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ON IP TI SC R SU B

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 3, 2011

Saudi billionaire to build world’s tallest tower

Gaddafi forces vow to fight on as Russia speaks of ‘dead end’

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RAMADAN 3, 1432 AH

Desperate, sick Indonesians use railroad ‘therapy’

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US averts disastrous default; Cuts trillions Contentious bill approved; Fitch maintains US AAA rating conspiracy theories

Breaking the rules on kings’ roads

By Badrya Darwish

badrya_d@kuwaittimes.net

M

y thanks goes to Major General Mustafa Zaabi, Assistant Undersecretary for Traffic Affairs at the Ministry of Interior for his surprising decision to allow vehicles to use the emergency lane in the peak hours during Ramadan. The decision, however, is about the 4th, 5th and 6th Ring Roads and about the King Fahad Highway, King Abdulaziz Highway (Fahaheel Highway) and King Faisal bin Abdulaziz Highway. Also, according to the decision people can break the law and drive if there is congestion on what is called the emergency lane.

Also, the decision to allow traffic in the emergency lane includes the strip of road from the 5th Ring Road juncture with Mohamad Abulqasem Street till Abdelkarim Hatabi street. Zaabi explains his decision to break the rule, with the fact that it is strictly limited to the month of Ramadan and applies only to the rush hours. He did not specify what the rush hours are. To me, Kuwait is a rush hour all year around. Even in the middle of the night you will find a lot of traffic on the streets whether it is a holiday or a weekend.

Even in the summer when people leave Kuwait the streets remain crowded. Congested streets have become a norm of life for everybody in the country. By the way I used to mock people who sometimes ignore everyone queuing in line and zoom to the front of the traffic light and take a turn into the island which is meant for emergencies. Now, this is legal.

I appreciate Zaabi’s concern when people are fasting and it is 49 degrees Celsius. He is sympathizing with the people and he thinks this could ease their agony. Well, it could be a two-edge sword. First, God forbid, what if there is an emergency and the traffic is blocking the emergency lane? Especially if there is an ambulance or the fire brigade trying to quickly reach an emergency.

A life can be saved if we have this space uncongested. No need to mention that car accidents and fire accidents are too many in the summer in Kuwait. Second, people will get used to breaking the rules. Who could decide whether it was a rush hour or not? Thanks, for your sympathy Major General Zaabi. I hope that people will not abuse your generosity. Have a happy fast!

Cars allowed on emergency lanes KUWAIT: Kuwait General Traffic Department set up a comprehensive plan to reduce traffic density during the month of Ramadan and is allowing drivers to use the left-side emergency lane during peak hours at a speed limit of 45 kilometers/hour. Assistant Undersecretary of the Interior Ministry at the traffic department Moustafa Hussain Al-Zaghabi said that “safe lanes are allowed to be used on 6th, 5th, and 4th ring roads as well as King Continued on Page 13

MALANG: Blind women use the braille system to read copies of the Quran on the second day of Ramadan in Malang. Like millions of Muslims around the world, Indonesians celebrated the month of Ramadan by abstaining from eating, drinking, and smoking as well as sexual activities from dawn to dusk. — AFP

UN: Assad ‘lost all humanity’

Hosni Mubarak

Mubarak trial may scare Arab rulers CAIRO: Egypt’s fallen leader, Hosni Mubarak, goes on trial today over his role in killing protesters, in a stark message to Arab rulers elsewhere that they too may one day be held to account. In domestic politics, putting the former president in the dock may help quell criticism of the generals now running Egypt, suspected by protesters of protecting their former commander.

Egyptians camped out in Cairo for more than three weeks in July demanded faster reforms by the army council, in power since Mubarak was ousted on Feb 11, including swifter trials of Mubarak and his aides over corruption and protester deaths. Many suspect the military of foot-dragging over Mubarak, in hospital since April in Sharm El-Sheikh, a Red Sea resort. “The army has interests with the old regime. They are not doing anything for the people. They worked with Mubarak.

They will not harm him, I swear,” Safa Mohamed, 41, said in Suez, scene of some of the worst violence in the 18-day uprising. If convicted, Mubarak could face the death penalty.

Continued on Page 13

UNITED NATIONS: UN leader Ban Ki-moon said Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad has “lost all humanity” as the UN Security Council held new talks yesterday on the Syrian government’s deadly crackdown on protests.

With the 15-nation council now under mounting pressure to take a stand on the worsening violence in Syria, the UN secretary general vented his growing anger at Assad’s refusal to acknowledge international criticism.

“Since the beginning of this situation, I have issued many statements, I have spoken to President Assad several times, and I have expressed my sincere wish and genuine wish that he should genuinely, genuinely address these issues in a peaceful manner,” Ban told a small group of reporters.

Highlighting weekend violence in which about 140 people were killed in a military offensive on Hama and other towns, Ban added: “This is a totally unacceptable situation. “He (Assad) must be aware that under international humanitarian law, this is accountable. I believe that he lost all sense of humanity,” Ban said. “He must address this issue, listening to the calls of the international community and more importantly, listening to the aspirations and genuine wishes of his people.”

The death toll in Syria’s bloody crackdown in the city of Hama and elsewhere climbed yesterday and Russia said it would not oppose a UN resolution to condemn the violence. Russia, an old ally of Syria, had long resisted any such measure by the UN Security Council, where it holds a veto. The Foreign Ministry in Moscow cautioned that any resolution should refrain from sanctions and other unspecified “pressures”.

Three more civilians were killed in Hama, including two brothers, Khaled and Fateh Kanil, who died when pro-Assad “shabbiha” militiamen fired at their foodladen car, two residents, one of them a doctor said by telephone. They said a brief riot appeared to have broken out late on Monday at Hama’s main prison.

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Max 47º Min 31º Low Tide 08:16 & 20:46 High Tide 02:23 & 13:52

WASHINGTON: The US Senate yesterday approved legislation to avert a disastrous debt default and cut trillions in government spending, sending the contentious bill to President Barack Obama to sign into law.

Lawmakers voted 74-26 to pass the measure — which cleared the House of Representatives by an overwhelming 269-161 margin a day earlier — with just hours to spare before a midnight (0400 today) deadline.

Twenty-eight of Obama’s Republican foes joined forty-five Democrats and one independent who usually sides with them in favor of the legislation, while 19 Republicans, six Democrats, and the chamber’s other independent voted no. Obama signed the measure quickly and turn his focus to tackling historically high US unemployment of 9.2 percent and boosting the sagging US economy, likely the dominant factor in his 2012 reelection bid.

“We have to get this out of the way to get to the issue of growing the economy,” Vice President Joe Biden declared Monday, vowing that once the bill is law “we will be talking about nothing come then but about jobs.” The legislation lifts cash-strapped Washington’s $14.3 trillion debt limit by up to $2.4 trillion while cutting at least $2.1 trillion in government spending over 10 years.

Republicans have promised the spending cuts will create jobs, but top Wall Street economists have warned the austerity measures will actually be a drag on already sluggish US growth even as government stimulus measures run out. The overall shift from priming the US economy to government belt-tightening is expected to reduce US growth next year by about 1.5 percentage points, according to JPMorgan Chase economists.

Democrats, especially on the party’s left flank, have expressed outrage that the bargain Obama struck with Continued on Page 13

Ramadan Kareem

month of mercy

By Dr Yunus Aidaroos

“R

amadan is a month whose beginning is Mercy, whose middle is Forgiveness and whose end is freedom from the fire.”

Ponder on the inherent logical sequence (subhanAllah) of the above! We cannot be exempt from fire without first being forgiven. And to be forgiven, we must be graced by Allah’s mercy.

The first one-third of Ramadan (10 days) is MERCY from Allah • Can we expect to receive mercy if we only deprive our bodies of food and drink? Of course not.

Because Ramadan is meant for SPIRITUAL development through fasting. Physiologically, by fasting the body eliminates toxins efficiently and the mind becomes clear for “power thinking” so that one may ponder on the meaning of the Quran, Hadith and the necessity of Zhikr. One must also do some self-analysis to monitor and correct one’s behavior if necessary.

With meditation the mind becomes quiet and so should our tongues!

• Allah is looking for a sincere commitment from us and not just physical starvation till sunset and then returning to the status quo. Ramadan does not end at every iftar. It ends only on sighting the hilal of Shawwal. So the hard spiritual work must carry on for the whole of the month.

• One must plead for mercy and sincerely cry to receive it because without it, we are stuck at stage one and our prospects of “freedom from fire” will be bleak.

Continued on Page 13

in the

news

Thais ‘rehearse’ death BANGKOK: For those facing a run of bad luck and wanting to start things over, one Thai temple has an unusual solution: “rehearse” death with a mock funeral, including lying down in a coffin. Pram Manee temple in Nakorn Nayok province, 107 km northeast of Bangkok, holds two of the rituals every day: at exactly 9:09 am and 1:09 pm, since the number nine is believed by Thais to bring good luck. Participants in a recent ritual stood in front of their designated coffins, holding flowers and praying for bad luck to go away, then asked to receive good luck. All had paid 180 baht ($6) for the flowers, a white sheet and “merit set”-a collection of necessities sometimes including toothpaste, toothbrushes and food-to be offered to monks, and the promise of a better life. “First we pray for the ‘dead,’ to wash away the bad things. They will go away when the monk draws a sheet over the coffin,” said Rin Manaboom, a monk at the temple who conducts the ceremonies.

35 killed in Karachi

KARACHI: Pakistani firefighters extinguish burning vehicles in the trouble area of Karachi. — AFP

KARACHI: At least 35 people were killed in 24 hours in Karachi, officials said yesterday, as Pakistan’s interior minister described the city as enduring “a reign of terror and bloodshed”.

Authorities have struggled to end nightly gunbattles raging across the country’s financial capital, with political, ethnic and criminal rivalries leaving more than 200 people dead last month. Much of the fighting has been blamed on supporters of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), based among the Urdu-speaking majority, and the rival Awami National Party (ANP), which represents ethnic Pashtun migrants. Hundreds of extra police and paramilitary troops have been deployed on the streets of Karachi, a diverse and congested port city of about 17 million people, but the cycle of civil strife has worsened in recent weeks. “Our figures show that during the last 24 hours, 35 people have died in the violence, many of whom died in shootings overnight,” provincial home department official Sharfuddin Memon said yesterday.

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

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Jennifer Lopez talks about split from Marc Anthony Years

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A boat passes a sculpture of a giant mermaid designed by German artist Oliver Voss on the river Alster in Hamburg, northern Germany, yesterday. The sculpture made of Styrofoam and steel will be on exhibit for ten days.

(Inset) A man adjusts a sculpture “Giant Mermaid” .— AP

Israeli museum showing Muslim-world artists A

museum on the road separating Jewish west Jerusalem from the Arab neighborhoods in the city’s east is attracting a daring group of artists from Middle Eastern nations that shun contact with Israel, trying to erode political barriers through art. It’s been a yearslong process for the Museum on the Seam, which is one of the few art museums in Israel that aggressively tries to convince Arab and Muslim artists to show in its galleries.

That’s not an easy task. Many Middle Eastern artists refuse, protesting Israel’s policies toward the Palestinians. Many of their governments, notably Iran, make contacts with Israel illegal. In Egypt, which signed a 1979 peace treaty with the Jewish state, rules by many artists organizations forbid members to engage in any “normalization” with Israel.

Still, the Museum on the Seam succeeded in bringing in works from seven artists of Middle Eastern origin for its current 28-artist exhibition, called West End, which examines the struggle

between Islam and the West. The artists hail from Iran, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Morocco and Egypt, all countries with chilly or hostile relations with Israel.

Two of the artists - an Egyptian and a Saudi live in their homelands, although the others in the show currently live mainly in the West. But even shows by Middle Easterners living abroad are rare in Israel. They too face constraints because they return to their homelands or have relatives there, said Raphie Etgar, the museum’s curator and artistic director. The museum’s exhibition, which also includes artists from the US, Europe and Russia, has an unusually large concentration of Middle Eastern artists. Although this is not the first time Arab artists have displayed in Israel, Israeli art historian Gideon Ofrat said it’s rarely done.

In a sign of the sensitivities, most of the Middle Eastern artists in the exhibit did not respond to interview requests. One exception was Mounir Fatmi of Morocco, who lives in Paris

A visitor walks past an art work titled “Suicide Bomber - 1/1”, 2008, created by Slovakian artist Robert Kunec.

N Korea begins showcase

Arirang festival

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orth Korea has launched its annual Arirang festival featuring mass games and artistic performances praising the communist regime and the ruling Kim dynasty, state media said. The extravaganza, which began in 2002, usually involves tens of thousands including children performing synchronized acrobatics, dances and flip-card displays of politicized messages. This year’s event opened in the May Day Stadium in the capital Pyongyang on Monday evening with the stadium turning into “a huge sea of cheering performers and dancers”, the official news agency said late Monday.

The event featured “fascinating art in three-dimensional space, a perfect combination of modern sound and lighting effect, electronic displays... and dynamic gymnastics (with an) ever-changing background,” it said.

The flip-card slogans lauded late founding president Kim Il-Sung and

his son and current leader Kim JongIl, it said. The show was first introduced to mark the 90th anniversary of Kim Il-Sung’s birth but was not staged in 2003, 2004 or 2006. No reason was given but the country was severely hit by floods in some of those years.

The festival went ahead despite adverse weather this summer. A storm and heavy rain over the last two months left dozens of people dead, injured or missing, while thousands more are homeless, state media said Monday. In 2009 the festival-named after a Korean folk song-drew about 1.4 million people from home and abroad, according to official media.

The impoverished state, where hundreds of thousands died in a famine in the 1990s, suffers from severe food and energy shortages. —AFP

but said he returns often to Tangier to visit family.

“Even if I have some Arab friends who are artists (who) do not agree with me, I believe we should not deprive the audience (of) our work because of political postures from our countries,” said Fatmi, who has shown twice in Israel before. “I will keep on showing as long as I have good proposals coming up.”

Morocco and Israel had formal ties between 1994 and 2000, though they never made peace, when the North African country broke off relations following the launch of the second Palestinian uprising against Israel. Fatmi’s video work at the exhibit - “Modern Times: A History of the Machine” - is inspired by Charlie Chaplin’s 1936 film. By linking the wheels of the assembly line in Chaplin’s film to the wheels of an assembly line decorated with arabesques and Arabic calligraphy, Fatmi draws a line between the alienated industrialized man of Chaplin’s work and the unrelenting pace of urbanization in the Middle East.

A neon work, titled “Moment of Glory” by Leila Pazooki of Iran, lists artists and their parallels from the other side of the globe, in a story of separation and connection between artists from east and west. The five light boxes of Ahmed Mater of Saudi Arabia, titled “Evolution of Man,” warn of the dangers of greed, morphing from a gas pump into a skeleton of a man holding a pistol to his head. Tellingly, there are no artists from the Palestinian territories - not from lack of effort, Etgar said. “When I approached artists in the Islamic world in the past, the response was disappointing,” he said. “It was even worse when we approached Palestinians just across the road.”

But in the past two years, opposition has cracked, he said. “I think there has been an individual ripening and maturation of artists, an understanding that their contribution will be much more significant if they bring their work to our public,” he said. Helping the cause is the fact that the museum is not financed by government money, he added. The museum acquires artworks

A detail of an art work by Saudi Arabian artist Ahmed Mater.

with the full knowledge of the artist, he added.

The museum, established in 1999, sits on the edge of the ultra-Orthodox Jewish Mea Shearim quarter and opposite an Arab neighborhood, Sheikh Jarrah. A Turkish-era mansion designed by a Palestinian, it became a front-line Israeli military command post after the Jewish state was founded in 1948 and Jerusalem was divided into Israeliand Jordanian-controlled areas. A nearby checkpoint was the lone passage between the two sectors, which were separated by a concrete and barbed-wire barrier torn down after Israel captured east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war. The mansion’s facade still has the scars of bombs and bullets from the years Jerusalem was divided. “I tried to maintain the outer facade to remind people of the possibilities available,” Etgar said. — AP

A visitor walks past art works titled “Red Ink” and “Kinder Blitz”, 2006, created

by American artist Walter Robinson at the exhibition West End at the Museum on the Seam in Jerusalem. — AP photos

‘Living walls’ great backdrops for floral tapestry

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hen landscaper Darien Ball began building a “living wall” to highlight the Tiffany stained- glass lamp exhibit at the Biltmore Estate this summer, he reached for some drafting paper first, then garden tools. Ball sketched a simple schematic and then brought it to life with colorful foliage. The 6-by-24foot(2-by-7.3-meter)floral tapestry panels - vertical gardens - were crafted using a plant-by-the-numbers system similar to the old paint-by-number kits for children. “We were looking to find the right shading and details to match the Tiffany glasswork,” Ball said by phone from the 8,000-acre (3,237hectare) private estate in Asheville, North Carolina. “We wanted some themes that would stand out on their own.”

The color palettes on the schematic were numbered to distinguish plant varieties. Variegated liriope, a groundcover, was No 1, Electric Lime coleus, or painted nettle plants, No 2, and so on.

The colors match those of butterflies, tree branches and dragonflies - all icon-

ic subjects on the Tiffany lamps, windows, vases and bowls created for wealthy patrons in the late 19th century. “It was difficult to find the right shading and plant details to match the Tiffany patterns, but using darker hues worked,” Ball said. “We also had to

remember that the plants would grow, so we left room for expansion.” Light levels and water requirements are the two most important living-wall design elements, he said.

“You’ve got to think maintenance before you get too carried away with

Photo courtesy of Longwood Gardens shows the Green Wall at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pa. The wall at Longwood uses 47,000 plants from 25 different woodland plant species.—AP

design,” he said. “Plants with colorful foliage are easier to work with than flowering plants that need deadheading.” The Biltmore’s floral tapestry is just one living-wall variation. Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, has designed another. It is said to be America’s largest living wall, with 47,000 plants from 25 different woodland plant species. Most are ferns.

“No geometric shapes,” said Lorrie Baird, a senior gardener who cares for Longwood’s living wall. “We allow them to do what they would in a natural environment.”

Plants that need more light went on top, she said, and those requiring less light were placed toward the bottom.

“Watering is done automatically,” Baird said. “We start at the top and it flows down to the next panel and then down to the next. The lower panels get the runoff.” Gardeners can create their own living walls at home, she said. —AP

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Bird-watching is big business in Arizona F Children play during an unusual snowfall in the Atacama desert, near Copiapo, Chile.

Chile: Snow, rain hit world’s driest desert

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his has been the wettest winter in decades for Chile’s arid northern desert, where fractions of an inch of rain have done major damage in some areas and set the stage for spectacular floral displays in the weeks to come. July came and went with major storms that together dumped more than five times the annual average of rain and snow on parts of the world’s driest desert.

The past weekend’s precipitation blocked highways, forced the cancellation of a top Chilean football match and damaged the homes of 1,800 people, said Vicente Nunez, chief of the Interior Ministry’s national emergency office. A similarly wet stretch in early July dumped four years’ worth of rain in one day on coastal Antofogasta. That was just a quarter of an inch (more than 6.3 millimeters) but it was still enough to cause collapsed or leaking roofs in homes and businesses that usually have no reason to protect themselves against even minimal precipitation. That storm also brought as much as three feet (a meter) of snow to mountains that normally receive zero precipitation during the southern winter. Soldiers helped rescue 400 people including busloads of foreign visitors who were trapped in snow drifts and 50 mph (80 kph) winds, said Ernesto Figueroa, chief of Chile’s emergency agency in the northern Tarapaca region.

Some copper mines in the region, including the massive Collahuasi operation, temporarily halted production because of snowfall. Further south in Copiapo, dry riverbeds became torrents, trapping people who tried to drive across.

The government helped out by delivering plastic sheeting to shantytown residents.

“Windstorms devastated some roofs and knocked over big trees,” said Horacio Larrain, an archaeologist who lives in Iquique, where a dust storm surprised residents. “The sky was red with dust at sunset, which was something no one had ever seen before.” Average annual rainfall in the northern city of Arica is so low that it would take 50 years to accumulate an inch. This July, the city was swamped twice by what would be considered mild showers almost anywhere else on the planet. So far this year, Arica has had 0.13 inch (3.4 millime-

ters) of rain, more than six times its yearly average during 30 years of record keeping.

While climate scientists say global warming has made for increasingly extreme weather worldwide, this rain is particularly unusual for the Atacama, where precipitation has declined over the past century and climate change models predict deserts will expand southward and become even drier, said Juan Quintana, a meteorologist with Chile’s weather service.

This year’s rains and snow are caused by high-pressure systems farther south that have disrupted prevailing wind currents, Quintana said. From central Santiago southward, Chile is having a very dry year, causing drought conditions in places and draining reservoirs needed for hydroelectricity.

The Atacama desert ecosystem normally has very little vegetation or insects, and its flowers don’t bloom every year. But July’s rains should bring an amazing transformation, said Pilar Cereceda, a professor of biogeography at the University of Chile. “We expect to have to have all these seeds and insects that are latent, that will explode.

Probably we will find lots of flowers in many places,” she said.

When the Atacama does bloom, purple and yellow flowers are most common, with spots of red, as an estimated 200 varieties of flowers burst from the sand. July’s abnormal rainfall is expected to cause flowers to bloom starting in late August.

Usually, the high season is September through November, Tourism agencies are already preparing for an early influx of camera-snapping visitors, and environmentalists will be looking for evidence that the Dakar Rally, which now brings hundreds of off-road vehicles to the remote deserts each January, will have carved up tender bulbs and seeds that sometimes lay dormant for years just under the sand’s surface, waiting for the next rain.—AP

File photo shows a view of the Moon Valley, Chile. Valley of the Moon (Valle de la Luna) is located 13 kilometers west of San Pedro in the Cordillera de la Sal, in the Atacama desert of Chile. — AP

rom the sandhill crane to the red-faced warbler, rock stars of the birding world have spawned a tourism industry in Arizona that draws bird-watchers from around the world. “It’s one of the two or three best places in the United States to look for birds,” said David Pashley of the American Bird Conservancy. “Arizona makes a lot of money off of bird-watchers going down to the southeast corner of the state.”

More than 140 bird species are found in southern Arizona, and birding festivals take place year-round throughout the state, including Yuma and in northern Arizona’s Verde Valley. One of the best-known birding destinations is the southeastern city of Sierra Vista, which hosts the annual Southwest Wings Birding and Nature Festival. The Aug. 36 festival, in its 20th year, typically draws thousands of participants.

Nearby Tucson will host another major summer event for birders - the inaugural Tucson Bird & Wildlife Festival, Aug. 17-21. The itinerary will include the Sky Islands Birding Cup fundraiser, where teams will compete to observe the most bird species in a 24-hour period.

This undated photo courtesy of City of Sierra Vista shows a Lucifer Hummingbird in Sierra Sierra Vista is located near several canyons, Vista, Ariz. — AP photos the San Pedro River and the Coronado National Memorial, and birds are attracted to the area’s hodgepodge of ecosystems, includ- came to Arizona to observe wild birds, Yarchin ing mountains and trees along rivers and said. Arizona birding generated $838 million lakes, according to Joe Yarchin, an Arizona in trip-related spending the same year, bringGame and Fish Department project coordina- ing about $1.2 billion in revenue into the state. For tourism offices and communities, tor.

“Those are the strongest kind of birding that’s a lot of heads and beds, Yarchin added.

“It gets their attention when I go and give areas in deserts. People certainly don’t think my talks to a county board of supervisors or a of Arizona as any kind of mecca for birders,” chamber of commerce,” Yarchin said. “You Yarchin said. “Everyone thinks death and desmight just say wildlife viewing is comparable olation when they think of desert.” Many outof-town birders come to see birds that are a to the combination of hunting and fishing.” rarity where they live. Sierra Vista, which pro- One reason birding may be such a big draw is motes itself as the “Hummingbird Capital,” has its leisurely pace. “It’s a good excuse to go out documented more than a dozen species of and get in the fresh air. You don’t have to set a hummingbirds that are found nowhere else in goal of going 10 miles or something. It’s betthe country. With the Huachuca Mountains’ ter than sitting in front of the T V,” Lewis close proximity to the Sierra Madre mountain said.—AP ranges of Mexico, birders also get excited at border-crossers.

A red-faced “A bunch of birds that are Mexican in distriwarbler. bution get into that part of the country,” Pashley said. “There are essentially Mexican birds that you can see there that you can’t see anywhere else.” In Sierra Vista, birders can also get an extraordinary peek at scientists’ effort to record information on hummingbirds. Near the San Pedro River, researchers set up nets and feeders to catch hummingbirds in the fall and spring. Once they’re caught, scientists weigh them and measure them. Daggett said they are released, but not before getting a band around their leg.

“Sometimes they get one that has been coming back year after year,” Daggett said.

Like most birding events, the Southwest festival offers field excursions and lectures. “A lot of folks like to do a 45-minute classroom and then do a carpool and go someplace and put some of the stuff to use in the field,” said Gordon Lewis, one of the festival’s organizers.

Lewis said the June 12 Monument Fire outside Sierra Vista, which burned 47 square miles and destroyed 57 homes, hasn’t affected the festival’s plans or bird-watching in general. They have only had to close down one planned trip because of US Forest Service road closures. Wildfires have also provided fresh fodder for discussion topics, including This undated photo courtesy of Arizona Game and Fish Department shows sandhill cranes in talks at the Southwest festival addressing how flight. wildlife and habitats bounce back from the disasters.

Pashley, who oversees domestic habitat issues at the American Bird Conservancy, says most fires are good for ecosystems by helping to clear growth. Displaced birds are resilient enough to adapt and find new places to get food. In southern Arizona, where summer brings a monsoon season characterized by increased humidity and rain, burned areas will “green up really fast.”

“My suspicion is those systems will come back and in the long run they’ll be healthier than they were,” Pashley said. “It’s worse for bird-watchers than it is for birds.” According to a 2006 US Fish & Wildlife Service survey, birders spent more than $12 billion nationwide on travel and equipment expenses such as cameras, binoculars and bird food. That same This undated photo courtesy of Tucson Audubon shows a group of Tucson Audubon birders report states that about 1.3 million people watching for birds in the White Mountains of southern Arizona.

US museum’s Lord Byron letter turns out to be fake

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t turns out a nearly 200-year-old letter donated to a New Jersey museum wasn’t written by English Romantic poet Lord Byron. The National Historical Park in Morristown received the letter more than 50 years ago from a banker and collector. The letter’s authenticity came into doubt when Drew University began planning a large Byron exhibit. The park’s chief of cultural resources Jude Pfister offered the letter.

The Star-Ledger of Newark (http://bit.ly/qNW7q5) reports the university shared the letter with an expert at the New York Public Library. She found problems with the salutation, signature and content. The letter appears to have been written 50 years after Byron’s death in 1824. The author remains a mystery. The museum is considering an exhibit on forged documents.—AFP

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five-seat box at the world-famous Royal Albert Hall in London is up for sale for a princely £550,000 (630,000 euros, $900,000), the estate agents said yesterday. Harrods Estates described the box, which it is claimed contains the best seats in the concert hall, as the “ultimate gift” for a loved one.

Although the same money would buy a two-bedroomed flat in the exclusive Chelsea district not far away, the 865-year lease should give the owner and their descendants enough time to make it worthwhile.

The box is the only one left in the hall still featuring its original timber veneer and mirrored panels, while its location on the second tier on the eastern side of

the auditorium offers spectacular views of the main stage. Shirley Humphrey, sales and marketing director at Harrods Estate, said: “The boxes at the Royal Albert Hall are extremely rare and those with original features are even rarer, so we anticipate to receive a high level of interest.

“This five-seat box is perfect for entertaining, whether it is business or pleasure.” The Royal Albert Hall was part of a plan envisaged by Queen Victoria’s consort Prince Albert to create an estate to promote the understanding and appreciation of the arts and sciences in the South Kensington area of London.

When he died in 1861, the plans went ahead and the hall was opened in March 1871. Since then it has

become one of Britain’s top music venues, hosting everything from the series of classical concerts known as the Proms to gigs by Jay Z. To raise funds for the completion of the building, private individuals were invited to buy 999-year leases on some of the seats, for £100 each. Queen Victoria bought 20, and the current monarch still has a box there. If the five-seat box on sale is a little too expensive, a block of five stall seats is also available through Harrods Estates, costing a cool £375,000.—AFP

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Kolkata set for ‘London Eye’ in major facelift T A promotional hoarding bearing the portrait of Bollywood actor Mithun Chakhaborty is seen on the facade of an old building in Kolkata.

In this photograph taken on September 14, 2010, Indian traders sell groceries at a roadside market in Kolkata. — AFP photos

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rush of theme park construction across Asia that will result in new homes for Mickey Mouse, the Monkey King and Hello Kitty is also providing a financial lifeline for the world’s elite group of entertainment designers. New theme parks, resorts and casinos are scheduled to open from Singapore to Seoul over the next several years as property developers and entertainment companies aim to draw Asia’s rapidly growing middle classes.

They’re betting there will be a big market for family amusement rides, live shows and the chance to pose for a picture with Snow White.

Mainland Chinese visitors react at the Galaxy Macau after the multibillion-dollar casino resort complex opened in Macau.

The projects represent the next big growth area for skilled and experienced designers and creators as the North American market has become saturated and opportunities to design big new resorts have dried up. “America has slowed down and Asia has kicked into higher gear. Especially China and Macau are really busy,” said Gary Goddard, a veteran architectural designer who drew up the masterplan for the Galaxy Macau, a $1.9 billion casino resort that opened in the southern Chinese city in May. Goddard and many of his competitors are based in Southern California but they’ve been doing a lot more traveling to Asia lately to work on projects and meet potential clients. Many aren’t strangers to the region, having worked in Japan on an earlier generation of parks and developments. Now the focus is shifting to China. Theme parks in the US struggled last year with modest attendance gains as the economy eked out a muted recovery from recession. Six Flags Entertainment Corp, which runs 19 parks in North America, filed for bankruptcy protection in

A general view shows Galaxy Macau, a $1.9 billion casino resort that opened in May, in Macau.

he local government in Kolkata, once capital of British India, kicked off plans yesterday to transform the congested city into a “second London” replete with a London Eye ferris wheel. Mamata Banerjee, the feisty newly elected chief minister of the state of West Bengal, made an election pledge to transform the dysfunctional and poverty-stricken Indian metropolis into a world class city. “Kolkata was the second city of the British empire. Why can’t our Kolkata be a second London?” Banerjee told AFP ahead of the official ceremony of the project yesterday.

The planned facelift marks the first major urban renewal effort in the state by Banerjee, who became known as “the giant killer” after toppling the world’s longest-serving communist government in West Bengal in May. The bustling metropolis of 15 million, whose name was officially changed in 2001 from Calcutta, was a cluster of villages on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River before it became the capital of British India.

Towards the end of the 19th century, Kolkata had become one of the world’s wealthiest cities, leading to a building spree that left a rich architectural heritage.

Many parts of the city, particularly the Maidan that was inspired by Hyde Park and the centre where the large administrative buildings are located, closely resemble the British capital. A huge memorial to Queen Victoria remains a city centerpiece and tourist attraction to this day. But after decades of under-investment and neglect, the walls of many buildings are crumbling and the grandeur of the city has long faded in the fierce local climate of heat, humidity and heavy rains. Banerjee’s transformation will focus on the waterfront along the Hooghly River, which cuts Kolkata off from its twin city, Howrah, once known as the “Sheffield of the East,” a reference to the one-time British manufacturing hub.

A “Kolkata Eye” inspired by the London Eye will be built so that visitors can get a bird’s-eye-view of the city as well as the river from rotating capsules, Kolkata Mayor Sovan Chatterjee told AFP. Rows of dilapidated warehouses, most built in the colonial era, line the riverfront of the Hooghly, a tributary of the Ganges. “We have plans to transform the riverfront into a heritage cultural zone as part of the project to beautify Kolkata along the lines of London,”Chatterjee said. “There will be landscaped paths, places for meditation, food outlets, parks and an art gallery and museum on the 12-kilometre (7.5 mile) stretch from north to south where the river widens,” said Chatterjee.

He said city officials were aiming to complete the work by January 2013.The pavements will be made of herring-bone bricks similar to those used along London’s Thames river front and lamp posts on the pavements will be replaced with ones resembling those that existed during the colonial era. The government has also banned billboards around heritage structures to restore a colonial look to the city’s centre. The British capital in India moved from Kolkata to New Delhi in 1911. — AFP

2009 because of heavy debt. The situation is similar in Europe, where operators are mostly renovating or buying smaller rivals. One of the few new parks planned in coming years is being built on Spain’s Mediterranean coast, where officials are teaming with US film company Paramount.

The recession has also scuppered grand plans for amusement parks in the Middle East, where the vast Dubailand complex has been put on hold. Not so in Asia. Disney’s long-awaited $3.7 billion park is scheduled to open in Shanghai in 2016. The Pasadenabased Hettema Group is designing a Hello Kitty park set to open southwest of Shanghai in 2014. Burbankbased Thinkwell Group is working on a Monkey Kingdom park near Beijing based on the classical Chinese epic novel also scheduled for 2014.

Outside China, Southeast Asia’s first Universal Studios theme park opened last year in Singapore, part of a $4.4 billion resort that also includes the citystate’s first casino. Another Universal Studios is slated to open in 2014 in Seoul, South Korea that will be bigger than the company’s four existing parks. Asia’s first Legoland is scheduled to open in southern Malaysia in 2013.

A $2 billion, five-star hotel and amusement park slated to open in southern Vietnam in 2014 has lured Joe Jackson, father of the late king of pop Michael Jackson, as one of its investors. “The growth of the middle class in Asia is phenomenal and will drive huge investments in theme parks in the coming decade,” said consultancy Aecom in its annual report on theme park development.

Phil Hettema, president of The Hettema Group, said he’s in talks “probably every week about additional projects upcoming in China.”“There’s a growing market there. There’s a huge class of people looking for family entertainment,” he said. Asian theme park attendance is forecast to grow to 290 million in 2012 from 249 million in 2007, while spending in that period will rise from $6.4 billion to $8.4 billion, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers.

It’s not just theme parks that need skilled designers. In Macau, the only place in China where casinos are legal, the Galaxy is the first of what is expected to be several new hybrid casino-resorts aimed at turning the city into a tourist and cultural destination and reducing its reliance on gambling revenues. Goddard said he was tapped by a rival casino company for its expansion project three days after Galaxy opened.

His design featured multiple rooftop finials reminiscent of Thai palaces as part of a theme evoking a mystical Asian kingdom.

In Galaxy’s lobby, a fountain turns into a giant roulette wheel before a giant diamond rises out of

Indian couples sit by a pond overlooking the Victoria Memorial complex in Kolkata.

the top. It’s a metaphor for wishing casino goers eternal luck and prosperity, said designer Jeremy Railton.

Railton’s company, Entertainment Design Corp., also created the Dancing Cranes show at Singapore’s Sentosa Resort, which features two giant animatronic birds with video screens on their chests in a mating dance.

Legions of newly affluent Chinese making more trips around the country is one big factor driving China’s resort building boom, said Christian Aaen, a principal at consultancy Entertainment+Cultural Advisors. There’s also a large pool of young people who are “looking for new things to do and are starved for entertainment,” he said.

Meanwhile, China’s government is also trying to promote tourism as part of a push to boost domestic consumption. Regional governments have been partnering with private companies to build property developments anchored by theme parks that also include hotels, shops, restaurants or other services, said Aaen.

But there are no guarantees of an easy ride. Hong Kong’s Disneyland has never turned a profit since it opened in 2005 despite being popular with mainland Chinese visitors. The park is the smallest Disney property, which many blame for its poor performance.

Asia also has its share of abandoned amusement parks, many of which suffered because of lack of investment. “Ninety percent of theme parks in China that are designed by Chinese companies fail,” Goddard said. He tells this to potential clients before asking them if they really want to proceed.

Part of the problem is that some developers want to do it on the cheap. Sometimes that means they want to clone famous existing parks even though they don’t have enough money, said Goddard. He has been working on and off in China for about 15 years and has had to talk potential clients out of trying to copy Disneyland or Universal Studios. “You’re never going to be as good as the real thing. You want to do something original and different,” he says.

When projects do get under way, designers need to adapt attractions to Asian tastes. Many Asian park visitors consist of families that may include a young child and one or even two sets of grandparents. That means extreme rides are out, said Kevin Barbee, of KB Creative Advisors. For these families, “if you have a roller coaster, the youngest is probably too short to go on and oldest ones don’t want to be spun and twisted,” said Barbee, who recently moved his office from Los Angeles to Singapore. —AP

Visitors to the Universal Studios at the newly opened Resorts World Sentosa walk past statues from the movie ‘The Mummy’ in Singapore.

File photo shows the twenty-seven storey Antilia, the newly-built residence of Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani in Mumbai. — AFP

India’s richest man could face luxury home probe

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ndia’s richest man Mukesh Ambani faces a possible federal probe into the construction of his 27-storey luxury home- one of the most expensive private residences in the world. The Maharashtra state government is considering whether federal investigators should look into alleged irregularities over the sale of the land on which the home was built, Indian media reported yesterday. The Reliance Industries chairman, who according to Forbes magazine is the world’s ninth richest man with a $27-billion fortune, moved into the 570foot (174-metre) tower last year.

“Antilia”, on upmarket Altamount Road in south Mumbai, reportedly has six floors of parking, swimming pools, a ballroom, a cinema and three helipads.

Maharashtra Minority Affairs and Wakf minister, Mohammed Arif Naseem Khan, told the state assembly on Monday that the 4,532 square metre (48,782 square foot) plot had originally been reserved for the education of Muslim children. Wakf in Islamic law is property or land reserved for religious or charitable purposes. The plot was sold to Ambani by

the Currimbhoy Ebrahim Khoja Orphanage Trust for 215 million rupees ($4.77 million) in 2002, the minister said.

The deal was approved by the Mumbai Charity Commissioner but the minister said permission was not obtained from the Maharashtra State Wakf Board, which oversees the maintenance and administration of Wakf property and land. The dispute over the sale-a widespread problem across India and particularly in big cities like Mumbai where land is scarce-has been rumbling since 2004 when the Wakf board asked Ambani why the land should not be returned to the charity. The opposition leader in the state assembly, Eknath Khadse, of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), on Monday claimed that the plot was actually worth five billion rupees.

A Reliance Industries spokesman told AFP that the matter was between the Wakf board and the orphanage and had nothing to do with the company. — AFP

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ennifer Lopez tells Vanity Fair magazine that she still believes in love despite her split from her husband of seven years, Marc Anthony. The singer and actress gave the publication her first interview since announcing her divorce earlier last month. Lopez says she is an “eternal optimist” and describes love as her “biggest dream.”

The 42-year-old, who has had a string of highprofile relationships, says she’s learned to walk away from something when it isn’t right. One thing Lopez says she and Anthony do right is work together, saying “together we make magic.” The couple has two children, twins Max and Emme. The September issue of Vanity Fair goes on sale nationwide Aug 9.

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Lopez, ‘American Idol’ judging deal is done Fear not, Jennifer Lopez fans: the singer is returning to “American Idol” to judge for at least another year, TheWrap has learned through two individuals familiar with the deal. The pop star will be returning to the television singing competition

with a contract with the Fox Broadcasting Network that’s “a smidge over” $20 million, according to one of the individual. Both insiders said the deal is complete but has not yet been signed. The $20 million was apparently the base minimum for Lopez, and after tough negotiations with Fox, ended up just above that number. It’s a considerable raise from the $12 million she reportedly raked in for handling judge duties last season.

The only hurdle left to be cleared in the deal, according to one of the individuals, is scheduling.

Lopez will be working on two major productionsthe romantic dramedy “What to Expect When You’re Expecting,” which is slated for a May 2012 release, and the thriller “Parker,” currently in pre-productionwhich will most likely necessitate a shift in audition dates for the upcoming season. Lopez, whose gig with the revamped reality series began last January, told the BBC earlier this year that she was “on the fence” about returning for another season. Unlike her fellow new “Idol” judge, Aerosmith warbler

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Steven Tyler, Lopez only signed up for a year.

“I had an amazing time doing it and I loved it, but I have a lot of other things happening, and it’s going to come down to making a choice of really what I want to do for the next year,” Lopez said.

“We’re not really at the breaking point of ‘You have to make a decision right now!’ So I’m not. I’m really enjoying the time of just waiting-and seeing.”

TheWrap has also confirmed that Lopez plans to continue with the talent-search series “Q’Viva!” The series will feature Lopez and her now-estranged husband Marc Anthony scouring Latin America for the hottest vocal talent in the region. The series is co-created and co-executive-produced by Lopez, Anthony, “American Idol” producer Simon Fuller and Jamie King Fox, which airs “Idol” and a representative for Lopez had no comment for TheWrap on this story. — Agencies

or years, Harr y Potter author JK Rowling and her family had honored a French ancestor who they believed was a World War I war hero. But the best-selling author has now discovered that her family had been mistaken about the true identity of her great-grandfather. Rowling, 46, has recorded a television program with the BBC that shows her coming to terms with the revelation that her family had confused Louis Volant, a war hero awarded with the Legion d’honneur for his bravery during the Battle of Verdun, with her real great-grandfather, who had the same name and also fought for France.

Rowling told the BBC magazine published yesterday Radio Times that the experience was an upsetting and emotional one.

She said tak ing par t in her genealogy research made her so emotional that she cried several times.”There were a lot of big surprises, some wonderful, and one rather upsetting,” she said in an inter view.”

However, I went into the program wanting

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the truth, no matter what it was, because I knew so little about my French ancestry, and I don’t regret a moment of it. I loved the whole experience,” she added.

When Rowling was awarded the Legion d’honneur for her services to literature in 2009, she described her pride being the second winner of the honor in the family, and how her accomplishments could not compare to the bravery of her ancestor and men like him. She said that she has undertook the project because her mother Anne Volant, who died in 1990, was very interested in her French roots but never got the chance to explore them. “A huge motivation in looking into my family history is my mother. It’s very much bound up in that loss,” she said. The BBC show, called “Who Do You Think You Are?” will be broadcast later this month. — AP

In this magazine cover image released by Vanity Fair, actress and singer Jennifer Lopez graces the cover of “Vanity Fair” magazine, available nationwide on Aug 9. —AP

JK Rowling

Studio sues pair over leaked ‘Twilight’ images anding the cover of Rolling Stone is usually confirmation of superstar status. The Sheepdogs - winners of the magazine’s first contest to be on the cover - aren’t there yet, but they may be on their way.

The Canadian rock band beat out 15 other competitors in “Do You Wanna Be a Rock & Roll Star?” to land on the cover. The winner was announced Monday. The magazine hits newsstands Friday.

The previously unsigned act is also getting a deal with Atlantic Records, and on Tuesday they’ll release a digital EP “Five Easy Pieces” and perform on NBC’s “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon.” “The biggest thing is ... just being able to tell everybody, and seeing what happens,” Ewan Currie, lead singer of the quartet from Saskatoon, said in an interview last week with The Associated Press. The runner-up is singer-songwriter Leila Broussard.

Her soft, guitar-strumming tunes are a marked contrast to the hard-driving, rollicking rock offered by the Sheepdogs.

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he makers of the “Twilight” movies have sued two people they claim are responsible for leaking images of unfinished scenes from the series finale “Breaking Dawn.” A lawsuit filed Monday by Summit Entertainment in federal court in Los Angeles accuses Daiana and Hector Santia, who live in Argentina, of hacking into secure computers, stealing images and posting them on social networking sites. The pair are accused of posting multiple images from “Breaking Dawn” online on March 31.

Attempts to reach them were not immediately successful.

The lawsuit claims others who have not been identified may also be responsible. Summit has blasted the leaks, saying it is unfair to the majority of “Twilight” fans to have unfinished work posted online.—AP

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There was apparently no love lost between the two acts. Currie said of Broussard: “She could be rather sullen and not particularly friendly.”

They battled it out at the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in Tennessee, and in the end, readers showed their preference. Currie said that while Rolling Stone has had its share of pop acts over the years, the Sheepdogs probably best embody the magazine’s spirit. “In the end, rock ‘n’ roll won,” he said.

While the Sheepdogs, all in their 20s, are being introduced to the masses, they’re hardly a new group.

The band - which also includes drummer Sam Corbett, guitarist Leot Hanson and bassist Ryan Gullen have been around since 2006. They have released their albums independently, are regular road performers and have a website. “We were helped by the fact that we are experienced, and we have been running this operation,” Currie said. —AP

Spacek gets star on Hollywood Walk of Fame scar-winning actress Sissy Spacek has received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The 61-year-old actress was honored Monday with star number 2,443 on Hollywood Boulevard. Spacek is known for her role as the troubled teen in “Carrie” and she won an Academy Award for her portrayal of country singer Loretta Lynn in the 1981 movie “Coal Miner’s Daughter.” Her latest movie, “The Help,” comes out later this month. — AP

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This photo provided by Summit Entertainment shows Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson in a scene from “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn.”—AP

eter Parker is dead and gone, but Spider-Man’s still slinging webs and fighting crime. And it’s not just a new teenager climbing Manhattan buildings, it’s an entirely new crime-fighter, from the color of his suit to the complexion of his skin.

Meet Miles Morales, a half-black, halfHispanic American teenager who, inspired to do good after the death of Parker at the hands of the Green Goblin, takes flight and has his first fight in the pages of Marvel Comics’ “Ultimate Fallout” No 4, in comic shops on Wednesday.

The Ultimates imprint is separate from Marvel’s bigger universe where Parker is alive and well. Writer Brian Michael Bendis, who has scripted every issue of Marvel’s Ultimate Spider-Man since it first debuted in 2000 to wide acclaim, maintained a new hero would replace Parker, felled in the pages of “Ultimate Spider-Man” No 160 this summer. But as to whom that was a closely guarded secret, until now. Bendis said that the decision came down to the story, to keep it fresh and vital and new. Morales, he explained, is nothing like his predecessor.

“He’s younger than Peter Parker, he’s coming from a completely different background, a completely different world view,” Bendis said. “It’s Peter Parker’s death that inspires this kid to step up.” Bendis said his decision was made before actor Donald Glover’s efforts to be considered for next

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year’s Spider-Man film went viral. He had talked it over with Joe Quesada, Marvel’s chief creative officer. “Joe and I talked about it at great length - what if he was an AfricanAmerican and how interesting it would be,” Bendis said.

Later, he saw Glover on the television show “Community,” wearing Spider-Man pajamas, and knew he was on the right track. Making Spider-Man a black character is not a publicity effort, it’s reflective of an industry keeping pace with modern society, said Axel Alonso, Marvel’s editor-in-chief.

“As someone who grew up on a steady diet of ‘Luke Cage, Hero For Hire’ and ‘Shang Chi, Master of Kung Fu,’ I am personally invested,” he said. “This was a conscious decision. Here at Marvel, we pride ourselves on reflecting the real world in all its diversity,” Alonso added, adding that Morales’ stories would be on par with those of Parker.

“Morales’ adventures will be fleshed out in the coming months with the star t of “Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man” in September that is being illustrated by Sara Pichelli.

Bendis is excited about the possibilities that Morales brings. “I’m now sitting with a pile of legitimately new Spider-Man stories to tell and that is the best news a writer could have,” he said. — AP

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DiCaprio named top earning actor eonardo DiCaprio has been named the world’s highest paid actor. The ‘Inception’ star toppled Johnny Depp from the top of Forbes magazine’s list, earning an estimated $77 million in the financial year 2010 - which runs to May this year compared to the ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ star’s $50 million. Leonardo’s films ‘Inception’ and ‘Shutter Island’ took nearly $1.2 billion at the worldwide box office in 2010, with Forbes magazine saying in addition to upfront fees of around $15 million for each film, Leonardo also picked up a share of the profits. Johnny wasn’t able to match Leonardo, despite starring in the year’s biggest grossing film, ‘Alice In Wonderland’, which made

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$1.024 billion at the box office, as well as ‘The Tourist’, which wasn’t received well by critics but proved an international success taking $278 million worldwide. However, the actor - who previously topped the list after earning an estimated $75 million in 2009 - could return to the top spot next year, after staring in the fourth film in the hugely successful ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ series.

Third placed on the list was Adam Sandler, who made $40 million, closely followed by Will Smith and Tom Hanks with $36 million and $35 million respectively. Leonardo’s earnings were over double that of the highest paid female stars - as recently estimated by Forbes for the same period - Sarah

Jessica Parker and Angelina Jolie, who made around $30 million each.

Forbes magazine’s list of highest paid actors for financial year 2010, top five 1.

Leonardo DiCaprio ($77 million) 2.

Johnny Depp ($50 million) 3.

Adam Sandler ($40 million) 4.

Will Smith ($36 million) 5.

Tom Hanks ($35 million)

Berry’s ex marries Prince’s former wife alle Berry’s ex husband has married Prince’s former wife. Eric Benet - who was divorced from Halle in 2005 after four years of marriage - and Manuela Testolini, whose marriage to the ‘Purple Rain’ hitmaker ended in 2006, tied the knot in a private ceremony in Southern California on Sunday and announced they are expecting their first child together. Eric’s former manager Shelley Wiseman told RadarOnline.com: “Yes, I went to the wedding, and yes he did get married.” The ‘Spend My Life With You’ hitmaker has a 20-year-old daughter India with former girlfriend, Tami Marie Stauff, who died in 1993. Eric popped the question to Manuela in November last year, after three years of dating, with an antique diamond ring he designed himself. Speaking about the proposal, he said: “During a romantic dinner I decided to finally let Manuela hear ‘Never Want to Live Without You,’ a song off my new album that I had written for her. I sang it to her, then got down on one knee and proposed.”

Manuela is an entrepreneur and the founder of In A Perfect World, a charity that empowers children to become responsible leaders.

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indsay Lohan’s 17-year-old sister is the only person who can save her. The troubled ‘Mean Girls’ star has been to rehab three times and after she was spotted partying with heiress Paris Hilton recently, her father Michael Lohan has claimed her younger sibling Ali is the key to helping her recovery. Michael told RadarOnline: “I’m so worried about the people around my daughter; she continues to surround herself with people that are going to hurt her. “It’s sad and very scary what is happening to Lindsay. I just what her to get it right.” “Ali is literally the only person I know that can help her. Right now all she needs is her family. Her mother Dina, siblings Michael, Cody, Ali and I are the only ones that can help her stay sober.

She needs to come home literally and metaphorically. Dina and I are in a much better place to support her in her sobriety.” While Michael would love if his 25year-old daughter attended university with her younger sister, he believes she needs to go back to rehab first. He added: “Maybe Lindsay should go to college with Ali.” What will it take for her to listen? Jail is not the right place for her, but she needs to go to a rehab that understands her problems. She has been to some of the worst rehabs in the country. Just because they have a name doesn’t mean can help her.”

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im Kardashian has confirmed Vera Wang will design her wedding dress. The reality TV star - who will marry fiance Kris Humphries later this month - has revealed close family friend Vera, 62, was her first choice to create the “dream” gown. Kim wrote on her blog: “I am so excited to reveal that Vera Wang is my wedding dress designer. Vera has been a close family friend for a long time and we had talked about this moment for years, so when it came to picking my wedding dress designer she was the first person I thought of. No one designs gowns the way she does! “I know that Vera can make my dream come true and create the most perfect gown for my special day.” Kim’s sister Khloe - who married basketball star Lamar Odom in 2009 in a custom made Vera Wang gown has previously revealed her hopes that Kim would choose the same designer. She said: “Just because I love her, and I feel like when you

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think of wedding, you think of Vera Wang. I think it would be a perfect fit.”

eese Witherspoon and Jim Toth put on a romantic display of affection during their second honeymoon this weekend. The couple - who tied the knot in March - began their second post-wedding holiday in Paris, France, last week before moving on to Positano, Italy, where they were said to have a “wonderful time” staying in a seafront room at the exclusive Sirenuse Hotel. An onlooker said: “They had a wonderful room overlooking the sea. It’s a very romantic suite, ideal for a couple on a honeymoon and they had a wonderful time.”

Reese and Jim then enjoyed a candlelit dinner at La Caravella restaurant, where they were spotted feeding each other, and enjoying the occasional kiss. Owner Antonio Dipino told US Weekly magazine: “They were like any other honeymooning couple. They looked into each other’s eyes and held hands. They whispered to each other and kissed each other. They even fed

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each other from their plates.” However, the pair devoted the final meal of their honeymoon to Bruno - an eatery recommended by actress Hilary Swank where they dined on “pasta and grilled fish”, and were said to look “deeply in love”. Restaurant owner Ornella Amitrano added: “They had pasta and grilled fish for the main course and a bottle of wine. I could tell they were newlyweds because they just kept looking into each other’s eyes and holding hands. “It was very romantic and sweet to watch. They looked to be deeply in love.” Reese and Jim enjoyed their first honeymoon in Belize, Central America, where they were joined by Ava, 11, and seven-year-old Deacon, the ‘Water for Elephants’ actress’ children from her first marriage to Ryan Phillippe.

Winfrey struggles to run TV network prah Winfrey says running a TV network is “10 times harder” than presenting her talk show. The media mogul - who quit ‘The Oprah Winfrey Show’ after 25 years to launch her own network OWN - admitted after a week in the job she is finding it difficult to adjust and often needs to stop to “catch a breath”. Writing on her Facebook page, Oprah said: “I will say this; it’s 10 times harder than doing my daily show. Doing that show felt like breathing every day. Now I’m in so many meetings I sometimes have to step out and catch a breath.” However, Oprah is relishing the challenge and says she is not worried about the future of the channel. She said: “@Woodsy1069 asked me on Twitter yesterday if I was “frazzled” by OWN’s performance thus far. “Nope, not frazzled. And I have faith

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that if I do what I’m supposed to-allow it to serve my purpose, and you, the viewer - it will succeed. But I see every challenge as an opportunity. So no shortage of opportunities here. “Everyone in the cable business told me it would take 3 years. Some said 5.

I’ve been here a week. Lorne Michaels, master creator/producer told me months ago, ‘It won’t start to come together until you’re there.’”So I made myself CEO and now in the trenches with Erik and Sheri who’ve masterfully run Harpo, now also Presidents of OWN. We’re uniting and building our team.”

ameron Diaz and Alex ‘A-Rod’ Rodriguez enjoyed a waterfront lunch to celebrate his 36th birthday last week. The 38-year-old actress - who only recently confessed to being in a relationship with the New York Yankees baseball star - was spotted having a “great time” indulging in some food in Miami on July 27 following a yacht trip around the city with the sportsman. A source revealed to People: “They sat near the water at Smith & Wollensky in Miami Beach and had a great time.”

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The couple were recently seen working out for more than an hour at Equinox South Beach a few days after they enjoyed a “low key” meal at Casa Tua in Miami Beach. An onlooker said: “They were real low key and just wanted to be alone and talk.” Cameron previously revealed she has been getting closer to Alex after she let him eat the last bits of her popcorn as the couple watched the Superbowl - the championship game of American football’s National Football League - in Miami in February. She

explained: “We were watching the game, and I was eating, and I was getting down to, like, the last couple pieces of popcorn. “And all of a sudden, I see [Alex’s] hand coming in. Anybody who knows me does not put their hand in my food, especially when it’s close to my mouth. “I said, ‘What are you doing?’

And then I went, ‘You know what? I love you too much, I’m going to give it to you. You deserve it.”

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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

GOVERNORATE

PHARMACY

ADDRESS

PHONE

Maidan Hawally

25623444

Ahmadi

Bayan

25388462

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

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 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

INTERNATIONAL CALLS

Paediatricians

Plastic Surgeons

Endocrinologist

Dr. Mohammad Al-Khalaf

22547272

Dr. Abd Al-Aziz Al-Rashed

Dr. Abdal-Redha Lari

22617700

Dr. Zahra Qabazard

Dr. Abdel Quttainah

25625030/60

Dr. Sohail Qamar

22621099

Dr. Snaa Maaroof

25713514

Dr. Pradip Gujare

23713100

Dr. Zacharias Mathew

24334282

Family Doctor Dr Divya Damodar

23729596/23729581

Psychiatrists Dr. Esam Al-Ansari

22635047

Dr Eisa M. Al-Balhan

22613623/0

Gynaecologists & Obstetricians DrAdrian arbe

23729596/23729581

Dr. Verginia s.Marin

2572-6666 ext 8321

25340300 25710444

(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 00236 Chad 00235 Chile 0056 China 0086 Colombia 0057 Comoros 00269 Congo 00242 Cook Islands 00682 Costa Rica 00506 Croatia 00385 Cuba 0053 Cyprus 00357 Cyprus (Northern) 0090392 Czech Republic 00420 Denmark 0045 Diego Garcia 00246 Djibouti 00253 Dominica 001767 Dominican Republic 001809 Ecuador 00593 Egypt 0020 El Salvador 00503 England (UK) 0044 Equatorial Guinea 00240 Eritrea 00291 Estonia 00372 Ethiopia 00251 Falkland Islands 00500 Faroe Islands 00298 Fiji 00679 Finland 00358 France 0033 French Guiana 00594 French Polynesia 00689

34

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 3, 2011

stars CROSSWORD 398

STAR TRACK

CALVIN & HOBBES

Aries (March 21-April 19) Others will show their appreciation today for your hard work.

You could also find that you are appreciated or valued for your feelings and your ability to act and get things done. This is the time when you can expect a little boost, some sort of extra support from those around you. Expect a change in your personal rhythm. Allow things to move along in a smooth manner by seeking out happy, upbeat people. This will help you bring about a balance in your day and keep you and others motivated. While you sometimes seem to attract people with opposing viewpoints, it is a good day to study the unusual. Complete unfinished work around the house and then take it easy this afternoon. Open up to a close friend— laughter is easy to find.

Taurus (April 20-May 20) Your dreams, visions and ideals propel you, but always from within—follow your inner guide and your ambitions will show the way. Being in business for yourself or learning about the ways in which you can be self-sufficient is an advantage for you right now. Pessimism is not in your vocabulary and if there is a job to do, you are there to get it done! This afternoon is a great time to attend or create a social event. People value you for your warmth and dynamic qualities as much as for your ideas. The planets are in position for you to enjoy this day to the fullest. If you are entertaining, you will be pleased with the reaction of others. If you are being entertained, you will have a most enjoyable time. Also a great time to network! Tonight is a great time for lovers.

POOCH CAFE ACROSS 1. Inquire about.

4. One of the persons who compose a social group (especially individuals who have joined and participates in a group organization).

10. A committee in the executive branch of government that advises the president on foreign and military and national security.

13. Aircraft landing in bad weather in which the pilot is talked down by ground control using precision approach radar.

14. A city is east central Sweden north northwest of Stockholm.

15. The syllable naming the fifth (dominant) note of any musical scale in solmization.

16. Thigh of a hog (usually smoked).

17. A midnight meeting of witches to practice witchcraft and sorcery.

18. A flat wing-shaped process or winglike part of an organism.

19. (Babylonian) A demigod or first man.

21. A studio especially for an artist or designer.

25. Tropical starchy tuberous root.

26. Emitting smoke in great volume.

29. A rare silvery (usually trivalent) metallic element.

30. A strip of land projecting into a body of water.

31. Not divisible by two.

33. An upholstered seat for more than one person.

37. Fermented alcoholic beverage similar to but heavier than beer.

39. An ancient Hebrew unit of dry measure equal to about a bushel.

40. An indehiscent fruit derived from a single ovary having one or many seeds within a fleshy wall or pericarp.

42. Extremely pleasing.

44. Any of various dark heavy viscid substances obtained as a residue.

45. A metrical unit with unstressed-stressed syllables.

46. Large brownish-green New Zealand parrot.

48. A pale rose-colored variety of the ruby spinel.

52. Israeli general and statesman (1915-1981).

56. A loose sleeveless outer garment made from aba cloth.

57. Genus of tropical plants with creeping rootstocks and small umbellate flowers.

61. East Indian cereal grass whose seed yield a somewhat bitter flour, a staple in the Orient.

62. (in Scotland or Ireland) A mountain or tall hill.

63. (trademark) An alloy of iron and nickel having a low coefficient of thermal expansion.

64. A sign of something about to happen.

65. A condition (mostly in boys) characterized by behavioral and learning disorders.

66. (Hindu) A manner of sitting (as in the practice of Yoga).

67. A quantity of no importance.

DOWN 1. Title for a civil or military leader (especially in Turkey).

2. Any of a number of fishes of the family Carangidae.

3. God of love and erotic desire.

4. Type genus of the Musaceae.

5. A federal agency established to coordinate programs aimed at reducing pollution and protecting the environment.

6. A state-chartered savings bank owned by its depositors and managed by a board of trustees.

7. An imaginary elephant that appears in a series of French books for children.

8. Fill with high spirits.

9. Amount of a charge or payment relative to some basis.

10. An anti-inflammatory drug that does not contain steroids.

11. Having a sole or soles especially as specified.

12. Green algae common in freshwater lakes of limestone districts.

20. A Chinese breed of small short-legged dogs with a long silky coat and broad flat muzzle.

22. Property that is leased or rented out or let.

23. An associate degree in nursing.

24. Highly excited.

27. The arch of bone beneath the eye that forms the prominence of the cheek.

28. An organization of countries formed in 1961 to agree on a common policy for the sale of petroleum.

32. East Indian tree bearing a profusion of intense vermilion velvet-textured blooms and yielding a yellow dye.

34. Select as an alternative.

35. The federal agency that insures residential mortgages.

36. A river in north central Switzerland that runs northeast into the Rhine.

38. Genus of New Zealand mat-forming herbs or subshrubs.

39. A federal agency established to coordinate programs aimed at reducing pollution and protecting the environment.

41. An independent agency of the United States government responsible for collecting and coordinating intelligence and counterintelligence activities abroad in the national interest.

43. A piece of furniture that provides a place to sleep.

47. American professional baseball player who hit more home runs than Babe Ruth (born in 1934).

48. A resource.

49. In bed.

50. Relating to or characteristic of or occurring on land.

51. The act of scanning.

52. A brittle silver-white metalloid element that is related to selenium and sulfur.

53. God of the Underworld.

54. Advanced in years.

55. (Babylonian) A goddess of the watery deep and daughter of Ea. 58. The part of the nervous system of vertebrates that controls involuntary actions of the smooth muscles and heart and glands.

59. A sudden loss of consciousness resulting when the rupture or occlusion of a blood vessel leads to oxygen lack in the brain.

60. A constellation in the southern hemisphere near Telescopium and Norma.

Gemini (May 21-June 20) You may have the opportunity to gain a new customer today— or at least satisfy the demands of the public. You may have an ability to organize and manage all that is vulnerable and sensitive in the human psyche or the public mind. You exhibit your tremendous practical sense and are able to cut through the red tape and expose the right decisions every time. Progress in the business world is satisfying. A friend or family member may need your advice during the day. Clear and useful ideas are within your scope—you will be able to give helpful advice. There is a chance to understand those around you and to have a special time with someone you love. General good feelings and a sense of support and harmony make this a happy time.

Cancer (June 21-July 22)

NON SEQUITUR

Restrictions do not keep you from being productive today.

Perhaps this is not the time to try to solve any serious problems, however. Although this is short-term, it could be hard to think. There is something about you that others cannot seem to get enough of; yet for all your confidence, you tend to depend on others for advice. Your grasp of situations is unquestioned. Yet you find yourself needing the advice of someone who is not as involved, someone to give you directions from time to time. Because of this, you may depend on guidance during the times when you may lose sight of the bigger picture. Pay attention to this and if it fits—learn of ways to create more confidence in yourself. Your friends are a laugh a minute this evening.

Leo (July 23-August 22) This nice day should just flow along quickly. You could feel real support and harmony at this time for circumstances and those around you. Your work or career is in real harmony with the rest of your life now. You could gain from subordinates during this time—believe it or not, they can gain from you. Your home environment, friends and surroundings in general get your attention this afternoon. In particular, you will do well in activities that include children, young people and your home and surroundings. Careful though—you could be deceived by another in matters of love and romance. In order to keep a balance and a realistic order to your relationships, stay aware of the difference between your needs and the needs of another.

ZITS

Virgo (August 23-September 22) Relax. This is one of your easier days. Your drive and emotions are set on success. Push on now and you accomplish much—keep the pace steady. New people you meet through your professional associations will make a big difference in your future. Dream big—anything is possible! Continue to monitor the amounts of fats you take in—you are doing a good job with the improved nutrition and exercise programs. The good life and all that is fine and luxurious, may be what you value just now. You could enjoy making your own way and finding solutions to whatever problems you have. Creative projects get underway this weekend and your friends and relatives are so impressed with your work that they will help your progress.

Libra (September 23-October 22)

MOTHER GOOSE AND GRIMM

Scorpio (October 23-November 21) Your current situation may demand some reevaluation or otherwise challenge your ideas. It may be very hard for you to communicate what you mean to others. Slow down and start from the beginning. You are in a planning mood and are very clearheaded and able to view all the different ideas, yours and others; to solve problems. Go ahead and make those decisions. You can see the road ahead and will make the right choices. You could be in the limelight, especially with superiors or in relation to your work. You may find that you enjoy your job or the responsibility it entails more than usual.

Pace yourself and work on maintaining a balance. Everyone needs fun in their life—are you having fun? It is time to express your talents.

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21) Crawl out of your shell and speak up for yourself. You are in a good position to put in for that raise or job change, or to otherwise make yourself known. This is a time for imagination and creativity when it comes to ideas and thinking. This, coupled with the ability to put your thoughts into words, allows you to entrance others. Your overwhelming ability to feel things intuitively helps you make the right moves when it comes to the business world. Take a little time to consider how you fare financially. You will gain insight into any changes that need to be made now. A lover or child will play a bigger part of your life just now. Perhaps you will be guiding this person in matters of importance: college, budgeting or buying a car.

Capricorn (December 22-January 19)

To

Yesterday’s Solution

Your sense of honesty and truth is something that other people sense in you and support. You might find yourself in a position of trust today—handling money, vouchers, receipts, expensive items, etc. When it comes to business and career, you have a mind that just cannot help but take care of business. Your thoughts and ideas are nothing if not practical and your clear-sightedness makes some form of management or supervision almost unavoidable. Your interest and ability in athletics, exercise, the outdoors and such, should be lifelong. This afternoon you will find yourself with your friends in some sort of sports environment. Travel with friends is indicated soon—this evening there will be time for planning.

If necessary, this is the time to make amends. Making peace with the past and meditating on the present becomes important to you. Someone needs caring for today and you may be able to guide others in the care giving for this person. Do not be afraid to speak your mind. You work with imagination and with understanding in areas of the mind that are the most personal or private—depth psychology. You tend to be radical when it comes to self-analysis, which means health care, food, mental health, etc. Serving and caring for others is the primary source of inner growth and change for the next few years. Your burning zeal for the ideal world and your need to be included in a group of likeminded souls are major factors in your makeup now.

Yesterday’s Solution Yester

Aquarius (January 20- February 18) There is a clear-minded insight into your own plans and methods today. Your sense of direction and guidance are the key to understanding you at any in-depth level. You are natural at solving problems—always managing to come up with the correct approach. There is an opportunity to negotiate successfully with the law and authorities today. Others sense your strength and ability to instruct. This afternoon is full of opportunities to guide others and help the less fortunate. Perhaps this would include some job guidance. Through helping others, you will have insights into your own progress in life. A turn of events this evening will bring you great fortune. Stash a bit of cash before you blow it all and know not where it went

Pisces (February 19-March 20)

Word Sleuth Solution

It is amazing how you erase the stumbling blocks. Perhaps it is through your attitude that you can overcome so many obstacles. You set an example for others as you work to remove the emotional parts of a situation and deal with the business negotiations. A problem-solving attitude will help you find the answers you need. In many cases you will find the emotional difficulties disappear when some work issue gets special attention. At home as well as work, you have great internal strength. You may tend to be independent, preferring to lean on yourself more than on others. You are self-motivating and autonomous to a high degree. You will work well with others today.

Let yourself dream this evening—perhaps you would enjoy a leisure stroll.

Classifieds WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 3, 2011

No: 15169

FOR SALE DRG/ Bed room sets on sale, going cheap with other house hold items.

Contact: 99592461.

(C 3551) 1-8-2011

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 JZR THY ETH KAC UAE DHX ETD MSR JZR FDB GFA QTR AFR JZR KAC JZR JZR KAC BAW KAC FCX JZR KAC KAC KAC FDB KAC KAC UAE IRA QTR ABY QTR ETD GFA MEA MHK JZR JZR JZR KAC MSR UAL RJA KAC FDB KAC KAC SVA

Flt 642 267 772 620 1704 853 370 305 614 269 67 211 138 6700 529 544 505 555 412 157 416 201 1541 206 302 332 53 352 284 855 605 132 125 6130 301 213 404 711 165 121 201 672 610 982 640 512 57 562 546 500

Arrival Flights on Wednesday 3/8/2011 Route AMMAN BEIRUT ISTANBUL ADDIS ABABA JEDDAH DUBAI BAHRAIN ABU DHABI CAIRO BEIRUT DUBAI BAHRAIN DOHA PARIS ASSIUT CAIRO LUXOR ALEXANDRIA MANILA / BANGKOK LONDON JAKARTA / KUALA LUMPUR BAHRAIN CAIRO ISLAMABAD MUMBAI TRIVANDRUM DUBAI COCHIN DHAKA DUBAI ISFAHAN DOHA SHARJAH DOHA ABU DHABI BAHRAIN BEIRUT BAGHDAD / NAJAF DUBAI BAHRAIN DAMASCUS DUBAI CAIRO WASHINGTON DC DULLES AMMAN TEHRAN DUBAI AMMAN ALEXANDRIA JEDDAH

Time 0:05 0:35 1:15 1:45 1:50 2:25 2:55 2:55 3:05 3:05 3:10 3:15 3:20 3:25 3:35 4:40 5:50 6:10 6:15 6:30 6:35 7:00 7:10 7:15 7:50 7:55 7:55 8:05 8:10 8:25 8:55 9:00 9:10 9:10 9:30 9:35 10:55 11:00 11:10 11:15 12:45 13:15 13:20 13:30 13:35 13:40 13:50 14:20 14:30 14:30

KNE KAC JZR QTR JZR ETD UAE GFA SVA JZR JZR ABY JZR FDB RBG ALK JZR KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC JAI SIA FDB VOS OMA MEA KAC MLR MSR DHX KLM UAE JZR GFA QTR UAL AIC JZR JZR MSR DLH AXB JZR PIA

745 746 257 134 535 303 857 215 510 777 239 127 213 63 3555 227 177 104 166 502 542 1706 618 786 774 614 674 790 572 458 61 93 647 402 552 1405 618 372 443 859 183 217 136 981 981 135 787 612 636 389 539 205

JEDDAH ABU DHABI / DAMMAM BEIRUT DOHA CAIRO ABU DHABI DUBAI BAHRAIN RIYADH JEDDAH AMMAN SHARJAH DEIREZZOR DUBAI ALEXANDRIA COLOMBO / DUBAI DUBAI LONDON PARIS / ROME BEIRUT CAIRO JEDDAH DOHA JEDDAH RIYADH BAHRAIN DUBAI MEDINAH MUMBAI SINGAPORE / ABU DHABI DUBAI KANDAHAR / DUBAI MUSCAT BEIRUT DAMASCUS COLOMBO / DUBAI ALEXANDRIA BAHRAIN AMSTERDAM DUBAI DUBAI BAHRAIN DOHA BAHRAIN CHENNAI / AHMEDABAD BAHRAIN RIYADH CAIRO FRANKFURT KOZHIKODE / MANGALORE CAIRO LAHORE / PESHAWER

14:55 15:05 15:10 15:15 15:50 16:50 16:55 17:15 17:20 17:25 17:35 17:40 17:50 17:55 17:55 18:00 18:00 18:35 18:40 18:45 18:50 18:50 18:55 19:00 19:10 19:20 19:25 19:30 19:35 19:35 20:00 20:00 20:10 20:15 20:15 20:50 20:55 21:00 21:05 21:15 21:15 21:25 21:35 22:00 22:05 22:10 22:20 22:50 23:00 23:10 23:30 23:55

Airlines JZR DLH AIC PIA THY ETH UAE FDB DHX ETD MSR QTR AFR JZR RJA GFA JZR KAC JZR BAW FDB JZR KAC KAC JZR KAC KAC UAE ABY IRA KAC QTR ETD GFA QTR KAC MEA KAC JZR JZR JZR MHK KAC KAC KAC JZR MSR RJA FDB KAC

Departure Flights on Wednesday 3/8/2011 Flt Route 1540 CAIRO 637 FRANKFURT 576 GOA / CHENNAI 240 SIALKOT 773 ISTANBUL 620 BAHRAIN / ADDIS ABABA 854 DUBAI 68 DUBAI 371 BAHRAIN 306 ABU DHABI 615 CAIRO 139 DOHA 6700 DUBAI / HONG KONG 164 DUBAI 643 AMMAN 212 BAHRAIN 200 DAMASCUS 545 ALEXANDRIA 120 BAHRAIN 156 LONDON 54 DUBAI 534 CAIRO 671 DUBAI 745 DAMMAM / ABU DHABI 256 BEIRUT 561 AMMAN 511 TEHRAN 856 DUBAI 126 SHARJAH 604 ISFAHAN 101 LONDON / NEW YORK 133 DOHA 302 ABU DHABI 214 BAHRAIN 6131 DOHA 165 ROME / PARIS 405 BEIRUT 541 CAIRO 776 JEDDAH 212 DEIREZZOR 238 AMMAN 712 NAJAF / BAGHDAD 501 BEIRUT 785 JEDDAH 1705 JEDDAH 176 DUBAI 611 CAIRO 641 AMMAN 58 DUBAI 789 MEDINAH

Time 0:20 0:40 0:50 1:10 2:15 2:30 3:45 3:50 3:55 4:05 4:05 5:00 5:10 6:55 7:00 7:10 7:15 7:40 8:20 8:25 8:40 8:50 9:00 9:05 9:10 9:15 9:15 9:40 9:50 9:55 9:55 10:00 10:15 10:20 10:40 11:45 11:55 12:00 12:00 12:05 12:10 12:20 13:00 13:30 13:40 13:40 14:20 14:30 14:35 14:40

Directorate General of Civil Aviation Home Page (www.kuwait-airport.com.kw)

UAL KAC KAC KAC KNE SVA KAC KAC JZR VOS JZR ETD QTR UAE GFA ABY JZR RBG SVA FDB JZR ALK JZR KAC KAC JAI FDB JZR JZR KAC KAC OMA MEA SIA MLR MSR DHX KLM JZR UAE GFA FCX KAC QTR KAC KAC JZR JZR KAC UAL MSR

982 551 673 617 746 501 773 613 538 82 182 304 135 858 216 128 266 3556 511 64 786 228 134 283 361 571 62 528 528 343 351 648 403 457 1405 619 373 443 240 860 218 102 381 137 301 205 502 554 411 981 613

BAHRAIN DAMASCUS DUBAI DOHA JEDDAH JEDDAH RIYADH BAHRAIN CAIRO BAGHDAD DUBAI ABU DHABI DOHA DUBAI BAHRAIN SHARJAH BEIRUT ALEXANDRIA RIYADH DUBAI RIYADH DUBAI / COLOMBO BAHRAIN DHAKA COLOMBO MUMBAI DUBAI ASSIUT ASSIUT CHENNAI COCHIN MUSCAT BEIRUT ABU DHABI / SINGAPORE COLOMBO ALEXANDRIA BAHRAIN BAHRAIN / AMSTERDAM AMMAN DUBAI BAHRAIN BAHRAIN DELHI DOHA MUMBAI ISLAMABAD LUXOR ALEXANDRIA BANGKOK / MANILA WASHINGTON DC DULLES CAIRO

14:45 14:55 15:10 15:35 15:40 15:45 15:50 16:20 16:40 17:00 17:05 17:35 17:45 18:05 18:15 18:20 18:30 18:35 18:35 18:40 18:40 19:10 19:10 20:00 20:20 20:35 20:40 20:50 20:50 21:00 21:05 21:10 21:15 21:20 21:50 21:55 22:00 22:05 22:20 22:25 22:30 22:30 22:30 22:35 22:45 22:55 23:05 23:10 23:40 23:40 23:50

A

y

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Years

00:45 Cats 101 01:40 Untamed And Uncut 02:35 Venom Hunter With Donald Schultz 03:30 Ray Mears’ Wild Britain 04:25 Buggin’ With Ruud 05:20 Animal Cops Houston 06:10 Cats 101 07:00 Meerkat Manor 07:25 The Really Wild Show 07:50 Jeff Corwin Unleashed 08:15 Natural Born Hunters 08:40 Breed All About It 09:10 Dogs/Cats/Pets 101 10:05 Cats 101 11:00 Michaela’s Animal Road Trip 11:55 Meerkat Manor 12:20 Wildlife SOS 12:50 K9 Cops 13:45 Animal Cops Houston 14:40 Animal Precinct 15:30 SSPCA: On The Wildside 16:00 The Really Wild Show 16:30 Chris Humfrey’s Wildlife 17:00 Chris Humfrey’s Wildlife 17:25 America’s Cutest...

18:20 Breed All About It 18:45 Orangutan Island 19:15 Crocodile Hunter 20:10 Cats 101 21:05 Austin Stevens Adventures 22:00 Planet Earth 22:55 Human Prey 23:50 Chimp Family Fortunes

00:00 One Foot In The Grave 00:30 The Weakest Link 01:15 Holby City 02:10 Spooks 03:00 Eastenders 03:30 Doctors 04:00 One Foot In The Grave 04:30 Tweenies 04:50 Balamory 05:10 Tikkabilla 05:40 Charlie And Lola 05:50 Tweenies 06:10 Balamory 06:30 Tikkabilla 07:00 Tweenies 07:20 Balamory 07:40 Tikkabilla 08:10 Charlie And Lola 08:20 Tweenies 08:40 Balamory 09:00 Tikkabilla 09:30 Charlie And Lola 09:40 One Foot In The Grave 10:40 The Weakest Link 11:25 Himalaya with Michael Palin 12:15 Doctors 12:45 Eastenders 13:15 Holby City 14:10 One Foot In The Grave 15:40 Himalaya with Michael Palin 16:30 The Weakest Link 17:15 Doctors 17:45 Eastenders 18:15 Holby City 19:10 Himalaya with Michael Palin 20:00 The Weakest Link 20:45 Doctors 21:15 Eastenders 21:45 Casualty 22:35 Bleak House 23:05 Bleak House 23:40 One Foot In The Grave

00:05 Come Dine With Me 00:55 New Scandinavian Cooking 01:20 What Not To Wear 01:45 Cash In The Attic USA 02:50 Come Dine With Me 03:40 Daily Cooks Challenge 05:10 Cash In The Attic USA 06:15 Daily Cooks Challenge 10:15 What Not To Wear 10:40 Sweet Baby James 11:10 Sweet Baby James 11:35 Cash In The Attic 12:20 Bargain Hunt 13:05 New Scandinavian Cooking

13:30 Britain’s Dream Homes 14:20 What Not To Wear 14:45 Sweet Baby James 15:15 Sweet Baby James 15:40 Cash In The Attic 16:25 Bargain Hunt 17:10 New Scandinavian Cooking 17:35 Britain’s Dream Homes 18:30 Sweet Baby James 18:55 Sweet Baby James 19:20 Cash In The Attic 20:05 Bargain Hunt 20:50 New Scandinavian Cooking 21:15 Come Dine With Me 22:05 Britain’s Dream Homes 23:00 Masterchef Australia

00:00 BBC World News 00:30 World Business Report 00:45 Sport Today 01:00 BBC World News America 01:30 Asia Business Report 01:45 Sport Today 02:00 BBC World News 02:30 Asia Business Report 02:45 Sport Today 03:00 Newsday 03:30 Asia Business Report 03:45 Sport Today 04:00 Newsday 04:30 Asia Business Report 04:45 Sport Today 05:00 Newsday 05:30 Asia Business Report 05:45 Sport Today 06:00 Newsday 06:30 Hardtalk 07:00 BBC World News 07:30 World Business Report 07:45 BBC World News 08:00 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 17:30 World Business Report 17:45 Sport Today 18:00 BBC World News 18:30 Hardtalk 19:00 The Hub With Nik Gowing 20:30 World Business Report 20:45 Sport Today 21:00 World News Today With Zeinab Badawi 22:30 World Business Report 22:45 Sport Today 23:00 BBC World News America 23:30 Hardtalk

00:40 Dirty Jobs 01:35 Miami Ink 02:30 Ultimate Survival 03:25 Wheeler Dealers 04:20 Mythbusters 05:15 How Do They Do It? 05:40 How Does It Work?

06:05 Dirty Jobs 07:00 Wheeler Dealers 07:50 Street Customs 08:45 How Does It Work?

09:10 Mythbusters 10:05 Cake Boss 10:30 Border Security 10:55 Auction Kings 11:25 Taking On Tyson 12:20 Pit Bulls And Parolees 13:15 Ultimate Survival 14:10 Miami Ink 15:05 Dirty Jobs

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 3, 2011

TV PROGRAMS 16:00 Wheeler Dealers 16:55 Mythbusters 17:50 Survivorman 18:45 Cake Boss 19:10 Border Security 19:40 Auction Kings 20:05 How Does It Work?

20:35 How Do They Do It? 21:00 Science Of The Movies 21:55 Mythbusters 22:50 The Future Of...

23:45 Survivorman

00:05 Smash Lab 00:55 Man Made Marvels Asia 01:45 Space Pioneer 02:35 How The Universe Works 03:25 Junkyard Mega-Wars 04:15 How Does That Work?

04:45 Man Made Marvels Asia 05:40 One Step Beyond 06:10 Superships 07:00 Junkyard Mega-Wars 07:55 The World’s Strangest UFO Stories 08:50 The Gadget Show 09:15 The Gadget Show 09:40 The X-Testers 12:00 The X-Testers 12:25 Bad Universe 13:15 Bad Universe 14:05 Bad Universe 14:55 Inside The Space Station 15:45 Weird Connections 16:10 Junkyard Mega-Wars 17:00 Race To Mars 17:50 Sci-Fi Science 18:15 The Gadget Show 18:40 What’s That About?

19:30 Weird Connections 19:55 Weird Connections 20:20 Smash Lab 21:10 The Gadget Show 21:35 The Gadget Show 22:00 What’s That About?

22:50 Weird Connections 23:15 Weird Connections 23:40 The Gadget Show

00:15 Sonny With A Chance 00:35 Good Luck Charlie 01:00 Shake It Up 01:25 The Suite Life Of Zack And Cody 01:50 Sonny With A Chance 02:15 Wizards Of Waverly Place 02:35 Jonas 03:00 Kim Possible 03:25 Fairly Odd Parents 03:50 Fairly Odd Parents 04:15 Stitch 04:35 Stitch 05:00 Replacements 05:25 Replacements 05:50 Emperor’s New School 06:15 Emperor’s New School 06:35 Stitch 07:00 Stitch 07:25 Replacements 07:50 Replacements 08:15 Fairly Odd Parents 08:35 Fairly Odd Parents 09:00 Emperor’s New School 09:20 The Suite Life Of Zack And Cody 09:45 Phineas And Ferb 10:05 Wizards Of Waverly Place 10:30 Suite Life On Deck 10:55 Good Luck Charlie 11:20 Fish Hooks Splits 11:30 Mickey Mousekersize 11:35 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 12:00 Jake & The Neverland Pirates Splits 12:10 Jungle Junction Splits 12:20 The Hive 12:30 Handy Manny Splits 12:40 Jake & The Neverland Pirates Splits 12:50 Sonny With A Chance 13:10 The Suite Life Of Zack And Cody 13:35 Phineas And Ferb Splits 13:50 Shake It Up 14:15 Hannah Montana 14:35 Suite Life On Deck

THE TEMPEST ON OSN CINEMA

15:00 Wizards Of Waverly Place 15:25 Sonny With A Chance 15:45 Good Luck Charlie 16:10 Phineas And Ferb 16:30 The Suite Life Of Zack And Cody 16:55 Wizards Of Waverly Place 17:20 Hannah Montana 18:20 Suite Life On Deck 18:45 Fish Hooks 19:10 Shake It Up 19:35 Jake & Blake 20:00 Wizards Of Waverly Place 20:25 Hannah Montana 20:50 Fish Hooks 21:15 Hannah Montana 21:45 Shake It Up 22:10 Suite Life On Deck 22:35 Good Luck Charlie 23:00 Wizards Of Waverly Place 23:25 Jake & Blake 23:50 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 Kick Buttowski 09:00 Zeke & Luther 09:25 Zeke & Luther 09:50 Suite Life On Deck 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 12:45 I’m In The Band 13:10 Kid Vs Kat 13:50 The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody 14:30 Phineas & Ferb 14:50 Zeke & Luther 15:15 Kick Buttowski 15:35 Pokemon Dp: Sinnoh League Victors 16:00 I’m In The Band 16:25 Suite Life On Deck 16:50 Zeke & Luther 17:15 Zeke & Luther 17:40 Phineas & Ferb 18:30 Escape From Scorpion Island 18:55 Kick Buttowski 19:20 American Dragon 19:45 Aaron Stone 20:15 Kid Vs Kat 20:40 I’m In The Band 21:05 The Avengers: Earths Mightiest Heroes 21:30 Zeke & Luther 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 08:08 Special Agent Oso 08:10 Timmy Time 08:20 Handy Manny 08:30 Jake And The Neverland Pirates 08:45 Jake And The Neverland Pirates 08:55 Special Agent Oso 09:47 Special Agent Oso 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 12:23 Special Agent Oso 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 13:47 Special Agent Oso 13:50 The Little Mermaid 14:15 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 14:40 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 15:03 Special Agent Oso 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 16:42 Special Agent Oso 16:45 Jungle Junction 17:00 The Hive 17:10 Little Einsteins 17:30 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 17:55 Jake And The Neverland Pirates 18:08 Special Agent Oso 18:50 Special Agent Oso 19:01 Animated Stories 19:02 Special Agent Oso 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 Glutton For Punishment 00:40 Mantracker 01:30 World Combat League 02:20 Glutton For Punishment 03:10 Wrestling With Reality 03:35 Kick Ass Miracles 04:00 Untracked 04:50 Mantracker 05:40 World Combat League 06:30 Ride Guide Mountainbike 2007 08:00 Cape Epic 08:25 IFMXF 2011 09:15 Lucas Oil Ama Motocross Championships...

10:55 Final Fu 11:45 Fantasy Factory 12:35 Glutton For Punishment 13:00 Man’s Work 13:25 Mantracker 14:15 World Combat League 15:05 Final Fu 15:55 Fantasy Factory 16:45 Cape Epic 17:10 IFMXF 2011 18:00 Lucas Oil Ama Motocross Championships...

19:40 Mantracker 20:30 Glutton For Punishment 20:55 Man’s Work 21:20 I’ll Do Anything 22:10 World Combat League 23:00 Kick Ass Miracles 23:25 Kick Ass Miracles 23:50 Glutton For Punishment

00:25 Kendra 00:55 Style Star 01:25 25 Celebrity Near Death Experiences 03:15 25 Most Stylish 04:10 Sexiest 05:05 Extreme Hollywood 06:00 50 Most Insane Celebrity Oops 07:50 Behind The Scenes 08:20 E! News 09:15 Kourtney And Kim Take New York 10:15 15 Most Infamous Child Star Mugshots 12:05 E! News 13:05 Holly’s World 14:05 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 14:35 E! Investigates 15:30 E! Investigates 16:25 Behind The Scenes 16:55 E!es 17:55 E! News 18:55 E!es 19:55 Khloe And Lamar 20:55 Chelsea Lately 21:25 The Dance Scene 22:25 E! News 23:25 Chelsea Lately 23:55 Keeping Up With The Kardashians

00:30 Ghost Lab 01:20 A Haunting 02:10 Deadly Women 03:00 Couples Who Kill 03:50 Dr G: Medical Examiner 04:45 Ghosthunters 05:15 Ghost Lab 06:10 Life Or Death: Medical Mysteries 07:00 Murder Shift 07:50 Forensic Detectives 08:40 Street Patrol 09:05 Real Emergency Calls 09:30 Life Or Death: Medical Mysteries 10:20 Fugitive Strike Force 11:10 FBI Files 12:00 On The Case With Paula Zahn 12:50 Royal Inquest 13:40 Life Or Death: Medical Mysteries 14:30 Street Patrol 14:55 Real Emergency Calls 15:20 Fugitive Strike Force 16:10 FBI Files 17:00 Forensic Detectives 17:50 Murder Shift 18:40 Real Emergency Calls 19:05 Life Or Death: Medical Mysteries 19:55 Street Patrol 20:20 On The Case With Paula Zahn 21:10 Royal Inquest 22:00 I Almost Got Away With It 23:40 Dr G: Medical Examiner

00:00 Banged Up Abroad 01:00 Cycling Home 01:30 First Ascent 02:00 Banged Up Abroad 03:00 Eccentric Uk 03:30 Eccentric Uk 04:00 Weird & Wonderful Hotels 04:30 By Any Means 05:30 Earth Tripping 06:00 Banged Up Abroad 07:00 Cycling Home 07:30 First Ascent 08:00 Banged Up Abroad 09:00 Eccentric Uk 09:30 Eccentric Uk 10:00 Weird & Wonderful Hotels 10:30 By Any Means 11:30 Earth Tripping 12:00 Banged Up Abroad 13:00 Amazing Adventures Of A Nobody: Europe 13:30 Amazing Adventures Of A Nobody: Europe 14:00 Destination Extreme 14:30 Destination Extreme 15:00 Endurance Traveller 16:00 Departures 17:00 Departures 18:00 Meet The Amish 19:00 Amazing Adventures Of A Nobody: Europe 19:30 Amazing Adventures Of A Nobody: Europe 20:00 Destination Extreme 20:30 Destination Extreme 21:00 Endurance Traveller 22:00 Departures 23:00 Departures

ARMORED ON OSN MOVIES ACTION

00:00 The Uninvited-18 02:00 Bugsy-18 04:15 Surrogates-PG15 06:00 S.W.A.T.-PG15 08:00 Hardwired-PG15 10:00 Against The Ropes-PG15 12:00 Bangkok Adrenaline-PG15 14:00 Hardwired-PG15 16:00 Ghost Town (TV Movie)-18 18:00 Bangkok Adrenaline-PG15 20:00 8 Mile-18 22:00 From Paris With Love-18

01:00 Perrier’s Bounty-18 03:00 Leap Year-PG15 05:00 The Last Airbender-PG15 07:00 Motherhood-PG15 09:00 Leap Year-PG15 11:00 The Front-PG15 13:00 The Last Airbender-PG15 15:00 Easy Virtue-PG15 17:00 On Broadway-PG15 19:00 The Sorcerer’s ApprenticePG15 21:00 The Tempest-PG15 23:00 A Perfect Getaway-18

00:30 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 01:00 The Colbert Report 01:30 The New Adventures Of Old Christine 02:00 The Cleveland Show 02:30 Rita Rocks 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 Raising Hope 10:00 Cougar Town 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 Raising Hope 15:00 Cougar Town 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 Parks And Recreation 19:30 The Simpsons 20:00 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 21:00 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 21:30 The Colbert Report 22:00 Louie 22:30 Rita Rocks 23:00 The New Adventures Of Old Christine 23:30 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon

00:00 Inside The Actor’s Studio 01:00 House 02:00 Private Practice 03:00 Hawthorne 04:00 Strong Medicine 05:00 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 Inside The Actor’s Studio 13:00 Hawthorne 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 Warehouse 13 20:00 Supernatural

21:00 Terriers 22:00 Private Practice 23:00 The Event

00:00 Smallville 01:00 Lie To Me 02:00 House 03:00 Inside The Actor’s Studio 04:00 Hawthorne 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 Hawthorne 11:00 House 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 Sons Of Tucson 16:30 Coronation Street 17:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show 18:00 No Ordinary Family 19:00 Warehouse 13 20:00 Supernatural 21:00 Terriers 22:00 Lie To Me 23:00 Detroit 1-8-7

01:00 Freight-PG15 03:00 Surrogates-PG15 05:00 Case 39-18 07:00 Raising Cain-PG15 09:00 The Core-PG15 11:15 What Lies Beneath-PG15 13:00 Jesse Stone: No RemorsePG15 14:45 The Core-PG15 17:00 Courage Under Fire-PG15 19:00 Armored-18 21:00 30 Days Of Night: Dark Days18 23:00 John Carpenter’s Ghosts Of Mars-PG15

00:00 Straight Talk-PG15 02:00 Away We Go-PG15 04:00 My Father The Hero-PG15 06:00 The Hudsucker Proxy-PG15 08:00 Checking Out-PG15 10:00 Happy Ever Afters-PG15 12:00 America’s Sweethearts-PG15 14:00 Cop And A Half-PG 16:00 Straight Talk-PG15 18:00 Wake-PG15 20:00 The Addams Family-PG 22:00 Just Buried-18

01:00 Arrivederci Amore, Ciao-18 03:00 New York I Love You-18 05:00 The Outlaw Josey Wales-PG15 07:15 Born Free-PG 09:00 Secret Origin: The Story Of DC Comics-PG 10:45 Glitter-PG15 12:45 The Young Black StallionPG15 14:00 Rudy-PG 16:15 Amelia-PG15 18:30 Seven Years In Tibet-PG15 21:00 The Fisher King-18 23:15 Missing-PG15

01:00 The Cable Guy-PG15 03:00 The Client List-PG15 05:00 Mr. Deeds-PG 07:00 The Flyboys-PG15 09:00 StreetDance-PG15 11:00 Malibu’s Most Wanted-PG15 13:00 Everybody’s Fine-PG15 15:00 Sleepover-PG15 17:00 StreetDance-PG15 19:00 Crazy On The Outside-PG15 21:00 The Tempest-PG15 23:00 Salt-PG15 01:00 Young Fisherman-PG 03:00 Dark Crystal-PG 05:00 Rugrats Go Wild-FAM 07:00 Zorro’s Secrets-PG 09:00 Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation-FAM 11:00 Ponyo On The Cliff By The SeaFAM 13:00 Legend Of Sleeping Beauty-PG

15:00 Dr. Dolittle 2-PG 17:00 Ponyo On The Cliff By The SeaFAM 19:00 Last Of The Mohicans-PG 21:00 Dr. Dolittle 2-PG 23:00 Legend Of Sleeping Beauty-PG

00:00 Test Cricket 07:00 Intercontinental Le Mans Cup 08:00 Powerboats UIM Class One Highlights 08:30 Live ITM Cup Rugby Union 10:30 WWE SmackDown!

12:30 Darts World Match Play 14:30 Powerboats F1 15:30 Powerboats F1 16:30 WWE NXT 17:30 Powerboats UIM Class One Highlights 18:00 ITM Cup Rugby Union 20:00 Trans World Sport 21:00 Super League 23:00 UFC 133 Countdown

00:00 Super League 02:00 Golfing World 03:00 Darts World Match Play 05:00 AFL Highlights 06:00 FIVB Beach Volley Ball 06:30 Futbol Mundial 07:00 Rugby World Cup Classics 07:30 Trans World Sport 08:30 Live ITM Cup Rugby Union 10:30 AFL Highlights 11:30 Trans World Sport 12:30 Rugby World Cup Classics 13:00 Spirit of Yachting 13:30 FIVB Beach Volley Ball 14:00 ICC Cricket World 14:30 World Hockey 15:00 ITM Cup Rugby Union 17:00 Futbol Mundial 17:30 Trans World Sport 18:30 Golfing World 19:30 European Tour Weekly 20:00 AFL Highlights 21:00 Scottish Premier League 23:00 Trans World Sport 00:00 ICC Cricket World 00:30 Scottish Premier League 02:30 FEI Equestrian World 03:00 Rugby World Cup Classics 03:30 European PGA Tour Highlights 04:30 Super League 06:30 Futbol Mundial 07:00 Golfing World 08:00 Currie Cup Rugby Union 10:00 FIVB Beach Volley Ball 10:30 European PGA Tour Highlights 11:30 World Hockey 12:00 Mobil 1 The Grid 12:30 ICC Cricket World 13:00 Golfing World 14:00 Trans World Sport 15:00 European PGA Tour Highlights 16:00 Asian Tour Golf 16:30 Asian Tour Highlights 17:30 FIVB Beach Volley Ball 18:00 ITM Cup Rugby Union 20:00 Trans World Sport 21:00 Rugby World Cup Classics 21:30 Mobil 1 The Grid 22:00 Asian Tour Golf 22:30 Asian Tour Highlights 23:30 Futbol Mundial 00:00 UFC 132 03:00 Speedway 04:00 V8 Supercars Championship 05:00 V8 Supercars Championship 06:00 UFC 133 Countdown 07:00 WWE Vintage Collection 08:00 Speedway 09:00 Super League Formula 11:30 Powerboats F1 Highlights 12:00 WWE NXT 13:00 V8 Supercars Championship 14:00 V8 Supercars Championship 15:00 V8 Supercars Extra 15:30 Le Mans Series Magazine 16:00 Modern Pentaholn 17:00 Modern Pentaholn 18:00 Intercontinental Le Mans Cup 19:00 Speedway 20:00 Powerboats F1 21:00 Powerboats F1 22:00 UFC Unleashed 23:00 UFC 133 Countdown

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30

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 3, 2011

W H AT ’ S O N

Announcements Attention kids!

CEF VBS 11 starting from August 22nd 2011. 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.

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istoric and Classic cars Museum held a specialized course on car mechanics principles, within the framework of the museum’s summer program. The course offered basic mechanics by specialized lecturers, in addition to information

about how the motor works.

Committees Director Mustafa Makhseed said the museum offers several services and advantages to its members and those interested in cars in Kuwait. He also thanked HH Sheikh Nasser

Al-Mohammad for his continued support of the museum and its activities. The course was held July 9 to July 20 for those aged 16 to 18, and a second course was held from July 23 until July 31, 2011 for all ages.

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.

Greetings

Historic and Classic Cars Museum holds course on car mechanics principles

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.

Many more happy returns of the day to dear Rajkumar on your 14th birthday.

Wish you all the best. Greetings come from your loving Amma, Appa, Dhivakar, friends, uncles & aunts.

Aware Arabic courses “The AWARE Management is glad to announce that Ramadan Arabic language courses will begin on August 7th till September 15th, 2011. AWARE Arabic language courses are designed with the expat in mind. The environment is relaxed & courses are designed for those wanting to learn Arabic for travel, cultural understanding, and conducting business or simply to become more involved in the community.

We cater to teachers, travelers & those working in the private business sector.

AWARE Arabic courses highlight lIntroductory to Level 4 Arabic language basics lBetter prepare you for speaking, reading and writing Arabic lCombine language learning with cultural insights lTaught in multi-nationality group settings lProvide opportunities to interact with Western expatriates and native Kuwaitis/Arabs.

For more information, call 25335260 or log onto: www.aware.com.kw

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WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 3, 2011

W H AT ’ S O N

Embassy Information EMBASSY OF ARGENTINA In order to inform that 23rd of October 2011, will be Argentine national election where all Argentinean citizen residents permanently in Kuwait can vote only if they are registered at the Electoral Register of the Argentine Embassy. The procedure of inscription ended on 25 of April 2011. To register it is necessary that Argentinean citizens should come personally at the Argentinean Embassy (Block 6, street 42, villa 57, Mishref ) and present the DNI and four personal photos (size 4x4, face should be front on white background). For further information, contact us on 25379211. nnnnnnn

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. nnnnnnn

Aqua Park celebrates 16th anniversary

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uwait’s Aqua Park celebrated its 16th birthday, with several activities such as musical bands, singers, cartoons, fireworks and contests at the instructions of Aqua Park’s Director General Mohammad Khoursheed. Khoursheed said ‘we are very happy for having this entertainment landmark that has been offering services for the past 16 years for citizens and expats.’ On the occasion of the holy month of Ramadan and the 16th anniversary buy a KD 2.750 ticket including suhoor. For coops buy one ticket and two will be admitted. —Photos by Fouad Al-Shaikh

EMBASSY OF BRITAIN The Visa Application Centre (VAC) will be closed on the same dates above. The opening hours of the Visa Application Centre are 0930 - 1630 Application forms remain available online from the UKBAs’ website: www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk or from the Visa Application Centre’s website: www.vfs-ukkw.com. And also, from the UK Visa Application Centre located at: 4B, First Floor, Al Banwan Building (Burgan Bank Branch Office Building), Al Qibla area, opposite Central Bank of Kuwait, Kuwait City. For any further inquiries, please contact the Visa Application Centre: Website: www.vfs-uk-kw.com E-mail:info@vfs-uk-kw.com Telephone:22971170.

The Consular Section will also be closed on the same dates. For information on the British Embassy services, visit the British Embassy website: www.ukinkuwait.fco.gov.uk nnnnnnn

EMBASSY OF CANADA The Embassy of Canada is located at Villa 24, Al-Mutawakel St., Block 4 in Da’aiyah.

Please visit our website at www.Kuwait.gc.ca.

Canada offers a registration service for all Canadians travelling or living abroad. This service is provided so that Consular Officials can contact and assist Canadians in an emergency in a foreign country, such as a natural disaster or civil unrest, or inform Canadians of a family emergency at home. The Embassy of Canada encourages all Canadian Citizens to register online through the Government of Canada Travel Website at www.voyage.gc.ca. The Canadian Embassy in Abu Dhabi provides visa and immigration services to residents of Kuwait. Individuals who are interested in visiting, working or immigrating to Canada are invited to visit the website of the Canadian Embassy to the UAE at www.UAE.gc.ca.

Effective January 15, 2011, the only Temporary Resident Visa (TRV) application form that will be accepted by CIC is the Application for Temporary Resident Visa Made Outside of Canada [IMM 5257] form. All previous Temporary Resident Visa application forms will no longer be accepted by CIC and instead will be returned to applicants. Should old applications be submitted prior to January 15, 2011 they will continue to be processed. nnnnnnn

EMBASSY OF GERMANY The Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Kuwait wishes to announce that as of 1 May 2011, the external service provider Al Qabas Assurex is operating a Visa Application Centre in support of the German Embassy. Short-term visa applications for travels to Germany (e.g. for tourism, visits, business) are to be submitted to the service provider Al Qabas who for your convenience will ensure that all relevant documents are included in your application. Your personal appearance at the Application Centre is not required. Address of the Visa Application Centre: Al Qabas Assurex Sanabel Tower (Al-Babtain) Mezzanine (M3) opposite Sharq Mall Kuwait 22924444 Fax: 22924442 Further information are available on the following websites: www.kuwait.diplo.de www.qavisa.com nnnnnnn

EMBASSY OF INDIA On the occasion of the Independence Day of India, a Flag Hoisting Ceremony will take place at the Indian Embassy premises on Arabian Gulf Street at 0700 hours on Monday, August 15, 2011. The flag hoisting will be followed by the reading of the message of the Hon’ble President of India and singing of patriotic songs. All Indian nationals are cordially invited to attend the function. The customary Open House Reception after the ceremony is not being held this year in view of the Holy month of Ramadan. nnnnnnn

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. nnnnnnn

Starwood launches second annual ‘iftar for cabs’ initiative

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fter launching the ‘Iftar for Cabs’ initiative last year, Starwood Hotels and Resorts Middle East continues its commitment to the holy month of Ramadan by bringing more than 30 of their hotels and resorts in nine countries across the region together to distribute Iftar packs to help

cab drivers break their fast.

During the hour of Iftar on August 9th, 2011, representatives from all participating Starwood hotels will present Iftar packs of food and beverages to cab drivers as they drive through the main entrance of each hotel.

“Ramadan is a very special

time for our hotels, who along with their own promotions, come together to support this initiative. It is because of their dedication and spirit that ‘Iftar for Cabs’ has been such a huge success,” said Guido De Wilde, Senior Vice President & Regional Director, Starwood Middle East. “The main pur-

pose of this initiative is to give back to cab drivers who are always on the go and can struggle to find time to break their fast during Ramadan. This initiative has been widely appreciated by cab drivers across the region in the past and we look forward to repeating it again this year. “

Catering teams at each property will prepare Iftar packs for drivers which will include a variety of food and beverages. Employees from all departments within the hotels including catering, administration and guest services will be working together on the ‘Iftar for Cabs’ initiative.

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 nnnnnnn

EMBASSY OF SOUTH AFRICA During the holy month of Ramadan, the South African Embassy will be open to the public, Sunday through Thursday from 9 am to 14 pm. Please note that the Consular Section operation hours will be from 09:30 am to 12 noon, Sunday through Thursday.

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WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 3, 2011

H E A LT H

US expands no-cost women’s health services WASHINGTON: Birth control pills, breast-feeding equipment and HIV testing will be covered under US health plans at no cost to women beginning next year, but a religious exemption has some advocates fuming. The US government on Monday announced the sweeping changes that should save US women hundreds of dollars per year by eliminating partial copays and deductible limits on eight preventive care services.

Women’s advocates hailed the move as a major advance but expressed disappointment over a clause that exempts religious groups, while conservatives blasted the plan for including free access to emergency contraceptives.

“These historic guidelines are based on science and existing literature and will help ensure women get the preventive health benefits they need,” said Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius of the rules, which take effect in August next year.

The changes are part of President Barack Obama’s health care reform initiative, the Affordable Care Act, signed into law last year.

“The end of co-pays for birth control is the biggest victory for women’s health in a generation,” said Nancy Keenan of NARAL Pro-

Choice America.

“It will allow a woman to choose the birthcontrol method that she and her doctor agree works best for her, whether that’s a pill, patch, IUD, or something else.” Among the services to be covered are “FDA-approved contraception methods and contraceptive counseling; breast-feeding support, supplies, and counseling; and domestic violence screening and counseling,” HHS said.

Also included are annual office check-ups, or well-woman visits, screening for gestational diabetes, human papillomavirus (HPV) testing for women 30 and older, sexually transmitted infection counseling and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) screening and counseling.

An amendment was added to the rules to allow religious institutions that provide health insurance for their employees to decide “whether or not to cover contraception services,” HHS said.

The National Organization for Women joined a host of women’s advocacy groups in applauding the changes, but took issue with the religious loophole. “Forcing insurance companies to cover contraception is one of the most important things you can do for

women’s health,” NOW president Terry O’Neill told AFP. “The fanatics who want to withhold birth control from women should not be coddled by the secretary of health and human services, so we are deeply disappointed that she would do this.” Catholics for Choice president Jon O’Brien said Obama’s administration “has once again sided with the Catholic bishops over the needs of women and their families.”

But the conservative Family Research Council’s Jeanne Monahan said the religious exemption did not go far enough, describing it as a “fig leaf of conscience protection for certain churches that fulfill very specific criteria.”

She also highlighted the group’s concerns over coverage of two emergency contraceptive options, which can be taken up to 72 hours after unprotected sex to prevent pregnancy.

“This administration is promoting mandates that will violate the consciences of millions,” she said. The recommendations were made by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) in a July 19 report that urged that the health services be covered in order to improve the state of women’s health.

Women in the United States tend to face

higher costs to maintain their health than men because of a range of reproductive conditions that are unique to them. Often, private health insurance covers only part of the annual costs.

The IOM said that DNA tests for HPV could cut back on cervical cancer rates, and free access to lactation counseling and equipment could boost rates of breastfeeding by new moms, a practice that is considered beneficial to babies’ health.

Free access to contraception could also cut back on the rate of unintended pregnancies in the United States, where about half of all pregnancies are unplanned, the IOM said. The US government said that health plans could save money by “continuing to charge cost-sharing for branded drugs if a generic version is available and is just as effective and safe for the patient to use.”

According to the Guttmacher Institute, 98 percent of American women have used contraception at some point in their lives. A last year study in the journal Contraception said that average out-of-pocket expenses for contraception were about $168 per year, making up 29 percent of a woman’s annual self-paid costs for health care. — AFP

Cambodian girl dies from bird flu: WHO PHNOM PENH: A four-year-old Cambodian girl has become the seventh person to die from bird flu in the country this year, officials said.

The child, from northwestern Banteay Meanchey province, died on July 20, the health ministry and the World Health Organization said in a joint statement. Tests confirmed she had contracted H5N1 avian influenza.

“I urge parents and guardians to keep children away from sick or dead poultry,” Cambodian Health Minister Mam Bun Heng said. All seven of Cambodia’s bird flu cases since January have been fatal. Six of the victims were children.

The girl is the 17th person in Cambodia known to have become infected with the virus and the 15th to die from complications of the disease since 2005, they said. The H5N1 strain of avian influenza has killed 330 people worldwide since 2003, the statement said. —AFP

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WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 3, 2011

health & science

Mobile use doesn’t alter kids’ cancer risk: Study NEW YORK: Children and adolescents who use mobile phones are at no bigger risk of developing brain cancer than non-users, according to new research. The research, to be published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute today, looks at whether children may be more vulnerable to health risks from electromagnetic radiation of mobile phones.

Children’s nervous systems are still developing, and there are fears that their smaller head circumferences could allow radiation to penetrate deeper into the brain. But the study of seven to 19 year olds found that brain tumor patients were no more likely to be regular phone users than control subjects who did not have cancer.

“If mobile phone use would be a risk factor, you’d expect cancer patients to have a higher amount of usage,” said Professor Martin Roosli who conducted the study at the Swiss Tropical

and Public Health Institute in Basel, Switzerland.

Funders of the study included several groups such as the Swiss Research Foundation on Mobile Communication, which is partly supported by Swiss mobile operators. The funders were not involved in the study design or the collection, analysis, or interpretation of the data, according the authors.

About 5 billion cellphones are in use today, some 30 years after they were introduced commercially. Roosli’s research, conducted between 2004 and 2008 in Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Switzerland, looked at phone use of 352 brain cancer patients and 646 control subjects. About 55 percent of the cancer patients reported regular mobile phone use compared with 51 percent of the control subjects, according to the study.

“What we found was that there was no (significant) difference in the amount of use,” Roosli told

Reuters, adding that if there is a risk “it would be a really small risk.” But since the study involved faceto-face interviews, Roosli acknowledged that he could not be certain of the accuracy of the subjects’ recollection of past cellphone use.

In a subset of the study, Roosli’s also examined information from mobile service providers about the length of the subjects’ cellular subscription when available. From operator data he found that the cancer risk had doubled for those people who had used phones for more than three years, but noted that this data was unreliable as more cancer patients had provided carrier records than control subjects. Roosli’s said phone company records were not always available as some people had changed their numbers and some operators were required by law to delete call records after six months. The study found no evidence of any increase in the risk of tumors in brain areas most

exposed to cellphone radiation.

Roosli said that future studies should examine longer term phone use among children. For example, he suggested collecting phone records from a bigger group to see who develops a tumor. “(This study) provides quite some evidence that use of less than 5 years does not increase the chance of a brain tumor, but naturally we don’t have a lot of long-term users,” he said.

In an editorial published along with the article, US scientists recommended that investigators continue to monitor population incidence rates. In the meantime, they said, people who are concerned should consider using an ear piece or the phone’s speaker function. Asked about practices in his own family, Roosli said “our study does not provide strong evidence of a relation, so why should I forbid my children from using cellphones?” — Reuters

Desperate, sick Indonesians use railroad ‘therapy’ ‘Electric therapy’ JAKARTA: Ignoring the red-and-white danger sign, Sri Mulyati walks slowly to the train tracks outside Indonesia’s bustling capital, lies down and stretches her body across the rails.

Like the nearly dozen others lined up along the track, the 50-year-old diabetes patient has all but given up on doctors and can’t afford the expensive medicines they prescribe. In her mind, she has only one option left: Electric

therapy. “I’ll keep doing this until I’m completely cured,” said Mulyati, twitching visibly as an oncoming passenger train sends an extra rush of current racing through her body. She leaps from tracks as it approaches and then, after the last carriage rattles slowly by, climbs back into position.

Pseudo-medical treatments are wildly popular in many parts of Asia - where rumors

JAKARTA: In this July 26, 2011 photo, villagers lie on a railway track for an electricty therapy in Rawa Buaya, Jakarta, Indonesia. People in the outskirt of the capital have been participating in the treatment believing that the the electricity current from the track could cure various diseases. — AP

about those miraculously cured after touching a magic stone or eating dung from sacred cows can attract hundreds, sometimes thousands. That may be especially true in Indonesia, where chronic funding shortages and chaotic decentralization efforts since the 1998 ouster of longtime dictator Suharto have left many disillusioned with the state-sponsored health system, said Marius Widjajarta, chairman of the Indonesian Health Consumers Empowerment Foundation.

Medical experts say there is no evidence lying on the rails does any good. But Mulyati insists it provides more relief for her symptoms - high-blood pressure, sleeplessness and high cholesterol - than any doctor has since she was first diagnosed with diabetes 13 years ago. She turned to train track therapy last year after hearing a rumor about an ethnic Chinese man who was partially paralyzed by a stroke going to the tracks to kill himself, but instead finding himself cured.

It’s a story that’s been told and retold in Indonesia. Until recently, more than 50 people would show up at the Rawa Buaya tracks every day. But the numbers have dropped since police and the state-run railroad company erected a warning sign and threatened penalties of up to three months in prison or fines of $1,800. No one has been arrested yet, and none of the participants in train track therapy has died. But the dedicated dozen a day who still come say they have no plans to stop. “They told us not to do it anymore, but what else can I do,” said Hadi Winoto, a 50-year-old stroke victim who has trouble walking. “I want to be cured, so I have to come back.” — AP

Briton given new artificial heart LONDON: 40-year-old father has become the first person in the UK to receive a total artificial heart that will enable him to go home, doctors announced yesterday. Matthew Green had been critically ill, suffering from end-stage failure of both chambers of his heart.

But today he was preparing to return home after undergoing the ground-breaking surgery at Papworth Hospital, near Cambridge, southern England. Doctors at the hospital have previously implanted a total artificial heart but this is the first time a patient has been well enough to leave hospital and go home. The operation - which has also been completed successfully in the United States

and parts of Europe - could help cut transplant waiting times in the future. Green said: “Two years ago I was cycling nine miles to work and nine miles back every day but by the time I was admitted to hospital I was struggling to walk even a few yards.

“I am really excited about going home and just being able to do the everyday things that I haven’t been able to do for such a long time such as playing in the garden with my son and cooking a meal for my family. “I want to thank all the wonderful staff at Papworth Hospital who have been looking after me and who have made it possible for me to return home to my family.”

During a six-hour operation last month,

OREGON CITY: This photo taken July 8, 2011, shows a lamprey at Willamette Falls, in Oregon City, Ore. As long as Indians have lived in the Northwest, they have looked to lamprey for food. But in the decades since dozens of hydroelectric dams have harnessed the power of the Columbia, Willamette and Snake rivers to make electricity, this jawless fish popularly known as an eel has steadily declined until Columbia Basin tribes have just a few places left to go for lamprey. — AP

surgeons replaced Green’s damaged heart with the device which will serve the role of both ventricles and heart valves. It provides a blood flow of up to 9.5 litres, eliminating the symptoms and effects of severe heart failure.

The artificial heart will be powered by a “freedom portable driver”, worn like a backpack or shoulder bag. The transplant team at Papworth, led by Steven Tsui, consultant cardiothoracic surgeon and director of the transplant service, underwent training in Paris and was assisted by Latif Arusoglu, an expert total artificial heart surgeon from Bad Oeynhausen, Germany.

Green suffered from arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathia, a heart muscle disease which results in arrhythmia, heart failure and sudden death. In a statement, Tsui said: “At any point in time there may be as many as 30 people waiting for a heart transplant on our waiting list at Papworth, with one third waiting over a year.

“Matthew’s condition was deteriorating rapidly and we discussed with him the possibility of receiving this device, because without it he may not have survived the wait until a suitable donor heart could be found for him. “ The operation went extremely well and Matthew has made an excellent recovery. I expect him to go home very soon, being able to do a lot more than before the operation with a vastly improved quality of life, until we can find a suitable donor heart for him to have a heart transplant.”

Green received a SynCardia total artificial heart. Papworth Hospital is the only centre in the UK currently allowed to implant this type of device. In November 1986, a patient received a Jarvik-7 artificial heart and was supported for two days before undergoing a heart transplant.

Professor Peter Weissberg, medical director at the British Heart Foundation, said: “For some patients with severe heart failure transplantation is their only hope of long-term survival, but donor hearts are not always available.

“Previous versions of the mechanical heart have supported only the left side of the heart - the side that does most of the work - but the total mechanical heart replaces both sides and so can be used for anyone with severe heart failure.

“Patients with mechanical hearts must remain permanently linked to a power supply via tubes that pass through the skin, which is a potential source of infection. “With this artificial heart, the power supply is small enough to fit in a shoulder bag so patients can walk around and go home.” —KUNA

BANGKOK: A member of Thai media takes pictures with a tablet computer of boxes of counterfeited erectile dysfunction pills seized from street vendors during a press conference at the Public Health Ministry in Bangkok yesterday. — AP

Many US teens abuse controlled medications NEW YORK: More than one in five US teens who get strong painkillers, stimulants or other controlled medications from their doctor take too much of the substances, in some cases deliberately doing so to get high, according to a study. Taking too high a dose risks dangerous side effects, but as many as 10 percent use them that way intentionally, the study in Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine said.

“There has been an increase in the prescribing of controlled substances in the last 15 years, but there has also been an increase in the non-medical use of these substances,” said Sean Esteban McCabe from the University of Ann Arbor in Michigan, who worked on the survey.

McCabe and his colleagues used a Web-bsed survey to test teenagers’ use of four groups of controlled medications they had received from their doctors, included sleeping pills such as Ambien, antianxiety medications such as Xanac, stimulants like Ritalin and opioid painkillers such as OxyContin.

Overall, 18 percent of nearly 2,600 students from Detroit-area middle and high schools said they had used one such drug to treat a medical condition over the past year.

Painkillers were the most common, followed by stimulants and sleeping pills.

Overuse was especially common with sleeping pills, which 42 percent of users took in quantities higher than the prescribed dose and 17 percent used to get high.

Teens who strayed from the doctors’ prescriptions were more likely to smoke, binge drink and use illegal drugs than those who followed medical instructions.

They also sold or gave away their medicine more often, with a third saying they’d given or loaned their drugs to others at some point. That was three times as many as teens who didn’t misuse their medications.

“Kids are most likely to get medications that are not prescribed to them from their peers,” McCabe told Reuters Health, adding that the majority of teens get the controlled substances for free.

Though the study showed that the majority of teens used their medications correctly, McCabe said it also suggested that stricter monitoring may be needed.

“Parents play an important role. The big take-home here is that it is important to step up monitoring of adolescents and to prescribe the appropriate amount of medications, he added. — Reuters

Rare fossil of sea reptile found on Alaska beach ANCHORAGE: Alaska scientists have discovered the fossil of a rare, prehistoric marine reptile that is likely the most complete remnant of the creature ever found in North America. The nearly complete fossilized skeleton is of a thalattosaur, a long-tailed sea creature that plied warm, shallow waters in the early days of dinosaurs and became extinct at the end of the Triassic period some 200 million years ago.

The discovery of the fossil, found during an extreme low tide along the shore of the Tongass National Forest, was announced this week by the Museum of the North at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. “We were just having our morning coffee out on the outcropping when somebody said, ‘What’s that?’” Jim Baichtal, the US Forest Service’s Tongass geologist and part of the discovery team, said on Thursday.

Geologists had been conducting field surveys at the site when the fossil was spotted. Unlike most thalattosaur discoveries, which are fossilized remnants of individual bones and bone fragments, this specimen appeared to be a nearly full skeleton.

“In North America, this may be the most articulated specimen that we have right now,” Baichtal said. Scientists excavated the fossil in June and have been studying it to determine whether it represents a previously unknown species.

There are only about a dozen full thalattosaur specimens in the world, Baichtal said. “So the probability of this being something that wasn’t seen before is probably pretty high,” he said.

The find is likely the most northern

discovery as well, Baichtal said. The fossil was found near the Tlingit Indian village of Kake in southeast Alaska. Other thalattosaur discoveries have been made in British Columbia, Canada, as well as in Nevada and the Alps, although the best finds have been made in China, he said.

At the time this particular animal was trapped in sediment, about 200 million to 220 million years ago, the site was close to the equator and tropical, Baichtal said.

“This was a warm, volcanic island with reefs surrounding it,” similar to Hawaii, he said. Plate tectonics eventually sent the site drifting north to its current location in Alaska, he said. The fossil from the Tongass beach is now at the Museum of the North, where scientists will do further work to separate the rock from the bone.

Thalattosaurs inhabited the seas for about 30 million years, a relatively brief time geologically, said Pat Druckenmiller, earth sciences curator for the Museum of the North. They measured about 3 to 10 feet (1-3 metres) long, with half to a third of that taken up by the tail, he said. “The rest of its body would be kind of reminiscent of a big lizard,” he said, with legs modified to work as paddles.

Some had no teeth, some had pointy teeth that might have been useful for spearing fish, and some had flat teeth that might have been used to crush shells, Druckenmiller said. The Alaska fossil appears to include the outline of softbody tissue that surrounded the bone.

“That’s really rare,” Druckenmiller said.

“That might give us some idea of what the actual body shape was.” —Reuters

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WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 3, 2011

TECHNOLOGY

Australia uses YouTube to deter boatpeople munities in Australia, such as Iranian, Iraqi, Afghan and Sri Lankan, to discourage family and friends from supporting boatpeople, said immigration department spokesman Sandi Logan.

“We don’t want them funding, we don’t want them in any way suggesting an option for coming to Australia is getting on a rickety dangerous boat, for a highly risky voyage across the open ocean north of Australia,” Logan said. “But of course we know that YouTube is not restricted to people in Australia. It will be a very potent message that demonstrates the futility of engaging with the people smugglers...risking your life at sea, only to be put on a

SYDNEY: Australia will film boatpeople being sent to Malaysia under a new refugee swap deal and post the video on YouTube in an effort to deter future boatpeople, the immigration department said yesterday.

The 54 boatpeople, intercepted last week and the first to be sent to Malaysia, will be filmed arriving at Australia’s Christmas Island detention centre, boarding a plane to Malaysia and arriving in camps in Kuala Lumpur for processing.

Border protection is a high priority with Australian voters, although UN figures show Australia receiving just under 0.5 percent of the world’s asylum seekers. The YouTube video was aimed at dispora com-

plane to be flown back to Malaysia.”

Logan said YouTube had been used by Australia for three years to deter boatpeople, with dramatised videos of people in detention or losing lives at sea, but this would be the first time real asylum seekers would be filmed being expelled from Australia. For security reasons their faces will be pixilated.

Australia uses two YouTube channels, “notopeoplesmuggling” and “ImmiTv”, with up to 10 clips in up to eight languages posted, totally 30 to 40 clips in total, said Logan. Australia Prime Minister Julia Gillard has been desperate to seal a boatpeople processing deal with an Asian nation to

arrangement. Under the deal the first 800 asylum seekers to arrive by boat in Australian waters will be screened, then sent to Malaysia within three days of their arrival. They will be placed in a transit centre in Malaysia for up to 45 days where their refugee status will be processed by the UNHCR. They will then be relocated into local communities in Malaysia and given access to jobs, education and healthcare pending resettlement to their destination countries.

In exchange, 4,800 asylum seekers now in Malaysia and registered with the U.N. body will be re-settled in Australia if their refugee claims are approved. — Reuters

show she is tough on border protection in the hope of boosting her flagging support.

At the end of July, Australia agreed to take 4,800 asylum-seekers whose claims have been processed in return for Malaysia accepting 800 unprocessed asylum-seekers. Human rights groups from both countries have criticised the deal over possible mistreatment of asylum seekers in Malaysia, which is not a signatory to the United Nations convention on refugees and imposes harsh punishments for illegal entry, including caning. The first group of boatpeople are expected to be flown to Malaysia as soon as later this week or next.

The refugee swap deal is a one -off

Samsung delays Australia tablet launch on Apple suit Samsung, Apple dominate fast-growing global tablet market

PRETORIA: Passengers wait to get on the Gautrain, Africa’s first high-speed rail line, yesterday in Pretoria. South Africa’s first high-speed train made today its first trip between economic hub Johannesburg and capital city Pretoria. — AFP

S African high-speed train link takes off JOHANNESBURG: The main link on Africa’s fastest railway opened yesterday to thousands of commuters who shuttled at 160 kilometres (100 miles) per hour between Johannesburg and the South African capital Pretoria. Passengers applauded as the first trains left their stations at 5:25 am (0325 GMT), from the university district of Hatfield in Pretoria and the Rosebank commercial centre in Johannesburg.

“We are now running at 160km/h.

Please sit back, relax and enjoy the ride,” the conductor said. About 11,000 passengers had taken the new line by midday, with security guards in full view to ease worries about security in a nation with one of the world’s highest rates of violent crime.

“Ever ything is running per fectly smoothly, the trains are on time,” said Alain Esteve, director general of the Bombela Operating Company, a subsidiary of the French firm RATP. He expects more passengers at the weekend as people come out to try out the $3.8-billion Gautrain, which is meant to

ease traffic in the tiny but wealthy province of Gauteng.

The first line running from Johannesburg’s Sandton business district opened three days before the football World Cup last year. The new line runs 56 kilometres (35 miles), with one final station in downtown Johannesburg expected to open by the end of the year, after engineers deal with water seeping into the final stretch of tunnel.

“The system is designed to accommodate 100,000 passengers a day at the start. It will be probably somewhat less at the beginning, but it should go up when people realise that the train is efficient and cost-effective,” Bombela spokesman Errol Braithwaite said.

Bombela includes French construction giant Bouygues and Canada’s Bombardier, the world’s railway leader.

Although the first day had a quiet start, some braved the chilly morning and took the train for the experience.

“It was a smooth and exciting journey and we are very pleased,” said Grahame Gertsch from Pretoria. — AFP

SEOUL/MELBOURNE: Samsung Electronics has delayed the Australian launch of its latest Galaxy tablet due to a patent dispute with Apple Inc, a setback for the South Korean firm’s attempt to close the gap with Apple in the booming tablet market.

Samsung and Apple have been locked in an acrimonious battle over smartphones and tablets patents since April, but this marks the first time the legal tussle has delayed the launch of a product by Samsung. Apple alleged Samsung’s Galaxy line of mobile phones and tablets “slavishly” copied the iPhone and iPad and had launched lawsuits in the United States, Australia and elsewhere.

Samsung has countersued Apple.

Yesterday, Samsung said it had agreed with Apple not to sell a variant of the tablet in Australia yet. “A Samsung GALAXY Tab 10.1 for the Australian market will be released in the near future. This undertaking does not affect any other Samsung smartphone or tablet available in the Australian market or other countries,” the Korean company said in a statement.

Apple is one participant in a web of litigation among phone makers and software firms over who owns the patents used in smartphones, as rivals aggressively rush into the smartphone and tablet market which the US company jumpstarted with the iPhone and iPad. “... The fact that Samsung didn’t just stand up to defend the US version of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 serves as an indication that Apple’s allegations probably have some merit,” Florian Mueller, a technology specialist and blogger on patent battles, said on his blog FOSS Patents. The Australian case against Samsung is being heard in a Federal Court in Sydney.

The Galaxy gadgets are seen as among the biggest challengers to Apple’s mobile devices, but Samsung has so far been unable to approach the Silicon Valley company’s roaring sales growth. Galaxy products use Google’s Android operating system.

Last month, Samsung launched a thinner

Samsung Galaxy Tab and lighter version of its Galaxy tablet in its lucrative home market, trying to eat into blockbuster sales of Apple’s iPad. “The point is, if this is contained in just Australia, then it’s not going to move the needle too much,” said Bryan Ma, an analyst with industry research firm IDC in Singapore. “If it’s just Australia, that’s just a small part of the global market.”

IDC said media tablet shipments to Australia were only 2.4 percent out of global shipments of 7.2 million units in the first quarter. The intensifying quarrel between Samsung and Apple had triggered expectations some of the pair’s $5 billion-plus relationship may be up for grabs. Samsung counts Apple as its biggest customer and makes parts central to Apple’s mobile devices.

According to Federal Court documents, an

application from Apple sought to prevent Samsung from being allowed to “import, promote... offer for sale or sell in Australia the Galaxy Tab 10.1”, unless it has the agreement of Apple or the court. Apple had also requested that all samples of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 be delivered to Apple so it could destroy them, the court papers showed.

“It is not that we will not sell the Galaxy Tab until the legal case ends. We will sell it when certain conditions are met as we continue talks with Apple,” said a spokesman from Samsung. A spokeswoman for Samsung in Australia said the original launch date in the country was Aug. 11 but the Seoul-based spokesman said this had not been finalised and the company was only delaying the launch event. — Reuters

Hackers in demand at US government agencies WASHINGTON: The National Security Agency has a challenge for hackers who think they’re hot stuff: prove it by working on the “hardest problems on Earth.” Computer hacker skills are in great demand in the US government to fight the cyber wars that pose a growing national security threat-and they are in short supply.

For that very reason an alphabet soup of federal agencies DOD, DHS, NASA, NSA-are descending on Las Vegas this week for Defcon, an annual hacker convention where the $150 entrance fee is cash onlyno registration, no credit cards, no names taken. Attendance is expected to top 10,000.

The National Security Agency is among the keen suitors. The spy agency plays both offense and defense in the cyber wars. It conducts electronic eavesdropping on adversaries and protects US computer networks that hold super secret material-a prize target for America’s enemies. “ Today it’s cyber warriors that we’re looking for, not rocket scientists,” said Richard “Dickie” George, technical director of the NSA’s Information Assurance Directorate, the agency’s cyber-defense side.

“That’s the race that we’re in today. And we need the best and brightest to be ready to take on this cyber warrior status,” he told Reuters in an interview. The NSA is hiring about 1,500 people in the fiscal year which ends Sept. 30 and another 1,500 next year, most of them cyber experts. With a workforce of just over 30,000, the Fort Meade, Maryland-based NSA dwarfs other intelligence agencies, including the CIA. It also engages in cyber-spying and other offensive operations, something it rarely, if ever, discusses publicly. But at Defcon, the NSA and other “Feds” will be competing with corporations looking for hacking talent too. The NSA needs cyber security experts to harden networks, defend them with updates, do “penetration testing” to find security holes and watch for any signs of cyber attacks. The NSA is expanding its fold of hackers, but George said there is a

shortage of those skills. “We are straining to hire the people that we need.” It might seem to be an odd-couple fit-strait-laced government types with their rules and missions trying to recruit hackers who by definition want to defy authorities. George said the NSA is actually an environment where the hacker mindset fits right in to work with “a critical mass of people that are just like them.”

But what about culture rifts? “When I walk down the hall there are people that I see every day and I never know what color their hair’s going to be,” George said. “And it’s a bonus if they’re wearing shoes. We’ve been in some sense a collection of geeks for a long, long time.”

The agency has long been known for its brilliant, but sometimes eccentric, mathematicians and linguists. Jeff Moss, a hacker known as Dark Tangent, knows something about bridging the two worlds. He founded Defcon and the companion Black Hat conference for security professionals and is now a member of the Depar tment of Homeland Security’s Advisory Council, which advises the government on cyber security.

“They need people with the hacker skill set, hacker mind-set. It’s not like you go to a hacker university and get blessed with a badge that says you’re a hacker. It’s a selfappointed label-you think like one or you don’t,” Moss told Reuters. He drew a distinction between hackers with skills and computer criminals. Of the latter he says with a laugh: “It would not be good to let them in your front door.”

Moss worries about young hackers who might cross lines and end up breaking laws that did not exist when he got his first computer in the early 1980s. “You can absolutely learn the same skills without breaking any law,” he said. While US intelligence agencies’ computer systems are believed to be relatively secure, a wave of recent cyber attacks has hit the Pentagon, major defense contractors and others such as the International Monetary Fund.

The NSA’s tasks include helping the Homeland Security department secure

civilian US government networks. One government bureaucratic hindrance that can impede hiring top-flight experts is the security clearance process that can take six months, by which time a candidate may have found other employment. For the NSA, prospective employees must pass a lie-detector test, be drug-free for one year and undergo an extensive background check.

Unlike the threat from nuclear weapons where it is clear which countries have that capability, cyber attacks can come from anywhere. “So we need to worry about everybody,” George said. “In fact we need to worry about significant adversaries hiding among the ankle biters.”

He explained that it was like finding a single needle in a pile of needles-much more difficult than in a haystack. Among constant pings from teenagers just fooling around, “the real bad guy can hide in that noise,” George said. “That’s a big problem for us, trying to identify the real threat from among all the stuff that’s not really threatening.”

George would not name countries that pose high threats but other intelligence officials have expressed concern about China’s growing cyber-warfare capabilities, as well as Russia’s. The NSA can attract hackers to work within its cloistered walls by dazzling them with the latest technology, appealing to their competitive nature, and giving them a sense of working for the greater good, George said.

“We have a wonderful atmosphere, we have great people and we have the hardest problems on Earth. And we need help, the country needs help,” he said. But there is one big difference about winning bragging rights at public competitions versus inside the NSA enclosure. “You’re not going to make yourself famous working here, that’s the downside. You can be internally famous, but you can’t be externally famous,” George said. The NSA’s secretive nature also brings a positive side-effect in striking a work-life balance. “If you come here you really can’t take work home with you,” George said.

“That’s a bonus.” — Reuters

A robot nurse that resembles a friendly bear is designed primarily to assist nurses by lifting patients in and out of their beds and wheelchairs (as well as on and off the toilet), the 180-kilogram (400-lb) robot can safely pick up and carry people weighing as much as 61 kilograms (135 lbs).

Experts design robot for healthcare facilities HONG KONG: Researchers in Japan unveiled a robot yesterday that can lift a patient weighing up to 61 kg (135 lbs) off the floor and onto a wheelchair, an innovation they say will free healthcare workers from the back-breaking task.

In elderly facilities in Japan, where rapid ageing of its society is expected to weigh on the economy, staff are required to lift residents from the floor onto a wheelchair about 40 times a day, a task that is both difficult and energy consuming. Nicknamed RIBA 2, the robot is soft to the touch, moves around on wheels and responds to voice commands. Built with rubber sensors, springs and improved joints at its base and lower back, it can crouch and lift a patient off a Japanese futon, a traditional mat placed on the floor. “It can pick a person up from

the floor onto a wheelchair or a bed. The earlier robot could only lift 61 kg,” said Shijie Guo, leader of the Robot Implementation Research Team. The team is jointly made up of experts from RIKEN, a natural sciences research institute in Japan, and Tokai Rubber Industries. “It is made of very soft material, of rubber, so it won’t hurt a person.

Normally, to crouch and lift require a huge motor, which would give us a huge robot. But with this robot, we used a spring,” Guo said by telephone.

The project was funded by the Japanese government and Tokai, and the creators hope to eventually commercialise the robot, at a time when more resources are needed to cope with challenges posed by ageing populations around the world. — Reuters

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S Korean CB buys gold after long hiatus amounted to 25 tons and brought total holdings to 39.4 tons. The purchases were reflected in July’s official reserves, it said.

The BOK said that the increase in gold holdings makes sense given the growth in the country’s total foreign reserve holdings and will be positive in improving the diversification of how the reserves are invested.

The bank said it purchased gold as a longterm investment.

South Korea’s foreign reserve holdings surged past $300 billion for the first time in April. The price of gold has soared to record nominal highs as it has won favor with investors who see it as a safe investment amid uncertainties that have plagued the world economy following the 2008 global financial crisis and continuing worries over sovereign debt instability in Europe and the United States.

South Korea’s central bank last bought gold in 1998 when the country suffered a massive foreign exchange crisis and was forced to seek an international financial bailout. The experience, part of broader economic turmoil in East Asia that struck Thailand and Indonesia as well, has left a deep emotional scar on South Korean poli-

SEOUL: South Korea’s central bank has purchased gold for the first time since the Asian financial crisis more than a decade ago as it seeks to diversify the country’s increasing pot of foreign reserve holdings.

The gold portion of South Korea’s official foreign reserves surged to $1.32 billion at the end of July from $80 million at the end of June, the Bank of Korea said yesterday.

The country’s total foreign reserves, meanwhile, reached $311.03 billion at the end of July, an increase of $6.55 billion from the $304.48 billion in June, the bank said in a statement. The July total was a fresh record high after two months of declines.

South Korea’s foreign reserves have surged this year and have now hit all-time highs in five of the past seven months. South Korea’s reserves are largely invested in securities and deposits, according to the bank. A smaller component is a notional currency called Special Drawing Rights, which are overseen by the International Monetary Fund. Despite the big increase in gold holdings, the precious metal still accounts for the smallest portion of the reserves.

In a separate statement, the bank said that gold purchases in June and July

cymakers and ordinary citizens.

Individual South Koreans donated gold to the government, which then sold it to earn badly needed foreign exchange. The BOK bought up what was not sold internationally, according to the bank.

The central bank attributed July ’s increase in the overall reserves mainly to the higher dollar value of the portion denominated in the Japanese yen and British pound in line with their strength against the greenback. The bank said that increased operating profits on the reserves also contributed to the gain.

Foreign reserves are a key economic and policy tool that countries can wield to defend their currency from speculative attack, provide liquidity and bolster the overall financial system. Asian countries and territories lead the world in reserve holdings. South Korea’s reserves remained the world’s seventh largest behind those of China, Japan, Russia, Taiwan, Brazil and India as of the end of June, according to the central bank, which did not provide a global ranking for July. Seven of the top 10 holders of reserves as of the end of June were in Asia, according to the bank. — AP

SEOUL: A pedestrian walks past a money exchange sign at a shopping district in Seoul yesterday. South Korea’s central bank said it bought gold for the first time in 13 years, diversifying its foreign exchange reserves away from the dollar. —AFP

BMW results highlight demand for luxury cars Stellar earnings for global leader

ATHENS: A taxi driver is seen behind a banner that reads “Taxi” during a protest outside the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure in Athens, yesterday. — AP

‘Nothing on table’ for Spain, Italy, Cyprus: EU BRUSSELS: The European Union said yesterday it had “nothing on the table” in terms of debt rescue planning for Spain, Italy and Cyprus despite bond yields for the big two hitting the highest levels since the euro was created.

“The question of a program of emergency aid is certainly not on the table,” said Chantal Hughes, speaking for Economic Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn, after Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero postponed his summer holiday owing to concern about the economy. Zapatero acted after the difference in borrowing costs for Spain and Italy, against benchmark Germany, rose sharply in yesterday bond trading.

Cyprus, meanwhile, is struggling with a rising public deficit about to get much worse with billions of euros in damage caused after a blast at a military base and banks over-exposed to neighboring Greek debt. Hughes, standing in for economic affairs commissioner Olli Rehn’s regular spokesman, said there was nothing drawn up if bailouts were required.

The European Union executive is a central part alongside the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund in all euro-zone bailout planning.

Economists say problems for Italy and Spain, as the region’s third and fourth biggest economies respectively, could wreck the euro-constructed in 1999 — and there are also fears that these countries may not now be able to finance their bailout commitments later this year for Greece. Hughes said experts at the European Commission were “monitoring very, very closely” the return of euro debt fears after the US debt crisis commanded all the recent attention.

After a second rescue for Greece was agreed by euro-zone leaders at a July 21 emergency summit, she said experts from euro-zone states held another telephone conference call last week and that authorities have “full confidence” in the Spanish and Italian programs of economic reform and fiscal consolidation.

“Both countries are taking the necessary action to put their economies back on track,” she said, although she also said that markets as ever would decide.

There was “no reason to think that the situation had changed in the last few days,” she added, saying there was close contact with Madrid and Rome and that the position for both countries “has not dramatically changed.” — AFP

FRANKFURT: German automaker BMW said yesterday it would probably build its first assembly plant in Brazil after strong demand for luxury cars generated stellar earnings for the global leader.

Chief executive Norbert Reithofer told a telephone news conference he saw a “high probability” that BMW will build a factory in Brazil, one of the most dynamic auto markets in the world. The decision will be made later this year, Reithofer added after BMW posted a second quarter net profit of 1.81 billion euros ($2.58 billion), more than double that of the same period a year earlier.

Sales were 16.5 percent higher at almost 17.9 billion euros. “We expect the business environment to remain favourable during the second half of 2011,” the company said in a statement. BMW’s second-quarter operating profit soared meanwhile by 66.3 percent to 2.86 billion euros. The results topped analyst forecasts compiled by Dow Jones Newswires for a net profit of 1.59 billion euros and an operating profit of 2.41 billion euros.

Investors welcomed the news and BMW shares jumped 1.88 percent to 68.98 euros in midday trading to top the main DAX index which was 0.54 percent lower overall.

“BMW’s magnificent second-quarter results exceeded already heightened street expectations,” Dow Jones quoted Sanford Bernstein analyst Max Warburton as saying. The group, which also owns the Mini and Rolls-Royce brands, sold a record 450,608 vehicles over the three-month period, an annualized gain of 18.5 percent. For the first six months of the year, sales jumped 19.7 percent to 833,366.

BMW issued a new full-year target in July of more than 1.6 million sales. “The first half of 2011 has been the best six-month period in the BMW group’s history,” Reithofer noted in the statement.

BMW dealers have been delivering more cars worldwide, but especially in China and the rest of Asia, the industry’s global growth engine. China now represents almost 15 percent of the group’s total sales, a level close to

MUNICH: German luxury car maker BMW’s CEO Norbert Reithofer speaking during the company’s annual results press conference in Munich, southern Germany. — AFP that of Germany itself. “We are looking more and more in the direction of the BRIC countries,” Reithofer commented in reference to Brazil, Russia, India and China.

German rivals Daimler, which owns Mercedes, and Volkswagen, which owns Audi, published solid quarterly results last week as well and raised their annual forecasts despite concern over debt problems in Europe and the United States. Reithofer said sales had even been held back by production bottlenecks, saying the company was working at 102 percent of capacity and that it might also make a substantial investment in its US plant.

HSBC to hire 15,000 in emerging markets HONG KONG: Global banking giant HSBC said yesterday it would hire thousands of people in emerging markets by 2014 as it looked particularly to Asia’s booming financial sector to power future growth.

“We are planning to hire up to 15,000 people in emerging markets over the next three years,” the bank’s Chief Executive Stuart Gulliver told a press briefing in Hong Kong. His comments come a day after the British-based lender announced that it would axe 30,000 jobs by 2013, about 10 percent of its global workforce, as it looked to slash costs.

It said the initial round of 5,000 job cuts would be in the United States, Britain, France, Latin America and the Middle East. More than a third of HSBC’s current workforce of 300,000 are already in Asia, and the firm said yesterday its prospects in the region were expected to continue improving.

Asia contributed 59 percent of the group’s pre-tax profits in the first six months of 2011, up 16 percent from the same period last year, while net fee income grew 17 percent in the region year-on-year, it said. HSBC has already added 3,000 jobs in Asia during the first half of this year, with plans for some of the 15,000 new positions to be located in Brazil, Argentina, and Mexico, Gulliver said.

The new jobs were a “re-allocation of resources”, said Peter Wong, chief executive of HSBC Asia-Pacific.

“Asia is a growth story-the world is moving from the west to the east.” Wong said he expected Asia’s sizzling economic growth to hit 7.5 percent this year, and 7.6 percent in 2012, with China expected to grow 8.9 percent in 2011. The lender planned to continue boosting its position as a leading issuer in offshore bonds denominated in China’s currency, the renminbi, he added.

Beijing has been using Hong Kong-a semi-autonomous Chinese territory-as a test bed to internationalize the renminbi, with an eye to challenging the US dollar’s dominance as a global currency. Daniel Tabbush, the Bangkok-based head of brokerage CLSA’s banks research, said the British lender’s continuing focus on Asia highlighted the lackluster prospects for growth in the West.

“It’s very clear the (job cuts) are concentrated in the OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) economies,” Tabbush told AFP, referring to

the group of 34 member countries based mainly in Europe. “It makes sense they would be hiring in Asia and focusing on commercial banking-that is where all the growth is.”

Tabbush added that there was “probably enough demand for 10 banks” in corporate banking across the region, which meant HSBC could be picky when it came to doing business with borrowers who had the best credit. Shares in HSBC closed 1.2 percent higher yesterday in Hong Kong at HK$77.9 ($10) as the broader Hang Seng Index ended 1.07 percent lower. — AFP

MUMBAI: Pedestrians walk past a roadside garden maintained by HSBC outside the bank’s Indian head office in Mumbai yesterday. Global banking giant HSBC will hire up to 15,000 people in emerging markets over the next three years, a spokeswoman said. —AFP

The BMW statement noted that sales and earnings growth would also “be held down during the second half of the year ” by changes to some popular models and costs stemming from the launch of others.

BMW finance director Friedrich Eichiner put the total amount of those charges at around 500 million euros.

Sanford Bernstein analyst Warburton nonetheless described profitability at BMW as “stunning” and added: “We think that only Porsche and Ferrari can claim to have ever met or exceeded this level of profitability in the global auto industry.” — AFP

Italian authorities to meet on crisis ROME: Italian authorities will meet to discuss growing market turmoil that has sent borrowing costs spiralling to dangerous levels and threatened to drag Italy into full-scale crisis.

Officials said Economy Minister Giulio Tremonti would chair the Financial Stability Committee-made up of representatives from the economy ministry, the Bank of Italy, market regulator Consob and insurance authority ISVAP. Treasury director general Vittorio Grilli will attend via conference call and Bank of Italy deputy Fabrizio Saccomanni will also be present. A brief statement may be released after the meeting, expected at around 4.30 p.m (1430 GMT).

Earlier on Tuesday, President Giorgio Napolitano met Bank of Italy Governor Mario Draghi for the second time since last Thursday. The yield spread on I talian 10-year BTP bonds against German Bunds hit a euro-era high of 385 points, with yields on Italy’s 10-year bonds climbing above 6 percent, a level generally seen as unsustainable in the long term.

Yields on Spanish and Italian five-year bonds briefly reached parity for the first time since March 2010, a concrete sign markets were beginning to regard Italy in the same way as debt strugglers Spain, Portugal or Greece.

Concern is growing in Spain too with Prime Minister Jose Luis Zapatero delaying his holiday “to more closely monitor the evolution of the economic indicators”, a government spokesman said.

A bailout of either Spain or Italy would probably overwhelm the euro zone’s existing rescue funds. Despite having

one of the world’s heaviest public debt burdens, Italy has until recently stood aloof from the euro zone crisis thanks to a relatively modest budget deficit, high private savings and a conservative financial system. But doubts about the government’s ability to cut the debt as targeted and implement the kinds of tough reforms needed to spur its stagnant economy into sustained growth have caused growing alarm on financial markets. Uncertainty over the position of Tremonti, who has appeared estranged from Berlusconi and has been weakened by a scandal affecting a close former aide, have also unsettled investors who have long seen the economy minister as an anchor of stability.

The turbulence which has hit the euro zone’s third largest economy, which would be far too big for the kind of assistance European authorities have offered to prop up Greece and Ireland, has caused deep alarm across the euro-zone.

Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who has said little in public since bond yields began climbing last month, is due to address parliament today. Europe’s financial establishment sought to offer reassurance. The European Commission said it was confident of Italy’s ability to face the crisis and Angel Gurria, head of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, said Rome was on the right track. “They have the deficits under control, they have the public finance under control, so they are starting from a high point after the crisis but they are doing the right things, they are taking the right decisions,” he told Reuters in an interview. — Reuters

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Economic fears could deter ECB rate hikes FRANKFURT: Worries about Europe’s economy and a possible worsening of the debt crisis could force the European Central Bank to abandon a third interest rate increase that had been widely predicted for later this year.

No change is forecast in the bank’s key rate of 1.5 percent at tomorrow’s meeting of its governing council, but remarks by President Jean-Claude Trichet will be scrutinized for any darkening of the bank’s risk assessment. Until recently, many analysts expected the bank would lift rates by a quarter-point in October to keep inflation from taking hold, following increases in April and last month.

Some analyst now say that more hikes may have to wait, in the face of a string of downbeat

economic signals. CEOs of big German companies such as Siemens, Volkswagen and BASF gave cautious earnings predictions last week, while key economic indicators, such as Monday’s manufacturing sector surveys, are sagging both in Europe and in key trading partners like the US. Markets have also been shaken by the debt crises both in Europe and the US. Investors are demanding elevated interest rates on Italian and Spanish government bonds, suggesting a second bailout for Greece, agreed July 21 by euro-zone leaders working with Trichet, has not eliminated the debt crisis and the risk that it could spread beyond bailout recipients Greece, Ireland and Portugal.

The US, meanwhile, narrowly avoided defaulting on its debt when Congress struck a deal Sunday on raising the federal debt ceiling. The uncertainty, however, has rattled markets as a downgrade seems unavoidable and growth is expected to slow.

The combination of troubling economic indicators could lead the bank to pause further rate hikes, since interest rate increases can weigh on growth if they hit an economy that is not expanding strongly. Higher rates are central banks’ chief way of controlling inflation.

“The window of opportunity for further rate hikes seems to be closing faster than expected,” said Carsten Brzeski, senior economist at ING in Brussels.

“The latest batch of confidence

indicators has again fueled doubts about the strength of the euro-zone economy.”

The manufacturing surveys showed a slowdown in activity Germany and the Netherlands, two countries that have enjoyed good growth even during the debt crisis, while Italy, the No. 3 euro-zone economy, was stagnant.

Those numbers followed cautious or downbeat outlooks on the future last week from top European companies, including big German industrial firms that have been riding a boom in exports in recent quarters. Some economists who follow the ECB think it will still carry through with at least one more increase this year.

Marc Ostwald at Monument Securities expects the bank to

say it is exercising “strong vigilance” against inflation at the September meeting. That code phrase has been used to signal a rate increase will likely be delivered in October. After all, inflation at 2.5 percent remains well above the official target of close to but below 2 percent.

However, the latest figures was down slightly from the previous month, suggesting slowing growth may be dampening price pressures.

Besides weakening growth, Europe’s government debt crisis still hangs over the ECB. Last month’s $109 billion bailout agreement secured Greek financing into 2014, but did not reduce investor fears about potential troubles in Italy and Spain - the Italian 10-year bond traded above 6 percent yester-

day where it was during the anxious days ahead of the bailout summit. Those two countries would be too large for the euro-zone’s ?440 billion rescue fund to save if bond markets balked at lending them more money.

Trichet has said that the bank chooses the best interest rate for the euro-zone as a whole to deliver on its mandate of keeping inflation down, and won’t let the debt troubles keep it from fighting inflation.

Still, analysts at Royal Bank of Scotland say that if yields Spanish 10-year bonds rise above 6.5 percent and stay there, the bank will have little choice but to substantially delay more rate hikes. On Tuesday the yield was 6.37 percent. —AP

EU deal will only slightly cut Greek debt: OECD Greece will need generation to get debt under control ATHENS: The European Union’s rescue deal for Greece will only slightly reduce the country’s debt and it will take a generation to cut it down to more sustainable levels, the OECD said yeterday. “Initial analysis suggests that the (EU) package would decrease the debt burden only slightly,” the OECD said in a report on Greece, commenting on the rescue deal agreed by the EU last month, based on new and cheaper loans and bond swaps.

SYDNEY: A lone shopper pushes a pram past a fashion store in Westfield’s flagship retail centre in Sydney yesterday. The Australian retail industry is suffering due to frail consumer sentiment being exacerbated by carbon tax fears, a volatile share market, falling house prices, the flood levy and higher interest rates. —AFP

Barclays to cut 3,000 jobs as profit drops Bad debts fall 41%, costs flat on year ago LONDON: Barclays is set to cut about 3,000 jobs this year to reduce costs after a drop in bond trading and an insurance mis-selling charge cut first half profits by a third.

The British bank’s performance was more resilient than rivals, however, as bad debts tumbled and it kept costs steady. “It’s better on costs and impairments, and within the revenue line BarCap had a relatively strong quarter compared to its peer group,” said Mike Trippitt, analyst at Oriel Securities. “It has been a savage market out there.”

Chief Executive Bob Diamond, the American who built investment banking unit BarCap into a debt market powerhouse over the previous decade, said Barclays had cut 1,400 jobs during the first half and the tally was likely to rise to about 3,000 by the end of the year.

“We haven’t set specific headcount numbers, but I would expect the trend in the first half to continue and I think it would be likely to increase,” Diamond said.

The staff cuts amount to about 2 percent of Barclays’ total workforce of 146,100. Half the cuts so far in 2011 were at BarCap, which shed the same number in the second half of last year. The layoffs reverse an aggressive build-up that included its 2008 takeover of the US arm of Lehman Brothers and equities and advisory expansion. BarCap has 24,100 staff.

“A key part of getting our returns to where we want them to be is the cost program we have put in place and that is going well,” he told reporters on a conference call. Barclays joins a growing line of banks, including HSBC , Goldman Sachs , Credit Suisse and UBS to slash thousands of jobs in recent weeks.

Pretax profit for the six months to the end of June was 2.6 billion pounds ($4.3 billion), down 33 percent from a year ago but above the average forecast of 2.4 billion pounds among analysts polled by the company. Shares in Barclays were up up 2.1 percent at 222 pence at 1015 GMT1.4 percent at 219.6 pence by 0945 GMT, outperforming a slightly weaker European bank index .

Diamond is aiming to cut 1 billion pounds of annual costs and reckons he could even double that goal, as well as generate more than 6 billion pounds per year of extra revenue by 2013 under a revamp plan. The bank’s return on equity improved to 9.1 percent in the first half from 6.9 percent a year ago.

Diamond is targeting a level of 13 percent by 2013.

Problems around peripheral euro zone countries were likely to continue in the second half, before a recovery in market confidence late this year or early 2012, he said.

Weakness at investment bank arm BarCap had continued into July, the bank said, and trading is likely to remain tough. “We are planning on a market environment in the second half that is pretty sluggish and similar to the first half,” Diamond told analysts on a conference call.

BarCap’s income fell to 2.9 billion in the second quarter, down 14 percent on the first quarter, but BarCap’s co-CEO Rich Ricci said he remained confident it can hit its targeted 3.5-3.6 billion pounds of quarterly income in normal market conditions.

Fixed income trading plunged across the industry in the second quarter as the euro zone debt crisis curtailed activity.

BarCap’s fixed income, currencies and commodities (FICC) income in the second quarter fell 22 percent from Q1, although most rivals had shown a drop of a quarter to a third.

Income from advisory business fell, which analysts said was disappointing given its investment in this area, but equities income rose in the second quarter. BarCap accounted for 63 percent of group underlying profit which rose 24 percent from a year ago to 3.7 billion pounds.

Group earnings were helped by a 41 percent tumble in bad debt charges during the first-half to 1.8 billion pounds.

But Barclays took a 1 billion pound charge to cover compensation for the mis-selling of insurance policies in Britain, which had been signalled previously. —Reuters

“The additional official financial support agreed and the maturity extensions, both public and private, provide the time needed for Greece to continue to implement fundamental fiscal and structural reforms, and for those reforms to bear fruit,” the report said.

Reducing Greece’s funding needs is different from cutting its debt mountain to levels that the markets will consider safe and sustainable over the long term.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development sees Greek debt dropping to 100 percent of GDP in 2035 from about 140 percent in 2010 under its baseline scenario, in which the debt-choked country would widely miss an EU/IMF target to raise 50 billion euros from privatizations by 2015. Under a more optimistic scenario where Greece meets its privatization target with only a slight delay, the country’s debt would shrink to 60 percent of GDP by 2035 — the ceiling set by EU treaties-the report says.

“We came here to give a vote of confidence but we are also here to say we will support the Greek government for a full generation, which is what it is going to take to get to those numbers of lower debt-to-GDP (ratio),” Angel Gurria, head of the OECD club of industrialized nations, told Reuters in an interview yesterday. Many private analysts think that at the very least, the debt/GDP ratio needs to be cut below 100 percent, and some suggest 80 percent.

“The baseline scenario may not

be your more desirable scenario,” Gurria said, adding that Greece is capable of doing better on privatizations and structural changes. “It is doable, it is possible,” he said.

In its report, the OECD said Greece had made substantial

government has backtracked on reforms related to wage agreements at firm level, the full opening up of the professions of lawyers and pharmacists, and has hesitated on the privatization program,” the report says.

uidity thus need to be approached with caution, as they could trigger a liquidity crunch,” the report says, adding that further consolidation could be an option to increase access to liquidity. “The managers and

ATHENS: OECD’s secretary general Angel Gurria speaks during a presentation of Greece’s economic survey, in Athens yesterday. Greece can succeed with an ambitious adjustment program to pull its recession-hit economy from the brink of default but the pace of reforms must be vigorous and “impeccable,” the OECD said yesterday. —AFP progress on reforms but urgently needed to improve tax collection. It also criticized Athens for not doing enough to open up closed professions and the job market. “Despite the impressive record on structural reform, the

It adds that the Greek banking sector is in a difficult situation because of exposure to government debt and says banks will continue to be reliant on ECB funding. “Attempts to reduce banks’ dependence on ECB liq-

shareholders should, however, explore the option of partnerships or mergers with foreign banks, while the authorities should refrain from imposing protectionist impediments,” it said. —Reuters

Russian oil output stays ahead of Saudi in July MOSCOW: Russia pumped 10.26 million barrels per day of crude oil last month, matching a post-Soviet high recorded in May and retaining the title of top producer as its closest rival, Saudi Arabia, rapidly closes the gap.

Russia also pumped 10.26 million barrels per day (bpd) in October 2011. The June rate was 10.2 million bpd. By comparison, Saudi Arabia pumped as much as 9.8 million bpd in June, an increase of as much as 900,000 bpd in response to the loss of Libyan supply after it failed to persuade OPEC of the need for a coordinated increase.

But while the kingdom had the spare capacity to ramp up production by nearly 10 percent in a month, Russia’s top oil companies are struggling to grow by just a few percent a year.

Top Russian producer Rosneft said it hit a record 2.4 million barrels per day in July, with an increase in output at its

new Vankor field and extra drilling at its biggest unit, Yugansk, accelerating its current growth rate to 1.5-2 percent.

Russia’s Soviet-era oil heartland is on the decline, and the government is working to provide incentives to coax capital-intensive new fields on line and staunch the declines. Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin, Russia’s oil tsar, has pitched the case for multi-billion dollar foreign investment in harsh, remote new oil provinces as a means to guarantee supply during times of shock.

Natural gas output stood at 48.40 billion cubic metres, down from 50.67 bcm in June, a fall of 7.6 percent on a daily basis. The decline is probably seasonal, but analysts are watching to see whether export customers who buy from Gazprom will reduce offtake in the second half, when the price they pay under Gazprom’s oil-linked long term contracts is set to rise sharply. —Reuters

Debenhams eyes multi-channel margin boost LONDON: The head of Debenhams, Britain’s No 2 department store group, said he is targeting higher profit margins by allowing customers to order an extended range of products through self-service kiosks and instore online shopping areas.

Chief Executive Rob Templeman told Reuters the Internet initiatives, which would see the firm offer bigger ranges of homewares, furniture and electrical items, were a potential “game changer” for Debenhams’ profit mar-

gins. Speaking in an interview at the retailer’s flagship Oxford Street store, he said a trial of dedicated instore online shopping areas would run alongside the roll-out of small ordering kiosks.

The kiosks, which will be in all Debenhams’ UK stores by the end of October, enable shoppers to order out of stock product or products that are typically not sold in store, over the Internet, for collection from stores or delivery to home.

In the larger dedicated areas shoppers will be able to relax, surf iPads, watch the Debenhams TV channel and order a wider range of products. The first trial will be up and running at Debenhams’ Coventry store by the end of this month. Two more will follow shortly after. If successful the initiative will be gradually rolled out across the Debenhams portfolio.

“Where the prize in margin comes is we’ve always got enough stock to satisfy demand, it just happens to all be in the wrong place. The

biggest complaint we have is ‘I like that dress, it’s not in my size,’” said Templeman, who will retire after eight years as CEO in September and be succeeded by deputy CEO Michael Sharp. With the gross margin benefit from Debenhams’ phasing out concessions in favor of own bought brands-now 82 percent of total sales versus a target of 85 percent-close to having run its course, Templeman sees multichannel initiatives as the big drivers of margin gains going forward. —Reuters

PHNOM PENH: A Cambodian man carries potatoes for sale along a street in Phnom Penh yesterday. Cambodia’s economy is expected to grow by more than six percent this year, according to the government. —AFP

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KSE stocks advance GLOBAL DAILY MARKET REPORT KUWAIT: Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) concluded yesterday’s session rising for the second session in a row backed by the increase in all its market sectors, barring the Insurance sector that remained unchanged.

Global Banking Index had the largest gain among all other sectors in the market, Pushing Global General market index 1.38 percent higher.

Global General Index (GGI) ended the day up by 1.38 percent, at 186.32 point. Market capitalization was up for the day reaching KD30.49bn. Showing a positive note, KSE Price Index closed at 6,074.8 point, adding 37.6 points (0.62 percent) from its previous close.

Market breadth During the session, 90 companies were traded. Market breadth was skewed towards advancers as 50 equities advanced versus 17 retreated. Trading activity was up this session. Total volume traded was up by 25.9 percent with 100.91mn shares changing hands at a total value of KD15.96mn (84.84 percent higher compared to the day before). The non Kuwaiti sector was the volume leader yesterday, accounting for 29 percent of total shares. The banking sector was the value leader, with 40.13 percent of total traded value.

Kuwait Remal Real Estate Company was the most active in terms of values traded during yesterday session, with 8.09mn shares exchanged at an aggregate value of KD2.66mn. The scrip closed up by 3.08 percent at KD0.335. In terms of top gainers, Burgan for Well Drilling Company was the top gainer for the day, adding 10 percent and closed at KD0.275. On the other hand, Global Investment House shed 8.33 percent and closed at KD0.0275, making it the biggest decliner in the market.

Sector-wise Global Banking Index amazingly

advanced by 2.09 percent to close at 328.26 point. All banks had a positive closing prices at the end of the session. National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) advanced by 1.85 percent, closing at KD1.100. Gulf Bank was the biggest gainer within the sector, advancing by 3.03 percent to settling at KD0.510.

Although the decliners have dominated the investment sector Global Investment Index closed at a positive note yesterday.

Heavyweight Kuwait Projects Company (Holding) (KIPCO) inclined pushing the sector to a positive

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 3, 2011

business

close of 0.37 percent. KIPCO went up by 1.43 percent, closing at KD0.355.

Moreover, Al-Madina for Finance & Investment Company was a top gainer in the sector and closed with an advance of 6.06 percent at KD0.035.

Global Service Index closed with an increase of 0.68 percent compared to previous close. Burgan for Well Drilling Company was the top gainer in the market with an increase of 10 percent in its share price. The stock closed at KD0.275.

Gulf Petroleum Investment was another top gainer with a price

increase of 6.35 percent as it closed at KD0.0335.

Oil News The price of Kuwaiti crude oil increased $1.82 to reach $112.14pb on Monday, compared to $110.32pb on Friday, said Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) yesterday. The increase in oil prices came after US President Barak Obama announced that democrats and republicans have agreed to raise the US debt ceiling to $14,3tn until year 2012 which was a positive sign toward greater economic recovery in the world.

Oil weaker on global growth concerns LONDON: Oil fell yesterday on worries about the growth prospects of the United States, the world’s largest crude consumer, after weak global manufacturing data that overshadowed a deal to avert a US debt default.

Brent was 54 cents lower at $116.27 a barrel by 1144 GMT, having slipped as low as $115.53 a barrel earlier in the session.

US crude was 80 cents lower at $94.09 after trading as low as $93.42 on Monday, its lowest since late June, on news that the world’s manufacturing expanded at its weakest pace in two years last month. In Washington, investors briefly found relief in news that a $2.1 trillion deficit-cutting plan is expected to be approved in a vote yesterday, the deadline to lift the nation’s debt limit.

But analysts do not expect a relief rally in oil and commodity markets despite the last-minute deal, as U.S. and European debt problems continue to loom large.

Market sentiment is likely to remain negative after the last disappointing manufacturing figures globally and weak US gross domestic product (GDP) data, they argue, as well as fears of a potential credit downgrade.“Positive Spin Economics do not work anymore as the economic realities have turned too negative to ignore...the problem is the manufacturing indices across the globe are disappointing”, Olivier Jakob from Petromatrix said in a note.

“Buying crude at $120 knowing that it is a level that destroys demand takes even greater faith than before when the PMIs (purchasing managers’ indexes) and GDPs are under attack.”

Commerzbank’s Carsten Fritsch said the focus had moved beyond the US debt negotiating debacle and onto the weak international data indicators. “Debt concerns

about the US default are gone but now we have growth concerns coming back after the very disappointing GDP report on Friday and yesterday’s ISM numbers, which were pretty dismal,” Fritsch said.

“This is weighing on general sentiment and on crude in particular since the US is the largest oil consumer,” he said, adding: “the stronger dollar also doesn’t help today.”

The dollar index against a basket of major currencies rose by 0.35 percent by 1045 GMT. Earlier, US crude rebounded from a one month low after the House passed the budget deal, inspiring fleeting optimism in markets battered by the disappointing economic data.

The US Institute for Supply Management manufacturing report, a gauge of factory activity in the world’s largest economy, fell to 50.9 in July, its lowest since July 2009, data showed Monday. “ Whilst the world has been focused on financial crises the global manufacturing sector has been winding down rather than up,” PVM’s David Hufton said.

“Without growth the euro-zone solution is doomed. Without growth the U.S. debt problem looms larger and will overwhelm $2 trillion of cuts in the blink of eye.”

US crude oil inventories probably rose by 1.2 million barrels last week as increased supplies from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve offset losses due to Tropical Storm Don, a Reuters poll showed on Monday.

Gasoline stockpiles were projected unchanged for the week, the poll showed, while distillate stocks were expected to have risen 1.5 million barrels.

Industry data on inventories from the American Petroleum Institute (API) will be published yesterday, followed by government statistics from the Energy Information Administration today. — Reuters

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Bangkok property boom rises above bubble fears BANGKOK: A 77-storey skyscraper is set to become the latest, and tallest, addition to Bangkok’s ever-changing skyline, already transformed by a construction boom that has raised fears of a property bubble.

Variously described on Internet forums as looking “like it has been eaten by giant termites” and reflecting “the chaos of Bangkok”, the MahaNakorn-Great Metropolis-will tower over the Thai capital when it is finished in 2014. At 314 metres (1,036 feet) it will be the city’s tallest building, but size was not what mattered, said Sorapoj Techakraisri, head of PACE Development, which began building the skyscraper in June.

“I just wanted something unique, something interesting,” he told AFP. MahaNakorn’s unusual pixelated spiral design was created

by German architect Ole Scheeren, who was behind Beijing’s futuristic China Central Television headquarters.

The 19 billion baht ($640 million) tower will house apartments, a shopping centre and a Ritz-Carlton hotel. “When the economy gets better, the buildings go higher,” Sorapoj said.

Thailand’s economic health appears robust, growing 7.8 percent in 2010 despite street protests by the opposition “Red Shirts” that brought large areas of Bangkok to a standstill for two months. An ever-increasing number of pristine new apartment blocks jostle for space in desirable areas, vying for custom as billboards written in idiosyncratic English promise swanky lifestyles.

It is a far cry from a decade ago, when the city was littered with the skeletal remains of abandoned tower blocks, casualties of the 1997 Asian financial crisis that devastated the region.

The Bank of Thailand has described 2010 as the “golden year for real estate businesses”, with strong demand for homes-driven by low interest rates and increased consumer confidence-causing a flurry of new building.

This resulted in a 13.6 percent increase in registrations of new homes in Bangkok to the highest level since the 1997 crisis, according to the bank’s 2010 annual report.

The bank said it would be “vigilant” for signs of a bubble-which it defined as a “sharp” increase in asset prices combined with strong growth in home loans. A bubble could then burst if demand drops off and there is a glut of available properties. Central bankers did not detect a bubble building, but raised concern over risk-taking in the sector.

As demand slowed after the June 2010 expiry of stimulus measures-such as two-year interest-free home loans for first time buyers — developers increasingly resorted to highrisk strategies in their fight to fill properties.

Homebuyers with “insufficient purchasing power or subprime customers” were persuaded to buy, the bank said, while lenders also boosted the number of loans at 90 percent or more of the property value.

To help “maintain economic stability”, the bank responded by making some high loanto-value lending more expensive for financial

institutions.

Property research group Agency for Real Estate Affairs (AREA) said it had detected a build-up in oversupply and warned that the level would become unsustainable.

Its figures show there were more than 135,000 unsold property units in Bangkok and its suburbs as of July 2011, including projects under construction. Another 100,000 units are expected to come in to the market next year.

AREA president Sopon Pornchokchai said he could foresee an “upcoming bubble”. “If something happened to our economy or politics, it could cause the bubble to burst,” he said. But Kobsidthi Silpachai, head of markets and economic research at Kasikorn Bank, said Thailand’s economic health meant it was in a better position than in 1997, adding that if a bubble did burst its impact would be limited.

“If it did really happen it would certainly affect industries related to real estate, like steel and cement, but it would not affect other businesses,” he said. Developer Sorapoj shrugged off jitters over the health of the real estate sector, although he conceded that the Red Shirt protests had hurt interest from foreign investors.

He was confident Thailand’s incoming leadership-which is affiliated to the Red Shirts and won a thumping majority in the July 3 election-would be able to avert any threats.

“I’m not worried about oversupply. The new government will do whatever it takes to prevent bubbles,” he said. —AFP

World markets slide on rising global concern Wall Street lower on downgrade worries

BANGKOK: This handout computer graphic image shows the future MahaNakorn building in Bangkok. The 77-storey skyscraper is set to become the latest, and tallest, addition to Bangkok’s ever-changing skyline, already transformed by a construction boom that has raised fears of a property bubble. — AFP

S&P downgrades Nokia, citing dim outlook HELSINKI: Standard and Poor’s yesterday became the latest ratings agency to downgrade mobile phone giant Nokia’s rating, blaming the Finnish company’s dismal sales and difficult strategic transition. S&P cut Nokia’s long-term corporate credit rating to BBB from BBB+. “The rating actions reflect the continued erosion of Nokia’s smartphone market shares,” S&P credit analyst Matthias Raab said in a statement, adding that a revised assessment of the company’s operating margins also pushed the rating down. Raab said S&P might lower Nokia’s rating even further this year if there is no improvement in the mobile phone unit’s operating margins in the next six to nine months.

In March, S&P’s rating for Nokia stood at A but like other ratings agencies, it reevaluated Nokia’s fortunes following a radical strategic shift announced at the beginning of the year. In February, chief executive Stephen Elop said the company would abandon its Symbian platform, once touted as the future of smartphones, and instead adopt the Microsoft

Windows Phone platform in a risky partnership.

With the first Microsoft-Nokia phones not expected to ship until 2012, Nokia’s shares have plummeted. Raab said he expected the lower ratings to remain at least until “Nokia has completed the adoption of Microsoft’s Windows Phone as its new primary software platform for smartphones.”

S&P’s action comes almost two weeks after Nokia reported a dismal 368-million-euro ($520.5-million) net loss for the second quarter, with sales down 7.3 percent. Nokia refused to give any thirdquarter guidance but analysts expect the slide to continue. “We expect the revenues of Nokia’s Devices and Services segment to decline by about 20 percent in 2011 but to recover by 2013 to the level reported in fiscal 2010,” S&P said.

Since February’s shake-up, ratings agency Fitch has downgraded Nokia’s short and long-term ratings with a negative outlook and Moody’s docked its rating by two notches, also with a negative outlook. — AFP

Hong Kong tycoon to buy British water utility HONG KONG: Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing yesterday announced his firm would buy one of Britain’s biggest water utilities in a deal worth nearly $4 billion. The move is the latest by the Hong Kong tycoon into Britain’s utility sector after he bought the British power distribution network of French electricity giant EDF in November.

That deal was the largest deal by a Hong Kong entity in the country. Li’s Cheung Kong Infrastructure Holdings (CKI) will pay 465 pence a share for Northumbrian Water, the firms said in a statement. The purchase-at a premium of 21.4 percent on Northumbrian’s share price before Li announced his interest-will be carried out through Cheung Kong’s newly incorporated UK Water. It values the British firm at about 2.41 billion pounds ($3.9 billion).

Northumbrian is one of Britain’s biggest water services companies, supplying northeastern England, and has about 2.6 million customers. The deal, which is subject to the approval of Northumbrian shareholders, is expected to close in October, the British firm said in a statement on its website. “Whilst Northumbrian would have a strong future as an independent company, the consortium’s offer to Northumbrian shareholders fairly values the current and future prospects of the company,” said its chairman Derek Wanless. The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board, which holds about 26.8 percent of its shares, planned to vote in favor of Cheung Kong’s offer, according to the statement. Northumbrian is among 10 regulated water and sewage

businesses in England and Wales, it said. For the fiscal year ended March 31, Northumbrian reported revenues of 738.1 million pounds, up from 704.7 million pounds a year ago.

“Northumbrian has an excellent reputation in the UK water sector,” said H.L. Kam, CKI group managing director in a statement. CKI is a division of Cheung Kong Holdings, the flagship company of Li, the richest man in Hong Kong and nicknamed “Superman” for his long-running business success.

The Hong Kong firm also said yesterday that it has sold Cambridge Water Plc, which supplies fresh water to about 300,000 people in southern England, to banking giant HSBC. It said the transaction was completed prior to announcing the Northumbrian deal, but did not give further details. Cheung Kong has interests in hotels, property, infrastructure, telecoms and retail businesses. It is one of the biggest developers in Hong Kong, where one in seven private residences were developed by the company. The firm has invested heavily abroad as it seeks to broaden his earnings base owing to difficulties expanding in Hong Kong.

In November Cheung Kong joined with Hongkong Electric Holdings in a consortium to buy EDF for 9.28 billion pounds, Li’s fifth purchase in Britain.

CKI has also gas distributor Northern Gas Networks and it also holds a small stake in Southern Water, which supplies water and waste water services to the south of England, according to CKI’s website. — AFP

LONDON: Global equities slid yesterday and the dollar firmed against the euro as investors focused on weakness in the world economy and euro-zone tensions while awaiting progress over a US debt deal.

Wall Street stocks opened lower yesterday as investors fretted about a possible US government credit downgrade and concerns grew about the economy ’s growth prospects.

The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 49.19 points, or 0.41 percent, to 12,083.30. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell 7.23 points, or 0.56 percent, to 1,279.71. The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 16.46 points, or 0.60 percent, to 2,728.15.

The London stock market fell 0.57 percent in late morning trade, Frankfurt shed 0.47 percent and Paris was down 0.40 percent.

Madrid fell by 0.29 percent and Milan lost 1.04 percent.

Asian markets also stumbled amid stubborn concern that the US top credit rating could be downgraded for the first time ever despite US lawmakers having agreed a plan to avert a debt default.

Hong Kong closed down 1.07 percent, Tokyo sank 1.21 percent, Seoul slumped 2.35 percent and Shanghai shed 0.91 percent.

“So much for the relief rally that was supposed to occur on the back of the proposed debt deal,” said Chris Weston, an analyst at IG Markets trading group.

“The focus has now shifted to the global economy with manufacturing deteriorating across most ... economies.”

European equities and the euro were also hit by new worries over the plight of debt-laden euro-zone member nations Italy and Spain. The pair came under fresh pressure yesterday as nervous investors sold down their

bonds on concerns that their debt problems will only get worse as economic growth slows.

The European single currency sank as low as $1.4158, which was the lowest level since July 21. It later stood at $1.4182 in London deals, down from $1.4248 late in New York on Monday.

Under the agreement reached late Sunday by President Barack Obama and top lawmakers, the US government’s debt limit will be increased by about $2.4 trillion in two steps while Washington also makes deep spending cuts.

The US Treasury has said that the $14.29-trillion debt ceiling must be raised by yesterday or else it could be forced to default on its debts, with potentially calamitous effects. The debt deal, approved by the House of Representatives late on Monday, is expected to pass in the Senate on Tuesday. “ The dollar has staged a rebound this morning after the House of Representatives passed a deal to extend the US’s debt ceiling and implement budget cuts of at least $2.1 trillion over the next 10 years,” said research director Kathleen Brooks at Forex.com trading site.

“The House was the more difficult roadblock for the bill to pass; it is now expected to pass the Senate in a vote later today.”

Adding to traders’ woes was a raft of weak figures from the United States and other major economies.

“Having become distracted by the consequences of a possible US debt default over the past weeks, (the) ... vote by the House of Representatives to pass the debt ceiling legislation should go some way to drawing a line under the matter with only a Senate vote to come,” said CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson said.

TOKYO: Money traders work under a currency rate indicator showing the yen-dollar exchange rate, bottom, and Nikkei 225 stock average, top, at a money market brokerage company, in Tokyo yesterday. Asian stock markets slid yesterday after downbeat US data fueled fears the world’s largest economy might be sliding back into recession. —AP “ This means markets have become more able to focus on the more mundane matters of economic data, not only in Europe and the United States, but also in Asia as well.”

The US manufacturing sector was flat in July, according to a closely watched index released Monday, in another sign of how the economy has stalled. The Institute of Supply Management’s indexed survey of purchasing managers was at 50.9, down from 55.3 the previous month. A read-

ing above 50 indicates expansion.

The figures came days after figures showed the US economy grew by only 1.3 percent in the second quarter, after 0.4 percent in the first-the weakest growth since it emerged from recession two years ago. Manufacturing in China, an economy on which many other nations rely to drive growth, also slowed abruptlywith one survey suggesting contraction-while there was similar bad news in Australia, Taiwan and India. — Agencies

China state media says US debt deal ‘hiding risks’ SHANGHAI: State media in China, the largest holder of US debt, yesterday chided the United States over a deal to raise its borrowing limit, saying it was hiding “risks and troubles” for the world economy. The US House of Representatives late Monday approved a package that would slash spending in return for raising the legal limit on US sovereign debt, in a bid to avoid a catastrophic default.

“Although the United States has basically avoided default, its sovereign debt problems remain unresolved,” the People’s Daily, a mouthpiece of the ruling Communist Party, said in a commentary. “They are just deferred and there is a tendency for them to grow. This is casting a shadow over the recovery of the US economy and hiding even bigger risks and troubles for the global economy,” the newspaper said. China, sitting on the world’s biggest foreign exchange reserves of around $3.20 trillion as of the end of June, is the largest holder of US Treasuries. The debate over the debt ceiling, which the newspaper labelled as a “political fight”, would hurt the credibility of US Treasuries though a default was “essentially unlikely”, it said.

The last-minute deal revealed the longterm risks to China’s massive holdings of US Treasuries, Li Xiangyang, a researcher at the official Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, wrote in a separate article in the overseas edition of the People’s Daily.

“It is necessary to change the current concentration on US dollar assets, but what is more important is to change the trend of increasing holdings of dollar assets in future.

This requires a fundamental adjustment in the economic growth model,” Li said. The official Xinhua news agency chimed in by saying the US remains a “debt economy” and the longterm risks of a default still exist.

The US is very like to let the dollar depreciate to pass off the debt to its creditors, which may cause more flows of speculative funds, or hot money, into emerging economies like China and push up inflation, it said.

“If the US chooses to repudiate debt in this hidden manner, it will seriously impact the stable growth of the global economy,” Xinhua said. — AFP

WASHINGTON, DC: Senate Budget Committee Chairman Sen Kent Conrad gets out of his car at the US Capitol yesterday in Washington, DC. — AFP

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KIPCO reports KD 16.6m net profit for first half ‘Growth signs continue,’ says Tariq Abdulsalam KUWAIT: KIPCO - the Kuwait Projects Company - has announced a net profit of KD 16.6 million ($ 60.5 million), or 14.04 fils ($5.12 cents) per share for the first six months of 2011, an increase of 295 per cent compared to the KD 4.2 million ($14.4 million) profit, or 3.58 fils ($1.23 cents) per share, for the same period last year.

KIPCO’s second quarter profit (for the three months ended 30 June, 2011) of KD 8.5 million ($30.97 million) was an increase of 5 per cent on the KD 8.1 million ($29.2 million) reported for the first three months of 2011.

KIPCO’s total revenues for the first six months of 2011 increased by 9 per cent to KD 178.8 million ($651.5 million) compared to the KD 163.7 million ($562.8

Tariq Abdulsalam, KIPCO’s Chief Executive Officer — Investment

million) reported for the first half of 2010.

The company also saw a rise in operating profit to KD 34.4 million ($125.34 million) for the first half of 2011 - an increase of 59 per cent from the KD 21.6 million ($74.27 million) reported in the first half of 2010.

KIPCO’s consolidated assets decreased in the first half of 2011, to KD 5.38 billion ($19.6 billion) from KD 5.66 billion ($20.2 billion) for the year-end 2010.

Tariq Abdulsalam, KIPCO’s Chief Executive Officer - Investment, said KIPCO’s second quarter results were in line with the company’s expectations: “Our first half results - and the growth trends underpinning them - have met our expectations. For example, Burgan

Bank Group - our regional commercial banking operation - has now achieved growth in its last four consecutive quarters, while our businesses in sectors such as insurance are also beginning to show some growth trends. This is an indication perhaps that regional and local markets are beginning to stabilize and recover some momentum.”

“While it may be too early to claim that the worst of the financial crisis is over and that we have passed a point where profits will begin to return to pre-crisis levels, perhaps the signs of growth we are seeing indicate a gradual recovery within local and regional markets. As a result, we continue to be optimistic that by year end, we will see an improvement in profitability across our key operations.”

ADCB Q2 net boosted by RHB stake sale ABU DHABI: Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB), the UAE’s fourth largest lender by market capitalization, swung to a second-quarter net profit yesterday as it booked a $357 million gain from the sale of its quarter-percent stake in Malaysia’s RHB Capital.

The lender, one of the region’s most exposed banks to indebted conglomerate Dubai World, reported a net profit of 1.34 billion dirhams ($364.9 million) in the second quarter, compared with a loss of 531 million dirhams for the previous year, the bank said in a statement yesterday.

Analysts polled by Reuters had estimated an average second quarter profit of 1.31 billion dirhams for the bank. ADCB is one of two UAE banks on an informal seven-member coordinating committee negotiating Dubai World’s restructuring plan. In June, it sold its stake in Malaysian lender RHB to Abu Dhabi sovereign fund Aabar for 10.80 ringgit per share in a $1.91 billion deal.

The bank also said it would convene a shareholders’ meeting to buy back up to 10 percent of its capital. Net impairment allowances for the second-quarter stood at 935 million dirhams compared with 1.30 billion dirhams in the year earlier period. The bank took an additional impairment provision of 275 million dirhams for the first half, it said.

ADCB said loans fell 5 percent to 123.0 billion dirhams in the second quarter of 2011 compared to a year ago, while deposits remained flat at 106.35 billion dirhams for the same period.

Operating income stood at 1.42 billion dirhams in the second quarter versus 1.12 billion dirhams a year ago, the statement said.

ADCB shares have risen 50 percent year-todate. They were halted pending the announcement of results yesterday. —Reuters

RIYADH: Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal holds a press conference in Riyadh yesterday to unveil plans about the world’s tallest tower to be built in the Red Sea city of Jeddah. The tower will exceed 1,000m (3,300 feet) and cost 4.6 billion riyals ($1.2 billion dollars) to build. —AFP

Carpetright cuts prices to stem sales decline LONDON: Carpetright, Britain’s biggest floor coverings retailer, said it did not expect an improvement in trading conditions any time soon as it stemmed a fall in UK sales by cutting prices and making a big push into beds and laminates.

“I see no respite from the challenging environment over the next year,” Chairman and Chief Executive Philip Harris, said yesterday, highlighting an overall UK carpet market down 15-20 percent year-on-year.

The firm, which has issued three profit warnings this year, said sales at UK stores open over a year fell 0.2 percent in the 12 weeks to July 23, the bulk of its fiscal first quarter.

That represented a significant improvement on a decline of 6.3 percent in the fourth quarter of the previous year. Harris, who has been selling carpets for 53 years, said the better sales performance reflected price cuts, growth in bed sales and a new laminate offer but would result in a 2 percentage point fall in the 2011-12 gross margin compared to the prior year. The firm had previously guided to a margin fall of about 50 basis points.

“We did a lot of research around underlay, gripper and door bars and we found that we were too expensive, that’s the area we’ve reduced,” he said. On an average order of 400

pounds ($650), consumers were now saving 50-60 pounds, said Harris.

“We’ve only being doing that for four weeks and we’ve seen sales go up very much. If they continue at that rate we’ll be happy to give up the 2 (percentage) points on the gross margin,” he said.

Harris, whose family own a quarter of Carpetright’s equity, said the margin fall would be offset by UK costs being 6-8 million pounds below the 2010-11 year due to rent, rates and staff savings from store closures and downsizing. He has high hopes for Carpetright’s beds business, which currently represents about 6.3 percent of total sales. —Reuters

URC announces KD 5m net profit in first half ’11 KUWAIT: United Real Estate Company (URC ) announced a net profit of KD 5 million in the first six months of 2001 compared to KD 2.5 million for the same period the previous year.

Commenting on the results, URC Chairman Tareq Abdulsalam said, “The first half of the year witnessed positive growth due to the company’s increase of existing investments in some companies, changing them from URC associates to subsidiaries.”

He added, “The financial results for the first half of the year reflect a continuing profitable trend, and we a re o p t i m i s t i c a b o u t the results of the second half and the anticipated URC CEO Eng improvement of the econMohammad omy.”

Ahmad Al-Saqqaf M eanwhile, URC CEO Eng. Mohammad Ahmad Al Saqqaf said that net profit growth for the first half of 2011 came to 98.8% compared to the same period in 2010. Share profit came to 4.37 fils compared to 3.33 fils in the first half of 2010, at an increase of only 31.2% due to the increase in capital and the resultant increase in the number of shares.

Al Saqqaf added that the announced results reflected the strength of the company and its solid assets. URC holds diversified assets in Kuwait, Lebanon, Jordan, Oman and Egypt.

United Real Estate Company (URC) was established in 1973, and is the Real Estate arm of Kuwait Projects Company KIPCO. United Real Estate Company is one of the largest Real Estate firms in Kuwait. Since its establishment, it has expanded its operations in the Middle East and North Africa regions through management and development of properties.

The company manages numerous commercial, business and residential properties as well as regionally-renowned resorts. Listed on the Kuwait stock exchange in 1984, URC aims to maintain its leading presence in the region and globally. It remains today’s leading company in its field while acquiring a solid standing for superb quality and an excessive dedication to excellence.

Abu Dhabi lenders execute first Islamic repo trade DUBAI: National Bank of Abu Dhabi and Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank executed the Gulf region’s first shariacompliant repo transaction, the two lenders said yesterday, in a move that will help mop up liquidity.

The two Abu Dhabi-based banks concluded a one week maturity deal valued at $20 million against both Malaysian and Abu Dhabi government-related Islamic bonds, or sukuk, the lenders said in a statement yesterday.

A lack of liquidity management tools is seen as one of the key challenges to the emerging Islamic finance industry, which has close to $1 trillion worth of assets globally. The religion’s ban on interest rules out most interbank tools. In June, the United Arab Emirates central bank launched a repurchase facility for Islamic certificates of deposits to provide a new liquidity tool.

Repurchase agreements, also termed repos, allow banks to grant extra funds to lend or buy assets, thereby boosting liquidity. NBAD said in February it expects the Islamic repo market in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region to be worth about $2 billion. —Reuters

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 .4410000 .3840000 .3470000 .2820000 .2940000 .0040000 .0020000 .0739140 .7201210 .3810000 .0700000 .7059470 .0040000 .0430000

.2765000 .4580000 .3990000 .3590000 .2940000 .3030000 .0072500 .0035000 .0746570 .7273590 .4010000 .0770000 .7130420 .0072000 .0530000

US Dollar/KD GB Pound/KD Euro Swiss francs Canadian dollars Danish Kroner Swedish Kroner Australian dlr Hong Kong dlr Singapore dlr Japanese yen Indian Rs/KD Sri Lanka rupee Pakistan rupee Bangladesh taka UAE dirhams Bahraini dinars Jordanian dinar Saudi Riyal/KD Omani riyals Philippine Peso

CUSTOMER TRANSFER RATES .2722500 .2743500 .4432770 .4466970 .3963500 .3893300 .3494640 .3521600 .2849290 .2871270 .0518590 .0522590 .0430830 .0434150 .2966160 .2989040 .0349360 .0352050 .2259900 .2277330 .0035240 .0035510 .0000000 .0062350 .0000000 .0025110 .0000000 .0031750 .0000000 .0036920 .0741520 .0747240 .7224360 .7280080 .0000000 .3880480 .0726190 .0731800 .7074180 .7128750 .0000000 .0065710

Al-Muzaini Exchange Co.

Japanese Yen Indian Rupees Pakistani Rupees Srilankan Rupees Nepali Rupees Singapore Dollar Hongkong Dollar Bangladesh Taka

ASIAN COUNTRIES 3.563 6.180 3.150 2.493 3.891 227.420 35.125 3.654

Philippine Peso Thai Baht Irani Riyal - Transfer Irani Riyal - Cash

6.481 9.198 0.271 0.273

Saudi Riyal Qatari Riyal Omani Riyal Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham

GCC COUNTRIES 73.003 75.220 711.060 727.120 74.544

Egyptian Pound - Cash Egyptian Pound - Transfer Yemen Riyal Tunisian Dinar Jordanian Dinar Lebanese Lira Syrian Lier Morocco Dirham

ARAB COUNTRIES 48.300 45.944 1.253 199.740 386.590 1.824 5.910 35.093

EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIES US Dollar Transfer 273.650 Euro 389.130 Sterling Pound 446.870 Canadian dollar 287.150 Turkish lire 161.350 Swiss Franc 354.150 Australian dollar 297.760 US Dollar Buying 272.450

Sterling Pound US Dollar

Bahrain Exchange Company COUNTRY Australian dollar Bahraini dinar Bangladeshi taka Canadian dollar Cyprus pound Czek koruna Danish krone Deutsche Mark Egyptian pound Euro Cash Hongkong dollar Indian rupees

SELL CASH 302.200 727.410 3.860 289.800 537.300 36.400 53.800 167.800 47.970 393.500 35.790 6.500

SELL DRAFT 300.700 727.410 3.658 288.300

228.600 45.933 392.000 35.640 6.190

0.033 0.241 0.238 3.630 388.590 0.185 95.160 47.200 4.210 243.700 1.855 52.000 710.420 3.290 6.620 75.670 73.030 228.580 43.240 2.631 450.400 44.500 353.400 5.600 9.540 198.263 74.570 273.900 1.200

0.033

386.570 0.184 95.160 3.900 242.200

351.900 5.600 9.390 74.470 273.500

TRAVELLER’S CHEQUE 448.400 273.500

Selling Rate 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

3.163 3.652 6.476 669.512 3.571 9.218 5.739 3.937 90.730

Currency US Dollar Pak Rupees Indian Rupees Sri Lankan Rupees Bangladesh Taka Philippines Peso UAE Dirhams Saudi Riyals Bahraini Dinars Egyptian Pounds Pound Sterling Indonesian Rupiah Nepali rupee Yemeni Riyal Jordanian Dinars Syrian Pounds Euro Canadian Dollars

Rate per 1000 (Tran) 273.400 3.165 6.195 2.505 3.665 6.550 74.565 73.135 727.200 45.945 452.700 0.00003280 3.910 1.550 388.600 5.750 393.100 293.300

Al Mulla Exchange

Dollarco Exchange Co. Ltd Rate for Transfer US Dollar Canadian Dollar Sterling Pound Euro Swiss Frank Bahrain Dinar UAE Dirhams Qatari Riyals Saudi Riyals Jordanian Dinar Egyptian Pound Sri Lankan Rupees Indian Rupees

Pakistani Rupees Bangladesh Taka Philippines Pesso Cyprus pound Japanese Yen Thai Bhat Syrian Pound Nepalese Rupees Malaysian Ringgit

Kuwait Bahrain Intl Exchange Co. 710.240 3.170 6.510 75.240 73.030 228.580 43.240 2.492 448.400

GOLD 1,655.890

10 Tola

GOLD 297.500 150.000 77.000

20 Gram 10 Gram 5 Gram

Indonesia Iranian tuman Iraqi dinar Japanese yen Jordanian dinar Lebanese pound Malaysian ringgit Morocco dirham Nepalese Rupees New Zealand dollar Nigeria Norwegian krone Omani Riyal Pakistani rupees Philippine peso Qatari riyal Saudi riyal Singapore dollar South Africa Sri Lankan rupees Sterling pound Swedish krona Swiss franc Syrian pound Thai bhat Tunisian dollar UAE dirham U.S. dollars Yemeni Riyal

Currency US Dollar 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) 273.050 391.800 448.200 288.100 3.550 6.180 45.935 2.494 3.658 6.502 3.160 727.350 74.400 72.950

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Kuwait equities forge ahead Page 24

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 3, 2011

EU deal will only slightly cut Greek debt: OECD

KIPCO reports KD 16.6m net profit for H1 Page 22

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WASHINGTON, DC: A Senate staffer carries a sign through the US Capitol yesterday in Washington, DC. The US Senate was to vote on an agreement to extend the federal debt limit and enact spending cuts. — AFP

US Senate clearing debt limit bill Markets fret about economy despite deal WASHINGTON: A deal that heads off an unprecedented US financial default and begins the process of curbing the country’s spiraling debt was expected to clear a final legislative hurdle in the Senate later yesterday, just hours before the deadline.

President Barack Obama promised to sign the measure immediately. The Senate began debating the measure early. It raises the current $14.3 trillion cap on US borrowing, which expires at midnight. The House of Representatives passed the measure Monday evening by an unexpectedly large margin. The legislation’s backing from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Republican leader Mitch McConnell virtually guarantees it would receive the 60 votes required when it comes to the floor of the upper chamber at noon

(1600GMT). Meanwhile, stocks fell further as worries over the state of the US economy capped any relief to the news that US lawmakers have finally agreed to a package of measures to raise the US debt ceiling.

A weak manufacturing survey from the Institute for Supply Management Monday raised fears that the world’s largest economy is slowing rapidly. The survey provided evidence that the tortuous debt talks in Washington have hurt economic confidence.

A raft of US economic data this week, which culminates with Friday ’s closelywatched payrolls figures for July, will be monitored in that context. The administration has said that without the new borrowing authority, the government could not pay all its bills.

Administration officials say a default would

Kuwait’s GIC sells $255m sukuk KUALA LUMPUR: Kuwait-based Gulf Investment Corporation (GIC) has raised 750 million ringgit ($255 million) by selling five-year Islamic bonds at 4.90 percent, a source with direct knowledge of the deal said yesterday.

The sukuk, which is part of a 3.5 billion ringgit funding program set up earlier, will be issued today to about a dozen investors, said the source who declined to be identified as the deal has not been announced.

The Islamic bond sale was arranged by Malaysia’s AmBank and structured according to the concept of wakala bi istithmar, the source said.

Under this structure, GIC will be appointed as agent to collect and manage the sukuk proceeds for the bondholders. GIC then appoints itself to manage the sukuk assets and will invest the net proceeds through a commodity murabaha financing arrangement and a sub-wakala investment facility. Proceeds will be channelled into sharia-compliant ventures.

GIC was not immediately available for comment. In February, GIC had sold 600 million ringgit of five-year Islamic bonds in Malaysia at a yield of 5.25 percent.

Malaysia’s benchmark five-year government bond last fetched a yield of 3.455 percent.

GIC was created to drive private enterprise and economic growth in the Gulf region. Its investments include companies such as The National Titanium Dioxide Co, Gulf Industrial Investment, Al Dur Power & Water Co and Bahrain Industrial Pharmaceutical Co. It was set up in 1983 by the Gulf Cooperation Council and is owned by the six member states of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates. GIC had previously issued 1 billion ringgit of bonds in Malaysia in 2008.

Other Middle East issuers including Bahrain’s Gulf International Bank, Dubai’s government and Abu Dhabi’s transport department are also contemplating Malaysian sukuk issuances. — Reuters

ensue that would severely damage the global economy.

The bitterly fought legislation pairs a longsought increase in the government’s borrowing cap with promises of more than $2 trillion of budget cuts over the upcoming decade. In the minutes before the legislation won approval in the House, applause rang out through the lower chamber as Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Giffords made a surprise and dramatic appearance on the House floor, her first since she was shot during a meeting with constituents at an Arizona shopping center in January.

Giffords has been undergoing rehabilitation since she was gravely wounded by a gunshot that pierced her brain. She acknowledged her warm welcome, standing among well-

wishing colleagues, raising her left hand to waive to fellow legislators. Her office said she had returned on Monday in support of the measure that was passed by the House. The compromise deal deeply angered both conservative Republicans and liberal Democrats.

Many Republicans contended the bill still would cut too little from federal spending; many Democrats said much too much. Still, Republican lawmakers supported the compromise, 174-66, while Democrats split, 95-95.

The measure was crafted through the crucible of one of the United States’ nastiest political fights in recent history. It carefully threaded the needle between the philosophically opposite ends of the political spectrum. Polls showed that Congress and Obama have taken a sharp hit in US public opinion because of the

US consumer spending falters, inflation eases WASHINGTON: US consumer spending dropped in June for the first time in nearly two years as incomes barely rose, suggesting economic growth could remain subdued in the third quarter.

The Commerce Department said yesterday consumer spending slipped 0.2 percent, the first drop since September 2009, after edging up 0.1 percent in May. Economists had expected spending, which accounts for about 70 percent of US economic activity, to rise 0.2 percent.

When adjusted for inflation, spending was flat in June after easing 0.1 percent the

prior month. “The growth potential for the economy has slowed significantly,” said Yelena Shulyatyeva, a US economist at BNP Paribas in New York. US Treasury prices rose on the weak report, while the dollar pared gains against the euro.

Consumer spending is being hampered by a 9.2 percent unemployment rate and the labor market’s health could very well determine how fast the economy recovers from its first-half dismal performance. Budget cuts in Washington could also hamper the economy’s recovery, although most of the fiscal restraint imposed by a plan the Senate

Islamic megabank may be based in Bahrain DUBAI/JEDDAH: A long-touted $3 billion Islamic megabank is more likely to be established in Bahrain although a final decision has not yet been made, the chief executive of Al Baraka Bank , who also serves as an advisor for the project, said yesterday.

Adnan Ahmed Yousif said discussions are still on about whether the bank will be domiciled in Bahrain or Qatar and no dates have been finalized to launch the entity. “While the location of the bank is still under discussion, in all probability it will be based in Bahrain,” Yousif said in an email to Reuters yesterday.

The proposed entity will be named Istikhlaf Bank and will be incorporated with an author-

ized capital of $10 billion and paid up capital of $3 billion, Yousif said.

His remarks came after a Bahraini newspaper report last week that said the Islamic megabank will be set up in Manama. The report said the announcement would be made formally during the Organisation of Islamic Conference meeting to be held in Qatar in December and the bank would be launched in January.

Bahrain, where the US Fifth Fleet is also based, was rocked by mass pro-democracy protests earlier this year, forcing the government to declare martial law. That was lifted at the start of June. —Reuters

prolonged battle over lifting the debt ceiling, something that past Congresses have done as a matter of course. Without legislation in place by the end of Tuesday, the Treasury would run out of cash needed to pay investors in Treasury bonds, recipients of Social Security pension checks, anyone relying on military veterans’ benefits and businesses that do work for the government.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told ABC News Monday that he doesn’t know if the bruising debt-limit battle will harm America’s Triple-A credit rating, but says he fears “world confidence was damaged by this spectacle.”

Geithner said the credit rating is “not my judgment to make.” Rather, he said, “this is, in some ways, a judgment on the capacity of Congress to act.” — AP

This undated photo courtesy of Lowe’s shows a wood deck treated with Olympic Maximum Semi-Transparent Deck Stain. No matter how much you spend, an investment in a new deck will pay dividends. According to Remodeling Magazine’s 20102011 survey, homeowners who build a deck can get up to 73 percent of their investment back when they sell their home. —AP

vote yesterday won’t take hold for years.

June’s spending data already has been reflected in the second-quarter Gross Domestic Product report released last Friday, which showed the economy grew at an anemic 1.3 percent annual rate in the April-June quarter.

Spending barely grew in the second quarter, inching up at an annual rate of only 0.1 percent-the weakest pace since the end of the 2007-09 recession. Spending increased at a 2.1 percent rate in the first quarter. The decline in spending in June came even as gasoline prices retreated from their peak just above $4 a gallon in early May and suggested the much-anticipated bounce back in growth in the third quarter would lack vigor.

The weak spending in June also reflected tepid income growth after employment growth ground to a near halt in June, with nonfarm payrolls rising only 18,000.

Nonfarm payrolls are expected to have increased 85,000 in July, according to a Reuters survey. The government will release its closely followed employment report for last month on Friday.

Incomes ticked up 0.1 percent in June, the smallest increase since November, after rising 0.2 percent in May. Disposable income edged up 0.1 percent, also the smallest increase since November. But when adjusted for inflation, disposable income rose 0.3 percent. With real disposable income outpacing spending, savings rose to $620.6 billion from $581.7 billion in May. But there was some silver lining in the general weak report, which showed overall inflation pressures subsiding as gasoline prices decline a bit. —Reuters

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Bolt attracts the crowds and draws the sponsors

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WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 3, 2011

Brazil, Argentina on course for next round

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Sehwag flies in to boost India in final two Tests Page 18

WASHINGTON: James Blake returns the ball to Tatsuma Ito, of Japan, during a match at the Legg Mason Tennis Classic. —AP

Young, Blake win openers Legg Mason Tennis Classic WASHINGTON: Donald Young reeled off 14 consecutive points in a surge that helped him to a 6-0, 6-3 win over New Zealand’s Artem Sitak on Monday in the first round of the Legg Mason Tennis Classic — a tuneup event for the US Open.

In other first-round results, Czech veteran Radek Stepanek fought back to beat Philipp Petzschner 6-7 (2), 6-4, 6-0, former top-five player James Blake of the United States beat Tatsuma Ito of Japan 6-3, 6-3 in under an hour, Russia’s Igor Kunitsyn edged Gilles Muller of Luxembourg 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (5), big-serving Australian Chris Guccione downed Colombian Alejandro Falla 7-6 (3), 6-3, and another Australian Marinko Matosevic was a 7-6 (3), 3-6, 6-1 winner over Lithuanian Richard Berankis.

Young, who will play Austrian No.4seed Jurgen Melzer in the second round,

turned 22 little more than a week ago, and his tennis career has not taken off the way he expected it would when he turned pro as a highly promising teen in 2004.“The goals themselves haven’t really changed. Just the timeline probably has changed a little bit,” Young said. “This year, I want to get inside the top 50. ...

Hopefully if I’m in the top 50 starting next year, maybe I’ll move into the top 20.” The American is 128th now; his career-high ranking was 73rd in April 2008.

“When things don’t happen when you expect, you can’t just quit. You have to kind of reassess it,” he said. “I’m trying a bunch of different things. Some things work. Some things won’t work.”

Young and Blake drew support from the sparsely filled stands, but the top two American men in the rankings are skipping the tournament: No. 8 Mardy Fish’s

Controversial players fill Fish, Roddick void WASHINGTON: Controversial Americans Wayne Odesnik and Donald Young moved into the spotlight Monday at the ATP Washington Classic as World No. 8 Mardy Fish joined No. 12 Andy Roddick in withdrawing due to injury.

Former World No. 4 James Blake advanced past Japan’s Tatsuma Ito 6-3, 6-3 in 56 minutes in the feature match at the $1.4 million hardcourt event, which will be Odesnik’s first ATP appearance since a doping ban imposed in May of 2010.

Young, who beat New Zealand qualifier Artem Sitak 6-0, 6-3, issued a profane tirade on Twitter last April against the US Tennis Association after feeling slighted for a French Open wild card. Young apologized and no longer tweets.

“I’m kind of missing it a little bit,” Young said of the popular microblogging website. “People say ‘Have you seen that?’ But I will definitely stay away from it.”

US No. 1 Fish, a winner two

weeks ago in Atlanta, withdrew a day after suffering an bruised right heel in an ATP final loss at Los Angeles. Roddick had pulled out last week with an abdominal muscle strain.

The depar ture by Fish, who would have been the second seed behind Frenchman Gael Monfils, opened a spot in the field for a lucky loser who turned out to be the disgraced Odesnik, a 25-yearold South African-born American left-hander.

Odesnik was banned for two years last May after pleading guilty to importing human growth hormone (HGH) into Australia. He lost all ranking points after reaching a career-high 77th and his ban was backdated to the prior December.

Odesnik, arrested in January of last year in Brisbane with eight vials of HGH, pleaded guilty to bringing the banned performance-enhancing substance into Australia but denied taking HGH. He has never tested positive for the drug. —AFP

withdrawal was announced Monday; No. 12 Andy Roddick’s was announced last week. Fish was seeded second in Washington and cited a bruised right heel in pulling out. Roddick, the 2003 US Open champion, has a side muscle injury.

Fish reached the final at each of his past two tournaments, winning the title at Atlanta on July 24, then finishing runner-up at Los Angeles on Sunday.

He was replaced in Washington’s draw

by Wayne Odesnik, who lost in qualifying.

Odesnik was put into Fish’s spot in the bracket and gets the first-round bye Fish would have received as one of the tournament’s 16 seeded players. He will face Stepanek in round two.

Odesnik returned to action in January after serving a one-year suspension that the International Tennis Federation handed down because Australian customs offi-

cers discovered human growth hormone in his bag when he arrived in that country for a tournament.

Blake’s second-round opponent will be Argentine David Nalbandian, Kunitsyn will face Jarkko Nieminen of Finland, Guccione will take on South African Kevin Anderson, and qualifier Matosevic will be up against Fernando Verdasco of Chile.

Meanwhile, banned American tennis player Robert Kendrick will appeal to the Court of Arbitration of Sport (CAS) to shorten his 12-month suspension for doping, his attorneys said on Monday.

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) suspended the 31-year-old American last week after he returned a positive test result for methylhexaneamine (MHA) at the French Open.

Kendrick wants his suspension reduced to three months, which would

allow him to compete at the US Open starting Aug. 29. Kendrick claimed he took a pill to help him cope with jetlag without knowing it contained the banned substance.

MHA, a stimulant used in nasal decongestants and commonly used by body builders, was added to the World AntiDoping Agency’s banned list last year and has since led to bans for scores of athletes.

The ITF wrote in its summary that it did not believe that Kendrick took the substance as a performance enhancer.

However, the Tennis Anti-Doping Program holds players responsible for ensuring no prohibited substances enters their bodies, unless they hold a valid exemption for therapeutic use, which Kendrick lacked. “A 12-month sanction is shocking, grossly disproportionate to the

landscape of MHA and specified substance sanctions in the sporting community,” Kendrick’s attorney Brent Nowicki told Reuters.

“Robert is not asking to be exonerated. He is asking for a just punishment.

Instead, the ITF is trying to take a speeding ticket and turn it into a felony.”

Kendrick’s attorneys would try to get a CAS hearing the week of Aug. 15, two weeks prior to the start of the US Open, which the player has said would be his last.

The ITF said that Kendrick should have known the rules and took “an inappropriately relaxed approach to his doping responsibilities.”

Kendrick reached a career-best ranking of 69 in 2009 and is currently ranked 105th. His suspension runs until May 2012. —Reuters

Ouseley: Haters ‘try to infiltrate football’ LONDON: The head of British football’s anti-racism body warned yesterday that extremists are trying to infiltrate the game again, citing the massacre in Norway as a wakeup call.

Kick It Out chairman Herman Ouseley fears right-wing hard-liners could exploit the country’s economic troubles, with “massive deprivation” in parts of England having the potential to foment hatred and exclusion.

English football has largely eradicated the racial abuse of black players that blighted the game here in the 1970s and ‘80s, thanks in large part to the work of the Kick It Out group.

“Extremists are still trying to get back into football,” Ouseley, a member of the House of Lords, told The Associated Press. “We’ve managed to push them off the terraces away from grounds, but it’s still out in the community and it’s important that we understand that they are trying win over the minds of young, vulnerable people and a lot of football fans are young and vulnerable.

“We must always use football as a basis to help young people have a

better understanding to have open minds, to see the dangers lurking within those who are offering them easy solutions through hatred.”

Ouseley is concerned that confessed Nor wegian killer Anders Behring Breivik could inspire disaffected people in Britain. He raised the issue while addressing an audience of top football officials at an antiracism event at Wembley Stadium.

Breivik claims he carried out last month’s twin-attacks, which killed 77 people, to launch a revolution against a Europe spoiled by Muslim immigration.

“Events in Norway over the last week reminds us that the hatred .. exists not far from our shores,” Ouseley said. “Because believe you me, there are people like that living among us in the U.K. and organizations that are very hateful.”

The leader of the English Defense League, a far-right group mentioned by Breivik as an inspiration, was convicted last week of leading a brawl involving 100 fellow supporters of Luton Town in Aug. 2010.

Stephen Lennon, who was chanting “EDL till I die,” was given a 12-month

rehabilitation order.

“It’s important that football is seen to be making a contribution (to combatting extremism),” Ouseley said in the interview. “It requires a greater collective effort to prevent the sort of horrors and atrocities that we have seen.”

“Norway has happened on a big scale that is a phenomenal human tragedy,” he added. “It is a reflection of is what is going on in many countries within Europe. Some would say it’s worse in eastern Europe but it’s just as bad in western Europe.”

Ouseley said football can be a positive force by inspiring more black and ethnic minority coaches to become involved in the game.

Yesterday, he launched the first initiative backed by all of English football’s main governing bodies to ensure coaching is not a white-dominated preserve. When the Premier League season starts next week, not a single black manager will be in charge.

“There’s no doubt that English football has been graced by some fantastic black players over the years - Viv Anderson, Cyrille Regis, Andrew

Cole, Rio Ferdinand, John Barnes, Ashley Cole and Paul Ince,” said Football Association chairman David Bernstein. “But, for whatever reason, that talent just hasn’t transferred itself from the field of play to the dugout.”

The only two black managers in the 72-team Football League are Chris Hughton of Birmingham City in the second-tier League Championship and Chris Powell of Charlton Athletic in third-tier League One. While the Premier League is packed with black stars, players of Asian background are yet to establish themselves, with few role models on - or off the pitch.

“Clearly without the base of Asian players, the challenge of developing coaches and managers is much greater,” Bernstein said. “We know there are cultural and traditional reasons for this situation but we firmly believe that if we can develop some Asian coaches, working on a regular basis in football, this will encourage and give confidence to talented youngsters in those communities.” —AP

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S P ORT S

FIFA hits back at British lawmakers GENEVA: FIFA has told British lawmakers to get their facts straight before criticizing football’s world governing body for alleged corruption.

In a letter published yesterday on FIFA’s website, FIFA’s top administrator Jerome Valcke warned John Whittingdale, who heads parliament’s sport committee, that politicians “should act and speak on facts, and not on unsubstantiated headlines.”

Whittingdale chairs a parliamentary committee which investigated England’s failed 2018 World Cup bid and also published allegations of corruption surrounding Qatar’s 2022 bid.

Valcke reproached Whittingdale for not updating the committee’s report after a whistleblower withdrew bribery allegations leveled at Qatar’s 2022

World Cup bid. The Qatar whistleblower alleged to journalists from The Sunday Times of London that two FIFA executive committee members were paid $1.5 million to vote for Qatar, which was awarded the 2022 World Cup in December.

The claims were never published in the newspaper but were made public using parliamentary privilege by Whittingdale’s committee. Former bid media officer Phaedra Almajid last month claimed that she was the whistleblower, but said she had made up the allegations.

Secretary general Valcke claims that the committee should have published an update to its report from July 5 to reflect the new information.

“It is one thing for the media to not be interested

in stories which kill previous headlines by so-called investigative journalists, but it is another entirely for your committee to neglect this turnaround,” Valcke said. Whittingdale, though, told The Associated Press that his committee only publishes evidence submitted to it, while the retraction was made in a press release.

“We published the evidence we were given - we didn’t say if it was true or untrue, we just said it needs to be properly investigated,” Whittingdale said in a telephone interview. “It seems a reasonably perfect thing to do. Had we not done that I don’t think the whistleblower would ever have made her retraction. “That’s due to our report that particular allegation has been disproved.” In the letter to

Whittingdale, Valcke assured him that FIFA would be responding after a year of corruption and bribery claims. “This will be done,” Valcke said. “FIFA will do its homework and address the issues of the past.”

The Culture, Media and Sport panel concluded that “nothing has changed” since Sepp Blatter promised on June 1 to reform FIFA on being re-elected as president. “FIFA does not turn a blind eye to criticism against it,” Valcke wrote. “However, we do believe that it is too easy to judge in public on allegations that are not supported by evidence.”

Whittingdale said the committee will respond to Valcke, having been delayed by its investigation into alleged phone hacking by the now-defunct News of the World tabloid. —AP

Brazil, Argentina on course for next round

COLOMBIA: Brazil’s Danilo (bottom) and Austria’s Emir Dilaver go for a header during a U-20 World Cup Group E soccer match. —AP

MEDELLIN: Brazil beat Austria 3-0 on Monday and Argentina could only manage a 0-0 draw against an understrength England in an Under20 World Cup match between two old rivals.

Don’t put too much stock in the results, though. The two South American teams - along with Spain - are still considered favorites for the title as play continues through the early group stage. In other matches Monday, Egypt defeated Panama 1-0 in Group E and Mexico had a 3-0 win over North Korea in Group F. Brazil playmaker Philippe Coutinho scored a goal and set up two others in the later Group E match.

Henrique put Brazil ahead in the 37th minute, directing in Oscar’s cross from near the penalty spot. Coutinho was also involved in that goal, and scored himself with a penalty in the 52nd after Danilo was brought down in the area. The Inter Milan player also set up the third goal with a neat pass to Casemiro, who then found Willian for an easy shot in the 63rd.

“In addition to the victory and the three points, it was important that the team played better and improved,” Brazil coach Ney Franco said. “We hope to improve even more for the next match so we can reach the next round playing even better. We still need to reach a higher level”. Brazil and Egypt have four points apiece after two matches in Group E, but the South Americans lead on goal difference.

The top two teams in each group advance automatically to the knock-out stage and will be joined by the four third-place teams with the best records.

England earned something of a moral victory with its scoreless draw against Argentina. But the draw still gave Argentina four points from two matches in Group F, probably enough to reach the next round. England will need a victory in its last group game against Mexico to advance. Argentina had a slight advantage in possession but its top forwards Erik Lamela and Juan Iturbe were unable to finish against an England squad that was missing more than 30 players who were withheld by their clubs for preseason training.

“We held up against a very good Argentine

MEDELLIN: England’s James Wallace (left) fights for the ball with Argentina’s Carlos Luque (right) during a U-20 World Cup Group F soccer match. —AP side,” England coach Brian Eastick said. “The result and effort was outstanding when you consider this team was only put together 2 1/2 weeks ago.” England is also playing without its top forward Ryan Noble, who was sent home with a back injury. Argentine coach Walter Perazzo summed up the difficulty his team had trying to attack. “ When a team comes out and wants to defend, it is difficult. Maybe they don’t have their best players, but they are wearing the English shirt and I am sure that means something,” he said. “We had the ball more, we had chances but we could not breakthrough.”

Even in the dour first half, England did get the ball into the net in the 32nd but Billy Knott was ruled offside. The second half opened up, yet both sides failed to convert scoring chances.

Egypt is in good position to reach the next

England ideal opponents for Brazil, says Barroso

Preview

History against Rangers MALMO: Rangers will need to rewrite the history books if they are to progress in their Champions League third round qualifier against Malmo in Sweden today.

Daniel Larsson scored a vital away goal at Ibrox last week as Rangers went down to a 1-0 defeat which leaves their hopes of making the lucrative group stages of the competition hanging by a thread.

History is against the Scottish champions as they have never triumphed in a European tie after losing the first leg at home in 55 years of competing with the continental elite. And the Old Firm side will be without the support of their fans in Malmo after UEFA banned them for one match for discriminatory chanting at their Europa League match against PSV Eindhoven last season.

Sasa Papac was part of the Rangers team which crashed out of the competition at the same stage to Lithuanian minnows Kaunas in 2008, just months after the Glasgow giants had made the final of the UEFA Cup. But after picking up their first win of the season with a 2-0 victory away to St Johnstone on Saturday the Bosnian defender says Ally

McCoist’s side can upset the odds and progress against Malmo.

“All I can say is sorry for the result against Malmo at Ibrox but we still have the chance to go through.

Why not? We know we can play better and if we take our game to a higher level then we definitely have a chance,” Papac said.

“It’s important to make the Champions League proper because it’s the best stage in the world for a footballer and everyone in our team likes to play in it. “For the club it’s also a great benefit and I really hope we can pull it off on Wednesday. If you’re put out then it’s hard to take but I can’t even think that we’ll go out - I’m only preparing for the next stage.

“As a team we were a bit sharper against St Johnstone, the level is going up. It’s a little bit better and I hope we’re even sharper in the next match. “We’ve only had four weeks training behind us which isn’t a lot of time. That is why we’ve started a little bit slowly this season and we need more time together to improve.

“I could see signs in the first leg that we can do it and we can improve on that performance. We

can take our level higher and definitely get a good result today.

“We must keep a clean sheet in Malmo if we want to go to the next stage. I’ve never played in Sweden before, this will be a first but I’m ready for the challenge.

“Malmo didn’t really surprise me in the first match because on the video I could see great things, especially in an attacking sense.

“They have a couple of great, talented players — especially up front.

“I’m not surprised but everything is in our hands because if we play better then it’s no problem for us.”

Rangers have no injury worries going into the game and are hopeful they will be successful in their appeal to have defender Dorin Goian available for the match, despite a delay in the defender’s registration papers being submitted. Malmo’s preparation for today’s game were disrupted when their match against Djurdgardens on Saturday was abandoned after just 11 minutes due to fan disorder.

Fireworks were lobbed on to the pitch at the Swedbank Stadium causing referee Martin Hansson to call the teams off on safety grounds. —AFP

Blackburn offers cheapest EPL prices LONDON: For Premier League football fans who don’t have season tickets and are looking for a bargain, Blackburn is the club for you. Blackburn offers the least expensive single game ticket - 10 pounds ($16.30) - of the 20 league clubs, according to a BBC survey released yesterday.

Throw in a pie, matchday program and a cup of tea, and the whole day out at Blackburn costs a league-low 17.50 pounds ($28.60). By contrast, a fan spending a day out at Liverpool’s Anfield stadium will shell out a minimum of 47 pounds ($76), with the cheapest ticket costing 39 pounds ($63). Arsenal offers the most expensive single ticket in the Premier League at 100 pounds ($162), followed by Chelsea at 87 pounds ($140) and Tottenham at 80 pounds ($130).

Liverpool charges 48 pounds ($78) for its most lucrative seat. Premier League winners Manchester United charge 28 pounds ($46) as their cheapest entry fee, with the most expensive ticket selling for 55 pounds ($90).

The league said clubs try to offer prices for fans with dif-

ferent budgets. “With Premier League grounds over 92 percent full on average in each of the last three seasons, fans are enjoying the football and the overall matchday experiences that are on offer,” the league said in a statement. “It is also worth taking into account that fans want to watch games featuring top talent in safe stadia; our clubs have invested more than 2 billion pounds ($3.3 billion) in facilities and continue to invest heavily in developing and acquiring the best possible players to make the whole fan experience as good as possible”. Malcolm Clarke, chairman of the Football Supporters’ Federation, is worried that football could become too expensive for ordinary fans. “It’s important that football continues to be attractive to whole cross-section of society, so it doesn’t become something only middle-class and upper-class can afford,” he said. The demand for tickets at Premier League clubs remains high, especially at the top four clubs. Arsenal sold over 60,000 tickets for a preseason friendly against Boca Juniors. —AP

stage after beating Panama thanks to Ahmed Hegazi’s goal in the 67th minute.

“I’m upset because in the first half we missed too many chances,” Egypt coach El Sayed Diaa said. “You miss chances and then you can end up allowing a goal any time. But I’m happy with the second half and because we are 90 percent into the second round.” Mexico also gave itself a shot with its victory over North Korea. A draw against England in the last group match will probably be enough to reach the round of 16.

“We are thinking about doing important things here,” Mexico coach Juan Carlos Chavez said. “It is worthwhile to dream. We want to make the final.” Mexican football is on a high.

The senior team won the Gold Cup, defeating the United States 4-2, and Mexico also won the Under-17 World Cup, defeating Uruguay 2-0 in the final. —AP

BEIJING: Inter Milan’s coach Gian Piero Gasperini (center), defender Andrea Ranocchia (left) and midfielder Ricardo Alvarez (right) pose for photos behind the Italian Super Cup trophy. Inter Milan will play against their city rival AC Milan at Italian Super Cup on Saturday Aug. 6. — AP

Ronaldo dismisses Adebayor’s hopes GUANGZHOU: Cristiano Ronaldo yesterday dismissed Emmanuel Adebayor’s hopes of returning to Real Madrid, saying the Spanish giants did not need the unsettled Manchester City striker.

Adebayor, 27, appears to have no future at City under boss Roberto Mancini and has made it clear that he favours a return to the Spanish capital, where he went on loan last season.

But flying winger Ronaldo, speaking in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, where Real are on a pre-season tour, said: “I don’t think that we need to sign another forward. We are happy with the line-up as it is already.”

Real, who were again runners-up to fierce rivals Barcelona in La Liga last season, have added Spanish midfielder-striker Jose Maria Callejon to their already hugely impressive array of attacking talent.

They also have French striker Karim Benzema, who has enjoyed a free-scoring pre-season but whose Real career has failed to take off so far, and the prolific Argentine Gonzalo Higuain.

Real coach Jose Mourinho, who has kept a low profile in China so far, last month said he was looking to bring in another forward, but Adebayor-who has also been linked with Spurs and Bayern Munich-has remained at City. Former Manchester United star Ronaldo said it was vital to beat Barcelona when the old foes clash in the two-legged Spanish Super Cup later this month. —AFP

BRAZIL: England should be invited to play Brazil to mark the opening of the Mineirao World Cup Stadium despite the animosity Brazilian FA President Ricardo Teixeira feels towards the English, Reuters has been told in an interview.

The stadium is undergoing reconstruction work worth 662 million Brazilian reais ($422m) ahead of the 2014 finals and England would provide the perfect opponents for the World Cup hosts, Sergio Barroso, state secretary in Minas Gerais, told Reuters at the ground.

The stadium, once the second-largest in Brazil with a record attendance of 132,000, is due to be completed in December next year as a state-of-the-art 65,000 all-seater showpiece and could stage the opening match of the World Cup finals. England were involved in one of the greatest World Cup upsets when they were beaten 1-0 by the United States in the 1950 finals at the city ’s Independencia Stadium, which is also being rebuilt.

“We want England to play Brazil in a friendly in the opening match of the new stadium on Feb. 8 2013 on the recognised date for FIFA friendlies,” Barroso said.

“We know what Ricardo Teixeira has said about the English, but the opening of the new stadium is more than just what he has said and his view of England. I am speaking to him and I am going to ask him to invite England to play here. “FIFA says it is all about fair play and the good of the game so lets see what Mr Teixeira will do about it.

“England was the birthplace of football and Brazil developed the game and there are very strong links between our two footballing countries.”

Teixeira, who also sits on FIFA’s executive committee, has been admonished by FIFA President Sepp Blatter for his public comments about England and its media, recently saying in an interview that the English “were pirates who could go to hell”. Teixeira was named in a British Parliamentary hearing by former England FA Chairman David Triesman as one of four FIFA executive committee members who suggested they would vote for England’s bid for the 2018 finals if the price was right- although he was later cleared by an independent FA inquiry. England lost out in the race to stage the finals to Russia. On Friday, after Brazil’s 12 World Cup cities were formally presented, Teixeira was involved in a spat with English journalists who wanted to ask him about his earlier comments.

“I do not talk to the English press,” he shouted, and when asked why not, he replied, “Because they are corrupt.”

Barroso admits that against that backdrop, and because of other demands surrounding the international calendar, it might be difficult to persuade Teixeira to ask England to come to play Brazil, but if that proposal fails, he has offered an alternative. “As everyone knows a very famous match took place here in Belo Horizonte during the 1950 World Cup when the United States beat England 1-0,” he added.

“To complete the circle and give England the chance of revenge, perhaps we could also invite the United States and England here for a friendly.” That match took place at the smaller Independencia stadium in the city, which was demolished in June last year with a new 25,000-capacity stadium currently under construction. The game would also need to be sanctioned by the CBF president. —Reuters

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 3, 2011

S P ORT S

England’s domination becoming almost predictable LONDON: Once a word used to deride England’s cricketers, “predictable” is fast becoming a badge of honour that captain Andrew Strauss and his squad can wear with pride.

Two crushing test victories over India, the second coming in a rush of wickets at Trent Bridge on Monday, have put England on the brink of the top ranking in the five-day format of the game and talk of “domination” is in the air. While there have been many false dawns, the momentous 2005 Ashes win over Australia being one of them, the riches available to Strauss and manager Andy Flower suggest the D word is not out of place. In fast bowlers James Anderson, Stuar t Broad and Chris Tremlett and off-spinner Graeme Swann, England have an attack full of potency while Tim Bresnan showed in taking five wickets to skittle India for 158 that Strauss has the kind of back-up options that are the envy of the world.

What India would have done for a bowler of Bresnan’s quality as they toiled in the heat with the game slipping away from them on Sunday afternoon. Wicketkeeper Matt Prior has improved beyond measure with the gloves and his batting is now approaching the heights reached by great Australian Adam Gilchrist in the all-conquering sides captained by Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting.

Although openers Strauss and Alastair Cook are struggling for runs, the batting order rarely collapses like a house of cards these days and the tailenders regularly score heavily.

Bresnan and Broad contributed 209 runs to England’s cause at Trent Bridge, a key factor in the 319-run victory which left the hosts 2-0 up and top-ranked India staring at a demoralising rout.

Kevin Pietersen has put his ego to one side and emerged as a batsman who can dig in for the common cause while Ian Bell, with a test

average of 47, is world class.

Comparisons with the swaggering Australian teams for whom victory was almost a pre-requisite are not misplaced, especially when considering the fringe players who have proved consistently that they can come in and feed off the confidence within the ranks.

England have won seven of their last eight test series. That should soon become eight from nine and although matching the domination of Australia, who between 2000 and 2008 lost just two series, is unlikely, they certainly look like the team to be measured against for the forseeable future. It is all a far cry from the days of tortoise-like scoring rates followed by rapid collapses, scatter-gun bowling and sloppy fielding which drew scorn from Down Under.

Shane Warne, once the tormentor of England’s batsman, sees many similarities with the Australian sides he played in. “ When

Australia were on top and dominating world cricket, the things we wanted to do were score fast, take the game away from the opposition and intimidate the tail,” Warne wrote in the Daily Telegraph yesterday.

“England are doing all those things and showing the qualities that will make them No. 1.” Warne said there were no obvious weaknesses in England’s squad and like Australia of old, someone would make runs or take wickets at the important moments. “England are not carrying anyone,” he said. “When you become No.1 side in the world it is all about depth.”

Former England captain Nasser Hussain heaped praise on Strauss’s team.

“There is just no weak link,” he said. “They are the best England team I have ever seen.

They are an amazing set of players....I think England are now realising that they are embarking on what might become a very special journey.” — Reuters

Sehwag flies in to boost India in final two Tests

COLOMBO: Australian cricketer Mitchell Johnson (center) participates in a warm-up game during a practice session in Colombo. Australia will play five one-day internationals, two Twenty20s and three Tests against Sri Lanka starting Aug. 6.—AP

Butcher optimistic on Zimbabwe return HARARE: Coach Alan Butcher is convinced Zimbabwe will do themselves justice on their return to Test cricket after an enforced six year absence against Bangladesh here tomorrow.

This one off Test is followed by Pakistan’s visit in September for another one off Test, three one day internationals and two Twenty20s, with New Zealand lined up for later in the year.

Many Zimbabwe cricket followers suggest that their team is either not yet capable of competing at the required level - or never will be.

There is therefore an understandable air of anxiety hanging over Harare.But Butcher struck an optimistic note, declaring: “We have made very considerable progress in the last six months and I am convinced we will do well. We are good and ready.”

Zimbabwe’s chairman of selectors and former Test captain Alister Campbell has asked that people judge his side’s performances on the basis of all three tours, rather than after this one Test against bottom-rated Bangladesh.

But he also warned: “The proof will be in the pudding this week”. It is not only the Zimbabwe players that are on trial, but also the ZimCricket managing director Ozias Bvute and chairman Peter Chingoka, who have pushed for a return to Test cricket for at least 15 months since Sri Lanka and India played an ODI triangular here.

The ICC itself will also be criticised for giving their approval if Zimbabwe are embarrassed by Bangladesh.

Zimbabwe administrators however suggest that the introduction almost two years ago of a franchised fiveprovince first class league has provided a competitive edge.

The Zimbabwe squad of 14 announced on Monday includes eight players with previous experience in Test cricket, in particular Tatenda Taibu with 24 played, Ray Price with 18 and Hamilton Masakadza with 15.

A Zimbabwe XI pulled off a surprise victory against Bangladesh on Monday by four wickets in a three-day match.

That three-day warm-up at the Harare Academy with its criticised pitch was a setback to the Bangladeshis despite the conditions.

Bangladesh have won only three

and drawn six of their 68 Tests played, while Zimbabwe have managed eight wins and drawn 26 from 83.

But since 2006 Bangladesh have won 21 out of 26 ODI’s played between them and it is recognised that they have improved in recent years to the point where they are considered serious opposition by all other countries.

Zimbabwe were obliged to withdraw from Test cricket in 2005, although Chingoka always insists it was their decision.

However he had no option after their final four Test matches when Sri Lanka beat them twice by an innings and more than 200 runs. And India won one of theirs by an innings and more than 200 runs, the other by ten wickets.

Their downfall was triggered by the then captain Heath Streak, now the bowling coach, complaining about team selection prompting his sacking. That led to 14 other contracted players going on strike in his support.

Zimbabwe’s administrators then stated that under ICC rules they could field “the strongest team possible” and threw raw youngsters into the fray against Sri Lanka and India with inevitable results.

Whatever happens this week this is a great moment for Zimbabwe cricket. They will not take the international five-day arena cricket by storm but they should give a decent account of themselves in the weeks to come.

NEW DELHI: Virender Sehwag will join his Indian team mates today, boosting the tourists’ hopes of fielding their regular openers for the remaining two tests against a dominant England side, who have already raced to a 2-0 lead in the four-match series.

“Virender Sehwag will fly to England to join the Indian cricket team,” N Srinivasan, secretary of the Indian cricket board (BCCI), said in a statement yesterday.

Sehwag has been out of action since undergoing shoulder surgery in May and missed the tour of West Indies and India’s comprehensive defeats in the first two tests against England.

His Delhi team mate Gautam Gambhir, who injured his elbow while fielding in the Lord’s opening test and missed the match in Trent Bridge, is also likely to return to the starting lineup for the third test beginning on Aug. 10 at Birmingham.

In Sehwag’s absence, left-handed Abhinav Mukund opened with Gambhir and added 63 runs in the first innings of the Lord’s test but the latter could not open in the second innings after a Matt Prior sweep shot struck his elbow.

Veteran Rahul Dravid deputised as a makeshift opener in the second innings and at Trent Bridge but his individual form notwithstanding, partnerships of 19, zero and six suggest India did not get the starts they were hoping for from their top two. India start a two-day practice match at Northampton on Friday prior to the Birmingham test.

Meanwhile, Shane Warne has likened England to the successful Australia side of which he was a key member after seeing Andrew Strauss’s men thrash India in the second Test. England crushed their opponents by 319 runs with more than a day to spare at Trent Bridge on Monday to take a 2-0 lead in the fourmatch series following a 196-run first Test triumph at Lord’s.

If England at the very least maintain that advantage over the next two Tests they will replace India as leaders of the ICC’s Test Championship table and leg-spin great Warne is an admirer of the ‘Poms’ recent performances.

Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag “ They have a good team spirit and, as Andrew Strauss says, they can still improve.

Don’t forget they were 124 for eight on day one of this game.

“But most impressive about England was how aggressively they approached the situation,” he added. “When Australia were on top and dominating world cricket, the things we wanted to do were score fast, take the game away from the opposition and intimidate the tail. “England are doing all those and showing qualities that will make them number one if they continue to play like this. “At times the pitch looked flat when India were bowling but, by showing intensity, aggression and a lot of hunger to be the best in the world, England demonstrated what could be achieved.”

Meanwhile former England captain Nasser Hussain was in no doubt about the quality of

the current side, proclaiming in the Daily Mail: “They are the best England team I have ever seen.”

Hussain cited Tim Bresnan, only called up at Trent Bridge after fast bowler Chris Tremlett was injured, as proof of England’s progress.

Bresnan scored 90 batting at number eight in the hosts’ second innings on Monday and then the Yorkshire seamer took a Test-best five for 48 as India collapsed to 158 all out.

“Tim Bresnan is the perfect example of how outstanding England have become,” Hussain said. “When he was first picked he was thought of as a good, honest trier and a bits-and-pieces player. Now look at him... He is bowling quickly and with nous, and he looked like a proper batsman yesterday (Monday) too. “These are good times for England. And they will last for a while yet.” —Agencies

PSG financial woes loom large over French restart PARIS: The takeover of Paris SaintGermain by Qatar Spor ts Investments (QSI) earlier this summer will have sent shivers through the ranks of their Ligue 1 rivals.

A supremely competitive league typically won by well-run clubs fielding well-drilled teams, the French top flight suddenly finds itself bestridden by a financial colossus.

Despite initial uncertainty over the club’s management structure, Leonardo’s confirmation as sporting director last month sparked a glut of transfers that has turned the perennial under-achievers into the biggest attraction in town.

France internationals Kevin Gameiro, Jeremy Menez and Blaise Matuidi are among seven new players to have arrived at the Parc des Princes this summer.

PSG are also poised to finalise a 43 million-euro ($61.9m) move for Palermo’s gifted Argentine playmaker Javier Pastore that would be the biggest transfer in French football

history.

Four th last season, narrowly missing out on a Champions League place to Lyon, and French Cup runners-up to Lille, PSG will embark on the 2011-12 campaign with serious designs on a first league title since 1994.

“It’s true that the investments made give us responsibilities,” said coach Antoine Kombouare last week-a tacit admission that Champions League qualification will be a minimum requirement.

The Qatari revolution in the capital has cast something of a shadow over Lille’s preparations to defend the league and cup crowns they won in such scintillating fashion three months ago.

Rudi Garcia’s slick side have lost three of their key elements, with Adil Rami completing a move to Valencia, Gervinho joining Arsenal and Yohan Cabaye making an unexpected switch to Newcastle United.

Lille did not tarry in the transfer

market, however, as Marko Basa (Lokomotiv Moscow), Dimitri Payet (Saint-Etienne) and Benoit Pedretti (Auxerre) were swiftly brought in as like-for-like replacements.

Crucially, Belgian winger Eden Hazard-last year’s player of the season has ignored the fluttering eyelashes of Europe’s glamour clubs to commit himself to Lille for another season.

“We’ve worked a lot to integrate the new players,” said Garcia. “We’ll need time for the mayonnaise to set but we also need to be capable of making up any shortfalls with our intelligence.”

Lille would have started the season with a piece of silverware had it not been for an injury-time meltdown in the Champions Trophy against Marseille.

Leading 3-1 with five minutes to play in the season’s curtain-raiser in Tangiers, Morocco last week, Lille fell 3-4 down before equalising through Basa, only for Andre Ayew to give

Zimbabwe squad Brendan Taylor (capt), Regis Chakabva, Elton Chigumbura, Craig Ervine, Kyle Jar vis, Hamilton Masakadza, Tinotenda Mawoyo, Keegan Meth, Christopher Mpofu, Raymond Price, Vusimusi Sibanda, Tatenda Taibu, Prosper Utseya and Brian Vitori.

Bangladesh Shakib al Hassan (capt), Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes, Junaid Siddique, Mohammad Ashraful (back after being dropped), Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah, Abdur Razzak, Shafiul Islam, Rubel Hossain, Nazmul Hossain, Shahriar Nafeez, Robiul Islam, Shivagoto Hom, Nasir Hossain. Coach Stuart Law.—AFP

NASHVILLE: Tennessee Titans cornerback Ryan Mouton waits to catch the ball during NFL football training camp. —AP

OM victory via a 95th-minute penalty.

Ligue 1’s notoriously defensive reputation means there are unlikely to be many more 5-4 results this season, but the fightback will have given hope to Marseille that they can put last season’s disappointments behind them.

Didier Deschamps’ team may have retained their League Cup crown, beating Montpellier 1-0 in April’s final, but their second-place league finish belied a season in which the defending champions never hit their stride.

OM also moved quickly in the transfer market, acquiring Jeremy Morel, Morgan Amalfitano (both Lorient), Nicolas N’Koulou (Monaco) and Alou Diarra (Bordeaux) in time for the start of pre-season.

Lyon are rebuilding too, with old boy Remi Garde at the helm after Claude Puel’s trophyless three-year tenure as coach finally came to an end in June.

New signings have been conspicuous by their absence at Stade Gerland, however, as OL go back to basics following a succession of transfer splurges that failed to yield an upturn in fortunes on the pitch.

Bordeaux, seventh last season, will begin the new campaign under new management as well, Francis Gillot having replaced Jean Tiganawho resigned in May-after guiding Sochaux to a shock fifth-place finish last term.

Ligue 1 lost sporting royalty in May when Monaco succumbed to relegation after 34 successive years in the top flight.

Evian, Dijon and Ajaccio have joined the elite and although the financial backing of Danone CEO Franck Riboud means the former have a fighting chance of avoiding the drop, Dijon and Ajaccio are likely to find life much harder.—AFP

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WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 3, 2011

S P ORT S

Burgess in Wallabies squad to meet All Blacks SYDNEY: Scrumhalf Luke Burgess and lock Dan Vickerman have returned to Australia’s squad for Saturday’s Bledisloe Cup opener against New Zealand while 95-test veteran Nathan Sharpe has been left out.

Burgess was named yesterday in the 24-man squad after recovering from a fractured hand, while Vickerman, winger Lachie Turner and lock Sitaleki Timani were also included.

However lock Sharpe and center Matt Giteau would have reason to be worried about their chances of figuring in next month’s World Cup after being overlooked by coach Robbie Deans for Saturday’s game, important as both a Bledisloe Cup contest but also as a World Cup preparatory game.

Australia opened its international season with an upset loss to Samoa in Sydney before rebounding to beat a below-strength South Africa squad 39-20 the following weekend in the opening match of the TriNations tournament. New Zealand thrashed South Africa 40-7 last weekend and is set to be close to full strength for Saturday’s match at Eden Park, where the All Blacks have not lost a test in 17 years..

Burgess returns after proving his fitness following rehabilitation for his injured hand, which he broke during training in June ahead of the NSW Waratahs’ Super 15 semifinal against the Auckland Blues.

Turner is included after impressive performances with Sydney club Eastwood, while Vickerman also featured strongly for Sydney University last weekend.

Vickerman, a 56-test veteran, returned to the Wallabies for the first time since 2008 in the loss to Samoa after spending three years at Cambridge University. Timani made his international debut against Samoa after some impressive performances in the Super 15 for the Waratahs.

Richard Graham, Sharpe’s coach at Super Rugby side Western Force, said he is confident his 33-year-old captain will still figure in World Cup squad selection.

“In a very intense tournament over six or eight weeks, he’ll be invaluable,” Graham said. “Come World Cup time, I’d expect him to be in that squad of 30, but right now having not spoken to him, it’s really hard to speculate on the reasons why he’s not in the side.”

The Wallabies squad will fly to Auckland today and heads to South Africa after the Auckland match, with the squad for the match against the Springboks at Durban on Aug. 13 extended to 26 players.

Meanwhile, New Zealand Rugby Union officials say they are confident the Wellington Hurricanes will field a competitive team in next year’s Super 15 despite the mass exodus of top players from the franchise. All Blacks hooker Andrew Hore signed a one-year deal

with the Otago Highlanders on Monday after being cut from the Hurricanes for the 2012 season along with New Zealand teammate center Ma’a Nonu, who has joined the Auckland Blues.

New Zealand flyhalf Aaron Cruden and scrumhalf Piri Weepu have also quit the Hurricanes in recent weeks, for the Waikato Chiefs and Auckland Blues respectively, and All Blacks wingers Hosea Gear and Cory Jane are considering offers from other teams.

Both Gear and Jane are expected to join the exodus, leaving center Conrad Smith as the only current All Black on the Hurricanes’ books.

New Zealand Rugby Union chief executive Steve Tew and professional rugby manager Neil Sorensen met with Hurricanes chief executive James Te Puni on Monday and later affirmed their confidence in the team’s management and in coach Mark Hammett.

“He (Te Puni) has come into quite a tough environment and made some tough calls,” Sorenson told the Dominon-Post newspaper. “He’s only been there three months and Mark (Hammett’s) only been there for a heartbeat as well. They’re new boys and they’re in the firing line at the moment.

“We understand some of the fans will be disappointed to lose some of those players, but it’s only really Piri and Aaron who have left of their own accord.

Of course it’s tough down there at the moment, like it’s tough at the Highlanders and the Chiefs. We’ve got no issue with them.”

The Hurricanes have made no significant signings since the end of the last Super 15 season and are seen as unlikely to be able to attract international players from other New Zealand teams. Sorensen said that loss of the franchise’s leading players did not necessarily mean the Hurricanes would be easybeats next season. “This is what happens in franchises sometimes with a new coach, a new CEO and a new direction.

They finished only a few points behind the Highlanders this year, and everyone was raving about how well the Highlanders did,” he said. Hurricanes chairman Paul Collins believes the team will be competitive next season.

“If you go through and look at the players the Hurricanes have contracted, we will have a competitive team going forward. It’s not about one year, it’s about two, three, four and five years,” Collins said.

“Everyone talks about creating a dynasty, but you actually have to have the foundations for that. Some players we would have liked to have kept, like Piri and Cruden, but they’ve made their own decisions. We’re certainly very confident and positive that we’re heading in the right direction.”—AP

Bolt attracts the crowds and draws the sponsors

OHIO: Tiger Woods watches his iron shot on the front nine during practice for the Bridgestone Invitational golf tournament at Firestone Country Club. — AP

Tiger has ‘blast’ in practice round ATLANTA: Tiger Woods played an 18-hole practice round on Monday at the site of next week’s PGA Championship and pronounced the 7,467-yard Atlanta Athletic Club layout ready for the year’s last major event.

“I had a blast out there on a wonderful golf course,” Woods said in a posting on his website. “It should be a great test for a major championship.” Former World No. 1 Woods, a 14-time major champion chasing the all-time record 18 major titles won by Jack Nicklaus, fell to 28th in this week’s rankings ahead of his return from an 11-week injury layoff at Akron, Ohio. Woods has not played competitively since going nine holes at The Players Championship in May and reaggravating left knee ligament and left Achilles tendon strains that he suffered while playing in the Masters last April.

Doctors recently cleared Woods to return to practice and his preparations have included work with swing coach Sean Foley. Woods missed the US and British Opens while waiting for his body to heal.

Four-time PGA Championship winner Woods was joined by business associate Rob McNamara in Atlanta in a golf cart. They toured the course in 2 1/2 hours, testing the speed of the greens and seeing first-hand the rough’s thickness.

Woods confirmed reports that long-time

friend and business partner Bryon Bell will replace fired Steve Williams as his caddie at the PGA and this week’s World Golf Championships Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone Country Club.

Bell, a friend of Woods since childhood, is president of Tiger Woods Design and has served as bagman for Woods four times in PGA events. “Tiger asked me to work with him and I’m glad to do it,” Bell said. “Although I have a busy schedule with Tiger Woods Design, it’s fun to come out here again.

“We’ve had success on the course together before. I hope I’m a good asset for him while he searches for a permanent caddie and I’m looking forward to Firestone.”

Woods, who flew to Akron after his Atlanta practice round, has won seven times at Firestone Country Club. “I’m very excited about competing,” Woods said. “Firestone is a wonderful venue and I’m looking forward to getting back out there with the guys.”

Woods also announced Monday he was playing the the Australian Open next November at Sydney, an event he last took part in 15 years ago.

“I’m very excited to be competing in the Australian Open,” Woods said. “I have a great affinity for playing golf in Australia and I’m looking forward to competing against an outstanding field.” — AFP

STOCKHOLM: The fastest man in the world stares at a blank piece of paper for a few seconds and, finding no inspiration, turns to his manager. “Rick, what should I write?”

Ricky Simms, the director of PACE Sports Management who manages Usain Bolt, gives a look of mock disdain. Bolt had been asked to write a greeting to the people of South Korea ahead of the Daegu world championships starting this month.

Finding the right words is apparently not covered in Simms’ contract.

It is one of the few details not looked after by Simms, his coaches and his staff, who choose which events Bolt attends to maximise his success on the track and his outside earnings.

Smiling as he surveyed the media scrum surrounding his client on the eve of last Friday’s Stockholm Diamond League meeting, Simms explained how he helped plan Bolt’s season.

He said although he offered suggestions, it was Bolt’s coaches who ultimately decided where and when the 24-year-old Jamaican ran.

“We work together on it in November of each year and present it to him in January or February. He trusts his coaches to make those decisions, he’s an easy guy to work with,” said Simms, who is a qualified coach and a former middle distance runner. As soon as Bolt’s participation in Stockholm was announced, local media began speculating wildly about his purse. Simms, though, will give no financial details about the man who was the sensation of the 2008 Beijing Olympics when he won three gold medals in world record times. “I see a lot of figures quoted, but what he makes at each meeting is confidential,” Simms said. “He’s the biggest athlete ever.

“What he brings to a meet in terms of media attention? I think in Rome there were 20,000 more fans in the stadium because he was there. It’s hard to put a value on it-maybe he’s worth double what he gets paid.”

In 2010, the year after Bolt shattered his own 100 and 200 metres records at the Berlin world championships, he pulled out of the Diamond League meeting at Crystal Palace due to British tax laws. Bolt would have had to pay 50 percent of his appearance fee in tax, plus further tax on a portion of his global sponsorship income.

Stockholm tournament director Rajne Soderberg told Reuters Bolt would pay only 15 percent of his purse in a so-called “artist tax” for his appearance in Sweden, even though the Scandinavian country has a reputation for crippling taxes. Like Simms, Soderberg also declined to discuss what Bolt was to be paid. “He is the big seller of athletics, there is no

STOCKHOLM: Usain Bolt of Jamaica sprints in this July 29 file photo at the Samsung Diamond League. — AP one who comes close in terms of the interest he generates,” he told Reuters. “We saw a clear difference in ticket sales when we announced that he would be taking part.

Soderberg does not just measure Bolt’s value in ticket sales. The annual DN Galan is hugely popular in Sweden and sells out regularly but, Soderburg said, Bolt’s presence brought an extra dimension for sponsors. “The value comes next year and the year after, the meet he is at creates a certain level, and then everyone else feels that they have to be there too,” he said. Perhaps mindful of how much it costs to bring Bolt to Stockholm, Soderberg makes sure to get maximum exposure from his participation for both the tournament and the sponsors.

A news release about hiring a Jamaican cook to cater for Bolt generated huge coverage locally and, when Bolt arrived at the airport, there was no limousine waiting. Instead, Bolt told the waiting reporters he would take the Arlanda Express train, one of the tournament sponsors, to the city like any other regular traveller.

But even though he brokers deals like the one agreed with Soderberg to bring Bolt to Sweden for a third time and makes sure his client is well briefed,

Hooker, Pearson and Watt lead Aussie team for Daegu

Malaysia eye home advantage PETALING JAYA: New pairing Iain Steel and Shaaban Hussin are hoping home advantage will help them steer Malaysia to its first golf World Cup spot in 10 years.

They take on 16 other two-man teams for the three places up for grabs at the Mission Hills World Cup Asian qualifying tournament, which starts on Wednesday at the Seri Selangor Golf Club near Kuala Lumpur.

It will be Steel’s fifth attempt to get Malaysia to the World Cup since 2001 and he said he was excited to be partnering Shaaban. “This is a new partnership and a new way of looking at things. It has been two years since the last World Cup qualifier so hopefully this year will turn a little bit different for us,” the US-based Steel said.

The qualifying event will follow the same format as the final stages, to be held in southern China’s island province of Hainan in November: fourball in the first and third rounds and foursomes in the second and final rounds.

Shaaban will be making his World Cup qualifier debut and said he will look to his more experienced partner for guidance. “Luckily, we are playing on my home course which will help a lot. I have played two practice rounds with Iain and he has given me motivation and tips on how to play in this format. He will definitely help pull this team up,” he said.

The Malaysians face a tough challenge from experienced Singapore pairing Mardan Mamat and Lam Chih Bing, who qualified for the World Cup at Seri Selangor in 2006 and 2009.

“We have some good memories here and the goal this week is obviously to finish in the top three. It feels like we haven’t done it for quite a while because we didn’t have (the World Cup) last year,” said Lam, a winner on the Asian Tour. Mars Pucay and Antonio Lascuna of the Philippines and India’s rising stars Anirban Lahiri and Gaganjeet Bhullar are also expected to be in the hunt for the qualifying spots. Bangladesh have withdrawn from the qualifier as Siddikur did not make the trip to Malaysia because his father was ill. — AFP

Simms does not see himself as a wheeler-dealing sports agent in the traditional sense.

“In athletics, an agent is more like a management company. I use Manchester United as an example, I do what Alex Ferguson does for the players. It’s different to football agents, which is more doing deals.

We do all the concierge-type stuff. We do everything.”

Judging by the still-blank piece of paper in Bolt’s hand, maybe “everything” is stretching the point. But there is no doubt that Bolt is relaxed in Simms’ presence, calm in the knowledge that everything is being taken care of.

On Friday, Bolt recorded his first win on Swedish soil at his third attempt, cruising to victory over the 200 in 20.03 seconds on a blustery night at the Olympic stadium. In his two previous appearances he had lost to compatriot Asafa Powell and American Tyson Gay over the 100.

Soderberg said he was aiming to bring Bolt back to Stockholm for a fourth time next year and would be asking for more money from the sponsors. “Yes, we can do that,” he said. “It will be more attractive to be a part of it. It will be worth more. I can’t say how much more, but he’s worth the money.”— Reuters

LONDON: British Olympic Finn sailor and triple gold medallist Ben Ainslie (left) during the London Olympic Games 2012 Test event and International Regatta in Weymouth. — AP

European Tour drops Bahrain tournament LONDON: Golf ’s European Tour will not be returning to Bahrain next year. The European Tour said Monday that the Volvo Golf Champions will not take place at Bahrain’s Royal Golf Club following political unrest in the Gulf kingdom.

At least 32 people died in Bahrain this year in protests for greater freedoms and rights. “With work still ongoing to resolve issues in Bahrain and the need to confirm the venue by the end of July 2011, the difficult decision to postpone the event for 2012 was taken,” the European Tour said in a statement.

Tournament sponsor Volvo and tournament organizer International Management Group will rotate future events between a handful of locations, including the Bahrain Royal Golf Club course designed by European Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie. “Bahrain will remain on the roster of venues for future tournaments,” the European Tour said, adding

that the tour’s return to the country had been “delayed” rather than canceled.

International human rights group Human Rights Watch said last month that hundreds of protesters, activists and more than 70 medical professionals have been detained in a four-month crackdown following the unrest.

“We respect that a decision needed to be made now regarding the venue for next year’s event,” said Sheik Mohammed bin Essa Al Khalifa, chief executive of the Bahrain Economic Development Board. “We have heeded corporate advice in making this decision.

“We do not feel Bahrain can host a tournament of this magnitude while the international perception of Bahrain is as it is.” The inaugural Volvo Golf Champions was won by Paul Casey in January, with Peter Hanson and Miguel Angel Jimenez tying for second. — AP

SYDNEY: Defending champions Steve Hooker and Dani Samuels as well as in-form Sally Pearson and Mitchell Watt head a 47-strong Australia party for this year’s world athletics championships in Daegu, South Korea.

Pole vaulter Hooker, who is also the Olympic champion, will captain the team as he bids to defend the title he won two years ago in Berlin, where Samuels also claimed the women’s discus gold medal.

Olympic silver medallist Pearson has been in dazzling form in the Diamond League this season with three 100 metres hurdles victories and the world’s best time of 12.48 seconds.

Long jumper Mitchell Watt, a bronze medallist in Berlin, has also been in fine form with the three best jumps of the year, including the world-leading 8.54m he leapt in Stockholm last week.

“We are excited by this group of athletes who will be heading to Daegu,” chairman of selectors Dion Russell said in a news release.

“We have a solid mix of experienced major championship performers alongside a group of potential stars for whom we have the London Olympics, and beyond, in mind.”

There is no place in the team for Jana Rawlinson, who won the 400m hurdles world title in 2003 under her maiden name of Pittman and again in 2007.

The 28-year-old’s comeback under her old coach Phil King foundered when she pulled out of the Australian championships in April with a calf strain.

The other main hope of Australia adding to the nine gold medals they have won since the world championships were started in 1983 comes in the men’s race walking.

Jared Tallent, who won silver and bronze medals at the Beijing Olympics, will again compete in both 20 and 50 kilometres races in Daegu, where the championships open on Aug. 27. — Reuters

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WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 3, 2011

sp orts

Japanese player ‘critical’

Thailand Golf Championship

TOKYO: Former Japan defender Naoki Matsuda remained in a “critical condition” after collapsing on the pitch during practice with his club yesterday. The 34-year-old, who played for Japan at the 2002 World Cup, went into cardio-respiratory arrest, according to his JFL team Matsumoto Yamaga. Medics rushed to Matsuda’s aid after he collapsed some 35 minutes after training began at 0930 local time. Yamaga president Hiroshi Otsuki told a news conference Matsuda had been put on an artificial respirator to keep his blood circulating, adding that the player’s condition remained “very bad.”

Doctors suspect the player may have suffered a heart attack after he arrived at hospital unconscious and not having responded to heart massage, his club said.

Matsuda has played 40 times for Japan and made 385 appearances for Yokohama F-Marinos, helping them win three J-League titles before moving down to the JFL this year. —Reuters

BANGKOK: Ror y McIlroy and Darren Clarke, golf ’s two most recent major winners, will tee off alongside world number two Lee Westwood at the inaugural Thailand Golf Championship in December, organisers said yesterday. The $1 million tournament, which takes place at the Amata Spring Country Club from Dec. 15-18, is the Asian Tour’s season finale and the winner will receive a spot in the 2012 WGCBridgestone Invitational.

Clarke will be expecting better weather conditions outside Bangkok than the wind and rain he battled through to win his first major at the British open at Royal St George last month.

“I have competed regularly in Asia since the 1990s and I have

MLB results/standings Major League Baseball results and standings on Monday. Washington 5, Atlanta 3; Chicago Cubs 5, Pittsburgh 3; Cleveland 9, Boston 6; Florida 7, NY Mets 3 (10 innings); Houston 4, Cincinnati 3 (10 innings); Milwaukee 6, St. Louis 2; NY Yankees 3, Chicago White Sox 2; Philadelphia 4, Colorado 3 (10 innings); LA Dodgers 6, San Diego 2; Seattle 8, Oakland 4; Arizona 5, San Francisco 2.

Boston NY Yankees Tampa Bay Toronto Baltimore Detroit Cleveland C’ White Sox Minnesota Kansas City Texas LA Angels Oakland Seattle Philadelphia Atlanta NY Mets Florida Washington Milwaukee St. Louis Pittsburgh Cincinnati Chicago Cubs Houston San Francisco Arizona Colorado LA Dodgers San Diego

American League Eastern Division W L PCT 66 41 .617 65 42 .607 56 51 .523 55 53 .509 42 63 .400 Central Division 57 51 .528 54 52 .509 52 55 .486 50 58 .463 46 62 .426 Western Division 61 48 .560 59 50 .541 49 60 .450 46 62 .426 National League Eastern Division 69 39 .639 63 47 .573 55 54 .505 54 55 .495 52 56 .481 Central Division 61 49 .555 57 52 .523 54 53 .505 53 56 .486 44 65 .404 36 73 .330 Western Division 61 48 .560 60 49 .550 51 58 .468 49 59 .454 47 63 .427

GB 1 10 11.5 23 2 4.5 7 11 2 12 14.5 7 14.5 15.5 17 3.5 5.5 7.5 16.5 24.5 1 10 11.5 14.

League files lawsuit against players union NEW YORK: The NBA filed a federal lawsuit against the league’s players union yesterday, hoping to establish the legality of the lockout imposed a month ago and protect against a possible players lawsuit.

League officials also announced yesterday they were filing an unfair labor practice charge against the National Basketball Players Association, claiming the union has not bargained in good faith.

The moves come one day after talks that produced mo movement and just over a month after the previous collective bargaining agreement between club owners and players expired, sparking the second shutdown in NBA history.

Owners claim losses and seek salary cuts and a firm payroll cap while players hope to keep things basically as they have been under the old deal made in 2005.

Each side has pocketed about half of $4.3 billion in annual revenues.

The NBA move takes a page from the NFL lockout that concluded last week, when American football’s union decertified so players could press an anti-trust case in US courts, in part to attack the legality of the lockout. NBA players union leaders have mentioned decertification and an anti-trust lawsuit as a possible tactic in negotiations with the NBA, something the league seeks to prevent with the labor charge and lawsuit against the union.

“These claims were filed in an effort to eliminate the use of impermissible pressure tactics by the union which are impeding the parties’ ability to negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement,” NBA deputy commissioner Adam Silver said.

“For the parties to reach agreement on a new CBA, the union must commit to the collective bargaining process fully and in good faith.”

The league’s lawsuit wants to establish the lockout as not being a violation of US anti-trust laws and that if a union decertification was declared lawful, that all current player contracts would be void and unenforcable.

In the NFL lockout, players have voted to reinstate the NFL Players Association as a union, but only as a condition of final approval of a settlement deal reached at the negotiation table.

The NBA shows no signs of being near that point as players ponder signing with teams in other nations for the duration of the lockout and fans wonder if the season will begin on November 1 as scheduled.

“We haven’t seen any movement. There’s still a very wide gap between us,” NBA commissioner David Stern said. “I don’t feel optimistic about the players’ willingness to engage in a serious way.” Not since the 1998-99 NBA season was trimmed to 50 games has there been an NBA shutdown until now. — AFP

always enjoyed my time over there playing on top golf courses and against top players from the Asian Tour,” the 42-year-old, who won the BMW Open in Shanghai in 2008, said in a news release.

Clarke’s fellow Northern Irishman McIlroy, who won his first major at the US Open in June, is also a regular on the end-ofyear Asia swing and said he was hoping to end his season “on a winning note” in Thailand.

Englishman Westwood, who won back-to-back Asian Tour tournaments in Indonesia and South Korea in April, said the course was “fantastic” and the tournament a boost to golf in the region. “Thailand and Asia are emerging markets in golf,” he said. — Reuters

Evans to stay with BMC SYDNEY: Tour de France winner Cadel Evans has signed up for another three years with the BMC team which helped him become the first Australian winner of the endurance classic last month. The 34-year-old joined the Swiss team for the 2010 season and led them in their first Tour de France and Giro D’Italia campaigns that year before they achieved elite “pro team” status for 2011. “I feel that as a team, we have grown successfully together,” Evans said in statement on the team’s website (www.bmcracing.com). “It’s been an enjoyable and satisfying journey so far. From the start, I have always felt the BMC Racing Team has had a lot of confidence in me as a member and often as a leader of the team. So a longer term contract echoes this.

“I look forward to the years ahead. We will keep working and progressing toward the future.”

Evans’s team mate George Hincapie, the three-times U.S. road race champion, has agreed to stay with the team for another season, his 19th as a professional. —Reuters

Giants fall to D’backs SAN FRANCISCO: Ian Kennedy struck out seven batters over eight innings to lead Arizona to a 5-2 win over San Francisco on Monday which cut the Giants’ lead over the Diamondbacks in the National League West division to just one game.

Kennedy (13-3) won his fifth straight start to move into a share of the NL lead for wins with Phillies ace Roy Halladay and Dodgers All-Star Clayton Kershaw.

Kennedy allowed two runs and only one walk, retiring ten straight batters at one point. The Giants, who dropped their fourth straight after being swept in Cincinnati over the weekend, couldn’t do enough on an off night by All-Star pitcher Matt Cain (9-7), who was tagged for five runs in the sixth inning; the first time he has given up five in an inning since 2008.

Phillies 4, Rockies 3 In Denver, John Mayberry Jr. hit a game-tying tworun homer in the ninth inning and Shane Victorino then homered leading off the 10th to give Philadelphia victory over Colorado.

Down to their last out and trailing 3-1 in the ninth, the Phillies rallied against Rockies closer Huston Street.

Carlos Ruiz hit a two-out double and Mayberry came in as a pinch-hitter, replacing pitcher Michael Stutes.

Mayberry worked the count full before putting Street’s slider into the bleachers beyond left field.

Colorado’s Rex Brothers (1-2) came on to pitch the 10th and Victorino greeted him with a drive clearing the wall in left for the Phillies’ 29th come-from-behind victory this season and fourth straight win. Phillies closer Antonio Bastardo (5-0) pitched a scoreless ninth and Ryan Madson got last three outs for the save.

Brewers 6, Cardinals 2 In Milwaukee, the hosts scored five runs in the fifth inning to beat St. Louis and extend their season-best winning streak to seven games.

Nyjer Morgan hit a go-ahead, three-run double for the Brewers, who moved 3-1/2 games ahead of St. Louis in the NL Central, its biggest lead of the season. The two teams will play 11 more times this year. Milwaukee starter Zack Greinke (9-4) allowed a first-inning, two-run homer, but kept it tight from then on. Milwaukee’s first six batters reached base in the fifth against St. Louis’ Chris Carpenter (6-8).

Nationals 5, Braves 3 In Washington, Rick Ankiel hit two home runs to lead Washington past Atlanta. Ankiel led off the bottom of the first with a homer to center field. It was the second time this season the Nationals’ opening hitter homered.

Washington starter Livan Hernandez (6-10) allowed just one run and no walks over six innings and also drove in a run as the Nationals won their third straight.

Atlanta second baseman Dan Uggla also homered twice, extending his career-long hitting streak to 23 games. Braves starter Jair Jurrjens (12-4) allowed five runs in five-plus innings; his first loss in eight starts.

Marlins 7, Mets 3 In New York, Mike Stanton hit a grand slam in the 10th inning to give Florida an emphatic finish to a tight game against New York. Sanchez and Hanley Ramirez singled with one out off Jason Isringhausen (2-1). Dewayne Wise followed with a single through the right side to load the bases and set up Stanton’s big one. The Marlins won despite allowing Lucas Duda to hit a tying two-run homer for New York with two outs in the bottom of the ninth off Leo Nunez (1-2).

Cubs 5, Pirates 3 In Pittsburgh, Starlin Castro had three hits to help Chicago down Pittsburgh. Cubs starter Carlos Zambrano (8-6) survived six choppy innings, giving up seven hits, to take the win.

New Pirates slugger Derrek Lee, acquired in a trade with Baltimore on Saturday, hit two homers and knocked in all three of his team’s runs in his Pittsburgh debut, but it wasn’t enough. Pirates starter Paul Maholm (6-11) surrendered four runs in six innings.

SAN FRANCISCO: Arizona Diamondbacks’ Ryan Roberts swings for an RBI single off San Francisco Giantsí Matt Cain during the sixth inning. —AP

DENVER: Colorado Rockies Dexter Fowler (right) is tagged out at second base by Philadelphia Phillies Chase Utley (left) in the seventh inning of a baseball game. —AP Dodgers 6, Padres 2 In San Diego, Clayton Kershaw pitched a complete game to win his fifth straight start, guiding Los Angeles past San Diego.

Kershaw (13-4) tied his career high for wins in a season, allowing only two runs in his fourth complete game of the season. Matt Kemp doubled, tripled, scored two runs, and drove in his league-leading 83rd run of the season for the Dodgers. Jamey Carroll had two hits, two stolen bases and scored a run, and Dee Gordon drove in a run. Padres starter Cory Luebke (3-6) pitched 7 1-3 innings in his third straight loss, yielding five runs.

Astros 4, Reds 3 In Houston, rookie Jose Altuve drove in a run on a

fielder’s choice in the 10th inning to lift new-look Houston past Cincinnati. The bases were loaded when Altuve hit a hard grounder to Brandon Phillips, who elected to throw to home plate rather than first but the throw was not gloved by catcher Ryan Hanigan, allowing Humberto Quintero to score. Quintero had singled and advanced to third on Angel Sanchez’s single, and the bases were intentionally loaded to bring up Altuve.

The Astros debuted a retooled lineup that featured several new faces after they traded stars Hunter Pence and Michael Bourn this weekend and sent former starters Chris Johnson and Brett Wallace to the minors. Mark Melancon (6-3) pitched the ninth and 10th for Houston, allowing just one hit and took the win. —AP

Indians roll over Red Sox BOSTON: Cleveland’s Asdrubal Cabrera hit two two-run homers- the second of which was only ruled a homer by a video review - to power the Indians to a 9-6 win over the Boston Red Sox in the American League on Monday.

Cabrera’s second long-shot, in the eighth inning, was originally ruled a single off the short wall in right field before being over turned and put Cleveland ahead. It came off Daniel Bard (1-5), halting the Boston’s scoreless innings streak at 26 1-3, the longest active streak in the majors. Travis Hafner also homered for the Indians. Cleveland’s Rafael Perez (4-1) pitched one inning of scoreless relief for the win.

BOSTON: Cleveland Indians’ Asdurbal Cabrera (right) celebrates his two-run home run with Jason Kipnis during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox. —AP

Yankees 3, White Sox 2 In Chicago, C.C. Sabathia pitched eight strong innings to earn his major league-best 16th win as New York edged Chicago and moved within one game of Boston in the AL East division.

Sabathia allowed two runs as he wiggled out of trouble all night. Chicago, playing without injured slugger Paul Konerko, put the tying run in scoring position in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings and came away with nothing each time.

Sabathia (16-5) improved to 9-1 with a 1.76 ERA in his past 10 starts. Mariano Rivera pitched a per-

fect ninth for his 28th save. Curtis Granderson had an RBI double and Robinson Cano a run-scoring single in the first inning for the Yankees, who won their fourth straight game.

White Sox starter Jake Peavy (4-5) settled down after a rough start and pitched seven effective innings but took the loss.

Mariners 8, Athletics 4 In Seattle, Dustin Ackley continued his hitting tear with a pair of extra-base hits, including a bases-loaded triple, to help Seattle beat Oakland.

Ackley now has 19 extra-base hits in his first 37 games. It’s the second highest total for any Mariners rookie in their first 50 games. Ackley passed Ken Griffey Jr.’s total of 18 with a triple in the second and a double in the fourth. Alvin Davis holds the record; he had 26 extra-base hits in his first 50 games in 1984 when he was the AL rookie of the year.

Ackley led a barrage of 16 hits that knocked Oakland starter Trevor Cahill (9-10) out after just four innings, his second shortest outing of the season. Mariners starter Blake Beavan (2-2) escaped a bases-loaded, none out. jam in the first inning without giving up a run and then held the A’s to just one hit over the next five innings. —AP

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WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 3, 2011

analysis

Syria’s Assad embarks on path of no return

By Samia Nakhoul y sending tanks to crush dissent in the city of Hama, where memories of a bloodbath in 1982 that killed 20,000 people are still vivid, embattled Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad has chosen a path of no return. The Assads have been repeatedly warned by the United States, European Union and Turkey against any attempt to repeat the massacre of Hama, where Bashar’s father Hafez Al-Assad put down an Islamist revolt by razing whole neighborhoods of the city.

But the government is signaling to its growing legion of critics abroad that it will not bow to calls for change that have swept across the Arab world, and to its people that it is prepared to wade through blood to stay in power. Having embarked on a military drive to crush Syria’s democracy protests at all costs, the Assads appear to have decided to raise the cost of protest, just as the Muslim month of Ramadan, which began on Monday, offers the opposition a platform to expand its nearly five-month-old uprising.

“The assault on Hama is an indication of loss of control. They crossed the threshold,” said Bassma Kodmani, head of the Parisbased Arab Reform Initiative. “They want to show that they can raise the level of repression to the whole country.” “What has been clear is that the government is prepared to use force without limit,” Beirut-based Middle East analyst Rami Khouri told Reuters. “But this is not solving the problem; instead, it is making the rebellion more robust.”

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SYMBOL OF INSPIRATION Bashar, who inherited power in 2000 from his father, clearly believes overwhelming force will extinguish calls for freedom.

But with 1,600 killed and thousands dragged to the dungeons of Syria’s secret police, the protests have spread from city to city unbowed so far by killings, arrests, the disappearance of thousands and the systematic use of torture. Avaaz, a global movement that monitors Syria as the government has banned foreign journalists, said that since March 15, 1,634 had died in the crackdown. The group estimated that 2,918 people had disappeared, 26,000 had been arrested with many of them beaten and tortured, and 12,617 were still in detention.

“After four months of brutal repression the regime hasn’t realized that there is no military solution to the protest movement and that the only solution is to enact reforms,” said Nadim Houri, of Human Rights Watch in Beirut. The tank assault on Hama

on Sunday, in which 84 people were killed, is clearly an attempt to regain control of the city ahead of Ramadan and to avert protests during the holy month. “They want to prevent Hama from becoming a symbol and inspiration for other cities,” Houri said.

But the authorities, analysts say, could not have been more crude in choosing the beginning of Ramadan, a holy day in the Muslim calendar, and Hama, a bastion of revolt which occupies a significant place in Syria’s history, to mount their assault. “You cannot mention tanks and Hama and not evoke memories of the massacre,” said Nadim Houri. “Ramadan is full of symbolism and the people will feel more aggrieved by the regime and there will be a backlash.”

Analysts say Ramadan will witness calls at prayers for other cities to rise up, including Damascus and Aleppo, the second largest and mainly Sunni city, where demonstrations until now have been modest. They said many will heed the calls. Few experts believe that the Assads-from the Alawite minority sect, an offshoot of Shi’ite Islam which has ruled over this country of 23 million with a 75 percent Sunni majoritywould respond to the unrest with the sort of change its citizens are demanding: the dismantling of the police state and the Assad clan’s power monopoly, free elections and an end to corruption.

For Assad to enact the reforms he has been promising since he came to power in 2000, he would have to purge the Syrian establishment of his most powerful allies and cronies. Since they are the foundation of his power, that is unlikely. Yet, while grievances proliferate amid more bloodletting, the authorities may not be as robust as they look. The army, in which nearly all crucial positions are held by Alawites, is nevertheless predominantly Sunni. Reports of soldiers refusing to fire on demonstrators and others who have turned their guns on their own comrades are rife. That leaves the security services and elite army units commanded by Maher al-Assad, the president’s brother, and overseen by Asef Shawkat, his brother-in-law.

EROSION OF POWER While these forces can ensure a prolonged and bloody conflict, they do not guarantee the Assads’ long-term survival.

“The opposition will become more unified and a possible option is that the opposition will create a government in exile that will get some countries to recognize it. This will put huge pressure on the Assad regime,” Khouri said.

Although the government seems to have

the military might, the political and economic foundations of the Assads, in power for more than 40 years, are being eaten away. Some advisers and businessmen hitherto close to the government are quietly distancing themselves from Assad.

Sanctions, imposed by the United States and EU, are starting to bite. Key revenue streams look shattered and the economy is declining steeply. Tourism, which accounts for 23 percent of Syria’s hard currency earnings, has collapsed and the government may be running out of money.

The Beirut-based Carnegie Middle East Centre this month cited reports of $20 billion leaving the country. Rami Makhlouf, Bashar’s millionaire cousin whose interests Syrian bankers say may account for around a third of the economy, has seen pressure on him grow since he was blacklisted by the US Treasury in 2008. A shareholders meeting of Cham Holding, his main business and Syria’s largest private company, was, according to one investor present, unable to elect a new board last month after the outgoing chairman, Nabil Al-Kuzbari, was blacklisted by the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.

One expert said Makhlouf made a $1 billion deposit in June to shore up central bank reserves and the Syrian pound. An Arab diplomat said Syria had asked a Gulf Arab country to deposit $1 billion in the central bank but the request had been ignored.

Syria’s isolation can only continue after the weekend’s assault on Hama prompted wide condemnation and the European Union extended sanctions against Assad’s government. “They are slowly losing legitimacy among more Syrians and generating more opposition at home and abroad,” said Khouri.

The main fear of Sunni Arab governments in the region is that Syria, with an eth-

nic mix, could descend into sectarian mayhem if the Assad government collapses, something that could destabilize the entire Middle East. But the Hama assault on fellow Sunnis could finally force the Sunni governments to break their silence and inaction.

“The Hama massacre is a watershed,” said Murhaf Jouejati, Professor of Middle East Studies at the Washington-based National Defense University. “The ferocity of the assault is increasingly galvanizing the international community against the Assad regime and increasing the number of antiAssad Syrians who until now have been sitting on the fence.” — Reuters

Spain’s regions bury country in debt

By Katell Abiven panish regions’ once-vaunted financial powers have led them from a propertyfuelled bonanza to a morass of debt and unpaid bills. All the 17 autonomous regions boast their own parliaments, many their own official languages, and some their own police forces. But analysts say the regional budgets, once awash with money in the property boom, are now a risk for the entire country.

Moody’s Investors Service threatened July 29 to downgrade Spain’s credit rating, in part because of its concern over the central government’s ability to control spending in the regions.

In an irony-laden article last week, the financial daily Expansion said: “The regions have gone from a happy world in which they accumulated power and money, to a hostile territory dominated by unpaid bills, a debt spiral and a lack of revenues.” Indeed, the regional governments profited wildly from the property bubble until it collapsed in

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2008. “They spent sumptuously, excessively, unnecessarily as a consequence of what they received from the expansion of the construction sector in the property boom,” said Rafael Pampillon, economist at IE Business School in Madrid.Now, “legislation may be needed to give the central government more control over the autonomous regions.”

The days of property bubble revenues are long gone, with economic growth running at a feeble 0.3 percent in the first quarter of 2011 and unemployment at 20.89 percent in the second quarter. If the central government has been a good pupil in terms of budget rigour, the same cannot be said of the regions: In 2009, 14 regions missed Madrid’s annual public deficit-reduction target. In 2010, nine failed. The government has stayed firm, demanding the regions reduce their annual public deficits to 1.3 percent of economic output in 2011 and 1.0 percent by 2014.

But some regions have deficits far beyond those levels. The powerful Catalonia region

outlined a public deficit of 2.66 percent of economic output in its budget for this year and Castilla-la Mancha says its deficit will surpass 6.0 percent of output. Extremadura has simply said it cannot reach Madrid’s goal.

“The regions think a lot about their own interests; it is as if, in the hypothesis of the state halting all payments, it could not affect them,” said IESE Business School professor Gonzalo Gomez Bengoechea. It is a posture that feeds doubt in the markets about the central government’s vow to reduce the overall public deficit to 3.0 percent of gross domestic product in 2013.

The regions’ total accumulated public debt - 121 billion euros-is also under scrutiny by the rating agencies, with worst-affected Valencia’s debt equal to 17.4 of annual output and Catalonia’s at 17.2 percent of output.

Since local elections in May, the problem has taken on a political hue.

Most regions are now run by the conservative Popular Party, which is using the high deficits to batter the Socialist government

ahead of November general elections.

Spanish regions owe money to the state for excess payments made to finance their devolved powers. That bill now exceeds 23 billion euros ($33 billion). They have asked in vain for their repayment schedule to be extended to 10 years from five.

In an unprecedented development in Spain, heavily decentralized since democracy was ushered in after the 1975 death of General Francisco Franco, some regions have even said they would like to return to the state some of their powers, such as over justice, health or education, so as to save money. To show their goodwill, they agreed July 27 to limit their budgets.

The idea, the government explained, was to avoid repeating the errors committed during the property bubble by learning to spend less even in good times. Even so, economists remained critical. Regional finances “will continue to be a source of concern for the markets,” said Bengoechea, calling on the state to be tougher on them.— AFP

Ageing Germany looks to Spain for workers

By Mathilde Richter ermany has been quick to lecture southern European countries like Spain in the eurozone crisis, but the government in Berlin would love to have one of Madrid’s problems: its surfeit of workers. Germany may be booming now, but Europe’s powerhouse has a shrinking and an ageing population and its education system is failing to produce enough skilled young people to help “Brand Germany” keep its shine.

Employer associations reckon there are currently 150,000 unfilled scientific and technical jobs, whilst Ernst and Young believes Germany will miss out on 30 billion euros ($43 billion) of revenue this year because of staff shortages. And with a plunging population, Germany will be short of some two million skilled workers by 2020, according to consultancy firm McKinsey. Germany introduced a “green card” system for qualified non-European Union immigrant workers in 2000, which has enabled some 33,000 people to come to Germany over 10 years, but this is but a drop in the bucket.

Germany in May also opened its labor market to citizens of Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovenia, Slovakia, Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia, all of which joined the EU in 2004. But many will be looking for work in construction or the health sectors rather than in engineering, Germany’s economic backbone. In Germany where unemployment stands at seven percent-its lowest level in 20 years”demand for labor is at a record level,” according to Heinrich Alt, a labor agency

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senior official.

Spain meanwhile has the worst unemployment rate in the industrialized world, with the jobless rate hitting 21.2 percent in the first quarter of the year, and the level for young people even worse. “Nearly half of those aged under 25 (in Spain) are seeking work and are on the dole,” says Monika Varnhagen, an official at ZAV, a division of the German labor agency.

The result of the situations in both countries is that Germany has launched a major drive to try and lure qualified workers from Spain, but in large part due to

Spaniards not speaking German, pickings so far have been slim. In February during a visit to Madrid, German Chancellor Angela Merkel called on engineers, technicians and computer specialists to move to her country. And two months ago, Germany’s federal labour agency launched its own campaign to recruit Spaniards. - ‘Silly to go back to Spain’- Spain, says Christian Rauch, a director in the Labour Agency, is “interesting for us.”

Over the past few months, some 17,000 Spaniards have made enquiries about working in Germany, but this has so far

BERLIN: Tourists shelter under umbrellas as they visit the Brandenburg Gate in the rain in Berlin. The German capital is experiencing heavy rainfall over the weekend. — AFP

resulted in very few employment contracts being signed, Rauch says. “The main problem is the language,” he admits. In Spain, schools teaching German have seen the number of students rocket. Numbers now attending courses offered by the Madrid and Barcelona Goethe Institute “are about twice those who normally register during a normal summer,” according to Institute spokesman Christoph Muecher.

In Berlin, Sandra Montes who opened a school to teach Spanish a few year ago has now switched to offering German courses for Spaniards. Some 20 percent of Spaniards currently attending her school are doing so with a view to staying to work in Germany, she says. But many do not quite realize what they are letting themselves in for, she adds. “Many want to move to Berlin, believing there’s work here,” she says. But it’s in south and southwestern Germany, in Bavaria or BadenWuerttemberg, that jobs are to be found rather than in the economically-struggling German capital, she added.

Many of the jobs on offer are in small and medium cities “where there isn’t much of a Spanish community ready to welcome and support new arrivals,” according to Rauch.

Because of this, many young Spaniards decide against moving to Germany, he adds.

Those who find work here do settle in. “It would be silly to go back to Spain now as there are no jobs for young people,” says Ana Marquez who has been working in Berlin on short-time contracts for the past four years and who would like to find fulltime employment in the tourism sector. But most vacancies are linked to the scientific and health sectors.—AFP

Focus

Are early Moroccan polls bid to stave off protests?

By Souhail Karam orocco’s King Mohammed is pushing for early polls to hasten reforms he has initiated but this alone is unlikely to satisfy critics without serious steps to curb corruption and to give the next assembly teeth. Some businesses hope quick polls can end paralysis in the governing coalition but many say the status quo-which saw the government buy off discontent with wage hikes that have left gaping budget deficits-cannot be sustained.

The monarch acted promptly in March to contain any spillover from the Arab Spring after protests spread to Morocco, promising constitutional changes to reduce the king’s powers. The new palace-made charter won near-unanimous support in a July referendum that critics said was itself far too hasty to allow proper debate. The king, heading the Arab world’s longest-ruling dynasty, called this weekend for parliamentary elections to be held nearly a year early in October to keep the momentum of change. Those changes curtail his sweeping political clout but keep him at the centre of every strategic decision.

The initiative has failed to defuse unprecedented peaceful protests by the youth-led February 20 movement for a constitutional monarchy with the king as a figurehead. Analysts say more time is needed for truly representative polls to yield credible and efficient lawmakers. “The issue is about having a parliament and an elected government that marks a break with how politics were done in the past,” said Ahmed elBouz, political science lecturer at Rabat’s King Mohammed V University. Early polls could placate protests only if authorities show “serious resolve against corruption and by preventing figures suspected of graft from standing in the polls.”

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REPLICATING IMBALANCES The newspaper of the Socialist Union of People’s Forces (USFP) party, in the ruling coalition, said the polls “will give a meaning to the constitution”. “It can be a historic development but it can also replicate ... previous imbalances,” it wrote in an editorial. The interior ministry, widely seen as answering only to the king, has met dozens of political parties to forge a consensus to hold parliamentary polls on Oct. 7 instead of in September, 2012. “We ... are working around the clock on new laws to ensure that these elections turn Morocco into a real model for democracy in the Arab world,” said a government spokesman.

Two key political parties have led complaints the charter will have limited impact without fraud-proof election laws. Lise Storm, Middle East lecturer at Britain’s Exeter University, said early polls may aim to “make King Mohammed look good with the international community” by implying he had met February 20’s demand that parliament be dissolved. “(Moroccans) are unhappy, many would like to see a turnover in parliament, although that is of course by no means is guaranteed in Moroccan legislative elections,” she said.

WINDOW-DRESSING Parliamentar y elections have been held in Morocco for almost 50 years in what was widely perceived as window-dressing by a close ally of the West.

The king and a secretive court elite named the government and fixed key policies. They were partly helped by high illiteracy rates, an ingrained deference towards a dynasty that claims descent from the Prophet Mohammad, and control over the media. The interior ministry has used either repression or divideand-rule tactics to tame political dissent.

Absenteeism in the rubber-stamp parliament is so high that barely half of legislators turn up for the national budget. The press often accuses parties of endorsing candidates for money and polls are often marred by vote-buying allegations.

This has strengthened a perception that parties are part of a political charade. Turnout at the 2007 parliamentary polls was a historic low of 37 percent. In trying to hold parliamentary polls early, real change may not happen soon, said Lahcen Daodi, whose party, the moderate Islamist Justice and Development (PJD), warned earlier this month that early polls could inflate the ranks of February 20. “We don’t want early polls to force us to accept election laws that will change only little ... Moroccans can no longer be taken for fools. They want transparent polls.”

The interior ministry needs time beyond Oct 7 to redraw constituencies to stop gerrymandering, introduce laws against vote-buying and redraw the list of registered voters, Daodi said. Omar Radi, an activist from February 20, said early polls would “maintain the old guard of politicians in parliament”. “The palace has every interest in keeping the same faces to reinforce the prevalent idea that parties cannot be trusted to lead and that the king alone is worthy of our trust,” he said. The coalition USFP party also opposes early polls.

THE KING’S PARTY? Many parties also worry about the role of the Authenticity and Modernity Party, which they say got where it was with help from the palace and the interior ministry, which runs elections. Founded by a friend of the king it has risen in less than three years, on an agenda of countering Islamists and reviving politics, to become Morocco’s biggest opposition party.

Morocco’s democracy protests have not sparked revolts as in Yemen or Tunisia, partly because the state kept trade unions on its side by agreeing to a multibillion dollar wage hike package and boosting food and energy subsidies.

This has forced the state to opt for asset sales to mainly plug a widening budget deficit. Top business daily L’Economiste said early elections are needed for “economic and social survival”. “The government has disbanded and can’t even ensure the management of daily affairs. Everybody ... complains every day that the economy is slowly falling into paralysis,” it wrote.

But Mohand Laensar, head of the Popular Movement party in the coalition, doubted the polls would bring about a sea change. “You cannot change candidates and the mentality of electors in a year. It’s a process that requires time, maybe years.” — Reuters

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WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 3, 2011

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Issues

Tea Party proves clout, but at what cost?

By John Whitesides ea Party conservatives scored their biggest political triumph with a debt-ceiling deal that cuts federal spending, but their hardline tactics could risk a voter backlash in the 2012 elections. The Tea Party members who swept into Congress in last year’s elections by vowing to slash spending have transformed the Republican Party and raised deficit reduction to the top of Washington’s political agenda.

But by pushing the United States to the brink of a debt default and scuttling a more ambitious deal with bigger spending cuts because it included tax increases, they threatened to alienate some of the more moderate voters that Republicans will need to hold power in Congress and recapture the White House in 2012. “Intransigence can pay off in the short-term, but I’m not sure it plays well with voters over time,” said Steven Schier, a political scientist at Carleton College in Minnesota. “There is a real risk that rigidity and a refusal to compromise will be seen as standing in the way of serious solutions to national problems, and that is the risk for Republicans,” he said.

A Pew Research Center poll released on Monday found the contentious debt negotiations had tarnished all of the major players, including President Barack Obama and Republican House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner. But Republicans in Congress and the Tea Party fared the worst, with 42 percent saying they had a worse impression of Republicans and 37 percent having a worse view of Tea Party members as a result of the prolonged fight over raising the debt limit.

“In a crowd of people who don’t look too good, they are at the top of the list,” said Pew President Andrew Kohut. He said the confrontation recalled the showdown between Democratic President Bill Clinton and Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich, when Republican threats to shut the government backfired and helped Clinton’s re-election drive in 1996. The loosely organized Tea Party movement, which sprang to life in 2009 after Obama’s election, has become a powerful grassroots force that helped elect dozens of new Republicans to Congress last year on promises to curb government. Many Tea Party followers denounced the debt deal as too weak, and some promised to challenge Republican members of Congress who voted for it in primaries next year. “I want to push this thing as hard as I can,” said Representative Steve King of Iowa, a conservative Tea Party favorite. “If we all of a sudden join hands and sing ‘kumbaya,’ we concede the position that’s gotten us to this point.”

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TEA PARTY PASSION Republican consultant Jim Dyke said the Tea Party was instrumental in identifying the issues that fueled Republican election gains last year-cutting government spending, opposing tax increases and repealing Obama’s healthcare reform law. “That’s where the party is, and the passion and the outspokenness of the Tea Party is a helpful part of it,” Dyke said.

Democrats were quick to denounce Tea Party-affiliated members of Congress for refusing to compromise, voicing what is certain to be a major talking point heading into the 2012 elections. “I predict to you that a lot of those new members who came here with ‘my way or the highway’, they’ll either be on the highway or they’ll learn that they have to have compromise,” Vice President Joe Biden told CBS News. “Compromise is not a dirty word.” In a stark sign of the Tea Party’s clout, Republican presidential front-runner Mitt Romney said on Monday he would not support the debt-ceiling deal because it opened the door to higher taxes and put defense cuts on the table.

Boehner was forced to amend his debt bill to win Tea Party support in an effort to find the votes he needed for House passage. The Tea Party has been a “mixed blessing” for Republicans, said Republican Dan Schnur of the University of Southern California, an aide on Senator John McCain’s 2000 presidential campaign. “Somewhere between now and November of next year there will have to be a line drawn between energizing the party and electability.” He compared Tea Party followers to the left-wing anti-war activists of the 1960s and 1970s, who changed US policy on the Vietnam War but helped doom Democratic candidates in the presidential elections of 1968 and 1972.

“They changed the focus and direction of the national debate but sacrificed two elections,” Schnur said. “The challenge for Republicans is to figure out how to avoid that fate with the Tea Party.”— Reuters

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Little economic impact from US debt deal

By Paul Handley pending cuts in the new deal to slash the US deficit and raise the borrowing ceiling will not have much immediate effect on the economy-or the deficit itself, analysts said Monday. Heralded as a political success that averts the United States being forced to default on its debt, the deal is supposed to cut the country’s gaping deficit by $900 billion over 10 years-or $2.4 trillion, if a second-stage effort works out. But for fiscal 2012, beginning in October, only $21 billion will be cut from expected spending of up to $3.7 trillion, and only $41 billion the following year. “The so-called ‘immediate’ spending cuts of $917 billion do of course not begin this year. And they barely have an impact in 2012 or 2013 either,” said Harm Bandholz on UniCredit Bank. “In a $15 trillion economy, the impact... is negligible,” said John Ryding of RDQ Economics. Fears were that an effort by hardline Republicans to radically pare the country’s budget shortfall and accumulated debt could force the near-stalled US economy back into recession. Instead, though, what significant reductions there was will only come later in the 10-year outlook-hitting $100 billion a year in 2017 and rising from there.

The deal was struck in 11th hour talks Sunday as the August 2 deadline to raise the country’s $14.3 trillion debt ceiling loomedwith the possibility of defaulting on its debt, or shutting down much of government, the outcome if the talks failed. “The real meaning (of the deal) is only that we don’t have a debt ceiling fiasco in the next few weeks,” said Ryding. “The two things that needed to be done... to have a broad-based tax reform

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(and) to reform the entitlement programs, they weren’t touched as part of this deal,” he said.

But any tightening of spending, economists warned, spelled trouble for the economy, which virtually stagnated in the first half of the year, growing at roughly a one percent annualized pace. With government spending a key economic driver, possible cuts could have forced more layoffs in both the public and private sectors, pressing the 9.2 percent unemployment rate higher. “Although the impact of these cuts of the next couple of years is likely to be small, there’s a more direct relationship between spending and jobs than there is between taxes and jobs,” said Henry Blodget of Business Insider, a website of economic and market analysis.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner defended the deal as a long-term positive for the economy. “This agreement itself on its own doesn’t create jobs,” Geithner said. “What it does is, it avoids doing more damage in the short term, because the president refused to accept the types of deep spending cuts that many in Congress wanted. “And by locking in some long-term savings it improves the odds over time.” Alex Brill of the conservative American Enterprise Institute said that just removing the uncertainty over increasing the debt ceiling might help the turgid economy.

The political battle “may have been a drag on the over the last few weeks or months,” he said. “But I think that having a resolution to this problem is likely to be a boost for the economy.” At the same time, the deal, many worried, did not go far enough for the country to avoid a historic cut in the country’s top AAA debt rating of more than nine decades.

Standard & Poor’s had warned in April, and

repeated the warning two weeks ago, that Washington needed a “credible” long-term strategy to reduce the deficit to avoid the downgrade, which could push up US borrowing costs, further hurting the economy.

S&P last week said that a $4 trillion reduction plan over 10 years would be credible. At the most optimistic interpretation, the plan

the two sides have tentatively agreed achieves about $3 trillion in savings. “It will save the US government from defaulting on its obligations to pensioners and others. But it does not address the long-term fiscal challenges facing the nation,” Sebastian Mallaby of the Council on Foreign Relations said of the deal.— AFP

Angry over US debt debate, voters may punish leaders

By Jeff Mason hrow the bums out! That phrase, which captured the anti-incumbent mood among US voters in 2010, may apply to next year’s elections, too, after the debt debate in Washington enraged the American public and demonstrated an unprecedented level of dysfunction among Democratic and Republican politicians alike. After weeks of drawnout talks, refusals to compromise, and partisan attacks, the two sides agreed a deal on Sunday that would lift the US debt ceiling and cut the deficit over 10 years.

But deal or no deal, the damage to the those who led the messy process has been done. “The big loser after this exercise is Washington,” said Republican strategist Scott Reed, who noted that in the last three elections more than 100 members of the 435-member House of Representatives have lost their jobs. “That could be a precursor for what this next election would look like,” he said. “It has the potential to be an anti-incumbent feeling in both parties.”

Americans across the country grew increasingly concerned- and increasingly angry-in recent days about the antics over the debt ceiling, which brought the country to the edge of default and could have plunged it back into recession. Leaders from both sides were scrambling in the aftermath of the debt deal to take credit and place blame, and both sides seemed aware that they have lost credibility in the process. “Nobody’s a winner when it comes to ... dysfunctionality and chaos in Washington,” said David Axelrod, the top strategist for President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign, who spoke in his Chicago offices on Friday before the deal. “Even though I believe strongly the president’s been a force to try and bring some sense and reasonableness to this process, the process itself is an ugly, ugly thing, and so just by dint of being associated with it, you know, you get tainted to some degree.” — Reuters

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Obama diminished by US debt debacle?

By Michael Mathes bruised President Barack Obama pulled the US economy back from the brink of disaster with a last-gasp debt deals, but at the cost of enraging his base by capitulating to foes ahead of his 2012 reelection bid, analysts said. “He and the Democrats got rolled,” political science professor Dante Scala at the University of New Hampshire said, offering his blunt assessment of Obama’s efforts to secure a deal that meets fiscal and moral muster with his Democrats. “In the short term, he has (taken a hit),” Scala said. Even with a deal crafted that would avert a calamitous first-ever US default, “he’s certainly lost this particular battle.”

Obama faces fur y from liberals who tarred him as a spineless compromiser for dropping his demand for tax revenues from the wealthy to balance out spending cuts, even though he managed to raise the debt ceiling through the end of 2012, after the election, and keep entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare untouched.

Democratic Representative Emanuel Cleaver blasted the debt agreement as a “sugar-coated Satan sandwich,” apparently echoing the sour feelings of several Obama allies in Congress.

The deal received equal ire from conservatives intent on reining in government costs. Several Republican 2012 presidential candidates came out against it, and the issue could prove a pivotal one during the upcoming campaign season. With the eyes of the world on Washington as US lawmakers jousted over increasing the nation’s ability to borrow money to pay its bills, Obama had been unable to get Congress to agree to raise the debt ceiling until just hours before a midnight deadline.

In a cliffhanger vote late Monday, the Republican-controlled House passed the legislation that raises the $14.3 trillion US

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debt ceiling and calls for $2.1 trillion in spending cuts over 10 years. It now goes to the Democratic-led Senate, which is expected to approve the bill. While the White House insisted Monday that the deal was a “victory for the American people,” the president is unlikely to take a victory lap over what for decades had been a far less exhausting political exercise. Even his spokesman Jay Carney effectively described the process as a disaster. “This was a mess.

There is no question. It was a circus at times,” Carney told reporters.

Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner walked out on White House debt ceiling talks last month, and the president saw his once -Midas touch evaporate.

Obama’s approval rating plunged to a new low of 40 percent, according to the latest Gallup poll-although Congress’s rating was even lower. “His capacity to get legislation he wants through Congress seems profoundly damaged,” associate professor Peter Kastor of Washington University in St Louis said. “There is the sense that the narrative emerging about this seems to be out of the administration’s control.”

Obama took office in early 2009 with his Democratic Par ty fully in charge of Congress. He pushed through major contentious laws, including the $800 billion economic stimulus package, Wall Street reform and the health care reform act. But last November Republicans romped to victory in mid-term elections and wrested control of the House, where many freshman lawmakers are anti-tax “Tea Party” conservatives demanding more draconian spending cuts than their moderate colleagues.

Earlier in 2010 during the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, Obama proved “a tough negotiator, unflinching, unafraid, authoritative, and decisive,” Kastor said. “And everything we’re hearing about this (debt ceiling) incident is the reverse. The question is, which of these images will be in place a year from now?”

Obama was being pegged as a short-term loser in the battle over the debt, while the longer outlook remained cloudy. “Things like this can over whelm a presidency,” Kastor said. “It’s not even so much that it’s a crisis, but it’s an incident in which a president doesn’t seem to be sufficiently in charge.”

The New York Times berated the president for failing to get lawmakers to include increased tax revenues as part of a balanced deal.

The paper’s Monday editorial blasted him for “a nearly complete capitulation to the hostage -tak ing demands of Republican extremists,” while a column authored by Nobel prizewinning economist Paul Krugman took issue with Obama’s frequent “folding in the face of (Republican) threats.” “He surrendered last December, extending all the Bush tax cuts; he surrendered in the spring when they threatened to shut down the government; and he has now surrendered on a grand scale to raw extortion over the debt ceiling,” Krugman wrote.

Carney said Obama has shown “enormous leadership through this process,” but after the Times broadside the White House insisted Obama had not been “diminished” in the fiasco as the newspaper claimed. Kastor stressed it was unclear how damaging the crisis would be on Obama a full 15 months before Americans go to the polls. “It’s a long time before the election, and a lot is going to turn on the economy,”

Kastor said. He noted that president Bill Clinton was in a similar position in the 1990s; he lost the House to Republicans and endured a government shutdown, only to win reelection.— AFP

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Years

NEWS

Italy to ban burqa ROME: An Italian parliamentary commission yesterday approved a draft law banning women from wearing veils that cover their faces in public. The draft passed by the constitutional affairs commission would prohibit women from wearing a burqa, naqib or any other garb that covers the face in such circumstances. It would expand a decades-old law that for security reasons prohibits people from wearing face-covering items such as masks in public places.

Women who violate the ban would face fines of 100 to 300 euros, while third parties who force women to cover their faces in public would be fined 30,000 euros ($43,000) and face up to 12 months in jail. Italy, an overwhelmingly Catholic country with a small Muslim minority, is the latest European country to act against the burqa. France and Belgium have banned the wearing of burqa-style Islamic dress in public, as has a city in Spain. The Belgium law cited security concerns.

The Italian law was sponsored by Souad Sbai, a Moroccan-born member of Premier Silvio Berlusconi’s conservative Freedom People party, who said she wanted to help Islamic women better integrate into Italian society. “Five years ago, no one wore the burqa (in Italy).

Today, there is always more. We have to help women get out of this segregation ... to get out of this submission,” Sbai said in a telephone interview. “I want to speak

for those who don’t have a voice, who don’t have the strength to yell and say, ‘I am not doing well.” According to some estimates, 3,000 women in Italy cover their faces with veils, she said, adding that many of them are forced to do so.

However, the spokesman of an Islamic group said banning the Islamic veil “is unjust and touches individual liberty.” “This topic continues to be a sort of criminalization and media dramatization. In Italy, there aren’t even 100 women who wear the niqab, and not even one who wears the burqa,” Roberto Hamza Piccard, spokesman for the Union of Islamic Communities in Italy, was quoted by the news agency ANSA as saying.

He said such a ban would isolate devout Muslim women, who would not be able to leave their homes.

ANSA said the main opposition party voted against the law. The draft will be forwarded after the summer recess to parliament, where Berlusconi’s governing coalition has a narrow majority. The preliminary approval was welcomed by lawmaker Barbara Saltamartini, vice president of the Freedom People party caucus in the lower house. “Final approval will put an end to the suffering of many women who are often forced to wear the burqa or niqab, which annihilates their dignity and gets in the way of integration,” Saltamartini said in a statement. — AP

US averts disastrous default; Cuts trillions Continued from Page 1

his Republican foes omitted any increase in tax revenues from the richest Americans or wealthy corporations.

Meanwhile, the Fitch ratings agency said yesterday that Congress’ last minute agreement to raise the US debt ceiling to avert a default would allow the country to keep its triple-A rating. But Fitch warned that it would continue to review the countr y ’s long-term deficit profile to see if it still merited being listed along with more healthy economies in the exclusive AAA club of sovereign borrowers.

Fitch called the agreement to raise the $14.3 trillion debt ceilingallowing the Treasury to borrow

more and cover its mounting bills“commensurate with its ‘AAA’ rating”, meaning that “the risk of sovereign default remains extremely low.” The agreement showed that “despite the intensity and theater of political discourse in the United States, there is the political will and capacity to ultimately do the right thing,” Fitch said.

However, it said it could continue to review the country’s grade this month. “The review will focus on the US sovereign credit fundamentals relative to ‘AAA’ peers and medium-term economic and fiscal prospects” based on long-term deficit reduction plan that was a part of the debt ceiling hike package voted through yesterday. Fitch said the country’s economic and

financial foundation “remains strong” despite the grinding political battle over government spending and borrowing and near-stalled economic growth in the first half.

“The interest burden of federal debt is projected to remain moderate by historical standards and broadly in line with ‘AAA’ peers,” it said. But Fitch warned that the countr y needs to spell out and implement “a credible multi-year deficit reduction plan.” Based on current trends, US government debt at all levels will reach a large 100 percent of gross domestic product by the end of 2012 and continue to rise. It called that “a profile that is not consistent with the United States retaining its ‘AAA’ sovereign rating.” — Agencies

Mubarak trial may scare Arab rulers Continued from Page 1 But few expect that outcome, even if some protesters want it. Many Egyptians will be pleased just to see him in court and in the cage where defendants in Egyptian criminal trials stand. One has been erected in the Police Academy in Cairo, which was named after Mubarak.

His name has now been stripped off. A source close to Mubarak said last week that his lawyer would tell the judge that his client was too ill to attend.

But the health minister said yesterday he could be moved. Protesters are likely be enraged if he does not come.

“The trial of Mubarak is a lesson to candidates for the presidency to know the fate of those who try to violate the freedom of the people or become autocratic,” said senior Muslim Brotherhood member Essam El-Erian. He was speaking to the state-run daily Al-Ahram, a newspaper that would never have run a statement from the group while Mubarak was in power and the Brotherhood was banned. The group has now emerged as one of several influential political forces.

The trial will have a wider impact in the region too. “It is also a warning message to all Arab rulers who use the same methods as Mubarak that they have to guard against a popular uprising, because if it succeeds then they are going to face the same fate,” said political analyst Mustapha Al-Sayyed. The message may have already reached Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and Syria’s President Bashar Al-Assad, who have shown no sign of quitting. Nor have they offered concessions akin to those Mubarak offered in vain in his final days in office when he named a vice president and pledged not to seek another term.

Gulf Arab states may also have been watching Egypt closely. An army source said that Saudi Arabia and others were quietly pressing the army to spare Mubarak, a former ally. His trial sets an uncomfortable precedent for Arab autocrats. But in an interview with Egyptian television, the Saudi ambassador to Cairo denied any such intervention, saying that Riyadh’s links with Mubarak had ended the day he stepped down and that his trial was a matter for Egyptians.

Mubarak is not first Arab leader to be tried since the start of this year’s ‘Arab Spring’. Tunisian President Zine Al-

• Therefore this stage one is for sincere confession to Allah that we are weak and sinful and that we desperately need His mercy. We have only about 10 days to qualify to stage two.

The second one-third of Ramadan is - FORGIVENESS • We must now beg for Allah’s forgiveness because we have broken so many of His rules and covenants and disobeyed His commands during the year, both knowingly and unknowingly. We must say istighfaar day and

Dubai to lose world’s tallest tower record JEDDAH: Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal unveiled plans yesterday to build the world’s tallest tower in the Red Sea port city of Jeddah, signing a 4.6 billion riyal ($1.23 billion) contract with Bin Laden Group. The proposed tower, which will rise more than 1,000 meters and take just over five years to complete, is the centerpiece of the planned Kingdom City development being built outside Jeddah by Prince Alwaleed’s Kingdom Holding.

“Building this tower in Jeddah sends a financial and economic message that should not be ignored,” Prince Alwaleed told reporters. “It has a political depth to it to tell the world that we Saudis invest in our country.”

If completed, the tower will replace Dubai’s 828-metre Burj Khalifa as the tallest tower in the world. The Burj Khalifa was built by Emaar Properties for a total cost of $1.5 billion. The tower, which is to include a hotel, serviced apartments, luxury condominiums and offices will be designed by US architecture firm Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill.

Prince Alwaleed, a nephew of Saudi King Abdullah, said the Jeddah tower would eventually top 1,000 meters, but the final height is a closely guarded secret.

Kingdom Holding shares were up 1.91 percent on the Saudi bourse at 1032 GMT. Kingdom said a 33.35-percent-owned associate firm, Jeddah Economic Co, had been set up to build the tower.

Abrar International Holding Co will also have a 33.35-percent stake, while Bin Laden Group will have 16.63 percent, and businessman Abdurrahman Sharbatly will own 16.67 percent. Last month, Kingdom, which holds stakes in companies such as Citigroup, reported a 21-percent rise in second-quarter net profit helped by higher income from its investments. — Reuters

RIYADH: Saudi Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal speaks next to a model of the world’s tallest tower to be built in the Red Sea city of Jeddah during a press conference yesterday. — AFP

UN: Assad ‘lost all humanity’ Continued from Page 1

CAIRO: An Egyptian demonstrator holds up a noose during a rally in downtown Cairo. — AFP Abidine Ben Ali was tried and sentenced in absentia because he fled to Saudi Arabia. Mubarak stayed in Egypt, swearing to die there. Mubarak is standing trial alongside his two sons, Gamal, a former banker once seen as being groomed for top office, and Alaa, who had business interests. Also on trial will be former Interior Minister Habib Al-Adli and six of his deputies.

Another defendant, business executive and Mubarak confidant Hussein Salem, was detained in Spain. Charges range from conspiring over the killing of demonstrators to abuse of power to amass wealth. The court was originally planned to be set up in an exhibition and convention centre near central Cairo, but was later moved to the Police Academy on Cairo’s outskirts. It is the same complex where Mubarak delivered

a speech on Jan 23, just two days before protests erupted. Much of his address discussed the bombing of a church at the start of 2011.

“I and all Egyptians salute policemen on their day of celebration and affirm our pride in their role and sacrifice. We tell them: we appreciate all your efforts to fight crime in all its forms and your handling of security in our society,” he said then. On Jan 25, protesters took to the streets. Cairo and other cities soon became battle zones between demonstrators and police who used gunfire, rubber bullets, water cannon and batons. After several days of violence, when buildings were torched and cars wrecked, police were withdrawn and the army moved in to take control.

Soldiers were met with cheers from the crowd. — Reuters

month of mercy Continued from Page 1

Saudi billionaire to build tallest tower

night and ask in every sajda for forgiveness. We must be afraid that if Allah does not forgive, we will surely be among the losers. Here again, Allah will be assessing the degree of sincerity in our repentance. He looks not for lip service but for soul service!

• We must also be forgiving to other people’s mistakes and tempers.

The last one-third of Ramadan is - FREEDOM FROM FIRE These are our last ten days or so.

Instead of just focusing on Laylat AlQadar (the night of power) one should intensify supplications for the whole last third of Ramadan. If possi-

ble and affordable then do go for Umrah ... it will be probably the most spiritually fulfilling experience you will have, aside from Hajj. And Umrah in Ramadan is equivalent to having done a Hajj with our Rasool pbuh! At the completion of the last fast, be optimistically hopeful that you will be alive to give similar pious worship during the forthcoming Ramadans.

And if you remain guided in your life then you’ll be admitted to Paradise, insha’Allah, by the Ryan gate of Paradise! Indeed Allah swt does not break His promise to his slaves. www.zawaj.com

Two shabbiha militia buses were seen heading there at night and smoke rose from the compound as the militiamen shouted “God, Syria, Bashar, only” from inside.

“There is damage to the northern section of the jail and some say burned bodies of prisoners were taken out of the complex,” one of the residents said. Tanks pounded residential neighborhoods across Hama, the scene of a 1982 massacre, after evening prayers on Monday, the first day of Ramadan, the Muslim fasting month, witnesses said. State news agency SANA said “hundreds of masked gunmen on motorbikes” had set fire to the main law court in Hama on Monday afternoon and had also vandalized much of the building.

Human rights campaigners said assaults by Assad’s forces across Syria yesterday had killed at least 27 civilians, including 13 in Hama, where troops and tanks began a violent operation to regain control on Sunday. That brought the total to about 140 dead throughout Syria in the past three days, 93 of them in Hama, according to witnesses, residents and rights campaigners. Syria’s state news agency said “armed terrorist groups” had killed eight policemen in Hama. The government blames such groups for most killings in the five-month-old revolt, saying more than 500 soldiers and security personnel have died.

The plight of Hama has prompted many Syrians to stage solidarity marches since the start of Ramadan.

But Assad’s tough response suggests he will resist calls for democratic change that have swept Syria and much of the Arab world this year.

Syria has incurred international opprobrium for its harsh measures, but need not fear the kind of foreign military intervention that NATO launched to support rebels in Libya.

The top US military officer called for

a swift end to violence in Syria, but only diplomatic pressure was in view. “There’s no indication whatsoever that...we would get involved directly with respect to this,” Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in Baghdad.

Consultations at the Security Council on Monday failed to produce agreement on adopting a Western-backed draft resolution condemning Syria or settling for a less binding statement. The Russian Foreign Ministry’s Middle East and North Africa Department Chief, Sergei Vershinin, said his country was not “categorically” against adopting a UN resolution on Syria. “If there are some unbalanced items, sanctions, pressure, I think that kind of pressure is bad because we want less bloodshed and more democracy,” he added.

Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad urged India to ignore Western “propaganda” during its month-long presidency of the Security Council, which began on Monday. “What we expect India to do is not to allow Western countries to use the UN as a forum to suppor t terrorism, to suppor t extremism and to suppor t the k illings of innocent people,” Mekdad told India’s CNN-IBN television channel. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights warned Syrian authorities that the world was watching the violence and said those who had violated human rights must be brought to account.

“There is a need for an international, transparent, independent and prompt investigation into the violence, the killings, the excessive use of force, the arbitrary arrests, illtreatment and torture that the people of Syria have been subjected to,” Navi Pillay said in a statement. Italy recalled its ambassador from Syria in protest at the “horrible repression of the civilian population” and urged other European Union mem-

bers to do the same. The EU formally added five more Syrian officials to an existing list of 29 individuals headed by Assad, whom the 27nation bloc has targeted with asset freezes and travel bans.

“Today further EU targeted sanctions on Syria come into force. The message is clear and unambiguous: those responsible for the repression will be singled out and held accountable,” British Foreign Secretary William Hague said. Apart from the 13 deaths in the latest Hama violence, two civilians were killed in the town of Albu Kamal on the Iraqi border, three in the city of Homs, two in the por t city of Latakia and six in the Damascus suburb of Erbin after protests following night-time Ramadan prayers, rights activists said.

The attack on Hama has evoked memories of a bloody 1982 confrontation when Assad’s father Hafez Al-Assad put down an armed Islamist revolt, killing many thousands of people. “ The shells are falling once every 10 seconds,” a witness in Hama said. The thump of artillery and explosions could be heard in the background. YouTube footage, purportedly from Hama, showed tanks and smoke, with the sound of explosions and shouts of “Allahu Akbar (God is great)...We are witnessing the reforms of Bashar”.

Another video shows a man lying on a street with his head sliced off by shrapnel. With most foreign reporters barred from Syria, it was impossible to verify the content of the clips. Nor was it possible to verify footage shown on Syrian state television, also said to be from Hama, which showed gunmen firing at the military from streets and rooftops. It also shows scenes of dead soldiers being thrown into a river. Security forces, dominated by Assad’s minority Alawite sect, had besieged restive Hama, a mainly Sunni Muslim city of 700,000, for nearly a month before the assault. — Agencies

Cars allowed on emergency lanes Continued from Page 1 Fahad Highway, King Abdulaziz Highway, and King Faisal bin Abdualziz Highway.”

“Driving on safe lanes is only allowed during the month of Ramadan at the start and end of the workday and after 8pm until traffic jams ease off,” Al-Zaghabi noted. He also pointed out that when traffic gets back to

normal, the left safe lane should not be used, highly stressing that the right safe lane should never be used, as it is reserved for ambulances, firefighting vehicles, and police cars. This decision comes as part of the Ministry of Interior higher command to alleviate traffic jams during the holy month of Ramadan, and it calls citizens and residents to cooperate with the traffic department to see smooth traffic which is safe for all. — KUNA

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 3, 2011

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Sect braces for Indonesia Ramadan violence JAKARTA: As most Indonesian Muslims started the fasting month of Ramadan peacefully this week, followers of the minority Ahmadiyah sect braced themselves for hatred and bloodshed.

Ahmadiyah leaders said they feared the worst after a court last week handed down sentences of only a few months in jail to hardliners who killed three sect members in a vicious mob attack. “The extremists say this is a holy month, everything must be pure and sacred. So we, the Ahmadiyah followers, must be cleared out,” Ahmadiyah spokesman Firdaus Mubarik told AFP. The sect is unorthodox in that it does not believe Muhammad (PBUH) is the last prophet of Islam. It claims 500,000 followers in Indonesia, where it has existed in relative calm since the 1920s. Islamic vigilante groups, emboldened by a decree ordering the sect to stop spreading its beliefs in the Muslim-majority country, have recently started targeting the Ahmadiyah in an ugly wave of hate crimes. “For us, the fasting month doesn’t mean there’ll be peace for us to

perform our religious obligations. On the contrary, there are more opportunities for Muslim extremists to mobilise and incite people to attack us,” Mubarik said.

Last year’s holy month saw Ahmadiyah homes and a mosque destroyed by angry mobs, he said.

Days before this year ’s Ramadan began on Monday, authorities ordered the Ahmadiyah community in Samarinda city, on Borneo island, to close their mosque following complaints from members of the mainstream Sunni Muslim faith.

Hundreds of hardliners from the Islamic Defenders Front, one of the vigilante groups responsible for the violence, rallied Saturday at the presidential palace in Jakarta demanding Ahmadiyah be outlawed altogether.

Harassment, persecution and violence against minorities, especially the Ahmadiyah, have become more frequent under the leadership of twice -elected President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, analysts say. The latest outrage, according to local and international human

rights groups, was the slap on the wrist given to the ringleaders of February’s deadly mob frenzy against Ahmadiyah followers in Cikeusik village, western Java. Around 1,500 enraged extremists descended on a house occupied by a handful of Ahmadiyah defenders, brushed aside the police and proceeded to stone, beat and hack their victims to death before destroying the property.

The unprovoked attack was filmed by an Ahmadiyah member who is now in hiding under police protection, providing graphic evidence of the crimes.

Yet prosecutors claimed the sect provoked the violence by refusing to abandon their property to the mob. The state did not charge any of the perpetrators with murder; instead it produced what Human Rights Watch described as an “almost laughable” list of minor infringements. Dani bin Misra, a 17-year-old who was caught on film repeatedly smashing a victim’s skull with a stone, was sentenced to three months in jail for assault causing death, public incitement and destruction

of property. Idris bin Mahdani, who led the mob, was convicted of illegal possession of a machete and received five months and 15 days in jail.

The United States and the European Union expressed strong misgivings but Yudhoyono has said nothing about the sentences, raising questions over his oft-repeated commitment to pluralism and the rule of law. “We’re in a state of emergency regarding freedom of religion,” Setara Institute for Democracy and Peace activist Hendardi told AFP. “Last week’s court ruling not only failed to give a deterrent effect to the offenders but will encourage the violators to carry out more attacks against minorities in the coming days.” Religious affairs ministry spokesman Zubaidi said the sentences were the result of a fair trial, and rejected allegations that the police had failed to properly investigate the crimes. “As an executive body, we cannot interfere in the legal system... Whether the sentences are light or harsh, how it’s perceived is relative,” he said. — AFP

Tensions run high after deadly unrest in China Police kill two Uighur men KASHGAR, China: Tensions ran high in China’s remote Kashgar city yesterday after authorities shot dead two men suspected of fomenting deadly ethnic unrest and vowed a further crackdown on “religious extremists”. Police killed the men, both from the mainly Muslim Uighur minority that makes up around half the population of China’s northwestern Xinjiang region, late Monday as they were trying to capture the pair, Kashgar authorities said. The deaths bring to 21 the number of people reported killed in Kashgar, a famed city on the ancient Silk Road in Xinjiang, since the weekend in the latest bout of unrest stemming from Uighur frustration at Chinese rule. Thirteen civilians died in the two weekend attacks, one of which hit a busy restaurant.

Yesterday, pools of blood and overturned tables could still be seen at the restaurant,

where diners were forced to flee in panic from attackers wielding knives. The other six dead were alleged attackers, some of whom were trained in “terrorist” camps in neighbouring Pakistan, according to Chinese authorities.

Armed police stood guard outside the main mosque in Kashgar - China’s biggest - yesterday, as Muslim residents in the city observed the holy month of Ramadan. There was a heavy police presence and the streets of the city remained quiet after the weekend attacks, but some shops and businesses had reopened by yesterday.

Xinjiang’s government has pledged to “firmly punish violent terrorists” and “crack down on religious extremists” in the wake of the attacks, which came just weeks after deadly clashes in Hotan, another city in the vast region. Chinese authorities said Monday that the attack on the

KASHGAR: A Uighur woman on a scooter rides near the scene of one of the weekend attacks in northwest China’s Xinjiang region yesterday. — AFP

restaurant Sunday was the work of “terrorists” trained in neighbouring Pakistan, but some experts have questioned the claim of foreign involvement. Many of Xinjiang’s roughly nine million Turkic-speaking Uighurs are unhappy with what they say has been decades of political and religious repression, and the unwanted immigration of the Han, China’s dominant ethnic group. “Look at the Han and the Uighurs - who is rich and who is poor?” said one Uighur man aged in his 20s, whose name AFP withheld due to the sensitivity of the issue. “Some Uighurs go to university in Urumqi (Xinjiang’s capital), they 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.” The tension has triggered sporadic bouts of unrest in the resourcerich and strategically vital region that borders eight countries, including Afghanistan and Pakistan.

In July 2009, China was hit by its worst ethnic violence in decades when Uighurs savagely attacked Han Chinese in Urumqi - an incident that led to deadly reprisals by Han on Uighurs several days later. The official Xinhua news agency named the two men killed late Monday as 29-year-old Memtieli Tiliwaldi and Turson Hasan 34, and said they were shot dead in corn fields outside the city. Police earlier issued warrants for the two and a reward of 100,000 yuan (about $15,000) for information leading to their arrests. Kashgar authorities said Monday that the heads of the group behind the attack had learned explosive-and firearm-making skills in camps run by the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) in Pakistan. Chinese authorities have accused the ETIM, which wants an independent homeland for Xinjiang’s Uighurs, of orchestrating attacks in the region on many occasions. The United States and the United Nations have listed the group as a “terrorist” organisation, and China has previously said it has operations in Pakistan as well as Afghanistan. Chinese state-run media has devoted little space to the attacks, and the words “Kashgar” and “terrorist attacks” appeared to be blocked on China’s Twitter-like social networking sites. — AFP

Suicide bombers hit Afghan guesthouse KUNDUZ, Afghanistan: Three suicide bombers attacked a guesthouse used by foreigners in the northern Afghan province of Kunduz yesterday, killing four Afghan security guards employed by a German company, a senior police detective said. The raid came on the second day of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan and 13 months after Taleban suicide bombers and gunmen stormed a US contracting company office in Kunduz, killing five, including three foreigners. The once peaceful north of the country has seen a series of high profile attacks and assassinations over the last year, including the killing of a top police commander in May. One attacker detonated a car bomb at the gates of the guesthouse. The other two stormed the building where they fought Afghan forces for a couple of hours before

detonating their explosives, said Kunduz police detective Abdul Rahman. Ten people, including civilians and a police officer, were wounded in the early morning attack, said Rahman . No foreigners were among the wounded, he said. The Taleban claimed responsibility for the attack, said spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid.

The attack came as the US military has speculated whether Taleban leaders would take a break during Ramadan and cross back over the border into Pakistan. A Western official in Kabul predicted on Sunday limited spikes in violence, including some high profile attacks during Ramadan.

Rahman said the slain Afghan security guards worked for a local security company, which was employed by German development agency GIZ, formerly called GTZ. The guesthouse was run by the local security

KUNDUZ: Afghan police officers wrap the body of a hotel guard in a black cloth after a suicide attack yesterday. — AP

company and sometimes accommodated foreign staff, he said. “According to our knowledge it wasn’t an attack against GIZ, it appears to be an attack against the local security firm,” said Hans Spehling, a spokesman for GIZ, adding that all GIZ employees were safe. He also confirmed the local security firm was employed by GIZ. Violence has intensified in the north of the country in the past year as insurgents seek to demonstrate their reach beyond their traditional southern heartland around Kandahar city. On July 2, 2010, Taleban attackers made a pre-dawn attack on the newly opened offices of Development Alternatives Inc (DAI). The police chief of north Afghanistan, General Dawood Dawood, was killed in May this year in a massive bomb attack in Takhar province, along with the Takhar police chief.

In June, a suicide bomber detonated his explosives at a memorial service for Dawood in Kunduz, killing at least four policemen. The attack appeared to target the police chief of Kunduz province, Sameullah Qatra, whose predecessor in the post was killed by a suicide bomber in March. Qatra was unharmed. Violence is at its worst in Afghanistan since US-backed Afghan forces toppled the Taleban government in late 2001, with high levels of foreign troop deaths, and record civilian casualties. A gradual transition of security control to Afghan forces began last month with when areas were handed over by the NATOled International Security Assistance Force.

Afghan forces are due to take full control across the country by the end of 2014. In the past month insurgents have carried out a string of destabilising assassinations of high-profile southern leaders, including President Hamid Karzai’s younger brother, and several large attacks killing police and civilians. — Reuters

JAYAPURA, Indonesia: Papuanese people participate in a pro-independence rally asking for a referendum for Papua yesterday. — AFP

Thousands protest against Indonesian rule in Papua JAYAPURA, Indonesia: Around 10,000 Papuans protested yesterday for independence from Indonesia, defying a heavy police presence a day after a deadly ambush that police blamed on separatist rebels, witnesses said. Demonstrators in the provincial capital Jayapura shouted “Free Papua” and demanded the withdrawal of Indonesian troops from the eastern region, the scene of a low-level separatist insurgency since the 1960s. Other protests were held in Timika, on the southern coast, and in the Indonesian capital Jakarta where hundreds rallied to express support for an independence referendum of the sort granted to East Timor in 1999.

Around 700 heavily armed anti-riot police were deployed in Jayapura, which was tense after unknown gunmen killed four people in a pre-dawn ambush on a road outside the city on Monday. Police blocked a road to prevent the protesters from reaching the provincial parliament building, although organisers said they had a permit to demonstrate. “We call for a referendum. This is not Papua’s problem or Indonesia’s problem. This is an international problem. We want independence,” protest coordinator Mako Tambuni said. The rally ended without incident, witnesses said.

Indonesian police were quick to blame Free Papua Movement (OPM) rebels for the ambush, saying a Morning Star independence flag had been found planted in the ground nearby. But local OPM commander Lambert Pekikir rejected the allegations and said the killings were the work of the military to boost their claims for extra funding and resources. “I strongly condemn those allegations, they’re false,” Pekikir told AFP by phone from an unknown location, adding that the senior leadership of the poorly-armed indigenous militia had ordered fighters to “lay down our arms”.

“When there’s a shooting, that’s certainly committed by the military, if not the police.

They’re using OPM as a scapegoat by pushing the blame on us,” Pekikir said.

Indigenous Melanesian rebels often armed with little more than bows and arrows are fighting a low-intensity insurgency against Indonesian rule to end what they say is the oppression and exploitation of the Papuan people. The Indonesian military has long been accused of serious human rights abuses against Papuan civilians, as well as massive corruption in the form of protection rackets for mining operations and illegal logging. “All this is business for the military. When civilians are killed, there will be a lot of money flowing from the central government to Jayapura to maintain peace and security,” Pekikir said. “Certain groups may accuse us of the shooting, but Papuans will never believe it.

Papuans trust the OPM.” The allegations are difficult to confirm because foreign journalists and rights workers are banned from entering the province to report on such issues, despite Indonesia’s assurances that the rebels’ claims are baseless. In further political violence, clashes between supporters of rival candidates for district elections killed 17 people in a remote village hundreds of kilometres (miles) to the southwest of Jayapura on Sunday. Police said the unrest in Puncak district was not related to the shootings near Jayapura. Yestereday’s protests were timed to coincide with a meeting of international lawyers, politicians and tribal leaders in Oxford, England, to examine the Papua issue. The Road To Freedom conference, chaired by British MP Andrew Smith, will review the 1969 Act of Free Choice by which Indonesia took control of Papua.

Many Papuans argue to this day that the vote was a sham. “They can look at the case. It’s very important for our struggle,” exiled Papuan independence leader Benny Wenda said, according to Radio New Zealand International. — AFP

Japan warns of China’s growing naval muscle TOKYO: Japan voiced concern yesterday over China’s growing assertiveness and widening naval reach in nearby waters and the Pacific and over what it called the “opaqueness” of Beijing’s military budget. In its annual defence report, Tokyo also pointed to threats from North Korea’s series of nuclear tests and development of a new mid-range ballistic missile, and at a lingering island dispute with Russia. China has been embroiled in separate spats over islands - with Japan as well as with several Southeast Asian nations including Vietnam and the Philippines - which have flared up again over the past year.

The report, approved by Prime Minister Naoto Kan’s cabinet, used a Japanese word that can be translated as “overbearing” or “assertive” for China’s stance in the disputes with its neighbours, including Japan. The report, released by the defence ministry, said that in this context, China’s “future direction can be a source of concern”. Defence Minister Toshimi Kitazawa later told reporters that the intended English translation was “assertive”, Jiji Press reported. “ We used the expression, thinking the entire international com-

munity probably perceives it that way,” he said. “This is one way of expressing our hope that China will address these issues through friendly relations.”

The paper also said China’s defence spending was not transparent, saying that the defence budget publicly announced by China “is widely seen as only part of what Beijing actually spends for military purposes”.

“Opaqueness in its defence policies and military movements are concerns for the region, including Japan, and for the international community, and we need to carefully analyse them,” it said.

The paper said China is expected to expand its routine activities in the South China Sea, East China Sea and the Pacific Ocean.

“Considering the recent modernisation of China’s maritime and air forces, the areas affected by the capabilities will likely expand beyond its nearby waters,” the defence paper said.

Japan’s defence outlook has moved away from a perceived Cold War threat of a Soviet invasion, while Japan has boosted ground, air and naval forces on the far-southern Nansei islands near disputed islands in the East China Sea. —AFP

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WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 3, 2011

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

Missing US girl’s body found in river STEWARTSTOWN, New Hampshire: Investigators hope an autopsy set for yesterday on an 11-year-old New Hampshire girl will shed light on her disappearance and death. After nearly a week of massive searches and volunteers handing out fliers with photos of a missing fifth-grader, residents in this town of 800 in far northern New Hampshire are absorbing the bitter news that there will be no happy ending after divers recovered Celina Cass’ body from the Connecticut River on Monday a quarter-mile from her home.

Celina, who lived with her older sister, mother and stepfather a mile from the Canadian border, was last seen at her home computer around 9 pm on July 25 and was gone the next morning, authorities have said.

Police said there was no sign of a struggle and there was no indication she ran away or someone took her. On Monday, the intense search came to an abrupt end when New

Hampshire Fish and Game Department divers found her body near a hydroelectric dam that spans the Connecticut River between her hometown, Stewar tstown, and Canaan, Vermont, Senior Assistant Attorney General Jane Young said.

“We’re all very devastated,” said Jeffry Pettit, whose daughter Kaylin was a friend of Celina’s, after word that the body had been found.

Based on what divers found, her death was described as suspicious, and investigators were treating the case as a criminal investigation pending autopsy results, Young said. At the peak, more than 100 federal, state and local law enforcement officers descended upon Stewartstown, searching a milewide area around her home, including woods and ponds. Law enforcement officers went so far as to have a cellphone tower erected to assist in communications.

Fliers featuring pictures of Celina

News

in brief

Panama police make massive heroin seizure PANAMA CITY: Panamanian police seized more than half a ton of heroin on the Caribbean coast, the largest seizure of the drug in the country’s history, an official said Monday. Anti-drug prosecutor Javier Caraballo said police found the heroin inside an abandoned truck parked along a road in the remote coastal town of Gobea on Saturday. The drug was in 639 packages each package apparently weighing about one kilogram. The shipment originated in South America and was heading to North America, Caraballo said without giving any more details. Drug gangs are active in most of Central America and are increasingly using the region to ship drugs and launder money. Caraballo said authorities are still investigating whether the large heroin shipment is an isolated case or if drug traffickers are changing their way of trafficking drug, which in the region is usually done by people taping small packages to their bodies. The heroin seizure is the largest in Panama and in all of Central America where authorities seized 123 kg in 2009, according to the latest available data from the United Nation’s World Drug Report.

Octomom to take more punches SPRINGFIELD, Massachusetts: Octomom Nadya Suleman isn’t done taking punches. The Springfield, Mass., newspaper The Republican reports that Celebrity Boxing Federation promoter Damon Feldman announced Monday that Suleman will be the featured fighter in a bout in Springfield, 90 miles west of Boston. Suleman drew criticism and was dubbed the Octomom in 2009 when she gave birth Nadya Suleman to eight babies in California. She was an unemployed single mother who already had six children. She says she was addicted to having children. Her octuplets are the world’s longestsurviving set. Feldman says he’s looking for a woman who wants to get in the ring and “fight this well-known mom”. The fight will consist of three 1-minute rounds. The women will wear oversized gloves and protective head gear.

Suleman fought in a similar match in New Jersey in June. It was a draw.

with a gap-toothed smile had been put up throughout Stewartstown and neighboring communities.

Residents passed out purple and pink ribbons and held vigils. No one was more baffled by Celina’s disappearance than her friends and family, who described her as studious and reliable, shy and timid, not the type to run away from home.

“People don’t tend to think it’s going to happen up here,” said Karen Ramsey, of Lancaster, referring to the tight-knit, rural community. “It doesn’t just happen in the city.”

According to several media outlets, Celina’s stepfather was taken to a hospital Monday. MSNBC reported that Wendell Noyes was taken by ambulance after lying down in the family ’s driveway and rolling around, and video showed him dropping to his knees and then lying with his head resting on his hands. A spokeswoman for Upper

STEWARTSTOWN, New Hampshire: A memorial for Celina Cass is seen yesterday. — AP Connecticut Valley Hospital, in Colebrook, NH, said she couldn’t comment on whether Noyes was taken to the hospital on Monday.

In 2003, Noyes was involuntarily committed to a hospital in Concord after he entered his girlfriend’s house in the middle of the night

and threatened to throw her down stairs, according to court documents. An order signed by a probate judge indicated Noyes suffered from paranoid schizophrenia.

A court motion filed by his attorney at the time indicated Noyes received a medical discharge from the Air Force because of mental illness. The attorney didn’t immediately return a call seeking comment Monday.

Celina’s death was tough for law enforcement officials, as well as residents. State police and FBI agents from as far away as New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia turned the local school into a bustling command post.

The FBI brought in a special team specializing in child abductions. “ We have brought Celina home, obviously not the way we wanted to bring her home,” said Young, her voice breaking with emotion. — AP

Shooting victim Giffords returns for US debt vote Rare moment of bipartisan unity WASHINGTON: Representative Gabrielle Giffords returned to the US House on Monday night for the first time since an assassination attempt, drawing thunderous applause in a rare moment of unity during a contentious vote to raise the US debt ceiling. Republicans and Democrats alike jumped to their feet and gave a sustained ovation to Giffords, who was shot in the head at close range by a gunman during a political event in Arizona in January. Giffords, a Democrat, returned to vote in favor of a bill to raise the US debt ceiling and avoid default.

The congresswoman, who has been undergoing intense rehabilitation and has kept out of the public eye, caught the chamber by surprise. With two minutes to go in the 15-minute vote, Giffords walked in and hugged House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi. The chamber, which has been the site of acrimonious debate and bitter partisan fighting for weeks, erupted in applause after Giffords entered then voted “yes” to the bill.

Giffords, with short dark hair that is growing out after multiple head surgeries, was mobbed by people from both parties who wanted to shake her hand and offer a hug. Several hundred spectators in the chamber for the vote joined in the applause. House Speaker John Boehner, the top Republican in Congress, said he met Giffords when she got off the elevator on her way in and said “welcome back”.

After the vote, Pelosi acknowledged Giffords on the House floor and called her the “personification of courage”. A radiant Giffords blew kisses and waved to Pelosi and the crowd as she stood on her own on the floor. She greeted Vice President Joe Biden, who was in the chamber for the vote.

“She has the determination and heart of a lion and she’s been working so hard and she knew that it was

WASHINGTON: In this image from House Television, Rep Gabrielle Giffords (center) appears on the floor of the House of Representatives Monday. — AP important for her to have her voice on probably the most pivotal vote that we’ll have this Congress,” Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a friend of Giffords, told MSNBC. The shooting at a Tuscon shopping mall killed six people and left 12 others wounded. An Arizona man has been charged. Though Giffords talked energetically with colleagues and waved constantly to others, she moved gingerly and with caution. Her aides kept a close

watch on her, offering a stabilizing hand to sit or support her.

The first sign that Giffords was to return was a tweet from her office: “Gabrielle has returned to Washington to support a bipartisan bill to prevent economic crisis.

Turn on C-SPAN now: j.mp/hmYxTM.” A few minutes later, after she cast her vote, Giffords offered up her own tweet: “The #Capitol looks beautiful and I am honored to be at work tonight.” — Reuters

Defense seeks to discredit Emirati officer’s US maid

New suspect arrested in Argentina murders

CARACAS: Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez speaks during the swearing in ceremony of two new ministers on Monday. — AP

BUENOS AIRES: Authorities have arrested another suspect in the murders of two French women who were found shot to death in a tourist area in northern Argentina, federal police announced yesterday. Police said the man, who was not immediately identified, was arrested late Monday. Another man who had been arrested earlier in the day was released late Monday for lack of evidence, officials said.

The French women’s bodies were found Friday by hikers on a trail in an area overlooking Salta, a provincial capital. Police had arrested 43-year-old Francisco Tejada - who rents horses to tourists in the area where the bodies were found - early Monday, but he was released “for lack of merit” after being questioned by the judge. Argentine Foreign Minister Hector Timerman said his country was “appalled by the terrible crime,” in a letter to his French counterpart Alain Juppe, adding that authorities were “working hard on the case”.

The victims - Houria Moumni, 24, and Cassandre Bouvier, 29 - were “brilliant students” of Latin American studies at the Sorbonne, the university’s president Marie-Christine Lemardeley said. One of the woman was shot in the head and apparently sexually abused. The other was shot in the back.

Chavez opts for shaved head after chemotherapy CARACAS: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez appeared on television with a close-shaved head on Monday, saying his hair has begun to fall out because of his cancer treatment. Chavez said his chemotherapy has been going well, and he joked about his appearance as he presided over a televised ceremony with Cabinet ministers. “It’s a new look,” the president said, switching briefly into English with a grin. Chavez had said he expected his hair to begin falling out as a result of the chemotherapy. He underwent surgery in Cuba on June 20 to remove a cancerous tumor. He hasn’t said what type of cancer he has been diagnosed with or specified where it was located, only that it was in his pelvic region. On Monday, he denied suggestions it was in the colon, the rectum or the bladder: “None of that is true.”

Chavez underwent an initial round of chemotherapy last month to prevent

malignant cells from reappearing. He said he is “preparing myself for a second dose,” but didn’t say how soon it would begin. Chavez was animated during the ceremony, breaking into song, talking about German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche and recalling an illustrated magazine he enjoyed reading as a child.

He held up a black-and-white photo of himself as a toddler next to his brother, Adan, and joked: “I have the same haircut.”

The 57-year-old leader, a former army officer, said earlier in a phone call on state television that he had asked for a “military cut” as his hair began to fall out.

“I went to bathe and a bit of hair fell out, and last night we called the barber,” said Chavez, whose head bore a few small hairless patches. He has joked that with his nearly shaved head, he may soon start to look like the late actor Yul Brynner. — AP

PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island: A defense attorney for a United Arab Emirates naval officer accused of keeping an unpaid servant in his Rhode Island home sought on Monday to portray her as a liar who left her former master a thank you note when she fled the home last year only to file a lawsuit months later seeking $200,000. Col Arif Mohamed Saeed Mohamed Al-Ali’s former servant testified for the second time during his trial in US District Court in Providence. Al-Ali’s lawyer asked the servant, Elizabeth Cabitla Ballesteros, about leaving Al-Ali and his family a note thanking them for “everything” and for bringing her to the United States when she secretly left their large East Greenwich home last October.

“You didn’t ask them for $200,000 in that letter, did you?” defense attorney Robert C Corrente asked during his cross-examination. Ballesteros responded that she complained Al-Ali was not paying her what she was owed. She said she didn’t seek out a lawyer but authorized a civil suit to be filed months later against Al-Ali on her behalf. “I complained regarding my salary because they hadn’t been paying me,” Ballesteros, who’s from the Philippines, said through an interpreter. The civil litigation is on hold in federal court.

Corrente also asked Ballesteros why she never contacted the police after leaving Al-Ali’s home. She said she didn’t know how to contact authorities and thought she was returning to the Philippines. “What you did do is hire an attorney who wrote a letter to the colonel demanding he pay you $200,000,” said Corrente, who also asked Ballesteros whether she knows what it means to tell the truth. Ballesteros said that the night before she left for the United States last July with Al-Ali’s family she was forced to sign a document affirming she was paid 12 monthly payments of $1,600. She said she never saw the money. She also acknowledged she didn’t read the contract she and Al-Ali signed for her employment in Rhode Island. “I didn’t read it,” she said. “I was

Col Arif Al-Ali not allowed by my master to read it.”

Ballesteros said she quickly deteriorated physically after arriving at Al-Ali’s Rhode Island home, where she worked long hours cleaning, preparing meals for the family of seven, washing two cars daily and doing all the laundry and ironing. She also said Al-Ali had her remove cobwebs from the front of the house when they moved in and the residence was much larger than he initially had indicated.

The judge threw out Ballesteros’ first testimony because of problems with the translation. A new interpreter was retained to help her. Once Ballesteros finished testifying Monday, prosecutors rested their case and Corrente asked the judge to acquit Al-Ali. Corrente said the government has not proved Al-Ali misrepresented the job Ballesteros was hired for or lied to agents by providing them with a document indicating he had paid her. Prosecutors oppose the motion.

Ballesteros began working for Al-Ali at his home in the UAE in 2007. She said he paid her less than half of what was promised in a contract, but she continued to work for him. — AP

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Wall highlights divide between Romanians, Roma BAIA MARE, Romania: “Why did they build this wall? What are they trying to hide, our poverty?” grumbled Alexandru Banta, a Roma father living in a dilapidated neighbourhood of this nor thern Romanian city. “Children cannot see beyond this wall, it’s as if they were convicts behind bars,” he told AFP, holding his little daughter Cristina in his lap. The “wall” is a concrete barrier city hall erected in July that separates two apartment blocks housing 180 mainly Roma families from a busy street next door.

But not all accept the official explanation that the structure about two metres high and 100 m long - is a “safety” measure to save Roma children’s lives. Some see it as a wall of shame to hide a ratinfested eyesore housing a shunned minority. The barrier has even divided the Roma residents themselves; a few are grateful, others disgusted by what they see as one more “humiliation”. For Banta, it’s like a prison. “OK, they could have built a small fence, but not a concrete wall,” he protested.

Non-governmental organisations working for Roma rights have joined the outcry. Some note that the structure went up three weeks before a parliamentary by-election to fill the MP’s seat vacated by Catalin Chereches, who was elected mayor of this former mining

city of 146,000 in May. “The wall carries important political capital, since many non-Roma have wanted such a thing for a long time,” said one NGO representative who asked not to be named.

Officials also plan to “inaugurate” the wall this week in a move the NGO representative found baffling.

“How can you inaugurate a wall dividing Roma from non-Roma?” he asked. Mayor Chereches insists it aims to end a worrisome series of road accidents. He said more than 20 were recorded in the last 12 months, most of them involving children. “We thought this buffer between the neighbourhood and the road would help reduce the number of accidents,” he told AFP. But opponents are not convinced. “If the justification was to protect the Roma, this solution is disproportionate,” said Marian Mandache of Romani CRISS, a leading Roma rights group, who felt other options like speed bumps or a small iron fence could have been taken. “Money would have been better used if a playground had been built,” he said.

Seen from a distance, the decaying, five-storey building - the other has undergone renovation - looks deserted, with walls blackened by smoke from makeshift stoves.

Indoor plumbing was cut off since bills went unpaid and running water comes from a single outside faucet.

The dismal scene turns lively when the children come out, with dozens romping about the muddy, garbage-scattered yard, some making mudpies. “There are rats everywhere and authorities do nothing

them to school. What shall I feed them, concrete?” said another named Rodica, standing in a dark staircase.

Residents complain about the dire conditions but refuse to give

million and live in all of Romania’s 26 EU partner states but it’s long been an uneasy relationship. Both the EU and the Council of Europe have pressed for change to fight persistent discrimination and suspi-

BAIA MARE, ROMANIA: Two workers finish a concrete wall being built around a block of flats housing a majority of Roma families on July 21, 2011. —AFP about it. Instead they built this wall,” a woman carrying a newborn shouted from a window. “I have five children and I cannot afford to send

their names for fear they may be evicted from the city-owned buildings. As Europe’s biggest ethnic minority, Roma number 10 to 12

cion that has led to expulsions, social exclusion and poverty.

Romania’s Roma community is the biggest in Europe, officially put

at 530,000 though local NGOs put it closer to two million, saying many hide their origins to try to escape this prejudice. For Mandache, money should be spent on improving the Romanian Roma’s access to education and employment in a country where less than a third of this community have steady jobs and half have no qualifications. Not everyone is unhappy, including Roma father Alin Ghiulai. “ We approve of this construction. I myself look after my kids, but others just let them play in the street,” he said. “We thank the mayor. No one before him ever thought of doing something for us - except during election campaigns.”

Mayor Chereches, meanwhile, plans to “decorate this wall, renovate the derelict building and turn this neighbourhood into a civilised area,” he said. And a couple living on the other side of the wall in a house with a garden rushed to shake his hand during a recent visit.

“Thank you. Nobody had thought of doing something for us before,” said the woman, smiling. “The mayor has done a good thing, I feel more secure now when I drive by.

Before there were too many children playing in the street,” said a local taxi driver who gave his name only as Gabriel. “Plus ...we don’t see the filth over there anymore,” he added. —AFP

US mulling regulations on ammonium nitrate Common farm fertilizer also a deadly bomb component WASHINGTON: More than 15 years after a fertilizer bomb was used to blow up a government building in Oklahoma City, killing 168 people, the federal government is proposing to regulate the sale and transfer of the chemical ammonium nitrate. The proposal comes nearly four years after Congress gave the Homeland Security Department the authority to develop a program to regulate the compound. Ammonium nitrate is one of the most common farm fertilizers in the world, and instructions for turning it into a bomb are available on the Internet. Its deadly potential was once again realized on July 22, when a Norwegian man allegedly blew up a government building in his country, killing eight people with a bomb that investigators believe was made with ammonium nitrate.

OSLO: Worshippers pray at the Minhaj-ul-Quran Mosque before breaking the fast on Monday. Members of the mosque spoke about the impact on the Norwegian Muslim community just over a week after the attacks on government buildings and massacre on the youth camp of the Norwegian Labour Party that left at least 77 dead. —AFP

Norway fears it must change after attacks OSLO: Long considered one of the world’s safest and most peaceful countries, Norway is braced for changes to its traditionally open society after the deadly twin attacks on July 22. Sweden was shaken by the assassination of prime minister Olof Palme and later foreign minister Anna Lindh, Denmark has lived with a constant threat of attacks since the cartoon crisis, and Finland has suffered two large-scale school shootings.

For a long time, it has seemed that Nor way had avoided the fate of its neighbours, but when rightwing extremist Anders Behring Breivik on July 22 first bombed government offices in Oslo before going on a shooting rampage at a Labour Party youth camp, killing in all 77 people, the Scandinavian country in turn shed its sheltered innocence.

“There will be a before and after July 22,” acknowledged Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg, who has created an independent commission to draw up a report on the lessons that must be learned from the massacre. “The map has been ripped, the compass is broken,” he told parliament on Monday. After 10 days of national unity and vows to maintain an open and free society in honour of the mostly teenaged victims, the debate in Norway is moving towards an examination of whether change is inevitable.

“New security measures will surely be implemented. Norwegians will likely no longer meet government ministers skiing in the woods or pass them on the pavements of Oslo’s streets,” Kristian Berg Harpviken, the head of the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO), wrote in a report late last week. “There will be a strong temptation to close off streets, to erect walls and fences, and to establish airport-like security measures at the entrances of public buildings,” he added, warning though that “we know the cost of such measures”.

Everywhere you go you can hear Norwegians insisting that changing too much, increasing security and limiting freedom would only be to give in to Behring Breivik’s hateful logic. But while Stoltenberg’s motto since the beginning, of “more openness, more democracy, more humanity, but no more naivety”, has been widely popular, it is beginning to reach its limits, observers say.

“Regardless of how much we talk about democracy, openness and the fact that we should carry on as before, Norway

will be forced to protect itself better against tormented ‘losers’ with evil intentions,” the Verdens Gang daily wrote in an editorial Monday.

The paper also published a poll showing that 65 percent of Norwegians think the country’s penalties for serious crimes - prison sentences in practice do not surpass 21 years - are too weak. A growing number of Norwegians also favour more domestic surveillance and intelligence gathering, according to the poll. At the same time however, the survey showed that a quarter of those questioned had since the attacks grown more positive to the “multicultural” society Behring Breivik declared war on in his self-proclaimed “crusade” against a “Muslim invasion” of Europe.

In a country that over the past decade has seen the populist and anti-immigration rightwing Progress Party grow to become the second largest party, Norwegians of all ethnic origins and backgrounds have shown impressive signs of unity and solidarity since the attacks. Veiled women of Somali origin have helped light candles in Oslo cathedral, the prime minister visited a mosque for Friday prayers and the first funeral for an attack victim included both Protestant and Muslim ceremonies.

According to Ann-Helen Bay, head of Oslo’s Institute for Social Research, the biggest changes in the wake of the attacks will be in the political debate, especially with regard to immigration.

“The polarisation will be weaker. This should lead to some kind of reconciliation and maybe to increased tolerance on both sides,” she told AFP. “More interaction, tolerance and open-minded attitude can be expected,” she said, but stressed: “We know from previous dramatic events that after some months things may go back to how they were before.”

Berg Harpviken of PRIO meanwhile insisted on the need to resist allowing fear to determine how Norway allows the attacks to change it. “The very best protection against future acts of terrorism in Norway will involve maintaining the openness and trust that characterises Norwegian society and government,” he wrote. “The vision of total security is not just an impossible vision: it may also be one that undermines the very nature of the type of society we seek to defend.” —AFP

Yesterday, the Homeland Security Department’s proposal was expected to be posted on the Federal Register website and the public will have 120 days to comment. As it’s proposed, the “Ammonium Nitrate Security Program” would require those who purchase, sell or transfer at least 25 pounds of the chemical in the US to register with the government so that they may be screened against US terror watch lists, according to a homeland security official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the proposal had not formally been published. Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh used 4,000 pounds of ammonium nitrate to blow up the Alfred P Murrah Federal Building in 1995.

The Homeland Security Department would give registration numbers to those who are approved to buy, sell or transfer ammonium nitrate. The registrants would also be required to keep records and report the theft or loss of the chemical within 24 hours of discovering it missing. A number of countries, including Germany, Colombia, Ireland, the Philippines and China, have banned ammonium nitrate fertilizer. And some US states started to regulate its use after the chemical was used in the Oklahoma City bombing. Last year, the Afghan government banned ammonium nitrate, as the chemical most often used in bombs targeting American soldiers in Afghanistan. Such “fertilizer bombs” have also been used in Iraq in attacks against government security forces.

In late 2007, Congress passed a law requiring the department to develop a regulation program. The department missed its 2008 deadline to publish a final rule, and

instead that year, it posted an advance notice in the Federal Register that it would eventually post a proposal for regulating ammonium nitrate. The public had 120 days to comment then, as well.

Among the concerns was that

The department already requires that businesses storing certain dangerous or combustible chemicals, including ammonium nitrate, provide regular reports on the security of those materials. But those regulations are centered on

Fertilizer Institute, and other members of the agriculture industry to launch a voluntary reporting program for people to report suspicious activities, including thefts of ammonium nitrate.

Studies were done to see

OKLAHOMA CITY: In this May 5, 1995 file photo, a worker at the Alfred P Murrah Federal Building places flowers and memorial items at the scene of the April 19 deadly car-bombing. — AP farmers who use fertilizer with ammonium nitrate don’t have the computers or computer skills to adhere to the federal government’s reporting requirements.

In a Sept 2010 letter to the top Republican on the House Homeland Security committee, DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano said the department held “listening sessions” with stakeholders and created a government task force for input into the regulation.

the security of the facility and not the sale and transfers of the chemical.

The bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives already regulates explosive mixtures that include ammonium nitrate. The homeland security proposal is designed not to duplicate other federal efforts, the homeland security official said. After the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, ATF partnered with the industry group, The

British cops arrest man over hacking LONDON: Police investigating phone hacking and police bribery at defunct British tabloid News of the World yesterday arrested a man, believed to be a former executive at the newspaper. The Metropolitan Police said a 71-year-old man had been arrested by appointment yesterday morning at a London police station. They did not name him, in keeping with British police practice of not identifying suspects who have not been charged, Sky News, which is 39 percent owned by the newspaper’s parent company, News Corp, identified him as former News of the World managing editor Stuart Kuttner. Kuttner retired in 2009 after 29 years at the News of the World as managing editor.

News International - Murdoch’s British newspaper division - would not confirm the arrested man’s identity.

Police said he was in custody and being questioned on suspicion of conspiring to intercept communications - phone hacking - and on suspicion of corruption. Detectives investigating claims the Rupert Murdoch-owned newspaper illegally eavesdropped on the phone messages of celebrities, politicians and even crime victims have previously arrested 10 people, including Murdoch’s British newspaper chief Rebekah Brooks and Andy Coulson, a former News of the World editor who went on to be Prime Minister David Cameron’s communications chief. —AP

whether the explosive properties of ammonium nitrate could be made inert, said Kathy Mathers, spokeswoman for the Fertilizer Institute. That was not possible, she said, and over the years it became clear that there needed to be a formal regulating program. “At this point, it’s necessary,” Mathers said of the proposed regulation. “We’re lined up with Congress and DHS on this one.” —AP

Ex-Beefeater boss claims bullying LONDON: There is trouble at the Tower of London, and heads are rolling. The former governor of the tower says he was fired after challenging bullying, rule-breaking and marijuana-growing at the 900-year-old fortress. Maj Gen Keith Cima got the axe in January and appeared yesterday at an employment tribunal claiming unfair dismissal. In a written statement to the tribunal, reported in Britain’s Daily Mail newspaper, Cima alleged he was fired because he “stood up against bullies” and uncovered financial impropriety and cannabis-growing on the tower grounds.

He said that after being appointed in 2006 he found “completely unacceptable” practices including illegal raffles at the tower’s onsite social club, unauthorized tours of the Crown Jewels and allowing young female tourists to stay on the grounds. Historic Royal Palaces, the body that runs the Tower, denies Cima’s claims. It says the allegations of wrongdoing were investigated but that no proof was found. Yesterday it said it could not comment further during an ongoing hearing. —AP

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Libya rebels push forward, Russia sees ‘dead end’ BENGHAZI: Libyan rebels said yesterday they had punched through to the centre of the western town of Zliten, sparking fierce clashes with forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi, as Russia said the conflict had reached a dead end. “ The rebels advanced today inside Zliten to control the centre. Now there is a vicious fight with Gaddafi’s forces,” said Colonel Ahmed Omar Bani, a military spokesman based in the rebel stronghold of Benghazi. The fight for Zliten which lies just 120 km east of the capital Tripoli - began shortly after sunrise.

In recent weeks Libya’s rebels have been slowly advancing on Zliten from their enclave at Misrata, 70 km to the east. They have been aided by NATO air strikes, which on Monday hit one Gaddafi’s command and control centre and one military facility in the town. Zliten has long been held by Gaddafi, and was suspected of being a base for multiple rocket attacks on Misrata that have killed scores of civilians.

In the east, Bani said rebels fought for hours with Gaddafi forces at the oil hub of Brega, with a small unit of 45 troops entering the town’s eastern residential district. “There were clashes with Gaddafi’s forces and it went on four hours and then they had to retreat back,” Bani said.

On Monday, rebels said they arrested dozens of loyalist militiamen in Benghazi and suffered a blow in western Libya, losing a village at the foot of a key mountain range. At least 63 people were rounded up in an ongoing bid to tighten security in Benghazi, following an hours-long battle with Gaddafi loyalists in the opposition stronghold. But in western Libya, Gaddafi forces wrested back control of the village of Josh at the foot of the strategic Nafusa mountains and captured on Monday, AFP journalists at the scene said. The Nafusa region has seen heavy fighting since the insurgents launched a major offensive this month in a drive on the capital Tripoli.

In Moscow, meanwhile, a sen-

ior Russian official said fighting in Libya had reached a “dead end” that could only be resolved through dia-

no military solution,” the head of the foreign ministry’s Middle East and Nor th Africa depar tment,

JOSH, Libya: General Omar Al-Hariri, member of the Libyan National Transitional Council based in the rebel-held city of Benghazi, visits the frontline in western Libya yesterday. —AFP logue and new attempts at negotiation. “The situation has reached a dead end that confirms that there is

Sergei Vershinin, was quoted by Interax as saying. “We have to go back to searching for political and

diplomatic solutions,” he was quoted as saying.

Russia abstained from a vote on a UN Security Council resolution in March that opened the way for air strikes on Gaddafi regime targets in Libya but has since criticized the scale and intent of the NATO-led Western campaign. It has been involved in attempts to mediate between the rebels controlling the east of the countr y and the Gaddafi’s regime in Tripoli. Gaddafi, meanwhile, has sent an envoy to Caracas carrying a letter for his ally, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, the Latin American leader said on Monday, without revealing the contents.

“The envoy brought a letter for me. That is good, the world needs to know about this,” said Chavez, who has consistently denounced NATO strikes in Libya as a Western oil grab.

Chavez called the rebels “terrorists” and called on other countries to cut ties with the rebel National Transitional Council. “Not only do we refuse to recognize the pan-

tomime that is the Transitional Council... We say that European and other countries have recognised a group of terrorists... and given them legitimacy,” he said. He went on to say that such recognition “destroys the foundation of international law” because it would pave the way for the elevation of other opposition groups. “It’s very dangerous, and it could happen to all kinds of presidents. Tomorrow it could be any of us... This cannot be tolerated.”

On July 15 Western and regional powers designated the Benghazibased NTC as the country’s legitimate rulers, a move that gives them access to vital funds. The United States, which in June declared the NTC “the legitimate interlocutor” of the Libyan people, said Venezuela should join the international community in pressing Gaddafi to step down. “I would hope (Chavez) urged Gaddafi to step down and allow a democratic transition to take place,” US State Department spokesman Mark Toner said in Washington —AFP

Top US officer wants Iraq troop decision Iraqi leaders face internal challenges over deal BAGHDAD: Iraq must decide on the future of the US troop presence in the country as soon as possible and include provisions on immunity for American soldiers, the top US military officer said in Baghdad yesterday. The remarks by Admiral Mike Mullen, outgoing chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, came ahead of a meeting of Iraqi political leaders to discuss whether to keep any American soldiers in the country beyond a year-end pullout deadline. Following talks on Monday evening with Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki and President Jalal Talabani, Mullen said he was confident they were aware of the urgency of the issue, but added that they faced internal political challenges to reach a deal.

“Time is quickly running out for us to be able to consider any other course,” Mullen told reporters at a news conference at the US military’s Victory Base Camp on the outskirts of the Iraqi capital. “We really need a decision now. ... I am hopeful that a decision by the Iraqi leadership to enter negotiations with the US is made very quickly.” He insisted, however, that any deal would require parliamentary approval stating that US soldiers stationed in Iraq would enjoy immunity from prosecution.

Under the terms of a bilateral security pact signed in 2008, which calls for all remaining American troops to leave by the end of 2011, US soldiers are immune from prosecution under Iraqi law. American officials have pressed their Iraqi counterparts to decide quickly whether they want US troops to remain in Iraq beyond Dec 31, including during a visit last month by Defence Secretary Leon Panetta. Proposals for a training mission are gaining traction among Iraqi leaders, although nothing has yet been agreed.

Iraqi politicians have already missed a self-imposed July 23 deadline to reach a decision on the US troop presence, and political progress is rarely made during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which began on Monday in Iraq. Maliki said during

his meeting with Mullen on Monday evening that he hoped Iraqi political leaders would reach a decision during a meeting repeatedly delayed - that was set for yesterday. The premier also pressed for continuous cooperation between the two countries regardless of the outcome of the

had been close to a final agreement on the F-16s deal earlier this year, but nationwide protests forced the Baghdad government to divert funds earmarked for the warplanes to programs to help the poor. US and Iraqi military officials often remark that while they assess Iraq’s security forces

BAGHDAD: US Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen speaks during a press conference yesterday during a visit to press top Iraqi officials to make a decision on the future of the US troop presence in Iraq. —AFP meeting, especially on the subject of air defence, according to a statement from his office.

Iraq has restarted talks with the United States to purchase 36 American F-16 fighter jets, double the figure that had originally been mooted. Iraq and the US

to be capable of maintaining internal security, the country is lacking in terms of defending its borders, airspace and territorial waters.

Mullen also noted that there had been a significant decline in attacks carried out by Iran-

backed Shiite militias in Iraq in recent weeks, but stressed that such progress had to be maintained. He said US forces had voiced concern over attacks by Shiite extremist groups in talks with Iraqi leaders, and added “they’ve taken some significant steps internal to Iraq and... they’ve addressed it in Tehran”.

Mullen arrived in Iraq on Monday after a two-day trip to Afghanistan, much of which was spent visiting troops before he is due to step down in October. His Iraq visit comes days after the US Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, Stuart Bowen, warned in a report that the country was less safe than one year ago and that security was deteriorating. Figures released on Monday showed the number of Iraqis killed as a result of violence in July declined from the previous month, but still marked the second-highest such toll for 2011.

A total of 259 Iraqis - 159 civilians, 56 policemen and 44 soldiers - died in attacks last month.

June was the deadliest month for US forces in Iraq since 2009, with 14 soldiers killed. Five died in July, bringing the overall number of US troop fatalities in Iraq since the 2003 invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein to 4,474, according to data compiled by independent website www.icasualties.org. —AFP

KIRKUK: Iraqis inspect the site of an early morning car bomb attack in front of a church yesterday. —AP

Church bombed in northern Iraq SULAIMANIYAH, Iraq: A car bomb outside a Christian church wounded 23 people yesterday morning, police said, as security forces found and disabled vehicles packed with explosives outside two other parishes in northern Iraq. The bombing and the two averted attacks in the northern city of Kirkuk signal continued violence against Iraqi Christians, nearly 1 million of whom have fled since the war began in 2003. “The terrorists want to make us flee Iraq, but they will fail,” said the Rev Haithem Akram, the priest of one of the churches that was targeted. “We are staying in our country.

The Iraqi Christians are easy targets because they do not have militias to protect them. The terrorists want to terrorize us, but they will fail.”

The assault began at 6 am, when the car blew up outside the Syrian Catholic church, severely damaging the church and nearby houses, said police Col Taha Salaheddin. The parish’s leader, the Rev Imad Yalda, was the only person inside at the time of the blast and was wounded.

The 22 other wounded were people

whose nearby homes were hit by the blast, said Kirkuk police chief Maj Gen Jamal Tahir. Following the blast at the Syrian Catholic church, police discovered two more car bombs parked outside the Christian Anglican church and the Mar Gourgis church, both in downtown Kirkuk.

The ethnically and religiously mixed city of Kirkuk is located 290 km north of Baghdad. Sunni extremists often target Christians who are seen as unbelievers.

Violence against Christians stepped up late last year, climaxing in the Oct 31 siege of a Catholic cathedral in downtown Baghdad that left 68 dead and scored wounded when Al-Qaeda suicide bombers held worshippers hostage for hours before detonating their explosives belts. Since then, the Vatican and the US Congress have pleaded for Iraq’s government to do more to protect Christians in Iraq. A State Department report says Christian leaders estimate that 400,000 to 600,000 Christians remain in Iraq, down from a prewar level of as high as 1.4 million by some estimates. —AP

Egyptian forces clear activists from Tahrir Sq CAIRO: Egyptian forces swinging electrified batons and shouting the battle cry “God is great” swiftly chased off dozens of activists Monday who had refused to end four weeks of renewed protests at Tahrir Square to pressure the country’s transitional military rulers. Hundreds of riot police backed by armored vehicles and soldiers moved in to tear down the camp of dozens of tents after a group of holdout activists - some of them relatives of people killed in the uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak in February refused pleas over loudspeakers to go home. Some in the crowd hurled stones at the police. Firing shots in the air and using clubs, Egyptian forces cleared the square within minutes.

With Mubarak’s trial on charges he ordered the killing of protesters due to start today, the ruling military council appeared to run out of patience with the protesters, whose key demand is to see the former president and other members of his regime face justice.

Still, some were surprised by the security sweep, especially as it came on the first day of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month of fasting that is traditionally a time of forgiveness and tolerance.

“Attacking the families of martyrs and the people protecting them in the square seems weird. I didn’t think this

could happen on the first day of Ramadan,” said activist Omar Kamel.

Many see the trial of the 83-year old president as a key test for the tense relationship between the protest movement and the ruling gen-

minister can deliver on promises of democratic reforms before returning the country to civilian rule. They also accuse it of dragging its feet with prosecutions of regime figures and say it has so far failed to weed out

CAIRO: Protesters challenge a military vehicle during an operation to clear protesters from camping in Tahrir Square Monday. —AP erals who took over when Mubarak was forced out on Feb 11 after nearly 30 years in power. Many activists are skeptical that a military council headed by Mubarak’s longtime defense

Mubarak loyalists from the judiciary, police and civil service.

It remains to be seen if Mubarak, hospitalized for heart problems in the Red Sea resort where he has lived

since his ouster, will be brought to Cairo for his trial’s opening session.

Activists suspect Mubarak’s lawyer and others close to him are exaggerating the extent of his health problems to delay the proceedings. Mubarak is a former air force general, and the military council may find itself in a bind trying to bring one of its own to trial before a civilian court. Mubarak, his security chief and six top police officers could face the death penalty if convicted of ordering the use of lethal force against the protesters. About 850 protesters were killed in 18-day uprising.

Monday’s clashes in Tahrir, which was the center of the uprising, add to the tension. “The square is the symbol of the revolution and its continuation, as many people use it to press for unmet goals,” said Ammar Ali Hassan, a political analyst. “This clashes with the military rulers’ views, who want the pressure to stop.” Breaking up the encampment, which was set up on July 8, appeared inevitable. Most of the several hundred activists who had been camping there had already decided to end the sit-in at the start of Ramadan. A small group of activists, many of them relatives of slain protesters, refused to go before Mubarak sets foot in a courtroom. —AP

MOGADISHU: A severely malnourished displaced Somali child is admitted at Banadir hospital for treatment yesterday. —AFP

Arab and African aid ‘lacks coordination’ KHARTOUM: Somalia’s President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed said Arab and African aid for his famine-ravaged country lacks coordination, Sudanese state media reported yesterday. His comments came during a visit to Sudan one week ahead of a donor conference for Somalia’s drought victims to be hosted by the African Union in Addis Ababa. Arab and African support for alleviating the famine in Somalia was “good but lacks coordination,” he said, quoted by Sudan’s state news agency SUNA after a meeting with President Omar Al-Bashir late on Monday.

He was speaking at the start of a twoday visit to Khartoum to drum up support for his country, which is at the epi-

centre of the Horn of Africa famine that has already killed tens of thousands of Somalis. His meeting with Bashir focused on ways to coordinate the relief efforts, said Ahmed. Next week’s conference in Ethiopia is to bring together African heads of state, members of regional economic blocs and international organisations. The United Nations said on Friday that $2.48 billion was required to reach those suffering in the region. On top of chronic food shortages, Somalia has been wracked by lawlessness and violence since longtime leader Mohammed Siad Barre was ousted in a 1991 coup, with much of the country now controlled

by Al-Qaeda-linked rebel group AlShebab. —AFP

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 3, 2011

Tensions high after deadly unrest in China Page 12

Chavez opts for shaved head after chemo Page 10

6TH OF OCTOBER CITY, Egypt: A car passes by a giant sculpture showing late Egyptian President Anwar Sadat (second right) and defaced face of ousted President Hosni Mubarak (left) yesterday, a day before Mubarak will face trial.

At second left is Egyptian Nobel prize winner Ahmed Zewail, and at right is Egyptian novelist and Nobel Prize winner Naguib Mahfouz . — AP

Egyptians hold breath for Mubarak trial CAIRO: Despite official assurances that Hosni Mubarak will be in the defendant’s cage today for his murder trial, few Egyptians can imagine seeing the ousted strongman in a courtroom. Even a day before Mubarak is set to stand trial for murder along with his two sons and cronies in Cairo, there is disbelief that Egypt’s ruler for three decades will be present.

Mubarak, 83, is under arrest in a hospital in the Red Sea resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh, where he receives treatment for a heart condition.

So far he has successfully avoided transfer to Cairo - where his sons and other co-defendants are imprisoned because of his health. His lawyer, Fareed Al-Deeb, has told reporters in recent weeks that Mubarak suffered cancer and was in a coma but the hospital treating him has denied the claim. But it appeared to confirm his defence’s strategy, which was to argue that the ex-president was too sick to attend the trial, and to strengthen fears that Mubarak would successfully

delay the proceedings.

In the past few days, after the justice ministry said the trial would be held in Cairo, the interior and health ministers both said they were preparing to make sure that Mubarak will be present in the courtroom. Television footage showed Interior Minister Mansur Essawy touring the courtroom where the former president will be tried. Snippets of procedural information have been published in the press, apparently to indicate that things are moving along. Essawy told the independent Al-Masry Al-Yom newspaper that “we will transport (Mubarak) in a military plane to his trial location”. “We do not want to see tension among the people in the street because of Mubarak’s absence,” he added.

But on the street, few believe that the once all-powerful Mubarak, who ruled the country for 30 years with an iron fist, would actually appear in court. “It’s just too hard to imagine.

When I was born, Mubarak was in power, to see him in a dock is unbe-

lievable,” said Karim Sherif, 23. “It’s a very strong image, to see the man who was everything come to this. I just don’t believe he will appear tomorrow. They will make up an excuse at the last minute,” said Hoda Mohammed, 30.

Mubarak’s trial is one of the key demands of increasingly critical activists who believe that the ruling military, which is led by Mubarak appointees, would not sign off on having its former commander in chief in the dock. According to press reports, more than 1,000 security personnel will be deployed around the Cairo Police Academy in what one official described as an “unprecedented” operation. The health minister has said that Mubarak was fit enough to stand trial and his ministry would help in transferring him to court. But the ultimate decision might go to the doctors treating him, who say he is “relatively stable” but extremely depressed and weak after refusing to take food. — AFP

STRASBOURG, France: Muslims pray to mark the start of the holy fasting month of Ramadan at ‘La Grande Mosquee’ on Monday. Faithful gathered at the end of the first day of Ramadan at the mosque still under construction, which will be officially inaugurated in November. — AFP

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MP calls for Islamic constitution Conservative MPs refuse co-education, request Amir’s intervention

By Hussain Al-Qatari KUWAIT: Conser vative MP Mohammad Al-Huwaillah yesterday stressed what he said was the urgent need to hold an emergency parliamentary session on the issue of further education, claiming that the liberal bloc in Kuwait’s government and parliament is using the current education crisis as an opportunity to pass legislation allowing coeducation in Kuwait’s universities.

“The real reasons behind this failure is the government’s poor planning. The Kuwait University City in Shadadiyya was supposed to be finished completely by the end of last year, but instead they only started to actually build it last year,” he asserted. Al-Huwaillah pleaded with His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah to intervene and resolve this problem before it escalates further.

Two weeks ago, a number of MPs agreed that there was an urgent need to hold an emergency parliamentar y session to discuss the problems in Kuwait’s education system. The move followed the rejection of more than 600 students by Kuwait’s two state higher education institutes, Kuwait University and the Public Authority for Applied Education and Training (PAAET).

On the same issue, MP Faisal AlMislem has set up a hotline to han-

dle complaints from parents, students, and student unions via telephone and email.

“The thousands of rejected students are paying for the mistakes of the government,” asserted AlMislem yesterday, adding dramatically, “The failure of the government is costing us dearly, and I hereby declare Kuwait’s development plan dead.”

Al-Mislem urged parents and students to contact him in order to prepare a dossier on the issue which he will submit to the parliament in an effort to solve the education dilemma. “We have submitted a request to hold an emergency session on the education crisis in Ramadan, and so far 21 lawmakers have signed the request,” he said.

The request was also signed by fellow MPs Faisal Al-Mislem, Mohammad Al-Huwaillah, Ali AlDeqbasi, Falah Al-Sawagh, Shuaib Al-Muwaizri, Hassan Jouhar, Daifallah Buramya, Saifi Al-Saifi, Hussein Mizyed, Dulaihi Al-Hajri, Mikhled Al-Azmi, Askar Al-Enezi, Saad Zunaifer, Jamaan Al-Harbish, Ahmad Al-Saadoun, Khalid AlSultan, Walid Al-Tabtabaei, Musallam Al-Barrak, Mubarak AlWalaan, Mohammad Hayef, and Salem Al-Namlan.

Conservative MP Mohammad Hayef yesterday announced his intention to submit a proposal to make Kuwait’s constitution fully

Islamic. The parliamentarian’s announcement was released in a statement issued to coincide with the start of the month of Ramadan a day earlier. In it, he asserted that it is his duty as a Muslim with the position of a lawmaker to make such a proposal.

“As the date of the 50th anniversary of the Kuwaiti constitution draws near, and on the occasion of the holy month of Ramadan, a month when people flock to receive the mercy and blessings of God Almighty, I propose an amendment to make the celebration of Constitution Day on November complete,” said Hayef’s statement, continuing, “This amendment, I am sure, echoes the sentiments of the people of Kuwait.”

Hayef noted that his proposed amendment to the second article of the Kuwaiti constitution would make Sharia Law the main source of all legislation in Kuwait.

Hayef proposed a period of three months to amend all the existing laws, ensuring that they are Shariacompliant. The lawmaker said he has already met with several parliamentarians, and found a substantial number of them amenable to his proposal.

Hayef said that he wishes to submit the proposal to the speaker of the parliament as soon as an emergency parliamentary session is held, which he hopes will be soon.

‘No instructions to halt work at port’ KUWAIT: The Ministry of Public Works (MPW) continues construction operations at the Mubarak AlKabeer Por t project site as no orders to suspend work has been received so far. This was assured by Minister of Public Works and State Minister of Municipality Affairs Dr Fadhel Safar, who told that to reporters while welcoming visitors and well-wishers at the beginning of Ramadan.

“ The Foreign Ministr y holds meetings with other state departments to talk about updates regarding the Mubarak Al-Kabeer Port”, Dr Safar said, indicating that the MPW is committed to implementing the project “unless orders to suspend operations come from the Cabinet”. Meanwhile, the minister revealed that the Fatwa and Legislation Department prepared a draft law for the establishment of

an independent authority for food commodities, as well as amendments to impose stricter measures against bad food trade. Dr Safar also addressed the Mishref sewer plant situation, mentioning “technical difficulties” as the cause for delay to reopen it. He added that the plant is set to operate again within a month “as the ministry is currently addressing all technical issues”. — Al-Qabas

Kuwaiti divers remove waste off Um Al-Maradem KUWAIT: As part of its ongoing marine environmental protection campaign, the Kuwait Dive Team recently removed a large amount of rubbish discarded in the waters around the coral reefs off Um Al-Maradem Island.

In a press release issued yesterday, the operation coordinator Nawaf Bin Hajji explained that the divers from the team, which is part of the Environmental Voluntary Foundation, decided to carry out the waste removal initiative after becoming aware during routine checks of coral reefs there that large numbers of items potentially harmful to marine life, including large tires and electrical cables, had been dumped in the waters around them.

“The divers were able to deal with obstacles, such as currents and the heavy weight of the waste items, using airbags to raise tons of garbage from the sea floor,” Al-Hajji explained.

The operation director reiterated his previous calls to the public not to throw rubbish overboard during cruises or fishing trips, most especially not around coral reef areas.

KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah met at Seif Palace yesterday Chairman of President of the Supreme Consultative Committee on the Implementation of the Provisions of the Muslim Sharia Law and committee members. The committee presented His Highness with a compendium on the ruling family. The meeting was attended by Deputy Amiri Diwan Minister Sheikh Ali Jarrah Al-Sabah.

Kuwaiti man dies of drug overdose KUWAIT: A 36-year-old Kuwaiti man was found dead at his home in Mubarakiya as a result of a drug overdose. Emergency services personnel were quickly at the location, with the man being pronounced dead at the scene, where he was surrounded by drug paraphernalia.

An autopsy later confirmed that he had died of an overdose.

Meanwhile, a Kuwaiti man in his thirties was rushed to Farwaniya Hospital after he was found unconscious following a drug overdose at his family’s home in the area. The man’s brother called for help after discovering him comatose in his bedroom, with a syringe beside him. The drug user is currently recovering in the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit.

The officers apprehended seven women, all Asian, at the flat, as well as three Asian men who ran the brothel. A young child born to one of the women as the result of an illegal relationship was also taken into custody during the raid.

Moggy magician A man who managed to fool hundreds of people into believing that he could solve their personal problems through black magic, was recently arrested in Hasawi. The GCC national was arrested red-handed in a sting operation after agreeing to help an undercover police officer posing as a client in exchange for KD300. The self-styled magician was taken into custody despite reportedly threatening to turn the arresting officers into cats.

Residency violators Police officers who stopped to offer two men help with repairing their broken down car ended up arresting them after finding out that they were illegal residents. The incident, which took place in the Capital Governorate, where patrol officers approached two men standing beside their broken down car. While checking their identification, police

iPhone thief A young thief who stole a large number of valuables from cars parked outside local malls has been arrested. Detectives were investigating 19 thefts, all with a similar modus operandi in which cash, cell phones and other items were stolen from the cars parked near local shopping malls. Their investigation eventually led them to a young bedoon (stateless) man who was selling used iPhones and iPads at suspiciously low prices. After being taken into custody and questioned, the man admitted to being behind the thefts.

Brothel bust Farwaniya police arrested a group of men and women during a raid on an apartment in Khaitan which was being used as a brothel.

Drug possession Mubarak Al-Kabeer police arrested a man with a history of criminal conduct after he was caught in possession of drugs. The arrest took place in Sabah Al-Salem after the Kuwaiti suspect aroused the suspicion of patrol officers when he became visibly unsettled as the patrol vehicle approached his car.

After they found 25 Keptagon amphetamine tablets in the man’s vehicle he was taken into custody.

discovered that residency of both the Bangladeshi nationals had expired, so they took both men into custody.

Big brawl Seven people were hospitalized with stab wounds following a vicious brawl at a Salmiya cafe.

Security officers rushed to the scene following reports about a fight between 35 Syrian nationals and three Kuwaitis. Emergency services personnel were quickly at the scene after witnesses reported that a number of people had been injured in the fracas. Six Syrian men and one Kuwaiti man were taken to Mubarak Hospital for treatment due to stab wounds, whilst the others involved in the fight were taken directly into custody. The investigation into the incident is continuing.

Public smoking Two men were arrested in Hawally when they were caught smoking in public during the first day of Ramadan. The two Asian men, who were spotted smoking by officers on patrol in Tunis Street, were immediately taken into custody at Nugra police station. —AlQabas, Al-Watan, Al-Rai, Al-Anbaa

One dead in crash

By Hanan Al-Saadoun KUWAIT: An Asian motorist died at the scene following a car accident in South Surra yesterday. The body was removed for autopsy.

Abduction, rape Detectives are hunting for two men who abducted and raped a young woman in the Riggae area.

The young woman, a European expatriate, was driving down a street in the area with a female friend, also European, when they were stopped by the two men who abducted her and took her to a location near the Avenues mall where they repeatedly raped her.

When she was abducted, her friend immediately called police to report the incident. Two hours later she was released by her attackers, who

fled the scene. On being questioned by police, the young woman said that she was unsure of exactly where the attackers had taken her, but it was near the Avenues and surrounded by high buildings.

Jleeb mugging A Kuwaiti man was attacked and robbed by three thugs in Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh, who stole KD180 from him. A hunt is underway for the muggers.

Bootleggers busted Farwaniya security men raided a Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh flat that had been turned into an illicit distillery, arresting all those inside and referring them to the relevant authorities.

Memories of first Ramadan after liberation of Kuwait in 1991 KUWAIT: Unforgettable are the days of the holy month of Ramadan on March 17, 1991, three weeks after the liberation of Kuwait, historian Salih Misbah said recalling the dark skies, plumes of smoke, and the burning oil wells.

That year, Ramadan came with the country suffering a devastated environment as result of the clouds of smoke billowing from nearly 700 oil wells set ablaze by the occupying Iraqi troops.

Misbah, member of the Rumaithiya cooperative society during the seven-

month Iraqi occupation of Kuwait, said.

“Weather was cold, power cut off, water in short supply, and the air was filled with smoke”, Misbah said, recalling how people and clothes were soaked with carbon-saturated burnt oil smoke.

He said the people were living tough conditions with shortage of fuel, bread, and baby foodstuff. The country’s bakeries began production operations in the last days of April, he added.

Some people digged water wells in their own backyards to overcome the

water shortage, he said.

Food supply started to pour into Kuwait from neighboring Saudi Arabia, he said, noting that cooperative markets were totally empty-shelved.

He praised the coordination of the popular committees, citizens, and cooperative markets back then as they tried to solve the many problems.

Despite the difficulties, people were enjoying strong bonds and mosques became the ever-frequented gathering place. — KUNA

Babtain Foundation plans cultural event in Dubai KUWAIT: Kuwait’s Foundation of Abdulaziz Saud Al-Babtain Prize for Poetic Creativity announced yesterday the launch of a cultural event on October 16 in Dubai, on the theme of “Poetry for coexistence”.

The event is being organized under the patronage of UAE Vice President,

Prime Minister, and Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum and a number of Arab and foreign poets, as researchers and enthusiasts will be attending. The cultural event is set to last for three days. Academics and writers will discuss peace and relations between cultures.— KUNA

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KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, and Al-Sabah family received at Bayan Palace on Monday citizens and residents who extended their greetings and congratulations marking the occasion of Ramadan. The event reflected the spirit of one family and compassion between all who live on this land.

News

in brief

MEW assures on water status KUWAIT: The Ministry of Electricity and Water (MEW) was able to maintain a stable supply of water during July, despite the high level of consumption which on some days exceeded the daily level of production.

“The ministry’s strategic water reserve is safe”, said a ministry insider adding that the surplus helped cope with days of extensive consumption. According to the source, the highest consumption level recorded last month was 407,404 gallons recorded on July 10, while production rate on the same day reached 404,390 gallons. Meanwhile, the highest production rate recorded was 416,416 gallons on July 25 of the month, which also saw a total of 391,383 gallons consumed.

MPs propose draft law KUWAIT: MPs Faisal Al-Mislem, Ahmad Al-Saadoun, Falah Al-Sawwegh and Mubarak Al-Waalan have proposed a draft law to open a complementary credit in the ministry’s budget for the year 2011-12 in support of the scholarship article at the Ministry of Higher Education and marked it as urgent. The MPs explained that the suggestion is to support external scholarships and the internal scholarships in the private universities. The amount requested is KD30,000.

CCTVs to be installed in schools KUWAIT: A local company has started installing surveillance cameras in public schools after the Ministry of Education decided to boost security in educational facilities. ‘The surveillance cameras’ project is significant to create a safe environment for students and teachers alike’, said Undersecretary Assistant for Planning and Information Affairs Dr Khalid AlRasheed, who added that the project is expected to be launched in the next school year. In the meantime, Al-Rasheed expressed his support towards providing students with laptops instead of iPads as part of the e-education plan, saying that the ministry couldn’t carry out studies to assess the success of using iPads in educational facilities because no institution has ever utilized the device as a part of the curriculum.

Football tournament organized KUWAIT: Kuwait municipality will organize a football tournament during the month of Ramadan from August 7-10 under the patronage of Minister of Public Works and State Minister for Municipal Affairs Dr Fadhel Safar. Championship director Ali Abdeen said that municipality organizes this championship annually and it has been very successful which has encouraged them to continue.

Abdeen said that several teams that represent various sectors of the municipality will participate in the championship which will be held at Salmiya Club play ground. The public will stand a chance to win gifts through a daily draw and there will be an exhibition match before the finals on August 10 led by Minister Dr Fadhel Safar and the team of the municipal council.

Consumers blame lack of monitoring for price rise KUWAIT: The beginning of Ramadan means an increase in purchasing food commodities. At the same time, it also marks the start of price hikes for many consumable items.

The Ministry of Commerce announced before Ramadan that efforts will be intensified in pursuit of any abrupt increases in the local market. But consumers who can’t find an Arab sheep to buy for less than KD100 argue that these statements are nothing but empty promises. And while boycotting a commodity is regularly mentioned as the means to force price reduction, many people admit that there are certain items like raw meat that they simply can’t do without during Ramadan.

Speaking to reporters conducting tours across local markets, many consumers agreed that prices of commodities usually increase during special occasions around the world.

At the same time, they argued that local prices are increasing to unjustifiably high levels which they claim happens due to “lack of monitoring on the ministry’s part”. Some consumers also said that there are citizens who go to Saudi Arabia to stock up on commodities before the holy month, which is a cheaper option than to go shopping in local grocery stores. — Al-Qabas

KU admission row sparks new Cabinet, NA struggle Dilemma of high school graduates KUWAIT: The start of Ramadan singled the beginning of a new confrontation between the Cabinet and Parliament pertaining to the dilemma of high school graduates with no room to be admitted in the Kuwait University. While members from the parliamentary opposition announced plans to call for an extraordinary session to discuss the matter, the Cabinet is reportedly working to abort the plan, and the Minister of Education and Higher Education made it clear that he is only interested in attending meetings for the educational committee.

According to an insider, the Cabinet is coordinating with lawmakers who share its opinion against the session, in order to foil all attempts to hold it. In the meantime, sources within the parliament say that certain lawmakers were told by the Cabinet that it prefers the KU admission topic to be addressed during the educational committee meeting tomorrow instead of holding an emergency session. The same sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity also indicate that the government believes that the issue is “purely academic” and thus is better dis-

cussed by professionals from the field who already have many options to pick from. It also believes that a session could be abused by MPs “looking to settle differences with state officials”.

Dr Faisal Al-Mislem - the lawmaker who first launched calls for the extraordinary session - confirmed recently that “there are attempts already in place to abort the session”, accusing the Cabinet in a recent statement of being unable to “evaluate the real risk” that the admission problem leaves on Kuwait’s society.

In the meantime, MP Saleh Al-Mulla heavily criticized statements made by fellow lawmaker Mohammad Hayef, pertaining to amending Article 2 of the constitution to make the Islamic Sharia the main source of legislation instead of being a source. Calling it a “conspiracy”, Al-Mulla rejected the notion of any constitutional amendments “unless they assure more freedoms to citizens”, reported Al-Qabas.

On the other hand, MP Dr Waleed Al-Tabtabaei announced support to Hayef’s initiative, asserting in a

KNG guidance staff offer Ramadan advice to colleagues KUWAIT: Staff from the Kuwait National Guards’ (KNG) Directorate of Moral Guidance yesterday visited a number of sites protected by the internal and border security force to offer advice to KNG personnel there on various aspects of the holy month of Ramadan.

Directorate chairman Colonel Mohammad Al-Farhan told the Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) that the purpose of the visits was to brief the KNG personnel on the specific

obligations of fasting, according to the Holy Quran and the sunnah, as well as providing scientific evidence of the associated benefits. During the visits, the directorate officers also urged their colleagues in the National Guard to exert greater-than-usual effort during the holy month.

Col. Al-Farhan explained that amongst the KNG-protected sites visited were the ministries of information and foreign affairs, and the Doha fuel storage depot. — KUNA

MCI announces Ramadan opening hours KUWAIT: The Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MCI) announced yesterday that its subsidized food distribution outlets will have different opening hours during Ramadan, with most operating an early shift between 9:00 AM and 1:00 PM and opening at night from 8:00 PM to 11:30 PM. The ministries complex in Government Mall will be open between 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM during the holy

Panel to discuss financing of development projects

month, with the MCI’s departments operating from 9:00 AM and 1:00 PM, the announcement explained.

Minister Amani Buresli has instructed that every possible assistance be provided to members of the public visiting MCI facilities throughout the Ramadan period, especially those wishing to file complaints over commercial fraud or unwarranted price increases. — KUNA

MP Al-Huwailah explores solutions for seat issue

By A. Saleh KUWAIT: The ministerial economic committee is to hold a meeting next week to prepare a blueprint for banks’ financing of development-related projects in order to ensure that the outline is completed and submitted to the Council of Ministers for approval during the month of Ramadan.

Those participating in the meeting will include development minister Abdulwahab Al-Haroun, senior officials from the Central Bank of Kuwait and representatives from local banks.

Discussions at the meeting will focus on various areas, including possible cooperation between local and foreign banks in the financing initiatives, although reports indicate that the local banks would be capable of financing the projects without external assistance.

MP Ahmad Al-Saadoun has submitted a parliamentary question to Minister of Public Works Dr. Fadhil Safar on the economic and legal committees formed to deal specifically with issues concerning the troubled Mubarak Al-Kabeer Port project due to the large scale of investment there.

On the same issue, Al-Saadoun asked the minister: “You have asked for the subject to be put before the Council of Ministers in order to activate the Memorandum of Understanding signed on April 18th, 2008...so what is this memorandum?”

The MP requested copies of all the financial reports compiled by the two committees, as well as a copy of the MoU signed with the Singapore International Port Authority and copies of the agreements signed with those companies responsible for carrying out the work on the project to date.

KUWAIT: MP Mohammed Al-Huwailah appealed to His Highness the Amir, to personally intervene and solve the problem of the students and provide each one with a seat in the University of Kuwait, before thousands of students pay for the confusion policy concerning their admission.

Al-Huwailah approved an emergency term to solve the problem of thousands of students who graduated from high school and passed the entrance exams at Kuwait University but were not accepted. He demanded that the government work on reforming the educational process, and plan for the new graduates to increase the capacity of Kuwait University.

He explained that students have nothing to do with the confusion policy and solving this problem should not be done at the expense of the student.

He added that the government has several options: either finalize Shidadia University plans which were supposed to have been finalized since last year, or increase teachers’ timing till 8 pm.

He denied that the ban on co-education law is behind the crisis in the university and said that this law was approved at public will w h i c h re f l e c t s t h e n a t u re o f t h e K u w a i t i Muslim society.

recent statement that the proposed amendment “won’t turn Kuwait into a second Taleban”. He further argued that the stipulation which the proposal provide is already found in the constitutions of Egypt and Sudan “but they never turned into [a Taleban rule]”.

Moreover, Al-Tabtabaei believes that the amendment would get approval of 22 MPs if proposed. He also argues that “implementing the Sharia Law is the solution for many problems which started following the financial crises”.

In other news, Al-Tabtabaei took part in a seminar Sunday night which inaugurated the activities of a recently inaugurated association in support of the people of Syria among activities from Gulf Cooperation Council countries. During the seminar, the participants condemned the killing of civilians in Syrian cities, while also slamming the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs for suspending imams who addressed these incidents. They further reiterated their demand to expel the Syrian ambassador and cut ties with the Syrian regime. — Al-Qabas, Al-Rai

Iraqi MP likens Kuwaiti action to Israelis’ treatment of Palestinians

By A Saleh KUWAIT: An Iraqi MP yesterday further ratcheted up tension over Kuwait’s Mubarak Al-Kabeer Port project, likening Kuwait’s insistence on continuing with its plans for the port’s construction to the actions of the Israeli authorities towards Palestinians.

MP Alia Nsayef suggested that any cooperation shown by Kuwait with Iraq over port project would ultimately improve Kuwait’s image at regional and international gatherings, rather than making its actions comparable to those of the Israeli authorities.

The MP further claimed that the countries of the region and the world have a negative view of Kuwait’s stance on the issue, feeling that Kuwait’s behavior is racist and isolationist, and leading to the world viewing Kuwaitis as the ‘Jews of Arabia,’ an old but controversial slur used against the Kuwaiti people.

The MP stopped just short of direct threats, saying that progress on the port project will be stopped sooner or later whether or not Kuwait likes it, and insisting that Kuwait must seize the opportunity to end work on it now in order to enhance its image regionally and internationally and demonstrate respect for neighboring countries and international agreements.

Deputy Iraqi President Saleh Al-Mutlaq also weighed in on the issue, suggesting that the location selected for the port was chosen in a conscious effort to provoke Iraq.

Al-Mutlaq voiced hope that the Kuwaiti people would put pressure on those attempting to create rifts between the brotherly nations to desist from doing so.

Speaking during a meeting with tribal heads from the Basra area, the Iraqi Deputy Premier said, ‘We look upon the Kuwaitis as our beloved brothers and have no intention to cause fear in any Kuwaiti woman as happened previously. At the same time, however, we feel the pain of the wrongdoing being perpetrated by the Kuwaiti side.’ Al-Mutlaq also warned that the construction of the port could threaten the proposed rail link between Kuwait and Iraq, saying, ‘We stand firm against any attempt to increase cooperation with any state attempting to hurt Iraq and nobody should dream that a railway link will be made with any state that wishes to strangle Iraqi.’

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Ramadan Message

Spiritual, humbling experience

By Frank Baker, The British Ambassador

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SATIRE WIRE

The hunter-gatherer within

By Sawsan Kazak

sawsank@kuwaittimes.net

R

ow upon row of piping hot dishes, platters of sumptuous cheese, tables filled with fresh vegetables and a dessert section to satisfy any sweet tooth. Strolling down the aisles of food, your imagination goes wild with all the combinations you can make once you start to eat.

Buffets seem like a good idea initially, especially to someone fasting. There is instant gratification; no annoying wait for the food to be made in the kitchen and then brought out by the waiter.

Buffets offer the luxury of variety and choice as well as affordability. During Ramadan, buffets are the norm when you dine out. But this food experience overwhelms our senses and our systems are not made to handle such stimulation.

We are all gluttons deep down and it probably evolved during our huntergatherer days when food was scarce and we had to stock up when we had the chance. Bringing this theory along to a buffet can be dangerous for your health.

Buffet-goers pile their plates high with unbelievable amounts of food;

much more than is needed to be satisfied or that they would ever consume at home. Who really eats meat, chicken and fish in one meal as well as rice, pasta and bread? Whose stomach can really handle four different types of desserts and three kinds of juice? Unless you are training to be the next star sumo wrestler, there is no need to consume such a large amount of food.

Because you paid the fixed price for the buffet, you think it’s your job to try every item presented to you and if you don’t, you will feel guilty. You make multiple trips to the rows of food, even well after you started feeling full. Your inner hunter-gatherer is unleashed and you cannot stop eating. Your brain is hardwired to keep consuming as long as food is available.

It doesn’t matter how much self-control you believe you have, everyone overeats at a buffet. The next time you are at a buffet, take it easy on your stomach and limit yourself to a few key dishes and a small sampling of the desserts.

Just because it’s there, does not mean you have to eat it.

o matter how many years I live in the Middle East, I always find the experience of Ramadan both spiritual and humbling. The slowing in the pace of life during the day provides the time and space for contemplation that we so often miss in the chaotic din of modern life. Regardless of one’s religion, this is a time for us all to focus on the thing that matter; family, community, and our own personal relationships with God. I have found, however, that the Kuwaiti Ramadan experience also offers something extra compared to other Middle Eastern countries I have lived in - the Diwaniya circuit. I spend much time out and about, in order to experience this special Kuwaiti take on Arab culture, and especially to catch up with all the Kuwaiti friends I have met over the eighteen months I have been in this fascinating country.

I always enjoy the culture - everything from soccer, cricket and fishing to the National Development Plan and current events in the Middle East. And it doesn’t matter if we’re discussing whether or not the Premiership is the best soccer league in the world, or the importance of supporting the Transitional National

Council in Libya - we often agree. Even if we don’t, though, we can respect each other’s opinions and be tolerant of each other’s views.

That is the beauty of the Diwaniya.

I especially love the free and open way in which views are expressed in Kuwait; this is a trait that both Kuwaitis and Brits hold dear.

Indeed, this similarity is just one of the many links and connections that exist between our two countries. This is particularly relevant in this very special year where we have celebrated fifty years of Kuwaiti independence from the UK, and twenty years since a UN force, including a very strong British contingent, helped liberate Kuwait from Iraqi occupation.

We have a powerful shared history, and today these links are as strong as ever. We are proud that so many Kuwaitis see London as their second home, or attend university in the UK, and we are equally proud of the continuing involvement of British companies in supporting Kuwait in the ambitious and impressive National Development Plan.

During Ramadan, however, I like to think about another kind of link between Kuwait and the UK; people often forget that Britain has a large, prominent and well-integrated Muslim population. And at this time when all the followers of Islam engage in fasting, prayer and reflection, together, as a community, I have been thinking not just of the Muslims here, in Salmiya and Jahra, but also the Muslims back home in Salford and Southhall.

Islam has a long and proud history in the UK. Relations between Britain and the Arab World have been documented as far back as the 8th

centur y AD, and Muslim communities descended primarily from Yemeni and Somali sailors - have lived in Cardiff, Wales and Tyneside in the North of England for more than 150 years, contributing greatly to Britain’s shipbuilding heritage and the culture of those areas. Indeed the records show that the first mosque in the UK was opened in Cardiff in 1860.

Today there are around 2.8 million Muslims living in the UK, and over 1,500 mosques. This makes it the second most popular religion in the country after Christianity. There are eight Muslim MPs in Parliament, and the contribution of British Muslims to British society is a justly valued and integral part of modern Britain. This can be seen in the popularity of people like the world light-welterweight boxing champion, Amir Khan, the first Muslim member of the British Cabinet, Baroness Warsi (who visited Kuwait last year), and the prominent businessman James Caan, who also appears on the hit TV show ‘Dragons Den.’ This month, all these people will be celebrating their Ramadan in the UK, and British people of all faiths and backgrounds will be going out of their way to help them as they fast through the long summer days, just as myself and my colleagues in the British Embassy support our Muslim colleagues, friends and families as they work and fast in the Kuwaiti heat.

My Muslim friends tell me Ramadan is about community - this is what modern Britain is about as well. We continue to have a lot in common.

Kuwait Digest

Freedoms are same everywhere

By Abdullatif Al-Duaij

T

he Editor-in-Chief of Iraq’s Al-Sabah daily, Abdul-Sattar Al-Baiyadhi, was reportedly relieved of his duties on the direct orders of the Iraqi government, apparently following complaints from Kuwait about articles that Al-Baiyadhi published in the newspaper.

This news, which was recently reported in local Kuwaiti papers, means in short that the Iraqi government sacked the Editor-in-Chief of a newspaper after Kuwait objected to certain items published by it. This is a practice similar to that committed by regimes that interfere in other countries’ internal affairs and contributes to restricting freedoms there. If there were interventions to boost

democracy and freedoms in other countries, no one would mind. But the case mentioned above is definitely a contribution to the suppression of freedoms.

As if Kuwait needed more heat to come from Iraq! Many people in Kuwait believe that there are individuals in Iraq who have animosity towards Kuwait, and are seeking any excuse to justify a tirade against their southeastern neighbor. Supposing that these allegations were true, the Kuwaiti government definitely shouldn’t give opportunities to those who seek to damage the relationship between Kuwait and Iraq.

Regardless of how Al-Baiyadhi views Kuwait and of whether his allegations were true or not, Kuwait’s government has no right to prevent him from presenting his

point of view, let alone asking their Iraqi counterpart to take actions against him for the opinion he expressed. Not only is it an intervention in Iraq’s internal affairs, but such a demand violates the principles of democracy and constitutional regulation that set the foundations of governance in Kuwait.

A government that believes in its own citizens’ freedom of opinion must equally believe in the freedom of opinion for citizens of other countries. Likewise, a government that contributes to restricting freedoms in other countries will invariably enforce yet stricter measures against the freedoms of its own people. I hope that the news of AlBaiyadhi’s dismissal is untrue or at least inaccurate. I also hope that our government will deny these reports. — Al-Qabas

in my view

Where did all the youth initiatives go?

By Hussain Al-Qatari

A

couple of years ago, a youth initiative entitled Oqsem, Arabic for ‘I Vow’ swept across Kuwait spreading a message of positivity and tolerance in Kuwait. At the time, the initiative was lauded by local media for its effort to salvage damage caused by social divisions.

Thinking back, I really don’t remember how our social unity was threatened at the time. When I compare the situation then to how it is now, I find that the current tension is much more acute than it has ever been.

The sectarian Sunni and Shiite divide is still ongoing, deeply albeit subtly. Many people immediately blame the sect the minute a mistake has been made. After the sect comes the political ideology.

3. Mount Uhad is: a. Huge mountain in Makkah b. A sandy mountain in Jeddah c. Rocky mountain about 4 km from Madinah

Kuwait Digest

Political summer heat

By Terki Al-Azmi

D

uring the summer, we try to cope with high temperatures by avoiding exposure to the sun and staying in air conditioned indoors locations. But while it might seem that we can cope with the extremely hot weather, nothing can save us from the heat of summer’s political struggle as many MPs threaten to use interpellations to tackle governmental problems.

So far, MPs have threatened to file grilling motions against the ministers holding the following portfolios: health, education, municipality, commerce, finance, defense, Islamic affairs, oil, foreign affairs and information. No one denies a lawmaker’s right to file an interpellation motion based on constructive criticism, but to see almost all the Cabinet members

‘I don’t mean to offend the young entrepreneurs who dream of turning their projects into reality, but the current situation necessitates that the general interest of the youth includes more than just selling home-made pies and cupcakes for monetary gain.’

‘Mere speculation about a malpractice taking place at a state department donít count as a solid reason for a grilling motion to be filed against the department in question’s minister. First, a lawmaker should provide evidence of any accusations they make before using it as the basis of an interpellation’

The liberals versus the conservatives is a debate that keeps resurfacing every time an issue crops up. When the education crisis was in discussion, the issue turned suddenly from a debate concerning the future of the youth into a problem about liberals versus conservatives.

Where are the youth in all of this? Sadly, the majority are following the trend of talent exhibitions, which from my personal experience is very commercial and lacks substance and depth.

I don’t mean to offend the young entrepreneurs who dream of turning their projects into reality, but the current situation necessitates that the general interest of the youth includes more than just selling home-made pies and cupcakes for monetary gain. Society needs us to give back, and with the current divisions among members of society and lack of cultural and social initiatives to bring everyone together, we can’t hope for things to get better. I have faith in the youth of Kuwait and I think all situations can be salvaged if there is determination and unity, but the youth must wake up from their slumber first.

threatened with grilling motions is a problem that, in my opinion, needs to be addressed.

I don’t think that mere speculation about a malpractice taking place at a state department counts as a solid reason for a grilling motion to be filed against the department in question’s minister. First, a lawmaker should provide evidence of any accusations they make before using it as the basis of an interpellation. Among the many subjects that have raised tensions in the political scene this summer, perhaps one issue has sufficient concrete evidence to justify a grilling motion; this is the issue of favoritism in the appointing of senior officials. This approach ultimately creates a state of inconsistency between the requirements of the current phase, and the productivity of those senior officials who weren’t appointed on the basis of quality and efficiency to begin with.

When this approach became the governmental norm, it is almost inevitable and necessary that the next term of the parliament will feature major tensions. By changing its approach to this issue, therefore, the government could help to reduce the political heat, which could otherwise reach boiling point. — Al-Rai

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No violations recorded on first day of Ramadan

By Nawara Fattahova

KUWAIT: The first day of Ramadan saw no violations of the regulations prohibiting public eating, drinking or smoking during the fasting period between sunrise and sunset, according to a senior military official.

Anyone spotted breaking the regulations by publicly consuming any food or drink or smoking a cigarette, even alone in their cars, is subject to a fine of KD100 or one month’s imprisonment.

“The police caught no violators consuming food in public places during the first day of the holy month of Ramadan,” said Colonel Adel Al-Hashash, the director of the Ministry of Interior’s (MoI) Public Relations and Moral Guidance Department. “The ministry always

holds awareness campaigns before the holy month starts to make people aware of the prohibitions on eating, drinking and smoking in public during the day in order to avoid their being penalized.”

Speaking to the Kuwait Times, Colonel Al-Hashash continued, “If a violator is caught by the police, he’ll be taken to the police station and a case will be registered. Then his case will be transferred to the court and the judge will decide on his penalty, which is usually a financial fine of up to KD100 or one month’s imprisonment.”

On the traffic congestion problems that worsen during the Ramadan period, the senior MoI official pointed out that this happens every year. “The traffic concentrates on the Fahaheel Road and Fourth Ring Road. This situa-

tion has led the Ministry of Interior to take an exceptional decision to allow vehicles to use the hard shoulder to pass other vehicles,” he explained, stressing that this exception will only be allowed during Ramadan and solely during the two busiest rush hour periods, as well as only if drivers stay under a top speed of 45 kilometers per hour.

Col. Al-Hashash was positive about the lack of traffic violations recorded on the first day of the holy month: “We hope that this will remain the case throughout the whole month,” he said. “The interior ministry also advises people to use shared or public transport in order to reduce traffic congestion, and people can also leave their homes earlier or later to avoid getting stuck in jams.”

No mercy for lawbreaking retailers: Municipality KUWAIT: The director of the Municipality’s Commercial Quality Control Department stressed yesterday that there will be no mercy shown to any shop-owners or merchants who attempt to benefit at the public expense by increasing their prices.

“We have been working behind the scenes, but now with the help of the minister we are able to publicize our efforts to help all those living in the country,” explained the director, Rashid Al-Hajri. “It’s been decided that all commercial quality control centers will be open around the clock, with staff working three shifts, so nobody will be able to escape detection. There

are now 108 new trainees at the control center who will work with the 160 staff already there. This means that there will now be 208 inspectors working around the clock.”

Under the Municipality’s new strategy, inspectors will conduct detailed inspections of all outlets suspected of increasing their prices or offering substandard goods, Al-Hajri explained, stressing that only a tiny minority of Kuwait’s 20,000-plus retail outlets have committed such violations. The official added that although the existing commercial control centers were adequate to cover the country’s needs previously, the population growth

seen in recent years means that two more centers are set to be opened to cope with the additional work required.

Al-Hajri said that inspectors have been trained to take every precaution whilst carrying out their duties, with outstanding inspectors to be suitably rewarded and honored. The official added that through working closely with the public, the government and all the bodies responsible for monitoring retail outlets, the municipality would be able to ensure that any retailers attempting to violate commercial regulations are quickly caught and penalized.

Bamia Bil Zeit How to prepare Small fresh okra 500 g (can be frozen) 2 fresh tomatoes peeled and diced 1 Tbs tomato paste 1/2 bunch of coriander 2 cloves of Garlic chopped 1 peeled onion cut into thin wedges 1/4 cup fresh corianders cut into small pieces 1/4 cup olive oil 2 Tbs lemon juice 1 Tbs All spices

Salt& pepper to season 1. Fry the Bamia (okra) in the olive oil until it has brown color.

2. Add salt and pepper to taste.

3. Add diced tomatoes.

4. Add the bunch of chopped coriander.

5. Add tomato paste 6. Cook everything together until the Bamia (okra) becomes soft.

7. Add garlic at the end of cooking, it will give the dish a delicious taste 8. For decoration add fried onion.

Lentil Soup 250 g red lentil 250 g black lentil 3 tbsp olive oil 1 onion peeled and chopped 1 carrot, chopped 2 garlic cloves, crushed 1 tbsp tomato paste 1 potato, peeled and diced 750 ml vegetable stock 1/2 tsp ground cumin Salt and ground black pepper How to prepare 1. After washing saute the Lentil with onions in oil until they are glossy. Stir garlic, potato, tomato, carrots, cumin powder and saute for 10 minutes.

2. Once the vegetables have been sauteed for 10 minutes, stir vegetables stock, salt, and pepper. Slowly reduce the heat and cook for 1 hour on low to medium heat until the lentils are tender.

3. Sprinkle the soup with parsley, crotons and fresh lemon before serving.

Is there enough for poor people in the country?

KUWAIT: No one can deny the fact that our country is a very wealthy one which helps in making it more beautiful and provides a shelter for the people in need. But a problem is that a large part of this wealth goes to the other countries and there isn’t much left for the people here. Charitable societies and committees try to help people who are in need but they don’t have enough money for that in spite it having a huge budget.Um Ahmed AlAazmy went through a hard time financially which made her seek help from charitable organizations.

She is a mother of six and her husband has retired which put her in a hard spot with the house payments and car premiums.

Al-Aazmy said that she went to several committees and they helped her pay her premium by giving her KD700 and another group gave her KD450 every three months but it was delayed for six months and even after approaching the authorities, nothing was done for her.

Abu Abd Al-Rahman used to frequently get migraine headaches which made him quit his job of delivering food. He emphasized that he was unable to pay his house rent of KD300. He said that he asked for help from charitable organizations and was offered KD50 to 100.

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mixed motives for fasting Chef Ibrahim Naji SeniorExecutive Sous Chef

ARTICHOKE SALAD (SERVES 5 PERSONS) Ingredients 5 pcs. Artichoke 50 gm chopped coriander 75 gm dried tomatoes slices 50 gm olive oil 50 gm lemon juice 70 gm sliced black olives 30 gm salt 50 gm walnuts 30 gm sesame seeds

‘Whether fasting comes from pressure, social opportunities, appreciation of the principles or from genuine religious beliefs, one point is undeniable: it really connects society. Expats and locals alike can be seen having Iftar together and heading out in the early morning to eat Suhoor.’

By Lisa Conrad Faisal, a 25-year-old Kuwaiti man, loves every aspect of Ramadan, except one. “Do I fast? No. But I love Ramadan. I get to spend time with my family and catch up with friends. Everyone’s so happy in the evening as they’ve finally had something to eat, so the atmosphere is great.”

As Ramadan gains pace and those fasting grow accustomed to their daily hunger pangs, it is becoming apparent that there are mixed motives for fasting - or appearing to fast. Whilst the shared motive is almost always claimed to be one of a religious nature, fasters’ claims don’t always match their actions. One motivation for some, it seems, is the bustling social life associated with the Ramadan period.

With cafÈs and restaurants staying open right up until Suhoor, some so packed that customers pour onto the pavements necessitating the setting up of makeshift seating areas. Ramadan is clearly a very sociable time, and enjoying such activities certainly doesn’t indicate purely social motives for fasting. Dr Fahad Al-Nasser of Kuwait University’s Sociology Department offered some insight into the social aspect of Ramadan: “The social side is enjoyed by all,” he explained. “Everyone spends time with family, which is the main social aspect and such a wonderful part of Ramadan.”

Social perks and fake fasting However, there is a definite difference between enjoying the social side of Ramadan and taking part in it purely for the social perks or because of pressure from family. Dr Al-Nasser continued, “There is a divide between those fasting. There are two categories:

Method of preparation Bring the artichoke to the boil and then peel and cut into slices. In a serving plate, arrange the artichoke slices with the dried tomatoes, olives, walnuts and the chopped fresh coriander.

Salad dressing: Mix the lemon juice and the olive oil together and season with salt. Pour the salad dressing over the artichoke mix and sprinkle the sesame seeds.

Serve and decorate as shown on the photograph.

TAJIN BALOOL (Serves one person) Ingredients 450 gm balool fish 30 gm chopped fresh coriander 100 gm tahina sauce 20 ml lemon juice 30 ml orange juice Roasted pine seeds for decoration Salt for seasoning Olive oil Method of preparation Season the fish and bake in the oven.

Sauce: mix the tahina sauce with the lemon and orange juice. Dilute mixture slightly with some water.

Fry the chopped onions together with coriander in olive oil. Add the tahina mixture over the onions and coriander and sprinkle with the roasted pine seeds. Roast the sauce slightly in a pre-heated oven.

Serve the baked fish together with the tahina sauce mixture.

BASBOOSA WITH PISTACHIO NUTS

Ingredients 750 gm fine semolina 500 gm caster sugar 50 gm desiccated coconut 120 gm ghee 1/2 liter milk 25 gm tahina sauce 150 crushed pistachio Sugar Syrup

Method of Preparation Mix the semolina, sugar, coconut, ghee and milk. Spread the tahina in a baking tray and add the basboosa mixture leave it to rest for 2 hours.

Sprinkle the pistachio and bake for 30-40 minutes in a pre-heated oven. Once ready, pour sugar syrup over the basboosa and cut in pieces.

those doing it for religion and those who are under social pressure to follow certain customs. The latter group tend to take fasting easily, they treat it as a social month where family time is prioritized at various gatherings.”

Some even take it a step further in order to escape the cravings that accompany fasting: “Some stay up all night and sleep all day to take advantage of the social side. In this case, the religious motives are certainly questionable. For example, staying up all night at diwaniyas watching TV with friends isn’t really the point of Ramadan. We should follow our normal schedules. An added nap is fine, but not sleeping all day,” Lebanese expatriate Sara feels passionately about the ‘fake fasting’: “These types of fasters are hypocritical,” she insists. “You’re just turning day to night, that’s not fasting, that’s adapting.” She goes on, “If you’re genuinely fasting, you should feel the hunger and the thirst that those less fortunate feel. It’s something you should do from your heart. Being moody and aggressive because of hunger also defeats the point; it should be a time of reflection.”

However, the ‘keeping up appearances’ variety of fasting appears to be more common than many admit, with ‘social’ fasters concentrating on reputation instead of religion. “The pressure to take part comes from the socialization process one goes through from childhood. It is the norm to take part, but the degree of religiosity is changeable between individuals.

Those more active during the year in religion tend to fast more genuinely during Ramadan,” says Dr AlNasser.

Blame-game “Any fast-breakers may be punished or blamed by

their parents; there’s a big stigma,” the academic indicated. “If outsiders see it happen, it’s even worse.

They’ll blame the parents and the family for failing to successfully socialize the child, even if the ‘child’ is an adult. I wouldn’t go as far as to say that it would harm their reputation, but there will be a blame-game within the family regarding who’s responsible.” This may be why non-fasters often conceal their eating during the day, Dr Al-Nasser adds: “Many hide their behavior by avoiding eating, drinking or smoking in front of their relatives. Then they take part in the social side as well and have Iftar and Suhoor as if they have been fasting.”

Whilst Dr Al-Nasser cites two main varieties of fasters, there appears to be a third. Many expatriates also fast for cultural reasons and to show appreciation of the principles that the fast is based on. “I fast during Ramadan because I think the reasons behind it are solid. It’s a great time for reflection and appreciation of what you have,” says American expatriate Jessica, adding, “I do enjoy the social side too. There are so many events and gatherings, but somehow you don’t feel a part of it all if you haven’t been fasting.”

Whether fasting is undertaken due to pressures, social opportunities, appreciation of the principles or from genuine religious beliefs, one point is undeniable: it really connects society. Expats and locals alike can be seen enjoying Iftar together and heading out in the early morning to eat Suhoor. Dr AlNasser concluded: “There’s nothing wrong with enjoying the social side of Ramadan. People come back from vacations to spend Ramadan here with their family, which is a great thing for society.

Despite the intense heat, they still come specifically to share this time together.”