katanec was visibly angered by the shot and took Awana out of the match soon afterward. “We will resolve this inside our team and there will be no more talking about it,” he said. “This is not respect, OK? I am unhappy.

My reaction was normal. I took him out.” Rashed has said Awana has apologized to the team for the shot. — AP

Murdoch hit by foam at ‘humbling’ hearing Continued from Page 1 and ashamed when I heard about the Milly Dowler case two weeks ago,” referring to a murdered teenager whose phone was allegedly hacked by the News of the World.

Murdoch was also asked about claims the newspaper targeted the voicemails of victims of the Sept 11, 2001 attacks in the United States, but replied: “We have seen no evidence of that at all and as far as we know the FBI haven’t either.” At times James Murdoch, the chairman of the British newspaper operation News International, tried to step in when his father faltered on a question but was several times slapped down by lawmakers. “I would like to say just how sorry I am and how sorry we are to particularly the victims of illegal voice mail interceptions and to their families,” the 38-year-old Murdoch said. He admitted however that News International had paid the legal fees of Glenn Mulcaire, a private investigator jailed in 2007 when the hacking at the paper was first exposed.

Rebekah Brooks, who resigned as News International chief executive on Friday and edited the paper when Dowler’s messages were allegedly hacked,testified after the Murdochs, opening her remarks with an apology for phone hacking and described allegations of voicemail intercepts of crime victims as “pretty horrific and abhorrent “. She said she was told by the News of the World that allegations of phone hacking by the paper’s journalists were untrue, and that she only realized the gravity of the situation when she saw documents lodged in a civil damages case by actress Sienna Miller last year.

“We had been told by people at News of the World at the time, they consistently denied any of these allegations in various internal investigations,” she said. Asked whether she had been lied to by senior employees at the newspaper, Brooks declined to answer.

“Unfortunately, because of the criminal procedure, I’m not sure that it’s possible to infer guilt until those criminal procedures have taken place,” she said. Brooks also said she had never knowingly sanctioned a payoff to a police officer.

The elder Murdoch denied that the closure of the News of the World was motivated by financial considerations, saying he shut it because of the criminal allegations. There has been speculation that Murdoch wanted to close the Sunday newspaper in order to merge its operations with the six-days-a-week Sun, which some

have speculated will relaunch as a seven-day publication.

The Murdochs initially refused to appear before the committee but relented after they were formally summoned. They appeared shortly after Cameron, who has faced pressure over his own close friendships with a number of Murdoch aides including Brooks, cut short a trip to Africa so he could return to address parliament today. “This is a big problem but we are a big country,” Cameron said after meeting Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan in Lagos. In a further tragic twist, British police were investigating the unexplained death of whistleblower Sean Hoare, a former reporter at the newspaper who first implicated Cameron’s exspokesman Andy Coulson in the scandal.

Dozens of people queued up to get into the committee hearing for the appearance of the two Murdochs and Brooks, until recently the three most powerful people in the British media. Lawmakers also heard evidence from outgoing Scotland Yard chief Paul Stephenson, who quit on Sunday amid questions over the force’s links with Neil Wallis, deputy editor at the News of the World when Coulson edited the paper. Stephenson admitted that 10 members of the Metropolitan Police press office had worked at News International. Both Coulson, who left Downing Street in January, and Wallis have since been arrested and bailed on suspicion of phone hacking. Brooks was arrested on Sunday on suspicion of hacking and bribing police. The initial police investigation into the Sunday tabloid resulted in the jailing of the paper’s former royal editor Clive Goodman and Mulcaire. It was reopened in Jan 2011.

Meanwhile, Internet hackers took aim at Murdoch late Monday, defacing the sites of his other UK tabloid, The Sun, and shutting down website of The Times of London. Visitors to The Sun website were redirected to a page featuring a story saying Murdoch’s dead body had been found in his garden. Internet hacking collective Lulz Security took responsibility for that hacking attack via Twitter, calling it a successful part of “Murdoch Meltdown Monday”. Lulz Security, which has previously claimed hacks on major entertainment companies, FBI partner organizations and the CIA, hinted that more was yet to come, saying “This is only the beginning.” It later took credit for shutting down News International’s corporate website. Another hacking collective known as Anonymous claimed the cyberattack on The Times’ website. — Agencies

activists wrote yesterday on their Facebook page “Syrian Revolution 2011”, a driving force behind protests.

A Homs resident, declining to be identified, said: “Proregime (forces) attacked areas where the opposition lives.

They sacked and looted shops.”

Fierce fighting rocked Homs at the weekend, with activists reporting more than 30 people killed in clashes between Christians, Sunni Muslims and Alawites from President Bashar Al-Assad’s minority community.

Activists have said the violence in Homs could spark a new and dangerous turning point in more than four months of pro-democracy protests, with Rihawi describing it as a “dangerous signal of the break-up of Syrian society”. Ammar Qorabi, head of the National Organisation for Human Rights, said: “Residents of Homs have denounced the rumours, spread by parties close to the regime, about sectarian clashes. In fact, it is plainclothed agents of the security services and army who are attacking civilians.”

Abdel Rahman said at the weekend the fighting in Homs erupted after three regime supporters kidnapped last week were killed and their dismembered bodies returned to their relatives. “These clashes are a dangerous development that undermines the revolution and serves the interests of its enemies who want it to turn into a civil war,” he said. Members of Syria’s two million-strong

Alawite community have held key positions within the regime since 1970, when Assad’s late father, Hafez, led the ruling Baath party to power.

Alawites, a breakaway branch of the Shiite branch of Islam, make up 10 percent of the 22 million population, while Christians also represent around 10 percent.

Activists say the government’s crackdown on prodemocracy and anti-regime protests has left more than 1,400 civilians dead. Thousands more have been jailed.

Meanwhile, some 300 people fleeing the unrest in Syria arrived in neighbouring Lebanon late on Monday as the Syrian army boosted its presence along the border area, a local Lebanese official said yesterday.

Homs has been a focal point of the uprising. In April, protesters gathered at the central Clock Square in Homs, bringing mattresses, food and water to the site for an Egypt-style sit-in. But security forces quickly dispersed the crowd. Since then, Homs has continued to see intense protests. Some Syrians refer to Homs as “mother of the poor” because the cost of living is lower, a Homs resident said. As in the other uprisings sweeping the Arab world, economic hardship has played a role in mobilizing the protests. The Assad family has ruled Syria for more than four decades with Assad, and his father, Hafez, before him, leading one of the most authoritarian regimes in the Middle East. The uprising, which kicked off in mid-March, is the most potent threat the Assad family dynasty has ever faced. — Agencies

US holds Libya talks Continued from Page 1 In the west, rebels said they were preparing for a new assault in their advance on the capital. “The bulk of Gaddafi’s forces have retreated to Ras Lanuf,” rebel spokesman Shamsiddin Abdulmolah told AFP on Monday, referring to an oil hub some 50 km west of Brega. Rebel military sources said some Gaddafi forces were still thought to be at Bishr to the west, and were arcing rockets over Brega down onto rebel positions. They added that the bulk of their forces were still waiting to enter the city, hampered by vast quantities of mines and trenches filled with flammable liquids.

Abdulrazag Elaradi, a National Transitional Council (NTC) member visiting the front, said that in one 7.5 km tract the rebels had found more than 700 mines. “This has never been done before; people have to know about this,” he said, appalled that Gaddafi would mine his own country.

The rebels said on Monday loyalist

forces had retreated from Brega, leaving just 150-200 fighters pinned down inside, but the government insisted it had repulsed the assault. Citing intercepted radio chatter, another rebel military source said loyalists were led in retreat by their commander, Gaddafi’s son Mutassim, leaving just a few fighters with dwindling supplies.

“Their food and water supplies are cut,” said Abdulmolah. “It’s a matter of time before they come to their senses; we hope to prevent some bloodshed.”

Ibrahim denied that Brega had fallen to the rebels. “They tried to recapture the town, but were repulsed losing 500 of their fighters in the battle,” Ibrahim said in Tripoli. Medics said at least seven rebel fighters were killed and 45 wounded during the day.

Brega is a major centre for channelling oil through the pipelines of the resource-rich Sirte Basin to the rest of the world. Maghri Faraj, 25, said his tank unit had spent the morning on its outskirts, firing on Gaddafi positions beyond the other side of the

town, when he was hit. “We were firing beyond Brega. We fired and fired with no response, and then one rocket came in and knocked me off the tank. The next thing I know I’m in the hospital.”

In the west, rebels consolidated their grip on the desert hamlet of Gualish south of Tripoli as commanders said a new battle to advance on the capital could be launched by the end of the month. “We are preparing for the battle. We hope (it will take place), God willing, before Ramadan,” or just after the start of the holy Muslim fasting month at the beginning of August, said rebel commander Mokhtar Lakhdar. Speaking in Gualish, six days after rebels repulsed a bid by loyalist forces to recapture it, Lakhdar said they were waiting for the green light from rebel headquarters in Benghazi. The next rebel target is Asabah, 80 km south of the capital, and the last barrier between rebels and the garrison town of Gharyan. — AFP

Israeli navy seizes Gaza-bound yacht Continued from Page 1 The yacht had set sail from the Greek island of Kastellorizo on Saturday evening following a troubled stay in Greece, after Athens imposed a ban on the departure of any ships involved in the flotilla.

Gaza’s Hamas rulers also responded angrily to the takeover, with spokesman Taher Al-Nunu angrily denouncing Israel’s “Zionist piracy” and blaming the United Nations for not punishing the Jewish state over its deadly raid on a six-vessel flotilla that set sail in May 2010, led by the Mavi Marmara. Nine Turkish activists died in the bloody confrontation, prompting a wave of global criticism and a diplomatic crisis between Israel and Turkey.

“This is a new act of Zionist piracy and the United Nations bears part of the responsibility because of its failure to punish Israel for its crimes against the Marmara, which encouraged it to continue to act in this aggressive and illegal way,” Nunu told AFP. “The international community must now take a clear stand on whether the siege on Gaza is legal and moral or not... and the answer will certainly be that it is illegal and immoral, which requires a serious stand against Israel that does not involve political hypocrisy and double standards.”

Israel insists that its blockade is both legal and necessary to prevent Hamas from obtaining funds and weapons to attack it. But Thomas Sommer-Houdeville, a French activist on board, told AFP the yacht was carrying nothing but a “symbolic message of peace and hope and love” and that Israel had no reason to intercept it.

Separately, Turkey’s prime minis-

ter said yesterday he was considering visiting the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, a move likely to anger Israel amid diplomatic efforts to overcome already strained bilateral ties. “If the conditions allow, I’m thinking of visiting Gaza,” Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters. “The foreign ministry will be working on it. I wish to make such a visit, depending on the outcome.” He said he would like to cross to the Palestinian enclave following a planned visit to Egypt, the date of which has not yet been determined.

The trip, if it happens, is likely to exacerbate tensions between Turkey and Israel, which considers Hamas a terrorist group. The two onetime allies are already in the grips of a severe crisis since May last year when Israeli troops killed the nine Turkish activists. Israel has slammed previous contacts between Turkey and Hamas, which took control of Gaza in 2007 after routing Fatah loyalists.

But Erdogan’s Islamist-rooted government insists that peace cannot be achieved in the IsraeliPalestinian conflict if Hamas is excluded from the process. Erdogan, whose frequent outbursts against Israel have earned him a hero’s status in the Arab street, has rejected the “terrorist” label for Hamas, defending the Islamist group as “resistance fighters who are struggling to defend their land”. Erdogan announced his intention to go to Gaza shortly after a Turkish official voiced hope that Israel would apologise for last year’s bloodshed on the Mavi Marmara as part of fencemending talks between the two countries.

“I would be surprised if there were no apologies since both sides have the political will to resolve this crisis,” ambassador Ozdem Sanberk,

a member of the UN panel probing the Israeli raid, told AFP yesterday.

“We are heading toward a solution probably toward the end of the month,” he added. “Bilateral contacts are ongoing, not on a regular basis...

I expect positive developments,” said Sanberk, who is involved in the negotiations.

Israel’s Haaretz daily reported Sunday that the defence establishment in the Jewish state wanted to see ties with Turkey repaired, even supporting an apology to Ankara over the 2010 raid. Ankara demands an apology and compensation for the victims’ families as a condition to repair ties. Israeli lawmakers, including Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, have said publicly that the Jewish state will not apologise for the raid, warning that expressing any such sentiment would be humiliating.

But Haaretz said that defence and justice ministry officials have in recent weeks suggested that Israel could in fact head off potential lawsuits by Turkish human rights organisations by offering an apology.

Israeli officials also acknowledge that upgrading relations with Ankara is a high diplomatic priority and that Israel would benefit from a return to good ties. The once-flourishing relations began to visibly deteriorate after Erdogan’s fierce criticism of the Jewish state’s devastating offensive on Gaza at the turn of 2009 that left more than 1,300 Palestinians dead. Last month, Erdogan renewed a call on Israel “to lift as soon as possible the inhumane and unlawful blockade” of Gaza and allow the entry of goods, notably construction materials to rebuild infrastructure destroyed during the offensive. — AFP

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Issues

Humala takes bold step toward center

By Marco Aquino, Terry Wade eru’s leftist President-elect Ollanta Humala has launched a “shock of confidence” to show investors he has shed his radical past and will prudently lead one of the world’s fastest-growing economies. In a bold move, Humala, who once railed against foreign investors and Wall Street, said late on Sunday he will reappoint conservative central bank chief Julio Velarde for another five-year term. It was the clearest sign yet that Humala will govern as a moderate. And another surprise may be in the works. There are strong indications Humala will pass over the left-leaning economists he relied on during the campaign and, instead, pick orthodox economist Luis Miguel Castilla to be finance minister.

Humala, who takes office July 28, is expected to name his cabinet today after weeks of delays. Hardliners and moderates in Humala’s Gana Peru party have jockeyed for power following his June 5 election victory. A former World Bank official who has a doctorate from Johns Hopkins University in the United States, Castilla was vice finance minister until he resigned on Saturday. Castilla served under three finance ministers associated with Peru’s free-market model, which Humala has criticized for leaving a third of Peruvians mired in poverty while prompting an overall surge in growth over the past two decades.

“It seems that Humala has decided to abandon the economics team that he had during the campaign, which is very positive,” said Jorge Gonzalez, a professor at Lima’s Universidad del Pacifico, where Velarde and Castilla are on the faculty. “His team was full of people who had unorthodox, leftist views about how to manage economic policy and the country’s finances.” Top members of Humala’s economics team, such as Felix Jimenez, a professor at Lima’s Catholic University, are opponents of “neoliberal” policies that have underpinned Peru’s successes and won it investment grade credit ratings.

Humala’s original campaign platform, which was authored by Jimenez, read like a flashback to the 1970s, when Marxist academics encouraged developing countries to turn inward, follow their own interventionist economic policies, and break their dependency on rich countries. Kurt Burneo, a technocrat on Humala’s transition team, had been considered by many the frontrunner for the finance ministry post, but on Monday he appeared less optimistic about getting the job. “Castilla is a qualified technocrat and it’s the president-elect’s decision,” Burneo told Reuters.

Left-wingers in Humala’s party said they were concerned that Castilla, who worked for departing President Alan Garcia, could get the key position. “For me this is worrisome, because (Castilla) comes from the current administration and is part of the team that ran the policy of growth without social inclusion,” said Javier Diez Canseco, who will be a lawmaker in the next Congress.

But analysts on Wall Street said Castilla would be a good pick, and local financial markets surged on Monday as Humala tacked further toward the center. “Definitely Castilla, of the names mentioned, is one of the best,” said Alejandro Grisanti of Barclays in New York. “He is wellknown and we think he is very technical.”

The business community had urged Humala since he won the election to generate a “shock of confidence” that would persuade them to proceed with billions of dollars in projects delayed because of political uncertainty. “This is Humala’s concession to the right,” a Peruvian fund manager said of Velarde’s reappointment. Humala had been expected to name Oscar Dancourt - an academic economist, member of his transition team, and a former central bank president - to take over at the central bank.

But Dancourt lacks Velarde’s gravitas on Wall Street and is not seen as a tough inflation hawk. Inflation is projected to be about 3 percent in 2011. Velarde is a rare breed among central bankers, having successfully slain hyperinflation in the 1990s and averted deflation during the most recent global economic crisis. Humala announced he would retain Velarde just after a poll on Sunday showed his approval rating had sunk over the past few weeks to 41 percent from 70 percent and as some leading economic indicators took a turn for the worse.

Growth in private investment, which had surged 30 percent a year, slowed to 13 percent in the first five months of this year on worries Humala might roll back years of free-market reforms. The economy is now forecast to grow around 6 percent this year after expanding 9 percent last year. —Reuters

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Malaysia youth become election wild card

By Razak Ahmad

ising prices and the glacial pace of government reforms are dictating the battle for Malaysian votes as a young middle class demanding greater democracy emerges as the wild card in the next general election. The battle lines for support in this multi-racial Southeast Asian country have traditionally been drawn along ethnic and urban-rural divides, but youth is become a growing force as reflected in a rare antigovernment street protest this month calling for electoral reform. The rally in downtown Kuala Lumpur on July 9 drew more than 10,000 people, a significant number in a country which has seen no more than a handful of protests in the last decade.

Many who turned out were under 40, underscoring one of Prime Minister Najib Razak’s biggest challenges ahead.

“If this group turns up to vote and are riled up, it will prevent the ruling coalition from getting back its two-thirds majority in parliament which it lost to the opposition in 2008,” said Ibrahim Suffian, director of the independent opinion polling outfit Merdeka Center. Najib, who came to power in 2009, does not have to call a general election until 2013 but it could happen as soon as next year as the government seeks a mandate to introduce investor-friendly reforms. In order to win over the young voters, who make up just under half of the population of 28 million, Najib has to address the rising cost of living and move faster on reforms such as giving a greater voice to dissenting views,

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simplifying the voting process and reviewing the policy of detention without trial.

For these voters who were born after the country’s worst racial riots in 1969 overhauled the country’s economic landscape, the security of jobs and limited freedom of expression are no longer enough. Malaysia’s average annual per capita income is about $7,000, compared with over $40,000 in neighbouring Singapore and consumers argue that wage increases have not kept pace with the rise in the cost of living. As the impact of global food and fuel inflation filter through to the economy, the government has cut back on some subsidies and increased the price of staples such as sugar, electricity and diesel for some commercial users.

Annual inflation raced to a 26-month high of 3.3 percent in May and economists expect it to rise further in the coming months. The government has tried to soften the blow by making available to the needy affordable housing and cheaper daily necessities. In June, the authorities opened the first of a chain of government-run discount grocery stores.

Najib has also launched a campaign to offer 42,000 houses in the capital to Malaysians who earn less than $2,000 a month and job placements for fresh graduates in government-linked-companies.

Some analysts say urban voters’ unhappiness over the slow pace of political and social reforms could pose a trickier problem. The crowd of protesters on July 9 wanted changes in the voting process but analysts say the anger only touches the surface of issues in a country where authorities are worried that street protests and a proliferation

of alternative views could unseat the government.

Police fired repeated rounds of tear gas and briefly detained more than 1,600 people as thousands of activists evaded roadblocks and barbed wire barricades. Over the years, independent news web sites have been allowed to provide often anti-government views although analysts say traditional mainstream media offering the government’s ideas remain the staple of many Malaysians who have no access to alternatives. Young voters are increasingly critical of what they see as editorialising in statecontrolled newspapers and the government’s heavy censoring of reports that find fault with its policies. This was especially evident after the July 9 rally, when the authorities downplayed the number of protesters and slammed international criticism of their handling of the event. “We are not dumb. We read, we learn, we conclude and most of us experienced it head on, face to face,” f0ul99 tweeted, referring to the government’s slant of the rally’s events.

Najib has promised to review laws to allow greater freedom of expression but critics say there has been no discernable progress. Brokerage and investment group CLSA in a research note on July 11 cited a longer-term concern in light of growing calls for democracy in neighbouring Thailand and Singapore, which both held elections this year.

“The administration has to move faster on electoral reforms, as recent events in the region imply a strong momentum for true democracy, where voters’ opinions are clearly and fairly reflected in the polls,” it said. — Reuters

Murdoch scandal damages British PM

By Peter Apps rime Minister David Cameron may survive the phone hacking scandal around Rupert Murdoch’s media empire, but his standing has been damaged and already shaky public trust in Britain’s political, business and media establishment has been weakened further. The scandal over allegations that journalists at Murdoch’s News of the World tabloid illegally accessed the phones of murder victims and families of soldiers killed in action have led to the paper’s closure and the resignation of some of Murdoch’s top lieutenants, as well as Britain’s police chief. Cameron’s judgment has been questioned after he hired the paper’s former editor, Andy Coulson, as his press chief and his relationship with Rebekah Brooks, who quit as chief executive of Murdoch’s British newspaper arm, is now widely seen as too cosy. With a second senior police officer quitting on Monday and new developments in the story breaking by the hour, predicting where it may go next has become all but impossible. If Cameron is unlucky, analysts say, it may define his premiership.

Cameron, 44, has shortened a visit to Africa to deal with the crisis and said parliament would delay its summer recess to enable him to address lawmakers on the scandal. “There will be some pressure on Cameron but this goes well beyond him,” said David Lea, western Europe analyst at London-based consultancy Control Risks.

“This wraps in the whole establishment the most serious allegations are probably those involving the police... It isn’t going to bring the government down but it isn’t going to be forgotten either.”

Lea said Cameron would find it hard to escape the scandal untarnished - just as Tony Blair’s last years as prime minister

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were dogged by Britain’s unpopular involvement in the Iraq war and questions over what media called a “dodgy dossier” that helped make the case for invasion. Blair won an election after the Iraq war, but his popularity never recovered and his damaged reputation eventually contributed to his removal in an internal party coup. His Labour party is now in opposition.

But political experts expect the electoral fallout to be limited for Cameron, primarily because, as with a scandal over parliamentary expense claims two years ago, both of the leading parties are heavily exposed to the scandal. “It’s not necessarily something we would expect to have a huge impact on voting intentions - particularly because at the end of the day it involves both main parties,” said Helen Cleary, head of political research for pollster Ipsos Mori. “Labour is still ahead (in the polls) but the main issue is still the economy.”

Britain’s political establishment has long been in thrall to media barons, particularly Murdoch and his News International stable of British newspapers. “There has been a succession of prime ministers who have done their level best to ingratiate them-

selves to News International, a process that began with Tony Blair 15 or so years ago. Clearly that has been a corrupting influence in British politics,” said Conservative lawmaker Mark Field.

In fact, Murdoch’s influence first began to grow much earlier, when he supported Margaret Thatcher and then helped swing the 1992 election for her Conservative successor as prime minister, John Major. The scandal may change those relationships. Senior politicians and policymakers may begin to rethink their habit of hiring former top journalists as press advisers, which created a revolving door between the media and government that critics say encourages corruption in both directions.

The police face awkward questions over an apparent failure to investigate the hacking allegations, stories of cash changing hands for information and tales of lavish entertainment for senior officers by media executives. In addition to this, former Metropolitan police chief Paul Stephenson, Britain’s senior police official, quit on Sunday after criticism for hiring a News of the World executive who has now been arrested as his personal press adviser. Opposition leader Ed Miliband’s

chief spin doctor, meanwhile, is Tom Baldwin, a former journalist at News International, Murdoch’s British newspaper arm. Cameron has defended hiring Coulson who, like former News International Chief Executive Brooks, was arrested over the scandal. Any failure to make changes in the relationship between politicians and media organisations could increase popular disenchantment with mainstream politics. “I think what politicians have now got to accept is that the very cosy incestuous relationship which existed, which saw politicians and editors wining and dining each other, must now come to an end,” said Liberal Democrat parliamentarian Tom Brake, whose party is part of the coalition government.

Tina Fordham, chief political analyst at Citi, said it seemed likely that anti-establishment sentiment - already growing since the global financial crisis - would be exacerbated by the scandal. “It could increase the sense of alienation of the public toward elites as well as institutions. This can translate into increased voter apathy and political polarisation, making finding compromises more difficult, something problematic in the current environment of austerity,” she said.

But in the end the economy, fights over the euro zone bailout and raising the US debt limit to avoid default could render the story a little more than a sideshow, according to Wolfango Piccoli, Europe director at political risk consultancy Eurasia Group. “Bottom line: in terms of the bigger picture, there is still much more to worry about in the Eurozone,” Piccoli said. “In the UK, a lot depends on what more comes out but at the end of the day the stability of the coalition government doesn’t seem to be threatened and its unlikely Cameron will have to stand down.” — Reuters

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WEDNESDAY, JULY 20, 2011

analysis

Egyptians fear new Mubaraks

By Hamza Hendawi he soldiers shouted, “Raise your head high, you’re Egyptian.” It was one of the most inspiring chants by young protesters during Egypt’s revolution, encapsulating the newfound pride of a people rising up after a lifetime of humiliation under authoritarian rule. From the soldiers, it was a taunt. They barked it over and over at an activist lying belly down on the ground, stripped to his boxers, his hands and right leg tied behind his back. Each time Ramy Issam obeyed, he said, a soldier would stomp his head back onto the marble of the courtyard in Cairo’s Egyptian Museum.

To the youth who led the protests and to a growing number of Egyptians, the secretive council of top generals that now rules the country is looking too much like the regime it replaced - authoritarian, ready to use brutal tactics and out of touch with the nation’s aspirations. The military, which was greeted with cheers when it pushed out longtime president Hosni Mubarak in February, has proclaimed its embrace of the revolution and democratic elections later this year. But protesters have returned to Tahrir Square, holding a sit-in since July 8, to complain that the military has hijacked the transition and has been reluctant to purge members of the old regime.

Reported abuses add a darker undertone to those complaints. There have been multiple reports of torture of detainees. To an unprecedented extent, the army has also been bringing civilians before military courts, notorious for their swift rulings with little chance for defense. In five months, more than 10,000 civilians have been put on military trial, including protesters, activists and at least one journalist who wrote an article critical of the army, according to rights groups tracking the detentions.

“The revolution has been stolen by the military council,” said Issam, the long-haired “Singer of the Revolution” who is known for rousing the crowd in Tahrir Square with political tunes on his Spanish guitar. “We made the revolution and we gave it to the military council on a silver platter. But everyone must know that we have learned how to say ‘No.’” Issam seemed close to tears as he visited the Egyptian Museum in early July for the first time since his detention and recounted his ordeal to an Associated Press reporter.

He was among dozens grabbed by soldiers who broke up a March 9 sit-in in Tahrir protesting the generals’ slowness in implementing the revolution’s post-Mubarak demands.

Issam and the others were dragged to the nearby museum, the treasure trove of pharaonic antiquities that the military used as an impromptu base at times during the uprising. There, Issam says, he was beaten by wooden sticks and iron rods and given electric shocks. His hair was cut off with broken glass.

After a public outcry over that day’s crackdown, the council promised to review reports of torture, but no results of a review have been make public. It also admitted that some detained women were forced to take humiliating “virginity tests,” and it said the practice would not be repeated. Amid the beatings, Issam recalled the warning shouted at him by one of the officers: “We will make you know who are the real masters of this country.”

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••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• The irony of Egypt’s revolution was that it put one of the pillars of Mubarak’s regime in control of the process of dismantling that regime. The contradiction has caused much of the friction since Mubarak’s Feb 11 fall, as the young activists who led the uprising push for dramatic democratic change in the face of what they see as resistance from the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, made up of generals in their 60s to 80s, all appointed by Mubarak. The council says it is committed to change and that it consults frequently with all political factions. But the council has rarely amended its transition plan or moved against former regime figures without the pressure of new street demonstrations - and even then its concessions have been partial.

And an attitude seen as paternalistic has rankled revolutionaries whose uprising was in great part against the “we will tell you what’s best” tone of Mubarak’s regime. In response to the new protest camp in Tahrir, council member Maj Gen Mohsen El-Fangari went on state TV last week to repeat vows to hand over power after elections.

But he also sternly warned that the military will not put up with “deviations” by protesters that “harm the nation’s interests.” As he spoke, he wagged his finger at the camera. The scolding brought open ridicule. Newspaper cartoons depicted parents using the general’s speech to

frighten naughty children.

Few believe that the council, led by Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, wants to directly rule beyond the election. But protesters suspect it aims to keep as much as the old regime in place as it can and preserve the military’s own status as the ultimate arbiters in the country.

Since the 1952 army coup that toppled the monarchy, the military has suffused Egypt’s regime. All four presidents in this country of 80 million have come from the military.

Generals were given lucrative and important jobs on retirement, including as provincial governors, mayors, heads of state-owned companies and ambassadors.

Other forces dominated the state’s workings, particularly Mubarak’s ruling party and the powerful internal security forces. The military stood above the fray, content with its perks, including billions in US aid. Criticism of it was unheard of - any news article about it had to be cleared by military censors, so most media stopped trying to report on it. After Mubarak’s fall, the military council

put on trial in military courts or special security courts that came under similar criticism for lack of due process, rights activists and lawyers say. Mubarak’s courts, they note, gave harsher sentences, including 100 death sentences. “The way these courts run is farcical,” said Negad Borai, one of three defense lawyers who spoke to AP about the system. “The injustice starts with the way people are arrested by the military police and the torture they endure until they appear before the court.”

Military officials, who rarely give interviews, could not be reached for comment. But the council has defended its use of military courts as necessary to restore order, a major concern for Egyptians worried over a post-revolution jump in crime. The council says that in cases that affect security, such as looting or rioting, they take the issue to the military courts to decide it quickly.

But Adel’s case and others raise questions over how many of those convicted were actually involved in violence. Hossam Nassif, 21, geology student at Cairo

Egyptian Ramy Issam recalls his ordeal at the courtyard of the Egyptian museum while visiting it for the first time since his detention in Cairo, July 6, 2011. — AP declared itself the “protector” of the revolution, capitalizing on its decision not to fire on protesters during the 18day uprising. But as the country’s politicians debate what the status of the military should be in the new Egypt, activists warn it isn’t necessarily a force for democracy.

“We are repeatedly told that the army in Egypt is great because it does not do what the armies of Syria and Libya are doing to regime opponents there,” said activist Mona Seif el-Islam. “It is not true. The army here is just as dirty but in a different way.”

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• On Jan 28, Cairo fell into looting and arson on one of the uprising’s most tumultuous days. Mohammed Adel, a bank employee swept up in revolutionary enthusiasm, boldly went up to an army officer near the museum and asked why his troops were not protecting the building from thieves. The officer promptly arrested him. The 32year-old became one of the first of thousands put on military trial. In a hearing lasting minutes, the court sentenced him to five years in prison on charges of stealing artifacts from the museum, said his lawyer, Mustafa Mahmoud.

His mother, Nariman, who has visited him repeatedly in prison, said Adel told her he had been beaten and tortured by electric shocks. “Why do they do this people? It’s shameful. Don’t they know that these are people made of flesh and blood?” she said. “You don’t hit a cat or a dog because you know they will be in pain.” Defense lawyers estimate that 10,000 civilians have been put on military trial since protests began. The number is based on case serial numbers, which vaulted dramatically beyond the average 100 soldiers a month who were tried before the January uprising.

The number dwarfs the use of such courts under Mubarak’s 29-year-rule, when hundreds of civilians were

University, was among nearly 190 people detained when soldiers broke up a May 15 protest outside the Israeli Embassy. He and others were beaten by policemen, then taken by soldiers to the Haekstep military prison on Cairo’s eastern outskirts, he said. In his military trial, the session covered 50 cases in two hours, he said. After several minutes, the judges emerged with guilty verdicts for all. Nassif said he and the others each received a one-year suspended sentence for “driving a wedge between Egypt and a friendly nation,” damaging public property and assaulting a policeman.

His experience is typical, the lawyers said. Defendants get an average of 20 minutes in court and are denied the right to speak. Lawyer Rajyah Omran said she is barred from being present when her clients are questioned and sees details of their cases only a half-hour or less before trial. Borai said the courts appoint a lawyer for defendants who don’t have one. But the court-appointed lawyers usually speak only to make the formal pronouncement to the judge, “We ask for leniency,” he said. Acquittals are extremely rare, the lawyers said, and the overwhelming majority of sentences involve some jail time, up to 25 years in prison. Most convictions have been on charges of illegal possession of arms, thuggery, breaking the nowdefunct curfew, attacking policemen, disturbing the peace or resisting authority. Adel’s mother, Nariman, spent four frantic days looking for him after his arrest.

Adel is her only child, after his brother died in a road accident in 2000. She finally learned where he was when he and others were paraded on state TV, identified as “thugs and looters”. After his conviction, she went public with calls for justice. In June, the military repealed Adel’s verdict and ordered a retrial. He remains in prison in the meantime. But Nariman is grateful. “Thanks be to God for everything and anything,” she said with resignation. “At least I can afford a lawyer. Most others cannot.” — AP

Hawass gone, leaving antiquities in crisis

By David Rosenberg he exit of Zahi Hawass, Egypt’s antiquities supremo, was as dramatic as most of his decade-long tenure. But he also leaves an empty stage at a time when the country’s archeologists and museums that stores its world-renowned treasures are badly in need of leadership. Hawass, who was minister of antiquities, was one of more than a dozen cabinet officials to lose their jobs as part of a reshuffle by Prime Minister Essam Sharaf in the face of protests over the slow pace of political reforms. But Hawass left with a bang. He was besieged by employees on Sunday as he departed his office for the last time. His successor, AbdelFattah Al-Banna, who had campaigned vociferously to force Hawass out of office, took over the ministry only to be dismissed a day later as employees in museums across Egypt went on strike against AlBanna’s appointment For 10 years, Hawass was the second most famous face of Egyptian archeology, right after King Tut. But critics say he leaves behind a field suffering from mismanagement, corruption and, despite the massive self-promotion he engaged in as boss of Egyptian antiquities, a lack of leadership. Indeed, many saw him not as an ally of Husni Mubarak, Egypt’s disgraced former president, but as someone who mimicked the personality cult and highhanded ways of his former boss.

“He was the Mubarak of antiquities – he was a dictator. He didn’t tolerate criticism. He did whatever he wanted,” Nora Shalaby, a Cairo-based archeologist, told The Media Line. “His policy while in power was not to let anyone else have the spotlight. It was just about him, him, him …. He was the only one anyone knew.”

Egypt is home to one of the world’s greatest treasure troves of ancient art and relics, but like much else in modern Egypt its assets have been poorly handled amid charges of corruption and

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negligence. The country is now going through a difficult period as the opposition forces that brought down Mubarak demand that Hawass and others be called into account while the transitional government seeks stability.

Hawass, 64, began his career as an inspector of antiquities 42 years ago. He became director of antiquities at the Giza Plateau in the late 1980s and was named Egypt’s top chief of the Supreme Council of Antiquities in 2002. One of Mubarak’s last official acts was to elevate Hawass to cabinet minister. As Egypt was shaken by unrest earlier this year, Hawass came under fire for his failure to protect the Egyptian Museum and other sites from theft and vandalism and for downplaying the damage. He submitted his resignation but was quickly reinstated. “I cannot live without antiquities, and antiquities cannot live without me,” he said at the time.

Remarks like that, as well as establishing a trademark style that included donning an Indian Jonesstyle fedora and frequent appearances on the Discovery Channel, angered critics, who said he was more intent on building a personality cult than addressing problems and running his antiquities empire.

Hawass’ website includes tabs named “great discoveries” and “fanclub.” The revival of Egypt’s struggling tourism industry, the discovery of stolen antiquities in the US and the pyramid of a Sixth Dynasty queen are all reported as if they were his personal accomplishments.

A week ago, The New York Times published a profile of Hawass highlighting his ties with private business, including a $200,000 annual honorarium from National Geographic and a company mounting exhibitions of Egyptian artifacts and marketing a line of signature clothing. Archaeologists accused him of stealing credit for their work and exercising arbitrary control over access to sites and relics.

Hawass never hesitated to defend his record. In an interview last May with the magazine Scientific

American he insisted he wasn’t close to Mubarak’s wife Suzanne and discounted charges of malfeasance in awarding a gift shop concession at the Egyptian Museum.

Against critics of his management style, Hawass said a strong hand was needed in his job. “If you need to control the antiquities of Egypt, you have to be very strong on the job,” he said. “Our antiquities were robbed by everyone before [I came to office].

The antiquities directors were not that strong before. When I do this, I do it for the sake of the antiquities.”

Hawass spearheaded a movement to return prominent or unique artifacts, such as the Rosetta Stone at the British Museum and the bust of Nefertiti in Berlin’s Neues Museum. Last January, he suggested New York City should return Cleopatra’s Needle, unless the officials took measures to preserve it. Shalaby said the demand, like others, is ironic, given how poorly Egypt preserves its own patrimony. “He couldn’t take care of antiquities in his own country, let alone take care of things returned from abroad,” Shalaby said, asserting that the campaign to bring artifacts home was probably driven by self-promotion. “I don’t doubt he wanted to get them back, but the reasons for doing were not so clear.” Egypt’s Supreme Antiquities Authority employs 58,000 people, about two thirds of whom are security guards.

But the number of sites is in the thousands and the guards are poorly paid, thus theft and vandalism are rife. Days before Hawass’ exit, U.S. officials said they had broken up an international ring smuggling Egyptian antiquities into the United States. Despite their importance to scholarship and tourism, under Hawass’ watch Egypt’s museums are poorly maintained, said Shalaby. Exhibits are badly labeled, if at all and aren’t displayed along any coherent theme. They suffer a shortage of qualified personnel at the management level, forcing them to rely on foreign experts. — Media Line

Focus

McConnell plan reckoning for US Republicans

By Andy Sullivan

enator Mitch McConnell’s plan to avert an imminent US debt default could lead to a day of reckoning for his Republicans as they weigh the prospect of fiscal disaster against the demands of Tea Party activists. With other efforts to raise the federal government’s debt ceiling at a standstill, McConnell’s “Plan B” to avoid default is increasingly seen as “Plan A” in Washington. The proposal by the top Republican in the Senate would dump the task into the laps of President Barack Obama and his Democrats, forcing them to back a $2.4 trillion increase in borrowing before the Nov 2012 elections as recession-weary voters worry about the country’s growing mountain of debt.

Pinning the debt increase on Obama and the Democrats could help McConnell pick up the four seats needed to win Republican control of the Senate and further his stated goal of making Obama a one-term president. It also may ensure his party avoids getting blamed for an Aug. 2 default that could push the United States back into recession and upend financial markets across the globe. Surprisingly, Democrats have embraced the plan as the best possible way to get an increase in the debt ceiling through a divided Congress.

Obama could also turn the situation to his advantage. “Obama’s answer (could be) that Republicans in Congress didn’t step up and deal with this so I’m making the tough decisions and showing leadership,” said Jennifer Duffy, an analyst with the Cook Political Repor t. The Democratic-controlled Senate is expected to pass the McConnell measure if it comes up for a vote this week, but prospects are less certain in the Republican- controlled House of Representatives.

The plan would allow Obama to raise the debt ceiling without the deep spending cuts Republicans have sought. Activists from the fiscally and socially conservative Tea Party movement, who helped Republicans win control of the House last year, wonder if they will get another chance. “It undermines the ideology that led Republicans to win in the first place,” said Ryan Hecker of Contract from America, a Tea Party group. “What McConnell is doing is basically giving up.”

Such rhetoric carries less weight in the Senate. Tea Party activists arguably prevented Republicans from winning control of that chamber in last year’s congressional elections by forcing the party to back inexperienced, erratic candidates over more electable choices in several races. McConnell’s politics have shifted to the right since he entered politics in the 1960s but his primary concern is his party as an institution, said John David Dyche, a lawyer and McConnell biographer. “McConnell is a Republican leader more so than a conservative leader,” Dyche said.

That is a problem for Tea Party activists who put ideology first. “He is a typical politician and is living proof of the maxim ‘Our nation was designed by geniuses and run by idiots’,” said Judson Phillips, founder of Tea Party Nation, one of the movement’s biggest groups. The Tea Party agenda will be front and center this week in Congress. The House was to vote yesterday on a plan that would make a debt-ceiling increase conditional on deep spending cuts, firm caps on future spending and congressional passage of a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution.

That bill is expected to fall shor t in the Senate. The balanced-budget amendment also is likely to fail in the Senate, sparing Republicans a possibly embarrassing vote in the House, where it could also fall short of the two-thirds majority needed for passage. McConnell has been a strong backer of both bills and calls his plan a backup. But by the end of the week, his proposal could be the only option left. The measure would avert imminent disaster but do little to solve long-term fiscal problems, one analyst said.

“In terms of a plan addressing the structural deficit problem and the issue of the vibrancy of the US economy and jobs, I don’t think it does much of anything,” said Ethan Siegal of The Washington Exchange, an analysis firm. The McConnell plan showcases his mastery of the arcane rules that govern Congress. A complex back-and-forth with the White House would require only one-third of the House and the Senate - presumably Democrats - to vote in favor of a debt-ceiling increase.

It would not require any spending cuts to accompany the debt-ceiling increase - a reversal of the original Republican position. Ironically, Democrats who originally opposed spending cuts are now seeking to attach them to the McConnell plan to gain some political cover. The plan could force many Senate Democrats to make an awkward choice - vote against the wishes of their president or vote for an unpopular debt-ceiling increase, Duffy said.

The choice will be harder for House Republicans, whose votes will be needed at the star t of the process. House Speaker John Boehner probably would need to cobble together a coalition of moderate Republicans and Democrats to get it passed. At this point, it is not clear how many votes Boehner can rely on from his side, a Republican aide said, as anything that bears McConnell’s name might have trouble passing. — Reuters

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Timeless Test idea LONDON: The possibility of a timeless test to decide the planned world test championship was laughed off by England and India players yesterday.

ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat had suggested the idea, which places no time constraints on players and allows for an open-ended match, for the final of the innovative 2013 tournament.

“No chance, five days is plenty,” England spinner Graeme Swann told a news conference ahead of the first of four tests against India starting at Lord’s tomorrow.

“We get enough stick from the Americans coming over saying ‘oh my God you play for five days’.” India batsman Rahul Dravid reckoned his team’s bowlers would also complain about tiredness. “I wouldn’t mind a good flat deck,” he joked. “Not sure the bowlers are going to be queueing up for that contest.” The last timeless test was between South Africa and England in Durban in 1939. The match lasted nine days but was called a draw because the tourists had to catch their boat home. — Reuters

Major League Baseball results and standings on Monday. Cleveland 5, Minnesota 2; Boston 15, Baltimore 10; Pittsburgh 2, Cincinnati 0; NY Yankees 5, Tampa Bay 4; Florida 4, NY Mets 1; Chicago Cubs 6, Philadelphia 1; Washington 5, Houston 2; Chicago White Sox 5, Kansas City 2; Cleveland 6, Minnesota 3; Atlanta 7, Colorado 4; Arizona 3, Milwaukee 0; San Francisco 5, LA Dodgers 0.

GB 1.5 8 12 19.5 1 4.5 7 13.5 4 11.5 13

2.5 11.5 12 12.5 .5 .5 4 12.5 20 3.5 10.5 13.5 14.5

SHANGHAI: New Zealand open water swimming manager Philip Rush encountered sharks, jellyfish and hypothermia during his time as a marathon swimmer but he has never been more petrified than when Cara Baker “turned grey” and fainted into his arms yesterday.

“I was absolutely petrified to be perfectly honest,” Rush told Reuters at the official athletes’ hotel adjacent to the venue when discussing his compatriot’s health scare before the women’s 10km event.

“Her health is way more important than this,” he added of the incident that occurred less than two hours prior to the start of the race.

Rush administered first aid

CHICAGO: Aramis Ramirez and Carlos Pena homered to back a dominant start by Rodrigo Lopez as Chicago Cubs beat Philadelphia Phillies 6-1 on Monday night after Phillies ace Roy Halladay left the game because of the heat.

Halladay doubled over and was visited by a trainer after Starlin Castro led off the fifth inning with a single. Drew Carpenter came in to replace him.

Halladay was drenched in sweat on a humid night in which the game-time temperature was 33 Celsius (91F). The heat clearly affected him. He gave up three runs and seven hits and took his first loss since May 15.

This was Halladay’s shortest outing since he pitched three innings for Toronto against Florida on June 12, 2009.

The early exit ended Halladay’s string of 63 road starts in which he lasted at least six innings. It was the longest such streak since Walter Johnson went 82 straight road starts from 1911-15.

Ramirez gave the Cubs a 1-0 lead in the first with his 17th homer. Chicago added two runs in the third on Ramirez’s basesloaded sacrifice fly and Pena’s RBI single.

Lopez gave up a leadoff homer to Jimmy Rollins in the fourth. He allowed five hits in 6 2-3 innings.

At Pittsburgh, Charlie Morton pitched five innings to help Pittsburgh move into first place in the NL Central. Pittsburgh kicked off an important two-week stretch by shutting down the Reds after Morton (8-5) extricated himself from a basesloaded jam in the first inning following a lengthy rain delay to win for the first time since June 15.

The right-hander gave up three hits, striking out three and walking two. Joel Hanrahan pitched the ninth for his 27th save as Pittsburgh moved a half-game ahead of Milwaukee in the division.

Dontrelle Willis (0-1) pitched well in his second start since being called up from Triple-A. The former All-Star surrendered two runs in 4 2-3 innings, striking out five and walking just one.

Chase d’Arnaud and Neil Walker led off the fourth with singles. Andrew McCutchen brought d’Arnaud home on an RBI groundout and Walker scored on Matt

Cooper, Genia return to face Springboks SYDNEY: Inspirational halfbacks Quade Cooper and Will Genia have been restored to Australia’s line-up for Saturday’s Tri-Nations opener against South Africa as the Wallabies look to put their shock defeat to Samoa behind them.

Flyhalf Cooper was rested and scrumhalf Genia benched for last weekend’s 32-23 upset in Sydney after helping the Queensland Reds to the Super rugby title the previous weekend.

With openside flanker David Pocock and winger James O’Connor also back in the team after recovering from foot and hamstring injuries respectively, coach Robbie Deans said the side was the strongest he had available.

“Hopefully (Cooper and Genia) will click back into gear,” the New Zealander told reporters. “They enjoy playing together and other players enjoy playing with them.

“It all comes down to what we do. We’ve had that jolt, but you can’t presume that we’re going to better for that.” Kurtley Beale, who kicked the long-range penalty to secure Australia a 41-39 victory in their most recent meeting with the Springboks last year in Bloemfontein, returns to the starting line-up at fullback.

If Australia’s confidence has been dented by the Samoa embarrassment, it was not evident when Cooper, O’Connor and Beale faced the media at the team’s training camp.

The trio exchanged banter about who would have the kicking duties-O’Connor has been given the nod-and gave every impression of being relaxed and excited about the challenge ahead.

“For us, we’re looking forward,” O’Connor said. “South Africa have got a lot of depth and that’s where our head’s at.”

Deans also elected to start Queensland second row pairing of James Horwill and Rob Simmons, while Digby Ioane retains his place on the left wing outside centres Pat McCabe and Adam Ashley-Cooper.

The Faingaa brothers, hooker Saia and cen-

Guardiola wants Sanchez

Baker’s coach ‘petrified’ and Baker recovered only to faint again when she tried to walk and the Wellington-based firefighter, who has taken a leave of absence to work with Swimming New Zealand, sought immediate medical assistance.

“Her blood pressure was incredibly low, so we got her something to eat and cooled her down and it seemed to perk her up but she was completely freaked out because she could not remember any of it.”

Rush said he asked the doctors what course of action he should follow and they advised him to ensure she ate some thing and that if he cooled her down with ice packs in the stif l i n g co n d i t i o n s s h e s h o u l d recover. —Reuters

BARCELONA: Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola’s main priority this offseason is to reinforce the team’s attack with Chile forward Alexis Sanchez, but confirmed the club is also negotiating with Arsenal for midfielder Cesc Fabregas.

“We need a forward. We have more players in midfield than in attack,” Guardiola said yesterday in his first news conference since lifting the Champions League trophy at Wembley Stadium earlier this summer. “Bojan (Krkic) and Jeffren (Suarez) both want to leave, so the attack is more important.” While Barcelona will keep the main core of last season’s championship squad, it will be challenged by a Real Madrid side that has bolstered its bench with a number of offseason signings.

“The number of games on the calendar is scary,” said Guardiola, whose team will add the Club World Cup to its domestic and European competitions this season.

Guardiola highlighted that Sanchez’s versatility suits Barca’s offensive system which requires its forwards to constantly exchange positions to make its short passing game click. — Reuters

Cubs defeat Phillies 6-1

MLB results/standings

American League Eastern Division W L PCT Boston 58 36 .617 NY Yankees 56 37 .602 Tampa Bay 50 44 .532 Toronto 47 49 .490 Baltimore 38 55 .409 Central Division Cleveland 51 44 .537 Detroit 50 45 .526 C’ White Sox 47 49 .490 Minnesota 44 51 .463 Kansas City 38 58 .396 Western Division Texas 55 41 .573 LA Angels 51 45 .531 Seattle 43 52 .453 Oakland 42 54 .438 National League Eastern Division Philadelphia 59 36 .621 Atlanta 57 39 .594 Washington 48 48 .500 NY Mets 47 48 .495 Florida 47 49 .490 Central Division Pittsburgh 50 44 .532 St. Louis 50 45 .526 Milwaukee 51 46 .526 Cincinnati 47 49 .490 Chicago Cubs 39 58 .402 Houston 31 65 .323 Western Division San Francisco 56 41 .577 Arizona 52 44 .542 Colorado 45 51 .469 LA Dodgers 42 54 .438 San Diego 41 55 .427

WEDNESDAY, JULY 20, 2011

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tre Anthony, were named on the bench along with back rower Scott Higginbotham to boost the Reds’s contingent in the 22 to eight.

Matt Giteau, who started at flyhalf against Samoa, was omitted altogether with Deans relying on the ability of Beale and O’Connor to take the playmaker role if necessary.

Deans dismissed any thoughts that the Springboks, who left 21 frontline players behind in South Africa, might present a weaker challenge than usual and Beale concurred. “We learned a lesson at the weekend,” Beale said. “We just can’t take teams lightly and this is a good opportunity to redeem ourselves.” —Reuters

Quade Cooper in action in this file photo

Diaz’s sacrifice fly. At Phoenix, Arizona’s Josh Collmenter pitched eight innings of three-hit ball for his first win in six weeks.

The right-hander retired 21 of his last 22 batters in the longest outing of his rookie season. Yuniesky Betancourt reached on a bunt single leading off the sixth for Milwaukee’s only hit during the stretch.

Collmenter (5-5) struck out a career-

hander is 0-3 with a 4.94 ERA in his last four starts, including two losses against the Diamondbacks. Chris Young singled, doubled and scored twice in Arizona’s third straight victory.

In Houston, Michael Morse and Ryan Zimmerman homered and Zimmerman drove in the go-ahead run in the ninth inning for Washington.

PITTSBURGH: Cincinnati Reds pitcher Aroldis Chapman (54) delivers a pitch to Pittsburgh Pirates’ Josh Harrison in the eighth inning of a baseball game. —AP best seven and walked none while running his scoreless streak to 14 innings, all against the Brewers over his last two starts.

Ryan Roberts homered for the second straight day and David Hernandez finished for his ninth save in 11 chances.

Randy Wolf (6-7) pitched 7 1-3 innings for Milwaukee and was charged with three runs, two earned, and eight hits. The left-

Laynce Nix added two insurance runs with an RBI single after Zimmerman’s hit in the ninth off Houston starter Jordan Lyles (0-5). The rookie allowed five hits and four runs with six strikeouts in the longest outing of his career to remain winless in ninth career start. Morse homered in the fifth inning and Zimmerman’s came in the seventh. Washington starter Jason Marquis (8-

4) yielded six hits and two runs with a season high-tying nine strikeouts to get his first win since June 10.

At New York, Clay Hensley came off the disabled list to win his first major league start in three years for Florida.

Mike Stanton hit a two-run double and slumping Mike Cameron followed with an RBI single for the Marlins, who have won nine of 10.

Florida improved to 15-9 under 80year-old manager Jack McKeon, who took over after Edwin Rodriguez abruptly resigned late in the team’s 1-19 June swoon. In the makeup of a May 17 rainout, Hensley (1-2) allowed one hit over five scoreless innings against a depleted Mets lineup. It was his 41st big league start but first since July 24, 2008, for San Diego at Pittsburgh. The right-hander made 20 relief appearances this season before a sprained shoulder sidelined him June 1. A double by Willie Harris in the first inning was the only hit given up by Hensley, who struck out three and walked two in an 84pitch outing. Michael Dunn, Edward Mujica, Randy Choate and Leo Nunez completed the three-hitter.

At Denver, Atlanta’s Freddie Freeman homered and drove in three runs for the Braves. Derek Lowe’s grounder to third in the second inning resulted in a two-run error on first baseman Todd Helton, who lost the throw in the setting sun, and ignited the Braves’ fifth win in five tries over the Rockies this month.

Lowe (6-7) gave up four runs and eight hits, leaving with a 7-2 lead. Rookie Craig Kimbrel recorded his 16th straight scoreless appearance, striking out the side in the ninth for his 29th save in 34 chances.

Jason Hammel (5-9) allowed six runs, four earned, and eight hits in five innings. At San Francisco, Ryan Vogelsong pitched into the seventh inning and combined with two relievers on a seven-hitter for the Giants.

Pablo Sandoval had three hits, including his ninth homer, for NL West-leading San Francisco, which has won eight of 10.

Nate Schierholtz added two hits and an RBI. Cody Ross’ two-run double in San Francisco’s four-run sixth helped the Giants break it open. — AP

Red Sox roll over Orioles BALTIMORE: Dustin Pedroia doubled in two runs to spark an eight-run eighth inning and Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Josh Reddick hit home runs as Boston routed Baltimore 15-10 in the American League on Monday.

Pedroia, Kevin Youkilis and Darnell McDonald had three RBIs apiece for the Red Sox, who have won 13 of 15. The run includes a 16-inning, 1-0 win over Tampa Bay on Sunday.

The Red Sox had 16 hits in their seventh straight victory over the Orioles.

Boston has outscored Baltimore 61-32 during that span.

Pedroia hit a tiebreaking two-run double off Mike Gonzalez (1-2) to make it 9-7.

JJ Hardy and Adam Jones homered for the Orioles, who have lost 10 of 12.

At St. Petersburg, Florida, Russell Martin drew a bases-loaded walk with two outs in the top of the ninth to give New York the win.

Robinson Cano, Mark Teixeira, Brett Gardner and Eduardo Nunez also drove in runs for the second-place Yankees, who rallied from a 4-1 deficit to remain 11/2 games behind Boston in the AL East.

Rookie left-hander Alex Torres (0-1) yielded the winning run in his major league debut after New York loaded the bases on Curtis Granderson’s single, an intentional walk to Nick Swisher and another walk to Andruw Jones.

At Minneapolis, Lou Marson hit a tiebreaking solo homer in the seventh inning as Cleveland completed a doubleheader sweep with a 6-3 victory over Minnesota, kicking off a four-game series with two wins.

Marson doubled and scored in the fifth against Scott Diamond, who was making his major league debut for Minnesota. Fausto Carmona (5-10) came off the disabled list and won for only the second time in his last 12 starts, allowing two runs in six innings.

Asdrubal Cabrera hit a three -run homer to lift the Indians to a 5-2 win in

BALTIMORE: Boston Red Sox catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia (left) celebrates a 1510 win over the Baltimore Orioles with reliever Franklin Morales (right) in a baseball game. —AP the first game and added an RBI single in the second.

The Twins fell seven games behind the Indians. Travis Hafner had two hits and two RBIs in the second game, and Michael Brantley finished with five hits.

Minnesota’s Joe Mauer had three hits in each game, but Carmona picked up where David Huff (1-0) left off. Returning from a strained right quadriceps muscle, Carmona allowed seven hits, struck out one and walked none.

The Twins couldn’t have expected too much more from their fill-in starters.

Anthony Swarzak, summoned from the bullpen for the opener, pitched six innings, giving up four runs, three earned.

At Kansas City, Mark Buerhle lasted seven innings in another impressive start,

and Chicago capitalized on an error by Kansas City shortstop Alcides Escobar.

Buehrle (7-5) hasn’t allowed more than three earned runs in his last 14 starts dating to April 22. The veteran lefthander allowed five hits while winning for the first time since June 9.

Kyle Davies (1-9) was saddled with his eighth consecutive loss. Davies hasn’t won since beating Minnesota on April 13 and is 0-3 since going on the disabled list with inflammation in his right rotator cuff. He set a career high with nine strikeouts in 5 1-3 innings.

Escobar threw the ball away while trying to start a double play on a routine grounder with the game tied in the sixth inning. Mark Teahan followed with a runscoring groundout and Juan Pierre hit an RBI double for a 4-2 lead. —AP

WEDNESDAY, JULY 20, 2011

S P ORT S

Umpires in the spotlight in battle for top spot LONDON: Some of the world’s finest cricketers will be on show when England and India launch a fourtest series at Lord’s tomorrow, but the spotlight may fall on the umpires rather than the players.

Umpires will receive no help from technology commonly used in other international cricket matches, mainly because India rejects key parts that can help umpires to give leg before wicket decisions.

The umpires, New Zealander Billy Bowden and Pakistan’s Asaf Rauf, will be feeling the pressure even more after Australian umpire Daryl Harper quit cricket early, accusing Indian cricketers of adopting “bullying” tactics on the field during the recent series against West Indies.

England will be confident after a convincing series victory over Sri Lanka, and the home team could once again be helped by cool, overcast condi-

tions that assist seamers like James Anderson and Chris Tremlett.

Pugnacious fast bowler Stuart Broad is likely to get the nod from coach Andy Flower over Tim Bresnan. Flower denied Broad was being used as an “enforcer” to unsettle batsmen. “His job is to create pressure and to take wickets and to do that you generally bowl at off stump,” Flower told the Guardian newspaper.

India, the world No. 1 test team and one-day world champions, have the most feared batting lineup, but will be without explosive opener Virender Sehwag for at the least the first two tests because of a shoulder injury.

“We’ve heard that he’ll be over here maybe the third and fourth test, so we’re crossing our fingers for that,” said India coach Duncan Fletcher, a former England coach.

Fletcher is keenly aware that his batting lineup, which includes Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman, is comfortable with English weather conditions and should not be overly troubled.

“They’re in a good space at the moment and they can carry on,” he said. “Over here it could be different because the outfield should be miles faster than in the West Indies.”

India’s batting still revolves around Tendulkar, the little master who at the age of 38 will be looking for his 100th international century at Lord’s. With 14,692 test runs and 18,111 one-day runs, Tendulkar could be central to India’s efforts to prevent England taking over the top spot of test teams.

The Indians have had only one warmup game in England, but were given a stiff working-over during the three-test series in the Caribbean, which they

won 1-0 without impressing. A three-day game against Somerset allowed England captain Andrew Strauss to bat himself back into form with an unbeaten century against a weakened India bowling attack.

India’s weakness, if it has one, is its bowling, although Zaheer Khan is a veteran seamer and Harbhajan Singh is still one of the world’s best spinners.

England’s batsmen, especially openers Strauss and Alastair Cook, are in strong form, as is South African-born Jonathan Trott, who has succeeded in reaching a test average of 62 while infuriating opposing fielders with his labored preparations for each delivery. Kevin Pietersen is yet to recover the form that made him the best batsman in the world a few years ago, but remains a potent force and a potential match-winner. —AP

Four-man England attack faces sternest Indian test

LONDON: England’s Graeme Swann (left) reacts after catching a ball watched by England’s Wicketkeeper Matt Prior (right) during an England training session at Lord’s Cricket Ground. — AP

Dhoni determined to extend India’s control NEW DELHI: Apart from motorcycles, Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s obsession is firearms and the India captain would be thoroughly justified in believing he has enough ammunition to foil any bid to topple his team from the top of the test rankings. Minutes after sealing India’s 50-over World Cup victory with a six in Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium, a drained Dhoni was already discussing how to sustain the dominance of the team who have been the number one test side since December 2009.

The biggest hurdle since that crazy, humid April night await them in England in the form of a four-test series starting at Lord’s tomorrow, to be followed by five one-day internationals with a Twenty20 match thrown in.

Dhoni would like to believe that he has ticked most of the boxes. Sachin Tendulkar is not just back in the squad but he made it a point to reach England early to get accustomed to the conditions, dropping in briefly at Wimbledon to watch Roger Federer.

Such meticulous preparation for someone who has spent 22 years in international cricket does not surprise former India captain Sunil Gavaskar.

“I’m not surprised he’s out there trying to acclimatise and get some practice...also having had a word with Roger Federer, be prepared for the pull shot past mid-on,” Gavaskar said.

Tendulkar’s demanding fans will be expecting more than few nice shots. At the age of 38, Tendulkar is unlikely to return to England and he has yet to score a century at Lord’s, venue of the firset Test starting tomorrow. If he does reach his century he will the first person to score 100 international centuries.

Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid (38) and VVS Laxman (36) share 99 centuries and 35,000 runs in tests and Gavaskar said they would do anything to make their final England tour memorable. Yuvraj Singh is also not short of motivation. The architect of India’s Twenty20 (2007) and 50 overs (2011) World Cups remains a fringe test player, even after 11 years of international cricket, and this would be one of his few remaining opportunities to cement his place or else watch someone like Suresh Raina slam the door on his face.

“In terms of one-day cricket everything

has been good for me but in terms of test cricket I suppose the graph reads a bit up and down,” Yuvraj said before leaving for England.

“Cricket is my game though and I am going to give this test series my level best. I will give my 100 percent,” Dhoni was criticised for not pressing for a victory in the Dominica test again West Indies where India needed 86 runs from the final 15 overs with seven wickets in hand. He decided instead to settle for a draw and a 1-0 victory in the three-match test series against a West Indian side ranked six places lower.

There, were, however some other positives, including Ishant Sharma’s return to form. The lanky right-arm pace bowler struck his rhythm and claimed 22 wickets in three tests to signal he has put a bad patch behind him and is ready to share the new ball attack with Zaheer Khan.

Dhoni would also hope to benefit from the battles within the battle. For instance, Yuvraj has already announced that he was looking forward to renewing his rivalry with Kevin Pietersen who famously called the southpaw a “pie-chucker” and dubbed his brand of spin as “left-arm filth” in 2008.

Being the character he is, off-spinner Harbhajan Singh can also be trusted to give everything in his duel with English counterpart Graeme Swann.

Dhoni will also have access to the insider knowledge of coach Duncan Fletcher.

The eight years he spent coaching the England team gave Fletcher first hand knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of the players who form the core of the current squad.

Dhoni’s only worry seems to be the absence of opener Virender Sehwag, who is recovering from a shoulder surgery and is set to miss the first two tests. “We, as a side, rely on our openers quite a bit. A good start helps our middle-order capitalise on it. As far as Virender Sehwag is concerned, there aren‘t many cricketers in the world who can have the impact he can,” Dhoni conceded.

In Sehwag’s absence, Abhinav Mukund, who made his test debut in West Indies last month, would open the innings with Gautam Gambhir. Gambhir, himself, is back in action after missing the West Indies tour with a shoulder injury and the onus would be on the left-handed pair to see off the new ball and lay the foundation before the seniors take charge. —Reuters

LONDON: Andrew Strauss delivers a spirited defence of his preference for a four-man attack in his latest book, asserting that research shows England win more matches with an extra batsman than they do with a fifth bowler.

Seven series wins and a creditable draw in South Africa since Strauss took over as captain have justified a strategy that will be tested to the full in the four-test series against India starting at Lord’s tomorrow.

Even without explosive opener Virender Sehwag, who will miss the first two tests with a shoulder injury, India possess a batting lineup crammed with class, experience and sheer weight of runs.

India field three great batsmen in Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman with an excellent support cast including Gautam Gambhir and captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, their two heroes in the World Cup final triumph over Sri Lanka in April.

If England are to take the official world number one ranking from India, they need to win the series by at least a two-match margin.

The responsibility for capturing the necessary 20 wickets in a match twice will fall to James Anderson, Chris Tremlett, Graeme Swann and, in all likelihood, Stuart Broad.

Anderson came of age last year, deploying seam movement and reversing the old ball in addition to his whippy late swing. Swann, one behind Anderson in third place on the world rankings, is the world’s best slow bowler, a naturally aggressive off-spinner who gives the ball a ferocious tweak but who can also play a containing role.

Tremlett’s pace and bounce have made him an automatic choice since he forced his way back into the side in Australia and the choice for the remaining bowling spot at Lord’s lies between Broad and Tim Bresnan.

Broad, the national Twenty20 captain, was left out of the England side for the final oneday game against Sri Lanka and a county match for Nottinghamshire against Somerset proved, in effect, a test trial.

Watched closely by national selector Geoff Miller, Broad took five for 95 in Somerset’s first innings which was enough to retain a place in the test squad and all indications are that he

for Pakistan cricket are under consideration,” Ahmad insisted. “We are looking at ways to implement them soon. “ The Task Team, headed by England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chairman Giles Clarke, put forward a number of reforms for Pakistan cricket and Ahmad dismissed suggestions that the PCB’s initial cold response had soured relations with the ICC. “ We appreciate the ICC and Task Team’s intentions to help and support Pakistan cricket. Our relations remain very good and there is no confrontation on this matter,” he said. One of the recommendations would see a democratic system of governance in Pakistan put in place, with the powers of the chairman being reduced and transferred to a chief executive. —Reuters

will be in the final XI. “There were signs he was getting back to where he was,” said Miller. “We know what he is capable of doing and when he puts on that England shirt we feel sure he will show exactly that and produce the goods and make if difficult for India.”

Broad’s pedigree is undoubted and he won the Ashes back for England at the Oval two years ago with a splendid spell including four for eight in 21 balls.

But his bowling average after 107 wickets from 37 tests has crept over 36 and he took only eight wickets in three tests against Sri Lanka. Broad still looks likely to win selection ahead of the reliable Bresnan because of his height and ability to extract nasty bounce, as he showed when he ruffled the Indian batsmen during the 2009 Twenty20 World Cup. He left the Australia tour early because of injury and his problem against Sri Lanka appeared to be finding a consistent attacking length.

Strauss, who scored an unbeaten century in

the second innings against India playing as a guest for Somerset at the weekend, made a point of emphasising that Broad’s role was not just to bounce his opponents.

“Occasionally the situation dictates that you want to go short on a particular batsman and he is our best bowler at doing that, but that is not his role in the side,” said Strauss. “It never has been. “His role is not fundamentally any different from Anderson or Tremlett-which is to build up pressure.” The Somerset match was India’s sole outing in English conditions before Lord’s and the Indians are also slow starters with each of their three defeats in the past three years coming in the opening test.

Consequently Lord’s, if the present foul English weather allows, could be an ideal opportunity for the home side to take an early series lead but only if they show against the best batting lineup in the world the discipline and accuracy they displayed in Australia. — Reuters

Bryant salutes Yao impact on China’s NBA dreams

Pakistan softens stance over ICC Task Team report KARACHI: The Pakistan Cricket Board has softened its hard-line stance on recommendations proposed in an International Cricket Council (ICC) report on improving the organisation of the sport in the South-Asian country.

The ICC ordered a Task Team to compile a report on Pakistan cricket in the wake of the 2009 attack on the Sri Lanka team bus in Lahore and last year’s spotfixing scandal but the PCB rejected a majority of the unit’s observations last week.

However, PCB chief operating officer Subhan Ahmad told Reuters on Tuesday that the board had only dismissed the recommendations it felt were redundant or based on inaccurate information. “The constructive recommendations and proposals by the Task Team which are good

LONDON: India’s Sachin Tendulkar points during the nets session at Lord’s Cricket Ground.

India begin the first Test against England at Lord’s tomorrow.—AP

Yao Ming seen in this file photo

SHANGHAI:- Yao Ming has made it possible for young Chinese basketball players to chase their NBA dreams and the country will produce more top quality players in the coming years, All Star guard Kobe Bryant said yesterday.

Several reports in the media have said that injury-plagued Yao will officially announce his retirement from the game at a news conference today.

China’s state television CCTV would run a four-hour program on the player, including a live broadcast of the news conference at a hotel in Yao’s hometown Shanghai, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

Yao became arguably Asia’s biggest sports figure when he was selected first overall by the Houston Rockets in the 2002 NBA draft.

“In terms of opening up doors for Chinese basketball players to come to the NBA, or for the youth here in China to believe that it’s possible to achieve the dream of being an NBA player, all that started from Yao,” Los Angeles Lakers guard Bryant said.

“The movement that started in the NBA of the influx of European players

coming to the NBA was started by Vlade Divac, Dino Radja and those guys.

“Even that movement didn’t have the impact and magnitude that Yao Ming has had. And on top of that, he’s just a heck of a basketball player to boot,” Bryant, who is in China on a promotional tour, added.

The seven-foot, six-inch (2.3-metre) Yao, an eight-times All Star, has been plagued by assorted injuries in recent years and missed the entire 2009-10 NBA season after suffering a fractured bone in his left foot.

He played only five games for the Rockets last season before being sidelined on Nov. 10 when he injured his ankle during the a game.

Bryant felt Yao would leave a lasting legacy and more Chinese players would make it to top-flight NBA teams.

“Since I have been coming here and doing clinics and basketball camps with kids, you see the improvement year after year and the determination to get better and the passion they have for the game,” said Bryant. “It’s just a matter of time.” —Reuters

Wild card Stebe upsets Ferrero HAMBURG: German wild card Cedrik-Marcel Stebe upset former No. 1 and last week ’s Stuttgart winner Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain 63, 6-2 in the first round of the German Open yesterday.

Ferrero missed two months earlier this year with wrist and knee injuries but had an impressive week in Stuttgart, where he clinched his first title in 13 months.

Stebe, a 20-year-old left-hander, also had a successful week in Stuttgart, winning his first two matches on the tour before losing in the quarterfinals. Another German wild card, Tobias Kamke, also had an upset win, beating seventh-

seeded Juan Ignacio Chela of Argentina 6-1, 6-4 in the second round.

While his countrymen advanced, German Davis Cup player Philipp Petzschner was upset by qualifier Marsel Ilhan of Turkey, then stunned reporters with bizarre answers to questions about the match.

Asked to comment on Ilhan’s unexpected 62, 4-6, 7-6 (5) victory, Petzschner replied, “I hope that HSV reaches the Europa League this season.” When asked to describe how he managed to double-fault on match point, Petzschner again referred to the Hamburger SV Bundesliga football club, saying it had acquired good new

players. Petzschner has been under fire for a lackluster performance in Germany’s Davis Cup loss to France and for three straight first-round losses.

Jarkko Nieminen of Finland beat 10th-seeded Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine 6-3, 1-6, 6-4, fifth-seeded Gilles Simon of France cruised into the third round over Sergiy Stakhovsky of Ukraine, 6-2, 6-1 and Fabio Fognini, the No. 15 from Italy, beat Victor Crivoi of Romania 6-1, 7-5.

Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic, Juan Monaco of Argentina, Pablo Andujar of Spain and Daniel Gimeno-Traver of Spain cleared the first round. —AP

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WEDNESDAY, JULY 20, 2011

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Testers gear up for sophisticated dopers LONDON: The battle to keep drugs out of the London Olympics has started long before the opening ceremony next July. A sophisticated laboratory provided by Britain’s largest drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), which will be packed with highly sensitive, rapid testing equipment and staffed around the clock with up to 100 scientists, stands ready and waiting.

Games organisers hope that their preparedness will deter cheats. “We have a state-of-the-art facility, we have the best detection systems going, we’re right up to date with the science, and if athletes know you’ve got good testing and good detection systems, it really has a deterrent effect,” said David Cowan, head of the Drug Control Centre at King’s College London and the man who will oversee London 2012’s anti-doping regime.

His staff, which he has expanded to include eight times as many scientists as he would normally have, are aiming to con-

duct more than 5,000 tests at the London Olympics - roughly one for every two of the 10,000 or so athletes expected to take part.

As the science of detecting doping advances, athletes who cheat by using performance-enhancing drugs are devising ever more sophisticated doping regimes.

The drugs of choice for cheats cross a range of categories from anabolic steroids to human growth hormone, blood boosters such as erythropoietin (EPO), betablockers and stimulants or diuretics.

Andy Parkinson, chief executive of UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) said that until recently, cheats tended to stick to predictable drugs - power athletes such as weight lifters used anabolic steroids and endurance athletes such as cyclists and rowers used blood boosters.

With advances in detection methods, however, the cheats were being forced into using a little more ingenuity. “What we’re seeing much more of now is sophisticated dopers who use multiple substances in a

very tailored way,” Parkinson told Reuters in an interview.

“There’s a recognition that any substance can give you an enhancement - you just have to use it in the right way.” For some, the need to evade highly-sensitive tests has even meant going back to “traditional” ways of blood doping that avoid the need for detectable drugs - using transfusions of their own blood which they have taken out and stored until they need a boost and transfuse it back in.

Cowan says he is confident the science will be there to detect such transfusions by the time next year’s Games start. “ There is now much more research funding for scientists to be able to develop better methods of detection. There are very few loopholes, and they are being heavily researched,” he said.

Anti-doping experts are keen to ensure a lasting legacy from London 2012 which they hope will make sport cleaner and fairer in the future.

For Parkinson that means “going upstream” to find the coaches, the assistant coaches, the advisers and even the chemists who manufacture, supply and push doping drugs.

UKAD and its global umbrella group the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) are primarily focused on testing, catching and deterring drug cheats, but both groups are increasingly working in law enforcement agencies such as Interpol to gather and use intelligence about supply and trafficking of doping drugs.

WADA’s director general David Howman said earlier this year that a criminal underworld now controlled a large proportion of world sport.

Pauline Williams a medicines discovery and development scientist at GSK, said going upstream should also mean seeking to stem the original source of the drugs rogue laboratories.

GSK signed a deal with WADA this month to help scientists develop early

detection methods for drugs that have performance-enhancing potential.

“In the past...I don’t think we appreciated the sophistication that’s out there in terms of these rogue labs, copying our drugs at such an early stage. They’re getting ever more creative,” she told Reuters. “ From a pharma perspective we’re keen to be more transparent...but that is really a gift to these rogue labs who can see our data, see the chemical structure and have chemists who can then produce the drugs illegally. It’s the dark side.”

Experts say drugs have probably been used to enhance sporting performance for hundreds, if not thousands of years, so it is unlikely the problem of doping will be solved at London 2012, or anytime soon after that.

Anti-doping authorities say that is no reason to give in and Parkinson sees this as one of sport’s most important contests.

“Science is always challenged to keep up,” he said. —Reuters

Can’t pay, won’t pay?

2012 for free thinkers

TORONTO: This Jan. 5, 2011 file photo shows former Toronto Blue Jays baseball player Roberto Alomar during a news conference. The Blue Jays are retiring Alomar’s No. 12 before their game against the Texas Rangers on July 31. It will be the first time the Blue Jays have retired a number worn by one of the team’s players in the club’s 35-year history.—AP

London commuters fear strain on the trains LONDON: Faulty signals and crowded carriages are just part of the daily grind for London commuter Nick Maggs, even on a good day; this time next year, things could only get worse, he fears.

Maggs, who travels by train and underground services to his job in the City financial district, despairs for sports fans hoping to get to events at the 2012 Olympics on London’s busy transport network. “The system is going to be overloaded,” he told Reuters. “To chuck that number of people on means it can only go wrong. On a normal day you have signalling failure and congestion.”

The capital’s transport system is already near capacity with 24 million journeys a day, and Maggs is not alone in wondering how it will cope with a possible extra three million journeys on peak days during the Games in July and August next year. Transport has been a constant worry for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and in April a London Assembly report said “getting transport arrangements right remains one of the biggest risks to the smooth running of the 2012 Games”. Olympic organisers hope that Londoners taking summer holidays, working from home or changing their working hours, will combine with a drop in the number of regular tourists to produce a 30 percent fall in transport use during peak times, leaving room for Games traffic.

Some Londoners, questioned on the city’s streets by Reuters, were sceptical about such figures.“Wouldn’t it be wonderful (if there was a 30 percent reduction), but I can’t see it happening,” said James, a 41-year-old pub landlord who preferred not to give his surname.

“I can’t see how 30 percent of people will change their patterns of travel. I’m not going to change mine.” Chris Doulou, 38, a self-employed plumbing and heating engineer, said: “I will not be able to change my hours, I will have to struggle to get to work.”

Others, though, are already thinking about ways to avoid the congestion. “I will probably work from home, which is not a bad thing,” said a 39-year-old office worker who did not want to be named. “I think the transport will be okay.”

Vicki Plimmer, 30, a clerk, said: “I live in south-west London so I should be alright. I have got lots of ways to come in to work.”

London is experienced at staging major events, such as April’s royal wedding, but the Olympics stretch for more than two weeks and sports fans will be jostling for seats on trains and buses with art lovers attending the Cultural Olympiad, as well as business people and tourists.

Seb Coe, chairman of London’s Olympic organising committee (LOCOG), warned in December that failure to handle the extra load could result in London spending the next 50 years trying to live it down, being bracketed with the much-maligned Atlanta 1996 Games.

The London Assembly report said people could face delays of more than an hour if travel patterns remained unchanged on some key lines serving the Olympic Park in Stratford, east London.

Strikes on the London Underground in recent years have raised fears of another

stoppage during the Games. The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) told Reuters it did not plan any industrial action during the July 27Aug. 12 Games but talks over a pay deal are ongoing.

Billions of pounds have recently been invested in public transport, including upgrades to the Docklands Light Railway which serves the Olympic Park and a refit of Stratford station, boosting capacity and reliability and providing a rapid link to St Pancras International in central London.

“We’re very confident that the transport will be off the front pages of newspapers during the Games,” Mark Evers, director of Games transport for Transport for London (TfL), told Reuters.

“We have put in the plans and the infrastructure to make sure that we can make it work.” Organisers are also pushing for spectators to travel by bicycle or foot and to take river boat services, to help fulfil their pledge of delivering a “public transport Games”.

However, only about five percent are expected to use pedal power or walk, while river boats are limited in number.

“I think TfL and the Olympic committee are putting in efforts, I am just holding my breath and waiting to see whether it is enough effort and pinpointed in the right areas,” Karen Anderton of the University of Oxford’s transport studies unit said.

Games planners are also keen to get motorists off the road. About 11 million journeys a day are made in London, making the city’s streets the most congested in Europe. Park-and-ride schemes will be put in place for spectators, encouraging them to leave their vehicles on the outskirts of London, and the Olympic park will have no public car park ing.

Businesses will be encouraged to change their delivery times to keep lorries off the streets by day.

More than 80,000 athletes, officials, dignitaries, sponsors and the media will be driven to venues along 90 kms of dedicated Games Lanes, and any motorist straying into them faces a fine of 200 pounds ($322).

London has a tough act to follow Beijing built multi-lane highways to get people to and from venues in 2008. The roads around London are narrow by comparison and prone to long delays if cars break down or accidents happen.

Authorities will be stress-testing the transport system this summer, something that was absent in Atlanta where travel to the venues became a major headache.

“You can’t guarantee ever ything is going to be perfect but there’s a danger of taking an unduly negative line as well,” Peter White, professor of public transport systems at the University of Westminster, said. Police will be carrying out security exercises between now and the Games.

Since 52 people died when four young British Islamists carried out suicide bombings on tube trains and a bus in 2005, the threat of further attacks has been a major concern. Olympics minister Hugh Rober tson told repor ters last month: “We’re absolutely aware of what the threat is and I am as confident as I possibly can be that we can meet that threat.”—Reuters

LONDON: So you could not afford London 2012 tickets and are dreading the prospect of spending all of next summer staring at the television? Competing as an Olympic athlete or being wined and dined as a VIP visitor are probably not options either but do not despair.

In a time of financial belt-tightening, and with a nod to the spirit of the Austerity Olympics of 1948, there will be ways to get out, soak up the atmosphere and watch some live sport without handing over hard-earned cash. Standing on a south-coast cliff top to watch the yachting somewhere out to sea off Weymouth is always one possibility but there are other less distant and dramatic alternatives. Even with a full year to go until the July 27 opening ceremony of the ‘greatest show on earth’ at the Olympic stadium, it is never too early to start planning one’s own walletfriendly 2012 experience. If you want to witness that opening extravaganza, or the men’s 100 metres final, from the inside and for free then you will probably have to charm a sponsor, fast-track your media career or try to worm your way into the army of technical support staff. Best to get started on that right away.

With more than one million applications for the soldout 80,000-seat stadium, those who do have a ticket have won the lottery and they know it.

A more profitable use of time might be to attend some of the test events next month for sports that offer free access, such as road-race cycling and triathlon, to check out the best viewpoints. The men’s and women’s cycling road races, on the opening weekend of the Games, could produce Britain’s first gold medallist with Tour de France multiple stage winner Mark Cavendish likely to be the big home hope.

Both events start and finish outside the Queen’s central London residence of Buckingham Palace with spectators likely to throng the route through leafy south-west London out into the Surrey countryside.

The London-Surrey Cycle Classic test event next onth will be a good advance opportunity to find a prime vantage point. “We have the opportunity for thousands of people to engage with this, on their doorstep, in the local park, in the pub beer garden and all sorts of other places along the route,” said LOCOG cycling manager Simon Lillistone. “It is a fantastic opportunity for people to actually see an Olympic event first-hand and hopefully link into what London 2012 is here to do and really inspire young people.”

Hampton Court, the palatial home of 16th century Tudor monarch Henry VIII, will be the base for the men’s and women’s time trials on Aug. 1 next year. The men will also do a loop through the royal Bushy Park which - always allowing for the vagaries of the British summer - offers the potential for picnics while watching the riders.

The marathons pass a string of London landmarks and parts of the triathlon course and race walking will also be fantastic free opportunities for those who get there early enough.

The ticketed sections along the northern edge of the Serpentine lake in Hyde Park for the Aug. 4 and 7 triathlons were an early sell-out in the British public ballot but other areas inside the Park are open to all.

Top spectator spots identified by British Triathlon, who are also running a free test event next month, include the Wellington Arch/Hyde Park Corner area, the south side of the Serpentine Bridge and around Buckingham Palace.

The archery ranking rounds at Lord’s cricket ground on July 27, likened improbably by those within the sport to Formula One qualifying without the noise or frenzy, caused some excitement when they were listed as non-ticketed events.

That could score as a bulls eye for the freebie hunter although the rounds, in a part of the cricket ground used as a training area, are more likely to be behind closed doors.

ues. “A hundred thousand people are already now going through their volunteer interviews,” London 2012 chairman Sebastian Coe told Reuters, with that process lasting into 2012.

“Another chunk are going through (mayor) Boris (Johnson)’s city ambassador programme...we’ve got our torch relays, we’ve got the cultural Olympiad, we’ve got our open weekend. So there’s a massive amount of stuff going on in the next year.” Members of the armed forces will have access to free tickets while there has never been a better time to be nice to teachers.

Some 125,000 tickets, including for showcase events such as the 100 metres final, will be handed

London 2012 Olympic Stadium Organisers are still considering the options but could make a limited number of tickets available to local residents and schoolchildren as well as athletes’ friends and family.

“You’d get to see the world’s best but it’s really just a load of people standing in a line shooting arrows, rather than the excitement of a head-to-head,” said Archery GB spokesman Peter Jones.

For those wanting a deeper level of commitment there is the volunteer route, while 8,000 relay runners must be chosen to carry the torch around the country from May. Thousands of performers will need to be signed up for the ceremonies. The Olympics will need up to 70,000 volunteers, or ‘Games Makers’, to keep the show on the road from welcoming visitors to looking after catering and cleaning.

Some will get to meet famous athletes such as Usain Bolt or Rafa Nadal, others will be working on the opening and closing ceremonies. Still more will be working long hours away from the competition ven-

out to schools in the capital that have signed up for the ‘Get Set’ programme by Dec. 16.

How those tickets are then distributed to the children will be up to the schools, although it is a pretty safe bet to assume there will be rewards for academic achievement, athletic endeavour and general attitude.

If all else fails, there will be the individual countries’ hospitality houses: the Alexandra Palace in the case of the Dutch and beer sponsor Heineken, and Live Sites across London where fans can enjoy the action in a party atmosphere. “These are going to be fantastic,” Johnson told Reuters with typically boyish enthusiasm. “(They are) venues where you are going to be able to watch in real time, with huge screens, share in the Olympic atmosphere and listen to the commentary and enjoy it almost as though you are actually there.

“There really will be a big opportunity for Londoners who want to share in the atmosphere of the Games, who can’t get into the (Olympic) Park, to go to a live site.”—Reuters

Short rations and long friendships in London

PORTRUSH: A Police Service of Northern Ireland Officer poses for a photograph with Northern Ireland’s Darren Clarke, as he signs autographs for fans as he arrives back at his home club. —AP

LONDON: With a year to go until the opening ceremony, the 2012 Olympics are a constant presence in Britain: construction work is in full swing, warm-up events are under way and the distribution of tickets is one of the biggest media stories of the year.

The preparations are in stark contrast to the last time London hosted the Games in 1948 amid the economic hardship, rationing and general gloom of post-war Britain.

London was originally scheduled to host the 1944 Games but they, along with those of 1940 in Tokyo - which were briefly switched to Helsinki - were cancelled because of World War Two. With vast swathes of the city still a rubblestrewn bomb site, the entire nation desperately short of food and money and in the wake of one of the worst winters on record, London took on the 1948 burden and, with a predominantly volunteer organising committee, somehow planned and executed the Games in a little over 18 months.

“The social and economic condition of postwar Britain was enough to make any planner of an Olympic extravaganza give up in despair,” said author Janie Hampton in her excellent 2008 book “The Austerity Olympics”. “(Yet) the 1948 Games were a true celebration of victory after dark times and one of the most inexpensive and unpretentious Olympiads of the 20th Century.”

The 1948 Games cost a total of 732,268 pounds, around 20 million pounds ($32 million) at today’s rates, and made a post-tax profit of 9,000 pounds. Viewed alongside the nine billion pounds total outlay for the 2012 Games, some of the figures from the meticulous balance sheet of 1948 make fascinating reading.

A mere 78,120 pounds was spent polishing up Wembley Stadium and the other venues, just 3,638 pounds went on “entertainment and hospitality”, while office furniture cost 405 pounds.

Competitors were provided with bed linen but were expected to bring their own towels - or hire them upon arrival.

British athletes had to buy or make their own shorts -though every man in the team was provided with one free pair of underpants courtesy of a local outfitter. Ticket prices ranged from two shillings (around seven pounds today) for some of the more obscure events and venues to 10 times that for the rowing at Henley.

Although the Games of 1932 in Los Angeles and 1936 in Berlin had provided purpose-built athletes’ villages, that was never going to happen in a city where every available builder and piece of material was still being directed towards replacing the hundreds of thousands of buildings destroyed in the Blitz.

Instead, the athletes were dotted around the capital in accommodation varying widely in type and condition. Richmond Park, on the route for the 2012 cycling road race, still boasted a huge pre-war army camp of wooden huts and that became home to more than 2,000 competitors of various nationalities.

Among the 30-odd venues were hostels, military barracks and schools, where desks were simply replaced with beds.

The British women’s swimming team were housed on the eighth floor of an office block with a broken lift. However men and women who had lived through the deprivation of the war years, many of whom had seen active service, were not about to complain about the comfort of the bedding. —Reuters

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WEDNESDAY, JULY 20, 2011

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Chile’s Livingstone reflects on long Copa career MENDOZA: When Sergio Livingstone says that the current Chile side is the best he has ever seen, it is quite a claim.

At the age of 91 and having worked in football all his life, he has seen a few.

Livingstone was Chile’s goalkeeper in the 1940s and 1950s. He appeared in six Copas Americas, playing 34 times - a record that stands to this day.

He also played at the 1950 World Cup in Brazil, captaining Chile against England in Rio de Janeiro’s newly inaugurated Maracana stadium.

“We lost 2-0. (Wilf ) Mannion and (Stan) Mortensen were the scorers,” Livingstone, with a razor-sharp memory that belies his years, recalls of the game that marked England’s World Cup debut. “It was a great England team.

They had a fine goalkeeper, Bert Williams, and Billy Wright was their captain.”

Six decades later and despite his

age, Livingstone works as a lively and perceptive pundit for Chilean state broadcaster TVN. He still goes to all Chile’s matches.

When he arrived at the stadium for their game against Peru last week, white haired and walking with the aid of a crutch, he was given a standing ovation by the Chilean fans.

More than 70 years have passed since Livingstone made his Copa America debut on home soil in 1941.

“There was no television, people didn’t have cars and they took the bus to the stadium,” he told Reuters in an interview at TVN’s Copa America studios in Mendoza. “There were no perimeter fences in the ground, and it filled up very early. There wasn’t much else to do in those days.”

Livingstone played in Copas in Brazil, Ecuador, Peru and Uruguay between 1942 and 1953 but he missed the 1946

edition in Argentina.

“In December 1945 I injured my knee,” he recalled. “The Copa started in January 1946 and I had to skip it. It’s the knee that still gives me problems today.”

Perhaps unsurprisingly, he regards the Brazil side of 1970 as the best he has ever seen, although he rates Argentine-born Alfredo Di Stefano above Pele.

“Di Stefano was a tremendous player, although of course he played before the television era and he never played at a World Cup,” said Livingstone, who played (and conceded a goal) against Di Stefano in a 1-1 draw at the 1947 Copa America in Ecuador.

The grandson of Scottish immigrants, Livingstone remembers watching his father, John Henry Livingstone, play for Santiago National, a nowextinct founding member of the

Chilean football league.

“He was a player and a journalist, he organised boxing bouts and swimming galas and he even went to the (1928) Olympics in Amsterdam as an official observer,” he said.

Courteous and articulate, Livingstone is happy to talk about his past, but his eyes really light up when he talks about the current Chile side.

“This is THE Chilean side for me. I’ve seen many, some good, some bad, some that have finished as runners-up, some that have almost won the Copa, but in terms of their football, their mentality, their intelligence, I’ve never seen a Chile team like this before.”

Despite having witnessed over 30 Copas Americas as a player, fan and journalist, Livingstone has never seen Chile win it. They have finished as runners-up four times.

This time, they reached the quarter-

finals then fell to Venezuela 2-1 on Sunday, in line with Livingstone’s pessimistic prediction.

“I’m always very sceptical, almost negative,” he said before the game in San Juan. “I’m not like the youngsters who say ‘We’re going to win 4-0’. People are dreamers, and I don’t dream.

“It would be great if they won the Copa America but I’m always fearful - of football, the future, the reality of life, the hard knocks that sport can sometimes give you.”

Now that the Copa is over for them, Chile’s next big target will be the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, where Livingstone played against the English all those years ago.

Will he make the return journey? “By 2014 I’ll be six feet under, looking at the plants from down below,” he said with a chuckle. “It’s not a date I’m thinking about.” —Reuters

Uruguay’s keyword: ‘caution’ for semi

TOKYO: Japanese women’s national soccer team coach Norio Sasaki (center) holding the World Cup trophy, poses with team players including captain Homare Sawa (third right bottom) and Aya Miyama (third left bottom) during a press conference. —AP

Japan’s WCup winners get rock star treatment TOKYO: Japan gave its women’s soccer team the rock star treatment yesterday on their return from an astonishing World Cup triumph in Germany.

Unused to the fanfare, the players filed quietly through the airport arrivals lobby in Tokyo, squinting as hundreds of excited fans snapped away with cameras.

“It hadn’t sunk in that we’d won the World Cup until we landed at Narita airport,” Japan captain Homare Sawa, the tournament’s MVP and leading scorer, told reporters.

“I’d never seen so many people come to greet us,” added the talismanic leader of Japan’s “Nadeshiko”-named after a type of frilly pink carnation, symbolising grace and stoicism. “It was amazing.”

Japan’s world-beating women then faced a media crush of around 300 reporters, the World Cup, Sawa’s MVP and Golden Ball and the Fair Play trophy gleaming in front of them.

Winners of Asia’s first world soccer title at any level, the occasion got to many of the players who had shocked the United States on penalties in Sunday’s final in Frankfurt.

Even Sawa, the scorer of 80 goals in 173 internationals, fluffed her lines, sitting down before being told and jumping to her feet, covering her mouth with her hands in embarrassment.

“I heard a rumour there would be a lot of people but this is like an event for the men’s team,” said coach Norio Sasaki. “It’s a new piece of history for the Nadeshiko.”

Showing few signs of fatigue after their dream run in Germany and long flight home, Sasaki and his players paid their respects to

the victims of the deadly tsunami in March.

“Hopefully we were able to give an emotional boost to the victims of disaster,” he said. “But it doesn’t stop here for us and we must qualify for next year’s London Olympics first.”

Japan stunned hosts and holders Germany in the quarter-finals before upsetting Sweden to set up a final against the powerful Americans.

Sawa said a 2-0 defeat by England in the group stage had provided Japan with the wake-up call they needed. “Losing to England was the turning point,” said the veteran of five World Cups. “It forced up to think what we needed to fix in order to beat Germany and Sweden.

“We felt the incredible support from Japan and we also wanted to give some power and courage and energy to the people suffering after the disaster.”

Sawa said Japan’s women would not rest on their laurels. “There is an amazing spirit and solidarity in this team,” she said. “We have never won an Olympic title so that is our next goal.” Sasaki said he hoped the team would be an inspiration for those still struggling to come to terms with the earthquake and tsunami.

“When Sawa scored to get us to penalties, I was grinning from ear to ear and wanted to crack a joke but I had to bite my tongue and decide the order of kickers,” he said. “Sawa just said, ‘I’m not taking one!’ and that made everyone laugh. We proved women’s soccer has the power to move people. I hope it encourages people to be just like our Nadeshiko.” —Reuters

Blackburn postpone India trip LONDON: Blackburn Rovers have postponed this week’s pre-season trip to India following the deadly attacks in Mumbai which claimed the lives of 20 people, the club confirmed yesterday.

The Indian-owned Premier League outfit said they would reschedule the trip, which was to include a friendly match in Pune on Friday, for some time later this year in light of the violence in Mumbai.

“The trip is not cancelled it is postponed to another date because of the activity out there,” manager Steve Kean said.

“The board had a meeting with the owners and spoke and decided we had to go through a number of different checks and that trip will now take place at the beginning of October.”

Kean denied the decision to postpone the trip was the result of opposition from members of the Rovers squad.

“The players are looking for guidance and as long as everything was explained to them they were fine as a group,” he said. “I think the owners would have been disappointed if it was totally finished but the fact it has been put back a couple of weeks softens the disappointment.”

Black burn, who were bought by Indian poultr y giant Venk y ’s in November, would have become the first

Premier League team ever to play in India when they faced Pune Football Club.

The English club also recently announced they were planning to establish a youth academy near Pune, 100 kilometres (60 miles) from Mumbai.

A statement from Blackburn and the club’s owners said the attacks in Mumbai had left them with “no option.”

“Safety is always our top priority and after detailed discussions with our security and legal advisors we have been left with no option other than to postpone,” the statement said.

“While everyone is obviously disappointed, we all accept the circumstances and the reasoning. We are now looking forward to the trip to India in a few weeks club.”—AFP

Matches on TV (Local Timings)

COPA AMERICA (THURSDAY) Paraguay v Venezuela Al Jazeera Sport +2 Al Jazeera Sport +3 Al Jazeera Sport 1 HD

3:45

BUENOS AIRES: Sights set on a record 15th Copa America title, Uruguay do not want to be considered favourites when they meet Peru in an unexpected semi-final in La Plata on Tuesday (0045 GMT Wednesday).

In quar ter-final upsets, Uruguay eliminated Lionel Messi’s Argentina on penalties while Peru beat fancied Colombia 2-0 after extra time.

“I don’t want to talk about favourites, we’ve got it wrong ever y time,” Uruguay ’s coach Oscar Tabarez said on Monday.

“Any of the four teams that are in the semi-finals have a chance of snatching the title. Paraguay, Peru and Venezuela are not going to say: ‘That’s it, we’ve got this

far’,” he told a news conference.

“In this tournament, (Peru) are one of the four best teams in South America. Their evolution is evident. We’re going to try to mark them well, we won’t go out to expose ourselves as we did in the first match. We don’t believe ourselves to be superior.”

Uruguay and Peru drew 1-1 in the opening match in Group C in San Juan two weeks ago, with the World Cup semi-finalists salvaging a draw after falling behind to a goal by Paolo Guerrero.

In a tournament of generally tight results, Uruguay’s only victory was 1-0 against Mexico, while Peru lost to Chile and finished third in the group before upset-

ting Colombia 2-0 in their quarter-final in Cordoba on Saturday.

Tabarez said he would prefer to be able to attack constantly like Argentina and Brazil rather than wait for them and hit on the break.

“If we compare ourselves with Argentina they ought to rout us every time and that’s not the case. We have to think about what we’ve got and not in what we lack,” he said.

Tabarez will pit his wits against equally experienced fellow Uruguayan Sergio Markarian, at 66 two years his senior, whose work at Peru’s helm has already born early fruit despite being deprived of leading players due to injuries.

Uruguay have forward Edinson Cavani still in doubt after he missed the quarter-final through injury and holding midfielder Diego Perez, who scored against Argentina but was later sent off, is suspended but centre -back Sebastian Coates returns from suspension.

In today ’s semi-final in Mendoza, Paraguay, who have drawn their four matches and eliminated Brazil on penalties, meet surprise package Venezuela, who had never before progressed so far.

The teams shared a thrilling 33 draw in their final qualifying match with two goals in the dying minutes leaving Venezuela top of their group. —Reuters

Venezuela’s dream is on

KUALA LUMPUR: Chelsea FC players John Terry (right) and Frank Lampard (second from right) jog with teammates during a training session ahead of tomorrow’s friendly soccer match against Malaysia as part of Asia tour. —AP

Locals cool on Messi in superstar’s heartland ROSARIO: Hours after Argentina’s national side slid out to neighbors Uruguay at the Copa America, Lionel Messi headed back almost unnoticed to his home town of Rosario.

Despite his being the world footballer of the year, it was a low-key homecoming for the Barcelona man-but that was for the better, particularly after another unspectacular showing in the national shirt.

In truth, locals hardly seemed to notice the whole event after the Argentine Football Association decided it should pass them by. A handful of youngsters, sporting Brazil starlet Neymar’s spectacularly spiky haircut, possibly had an inkling, but most locals seemed more interested in queuing up to see the final Harry Potter movie.

Retail outlet Jose’s Bridal Wear did make a little concession to the event’s existence, draping an Argentinian flag among silken wedding gowns.

Organisers decided that the Copa should go on the road, with only the July 24 final to be played in the capital Buenos Aires.

Yet while the albiceleste appeared at La Plata near the capital, as well as the provincial towns of Santa Fe and Cordoba, they shunned the one place where the neutral might expect support to be at its most raucous-Messi’s old haunt, Rosario.

It was in this city four hours north-west of Buenos Aires that Argentina laid the foundations for their first World Cup triumph in 1978, playing the second phase there.

But with local politicians at La Plata having had a new stadium constructed less than a decade ago, that venue made the cut and Rosario missed out. Strangely, to the outside observer, local fans seemed unconcerned about not seeing Messi.

The 24-year-old left for Barcelona as a young teen and a straw poll of residents gave credence to the view that he may be the

world’s best player, but he is not really one of theirs. “Well he never played for Rosario, did he? I mean we see all the goals he scored for Barcelona, but when does he score for Argentina? Sergio Aguero and Angel Di Maria did most of the scoring,” complained Aline, a young woman selling leather goods and metal straws through which locals sip mate tea.

But is Messi not a local boy made good?

“Well I see they just put up a statue to Riquelme at Boca Juniors. But he’s identified with Boca,” replied Aline.

“Messi we don’t really identify with Rosario-he never played for them. They couldn’t afford the treatment,” she stressed, referring to the treatment Messi required for stunted growth as a boy.

Barca footed the bill and the rest is history.

“This is more a city for art and culture. I mean we have statues-to (musicians) Fitor Paez and Juan Carlos Baglieto, writer Fontana Rosa.

“But one for Messi? I don’t see that-or even one for (Diego) Maradona.” One who does make it into Rosario’s statue hall of fame is another former resident who left as a youngster and whose face is at least as recognisable as Messi’s-revolutionary Che Guevara, who left as a child in a bid to cure his asthma.

Copa America organising committee chairman Luis Meiszner suggests Messi “is a sportsman who has triumphed abroad and is not (properly) recognised in his own country,” while local journalist Lalo Falcioni told AFP: “Messi is not identified with the city.”

Argentina could have done with much more of his star quality as they look back on another failed attempt to end an 18-year trophy drought. But if you want magic in Rosario, forget Messi.

Better to head to the Monumental Cinema-ironic, when the Copa final will be played at Buenos Aires’ Monumental Stadium-for some of the Harry Potter variety. —AFP

BUENOS AIRES: Uruguay may be the favorites as the last big-name side left standing at a Copa America full of shocks - but there is little doubt which team is the people’s favorite among the final four.

Venezuela meet Paraguay in today’s second semifinal after Uruguay prepared to duel with Peru late yesterday. The Venezuelans, hailing from the Caribbean end of Latin America, should be fish out of water at an event taking place deep in Argentina’s chilly winter.

Yet they have warmed the hearts of tens of thousands of fans. The exception is the city of Mendoza, which stands to lose an estimated four million dollars in tourist receipts after 30,000 Chileans flooded over the border for the quarter-final only to see a different shade of red in the Vinotinto, who beat them 2-1.

“Now we have come so far we have to go one step further and reach the final,” said defender Oswaldo Vizcarrondo, whose goal against the Chileans helped to bring a famous victory and a first-ever semi, a step further than his side had managed on home soil four years ago. “It’s been a great experience and we are improving all the time,” he told reporters.

Venezuela coach Cesar Farias will have to rejig things a little against a Paraguayan side against whom they thrillingly came back from 3-1 down to draw in the group with creative midfielder Tomas Rincon suspended following his red card in the quarters.

But Farias is undaunted by that, insisting: “We have great faith. We have the chance to play the final if we can get through this one and we don’t feel inferior to anyone.

“We are unbeaten and have scored the most goals.”

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, keenly following his compatriot’s progress, is happy to pay Cesar his due.

“Cesar knows what he is doing. Applause for Cesar Farias and the Vinotinto,” enthused Chavez on his Twitter feed as he prepares to undergo chemotherapy in Cuba, clearly seeing the team’s performances as a something of a tonic.

Even after the opening group draw with Brazil, Farias had indicated the team would target a run to the final. Such has been Farias’ influence that Spanish daily El Mundo on Monday dubbed the 38-year-old “The Venezuelan Mourinho.”

Farias fell out with keeper Renny Vega after dropping the latter some time ago but the pair are now united in their desire to conjure the sporting earthquake that a Venezuelan Copa win would comprise.

“He’s key for us - he works very well,” says Vega.

Much could depend on how the underdogs compensate for the loss of the impressive Rincon with Luis Seijas and Giacomo Di Giorgi the mooted alternatives.

Paraguay, whose second and last title to date came in 1979, will see an omen in their favour in that both times they won international football’s oldest event they put out Brazil, as they did here in the quarters.

Coach Gerardo Martino knows his side should be favoured to reach Sunday’s trophy match in Buenos Aires but has wasted no time in eulogising today’s rivals.

“Venezuela will be a very tough opponent. They have come on so much in recent years,” Martino told a news conference in Buenos Aires.

“But we must not seek to improve ourselves by thinking about Venezuela but improve within ourselves if we are to achieve our dream of reaching Sunday’s final. —AFP

Bryant salutes Yao impact on China’s NBA dreams

Cubs defeat Phillies 6-1

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Uruguay’s keyword: ‘caution’ for Copa semi Page 19

SHANGHAI: Russia perform their routine in the synchronised swimming Technical Teams final at the FINA 2011 Swimming World Championships. —AP

Britain strike gold in China SHANGHAI: Olympic hosts Britain struck gold at the world aquatics championships yesterday as China bagged another two diving titles to stand just four away from sweeping all 10. Britain’s Keri-Anne Payne was overjoyed with her win in the women’s 10km open water event, which ratcheted up hopes she can improve on her 2008 Olympic silver medal at the London Games next year.

With the victory, ahead of Italy’s Martina Grimaldi and Marianna Lymperta of Greece, Payne became Team Britain’s first confirmed athlete for London 2012 with the top 10 finishers all gaining automatic entry.

“I really wish I could swear right now, but I’m not that kind of person,” said Payne. “To be on the Olympic team, and then it’s a home Olympics as well, I’m so absolutely pleased.” But it was China’s unstoppable divers who again snatched the spotlight when they added the women’s 1m springboard and men’s 3m synchro titles to take their total to six at the purpose-built Crescent Lagoon venue.

Olympic and world champion Qin Hai and partner Luo Yutong swept to victory in the men’s event, after Shi Tingmao led a Chinese one-two in the women’s competi-

tion-a supposed weak spot for the hosts.

Russia’s Ilya Zakharov and Evgeny Kuznetsov took silver and Yahel Castillo and Julian Sanchez of Mexico won bronze in the men’s 3m, as China’s challengers continued to come up short.

China’s Wang Han was second behind Shi in the women’s 1m, with Tania Cagnotto of Italy finishing in the bronze medal position. However, coach Zhou Jihong insisted China was not having an easy ride.

“We have grabbed all the gold medals so far, but the competition is really tough, especially in the men’s part,” he said. “Our opponents are hard to beat so we are not sure of a gold sweep at the beginning. We have to try our best in each dive. Even minor mistakes can cost the medals.”

In the championships’ first open water event, held under scorching sun at Jinshan City Beach, Payne broke ahead of the pack early and stayed there to win in 2hr 1min 58.1sec, 1.8 sec ahead of Grimaldi.

“Through the whole race I tried to make it as easy as I could so that I knew if anyone did attack, I still had a bit left in me,” said the Briton.

‘Phelps in a skirt’ SHANGHAI: Dubbed “Phelps in a skirt”, synchronised swimming icon Natalia Ishchenko is the undisputed queen of her sport but the Russian says her grace under pressure is all down to simple hard work. Ishchenko’s win in Monday’s duet technical routine gave the 25-year-old her 13th gold of a record-breaking world championships career, and she is not finished yet with more events to come in Shanghai.

On Sunday, the glamorous blonde stole the show at Shanghai’s Oriental Sports Centre as she earned a near-perfect score of 98.300 in the solo technical routine, claiming her third straight world title in the event. The superlative victory saw Ishchenko surpass compatriot Anastasia Davydova to become the world aquatics championships’ most successful synchronised swimmer since competition began nearly four decades ago in 1973.

“I have no secret to maintain the top position. The secret is our coach plus hard work,” said Ishchenko. “I like the sport. We will participate in the Olympic Games. We will work but we can’t say the goal.” Ishchenko, who started the sport at the tender age of five, won the first world championships golds of her stellar career in 2005 in Montreal, in the team event and the free routine combination. She followed that with four golds in Melbourne two years later, including in the solo and team technical routines.

In 2009 she won five golds, including one as a reserve in the duet technical routine, and shows no sign of letting her grip on the sport slip at the London Olympics.

Ishchenko also helped Russia win the team gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Monday’s victory in the duet technical routine, where Ishchenko took gold with partner Svetlana Romashina, meant Russia remain unbeaten in the event for the fifth consecutive edition of the worlds.

But despite her domination, Ishchenko brushed aside any thoughts that she was getting used to success. “Every medal for us is significant and in our heart we all have an ideal image and we always try to get better results and get closer to the ideal as possible,” she said. Ishchenko’s success shows that the Russians remain the team to beat in synchro despite the strength of the Spanish and the fast-rising Chinese. Synchro competition at the world championships is split into seven solo, duet and team events with a panel of 10 judges giving marks on technical merit and artistic impression. The synchro events in Shanghai run until Saturday. At the Olympic Games there are just two events-duet and team competitions.— AFP

Australian Melissa Gorman, Argentina’s Cecilia Biagioli, Brazil’s Poliana Okimoto, Czech Republic’s Jana Pechanova, Angela Maurer of Germany, Swiss Swann Oberson and Spain’s Erika Villaecija Garcia also won Olympic berths.

Natalie Du Toit of South Africa, who became the first female amputee to compete in an able-bodied Olympics in 2008, placed 39th. Du Toit, who has no lower left leg, finished in 2:08:27:1.

Meanwhile, Russia stayed unbeaten in the synchronised swimming competition when they claimed their third straight gold in the technical teams event, finishing ahead of China and Spain. On day four, China lead the medals table with their six diving golds, followed by Russia with their three titles in synchronised swimming.

Water polo competition is also under way at the 16-day, biennial championships, with the blue-riband pool swimming events kicking off on Sunday.

But the tournament is under a cloud with the Court of Arbitration for Sport due to announce this week whether it will impose a doping ban on Brazilian swim star Cesar Cielo, who tested positive for a banned diuretic. —AFP

Medals table SHANGHAI: World championship medals table after the fourth day of competition yesterday: China

6

5

0

11

Russia

3

1

0

4

Great Britain

1

0

0

1

Italy

0

1

1

2

Germany

0

1

2

3

Australia

0

1

1

2

Canada

0

1

0

1

Spain

0

0

3

3

Greece

0

0

1

1

Mexico

0

0

1

1

Ukraine

0

0

1

1

Hushovd clinches stage 16 GAP: Tour de France champion Alberto Contador relaunched his yellow jersey bid with an unexpected attack on the 16th stage of the race, won by Norwegian Thor Hushovd yesterday.

Hushovd, of Garmin-Cer velo, outsprinted Norwegian compatriot Edvald Boasson Hagen to take his second victory of the race after a rainy 162.5km ride over undulating terrain from Saint-Paul-Trois-Chateaux.

Frenchman Thomas Voeckler retained the race leader’s yellow jersey but the Europcar leader, like the Schleck brothers Andy and Frank, lost time to both Contador and Australian Cadel Evans in a thrilling finale.

Former two-time runner-up Evans finished 4min 23sec behind Hushovd to move one place up to second overall at 1:45 behind Voeckler.

Contador and fellow Spaniard Samuel Sanchez crossed the line three seconds later at 4:26, with Voeckler and Frank Schleck in a 14-man group which battled to finish 18sec later.

Andy Schleck, the runner-up in 2009 and 2010, struggled to follow wheels on the tricky 11km descent to the finish where he finished 5:32 adrift.

In the process Andy Schleck lost 1:09 to Evans and 1:06 to Contador. Frank Schleck dropped to third at 1:49 with younger brother Andy at 3:03. Sanchez, another beneficiary of Contador’s move, is fifth overall at 3:26 with Contador sixth at 3:42. Voeckler admitted Contador’s move, on a stage that had been labelled a ‘transition’ before three consecutive days in the Alps, had stunned everybody.

“It really surprised me he (Contador) attacked like that,” said the Frenchman. “Everyone was expecting him to wait for the big mountain passes in the Alps but he went for it on the Col de Manse. “The problem is, when Contador attacks it is usually pretty effective.”

Contador has been racing with a right knee injury, suffered in one of the several crashes which hampered his

FRANCE: Thor Hushovd of Norway crosses the finish line to win the 16th stage of the Tour de France cycling race. —AP first week on the race and forced him to change position on the bike to compensate for the pain.

But the Spaniard looked back to his attacking best when he seized the day on the 9km climb to the Col de Manse outside Gap, whose summit was 11 km from the finish.

After the Schlecks managed to ride back on to his wheel, Contador began the first of three further accelerations which ultimately took Evans and Sanchez with him, leaving the rest behind.

The trio crested the summit with a 20-sec lead on the Schlecks and Voeckler’s group and pushed on during the rain-hit descent, with time trial specialist Evans pulling away on his own in the final kilometres.

Until late last year both Schlecks raced under the wing of Bjarne Riis, who is the owner and manager of Contador’s Saxo Bank team. Frank Schleck said could only take his hat off to his former boss’s use of inside information. “We didn’t expect him (Contador) or any

of the other big favourites to do that. Bjarne knows we don’t like bad weather and that the descent would be quite tricky for us,” said Frank.

“Hats off to them. But it’s not a tragedy. We will stay focused on what we have to do and we’re looking forward to three days in the mountains.”

Riis said they would not stop attacking to close their deficit. “Alberto said he felt good and when he has good legs he has to try to close the gap,” said the Dane.

“We said this morning we have to attack if possible.”

Evans emerged unscathed from three stages in the Pyrenees and, if he limits the damage in the Alps, will be the man to beat in the penultimate stage time trial on Saturday.

His BMC boss John Lelangue warned, however: “We took time off the Schlecks and (Ivan) Basso, who I still rate as the big threats. “But we are not getting carried away. We will have a debriefing tonight then discuss tomorrow’s stage.” —AFP

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UAE June inflation at 6-month high on food

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ABK net profit rises by 8% to KD28.4m

KSE stocks pare losses

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GENEVA: United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon arrives with World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General Pascal Lamy (right) yesterday to deliver a speech at the third WTO review conference on the aid for trade process in Geneva. — AFP (See Page 26)

Shares rebound but debt fears persist Investors remain wary of pushing gains LONDON: Global shares recouped losses yesterday as investors bought up beaten-down stocks, but with Europe’s debt crisis still brewing and the US yet to sanction an increase in its debt ceiling, investors remain wary of pushing the gains too far.

After a hammering Monday that saw bank shares lead a global rout and investors flee to gold and other safe haven assets, markets staged a comeback yesterday. Oil prices and the euro jumped, too.

However, the factors that contributed to the previous day’s slump remain unchanged, including concern that Europe’s debt crisis could swallow Italy and Spain and that the US won’t raise its debt ceiling in time to avoid a default. Analysts warned that these will remain the predominant concern of investors.

“In spite of a positive opening call for European equities, we would advise caution,” said Neil MacKinnon, global macro strategist at VTB Capital. In Europe, the FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was up 0.7 percent at 5,793 while Germany’s DAX rose 1.3 percent to 7,197. The CAC-40 in France was 1.3 percent higher at 3,699.

In London, the market value of News Corp rose by around $1.5 billion while Rupert Murdoch and his son were being grilled by a British Parliamentary committee over phone hacking at the News of the World tabloid. The stock was trading 3.8 percent higher at $15.54.

Wall Street also rallied at the open, aided by the release of strong home construction figures. The Dow Jones industrial average surged 1 percent at 12,510 while the broader

Standard & Poor’s 500 futures rose 1 percent to 1,318.

The main point of interest this week will likely be Thursday’s meeting of European Union leaders in Brussels.

They are due to discuss a second bailout package for Greece, which relies on such lifelines to meet its obligations. Just two days ahead of the meeting, it remains unclear whether a mechanism whereby Greece avoids a default will be clinched. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said yesterday that the meeting would not yield a quick and comprehensive solution to crisis.

One key concern is if the credit rating agencies say Greece is in default following the bailout package, which could create new market instability. The European Central Bank, for

NBK ECONOMIC REPORT

Kuwait May inflation at 5.4% Food still the source of upward pressure KUWAIT: Kuwait’s Consumer Price Inflation gained 0.3% month on month in May and was 5.4% year on year (y/y). Pressure should abate ahead and inflation should average 4.7% for this year.

Food prices are still on the rise as they continue to be the driving force behind inflationary pressure. These prices should start to subdue in 2H2011. Pressure from international food prices is subsiding, along with other commodity prices. We expect this will translate to lower pressure on consumer food prices within the next two quarters.

Within the food component, one primary source of pressure is meat, poultry, and fish. This subcategory by itself contributes 5.7% to the Consumer Price Index and makes up almost a third of the Food component. It was up 9.2% y/y in May. The second source of pressure in food is fruits and

vegetables. These make up 4.1% of CPI and 22.6% of the food component. Inflation in this area is currently at 21.3%, off its high of 24.6% in November 2010. This fast rate was of course another source of pressure on food prices.

Long-term inflation is not a source of concern as core-inflation components (consumer goods and services, transportation, housing, etc...) are all already showing a slight downward move, which should continue for the rest of the year. In fact, across all non-food CPI components (core), all rates were down compared to 1Q2011; the only component to show a slight increase was transportation. Core inflation (which excludes food) is only 3.7% y/y versus 5.4% for overall CPI. With food and other commodities prices coming off their first quarter highs, we estimate overall CPI inflation will average 4.7% for 2011 and 4.4% for 2012.

Kuwait extends time for investment funds DUBAI: Kuwait’s newly formed regulator Capital Markets Authority (CMA) has given investment funds until March 2012 to sort out their ownership in financial securities, the state news agency said.

According to the CMA bylaws, which came into effect in March but still not fully implemented, an investment fund cannot own more than ten percent in a single security. “The CMA’s decision comes from its responsibility towards national economy and after following economic developments and the situation of Kuwait’s stock market,” KUNA cited a CMA statement late on Monday.

Kuwait’s benchmark which fell 1.6 percent on Monday after comments by the central bank governor, has been roiled by investor concerns of new regulations proposed by the market watchdog.

The Gulf state is home to a large number of investment firms which have been hard hit by the global financial crisis.Sheikh Salem Abdul-Aziz Al-Sabah, the OPEC member’s central bank governor was quoted by KUNA saying that the country’s economy is undergoing imbalances which needed to be corrected, but did not give more details. — Reuters

example, has warned it won’t accept Athens’ bonds as collateral for the money it loans to Greek banks. That would mean Greek banks would need to find another source of funding.

Germany, the EU’s biggest economy, wants private bondholders to absorb some losses on Greek bonds - which the agencies have previously stated would likely constitute a default.

The euro has largely managed to withstand pressures of a potential Greek default in recent weeks, and was trading 0.5 percent higher at $1.4196.

Markets are also keeping a close watch on developments in the US, where lawmakers are wrangling over raising the debt ceiling, which caps the amount of government borrowing.

The limit must be raised by Aug. 2, or Washington could be forced to choose who to

pay back and who to stiff - in other words, to default. Observers say that politicians are using the debate to grandstand ahead of 2012 elections and are unlikely to actually let the date pass without raising the ceiling, but the dithering is killing investor confidence. “ There has not been a sincere change overnight in sentiment toward the debt issues suffered in the eurozone and the United States,” said Giles Watts, the head of equities at CityIndex. “Investors remain uneasy about the situation as a whole.”

Upbeat housing starts - June saw a 14.6 percent increase from May - helped support sentiment, though analysts warned the increase was unlikely to be sustained if the economy didn’t add jobs. June’s employment figures were dismal. — AP

India reveals world’s ‘largest’ uranium discovery NEW DELHI: A new mine in south India could contain the largest reserves of uranium in the world, a government official said in remarks reported yesterday, signalling a major boost for the energy-hungry nation.

The Tumalapalli mine in Andhra Pradesh state could provide up to 150,000 tons of uranium, Srikumar Banerjee, secretary of the Department of Atomic Energy, told reporters after a four-year survey of the site was completed.

“It’s confirmed that the mine has 49,000 tons of ore, and there are indications that the total quantity could be three times that amount,” Banerjee was quoted as saying in The Times of India.

“If that be the case, it will become the largest uranium mine in the world,” he said. Previous estimates suggested that only about 15,000 tons of uranium would be produced at the mine, which is due to start operating by the end of the year. S K Malhotra, spokesman for the Department of Atomic Energy, told AFP that experts at the Tumalapalli mine were “quite hopeful” that the eventual volume from the mine would reach 150,000 tons.

But he warned that “it is not highgrade uranium, it is low-grade uranium. We have not found any highgrade uranium in India to match that found in Australia.” Major exporter Australia has so far rebuffed Indian requests for supplies of the heavy

metal, which is refined into nuclear fuel, because the country has not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The government has been seeking new supplies of uranium worldwide and has concluded supply deals with France, Kazakhstan and Russia among others. “The new findings would only augment the indigenous supply of uranium. There would still be a significant gap. We would still have to import,” Banerjee was quoted as saying by The Hindu newspaper.

India’s fast-growing economy is heavily dependent on coal, getting

less than three percent of its energy from atomic power. It hopes to raise the figure to 25 percent by 2050.

“This find is significant as India expands its nuclear program,” Robert Vance, an analyst from the Paris-based Nuclear Energy Agency, told AFP. “It could more than double the total uranium deposits in the entire country.”

But he questioned claims that Tumalapalli may become the world’s largest uranium mine, pointing to the Olympic Dam site in Australia and the McAr thur River deposit in Canada. —AFP

JATIPUR, India: Police officers guard the proposed site of the Nuclear Power Project near Jaitapur, some 400 kilometres (250 miles) south of Mumbai. A new mine in south India could contain the largest reserves of uranium in the world, a government official said in remarks reported yesterday. — AFP

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UAE June inflation at 6-month high on food Housing component helps curb price spiral

Cisco, CDN hold event on video securities in Kuwait Cisco Systems and its partner Computer Data Networks (CDN) delivered event “Cisco and CDN- physical security and Digital Media Signage (DMS) Event” in Kuwait at the JW Marriott last month.

The event was about the Video technologies from Cisco supported by CDN in the Gulf market .

Maher Salameh (Territory Business Manager - Cisco Kuwait) said “We are doing this event in order to inform our customers about the benefits of Cisco solutions in physical security and DMS. Historically video surveillance, access control, etc... have never run on IP networks, but now with Cisco in the game, the convergence for a complete physical security over IP networks is now a reality.

Example: you can view the feed of your security camera in your house on your iPhone while roaming, not only that, an automatic alarm can be triggered just by our software analyzing surveillance video in real time thus improving incident response.

Another example: Educational institutions can better protect their students and assets, and respond effectively in emergencies. Using open standards and the Cisco end-to-end network as the platform, Cisco Physical Security solutions offer excellent scalability, reliability, and availability.

Cisco Physical Security software and hardware facilitates the capture, transmission, viewing, recording, archiving, and management of analog and IP video sources and provides electronic access

control.” Hossam Elbajoury (Business Development Manager) from Cisco delivered a presentations about Cisco Incident Response System using Physical Security technologies integrated together using IP based Surveillance Systems, IP based Access Control and IP based Radio Response Systems.

CDN demonstrated great live demo of the integration of the Cisco Physical Security using High Definition Cisco Cameras, Monitoring Systems and Door IP Gateways in addition to Video Analytics which can detect incidents using Cisco Cameras. The customer feedback was great and loved the idea of integration of different technologies from Cisco. The live demo demonstrated that Cisco is a market leader in Video and Physical Security and the great technical skills of CDN in Security Systems.

As well this event featured a live demo of Cisco Digital Signage and IPTV. Digital Signage is very much a “visual” sale and customers saw a varied mix of content highlighting different use cases for education, retail, and banking environments.

Content was presented in a variety of different media formats including High Definition and Standard Definition Video, Flash, JPEG, MP3 Audio, and XML based content.

Customer response was very positive with many commenting that the demo helped them appreciate how digital signage could be used and created an understanding that Cisco Systems were a leader in this space.

Maher Salameh during the presentation

DUBAI: Annual inflation in the United Arab Emirates soared to 1.7 percent in June as food prices hit a nine-month high, official data showed yesterday, but the housing component helped contain price pressures.

On the month, living costs rose to an eightmonth high of 0.4 percent in June, after a 0.2 percent rise in May, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed.

Consumer price growth in the world’s third-largest oil exporter hovered close to 1 percent for most of 2010 as the debt woes of Dubai state-owned companies depressed bank lending and the once-booming property sector remained weak.

“I would assume that inflation continues to rise, driven by food prices and the transport category,” said Giyas Gokkent, chief economist at the National Bank of Abu Dhabi.

Inflation in the OPEC member climbed to a three-month high of 1.4 percent on an annual

basis in May. Food costs, which account for 14 percent of the basket, soared by 1.4 percent month-on-month in June, after increasing by 1.3 percent in the previous month.

The UAE has escaped the public protests that have rocked autocratic regimes in nearby Bahrain, Oman and Yemen. It has however pledged to spend $1.6 billion in its less-developed northern emirates, introduced bread and rice subsidies and hiked military pensions, among other measures.

It has also called on retailers to offer discounts of up to 50 percent in the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which begins in August, when food prices usually surge as families enjoy more elaborate evening meals after the daylight fasting.

Housing prices, the largest basket item with a 39 percent share, increased by 0.2 percent on a monthly basis in June after declining for six consecutive months as the property

sector remains weak. “The rent factor is acting as a moderating element in the CPI because of additional supply coming on stream both in Dubai and Abu Dhabi,” Gokkent said.

Oversupply continues to hurt the country’s property market with 18,000 new homes expected to hit Dubai’s market by the end of the year and rents in Abu Dhabi dropping 9 percent in the second quarter, reports showed.

Transport costs were unchanged monthon-month in June after edging up 0.1 percent in May. Analysts polled by Reuters in June expect average inflation in the UAE to reach 2.5 percent in 2011.

I n March, the Gulf countr y ’s central bank governor said inflation was not a worry, adding that consumer price growth should range around very low single-digit rates. — Reuters

Gulf Bank hands over keys to KOC draw winner Brand new Yukon presented to Kallankara Jayakumar

Actress Konkona Sen Sharma interacting with Jet Airways’ young guests at the airline’s JetSpark Event, at the Jet Airways Hangar.

Jet Airways takes young JetPrivilege members on an educational journey MUMBAI: Jet Airways, India’s premier international airline, conducted an educational excursion of Jet Airways’ aircraft maintenance hangar, near the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, Santacruz for its young JetPrivilege members aged between 12 to 21 years.

JetSpark is a unique initiative by the airline to connect with and build long-term relationships with its young guests between the age group of 2 - 21 years.

Through this dedicated forum, Jet Air ways plans to engage its young guests through exclusive events, offers and customized promotions, to ensure that the airline emerges as the definitive choice for these future flyers.

JetSpark had hosted a similar event last year for its young JetPrivilege members aged between 12 to 18 years at the hangar.

The young travelers during their half day visit were given an education on the many facets of airline maintenance and operations. The young members were given an opportunity to explore a Boeing 737 aircraft parked in the airline’s hangar.

Sixty enthusiastic participants spent hours in admiration of the Boeing 737700 aircraft, learning and understanding the working of the aircraft. The young

guests were also shown the interior of the Jet Airways’ aircraft, cockpit and the cargo hold.

These JetPrivilege members participated in quiz contests and interacted with Jet Airways Flight Engineers and Cabin Crew. They were also shown videos as to how an aircraft is assembled, besides take offs and landings of planes.

Later the children were taken for a visit to the engine, structure, brake and wheel and seat shops. Here they also witnessed the actual take offs and landings of various aircraft. Attended by the young JetPrivilege members, the educational excursion by the engineers provided them with rich insights into maintenance and operations.

Sudheer Raghavan, Chief Commercial Officer, Jet Airways, said, “JetSpark is truly a one of its kind property created with the specific intention of nurturing a strong bond with our future flyers by being an integral part of their formative years. We are especially happy to offer our young Jet Privilege members this unique opportunity to experience firsthand a comprehensive maintenance operation, which should give them some in-depth understanding of how the airline operates.

KUWAIT: The winner of Gulf Bank’s Second Quarterly KOC draw, Kallankara Jayakumar, was presented with the keys to his brand new GMC Yukon by Yaser Sulaiman, Executive Manager, Consumer Banking Group.

Gulf Bank’s Quarterly Prize Draw for a brand new GMC Yukon is part of the benefits offered in the KOC salary package. The KOC salary package is a specially designed banking package for KOC staff members. All KOC staff that transfer their salaries and have a valid Gulf Bank credit card are eligible to enter the quarterly draw.

Kallankara Jayakumar was congratulated by Gulf Bank’s KOC branch Operations Manager, Zeinab Jarrad and Executive Manager, Consumer Banking Group, Yaser Sulaiman. While receiving the keys to his new Yukon, Jayakumar said, “I’d like to thank Gulf Bank for this generous prize. Gulf Bank has demonstrated that their customer service and opportunities are in a league of its own. Having a Gulf Bank branch at KOC is also very convenient. This is great timing as I just got my license and now I have a car!.”

Gulf Bank offers a full banking service to KOC employees at its KOC branch and invites all KOC staff members to visit the branch to find out more about current and upcoming offers and services.

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 .4390000 .3860000 .3330000 .2840000 .2890000 .0040000 .0020000 .0742660 .7235520 .3810000 .0700000 .7093110 .0040000 .0430000 CUSTOMER TRANSFER RATES .2735500 .4414140 .3871550 .3355620 .2868450 .0519080 .0421960 .2912350 .0350960 .2243500 .0034570 .0000000 .0000000 .0000000 .0000000 .0745060 .7258860 .0000000 .0729660 .7107960 .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

Al-Muzaini Exchange Co.

Japanese Yen Indian Rupees Pakistani Rupees Srilankan Rupees Nepali Rupees Singapore Dollar Hongkong Dollar Bangladesh Taka

ASIAN COUNTRIES 3.504 6.171 3.191 2.508 3.870 226.700 35.300 3.674

.2765000 .4590000 .3850000 .3450000 .2950000 .3010000 .0072500 .0035000 .0750120 .7308240 .4010000 .0770000 .7164400 .0072000 .0530000 .2756500 .4448030 .3901270 .3381380 .2890470 .0523060 .0425200 .2934710 .0353660 .2260720 .0034840 .0062290 .0025230 .0032150 .0037120 .0750780 .7314580 .3898870 .0735260 .7162530 .0064710

Philippine Peso Thai Baht Irani Riyal - Transfer Irani Riyal - Cash

6.400 9.194 0.271 0.273 GCC COUNTRIES 73.389 75.618 714.820 730.970 74.939

Saudi Riyal Qatari Riyal Omani Riyal Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham Egyptian Pound - Cash Egyptian Pound - Transfer Yemen Riyal Tunisian Dinar Jordanian Dinar Lebanese Lira Syrian Lier Morocco Dirham

ARAB COUNTRIES 48.750 46.153 1.259 199.930 388.640 183.400 5.941 35.045

EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIES US Dollar Transfer 275.100 Euro 389.820 Sterling Pound 443.600 Canadian dollar 288.970 Turkish lire 166.320 Swiss Franc 336.720 Australian dollar 292.490 US Dollar Buying 274.750

Sterling Pound US Dollar

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 295.700 731.250 3.920 290.500 540.100 36.600 53.400 167.800 48.220 392.000 36.020 6.510

SELL DRAFT 294.200 731.250 3.678 289.000

227.000 46.196 390.500 35.870 6.175

0.033 0.240 0.240 3.570 390.360 0.186 94.550 47.400 4.310 236.200 1.864 52.700 714.190 3.300 6.600 76.070 73.410 226.970 42.560 2.644 446.500 45.100 339.800 5.600 9.480 198.263 74.970 275.300 1.200

0.033

388.620 0.185 94.550 3.880 234.700

338.300 5.600 9.330 74.870 274.900

TRAVELLER’S CHEQUE 444.500 274.900

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

Selling Rate 274.700 290.135 444.335 391.130 338.355 727.421 74.767 75.403 73.215 386.672 46.162 2.503 6.175

Pakistani Rupees Bangladesh Taka Philippines Pesso Cyprus pound Japanese Yen Thai Bhat Syrian Pound Nepalese Rupees Malaysian Ringgit

3.202 3.676 6.391 673.812 3.570 9.220 5.776 3.945 91.245

Kuwait Bahrain Intl Exchange Co. 714.010 3.210 6.415 75.640 73.410 226.970 42.560 2.507 444.500

GOLD 1,649.240

10 Tola

GOLD 295.000 149.000 77.000

20 Gram 10 Gram 5 Gram

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

Currency US Dollar Pak Rupees Indian Rupees Sri Lankan Rupees Bangladesh Taka Philippines Peso UAE Dirhams Saudi Riyals Bahraini Dinars Egyptian Pounds Pound Sterling Indonesian Rupiah Nepali rupee Yemeni Riyal Jordanian Dinars Syrian Pounds Euro Canadian Dollars

Rate per 1000 (Tran) 274.900 3.205 6.185 2.525 3.685 6.440 74.950 73.495 730.900 46.165 447.900 0.00003280 3.910 1.550 390.600 5.750 393.100 293.700

Al Mulla Exchange Currency Transfer Rate (Per 1000) US Dollar 274.600 Euro 391.400 Pound Sterling 445.000 Canadian Dollar 288.500 Japanese Yen 3.495 Indian Rupee 6.178 Egyptian Pound 46.150 Sri Lankan Rupee 2.507 Bangladesh Taka 3.668 Philippines Peso 6.396 Pakistan Rupee 3.196 Bahraini Dinar 731.000 UAE Dirham 74.825 Saudi Riyal 73.350 *Rates are subject to change

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First-ever Porsche ‘Test Run’ event in Kuwait Porsche Centre Kuwait shows the best of Porsche performance features KUWAIT: Porsche Centre Kuwait, Behbehani Motors Company, organized a special Test Run event on the 15th and 16th of July at the Mishref International Fair Ground. More than thirty Al Corniche Club members, who were invited to participate in this special offer, received an individual driving session with a certified instructor on a specially prepared track. Guests had the unique opportunity to experi-

ence the various performance, safety and comfort features of Porsche sports cars, including Boxster, Cayman and the legendary 911 Carrera. On each of the two event days the best driver received a ceremonial voucher to be exchanged for an item from the wide Porsche Design Driver’s Selection range.

Looking back at the success of this event, Darren Mark Abel, Brand Manager at Porsche Centre

Saudi’s Mobily Q2 profit up 29%, beats forecasts DUBAI: Saudi Arabia’s Etihad Etisalat (Mobily) yesterday said its second-quarter net profit rose 29 percent, narrowly beating analysts’ forecasts as the telecoms carrier’s business sector and data revenues soared, and smartphone sales grew.

The operator, an affiliate of UAE’s Etisalat , reported a second-quarter profit of 1.16 billion Saudi riyals ($309 million), up from 901 million riyals in the prioryear period, Mobily said in a statement.

Analysts polled by Reuters had expected the firm to post a quarterly profit of 1.1 billion riyals.

“The increase in revenues is attributable to higher minutes of usage, data transmission and increase in smartphone sales,” the company said. “Free cash flow will remain on the rise, which is a positive indication of Mobily’s ability to increase its dividends.”

Mobily’s board will meet on July 21 to decide on an interim dividend for the first half of this year. Net income for the first-half of 2011 was 2.16 billion riyals, up from 1.62 billion riyals a year earlier, with business sector and data revenues up 47 and 46 percent respectively over the same period. Data accounted for a fifth of Mobily’s revenues in the six months to June 30.

Mobily has about a 75 percent share of Saudi Arabia’s mobile broadband subscribers, the company said. The kingdom’s smartphone penetration-around 11 percent-will rise as handset prices fall, with social networking websites driving demand for Internet connectivity, it said.

Mobily aims to conclude a tower-sharing deal with rival Saudi Telecom Co by the end of 2011, Mobily’s chief executive told Reuters in June. — Reuters

Savola Q2 net income up 11%; beats forecasts DUBAI: Saudi-based Savola Group’s second-quarter net income gained 11 percent, the company said yesterday, citing strong sales and an increase in its market share in food and retail. Second-quarter income climbed to 230.7 million riyals ($61.52 million) compared to a profit of 207.65 million riyals in the year-ago period, the food company said in a statement on the bourse website.

Analysts surveyed by Reuters expected the firm to post an average of 220.48 million riyals for the first quarter.

Savola, which owns the Middle East’s biggest sugar refining business and produces edible oil, said it expects to make a net profit before capital gains of 300 million riyals in the third quarter.

The company also expects 2011 profit before capital gains of 1 billion riyals.

Savola posted first half sales of 11.95 billion riyals, up 23.8 percent from 9.65 billion riyals during the comparable period one year earlier. Second quarter sales amounted to 6.35 billion riyals, according to Reuters calculations.

The firm said its board also approved a dividend of 0.25 riyals per share for the second quarter. — Reuters

Dubai Aerospace signs 4-year credit facility DUBAI: Majority state-owned Dubai Aerospace Enterprise said yesterday it had reached an agreement with banks for a four-year credit facility to replace an existing one that matures July 23. DAE, whose leasing unit cancelled billions in aircraft orders this month, did not state the size of the credit facility nor any other terms. Citi , Deutsche Bank, Emirates NBD and Lloyds were bookrunners for an existing $800 million loan, maturing in July, and Noor Islamic Bank was mandated arranger, according to Thomson Reuters data. After ordering more than 200 aircraft during an industry boom in 2007, Dubai Aerospace’s leasing unit has been forced to cancel orders. Earlier this month, DAE cancelled outstanding Airbus orders worth $5.8 billion, delivering a blow to Dubai’s fragile recovery from a 2009 debt crisis. Last week, it also cancelled orders for 35 Boeing 737s.

The recent resignation of the chief executive of DAE Capital will pave the way to consolidate management of the business in Dubai, DAE’s managing director said in June. DAE, formed in 2006 in a collaboration between several local names, including sovereign wealth arm Investment Corporation of Dubai, developer Emaar and state-linked DIFC Investments, specialises in maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services, aircraft completions and aircraft leasing, and has more than $2 billion in aircraft assets.— Reuters

Kuwait, reflects: “Events such as these are very important for the Porsche brand in Kuwait, as they present an opportunity for participants to enjoy the exceptional performance capabilities of the Porsche sports models in a controlled and safe environment. The activities conducted did not just concentrate on the thrill of the drive, but what it means to get the best out of a Porsche and the excitement our brand brings.”

ABK net profit rises by 8% to KD28.4 million Financial results for the first half 2011 KUWAIT: Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait reported a net profit of KD 28.4 million for the six months ended 30 June 2011 as compared to KD 26.2 million in the corresponding period, a growth rate of 8%.

Earnings per share amounted to 20 fils with return on assets of 2.0 % and return on equity of 12.3%. Operating profits before provisions also improved by 10% to KD 41.2 million compared to KD 37.3 million in the corresponding period.

Ahmed Behbehani, ABK’s Chairman said, “This was an excellent performance in the difficult market conditions that have prevailed during the first half of 2011. In spite of these challenges ABK has produced positive results with stable and continuous growth in profits.

Effective balance sheet management strategies combined with prudent risk management over the years has enhanced the financial performance of the Bank. The Bank continues to have a conservative provisioning policy and has taken additional precautionary pro-

visions to secure its financial position and protect shareholders’ interests.”

“The Bank has a sound capital base with shareholders’ equity of KD 468 million resulting in a strong capital adequacy ratio significantly above regulatory norms. This has given the Bank the ability to expand and grow its operations, withstand any unforeseen contingencies and provided us the ability to meet Basel III capital requirements.

More importantly all three major international rating agencies (Moody’s, Standard & Poor’s, Fitch) have affirmed ABK’s credit ratings as investment grade with a stable outlook recognizing the profit per formance and intrinsic strength of the institution”, added Behbehani.

Further, he stated that, “Our core strategy has been adapted to meet the turbulent economic circumstances and we remain focused on minimizing risks across our business areas, improving operational efficiency and enhancing value for our shareholders and cus-

tomers. Over the past five years the Bank has expanded its retail franchise and has added 9 new branches (including opening a new overseas branch in Abu Dhabi). The Bank has also increased its suite of products and services to provide a world class banking experience for its customers. In the coming years the Bank will continue to invest in its infrastructure and systems to secure its position and improve its competitiveness. Behbehani commented that market conditions in the Middle East remained uncer tain and economic growth was on the downturn. However, he remained hopeful that the high oil prices would assist in the recovery of local and regional economies.

In conclusion, Ahmed Behbehani said “I take this opportunity on behalf of the Board of Directors to thank the Bank’s valued customers for their trust and confidence, the Bank’s management and staff for their hard work and loyalty and shareholders for their continued support and faith.”

IKEA Kuwait welcomes first batch of summer trainees Annual summer Internship program launched KUWAIT: IKEA Kuwait - the globally renowned Swedish home furnishings chain - welcomed the first batch of promising students who will intern at the Store this year as par t of IKEA Kuwait ’s annual summer internship program. This is the sixth year the Program is being held.

Building on the success of the previous five years, IKEA Kuwait is honored to host its first group of interns for 2011 and give them the opportunity to learn about our successful business. The summer program will enable Kuwaiti youth to learn hands-on skills making them better prepared to embark on their professional careers.

To be held from mid June till

beginning of August 2011, the internship program at IKEA has been completely revamped. To enhance the skills of the students further the internship will be for 4 weeks to foster the development of a stronger work relation between Managers and the trainees.

The training program will familiarize interns with various functions communications, sales, interior design and customer ser vice. Interns will receive a monetary award and certificate upon successful completion of the program.

IKEA Kuwait ’s selection’s process has been improved whereby only the best students are selected for the internship.

Towards the end of the training period IKEA Kuwait will select and award the Best Summer Trainee, who will receive an award. IKEA Kuwait today has part time coworkers who once started out as summer trainees at the store.

IKEA Kuwait is a socially responsible organization and caters for the benefit of the community in which it operates and suppor ting Government ’s Manpower Restructuring Program, LOYAC Talent Development Programs and many other community development initiatives is a testimony of the gratitude to the people of Kuwait for their trust in IKEA since over 25 years.

Ahmed Behbehani, ABK’s Chairman

UAE’s Tamweel Q2 profit surges as provisions fall DUBAI: Islamic mortgage lender Tamweel , whose shares resumed trading in May after being suspended since 2008, posted a five-fold increase in second-quarter net profit helped by a sharp decline in impairment provisions.

Tamweel, which is majority-owned by Dubai Islamic Bank , reported second-quarter net profit of 27.7 million dirhams ($7.54 million) compared with 5.4 million dirhams for the yearago period.

Impairment provisions for the quarter fell to 13.5 million dirhams compared with 40 million dirhams a year earlier, Tamweel said in a statement to the bourse.

Dubai Islamic Bank raised its stake in Tamweel to 57.33 percent last September, effectively rendering the mortgage lender a subsidiary of the bank. The United Arab Emirates government said in November 2008 it aimed to merge Tamweel and rival Amlak after the collapse of Dubai’s real estate sector pushed both Islamic lenders deep into the red.

That plan was effectively scrapped after the DIB deal with Tamweel and resolution for Amlak has yet to be announced.

Tamweel shares closed 0.9 percent higher on the Dubai bourse prior to the release of the results. — Reuters

Coca-Cola profits soar 18% in Q2 NEW YORK: US soft drinks giant Coca-Cola said yesterday that profits rose 18 percent in the second quarter, better than expected, on solid volume growth worldwide.

Income was $2.8 billion, up from $2.4 billion in the yearearlier quarter, and earnings per share was up 18 percent as well to $1.20. For the six-month period to June, income and earnings per share were also up 18 percent from a year ago.

Revenue growth was strongest in North America, up 141 percent, due to contributions from the North American bottling business of Coca-Cola Enterprises which the company acquired late last year.

Aside from that, revenues and operating income grew strongest, both 21 percent, in the company’s Pacific group, which includes the region from China and South Korea south to Australia and New Zealand.

Coca-Cola bottles and distributes a wide range of nonalcoholic drinks, including sports and energy drinks, juices, soft drinks including Fanta and Sprite, bottled water and bottled and canned coffee and tea. Sales volume for Coke itself rose 24 percent in China and 17 percent in Russia, and made good gains in other key markets including Mexico, France and Germany, the company said.

“Even as consumers around the world continue to feel the impact of a slow economic recovery, they increasingly choose our brands to refresh themselves at a rate of over 1.7 billion servings each and every day,” chief executive Muhtar Kent said in a statement. — AFP

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KSE stocks pare losses KUWAIT: Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) bounced back strongly yesterday, wiping out some of the losses accumulated during Monday’s session. Global General Index ended the day up by 1.01 percent. Yesterday’s positive sentiment came after Kuwait’s Capital Market Authority (CMA) granted investment companies six months extra to March 2012 to comply with guidelines for investment ratios in a single stock. The market also received support from a smart rally staged by blue chips. Six of the Global Large Cap (Top 10) Index’s components managed to eke out gains, driving the index up by 1.26 percent in the day.

Global General Index (GGI) ended the day up by 1.01 percent, at 184.65 point. Market capitalization was also up for the day reaching KD30.19bn. On the other hand, KSE Price Index closed at 6,004.2 point, adding 31.1 points (0.52 percent) from its previous close.

Market Breadth During the session, 100 companies were traded. Market breadth was skewed towards advancers as 58 equities advanced versus 25 that retreated. Trading activity was mixed this session. Total volume traded was up by 13.01 percent with 121.59mn shares changing hands at a total value of KD18.28mn (42.14 percent lower compared to the day before). The services sector was the volume leader yesterday, accounting for 36.88 percent of total shares.

The banking sector was the value leader, with 38.42 percent of total traded value. Kuwait Finance House (KFK) was the most active in terms of values traded during yesterday’s session, with 3.40mn shares exchanged at an aggregate value of KD3.05mn.

In terms of top gainers, Al Dar National Real Estate Co was the top gainer for the day, adding 16.67 per-

WEDNESDAY, JULY 20, 2011

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GLOBAL DAILY MARKET REPORT

cent and closed at KD0.018. On the other hand, Munshaat Real Estate Projects Co shed 16.95 percent and closed at KD0.025, making it the biggest decliner in the market.

Sector-wise On the sectors front, six out of the eight sectors ended the day on a positive note except Global Food Index On the sectors front, six out of the eight sectors ended the day on a positive note except Global Food Index which was the only loser by shedding 0.19 percent as two of the sector’s components reported losses. Livestock Transport & Trading Company and Danah Al Safat Foodstuff Company closed down by

1.72 percent and 1.56 percent, respectively. Insurance sector Index closed flat for the day.

Global Banking Index topped the gainers as it added 1.57 percent on the back of National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) positive performance. The scrip rose by 3.70 percent to close at KD1.120. Kuwait International Bank followed, adding 3.25 percent and closed at KD0.290.

Global Investment Index rose by 1.29 percent on the back of Kuwait Projects Company (Holding), which added 1.49 percent to its share price to close at KD0.340. Also, Al-Kharafi linked companies witnessed good performance during yesterday’s session. National Investment Company

and Coast Investment & Development Company rose by 1.87 percent and 3.45 percent, respectively.

The Services Index also supported the market as it rose by 0.42 percent after heavy weight, Zain added 1.02 percent to its share price and closed at KD0.990.

Oil News The price of Kuwaiti crude oil increased $1.04 to reach $110.04pb on Monday, compared to $109 per barrel on Friday, said Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) yesterday. The increase of crude prices is a result of the decrease of the US dollar against other currencies.

Oil gains on weaker dollar, stocks eyed LONDON: Oil rose yesterday, lifted by expectations that data would show inventories in the world’s top consumer fell for a seventh week and supported by dollar weakness.

Further support came from a wider move by investors into the commodity complex as economic uncertainty undermined confidence in financial assets. By 1127 GMT, Brent crude futures were up 94 cents at $116.99 after reaching a high of $117.16 while US light crude futures added $1.00 to $96.93 after hitting a peak of $97.09.

An expected fall in US stocks of oil are seen as keeping upward pressure on crude prices.

Inventories are likely to have fallen by 1.3 million barrels last week due to higher refinery utilization and a slide in imports, a Reuters poll showed ahead of weekly reports. “Estimates that there’s been a drawdown in gasoline are giving prices a bit of a boost, but we are really range trading after the weakness we saw the previous session,” said Tony Machacek, futures broker at Jefferies Bache.

In the second-largest oil consumer China, refined oil product stocks at the end of last month increased nearly 1 million tons from a year earlier. They were at a normal level, after fuel consumption slowed down since mid-April, a government report showed yesterday.

The dollar softened versus the euro and a basket of currencies yesterday as the single currency regained some ground after losses in the previous session on worries that the euro zone debt crisis will worsen. A weaker dollar makes oil and other commodities more affordable for holders of other currencies. Debt problems on both sides of the Atlantic saw investors move into safer assets and helped gold to reach another record high. Analysts said that oil was also a beneficiary of the reluctance to hold financial assets.

“There’s a desire to hold something that has a physical reality as opposed to bonds and shares, that has the ability to keep its values when everything else falls,” Christophe Barret, oil analyst at Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank.

Highlighting the fragile state of the euro zone’s economy and keeping investors wary of holding riskier assets, German analyst and investor sentiment fell more than expected in July to its lowest level since January 2009.

Figures from the Mannheim-based ZEW economic think tank showed its economic sentiment index fell to -15.1 from -9.0 in June, below the consensus forecast in a Reuters poll for a decrease to -12.4. Oil was also supported by expectations that the International Energy Agency (IEA) would not release emergency stocks for a second time.

This was because there was no sign yet of the kind of shortage to mandate another dip into the West’s emergency oil reserves when a 30-day deadline for assessing the impact of a first release expires at the end of this week, traders and analysts said.

For another IEA release to take place, it would have to be endorsed by all 28 members of the energy consumer body. Germany and Italy are likely to resist any plans for a second release for now, a French government source told Reuters last week. Oil has remained in a fairly tight range through July, but some price chart analysts see scope for upside potential with strong support near current levels.

“We would need to see a close below $115.39 for Brent, the 100 day moving average for further weakness, if this happens it could move down to the $113 area,” said Lynnden Branigan, technical analyst at Barclays Capital. “However the risk is to the upside, with resistance around the $118.90 area that we saw it peaking at last week.” — Reuters

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Kuwait money supply fell in May KUWAIT: Kuwait’s broad measure of money supply (M2) declined during May by 0.6 per cent or KD 166.1mn to stand at KD 26.9 bn at the end of the month. This decrease in M2 was mainly driven by a decrease of KD 255.8 mn in Quasi Money, or 1.3 per cent to stand at KD 20 bn.

Net Foreign Assets of CBK and local banks saw a sharp drop of KD 625 mn; while on the other hand, Net Domestic Assets increased by KD 459 mn on the back of the significant increase in government deposits by around KD 444.3 mn. Over the first 5 months of 2011, M2 rose by around 5.6 per cent or KD1.43 bn, driven by the Amiri grant of KD 1.1 bn distributed to Kuwaiti citizens in Feb-2011, compared to a marginal growth of 2.4 per cent or KD 590 mn during FY-10.

This growth in money supply was not associated with revival in credit as total credit facilities extended by local banks shrank by KD 52 mn since the beginning of the year, while deposits added around KD 761 mn over the same period to reach KD 29.2 bn at the end of May. On the other hand, M2 growth during 2010 was much lower than the 13.9 per cent increase witnessed during 2009 where stock market instability and low investors’ risk appetite played a key role in building up deposits with banks.

Moreover, since the intensification of the financial turmoil in Sep-08, M2 surged by 25.7 per cent or KD 5.5 bn, with the bulk or 51.9 per cent added during Februar y 2009 & 2011.

Nevertheless, given the strict lending policies adopted by banks to limit their exposure to default and credit risk, particularly to investment and real estate companies, the growth in

KAMCO ECONOMIC REPORT money supply was not successful in triggering an upward stimulus in credit facilities as the bulk of the additional money found its way to bank deposits.

Deposits with Local Banks Total residents’ deposits (public and private) continued last month’s downward trend to drop by 1.6 per cent or KD 469 mn, to end the month at KD

29.2 bn. Private sector deposits, which represent 89 per cent of local Banks’ deposit base, declined by KD 148.7mn or 0.6 per cent to stand at KD 25.9 bn at the end of May, driven by the 13.5

per cent drop (equivalent to KD 278 mn) in deposits in foreign currencies.

Since the beginning of the current year, private sector deposits added around 5.2 per cent or around KD 1.3

bn fuelled by the Amiri grant which exceeded the KD 1 bn mark.

Private sector deposits denominated in Kuwaiti Dinar represented the majority of private sector deposits with a percentage contribution of 93 per cent or around KD 24.2 bn, whereas private sector deposits in foreign currencies constituted the remaining 7 per cent or KD 1.8 bn.

Despite the drop seen in last two consecutive months, deposit base with banks remains solid yet has not been able to trigger a wave of new credit to the private sector since banks are in the balance sheet repair phase and implementing stricter lending policies. On the other hand, Government deposits dropped by around 8.9 per cent or KD 320 mn to record KD 3.3 bn at the end of the month, hence constituting around 11.3 per cent of banks’ deposit base, down from 12.2 per cent in April.

Credit Facilities During May-2011, credit facilities extended by local banks lost momentum and witnessed a contraction of KD 123 mn to reach KD 25.2 bn. Since the beginning of the year, credit facilities dropped by KD 52 mn or around 0.2 per cent indicating the challenging business environment for enterprises along with banks’ conservative lending policies.

There is no clear sign that credit will revive in the medium-term as lending to the private sector is deteriorating and the development plan set by the government is facing many obstacles that will most likely have an adverse impact on the credit market.

The slowdown in credit facilities growth during 2010 and the first five

months of 2011 is estimated to continue until the end of the year due to tight credit conditions, insolvency problems suffered by local firms, scarce investment opportunities in the local market along with rise in default risk by distressed and highly indebted firms. Deterioration in asset prices, which are mainly held as collateral for bank loans, pushed local banks to implement stricter lending policies despite the latest decisions by the Central Bank of Kuwait to stimulate credit growth by raising the loanto-deposit ratio above the 85 per cent level.

Personal facilities, the key growth driver of credit and its major component, increased by 0.6 per cent or KD 52 mn during May to reach KD 8.47 bn, hence comprising around 33.7 per cent of banks’ loan portfolios. Since the beginning of the year personal facilities added a mere 0.12 per cent on the back of the regulations issued by the CBK in April-2010 that prohibit banks from extending loans to households for the purpose of settling outstanding loans owed to other banks.

The CBK also issued instructions to local banks to ensure that the proceeds from personal loans are used to purchase durable goods or to cover the education and healthcare expense. The rationale behind the circular was to contain the expansion in personal loans especially facilities granted to high levered profile households seeing that this class of debtors has a high rate of default.

Credit facilities for the purchase of securities represented around 30.5 per cent of personal facilities and recorded around KD2.58 bn, almost unchanged from April 2011 level.

No consensus as Europe limps to Greece summit Bailout may limit impact on global markets

WASHINGTON: A Borders, the second-largest US bookstore chain, store displaying banners and placards announcing closing business in Washington, DC. Embattled US bookstore chain Borders said it would liquidate after failing to find a buyer amid the growing popularity of e-books and the slow economy. — AFP

IEA not decided on second oil release TOKYO: The International Energy Agency has not yet decided whether to conduct a second release of emergency oil reserves by member countries, executive director Nobuo Tanaka said yesterday.

The IEA last month announced a 60 million-barrel one-month release from emergency stockpiles in a temporary measure to fill a supply gap from missing Libyan output, the third such move in its history. The step followed the failure of leading OPEC member Saudi Arabia, traditionally a price moderate and US ally, to convince the group to increase supplies. “In a preemptive move to avoid a serious risk scenario, we released our reserves and we understand the release was a success for now,” Tanaka told Reuters on the sidelines of a news conference. The IEA is expected to confer with its member countries by July 23 to decide whether to draw further from emergency oil stocks. Tanaka also said the IEA was checking how long top exporter Saudi Arabia would continue to

increase its oil output and how much of the released oil had reached the markets.

There is no sign yet of the kind of shortage to mandate another dip into the West’s emergency oil reserves when a 30-day deadline for assessing the impact of the first release expires at the end of this week, traders and analysts say.

Germany and Italy are expected to oppose any second release of emergency oil reserves by the IEA because they were not much in favor of the decision in June, sources have said.

In defiance of a refusal by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to back an output rise, Saudi Arabia independently increased its output, which hit 9.8 million barrels per day (bpd) in June, a senior Gulf OPEC delegate told Reuters.

The previous release by the IEA was in 2005 when Hurricane Katrina devastated oil infrastructure in the US Gulf of Mexico. To date, the only other release in the 37-year history of the IEA was at the time of the first Gulf War. — Reuters

BRUSSELS/PARIS: European governments and banks struggled to reconcile competing proposals for a second bailout of Greece yesterday, three days before leaders meet to prevent the crisis from spreading through the region.

The euro zone summit scheduled for Thursday in Brussels is likely to agree on a rescue of Greece, supplementing a 110 billion euro ($154 billion) bailout launched in May last year [ID:nLDE76H071], a French government spokeswoman said.

But after three weeks of preparatory talks, it was unclear how a consensus could be reached for private owners of Greek government bonds-banks, insurers and other investors-to contribute by taking cuts in the face value of their holdings. Imposing a small tax on all euro area banks is under active consideration as a possible alternative to more risky forms of private sector involvement, a source familiar with the talks said, confirming a German media report.

The source also said officials were considering ways to prevent fallout from the crisis from damaging global markets. Fears of a chaotic Greek debt default pushed the euro down against other currencies. Bond yields of highly indebted euro zone governments rose.

Italy’s 10-year yield climbed more than 0.2 percentage point to a euro-era high.

Paul de Grauwe, a professor of international economics at Leuven University in Belgium who has informally advised European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, said politicians had delayed taking decisive action on Greece for so long that their options were narrowing quickly.

“We’ve had solutions in the past, but we haven’t grasped them,” he said. “Now it’s too late for some of those solutions to work anymore; the opportunity has been lost.”

Officials are wrestling with a range of proposed options for Europe’s bailout fund, the European Financial Stability Facility, to finance a voluntary buy-back or swap of Greek bonds, or possibly both. They would be conducted at a discount to the bonds’ face value, helping to reduce Greece’s 340 billion-euro mountain of sovereign debt.

But they could face technical and legal obstacles, in some cases requiring approval by national parliaments. They risk fuelling

ATHENS: A tourist shoots video of the ceremonial military guard at the Unknown Soldierís Tomb, outside parliament in central Athens, as a riot policeman looks on and a guardsman is seen in the background during a protest by striking taxi drivers yesterday. —AP market instability if credit rating agencies respond by declaring Greece in limited default.

The source familiar with the negotiations said a tax on banks, which might substitute for those plans, could raise 10 billion euros a year, yielding 30 billion euros over three years-the sum Germany and other countries have set as the benchmark for the private sector’s contribution.

Asked whether it was unfair to make banks not exposed to Greek debt share the burden with those that do have exposure, the source said the tax could be structured to fall mainly on investors with the most exposure. He did not say how.

“This has been discussed for a few weeks but never really got momentum. Lately it’s been getting a bit more. The Germans say they are not against it. It would be a form of private sector involvement without the collateral damage of triggering a credit event or a selective default,” the source said.

Any contribution by the private sector is unlikely to be nearly enough to solve Greece’s

Petra Diamonds boosted by high prices, Asia demand LONDON: Africa-focused miner Petra Diamonds said full-year revenue rose 24 percent, as higher rough diamond prices and fast-growing demand in Asia outweighed a decline in production.

Revenue rose to $221 million in the year to end-June and would have jumped 55 percent excluding the $35 million sale of the Cullinan Heritage diamond. The gem, included in the company’s 2009/10 figures, set a record price for a rough diamond.

Production fell 2 percent to 1.12 million carats and the company, the largest diamond producer on London’s junior AIM market, expects output to double in the 2012 financial year mainly on the acquisition of the Finsch mine in South Africa.

Petra expects to produce more than 2 million carats in the current financial year, Chief Executive Johan Dippenaar told Reuters yesterday. The com-

pany will provide a more detailed guidance at the time of full-year results in September when it has a clearer idea of when Finsch will start to contribute.

“Although we expect the Finsch mine acquisition to close shortly, every month that it is not on our books the production target will vary by about 100,000 carats,” Dippenaar said.

It expects to close the acquisition of Finsch, South Africa’s second-largest mine by output, from De Beers in the coming weeks. Petra’s shares were up 2 percent at 0737 GMT, outperforming a British mining index .

Analysts at Canaccord said Petra’s revenues exceeded its expectations by 2 percent largely due to the exceptional strength in diamond prices. It had anticipated 30 percent rise in diamond prices in the second half from the year-earlier period whereas actual prices jumped 58 percent on aver-

age. The diamond market has performed strongly in 2011 helped by firm retail demand, particularly from China, India and, to a lesser degree, the United States, Petra said.

“In the absence of any major financial crisis, the outlook remains very solid because supply is so constrained,” Dippenaar said.

He added that he has seen some evidence of diamonds being sought as an alternative asset class, in the same way record high gold prices are being boosted by its safe haven status, although he said this was quite small in terms of overall consumption.

Petra also said it is looking to strengthen the board with the appointment of new independent non-executive director as part of its plans to move to the London Stock Exchange’s Main Market by the end of 2011. — Reuters

problem. Analysts estimate its debt would need to be roughly halved, to 80 percent of gross domestic product, to make it manageable in the long run.

A bond swap might have the most impact.

A European Union official told Reuters any agreement on a swap this week would probably be quite small, merely paving the way for a debate on a bigger restructuring of Greek debt that would have to take place in a few months.

“What we’re talking about down the road is the need for a massive reduction in the debt burden, and they are just not ready to do that yet,” said Guntram Wolff, deputy director of the Bruegel think tank and previously a senior economist at DG Ecfin, the European Commission unit dealing with the crisis.

“It will require some form of substantial debt restructuring and you have to see who is going to take the hit, will it be the taxpayers or will it be the banks? To carry out such a move you need to prepare, and they don’t have the time to prepare before Thursday.” — Reuters

Egypt minister commits to market economy CAIRO: Egypt’s finance minister-designate told Reuters yesterday that the government was committed to a market economy and to creating an environment in which investors could predict the future “reasonably well”.

Hazem el-Beblawi, who has yet to take the oath of office, said he did not rule out the possibility of borrowing from the International Monetary Fund, after his predecessor negotiated a $3 billion loan package that Cairo later turned down. He also said in the telephone interview that his message to investors was that Egypt’s difficulties were temporary. “For someone who has a long-term view, this is the time to come and to act on the future because of course anyone who comes now will find much better terms than he can later,” said Beblawi, who is also a deputy to the prime minister. Egypt’s economy has been hammered by a popular uprising that turfed out Hosni Mubarak, driving investors away, sending tourists packing and leading to an expanding budget deficit. — Reuters

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business

Euro-zone paper points to bank tax to fund Greece BRUSSELS: A tax on euro-zone banks and cheaper, longer-dated official loans are the least risky way to provide extra funding for debt-stricken Greece, a confidential paper drafted ahead of a European summit showed yesterday.

With financial markets holding their breath two days before leaders of the 17nation currency area hold a crucial meeting, other options that could trigger a selective or outright Greek default with far-reaching consequences remain on the table, the paper obtained by Reuters showed.

The European currency is facing the biggest crisis of its 12-year existence, with contagion threatening major economies such as Italy and Spain after three small peripheral membersGreece, Ireland and Portugal-needed financial rescues. Euro-zone leaders will try

to agree on a second rescue package for Greece and a strategy to prevent contagion when they meet in Brussels on Thursday, after senior officials thrash out detailed proposals in talks today.

French European Affairs Minister Jean Leonetti confirmed late on Monday that euro zone officials were eyeing a bank tax to raise extra money to help Greece, which needs a further 115 billion euros in funding by mid-2014 on top of a 110-billion-euro EU/IMF bailout agreed last year.

“It’s one of the solutions we are looking at. It would have the advantage of not making us intervene directly with the banks and therefore potentially not triggering a default,” he told reporters in Brussels.

The tax idea “deserved to be studied”, he said. A source familiar with the talks said a small levy on banks could raise 10

billion euros a year, yielding the 30 billion euros over three years targeted by Germany, which has led the drive for private sector involvement in a new Greek program.

A tax would appear to have the drawback of lumping together banks that have an exposure to Greece and those that do not, but the source said it could be structured so that the main burden fell on those with Greek holdings. He did not say how. The options paper, dated July 16 but which officials said still reflects the wide open state of debate, showed that a tax on the financial sector was the only proposal deemed unlikely to cause a selective default. It identified three main options.

It suggested the levy could be combined with a commitment by Greek banks to roll over their big holdings of government debt,

and by an extension of the maturity and a further reduction of the interest rate on euro zone loans to Athens.

The document gave no figure but officials have said they are considering extending the loans to 30 years and cutting the interest rate to 3.5 percent from the original 5.5 percent, which was reduced to 4.5 percent in March.

The European Central Bank has insisted that any solution must avoid causing a credit event, which would trigger a payout of default insurance, or a full or selective default.

ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet warned again this week that the central bank would not accept Greek government bonds as collateral to obtain liquidity in such circumstances, forcing euro zone governments to rescue Greek banks.

Another ECB policymaker, Ewald Nowotny of Austria, appeared to offer a glimmer of flexibility, saying a solution could depend on the duration of a selective default, but it was unclear whether he spoke for others on the central bank’s governing council.

“There are some proposals that deal with a very short-lived selective default situation that would not really have major negative consequences,” Nowotny told CNBC in an interview broadcast yesterday.

The euro-zone paper said other options such as an EU-funded Greek government buy-back of its own debt on the secondary market, a German-proposed bond swap for longer maturities and a French plan for a voluntary rollover of maturing Greek debt would all generate additional costs for official lenders. — Reuters

Merkel plays down future Russian gas dependence Berlin eyes to develop its own coal-fired plants

ATHENS: Taxi drivers proceed towards the Greek parliament on the second day of their 48-hours strike yesterday. Greek taxi drivers’ union staged the strike to protest against a government decision to deregulate the sector as part of efforts to liberalize the nation’s struggling economy. —AFP

BAA told to sell Stansted and one Scottish airport LONDON: British airport operator BAA must begin selling off London Stansted airport and one of its Scottish hubs, Britain’s Competition Commission said in its final report on BAA’s position.

The report yesterday upheld a decision reached by the competition authority in March when it rejected an appeal by Ferrovial-controlled BAA, the owner of London Heathrow — Europe’s busiest airport-to prevent it from being forced to sell Stansted, in southeast England.

“The CC has concluded that the sale of the airports is fully justified and that passengers and airlines would still benefit from greater competition with the airports under separate ownership, despite the current government’s decision to rule out new runways at any of the London airports,” the CC said in a statement. “The sales process will start in three months’ time, or sooner if undertakings are accepted from BAA in the meantime.”

The decision ends a two year battle between BAA and the CC, who in 2009 ruled BAA exerted a dominant hold on British airports and told it to sell Gatwick and Stansted airports and one of its Scottish airports.

BAA, which owns Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen airports in Scotland, as well as Heathrow, Southampton and Stansted in England, said it was looking at its legal options with regards to the ruling. “This decision would damage our company which is investing strongly in

UK jobs and growth,” BAA said in a statement. “We have a responsibility to protect our shareholders’ investment and we will now consider a judicial review of the Competition Commission’s decision.”

BAA sold Gatwick to Global Infrastructure Partners for 1.5 billion pounds ($2.4 billion)in October 2009.

BAA could raise about 1.2 billion pounds from the forced sale of Stansted but should be allowed to delay a sale until market conditions improve, BAA’s Chief Executive Colin Matthews told Reuters in an interview in April.

The British company claims the UK airports market has changed significantly since the CC’s initial ruling but that this fact was not taken into account by the CC. “A new government has changed aviation policy to rule out any new runway capacity in the south east (of England) and BAA has sold Gatwick Airport. Both are significant changes to the airport market,” BAA said.

“Further, the airports in question face increased competition from non-BAA airports, particularly those in Europe, for the business of low cost carriers who now take a pan-European view of the market.” The CC said Stansted airport must be sold off first but has not given BAA a deadline. The regulator’s initial ruling gave BAA two years to sell the three airports - a timetable which was pushed back by BAA’s appeals against the ruling - leaving it around 18 months to arrange a sale. — Reuters

Goldman investors seek answers beyond Q2 NEW YORK: When Goldman Sachs Group Inc reports second-quarter earnings yesterday, investors will be keen to hear how the largest US investment bank plans to make up for fast-fading fixed-income trading revenue.

The market expects dreary top and bottom line results. Analysts believe Goldman will report earnings of $2.27 per share, on average, down 36.2 percent from their forecast a month ago, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. They expect revenue of $8.1 billion, down 16.9 percent from 30 days earlier.

If analysts’ estimates are correct, they would represent a 17.5 percent decline in profit per share and an 8 percent decline in revenue from the year-ago period. In the second quarter of 2010, Goldman earned $2.75 cents per share, excluding one-time charges, on revenue of $8.8 billion.

“I really just want confirmation that the earnings estimates aren’t going to keep dropping,” said Jack Kaplan, a portfolio manager for Carret Asset Management, which has $1.4 billion under management and recently bought a small position in Goldman shares.

“Estimates were as much as $16 for full-year 2011, but we’re down to $14 now two months later,” he continued.

“It looks cheap, but if $14 is really going to be $10, the stock’s not going

to rally.” The glum outlook stems largely from difficulties at Goldman’s large fixed income, currency and commodities trading business, known as FICC. Weak client activity and a lack of clear market direction have weighed on large Wall Street banks’ trading businesses for the past year or so. But unlike rivals JPMorgan Chase & Co or Citigroup , which posted better-thanexpected results last week, Goldman does not have a commercial banking operation to fall back on.

Goldman is also facing aggressive competition for the trading and banking business it seized during the financial crisis, when competitors were hobbled by mortgage losses. The FICC trading business contributed 35 percent of Goldman’s net revenue last year, down from 48 percent in 2009.

Many analysts expect Goldman to report a quarterly decline in FICC trading of 30 to 40 percent. JPMorgan reported an 18 percent drop and Citi reported a 20 percent drop.

The absence of proprietary trading may be having a particularly strong impact on Goldman’s profits. The company relied more heavily on making bets for its own account than other banks, according to research by JPMorgan analyst Kian Abouhossein.

But Goldman shut down the bulk of its prop trading business ahead of a regulatory reform rule that will ban such activity. — Reuters

HANOVER: German Chancellor Angela Merkel played down Berlin’s future energy dependence on Russia in view of its nuclear power phase-out, at talks with President Dmitry Medvedev yesterday.

Merkel said that Germany, the top importer of Russian gas, would develop its coal-fired plants, energy efficiency and renewable power sources as it closed its reactors by 2022 so that its needs would stay within a “reasonable range”.

She told a German-Russian forum in this northern city ahead of an annual joint cabinet meeting: “I just want to say that I think that perhaps this idea that the sky is the limit when it comes to our gas imports is a little exaggerated.”

She said that “this is not meant to be an anti-Gazprom speech,” referring to the Russian state-owned energy giant. “But I just wanted to say that our targets are not completely out of this world. They lie in a reasonable range that can surely be met by Gazprom.”

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov said with a smile that if gas exports to Germany rose by 30-35 percent in the coming years “that would not be bad”.

Merkel said: “ We’ll see, we’ll see.”

Germany’s decision, sealed this month, to shutter all of its nuclear reactors within 11 years has left it scrambling to nail down other energy sources, making gas and oil-rich Russia an even more attractive partner.

Last Thursday, Gazprom and Germany’s number-two utilities group RWE announced exclusive negotiations on a sweeping deal to construct power plants in Europe.

And Russia aims to boost deliveries of gas to Germany through the Nord Stream pipeline being built under the Baltic Sea and due to go online in October.

But even with growing trade ties-Russian exports to Germany reached 31.8 billion euros ($45.0 billion) last year with 26.4 billion euros’ worth of goods going the other wayMedvedev said the countries should be able to have frank talks about their differences.

“It is better to argue than to be silent,” he said. On a key point of contention between

HANOVER: German Chancellor Angela Merkel (second left) and Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev (left) and their delegations sit at the table during the plenary session of the 13th annual German-Russian cabinet meeting in Hanover, northern Germany yesterday. — AFP the countries-freedom of travel-Merkel acknowledged that Germany had been the “brake” on liberalization of visa rules between Russia and the European Union.

“We discussed this issue with President Medvedev and agreed we must develop a step-by-step plan,” she said, adding that this could include exceptions for hospital workers and gradual easing of restrictions for students and tourists.

“I think if Germany begins to be a bit more open then Europe will follow suit.”

The 13th so-called “government consultations” are aimed at bolstering ties between the wartime foes and advancing the modernization of Russia’s political and legal systems after the fall of communism.

Merkel and Medvedev placed wreaths at a memorial for a group of prisoners murdered by the Nazis in Hanover in May 1945 including 154 Soviet citizens, then attended a

UN chief urges continued aid for trade support GENEVA: UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urged the donor community to keep up aid for trade commitments despite pressure on state budgets. “As we all know, this is a time of economic uncertainty,” he told officials attending a two-day review conference on the WTO’s aid for trade process.

“Budgets are tight. But difficult fiscal conditions are no excuse for letting up on our efforts; they underscore the need for collective action,” Ban said. Launched in December 2005 at a WTO ministerial conference, the aid for trade process aims to help developing countries build infrastructure to take full advantage of a successful world trade liberalization deal.

Aid for trade encompasses grants and loans to build roads, ports and telecommunications, among others, as well as technical assistance in helping countries develop trade strategies or negotiate more effectively. Ban said that assistance for trade was a key component of

the UN’s poverty reduction goals, and said it could be used to improve food security, citing a recent decision by the G20 to remove food export restrictions for humanitarian relief.

In 2009, aid for trade commitments reached $40 billion (28.4 billion euros), up just 2.0 percent from the figure for 2008, slowing significantly from the 28-percent jump recorded in 2008 against 2007.

WTO deputy director general Valentine Rugwabiza said prior to this week’s review conference that 2010 commitments had appeared to have “reached some kind of plateau” and called on emerging economies to fill the gap.

China said it was giving $400,000 (283,000 euros) to help the world’s poorest countries join the WTO or participate in the trade body’s activities. The United States, meanwhile said it would contribute $1.2 million to help developing countries participate effectively in the WTO. — AFP

GENEVA: World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General Pascal Lamy (left) greets United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon before his address yesterday at the third WTO review conference on the aid for trade process in Geneva. — AFP

breakfast with Russian and German business executives. The leaders are to ink 15 economic, political and environmental agreements, oversee the signing of several business contracts and hold talks on international hotspots including North Africa and the Middle East. This year’s meeting, however, was prefaced by an embarrassing debate surrounding a democracy prize from a private German foundation that was to go to Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

Organisers announced at the weekend that they would rescind their invitation to Putin to accept the Quadriga Prize after a storm of protest in Berlin over his disputed record on human rights, media freedom and the Chechnya conflict.

Although Russia’s ambassador to Germany complained about a “very distasteful and indecent” flap, both governments insisted it would not mar the talks.— AFP

Infrastructure funds gap losing Africa 3% of GDP NAIROBI: A massive shortfall in funding for African infrastructure projects is costing the continent up to 3 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) a year, a senior African Development Bank official said yesterday.

“The gap right now is something like $45 billion a year and that gap is dragging down economic growth in Africa by as much as 3 percent of GDP,” Mthuli Ncube, chief economist for the lender, said at a launch event for its annual economic outlook.

“The most critical area is energy-power. Any power outages are bound to cause massive problems for growth.”

Power shortages are common in Africa and have hindered investment, even though the world’s poorest continent has abundant potential resources of solar, hydro, oil, gas, coal and geothermal power.

Ncube said that power cuts may lead to up to a 40 percent loss in productivity in Nigeria-sub-Saharan Africa’s secondbiggest economy.

Nigeria plans to privatize some of its power station and electricity distribution firms as part of a multi-billion dollar plan.

Many African countries are keen to attract foreign investment for infrastructure deals on the fast-growing continent, where the inadequate power supply and poor transport connections often hamper corporate expansion plans.

The continent’s biggest economy, South Africa, is investing tens of billions in new power plants, seeking to avoid any repeat of a crisis which forced mines and smelters to shut for days in early 2008 and cost billions of dollars in lost output. The AfDB estimates that an annual growth rate of 7 percent on the continent would require a yearly investment of at least $22 billion in infrastructure. — Reuters

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TECHNOLOGY

RSA teams up with VMware to deliver DLP technology KUWAI: RSA, the Security Division of EMC announced that it has delivered on a vision outlined earlier this year at the RSA Conference by enabling VMware to embed RSA Data Loss Prevention (DLP) classification technology and policies into the VMware vShield 5 product family.

As part of the new VMware cloud infrastructure suite announced yesterday, VMware vShield App with Data Security will include RSA’s DLP content analysis engine and expert policies to enable customers to accurately discover and classify sensitive data such as PCI, PII and PHI residing within virtual environments.

The RSA Data Loss Prevention Suite is engineered to both help to uncover business risk associated with the loss of sensitive data and dynamically lower that risk through policy-based remediation and enforcement of controls, whether the data is at rest in a datacenter, in motion over the network or in use at endpoints.

Embedding RSA DLP classification technology and policies into the virtualization layer will help enable enterprise customers to gain greater visibility to sensitive information, which can then be managed using vShield zoning and protected via other security controls.

“The emerging cloud computing paradigm requires IT to rethink how to secure the infrastructure - moving away from applying security policies and technology tied to a physical topology in favor of building in security and compliance into a single policy framework,” said Hatem Naguib, Vice President, Alliances, VMware. “Working with RSA and its DLP technology, we can enable enterprises to discover and classify sensitive data residing within vir tual machines, further accelerating the customer’s journey to a cloud-ready infrastructure and delivering on the vision that security and compliance in a virtual infrastructure can exceed what’s possible in the

physical infrastructure.”

The 80 pre-defined policies that facilitate compliance with regulations from across the world in VMware vShield App with Data Security are based on industry and regional regulations and were developed by RSA’s DLP Knowledge Engineering Team.

With strong expertise in information science, linguistics, and certified in numerous regulations, this dedicated team of engineers and scientists employs a proven methodology designed to develop out-ofthe-box policies that offer best-in-class accuracy. The content analysis engine is engineered to provide deep inspection of data by looking for specific keywords, patterns, and strings, as well analyzing contextual information such as metadata and proximity of keywords and strings.

“There is a strong market demand for security and compliance controls to be built into the virtual infrastructure,” said Manoj

Nair, Vice President, Security Management Products, RSA, The Security Division of EMC. “We’re excited to move into the next phase of our relationship with VMware and expect that by building our DLP classification technology into the industry leading virtual and cloud infrastructure platform, customers will now be able to gain better visibility into their virtual infrastructure and better manage risk and security.”

Customers will be able to extend the DLP functionality in VMware vShield App with Data Security from data-at-rest in virtual zones to data-at-rest in physical datacenters, data-in-use at physical endpoints and data-in-motion over email and web through the RSA Data Loss Prevention Suite, which can be purchased separately.

By using the same policy and classification engine customers can consistently protect data across the enterprise and streamline security operations for both physical and virtual environments. “Enterprises cite

data security and regulatory compliance as their main inhibitors to using computing services,” says Phil Hochmuth, an analyst in IDC’s Security Products research group.

“Tools that can find and classify sensitive enterprise data, especially in virtual environments, will be critical for organizations transitioning their datacenter workloads onto new cloud services and architectures.”

This technology partnership is an expansion of RSA’s ecosystem of infrastructure vendors embedding DLP technology into their products, including Cisco and Microsoft.

RSA’s built-in approach to security helps enable organizations to leverage their existing infrastructure to protect against the risks associated with unprotected sensitive data, instead of the need to bolt-on additional security products.

VMware vShield App with Data Security is expected to be available as part of the VMware vShield 5 platform in Q3 2011.

Tablets force a shift Rebooting the PC industry

SEOUL: South Korean children walk past an On-Line Electric Vehicle (OLEV) during a ceremony to start its first commercial operation at an amusement park in Gwacheon, south of Seoul, yesterday. The OLEV is remotely charged via electromagnetic fields, created by electric cables beneath the road, for the first time in South Korea. — AFP

Crew of Atlantis bids farewell to space station WASHINGTON: The crew of the Atlantis bade a bittersweet farewell to astronauts on the International Space Station Monday, wrapping up the final visit by a space shuttle to the orbiting outpost.

As the shuttle age draws to a close after 37 dramatic rendezvous, their crews held a moving ceremony, exchanging embraces and kisses before shutting the hatches separating them for a final time at 1428 GMT. Astronauts then placed an American flag seal over the passageway separating the shuttle and the space station, in a poignant gesture to symbolize the end of one era of US spaceflight and the dawn of a new one.

“When this flag returns again someday to Earth by astronauts that came up on an American spacecraft, its journey will not end there,” said shuttle commander Chris Ferguson. “Its journey will continue, it will leave lowEarth orbit once again, perhaps to a lunar destination-perhaps to Mars. It is our honor to have brought this flag here,” he said.

“We’re closing a chapter in the history of our nation,” added astronaut Ronald Garan, a flight engineer stationed on the ISS. “In the future when another spacecraf t docks to that hatch... we are going to be opening a new era and raising the flag on a new era of exploration,” Garan said, as Atlantis wrapped up its near eightday visit.

Atlantis lifted off July 8 on the final flight of the shuttle program, STS-135, with a four-member crew, lugging the Raffaello multipurpose logistics module containing supplies and spare parts for the space station. The Atlantis crew was to spend the remainder of the day preparing for Tuesday’s undocking. The shuttle was to fly home Thursday ahead of its retirement, which marks the end of the 30-year US space shuttle program.

The astronauts on the Atlantis-mission Commander Chris Ferguson, Pilot Doug Hurley, and Mission Specialists Sandy Magnus and Rex Walheim-are wrapping up a 13-day mission delivering supplies to help sustain the space station in the post-shuttle era.

Astronauts bound for the ISS now have to hitch a ride on the Russian Soyuz rocket, at more than $50 million per seat, until a new US space craft-a commercial launcher and capsule built by a

private corporation in partnership with NASA-is ready to fly sometime around 2015. NASA will rely on Russia to let them rent one of two available seats on the Soyuz, with a third seat on the space vehicle already taken up by the pilot. And NASA said Monday that it had reached an agreement with United Launch Alliance (ULA) to try to adopt the Atlas V commercial rocket to send astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS).

ULA is a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin designed to provide cost-efficient rockets to send US government missions into space. The end of the shuttle program means that chances for astronauts to do the one thing they are trained forfly into space-will become much rarer.

“Of course it’s hard, because we dedicate our lives to fly in space. We are astronauts and it’s what we do for a living,” astronaut Steve Robinson, a veteran of four shuttle missions, told AFP earlier this month.

NASA said Monday that a welcome home ceremony is planned for Friday in Houston, Texas, heralding the end of the shuttle era and to celebrate its many accomplishments. Over the course of the three-decade-long program, five NASA space crafts-Atlantis, Challenger, Columbia, Discovery and Endeavour-have comprised a fleet designed as the world’s first reusable space vehicles. Only three have survived after the shuttles Columbia and Challenger were destroyed in accidents that also killed their crews. At a time of US budget austerity, President Barack Obama has opted to end the program at a huge savings. Each of the 135 missions over the years has cost about $450 million.

Obama also canceled Constellation, a project that aimed to put American astronauts back on the moon by 2020 at a cost of $97 billion. NASA administrator Charles Bolden recently told the House of Representatives Science, Space and Technology committee that there would be opportunities in commercial space flight in the near future.

“My hope is that we will have more than one American commercial-made capability to take humans to space by the 2015/16 time frame,” Bolden said.

“We are not abandoning the human space flight. We have a big job to do of operating the ISS for the next nine years at least.” — AFP

SANTA CLARA: The personal computer industry needs a jumpstart - and it’s counting on a rescue from emerging markets and a late -to-the -par ty push into tablet computers. The US and European PC markets have entered a dangerous new phase: Fewer people are buying new PCs because of economic anxiety, market saturation and the rise of seductive new gadgets such as Apple’s iPad. More signs of strain are expected as PC makers and their component suppliers begin to disclose quarterly earnings this week.

Make no mistake. The PC is still the backbone of the digital world, powering e-commerce, social networking and more. It is a fixture in homes and businesses in industrialized countries.

More than 1 million PCs are sold every day, and the industry is bigger than ever.

But worldwide sales have slowed in recent years. The U.S. and European markets have fared the worst, suffering lately from declines compared with the previous year. Market research firms IDC and Gartner Inc. said last week that PC shipments worldwide grew at just over 2 percent in the second quarter, short of both firms’ expectations.

One of the most urgent concerns is that the PC has become ubiquitous in many markets. That has presented the industry with a classic business problem: how to find new ways to sell an established product.

Although it’s true that computers need to be upgraded regularly, businesses are only starting to spend money again as the economy slowly recovers.

Consumers are updating their machines less often, spending their money instead on the latest handheld gadgets.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs has promoted the changes as a sign we’ve entered the “post-PC era.”

Technologists have thrown around that term for a decade in what turned out to be premature predictions, but the characterization may be coming true now. “ This is a time of intense change,” said Sarah Rotman Epps, a Forrester Research analyst who has studied the evolution of consumer technology. “New competition for PC manufacturers makes it just really, really hard to make a profit.”

As a result, PC makers are looking to emerging markets to boost sales.

The new strategy was evident at Intel’s recent investors’ conference, where the company’s CEO, Paul Otellini, unveiled a map that identified where PC growth is expected to be strongest in coming years.

The US and Europe were conspicuously not highlighted.

Otellini gestured instead toward places such as Brazil, Russia, India, China - the so-called “BRIC” countries - as well as Mexico, Venezuela, the Czech Republic,

South Africa and Turkey. All are expected to experience doubledigit percentage growth.

The message: The world’s leading computer chip-maker and its industry allies have no choice but to launch a marketing attack on foreign shores.

PC sales are decelerating in the U.S. because the same technological advances that fueled the PC industry ’s rise - faster processors and lower costs every couple of years - are now benefiting the devices that are usurping it. Consumers can now use smaller gadgets to do many of the same things they once did with PCs, such as surfing the Internet,

the tablet has been able to claimed such a large corner of the market.

Goldman Sachs calls tablets “one of the most disruptive forces in computing in nearly three decades.” It predicts that as many as 21 million people will buy tablets instead of laptops this year, jumping to 26.5 million next year.

In recent quarters, corporations have buoyed much of the spending on PCs. That likely continued in the April-June period, but the drag from consumers is expected to be substantial. Intel Corp., which makes 80 percent of the world’s microprocessor

SAN FRANCISCO: In this March 9, 2011 file photo, an Associated Press reporter demonstrates the camera on the Apple iPad 2 in San Francisco. New research released recently shows that the US and European markets are shrinking as economic anxiety, market saturation and the rise of tablet computers are causing fewer people to buy PCs. — AP storing photos and sending email. Apple even boasts that users can edit home movies on an iPad. Indeed, consumers’ increasing demand for tablets is a looming threat. Some 50 million tablets are expected to be sold this year, and that could double to as many as 100 million next year, according to various estimates.

Although that’s still small compared with sales of 362 million PCs this year, as estimated by IDC, the PC industry has reason to worry because of how quickly

chips, issues financial results on Wednesday. Advanced Micro Devices Inc., its smaller rival, and Microsoft Corp., whose Windows software runs on most of the world’s PCs, report on Thursday.

Intel and its PC manufacturing customers are hustling to adapt.

Intel, for example, is working on chips that are less powerhungry so that they’re more useful in battery-dependent mobile devices. The company says it has signed deals for some 35 different tablet and tablet-PC hybrids to use its chips. Intel is pursuing

the smartphone market, which until now has been controlled by a competing chip design developed by U.K .-based ARM Holdings PLC. Intel, a linchpin in the creation of the PC market, has experimented with putting its chips into non-PC devices before, only to retreat under pressure to focus on its core business. Now investors’ interest has flipped, and Intel finds itself under pressure to move faster into smartphone and tablets.

The message isn’t lost on the company. The bulk of Otellini’s recent sales pitch to investors centered on Intel’s effor ts to expand into the new technologies. The consequences for not failing to act have already been severe. AMD’s board forced out CEO Dirk Meyer in January, largely because the chipmaker lacked a defined mobile strategy. The company is still without a permanent CEO. The corporate hand-wringing, analysts say, shows the magnitude of the industry’s transformation. “ These changes are a fundamental shift in computing behavior,” said Forrester’s Epps, noting that computing is now an always-on activity. “ The main shift for PC companies that will survive is they need to shift their focus from computers (as) the device to computing (as) the behavior.”

Many PC makers such as Hewlett-Packard Co., Dell Inc. and Lenovo Group Ltd. have responded by designing tablets of their own.

None of the new tablets have become a sensation like the iPad, which has sold 20 million units since it went on sale in April 2010. Apple Inc. now sells nearly twice as many iPhones as it does Mac computers. The company is on track to make more money from iPads than from Macs by the end of the year.

“If you have a tablet, you don’t turn on the PC as much,” said Brian White, a Ticonderoga Securities analyst who covers the PC industry. “If you have a tablet, you may not bring your notebook on a trip. It’s only going to get stronger, and tablets are going to get better and better.

This is a legitimate threat to a PC maker. They have to have both, and unfor tunately most are behind in the game.”

Even if current market projections become a reality, there still would be a wide gulf between the $35 billion tablet market and the $250 billion PC market. The PC won’t become obsolete any time soon because it’s still the device of choice for creating the content that consumers increasingly access with their smartphones and tablets. At least for now, PCs are also needed to store data and to load information onto smaller devices.

How much of the computer market it will be able to command in the future, however, is an open question. — AP

Microsoft ‘vault ‘ open for dying Google Health records SAN FRANCISCO: Microsoft yesterday offered its HealthVault as a new care center for digitized medical records kept at Google’s dying Health service. Google announced last month that it is pulling the plug on its free Health service because it hasn’t flourished since its launch in early 2008.

“Microsoft continues to advance the HealthVault platform,” the Washington Statebased technology firm’s Health Solutions Group general manager Nate McLemore said

in a blog post. “Google has been an important ally in providing customers with access to their data and tools to better manage care online,” he added.

Microsoft detailed a simple way for people to shift Google Health records to HealthVault in encrypted files to protect the privacy of the information. Google Health service for storing and selectively sharing personal medical records online will “retire” on January 1 but users will be able to down-

load their information through the end of 2012, according to the California firm.

Microsoft went live in October 2007 with a free online “HealthVault” billed as a US website where personal medical records can be stored and managed safe from snooping. HealthVault lets people stockpile records such as blood tests, vaccinations and medical history and control access to select portions of the data to health care providers. — AFP

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health & science

Africans on HIV drugs can expect normal lifespan ROME: Patients taking HIV drugs in Africa can expect to have a near-normal lifespan, although men are likelier to die far sooner than women, according to the biggest study of its kind, issued yesterday at the world conference on AIDS medicine.

Researchers at the University of British Columbia and the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS in western Canada trawled through data for 22,315 people in Uganda aged at least 14 who had initiated antiretroviral therapy between 2000 and 2009.

They were measured against life expectancy in Uganda which is around 55 years, a figure that increases with age after the individ-

ual has cleared key milestones such as death in infancy or risk behaviour in adolescence.

Individuals in the study who were at the age of 20 when they began therapy were statistically likely to live an additional 26.7 years, and at the age of 35 another 27.9 years.

But this was the overall figure, and there were big differences between the sexes.

Twenty-year-old males on HIV drugs could look to an additional 19.1 years of life, but female counterparts another 30.6 years. The gap was maintained at the age of 35, when an infected male under treatment could expect to live another 22 years but a woman could live 32.5 years more. The suspected rea-

son for this is that men tend to access care at a later stage of disease than women, when they are already badly infected by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV ). Previous research has already established that earlier treatment leads to stronger health as the immune system, compromised by the AIDS pathogen, recovers.

The study, which was also published in the US journal Annals of Internal Medicine, is the biggest analysis of life expectancy south of the Sahara. Although the probe only looked at data for Uganda, the authors say its basket of settings-rural, semi-rural and urban-and scant medical resources make it a

snapshot for Africa as a whole.

“The substantial life expectancy afforded by widespread access to (antiretroviral drugs) underscores the fact that HIV diagnosis and treatment in resource-limited setting should no longer be considered a death sentence,” said lead investigator Edward Mills in a press release.“ Instead, HIV-infected people should plan and prepare for a long and fulfilling life.” Georgetown University investigator Mark Dybul, who led the implementation of former US president George W. Bush’s massive plan for AIDS help in the last decade, said the findings were “further evidence that the global investment in HIV and

AIDS programming is clearly working.”

The study is the latest in a series of inquiries into wider use of the drug “cocktail” that first emerged in 1996 and has become one of the greatest successes in the history of medicine. AIDS has killed around 30 million people since it was recorded as a novel disease in 1981.

More than 34 million people were living with HIV, two-thirds of them in Africa, at the end of 2010, according to UNAIDS. In poorer countries, 6.6 million badly-infected people have grasped the drug lifeline, a nearly 22fold increase since 2001, but another nine million are still in need. — AFP

Head injuries in war may boost dementia ‘About 1.7m people experience TBI each year in US’

RICAURTE: People intoxicated from tainted alcohol, lie in bed at the general hospital in Ricaurte, Ecuador, yesterday. Ecuador was under a state of emergency Monday after 23 deaths from tainted alcohol, mostly from one festival at a seaside community. — AFP

Ecuador declares alert after alcohol kills 23 QUITO: Ecuador was under a state of emergency Monday after 23 deaths from tainted alcohol, mostly from one festival at a seaside community. The state of emergency was in effect for two months from Sunday and all alcohol sales were banned for three days as authorities move to seize illegal homemade moonshine, according to Security Minister Homero Arellano.

A curfew was in effect in Los Rios province, where most of the deaths occurred. One person was arrested in the town of Ricaurte, where 21 people died, officials said without releasing details.

Two other deaths from similar causes were reported in the central part of the country, according to health officials, which issued new warnings about consuming homemade liquor.

Officials also raided the home of one person where containers or alcohol for industrial use were found. According to the official, the first deaths occurred on Thursday, several days after people began drinking the tainted alcohol, and increased rapidly over the weekend.

“People died from cardiac arrest or were moved to Guayaquil,” said Marjorie Vega, the health minister in the Los Rios.

She added that some others ended up blind or or suffered kidney damage, and that more victims are being found.

Vega said that the number of new cases has diminished thanks to information campaigns on the streets of the town and through the media. “We prevented a few cases,” she said but added that ‘there are many more than the 103 patients’ who have been treated. — AFP

PARIS: Brain injuries sustained on the battlefield and the gridiron of American football likely boost the risk of dementia later in life, according to two studies released late Monday. In a third study, also presented at an international Alzheimer’s conference in Paris this week, researchers unveiled evidence that falling over in daily life may be an early warning sign of the onset of Alzheimer’s.

Older war veterans who experienced traumatic brain injury face a doubled risk of developing dementia, according to a study led by Kristine Yaffe, head of the Memory Disorders Program at the San Francisco Veterans Association medical centre.

Reviewing the medical records of 281,540 US veterans aged 55 and older, they found that the risk of dementia was 15.3 percent in those who had had traumatic brain injuries (TBI) compared to 6.8 percent for ex-soldiers who had not. “ This issue is impor tant, because TBI is very common,” Yaffe said in a statement.

“About 1.7 million people experience a TBI each year in the United States, primarily due to falls and car crashes.” Such injuries are also known as the “signature wound” of the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, accounting for 22 percent of casualties overall and 59 percent of blast-related injuries.

The research suggests that the death and damage of axons-long cell extensions that form connections among nerve cells in the

brain-may be to blame for the higher risk of dementia. The swelling of the traumatised axons accompanies the accumulation of proteins called beta-amyloid, a hallmark of Alzheimer’s. Amyloid plaques similar to those found in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s are present in up to 30 percent of TBI patients who do not survive their injuries, regardless of age.

In the second study, scientists led by Christopher Randolph of Loyola University Medical Center in Chicago compared the likelihood of decline in basic cognitive functions among retired football players and in older adults who had not played professional sports. The repeated head-on clashes typical of American football may-despite protective gear-boost the chances of long-term brain damage.

Of more than 500 ex-football players, mean age 61, who responded to a health survey in 2008, just over 35 percent gave answers suggesting possible dementia, nearly triple the rate of Alzheimer ’s among Americans over 65. Researchers followed up on this data to identify players with Mild Cognitive Disorder (MCI), often a precursor to full-blown dementia or Alzheimer’s.

The study compared neurological and psychological test results from this group with two other groups, neither of which had played pro sports: demographically similar adults who showed no cognitive decline, and

adults diagnosed with MCI. The former athletes were clearly impaired compared to the normal adults. They were slightly less impaired that the non-athlete group diagnosed with MCI, but were considerably younger.

“It appears that there may be a very high rate of cognitive impairment in these retired football players compared to the general population,” Randolph said, pointing to “repetitive head trauma” as the likely culprit.

In the last study, Washington University researcher Susan Stark and colleagues tracked 125 older adults over eight months, asking them to log any falls they made in day-to-day life. Those adults with so-called preclinical Alzheimer’s-signs measurable in brain scans even in the absence of memory loss-were nearly three times more likely to fall for each notch on a scale used to measure Alzheimer’s progression.

“This study suggests that higher rates of falls can occur very early in the disease process,” said Stark.

Traditional hallmarks of Alzheimer’s such as memory loss remain critically important, said Maria Carrillo, a senior director at the Alzheimer’s Association in the United States, commenting on the study. “But these results also illustrate the significance of understanding that, in some people, changes in gait and balance may appear before cognitive impairment,” she said. — AFP

Japan to halt beef shipments from Fukushima

Scientists aim at HIV’s last holdout ROME: Just a few years ago, anyone who talked of a cure for the AIDS virus would in all likelihood have met with a sad, ironic smile. Yes, HIV could be treated. But wiped out? Only in dreams.

This wisdom had deep roots. In 1996, antiretroviral drugs began to turn the tide against HIV. By suppressing the pathogen, they helped patients dodge a death sentence. But early joy that this was the end of HIV was replaced by cruel disappointment, for scientists discovered “reservoirs” where residual pockets of the virus hole up.

As soon as the drugs are stopped, HIV rebounds from these lairs, attacking the CD4 immune cells with fresh contempt. Yet a growing band of scientists is confident that these final redoubts can be assailed. They have a lofty, dazzling but also controversial vision of a practical cure for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

The goal has been formally embraced at the world forum on medical science for AIDS, where the group yesterday issued a declaration, the “Rome Statement,” and a broad threepronged strategy. “It’s the right moment to stimulate research for an HIV cure, using a multidisciplinary approach,” said the group’s leader, France’s 2008 Nobel laureate Francoise Barre-Sinoussi, who in 1983 co-identified HIV as the source of AIDS. “We are very optimistic that a functional cure is possible.” The campaign has named a scientific working group, including some heavy-hitters in research, and urged the quest to be numbered among the priorities in the war on AIDS. Today, less than 100 million dollars is spent annually on “reservoir ” research, a figure dwarfed by the hundreds of millions devoted to HIV vaccine research and the billions spent on drugs. The four-day conference in Rome gathers 5,500 specialists, ranging from virologists to pharmacologists

and disease trackers. Staged once every two years by the International AIDS Society (IAS), it winds up on Wednesday.

Among the avenues for “reservoir” research is a component of the immune system called resting memory T cells. Like an inactivated programme in a computer, they lie dormant, sometimes for decades, and are invisible to the immune system. They leap back into life when immune defenders spot an intruder they have seen before. An HIV patient has about a million infected resting memory T cells, research has found.

One approach, called “shock and kill,” will be to activate these residual cells so that they start to crank out viruses, and are thus identified and destroyed. Other potential “reservoirs” are the brain, the genital area, the gastro-intestinal tract, blood stem cells and immune forces called macrophage cells.

Even so, once the virus has been flushed out and attacked with new drugs, it is unlikely to be wiped out entirely. The more modest goal right now is to destroy its numbers as far as possible, crippling its ability to rebound.

An illustration of how this can happen naturally occurs among a tiny minority of people called “elite controllers,” who are infected by HIV but whose viral reservoirs are dormant thanks to the vigilance of its immune defences. What does a “functional cure” mean?

“We are not talking about eradication. We are talking about cure, monitoring and remission, an approach similar to what we have for cancer,” Christine Rouzioux, professor of virology at Paris’ Necker Hospital. The road will be long, “but we’ll get there before a vaccine emerges,” said Rouzioux, referring to a goal that remains agonisingly elusive after three decades. — AFP

TOKYO: Visitors extend their hands to touch a high-resolution 3D digital movie of a whale shark (top) and (above) green turtle during a press preview at the Sony showroom in Tokyo yesterday. Sony will display the 3D movie illustrating Okinawa’s aquarium through August. — AFP

TOKYO: Japan’s government is poised to halt all shipments of beef from Fukushima after meat from cows that ate feed contaminated with radioactive material up to 500 times higher than safety standards was shipped, officials said yesterday.

More than 500 cows that ate straw contaminated by radioactive cesium have been shipped to other parts of Japan, initial inspections of the area’s farms have shown. The government is still conducting tests as to whether the meat itself has been contaminated.

All prefectures will be asked to look into whether farms have fed contaminated feed to their cows and inspections will be boosted, Agriculture Minister Michihiko Kano said.

The news sparked selling in stocks of meat companies, with Nippon Meat Packers losing 4.2 percent to 1,082 yen and Itoham Foods dropping 3 percent to 321 yen.

Incidents of contaminated vegetables, tea, milk, seafood and water have stoked public anxiety after Tokyo Electric Power Co’s Fukushima Daiichi plant leaked radiation following a devastating ear thquake and tsunami on March 11.

The Fukushima government, which has already checked more than 33,000 beef cattle, plans to inspect all of Fukushima’s 4,000 cattle farms by Aug. 3.

Beef from Fukushima accounts for only 2.8 percent of domestic shipments, according to government data. — Reuters

HK orders recall of Glaxo antibiotic HONG KONG: Hong Kong has ordered pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline to recall an antibiotic which contained chemical additives, and warned it may take legal action against the manufacturer.

The health depar tment said tests revealed the British-based firm’s Augmentin antibiotic tablet contained several plasticisers, including diisodecyl phthalate (DIDP), raising “quality concerns.” Last month, the health watchdog also ordered a recall of the antibiotic in syrup form-usually used for children-over elevated levels of DIDP, warning that long-term consumption at high levels could harm the liver.

But the department said yesterday the

amount of the chemicals-used to make plastics pliable -uncovered in the Augmentin tablets was “considered unlikely to cause acute harmful effects if taken according to the recommended dosage.”

The health department said in a statement late Monday it would “seek Department of Justice’s advice on possible legal actions against (GlaxoSmithKline)” but did not elaborate.

“Since GSK could not provide satisfactory explanation on sources of the plasticisers, the quality of the product is in question,” it said. In a statement yesterday, the drug firm said it had launched an “urgent and thorough investigation” to determine the source

of the additives. “GSK does not intentionally use any plasticisers in the manufacture of Augmentin,” it said, adding they were “significantly lower than the levels that the US and European authorities deem as presenting risk to humans.” China, South Korea, the Philippines and Hong Kong earlier this year banned imports of certain food and drinks from Taiwan after some were found to contain plasticisers, which experts say can cause hormone problems in young people.

Taiwan prosecutors said last month they were seeking long jail terms for four people on charges of selling the banned chemicals to food makers, triggering the island’s worst food scare in decades. — AFP

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Years

he a lt h & s c ie n c e

Bill Gates sets out to reinvent WCs Aim is to boost health in developing countries WASHINGTON: The man who reinvented computers and made PCs a household item in most wealthy nations, Microsoft tycoon turned philanthropist Bill Gates, is now focusing his attention on recasting the WC. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is pledging millions of dollars in grants to reinvent the toilet, its director of water, sanitation and hygiene programs, Frank Rijsberman, told AFP, calling it a “huge issue for Africa.�

The aim is to boost health in developing countries by giving the 2.6 billion people who don’t have access to a WC a hygienic, safe place to go to the toilet. Speaking by phone from a pan-African conference on sanitation that opened in the Rwandan capital Kigali Tuesday, Rijsberman said only a fraction of Africans, even in large cities, are “connected to sewers with a flush toilet.� “In cities, people use ‘flying toilets,’� he explained. “They go on a plastic bag and then throw it in the street, which is not only gross but kids walk around and play, and come into contact with the poop and can develop chronic diarrhea, which kills more chil-

dren under the age of five than HIV/AIDS and malaria.�

Rijsberman mentioned Haiti, where by the end of last month 5,500 people had died from a cholera epidemic he said was caused by “improperly disposed-of waste� from a UN peacekeepers’ base.

Giving people in Africa and other parts of the developing world access to toilets could slash the death rate from diarrheal disease by around 40 percent, he said. But the Gates Foundation not only wants to improve access to toilets, it also wants to

get away from the flush WC that is ubiquitous in the West but isn’t a viable solution for poor countries. “We need to reinvent the toilet. We need to come up with new technology that doesn’t put waste into drinking water, doesn’t flush it down a very expensive pipe to a waste water treatment plant where we spend lots of money to remove the poop,� Rijsberman said. To spur the reinvention of the WC, the Gates Foundation used the AfricaSan conference in Kigali to announce $42 million in grants to spur innovations in the capture and stor-

‘In cities, people use ‘flying toilets,’� he explained. “They go on a plastic bag and then throw it in the street, which is not only gross but kids walk around and play, and can develop chronic diarrhea, which kills more children under the age of five than HIV/AIDS and malaria.’

A Word of Solutions

age of waste, and to develop ways to process what Rijsberman calls “poop� into reusable energy and fertilizer. Among the ideas being worked on are a waterless toilet, and a system that would microwave fecal matter and turn it into fuel. The foundation says the reinvented toilet must be affordable, costing no more than five US cents a day per person. It also has to be easy to install, use and maintain. “We have to learn to not think of poop as a nuisance and waste but as a resource that could be recycled at a cost of a few cents a day,�

Rijsberman said, citing the example of Indian villagers who dry cowpats to use as fuel.

The foundation has teamed up with global partners including the US Agency for International Development (USAID) to develop new tools and technologies to improve sanitation and make toilets accessible to the world’s poor. Rijsberman was hopeful that investments in sanitation innovation would produce several new-breed toilet prototypes within a year, with reinvented toilets hitting markets in the developing world in around three years. — AFP

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WEDNESDAY, JULY 20, 2011

W H AT ’ S O N

Announcements Family conference Home land family conference of KTMCC (Kuwait Town Malalyali Christian Congregation) will be conducted on July 23 at Kumbanadu, Kerala including its ex-members and the present members who are on vacation at that time. Meantime it decided to honor those who completed age of 70 and above. For the registration of conference to visit www.ktmcc.com or to contact HFC (Home land family conference) Kerala Chapter Convener T. John Mathew Mob: - (+91) 94463-68878 or Secretary Roy. K.Yohannan 66570486.

Art salon Bouhshari Art Gallery Exhibition runs through 15 September. Daily working hours: 10am - 1pm and 5 9pm, except on Friday and on Thursday evening.

Al-Jabriya Secondary School graduation ceremony

T

he Jabriya High School for Girls celebrated the graduation of its 12th grade students, class of 2010/2011, in a ceremony held at the Movenpick Hotel. The event was sponsored by the United Travel Agency, and attended by Dr Hamad Al-Tuwaijri and Sheikh Talal Al-Fahad Al-Ahmad alSabah, as well as the schools’ staff and students’ families. —Photos by Fouad Al-Sheikh

Indian bowling league Indian Bowling League Season 2 would like to invite you and your families to participate in an Indian bowling event where all nationalities, the young and the old can have fun playing an enjoyable game while meeting new people in a healthy competition from July 12th - August 15th For more details contact: Uly 99503348, Amaldo 66052062, and Nasha 99516960. If anyone is looking to assist them in this event with sponsors, they will be really obliged to have your help to make this event a success. Registrations are open.

Bodybuilding competition The Philippine Body Building & Fitness Association in Kuwait will be holding its first Bodybuilding competition for all Filipino Instructors and enthusiasts on July 22nd at Al-Zumareida Hall, Salwa along the Gulf Road from 5pm - 9pm. The competition will be one of a kind in Kuwait. It will highlight the participation of highly skilled Filipino fitness and aerobics trainers and showcase remarkable presentations during the competition.

Three categories for the Bodybuilding competition: Small, Medium, Tall, all of which are based on required height measurements. There will be three winners from each height category and one overall winner. The competition will be covered by Al Watan Daily News, TFC (The Filipino Channel) and GMA 7 from the Philippines.

KuwaitBodyBuilding.com will be one of the sponsors for this event and PBBFAK are actively looking for other organizations that may also be interested in becoming a sponsor.

Rink soccer Don Bosco Oratory is pleased to announce its Major 4A-Side “Rink Soccer Fiesta” in Kuwait! This event is for the soccer lovers in Kuwait and will be played on a League (round robin) cum knock out basis from August 2nd at the IEAS Quadrangle in Salmiya. Last date to register for participation is on July 28th. Draws will be announced on the July 30th. For details contact Chris: 6651-9627, Alex: 66069282 from 6-9pm.

Diwaniya at Aware Ramadan Lecture & Iftar dinner buffet ‘The Meaning of Ramadan’ by Dr. Teresa Lesher on Thursday, August 11 at 5:30pm. Ramadan presents a wonderful opportunity for Westerners to learn more about Kuwait, to meet new individuals and have questions regarding Islam and the Holy month of Ramadan answered. During this special month, the communal meal referred to as Iftar, breaks the fast at the end of the day and brings family and friends together. As part of AWARE’s Ramadan activities, we invite you to join us for a Ramadan presentation followed by a traditional Iftar dinner, at the AWARE Center August 11th. Additional Ramadan programs are offered: Tuesday, Aug. 2 at 8pm Tuesday, Aug. 16 at 8pm.

SMCA’s Dukhrana celebrations

S

yro Malabar Cultural Association (SMCA), Kuwait celebrated Dukhrana (St. Thomas Day) with colorful events in a sparkling family atmosphere. The celebrations started with Ramsa (traditional evening prayer of Syro Malabarians) lead by Fr. Jose Nirappil.

President Jaison Chemannur hoisted SMCA flag, 4 Area general conveners joined him in the ceremony, while Baladeepthy Children from Fahaheel Area sang the SMCA Anthem. It was followed by hours of colorful stage presentations from 4 areas of SMCA. Dances, Skits, and Karoake Singing all invited big appreciation from the huge family gathering.

At 5.40 pm the public meeting was presided over by the SMCA pres-

ident Jaison Chemannur and General Secretary Rejoy Varghese Kelamparambil welcomed all dignitaries and members to the event.

Charge De Affairs of Indian Embassy Vidhu P Nair delivered the keynote address. First Secretary of Vatican Nunciature (Embassy) Monsignor Rev fr. John Kallarackal wished all and expressed his delight being able to participate in the SMCA’s Dukhrana celebrations for the first time later he released the 4th edition of Members Directory by giving the first copy to the President of SMCA. Jinson Kolenchery & Conveners of Directory Sub-committee Thomas Kuruvilla Narithookil, Alex George Rathapillil & Bijoy Scaria Palakkunnel

joined him in releasing the Directory.

The above said individuals were honored by SMCA for their outstanding support for this directory project.

Baladeepthy president Tany Elizabeth, Kuwait Vicar General and Syro Malabar co-ordinator Rev Fr. Mathews Kunnelpurayidom and Qatar SMCA president Joy Elavathunkal delivered felicitations.

Treasurer Wilson Vadakkedath said Vote of Thanks.

The success of the Dukhrana celebrations was the result of collective effort put in by the sub committees under the leadership of, Arts Convener Shajimon Manguzhikkary, Cultural Convener Francis Antony Pulikkan and Social Welfare Convener Gigy George Parakkadan.

Muthamizh Kalai Mandram elects office bearers Muthamizh Kalai Mandram - Kuwait, held a meeting on 8th July at Oasis Hotel, Tipu Sultan Hall, for electing new office bearers for the period of 2011 to 2013. The following members are elected as follows: Management Committee 1. Er. P.Sekar - President

2. Dr. K.Kumar - Vice - President 3. K Jayabalan - General Secretary 4. K.Natarajan - Treasurer 5. Er. M.K.Gandhi - P. R. S. Executive Committee 1. Er. M Rajasekar 2. Dr. Paul Emanuel 3. E.M.Hanifa

4. Almass Mustafa 5. Balu Samy 6. I.Shajahan 7. Udavum Kaigal Rajendran 8. S.Ramesh 9. M.A.Baheer Vote of thanks was presented by I. Shajahan.

K’S Path

Roy the Giant Samoyed Roy is a playful and friendly three-year old Giant Samoyed. He loves lounging, a good brush and retrieving a ball. Roy is gentle and will be a great addition to a family with children aged 12 and above. To adopt Roy, contact K’S PATH at (+965) 6700 1622 or visit the website www.kspath.org.

Toti the Persian Cat Toti is a pretty one-year old Persian cat who is very observant and loves jumping. Toti is independent, playful and confident. She will be a great addition to a family with children aged 8 and above. To adopt Toti, contact K’S PATH at (+965) 6700 1622 or visit the website www.kspath.org.

Significance of the Holy Month of Ramadan “O you who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you so that you may have God-consciousness.” (2:183) Ramadan is the most blessed and spiritually-beneficial month of the Islamic year as it was the month in which The Quran was revealed to the Holy Prophet. (Peace be upon him) Prayers, fasting, charity, sincerity and self-accountability are stressed at this time. Ramadan is a period of reflection, generosity and sacrifice observed by all Muslims at the same time, all over the world. From dawn until dusk, Muslims must practice self-control and focus on prayers and devotion. Even though it requires great discipline, most Muslims do not see it as a time of hardship or sorrow. It is a yearly opportunity to refocus both the mind and the body on our true ground of existenceGod. In fact, Ramadan has a joyful, almost festive atmosphere.

The Diwan Book Club by Yousef Khalifa at 7pm Diwaniya: The Fascinating and Delicious World of Dates (To be followed with a traditional dinner buffet known as ‘Gabkha’) August 16, at 8pm By Claudia Farkas Al-Rashoud. One of nature’s most perfect foods, the date holds a special place in the history, hearts, and homes of Kuwaitis. Dates were once a vital source of sustenance for desert travelers and a staple commodity of Kuwait’s seafaring trade. Today, the date is still one of the most important cash crops in the region, with between 600 to 700 varieties grown. Of all the traditional foods eaten during Ramadan, nutritious and delicious dates undoubtedly have the most benefits for those who are fasting. With this Ramadan coinciding with the local date harvest, now is the time to enjoy them, whether you are fasting or not. Join local photojournalist Claudia Farkas Al Rashoud for a diwaniya presentation that will immerse you in the fascinating world of dates at the AWARE Center premises where you will learn about dates in local tradition, culture, cooking, and agriculture, and sample some of the different types of these healthy fruits of the desert.

Diwaniya: Ramadan in Kuwait (To be followed with a traditional dinner buffet known as ‘Gabkha’) Tuesday, August 2 at 8pm by Wad’ha Al-Shaheen. Ramadan is a holy month that is special to Muslims. In Kuwait & other Gulf countries, Ramadan has a very special sense where religion merges with culture & traditions. The speaker will focus on this tremendous mix and then present some cultural practices related to Ramadan, which is a special month in the Islamic world. It will concentrate on how Muslims behave during the month of Ramadan, what are the deeds they care to do, customs of helping the poor & bonding between people, gergei’an, and finally preparing for & celebrating Eid (festival of breaking the fast.)

This presentation will focus on Kuwait but it will also show the similarities of traditions between Kuwait and other Gulf countries.

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WEDNESDAY, JULY 20, 2011

W H AT ’ S O N

Embassy Information EMBASSY OF ARGENTINA In order to inform that 23rd of October 2011, will be Argentine national election where all Argentinean citizen residents permanently in Kuwait can vote only if they are registered at the Electoral Register of the Argentine Embassy. The procedure of inscription ended on 25 of April 2011. To register it is necessary that Argentinean citizens should come personally at the Argentinean Embassy (Block 6, street 42, villa 57, Mishref ) and present the DNI and four personal photos (size 4x4, face should be front on white background). For further information, contact us on 25379211. nnnnnnn

Qurtoba High School honours 12th grade graduates

EMBASSY OF BANGLADESH The Embassy of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh in Kuwait will follow office hours during the Holy Month of Ramadan. Sunday to Thursday : 09:00 A.M 3:00 PM. Friday and Saturday : Weekly Holidays.

This is for information of all concerned.

T

he Qurtoba High School hosted a celebration at its campus for its 12th grade graduates, class of 2010/2011, with attendance of the school’s administration and staff, as well as family members of the students.

—Photos by Fouad Al-Shaikh

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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 nnnnnnn

Huda

Sarah Jamil

Najia Tahir

Malika Fayyaz

Fatima Saeed

Zahra Naeem

Javaria Anjum

Radia Shafiq

Heba Zuberi

Syedah Kinz Hassan

Rihab Iftikhar

Hiba Mudassar

Sarah Ali

Maryam Liaquat

Huda Fakhar

Taha Haider

Mishal Fahim

Mir M. Awais

Asma Zaheer

Saad Rasool

Saba Abbas

Muteeb Najam

Shayan Shahzad

Fabiyan Naeem

Mahnoor Mahmood

Salman

M Abdullah Irfan

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.

Consular Services for Canadian Citizens are provided from 09:00 until 12:00 on Sunday through Wednesday.

The forms are available on the internet at: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/pdf/kits/forms/I MM5257E.PDF. A guide explaining the process can be found here: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/pdf/kits/guides/ 5256E.PDF. nnnnnnn

Hamza Liaqat

Mohammed Adil

Hammad Farooq

Mohammed Arslan

Sardar Atabak Khan

Mohammed Aqib

Ibtehaj Mohiuddin

Awab Ijaz

Mohammed Hassan

Irfan Amin

Ali Haq Nawaz

Jawad Bin Azher

Syed Hassan Faraz

ISCP students shine in FBISE results

F

ederal Board Intermediate and secondary education (FBISE) Islamabad has declared the results of SSC-Part I Annual examinations 2011.

Huda emerged top scorer from International School of Pakistan. Huda is the daughter of Abdul Aziz Tahir who outshined securing 496 (94.5%) getting the first position in Kuwait. Sarah Jamil followed her obtaining 492 marks who

was placed at second position. 40 students of this school were placed in A* Grades.

The management of the school appreciated the outstanding performance of the students congratulating them and their parents. The devoted efforts of the well experienced faculty were highly admired for their contributions towards the remarkable results.

Boys Taha Haider (486) Mir M. Awais (478) Saad Rasool (474) Muteeb Najam (469) Fabiyan Naeem (456) Salman Abdul Rouf (454) Mohammed Abdullah(452) Hamza Liaqat (448) Mohammed Adil (445) Mohammed Arslan (443) Mohammed Aqib (442) Awab Ijaz (441) Irfan Amin (441)

Jawad Bin Azher (439) Hammad Farooq (438) Sardar Atabak Khan (438) Ibtehaj Mohiuddin (429) Mohammed Hassan (424) Ali Haq Nawaz (420) Syed Hassan Faraz (420) Girls Huda Abdulaziz (496) Sarah Jamil (492) Najia Tahir (487) Malika Fayyaz (485) Fatima Saeed (480) Zahra Naeem (479)

Javeria Anjum (479) Radia Shafiq (467) Heba Zuberi (455) Syedah Kinz Hassan (454) Hiba Mudassar (450) Rihab Iftikhar (450) Sarah Ali (446) Maryam Liaqat (443) Huda Fakhar (439) Mishal Fahim (432) Asma Zaheer (429) Saba Abbas (429) Shayan Shahzad (429) Mahnoor Mahmood (423).

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 nnnnnnn

EMBASSY OF INDIA Embassy of India, would like to inform that application forms for passport/visa services and labour contracts that are on its website, www.indembkwt.org, have been upgraded to include the facility for online data entry. Affidavit forms on the Embassy website have had this facility since May 6, 2009. nnnnnnn

EMBASSY OF NIGERIA The Nigerian embassy has its new office in Mishref. Block 3, Street 7, House 4. For enquires please call 25379541. Fax25387719. Email- nigeriakuwait@yahoo.com or nigeriankuwait@yahoo.co.uk

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00:45 Dogs/Cats/Pets 101 01:40 Untamed & Uncut 02:35 Venom Hunter with Donald Schultz 03:30 Wildest Africa 04:25 Buggin’ with Ruud 05:20 Animal Cops Houston 06:10 Cats 101 07:00 Lemur Street 07:25 The Really Wild Show 07:50 Jeff Corwin Unleashed 08:15 Natural Born Hunters 08:40 Breed All About It 09:10 Dogs/Cats/Pets 101 11:00 Michaela’s Animal Road Trip 11:55 Lemur Street 12:20 Wildlife SOS 12:50 K9 Cops 13:45 Animal Cops Houston 14:40 Animal Precinct 15:30 RSPCA: On the Frontline 16:00 The Really Wild Show 16:30 Chris Humfrey’s Wildlife 17:25 America’s Cutest...

18:20 Breed All About It 18:45 Orangutan Island 19:15 Crocodile Hunter 20:10 Dogs 101 21:05 Austin Stevens Adventures 22:00 The Afterlife 22:55 Human Prey 23:50 Mutant Planet

00:00 00:30 01:15 02:10 03:00 03:30 04:00 04:30 04:50 05:10 05:40 05:50 06:10 06:30 07:00 07:20 07:40 08:10 08:20 08:40 09:00 09:30 09:40 10:10 10:40 11:25 12:15 12:45 13:15 14:10 15:10 15:40 16:30 17:15 17:45 18:15 19:10 20:00 20:45 21:15 21:45 22:35 23:05 23:40

2 Point 4 Children The Weakest Link Holby City Spooks Eastenders Doctors Dinnerladies Fimbles Balamory Tikkabilla Charlie And Lola Fimbles Balamory Tikkabilla Tweenies Balamory Tikkabilla Charlie And Lola Tweenies Balamory Tikkabilla Charlie And Lola Dinnerladies 2 Point 4 Children The Weakest Link Himalaya With Michael Palin Doctors Eastenders Holby City 2 Point 4 Children 2 Point 4 Children Himalaya With Michael Palin The Weakest Link Doctors Eastenders Holby City Himalaya With Michael Palin The Weakest Link Doctors Eastenders Casualty Bleak House Bleak House 2 Point 4 Children

00:00 Cash In The Attic USA 00:25 Cash In The Attic USA 00:45 Come Dine With Me 01:35 New Scandinavian Cooking With Andreas Viestad 02:00 New Scandinavian Cooking With Andreas Viestad 02:25 Cash In The Attic USA 03:55 Cash In The Attic USA 04:15 Fantasy Homes Down Under 05:00 Daily Cooks Challenge 07:15 Ching’s Kitchen 08:00 Ching’s Kitchen 08:25 New Scandinavian Cooking

With Andreas Viestad 08:50 New Scandinavian Cooking With Andreas Viestad 09:15 Antiques Roadshow 10:05 Cash In The Attic USA 11:30 Cash In The Attic USA 11:50 New Scandinavian Cooking With Andreas Viestad 12:15 New Scandinavian Cooking With Andreas Viestad 12:40 Antiques Roadshow 13:30 Cash In The Attic 14:15 Bargain Hunt 14:55 Come Dine With Me 15:45 Cash In The Attic USA 17:10 Cash In The Attic USA 17:30 Rhodes Across China 18:15 New Scandinavian Cooking With Andreas Viestad 18:40 New Scandinavian Cooking With Andreas Viestad 19:05 Antiques Roadshow 19:55 Cash In The Attic 20:40 Bargain Hunt 21:25 Come Dine With Me 22:15 Fantasy Homes Down Under 23:00 Masterchef Australia 23:45 The Naked Chef

00:00 BBC World News 00:30 World Business Report 00:45 Sport Today 01:00 BBC World News America 01:30 Asia Business Report 01:45 Sport Today 02:00 BBC World News 02:30 Asia Business Report 02:45 Sport Today 03:00 Newsday 03:30 Asia Business Report 03:45 Sport Today 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 20:00 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

00:05 Cow And Chicken 00:30 Cramp Twins 00:55 The Grim Adventures Of Billy And Mandy 01:20 Courage The Cowardly Dog 01:45 Eliot Kid 02:10 Ed, Edd n Eddy 02:35 Ben 10: Alien Force

WEDNESDAY, JULY 20, 2011

TV PROGRAMS 03:00 The Powerpuff Girls 03:15 Chowder 03:40 The Secret Saturdays 04:05 Samurai Jack 04:30 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien 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 Angelo Rules 10:00 Star Wars: The Clone Wars 10:55 The Powerpuff Girls 11:45 Adventure Time 12:35 Ben 10: Alien Force 13:00 Ben 10: Alien Force 13:25 Bakugan: Gundalian Invaders 13:50 Bakugan: Gundalian Invaders 14:15 Skunk Fu! 15:05 Batman: The Brave And The Bold 15:25 Batman: The Brave And The Bold 15:50 Ben 10 16:35 Bakugan Battle Brawlers 17:15 Angelo Rules 18:05 Hero 108 18:30 Cartoon Network Dance Club 18:45 The Marvelous Misadventures Of Flapjack 18:55 Star Wars: The Clone Wars 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

00:00 00:30 01:00 02:00 03:00 04:00 05:00 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

Backstory World Sport The Situation Room World Report World Business Today Piers Morgan Tonight Anderson Cooper 360 World Sport Inside Africa World Report Backstory World Report World Sport Revealed World Business Today World One World Sport Talk Asia Piers Morgan Tonight News Stream World Business Today International Desk The Brief World Sport Prism International Desk Revealed Quest Means Business Piers Morgan Tonight Connect The World

00:40 01:35 02:30 03:25 04:20 05:15 05:40 06:05 07:00 07:50 08:45 09:10 10:05

Dirty Jobs Miami Ink Ultimate Survival Twist The Throttle Mythbusters How It’s Made How Stuff Works Dirty Jobs Twist The Throttle Street Customs 2008 How It’s Made Mythbusters Cake Boss

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 20:35 21:00 21:55 22:50 23:45

Border Security Auction Kings Taking On Tyson LA Ink Ultimate Survival Miami Ink Dirty Jobs Twist The Throttle Mythbusters Dual Survival Cake Boss Border Security Auction Kings How Stuff Works How It’s Made Science Of The Movies Mythbusters The Future Of...

Dual Survival

00:05 Science Of The Movies 00:55 Mega Builders 01:45 Space Pioneer 02:35 Sci-Fi Saved My Life 03:25 Catch It Keep It 04:15 How Does That Work?

04:45 Mega Builders 05:40 One Step Beyond 06:10 Superships 07:00 Catch It Keep It 07:55 The World’s Strangest UFO Stories 08:50 The Gadget Show 09:40 Through The Wormhole With Morgan Freeman 10:35 Through The Wormhole With Morgan Freeman 15:45 Weird Connections 16:10 Brainiac 17:00 Race To Mars 17:50 Sci-Fi Science 18:15 The Gadget Show 18:40 What’s That About?

19:30 Weird Connections 20:20 Catch It Keep It 21:10 The Gadget Show 21:35 The Gadget Show 22:00 What’s That About?

22:50 Weird Connections 23:40 The Gadget Show

00:00 00:25 01:15 02:00 02:50 03:35 04:25 05:15 06:00 06:20 06:45 07:05 07:30 07:55 08:20 08:35 09:00 09:10 09:25 09:40 09:50 10:10 10:35 10:50 11:15 11:35 12:00 12:25 12:45 13:10 13:30 13:55 14:20 14:55 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

Kim Possible Fairly Odd Parents Stitch Replacements Emperors New School Stitch Replacements Fairly Odd Parents Emperors New School The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody Phineas & Ferb Wizards Of Waverly Place The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody Good Luck Charlie Fish Hooks Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Jake & The Neverland Pirates Jungle Junction Handy Manny Jake & The Neverland Pirates Sonny With A Chance Yr 2 Hannah Montana Phineas And Ferb Shake It Up Good Luck Charlie Suite Life On Deck Wizards Of Waverly Place Sonny With A Chance Yr 2 Hannah Montana Forever Phineas & Ferb The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody Fish Hooks Good Luck Charlie Wizards Of Waverly Place Suite Life On Deck Fish Hooks Shake It Up Wizards Of Waverly Place Hannah Montana Fish Hooks Suite Life On Deck Shake It Up Good Luck Charlie Wizards Of Waverly Place Jake & Blake Hannah Montana Sonny With A Chance Yr 2 Good Luck Charlie Shake It Up Hannah Montana Sonny With A Chance Yr 2 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 Zeke & Luther 09:50 I’m In The Band 10:15 The Super Hero Squad Show 10:40 Suite Life On Deck 11:30 Pair Of Kings 11:55 Phineas & Ferb 12:45 Kid Vs Kat 13:50 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 Suite Life On Deck 16:50 Zeke & Luther 17:40 Phineas & Ferb 18:30 Escape From Scorpion Island 18:55 Kick Buttowski 19:20 American Dragon 19:45 Aaron Stone 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

THE GREAT DEBATERS ON OSN CINEMA

00:25 Kendra 00:55 Style Star 01:25 15 Most Shocking Political Sex Scandals 03:15 25 Most Stylish 04:10 Sexiest 05:05 Extreme Hollywood 06:00 THS 07:50 Behind The Scenes 08:20 E! News 09:15 Kourtney And Kim Take New

York 09:45 Kourtney And Kim Take New York 10:15 15 Most Infamous Child Star Mugshots 12:05 E! News 13:05 Holly’s World 14:05 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 14:35 THS 16:25 Behind The Scenes 16:55 E! Investigates 17:55 E! News 18:55 E! Investigates 19:55 Khloe And Lamar 20:55 Chelsea Lately 21:25 The Dance Scene 22:25 E! News 23:25 Chelsea Lately 23:55 Kourtney And Khloe Take Miami

00:15 Gumball 3000: 2008 00:40 Mantracker 01:30 World Combat League 02:20 Gumball 3000: 2008 03:10 Kick Ass Miracles 04:00 Kenny Belaey’s Big Time South Africa 04:25 Kenny Belaey’s Big Time South Africa 04:50 Mantracker 05:40 World Combat League 06:30 FIA European Drag Racing 2008 08:00 Quattro Events 2009 08:25 IFMXF 2010 09:15 Lucas Oil Ama Motocross Championships...

10:05 Lucas Oil Ama Motocross Championships...

10:55 Final Fu 11:45 Fantasy Factory 12:35 Gumball 3000: 2008 13:25 Mantracker 14:15 World Combat League 15:05 Final Fu 15:30 Final Fu 15:55 Fantasy Factory 16:20 Fantasy Factory 16:45 Quattro Events 2009 17:10 IFMXF 2010 17:35 IFMXF 2010 18:00 Lucas Oil Ama Motocross Championships...

18:50 Lucas Oil Ama Motocross Championships...

19:40 Mantracker 20:30 Gumball 3000: 2008 21:20 I’ll Do Anything 22:10 World Combat League 23:00 Kick Ass Miracles 23:50 Gumball 3000: 2008

00:30 01:20 02:10 03:00 03:25 03:50 04:45 05:15 06:10 07:00 07:50 08:40 09:05 09:30 10:20 11:10 12:00 12:50 13:40 14:30 14:55 15:20 16:10 17:00 17:50 18:40 19:05 19:55 20:20 21:10 22:00 22:50 23:40

Ghost Lab A Haunting Deadly Women Deadly Women: Face To Face Deadly Women: Face To Face Dr G: Medical Examiner Black Museum Ghost Lab Mystery Diagnosis Murder Shift Forensic Detectives Street Patrol Real Emergency Calls Mystery Diagnosis Fugitive Strike Force FBI Files On The Case With Paula Zahn Royal Inquest Mystery Diagnosis Street Patrol Real Emergency Calls Fugitive Strike Force FBI Files Forensic Detectives Murder Shift Real Emergency Calls Mystery Diagnosis Street Patrol On The Case With Paula Zahn Royal Inquest I Almost Got Away With It Crimes That Shook The World Dr G: Medical Examiner

00:50 Mgm’s Big Screen-FAM 01:05 Dancehall Queen-PG 02:45 The Mean Season-PG 04:30 Police Story: The Freeway Killings-PG 06:55 Cruel Justice-PG 08:20 Escape Clause-PG 10:05 Awake To Danger-PG 11:35 Brannigan-PG 13:25 Mosquito Squadron-PG 14:55 The Adventures Of Buckaroo Banzai-PG 16:35 The Perez Family-PG 18:25 Mgm’s Big Screen-FAM 18:40 Memories Of Me-PG 20:20 Romantic Comedy-PG 22:00 Arena-PG 23:35 Fluke-FAM

00:00 Wild Amazon 01:00 Triumph of Life 01:55 Killer Shots 02:50 Shane Untamed 03:45 World’s Deadliest 04:40 World’s Deadliest Animals 05:35 Swamp Men 06:30 Lizard Kings 07:25 World’s Deadliest 08:20 Ultimate Predator 09:15 Killer Shots 10:10 Shane Untamed 11:05 World’s Deadliest 12:00 Dangerous Encounters With Brady Barr 13:00 Super Predators 14:00 Planet Carnivore 15:00 Restless Planet 16:00 Killer Shots 17:00 Shane Untamed 18:00 World’s Deadliest 19:00 Super Predators 20:00 Planet Carnivore 21:00 Restless Planet 22:00 Killer Shots 23:00 Shane Untamed

00:00 02:00 18 04:00 06:00

Altitude-PG15 Smokin’ Aces 2: Assassin’s Ball4.3.2.1.-18 The Sum Of All Fears-PG15

COURAGE UNDER FIRE ON OSN MOVIES ACTION 08:15 10:00 12:00 14:00 16:00 18:00 20:00 22:00

Blue Crush-PG15 Hardwired-PG15 Phone Booth-PG15 Blue Crush-PG15 Unbreakable-PG15 Phone Booth-PG15 Gothika-18 A Perfect Getaway-18

01:00 03:00 05:00 PG15 07:00 09:00 11:00 13:15 15:00 17:00 19:00 21:00 23:00

While She Was Out-18 Me And Orson Welles-PG The Sorcerer’s ApprenticeGreen Lantern: First Flight-PG Leap Year-PG15 The Great Debaters-PG15 Beneath The Blue-PG15 Stone Of Destiny-PG15 Don’t Fade Away-PG15 The Burning Plain-PG15 A Perfect Getaway-18 Staten Island-PG15

00:30 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 01:00 The Colbert Report 01:30 The Ricky Gervais Show 02:00 The Cleveland Show 02:30 Party Down 03:00 Malcolm In The Middle 03:30 Hope And Faith 04:00 Yes Dear 04:30 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 05:30 Tyler Perry’s House Of Payne 06:00 According To Jim 06:30 Coach 07:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 08:00 Yes Dear 08:30 Malcolm In The Middle 09:00 Tyler Perry’s House Of Payne 09:30 Raising Hope 10:00 Seinfeld 10:30 According To Jim 11:00 Coach 11:30 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 12:30 Yes Dear 13:00 Hope And Faith 13:30 Tyler Perry’s House Of Payne 14:00 According To Jim 14:30 Raising Hope 15:00 Seinfeld 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 Parks And Recreation 19:30 The Simpsons 20:00 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 21:00 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 21:30 The Colbert Report 22:00 Louie 22:30 Party Down 23:00 The Ricky Gervais Show 23:30 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon

00:00 01:00 02:00 03:00 04:00 05:00 07:00 08:00 08:30 09:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 18:30 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00

00:00 01:00 02:00 03:00

Body Of Proof House Private Practice Hawthorne Strong Medicine Good Morning America Glee Emmerdale Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show The Martha Stewart Show The View Body Of Proof Hawthorne Live Good Morning America Strong Medicine The Ellen DeGeneres Show Emmerdale Coronation Street Terriers Supernatural Mildred Pierce Private Practice Glee

Alias Breaking Bad House Body Of Proof

04:00 05:00 06:00 07:00 07:30 08:00 09:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00

Hawthorne The Glades Alias 8 Simple Rules ...

Coronation Street No Ordinary Family The Glades Body Of Proof House 8 Simple Rules ...

No Ordinary Family Alias Sons Of Tucson No Ordinary Family Terriers Supernatural Mildred Pierce Breaking Bad The Glades

01:00 03:00 05:00 07:00 09:00 11:15 13:15 15:15 17:30 PG15 19:15 21:15 23:45

The Rig-PG15 4.3.2.1.-18 Basic Instinct 2-R Virtuality-PG15 Lost In Space-PG15 I, Robot-PG15 8 Mile-18 Lost In Space-PG15 The Fast And The Furious-

00:00 02:00 04:00 06:00 08:00 10:15 12:00 PG15 14:00 16:00 18:00 20:00 PG15 22:00

Ghosts Of Girlfriends Past-PG15 I Love You Beth Cooper-PG15 Dr. Dolittle-PG Dr. Dolittle 2-PG Renaissance Man-PG15 All’s Faire In Love-PG A Low Down Dirty Shame-

01:15 03:00 05:00 07:00 09:00 11:00 PG15 13:00 15:00 17:00 19:00 21:00 23:15

Partir-18 Crazy Heart-PG15 Mary Reilly-PG15 Michael Jackson’s This Is It-PG Free Style-PG15 The Young Black Stallion-

01:15 03:15 05:00 06:45 09:00 FAM 11:00 13:00 15:00 17:00 FAM 19:00 21:00 23:00

In America-18 Maneater: Part I-PG15 Maneater: Part II-PG15 The Lovely Bones-PG15 The Princess And The Frog-

00:00 FAM 02:00 04:00 PG 06:00 08:00 10:00 FAM 12:00 14:00 16:00 18:00 20:00 22:00

Barbie In A Fashion Fairytale-

Stuart Little 2-FAM The Nutty Professor-FAM Delgo-FAM Stuart Little 2-FAM Ed-PG The Nutty Professor-FAM

00:00 02:00 04:00 06:00 08:00 10:00 12:00

Dolan’s Cadillac-PG15 You Again-PG15 Oceans - Into The Deep-PG 9-PG Whip It-PG15 The People Speak-PG15 You Again-PG15

Courage Under Fire-PG15 Public Enemies-18 Dark Moon Rising-PG15

My One And Only-PG15 Ghosts Of Girlfriends Past-PG15 One Fine Day-PG15 A Pyromaniac’s Love StoryThe Hangover-18

Operating Instructions-PG15 Witness To Waco-PG15 Drumline-PG15 The Shock Doctrine-PG15 Indecent Proposal-18 Soul Food-18

Hope Springs-PG15 Post Grad-PG15 Alice In Wonderland-PG The Princess And The FrogNowhere Boy-PG15 Couples Retreat-18 Brothers-18

Aliens In The Attic-FAM Gladiators: The TournamentFly Me To The Moon-PG The Thief Of Baghdad-PG Barbie In A Fashion Fairytale-

14:00 15:45 17:45 19:45 22:00

Flicka 2-PG15 Whip It-PG15 Amelia-PG15 Iron Man 2-PG15 Frankie And Alice-PG15

03:00 04:00 04:30 06:30 07:00 08:00 12:00 14:00 14:30 16:30 17:30 18:30 19:00 21:00

Speedway Powerboats F1 H2O Super League Aquabikes WWE Vintage Collection Darts World Matchplay Rugby Union International Powerboats F1 H2O Super League Speedway Trans World Sport Powerboats F1 H2O Rugby Union International Live Darts World Matchplay

01:00 01:30 02:30 03:00 05:30 06:30 07:00 08:00 12:00 13:00 16:00 16:30 17:00 17:30 18:30 19:30 20:00 21:00

FIVB Beach Volley Ball Golfing World Futbol Mundial AFL Premiership Super Rugby Highlights NRL Full Time Golfing World Darts World Matchplay AFL Highlights Masters Football FIVB Beach Volley Ball World Hockey Futbol Mundial Trans World Sport Golfing World European Tour Weekly AFL Highlights Live Darts World matchplay

01:00 01:30 02:30 03:30 04:30 06:30 07:00 10:30 11:00 12:00 12:30 16:00 17:00 19:00 19:30 20:00

NRL Full Time Futbol Mundial AFL Highlights Trans World Sport Super League Futbol Mundial Live Snooker FIVB Beach Volleyball Golfing World Mobil 1 The Grid Live Snooker Golfing World NRL Premiership Mobil 1 The Grid Futbol Mundial Snooker

02:00 03:00 04:00 06:00 07:00 08:00 09:00 11:30 12:00 13:00 15:00 15:30 16:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 23:00

UFC The Ultimate Fighter Speedway Powerboats UFC Unleashed WWE Vintage Collection Speedway Super Formula Powerboats WWE NXT V8 Supercars Championship V8 Supercars Extra Mass Participation Modern Pentathlon Intercontinental Le Mans Cup Speedway FIM UFC 132 UFC The Ultimate Fighter

00:00 01:00 02:00 03:00 04:00 05:30 06:00 07:00 08:00 09:00 10:00 11:30 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:30 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00

Tales Of The Gun Ice Road Truckers Patton 360 American Pickers Pawn Stars Pawn Stars Tales Of The Gun Ice Road Truckers Patton 360 American Pickers Pawn Stars Pawn Stars Tales Of The Gun Ice Road Truckers Patton 360 American Pickers Pawn Stars Pawn Stars Tales Of The Gun Ice Road Truckers Patton 360 Britain At War Lancaster At War Gates Of Hell

Classifieds WEDNESDAY, JULY 20, 2011

I Newborn pandas weigh only 3 to 4 ounces while an adult weighs up to 300 pounds.

I 99 percent of a Panda’s diet is nothing but bamboo shoots and leaves. They spend 12 hours a day eating.

I Only about 1,000 of these black-and-white relatives of bears survive in the wild and about 127 in captivity.

“I’d rather be the king of kids, than the prince of fools.”

— Jack Black, on brainyquote.com

— kids.nationalgeographic.com

ACCOMMODATION

This toy is fully loaded In “Cars 2,” Lightning McQueen and Mater meet an international group of race cars with tons of aftermarket options. Kids can try their own hands at customizing with RideMakerz kits ($30). Each car comes with 13 changeable pieces, such as rims, spoilers and decals. You can find RideMakerz only at Toys“R”Us, but FamilyFun has 17 kits to give away. For a chance to win one, send an e-mail with “RideMakerz” in the subject line to contest.familyfun@disney.com and include your name, address, phone number and birth date (entrants must be age 13 or older). Deadline is July 31, 2011.

— Disney FamilyFun magazine

By Vickie An ds TimeForKi

WER! PANDA PO back into action

g ack is leapin ung Fu Actor Jack Bl the warrior panda, in “K ina Po of e ust save Ch m Po , as the voic el qu this 3-D se has invented Panda 2.” In il Lord Shen itself. The ev ipe out the ancient and kung fu w to s in time? at threaten ls stop Shen a weapon th Po and his pa od,” Black says. n Ca t. ar l martia eels go bear again “f ir of boots.” (PG-13) Voicing the on a warm pa ng tti pu e ik “L

O N E E N T RY P E R H O U S E H O L D. N O P U R C H A S E N E C E S S A RY. VO I D W H E R E P R O H I B I T E D F O R L E G A L R E S I D E N T S O F 5 0 S TAT E S A N D D. C. F I N D T H E F U L L RU L E S AT FA M I LY F U N . C O M / M AG A Z I N E .

Hundred-acre foods

TALE A FROSTY six penguins, his

pper inherits ’s PenWhen Tom Po to the birds! “Mr. Popper clasy goes of the g lin tel re a home literall is ters June 17, nguins,” guins,” in thea t was fun to work with pe er, . “I pper’s daught Po s ay pl sic storybook o Carroll, wh yet rated) says Madeline s freezing on set!” (Not wa Janie. “But it G RIDE A THRILLINtning McQueen and gh Li r ca race rememTION! On June 24, a road trip to AND ... AC 10, follows six r head out on el, the pair travel ate M ck tru theaters June e upon a monster- tow “Cars 2.” In the 3-D sequ World Grand “Super 8,” in stumbl ber in ces in the g teens who Fanning McQueen ra ride of his movie-makin e film, which stars Elle the globe as goes for the or ho ct w re r di ate spy.

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hts Res Time Inc. e Inc. All Rig istered trademarks of © 2011 Tim m are reg eforkids.co KIDS and Tim R FO E TIM

On July 15, Christopher Robin and friends return to theaters in “Winnie the Pooh.” In the film, Pooh’s quest for honey gets derailed by a search for Eeyore’s new tail. Satisfy the rumbly in your tumbly with a vanilla-honey shake accompanied by stinger-free bee cookies.

Vanilla Hunny Shake: In a blender, combine 1 cup vanilla ice cream, ½ cup whole milk, 1 teaspoon honey and a pinch of cinnamon. Pour into chilled glasses and serve immediately. Makes two 6-ounce servings.

Hunny Bee Cookies: Frost 12 round cookies with 1½ cups light-blue frosting and place a Twix Mini in the center of each. For the wings, use scissors to cut the ends from 12 marshmallows, then press them onto the cookies, sticky side down.

Spoon ½ cup yellow frosting into a ziplock sandwich bag, snip off a corner and pipe stripes onto the bees.

Big room available for family in Khaitan with bathroom in a villa. Only for Indian or Pakistani families.

Contact: 66757903/ 67732788/ 94974793.

(C 3530) Sharing accommodation available in Abbasiya near Highway Center 1st August onwards for bachelor or couple, rent bachelor KD 50, couple KD 80. Contact: 99645213. (C 3532) 18-7-2011 Sharing accommodation available for families/working ladies from August 1st onwards, in a new building flat with two rooms and two toilets, behind United Indian School, Abbassiya.

Contact: 66772421/66552412/ 65857668. (C 3523) Room available for decent couple or small Muslim family to share in two bedroom flat in Abbassiya behind Tel Exchange building. Contact: 66895049.

(C 3525) 16-7-2011

working ladies. Please contact: 99300513. (C 3521)

FOR SALE Items for sale in a spacious 2 BR + 2 Bathrooms in Jabriya. Hall (12m), BR (5m), big kitchen, private area + shaded car park. Contact: 66197107. (C 3533) 20-7-2011

their daughter, fair 28/164 B.Com, MBA, working in MNC, from parents of professionally qualified boys (Engineers, CA, Doctor etc) preferably from Marthoma, CSI, Evangelical, with good family background.

Contact: Email: advnaithu@yahoo.com (C 3516)

Mitsubishi Lancer Ex - 2009 - GLS - white color - 45000 km - Price KD 2,400/-.

Contact: 66729295.

(C 3529) 18-7-2011

Proposal invited for Orthodox boy 29/188cm, BSc (N) working in M.O.H. Prefer nurses working in Kuwait. Contact: 66704615.

(C 3517) 16-7-2011

1992 Ford Thunderbird for sale, price KD 250. Contact: 67058961. (c 3527) 17-7-2011

CHANGE OF NAME

MATRIMONIAL Marthomite parents invite marriage proposals, for

I, Sathian Payyappat Velayudhan, Passport No. Z1886330 hereby change the name of my son Abhishak Passport No. G1582875 to Abhishek

Payyappat Sathian.

(C 3531) SITUATION WANTED Wanted live-in maid, for an Indian family living in Riggae. Indian or Sri Lankan preferred. Contact: 50108324. (C 3528) 17-7-2011 Instrumentation and control Engineer with 1 year experience, Indian on commercial visiting visa, transferable, can join immediately. Contact: 96679478, Email: sanju_3n3@yahoo.com (C 3522) Iranian educated man, 7 years experience as Import and Export Manager, residency transferable.

Contact: 66346118.

(C 3524) 16-7-2011

No: 15155

— Disney FamilyFun magazine

OUT NOW

I “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” (PG-13) in movie theaters and IMAX 3-D.

OUT IN JUNE

I “X-Men First Class” (PG-13) in movie theaters June 3.

I “Green Lantern” (Predicted rating PG-13) in movie theaters and 3-D June 17.

I “Judy Moody and the NOT Bummer Summer” (PG-13) in movie theaters June 17.

OUT IN JULY I “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” (predicted rating PG-13) in movie theaters and IMAX 3-D July 1.

I “Monte Carlo” (PG) in movie theaters July 1.

I “The Zookeeper” (PG) in movie theaters July 8.

I “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2” (predicted rating PG-13) in movie theaters and IMAX 3-D July 15.

I “Winnie the Pooh” (G) in movie theaters July 15.

Sharing accommodation available for family or decent Indian Hindu or Catholic bachelors with Mangalorean Catholic family in a window A/C, two bedroom off Rashid Hospital, Shara Amman, Salmiya. Contact: 55995437/ 99200186.

(C 3520)

I “Captain America: the First Avenger” (predicted rating PG-13) in movie theaters July 22.

I “The Smurfs” (predicted rating PG) in movie theaters and 3-D July 29.

OUT IN AUGUST I “Spy Kids 4: All the Time in the World” (predicted rating PG) in movie theaters and 3-D Aug. 19.

I M I G A E S F R O M TO P : D R E A M W O R K S A N I M AT I O N , 2 0 T H C E N T U RY F OX , PA R A M O U N T, D I S N E Y P I X A R

P H OTO B Y T I M M AC K AY / D I S N E Y FA M I LY F U N M AG A Z I N E

Sharing accommodation, C-A/C, available in Jabriya area 10, near Jabriya Indian School for decent couple or

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 THY ETH JZR UAE DHX MSR FDB GFA QTR JZR JZR THY FCX JZR KAC BAW JZR KAC KAC KAC KAC FDB KAC KAC KAC UAE QTR ABY IRA ETD GFA FCX MEA JZR JZR IRM JZR RBG KAC MSR IRC UAL RJA MSR FDB KAC KAC QTR

Arrival Flights on Wednesday 20/7/2011 Flt Route 642 AMMAN 267 BEIRUT 772 ISTANBUL 620 ADDIS ABABA 503 LUXOR 853 DUBAI 370 BAHRAIN 614 CAIRO 67 DUBAI 211 BAHRAIN 138 DOHA 529 ASSIUT 241 AMMAN 770 ISTANBUL 201 DUBAI 555 ALEXANDRIA 412 MANILA / BANGKOK 157 LONDON 1541 CAIRO 206 ISLAMABAD 382 DELHI 284 DHAKA 302 MUMBAI 53 DUBAI 352 COCHIN 362 COLOMBO 344 CHENNAI 855 DUBAI 132 DOHA 125 SHARJAH 603 SHIRAZ 301 ABU DHABI 213 BAHRAIN 203 DUBAI 404 BEIRUT 165 DUBAI 121 BAHRAIN 5066 MASHAD 561 SOHAG 3557 ALEXANDRIA 672 DUBAI 610 CAIRO 6791 MASHAD 982 WASHINGTON DC DULLES 640 AMMAN 621 ASSIUT 57 DUBAI 802 CAIRO 790 MEDINAH 140 DOHA

Time 0:05 0:35 1:15 1:45 1:55 2:25 2:55 3:05 3:10 3:15 3:20 3:35 3:55 4:10 5:25 6:10 6:15 6:30 7:10 7:15 7:20 7:40 7:50 7:55 8:05 8:20 8:20 8:25 9:00 9:10 9:25 9:30 9:35 10:30 10:55 11:10 11:15 11:50 12:30 12:55 13:15 13:20 13:25 13:30 13:35 13:40 13:50 14:00 14:05 14:15

SVA KNE CLX QTR KAC JZR JZR KNE SYR ETD UAE GFA SVA JZR JZR ABY KAC JZR FDB ALK JZR IYE KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC AIC JAI FDB JZR OMA VOS MEA MSR DHX UAE GFA QTR UAL JZR JZR MSR DLH SAI AXB JZR KLM PIA

500 745 792 134 546 201 535 701 341 303 857 215 510 777 239 127 550 481 63 227 177 824 166 502 542 618 786 614 674 102 774 575 572 61 787 647 81 402 618 372 859 217 136 981 135 185 612 636 441 393 539 447 215

JEDDAH JEDDAH LUXEMBOURG DOHA ALEXANDRIA DAMASCUS CAIRO RIYADH DAMASCUS ABU DHABI DUBAI BAHRAIN RIYADH JEDDAH AMMAN SHARJAH SHARM EL SHEIKH / SOHAG SABIHA DUBAI COLOMBO / DUBAI DUBAI SANAA / DOHA PARIS / ROME BEIRUT CAIRO DOHA JEDDAH BAHRAIN DUBAI NEW YORK / LONDON RIYADH CHENNAI / GOA MUMBAI DUBAI RIYADH MUSCAT BAGHDAD BEIRUT ALEXANDRIA BAHRAIN DUBAI BAHRAIN DOHA BAHRAIN BAHRAIN DUBAI CAIRO FRANKFURT LAHORE / KARACHI KOZHIKODE / COCHIN CAIRO AMSTERDAM / BAHRAIN KARACHI

14:30 14:45 14:50 15:15 15:30 15:45 15:50 16:00 16:30 16:50 16:55 17:15 17:20 17:25 17:35 17:40 17:45 17:50 17:55 18:00 18:00 18:40 18:40 18:45 18:50 18:55 19:00 19:20 19:25 19:25 19:25 19:30 19:35 20:00 20:00 20:10 20:15 20:15 20:55 21:00 21:15 21:25 21:35 22:00 22:10 22:35 22:50 23:00 23:05 23:15 23:30 23:35 23:55

Airlines JZR AXB DLH BBC AIC PIA THY ETH UAE FDB DHX MSR QTR THY JZR JZR RJA GFA KAC VOS JZR BAW KAC FDB JZR KAC KAC KAC KAC UAE ABY KAC QTR JZR ETD GFA JZR IRA FCX MEA KAC JZR JZR KAC KAC IRM KAC RBG JZR MSR

Departure Flights on Wednesday 20/7/2011 Flt Route 1540 CAIRO 390 MANGALORE / KOZHIKODE 637 FRANKFURT 46 DHAKA 982 AHMEDABAD / CHENNAI 206 LAHORE 773 ISTANBUL 620 BAHRAIN / ADDIS ABABA 854 DUBAI 68 DUBAI 371 BAHRAIN 615 CAIRO 139 DOHA 771 ISTANBUL 560 SOHAG 164 DUBAI 643 AMMAN 212 BAHRAIN 801 CAIRO 94 DUBAI / KANDAHAR 120 BAHRAIN 156 LONDON 545 ALEXANDRIA 54 DUBAI 534 CAIRO 177 FRANKFURT / GENEVA 671 DUBAI 117 NEW YORK 789 MEDINAH 856 DUBAI 126 SHARJAH 549 SHARM EL SHEIKH / SOHAG 133 DOHA 480 SABIHA 302 ABU DHABI 214 BAHRAIN 200 DAMASCUS 602 SHIRAZ 204 DUBAI 405 BEIRUT 541 CAIRO 776 JEDDAH 238 AMMAN 103 LONDON 501 BEIRUT 5065 MASHAD 785 JEDDAH 3558 SOHAG / ALEXANDRIA 176 DUBAI 611 CAIRO

Time 0:20 0:25 0:40 1:00 1:05 1:10 2:15 2:30 3:45 3:50 3:55 4:05 5:00 5:10 5:55 6:55 7:00 7:10 7:20 8:00 8:20 8:25 8:35 8:40 8:50 8:55 9:00 9:05 9:25 9:40 9:50 9:55 10:00 10:05 10:15 10:20 10:20 10:25 11:45 11:55 12:00 12:00 12:10 12:30 13:00 13:20 13:30 13:35 13:40 14:20

Directorate General of Civil Aviation Home Page (www.kuwait-airport.com.kw)

IRC RJA FDB MSR UAL KAC KNE KAC SVA KAC QTR CLX KAC JZR JZR KNE SYR ETD QTR UAE GFA ABY JZR JZR SVA FDB JZR JZR ALK IYE KAC KAC JAI FDB KAC KAC OMA MEA MSR DHX UAE GFA KAC FCX QTR KAC KAC JZR JZR UAL MSR KAC SAI

6792 641 58 622 982 673 746 617 503 773 141 792 613 786 538 704 342 304 135 858 216 128 184 266 511 64 204 134 228 824 283 361 571 62 331 351 648 403 619 373 860 218 381 102 137 301 205 502 554 981 613 415 442

MASHAD AMMAN DUBAI ASSIUT BAHRAIN DUBAI JEDDAH DOHA MEDINAH / JEDDAH RIYADH DOHA HONG KONG BAHRAIN RIYADH CAIRO MEDINAH DAMASCUS ABU DHABI DOHA DUBAI BAHRAIN SHARJAH DUBAI BEIRUT RIYADH DUBAI DAMASCUS BAHRAIN DUBAI / COLOMBO SANAA DHAKA COLOMBO MUMBAI DUBAI TRIVANDRUM COCHIN MUSCAT BEIRUT ALEXANDRIA BAHRAIN DUBAI BAHRAIN DELHI BAHRAIN DOHA MUMBAI ISLAMABAD LUXOR ALEXANDRIA WASHINGTON DC DULLES CAIRO KUALA LUMPUR / JAKARTA LAHORE

14:25 14:30 14:35 14:40 14:45 15:10 15:30 15:35 15:45 16:05 16:15 16:20 16:20 16:35 16:40 16:45 17:30 17:35 17:45 18:05 18:15 18:20 18:25 18:30 18:35 18:40 18:55 19:10 19:10 19:40 20:00 20:20 20:35 20:40 21:00 21:05 21:10 21:15 21:55 22:00 22:25 22:30 22:30 22:30 22:35 22:45 22:55 23:05 23:10 23:40 23:50 23:50 23:59

34

WEDNESDAY, JULY 20, 2011

stars CROSSWORD 384

STAR TRACK

CALVIN & HOBBES

Aries (March 21-April 19) This is a great time to work with another person or within groups. The exchange of ideas continues through the afternoon.

This may mean lectures, teaching, conference meetings, etc. Learning, knowing a little about a lot of things, staying in touch and on top of the latest developments satisfies a need for mental stimulation. You put forth a lot of effort today. Your drive and ambition works well with whatever management skills and practical ability you have. Put your mind to work and take care of any details that you may have—mental discipline should be easy. This afternoon you catch up on reading your hobby magazines or purchasing the updated issues and reading and relaxing. Later today you may visit with neighbors.

Taurus (April 20-May 20) Things are happening and your career and projects that depend upon your own ambition and drive are strong now. You are able to use good common sense and you can feel the fads and trends and make the right moves. You get ahead by taking action. Perhaps you are in the textile or fashion industry and know how to put colors together to add that extra zap to last year’s style. New avenues of creativity are opening up now. If you can show examples of your work or find more ways to articulate your thoughts, you will find some wonderfully positive results. You may find yourself being put to good use by your friends this evening. You may enjoy getting away from routine and doing something different with your friends this evening.

POOCH CAFE ACROSS 1. The compass point that is one point east of due south.

4. Small terrestrial lizard of warm regions of the Old World.

9. A ruler of the Inca Empire (or a member of his family).

13. A number of sheets of paper fastened together along one edge.

14. A hairdo formed by braiding or twisting the hair.

15. A Russian unit of weight equal to approximately 36 pounds.

16. Having an eye or eyes or eyelike feature especially as specified.

18. (of persons) Highest in rank or authority or office.

19. (used of count nouns) Every one considered individually.

20. An ancient country is southwestern Asia on the east coast of the Mediterranean.

23. Having undesirable or negative qualities.

24. Evergreen trees and shrubs having oily one-seeded fruits.

26. The dialect of Malay used as the national language of the Republic of Indonesia or of Malaysia.

29. Having removed clothing.

33. A loose sleeveless outer garment made from aba cloth.

34. East Indian tree bearing a profusion of intense vermilion velvet-textured blooms and yielding a yellow dye.

37. A federal agency established to regulate the release of new foods and health-related products.

38. East Indian annual erect herb.

41. Any of numerous trees of the family Cupressaceae that resemble cedars.

43. A radioactive element of the actinide series.

44. Large antelope with lightly spiraled horns of desert regions of North Africa.

45. A metallic element of the rare earth group.

46. A river in north central Switzerland that runs northeast into the Rhine.

48. Russian country house.

50. Obvious and dull.

53. Essential oil or perfume obtained from flowers.

56. Title for a civil or military leader (especially in Turkey).

57. The 19th letter of the Greek alphabet.

61. The bureau of the Treasury Department responsible for tax collections.

62. A short trip that is taken in the performance of a necessary task or mission.

64. Irritate or vex.

65. The syllable naming the sixth (submediant) note of a major or minor scale in solmization.

66. A large commercial and industrial city in northeastern Texas.

67. (meaning literally `born') Used to indicate the maiden or family name of a married woman.

DOWN 1. A detailed description of design criteria for a piece of work.

2. Common Indian weaverbird.

3. Any place of complete bliss and delight and peace.

4. The blood group whose red cells carry both the A and B antigens.

5. The father of your father or mother.

6. A river in north central Switzerland that runs northeast into the Rhine.

7. Extremely small in scale or scope or capability.

8. Hormone secreted by the posterior pituitary gland (trade name Pitressin) and also by nerve endings in the hypothalamus.

9. A medicinal drug used to evoke vomiting (especially in cases of drug overdose or poisoning).

10. The Hebrew patriarch who saved himself and his family and the animals by building an ark in which they survived 40 days and 40 nights of rain.

11. A South American shrub whose leaves are chewed by natives of the Andes.

12. A condition (mostly in boys) characterized by behavioral and learning disorders.

17. A Chadic language spoken south of Lake Chad.

21. An associate degree in applied science.

22. A narrow headband or strip of ribbon worn as a headband.

25. A trivalent metallic element of the rare earth group.

27. In bed.

28. The (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb.

30. 30 to 300 kilohertz.

31. The sixth month of the civil year.

32. Small European freshwater fish with a slender bluish-green body.

35. A hormone produced by the anterior pituitary gland that stimulates the adrenal cortex.

36. Cubes of meat marinated and cooked on a skewer usually with vegetables.

39. A quantity of no importance.

40. Of high moral or intellectual value.

41. Impressive in scale.

42. An Indian side dish of yogurt and chopped cucumbers and spices.

47. A bin that holds rubbish until it is collected.

48. South American wood sorrel cultivated for its edible tubers.

49. A game played with playing cards.

51. A city in northern India.

52. United States writer noted for his droll epigrams (19021971).

54. A river in northern England that flows southeast through West Yorkshire.

55. A dissolute man in fashionable society.

58. A constellation in the southern hemisphere near Telescopium and Norma.

59. The address of a web page on the world wide web.

60. (Irish) Mother of the ancient Irish gods.

63. A silvery ductile metallic element found primarily in bauxite.

Yesterday’s Solution

Gemini (May 21-June 20) Put your mind to work and take care of any details that you may have, for mental discipline should come easily now. You usually display a sharp, nimble mind with a ready wit; today is no different. You are quick to get insights and see new solutions. Approaching genius when it comes to communication skills, you will volunteer to help others learn a new skill or art form. Slow the tempo a bit this afternoon and enjoy meeting your loved one for an early dinner and perhaps a movie or vice versa. Shopping or talk of shopping may also be in order. Gifts for a baby or wedding shower may be on your to-do list. If you find yourself alone for the shopping part of your day, you will understand—it may be a blessing in disguise.

Cancer (June 21-July 22)

NON SEQUITUR

Your sense of the unity behind things spiritual and psychological is clear and felt by those around you. You are, no doubt, a romantic, at home in the world of dreams and images. You enjoy working in these areas now—creative arts, sales and inventions, etc. This is the beginning of a series of years during which you should begin to consolidate and tie down the advances you have made in recent years. It may be best to begin to dig in and strengthen your current position rather than expand outward too much. Your positivism lets you get right to the point. You have plenty of enthusiasm along with an inner self-confidence that burns with its own light. Unusual ideas and novel ways of expressing them play a bigger than usual element in your life now.

Leo (July 23-August 22) Put your mind to work and take care of any paperwork left undone today. This is a time of good fortune, when things open up in a very natural way for you. Situations are almost perfect for pointing to the improvements that can be made to make work run easier. Write your report on this subject and present it to an executive that you think will respond in positive ways. It is easy to see where suggestions can be made and you may be the first one to have the ability to present the suggested changes, with respect to costs, successfully. You will be pleased with the results but you will need to be patient. This afternoon there are plenty of opportunities to socialize. A community group appreciates your volunteer time.

ZITS

Virgo (August 23-September 22) Obtaining and exchanging information takes on emotional significance now. Being more involved with neighbors or sibling(s) satisfies a deep need to help others in their life choices. You may find yourself guiding someone younger than you in matters of importance. You may perceive how to proceed with plans and decisions regarding your own life situation as well. This is one of your best times to make progress, push forward and rise to prominence. It will be hard for you to do wrong—all the cycles are working positively. This is also a time when you may marry or take on a new role in the community. You will be in demand and recognition will be easy. Social gettogethers bring out your unique and unusual qualities.

Libra (September 23-October 22)

MOTHER GOOSE AND GRIMM

You have an innate love of the law and working things through and you are usually not put off by problems or obstacles. You have the ability to work with others, in particular regarding vocation or career guidance. You can advise and guide in matters requiring work-related decisions and may find yourself doing just that today. Others find you a generous and loving person. You always share what you find and have a lucky streak today as well. There is a take-charge sort of manner. You are a great doer and others accept your ability to take control of situations. You are also a good team player. You may spend a great deal of time reorganizing today. You exercise skill and discipline in anything that affects your career and reputation.

Scorpio (October 23-November 21) You tend to carry a lot of mental energy and tension and this can suddenly erupt when you are not kept busy. The ways in which you speak, think and use your mind can bring about sheer insight and brilliance. At other times you may have very conventional ideas. Your insight and vision into what unites people and into the dreams and mystical regions of our mind are profound. You have an enchanting way of working and communicating with others in these matters as well as with music and the arts. New paths to world or personal unity are a major interest now. You have a very practical sense of how to make your dreams real. This is a good time to examine and think about what is important and of lasting value. A creative project is successful at this time.

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21) You have the mind of a lawyer, always able to size up a problem and come up with a solution. Using your mind to negotiate obstacles and handle dilemmas is a great talent. You have an innate ability to guide and lead others through the hurdles and hassles of life. You could be very much in demand to lend a helping hand as a counselor today. Your career is smooth until the question of personal freedom is approached. Successful career moves or a promotion may demand conformity and perhaps tone down your unconventional habits. You may have to go along in order to get the right job. Careful—this is a source of some tension and your tendency to rebel can get you in hot water. There is progress through communication this afternoon.

Capricorn (December 22-January 19)

To

Perhaps it is time for a well-deserved vacation. Planning short trips can be fun too and that may be the topic of conversation most of this day. Perhaps you are new in town and others will point out some great places to visit. You are a born doer, with an incredible drive to accomplish whatever is put in front of you. Your ambitions are backed up by the will to get things done. Fun communications and a reasonable workload make today run smoothly and quickly—never a dull moment. You try hard and you always push on toward whatever goals you have in mind. Helping others in a team situation is favored this evening—rewards and recognition are in the making. Helping a coach or substituting for a coach gives you important inside information.

Yesterday’s Solution Yester

Aquarius (January 20- February 18) The word here is accomplishment. If there is an unfinished job today, you can lead others to complete the task or stay after work and do it yourself. A prodigious worker, you pour yourself into any task with absolute determination. You are responsible to the extreme and can take on obligations as though you just cannot get enough. You enjoy discipline and limitations are seen as opportunities rather than as handicaps. It might be a good idea to try and get this positive attitude of yours over to others before attempting group projects so that you are not stuck with all the work. You would make a good teacher of others in matters of organization, practical competence, etc.

Self-expression, such as show business, proves rewarding.

Pisces (February 19-March 20)

Word Sleuth Solution

A greater appreciation for things of value and the idea of value itself is in order now. This could be a time in which there are strong desires for material goods. This may not be the best time to acquire material items but a good time to plan. Your attention may be drawn to the psychic realm this afternoon—perhaps brought on by conversations during the noon break. You love everything mystical. You are an idealist of the first order and value dreams, visions and anything that points beyond the everyday. Art, poetry and imagination you appreciate. Needless to say, you are not noted for practicality; careful. You are driven to what unifies us all. It is good that you see what we hold in common, rather than our differences. Music induces sleep tonight.

A

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Years

WEDNESDAY, JULY 20, 2011

i n f o r m at i o n

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lifest yle G o s s i p

arry Potter” star Emma Watson says she plans to return to Brown University to complete her degree. The British actress who plays Hermione Granger in the “Harry Potter” series tells The Virginian-Pilot that she remains enrolled at Brown even though she’ll study at England’s Oxford University in the fall. She says intends to return to Providence in 2012 to complete her studies at the Ivy League school. The 21-year-old Watson left Brown earlier this year, saying she wanted to devote her time to the final

“H

“Harry Potter” film and other acting opportunities. The final chapter in the series premiered last week, setting box office records. It took in an estimated $168.6 million domestically from Friday to Sunday. That beats the previous best opening weekend of $158.4 million for 2008’s Batman blockbuster “The Dark Knight.”

Mirren

replacing Midler in HBO biopic

elen Mirren is moving on from her “Arthur” co-star Russell Brand to work on a movie about another wild-maned man. The “Elizabeth I” star has been tapped to replace Bette Midler in HBO’s upcoming Phil Spector biopic, the actress’ publicist confirmed to TheWrap. Midler was forced to bow out last week, after suffering a herniated disc. Mirren will assume the role of Linda Kenney Baden, one of Spector’s defense attorneys during his trial for the murder of actress/nightclub hostess Lana Clarkson. Al Pacino plays the ill-fated record producer in the as-yet-untitled movie, which will co-star “Arrested Development” alum Jeffrey Tambor as defense attorney BruceCutler.

Aside from the injury-related recasting, the production ran into another potential hurdle last week, when friends of Clarkson’s threatened to organize a protest over the project. They’ve expressed fears regarding how writer/director David Mamet-who told members of the press that he doubted Spector’s guilt over the murder-would portray the circumstances of Clarkson’s death.

H

Metallica

Trail around singer’s land moves ahead ork is under way on a Northern California hiking trail being built at a cost of more than $650,000 to bypass the home of Metallica front man James Hetfield. The Marin Independent Journal reports that the 3-mile (4.8-kilometer) trail connecting two open space preserves north of San Francisco is set to be finished as early as September. The new path stems from a 2008 dispute in which Hetfield erected a metal fence blocking a portion of the old trail running through in Marin County land. He complained trail users were damaging his property. Marin officials say the rocker has been accommodating to the new project, allowing trail builders to use his road for access to the site. The newspaper says the trail’s high cost resulted from environmental reviews, design work, materials and equipment.

W

Parton olly Parton wears high heels at home because she can’t reach her kitchen cabinets without them. The diminutive 4’ 11” singer is famous for her heavily made up appearance and although the 65-year-old star favors a more casual look at home, she can’t survive without her stilettos. She explained: “If you saw me at home you’d recognize me but I don’t have all the gaud, though I usually wear high heels because I’m so short I can’t even reach the kitchen cabinets without them.” However, Dolly would never consider leaving her home in Tennessee without her trademark heavy make-up or one of her famous wigs. She said: “I always put on my make-up, my hair and my clothes to go shopping.” While Dolly has previously admitted to taking style tips from a

D

Quaid joins growing

prostitute, she is still shocked by the provocative clothing worn by younger pop stars. She added in an interview with Radio Times magazine: “I’m amazed at some of the things they get away with but I was outrageous before they were even born. I understand where they’re coming from. You feel more on the inside than you look on the outside so if you’re not a natural beauty you’re going to have to make yourself look the way you think.”

‘What to Expect’ cast ennis Quaid is rounding out the cast of Lionsgate’s “What to Expect When You’re Expecting,” the studio announced Monday. He’ll play Ramsey, whose much younger wife, Skyler (played by Brooklyn Decker) is giving birth to twins.

According to Lionsgate, “impending fatherhood is just another way for the hilariously competitive Ramsey to try to one-up his adult son Colin, who is also expecting his first child.” The ensemble comedy also stars Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Lopez, Elizabeth Banks, Anna Kendrick, Matthew Morrison, Chace Crawford and Rob Huebel. “What to Expect When You’re Expecting” takes its title from Heidi Murkoff’s best-selling pregnancy manual. Heather Hach and Shauna Cross adapted it as a screenplay. Lionsgate plans to release the film for Mothers Day weekend.

D

Sheen to return to TV screens harlie Sheen is to return to the small screen in a TV series about anger management, he said Monday, four months after being sacked from a mega-hit show for a string of rants about its producers. The troubled US actor, who was fired “Two and a Half Men” in March, said he thought “Anger Management”-based on the 2003 movie starring Adam Sandler and Jack Nicholsonwould suit his talents and ambitions. “I chose ‘Anger Management’ because, while it might be a big stretch for me to play a guy with serious anger management issues, I think it is a great concept,” Sheen said, with apparent irony. “It also provides me with real ownership in the series, a certain amount of creative control and the chance to be back in business with one of my favorite movie producers of all time, Joe Roth,” he said. The 45year-old actor is suing Warner Brothers studios for $100 million for alleged breach of contract after “Two and a Half Men” was canceled for the rest of the season following Sheen’s public tirades against producer Chuck Lorre. Sheen has in the past boasted of his own wild lifestyle and drug binges but claimed to have single-handedly defeated addiction, arguing that he was able to work.

But the show’s producers insist he had breached his contract, and in May announced Twitter-friendly actor Ashton

C

Costner erenial good guy Kevin Costner is negotiating to play a sadistic bad guy in Quentin Tarantino’s “Django Unchained,” an individual close to the project confirmed. He is in talks for the role of Ace Woody, the sort of nasty that Tarantino specializes in.

The script focuses on a German dentist-turned-bounty hunter (to be played by Christoph Waltz). He buys a slave (Jamie Foxx) who can identify a man the bounty hunter is looking for. The bounty hunter and the slave

P

become friendly and set out to rescue the slave’s wife from the vicious Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio is in that role). Costner plays one of Candie’s henchmen.

Tarantino wrote and is directing the film. Costner will also be playing honest guy Jonathan Kent, Clark Kent’s father, in Warner Bros upcoming Superman movie “Man of Steel.” — Agencies

Kutcher as his replacement for a ninth season, due to be broadcast on CBS later this year. Sheen became an Internet sensation amid the sacking row and went on tour with a live comedy show, entitled the “My Violent Torpedo of Truth/Defeat is Not an Option” tour. “Two and a Half Men,” about hedonistic jingle writer Charlie Harper, has been a hit since it was launched in 2003 and has been nominated for numerous awards, including nods for Sheen at the Emmys and Golden Globes.

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M O V I E S

Adele up against two past winners for Mercury Prize

B

ritish singer Adele, who stormed to the top of the charts in Britain and the United States with her second album “21,” was one of 12 artists shortlisted yesterday for the Barclaycard Mercury Prize for album of the year 2011. Also in the running for the annual award were previous winners Elbow and PJ Harvey as well as London rapper Tinie Tempah and James Blake for his self-titled debut album.

The prize honors music of any genre by British or Irish artists and is based solely on the music on the album. According to the Official Charts Company, in commercial terms Adele dominates the shortlist. The winner of the award is announced on Sept 6. The 12 nominated albums have sold 3.9 million copies between them in Britain, the OCC said, of which Adele’s “21” accounted for 2.7 million.

In distant second was Tempah’s “Disc-Overy” with sales of 620,000 copies and in third was Elbow’s “Build a Rocket Boys!” at 230,000. Three albums on the Mercury shortlist have sold less than 10,000 copies each-King Creosote & Jon Hopkins’ “Diamond Mine,” Ghostpoet’s “Peanut Butter Blues and Melancholy Jam” and Gwilym Simcock’s “Good Days At Schloss Elmau.”

The shortlist is as follows: Adele - 21 Anna Calvi - Anna Calvi Elbow - Build A Rocket Boys!

Everything Everything - Man Alive Ghostpoet - Peanut Butter Blues and Melancholy Jam Gwilym Simcock - Good Days At Schloss Elmau James Blake - James Blake Katy B - On A Mission King Creosote & Jon Hopkins - Diamond Mine Metronomy - The English Riviera PJ Harvey - Let England Shake Tinie Tempah - Disc-Overy. — Reuters

Actress Emma Stone, director/producer Will Gluck, actors Mila Kunis, Justin Timberlake and Jenna Elfman attend the ‘Friends with Benefits’ premiere at the Ziegfeld Theater on July 18, 2011 in New York City. —AFP photos

US stars accept YouTube marine ball invites

H

ollywood stars Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis have accepted YouTube invitations from two US marines, one serving in Afghanistan, to accompany them to military balls. And singer-turned-actor Timberlake and “Black Swan” star Kunis are having fun with the invitations by a male and female Marine, which went viral on the video-sharing site last week. “Marines have a lot of balls,” Kunis told the Today show on MSNBC on Monday, confirming that both of them had accepted their invitations to separate balls in November. “We want to pay honor to our country and embrace their balls,” added Timberlake, who starred in last year’s Oscar-winning Facebook movie “The Social Network.”

The story started when a Marine Sgt Scott Moore, stationed in Musa Qala, southern Afghanistan, posted a video

on YouTube inviting Kunis to the Marine Corps Ball on November 18 in Greenville, North Carolina. Kunis, who costarred with Natalie Portman in last year’s sexually-charged hit movie “Black Swan,” was asked about the invite during a press interview and spontaneously said she would go.That prompted female marine Corporal Kelsey De Santis to issue an invitation to Timberlake-co-starring with Kunis in a new movie “Friends With Benefits”-to a Marine Corps Ball on November 12 in Washington DC. “So Justin you wanna call out my girl Mila, well I’m gonna call you out and ask you to go to the Marine Corps Ball with me,” said De Santis, who is stationed in Virginia and is a martial arts expert. Timberlake confirmed he will attend, quipping: “I don’t get asked out, ever. So, I was very flattered by that. And I hear that she’s trained in martial

arts, so I’m hoping we can tussle at some point. “That last bit was a joke,” he added. And it doesn’t stop there: on Friday veteran US comedy actress Betty White, 90, was invited to a marine ball by Sgt Ray Lewis, who has served in Afghanistan and Iraq.

“She’s funny, she’s sweet, she’s mature, she’s the all around perfect woman,” Lewis says in the YouTube video invitation. But the 89-year-old declined, diplomatically. “I am deeply flattered and truly appreciate the invitation, as everyone knows I love a man in uniform,” she said, in a statement forwarded by her publicist. “But unfortunately I cannot accept, as I will be taping an episode of ‘Hot In Cleveland,’” she said, referring to her hit show about three ageing showbiz veterans who find renewed fame when they unexpectedly land in Cleveland, Ohio.—AFP Review

Tim Robbins has good instincts, weak chops

Harry Potter film star Matthew Lewis, who played Neville Longbottom, center back, is joined on stage with fans at the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney, Australia, yesterday. —AP

‘Harry Potter 7’ works box office magic overseas

“H

arry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2” continued its recordsetting sorcery at international theaters this past weekend and is well on its way to passing the half- billion dollar mark in total worldwide receipts just days after it opened.

As of Sunday night, “Potter 7” had earned $481.5 million worldwide, with a record-breaking $312.3 million of that coming from 59 international territories, including record grosses in Great Britain ($36.6 million) and Australia ($26.7 million).

As usual, “Harry’s” box office magic got a little wizardly assist from ticket-price inflation and pricey 3-D admissions. “ Transformers: Dark of the Moon” continued to pummel international audiences into submission in its third weekend of release.

After dominating the chart for two

weeks, Michael Bay’s destruction derby remains an overseas favorite, adding another $39 million in nearly 9,300 locations in 59 territories.

This brings the cumulative international total to $460 million and its worldwide revenue within stomping distance of $800 million.

“Cars 2” took the weekend’s international checkered flag in third place with $12.4 million in 28 territories and an overseas total of $146.6 million and a global total of $311.9 million after a month in release. Here are the top 10 movies at international theaters this past weekend, followed by distributor, international gross for the weekend (excluding North America), worldwide gross to date (including North America), and number of weeks in domestic release, as compiled Monday by Rentrak and provided by Hollywood.com

1. “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2,” Warner Bros. International, $312,300,000, $481,500,000, one week.

2. “Transformers: Dark of the Moon,” Paramount International, $39,000,000, $762,800,252, three weeks.

3. “Cars 2,” Walt Disney International, $12,400,000, $311,926,000, four weeks.

4. “Kung Fu Panda 2,” Paramount International, $9,500,000, $582,063,774, eight weeks.

5. “Mr Popper’s Penguins,” Fox International, $6,562,985, $100,763,246, five weeks.

6. “Bad Teacher,” Sony Pictures Releasing International, $6,500,000, $146,705,192, five weeks.

7. “Bridesmaids,” Universal Pictures International, $5,300,000, $220,090,335, 10 weeks.

8. “Zookeeper,” Sony Pictures Releasing International, $5,100,000, $58,152,466, two weeks.

9. “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides,” Walt Disney International, $3,100,000, $1,028,741,000, nine weeks.

10. “Larry Crowne,” Universal Pictures International, $2,000,000, $44,627,885, three weeks. —AP

Retro set from Irishwoman Imelda May Y oung Irishwoman Imelda May draws inspiration from made -in-the -USA oldies.

“Mayhem” includes hints of Elvis, Gene Vincent, Patsy Cline, Wanda Jackson and Peggy Lee as May sings rockabilly, country and cocktail lounge ballads. This is music as timeless as Brylcreem.

Still, May performs with undeniable flair, and her versatile alto always makes it sound like 11 pm. The arrangements are more ambitious than those of many 1950s throwback bands, and the

biggest twist is the reliance on talented trumpeter Dave Priseman, who jazzes things up. The ballads tend to go on too long, and the uptempo cuts are better, with Al Gare’s slap bass providing propulsion.

May spits out rat-a-tat vocals on the swinging title tune, “Eternity” benefits from a twangy sixnote guitar riff, and “I’m Alive” settles into an appealing south-of-the-border groove. May wrote 13 of the 15 songs, with romance clearly on her mind. “Happy Days” indeed.

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n paper, Tim Robbins ought to enjoy one of the more natural actor-tosinger transitions. His late father was a bona fide folkie and had a No. 1 hit in 1961 as a member of the Highwaymen. As a leading man, Robbins sang throughout a largely musical film with 1992’s satirical “Bob Roberts.” His influences, like his intentions, are in all the right places, with Bruce Springsteen at the top of the list. What’s not to work?

But on paper, you can’t hear Robbins sing. And his voice, as heard on his debut album, “Tim Robbins and the Rogues Gallery Band,” is not something a plurality of listeners will find lovely to behold. How could he have carried “Bob Roberts” and have such obvious struggles carrying a tune here?

Maybe because that character was a strident blowhard, which turns out to have been an easier style to pull off than the beauty and delicacy that Robbins, to his credit, is going for here.

The most surprising thing, for an actor who’s essayed so many indelible characters, is how little character he brings to these vocals, technique aside. As strong as some of Robbins’ instincts are, his is a set of chops built for speaking roles. That said, just about everything about “Tim Robbins and the Rogues Galler y Band” is bloody fantastic...except for Robbins. If you can give the album enough listens to grow accustomed to the frontman’s often tortured, occasionally torturing role-a big “if,” for most listeners-the brilliance of the largely acoustic accompaniment put together by famed producer Hal Willner becomes even more apparent.

The spooky, lilting, occasionally raucous arrangements elevate Robbins’ self-penned material to a position it sometimes independently merits and sometimes doesn’t. If the actor had abandoned the auteur theory and cast someone else as frontperson, the music would be altogether listenable, even if there’d be no getting around some of Robbins’ lyrical groaners.

And there are quite a few. The opener, “Book of Josie,” is a Gnostic gospels-inspired secular veneration of a Mary Magdalenetype figure, even though Mary is mysteriously renamed for a Steely Dan character here.

“The tenderness of a woman’s touch, the healing in her kiss/Was lost by men too dead to know the holiness of this,” Robbins croons, promoting the idea that behind every great deity, there’s a greater woman.

“Time to Kill” will provide some bait for Robbins’ enduring right-wing critics, telling the story of a Colorado soldier haunted by the killing of civilian youths. “I was doing my job, I thought they were terrorists,” Robbins

moans. “You don’t understand, you don’t understand/That I love kids, I love kids, I love kids, I love kids” He’s going for something deeply disturbing and primal over Willner’s slide-guitar bed, with mumbled singing that sounds possibly improvised. A song this risky was bound to provide either the album’s most emotional payoff or its most eyeroll-inviting moment.

The former level of triumph remains yet outside his novice grasp. At least you can’t accuse him of going for low-hanging fruit, a la, say, Kevin Costner’s wholly unambitious musical straining.

The Springsteen influence doesn’t come in the form of aping the Boss’ good-time efforts, but rather taking cues from the dark austerity of “Devils & Dust” and livelier Americana of “We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions.”

The latter approach informs a couple of Bruce-meets-Shane-McGowan numbers: the sprightly, 6/8 romp “You’re My Dare” and the bellowing but catchy “Queen of My Dreams.”

These are the album’s two most appealing numbers, thanks to his decent knack for melody, and in spite of-or even because ofthe Irish-American affectations. —Reuters

Tim Robbins

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Big Island big hit with kids, no matter the age

By Ann Tatko Peterson

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was in big trouble. Two hours into a Hawaiian vacation, my 14-year-old stepdaughter, Dana, and I sat lounging by the pool at the Four Seasons Resort Hualalai on the Big Island. Already she had sampled an open-faced lobster BLT for lunch, downed a mango smoothie, ducked under the waterfall of the Sea Shell Pool and swum in the ocean.

Relaxing on a lounge chair, she ate a Popsicle and asked quite seriously, “Are we going to do nothing all week?”

“Nothing” sounded like paradise to me, especially because this was our first major trip with 5-month-old daughter Carolyn. Problem is, my husband and I had molded Dana into a different type of traveler. Our vacations usually involved rising with the sun and resting only when our stinging feet demanded it.

We chose a Hawaiian vacation for a much different experience. We now had children separated in age by 14 years. Finding a vacation suitable for both was not easy.

Plus, my husband and I needed a rest-babies will do that to you.

But there I sat, before having a chance to soak away life’s stress or sample my first mai tai, and suddenly this trip had the earmarks of disaster. The 14-year-old wasn’t buying into paradise. “This is Hawaii,” I tried to explain. “The idea is to relax, enjoy the pools, play in the ocean.” She simply stared at me. I held my breath. Then she shrugged and asked, “And drink more smoothies?”

Turns out, it involved four more smoothies, two Hawaiian shave ice, a whole lot of seafood dishes, plus snorkeling, swimming, stand-up paddle boarding, seashell collecting, arts and crafts, a ukulele lesson, shopping, The sun sets over the attending a luau and dining Pacific and is seen from the with the ocean as our constant Four Season Hualalai in companion. Not exactly nothing, Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. but more than enough to keep our entire family happy for five days on the Big Island.

We divided our trip between two oceanfront Kailua-Kona properties: the secluded, five-star Four Seasons Resort Hualalai and the budget-friendly, centrally located King Kamehameha’s Kona Beach Hotel (slated to become a Courtyard Marriott later this year).

To start our vacation, we had to dispense with important business. Namely, introducing the baby to a real pool.

For that we tapped the talent of Rita Hirai, who oversees the Four Season’s “Mommy, Daddy & Me” swim lessons, designed for children 8 weeks to 4 years old but also anxious parents, like me. Hirai works with up to four children in each session. Hirai’s outgoing personality instantly put me at ease. She slowly coaxed Carolyn and me into the Sea Shell, the main pool for families, then immediately took possession of my baby. In white-knuckle silence, I watched as she loosely held my daughter, letting Carolyn float, splash her hands in the water and kick with aplomb.

“Babies sense how their parents are feeling,” Hirai explained. “Grip them too tight and they become tense, too. Trust me, babies are buoyant.” Sure enough, my 20pound bundle of joy stayed afloat. For the next 20 minutes, Hirai taught us valuable tricks-such as creating a visual cue before we changed Carolyn’s position in the water-all while

Temporary carpet tiles cover the floor as repairs continue on damage sustained in a tsunami in March 2011 at the King Kamehameha’s Kona Beach Hotel on Hawaii’s Big Island.

Kids jump from the pier on Kailua Bay on Hawaii’s Big Island. disguising the lessons as fun and games.

After that, we would spend many an hour in the warm, saline waters of the Sea Shell pool. Carolyn also took quickly to the Keiki Pool, a sand-bottomed kids pool with a maximum depth of 15 inches and a sandy shoreline filled with toys. When exhaustion set in, she napped poolside in her own towel-lined playpen.

As a competitive swimmer, Dana hardly needed a swimming lesson. But never having been in the ocean, she eagerly went along when Hirai invited her for a swim. They dove into a designated swim area, where the waves were calmer and the marine life still plentiful.

Dana later was startled to realize how close she had swum to the black a’ama crab, camouflaged on lava rock scattered about the beach and in the ocean waters. Little discoveries such as those became the big hits of her trip.

We gave Dana the option to try just about anything offered at the Four Seasons, where activities run the gamut from swimming to golf to outrigger canoeing. The experiences cover a spectrum of prices, too, from snorkeling for free to dinner on the beach at sunset, starting at $1,000.

(That luxury-at-its-finest comes complete with family-style dinner, a personal cook and server and a table right on the beach in a remote location where more turtles are likely to be seen than other guests.)

Dana opted first for snorkeling at King’s Pond, which included a lesson with Lynn Capell, who patiently guided a group of six around the lagoonlike pool. Like a giant aquarium carved out of lava rock, King’s Pond is a contained area great for first-time snorkelers, and those who want a guaranteed peek at some of the 4,400 fish representing 83 species, including a spotted eagle ray. Dana followed Capell for a lap, then took off on her own, excitedly bobbing up after swimming on top of the eagle ray.

With a smoothie in hand, she trolled the shoreline for shells. The next day, she learned how to make them into a bracelet during a free shell crafts class at the on-site Ka’upulehu Cultural Center. Later, our entire family returned to the center for a 45-minute ukulele lesson. Dana was strumming “The Hukilau Song” effortlessly in no time.

Hopeless with any musical instrument, I wheeled Carolyn around the cultural displays in her stroller.

Our time at the Four Seasons ended after three days, and we returned to civilization. King Kamehameha’s Kona Beach Hotel put us in historic Kailua Village, anchored on oceanfront Ali’i Drive and packed with the vacation trappings to which we were accustomed.

We strolled along the drive, ducking into shops selling everything from apparel and jewelry to paintings of the island’s active volcano and souvenirs. We ate crab sandwiches, shrimp samplers and crab quesadillas in the openair Fish Hopper restaurant. We shared kalua (baked) pork nachos and watched a hula performance on the opendeck restaurant of Huggo’s on the Rocks, which as its name implies sits on the rocks of Kamakahonu Bay. Dana tasted her first shave ice at Scandinavian Shave Ice, where 45 bottles of flavored syrups hung from the ceiling. The small rainbow ice was so large, Dana barely finished it.

We forced the kids to experience a little culture at Hulihee Palace, a favorite retreat of the royal families and home of King David Kalakaua. Carolyn fell asleep halfway through the guided tour; Dana was more enthralled, especially by the 7-foot bed custom made for the 6-foot-7, 400plus-pound Princess Ruth Keelikolani and the giant travel trunk of Queen Kapiolani, one of six used to travel to Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee in 1887 and about 30

times the size of Dana’s suitcase.

More eagerly, Dana attended her first luau. We had hoped to see the award-winning “Island Breeze” luau at Ahu Ena Heiau, a religious site featuring the personal temple of King Kamehemeha the Great, which sat on our hotel’s property. Damage from a March tsunami, however, temporarily relocated the luau 15 minutes away at the Sheraton.

Still, the 20-dish buffet was delicious-Dana was a big fan of the lomi salmon and haupia (coconut pudding) — and the Polynesian performance lived up to its billing. Carolyn loved it, too, or at least the fire knife dance that had her wide-eyed and smiling.

The Surf Shack added an expanded deck with extra seating facing the ocean as part of a renovation after a March tsunami hit Hawaii’s Big Island.

But for all the activities, restaurants and attractions that greeted us in Kailua Village, the favorite came on a small stretch of beach behind our hotel. White sand sloped down into an alcove of calm, warm water from the Kamakahonu Bay. Nearby, Kona Boys Beach Shack offered a discount for hotel guests on snorkel equipment, kayaks and more. It was here, in the sheltered alcove, that Dana tried stand-up paddle boarding for the first time.

Kona Boys co-owner Doug McNeill gave her a quick tutorial. Then she was off, building up confidence on her knees for 20 minutes before popping to her feet like an experienced paddle boarder. The alcove opened into the larger bay itself, but Dana stuck close to shore. This time.

An hour later, she dragged herself and the board from the water. “My legs are stinging and numb,” she said as she flopped onto her towel. “So much for your do-nothing vacation,” I quipped. She just smiled. And asked if I could find her another smoothie. — MCT

While closed for repairs from a March tsunami, the Four Seasons Resort added the adults only Palm Grove pool to its property on the Big Island. — MCT photos

The Hulihe’e Palace has reopened after flood damage in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii.

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Mariinsky Ballet A

nytime you have both Sea Horses and Wet Nurses listed on a ballet program, you can pretty safely assume it’s going to be more interesting than your basic “Swan Lake” or “Sleeping Beauty.” But even that tantalizing hint of weirdness didn’t prepare for the goofy, inspired fun of “The Little Humpbacked Horse,” a romp through Russian folklore that was the clear highlight of the Mariinsky Ballet’s weeklong appearance at the Lincoln Center Festival.

Goofy? That’s not an adjective one would generally use to describe the Mariinsky, better known to most of us by its former name, the Kirov Ballet.

Grand, illustrious, legendary, sometimes mannered and stuffy - any of those would seem more like it.

But bring a stable of some of the world’s best trained dancers together with an inspired choreographer who likes to have fun along the way, and it can do wonders. And there’s no question that the prodigiously talented Alexei Ratmansky, former artistic director of the Bolshoi Ballet, is the man of the moment in the ballet world.

Not everything Ratmansky touches turns to gold - his “Anna Karenina” was also on display during the Mariinsky run at the Metropolitan Opera House that ended Saturday night. It was a pretty dull if wellintentioned affair, plagued by a mostly plodding score. But his 2009 “Humpbacked Horse” was a perfect vehicle to display some of the many facets of Ratmansky’s talent - arresting, inventive choreography, a love for his subject, fondness for his dancers and an infectious embrace of silliness.

He was aided immeasurably in this by the enthusiasm of his cast. A standout at Saturday’s matinee was the lovely Alina Somova as the Tsar Maiden, a vision in white and gold with a long, blond braid.

Somova’s combination of charm, spunk, physical beauty and lush dancing was enough to make you understand why the buffoonish Tsar would jump into a cauldron of boiling water for her (don’t ask, it’s too complicated).

Mocking the tsar isn’t a problem these days, as it was during part of Russia’s history - the only problem for non-Russian audiences, at least, may be understanding the convoluted plot (the program notes help - a bit). But all one really needs to know is that it concerns a young boy, Ivan the Fool, who manages to overcome various obstacles to win the Maiden’s hand, aided by his trusted friend, the Humpbacked Horse.

The score is by the Russian composer Rodion Shchedrin, whose music was being highlighted by the Mariinsky all week - the composer also penned

loosens up in appealing NY run

In this publicity image released by the Lincoln Center Festival, the Mariinsky Ballet, featuring Yekaterina Kondaurova as Young Mare/Princess of the sea, right, is shown during a performance of ‘The Little Humpbacked Horse.’ The Mariinsky Ballet performed at the Lincoln Center Festival in New York. —AP the “Anna Karenina” score and arranged Bizet’s music for “Carmen Suite,” also performed here.

But in “Humpbacked Horse,” unlike in “Anna Karenina,” the music, played by the Mariinsky orchestra and in some performances conducted by Mariinsky Theater director Valery Gergiev himself, is beautifully suited to the dancing, and full of verve and joy.

Another huge plus: the bold, cheerfully odd costumes by Maxim Isayev. His funniest image may be those wacky Sea People (not to be confused with the Sea Horses) - both women and men in filmy green skirts, green makeup, fitted green caps, and with their own faces painted upside down on their chests, as if reflected in the water.

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Dr Frank Smith and Kevin Douglass-Green at the African American Civil War Memorial Museum in 2005. — AFP

African American Civil War Museum gets new home

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ith a fife and drum band playing Yankee Doodle and civil war re-enactors sweltering in the summer sun, a museum honoring the contribution of African Americans in the US Civil War moved into its new home in Washington Monday. “It is finally finished, a great new 5,000 square foot (465 square meters) African American Civil War Museum,” Frank Smith, the director of the museum, said at a ceremony to install it in its new home overlooking a square housing a memorial to black Civil War soldiers.

The inauguration ceremony came as the United States marks the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War, the bloodiest conflict in the country’s history. More than 500,000 people were killed in the war, in which the north, or Union, and south battled over states’ rights and slavery. Fighting began April 12, 1861, with an attack on Fort Sumter in South Carolina. Two years later, the first unit of black soldiers recruited in the north fought in a battle for Fort Wagner in South Carolina. The battle took place on July 18, 1863 — 148 years to the day of the ceremony on Monday preserving the memory of fighters like the 54th Massachusetts infantry in a new, state-of-the-art museum.

The 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry suffered heavy losses in the assault on the key fort. Its white commander, Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, and dozens of rank and file soldiers died, alongside several hundred other Union troops. On Monday, a dozen African American men wearing the wool coats of Civil War soldiers from the north stood to attention outside the museum’s new home, sweltering in the heat and humidity that are a hallmark of Washington summers. Alongside them, women re-enactors of the 19th-century era wore bustles under their skirts and carried parasols. A fife and drum band played “Yankee Doodle” as a color guard led the way a few hundred feet from the square to

the new museum.

“This is a grand event, wonderful, just grand,” said Helen Hassell, who was portraying Mary Peake, an African American schoolteacher, born around 1823 in Virginia, a southern state that allowed slavery. The museum aims to use historic documents, photographs, exhibits and oral histories to tell the stories of more than 200,000 African Americans who fought in the Civil War and their descendants, who 50 years ago launched the US civil rights movement.” This museum will show us and teach us history the way it really happened, not the way it’s portrayed in the movies,” Hassell said. “With a few exceptions, films about the civil war never show black soldiers. And yet President Lincoln said that had it not been for colored troops, the north would not have won the war.”

According to museum historians, Civil War era president Abraham Lincoln initially refused to allow blacks to fight, “until it became clear the Union would not be preserved without the aid of the black soldier.” “On May 22, 1863, the Bureau of US Colored Troops was established to recruit, train, outfit and deploy what would become a force of 200,000 African American soldiers,” a museum handout says. Americans elected their first African American president, Barack Obama, in 2008 — 145 years after blacks fought in the Civil War to keep the country united and around 50 years since the start of the civil rights movement. “We’ve come a long way, yes, we have,” Hassell said, as the fife and drum band-made up of a black man, a white woman and a Latino-finished a stirring rendition of the US national anthem, the Star Spangled Banner. — AFP

As Ivan the Fool, who frankly didn’t seem too foolish, Alexander Sergeyev was fresh-faced and charming in Saturday’s cast (Vladimir Shklyarov won raves in the opening cast), and Grigory Popov was a buoyant Horse.

But the charmer was Somova, just one of the Mariinsky’s stellar ballerinas on display last week.

Alas, the subdued affair that was “Anna Karenina,” though it showcased the company’s biggest stars the glamorous Diana Vishneva and the supple Uliana Lopatkina - didn’t allow a full appreciation of their appeal.

A better vehicle for that was the only Balanchine work on the program, his wonderful “Symphony in C,” with its four sections featuring four different cou-

celand’s volcanoes gained notoriety last year for their ash-spewing ability to ground airlines and make a mess. But they also pay their dues, drawing tourists eager to see the source of the chaos.”People are really interested. They want to stand in the crater of the volcano that made them lose their flight,” laughs Arsaell Hauksson, in his 30s. He runs a campground at the base of the Eyjafjallajoekull glacier that encompasses the notorious Eyjafjoell volcano, whose eruption in April 2010 stranded more than eight million travelers.

The possibility of scrambling up an active volcano-Iceland has around 130 of them-has long been a tourist magnet for the North Atlantic island state. But last year’s Eyjafjoell eruption offered unbeatable advertising.”We all know someone who was affected... This is the eruption people will be talking about for years to come,” said Hauksson. His own business is bustling despite an icy start to the summer. Things weren’t quite so rosy when the peak began erupting last year, spewing nine kilometers (5.5 miles) into the sky.By Icelandic standards, Eyjafjoell was puny-the Grimsvoetn volcano which erupted this May spat out more ash in one day than Eyjafjoell did in 40. But strong winds pushed Eyjafjoell’s output towards Europe and caused the biggest air space shutdown since World War II. The eruption dealt a harsh blow to Iceland’s vital tourism industry.”I had my best booking ever for May last year ... and nobody showed because of the ash,” laments Unnar Gardarsson. The 49-year-old heads Oebyggdaferdir, or Ice Safari, which for the last five years has offered tours of Iceland’s desolate highlands. Sixteen months later, his mood has changed as he stands gratefully at the edge of Eyjafjoell’s still fuming crater: the eruption is paying off.

“It has done a lot to let people know

ples. Here we got to see the precise and spirited Victoria Tereshkina, followed by the elegant Yekaterina Kondaurova, then the sprite and lively Yevgenia Obraztsova. And, finally, Maria Shrinkina, very young and gorgeous, looking like an early Vishneva in the making.

The Mariinsky doesn’t get to New York that often - their last appearance was at City Center in 2008, and that was after a six-year absence. Judging from the rapturous reception at the opera house last week, New Yorkers would like them back sooner next time.—AP

Iceland is on the map. And it has been really good for my business,” he says.”

Eyjafjallajoekull was always very beautiful and now it’s famous!” Gardarsson began offering trips up the glacier in May this year and has already taken some 50 tourists up to the crater, each dishing out a whopping 39,000 Icelandic kronur (250 euros, $350) for the experience.

Eruption put Iceland on tourism map To reach the top, Gardarsson leads small groups on quad bikes up the rugged landscape, which starts with spongy yellow-green moss broken by jagged black lava rock and bubbling streams. Once they hit the ice, the all-terrain vehicles are swapped for bright red belted quads that effortlessly climb the steep snowbanks, still sprinkled with last year’s ash making the glacier look like a gigantic charcoal sketching. Along with helmets, the group wears padded, water-tight jumpsuits and boots that can withstand temperatures down to minus 90 degrees C (minus 30 degrees F), provided by Gardarsson.”It’s pretty incredible,” exclaims Nancy King, a 36-year-old advertising executive from New York standing at the edge of the steaming, black crater. A steep, rocky riverbed created by last year’s massive meltwater flood stretches down below.

“I’ve never seen anything this enormous before,” she says, gazing at the breathtaking view of mountain ranges, massive rivers and the island-specked Atlantic in the distance.”In New York, I spend most of my time sitting in front of a computer ...This is definitely a different day.”According to Icelandic Travel Industry Association chief Arni Gunnarsson, volcanoes and other natural phenomena are the main tourism draw to the country. “That is what tourism to Iceland is all about: the extraordinary nature you see here, the glaciers, the volcanoes,” he says.

“And last year’s eruption really put the country more on the map as such a destination.” With a tiny population of only 320,000 inhabitants, Iceland has already had a record 206,000 tourists visit in the first half of this year alone, recent statistics showed. This is an increase of more than 20 percent from 2010, and while the figures didn’t show how many visited volcanoes, Gunnarsson says it was likely “a large portion”. Despite volcanoes’ tourist draw, experts warn they are not without risks.

“It’s problematic, because volcanoes are exciting and people want to see them and get close to them. But it’s not good to have many people in the wrong place when an eruption happens,” cautions Magnus Tumi Gudmundsson, a geophysicist at the University of Iceland geophysicist.

While no one was hurt in Iceland’s recent eruptions and Eyjafjoell today is believed to be safe, its northeastern neighbour Hekla is seen as “a prime example of dangerous volcano tourism.” Hekla is one of two Icelandic peaks that began rumbling earlier this month and which experts say could go at any time. It “gives a very short warning. You are taking a real risk hiking near the top now,” Gudmundsson says. But Gardarsson, who has a tourist lodge at the foot of Hekla and also offers quad tours up that volcano, isn’t worried. “I’m not that unlucky,” he insists, conceding he always checks online volcanic activity measurements before heading up. And seeing what the Eyjafjoell eruption is doing for his business, Gardarsson wouldn’t mind if Hekla blows too. “An eruption would be ok,” he jokes, “as long as the wind blows away from me.” — AFP

The possibility of scrambling up an active volcano — Iceland has around 130 of them — has long been a tourist magnet for the North Atlantic island state. — AFP photos

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US stars accept YouTube marine ball invites

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vileged of underpri from vars d n sa u o s h newlywed Indonesian ve joined a mass a h ious faiths e free marriage certo receiv ld not p ce re tion they otherwise cou t a th th s d ende e tificate t 15,000 att e Senayan u o b A . rd o aff at th yesterday g Jakarta city reception in d u cl in , ce emSports Pala friends and family m d n a ls les. officia 4,541 coup bers of the les included 3,112 Catholics The coup ristians, 96 Chinese h C 8 4 ,2 1 Muslims, dus and al. ddhists, Hin and 85 Bu the Indonesian capit ilies m from across from low-income fa re s le ce p u ss a co The rate m The ied in sepa were marr e past three months. not k th e th in s d e ie ti mon ples of 200 cou last group AP — last week.

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A couple takes part in a mass interfaith wedding ceremony.

Indonesian couples wait for their turn to wed during a mass wedding ceremony in Jakarta, Indonesia, yesterday. — AP

An Indonesian couple signs a wedding letter.

A couple wearing Bali’s traditional dress takes part in the wedding ceremony.

A groom kisses his bride as they take part in the wedding ceremony.

World Chefs:

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rom Hollywood to the UAE; BMW is pleased to announce their participation in the upcoming Paramount Pictures release “Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol” as the film’s main automotive partner.

High performance with fewer emissions is the name of the game: One of the BMW vehicles provided for Tom Cruise’s next film shot partly in Dubai is the BMW Vision EfficientDynamics concept car. It has been recognized as having the most sophisticated technology and the most striking design among the current concept electric supercars. In a few years the BMW i8, which was inspired by the BMW Vision Efficient Dynamics concept vehicle, will enter series production.

“We are thrilled to be involved again in another Hollywood Blockbuster,” said Ian Robertson, BMW AG Board Member for Sales and Marketing. “The BMW Group leads the way in developing future mobility with a focus on sustainability. One great example is the BMW Vision EfficientDynamics concept car which will be presented in the film. With its futuristic design and large glass surfaces, the car offers a fascinating perspective on the future of sheer driving pleasure - in combination with maximum efficiency. Also with BMW

ConnectedDrive technology, it is the perfect car for Ethan Hunt to outsmart his pursuers through narrow streets and busy city traffic.”

“We are extremely appreciative of the incredible support BMW provided to our filmmakers and production teams as they traveled the world making the movie”, commented LeeAnne Stables, Executive Vice President of Worldwide Marketing Partnerships at Paramount Pictures.

Having provided vehicles for outstanding film projects and TV productions for more than 35 years, entertainment marketing is firmly established as an important building block for the BMW Group’s long-term image and product communications.

“Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol”, directed by Brad Bird, is scheduled for release mid of December 2011.

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ike many people who love to cook, Jonathan Dixon had long dreamed of going to culinary school for training.

Unlike many, he actually did it. “Beaten, Seared and Sauced” is the story of his two years at the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) and how he went from a passionate, but far from professional cook, to working as an intern in a noted New York restaurant and, finally, to graduation and a foray into cooking for private clients.

In between came intensive training in knife skills, fish identification, classic cooking techniques like sauteing, and mad dashes through regional cuisines including Asian. Older than most of his classmates from the start at age 38, Dixon spoke with Reuters about his immersion in cooking, what he learned about food, and what he learned about himself.

Q: You’ve been away from the experience for about a year, how do you view it now?

A: “I remember my father telling me about losing people when they died, how you forget all the bad stuff, and then it’s just the good memories. School is a little bit like that. I look back on it now with a pretty rosy view, but at the time ... that’s one reason I’m glad I was writing the book as I went, because there were warts and there were some really, really rough periods. It might be harder, looking back now, to get the nuances of the more negative stuff. “I look back on the experience as this incredibly intense two years. It just never let up. You never got a break, there wasn’t spring break, there wasn’t a big semester break around Christmas, you just kept going and going and going.”

Q: What were the highs and the lows of training?

A: “The high point and the low points are connected, in a way. The high point is that you’re forced to perform, and you’re forced to perform at a certain level, otherwise you fail. The low point, which is directly related to that, were all the rules and regulations you had to follow, the constant discipline.”

Q: What did you take away from your time there?

A: “It’s done before you think it is. It’s never as hard as you think it is. Basically, I learned that you can actually really accomplish stuff. Eventually you wound up cooking for the other students, and it’s not the high-pressure environment that working in a restaurant is obviously, but you still had the mindset that you needed to get something done at a certain time. And no one held your hand, nobody walked you through it in a nice, gentle kind of way. You got tossed in the pool. It was amazing to realize what you were actually capable of doing.”

Q: Name one really good memory and one really bad memory.

A: “The first good memory that came to mind was from the fish class. The fish class started at 4:30 in the morning, which meant that I had to be up at 2:00 in the morning, which isn’t that far after I actually go to sleep usually. I have to be up at 2:00, on the road, with my head just absolutely pounding with caffeine and exhaustion, get

to school, learn how to cut up fish, identify fish, and then sit through three hours of lecture about ... fish. “I was miserable, and I was absolutely convinced that I was going to bomb the class. I studied like I’d never studied before. I went in after class to keep learning about cutting up fish, and I got an A- in the class. That was the first truly great memory ... “The most physically bad memory-and this is a piece of knowledge I would love to pass on-is that if you are cutting a potato on a mandoline, and it sticks, let it go. Don’t force it. Because otherwise you’re getting carted off to the Emergency Room to get a bunch of stitches in the palm of your hand. “There were moments when I really did just want to stop, when I felt really burned out from months and months of being yelled at all day, and being reprimanded all day, and nothing you ever did was right.”

Q: How has the experience affected how you cook now?

A: “I had been cooking since I was a kid, but I was slow as molasses and I had no idea about really basic things. I had no idea how to really saute something, I had no idea how to really braise something. Most importantly, I had no idea about seasoning things.”

Q: What do you mean, you didn’t know about seasonings?

A: “I just never understood how salt enhances flavor. I always sort of thought salt was something you dumped on french fries or dumped on your food when it got to the table. I learned with seasoning that if you start throwing salt in early, in little increments, it tastes really good. I’m kind of paraphrasing Thomas Keller right now, but it doesn’t taste as if it was salted, it tastes seasoned. It’s a world of difference.”

Perfect roasted chicken Dry the skin of the bird with a paper towel; you don’t want moisture. Remove the wishbone. Salt the cavity of the bird. Truss the bird-there are a hundred dozen ways to do this; choose one-and salt the exterior of the chicken as well.

Have your oven at around 425 F. Put your chicken in a pan, up and off the pan’s floor. Some people use a rack, I roll aluminum foil up, wrap it around my fingers into a coil, and perch the chicken on top. Put it into the over and let it go for 20, 25 minutes, until the skin begins turning color.

Drop the heat to 375 F and let it go for another 35 minutes. Tip the chicken; red juices will run out. Close the over on it for another four to five minutes. Tip again. There will be less red in the juices, and they will be darker. Close the oven. After a couple of minutes, tip again. The juices will be a dark, cooked red with some gray. Take the bird out; it’s done. Let it rest, uncovered, for 20 minutes-no less. Then cut it up. — Reuters