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Kuwait: No plan to expel Syrian envoy Over 52 killed as regime steps up crackdown conspiracy theories

Living in Jungle Land

By Badrya Darwish

badrya_d@kuwaittimes.net

H

ello, Mr Hayef! Where are we living? Are we living in a jungle land? You have the right to express your opinion about what is going on in Syria - just like anybody else in the world. You can be pro or against. Since the troubles started in Syria we have read many statements by you and your colleagues condemning strongly what is happening in the country. You and some of your colleagues asked the government to take a serious stand. You demanded the government to show its disagreement with the policy of Syria by expelling the Syrian ambassador from Kuwait.

So far, we agreed with you. We thought what is going on in Syria is ugly. The government is cracking down on its people. Many people are killed and heavy weapons are used indiscriminately against the demonstrators. The result is the death of many innocent people. But, but, but... Your statement the other day was a bit beyond belief. I would never ever expect an MP to demand killing in daylight and to talk openly in front of the world about killing people.

I don’t know what you meant when you said it or you just said it in anger. But you will face a court of law for the words you uttered. Do you seriously think that you and the Kuwaiti government have the right to kill the Syrian ambassador? Does anybody have the right to kill the Syrian ambassador? Is the Syrian ambassador responsible for what Assad’s government is doing towards the people in Syria?

Should Syrian ambassadors all over the world be killed? I think Syria has diplomatic relations with over 150 countries. So, are you saying that we will kill them all? Do you also want to kill all the people working in the Syrian embassies? They also work in the missions of the country abroad. Do you think that more murders will help the situation in Syria?

The Honorable Gentleman has ignored the fact, that if, God forbid, something happens to the Syrian ambassador, he will be the primary suspect.

By the way, I would like to assure you that I do not know the Syrian ambassador. I have never met him and I am against what is happening in Syria, just like you. But I do not want to kill him and hold the man responsible for the massacres in his native country.

If these words came out of an ordinary citizen they would be taken less seriously. But coming out of an MP who represents the nation, I find it quite serious and I think the government should have a talk with the Honorable Gentleman.

TOTTENHAM: A shop and police car burn as riot police try to contain a large group of people on a main road in Tottenham, north London. — AFP

Rioters torch houses, shops in London dist

Syria slams call for envoy’s death

By A Saleh KUWAIT: Syrian authorities have strongly condemned events at a demonstration held in front of the Syrian Embassy building in Kuwait on Saturday, which saw a Kuwaiti MP advocate the killing of the Syrian Ambassador to Kuwait.

Several lawmakers gathered in front of the embassy building in Mishref, demanding that the ambassador be expelled, a day after a statement from the Kuwaiti Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed “deep sorrow at the bloodshed” in Syria. In an impassioned speech delivered during the protest, MP Mohammad Hayef went as far as calling for consulting Continued on Page 13

hurt, one with a head injury, while arrests were made following the violence in Tottenham, north London, late on Saturday, which sparked condemnation from Prime Minister David Cameron’s office. “The rioting in Tottenham last night was utterly unacceptable,” a Downing Street

spokesman said in a statement.

“There is no justification for the aggression the police and the public faced, or for the damage to property. There is now a police investigation into the rioting and we should let that process happen.”

Continued on Page 13

Kuwait: Threat won’t halt megaport work KUWAIT: Kuwait said yesterday that threats by Iraqi militants will not deter the state from completing the construction of a controversial megaport between the two nations.

“We are not scared by threats and we are continuing the construction work in the project.

Work is ongoing smoothly and as planned,” foreign ministry undersecretary Khaled Al-Jarallah told reporters.

The Kuwait official was responding to new threats by Iraqi Shiite militant group Ketaeb Hezbollah that it will strike the port if Kuwait did not halt construction. The group made its first threat last month and Kuwaiti newspapers yesterday published new threats by the same group.

“This threat is unfortunate and

irresponsible,” Jarallah said after a presentation on Mubarak AlKabeer port to heads of foreign diplomatic missions in Kuwait.

“There must be an official Iraqi handling of these threats,” the Kuwaiti official said.

Last month, Ketaeb Hezbollah, which has claimed deadly attacks on US troops in Iraq and is believed to be backed by Iran, warned a South Korean consortium to halt work on the Kuwaiti port project. Iraqis are objecting to the port because they say it will strangle Iraqi shipping lanes.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri AlMaliki has said that Kuwait has yet to notify Baghdad officially of the Mubarak project. He said Baghdad only learned about it from third parties.

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KUWAIT: The Gulf state of Kuwait, which has called for a halt to bloodshed in Syria, said yesterday it has no plans to expel the Syrian ambassador as demanded by MPs and protesters. “The Syrian ambassador is here and he will stay in accordance with diplomatic agreements,” foreign ministry undersecretary Khaled Al-Jarallah told reporters.

Meanwhile, Syrian forces intensified their crackdown on an eastern city yesterday as they try to keep the antigovernment uprising from escalating during the holy month of Ramadan. The assault and similar operations in at least two other towns killed at least 52 people, according to human rights groups, and the toll looked likely to rise.

Hundreds of Kuwaitis staged demonstrations on Friday in solidarity with the Syrian people and demanded the expulsion of the Syrian ambassador and the recalling of Kuwait’s envoy from Damascus. In May, 27 of the 50-member parliament in Kuwait urged the Kuwaiti government to expel the Syrian ambassador and reduce relations with Syria over the killing of thousands of protesters.

Kuwaitis plan to march on the Syrian mission in Kuwait City tomorrow to press for the expulsion of the ambassador. A Kuwait foreign ministry official on Friday urged a halt in Syria’s deadly crackdown on pro-democracy protesters and called for dialogue and “true reforms” to end the crisis.

According to reports from Beirut, the worst violence was in the eastern city of Deir el-Zour, where troops stepped up a siege that had already been going on for days. At least 42 people were killed in a raid on the city that began before dawn, said Abdul-Karim Rihawi, the Damascus-based chief of the Syrian Human Rights League and Ammar Qurabi, who heads the National Organization for Human Rights in Syria.

Continued on Page 13

42 arrested; 26 policemen hurt LONDON: Emergency services yesterday restored order to a London district where rioters torched homes and looted shops as a protest at the fatal shooting of a local man by police turned violent, leading to 42 arrests.

Police said 26 of its officers were

Emsak: Fajer: Shoruk: Dohr: Asr: Maghreb: Eshaa:

Ramadan Kareem

Great Ramadan ideas for children

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n this blessed month of Ramadan I will try my best to use my time wisely. Even if I am little, I will try hard to fast at least some of the day and do other good things.

•Sleep little - eat little ...I will not try to let the day pass faster by sleeping it away, and I will not eat so much at Iftar that it will make me too lazy to pray.

• I will learn all about Ramadan so I won’t think of it as a hard and hungry month.

• I will pray all of my obligatory prayers, and try to pray as many of the sunnah prayers as I can.

• I will try to wake up during the 3rd part of the night and pray night prayers at least once.

• I will memorize at least 1 surah and understand the meaning of it also.

• I will try to attend the taraweah prayer at the masjid at least once and pray all the way to the end with the Imam.

• I will not waste my time watching TV or playing games.

• I will surprise my Mom and clean for her while she is cooking Iftar for me.

• I will save some money in a special can and donate it to a worthy cause at the end of Ramadan.

• I will bake a dessert myself and surprise another family with it.

• I will read some verses from the Quran every day.

I will pick a time like after I pray fajr, or right before maghrib, and read at that time every day.

• I will ask Allah for forgiveness often.

• I will make more thikr.

Continued on Page 13

in the

news

Kuwait hopes oil prices to rebound

Fast lasts 2-minute more on Burj Khalifa

Bahrain releases 2 Shiite ex-MPs

KUWAIT: Crude oil prices should bounce back once global markets regain confidence after last week’s startling downgrade of the United States’ credit rating, the oil minister of OPEC-member Kuwait said yesterday. US light crude dived to a low of $82.87 a barrel, its lowest level since November 2010, after the world’s largest economy lost its top-notch AAA credit rating from Standard & Poor’s on Friday, before better-thanexpected US jobs growth data drove a modest recovery to $86.88. “We hope that this drop (in oil markets) does not last for a long time and we start seeing international markets recovering gradually ... after the panic we have seen from the situation in the US and Europe,” Mohammad Al-Busairi told Reuters in an interview yesterday. Kuwait’s crude output averaged 2.6-2.7 million barrels per day (mbpd) in July, peaking at 2.8 mbpd some days, Busairi said, adding that Kuwait’s output in August would depend on demand. — Reuters

DUBAI: Residents of the world’s tallest tower, Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, have to break their daily dawn-to-dusk Ramadan fast two minutes later than the rest of the city, the city’s top cleric said. At a height of 828 meters (2,716 feet), those on its upper floors can still see the sun after it has gone down over the rest of the Gulf’s financial and tourism hub. Religious authorities insist that Muslims fasting during the holy month must ensure the sun can no longer be seen on the horizon before they break their fast. “Burj Khalifa is almost one km high, which means people in higher floors can still see the sun after it has set on the ground,” Ahmed Abdul Aziz al-Haddad told Reuters yesterday.

“Therefore, they can’t break their fast like the rest of the city, there’s a two-minute time difference,” said alHaddad, Dubai’s mufti—a Muslim cleric who issues rulings on questions of religious law and practice.

DUBAI: Bahrain has ordered the release of two former MPs arrested in May after a crackdown on Shiite-led protests pending their trial in a civilian court, state news agency BNA said yesterday. The public prosecutor has decided to “release several detainees ... until the (civilian) court looks into their cases,” including “two former MPs and a lawyer,” BNA reported. The two former MPs from Bahrain’s largest Shiite formation, the Islamic National Accord Association (Al-Wefaq), Matar Matar and Jawad Fayrouz, were arrested at gunpoint in early May. The men were being tried by a national safety court for having allegedly called for regime change and spreading rumors linked to the pro-democracy protests. Bahrain had declared a State of National Safety, a lower degree of emergency, on March 16, a day before security forces crushed month-long street protests demanding democratic reforms.

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TV channels compete to air popular soap operas Viewership ratings scale to new heights

By Nawara Fattahova

KUWAIT: This year too, TV producers are competing to produce the best shows when viewership ratings scale to new heights during the holy month of Ramadan.

Many are confused about what drama to glue their eyes on, with a slew of dramas vying for the top spot on the mini-screen. Here is a short synopsis of the most popular Kuwaiti dramas: ‘Bu Kareem Birgubta Sabe’ Hareem’ (Bu Kareem Takes Care of Seven Women) is a melodramatic drama. Bu Kareem is an impoverished father of seven daughters, whose wife abandons him for a rich man. He raises them himself.

Each of his daughters, named after precious stones, have varied experiences. They face tough situations and one of the girls is raped and learns that she is pregnant, which the father is unaware of. After 21 years, the father meets his ex-wife who now leads a lavish lifestyle. She challenges him and asserts that she can win over her daughters’ love even after 21 years.

‘Alimni Kef Ansak’ (Teach Me How to Forget You) is a drama about Ali, a pilot who is married to two women. He is father to two twins from his first wife Sara.

While rushing to the hospital to meet his new-born daughters, his second-wife-to-be sabotages

his journey. He forgets his bag in her car on the way to the hospital. He falls in love with her and marries her.

‘Bannat Al Thanawiya’ (High School Female Students), the soap opera that has been banned by the Ministr y of Information. It has benefited a lot from negative publicity and viewership. It’s a social treatise that depicts the lives of five female students studying in the same high school.

‘Fursa Thanya’ (Second Chance), is a social drama sends out the social message that money transforms people’s lives.

A rich businessman falls into a coma after suffering from an ail-

ment. However, he is able to hear and understand conversations. Through every day monologues and conversations between his relatives, he learns that his wife is only interested in his money whereas his sister, brother and daughters care about him deeply and look after him. One day, he wakes up from the coma and the drama goes on to narrate the events that unfold next. ‘Al Malik a’ ( The Queen) tells the tale of a female singer and her family. The protagonist Huda works with her brothers in a music production company. The television series brings her social life and the obstacles she faces to life.

Al-Kazemi Group holds Ramadan ghabqa for media KUWAIT: Tariq Al-Kazemi, CEO of AlKazemi Group invited members of the local media to a ghabqa that was held recently at the Kuwait Hyatt Hotel,

which belongs to the Al-Kazemi Group of Hotels. They were presented with awards during the fun-filled evening.

Movenpick Hotel holds media Ghabqa KUWAIT: The Movenpick Hotel in Shuwaikh’s Free Trade Zone recently hosted a Ramadan Ghabqa banquet for media personnel, complete with live music from the Egyptian Oriental Band.

Members of the hotel’s executive management staff, as well as personnel from its Sales, PR and Marketing team, welcomed the media guests, with the Executive Chef preparing a mouthwatering buffet reflecting the Ramadan spirit and typical Arab hospitality.

In a press release issued yesterday, the hotel explained that it had held the event, which took place in the hotel’s Oriental ‘Taiba’ Tent, as a way of thanking the media personnel for their efforts and their continued support.

The guests greatly enjoyed the traditional music, with many taking the opportunity to try one of the range of shisha flavors on offer.

A number also won various prizes in the raffle held especially for the event.

Entertainment City to host Girgian festival KUWAIT: The Entertainment City has completed preparation s to h ost th is year ’s Girgian festival. I t will be held on August 12 and 13 as part of the activities organized by th e Tour istic Enterprises Company (TEC).

“S everal programs that reflects Kuwaiti culture will be sh owc ased, in c lud i ng events for children and competitions,” announced Anwar Al-N isf, Operations and Ac tivities M an ager a t t he Entertainment City. Al-Nisf

further noted that children dressed in traditional Kuwaiti attire will be allowed free e nt r y d ur i ng t he fe s t i v a l.

Girgian will be distributed to guests free of charge.

E nt r ance t i c ke t s to the Entertainment City will be

sold at a discounted rate of KD 1 during Ramadan.

The facility welcomes visitors during the holy month f rom 8: 30 p m to 2: 00 a m , e ve r y d ay. M ond ays a re e xc l us i ve l y re s e r ve d for female visitors.

Anwar Al-Nisf

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MONDAY, AUGUST 8, 2011

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Don’t waste food; donate it ‘I enjoy delivering food to the hungry’

By Hussain Al-Qatari

KUWAIT: The Islamic tradition highly discourages food wastage. Surat AlSurat Al-Isra from the Holy Quran states, “Indeed, the wasteful are brothers of the devils, and ever has Satan been to his Lord ungrateful.”

Stemmed from her firm belief that charity shouldn’t be burdensome to others, Umm Mohammad, a 54-year old retired Kuwaiti started a service that is one of its kind: She collects leftovers from banquets at parties, weddings and feasts, packages the food in individual Styrofoam boxes and delivers it to the poor. She doesn’t take any money in return. “The joy I feel when I see the smiles on the faces of the poor and needy people who receive the food is more than enough of a reward,” she says.

Different charity organizations in Kuwait take monetary donations to feed needy people, but no organization takes donations in food. Umm Mohammad’s schedule in Ramadan is busy with collecting food from locations across the countr y. If Umm Mohammad can’t attend to the task personally during evening, she and her network of volunteers would go the next day to collect the food and package it as individual

meals for Iftar (meal time) the following day. “If we collect the food early after the Ghabqa, we deliver it as Sohoor (meal time). If we are late, we take the food and pack it for the next day, and deliver it as Iftar,” she explains. The load increases immensely during Ramadan, making it difficult to answer ever y call she receives. If the person who calls her is willing and if she doesn’t have the time to drive to where they live, she gives them an address to which they can deliver.

Throughout her years of doing charity, Umm Mohammad spoke to a number of established organizations about the possibility of doing this work through their facilities, “The bureaucracy even reaches a humane act like charity in Kuwait. I tried several times but found that the complications make it lose its essence of charity. I prefer to talk to people, and deliver the food to the needy as their equal. As a charity organization, we suffer in Kuwait, making the work lose its essence,” she complained.

The Ministry of Awqaf, which was at first supportive of Umm Mohammad’s initiatives, decided to withdraw backing for the project after realizing that the Municipality disagrees with the nature of the project, “Because we deliver food,

Kunafa Ingredients - Semolina 500grs - Bread Crumbs fresh 200grs - Butter 130grs - Rose water 20grs - Blossom water 20grs - Akawi cheese 240grs - Sugar syrup 150grs - Pistachio slivered 30grs - Apricot essence 2grs How to prepare 1. Bread crumbs mixed in butter provide as a base of kunafa.

2. Akawi cheese soaked in a water for atleast 6 hours (to remove the saltiness and preserve smoothness).

3. Make the Semolina as a pudding and preserve akawi cheese for filling.

4. Sealed with bread crumbs mixture.

5. Baked until golden brown for 25 minutes 230degrees.

6. Topped with freshly slivered pistachio served with sugar syrup.

Tabouleh salad

3 cups of finely chopped leaf of parsley and washed 4 tomatoes chopped into small cubes 1 small onion chopped into small cubes 3 cups of finely chopped mint 2 tablespoons of fine Burghul 4 tablespoon olive oil 1/2 cup of fresh lemon juice Mint leaves for garnishes, Salt and Pepper How to prepare 1. Soak the burghul in cold water for half an hour until soft.

2. Squeeze out excess water from bulghur using hands or paper towel.

3. Mix all the ingredients together, taste and adjust seasoning if needed.

4. Serve with lettuce leaves.

we were told that the food might no Umm Mohammad started doing this in 1996, 15 years ago, “I was in Farwaniya one summer afternoon, running errands. I saw three Asian workers sitting in the shade of a tree, sharing a bottle of water and a bag of bread. I felt bad and gave them a small amount of money so they can buy themselves some

lunch. They were sitting a few meters away from a restaurant, but they couldn’t afford the food,” she recounts.

Several days later, Umm Mohammad was at a wedding of a friend’s relative.

When the wedding was over, the catering company started packing the leftovers to dispose them off. “I asked them where they take them, and they said

KUWAIT: A butcher cutting meat for customers.

—Photo by Joseph Shagra

they would throw them out.

Immediately, I thought of those poor workers sitting in the heat, hungry and tired. I asked my friend if I can take the food and give it to someone, and she was more than happy with the idea,” she says. That night, Umm Mohammad packed the food and drove to Farwaniya. She stopped at the fuel station there and gave the workers boxes full of food and cake. She told them to take the food home, share it with their friends and roommates.

“I know that people have a lot of leftovers. People here are generous, but they don’t have the time to go look for needy people to give them the food. I enjoy helping out. I help delivering the food to the hungry people, and I help the people who have leftovers to donate that food. I’m just a link between the two,” she adds. Throughout the years, Umm Mohammad found a number of volunteers willing to assist her.

These volunteers include gas station attendants, baqala keepers, and doormen of apartment buildings. “The volunteers I work with help me deliver the food to people who are in need. When I have a large quantity of food, I deliver it to them and they deliver it to others in the area,” she explains.

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kuwait digest

in my view

Al-Dabbagh’s unwelcome statements

It’s time to start thinking!

By Fouad Al-Obaid

By Abdullatif Al-Duaij ’ve always been, and still am, a strong advocate on defusing the prevailing tense atmosphere over the Mubarak Al-Kabeer issue from the vantage point of Kuwait and Iraq. It is a requirement for the region that strong relations be established between countries, based on mutual interest and economic integration.

Some members of the Parliament should refrain from responding to irresponsible statements originating in Iraq.

However, a recent statement issued by the official spokesman of Iraqi government, Ali AlDhabbagh was anything but promising.

The Kuwaiti government has been open to discuss the details regarding the port’s building process as well as its potential effects, despite the fact that building the port is Kuwait’s sovereign right. Iraq has the right to feel concerned, and they deser ve an explanation from us.

Regardless of the statements lawmakers and activists make that could be prejudiced towards Kuwait, what concerns us most are statements issued by members of the Iraqi government.

The statements stand out. Given his position as the Iraqi government’s official spokesperson, it was alarming to hear him say that “the Iraqi delegation which heads to Kuwait to hold talks, will include senior consultants who closely assess the extent of damage sustained by the Iraqi economy, should the port be constructed.” Al-Dabbagh’s statements give the impression that the port has already created a negative impact on the Iraqi economy. He went on to say that “... the Iraqi government will take stric t measures if the delegation’s repor t matched early reports.” Although Al-Dhabbagh was not definite when he mentioned ‘strict measures’ being an option considered by his government, the term clearly implies a threat.

In my opinion, Kuwait’s government should not welcome a delegation that has already set clear goals. Maybe it would serve the best interest of both countries if Kuwait sends a delegation to Baghdad and explain to the project’s economic viability. —Al-Qabas

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fouad@kuwaittimes.net Twitter: @Fouadalobaid s we are well into the holy month of Ramadan, and people are fasting and focusing on worship, I believe that the time is ripe for people to stop, reflect, and start to use this time to analyze the year that passed.

Further it is a good time to think ahead about the coming year.

This is a good time to remind people that time is fleeting. When you think about it, time is something that we don’t own; rather, we are lent time here on earth before our final departure. The importance of the latter point should force us to question life on earth and to help us forge an awareness of the meaning of life, more specifically the meaning of our individual lives; what is it that we should, want, or desire to do in this short time on earth? If humanity can fight ideologically about what happens post-mortem nobody can deny that we are alive here today, so the question is, what are we to do with it?

With each day that passes, I wonder if people truly realize that today is gone forever and that we are one day closer to death! Without dwelling on the idea of death, it seems that many waste their potential to leave a legacy via hard work and dedication in a particular field or socioeconomic activity. We owe many of the earth’s man-made wonders to history’s builders, thinkers, poets, academics, and inventors to name only a few fields and disciplines... The question today is, what will be the inventions of today that will be beneficial to mankind tomorrow? We should all think about the limitless possibilities we could achieve in many different fields if we applied ourselves to the task.

In this region, we have spent countless hours dwelling on past glories, but isn’t it time to reclaim history and to start a new era of enlightenment where our societies should begin by questioning the status-quo? Last year no one could have predic ted that come the nex t Ramadan an ex-Arab autocrat would find him-

A kuwait digest

Memories and lessons learnt

By Walid Al-Ghanim couple of nights before the Iraqi invasion, I was among a group of friends who gathered at the diwaniya of our friend Abdul-Hamid Al-Jassem in Nuzha to discuss the Iraqi threat at the time. We were then a group of high school and college students, with the oldest among us a mere 20 years old. We talked about the ongoing crisis, the details of which were obscure to us given the lack of information as a result of government secrecy given the sensitivity of the talks going on at the time with Baghdad. Most of us believed that Kuwait and Iraq could overcome their differences in some way. One of us, a friend called Anwar Al-Saleh, was very pessimistic, to the extent of warning against catastrophic repercussions.

On Wednesday, August 1, 1990, on the eve of the Iraqi invasion, Kuwaitis were checking the news for details of a meeting between the then-Crown

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Prince, His Highness the late Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah, and the members of an Iraqi delegation in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. We went to bed that night like any other night. Most students were due to sit for exams the next morning, while others were still enjoying their summer vacations.

Everything seemed ok, or perhaps we just couldn’t feel the ominous winds blowing due to the lack of information from Kuwait’s official media.

At dawn on Thursday, August 2, 1990, I prayed the Al-Fajr (dawn) prayer at a local mosque in Shamiya, after which I headed to another mosque nearby where I used to meet with some friends after the prayer. On discovering that the mosque was closed, I returned to my family’s home in Daiya and went back to sleep. It was four o’clock at the time, and there were no signs of any unusual events taking place.

At approximately 6:30 that morning, my mother woke us up telling us in a panic-stricken voice that Iraqi forces had entered Kuwait. We couldn’t fully comprehend what she meant at the time; was it that troops had crossed the northern border or that Iraqi soldiers were positioning themselves on Boubyan Island? It wasn’t until we turned on the TV and radio and received calls from relatives and friends that we realized that our country has been invaded by a fellow Arab and Muslim army.

Seven months of chaos, terror, assaults, murders and imprisonment followed, after which we were blessed with liberation. That phase was perhaps never documented comprehensively, but the lessons learned from that ordeal should always remain in our minds to avoid us being befallen by similar calamities in the future. —Al-Qabas

kuwait digest

Religion and politics

By Dr. Abdullatif Al-Suraikh here is a longstanding correlation between politics and religion, by which I mean the situation in which politicians use religion to serve their own agenda, which in most cases concerns attaining or maintaining positions of power.

Given its deep impact on people, religion has been given much attention by leaders throughout history. Senior religious figures are often given high prestige by rulers, who use their influence on the people to serve their own political agenda. That might involve making people submit to injustice, which gradually makes people less confident in religious figures in general.

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‘Leaders should encourage religion among people, not use it to tighten their stranglehold on the public, because such practices will make the people hate both politicians and religious figures, and could ultimately lead them even to hate religion itself.’

I am not an advocate of the separation of religion and state, but I do want to see the separation of religious figures from politicians, who twist religious to bring them into line with their own oppressive and tyrannical political agenda. I believe that religious rules can be adopted as part of a state’s policy, as long as they aren’t utilized solely in the service of ruling regimes.

Leaders should encourage religion among people, not use it to tighten their stranglehold on the public, because such practices will make the people hate both politicians and religious figures, and could ultimately lead them even to hate religion itself.

Religious figures must always speak in support of the right cause, no matter what the price might be, and avoid becoming just another tool among the many used by leaders to control their people. —Al-Rai

The question today is, what will be the inventions of today that will be beneficial to mankind tomorrow? We should all think about the limitless possibilities we could achieve in many different fields if we applied ourselves to the task. self caged in a trial court, questioned and forced to account for his decisions. This leaves one’s imagination to run wild as to what could be done elsewhere if people truly applied themselves.

Not all countries are similar, though in our beloved Kuwait things have been getting steadily worse with a cast of incompetent individuals given the helm of power, be it in Parliament or in the various ministries. Their lack of planning and foresight gives the average citizen the impression that the government has no plan and is simply ready to deal with problems as they arise. This lack of continuity by the government is a cause of concern and the hope is that this upcoming government will last its full term, though the probability seems to be bleak!

I believe that the time is ripe for major reforms that should push the government to start addressing issues that have been left stagnant for decades. Issues such as education - or lack thereof - are fundamental to the government’s supposed desire to diversify the economy. The continual increase in the number of government employees is a time bomb since the government is taking a long-term liability without much consideration of productivity levels or real need. Instead of addressing the actual need for diversification called for by MPs the government has been keen to bend to parliamentarians’ pressures by hiring their constituents.

I for one believe that it is about time to start a new national dialogue process whereby all major parties should be called for consultation to formulate a new national vision. Foreign experts can address rationally the issues that need to be attended to by the government.

However, it is the future of the nation that is at stake with a seemingly escalating strident tone from our northern neighbor once again rattling at our nation.

We need a new national road map to address past shortcomings. For such a plan to be effective it needs to encompass all walks of society, yet it should be a plan for the betterment of society not its radicalization into a particular understanding of faith that some espouse. The reality is that we need a new secular state that respects each citizen’s opinions and ideas, for this is the seed that will lead to a flourishing new diversified and solidified state with all parties united like the fist of a hand ready to deter and stand firm against any aggression.

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Cabinet tackles KU issue, calls for dialogue in Syria

KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber AlSabah received at Seif Palace yesterday former President of the General Council of the Liberal Democratic Party, member of the House of Representatives and Secretary of Defense and Environment in Japan Yorke Koike. His Highness also received Sayyed Muhammad Bahr alUlum and his accompanying delegation on the occasion of his visit to the country. The two meetings were attended by Deputy Minister of Amiri Diwan Affairs Sheikh Ali Jarrah Al-Sabah and Governor of Hawally Abdullah Abdulrahman Al-Fares. — KUNA

Jordanian King to visit Kuwait today KUWAIT: King Abdullah II of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is due to arrive on a brief visit to Kuwait today (Monday), during which he will extend his greetings to His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah on the holy month of Ramadan.

The king will be accompanied by a retinue of officials on the formal visit. — KUNA

MSAL launches hotline for noon labor complaints KUWAIT: The Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor is allocating hotlines for workers forced to work outdoors during the hours in which doing so in Kuwait’s searing summer heat is banned, announced a senior ministry official on Thursday.

“Field inspection teams will continue monitoring construction sites throughout Ramadan to ensure that the law is implemented”, said Assistant Undersecretary for the Labor Sector Jamal AlDoussari, reiterating that inspection tours will continue every day throughout the ban hours from 11 am to 4 pm. Al-Dousary announced in his recent statements that workers forced to work during the ban hours can register complaints on the following numbers: 24334906 - 24334067 (ext. 262), every day between 10:00 AM and 3:00 PM. The ministry announced last week that 19 workers employed by eight different companies were caught violating the ban during inspection operations carried out throughout July. The ban which came into effect at the beginning of June runs through August which also coincides this year with the holy month of Ramadan. — Al-Rai, Al-Qabas

Iraqi militants threaten to bomb Kuwait over port KUWAIT: An Iraqi militant group has threatened to launch rocket attacks against Kuwait if construction work at the Mubarak Al-Kabeer port continues at its current location.

A group referring to itself as the ‘Hezbollah of Iraq Brigades’ said in a statement quoted in a news report published yesterday that it has three surface-to-surface missiles which it warned it will use against Kuwaiti targets if plans to construct the port are not halted. “The missiles are fully prepared to be launched against designated strategic targets”, the statement reads, explaining that two of the rockets will be targeted at the heart of Kuwait City and the Kuwaiti Parliament building, with the third being aimed at the Mubarak Al-Kabeer Port site itself. Tensions have been escalating over the issue ever since Iraqi MPs strongly rejected the location chosen for the Mubarak Al-Kabeer Port, a major project that Kuwait is building on the east of Boubyan Island a few kilometers away from Iraq’s narrow outlet onto the Arabian Gulf. Many politicians and transport activists in Iraq have expressed concern that the port will limit maritime activity in the already narrow strip of water separating the two countries. Kuwait insists, however, that the port will boost commercial activity in the region, and could be vital to helping with Iraq’s rebuilding process.

The ‘Hezbollah of Iraq Brigades’ further claimed that it had obtained the missiles from a secret weaponry warehouse in the south of Iraq following the fall of the previous regime, and had since hidden them in secret locations in various areas of Basra. The same militant group previously issued threats against Kuwait over the port’s construction, but gave no further details at the time of what it intended to do. News reports late last month quoted sources as saying that Kuwait has been taking measures ever since the early threats appeared and has intensified military presence around the port construction site. — Al-Rai

New underground cables in Farwaniya KUWAIT: The Central Tenders Committee (CTC) has approved a tender to lay new underground cables for consumers in Farwaniya, the Ministry of Electricity and Water has stated.

The CTC has also approved the exchange of steam units’ protection system, with permission being granted to install connection rods at Al-Zour station.

They said that the Committee has approved the purchase of a filter and regulator for boilers, and has okayed the import of spare parts for fuel burners. It has also approved the purchase of spare parts control valves at distillation units along with thermometers in Doha. Spare parts of the turbine sector will also be purchased, reporter Al-Qabas.

Meanwhile, officials also said that water pump stations will operate using the pre-paid system at Al-Egaila station on Sunday, adding that tank owners must buy pre-paid cards from water revenues offices in Jahra, Mangaf or Jabriya.

KUWAIT: The Cabinet, at its regular weekly session held yesterday, addressed the enrolment of students at Kuwait University at the local level and mounting violence in Syria at the regional level. In light of the great concern devoted by the government for the problem of the students’ registration at the university, Minister of Education and Higher Education Ahmad Al-Mulaifi presented the executives with a detailed report, revealing figures of students who have been registered at the KU, comparative numbers of those enrolled in past years and the university technical and accommodation capacities.

The report, prepared in coordination with the KU administrative staff, shed light on the meas-

ures that have been taken to deal with this problem, proposed plans for resolving it urgently and registering all students who meet the terms for the academic studies, as well as increasing the

number of the teaching staff.

The cabinet praised the good efforts that have been exerted by the university administration and urged it to spare no effort to register the applying students.

Cabinet holds its weekly meeting.

At the external level, the ministers discussed overall political issues at the Arab and international levels and expressed deep regret at the conditions in the sisterly Republic of Syria where dead and injured people “have fallen due to these regretful conditions.” In this context, the State of Kuwait affirmed keenness on the security, stability and unity of sisterly Syria, called for activation of constructive dialogue, aimed at securing necessary and genuine reforms in a manner that attains rights of the brotherly Syrian people, ensures their dignity, realizes their aspirations, halts the bloodletting, aver ts fur ther destruction and consolidates security and stability of the sisterly nation. — KUNA

Hunt on for abducted woman Callous conman caught KUWAIT: A hunt is underway for a Filipina woman who was reportedly abducted and locked in an apartment where she has been forcibly coerced into prostitution.

The search began after staff at the Philippines Embassy received a phone call from the woman pleading for help and telling them she had been abducted by three men, one of them a taxi driver, before being taken to a flat used as a brothel where she has been forcibly prostituted, being sexually assaulted several times daily. The embassy staff immediately reported the incident to the police, who are hunting for the woman. They initially attempted to call her on the mobile which she used to phone the embassy in order to locate it via GPS, but the phone appears to have been switched off. Detectives were able to locate a taxi matching the woman’s descriptions, but learnt from the taxi company that the driver had been off work for 23 days due to a broken foot. The investigation is continuing.

In a separate case, police are hunting for two men whose attempt to abduct a female pedestrian in Jleeb AlShuyoukh was thankfully thwarted by a passing Good Samaritan. The two men were in a taxi which pulled up beside the Nepalese woman, with the driver offering to take her to her destination. When rejected the offer and carried on walking, ignoring their calls to her, the men got out of the vehicle and attempted to force her inside.

Luckily, the owner of a nearby garage heard the woman’s screams and rushed to the scene, with the two would-be abductors fleeing as a result. The woman reported the incident at the local police station, while her rescuer provided officers with the license plate number of the men’s car.

Drug traffickers caught Six drug traffickers were successfully arrested after police caught one of them in a sting operation. The man,

an Egyptian working as a company representative, was arrested red-handed whilst handing over 190 narcotic tablets to an undercover officer for KD 150. On being questioned, the man named his accomplices, who were quickly apprehended, with a further 1,000 tablets, as well as six pieces of hashish, being confiscated from them. The men admitted smuggling the drugs into Kuwait from Egypt.

Man threatens ex-wife A Kuwaiti man is facing multiple charges after his mother-in-law reported that he had been making regular death threats against his former wife after she left him and returned to her parents’ home. An investigation was launched after the mother-in-law, also Kuwaiti, lodged a complaint at Taima police station, telling officers there that her daughter separated from her husband and returned to the family home in Oyoun, he had been calling her constantly and threatening her with slander, as well as murder. The complainant said that her vindictive son-in-law refuses to divorce his wife and keeps trying to make problems for her, as well as continually phoning to threaten her. Police are hunting for the man to question him about the allegations.

Callous conman caught A fugitive who went on the run after being charged with eight counts of fraud was caught in a sting operation by police in Jahra. The Iraqi man managed to defraud people of large sums of money by convincing them that he was a VIP with many high-level government contacts.

According to a security insider, many of the callous conman’s victims were bedoon (stateless) residents, whom he fooled into believing that he could help them obtain Kuwaiti citizenship.

Road rage A motorist was arrested after pulling out an unlicensed handgun during a row with another driver and threatening him with it. Police were quickly at the scene of the fracas on the Sixth Ring Road after receiving reports from other motorists that one of the two men was menacing the other with a pistol. On arriving at the scene, they immediately disarmed the man holding the weapon and took both men into custody.

Detectives subsequently found that the gun used was unlicensed. The two men have been referred to the relevant authorities for further action.

Security crackdown Farwaniya police arrested 43 street vendors and three beggars, as well as confiscating nearly three tons of foodstuffs which were being sold illegally. The arrests were made during a Ramadan crackdown on begging, unlicensed trading and selling foodstuffs unfit for human consumption.

Jakhour thefts A Kuwaiti man has filed a case against the former caretaker of his livestock farm ( jakhour in Arabic), accusing the man of stealing and selling furniture and electrical appliances from it. The owner noticed on arriving at the farm recently that the caretaker and the missing items had disappeared at the same time.

When he questioned caretakers at neighboring farms they informed him that the suspect had sold the items a few days previously before disappearing. The enraged owner immediately reported the thefts at the local police station. A hunt is underway for the missing caretaker.

— Al-Anba, Al-Rai, Al-Watan

MP recommends new cmte to examine liquid gas tenders

By A Saleh

KUWAIT: MP Adel Al-Sarawi has called on oil minister Mohammad Al-Busairi to form an investigative committee to evaluate all companies submitting bids for liquid gas tenders.

The MP asserted that the current system for selecting firms should be ended since there are several points against it. He also warned against the use of favoritism in forming such a committee, saying that this would be wholly unacceptable

and the formation of any committee would be closely monitored since the people wish to see full transparency.

In other news, the National Assembly (parliament) finance committee yesterday met to review a number of issues on

its agenda.

“We reviewed the commercial companies law in the presence of the Minister of Commerce and Industr y,” explained committee chairman Yousef Zalzalah, suggesting that the proposed amend-

ments to the legislation in question would resolve many problems and that the bill would be put before the NA council shor tly in order to ensure that it is approved before the start of the next parliamentary term.

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Police warned against abusive approach 44 road deaths in July KUWAIT: A senior Ministry of Interior (MoI) official has issued instructions that any verbal or physical abuse towards the public by police officers will be harshly penalized.

In a directive issued to all police officers, MoI Undersecretary Lieutenant General Ghazi AlOmar instructed all officers to avoid using harsh speech, physical intimidation or any other form of offensive approach in dealing with the public, adding that those who do so will be dealt with severely. Lt. Gen. Al-Omar issued the directive prior to the implementation of a security plan being introduced by the ministry for the Eid AlFitr holiday at the end of Ramadan, which aims to ensure the security of all public gathering places.

Meanwhile, the chairman of the parliamentary interior and defense committee yesterday called on the Ministry of Interior to be alert to events in the region and the repercussions these might have within Kuwait. Warning in a press release that certain individuals or groups might take advantage of the turbulence elsewhere to create insecurity and unrest in Kuwait, the committee chairman, MP Shuaib Al-Muwaizri, stressed that Kuwait is strong and stable and will not give a chance to those who wish to harm the country. What is taking place in Syria is prohibited by all religions, as well as international treaties and no rational person should accept it, he added, further urging the governments and people of the GCC states, as well as other Arab

and Muslim nations, to intervene to stop the bloodshed. In other news, a recent report from the MoI’s General Traffic Department indicates at 69,903 drivers’ licenses were issued in Kuwait during the first six months of 2011. Forty-four people died on Kuwait’s roads in July, according

to the latest Ministry of Interior (MoI) figures, 16 of them Kuwaiti and the remaining 28 of various other nationalities. The MoI called upon all roadusers to comply with traffic regulations and to be more careful, both for their own safety and that of others. — Al-Qabas & Al-Rai

First bloggers forum KUWAIT: A forum of bloggers, the first of its kind, is scheduled to start today with the participation of 200 bloggers. The forum attracts many media, social, political, educational, and legal figures. Several seminars on several specialized issues are to be held on the sidelines of the event.

The Forum coordinator, Abdulrazzak Buhajji, told Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) that the forum aims to gather all bloggers under one umbrella in order to promote their ideas and develop their abilities to harness them to serve the Kuwaiti society.

The Forum highlights the most prominent young bloggers in various fields to embrace them and provide the right climate for them to continue through seminars which will be held periodically throughout the

Released detainees to return to Iraq KUWAIT: Nine Iraqi men released from Central Prison under the recent Amiri Amnesty will shortly return to their home nation after all the necessary security procedures were completed.

The men had been imprisoned over a failed assassination attempt against former United States President George H. W. Bush, but were released along with a number of other prisoners under the Amiri amnesty. The men’s upcoming return home was confirmed by Walid Al-Ghazali, believed to have been the second in command of the group which attempted to bomb a convoy of vehicles including the car containing the first President Bush during a visit to Kuwait.

Speaking from the deportation center where he is currently being held along with the other group members, Al-Ghazali said on Saturday that the men have been in contact with the Iraqi Embassy in Kuwait and are expecting to return home within the next nine days. — Al-Rai

year, Buhajji said.

Buhajji stressed that the forum will discuss through its seminars the role and influence of blogs in the social development with the participation of a group of bloggers and journalists. By holding the forum, the organizing committee wants to ensure the freedom of expression and to urge bloggers to contribute effectively to the development of the Kuwaiti society and the emphasis on strengthening ties of national principles and respect of other opinion, he said.

Furthermore, the forum works to educate the participants as well as the audience about the many ways through the allocation of lectures to explain the new audiovisual law. — KUNA

Protocol Chief receives British envoy KUWAIT: Amiri Diwan Protocol Chief Sheikh Khalid Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah AlNasser Al-Sabah received yesterday at Seif Palace UK Ambassador to Kuwait Frank Baker where he presented a book on British-Kuwaiti relations. — KUNA

Medical negligence claims investigated KUWAIT: Authorities in Ahmadi have reportedly opened investigations into two separate deaths of patients at local medical facilities which are alleged to have been caused by medical negligence.

According to one security official, a Kuwaiti man lodged a complaint with police, telling them that his father had died shortly after undergoing a surgical operation five days previously of what he said were complications following the surgery. Police have summoned the medical staff from the facility where the operation was carried out who are accused of being responsible for the man’s death for questioning. In the second case, the family of another Kuwaiti

man in his thirties who died after receiving an injection at a local hospital have lodged a complaint about staff there, accusing them of medical negligence after they administered the injection which caused a fatal reaction, leading to the man’s death. Investigations into both cases are currently underway.

In other medical news, a Ministry of Interior Undersecretary has reportedly instructed Assistant undersecretaries, the heads of medical directorates and state hospital administrators to ensure that they provide precise data on all projects to be funded by the budget for the 2012-13 fiscal year in order to avoid inaccurate and possibly inflated evaluations. — Al-Qabas and Al-Jarida

KUWAIT: Ahmadi Governor Sheikh, Dr Ibrahim Al-Duaij Al-Sabah welcomed the new Ambassador of the Republic of India to Kuwait, Satish C Mehta at his office.

They discussed bilateral relations between the two countries and means to boost cooperation. — KUNA

Ban on visit visa transfer next month KUWAIT: Visit visas will no longer be transferred to work permits in the countr y star ting September 1, announced a senior Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor(MSAL) official recently. Speaking to reporters while attending a Ghabqa held by Sheikha Latifa Saad Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah, MSAL undersecretary Mohammad AlKandari announced that the regula-

tion announced earlier will go into effect beginning next month, in coordination with the Ministry of Interior.

He added that university graduates as well as professionals like doctors, engineers and journalists are exempted from this order. In other news, AlKandari confirmed that no offenses have been detected in charity collection during the week of Ramadan.

Firemen rush to sailor’s rescue

By Hanan Al-Saadoun KUWAIT: An Arab expatriate was rushed to hospital after being rescued by Shuaiba firemen from a vessel where he had sustained serious burns when the scalding water boiled for the iftar meal went flying due to rough seas, causing first degree burns all over his body.

The man was with a number of friends, who had set out on a day trip. They were around ten miles offshore when the poor weather conditions and high winds sent the boiling water flying, severely scalding the man. His friends immediately called emergency services, with the firefighters using their vessel, Mubasher, to reach the sailors, rushing the injured man to the Al-Kut complex before he was taken to Adan Hospital.

The director of the Marine Firefighting Services Department urged the public not to set out to sea in such poor conditions and to always carry safety equipment, including life jackets, fire extinguishers and a first aid box.

Bad travelers The travel plans of two Kuwaiti holidaymakers were cancelled after they verbally and physically abused airline staff who would not allow them to exceed their luggage allowance. The men were about to board an AlJazeera Airways flight when they got into a row with staff at the ticket desk over their baggage allowance, flying into a temper when the officials would not let them break the luggage allowance regulations and yelling at and hitting the staff. The airline personnel immediately filed a complaint and the holidaymakers found their travel destination changed to Jleeb AlShuyoukh police station where they were charged with insulting officials performing their duties.

Three hurt in car accidents A 47-year-old Bangladeshi expatriate was rushed to Mubarak Hospital after suffering multiple injuries when he was hit by a car whilst crossing a road in Salwa.

In a separate incident, an 18-year-old Kuwaiti girl was hospitalized after sustaining fractures to her right knee in a car crash on King Fahad Road between the Third and Fourth Ring Road junctions.

Meanwhile, a 32-year-old Egyptian man suffered a broken right arm in a crash near the bridge adjacent to

KUWAIT: The injured man being rushed to the hospital. — Photos by Hanan Al Saadoun the Dhahr slaughterhouse. He was taken to Adan Hospital.

Offside thieves Three Kuwaiti men returned from playing in a Ramadan tournament at a local football ground to find that their cars parked nearby had been broken into, with the thieves smashing the car windows to steal valuables left inside the vehicles. Police are hunting for the thieves.

Higher Planning Council slams lazy project leaders over delays KUWAIT: The Secretariat General of the Higher Planning and Development Council has asked government bodies to present their latest updates on the progress made in national development plan-related projects.

A secretariat insider revealed that, after viewing a report on the amount of work achieved to date on the projects, the State Minister for Planning and Development Abdulwahab Al-Haroun had strongly criticized the role of some government bodies in delaying their

implementation. The minister apparently condemned what he felt is the excessive amount of bureaucratic red tape involved, suggesting that these departments are the most blameworthy over delays in completing the projects.

Al-Haroun, who was apparently most scathing about the unnecessarily high levels of bureaucratic routine at the Ministry of Public Works and Municipality, has contacted all the government bodies on behalf of the Higher Planning and Development Council about the lack

of progress, demanding detailed responses from each on the reasons behind this. The insider also revealed that in his letter, Al-Haroun urged all those involved in implementing the development planrelated projects to redouble their efforts and surmount any obstacles impeding their completion, whether material or legal. The council is reportedly seeking approval from the Council of Ministers to penalize those in charge of the projects who are not sufficiently committed to their duties. — Al-Qabas

MONDAY, AUGUST 8, 2011

Prayers, fasts as Perry preps presidential bid

Saleh out of hospital, stays in Saudi Arabia Page 8

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Somali troops warily enter Shabab areas

MOGADISHU: Somali government soldiers take position near the Mogadishu stadium during a firefight yesterday with Shabab insurgents. (Inset) Somali government soldiers gather around the dead body of a fellow government soldier who was killed during the brief exchange of gunfire. —AFP/AP MOGADISHU: Street by street, Somali government soldiers and African Union troops move cautiously into former rebel strongholds in one of the world’s most dangerous capitals, just a day after insurgents announced a withdrawal. Gunfire crackled and skirmishes broke out as troops, backed by tanks and armoured vehicles from the African Union mission in Somalia (AMISOM), warily moved forward, looking out for potential ambushes or roadside bombs. “We are still maintaining cautious advancement into the stronghold of the Shabab fighters,” said Yusuf Dhegobadan, a senior government army officer. Until Saturday morning, govern-

ment and AU troops controlled just over half of famine-struck Mogadishu, including the airport and port, while the AlQaeda affiliated Shabab controlled the city’s northeast. Now, very slowly, troops are making progress that would have been unthinkable days earlier, when welldefended positions were fiercely held by extremist Shabab fighters. On one street, a former Shabab area, gunfire rang out and the troops dived for cover, lying down in the sand or hiding themselves in the thorn bushes. Bullets smacked into the ground, killing one soldier and wounding one other. The soldiers responded, opening fire with a ragged volley from their AK-47

automatic rifles, killing a Shabab fighter.

After the skirmish died down, soldiers bundled the wounded and dead soldiers onto makeshift stretcher made from a tarpaulin, carrying them out from the combat-zone.

“There are few of the Shabab trying to benefit from the advancement of our troops, carrying out desperate attacks,” Dhegobadan added, speaking at the city’s stadium, which until Saturday had been a rebel stronghold. “But we are progressing cautiously, and we will eliminate them very soon.”

Government officials have celebrated the hardline rebel pullout, but a Shabab spokesman said Saturday that the withdrawal was merely “a change of military tactics”. Despite ongoing clashes, some civilians are also braving a return back to their homes in former rebel-held areas. Some say they had not been able to access them for several years, ever since Shabab took control of large parts of the city.

“We are very happy to come and see our houses for the first time (in) nearly three years,” said Mohamed Farah, who visited his house near the stadium. “It is too early to return, but we are planning to start repairing the building, because most of the houses have either collapsed or been damaged in the fighting.”

Many of the buildings are little more than bullet-pocked shells, damaged from years of fighting that raged in evershifting frontlines in the city.

But people are still fearful of attack. “No one can say what is going to happen next, because the Islamist fighters are still active in some parts of Mogadishu,” said Abdi Said, a resident in the city’s Wardhigley neighbourhood.

“They are capable of carrying out attacks any time,” he added. “Going back to the houses is not easy right now you need to think about your safety first, and no one can guarantee that fighting is over,” said Fadumo Wehliye, another Mogadishu resident.

The Shabab had for two years been promising to topple the Western-backed government in Mogadishu, but always fell short of smashing its last defences despite a deadly and costly offensive.

Meanwhile the UN has officially declared famine for the first time this century in Somalia, including in Mogadishu and in four southern Somali regions, and warned that the famine could spread. — AFP

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Kirkuk joint ‘Golden Lions’ face uncertain future KIRKUK, Iraq: Iraqi leaders have trumpeted a joint Arab-Kurdish “Golden Lions” security unit in the disputed northern city of Kirkuk but key issues remain over its funding and expansion. American troops, who were key to the force’s formation in early 2010, have taken a back seat in the combined unit’s operations ahead of the planned year-end US pullout. Senior American officers have voiced concern that the force’s mandate has become wide and too complex, and questioned if officials in Baghdad and the Kurdish regional capital Arbil can resolve crises without US mediation.

“I’m confident that at the very low tactical level, the government of Iraq and KRG (Kurdistan regional government) security forces work well together, primarily because politics aren’t involved at the checkpoint,” said Brigadier General Jim Pasquarette, deputy commander for US forces in north Iraq. He quickly added: “I think

you can put a US army platoon and a North Korean platoon on a checkpoint together, and a week later, they’d be playing cards and having a good time together.”

Following proposals floated in 2009, the US military began training Iraqi soldiers, policemen and Kurdish peshmerga fighters in combined units across a swathe of disputed territory centred around Kirkuk in the country’s north. While Kurdish authorities want the area incorporated into their autonomous region in Iraq’s north, officials in Baghdad are strongly opposed. At the time the force was initially mooted, analysts and officials feared tensions could develop into open conflict along what the International Crisis Group dubbed the “trigger line.”

Since early last year, US forces manned checkpoints alongside Iraqi army and peshmerga members in Nineveh and Diyala provinces. In

Kirkuk, the tripartite force conducted patrols and raids, while American soldiers ran checkpoints with Iraqi policemen. Earlier this month, however, US forces pulled out of the checkpoints, and will also soon relinquish leadership in the three provincial coordination centres. According to Colonel Michael Bowers, strategist for the top US general in north Iraq, violent incidents in the area have dropped since early last year.

And what was initially pitched as a limited plan to build cooperation between primarily Arab forces and their Kurdish counterparts, has expanded markedly, particularly in Kirkuk. Once a company-sized unit of around 100 members, it has now become a battalion of around 350, primarily focused on manning six checkpoints in the city, and there is talk of further expansion to a brigade of more than 1,000 members.

But key hurdles remain. For one,

the battalion is still funded and supplied on an ad hoc basis. “We are facing challenges, because this joint force is new and contains three groups,” said Colonel Salah Adin Saber, an Iraqi police officer and the battalion commander. “Among the challenges are logistics support, and the supply of fuel and vehicles.” According to US Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Holland, Saber “has got to go round and get everybody to provide some resources”. “What they need is a separate budget line from Baghdad ... so that they don’t have to continually shell out cash to make this thing work.” He added the current system was “not the preferred solution”.

American commanders also fret that unnecessary complexity has been added by putting the battalion on checkpoints, rather than local policemen, whose force is in charge of security in Kirkuk. “Instead of a clean, simple solution, we have a more complex

solution, so that everybody has a person there,” said Colonel Michael Pappal, commander of the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division located at a US base on Kirkuk’s outskirts. Pappal said while local leaders had agreed to let Iraqi policemen run the checkpoints when the US pulled back, “the other levels up didn’t think that was the solution”.

Holland, meanwhile, warned that Saber had “very few Iraqi army and peshmerga available to do patrolling.

“He can’t do both tasks (checkpoints and patrols) at the same time with the current battalion that he’s got.” In addition to lying at the centre of the disputed territory, Kirkuk province is also rich in oil and home to a wide variety of ethnic groups. Little progress has been made, though, over competing claims to Kirkuk, with oftcited Iraqi constitution article 140, which calls for a referendum to decide Kirkuk’s fate, unimplemented. —AFP

Israel PM vows change after massive protests Netanyahu establishes ‘special team’ JERUSALEM: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday promised change as he tried to ease growing anger over the cost of living after an unprecedented number of Israelis took part in nationwide protests. Speaking before a weekly cabinet meeting, Netanyahu acknowledged the frustration of the more than 250,000 people who took to the streets on Saturday night to demand cheaper housing, education and healthcare. “We can’t ignore the magnitude of the social protests,” he said. “We know that we need to make changes and we will do so, showing ourselves to be responsible and responsive to the demands,” he added in remarks broadcast on public radio. “We want to establish a real dialogue and hear from everyone who can propose solutions, even if we cannot meet all the demands,” he said.

Netanyahu said he was establishing “a special team” headed by prominent economist Manuel Trachtenberg, the head of Israel’s National Council for Higher Education. “I have mixed feelings about being tasked with this mission, because changes are imper-

economic and social affairs, and then the whole government,” Environment Minister Gilad Erdan told Israeli radio. He said he expected “radical changes”.

Itzik Shmuli, a protest leader, received news of the commission with caution, but welcomed the

showed the staying power and broad appeal of a movement that began in mid-July over the cost of housing and has quickly mushroomed.

In Tel Aviv alone, commercial capital of a country of 7.7 million, an estimated 200,000 people

TEL AVIV: Some two hundred thousand Israelis march in the center of Tel Aviv on Saturday protesting against the rising prices of real estate in Israel. —AFP ative, but the responsibilities and the risks are enormous,” Trachtenberg told Israeli radio.

The committee will be charged with finding ways to make acrossthe-board cuts to the cost of living, and will consult with employers groups and the power ful Histadrut union. “The recommendations of this team will without doubt be presented in September to the committee for

choice of Trachtenberg to lead it, calling him “trustworthy”. But it was unclear whether the crowds who took to the streets Saturday would be placated by the appointment of another committee, the second Netanyahu has proposed to establish to examine protesters’ demands. The turnout, believed to be the biggest for protests over any social issue in Israel’s history,

were in the streets, many chanting “the people want social justice”. Police said another 30,000 protested in Jerusalem, with 20,000 taking part in demonstrations in towns ranging from Kiryat Shmona in the north to the southern cities of the Negev desert. Netanyahu has already said he takes the protests seriously and will work to implement reforms, but he has warned

against the sweeping measures favoured by many protesters, saying they could plunge Israel into financial crisis.

He has at times appeared to have been caught short by the size and appeal of the demonstrations, which were initially dismissed by his rightwing Likud party colleagues. And he has infuriated protesters by supporting legislation easing regulations for building contractors, which parliament passed before its summer recess. Netanyahu says the legislation will address protesters’ demands by flooding the market with housing and bringing down prices, but activists say it will merely encourage the construction of luxury apartments.

They also say the government has failed to understand the breadth of the reforms they seek, which has grown to include lower taxes, an expansion of free education, lower medical costs and a break-up of monopolies.

Israel’s media has largely thrown its support behind the protesters, with commentators in Haaretz newspaper on Sunday describing the movement as a revolution. “With emotion but great order, the masses marched through the city shouting ‘revolution’,” wrote Yair Ettinger. “Is this rebellion here to stay? Will it die out? For the time being it ’s only pick ing up strength.” In the top -selling Yediot Aharonot newspaper, Sima Kadmon called the protests “the largest demonstration of no confidence in the histor y of Israel”. Israel Hayom, a paper considered close to the prime minister, offered a rare voice of caution, warning that any reforms should be made “with utmost responsibility”. —AFP

Tripoli says key town recaptured The premier claimed that the “decisionNATO said its warplanes attacked 45 tarTRIPOLI: Government troops have recaptured the strategic town of Bir Ghanam, southwest gets across Libya on Saturday, including an making and the real forces in the field are in of Tripoli, from rebel forces, Libyan Prime ammunition storage facility and a multiple the hands of Islamist extremist groups”. Since Minister Baghdadi Mahmudi told reporters rocket launcher system in the Bir Ghanam the beginning of the revolt, the Gaddafi yesterday. “Life is back to normal in Bir area. Mahmudi criticised the National regime has portrayed the five-month-old Ghanam, and today it is under the full control Transitional Council (NTC), the rebels’ de facto uprising is an Al-Qaeda plot. Mahmudi claimed that most NTC members of the regime,” Mahmudi said a day had left the country, saying: “I after rebels said they captured the defy the NTC to meet even once town which lies just 80 km from during Ramadan,” the month of the capital. Libyan rebels from the fasting.

Berber-dominated Nafusa mounOn Saturday, hundreds of rebel tain range south of Tripoli claimed fighters also forked off towards the capture of Bir Ghanam on the sea, advancing within 20 kiloSaturday as they pushed further metres of Surman on the coast east toward the capital. road west of Tripoli before meetAn AFP correspondent on the ing any resistance, an AFP correscene said rebels from the Berberspondent said. Their path northdominated Nafusa mountains ward was veiled in black smoke began a two-pronged assault and strewn with burned-out from Bir Ayad earlier that day. By Libyan army vehicles, some with late afternoon, rebel commanders the bodies of soldiers inside, he said Bir Ghanam was seized. The said. But forces loyal to the veterrebels have been using the Nafusa as a springboard to advance on BIR GHANAM: Vehicles burn as a rebel fighter flashes the victory an Libyan strongman fought Tripoli but have encountered sign after reportedly capturing this town from fighters loyal to back, laying down fire in a bid to halt the rebels’ advance. Many of strong resistance from fighters Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi on Saturday. —AFP the rebels were from the “Tripoli loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. Mahmudi also condemned the government, and the security situation in the Battalion,” a group of volunteers from the capiintensification of NATO raids on Tripoli and rebel-controlled east, especially after last tal and other coastal towns eager to “liberate” other cities, claiming that the alliance no month’s assassination of General Abdel Fatah their homes in the five-month-old revolt. The longer “differentiates between civilian and Yunis, who was a long-time ally of Gaddafi battalion is said to have received military training in the Nafusa mountains. —AFP before defecting. military sites”.

DADAAB, Kenya: The shrouded body of 12-month-old Liin Muhumed Surow lies before burial at UNHCR’s Ifo Extention camp Saturday. —AP

Somali baby thriving as rare success story DADAAB, Kenya: Only 10 days ago, Minhaj Gedi Farah was too weak to cry and his skin crumpled liked thin leather under the pressure of his mother’s hands. Now doctors say the severely malnourished 7-month-old appears out of danger of joining the more than 29,000 children who already have died in the famine. It’s a rare success story amid unimaginable misery for parents at the world’s largest refugee camp - a place where a father must bury two of his daughters one day, and their brother the next.

Seven-month-old Minhaj though now weighs more than 3.8 kg - still well below what he should for his age, but a major improvement from 3.2 kg when he first arrived at a field hospital ward here. “He is in stable condition and he is doing well,” said Dr John Kiogora of the International Rescue Committee, who has been treating the infant since his arrival in late last month.

Startling photos of Minhaj’s twig-like arms and hollow cheeks made him the frail face of the worst famine in 60 years. On Saturday, though, the wide -eyed baby looked around the ward inquisitively and became captivated with a journalist who was taking his picture. It’s a miracle for his mother, and a testament to just how hard doctors and other health care workers here are trying to save lives as more and more malnourished children arrive each day. “He has no problem compared to the past days,” said his mother Asiah Dagane, who now smiles broadly and frequently plants kisses on the baby’s cheeks. “Now he sleeps the bulk of the night. When he wakes up, he is hungry and wants milk.”

Most parents have been far less fortunate: New arrivals at Dadaab have described losing as many as four children to starvation and disease along the journey by foot from Somalia. Others made unthinkable decisions about which children to take with them, and which to leave for dead under

trees so that the entire family did not perish.

As Minhaj’s mother celebrated his recovery on Saturday, Muhumed Surow had to bury his 1-year-old daughter Liin, who died from malnourishment overnight after the family reached this refugee camp too late to save her.

The 27-year-old father sat about 10 m away from the thigh-deep grave of his little girl. Dozens of refugees attended the funeral at the edge of Ifo Extenision, part of the Dadaab camps. Surow sobbed in a squatting position as fellow mourners tried to console him. “I was not thinking of losing a child when I was coming to this country. I was instead saying to myself that Kenya is a peaceful country. But when I came, I found a bad country, where wind blows every time.

And that affected our children. The sadness you see is because of that,” said Surrow, whose 3-year-old Alaso has survived.

His wife’s mourning is tinged with hope for the future after she gave birth to a baby boy, Hamdi, just two days before her 1-yearold died. “I’m pained and saddened by the loss of my daughter. I can’t do anything about it. But I pray to God to give me a good replacement that lives a long life,” said the 24-year-old mother, Hamaro Mohamed.

It’s a grief that all too many here share.

Three of Mayow Aden Ali’s six children have died at Dadaab: On Friday, he buried his 6-month-old daughter and her 5-yearold sister. On Saturday, he buried his 2year-old-son. “They were taken to hospital, but doctors could not save them,” he says, now think ing of returning to Somalia, where his three surviving children remain.

More than 29,000 children under the age of 5 have died in the last 90 days in southern Somalia alone, according to US estimates.

The UN says 640,000 Somali children are acutely malnourished, suggesting the death toll of small children will rise in the coming weeks. —AP

Saleh out of hospital, stays in Saudi Arabia RIYADH: Yemeni Ali Abdullah Saleh has left hospital in Riyadh, two months after he was badly wounded in a bomb attack as his forces waged a deadly crackdown on protesters, a Saudi official said yesterday. “The Yemeni president left the military hospital this (Saturday) evening at 9 pm (1800 GMT) after receiving the necessary treatment and was taken to a temporary residence for a recovery period,” the Saudi official told AFP. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, did not say how long Saleh would stay on in the kingdom, which neighbours Yemen where an uprising against his rule broke out at the end of January.

Yemen’s junior information minister, Abdo Al-Janadi, declined to confirm Saleh’s release from hospital, saying the president was “following his treatment” in the Saudi capital. “When his doctors allow him to return, he will return,” Janadi said. Saleh was admitted to a Saudi military hospital a day after the June 3 attack on a mosque in his presidential compound in Sanaa. Eleven people were killed and 124 others wound-

ed, among them senior officials.

An informed Yemeni source in Riyadh said Saleh was now convalescing in a Saudi government palace. “Saleh has left hospital after his health conditions improved and is staying at the Conferences Palace in Riyadh, but he still has problems with his legs,” he told AFP, requesting anonymity. He said Prime Minister Ali Mujawar, who was also hit in the attack, “remains in hospital .. and is expected to leave within a couple of days,” while Yemen’s Consultative Council head, Abdulaziz Abdulghani, was still in “intensive care”.

Saleh appeared on television on July 7 for the first time since the bombing, covered in bandages. Yemen’s veteran leader accused “elements of terrorism” of having targeted him in the bomb attack, without specifying the identity of the assailants.

Three days later, he was shown on television receiving John Brennan, US President Barack Obama’s top counter-terrorism adviser. Saleh was in better shape than in his earlier appearance, although burns on his face were still visible. —AFP

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Bomb-sniffing dogs, guards at the post-9/11 mall BLOOMINGTON, Minnesota: A janitor spots an abandoned diaper bag lying on a table in the sprawling food court at the Mall of America. A bombsniffing dog and a security officer are there within minutes, examining the package while nearby shoppers are held a safe distance away. No bomb.

Case closed. But that scene is repeated at the nation’s largest shopping center 150 times a month. Years ago, lost purses or shopping bags would just go to the lost and found. But after the Sept. 11 attacks and a series of terror threats against malls, “we realized that bad guys don’t write ‘explosives’ on the side of packages,” said Maj Douglas Reynolds.

He heads a 150-officer security force trained in Krav Maga, the official self-defense system of Israeli security forces. A plainclothes unit is solely devoted to behavioral profiling. Terror threats against US malls federal authorities have charged suspects in at least three terror plots since the Sept 11 attacks - have made huge behind-the-scenes changes to one of the most treas-

ured American experiences - going to the mall. Shoppers say they hardly notice the closed-circuit cameras, plainclothes officers and trained dogs, and believe the risk of getting attacked at a shopping center is remote. “The average shopper, they don’t walk in and think ‘this could be the end’,” said Don Heinzman, 77, of Elk River, having coffee with two friends at the Minnesota mall.

But overseas, especially in places like Israel and Turkey, terror attacks in malls occur with frightening regularity. Experts are worried that similar acts will eventually become commonplace in the US. In 2004, an anonymous call threatening a Los Angeles plot sent more than 100 officers to protect various shopping centers.

Two Ohio men - originally from Somalia and Pakistan - are serving prison terms in a 2003 threat to bomb Columbus-area malls. Another suspect is serving a prison term for a similar plot against a mall 90 miles north of Chicago. A Massachusetts pharmacist is awaiting trial on terror

charges; prosecutors said he conspired with others to shoot down shoppers in US malls and kill US troops in Iraq.

In a 2006 report, the nonprofit RAND Corporation think tank found that there were 60 shopping mall attacks in 21 countries between 1998 and 2005 and that US malls may not be well-prepared for them.

The International Council of Shopping Centers trained some 10,000 mall officers between 2003 and 2009 to better recognize terrorists and other threats. Experts at George Washington University designed the $3 million program, which was discontinued because of a lack of funding.

Paul Maniscalco, a senior research scientist at the university who was involved in developing the program, called shopping malls “soft targets”. “I think they’re as safe as any place else in the US,” he said. “Unfortunately in an open and free democratic society there’s certain trade-offs. The concept of a shopping center is a pretty complex social icon within our society.

You can’t turn them into armed camps.” Malachy Kavanagh, the spokesman for the International Council of Shopping Centers, said the latest threat to public places in the US is not from organized terrorist groups, but “lone wolf” individuals. “A big part is to be aware of who may be watching your center,” he said.

Officers have to watch for people trying to engage guards in conversation, checking for security cameras, he said.

Reynolds said his officers need to cultivate a balance between securing a center and cultivating an open, family-friendly atmosphere (shoppers at the Mall of America can stop to ride rollercoasters at the mall’s inhouse amusement park). “We’re not designed to be Fort Knox,” said Reynolds. “We need to be accessible and make people feel welcome - but still protected.”

Christine Kimbrough 66, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, stopped to look at a tall metal monument that resembles two doorways and a door. The somber monument is a tribute to

Bloomington resident Tom Burnett Jr., a passenger on United Airlines Flight 93, which crashed into a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, on Sept 11, 2001. Kimbrough read the monument’s plaque and shook her head.

“You’re always on alert,” she said. “You have to be now.”

Reynolds hopes shoppers think like Kimbrough. With 4.2 million square feet of space and more than 20,000 parking spots, it’s difficult for his officers to see everything. He’s instituted the so-called “RAM Unit” short for Risk Assessment and Mitigation - which is a team of plainclothes officers who perform behavior profiling and who look for suspicious objects. His officers don’t carry guns but can make citizens’ arrests under Minnesota law. There haven’t been any terror arrests; most calls are about shoplifters, missing children and abandoned packages.

Occasionally, the officers will confront a drunk and rowdy customer.

Reynolds said his officers must also be on the alert not just for terrorists, but for volatile workplace or

domestic arguments that could result in a mass shooting. The mall has a control center where dispatchers monitor 12 closed-circuit televisions and field the 120,000 calls for service each year. Nearby, the bomb-sniffing dogs are in a separate office.

Reynolds explained that he’s transitioning from tough-looking Belgian Malinois dogs (similar to German Shepherds) to English Springer Spaniels and flat-coated retrievers, so that the dogs are perceived by shoppers as less aggressive and policelike.

“These dogs break hearts all day,” he said, while patting Chuck, a fouryear-old black and white spaniel. If the client-friendly tactics sound like something out of Disney, that’s because they are. Reynolds has visited Orlando to learn from security experts there, and even uses some phrases similar to Disney’s security force. Officers who are patrolling the mall are “on stage,” and inside the training room, there’s a large word above the door that leads to the mall: “SHOWTIME”. —AP

Prayers, fasts as Perry preps presidential bid Texas gov polishes credentials for conservatives HOUSTON: Texas Governor Rick Perry, expected to launch a 2012 White House bid soon, rallied the faithful for a day of Christian prayer and fasting Saturday asking God to fix America’s woes. “Father our hearts break for America,” Perry prayed before a rapturous crowd of around 30,000 people gathered at a Houston stadium and thousands more watching via an online livestream. “We see discord at home, fear in the marketplace, anger in the halls of government and as a nation we have forgotten who made us, protects us, blesses us. For that we cry out for your forgiveness.”

NEW YORK: A NYFD city fire truck is seen outside a Times Square fire station Aug 5, 2011. —AFP

Racism row puts NY fire dept in hot seat NEW YORK: The New York Fire Department, one of the Big Apple’s most iconic institutions, is in the hot seat over allegations that racism keeps its ranks almost lily-white.

Thundering around on immaculately maintained red trucks, the city’s “Bravest” are local heroes, admired for their professionalism and lauded for their self-sacrifice on 9/11, when 343 died in the collapsing Twin Towers. But a trial that started this week in Brooklyn federal court is tearing up that perfect picture. The plaintiffs, led by a group of black firefighters called the Vulcan Society, claim systemic bias in favor of whites and want Judge Nicholas Garaufis to force drastic change.

Paul Washington, a firefighter captain who initiated the Vulcans’ legal battle, said the FDNY faces the same kind of transformation that swept the New York Police Department, the so-called “Finest”, years ago. “There’s a good chance this will be historic,” Washington told AFP. The fire department denies racism, but the raw numbers are startling. In a melting pot city where 25 percent of the population is black and 27 percent Hispanic, just 3.4 percent of firefighters are black and 6.7 percent Latino, the plaintiffs say. In fact, it takes only a look at burly crews racing through Manhattan, their trucks emblazoned with the names of fallen comrades and flying the American flag, to note the absence of black and brown faces.

Held in an impressive courthouse just a few blocks from FDNY headquarters, the trial is only the latest in a series of legal assaults brought by the US Justice Department and others aiming to force greater minority hiring. Garaufis already ruled last year that FDNY entrance exams were skewed to favor white applicants. Fire chiefs say change is already underway and point to intensive recruitment this summer among non-whites ahead of next January’s exam. Testifying at the start of the trial Tuesday, the assistant commissioner for

recruitment and diversity, Michele Maglione, said record numbers of nonwhites could take the test, which is held once every four years.

Radio commercials are targeting stations favored by African Americans and Latinos, while recruiters are going daily into deep corners of the outer boroughs with fliers depicting a cheerfully multi-racial workplace. According to Maglione, the breakdown of people registering interest in the test is so far 63 percent white, 20.7 percent Hispanic, 12.9 percent black, and 2.9 percent Asian. At the same stage of recruitment ahead of the previous test in 2007, those numbers had been 73.1, 15.2, 8.3 and 2.3 percent. “We’re doing everything we can,” Maglione told the court. “I believe we’re absolutely on the correct path.”

At a recruitment drive near Harlem, three uniformed African-American firefighters handed out leaflets showing black offduty firefighters playing basketball and a group of white and black men laughing around a barbecue. The recruiters seemed genuinely to love their jobs, which although sometimes dangerous, earn almost $100,000 after five years and a generous retirement package after 20 years.

But one firefighter said the odds are stacked against minorities - not so much due to outright racism, as a self-perpetuating, clan-like culture automatically favoring whites. “A lot of times, the firefighters who are already on the job, they have their family and grandkids around so that it’s almost passed on generation to generation,” the firefighter said, speaking on condition of anonymity. “These jobs are almost passed on, generation to generation. Their kids are exposed to it. They’re exposed to it by their fathers. They’re even familiar with the equipment, they’re taken to the firehouses as children,” the firefighter said. “But when black kids see firehouses, they see whites in there. They don’t make the link that they can do this too.” —AFP

The gathering is expected to burnish Perry’s credentials among religious conservatives who shape Republican presidential primaries.

But the blend of politics and piety could alienate swing voters thought to decide general US elections. Perry insisted that the event was apolitical, even as he asked God to impart “wisdom” on the president of the United States -without mentioning Barack Obama’s name - and prayed that God would “inspire” the nation’s leaders, pastors, generals, and parents in “difficult times”. God’s “agenda is not a political agenda.

His agenda is a Salvation agenda,” the Republican governor said, adding that “God is wise enough to not be affiliated with any political party.”

As streams of people filled the first, second and third levels of the stadium for the seven-hour event dubbed “ The Response”, they often stood with their hands waving fervently in the air, cried, sang, read passages from the Bible and swayed to the music. Shouts of “Hallelujah” could be heard throughout. Public shows of religious faith are nothing new to US politics - George W Bush said during the 2000 campaign that his favorite philosopher was Jesus Christ - but at least one of the groups backing the event could raise eyebrows.

The American Family Association, listed as a “hate group” by the Southern Poverty Law Center that tracks US extremists, rails against “the homosexual agenda” and accuses Obama of having “shown far more interest in promoting Islam than his own self-proclaimed Christian faith”.

But Barry Brummett, who studies the appeal of Evangelical religious discourse at the University of Texas at Austin, says Perry’s public shows of faith are “not beyond what you might see a ‘mainstream’ political leader do anywhere”. “Now if he kept doing this, started seeing visions and handling snakes, then people might

say he’s gone over the top,” Brummett told AFP. James Henson, who directs the Texas Politics project at the University of Texas at Austin, said Perry is right to focus on religious conservatives, a potent force in early Republican contests. His “appeal to Evangelicals, which is what ‘The Response’ is, helps him in the primary or they wouldn’t be

meeting shows that he is both a leader and a man of the people. “I know that when a candidate is a person of faith he’ll put everyone’s interests first and really be a servant for others,” she told AFP. “That’s why faith is so important to me.”

Two of Perry’s rivals face balancing acts of their own when it comes to religion: former governors Mitt

year, with 21.6 percent support according to a Real Clear Politics average of recent polls.

Representative Michele Bachmann of Minnesota, a darling of the “Tea Party” movement and evangelicals alike, is in second place at 13.2 percent, while Perry who has yet to formally declare his candidacy - is nipping at her heels with 12.6 percent.

HOUSTON: Texas Gov Rick Perry (left), standing beside Pastor C L Jackson of the Pleasant Grove Missionary Baptist Church, speaks at The Response, a daylong prayer and fast rally Saturday at Reliant Stadium. —AP doing it,” said Henson, who noted Perry “hasn’t hesitated” to use such appeals “for political reasons.”

Perry clearly had the approval of much of the crowd Saturday. “I would vote for him because he has Christian principles,” said Thomas Kaden, 24, from Humble, Texas. “He stands to follow God and I am a supporter of that.”

Gabriel Allen, 42, of Houston, said there are a lot of reasons why she’d vote for Perry in the primary, but his decision to host the prayer

Romney of Massachusetts, the Republican frontrunner, and Jon Huntsman of Utah are Mormons.

Some Republicans fret that Evangelical Christian voters will not support a Mormon candidate, though others counter that a sour economy and fierce opposition to Obama will rally the party in 15 months.

The latest polls show Romney with a decisive lead among Republican candidates ahead of primaries set to be held early next

The Nov 2012 election is expected to turn on Obama’s handling of the economy, and Perry could be expected to trumpet the robust job growth of the “Texas Miracle” he has overseen since taking office in 2000. But critics of Perry point out that his state has high rates of poverty, and he would likely face fire over telling an anti-tax “Tea Party” rally in April 2009 that Texas might be better off seceding from United States. —AFP

In Cuba, free market easier said than done HAVANA: Daily for the past five months, Yusdany Simpson has been at her streetside cafeteria under its gleaming white parasol, doing her part in Cuba’s economic makeover by churning out mayonnaise sandwiches at 12 cents a pop. Not anymore. The other day, she headed to a Labor Ministry office in a crumbling old Havana mansion to relinquish her business license and receive a letter freeing her of tax liability. With that, the 35-yearold single mother closed her door on the government’s attempt to add a capitalist spark to its ailing economy.

She was hardly the first. When she turned in her license, she says, the clerk behind the desk “just stared at me with a look of surprise on her face and said, ‘Oh no, not another cafeteria closing down!’”

Although adamant that Cuba is simply fine-tuning socialism, not shifting to capitalism, President Raul Castro has spear-

headed changes that allow Cubans to work for themselves in 178 approved activities, hire employees and rent out rooms and cars. The Cuban leader has said the measures are crucial to rescue the island’s perennially weak economy from the abyss, and he has warned his countrymen that there is no Plan B. But less than a year into the overhaul, interviews with Cuban tax authorities, government officials and more than a dozen aspiring new business owners in Havana reveal a darkening landscape for those who took up the free market challenge. They say they face competitors offering similar products, dependent on customers who have little or no disposable income, cut off from credit or startup capital, and undone by a new tax code they say is overly burdensome.

While the government says it has moved boldly to meet these problems, a

basic fact of the free market still needs to sink in on this island of 11.2 million people: that most businesses fail, even in developed countries like the US where startups can get loans, buy wholesale, rent commercial space and conduct market research. “Welcome to the wonderful world of dog-eat-dog capitalism,” said Ted Henken, a professor at Baruch College in New York who has extensively studied Cuba’s economy. “Cuban entrepreneurs have the added obstacle that Cuban capitalism is still quite deformed ... and it is still based on a fundamental distrust of business owners,” he said.

Cuban leaders, he said, are hung up on the idea that nobody should be getting rich.

Simpson says she had no dreams of gold dust. She opened her cafe hoping to make a little money while staying at home with her 2-year-old son Liuber, but says

the venture ended up costing her what little savings she had built up from remittances sent from abroad. She says she paid 330 pesos ($13) a month in taxes, and also set aside money to pay a yearend 10 percent levy on sales, leaving her little or no money left for herself. Some months, such as July, ended up costing her money. “I gave it a shot but I didn’t get the results I wanted,” she told The Associated Press. “I realized I was spending my own money, that I got from other means ... That’s not how it should be.”

While success stories still abound the chic restaurants catering to deeppocketed foreigners, the popular gay cabaret that opened in December, the spa that offers face masks and foot massages - most Cuban entrepreneurs lack the capital to even dream of opening such businesses. And for those who have opened the hundreds of street-side

cafes, DVD stalls, shoe repair stands and tailor operations that dot many of Havana’s streets, the reality has begun to bite.

Vladimir Regueiro, the vice chairman of Cuba’s tax administration, acknowledged in an interview with AP that cafeterias, licenses for which are the most popular since the reforms began in October, are having a particularly tough time. “It is one of the activities which has suffered the most closings,” he said.

“People think it will be easy, so you see them everywhere you go, but the market has a limit.” Regueiro said the government has responded by declaring a moratorium on payroll taxes, eliminating social security payments for elderly business owners, lowering the fixed tax rates many must pay each month, raising the amount of deductibles and slashing bulk prices. —AP

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China remodels Silk Road city but scars run deep KASHGAR, China: The call to prayer echoes across the old Silk Road city of Kashgar, drawing believers into the main mosque under the watchful eye of armed police, as building cranes loom in the distance. It’s the end of a day of fasting in this old trading post between East and West - a remote city in China’s far-western region of Xinjiang that is reeling from recent deadly attacks that laid bare longstanding ethnic tensions. Undaunted, authorities are pressing ahead with plans to turn the restive city into a modern economic powerhouse - to the dismay of many of the mainly Muslim Uighur minority, who fear it will have serious repercussions for them.

“This Kashgar is a new Kashgar, it’s no longer an old city. Our culture has gone,” lamented a 24-year-old Uighur shopkeeper who refused to be named because of the sensitivity of the issue.

The ancient, traditional Islamic part of the city is already in the throes of mass modernisation, as bulldozers tear down old mud-brick houses to replace them with lookalikes made of concrete and brick. China’s communist government says the seven-billion-yuan ($1.1-billion) project aims to improve living standards for inhabitants of the old city, where it says many of the insalubrious houses would topple in an earthquake.

“Kashgar is located in a seismic zone so it’s important that all houses are quake-safe. Our (new) houses can withstand an 8.0-magnitude earth-

quake,” said Aysajan Ahat, an official in charge of the project. But Uighurs who live there point out the old buildings have stood steadfast for hundreds of years and that they have little control over the design of their new homes. Authorities deny this, saying residents are consulted every step of the way. Ahat also insists that all demolished houses are being replaced, but residents say the old city is much smaller than it was.

“The program of demolition and rebuilding is so messy that it is impossible to say whether all houses demolished are being replaced,” said Michael Dillon, the Britain-based author of the book “Xinjiang, China’s Muslim Far Northwest”. Elsewhere in the city, high-rises are springing up everywhere. A scale model of what planners want the city to look like - on display at an exhibition - shows the old town surrounded by a sea of modern tower blocks.

The government last year designated Kashgar a special economic zone, keen to boost investment in a city that stands at the crossroads of central and southern Asia. It wants to push the city’s annual GDP growth rate, which already exceeds 20 percent, to 25 percent over the next nine years, and plans to increase the population from the current 600,000 to a million by 2030. Already migrants from other parts of China - many of them members of the majority Han ethnic group - have moved to Kashgar, lured by the prospect of making money in the fast-

growing city. Wu Shushuang, a 26year-old who sells steel products, is originally from the eastern province of Anhui but ended up in Kashgar this year after making his way west from Shanghai. “I make 20,000 yuan a

graduate, come back and can’t find jobs. These all go to the Han. And even when they do find jobs, their salaries are low,” one Uighur man said, in comments echoed by others interviewed by AFP. This resentment has

KASHGAR, China: This photo taken on Aug 3, 2011 shows a general view of a square in Kashgar in northwest China’s Xinjiang region. — AFP month here compared to just 2,000 yuan before,” he said. But this influx has fuelled resentment among Xinjiang’s roughly eight million Uighurs, many of whom complain that Han Chinese get better jobs and pay and say that traditional Uighur culture is being deliberately diluted.

“Some Uighurs go to university, they

spilled over into bloody violence almost always directed at Han Chinese or security forces. In July 2009, mobs of Uighurs attacked Han in Xinjiang’s capital Urumqi, killing nearly 200 people and leaving 1,700 injured - an incident that led to retaliatory attacks by Han on Uighurs several days later. And on the weekend of

East China braces for Typhoon Muifa Storm misses Shanghai, veers toward Shandong SHANGHAI: Eastern China yesterday braced for the arrival of Typhoon Muifa, with thousands of boats ordered to stay in ports after the storm left one person missing further down the coast. Muifa had been due to hit near Shanghai over the weekend, but it changed course while at sea and was now heading for Shandong province where it was to make landfall today morning, the national meteorological centre said. The weather bureau in Shandong said the typhoon was expected to weaken to a tropical storm when it hit, but authorities still ordered around 20,000 fishing boats to remain in dock, the official Xinhua news agency said.

Some flights to and from Qingdao - a city in Shandong which was expected to be hit by the storm - were cancelled. Authorities had expressed concern that Muifa may wreak havoc similar to the destruction unleashed by Typhoon Saomai in 2006 - the worst to hit China in 50 years - which killed at least 450 people. As such, more than 600,000 people have already been evacuated from several areas along the eastern coast, including Shanghai.

The typhoon brought strong rain and winds to the commercial city yesterday, blowing down power lines, knocking down signposts and toppling trees in some areas, local media reported. At least one person went missing in the neighbouring province of Zhejiang when a boat sank, Xinhua reported. Rain and winds brought down nearly 170 houses in the province, and caused 1.9 billion yuan ($290 million) in direct economic losses, it added.

The two airports in Shanghai halted many flights yesterday morning, following the cancellation of more than 200 departures the previous day, which affected nearly 30,000 passengers.

But the storm soon passed and flights resumed in the afternoon, local media said, and there were no reports of major road

Weapon found in Argentina killings SALTA, Argentina: Police found Saturday the murder weapon with which two French tourists were killed in northwestern Argentina and arrested six people, the judge working the case said. “The .22 caliber weapon was found in the home of a neighbor of one of those arrested today, who had confessed to where it was hidden,” said Marcelo Baez, a spokesman for the Salta justice department. The latest arrests, including that of the daughter of a former police officer and a police cadet, brought to seven the total number of people detained in the case, Judge Martin Perez told AFP. Construction worker Daniel Vilte was arrested early this weeks for his links to the purchase or sale of the weapon.

During an early morning raid, police found a camera and the cellphones of French university students Houria Moumni, 24, and Cassandre Bouvier, 29, whose bodies were found last week on

a trail in an area overlooking the provincial capital of Salta. “The camera had pictures of them,” a source close to the investigation said, noting that testimony from a rental car driver who was the last person to see the women had led to the arrests.

Two witnesses have told investigators they heard gunshots on July 16 in the part of the nature preserve where the bodies were found. One of the women was shot in the head and apparently sexually abused. The other was shot in the back. Investigators have taken DNA evidence from the bodies, including hair samples thought to be of the culprit and traces of semen from the victim who was said to have been sexually abused. Sources close to the investigation said they expected to determine the exact time of death in 10 days, data considered key to determining whether they were held captive before being killed. — AFP

UN chief in Fukushima as nuke crisis simmers

SHANGHAI: Tourists in colorful raincoats visit the Bund, one of the most popular tourist destinations in town, in heavy rain and strong wind caused by Typhoon Muifa yesterday. — AP blockages in the city. Muifa also skirted along South Korea’s southern resort island of Jeju, Yonhap news agency said, with its strong winds downing trees and electricity poles, leaving thousands of homes without power. Jeju’s airport cancelled most flights, but there were no immediate reports of casualties.

China’s National Marine Environmental Forecasting Centre has warned that the

typhoon could affect an even wider area than initially predicted if it continues to hug the eastern coast and makes landfall further north. “In this case, Muifa would affect the whole eastern and northern sea area,” it said. In anticipation of such a development, authorities in the northeastern port city of Dalian, further up the coast from Shandong, halted a festival two days ahead of schedule, Xinhua said. — AFP

Youth league roiling S Africa’s ruling ANC JOHANNESBURG: Tensions within South Africa’s ruling African National Congress have burst into the open, ignited by youth league leader Julius Malema threatening to topple Botswana’s government.

Firebrand Malema has long been a provocateur within the party, but his open clashes with President Jacob Zuma and the ANC leadership have intensified as jockeying gets underway for the party to choose its presidential candidate next year. He has defied Zuma by aggressively pushing a debate about nationalising mines, which top ministers have flatly rejected. He also criticised South Africa’s $355 million bailout of Swaziland for failing to support the kingdom’s democratic movement.

But his statement last week calling for “regime change” in Botswana drew an unusually harsh response from the main party. The youth league said it would form a “Botswana

July 30-31 this year, ethnic tensions once again burst to the fore when 13 civilians were killed in two knife attacks in Kashgar, which is about 90 minutes’ flying time from the regional capital.

The Chinese government blames much of the violence in Xinjiang on separatist forces, but some experts say there is little evidence that organised terrorist groups operate in the region, adding unrest stems from economic frustrations. “Some of my colleagues have left Kashgar (since the weekend violence) but I won’t choose to leave, I have confidence in the government,” said Wu. Dillon said the violence would discourage Western firms. “However, a lot of investment in Kashgar is from other parts of China and this is government-sponsored and will still go ahead. Investment from other parts of Central Asia is also a possibility,” he said.

Dillon added that the government urgently needs to find a way to integrate Uighurs into the modern economy. Many Uighurs do not speak Mandarin, China’s official language, and have low levels of education.

Two of the suspec ts allegedly involved in the recent attacks in Kashgar, for instance, did not get past primar y school. “ To do this (integration) successfully they will need to negotiate with grassroots representative of the Uighurs,” Dillon said. “But at the moment there are no legal organisations that they can negotiate with.” — AFP

Command Team” to unite the country’s opposition parties, and called Botswana “a security threat to Africa and always under constant puppetry of the United States”. Botswana’s President Ian Khama has publicly ridiculed Malema, calling him an “ill-disciplined boy”, but the ANC found no sympathy, branding the league’s statement as a “total deviation and an affront to the ANC policies”.

“This insult and disrespect to the president, the government and the people of Botswana and a threat to destabilise and effect regime change in Botswana is a clear demonstration that the ANCYL’s ill discipline has clearly crossed the political line,” spokesman Jackson Mthembu said. The latest spat highlights the turnaround by Malema, who had staunchly defended Zuma in 2008 as he wrested control of the par ty away from former president Thabo Mbeki, at one point declaring that his support-

ers were ready to “kill for Zuma”.

During Zuma’s rape trial, Malema said his accuser “had a nice time” - a comment that landed him with a hate speech conviction.

By last year, his support had begun shifting and the ANC fined him for saying that Zuma was a worse president than Mbeki. Lately Malema has begun to speak even more fondly of Mbeki, calling “the best leader the ANC has ever produced”. “ The (ANC’s) irritation is less about content and much more about the invocation of Mbeki, which demonstrates a lack of confidence in the leadership, that there is a vacuum in leadership,” said Aubrey Matshiqi, an analyst at the Center for Political Studies. “The Youth League all of a sudden wants to invoke Thabo Mbeki in order to show that there is a huge difference between itself and its parent party.” Nelson Mandela, along with luminaries like Oliver

Tambo and Walter Sisulu, founded the Youth League in 1944 to give voice to young activists who wanted to press the ANC to take stronger action against the white-minority rule. Malema’s positions have make him fodder for political cartoonists - one this week showed him as Don Quixote chasing windmills in Botswana. But others warn he should be taken seriously for giving voice to the frustrations of South Africans who feel that 17 years after the end of whiteminority rule, democracy hasn’t brought enough gains to a nation where more than one in four workers is jobless.

“Some have labelled him the village dunce, others a powerdrunk ill-disciplined arrogant youngster,” the Sowetan newspaper said in an editorial. “But ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema is fast emerging as a fearless and astute politician with the knack of treading where angels fear.” — AFP

FUKUSHIMA, Japan: UN chief Ban Kimoon yesterday arrived in Japan’s Fukushima, where he plans to visit the nuclear disaster zone, as the crippled atomic power plant simmers and a food safety scare deepens. The secretary general became one of the most senior foreign leaders to go near the damaged plant after a magnitude-9.0 earthquake and tsunami on March 11 triggered the catastrophe. Today, Ban will meet some of the 85,000 people who have been evacuated to shelters from areas around the plant after what has become the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl 25 years ago.

“I wanted to come to Japan as soon as possible after the tragedy of 11 March to express the solidarity and deep sympathy that the whole world feels for the people of your great country,” Ban said last week. The UN chief will also meet Prime Minister Naoto Kan and Foreign Minister Takeaki Matsumoto later on the same day in Tokyo. Ban has convened a nuclear safety summit for the UN General Assembly in New York in September and

is expected to reinforce his calls for tougher international standards while in Japan. Ban plans to visit Haragama beach at Soma city, 40 km north of the Fukushima Daiichi plant, which continues to leak radioactive material. A 20-km exclusion zone around the battered facility prevents him going much nearer. Five months on from the disaster, the Japanese government and operator Tokyo Electric Power Co ( TEPCO) are struggling to stabilise three reactors that have melted down. Lethal hotspots were detected inside the crippled nuclear plant last week with radiation so high that it would kill a person within weeks if they were exposed to it for even one hour. While the government plans to bring the overheating reactors to stable “cold shutdown” by January, Kan has declared his determination to reduce Japan’s dependence on nuclear power.

Takashi Sawada, vice-chairman of the Atomic Energy Society of Japan, said the Fukushima plant still posed risks despite some progress reported by the government. — AFP

RIKUZENTAKATA, Japan: Residents and tourists pull a decorated float through the wreckage in this tsunami-hit city in northeastern Japan during the Fighting Star Festival yesterday. Only one float paraded through the city this year, because the March 11 tsunami swept away the other three floats. The annual festival, which local elders say dates back to about 900 years, is famous for bumping of the floats during processions. — AP

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In Afghanistan, more and more roadside bombs WASHINGTON: The use of roadside bombs in Afghanistan against foreign troops and civilians has reached record highs, with US forces struggling to cut off the flow of Pakistani fertilizer used to build them. Taleban insurgents battling US and NATO-led forces for nearly a decade are now using a growing number of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) to strike personnel or vehicles along Afghanistan’s dusty roads.

The Pentagon’s Joint IED Defeat Organization (JIEDDO), a specialized body tasked with putting a stop to the use of the often remote-controlled roadside bombs, offered a bleak assessment of the situation now facing foreign forces.

“During the last 12 months,

an unending supply of calcium ammonium nitrate, originating almost exclusively from Pakistan, has been used to produce IEDs in Afghanistan despite a countrywide ban” on importing the fertilizer, JIEDDO spokeswoman Irene Smith told AFP. From April to June, 3,485 IEDs exploded or were found in the war-ravaged country, according to JIEDDO a 14 percent increase over the same period last year. In June, use of roadside bombs was 25 percent higher than average.

The volatile southern province of Helmand, where the Taleban are entrenched, is the worst affected, along with Kandahar province and the country’s east along the border with Pakistan.

Ground troops, who are try-

ing to reach out to the population as part of the strategy to defeat the Taliban, are particularly vulnerable to IED attacks.

Use of roadside bombs against them surged 59 percent in the spring. But coalition forces are not standing idly by. Nearly 1,900 weapons caches were discovered in the spring, three times more than in 2010, according to JIEDDO figures.

NATO-led troops have also seized 110 tons of homemade explosives and “removed over 300 high-value individuals” since the start of November, Major General James Terr y, commander of ISAF forces in the south, told reporters.

In 2010, IEDs - the weapon of choice for lightly armed insurgents battling advanced militaries - were responsible

for 60 percent of coalition deaths, even if only one in 10 bombs leads to casualties. As of Aug 1, 738 US soldiers had been killed and 7,857 wounded by IEDs since the start of the war in Afghanistan to oust the Taleban in the wake of the Sept 11, 2001 attacks, according to Pentagon data. Two more soldiers, aged 19 and 21, were killed Wednesday when their vehicle drove over a roadside bomb in Wardak province, southwest of the capital Kabul - also the scene of the deadly Chinook incident late Friday.

The IEDs have not only been used against heavily-armed foreign troops, but also against the local population, accounting for a third of all civilian deaths in Afghanistan in the

first six months of 2011.

“Civilian deaths from IEDs increased 17 percent from the same period in 2010, making IEDs the single largest killer of civilians in the first half of 2011,” the United Nations said in a mid-year report on the conflict. On July 29, 18 Afghans were killed when a roadside bomb destroyed their minivan in Helmand province.

Most of the roadside bombs are set to explode when a person or vehicle presses down on them. “Most of the pressure plate IEDs used in Afghanistan contain approximately 20 kg of explosive, more than twice that of a standard anti-tank mine - yet have the trigger weight of an anti-personnel mine,” the United Nations said.

JIEDDO says an overwhelming

84 percent of IEDs used in Afghanistan are made from calcium ammonium nitrate, developed by fertilizer manufacturers as an alternative to pure ammonium nitrate that could not be detonated.

Smith explained that the substance is “reprocessed by insurgents and then used as a homemade explosive main charge”.

Better cooperation with Pakistan, whose relations with the United States have been tense, is seen as essential to ending the flow of fertilizer into Afghanistan. “Unless we neutralize this network, through a whole-of-government approach, we will never defeat the IED threat confronting our troops in Afghanistan,” Smith said. —AFP

NATO probing copter crash Fighting still raging in area PULI ALAM, Afghanistan: NATO in Afghanistan said yesterday it was probing the Taleban’s claim that they shot down a helicopter, killing 30 American troops, including special forces, who were targeting militants. Seven Afghan commandos and an interpreter were also among the dead when the Chinook helicopter plummeted after a firefight with the insurgents late Friday in Wardak province, southwest of the capital Kabul. The crash site had been sealed off by yesterday, with reports that fighting was still going on in the area where a rocket propelled grenade is thought to have downed the aircraft.

The incident was the biggest single loss of life for foreign forces since an American-led invasion toppled the Taleban from power in 2001 several weeks after the Sept 11 attacks in the United States. A witness said the crash followed a raid on a Taleban commander’s home. “Afghan and for-

chopper down. The NATO-led ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) mission in the troubled country, confirmed an investigation was under way to determine the cause of the deadly crash. “Additional details will be provided as they become available,” ISAF said in a statement.

soldiers in Afghanistan, around 100,000 of them from the US. All international combat troops are due to leave by the end of 2014 but intense violence in recent months has raised questions over the prospects for Afghan forces as they take over.

Some foreign troop with-

PESHAWAR: Pakistani fire fighters spray water on burnt NATO oil tankers after militants attacked in the night on the outskirts of Peshawar yesterday. Police said the bomb attack destroyed 16 tankers carrying fuel for US-led forces in Afghanistan. —AP eign troops are still in the area,” provincial spokesman Shahidullah Shahid told AFP on Sunday. “The area is sealed off and we have reports of sporadic fighting. “The phones are not working in the area,” he said.

The Taleban claimed responsibility for the attack and local and Afghan army authorities said an insurgent rocket had brought the

US President Barack Obama paid tribute to those who died and said the incident was a reminder of the “extraordinary sacrifices” made by the men and women of the military and their families. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta vowed the US would “stay the course” in Afghanistan despite the latest loss. There are currently around 140,000 foreign

drawals have already begun as part of a transition that has already seen Afghan security forces take control of key regions this summer. Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s office was first to officially release the death toll on Saturday and he offered condolences to the victims’ families. US television networks reported that 25 of the dead in Friday’s attack

were US Navy SEALs. Sources in the Obama administration told AFP that those killed came from the army, navy and air force, without saying if they were SEALs. Contrary to several US media reports, the dead were not part of the special forces team that killed Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in a raid in Pakistan in May, the sources said. The previous single biggest death toll in Afghanistan saw 16 American soldiers killed in 2005 when a Taliban rocket hit their Chinook in the eastern province of Kunar.

One man who said he witnessed Friday’s crash, Mohammad Saber, told AFP that the helicopter came down during a late-night operation in his village. “At around 10:00 pm... we heard helicopters flying over us,” he said. “We saw one of the helicopters land on the roof of a house of a Taliban commander, then shooting started.

“The helicopter later took off but soon after taking off it went down and crashed. There were other helicopters flying as well.”

The Afghan army commander for the region, General Abdul Razeq, also said the helicopter was “shot down by a rocket fired by the enemy ”. Chinooks are widely used by coalition forces in Afghanistan for transpor ting large numbers of troops and supplies around the war zone. The defence ministry in Kabul said the seven Afghan soldiers who died were members of an elite commando unit. A total of 342 foreign troops - 279 from the United States - have now been killed in Afghanistan this year, according to an AFP tally based on the independent website iCasualties.org. —AFP

Legal challenge to refugee swap SYDNEY: Australia’s plan to send asylum seekers to Malaysia struck a legal hitch yesterday, with a court delaying the transfer of the first group to the Asian nation pending another hearing. The decision came after lawyer David Manne from the Refugee and Immigration Legal Centre sought an injunction stopping the removal of the group, arguing that Australia did not have the right to deport boatpeople. “This is about life or death matters and our clients are challenging the government’s power to expel them to Malaysia where they fear they will not be protected and they are at real risk of harm,” Manne said ahead of the hearing.

Australia plans to send up to 800 asylum seekers to Malaysia in return for accepting 4,000 registered refugees from that country over four years under a deal designed to stop boatpeople from landing in Australia.

Manne said he was representing 41 of the 55 asylum seekers who arrived by boat in Australia last week and who had been expected to begin leaving for Malaysia on Monday. “Australian law requires that their claims for refugee protection should be considered here in Australia instead of

expelling them to Malaysia,” he told AFP. At a special evening hearing in Melbourne, Justice Kenneth Hayne ordered that the group which was to leave Australia at 11.30 am today (0130 GMT) not depart before 4.15 pm, pending a hearing in the High Court in Canberra at 2.15 pm. Outside court Manne said he did not know if this would set a precedent. “We’ll need to await the outcome of the court, but it has granted an interim injunction pending further argument - so they have put a stay on the deportation of the first 16 asylum seekers under the Malaysia solution,” he said. “Time will tell and we will need to look at the outcome of these proceedings.”

Ahead of the hearing, the government said it was prepared for protests and legal challenges and vowed the deal would go ahead despite concerns among rights campaigners that Malaysia has not signed up to the UN convention on refugees. “We are determined to implement this,” Immigration Minister Chris Bowen told Channel Ten. “People who come to Australia by boat can work on the basis that they will be returned to Malaysia, regardless of any protest activity.”

Two boats carrying a total of more than 100 suspected asylum seekers, including children, have arrived in Australia since the deal was signed, with the latest vessel detec ted yesterday. The immigration department confirmed that some from the first boat, which arrived at Australia’s remote Indian Ocean detention centre on Christmas Island two days ago, were rejecting meals. “A small number of the group that arrived on Friday have now missed consecutive meals,” a spokeswoman told AFP. Bowen said the new arrangement was designed to eradicate people-smuggling networks, and already appeared to have led to a fall in asylum seekers coming to Australia. But the opposition said the change would not hamper people-smuggling. “Boats have been continually arriving at a rate of one per week since the Malaysian people-swap agreement was announced (in early May),” spokesman Scott Morrison said, adding that almost 700 boatpeople had landed since then. Asylum seekers arriving by boat to Australia peaked at close to 7,000 in 2010, but closer to 2,000 boatpeople have arrived this year. —AFP

KARACHI: A Pakistani policeman stands guard during patrol on a street yesterday. —AFP

Pakistan poor dying in Karachi violence KARACHI: Life stopped for Pakistani cab driver Ghulam Mohammed when his seven-yearold daughter was shot dead on her way home from school, a victim of senseless political and ethnic violence sweeping Karachi. Shumaila was Mohammed’s only child, born after he and his wife struggled for 12 years to have a baby. It took two stray bullets to bury all the hopes and dreams they had for the future.

“She was the one who gave meaning to our life. Now we have no reason to live,” said the tearful 36-year-old, a resident of Qasba Colony, one of a series of troubled neighbourhoods in western Karachi turned into a battlefield.

Shumaila was one of 300 people whom the independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) says died in political and ethnically linked shootings in Karachi last month and one of the 800 killed since the start of this year. She was carrying her books when the bullets pierced her abdomen and splintered a rib. Seriously wounded, she was eventually picked up by an ambulance after medics struggled to access the street under gunfire. “Someone told me my daughter had been shot and I rushed to hospital despite all the risks, only to find her dead in the morgue,” Mohammed said.

Many link the killings to rising tensions between the Mohajirs, the Urdu-speaking majority represented by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), and Pashtun migrants affiliated to the Awami National Party (ANP).

Karachi is Pakistan’s financial capital and, with a population of around 18 million, its largest city. Helped by its Arabian Sea port, industry in Karachi is thought to account for around a fifth of the country’s GDP. But authorities appear powerless to stop the bloodshed, human rights activists say, pointing out that most of the victims are innocent civilians.

“People have been killed because of their political affiliations, but it seems most are killed because of their ethnic background,” Zohra Yusuf, chairwoman of the HRCP, told AFP. “The majority of them are poor and destitute.”

Shumaila was Pashtun. Her father arrived in Karachi from the northwest 20 years ago looking for work and then settled down and

got married. Today the northwest is on the frontline of Taleban and Al-Qaeda-linked bomb attacks and the migrant flow to Karachi is even greater. Shumaila’s bereaved parents live on a congested street in a neighbourhood of Urdu and Pashtun speakers, where triggerhappy gunmen from both sides can quickly reduce the area into a battlefield.

HRCP says Karachi suffers political, ethnic and sectarian “polarisation”. But the government blames vague mafias involved in land grabbing and drug pushing for the killings, and for creating “misunderstandings” among political parties and ethnic hatred. “It should not be called ethnic violence,” said Sharfuddin Memon, an official in the home ministry of the southern province Sindh, of which Karachi is the capital. “The mafias are killing people in such a manner that rival communities and parties are left with the impression of an ethnic war which is not there. The mafias do this to get stronger and weaken the writ of the state.”

The Urdu-speaking family of Anwer Ali, 22, say he was walking to work when unknown gunmen shot him dead. “He was the only bread earner for his mother and two sisters,” said his cousin Mohsin Ali. The family rent a one-room house in a squatter settlement near the area of Katti Pahari, a flashpoint for the most recent violence, and are deeply frightened about the future. It is not just shootings.

People have seen everything they own go up in smoke, with their houses, buildings and vehicles set alight by arsonists. Despite the deployment of extra police and paramilitary forces, residents complain that the security personnel do nothing to help.

Leaders in the MQM and ANP have blamed each other.”Mafias are involved in the killings, but armed wings of political parties have played a big role in creating the mess,” said Tauseef Ahmed Khan, who teaches mass communications at Urdu University. The armed wings work to maintain party influence, prevent rival groups from infiltrating their territories and force people to remain loyal, he said.

“There are killings on ethnic grounds while most of the victims are poor people who don’t know the reason why they are being killed,” Khan said. —AFP

KOLKATA: An Indian labourer takes a bath using a water tap on a flooded road during a heavy rain shower yesterday. India’s weather office predicted a “normal” monsoon this year that could boost food production and ease high inflation. —AFP

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Iraqi MP calls for ‘stronger action’ against Kuwait

By A Saleh KUWAIT: Iraqi MP Eiman Al-Musawi yesterday called upon the Iraqi government to take “stronger action” against Kuwait in order to stop it from building the Mubarak Al-Kabeer Port facility. The MP suggested that the Iraqi administration’s current “weak” stance in calling for dialogue would lead to what she called another Kuwaiti violation of the Iraqi government.

Despite public and parliamentary opposition in Iraq to the Kuwaiti port project, Kuwait is continuing on the construction of the port, said Al-Musawi, although

the Kuwaiti administration is well aware that the facility will adversely affect the Iraqi economy and its future. Denunciations of the project will not be sufficient on their own, she insisted, calling for “stronger action” from the government to stop the port from being built.

The MP further suggested that the stance of the current Iraqi government in relying solely on dialogue would enable the Kuwaiti government to expand the port facility, adding, “Everyone knows that Mubarak Port has become a problem” since, she claimed, Kuwait could have built the port in many other places.

Iraqis fume as Ghraib ringleader walks free BAGHDAD: Iraqis yesterday expressed anger at the release of the ringleader of US guards who abused detainees at Abu Ghraib prison, and said US troops should not be granted further immunity from Iraqi prosecution.

Charles Graner, 42, was on Saturday freed on parole from the US Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas after serving over six and a half years of a 10-year sentence, US army spokeswoman Rebecca Steed told AFP, saying he was released early for good conduct and through work rehabilitation programs.

In Baghdad, residents slammed the decision and said they opposed the extension of immunity from Iraqi justice for any US soldiers who remain in the country on a training mission being discussed for after the end of this year-a condition insisted upon by American officials.

“This is an unjust decision,” said Wael Safah Jassem, a 23-year-old shop-owner with close-cropped hair. “Anyone who committed such crimes should not be freed” so easily. He added that if US troops remain in Iraq past the end of the

year, “it is wrong for them to have immunity.”

Iraqi leaders have agreed to talks with the United States on a possible extension of its troop presence, but a decision has not yet been made.

US troops have had immunity under Iraqi law since the 2003 invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein, leaving soldiers such as Graner and others who have committed abuses or even murder subject only to US prosecution.

“The criminal who was released ... should be brought to an Iraqi court to be judged,” said Anwar Hamud, a 41-year-old government employee with a bushy moustache, who gestured angrily as he spoke.

“He should be executed for his crime in Abu Ghraib,” he said. “ They should not have any immunity,” he said when asked about the possible extension of the policy for US troops. “If we give them immunity, that means nothing has changed; they will commit other crimes.” “The immunity in Iraq should be cancelled, as should their presence here,” he said. “Iraq should have full sovereignty.”

Graner led a six-member team of

prison guards who sexually humiliated naked prisoners at the Abu Ghraib prison outside Baghdad in a scandal that dealt a severe blow to the US’s reputation after it came to light in 2004.

Photographs taken by the guards and obtained by the media showed US soldiers grinning as they posed next to detainees held on a leash or stacked in a pyramid. Others showed the detainees forced into stress positions, their heads covered in a black hood, or being threatened by attack dogs. “ Why did they release him? The criminal should be punished,” regardless of his nationality, said Reem Hadi, who has worked as a teacher but said she has been unsuccessfully trying to find a job for years.

“We reject immunity being given to US soldiers if they stay,” said the 42-year-old, who wore a tan hijab and sunglasses, adding “many people were hurt because of that immunity.” “They have immunity, and they are killing and arresting everywhere-is that just?” she asked.

“Would US citizens accept such things?” “I don’t want them to stay anymore.” — AFP

Kuwait: Threat won’t halt megaport work Continued from Page 1 The multi-billion-dollar container port is being constructed on Bubiyan Island, close to the border with Iraq and is due for completion in 2016. Construction began in 2007.

Jarallah and other Kuwaiti officials yesterday denied that the port will have any “negative impact” on the shipping lines or the environment, saying it will rather

better serve the economies of both nations.

Jarallah said an Iraqi technical delegation received details on the project in Kuwait City in May and visited the site of the project. Another delegation is due to arrive in the state soon for more questions.

The Gulf is the main export outlet for Iraqi oil, which accounts for the lion’s share of the country’s revenues, and Baghdad has started major work to modernize its outdated ports. — AFP

Great Ramadan ideas for children •I will learn what Laylatul qadr is and its virtues, and then put all my efforts in gaining those rewards.

• I will remind myself (for boys) my Dad and brothers to pray at the masjid every Fajr and every Isha.

• If I am invited to someone’s house for Iftar I will help clean before I leave.

• Even if I can’t go to the Masjid for Taraweah and my Dad goes, I will send some sweets or a cold drink for the Muslims to enjoy in between the prayers.

•If I am at the masjid and I see an old person who needs a chair to pray, I will RUN and get that chair for them and set it up in the prayer line.

•No matter where I am, if I see a Muslim I will say Assalamu ‘alikum first.

•If I’m at the grocery store shopping with my parent, I will ask if I can buy a food item to place in the food drive box at the masjid.

• If my family is inviting people for Iftar, I will ask if they will invite some single people or students.

• I will help my mother cook, or set the table, or clean the table after, or wash the dishes, or sweep the

floor at least once a day either at Suhoor or Iftar.

•I will remind my brothers and sisters and friends to be their best.

•I will learn something new about Ramadan to teach it to my family and friends.

•I will memorize at least 1 duaa.

•When I’m at the masjid I will sneak a donation into the masjid box so nobody sees me donating; only Allah and I will know.

Add more of your own goals Charity Jars: These can be made with empty canisters, jars, etc. decorated with paper, paint, glitter, etc. You can take a cloth and stretch over the top and secure it with ribbons, glue or a rubber band. Insh’Allah they are pretty easy. Then the kids simply fill them as they are able and at the end of the month you can decide how to donate it. Mash’Allah it gives the children such a sense of accomplishment and inclination to give back at a young age. www.islamway.com

Kuwait: No plan to expel Syrian envoy Continued from Page 1 Amateur video posted online by activists showed what it said were parts of Deir el-Zour with the sound of heavy cracks of gunfire and prayers blaring from loudspeakers.

Another video showed Syrian troops on a hill as they positioned an antiaircraft gun. An activist in the city told The Associated Press the military attacked before dawn from four sides and took control of eight neighborhoods.

“Humanitarian conditions in the city are very bad because it has been under siege for nine days,” the activist said on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals. “There is lack of medicine, baby formula, food and gasoline. The city is totally paralyzed.”

The attack on Deir el-Zour is part of the latest phase of the government crackdown that began a week ago, just before the start of Ramadan when many Muslims fast from dawn to dusk, then eat festive meals and gather in mosques for special nightly prayers. The government has been trying to prevent the large mosque gatherings from turning into a new wave of anti-government protests, like those that have been sweeping the country since

mid-March.

The government’s crackdown has left more than 1,700 dead, according to activists and human rights groups. President Bashar Assad’s regime disputes the toll and blames a foreign conspiracy for the unrest.

Assad has defied the growing chorus of international condemnation and pressed on with lethal military force to suppress mostly peaceful, unarmed demonstrators. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon urged Assad in a phone conversation on Saturday to immediately stop the use of military force against civilians.

The central city of Hama had been the focus of the crackdown for most of the past week, though Deir El-Zour has also been under siege.

In Hama, an official at Hourani Hospital reported that eight newborns died in their incubators on Wednesday when electricity was cut in the city, the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The group had no further details.

Authorities have imposed a media blackout on Hama and the reports could not be immediately confirmed. Electricity, Internet and phone lines have been cut for seven days, and residents have reported

dwindling food and medical supplies amid frequent shelling and raids. Rights group say at least 100 people have been killed, while some estimates put the number as high as 250.

The military attacks also spread yesterday to the central town of Houleh in Homs province, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) south of Hama and 212 miles (340 kilometers) east of Deir el-Zour. Rihawi said at last 10 people were killed in Houleh while Qurabi said the toll was 17.

Both Houleh and Deir el-Zour have witnessed intense protests against Assad since the uprising began. Deir el-Zour is the capital of an oil-rich province by the same name, but the region is among the country’s poorest and was hit by drought in the past years. It is inhabited by Arab tribes that extend into Iraq, and Syrian authorities have said they thwarted attempts by Iraqis to smuggle arms from Iraq into Syria.

Qurabi said security forces also shot and killed 10 people in the northwestern city of Idlib yesterday. He said those killed in Idlib were taking part in a funeral of eight protesters shot dead by security forces Saturday night in the city. — Agencies

ISTANBUL: People take part in a demonstration gathering activists, including Syrians living in Turkey, opposed to Syria’s regime of President Bashar Al-Assad yesterday in front of the Syrian consulate in Istanbul. — AFP

Syria slams call for envoy’s death Continued from Page 1 religious scholars on whether or not the ambassador’s stance warrants his being attacked and killed.

Meanwhile, expatriates residing in Kuwait were urged to abide by laws concerning any type of gatherings or rallies and those violating the law would have to answer to the authorities, said the Ministry of Interior yesterday.

The Ministry said in a press release that punishment includes imprisonment for two years and a KD 2,000 fine or any of the mentioned sentences, affirming that such procedures would be governed by the relevant Geneva convention within the diplomatic domain, reports KUNA. The Ministry reiterated that such steps were to ensure the safety of expatriates in the country, stressing that the law was above all.

Hayef has since mounted his attack on the ambassador, announcing yesterday that he will be working with the envoy’s “victims” to hold the ambassador to account for the “crimes against humanity” which the MP alleges that the ambassador committed in Syria and Lebanon. The MP said that he is currently studying the case and will work with others to file official charges against the Syrian diplomat in the near future in order to hold him to account.

The MP also revealed that he has submitted a question to Minister of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs Mohammad Al-Noumas on the legality of having diplomatic relations with a government which tortures and kills its own, Muslim people, as well as preventing them from praying, destroying their mosques, bombing hospitals, and setting fire to prisons whilst inmates are still locked inside them.

Hayef asked the minister to detail the legal penalties from a religious viewpoint for a Muslim country sheltering a person known for a bloody history who has committed crimes against humanity. He further requested details of what penalties would be used against a person who kills on purpose or shelters a killer, as well as asking Al-Noumas to define the details of the duties imposed by Islam on the government, parliament and public towards other Arab and Muslim people elsewhere who are being killed for no reason in the sight and hearing of the world.

Hayef said that he had submitted these questions to the minister in order to emphasize the need for

accountability over these incidents, adding that any death penalty sentence should be based solely on the decision of the proper legal authorities.

According to diplomats in Damascus, Syrian authorities have already complained to Kuwait’s foreign ministry over Hayef ’s statements in particular, as well as to incidents during the demonstration “which began with calls to expel the minister and ended with harsh speech against President Bashar AlAssad”.

Hayef’s statements on Saturday sparked many responses in Kuwait, with all describing them as unfortunate. The Islamic Constitutional Movement released a statement stressing that they don’t share the MP’s vision, while fellow MPs Dr Faisal Al-Mislem and Dr. Walid AlTabtabaei stressed that their Development and Reform Bloc (DRB) doesn’t adopt a similar stance to that of Hayef, and is restricting itself to demanding the expulsion of the Syrian Ambassador and the severance of ties with the Syrian regime.

At a demonstration in Iradah Square that followed the one in front of the Syrian Embassy, AlTabtabaei and fellow parliamentarian Musallam Al-Barrak called for a massive gathering tomorrow (Tuesday) if the ambassador is not expelled by then.

MP Abdurrahman Al-Anjari was wary of calls to expel the ambassador, warning that this could spark a new political crisis in Kuwait between the government and those MPs demanding the expulsion.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Interior has backed down from plans to deport Syrian expatriates who participated in the demonstrations organized by the MPs and other Kuwaiti activists. The ministry’s decision came in response to calls from members of the National Assembly Council who asserted that the Syrian protesters had committed no crime and were unaware that Kuwaiti law prohibits expatriates from organizing or taking part in demonstrations, and warned that deporting these individuals could lead to their arrest, torture and death on their return to Syria.

The Syrian protestors were arrested for demonstrating in support of their compatriots back home, with officials alleging that they had failed to comply with security officers’ instructions, as well as accusing them of attempting to assault security officers whilst entering Iradah

Square.

MP Faisal Al Mislem hailed the Ministry of interior’s (MoI) move to pardon the Syrian demonstrators, describing it as “appreciated.”

Fellow lawmaker Mubarak Al Khurainej opposed the ministry’s decision, however, calling on Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Ahmed Al Humoud not to allow any expatriates to demonstrate peacefully, unless an application has been submitted to the relevant ministry department and approved beforehand. Those who violate the law must be deported just like any other expats who demonstrate and are expelled, Khurainej insisted, adding that Kuwait is a constitutional state of law and institutions and that all expatriates must respect all Kuwaiti regulations.

The MP further asked the interior minister to tighten state security, especially after recent events in the region, warning that sleeper cells could be activated to create trouble in the state and in the neighboring states. Condemning the Syrian regime’s actions towards the country’s people, such as the mass killing and the severance of power, water and food supplies to Hama and other Syrian cities, Al-Khurainej told reporters that the Syrian regime should reconcile with its people and stop those savage acts and respond to the public’s just demands, like those for freedom.

In related news, the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs reportedly has no plans to cancel the suspensions of a number of imams who addressed the violence in Syria in their sermons, in violation of the charter that bans the addressing of any political issues in mosques.

The chairman of the parliamentary committee on interior and defense yesterday called on the Ministry of Interior to be alert on the events in the region and the repercussions these might have in Kuwait. Warning in a press release that certain individuals or groups might take advantage of the turbulence elsewhere to create insecurity and unrest in Kuwait, the committee chairman, MP Shuaib AlMuwaizri, stressed that Kuwait is strong and stable and will not give a chance to those who wish to harm the country. “What is taking place in Syria is prohibited by all religions, as well as international treaties and no rational person should accept it”, he added, urging the governments and people of the GCC states as well as other Arab and Muslim nations to intervene to stop the bloodshed.

Rioters torch houses, shops in London dist Continued from Page 1 Police yesterday said they were still having to deal with “isolated pockets of criminality in the Tottenham area involving a small number of people.”

A spokesman for the London Fire Brigade said all the fires were under control. “We are still at the scene of some of them to damp them down and make sure everything is out,” he added.

The mayhem, which broke out in Tottenham just before sunset on Saturday, followed a protest over the death of a 29-year-old man last week during an apparent exchange of gunfire with police.

Thursday’s killing of Mark Duggan, a father-of-four, was “absolutely regrettable,” police commander Adrian Hanstock said in a statement, adding that an investigation into the shooting was underway. “It is absolutely tragic that someone has died, but that does not give a criminal minority the right to destroy businesses and... livelihoods and steal from their local community,” he said yesterday.

“There was no indication that the protest would deteriorate into the levels of criminal and violent disorder that we saw,” Hanstock said. The demonstration had been a peaceful rally outside the police station on Tottenham High Road before two police cars were attacked with petrol bombs and set ablaze. A double-decker bus was then torched as the violence rapidly spread, with gangs of hooded youths descending on the area, in turn setting alight homes and businesses and looting shops.

There was concern that the unrest was fuelled by rapid posts on social media inciting others to join in. Central London has seen student and trade union protests turn ugly in the last 12 months but this outbreak of rioting was the worst seen for years in the suburbs. One eye-witness said Saturday’s scene resembled the Blitz, or when parts of London burned following German bombing in the Second World War. “So many people have lost everything. It’s just crazy. It looks like it’s the Second World War. It looks like the Blitz where we were liv-

ing,” Tottenham resident Stuart Radose told Sky News television. Tottenham is an ethnically-diverse urban area best known for its English Premier League football club Tottenham Hotspur.

“This is an attack on Tottenham, on people, on ordinary people,” local member of parliament David Lamy told reporters. “Women who are now standing on the streets homeless.

These are ordinary shop keepers who live above their shops.” Duggan was killed when specialist firearms officers stopped a minicab in which he was travelling to carry out a pre-planned arrest. The Independent Police Complaints Commission, which investigates all police shootings said they were accompanied by officers from Trident, the unit focused on tackling gun crime in the black community.

The march against Duggan’s death began at Broadwater Farm, a 1960s public housing estate in Tottenham that is notorious across Britain. In 1985, police constable Keith Blakelock was hacked to death on the estate in some of the worst urban rioting in Britain in the past 30 years. — AFP

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MONDAY, AUGUST 8, 2011

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Issues

Economy big blow to Obama’s 2012 hopes

By John Whitesides ith every gloomy economic report, debt crisis and mood swing on Wall Street, US President Barack Obama’s fight for re-election in 2012 gets a little tougher. The recent rash of bad economic news has deepened a sour public mood and threatens to turn a re-election campaign that Democrats once hoped would be a cakewalk into an unpredictable brawl.

“The economic head-winds Obama faces are extraordinarily difficult,” said Karlyn Bowman, a public opinion analyst at the American Enterprise Institute think tank.

“The level of public pessimism and the duration of the negativity is something I haven’t seen before,” she said. “It’s a performance-based job, and people want to start seeing the economy turn around.” Polls show at least two-thirds of Americans think the country is headed in the wrong direction, consumer confidence is hitting two-year lows and majorities disapprove of Obama’s handling of the economy.

His job approval was slumping even before last week’s global stock sell-off and twin debt crises in Europe and in the United States, which featured a US credit rating downgrade and chaotic talks on a deal to raise the US debt ceiling.

In the last week of July, Gallup put Obama’s approval at a weekly low of 42 percent. A Quinnipiac University poll taken after the debt-ceiling deal last week found a majority in the battleground state of Florida did not think Obama deserved re-election. His approval among independents in the state plunged from a 47-45 percent split in May to 61-33 percent disapproval now.

“Elections with incumbents are always referendums on the incumbent, and the first question for voters is ‘does he deserve another term?’ At this point, these numbers show the answer is not necessarily yes,” Quinnipiac pollster Peter Brown said. The president’s slump gives new hope to Republicans, who saw several potential contenders pass on a 2012 White House race earlier this year amid speculation Obama would be too strong and too well financed to lose re-election.

Republicans plan to remind voters often of the job losses, stalled economic recovery and stagnant housing market on Obama’s watch. They stepped up their criticism of the president after Friday’s US credit downgrade.

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‘OBAMA NOT WORKING’ “Barack Obama has been in office for three years and what he’s done hasn’t worked. It’s time for him to go,” Republican contender Tim Pawlenty said while campaigning in Iowa. Republican presidential front-runner Mitt Romney has signaled a potential general election strategy, shadowing Obama’s travels around the country with targeted criticism of the president’s economic record in those regions.

When Obama returned home to Chicago to celebrate his birthday last week, Romney aired a Web ad slamming Obama’s economic leadership and saying Chicago had seen a 48 percent increase in unemployment under Obama. In recent speeches, Obama made clear he wants to focus on spurring job growth now that the debt-ceiling talks are done. He welcomed Friday’s jobs report showing the unemployment rate ticked down slightly to 9.1 percent but said more was needed.

He will need to show significant improvement in the jobless rate to ease public worries, and he will need to do it early enough in 2012 that it sinks in with voters.

Obama also faces a tougher political map next year, with his approval plunging in traditionally Republican states he captured in 2008 like Indiana and North Carolina and in critical Rust Belt states like Ohio. “I’m a Democrat but there is no sugar-coating it, things aren’t good,” said Democratic consultant Dane Strother. “The only thing on Obama’s side right now is time. A week is an eternity in politics and we have 15 months.”

Polls show Obama remains personally popular, and Democrats find hope in 2004. That year many voters unhappy with President George W Bush’s performance were reluctant to oust him amid the Iraq war and economic challenges. “When people are frightened, they are more likely to stick with the guy they know than take a chance on the guy they don’t know,” Democratic strategist Karen Finney said. “They still like Obama. As long as people feel like he’s trying and he’s making some progress, that matters,” she said. — Reuters

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Loss of AAA status tough but logical

By Hugues Honore tandard & Poor’s decision to strip the United States of its triple-A credit rating is a tough but logical sanction of the country’s inability to contain its spiraling debt, experts say.

S&P slashed the US rating for the first time in history on Friday from its sterling AAA to AA+, removing the United States from the coveted circle of top borrowers that includes G7 partners Britain, Canada, France and Germany.

“Their critique of our dysfunctional politics and inability to get revenues in the deficit reduction deal makes a lot of sense,” economist Jared Bernstein, a former adviser to Vice President Joe Biden, wrote on his blog. The step was perhaps not an easy one for the agency, but it came after a bruising months-long partisan battle between Democrats and Republicans over how to raise the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling and cut the huge US deficit.

Economist Nouriel Roubini, known for his gloomy predictions, said the United States should have seen the writing on the wall when agencies docked the ratings of European countries on similar grounds.

“They downgraded a bunch of European countries, and the Europeans were bashing the rating agencies-why are you downgrading us and not the United States?” he told Bloomberg TV. After S&P’s initial warning in April that the United States could face a ratings downgrade, a confident US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said, “No risk.” Then in July, the International Monetary Fund released a report which said the “tail risk of a US sovereign rating downgrade ... could trigger renewed turbulence in global financial markets.” S&P ultimately went ahead with the downgrade, despite 11th-hour requests from the US government for a review of the figures. A shell-shocked US Treasury later issued a statement saying: “A judgment flawed by a twotrillion-dollar error speaks for itself.”

Nobel-winning economist Paul Krugman ridiculed the S&P decision on his blog, recalling how the agency and its rivals had backed the financial products that sparked the global economic crisis in 2008. “This is an outrage-not because America is A-OK, but because these people are in no position to pass judgment,” Krugman wrote.

S&P said despite months of promises from Washington to the G20, the IMF, creditors and the American people, the deal struck to avert a disastrous debt default had not gone far enough to merit keeping the AAA rating. The agency was looking to see $4 trillion in deficit reduction over 10 years that included both spending cuts and revenue increases, the latter of which Republicans have refused to accept.

The deal signed into law tomorrow calls for just $917

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billion in cuts over 10 years, but also mandates an as-yet unnamed congressional panel to come up with another $1.5 trillion in cuts by the end of the year. It had been hoped that US economic growth would resolve the debt mess. Instead, official data showed gross domestic product (GDP) grew only 1.3 percent in the second quarter, after a dead-pace 0.4 percent in the first. S&P said the nearstagnation was not the only problem, and has steadfastly defended its move. “The issue here remains that the starting point of the US debt load at a federal, state and local level is high,” John Chambers, chairman of the S&P sovereign ratings committee, told reporters on a conference call Saturday.

“We think compared to some other very highly rated governments, the US government does not have the same proactive ability to achieve long-term solutions to put public finances on a firm footing.” The explosion of the US debt, which has reached 100 percent of gross domestic product, parallels the situations of other countries which have lost their triple-A ratings, such as Japan, which has never regained it. Others, such as Canada, have seen their AAA status returned after massive political and financial efforts.

S&P added a negative outlook to its US ratings statement, warning there was a chance the rating could be downgraded further within two years if progress is not made in balancing the country’s lopsided finances. — AFP

Tymoshenko arrest to harm Ukraine-EU ties

By Zoya Zhminko he arrest of Ukraine’s former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko is unlikely to spark an uprising like the 2004 Orange Revolution but will cause severe strains in ties with the EU, analysts said. A proposed EU-Ukraine association agreement could be a casualty of the arrest of the opposition leader, which she and her supporters claim is part of a vendetta pursued by her arch rival President Viktor Yanukovych.

Tymoshenko was one of the leaders of the Orange Revolution that brought a pro-Western government to power in a peaceful uprising. But she lost to Yanukovych in a bitterly-contested presidential election in 2010. In an echo of the sit-ins in central Kiev that marked the 2004 uprising, her supporters have already put up dozens of tents and warned they will not depart until Tymoshenko is freed.

Since coming to power Yanukovych has clearly targeted EU integration for his nation of 46 million, seeking to confound critics who accused him of being a Kremlin puppet and a holdout from Soviet times. But several EU states have already expressed serious concern over the arrest, and analysts said the controversy could spell the end of Yanukovych’s rapprochement with Brussels. Volodymyr Fesenko, head of the Penta political research centre, said while the arrest would not halt talks on an association and free trade agreement it could severely damage progress towards a key step to Ukraine joining the EU. “If Tymoshenko stays behind bars it could affect the course of negotiations and even if (an association agreement) is

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signed, there can be problems with ratification,” he said. He said that if Tymoshenko was ultimately convicted and jailed in her abuse of power trial “unofficial diplomatic isolation of the Ukrainian authorities could be possible”.

The foreign ministry said it did not believe that Ukraine’s future “would depend on the fate and career of one politician” while Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said the government was working to create a “serious foundation for Ukraine’s European future”. But according to Vadim Karasev, Head of the Global Strategies Institute, there is “no doubt” Ukraine’s relations with the EU will deteriorate. “Perhaps even the process of signing an agreement on political association and free trade with the EU will be frustrated,” he said.

Tymoshenko’s supporters have warned of a “new Maidan”Kiev’s Independence Square known as the “Maidan” was the epicentre of the Orange Revolution protests-and said they hope to mobilize mass protests in the next weeks. But analysts said Tymoshenko-who presided over a massive political and economic crisis while in government-remains far from universally popular and in any case high summer was hardly the best time to hold protests.

“I don’t see any reason for some kind of revolution or ‘Maidan’, especially now, at the peak of the holiday season,” Fesenko said, while adding that the arrest could prompt some consolidation amongst Ukraine’s fractious anti-Yanukovych opposition. Karasev said “mass rallies in Tymoshenko’s support shouldn’t be expected immediately because of the mixed attitude toward her in the Ukrainian society.”—AFP

The Swiss franc: Worth its weight in gold?

By Hui Min Neo ith a robust economy, stable government and low public debt, Switzerland boasts all the ingredients that would make its heavily indebted neighbors turn green with envy.

But these virtues have attracted the unwanted attention of investors seeking a safe haven, sending the Swiss franc to records against major currencies that are now threatening the country’s export-oriented economy. Is the Swiss franc really worth its weight in gold? “It’s overvalued by far. Just looking at the interest rate differentials, people are losing about 1.5 percent interest each year just to know their money is safe in the franc,” said Credit Suisse economist Claude Maurer.

“The only reason to buy the Swiss franc is really risk aversion,” he said. Jan-Egbert Sturm, who heads the ETH Zurich’s KOF Swiss Economic Institute, also noted that people are simply putting money in the franc because “the other candidates are more likely to have some kind of a default problem one way or the other.”

“Investors are accepting the higher insurance premium. If you see a hurricane coming on the weather charts, you’re willing to pay a higher insurance premium to insure it,” added Julius Baer chief strategist Christian Gattiker.

Nevertheless, “it is a pricey hedge,” he added. Paradoxically, investors’ faith in the franc may well turn out to be it and the solid

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Swiss economy’s undoing.

“The pressure on Switzerland is rising and rising. If you look at exports they have now turned negative,” noted Sturm. The franc has gained about 30 percent against the euro and

strong franc for its 5.0 percent drop in second quarter earnings while Credit Suisse said the exchange rate took millions off its pre-tax profits. Swatch boss Nick Hayek urged the central bank to fight the rise of the franc, say-

nearly 40 percent against the dollar since a year ago. The strong currency has started to bite hard into the earnings of Swiss companies, many of whom count the EU and the US among their biggest customers.

Pharmaceutical giant Roche blamed the

ing that “we must defend ourselves.” On Wednesday, the Swiss central bank itself assessed that the franc was now “massively overvalued” and threatening the Swiss economy, and took measures to try to lower its value. With the global economic outlook also

weak, “the outlook for the Swiss economy has deteriorated substantially,” assessed the central bank. But while the move has halted an appreciation to 1.10 franc, it has not been able to drive it significantly lower. Arturo Bris, finance professor at the IMD business school, warned that if “the European situation doesn’t improve, then it’s going to be dramatic for Switzerland in the long run.”

What would take the glint off the franc is perhaps an economic slowdown in Switzerland, said some analysts. “What would work ironically in favour of the SNB is the increasing recession risk for the Swiss economy in 2012,” said Gattiker.

“It will show that things are not as good in Switzerland and as independent from everyone else and therefore would work against the Swiss franc at some stage,” he added. But even with clouds over the horizon, Gattiker is not optimistic that the currency would lose steam dramatically. “I don’t think we’re going into the old trading rates of 1.40, 1.60. Ten to 20 years down the road we’re more probably going to be in the 90 cents to 1.10 range,” he warned. Commerzbank analysts also believe that the franc would stabilize at a level of about 1.10 franc against the euro.

“Uncertainty remains elevated on the market and there is no sign of tensions easing in the euro-zone debt crisis. Moreover, the markets are concerned about the US economy.

“Demand for the Swiss franc ... should remain elevated,” they assessed. — AFP

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MONDAY, AUGUST 8, 2011

analysis

Japan’s nightmare dilemma

Focus

Parents still living with radiation fear

By Shingo Ito arents living near Japan’s crippled Fukushima nuclear plant are facing a nightmare dilemma: evacuate their children or live with the fear that radiation will make them sick.

Since the crisis started on March 11, authorities have raised the exposure limit for children to that used for atomic plant workers in many countries but have sought to reassure families their children are safe.

Some people have listened to the official advice, then voted with their feet and moved out of the fallout zone-but most have stayed, reluctant to give up their jobs, homes and lives, despite the lingering fear. In Fukushima city, home to 300,000 people, playgrounds are eerily quiet while children play indoors, one layer removed from the dangers of the atomic plant 60 kilometres (40 miles) away on the tsunami-ravaged coast.

Most schools have banned children from playing football or baseball on outdoor fields or splashing around in swimming pools exposed to the sky. The windows of classrooms remain shut despite a summer heat wave.

More than 300 children have left the city’s elementary and junior high schools since April, says the education board in Fukushima, where town workers have been washing down the walls of school buildings. “We fully understand the feelings of parents, but we want them to act calmly,” board official Yoshimasa Kanno told AFP, adding that the city will hand a radiation dosimetre to every student by September.

One mother, Sachiko Sato, 53, who lives in Kawamata, just 35 kilometres from the crippled plant, has moved her two children to another town, although she has stayed behind in the family home. “We asked ourselves what’s most important to us,” she said. “For some people it’s their job, for others its family ties.

For me it’s my children’s future.”

Another parent, Hiroshi Ueki, 40, a former kindergarten worker, moved his wife

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and two sons, aged one and four, to Matsumoto in the mountainous prefecture of Nagano, 280 kilometres away.

Remembering family life in their home town, he said, “everyday I used to tell my sons: ‘Don’t touch this. Don’t eat that. Don’t take your mask off’.” “When we got to Nagano, my son was still asking me: ‘Dad, can I touch this flower? Can I touch that car? Can I play in the rain?’

When I heard him say that, I was almost

then.” ‘The fear is haunting me.’

Japan’s radiation limit was raised from 1.0 to 20 millisieverts per year after Japan’s worst quake on record triggered a tsunami that slammed into the Fukushima plant, triggering a series of meltdowns and explosions.

In Fukushima city, authorities now estimate aerial exposure of 5.4 to 13.6 millisieverts per year-not counting, critics point out, any internal exposure from

Activists from the Institute for Peace and Secular Studies hold placards during a demonstration to mark the anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing in Japan, in Lahore, on August 6. Parents living near Japan’s crippled Fukushima nuclear plant are facing a nightmare dilemma: Evacuate their children or live with the fear that radiation will make them sick.—AFP crying.” Ueki is one of a growing number of local citizens who, in a movement rarely seen in consensus-seeking Japan and fuelled over the past four months by social media, are challenging the government.

“The government is saying it’s safe and secure,” said Ueki, who is back in Fukushima, trying to convince other parents to leave. “But they can really only say that 10 years, 20 years, 30 years from now-if nothing has actually happened by

food or dust contaminated with radioactive isotopes. Fears were fuelled when a recent test showed small amounts of radioactive substances in the urine samples of all of the 10 children surveyed.

According to the Fukushima Network for Saving Children from Radiation, which carried out the tests with a French non-government group, 1.3 becquerels of caesium-137 per litre was found in the urine of a seven-year-old boy. Japan’s central government downplayed the

concern, with the education and science minister, Yoshiaki Takagi, stating that the level was too low to affect children’s health immediately.

Many doctors have also advised parents in Fukushima not to overreact if their children suffer symptoms such as bleeding or diarrhea, saying they are unlikely to be related to radiation under current exposure levels. But they also argue that authorities should not reach hasty and easy conclusions, saying that the findings at least show that children in Fukushima have been exposed to a certain level of radioactivity. Radiation safety experts agree that children face a higher risk from radiation-linked cancers and other diseases than adults, but they disagree on just how high the risk is, amid a global dearth of long-term studies.

“It has been medically proven that children can be at greater risk of radiation exposure than adults,” said Tokyo pediatrician Makoto Yamada. “No-one can accurately predict the eventual physical impact of radiation on people in Fukushima,” Yamada told AFP. “It is the authorities’ duty to take careful measures considering the worst-case scenario.”

One radiation expert, Toshiso Kosako of Tokyo University, quit his government advisory job in tears in April when the radiation limit was raised, saying he wouldn’t expose his own children to those levels.

Another fearful Fukushima parent is medical worker Masayoshi Tezuka, 42, who evacuated his two daughters for a while, then brought them back, citing the stress of splitting the children from their working parents. Tezuka said he was shocked when he recently saw pictures of Ukrainian children with neck scars from surgery for thyroid cancer, blamed on radiation exposure from the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear accident.

“In my mind I swapped their faces with those of my daughters,” he said. “It was dreadful. I’m still wondering if this is what will one day happen to my daughters. That fear is still haunting me.” — AFP

Analysts blame ‘pessimism’ for ‘grave’ market tumble he week on financial markets began with high tension over the euro-zone debt crisis and culminated in a downgrading of the US credit rating. Attention focused on the outlook for the US and EU economies, and the euro-zone lurched deeper into crisis which now affects even core countries.

The European Central Bank then took several steps, including buying bonds, to fight the crisis, but these and its downbeat comments on growth were badly received, and a stocks fall turned into a plunge. EU leaders then saw the urgency of this new crisis and engaged in talks during their summer holidays, while markets focused on signs that a double-dip recession may be on the horizon.

On Friday, Standard & Poor’s cut the US rating from the top notch triple-A to AA+.

Here is what some key figures and various analysts had to say as the drama played out: EU Economic Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn said the EU is working “night and day” to finalize details of a “milestone” plan to stem contagion but “such a ... complex agreement requires time to implement” as current prob-

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lems have “global repercussions and ramifications”.

In Brussels, European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso said it was clear that we are no longer managing a crisis just in the euro-area periphery” and talked of widespread doubts regarding “the systemic capacity of the euro area to respond to the evolving crisis”. Moneycorp analysts said Barroso’s comments “rattled the markets as investors interpreted this as an admission that the plans to resolve the European debt crisis are too complex and incomplete”.

Goldman Sachs economist Dirk Schumacher said the ECB “does not like buying bonds as it does not want to fund governments-but things are different in a liquidity crisis where there is a risk of systemic events.”

Jean Michel Six, Europe economist at Standard & Poor’s, said that the “only truly efficient fireman capable of leaving the firehouse at a moment’s notice is the European Central Bank”, which he said had “played its role admirably since the beginning of this crisis to calm the markets”.

Citi Economics analyst Willem Buiter said that the ECB had to step into the markets or accept the “biggest banking crisis since 1931.” Buiter said that the 440 billion euros promised for the European Union emergency funds were “woefully inadequate” leaving “only the ECB as lender of last resort ... for sovereigns”.

Michael Hewson said disappointing data on both sides of the Atlantic as well as a surging bond yields in Spain and Italy meant “pessimism about the global recovery” was taking hold “with a vengeance”.

After Italian Prime Minister Berlusconi addressed parliament in order to calm fears, Stefano Folli, a columnist at Il Sole 24 Ore, wrote that the speech was over-ridden with “generic references” to “those eternal reforms that are always evoked but never implemented.”

Italian trade unions said in a joint statement that “the situation is grave” and that it “must be confronted with maximum determination and without excuses or shortcuts.”

Financial markets are still not convinced that “politicians have a strategy for dealing

with Italy and Spain, said Will Hedden, trader at IG Index.

In London, the Centre for Economics and Business Research commented: “Realistically, Italy is bound to default but Spain may just get away without having to do so.” Chinese state television criticized a last-minute agreement to raise the US debt ceiling as “a political performance which has more pomp and ceremony than substance” in a rare editorial broadcast on its evening news bulletin.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin accused the United States of acting as a “parasite” on the world economy as it “is not living within its means”.

Charles Robertson at Renaissance Capital said the US Federal Reserve may have to act soon to face weak household demand in the US, but the “real problem” is that “southern Europe might never grow strongly again”.

Giles Watts, head of equities at City Index, said traders are growing “increasingly concerned” about a sharp US slowdown just as the US embarks on a sharp series of public spending cuts. —AFP

Tough road ahead for Thailand’s new PM

By Rachel O’Brien

hailand’s first female premier has already clinched a place in the history books, but she could struggle to survive a full term in office and end her country’s cycle of instability, analysts say.

Yingluck Shinawatra, a political novice who is set to take office this week, swept to an election victory last month with the support of her fugitive brother Thaksin, who is loathed by the elite and was toppled in a 2006 coup. Experts say her own political endurance and prospects of achieving unity after years of turmoil are now threatened by those family ties.

“Yingluck is a leader of a political force that is utterly unacceptable to many powerful people in Thailand,” said analyst Michael Montesano of Singapore’s Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. “Sooner or later the attempt to bring her government down through a wide variety of measures will become obvious.” Serving a full fouryear term in Thailand is the exception rather than the rule, with Thaksin the only elected premier ever to have done so.

His removal by the army in 2006 has heralded five years of political crises both in the Thai parliament and on the streets, where his elite-backed foes and his mainly working-class supporters have held crippling rival protests. Any attempt to oust Yingluck-who is expected to receive royal endorsement on Monday before naming her cabinet-would risk a similar upswell of anger among Thaksin’s many followers.

The situation escalated last year when dozens were killed in clashes between the army and “Red Shirt” protesters who largely support Thaksin for his populist policies and have helped to propel his sister to the premiership.

Her staying power will rest on appeasing both the Reds, who are calling for justice over last year’s violence, and the opposing elites around the palace and military who hated her brother’s authoritarian style of leadership.

Since he was ousted, Thaksin has fled Thailand to avoid a jail term for corruption and his other allies have been brought down by court rulings. Analysts believe

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another “judicial coup” could thwart Yingluck’s rule.

“That is the broad challenge for her, how to avoid that entire fiasco this time,” said Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political scientist at Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn University.

“That requires dealing with Thaksin’s adversaries effectively. She has to reach out to them. She has to appoint the right people that reach out to them.” The military may be reluctant to stage another outright coup after the tumultuous fallout from 2006, but that does not rule out their interference.

Yingluck Shinawatra

They have staged 18 actual or attempted coups since 1932 and could find ways to meddle indirectly with Yingluck’s premiership. “The army, in co-operation with other groups, other institutions, can derail her administration,” said Thitinan.

Since her election win, in an apparent acknowledgement of the need to tread lightly around these powerful players, 44-year-old Yingluck has moved to erase the notion that she is her brother’s “clone”.

After a career spent in his business empire, Yingluck has repeatedly denied numerous Thai media reports that Thaksin, widely seen as the mastermind of her Puea Thai party, is now hand-picking her new cabinet lineup.

She has also played down the suggestion, floated by her party, of an amnesty for politicians that could pave the way for Thaksin to return a free man-and risk the ire of her family’s opponents. “She is too smart to press for an early amnesty,” said Montesano. “I think there is clear awareness in Puea Thai that they want to move slowly on this thing.”

A Thaksin comeback could bolster the rival “Yellow Shirt” movement, which claims allegiance to the throne but has weakened since 2008 when it occupied Bangkok’s airports and helped bring down the last proThaksin government.

Thailand’s widely revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej is seen as a unifying figure in a country that has been frequently riven by political violence.

But the 83-year-old monarch, who has reigned for more than six decades, has been in hospital since September 2009 and Thailand’s post-succession landscape is shrouded in uncertainty.

While Yingluck faces a daunting task, she is strengthened by her party’s decisive election win and enjoys the backing of a six-party coalition, holding three-fifths of the seats in the lower house of parliament. The jury is still out on whether she can step out of her brother’s sizeable shadow and reconcile the troubled nation.

“Until we see her strut her stuff it is difficult to judge, but everything we have seen of her so far suggests she has quite a lot of substance,” said analyst and author Chris Baker. — AFP

Somalia fighters remain a threat

By Richard Lough

MOGADISHU: African union peacekeeping soldiers rest under a tree at Mogadishu’s stadium yesterday.—AP frican peacekeepers have forced Somalia’s al Shabaab Islamists to abandon their campaign to hold the capital Mogadishu, but the fighters’ retreat hardly ends the country’s bloodshed and could herald a wave of al-Qaeda-style suicide attacks.

As convoys of al Shabaab pickup trucks with mounted machine guns sped from Mogadishu, President Sheikh Sharif Mohammed- whose rule is limited to the capital and propped up by 9,000 Ugandan and Burundian troops-held a news conference to declare victory.

The fighters, who still control most of the south of the country, insisted they would fight another day. “We aren’t leaving you, but we have changed our tactics,”spokesman Sheikh Ali Mohamud Rage said on local radio.

Many Somalis and outside experts said it was too early for the government to declare a triumph.

In a country long without effective central government and now suffering mass hunger from the worst drought in decades, peace remains a distant prospect.

But rifts among Al-Shabaab’s leaders, exacerbated by their handling of the famine, could also provide an opportunity to loosen the militia’s grip on the areas it controls.

A string of offensives this year-led by the African peacekeeping force with Somalia’s army in towgradually tightened the noose around al Shabaab’s forces in Mogadishu. Last month, the fighters lost control of the capital’s Bakara market, nerve-centre of their Mogadishu operations and a crucial source of revenue. That left them with little more than a few mostly-empty neighborhoods of little strategic interest.

Those losses exposed rifts in Al-Shabaab’s leadership between an international wing influenced by foreign fighters who favor guerrilla tactics like suicide bombings, and others who sought a conventional military strategy of holding territory.

The abandonment of Mogadishu suggests the international faction won the day. “If that is the case then al Shabaab might leave other cities (under their control) like Baidoa and Afgoye, melt away in the population and turn to guerrilla warfare, explosions, assassinations or suicide attacks,” said Afyare Elmi at Qatar University’s International Affairs department.

Since 2007, Ahmed’s authority has effectively stretched only as far as the territory held by the peacekeepers. Winning Mogadishu might expand the government’s sway, Horn of Africa experts say, but there is little guarantee it will bring peace elsewhere.

Some even question the government’s ability to fill the power vacuum in the neighborhoods abandoned by al-Shabaab, warning that other militia could fill the void.

Ahmed “had to make that statement, he has to appear that he is in control. But Somalis will be laughing,” said London-based Somali analyst Hamza Mohamed. “There is not one single area of Mogadishu controlled solely by government troops.”

The militants still hold sway over much of central and southern Somalia, and have other sources of revenue, including taxes from ports and a cut of some ransoms paid to pirate gangs.

But al-Shabaab is also confronted with mending internal rifts, made more stark by the famine gripping the south, where 2.8 million people require lifesaving food aid.

Early last month al-Shabaab appeared to lift a ban on food aid, only then to seemingly backtrack.

Its legitimacy has been shredded by attempts to halt people fleeing areas to seek food, said J. Peter Pham with US think-tank the Atlantic Council.

“The ongoing hunger has exposed divisions between the hardline core leadership of alShabaab which denies the crisis and refuses to allow aid in, and clan-based militia forces in various places ... who have announced a willingness to allow humanitarian assistance to come in,” he said.

The famine is depriving al-Shabaab of revenue and decimating its recruitment pool as hundreds of thousands of hungry people flee to Mogadishu and neighboring Kenya and Ethiopia.

The erosion of legitimacy may offer Somalia’s government and Western powers an opportunity, said Mark Schroeder of global intelligence company Stratfor. “(There are)foreign elements trying to figure out how to take advantage of the famine to undermine al-Shabaab, not necessarily in a military way but more politically.” — Reuters

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Welbeck in England squad

Carew joins West Ham

LONDON: Striker Danny Welbeck has been called into the England squad for the first time since March for Wednesday’s friendly against Netherlands while Micah Richards has returned following an injury to first-choice right back Glen Johnson. There are 11 players from Manchester United and City, who contest the Community Shield in Fabio Capello’s 25-man squad with United reserve Welbeck, 20, included as the fourth striker with Jermain Defoe and Darren Bent missing out.

Welbeck had an impressive debut against Ghana in a friendly at Wembley in March when he was on loan at Sunderland but City’s Richards has struggled to convince Capello of his worth having been a regular under predecessor Steve McClaren. Three players from the second tier Championship have also been called up for the match with West Ham United midfielder Scott Parker and goalkeeper Robert Green having so far failed to secure topflight moves following the club’s relegation.

Goalkeeper David Stockdale is also playing in the Championsip on loan at Ipswich Town from Premier League Fulham. —Reuters

LONDON: Norway striker John Carew has joined English Championship (second division) club West Ham United after being released by Aston Villa at the end of last season.

Carew, who has scored 23 goals in 88 internationals, signed after passing a medical on Saturday but will not be available for West Ham’s league opener at home to Cardiff City on Sunday.

The 31-year-old is West Ham’s fifth signing since they were relegated from the Premier League last season and follows the arrival of Joey O’Brien, Abdoulaye Faye, Kevin Nolan and Matt Taylor at Upton Park.

“I am looking forward to being part of a good team here that will

bring this great club back up to the Premier league again,” he told the West Ham website (www.whufc.com).

Carew said he spoke to former team mates who had played under West Ham’s new manager Sam Allardyce and heard good things about the former Bolton Wanderers’ coach.

“He spoke well to me and I think he is a great manager and I’m very happy to be playing for him and the club,” said Carew.

The striker began his career at Rosenborg before spells with Valencia, who he helped reach the 2001 Champions League final and win the 2002 Spanish title, Olympique Lyon.—Reuters

Beaten Ohuruogu confident LONDON: Olympic champion Christine Ohuruogu remained confident of turning her disappointing season around in time for this month’s world championships after finishing a distant last in the 400 metres at the London Diamond League meeting on Saturday.

The 27-year-old, on the comeback from injury, looked shellshocked after crossing the line over two seconds down on winner and old rival Sanya Richards-Ross in 51.87 at Crystal Palace on Saturday.

But Ohuruogu had recovered her composure by the time she spoke to a crowd of waiting reporters.

“Don’t slaughter me, I’ve had a bad day today. I wasn’t expecting that,” a smiling Ohuruogu said.

“I thought maybe I could do something crazy but I just haven’t done the work,” added the former world champion who has struggled with injuries for the last two years after winning Olympic gold in Beijing in 2008.

“You need to be fit, you need to be fast and need to be strong. I’m lacking in a few areas. I just haven’t done enough work to challenge these girls.—Reuters

Red Sox pound Yankees

HOUSTON: Milwaukee Brewers’ Yuniesky Betancourt (3) attempts to slide past Houston Astros’ catcher Humberto Quintero (55) during a baseball game.—AP

Phillies beat Giants SAN FRANCISCO: Cole Hamels pitched allowed just seven hits for his first win in two weeks as the Philadelphia Phillies extended their seasonhigh winning streak to nine games with a 2-1 victory over the San Francisco Giants on Saturday.

Hamels struck out five and faced five batters more than the minimum while dominating the defending World Series champs. All but three of the 27 outs recorded by the All-Star left-hander were made by the infield. Philadelphia also backed Hamels (13-6) with two double plays in a game that took 2 hours, 14 minutes. The game was far less testy than Friday night’s 9-2 Phillies win, which included the ejection of three players following a bench-clearing brawl in the sixth inning.

Brewers 7, Astros 5 At Houston, Prince Fielder hit a three-run homer in the first inning and later doubled and singled as Milwaukee won for the 10th time in 11 games by beating Houston. Fielder drove in four runs, giving him 83 RBIs for the season. He reached base all five times. Yuniesky Betancourt had four hits with an RBI, and Ryan Braun had two hits and scored twice for Milwaukee.

Chris Narveson (8-6) went 5 1-3 innings and John Axford gave up a run in the ninth but finished for his 32nd save. Carlos Lee, J.D. Martinez and Clint Barmes all hit homers for Houston.

Brett Myers (3-12) lost his sixth straight decision.

Cardinals 2, Marlins 1 At Miami, Albert Pujols hit a two-run homer in the first inning, then Chris Carpenter and the St. Louis bullpen made it stand up in a win over Florida. Carpenter (7-8) gave five hits over 6 2-3 innings as the Cardinals won for the fourth time in five games. Fernando Salas, the fifth Cardinals pitcher, worked a scoreless ninth for his 21st save in 24 chances. Ricky Nolasco (8-8) gave up 10 hits in seven innings.

Padres 13, Pirates 2 At Pittsburgh, Kyle Blanks hit a grand slam and drove in five runs as San Diego sent Pittsburgh to its ninth straight loss.

The Pirates were in first place on July 26, but have lost 11 of 12 while plummeting out of the National League Central lead. Pittsburgh fell nine game behind division-leading Milwaukee.

The Padres had not hit a grand slam this season until Chase Headley did it Friday night.

Blanks’ shot marked the first time San Diego had hit slams on consecutive days since Aug. 13-14, 1991, when Fred McGriff had both. Cleveland was the most recent team to do it, Sept. 17-18 of last season.

Cubs 11, Reds 4 At Chicago, Carlos Zambrano hit his 23rd career home run and pitched six solid innings as Chicago beat Cincinnati for its seventh straight win. The Cubs pounded Reds starter Johnny

Cueto (7-5) for five runs and seven hits in 3 2-3 innings. Chicago has its longest winning streak since August 2008. Zambrano (9-6) overcome early control problems. He allowed six hits and four walks and struck out six.

Starlin Castro drove in four runs for Chicago, his highest RBI total since he drove in six in his major league debut May 5, 2010. He doubled and singled, raising his NL-best hit total to 148.

Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips had to leave the game with a sprained right ankle after colliding with center fielder Drew Stubbs in the fourth. Yonder Alonso drove in two runs and hit his first major league homer for the Reds, who have lost four of five and 11 of their last 15 on the road.

Dodgers 5, D’backs 3 At Phoenix, Nathan Eovaldi pitched five solid innings in his major league debut as Los Angeles beat Arizona. Eovaldi (1-0), who pitched in the Double-A Southern League All-Star game in late June, allowed two runs on four hits. He struck out seven and walked two. He also singled and scored a run. Rod Barajas has three hits and drove in a pair of runs for the Dodgers, who have won four of five. Joe Saunders (8-9) had two hits and drove in two runs.

Rockies 15, Nationals 7 At Denver, Ty Wigginton and Chris Iannetta each homered in a five-run fourth inning, and Jhoulys Chacin won for the first time in seven weeks as a Colorado team shaken by the loss of rookie pitcher Juan Nicasio to a neck injury beat Washington. Troy Tulowitzki went 3 for 3 with two doubles and drove in three runs for the Rockies.

Carlos Gonzalez added a pair of singles, scored twice and drove in a run in his return after spending the previous two weeks on the disabled list with a strained right wrist. Dexter Fowler drove in a career-best four runs with a triple and single.

The 24-year-old Nicasio remained hospitalized in serious but stable condition and was said to resting comfortably after undergoing surgery to repair a fractured vertebra suffered the night before when hit in the head by a line drive.

Team officials say Nicasio has movement in his arms and legs and there are no signs of bruising, bleeding or other damage to the spinal cord, encouraging signs in his recovery.

Mets 11, Braves 7 At New York, Justin Turner homered twice as New York stopped a five game losing streak with a victory over Atlanta. Jason Bay and Josh Thole also homered for the Mets, who banged out 16 hits to break out of a weeklong offensive funk.

New York hit four homers in a game for the first time in more than a year. Dan Uggla extended his hitting streak to 27 games, and Freddie Freeman ran his own to 20 for the Braves, who have lost four of six.—AP

BOSTON: Jacoby Ellsbury had a three -run homer with a career-high six RBIs as the Boston Red Sox beat the Yankees 10-4 on Saturday, ending New York’s eight-game winning streak and moving back into a tie atop the American League East.

Carl Crawford had four hits - giving him hits in six straight plate appearances - and scored three runs. John Lackey (10-8) scattered six hits over six innings for the Red Sox, who are 9-2 against New York this season and have clinched at least a tie in the season series. CC Sabathia (16-6) leads the majors in wins, and his 2.55 ERA coming into the game was tied for fifth. But he fell to 0-4 with a 7.20 ERA against Boston this year after allowing seven runs in six innings on Saturday, giving up nine hits and a walk and striking out six.

Tigers 4, Royals 3 At Kansas City, Missouri, Justin Verlander lasted seven innings despite some balky defense behind him as Detroit held on to beat Kansas City.

Tigers star Victor Martinez drove in a pair of runs before leaving late with a sprained left knee. He’ll be evaluated again late yesterday.

Verlander (16-5) won his fifth straight start and improved to 13-2 in his career against Kansas City. He allowed three runs and five hits while striking out eight. He pulled even with Yankees lefty CC Sabathia for the most victories this year.

Joaquin Benoit pitched out of a jam in the eighth for Detroit and Jose Valverde converted his 32nd straight save to start the season, matching the club record set by AL MVP Willie Hernandez in 1984.

White Sox 6, Twins 1 At Minneapolis, Zach Stewart threw six sharp innings in his White Sox debut, Paul Konerko drove in two runs and Brent Lillibridge added a late two-run homer as Chicago beat Minnesota.

The White Sox secured the first series win against their division rivals since 2009, and first in Minnesota since 2007 by taking the first two games of the weekend series.

Stewart (1-1) was called up from minor league Triple-A Charlotte less than 24 hours before his fourth career major league start. Jake Peavy was originally scheduled to pitch opposite Carl Pavano (6-9), but the White Sox bumped the veteran right-hander to Sunday to make room for the 24-year-old Stewart.

Athletics 8, Rays 0 At St. Petersburg, Florida, Brandon McCarthy pitched five-hit ball for eight innings and David DeJesus homered twice as Oakland earned a rare road victory by beating Tampa Bay. McCarthy (5-5) helped Oakland win for just the eighth time in its last 38 games away from home. He struck out five before Fautino De Los Santos finished up with a hitless ninth.

Coco Crisp stole a career-best four bases, giving the Oakland speedster 37 this season.

DeJesus hit a pair of solo homers, while Jemile Weeks and Adam Rosales both had two RBIs. Tampa Bay’s BJ Upton grounded out in the second inning, ending a stretch of reaching base in seven consecutive plate appearances. Upton is one of seven players who share the team record of eight. DeJesus homered and Rosales had an RBI grounder off Alex Cobb (3-2) as Oakland went up 2-0 in the second. DeJesus, who hadn’t hit a home run in his previous 42

KANSAS: Detroit Tigers second baseman Carlos Guillen (top right) throws to first for the double play hit into by Billy Butler after forcing Mitch Maier (12) out at second during the eighth inning. —AP games, also went deep in the ninth.

Orioles 6, Blue Jays 2 At Baltimore, Adam Jones hit a three-run homer in the sixth inning after Brandon Morrow was perfect through five as Baltimore rallied to beat Toronto.

Chris Tillman (3-4) allowed two runs and four hits over seven innings to earn his first win since May 11. Called up from Triple-A Norfolk before the game for his third stint with Baltimore, he struck out five and walked one to help the Orioles secure their third win in 11 games.

Morrow (8-6) breezed through the first five innings, striking out five and allowing only three balls out of the infield. Forty-four of his 56 pitches during that span were strikes.

Mariners 5, Angels 1 At Anaheim, California, Blake Beavan pitched in and out of trouble through eight impressive innings and Trayvon Robinson hit his first major league homer in his second game up from the minor leagues as Seattle beat Los Angeles.

Former Angels postseason star Adam Kennedy hit a two-run double for the Mariners, who are 6-3 since their franchise-record 17game losing streak. The victory was only their

Major League Baseball results and standings on Saturday: Chicago Cubs 11, Cincinnati 4; Philadelphia 2, San Francisco 1; Boston 10, NY Yankees 4; Milwaukee 7, Houston 5; Baltimore 6, Toronto 2; San Diego 13, Pittsburgh 2; St. Louis 2, Florida 1; NY Mets 11, Atlanta 7; Oakland 8, Tampa Bay 0; Detroit 4, Kansas City 3; Chicago White Sox 6, Minnesota 1; Cleveland 7, Texas 5; Colorado 15, Washington 7; LA Dodgers 5, Arizona 3; Seattle 5, LA Angels 1.

NY Yankees Boston Tampa Bay Toronto Baltimore

W 69 69 59 57 44

L 43 43 53 56 66

PCT .616 .616 .527 .504 .400

Detroit Cleveland Chicago W Sox Minnesota Kansas City

Central Division 61 52 .540 56 55 .505 54 58 .482 51 62 .451 48 65 .425

Texas LA Angels Oakland Seattle

Western Division 63 51 .553 62 52 .544 50 63 .442 49 63 .438

GB 10 12.5 24 4 6.5 10 13 1 12.5 13

Philadelphia Atlanta NY Mets Florida Washington

National League Eastern Division 74 39 .655 65 49 .570 56 56 .500 55 58 .487 54 59 .478

9.5 17.5 19 20

Milwaukee St. Louis Pittsburgh Cincinnati Chicago Cubs Houston

Central Division 64 50 .561 61 53 .535 54 58 .482 54 59 .478 49 65 .430 37 76 .327

3 9 9.5 15 26.5

San Francisco Arizona Colorado LA Dodgers San Diego

Western Division 62 52 .544 61 52 .540 53 61 .465 52 60 .464 50 64 .439

0.5 9 9 12

Indians 7, Rangers 5 At Arlington, Texas, Michael Brantley hit a goahead RBI double and Jason Kipnis homered as Cleveland had four-run ninth inning to beat Texas.

Texas carried a 4-3 advantage into the ninth before the Indians came back against closer Neftali Feliz (1-3), who had his sixth blown save in 28 chances.

Kosuke Fukudome led off the ninth with a double off the glove of right fielder Nelson Cruz, who sprinted back to the warning track and nearly made a spectacular catch.

Ezequiel Carrera’s sacrifice bunt moved Fukudome to third, and Lonnie Chisenhall’s single to right on a 1-2 pitch drove in Fukudome to tie it.

Brantley’s double to right drove in Chisenhall, who slid in safely ahead of second baseman Ian Kinsler ’s relay to the plate. Kipnis greeted Yoshinori Tateyama with a two-run drive to extend Cleveland’s lead to 7-4.—AP

Shuttlers get taste of Olympic venue

MLB results/standings

American League Eastern Division

third in their last 20 games at Angel Stadium.

Beavan (3-2) allowed a run and eight hits, struck out two and walked none in his sixth big league start - the rookie has pitched into the seventh inning in every one of them.

Lin Dan in action in this file photo.

LONDON: Badminton’s big names head to Wembley Arena today for the first time since 1993 with the week-long world championships ser ving as a high class dress rehearsal for next year’s Olympic tournament.

Among the more than 350 players from 51 countries travelling to London are top shuttlers such as three-times former men’s singles champion Lin Dan of China and world number one Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia.

Badminton quit the old Arena when the All England championships moved to Birmingham 18 years ago but the sport is back at the revamped 12,500 seater venue, re-opened in 2006 as part of the neighbouring Wembley soccer stadium complex. “ This is an amazing year for British sport and we are extremely proud to be playing our part,” Badminton England chief executive Adrian Christy told Reuters.

“Given the over whelming demand for tickets for the badminton event at the Olympic Games, we are delighted that so

many fans from around the world are able to also witness the best players in the world one year out from the Games.”

Ex-world and Olympic champion Taufik Hidayat is the first big name up on Monday morning when he faces Peruvian outsider Rodrigo Pacheco Carrillo, the world number 61. Chong Wei, on top of his game but still without a world or Olympic title, meets Thailand’s Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk, ranked 31 in the world.

China’s Lin, the Olympic champion, opens his campaign on Tuesday against Kestutis Navickas, Lithuania’s sole representative at the championships.

Defending champion Chen Jin, worthy winner in 2010 in Paris, is up against Estonia’s world number 59 Raul Must. In a rare achievement, China won all five titles at last year’s worlds and a repeat cannot be ruled out.

Led by Wang Shixian, they field the top three players in the world in the women’s singles and look typically powerful in the three doubles events.—Reuters

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Indian bowler Zaheer Khan

India’s Zaheer needs surgery, to miss tour MUMBAI: India seamer Zaheer Khan needs surgery for ankle and hamstring problems and has been ruled out for the remainder of the England series, the Indian cricket board (BCCI) said yesterday.

Left-arm paceman Rudra Pratap Singh will replace Zaheer for the remaining two tests, a Twenty20 and five one-day internationals. Zaheer, 32, would need up to four months to fully recover, the BCCI said in a statement.

The left-arm paceman, who missed India’s full tour of West Indies due to the ankle problem, had to leave the field on the first day of the series at Lord’s and subsequently missed the second test at Trent Bridge. “Zaheer Khan is suffering from a recurrent right hamstring strain and a right ankle impingement,” BCCI secretary N. Srinivasan said. “He will require a surgery for his ankle, followed by intensive rehabilitation for both the ankle and hamstring.

“He will need at least 14-16 weeks to recover completely.” India’s leading seamer had been named in the squad for the limited overs series but was ruled out after only managing to bowl three overs in a tour game against Northamptonshire.

Replacement RP Singh has not played for

India in any form of cricket since September 2009, with his last test match being against South Africa in April 2008.

“The all-India senior selection committee has picked RP Singh as his replacement in the Indian squads for the test series, and the T20 international and ODI series,” Srinivasan said. “RP Singh will join the team at the earliest.”

India have been grappling with injuries during the tour and missed their top opening batsman Virender Sehwag in both tests because of a shoulder injury.

Sehwag’s regular opening partner, Gautam Gambhir, missed the second test with a bruised arm which forcing a batting order reshuffle.

Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh and batsman Yuvraj Singh have also been ruled out for the rest of the tour after suffering injuries during the second test at Trent Bridge. Left-hander Yuvraj fractured his index finger after he was hit by a shortpitched delivery from England seamer Tim Bresnan while Harbhajan suffered an abdominal muscle strain in the same match. India, the ODI world champions, trail England 2-0 with two more tests left in the four-match series.—Reuters

Dravid recall is step in the wrong direction: More MUMBAI: Rahul Dravid has said his return to India’s one-day squad is a temporary one and he is retiring from the shorter forms of the game after the upcoming series against England, but his surprise recall is being viewed by some as a step in the wrong direction. Kiran More, India’s former selection committee chief, says Saturday’s decision showed a lack of proper planning by the current selection panel, which is led by former opener Krishnamachari Srikkanth.

The 38-year-old Dravid, who last played an ODI in September 2009 against the West Indies during the Champions Trophy in South Africa, was recalled to India’s squad for a lone Twenty20 and five one-day internationals against England.

The second-highest run-scorer in tests, Dravid has notched 10,765 runs from 339 ODIs but he too was taken aback by the shock recall and promptly announced his retirement from the shorter forms after the England series.

“I think they have made a lot of changes recently. And the changes they have done are not looking ahead,” former chairman of the national selection panel More told Reuters in an interview. “I don’t know what their thinking is but I know things have not gone very correctly.” Former India wicketkeeper More, who played 49 test matches for India, said the decision to leave out paceman Shantakumaran Sreesanth was bizarre and it would confuse the players. Sreesanth failed to find a spot as the selectors went with Zaheer Khan, Praveen Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Munaf Patel and R Vinay Kumar as the five pacemen in the 16-man squad.

“Yusuf Pathan could have played a few

games ... He’s not a bad player. They are not sending proper signals to the players,” he said by telephone. “The players are also confused.

Now Sreesanth is not part of the one-day team though he is bowling well. “I don’t know what confidence you are giving to Sreesanth.

He was part of the World Cup team but he is not part of the (current) one-day team.”

More suggested Dravid’s solid technique and spirited batting in England in an otherwise disappointing test series for India forced the selectors to bring him back to bolster the fragile batting line-up.

India are struggling in the seaming conditions in England and the world’s top-ranked test side trail 2-0 with two tests left in the four-match series.

“We don’t have Yuvraj Singh at the moment. Dravid is in form and he is the guy who is playing so well,” More said. “They needed an experienced batsman looking at some of the players who have been exposed on this tour. “In English conditions you need to have a batsman who can carry the innings and that’s the reason why he has been picked,” he said, adding that Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag or Gautam Gambhir would have to bat lower down the order to accommodate him at number three.

Planning must be more solid if 50-over world champions India are to continue their domination, he said. “After the World Cup they (selectors) should have taken a call and thought about building a team for the next World Cup also,” he said.

“To win another World Cup or dominate world cricket, there needs to be proper planning but that’s not happening. It’s been a little haywire.”—Reuters

LONDON: American Walter Dix said Olympic and world champion Usain Bolt could “definitely be beaten” at the global championships in South Korea after easing to victory in the 200 metres on the second day of the London Diamond League meeting on Saturday.

Dix was among a number of US athletes to record impressive wins on a cool day in the British capital, with fellow sprinter Carmelita Jeter and one -lap queen Sanya Richards-Ross also laying down the gauntlet to their rivals ahead of the worlds in Daegu which start on Aug. 27.

Olympic double bronze medallist Dix, the top American male hope for sprint medals in the absence of the injured Tyson Gay, clocked 20.16 seconds into a minus headwind and was pleased by his performance.

“All I do is win, that’s why you can never count me out. I need a couple of medals at the world championships and people will start to look out for me,” said Dix, the US champion at 100 and 200.

Bolt may not have been at the meeting, which he also missed last year because of British tax rules on promotional earnings, but he will be the man to beat in Daegu, a task Dix thought was far from impossible when asked about it after his victor y.

Another sprinter to watch at the worlds will be Jeter, who has been in consistent form all season and aged 31, will be a strong contender for a first global title after bronzes in 2007 and 2009.

The second fastest woman of alltime over 100m-only the late Florence Griffith-Joyner has gone quicker-powered down the straight to win in 10.93, ahead of Trinidad & Tobago’s Kelly-Ann Baptiste (10.97) and Olympic and

world champion Shelley-Ann Fraser Pryce (11.10). RichardsRoss appears to be hitting peak form at the right time as she heads to Korea to defend her world 400m crown.

The 26-year-old, who missed most of last season through injury, lowered her season’s best by nearly a second in clocking 49.66. “I’m so excited ... I wanted to put on a show. It’s taken some time but I’m finally back to where I’ll be able to defend my title,” she said. The American’s best display of the season contrasted sharply with that of Britain’s Olympic and former world champion Christine Ohuruogu who trailed in last.

Ohuruogu, like Richards-Ross, missed most of the 2010 season through injury and has hardly competed this year. “I just haven’t got enough in my legs,” she said.

Home favorite and world and European triple jump champion Philips Idowu was upstaged by American Christian Taylor who smashed his personal best by 28 centimetres with a third round leap of 17.68 metres to take victory. The always colorful Idowu, his cropped hair dyed blonde with a blue stripe down the middle and resplendent in white headband and knee high white socks, was far from his best and had to settle for third with a jump of 17.07.

The 32-year-old, who made a late withdrawal from the UK Trials last weekend and has been embroiled in a row with UK Athletics head coach Charles van Commenee over his withdrawal from the European Team Championships in June, admitted his per formance was not what he was looking for in his last competition before the

LONDON: Tosin Oke from Nigeria competes in the Men’s Triple Jump during the Diamond League Grand Prix Athletics meeting at the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre.—AFP

worlds. “I’ve been working quite hard for the last few weeks, done a lot of competitions and I just wasn’t sharp today,” he said. “But no one is going to look back in a month’s time and say ‘I won Crystal Palace’. I’m focused on Daegu.” In other events, Australian Sally Pearson

scorched to victor y in the women’s 100m hurdles, Puerto Rican Javier Culson won the men’s 400m hurdles in a season’s best 48.33 seconds and Lithuania’s Virgilijus Alek na, twice Olympic and world discus champion, secured victory with a throw of 66.71 metres.—Reuters

Belgian ace takes aim at Evans’ number one spot AMERSFOORT: Belgian ace Philippe Gilbert will start the Eneco Tour this week looking for the top placing that could dislodge Tour de France champion Cadel Evans from the world’s number one ranking.

Evans’s historic yellow jersey triumph-as the first Australian winner of the world’s premier cycling event-pushed him back to the top of the International Cycling Union’s WorldTour rankings on a tally of 574 pts.

But as the BMC leader begins to wind down his season oneday classics king Gilbert-second on 482 — is far from finished.

He will take aim at the sevenstage Eneco Tour beginning today before turning his focus to the classics that bring the European season to an end in October.

Gilbert has been arguably the star per former this season, becoming only the second rider in histor y to win all three Ardennes Classics-Amstel Gold Race, Fleche Wallonnne and Liege-Bastogne-Liege.

He then followed up an impressive Tour de France campaign, where he won stage one and wore the yellow jersey for a day, with victor y at the San Sebastian Classic last week.

Thanks to an undulating route

which should play to his fast-finising strengths as a ‘puncher’, overall victory this week is well within Gilbert’s grasp and he will

have suppor t from OmegaPharma teammates Jelle Vanendert, Andre Greipel and Jurgen Roelandts.

Philippe Gilbert aims to dislodge Tour de France champion Cadel Evans from the world’s number one ranking.

Stage three, for example, features several short climbs on the route from Heers to Andenne, including the Mur de Huy where Gilbert secured victory at Fleche Wallonne in the Spring.

If still in contention Gilbert should then get a chance to make up any deficit, or stretch his overall lead, on the 201 km final stage from Sittard to Geleen.

It features the Cauberg climb, a staple of the Amstel Gold Race which Gilbert has won the past two years. As an added bonus, part of the stage is held on the course which will host the world road race championships in 2012.

Gilbert is likely to face stiff competition from fellow Belgians Greg Van Avermaet, Nick Nuyens and Stijn Devolder, Spaniard Juan Antonio Flecha, Dutch pair Joost Posthuma and Maarten Tjallingi and Norway’s Edvald Boasson Hagen, who won the race in 2009.

The versatile Boasson Hagen is likely to fancy his chances of at least one stage win on the flatter finishes, but is likely to have a few, more specialised rivals for company in sprinters Tyler Farrar, Jose Joaquin Rojas, Greipel, Robbie McEwen, Theo Bos, Mark Renshaw and Denis Galimzyanov.—AFP

All Blacks on track ahead of World Cup

DUNEDIN: File photo shows a fan of the New Zealand All Blacks supporting his team. —AFP

WELLINGTON: All Blacks winger Sitiveni Sivivatu is unlikely to travel with the squad to South Africa next week after he was diagnosed with a fractured eye socket following New Zealand’s 30-14 demolition of Australia on Saturday.

Sivivatu scored the All Blacks’ third tr y in the Tri-Nations encounter at Eden Park, which helped them retain the Bledisloe Cup and set down a marker for the World Cup, which star ts on Sept. 9 in New Zealand.

All Blacks coach Graham Henry on Sunday confirmed the injur y would probably rule Sivivatu out of the test in Port Elizabeth on Aug. 20.

“He probably will miss South Africa but probably will be right for Brisbane (against Australia on Aug. 27), Henr y told

reporters in Auckland.

Henr y added that several players named in the Tri-Nations squad who were coming back from injury like fullback Israel Dagg, utility back Isaia Toeava, centre Richard Kahui and prop Tony Woodcock, were likely to travel to South Africa.

While Tri-Nations rules allow for 26 players to travel, Henry said he would look to take just 24, resting several key players and allow those coming back from injur y to play at a test match level before the World Cup squad was named.

While Henry was still uncertain of his final squad makeup to travel to South Africa and then Australia for their final two matches in the Tri-Nations, he was surely feeling comfortable in the manner in which the team are building toward the

World Cup. Previous World Cups have shown the team that defends best and takes their scoring opportunities tend to win the Webb Ellis Trophy and the All Blacks’ clinical demolition of Australia at Eden Park on Saturday showed evidence of both.

The New Zealand side were brutal in defence, with blindside flanker Jerome Kaino seemingly intent on making it his personal mission to knock Wallabies ball runners into next week.

Flyhalf Dan Carter and centre Conrad Smith also typified the trust the team have in their defensive screen in drif ting across field, allowing those outside the confidence to stay on players further out.

The All Blacks also seized their opportunities in Australian territory, with two of their tries

coming from initial line breaks and interplay before they resorted to controlled possession.

Neither Henry, nor his captain Richie McCaw, however, were getting ahead of themselves, with the coach warning of complacency while McCaw said each match they played was about building towards the World Cup. “I think it was important for our team to put a bit of work in.

Each of the weeks we have got a bit better so I’m happy with the performance we put together,” McCaw said. “We can’t get carried away with that and we have to find ways of improving. “We have to keep looking for ways to improve. A lot of the game was good ... but there were areas we didn’t quite get right as well and we have to keep our feet on the ground.”—Reuters

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SPORTS

FIFA asked to scrap August international matches GENEVA: Europe’s top football clubs hate it. National team coaches don’t like it. The global players’ union thinks FIFA should stop it.

“It” arrives on Wednesday, the annual August date protected for national team friendlies — probably the least loved and most problematic fixture on football’s international calendar. The official FIFA document that plans matches in four-year cycles, and orders clubs when to hand over their players for national duty, is giving the scandal hit governing body a problem it doesn’t need.

On Wednesday, the marquee matches on a 50-game slate include Germany vs. Brazil, Italy vs. Spain, England vs. The Netherlands and the United States vs. Mexico.

Yet much of FIFA President Sepp Blatter’s increasingly hostile “football family” doesn’t believe the early season - in many countries, preseason match slot is worth keeping. Not when it interrupts clubs’ tours and players’ preparation for the new campaign.

“It’s the international managers who aren’t very happy about matches in August,” France coach Laurent Blanc said last week, while reluctantly preparing to host Chile’s team that impressed at the Copa America last month.

“I don’t think it’s the best way to

prepare for a season of international matches,” said Blanc, seeming to undermine the basic reason for an August match. Club coaches are also unhappy.

Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola hasn’t even seen his ?26 million ($37 million) offseason signing, Chile winger Alexis Sanchez, in training yet.

“We’re fighting a losing battle,” Guardiola said during the European champion’s U.S. trip last week.

“National teams control everything and will continue to set the agenda.”

Guardiola is also losing eight players to Spain duty until next Thursday, just as Bayern Munich is obliged by FIFA rules to hand over eight who have been selected for Germany and must report at least 48 hours before kick off.

Bayern loses team practice time seven days before beginning a Champions League playoff tie against FC Zurich. Advancing to the lucrative group stage is key to the image and income of Germany’s most storied club. “That date in August is a very bad one and we have to change that. As soon as possible,” Theo van Seggelen, secretary general of the FIFPro players’ unions group, told The Associated Press. Players are caught up in a longstanding fight for their loyalty between clubs, whose contracts they must obey, and countries, who have

FIFA’s backing to use the players they want without guaranteeing to return them in a fit state.

Blatter’s re-election in June, with the endorsement of 186 countries, was a reminder that FIFA primarily answers to its 208 member federations, who send national teams to its competitions. The international calendar fixes four-year schedules for the World Cup, continental championships, qualifiers and friendlies, after final approval from the FIFA 24-man executive committee.

However, European club officials were shocked to discover the detailed 2011-14 calendar finalized at a June 2010 FIFA meeting in Johannesburg.

In 2013, the calendar has 15 match dates - including an Aug. 14 friendly plus the Confederations Cup, African Cup of Nations and CONCACAF Gold Cup tournaments.

Long frustrated that FIFA appears to ignore his members, European Club Association chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has called for a “revolution” to make football more democratic, and openly questioned whether Blatter is fit to run the sport.

“We feel that our requests have been ignored too much and for too long,” ECA vice chairman Umberto Gandini told the AP. “It is necessary to raise the bar and get attention to our case.” Gandini said that canceling the

August date was symbolic, and would show that FIFA respected clubs’ needs at a “delicate time of the new season.”

“It is merely used to generate revenues with little or no technical value,” Gandini, an AC Milan director, said. The German and Brazilian federations will earn well from a sold-out 60,000 crowd in Stuttgart, and worldwide broadcast rights deals.

“The crowds and audiences cannot lie - these are big events,” said Philipp Grothe of the Kentaro agency that markets Brazil matches, and owns rights to nine others on Wednesday, including U.S.-Mexico and KazakhstanSyria.

The German-owned agency claims to have revived the fading popularity of friendlies in 2005 by staging England’s 3-2 victory over Argentina in Geneva, setting a trend for glamor games in neutral venues.

“The concept we further developed with Argentina and Brazil was bringing these games back on the landscape,” Grothe told the AP. “Players are completely differently motivated.”

Still, FIFPro’s van Seggelen will argue for ending August international football when he and his colleagues on FIFA’s Task Force Football 2014, including Franz Beckenbauer and Pele, next gather in Zurich in October.

“I personally think FIFA will not have

a problem in the future changing the date from August to September,” the Dutch lawyer said. “We cannot change it for next week, but next year at least.

Then everybody seems to be happy.”

FIFA declined to say if the current calendar can be changed, but said it would consult widely to set the 201518 fixture dates.

“We will have in-depth discussions with all the stakeholders, including confederations, member associations, clubs and players, before finalizing it,” FIFA said in a statement.

Europe’s confederation, UEFA, has an important role in the talks, and brokering peace between Rummenigge and Blatter. “I don’t expect any permanent damage has been done,” UEFA general secretary Gianni Infantino told the AP. “It’s not ideal, but in a relationship you always have ups and downs.”

Blatter has shown little willingness to speak with European clubs, whose $1 billion share of annual prize money from the Champions League matches FIFA’s total revenue.

Meanwhile, Blatter’s own members - or, the coaches they hire - are dissatisfied with the program FIFA gives them. “I am not very happy for the players. I am not very happy for me,” England coach Fabio Capello said on Friday. “This period is really difficult.”—AP

Knockout stage set for U-20 World Cup

PARIS: Lorient’s Kevin Monnet-Paquet (left) challenges for the ball with Mamadou Sakho during the French Division One soccer match against PSG. —AP

PSG flop in opening game PARIS: Big-spending Paris St Germain started the French league campaign with a humbling home defeat as champions Lille and last season’s runners-up Olympique Marseille could only draw on Saturday.

PSG, fourth last term before being bought by wealthy Qatari investors and making a host of signings, lost 1-0 to Lorient while Lille drew 1-1 at Nancy and Didier Deschamp’s Marseille were held to a 2-2 home draw by Sochaux.

Olympique Lyon were the only winners from France’s ‘big four’ after a 3-1 victory at Nice in Remi Garde’s first game in charge. PSG paraded latest recruit Javier Pastore before kick off at a rainy Parc des Princes and they could have done with him on the field rather than in the stands after a limp display.

Striker Kevin Gameiro joined the ambitious outfit from Lorient in June and had one decent chance before watching his old team mates take the lead after 28 minutes when Julien Quercia tapped in at the far post from a free kick.

Lorient’s Kevin Monnet-Paquet earlier missed an open goal from two metres as the modest north west side embarrassed their nouveau-riche opponents, who included other new buys Jeremy Menez, Salvatore Sirigu and Blaise Matuidi.

Lille, surprise double winners last term, have also made several new signings but it was old hand Mathieu Debuchy who opened the scoring at

Nancy just after the break following Franck Beria’s cross. Beria turned villain midway through the second half though with an own goal. Marseille’s Lucho Gonzalez, who has spent the close-season waiting for a move away from the club, grabbed a 38th minute opener at the Stade Velodrome before Sochaux hit back twice only for Loic Remy to snatch a draw 16 minutes from time.

“I thought we had done what was needed, above all in the first half in terms of our play and the number of chances,” Deschamps told reporters.

Lisandro Lopez, Bafetimbi Gomis and Maxime Gonalons netted for Lyon, who won seven titles in a row between 2002 and 2008 but flattered to deceive under Claude Puel last season and face a fight this term with rivals spending when they have not. Even promoted side Evian have splashed out by bringing in France striker Sidney Govou and they were sparkling in the first 20 minutes at Stade Brest in their first ever top-flight game before surrendering a two-goal lead to draw 2-2. Montpellier overcame Auxerre 3-1, Caen beat Valenciennes 1-0 in a battle of last season’s strugglers and promoted Corsican side Ajaccio lost 2-0 at home to Toulouse. Girondins Bordeaux, the 2009 champions who endured a dreadful season last term, start their campaign at home to St Etienne on Sunday when promoted Dijon host Stade Rennes.—Reuters

Sabella: Argentina job is the pinnacle BUENOS AIRES: Alejandro Sabella said he had reached the pinnacle of his profession when he was officially unveiled on Saturday as the man to steer the twice winners to the 2014 World Cup finals in Brazil.

“The national team is the ultimate, we all dream of it,” Sabella told a news conference at Argentina’s training base on the outskirts of the capital.

“As kids we play in the ‘barrio’... and we dream of playing in the first division, in the national team, abroad... Then you’re a coach, you want to train in the first division and you dream of coaching the national team.

“In this profession it’s like reaching the zenith,” said Sabella, a former midfielder whose short club career as a club head coach with Estudiantes yielded the Copa Libertadores, South America’s Champions League, in 2009 and a domestic league title last December.

Sabella, assistant coach to Daniel Passarella at the 1998 World Cup in France, has succeeded Sergio Batista after he was sacked following Argentina’s failure as hosts to progress

beyond the quarter-finals of the Copa America last month.

“I want the team to be solid in defence, with a consistent midfield. I want it to hold the ball and be aggressive in attack. Obviously, that’s the trainer’s ideal. Then time will tell if we can achieve this,” the 56-year-old said.

Argentina, boasting some of the world’s top forwards including Lionel Messi, were deficient in midfield and at the back in the Copa America as they sought to end an 18-year wait for a major trophy.

They did not lose any of their four matches but went out on penalties to eventual winners Uruguay in the quarterfinals. Sabella said there would be little change to the core of the team for South America’s World Cup qualifiers starting in October but he would cast the net wide.

“All players with technical, mental and physical aptitudes who are fit will be considered.

We must be generous. There is something which is above everyone and I hope the players understand that: the national team,” he said. —Reuters

BOGOTA: The knockout stage of the Under-20 World Cup was set on Saturday with three teams — Ecuador, Costa Rica and Guatemala — completing the field for the round of 16.

Ecuador defeated Costa Rica 3-0 to grab second place in Group C. Costa Rica also advanced as one of the best four third-place teams. The top two in each of the six groups advance automatically.

In another Group C game, Spain demolished Australia 5-1 to finish atop the group with a perfect record. Guatemala beat Croatia 1-0 to finish third in Group D, advancing as one of the best third-place teams. In another Group D match, Nigeria downed Saudi Arabia 2-0 to finish on top. Saudi Arabia was second. Play in the knockout stage is set for tomorrow and Wednesday with the following pairings: Cameroon vs. Mexico, Portugal vs.

Guatemala, Colombia vs. Costa Rica, Argentina vs. Egypt, Nigeria vs. England, Spain vs. South Korea, Brazil vs. Saudi Arabia, France vs.

Ecuador. Spain, Nigeria, Brazil and Argentina go in as favorites, with host Colombia expected to contend. Argentina has won this event a record six times, and has won five of the last eight.

Brazil has won it four times and was runnerup to Ghana two years ago. Host Colombia won its first three group matches and has the advantage of playing at home with most of the venues at altitude, including Bogota at 2,600 meters (8,600 feet).

England advanced despite drawing its three group matches by the same scores - 0-0. The English are fielding a weakened team with at least 30 players who were eligible kept away from the tournament by early training

COLOMBIA: Nigeria’s Ramon Azeez (left) fights for the ball with Saudi Arabia’s Ibrahim Alibrahim during a U-20 World Cup Group D soccer match.—AP

COLOMBIA: Guatemala’s Elias Vasquez (left) fights for the ball with Croatia’s Arijan Ademi during a U-20 World Cup Group D soccer match. —AP

with their English clubs.

In Ecuador’s victory over Costa Rica, Edson Montano found the net after just 82 seconds and Marlon De Jesus scored twice - in the 13th and 69th minutes. “We still must get better,” Ecuador coach Sixto Vizuete said. “I hope that the victory does not change the mentality of the team. We haven’t won anything yet.”

Spain showed why it is a favorite to match the senior team’s World Cup triumph a year ago in South Africa. Striker Alvaro Vazquez scored three early goals in the 5-1 win over Australia.

Sergio Canales and Sergi Roberto also broke through. Coach Julen Lopetegui rested many of his starters including Rodrigo, Oriol Romeu, Isco and Cristian Tello.

He also was also without injured starting goalkeeper Aitor. “We are very satisfied with what we have achieved,” Lopetegui said.

“We were first in the group, played well and used all players in this first phase.”

Guatemala was the biggest shock. The Central Americans qualified as one of the best thirdplace teams despite winning only one match and finishing with a minus-10 goal difference.

Had Guatemala and Croatia played to a draw, New Zealand would have advanced from Group B. Marvin Ceballos scored in the 81st minute to give Guatemala the victory over Croatia. Ceballos scored when he chipped the ball past keeper Matej Delac.

Croatia lost all three matches and was eliminated. Nigeria, which had already advanced, finished in first place in Group D with the victory over Saudi Arabia. Ahmed Musa and Olarenwaju Kayode scored goals in each half for the winners.—AP

Chelsea to sign Lukaku BRUSSELS: Chelsea have agreed a deal with Anderlecht to sign their exciting teenage Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku, the clubs said on Saturday.

Lukaku, 18, will join the Premier League side subject to passing a medical and agreeing personal terms. “It’s a shame we have to let go of Romelu, who

Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku

was scouted and trained by Anderlecht, but the transfer is a win-win situation for the player and the club,” Anderlecht manager Herman van Holsbeeck told the club website (www.rsca.be).

Chelsea’s new coach Andre Villas-Boas said last month he had inherited one of the oldest squads in the Premier League and the club, who were runnersup to Manchester United last season, planned to invest more in younger players.

“The situation with Lukaku is that he’s a very interesting young prospect and we have to be able to position ourselves to get this kind of talent,” Villas-Boas was quoted as saying on the Chelsea website (www.chelseafc.com) on Saturday. “And not only him but other talent that we are scouting at the moment,” he added after Chelsea beat Rangers 3-1 in a friendly at Ibrox ahead of the Premier League season which kicks off next weekend.

Lukaku, whose father Roger

also played professional football in Belgium, joined Anderlecht aged 13 and became a household name when he was top scorer in the domestic league with 15 goals in the 2009/2010 season at just 16 years old.

He was voted runner-up for Belgian player of the year in 2010 behind his Anderlecht strike partner Mbark Boussoufa after the pair had helped the club win their 30th league title.

The powerful left-footed Lukaku netted 16 league goals last season and has scored twice in two games this term.

Anderlecht did not disclose how much Chelsea had agreed to pay for the six-foot four-inch Lukaku but British media last month reported that they had an 18 million pounds ($30 million) bid turned down by the Belgian club. Lukaku, who has played 10 games for Belgium, scored his first two international goals against Russia in November.—Reuters

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sports

Monfils, Stepanek in final

OHIO: Adam Scott from Australia tees off the 17th tee during third round play in the Bridgestone Invitational golf tournament. —AP

Scott leads at Firestone AKRON: Australian Adam Scott edged one stroke clear of a congested third-round leaderboard at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational on Saturday after a thrilling day of dazzling shot-making and low scoring.

While Tiger Woods was among those who failed to take advantage of surprisingly calm conditions at Firestone Country Club, Scott birdied four of his last seven holes for a sparkling four-under-par 66.

That left the 31-year-old Scott, who has Woods’ former caddie Steve Williams on his bag, at 12-under 198 with compatriot Jason Day (66) and Japanese teenager Ryo Ishikawa (64) tied for second.

“Today was a good round because I wasn’t really feeling it, although I’m swinging well,” Scott told reporters after mixing six birdies with two bogeys around the turn. “Just a couple of shots got away from me throughout the round, and I somehow managed to straighten it out early on the back nine and played really nicely coming in.” American PGA Tour rookie Keegan Bradley, one of six players tied for the lead late in the third round, carded a 68 to finish at 10 under alongside Britain’s Martin Laird (67). British world number one Luke Donald was among a group of three at nine under after an improved putting display helped him to a 64 but seven-times champion Woods was a distant 13 strokes off the pace after struggling to a 72.

The third round leaderboard in the elite World Golf Championships (WGC) event was always likely to be closely bunched with the greens highly receptive to approach shots after they were softened by rain earlier in the week.

Scott, Ishikawa, Day, Bradley, Laird and Swede Fredrik Jacobson were tied at the top late on before the Japanese edged a stroke clear when he sank a five-foot birdie putt at the 17th.

Moments later, though, Scott joined him at the top when he rolled in a 30-footer to birdie the par-three 15th. The Australian then claimed the outright lead when he laid up in two at the par-five 16th before

striking a pinpoint wedge to within two feet for a tap-in birdie.

He parred the last two holes to maintain the lead he had first established with a sizzling 62 in the opening round. “It’s a pretty bunched up leaderboard and a pretty tough golf course out there, but a couple of guys are going to play well,” Scott said of Sunday’s final round.

“I’m just going to have to play well to win tomorrow. A one-shot lead is not a lot over 18 holes.”

Ishikawa, aged just 19, is bidding to become the second youngest winner ever on the PGA Tour. Should he triumph on Sunday, he would be just one week older than American Johnny McDermott, the US Open champion in 1911.

“It’s a little too early to think about winning this whole thing as of now but I do feel that I was able to play at a pretty high level today,” Ishikawa said through an interpreter. “Actually I am a little bit surprised how I performed out there. It has been a little bit hard for me to control the mental side of the game (on the PGA Tour) and I have had difficult times.

“But since the Masters (in April) when I was able to finish 20th, it has started to become fun to play here in the States.”

Woods, who has generally reigned supreme at Firestone, was frustrated with his putting and driving accuracy after four bogeys and two birdies gave him a oneover total of 211.

“I didn’t putt well again today but my iron game came back,” the 35-year-old American said after totalling 33 putts in only his third tournament round in three months. “I’m still struggling a little bit with my set-up and alignments off of tee shots because I used to curve the ball a lot more.

Most of my shots are missing right on the edges of fairways so I’ve just got to get more committed to that.” Woods, who has missed the last two majors, is competing in his first event since he pulled out of the Players Championship in May after completing just nine holes.—Reuters

Piercy sets course record LOS ANGELES: Nevada native Scott Piercy struck eight consecutive birdies in a course record 11-under-par 61 to grab a two shot lead at the Reno-Tahoe Open after the third round on Saturday.

Piercy, 32, who is looking for his first win on the PGA Tour, opened his round with a par but then began his birdie barrage to go out in 28 and match the longest birdie streak and lowest nine hole score on Tour this year. More birdies came on the par four 14th and 15th holes with an eagle three, courtesy of a 270-yard four iron approach to seven feet, on the last capping a fantas-

RENO: Michael Thompson, who did not get out of this bunker on No. 8 in his first try, eyes closely his second attempt during the Reno-Tahoe Open golf tournament.—AP

tic day and leaving him on 203, 13-under for the tournament.

American Josh Teater was in second after a third round 66 with Australians Nick O’Hern and former US PGA champion Steve Elkington amongst a group of six players a further shot back.

“It was fun to see the ball go in the hole,” Piercy told reporters after his careerbest round. “First two days was kind of a little frustrating because I hit it well and didn’t see a whole lot go in.

“I told my caddie yesterday, I said, if I can keep hitting it well and get a few balls to go in the hole, we might do something special. I didn’t think this, but I’ll take it when I can get it.” Compatriot Teater produced eight birdies in his round at the Montreux Golf and Country Club and was confident of more late yesterday when he will also be chasing his first PGA Tour win.

“Everybody out here can shoot sixunder, seven-under, eight-under at any point,” Teater said. “It’s going to be a shootout (on Sunday) and we’re all going to try to birdie every hole.”

Twice champion and second round leader Vaughn Taylor shot a level-par 72 to fall back into a tie for ninth place, four strokes off the pace.—Reuters

WASHINGTON: French top seed Gael Monfils saved a match point and edged John Isner 6-4, 3-6 7-5 (8/6) in a rain-disrupted match early yesterday to reach the final of the $1.4 million ATP Washington Classic.

Big-serving American Isner and fleet-footed showman Monfils staged a classic despite a rain delay at the start and two interruptions that pushed the end to 1:15 in the morning, when Isner netted a forehand after a Monfils lob winner.

After a split with Australian coach Roger Rasheed last month following three years together and a left wrist injury that kept him out for six weeks early in the season, seventh-ranked Monfils was thrilled to reach his first US final.

“I’m very happy,” Monfils said.

“It’s not finished, but almost a great achievement. I have had a tough year. I had an injury and a new coach. To come up strong again, it feels good.”

Monfils will play for his fourth career title in late yesterday’s championship match at the hardcourt event against 54th-ranked Czech Radek Stepanek, who ousted American Donald Young 6-3, 6-3, in the other semi-final.

“It will be a tough match,” Monfils said. “He will be aggressive. I will have to be strong from the start because it won’t be easy.”

Stepanek has dropped five of seven meetings with Monfils, including their most recent clash two weeks ago on Hamburg clay.

“He’s moving incredibly well,” Stepanek said. “He’s a great shotmaker.” Isner denied Monfils on two match points in the 10th game of the third set, smashing a forehand volley winner and a 130-mph ace that Monfils

appealed to video replay only to find the system had failed.

“It’s frustrating because on match point, the machine goes down,” Monfils said. “That’s the first time that has happened to me.” In the tie-breaker, neither

“The 6-all point he hit a huge second serve, put it on the line and lobbed me,” Isner said. “It was a risky shot and then I cracked on match point.”

Monfils reached his first ATP final since last November at the

WASHINGTON: Gael Monfils, of France, returns the ball to John Isner, of the United States, during a match at the Legg Mason Tennis Classic. —AP player took a point off the other’s serve until the decider. Isner blasted a 127-mph ace to reach his lone match point at 6-5, but Monfils answered with a 110mph ace, setting up the dramaending shots.

Paris Masters event and only his second outdoor hardcourt final since 2006, the other coming last year at Tokyo. His most recent title came last October at Montpellier.

Monfils, 24, must win five

matches in four days to claim a fourth career ATP crown due to rain that forced him to play twice Thursday.

Isner, ranked 35th, had won 11 of his prior 12 matches but saw his career rivalry with the Frenchman leveled at 3-3. Isner, 26, won their first meeting in a 2007 Washington semi-final that went to three tie-breakers.

Rain dogged Monfils and Isner, delaying their start, returning after they had played only seven points and striking again after Isner held to lead 5-2 in the second set, sending Monfils to talk with new coach Patrick Chamagne.

“I had the feel of his game and his serve,” Monfils said. “I discussed with my coach and released all the frustration I had.”

Monfils took the only break of the first set to lead 5-4 when Isner smacked a forehand wide and the Frenchman held serve with a 109-mph ace to win the set.

But Monfils netted a forehand drop volley in the second game of the second set and Isner rode the break to claim the set, the only disruption coming during a pause after a 107-mph Isner serve hit a spectator in the face.

Stepanek, the oldest player in the world’s top 100 and oldest ATP finalist of the year at age 32, seeks his fifth career title in his first final since last year at Brisbane.

Stepanek, whose most recent ATP title came in 2009 at San Jose, could crack the top 30 with what he said would be the biggest title of his career.

“This tournament can give me a kick for the rest of the season,” Stepanek said. “If I can make it to the US Open and be seeded, that would be great for me.”—AFP

Djokovic returns to tennis stage MONTREAL: Novak Djokovic switches from the studio to the stadium after two well-received late-night US television appearances in the run-up to today’s start of the Montreal Masters.

Serbia’s new world number one is still celebrating his rise to top spot in the ATP rankings after winning Wimbledon last month, pushing Rafael Nadal down to second and leaving Roger Federer at number three.

Djokovic showed a natural talent for banter-and Serbian kolo folk dancing on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno-and also made a guest appearance one night later with host Conan O’Brien before flying to Canada from Los Angeles where he trained last week on the fringes of the ATP event at UCLA. In Montreal, tennis’s big three, plus Briton Andy Murray, are already training on the hardcourts in the Francophile city. Djokovic, who won the Montreal title in 2007, will enjoy the first-round bye given to the leading eight seeds before starting his campaign against the winner of the match between former top five regular Nikolay Davydenko and a qualifier.

Second seed Rafael celebrated this week’s Twitter debut with updates on his own practice after flying in from his island home on Mallorca.

The Spaniard, like Federer, will be making his first tournament appearance since Wimbledon, where he lost the final and his number one status to Djokovic. Nadal begins against either Frenchman Jeremy Chardy or Croatian Ivan Dodig. Federer, the third seed, comes to Canada confident as he celebrates his 30th birthday on Monday.

An official celebration of some kind will be planned as per usual during this week for the 16-time Grand Slam champion from Switzerland. —AFP

CARLSBAD: Vera Zvonareva of Russia returns to Ana Ivanovic of Serbia during a semifinal tennis match at the Mercury Insurance Open. —AP

Zvonareva meets Radwanska in San Diego final showdown SAN DIEGO: Agnieszka Radwanska ignored a troublesome shoulder to beat Germany’s vomiting Andrea Petkovic 4-6 6-0 6-4 on Saturday and reach the final of the San Diego Open.

Top seed Vera Zvonareva also advanced to the final after seeing off Ana Ivanovic 5-7 6-4 6-4.

Radwanska, who has not won a WTA Tour singles title for three years, injured her shoulder at the Stanford tournament last week and her service speed has been heavily reduced because of the problem. “I’m really doing everything to go on court and play my best,” Radwanska told reporters.

“You try to do everything, the painkillers, just keep fighting.”

Petkovic started the match brightly by hitting through the

crafty Radwanska in the first set but the German began to lose steam in the second.

Petkovic, who said she ate something bad at lunch, then sprinted off the court to the bathroom when she was 0-40 down in the fifth game of the second set to be sick. “At the point where I ran out, I couldn’t hold it back anymore,” she said. “I didn’t want to be on... (television) for the next 25 years.”

Tour supervisor Melanie Tabb chose not to penalise Petkovic and allowed her to take a medical time out because the German had informed her and the umpire beforehand that she might need to dash away because of the ailment. After going down 4-0 in the third set, Petkovic finally

regained her energy and reeled off three straight games behind her booming groundstrokes.

But the agile Pole held firm and sealed victory in two-hours and 10 minutes after forcing her opponent to make a forehand error.

In the other semi-final, Zvonareva repelled a late third-set charge from the Serbian thanks to her ability to change the pace and angles. “I started playing a little bit more aggressive overall,” said Zvonareva. “We’ve been working on few things with my coach. I tried to implement them into the match.

“I felt like sometimes I was going for some crazy shots and making some wrong decisions.

But I knew I had to push myself to keep trying them.”—Reuters

China eye historic five-title sweep LONDON: China can be prevented from repeating all five titles in the world championships at Wembley arena next week, according to Tine Baun, the former world number one from Denmark. China’s brilliantly taken clean-sweep at the world championships in Paris a year ago has brought speculation that it will become the first badminton nation ever successfully to defend all the titles. And because these world championships are at the same Wembley venue as the London 2012 Games, they will be a pointer to China’s chances of also becoming the first badminton nation to win all five Olympic titles. Four of the five top seeding spots next week are filled by Chinese players, but this does not apparently discourage Baun.

“They are very good but they also

have their ups and downs. They have shown lately they can be beatable,” she said, hinting at her victory over Wang Shixian, the world number one, in Singapore in June. “I know China are very good, in all categories. They are really well prepared, and every time they play a championship they are delivering every time.

“But I am not worried about it. I think some other countries are making good improvements. And some events are open.” Much may depend on Lin Dan, regarded by many as the greatest player ever, because the men’s singles is the only event in which China does not have the top seed next week.

Instead that is Lee Chong Wei, the dazzlingly nimble Malaysian who beat a rather muted Lin in the All-England Open final in Birmingham in March.

However the second-seeded Lin is the only player ever to have won three world men’s singles titles, and with the possibility of retirement after London 2012, he may rediscover the appetite for a fourth. He is still only 27.

Lin is seeded for a semi-final with Peter Gade, the former world number one from Denmark, and Lee with Taufik Hidyat, the former world and Olympic champion from Indonesia.

The defending champion, Chen Jin, also Chinese, may have a quarter-final with Hidayat. “Maybe the men’s singles is open,” Baun commented.

“China’s ladies doubles is at a very high level, but has not delivered like before. And I think the men’s doubles is very open. And the mixed doubles.

“And perhaps we can hope for an opening in the women’s singles,” Baun added with a touch of humorous self-

interest, before repeating: “but China is really good at delivering.”

Indeed China is a stronger favorite in the women’s singles than any other event, even though Baun twice denied strong Chinese challenges from taking the All-England Open title in the past four years. “All four (top Chinese) can win the women’s singles,” added Baun. “I think maybe Wang Xin and Wang Shixian have a very good chance. But I think Wang Yihuan wants to deliver a medal as well.” Baun spoke of irregularities involving Chinese players during the All-England Open, alleging unsatisfactory outcomes in matches between compatriots and also complaining that Wang Yihan had not made a mandatory appearance after withdrawing from the tournament. These and other controversies have caused the formation of a special

panel by the Badminton World Federation, which now looks into alleged breaches of the player commitment rules. It concluded that Wang Yihan had been unable to travel to Birmingham due to an injury. The BWF waived a fine upon the former All-England champion, who is now reportedly fit again and is seeded to reach the final at Wembley.

Baun is in the other half, which is topped by Wang Shixian, but the Dane may need to survive a quarter-final with Jiang Yanjiao, the fourth seed.

“The BWF has been looking into player withdrawals to prevent further speculation in this area,” commented the BWF’s chief operating officer Thomas Lund. “We expect that there will be an outcome of this work from our executive board meeting during the world championships.”—AFP

Knockout stage set for Under-20 World Cup

India’s Zaheer needs surgery, to miss tour

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MONDAY, AUGUST 8, 2011

FIFA asked to scrap August international matches Page 18

LONDON: Manchester United celebrate with the trophy after winning the match against Manchester City 3-2 during the FA Community Shield football match at Wembley Stadium. —AFP

Nani double fires United fightback English Premier League curtain-raiser LONDON: Manchester United underlined their determination to hold off the challenge from title rivals Manchester City as Nani’s last-gasp winner clinched a 3-2 victory in the Community Shield yesterday.

Sir Alex Ferguson’s side trailed 2-0 at half-time after big-spending City took advantage of poor goalkeeping from new signing David De Gea to score through Joleon Lescott and Edin Dzeko.

But United had been the better side for much of the first period and the champions tore into City after the break, equalising thanks to goals from Chris Smalling and Nani before the Portuguese winger snatched the stoppage time winner.

It was the perfect way for United, who have won this curtain-raiser to the English season four times in the last five years, to

conclude their pre-season programme ahead of the start of the Premier League campaign next weekend.

“I couldn’t believe we were 2-0 down at half-time after it looked like we were controlling the game but credit to the players, they kept their heads,” Ferguson said. “They have courage to keep the ball and are not intimidated by rough tackling.” City boss Roberto Mancini added: “I’m disappointed because we had a 2-0 lead but I think they played better than us.

When you go up 2-0 you need to control the game.”

Ferguson has always played down the significance of the Community Shield, but the bitter memories of last season’s FA Cup semi-final defeat against City provided United with more motivation than usu-

al. England winger Ashley Young, making a confident start after his move from Aston Villa, took advantage of his license to drift infield to link up with Wayne Rooney and advanced to a threatening position before Lescott came across to block the shot.

This may have been a friendly in name but the derby factor and a feeling FA Cup winners City will be the main challengers for United’s title gave an added spice to the occasion.

Some of the tackles were laced with venom and City defender Micah Richards was lucky to avoid becoming a rare Community Shield dismissal as he caught Young with a nasty studs-up lunge.

In amongst all the aggression, Ferguson’s side looked the more cohesive

unit. Yet it was City who opened the scoring against the run of play in the 38th minute.

David Silva was the provider with an inswinging free-kick and Lescott, edging in front of Rio Ferdinand, found just enough room to glance a header past De Gea, who was caught flat-footed as the ball came in.

Nani saw a free-kick deflected just wide as United tried to hit back but City were transformed. A previously disjointed attack buzzed with menace and Dzeko increased their lead in first half stoppage time. If De Gea was partly at fault for the first goal, the Spaniard will surely feel he should have done much better with the second. Dzeko took possession 25 yards from goal and, when United’s defenders

keeper David Yelldell in favor of Giefer after Leverkusen’s shock 4-3 German Cup defeat at Dynamo Dresden the week before with first-choice Rene Adler out with a knee injury. Mainz made sure of the points when Toprak’s sliding tackle led to the ball rolling past the despairing Giefer and into the empty net on 86 minutes.

Title holders Borussia Dortmund had started proceedings on the opening weekend of the season with an impressive 3-1 win over Hamburg on Friday thanks to two goals from Germany’s rising stars Kevin Grosskreutz and Mario Goetze.

On Saturday, former Bundesliga champions VfB Stuttgart and VfL Wolfsburg picked up wins to go top of the table. Germany’s Brazil-born striker Cacau warmed-up for Wednesday’s friendly against the South Americans in Stuttgart with a 37th-minute goal as 2007 German champions VfB Stuttgart enjoyed a 3-0 win over Schalke.

The hosts added a second when Austria striker Martin Harnik scored with a 56th-minute header before Japan striker Shinji Okazaki came off the bench to score with a superb strike in the 89th minute.

Patrick Helmes scored twice as 2009 champions Wolfsburg won 3-0 at Cologne. Hanover 96, who face Sevilla in a Europa League play-off on August 18, were also winners with a 21 victory over Hoffenheim. Having

Nani started it with a pass into Rooney and the England forward clipped the ball onto substitute Tom Cleverley, whose measured return allowed Nani to burst past Hart and lift a fine finish into the roof of the net.

With no extra time it looked like penalties would be needed to settle the tie as the four minutes of stoppage time wound down.

But there was a sting in the tail as United punted a clearance down-field from a City corner.

Nani was the only United player anywhere near the ball and he evaded Vincent Kompany’s weak attempted tackle, sprinted clear to round Hart and slotted home the winner with virtually the last kick.—AFP

Celtic maintain perfect start

Bayer blunders gift Mainz win BERLIN: German league runners-up Bayer Leverkusen started the new season with a 2-0 defeat at Mainz 05 yesterday thanks mainly to two mistakes in the Leverkusen defence.

A first-half blunder by stand-in goalkeeper Fabian Giefer and a late own-goal from defender Omer Toprak gifted the hosts the three points and last season’s runners-up were left nursing defeat after last week’s shock cup exit.

“It was our fourth game in ten days and in two of those games we had to go over 120 minutes, so what my team did today was top,” said Mainz coach Thomas Tuchel after his side had back-to-back Europa League and German Cup matches.

“We had accepted defeats may come, so I am pleased we managed to avoid that.” But Bayer counterpart Robin Dutt was left fuming. “I am very disappointed,” he said.

“We lacked accuracy up front, yet we wasted chances to take the lead twice.” Mainz opened the scoring on 32 minutes after defender Stefan Reinartz back-passed to Leverkusen goalkeeper Giefer who completely mistimed his clearance kick and the ball rolled out of his control.

It turned into a foot race between him and Mainz striker Sami Allagui which the Tunisia international won and smashed his shot home from a tight angle.

Dutt had dropped American goal-

backed off, the Bosnian tried his luck with a long-range effort.

There was power and swerve in Dzeko’s strike but De Gea should still have saved it. Instead he dived late and the ball flashed past his out-stretched arm.

Ferguson made three changes at halftime, hauling off Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic and Michael Carrick, and United were back in the game within seven minutes as Dzeko undid his earlier good work.

When Young curled in a free-kick, Dzeko allowed Smalling to run free and the defender had yards of space to volley past Joe Hart from close-range.

United had rediscovered the verve that swept through City for much of the first half and they equalised with a breathtaking move in the 58th minute.

MAINZ: Leverkusen’s Swiss striker Eren Derdiyok (left) and Mainz’ Czech defender Zdenek Pospech vie for the ball during the German First Division Bundesliga football match. —AFP

spent last season flirting with relegation, Bremen got their season off to a flying start with a 2-0 home win over Kaiserslautern as Sweden striker Markus Rosenberg netted twice in the second half.

Striker Sascha Moelders scored with two headers as newly-promoted Augsburg earned a 2-2 draw at home to Freiburg.

Hertha Berlin, back in the Bundesliga after winning the second division last season, were beaten 1-0 at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium on Saturday night after Nuremberg’s 22year-old Czech Republic striker Tomas Pekhart netted the winner. Bayern Munich open their season on Sunday evening at home to Borussia Moenchengladbach.—AFP

ABERDEEN: A late winner from Anthony Stokes handed Celtic a 1-0 away win at Aberdeen yesterday to maintain the Glasgow giants perfect start to the season. However, it was not enough to top the table as Motherwell’s 1-0 victory over Hearts, both sides finishing with 10 men, later on Sunday sees them lead Celtic by a point - though Celtic have a game in hand. Celtic’s bitter rivals Rangers are a further two points behind having also played just two matches. Celtic’s promising start to the campaign, was however tempered by defender Emilio Izaguirre’s injury blow. The Honduran, who won two player of the year accolades at the end of last season, left the pitch early on with a suspected broken ankle. If confirmed, the injury will rule him out for at least several weeks. Aberdeen had yet to score in their two previous games and, after Scott Vernon twice missed chances to open their account, that is how it remains for Craig Brown’s side.

Celtic created a number of opportunities and, until Stokes’s 74th minute strike, Aberdeen keeper David Gonzalez was equal to them. Neil Lennon was frustrated by the number of chances his side missed.

“Our build up play and passing was very good to work the ball into good areas but we were wasteful and picked the wrong option at times,” the Celtic boss said. “We felt we maybe had to be patient at half-time and take 1-0 and in the end it was a very well worked goal and for once we picked the right option.”

Brown was disappointed not to get anything from the game. “I thought we did enough to get at least a draw from the game. The goal was the only shot on tar-

get,” the Aberdeen boss said.

The Hoops scored 21 times and conceded just once in five matches against the Dons last season and Cris Commons came close to opening their account for this term when his swerving 30-yard drive was tipped round the post by Gonzalez.

Strike partners Gary Hooper and Stokes combined to set up Commons moments later but his attempted chip was easily gathered by the keeper.

The Parkhead club were dealt a blow in the 15th minute when Izaguirre was stretchered off after a challenge with Peter Pawlett, who received a yellow card five minutes later for a late tackle on substitute Charlie Mulgrew.

Gonzalez was happy to see Beram Kayal’s rising shot go inches over before holding a stinging shot from Stokes as Celtic had a period of concerted pressure.

Aberdeen forward Darren Mackie released Vernon, whose low shot was beaten away by Lukasz Zaluska in the home side’s first meaningful effort of the half. Vernon then completely missed Mackie’s cross from the left when the striker only had the keeper to beat. Celtic it was who finally made the breakthrough.

Commons robbed Ricky Foster of possession before hitting the by-line where he cut the ball back to the penalty spot for Stokes to sidefoot the ball past Gonzalez.

The keeper then saved well with his legs as substitute James Forrest tried to slide the ball under him. Georgios Samaras replaced Stokes and the Greek international came close when he sent a header from Mulgrew’s cross just wide of the post.—AFP

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Moody’s: NBK’s ratings reflect strong position

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Gulf Arab markets fall Page 24 MONDAY, AUGUST 8, 2011

Nepal’s Himalayan tea growers turn a new leaf

G7 leaders race to beat new week of market drama Page 26

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TOKYO: Pedestrians are reflected on the glass of stock indicators in downtown Tokyo. Asian stock markets are tumbling amid fears the US may be heading back into recession and Europe’s debt crisis is worsening.— AP

Dollar set to drop on S&P move US rating exacerbates growth worries LONDON: The dollar may fall and Treasury yields rise today in response to the United States losing its top-tier credit rating from Standard & Poor’s but any selling is likely to be tempered by the euro zone’s escalating debt crisis. Equity markets’ likely reaction was indicated by a drop of more than six percent yesterday in Tel Aviv stocks, one of the first to open globally after S&P on Friday cut the US long-term credit rating by a notch to AA-plus from AAA. Investors will be all the more likely to withdraw to safe havens, such as the Swiss franc, the yen and gold, if euro zone officials cannot stem concern that their debt crisis risks engulfing Italy, the bloc’s third largest economy, whose government bond yields have soared to 14year highs. “The real effects of this (US credit rating downgrade) will take time to show through but a weaker US dollar and marginally higher yields are likely,” said Charles Diebel, a strategist at Lloyds Bank.

“The irony here is that in the context of the price action last week, the equity market response could be quite negative and thereby we may actually see US Treasuries supported by safe-haven flows,” he said in a note. Worries of another US recession and concern about the euro zone crisis have already sparked a global stock market slump that wiped $2.5 trillion off company values in the past week.

The fall in global share prices, as

measured by the MSCI All-country World Index, was the biggest weekly decline since early October 2008, according to Thomson Reuters Datastream. Consumer discretionary shares of firms dependent on external demand are likely to be singled out for more punishment. On Friday, yields on benchmark US ten-year treasury notes were about half a percentage point away from a record lows near two percent hit during the throes of the global financial crisis.

“Irrational depression” The sharp swings in financial markets have piled pressure on policymakers.

Finance ministers from the Group of Seven most developed economies were due to discuss today the US sovereign rating downgrade and Europe’s debt woes, Japanese news agency Kyodo reported yesterday.

Analysts warned the US downgrade was likely to heighten investors’ risk aversion and further bolster the Japanese yen and the Swiss Franc , even though the authorities of both countries took steps last week to staunch the exportdenting strength of their currencies. “Be wary tomorrow of irrational depression as markets take flight,” said Justin Urquhart Stewart, a director at Seven Investment Management in London. “We are dealing with the knowns and not the unknowns but what we have a shortage of at the moment is political leadership.”

It was not yet clear whether European

policymakers would be able to come up with measures to allay such concern, though all the signs were that they were keenly aware of the importance of reassuring markets. Central bank sources said the European Central Bank would hold a conference call at 1700 GMT to decide whether to buy Italian government bonds in the secondary market. The ECB last week resumed its purchases of government bonds in the secondary market after an 18-week hiatus but its decision to restrict such purchases to Irish and Portuguese bonds led to sharp declines in Italian and Spanish bond prices.

“There is no reason why the ECB cannot simply go ahead and imply that they are going to support the Italians and the Spanish,” said Mike Lenhoff, chief strategist at Brewin Dolphin in London. “It is better that they don’t say anything but go in and show there is another side to the market.”

Any such ECB buying would offer relief to beaten-down Italian and Spanish bonds. That would in turn offer a respite to European stock markets. Banks’ exposure to Italian sovereign debt and Italian banks have forced equity traders to focus on the rising cost of Italian borrowing and the widening premium that Italian bonds offer over German government bonds, known as Bunds.

Without ECB action, the reverse would be true. “The fact that Italian 10-year BTP risk premia over Bunds closed near 400 basis points following (Thursday’s) ECB

press conference, reaching the level of Greece’s risk premium before the ECB launched the (bond buying program) back in May 2010, means that the time to intervene in Italian bond markets is now,” said Lena Komileva, head of G10 strategy at Brown Brothers Harriman. Even so, the extent of any rally in these bonds will depend on how the size and persistence of any ECB bond purchases given investors have been disappointed before by such moves.

Moreover, any ECB bond buying would not address international investors’ other major concern at the moment- the risk of an economic slowdown in the United States. Goldman Sachs strategists said there was a one-inthree probability of a US recession due to the worsening European crisis, the possible failure to extend payroll tax cuts and elevated levels of joblessness, despite a slight dip in the US unemployment rate in July.

That would bode ill for the benchmark MSCI all-country world stocks index , which last week hit its lowest since September 2010 and has accumulated losses of more than 12 percent since late July. “Market sentiment appears acutely vulnerable given the build-up of concern on a sharper US slowdown and speculation on the appropriate policy response and lingering fears stemming from the sovereign debt crisis in Europe,” Citigroup strategists said in a note. — Reuters

S&P defends downgrade WASHINGTON: Standard & Poor’s stuck to its guns Saturday after a withering attack on its math skills and historical accuracy in the wake of its stunning first-ever downgrade of the US credit rating. In what appeared to be an effort to undermine S&P’s credibility and counteract any negative effects of the downgrade, White House and Treasury officials accused S&P of making a $2 trillion error and misreading basic data in cutting the rating of the world’s largest economy to AA+ from triple-A. Other critics have cited S&P’s various upbeat assessments of companies and debt instruments weeks before they failed-including the packaged mortgage securities that sparked the 2008 financial collapse.

S&P officials, however, refused to budge while acknowledging the error. “It doesn’t really change the facts on the ground,” S&P ratings head John Chambers told CNN. “The facts on the ground (are) that the deal that we have, the Budget Control Act, is $2 trillion. It’s going to take a deal about twice the size of that to stabilize the debt to GDP (ratio),” he said. “Our

figures that we published are accurate and our analysis is sound.” Late Friday, S&P followed through with its four-month-old threat to cut the US rating after what appears to have been tense discussions with US officials.

S&P argued that the country’s massive debt and its rising fiscal deficits meant it could not longer be included among the world’s most risk-worthy sovereign borrowers. It said last Tuesday’s 10-year deficit reduction plan was insufficient and raised doubts about whether it would be fully implemented. But the ratings agency also stressed what it saw as the inability of the US political establishment to commit to an adequate and credible deficit reduction plan. “ We won’t take a decision on whether the mix should be on the spending side or the tax side,” Chambers told CNN, declining to weigh in on the debate between Republicans, who reject any revenue hikes, and Democrats, who want both spending cuts and new taxes. The US Treasury said S&P had made “a basic math error of significant consequence” in reaching its conclusion on the trajectory of US

debt over the next 10 years. S&P erroneously mixed up two different baselines for projecting US deficits, John Bellows, the acting assistant Treasury secretary for economic policy, wrote Saturday on the department’s website.

If they had calculated correctly, he said, they would have measured $4 trillion in spending cuts over the next decadeexactly what S&P had said was required to avoid a downgrade. “Independent of this error, there is no justifiable rationale for downgrading the debt of the United States,” Bellows wrote.

“The magnitude of this mistake-and the haste with which S&P changed its principal rationale for action when presented with this error-raise fundamental questions about the credibility and integrity of S&P’s ratings action.” David Beers, S&P’s global head of sovereign ratings, defended the research that went into the decision and said the problem was not accounting errors, but the size of the US debt and the political paralysis in Washington. “It really shouldn’t surprise anyone that we have to look at the

process under which government policy is made... The political risks carry a higher weight than the fiscal part of the equation,” he said.

Some critics laid into S&P and its ratings brethren Moody’s and Fitch-both of which maintained their AAA ratingsaccusing the agencies of past failures that contributed to the 2008 financial meltdown. “This is an outrage-not because America is A-OK, but because these people are in no position to pass judgment,” said Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman in his online blog for The New York Times. Robert Reich, the secretary of labor under former president Bill Clinton, also bashed S&P’s “intrusion” into US politics, saying “much of our current debt is directly or indirectly due to S&P’s failures.”

Billionaire Warren Buffett, whose Nebraska-based Berkshire Hathaway group owns more than $40 billion worth of now-downgraded US debt, said the S&P decision “doesn’t make sense”. “In Omaha, the US is still triple-A. In fact, if there were a quadruple-A rating, I’d give the US that,” he told Fox Business News. — AFP

UAE SET to invest in US treasuries ABU DHABI/DUBAI: The United Arab Emirates will keep its currency peg to the US dollar even after Standard & Poor’s downgraded the world’s biggest economy, and Oman sees no risk in investing in US treasuries, officials said yesterday. Gulf central bankers were huddled in separate meetings yesterday to discuss the downgrade, sources said. All Gulf Arab states, except for Kuwait, peg their currencies to the greenback and their fortunes are closely tied to US developments. Gulf states are also major investors in US treasuries.

“We are pegged to the dollar and will keep it. We don’t see the dollar collapse. Because the problem is not in the US only, but also in the European markets,” Mohamed Al-Tamimi, deputy executive director at the UAE central bank’s treasury department, told Reuters.

Ratings agency S&P cut the US long-term credit rating by a notch to AA-plus in an unprecedented blow amid concerns about the nation’s budget deficits and climbing debt burden. It called the outlook “negative,” signaling another downgrade is possible in the next 12 to 18 months. Tamimi said the downgrade was not unexpected but its timing was earlier than anticipated. The central banker lent verbal support to the US yesterday, saying there was no alternative to investing in the US market which still remained “the most liquid and a safe market”. The UAE central bank does not hold any U.S. treasury bonds or government financial instruments, it said in July. “But if the yields go higher to a justified level, there is no reason why we will not invest in US treasuries,” Tamimi said yesterday. The world’s largest oil exporting region has an ‘established culture’ in favour of the greenback, said National Commercial Bank chief economist Jarmo Kotilaine in Riyadh. “But we are at an inflection point in that this is causing people to question the role for the dollar and the fundamentals of the US economy,” he said. “The road will take us where the dollar’s role will be reassessed.”

Oman won’t make “irrational decisions” Non-OPEC oil producer Oman said yesterday it would stick with US government instruments and make no “irrational decisions” in the aftermath of S&P’s cut. “Let’s say we are closely following the situation and we don’t want to make an irrational decision now,” said a senior Omani government official, speaking on condition of anonymity. “In (the) global economic turmoil the world is going through, what other alternative do we have at the moment but to stick with the US government instruments?” he asked.

Kuwait is the only Gulf country which uses a currency basket as a peg, though heavily dollar-weighted. It dropped the dollar peg in 2007 in a bid to rein in inflation. Policymakers in the Gulf Arab region have long said that dollar pegs ser ve their hydrocarbon-heavy economies well as long as inflation stays under control.

Central bank officials in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain were not immediately available for comment.

“Saudi has $1.9 trillion invested in the US, mostly in Treasury bills. How those are going to be affected, we don’t know but we are at the most risk among GCC markets,” says a Riyadh-based fund manager who asked not to be identified. Gulf markets slumped yesterday on investor jitters about the the euro zone debt crisis as well as the US ratings action. In Oman, the index fell 1.71 percent to a two-year low. But Saudi Arabia, which slumped 5.5 percent on Saturday, steadied a day after hitting a five-month low. —Reuters

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business

Atheeb eyes rights issue to pull up balance sheets

weekly commodities update

Commodities sunk by growth fears

Awaits regulatory approval

By Ole S Hansen JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia’s Etihad Atheeb Telecom plans to raise its capital threefold to 1.575 billion riyals ($420 million) through a rights issue after cutting it by more than half to cover accumulated losses, the firm said in statements. The company, which operates under the brand name GO, was awarded a Saudi fixed line services license in 2009 and has been facing mounting losses over the past year. Atheeb, 15 percent-owned by Bahrain

Telecommunications Co (Batelco), received regulatory approval in June to cut its capital from 1 billion riyals to 400 million riyals after it accumulated losses equivalent to 95 percent of its capital.

The 60 percent capital reduction will see each 10 shares owned reduced to six, and that will be followed by the capital increase, according to company statements posted on the Saudi bourse website. Atheeb’s shares are halt-

ed under market rules for companies whose losses exceed 75 percent of capital. “The board recommends to increase the capital from 400 million riyals ... to 1.575 billion riyals through a rights issue,” Atheeb said. Atheeb did not give a time frame for the issue but said that the board is seeking regulatory approval. Saudi Fransi Capital, an affiliate of Banque Saudi Fransi, will act as financial adviser and lead arranger for the rights issue. —Reuters

Al-Tijari announces biggest daily draw KUWAIT: Commercial Bank of Kuwait held the Al-Najma Account draw on August 7, 2011. The draw was held under the supervision of the Ministry of Commerce & Industry represented by Abdulaziz Ashkanani. The winners of the Al-Najma Daily Draw with KD7,000 are Majed Satar Jaber Al-Enezi, Awatef Mohammed AbdulHussain Behbehani, Hassan Farouq Hassan Mahmoud, Omar Sayed Nader Khan, and Momin Rifaat Nasri Askandar.

The Commercial Bank of Kuwait announces the biggest daily draw in Kuwait with the launch of the new Najma account. Customers of the bank can now enjoy a KD7,000 daily prize which is the highest in the country and another 4 mega prizes during the year worth KD100,000 each on different occasions: The National Day, Eid Al-Fitr, Eid Al-Adha and on June 19, which is the date of the bank’s establishment.

With a minimum balance of KD500, customers will be eligible for the daily draw provided that the money is in the account one week prior to the daily draw or two months prior to the mega draw. In addition, for each KD25 a customer can get one chance for winning instead of KD50. Commercial Bank of Kuwait takes this opportunity to congratulate all lucky winners and also extends appreciation to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry for their effective supervision of the draws which were conducted in an orderly and organized manner.

Qanawat launches Ramadan services KUWAIT: Qanawat, the leading mobile phone services provider, is bringing the biggest Islamic artists to Egyptian mobile subscribers after signing a deal with Etisalat EGYPT that makes it Exclusive Content Aggregator for the operator’s “Call Tones” ring back tone services. The agreement further extends Qanawat’s position as an industry leader in providing content for personalized ring back tone services that replace the usual callwaiting tone with the subscriber’s favorite piece of music.

During the holy month of Ramadan, Etisalat customers wanting to add a spiritual touch to the call experience can now pick from a wide selection of famous Islamic Sheikhs such as Al-Sudes, Saad Al-Gamdi, Mashari El Afaasi, Sk Shaarawy, in addition to Anasheed artists like Sameer Al-Bashiri and Ahmed Bu Khatir.

New Islamic releases including Wael Jassar’s “nabina el zain” album plus a range of classic Ramadan songs from Mohammed Qandeel, and Mohammed Abdul Moteleb will also be available along with many more. Etisalat customers can also enjoy a wide variety of top Arabic and International music hits. “We are delighted to be working with Etisalat EGYPT and providing the operator and its customers with exclusive, top quality content,” said Adnan Omar Al-Obthani, CEO of Qanawat. “In choosing Qanawat to supply content, Etsialat EGYPT can rest assured that it has picked a regional expert that can maximize the efficiency and profitability of the service offered, and which can initialize investments on the operator’s behalf to achieve the highest possible number of sales.”

Ford drives quality through $100m investment in robots KUWAIT: Ford Motor Company is investing $100 million globally to install robotic plant laser inspection technology to improve quality through reduced wind noise and more refined fit and finish. This new technology is being used during assembly of the all-new Ford Explorer and Ford Focus. The technology then will be rolled out globally as part of Ford’s next phase of its quality initiative to lead the industry in customer satisfaction.

“Ford’s robotic laser technology gives us a degree of precision like never before,” said Ron Ketelhut, chief engineer, Body Construction Engineering. “The vision technologies verify the dimensions of interfaces on the vehicle’s body in a highly accurate way, to a tenth of a millimeter.” The technology helps ensure car door panels fit more accurately and reduce wind noise, a key quality factor for consumers and a major industry challenge. The laser and camera systems that are major upgrades to plant robots significantly improve the robustness of the overall manufacturing process. The technology builds on laser-guided, end-ofline robotic technology pioneered by Ford’s European team to measure points on each vehicle as it moves past the line to verify build quality. The robots are programmed to recognize any minute deviations from the correct specification and, if any errors are found, instruct the operator on the correct course of action. Ford first used the system in Germany and,

after seeing quality gains, quickly rolled it out to plants around the world.

Against the wind The precision technology helps advanced robots more accurately install the doors to reduce the potential for wind noise. The laser vision technology also is being upgraded on the robots to help confirm the door quality margins once installed. The robots are even empowered to shut down the assembly line if the cameras detect a door does not fit Ford’s exacting quality measurements. Human error is also reduced, as the machines are tuned to measure point specifications on the vehicle, whereas previously it was determined by an operator making a subjective judgment on whether it was accurate.

Air-tight quality Wind noise is a primary consumer consideration when judging the quality of a vehicle. Ford has gone to great lengths to minimize noise by pinpointing its source through a number of other plant technologies - using machines to detect air leakage from cabin, NVH (noise, vibration and harshness) chambers and Coordinate Measuring Machines (CMM). The new strategy uses the entire range of tools in addition to the vision-guided robot cells and laser inspection to ensure leading vehicle quietness.

he outlook for global growth is deteriorating, partly as a consequence of rising food and energy prices, and risk appetite has suffered as a consequence. Carnage in currency and bond markets spilled over to equities and commodities this week. The world’s most followed equity index, the S&P 500 index, dropped below its 200day moving average erasing all of its 2011 gains in the process. Investors looking for safety scrambled into the Swiss franc and yen before the central banks of the two nations had enough and announced measures to curb further currency appreciation. In commodities gold made a new nominal record high as investors and central banks continued to increase exposure to the yellow metal.

The commodity sector got hammered with the three major indices moving back into negative territory for the year with the base metals and energy sectors especially suffering heavy losses. The impact on global activity of a 40 percent rise in Brent crude from the 2010 average is now clear and the fragile economic recovery has not been able to cope with the price rises over the past six to nine months. Adding to this the debt crisis in US and especially Europe commodities in general will have a bumpy ride in the weeks ahead.

As the European debt situation continues to frighten investors they now also have to contemplate the risk of a double-dip recession in America. A third round of quantitative easing, which up until recently was dead and buried, could resurface thereby supporting tangible assets such as commodities just like it did throughout the second half of 2010. The Reuters Jeffries CRB index is down nearly four percent on the week with just a few markets showing gains either from safe haven flows or from weather related issues.

T

Going for gold The price of gold reached a new nominal high at USD 1,681 as safe haven flows continue to support the yellow metal. It was not however immune to the selling elsewhere. The accelerating sell off-in S&P 500 on Thursday led to a quick 40 dollar retracement in gold before recovering.

Silver fared worse as the 35 percent sell off earlier this year has left investors much less inclined to hold on to positions for longer. On Thursday this resulted in a seven percent sell-off leaving silver in negative territory on the week.

Technically gold reached the top end of the channel in which it has confided since October 2008 and in the short term that could provide some resistance with support now seen at 1,630 followed by 1,600.

Oil prices hurt by economic slowdown The price of WTI crude dropped to

the lowest level in eight months as the uptrend from the 2009 low got broken.

Having lost more than one quarter from the May high it is now only some five dollars above the 2010 average at 80 dollars. Meanwhile, Brent crude found support below 105 for the third time this year with the spread to WTI holding firm above 20 dollars.

A slowing US economy and general risk adversity caused by the stock market sell-offs had investors scaling back long positions in anticipation of reduced demand for oil in the months ahead. It certainly looks as if consumers have been hurt more than expected by higher oil prices during the past six months and the International Energy Agency stands vindicated in its decision to pump strategic reserves into the system. Tight fundamentals however should continue to support prices and prevent a major sell-off from current levels despite the continued elevated level of speculative long positions that exists, especially in WTI crude Modest corrections compared to other commodities Temperatures across the US have been seasonally higher than normal during the month of July. This has caused the quality of the crops to deteriorate, thereby keeping prices supported despite the general level of risk adversity caused by weaker economic growth. The price of December corn, which reflects the new crop, revisited the June highs. Only a change towards more crop friendly weather will prevent prices from moving higher still as a certain level of demand destruction is required to prevent expected tightness of stock in the months ahead.

The price of new crop soybeans has been trading sideways since December roughly in a 12.90 to 14.10 dollar per bushel range. The weather during August is more important for the development of the bean as it is planted later and has a different maturity cycle than corn.

A continuation of dry hot weather could therefore add some upside pressure to this crop as well. For now though near-term weather forecasts suggest that rain and more normal temperatures will return during the next couple of weeks. On that basis the established range should prevail but look out for the production and supply/demand report from the United States Department of Agriculture due August 11.

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 .4440000 .3860000 .3520000 .2750000 .2820000 .0040000 .0020000 .0738870 .7198570 .3810000 .0700000 .7056880 .0040000 .0430000

CUSTOMER TRANSFER RATES US Dollar/KD .2721500 GB Pound/KD .4460950 Euro .3886850 Swiss francs .3545470 Canadian dollars .2773220 Danish Kroner .0522700 Swedish Kroner .0421210 Australian dlr .2841930 Hong Kong dlr .0348580 Singapore dlr .2236420 Japanese yen .0034710 Indian Rs/KD .0000000 Sri Lanka rupee .0000000 Pakistan rupee .0000000 Bangladesh taka .0000000 UAE dirhams .0741250 Bahraini dinars .7221710 Jordanian dinar .0000000 Saudi Riyal/KD .0725930 Omani riyals .7071590 Philippine Peso .0000000

Al-Muzaini Exchange Co.

Japanese Yen Indian Rupees Pakistani Rupees Srilankan Rupees Nepali Rupees Singapore Dollar Hongkong Dollar

ASIAN COUNTRIES 3.539 6.107 3.171 2.490 3.831 225.580 35.163

.2765000 .4580000 .3970000 .3640000 .2910000 .2950000 .0072500 .0035000 .0746290 .7270920 .4010000 .0770000 .7127800 .0072000 .0530000 .2742500 .4495370 .3916840 .3572820 .2794620 .0526740 .0424460 .2863860 .0351270 .2253680 .0034980 .0061770 .0025090 .0031780 .0036860 .0746970 .7277430 .3879070 .0731530 .7126150 .0064830

Bangladesh Taka Philippine Peso Thai Baht Irani Riyal - Transfer Irani Riyal - Cash Saudi Riyal Qatari Riyal Omani Riyal Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham

3.657 6.440 9.152 0.271 0.273 GCC COUNTRIES 73.056 75.750 711.580 727.650 74.598

ARAB COUNTRIES Egyptian Pound - Cash 47.650 Egyptian Pound - Transfer 45.978 Yemen Riyal 1.253 Tunisian Dinar 200.480 Jordanian Dinar 386.880 Lebanese Lira 1.838 Syrian Lier 5.914 Morocco Dirham 35.199 EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIES US Dollar Transfer 273.850 Euro 395.300 Sterling Pound 452.950 Canadian dollar 282.030 Turkish lire 157.390 Swiss Franc 361.760 Australian dollar 286.450 US Dollar Buying 273.400

Sterling Pound US Dollar

SELL CASH

Australian dollar Bahraini dinar Bangladeshi taka Canadian dollar Cyprus pound Czek koruna Danish krone Deutsche Mark Egyptian pound Euro Cash Hongkong dollar Indian rupees

289.700 727.140 3.860 283.200 537.100 36.400 53.000 167.800 47.950 395.000 35.740 6.330

0.033

386.430 0.184 93.560 3.830 232.800

SELL DRAFT

288.200 727.140 3.655 281.700

226.200 45.954 394.000 35.590 6.130

Rate for Transfer

US Dollar Canadian Dollar Sterling Pound Euro Swiss Frank Bahrain Dinar UAE Dirhams Qatari Riyals Saudi Riyals Jordanian Dinar Egyptian Pound Sri Lankan Rupees Indian Rupees

Pakistani Rupees Bangladesh Taka Philippines Pesso Cyprus pound Japanese Yen Thai Bhat Syrian Pound Nepalese Rupees Malaysian Ringgit

359.100 5.600 9.360 74.450 273.400

Currency

272.950 287.750 448.881 398.614 336.036 723.683 74.287 74.920 72.747 384.203 45.810 2.490 6.230

Rate per 1000 (Tran)

Pak Rupees Indian Rupees Sri Lankan Rupees Bangladesh Taka Philippines Peso UAE Dirhams Saudi Riyals Bahraini Dinars Egyptian Pounds Pound Sterling Indonesian Rupiah Nepali rupee Yemeni Riyal Jordanian Dinars Syrian Pounds Euro Canadian Dollars

TRAVELLER’S CHEQUE 451.000 273.400

Selling Rate

3.163 3.652 6.476 669.512 3.571 9.218 5.739 3.937 90.730

Kuwait Bahrain Intl Exchange Co. 709.980 3.180 6.440 75.210 73.000 226.160 42.390 2.489 451.000

Dollarco Exchange Co. Ltd

Bahrain Exchange Company COUNTRY

0.033 0.241 0.238 3.580 388.310 0.185 93.560 47.200 4.210 234.300 1.854 50.800 710.160 3.290 6.600 75.640 73.000 226.160 42.390 2.630 453.000 42.900 360.600 5.600 9.500 198.263 74.550 273.800 1.220 GOLD 1,708.390

10 Tola

GOLD 305.000 155.000 80.000

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

3.185 6.140 2.500 3.665 6.505 74.510 73.080 726.600 45.925 454.300 0.00003280 3.910 1.550 388.300 5.750 395.800 285.000

Al Mulla Exchange Currency

US Dollar Euro Pound Sterling Canadian Dollar Japanese Yen Indian Rupee Egyptian Pound Sri Lankan Rupee Bangladesh Taka Philippines Peso Pakistan Rupee Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham Saudi Riyal *Rates are subject to change

Transfer Rate (Per 1000)

273.000 393.800 450.500 281.400 3.496 6.132 45.950 2.486 3.654 6.430 3.178 727.000 74.350 72.980

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BUSINESS

Contagion risks spread to europe

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hat was only a far possibility back in April has actually happened. The credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s downgraded the US’s AAA credit rating for the first time in history, slamming the nation’s political process and criticizing lawmakers for failing to cut spending enough to reduce record budget deficits.

S&P lowered the US one notch to AA+ while keeping the outlook at “negative”, citing concerns about budget deficits and rising debt levels. The rating may be cut to AA within two years if spending reductions are lower than agreed to, interest rates rise or “new fiscal pressures” result in higher general government debt, the New York-based firm said on Friday afternoon. This is the first time the nation’s credit rating has fallen below the highest level, AAA, which the country had held since 1917. This move comes after the three main credit rating agencies had warned during the budget fight that if Congress did not cut spending far enough, the country faced a downgrade.

Risk aversion strengthens dollar The debt ceiling deadlock has been resolved for the moment in the US, shifting the negative sentiment back into the European continent. Contagion risk is spreading into bigger European countries now, the likes of Italy and Spain, with the bond yields surging to record highs. The dollar has benefited from this gloomy situation being a safe-haven currency in the back of traders’ minds. Naturally, the euro had a negative performance. After opening the week at 1.4400 and reaching a high of 1.4455, the euro broke major support levels and touched a low of 1.4055 on Friday because of the negative sentiment surrounding the euro area. The euro however regained most of its losses after the betterthan-expected job report in the US on Friday, and ended the week at 1.4280. The sterling oound was able to find more support than the euro, and range -traded between a high of 1.6475 and a low of 1.6225, before closing at 1.6390. The major underperformer was the high-yielding Australian dollar, which started the week around 1.1000 and ended on Friday at 1.0445.

In this risk aversion environment, low yielding currencies such as the Swiss franc and the yen have continued outperforming other counterparts, triggering intervention from both Central Banks. The Swiss franc broke record highs against the dollar, and touched a low of 0.7580 even after the Swiss National Bank intervened in an effort to weaken the currency. The Swiss franc

NBK WEEKLY MONEY MARKET REPORT closed the week at 0.7675. The Bank of Japan’s intervention proved more efficient, boosting the USDJPY from levels around 77.00 to a high of 80.25. However, the yen regained some momentum and closed sessions at 78.40.

Debt ceiling agreement reached The long-awaited deadline has finally arrived. On August 2, the US government was facing a first-time default on its obligations in case the debt ceiling was not raised.

However, the US Senate voted 74-26 to approve extensive legislation to raise the country’s $14.29 trillion debt ceiling and cut the budget deficit by at least $2.1 trillion over the next decade. The Senate action sent the bill to the White House for President Barack Obama’s signature just hours before the deadline, to avert the US government from running out of money to pay its bills. Failure to act could have triggered a US credit default, resulting in dramatic economic consequences.

The deal promises $917 billion in spending cuts over the next decade in return for a two-stage increase in the debt ceiling of $900 billion. After that, a 12-member congressional committee equally composed of Republicans and Democrats is to find $1.5 trillion in further deficit reductions that Congress must approve, in return for a similar-sized increase in the debt ceiling. If the committee fails to reach an agreement or its proposal is vetoed, $1.2 trillion in spending cuts will be triggered, drawn equally from domestic spending and defense.

Few were satisfied with the compromise, including the president himself.

Republicans charged that it did not go far enough in reducing spending, while Democrats denounced the plan for relying on budget cuts without finding new sources of revenue. Markets had found some temporary relief from the last-second resolution of the debate.

Services and manufacturing sectors slowing The service industries expanded in July at the slowest pace in 17 months, as orders and employment cooled, indicating that the biggest part of the US economy had little spark to begin the second half of the year.

The Institute for Supply Management’s (ISM) index of non-manufacturing businesses, which covers about 90 percent of the economy, dropped to 52.7 from 53.3 in

Moody’s: NBK’s ratings reflect strong position KUWAIT: Moody ’s government’s development plan continues to face bureaucratic and political obstacles and credit conditions in H1 2011 have remained muted. NBK’s NPLs stood at a low 1.65 percent while system NPLs stood at around 7 percent. Provisioning cover is also healthy, exceeding 200 percent of problem loans. One of the few indigenous banks in the region with the capacity to structure and underwrite large capital-market transactions In its latest report on National Bank of Kuwait (NBK), the credit rating agency Moody’s said that NBK’s financial strength rating reflects the “bank’s dominant position in its domestic market, strong financial metrics, the resilience of its asset quality, and good capitalization levels”. Moody’s in the report issued recently stressed that “NBK’s asset quality has exhibited a level of resilience unparalleled by its domestic peers.

In particular, as at YE2010, the bank’s NPLs stood at a low 1.65 percent while system NPLs stood at around 7 percent. Specific and general provisioning cover is also healthy, exceeding 200 percent of problem loans. NBK was less exposed to domestic and regional high profile corporate defaults than some other Kuwaiti banks, and has, so far, been able to maintain robust asset quality metrics”.

Moody’s pointed out that “Given its size and its strong position in the retail market, NBK is better diversified than smaller peers, while the bank reports superior asset quality.

The credit rating agency added that NBK also “continues to enjoy excellent cost efficiency compared with both international and GCC standards”. Moody’s said that credit conditions in Kuwait remain subdued.

“Credit growth prospects depend on the effectiveness of government spending in supporting economy activity”.

“Credit growth prospects in Kuwait will progressively improve, in line with the implementation of the government’s five year $100 billion development plan. At the moment this continues to face bureaucratic and political obstacles and credit conditions in H1 2011 have remained muted. Our central scenario envisions that actual government spending will grow in line with

historical norms (i.e., at around a 20 percent rate), This implies that the government will continue to miss spending targets but that spending will remain high and will support the non-oil private sector economy”, added Moody ’s. Nonetheless, Moody’s stresses that “NBK is well placed to utilize opportunities as they arise.”

Moody’s stressed that “NBK’s risk management is considered adequate, with substantial independence. The bank has also launched a group risk management and governance framework which brings its subsidiaries in line with parent bank practices”.

Moody ’s said that “NBK is the largest financial institution in Kuwait (and largest commercial bank by a wide margin), with total assets of KWD12.899 billion (USD45.6 billion) at YE2010, accounting for just under 30 percent of consolidated banking system assets. The bank is the dominant player in its domestic market and, particularly, in terms of retail operations in which it reportedly captures around 35 percent of consumer credit, and around 40 percent of overall Kuwaiti salary accounts”.

Moody’s added that NBK’s “corporate lending is equally strong” and “the bank is the leader in trade finance in Kuwait and one of the few indigenous banks with the capacity to structure and underwrite large capital market transactions”.

NBK’s head office

June, against expectations of a rise to 53.5.

Similarly, the ISM Manufacturing index dropped from 55.3 in June to 50.9 in July indicating that the manufacturing sector is on the verge of witnessing a contraction, as readings of 50 are the separation between expansion and contraction. The absence of sustained strength in services along with limited manufacturing growth adds to evidence of a broader economic slowdown.

Unemployment slows to 9.1 percent More Americans have found jobs last month, easing concerns that the world’s largest economy was sliding into a new recession. The unemployment rate dropped to 9.1 percent from 9.2 percent. The drop came as payrolls rose by 117,000 after an increase in June by 46,000. The job gains should boost consumer spending which accounts for 70 percent of the economy, which in turn will relieve pressure on the Federal Reserve policymakers to sustain the economic recovery.

Europe ECB keeps interest rates unchanged The European Central Bank (ECB) left interest rates unchanged as economic growth slows and the region’s debt crisis spreads to Italy and Spain, increasing pressure on policymakers to resume bond purchases. The Central Bank kept the benchmark rate at 1.50 percent after lifting it by 25 basis points last month, as widely expected. With yields on Italian and Spanish bonds near records and the European economy showing signs of weakening, investors have reduced bets that the ECB will add to its two rate increases in 2011, even as some members from the Governing Council push for more monetary tightening to tame inflation. In a statement following the meeting, the ECB said it will offer a fresh round of loans to banks in light of continuing fears about the Eurozone debt crisis. The ECB’s statement was little changed from last month, with inflation risks still on the upside and the monetary stance still accommodative, leaving the door open to further rate hikes in coming months. However, the rate hike cannot be delivered if no substantial improvement in market conditions is noticeable.

Unemployment rate steady European unemployment held steady for

a fourth month in June, as economic growth in the region showed signs of cooling and governments struggled to convince investors that they can contain the debt crisis. The 17-nation seasonally-adjusted jobless rate held steady at 9.9 percent, in line with economists’ expectations. Companies in many European countries are still reluctant to boost hiring as governments cut spending and the economic recovery in the region falters. Disparities among different Eurozone countries are becoming more accentuated: at 21 percent, Spain has the highest jobless rate, and Austria the lowest at 4 percent.

Retail sales decline Retail sales in the 17 countries that use the Euro rose by more than anticipated in June, largely on the back of an exceptionally strong performance in Germany. Retail sales rose by 0.9 percent in June from the previous month, partly offsetting May’s 1.3 percent fall, and outstripping analysts’ expectations for a more modest 0.5 percent rise.

Germany, Europe’s biggest economy, was largely behind the bigger-than-expected rise recording a massive 6.3 percent increase following the previous month’s 2.5 percent decline. For the recovery to become more self-sustained analysts say that consumers have to start spending more on goods and services.

Producer-price inflation slows European producer-price inflation slowed for a second month in June as energy costs retreated and the area’s economy cooled. The Producer Price Index (PPI) in the 17-nation region increased 5.9 percent from a year earlier after rising 6.2 percent in May, in line with market estimates. On a monthly basis, prices remained stable from the month before.

United Kingdom BOE keeps key rate unchanged The Bank of England’s (BOE) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted to keep its benchmark interest rate on hold for the 29th straight month during their meeting last week, as fears about weakening economic growth continued to outweigh concerns about inflation. As widely expected, the MPC kept the central bank’s benchmark interest rate at 0.50 percent and its asset purchase program unchanged at £200 bil-

lion. The BOE is trying to find a healthy balance between rising prices and a sluggish economic growth.

House prices rising UK house prices increased in July as record-low borrowing costs helped support demand for residential property. Even though house prices rose 0.3 percent from the previous month, the housing market is struggling to find momentum as consumers are suffering from high inflation and government spending cuts.

UK services growth unexpectedly accelerated in July to the fastest pace in four months, led by demand at business services and technology companies. The Services PMI rose to 55.4 from 53.9 in June, against an expected drop to 53.2. On the other hand, the Manufacturing PMI unexpectedly dropped below 50 in July, for the first time since September 2009. The index dropped from 51.3 to 49.1 against an expected drop to 51.0, showing that the manufacturing sector is contracting.

Asia-Pacific Rates unchanged in Australia The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) left its benchmark interest rate unchanged last week, and said the nation’s growth pace may be weaker than previously forecast.

Governor Glenn Stevens held the overnight cash rate target at 4.75 percent for the eighth straight meeting, as widely expected. Moreover, the RBA slashed its 2011 growth forecast and raised the outlook for inflation, signaling it may extend its interest-rate pause on concern that the global economy may stall.

Bank of Japan meeting The Bank of Japan (BOJ) left its key rate unchanged at between zero and 0.1 percent as it continues to assess measures to soothe an economy pushed into recession by the March 11 disaster. Japan’s economy plunged back into recession in the first quarter of 2011, contracting sharply on the impact of the nation’s biggest recorded earthquake, a tsunami and a nuclear crisis.

As per the market’s expectations, the vote was unanimous to keep interest rates at their current low level. The BOJ also downgraded its forecast for real Gross Domestic Product growth.

Kuwait Dinar at 0.27270 The USDKD opened at 0.27270 yesterday morning.

Volkswagen celebrates Ramadan with new offers KUWAIT: Volkswagen is celebrating the start of the Holy Month of Ramadan this year by offering generous deals and valuable service benefits on their excellent range of vehicles.

Customers can take advantage of the special offerings to enjoy their Ramadan in a new Touareg, Tiguan, Passat CC or all-new Jetta, all starting at prices that celebrate the holy month’s spirit of giving. In addition to excellent prices, when purchasing a new Touareg, Tiguan, Passat CC or all-new Jetta, enjoy the special Ramadan benefits of: three year factory warranty, regardless of distance travelled, three years free service or up to 45,000 kilometers, free VIP service, three years free third party insurance, free vehicle registration, and a replacement vehicle during service.

Volkswagen’s Touareg does not fit into a single category but combines the advantages of many different categories. The off-roader in the Touareg copes with slopes of up to 45 degrees and stretches that stand half a meter under water. The saloon in the Touareg offers so much luxury that even purebred luxury cars are envious. Finally, the sports car in the Touareg has an impressive, exclusive choice of powerful, free-revving engines.

The Tiguan’s self-assured design speaks for itself. A choice of two distinctive front ends is offered; the lively Tiguan is equally appealing whether you opt for the elegant on-road or the powerful off-road design. Numerous extras including the large panorama sliding roof, the DVD navigation system with touch

screen, and “Park Assist” parking steering assistance ensure that you will discover something new on each and every journey.

Every era has its ideal image of beauty. The Passat CC is definitely one of them. This eyecatching 4-Door Coupe has powerful proportions, clear lines, frameless doors and sporty suspension. To match the powerful engine developing up to 220 kW (300 bhp), the interior of the Passat CC has sports seats with either cloth Alcantara or leather upholstery for the driver and front passenger. Fine materials and intelligent driver assistance systems, available as options, will inspire you to discover new destinations on each and every journey.

The all-new Jetta has been completely redesigned, inside and out. The model features clean lines, side architecture, and premium style combined with Volkswagen’s trademark precision German engineering. The allnew Jetta offers a driving experience with the kind of styling, design and power under the hood normally found in more expensive luxury cars. At an extremely attractive price, this car is sophisticated, fun to drive and practical.

The all-new Jetta sets a new standard in its class. To share in the magic of the Holy Month of Ramadan, come to the Volkswagen showroom in Al-Rai, to know more about our special Ramadan deals.

Inmarsat, Skywave launch IsatData Pro KUWAIT: Inmarsat the leading provider of global mobile satellite communications services, and SkyWave Mobile Communications, a global provider of communication services for machine-to-machine (M2M) applications, yesterday announced the commercial launch of IsatData Pro, a new low data rate service for managing and communicating with remote assets around the world.

IsatData Pro offers a significant increase in payload capacity compared to other satellite based M2M services in the market, delivering up to 10,000 bytes to the device and up to 6,400 bytes from the device.

Other global M2M satellite services currently available offer data connectivity at between 270 and 340 bytes.

By delivering up to 37 times more data, IsatData Pro can meet

the increasing demand for richer information in M2M applications, and allows businesses to share more data across diverse operations, via emails, electronic forms and workflow information.

Applications include vehicle telemetry information, text-messaging remote workers, maintaining up-to-date driver logs, and the remote management and control of fixed assets.

For mission critical applications, IsatData Pro can transmit a 100 byte message in less than 15 seconds, or a 1,000 byte message in 45 seconds - ideal for sending information to drivers operating in high-risk areas, or for the effective use of sensors to closely manage remote equipment. “ The M2M market is set to continue its rapid growth globally, but it is currently underserved by services that cannot

match the increasing data demands,” said Drew Brandy, Director of Land Services at Inmarsat.

“By supporting a significant increase in the size of M2M messages, IsatData Pro will provide better visibility of business operations, allow for risks to be managed more effectively, and deliver enhanced efficiencies.

Furthermore it does so with the support of the most reliable global mobile satellite network, the Inmarsat-4s, which have an expected operational lifetime into the 2020s.”

“IsatData Pro is a real game changer for our clients, for Inmarsat and for us,” said Sean Faulkner, Vice President for IsatData Pro at SkyWave Mobile Communications. “Previously limited to a few bytes of information, transportation companies can now go from tracking and

monitoring for security purposes, to using the enhanced data to provide logistic services.

Utilities can send more data, more reliably, from multiple sensors. SCADA applications can go from alarm monitoring to really driving the performance and value of equipment. It enables organisations to stay in touch with remote assets and workers where, previously, this was technically impossible or prohibited by cost.”

SkyWave offers a series of fully-functional satellite terminals, modems and software tools to support the rapid integration of applications. A number of partners around the world are now integrating IsatData Pro into their applications that support the transportation, oil & gas, utilities, SCADA, maritime, defence & security, commercial fishing and heavy equipment sectors.

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KSE takes hard hit after US rating

MIDEAST MARKET REPORT

KUWAIT: Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) was hit hard during yesterday’s session following the international markets which closed sharply lower on Saturday. The retreat in the International and followed by the GCC markets came after the downgrade of the US credit rating.

Market indices Global General Index (GGI) witnessed a big fall ended the day down by 2.57 percent, at 181.31 point. Market Capitalization was down for the day reaching KD2.57 billion. Showing a negative note, KSE Price Index closed at 5,968.3 point, shedding 97.9 points (1.61 percent) from its previous close.

Market breadth During the session, 87 companies were traded. Market breadth was skewed towards decliners as 79 equities retreated versus 4 advanced.

Top gainers and biggest decliners In terms of top gainers, Bayan

Investment Company was the top gainer for the day, adding 7.81 percent and closed at KD0.035. On the other hand, Investors Holding Group Company shed 11.54 percent and closed at KD0.012, making it the biggest decliner in the market.

Sectors wise All market sectors declined yesterday except for the Insurance sector that remain unchanged.

Global Banking Index was the biggest loser for the session and the most affected by the US credit rating downgrade. The index closed at 319.95 point with a 3.15 percent decline. All banks went down during the session except

Commercial Bank of Kuwait as it was not traded. National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) and Kuwait Finance House (KFH) went down by 3.64 and 4.30 percent to close at KD1.060 and KD0.890, respectively.

Kuwait International Bank was the top loser in the sector after declining by 6.78 percent and closing at KD0.275. Another big decliner in the market was the services sector.

It ended the session at 788.4 point and was down by 2.49 percent. The sector had many decliners including the two big telecommunication companies; Zain and National Mobile Telecommunications Company (Wataniya) declined by 3.03 and 2.0 percent to close at KD0.960 and KD1.960, respectively.

Gulf Arab markets fall Saudi recovers after Saturday rout

GLOBAL DAILY MARKET REPORT

Daily trading activity Trading activity was up this session due to selling pressure. Total volume traded was up by 84.65 percent with 98.91 million shares changing hands at a total value of KD25.79 million (201.97 percent higher compared to the Thursday session). The banking sector was the volume leader today, accounting for 27.79 percent of total shares. The same sector was the value leader, with 55.03 percent of total traded value. Kuwait Finance House (KFH) was the most active in terms of values traded during yesterday’s session, with 5.39 million shares exchanged at an aggregate value of KD4.74 million. The scrip closed down by 4.3 percent at KD0.890.

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On the other hand, Burgan for Well Drilling Company and Gulf Petroleum Investment Company were two of the only four advanced companies in the market. Burgan for Well Drilling Company continued the high positive price inclines and closed 7.69 percent higher, at KD0.350. Also Gulf Petroleum Investment Company went up by 7.46 percent, closing at KD0.036.

Oil news The price of OPEC basket of twelve crudes stood at $107.48 a barrel on Thursday, compared with $110.55 the previous day, according to OPEC Secretariat calculations.

ABU DHABI: Most Gulf Arab markets ended lower yesterday, rattled by a US ratings downgrade and European debt woes, even as their central bankers downplayed risks and voiced support for US debt instruments. Standard & Poor’s cut the US long-term credit rating by a notch to AA-plus in an unprecedented blow to the world’s largest economy. It called the outlook “negative,” signaling another downgrade is possible in the next 12 to 18 months.

The downgrade hit Saudi Arabia’s market hard on Saturday, sending the Arab world’s largest bourse to a five-month low. Weakness spilled over into the rest of the Gulf Arab region, where all but one Gulf state pegs its currency to the dollar.

The hydrocarbon-reliant Gulf Arab states are major holders of US treasuries and other US assets. “We are pegged to the dollar and will keep it. We don’t see the dollar collapse. Because the problem is not in the US only, but also in the European markets,” Mohamed AlTamimi, deputy executive director at the UAE central bank’s treasury department, told Reuters. Tamimi said there was no alternative to investing in the US market which still remained “the most liquid and a safe market”. The UAE, which said in July it holds no US government bonds, would even invest in Treasuries if yields rise to a “justified level” he said.

An Omani government official said the non-OPEC oil producer would stick with US government instruments and make no “irrational decisions” in the aftermath of S&P’s cut. “In (the) global economic turmoil the world is going through, what other alternative do we have at the moment but to stick with the US government instruments?” said the senior Omani government official, speaking on condition of anonymity. Kuwait is the only Gulf country which uses a currency bas-

ket as a peg, though heavily dollarweighted. It dropped the dollar peg in 2007 in a bid to rein in inflation.

Kuwait’s central bank governor declined to comment.

Markets tumble, Saudi helps stems decline A steady open in Saudi Arabia, which starts two hours after the first Gulf markets begin trading, helped staunch the decline elsewhere on Gulf markets yesterday. But early damage was done with Dubai’s benchmark enduring its biggest drop since Jan 30. Dubai closed at a 20-week low, slumping 3.7 percent to 1,484. Bluechip Emaar Properties ended down 5.3 percent, Arabtec sagged 6.3 percent and Dubai Financial Market closed off 5 percent.

Oman’s index ended at a twoyear low, down 1.9 percent at 5,651 percent. Bahrain fell 0.33 percent to 1,277 percent while Abu Dhabi ended at a May 26 low, down 2.5 percent. Kuwait ended 1.6 percent lower at 5,968 points. “The global story is looking increasingly less optimistic, and at the same time you have equity markets here that have been relatively less volatile for a considerable stretch,” says Akram Annous, Dubai-based MENA strategist at Al-Mal Capital. “That’s probably going to start to change now, and I think the majority of the risk is in Saudi Arabia and Qatar’s markets because they are more leveraged to the (emerging market) growth story.” Qatar’s benchmark closed at its lowest level since June 27, down 2.5 percent at 8,277 points. Saudi Arabia’s index ended up 0.08 percent at 6,078 points. “Today is a stemming of the bleeding, but things are still unknown. There are a lot of questions, on how the downgrade could affect the Saudi development plan,” said a Riyadh-based fund manager who asked not to be identified. — Reuters

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ECB eyes verdict on Italy bond purchase Sarkozy, Cameron confer on US debt downgrade FRANKFURT: The European Central Bank will decide whether to buy Italian government bonds to try to speed up cuts in euro zone debt, ECB sources said as global leaders conferred by phone on the twin financial crises in Europe and the United States. After a week that saw $2.5 trillion wiped off global stock markets, political leaders are under pressure to reassure investors that Western governments have both the will and ability to reduce their huge and growing public debt loads.

ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet wants the policy-setting Governing Council to take a final decision on buying Italian paper after Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi announced new measures on Friday to speed up deficit reduction and hasten economic reforms, one ECB source said.

The source said that if the ECB council opted to intervene on Italy at a crucial conference call starting at 1700 GMT, the ECB and national central banks would start buying Italian bonds when markets open today. Another ECB source said the council would also look at possible emergency liquidity measures to prevent money markets freezing. A third ECB source said the ECB meeting had been put back into the evening to see what measures the United States was ready to take to assuage markets after credit ratings agency Standard & Poor’s downgraded Washington’s AAA rating to AA+ on Friday.

The ECB reactivated its controversial sovereign bond-buying program last Thursday but has so far purchased only small quantities of Irish and Portuguese bonds, seeking tougher austerity measures from Italy. Berlusconi’s plans entail moving up a balancing of the budget by one year to 2013, enshrining a balanced budget rule in the constitution and pushing through welfare and labor market reforms after talks with trade unions and employers. The debt crises on either side of the Atlantic, with the latest shock coming from the US downgrade , are wreaking market turmoil and stoking fears of the affluent world sliding back into recession.

Alarm in German, French media German papers were both incredulous and gloomy yesterday about the financial upheaval. Welt am Sonntag dedicated an entire section to global economic uncertainties, entitled “Der Crash” ( The Crash) and wrote: “No one could have foreseen this dramatic crash and now the situation can only be endured with gallows humor”. Der Spiegel magazine’s front page featured euro and dollar banknotes going up in flames, with the headline “US indebtedness, euro crisis, stock market chaos: Is the world going bankrupt?”

French newspapers carried grim headlines yesterday with Le Journal du Dimanche trumpeting “The world on the edge of collapse” with a sub-headline saying: “The week starting should be crucial. Markets from now on are living in fear of a crash.”

But the newspaper also ran an interview with economic consultant Alain Minc who said that despite the US downgrade, the United States remained the “ultimate economic harbor”. Le Parisien newspaper pointed out that the credit rating of the United States was now the same as Spain, Japan and

NEW YORK: In this file photo, a pedestrian walks past the New York Stock Exchange. — AP China. “The world of finance, worried about the Greek crisis spreading to Spain and Italy, risks another plunge tomorrow at the start of trading,” the paper said in its Sunday edition.

South Korea said finance deputies from the Group of 20 major economies addressed the European crisis and US sovereign rating downgrade yesterday morning in Asian time zones. A Japanese government source said finance leaders from the Group of Seven big developed economies would also discuss the crisis and may issue a statement afterwards, although the timing of such a call was unclear.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who chairs the G7/G20 group of leading economies, conferred with Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron on Saturday.

“They discussed the euro area and the US debt downgrade. Both agreed the importance of working together, monitoring the situation closely and keeping in contact over the coming days,” a spokesman for Cameron said.

In Washington, a White House economic adviser castigated ratings agency Standard and Poor’s for cutting the US credit rating to AA-plus from AAA. The US Treasury said the rating agency’s debt calculations were wrong by some $2 trillion.

Over time, S&P’s move could ripple through markets by pushing up borrowing costs and making it more difficult to secure a lasting recovery. Shares in Israel’s market, one of the first to trade since the US credit downgrading, fell more than 6 percent by midday yesterday. Traders were worried about Israeli banks’ exposure to US debt and feared the situation could spin out of control.

Asian solidarity with Washington Washington’s Asian allies rallied round the battered superpower, with Japan and South Korea both saying their trust in US Treasuries remained unshaken. “I expressed our country’s position on the (G20 conference) call that there will be no sudden change in our reserve management policy,” South Korean Deputy

Finance Minister Choi Jong-ku told Reuters by telephone. He was referring to Seoul’s heavy ownership of US bonds out of more than $300 billion in foreign reserves.

“There’s no alternative that provides such stability and liquidity,” added Choi, who declined to elaborate further. There was no confirmation of the timing of a G7 call for finance ministers and central bankers. But a second Japanese government source said it “would be normal” for it to take place before Asian markets opened. Tokyo’s stock market, the biggest in Asia, starts trading at 9 am (0000 GMT) today. The most immediate concern for financial markets was the debt crunch in the euro zone, where yields on Italian and Spanish debt have leaped to 14-year highs on political wrangling and doubts over the vigor of budget cuts.

Political splits in ECB Investors saw the ECB’s failure to include Italy and Spain in the relaunch of its bond purchases as a sign of the depth of political divisions over the role of the euro zone currency. German officials want to see stiffer austerity steps in place before the ECB takes on more Italian and Spanish debt. The danger is that further pressure on Italian and Spanish bonds could further undermine a damaged European banking system and lock Italy, the world’s No. 8 economy, out of the market.

Indeed, doubts are growing in the German government that Italy could be rescued by the European emergency fund, even if the fund were tripled in size, according to Der Spiegel. Italy’s financial needs are so huge that it would overwhelm resources, according to government exper ts, Der Spiegel said in its online edition. Italy’s public debt is about 1.8 trillion euros, or 120 percent of its national output. Berlusconi has pledged to move up austerity measures and balance the budget to 2013, a year ahead of schedule -steps the ECB will consider to gauge whether to buy its bonds. — Reuters

China pushes public housing as prices boom BEIJING: With their monthly income of 10,000 yuan (about $1,500), Beijing nurse Liang Huiqing and her husband would not have been able to get a foothold in China’s soaring property market without government help. The couple, who have a 12-year-old son, bought their apartment in China’s vast capital for just 500,000 yuanabout one-sixth of the market priceunder a state-subsidized housing program.

Anxious about the country ’s growing wealth gap, China’s communist government is investing more than $700 billion in low-cost housing to help those priced out of the property market or struggling to meet fast-rising rents. Over the next five years, it plans to build or renovate 36 million homes countrywide amid concern that growing public discontent over high prices could spill over into social unrestand threaten the Communist Party’s hold on power. “Beijing’s property prices are expensive. Many people can’t afford to buy a house, especially the young people,” said Liang.

China’s public housing has been neglected for years as local governments, eager to cash in on scorching property prices, sold land to developers for more lucrative projects. There are plans to start work on 10 million apartments this year under the scheme which allowed Liang and her family to move out of the cramped apartment they shared with her parents and into a place they can call their own. But local authorities are dragging their feet due to a lack of funding, while developers are put off by low profit

MONDAY, AUGUST 8, 2011

margins. The plan is expected to be largely financed by banks and requires local authorities to provide valuable land for free or at cheap prices-adding to the pressure on already stretched local government finances. Analysts say the program could cost local administrations as much as 500 billion yuan a year in lost land sales and push them deeper into the red as they borrow money to finance construction. “Already indebted local governments, and eventually the banks, will ultimately bear much of the initiative’s financial burden,” said Nicholas Consonery, a Washington-based analyst at consultancy Eurasia Group.

“This will further strain local government budgets, reducing the resources available for social welfare spending.” China’s National Audit Office said last month the debt held

by local governments stood at 10.7 trillion yuan as of the end of 2010 — equivalent to about 27 percent of China’s 2010 gross domestic product. Unperturbed, in June, China’s housing ministry issued an urgent call to start building, calling it a “political mission”-an order IHS Global Insight analyst Ren Xianfang said local officials would have to comply with.

“This is basically a political goal which, if they miss, could affect their political fortunes,” she told AFP. Property developers are also baulking at the low or non-existent profit margins from social housing. But analysts say local officials, worried about their future promotion prospects if their state-subsidised housing projects stall, have sought to persuade developers by making it a condition for winning other land

BEIJING: Photo shows people walking among newly built apartment buildings. — AFP

Nepal’s Himalayan tea growers turn a new leaf KATHMANDU: After decades spent in the shadow of their neighbors across the border in Darjeeling, Nepalese tea growers are finally laying out their own stalls in the lucrative global market for premium leaves. Grown at high altitude in lush, emerald gardens among the foothills of the Himalayas, “orthodox” Nepalese teas are now finding their way onto the books of specialty buyers from Europe and the United States. The orthodox method of production oxidizes and prepares teas with a focus on the top-quality, whole leaves and buds that produce a nuanced and slightly fruity flavor and can be used for multiple infusions.

It is a niche but profitable market, supplying high-end tea shops and retailers around the world who cater to an affluent, health-conscious clientele.

“Nepalese tea is increasingly visible in the western world where the demand for high-quality tea has grown in recent years,” said Dilli Baskota, manager of Kanchanjangha Tea, a garden based in the hills of eastern Nepal.

Germany and United States are the primary markets, but Baskota said that buyers from France, Britain, Russia and Canada, as well as consumer giants China and Japan, had recently placed sizeable orders.

Premium Nepalese teas can fetch prices as high as $85 per kilo on the international market, and according to the National Tea Board production has almost doubled in the past five years to 2.6 million kilos, of which 90 percent is exported. The global market for orthodox teas is currently estimated by the US Tea Association at around 45 million kilos. The hill gardens of eastern Nepal are at an equivalent altitude-and share a similar climate-to those just across the Indian border in Darjeeling, which produce some of the world’s most sought-after and highest-priced premium black tea.

The Darjeeling brand enjoys international renown, but experts say complacency, price-gouging and a low-level but persistent separatist insurgency in the Indian region have given the Nepalese teas a foothold in the market.

“Around five years ago, some European buyers became frustrated with the Darjeeling growers, feeling they were using their monopoly on the brand to push prices far too high,” said Vikram Mittal, a New Delhi-based trader in spe-

cialty teas. “So they started looking more closely at similar-tasting but cheaper Nepali teas as a sourcing option,” Mittal said.

Nepal growers cannot compete with the top-grade Darjeeling premium teassuch as the “Silver Tip” leaves which are traditionally hand-picked under a full moon and retail at up to $500 a kilo. But their medium-grade orthodox teas are competitive and quality is improving as owners lure Darjeeling planters to manage their gardens. “Quite a few have moved to Nepal, where they are given more responsibility and better salaries,” said P K Ganguly, a retired Darjeeling grower. “They take with them decades of accumulated expertise in growing and processing and that makes a huge difference quality-wise,” he said.

Nonetheless, as an impoverished, landlocked country, Nepal poses particular challenges to tea growers who have to struggle with a woeful transport infrastructure, power and labor shortages and a lack of government support. “The government hasn’t provided any real incentives,” said garden owner Bachan Gyawali. “Labor shortages and regular strikes enforced by one group or another have, at times, crippled the business,” Gyawali said.

Around 8,000 small farmers are involved in orthodox tea cultivation and employ some 27,000 people-the vast majority of them women. In an effort to promote their brands, Nepal’s private tea producers launched the Himalayan Tea Producers Cooperative (HIMCOOP) in 2003, and have started to take part in global trade fairs, such as the World Tea Expo in Las Vegas. HIMCOOP has hired a Darjeeling native, John Taylor, to oversee its marketing side, and has created a “Nepal Tea” brand endorsed by the legendary Italian mountaineer, Reinhold Messner.

While branding is crucial, Taylor said a long-term effort was also needed to woo major overseas buyers. “Tea is a very personal business. You have to build up a personal relationship with the buyers who often visit the gardens themselves,” he said. HIMCOOP president Sushil Rijal acknowledged: “There is huge potential for orthodox tea in European countries and North America but, up till now, we haven’t been able to market our products that well.”Honestly, we are very new in this trade,” he admitted. — AFP

KATHMANDU: A Nepalese shopkeeper assists a customer in a tea shop. —AFP

Russia in soup over ageing Soviet jets MOSCOW: A Kremlin vow to ground Soviet-era jets after a spate of air disasters has raised fears that the remotest parts of Russia could be left cut off with no means of access by plane. Creaking aircraft like the Tupolev Tu-134 and the turboprop Antonov An-24 are often the only planes light enough to land on the short gravel strips of Russia’s permafrost-covered Arctic regions and the wind-swept tundra belt. Many of those towns-developed in Stalin’s times to mine for minerals and drill for oil-are built thousands of miles away from large cities and often not linked to other parts of Russia by either road or rail.

But the once-proud workhorses now fly with outdated and increasingly unresponsive equipment that pilots say often leaves them reliant on little more than intuition to land. Two accidents involving the Tu-134 and An-24 this summer that killed a total 54 people prompted President Dmitry Medvedev to call for most of the aircraft to be retired by January 1 and the rest taken out in subsequent months. But even the most senior officials were quick to admit that implementing the ban would not be that simple.

“Of course we could simply ban the flights. That would be the simplest solution. But then what would we fly?” Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov asked shortly after Medvedev’s announcement. One analyst said the ban could interrupt travel to at least 50 of the 300-plus airfields currently operated across the vast country. Transport officials said Russia’s fleet of 90 Tu134 jets could slip to 15 by next year. “How are we going to reach the many northwestern and Siberia airports whose runways cannot accommodate modern Russian and foreign jets?” the UTair carrier that has the largest fleet of such planes asked in a statement released to AFP. The problem is that Russia has no medium-haul equivalent ready to replace the two Soviet-era aircraftthe last Tu-134 was built in 1984 and the An-24 has not been produced since 1979 — while their foreign counterparts are too big. This could be solved simply by paving some of the smaller Siberian runways a process that would take less than a year to complete. Yet analysts said the costs involved would be prohibitive for most remote regions that still rely on Moscow for help.

Both UTair and transport officials insist that both air-

craft facing retirement were initially built for war conditions and are sturdy enough to last for many years to come. “I do not see any production defects with our planes. I think that the ‘old fleet’ complaint is a fiction,” said Aviaport.ru aviation magazine editor Oleg Panteleyev. Russia now plans to discontinue regular flights of the old aircraft and allow charters to fly for an unspecified time as long as the planes are equipped with new air collision avoidance systems costing about $200,000 each.

That figure roughly matches the current resale value of a Tu-134 and UTAir which has 28 Tu-134 and 25 An-24 — said it was currently looking at Western suppliers such as the French-Italian ATR to replenish its fleet. The only Russian plane that could conceivably could come to the rescue is the Sukhoi Superjet 100 (SSJ-100) — a long-delayed Tu-134 equivalent that despite its name can carry no more than 100 passengers on mid-range flights. — AFP

Taiwan keeps wary eye on downgrade TAIPEI: Taiwan, one of biggest foreign holders of US debt, yesterday was keeping a close eye on developments after the US ratings downgrade and a local stock market plunge, local media reported. VicePremier Sean Chen, in charge of the island’s economic issues, held an “internal meeting” of relevant government agencies yesterday, the United Evening News said. Central bank governor Perng Fai-nan was monitoring developments in the international community, it said. The moves came after Standard & Poor’s Friday cut the US credit rating from the top notch triple-A to AA+, sparking fears that the world still reeling from the 2008 global financial crisis may be hit by a double dip recession. Ahead of the downgrade, Taiwan’s weighted index on Friday tumbled 5.58 percent, one of the steepest falls among the world’s stock exchanges, as investors feared the island’s export-reliant economy may be hit hard in the event of another financial crisis. — AFP

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G7 leaders race t new week of marke

Input from G7, G20 partners of ‘crit

BRUSSELS: Leaders of the powerful G7 nations yesterday raced for a joint response debt crisis and downgrade of the US credit rating ahead of the opening of market their worst falls since 2008 last week, vacationing leaders scrambled in a flurry o Washington to salvage confidence before the clock strikes in New Zealand, the first ters and central banks from the G7 nations-Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, hold a telephone conference call and possibly issue a joint statement yesterday, Jiji P

BERN: This photo shows the Swiss National Bank in Bern, Switzerland. —AP

Swiss consumers ask: Why shop in Switzerland?

FERNEY-VOLTAIRE: Swiss officials and businesses may be fretting about the franc’s rise against other currencies, but one group of people are clearly loving it: Swiss consumers. A mere 300 meters across the border in the little French town of Ferney-Voltaire, the first sign of the franc’s rise against the euro can be found at the Carrefour supermarket’s parking lot, where six out of 10 cars bear Swiss license plates.

“This always happens when the franc is strong,” said store manager Dominique Faustin. “A large percentage of our customers do cross the border to take advantage of deals,” he told AFP, without giving figures. Switzerland currently finds itself a victim of its own success. The small Alpine republic, with low debt and a strong economy, has proved irresistible to investors seeking a safe haven for their assets from economic turmoil elsewhere.

As a result, the Swiss currency has risen some 30 percent against the euro and nearly 40 percent against the US dollar compared to a year ago, a bane for exporters but a boon for consumers. When asked if the exchange rate affected where he shopped, a customer who lives and works in Geneva, one of the most expensive cities in the world, told AFP: “absolutely, it definitely changed my habits.” “If you compare prices, everything is cheaper here, because of the strength of the franc,” he said. An AFP investigation showed that Roquefort cheese is 61 percent more expensive in Switzerland than in France, a head of Batavia lettuce costs 68 percent more, a 500 gram steak 50 percent more, and a bottle of wine almost double.

The onslaught of Swiss shoppers is also visible in the small German town of Weilam-Rhein, across the border from northern

Swiss city of Basel. “The number of Swiss customers is clearly on the rise,” Guenther Merz, manager of the Rhein Centre said, adding that there had been a 10 to 15 percent increase in revenues in the past few weeks. “Normally, they come for meat, vegetables and fruits, where the price differentials are quite high,” he added. According to BAK Basel consultancy, this price difference will lead Swiss households to spend 310 million francs more shopping across the border this year than they did in 2010.

Retailers, including bosses of the country’s biggest supermarkets, have come out to plead with Swiss customers not to buy abroad, arguing that it would hurt the broader economy and put jobs at risk. But the shopping is not limited to small consumables. Jose Cabellos, manager of real estate broker AJC Immobilier in neighboring Annemasse near Geneva, said that there had been a 20 to 30 percent increase in the number of Swiss interested in buying or renting in France compared to a year ago.

“These people, who previously were not interested in moving to France, because of the exchange rate, are much more willing to take the step,” he said. “The (comparatively) low costs make living here much more attractive,” Cabellos said.

The Swiss central bank has stepped in to halt the franc’s rise but measures taken so far appear to have short-lived results.

This week the franc advanced to fresh highs against the euro and the dollar, and the central bank warned that the strong currency was now a threat to the economy. But for the time being at least, consumers seem to be happy. “Why would I shop in Switzerland?” a Carrefour customer said. —AFP

Gulf Coast still coming to terms with oil spill BAYOU LA BATRE: It was nearing sunset on a muggy night when Debra Bosarge arrived at the State Docks, her daughter, Celia, buckled into the passenger seat. They were there to wave goodbye as Bosarge’s boyfriend, Connie Johnson, set out for a night of shrimping aboard the trawler Empty Pockets.

It’s a familiar scene in this village, which bills itself as the seafood capital of Alabama, but it has added poignancy this summer: The Gulf Coast is on the rebound a year after the BP oil spill wreaked havoc on the economy, environment and psyche. Yet the relief felt a year ago when crews finally maneuvered into place the cap that stopped the gushing well is tempered by anxiety over the future.

“They’ve gone back to work, but is it still scary? Yes,” said Bosarge, 31, who’s a descendant of the town’s founding family. “We just pray and try not to think of it a whole lot. If you dwell on it, it’s in your head all the time.”

This Friday will mark one year since oil stopped flowing into the Gulf of Mexico, and a drive along the coast from the sugar white sands of Pensacola, Fla., to the barrier islands of Louisiana over the Fourth of July weekend found many signs of progress: Bustling beaches were free of oil, Gulf seafood was on the menus and marinas that had canceled fishing rodeos when the oil was swirling say the fish are biting.

But despite those scenes of a region recovering, conversations all along the Gulf Coast showed that many are still grappling with an enormous sense of distrust. Some can’t quite bring themselves to believe government assertions that the spill didn’t do as much damage as first feared. Others don’t believe assurances that the seafood is safe to eat. Everywhere, people expressed fear that oil still lurks deep in the Gulf and that a siz-

able hurricane could spit it back onshore. “I’m not a rocket scientist but I’ve got enough sense to know all that oil just doesn’t disappear,” Bosarge said.

Across the Gulf, state economists are still tallying lost sales taxes, fishing license revenue and other data to determine how much each state lost during the 87 days - from April 20 to July 15, 2010 - that the oil spewed into the Gulf. Analysts suggest that it could take years to fully detail the economic and environmental effects of the disaster. The tourists, though, are returning. Among them, Ynese Davis, who last year skipped her usual fishing vacation to Pensacola, Fla., and traveled instead to the casinos in Tunica, Miss. The Atlanta native was back this year, happily pursuing croaker and white trout from the deck of the Bay Bridge Fishing Pier in Pensacola.

“There’s been trouble everywhere,” said Davis, 53, noting that Tunica closed the casinos for two weeks this spring when the Mississippi River rose to historic levels. “But I can’t complain here. I’m just glad to be back.

You saw that oil, you didn’t know if you’d ever be here again.” Many businesses report a rebound: In Waveland, Miss., Nadine Brown said this year’s Fourth of July business was healthy enough that she no longer feared losing C&R’s Bar and Grill, an institution with a 40-year history.

“This is the first holiday weekend that I’ve had since the oil spill that has shown some promise,” said Brown, who owns the bar with her husband. “It’s hope. It’s a glimpse of hope that things are really starting to come back.”

And yet many industries are still reeling. In Louisiana, shrimpers blamed the spill for plummeting prices and for a spike in sea turtle deaths, which they worry will prompt new restrictions on shrimping. —MCT

Officials remained tightlipped, however, on plans to stave off a global meltdown, with the European Central Bank (ECB) notably refusing to confirm reports of a Sunday evening telephone conference call between European central banks. At stake is whether the Frankfurt bank will step into the market to buy back debt piled up by Italy, the eurozone’s third largest economy and latest potential victim of the rumbling euro crisis, also threatening Spain. It last week saw its borrowing costs spiral to record highs due to a loss of investor confidence over its debt mountain — 120 percent of its GDP-as well as poor economic growth prospects and political tension.

Buckling to ECB demands to first step up reforms and slice its deficit, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi this weekend said lawmakers would be called back early to rush through austerity measures, including a constitutional amendment to force governments to keep balanced budgets. ECB intervention would reassure skeptical markets, unconvinced that “politicians have a strategy for dealing with Italy and Spain,” said Will Hedden, a trader at IG Index. In London, the Centre for Economics and Business Research last week commented: “Realistically, Italy is bound to default, but Spain may just get away without having to do so.”

As the US ratings downgrade

by Standard & Poor’s late Friday added to the week of drama, in which trillions of euros were wiped off the value of stocks, the holidaying leaders of Britain and France, Prime Minister David Cameron and President Nicolas Sarkozy discussed the crises at length by phone. “Both agreed the impor tance of working

together, monitoring the situation closely and keeping in contact over the coming days,” a Downing Street spokesman said.

Barely two weeks after a special summit held to offer a definitive fix to Europe’s rumbling debt crisis, the panic biting the single currency is whipping eurozone

would allow eurozon ments to raise funds run their countries guarantees from the country bloc of 332 m ple. The Commissio and the European Stability Facility (EFS “working night and

BRUSSELS: European Commissioner for Economic an a media conference at EU headquarters. —AP leaders back into action as markets hone in on government debt rather than banks.

Europe’s economic affairs commissioner Olli Rehn said Friday that input from G7 and G20 partners will be of “critical importance” in efforts to resolve spiraling chaos. Seeking to soothe tension after contagion even began to threaten France on the bond market, the EU’s Rehn rushed back to Brussels and announced he will propose new, common “Euro-bonds” next month. Until now taboo, these

flesh on the bones” o ment struck at the e July 21 summit. Und accord, leaders of the sharing the currency second bailout for Gre over a year, this time w off participation by t sector.But they also fle euro crisis response, a beef up the size of a the 440-billion-euro lion) EFSF-as well as its The new muscle wo the EFSF to step in to bled banks and buy ba

Rebuilding class with an artistic FORT WORTH: Imagine strapping yourself into a fine work of art and roaring down the road. It’s hard to do with a Picasso, but easy if you’re Stephen Ramsey or one of his numerous international customers. For more than 30 years, he’s been restoring and rebuilding big iron from Detroit’s glory days. His cars have won multiple awards from virtually every big-time car show in the country, including last year’s GoodGuys show at Texas Motor Speedway - a 1969 Chevy Camaro Pace Car that he had built for a customer took top honors from a field of more than 3,000 entrants as the Muscle Car Finalist of the Year. His office walls are plastered with awards from show after show, as well as pictures and letters from ecstatic customers that encompass a lifetime of what some might call an

his stunning coral and black 1955 Bel Air Sport Coupe, updated with custom leather interior, 502 cubic-inch ramjet V8 and state-of-the-art suspension and transmission. In a testament to the car’s superb rebuild, GM awarded it “Best Modern Restoration.”

He’s happy to rebuild a classic to original factory specs, or to customize it with today’s high-efficiency engines, transmissions and suspensions. And in the world of car guys, that’s a fairly provocative philosophy.

“There are two basic approaches to classics,” he says.

“Some people want their classy chassis rebuilt and updated with modern amenities and mechanicals.

Others want their cars restored to exactly the same condition as when they rolled off the line. Both sides get pretty passionate about their preferences,” he adds

HASLETT: Steve Ramsey, right, looks in on refurbishing work going on in his classic car garage in a hangar at Hooks Field. —MCT obsession. He just calls it “being a car guy.” “I love the looks, the designs, the power and the sheer fun of driving a beautiful piece of art, because that’s what they are,” he says with a grin that lights up his stillyouthful face (he’s nearly 70). “I can’t help it, I just love ‘em all.”

Love them all he may, but Ramsey confesses to being especially partial to “Tri-Fives,” the series of iconic 1955-56-57 Chevrolets that many aficionados regard as the golden age of post-war American motoring.

(Although the Bel Air Sport Sedan and the two-door Nomad station wagon are the most recognized of the lineup, the less-familiar, economy model 150s and 210s are also coveted by collectors.) And a few years back, when GM paid homage to Tri-Fives with a massive display of flawless examples at its headquarters, they asked another of Ramsey’s customers if he’d lend them

with a chuckle. “My passion is all about delivering what the customer wants. If the car is already near original, I’ll usually recommend that we keep it that way and make it better. But if it’s already been modified, then let’s update it and have some fun. That’s the key word.”

That sense of fun is palpable at Ramsey’s shop, a neat-as-a-pin, 12,000-square-foot space spread out between two aircraft hangars at Hicks Airport, north of Fort Worth. A traffic light blinks red-yellow-green, casting its light on a vintage gas pump, a giant tin Texaco sign and a squat, ‘50s-era Coke machine. Music by Elvis and the Beach Boys fills the air. Tigger and Beauty, two rescue cats, continually prowl the grounds and nap with Sadie, Ramsey’s beloved Heinz 57 dog. “They’re our on-site security patrol,” jokes Ramsey, who set up an office for them, complete with food, water and litter boxes.

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TECHNOLOGY

Anonymous antics spark hacker feud LAS VEGAS: Hackers bent on derailing Anonymous clashed with members of the notorious group at a DefCon gathering in Las Vegas late Saturday.

“Hubris” and “Asherah” of star tup Backtrace Security condemned Anonymous for “bully behavior” and argued that the group was trying to pass of reckless oppor tunism as Internet-age activism. “ When Anonymous started it was a good idea,” Asherah said during what exploded into the fieriest session yet at the infamous DefCon hacker gettogether. “Now, it is in violent freefall,” she continued as the audience divided into opposing camps of hackers cheering in agreement and angry

Anonymous fans heckling and shouting. “We are trying to derail something that has gone wrong very quickly and is going to get worse.” Asherah presented a history of Anonymous, saying the same people were behind splinter hacker group Lulz Security.

The speakers laughed, cursed, and openly taunted Anonymous while telling of how they were able to identify some members of the group because they used their hacker names at other online venues such as Facebook and Yelp. Backtrace told of luring Anonymous members into online video chats, capturing images of their faces and getting them to openly talk about illegal antics they

have done and with whom.

The session turned into a shouting match when representatives of Anonymous interrupted from the audience and then joined Hubris and Asherah on stage to field questions. “I believe what (Anonymous is) doing is for the good of everyone,” said an Anonymous member with a mask similar to the one worn by the protagonist in the film “V is for Vendetta,” sparking applause from one side of the large room.

Anonymous representatives, one in a toy bear costume, defended actions such as releasing looted computer data including names of police informants or credit card numbers on

the grounds networks should be better protected.

The Anonymous member with the mask, which he raised while answering questions, reasoned the cyberattacks conducted in support of whistleblower website WikiLeaks were noble.

“Working together in the last year, Anonymous and WikiLeaks have done more for world peace than any government has done in the last thousand years,” he maintained. Asherah portrayed Anonymous as a formless mob that does what it feels and then justifies it after the fact, often under the guise of activism. “ They have become the monsters they are claiming to fight against,” she said. “If

anonymous wants to be taken as a legitimate activist group they need to excise the bullies and the jerks.”

Hubris and Asherah said they share their findings with agents from the US Federal Bureau of Investigation. “You can expect something pretty spectacular in the next few weeks,” Asherah hinted. “Anonymous thinks they can be jackasses because nobody knows who they are,” she said. “Unfortunately, not many of them are truly anonymous. I know who a lot of them are.”

Anonymous mouthpiece Gregg Housh scurried to the stage after the talk, noting that the session was filmed and quickly telling a companion “we have to photo bomb” the footage. — AFP

Hacking encouraged, even prized, at Vegas geek fest Feds inform hackers about government jobs

MOUNTAIN HOME: A building housing Brooks-Jeffrey Marketing is shown. The group known as Anonymous said Saturday it hacked into some 70 mostly rural law enforcement websites in the United States. — AP

Rural US websites target for hackers LITTLE ROCK: The digital trove of credit card numbers and emails stolen by the group known as Anonymous came from towns across rural America - places like Gassville, Arkansas and Tishomingo County, Miss., where officers don’t usually have to worry about international hackers. That may have made them an easy score. The loosely-knit hacking collective said Saturday that it attacked 70 mostly rural law enforcement websites in the United States in retaliation for the arrests of its sympathizers. Some county sheriffs said they were told about the hacking, but others appeared to learn of the scope of what had happened only when contacted by The Associated Press.

Web security experts said the cyberattack shows that no website is too small to avoid hacking, especially as more law enforcement agencies upload sensitive information about investigations, inmates and officers to their sites. “It seems to me to be low-hanging fruit,” said Dick Mackey, vice president of consulting at Sudbury, Massachusetts-based SystemExperts. “The smaller the organization, the more likely that they don’t think of themselves as potential targets.

They’re not going to have the protections in place that a larger organization will have.”

Many of the sheriff ’s offices outsourced their websites to the same Mountain Home, Ark.-based media hosting company, Brooks-Jeffrey Marketing.

If Brooks-Jeffrey ’s defenses were breached, that would give hackers access to every website the company hosted, said Kevin Mitnick, a security consultant and former hacker. Brooks-

Jeffrey declined to comment. Most of the sheriffs’ department sites, if not all, were either unavailable for most of Saturday or had been wiped clean of content. Some had started to reappear online Saturday evening. The emails were mainly from sheriffs’ offices in Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri and Mississippi.

Many of the leaked emails appeared to be benign, but some of the stolen material seen by the AP carried sensitive information, including tips about suspected crimes, profiles of gang members and security training. At least one email had material - including pictures of teenage girls in their swimsuits - that Tim Mayfield, the police chief in Gassville, Arkansas, said was sent to him as part of an ongoing investigation.

Mayfield declined to provide more details. In another email that Anonymous posted, a police tipster wrote that his uncle was a convicted sexual offender who was homeless and hanging around an area Walmart and other places where children were. Another tipster wrote to police that she and her neighbors could smell drugs coming from a house. The leaked information also included five credit card numbers Anonymous said were used to make “involuntary donations.” At least four of the names and other personal details appeared to be genuine. One person confirmed to the AP that his credit card had been used improperly. In a statement, Anonymous said it leaked “a massive amount of confidential information that is sure to (embarrass), discredit and incriminate police officers across the US.” — AP

Wire pops lock certified for US defense facilities LAS VEGAS: Hackers at a DefCon gathering were shown how a high-security lock certified for use in sensitive US government facilities can be easily opened with just a piece of wire.

Security specialist Marc Weber Tobias had plans to meet in Switzerland with lock-maker Kaba to discuss ways that the Swiss company’s Access Control EPlex 5800 model and its predecessor can be foiled. “It is a threat to the government,” Tobias told AFP after his presentation at DefCon, which finished yesterday. “I am serious about it because I don’t know where they have been installed,” he continued. “They could be at the Pentagon.”

The Kaba 5800 was described as the first lock certified as meeting new US Department of Homeland Security requirements for coded access that keeps track of which contractors or federal workers open which doors. The lock is designed to be opened by swiping a key card and then entering a long number code.

Tobias and cohort Toby Bluzmanis showed how a Kaba 5800 could be opened by poking a piece of wire through the casing of a small LED light on the lock face and short-circuiting underlying electronics. Red and green LED lights on the lock are part of a feature that lets a receptionist open a door remotely with a push of a button.

The lock could also be opened with the thump of a mallet or by removing an inside plate and inserting a wire in a way that lets someone, from that point forward, open the door by pushing a handle up instead of down, according to the duo. “We figured out nine different ways to break 5800,” Tobias said.

“You are not going to get away with some of these techniques at the Pentagon; you would have a nine-millimeter pistol pointed at you.” Tobias and his team began to scrutinize the lock after learning that several years ago members of the Jewish community figured out that an earlier Kaba keypad access model could be opened using a magnet.

Keypad locks had found a niche in the Jewish community because the religion prohibits using keys on the Sabbath, according to Tobias. “A Jewish geek squad was helping elderly people open their doors when they couldn’t remember key codes,” Tobias said.

“They figured out you could open the locks with a magnet.” The Kaba 5800 model is priced at more than a thousand dollars and the company was said to have sold fewer than 2000 units, with the new DHS standard not being in place until next year. “Kaba is a good company,” Tobias said. “This is a problem endemic in the lock industry, they think like engineers not hackers.” — AFP

LAS VEGAS: There was a whole lot of hacking going on in Sin City this weekend-and right under the noses of federal agents. But in a sign of a time when cybersecurity is at the forefront of national security concerns, the feds were not lurking in the shadows to keep a watchful eye. They came as invited guests at the Defcon hacker convention in Las Vegas, which drew more than 10,000 attendees in its 19th year. At Defcon, computer wizards test their skills against each other for bragging rights and prizes. No name tags are issued and hackers identify themselves only by oneword handles. High-profile attacks on government and corporate computer systems disclosed this summer have pushed hackers increasingly into the public eye.

Meanwhile, government agencies are wooing hackers to join them in fighting such intrusions.

The Defcon crowd made for an interesting mix. It had its fair share of mohawk haircuts that would make a rainbow proud, along with tattoos and piercings but it mostly looked like a campus of geeks let loose in a Las Vegas hotel to do what they consider fun: decipher mind-bending puzzles, starting with the convention badge. Made of titaniumorganizers say they depleted the country’s stock of the raw material-the badge had a cut-out of the Egyptian mathematical symbol the Eye of Ra, and a letter and number. It offered a clue to a puzzle. Other clues were contained in a large decoder wheel on the floor where a golden pyramid with symbols was encircled by letters coupled with numbers.

More clues were salted in the program booklet and strewn throughout the convention center. A hacker who goes by the moniker “LosT ” designed the game and offered some helpful hints: 10 people had badges with a Z and a number. Oh, and find someone to translate Chinese. “I pulled in so many different disciplines that no single person can really do it by themselves unless they are a weirdo like me,” said LosT, an engaging mathematician/engineer with blue hair and a goatee.

GETTING A BAD RAP? The game illustrates the intellect of the attendees, who see

LAS VEGAS: Hackers try to solve a giant mosaic floor puzzle at the hacker conference DefCon. — AP hacking as a skill for problemsolving and do not welcome the notoriety generated by some bad apples breaking laws. Hackers are “people who like a challenge. We don’t do crime, we’re not criminals,” said “mournewind” from West Virginia. “People have this opinion that hackers do illegal things and that’s not really a good thing.” Hacking, for example, can help improve commercial products, he said. “We break an iPhone to make Apple make it better.” Hackers pointed out that criminals exist in all professions and they should not all be painted by that broad brush. “I think hackers have always gotten a bad name,” said “pwrcycle,” whose business card labels him an “Ethical Hacker.” “Those are the people who think outside the box. The epitome of free thinkers.”

He objected to the term “cyber wars,” saying there was danger in calling what was essentially a crime in which no one died a war, with its suggestion that military might could be used on basically thugs, bullies and mobsters.

“What most people are trying to say is we want to stop espionage,” he said. “He’s not trying to kill you, he just wants to pick your pocket.” At the start of a panel of cyber investigators from the Air Force, Navy, Army and NASA, a burly man called “Priest,” who said he entered government service after the September 11 terrorist attacks, advised the audience that if they wanted a government

job the key was to stay out of jail, go to college and not do drugs.

The panelists said there was a debate in their world about whether it was better to turn a cop into a cyber specialist or turn an information technology expert into a cop. “I think you just need to be a geek who knows how to talk to people,” said Ahmed Saleh, special agent in NASA’s computer crimes division. “We have a little bit of both. We have a little bit of the geeks who became cops and the cops who became geeks, or nerds or whatever words you want to use,“ he said. The panel started with a “spot the Fed” contest in which the audience had to guess which of four women on stage was a federal agent. Most of the audience picked the one who said her favorite president was Ronald Reagan. Wrong. It was the one who said her childhood dream was to be a pilot.

Let the games begin One sure way to catch the attention of would-be employers is to win the prestigious “Capture The Flag” contest. This year 12 teams huddled with laptops in a low-lit room all day, hacking each other. The competition is all about “attack and defense,” explained “Factor,” who was part of the defending champion team ACME Pharm. The attacker’s goal is to find vulnerabilities while the defender tries to to prevent the holes from being exploited. “You are amongst gods,” Factor said. “ This is the Olympics.” He

shrugged off as “hype” the negative image of hackers as criminals and said the public should not believe everything it reads. “There are good hackers, there are bad hackers,” he said. “And some of us have kids.”

Some hackers brought their kids along for Defcons first-ever program for children, aged 8 to 16, who listened to presentations about hacking, solving puzzles and laws while sitting at long conference tables, with some feet barely touching the ground.

Hackers are starting younger and younger, and their parents couldn’t be prouder about their children following in their footsteps.

The earlier generation of hackers has grown up and now has children of their own to bring up in the family tradition. So they brought the youngsters to Defcon Kids Saturday and Sunday for a bit of education. “A lot of us who have been coming to Defcon over the last almost two decades are getting ... um ... more mature, we’ll just put it that way,” said Chris Hoff, founder of HacKid who helped organize the children’s program at Defcon. “And a lot of us have kids of our own.” Federal agencies took the opportunity to introduce themselves to hackers in the developmental stages. The National Security Agency, the Maryland-based spy agency, brought a World War Two-era Enigma machine, which was used to encrypt messages, to show children how to make a rudimentary cipher. — Reuters

An app that helps pay the iPhone bill MIAMI: Your freeloading iPhone can now start paying for itself. Maybe even take you someplace nice for dinner. A two-month-old app called Gigwalk pays you to use your iPhone.

Users who download the app act as on-theground inspectors for big companies, checking local menus, store displays or verifying street-signs. The Gigwalkers, as they’re known, snap photos of the task and send it to Gigwalk, which pays anywhere from $3 to $90 for a gig.

As users prove themselves and earn “StreetCred,” they can unlock higher-paying gigs that are more complicated.

Gigwalk is the brainchild of three former Yahoo employees: Ariel Seidman, Matt Crampton and David Watanabe. Backed by venture capitalists, Gigwalk launched in eight cities: San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, Seattle and Miami. Its clients include Microsoft, which uses the app to check information for Bing, its search engine. The idea behind it was to make use of smartphones and social systems, Seidman said in a telephone interview from California. “We’re solving problems for companies and trying to rethink how people find work,” he said. Josh Tarkoff, 30, a pediatric resident at Miami’s Jackson Memorial Hospital, was one of the first to sign up. Tarkoff’s done nearly 140 gigs and earned $350 in the past month alone. “In this day and age, everyone

would take a few extra bucks,” he said. Most gigs involve taking panoramic photos inside a shop or restaurant and a couple from across the street. Tarkoff’s favorite kind is checking if the business is still open at the address. If it’s shut down, a simple shot of the new business pays five bucks. “That’s where the real gold is,” he said. Chris Groves, 35, is a fledgling Gigwalker. The information technology manager from Coral Gables, Fla., completed one

MIAMI: In this frame grab, Josh Tarkoff, 30, a pediatric resident at Jackson Memorial Hospital, takes a Gigwalk in downtown Miami.— MCT

gig at a local Winn-Dixie and he’s ready for more. “I consider it almost like visual history documentation,” he said.

Even reluctant participants have embraced the app. Kristy Quiros, 23, said she’d heard of Gigwalk from West Coast friends before its release. But she didn’t download the app until three weeks ago. “The whole idea seemed cool but like a time-waste,” she said. Then she came across online forums where people discussed how much they were making. Quiros has now finished three practice gigs and is on her way to paid ones. She’s convinced that the concept is genius. The Gigwalk app does have some limitations. It’s available only for iPhones, and some gigs specifically require the iPhone 4 camera. Batteries run out after a couple of gigs and photo uploads can eat into your data plan.

An Android app is expected later this year along with plans to expand to other metro areas, Seidman said. Doing a gig can sometimes be awkward. Walking into a restaurant and taking photos for no apparent reason looks strange, especially in today’s world. “I’ve been kicked out of places often enough,” Tarkoff said. “It’s easier when they’re really busy.” Luckily, there are online forums that offer tips. At car dealerships, for example, it’s best to “be vague when describing what car you want” or if you’re tired of being stealthy, it’s OK to make yourself a business card. — MCT

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H E A LT H & S C I E N C E

Austria debates abortion access in public hospitals VIENNA: A call for wider access to abortion in Austria has seen tempers flare, reigniting a debate over whether it is a right and whether public hospitals should offer the procedure. “Pregnancy terminations should be offered in every region,” Health Minister Alois Stoeger said in a recent interview with the weekly News, drawing a heated response from some political parties and medical professionals. According to the ministry, 29 public hospitals and private clinics offer pregnancy terminations in Austria, but these are all concentrated in the east of the country, with none in the western provinces of Tyrol and Vorarlberg.

And while a handful of private practitioners do offer the procedure in the west, the costs are inevitably higher than in public hospitals. “A whole group of people, ie women, is not being

taken seriously if in all of western Austria this option (of abortion) does not exist,” the Social Democrat Stoeger told News. “Women have the right to decide whether they want a termination or not,” he added, and threatened to withhold state funds if public hospitals did not widen access. “Carrying out abortions is not the job of public hospitals, and it will stay that way,” fumed Vorarlberg’s vice - governor M arkus Wallner in response.

“Abortion is not a state duty,” added Karlheinz Kopf of the conservative People’s Party, the Social Democrats’ coalition partner in government, while the Austrian medical association deemed it “alarming” to link access to abortion with the allocation of state funds. For many critics in this majority Catholic country, even the basic legality

of terminating a pregnancy is in doubt. A 1975 law states only that abortions are “not subject to penalties” if carried out within the first three months of a pregnancy or in case of serious health concerns for the mother or baby.

The text is known as the “grace period solution” (Fristenloesung) rather than the “abortion law.”

The far-right Freedom Party (FPOe) insisted the law “only says that the killing of unborn lives is free from sanctions, but it remains illegal.” “There is no such thing as a right to abortion,” FPOe deputy Dagmar Belakowitsch-Jenewein added in response to Stoeger’s proposal, while the president of the medical association warned it would be “ethically questionable to force doctors to carry out abortions against their will.” The People’s Party, and unsurprisingly the Catholic Church,

called for more measures to promote family life and encourage women to keep their child.

Stoeger’s proposals were welcomed, however, on the other side of the political spectrum by his fellow Social Democrats, the opposition Greens and the media, which warned of the risks of seeking an abortion from illegal practitioners. “Women have a right to self-determination over their body and should not be hindered by inadequate medical facilities,” said the Social Democrat minister for women’s affairs, Gabriele Heinisch-Hosek.

While no official statistics exist, it is estimated that some 30,000 abor tions occur ever y year in Austria. An abortion can cost anywhere between 300 and 800 euros and unlike some other European countries, it is not covered by health insurance. — AFP

Formerly conjoined Guatemalan twins celebrate 10th birthday Many conjoined twins don’t reach 1st birthday LOS ANGELES: Josie and Teresita celebrated their 10th birthday - a joyous event that highlighted how these Guatemalan twins born conjoined at the head have repeatedly defied the odds with their survival. Among the guests at their Hawaiian-themed party Saturday were many members of the 50-person surgical team that successfully separated them. The girls, whose full names are Maria de Jesus and Maria Teresa QuiejAlvarez, garnered international attention when they were separated in 2002 in a 23-hour surgery that riveted the world as it unfolded at Mattel Children’s Hospital at the University of California Los Angeles Medical Center.

“It is a miracle,” said Jenny Hull, an executive board member of Mending Kids International, the organization that arranged the $1.5 million surgery and has financed much of their care through donations. Mel Gibson also attended the birthday bash at a private home in Malibu, which included a bounce house and a steel drum

band. The actor, a long-time supporter of Mending Kids who has known the sisters for most of their lives, walked with the girls up a hill to the party, laughing with Josie and blowing bubbles with Teresita.

“It’s good to be here. It’s good to see the twins,” Gibson said to reporters before heading inside. Dr Henry Kawamoto, who headed the plastic-surgery team, said there was little in medical texts a decade ago about separating craniophagus or head-conjoined twins. He and neurosurgeon Dr Jorge Lazareff outlined their own procedure. “It went off like we planned it,” said Kawamoto. “That was really such a great feeling.”

The operation, however, lasted longer than the 15 hours Kawamoto anticipated. Equalizing the girls’ vital signs under anesthesia was tricky, he recalled. After months of recovery, the sisters, known as Josie and Teresita, returned to Guatemala, but several months later Teresita contracted meningitis.

MALIBU: Josie Hull, center right, and sister Teresita Cajas, center left, formerly conjoined Guatemalan twin girls who were separated in a surgery in 2002, celebrate their 10th birthday. — AP

US drug company, hospital sued over man’s poisoning PHILADELPHIA: Xiaoye Wang came to the United States from China to study computer engineering, and met his future wife while earning a doctorate at the University of Pennsylvania. On January 14th, the day they were to finalize their divorce, Wang went to a New Jersey hospital with abdominal pain and numbness in his hands and feet. He told hospital staff he feared his wife was poisoning him but was allegedly deemed paranoid by the hospital staff, according to a lawsuit his relatives filed this week.

His wife, chemist Tianle Li, is charged with fatally poisoning her 39-year-old husband, who died at University Medical Center on Jan. 26. She pleaded not guilty to the murder charge, and remains jailed in New Jersey on $4.5 million bail.

Wang’s relatives sued the hospital along with Li’s employer, New York City-based pharmaceutical giant Bristol-Myers Squibb, where she allegedly got the poison sometimes dubbed “the inheritance powder.” They believe that Li, 40, upset about the divorce, slipped the tasteless, odorless rat poison Thallium into her husband’s food or drink over several months, notably in a hospital visit hours before he fell unconscious on Jan. 23. And they claim Bristol-Myers Squibb should have had tighter controls over the deadly metal, which has been banned for consumer use since 1972. “In the world that we now live in, for anybody, no matter who they are, to be able to have access to something like that ... something that can be used to kill, is astonishing,” said lawyer Brian Fritz of Philadelphia, who filed the suit on the relatives’ behalf.

The plaintiffs include Wang’s brother, Xiaobing, who lives in China; his cousin Weiguo Wang of Washington state; and co-adminis-

trators of his estate. The lawsuit alleges that Bristol-Myers Squibb documented Li exhibiting a temper and erratic behavior on the job. The suit also claims that another employee had gotten a restraining order against Li and the company was aware of that. A company spokeswoman declined comment on the lawsuit, but offered condolences to Wang’s family.

Spokeswoman Laura Hortas says Li has been fired. A spokeswoman for Princeton HealthCare System, which operates the hospital, also declined comment. The couple had a son, now 2, who is staying with his maternal grandmother, Fritz said. Wang, who worked in New York City, had an apartment in Jersey City. But he was primarily living in the couple’s home in New Jersey to help care for their child, Fritz said. — AP

PHILADELPHIA: In this undated photo provided by the family via Saltz, Mongeluzzi, Barrett & Bendesky, Xiaoye Wang is shown. — AP

They returned to the United States to be near sophisticated medical care and now live with two host families in Los Angeles County. Their parents remain in their rural village in Guatemala and visit the girls several times a year. They speak to them every Sunday. Josie attends a public elementary school where she’s entering fourth grade. She’s very social and loves singing, drawing and performing with her synchronized swim team. “She’s quite a fish,” said Hull, who is her host mother. She has suffered delayed motor skills in her legs, however. With intensive physical therapy, she walks aided by a cane and a walker, and expects to be fully ambulatory eventually, Hull said.

At Saturday’s party, Josie went straight for the pool, where she frolicked with her friends.

Teresita’s bout with meningitis left her unable to speak, but she expresses herself through humming and laughing. She enjoys art, music and computers at school and loves swimming and horseback riding. The twins see each other several times a week. “They love being together,” Hull said. “They totally have that twin connection.

Josie always talks to Teresita and she’ll hum back.

She’ll tell her something funny and Teresita will laugh.” Lazareff called the meningitis “a severe setback. My dream was for them both to lead independent lives - one may not, but who knows.” Still, he noted the sisters have thrived. “It speaks to the wonderful care of the people around them,” he said.

Conjoined twins are extremely rare, occurring in about one in 2.5 million births, with craniophagus twins the rarest kind. If they survive birth, many do not live beyond their first birthday.

Others do not survive separation surgery. The survival odds in the twins’ case were improved because they each had their own brain. Josie and Teresita’s story has brought renown to Burbank, California-based Mending Kids. Both donations of cash and physician services increased, bringing life-changing medical treatment to more kids from underdeveloped countries, Hull said.

Lazareff said the case also opened doors to establish pediatric neurology programs and teaching partnerships in developing countries.

“They have indirectly helped hundreds of other children,” he said. — AP

KYOTO: Baby mice born with viable sperm created from stem cells of mice are shown shortly after their birth at a laboratory of the university in Kyoto, western Japan. — AP

Sperm from mice stem cells offers infertility hope TOKYO: A team of scientists has reported producing viable sperm using the stem cells of mice in an experiment that researchers hope could one day lead to treating infer tile men. The Kyoto University researchers managed to induce mice stem cells into creating sperm precursors, which were transplanted into infertile male mice. The mice then produced sperm that was successfully used to fertilize eggs in a lab dish.

The offspring were healthy and fertile, according to a paper published online Thursday in the scientific journal Cell.

Members of the research team, led by Mitinori Saitou, said they believe their success may help in the development of infer tility treatments in humans, although they said many hurdles remain.

“We have high hopes, but it’s not that easy,” Saitou told the Associated Press by telephone Friday from Kyoto, in western Japan. “There are many difficult issues ahead in applying this to humans. But it is a first step.”

Experts outside the group say it’s an important first step toward infertility treatment although there would be a long way. “This is a very good experiment for thinking about treatment of infertile man but a very very long way,” said Toshio Suda, developmental biology professor at Keio University. He said the Kyoto team’s findings were great work but it is not easy to prepare the mature sperm cells at present. If some hurdles are cleared, it could successfully identify “which gene is very important to prepare the sperm.” — AP

Southeast failing to mandate renewable energy regulations ATLANTA: States across the country are gradually forcing or cajoling their electric companies into buying renewable energy, but the trend has fallen flat in the Southeast. The map is striking. Of the 11 states that haven’t set even voluntary targets on how much alternative energy utilities must buy, eight of them are Southern states - Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina and Tennessee. Those involved in the debate say a mix of factors have deterred the states from more aggressively pursuing new sources of energy.

Conservative Republicans are wary of imposing unpopular government mandates. Utility companies that enjoy regional monopolies make little money selling renewable power generated by someone else to their customers. And those utilities are influential, spending more than $74 million this year on federal lobbying, according to tallies by the Center for Responsive Politics. Similar spending happens on the state level.

Lobbyists for Georgia Power have spent more than $29,000 this year while meeting with lawmakers, utility and environmental regulators and other officials.

Residents in the Southeast also benefit from some of the lowest electricity bills in the country, making politicians reluctant to tamper with anything that could hit their constituents in the wallet.

“When things are working well, there’s a little bit less of an incentive to push for something new,” said Jessica Shipley, a solutions fellow for The Pew Center on Global Climate Change, which backs tighter rules. North Carolina remains the regional outlier. It passed a law in 2007 requiring municipal power companies and cooperatives to get 10 percent of their electricity by 2018 from renewable sources such as solar panels, wind turbines, hydroelectric dams and chicken and pig manure. Investor-owned utilities will have to meet a 12.5 percent target by 2021. The companies can meet that requirement in part by taking steps to decrease electricity use.

The earliest standard was created in 1983, although analysts at the Pew Center say most states created or strengthened their rules after 2000.

NEWLAND: Joel Olsen Jr, managing director of O2 Energies, talks with workers about the installation of the solar panels at the company’s solar power farm in Newland, NC. — AP Proponents of the rules say they create a market for alternative energy, wean the country off fossil fuels and reduce emissions blamed for global warming. Not all rules are binding on utilities. Electric companies are required to meet the mandates set in North Carolina. Other states like North Dakota have voluntary programs that do not include penalties.

In rural Newland, NC, construction workers have been installing the underground electric cables that will soon connect some 4,000 solar panels on part of a Christmas tree farm. The $5 million project, which should be finished next month, will produce enough electricity to power a neighborhood. Joel Olsen, managing director of O2 Energies, said the law forcing utilities to purchase green energy was one of several policy changes that made his project possible.

“Utilities need to have a requirement in order to purchase power, otherwise it makes no business sense to their shareholders,” he said.

Former North Carolina state Sen. Charles Albertson sponsored the legislation mostly to help livestock farmers. His law allows power companies to meet part of their targets by burning or extracting flammable gasses from pig and chicken waste. “We felt we could utilize some of that animal waste and put it on the grid,” Albertson said. His other goals included reducing North Carolina’s reliance on out-of-state energy and trim

its fossil-fuel emissions. Former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist’s attempt to create a renewable energy standard flopped.

State lawmakers refused to approve rules setting a renewable energy standard, although an older executive order attempting to set energy goals remains on the books. Efforts to create a national standard have so far failed. Legislation creating such a standard - which was part of a defeated cap-and-trade system - has stalled in Congress. During this year’s State of the Union address, Obama called for getting 80 percent of the country’s electricity from nuclear, natural gas and “clean coal” with renewable sources such as wind and solar.

Some argue the Southeast lacks the resources for big renewable energy projects. Government studies show the region has less solar energy potential than the West. Wind speeds on land are also relatively low, making wind turbines less productive than in the Midwest or the Great Plains. Better wind could be found offshore, although that increases costs. Marilyn Brown, a professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology who studies renewable energy policies, said the Southeast has untapped energy at its disposal. She said local states could burn biomass in coal-fired power plants without changing much equipment.

Policymakers could make it easier for manufacturers to install generators that convert heat produced by factories into

electricity that can be sold to consumers.

“I do think there are some misunderstandings about the available resources,” she said. Utility companies are wary of any policies that could cost their customers and shareholders money. A study this year by the US Energy Information Administration forecast that coal- and gas-fired power plants coming online by 2016 would on average produce cheaper electricity than the major forms of renewable energy, except hydropower.

Brown said many of the most viable streams are already dammed and there’s little political appetite for building more.

Researchers are investigating whether turbines could be added to existing dams. Fossil-fuel and nuclear plants have another inherent advantage: they can operate when renewables cannot. A solar panel cannot generate electricity at night. Wind turbines won’t spin on a calm day.

The Atlanta-based Southern Co., which operates power utilities in four Southern states, says renewable energy is part of its portfolio, but it opposes a federal mandate forcing it to buy set amounts of that energy. In Georgia, the company says it opposes any mandate that will increase customer bills. “We are not in favor of anything that is going to put upward pressure on rates and would be uneconomical for our customers,” said Lynn Wallace, a spokeswoman for Southern Co. subsidiary Georgia Power.

Of course, the electricity from fossil-fuel plants is not immune to price increases.

Utilities plan to spend billions of dollars upgrading or replacing coal-fired power plants to meet more stringent environmental requirements.

Democratic state Rep. Karla Drenner, who has sponsored bills requiring renewable energy use in past years, has never gotten her proposal out of a committee.

She said Georgia is missing a chance to create new jobs. Once a market for renewable energy takes off, she expects competition will increase, technology will improve and prices will come down.

But she concedes mandates are deeply unpopular among Southeast conservatives. “A mandate is a political cussword in a red state,” she said. — AP

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Marine ER releases 10,000th rescued sea lion Half of animals taken in survive to be released POINT REYES NATIONAL SEASHORE: Two juvenile sea lions paused for a moment at the edge of the sea, each raising their whiskered faces toward the silvery water before sliding in to freedom. For the Marine Mammal Center crew standing behind the rehabilitated pinnipeds on Thursday, it was a significant day: rescued sea lion Number 10,000, nicknamed Milestone, and 10,001, Zodiac Girl, had been nursed back to health and sent back to the wild where they belong. “There’s always some attachment. There’s always some animal that captures your heart,” said Shelbi Stoudt, the center staffer who organizes these regular releases. “It’s a bittersweet feeling because you’re sending them back home but you also don’t get to see them anymore.”

Since it opened its doors 36 years ago, the nonprofit marine mammal hospital has become famous for nursing sick marine critters back to health - but its biggest contribution perhaps has been its role in collecting and storing thousands of tissue and other samples from the animals it rescues along 600 miles of California coast.

The center’s mix of laboratory science, marine zoo and educational outreach has led to dozens of published scientific papers and helped push understanding of effects of toxic algae, disease and the effect of climate change on these coastal denizens.

While rescues are a chief focus of center, only about half of the animals the center takes in survive to be

released. Still, many of the more than 17,000 marine mammals - including entangled whales, otters and elephant seals - the center has aided or taken in have contributed samples that will help further research that can aid threatened and endangered species around the world. Indeed, many of the animals nursed back to health are not facing imminent extinction - there are about 200,000 California sea lions in the wild - but the their maladies and their genetic makeup are similar to other species in peril.

California Sea Lions share genetic traits with Steller sea lions, which are a threatened species. The center’s researchers say collecting and banking scientific samples from many of the thousands of sea lions the center has treated contributes to efforts to save Stellers. Same goes for elephant seals, which share traits with the endangered Hawaiian Monk Seals. “We’re learning about marine mammal health through all these patients. Before 1975, there was never anything being regularly documented..., so it wasn’t feasible to get baseline sets of urine and tissue samples,” said Jim Oswald, the center’s spokesman.

Though Milestone and Zodiac Girl unwittingly became the center’s 10,000th and 10,001st sea lions to be sent back home the Pacific Ocean, their time spent at the center’s facility in the Marin Headlands just north of the Golden Gate Bridge provided scientists with a lit-

tle more information being used to unravel a mystery ailment. The two animals had leptospirosis, a bacterial infection that attacks the kidneys and can be fatal to sea lions. Dogs and humans can also contract the disease.

What’s odd about the affliction, scientists have observed, is that it occurs cyclically every four or five years, when hundreds of sickened, stranded California sea lions are found infected. While no answer to the mystery has been found, the center’s data collection is helping researchers move closer.

The center is studying the exposure of sea lions to carcinogens. About 17 percent of the stranded adult sea lions taken in by the center have a specific cancer the center first found in 1979. Researchers are studying the animals for levels of carcinogens, such as the persistent pollutants DDT and PCBs, which are banned in the US, but still are found in sea lion blubber.

Oswald said the center also finds chemicals, antibiotics and other substances of human origin in elephant seals and other creatures it studies. The cancer research is being done with an eye to improving the understanding of human cancers, and allows scientists to do tests that could not be done with human subjects. “It’s shocking how many animals we’ve treated, but the information we’ve received from them, that’s one of the most important aspects of the center’s work,” said Stoudt. — AP

CALIFORNIA: Two California sea lions, Zodiac Girl, left, and Milestone, are released back into the wild at Chimney Rock Beach in Port Reyes National Seashore, Calif. — AP

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Greetings

The workshop

Gulf Express Co organizes training

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ulf Express Co, an Al Babtain company, as per their commitment towards supporting their esteemed customers, conducted TOTAL lubricants technical training programs course for the engineers & technical staff of KPTC at their training room in Kuwait on Sunday 24th July 2011.

Sales Manager Hasan Ali welcomed the guests and explained the importance & the need of training in every field of life. He took this opportunity to

recognize that through the years the relations between KPTC & Gulf Express Co. have been strengthened & now TOTAL Lubricants are the most preferred lubricants by KPTC for their garage. He thanked them & has assured for continuous support.

Lubricant’s training was given by highly experienced Export Manager of TOTAL Lubricants Middle East Abdullah Siddiqi, who tailored & developed the training program to match the specific

requirements of KPTC. The module has been prepared to improve technical knowledge for KPTC staff regarding lubrication of their various equipment’s like Busses, Diesel & Petrol vehicles, compressors, Generators, Specialty products, High temp. Greases, Marine Lubricants etc.

KPTC has been introduced with the Profit Booster Lubricants that will help to reduce their fuel consumption, extend their drain intervals, optimize their lubri-

cants stocks, and reduce their equipment’s wear, at the same time would be environment-friendly. Participants have very enthusiastically taken part in the question & answers session during the presentation. Officials from KPTC have thanked the Gulf Express Co & TOTAL team for conducting a world class training program which helped their staff to be more confident while dealing with Total Lubricants & have requested to have such updates frequently in future.

Ashraf Aboul-Yazid publishes two new novels A Backyard Garden: Memories of 1952 Revolution & Egypt’s relations with the Arabs and the world

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he new novel (A Backyard Garden) written by the Egyptian poet and novelist Ashraf Aboul-Yazid, and published by “Maktabet alMashareq” in Cairo, shows the final scene in the life of a revolutionary figures who belonged to the Egyptian revolution of 23 July 1952. The novel that was written three years ago, and had its publication delayed for several reasons, finally found its way to light in the atmosphere of freedom, which makes its reading a review of the relationship history of Egypt and the Arabs in the decades after the revolution.

After an introduction on the place of scenes entitled “No Man Paradise’, the author divides his novel into four chapters; “Fall of absence”, “Winter of Love”, “Spring of Travel” and “Summer of Return.”

The narrative world is showing worlds of plants, travel spaces, different and deep cultures, especially the Indian culture.

The heroine of the major events says in one of its chapters: “In India I saw heaven and hell together. The contradictions flock under the same sky.

I saw mosques and temples.

There were Muslims who worship for the whole night and hermits who stay away from the noise of the day. There were shaking minarets, and disappearing ones. There were

abandoned gates, paths and crowded. There were houses that do not resemble a designated home of any mark, thrown a little away from palaces that restores the ages

This photo of these poor people is repeated with millions scattered in the cities of India. I thanked God whenever I passed by them. We write about poverty in Egypt, but we

away the humanity.”

Heroes of Numbers!

“Zeus has to be humble a little”. This is a phrase echoed by a character in the new novel (31) written by the Egyptian poet

The front cover of ‘31’ and the author, Ashraf Aboul-Yazid of sultans. Rare museums are open to the road, and a fascinating collection under heavy guard. Shrines hugging lacy sky domes, and the graves of stone stretched everywhere. I saw forests of tinplate, trees of cement, walls of canvas, epitaphs of stone, and air of ashes.

do not see it. Poverty is relative.

It is thought to live in an apartment in exchange for the same poor who owns his own house.

It is a poor riding a bus in front of a man driving his own car...., but despite our poverty, but we are equal in our humanity, and I felt that real poverty is giving

and novelist, Ashraf AboulYazid, and published by “Maktabet al-Mashareq” in Cairo. The novel takes place in a world full of mystery, where the author does not give his characters names, they are all numbers instead. The novel begins with chapter Number 31, and

starts the countdown all the way to the final chapter, Number 1, and those numbers are listed as a parallel to the remaining days in the life of its main character, and narrator, Mr 666, who works for a media establishment in the Gulf. The narrative structure is based on the spinning quiet for a set of documents, letters and private papers; to build a shocking world of re-discovers the structure of Arab society, through concern for the creative person looking for salvation in an exciting adventure.

Aboul-Yazid’s first novel (Shamawes) had been published by Dar Al-Ain Publishing, Cairo (2007), and was translated into Korean and Persian. The Writer has published 5 volumes of poetry, with many of his poems translated into English, Spanish, Italian, Persian, Russian and Turkish. He also has more than 60 travels written of 30 countries, and some of those travels were published in his book “Sirat Musafer’ (The Tale of a Traveler), Cairo, 2008.

Ashraf aboul-Yazid writes biographies, and devotes much of his ideas for children, as well.

He also started his TV program; “The Other” last year, to interview guests from all over the world, introducing their cultures to the Arab viewers. Since 2002, he lives in Kuwait as the editor of Al-Arabi magazine.

Squash tournament Aware Arabic courses

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he AWARE Management is glad to announce that Ramadan Arabic language courses will begin on August 7th till September 15th, 2011. AWARE Arabic language courses are designed with the expat in mind. The environment is relaxed & courses are designed for those wanting to learn Arabic for travel, cultural understanding, and conducting business or simply to become more involved in the community. We cater to teachers, travelers & those working in the private business sector.

Photography contest

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he Cancer Aware Nation (can) in cooperation with the Ministry of Health and Dasman Diabetes Institute will be holding a photography contest during Ramadan. The theme of photo contest is to highlight the quality and quantity of healthy foods against unhealthy foods and the correct or wrong methods of preparing and cooking foods. This activity is part of the awareness campaign of CAN during the season of Ramadan to educate and encourage the public to observe healthy eating habits to eat cancer - fighting foods and to promote an active lifestyle to stay fit and healthy and especially to prevent cancer diseases.

The contest is open to the public and exciting prizes await the winners. The following prizes will be awarded: first place KD 1000, second place KD 200 and gift vouchers third - fourth fifth places KD 50 and gift vouchers sixth to tenth place gift vouchers. All participants will receive certificates of appreciation. Deadline for submitting the photo entries is on 24/8/2011. More information about this contest can be found at www.Shireenalmutawa.blogspot.com or call 22250226.

AWARE Arabic courses highlight ● Introductory to Level 4 Arabic language basics ● Better prepare you for speaking, reading and writing Arabic ● Combine language learning with cultural insights ● Taught in multi-nationality group settings ● Provide opportunities to interact with Western expatriates and native Kuwaitis/Arabs. For more information, call 25335260 or log onto: www.aware.com.kw

Don Bosco Oratory announces cricket tournament

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on Bosco Oratory is pleased to announce its Major 7-a-side ‘Box Cricket Tournament’ in Kuwait. This event is for the cricket lovers in Kuwait and will be played on a League cum Knock out basis at the IEAS Indoor grounds at Salmiya. The last date for entries for participation is August 9th. Entries are accepted on a first come first serve basis. Draws will be announced on 10th August. We wish all teams the very best and request to help us in succeeding to organize this major event.

When: The tournament begins on August 13.

We request all interested teams to contact the organizer at the school grounds between 7-8 pm Mon - Thurs or: Philip: 6604-7730, Alex: 6606-9282, Liston: 99849649

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nce again this year, the stage is set for the third annual ‘Ramadan Stars Squash Tournament’ to be held from 15th August to 22nd August at the Kazma Sporting Club, Adailiya. Abdulrahim Al Awadi, the Chairman of the Higher Organizing Committee has announced that doors are now open for registration to all those who are interested in participating, stating that the deadline for registration will be 13th of August.

The participation in this tournament is open to all and will fall under three categories this year. The first category is for amateurs from ages 17 and above, second category is for professional players from ages 20 and above and the third category is for ladies 17 and above.

Following its last two years of grand success, the 3rd annual Ramadan Stars Squash Tournament is being organized during Ramadan for squash lovers who will have an opportunity to practice the sport while being encouraged to develop their skills in a healthy and competitive environment.

Al Awadi, the Chairman of the Higher Organizing Committee, commented, “In our last two tournaments, we have received very positive feedback and have witnessed a huge number of interested participants thus giving us immense encouragement to hold an exciting tournament this year. The 2011 squash tournament offers a great opportunity to all squash players to accept another challenge and build on their sports skills in midst of a friendly atmosphere. I highly encourage all interested players to maintain their level of activity during Ramadan while balancing fitness and fasting and to register before the deadline ends”.

All details pertaining to the tournament and means to participate can be found on the tournaments facebook page under ‘Ramadan Stars Squash Tourney’. The registration is taking place at GO SPORTS located at The Avenues Mall.

Alawadi also pointed out the great interest the ‘Ramadan Stars Squash tournament’ received from the private sector, where companies took the initiative in sponsoring the tournament. Alawadi expressed his gratitude and thanks to Go Sports, Comtel, Right Guard, TRACCS Public Relations, and Unite Colors, guaranteeing unique prizes for all winners.

For details contact Sarah Saeed TRACCS Tel: 22916093/ 66491539 Fax: 22916095. E-mail: sarah.saeed@traccs.net

Dearest Shubh Yadav!

We, your parents, grandparents and friends wish you a great Happy Birthday. Hundreds of happier returns of the day.

We all love you a lot God Bless You!

Announcements Gergean Fashion Show Get your kids dressed up in their best Gergean costumes or Fair y tale costumes! The Kids Gergean Fashion Show event is sponsored by Fantasy World & it includes lots of entertainment & goodies. It is open to kids aged 2 to 15 years.

This event will be covered by many magazines :) When: Thursday, August 11th, Time: 8:30pm, For more info: 9722-4813 GIRGIAN: A fun Girgian party at Baroue! :) When: August 12th, 13th & 16th, Where: Baroue, Avenues Mall, Time: 8pm, For more info: 22597457 to 60 Ernakulam iftar Kuwait Ernakulam Residents’ Association (KERA) iftar on August 13, at Rhythm auditorium, Abbassiya, from 5.30 pm onwards.

Attention kids!

CEF VBS 11 starting from August 22. Six exciting days of singing, games & bible stories for children of all ages. Hurry !!!. Limited Seats. Register Online: www.cefkuwait.org Tulukoota talent hunt Tulukoota Kuwait will hold a “Talent Hunt 2011” a chance to prove an inborn trait in you that confirms your individuality, uniqueness. So step forward to grab this opportunity to show your caliber and entertain. Dance, music, art or any special talent- now is your chance to showcase it and be part of this year’s Talent Hunt & Tulu Parba. Talent Hunt event is open to all Tuluvas.

For more information and registration form kindly log on to our Website: www.tulukootakuwait.org or visit our facebook page - Tulukoota Kuwait Talent Hunt 2011. You could also email your form request to: secretary@tulukootakuwait.org or contact our area coordinators mentioned below. Mangaf, Fahaheel, Abuhalifa : Ronald Dsouza- 60035824, Shalini Alva- 23726164, Suma Bhatt- 97834578 Salmiya & Hawally: Swarna Shetty- 99006934, Kripa Gatty- 66044194 Kuwait City, Jahra, Sharq : Rekha Sachu- 65044521,97862115 Farwaniya, Abbassiya, Shuwaikh & Khaitan: Sathyanarayana66585077 Sanath Shetty- 67712409.

Pathanamthitta Onam The executive committee of Pathanamthitta District Association has decided to hold 2011 Onam Festival celebrations on Friday October 28, 2011 with a grand public function attended by Member of Parliament from Pathanamthitta Loksabha Constituency, Anto Antony and other prominent dignitaries from Kerala and Kuwait.

All residents of Pathanamthitta District and persons of Pathanamthitta District origin are hereby invited to attend this function and friends and families.

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.

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.

Rink soccer Don Bosco Oratory is pleased to announce its Major 4-A-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. For details contact Chris: 6651-9627, Alex: 66069282 from 6-9pm.

Konkani musical show Comedian Philip, the 1st NRI Goan comedian, is all set to entertain you with a Konkani music show titled “Ani, Anik Zaiem?” to be presented by the United Friends Club on September 9 at 4pm at the AIS (American International School) Auditorium, Maidan-Hawalli. This is Kuwait-based comedian Philip’s third musical show after the overwhelming success of staging “Tum Vhoir Aum Sokol” and “Hem Kazar Koslem” in Kuwait and overseas.

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Embassy Information EMBASSY OF ARGENTINA In order to inform that 23rd of October 2011, will be Argentine national election where all Argentinean citizen residents permanently in Kuwait can vote only if they are registered at the Electoral Register of the Argentine Embassy. The procedure of inscription ended on 25 of April 2011. To register it is necessary that Argentinean citizens should come personally at the Argentinean Embassy (Block 6, street 42, villa 57, Mishref ) and present the DNI and four personal photos (size 4x4, face should be front on white background). For further information, contact us on 25379211.

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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.

Awqaf Ministry holds ghabqa

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he Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs hosted its annual ghabqa at its diwaniya building under the patronage of acting undersecretary Dr. Mutlaq Al-Qarawi. The event was attended by ministry staff and other guests.

● The Embassy of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh in Kuwait will remain closed on Monday, 15 August 2011 on the occasion of the National Mourning Day, the 36th Death Anniversary of the Father of Nation - Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. The Embassy will arrange the following programmes to observe the National Mourning Day, the 36th Death Anniversary of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on Monday, 15 August 2011 at the Chancery. The programme on this occasion will be as follows: 0830 hrs Roof top Hoisting of the National Flag at half-mast 1630 hrs First Floor Recitation from the Holy Quran one-minute silence in honour of the martyrs.

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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 ■■■■■■■

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.

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EMBASSY OF GERMANY The Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Kuwait wishes to announce that as of 1 May 2011, the external service provider Al Qabas Assurex is operating a Visa Application Centre in support of the German Embassy. Short-term visa applications for travels to Germany (e.g. for tourism, visits, business) are to be submitted to the service provider Al Qabas who for your convenience will ensure that all relevant documents are included in your application. Your personal appearance at the Application Centre is not required. Address of the Visa Application Centre: Al Qabas Assurex Sanabel Tower (Al-Babtain) Mezzanine (M3) opposite Sharq Mall Kuwait 22924444 Fax: 22924442 Further information are available on the following websites: www.kuwait.diplo.de www.qavisa.com ■■■■■■■

EMBASSY OF INDIA The Embassy of India will remain closed on the following dates on August 15, 2011 (Monday) - ‘Independence Day’ and August 22, (Monday) - ‘Janamashtami’.

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EMBASSY OF IRAN The embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Kuwait announced their official working hours during the holy month of Ramadan, which will go between 9:00 am and 2:00 pm on weekdays. The Iranian embassy extends will wishes to His Highness the Amir, the government as well as the people of Kuwait on this occasion.

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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 ■■■■■■■

EMBASSY OF SLOVAK REPUBLIC The Embassy of the Slovak Republic to the State of Kuwait would like to inform the public that from 8th August 2011, the working hours of the Consular Section will be on Monday and Wednesday from 10:00 till 13:00 hrs.

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Years

00:45 Dogs/Cats/Pets 101 01:40 Untamed And Uncut 02:35 World Wild Vet 03:30 Planet Earth 04:25 Whale Wars 05:20 Animal Cops Miami 06:10 Dogs/Cats/Pets 101 07:00 Meerkat Manor 07:25 The Really Wild Show 07:50 Animal Planet’s Most Outrageous 08:40 Breed All About It 09:10 Dogs vs. Cats 10:05 Dogs 101 11:00 Michaela’s Animal Road Trip 11:55 Meerkat Manor 12:20 Wildlife SOS 12:50 Cell Dogs 13:45 Animal Cops Houston 14:40 Animal Precinct 15:30 SSPCA: On The Wildside 16:00 The Really Wild Show 16:30 Jeff Corwin Unleashed 17:00 Natural Born Hunters 17:25 Dogs/Cats/Pets 101 18:20 Breed All About It 18:45 Orangutan Island 19:15 Crocodile Hunter 20:10 Dogs 101 21:05 Killer Crocs Of Costa Rica 22:00 Crocodile Feeding Frenzy 22:55 I’m Alive 23:50 Life Of Mammals

00:25 00:55 01:40 02:30 03:15 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 12:25 12:55 13:25 14:20 14:50 15:20 16:20 17:05 17:35 18:05 19:00 20:00 20:45 21:15 21:45 22:40 23:30

00:00 01:50 02:50 04:50 05:35 06:25 07:15 09:10 09:40 10:10 10:35 11:00 11:45 12:40 13:05 14:00

Dad’s Army The Weakest Link Ray Mears’ Wild Foods The Weakest Link The Fixer One Foot In The Grave Tweenies Balamory Tikkabilla Charlie And Lola Tweenies Balamory Tikkabilla Tweenies Balamory Tikkabilla Charlie And Lola Tweenies Balamory Tikkabilla Charlie And Lola One Foot In The Grave One Foot In The Grave The Weakest Link Sunshine Doctors Dad’s Army Ray Mears’ Wild Foods One Foot In The Grave One Foot In The Grave Sunshine The Weakest Link Doctors Dad’s Army Ray Mears’ Wild Foods Sunshine The Weakest Link Doctors Eastenders Holby City The Fixer One Foot In The Grave

Britain’s Dream Homes Britain’s Dream Homes Masterchef Australia Masterchef Australia Come Dine With Me Come Dine With Me Daily Cooks Challenge Daily Cooks Challenge What Not To Wear Indian Food Made Easy Indian Food Made Easy Cash In The Attic Antiques Roadshow New Scandinavian Cooking Britain’s Dream Homes Come Dine With Me

14:50 15:15 15:40 16:10 16:55 17:45 18:10 19:05 19:35 20:05 20:50 21:40 22:05 23:00 23:50

What Not To Wear Indian Food Made Easy Indian Food Made Easy Cash In The Attic Antiques Roadshow New Scandinavian Cooking Britain’s Dream Homes Indian Food Made Easy Indian Food Made Easy Cash In The Attic Antiques Roadshow New Scandinavian Cooking Britain’s Dream Homes Come Dine With Me Come Dine With Me

00:00 BBC World News 00:10 Feasts 01:00 BBC World News 01:30 Asia Business Report 01:45 Sport Today 02:00 BBC World News 02:10 The Health Show 02:30 Our World 03:00 Newsday 03:30 India Business Report 04:00 Newsday 04:30 Asia Business Report 04:45 Sport Today 05:00 Newsday 05:30 Asia Business Report 05:45 Sport Today 06:00 Newsday 06:30 Hardtalk 07:00 BBC World News 07:30 World Business Report 07:45 BBC World News 08:00 BBC World News 08:30 World Business Report 08:45 BBC World News 09:00 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 14:30 GMT With George Alagiah 15:00 BBC World News 15:30 World Business Report 15:45 Sport Today 16:00 Impact With Mishal Husain 17:00 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

00:40 01:35 02:30 03:25 04:20 05:15 06:05 07:00 07:50 08:45 09:10 10:05 10:30 10:55 11:25 12:20 13:15 14:10 15:05 16:00 16:55

Gold Rush: Alaska Gold Rush: Alaska Gold Rush: Alaska Gold Rush: Alaska Gold Rush: Alaska Gold Rush: Alaska Gold Rush: Alaska Wheeler Dealers Street Customs How Does It Work?

Mythbusters Cake Boss Border Security Auction Kings Wheeler Dealers Powering The Future Ultimate Survival Miami Ink Dirty Jobs Wheeler Dealers Mythbusters

MONDAY, AUGUST 8, 2011

TV PROGRAMS 17:50 18:45 19:10 19:40 20:05 20:35 21:00 21:55 22:25 22:50 23:45

Deadliest Catch Cake Boss Border Security Auction Kings How Does It Work?

Cash Cab (US) Flying Wild Alaska Swamp Brothers True Heroes Dirty Jobs Deadliest Catch

00:05 The Gadget Show 00:30 Prototype This 01:20 Colony 02:10 Powering The Future 03:00 Science Of The Movies 03:50 What’s That About?

04:45 Kings Of Construction 05:40 How Stuff’s Made 06:10 Smash Lab 07:00 Junkyard Mega-Wars 07:55 Nasa’s Greatest Missions 08:50 The Gadget Show 09:15 The Gadget Show 09:40 The Future Of...

14:55 The Future Of...

15:45 Weird Connections 16:10 Scrapheap Challenge 17:00 Through The Wormhole With Morgan Freeman 17:50 Sci-Fi Science 18:15 The Gadget Show 18:40 Things That Move 19:05 Things That Move 19:30 Kings Of Construction 20:20 Smash Lab 21:10 The Gadget Show 21:35 The Gadget Show 22:00 Things That Move 22:25 Things That Move 22:50 Kings Of Construction 23:40 The Gadget Show

00:25 00:50 01:15 01:40 02:05 Cody 02:30 02:55 03:20 03:45 04:10 04:35 05:00 05:20 05:45 06:10 06:35 07:00 07:25 07:50 08:15 08:35 09:00 09:20 Cody 09:45 10:05 10:30 10:55 11:20 11:30 11:35 12:00 Splits 12:10 12:20 12:30 12:40 Splits 12:50 13:10 Cody 13:35 13:50 14:15 14:35 15:00 16:30 Cody 16:55 17:20 17:50 18:20

Fish Hooks Phineas And Ferb Suite Life On Deck Sonny With A Chance The Suite Life Of Zack And Hannah Montana Forever Kim Possible Replacements Replacements Fairly Odd Parents Fairly Odd Parents A Kind Of Magic A Kind Of Magic Stitch Stitch Kim Possible Kim Possible Emperor’s New School Emperor’s New School Stitch Stitch Emperor’s New School The Suite Life Of Zack And Phineas And Ferb Wizards Of Waverly Place Suite Life On Deck Good Luck Charlie Fish Hooks Splits Mickey Mousekersize Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Jake & The Neverland Pirates Jungle Junction Splits The Hive Handy Manny Splits Jake & The Neverland Pirates Sonny With A Chance The Suite Life Of Zack And Phineas And Ferb Splits Shake It Up Hannah Montana Suite Life On Deck Motocrossed The Suite Life Of Zack And Wizards Of Waverly Place Hannah Montana Hannah Montana Suite Life On Deck

EMOTIONAL ARITHMETIC ON OSN CINEMA

18:45 19:10 19:35 20:00 20:25 20:50 21:15 21:45 22:10 22:35 23:00 23:25 23:50

Fish Hooks Shake It Up Jake & Blake Wizards Of Waverly Place Hannah Montana Fish Hooks Hannah Montana Shake It Up Suite Life On Deck Good Luck Charlie Wizards Of Waverly Place Jake & Blake Hannah Montana

06:00 American Dragon 06:20 Kick Buttowski 06:40 Pokemon Dp: Sinnoh League Victors 07:05 Phineas & Ferb 07:30 Kid Vs Kat 07:50 Pair Of Kings 08:15 I’m In The Band 08:40 Suite Life On Deck - Lost At Sea 09:50 I’m In The Band 10:15 The Super Hero Squad Show 10:40 Suite Life On Deck 11:05 Suite Life On Deck 11:30 Pair Of Kings 11:55 Phineas & Ferb 12:20 Phineas & Ferb 12:45 I’m In The Band 13:10 Kid Vs Kat 13:30 Kid Vs Kat 13:50 The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody 14:10 The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody 14:30 Phineas & Ferb 14:50 Zeke & Luther 15:15 Suite Life On Deck - Lost At Sea 16:25 Suite Life On Deck 16:50 Zeke & Luther 17:15 Zeke & Luther 17:40 Phineas & Ferb 18:05 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 21:50 The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody 22:15 The Super Hero Squad Show

00:05 Jungle Junction 00:15 Little Einsteins 00:40 Higglytown Heroes 00:55 Higglytown Heroes 01:10 Jo Jo’s Circus 01:30 Special Agent Oso 01:45 Special Agent Oso 02:00 Jungle Junction 02:15 Jungle Junction 02:25 Little Einsteins 02:50 Higglytown Heroes 03:05 Higglytown Heroes 03:20 Jo Jo’s Circus 03:40 Special Agent Oso 03:55 Special Agent Oso 04:10 Jungle Junction 04:25 Jungle Junction 04:35 Little Einsteins 05:00 Higglytown Heroes 05:15 Higglytown Heroes 05:30 Jo Jo’s Circus 05:50 Jungle Junction 06:00 Jungle Junction 06:15 Higglytown Heroes 06:30 Higglytown Heroes 06:45 Handy Manny 07:00 Special Agent Oso 07:15 Jungle Junction 07:30 Jungle Junction 07:45 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 08:10 Timmy Time 08:20 Handy Manny 08:30 Jake And The Neverland Pirates 08:45 Jake And The Neverland Pirates 08:55 The Hive 09:10 Handy Manny 09:25 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 09:50 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 10:15 The Little Mermaid 10:40 Little Einsteins 11:05 Jungle Junction 11:20 Lazytown 11:45 Handy Manny 12:00 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 12:25 Jake And The Neverland Pirates 12:40 The Little Mermaid 13:05 The Hive 13:15 Special Agent Oso 13:25 Little Einsteins 13:50 The Little Mermaid 14:15 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 14:40 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 15:05 Handy Manny 15:20 Handy Manny 15:30 The Hive 15:40 Jake And The Neverland Pirates 15:55 Imagination Movers 16:20 Lazytown 16:45 Jungle Junction 17:00 The Hive 17:10 Little Einsteins 17:30 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 17:55 Jake And The Neverland Pirates 18:10 Jake And The Neverland Pirates 18:25 The Little Mermaid 18:50 Special Agent Oso 19:03 Animated Stories 19:05 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 19:25 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 19:50 Jake And The Neverland Pirates 20:00 Jake And The Neverland Pirates 20:10 The Hive 20:20 Timmy Time 20:30 The Little Mermaid 20:55 Little Einsteins 21:20 Jake And The Neverland Pirates 21:35 Jungle Junction 21:50 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 22:15 Timmy Time 22:25 Handy Manny 22:40 Jungle Junction 22:55 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 23:20 Special Agent Oso 23:35 Special Agent Oso 23:50 Jungle Junction

00:15 Kick Ass Miracles 01:05 Kick Ass Miracles 01:30 Eds Up 01:55 Eds Up 02:20 Untracked 04:25 Untracked 04:50 Lucas Oil Motocross Championships 2009 06:30 Ride Guide Mountainbike 2007 08:00 Cape Epic 08:25 FIM World Supermoto 2010 10:05 FIM World Supermoto 2010 10:55 Dr Danger 11:20 Dr Danger 11:45 Fantasy Factory 12:10 Fantasy Factory 12:35 Man’s Work 13:00 Man’s Work 13:25 Mantracker 14:15 World Combat League 15:05 Dr Danger 15:30 Dr Danger 15:55 Fantasy Factory 16:20 Fantasy Factory 16:45 Cape Epic 17:10 FIM World Supermoto 2010 18:00 FIM World Supermoto 2010 18:50 FIM World Supermoto 2010 19:40 Mantracker 20:30 Man’s Work 20:55 Man’s Work 21:20 Untracked 21:45 Untracked 22:10 World Combat League 23:00 Kick Ass Miracles 23:25 Aiya TV 23:50 Man’s Work

00:30 Deadly Women 01:20 Disappeared 02:10 Couples Who Kill 03:00 True Crime With Aphrodite Jones 03:50 The Will: Family Secrets Revealed 04:45 Ghosthunters 05:15 Murder Shift 06:10 Mystery ER 07:00 Murder Shift 07:50 Forensic Detectives 08:40 Street Patrol 09:05 Real Emergency Calls 09:30 Mystery Diagnosis 10:20 The Will: Family Secrets Revealed 11:10 FBI Files 12:00 On The Case With Paula Zahn 12:50 Disappeared 13:40 Mystery Diagnosis 14:30 Street Patrol 14:55 Real Emergency Calls 15:20 The Will: Family Secrets Revealed 16:10 FBI Files 17:00 Forensic Detectives 17:50 Murder Shift 18:40 Real Emergency Calls 19:05 Mystery Diagnosis 19:55 Street Patrol 20:20 On The Case With Paula Zahn 21:10 Disappeared 22:00 Stalked: Someone’s Watching 22:25 Who On Earth Did I Marry?

22:50 Street Patrol 23:15 Real Emergency Calls 23:40 Dr G: Medical Examiner

00:00 Travel Madness 00:30 Travel Madness 01:00 Cruise Ship Diaries 02:00 Exploring The Vine 02:30 Exploring The Vine 03:00 Food School 03:30 Banged Up Abroad 04:30 Banged Up Abroad 05:30 Finding Genghis 06:00 Travel Madness 06:30 Travel Madness 07:00 Cruise Ship Diaries 08:00 Exploring The Vine 08:30 Exploring The Vine 09:00 Food School 09:30 Banged Up Abroad 10:30 Banged Up Abroad 11:30 Finding Genghis 12:00 Travel Madness 12:30 Travel Madness 13:00 Don’t Tell My Mother 14:00 Word Travels 14:30 Market Values 15:00 The Best Job In The World 15:30 Madventures 16:00 Which Way To...

17:00 Word Travels 17:30 Market Values 18:00 Lonely Planet: Roads Less Travelled 19:00 Don’t Tell My Mother 20:00 Word Travels 20:30 Market Values 21:00 The Best Job In The World 21:30 Madventures 22:00 Which Way To...

23:00 Word Travels 23:30 Market Values

01:15 03:15 06:00 08:15 10:00 12:00 14:00 16:00 18:00 20:00 22:00

Diary Of The Dead-18 Bad Boys II-PG15 King Arthur-PG15 Star Runners-PG15 Phone Booth-PG15 Collateral-18 Star Runners-PG15 Dick Tracy-PG15 Collateral-18 Triassic Attack-PG15 Se7en-18

01:00 02:45 04:30 07:00 09:00 11:00 13:00 15:15 17:00 19:00 21:00 23:00

Sinners & Saints-PG15 Home Run-PG15 Secretariat-PG15 Skellig-PG15 Flying By-PG15 Parlez-Moi De LA Pluie-PG15 Secretariat-PG15 At Risk-PG15 The Sunset Limited-PG15 Emotional Arithmetic-PG15 Crazy Heart-PG15 The Spy Next Door-PG15

00:00 Curb Your Enthusiasm 00:30 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 01:00 The Colbert Report 01:30 The New Adventures Of Old Christine

LEGION ON OSN MOVIES ACTION 02:00 Neighbors From Hell 02:30 Bored To Death 03:00 Just Shoot Me 03:30 Just Shoot Me 04:00 Two And A Half Men 04:30 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 05:30 Tyler Perry’s House Of Payne 06:00 Seinfeld 06:30 The Drew Carey Show 07:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 08:00 Two And A Half Men 08:30 Just Shoot Me 09:00 Tyler Perry’s House Of Payne 09:30 30 Rock 10:00 30 Rock 10:30 Seinfeld 11:00 The Drew Carey Show 11:30 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 12:30 Two And A Half Men 13:00 Just Shoot Me 13:30 Tyler Perry’s House Of Payne 14:00 Seinfeld 14:30 30 Rock 15:00 30 Rock 15:30 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 16:00 The Colbert Report 16:30 The Drew Carey Show 17:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 18:00 Just Shoot Me 18:30 Just Shoot Me 19:00 Cougar Town 19:30 Traffic Light 20:00 The League 20:30 It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia 21:00 The Daily Show Global Edition 21:30 The Colbert Report Global Edition 22:00 Comedy Central Presents 22:30 Comedy Central Presents 23:00 The New Adventures Of Old Christine 23:30 The League

00:00 Law & Order 01:00 Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior 02:00 Private Practice 03:00 Law & Order: Los Angeles 04:00 Strong Medicine 05:00 My Generation 06:00 Good Morning America 07:00 The Event 08:00 Emmerdale 08:30 Coronation Street 09:00 Never Trust A Skinny Cook 09:30 Huey’s Cooking Adventure 10:00 The Martha Stewart Show 11:00 The View 12:00 Law & Order 13:00 Law & Order: Los Angeles 14:00 Live Good Morning America 16:00 Strong Medicine 17:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show 18:00 Emmerdale 18:30 Coronation Street 19:00 Cold Case 20:00 The Closer 21:00 In Treatment 21:30 In Treatment 22:00 Private Practice 23:00 The Event

00:00 Smallville 01:00 Lie To Me 02:00 Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior 03:00 Law & Order 04:00 Law & Order: Los Angeles 05:00 Detroit 1-8-7 06:00 Smallville 07:00 8 Simple Rules ...

07:30 Coronation Street 08:00 No Ordinary Family 09:00 Detroit 1-8-7 10:00 Law & Order 11:00 Law & Order: Los Angeles 12:00 8 Simple Rules ...

12:30 Coronation Street 13:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show 14:00 No Ordinary Family 15:00 Smallville 16:00 8 Simple Rules ...

16:30 Coronation Street 17:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show 18:00 Tower Prep 19:00 Cold Case 20:00 The Closer 21:00 In Treatment 21:30 In Treatment 22:00 Lie To Me 23:00 Detroit 1-8-7

01:00 03:00 05:00 07:00 09:00 11:00 12:45 16:00 18:00 20:00 21:30 23:45

Ballistica-PG15 Sleep Dealer-PG15 Penny Dreadful-18 Kiss The Girls-18 Timeline-PG15 The Truth About Charlie-PG15 Wyatt Earp-PG15 Timeline-PG15 Set It Off-18 Bangkok Adrenaline-PG15 Bugsy-18 Legion-18

00:00 02:00 04:00 PG15 06:00 08:00 10:00 12:00 14:00 16:00 18:00 20:00 22:00

The Boys Are Back-PG Heart And Souls-PG It’s A Wonderful Afterlife-

01:00 03:00 04:45 07:00 09:00 10:45 12:45 15:00 17:00 19:00 PG15 21:00 23:00

The Sisters-18 Return To Rajapur-PG15 Up In The Air-PG15 Primo-PG15 Fantastic Mr. Fox-FAM Adam-PG15 Capitalism: A Love Story-PG15 Everybody’s Fine-PG15 In God’s Hands-PG The Mirror Has Two Faces-

Under The Tuscan Sun-PG15 All About Steve-PG15 Houseguest-PG15 102 Dalmatians-PG School Of Rock-PG15 The Boys Are Back-PG I Love You Beth Cooper-PG15 The Dukes-PG15 Friday-18

Le Code A Change-PG15 Gattaca-18

01:00 Too Big To Fail-PG15 03:00 Dr. Dolittle-PG 05:00 Dr. Dolittle 2-PG 07:00 Celine: Through The Eyes Of The World-PG15 09:00 The Karate Kid-PG 11:30 Dean Spanley-PG 13:15 9-PG 14:45 Glitter-PG15 16:30 The Karate Kid-PG 19:00 Black Death-PG15 21:00 Robin Hood (2010)-PG15 23:30 Sleuth-18

01:00 Scooby-Doo And The Loch Ness Monster-FAM 03:00 Columbus III: The New WorldPG 05:00 Arthur And The Revenge Of Maltazard-PG 07:00 Time Kid-FAM 09:00 Delgo-FAM 11:00 Shorts-PG 13:00 Inspector Gadget’s Last Case: Claw’s...-FAM 15:00 Wild Records!-PG 17:00 Shorts-PG 19:00 The Country Bears-PG 21:00 Time Kid-FAM 23:00 Wild Records!-PG

00:00 Made In Dagenham-PG15 02:00 The Time Traveller’s WifePG15 04:00 Adventures Of A Teenage Dragonslayer-PG 05:30 Passing Strange-PG15 08:00 Another Year-PG15 10:30 Moon-PG15 12:30 Winning Time-PG15 14:00 District 9-PG15 16:00 Another Year-PG15 18:15 Make It Happen-PG15 20:00 Triassic Attack-PG15 22:00 The Girl In The Park-PG15

01:00 ITM Cup Rugby Union 03:00 UFC 133 06:00 Trans World Sport 07:00 ITM Cup Rugby Union 09:00 Trans World Sport 10:00 WWE Bottomline 11:00 Speedway FIM World Championship 12:00 Live NRL Premiership

14:00 15:00 17:00 18:00 20:00 21:00 23:00

Powerboats F1 Tri Nations Trans World Sport NRL Premiership Speedway WWE SmackDown!

WWE Bottomline

01:00 NRL Premiership 03:00 International Rugby Union 05:00 Trans World Sport 06:00 Asian Tour Golf Show 07:00 Rugby World Cup Classics 07:30 Scottish Premier League 09:30 NRL Premiership 11:30 NRL Full Time 12:00 Live NRL Premiership 14:00 Futbol Mundial 14:30 Rugby League Challenge Cup 16:30 ICC Cricket World 17:00 FEI Equestrian World 17:30 Futbol Mundial 18:00 ITM Cup Rugby Union 20:00 Golfing World 21:00 Scottish Premier League Highlights 21:30 Scottish Premier League 23:30 Trans World Sport

00:00 Rugby League Challenge Cup 02:00 Rugby World Cup Classics 02:30 Total Rugby 03:00 Currie Cup Rugby Union 05:00 Currie Cup Rugby Union 07:00 Golfing World 08:00 Tri Nations 10:00 ICC Cricket World 10:30 Trans World Sport 11:30 ITM Cup Rugby Union 13:30 Rugby World Cup Classics 14:00 Golfing World 15:00 NRL Premiership 17:00 Scottish Premier League 19:00 AFL Highlights 20:00 Trans World Sport 21:00 Rugby World Cup Classics 21:30 NRL Premiership 23:30 Scottish Premier League Highlights

00:00 Speedway FIM World 01:00 Powerboats F1 02:00 UFC 133 Prelims 03:00 UFC 133 06:00 UFC Unleashed 07:00 WWE Bottomline 08:00 V8 Supercars Championship 09:00 V8 Supercars Championship 10:00 Powerboats F1 11:00 Powerboats F1 12:00 WWE Vintage Collection 13:00 V8 Supercars Championship 14:00 V8 Supercars Championship 15:00 WWE SmackDown!

17:00 WWE Vintage Collection 18:00 Intercontinental Le Mans Cup 19:00 Powerboats F1 19:30 Powerboats UIM Class One Highlights 20:00 Speedway 21:00 UFC 133 Prelims 22:00 UFC 133

00:00 00:30 01:00 02:00 03:00 04:00 08:00 09:00 10:00 11:00 11:30 12:00 13:00 13:30 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00 17:30 18:00 18:30 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00

Chef Abroad Glutton For Punishment Intrepid Journeys Globe Trekker Special American Civil War Trail Globe Trekker Think Green Planet Sports Planet Food Top Travel Top Travel Globe Trekker Flavours Of Chile Flavours Of Chile Think Green American Civil War Trail Globe Trekker Top Travel Top Travel Flavours Of Peru Flavours Of Peru Globe Trekker That Crazy French Woman Temples In The Clouds People Of The Sea Globe Trekker

Classifieds MONDAY, AUGUST 8, 2011

Science Matters

ACCOMMODATION

Robots work as a team

Sharing accommodation available in Abbassiya, near United Indian School.

For a couple KD 80 or bachelor KD 50. Contact: 99645213.

(C 3557) 8-8-2011

Exploring the fascinating moons of Jupiter and the distant planets beyond Mars will call for robot teams that can think for themselves.

Orbiter passes commands, data and images between Earth and blimps below

A threetiered mission

Furnished sharing accommodation in a 2 bedroom apart, for an executive bachelor or couple in Farwaniya, for RC Goan or Mangalorean with Mangalorean bachelor behind Crowne Plaza.

Contact: 97521167, 24762183. (C 2554) 7-8-2011 One room fully furnished in 3 bedroom C-A/C flat is available for rent. Muslim bachelor/ Pakistani is preferred. Contact 99714430.

(C 3553) 6-8-2011

Blimps fly above rovers, collecting data; programmed to make operational decisions and solve problems

FOR SALE 2006 Pajero white V6 full option without sunroof cruise control, 6CD changer, wood decoration, folding mirror, fog light alloy wheels, running 126000 km, price KD 3750 (negotiable) for urgent sale leaving Kuwait. Contact: 66219290. (C 3552) 6-8-2011

Shown exploring Jupiter’s Earth-size moon, Titan

MATRIMONIAL Proposals are invited for a RCSC girl, 30, 165 working as accountant with a reputed company in Kuwait.

Email: anson7714@yahoo.com (C 3556) 8-8-2011 Kuwait Orthodox parents invite proposals for their son 29/172cm, M.Com PGDBA born & brought up in Kuwait and employed in MNC Kuwait since 2008 from parents of Orthodox / Jacobite / Marthoma girls B.Tech/MCA/MBA/M.Com employed in Kuwait.

Contact email: thekalloors@gmail.com (C 3555) 7-8-2011

No: 15174

DRG/ Bed room sets on sale, going cheap with other house hold items.

Contact: 99592461.

(C 3551) 1-8-2011

Rovers, a new generation like

SITUATION VACANT

those used successfully on Mars, crawl across surface examining minerals, collecting weather data

© 2011 MCT Source: Wolfgang Fink of University of Arizona College of Engineering Graphic: Helen Lee McComas

British family in Fintas looking for live-in maid.

Please Contact: 23908092 after 2pm. (C 3558) 8-8-2011

DIAL 161 FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION In case you are not travelling, your proper cancellation of bookings will help other passengers to use seats Airlines RJA BBC THY ETH UAE DHX ETD MSR GFA QTR JZR KAC FCX KAC BAW JZR JZR KAC KAC FDB KAC KAC KAC KAC UAE QTR ABY ETD GFA SHY MEA IRC MSR JZR JZR KAC RBG MSR SYR UAL RJA FDB

Flt 642 45 772 620 853 370 305 614 211 138 539 544 201 412 157 507 557 206 302 53 352 284 362 344 855 132 125 301 213 1125 404 6521 623 1779 173 618 3557 610 341 982 640 57

Arrival Flights on Monday 8/8/2011 Route AMMAN DHAKA / BAHRAIN ISTANBUL ADDIS ABABA DUBAI BAHRAIN ABU DHABI CAIRO BAHRAIN DOHA CAIRO CAIRO DUBAI MANILA / BANGKOK LONDON LUXOR ALEXANDRIA ISLAMABAD MUMBAI DUBAI COCHIN DHAKA COLOMBO CHENNAI DUBAI DOHA SHARJAH ABU DHABI BAHRAIN ANTALYA BEIRUT LAMERD SOHAG JEDDAH DUBAI DOHA ALEXANDRIA CAIRO DAMASCUS WASHINGTON DC DULLES AMMAN DUBAI

Time 0:05 0:55 1:15 1:45 2:25 2:55 2:55 3:05 3:15 3:20 3:50 4:40 5:25 6:15 6:30 6:40 7:05 7:15 7:50 7:55 8:05 8:10 8:20 8:20 8:25 9:00 9:10 9:30 9:35 10:45 10:55 11:20 12:10 12:35 12:50 12:55 12:55 13:20 13:25 13:30 13:35 13:50

OMA SVA KNE KAC QTR KAC KAC KAC MLR ETD UAE GFA SVA ABY FDB ALK KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC JZR KAC AIC JAI FDB OMA VOS MEA JZR JZR DHX KLM JZR UAE GFA QTR UAL TAR MSR KAC DLH PIA

645 500 745 788 134 546 550 118 403 303 857 215 510 127 63 227 104 1728 542 786 774 744 777 674 575 572 61 647 81 402 203 239 372 445 267 859 217 136 981 327 612 1724 636 239

MUSCAT JEDDAH JEDDAH JEDDAH DOHA ALEXANDRIA SOHAG NEW YORK COLOMBO / DUBAI ABU DHABI DUBAI BAHRAIN RIYADH SHARJAH DUBAI COLOMBO / DUBAI LONDON JEDDAH CAIRO JEDDAH RIYADH DAMMAM JEDDAH DUBAI CHENNAI / GOA MUMBAI DUBAI MUSCAT BAGHDAD BEIRUT DAMASCUS AMMAN BAHRAIN AMSTERDAM BEIRUT DUBAI BAHRAIN DOHA BAHRAIN TUNIS CAIRO JEDDAH FRANKFURT SIALKOT

14:00 14:30 14:45 15:00 15:15 15:30 15:35 16:15 16:40 16:50 16:55 17:15 17:20 17:40 17:55 18:00 18:35 18:50 18:50 19:00 19:10 19:15 19:15 19:25 19:30 19:35 20:00 20:10 20:15 20:15 20:20 20:35 21:00 21:05 21:10 21:15 21:25 21:35 22:00 22:15 22:50 22:50 23:00 23:55

Airlines AXB JZR DLH KLM AIC PIA AFG BBC THY ETH UAE DHX ETD MSR QTR JZR RJA GFA BAW KAC JZR FDB KAC KAC KAC UAE ABY QTR ETD GFA SHY KAC MEA KAC IRC KAC MSR KAC KAC RBG JZR MSR SYR

Flt 390 506 637 447 982 206 406 46 773 620 854 371 306 615 139 1778 643 212 156 545 172 54 787 549 617 856 126 133 302 214 1126 165 405 541 6522 103 624 1727 785 3558 776 611 342

Departure Flights on Monday 8/8/2011 Route MANGALORE / KOZHIKODE LUXOR FRANKFURT AMSTERDAM AHMEDABAD / CHENNAI PESHAWER / LAHORE DUBAI / KABUL DHAKA ISTANBUL BAHRAIN / ADDIS ABABA DUBAI BAHRAIN ABU DHABI CAIRO DOHA JEDDAH AMMAN BAHRAIN LONDON ALEXANDRIA DUBAI DUBAI JEDDAH SOHAG DOHA DUBAI SHARJAH DOHA ABU DHABI BAHRAIN ANTALYA ROME / PARIS BEIRUT CAIRO LAMERD LONDON SOHAG JEDDAH JEDDAH SOHAG / ALEXANDRIA JEDDAH CAIRO DAMASCUS

Time 0:25 0:30 0:40 0:55 1:05 1:10 2:00 2:10 2:15 2:30 3:45 3:55 4:05 4:05 5:00 6:55 7:00 7:10 8:25 8:35 8:40 8:40 9:15 9:20 9:35 9:40 9:50 10:00 10:15 10:20 11:45 11:45 11:55 12:00 12:20 12:30 13:10 13:15 13:30 13:35 13:50 14:20 14:25

Directorate General of Civil Aviation Home Page (www.kuwait-airport.com.kw)

RJA FDB UAL JZR JZR OMA JZR KAC KNE SVA KAC KAC KAC VOS ETD MLR QTR UAE GFA ABY SVA FDB ALK KAC JAI FDB KAC JZR KAC OMA MEA KAC DHX KLM UAE GFA FCX QTR KAC KAC TAR UAL KAC MSR JZR

641 58 982 202 266 646 238 673 746 501 773 743 1723 82 304 404 135 858 216 128 511 64 228 283 571 62 331 538 351 648 403 543 373 445 860 218 102 137 301 205 327 981 411 613 556

AMMAN DUBAI BAHRAIN DAMASCUS BEIRUT MUSCAT AMMAN DUBAI JEDDAH JEDDAH RIYADH DAMMAM JEDDAH BAGHDAD ABU DHABI DUBAI / COLOMBO DOHA DUBAI BAHRAIN SHARJAH RIYADH DUBAI DUBAI / COLOMBO DHAKA MUMBAI DUBAI TRIVANDRUM CAIRO COCHIN MUSCAT BEIRUT CAIRO BAHRAIN BAHRAIN / AMSTERDAM DUBAI BAHRAIN BAHRAIN DOHA MUMBAI ISLAMABAD DUBAI / TUNIS WASHINGTON DC DULLES BANGKOK / MANILA CAIRO ALEXANDRIA

14:30 14:35 14:45 14:55 15:00 15:00 15:05 15:10 15:30 15:45 15:50 16:25 16:40 17:00 17:35 17:40 17:45 18:05 18:15 18:20 18:35 18:40 19:10 20:00 20:35 20:40 21:00 21:00 21:05 21:10 21:15 21:55 22:00 22:05 22:25 22:30 22:30 22:35 22:45 22:55 23:05 23:40 23:40 23:50 23:55

34

MONDAY, AUGUST 8, 2011

s ta rs CROSSWORD 403

STAR TRACK

CALVIN & HOBBES

Aries (March 21-April 19) A feeling of restlessness this Sunday morning may lead you to list the variety of things you want to accomplish now. You can accomplish quite a lot around your living area—once you become focused.

Cleaning, preparing for the workweek, writing letters and making phone calls all add up to the feeling of control. Careful, too much intensity will create the inclination to spoil your own nest. Your many responsibilities and obligations may keep you away from those who would offer you much-needed emotional support. Time shared with friends and loved ones will add to the support that you feel from time to time—a sense of goodwill prevails. There are good opportunities this evening to spend in solitude with a loved one.

Taurus (April 20-May 20) Much of your time today is geared toward the spiritual, perhaps through music, meditation or a religious group. This is a great time to reflect and understand your own situation—just how you feel about yourself. Emotions in particular, or the feelings of those around you, are very clear. You always can say just what you mean. You are almost always righton target when it comes to questions of feelings. You take an active interest in psychology; different cultures and history. You can find support from all sides when it comes to any sort of mental activity—writing, speaking and all forms of communication. You enchant others with your words and images. Your presence has a way of helping those around you.

POOCH CAFE ACROSS 1. A detailed description of design criteria for a piece of work.

5. Peruvian shrub with small pink to lavender tubular flowers.

10. A flexible container with a single opening.

13. Large burrowing rodent of South and Central America.

14. Not very intelligent or interested in culture.

15. A loose sleeveless outer garment made from aba cloth.

16. Having removed clothing.

18. A state in northwestern North America.

20. Stay the same.

21. A Chadic language spoken south of Lake Chad.

23. (Akkadian) God of wisdom.

24. Divulge information or secrets.

26. A dark-skinned member of a race of people living in Australia when Europeans arrived.

28. An amino acid that is found in the central nervous system.

31. Someone who works (or provides workers) during a strike.

33. The compass point that is one point west of due south.

36. A period marked by distinctive character or reckoned from a fixed point or event.

39. An esoteric or occult matter that is traditionally secret.

41. The holy city of Shiite Muslims.

44. A Kwa language spoken in Ghana and the Ivory Coast.

45. A river that rises in central Germany and flows north to join the Elbe River.

47. A blow that renders the opponent unconscious.

49. A soft silvery metallic element.

50. Lower in esteem.

53. (Babylonian) God of storms and wind.

55. Distinctive and stylish elegance.

59. A full skirt with a gathered waistband.

62. Any plant of the genus Erica.

64. The month following July and preceding September.

65. Cubes of meat marinated and cooked on a skewer usually with vegetables.

68. Lacking sufficient water or rainfall.

69. The United Nations agency concerned with international maritime activities.

70. A small faint zodiacal constellation in the southern hemisphere.

71. An informal term for a father.

DOWN 1. A verbalization that encourages you to attempt something.

2. Sheet glass cut in shapes for windows or doors.

3. Electronic warfare undertaken to insure effective friendly use of the electromagnetic spectrum in spite of the enemy's use of electronic warfare.

4. West Indian tree having racemes of fragrant white flowers and yielding a durable timber and resinous juice.

5. A major victory by the Romans over the Macedonians in 168 BC. 6. A state in midwestern United States.

7. Of or relating to or characteristic of the Republic of Chad or its people or language.

8. A member of a North American Indian people speaking one of the Hokan language.

9. (Greek mythology) A maiden seduced by Zeus.

10. The cry made by sheep.

11. A French abbot.

12. Mentally or physically infirm with age.

17. Aromatic bulb used as seasoning.

19. A compartment in front of a motor vehicle where driver sits.

22. A small cake leavened with yeast.

25. A bachelor's degree in science.

27. Port city on southern Honshu on Osaka Bay. 29. A constellation in the southern hemisphere near Telescopium and Norma.

30. Having or denoting a low vocal or instrumental range.

32. (informal) Of the highest quality.

34. Cry plaintively.

35. A gradual decline (in size or strength or power or number).

37. According to the Old Testament he was a pagan king of Israel and husband of Jezebel (9th century BC).

38. A metric unit of volume or capacity equal to 10 liters.

40. A very young child (birth to 1 year) who has not yet begun to walk or talk.

42. Austrian composer who influenced the classical form of the symphony (1732-1809).

43. No longer having or seeming to have or expecting to have life.

46. United States tennis player who was the first Black to win United States and English singles championships (1943-1993).

48. State of disgrace resulting from detestable behavior.

49. A metric unit of length equal to one hundredth of a meter.

51. An imaginary elephant that appears in a series of French books for children.

52. A very poisonous metallic element that has three allotropic forms.

54. Formerly a large constellation in the southern hemisphere between Canis Major and the Southern Cross.

55. A loose sleeveless outer garment made from aba cloth.

56. The basic unit of money on Malta.

57. Harsh or corrosive in tone.

58. A quantity of no importance.

60. A metric unit of volume or capacity equal to 10 liters.

61. Flower arrangement consisting of a circular band of foliage or flowers for ornamental purposes.

63. A unit of absorbed ionizing radiation equal to 100 ergs per gram of irradiated material.

66. A small pellet fired from an air rifle or BB gun.

67. A soft silvery metallic element of the alkali earth group.

Yesterday’s Solution

Gemini (May 21-June 20) You express yourself deliberately and do not waste words. You have a natural sense of organization and come across as disciplined and careful, perhaps a little too sober at times. Today will bring opportunities to loosen up and enjoy the day and your surroundings—perhaps with young people.

Being with your loved ones or favored friends today is a rewarding, fun and inspiring experience. There are quick answers, great wit and a surplus of insights and solutions at the ready. The events today could revolve around a variety of social gatherings.

Whatever the case, be it garage sale, shopping expedition or outdoor picnic, the joy of interacting with others is as stimulating as it is satisfying. A healing is taking place with you or a loved one at this time.

Cancer (June 21-July 22)

NON SEQUITUR

A group activity today consists of decision-making opportunities. You are pleased to be included today and when you find the opportunity to speak—you have a lot to say. You are understanding to other people’s needs and have excellent ideas for others to vote upon—or about which to think.

Lovers, children and other people or things dear to your heart are emphasized this afternoon. Being appreciated and admired for your creative gifts is a powerful need.

Taking chances, whether it is with some activity, people, entertainment, etc., can bring big rewards. You could discover yourself through creativity and self-expression during this time. You might consider that your recently increased confidence will be the key to opening doors in your career.

Leo (July 23-August 22) Obtaining and exchanging information takes on more emotional significance now because things are happening in your neighborhood and you want to know. Being more involved with neighbors or sibling(s) also satisfies a deep emotional need. Things change and people move—you may want to get it all on video tape in a short story form for all to enjoy. Creative ideas are plentiful—perhaps a progressive backyard barbecue, swim party, sports competition, etc. You will enjoy good communication and deciding to create a mini-film about your neighborhood may bring in some revenue for improvements. Perhaps some new plantings or better mailboxes, house numbers, sidewalk safety, etc., etc. Everyone will want a copy of your mini-film.

ZITS

Virgo (August 23-September 22) Your professional expertise runs over into this today. It is commendable that people you hold in high esteem trust your abilities.

Be gracious, even if you decide against a suggestion or offer. A project of problemsolving opportunity is just that . . . an opportunity . . . you can choose to solve the problem or help others solve the problem: a growing time. A need to be respected comes with time and it is not necessary to please everybody in order to be respected.

Your professional life will give you opportunities to live an interesting personal life— certainly not boring! Family, home and security seem just about ideal to you. You may be very imaginative with your home and domestic setup, or a sense of community and unity pervades your family life.

Libra (September 23-October 22)

MOTHER GOOSE AND GRIMM

You may appear very easygoing today. You may find yourself quite communicative with co-workers, perhaps during a work picnic. You have a natural sense for communicating with others, especially those younger than yourself. Pleasant memories may be flowing in today. You have creative ideas and enjoy talking about them with friends. This, coupled with the ability to put your thoughts into words, allows you to captivate those who are listening. You have great insight into matters of personal freedom. You come up with brilliant ways of helping others express themselves. You constantly look for new methods of lovemaking, raising kids and caring for animals. You relax with children this evening in activities that may include sports or singing.

Scorpio (October 23-November 21) You enjoy and value your own life situation today. You are a revolutionary when it comes to the domestic scene and have very special ways that you want to have your home organized and this may include family as well. You will be giving your home surroundings much scrutiny. You may want to do some repairs or in some way conceal what is present now. Two ways to do this are window treatments or cloth on your walls instead of paint. This is what holds your interest now. You like unconventional friends and are a nonconformist yourself. You have friends that may enjoy helping you today—in turn, you want to help them. You enjoy sharing new, different and unique styles or techniques. Family affairs, real estate, or school gains your attention tonight.

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21) You find yourself in a very practical mood—working with, instead of against, yourself. Security is very important and you may find that you are most interested in checking out ways to secure your home and its surroundings today. There is an interest in cooking as well as growing things—perhaps herbs. Your close ties with home and family and your career interest may cut into your social life. Others may find you somewhat preoccupied. You may feel some regret from this situation, but mostly you find your happiness within your own family and professional unit. You provide a peaceful and beautiful surrounding for all to enjoy as your good taste shows that you know good items from bad and are a connoisseur of all that is fine and beautiful.

Capricorn (December 22-January 19)

To

You have a special affinity with old people and for children, plus a natural love of animals, the helpless and the underdog. You may find yourself serving one of these groups of people today, perhaps by gathering a contribution for animal food or teaching music, sewing or any of the creative arts. An inner vision coupled with the ability to see the big picture often finds you working as a go-between for others. You are very giving and accommodating in relationships, able to adjust to any situation. Reflective and tactful, you are able to please others. Above all, your charming ways create a bit of mysteriousness. With all of this going for you, you are able to pick and choose a love relationship of your desire and not just whoever comes along.

Yesterday’s Solution Yester

Aquarius (January 20- February 18) You get along well with older people, especially those in authority or the older generation of your family. You may be entertaining this afternoon. You will find yourself straightening and preparing for this party most of the morning. You like beautiful surroundings, everything that is calm, tasteful and harmonious. Others recognize in you an intuitive organizer—able to manage both feelings and situations. It is easy for you to convey yourself to others and you always manage to make a good appearance. You have very definite feelings and like to exercise emotional control over yourself and a group. Your more serious approach is dependable and trustworthy. You set the theme and provide the nourishment and others will add the good times.

Pisces (February 19-March 20)

Word Sleuth Solution

This is not a great time to attempt to get your ideas across to others. You may find yourself feeling blocked and unable to express yourself, particularly in a group situation. This is all of short duration and leaves you to be a joiner. Allow others to help guide the group. This could be a religious group or friends that want to organize a team sport or get-together. There is a flash of insight into some of the most sensitive and vulnerable areas of your inner self and psychology. Breakthroughs regarding inner growth and transformation are available. You may reach new levels in understanding life and death. Be careful what you ask for—it could soon be yours! Take a little time this evening for you; relax in a bubble bath, maybe a few candles, music, etc.

A

y

e niv rsar n

Years

MONDAY, AUGUST 8, 2011

i n f o r m at i o n

FIRE BRIGADE

112

Al-Madena

22418714

Al-Shohada’a

22545171

Al-Shuwaikh

24810598

Al-Nuzha

22545171

Sabhan

24742838

Al-Helaly

22434853

Al-Fayhaa

22545051

Al-Farwaniya

24711433

Al-Sulaibikhat

24316983

Al-Fahaheel

23927002

Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh

24316983

Ahmadi

23980088

Al-Mangaf

23711183

Al-Shuaiba

23262845

24812000

Al-Jahra

25610011

Amiri Hospital

22450005

Al-Salmiya

25616368

Maternity Hospital

24843100

Mubarak Al-Kabir Hospital

25312700

Chest Hospital

24849400

Farwaniya Hospital

24892010

Adan Hospital

23940620

Ibn Sina Hospital

24840300

Al-Razi Hospital

24846000

Physiotherapy Hospital

24874330/9

Ministry of Interior website: www.moi.gov.kw For labor-related inquiries and complaints: Call MSAL hotline 128

Hospitals Sabah Hospital

POLICE STATION Al-Madena Police Station Al-Murqab Police Station Al-Daiya Police Station Al-Fayha’a Police Station Al-Qadissiya Police Station Al-Nugra Police Station Al-Salmiya Police Station Al-Dasma Police Station

Clinics Rabiya

4732263

Roudha

22517733

Adhaliya

22517144

Khaldiya

24848075

Keifan

24849807

Shamiya

24848913

Shuwaikh

24814507

Abdullah Salim

22549134

Al-Nuzha

22526804

Industrial Shuwaikh

24814764

Al-Khadissiya

22515088

Dasmah

22532265

Bneid Al-Ghar

22531908

Al-Shaab

22518752

Al-Kibla

22459381

Ayoun Al-Kibla

22451082

Al-Mirqab

22456536

Sharq

22465401

Salmiya

25746401

Jabriya

25316254

Maidan Hawally

25623444

Bayan

25388462

Mishref

25381200

W.Hawally

22630786

Sabah

24810221

Jahra

24770319

New Jahra

24575755

West Jahra

24772608

South Jahra

24775066

North Jahra

24775992

North Jleeb

24311795

Al-Ardhiya

24884079

Firdous

24892674

Al-Omariya

24719048

N.Kheitan

24710044

Fintas

3900322

22434064 22435865 22544200 22547133 22515277 22616662 25714406 22530801

THE PUBLIC AUTHORITY FOR CIVIL INFORMATION Automated enquiry about the Civil ID card is 1889988

PHARMACIES

AIRLINES

ON 24 HRS DUTY GOVERNORATE

PHARMACY

ADDRESS

PHONE

Ahmadi

Sama Safwan Abu Halaifa Danat Al-Sultan

Fahaeel Makka St Abu Halaifa-Coastal Rd Mahboula Block 1, Coastal Rd

23915883 23715414 23726558

Jahra

Modern Jahra Madina Munawara

Jahra-Block 3 Lot 1 Jahra-Block 92

24575518 24566622

Capital

Ahlam Khaldiya Coop

Fahad Al-Salem St Khaldiya Coop

22436184 24833967

Farwaniya

New Shifa Ferdous Coop Modern Safwan

Farwaniya Block 40 Ferdous Coop Old Kheitan Block 11

24734000 24881201 24726638

Hawally

Tariq Hana Ikhlas Hawally & Rawdha Ghadeer Kindy Ibn Al-Nafis Mishrif Coop Salwa Coop

Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St Salmiya-Amman St Hawally-Beirut St Hawally & Rawdha Coop Jabriya-Block 1A Jabriya-Block 3B Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St Mishrif Coop Salwa Coop

25726265 25647075 22625999 22564549 25340559 25326554 25721264 25380581 25628241

Kuwait Airways Jazeera Airways Jet Airways FlyDubai Qatar Airways KLM Air Slovakia Olympic Airways Royal Jordanian Reservation British Airways Air France Emirates Air India Sri Lanka Airlines Egypt Air Swiss Air Saudia Middle East Airlines Lufthansa PIA Alitalia Balkan Airlines Bangladesh Airlines Czech Airlines Indian Airlines Oman Air Turkish Airlines Aeroflot

22433377 177 22924455 22414400 22423888 22425747 22434940 22420002/9 22418064/5/6 22433388 22425635 22430224 22425566 22438184 22424444 22421578 22421516 22426306 22423073 22422493 22421044 22414427 22416474 22452977/8 22417901/ 2433141 22456700 22958787 22453820/1 22404838/9

PRIVATE CLINICS Ophthalmologists Dr. Abidallah Al-Mansoor 25622444 Dr. Samy Al-Rabeea 25752222 Dr. Masoma Habeeb 25321171 Dr. Mubarak Al-Ajmy 25739999 Dr. Mohsen Abel 25757700 Dr Adnan Hasan Alwayl 25732223 Dr. Abdallah Al-Baghly 25732223 Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT) Dr. Ahmed Fouad Mouner 24555050 Ext 510 Dr. Abdallah Al-Ali 25644660 Dr. Abd Al-Hameed Al-Taweel 25646478 Dr. Sanad Al-Fathalah 25311996 Dr. Mohammad Al-Daaory 25731988 Dr. Ismail Al-Fodary 22620166 Dr. Mahmoud Al-Booz 25651426 General Practitioners Dr. Mohamme Y Majidi 24555050 Ext 123 Dr. Yousef Al-Omar 24719312 Dr. Tarek Al-Mikhazeem 23926920 Dr. Kathem Maarafi 25730465 Dr. Abdallah Ahmad Eyadah 25655528 Dr. Nabeel Al-Ayoobi 24577781 Dr. Dina Abidallah Al-Refae 25333501 Urologists Dr. Ali Naser Al-Serfy 22641534 Dr. Fawzi Taher Abul 22639955 Dr. Khaleel Abidallah Al-Awadi 22616660 Dr. Adel Al-Hunayan FRCS (C) 25313120 Dr. Leons Joseph 66703427 Psychologists /Psychotherapists

Paediatricians

Plastic Surgeons Dr. Mohammad Al-Khalaf

22547272

Dr. Abd Al-Aziz Al-Rashed

Dr. Abdal-Redha Lari

22617700

Dr. Zahra Qabazard

Dr. Abdel Quttainah

25625030/60

Family Doctor Dr Divya Damodar

23729596/23729581

Psychiatrists Dr. Esam Al-Ansari

22635047

Dr Eisa M. Al-Balhan

INTERNATIONAL CALLS

22613623/0

Gynaecologists & Obstetricians DrAdrian arbe

23729596/23729581

Dr. Verginia s.Marin

2572-6666 ext 8321

Endocrinologist 25340300

25710444

Dr. Sohail Qamar

22621099

Dr. Snaa Maaroof

25713514

Dr. Pradip Gujare

23713100

Dr. Zacharias Mathew

24334282

(1) Ear, Nose and Throat (2) Plastic Surgeon Dr. Abdul Mohsin Jafar, FRCS (Canada)

Dr Anil Thomas

3729596/3729581 22641071/2

22655539

Dr. Majeda Khalefa Aliytami

25343406

Dr. Anesah Al-Rasheed

22562226

Dr. Ahmad Al-Khooly

25739272

Dr. Abidallah Al-Amer

22561444

Dr. Salem soso

22618787

Dr. Faysal Al-Fozan

22619557

Dr. Abdallateef Al-Katrash

22525888

Dr. Amer Zawaz Al-Amer

22610044

Dr. Abidallah Al-Duweisan

25653755

Dr. Mohammad Yousef Basher

25327148

Dr. Bader Al-Ansari

25620111

Neurologists

Dr. Adnan Ebil

22639939

Dr. Sohal Najem Al-Shemeri

25633324

Dr. Mousa Khadada

22666300

Dr. Jasem Mola Hassan

25345875

Gastrologists

25728004

Dr. Nadem Al-Ghabra

25355515

Dr. Sami Aman

22636464

Dr. Mobarak Aldoub

24726446

Dr. Mohammad Al-Shamaly

25322030

Dr Nasser Behbehani

25654300/3

Dr. Foad Abidallah Al-Ali

22633135

Soor Center Tel: 2290-1677 Fax: 2290 1688

info@soorcenter.com www.soorcenter.com

Dr. Kamal Al-Shomr 25329924 Physiotherapists & VD Dr. Deyaa Shehab

25722291 22666288

Rheumatologists:

Dr. Fozeya Ali Al-Qatan

Dr. Latefa Al-Duweisan

Dr. Ahmad Al-Ansari 25658888

Dr. Musaed Faraj Khamees

Dentists

Internists, Chest & Heart

25339330

25655535

Dr. Shamah Al-Matar

General Surgeons

Dr. Abd Al-Naser Al-Othman

Dr. Naif Al-Mutawa, Ph.D. 2290-1677 Susannah-Joy Schuilenberg, M.A. 2290-1677

Dr. Adel Al-Awadi

25330060

Dr. Khaled Al-Jarallah

25722290

Internist, Chest & Heart DR.Mohammes Akkad

24555050 Ext 210

Dr. Mohammad Zubaid MB, ChB, FRCPC, PACC Assistant Professor Of Medicine Head, Division of Cardiology Mubarak Al-Kabeer Hospital Consultant Cardiologist Dr. Farida Al-Habib MD, PH.D, FACC Inaya German Medical Center Te: 2575077 Fax: 25723123

2611555-2622555

William Schuilenberg, RPC 2290-1677 Zaina Al Zabin, M.Sc. 2290-1677

Afghanistan Albania Algeria Andorra Angola Anguilla Antiga Argentina Armenia Australia Austria Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia Botswana Brazil Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Cayman Islands

0093 00355 00213 00376 00244 001264 001268 0054 00374 0061 0043 001242 00973 00880 001246 00375 0032 00501 00229 001441 00975 00591 00387 00267 0055 00673 00359 00226 00257 00855 00237 001 00238 001345

Central African Chad Chile China Colombia Comoros Congo Cook Islands Costa Rica Croatia Cuba Cyprus Cyprus (Northern) Czech Republic Denmark Diego Garcia Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador England (UK) Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Falkland Islands Faroe Islands Fiji Finland France French Guiana French Polynesia

00236 00235 0056 0086 0057 00269 00242 00682 00506 00385 0053 00357 0090392 00420 0045 00246 00253 001767 001809 00593 0020 00503 0044 00240 00291 00372 00251 00500 00298 00679 00358 0033 00594 00689

y

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36

e niv rsar n

Years

MONDAY, AUGUST 8, 2011

li fe s t y le G o s s i p

than Hawke has become a dad for the fourth time. The 40-year-old actor and his wife Ryan Shaw hughes - who got married in June 2008 welcomed their second child, a baby daughter named Indiana, into the world two weeks ago, and the couple are said to be “very happy” at their new arrival. An onlooker at New York’s Maritime Hotel explained the star - who also has a three -year-old daughter,

E

my Winehouse had “replaced drugs with alcohol” prior to her death. The ‘Rehab’ singer - who was found dead in her home in Camden, north London, on July 23 at the age of 27 - “lost track of days” after drinking herself into oblivion at her flat because she was “bored” and couldn’t go out anywhere for fear the paparazzi would stalk her. Kristian Marr, a close friend of the late singer, said: “The problem was that she replaced drugs with alcohol. White wine was her main drink and sometimes she would wake up and drink. It meant she lost track of days - for Amy there was no day or night, no Monday or Friday. “Three months ago I popped round to her house one afternoon, found her asleep on the kitchen floor and had to help her to bed. I was worried about Amy’s drinking but at the same time relieved that drugs were no longer part of the equation.’ “She’d be at home on her own bored and having a drink because she couldn’t go out anywhere without the world staring at her.” While the cause of her death is not yet known, Kristian - a musician who had known the star for seven years - explained Amy thought drugs were a “dead end” and “old school”. He added to the Mail On Sunday newspaper: “The crazy

Clementine Jane, with Ryan - looked “proud” as he dined with his family on Friday. The source told People.com: “He was very happy. Seemed like a proud daddy.” Indiana’s arrival marks the fourth time Ethan has become a dad, with the star also fathering 13year-old Maya and nine-year-old Levon, his two children with ex-wife, actress Uma Thurman. Ethan has previously admitted being a father is his “greatest

pleasure in life”. He said: “It is the greatest pleasure in my life. It’s the only role that if I fail, I will consider my life a failure.”

A

icki Minaj compares working a series of dead end jobs to “torture”. The ‘Super Bass’ rapper had to work part time jobs after graduating from New York’s prestigious LaGuardia High School, and although she hated the experience, she claims she now has the last laugh. She said: “That whole time was so horrible. It was like torture. At the end of the day, after working at whatever job I hated, I would get all dressed up and go out with the hope of getting a record deal. “At night, I was an artist, but during the day I was a slave. When I think back on that time, on the people who made my life a living hell, I want to say, ‘Are you all seeing me now? “This is me having the last laugh after all those years

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J Abrams would be “jealous” if anyone else directed the ‘Star Trek’ sequel. The filmmaker who is now officially in negotiations to film the follow-up to the 2009 sci-fi movie - has not yet made a final decision on whether to work on it or not, but admits he would be upset if anyone else got the job. He said: “The idea of anyone else saying, ‘Action!’ to those actors in those characters on that set makes me jealous.” In addition to ‘Star Trek’ and ‘Super 8’, JJ also helmed T V series ‘Lost’, about a group of people who seemingly survive a plane crash on a Pacific island, but he admits the ending to the series has been a disappointment to many - though he hasn’t heard anyone give a satisfactory possible climax. He said: “For years, I had people praising ‘Lost’ to death, and now they say, ‘I’m so angry at you for the end of ‘Lost’. “I think a lot of people who were upset with the ending, were just upset that it ended.

And I’ve not yet heard the pitch of what the ending should have been. I’ve just heard, ‘That sucked.’ “

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anessa Redgrave thinks she has sometimes been a “bad mother”.

The 74-year-old actress - who has son Carlo Nero, 41, with actor Franco Nero, and daughter Joely and late Natasha from her marriage to director Tony Richardson - believes she has not always been the best parent, but is glad to have raised “wonderful” offspring.

She said: “I’ve been every sort of mother in my time. I’ve been a mad, bad mother; I’ve been a good mother; I’ve been a caring mother; I’ve been a forgetful mother. “I’ve been all of those things, but the wonderful thing is that, whatever qualities I’ve lacked in motherhood and whatever I’ve done along the way that I wish I’d done differently.

I’ve still got these wonderful children of mine, so I’m very lucky.” Vanessa stars alongside Joely in forthcoming historical drama ‘Anonymous’, and she admits she loved getting to play British monarch Elizabeth I. She said: “She’s a very interesting person. She was extraordinarily beautiful and striking looking as a young woman, but I’m playing her as an older person, which is fascinating. “And of course, even as she was growing older she was still falling in love with younger men, which is always an interesting dynamic.”

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thing is that recently I hadn’t been nearly as worried about her as I once had been. I knew what she sounded and looked like when she was in a bad way and I had honestly seen no sign of that for the past couple of years. “Amy thought that drugs were a dead end and she spoke of them with disdain - they were ‘old school ... in the past’.”

irsten Dunst says her family are the most important thing in her life. The ‘Melancholia’ actress says that as she’s got older she’s realized what matters to her and now loves spending time with her parents and grandparents. She said: “I speak to them every day. My grandmother lives with my mother and I worry about not seeing her enough. I love my grandparents. I can never understand why people put family into care homes. I feel proud that I’ve earned enough money to buy a house for my mother and grandmother. My grandfather in Germany was so proud of my Best Actress award. He was telling all his friends, he got to be the guy with the big news. I loved that.” Kirsten, 29, lives with her younger brother Christian and admits she’s “lucky” with the friends and family she has. She told Britain’s Elle magazine:

when you made it hard for me to get out of bed in the morning.”Although Nicki thought about quitting at one point, her pride and dedication to making money to support her family were what eventually helped her achieve success. She added: “I had no money, I had no one to call and I was out on my own. “I also had the burden of not wanting to tell my mother that I was out of a job, and could I come back home?

“Besides faith in God, the only thing that got me through that time was the fear of what would happen to my family if I didn’t make it. “I remember thinking, ‘I don’t know if this is ever going work but I’m going to give it one final try.’”

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el B can’t wait to go into labor so she can watch her family “panic”. The former Spice Girls star is eight months pregnant with her third child and recently played a prank on husband Stephen Belafonte and daughters Phoenix, 12, and Angel, four, when she pretended she was about to give birth and found their reactions hilarious. She said: “I said to them the other day, ‘Ooh I think I’m going into labor.’ Stephen instantly turned white.

“Phoenix ran to get my bag and Angel asked, ‘Is there gonna be blood?’ “All three went into complete panic mode.

I’m going to have such a laugh watching them run around the delivery room like headless chickens.” The Australian ‘X Factor’ judge doesn’t know the gender of her unborn baby, but says her elder daughter is hoping for a boy. She said: “Phoenix is sick of pink tutus and Barbie dolls. “Angel doesn’t care as long as they can play dress-ups together - she just wants it to come out. “I told both of them that I was going to be having a

M “I’m lucky with my family. My younger brother Christian lives with me and when I’m not working I travel. I see friends.”

ustin Timberlake believes he would have been successful without NSYNC. The 30-year-old singer-and-actor joined the group in 1995 and went on to carve out a successful career after leaving the ‘Bye, Bye, Bye’ hitmakers in 2002 but believes his musical talent would still have been discovered even without his stint in the band. He said: “I don’t want

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baby even before I got pregnant and they both gave me the go ahead but it must feel to Angel that I’ve been expecting forever.”

this to come out the wrong way. It was an amazing platform but even without it, I believe I would have been heard as a solo artist. When he went solo, Justin refused to play both his debut record, ‘Justified’, and the 2006 follow-up ‘FutureSex/ Love Sounds’ to his record company until they were complete and he admits he is still baffled as to why he was permitted to do

so. He told Britain’s Elle magazine: “I don’t know why they let me do that. But I hadn’t come out of nowhere. People had preconceptions and I didn’t want to be misunderstood. “I’ve learned that people have preconceptions, period. They’re uncontrollable but they’re not.

— Bang Showbiz

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M o v i e s A villager stands in flated grounds that he used to cultivate in Chinkota village.—AFP

he abandoned site looks more like a quarried mine than a pop superstar’s multi-million-dollar dream to groom girls into Malawi’s next leaders and doctors. But the bleak, leveled terraces of gravelly sand near Malawi’s capital are the only evidence of Madonna’s $15 million (10.6 million euros) academy that was ditched in a cloud over misused funds and disgruntled locals. “This has just become a football ground now,” said local chief Binson Kalenga. The bulldozers are long silent where Madonna-who adopted two children from Malawi-laid a foundation stone engraved “dare to dream” in April 2010, in a simple village in a desperately poor African country that many could not find on a map.

A year later the school had been called off. The star is being sued by employees who were fired, her charity is tied up in a US tax investigation, and Malawi is investigating how the land was paid for. “Initially although I welcomed (it), personally I was very skeptical about the whole thing,” said Lilongwe district commissioner Paul Kalilombe. “There was just too much publicity before there was any work on the ground.” Madonna’s charities did not reply to queries.

In January, she said the academy project was off in favour of helping existing schools across the country.

But The New York Times then reported on an audit, ordered by Madonna, that found $3.8 million squandered on the discarded academy. The audit reportedly found a “startling lack of accountability” on the management team in Malawi and the United States.

The star’s last word was in April when she said a new strategy would be announced in coming weeks.

Unhappiness here began with payments to villagers for the land, which Madonna’s charity Raising Malawi paid through the government. “It would appear that maybe there were some ghost villagers. Within the list of recipients there are some people who were inserted maybe by some officers who are involved in

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the practice,” Kalilombe told AFP. “But it is a matter that is being investigated by the fiscal police in Malawi.”

‘Madonna should come’ But in Chinkhota, an explanation had yet to reach villagers, who have to swallow a doubly bitter pill with their former fields ruined and not a classroom in sight. “People were just surprised that there is no activity and wondering what is happening,” said Tsiyent Foroyati, 52, sitting in the dirt-yard of her homestead. Foroyati had never heard of Madonna until she adopted two Malawian children. As the biggest landowner around the school’s site, she was paid 39,000 kwacha ($258) in compensation but had wanted three million kwacha.

The family now pays 5,000 kwacha to rent one acre for farming. “Even if the project continued, we would still be angry because where are we going to garden?” said Foroyati. “And the biggest problem is that even if we were given back the land, it’s very difficult to cultivate it.” The singer has poured millions into helping children in Malawi, where 39 percent of the population lives on less than $1 a day. In Namitete, west of Lilongwe, a dated picture of her with ex-husband Guy Ritchie in the background is on one of the notice boards at the Mphandula Child Care Centre which the singer bankrolled. The community centre feeds more than 200 children a day, with a class of grandmothers sitting in the shade and bouncing children who are learning a dance from a Japanese volunteer. “I really appreciate that she came,” said the centre’s program manager Jacinta Champomba, who has never heard Madonna’s music but said she shared the idea of caring for orphans. For the school, Madonna should have worked with an existing organization that knows “what is actually happening on the ground”, said Kalilombe who believes an orphanage is

planned for the academy site.

“When a person of such stature comes in, people most only think of the money,” he said. “The idea was good. She had good intentions, but now to implement it on the ground, that brought a lot of complications.” Chief Kalenga said he wants to ask Madonna why the project failed. “We felt happy that this is a person who was going to help us. We welcomed her as a fellow Malawian,” he said. “We are heartbroken because of the rumors we still hear about this project being stopped. We are demanding that Madonna should come and tell us what has happened. We don’t want to hear it from rumors but we want her to come and explain to us.” — AFP

A villager walks home with her firewood in flated grounds that she used to cultivate.

Producers: Kurt, Finn, Rachel not done with ‘Glee’ lee” stars Lea Michele, Chris Colfer and Cory Monteith will appear in future seasons of the hit show. Co-creator and executive producer Brad Falchuk told thousands of so-called “Gleeks” gathered at the Comic-Con fan convention yesterday that Rachel, Kurt and Finn “are not done with the show after this season.”

Reports surfaced last month that the three stars would not return for season four of the musical Fox series. Their characters are high school seniors who are set to graduate at the end of season three.

“They’re seniors, they’re graduating, but just because they’re graduating doesn’t mean they’re leaving the show,” Falchuk told fans, noting that the actors remain under contract. The three actors did not appear at the presentation at the San Diego Convention Center, where show writers and cast members Jenna Ushkowitz, Darren Criss, Dot Marie Jones and Harry Shum Jr talked about the new season, which is set to return in the fall.

The new season will be split into two “mini-seasons” that mimic school semesters, Falchuk said. Fans can expect a deeper look into the characters’ lives and their post-high-school aspirations. Broadway star Idina Menzel will return, and Sue Sylvester, the meanspirited cheerleading coach played by Jane Lynch (who won an Emmy last year for the role), will be running for Congress in season three in an attempt to destroy all glee clubs.

“Sue is running on a no-arts platform,” Falchuk said. The presentation also included a peek at “Glee: The 3D Concert Movie,” which is set for release August 12. The film includes footage shot during the cast’s national concert tour and offers a look into the lives of passionate “Glee” fans. Among the highlights shown include Criss performing “Teenage Dream” and Heather Morris, who plays Brittany S Pearce, singing and dancing to Britney Spears’ hit “I’m a Slave 4 U.”—AP

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Actress Charlotte Ross

Actress Amber Riley

Actress Hailee Steinkel Actress Lea Michele arrives as cast members from the hit TV series Glee and guests attend the world premiere of Glee The 3D Concert Movie in Westwood.—AP photos

shton Kutcher will play “an Internet billionaire with a broken heart” when he arrives as the new star of “Two and a Half Men” next month. CBS Entertainment Nina Tassler shared this tidbit about the much-anticipated cast change for TV’s biggest sitcom during a session with television reporters on Wednesday. Kutcher, of course, will fill the void left by Charlie Sheen, who made a stormy exit from “Men” last season.

Kutcher’s character will be named Walden Schmidt, confided the CBS boss, who added that Schmidt has no family connection to the characters played by continuing stars Jon Cryer and Angus T. Jones. They portrayed the brother and nephew of Sheen’s departed character. Tassler would not confirm or deny reports that the new season of “Men” begins with the death of Sheen’s character, Charlie Harper, and a funeral.

“The mystery is part of the marketing,” she said.

“Men” begins its ninth season on Sept 19 with the first of a two-part kickoff that establishes Kutcher’s character. Kutcher’s first week on the job begins a

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(From left) File photo shows the actors, Marin Hinkle, Jon Cryer, Holland Taylor, Conchata Ferrell, Angus T Jones and Ashton Kutcher, during the curtain call following the first episode filming of the season premiere episode of “Two and a Half Men” in Los Angeles. —AP

(From left) Actors Chris Colfer, Lea Michele, Cory Monteith, Dianna Agron, Kevin McHale, and Darren Criss arrive at the premiere of the feature film ‘Glee The 3D Concert Movie’ in Los Angeles on Saturday.

new chapter for “Men” after a tumultuous conclusion to Sheen’s eight-season run as a fast-living, womanizing cad. Sheen’s portrayal drew inspiration from his own life of sex sprees, serial marriages and substance abuse, which spiraled into clashes with the show’s studio as well as its creator, Chuck Lorre, and CBS. He was fired in March and the season was shuttered early.

Predictably, Tassler voiced excitement about the show’s new star. Kutcher, she said, “is an extraordinarily professional, talented, funny, gifted actor who comes with a tremendous amount of commitment and enthusiasm.” “The show will be as irreverent as it has ever been,” she promised. “Our Program Practices people are already on high alert.” Even so, Kutcher and his “Men” costars were conspicuously absent from Wednesday’s sessions of the Television Critics Association, which was visited by cast members from several of CBS’ new autumn shows as well as from “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” the veteran crime drama that is welcoming Ted Danson

to the fold for its upcoming 12th season.

Asked why the “Men” gang wasn’t on hand, Tassler replied that the show is in production. It resumed shooting Monday, and a break for a meeting across town with reporters would have been too disruptive, she explained. “There is a tremendous amount of energy and focus and attention,” Tassler said. “I would be lying if I didn’t say when everybody walked on that set on Monday, you could cut the air with a knife.”

Tassler was asked what she had learned from her experience with Sheen. “Oh, where do I begin?” she replied with mock weariness, but hastily insisted she preferred to look forward, not behind. Then, when asked if, in the future, CBS might introduce new policies for casting actors who are known for erratic behavior, she cracked, “That would probably be every actor in the business.” — AP

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A Los Feliz home once owned by Walt Disney, where daughter Diane Disney Miller spent her childhood, is on the market. — MCT photos

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alt Disney’s onetime residence in Los Feliz, the wonderful world where his daughters grew up, has come on the market at $3.65 million. The two-storey French Normandy-style house, built in 1932, sits behind gates on an acre with views to downtown.

Disney, not one for retaining walls or formal gardens, according to a 1940 interview in Better Homes & Gardens, often picked native plants over imports and created informal terraces using rocks to hold back soil.

The property, then an acre and a half, was home to foxes, quails, opossums and rabbits.

When World War II started, the Disneys added a victory garden and kept chickens. Though pieces of land have been sold off over the decades, the rugged heart of the lot that daughter Diane Disney Miller called “the canyon” as a child remains with the house.

Inside, original features include the rotunda foyer, vaulted beamed ceilings, stained leadedglass windows, two bars and a Juliet balcony overlooking the two-story living room from the second floor hall. It was from this vantage point that Miller would look on Christmas morning at the tree below surrounded by gifts. During the

rest of the year, Disney had a chair in front of the large living room window, where he would sit and read scripts and books, Miller said. “He also loved to sit outside and read in the summertime.”

One Christmas, a storybook playhouse appeared in the backyard. Today the miniature cottage sits beside a swimming pool, which was added later near a terrace off the living room.

The pool from Disney’s day belongs to the house next door. The house for sale has four bedrooms and five bathrooms in about 6,000 square feet.

What is now a billiards room with a sleeping porch over the garage originally was Disney’s workout room with a punching bag hanging from the ceiling and pictures of his polo ponies on the walls. Later, it was converted to a nursery.

“My sister and I spent most of our young lives there,” said Miller, who was born in 1933. The Disneys remained in the house into her teenage years. When he got into live-action films, Disney decided that he needed a projection room at home to view the daily filming, Miller said. It was part work space and part family film room.

What had been a guest room, bath and charming little library became a screening room,

a booth with 35-millimeter projectors and a small bar, Miller said. “My sister and I saw ‘Citizen Kane’ and ‘Gone With the Wind’ there and then current movies,” she said. The room had a separate entrance with a bathroom for the projectionists. The small sink still sits behind a wooden door. Another change to the house during the Disneys’ time there: the decorative painting on the ceilings, which are intact. Disney, who in the 1920s co-founded what would become the Walt Disney Co with his brother Roy O Disney, died in 1966 at 65.

Transported out of the hills Update: Actor Jason Statham of “The Transporter” movies has sold his contemporary home in the Hollywood Hills for $2.7 million. The house came on the market in May at $2,749,000 and was in escrow within a week.

The post-and-beam house, built in 1957, has floor-to-ceiling glass walls at the back that open to a pool area. There are three bedrooms and three bathrooms. Statham, 43, stars in this year’s films “Blitz,” “The Mechanic” and “Killer Elite,” due out next month. He starred with Sylvester Stallone and Jet Li last year in “The Expendables.”

Public records show Statham bought the property in 2005 for $2.4 million.

Hard-rocker is ready to jet Australian rocker Chris Cester has listed his Hollywood Hills home at $1,135,000. The gated Spanish-style home, built in 1937, sits on a culde-sac. There are three bedrooms and two bathrooms, including a lower-level master suite with an office, a three-quarter bathroom, a separate entrance and deck. The house, surrounded by mature landscaping, has a two-car garage with extra storage and a two-space carport. Cester, 29, is a drummer and backup singer for the hardrock band Jet. He also has written soundtrack material for “Spider-Man 3” (2007), “Chuck” (2007) and “CSI: NY” (2005). Public records show he bought the property in 2005 for $1.01 million.

All set for a liftoff in Weho A West Hollywood-area home built for Oscar winner Wallace Beery in the 1930s is on the market at $1,075,000. The actor commissioned local architect William Kesling to build the retreat close to the studios so it was easily accessible during filming. The Streamline Moderne design,

with exterior horizontal “speed lines” and winglike pergola gates, reflects Beery’s love of aircraft and flying.

The 1,404-square-foot open-plan house has three bedrooms and two bathrooms. The home was restored and updated in 1980. The current owner, TV producer Michael Taylor, redid the landscaping, adding eco-friendly plantings, a rear patio, a koi pond and walking paths. He upgraded the interiors with surround sound throughout the house, installed a tankless water heater and central air conditioning, and reconditioned the fireplace to run on gas.

Beery, who died in 1949 at 64, won his lead actor Oscar for “The Champ” (1931). He appeared in more than 230 films. Taylor’s credits include the series “Caprica” (2010), “Battlestar Galactica” (2008-09) and “Stephen King’s Dead Zone” (200206). He bought the property in 1999 for $449,000, according to public records.

— MCT

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andwriting instruction is on the verge of a renaissance. Michael Sull of Gardner, Kan., is a master penman in Spencerian script; past president of the International Association of Master Penmen, Engrossers and Teachers of Handwriting; and author of four books on handwriting. His latest work, “American Cursive Handwriting,” was released this month. Sull spent seven years designing the book to be a self-study curriculum guide and workbook for adults and children, especially home-school families.

“It was really important to me to write a really thorough handwriting manual, a stand-alone book that parents could use with their children,” Sull said. Home-school parent Karen Rogers of Gardner taught her daughter the value of good penmanship by writing Bible verses in cursive. “Some kids need to hear it or see it; some need to write it,” said Rogers, who also taught for six years at elementary schools across the country. A recent study by researchers at Indiana University found that strong penmanship skills can lead to increased brain activity.

Victoria Chandler, a sixth-grade teacher at Pioneer Ridge Middle School in Gardner, has emphasized the importance of good handwriting since she started teaching more than 30 years ago. “Within the past 20 years, cursive has slowly disappeared,” Chandler said. “I’ve written on the board in cursive and have had kids near to tears because they couldn’t read it.” Computer classes and preparation for state assessments have replaced cursive instruction, she said.

Chandler met Sull about two years ago at a post office. She noticed the intricately detailed calligraphy scrolled on the front of his letter, and their mutual appreciation for handwriting grew from there. They teamed up to charter a Pioneer Ridge handwriting club, in which students learn about good penmanship, proper posture, working with different types of paper and the correct way to hold a pen.

“He talks to them about the importance of taking the time to slow down and write and how personal somebody’s handwriting can be,” Chandler said. “The kids just love it.” Sull, Chandler and Rogers value a thoughtfully penned letter over a text or email. Sull’s book sets out to rejuvenate and re-personalize communication. “I wanted to bring back the joy of personal expression and using personal letters,” he said. “It is so important.”—MCT

‘American Cursive Handwriting’ by Michael Sull. — MCT

John Peragallo III plays the organ at St Francis Xavier Church in New York.— MCT photos

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northern New Jersey family who has been building pipe organs for four generations showed off two of their masterworks in Manhattan last month. The Peragallo family — who are to organ-making what the Barrymores are to acting — led a group of 40 organists from across the country on a two-stop “organ crawl.”

They demonstrated the massive organ at St Patrick’s Cathedral that the family refurbished in 1993 and the newly rebuilt organ at St Francis Xavier Church. The latter organ was rebuilt about two years ago after a casement fell on the church’s old organ, destroying the console.

“Which I think was a blessing in disguise, because they were able to collect the insurance to begin this project,” said John Peragallo III, a third-generation member of the company. Peragallo, 53, is both an engineer and a classically trained musician who serves as organist and music director at Our Lady of the Valley Church in Wayne, NJ He played a selection of music at St Francis Xavier.

“It’s really an organist’s dream to work in a setting like this,” he said. “We’re very proud of this organ because it includes the accumulated knowledge of four generations.” It’s also the 700th organ the family has worked on since 1918. The family also does maintenance and repairs of organs, some of which are nearly as old as the company.

For example, not long ago, John Peragallo IV was working on the restoration of a pipe organ that had been installed by his greatgrandfather, John Peragallo Sr, sometime in the 1920s. While handling the pipes, a thought occurred to the 25-year-old Peragallo, who has a degree in architecture.

“The last person to put his hands on that was my great-grandfather,” he said in the woodworking shop of the family’s Paterson plant. “There are a lot of cool moments like that.” The Peragallo Pipe Organ Co. was founded in 1918 and still occupies a factory space near where John Peragallo Sr settled in the 300 block of Buffalo Avenue.

According to family lore, the senior Peragallo decided as a young man that he did not want to join his family’s restaurant business. Instead he apprenticed with Ernest Skinner, a legendary American organ builder, and later went to work for another organ company. Peragallo was part of a crew installing a pipe organ in a theater in Butte, Mont, when a telegram arrived informing him that the company had gone bust.

After they finished installing the organ in Butte, Peragallo took a train back east to New Jersey, where he founded what became The Peragallo Pipe Organ Co. They’ve been at it ever since. They work out of a building that doubles as an archive of the family’s history. On the creaky wooden stairwell leading up to a second-floor office, the blue work shirt that belonged to the late John Peragallo Jr still hangs on the wall.

In another room, where the organ’s elec-

tronic components are tested, a technician has handwritten in pencil the locations of organs the company has manufactured since 2002. They can be found in churches, movie theaters, colleges and even an Atlanta man’s home.

Last week, the family completed the installation of their latest organ at a church in Williamsburg, Va, then came home in time for John Peragallo III to lead the Fourth of July tour for members of the American Guild of Organists, who were meeting in Morristown, NJ. During the tour, he let some of the visiting organists try out the imported German rosewood and maple keyboard on the St Francis Xavier organ.

“This is one of the best organs I’ve ever played on,” said Rich Gress of Newmarket, NH, who played in his socks so as not to get the pedals dirty. “It was very humbling, too,” he added. Gregory S Scimie, artistic director of the Assisi Performing Arts Center in Summit, said he’s known the Peragallos for the last 33 years. “They make things easy,” he said. “They’re professional in whatever they do.”—MCT

A group of “organ crawlers” check out the Peragallo organ at St Patrick’s Cathedral.

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Style girlfriend: Back to school

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eptember’s here, and that means shorter days, end-of-summer barbecues and back-to-school ads infesting the airwaves. Seems like I can’t turn on the TV without JCPenney telling me what my tween should be wearing this fall. But what about the grown-up kids heading back to school? A friend of mine is currently getting settled at my beloved alma mater Penn State-ostensibly to get his masters in business, though I think he just needed a place to crash for football games now that even our friends’ little brothers and sisters have graduated. And yes, that statement makes me feel incredibly old.

He asked me about the appropriate books-toting accessory for a back-to-back-toschooler. Knowing I won’t turn down the chance for some virtual window shopping, I happily obliged my fellow Nittany Lion.

Herein, my recommendations for the youngat-heart academic — safety scissors and glue stick sold separately. North Face “Borealis,” $79 (www.rei.com) The classic. If you’re going for a utilitarian look, you can’t beat this durable backpack. If you know anything about me, it’s that I love me some pockets, and this one’s got plenty.

Plus, the double zip on top allows for a laptop in one compartment, books and notebooks in another. And never the two shall meet.

Personally, I carried a North Face backpack all four years of undergrad, even when spinebending shoulder bags became the big thing for the ladies. On the weekends, I could usually be found closing down the libraries, then closing down the bars, so functionality and comfort were important. Crumpler “Moderate Embarrassment,” $95 (www.crumplerbags.com) Don’t let the name fool you. This stylish nylon messenger bag from Crumpler will cause you nothing but pride as you notice classmates’ approving glances. Colors range from the neutral to the obnoxious, so you’ve got plenty of sartorial options. Moreover, the waterproof material ensures that you won’t lose your lecture notes to a sudden downpour.

There are plenty of durable, nylon messenger bags out there that will serve your academic purposes well-Brooklyn Industries and Manhattan Portage both have some nice ones. New York represent!

Nylon Canvas Briefcase, Jack Spade, $225 (www.jackspade.com) Maybe you’re trying to make a good impression on your straightfrom-the-corporate-world professors, maybe your shoulders chafe easily, or maybe you’re just looking for the perfect accessory to complete your Don Draper Halloween outfit.

Whatever the reason, something about you says “I’m a briefcase kind of guy.”

That’s cool. This nylon and canvas number from Jack Spade will carry you from the classroom to the boardroom in style. Leather Messenger Bag, J Crew, $225 (www.jcrew.com) If you’re looking for a goodlooking bag that will easily transition from the quad to the conference room, check out this sturdy leather messenger bag from J. Crew.

This bag lets the world know, “Underneath the hoodie and 3-day-old stubble, I’m a grown-up. Really.” While you’re living on ramen and Miller Lite, consider this timeless, well-made accessory a necessary splurge.

Plus, you’ll look a little like Jim from “The Office,” and let’s just be honest, chicks love that guy. — MCT

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Muslim women pray at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on the first Friday of the holy month of Ramadan in Jerusalem’s Old City.

The Dome of the Rock is seen in the background.

A Thai Muslim woman grills food at her market stall during the month of Ramadan in Thailand’s restive southern province of Narathiwat.

Afghan men break their fast at a charity food point set up by Afghanistan Red Crescent for poor people during the holy fasting month of Ramadan in the city of Jalalabad, the provincial capital of Nangarhar province, east of Kabul, Afghanistan.

A Pakistani Muslim arranges bowls of food before Iftar, the breaking of the fast, during the holy month of Ramadan in Lahore.

Indian Muslim butchers sell beef during the holy month of Ramadan in Hyderabad.—AFP/AP Photos

Indian Muslims place food items on plates to distribute prior to the breaking of the fast at Jama-e-Masjid Aiwan-e-Begumpet mosque in Hyderabad.

A Somali man prepares food for Iftar, for the residents of Mogadishu, Somalia. Muslims around the world mark sundown during Ramadan with extravagant dinners after not eating from sunrise to sundown. That kind of nighttime celebration is unthinkable this year for most Somalis, who are enduring the worst famine in a generation.

Displaced Somalian, Mohamed Idris sits in his makeshift shelter at an Internally Displacd People (IDP) camp in southern Mogadishu. Ramadan should be a time of celebration and prayer, but for Mohamed Idris, a Somali struggling in the famine-hit and war-torn capital, daily survival is all he can care about. He abstains from food and water in the traditional dawn-to-dusk fast that began on Monday, as Islam requires all able believers to do. But when the time comes for the traditional evening celebration of delicacies and specially prepared meals, there is still nothing to eat.