14 Aug

ON IP TI SC R SU B

SUNDAY, AUGUST 14, 2011

US citizen kidnapped in Pakistan

London on lockdown to prevent new riots

www.kuwaittimes.net

RAMADAN 14, 1432 AH

Abused Lebanese women also victims of legal system

Frustrating start for new-look Liverpool

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invade, attack Kuwait’ Iraqi MP issues a veiled threat Ramadan Kareem

What time to stop and start fasting

By Abdullah Al-Jarullah

O

nce the entire disk of the sun has disappeared, the fasting person should break his fast, and not pay any attention to the red glow that remains on the horizon, because the Prophet (PBUH) said: “Once night comes from there and the day disappears from there, and the sun has set, the fasting person should break his fast.”

The Sunnah is to hasten in breaking the fast. The Prophet (PBUH) would not pray Maghrib until he had broken his fast, if only with a sip of water. If a fasting person cannot find anything with which to break his fast, he should have the intention in his heart to break his fast, and he should not suck his finger, as some of the common people do. He should beware of breaking the fast before the correct time, because the Prophet (PBUH) saw some people hanging from their hamstrings with blood pouring from the corners of their mouths, and when he asked about them, he was told that they were people who broke their fast before it was time to do so.

If a person is certain, or thinks it most likely, or is not sure whether he broke the fast before the proper time, he should make up the fast later on, because the basic principle is that the day is still there and has not ended. He should beware of relying on the word of small children or untrustworthy sources, and he should also beware of the time differences between different cities and villages when he hears the adhan on the radio and so on.

When the dawn comes - which is the white light coming across the horizon in the East - the fasting person must stop eating and drinking straightaway, whether he hears the adhan or not. If he knows that the muezzin calls the adhan at dawn, he has to stop eating and drinking as soon as he hears his adhan, but if the muezzin calls the adhan before Fajr, he does Continued on Page 13

KUWAIT: The Minister of Health Dr Hilal Al-Sayer (center) dribbles one of the ambassadors during a semifinal football match between members of the Kuwaiti government against a team comprising staff members of the embassies. It was held as part of the 2nd Annual Embassies Football Championship tournament. The Kuwaiti team won 2-0. The Minister of Health Dr Hilal Al-Sayer and Dr Hmoud Al-Fulaiteh Assistant Director of the Public Authority for Youth and Sports (PAYS) scored the winning goals. (See Page 17)

Kuwaiti man escapes from Lebanese prison Using bed sheets, 5 prisoners flee

21 Libyan rebels, 6 troops killed NORTH OF BIR SHUAIB: Libyan rebels advanced north to within 25 km of the coastal city of Zawiyah west of Tripoli yesterday, after a sixhour battle which pushed the front line to its closest point to the capital since the uprising against Muammar Gaddafi began in February.

They hope to capBENGHAZI: Mansur ture Zawiyah and cut Mohamed, 9, makes the off Gaddafi’s strongvictory sign at the seaside hold in the capital from of the rebel-held town of access to the outside Benghazi, Libya. — AP world along the coast road. Rebel fighters pushed government troops back about 7 km from their previous positions, fixing a front line about 5 km north of the village of Bir Shuaib, near a diaper factory. They said it had been a heavy battle, with pro-Gaddafi forces using anti-tank guns. A medic said three rebel fighters were wounded but none killed. Government troops withdrew.

Continued on Page 13

BEIRUT: In this file photo, a rescue helicopter extinguishes the fire as smoke billows from the compound of the central Roumieh prison in Roumieh east of Beirut, Lebanon. — AP

BEIRUT: Militants from a radical Islamist group which fought deadly battles with the Lebanese army in 2007 escaped from the country’s main jail yesterday, a security official said. “Five inmates have escaped from Ward D in the Roumieh prison,” northeast of Beirut, the official said on condition of anonymity. “We believe at least three of them belong to Fatah Al-Islam.”

Lebanon’s Internal Security Forces said a sixth inmate attempting to flee had been caught inside prison grounds and was under interrogation. Two Syrians, a Lebanese, a Kuwaiti and two Mauritanians had sawed through a fence inside the prison, used bed sheets to rappel from their ward and then mingled with visitors in civilian clothing, it said in a statement.

Earlier, Lebanon’s state-run news agency reported that one of the escaped inmates was a Sudanese national. The security official said the hunt for the inmates was ongoing, while television footage showed troops had surrounded the notorious prison as a helicopter flew overhead. Roumieh, the oldest and largest of Lebanon’s overcrowded prisons, has witnessed sporadic prison breaks in recent years and escalating riots over the past months as inmates living in dire conditions demand fairer treatment.

In the summer of 2007, Al-Qaeda-inspired Fatah AlIslam led an uprising against the army in the Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr Al-Bared in northern Lebanon. The fighting killed some 400 people, including 168 soldiers, and deadly clashes also broke out in the nearby port city of Tripoli but some Islamist leaders escaped despite a 15week army siege of the camp. The militant group is also accused of being behind twin bus bombings in a Christian suburb northeast of Beirut that left three dead and close to 20 wounded in 2007. — AFP

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KUWAIT: An Iraqi MP said on Friday that militants could “easily” invade and carry out attacks in Kuwait in revenge for the decision to continue construction work on the Mubarak Al-Kabeer Port complex. The legislator further suggested that the Iraqi government would similarly be able to easily avoid accountability by claiming that the attacks were carried out by militant outlaws.

“Kuwait’s insolent approach shown in media statements by government officials in which they belittle the historic brotherly relations between the two countries as well as their dependency on economic power, will lead to serious escalations with repercussions that Kuwait isn’t aware of its gravity,” said MP Kazim AlShemmari, a member of the Iraqiya White Party, in a recent statement.

The controversy behind the Mubarak Al-Kabeer Port project stems from its location on the east of Boubyan Island overlooking the Khor Abdullah, a narrow strip of water that separates Kuwait from Iraq’s narrow outlet to the Arabian Gulf. On Friday, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki said that his government might ask the United Nations to stop construction of the mega port should they discover that the port would hurt Iraq’s interests.

“Iraq’s stance [on the port] is characterized by the fact that it represents the public standpoint, not only the governmental position,” said Al-Shemmari, also citing the recent threats by Iraqi militant groups “who threatened to carry out military operations to defend Iraq from any Kuwaiti violations.”

Kuwait has been threatened over the project by an Iraqi militant group, the ‘Hezbollah of Iraq Brigade,’ which issued a statement on July 18 threatening companies working on the port. The same group issued a statement last week in which it claimed that it possesses surface-to-surface rockets which it plans to launch at Kuwaiti targets if construction work continues on the port.

“The Kuwaiti government realized the seriousness of threats made by Iraqi armed brigades, which is why it has taken major security measures in Boubyan Island”, Al-Shemmari indicated, further warning that the militant groups would defy local authorities in Iraq and carry out attacks against the Mubarak Al-Kabeer port as well as inside Kuwait, which he said “could result in serious losses.”

The MP went on to say, “Kuwait must realize that Iraq today is different to Iraq in 1991”, a reference to the period when Iraq’s government was isolated by the international community following the invasion of Kuwait by the regime of deposed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.

Continued on Page 13

Al-Qaeda’s poison threat worries US WASHINGTON: The Obama administration is concerned that a dangerous regional arm of Al-Qaeda is trying to produce the deadly poison ricin to use in attacks against the United States, the New York Times reported on Friday. Citing unnamed intelligence officials and classified intelligence reports, the newspaper said Al-Qaeda’s affiliate in Yemen has been trying to acquire large quantities of castor beans, used to produce ricin.

It said the apparent intent was to pack the poison around small explosives that could be exploded to disperse the ricin, a white powdery substance so deadly that a speck can kill if inhaled or taken into the bloodstream. The Times said the apparent intent was to detonate the explosives in enclosed spaces like a shopping mall or airport.

President Barack Obama and top security aides were briefed about the threat last year, the report said, and have received updates since then but added that senior American officials said there was no indication an attack was imminent.

Continued on Page 13

in the

news Kuwait crime rates rising

KUWAIT: Crime rates in Kuwait have risen steadily over the past few years, increasing by 3.5 percent between 2009 and 2010 alone. In a new report about the country’s rising crime rate, attorney Abdullah Al-Kandari revealed that 22,902 crimes were reported in 2009, rising to 23,693 in 2010, indicating that in real terms this saw the crime rate rising by an average of two crimes per day between 2009 and 2010, going from 63 per day to 65. The largest percentage of reported crimes, 62.5 percent, were against property, Al-Kandari revealed, adding that this was followed by crimes against the person, which accounted for 18 percent of all offences. By area, Hawally remained the governorate with the largest number of crimes, with the number increasing from 5,724 in 2009 to 5,812 in 2010. Farwaniya, meanwhile, saw the largest increase in reported crimes, with 608 more crimes committed in 2010 (5,812) than in 2009 (5,204). In Jahra, meanwhile, the incidence of crimes increased from 3,250 to 3,456 between 2009 and 2010, whilst in Ahmadi the number rose from 2,902 to 3,147.

‘Pipeline bomber’ nabbed HOUSTON: An Oklahoma man was arrested and charged on Friday with trying to destroy a natural gas pipeline with a homemade bomb, the FBI said. The Oklahoma City division of the FBI said on Friday that Daniel Wells Herriman, 40, of Konawa, Oklahoma, called Seminole County 911 emergency response on Wednesday and said he had made the device at his home. He said he put it under the aboveground pipeline on Sunday in a remote area near Okemah, about 75 miles east of Oklahoma City, and set the timer. Hours before Herriman made that call, employees of the company that runs the line, Houston-based Enerfin Resources, found the device and alerted authorities, the FBI said. The device did not explode and the pipeline was undamaged. FBI spokesman Clay Simmonds said Herriman had no connection to the company. Herriman was in federal custody in Muskogee, Oklahoma, on Friday and it was not clear if he had yet obtained an attorney.

Foreigners to use visa to enter Gaza GAZA: A spokesman for Gaza’s Hamas rulers says foreigners must now obtain visas to enter the Gaza Strip. Ihab Ghussein’s comments yesterday come a day after the United States warned it would cut $100 million in American aid money if Hamas continues its “unwarranted audits” of local American nonprofit organizations. Hamas recently shut down a US-financed aide group that refused an audit. Ghussein says the government must know who is staying in Gaza in order to protect foreigners. If implemented, the visa demand could complicate the work of international aid GAZA: Palestinian families break groups in Gaza since the US and UN con- their fast during the holy month sider Hamas a terrorist organization. of Ramadan. — AP

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KGL Holding holds annual ghabqa KUWAIT: The KGL Holding held its annual “Ramadan Ghabqa” for all its employees from various business units on August 11 at the Marina Hotel. Employees came along with their families as they socialized with one another, fostering the spirit of camaraderie and highlighting the true essence of the holy month of Ramadan.

The annual “Ramadan Ghabqa” is organized by KGL Holding to bring its employees together, to thank them and show its appreciation for their industry and dedication that

have contributed to KGL’s successful business operations.

Spotted also during the event were KGL Executives, media people and other distinguished guests.

This year, a Charity Auction was held during the Ghabqa to help more than 3.7 million people of Somalia who have been affected by the worst drought that hit the Horn of Africa and are on the brink of starvation. A brand new car and some gift vouchers were put on auction to raise funds for Somalia. The

Charity Auction participated in by the KGL employees was par t of the “Let ’s Help Somalia” campaign that was launched by KGL Holding on this holy month of Ramadan in coordination with the Kuwait Red Crescent Society (KRCS). Proceeds of the Charity Auction will be handed to the KRCS to be donated to Somalia. This initiative is in line with KGL’s Corporate Citizenship advocacy in extending humanitarian aid to people affected by natural calamities and other humanitarian disasters.

Kuwait Sea Club hosts Girgian party KUWAIT: The Kuwait Sea Sport Club (KSSC) hosted a special Girgian party featuring a traditional display for the ‘Abu Tbailah’ character, as free Girgian was distributed to children. — Photos by Joseph Shagra

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Fasting and feasting: The Ramadan diet program KUWAIT: Many people consider the holy month of Ramadan as a good time to lose weight as it’s the month of fasting, so there is less time to eat, and fewer meals. But does this really work?

Do people really eat less during R amadan and do they lose

Kuwaiti. “Also the meals are really big, as I’m hungry at Iftar, and I eat a lot for Suhoor so as not to feel hungry the next day. “ That ’s on top of the increased quantity of sweets that I eat during this month, as usually during the year I eat sweets only occasionally, sometimes only once a month, but

weight? The Iftar table is always groaning with many varieties of food and delicious dishes. It’s difficult for most people to resist this food; indeed, because they haven’t eaten all day they want to eat more, compensating for the fasting period.

Some people report a weight gain rather than any loss during Ramadan. “Although the meals I eat now are only t wo main meals, I also eat in between,” said M anal, a 45-year- old

now I eat sweets ever y day. I have to go on a diet af ter Ramadan!”

Even non-Muslims sometimes feel compelled to tuck into the delicious repasts laid on during this period. “Although I don’t fast, I still feel that I eat more during this month, as the whole country is talking about food,” said Susan, a 26-year- old Canadian expatriate. “Wherever I go during the evening period I always eat. The food is delicious

By Nawara Fattahova

Red Cabbage with Strawberry and Walnuts

and I have to be courteous to people.”

M any, however, don’t feel much different to normal and may even eat less. “I eat the same por tions of food, but I move less; I even feel that I eat less during this month than other months, so I don’t feel like I gained weight,” said Ibtisam, a 37-year-old Syrian expatriate, adding, “The high temperature makes me afraid to go outside as I may feel thirsty when I’m fasting. My favorite sweets are Qatayif with cream and Qemat, which I eat in Ramadan only. I don’t eat many sweets in general, and I prefer the homemade ones.” The majority of people cer tainly seem to eat more sweets than usual during Ramadan. Soud, a 25-year-old Kuwaiti, told the Kuwait Times, “I admit that I eat less, as now I eat only two meals a day, but I think that I consume more sweets. I visit more people and they always offer many k inds of sweets, and I can’t refuse to eat at least a few. I’m not sure if there is a difference in my weight, but I definitely eat more sweets.” Some, however, aren’t affected by Ramadan, maintaining the same weight despite eating a larger variety of food than usual. “During Ramadan I eat more than during regular days, as there is a greater variety of food,” said 28-year-old Kuwaiti citizen Salah. “Especially with our old traditions many people bring food for us, and we then bring them other dishes. Also I eat more kuba, sanbusak and mahashi, which I only eat during this month.”

Chocolate rice pudding

(Serves five persons) INGREDIENTS: 750 gms 100 gms 75 gms 50 ml 20 ml 100 gms 50 gms 20 ml 02 gms 50 gms Salt to taste

Red cabbage Fresh parsley chopped Mint leaves chopped Olive oil Lemon juice Strawberry White onion Pomegranate syrup White pepper Walnut

METHOD: 1. Wash and shred the red cabbage and put in the strainer 2. Cut the strawberry into 4 pieces each and keep some for garnish 3. Mix all ingredients with cabbage and check the seasoning 4. Arrange in a salad bowl and put strawberry on the top 5. Garnish with lemon slices, mint leaves and serve cold.

Ingredients: For Rice pudding - Fresh milk - Sugar - Egyptian rice - Rose water - Blossom water - Strawberry essence For Chocolate mousse - Vanilla powder mousse - Whipping cream - Fresh milk - Cacao powder - Icing sugar - Dark chocolate 70%

1 kg.

150grs 100grs 10grs 10grs 02grs 400grs 1 kg.

250grs 100grs 100grs 20grs

Procedures: 1. Base of rice pudding 2. Topped with chocolate mousse 3. Decorated with freshly grated dark chocolate 4. www.facebook.com/MMCKuwait

Shrimps Murahbian 40ml 05gm 10gm 10gm 10gm 50gm Salt to taste

(Serves five persons) INGREDIENTS: 1kg 1kg 100gm 50gm 100gm 100gm 50gm 75ml

Shrimps medium Basmati rice Chopped onion Chopped garlic Green pepper Red pepper Yellow pepper Olive oil

Lemon juice Cumin powder Coriander powder Cinnamon powder Fresh coriander Fried onion

METHOD: 1. Clean the shrimps.

2. Wash the rice and keep it in a side 3. Saute the onion and garlic in olive oil and once the onions are brown add the shrimps, spices, peppers and lemon juice 4. Allow to cook for 5 minutes and remove half the shrimps and keep aside 5. Add the rice to the pot and stir it 6. Add enough stock or water and allowed to cook 20 minutes on low fire 7. Check the seasoning and remove the rice and arrange in a serving tray and put remaining shrimp on top 8. Garnish with fried onion 9. Serve the shrimps murahbian with tomato dakkus.

KUWAIT: The Kuwait Finance House held a Ghabqa for staff members at the Sheraton Hotel recently. — Photos by Fouad Al-Shaikh

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LOCAL

Local Spotlight

in my view

Kuwait’s pandemic traffic chaos

21st Century Thinking: Wake up Arabia

By Fouad Al-Obaid Muna Al-Fuzai fouad@kuwaittimes.net Twitter: @Fouadalobaid

an you believe young people lose their lives every day in traffic accidents. We keep complaining about traffic throughout the year, but this Ramadan has set new records in terms of traffic snarls and accidents. One should leave home in the evening only after nine o’clock. You could spend hours trying to inch past from one area to another in a journey that normally does not need more than fifteen minutes! That serpentine, disorderly traffic queue makes the ride tiresome, and by the time you reach the destination it’s very late.

Why does this issue remain unresolved? How difficult is it to fix this, and why are enough efforts not being made to change it?

I believe that a large number of daily accidents can be avoided if all the drivers respect the laws, without habituating on the practice of violating regulations and instructions. Speeding is another bothersome issue in Kuwait. It scares many of us because many lives have been lost because a careless youth decided to have some ‘fun.’ I doubt if penalties can help resolve chaos unless a real awareness is spread to the public.

So, it is youngsters that mainly cause traffic accidents or end up being victims.

Schools, I believe can serve as the ideal training ground to spread awareness. I know limited efforts are made by private schools. A team comprising the youth should carry on campaigns through social networks sites, asking motorists to respect traffic laws, in addition to showing their love for their country.

Recently, I attended a funeral ceremony of a Kuwaiti family who lost their 17-year-old son in a car accident. A mother with three children was also killed.

I felt sick about the situation. I was reluctant to shake hands with the mother of the deceased because I felt he was not lectured about the dangers of speeding on the road.

Also, Kuwait’s roads are not at its best. I really can never figure out why new roads are narrow in Kuwait and why only three lanes of roads are constructed, instead of four or five. There are so many open sandy areas that are dusty and unused. It can be newly constructed.

A new academic year is coming maybe youth campaigns should protest against the death race on the road.

have written much about a subject that almost everyone and anyone in our country has been ranting about: The mounting crisis of endemic chaos. For the lack of a better term, what we are witnessing in Kuwait as a society, culture and country is sheer chaos that has led us to ponder on a golden age that is long-gone. Even though we see buildings rise up, not much is evident in terms of innovations that can make way into the rigid mentality which has an entire nation wasting its potential.

States in the 21st century are less about territory though it remains important. States in the 21st century are about the citizen, and the most pressing the quality of citizenship. A country is only as strong as its weakest link, and in Kuwait we seem to have many weak links! I am not trying to blame, rather expose a reality that needs to be looked into.

We are a nation that is accustomed to the government’s ‘cuddles,’ though such attention on the part of a benevolent government is not something that anyone can really shun.

The dependency it creates is problematic, similar to a drug addict, we just can’t get enough!

The idea of a welfare state is noble and all states should work towards ensuring a fair distribution of wealth among their citizen’s populace. However, when the handouts become addictive and limiting, then the benefits are plagued by wider socio-economic problems. ‘Need’ is widely accepted as the engine that sparks the essence necessary for invention to thrive. Someone in ‘need’ will have to work hard towards achieving a bare minimum decent living, and at best; an empire! When we contrast this paradigm to the reality on the ground, we in Kuwait are largely dependent on a constant stream of foreign labor that are afforded by the export of one commodity! Though times have been good during the past two decades, in my humble opinion.

The situation may become tougher in the decade to come.

This is because we are at a great risk of destabilization from a myriad of issues.

To name one growing concern, our national expense has risen drastically. There is a considerable population rise, which has been and will in the future keep multiplying. The basic historic calculation of wealth distribution derived from laws set in place when the national population was at a minimum, will need to be reviewed and corrected sooner. When the burden that state salaries have on the general budget is considered, the government should focus on a stunning fact. The number of nationals it will need to find suitable employment for in the next 15 years is akin to the number of employees it has hired over the past 50 years! If the educational crisis we are facing is used as thermometer, then it is understandable that we are today setting ourselves on a course that will lead to a dramatic collision in the near future.

Hello good morning, I hope that today will be a new day where at least those who will read this can at least reflect on their own ambitions and start working towards bettering themselves. It is time to involve friends and relatives in spreading awareness about the issues that really matter. I call on all to adopt a new motto, “I am therefore I decide to live, work, develop, grow, mature, contribute, and help... I am a 21st century citizen, and you are?!”

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muna@kuwaittimes.net

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kuwait digest

The traffic accident massacares

By Ali Ahmad Al-Baghli We do not know when the e in Kuwa it, witness we a re ta l k ing a b o u t i s t h e massacres of the worst street wars fought every day, as law will be implemented propk ind. I d o no t k now we leave home expecting not e r l y. W h e n w i l l o rd e r b e why no rulers, and legislators to return when t h e m o s t restored on our streets? When are we going to see speed are not paying attention to limits respected? When are it! We witness them ever y d ay a nd these a re d o c u- The massacres I am refering to we going to see motorists mented in the form of statis- are the deaths caused by traffic drive along traffic lanes?

When will every one wear a tics. A strong possibility of us or our loved ones turning accidents. Statistics from the s e a t b e l t , a n d n o t u s e into numbers exists, God for- last March show that 44 were m o b i l e p h o n e s, c a u s i n g thousands of deaths and bid! killed in one month! Let’s not for- i n j u r i e s o n t h e s t re e t s ?

The massacres I am referreing to a re the d ea ths get the injured and those suffer- When are policemen going stop the veiled driver ? caused by traffic accidents. ing from permanent disabilities, to ( t h e ‘n i q a b’ b l o c k s t h e Statistics from last March show that 44 were killed in along with millions of dinars in peripheral vision).

We can ask hundreds of one month! Let’s not forget property losses. questions so that our the injured and those sufferstreets become ‘civilized,’ in ing from permanent disabilities, a l o ng with m il l io ns o f important laws of the country which one feels safe and comfortable! —Al-Qabas dinars in property losses. What are violated.

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kuwait digest

Statements of condemnation

By Dr Walid Al-Rujaib he statement released by Kuwait’s foreign ministry regarding the ongoing events in Syria and the similar Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) statement that followed it were, in my opinion, released far too late after more than 2,000 people were killed during the violent crackdown.

Furthermore, the two statements are very weak in comparison to the magnitude of the crimes committed by the Baath regime in Syria against their people and humanity.

While the statements condemned violence and called for an end to the bloodshed, they failed to mention the party actually using violence in this situation, perhaps to avoid offering more validity to the Syrian regime’s allegation that it is being subjected to a foreign conspiracy.

Furthermore, the statements, which come only after months of horrible silence on the regime’s massacres, don’t live up to the calamity of the catastrophic crime against humanity committed in Syria.

With these facts, we have to ask ourselves this question: What does Arab solidarity mean? Does it mean solidarity against foreign inter vention whether from the United States or any other country or solidarity of people against Israel? Or does it mean solidarity of Arab regimes against their people?

Since the beginning of the revolution in Syria, demand has been constant from the people of the Arab world, calling on it to adopt a responsible stance to end the crimes against Syrian civilians. Those demands, however, have met with deaf ears; which is ironic since Arab regimes raced to support the revolutionaries in Libya. What’s the difference between the Libyan revolution and the Syrian revolution? This hesitant stance towards the events in Syria is similar to the United State’s timid stance, condemning the Syrian regime but doing nothing to help save the people from massacres.

Meanwhile, demonstrations in Kuwait in solidarity with the Syrian people have unfortunately produced some hasty and immature responses. Kuwaitis have the right to express their opinion and show solidarity with the Syrian people, but the expulsion of the Syrian ambassador shouldn’t be something decided according to public pressure, since this is an issue controlled by international charters. Also, the call by one MP to consult scholars over the ambassador’s execution is simply a request for a license to kill which should never take place in a civil state like Kuwait.

In my opinion, the Syrian revolution will eventually succeed despite the barbaric suppression and the horrible Arab silence. I hope that the GCC’s statements of condemnation would be followed with actions in cooperation with the Arab League and the international community to achieve true reforms in Syria which would see a new regime, a new constitution, free elections and full democracy. —Al-Rai

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op-ed

The imminent crisis nce again, the government has failed to foresee a creeping economic paralysis that can cripple the country. Once again, parliament members ignore the fate of our country and its economy over minor issues.

Similar to the summer of 2007, both authorities are silent and inactive today as an imminent crisis looms large over repercussions that have a profound impact on the economy.

The new crisis could be even more destructive to Kuwait’s economy if the world drops into double-dip recession that cuts demand on oil; which remains the country’s only source of national income. The government has failed to diversify income resources. The recent drop in oil prices is an indication of a serious threat that the government has been warned against: The fact that oil prices nears $85 per barrel, meaning that an actual deficit in the state’s budget has become a real threat; especially with the overspending policy that the government has been adopting. This would mean that Kuwait should wave goodbye to surpluses that it has been accumulating for 12 years. It wasted, either through the lack of economic competitiveness, or losses that Kuwait’s foreign investments have incurred.

With the imminent risk near one has to wonder why no action has been taken to keep the country prepared. Why hasn’t the economic committee in the Cabinet held emergency meetings to discuss the subject? Where is the Parliament’s financial committee that’s supposed to study the repercussions of a serious crisis and ways to stop it?

Shouldn’t the Central Bank of Kuwait issue a clear warning regarding the current situation? What about the Kuwait Investment Authority’s and role in protecting the reserve fund? By now, we should’ve learned the lessons from the previous economic crisis which caused nearly $200 billion in losses to Kuwait Stock Exchange investments, as well as investments Authority’s the future generations reserve fund in global markets. The fact that the country is still to fully recover from the last crisis means that we haven’t properly grasped anything from those lessons.

To prepare for the imminent crisis, the government must first restore balance to the state’s budget by curbing spending. An $85 per barrel oil rate cannot cover the current expenses, a reduction would create a budget deficit.

Secondly, the government must begin a new strategy in distributing foreign investments, as well as activate income sources diversification plans; among which is the state’s development plan, completely affected by political struggle and bureaucracy. Aspects like facilitating the process of placing tenders, enforcing privatization, and reinforcing investments are now urgent demands. The stock exchange market also needs to be cleaned of struggling companies that have become a burden on the field of investment.

There are also stimulus packages and other solutions arrived at during the last crisis, which were never utilized properly.

People are concerned about the imminent crisis and are eager to know how the government is preparing to face it. Is the government up to the challenge? Can lawmakers start giving top priority to our economy and the welfare of our future generations? We hope so. —Al-Qabas

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News

in brief

Shareholding companies KUWAIT: The Cabinet plans to hold a series of meetings to devise a suitable mechanism to establish shareholding companies to build mega projects that are listed on the state’s development plan, including the Khairan City and low-cost homes projects. According to an official, the Cabinet plans to place tenders for both projects before the end of the year, while meetings continue to be held with the hope of reaching a settlement on the subject pertinent with all projects before the parliamentar y term begins late October, reported Al-Rai. Meanwhile, officials confirmed that the Public Authority for Housing Welfare(PAHW) and other ministries concerned with the aforementioned projects are ready to proceed with the construction process as soon as the decision to establish shareholding companies is passed.

Schools have access to power KUWAIT: All the schools mentioned in a list agreed upon with the Ministry of Education have been linked to power and water supply networks, said a senior official from the Minister of Electricity and Water (MEW). “The MEW is ready to provide electricity and water to all governmental facilities that meet the required conditions,” said Abdulwahab Al-Terki Assistant Undersecretary for Distribution Networks. He made these statements after news reports quoted a senior Ministry of Education official as saying that five new schools cannot be opened next year because of lack of access to utilities. “The MEW never delayed the process of connecting electricity with any governmental construction,” Al-Terki reiterated.

Meanwhile, Al-Terki argued that the delay was not caused by the location of the five schools. He added that a coordination between the two ministers will get underway soon.

Factories face closure KUWAIT: The Environment Public Authority (EPA) has recommended the permanent closure of a number of factories in South Kuwait, also requesting that several more be forced to suspend their operations for a week as a penalty for environmentally damaging offences detected by EPA inspection teams on a recent visit. According to Mohammad Al-Enezi, the head of the EPA’s inspection division and the manager of its Industrial Environment Department, the inspectors’ final report detailing the recommendations will shortly be submitted to the Supreme Council for the Environment, in order to obtain authorization to enforce both the temporary and permanent closures. Al-Enezi added that the facilities facing temporary closure could later be shut down permanently if they fail in the future to comply with the environmental regulations.

Lawmakers to propose draft law to ‘freeze’ ties with Syria Sheikh Talal to run for parliament KUWAIT: Five lawmakers will soon submit a draft law to ‘freeze’ Kuwait’s ties with the Syrian government, which has found support in the Parliament.

The announcement was made by independent MP Naji Al-Abdulhadi, who stated that he prepared a proposal with two members from each Development and Reform Bloc (DRB) and the Popular Action Bloc (PAB), adding that talks were held with the third major bloc in the Parliament-the National Action Bloc. One of its members will co-present the draft law.

“The draft law consists of three aspects that will discuss suspending relations; not amounting to severing ties with the regime, recalling the Kuwaiti

ambassador in Damascus (which has already been done) as well as taking necessary measures to support the people of Syria,” Al-Abdulhadi indicated. He added that constitutional experts and veteran lawmakers were consulted to ensure that the draft law will not clash with the government’s international treaties.

I n the meantime, the Association of Sharia Scholars in the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries issued a fatwa (religious edict) condemning the ‘murder and imprisonment’ committed by the Syrian regime against its people.

They accused the regime of infidelity and urged all

No casualties among Kuwaitis in Britain LONDON: No Kuwaiti citizens in Britain has been hurt in the recent wave of riots that took place throughout England, the Kuwaiti Ambassador to the United Kingdom Khaled AlDuwaisan affirmed yesterday.

Al-Duwaisan indicated that the Kuwaiti citizens, who were present in Britain during the disturbances, cooperated with the embassy and followed its security precautionar y advice.

A number of incidents took place near the Kuwaiti Embassy and Kuwaiti residents’ homes, but the diplomatic mission contacted the Kuwaiti Ambassador police and was assured that Duwaisan extraordinary precautions were in place to protect the citizens and foreigners in the country, he said.

The embassy has advised the nationals to abstain from venturing outdoor at nighttime and avoid areas known to be violent.

The police, two days after the disturbances escalated, deployed some 16,000 policemen in London, alone, in a measure that resulted in containing the tragic events, Al-Duwaisan said in a statement to KUNA and Kuwaiti Television. Cooperation that

involved the embassy staff, other Kuwaiti representation offices, such as the cultural and health offices, in addition to continuous contact with Kuwaiti residents and visitors, including tourists and patients receiving medical treatment, proved to be fruitful in terms of safe guarding citizens’ safety.

The embassy has set up a hotline to assist Kuwaiti visitors and residents rapidly.

The violent incidents took place at the start of the fasting month of Ramadan, when most of the Kuwaiti students and tourists had already returned home.

Currently, the health to the UK Khaled Al- office is in touch with some 3,000 Kuwaiti citizens through the existing channels. The embassy had prepared a full rescue plan for the citizens in case of any resumption of the troubles, in coordination with Kuwaiti Airways and British Airways, the diplomat said, indicating that the plan is similar to the one put in place during the volcanic ash crisis.

Conditions in the areas of England where the riots took place have largely been restored to normality, with up to 1,500 rioters and suspected troublemakers apprehended and facing trial. — KUNA

Syrian ambassadors to quit their posts, Al Rai added.

Meanwhile, there is a possibility of Sheikh Talal AlFahad Al-Sabah President of the Kuwait Football Association running for next parliamentary elections, according to unconfirmed news reports circulated by local websites recently.

Sheik h Talal who also ser ves as the Deput y Direc tor of the Public Authorit y for Youth and Sport(PAYS) has expressed interest in running for a seat in the National Assembly while spending time at a local dewaniya Wednesday, reported Annahar.

However, he is particular that the single constituency system be implemented in the country.

MPs: Extraordinary session will be held KUWAIT: Although the Kuwait University (KU) tried to put an end to high school graduates dilemma by announcing that 2,095 new students would be enrolled into the second semester, this solution still failed to decide MPs’ plans to hold an extraordinary parliamentary session to discuss the matter. They had hoped to arrive at radical solutions to resolve KU’s overcapacity predicament.

Ahmad Al-Mulaifi, Minister of Education and Higher Education announced, after holding a meeting with the KU council, that a solution was found for students who could not secure admissions.

The MPs had submitted a request to hold an emergency session to discuss the subject and find a solution that protects the right of the remaining high school graduates. “ The extraordinary session remains a necessity because it will discuss several draft laws and also determine the fate of students whose scholarship applications were rejected,” said MP Falah Al-Sawagh. The government should cooperate with lawmakers “to find solutions so as to prevent the problem from happening again in the future.”

MP Dr Waleed Al-Tabtabae agreed that the session must be held “because the main problem has not been solved. They made sure that the problem will not take place in the future.” He added that the session will discuss a draft law to establish a new university, in addition to submitting another draft law to set up a trust fund to lend interest-free loans to students. Meanwhile, MP Naji Al-Abdulhadi urged the governments to add KD 3 million to the budget, reported Al-Rai. MP Dr Faisal Al-Mislem who put forward the proposal to convene an extraordinary parliamentary session insisted that a radical solution to the problem should be found to put an end to Kuwait University’s overcapacity problem.

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MP demands for emergency NA session on education GCC finance ministers to discuss customs union

By A Saleh KUWAIT: MP Faisal Al-Mislem has renewed his demands for an emergency session of the National Assembly (parliament) Council to discuss the problem of the unaccepted students in the Kuwait University. The lawmaker insisted that Kuwait University’s undertaking to accept all the students currently without places during the next semester is an inadequate response to the problem, adding that an emergency session is essential to resolve the issue, which he said is why MPs have called for one.

Al-Mislem insisted that Kuwait University’s decision to offer all the remaining Kuwaiti high school graduates places in the second semester of the 2011-12 academic year is simply a sign of the government’s attempt to suggest that the problem is limited to only those students not previously accepted by the university. This was untrue, he asserted, since the government is ignoring around 2,000 students refused scholarship programs, with a further 5,000 being turned down for places in the army, police and National Guard’s training facilities.

These problems mean that

Kuwait University’s decision to accept all the high school graduates who applied for places does not diminish the need for an emergency parliamentary session, the MP insisted, adding that this session should be used to seek full and conclusive solutions to the current problems in order to ensure that they don’t recur in the future.

Meanwhile, GCC finance ministers are to meet in November to discuss recommendations put forward by the body’s unified customs union after postponing their approval of the proposed measures on more than one occasion

previously.

The ministers have reportedly failed to reach agreement to date due to differences over the suggested financial percentages to be allocated for each state from the customs revenue, said an insider, but there is general agreement on the need to reach consensus on the matter at the upcoming meeting, with a number of suggestions put forward on how best to attain an equitable and agreeable division for all involved.

Meanwhile, a government insider revealed yesterday that the Council of Ministers is to

meet in October to approve the establishment of two now electricity supply firms in the Khairan and Al-Zoor areas. The move comes after the Ministry of Electricity and Water (MEW) and the relevant ministerial committees finalized the preparations for the two companies’ establishment.

If their establishment is approved by the Council of Ministers and the parliament, the two new firms may start work in the first half of 2012, revealed the insider, adding that the Kuwaiti public will be offered 50 percent of the shares in both companies.

KFSD team inspects Al-Hamra Tower

By Hanan Al-Saadoun KUWAIT: A team of Kuwait Fire Ser vice Directorate (KFSD) officials, led by Acting KFSD director Brigadier Amin Abdeen, conducted a field trip yesterday to the site of the Al-Hamra Tower, set to be the tallest building in Kuwait and the second tallest in the Middle East.

They were met on their visit by the project’s chairman Bader Al-Salman, as well as other members of the board managing the massive tower project.

The visit was one of several health and safety visits made by the KFSD to the site, allowing the KFSD officials to find out more about the final phases of the project.

Safety has been a key issue throughout the tower’s design and construction, explained the project managers, adding that they have installed many safety features, including a number never seen before in Kuwait.

The KFSD team had the chance during their visit to view the final blueprints, with the senior project staff explaining how certain areas in the building have been allo-

KUWAIT: Kuwait Fire Service Directorate (KFSD) officials visit the site of the AlHamra Tower. —Photo by Hanan Al-Saadoun cated as emergency shelters in the event of any major accident or emergency. The construction method also ensures that any

fire that breaks out in the building would be limited solely to the floor on which it starts.

KUWAIT: Fire that broke out in a deserted building at Hawally.

—Photo by Hanan Al-Saadoun

One dead, nine hurt in car accidents

By Hanan Al-Saadoun KUWAIT: A 51-year-old Indian man died instantly in a car accident near a Kabad gas station yesterday, whilst a 36-year- old Bangladeshi man also involved in the crash was rushed to Farwaniya Hospital with serious head injuries.

In a separate incident, another 36year-old Bangladeshi expatriate was also rushed to Farwaniya Hospital after sustaining multiple injuries when he was k nocked down by a car whilst crossing the road near the Jleeb AlShuyoukh fire station.

In another accident, this time in Wafra, a 32-year-old Kuwaiti man suffered serious injuries and was quickly taken to Adan Hospital.

Meanwhile, an Indian man was taken to Adan Hospital after sustaining injuries to his head and face when he was hit by a speeding car whilst crossing the Fahaheel Expressway near the Fahaheel Club.

In a similar incident, a 28-year-old Egyptian man suffered a number of injuries when he was hit by a passing car whilst crossing the junc tion of Mohammed Bin Al-Qassem Street and the Sixth Ring Road. He was taken to Farwaniya Hospital.

In another accident, a 15-year-old Kuwaiti boy was taken to Farwaniya Hospital due to fractures to his right

thighbone in a car accident near a gas station in Firdous.

Meanwhile, a 42-year-old Kuwaiti man complained of severe back pain following a car crash on the Fifth Ring Road heading towards Jahra. He was taken to Farwaniya Hospital.

Finally, the motorist and passenger involved in a collision on the Fifth Ring Road near Riggae didn’t have to call the emergency hotline for help since the other vehicle involved was an ambulance on its way back to the local medical center. The two injured individuals were taken to Far waniya Hospital.

Hawally building catches fire The Kuwait Fire Service Directorate’s Operation Room received a repor t about a fire that broke out in a deserted building at Hawally. Both Hawally Fire Center and Salmiya Fire Center responded to an emergency call, and firemen put out the flames. Old furniture and paint that had piled up in the building yard had caught fire, causing it to engulf the building.

Fight club A 44-year-old Bangladeshi man was taken to Farwaniya Hospital after sustaining multiple injuries to his head and body in a fight that broke out between a number of men near the Farwaniya Co-op.

Sheikh Ali Al-Yousuf Al-Sabah (middle) officially inaugurates the tournament as Al-Ghanim (right) and Dr. Al-Wattar look on.

(From right) Saud Al-Babatain, Khalid Al-Ghanim, Sheikh Ali Al-Yousuf Al-Sabah, Sheikh Faisal Ali Al-Yousuf Al-Sabah and Sheikh Yousuf Ali AlYousuf Al-Sabah.

Ali Al-Qallaf (right) and Sheikh Sabah Ali AlYousuf Al-Sabah.

‘A battle of generations’ go on as Sheikh Ali AlSabah watches.

E-Dama tournament kicks off KUWAIT: The 7th annual Late Sheikh Yousuf Al-Saud Al-Sabah EDama Tournament k icked off recently at the Yacht Club, featuring participation of more than one hundred contestants of all ages, including at least twenty women, who will compete in matches until Thursday, August 18, 2011 for coveted prizes allocated by the organ-

Contestant Mohammad Abul

izing committee.

The tournament which is organized by the Touristic Enterprises Company and sponsored by the Babtain Group and Wataniya Telecom, was inaugurated under the patronage of Sheikh Ali AlYousuf Al-Sabah, TEC Vice President and Managing Director Khalid AlGhanim, who attended the inaugu-

ration along with CEO of Al-Babtain Group Saud Al-Babatain, TEC’s acting Deputy Managing Director for Entertaining Affairs, Ali Al-Qallaf, head of the tournament’s organizing committee Dr. Nouri Al-Wattar, as well as Sheikh Faisal Ali Al-Yousuf Al-Sabah, Sheikh Sabah Ali AlYousuf Al-Sabah, and Sheikh Yousuf Ali Al-Yousuf Al-Sabah.

Girls participating in the tournament.

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Perry entry roils White House race

Syrian troops storm coastal city Page 8

LONDON: A man reads a giant message board in Clapham Junction in southwest London yesterday following recent riots and looting in the area. — AFP (See Page 9)

Britain to tackle social problems US anti-gang cop warns Britain over riot policy LONDON: Britain needs to tackle deep-seated social problems following riots and looting in English cities this week, the centre-right government said yesterday, and a US street crime expert it has brought in said arrests alone would not solve the problem. “There are communities that have just been left behind by the rest of the country. There are communities that are cut-off from the economic life-blood of the rest of the country,” Finance Minister George Osborne said. Prime Minister David Cameron, criticised by some in his Conservative party as being too liberal on crime and punishment, has taken a hard line on rioting in statements this week after returning from his summer holiday and recalling parliament. He has also come under attack for austerity measures his government is introducing to tackle a huge debt burden. Osborne said the government intends to press on with deep cuts to police numbers. The Conservative mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has said the riots weakened the case for those cuts. The riots broke out a week ago after a demonstration against the police shooting of a suspect. Cameron has said political and economic grievances had little to do with days of looting and violence in which five people were killed, calling it “criminality pure and simple” and saying gang violence lay at its heart. He enlisted US street crime expert William Bratton on Friday to advise the government on handling it. Bratton, credited with curbing street crime as police chief in New York, Los Angeles and Boston, told Reuters on Friday he would offer advice based on his experience tackling gangs. “You can’t arrest your way out of the problem,” he said on US broadcaster ABC yesterday. “Arrest is certainly appropriate for the most violent, the incorrigible, but so much of it can be addressed in other ways and it’s not just a police issue, it is in fact a societal issue.”

Cities were largely quiet on Friday and yesterday. British police flooded the streets again on Friday night to ensure weekend drinking does not reignite the rioting that shocked Britons and sullied the country’s image a year before it hosts the Olympic Games. More than 1,200 people have been arrested in connec-

tion with violence disorder and looting and hundreds have been charged. Osborne said lessons needed to be learned but throwing money at the problem was not the answer.

“There are very deep-seated social problem which we need to tackle,” he told BBC radio.

A ComRes poll for The Independent newspaper showed 54 percent of Britons say Cameron failed to provide leadership early enough to control the riots, while an ICM survey for The Guardian showed that only 30 percent thought Cameron responded well to the riots and 44 percent thought the opposite.

Offenders include a millionaire’s daughter, a charity worker and a journalism student, but most are unemployed young men.

London’s Metropolitan Police said yesterday they had charged a man in his 20s with robbing a Malaysian student during the riots in London in a shocking incident that was watched by millions of people on the Internet.

Reece Donovan, from Romford, a town just east of London, was to appear in court later yesterday. Victim Asyraf Haziq Rosli was filmed being helped up after his jaw was broken during unrest in Barking, east London, only for the men who aided him to then empty his rucksack. Courts have been working through the night to process cases involving alleged rioters, who hail from a large variety of backgrounds although around a fifth are under 18.

Calls for those convicted to be stripped of their state welfare handouts and booted out of publicly-owned housing were receiving growing popular support. Wandsworth Council in south London became the first to serve an eviction notice on a tenant which will come into effect if her son is convicted.

Meanwhile a Polish woman who was pictured leaping to safety from her burning home in the south London suburb of Croydon on Monday in one of the most striking images from the rioting said she thought English society was “sick”. “I thought London was a civilised society full of gentlemen and ladies - but it’s not like that. England has become a sick society,” shop assistant Monika Konczyk, 32, who moved to Britain five months ago, told The Sun newspaper. The scale and ferocity of the rioting, not only in inner-city areas but also in some middle-class suburbs, has generated a debate with starkly different views, with many people saying the police should have been tougher.

The ex-leader of one of London’s most feared street gangs said they were not the brainchild of gang leaders but, in many cases, the result of a build-up of frustration among young people growing up on grim housing estates with little hope. “The fire’s there, secured in a room, locked away and then someone’s opened the door and it’s spread through the house,” Elijah Kerr, who transformed his gang into an organisation helping young people, told Reuters in an interview. — Agencies

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Kurdish MP fights battle to legalise prostitution ARBIL, Iraq: In Kurdistan, where conservative mores still dominate despite its reputation as a haven compared to the rest of Iraq, one female MP is fighting a lonely battle: legalised prostitution. Haza Sulaiman’s efforts to regulate and control the trade in northern Iraq’s three Kurdish provinces have so far run into widespread opposition from rival lawmakers and religious groups, but the 44-year-old remains undeterred.

“We need a special law for the region - Iraqi law is not consistent with the reality on the ground here,” the women’s rights activist and current chief of the Kurdish parliament’s women’s rights committee said. “I have many concerns over the associated issues if we do not organise it under a new law - those who practice prostitution must be subject to periodic tests to monitor their health and prevent the spread of disease.”

At present, Kurdistan is subject to a 1988 law that applies to all of Iraq and bars

prostitution entirely, but reserves punishment only for sex workers, not their clients.

Sulaiman tried to submit a law legalising and regulating prostitution in 2010, but parliament was inquorate when she proposed that it be scheduled for discussion, after the powerful legal committee did not back it. “I have been told I can propose it again,” Sulaiman said.

Security officials in the Kurdish regional capital Arbil said they did not have any estimates on the prevalence of prostitution in the province, which has the same name, but insisted it was not a major issue.

Sulaimaniyah province, the second-biggest of the three provinces that make up Iraqi Kurdistan, had up to 400 houses, hotels and massage parlours where prostitution was practiced before a crackdown this month, according to Brigadier General Hassan Nuri. Figures were not immediately available for Dohuk province.

Nuri backed regulation of the sex trade,

telling AFP: “There should be places where these things can happen, and prostitutes should have to undergo tests every six months.” Sulaiman’s efforts face major opposition, however, from the majority of Kurdish MPs, as well as the key hurdle that the Iraqi constitution explicitly prohibits the “sex trade”. But the latter obstacle only needs to be addressed if the former is overcome and, for the moment, that appears unlikely.

“If there were any such effor ts, we would strongly reject them,” said Basheer Haddad, head of the Kurdish parliament’s religious affairs and endowments committee. Haddad, a member of the region’s dominant Kurdistan Democratic Party, said the sex trade was not a major issue in Kurdistan, and said no attempts to legislate regulation for it would be successful.

Sorkol Qaradaghi, an MP with the Islamic Union of Kurdistan party and a member of the Kurdish parliament’s human rights

committee, said her bloc would also oppose any efforts to regulate prostitution.

“Iraqi law considers prostitution a crime...

We have to stop it, to reduce it, not place it in a legal framework and allow it,” she said.

Human trafficking and forced prostitution are major issues in Iraq: In June, the US State Department placed Iraq on its Tier 2 Watch List of countries for human trafficking, just above its worst rating. The report said Iraq was “making significant efforts” to combat trafficking, but noted that at present, “women are lured into forced prostitution through false promises of work ”.

“Women are also subjected to involuntary servitude through forced marriages, often as payment of a debt, and women who flee such marriages are often more vulnerable to being subjected to further forced labor or sexual servitude,” the report added.

At present, an encounter with a teenage prostitute typically costs $150, with prices decreasing as the girls’ ages rise. A several-

hour non-sexual encounter where a prostitute dances in front of a client costs $200, with sex costing extra. In addition to Sulaiman’s efforts, some activists and officials are increasingly advocating for a reform to the law, urging that clients should also be punished.

“On visits to prisons in the region, we have seen that many women have been arrested for prostitution, while men are not - if there were to be a law to determine a punishment for men as well, that would be a good step,” said Lanja Abdullah, head of the Warfeen women’s rights NGO. Abdullah Salam, spokesman for the regional prosecutor’s office, said while lawyers applied the current law, “we believe there is a deficiency because crime is not being committed by just one party, but by two parties”. “Judges have been forced to free men and arrest women... because there is nothing in the law to criminalise the act for men.” — AFP

Syrian tanks roll into coastal city OIC offers to play role in dialogue

CAIRO: Egyptian military police react as some demonstrators throw stones and water bottles during a protest at Tahrir Square late on Friday in favour of a “civil state” after a visit by Egypt’s ruling general. — AFP

Egyptians rally for ‘civil state’ in Tahrir CAIRO: Several hundred people rallied late Friday in Cairo’s iconic Tahrir Square in favour of a “civil state” after a visit by Egypt’s ruling general, Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi. “Civil, civil” and “down with military rule” they chanted. Some carried a huge Egyptian flag. Military and anti-riot police, already present in large numbers during the day, received reinforcements at sundown. Brief clashes erupted as demonstrators, numbered at several hundred by a security source, pelted police with stones and water bottles prompting a response in kind.

But calm quickly returned as another group of demonstrators intervened chanting “Peaceful, peaceful. The army and the people are a single hand.” The

protest unfolded after the iftar meal that breaks the daytime fast during the month of Ramadan. The demonstration in favour of a civil state came as a counter to a July 30 rally that drew hundreds of thousands of Islamists to Tahrir in a show of support for what they called “Egypt’s Islamic identity”.

Dozens of groups had called for rallies marking a “Friday of love for Egypt” but they decided to postpone the gathering to “be better prepared,” local press reported, although some of them decided to observe iftar. Tantawi earlier in the day inspected military police deployed in Tahrir square, epicentre of the JanuaryFebruary revolt that toppled president Hosni Mubarak. — AFP

Hamas, US aid body reach compromise GAZA CITY: The Palestinian movement Hamas and the US Agency for International Development have reached a compromise to maintain the flow of aid, a senior Hamas official said yesterday. “We’ve reached a compromise with USAID through the United Nations” to allow the continuation of aid, which was suspended by Washington on Friday, the official of the Islamist movement controlling the Palestinian enclave told AFP. Hamas, as a result of the agreement, renounces for a “three-month period” its demand to verify the accounts of NGOs financed by the US Agency for International Development in the Palestinian territories, he said. “We are keen on the continuation of the international institutions’ work and their services to our people,” he said.

The Hamas official, who participated in the mediated talks, said the sides were now working towards an agreement on mechanisms that ensure “transparency and internal accountability of these international organisations”. There will be “no control over their work,” he added. A UN official who spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity said the United Nations had “made major efforts to end this crisis and reach a good agreement”.

A US official on Friday said USAID was halting humanitarian assistance to the Gaza Strip over alleged meddling by Hamas, which Washington and Israel designate as a terrorist organisation. “We deeply regret that USAID-funded partner organisations operating in Gaza are forced by Hamas’s actions to suspend their assistance work,” the official said on condition of anonymity. “USAID assistance programs were put on hold effective August 12,” he added.

“Hamas, through a series of meas-

ures it has imposed over the past months, has created an environment which jeopardises the ability of nongovernmental organisations to provide assistance to Gaza’s most vulnerable residents,” the official said.

He said all US partner organisations would suspend their activities funded by the United States until these are able “to operate without interference or harassment from Hamas.”

An official in Washington said he understood that Hamas has been demanding access to physically search files and records of NGOs, which would be unprecedented.

Referring to NGO the International Medical Corps (IMC), the first official said that when “the organisation objected to the unwarranted audits, Hamas responded by closing down the organisation’s office in Gaza.

“These types of physical searches of NGO offices and records are unprecedented and represent a significant increase in the harassment of humanitarian relief and development organizations operating in Gaza.”

Hamas insisted on Friday that it should be able to verify the accounts of NGOs financed by USAID in the Palestinian territories. The movement’s spokesman Taher Al-Nunu complained that “USAID refuses to recognise the government in Gaza”, adding that anyone who “wishes to work in Palestinian territory must obey its laws”. In a reaction from the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority, economy minister Hassan Abu Libdeh urged Hamas to “abstain from any action that threatens relations with the NGOs”. NGOs were dedicated to “rebuilding Gaza,” Abu Libdeh told AFP, adding that “any halt to their activities will have serious consequences”. — AFP

DAMASCUS: Syrian troops stormed the port city of Latakia and sprayed it with gunfire yesterday, killing at least two people, activists said, as the world’s largest Muslim grouping offered its mediation. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said two people were killed and 15 wounded, four of them critically, during a military operation in the southern Latakia area of Ramleh, a nerve centre of antiregime protests. “Phone lines and Internet were cut,” said the Observatory. The watchdog said earlier that military vehicles, including tanks and armoured personnel carriers, converged on Ramleh during a “large demonstration calling for the fall of (President Bashar Al-) Assad’s regime.

The Observatory said the arrival of troops sparked the exodus of a large number of residents, especially women and children.

Security forces raided the Asaliba district, also in the Mediterranean city, arresting “more than 70 people” in a door-to-door crackdown, it said, adding that women who resisted the arrest of their children were harassed and beaten. “There was heavy gunfire and explosions,” in Asaliba, the Observatory said.

An activist in the central region of Homs said troops backed by two tanks also entered MAARAT HARMA, Syria: In this image made on a mobile phone, protesters hold up a banthe village of Jussiyeh which borders ner depicting a Syrian tank shelling a mosque with Arabic words reading “Reform” during Lebanon, triggering a stampede across the a demonstration against the Syrian regime in this village in Idlib province on Friday. — AP frontier and to neighbouring areas. Military vehicles, meanwhile, swooped on the town of dead by armed men in Douma,” a suburb of and UN under secretary for humanitarian Qusayr, also in Homs province, where security the capital. affairs Valerie Amos were to brief the meeting. and intelligence services carried out arrests.

As the West grapples with ways to pressure Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) “No one was spared. Not even women or chil- chief Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu on Saturday Damascus into ending the bloodshed, US dren,” said the Observatory. “Ten military urged “the Syrian leadership to exercise Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged countrucks, seven security vehicles and 15 buses utmost restraint through immediate cessation tries to stop trading with Syria. “We urge those full of pro-regime militiamen entered these of the use of force to suppress people’s countries still buying Syrian oil and gas, those villages.” demonstrations,” said the world’s largest pan- countries still sending Assad weapons... to get Security forces backed by tanks have been Islamic body. Ihsanoglu “expressed the readi- on the right side of history,” Clinton told trying to crush dissent city by city and town ness of the Organisation of Islamic reporters. France yesterday advised its citizens by town since pro-democracy protests erupt- Cooperation to play a role in this regard, as he in Syria to leave the country. ed in mid-March. The Observatory says 2,150 believes that dialogue is the only secure “We advise French citizens who are still in people have been confirmed dead since then option through which this devastating crisis Syria to leave the country by commercial - 1,744 civilians and 406 members of the secu- could be contained.” transport,” the foreign ministry said in the rity forces. Activists said at least 20 people The UN Security Council is to hold a special travel advice section of its website. were killed on Friday when security forces meeting next Thursday to discuss human “Considering the escalation of tensions in opened fire on thousands of anti-regime pro- rights and the humanitarian emergency in Syria, it is strongly advised to abandon any testers who rallied in flashpoint cities after Syria, diplomats at the United Nations said. In plans to visit the country,” it said, a week after weekly prayers, updating earlier tolls. State a Twitter statement, France’s UN mission said the United States also advised its citizens to television said “two security agents were shot UN Human Rights Commissioner Navi Pillay quit the country. — AFP

Ex-colonel admits regime crumbling MISRATA, Libya: An imprisoned Libyan army colonel who surrendered to the rebel forces two months ago told AFP yesterday that Muammar Gaddafi’s regime is riven with division and in the process of collapse. Speaking from a prisoner of war camp in the rebel enclave of Misrata, Colonel Wissam Miland said Gaddafi’s military hangs together through coercion and mercenar y-enforced martial law, but that infighting is rife. “I think it will soon collapse,” he said, offering a rare glimpse inside Gaddafi’s three-pronged loyalist force, made of up army regulars, militia fighters and mercenaries. “Among the militias, the Libyan soldiers were starting to fight with the foreign mercenaries, there are many problems,” he said in an interview.

The prospect of mounting divisions among Gaddafi’s fighters will be an encouraging sign for many NATO countries, which have warned that there can be no clear-cut militar y solution to Libya’s nearly six-month-old civil war.

Since the beginning of the revolt, the alliance - along with Libya’s rebels - has used sanctions, diplomacy and brute force to tr y to cleave off parts of Gaddafi’s inner circle in the hope of hitting the regime’s tipping point.

The prospect that Gaddafi’s use of foreign mercenaries may be backfiring will also offer hope that the once oil-rich regime could be running out of options.

While it has long been known that Gaddafi has used paid fighters from Chad, Niger, Mauritania and other Sahel nations, their exact role has not always

been clear. “Within my unit there were a lot of mercenaries,” Miland said. “But they are not fighting with the army - they surround the army. They don’t let anyone fall back. If you retreat, they will kill you.”

But, Miland warned, Gaddafi is also successfully using economic, social and political levers to sustain his regime.

“Most of the soldiers are illiterate, they are just trained very hard and they are told that Gaddafi is the most important person in the world - ‘Your life depends on Gaddafi, if Gaddafi loses, you lose’,” he said. “Most soldiers fight, because they do believe that without Gaddafi they cannot live.”

And as the death toll mounts, there are also signs that Gaddafi’s war effort has gathered some self-sustaining momentum. “Some people are fighting not because they like him, but because their cousins or relatives have been killed,” Miland said.

Miland said he had decided to defect because satellite news reports seemed to show that the rebels were not - as he said the regime claimed - “a band of Al-Qaeda terrorists”. He finally did so on May 28 after his forces were ordered to attack Zliten, a town not far from Misrata. “I thought it was wrong to kill Muslims and fellow Libyans,” he said, “but if I refused the order I would be shot immediately, so I decided to surrender.” Down the hall of this high school-turned prisoner of war camp, dozens of ex-Gaddafi soldiers told a similar story. Many are in their twenties, some as young as 16, and some are terrified and confused about what has happened. — AFP

News

in brief

Palestinians set date for UN statehood bid RAMALLAH: The Palestinians will present their bid for membership of the United Nations on September 20, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad AlMalki said yesterday. ‘Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas will personally present the request to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon... at the opening of the sixty-sixth session,’ on September 20, Malki said.

Abbas ‘will insist on this historic initiative and Ban Kimoon will present the request to the Security Council,’ he said. Malki added that the Palestinian Authority chose September because Lebanon, which will hold the presidency of the Security Council, would be in a strong position to push the bid forward. ‘Lebanon will hold the presidency of the Security Council in September and this will help us because the president of the council has special prerogatives, which is crucial,’ he said. Following the collapse of direct peace talks with Israel in September last year, the Palestinians have adopted a diplomatic strategy of looking to secure UN recognition for a state along the frontiers which existed before the 1967 Six-Day War. Israel is adamantly opposed to such a move.

New mines planted along Syrian border JERUSALEM: An Israeli army magazine says the military is planting new land mines along the border with Syria to dissuade protesters from rushing into the Golan Heights. The army decided to go ahead with the move after older mines failed to detonate when Syrian demonstrators rushed into the border area in June during a protest against Israelís occupation. Israeli forces opened fire, killing some 20 protesters in efforts to push the crowd back. The mines are also part of beefed-up measures Israel is taking ahead of rallies that Palestinians are planning to hold in September.

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Messages reveal Londoners’ love and hate

LONDON: A woman takes pictures of a giant message board in Clapham Junction in southwest London yesterday following recent riots and looting in the area. — AFP

LONDON: In riot-hit London, locals have started leaving messages on the boardedup shop windows, voicing their opinions on the looting, arson and vandalism that has rocked their neighbourhoods. For some it’s a form of group therapy, venting their emotions and reaffirming their faith in their district, while others shrug at the “hypocrisy” of “white liberals” for their part in it. One such board has become the focal point for messages in Clapham Junction, an area named after Britain’s busiest railway station, which is often sold in glossy property magazines as the heart of south London’s “nappy valley”. While mothers with strollers normally fill the streets, Monday night saw feral mobs running amok, looting shops, torching buildings in an orgy of violence. Hundreds of messages have been scrawled on a board put up over one shattered shop window.

They range from anger at the looters: “Rot in hell, bastards”, “Looters should be lined up and shot”; peace and love: “Let there be light”, “I love Clapham Junction”, and soulsearching: “These are our children. Ask the question: what have we done wrong?”

Peckham, a few miles eastwards across south London, is a much poorer and more

multi-ethnic neighbourhood. There, the colourful sticky notes left on a board covering another smashed window have a more pacifist tone -”Peace”, “Peckham is love”, “Think of other people before you do any harm” - and a more political one: “More education for children, less cuts”. “My message is that we love Peckham,” said 21-year-old Assad Yousifzi, who fled the war in Afghanistan to live here. “It’s our home, we just want peace. Hopefully this will bring peace and love.” He branded the rioters as “looters and thieves... people from here, young people, 17, 18 years old”. Yousifzi put the unrest down to racism. “When I go the mosque with my prayer hat on my head, people stare at me in the street as if I was a terrorist,” he said.

Mike Uyi, president of the Nigerian nongovernmental organisation Global Peace Movement, said: “Everybody has the right to protest, but nobody has the right of violence, stealing, beating up anybody. This is purely criminality.” Marc Wadsworth, who runs the www.the-latest.com “citizen journalism for all” website, seemed dismayed as he looked at the growing wall of notes. “It’s a feel-good for white people who are part of

Berlin marks 50th Wall anniversary Flags at half mast, minute of silence held BERLIN: Berlin yesterday marked the 50th anniversary of the day the Berlin Wall started to go up with a memorial service and a minute of silence in memory of those who died trying to flee to the West. German President Christian Wulff, Chancellor Angela Merkel, who grew up in the East, and Berlin mayor Klaus Wowereit attended a nationally televised commemoration followed by a ecumenical church service at a chapel built where the Wall stood for 28 years.

Flags flew at half mast on the Reichstag (parliament) and church bells tolled at noon as Germans were called to observe a minute of silence in remembrance of the 136 people who are known to have died in Berlin between 1961 and 1989 while trying to cross the Wall. Overall figures of those killed while attempting to flee from East to West Germany stand at between 600 and 700.

“No one knows the true figure,” Wulff told those attending the commemoration in Berlin’s Bernauer Strasse, the scene of many escape attempts which today houses a memorial visited by half a million people every year. “We bow our heads in remembrance of all who died at the Wall and of the hundreds who died on the inner German border,” he said. “The dead and wounded, the hundreds of thousands who were emprisoned and politically harassed aren’t the only victims of this Wall. Millions were also forced to renounce the lives they wanted to live,” he added.

“The Wall was part of a dictatorial system, an unjust state,” Wowereit said for his part. “It illustrated the bankruptcy of a system people wanted out of. The Wall is now history, but it must not be forgotten. It is our responsibility to keep its memory alive and pass it on to future generations ... so that such injustices never repeat themselves,” he added.

At noon, Berlin’s buses and trains stopped for three minutes while local radio stations interrupted their programs. The commemorations began overnight at a chapel on the former death strip with a more than seven-hourlong reading of the names and stories of those killed seeking freedom. These included Ida Siekmann, 58, the first known Berlin Wall

BERLIN: German Chancellor Angela Merkel gestures as she attends the commemorative ceremony of the construction of the Berlin Wall at the Bernauer Strasse Memorial yesterday. — AFP victim who fell to her death when jumping to the West from the third storey of a building on Aug 22, 1961.

And Chris Gueffroy, 20, the last victim, shot dead on Feb 6, 1989 - nine months before the Wall fell - while trying to swim across a canal.

The Wall was born in the early hours of Sunday Aug 13, 1961, a day chosen by East German authorities as that most likely to catch people by surprise as they enjoyed a summer day off. In a secret operation codenamed “Rose”, tens of thousands of East German soldiers and factory militiamen were called out to cut off the Soviet-occupied eastern sector from the western part of the city, occupied by US, British and French forces since the end of World War II. The Wall, known in the East as the “anti-fascist protection wall”, was set up to stop the exodus of East Germans who found it easy to cross into West Berlin and then fly on to the West rather than attempt to cross the inter-

Riots force rethink on British juvenile justice LONDON: It wasn’t long ago that David Cameron launched what became known as his “Hug a Hoodie” campaign - an initiative born of a public outcry over Britain’s ill-behaved youths, and one that ended in ridicule when hooded youths mocked the then opposition leader during a photo opportunity. Now as prime minister, Cameron is opting for tough love in the wake of Britain’s riots. He has declared anyone convicted in the unrest will be jailed, and he’s even warned rioters that they may be kicked out of statesubsidized housing. “We will track you down, we will find you, we will charge you, we will punish you,” he said.

Some critics say the hardline stance falls short. Among them are law-enforcement officials and youth workers who claim Britain has taken too soft an approach to juvenile offenders. Too many receive cautions, which they ignore. Others have been given AntiSocial Behavior Orders, an invention of the previous Labour government which have been derided as largely ineffective, even being used as a badge of honor by delinquent youths. The ones who have ended up in juvenile detention centers often have access to luxuries like PlayStations or computer games.

“There is frustration because a lot of these people are people frontline officers have dealt with before,” said Andy Trotter, chief constable of British Transport Police who is helping police with the riots. “The approach to juvenile justice has often

been to use cautions and then further cautions. There’s nothing wrong with trying to rehabilitate them, but there has also been this lack of sanction.”

Sanction is very much on the minds of police, politicians and judges since four nights of riots wreaked havoc in London and other English cities. More than 1,700 people have been arrested and almost 700 charged in London alone, as officials try to show the rioters - and the British public - that they are in control. Since Wednesday, several courts around the country sat overnight to dispense swift justice to the accused, most of whom are in their teens or early 20s. Police said about half those charged in London were 18 or under. Some have pleaded guilty and in most cases received jail sentences - or were sent to a higher court which has the power to impose longer terms of imprisonment. A majority have not been granted bail as they await their next hearing.

To liberal-minded observers, some of the punishments appear harsh.

Londoner Nicholas Robinson received six months in jail for stealing a case of water valued at £3.50 ($5) from a looted supermarket. The 23-year-old student had no previous convictions and his lawyer said he took the water on impulse because he was thirsty. In Manchester, 20-year-old Jordan Kelly was sentenced to six months for “going equipped for burglary”. He was caught carrying a garbage bag and a homemade ski mask. — AP

German border farther afield. In 1961, more than 2.5 million of East Germany’s 19 million inhabitants had already voted with their feet by going West and, with up to 3,000 leaving every day, communist authorities feared the mass flight would bleed the state dry.

Soldiers blocked off the streets, cut off rail links, and began building a wall of barbed wire and cemented paving stones which over the years, in Berlin, grew in height and complexity over 155 km.

Today much of the Wall has disappeared with only small portions, totalling about three kilometres, remaining. Sections still standing, where numerous wreaths were laid yesterday, are now being restored and listed for historical preservation. For days, German newspapers and television channels have been marking the upcoming anniversary with interviews of people who tried to cross the Wall and programs and documentaries about its history. — AFP

the problem, and not part of the solution,” he said, taking a swipe at “hug-a-hoodie, politically-correct liberalism”. “I don’t want a group therapy, I want justice. Black and poor people must get a fair piece of the economical pie,” he said, otherwise “it will happen again. It’s like a volcano.”

He said the causes were clear: racism, poverty, and police stop-and-search tactics which he said were 29 times more likely to affect blacks than whites. Michael, a security guard at a neighbouring shop, said the board was a wall of “shitty white liberalism”.

“People come here, make comments about something they don’t understand,” he said.

“It’s a picture of an ideal Peckham, mostly people who put a message here haven’t spoken to a stranger in the past year.

Hypocrisy!” An elderly white lady walking with her grandson in a pushchair listens in.

“If they want to kill and burn, send them to Afghanistan or Iraq!” she says.

Tracy Cahoon, from Northern Ireland, has no sympathy for the rioters but understands where they are coming from. “Kids have got nothing here. They’re fighting for something, but they probably don’t even know for what,” she said. — AFP

Macedonia still fragile ten years after conflict SKOPJE: Ten years after the Ohrid agreement that brought Macedonia back from the brink of all-out civil war the tiny Balkans country is stable but some warn an ongoing name row with Greece slows down reconciliation. “Ten years after signature of the Ohrid Framework Agreement that ended fighting between the countr y ’s ethnic Albanians and Macedonians, much of the agreement has been implemented, and a resumption of armed conflict is unlikely,” the International Crisis Group think tank said in a report published on the eve of the anniversary Saturday.

However it warns that the country remained “fragile” and that the “inability to solve the name dispute with Greece and the consequent failure to make progress towards NATO and EU integration, exacerbates tensions between ethnic Albanians and Macedonians and the government and the opposition”.

When the Ohrid agreement was signed on Aug 13, 2001, it ended a six month conflict between the Macedonian security forces and independence seek ing ethnic Albanian rebels. Central to the deal were a string of reforms that gave ethnic Albanians, who make up some 25 percent of Macedonia’s population of two million, more rights and include them more in society.

From that standpoint the agreement was a success, said Musa Xhaferi, the current Macedonian deputy prime minister and a former key political figure of the ethnic Albanian rebel movement. “ The agreement brought back the peace in Macedonia and to a large extent it has restored people’s trust in the (state) institutions,” he told AFP. However he added that the ongoing name row with Greece has “cost us a lot ”. Athens has blocked Skopje’s entry into NATO and the European Union as a result of the almost two-decades long dispute.

The two countries have been at loggerheads since Macedonia pro-

claimed independence from the former Yugoslavia in 1991, with Greece insisting that the use of the name Macedonia implies a claim on Greek territory.

UN-led negotiations have so far been fruitless. “We do have to find a solution that will not harm Macedonia and invest all as much energy as possible to find a compromise for the (EU and NATO) perspective to be open,” Xhaferi stressed.

Vladimir Misev, a political analyst from the Macedonian Institute for Democracy, told AFP that Ohrid brought “harmonisation and peaceful development”. “ The results show that this is achieved and the state administration now employs over 20 percent ethnic Albanians,” he said to illustrate the inclusion of the ethnic Albanians. On the name issue, Misev added that with Athens’ current financial trouble it seems to have been pushed to the background. “Greece has other priorities, and it is more in our interest that this issue is solved. I do think we are moving towards a solution, but how soon that would happen and how, that is another matter,” he said.

There is a danger that the ethnic Albanians become fed up with seeing their path to Europe hindered by the ethnic Macedonians’ stress on the national identity, the International Crisis Group warned.

“As their common vision for the national future fades, ethnic Albanians and Macedonians are replacing it with their own concepts of what Macedonia should be: a unitary state for the Macedonians, a decentralised bilingual federation for the Albanians,” the think tank said. Politician and economic analyst Ljubomir Kekenovski stressed that the problems in relations between Albanians and Macedonians “were never going to be solved in the short term”. “The only thing that can join the people on the Balkans is peace, strong (state) institutions and market and economic relations,” he said. — AFP

WFP expands efforts in famine-hit Somalia NAIROBI: The World Food Program said yesterday that it is expanding food distribution efforts in famine-ravaged Somalia, where the UN has estimated that only 20 percent of people needing aid are able to receive it because an Al-Qaeda-linked group controls large portions of the country. Al-Shabab militants withdrew from most areas of the capital last week, a move that will significantly improve aid relief efforts, said Stanlake Samkange, the WFP regional director in East and Central Africa.

The militants’ presence in Mogadishu had complicated international aid groups’ efforts to feed the tens of thousands who had sought

help in the capital. “We are expanding our activities in Mogadishu and we are looking to dramatically increase those activities over the coming days and weeks as the security situation in the city permits,” Samkange said.

Yesterday, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Valerie Amos visited the Somali capital, where she toured a hospital and met with people who had survived a long journey to Mogadishu to escape starvation. Amos said she could not imagine the plight of Somali parents trying to save their emaciated children. “It is absolutely distressing,” she said. “We really have to do what we can. I know security is difficult but we have to

MOGADISHU: Mohamed Ibrahim Issak from southern Somalia (right sitting) and relatives lower the body of his 2-year-old son into a grave after the child died in a refugee camp yesterday. —AP

do all we can to make sure that we help people who are absolutely desperate.”

Al-Shabab has been waging a war against the weak UN-backed Somali government. The group banned relief agencies including the WFP from operating in it territories. The militants control most of central and southern Somalia, and have killed people who tried to flee starvation. Aid is only reaching about 20 percent of the 2.6 million Somalis who need it, Mark Bowden, the UN’s top humanitarian official for Somalia, said on a visit to Mogadishu last week.

However, Samkange said WFP also was making significant progress in distributing food in other areas across southern Somalia, much of which could not be accessed only a month ago. “The access situation is changing in southern Somalia because of the pressure and the serious condition there and we are responding to that very actively and very aggressively,” Samkange said.

He said there are still security challenges in Mogadishu. A World Food Program handout of corn rations turned deadly after government troops opened fire, killing at least seven people more than a week ago. Residents of Mogadishu’s largest famine refugee camp accused government soldiers of starting chaos by trying to steal some of the 290 tons of dry rations that aid workers were trying to distribute there. The African Union Mission in Somalia, known as AMISOM, warns that AlShabab still poses a threat in the Somali capital where humanitarian efforts are under way. Maj Gen Fred Mugisha said the city was not calm despite the militants’ withdrawal from more than 90 percent of the city and that AU forces fear guerrilla attacks now will increase. — AP

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Maine school finds Chinese recruiting a tough sell PORTLAND, Maine: A school district in the deep woods of Maine that sought out Chinese students to help boost its enrollment and its finances fell far short of its ambitious goal of bringing in 60 students. Only six Chinese students will attend high school in Millinocket, in a rural part of the northeastern state, this fall. The target of five dozen was probably overly ambitious, officials said. The efforts also were hindered by a recruiter in China who failed to deliver any students and a writer who told readers of a national Chinese newspaper that the school was merely “mediocre” and that Millinocket children hang out in parking lots for fun.

Stearns High School officials said they’re disappointed more Chinese students won’t be attending when classes begin Sept. 6 but will stick with the program and try to expand in the years ahead. “We’re also a public school, not a private school or an academy or attached to a university or college,” said Arnold Hopkins, chairman of the Millinocket school board. “We’re a rural school out there by ourselves and we’re untested, so to speak.

So naturally I would think the Chinese would be a bit hesitant.”

The six students are scheduled to stay with host families in Millinocket, a town of

about 4,500 people an hour north of Bangor.

Each student will pay $24,000 in tuition, room and board. Private schools have recruited students from China and other overseas locations for years. Faced with declining enrollment and shrinking revenues, a number of public schools around the country have begun doing the same in the past few years.

As Millinocket has fallen on hard times with the decline and eventual closure of the area’s two paper mills, high school enrollment has fallen to about 200, down from more than 700 in years past. Its Chinese recruitment initiative was begun last fall by Superintendent Kenneth Smith, who started with a target of 25 and later upped it to 60.

The program would benefit Chinese students by immersing them in American society, sharpening their English skills and enhancing their chances to go to a US college or university, Smith said, while also helping local students by opening their eyes to other cultures.

From the start, Smith knew he was at a competitive disadvantage to private schools.

Foreign students are allowed to attend a public school for only one year because of American visa regulations, whereas private schools aren’t restricted as to how long stu-

dents may attend. Public schools pitch their programs as a way for foreign students to get a foot in the door in the US and then move on to a university or a private school.

But school officials found it a harder sell than expected. An opinion column in June in the Global Times, a national newspaper in China, took aim at US public high schools in general and Millinocket in particular. The author, an adjunct instructor at a law school program in China and a former high school teacher and prosecutor in the US, wrote that “the first thing to understand is that the average US public high school isn’t very good.” He went on to call Stearns a “run-of-the-mill” school and said the “biggest kick for (Millinocket) kids is hanging out in a supermarket parking lot”.

And until last week, a recruiter was still guaranteeing delivery of up to 60 Chinese students for the school, but ended up with none, Smith said. In all, the school district has spent about $40,000 on the program, on consulting and legal fees and a recruiting trip by Smith, Hopkins said. The school board now has to reconfigure its budget based on the program bringing in $144,000 in revenues rather than the $1.4 million that had been anticipated. — AP

MILLINOCKET, Maine: In this March 10, 2011 file photo, students walk by a display about China at Stearns High School. — AP

Perry entry roils White House race Announcement coincides with straw poll WASHINGTON: Texas Governor Rick Perry formally entered the 2012 White House race yesterday, looking to supplant Mitt Romney as the frontrunner for the Republican nomination to take on President Barack Obama. After months of campaigning in all but name, Perry was to make his candidacy official at events in the key early primary states of South Carolina and New Hampshire, joining a crowded field of Republican rivals.

“He’s got to be considered a top-tier candidate. He immediately jumps to the top of the pack,” Matt Dickinson, a professor of political science at elite Middlebury College in Vermont, said of Perry. “ The reason why Perry’s a credible primary candidate ... is that he’s from a state that created jobs in the recession,” Dickinson told AFP. Obama’s most glaring vulnerability ahead of the Nov 6 vote remains the sour US economy, still grappling with unemployment above nine percent as it struggles to claw back from the 2008 global collapse. Perry’s entry coincided with yesterday’s straw poll in Iowa, another crucial early battleground where candidates such as Minnesota congresswoman Michele Bachmann and former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty are hoping for a strong showing to boost their chances.

Perry, who succeeded George W Bush in the Texas governor’s mansion in 2000, hopes to blend his strong credentials as an ardent social conservative and what his supporters call the economic “Texas miracle” into a winning political mix. “I am a pro-business governor. I will be a pro-business president,” Perry told Time magazine in an interview released Thursday, highlighting his opposition to taxes and regulation in tandem with his Christian faith.

Romney, a multimillionaire investor and former governor of Massachusetts, has been making the most of his private-sector experience on the stump, but faces lingering skepti-

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama: Texas Gov Rick Perry speaks at an Alabama Republican Party dinner on Friday. – AP cism from core Republican voters for past moderate views on issues like healthcare and climate change. Perry “poses a credible and a strong threat to Romney, because he (Perry) is in good standing with social conservatives”, who regularly define Republican presidential primaries, said Dickinson.

The Texas governor has been nipping at Romney ’s heels in opinion polls of Republicans over the past few months, amid widespread discontent among party insiders with their crop of candidates. And even before the announcement, Perry’s Republican rivals and Obama’s top reelection strategist, David Axelrod, were training their guns on the late-comer to the pitched political battle. “If people want to send to Washington someone who spent their entire career in government,

they can choose a lot of folks,” Romney said at a Republican candidate debate in Iowa on Thursday. “But if they want to choose somebody who understands how the private sector works, they’re going to have to choose one of us, because we’ve been in it during our career,” he said of himself and former pizza chain boss Herman Cain. Cain shrugged at Perr y ’s entr y into the race, saying at Thursday’s debate: “that’s just one more politician, and that makes this business problemsolver stand out that much more.”

While Romney’s tack against Perry is “logical,” said Dickinson, “voters are going to be less discerning. They don’t care how jobs are created, they just want jobs”. The Texas governor has a reputation of a formidable fundraiser. According to The New York Times, in three campaigns for governor, he raised $102 million, including more than $39 million during his 2010 re-election bid. “He is the most successful fundraiser in the history of Texas politics,” said Craig McDonald, director of Texans for Public Justice, told the newspaper. “He may be the best in the country.”

Perhaps sensing the political danger, Axelrod told ABC television Friday that Perry had been the political “beneficiary of things that he had very little to do with” regarding his state’s economic success. “There’s a specific reason that Texas has done so well, and that’s because the oil industry has done so well in the last few years, and the military has grown because of the challenges that we have had overseas,” he said.

Perry received 38 percent of the Latino vote in his most recent re-election victory, according to exit polling, and his recent prayer rally drew a large number of Latinos.

An ability to attract Latino votes, experts said, is likely to enhance Perry’s appeal to those Republicans who say the party must improve its standing with the nation’s fastest growing minority if it expects to flourish. — AFP

Palin stokes speculation with Iowa appearance DES MOINES, Iowa: Republican Sarah Palin rolled into Iowa’s state fair on Friday, stealing the spotlight from the party ’s presidential contenders and sparking a new round of speculation about her plans for 2012. Palin’s visit to the cattle barn at the fair attracted a crush of photographers, reporters, fans and onlookers who swarmed the former Alaska governor, alarming the cows and bringing activity in the barn to a temporary halt. The timing of the visit, a day before a straw poll that is a big early test of campaign strength for the 2012 Republican presidential contenders, renewed questions about whether she will jump in the race.

Palin, who stopped to talk to reporters and fans outside the barn, said she was still uncertain of her decision but there was time and room for more candidates to join the race. “I think there is plenty of time to jump in the race,” she said.

“Watching the whole process over the last year certainly shows me that, yes, there is plenty of room for more people.”

She said that “practically speaking” September would probably be a deadline for her decision. “I don’t want to be perceived as stringing people along,” she said.

Palin joined a half-dozen declared Republican presidential candidates who visited the fair on Friday to speak at a local newspaper’s stage, make a traditional visit to a life-size sculpted butter cow and eat fried Oreo cookies or meats on a stick. The fair visit is a traditional rite of passage for presidential contenders, and Palin’s timing on Friday stole the spotlight from potential rivals, including former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty and US Representative Michele Bachmann. Palin, the 2008 vice presidential nominee, denied that was her intention. “I don’t think I’m stealing any spotlights,” she said. “We’re very thankful to

have been invited by friends and I’m glad we could make it.”

Talk about Palin’s entry in the race had slowed after she ended a bus tour of several states in early June. As the 2012 race heated up, speculation focused on other new entries, like Texas Governor Rick Perry who planned to declare his candidacy yesterday. Dressed in black jeans and a white t-shirt with a cartoon stick figure woman and hearts on the front, Palin posed for photos with fans, signed autographs and petted a calf that was led to her through the media mob. She dismissed suggestions that if she gets into the race she is on a collision course with Bachmann, another conservative woman who is popular with members of the Tea Party movement and attracts heavy media attention. “ That’s so passe to say that just because there may happen to be two women in the race that they would, you know, get in the mud and engage in some catfighting,” said Palin, who was accompanied by her husband Todd.

“That’s ridiculous, it’s even a sexist notion that two women would duke it out. If I’m going to duke it out I’m going to duke it out with guys,” she said.

Bachmann leads polls in Iowa and is an early favorite in Saturday’s straw poll, a nonbinding mock election that tests the strength of campaigns and traditionally winnows out some losers from the field. Republican frontrunner Mitt Romney is not participating in the poll but will be on the ballot. Bachmann is being challenged by Pawlenty, who has campaigned hard in Iowa and needs a good showing to prove his viability. Palin said Thursday night’s debate involving eight of the declared Republican candidates in Iowa was “great.” She welcomed the entry of Perry into the race but said it would have no bearing on her final decision. — Reuters

Chile protestors lap up support SANTIAGO: What started as a one-student march now includes more than 10,000 parents, children and elderly, in a goal to jog around the Chilean presidential palace for 1,800 hours in a row — 75 days - to urge education reform. The march first began on June 13 when a lone drama student started running the half-mile loop around the presidential palace in Santiago. Then his girlfriend joined the protest run.

Soon, dozens of Chileans were taking turns in the exercise that is part of a nationwide effort to gain substantial education reforms.

Chile has been occupied for months by student protests where youth are demanding free education for all. For the

marathon protest run, there is always at least one person walking the half-mile stretch amid the central and congested streets of downtown Santiago with their black, tattered flag demanding “Free Education Now”. The 1,800hour goal symbolizes the $1.8 billion each year that, according to students, would be required to fund education for the 300,000 most vulnerable students in the system. In a separate-but-related protest Tuesday, Chilean riot police fired tear gas and used water cannons to disperse violent protestors on the fringe of an otherwise peaceful student demonstration in the capital. Friday at the palace, the protestors are just over two weeks shy of reaching

SANTIAGO: Students with their bodies painted from head to toe protest in front of La Moneda government palace Friday. — AP

their goal, and they have culled support from more than 10,000 people.

The movement’s Facebook page has more than 13,500 fans. In nearly two months of running, often during very cold mornings, there has always been someone making a lap. “No matter what, runners appear almost magically,” said one of the organizers, Alfonso Castillo. “Until now, time has passed quickly,” said the kinesiology student at the University of Chile, after they had completed 1,419 hours.

On Saturday and Sunday mornings, families take over the run, while students and nearby office workers fill the weekday shifts. “We came to support this beautiful cause, because we believe it is right to have free education for all,” said Paula, a 37-year old supermarket cashier who brought her eldest daughter and nephew with her to join the movement. Chilean President Sebastian Pinera on Thursday rebuffed demands by students who have mounted mass protests for free university education, telling them “nothing is free in this life”. “We all want education, healthcare, and many more things for free, but I want to remind them that nothing is free in this life. Someone has to pay,” said Pinera at the presidential palace, La Moneda.

As runners complete the circle, they are greeted by cheers of “Now, now... do not stop!” from other students. People who want

to join the run can register by phone or at a makeshift relief station that students have assembled in front of the government building. Volunteers need not worry if they have no sportswear or sneakers to wear - there are several pairs of shoes and dozens of shirts and pants available on loan for those who need them.

Each runner is also given a bottle of water or juice to rehydrate.

There are bananas, cereal bars, biscuits and fruits that have been donated by an anonymous donor.

A chiropractor has even set up a stretcher and provides massages to tired runners.

When 1,000 hours passed, a copycat movement in neighboring Valparaiso began, where students are making laps around Parliament. They have already logged nearly 500 hours. A University of Santiago professor holds the record for most hours jogged at 7 hours and 10 minutes, while a female student ran more than four hours. An 80-year-old made a full lap as did two young men in wheelchairs. Organizers expect a large crowd the last day of the race on Aug 27. The recent wave of student protests is the largest since democracy was restored in Chile in 1990 after 17 years of military dictatorship.

Protests have been mounting since Pinera, the first right-wing president to govern Chile since 1990, announced wide-ranging education spending cuts earlier in the year. — AFP

DES MOINES, Iowa: Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin arrives for an interview on the Sean Hannity Show during the Iowa State Fair on Friday. — AP

Feds file charges in Phoenix bomb scare PHOENIX: Authorities filed federal charges Friday against three African refugees after an item first thought to be a bomb was found in one of their carryon bags at Phoenix’s airport. Luwiza Daman, 51, Shullu Gorado, 25, and Shani Asa, 34, face federal charges of possessing a package that appeared to be an explosive device. They had been charged in a local court with having a hoax device and conspiracy to obtain a hoax device, although it was unclear Friday whether those counts were still pending.

Daman, Gorado and Asa were being held until a hearing Tuesday in federal court. They have declined to speak to The Associated Press and it was unclear whether they have lawyers. The three are from Eritrea, a small country on the Red Sea in the Horn of Africa, and are described by authorities as acquaintances. Daman was living in Des Moines, Iowa, while Gorado and Asa were living in separate apartments in Phoenix.

Daman was carrying the suspicious item

in her carry-on bag Aug. 5 as she went through a security checkpoint at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport to board a plane to Des Moines, Phoenix police Sgt Steve Martos said.

Asa gave the item to Gorado, who gave it to Daman to take to Des Moines, Martos said. The sergeant described the package earlier this week as an organic substance inside a container, with a cellphone taped to the outside. An investigative report the FBI released Friday describes the item in better detail as a box of a paste-like dessert with a red cellphone taped face-down to the lid with medical-type tape. “The object was similar in appearance to an explosive device, although it lacked the wires necessary to form a complete explosive device,” FBI agent Benjamin Oesterle wrote in the report.

Asa told investigators he wanted Daman to take the package to his brother in Des Moines because he didn’t have a cellphone, Oesterle wrote. — AP

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Military boot camps lure S Korea teens, families SEOUL: They rappel off an 11-m height in seconds, run with an open parachute strapped to their shoulders, march with a heavy pack and brave a gas-filled chamber. It could be a typical day at the South Korean army’s Special Warfare Command base in western Seoul - except that the “soldiers” are teenage boys and young women, often accompanied by their families.

The army’s twice-yearly “boot camps” for civilians, offering basic military training for four days, began in 2003 and have proved a big hit. They are open to anyone aged over 13 who pays 40,000 won ($36) and have drawn more than 17,000 people so far.

Military culture is deeply ingrained in South Korea, ruled by army-backed regimes till the mid-80s. All able-bodied men are still subject to a mandatory two years of conscription to guard against attacks from North Korea. Boot camps - run by the military or private firms -have become increasingly popular in recent years, drawing people ranging from nostalgic veterans to school kids, company employees and those seeking special family vacations.

The army says they are an opportunity to “test your limits, enhance physical ability...and learn a strong spirit of ‘making the impossible possible’”.

“Boys obviously make up the biggest part because they have the mandatory service coming up,” said Major Lee JooHo, a boot camp spokesman. “But more young women are showing an interest, since they were allowed to join a college-based officer commissioning programme last year.”

On a typical day this month the muddy training field at Gangseo echoed to squeals, screams and shouts from 230 participants on their third day of training. In pouring rain, youths practised a mock parachute landing jumping into a sandbox with their hands in the air and repeating instructions to land on the balls of the feet.

“Yes, sir!” “I can do it!” they shouted, hitching up baggy, rain-drenched uniform trousers with sneakers peeking out underneath. “Let me hear your voice! Shout out your girlfriend’s name real loud!” a military instructor commands a boy climbing down a cable from a 20-m platform to simulate a descent from a helicopter.

The nervous-looking trainee murmurs inaudibly, prompting the sternlooking commando to grab the cable and leave him in mid-air. “Is this what you got? Louder!” he orders repeatedly, until the boy finally yells “I love you, Choi Yoon!” and is allowed to descend.

Fifteen-year-old Yeom Hyuck said he was “very nervous but thrilled” before he hurled himself off an 11-m parachute jump tower and ziplined to the ground. “Everything is fun - but right now I miss my parents,” he said.

Kim Tae-Hoon, 17, said his father’s dream of joining the army was foiled by poor eyesight. The father pushed his son to attend camp as soon as he turned 13. Since then, Kim has been back every summer and winter - a total of nine times. “This is so good at relieving stress and much more fun than playing computer games,” he said.

Since last winter Kim has been joined by his younger brother Tae-Hun, who found it “so thrilling” even to experience the gas-filled chamber, designed to test training against chemical attacks. “I’m glad I’ve lost some weight...and I feel more like a man,” said the chubby, red-cheeked 13-yearold.

Not everyone was so thrilled. Cho Byung-Chan, panting hard after rappel training, said he was “a little bit” angry with his parents for sending him. “They said I need to grow up,” said the 15year-old, who usually spends school breaks playing computer games. “It’s hard...I’m hungry,” he said. Former army commando Yoon Jeong-Sik was spend-

China sends anti-terror unit to its restive west Order restored in southwest town BEIJING: China has sent its elite Snow Leopard anti-terrorism unit to its far western frontier where ethnic violence has flared, hoping to boost security before the area stages an international trade convention in weeks, a state newspaper reported yesterday. At least 20 people died in two attacks last month in the southern Xinjiang region, where security had already been tight since 2009 fighting between majority Han Chinese and minority ethnic Uighurs, who are Muslim and share other cultural links with groups in Central Asia.

The government has blamed Muslim extremists for the July attacks and violent protests in Kashgar, where 80 percent of the 600,000 population are Uighurs, and in another southern Xinjiang city, Hotan. Recently it sent its elite Snow Leopard Commando unit to patrol the region from a base in Aksu city, roughly halfway between Kashgar and the regional capital of Urumqi, the China Daily said, quoting a spokesman for the Xinjiang People’s Armed Police. Calls to the Xinjiang government and police were not answered yesterday.

The Snow Leopards, formed in 2002, were charged with securing the 2008 Beijing Olympics and have a mandate to combat terrorism, control riots, dispose of bombs, respond to hijackings and carry out other special tasks, the newspaper said.

Xinjiang is China’s Central Asian frontier - bordering Pak istan, Afghanistan, Russia and other countries - with Kashgar serving as an impor tant hub along the ancient Silk Road trade route to Europe. The Snow Leopard unit will be increasing security for the China-Eurasia Expo, being held in Urumqi the first week next month.

China has blamed the region’s unrest on forces outside the country, and said last month’s attacks were carried out by militants trained in camps run by the East

URUMQI: In this July 15, 2009 file photo, paramilitary police officers train themselves at the People’s Square in western China’s Xinjiang province. — AP Turk istan Islamic Movement in ruption and violence against small Pakistan on Xinjiang’s southern businesses and the poor, and are border. It has given no evidence for widely disliked across China. The the allegation. Many Uighurs in the protest, which started Thursday, area resent the Han Chinese major- spun out of control, with more than ity as interlopers relegating them a dozen police cars smashed or set to minority status in their home- on fire, the state-run China Daily land. China defends its treatment newspaper reported, adding that it of minorities, saying all ethnic took more than 24 hours to disgroups are treated equally and that perse the crowds. “Several people, tens of billions of dollars in invest- most of them teenagers, stirred up ment and aid have dramatically the trouble,” said the official, who would give only his surname, Wu, raised their living standards.

Separately, order has been as is common in China.

Wu said that at the protest’s peak, restored to a southwestern Chinese town after more than 1,000 people more than 1,000 people had gathtook to the streets and clashed ered, but that they had all dispersed with police to protest the rough by early Friday. More than 10 policehandling of citizens by authorities, men were hurt, he said, but had no an official said yesterday. Residents further details. Such protests - often in Qianxi county in Guizhou fueled by illegal land seizures, enviprovince protested after a man ronmental problems and abuse by who had parked a car illegally local officials - number in the tens of clashed with “chengguan”, or urban thousands every year in China. management corps, said an official Generally apolitical, the incidents with the propaganda department spark a deep unease among authoriof the county’s Communist Party ties who worry they may spill out of control and go from attacks on local office.

Chengguan act like police auxil- issues to challenges to the ruling iary units but are notorious for cor- Communist Party. — AP

Malaysia deports British lawyer for Indian activists KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia yesterday deported a British lawyer for a group of ethnic Indian activists who allege discrimination of their minority community in the Southeast Asian country, officials said. British lawyer Imran Khan arrived at Kuala Lumpur International Airport Friday but immigration authorities prevented him from entering the country and instead sent him back to London 12 hours later. Immigration Department director general Alias Ahmad confirmed Khan was deported early yesterda7y as he was a “prohibited immigrant” but declined to comment further.

S Jayathas, a coordinator for Hindraf, which lobbies for more rights for Malaysia’s ethnic Indian minority, said Khan had planned to stay a week to meet community members who have faced difficulties, such as getting identity cards or being forced to convert to Islam.

“They deported him,” Jayathas told AFP, adding that officials only told Khan they were following police instructions “from higher authorities” without being given any other

reason. “(His visit) will bring awareness that the Indian minority has been cheated for the past 54 years of their rights... They want to suppress that information,” Jayathas said.

Khan and a colleague, who travelled with him but was allowed entry, are planning to file a fresh civil suit against the British government, alleging the discrimination against ethnic Indians started in colonial times when they were brought into what is now Malaysia as plantation labourers. “We want to use this case to highlight the historical injustices... We have been refused our right to meet our lawyers,” Hindraf advisor N Ganesan told AFP. A survey released Friday by independent research firm Merdeka Centre found that ethnic relations in Malaysia have deteriorated. Of some 1,000 Malaysians questioned in May, 35 percent described ethnic unity as “sincere and friendly,” down from 54 percent in 2006. Hindraf shot to prominence in 2007 when it brought tens of thousands of ethnic

Indians onto the streets demanding better education, job and business opportunities from the Malay-dominated government in an unprecedented protest.

Police put down the protest and arrested five of the leaders under a strict security law, detaining them without trial for almost one and a half years. Ethnic Indians make up about eight percent of Malaysia’s 28 million people, while Muslim Malays account for 60 percent and ethnic Chinese are 25 percent.

A coalition led by the United Malays National Organisation has ruled the country since independence in 1957. Last month, Malaysia deported a French lawyer representing a human rights group in an inquiry into alleged corruption linked to Prime Minister Najib Razak. The lawyer, William Bourdon, had been in the country to give talks on an investigation into corruption claims on the sale of two Scorpene submarines while Najib was defence minister. The government has denied the allegations. — AFP

SEOUL: South Korean women pull a parachute during a training camp for civilians at a military base for the Special Warfare Command on Aug 4, 2011. — AFP ing his summer vacation at the boot camp with his two daughters and wife, 24 years after retiring from the same unit. Yoon said he wants his family to learn what he did - self-confidence, pride and how to get along with others. “So I cajoled my ladies into coming here for character education,” said the

47-year-old, water dripping from his hair and soaking his uniform after a mock river crossing.

“At first they were pretty jolly since they had no idea how hard it would be...now I’m trying not to meet their eyes,” he said, bursting into laughter with his family. —AFP

Suu Kyi to test freedom, meet rural supporters YANGON: Democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi will make her first political appearance outside Myanmar’s main city today since her release from seven years of house arrest, a journey that is going ahead despite a government warning it could trigger riots. The opposition leader’s one-day trip to meet supporters in two towns north of Yangon will test the limits of Suu Kyi’s freedom. The last time she traveled to the countryside, in 2003, supporters of the country’s now-disbanded military junta ambushed her entourage. Suu Kyi escaped, but was detained and later placed under house arrest. She was released last November.

The Nobel Peace Prize laureate’s spokesman, Nyan Win, told AP he expected Sunday’s trip to go smoothly. “We are not worried about security,” Win said. “We will provide our own security and authorities will also cooperate with us.”

The brief trip will take Suu Kyi about 80 km north of the main city Yangon to the towns of Bago and Thanatpin, where she will meet party members and open two public libraries, Win said. More trips will follow, but neither the dates nor the destinations have been decided upon, Win said. Win Htein, a leader of Suu Kyi’s party, said the trip was crucial because it “will test the reaction of the authorities and will test the response of the people”. He added, “This trip will be a test for everything,” Htein said.

After half a century of army rule, the country formerly known as Burma organized elections late last year and officially handed power to a civilian administration in March. But critics say the new government, led by retired military figures, is a proxy for continued military rule and little has changed since.

Some 2,000 political prisoners remain behind bars, more than 100,000 refugees live in neighboring countries and sporadic clashes have erupted in the northeast between government troops and ethnic militias who have been fighting for greater autonomy for decades.

On Friday, however, Suu Kyi held her second meeting with Labor and Social Welfare Minister Aung Kyi. The state-run New Light of Myanmar newspaper reported Saturday that the two sides agreed to cooperate on national stability and development. Also Friday, Information Minister Kyaw Hsan urged Suu Kyi to officially register her National League for Democracy as a party, a step that would imply its acceptance of the government’s legitimacy and also allow it to legally take part in politics.

If Suu Kyi’s group reaches an accommodation with the government, it could serve as a reason for Western nations to lift political and economic embargoes on the country that have hindered development and pushed it into dependence on neighboring China. The previous military government ordered the party’s dissolution after it refused to register for last November’s general election, which Suu Kyi’s party called unfair and undemocratic. Suu Kyi has traveled outside Yangon since her release from house arrest. Last month, she journeyed to the ancient city of Bagan with her son on a private pilgrimage that nevertheless drew a large crowds of supporters and scores of undercover police and intelligence agents. Suu Kyi made no speeches, and the trip ended without incident. In June, the government warned said it would not stop Suu Kyi from traveling upcountry to meet supporters, but warned her the visits could trigger riots. — AP

American abducted at gunpoint in Pakistan LAHORE: An American aid expert was kidnapped at gunpoint from his house in the Pakistani city of Lahore yesterday after gunmen stormed through the backdoor and overpowered his guards, police said. The US embassy said the man had been identified as Warren Weinstein and that he works for a private company.

He was snatched at dawn in the upmarket neighbourhood of Model Town, just two days before he was due to return to the United States after more than four years in the deeply conservative nuclear-armed Muslim country of 167 million.

Police described how eight kidnappers forced their way into the house as Weinstein’s guards ate a traditional predawn meal at 3:30 am (2230 GMT Friday) before beginning the daily Ramadan fast. “Somebody knocked on the main door.

According to one of the guards when he opened the door, he saw three men standing there. They offered meals to the guard, who politely refused,” police official Tajamul Hussain told AFP. “Five more men climbed into the house using the backdoor, overpowered the guards and tied their hands behind their back. “They asked Weinstein’s driver to knock on his bedroom door.

When the US citizen opened the door, they snatched him,” Hussain said. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the kidnapping.

US embassy spokesman Alberto Rodriguez confirmed the seizure and told AFP: “ We are working with Pakistani authorities on this issue.”

Police refused to be drawn on possible motivation in a country where anti-American tensions are at an alltime high, and abductions involve both Al-Qaeda-linked militants and criminal gangs looking for payoffs. “ We’re looking into all angles, whether it was ordinary case of ran-

som or whether it involves militants,” said Hussain.

Police said Weinstein had lived in Lahore since 2006, working for J E Austin Associates, which recently completed a development project in Pakistan’s northwestern tribal belt, considered an Al-Qaeda headquarters by Washington. “He was to return to the US on August 15 as his firm had completed the project in FATA,” Hussain told AFP, referring to the region by its official name the Federally Administered Tribal Areas.

According to its website, the Virginia-based J E Austin has completed more than 500 projects in 100 countries on behalf of clients all over the world, including the US Agency for International Development (USAID). It describes Weinstein as an “expert in international development with 25 years experience”, who speaks six foreign languages and with a PhD in international law and economics from Columbia University.

Police said Weinstein travelled

widely within Pakistan, and had returned to Lahore from the capital Islamabad on Thursday. Lahore is capital of the eastern province of Punjab and considered one of Pakistan’s more liberal cities. Other Westerners abducted in recent years in Pakistan have been snatched in far more volatile parts of the country.

The US State Depar tment last Monday revised its travel warning, saying that Americans throughout Pakistan have been kidnapped for ransom or for personal reasons.

Pakistani-US relations are in dire straits, set back seriously by Pakistan’s seven-week detention of a CIA contractor who killed two men in Lahore in January and the covert American raid that killed Osama bin Laden on May 2.

US citizen Raymond Davis was eventually released after $2 million in blood money was paid to the families of the dead, but the incident sparked huge anger in Pakistan and raised deep suspicions about covert CIA operations. —AFP

Pakistani policemen investigate the kidnapping of a US national after armed men kidnapped him in Lahore on August 13, 2011. At least eight armed men kidnapped a US national in Pakistan’s eastern city of Lahore, police said, having overpowered his security guards. —AFP

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NEWS

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani boys play on a homemade swing during the holy month of Ramadan, in a slum on the outskirts of Islamabad, Pakistan yesterday. — AP

Abused Lebanese women also victims of legal system BEIRUT: It was only a few months after their wedding in Lebanon that Suha’s husband began what would be eight years of brutal beatings that left her bruised, bleeding and all but broken. But two years ago, she decided to take matters-and her three children-into her own hands, in a country that has yet to pass a bill criminalizing domestic abuse and marital rape and where women are banned from granting their children citizenship.

“For many years I was stuck and felt I had no choice but to suffer in silence,” Suha, 31 and now divorced said, asking that her real name not be used. “I could not go back to my parents’ home because to them, divorce would bring shame to the family and they could not take me in with three children,” she added.

Suha, a Sunni Muslim, was granted divorce by clergy of her husband’s Shiite Muslim faith after she provided the court with a medical report showing she had been beaten with-

in an inch of her life.

Her case is by no means unique in Lebanon, where a bill criminalizing domestic abuse and marital rape has sparked the ire of religious authorities. Lebanon is widely considered to be the most liberal country in the conservative Arab world, having granted suffrage to women before Egypt, Tunisia and even Switzerland. But it was not until this month that parliament annulled a clause that allowed for “extenuating circumstances” in honor killings, or the murder of women or girls for bringing “dishonor” to their families.

The domestic abuse bill has yet to be adopted, as women’s rights groups raise the alarm that the issue could turn into yet another political tug-of-war between feuding Lebanese political parties. While the bill was submitted to parliament for study in June, the 128-strong legislative house has postponed voting on the law as clerics pull the stops on the bill.

The head of the parliamentary commission tasked with studying the domestic abuse law has said he expects parliament to vote on it by the end of August. “There has been some delay in raising this bill for talks in parliament as other issues were more pressing, but I expect the domestic abuse law to be raised in parliament next week,” MP Samir Jisr said. “I think we can expect a few amendments to be made to the bill, but it will be adopted.”

Normally feuding Sunni and Shiite Muslim clerics, along with several MPs, have balked at the domestic abuse bill, arguing it would shatter traditional family values. Sheikh Naim Qassem, deputy head of Lebanon’s Shiite militant Hezbollah, said the bill “interfered in the affairs of husband and wife.”

“Cloning Western laws that encourage the breakdown of the family and do not suit our society... will have a negative impact on Muslim children... who will see their mother

Shiite opposition to shun Bahraini vote

threatening their father with prison, in defiance of patriarchal authority,” said Dar al-Fatwa, the highest Sunni Muslim authority in Lebanon.

One cleric behind the Dar alFatwa statement argued that Islam did not and could not criminalize “non-brutal beatings” by the patriarch of a family. “Dar Al-Fatwa has two issues with this bill,” Sheikh Hammam Al-Shaar said. “The proposed bill considers non-violent beating a crime, whereas Islam does not. “The second issue is that the law would not recognize the authority a father or husband has as the head of the family.”

But it is such beliefs, say activists and legal experts, that cause countless Lebanese women to suffer in silence. “The vast majority of abused women do not resort to the courts largely due to social traditions, but also because they have no faith that the court will protect them,” said rights lawyer Ghada Ibrahim. “So we can only begin to imagine the true extent of this problem in our society.” The plight of abused women is by no means limited to one faith in Lebanon, a country of four million

that is home to no less than 18 religious confessions. Mona, a Lebanese Christian, suffered violent physical and emotional abuse at the hands of a husband 20 years her senior, as her family at first was more concerned with saving face than saving her.

Like Suha, she was pressured into marriage by her family in her 20s and, after the birth of her first daughter, suffered years of brutal abuse. “Everyone around me advised me to be patient, including our parish priest, and said they were sure my husband would see the light, that he would change,” the now 40-year-old said.

“Well, he didn’t,” said Mona, who also requested that her real name

‘Visit to work’ suspended KUWAIT: Deputy Premier, Justice, Social Affairs and Labor Minister said business visit visas will not be transferred into work permits starting from September. Al-Afasi

Hamad declared a state of emergency and called in Saudi-led Gulf troops to boost his security forces.

Authorities in the Shiite-majority nation said 24 people, including four policemen, were killed in the unrest.

“Our decision is final. We will not participate in this parliament,” Marzouk said, according to a transcription of his address forwarded to AFP by the party. Al-Wefaq also disputes the legitimacy of the upper house of parliament, whose 40 members are appointed rather than elected, and can block initiatives of the lower house.

The party has rejected the outcome of a national dialogue held in July at the initiative of the king to relaunch a process of political reform in Bahrain. The party had withdrawn from the talks demanding a representative, elected parliament, a fair justice system and security for all in Bahrain. At least 500 people have been detained in Bahrain since the protests broke out in the Gulf kingdom, according to Amnesty International.

Almost 2,000 people have been dismissed or suspended from their jobs, it has said. — AFP

Al-Qaeda’s poison threat worries US Continued from Page 1 The Times noted that there were limits on ricin’s utility as a weapon because it loses its potency in dry, sunny conditions-like those in Yemen-and is not easily absorbed through the skin like some other nerve agents. Senior administration officials said ricin was among the threats being tracked by a secret government task force created after printer cartridges packed with powerful explosives were found in cargo bound for

Chicago in October 2010, according to the Times report.

It said the task force was working with Saudi officials and with the remnants of Yemen’s intelligence agencies to counter the threat. It said regional Al-Qaeda affiliates, especially Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, were seen as a menace to the United States and US interests abroad. The virtual collapse of Yemen’s government has enabled Al-Qaeda to widen its control in the country and strengthen its operational ties with Al Shabab, the Islamic militancy in Somalia, the Times said. — Reuters

What time to stop and start fasting Continued from Page 1 not have to stop eating and drinking when he hears it. If he does not know the muezzin’s usual practice, or there are differences among the muezzins, and he cannot determine the time of dawn for himself - as is usually the case in cities because of lighting and buildings - he should take the precaution of referring to a printed timetable, so long as he is sure that the calculations on which it is based are not incorrect. The idea of being on the safe side by stopping eating and drinking a certain time before Fajr, such as ten minutes before, is bid’ah.

On some timetables you can see one heading for ‘imsak’ (stopping eating and drinking) and another for Fajr; this is something that is contrary to Islam. The Muslims living in cities where there is a distinct alternation of night and day in every twenty-four hour period are obliged to fast, no matter how long the day is, so long as that distinction between night and day is there.

In some places there is no such distinction between night and day; Muslims in these places should fast according to the times in the nearest city in which there is a distinct alternation of night and day.

— www.zawaj.com

said the reason behind this suspension is to set new rules to limit the current expansion. He added that the visit visas were not used as they should.

21 Libyan rebels, 6 troops killed Continued from Page 1

DUBAI: Bahrain’s main Shiite opposition party will boycott next month’s by-elections to replace MPs who resigned in protest against a crackdown on demonstrators, a party official said yesterday. The party, Al-Wefaq, “has decided to boycott the by-elections” September 24 to replace its 18 MPs who walked out in February, shortly after a month-long anti-government protest began, official Khalil Al-Marzouk told a party gathering in a Shiite suburb of Manama. He said the 40-member parliament had lost its legitimacy since the mass resignation, and “we will not be a part of this parliament as it does not represent the will of the people.”

In March, parliament accepted the resignation of 11 of the 18 Al-Wefaq MPs who stepped down after security forces killed seven protesters as authorities in the kingdom ruled by a Sunni dynasty sought to curb protests inspired by uprisings that toppled Egypt’s and Tunisia’s presidents. On March 16, security forces drove the mostly Shiite protesters out of central Manama’s Pearl Square and demolished their camp after King

not be given. “At some point even my parents said ‘enough is enough’ and took me back in with my two daughters.”

As many Lebanese hold their breath to see how parliament will handle a bill that rights lawyers champion and religious leaders deride, activists say they are ready to take the battle to the next level.

“There is no justification for the attack on this bill,” said Faten Abu Shakra of the high-profile women’s protection group “Kafa.” “We still hope that our parliamentarians will make the right decision,” she said.

“But if the bill is not approved by parliament, we will up the stakes in our fight and take our struggle to the streets.” — AFP

In other fighting on two fronts well to the east of Tripoli, at Brega and near Misrata, at least 21 rebels and six soldiers were killed over the past two days, with some 50 rebels wounded. Neither side claimed major advances in the past 24 hours. Libya’s state news agency said a NATO air strike killed six men in Brega.

NATO said it targeted two armored vehicles there.

Judging by impact craters, wrecked buildings and burnt-out tanks, NATO warplanes have also bombed government military targets on the route of the western rebel advance to Zawiyah over the past week, providing close air support.

The Gaddafi government brought dozens of villagers and tribesmen to Tripoli on Friday to tell of NATO airstrikes this week in Majar, near Zlitan, that it says killed 85 civilians. Aya Attiya, a 5-year-old with scars covering her face, was brought forward to testify about an attack the government says is further proof that NATO has overstepped its mandate to protect civilians.

One man seen in footage of the meeting, to which most of the foreign press corps was not invited, said he had fled to Majar from the eastern city of Benghazi mad had lost his three children in the NATO attack. NATO has said it cannot confirm any civilians were killed in the bombing and says its surveillance confirmed the compound was a military accommodation site and staging base.

Zawiyah lies less than 50 km west of Tripoli, on the main road to Tunisia, which has served as a lifeline for Gaddafi-held areas of Libya, although the Tunisian authorities have recently begun to crack down on rampant smuggling of gasoline. It is the home town of many of the rebels battling on the western front and has staged two uprisings against Gaddafi since March.

But it remains in government hands along with its refinery and harbour on the Mediterranean coast.

Gaddafi’s Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Kaim on Friday said the rebels could not take Zawiyah and the western coastal highway. “In their dreams,” he said. “God willing, we will be attacking Zawiyah in one or two days,” said local rebel commander Mokhtar Lakdar. On Libya’s most easterly front, at least 21 rebels and government soldiers were killed in fighting for the oil terminal of Brega in the past two days, hospital workers said.

A volunteer at the hospital in Ajdabiyah, where fighters wounded in Brega are taken, said 15 rebel fighters had been killed and about 50 wounded. He said the bodies of six government soldiers were brought in on Friday. The Libyan state news agency JANA reported that six “martyrs”, all men, were killed in a NATO raid on Brega, and the alliance confirmed it had targeted two armored vehicles. In fighting around a second eastern front in Misrata, much closer to Tripoli, at least six rebels were killed in the past 24 hours, rebel sources said.

A spokesman from the Brega battle said rebels were fighting their way south from the residential town towards the terminal, 15 km away and had knocked out two government tanks. Gaddafi’s forces still control the port, oil terminal and refinery in Brega, which has changed hands several times over months of fighting in eastern Libya. His opponents are intent on seizing the oil facilities to begin exporting oil from Brega. In Misrata, a port on the Mediterranean under rebel control for months, six rebel fighters were killed in fighting on Friday. There was no word on government casualties.

Three rebels were killed west of the city in fighting for Zlitan, west of Misrata. Further south, three more died in battles with Gaddafi’s forces in the town of Tawargha. Gaddafi is clinging to power despite a near five-month-old NATO air campaign, the tightening of economic sanctions and a lengthening war with rebels trying to end his 41-year rule. The rebels have seized large swathes of the North African state, but are divided and fighting on three fronts. — Reuters

Militants could ‘easily invade, attack...

Continued from Page 1 “Today we have strategic agreements with superpower countries... there are armed brigades in Iraq which can invade Kuwait entirely without permission from the government, which in such incidents would not bear responsibility for the brigades’ actions since they are militant groups.”

Al-Shemmari urged the two countries to “seek dialogue instead of further exacerbating the situation,” calling upon Kuwait to “help its brothers in Iraq by dropping the compensation [paid for damage done during the 1990-91 invasion and occupation], allow Kuwaiti companies to start investing in Iraq, and win over the people of Iraq through true reconciliation between governments of the two countries.” — Agencies

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Issues

Faith and fashion beyond burqa ban

By Shenaz Kermalli urope’s obsession with the way Muslim women choose to dress is far from over.

Several months after France banned the burqa, a garment that covers the face and body, from public spaces, Belgium has followed suit. As of last week, women wearing the burqa in public (who constitute a tiny minority in the country) will be fined and could spend up to seven days in prison. Whether such a ban might ever be implemented in the UK is less clear. Despite the British government’s statement that it would never adopt such measures, calling them “un-British”, public opinion doesn’t appear to agree. In a YouGov poll taken after the French ban, two-thirds of the British public favored banning the burqa in Britain.

This trend highlights the need to improve understanding of Islam and Muslims. Fortunately, there are many humanitarian organizations in the UK that aim to both empower young Muslims and build greater understanding and trust between faith communities. The London-based Three Faiths Forum (3FF), for example, builds bridges between Jews, Christians and Muslims, as well as atheists and those belonging to non-Abrahamic faiths, through regular events and mentoring programs.

3FF’s most recent event was a short design course, called “Faith and Fashion”, held earlier this month at the London College of Fashion (LCF). The course was held exclusively for Muslim and Christian girls from local faith schools to explore how faith can inspire fashion, showing that the two can be linked in a positive way and need not only be negatively associated, as with burqa bans.

During the class, Reverend Joanna Jepson, a chaplain at the LCF who designed the course, said she wanted to create a safe space for young girls to engage in meaningful dialogue. “The program was about getting the students to understand their own identity and hear each other’s stories, as well as to learn the artistic journey from concept to finished design.”

Interestingly, many of the Muslim students in the course who wore the hijab (headscarf ) and/or abaya (a long over-garment) said that they found it immensely important to their identity to wear a visible marker of their faith, despite the hostile stares they often received when out in public.

Zainab Niaz, a 15-year-old student at a Muslim school in east London, said fashion played a huge role in her decisions about what clothing to wear, primarily because she was Muslim. “If you didn’t have Islam, you couldn’t show what religion you were, which is an important part of where you’re from.” When asked why letting people know which faith she belonged to was important, Zainab said, “It adds to the diversity of the city.” Sadiya Ali, 14, from a Catholic school in north London, said: “I don’t think of fashion as beauty. I think of fashion as the clothes that you wear religiously. “ Sporting a neatly tied black scarf tucked into her Catholic school uniform blazer, Sadiya said she has faced continual harassment at her school and in public for her decision to cover her hair. She is adamant though, that people respect her for who she is. “I’m not afraid to [wear the headscarf ] and I’m not forced or scared into wearing a scarf.

Sometimes people will judge you by what you wear and they stereotype you before they meet you. But whatever people say you should just ignore it because at the end of the day, it’s your choice and what you want to wear,” Sadiya added. “Don’t follow other people - be yourself.”

The voices of the young may not always be the loudest or the most powerful but they often carry more weight than policy-makers appreciate. If the state continues to target Muslims by dictating what to cover and what not to cover, they risk further isolating a community that already feels disengaged.

The next generation deserves better. — CGNews

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

How citizens can help make a nation safe

By Scott Stewart nyone who reads STRATFOR’s security and terrorism material for any length of time will notice that we frequently mention the importance of situational awareness. The reason we do so, quite simply, is that it works. Situational awareness is effective in allowing people to see potential threats before - and as - they develop. This allows potential victims to take proactive measures to avoid a perceived threat, and it enables them or other observers to alert authorities.

While threats can emanate from a number of very different sources, it is important to recognize that terrorist attacks - and other criminal acts, for that matter - do not materialize out of thin air. In fact, quite the opposite is true. Terrorists and other criminals follow a process when planning their actions, and this process has several distinct steps. The process has traditionally been referred to as the “terrorist attack cycle,” but if you look at the issue thoughtfully, it becomes apparent that the same steps apply to nearly all crimes.

Of course, the steps in a complex crime like a kidnapping or car bombing are far more involved than the steps in a simple crime such as purse-snatching or shoplifting, where the steps can be completed quite rapidly. Nevertheless, the same general steps are usually followed. People planning attacks are vulnerable to detection during various phases of this process, and observant people can often spot such attacks developing. Therefore, situational awareness serves as one of the key building blocks of effective personal security, and when practiced collectively, national security. Since situational awareness is so important, we thought it would be helpful to once again discuss the subject in detail and provide a guide that can help describe what situational awareness is and explain how it can be practiced at a relaxed, sustainable level.

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Foundations First and foremost, it needs to be noted that being aware of your surroundings and identifying potential threats and dangerous situations is more of a mindset than a hard skill. Because of this, situational awareness is not something so complex and difficult that only highly trained government agents or specialized corporate security countersurveillance teams can practice it. Indeed, situational awareness can be exercised by anyone with the will and the discipline to do so.

An important element of adopting the mindset required to practice situational awareness is to first recognize that threats exist. Ignorance or denial of a threat - or completely tuning out one’s surroundings while in a public place - makes a person’s chances of quickly recognizing the threat and avoiding it slim to none. This is why apathy, denial and complacency can be (and often are) deadly. A second important element is understanding the need to take responsibility for one’s own security. The resources of all governments are finite and the authorities simply cannot be everywhere and cannot stop every criminal act.

The same principle applies to private security at businesses or other institutions, such as places of worship. Therefore, people need to look out for themselves and their neighbors.

Another important facet of this mindset is learning to trust your “gut” or intuition.

Many times a person’s subconscious can notice subtle signs of danger that the conscious mind has difficulty quantifying or articulating. Many people who are victimized frequently experience such feelings of

danger prior to an incident but choose to ignore them. People who heed such perceptions are seldom caught off guard.

Levels of awareness People typically operate on five distinct levels of awareness. There are many ways to describe these levels (“Cooper’s colors,” for example, is a system frequently used in law enforcement and military training). But perhaps the most effective way to illustrate the differences between the various levels of awareness is to compare them to the distinct degrees of attention we practice while driving. For our purposes here we will refer to the five levels of awareness as “tuned out,” “relaxed awareness,” “focused awareness,” “high alert” and “comatose.”

The first level, tuned out, is the state of awareness a person exercises when he or she is driving in a very familiar environment or is engrossed in thought, a daydream, a song on the radio or even the kids fighting in the backseat. Increasingly, cellphone calls and texting are also causing people to tune out while they drive. Have

when you are driving on icy or slushy roads, or when the roads are infested with potholes and erratic drivers that exist in many Third World countries. When you are driving in such an environment, you need to keep two hands on the wheel at all times and have your attention totally focused on the road and the other drivers.

You don’t dare take your eyes off the road or let your attention wander. There is no time for cellphone calls or other distractions. The level of concentration required for this type of driving makes it extremely tiring and stressful. A drive that you normally would not think twice about will totally exhaust you under these conditions because it demands your prolonged and total concentration.

The fourth level of awareness is high alert. This is the level that induces an adrenaline rush, a prayer and a gasp for air all at the same time - “Watch out! There’s a cow in the road! Hit the brakes!” This also happens when that car you are watching doesn’t stop at the stop sign and pulls out right in front of you. High alert can be

LONDON: A masked youth pulls a burning garbage bin set on fire by rioters in Hackney, east London, Monday Aug 8, 2011. — AP you ever gotten into the car and arrived somewhere without even really thinking about your drive there? If so, then you’ve experienced being tuned out.

The second level of awareness, relaxed awareness, is comparable to defensive driving. This is a state in which you are relaxed but are also watching the other cars on the road and are looking well ahead for potential road hazards. If another driver looks as though he may not stop at the intersection ahead, you tap your brakes to slow your car in case he does not. Defensive driving does not make you weary, and you can drive this way for a long time if you have the discipline to keep yourself at this level, but it is very easy to slip into the tuned-out mode.

If you are practicing defensive driving you can still enjoy the trip, look at the scenery and listen to the radio, but you do not allow yourself to get so engrossed in those distractions that they exclude everything else. You are relaxed and enjoying your drive, but you are still watching for road hazards, maintaining a safe following distance and keeping an eye on the behavior of the drivers around you.

The next level, focused awareness, is like driving in hazardous road conditions. You need to practice this level of awareness

scary, but at this level you are still able to function and quickly respond to danger.

You can hit your brakes and keep your car under control. In fact, the adrenaline rush you get at this stage sometimes even aids your reflexes. But the human body can tolerate only short periods of high alert before becoming physically and mentally exhausted.

The last level of awareness, comatose, is what happens when you literally freeze at the wheel and cannot respond to stimuli, either because you have fallen asleep or, at the other end of the spectrum, because you are petrified from panic. It is this panicinduced paralysis that concerns us most in relation to situational awareness. The comatose level of awareness - or perhaps more accurately, lack of awareness - occurs when a person goes into shock, his or her brain ceases to process information and the person simply cannot react to the reality of the situation.

Often when this happens, a person can go into denial, believing that “this can’t be happening to me,” or the person can feel as though he or she is observing rather than actually participating in the event. Often, the passage of time will seem to grind to a halt. Crime victims frequently report expe-

riencing this sensation and being unable to act or react during an unfolding crime.

Finding the right level Now that we’ve discussed the different levels of awareness, let’s focus on identifying what level is ideal at a given time. The body and mind both require rest, so we have to spend several hours each day at the comatose level while asleep. When we are sitting at our homes watching a movie or reading a book, it is perfectly fine to operate in the tuned-out mode. However, some people will attempt to maintain the tuned-out mode in decidedly inappropriate environments (e.g., when they are out on the street at night in a Third World barrio), or they will maintain a mindset wherein they deny that criminals can victimize them. “That couldn’t happen to me, so there’s no need to watch for it.” They are tuned out.

Some people are so tuned out as they go through life that they miss even blatant signs of pending criminal activity directed specifically at them. People can also be tuned out due to intoxication or exhaustion. It is not at all unusual to see some very tuned-out people emerge from airports after long, transoceanic flights.

Criminals also frequently prey on intoxicated people.

If you are tuned out while you are driving and something happens - for instance, a child runs out into the road or a car stops quickly in front of you - you will not see the problem coming. This usually means that you either do not see the hazard in time to avoid it and you hit it, or you totally panic and cannot react to it - neither is good.

These reactions (or lack of reactions) occur because it is very difficult to change mental states quickly, especially when the adjustment requires moving several steps, such as from tuned out to high alert. It is like trying to shift your car directly from first gear into fifth and it shudders and stalls.

Many times, when people are forced to make this mental jump and they panic and stall, they go into shock and will actually freeze and be unable to take any action they go comatose. This happens not only when a person is driving but also when a criminal catches someone totally unaware and unprepared. While training does help people move up and down the awareness continuum, it is difficult for even highly trained individuals to transition from tuned out to high alert. This is why police officers, federal agents and military personnel receive so much training on situational awareness.

It is critical to stress that situational awareness does not mean being paranoid or obsessively concerned about your security. It does not mean living with the irrational expectation that there is a dangerous criminal lurking behind every bush. In fact, people simply cannot operate in a state of focused awareness for extended periods, and high alert can be maintained only for very brief periods before exhaustion sets in. The “fight or flight” response can be very helpful if it can be controlled.

When it gets out of control, however, a constant stream of adrenaline and stress is simply not healthy for the body or the mind.

When people are constantly paranoid, they become mentally and physically burned out. Not only is this dangerous to physical and mental health, but security also suffers because it is very hard to be aware of your surroundings when you are a complete basket case. Therefore, operating constantly in a state of high alert is not the answer, nor is operating for prolonged periods in a state of focused alert, which can also be overly demanding and completely enervating. — Stratfor

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SUNDAY, AUGUST 14, 2011

analysis

Glimmers of hope for US deficit-cutting panel

By Donna Smith and Richard Cowan aving said no to taxes for months, Republicans now are saying maybe, in the face of public disgust over a deadlock in the US Congress, a near government default and a worsening global economic crisis. Prompting some hope for a return to fiscal order are the statements and reputations of some of the six Republicans named this week to join with six Democrats on a special committee to end the standoff over the US deficit.

In one of his first interviews after being named to the “Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction,” Representative Dave Camp told Reuters, “I don’t want to rule anything in or out” when the panel starts its work. That’s a far cry from what had been a Republican wall of opposition to any tax increases when President Barack Obama negotiated a $917 billion deficitreduction downpayment with Republicans that also was aimed at raising US borrowing authority by Aug 2.

Public disgust with the long, bitter budget and debt limit fight that has consumed Washington all year could have played a role in the less confrontational tone. A Reuters/Ipsos poll released this week found 49 percent of those polled had a negative view of Republicans in the wake of the debt limit deal, compared to 42 percent for Obama and 40 percent for Democrats broadly. John Feehery of Quinn Gillespie Communications and a former Republican congressional staffer said lawmakers may now be more willing to reach a deal on additional deficit reductions given the public reaction to the debate over the debt ceiling. “People are going back home (during the August recess) and they are finding the intense partisanship does not really work in the rest of the country,” Feehery said.

Further evidence that the “super committee” is taking its responsibilities seriously: members are considering cutting short

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their August recess to start work, knowing a Nov. 23 deadline allows little time to tackle major tax and budget questions that could lead to another $1.5 trillion in savings over the next decade. Representative Chris Van Hollen, a Democratic member of

composition of the committee also bodes well for agreement. “These are folks who are deal cutters,” Feehery said of Camp, Republican Senator Rob Portman, a former White House budget director, and Representative Fred Upton. Upton worked

ALABAMA: Demonstrators hold signs outside the Jefferson County Courthouse in Birmingham, Ala as commissioners meet about the Jefferson County bankruptcy on Friday, Aug. 12, 2011. Commissioners voted on whether to settle with Wall Street or file the largest municipal bankruptcy in US history. — AP the panel, told Reuters, “There’s a good argument in favor of getting an early start.”

“There have been a number of conversations on both sides of the aisle” about it, he added.

HISTORY OF DEAL-MAKING Feehery and other analysts feel the

on some major tax and spending agreements during a stint at the White House budget office under President Ronald Reagan. Even conservative partisan Representative Jeb Hensarling may be ready to deal, analysts say. “In the right context I do not see him as a guy that would just stick himself in concrete,” said Steve

Bell, a former Senate Budget Committee aide who is now with the Bipartisan Policy Center. These Republicans will be sitting across the table from some experienced Democratic deal-makers, notably Senators John Kerry, a former presidential candidate, and Max Baucus, who has deep experience in taxes and healthcare benefits, which will dominate the talks. Meanwhile, House Democrat Xavier Becerra, a liberal stalwart, has urged members to keep an open mind.

Becerra and fellow House Democrat James Clyburn could be instrumental in building support in the liberal wing of their party for any potential deal.

The group’s work will be getting underway against the backdrop of global market turmoil, a European debt crisis and rising concerns the US economy could reverse its recovery from the deepest recession since the Great Depression. And later this month, the Congressional Budget Office is expected to release its latest economic outlook and quantify its impact on Washington’s deep budget deficits, which have been hovering around $1.5 trillion annually.

All these factors put pressure on the panel to produce. Also working in the committee’s favor is that $1.5 trillion in savings over 10 years is not insurmountable in the context of a $3.7 trillion annual budget.

Negotiations earlier this year led by Vice President Joe Biden have identified many possible ways to pare deficits. So, if Republicans were to go along with modest revenue increases, Democrats might find it easier to say yes to equally modest savings to the Medicare healthcare program for the elderly, some of which already have been suggested by Obama. But even if the super committee settles on around $1.5 trillion in new savings, it likely will not be enough to satisfy global financial markets demanding a more ambitious result-as much as double that amount-accomplished through longterm reforms of government benefit programs and a broad revamp of the US tax code.— Reuters

Dysfunction and downgrades: Sad parallels Dr James J Zogby

everal sad parallels can be found in the bumbling way Washington dealt with raising the debt ceiling and averting financial catastrophe, and the US overall handling of the search for IsraeliPalestinian peace. When Standard and Poor’s downgraded the US’s bond rating, one of the main reasons they cited for their action were the dysfunctionalities the world had observed in the way politics in Washington impeded decision-making.

The inability to make the compromises needed to address the country’s fiscal crisis had shaken confidence. As a result of “the political brinksmanship” on display in Washington in recent months, Standard and Poor’s judged the system to be “broken”, arguing that the partisan stand-off was “not a serious way to run a country”.

It had been, by any measure, a sorry sight. On the one side, there was the President willing to compromise to achieve a “grand bargain” that would have resulted in a 10 year 4.3 Trillion dollar reduction in spending. But because the President’s plan included some increases in revenues, Republicans rejected the proposal, refusing to negotiate any plan that might combine cuts in spending, with any form of increase in taxes. The result was a near fatal game of “chicken”, as the clock ticked down to the day when the US would run out of cash and the ability to borrow money in order to pay its bills.

In the end the Administration blinked and a compromise, of sorts, was reached making only limited cuts in spending,

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while passing off the tough decisions still to be made to a bi-partisan Congressional committee whose prospects for success will be limited by the same ideological constraints that have just played out.

And so given this stand-off between “all or nothing” and a willingness to compromise, Standard and Poor’s demonstrated its loss of confidence in the ability of Washington to get its financial house in order by downgrading the US bond rating.

Much the same scenario has been playing out in the US approach to IsraeliPalestinian peace, reaching its climax in the dramatic “Netanyahu/Obama smackdown” that took place in late May. It was a sad and even disturbing spectacle. In the first scene, President Obama, recognizing that the clock was ticking down on the possibility to achieve a negotiated twostate solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, laid down, in a May 19th speech, what by any measure was a modest marker - the notion that “the ‘67 borders, with mutually agreed upon land swaps” should form the basis for any Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement.

Israel and its supporters in Washington not only balked, but mounted a direct challenge to the President. Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu went to the White House and “lectured” Obama on the unacceptability of the US President’s marker.

The Israeli leader then accepted an invitation from the Republican leadership in Congress to address a joint session of both Houses where he again challenged Obama and was greeted by repeated standing ovations by Members of both parties. The

impact of this “schooling” of the President

by Congress in support of the position of the leader of a foreign country was shocking to the rest of the world revealing, as it did, the dysfunctional nature of Washington’s partisan politics and the inability of the US to provide even a modest challenge to Israel.

All of this resulted in a loss of confidence in America’s ability to exercise strong independent leadership in the search for peace. Because we began our recent poll of Arab World attitudes toward the US just a few days after this drama had finished playing out, the record low favorable ratings given to both the US and President Obama can be understood as similar to Standard and Poor’s downgrade of the US bond rating. In this instance, it was a downgrade in America’s leadership abilities as well as an indictment of the brokenness of politics in Washington.

In both the handling of the debt ceiling and the blocking of the President’s peacemaking efforts, politics were to blame. It was the way playing politics trumped rational problem-solving that: placed impediments in the way of finding real solutions to serious matters of state; cavalierly took America and the world to the brink of crises, without attention to the consequences of such reckless behavior; shook the world’s confidence in the US ability to act effectively and decisively to avert a disaster; and resulted in a degrading of the US rating and standing as a respected leader.

What is both tragic and irritating is the way Republicans have reacted in the face

of both self-inflicted wounds. When our poll results were first released, some Conservative publications were positively gleeful. From the beginning, they had wanted President Obama to fail in his efforts to reverse the damage done by the Bush Administration across the Middle East and change America’s relationship with the Arab and Muslim Worlds. Blinded by their embrace of the neo-conservative’s approach to the region, they wanted to continue the very policies that had dug deep holes, in effect, digging them deeper.

They celebrated the low ratings Arabs were giving to President Obama as evidence that their efforts to stymie or weaken his initiatives were succeeding.

Similarly, they greeted the Standard and Poor’s downgrade, not as an indictment of their intransigence, but as a club they could use to beat the President. In doing this they ignored the fact that 80% of the current debt faced by the US was the result of the failed policies they had embraced during the Bush years (tax cuts that drained the Treasury of needed revenues, two costly wars, and an unfunded prescription drug plan that had been designed to benefit pharmaceutical companies more than senior citizens).

Here too, their response was to propose more tax cuts and more war digging deeper the holes they had already dug. If America is to reestablish confidence, either in its financial stability or its ability to demonstrate constructive leadership in the search for peace, this dysfunction must end. A dramatic change in direction is desperately needed.

SEALs’ costly loss is a tribute to devotion, sense of duty he loss of 22 Navy SEALs among the 30 US troops k illed in the weekend downing of an American helicopter in Afghanistan deals an enormous blow to one of the military’s most elite fighting forces. These young men were products of a remarkably intensive and secretive special operations program designed to increase America’s military effectiveness while reducing wartime casualties. It is a sad irony that they themselves are now among the casualties.

Even for those who favor a reduced US military footprint in Afghanistan, there must be no confusion regarding the need to maintain and expand the special operations program from which the SEALs have emerged as the best of the best. The precision and skill they bring to their work ultimately saves lives by reducing the need for scattershot militar y sweeps and bombing raids that cause support for a US presence to plummet among local populations.

So much about the SEAL ethos speaks to a smarter approach to war.

They typically dress casually, wear beards and grow their hair to shaggy lengths - all with an eye toward blending in better with the local population.

From the top-level officer to the lowest grunt, they address each other with first names. It helps build camaraderie and serves as a reminder that it’s not the rank but each member’s contribution to the mission that’s important.

Missions can range from the high

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This combo shows the 30 troops killed in a helicopter downing in Afghanistan on Saturday, Aug. 6, 2011. The Pentagon has identified the Americans as 17 members of the elite Navy SEALs, five Naval Special Warfare personnel who support the SEALs, three Air Force Special Operations personnel and an Army helicopter crew of five. — AP

profile, such as the May 1 raid in Abottabad, Pakistan, that killed AlQaeda leader Osama bin Laden, to the countless support deployments that consist of sneaking into remote zones, patiently hiding out for weeks in grimy holes and hovels, and simply observing enemy movements without firing a single shot.

The intelligence they provide - eyewitness identification of high-value targets and precision coordinates of their locations, even in hostile countries such as Iran - vastly increases the chances of success and reduces the potential for costly mistakes. Also noteworthy was the presence of seven Afghan troops on the Chinook twin-rotor helicopter that was downed by insurgent rocketgrenade fire. The SEALs and other special operations forces take pains to work with and train local forces, preparing them to take over the fight.

There’s a steep price tag attached to such ex tensive training. Between $500,000 and $1 million is invested per SEAL, not to mention similar levels of training that radiomen, medics and other suppor t personnel also must undergo before deploying with the SEALs. The loss of any service member is tragic, and the men killed this weekend almost certainly would not have wanted to be portrayed as somehow worthy of special attention. They died doing a job they loved, serving a country they loved. And that ’s what made these forces special.— MCT

Focus

US Jews, Muslims: More in common than we think

By Joshua M Z Stanton

ontrary to common assumptions, many Jewish and Muslim Americans enjoy warm relations. Yet we are only beginning to understand how and why this is so. A Gallup report released last week goes a long way to explaining this unexpected trend, which shows that the two diverse communities have more in common than is often thought. The report, “Muslim Americans: Faith, Freedom, and the Future”, reveals that overwhelming numbers of Jewish Americans believe Muslim Americans are loyal to their country - 80 per cent to be exact.

Aside from Muslims themselves, no other religious community demonstrates such confidence in the loyalty of America’s Muslim citizens.

Further, it seems that Jewish and Muslim Americans share a number of common political views - even about issues as contentious as the Middle East conflict. The same study indicates that 81 per cent of Muslim Americans and 78 per cent of Jewish Americans support a two-state solution, which would enable Israel and a future independent Palestinian state to live side by side. While dialogue about the Middle East conflict remains contentious, the vision for a longterm solution appears surprisingly similar.

How could this be? Why would two communities, so often portrayed as being at each other’s throats, not only have confidence in each other but have similar perspectives on even the most contentious issues? One possibility is a shared immigrant experience. Jewish immigrants, who arrived in multiple waves of immigration but most visibly in large numbers at the end of the 19th century, often used education as a means of gaining a foothold in America and of finding a way to contribute to their new country. It now appears that Muslims are tak ing a similar approach.

In fact, 40 per cent of Muslims surveyed in a 2009 Gallup repor t, “Muslim Americans: A National Portrait”, note that they have attained a college degree or higher. This makes Muslim Americans the second most likely of any religious group, behind Jewish Americans, to attain at least a college education. I t seems that Muslim Americans may be carving out a niche and contributing to American society today much as their Jewish counterparts did a century ago.

While Jews and Muslims in America may have highly educated communities, both groups also exhibit fear about perceptions that others hold of their traditions. According to last week’s report, Jewish and Muslim Americans are more likely than adherents of any other tradition to conceal their religious identity. It may be an understanding of what this means that has caused what may best be described as significant empathy on the part of many Jewish and Muslim Americans. While 60 per cent of Muslim Americans polled by Gallup say that they experience prejudice from most Americans, a remarkable 66 per cent of Jewish Americans say that most Americans exhibit prejudice against Muslims. This means that Jewish Americans are aware of anti-Muslim prejudice more than any other religious community.

Fear and other negative responses to prejudice may compound the overall drive for Jews and Muslims to obtain a higher education and find a niche in the United States. This process may also create stress for members of both communities. According to the 2009 Gallup report, 39 per cent of Muslim Americans and 36 per cent of Jewish Americans report experiencing a lot of “worry”. This worry may correspond to fear of prejudicial treatment and a desire to conceal one’s religious identity. Overt displays of religious identity and the push to succeed in a new society may come into tension for both communities, though this is a hypothesis that warrants further research.

In short, Jews and Muslims share profoundly in their experience in the United States. As small religious minorities, each under two per cent of the American population - with Muslim Americans perhaps a fraction of that figure they maintain a sense of marginalization. Yet their response to this adversity is one of contribution to society through significant investment in personal education, which in turn creates new opportunities.

Jewish immigration to America may have peaked over a century ago, while Muslim immigration is still relatively new. But both communities share in their drive not only to make America their home but to attain a prominent role in that newfound homeland. Both communities would do well to recognise the remarkable parallels in their experiences as immigrants to America - as would Americans in other religious communities. The potential for collaboration is clear, while the narrative of conflict has been significantly debunked. — CGNews

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SUNDAY, AUGUST 14, 2011

sp orts

Cagliari fire coach Donadoni MILAN: Former Italy manager Roberto Donadoni has been fired by Serie A side Cagliari, kicking off the coaching merry-go-round two weeks before the season has even started. “Cagliari football club communicates that it has relieved coach Roberto Donadoni and his staff of their duties,” the Sardinian club said on its website (www.cagliaricalcio.net). “The club thanks him for his work and wishes him the best fortune in the continuation of his career.” Donadoni had been in charge of the club since last November, leading them to 14th in Serie A despite loaning top scorer Alessandro Matri to Juventus halfway through the season. Five days after joining Juventus, Matri scored twice for them in a 3-1 win at Cagliari and he was bought by the Turin club last month. Italian media said Donadoni was unhappy with that departure and was also upset with club president Massimo Cellino’s decision to part company with David Suazo. The Honduran forward, who spent eight successful years with the club before unhappy stints at Inter Milan, Benfica and Genoa, had been training with the squad and understood he would be offered a contract. However, earlier this week Suazo was asked to leave and subsequently signed for Catania.—Reuters

Moteab brace lifts Ahly

Istanbul to bid for Games ANKARA: Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan formally announced Istanbul’s bid to host the 2020 Olympics yesterday and expressed confidence that the city would be successful in its fifth attempt to stage the games.

Erdogan said Turkey’s relative economic success and lessons learnt from the previous failed bids made the city a strong contender.

“We are excited because this time we sincerely believe that we will attain our goal,” Erdogan said in a nationwide televised speech. The world in the past year was shaken by a heavy economic crisis.

“We successfully emerged from the global crisis. Turkey is one of the

fastest growing economies ... We have invested in sports and will continue to do so.” Istanbul unsuccessfully bid for the games in 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012. Erdogan said since its first bid, Turkey had built state of the art stadiums and sports centers in Istanbul and had taken steps to alleviate Istanbul’s traffic congestion problem - the city’s major problem.

“We had several deficiencies but Istanbul is now a city that has overcome them,” Erdogan said, citing new light rail networks and other infrastructure in the city. Istanbul joins Rome, Madrid and Tokyo who have already announced bids.

Another potential candidate is Doha, Qatar.—AP

JOHANNESBURG: Striker Emad Moteab scored twice as Al-Ahly of Egypt defeated Mouloudia Alger of Algeria 2-0 in Cairo this weekend to get their African Champions League campaign back on track.

Moteab struck after 10 and 31 minutes at the Cairo Stadium as the Red Devils won for the first time in Group B after a home draw with Wydad Casablanca of Morocco and an away loss to Esperance of Tunisia.

Former champions Wydad, Ahly and Esperance have four points each in what appears to be a three-way fight for two semi-finals places in the major Confederation of African Football club competition. Mouloudia have collected a solitary point from three outings and a team rattled by coaching and player changes between the qualifying and group phases are struggling amid reports that Frenchman Jean-Pierre Rabie is set to take charge.

Ahly have won the title a record six times and responded well to concerns by coach Manuel Jose about his ageing squad being weary because they did not get a chance to rest between the end of the domestic season and the start of the African pool games.—AFP

Rays pound Yankees

PHILADELPHIA: Phillies catcher Carlos Ruiz (left) can’t make the tag as Washington Nationals’ Ian Desmond slides safe into home in the sixth inning.—AP

Nationals down Phillies PHILADELPHIA: Washington’s Livan Hernandez pitched 6 2-3 strong innings and drove in two runs, helping the Nationals arrest the Philadelphia Phillies form surge and win 4-2 in the National League on Friday.

Hernandez (7-11) outpitched All-Star Cole Hamels (13-7), giving up just one unearned run. The Phillies were coming off a franchisebest 9-1 road trip and lead the majors with a 77-41 record.

Hamels lasted just five innings, his thirdshortest outing this season. He allowed three runs and tied his season-worst with four walks.

D’backs 4, Mets 3 In Phoenix, Arizona increased its NL West lead to two games by edging New York. Ian Kennedy (15-3) won his seventh straight start to become the NL’s second 15-game winner.

He allowed one run in seven innings to move level with Philadelphia’s Roy Halladay.

Justin Upton homered, Cody Ransom doubled in two runs and Kennedy helped himself with an RBI double as Arizona won its fourth straight and pulled two games ahead of second-placed San Francisco. J.J. Putz got his 28th save in 32 tries. Mets starter Dillon Gee (10-4) gave up four runs in five innings.

Brewers 7, Pirates 2 In Milwaukee, Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder hit back-to-back homers to power Milwaukee past Pittsburgh. Braun and Fielder homered in the eighth for the Brewers, who won their 10th straight at home against the Pirates.

Milwaukee starter Zach Greinke (11-4) struck out nine and retired 11 straight at one point to remain unbeaten at home this season.

Milwaukee built a 4-0 lead off Paul Maholm (6-13) before the Pirates rallied, only to have Braun and Fielder answer right back and keep the Brewers four games clear atop the NL Central.

Braves 10, Cubs 4 In Atlanta, Dan Uggla belted two homers to extend his hitting streak to an Atlantarecord 32 games and lead the Braves past Chicago. Uggla passed Rico Carty’s 31-game streak in 1970 for the longest in Braves history since they relocated from Boston to Atlanta. Both his shots came off Cubs starter Carlos Zambrano (9-7), who gave up eight runs, including a career-worst five homers, in 4 1-3 innings.

He was ejected in the fifth inning after throwing two inside pitches to Chipper Jones, the second going all the way to the backstop.

The brush-back pitches followed homers by Freddie Freeman and Uggla. Jones and Jose Constanza also went deep against Zambrano.

Atlanta rookie Mike Minor (2-2) gave up three runs in 5 2-3 innings to take the win.

Marlins 2, Giants 1 In Miami, Florida snapped a seven-game losing skid and improved to 4-0 this season against San Francisco. The erratic Marlins had been 0-7 on their homestand, but starter Rikcy Nolasco (9-8) gave up just one run in eight innings to outpitch All-Star Matt Cain (9-9).

Leo Nunez pitched around a leadoff single in the ninth to earn his 32nd save in 36 chances. Center fielder Dewayne Wise - a ninth-inning defensive replacement - made a lunging catch of a fly ball at the warning track for the second out.

The Giants set an NL record for consecutive solo home runs. Their past 20 homers have been solo shots, breaking the unintended record of 19 set by the Philadelphia Phillies in 1914.

Cardinals 6, Rockies 1 In St. Louis, Kyle Lohse worked into the seventh inning to guide St. Louis past Colorado. Lohse (10-7) matched his victory total from the previous two seasons, allowing a run on four hits in 6 1-3 innings.

Albert Pujols followed up a 4-for-4 game with two hits and the go-ahead RBI to lead the Cardinals, while David Freese had two hits and three RBIs, two of them during a five-run sixth that chased Rockies starter Aaron Cook (2-7).

Matt Holliday returned after missing two games with a lower back injury and had an RBI double, while Lohse contributed his first Busch Stadium RBI in nearly two seasons, both in the rally.

Reds 5, Padres 3 In Cincinnati, Jay Bruce hit a three-run homer with two outs in the eighth inning to propel Cincinnati past San Diego and to its third straight win.

Ramon Hernandez walked with one out and pinch-runner Brandon Phillips moved to second on Edgar Renteria’s short groundout to Padres reliever Josh Spence (0-1). Joey Votto was intentionally walked and Bruce hit a drive into the seats in right for his 24th homer of the season. Reds reliever Bill Bray (32) got the final out of the eighth for the win.

Dodgers 1, Astros 0 In Los Angeles, Matt Kemp hit a gameending RBI single in the 10th inning to lift Los Angeles over Houston after nine scoreless innings.

Casey Blake led off the 10th with a double against David Carpenter (0-2). Andre Ethier was intentionally walked before Kemp slapped a pitch just inside the right-field line for his fifth career game-ending hit.

Los Angeles’ Josh Lindblom (1-0) pitched a perfect 10th inning for his first major league win. Houston fell 30 games out of first place for the first time since the 1991 season - and there are still 41 games remaining.—AP

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

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

National League American League Eastern Division Eastern Division Philadelphia 77 41 .653 W L PCT GB Atlanta 70 49 .588 7.5 Boston 73 44 .624 NY Mets 58 60 .492 19 NY Yankees 71 46 .607 2 Washington 57 61 .483 20 Tampa Bay 64 54 .542 9.5 Florida 56 62 .475 21 Toronto 59 59 .500 14.5 Central Division Baltimore 45 71 .388 27.5 Milwaukee 68 51 .571 Central Division St. Louis 64 55 .538 4 Detroit 63 55 .534 Cincinnati 58 61 .487 10 Cleveland 59 57 .509 3 Pittsburgh 56 61 .479 11 Chicago 58 60 .492 5 Chicago Cubs 51 68 .429 17 Minnesota 52 66 .441 11 Houston 38 81 .319 30 Kansas City 50 69 .420 13.5 Western Division Western Division Arizona 66 53 .555 Texas 67 52 .563 San Francisco 64 55 .538 2 LA Angels 65 54 .546 2 Colorado 55 65 .458 11.5 Oakland 53 65 .449 13.5 LA Dodgers 53 64 .453 12 Seattle 50 67 .427 16 San Diego 53 67 .442 13.5

NEW YORK: Johnny Damon, Casey Kotchman and Kelly Shoppach all connected in the third inning for three of Tampa Bay’s five solo home runs as the Rays beat the New York Yankees 5-1 in the American League on Friday.

Light-hitting Elliot Johnson and Evan Longoria also homered in Tampa Bay’s fifth straight win. It was the most homers the Rays have hit in a game this year, having previously not bettered three.

The five homers were the most CC Sabathia (16-7) has allowed in a game in his career. Tampa Bay starter David Price (10-10) improved to 3-0 in the five times he’s faced Sabathia, pitching eight dominant innings.

Angels 5, Blue Jays 1 In Toronto, Ervin Santana won his fifth straight start, guiding Los Angeles past Toronto. Santana (9-8) was working on a shutout before giving up a homer in the ninth. He pitched his third complete game in four starts, striking out six while to 6-0 with a 1.50 ERA in his past nine starts.

Los Angeles’ Vernon Wells homered in his first game back in Toronto after 12 seasons with the Blue Jays. The crowd gave him a standing ovation when he came to the plate in the second, and he stepped out of the box and tipped his helmet in gratitude. After stepping back in, Wells swatted Brandon Morrow’s first pitch over the wall in left-center for his first homer in three weeks. Morrow (8-7) allowed five runs in seven innings.

He walked four and struck out three.

Red Sox 6, Mariners 4 In Seattle, rookie Josh Reddick continued adding to his status in Boston with a two-run homer off the cafe windows in the second deck of right field to help the Red Sox rally and beat Seattle.

Reddick’s 10th-inning, gamewinning single against the New York Yankees last Sunday gave the Red Sox the lead in the AL East ahead of their rivals, and his homer on Friday extended the lead to two games. The Yankees lost to Tampa Bay earlier Friday night.

ERA in four starts since his previous victory.

Endy Chavez had three hits, scored twice and drove in a run for the Rangers, while Michael Young added two hits and an RBI. Texas remained two games ahead of the Angels in the AL West.

Brantley with the tying run.

With two outs, LaPorta’s blooper dropped in front of the diving left fielder for the go-ahead run.

Cleveland reliever Rafael Perez (5-2) got the final out in the eighth for the win and Chris Perez worked a perfect ninth for his 24th save in 27 chances.

Tigers 5, Orioles 4 In Baltimore, Wilson Betemit homered and rookie Andy Dirks had a career-high four hits to help Detroit edge Baltimore and stay three games up in the AL Central division. Dirks went 4 for 4 with a walk and singled in the tiebreaking run in the sixth inning. Acquired in a trade last month with Kansas City, Betemit had three hits and is 9 for 17 in his past five games.

Alex Avila had two hits and scored twice for the Tigers while starter Brad Penny (8-9) allowed seven hits in 5 1-3 innings and snapped a personal three-game losing streak.

Detroit received 3 2-3 innings of one-hit relief from a stellar bullpen that has an 0.84 ERA over the past eight games.

NEW YORK: Tampa Bay Rays’ Evan Longoria hits a home run during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the New York Yankees.—AP Reddick capped a three-homer night by the Red Sox off Seattle starter Blake Beavan (3-3). David Ortiz and Jed Lowrie also homered for Boston.

Seattle knocked around Boston starter John Lackey for 10 hits, but Lackey (11-8) still managed to pick up his seventh straight victory.

Rangers 9, Athletics 1 In Oakland, CJ Wilson pitched six effective innings to earn his first win in a month for Texas, which beat Oakland. Wilson (11-5) allowed one run and struck out seven. He had been 0-2 with a 4.84

German MP wants Games moved if riots continue BERLIN: Olympic officials should consider moving the London 2012 Olympics if the riots and looting of the past days in the capital continue, German member of parliament Manuel Hoeferlin said on Friday. London has been hit by a wave of violence since Saturday with thousands of masked youths rioting, looting and torching buildings, a year before the Games.

The riots started following a peaceful protest after a man had been fatally shot by police two days earlier. “Games cannot be changed from one day to the next. So I say that if the situation remains like that then we have to think early enough about changing the location,” said Hoeferlin, a member of parliament in the ruling centre-right coalition.

“If under normal circumstances you need such a large number of police to control such violence, then how will it be at Games time when you have so many visitors,” Hoeferlin told Reuters in an interview.

“How would it look? I have trouble imagining it. If the Games were held today it is is something I cannot imagine,” he said.

Games organisers and the International Olympic Committee have insisted the violence would neither affect preparations for the Games nor the city’s image ahead of the world’s biggest multi-sports event.

“I have only expressed what many people were thinking at the start of the week,” Hoeferlin, a member of the Free Democrats (FDP), junior coalition partners to Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives, said.

“Can a great event like the Games take place there next year under such conditions?”

He said Germany or even several countries could take over hosting the Olympics. “Germany obviously has very good infrastructure, especially from the 2006 men’s and 2011 women’s soccer World Cups and we have very good sports venues overall,” said Hoeferlin.

The riots were not confined to London and spread to several other major cities though it has eased in the past 24 hours. “If the situation is contained then the Olympics can be staged there. That can happen,” he said.

“The difficulty is time and that is why I said it now because if you take that decision too late then the Games could end up being postponed.”

Germany has not staged an Olympics since the 1972 Munich G ames and only days ago quietly marked the 75th anniversar y of the 1936 Berlin Olympics which were overshadowed by the then ruling Nazi regime. Last month Munich failed in its bid to host the 2018 winter Games.—Reuters

A’s starter Brandon McCarthy (5-6) was knocked out of the game when he was struck on the knee by a line drive in the fourth. He allowed seven runs in 3 13 innings.

Indians 3, Twins 2 In Cleveland, Matt LaPorta and Carlos Santana hit RBI doubles in the eighth inning to rally Cleveland over Minnesota.

Cleveland trailed 2-1 when Travis Hafner singled with one out in the eighth off starter Carl Pavano. Glen Perkins (4-3) relieved and Santana hit a booming double to score pinch-runner Michael

Royals 5, White Sox 1 In Chicago, Billy Butler and Melky Cabrera homered to power Kansas City past Chicago.

Butler homered in the sixth and had an RBI single in the first.

Cabrera broke the game open with a three-run homer in the ninth.

Alex Gordon singled, doubled, walked twice, scored a run, stole a base and reached on catcher ’s interference for the Royals, who snapped a four-game losing streak.

Kansas City starter Bruce Chen (7-5) held Chicago to one hit over six innings and is 2-0 with a 0.90 ERA in three starts against the White Sox this season. Rookie Zach Stewart (1-2) pitched well in his home debut as a member of the White Sox.—AP

Lee slays titleholder Chen to book final spot LONDON: Lee Chong Wei’s bid to become the first Malaysian to win a world badminton title carried him impressively to the final as he dethroned defending champion Chen Jin yesterday.

The Chinese player who caused a surprise a year ago in Paris by snatching the title was now able to contend only for a while, early in the second game, eventually being outplayed 21-13, 21-9 by the brilliantly athletic world number one.

It was Lee’s first real test of the week, yet there was only briefly any doubt that his high-paced style, supplemented by bursts of well-timed attacking as his opponent weakened, would prevail.

Chen fought as hard as he could, but increasingly found himself plunging fruitlessly across the floor after the shuttle, or gambling with ambitious attacks which increased his error ratio.

“We were both patient, and then I started

LONDON: China’s Xin Wang returns a shot to China’s Yihan Wang during their match at the World Badminton Championships.—AP

to play my game,” said Lee. “I have prepared well at Bath university for two weeks and was at my best against him today.

“It will be my first world final and I really want to win the title,” added the man who will probably cause a public holiday in Malaysia if he succeeds.

Lee was 11-7 ahead at the first game interval, and then accelerated from 14-10 to 20-10 to take a hold of the match. Although he slipped to 3-7 down in the second, he repaired the damage with a five-point winning sequence, and from 8-8 to 17-8 he tore Chen apart with fast and early net shots and sudden sliced smashes.

Earlier Wang Yihan showed how well she has recovered from the lower back injury which prevented her from flying to the AllEngland championships in March, overcoming her compatriot Wang Xin by 21-14, 21-15 to reach the women’s singles final.

Wang Yihan used her height to get overhead drops down steeply, smashed well, and also moved encouragingly easily against an opponent who had reached last year’s world final in Paris.

She also turned around a 5-9 deficit in the second game, taking seven points in a row, and then recovered from 13-15 down with another seven-point sequence, attacking consistently most of the time. “I was disappointed not to come to England in March, but I rested and recovered and trained well, and have prepared myself as best I can for this,” Wang Yihan said.

Asked if she was playing better than when she won the All-England title two years ago, she said: “I am not really sure, but I’m feeling fine and as well as I have felt for a year.”

Wang Xin added: “I wasn’t satisfied with my own performance. We train together so it’s hard to play against each other,” she said.

Earlier another all Chinese match ended with the retirement of Xu Chen and Ma Jin after losing the first game 21-17 in their mixed doubles semi-final against Zhang Nan and Zhao Yunlei, the Super Series finals winners. Ma Jin had an ankle injury. Perhaps concerned to prevent the critical response which followed the retirement of Chinese players in two matches against compatriots at the AllEngland Open, Zhang Nan, commented: “It’s normal and happens a lot in badminton. We knew their game very well but her leg seemed injured and hurting.”—AFP

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SUNDAY, AUGUST 14, 2011

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Djokovic, Tsonga meet in Wimbledon rematch Fish, Tipsarevic face off

TORONTO: Serena Williams, of the United States, plays a shot during the Rogers Cup tennis tournament in Toronto on Friday, Aug 12, 2011. — AP

Serena grinds into Toronto Cup semis TORONTO: A battle -tested Serena Williams booked her spot in the semifinals of the Toronto Cup on Friday after overcoming a sluggish start to grind out a 4-6 6-3 6-2 win over Czech Lucie Safarova. Williams, whose 11-month layoff with injury and health problems ended in June, was a shadow of herself in the first set but rallied with raw power and shot-making to wrap up the match without losing serve in the last two sets.

“I could have had a better chance in the first set but I lost some key points,” Williams, who won the Stanford Classic last month and is on a nine-match winning streak, told reporters. “It was all about maybe one or two points here that would’ve made a difference and some silly double faults that didn’t make sense.” The third set went with serve until Williams broke world number 32 Safarova in an intense fifth game in which she unleashed several loud screams to get herself going.

The vocal strategy seemed to pay off as she wrapped up the match without conceding another game. The former world number one, unseeded here because of her long layoff, faces her

toughest test yet against Belarusian Victoria Azarenka, who has not lost a set en route to the semi-finals and is the highest seeded player left in the draw.

Azarenka ended Kazakh qualifier Galina Voskoboeva’s surprise run with a clinical 6-1 6-2 victory. On the other side of the draw, 10th seed Samantha Stosur booked her ticket to the semi-finals with a fuss-free 6-4 6-1 win over Italy ’s Roberta Vinci in their first meeting. The 27-year-old Australian, who dropped out of the top 10 this week for the first time in over a year, fired five aces and held serve throughout the match to overpower the Italian, who relied on backhand slice and moving the ball around the court. “I knew going into the match that she obviously has a different style, and you know, I kind of thought I knew the way she was was gonna try and play against me, and I was prepared for that,” said Stosur, her country’s top-ranked player. The Australian will meet in-form Pole Agnieszka Radwanska for a place in the final. Radwanska won the San Diego Open last week and extended her winning streak to nine with a 6-4 6-3 win over German Andrea Petkovic.—Reuters

Wanted: Young Americans to serve and volley MONTREAL: Mardy Fish will never be seen as the saviour of American tennis but the 29-year-old is ready to step up and carry the flag into the US Open later this month if no one else will. That Fish, the winner of six titles but no grand slams, is the likely standard-bearer for the US at Flushing Meadows as the top ranked American does not say so much about his improved play this season as it does about the decline of the sport in the United States.

Settled in at career best number eight on the most recent world rankings, Fish is almost certain to be the in-form player among an aging group of injury racked former champions, untested newcomers and under-achievers. Andy Roddick, who notched his only grand slam at Flushing Meadows eight years ago, is limping towards the season’s final grand slam tournament while Venus and Serena Williams, both multiple U.S. Open champions, remain unknown quantities after a season of battling injuries.

“With the title (of top ranked American) comes a responsibility,” said Fish, who could see his ranking climb even higher after reaching the semi-finals of the Montreal Masters on Friday with a three set win over Switzerland’s Stanislas Wawrinka.

“There are a lot of Americans playing tennis. It’s a big country, obviously. There are a lot of American tennis fans. “It will certainly be exciting if it happens, to go into the U.S. Open as the highest ranked American on both sides. “There’s a lot of pressure in that, for sure. I’ve never been in that position before.”

The modern era of tennis is dominated by iconic American names: Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe, Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras backed up by the Michael Changs, Jim Couriers and Roddicks. On the women’s side there is Martina Navratilova, Billie Jean King, Chris Evert and the Williams sisters.

But the talent that used to flood through the US tennis pipeline has slowed to a trickle leaving plenty of questions as to when the next generation will arrive to challenge in a sport that has now gone global and deep in international talent.

“I look back over the past 35 or 40 years and see where the Americans are now, it’s kind of a little distressing,” said Connors.

“Back in my era, eight of the top 10 players were Americans.

“It went for two and a half generations of having nothing but the best players in the world,” he told reporters. “Sampras, Agassi and Courier took the place of Connors and McEnroe and that group, added the 58-year-old. “Now Roddick and Fish and that group...who is taking the place of this group?” That is the worrying question being confronted by the United States Tennis Association.

Connors, who won over 100 ATP Tour events including five US Open titles, has some ideas but they are unlikely to impress American officials as he uses his expertise to help nurture and develop talent in other countries. “I’m getting involved in tennis more for kids, doing our Kids For Tennis programs but not much in the United States or North America, mostly out of the country,” said Connors.—Reuters

MONTREAL: Novak Djokovic’s reign as world number one remained unblemished as the Serb blasted Frenchman Gael Monfils 6-2 6-1 off the court to ease into the semi-finals of the Montreal Masters on Friday.

Djokovic’s win extended his season record to a spectacular 51-1 and leaves him on course to become the first to win a title on debut as the world’s top-ranked player since Pete Sampras in 1993. It has also set the scene for an intriguing showdown with another Frenchman in Jo Wilfried Tsonga, who earlier delighted the centre court crowd with his 6-4 64 win over eighth-seeded Spaniard Nicolas Almagro.

“I have played the best match of the tournament, no doubt,” Djokovic, who has not dropped a set at the event, told reporters. “I played really, really fast and tried to constantly put pressure on Gael because I didn’t want to give him any time to get back to the match or to think about what he’s going to play. “Overall performance was fantastic.” The other semi-final will see American Mardy Fish take on Serbia’s Janko Tipsarevic. Fish finished strongly to beat Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka 6-3 6-7 6-0 while Tipsarevic booked his spot with an upset win over seventh-seeded Czech Tomas Berdych 6-4 6-4.

Djokovic came into his meeting boasting a 6-0 record over Monfils and quickly gained the upper hand. He broke the wiry

Frenchman to lead 4-2 and finished off the set with another break before surging to 5-0 in the second. “He was certainly the best Novak I ever met,” said Monfils, who was despatched in a tidy 73 minutes. “ Today he was too strong. “I played well, I hit the ball hard but I never had any solution to finish off a point. “I was hitting beautiful rallies but at the end of those long rallies, he was always hitting the winner.” The powerfully built Tsonga, who has been in superb form and upset two-time champion Roger Federer in the third round, was never threatened by Almagro and celebrated his victory over the frustrated Spaniard with a leaping pirouette.

American Fish, who had failed to win a match in two previous appearances at Montreal, had a tougher ride and was far from dominant in an error-strewn match that failed to produce the best in either player. Fish broke Wawrinka three times to grab the opening set but neither could player land their serve in an ugly second set featuring eight service breaks-four by each player.

Wawrinka battled to forced the match to a decider after taking the tiebreak 10-8 but promptly fell flat as Fish steamrolled his way to the win. “The second set was very strange for both of us,” Fish said. “We couldn’t hold serve to save our lives but we returned really well ... There’s the positive, I guess.” — Reuters

MONTREAL: Novak Djokovic of Serbia returns a shot to Gael Monfils of France during the Rogers Cup at Uniprix Stadium in Montreal, Canada. — AFP

Woods misses cut in PGA, shoots 73 JOHNS CREEK: Hardly anyone knows the two guys leading the PGA Championship after Friday’s secondround, while even the best-known player in the field was unrecognizable. Once identified by either his No. 1 ranking or his 14 majors, Tiger Woods missed the cut Friday at Atlanta Athletic Club with a performance that was even more shocking because of the numbers he compiled.

He hit into 22 bunkers. He put four balls in the water. His five double bogeys were the most he ever made in one tournament.

With one final bogey for a 3-over 73, Woods finished out of the top 100 for the first time ever in a major. He was 15 shots behind co-leaders Jason Dufner - who has never won a PGA Tour event - and Keegan Bradley, playing in his first major.

“I got some time off again,” said Woods, who doesn’t expect to tee it up again until the Australian Open in November. Based on the past two days, he has a lot of work to do.

Dufner, who hasn’t made a cut since the last week in May, holed a 25-foot eagle putt on the fifth hole and threw in five birdies for a 5-under 65 that put him atop the leaderboard for the first time in a major. Bradley, a tour rookie and the nephew of LPGA great Pat Bradley, did even better with a bogey-free round of 64.

Their performance, and the attention given to Steve Stricker - who followed up his record-tying 63 with a

74 - and Rory McIlroy, who made it through another round with a heavily taped right wrist, did not divert much of the attention from Woods.

There were times the fans wanted to cover their eyes. Woods blasted out of a bunker and went into the pond on the other side of the green for a double bogey. On his next hole, he hooked his drive into the trees, chipped out sideways, then hit a snap-hook back into the trees for another double bogey.

At least he went out in consistent style - one more bunker off the tee at No. 18, one more shot into the pond fronting the green. “Frustration, disappointment that I’m not contending in the tournament,” Woods said. Now the only question is when - and where - he will play next.

Woods failed to qualifying for the FedEx Cup playoffs, which he has won two of the past four years, meaning he is ineligible for any PGA Tour event for the next six weeks. The next tournament on his schedule is the Australian Open, starting Nov. 10, although he would not rule out playing somewhere - perhaps a Fall Series event - before then.

“Now I’ll have nothing to do but work on my game,” he said. “That’s going to be good.” It was only the seventh time he has failed to qualify for the weekend in 227 tournaments worldwide, and the third time in a major. He completed only one major this year, a tie for fourth at the

Masters. Woods left behind a championship that has 16 players under par, all of them separated by only four shots, even if the mainstream sporting audience might not be familiar with the some of the names. Bradley, who won the Byron Nelson Championship in May and contended last week at Firestone, and Dufner were at 5-under 135. They will be in the final group, playing behind D.A. Points (67) and John Senden (68), who were in the group one shot behind. “These guys are all great players,” Bradley said. “It’s not like they just kind of stumbled up there.

They’ve been out here a long time.

Probably tomorrow ... it will be a little more relaxing than if I was playing with Tiger or Phil, but they’re great players, and I’m sure they’re good guys.” Phil Mickelson, who finished one shot behind on this course 10 years ago, was moving closer to the lead until he dumped his approach on the 18th hole into the water and took double bogey for a 70. He was still only six shots behind.

The leaderboard is not devoid of experience. Jim Furyk, the 2003 U.S. Open champion having his worst season since he was a rookie, emerged from his slump with a 65 and was in the group at 4-under 136 that included Scott Verplank, a former U.S. Amateur champion.

Verplank has been coping with wrist and elbow injuries longer than he cares to remember, but he’s

always been a good putter and that carried him to the outright lead for much of the afternoon. He couldn’t cope with bunkers and rough along the back nine, though he left the course in good spirits after laying up on the 18th and scratching out a par.

Another shot back was Stricker, who was 11 shots worse than his record-tying start, but still in the mix.

Stricker opened this major by going 20 straight holes without a bogey until he started missing putts on the edge of the cup. He still was in good shape, tied for the lead, until dropping two more shots at the end of his round, including a shot into the water on the 18th for bogey. He had a 74 and was in the group at 3-under 137. “I was on the other end of the spectrum today where it was tough going all the way around,” he said.

“But if we would have shot 2 under yesterday and 1 under today, we’d be feeling pretty good. The way we got there wasn’t ideal, but we’re still in there, only a couple back, and anything could happen on the weekend.”

Woods is gone, but his ex-caddie will have a late tee time. Adam Scott, who hired Steve Williams for his bag, made a strong move into contention until a blunder on the last hole.

Trying to lay up with a punch shot under the trees, it came out too hot and went into the front of the water.

Scott finished with a double bogey for a 69 and was still only three shots behind.—AP

Egypt win Championship of Foreign Embassies KUWAIT: Egypt won the 2nd Football Championship of Foreign Embassies in Kuwait after defeating Lebanon 2-0 on

Friday. The championship was hesd under the patronage of Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister Sheikh Dr Mohammad

Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah. The final game attracted large audience including diplomats and top government officials.

Mohammad Lutfi and Mohammad Al-Afety scored the winning goals for Egypt. The Foreign Ministry Undersecretary

Khaled Al-Jarallah expressed his content for the success of the championship which witnessed participation of 26 teams. He said

the foreign ministry was keen on organizing this tournament to strengthen the bonds and relationships between Kuwait-based

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Eto’o cool over Russia link, targets England ROME: Cameroon star Samuel Eto’o admitted yesterday he is in talks with Russians Anzhi Makhachkala but said his future is far from decided.

The 30-year-old said he could yet stay with Inter Milan or even head to England. Anzhi, from the capital of the restless Russian republic of Dagestan, are in advanced negotiations with Inter for the striker in a reported 20-30 million euro transfer.

Press reports in Italy suggest he’s also been offered between 15-20 million euros a season.

However, speaking at a press conference in Douala,

Eto’o told journalists that he doesn’t yet know where he will be playing this season. “The negotiations (with Anzhi) are ongoing, you must be patient,” he said according to media in Cameroon and Italy. “There’s nothing to say I will leave and nothing to say I will stay, there could still be a surprise from England. “Wait until the end of the transfer window (at the end of the month) which is coming up soon. “The truth is I’m still under contract with Inter Milan.

“When I leave here I’ll go and continue the negotiations.” Eto’o is the most decorated player in

African history having won the Champions League three times, twice with Barcelona and once with Inter. The four-time African player of the year also won three league titles with Barca and one with Inter while with Cameroon he has twice won the African Cup of Nations. He began his career with Real Madrid before having loan spells with Leganes, Espanyol and Mallorca, whom he then joined permanently. He helped Mallorca to a Copa del Rey victory in 2003, earning a move to Barca the next year.

He joined Inter in 2009 in a swap deal involving

Zlatan Ibrahimovic, with the Italians also receiving 50 million euros. Anzhi have only had one full season in the Russian top flight but have become a major player since they were bought by Russian billionaire Suleyman Kerimov, who has poured money into the club. Despite the dangers in Dagestan, where a low-level Islamic insurgency has made the republic very unstable, Anzhi have already managed to attract the likes of Roberto Carlos and Yuri Zhirkov. They play their home matches in Makhachkala but the players live and train in Moscow for security reasons. — AFP

Anderson seals India rout Triumphant England top Test table

WASHINGTON: Green Bay Packers football fans cheer as President Barack Obama honors the Super Bowl XLV Champion Green Bay Packers on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington. — AP

Obama honors Super Bowl champion despite rivalry WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama honored the Green Bay Packers on Friday for winning the Super Bowl despite being a die-hard fan of the team’s long-time rival to the south, the Chicago Bears. Green Bay, winner of four Super Bowls and 13 National Football League titles overall, beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 31-25 in Dallas in February for their latest championship, earning the annual invitation to the White House extended to the game’s winner.

“I’m just going to come out and say it.

This hurts a little bit. This is a hard thing for a Bears fan to do,” Obama told the Packers, who had shed their usual green and gold football jerseys in favor of suits and ties. “You guys come into my house to rub it in,” he said with a smile. The Packers and Bears hold one of the longest and most spirited rivalries in the NFL, with the two Midwestern cities meeting for the first time in 1921.

The White House visit was extra sweet for some of the Packers. Obama said before Green Bay beat the Bears in the a conference championship game in January he would only attend the Super

Bowl if the Bears were in it. The proclamation provided extra motivation for Packers cornerback Charles Woodson, who later said if Obama didn’t want to see them play the team would visit him in Washington. “I know he’s a Bears fan, but we’re winners so it’s all good,” Woodson, who earlier presented Obama a share of Green Bay Packers stock, told reporters.

The Packers have more than 112,000 stockholders, and have sold shares to raise funds for things such as stadium improvements. The shares are not traded on an exchange. Entering the season, the Packers are among the early favorites to earn another White House visit. They won last year despite injuries to several key players, and the Packers boast a young team led by the Super Bowl’s Most Valuable Player, quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Obama told the Packers to enjoy their Super Bowl victory “while it lasts,” pointing to September 25 and December 25 when the Packers and Bears play again.

“If you guys are on a roll by then just keep in mind there is only one person here who can ground all planes in and out of Green Bay if he has to,” Obama said.— Reuters

Fergie backs new generation in 20th title assault MANCHESTER: Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson believes his new generation of players will prove a better investment than long-term target Wesley Sneijder in the new English Premier League season. United begin their title defense at West Brom today having spent £60 million on three new signings-David De Gea, Ashley Young and Phil Jones. Ferguson has overseen the biggest overhaul of his squad in 15 years with the belief that his side will have to contend with as many as six rivals vying for their Premier League crown. Yet instead of stepping up his bid to sign Inter Milan playmaker Sneijder, Ferguson will look to the next generation to spark their latest push for silverware.

“You can forget anyone you like (Sneijder), I’m happy with the young players I’ve got,” said Ferguson. “We’ve got (Darren) Fletcher to come back and Michael Carrick who tends to develop more around November and December. And there’s the young boy Paul Pogba who’s showing great promise for us. We’re quite positive about him. “When you take that roll call of players, I’m certainly not looking to add to that. There is an emphasis on young players at this club and always has been. And it is the case for any player that comes through the ranks that they can threaten anyone.

“If they have the ability and the temperament there is only one thing you can do and that is play them.”

Manchester United head to the Hawthorns for their opening game before they face five major title rivals before the end of October. The bookmakers’ favorites won just five times away from Old Trafford last season and it’s an area Ferguson is keen to address, especially as he anticipates such a major threat to his team’s chances of lifting a 20th title. “Last season was our worst record in the Premier League away from home - and our best at home. What do we do about it?” he added. “I was surprised with the number of points we dropped away from home. We would

settle for last season’s home record again. But we can’t bank on that.”

Ferguson, who has confirmed new £18 million goalkeeper de Gea will make his league debut, added: “If you remember our game at West Brom last season I thought we were pretty lucky. “ We won the game 2-1 but they missed a penalty. So we expect a tough game and that’s what you have to say from the Premier League.”

Meanwhile, Patrice Evra is doubtful with a foot injury, while Fletcher and Antonio Valencia will make their comeback next week for the reserves after overcoming a virus and an ankle injury respectively. Javier Hernandez is 10 days away from a return to football duty after a bout of concussion.

New West Brom signing Shane Long is in line to make his debut against the champions and could lead the line alone with Peter Odemwingie a major doubt with an ankle problem.

The Republic of Ireland striker snubbed interest from Leicester and fellow Championship outfit West Ham to join from Reading this week and he is relishing the challenge which awaits. “Hopefully we can hit the ground running against Manchester United,” he said. “Facing Manchester United on your debut is what dreams are made of. “I’m really looking forward to it now. A lot of my friends and family are United fans. Hopefully we can put on a good performance and cause an upset.

“I feel ready to start and if the head coach wants me to. My fitness is up there and I’m looking forward to the challenge.” Manager Roy Hodgson remains hopeful former United midfielder Owen Hargreaves will agree to join with the England international currently mulling over an offer. He said: “I can say no more than discussions are ongoing. It would be nice if he wants to join us. That would be another great addition to the squad.”

Zoltan Gera misses out through suspension and will almost certainly be joined on the sidelines by Gareth McAuley (illness). — AFP

BIRMINGHAM: England surged to the top of the world rankings after crushing India by an innings and 242 runs in the third test yesterday to secure their sixth consecutive series win. Fast bowler James Anderson claimed four for 85 as India were dismissed for 244 after lunch on the fourth day at Edgbaston, giving the home team a 3-0 lead in the four-match series. India’s batsmen capitulated for the third successive match against England’s penetrative attack.

Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni was India’s top scorer for the second time in the test, with 74 not out, but the game was over when Shanthakumaran Sreesanth edged Tim Bresnan to Kevin Pietersen in the gully. “There’s not many bowling units better than ours in the world,” said home captain Andrew Strauss at the presentation ceremony after his side clinched their fifth biggest victory by an innings. “It’s been a goal of ours to reach the top of the rankings for a long time. It’s a great testament to everyone involved in the England set up and fills me with a lot of pride.” England’s series victory takes them top of the test rankings ahead of South Africa and previous leaders India. With the sun shining and the pitch encouraging spin, India were presented with good batting conditions to stage a fightback but were unable to cope with Anderson.

They resumed on 35 for one and the fast bowler had opener Gautam Gambhir (14) caught by Graeme Swann at second slip off the batsman’s first ball of the day. The score then became 40 for three when the usually reliable Rahul Dravid (18) edged behind off the same bowler.

UNLUCKY TENDULKAR Anderson reserved his best delivery for VVS Laxman (2) as he shaped the ball from middle stump to off and found an edge to the wicketkeeper. That was 56 for four and it became 87 for five when Suresh Raina (10) was lbw to Swann.

Master batsman Sachin Tendulkar (40) looked at his best for the 95 minutes he occupied the crease, hitting eight boundaries including an elegant straight drive off Bresnan. But he was dismissed in the cruelest of fashions when a Dhoni drive was deflected on to the non-striker’s stumps by Swann’s fingertips. Tendulkar was just out of his ground and the third umpire sealed his fate. Among the rattle of wickets perhaps the most bizarre sight was wicketkeeper Matt Prior opting to don a helmet and stand up to Anderson as a tactic to prevent Tendulkar from standing outside his crease. It lasted one ball.

After lunch Amit Mishra’s brief resistance ended when he drove Swann to mid-on for 22. Praveen Kumar went down fighting with 40 from 18 balls with three sixes. He added 75 for the eighth wicket with Dhoni from just 44 deliveries before mis-timing a pull against Stuart Broad to be caught at cover. Broad then trapped Ishant Sharma lbw for a duck and Bresnan removed Sreesanth. Haroon Lorgat, chief executive of the International Cricket Council (ICC), praised England. “On behalf of the ICC I would like to congratulate Andrew Strauss, Coach Andy

BIRMINGHAM: England players celebrate after victory over India on the fourth day of the third test match at the Edgbaston cricket ground in Birmingham yesterday. — AFP Flower and the whole team for becoming the number-one ranked test team in the world,” Lorgat said in a news release. “Through careful planning and a series of clinical performances they have deservedly achieved their goal. They were clearly the most consistent side in the world over the past few years as evidenced by 19 out of 30 wins and only four losses.” The capacity crowd celebrated, some more wildly than others, as scores of fans in fancy dress performed a conga.

There were spectators in gorilla and penguin

suits and one man was dressed in a banana outfit. Alastair Cook’s career-best 294 laid the foundations on Friday when England racked up a massive 710 for seven declared in reply to India’s first innings 224. “Congratulations to England,” said Dhoni. “We’ve not been up to the mark in this series and the margin of defeats have been getting bigger and bigger. “There are areas we need to improve in the side ... but overall to play really good cricket you have to be consistent and that’s what England have done.” The final test at the Oval starts on Thursday.— Reuters

SCOREBOARD BIRMINGHAM: Final scoreboard on the fourth day of the third Test between England and India at Edgbaston yesterday: India 1st Innings 224 (MS Dhoni 77; S Broad 4-53, T Bresnan 4-62) England 1st Innings 710-7 dec (A Cook 294, E Morgan 104, A Strauss 87, K Pietersen 63, T Bresnan 53 no; A Mishra 3-150) India 2nd Innings (overnight: 35-1) G. Gambhir c Swann b Anderson V. Sehwag c Strauss b Anderson R. Dravid c Prior b Anderson S. Tendulkar run out (Swann) V. Laxman c Prior b Anderson S. Raina lbw b Swann MS Dhoni not out A. Mishra c Broad b Swann P. Kumar c Bopara b Broad I. Sharma lbw b Broad S. Sreesanth c Pietersen b Bresnan

14 0 18 40 2 10 74 22 40 0 5

Extras (b6, lb6, w7) 19 Total (all out, 55.3 overs, 259 mins) 244 Fall of wickets: 1-3 (Sehwag), 2-35 (Gambhir), 3-40 (Dravid), 4-56 (Laxman), 5-87 (Raina), 689 (Tendulkar), 7-130 (Mishra), 8-205 (Kumar), 9-221 (Sharma), 10-244 (Sreesanth) Bowling: Anderson 18-3-85-4; Broad 12-4-282 (2w); Bresnan 10.3-3-19-1; Swann 13-1-88-2 (5w); Pietersen 2-0-12-0.

England: Andrew Strauss (capt), Alastair Cook, Ian Bell, Kevin Pietersen, Eoin Morgan, Ravi Bopara, Matt Prior (wkt), Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann, James Anderson Result: England won by an innings and 242 runs Man-of-the-match: Alastair Cook (ENG) Series: England lead four-match series 3-0

Ferguson’s shopping spree over thanks to youngsters

BRNO: Moto GP Spanish rider Dani Pedrosa rides his Honda during the qualifying session at the Czech Republic’s Grand Prix in Moto GP yesterday. — AFP

In-form Pedrosa claims 1st pole BRNO: Spanish Honda rider Dani Pedrosa clinched his first pole position of the season with the fastest time in qualifying yesterday for today’s Czech Grand Prix. The 25year-old, who had dominated both free practice sessions on Friday, clocked 1min 56.591sec to edge out Yamaha’s defending world champion Jorge Lorenzo of Spain by 0.113sec. Pedrosa’s Repsol Honda teammate Casey Stoner of Australia, the world championship leader, came in third after topping the last free practice yesterday morning on a wet track that had dried by the qualifying session.

Pedrosa’s performance comes on the back of winning the German MotoGP last month, completing a stunning comeback after he broke his right collarbone in the French MotoGp in May which saw him miss three races and ruin his chances of winning the world title. US rider Ben Spies of Yamaha came in fourth ahead of Italy’s Marco Simoncelli on a Honda and another

Italian Valentino Rossi on a Ducati, who has won five MotoGP races in Brno. The slippery morning practice turned the Brno trip into a nightmare for John Hopkins, a US superbike rider hired by the Rizla Suzuki team just for this race.

Hopkins crashed and broke a finger, which ruled him out of the qualifying session. Stoner crashed early into the morning practice but then recovered to dominate the session, while Britain’s Cal Crutchlow and Czech Karel Abraham both crashed in the qualifying practice. In Moto2, Spain’s Marc Marquez on a Suter claimed pole position in 2min 02.493sec ahead of championships leader Stefan Bradl of Germany on a Kalex and Italy’s Alex De Angelis on a Motobi. The 125cc championship leader, Nicolas Terol of Spain on an Aprilia, secured the front post on the grid in 2min 08.118sec, ahead of France’s Johann Zarco on a Derbi and German rider Sandro Cortese on an Aprilia. — AFP

MANCHESTER: Premier League champions Manchester United are not planning any more transfer shopping with manager Alex Ferguson saying he is happy with his youthful squad. United have splashed some cash in the close season, bringing in defender Phil Jones, winger Ashley Young and goalkeeper David De Gea for what local media have estimated to be a total of around 50 million pounds ($81 million). They have been heavily linked in the newspapers with a move to buy Netherlands midfielder Wesley Sneijder from Inter Milan but Ferguson dismissed the rumors.

“Forget anyone you like,” the Scot replied when reporters asked if it was time they forgot about Sneijder.

“I’m happy with the young players we’ve got. “I’m certainly not looking to add (to the squad) and I’ve been saying that for weeks. You have all been writing differently-you have been writing I’m going to buy this one, I’m going to buy that one but we’ve said nothing.” Ferguson was delighted by the performance of some of the club’s youth team products, such as midfielder Tom Cleverley, in last Sunday’s 3-2 comeback win over Manchester City in the Community Shield and could soon entrust them with bigger tasks.

“There is an emphasis on young players in the squad and there always has been,” he told a news conference. “It’s the case with any young player who comes through a club ... that they can threaten anyone (senior players) because if they’ve got the ability and the temperament there is only one thing you can do and that’s play them.” Even if some of the youngsters who inspired the second-half fightback against their neighbors are overlooked for today’s league opener at West Bromwich Albion, 20-year-old De Gea looks set to start.

Questions have been asked over the Spaniard’s display against City last week but Ferguson defended him and said he would be fine in the Premier League with a bit of help from senior players like defenders Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic. “He had no chance with the first goal...(for the second) he was stepping forward and took a step back and got himself a bit unbalanced,” he said. “It wasn’t a goalkeeping mistake, more of a technical mistake in terms of his feet. He wouldn’t be doing that again, it’s just one of those things. The ball did move a bit, maybe about two feet. He will be fine. “Any young goalkeeper who comes in and replaces Edwin van der Sar is going to need the support of Vidic and Ferdinand.” — Reuters

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Celtic hit 5 to maintain perfect start GLASGOW: Celtic remain two points ahead of rivals Rangers as they continued their winning start to the Scottish Premier League season with a comprehensive 5-1 victory over Dundee United.

Anthony Stokes gave the Hoops the lead in the fourth minute as he scored for the third successive match before Johnny Russell equalized on the half-hour mark.

However, Gary Hooper restored Celtic’s lead minutes later before second-half goals from South Korean international Ki Sung-Yeung, Joe Ledley and substitute James Forrest sealed the victory.

The win puts Celtic on maximum points after three matches but the victory was marred by an injury to striker Hooper, who was stretchered off in the second half. Old Firm rivals Rangers remain two points behind after secondhalf goals from Nikica Jelavic and

Maurice Edu helped them to a 2-0 win away to Inverness Caledonian Thistle in a game which saw both sides end with ten men. It is Motherwell who top the table, after Tom Hateley scored in stoppage time to give them a 1-0 win over St Mirren, but they have played a game more than the Glasgow giants, and Celtic manager Neil Lennon was a happy man afterwards. “It was a fantastic result and overall a very pleasing performance,” he said. “To beat Dundee United 5-1 after the week we’ve had I couldn’t ask any more of the players really.”

In contrast, his opposite number Peter Houston said the result was hard to take.

“The goals we lost were extremely disappointing,” admitted the Dundee United manager.” “I felt that Celtic got four of their goals quite cheaply. It is disappointing that there is a 5-1 scoreline when I

Scottish Premier League Roundup felt at one stage it was maybe going to go 2-2.” The home side needed just over three minutes to get their noses in front at Celtic Park. Dusan Pernis had already spilled Kris Commons’ fierce strike from 25 yards before recovering well to block the follow-up shot from Stokes. However, from the resultant corner, Stokes poked the ball past Pernis after latching on to Daniel Majstorovic’s headed knock down.

United’s Slovakian ‘keeper was then forced to punch away a 20-yard rocket shot from the striker as Celtic looked to increase their advantage.

United equalized on the half-hour mark as Garry Kenneth’s miscued shot rolled across the box for the unmarked Russell to side-foot home from close range. However, they were only on level

terms for three minutes before Hooper headed the Hoops into the lead again when he reacted quickest to nod past Pernis after Majstorovic’s deflected header bounced off the bar. United were then denied a penalty in the 59th minute when Kelvin Wilson appeared to bundle over Scott Robertson in the box, and Celtic raced up the park to extend their lead at the other end.

Hooper cleverly stepped over Commons’ pass to allow South Korean Ki to blast a shot high past Pernis into the top corner to make it 3-1. Hooper’s shot went agonizingly wide after a good run but the striker injured himself in the process and had to be stretchered off to be replaced by Shaun Maloney. The substitute made an instant impact as he

raced to the by-line and sent the ball across goal for Ledley to tap in from four yards to extend Celtic’s advantage.

Substitute Forrest then netted the fifth in stoppage time as he raced into the box to fire low past Pernis.

In Inverness, Rangers’ Jelavic had a first-half strike ruled out for offside before he tucked away a 60th minute penalty after Tokely was sent off for sliding into Steven Naismith. Ryan Esson saved Jelavic’s second penalty eight minutes later after Dorin Goian took a tumble following a challenge from Tom Aldred, but Edu tapped in the follow-up.

The American midfielder was then sent off late on for a second bookable offence as both sides ended with ten men.

Elsewhere, Hearts thrashed Aberdeen 3-0 and ten-man Dunfermline won 1-0 away to St Johnstone.—AFP

Villa, Fulham fire blanks in opener Fulham 0

Villa 0

WIGAN: Norwich City’s Wes Hoolahan (top) scores past Wigan Athletic goalkeeper Ali Al Habsi during the English Premier League match at The DW Stadium, Wigan, England, yesterday. —AP

Wigan held 1-1 by new-boys Norwich Wigan 1

Norwich 1 LONDON: Premier League new-boys Norwich made an encouraging start on their return to the top-flight as they battled back to earn a 1-1 draw at Wigan yesterday. Paul Lambert’s side have made a rapid rise through the divisions after winning back to back promotions from League One and then Championship and they look capable of consolidating their place among the elite on the evidence of this gutsy display. The Canaries’ spirit was tested when Ben Watson’s penalty gave Wigan the lead midway through the first half and they were up to the challenge, equalizing thanks to Wes Hoolahan’s strike on the stroke of half-time.

Wigan were beaten 4-0 by newly-promoted Blackpool on the opening day of last season and, although this was a better result, Latics boss Roberto Martinez

will still be concerned by an inconsistent performance. Norwich carved out an opening in the 18th minute when Wales striker Steve Morison, a close-season signing from Millwall, cut the ball back for Hoolahan, who scuffed his attempt off-target. But Wigan were ahead three minutes later when Franco Di Santo dispossessed Ritchie De Laet and surged into the penalty area before being hauled down by the trailing Norwich defender. Watson gave Norwich goalkeeper John Ruddy no chance as he smashed in the resulting spot-kick.

However, Norwich got back on level terms just before the interval when Wigan goalkeeper Ali Al Habsi spilled Morison’s cross and Hoolahan was on hand to lash in. Wigan came close to an immediate response and Di Santo went down in the area under a challenge by Russell Martin before the former Chelsea forward headed over after connecting with Moses’ cross. The hosts finished strongly in a scrappy second half and Watson almost won it with five minutes remaining but his effort came back off a post. Moses and substitute Hugo Rodallega also had shots blocked as Norwich hung on for the draw.—AFP

Bayern snatch stoppage time win, Dortmund lose BERLIN: Luiz Gustavo scored in stoppage time to give Bayern Munich a 1-0 win at VfL Wolfsburg yesterday, their first goal and points of the Bundesliga season, while champions Borussia Dortmund lost 1-0 at Hoffenheim. Dutchman Klaas Jan Huntelaar hit a hat-trick as Schalke 04 came from behind to demolish hapless Cologne 5-1. Mainz 05, who beat Freiburg 2-1 away, and Hanover 96, who won by the same score at Nuremburg, have six points from their opening two games. Hamburg SV and promoted Hertha Berlin drew 2-2, allowing both sides to pick up their first point. There were important, controversial refereeing decisions in three games, including Bayern’s where Wolfsburg had a goal harshly disallowed for offside.

Bayern, who suffered a shock 1-0 home defeat by Borussia Moenchengladbach in last week’s opener, were without Dutch winger Arjen Robben, who suffered a minor back problem in training on Friday.

Bayern striker Ivica Olic came on as a second-half substitute to make his first appearance for nine months following a knee operation and 19-year-old Japanese

Takashi Usami made his Bundesliga debut, also after halftime. Wolfsburg should have gone ahead when Patrick Helmes headed in from close range just after the half hour.

His effort was disallowed although replays showed he was clearly onside when a cross was played in.

Wolfsburg coach Felix Magath, whose side won 3-0 at Cologne last week, was livid at the decision and was still ranting when Bayern midfielder Toni Kroos was booked for diving in the penalty area shortly afterwards. The game was heading for a draw until Croatian striker Olic escaped his marker on the left, found an unmarked Franck Ribery in the penalty area and the Frenchman laid the ball off for Luiz Gustavo to nonchalantly sidefoot home.

Dortmund, who began with an impressive 3-1 win over Hamburg a week ago, were beaten by an early Sejad Salihovic free kick at Hoffenheim. The visitors had a penalty turned down when Shinji Kagawa appeared to be tripped just before the interval. Schalke’s goal spree began with what looked to be an extremely harsh penalty awarded for handball. — Reuters

German League Table BERLIN: German league table after yestrday’s matches (played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals against, points): Mainz 05 2 2 0 0 4 1 6 Nuremberg 2 1 0 1 2 2 3 Hanover 2 2 0 0 4 2 6 Bayern Munich 2 1 0 1 1 1 3 VfB Stuttgart 1 1 0 0 3 0 3 FC Augsburg 1 0 1 0 2 2 1 VfL Wolfsburg 2 1 0 1 3 1 3 SC Freiburg 2 0 1 1 3 4 1 Werder Bremen 1 1 0 0 2 0 3 Hertha Berlin 2 0 1 1 2 3 1 Schalke 04 2 1 0 1 5 4 3 Hamburg 2 0 1 1 3 5 1 Dortmund 2 1 0 1 3 2 3 Bayer Leverkusen1 0 0 1 0 2 0 M’gladbach 1 1 0 0 1 0 3 Kaiserslautern 1 0 0 1 0 2 0 Hoffenheim 2 1 0 1 2 2 3 FC Cologne 2 0 0 2 1 8 0

LONDON: Fulham and Aston Villa failed to give their new managers a winning start in the Premier League yesterday as they fought out a relatively tame 0-0 draw.

Fulham gave manager Martin Jol - who replaced Mark Hughes when he resigned at the end of last season - some cause for optimism with their second-half display while Villa had their moments in the first-half which will give Alex McLeish, who controversially moved from relegated Birmingham to city rivals Villa, something to work on.

Aston Villa dominated the opening 45 minutes but failed to convert any of their chances.

Former England striker Emile Heskey forced a good save out of Mark Schwarzer from a tight angle early on, and then the former Leicester star thought he had created Darren Bent’s opener but it was ruled out for offside.

Villa’s Welsh international defender James Collins wasted their best chance, however, as he

rose unmarked to meet Charles N’Zogbia’s cross but sent his header over the bar.

The second-half was a total contrast as Villa’s early dominance was countered by a much more ambitious and vibrant Fulham outfit. Indeed, Villa had Rpeublic of Ireland goalkeeper Shay Given to thank for keeping them in the game as he made a series of top class saves to start paying back immediately the reported £3.5million he cost from Manchester City.

England striker Bobby Zamora - who was playing despite a broken hand - saw his blistering effort in the opening seconds of the second-half saved by the Irishman. Zamora then went close with a header but Given again saved, while former England striker Andy Johnson also had a chance but he fired wide. Given then spread himself and blocked a Zamora effort with his legs, after the striker had run on to a fine ball over the top by Danny Murphy. Villa looked rattled but they relieved some of the pressure when Heskey and Bent created an opening for Villa’s promising young English winger Marc Albrighton, but his shot went the wrong side of the far post.—AFP

LONDON: Fulham’s Brede Hangeland (left) Aston Villa’s Stiliyan Petrov (2nd left), Luke Young (2nd right) and James Collins (right) vie for the ball during their English Premier League soccer match between Fulham and Aston Villa at Craven Cottage yesterday. — AP

Barcelona, Madrid set for explosive reunion MADRID: Barcelona and Real Madrid, whose five meetings last season produced fireworks on and off the pitch, clash in a potentially explosive Spanish Supercup first leg today, a crucial marker for the season ahead. Barcelona swept to a La Liga-Champions League double last time out, winning praise worldwide for their free-flowing, mesmeric style which had some commentators eagerly anointing them as the greatest club side of all time. Real, meanwhile, had to settle for the Spanish Cup which was at least won with victory over their bitter rivals. Today’s match at Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu will be played amid tight security in what is classified a high-risk meeting after last season’s five-game saga. If Sergio Ramos overcomes a niggling back problem Madrid could field the same side that lost 5-0 to Barcelona in La Liga last November. The subsequent four matches in the space of 18 days in April were more evenly fought and saw Real regain some lost pride with their King’s Cup final victory. Cristiano Ronaldo scored, until now his only goal against Barcelona, in the final to quali-

fy his team for today’s clash and he is keen this season to add more titles. “Of course we are going to try and have a good year,” said Ronaldo. “I’m not thinking about beating my own figures (from last season when he scored 40 league goals). I just want to play as well as I can for the team and win trophies which is what we work hard for.” The only selection question for Jose Mourinho’s side is on the right-hand side of midfield where new signing from Benfica Fabio Coentrao and Angel Di Maria are fighting for one berth.

Mourinho picked Argentine Di Maria in that position throughout last season but Coentrao, the club’s most expensive signing this summer, has been impressive in pre-season. Barcelona, who went on to Champions League sucess against Manchester United in their last official game after defeating Real in the two legged semi-final, have more headaches surrounding their starting eleven. Talismanic midfielder Xavi Hernandez is almost certain not to play due to a calf strain, while injuries picked up in Spain’s

friendly defeat by Italy on Wednesday have left Gerard Pique and Sergio Busquets doubts for today. Pique suffered a hamstring strain against Italy but is more likely to play than Busquets who trained alone on Friday with bruised ribs.

Xavi’s likely replacement is Thiago Alcantara, who starred in the Spanish under-21 team that won this summer’s European Championship and also appeared against the Italians on Wednesday making his full Spanish debut. Javier Mascerano is standing by to fill in Pique’s central defensive role, a task he relishes. “I have a lot of experience playing there so it doesn’t worry me, we want to win the Supercopa, it will give us a great boost ahead of the start of the League,” he said. Another alternative for that position is Eric Abidal now completely recovered from having a tumor removed from his liver in March.

Superstar Lionel Messi returned to training on Monday after an extended break following the Copa America and should be ready to play with new signing Alexis Sanchez, the Chilean international, also set to feature. —AFP

Brighton, Southampton extend winning starts LONDON: Brighton survived a late penalty miss to win 1-0 at Portsmouth and Southampton beat Barnsley as the Championship new-boys continued their impressive start to life in English football’s second tier. Gus Poyet’s Brighton, promoted as League One champions, celebrated moving into their new Amex Stadium with a win over Doncaster last weekend and the Seagulls continued their good start thanks to Craig MackailSmith’s 45th-minute winner. MackailSmith, Albion’s £3.25 million club-record signing from Peterborough in the closeseason, gave the visitors the lead at Fratton Park when he was on hand to toe the ball over the line after Jamie Ashdown blocked a shot from Ashley Barnes. However, Portsmouth wasted a golden opportunity to snatch a point in stoppage time when Liam Lawrence missed from the penalty spot with the last kick of the game. Southampton, who came up behind Brighton in League

One’s second automatic promotion spot, also continued their 100 percent start with a hard-fought win at Barnsley yesterday. Veteran striker David Connolly’s close-range header on the half-hour mark was enough to secure victory for Nigel Adkins’ men, who survived a late Barnsley rally after substitute Richard Chaplow was sent off on 84 minutes for a rash challenge on Jay McEveley.

Derby joined Brighton and Southampton on six points from two matches after Steve Davies struck in the 51st minute to clinch a 1-0 win over Watford at Vicarage Road. Leeds have lost their first two matches after finishing with nine men as they went down 1-0 at home to Middlesbrough, who also had Tony McMahon sent off just before halftime. Max Gradel was the first Leeds player to see red, with McMahon quickly following him down the tunnel, before Leeds midfielder Jonny Howson was also dismissed on the hour.—AFP

Matches on TV (Local Timings)

English Premier League Stoke City v Chelsea Abu Dhabi Sports HD 3 West Brom v United Abu Dhabi Sports HD 3

15:30 18:00

Spanish Super Cup Real Madrid v Barcelona Aljazeera Sport +2 Aljazeera Sport +3 Aljazeera Sport 1 HD

23:00

World Youth Championship Portugal v Argentina Aljazeera Sport +3 Aljazeera Sport +4 Mexico v Colombia Aljazeera Sport +3 Aljazeera Sport +4 France v Nigeria Aljazeera Sport +3 Aljazeera Sport +4

1:01 4:00 23:00

Tomorrow Brazil v Spain Aljazeera Sport +3 Aljazeera Sport +4

2:00

Dortmund crash as Bayern win

Serena grinds into Toronto Cup semis

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Villa, Fulham fire blanks in opener Page 19 LIVERPOOL: Liverpool’s Charlie Adam (right) fights for the ball against Sunderland’s Lee Cattermole during their English Premier League soccer match at Anfield Stadium yesterday. — AP

Frustrating start for new-look Liverpool Liverpool 1

Sunderland 1 LIVERPOOL: Liverpool made a frustrating start to the new Premier League season as Sebastian Larsson earned Sunderland a 11 draw at Anfield yesterday. All appeared to be going to plan for Kenny Dalglish’s expensively-assembled side when Luis Suarez, who had earlier missed a penalty, gave the hosts a 12th minute lead. But Liverpool’s defense has been less than convincing in pre-season and Larsson

took full advantage of some poor marking to volley home a 57th minute equalizer. It was a disappointing result for Liverpool, who have spent more than £100 million this year in an attempt to re-establish themselves in the top four after last season’s sixth-placed finish.

New signings Jordan Henderson, Stewart Downing, Charlie Adam and Jose Enrique all featured against Sunderland.

But it is clearly going to take the players time to gel after a disappointing second half performance by the hosts. Liverpool were seeking their first opening day win since 2008 - when they beat Sunderland at the Stadium of Light. Yet it is a sign of all the changes that have swept Anfield in the last two or three seasons that there

are only four players still around who started that match. Jose Reina and Jamie Carragher started this game.

But Steven Gerrard was absent as he continued his rehabilitation from a groin injury that forced him to miss last season’s run-in while Dirk Kuyt was edged out of Dalglish’s new-look team - despite finishing last season as the club’s leading Premier League scorer. Yet the transfer activity at Anfield has been nothing compared to the comings and goings at Sunderland. Steve Bruce has been the busiest manager in the Premier League this summer as far as signings are concerned. While Everton manager David Moyes is still waiting to make his first major addition, Bruce has signed no fewer

than 11 players, including Wes Brown and John O’Shea from Manchester United.

But it was another United old boy who gifted Liverpool a perfect chance to get their season up and running in the fifth minute when Kieran Richardson brought down Suarez in the area after the striker had charged down a clearance by the Sunderland player. Former England international Richardson escaped a red card from referee Phil Dowd and the player was breathing a sight of relief as Suarez blazed the spot kick well over the bar. But Suarez quickly redeemed himself as the former Ajax forward made amends with a glancing header at the near post which beat keeper Simon Mignolet after Adam had whipped in a 12th minute free-kick.

Anfield erupted and Sunderland were on the back-foot. Mignolet had his fingers stung by Adam’s fiercely struck 30-yard effort in the 22nd minute before Suarez fell victim to a cynical challenge by Lee Cattermole. It earned the 23-year-old Sunderland captain, who has been sent off five times in the last three seasons, his first booking of the season. Liverpool were in the ascendancy and only the woodwork prevented Sunderland from falling 2-0 behind in the 34th minute after Downing powered through the visitors midfield before unleashing a terrific 25yard drive. Then came a reminder on the stroke of half-time that this game was far from won as Sunderland’s Stephane Sessegnon almost diverted Larsson’s free-

Wolves fight back to beat Blackburn

Bolton maul QPR

Blackburn 1

QPR 0

Wolves 2 BLACKBURN: Wolverhampton Wanderers got their Premier League campaign off to a flying start as they came from behind to beat Blackburn Rovers 2-1 at Ewood Park yesterday. Steven Fletcher cancelled out Mauro Formica’s opener before Stephen Ward made it 2-1 moments after Kevin Doyle’s penalty had been saved by Paul Robinson. Blackburn only avoided relegation on the final day of last season, and it has been a relatively quiet summer on the transfer front for the club owned by Indian poultry giant Venky’s.

While promising defender Phil Jones was sold to Manchester United, Serbian international midfielder Radosav Petrovic and Scotland striker David Goodwillie are the only notable signings so far, and neither was in the starting line-up here. Summer recruits Roger Johnson and Jamie O’Hara started for Wolves, as did Kevin Doyle, who had been a pre-match injury doubt.

Blackburn thought they had scored the first goal of the new Premier League season inside the opening ten minutes, but the officials decided that Wolves ‘keeper Wayne Hennessey had got to Junior Hoilett’s shot just before it crossed the line. However, the hosts made the breakthrough on 19 minutes as Formica burst into the box to apply a fine finish after being set up by Jason Roberts. It was a dream Premier League debut for the Argentine, who was signed from Newell’s Old Boys in January, but Wolves were back on level terms within 90 seconds thanks to Fletcher’s header from a Matt Jarvis cross. The sides went in level at the interval, but Mick McCarthy’s side got off to a dream start to the second half. First, they won a penalty after Jarvis was brought down by Michel Salgado, only for Paul Robinson to save Doyle’s attempt from 12 yards. However, from the rebound, Wolves returned the ball into the box where Ward was on hand to make it 2-1. Home manager Steve Kean sent on Goodwillie and young striker Nick Blackman for their debuts as they pressed in search of an equalizer, but Wolves held on for an impressive three points. —AFP

kick into the net.

The visitors started the second half with Richardson going close, but it did not take Liverpool long to get back into their stride, the impressive Adam going close from 20-yards in front of the Kop. Liverpool’s defense leaked 15 goals in six friendly matches in pre-season and they came close to conceding a sloppy 52nd minute equalizer after Asamoah Gyan wastefully headed Larsson’s cross straight at Reina. But the home side did not heed the warning and Larsson, who was making his debut after signing from Birmingham, took advantage of some slack defending to hook home an equalizer following good work by Ahmed El Mohamady.—AFP

Bolton 4

NEWCASTLE: Newcastle United’s Joey Barton (second left) is pulled away from Arsenal’s Gervinho (right) during their English Premier League soccer match at St James’ Park, Newcastle yesterday. — AP

Gervinho sees red as Arsenal draw blank Arsenal 0

Newcastle 0 LONDON: Arsenal new boy Gervinho was sent

off as the Gunners prepared for life without Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri with a lackluster season-opening 0-0 draw at Newcastle yesterday.

Ivorian striker Gervinho, signed for £10 million from French champions Lille in July, was given his marching orders after raising his hands in an ugly confrontation with Newcastle midfielder Joey Barton on 76 minutes. While the flashpoint will grab the headlines, it could not mask an uninspired display by Arsenal, who seemed

bereft of ideas in the absence of Fabregas and Nasri, who were both absent pending their likely departure from the club. Fabregas is expected to be unveiled as a Barcelona player next week, while France international Nasri is poised to join Manchester City.

The creative skills of both men were sorely missed by Arsenal, who struggled to create anything even remotely resembling a goalscoring chance.—AFP

LONDON: QPR suffered a brutal mauling on their return to the Premier League yesterday, savaged 4-0 at home by Bolton on a disastrous afternoon for Neil Warnock’s newly promoted side. After the euphoria of last season, when QPR were promoted as champions from the Championship, Warnock’s men were brought down to earth with a crashing thud in front of a packed Loftus Road.

It started promisingly for the west Londoners when summer signing DJ Campbell got the ball in the net early on only to be denied by a flag for offside. But the wheels started to come off for Rangers after only five minutes, when summer signing Kieron Dyer-aiming to relaunch his career following an injury-plagued four-year spell at West Ham-was stretchered off. QPR held out until the stroke of half-time but were dealt a cruel blow when Bolton defender Gary Cahill curled in a superb effort from 25 yards.

Thereafter Rangers were always struggling to get back in the game and the writing was on the wall on 67 minutes when Danny Gabbidonanother of the home side’s summer signingturned in Chris Eagles’ free-kick for an own goal.

Three minutes later and QPR were 3-0 down, Ivan Klasnic latching on to a Kevin Davies knock down and firing a deflected shot into the far corner.

Klasnic then turned creator for Bolton’s fourth goal on 79 minutes, playing in Fabrice Muamba, who coolly finished. It hardly seemed possible, but the misery deepened for QPR in the closing minutes when Clint Hill was shown a red card for a deliberate heatbutt on Martin Petrov as Bolton played keep ball.—AFP

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Rolls-Royce expands Bespoke operation Page 23 SUNDAY, AUGUST 14, 2011

Burgan Bank wins ‘Best Private Bank in Kuwait’

US turmoil hits Kuwait equities Page 24

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LOS ANGELES: Consumer Sonia Romero shops for tomatoes at a Superior Grocers store in Los Angeles. As food costs continue rising, many grocery shoppers are seeking new ways to cut costs. — AP

End Washington ‘gridlock’: Obama Political divide is hurting economy WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama yesterday urged members of Congress to end what he termed a political “gridlock” in Washington by passing legislation aimed at creating more jobs.

“We can no longer let partisan brinksmanship get in our way - the idea that making it through the next election is more important than making things right,” the president said in his weekly radio and Internet address.

“That’s what’s holding us back - the fact that some in Congress would rather see their opponents lose than see America win,” he added. The comments came as Obama is assailed by foes in the Republican Party and elements of his

own Democratic base over turmoil in the economy, especially unemployment, which remains at 9.1 percent amid a stagnant recovery. Next week, he will try to reconnect with US voters on a bus tour of Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois as Americans are gripped by fear of a return to recession.

Obama acknowledged the country was facing “some very tough economic challenges,” but put the blame for slow recovery on the shoulders of Congress.

“But lately, the response from Washington has been partisanship and gridlock that’s only undermined public confidence and hindered our efforts to grow the economy,” he said.

The president urged lawmakers to approve a payroll tax cut, streamline the process of getting new patents for innovation and ratify free trade deals that he argued will help sell more Americanmade goods around the world. There was “no excuse for inaction,” he said.

“After all, America voted for divided government, not dysfunctional government, and we’ve got work to do,” Obama pointed out.

Obama said that bitter fights between Democrats and Republicans in Washington were hurting the economy and he urged lawmakers to embrace compromise in order to boost job growth.

Channeling citizens’ anger at Congress will be one of his key themes, which he rolled out on a trip to Michigan this week and in his weekly radio and Internet address yesterday.

Obama said the side show in Washington had gotten in the way of efforts to bring down high unemployment. “Lately, the response from Washington has been partisanship and gridlock that’s only undermined public confidence and hindered our efforts to grow the economy,” he said in his weekly address. “So while there’s nothing wrong with our country, there is something wrong with our politics, and that’s what we’ve got to fix.”

ing something akin to a single budget policy. You can’t have one without the other,” Osborne said yesterday.

“An unstable euro is very bad news for us, we have to ensure that our influence on important decisions like financial services is not undermined. But we do yes have to allow greater fiscal union while protecting our own national interest.” Britain has held onto its pound currency and is only part of discussions over the European debt crisis as a member of the broader European Union.

Italian Economy Minister Giulio Tremonti, however, also renewed a cal l fo r co mmon European b o nds yesterday, say in g th ey would be the best solution for a deb t crisis w hich h e said still risked spreading to other countries. Speak ing a day after the government adopted a 45.5 billion euro package of spending cuts and tax hikes aimed at restoring confidence in Italy ’s public finances, Tremon ti made a renewed plea for common debt issuance in the euro zone.

“A greater degree of integration and consolidation of public finances in Europe is necessary,” Tremonti told a news conference

tion, was hurting the economy.

“Every day, small business owners, job creators and entrepreneurs are bombarded with new regulations and higher costs, discouraging these employers from expanding their businesses and hiring additional workers,” Toomey said. “The number of regulations has only increased since President Obama came into office. The Federal Register, containing all federal regulations, now totals a whopping 49,000 pages, covering everything from paint, to dust, cement, to cars, medicine and livestock.” Toomey said the “most harmful” regulations should be eliminated. — Agencies

Iran threatens to take gas project off China

Italy, UK press case for deeper EU fiscal ties LONDON: Britain’s finance minister called for some form of fiscal union to resolve the euro-zone’s debt crisis yesterday, while his Italian counterpart renewed a call for the introduction of common euro-zone bonds.

After more than a year of piecemeal responses to the euro-zone’s still-expanding debt crisis, some economists and policymakers are mak i n g t h e c a s e fo r b ro ader changes to how the currency bloc works. The spread of market concerns in the crisis to France in the past week have raised the stakes further ahead of a meeting of the bloc’s French and German leaders next week-both of whom have opposed more radical moves to date.

UK Chancellor George Osborne said deeper integration had been the inevitable conclusion from the start of the single currency project. Asked if the only answer for the health of the euro zone was some kind of fiscal union, he told BBC radio: “ The short answer is yes.”

“I was against Britain joining the single currency. One of the reasons ... was because i thought the remorseless logic of having a single currency is you end up hav-

Repeating a call he has issued numerous times in recent weeks, Obama pressed for Congress to extend a payroll tax cut, put unemployed construction workers to work building US infrastructure projects, finish outstanding trade pacts and cut “red tape” for entrepreneurs. “We can no longer let partisan brinksmanship get in our way the idea that making it through the next election is more important than making things right,” he said.

“So you’ve got a right to be frustrated. I am.”Republican Senator Pat Toomey said in his party’s weekly address that government regulation, especially from the Obama administra-

ROME: Italian Finance Minister Giulio Tremonti arrives at a press conference in Rome’s Chigi palace, Premier’s office, yesterday.— AP

to explain the austerity package. “ The best solution would have been the euro bond, with various possible models which could have been adopted,” he said.

Tremonti noted that he and Luxembourg Prime Minister JeanClaude Juncker had long argued in favor of joint euro bonds and he believed the trend was pointing towards closer coordination of fiscal policies. “We expect developments which we think could and should take us in a direction towards fiscal consolidation and

integration in Europe,” he said.

The issue of common European de b t woul d a l l ow we a ke r a nd more indebted states to benefit from the higher rating of countries like Germany to issue debt more cheaply.

But Germany and France have so far opposed any common debt issuance, arguing that it would remove a key driver of fiscal discipline in individual member states and push up their own borrowing costs as AAA-rated sovereigns. — Reuters

TEHRAN: Iran reiterated to China yesterday it could take back control of a gas field being developed by its national oil company unless it speeds up investment, one week after the new Iranian oil minister said no foreign contractors were needed.

“Ultimatums will certainly be given to the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) if the delays in developing the phase 11 of South Pars continues,” Ahmad Qalebani, Head of National Iranian Oil Co. (NIOC) was quoted as saying by the semi-official Mehr news agency.

The National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) said in June that it would “replace CNPC with domestic companies” if the Chinese company did not step up the pace of the project, and the latest warning came after Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi said Iran’s Revolutionary Guards’ engineering arm should take over from foreign companies. “If the current trend of the development of South Pars phase 11 continues, it is also possible that the whole contract be ceded to powerful domestic contractors,” Qalebani said.

Qasemi joined the Oil Ministry this month after heading Khatam al-Anbia, the Revolutionary Guards’ company that has become increasingly active in Iran’s energy sector and many other parts of the economy. The Guards, Khatam AlAnbia and Qasemi himself are all under sanctions imposed by countries, including the United States and the European

Union, that accuse them of involvement in helping Iran develop nuclear technology that could be use for weapons, something Tehran denies it is seeking.

Tehran signed a $4.7 billion contract with CNPC in 2009 to help develop phase 11 of South Pars-the giant gas field that Iran shares with Qatar-replacing France’s Total SA which it had accused of repeated delays.

Total and other European companies were forced to pull out of Iran by tightened EU sanctions that banned companies from investing in Iran’s oil and gas industries. US companies were already banned.

Analysts expected Asian companies to take much of that business, but Iran has expressed dissatisfaction with the pace of work. Iran has the second biggest gas reserves in the world after Russia, but sanctions over its disputed nuclear program and other factors have slowed its development as a major exporter.

The offshore South Pars field, the world’s largest reservoir of gas, contains about half of the estimated 28 trillion cubic meters of the country’s gas reserves.

Iran said last year production at South Pars rose by nearly 30 percent during 2009-10 and that the field is expected to generate income of up to $130 billion annually once all 24 development phases are completed.—Reuters

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Burgan Bank wins ‘Best Private Bank in Kuwait’ Prestigious award by World Finance

Chairman Masaud Hayat

UGB announces first half profit of $13.3 million

KUWAIT: Burgan Bank yesterday announced that it has been awarded the prestigious “2011 Best Private Bank in Kuwait” award by World Finance, one of the world’s most influential and leading financial magazine.

The award comes in recognition of Burgan Bank’s continuous commitment towards providing excellent services to its private banking clientele, and its vision to implement international best practices to ensure the delivery of a trusted premium private banking service.

Burgan Bank’s success was announced at the World Finance Banking Awards 2011 in London. Winners were chosen

BAHRAIN: United Gulf Bank (UGB), the asset management and investment banking platform of the KIPCO Group, yesterday announced its financial results for the six months ended 30 June, 2011.

Key Financial Highlights * Net profit of $13.3 million (1H10: $31.8 million) * Total income during first half decreased to $63.5 million (1H10: $72.5 million) * Earnings per share 1.62¢ (1H10: 3.88¢) * Total assets of $1.78 billion (1H10: $1.82 billion) Financial Performance UGB’s total income was $37.2 million during the three months to 30 June, 2011 compared to $44.9 million in the same period in 2010. Net profit for the three months to 30 June, 2011 decreased by 65% to $8.5 million compared to the three months ended 30 June, 2010.

In 2010, UGB recorded a gain of $ 43.8 million on the sale of Tunis International Bank. Excluding the gain, UGB recorded a substantial increase in net profit in the second quarter of 2011 compared to same period last year. On a six months basis, UGB recorded a total income of $63.5 million for the first half of 2011 compared to $72.5 million for the six months ended 30 June, 2010.

Net profit for the six months to 30 June, 2011 was $ 13.3 million, compared to $31.8 million for the first half of 2010.

UGB’s total assets stood at $1.78 billion as at 30 June, 2011, a decrease from $1.92 billion as at 31 December, 2010. The decrease in assets is a result of UGB’s strategy to reduce its non-core assets including some real estate holdings.

During the second quarter, UGB raised a total of $312 million in medium-term funding of and repaid a $ 115 million club loan. UGB’s financial services company - KAMCO - also raised $43 million net in medium term funds and repaid $ 71 million of bonds in the quarter.

UGB’s assets under management at the end of the second quarter were $7.5 billion, compared to $7.6 billion for the three months ended 31 March, 2011.

Commenting on UGB’s first half results, bank’s Chairman, Masaud Hayat, said: “During the second quarter, UGB raised a total of $312 million in medium term funding.

This ability to raise this level of funding reflects our solid reputation amongst the financial community.

These funds have strengthened our balance sheet and allow us far greater financial flexibility as we move forwards.

This strong liquidity and healthy capital position combined with our conservative assert valuations provide a very strong base for UGB’s growth potential.”

by a judging panel of international industry experts from companies such as rating agencies as well as from some of the region’s leading financial centers in addition to subscribersbased voting.

Eduardo Eguren, Burgan Bank’s CEO said: “We are very pleased with our recent achievement of being recognized as the “Best Private Bank” in Kuwait 2011. I would like to thank our customers for this trust and our colleagues in the private banking for this achievement.” May Al-Mudhaf, Burgan Bank’s Chief Investment Banking and Treasury Officer said, “We are extremely delight-

ed to have won the “2011 Best Private Banking” award from a global publication. This recognition motivates us to enhancing our premium banking services to our clients. This recognition brings more responsibility on myself and my colleagues at Burgan Private Banking and we are committed to further excel in our offerings to maintain our customers’ valuable trust” “Earlier in 2007, Burgan Bank was recognized by Euromoney as the Best Local Private Bank in Kuwait, This year’s award by World Finance is again, an additional recognition of our commitment to attain trust through excellence,” added Al-Mudhaf.

Lulu Group opens new Hypermarket in Mushrif Mall, Abu Dhabi 230,000 sq feet, will offer a whole world of shopping convenience with popular brands of a wide variety of product lines under one roof. Obviously the main focus area of the new LuLu Hypermarket will be the extensive supermarket section with fresh vegetables, fruits, butchery and delicatessen serving hot and ready-to-eat foods, as

etail major Lulu Hypermarket Group opened its latest and stateof-the-art hypermarket at Mushrif Mall, the new shopping landmark of Abu Dhabi. With the opening of this new outlet, the total number of branches for the Group reaches ninety-four.

The latest Lulu Hypermarket in UAE, which was built on a total area of

R

well as special counters serving the best of bakes and cakes, and an array of Arabic sweets and delicacies. In addition, a separate section is dedicated to a wide range of electronics and IT products, white goods, fashion garments, sports equipments, stationery and more.

In keeping with its endeavor to provide the best quality products in the most hygienic manner, Lulu hypermarket has invested heavily in specialized areas to handle products, including the latest storage facilities, modern baking and cooking machines and others.

Apart from this, the store has more than thirty cash counters for hassle-free shopping and ample parking facility.

The new outlet is also an eco-friendly project, featuring state-of-the-art logistics, refrigeration, LED lighting, cooling system, and bio-degradable bags to reduce carbon footprint.

Talking to media after the opening, Yusuffali MA, Managing Director of Lulu Group said, “It has always been our policy to bring world-class shopping experience closer to the people rather than making them drive long distance.” He added, “ Even though there have been talks of economic slowdown in the market, we have decided to carry on with our expansion plans of reaching the figure of 100 stores by the end of 2011 and to do our small bit to further strengthen the regional economic scenario.”

He further said that Lulu Group is all set to open two new hypermarkets during the 2nd half of this year, at Madinat Zayed Shopping Centre in Abu Dhabi in the

few coming weeks, and also in Ras AlKhaimah.

Lulu Group investments are spread all over the Gulf region as well as in Egypt, and Yemen. Its expansion plan includes opening new hypermarkets in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Bahrain in the coming months. Yusuffali said that the Group’s expansion plans were not affected by the world financial crisis as its business is related to the retail sector, which was the least affected by the crisis. He pointed out that the Group has already opened around twenty branches during 2009 and 2010, both within and outside the UAE. Today Lulu group dominates in the Middle-East with over thirty-two percent of the retail hypermarket sector.

On the occasion of opening the new hypermarket, the group is offering special and exclusive discounts on a large selection of goods, in addition to the stabilizing prices of 40 essential products in coordination with the Ministry of Economy.

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

.2705380 .4377850 .3858140 .3663340 .2737960 .2782350 .0060120 .0024730 .0736860 .7178930 .3826560 .0721630 .7029700 .0064040 .0458530

CUSTOMER TRANSFER RATES US Dollar/KD .2719500 GB Pound/KD .4400690 Euro .3878280 Swiss francs .3682460 Canadian dollars .2752250 Danish Kroner .0520460 Swedish Kroner .0417170 Australian dlr .2796870 Hong Kong dlr .0348660 Singapore dlr .2245660 Japanese yen .0035530 Indian Rs/KD .0000000 Sri Lanka rupee .0000000 Pakistan rupee .0000000 Bangladesh taka .0000000 UAE dirhams .0740710 Bahraini dinars .7216400 Jordanian dinar .0000000 Saudi Riyal/KD .0725390 Omani riyals .7066390 Philippine Peso .0000000

.2757540 .4462250 .3932520 .3733970 .2790750 .2835990 .0061280 .0025210 .0751060 .7317330 .3900330 .0735540 .7165220 .0065270 .0467370 .2740500 .4434680 .3908230 .3710900 .2773500 .0524480 .0420390 .2818470 .0351360 .2263010 .0035800 .0060900 .0025050 .0031870 .0036830 .0746430 .7272120 .3876240 .0730990 .7120960 .0064860

Bangladesh Taka Philippine Peso Thai Baht Irani Riyal - Transfer Irani Riyal - Cash Saudi Riyal Qatari Riyal Omani Riyal Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham

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

ASIAN COUNTRIES 3.636 6.016 3.150 2.489 3.774 225.910 35.090

GCC COUNTRIES 72.923 75.137 710.280 726.320 74.462

ARAB COUNTRIES Egyptian Pound - Cash 47.500 Egyptian Pound - Transfer 45.836 Yemen Riyal 1.251 Tunisian Dinar 199.720 Jordanian Dinar 386.170 Lebanese Lira 1.835 Syrian Lier 5.903 Morocco Dirham 34.955 EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIES US Dollar Transfer 273.350 Euro 393.620 Sterling Pound 449.110 Canadian dollar 281.250 Turkish lire 153.940 Swiss Franc 358.400 Australian dollar 283.030 US Dollar Buying 272.150

SELL CASH

SELL DRAFT

286.400 726.610 3.860 279.300 536.700 36.300 53.200 167.800 47.920 393.500 35.740 6.290

284.900 726.610 3.654 277.800

226.800 45.882 392.000 35.590 6.025

0.033 0.241 0.238 3.650 388.030 0.185 92.880 47.200 4.210 230.900 1.853 51.000 709.640 3.260 6.590 75.590 72.950 226.830 40.630 2.628 448.500 43.200 355.800 5.600 9.470 198.263 74.490 273.600 1.220

0.033

386.140 0.184 92.880 3.780 229.400

354.300 5.600 9.330 74.390 273.200

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

Currency

Selling Rate

273.150 272.145 447.576 392.129 336.282 724.214 74.342 74.975 72.800 384.485 45.882 2.485 6.055

3.166 3.655 6.424 670.004 3.573 9.225 5.743 3.937 90.730

Rate per 1000 (Tran)

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

TRAVELLER’S CHEQUE 446.500 273.200

Dollarco Exchange Co. Ltd Rate for Transfer

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

Kuwait Bahrain Intl Exchange Co. 709.460 3.170 6.425 75.160 72.950 226.830 40.630 2.488 446.500

GOLD 1,787.870

Sterling Pound US Dollar

Bahrain Exchange Company

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

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 10 Tola

GOLD 322.000 165.000 85.000

20 Gram 10 Gram 5 Gram

COUNTRY

Al-Muzaini Exchange Co.

3.650 6.408 9.135 0.271 0.273

273.100 3.175 6.045 2.495 3.660 6.460 74.455 73.030 726.100 45.845 448.200 0.00003280 3.910 1.550 388.000 5.750 395.000 283.000

Al Mulla Exchange Currency

US Dollar Euro Pound Sterling Canadian Dollar Japanese Yen Indian Rupee Egyptian Pound Sri Lankan Rupee Bangladesh Taka Philippines Peso Pakistan Rupee Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham Saudi Riyal *Rates are subject to change

Transfer Rate (Per 1000)

272.750 391.900 445.000 278.000 3.580 6.020 45.825 2.486 3.652 6.415 3.170 726.450 74.325 72.875

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business Hanan Aryan wins KD 125,000 NBK’s top Al-Jawhara prize KUWAIT: National Bank of Kuwait (NBK ) recently announced the names of the Al-Jawhara draw prize winners for the month of August 2011 which was conducted at NBK’s Head Office. The first prize of KD 125,000 went to Hanan Adnan Mohd Jawad Aryan, while the second place winner Jehad Fawzi Dagher received KD 7,500. The third winner Ali Ahmed Abdulmohsen Alsaleh was awarded KD 3,000 and the remaining 97 winners were awarded KD 400 each.

The winner of the first prize of KD 125,000 Hanan Aryan said: “I was not expecting to win this valuable prize and was truly surprised and excited when I first heard the news.

During the holy month of Ramadan, I’ll make sure that I use part of the prize money to increase my contributions to charity. NBK has always provided great customer service and rewarding offerings.

Thank you NBK.”

AL JAWHARA WINNERS August 2011 Sr.#

Cert. No.

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39418014 47239328 18009751 69019827 61023868 42533767 16472330 61006319 18132693 71009116 23199970 18279686 11256532 4953282 60071168 15373355 48183725 11288884 14278227 61022322 35127473 53045459 36245704 18162010 39647420 9972021 39051021 15434249 102315981 28131789 55056237 100543723 57019223 102166617 1462911 102607575 12091073 65091566 47084391 60039892 10006494 8933219 37131214 48175668 57011192 23221968 65038053 80001912 62109308 817139 42549140 62014676 48195979 102040028 55030882 102467323 102069468 40196127 39550338 26170639 28160754 14220180 20147260 23224452 45099006 4338103 171352 59121947 29036100 957097 13449893 21257620 21257620 35057963 70012830 5199719 37250051 11268093 47380039 1470426 11126876 55031897 27363279 40266583 9375279 54114586 43022227 102563977 1442546 5337771 23352671 100452132 51085801 32853475 55072550 16046625 40323641 39638952 12377201 28105885

Name of Customer HANAN ADNAN MOHD JAWAD ARYAN JEHAD FAWZI DAGHER ALI AHMED ABDULMOHSEN ALSALEH MOHAMMAD IBRAHEEM KHALIL MODHAFAR NASSER HAYAWI NASSER JASSEM NIKOLAY KONOVALOV SHADIA EKHTAR WAHAB HAMAD THAMIR HUWIL ALDUGHILBI AMEIA ABDULLA MAKKI ALSAYRAFI MOUSA QASIM ABDULLAH TALAL OTHMAN KHALED ABDULLA ALI HASSAN ALI BUHAMED KHALED MOHAMMAD ABDULLAH ALHMAIDY NAJEBAH JASEM ABDULLA ALFRAIH SALWA AHMAD MUHANNA ORWAH ALI AL OMAR LATIFA ABDULLA SALMAN ALMUTAIRI ABDULSAMAD GHOLOUM HUSSAIN NADOUM MONIRA JASER MOHD ALAMAWI HAMAD RESLI HAMAD BORESLI MOHAMED MOUBAREK MOHSEN ALAZMI ABDULLAH SAMIR ABDULLAH AL MASHAAN BADER AWADH LAZZAM ALRESHIDI FARIDA ABDULLA ALI AL HARZ HUSSAIN MOHAMMED ABDULMAJED YOUSEF ABDULRAZAQ ABDULAZIZ NASER ALLHOU SULAFA MOHAMAD JABER HASSAN HADEED SALMAN MUBARK HAJRAS ALRASHEDI MIN SALMAN AHMED SALEH ALASHWAK ABDULLA MOHD IBRAHIM ALANSARI MOHAMMED ALQALLI AMRITLAL B. THAKKAR BUTHAINA MUBARAK ABDULMOHSEN ALANJARI FAIHAA NASER FEHAIN ALMUTAIRI ABDULHAKIM MOHAMMED EDRIS TEFLA SAEL SAHMI AL OTAIBI JASEM ALI BAQER ASHKANANI ADIL JABER KAZEM ALSHIMIRI YAQOUB ALI KHAIRALLA BOUTALEB BADREYA AHMED SALEH ALQALAF HUSAIN ABBAS IBRAHIM ALSAFAR MOHD SALEM ZNAIFER ALAJMI IBJAD MOHAMMED ABDELRAZAQ ALBUTI EMAN AHMAD ABDULLA ALADEEB KHALID MOHD EBRAHIM ALHASSON NAYEF MOHAMMED JABER AL NEAMAH HANAN MOHAMED RAGHEB BANAT JESUS LOM BOY DE VERA REBAIH MUBARAK REBAIH ALAJMI AHMED ESSA MOHD ALQAOUD HAMAD AHMAD SALEH ALBUSAIRI ALI HUSSAIN HASAN ALNASER KENAWY MAHMOUD KENAWY SALEH KENAWY MAHA MAMDOOH ABDULLAH ABDALRAHEEM LAMA IHSAN SALEM ALKHATEEB NABIL HUSSAIN ALHUNAIDI MOHAMED MAHMOUD SAYED EID NEVINE RAMSIS FAHMY ELHAM ABDULRAZAQ NAJEM ALAROOJ MIN ABDULAZIZ SOUD MUTLAQ ALAJMI AATIF MOHAMMED KAMEL FAISAL OMAR SALEH ALDAIJ FADEL SAYED ABBAS SAYED HUSSAIN SAYED ALI DEENA JASSIM MOHAMMED ALDHUBAIB IBTESAM FAISAL BADER THAIF CEYDA OSKAY OMAR ABDULHALIM ALTAJJAR MIN ANFAL MOHAMED ABDALAZIZ AHMAD MUHSEN FUHAID ALLAH ALAJMI AHMAD JASSIM ABDULLATIF ALHUMAIZI ANOUD ALI MOHAMMED SABHAN KARIMAH ABBAS SAAD LAILA ABDEEN ABDULLAH MAHMOUD FAJRI NASSAR FAJRI ALAZMI ABDULRAHMAN MOHAMMED SAGHEER AL ENIZI MAHMOUD SAMI AHMAD JOUHAR AFRAH JAFAR RAMADAN MULLA ALI TAHANI ABDULAZIZ SAOUD ALSAQER NASHAT WAHIB ABI KHAIR MUSTAFA AKBAR ALI BHINDERWALA FAISAL AHMAD ALI ALSULTAN NASSER BADER ALI ALHOUTTI ABDULKHAREEM KHEDER ABDULLA AAYED MOHAMMED MOHAMMED ALI NASSAR FAISAL WALEED MAHMOOD ALHASAN ANFAL AHMAD ALI KARIMI ALI ABBAS ALI TAQQI MAHA AHMED ABDULMOHSEN ALMUTAWA ABEDIN ALI HUSAIN KHAN WALA CAROLINA BUENO MILES SETHI RAM KAUR SINGH AND OR SETHI KAUR FATEMA ARAHMAN SAEED ALARAHMAN AHLAM AHMAD HAKEM SALEH DANA ABDULRASOOL ALWAN SAFAR LAMEES MAHMOUD SAYED ISMAEL BEHBEHANI KHAIREYAH YASIN KHALAF ESRAA ABDULLAH ISMAEEL ABDULLAH AHMED MOHAMMED AHMED SULAIMAN TAYOUBAH JASEM MOHAMMED KHALED ALI ABDELMOHSEN ABAALKHEEL

Prize 125000 7500 3000 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400

Rolls-Royce expands Bespoke operation on growing demand A surge of team members at super-luxury motor car firm GOODWOOD: Rolls-Royce Motor Cars is expanding its Bespoke operation due to growing customer demand for bespoke items, a trademark service by the British manufacturer of super-luxur y motor cars.

The Bespoke operation, based at the Home of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars at Goodwood in West Sussex, will see a surge of team members, including designers, engineers and project management staff, doubling the headcount by the end of 2011. It will bring the number of Bespoke experts throughout the business to over 50.

This year, Rolls-Royce has seen a significant increase in customer demand for personalized bespoke features, transforming the brand’s super-luxur y cars into unique hand-crafted masterpieces which are as individual as their owner’s fingerprints. In order to satisfy

demand, the business is recruiting additional Bespoke designers as well as engineers in manufacturing and project management functions. Operational support functions will also expand in various areas including product marketing and sales.

Bespoke operations are not limited to design and development of automotive parts. Bespoke allows the company’s customers the luxury of commissioning motor cars to suit their personal lifestyles.

Examples are as versatile and unique as picnic sets that are colormatched to a car’s interior, carefully selected luxurious interior materials or the creation of seamless storage for an owner’s favorite belongings. “The ability to bespoke one’s vehicle has always been at the heart of Rolls-Royce so it is very encouraging to see that after more than one hundred years at the very

pinnacle of the automotive world, our Bespoke services are still very much in demand from customers

all over the world today”, explained Member of the Board and Director, Sales and Marketing, Jolyon Nash.

Joyalukkas Chennai Showroom, world’s largest jewelry showroom Coveted recognition by Limca Book of Records KUWAIT: The Limca Book of Records has recognized the flagship and landmark jewelry showroom of Joyalukkas in Chennai as the largest in the world. The certificate was awarded by Vijaya Ghose, Editor, Limca Book of Records to Joyalukkas. The Limca Book of Records is a record book of Indian Origin published with the patronage of Coca Cola India.

The book published in 3 languages ieEnglish, Hindi and Malayalam celebrates and recognizes feats and achievements of Indian Origin.

The Joyalukkas, Chennai showroom which received the Limca Book of Records recognition is a sprawling jewelry showroom spread across 5 floors with 4 floors dedicated for jewelry shoppers and the 5th floor reserved for the administration, marketing and jewelry sorting team of Joyalukkas.

This landmark showroom of Joyalukkas located on T Nagar in Chennai also features a unique diamond cave to enlighten customers, visitors and school children on the start to finish process of manufacturing diamond jewelry.

This first of its kind diamond cave attracts a lot of visitors especially school children who feel it’s an enjoyable and enlightening experience.

“To strengthen the ‘world’s favorite jeweler’ positioning we need to launch projects and initiatives that compliment it. The first time I saw this building being construc ted in Chennai, I decided this would be the Joyalukkas flagship showroom in Tamil Nadu and we would also make a statement with it.

So we decided to make it the biggest jewelry

showroom and add a novelty in it in the form of a diamond cave. The jewelry customer in Chennai have accepted us with open arms are supporting us whole- heartedly. I dedicate this achievement to our valued customers and the Joyalukkas staff who have been the backbone of the success of Brand Joyalukkas,” said Joy

Joy Alukkas with the award

Alukkas , Managing Director, Joyalukkas.

The sprawling 4 floors of the Joyalukkas Chennai showroom houses over a million jewelr y designs in Gold, Diamond, Platinum, Precious Stone, Pearl, Silver and an exclusive corner for Kids jewelry. The dedicated floors and corners of this showroom for the various types of jewelry, features ethnic to contemporary designs and renowned brands that appeal to all types of jewelry lovers. The added convenience is the ample parking space available for shoppers, which has been well received and appreciated by the jewelr y lovers of Chennai.

“Our customers support and appreciation pushes us to do more and better for them. At Joyalukkas we will continue to strive to delight our customers and make them feel proud of their patronage to Joyalukkas. I also would like to thank the Limca Book of Records for this recognition and honor,” added Joy Alukkas.

Joyalukkas is recognized for its superior quality products, popular designs and patterns, exceptional service and state-of-the-art showrooms. All Joyalukkas outlets offer 100% BSI hallmarked gold jewelry, 100% IGI certified diamond jewelry and 100% PGI certified platinum jewelry. Joyalukkas is also the first jewelry to be recognized with the ISO 9001 and 14001 certification. Many renowned trade bodies and government departments have also honored Joyalukkas with various awards and recognition for their exceptional performance in various aspects of jewelry retailing.

LG to unveil new, 12kg capacity front-load washing machine in UAE KUWAIT: LG Electronics (LG) will unveil its new 12kg front-load washing machine, the largest capacity washer ever introduced in the standard-sized class. The new washer also comes with improved energy and water efficiency that more than offsets the demands of its heavier loads. Packed with topgrade features, the washing machine’s 6 Motion Direct Drive technology tailors it’s washing cycles depending on particular fabric types, while TrueSteam provides an enhanced deep-clean performance and family care, and SMART DIAGNOSIS provides stress-free assistance to keep the machine in perfect working order. “Consumers in today’s home appliance industry expect more than just technological upgrades,” said H.S. Paik, President of LG Electronics Gulf FZE. “They expect better performance, reduced energy costs and improved reliability. Our new washing machine, with the largest capacity in the standard-sized class, meets the demand in all of these areas.”

Bigger Is Better: Get More Done with the Largest-In-Class Capacity With a 12kg capacity, the washer handles more and larger items, while leaving clothes less tangled or wrinkled and enabling more washing in fewer loads.

Rather than using belts and pulleys, the machine’s Inverter Direct Drive(tm) motor delivers power directly to the drum, significantly reducing vibration and extending the life of the washing machine.

Elimination of the belts and pulleys also helps cut energy use, while freeing up space in the machine’s interior which makes possible to have big capacity drum. In addition, the Inverter Direct Drive(tm) motor’s low noise levels mean wash cycles won’t disturb anyone, even at night, while its reliability is backed up with a 10-year Motor warranty.

6 Motion Direct Drive: With five more programmed movement cycles than a conventional washing machine, LG’s 6 Motion Direct Drive Technology washer provides a unique range of cycles, each one tailor-made to suit different fabric types. An

intelligent selection of drum motions means that clothes stay cleaner and last longer. Moreover, thanks to the precise position and speed control of the Inverter Direct Drive, washers equipped with 6 Motion Direct Drive Technology also offer a 10 percent improvement in washing performance over conventional units. Emphasis has been placed on utility and flexibility, so whether protecting delicate items from damage, enabling enhanced wrinkle care, or dissolving detergent more efficiently, 6 Motion’s multiple settings ensure that everything from work jeans to baby clothes comes out looking and feeling its absolute best. While delivering a washing performance that is equally gentle and thorough in the same time, 6 Motion Direct Drive Technology keeps clothes cleaner and brighter with less damage and better energy efficiency as A+++.

TrueSteam: Gentle but Effective LG’s Steam Generator technology converts water into steam with less water and energy than conventional systems. The steam penetrates deep into fabrics and removes allergens and mites without damaging or hardening soft fabrics. The machine’s anti-allergenic functions have been certified by the British Allergy Foundation. LG’s steam technology also includes a steam refreshing feature that pays particular attention to reducing wrinkles and odors. By using steam rather than water or detergent, LG has received verification from Intertek, a European safety agency.

SMART DIAGNOSIS: Push, Hold, and Listen LG’s SMART DIAGNOSIS(tm) enables customers to solve their machine’s problem quickly and efficiently over the phone, thereby keeping costly and inconvenient service calls to a minimum. Once the service technician is on the line, the customer pushes the SMART DIAGNOSIS button on the washing machine to release a series of tones that let the technician identify what the problem is. In the near future, consumers will also be able to diagnose their washing machines at home via a downloadable mobile application on their smart phone or tablet PC.

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US turmoil hits Kuwait equities BAYAN WEEKLY MARKET REPORT KUWAIT: Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) ended last week in the red zone. The price index ended the week with a decrease amounted to 3.55%, while the weighted index declined by 4.15% compared to the closings of the week before.

Moreover, last week’s average daily turnover increased by 29.64%, compared to the preceding week, whereas trading volume average recorded a growth of 72.43%.

Last week, the market witnessed a random selling trend, included most of the listed stocks, which dragged the price index to below 6,000 point level, ending the week at its lowest level since the closing of August 2004.

In addition, the market was impacted by the negative forecast of “Standard & Poor’s” decision on decrease of the USA’s long-term rating to AA+. This rating had negatively affected the international and regional financial markets as a whole, combined with the decline in oil prices.

Furthermore, trading operations concentrated on blue-chips and operational stocks, as well as Banks sector stocks, which caused a noticeable increase in liquidity levels compared to a week

before last week.

Also, the market was able to make limited gains to both its indices in some sessions, meeting the growth recorded by the international stock markets; as it witnessed some buying and holding operations especially on earlier retreated stocks, mostly stocks of Banks sector.

However, the profit taking operations that followed had a stronger negative effect on the market.

On the other hand, the traders were still waiting for the remaining listed companies’ announcements for their first half financial results, as until last week 104 listed companies announced its result representing 48% of 215 total numbers of listed companies. The total profits for them was approximately KD1 billion with a retreat of 28% compared to the same period last year, where it was KD1.39 billion.

By the end of the week, the price index closed at 5,850.6 points, down by 3.55% from the week before closing, whereas the weighted index registered a 4.15% weekly loss after closing at 403.73 points.

6-month results By mid of last trading day of the week, 117 companies announced their results for the 6 Months 2011 with a total net profits amounting to KD 1 billion, with retreat of 28.39% compared to the same period of last year, which amounted to KD 1.40 billion.

The Services sector came first in terms of total net profits for the Period, with a total of KD 503.13 million, followed by the Banks sector with a total of KD 294.72 million, then the non-Kuwaiti companies sector in the third place with KD 54.02 million.

Sectors’ indices All of KSE’s sectors ended last week in the red zone except for one sector. The nonKuwaiti Companies sector headed the losers list as its index declined by 5.37% to end the week’s activity at 5,383.4 points.

The Investment sector was second on the losers’ list, which index declined by 5.31%, closing at 3,584.4 points, followed by the Banks sector, as its index closed at 11,413.6

points at a loss of 4.24%. The Food sector was the least declining as its index closed at 4,164.1 points with a 2.51% decrease. On the other hand, the Insurance sector was last week only gainer, which index grew by 0.60%, closing at 2,611.4 points.

Sectors’ activity The real estate sector dominated total trade volume during last week with 123.45 million shares changing hands, representing 25.51% of the total market trading volume. The Investment sector was second in terms trading volume as the sector’s traded shares were 24.48% of last week’s total trading volume, with a total of 118.45 million shares.

On the other hand, the Banks sec tor ’s stocks where the highest traded in terms of value; with a turnover of KD 46.56 million or 46.51% of last week’s total market trading value. The Services sector took the second place as the sector’s last week turnover of KD 26.19 million represented 26.16% of the total market trading value.

Market capitalization KSE total market capitalization declined by 4.14% during last week to reach KD 28.40 billion, as all of KSE’s sectors recorded a decrease in their respective market capitalization except for one sector. The Investment sector headed the decliners list as its total market capitalization reached KD 2.08 billion, decreasing by 7.93%. The Non Kuwaiti Companies sector was the second in terms of recorded decline with 6.09% decrease after the total value of its listed companies reached KD 1.73 billion.

The third place was for the Industry sector, which total market capitalization reached KD 2.22 billion by the end of the week, recording a decline of 4.27%. The Food sector was the least declining with 1.71% recorded decrease after its market capitalization amounted to KD 720.84 million. On the other hand, the Insurance sector was last week’s only gainer as its total market capitalization increased by 0.59% to reach, by the end of the week, KD 303.93 million.

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‘More dangerous’ times ahead: World Bank chief ‘Euro-zone debt issues troubling’

Barrak Intl Center Co, Sony Ericsson launch Xperia arc in Kuwait Xperia arc takes the stunning design language that Sony Ericsson has become known for to a new level.

Super slim and light, Xperia arc is just 8.7mm at its thinnest part and has an extra wide 4.2” multi-touch screen.

Created from premium materials and with a stunning arc body, this smartphone is sleek, strong and designed to fit perfectly in the user’s hand. The best of Sony technology is inside Xperia arc.

The Reality Display with Mobile BRAVIA

Engine delivers exceptional visual brilliance and a crystal clear image which enhances the overall entertainment experience.

Furthermore, Sony’s award-winning Exmor R for mobile sensor with the f/2.4 lens enables the capture of high quality, bright pictures and HD videos even in low light. All pictures and videos can be shared in HD on your living room TV via the built in HDMI-connector.

German warning over EFSF ratification BERLIN: The president of Germany’s parliament has warned Chancellor Angela Merkel against attempting to railroad measures to extend the euro-zone’s crisis fund through parliament next month.

“The European recovery mechanism issue is so important that parliament cannot debate it with the necessary care and vote on it in the course of just a few days,” Norbert Lammert, a member of Merkel’s Christian Democratic Party (CDU), told Sunday ’s edition of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung paper. “It will hardly be possible to deal with the matter between September 20 and 23,” the time slot allocated by the government to push through the measures decided by European leaders on July 21 in a bid to strengthen the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) fund to guarantee Greek bonds, he said.

European governments want to rush measures through their respective parliaments to steady the nerves of financial markets which saw panic selling over the past week.

“It’s up to parliament itself to decide how much it needs to debate” the matter, Lammert added.

He also expressed concern that European leaders have failed to agree on mandatory sanctions against countries that mismanage their finances. “I’m sure of one thing. The peace that is so much needed on financial markets cannot be achieved without automatic sanctions against countries that violate stability criteria,” he said.

Merkel, who is holding an emergency summit meeting on Tuesday with French President Nicholas Sarkozy, has promised European partners her country would ratify the measures by end of September.

She is assured of a majority in parliament as even opposition Green and Social-Democrats back the measures. But rifts have opened within her own governing coalition where 30 to 40 members of parliament-with backing by some ranking members of the Free Democrats (FDP) — are threatening to oppose the plan. —AFP

ROME: Italian Premier Silvio Berluconi (right) talks to journalists, as Finance Minister Giulio Tremonti (left) and Vice Premier Gianni Letta share a word during a press conference at the end of a Cabinet Ministers meeting on the approval of the new austerity measures, in Rome on Friday. —AP

S Africa union, Implats talks go on to avoid strike JOHANNESBURG: South Africa’s mine workers union will again meet negotiators at Impala Platinum yesterday in a bid to avert a wage strike that could hurt the world’s second-largest producer and curb growth in an already stagnant economy.

The talks add to a wave of disputes that have already disrupted operations in the mining and fuel sectors. South Africa’s “strike season” is already expected to intensify when at least 145,000 municipal workers walk off the job on Monday, disrupting rubbish collection and other services in major cities. “There was no progress in the Implats talks at all last night. We will meet again today and if that fails as well, we will take the dispute to arbitration on Monday,” said Lesiba Seshoka, spokesman for the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM).

The talks started at 0800 GMT and are likely to last all day, he said. The NUM, seeking a 14 percent raise for its 26,000 workers at Implats, has been discussing a revised but as yet undisclosed offer from Implats. It has rejected the company’s previous offer of between 7.5 and 8 percent.

Implats and its bigger rival Anglo American Platinum account for twothirds of global platinum supply and any prolonged strike could push prices higher. Wage talks with Amplats are scheduled for next week. The NUM has also reached wage raise deals of 7.5 to 10 percent for its workers in the gold

and coal sectors, with the figures expected to be benchmarks in the platinum talks. The union said on Friday it had reached a three-year wage deal with junior platinum producer Royal Bafokeng Platinum , with pay increases ranging from 7 to 10 percent. Unions say employers should pass along the benefits of high precious metal prices to workers, who often have several dependents, facing higher food and fuel bills.

Employers have responded to increasing wage bills by shedding jobs and with a sluggish economic recovery, the outlook for a labor market suffering from 25 percent unemployment is not encouraging.

Economists have cautioned that wage settlements well above the current 5 percent inflation rate erode South Africa’s global competitiveness by driving up the cost of a labor force already more expensive and less efficient than those in rival emerging economies. The ruling African National Congress, in a governing alliance with labor, does not want to antagonize a group that has supplied it with millions of votes by putting pressure on unions to seek more modest deals.

Strained labor relations in South Africa have lengthened the list of investors’ concerns that include nationalization talk in ruling party circles and high rates of violent crime linked to glaring income disparities and high unemployment. —Reuters

SYDNEY: World Bank chief Robert Zoellick yesterday warned of a “new and more dangerous” time in the global economy, with little breathing space in most developed countries as a debt crisis hits Europe. Zoellick said the euro-zone’s sovereign debt issues were more troubling than the “medium and long-term” problems which saw the United States downgraded by Standard and Poor’s last week, sending global markets into panic.

“We are in the early moments of a new and different storm, it’s not the same as 2008,” said Zoellick, referring to the global financial crisis.

“In the past couple of weeks the world has moved from a troubled multi-speed recovery-with emerging markets and a few economies like Australia having good growth and developed markets struggling-to a new and more dangerous phase,” he said in an interview with the Weekend Australian newspaper. People were in less debt than during the credit crunch and current events did not have the same “sudden shock” factor, but Zoellick said there was less room to manoeuvre this time around.

“Most developed countries

Robert Zoellick have used up their fiscal space whether the troubled European and monetary policy is about as nations could “ever get ahead of loose as it can be,” he said. the problems that have plagued Zoellick said the euro-zone’s them.”

He also urged British Prime structure “could turn out to be the most important” challenge Minister David Cameron not to be currently facing the world econo- deterred from austerity measures my, with some hope for Spain by recent riots-the country ’s and Italy but debt-crippled worst in decades-saying his Greece and Portugal unable to spending cuts were “really necessary.” “My concern would be if the devalue.

European Union action taken politics knocked them off course,” to date falls short of what is need- Zoellick said. Markets swung wildly this week on rumors of a ed, the World Bank chief said.

“The lesson of 2008 is that the French credit downgrade over later you act, the more you have the debt crisis, which started in to do,” said Zoellick, questioning Greece and is now fuelled by

fears Spain or Italy might default, sparking a break-up of the 17nation currency.

Investors are questioning whether France and Germany, the euro-zone’s two largest economies, can continue to underwrite other states’ debts without losing their top credit ratings and falling victim to the crisis themselves. Zoellick said power, influence and weight was shifting “very fast by historical standards” to developing economies led by China, but he described the Asian superpower was a “reluctant stakeholder” in the global system.

Aside from tackling overheating Zoellick said Beijing faced a number of big domestic policy questions-keeping its industrialization “green”, financial system reform, and the balance of stateowned firms with private enterprise. Allowing the yuan to increase in value would help curb inflation but also make foreign goods cheaper in China, a potentially sensitive issue. Beijing also wanted to increase social protections for its population but didn’t want a European welfare state model, Zoellick said. “ They say to me ... it’s too expensive.” — AFP

Canada, Honduras sign trade deal SAN PEDRO SULA, Honduras: Canada and Honduras signed a free trade agreement on Friday as Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper concluded his tour of Latin America.

Amid the trade agreement, which has been under negotiations for 10 years, Harper acknowledged human rights and security problems exist in Honduras, but Canada has no information that links those problems to the government of President Porfirio Lobo, Harper said.

“We know there are significant problems of security and human rights in this coun-

try, but we have no information to suggest that those are in any way perpetrated by the government,” said Harper according to Canadian broadcaster CBC. “In fact, the president of Honduras himself... was a prominent human rights leader in this country, and that’s got a lot to do with the fact he was elected president,” added the Canadian leader.

Harper was posed similar questions earlier this week when he signed a trade agreement in Colombia as par t of a Latin American tour. Wednesday in Bogota,

Coal India quarterly profit jumps 64% NEW DELHI: Coal India Ltd, the world’s biggest coal miner, has announced a better-than-expected 64 percent jump in first-quarter net profit on the back of robust demand and price rises.

Net profit for the three months to the end of June climbed to 41.4 billion rupees ($912 million) from 25.3 billion rupees a year earlier on sales which rose 27 percent to 145 billion rupees, the state-run miner said in a statement late Friday. The Kolkata-based company’s profit for the quarter exceeded analysts’ forecasts of 36 billion rupees.

“We have registered good profit levels in the first quarter,” chairman NC Jha said.

But he warned profit growth would not be as high in the second quarter due to forthcoming wage negotiations with the company’s 300,000 workers. “We have to make some provisions for the wage hike so profit growth will be slower,” he said. Last time, the workers received a 24 percent pay rise.

Coal India raised $3.4 billion in November 2010 when it sold a 10 percent stake in an initial public offering (IPO) that was hugely oversubscribed. Shares of the company have jumped more than 20 percent this year in contrast to the main Bombay share index which has tumbled 18 percent.

Coal India produces more than 80 percent of India’s coal at 471 mines across eight states.

It also holds the largest extractable coal reserves in the world with over 22 billion tons, ahead of rivals China Shenhua Energy and the world’s largest private miner, Peabody Energy in the United States.

The company has accumulated a war chest of 60 billion rupees that it aims to use to buy mines in Indonesia, Australia and the United States. Coal accounts for more than half of India’s energy use and consumption is set to increase as the country’s economic development accelerates in energy-intensive sectors such as steel and cement manufacturing. — AFP

India’s top lender SBI profit slumps 46% NEW DELHI: India’s top lender by assets, State Bank of India, reported yesterday a bigger-than-expected 46 percent slide in quarterly profit from a year earlier as provisions against bad loans jumped.

Net profit for the financial first quarter to June slumped to 15.84 billion rupees ($348.9 million) from 29.14 billion rupees a year earlier, the state-run lender said in a statement. The earnings undershot market expectations of a profit of 18 billion rupees and came as provisions against bad loans climbed 61 percent to 27.82 billion rupees.

Indian banks’ balance sheets have been under strain as the country’s economy slows and rising interest rates have made it tougher to repay loans. The central bank has raised interest rates 11 times since March 2010 as it seeks to tame near double-digit inflation.

Many companies have pledged shares against bank loans but a sharp decline in the stock market has eaten away at the value of their collateral. State-run lenders have been voicing concern about the ability of borrowers to repay loans as bad debts mount. Public sector banks account for 70 percent of the country’s total loans. Shares of some state-controlled banks have fallen more than 20 percent this year amid worries about the strength of their balance sheets. — AFP

Harper said the agreement with Colombia contains clauses that address environmental and human rights.

While in Honduras, Harper also announced that Canada would contribute $9.2 million to security plans in the country.

With a rate of more than 50 homicides per 100,000 residents, drug cartels have contributed to making the region the most violent non-war zone in the world.

Around 95% of the cocaine consumed in the United States transits through Central America. — AFP

Become Gulf Bank’s Al-Danah millionaire KUWAIT: Gulf Bank encourages everyone in Kuwait to open an Al Danah account or increase their deposits to gain more opportunities in becoming the lucky Al Danah Millionaire. As the popularity of Gulf Bank’s largely successful Al Danah Draw grows, it is becoming easier than ever to open an account and increase the chances of winning. The last date to deposit or open an account to be eligible for the upcoming Al Danah Millionaire draw is October 31, 2011.

Alongside the 1 Million Dinar prize draw, eligible customers enter the Al Danah weekly draw in which 10 customers each win KD1000.

Entry is simple; a minimum deposit of KD200 is required to open an account. The more money Gulf Bank customers have in their Al Danah accounts and the longer it is maintained, the higher the chances they have of winning.

To open an account and take part in the Al Danah Draws, customers are encouraged to visit one of Gulf Bank’s 55 branches or call the Customer Contact Center on 1805805.

Customers can also log on to www.egulfbank.com, Gulf Bank’s bilingual website, to find all the answers regarding the Al Danah account or any of the Bank’s products and services.

BIRMINGHAM: Jefferson County Commissioner David Carrington stands in the courtroom before they meet about the Jefferson County bankruptcy in Birmingham, Alabama on Friday. —AP

Asian ministers say debt crisis threatens growth MANADO, Indonesia: Asian economic ministers yesterday predicted a slowdown in regional economic growth this year amid the European debt crises and planned spending cuts in the United States.

The ministers said the developing economies of the 10-state Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) grew at a collective 7.5 percent in 2010, but predicted this could slip to below 6.0 percent this year.

“The ministers noted that there are continuing challenges and downside risks including the sovereign debt crisis and fiscal problems in some developed markets, rising food and commodity prices, (and) continued financial market stresses,” the ministers said in a state-

ment after a meeting in Indonesia. “The ministers agreed that ASEAN should remain vigilant in the face of these risks...”

Economic growth in the ASEAN economies would be between 5.7 percent and 6.4 percent in 2011, with intraregional trade and investment helping to offset weakness in the developed economies.

The statement called for the bloc of around 600 million people to “harness its competitive strength through deeper integration”. Initiatives to cut obstacles to the movement of goods and services in the region should be implemented in a “timely manner”, in line with ASEAN’s plans to create a harmonized economic community by 2015. — AFP

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BUSINESS

Anxious investors look for calm WALL STREET WEEKLY OUTLOOK NEW YORK: Shell-shocked stock investors will search this week for calm to return to markets after the worst three weeks for stocks in 2 1/2 years.

With the blow from the Aug. 5 US credit rating downgrade behind them, investors will focus on the outlook for the US economy as well as signs that European policymakers may be able to contain the eurozone debt crisis.

Widespread investor panic put the market on a roller-coaster ride this week, with steep losses followed by nearly-as-steep gains in high-volume trading. It was the busiest week for volume since October 2008.

Though investors are still searching for a bottom in the selloff that has taken the benchmark Standard & Poor’s index down 12.4 percent since July 22, indexes rose both Thursday and Friday-the index’s first two-day

rally since mid-July-and volatility eased.

The move could set stocks up for a calmer week, especially if economic data shows the United States is not headed for another recession, strategists said.

“Every bit of data that shows the economy not slipping into recession is going to be the basis for the market to begin to calm down in the weeks ahead,” said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Rockwell Global Capital in New York. While Wall Street stocks ended higher on Friday, the market fell for the week.

The Dow fell 1.5 percent and the Nasdaq lost 1 percent. The S&P 500 fell on 11 of the past 15 days, dropping 12.4 percent in three weeks.

Housing and manufacturing reports are among indicators on tap next week, including the New York and Philadelphia Federal Reserve

regional manufacturing surveys and existing home sales.

Manufacturing has been among the strongest sectors of the economy, but a report earlier this month dented that picture. The Institute for Supply Management manufacturing report, a gauge of factory activity, fell to in July to its lowest in two years and was barely above the mark dividing growth and contraction.

It was quickly followed by an ISM report showing the pace of growth in the US services sector ticked down unexpectedly.

More recent data has suggested the economic recovery will stay on course.

US Commerce Department data on Friday showed retail sales posted the biggest gains in four months in July, which was a catalyst for stocks to rise. “We think the deterioration in the US macro outlook got us into

this mess and will likely get us back out,” said Barry Knapp, head of US equity portfolio strategy at Barclays Capital in New York.

“If we’re right...we will get the stock market to trade at least back into its old 1,250 to 1,350 range that prevailed from March through the recent downturn.”

Retail earnings have been among the few bright spots in the market this week. Kohl’s Corp reported earnings that beat estimates and raised its full-year profit view. Results from more top retailers are expected next week, including Wal-Mart Stores, due to report on Tuesday.

“I will be looking for any data that show what back-to-school (sales) might look like, and later, into the fall, we’ll be looking for what the holiday season might look like,” said Natalie Trunow, chief investment officer of equities at Calvert

Investment Management in Bethesda, Maryland, which manages about $14.8 billion.

Earnings growth for the second quarter is expected to have risen 11.8 percent, according to Thomson Reuters data, and many analysts consider the solid growth to remain a cushion for stocks going forward.

The S&P 500’s price-to-earnings ratio is at 10.46, according to Thomson Reuters data, considered cheap by historical standards.

That valuations are cheap suggests to some strategists that stocks remain attractive, especially when compared with US Treasuries, but others say earnings expectations are likely to deteriorate going forward.

Besides concerns about the US economic outlook, worries about the European debt crisis persist.

Investors look forward to a meeting next week between French

President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who are expected to discuss how to make the euro zone work more effectively in dealing with the crisis.

Technically, the market remains weak. “Most technicians would agree that the long-term market cycle has been damaged, given twoyear uptrends have been broken, monthly momentum indicators have turned down, and a lengthy list of stocks have collapsed through important long-term support levels on expanding volume,” analysts at RBC Capital Markets said in a research note Friday.

Bruce Zaro, chief technical strategist at Delta Global Asset Management in Boston, said this week one sign the market’s downturn may not be over is a measure of stocks with 52-week highs versus 52week lows, which is low. —Reuters

Dow finishes wild a week on an up note S&P downgrade and its aftermath Shoppers pass Macy’s department store, Thursday, Aug. 4, 2011, in New York. The back-toschool season got off to a strong start as discounts and sweltering heat last month drove shoppers to air-conditioned malls. But retailers worry that momentum won’t continue through the remainder of the second-biggest shopping period of the year. —AP

Shoppers lift economy, but will they keep spending?

WASHINGTON: The US economy might not be on the brink of another recession after all. Consumers, who drive most economic growth, spent more on cars, furniture, electronics and other goods in July - and more in May and June than previously thought. That burst of activity is encouraging because it shows many Americans were willing to spend despite high unemployment, scant pay raises, steep gas prices and diminished wealth. If it keeps up, the economy might rebound after growing at an annual rate of just 0.8 percent in the first half of 2011.

That’s a big if. Whether Americans remain willing to spend freely despite the stock markets’ wild swings will determine whether the second half of the year is any better than the first. Their retirement accounts have shrunk.

Even with the Dow Jones industrial average’s 125-point gain Friday, the Dow is down about 11 percent since July 21.

A sustained stock-market decline tends to slow consumer spending because it reduces wealth, especially for upper-income Americans. The richest 10 percent of Americans own 80 percent of stocks. And the richest 20 percent drive about 40 percent of consumer spending, analysts say.

That loss of wealth may help explain a report Friday that consumer sentiment hit a 31-year low in August. The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan’s survey, completed early this week, showed that market turmoil and the political strife over raising the federal debt ceiling rattled consumers.

“The fact that retail sales held up over the last few months ... is a positive economic development,” said Joseph LaVorgna, chief US economist at Deutsche Bank.

“However, the true test will be to see if consumer activity held up in the face of recent financial market gyrations and slumping economic confidence. So the August data will be of much greater significance.”

Worries about the markets and the economy already seem to have caused some shoppers to pull back. The International Council of Shopping Centers-Goldman Sachs index, which tracks revenue at stores open at least a year, has shown two straight weekly declines.

Claire Sanders Swift, a Washington media consultant, said that after the stock market plunged, she “sent her baby sitter home early and called her broker.”

“I keep trying to remind myself we’ve been through this rodeo before,” she said early this week. “The fear is making me not want to spend.”

It’s a pivotal moment for the nation’s retailers. They’re in the midst of back-to-school season and are planning for Christmas sales. Together, the two shopping seasons represent up to half their annual revenue. Retailers are concerned that the weak economy and stock market turmoil could cause shoppers to retreat as they did when the financial crisis hit in 2008. Back then, spending plunged so much that some retailers slashed prices up to 80 percent just to draw shoppers to stores. Others sold jewelry and clothing to liquidators for pennies on the dollar. Some went out of business.

This time, retailers seem better prepared. They’ve kept inventories lean to avoid being stuck with huge piles of marked-down products.

Jeff Landis of Chicago-based Montopoli Custom Clothiers said because business has been quiet the past few weeks, he’s decided to delay stocking up on fabric for custom suits for fall. And Geoff Stern, owner of Toy Professor, a toy store in Summit, New Jersey, said sales this week were down about 25 percent from a typical August week. Until late this week, a batch of poor economic data and a gloomy outlook from the Federal Reserve set off fears that the economy might be about to slide into another recession. That threat appears to have diminished. But it’s hardly gone away. —AP

NEW YORK: The wildest week on Wall Street since the financial crisis in 2008 ended with a second day of gains. The Dow Jones industrial average finished Friday with a gain of 125 points. Most other times it would have been a fairly big day. By this week’s standards, it was a sleeper. Friday capped a week when the blue-chip index had four 400-point swings in a row for the first time in its 115-year history.

Trading was frantic across financial markets all week. The yield on the 10year Treasury note hit a record low. Gold briefly topped $1,800 per ounce. Nearly every one of the 500 stocks that make up the Standard & Poor’s 500 index ended down midweek.

“It was a sharp and violent week in the stock market, but it’s my sense that the worst is over,” said Michael Kaufler, a por tfolio manager at Federated Investors. Investors reacted to every scrap of news and each whispered rumor. A credit downgrade for the US concerns about European bank solvency. Fears of a possible new recession in the US that the Federal Reserve would keep interest rates low for two more years because of slowing growth. A positive retail sales report. Strong earnings from a technology bellwether. Better unemployment news.

The Dow dropped 634 points Monday, its sixth-worst point drop ever, as investors responded to Standard & Poor’s withdrawal of the country’s AAA credit rating. It was the first downgrade of US government debt in history. The Dow rose 429 points on Tuesday, only to plunge 519 points Wednesday. It surged 423 points on Thursday following a better than expected drop in new applications for unemployment benefits.

A rebound in retail sales last month pushed the stock market higher Friday as traders looked past a Reuters/University of Michigan survey that found that consumers were pessimistic about their own finances and the economy. The measure of consumer sentiment fell to a 30-year low.

It was the first time since early July that the Dow and S&P index rose for two consecutive days. Normally, such a bad consumer sur vey would have pushed shares sharply lower for the day, said Quinc y Krosby, an investment strategist with Prudential Financial. “But these are not normal times,” she said.

Market volatility cuts both ways, sending shares way up or way down, Krosby noted. That can cause stock prices to defy economic data.

The strong retail sales added to other bits of more positive data about the economy. The government said last week that hiring picked up slightly in July after two dismal months, though employers still are adding jobs too slowly to significantly reduce unemployment. A Thursday report showed applications for unemployment benefits fell to a four-month low. Some analysts

believe recently announced layoffs will cause that number to rise in the coming weeks.

Companies that rely on an expanding economy for profits led the Dow higher.

Boeing Co, Hewlett-Packard Co., and United Technologies Corp. each rose by 4 percent or more.

A separate government report on Friday showed that businesses

NEW YORK: Specialist Michael O’Mara, center, works with traders at the closing bell, on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Friday, Aug. 12, 2011. A wild week ended relatively calmly on Wall Street Friday as the Dow yesterday gained 126 points to 11,269 and the S&P was up 6 points, while the Nasdaq composite added 15 points. The key averages were down 1 percent or more for the week. —AP increased their stockpiles of everything from raw materials to retail products for the 18th month in a row.

Growing inventories are usually a sign of business confidence.

But in June Americans cut their spending for the first time in nearly two years. If the market’s gyrations spook consumers further, people might spend even less just as retailers stock up for the crucial holiday season.

“We are at a turning point,” said Bill Hampel, chief economist for the Credit Union National Association. “If the stock market continues to be volatile next week, I would expect a pretty serious effect on consumer confidence.” The

Dow finished Friday with a gain of 125.71 points, or 1.1 percent, to 11,269.02. It finished the week down 1.5 percent after being down as much as 6.3 percent for the week.

The broader S&P 500 index rose 6.17 points, or 0.5 percent, to 1,178.81. It finished with a the week down 1.7 percent.

The technology-focused Nasdaq composite rose 15.30, or 0.6 percent, to 2,507.98. It lost 1 percent for the week.

All three major stock indexes are now down more than 10 percent from their April highs. That is a big enough drop to signify what traders call a market correction. A drop of more than 20 percent signifies a bear market, a period of sustained losses. The market’s huge swings reminded many on Wall Street of the week of October 13-17, 2008, which came at the height of the financial crisis.

The Dow started that week with a gain of 936 points, it largest one-day point gain ever. Two days later, it fell 733 points when it looked like the US economy was headed for a recession.

Financial stocks continued to slide Friday. Investment bank Morgan Stanley fell 7 percent amid concerns about US banks’ exposure to the financial crisis in Europe and lawsuits related to poorquality mortgage securities sold before the financial crisis of 2008. JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. also lost ground.

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co jumped 7 percent after the company told investors that it expects revenue this quarter to offset its higher raw material costs. The company had said last month that raw material costs might hurt its profits in the second half of the year.

DeVry Inc plunged nearly 17 percent, the most in the S&P 500, after the company said that new student enrollment tumbled this summer. For-profit education companies are under pressure to raise their admissions standards so that students will be more likely to find jobs and pay off their government-backed loans. That has caused their share prices to fall sharply this year.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.26 percent from 2.34 percent late Thursday. It had fallen to a record low of 2.03 percent earlier in the week.

Two stocks rose for every one that fell on the New York Stock Exchange.

Volume was above average at 5 billion shares, but lighter than earlier in the week when it reached 9.7 billion shares, the fourth-highest on record. —AP

Economic crisis hits advertising industry in US LOS ANGELES: While many US businesses have been searching for signs of an economic recovery, big media conglomerates were enjoying a robust revival until quite recently.

For the likes of Disney, CBS, NBCUniversal and News Corp, advertising revenue growth - which slumped during the Great Recession - had come roaring back in 2010. But now, as consumer sentiment dampens and the economy shows signs of another recession, ad revenue growth is beginning to slow again.

Two advertising agencies have cut forecasts in the past month. Media companies head into an uncertain final half of 2011, as investor worries have sent their stock prices tumbling.

“We’ve had this great advertising market, which everybody’s been benefiting from,” said Martin Pyykkonen, an analyst with media company research firm Wedge Partners. “The term I keep using is, ‘Is this as good as it gets?” In 2010, the mid-term congressional elections generated hundreds of millions of dollars in political ad spending. Retailers and auto companies increased their spending late last year, as well. That robustness a year ago will make it tough to show growth in the second half of this year. Economic uncertainty will make it even tougher.

When the economy slows, advertising spending by companies does as well. The deepest trough in the ad market and in media companies’ stocks came in March

2009 as companies pulled back marketing expenditures and the US economy collapsed. The Dow Jones Media Titans 30 Index, which tracks media company stocks, hit a low of 128.81 on March 9, 2009. The index, whose top components include The Walt Disney Co and Time Warner Inc, came back strongly as the economy rebounded, cresting at 300.78 on July 5 of this year.

But in recent days, economic news hasn’t been good. Consumer sentiment hit a historic low. Job growth is not enough to dramatically lower US unemployment.

And, the housing market remains in the doldrums.

At its close at 252.74 points on Friday, the index is down 16 percent from its

peak. ZenithOptimedia, a unit of advertising agency parent Publicis Groupe, recently trimmed its forecast for ad spending growth in the US in 2011 to 2.1 percent from 2.5 percent. GroupM, the media investment management arm of marketing services company WPP, cut its outlook for global ad spending in 2011 to 4.8 percent from 5.8 percent. Its forecast for US ad spending in 2011 is for 3.8 percent growth.

“There’s more caution that is creeping into the forecast, but still optimistic that there is growth,” said Antony Young, the former CEO of Optimedia US and incoming CEO of marketing company Mindshare NA. Not all ad spending was created equal. —AP

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TECHNOLOGY

Security expert warns hackers to hit Android Criminals could use research to hack Android BOSTON: A mobile security expert says he has found new ways for hackers to attack phones running Google Inc’s Android operating system. Riley Hassell, who caused a stir when he called off an appearance at a hacker’s conference last week, told Reuters he and colleague Shane Macaulay decided not to lay out their research at the gathering for fear criminals would use it attack Android phones. He said in an interview he identified more than a dozen widely used Android applications that make the phones vulnerable to attack.

“App developers frequently fail to follow security guidelines and write applications properly,” he said. “Some apps expose themselves to outside contact. If these apps are vulnerable, then an attacker can remotely compromise that app and potentially the phone using something as simple as a text message.”

He declined to identify those apps, saying he fears hackers might exploit the vulnerabilities.

“When you release a threat and there’s no patch ready, then there is mayhem,” said Hassell, founder of boutique security firm Privateer Labs.

Hassell said he and Macaulay alerted Google to the software shortcomings they unearthed. Google spokesman Jay Nancarrow said Android security experts discussed the research with Hassell and did not believe he had uncovered problems with Android. “The identified bugs are not present in Android,” he said, declining to elaborate. It was the first public explanation for the failure of Hassell and Macaulay to make a scheduled presentation at the annual Black Hat hacking conference in Las Vegas, the hacking community’s largest annual gathering.

They had been scheduled to talk about “Hacking Androids for Profit.” Hundreds of people waited for them to show up at a crowded conference room. Hassell said in an

interview late on Thursday the pair also learned-at the last minute-that some of their work may have replicated previously published research and they wanted to make sure they properly acknowledged that work. “This was a choice we made, to prevent an unacceptable window of risk to consumers worldwide and to guarantee credit where it was due,” he said.

A mobile security researcher familiar with the work of Hassell and Macaulay said he understood why the pair decided not to disclose their findings. “When something can be used for exploitation and there is no way to fix it, it is very dangerous to go out publicly with that information,” the researcher said. “When there is not a lot that people can do to protect themselves, disclosure is sometimes not the best policy.” Hassell said he plans to give his talk at the Hack in The Box security conference in Kuala Lumpur in October. — Reuters

iPads: Newest classroom tools for some preschools Facebook to disable inmate accounts LOS ANGELES: Facebook has agreed to disable the profiles of prison inmates in California whose accounts have been updated while they are behind bars. “Access to social media allows inmates to circumvent our monitoring process and continue to engage in criminal activity,” California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation secretary Matthew Cate said in a statement last Monday. “This new cooperation between law enforcement and Facebook will help protect the community and potentially avoid future victims.” CDCR said prison inmates are allowed to have Facebook profiles created prior to their incarceration but “if any evidence shows the account has been used while in the facility, Facebook Security will disable

the account.”

Facebook accounts set up or updated on behalf of an inmate will be reported to the Facebook Security Department and removed as a violation of the social network’s user policies. CDCR said there have been “numerous instances in which inmates, using their Facebook accounts, have delivered threats to victims or have made unwanted sexual advances.”

Inmates are maintaining their accounts using smuggled cellphones or having someone on the outside do it for them, according to CDCR. It pointed to a “massive influx” in the number of cellphones being used by prisoners. Some 7,284 cellphones were confiscated in the first six months of this year, up from 261 devices in 2006. — AFP

Apple, publishers sued for alleged price fixing SAN FRANCISCO: Five book publishers and computer manufacturer Apple have been sued for allegedly colluding to drive up the price of e-books, lawyers for the plaintiffs said. The class-action suit, filed in the US District Court here, claims HarperCollins, Hachette, Macmillan, Penguin and Simon & Schuster had worked with Apple to break Internet retailer Amazon.com’s discount pricing strategy and help Apple’s iPad compete with the Kindle marketed by Amazon.

According to the suit, the publishers believed that Amazon’s popular Kindle ereader device and the company’s discounted pricing for e -books would increase the adoption of e-books, and feared Amazon’s discounted pricing structure would permanently set consumer expectations for lower prices, even for other e-reader devices.

“Fortunately for the publishers, they had a co-conspirator as terrified as they were over Amazon’s popularity and pricing structure, and that was Apple,” said Steve Berman, an attorney representing consumers. “We intend to prove that Apple needed a way to neutralize Amazon’s Kindle before its popularity could challenge the upcoming introduc-

tion of the iPad, a device Apple intended to compete as an e-reader,” Berman added. The complaint claims that the five publishing houses forced Amazon to abandon its discount pricing and adhere to a new agency model, in which publishers set prices and extinguished competition so that retailers such as Amazon could no longer offer lower prices for ebooks.

If Amazon attempted to sell e-books below the publisher-set levels, the publishers would simply deny Amazon access to the title, the complaint claims.

The defendant publishers control 85 percent of the most popular fiction and nonfiction titles. According to the lawsuit, Apple and publishers were concerned that Amazon’s $9.99 uniform pricing for bestsellers would create market pressures for other e-booksellers-including Apple-to do the same, cutting into profitability.

The named plaintiffs included Anthony Petru, a resident of Oakland, California, and Marcus Mathis, a resident of Natchez, Mississippi. The law firm Hagens Berman, which posted the complaint on its website, announced the filing of the suit on August 9. — AFP

CHICAGO: Dozens of preschool and kindergarten teachers are adding iPads to their classroom stocks of pencils and paints in an effort to hook young learners with the newest technology craze at the same time - or even before their parents adopt it. Primary students in several Chicago-area schools geared up this year with the touchscreen tablets, an expense school officials defend in an era of tight budgets by citing how intuitive they are for 3-, 4and 5-year-olds raised in a world of ubiquitous technology and constant connectivity. “This is teaching to their world,” said Superintendent Linda Vieth of Sunset Ridge School District 29.

“Students still need finger paints and blocks.

They need real books and paper in their hands.

But this is another tool.”

The North Shore Illinois district agreed to equip two kindergarten classrooms with a dozen iPads after a yearlong study convinced teachers and parents of their fit for young students. In all, district officials will buy 60 touchpad tablets for an estimated $36,000. In DuPage County, Ill., Naperville School District 203 plans to provide each preschool classroom in the Early Childhood Center with two iPads this fall. And Chicago Public Schools outfitted nearly two dozen schools with the tablets this year in a $450,000 pilot program that attracted 200 applications. Each building received 32 iPads, and four schools focused the technology in the primary grades. District officials are considering whether to expand the iPad grant next year, said Technology Education Director John Connolly.

“At first, we thought this is a nice little toy.

No one had any idea what this could do educationally,” said Principal Barbara Kent of Chicago’s Burley Elementary School, which debuted iPads this year in preschool, first and second grades. For primary schools that already have computers, the iPad will become one more technology tool in the classroom.

But some schools have grappled to find a technology that best suits their youngest learners.

The tablets with the flat screens and colorful icons that little fingers can manipulate seemed an ideal fit, educators said.

To be sure, several schools set ground rules to teach students how to care for the new gadgets. Check your fingers: If there’s glue or glitter, please visit the sink. Carry them with two hands. Only use them with an adult present and ask before you explore, said Charlene Entman, technology facilitator for the Sunset Ridge school system. But the youngest students have taken quickly to the technology. On a recent Tuesday, Nola Joyce and Graham Wilson, both 6, huddled over the class iPad at Northfield, Ill.’s Middlefork School as they added two sets of numbers and determined which sum was biggest.

Nola whispered to herself as she counted her fingers to add 9 and 4. “13,” she typed. Next, Graham added 7 and 2 to get 9. He tapped the number on the screen and a mechanical voice said: “This is the correct sum.” The exposure to the vanguard of technology in a public schoolhouse initially startled Graham’s mother.

“In my world, the iPad is games and music.

But it’s not just that,” said Sarah Wilson of Northfield. “He was doing math.” Apple sold more than 19 million iPads since they launched

CHICAGO: Rachel Ross, 4, a preschooler at Burley Elementary School, uses the iPad. — MCT last year, according to the company’s earnings reports. It is not known how many were purchased by schools specifically, but Chicagoarea schools are not alone in introducing iPads to preschool and kindergarten classrooms. Last month, a Maine school district agreed to outfit every kindergartener with an iPad2 this fall.

But some educators and scholars caution the technology has swept into classrooms so quickly the research has not yet caught up to measure how well students learn using the tablets.

Rarely do public schools equip kids with a new technology at the same time adults race to acquire it themselves. “A lot of people are rushing to get content and it hasn’t really been empirically tested,” said Sandra Calvert, founder and director of the Children’s Digital Media Center based at Georgetown University. “What we see is a lot of promise, and informal observations to suggest kids are very engaged.”

So educators and early childhood development experts are watching closely as schools put the technology in the hands of their youngest learners. This fall, the National Association for the Education of Young Children is expected to update a technology statement that dates to 1996. While the current policy does not account for touchscreen tablets, officials said the core principle still applies: children learn best by building from simple to complex concepts, from two-dimensional to three-dimensional worlds.

“Most children will learn using as many senses as possible. So, if they are able to sit on the floor and manipulate the pieces of a puzzle, everything comes into play. ... That’s a different experience than manipulating their finger on the iPad,” said Peter Pizzolongo, a senior director with the organization. “The (technology) just takes it to a more abstract level.”

Wilmette School District 39 officials spent months measuring the best applications and the real-world impact that the first batch of 28 iPads had on students. Officials will study the results before deciding whether to expand the program that initially targeted the devices to

young students with special learning needs, several of whom rely on the iPad to communicate with classmates. “Our occupational therapists have said students who have difficulty with writing are using the writing (applications) and then transitioning to where they pick up a paper and pencil,” said Nancy Walsh, an assistant technology facilitator who’s been tracking iPad use.

The cost can be a challenge for public schools to explain to taxpayers who see the practical value but question the expense amid ongoing budget woes. With an estimated cost of anywhere from $499 to $829, the device may cost less than a traditional laptop.

Naperville’s Director of Instructional Technology John David Son said they can buy two iPads for the cost of one laptop because they purchase a less expensive model with limited storage and Internet availability.

The Naperville district gave principals the option to replace older computers due for repairs with iPads for the coming school year.

But they also asked educators to explain the switch in academic terms. “We want to know how does it tie to instruction,” Son said. “How can we use this as a tool to engage students and deliver instruction in a new way?” Grouped around the touchpad tablets, Burley Elementary School’s youngest students recently studied pictures of an Australian elementary school during a lesson about the region last week.

From their North Side classroom, the 3-, 4and 5-year- olds tapped, zoomed and swished through photos while noting whether letters hung on boards or bookshelves lined the school walls as in their own room. “Let’s see if we can zoom in really close,” teacher Brian Puerling told a halfdozen students who peered at the iPad he held for them to see. Lucy Jesser wiggled her fingers across the flat screen to enlarge the school image. Alex Howard took a turn as she focused on the image of a tree outside the Australian schoolhouse. “It looks like a gum tree,” she said. —MCT

France’s Orange adds to iPhone 5 release buildup PARIS: French mobile network operator Orange has broken the secrecy surrounding Apple’s new iPhone 5 through a job advert, despite the US firm’s ban on its partners referring to the product before its expected September release. Orange which is owned

by France Telecom is Apple’s official partner in France. The advertised opening was for an engineer, a university graduate or with a business degree, who would be expected to work with the fifth-generation handset. The offer has been available online on the France Telecom Orange human resources website since Thursday and says “one of the

main issues is the definition, as precisely as possible, of what impact a handset like the iPhone 5 will have on clients’ Internet use”.

Orange also talks vaguely about a modification of the handset’s use by “iPhone 5” users. The fifth-generation iPhone whose official name has not yet been announced is widely expected to be launched in September and available in shops shortly after. The California company has not commented on the secrecy breach and France Telecom Orange had no comment either when contacted by AFP early Saturday.

Apple dethroned software giant Microsoft

in May of last year to become the largest US technology company in terms of market cap-the number of shares multiplied by the stock price.

Apple stock has risen steadily over the past few years as chief executive Steve Jobs piloted the release of a string of hit products starting with the iPod in 2001, followed by the iPhone in 2007 and the iPad last year.

Apple’s ascension to most valuable company was seen as remarkable given that it was floundering and seemingly heading into oblivion before Jobs returned to the helm about 15 years ago. — AFP

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SUNDAY, AUGUST 14, 2011

health & science

Asian ‘phoenix’ lived with the dinosaurs Finding challenges theories about diversity of early birds PARIS: Palaeontologists said they had found the fossilized remains of a giant bird that lived in Central Asia more than 65 million years ago, a finding which challenges theories about the diversity of early birds. The creature may have been taller than an ostrich if it had been flightless and, if it flew, had a greater wingspan than that of the albatross, they reported in the British journal Biology Letters. The scientists have named the bird Samrukia nessovi, after a mythological Kazakh phoenix known as the samruk, and after Lev Nessov, a celebrated Russian palaeontologist who died in 1995.

This undated image provided by the journal Science shows a life reconstruction of the plesiosaur Polycotylus latippinus giving birth to a single, large young, based on fossil evidence from the Upper Cretaceous (80 million years ago) of Kansas. —AP

Rare anthrax case diagnosed CHICAGO: Minnesota health officials said they are investigating a rare case of anthrax inhalation linked to exposure to the dreaded bacteria in the natural environment. The FBI briefly investigated the case because anthrax has been used in terror attacks. But the bureau determined there was “no evidence suggesting it was a criminal or terrorist act,” the Minnesota Health Department said in a statement. There was also no significant threat to the general public, officials said.

“All evidence points to this case of anthrax being caused by exposure to naturally occurring anthrax in the environment,” said Minnesota state epidemiologist Ruth Lynfield. “Anthrax is not

spread from person to person, and it is extremely rare for humans to become sickened with anthrax, especially through inhalation.” Hooved animals are regularly infected by the anthrax bacteria in many parts of the United States.

People can become sickened by anthrax if they handle infected animal carcasses, ingest contaminated soil or meat from infected animals, or handle contaminated wool or hides from infected animals.

The affected individual was hospitalized after traveling through western statesincluding North Dakota, Montana, Wyoming and South Dakota-and coming into contact with soil and animal remains. —AFP

MINNERIYA: A herd of Asiatic wild elephants gather at a national park in Minneriya, some 200 kilometers (125 miles) from Colombo. —AP

Lanka elephant survey faces boycott threat COLOMBO: Wildlife groups in Sri Lanka are threatening to boycott the country’s first national survey of wild elephants after a minister said it would be used to identify animals for use at temples. A dozen privately-run wildlife organizations pulled out their volunteers on the eve of the survey which aims to count the number of animals across all of the formerly war-torn island’s national parks for the first time. Wildlife Minister S M Chandrasena told reporters that the data would help to identify suitable elephants that could be domesticated and sent to Buddhist temples where they are used in ceremonies. “Calves suitable for pageants will be chosen during the elephant census, tamed and handed over to the temples,” Chandrasena said, according to the Colombobased Daily Mirror newspaper.

“Sometime back there were more than 300 tamed elephants in the country and the number has now dwindled to around 150 of which only a few are tuskers suitable for pageants.”

While the Department of Wildlife Conservation moved to deny the minister’s comments, elephant conservation groups on Tuesday voiced their disgust over a “calculated” move to tame wild elephants. “Capturing wild elephants or tuskers is harmful for the natural breeding process in the wild,” conservationist Rukshan Jayawardene told reporters.

He said some 12 groups representing over 100 volunteers were pulling out of the survey until the government gave assurances that wild elephants would not be captured. Wildlife Department director general H D Ratnayake said he was not aware of the minister’s directive.

“The survey is not to capture elephants, but to assess their numbers for conservation work,” he told AFP. Over 4,000 workers and volunteers were expected to fan out for two days from Friday to count and categorize elephants at watering holes across the Indian Ocean island.

The $210,000 project will cover for the first time national parks in the north and east that

were out of bound for conservationists during the island’s decades long war which ended in 2009. The results are expected to give the most detailed picture yet of herd patterns and numbers in a country that boasted 12,000 elephants in 1900. The department estimates the current population at just 4,000. “We plan to do a water hole survey, where elephants are counted when they arrive to drink water from lakes and reservoirs in the national parks,” Ratnayake said.

Surveys in the past have been restricted to a few regions, excluding the former conflict zones that were battered during the war between government forces and ethnic Tamil separatists. But critics point out that an estimated two-thirds of Sri Lankan elephants live outside national parks, according to the department, and conservationists have also questioned the methodology of the census. Local expert Srilal Miththapala said there was a danger of double-counting and raised the practical problem of identifying the vast number of watering spots visited by elephants across the country in just two days of counting.

“Elephants can move stealthily over a short period of time from one water hole to another during the counting process,” Miththapala told AFP. “You can’t do surveys over two days.”

Instead, Miththapala suggested dung counting and transects, a system of following patterns of elephant movement along a set path over a period of time, were more accurate. “Over the years direct counting methods have failed in India, and they now use direct counting supported by transects and dung counts to compile their statistics,” Miththapala said. In India, there are an estimated 30,000 elephants in the wild. Ratnayake said that over 200 elephants were reported killed by Sri Lankan farmers last year as they destroyed crops, while some 50 people were also killed in what are often described as “man-elephant conflicts”. —AFP

The estimate is based on a pair of mandibular rami, or the upright part of an L-shaped lower jawbone, that were found in Late Cretaceous sediment in Kyzylorda, southern Kazakhstan.The bones measure 275 millimetres (10.8 inches), indicating a skull that would have been a whopping 30 centimeters (a foot) long. Whether the bird flew and what it ate are unclear because the evidence is so sketchy. But if the two bones are a guide, the beast would have stood up to three meters (10 feet) high and weighed more than 50 kilos (110 pounds) if it had been flightless.

If it flew, the bird would have weighed at least 12 kilos (26 pounds), with a wingspan of at least four meters (13 feet). The avian was “an undisputed giant,” says the study. Birds are believed to have evolved from tiny two-footed dinosaurs called theropods at the start of the Cretaceous era, around 150 million years ago. The prevailing theory, based on usuallyincomplete fossils, is that they remained extremely small for tens of millions of years.

Of more than 100 types of early birds that have come to light, only one-Gargantua philoinos, which lived around 70 million years ago-was large-bodied.

The others were crow-sized or smaller. And even the claim for G. philoinos is under attack. Some scientists argue the fossil was really that of a pterosaur, or flying reptile, rather than a bird. —AFP

This undated handout photo provided by the journal Science shows the detail of a Polycotylus latippinus’ embryo. The giant reptile was pregnant when she died more than 70 million years ago, according to a new analysis of the remains that offers the first proof that Plesiosaur gave birth to live young rather than laying eggs. —AP

Stray bullet leaves boy blind for life PHILADELPHIA: Ten days after being shot in the head and blinded for life, the 9-year-old Camden, NJ, boy has it all figured out. “God hates me,” Jorge Cartagena says with sad certainty. “No, Jorge,” says his grandmother Manuela Pintor, who has raised him from infancy. “It could have happened to anybody. It could have happened to me.” No matter that he’s a favorite of his principal at Cramer Elementary and that even his crossing guard has sent a getwell card to him at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Jorge appears to believe, says Pintor, that bad behavior has sealed his fate.

From his bed, he tells family members that he is going to be a better person and that they must do the same, scolding anyone who uses profanity in his presence. He plans, he says, to start going to church.

“I saw God, and he sent me back,” says Jorge. “He said it wasn’t time to die. He was going to give me another chance.” On the afternoon of Monday, June 27, Jorge became one of the 103 people who have been shot in Camden in the first seven months of 2011 - up 24 percent for the same period last year. The city’s 26 homicides, counted separately, are up 37 percent.

Jorge, who prefers the Anglo pronunciation “George,” was walking home through East Camden to feed his pet parakeets when a bullet sliced through his temple, damaging optic-nerve fibers behind his right eye and exiting through his left. The alleged assailant, Greg Rawls, 29, who police say was aiming at someone else, was quickly arrested. Rawls, who has served time on drug convictions, is behind bars on second-degree aggravated assault and weapons charges, with bail set at $450,000. At Children’s, pediatric ophthalmologist William Katowitz remembers the surgical team’s conversation as the remnants of Jorge’s left eye were removed and a silicone ball placed in its socket.

“We talked about how terrible it is that life can be determined by millimeters,” he says. “A millimeter this way and he dies; a millimeter that way, and he keeps his eyes.”

Apparently, Jorge turned his head to look behind him when the shooting began, sparing his brain but dooming his sight. Jorge’s loud, loving Puerto Rican family is not unfamiliar with the violence of Camden streets. Two of Pintor’s brothers have been shot, one fatally. Still, nothing has prepared them for the breathtaking brutality with which Jorge’s sight was taken before he began fourth grade. Or for the boy’s reaction to the tragedy.

After waking up from several days of heavy sedation, he remembers. “I was shot,” he whispers. His shocked grandmother blurts out: “No, you weren’t shot. Who told you that?” The next day, he worries about his eyes. “I’m real messed up right now. I can’t see nothing,” he tells Pintor. She replies, “You got your arms, you got your legs, you got your heart. ... What more do you need?” The day after brings panic.

“Where’s my eyes? Where’s my eyes?

I can’t see!”

Initially, doctors had hoped that Jorge might eventually glimpse shadows with the damaged right eye. Before leaving Children’s, Jorge requests and gets the truth from Katowitz - that he’ll probably never see anything. Jorge waits until the room is quiet. “Is everybody gone?” he asks Pintor, who says yes.

“Mommy, I’m going to be blind!” he weeps in her arms. Hours later, he is repeating a version of Pintor’s mantra: I got my arms, I got my legs, I got my nose, I got my senses. ...

Still, Jorge smiles for his adored sister, Yamina Cartagena, 2, who makes everyone nervous by pulling and poking him like her personal teddy bear. Visitors pack his room, including his mother, Isabel Cartagena, who gave Jorge to Pintor to raise, and who has drawn closer since the tragedy.

Pintor, who came to the United States from Puerto Rico as a toddler, says she can’t read or write because she was kept out of school to cook and clean. She has diabetes, high blood pressure, and, since a workrelated back injury, lives on disability benefits. Jorge has been her eyes,

boy asks a sleep-deprived Pintor to answer for him. “He likes Eminems and stuff like that,” she says.

Jorge tells McGuire he has a guitar, but Pintor reminds him that sister Yamina stepped on it and now it makes funny noises. “It goes kwaakkwaak!” says Pintor, and they all laugh. Can he cook? Pintor remembers Jorge once made eggs. “Well, listen up,” says McGuire. “In the next few weeks, in recreation therapy, we’re going to try out different games and activities and things that you can leave this hospital knowing how to do, OK?” “But I can’t see.” “I know. But that’s why you’re here. So that you can learn to do things differently and still have things to do that are fun, even though you can’t see. Because, guess what: There’s a lot of people who can’t see.”

In the first days of therapy, tears stream from Jorge’s useless eyes.

Over two weeks, he practices walking up and down stairs and tying his shoes, and begins to navigate with more confidence. “We taught him to tap into his other senses,” says occupational therapist Stefanie Hak. One day, recalls Weisman

PHILADELPHIA: Jorge Cartagena, a nine -year-old Camden, New Jersey child caught in cross fire in late June, has come to the realization that he is now blind. —MCT reading for her. He calls himself the “man of the family.” Pintor sleeps beside him every one of the 25 nights he spends in medical facilities. It is she whom Jorge - “Boobie” to family members - calls out for at all hours, day and night.

Even as he shows flashes of the outgoing kid who loved video games, basketball, and rap music, Jorge jumps at every noise and cries with sudden, inexplicable pain in various parts of his body - now his neck, now his foot, now one knee, then the other. Later, Children’s surgeons will cover his silicone eye with a hand-painted plastic replica of a pupil and iris. For now, he is convinced that his eyes make him ugly, that kids will laugh at him. Shortly after Jorge checks into Weisman Children’s Rehabilitation Hospital in Marlton, NJ, on July 9, a cheerful recreational therapist named Kaylee McGuire meets with him to find out his interests. When he taps out a beat with objects on the table in front of him, she sees an opening. “Oooh, do you like music?” Jorge says no, but grins.

“Who do you like to listen to?” The

social-work director Andrea Van Vreede, he “was walking down the hall, shouting hi to every staffer in other patients’ rooms: ‘Good morning, Joe! Good morning, Marlese!’” so attuned to his surroundings that the identifications were flawless.

Her grandson’s therapy gives Pintor time to try to secure a ground-floor apartment and attend the July 14 bail hearing for the man who allegedly blinded her Boobie.

The family waits three hours for a glimpse of Rawls and is upset that attempted murder is no longer included in the charges against him.

“My baby’s going to pay for this guy’s mistake for the rest of his life,” Pintor says. Shortly before noon July 21, Pintor is at the Golden Pearl Chinese Restaurant on Admiral Wilson Boulevard buying cigarettes when, according to police, five state troopers exchange gunfire with a man they saw robbing the restaurant at gunpoint.

During the firefight, another customer yanks Pintor out of the way as a bullet whizzes past. She goes to her sister’s house to vomit, then returns to Jorge’s side. The next

morning, on the hottest day of 2011 so far, Jorge comes home. Wearing dark glasses and a baseball cap, he climbs the staircase to the sweltering second-story apartment on Benson Street as family members hover. All afternoon, visitors wipe dripping brows with washcloths and jockey for position in front of a box fan.

When a representative from the Camden Board of Education arrives and tells Jorge, who has been bullied, that he will probably attend a school for the blind in Philadelphia, Jorge asks: “Is it a school where they will beat me up?” That night, Evelyn Glenn, Jorge’s former youth counselor and now a close friend, brings a small air conditioner for the child’s room, where Pintor will sleep on the floor, next to his bed. As the days pass, the 9-year-old clings to the tiniest possibility that he may someday see something - anything - as his right eye heals.

At the same time, he stops chastising his family for cursing and is himself swearing so much that they take him to church. “Jorge,” Pintor sighs, “you are a grouchy old man.”

At night, Pintor hears her grandson pray. “He say, ‘God, can you make me a miracle? I don’t want to be blind.’”

Cindy Fine, nursing director at Weisman, says she would be shocked “if Jorge had accepted it by now. ... I know spinal-injured guys who still harbor the hope of walking. You never give up hope.”

Jorge has had his first encounters with braille and with using a cane, and the Camden School District is evaluating him for school placement, possibly at the Overbrook School for the Blind in Philadelphia.

“He’s in for significant relearning,” starting with daily activities, said Gerald Kitzhoffer, director of the Overbrook School. “Imagine putting toothpaste on a toothbrush without seeing,” he said. “Another thing is travel skills. He’ll have to depend on people to move safely, then learn to move independently, unable to see obstacles.”

His great-aunt Elizabeth Del Valle, a home health-care aide, will work with him. Glenn and a therapist will work with him on psychological issues. Twenty-six days after the shooting, Jorge is visiting his greataunt and -uncle and young cousins when he announces he wants to go to a neighborhood playground. It will be his first real walk on the streets of Camden, and the excitement in the room is, as Pintor would say, “off the hook.” The adults reassure themselves: This is a relatively safe neighborhood - not where Boobie got shot.

As the sun sets, the entourage moves slowly up the sidewalk, with Aunt Elizabeth Del Valle guiding Jorge’s right arm while Jorge uses his left to pour a bottle of water over the head of cousin Gaby Del Valle, as the child ducks, weaves, and laughs.

At the park, Jorge clambers up the slide as Pintor screams warnings at the boy until she’s hoarse. Once down, he raises his arms triumphantly and goes back for more.

The third time, he hands his hat and dark glasses to Gaby before sliding into the darkness. —MCT

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health & science

Center fills need for rural families struggling with autism UNION: It was time for an art project, but Blake Walkenhorst, 14, wandered into the corner of the room. “Blake has two choices, the ball or sit at the table,” said instructor Meghan Radford, who had just finished another negotiation with a 13-yearold boy who insisted, “No art.” Blake sat at the table and stared at the Popsicle sticks and glue.

“You need to keep trying,” Radford encouraged.

“You can do this.” But instead, Blake opted to sit and bounce on a large exercise ball, which he finds soothing.

The boys were among four children with varying degrees of autism in a morning camp last week at the new McGee Autism Center.

Seven more were coming in the afternoon. The challenging moment was just a sliver for Radford, who volunteers the more than 60 hours a week she spends preparing and leading classes at the center. “I love being here, and lives are being changed,” said Radford, 29. The entire staff at the center volunteer their time, dedicated to meeting the needs of a population they’re struggling to help.

Founder Mary McGee started out two years ago at her kitchen table, taking calls from desperate parents, wondering about everything from how to stop a child from banging his head against the wall to what sort of services they

should be getting in school. In less than a year, McGee opened a small three-room facility in a strip mall near the center of town. On Sunday, the center is hosting an open house for its latest home - a 10,000-square-foot former church where it serves more than 150 children from an eight-county area. “What I thought MAC would be when it started and what it has evolved to ...

It’s so amazing,” McGee said.

The quick expansion reflects the growing number of children being diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders, a group of developmental disabilities characterized by problems with socialization, communication and behavior. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate 1 in 110 children in the United States has an autism spectrum disorder, with an estimated 1 in 83 in Missouri. The demand for the center’s services is also evidence of the need for treatment and support in rural areas.

McGee, 44, is driven by the isolation she felt when her 9-year-old son was diagnosed with autism while living in Union almost six years ago.

“Here I was sitting in the middle of Franklin County, thinking I was the only family with a child with autism,” she said. “I was so wrong.”

Vicky Pealer, 45, felt overwhelmed when her son, Dalton, 10, was diagnosed seven months ago

experience in sync with dedication

with Asperger’s syndrome, on the higher-functioning end of the spectrum. She found a flier in her grocery bag about a fundraiser for the McGee Autism Center.

“I walked in with the flier and said, ‘My son was recently diagnosed. I don’t know who I need to talk to or what I need to do, but I need some help,’” Pealer said. She took the center’s autism basics class - where she learned signs, symptoms and ways to handle problems - and has taken advantage of the parent and sibling support groups. Dalton comes to camp two mornings a week and takes a weekly class to improve critical thinking skills. Pealer said she has learned about services Dalton’s school must provide, and Dalton has become more calm and social. But the center provides more to her than education and treatment. “When you are a parent, it’s so important just to have someone,” Pealer said. “I can call them anytime. I can come in, and Mary can give me a hug.”

And Dalton has a place where he doesn’t feel left out or misunderstood, she said. Sharon Moeller, communications director for the advocacy group Missouri Families for Effective Autism Treatment, said families in rural areas face an “extreme need” for autism services and support.

They often must drive several hours to meet with

doctors and therapists, Moeller said. Their choices in providers are also limited, she said. Kristi Mattison, communications director for TouchPoint Autism Services, the largest provider in Missouri, said distance and lack of transportation are the greatest barriers rural families face in getting treatment. TouchPoint, with offices in St Louis, Columbia, Springfield, Joplin, Cape Girardeau and Poplar Bluff, receives funding from the state for therapists to provide in-home services. “We drive hundreds of thousands of miles to provide services to families across the state who would never otherwise have access to these services,” Mattison said.

But services in rural areas are not as cohesive.

“In urban areas, we find that the community of parents, teachers, doctors and professionals providing autism services can more easily come together or be on the same page to work with families,” Mattison said. McGee said when her son was diagnosed, she was told he would never talk, which she proved wrong. “I’m a stubborn Irish woman,” she said. She learned all she could about Applied Behavior Analysis, a popular behavior modification therapy, and practiced it at home. She finished college and went on to earn her master’s in counseling, with a goal to eventually help other parents like her. —MCT

UNION: Instructor Meghan Radford talks to Dalton Pealer, 10 (left) and his group mate Blake Walkenhorst, 14, at the McGee Autism Center’s Character Camp. —MCT

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W H AT ’ S O N

Birthday Greetings

Happy birthday to Hadeel and Hannal Abdel Haleem! May God shower you with health, wealth and prosperity. Best wishes from daddy, mummy, friends and well-wishers.

KPMG hosts iftar banquet KPMG held an iftar banquet for representatives of local press and media outlets which was hosted by Safi Al-Mutawa and his son Abdul-Aziz AlMutawa at the Holiday Inn in Salmiya. —Photos by Joseph Shagra

Announcements Girgian Fashion Show Get your kids dressed up in their best Girgian costumes or Fairy tale costumes! The Kids Gergean Fashion Show event is sponsored by Fantasy World & it includes lots of entertainment & goodies. It is open to kids aged 2 to 15 years. This event will be covered by many magazines :) When: Thursday, August 11th, Time: 8:30pm, For more info: 9722-4813 GIRGIAN: A fun Girgian party at Baroue! :) When: August 12th, 13th & 16th, Where: Baroue, Avenues Mall, Time: 8pm, For more info: 2259-7457 to 60 Attention kids!

CEF VBS 11 starting from August 22. Six exciting days of singing, games & bible stories for children of all ages. Hurry !!!. Limited Seats. Register Online: www.cefkuwait.org Tulukoota talent hunt

Scientific Center hosts Gergian night

T

he Scientific Center hosted its annual Gergian evening yesterday. The special event featured activities as well as a traditional display performed by the popular ‘Abu Tbailah’ character. The event also featured special 50 percent discount on entrance tickets, as well as free Gergian distributed to children. The Scientific Center welcomes visitors everyday during the holy month from 9:00 pm to 12:00 am, in addition to 10:00 am to 1:00 pm timings on Saturdays.

Kala Kuwait welcomes new Indian ambassador

K

ala (Art) Kuwait leaders visited the Indian Embassy and welcomed Satish C Mehta, the Ambassador of India, to Kuwait. The leaders briefed their forthcoming program titled as “Onam” - “Eid UlFitr” celebrations which is scheduled for September 9, 2011. The delegation consisted of Kala (Art) Kuwait President Sam Kutty Thomas, General Secretary Jaison Joseph and Executive Members Mukesh V P, K Sadik. The leaders requested to the Mission to kindly extend all possible assistance for immediate repatriation of M N

Rajan, who is in a pathetic condition in Mangaf is been looked after by them and expressed their gratitude to the ambassador for the support the embassy has been giving in all efforts.

Kala Kuwait new office bearers Kala Kuwait elected its new office bearers for the year-2011-2012.

Samkutty Thomas as President, K. Hassan Koya as Vice President, Jaison Joseph as General Secretary, Santhosh Joseph & Joseph Palakkan as Joint Secretaries, Binu Sukumaran as Treasurer, Ayyappan

Mohanan as Literary Secretary, Joby Loukose as Sports Secretary, Johney Kalamachal as Arts Secretary.

Executive members are K Aboobakkar, Mohanan Varokkoth, Shaji, Aji Kumar, Sajeevan and Sasi Alzoor Advisory Board Members are C. Bhaskaran, Artist Sreenivasan, Prabhakarn Panikkar, K. R, Rajesh, R.S. Pillai, T. K. Narayanan and Renuka Bhaskaran. Neena Rajagopalan and Muraleedharan are Auditors. K. Aboobakkar, Mukesh V. P. and Renuka Bhaskaran are delivered felicitations. Jaison Joseph delivered the vote of thanks.

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

Aware Arabic courses

Bouhshari Art Gallery Exhibition runs through 15 September. Daily working hours: 10am - 1pm and 5 - 9pm, except on Friday and on Thursday evening.

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he AWARE Management is glad to announce that Ramadan Arabic language courses run 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.

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.

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

Squash tournament

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Write to us Send to What’s On upcoming events, birthdays or celebrations by email: local@kuwaittimes.net Fax: 24835619 / 20

nce again this year, the stage is set for the third annual ‘Ramadan Stars Squash Tournament’ to be held from 15th to 22nd August at the Kazma Sporting Club, Adailiya. Abdulrahim Al Awadi, the Chairman of the Higher Organizing Committee has announced that doors are now open for registration to all those who are interested in participating, stating that the deadline for registration will be 13th of August.

The participation in this tournament is open to all and will fall under three categories this year. The first category is for amateurs from ages 17 and above, second category is for professional players from ages 20 and above and the third category is for ladies 17 and above.

Following its last two years of grand success, the 3rd annual Ramadan Stars Squash Tournament is being organ-

ized during Ramadan for squash lovers who will have an opportunity to practice the sport while being encouraged to develop their skills in a healthy and competitive environment.

Al Awadi, the Chairman of the Higher Organizing Committee, commented, “In our last two tournaments, we have received very positive feedback and have witnessed a huge number of interested participants thus giving us immense encouragement to hold an exciting tournament this year. The 2011 squash tournament offers a great opportunity to all squash players to accept another challenge and build on their sports skills in midst of a friendly atmosphere. I highly encourage all interested players to maintain their level of activity during Ramadan while balancing fitness and fasting and to register before the deadline ends”.

Rink soccer Don Bosco Oratory is pleased to announce its Major 4-A-Side “Rink Soccer Fiesta” in Kuwait! This event is for the soccer lovers in Kuwait and will be played on a League (round robin) cum knock out basis from August 2nd at the IEAS Quadrangle in Salmiya. For details contact Chris: 6651-9627, Alex: 66069282 from 6-9pm.

Konkani musical show Comedian Philip, the 1st NRI Goan comedian, is all set to entertain you with a Konkani music show titled “Ani, Anik Zaiem?” to be presented by the United Friends Club on September 9 at 4pm at the AIS (American International School) Auditorium, Maidan-Hawalli. This is Kuwait-based comedian Philip’s third musical show after the overwhelming success of staging “Tum Vhoir Aum Sokol” and “Hem Kazar Koslem” in Kuwait and overseas.

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SUNDAY, AUGUST 14, 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.

A group photo.

CCC holds annual ghabqa in ‘Taiba Tent’

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he Canadian Commercial Circle (CCC) held its annual ghabka on Tuesday, August 9 at Movenpick Hotel Kuwait in the oriental “Taiba Tent “.

The event was attended by the Canadian Ambassador Reid Henry, the Swiss Ambassador Mitcel Gottret, and the Ambassador of Spain Angel Losada in addition to representatives from Kuwait Italian Business Group, British Business Forum, American business Council of Kuwait , French Business Group besides high ranking guests from the embassies of Italy, Germany, and Turkey .

The event began with a welcoming speech from Marco Saxer the General Manager of Movenpick Hotel Kuwait. This was followed by the Speech of the CCC President Basil Totongi who welcomed the attendees and wished them a wonderful evening, and then he started to handed over three mementos to the CCC governors the first one goes to Farid El Sayed . Second one goes to Martin Barratt the Canadian Councilor commercial and the third one goes to Reid Henry the Canadian Ambassador.

The ghabqa event was sponsored by

the Movenpick Hotel Kuwait, Sama Social therapy & Alternative medicine Center and Land Mark Group. The guests enjoyed the shisha with different flavors and traditional Ramadan juices; also they treated to a lavish dinner buffet. The superb menu included an assortment of generous salads, starters, main courses and desserts.

Farid Elsayed the CCC Governor and the Event Organizer said “It was a wonderful ghabqa dinner where I enjoyed Ramadan vibes, Kuwaiti culture, and oriental music band mixed with the Swiss hos-

pitality. Orchestrating a very hospital team and providing outstanding service, Saxer warm welcome was over whiningly noticed by all of the member councils and guests.” He continued “The quality buffet and carefully chosen menu added to our joyful dinner and happiness. I would like to thank the Movenpick’s General Manager and his great team and wish them more success for putting together this cultural event and unforgettable night - enjoyed by more than 120 guests from six Business Councils - on Ramadan’s map for the first time in the State of Kuwait”.

l The Embassy of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh in Kuwait will remain closed tomorrow, 15 August 2011 on the occasion of the National Mourning Day, the 36th Death Anniversary of the Father of Nation - Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. The Embassy will arrange the following programmes to observe the National Mourning Day, the 36th Death Anniversary of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman tomorrow, 15 August 2011 at the Chancery. The programme on this occasion will be as follows: 0830 hrs Roof top Hoisting of the National Flag at half-mast 1630 hrs First Floor Recitation from the Holy Quran one-minute silence in honour of the martyrs.

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

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

Various ambassadors are pictured during the event.

Basil Totongi hands over the memento to Martin Barratt the Canadian Councilor.

Marco Saxer welcomes the guests.

Basil Totongi is pictured during his speech. The attendees are pictured during the ghabqa.

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. 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

Khaled hands over the gift to the lucky winner.

Courtyard by Marriott Hotel holds ghabqa for media

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he Courtyard by Marriott Hotel held an exclusive Ramadan ghabqa for the members of the press and media at the Atrium Restaurant. The annual Ramadan ghabqa was attended by various media heads and officials from the Courtyard by Marriott Kuwait Hotel. The annual ghabqa is organized to thank the members of the press for their continuous support on all activities undertaken during 2011. The Atrium Restaurant was transformed into traditional Arabic setting. The members of the press enjoyed a lavish buffet ranging from live cooking stations serving pasta, Saj, the ever popular lentil soup, harrera soup and much more. While the guests enjoyed the oriental buffet, light Arabic music in the background musicians played authentic Arabic numbers along with different flavors of shisha. The guests were welcomed by George Aoun, Cluster General Manager, Saif Mohammed, Country Director of Sales and Marketing, Amal Mikahil, Director of Marketing & Communications and the entire sales team. “We take this opportunity to wish everyone a very happy and blessed Ramadan,” said Saif Mohammed, Country Director of Sales and Marketing.

The crowded event is pictured.

Corporate training program

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rontline Logistics, leading logistics solutions provider in Kuwait launched a 12-day Corporate Training Program on Logistics Solutions. BP Nassar,

Regional Manager (Sales & Marketing) inaugurated the program by digitally switching on the training session. Afsal Ali, Asst Manager, Business Development

presided over the function. The first training session on Freight Forwarding was led by Elizabeth Mathew. Rajesh Nair was the master of ceremonies.

EMBASSY OF INDIA The Embassy of India will remain closed on the following dates on August 15, 2011 tomorrow - ‘Independence Day’ and August 22, (Monday) - ‘Janamashtami’. 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

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 SLOVAK REPUBLIC The Embassy of the Slovak Republic to the State of Kuwait would like to inform the public that from 8th August 2011, the working hours of the Consular Section will be on Monday and Wednesday from 10:00 till 13:00 hrs.

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00:45 Dogs/Cats/Pets 101 01:40 Untamed And Uncut 02:35 Lions Of Crocodile River 03:30 Into The Dragon’s Lair 04:25 I’m Alive 05:20 Animal Cops Miami 06:10 Dogs/Cats/Pets 101 07:00 Lemur Street 07:25 Michaela’s Animal Road Trip 08:15 The Really Wild Show 08:40 Natural Born Hunters 09:10 Chris Humfrey’s Wildlife 10:05 My Cat From Hell 11:00 Dogs/Cats/Pets 101 11:55 Crocodile Hunter 12:50 Great Ocean Adventures 14:40 Dogs/Cats/Pets 101 15:35 Dogs 101 16:30 Chris Humfrey’s Wildlife 16:55 Chris Humfrey’s Wildlife 17:25 Ray Mears’ Wild Britain 18:20 Dogs 101 19:15 Venom Hunter With Donald Schultz 20:10 Dogs/Cats/Pets 101 21:05 World Wild Vet 22:00 Monster Bug Wars 22:55 Whale Wars 23:50 Mutant Planet

00:40 The Jonathan Ross Show 01:30 Gavin & Stacey 02:00 Rob Brydon’s Annually Retentive 02:30 Mutual Friends 03:25 As Time Goes By 03:55 Allo Allo 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 09:45 As Time Goes By 10:15 Allo Allo 10:50 Robin Hood 11:35 The Weakest Link 12:20 Casualty 13:10 Casualty 14:05 The Weakest Link 15:40 Doctors 18:15 Robin Hood 19:00 As Time Goes By 19:30 Allo Allo 20:00 Ray Mears’ Wild Foods 20:50 Sunshine 21:50 The Fixer 22:35 Spooks 23:25 Bleak House

00:50 Britain’s Dream Homes 02:40 Holmes On Homes 03:30 Britain’s Dream Homes 05:20 Holmes On Homes 07:00 Daily Cooks Challenge 07:35 Come Dine With Me 12:30 New Scandinavian Cooking With Andreas Viestad 20:40 Britain’s Dream Homes

00:00 00:10 00:30 01:00 01:30 02:00 02:10

BBC World News World Features Gorbachev BBC World News Middle East Business Report BBC World News World Features

02:30 03:00 03:10 03:30 04:00 04:30 05:00 05:10 05:30 06:00 06:30 07:00 07:30 08:00 08:30 09:00 09:30 10:00 10:10 10:30 11:00 11:10 11:30 12:00 12:10 13:00 13:10 13:30 14:00 14:30 15:00 15:10 15:30 16:00 16:15 16:30 17:00 17:30 18:00 18:10 18:30 19:00 19:30 20:00 20:30 21:00 21:15 21:30 22:00 22:30 23:00 23:10 23:30

Newsnight BBC World News World Features Spirit Of Yachting BBC World News Dateline London BBC World News World Features Gorbachev BBC World News Click BBC World News Newsnight BBC World News India Business Report BBC World News Fast Track BBC World News The Health Show Spirit Of Yachting BBC World News World Features Dateline London BBC World News Feasts BBC World News World Features Third Eye BBC World News Newsnight BBC World News World Features Life On The Edge BBC World News Sport Today Click BBC World News Tim Marlow On...

BBC World News World Features Gorbachev BBC World News India Business Report BBC World News Third Eye BBC World News Sport Today Click BBC World News Spirit Of Yachting BBC World News World Features Tim Marlow On...

06:00 Kid Vs Kat 06:20 Kick Buttowski 06:45 Pokemon Dp: Sinnoh League Victors 07:10 Iron Man: Armoured Adventures 07:35 Phineas & Ferb 08:00 Phineas & Ferb 08:25 Suite Life On Deck S3 08:50 Pair Of Kings 09:15 Kick Buttowski 09:40 Rekkit Rabbit 10:05 Zeke & Luther 10:30 Zeke & Luther 10:55 I’m In The Band 11:20 The Super Hero Squad Show 11:45 The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody 12:10 Kid Vs Kat 12:35 American Dragon 13:00 Wizards Of Waverly Place The Movie 14:35 Kick Buttowski 15:00 Pair Of Kings 15:25 Phineas & Ferb 15:50 I’m In The Band 16:15 Rekkit Rabbit 16:40 Zeke & Luther 17:05 The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody 17:30 Pokemon Dp: Sinnoh League Victors 17:55 Suite Life On Deck S3 18:20 Suite Life On Deck S3 18:45 Phineas & Ferb 19:10 The Avengers: Earths Mightiest Heroes 19:35 The Avengers: Earths Mightiest Heroes 20:00 New Spiderman 20:25 Zeke & Luther 20:50 I’m In The Band 21:15 Aaron Stone 21:40 American Dragon 22:00 Kick Buttowski

SUNDAY, AUGUST 14, 2011

TV PROGRAMS

00:00 01:00 02:00 02:30 03:00 04:00 05:00 08:00 09:00 09:30 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 18:00 Rides 19:00 21:00 22:00 23:00

Globe Trekker Indian Times Trabant Trek Word Travels People Of The Sea Globe Trekker Special Globe Trekker Planet Sports Glutton For Punishment Travel Today Rivers Of The World Intrepid Journeys Globe Trekker Globe Trekker Indian Times Budapest To Bamako 2010 World’s Greatest Motorcycle Globe Trekker Intrepid Journeys Globe Trekker Globe Trekker

00:05 Jungle Junction 00:15 Little Einsteins 00:40 Higglytown Heroes 01:10 Jo Jo’s Circus 01:30 Special Agent Oso 02:00 Jungle Junction 02:25 Little Einsteins 02:50 Higglytown Heroes 03:20 Jo Jo’s Circus 03:40 Special Agent Oso 04:10 Jungle Junction 04:35 Little Einsteins 05:00 Higglytown Heroes 05:30 Jo Jo’s Circus 05:50 Jungle Junction 06:15 Higglytown Heroes 06:45 Handy Manny 07:00 Special Agent Oso 07:15 Jungle Junction 07:45 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 08:10 Timmy Time 08:20 Handy Manny 08:30 Jake And The Neverland Pirates 08:55 The Hive 09:10 Handy Manny 09:25 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 10:15 The Little Mermaid 10:40 Little Einsteins 11:05 Jungle Junction 11:20 Lazytown 11:45 Handy Manny 12:00 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 12:25 Jake And The Neverland Pirates 12:40 The Little Mermaid 13:05 The Hive 13:15 Special Agent Oso 13:25 Little Einsteins 13:50 The Little Mermaid 14:15 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 15:05 Handy Manny 15:30 The Hive 15:40 Jake And The Neverland Pirates 15:55 Imagination Movers 16:20 Lazytown 16:45 Jungle Junction 17:00 The Hive 17:10 Little Einsteins 17:30 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 17:55 Jake And The Neverland Pirates 18:10 Jake And The Neverland Pirates 18:25 The Little Mermaid 18:50 Special Agent Oso 19:05 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 19:50 Jake And The Neverland Pirates 20:10 The Hive 20:20 Timmy Time 20:27 Animated Stories 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

THE KARATE KID I ON OSN ACTION HD

00:40 Your Worst Animal Nightmares 01:35 I Escaped Death 02:30 How Do They Do It? 02:55 How Does It Work?

03:25 How Do They Do It? 03:50 How Does It Work?

04:20 How Do They Do It? 04:45 How Does It Work?

05:15 How Do They Do It? 05:40 How Does It Work 06:05 How Do They Do It? 06:30 How Does It Work 07:00 American Chopper: Senior vs Junior 07:50 Powering The Future 08:45 Wheeler Dealers 09:40 River Monsters 10:30 Extreme Fishing With Robson Green 11:25 Flying Wild Alaska 12:20 Pit Bulls And Parolees 13:15 LA Ink 14:10 Taking On Tyson 15:05 Cake Boss 17:20 Mythbusters 18:15 Flying Wild Alaska 19:10 Swamp Brothers 19:40 True Heroes 20:05 Dirty Jobs 21:00 Mythbusters 21:55 Brew Masters

00:05 The Gadget Show 00:30 Things That Move 01:20 Colony 02:10 Powering The Future 03:00 Engineered 03:50 Punkin Chunkin 2010 04:45 Catch It Keep It 05:40 How Stuff’s Made 06:10 Superships 07:00 Race To Mars 07:55 Head Rush 07:58 Sci-Fi Science 08:25 Weird Connections 08:55 Brainiac 09:45 Prototype This 10:35 The Tech Show 14:45 Head Rush 14:48 Sci-Fi Science 15:15 Weird Connections 15:45 Bang Goes The Theory 16:10 The Gadget Show 17:00 Smash Lab 17:50 Science Of The Movies 18:40 Through The Wormhole With Morgan Freeman 19:30 Things That Move 20:20 The Gadget Show 21:10 Sci-Fi Science 21:35 The Tech Show 22:00 Powering The Future 22:50 Things That Move 23:40 Bang Goes The Theory

00:05 Luke Nguyen’s Vietnam 00:30 Good Eats - Special 00:55 Bobby Chinn Cooks Asia 01:45 Food Network Challenge 02:35 Chopped 03:25 Ultimate Recipe Showdown 04:15 Good Eats - Special 04:40 Unwrapped 05:05 Ten Dollar Dinners 05:30 Paula’s Best Dishes 05:50 Paula’s Party 06:35 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 07:00 Chopped 07:50 Guy’s Big Bite 08:15 Everyday Italian 08:40 Good Deal With Dave Lieberman 09:05 Ten Dollar Dinners 09:30 Paula’s Best Dishes 09:55 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 10:20 Good Eats - Special 10:45 Boy Meets Grill 11:10 Unwrapped 11:35 Paula’s Party 12:25 Everyday Italian 12:50 Paula’s Best Dishes 13:15 Good Deal With Dave Lieberman 13:40 World Cafe Asia 14:05 Luke Nguyen’s Vietnam 14:30 Good Eats - Special 14:55 Unwrapped 15:20 Boy Meets Grill 15:45 Chopped 16:35 Guy’s Big Bite 17:00 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 17:25 Paula’s Best Dishes 17:50 Everyday Italian 18:15 World Cafe Asia 18:40 Luke Nguyen’s Vietnam

00:25 00:50 01:15 01:40 02:05 Cody 02:30 02:55 03:20 04:10 05:00 05:45 06:35 07:25 08:15 09:00 09:25 09:45 10:10 Splits 10:30 11:00 11:25 11:50 12:15 13:30 15:00 15:25 15:50 16:40 17:00 17:25 17:50 18:15 18:35 19:20 19:45

Fish Hooks Phineas And Ferb Suite Life On Deck Sonny With A Chance The Suite Life Of Zack And Hannah Montana Forever Kim Possible Replacements Fairly Odd Parents A Kind Of Magic Stitch Kim Possible Emperor’s New School Stitch Jungle Junction Handy Manny Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Jake & The Neverland Pirates Fish Hooks Wizards Of Waverly Place Phineas And Ferb Good Luck Charlie Fish Hooks Double Teamed Shake It Up Good Luck Charlie Suite Life On Deck Sonny With A Chance Wizards Of Waverly Place Phineas And Ferb Shake It Up Fish Hooks Good Luck Charlie Shake It Up Fairly Odd Parents

20:10 20:30 21:00 21:20 21:45 22:10 23:55

Fairly Odd Parents Fairly Odd Parents Fish Hooks Suite Life On Deck Shake It Up Thirteenth Year Wizards Of Waverly Place

00:25 Fashion Police 00:55 Chelsea Lately 01:25 E!es 02:20 E! Investigates 04:10 Sexiest 05:05 Reality Hell 05:30 Wildest TV Show Moments 06:00 15 Remarkable Celebrity Body Bouncebacks 07:50 Behind The Scenes 08:20 E! News 09:15 Kendra 10:15 Married To Rock 11:10 Kimora: Life In The Fab Lane 12:05 E! News 13:05 Fashion Police 13:35 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 14:05 E!es 15:00 Khloe And Lamar 15:55 The Dance Scene 16:55 Behind The Scenes 17:55 E! News 18:55 Holly’s World 19:55 Kimora: Life In The Fab Lane 20:55 Kourtney And Kim Take New York 21:25 Khloe And Lamar 22:25 E! News 23:25 The Soup 23:55 Chelsea Lately

00:15 Kick Ass Miracles 00:40 Aiya TV 01:05 Aiya TV 01:30 M1 Selection 2010 02:20 The Millionaire’s Club 04:00 Carpocalypse 04:50 Lucas Oil Motocross Championships 2009 06:30 Ride Guide Mountainbike 2008 08:00 X-Traordinary 09:40 Summer Dew Tour 2010 11:20 Lucas Oil Motocross Championships 2009 13:00 Fight Girls 13:50 Mantracker 14:40 Untracked 16:45 Fantasy Factory 17:10 I’ll Do Anything 18:00 Mantracker 18:50 Lucas Oil Motocross Championships 2009 20:30 Fight Girls 21:20 Eds Up 22:10 Mantracker 23:00 I’ll Do Anything 23:50 Aiya TV

00:30 01:20 02:10 03:00 03:50 04:45 05:15 06:10 07:00 07:50 08:40 09:30 09:55 10:20 11:10 12:00 12:50 13:40 14:30 14:55 15:20 16:10 17:00 17:50 18:40 19:30 19:55 20:20 21:10 22:00 22:25 22:50 23:40 Jones

A Haunting Ghost Lab The Haunted A Haunting A Haunting Ghosthunters Murder Shift Mystery ER Forensic Detectives Murder Shift Mystery ER Real Emergency Calls Street Patrol Fugitive Strike Force FBI Files On The Case With Paula Zahn Royal Inquest Mystery ER Real Emergency Calls Street Patrol Fugitive Strike Force Forensic Detectives Murder Shift FBI Files Mystery ER Street Patrol Real Emergency Calls On The Case With Paula Zahn Disappeared Stalked: Someone’s Watching Who On Earth Did I Marry?

I Almost Got Away With It True Crime With Aphrodite

00:00 Fish Warrior 01:00 Fishzilla: Snakehead Invasion 01:55 How Big Can It Get 02:50 Africa’s Secret Seven 03:45 Inside Nature’s Giants 04:40 Triumph of Life 05:35 Sahara 06:30 Wild Amazon 07:25 Hidden Worlds 07:50 Hidden Worlds 08:20 Tiger Queen 09:15 Africa’s Secret Seven 10:10 Shane Untamed 11:05 The Invaders 12:00 Killer Shots 13:00 Dangerous Encounters With Brady Barr 14:00 Fish Warrior 15:00 The Lion Ranger 16:00 Orca Killing School 17:00 Tiger Queen 18:00 Secret Shark Pits 19:00 Fish Warrior 20:00 The Lion Ranger 21:00 Orca Killing School 22:00 Tiger Queen 23:00 Secret Shark Pits

00:00 01:00 01:55 02:50 03:45 04:40 05:35 06:30 07:25 07:50 08:20 09:15 10:10

Fish Warrior Fishzilla: Snakehead Invasion How Big Can It Get Africa’s Secret Seven Inside Nature’s Giants Triumph of Life Sahara Wild Amazon Hidden Worlds Hidden Worlds Tiger Queen Africa’s Secret Seven Shane Untamed

SHANGHAI KNIGHTS ON OSN MOVIES ACTION 11:05 The Invaders 12:00 Killer Shots 13:00 Dangerous Encounters With Brady Barr 14:00 Fish Warrior 15:00 The Lion Ranger 16:00 Orca Killing School 17:00 Tiger Queen 18:00 Secret Shark Pits 19:00 Fish Warrior 20:00 The Lion Ranger 21:00 Orca Killing School 22:00 Tiger Queen 23:00 Secret Shark Pits

00:00 Blood: The Last Vampire-18 02:00 The Boondock Saints 2: All Saints Day-18 04:00 Last Breath-PG15 06:00 Evolution-PG15 08:00 Hardwired-PG15 09:45 The Manchurian Candidate-18 12:00 I, Robot-PG15 14:00 Hardwired-PG15 15:45 Bugsy-18 18:00 I, Robot-PG15 20:00 What Lies Beneath-PG15 22:00 The Karate Kid I-PG15

01:15 03:00 05:00 06:45 09:00 11:00 13:00 15:30 17:30 19:00 21:00 23:15

The Answer Man-PG15 Me And Orson Welles-PG Planet 51-PG The Flyboys-PG15 The Front-PG15 Attack On Leningrad-PG15 The Karate Kid-PG The Brothers Bloom-PG15 Motherhood-PG15 Remember Me-PG15 It’s Complicated-PG15 Mammoth-PG15

00:30 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 01:00 The Colbert Report 01:30 The New Adventures Of Old Christine 02:00 Saturday Night Live 03:00 Melissa And Joey 03:30 How I Met Your Mother 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 Melissa And Joey 09:00 Tyler Perry’s House Of Payne 09:30 Hot In Cleveland Special: Behind The Hotness 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 How I Met Your Mother 13:30 Tyler Perry’s House Of Payne 14:00 Seinfeld 14:30 Hot In Cleveland Special: Behind The Hotness 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 30 Rock 19:30 30 Rock 20:00 My Boys 20:30 Curb Your Enthusiasm 21:00 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 21:30 The Colbert Report 22:00 Sons Of Tucson 22:30 Bored To Death 23:00 The New Adventures Of Old Christine 23:30 My Boys

01:00 Collateral-18 03:00 Last Breath-PG15 05:00 Halloween 2-18

07:00 Speed-PG15 09:00 Batman: Under The Red Hood-PG 10:45 The Day After Tomorrow-PG 13:00 Alatriste-PG15 15:30 Batman: Under The Red Hood-PG 17:00 Shanghai Knights-PG15 19:00 Triangle-18 21:00 The Karate Kid I-PG15 23:15 Gothika-18

00:00 02:00 04:00 06:00 08:00 10:00 12:00 13:45 16:00 18:00 20:00 22:00

Sweet Home Alabama-PG15 Captain Ron-PG15 Dr. Dolittle-PG Dr. Dolittle 2-PG The Out Of Towners-PG15 17 Again-PG15 Hanging Up-PG15 The Fighting Temptations-PG15 Sweet Home Alabama-PG15 Wake-PG15 The Slammin’ Salmon-18 Head Over Heels-PG15

01:00 In America-18 03:00 Nowhere Boy-PG15 05:00 Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant-PG15 07:00 Leap Year-PG15 09:00 By The People: The Election Of Barack Obama-PG15 11:00 Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement-FAM 13:00 Moon-PG15 15:00 Delgo-FAM 17:00 By The People: The Election Of Barack Obama-PG15 19:00 Toy Story 3-FAM 21:00 My Last Five Girlfriends-PG15 23:00 Girl, Positive-PG15

01:00 Nativity!-PG 03:00 Groove Squad-FAM 05:00 The Turandot-PG15 07:00 Ramses Of Egypt-PG 09:00 Lego: The Adventures Of Clutch Powers-FAM 11:00 The Adventures Of Rocky And Bullwinkle-FAM 13:00 The Amazing Zorro-FAM 15:00 Alvin And The Chipmunks: The Squeakquel-FAM 17:00 The Adventures Of Rocky And Bullwinkle-FAM 19:00 Daddy Day Care-PG 21:00 The Amazing Zorro-FAM 23:00 Ramses Of Egypt-PG

00:00 Goodbye Solo-PG15 02:00 Lower Learning-PG15 04:00 Gasland-PG15 06:00 Freestyle (2010)-PG15 08:00 Celine: Through The Eyes Of The World-PG15 10:00 My Bollywood Bride-PG15 12:00 Freestyle (2010)-PG15 14:00 Phoebe In Wonderland-PG 16:00 Celine: Through The Eyes Of The World-PG15 18:00 Glorious 39-PG15 20:15 My Last Five Girlfriends-PG15 22:00 The List-PG15

00:00 07:00 09:00 11:00 13:00 20:00 22:00

Test Cricket Live NRL Premiership Tri Nations International Rugby Union Live Test Cricket Scottish Premier League NRL Premiership

02:00 04:00 06:00 07:00 11:30 13:30 14:00 18:30 20:30 21:00 21:30

Tri Nations International Rugby Union Trans World Sport The PGA Championship NRL Premiership Rugby World Cup Classics The PGA Championship International Rugby Union Futbol Mundial Rugby World Cup Classics Live The PGA Championship

00:00 03:00 04:00 05:00 06:00 07:00 08:00 10:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 17:00 19:00 20:00 23:00

UFC 133 Speedway UFC The Ultimate Fighter UFC Unleashed UFC Unleashed WWE Vintage Collection Live NRL Premiership WWE SmackDown!

WWE Bottomline WWE Vintage Collection Speedway Live Scottish Premier League WWE SmackDown!

UFC 133 Prelims UFC 133 UFC The Ultimate Fighter

00:00 Homes With Style 01:00 Fashion Avenue 01:55 Big Boutique 02:25 How Do I Look?

03:20 Whose Wedding Is It Anyway?

04:15 Married Away 05:10 Homes With Style 05:35 Area 06:05 Clean House 07:00 Big Boutique 08:00 Clean House 09:00 Top 10 09:25 Top 10 09:55 Homes With Style 10:20 Homes With Style 10:50 Bridalplasty 11:50 Bridalplasty 12:50 How Do I Look?

13:45 Ruby: My Naked Truth 14:45 Clean House Comes Clean 15:40 Top 10 16:35 Giuliana & Bill 18:25 Clean House: Best Of The Worst...

18:55 Fashion Police 19:25 How Do I Look?

20:20 Fashion Police 20:45 Clean House Comes Clean 21:15 Giuliana & Bill 22:10 Jerseylicious 23:05 Ruby

01:30 Knights Of The Round TableFAM 03:25 Each Dawn I Die-PG 04:55 Manhattan Melodrama-PG 06:30 TCM Presents Under The Influence-U 07:00 Carbine Williams-PG 08:35 The Tender Trap-PG 10:30 Hotel Paradiso-PG 12:05 Escape From Fort Bravo-FAM 13:40 Northwest Passage-PG 15:45 Ride, Vaquero!-FAM 17:15 Guns For San Sebastian-PG 19:05 The Day They Robbed The Bank Of England-FAM 20:30 Flipper-FAM 22:00 Cannery Row

00:00 01:00 02:00 02:30 03:00 05:00 06:00 07:00 08:00 08:30 09:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 14:30 15:00 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 20:30 21:00 22:00

Investigating History America: The Story Of The Us Pawn Stars Pawn Stars Angels And Demons Decoded Decoding The Past Investigating History America: The Story Of The Us Pawn Stars Pawn Stars Angels And Demons Decoded Decoding The Past Investigating History America: The Story Of The Us Pawn Stars Pawn Stars Angels And Demons Decoded Decoding The Past Investigating History America: The Story Of The Us Pawn Stars Pawn Stars UFO Hunters Ancient Aliens

Classifieds SUNDAY, AUGUST 14, 2011

ACCOMMODATION Sharing accommodation in Abbassiya near Balansiya Bakery, from 1st September, full furnished 2 bedroom flat with mini split A/C, looking for executive bachelor or couple to share with Keralite family.

Contact: 66944127 or (afternoon) 24334240. (C 3560) 9-8-2011

Sharing accommodation available in Abbassiya, near United Indian School. For a couple KD 80 or bachelor KD 50. Contact: 99645213. (C 3557)

SITUATION VACANT Required English speaking nanny/ maid. Please Contact: 99824597.

(C 3564) 14-8-2011

CHANGE OF NAME I, Aravind Krishnakumar Sunitha (s/o Krishna Kuwmar. R) holder of Indian Passport No. J5398981 (D.O.B - 23-06-1995) would like to change my name to Aravind Krishnakumar.

(C 3563) 13-8-2011

No: 15180

DIAL 161 FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION In case you are not travelling, your proper cancellation of bookings will help other passengers to use seats Airlines RJA MLR JZR THY KAC KAC UAE DHX ETD MSR GFA QTR ETH JZR KAC FCX KAC BAW JZR KAC KAC JZR IRA KAC KAC KAC FDB KAC KAC UAE QTR ABY IRA ETD GFA IRC FCX MEA RBG MSR UAL RJA KAC KAC SVA

Flt 642 1405 357 772 1748 108 853 370 305 614 211 138 620 539 544 201 412 157 557 206 382 533 615 284 302 332 53 678 352 855 132 125 603 301 213 6801 203 404 3553 610 982 640 774 562 500

Arrival Flights on Sunday 14/8/2011 Route AMMAN COLOMBO / DUBAI MASHAD ISTANBUL JEDDAH GENEVA / LONDON DUBAI BAHRAIN ABU DHABI CAIRO BAHRAIN DOHA ADDIS ABABA / BAHRAIN CAIRO CAIRO DUBAI MANILA / BANGKOK LONDON ALEXANDRIA ISLAMABAD DELHI ASSIUT SHAHRE KORD DHAKA MUMBAI TRIVANDRUM DUBAI MUSCAT / DUBAI COCHIN DUBAI DOHA SHARJAH SHIRAZ ABU DHABI BAHRAIN AHWAZ DUBAI BEIRUT ALEXANDRIA / SOHAG CAIRO WASHINGTON DC DULLES AMMAN RIYADH AMMAN JEDDAH

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

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

788 746 257 134 303 857 215 510 561 201 127 239 63 227 166 542 618 786 674 1750 102 572 341 61 745 647 81 402 552 512 372 859 172 217 136 1779 405 981 981 787 612 185 636 135 389 447 205

JEDDAH ABU DHABI / DAMMAM BEIRUT DOHA ABU DHABI DUBAI BAHRAIN RIYADH SOHAG DAMASCUS SHARJAH AMMAN DUBAI COLOMBO / DUBAI PARIS / ROME CAIRO DOHA JEDDAH DUBAI JEDDAH NEW YORK / LONDON MUMBAI DAMASCUS / ALEPPO DUBAI JEDDAH MUSCAT BAGHDAD BEIRUT DAMASCUS TEHRAN BAHRAIN DUBAI FRANKFURT BAHRAIN DOHA JEDDAH KABUL / DUBAI BAHRAIN CHENNAI / AHMEDABAD RIYADH CAIRO DUBAI FRANKFURT BAHRAIN KOZHIKODE / MANGALORE AMSTERDAM / BAHRAIN LAHORE

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

Airlines KAC AXB DLH JZR AIC MLR THY UAE DHX ETD MSR ETH QTR RJA GFA VOS BAW IRA FDB KAC KAC KAC JZR KAC KAC UAE ABY QTR ETD GFA KAC IRA JZR IRC FCX MEA KAC JZR JZR KAC KAC RBG

Flt 677 394 637 532 976 1405 773 854 371 306 615 620 139 643 212 94 156 614 54 171 745 117 256 561 787 856 126 133 302 214 773 602 560 6802 204 405 541 200 238 103 785 3554

Departure Flights on Sunday 14/8/2011 Route DUBAI COCHIN / KOZHIKODE FRANKFURT ASSIUT GOA / CHENNAI COLOMBO ISTANBUL DUBAI BAHRAIN ABU DHABI CAIRO ADDIS ABABA DOHA AMMAN BAHRAIN DUBAI / KANDAHAR LONDON SHAHRE KORD DUBAI FRANKFURT DAMMAM / ABU DHABI NEW YORK BEIRUT AMMAN JEDDAH DUBAI SHARJAH DOHA ABU DHABI BAHRAIN RIYADH SHIRAZ SOHAG AHWAZ DUBAI BEIRUT CAIRO DAMASCUS AMMAN LONDON JEDDAH ALEXANDRIA

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

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

KAC MSR RJA UAL KAC KAC KAC SVA JZR KAC ETD QTR UAE GFA ABY SVA FDB JZR JZR ALK KAC JZR KAC JAI FDB KNE SYR JZR KAC KAC OMA MEA KAC DHX UAE GFA FCX QTR KAC KAC KAC UAL MSR KAC JZR

1749 611 641 982 551 673 617 503 1778 511 304 135 858 216 128 511 64 786 184 228 283 134 361 571 62 746 342 538 343 351 648 403 543 373 860 218 102 137 301 205 411 981 613 415 556

JEDDAH CAIRO AMMAN BAHRAIN DAMASCUS DUBAI DOHA MEDINAH / JEDDAH JEDDAH TEHRAN ABU DHABI DOHA DUBAI BAHRAIN SHARJAH RIYADH DUBAI RIYADH DUBAI DUBAI / COLOMBO DHAKA BAHRAIN COLOMBO MUMBAI DUBAI JEDDAH ALEPPO / DAMASCUS CAIRO CHENNAI COCHIN MUSCAT BEIRUT CAIRO BAHRAIN DUBAI BAHRAIN BAHRAIN DOHA MUMBAI ISLAMABAD BANGKOK / MANILA WASHINGTON DC DULLES CAIRO KUALA LUMPUR / JAKARTA ALEXANDRIA

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

34

SUNDAY, AUGUST 14, 2011

stars CROSSWORD 409

STAR TRACK

CALVIN & HOBBES

Aries (March 21-April 19) If you are working today, you should make a great deal of progress. Your creative mind is open and ideas as well as quick answers are easy to find. A friend may have ideas on new ways for you to invest. It may be a blessing that this is a Saturday—given time to think things through you could change your mind later. You will probably feel better if you got further information on this investment package. Beating the odds through cleverness is appealing and this may lead to an interest in all kinds of financial speculation. A lover or child who is bright and articulate plays a big role in your life this evening. There is attention around this person, possibly a party, but your support is important and appreciated. Travel may be necessary—go and enjoy.

Taurus (April 20-May 20) Lovers, children and other people or things dear to your heart are emphasized at this time. Being appreciated and admired for your talents are powerful needs. Taking chances can bring big rewards. Quick answers, great wit and a surplus of insights and solutions are obtainable. You may have ideas about teaching children character issues in the school system and how to implement your ideas throughout the country. This is a good time to write and communicate with real originality. Inventions and breakthrough ideas are possible. Romance and other things that tug at the heart strings come your way. This could be through a child. This is a creative period for you, a time to take a chance and a time to be appreciated and admired.

POOCH CAFE ACROSS 1. The 19th letter of the Greek alphabet.

4. A comedy characterized by broad satire and improbable situations.

9. A system of one or more computers and associated software with common storage.

13. An edge tool used to cut and shape wood.

14. Small tropical American tree bearing edible plumlike fruit.

15. Offering fun and gaiety.

16. Cubes of meat marinated and cooked on a skewer usually with vegetables.

18. (Akkadian) God ruling with his consort Ereshkigal the world of the dead.

19. Type genus of the Anatidae.

20. The state of matter distinguished from the solid and liquid states by.

22. An edge tool used to cut and shape wood.

23. The ratio of the distance traveled (in kilometers) to the time spent traveling (in hours).

24. A Chadic language spoken south of Lake Chad.

27. An associate degree in applied science.

28. A soft silvery metallic element of the alkali earth group.

30. (Babylonian) God of wisdom and agriculture and patron of scribes and schools.

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

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

39. The cry made by sheep.

40. A slippery or viscous liquid or liquefiable substance not miscible with water.

41. A unit of absorbed ionizing radiation equal to 100 ergs per gram of irradiated material.

44. Genus of sticky herbs with yellow flowers open in morning or evening but closed in bright light.

46. A state in midwestern United States.

48. An official prosecutor for a judicial district.

49. A number to which another number (the addend) is added.

52. Short and fat.

54. (Irish) Mother of the Tuatha De Danann.

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

60. Remove with or as if with a ladle.

62. The elementary stages of any subject (usually plural).

64. Look at with amorous intentions.

65. An enzyme that catalyzes the oxidation of many body compounds (e.g., epinephrine and norepinephrine and serotonin).

66. The Oceanic language spoken by the Maori people in New Zealand.

67. A Gaelic-speaking Celt in Ireland or Scotland or the Isle of Man. DOWN 1. The basic unit of money in Bangladesh.

2. Chief port of Yemen.

3. A member of a Turkic people of Uzbekistan and neighboring areas.

4. A trivial lie.

5. A radioactive element of the actinide series.

6. The seventh month of the Moslem calendar.

7. Being ten more than one hundred ninety.

8. The longest division of geological time.

9. A city in northern India.

10. (Irish) Chief god of the Tuatha De Danann.

11. A public square with room for pedestrians.

12. Income (at invoice values) received for goods and services over some given period of time.

17. Savory jelly based on fish or meat stock used as a mold for meats or vegetables.

21. The capital and largest city of Yemen.

25. A hard gray lustrous metallic element that is highly corrosion-resistant.

26. The region of the body of a vertebrate between the thorax and the pelvis.

29. A drug combination found in some over-the-counter headache remedies (Aspirin and Phenacetin and Caffeine).

32. The sense organ for hearing and equilibrium.

33. The blood group whose red cells carry both the A and B antigens.

34. A small cake leavened with yeast.

35. Scottish chemist noted for his research into the structure of nucleic acids (born in 1907).

36. Being one more than two.

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

42. (Babylonian) God of storms and wind.

43. A light touch or stroke.

45. (electronics) Of a circuit or device having an output that is proportional to the input.

47. Jordan's port.

50. Mammary gland of bovids (cows and sheep and goats).

51. A cushion on a throne for a prince in India.

53. Beyond what is natural.

55. Not in action or at work.

56. French physicist noted for research on magnetism (born in 1904).

58. Large brownish-green New Zealand parrot.

59. A bloody and prolonged operation in which American marines landed and defeated Japanese defenders (February and March 1945).

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

63. A gray lustrous metallic element of the rare earth group.

Yesterday’s Solution

Gemini (May 21-June 20) You may go through a lot of changes that affect your idea of security this year. Your home and family situation could be a focus for growth and real learning. Events may conspire to make it difficult for you to fulfill your plans for the day—be flexible. You could turn your energy into control issues— however, this leaves very little attention to answering questions properly. Egos can clash in any situation, but the spirit cannot clash at all. Learn to associate misery with ego and joy with spirit. This makes it much easier to go with the flow of events.

Choose the positive path by explaining what you want to accomplish today and perhaps there can be an adjustment. Understand that delays are possible, but positive results happen with a steady eye on the goal.

Cancer (June 21-July 22)

NON SEQUITUR

Today, work seems ongoing—whether it is in your living area or in the work field—taking care of business is a major theme where your emotional orientation is concerned at this time. Your organization abilities help you get things accomplished. You know just what to do.

This afternoon you may gain a bit of time for some relaxation. A fun trip to a market or fair or perhaps some time out for swimming with a friend will help to renew the energy you so often exhaust. You may find yourself lavishing affection on loved ones. You might feel love or value for an older person and will probably spend some time visiting or aiding in his or her care this evening. A well balanced meal and good conversation completes this very busy day.

Leo (July 23-August 22) Luck is on your side today. Investment ideas, real estate, stock market, semi-precious stones could all prove quite profitable. This is the time to read and make plans. Poetry for songwriters may be another idea for your creative outlet and gambling streak. Gamble with your talents—you may be pleased with the positive results now. This is also a good time to seek out any professional advice that may be needed. This would mean anything from psychiatric to financial.

Planning a vacation for next week can be favorable now. Your energies are high and there will be much enjoyment with travel. Anything around nature will bring some deep feelings of being at one with the world. If you will be vacationing with a loved one, make activity plans together.

ZITS

Virgo (August 23-September 22) Obtaining and exchanging information takes on more emotional significance. Being more involved with neighbors or sibling(s) satisfies a deep emotional need. You may find yourself being put to good use by your friends today. Saying and writing things with style counts for a lot and this tends to bring out the social butterfly in all of us. Neighbors or brothers and sisters will likely bring all kinds of good experiences your way. You may be able to enjoy and value your own life situation today. A visitor enjoys the feelings that come with being around you and your surroundings and may compliment you on your tastes or belongings. It is time to do some serious thinking about letting someone or something go. It may be time for him or her to stand alone.

Libra (September 23-October 22)

MOTHER GOOSE AND GRIMM

You may want to help someone through a difficult time this day. Emotional needs of another call for an act of patience before trying to speak your words of wisdom. There could be some form of opposition to your ideas if you are not patient. You may even find this person impractical, aimless, indiscreet and even bitter when the outcome is not what he or she wants—careful.

This afternoon could prove to be an action-filled day as you and a friend work off some stress through some form of exercise or at the least, a fun activity that takes concentration. A new love interest deepens today. You can expect an open and honest relationship with no secrets. There are indications that this may be the person with whom you can enjoy a lifetime.

Scorpio (October 23-November 21) The energies of this day indicate a tendency to move too quickly. Your drive and efforts toward the completion of any project today should be thought out very carefully. The method then will become clear to you and the discipline will then be available to complete a project successfully. You can sometimes push against the way things are, the laws of nature . . . which is fruitless—careful. Some sort of temporary obstacle may appear. You could receive unexpected help or support from those around you.

You will become involved in some fun-loving as well as some deep-searching conversations with relatives today. You may enjoy activities with your friends this evening and someone has in mind the perfect thing to do.

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21) The mind and all that is mental is the source of change and adjustment. Letters, writing, speaking and all things having to do with communication and cognitive activity is the mode of the day. Your mind tends to be occupied with thoughts, ideas and concepts and remains in almost a constant flux. This is a time to absorb and take in new impressions and information. In summary, here is a natural breaking-point in life, a time to let go of what has been occupying you for the last years and assume a new attitude. You are feeling good and your mood is high. Learning new things gives you power. You may even have some fun with your family or friends in a fun game of charades, Scrabble or chess this evening. Good food and good friends.

Capricorn (December 22-January 19)

To

There could be blocked emotions today along with the feeling of being cut off or frustrated by others—you do not let it slow you for long. Confusing situations can be straightened out rather quickly. By this afternoon most of the frustrations will have been forgotten. You may have insights or breakthroughs in regard to your life goals today. Your feelings are not just important—they are central to getting to really know you. A strong devotional nature becomes apparent to anyone who takes time to know the real you; all else follows upon this inner drive and energy. The search for a mate and marriage in particular are crucial for you now. You are driven to unite and find out what togetherness means. Enjoy some fun activity with a friend this evening.

Yesterday’s Solution Yester

Aquarius (January 20- February 18) Others could seek you out for your psychological insight.

Friends may enjoy chatting over a cup of coffee. Most of the day proves to be quite enjoyable. This is a perfect time to spend with loved ones and family. Your most essential quality has to do with the very real love and compassion you radiate. Your sense of value and sheer appreciation for life are communicated to all who come to know you. A bridal shower, baby shower or some other fun celebration is attended this afternoon with friends—great fun. Beyond whatever external considerations may be present, you exude a contagious thankfulness and fondness for things and people. These inner, loving qualities are experienced as a very real good.

Enjoy some fun exercise this evening.

Pisces (February 19-March 20)

Word Sleuth Solution

Your support system—family, home and those who give you nourishment—becomes more secure now. You are able to dispense with some of the unessential clutter and develop what is most basic and true in your environment. You encourage better support. This is a time when your feelings, emotions and basic life urges undergo change and possibly transformation. You feel more personal and direct and find that you waste less time with hurt feelings than before.

This may be a good time to set aside some space for art—yours or your loved one’s art. You could display your art to encourage others to try their hand at some creative activity. When was the last time you had pictures taken, framed and mounted? It may be time for a family picture.

A

y

e niv rsar n

Years

SUNDAY, AUGUST 14, 2011

i n f o r m at i o n

FIRE BRIGADE

112

Al-Madena

22418714

Al-Shohada’a

22545171

Al-Shuwaikh

24810598

Al-Nuzha

22545171

Sabhan

24742838

Al-Helaly

22434853

Al-Fayhaa

22545051

Al-Farwaniya

24711433

Al-Sulaibikhat

24316983

Al-Fahaheel

23927002

Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh

24316983

Ahmadi

23980088

Al-Mangaf

23711183

Al-Shuaiba

23262845

24812000

Al-Jahra

25610011

Amiri Hospital

22450005

Al-Salmiya

25616368

Maternity Hospital

24843100

Mubarak Al-Kabir Hospital

25312700

Chest Hospital

24849400

Farwaniya Hospital

24892010

Adan Hospital

23940620

Ibn Sina Hospital

24840300

Al-Razi Hospital

24846000

Physiotherapy Hospital

24874330/9

Ministry of Interior website: www.moi.gov.kw For labor-related inquiries and complaints: Call MSAL hotline 128

Hospitals Sabah Hospital

POLICE STATION Al-Madena Police Station Al-Murqab Police Station Al-Daiya Police Station Al-Fayha’a Police Station Al-Qadissiya Police Station Al-Nugra Police Station Al-Salmiya Police Station Al-Dasma Police Station

Clinics Rabiya

4732263

Roudha

22517733

Adhaliya

22517144

Khaldiya

24848075

Keifan

24849807

Shamiya

24848913

Shuwaikh

24814507

Abdullah Salim

22549134

Al-Nuzha

22526804

Industrial Shuwaikh

24814764

Al-Khadissiya

22515088

Dasmah

22532265

Bneid Al-Ghar

22531908

Al-Shaab

22518752

Al-Kibla

22459381

Ayoun Al-Kibla

22451082

Al-Mirqab

22456536

Sharq

22465401

Salmiya

25746401

Jabriya

25316254

Maidan Hawally

25623444

Bayan

25388462

Mishref

25381200

W.Hawally

22630786

Sabah

24810221

Jahra

24770319

New Jahra

24575755

West Jahra

24772608

South Jahra

24775066

North Jahra

24775992

North Jleeb

24311795

Al-Ardhiya

24884079

Firdous

24892674

Al-Omariya

24719048

N.Kheitan

24710044

Fintas

3900322

22434064 22435865 22544200 22547133 22515277 22616662 25714406 22530801

THE PUBLIC AUTHORITY FOR CIVIL INFORMATION Automated enquiry about the Civil ID card is 1889988

PHARMACIES

AIRLINES

ON 24 HRS DUTY GOVERNORATE

PHARMACY

ADDRESS

PHONE

Ahmadi

Sama Safwan Abu Halaifa Danat Al-Sultan

Fahaeel Makka St Abu Halaifa-Coastal Rd Mahboula Block 1, Coastal Rd

23915883 23715414 23726558

Jahra

Modern Jahra Madina Munawara

Jahra-Block 3 Lot 1 Jahra-Block 92

24575518 24566622

Capital

Ahlam Khaldiya Coop

Fahad Al-Salem St Khaldiya Coop

22436184 24833967

Farwaniya

New Shifa Ferdous Coop Modern Safwan

Farwaniya Block 40 Ferdous Coop Old Kheitan Block 11

24734000 24881201 24726638

Hawally

Tariq Hana Ikhlas Hawally & Rawdha Ghadeer Kindy Ibn Al-Nafis Mishrif Coop Salwa Coop

Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St Salmiya-Amman St Hawally-Beirut St Hawally & Rawdha Coop Jabriya-Block 1A Jabriya-Block 3B Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St Mishrif Coop Salwa Coop

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lifestyle

Years

G O S S I P

Joe Jonas regularly

Neil Patrick Harris

wears dirty clothes

‘danced with a frog devil’

he Jonas Brothers singer admits he is quite happy to take items from the dirty laundry basket, as it’s a “quick and easy” solution. When asked if he’d worn something out of the dirty laundry, Joe replied: “All the time - especially If I’m working out. It’s quick and easy.” As well as wearing dirty clothes, Joe also admits he and his brothers Nick, Kevin and Frankie - used to play practical jokes on their neighbors when they were growing up, although they would often get caught. He revealed: “I once wrapped toilet paper around all the trees in our town. The local sheriff came round and said to my dad, ‘I’m not accusing your sons of anything but your house is the only one without toilet paper outside’. I got a real talking to after that.”

However, the 21-year-old heartthrob who has previously dated the likes of Taylor Swift, Demi Lovato and Ashley Greene - insists he has now grown up and learnt to behave himself, to the extent that he wouldn’t even go through an ex-girlfriend’s phone. He added to heat magazine: “I’ve only gone through an ex’s phone because she wanted to show me something. I wouldn’t do it without asking!”

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he ‘Smurfs’ star admits he took the drug “once” but would avoid taking it again because he did not enjoy the experience. He said: “I’ve had my fair share of fun. I tried acid, once. But I t h i n k i t h a d b e e n w a t e re d d o w n o r s o m e t h i n g. S o i t w a s n’t a p p a re n t l y, what it was supposed to have been. “But I do remember lying outside in Mexico, where it happened. There was a tree outside and suddenly the limbs of the t re e b e c a m e f ro g s h a n d i n g u p s i d e

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down. That was understandably, the last time I did that. But yeah, I danced with the frog devil.” However, the ‘How I Met Your Mother’ actor - who works in T V, film and on stage - admits he is a very lucky person because he gets to enjoy a career he loves in various formats. He added: “I’m one of the luckiest people around these days. Not only do I get to act in a TV show that I love, as a hilarious character, but I now get to dabble in big movies.”

Russell Brand thinks UK riots ‘sad and frightening’

he British comedian - who now lives in Los Angeles with his wife Katy Perry - is upset areas he has previously lived in London has been affected by the looting and violence in the last week and hopes his views do not irritate because he no longer lives in England. He wrote on his website: “This week’s riots are sad and frightening and if I have by virtue of my temporary displacement forgone the right to speak about the behaviour of my countrymen then this is gonna be irksome. “I’ve lived in Dalston, Hackney, Elephant, Camden and Bethnal Green, I grew up around Dagenham and Romford and whilst I could never claim to be from the demographic most obviously affected I feel guilty that I’m not there now. “I feel proud to be English, proud to be a Londoner (alright an Essex boy) never more so than since being in exile and I naturally begin to wonder what would make young people destroy their communities.” Although the 36-year-old star believes he does not know the answer to the problem - which was sparked by the killing of Mark Duggan by police last week - because of his celebrity lifestyle, he hopes people learn to deal with their problems spiritually. He added: “I don’t know enough about politics to ponder a solution and my hands are sticky with blood money from representing corporate interests through film, television and commercials, venerating, through my endorsements and celebrity, products and a lifestyle that contributes to the alienation of an increasingly dissatisfied underclass. “But I know, as we all intuitively know, that the solution is all around us and it isn’t political, it is spiritual. Ghandi said, ‘Be the change you want to see in the world.’

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Snooki loves Italian food

he Italian-American star - real name Nicole Polizzi - spent time in the country while shooting a special of her show ‘Jersey Shore‘, in which she stars with Pauly D and Mike ‘The Situation’ Sorrentino, but does not regret spending most of her time partying and eating and not seeing famous sites. She told Hollywoodlife.com: “We clubbed a lot. We drank a lot. I mean I can always go back to Rome when I want to. “My favorite part of Italy would probably be the food. The pizza and the pasta.

Even if you eat it, you don’t gain any weight because it’s so fresh and healthy.”

Despite her love of calorific food, 23-year-old Snooki - who has often confessed a love for fried pickles - has recently been on a weight loss regime, and recently revealed she would prefer to hit the gym over a night out. She wrote on twitter: “As everyone’s planning their night at the club, I’m wondering when Gold’s Gym closes.

Water is my new best friend.”

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Justin Theroux loves playing

a bad guy T

Noel Gallagher releases album he guitarist was quite content to take a break from music after he quit Oasis in August 2009, but his spouse Sara MacDonald - who he married in June 2011, and with whom he has two sons, three-year-old Donovan and 10-month-old Sonny - eventually decided he needed to release a record. He revealed: “I was in a band, right? And I left. And then I wrote some songs. I had a lot of songs left over from the band. And then I wrote some other songs. And after a couple of years sitting ‘round the house, I had a baby. Moved house.

My wife decided it was time for me to do something because I was annoying her.” Noel recently admitted that starting a musical career without his former Oasis bandmates brother Liam, Gem Archer, Andy Bell and Chris Sharrock, all of whom are now in Beady Eye - is a daunting prospect. Speaking about his new project, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, he said: “They’re a collective more than a band. Anyone can join and anyone can leave. I was sat in bed one night before I got my band together. I said to my wife, ‘It’s just dawned on me, I’ve got to find five other people. I won’t know their wives or girlfriends, or mates, and I’ve got to share a tour bus with them.’ “It’s like giving up drugs and moving on to a new circle of friends.” The musician releases his debut solo album ‘Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds’ in October and will start his tour the same month.

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he ‘Your Highness’ actor - who stars as an evil warlock in the fantasy comedy alongside James Franco and Natalie Portman - revealed he is much happier portraying a villain than a romantic lead. He explained: “Bad guys are great because you just come in and shout, muster up a little speech and then zap someone and go out. And I must say it was a brilliant experience on ‘Your Highness’, I’ve got to play a 10-year-old boy basically.” While Justin loved playing his character Leezar, he admitted he was inspired by Gary Oldman’s portrayal of Dracula in the 1992 vampire movie. He said: “I watched Gary Oldman as Dracula and I knew that if I could improve on his techniques and acting, then, frankly, we’d have a hit on our hands. “No I’m just kidding. We watched that and we somewhat stole from that, just enough to know we won’t get arrested of plagiarism.”

50 Cent has lunch with Goldie Hawn he rapper and the ‘Overboard’ actress enjoyed a meal together, with both taking to twitter to complement each other after the event. He wrote: “I had lunch with Goldie hawn she is complete sweetheart.(sic)” Goldie - who is in a long-term relationship with actor Kurt Russell, added: “Lunch was especially sweet today cause I met 50cent. His smile lit up the room.(sic)” Hours later, she concluded in a tweet to the ‘Buzzin’ hitmaker: “Oh sweetest! I adore you!Xx(sic)” It is not known why the pair met up for food, but it is not the first time 50 Cent has dined with a Hollywood legend. Last year he spent time with ‘Gypsie’ actress Bette Midler, and she confessed afterwards she would love to work with him on musical project. She said: “He is such a gorgeous star, holy cow. I’d love to collaborate with him, but I’m 30 years older than him. I really can’t rap, but I’d like to sing in the background on ‘Get Rich or Die Tryin’.”

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lifestyle

Japan holds

Yokohama Triennale art exhibition

“Untitled” by artists Britain’s Daniel Dewar and France’s Gregory Gicquel.

Visitors look at American artist Mike Kelley’s artwork titled “Kandor City 3” at the Yokohama Triennale art exhibition in Yokohama, near Tokyo yesterday.—AP

Visitors look at Israeli artist Sigalit Landau’s artwork titled “Barbed Salt Lamp 42-50”.—AP photos

Men’s shoes In movies, no marriage just got interesting woes are irreconcilable Footwear fashion for blokes has never been so exciting - so why are most men still wearing terrible shoes?

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very summer, regardless of the weather, men get out their plastic flip-flops and flap about like idiots in shoes that were designed to be worn on the beach.

Marginally less awful is when men get through the summer by wearing their regular work shoes but without socks, as recently demonstrated by David Cameron. But this is not a summer-only issue. From bland trainer-hybrids to nasty slip-ons with squared-off toes, when it comes to shoes, most men still don’t have a clue.

“Cornish pasty shoes” are the first in a long list of man-shoe bug bears for Jessica Punter, GQ’s style and grooming editor.

“Those rounded squishy shapeless ones, with funny foldover seams around the edge,” she explains. She also complains about pointy toes and the “epidemic of cheap high-street plimsoles with no structure, probably in grey jersey, that everyone’s got on at festivals, which you know will reek after about two weeks.”

Punter knows women who have vetoed a date on account of the chap’s bad shoes.

“Shoes are the clearest indication of whether of not you’ve got style,” she says.

“It’s not about being a dandy, I just think it’s about taking pride in your appearance.”

Marc Hare, the designer behind the Mr Hare label, is equally offended by “cabbage foot”, a condition connected to how men style their shoes. “What upsets me is people who have gone to the effort to get good shoes but then don’t get their trousers turned up properly and leave them slouching all over the shoes . . . It’s not enough to buy good shoes, you’ve got to wear them properly too.”

Later this month Hare, whose shoes cost around £400, will launch his first line for Topman. These designs will have a starting price of £85 and look set to be a hit. Hare’s love affair with shoes began during a shopping trip with his mother at Ravel when he was a boy and progressed to buying Gucci loafers by the age of 18. Apart from wanting to prove he could make cheaper shoes look good, he hopes the Topman collaboration will “encourage a better wave of shoewearing”.

During the past year, there has been a lot going on in men’s shoes trends - and the fashion for rolling up trouser hems has thrust footwear into the spotlight. In January, Prada’s stacked sandwich shoes from its spring/summer 2011 collection, featuring thick soles like a mashup of a trainer and an espadrille, appeared in almost every fashion shoot. This turned into a trend for shoes with a hefty tread, particularly a sturdy white one - perhaps a natural evolution from the previous autumn’s hiker boot trend.

In June, during the menswear spring/summer 2012 shows, two further

shoe looks appeared. First, the return of classic trainers, such as Nike and New Balance, worn by men attending the shows, seemed in tune with the sports trends coming through on the catwalk. Second, there was another Prada shoe buzz: this time around a pair of golf-inspired catwalk shoes encrusted with rhinestones. Has all the most exciting fashion headed south?

This autumn sees the debut of a range of men’s shoes by Jimmy Choo, which is part classic, part total show-off. It ticks all the shoe category boxes, from classic shapes, such as brogues and monk-straps, to trainers and evening slippers. Meanwhile at Harrods, the newly launched 8,000 sq ft “men’s shoe salon” is the biggest in Europe.

Here, you can get Kurt Geiger shoes for under £100 alongside Tom Ford crocodile laceups for £8,600. There is also a made-toorder service with prices going up to £12,000.

Adrian Clark, style director of men’s weekly Shortlist, owns around 245 pairs of shoes - he has had to employ a one-in, oneout wardrobe policy, but is still over his selfimposed limit of 220 pairs - says the reason men don’t care as much about shoes as women is down to cost. “The investment cost of a really good pair of shoes is somewhere between £400 and £650. If you consider that most men wouldn’t spend more than that on a suit, and then consider that most men won’t have more than two or three suits in their wardrobes at any given time, it puts a reality check on why they don’t have numerous expensive shoes.”

But shoes, says Clark, have replaced what to wear to weddings and evening dos as his readers’ most-asked-about fashion subject. Clark says he always starts with shoes and works up. “I don’t see shoes as a finishing touch.” He also thinks that Converse trainers are the “new sports car” for men of a certain age. They imply “I still have a bit of youthfulness left in me, however I don’t want to look like an idiot,” he says.

Hare thinks one of the biggest shoe challenges occurs when you leave youth culture and jump into adulthood. He says men seem to struggle to buy a good formal shoe appropriate for work and also for dressing up in the evening. Miller, the first shoe he designed, was the proposed solution. It features a matt-black body and patent toe. This is still his best-seller.

Punter concludes that your best bet is to invest occasionally in something expensive. “It doesn’t have to be all-singing and all-dancing trendy,” she stresses. “It should be well made, sturdy, and well cared for. It doesn’t matter how much they cost as long as they look like you’ve polished them, and you get them repaired when they’re tatty.” —Guardian

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n the movies, there’s often no such thing as irreconcilable differences. Hollywood adheres to many cliches, but one of its more interesting habits is its insistence on reuniting divorced or separated parents. On the big screen, exes are magnetically pulled together, much to the glee of their children. Going by the movies, one would think most divorces ended in reconciliation. Of course, remarrying an ex-spouse is a rarity. Statistics on it are hard to come by, but nearly half of first marriages in the United States end in divorce, and more than 60 percent of second marriages do. Yet the movies keep coming, constantly urging the nuclear family back together. This summer (the following will include spoilers), both “Popper’s Penguins” and the “Crazy Stupid Love” have featured separated parents again finding romance between themselves.

Such films, though, are seen by some as indulging in an unrealistic and unhealthy fantasy for children. Divorce is difficult enough for kids to accept, the argument goes, without Hollywood promoting remarriage like it was the only truly happy ending for a family. Speaking about “Mr Popper’s” (a film aimed squarely at children) on “Ebert Presents: At the Movies,” Mubi.com film critic Ignatiy Vishnevetsky called such plot lines “dangerous.” As a child of divorce, he’s sensitive to movies that sell a false sense that the marital problems that lead to divorce can be quickly patched up.

“I feel like if you’re going to make a film for an audience of children, you have to acknowledge that children are actually fairly smart,” says Vishnevetsky. “Playing into these wish-fulfillment fantasies over and over isn’t necessarily the best thing.

Acknowledging the reality of how things work might be better.” He sees the source of such films as part of Hollywood’s nostalgic tendency to reassure us about how things were before, “instead of showing us how change can be a good thing.”

It was the philosopher Stanley Cavell who first termed the movie genre “comedies of remarriage.” Looking at films of the ‘30s, he noticed the trend in screwball classics like “His Girl Friday,” “The Philadelphia Story” and “The Awful Truth.” But in those films, children are not involved. The closest they come is Mr. Smith, the fox terrier that Irene Dunne and Cary Grant fight over in “The Awful Truth.”

The granddaddy of the remarriage film with children is 1961’s “The Parent Trap,” which has been remade several times, including a 1998 version with a young Lindsay Lohan. In “The Parent Trap,” twin daughters conspire to reunite their parents. “It’s not unusual for kids to have fantasies of reconciliation,” says Christy Buchanan, professor of psychology at Wake Forest University and co-author of “Adolescents After Divorce.” “So to the extent that Hollywood perpetuates the notion that this can happen for kids who are experiencing this type of longing, that could be difficult for families.”In “Mr. Popper’s,” Jim Carrey plays a real estate developer who has turned cold and overly career-focused.

When a shipment of penguins arrives, they help him reconnect to his two children, to nature and to his former self. His wife (Carla Gugino) gradually softens and the two begin formally dating again. It’s remarkably similar in plot to another Carrey film, 1997’s “Liar Liar,” in which forced honesty restores him (again playing a coldhearted businessman) to his old self and his ex-wife. (Carrey’s “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” too, was considered by some critics to be a modern example of the 1930s comedy of remarriage.)

Dr Simon Casey, therapist and author of “Couples in Chaos,” believes any such trend might simply be filmmakers working out their own issues. “It is an unhealthy proposition, but then again, I don’t believe that is what motivates Hollywood,” says Dr Casey. “I sometimes wonder if some of these films are the direct result of their unresolved personal experience they put on the screen to create their own escapism.”

Often cataclysm brings exes back together. When faced with world destruction, petty squabbles recede and ex-husbands finally shine. They include: “Outbreak” (1995), “The Day After Tomorrow” (2004), “Independence Day” (1996), “2012” (2009) and “War of the Worlds” (2005). In the HBO period melodrama “Mildred Pierce,” nominated for a leading 21 Emmys this year, it’s domestic upheaval involving a child that leads to remarriage.

“Crazy Stupid Love” is more squarely aimed at adults than “Mr. Poppers,” but its journey from separation to divorce is more unlike-

ly. When Steve Carell’s character learns that his wife (Julianne Moore) has cheated on him, they split and he starts sleeping all over town. But he, taking inspiration from his young son, eventually realizes his true love for his wife and their reunion seems promising. “Ultimately we wanted the sense that there’s an unbelievable gravity pulling them together, but circumstance is driving them apart,” says John Requa, who co-directed the film.

Moore acknowledges “there is a fantasy about giving everything a happy ending,” but she believes there’s truth to such stories. “I just had a friend of mine that had separated from her husband, she suddenly had this revelation that she wanted to be with him again,” says Moore. “She felt that their family deserved another chance. So I do think that that stuff happens.” And certainly, Hollywood has always been interested in extreme and unlikely tales. Happy marriages are almost as uncommon in movies as rational divorces.

Several stars have remarried their exes. Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton tried it in 1975, but it only lasted a year. Robert Wagner and Natalie Wood married a second time in 1972 and remained

together until Wood died nine years later. Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson twice married, and twice divorced. Eminem and his wife, Kimberly, married in 1999 and 2006, the second time lasting about three months. Earlier this year, Marie Osmond married her first husband, 26 years after they divorced.

Dr. Robert Epstein, a psychologist and author of parenting guide books, thinks Hollywood’s feeding of reconciliation fantasies “does no harm at all.” “Hollywood is about fantasy and happy endings, and the downside of disappointment is more than offset by the uplift of hope,” says Dr. Epstein.

There are, of course, numerous authentic movies about divorce and children. Noah Baumbach’s semi-autobiographical “The Squid and the Whale” (2005) portrayed the confusion and pain two young boys experience when their parents separate and try dailyalternating custody.“Kramer vs. Kramer” (1979) and “The War of the Roses” (1989) showed the bitterness of divorce. 2009’s “It’s Complicated” found the comedy in Meryl Streep’s late dalliance with a former husband (Alec Baldwin). It’s not emotionally hard for the children-they’re mostly grown, and far more level-headed than their parents.

It might be surprising, but “Mrs. Doubtfire” (1993) and “The Santa Clause” (1994) are the rare movies that end both optimistically and with acceptance of divorce. In both films, the fathers (Robin Williams, Tim Allen) go to great lengths to stay present in their children’s lives after divorce. In “The Santa Clause,” all Santa’s son needs to do is shake a snow globe, and his father will swing by in sleigh, ready for a father-son adventure - just so long as he has him back to mom’s at a decent hour. —AP

SUNDAY, AUGUST 14, 2011

lifestyle

Indian school girls tie a sacred thread or rakhi onto the wrists of Indian Border Security Force (BSF) personnel during the Raksha Bandhan festival at the India-Pakistan Wagah Border post yesterday. The ceremony topically involves a bracelet being tied by a sister to her brother’s wrist, symbolising the sister’s love and prayers for her brother’s well-being, and the brother’s vow to protect her. —AFP

Aguilera leads line-up for Jackson P

op singer Christina Aguilera and Motown legend Smokey Robinson will head the line-up for a Michael Jackson tribute concert in Britain in October, the organisers have announced. Several of Jackson’s brothers will also perform at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium in Wales, as will his nephews who form the boyband 3T, despite opposition among some of the late singer’s siblings to the concert going ahead at all.

Fans have until August 16 to register for tickets to the October 8 show, which will cost from £55 ($90, 63 euros) for a restricted view and £87 for a standard seat, to a top price of £240 ($390, 274 euros). After several delays, the first artists in the line-up were confirmed as Smokey

Robinson, Grammy award-winning singer Aguilera, singersongwriter Cee Lo Green, British singer Leona Lewis and pop act JLS. British R&B star Craig David and rock band Alien Ant Farm have also signed up for the tribute concert.

“We’re delighted that such exciting and globally recognized acts have joined the line-up to pay tribute to a music legend,” said Chris Hunt, president of Global Live Events which is organising the concert. “This is going to be a spectacular event, and one not to be missed. I’m also pleased to say that we’ll be adding more amazing headliners in the days to come.” US Director Paul Ring added: “This concert will unite various generations and musical genres, reminding everyone of just how amazing a talent Michael

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‘Law & Order: SVU’ episode echoes Strauss-Kahn case elevision crime drama “Law & Order:Special Victims Unit” will open its new season with an episode about an Italian dignitary who is accused of rape, in what appears to be an echo of the case involving France’s Dominique Strauss-Kahn.

Broadcaster NBC said actor Franco Nero, 69, will play the guest role on Sept. 21 in the season opener of the long-running series, whose plots often seem to have been ripped from news headlines. Strauss-Kahn, 62, the former head of the International Monetary Fund and once seen as a leading contender for the French presidency, was arrested in May after a maid at an upscale New York hotel accused him of sexual assault.

Strauss-Kahn has repeatedly denied the allegations and prosecutors are debating whether to move forward with a trial. Asked to comment on the apparent similarities, a spokeswoman for the TV show said on Friday that “‘Law & Order: Special Victims Unit’ is fiction.”

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MTV cancels ‘Hard Times of RJ Berger’ eleaguered high-school student RJ Berger’s physical endowment might have been impressive. His viewership? Not so much. After two seasons, MTV has canceled “The Hard Times of RJ Berger.” The series starred Paul Iacono as an unpopular schoolkid whose life is changed when his oversized manhood is discovered. The network confirmed the series demise, which series creator Seth Grahame-Smith lamented on Friday. He tweeted: “Well, it’s official. #RJBerger has been cancelled.

Thanks to the cast and crew for two amazing seasons, and to all the fans.” “Berger” had been trumpeted by MTV as evidence that the network was attempting to “nurture a range of new scripted series for the network’s millennial audience,” along with the movie adaptation “Teen Wolf” and the adaptation of the British series “Skins”-which was yanked by MTV after one season. However, the series had suffered declining ratings, averaging just 865,000 viewers for its second-season finale- a number that pales in comparison to some of MTV’s reality fare, such as “Jersey Shore,” which racked up 7.4 million total viewers for its most recent episode.

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was.” The Millennium Stadium has a 74,500 capacity, but for fans who cannot attend the show will be broadcast to 30 countries in both 2D and 3D. It is the brainchild of Michael Jackson’s mother, Katherine, his sister La Toya and brothers Tito, Marlon and Jackie.

But two of his brothers, Jermaine and Randy Jackson, said the family should be concentrating on the upcoming manslaughter trial of Michael Jackson’s doctor, which will begin on September 26 in Los Angeles. Conrad Murray, the last doctor to treat Jackson, is on trial for involuntary homicide in the King of Pop’s death on June 25, 2009 at the age of 50 after an overdose of the anaesthesia propofol, which the singer used as a sleeping aid. —AFP

U2 guitarist pursuing Malibu development

TV briefs ‘Jersey Shore’ beats out GOP candidates’ debate ere’s an interesting snapshot of where we’re at as a nation: On Thursday night, more people tuned in to watch Pauly D, Vinny and their pumpkin-hued cohorts run amok in Italy than tuned in to watch the potential next leader of the free world make his case for election. The second season of “Jersey Shore” Season 4 drew 7.4 million total viewers-more than nearly every network offering on Thursday, and a far sight more than the Republican candidates’ debate on Fox, which took in just over 5 million total viewers. “Shore” also garnered a 7.1 rating in the 12-34 demographic, which means that the show now holds the top 15 cable slots in that demo for this year, barring sports broadcasts. The fourth season of “Jersey Shore” premiered last week, scoring 8.8 million total viewers —- the most-watched season premiere in MT V’s 30-year history. Maybe Mitt Romney, Michele Bachmann and the rest of the presidential contenders should slap on the Fake Bake, pouf up their hair and develop a penchant for getting in bar fights.

tribute gig

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he guitarist for U2 and several other property owners whose proposal to build a cluster of mansions overlooking Malibu failed to get past state regulators have filed lawsuits against the California Coastal Commission. The lawsuits filed Friday argue that the basis for the commission’s decision to deny their permits in June was not legal. The property owners say they are five separate owners each building a single home on separate lots, an argument that would have made it more difficult for the commission to reject their proposal. The commission, however, determined there was enough evidence to show the project was under common ownership, coordinated and led by U2 guitarist The Edge, whose real name is David Evans.

The proposal called for five multilevel homes of up to 12,785 square feet (1,188 sq. meters) to be built on 156 acres (63 hectares) in the Santa Monica Mountains. Project designs said the homes would have the top green building certifications and the guitarist himself said the mansions would be some of the most environmentally sensitive in the world.

“When we buy property zoned for residential use, we expect to be able to build a home,” said Fiona Hutton, spokeswoman for the property owners. “But in this case, after years of working cooperatively with the Coastal Commission and planning the most environmentally sensitive homes possible, government changed the rules and is now denying these families the right to use their land.” Project opponents, however, including the National Park Service said the development would scar the expansive ridgeline. The musician and his partners had appeased one of its staunchest opponents, the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy after agreeing to give the agency more than $1 million, dedicate nearly 100 acres (40 hectares) to open space and provide public access to hiking trails if the homes were approved.

In the end, the majority of the commission deemed the project too environmentally destructive to allow and voted against permitting it. Charles Lester, acting executive director for the commission, could not directly comment on the lawsuit because they had yet to see it but said the commission had ample evidence to support its decision.

“The commission had a comprehensive presentation on this issue and felt there was a legal basis for their vote,” he said.

Black Eyed Peas’ will.i.am stumping for science W

ill.i.am, science teacher? With flashing lights, electric dance breakdowns and even some of his own robot-esque moves, the Black Eyed Peas singer is no stranger to the intersection of art and science. Now, in his latest project, he’s has teamed up with Segway inventor Dean Kamen’s FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) program, to take his new message to kids. Based on an international youth K-12 robotics competition of 30,000 educators, students and parents in St. Louis, Missouri, in April-which will.i.am pumped up with live performances from the Peas and Willow Smith-the rapper has executive produced a one-hour ABC special based on the event.

Its goal: to get students more excited about science by emphasizing innovations in everyday life. Scheduled for Aug. 14 and called “The i.am FIRST:

Science Is Rock & Roll Back-to-School Special,” the show also features Bono, Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus, Britney Spears, Snoop Dogg, Justin Timberlake, Steven Tyler and more sharing testimony to the importance of the sciences. “[Kids] love technology,” will.i.am told

TheWrap. “Think about our world right now with the economic crash. Apple stock is cool ... and for some reason everyone’s still signing up for Google+.

Google is cool, Facebook is cool-think about what’s sitting comfy when everyone else is uncomfortable: technology.”

“Who’s making the Wii and the Xbox Kinect?” he said. “You’d probably think these people are geeks, but you can’t wait to get that gear.” Kamen’s FIRST program provides tools that can be integrated with educational curriculum to increase access to quality education in the sciences. With over 2,500 schools already on board, it has been lauded by companies such as Google, Microsoft, CNN, GE. As for his own scientific prowess, the Los Angeles native laughed, “Not even gonna front. I wasn’t good at science in school, but that doesn’t mean I don’t like it,” he told TheWrap. —AFP

SUNDAY, AUGUST 14, 2011

lifestyle

A man holds up a Cuban flag with the image of Cuba’s revolutionary hero Ernesto “Che” Guevarra during a birthday celebration marking the 85th birthday of Cuba’s Fidel Castro in Managua, Nicaragua, Friday.—AP

Latin American singers honor

Fidel Castro

at 85

Show dubbed the ‘Serenade to Fidelity’

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early two dozen singers and musicians from nine Latin American nations were honoring Fidel Castro with a happy-birthday concert Friday on the eve of the former leader’s 85th. Dubbed the “Serenade to Fidelity,” the spectacle was planned as an “homage to the life of a man, of a people, of a nation and of a revolution,” the Communist Party newspaper Granma said.

Dignitaries from other countries were expected and the event’s planner promised there would be surprise visitors, but it was not known whether Castro himself would attend. He has been out of power since 2006, when he was stricken with a nearly fatal intestinal illness and temporarily ceded the presidency to his brother Raul. The elder Castro permanently renounced the presidency in 2008.

Castro is rarely seen in public these days, and he seemed unsteady on his feet when he made a showing at a Communist Party Congress in April, walking to his seat with the help of an aide. At that same gathering, the party named a leadership council without him on it for the first time in five decades, leaving Fidel Castro with no official position. Yet even in retirement, Castro casts a long shadow. Raul has said he consults with his

A woman serves up a piece of cake during a birthday celebration marking the 85th birthday of Cuba’s leader Fidel Castro in Managua, Nicaragua. —AP older brother, and some Cuba-watchers say his presence has acted as a brake on reforms that Raul is betting will save the island’s economy by loosening some state control.

“I think the issue is how long (Fidel) is going to linger on and how long he’s going to meddle in the government,” said Ann Louise Bardach, a longtime Cuba watcher and author of “Without Fidel: A Death Foretold in Miami, Havana and Washington.” “As long as he is alive and he is

compos mentis, he’s not going to change his thinking,” Bardach said. “He’s not going to have an epiphany about economic policy. He’s going to do what he always did, which is the preservation of the revolution at all costs.”

Castro has been a prolific writer of newspaper columns and books in recent years, including autobiographical accounts of the events that led him to take power in a 1959 revolution. Castro has published just one opinion column since late May, though it’s not unusual or unprecedented for his pen to go silent for extended periods.

Omara Portuondo, the Grammy-winning singer of Buena Vista Social Club fame, was the big draw for the show at Havana’s 5,000-seat Karl Marx Theater. The playbill also included regionally known performers such as Venezuela’s Cecilia Todd, Uruguay’s Daniel Viglietti, Chile’s Pancho Villa and Argentina’s Liliana Herrero. But the night’s real star was undoubtedly Fidel, whose defiance of the United Sates continues to inspire leftist activists around the world. “It’s a feeling of love. The serenade is a genre that is born out of love,” Viglietti said at a news conference earlier this week. “The political map has changed in Latin America,” he added, “and Fidel is not innocent of responsibility for that.” —AP

Peru’s singer-songwriter Marcela Perez Silva performs at a concert dubbed the “Serenade to Fidelity,” honoring former Cuban leader Fidel Castro on the eve of his 85th birthday, at the Karl Marx Theater in Havana, Cuba, Friday.—AP

Tributes planned for ex-Warrant frontman Jani Lane I

Jamaican bass player Robert Shakespeare, dubbed Robbie, and Lloyd “Gitsy” Willis, the guitar player of their backing band “Taxi Gang” perform during the concert of one of reggae’s most prolific and long lasting production team, the ‘Sly and Robbie’ duo, on the World stage of the Sziget (Island) Festival on Friday on ‘Hajogyar’ (Shipyard) Island in Budapest. Sziget (“island” in Hungarian), one of Europe’s largest music festivals, takes its name from its location, a 79hectare (187-acre) island on the Danube north of downtown Budapest.—AFP

Athens & Epidaurus festival upbeat despite austerity cuts

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rganisers of the Athens and Epidaurus summer festival were ecstatic Friday after attendance figures showed a steep rise in ticket sales in spite of budget cuts due to government austerity measures. “I do not want the crisis to go on ... but we expected sales of 120,000 to 130,000 tickets and in fact sold 180,000,” festival president George Loukos told the Eleftherotypia newspaper. Revenues at the annual festival which features theatre, dance and music performances reached 3.7 million euros ($5.3 million), he added.

Three performances of “Richard III” by Sam Mendes with US actor Kevin Spacey brought

in 800,000 euros for a cost of 300,000 euros.

The third show was programmed at the last minute due to unexpected demand. Two performances by French dancer Sylvie Guillem at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, a theatre at the foot of the Acropolis, “with a cost of 80,000 euros and receipts of 240,000 euros also contributed ... to the festival budget,” said Loukos.

Due to Greece’s severe financial crisis Loukos’ budget shrank to three million euros in 2011 from four to five million over the past years. “I was really worried because we did not have the money to pay for some expensive productions and also knew that people no longer have so much money,” he said. —AP

nvestigators searched for clues Friday as to what killed Jani Lane, the former lead singer of the metal rock band Warrant, and his family and friends prepared for a pair of memorial services to honor the rocker.

Lane, 47, was found dead Thursday in a hotel room in the San Fernando Valley, which is north of downtown Los Angeles. Coroner’s officials did not determine a cause of death after an autopsy Friday, but said they would wait to see the results of toxicology testing that could take up to two months.

With his long blond hair and tight leather outfits, Lane embodied the excess of 1980s “hair metal” rock bands. He joined Warrant in 1984 and wrote such hits as “Heaven,” “Down Boys” and “Cherry Pie.” He had an on-and-off relationship with the band, leaving it in 1992 before returning and quitting several times.

He left the band for good in 2008. The current band will offer a tribute to Lane at a performance Friday night in North Dakota, their publicist said.

“Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family,” the band wrote in a statement. “Jani was a very important part of our lives for a long time. We will always be incredibly proud of the music we created together. He was a true talent and will be missed by all of us.” His family will convene Sunday for a private memorial service, Lane’s manager and longtime friend Obi Steinman said. A public memorial with performances by fellow metal rock bands including Great White and LA Guns will be held in Hollywood on Aug. 24 at a venue to be announced later, he said.

“He was one of the great rock-and-roll frontmen and singers of all time,” Steinman said. “His music helped shape the ‘80s.” Lane had a pair of drunken driving arrests in recent years. Steinman said he battled alcoholism for years. “He finally succumbed to

that,” Steinman said. “He lost his battle over alcohol.” “Cherry Pie” became a hit record when it was released in 1990, but Lane had mixed feelings about the song over the years.

Lane wrote the song after a record executive told him they needed a radio-worthy single for Warrant’s second album. “As a joke, Jani wrote ‘Cherry Pie’ overnight in a hotel room,” Steinman said. It became the album’s title and the band and Lane’s biggest hit.

The racy music video for the song was also a hit, and Lane married the model who starred

in it, Bobbie Brown. “He used to laugh,” Steinman said. “It was a curse and a blessing all at the same time.” Although Lane denounced the song in the 1990s, Steinman said the rocker later embraced it, but just didn’t want it to “define his artistry.” He spent recent years writing music for other musicians and himself, Steinman said. He also appeared in a season of VH1’s “Celebrity Fit Club.” Lane had been married for about two years to his third wife, Kimberly, Steinman said. He has two daughters from two previous marriages.—AP

British indie music labels

suffer as rioters burn warehouse

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ritish independent music labels said they had suffered a “disaster” after rioters torched a Sony-owned distribution centre in London and destroyed their entire CD stocks. The blaze late Monday ripped through the huge 20,000 sq metre (215,000 sq ft) warehouse in the north London district of late Monday and a pall of smoke was still rising from the burned-out site on Wednesday.

The warehouse is used to store Sony CDs, DVDs and PlayStation games. But it also houses stock for around 150 independent music labels such as XL and Domino, who are behind acts including Grammy-winning British singer Adele and rockers Arctic Monkeys. “This is a disaster for the music community,” said Alison Wenham, who chairs Britain’s Association

of Independent Music.

London-based singer-songwriter Mara Carlyle said she had lost the entire stock of her latest record, which was originally due to come out in 2008 but had been put back to August this year after financial problems at record label EMI. “It’s pretty devastating,” Carlyle told AFP. “I spoke to someone today who has lost £100,000 (115,000 euros, $162,000) worth of stock and he said that is nothing compared to some people. Some people have lost millions, and in an industry that is not exactly solid on its feet.”

But Carlyle, who works at a youth centre in north London, urged people not to use the riots that have swept Britain for the last four nights as an excuse to “demonize” what she said were likely underprivileged groups of society. —AFP

Latin American singers honor Fidel Castro at 85

SUNDAY, AUGUST 14, 2011

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Galliano

French artist, Paul Bloas, 50, (unseen) born in Brest pastes one of his paintings in Lisbon. The “Giants” of Paul Bloas emerged on the walls in several parts of Lisbon, their dark silhouettes suggests the difficult days of the European countries most affected by the crisis. Paul Bloas’ work can be seen in several other cities, London, Berlin, Bilbao, Beirut and Belgrade. — AFP

Louboutin loses

to YSL in Kate Moss wedding battle of red soles A dress was ‘rehab’ J

ohn Galliano, the flamboyant fashion designer who fell from grace after an anti-Semitic outburst in Paris, has said making supermodel Kate Moss’ wedding gown this summer was his “creative rehab.” Galliano, long a favorite of arguably the most sought-after model in the world, has been an outcast since a rant in a Paris bar led to him being sacked in February as Christian Dior’s creative director and put on trial. He also was dismissed from his eponymous label, majority owned by Dior. In the upcoming September issue of Vogue US, Galliano says that dressing Moss reawakened his creative powers, following treatment for addiction to drink, valium and sleeping pills in the United States and Switzerland.

“She dared me to be John Galliano again,” the Gibraltar-born and Londonbred designer was quoted as saying in his first post-trial comments. “I couldn’t pick up a pencil. It’s been my creative rehab.” Moss said she commissioned her old friend to create the dress for her July wedding to rocker Jamie Hince in England because his outfits made her happy. “I’ve lived in his dresses for years, and they just make me feel so comfortable,” she said in Vogue’s main cover story on what amounted to a fashionista’s royal wedding.

The white dress combined an understated classic look with a slightly translucent skirt. “When I put the dress on, I’m really happy. I forget everything,” Moss said. According to Vogue, Galliano’s rehabilitation extended beyond the dress. He even gave Moss her final dose of encouragement before she exchanged vows.

She wanted “a few words, a story to inspire her-she loves a bit of direction!”

Galliano told the magazine.

“I told her, ‘You have a secret: you are the last of the English roses- and when he lifts your veil he’s going to see your wanton past!” At the party, Moss’ father Peter thanked Galliano for the “beautiful dress” and every guest stood to applaud, Vogue’s repor ter said.

“John’s eyes well up,” the blow-by-blow report noted. Widely regarded as one of the finest fashion designers of his generation, Galliano faces a maximum penalty of six months in jail and a fine of 22,500 euros ($32,000) if convicted of making anti-Semitic insults, which are illegal in France. Sentencing is on September 8. — AFP

fight by fancy French footwear king Christian Louboutin for the exclusive right to put red soles on shoes got kicked out of court in a victory for rival Yves Saint Laurent. The legal battle in a New York court pitted two fashion leaders in a bitter contest for what Louboutin said was the soul of its extravagantly expensive shoes-the signature scarlet outsole. In federal court, US District Judge Victor Marrero ruled that Louboutin-even if widely recognized for its trailblazing use of red under the shoe-could not stop competitors like YSL from doing the same thing.

“Because in the fashion industry color serves ornamental and aesthetic functions vital to robust competition, the court finds that Louboutin is unlikely to be able to prove that its red outsole brand is entitled to trademark protection,” said Marrero, who revealed himself as an ardent admirer of the sexy slip-ons.

The million-dollar suit for “trademark infringement, unfair competition and false designation of origin” was filed in April in New York claiming that a series of YSL shoes would mislead consumers familiar with Louboutin’s scarlet soles. An attorney for Louboutin told AFP he was “profoundly disappointed.”

“Even though the judge agreed that Louboutin’s red sole mark was famous and well known, he appears to have concluded ‘sua sponte’ that in the fashion industry one ought not be able to use a single color as a trademark,” Harley Lewin added.

“We are currently evaluating all alternatives.” Louboutin’s glam footwear was featured on the consumer-worshipping television series “Sex and the City” and sells about 240,000 pairs each year in the United States alone, with revenues of about $135 million.

A pair typically costs hundreds of dollars, but can sell for far more, with the Maggie Leopard-Toe Pump, complete with red-lacquered under soles, listed at $1,095 in the Neiman Marcus department store. Peppering his ruling with references to sources as diverse as pop star Jennifer Lopez and poet Walt Whitman, Marrero acknowledged Christian Louboutin’s “bright idea.”

Louboutin’s “bold divergence from the worn path paid its dividends,” he

said. The judge even waxed lyrically about the sheer appeal of the shoes.

“When Hollywood starlets cross red carpets and high fashion models strut runways and heads turn and eyes drop to the celebrities’ feet, lacquered red outsoles on high-heeled, black shoes flaunt a glamorous statement that pops out at once,” he wrote. But allowing the color red to be trademarked was a step too far-even for shoes that good, ruled Marrero. “Awarding one participant in

the designer shoe market a monopoly on the color red would impermissibly hinder competition among other participants. YSL has various reasons for seeking to use red on its outsoles.”

YSL’s spat with Louboutin was over four shoes from the fashion house’s 2011 Cruise collection: the Tribute, Tribtoo, Palais and Woodstock models. They all have red outsoles.

However, YSL says it has featured red soles all the way back to the 1970s. As for Christian Louboutin’s claim to a breakthrough in fashion design, YSL is scornful.

The idea for red soles was “copied from King Louis XIV’s red-heeled dancing shoes or Dorothy’s famous ruby slippers in ‘The Wizard of Oz,’” Judge Marrero quoted YSL as saying. —AFP