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MONDAY, AUGUST 15, 2011

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

www.kuwaittimes.net

RAMADAN 15, 1432 AH

Three-member drug syndicate busted in Kuwait

United begin title defence with win

6 20 Kuwait boosts security

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at port as talks start Iraq MP’s remarks revive old memories

KUWAIT: Kuwait has beefed up security around a controversial port project ahead of a visit by an Iraqi delegation for talks, a security official was quoted as saying yesterday.

The increased security around the Mubarak Al-Kabir port on Boubyan Island follows remarks by an Iraqi MP in the Kuwaiti press, which cited him as saying Iraqi militant groups could “easily invade Kuwait”. The MP told AFP, however, that his comments were misinterpreted.

“Orders have been issued to the coast guards and border security in addition to ... Kuwait naval forces to step up their presence around Boubyan and Warba islands,” Al-Anbaa newspaper cited an unnamed security official as saying.

An Iraqi delegation of technical experts arrived in Kuwait yesterday for talks on the issues raised by Baghdad over the port. Kuwait has offered to provide illustrations that will prove the new port will not harm Iraqi interests.

Kuwait’s forces were instructed to increase sea and land patrols on borders with Iraq, operate a hi-tech monitoring system and to “deal firmly with any target that may attempt to infiltrate Kuwait’s borders.”

Baghdad claims the mammoth port, once completed, will strangle its shipping lanes in the narrow Khor Continued on Page 13

Ramadan Kareem

Who is obliged to fast in Ramadan?

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asting is an obligation on every adult, sane, settled [i.e., not travelling] Muslim who is able to fast and has nothing such as hayd [menstruation] or nifaas [post-natal bleeding] to prevent him or her from doing so.

A person is deemed to have reached adulthood when any one of the following three things occur: emission of semen, whether in a wet dream or otherwise; growth of coarse pubic hair around the private parts; attainment of fifteen years of age. In the case of females, there is a fourth, namely menstruation; when a girl reaches menarche (starts her periods), she is obliged to fast even if she has not yet reached the age of ten.

Children should be instructed to fast at the age of seven, if they are able to, and some scholars said that a child may be spanked at the age of ten if he does not fast, just as in the case of salaah. (See al-Mughni, 3/90). The child will be rewarded for fasting, and the parents will be rewarded for bringing him up properly and guiding him to do good. Al-Rubay’ bint Mu’awwidh (may Allaah be pleased with her) said, speaking about Ramadan when it was made obligatory: “We used to make our children fast, and we would make them a toy made out of wool. If any one of them started to cry for food, we would give them that toy to play with until it was time to break the fast.” (AlBukhaari, Fath, No. 1960).

Some people do not think it is important to tell their children to fast; indeed, a child may be Continued on Page 13

Jordan king unveils reform proposals AMMAN: King Abdullah II yesterday said a panel he named earlier this year has recommended the creation of a constitutional court as a key step to achieve social and political reforms in Jordan.

Proposals made by the Royal Committee on Constitutional Review are “solid proof of Jordan’s ability to revitalize itself and its legislation and approach the future with a vision of social and political reform,” the king said.

He tasked the committee in April with drawing up recommendations to push for social and political reform amid street protests calling for change, after Arab uprisings unseated veteran leaders in Tunisia and Egypt and shook other regional states.

“One of the major proposals is the establishment of a constitutional court to rule on the constitutionality of legislation and consolidate the judiciary’s role as the authority that safeguards the constitutionality of legislation,” he told statesmen and journalists at an iftar meal to break the Ramadan fast, a palace statement said.

He said the panel suggested lowering the age of candidates for parliament from 35 to 25 in a bid to appeal to young people who represent 70 percent of the population of more than six million.

“To reinforce the role of youth in public and parliamentary life, the minimum age of candidacy for the Continued on Page 13

Max 47º Min 31º Low Tide 07:55 & 20:40 High Tide 01:16 & 12:37

MOGADISHU: A Somali woman argues with a guard as she tries to leave a courtyard where she and hundreds like her received food aid from a Kuwaiti-based Islamic charity in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu yesterday. — AFP

Amiri decree convenes NA session on Aug 18 Barrak wants emergency session on Syria

By B Izzak KUWAIT: National Assembly Speaker Jassem Al-Khorafi said yesterday that an Amiri decree has been issued calling to hold a parliamentary emergency session to discuss the problem of not admitting Kuwaiti students by Kuwait University.

The emergency session was

called because the assembly is currently in summer recess specifically to debate proposed solutions for thousands of Kuwaiti students who were denied admission although fulfilling the requirements.

Al-Khorafi said that the session will be entirely devoted to debating the problem and the session is expected to be finished in one day unless important developments

Kuwait economy most vulnerable in Gulf: CB KUWAIT: Kuwait’s government spending boost made the economy more vulnerable to a fall in oil prices due to the OPEC member’s significant dependence on crude revenue, a senior central bank official was quoted as saying by a daily newspaper yesterday.

“Kuwait’s economy is the most vulnerable... among GCC countries,” Mohammed Al-Kadi, a member of the central bank’s board, told Arabic daily Al-Qabas in an interview.

“They (other GCC states) are able to deal with any emergency crisis because spending in these countries on salaries, wages and subsidies did not reach the level of Kuwait’s budget,” he said.

Kadi also said a jump in oil

prices earlier this year was considered a “catastrophe” for the Gulf Arab state because it has encouraged a steep increase in government spending rather than adding up to the country’s savings.

US crude prices surged to a 2011 peak of $114 per barrel in May before dropping to around $80 per barrel earlier this month as the reduction of the top-tier US credit rating hammered markets.

In June, Kuwait ’s parliament approved a budget of KD19.4 billion ($71 billion) for the 2011/12 fiscal year, the biggest since at least 2003 and a 19 percent jump from the previous year, basing it on an oil price of $60 per barrel.

Continued on Page 13

take place. The government anticipated the emergency session by taking two key decisions that if accepted by MPs would make the emergency session redundant.

Kuwaiti University board late last week decided to admit around 2,100 students in the second semester after they were denied admission in the first semester.

Continued on Page 13

KUWAIT: Mohammad Al Saqir (left), Chairman of the Council of Arab and international Relations talks with Iraqi former Prime Minister and Iraq’s Parliament member Ayad Allawi during a meeting in Kuwait yesterday. — AP

Syrian ships, tanks blast city; 23 dead DAMASCUS: Syrian military vessels joined an assault that killed more than 20 people yesterday in the city of Latakia, activists said, the fist attack from the sea since an anti-regime revolt erupted in March.

The latest bloodshed came a day after world leaders demanded an immediate end to the ruthless crushing of dissent in Syria. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said in a statement that at least 23 people were killed and dozens of others wounded in the Mediterranean port city, several of them critically.

The vessels opened up with heavy machine-guns, it said. In May, during an army operation in Banias, another port, naval ships patrolled offshore but without opening fire.

Security forces also surged into the Damascus suburbs of Saqba and Hamriya overnight, cutting off communications, firing

shots and making arrests, said the Syrian Observatory. Ships are “attacking Latakia and explosions have been heard in several districts,” the group said earlier, adding that the main target was the suburb of Ramel in the port city. The group said Palestinians also figured among the casualties of the assault on Ramel, which is home to a Palestinian refugee camp.

On Saturday, the military killed at least two more people and wounded 15 also in the Ramel area of southern Latakia, a nerve centre of anti-regime protests, according to the advocacy group. “Large numbers of residents, especially women and children” have fled Ramel, the scene of mass protests calling for the fall of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, and from Qniniss, another district targeted by heavy gunfire.

Continued on Page 13

in the

news

Sheikh Salman new Info ministry undersecretary

Nepal PM quits, triggering crisis

Six dead in Jersey stabbing

Agility Q2 earnings drop 57%, beat views

KUWAIT: Minister of Electricity and Water and Minister of Communications and Acting Minister of Information Salem Al-Uthayna announced here yesterday that the cabinet approved a draft decree appointing Sheikh Salman Sabah Al-Salem Al-Humoud AlSabah as Undersecretary of the Ministry of Information with the degree of excellence.

Sheikh Salman Al-Sabah is currently an advisor at office of Minister of the Interior and president of both the Asian and Kuwaiti Shooting Federations. — KUNA

KATHMANDU: Nepal’s prime minister resigned yesterday, plunging the country into a fresh political crisis with competing parties unable to implement a national peace plan or form a stable government. Jhalanath Khanal, chairman of Unified Marxist Leninist (UML) party, submitted his resignation to the country’s president after talks with other party leaders collapsed, his press adviser Surya Thapa told AFP. “He tried to forge a consensus until the last minute. But the parties failed to agree on constitution-drafting and the peace process, so he has resigned,” Thapa said.

LONDON: Six people were killed yesterday in a knife attack at an apartment on the Channel Island of Jersey, police said. A 30-year-old man has been arrested. Officers were called to an address in Saint Helier, the island’s main city, at around 3:00 pm (14:00 GMT) after reports of a multiple stabbing, States of Jersey Police said. Five people were found dead at the Victoria Crescent address and a sixth taken to Jersey Hospital but who died following surgery. Police immediately set up a major incident room at the St Helier headquarters and several witnesses have already come forward. Head of crime services Stewart Gull said: “Clearly this complex investigation is in its very early stages as we try to establish exactly what happened. “We are appealing to anyone who may have any information to contact us.

KUWAIT: Kuwait’s Agility, the logistics firm facing US fraud charges, posted a 57 percent drop in second-quarter net profit, but still slightly beat forecasts. Net profit in the three months to June 30 was KD7.83 million ($28.7 million), the company said in a statement, down from KD18.09 million a year earlier. Two analysts had forecast in a Reuters survey that Agility’s second-quarter earnings would fall to an average of KD7.4 million. Agility blamed the drop in earnings and a 23 percent fall in quarterly revenue to KD331 million on “lost defense and government business”. The company said it expected “solid gains” in 2012 as its investments in emerging markets were helping the growth of its core business, and its customer base was expanding while operations were being streamlined.

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Foreign Minister hosts annual ghabqa

KUWAIT: Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Dr. Mohammad Al-Sabah hosted a ghabqa at Messila Palace on Saturday. The event was attended by current and former ministers from a number of nations, as well as ambassadors, diplomats, and other dignitaries. — Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat

(From left) Foreign Minister Sheikh Dr. Mohammad Al-Sabah, former Sudanese Foreign Minister Mustafa Osman Ismail, Morocco’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Mohamed Bin Issa, Kuwait’s Prime Minister His Highness Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah, Egyptian businessman Naguib Sawiris, former Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, and Sheikha Ferial Al-Duaij Al-Sabah.

Kuwait Times General Manager Badrya Darwish is welcomed by Foreign Minister Sheikh Dr. Mohammad Al-Sabah and his spouse Sheikha Ferial Al-Duaij Al-Sabah.

Foreign Minister with former Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora.

Saudi Ambassador to Kuwait Abdulaziz Al-Fayez is welcomed by Sheikh Dr. Mohammad Al-Sabah.

Dr. Mohammad Al-Sabah welcomes the Iraqi ambassador to Kuwait Mohammad Bahruloloom.

Foreign Minister welcomes the Jordanian Ambassador to Kuwait Jumíah Al-Abadi.

Kuwait Journalists Association Secretary General Faisal Al-Qinaei chats with Foreign Minister as KJA treasurer Adnan Al-Rashid looks on.

Sheikh Faisal Al-Hmoud Al-Sabah is welcomed by Sheikh Dr. Mohammad Al-Sabah and his spouse.

British ambassador to Kuwait Frank Baker and his wife with Kuwait Times General Manager Badrya Darwish.

Minister of Health Dr. Helal Al-Sayer and his spouse with family members of Foreign Minister.

Iranian Chargé d’Affaires Mohammad Shehabi and his spouse are welcomed by Sheikh Dr. Mohammad Al-Sabah and his spouse.

Egyptian ambassador to Kuwait Tahir Farhat is welcomed by Foreign Minister and his spouse.

The Omani ambassador to Kuwait Salim Al-Maashani (right) and the Syrian ambassador to Kuwait Bassam Abdel Majeed are pictured with Velina Nacheva of the Kuwait Times.

HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah with Sheikh Dr. Mohammad Al-Sabah and his family.

A number of guests in a group photo.

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Kuwait Economic Society holds ghabqa for staff KUWAIT: The Kuwait Economic Society (KES) held a ghabqa for members and their families recently at the Courtyard Marriott Hotel’s Al-Raya Hall — Photos by Fouad Al-Shaikh

KUWAIT: Children pose for a photo after collecting their Girgian goodies yesterday. An old Kuwaiti custom, Girgian sees children, often dressed in traditional national costume, go from door to door in their neighborhoods during the 14th, 15th and 16th evenings of Ramadan, singing a song at each house before being given sweets and nuts by the householders.

— Photos by Joseph Shagra

Mutabal Batinjan

Thai Shrimps Egg Noodles

Serving (5 persons)

Ingredients • 1 large eggplant • 1 cup of plain yogurt • 3 tablespoons of Tahina • 3 tablespoons of olive oil • salt to taste Preparation 1. Cut of the top of the eggplant (the green part) and then wound it in three different places, but leaving it as a whole. Then grill it in oven.

2. Take eggplant out and leave it to cool then peel it and mash it in a bowl. Add yogurt, tahina, olive oil, salt mixing all together.

3. Pour the eggplant mixture into serving plate and for garnish with olive oil pomegranate sauce and fresh parsley.

Shrimps 150gm Eggs 2 piece Noodles 2 pkt Soy Sauce 3 ml Oyster Sauce 3ml Sesame oil 2ml Garlic 2gm Ginger 2gm Onion 10gm Spring Onion 5gm Capsicum green, yellow, red 10gm Cabbage 10gm Salt 2gm Black Pepper powder 2 gm Preparation: Cut all the vegetable Julian style.

Saute garlic & ginger.

Add all the vegetable & Peeled shrimps with boiled noodles for 10 minutes.

While cooking add Soya sauce & oyster sauce with sesame oil.

Garnished with chopped spring onion with egg (Omelet slice) |on the top of the Thai shrimps egg noodles.

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LOCAL

in my view

in my view

Losing hours during the holy month

Re-giving gifts: Smart or shameful?

By Lama Al-Haqhaq t took me quite a while to master the art of time management. Eventually, I was able to set aside a fixed schedule for myself. A stressfree daily routine to follow that allows me to get through everything I need to do, without the fear of falling behind schedule. This system works perfectly for me... until Ramadan comes along.

One major issue with Ramadan timing is the fact that I lose quite a few hours of the day.

Usually, I would be able to productively use almost all the hours in which I am awake. This, unfortunately, is impossible during Ramadan.

Most places begin to shut their doors much earlier than usual, leaving me with literally no time to catch up with them during the day. This means that most of the things I would usually take care of in the day-time have now been shifted to the evening-time. It wouldn’t be such a hassle if my evenings were free, but unluckily for me, they rarely are.

Squeezing in tasks that would normally take a full day, into whatever is left of half a day, could be possible. That is, if it weren’t for one more problem. This problem is the fact that I cannot help but put aside two idle hours of my day during Ramadan. This year, these two hours happen to fall between 6:30 pm and 8:30 pm.

This would be the time when I break my fast and lounge around lazily afterwards (a Ramadan pastime I thoroughly enjoy).

Once I’m finally out of the house and ready to get things done, I am faced with yet another obstacle: Ramadan traffic. This one month seems to force everyone into the same schedule, meaning that almost every person in the countr y is on the road at the same time.

Assuming that the traffic isn’t too heavy, I spend approximately half an hour on the streets before getting to my first destination. Hoping to be home by midnight, this leaves me with a total of three hours to get through all the things in my daily routine.

This is why I have finally come to the decision that in Ramadan, I am completely exempt from the tedious task of managing my time. I have convinced myself that whatever I can get done is good enough, and the things that are left over can wait until tomorrow. Still, I do miss the days when it was possible to take care of important things. I still have time to socialize all in one day. R amadan, this one month, my world revolves around you.

By Lisa Conrad

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hroughout Ramadan an abundance of edible gifts are exchanged between families and friends. Trays of traditional sweets, boxes of the finest chocolates and platters of dried fruits and nuts pass hands throughout the month as various events and gatherings are held. But, realistically, is it really possible for so much to be consumed by one household alone?

Even if you serve received desserts to friends, the very friends that you’re serving will have probably replenished your store of delicious delights with various other food gifts.

Gift reciprocation is a big issue in the Middle East. But, during such months or occasions people adapt. It’s not a matter of avoiding the gift giving process, but more an issue of avoiding wastage. A friend of mine recently recounted a story that would make even the most thickskinned individual blush. She was gifted a box of expensive chocolates, however it was added to a growing pile of sweets that her family couldn’t possibly devour alone. Deciding to avoid wasting the cocoa confections, she recycled the gift and took it to a friend’s gathering.

However, upon arriving, box in hand, smile on face, she saw the original gift-giver. The box was not only still tied with its original ribbon, but had the original card, with her name on it, still attached.

Despite her best intentions, of course, the original gift-giver was offended. I don’t have anything against people recycling gifts in such cases; in fact it avoids waste as well as excess consumption just for the sake of clearing space.

But, there is an etiquette that those wishing to re -use gif ts should give some thought.

Obviously, the card needs to be changed. Less obviously, change any discernable details on the packaging, such as ribbon, just in case you bump into the person who gave it to you. Third, make sure the gift hasn’t been personalized. This sounds obvious, but always double check. Any dessert can be personalized with just a touch of icing, thereby revealing the gift as being recycled and placing you in a very awkward position. I was once given a necklace from a family friend with the name ‘Sarah’ on it. She doesn’t speak English so didn’t realize the major giveaway of her gift recycling. I didn’t tell her, wore the necklace, and waited an appropriate period of time before claiming I’d lost it!

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kuwait digest

Scenario of potential attack

By Dr Wael Al-Hasawi hould we take statements of Iraqi MP K adhim AlShemmary about his government being unable to throttle a militant attack against Kuwait, serious? The Iraqi lawmaker explained a scenario in which Iraqi militant groups would “easily” launch an attack against Kuwait if construction at the Mubarak Al-Kabeer port isn’t suspended, after which the Iraqi government would avoid taking any responsibility given the fact that these groups are outlaws.

Furthermore, Al-Shemmary said that the best solution goes through dialogue that would see Kuwait surrendering their right of receiving compensations for the 1990/91 Invasion.

I believe that Al-Shemmary ’s statement is exactly the scenario that Kuwait should expect coming from their northern neighbor, giv-

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en the history of troubled relations between the country, added to the fact that many of the militant groups in south Iraq are endorsed

by Iran - who is proven through investigations to have intelligence activity in Kuwait. The main reason why I believe these threats are serious is the fact that the prime motive behind them isn’t the Mubarak Al-Kabeer port, but pushing Kuwait to drop the compensations.

With these threats in mind, we in Kuwait are required to discuss ways to avoid a potential attack from Iraq. Scenarios on that regard include: 1- Insist on our sovereign right of building the port on Kuwaiti land, while increasing military presence at our borders and sign agreements with other countries to protect the country from any potential

attack. We must bear in mind if while doing so that the United States today isn’t as ready as they used to be in protecting us given their own economic woes, not to mention the fact that the US has great interests with Iraq.

2- We can impose pressure on Iraq through severing diplomatic ties and seek international prosecution in order to make Iraq provide insurances that they will stop militant groups from carrying out attacks against Kuwait.

3- We can change our plans regarding the port and relocated out of its current position east Boubyan. However, would this insure that the Iraqi threats will stop? I can’t tell for certain especially since the primary goal of dropping the compensation would remain even if the Mubarak AlKabeer port is relocated.

kuwait digest

Let’s stub out the cancerous corruption

By Fawziya Al-Sabah reaking the law has become more than just a culture in Kuwait, but also a character trait that some people take pride in. This reality is evident to everyone as soon as they set foot onto Kuwaiti territor y and witness smokers defying the no smoking rules at Kuwait International Airport (KIA), blithely defying nosmok ing regulations that are strictly followed in all airports around the world.

Even Kuwaitis abroad wouldn’t dare violate the smoking ban at foreign airports because they are aware of the strict penalties that would await them as soon as they lit up their cigarettes. On the other hand, they’ll be seen openly and unworriedly smoking at Kuwait’s airport in total disre-

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spect for local laws. All this happens because of corruption, which is the cancer that has spread throughout public facilities, which spreads chaos in its wake Speaking of KIA, it is illogical that visitors to Kuwait still are forced to wait for hours at the airport before their visa transactions are finalized. This process is usually completed in a few minutes in other countries’ airports, but can take ages in Kuwait, especially if a traveler arrives at six or seven in the morning.

On a separate issue, we see patients at the Military Hospital have been suffering for the past three months from a severe shortage of the necessary medications including medicine for

high blood pressure; which they would eventually be forced to buy from private pharmacies.

The state is legally obliged to provide medication to every individual living in Kuwait who requires it - whether Kuwaiti or non-Kuwaiti. State medical facilities in the country have been lacking an essential medication for thyroid diseases called Ter troxin T3 for months now, while personnel at the Ministry of Health’s warehouse claim that the medical attache in London is prolonging the process of exporting the medicine to Kuwait. Citizens who must take this medication are now required to import it at their own expense from the United Kingdom since it isn’t sold in local pharmacies. —Al-Rai

kuwait digest

Fear of unrealistic accusations

By Ahmad Al-Sarraf omments posted on social net work ing websites recently criticized or mocked Dr Fadhel Safar, Minister of Public Works (MPW) and State Minister of Municipality Affairs over allegations that he spoke in Farsi during a meeting with the Iranian ambassador to Kuwait.

This has given rise to speculations that Safar is of Iranian origin, and therefore fluent in Farsi.

Safar’s origins are being discussed as though it were a flaw.

Later, an MPW spokesman denied that the conversation between Safar and the Iranian ambassador were interpreted through a translator.

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Fluency in a foreign language and the ability to converse in it with a guest from a countr y paves the way toward boosting mutual relations. This can never be perceived as a flaw.

I f I were in the minister ’s shoes, I would’ve used Persian while speaking with the Iranian ambassador. Fur thermore, I wouldn’t have issued any statement denying any information.

Officials on a state visit from the United States or the United Kingdom, make sure they speak in English - even if they are fluent in Arabic. However, officials here prefer not to speak in Persian to converse with guests

from Iran - out of fear that their patriotism will be questioned.

This is exactly why citizens of I ranian origin usually do not acknowledge their roots and cut ties with everything that represents the Iranian culture.

Maybe this attitude towards Iran wouldn’t have existed, if the political situation was that of the pre -Islamic Revolution era.

Either way, this type of animosity must be abandoned. Learning foreign languages and cultures of other countries brings undeniable benefits with it. I personally wish I could read Persian to be able to read the best of Persian literature. —Al-Qabas

MONDAY, AUGUST 15, 2011

LOCAL

Political figures plotting MEW minister’s dismissal Not afraid of Iraqi threats: Al-Sultan Group photo of the interns of the fifth session of Summer Internship Program.

NBK continues summer intern training KUWAIT: National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) has recently successfully concluded the four th session and launched the fifth session of its 2011 Summer Internship Program. The custom-made program consists of twoweek courses specially designed for high school and college students between 15 and 20 years old.

NBK Public Relations Officer, Talal Al Turk i said the Summer I nternship Program is an extension of NBK’s education outreach services. The program demonstrates NBK’s long-standing social involvement as well as its commitment to providing Kuwait’s younger generations with appropriate opportunities to experience firsthand professional banking practices.

Al Turki added that the five-hour daily sessions feature a mix of theoretical and practical training dedicated to providing interns with invaluable knowledge on a variety of subjects including team work, creative thinking,

means of self expression and modern banking procedures, in addition to giving interns greater exposure to daily banking practices and procedures.

One of the highlights of the fourth summer internship session included a field trip to Dar Al-Athar Al-Islamiyya (DAI). Projects Coordinator at DAI, Amal Al-Hazzaa has received and welcomed the interns. Al Hazzaa spoke to the interns about the background and hands-on experience in Dar al-Athar alIslamiyya. DAI is a cultural organization based on a private Kuwaiti art collection. Since its inception in 1983, DAI has grown from a single focus organization created to manage the loan of the prestigious Al-Sabah collection of art from the Islamic world to the State of Kuwait to become an internationally recognized cultural organization.

NBK regularly organizes and designs events for Kuwait’s youth to improve their skills and familiarize them with banking and finance.

By A. Saleh KUWAIT: MP Khalid Al Sultan has warned that some political figures are attempting to have the Minister of Electricity and Water dismissed through wielding influence with members of the government and suggesting falsely that the minister is incapable of handling two ministerial posts at once.

Al Sultan alleged that the real aim of these moves is to allow corruption to flourish within the ministry, warning that he will not allow this to happen or remain silent about the culprits if the minister is dismissed.

Al-Sultan further alleged that many senior officials in the oil sector are appointed through corrupt practices, with influential figures attempting to profit from multibillion-dinar oil contracts and refinery work. Whilst Ramadan is supposedly a period where evil spirits are restrained, he said, the corrupt continue their work as usual.

Many were happy at seeing the current electricity and water minister appointed due to his clean record and opposition to corruption, the MP went on, adding that since the appointment the minister has recruited many loyal young Kuwaiti people and removed a number of corrupt officials from the ministry, as well as stopping three contracts awarded on the basis of corrupt practices, which were set to enrich the influential figures behind them whilst achieving nothing for the Kuwaiti people. On the subject of the recent statements by an Iraqi MP warning of attacks on Kuwait due to the continuing construc tion work at the Mubarak Al Kabeer Port site, Al-Sultan said that he was not afraid of such threats.

He added that the port is actually six miles from the I raqi coastline and will not damage I raqi maritime ac tivities as some, including the Iraqi MP have claimed.

On a separate issue, MP Saifi

Al-Saifi submitted a question to Health Minister Dr Helal Al Sayer concerning the death of Kuwaiti man Malik Al Fadhli in Adan hospital. He said that Malik had originally gone to the hospital for a minor operation, but since this could not be per formed there he had been taken by ambulance to the Amiri Hospital’s Thunayan Al-Ghanim Center, where staff said he was healthy and had no history of serious illness.

The medical team, entrusted with conducting a, advised him to do it externally by making a hole in the right side of his body. After the surgical team began, however, M alik was unable to tolerate the pain so the operation was abandoned and the patient was taken back to Ward 2 of Adan Hospital.

Whilst there he told family members that he was in great pain and seemed to be in a very poor condition. His family complained to staff at the hospital, but nothing was done until he

was rushed to the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit the next day.

A few hours later, his condition deteriorated and organ failure took place, with staff putting him on a ventilator.

The MP alleged that the surgical team had damaged AlFadhli’s pancreas, causing the mass organ failure, which eventually led to his death, as well as accusing the surgeons at Adan Hospital of attempting to cover up for their colleagues and behaving disingenuously in their communications with the man’s family.

On a separate issue, Jamaan Al-Harbish has insisted that the Council of Minister must prove its credibility and seriousness in quick ly finding an effec tive solution to problems facing Kuwaiti students, demanding that the council issue the necessary directives to ensure that all Kuwaiti students are accorded their rights and provided with the necessary scholarships to meet all their needs.

NBK airlifts emergency aid to Somalia

KUWAIT: NBK interns of the fourth session of Summer Internship Program in a group photo with Projects Coordinator Amal Al-Hazzaa at Dar Al-Athar Al-Islamiy.

KUWAIT: National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) contributed in airlifting the first cargo plane of emergency aid, foodstuffs and medical supplies as emergency relief for famine-stricken people in Somalia. The aid flight comes as part of a large-scale emergency donation campaign launched by NBK through all its branches and channels in collaboration with the Fundraising People’s Committee and Kuwait Red Crescent Society.

The Kuwaiti military cargo plane, carrying the aid, foodstuffs and medical supplies provided by NBK headed to Mogadishu Airport Monday. The distribution of this lifesaving humanitarian aid for the famine-hit people in Somalia will be coordinated through Kuwait Red Crescent Society and other international emergency aid

organizations and authorities.

NBK marked the launch of its large-scale philanthropic and fundraising campaign by donating USD 500,000 to help the people in Somalia suffering from the famine. A special NBK account number (1000354951) has been set up to channel donations in collaboration with the Fundraising People’s Committee. NBK also mobilized all its branches and channels including Call Centre 1801801 and Watani Online (WOL) at www.nbk.com to receive donations, in addition to the various internal initiatives carried out by NBK employees and their families to raise emergency aid funds. NBK’s prompt and positive action was also manifested in providing assistance and support to the concerned philan-

NBK staff in front of the cargo plane to Somalia. thropic and charity organizations and during this crisis, notably the associations that worked to give a Fundraising People’s committee and helping hand to the Somali people Kuwait Red Crescent Society.

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Kuwait may freeze loans, aid to Syria MPs reacted to Iraqi lawmaker’s statements KUWAIT: One of the subjects for discussion during yesterday ’s (Sunday) cabinet meeting was the option of stopping loans and financial aid to the Syrian government, according to a news report published the same day. Quoting a government insider, the report indicated that Kuwait is contemplating the possibility of adopting this policy until it becomes clear how the international community will handle the continuing Syrian crisis.

On another issue, a number of MPs have reacted angrily to the statements by an Iraqi lawmaker who warned that Iraqi militant groups could invade Kuwaiti territories and carr y out attacks against Kuwaiti targets if construction work at the Mubarak AlKabeer port continues.

The I raqi MP, K azim AlShemmari of the Iraqiya White Party, said in a recent statement that Iraqi militants could ‘easily’ invade and carry out attacks in

Kuwait, adding that the Iraqi government would similarly be able to easily avoid accountability by claiming that the attacks were carried out by militant outlaws.

“The only truth mentioned in Al-Shemmari’s statement is the fact that it reveals the true criteria by which the Iraqi government is dealing with Kuwait - by allowing some parties to make whatever statements they wish, which in reality reflect the hidden agenda of the Iraqi government”, said MP

Musallam Al-Barrak, further suggesting that the current controversy over Mubarak Al-Kabeer Port isn’t about potential threats to Iraq’s maritime activity “but reflect Iraq’s unwillingness to recognize Kuwait’s marine boarders.”

Fellow MP Nadji Al-Abdulhadi expressed “shock” at the contradiction between Al-Shemmari’s statements, and the statements of Iraq’s Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari who confirmed that the Mubarak Al-Kabeer por t which

Kuwait is building on the east of Boubyan Island won’t hurt maritime activity in Iraq’s territorial waters. “Zebari is well aware of international regulations”, said AlAbdulhadi, adding cur tly, “I t appears, however, that MP AlShemmari isn’t even aware of what his country’s foreign minister said.”

MP Hussein Al-Mizyed also condemned Al-Shemmari’s statement, while another Kuwaiti lawmaker, Falah Al-Sawagh, urged Al-

Shemmari to “let the Iraqi government know about those threats instead of issuing naive warnings to Kuwait.”

Meanwhile, another Iraqi MP Aliya Nasif, also a member of the same Iraqiya White Party, urged her country’s foreign ministry in a recent statement to “bear responsibility for the Kuwaiti violations in light of its lack of vision regarding Kuwait’s measures to step up militar y presence at the Boubyan Island.” —Al-Rai

Let’s Twist Again Third anniversary of Russia-Georgia August war

By Ekaterina Meiering-Mikadze Ambassador of Georgia to Kuwait KUWAIT: For the third time, the Kremlin has tried to use the anniversary of its invasion of Georgia to twist the historical record and to perpetuate an unsustainable situation into the future. The five-day war of 2008 launched by Russia by sea, land, and air was the climax of a decade-long campaign to undermine and annihilate Georgian statehood.

Conducted under the pretext of protecting Russia’s peacekeepers and citizens, the conflict resulted in the occupation of one-fifth of Georgian territory and in the expulsion of thousands of inhabitants from their homes. Despite the massive imbalance between the two sides’ forces, Georgia and the international community were able to stop the Russian attack. Retroactively, however, the Kremlin is desperate to portray its war as one undertaken to protect minorities.

Proactively, Moscow now hopes to achieve hegemony by formalizing the functioning of Russian military bases in Georgia’s two occupied regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. To this effect, on the third anniversary of the RussiaGeorgia war, Russia has submitted agreements on military basis with its client regimes in Sokhumi and Tskhinvali to the Duma for parliamentary approval.

This semblance of constitutional behavior, however, disguises the true nature of an attitude which does not care about legal norms, least of all international law. It was Russia that supported militias and incited ethnic conflict in parts of Georgia. It was the same country that illegally and deliberately distributed Russian passports in Georgian territory to create a pretext for future invasion in order to protect so-called Russian citizens abroad. This kind of mass conferral of Russian citizenship to Georgian nationals constituted an open challenge to Georgian sovereignty and interference in the internal affairs of Georgia. It was the Kremlin that pushed for a military confrontation after imposing a politically motivated economic embargo against Georgian products and after harassing and mistreating law-abiding Georgian citizens living in Russia. It was Moscow that violated Georgia’s sovereignty and broke international law. While Moscow maintains the illusion of Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states, the rest of the world continues to support the territorial integrity of Georgia.

Submitting agreements with its proxy regimes for parliamentary approval is not democratic practice or legal procedure. It is, in fact, nothing but an attempt by the Kremlin to gain time, cement its position, and hope that the world will eventually accept the normative power of facts created on the ground.

Yet these facts are shakier than ever.

First, the historical narrative of those who suffered ethnic cleansing by

Moscow and its clients has become more perceptible to the world. The fact that separatist regimes backed by the Kremlin evicted hundreds of thousands from Abkhazia in the 1990s and tens of thousands from South Ossetia in 2008 is finally being recognized. Their right of return was reiterated by the UN General Assembly during its 65th Session in

Ekaterina Meiering-Mikadze June 2011. Also, the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Conflict in Georgia states that the Russian military operation in 2008 was well-planned and well-executed. Only recently, on July 29, 2011, the U.S. Senate passed a resolution supporting Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and recognizing the Russian

Federation as the occupational force.

Secondly, the populations in the two breakaway regions are becoming worried by the growing number of Russians intruding into their daily lives and properties, in particular the prime real estate area on the Black Sea coast of Abkhazia.

Against this background, residents in the occupied territories realize that an increasingly open Georgia based on equal citizenship, economic opportunities, and political liberalism is by far more attractive than the ethnic divideand-rule system still in use by the Kremlin. By making a unilateral pledge on the non-use of force before the European Parliament on 23 November 2010, Georgia declared its commitment to a peaceful resolution of the Russia-Georgia conflict. By adopting the ‘State Strategy on the Occupied Territories’ with its Action Plan and constructive participation in the Geneva talks, Georgia is trying to build confidence between the war-affected communities. The most recent development in the framework of the strategy is the elaboration of the status-neutral identification and travel documents for the residents of the Georgian regions under occupation, which will allow them to enjoy a number of privileges such as free healthcare and education, and to travel abroad.

Under adverse circumstances, Georgia has redoubled its efforts to combine political reform with economic development. The success of its modernization and democratization strategy becomes more visible,

not only to an increasing number of international visitors but also to people living in the occupied parts of Georgia. Despite the war forced on Georgia in 2008 and the repercussions of the financial and economic crisis, investors are there as before, the economy is on track, and the Georgian method of reforming public administration is being studied and copied in other places.

As a result, Georgia has become more just, more coherent as a modern nation, and more prosperous, all under the eyes of the international community, private investors, and international development agencies.

The World Bank regularly awards Georgia the title of Top Reformer, and the ease of doing business in a country freed from corruption speaks for itself. Against this level of transparency, Russian attempts to discredit anything Georgian - from the political class to statehood itself - convince fewer and fewer people by the day, be it in Georgia’s breakaway regions or elsewhere. Even in Russia, serious political reformers call for reforms based on the Georgian experience.

And, in Georgia, Tbilisi has opened up the country to tourists, as well as giving Russian citizens and visitors a chance to see good governance for themselves. As across the Arab region, first-hand experience and a free flow of information are undermining Kremlin propaganda.

Vis-a-vis Russia’s military might, Georgia is developing a soft power: Good governance.

Drug traffickers busted

By Hanan Al-Saadoun KUWAIT: The General Department of Drug Control (GDDC) has busted a three-person drug trafficking and dealing gang, recovering 3.25 kilograms of opium, half a kilogram of hashish and 100 grams of methamphetamine, as well as measuring scales and an unlicensed gun and ammunition, from the members.

An investigation was launched after the GDDC received a tip-off from an informant about an Iranian woman’s drug-dealing activities. After monitoring the woman’s movements to substantiate the information, officers obtained a warrant to raid her apartment in Salmiya, where they found three kilograms of the opium and 30 grams of methamphetamine, along with the gun and ammunition and a set of measuring scales used to weigh the drugs. On questioning the woman, she admitted that she had been working with her bedoon (stateless) boyfriend, who was quickly apprehended, with GDDC officers recovering a further 70 grams of methamphetamine, a quarter kilogram of opium and a half kilogram of hashish from his home. A Kuwaiti accomplice who was at the man’s home at the time of the raid was also found to have a piece of hashish and a number of ready-rolled joints in his possession. The three, who admitted that they had been working together to import and deal in drugs, have been referred to the relevant authorities.

KU recalls professors KUWAIT: The Kuwait University has recalled nearly 300 professors who joined other educational institutions, as part of measures to facilitate the admission of 2,095 students in the second semester. This was stated in a recent news repor t that quoted reliable sources. They stated that cultural attaches in Kuwaiti embassies have not been affected, reported Al-Rai. Speaking on condition of anonymity, officials confirmed that the KU can keep the situa-

tion under control when new students are admitted despite the overcapacity issue. Senior KU administrators will deliver lectures in the afternoon, except for the KU rector owing to his administrative duties. In addition, professors will be required to take up additional work load, teaching at least three subjects per semester, reported Al-Rai. The KU will also increase students’ capacity by converting unused facilities into lecture halls.

CBK holds graduation ceremony KUWAIT: The Commercial Bank of Kuwait (CBK) recently held a ceremony to mark the graduation of its third batch of trainees who are currently taking this year’s summer training program for children of staff members and @Tijari account holders.

The program, which began on June 26 and concludes on August 25, features training in self-improvement skills and an introduction to the principles of banking work, as well as encouraging young people to seek employment in the private sector.

Panel to study measures to curb overspending KUWAIT: An elite panel of experts charged with studying the current turbulent economic developments around the world is to hold a series of meetings on the issue, with the first taking place today at the Amiri Diwan. In addition to representatives from the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Commerce, and the Ministry of Planning and Development, the team consists of Central Bank of Kuwait Governor Sheikh Salem Al-Sabah, and former minister Nasser Al-Roudhan, as well as economic experts Nabil AlManaei, Ali Rasheed Al-Badr, Jassem AlSaadoun, Hamza Abbas, Abdul-Wahab Al-Wazan, Anas Al-Saleh, Khalid Al-Essa, and Badr Malallah.

According to officials, the team’s discussions will focus on curbing overspending in the budget, in light of the possibility of a drop in oil prices as a result of an imminent global economic

crisis, “The state’s leadership is concerned about the critical situation, given the parliamentary legislations that exhaust the public budget,” said one official who spoke anonymously.

The Central Bank has reportedly noted that oil prices may catapult to $370 per barrel in the near future, and Kuwait needs to formulate new strategies to cope with an inflating budget as a result of the overspending policy. Officials indicate that the team will take a ‘firm stance’ on the matter, reported Al-Qabas.

A recent International Monetary Fund (IMF) report predicts that Kuwait will amass the largest oil-derived income in its history next year on the back of rising prices, reported Al-Watan. On the other hand, officials from the Kuwaiti government stated that the government plans to enforce income taxes and value added tax in the near future.

Child’s death under investigation KUWAIT: Police have launched an investigation into the death of a nine-year-old Kuwaiti girl who died of asphyxiation.

The girl’s father rushed her to Adan Hospital, telling doctors there that he had found her unconscious in her room.

Although medical staff fought to resuscitate the child, they were unable to, pronouncing her dead shortly after her arrival. On spotting what appeared to be strangulation marks on her neck, doctors called police to investigate the case. The body was removed for autopsy to determine the exact cause of death.

Murder hunt A murder investigation is underway after the discovery of a Kuwaiti woman’s body at her home in Firdous. Police were quickly at the woman’s home after receiving a call early on Saturday morning to report the grim discovery, with evidence of foul play found at the scene.

Illegal call center Police in the Capital area arrested four Asian men who were running an illegal call center offering discounted international calls to other expatriates from a flat in the Bneid Al-Gar area. The arrests followed a tip off from an informant. A quantity of specialist equipment used in the call center operation was also removed from the scene, including a computer, mobile phones and a decoder.

Rubbish row Police are investigating a brawl that broke out between two neighbors in Taima after one of the two became disgruntled at his neighbor’s habit of throwing household rubbish directly into the street. When the unhappy neighbor approached the litterbug to demand that he desist from the unsanitary habit, a fistfight resulted between them, with other neighbors having to intervene to break up the fracas.

Kabad attack The life of an Asian expatriate was saved by the poor aim of a group of thugs who shot at him at the Kabad livestock farm where he works, but thankfully only hit him in one foot. After their attack, the thugs fled the area. The injured man immediately called his sponsor, who rushed to the scene, taking the injured man to hospital. The victim subsequently told police that he could identify the gunmen, who he said work at a neighboring farm, and a hunt is underway for them.

Stray dog Residents of Abdullah Al-Mubarak became alarmed when a desperate stray dog entered the area, attempting to enter a house there. The owner called police, but the dog had left the area on its own by the time officers arrived. —Al-Watan

79 fire deaths in first half of 2011 KUWAIT: A total of 79 people died in some of the 6,496 fires that broke out in Kuwait during the first six months of 2011, according to a new report from the Kuwait Fire Ser vices Directorate (KFSD).

In a press release issued by KFSD PR and Media Director Lieutenant General Khalil Al-

Amir, it was revealed that 646 people, including 141 firefighters, were injured in the fires, with 1,778 rescue operations taking place in the same period, between January 1 and June 31 this year.

Electrical short circuits were the principal reason behind most of the fires, although 198 of the

fires were started intentionally, revealed Lt. Gen. Al-Amir, adding that the area with the highest number of blazes during this period was Far waniya governorate.

Meanwhile, eight people have died in accidents on Kuwait’s roads in the last week (August 813), according to the latest statis-

tics from the Ministry of Interior’s traffic department, with three of the dead being Kuwaiti and the other five being expatriates of various nationalities.

The traffic department called on all road-users to take better care and comply with traffic regulations for their own and others’ safety.

MONDAY, AUGUST 15, 2011

Suu Kyi calls for ‘unity’ on political trip

Egypt ex-security chief back in court Page 8

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Perry, Bachmann galvanize race Pawlenty drops out after disappointing finish AMES, Iowa: The US Republican presidential primary race displayed a tilt to the right yesterday after conservative Texas Governor Rick Perry entered the contest and Tea Party darling Michele Bachmann won a telling victory in an early poll. Former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty announced yesterday he is dropping out of the Republican presidential contest, after a distant third place finish in a key test vote. Perry, the fourth-term governor, supported by the Christian right, vowed to put Americans back to work and assailed Barack Obama on the economy, where the president is most vulnerable. “We cannot and must not endure four more years of rising unemployment, rising taxes, rising debt, rising energy dependence on nations that intend us harm,” Perry said, as he announced his candidacy in South Carolina Saturday.

Hours later, Bachmann, a favorite of the ultraconservative Tea Party movement, took first place in Iowa’s Ames Straw Poll - seen as a key indicator of who will fare well in early nominating contests next year. “This is the first step toward taking the White House in 2012,” Bachmann told supporters. “We’ve just sent a message that Barack Obama will be a one-term president.”

Bachmann won 4,823 votes, or around 28.5 percent of the 16,892 ballots cast in the unscientific and nonbinding poll. Congressman Ron Paul, who is sometimes called the “intellectual godfather” of the Tea Party philosophy, was just a few votes behind with 4,671, or 27.6 percent. Pawlenty, seen by many as a relative moderate, came in a distant third with just 2,293, or about 13.6 percent. Pawlenty had hoped a strong showing would breathe new life into his

campaign. But despite weeks of heavy campaigning, Pawlenty’s message “didn’t get the kind of traction or lift that we needed and hoped for coming into and out of the Ames straw poll,” he told ABC’s “This Week,” a political talk show.

“That didn’t happen. So I’m announcing on your show that I’m going to be ending my campaign for president.”

Pawlenty, 50, acknowledged a “disappointing” short-lived run. “There’s a lot of other choices in the race,” Pawlenty said.

“I think the audience, so to speak, was looking for something different... But I do believe that we’re going to have a

very good candidate who’s going to beat (President) Barack Obama.” He said a “qualified” Bachmann would be “tested” during the bruising Republican nomination process. “She’s going to have to make her case,” Pawlenty said. Asked whether he might consider becoming the running mate of one of his former rivals, Pawlenty said no thanks. “I’ve been down that road before,” he said.

“That’s not something I’m even going to consider.” Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, until now seen as the front-runner for the nomination, was seventh with just 567 votes, or almost

3.4 percent. He was outgunned by Perry, who wasn’t even an official candidate until Saturday and did not take part in the straw poll. The Texan garnered 718 votes, or 3.6 percent, as a write-in candidate. Perry had formally entered the race hours earlier, vowing to put Americans back to work and blaming Obama for the country’s “economic disaster” and the first-ever downgrade of its S&P credit rating. He slammed White House reassurances that America was in slow but steady recovery from a crippling global meltdown in 2008, saying: “That is not a recovery, that is an economic disaster.”

The governor has touted his “Texas miracle,” in which the state has led the nation in creating jobs since the 2008 recession, as the nationwide unemployment rate has hovered above nine percent. Perry, who succeeded George W Bush as governor in 2000, also has strong credentials as a social conservative, and earlier this month held a prayer rally in a Texas stadium attended by more than 30,000 people. From South Carolina, Perry jetted to New Hampshire where he attended Saturday night a party at the home of state Representative Pam Tucker. Experts said the Texas governor’s visit was a nod

AMES, Iowa: (Left) Republican presidential candidate Rep Michele Bachmann waves from the steps of her campaign bus after being named the winner of the Iowa Republican Party’s straw poll, Saturday. (Right) Republican presidential candidate and former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty waves to supporters after he spoke at the straw poll. Pawlenty dropped out of the race for president following a third place finish. — AP

to New Hampshire’s first-in-the nation primary. From New Hampshire, he plans to head to Iowa to compete, as he put it, “for every vote in every state.”

Critics say, however, that the jobs created in Texas have been mainly low-paying, and have come as a result of deregulation and painful cuts in social spending. “Middle class families know his economic record is no miracle - it’s a tall tale,” Obama campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt said Saturday. “Governor Perry allowed special interests to write their own rules, hired corporate lobbyists to oversee corporations, and cut funding for programs that would create opportunity for middle class families.”

Multimillionaire Romney has been making the most of his private sector experience on the stump, but faces lingering skepticism 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 governor has been snapping 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.

Some Democratic leaders spent the day in Iowa meeting with party activists and the media as they portrayed the Republican candidates as extremists who are associated with the Tea Party and who have poisoned American politics. Part of the ammunition Democrats used to show proof of extremism was the Republican presidential debate held in Ames Thursday. —AFP

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NATO keen on way out of Libya impasse BRUSSELS: Six months after the start of the conflict in Libya, NATO believes that the resistance of Muammar Gaddafi’s regime can be overcome and rebels finally get the upper hand. UN Security Council resolution 1973 authorised the Atlantic Alliance in March to defend Libya’s civilian population from attacks

by Gaddafi’s regime, which faces a popular revolt after 42 years in power. The NATO mission that took off in early April is due to wrap up in September unless it is extended by participating states, including Britain, Canada, France, Italy and the United States, all of whom are under increasing fiscal pressure to pull back.

NATO’s top Libya commander,

Canada’s Lieutenant General Charles Bouchard, told AFP Thursday: “ The Gaddafi regime’s forces continue to be weakened, both in strength and their will to fight.” “They are no longer able to launch a credible offensive,” he added, expressing confidence that the conflict will be over before the mission’s mandate runs out next month. “Unified Protector”, the codename for the operations in Libya, has suffered “from the start from an obvious lack of intelligence which led to unpleasant surprises”, said Francois Heisbourg, special advisor to the Paris-based Foundation for Strategic Research think tank.

The allies, who carry out air strikes, “underestimated the ability of Gaddafi’s

forces to resist and overestimated the rebels’ coherence and fighting abilities”, he added. NATO also “lost a lot of time making up for” the withdrawal, after only a few days, of US fighter aircraft.

Washington now provides logistical assistance, leaving mainly Paris and London in the line of fire - a first for a NATO operation.

“Only a political solution will allow to put an end to the conflict,” said Alvaro de Vasconcelos, director of the European Union Institute for Security Studies, who believes that Gaddafi will only fall if his aides turn against him. “A military liberation of Tripoli would be very difficult,” he said, given the rebels’ divisions and chequered make-up. Vasconcelos supported

more diplomatic efforts to bring in the African Union and Arab League in view of a negotiated settlement. “The participation of Qatar or the United Arab Emirates does not stop the NATO operation from being seen as an essentially Western initiative,” Vasconcelos said.

The air strikes have also been criticised by Security Council members China, Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa who believe that they go beyond the UN mandate to protect civilians. UN leader Ban Ki-moon on Thursday expressed alarm over the rising number of civilian casualties in the Libya conflict, including those inflicted in NATO air strikes. Without specifically naming any side, Ban called on “all parties” to use

“extreme caution” in the battle. Ban also stepped up calls for a political solution to the conflict. Apart from the issue of legitimacy, the allies’ budget problems are also becoming an issue. Norway withdrew its final four F-16 fighter jets taking part in the NATO-led mission on August 1 and Italy has pulled out its aircraft carrier. France followed suit and had its aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle return to Toulon, but said Paris would maintain operations in Libya. NATO is adamant it has the resources to complete its mandate but there seems to be no doubt that if the conflict drags on further this will weigh on talks in September about a possible extension of the mission mandate. —AFP

Egypt ex-security chief back in court Lawyers press demands in trial

RIYADH: Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh (left) talks to wounded Yemeni deputy premier Rashad Al-Alimi at a hospital in the Saudi capital on Saturday. Both men were wounded in an attack on the presidential compound in the Yemeni capital Sanaa in June. — AFP

Yemen oppn asks West to freeze Saleh assets SANAA/ADEN: A leading member of Yemen’s opposition called on Western countries to freeze the assets of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who is clinging to power despite months of protest against his 33-year rule.

Sheikh Hamid Al-Ahmar, a tribal leader and wealthy businessman in Yemen’s main opposition party, the Islamist Islah, also lashed out at Saleh’s sons’ “desperate” attempts to keep his family in power as their father recovers in Saudi Arabia from a June assassination attempt. “I call on Western states... to begin proceedings to seize the possessions and money of Saleh and his family, because they belong to the Yemeni people,” he said in an interview with pan Arab daily al-Hayat, adding those funds could be used to repay the country’s debts.

The protests have paralysed the impoverished Arabian Peninsula state, where even before the unrest some 40 percent of the population lived on less than $2 per day.

Governments worldwide have responded to crackdowns on Egyptian, Tunisian and Libyan protesters this year by freezing their long-time leaders’ assets. But while veteran presidents in Egypt and Tunisia bowed to pressure they quit, Saleh has proved a shrewd political survivor, and officially remains in power. Ahmar praised Saudi Arabia’s role in mediating the crisis, dismissing accusations it is thwarting Yemeni demands for change: “I see the Gulf initiative, which was essentially a Saudi effort, as one of the supporting aspects of the revolution,” he said.

Saudi Arabia has spearheaded a Gulf Arab plan to end Yemen’s political deadlock by easing Saleh out of office, but he backed out of signing it three times at the very last minute, leaving Yemen in political limbo. Last week Saleh said he would look at reviving the initiative, which would see him hand over power to Vice President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, but his opponents question whether this is yet another stalling tactic. “It’s clear Saleh must realise his future as president is finished and

that everything he is doing now is just a desperate attempt to implement his plan to hand power to his sons,” said Ahmar.

Away from the negotiating table, one civilian was killed in the capital Sanaa in clashes between the forces of general Ali Mohsen AlAhmar who defected from Saleh in March and the Republican Guard, which is commanded by his son. Residents in the west of the city said they heard the sound of shelling and heavy exchanges of gunfire. An uneasy ceasefire mostly prevailed in Sanaa after Saleh flew to Saudi Arabia for medical treatment, but tensions have been rising in the past few days.

The media centre for the protesters quoted a military source as saying a reconnaissance plane circling over the headquarters of General Ali Mohsen’s first armoured brigade had been hit by an aerial defence system and forced to turn back.

Meanwhile, violence flared anew in Yemen’s south, where Islamist militants have exploited a political vacuum, taking over at least two cities in the volatile province of Abyan, including its capital Zinjibar. Two soldiers and four militants were killed in fighting on Saturday night when militants attacked an army compound and a sports stadium used as a makeshift military base, a local official said. Seven more militants were killed in air strikes after planes were sent to help repel them. A loose coalition of tribesmen and the army last month launched an offensive to try to flush militants out of Abyan, but they have yet to regain much of the lost ground.

Opponents of Saleh, who earned US backing by presenting himself as a vital partner in the West’s counter terrorism strategy, say he has deliberately let militants expand their foothold in the south to convince the international community only he can keep AlQaeda’s Yemen-based wing in check. The United States and Saudi Arabia, both targets of Al-Qaeda in Yemen are worried instability there could create a much wider security threat. — Reuters

Palestinians to seek UN Security Council nod RAMALLAH: Palestinians will ask the UN Security Council to support their bid for statehood, a senior official said Sunday - a move that would set the stage for a showdown with the US. Legislator Hanan Ashrawi is the first Palestinian official to spell out that the Palestinians plan to ask the Security Council to endorse admitting Palestine as a full-fledged state, despite an expected US veto. “We are going to the UN with all options open,” Ashrawi told a news conference. “We are going to the Security Council, we are going to the General Assembly. We are not limiting ourselves to one thing.”

She urged the US to abstain if it would not support the Palestinian bid outright.

The Palestinian quest for a UN statehood endorsement has put Washington in the awkward position of potentially vetoing Palestinian statehood at a time when Arab countries are rising up against authoritarian rulers. But the US is Israel’s closest ally, has much invested in a peace process it has sponsored for decades, and wants the Palestinian state to emerge from negotiations, not unilateral action.

The Palestinians, however, seem to have given up on negotiations with the current hardline Israeli government. Talks have stalled for the past few years, and Palestinians instead want the UN to recog-

nize their future state in the Gaza Strip, West Bank and east Jerusalem - territories Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast war.

Israel withdrew settlers and soldiers from Gaza in 2005 but still occupies the West Bank and east Jerusalem.

Ordinarily, the Security Council recommends membership and then refers the request to the General Assembly. If the council vetoes membership or delays deliberation, the Palestinians could appeal directly to the General Assembly, where they are assured the simple majority they need. They could also skip the Security Council altogether and go straight to the Assembly.

But an Assembly resolution would likely yield “nonmember state” status - at best a symbolic victor y because it doesn’t empower them to challenge the occupation. Ashrawi said the Palestinians were still drafting the text of the statehood bid and had not decided whether it would mention details such as borders or Jerusalem, whose eastern sector they claim for a future capital. The current Israeli government, unlike earlier coalitions, insists on retaining sovereignty over all of the holy city, rejecting Palestinian claims to the traditionally Arab eastern sector for a capital. No date has been set for submitting the statehood application to the UN, she added. —AP

CAIRO: Lawyers called on Egypt’s government yesterday to hand over documents that may reveal who ordered police to fire on protesters during the uprising that unseated President Hosni Mubarak, leaving more than 850 people dead. The demand came during the trials of Egypt’s reviled former Interior Minister Habib ElAdli and deposed Mubarak over the killings, which have captivated Egyptians with real-life drama to trump the most popular Ramadan-season TV soap operas. Adli was in charge of a massive security apparatus blamed for systematic rights abuses and the smothering of all opposition to Mubarak’s 29-year rule.

The ex-minister and six of his lieutenants, who are charged with the killings and corruption, watched from the court’s steel cage yesterday as dozens of lawyers for the plaintiffs jostled towards the judge’s bench to list their demands.

All seven defendants face the death penalty if convicted over the killings. Tension pervaded the busy courtroom. Security men struggled to keep order as the family of a dead protester scuffled with relatives of a dead police officer whose photo was held up to commemorate his death.

The protester’s family demanded that the photo be removed, saying the officer was a killer not a victim. “The judge abruptly ended the session which got out of hand because of over-enthusiasm and rising emotions,” Gameel Saeed, representing one top officer accused with Adli, told Reuters. Judge Ahmed Refaat set the next hearing for Sept 5 Mubarak’s trial resumes today. The trials of Adli and Mubarak, who appeared in court on Aug 3 and denied any role in the killings, have gripped audiences across a region dominated by Mubarak-style autocrats. Police fired live ammunition, rubber bullets and teargas as the protests spread inexorably across the country of 80 million. On Feb 2, Mubarak loyalists mounted on camels and horses charged into protesters in Cairo’s Tahrir Square.

Amir Hamdy Salem, a lawyer for some of the plaintiffs, demanded to see all communication between Mubarak and Adli stored in the presidential palace and Mubarak’s residence. He demanded written correspondence and records of calls between Mubarak and his ex-intelligence

chief Omar Suleiman kept in Egyptian intelligence headquarters. He also requested log books showing orders given by Adli and Hasan Abdel Rahman, the head of state security, to officers trained as snipers as well as logs of the ammunition used. “Regarding the request to continue to view evidence, the court will consid-

Salem said.

Tarek El Awady, director of the Egyptian Museum by Tahrir Square, said taped security camera footage that captured the camel attack was sent to the military council and investigative bodies, the state news agency MENA reported on Saturday. As security chief, Adli was the tar-

CAIRO: An Egyptian holds a noose as ex-interior minister Habib El-Adly appears on a large screen outside the police academy on the outskirts of Cairo during his trial on murder charges and that of six other police commanders. — AFP er it,” said judge Refaat.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs also requested testimony from the chief executives of mobile phone firms Mobinil , Etisalat and Vodafone Egypt. The government shut down telecom services during the uprising as activists sought to build critical mass for the demonstrations using text messaging, Facebook and Twitter. “What is already available in existing files does not fully make clear who gave the order to cut communication,”

Suicide bomber attacks Algerian police station ALGIERS: A suicide bomber crashed a small truck apparently laden with explosives into a police station in the capital of the Kabylie region east of Algiers early yesterday, injuring at least 29 people. The official APS news agency, citing security officials, said 15 officers and 14 civilians were injured when the vehicle crashed into the main entrance of the Tizi Ouzou police station at 4 am.

The local hospital treating victims put the number of injured at 33, most of them with minor injuries. Many of the victims lived in nearby buildings.

Debris from the bomber’s truck, showing a license plate from the region, was flung hundreds of meters away, local police said. A doctor living near the police station, Alliche Brahim, said the blast awoke everyone in the mountainringed town, located some 100 km east of Algiers. A building from which numerous newspapers operate was among those damaged, with its door ripped off and windows broken. The nearby hospital where the injured were taken also suffered some damage from the blast, according to local journalists.

The head of the Algerian police force, Gen Abdelghani Hammel, rushed to Tizi Ouzou to visit the police station and hospital then convene a meeting with the region’s security commission.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. However, Kabylie, the Berber capital, is the stronghold of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. A police station across town was attacked by a suicide bomber in Aug 2008, killing two officers. The verdant region of mountains and valleys has become the base for the AlQaeda affiliate which sprang from an Algerian insurgency movement in late 2006. Islamist extremists have battled Algerian security forces since 1992 when the army canceled a national election that a now-banned Muslim fundamentalist party was poised to win. Security forces gained the upper hand over the years, but sporadic attacks continue and increased dramatically in July. An estimated 200,000 people - civilians, insurgents and security forces - have been killed since the violence began. — AP

get of animosity from much of the population.

But many Egyptians were unsure whether the ruling military council would subject former army officer Mubarak to the humiliation of a public trial. That only heightened the drama of his appearance this month in the courtroom, lying in a hospital bed and flanked by his sons Alaa and Gamal, who many Egyptians believed had been groomed to succeed his father as head of state. — Reuters

Morocco to hold early vote in mid-November RABAT: Morocco announced plans yesterday to hold early parliamentary elections in mid-November, as the Arab world’s longest-serving monarchy pursues reforms in response to protests inspired by the Arab Spring. During long overnight negotiations with the interior ministry, officials from some 20 political parties in the north African nation agreed in principle for the election to be held in mid-November.

Voters overwhelmingly approved a package of reforms limiting the powers of King Mohammed VI in a July 1 referendum.

“The parties and the interior ministry have agreed for the election to be held in mid-November,” Prime Minister Abbas al Fassi, secretary general of the nationalist Istiqlal party, told AFP. He did not provide an exact date but other party officials said the vote would be held on or around Nov 11. “The date of November 11 was agreed but the election could be shifted by a few days because of its proximity to the Eid alAdha religious holiday,” Lahcen Daoudi, the deputy secretary general of the Islamist Justice and Development Party, told AFP. Officials in two leftwing parties, the

Party of Progress and Socialism (PPS) and the Labour Party, confirmed the date had been set for Nov 11. Interior ministry officials could not be reached for confirmation.

Mohammed VI called for speedy elections in a speech late last month. The king offered the reforms last spring following weeks of protests modelled on the demonstrations that ousted long-serving leaders in Tunisia and Egypt and have shaken much of the region.

Under the new constitution, the king will remain head of state, the military, and the Islamic faith in Morocco. The prime minister, chosen from the largest party elected to parliament, will take over as the head of government. Other changes would grant more power to parliament, introduce an independent judiciary and provide new guarantees of civil liberties. More than 98 percent of voters endorsed the reforms in the referendum and Western leaders have praised the king for his moderate response to protests. But critics have denounced the reforms as window-dressing and called for further limits on the powers of the king and his entourage. —AFP

BAGHDAD: Mohammed Fawzi, an Iraqi baker, prepares traditional sweets in the back room of a bakery yesterday. — AP

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British PM in row over ‘zero tolerance’ policy Top cops slam UK role for US crime guru LONDON: British Prime Minister David Cameron pledged yesterday a “zero tolerance” crackdown after recent urban riots, fuelling a row over plans for the US “supercop” behind the strategy to advise the government. Police chiefs in Britain criticised Cameron’s decision to hire ex-New York police supremo Bill Bratton to help prevent a repeat of the violence in which five people died, saying a home-grown policy would be better. “We haven’t talked the language of zero tolerance enough, but the message is getting through,” Cameron told The Sunday Telegraph newspaper.

BIRMINGHAM: In this Aug 9, 2011 photo, youths run from an electronics store as disturbances saw looting and vehicles set alight. —AP

UK gangs thrive in riots BIRMINGHAM, England: The Burger Bar Boys. The Cash or Slash Money Crew. The Bang Bang Gang.

These names might sound straight out of a dime-store novel, but they’re real-life Birmingham gangs underground armies that spearheaded England’s worst riots in a generation. As Britain comes to grips with the causes of the past week’s descent into anarchy, Prime Minister David Cameron has identified the growth of gangs as a key factor and is recruiting high-profile American anti-gang experts to help bring them to heel.

While senior British police officers openly resent that move, analysts of gang culture say it seems logical to seek American assistance, because today’s British gangs consciously ape American gang ambitions and style, from the bling to the lingo.

They talk in a street patois shaped

by US rap lyrics, use noms de guerre lifted straight from American gangster films and crime dramas, and choose such icons as Don Corleone, Al Pacino’s Scarface or Baltimore ganglord Stringer Bell of “The Wire” TV series as their avatars on socialnetworking sites.

“These teenage gangsters are creating their own criminal worlds, and in their minds it’s very much an Americanized world. When they talk about the police, it’s ‘the Feds,’ or ‘The 5-0,’ as in Hawaii 5-0,” said Carl Fellstrom, an expert on England’s gangs and author of a recent book on the topic, “Hoods”. British law enforcement authorities admit that, until only a few years ago, they sought to minimize the scale and violent potential of their homegrown gangs. They promoted their preferred label of “delinquent youth groups” and billed full-blooded street gangs as an American phenomenon.

In the wake of the August riots when gangs used text-messaging to deploy break-in artists to breach steel-shuttered shops - politicians now use the “G” word pointedly.

“Territorial, hierarchical and incredibly violent, the gangs are mostly composed of young boys, mainly from dysfunctional homes,” Cameron told the House of Commons in an emergency debate on the riots. “ They earn money through crime, particularly drugs, and are bound together by an imposed loyalty to an authoritarian gang leader. They have blighted life on their estates, with gang-on-gang murders and unprovoked attacks on police.”

In Birmingham, a reporter took a drive through the contested turf of its working-class west side, a hodgepodge of cramped red-brick rowhouses and gray-concrete 1960s tower blocks where rival Caribbean and Indo-Pakistani gangs long have been at odds. Their feuds have sparked at least four riots since the 1980s. The police were there too, raiding the home of a gang member believed to be storing loot from the week’s gang raids on convenience stores and hi-fi shops.

At one corner, a teenage boy in hooded jacket and green bandanna - color of a predominantly Caribbean gang called BMW, short for Birmingham’s Most Wanted - was keeping an eye on “the Feds” as they pounded in the front door of that house and charged in by the dozen in search of stolen electronics and fashion-label clothes. Such raids have become common sights in gang power bases since rioting subsided Wednesday. The BMW foot soldier texted his gang leader the police’s location, using heavily abbreviated code that the “5-0” was raiding the house of an enemy “cru”.

The boy, initially hostile to a reporter’s questions, warmed up when asked about the cost of a black-market plasma TV. “It’s sale of the century down that end.

Everything must go,” he said, pointing to a nearby residential cul-desac in the opposite direction of the

police raid. The gang’s pilfered TVs, he said, were going for one-tenth of their sticker price, and locals were paying in cash in back alleys beyond the reach of Birmingham’s network of CCTV cameras. He added with a cheeky smile: “We don’t take Visa, but we do home delivery.”

English gangs often defend their turf down to the curbstone. Many even attach the postal codes of their district to gang names. They also mark territory with wavy-lettered graffiti of tribal identity that would look at home on a Los Angeles highway underpass. Virtually every spot on the English map that suffered riots is home turf to one or multiple gangs, according to an interactive online map called London Street Gangs and related gang-mapping efforts by the Metropolitan Police and University of Bedfordshire youth-crime expert John Pitts.

One riot spot, Enfield in north London where a Sony distribution center was ransacked, hosts a halfdozen active gangs including Dem Africans, Red Brick Crew and Gun Man Down. The south London borough of Croydon, scene of the worst arson attacks and the fatal shooting of a 26-year-old man, is the power base for the Don’t Say Nothin gang.

While the wide-open shops in London inspired citizens from all walks of life to loot, police say gangs formed the theft-savvy vanguard.

CCTV footage of certain riot zones clearly shows groups carting off goods with their faces hidden by gang-branded bandanas, baseball caps and jacket hoods.

The north London borough of Tottenham, where the fatal police shooting of alleged gang member Mark Duggan on Aug. 4 triggered the first riot two days later, has at least a dozen gangs rooted in the vicinity. Duggan was a reputed member of The Stars gang in Tottenham and a relative of a major crime family in Manchester, northwest England. Police say Duggan, 29, was transporting a loaded Italian handgun hidden in a sock at the time of the police ambush. His last recorded words were a text to his pregnant girlfriend: “The Feds are following me.”

Roy Gisby, who helps manage a London-wide charity called In-volve that tries to steer youths away from drugs and gangs, said how the violence spread from Tottenham demonstrated the hallmarks of gang direction. The lead rioters in attacks on shops brought cars for both getaways and carrying heavy loads, and deployed members using preset gang text lists to tie down police, he said. “It’s gang-led, no doubt about that,” said Gisby, 59. “Look at what happened in Tottenham. The youngsters were kept in the streets there to riot, while the older ones went north to rob Enfield. It might’ve looked like chaos, but there was an order to it.”

In Nottingham, the city of Robin Hood fame, gang members wearing the red bandanna of one of the city’s biggest gangs, St. Ann’s Posse, tossed gasoline bombs at a police station before ransacking a sportswear store. The following night, the city’s other major gang, the Radford Boys, showed up in their black bandanas to lob Molotov cocktails at their turf’s own police station, too.

“Radford didn’t like that their big rivals were getting all the media attention, so they had to put on a show of force too,” said Fellstrom, whose book focused on Nottingham gangs.

A national study by the Home Office, responsible for law and order in England, estimates that 6 percent of all boys and girls aged 10 to 19 or around 50,000 people - are members of gangs. They’re sometimes recruited by older gang members to serve as drug couriers, making deliveries by bike with little risk of being stopped by police, just as in the United States.

The starkest difference between

British and American gangs is the firepower. In gun-control Britain, only the bigger gangs make firearms - smuggled in with drugs shipments from Holland, North Africa and the Caribbean - their weapon of choice.

For UK teenage apprentices and wannabes, the knife is still king.

Most of the more than 5,000 stabbings a year in Britain, according police and social workers, are gangs attacking rivals who strayed into their areas, muscled into their rackets, or simply insulted them. Already this year in London, eight teenagers have been stabbed to death. One wouldn’t hand over his cell phone.

Another was stopping a bicycleborne gang from chasing his younger brother.

Such bloodshed pales in comparison to the epicenter of gang culture, Los Angeles, where an estimated 90,000 gang members have been blamed for the majority of 297 murders last year. The LA gang model is the world export leader, with chapters throughout the United States and Central America. Dozens of British gangs brand themselves as L A-style Crips and Bloods, too, although no true trans-Atlantic affiliation exists.

But even before England’s August riots, gangs cast a bigger statistical shadow in London than in New York, where official crime figures last year recorded just 228 gang-related crimes ‚Ä” in a city that suffered 18,000 robberies and 532 murders.

While experts there estimate New York’s gangs to have around 17,000 members, they stick to business and discourage inter-gang conflict over turf. “New York doesn’t have clearly demarcated gang territories,” said David Brotherton, a youth gang expert and chairman of the sociology department at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

Britain’s Cameron has just recruited the Los Angeles Police Department’s former commander, William Bratton, to be his adviser on anti-gang tactics. Bratton previously commanded the police in Boston and New York, where his tactics were credited with greatly reducing gangrelated bloodshed. Cameron and Bratton are expected to promote ideas pioneered 15 years ago in Boston by Harvard academicturned-crime fighter David Kennedy.

Kennedy’s “Boston strategy” seeks public meetings of police, probation workers, welfare providers, community residents, and a target audience of gang members. The discussions have been credited with delivering sharp drops in gang-related killings in Boston, Chicago and Cincinnati. “It is now absolutely demonstrable that there is a better way to do this. There is a 15-year history in the United States in city after city after city. We don’t think that London can fix its gang problem. We know it can fix it,” Kennedy said.

While England has been slow to address its growth of gang culture, the gang-infested capital of Scotland - Glasgow - has already imported the Boston method. Karen McCluskey, a director of Scotland’s Violence Reduction Unit, in 2008 held her first Boston-style mass meeting with gang members in a Glasgow courthouse. She said gang members were shocked to learn the wealth of intelligence police held about them, appeared unaware of the range of help on offer, and were shamed by stories of how their behavior had terrified their neighborhoods.

McCluskey said her colleagues were skeptical that American antigang techniques could be imported meaningfully to Scotland, then watched Glasgow’s gang-related violent crimes fall 46 percent in the past three years because of them.

“It’s easy to say that the approach won’t work here because of this difference or that difference,” Kennedy said. “The one thing we’ve learned is that the differences don’t make a difference.” —AP

A four-day frenzy of looting and arson in London and other major English cities has sparked a nationwide debate on the causes and possible responses, with just a year to go until the capital hosts the 2012 Olympics. The Conservative premier accused some people of over-complicating explanations for simple criminality but admitted that underlying social factors including “deeply broken and troubled families” had to be addressed. “They were nicking televisions because they wanted a television and they weren’t prepared to save up and get it like normal people. The complicated bit is why are there so many, why is there this sizeable minority of people who are prepared to do this?,” he said.

In a phone call with Cameron, US President Barack Obama commended the “steadiness” shown by politicians and the police in their handling of the riots, Downing Street said. But Bratton himself said zero tolerance is “a phrase I hate”, listing instead a raft of measures including understanding how gangs work, using injunctions to curb their activities, and getting former members to help intervene. “I would not advocate attempting zero tolerance in any country. It’s not achievable. It implies you can eliminate a problem and that’s not reali-

ty,” Bratton, credited for tackling gang violence in New York, Los Angeles and Boston, wrote in the Mail on Sunday newspaper. He is due to come to Britain later this year.

Britain’s top policemen - already angered by government plans to cut force budgets as part of wider austerity measures, and by Cameron accusing them of being slow to react to the riots - were in no mood for lectures from anyone. Hugh Orde, the head of the British police chiefs’ body and a leading candidate to take over as head of London’s Metropolitan Police after the previous leader was felled by a phonehacking scandal, criticised the move to bring in Bratton. “I am not sure I want to learn about gangs from an area of America that has 400 of them. It seems to me, if you’ve got 400 gangs, then you’re not being very effective,” Orde told The Independent on Sunday newspaper. Acting Metropolitan Police chief Tim Godwin accused the government of “inconsistency” over how tough the police were expected to be, following allegations of heavy-handedness in the G20 protests in 2009.

More than 2,140 people have now been arrested in connection with the riots, of whom around 1,000 have been charged. Godwin said he expected

around 3,000 people to face the courts over the riots. He said commanders would decide today whether to scale down the surge of officers on London’s streets, currently at 16,000. The first people to be charged over some of the deaths in the riots appeared in court yesterday. Joshua Donald, 26, and a 17year-old male who cannot be named appeared at Birmingham Magistrates’ Cour t charged with the murder of three men hit by a car while defending their neighbourhood against looters in Britain’s second city.

Thousands of people were expected to attend a peace rally in Birmingham in Britain’s industrial midlands later yesteday. West Midlands police chief Chris Sims said he had been invited to address the meeting, saying it showed that policing was seen as “part of the solution” not part of the problem” in the area. He added that it “feels a million miles from the debates apparently raging in Westminster”. That debate shows no sign of letting up. An Angus Reid poll in the Sunday Express newspaper found that 72 percent supported the reintroduction of compulsory national service for 18-year-olds, while 70 percent backed stopping welfare handouts for the parents of rioters. —AFP

Norway killer back on island

Anders Breivik

OSLO: Held tightly on a police leash, the Norwegian man who confessed to killing 69 people at an island youth camp has reconstructed his actions for police back at the crime scene. Police said yesterday they took Anders Behring Breivik back to the island of Utoeya on Saturday for a hearing about the July 22 terror attacks, when Breivik shot the victims dead on the lake island near Oslo after killing another eight people in the capital with a bomb. The 32-year-old described the killings in close detail during an eight-hour tour on the island together with 10-12 police, prosecutor Paal-Fredrik Hjort Kraby told a press conference in Oslo.

The hearing took place amid a massive

security operation that aimed to avoid escape attempts by Breivik and protect him against potential avengers. “The suspect showed he wasn’t emotionally unaffected by being back at Utoeya ... but didn’t show any remorse,” Hjort Kraby said. “He has been questioned for around 50 hours about this, and he has always been calm, detailed and collaborative, and that was also the case on Utoeya,” he said.

Breivik walked roughly the same route as the one he took during the shooting spree and explained what happened with as little interference as possible from police, Hjort Kraby said. The entire hearing was filmed by police and will later be used in court, he added. —AP

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Obama begins political counteroffensive today US prez tries to ease people’s worries

INDIANAPOLIS: The overhead stage rigging collapses into the crowd in front of the stage at the Hoosier Lottery Grandstand at the Indiana State Fair Saturday. — AFP

Stage collapse kills 4 at Indiana concert WASHINGTON: At least four people were killed and 40 injured when a stage structure collapsed at the Indiana State Fairgrounds, local officials said early yesterday. The tragedy occurred late Saturday when a gust of wind brought down the stage rigging prepared for a country music concert shortly before 9:00 pm (0100 GMT yesterday), police said. WTHR television put the number of injured - suffering from cuts and bruises to fractures and head trauma at about 46. The T V station said the injured included a seven-year-old boy.

All were being treated at Indianapolis area hospitals, but authorities indicated the death toll could climb again as some injuries were “very serious”. There was no immediate information available on the four people killed, just a warning that the toll could mount. “I want to be very frank that there is a possibility we could have other deaths,” I ndiana State Police spokesman Dave Bursten told reporters. “We hope that everybody will be praying for those injured people.”

Nobody was performing at the stage when the tragedy occurred. Witnesses said the opening act had finished, and the crowd was waiting for the country music band Sugarland to begin its concert. “All of the sudden there was a second gust and the stage started to twist slowly. The grandstand star ted to shake. Everyone started to run instantly

to try and get out,” eyewitness Jason Scofield told WTHR. A severe thunderstorm warning was issued for Marion County at around 8:35 pm Saturday (0035 GMT yesterday), just before was concer t was to begin, according to WTHR. Emergency crews and fans quickly converged on the collapsed stage and worked to free those who were trapped, the Indianapolis Star newspapers reported. “The response was excellent not just from first responders but from participants, people that were attending the event,” said Frank Straub, of the local Depar tment of Public Safety. “When the structure came down, people at the event worked with emergency providers tried to lift the structure to help people underneath.”

Indianapolis Mayor Gregory Ballard echoed the view, saying the response was “ver y orderly, ver y calm”. “First responders have done a terrific job here tonight and they have the situation in hand even though it’s still a bit fluid,” the mayor added. The group Sugarland expressed its condolences to the families of the victims through a Twitter message. “We are praying for our fans, and the people of Indianapolis, the groups said. “We hope you’ll join us.

They need your strength.” The fair was closed yesterday. It was expected to reopen today with a ceremony honoring the victims of the tragedy. — AFP

American seized in Pak ‘was targeted’ LAHORE: An American aid expert kidnapped at gunpoint from his home in the Pakistani city of Lahore was targeted because of his nationality, police said Sunday as they scrambled for leads.

Anti-American tensions are at an all-time high in Pakistan after a covert US raid killed Osama bin Laden on May 2. The US embassy named the man as Warren Weinstein, who Pakistani police said is a senior official at US-based consultancy J E Austin, which works on development projects in the frontline state in the war on Al-Qaeda.

He was snatched at dawn on Saturday in the wealthy neighbourhood of Model Town, just two days before he was due to return to the United States after five years in the deeply conservative nucleararmed Muslim country of 167 million.

“One thing has been confirmed - that he is American and that he was kidnapped for this reason,” Atif Hayat, a senior police criminal investigation official told AFP in Lahore. There had still been no claim of responsibility, he said, and officers were questioning his guards and colleagues, and combing phone records, as part of the search. “So far we have no clue, nor has anyone contacted us,” he said.

Although kidnappings of Westerners are relatively rare in Pakistan, abductions in the country involve both Al-Qaedalinked militants and criminals looking for payoffs. Lahore is the capital of the eastern province of Punjab and considered one of Pakistan’s more liberal cities.

Other Westerners abducted in recent years have been snatched in far more volatile parts of the country. Police described the abductors as Urdu-speakers, so not obviously from the Islamist militant flashpoints in the northwest, wearing Western-style shir ts and trousers, according to witness testimony from one of Weinstein’s guards.

Investigators have been frustrated by a lack of witnesses coming forward to say they saw him being driven off in what kind of vehicle. Police said eight kidnappers forced their way into the house by offering food to the guards for a traditional pre-dawn meal at 3:30 am (2230 GMT Friday) before beginning the daily Ramadan fast. Hayat said the kidnappers tied up, blindfolded and taped over the mouths of the security guards,

locked them in a room and then took the driver upstairs to Weinstein’s bedroom. “They did not take away anything from the house except the man,” he said.

Police say Weinstein is around 65 years old, from Maryland and speaks Urdu. He blended in by wearing traditional Pakistani clothes of baggy trousers, a loose-fitting shirt and a waistcoat, they said. “This is a high-profile case and two police teams are busy in the investigation,” said Hayat. “There are up to 25 local Pakistani staff working under him and we’re also questioning them. “We are collecting call data of all those working in the office including Weinstein’s phone calls.”

US embassy spokesman Alber to Rodriguez said embassy authorities were working with the Pakistanis on the investigation. Few neighbours seemed to know Weinstein, who police said had lived in Lahore since 2006, working for J E Austin Associates, which recently completed a development project in the militant-infested northwestern tribal belt.

One man told AFP on condition of anonymity that he had only seen a foreigner in the street twice in six years. “I thought it was some NGO office. Not many houses are given on rent in this area,” he said.

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 American operation to kill bin Laden. 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.

Washington last Monday revised a travel warning, saying that Americans throughout Pakistan have been kidnapped for ransom or for personal reasons. On July 1, a Swiss couple were seized while on holiday in Baluchistan, a sparsely-populated southwestern province bordering Iran and Afghanistan known for separatist violence and Taleban activity. Wali-ur Rehman, deputy chief of Pakistan’s umbrella Taleban faction later claimed responsibility for that kidnapping. In Feb 2009, an American UN official was also kidnapped and held for two months in Baluchistan. — AFP

WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama launches a political counteroffensive this week, weighed down by withering support among some of his most ardent backers, a stunted economy and a daily bashing from the slew of Republicans campaigning for his job. “We’ve still got a long way to go to get to where we need to be. We didn’t get into this mess overnight, and it’s going to take time to get out of it,” the president told the country over the weekend, all but pleading for people to stick with him.

A deeply unsettled political landscape, with voters in a fiercely anti-incumbent mood, is framing the 2012 presidential race 15 months before Americans decide whether to give Obama a second term or hand power to the Republicans. Trying to ride out what seems to be an unrelenting storm of economic anxiety, people in the United States increasingly are voicing disgust with most all of the men and women, Obama included, they sent to Washington to govern them.

With his approval numbers sliding, the Democratic president will try to ease their worries and sustain his resurrected fighting spirit when he sets off today on a bus tour of Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois. The trip is timed to dilute the GOP buzz emanating from the Midwest after Republicans gathered in Iowa over the weekend for a first test of the party’s White House candidates. The state holds the nation’s first nominating test in the long road toward choosing Obama’s opponent.

“You have just sent a message that Barack Obama will be a one-term president,” Minnesota Rep Michele Bachmann told elated supporters minutes after winning Saturday’s Iowa straw poll, essentially a fundraising event that also tests a candidate’s organizational and financial strength. She spent heavily and traveled throughout the state where she was born, casting herself as the evangelical Christian voice of the deeply conservative small government, low tax tea party wing of the party.

So Bachmann won the test vote and Democrats probably rejoiced that her ultraconser vative voice gained strength among Republican contenders. But at the same time, the contest to challenge Obama in Nov 2012 grew even more jumbled. While the voting was under way in Ames, Iowa, Republicans had to shift their gaze halfway across the country to South Carolina, where Texas Gov Rick Perry made a cleverly timed entrance into the race.

Like Bachmann and all the other candidates, he ravaged Obama. Perry said the president was presiding over an “economic disaster,” in a declaration that stole some of Bachmann’s political thunder and undercut the frontrunner status of former Massachusetts Gov Mitt Romney, who didn’t compete in the Iowa test vote. Perry clearly cast a broad shadow across the Republican contest. Obama, expecting the political shelling he would take, fired preemptively in his weekly radio and Internet address to the nation on Saturday. He told listeners that it was the Republicans running for president and serving in Congress who were at work crushing voters’ hopes and dreams. The question for Obama and his backers remains: Will he sustain the counterattack? Of late, he’s been seen by even his most staunch supporters as too ready to retreat from critical ground when confronted by intransigent Republicans.

Working in Obama’s favor, however, is a Republican Party still struggling to find a presidential candidate who lights a fire with voters.

But Obama’s re-election could be in peril for lack of a strong message about what he will do to lift the country out of economic malaise and politi-

cal deadlock. Polls show voters hold both parties to blame for the stunted economic recovery, an unseemly political fight over raising the limit on US borrowing, an anemic deal to cut the government deficit, the subsequent and unprecedented downgrade of the country’s credit rating, wild stock market gyrations and an unemployment rate stuck above 9 percent.

In the face of that reality, Obama is tacking to put some wind in his re-election sails, apparently convinced that he can gather speed by turning up the attack on Congress. “You’ve got a right to be frustrated,” the president said in his weekly address. “I am. Because you deserve better. I

presidency. Perry, a former Democrat and the nation’s longest-serving governor, told his appreciative audience that Obama’s government had “an insatiable desire to spend our children’s inheritance.” He accused Obama of presiding over an “economic disaster” that has been “downgrading our hope for a better future.” “I’ll work every day to try to make Washington, DC, as inconsequential in your lives as I can,” Perry said, clearly bowing to his tea party backing.

Specifics for turning his promises into realities were absent.

By entering the race half way on the same day as the Iowa voting, Perry angered some

WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama leaves the Oval Office as he walks to a waiting motorcade on the South Lawn of the White House on Saturday prior to playing golf at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland. — AFP don’t think it’s too much for you to expect that the people you send to this town start delivering.” He chastised Republicans for brinksmanship, saying “some in Congress would rather see their opponents lose than see America win”.

That’s an assessment that has some validity, particularly among the new class of Republicans in the House who have used their outsized legislative power to stymie Obama at every turn since their election last November. In Iowa, Bachmann won narrowly over Rep Ron Paul of Texas. Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, looking for a strong showing to boost his struggling candidacy, ended a distant third. Still, it’s important to remember that the straw poll has not been a reliable predictor of the eventual nominee and that not everyone competed in it this year.

Former Alaska Gov Sarah Palin wasn’t on the ballot and isn’t a candidate, yet. But she unexpectedly showed up at the Iowa State Fair a day before the vote, drawing huge crowds and saying she hadn’t ruled out running. She, like Bachmann and now Perry, is a tea party favorite, but her coyness about joining the race could hurt her chances should she finally declare. The 2008 vice presidential running mate to Arizona Sen. John McCain in 2008 promptly headed out for President Ronald Reagan’s birthplace in neighboring Illinois.

Even as Obama’s bus tour has designs on blunting the Iowa Republican festivities, it will have to compete for attention as the country digests Perry’s rhetorical assault on Obama’s

Republicans, but he succeeded in diminishing attention to events in the heartland. What’s more it saved him campaign cash and energy. If nothing else, voters won’t be able to ignore the fact that Perry’s speaking style and swagger are eerily reminiscent of another Texas governor who made the transition to the national stage, President George W Bush. Both men were Air Force pilots.

With his solid credentials on social as well as economic issues, Perry is an immediate threat to Bachmann in Iowa and to Romney just about everywhere else. Romney did not participate in the Iowa poll, which he won four years ago before dropping out of the race when he failed to catch fire against McCain. Romney did join all the announced candidates Thursday at an Iowa debate. But it was his pre-debate visit to the Iowa State Fair that produced a political gift to the Democrats.

Responding to a heckler who challenged him on tax policies that benefit big business, he blurted out that “corporations are people, my friend”. The Democratic National Committee quickly used video of that remark in pre-straw poll television ads in Des Moines, the state capital. It was the kind of business friendly, Republican applause line that could haunt him with undecided voters and disaffected Democrats. Obama and the other GOP hopefuls now face daily scrutiny as well as they try to avoid for the same kind of misstep. That’s a nearly impossible task in the long, arduous and expensive path toward the White House. — AP

UK violence raises questions about US unrest WASHINGTON: A black man killed by police. Mobs of looters.

Cities charred and shaken. The riots in London mirror some of the worst uprisings in modern US history. And there are more parallels: Stubborn poverty and high unemployment, services slashed due to recessionary budget cuts, a breakdown of social values, social media that bring people together for good or bad at the speed of the Internet. And finally, there are a handful of actual attacks, isolated and hard to explain, by bands of youths in US cities.

As Americans look across the Atlantic, a natural question arises: Could the flames and violence that erupted in Britain scar this country, too? Police, elected officials, activists and regular citizens offer varied answers, reflecting the unsettled mix of race, class, lawlessness, and the chasm between haves and have-nots that may lie behind the unrest.

“History shows that the social tinder for such eruptions of massive violence and looting is usually widespread poverty without hope, and the spark is typically an incident of police brutality in the absence of a culture of police accountability,” said Benjamin Todd Jealous, CEO of the NAACP. “Such conditions exist in almost every major American city.”

Others, like British Prime Minister David Cameron, blame “criminality, pure and simple.” That echoes descriptions of some recent episodes of mob behavior in places like Philadelphia,

Milwaukee, Chicago and Ohio.

Stores have been pillaged, passers-by robbed, and random victims brutally attacked by dozens or occasionally hundreds of youths summoned through tools like Facebook and Twitter.

Philadelphia has responded by tightening youth curfews, and the Cleveland City Council passed a bill (later vetoed by the mayor) making it illegal to use social media to organize a violent mob.

Racial friction is an uncertain element. In Britain, TV images have shown mixed-race crowds creating mayhem. In recent mob violence in Philadelphia and Milwaukee, attackers were black and victims white. The recent violence raises frightening memories of past racial unrest - the police club fracturing black civil rights marcher John Lewis’ skull in 1965 Alabama, or the cinderblock smashing white truck driver Reginald Denny’s head in 1992 Los Angeles.

Even though it’s unclear how much race motivates today’s mob violence, many see it as one of a combination of factors, which together make the grip of American law and order feel less secure. “What we’re seeing on the streets in Britain right now is something we may be starting to see here,” columnist Peggy Noonan wrote in Friday’s Wall Street Journal. “The cause was not injustice ... (it was) greed, selfishness, a respect and even lust for violence, and a lack of moral grounding,” she wrote. In Milwaukee, where there have

been two cases since July of large group attacks, Bob Donovan, an alderman, said a “terrible disrespect for the police” has convinced him that what happened in London could definitely take place in America. “If one person goes out on a rampage and is apprehended, they’re going to be held accountable,” he said. But when you have 100 or 200 or 400, the likelihood of holding everyone accountable just isn’t there.”

But Michael Coard, a black lawyer and self-proclaimed “agitator” in Philadelphia, sees no possibility of rioting there, despite the crimes that prompted the new curfew. “In the United States, and certainly in Philadelphia, there is a buffer. We have a lot of black police officers, a black police commissioner, black city council members, a black mayor, and ultimately a black president,” Coard said.

“And it’s a buffer that might be open to solving the problem,” he continued. “I don’t have to burn this building down, I can go and talk to the mayor ... When our parents and grandparents fought for black political representation, this is essentially what they were fighting for.”

Philadelphia also has a black district attorney, Seth Williams. He said that unlike the youths in London, many who engage in mob violence in the City of Brotherly Love simply think it’s fun to hurt people. He is prosecuting those who have been caught.

In the 20 years since Los Angeles tore itself apart after four white police officers were acquitted in

the videotaped beating of black motorist Rodney King, the city has elected mayors who are Latino and black, and the police force has been overhauled.

Los Angeles police Capt Jon Peters said he’s not overly concerned about riots, “knowing how well this organization is prepared to deal with any sort of crowd situation”. He noted that crime has not increased since the recession.

Jervey Tervalon, a writer who grew up in Los Angeles and edited the anthology “Geography of Rage: Remembering the Los Angeles Riots of 1992”, has seen change in the police, too.

Leading up to the riots, there was so much racial tension “you could see it coming. It was a powder keg”. Today, “I don’t think we’re going to have another riot, because I see much more understanding, more interaction with other cultures.” The tension Tervalon senses today comes from people who can’t find work or support their families. “I feel that rage,” he said. “We just endured this huge recession, but the oligarchs came out looking pretty. And then we have to cut Medicare and Social Security and leave us with no safety net?”

Marc Morial, CEO of the National Urban League, says budget cuts that lead to less jobs for young people could create problems: “I’m not prepared to say riots could happen here, but we need to pay close attention.

To counteract negativity in young people, you have to create positive things.” — AP

MONDAY, AUGUST 15, 2011

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

On the India-Pakistan border, a cold peace SUCHETGARH, India: It has been nearly eight years since India and Pakistan agreed a ceasefire over Kashmir - long enough for residents to start building brick houses and plant paddy fields up to the edge of one of the world’s most heavily militarised borders. But for soldiers guarding the disputed frontier, it is a fragile peace that can be broken at any time. “I wouldn’t call our relationship on the border cordial. We characterise it as professional,” said an officer of India’s Border Security Force (BSF), speaking on condition he not be identified because of the sensitivity of his assignment on the frontline.

Now, as India and Pakistan embark on a tentative peace process and try to decide how to open their borders to trade and travel, it will be the situation on the ground in places such as Suchetgarh that determine the pace of the detente. In June, trouble erupted in the area when the BSF lost a soldier and blamed Pakistani sniper fire. The Pakistani Rangers, who are within shouting distance, denied any involvement and suggested it could be an internal issue. The Indians retaliated with small arms fire, but the exchange lasted barely an hour. That was in contrast to the artillery duels the foes engaged in along the Line of Control in Kashmir - sometimes every day during particularly bad spells of their relationship - before the ceasefire in Nov 2003.

Ever since, a cold peace has held on

the zigzag border that begins in Suchetgarh, in the dry plains of the Jammu region, and winds its way to the rugged heights of Kashmir. “We are not on hair-trigger alert, but we cannot lower our guard either. Not even for a moment,” said the officer, sitting in a tent barely 100 m from the border crossing, marked by two high gates with the flags of the two countries fluttering. Both gates - India’s in a dark blue and Pakistan painted in deep green - are firmly shut, used only when commanders need to walk across for flag meetings, or to allow members of the United Nations Military Observer Group, set up after the first war over Kashmir in 1947-48, to travel between the two countries.

A lone BSF soldier peers across from a bunker set up on the terrace of a British colonial era building that served as a customs centre for freight trains from what is now the Pakistani city of Sialkot not far from the border. The command post offers covering fire to a string of bunkers dug in the high ground not far from the zero line to stop incursions from militants fighting Indian rule in Kashmir. Further back, a double-layered barbed fence 2.5-3.6 m high with concertina wire that India has erected all along the 2,900-km border stretching from Kashmir to the marshlands of Gujarat offers a second line of defence.

The fence is electrified and connected to a network of sensors, thermal imaging devices and alarms that India says has

brought infiltration of militants into Kashmir to zero this summer for the first since the revolt began in 1989. “The fence cannot stop them from trying to come. But it slows them down and gives our soldiers time to respond,” said Swaran Lal, the headman of Suratgarh village who leads the civilian effort to keep a vigil on the border. The tenuous ceasefire has helped crack open the border, but only slightly. In 2008, the two governments agreed to allow limited trade and travel between the two parts of Kashmir they control, bowing to a long-standing demand of residents who often describe themselves as trapped between two big armies. The trade, limited to 21 items, is small, hampered by the fact that it has to be done through a barter system because the two governments cannot reconcile themselves to accepting the other’s currency, or even a third currency, in Kashmir.

Both fear accepting any of these measures would amount to relinquishing each country’s claims over the whole of the region. Traders have been left to their own devices, exchanging goods by using their own formula for calculating the value of the Pakistani rupee against the Indian rupee. Still, it is a tentative opening that many believe could be the way to break the 60-year political stalemate over Kashmir. “Even the psychological impact of opening of our borders is huge,” said Shakeel Qalandar, a former president of the Federation Chambers of

SRINAGAR: An Indian paramilitary soldier stands guard at a checkpoint as a Kashmiri man holding his child walks past yesterday. — AP Industries Kashmir. “For 50 years the only route open to us was south to India.

Now a window has opened to undivided Kashmir.” Softening the borders of Kashmir through easier trade and travel was the basis of a 2007 draft roadmap agreed to by emissaries of India and Pakistan in secret, but it fell through because both governments got embroiled in difficulties at home. Last month, the foreign ministers of the countries agreed to increase the number

of trading days at two points on the Kashmir frontier from two days to four a week and to dispose of applications for travel across the border within 45 days instead of the three to four months it normally takes. “They can do so much more for Kashmir, but the trust is lacking,” said. “They take two steps forward and then quietly go back a step,” said Arjimand Hussain Talib, an independent Kashmiri development expert, based in Kashmir’s winter capital Srinagar. — AFP

Attack on Afghan gov’s house kills 22 Suicide bombers, gunmen storm compound

SWAT, Pakistan: In this picture dated July 21, 2011, a Pakistani policeman checks a car at a checkpoint in Swat valley. — AFP

Pakistani army eyeing permanent Swat bases MINGORA, Pakistan: New threats risk delaying a handover to civilian leaders in Pakistan’s Swat valley, where the army remains in force two years after stamping out a Taleban insurgency and restoring peace. After years of Islamist violence, a military offensive and devastating floods, Pakistani tourists this summer started coming back to the lush valleys, bubbling rivers and superb mountains of the famed northwestern district.

But if the scenery hasn’t changed, visitors from Islamabad, Lahore or Karachi need to negotiate a more recent fixture: the omnipresent uniformed soldiers and beige military vehicles.

In the summer of 2009, the army sent 30,000 troops into battle against Taleban fighters controlled by Maulana Fazlullah, who since 2007 had terrorised people with a campaign of beheadings, violence and attacks on girls’ schools. By July 2009 the army declared the region back under control and said the rebels had all been killed, captured or had fled.

Since then, Swat has lived in peace.

There has been no deadly attack since a suicide bombing in the main town of Mingora in July 2010.

But two years on, there are still more than 25,000 soldiers in Swat filling the void left by years of conflict. Former administrative offices, luxury homes or hotels with panoramic views... from Mingora to the northern reaches of the valley, the army has requisitioned dozens of buildings to house its troops.

Some make fun of the prolonged stay in a beautiful landscape with a climate far less punishing than the heat-blasted plains of the south. “ They ’re taking advantage. The clear air, the countryside, the luxury homes are better than ordinary camps,” smiles Iftikhar Ali, 24, a student in the suburbs of the town of Madyan.

Everyone knows, however, that the army came to save them twice in the last two years: in kicking out the Taleban and during floods last year, which cut off 80 percent of the population of Swat from the rest of the country. “The army did a lot for us. They cleared roads, rebuilt bridges, gave us food rations, while the government was all promises and didn’t give us a single penny,” said Mohammed Iqbal, who sells clothes in Behrain, a tourist town partly devastated by the

floods.

But the population of Swat, for a long time an autonomous princely state and without any military bases before 2009, is getting tired of the overt military presence, particularly the numerous checkpoints which hinder free movement.

Sardar Ali, 30, a worker in Mingora, acknowledged that checkpoint practices had eased in recent months, but said he was still fed up. “Soldiers don’t listen to people’s complaints. Sometimes they are brutal and cruel, they beat people who rush to go through, even when it is for a medical emergency,” he told AFP. “The army should stay in Swat, because the Taleban can come back. But soldiers have to stay in cantonments, not on the streets,” said Inayat Ur Rehman, a 40year-old peasant, a view shared by a number of Swatis.

The army says 80 percent of its checkpoints have been dismantled or handed over to police in the last year. It also insists it will hand over control to the civilian administration. The army has ruled Pakistan for more than half its existence, most recently from 1999 until 2008, when the current civilian government was elected. General Javed Iqbal, commander of the area, talked about a civilian transfer within “several months” as part of a “gradual process” in which “several steps still have to be taken”.

But it seems a return to normal could take much longer. The army is planning to move into three or four cantonments, says Iqbal.

The construction of the buildings alone, will take two years. Then there is a spike in unrest in the neighbouring district of Dir, where the Taleban assaulted a police post in early June killing 10 policemen. Dir borders the Afghan provinces of Kunar and Nuristan where a number of security officials believe Fazlullah and some of his fighters sought refuge. “I am concerned,” admits Iqbal.

“It is going to impact the process, but will not derail it.” The head of the civilian administration in Swat, Kamran Rehman, says he is ready to take over immediately, but that it’s up to the army. “Maybe in the coming one year,” he mused. But one security official dismissed that out of hand. “My guess is it will take two or three more years,” he said. — AFP

CHARIKAR, Afghanistan: A gun and suicide attack on an Afghan governor’s compound killed 22 people yesterday in the latest Taleban assault spotlighting the militants’ power just outside the capital Kabul. Abdul Basir Salangi, the governor of Parwan province, told a local television channel during the siege that six suicide bombers had stormed the main provincial administration.

“I’m inside,” Salangi told Tolo News, referring to the compound that houses his office and other administrators in the provincial capital of Charikar about 50 km north of Kabul.

The governor is a prominent anti-Soviet and anti-Taleban resistance commander who fought tough battles with the Taleban when they were in power from 1996 until the 2001 US-led invasion evicted them from government.

Afghanistan’s Interior Ministry said 22 people were killed and 34 wounded. The dead included 16 government employees and six police, it said in a statement. Salangi later told reporters that one of the would-be bombers was detained after being “mistakenly evacuated to hospital for his injuries”.

Abdul Khalil Farhangi, a doctor at the local Charikar hospital said 16 dead and nearly 30 other people with injuries had been admitted to his hospital. Some of the injured were flown to Kabul for further treatment, he added. Siddiqi said the attack began after insurgents detonated a suicide car bomb at the entrance of the compound, killing guards and allowing the other attackers to storm the heavily-guarded premises.

The governor and other provincial officials gathered for a security meeting when the attack began at 11:00 am (0630 GMT), police said.

“Five suicide bombers broke into the compound and a gunfight erupted,” Parwan provincial police chief Sher Mohammad Maladani told

CHARIKAR, Afghanistan: Security forces stand around a dead body at the site of a suicide attack on a governor’s compound in the capital of Parwan yesterday. — AFP AFP. The police chief said the attack lasted for more than an hour. During a series of explosions, parts of one of the buildings in the compound caught fire, witnesses said. At least two US military officials, described as “advisers”, were also present but were “absolutely fine”, Maladani said.

NATO’s International Security Assistance Force headquarters in Kabul said it provided helicopters to evacuate the wounded. ISAF said that one of its soldiers was killed yesterday in an insurgent attack. Contacted by AFP, a military spokesman declined to provide details and specify if the soldier had died in the Parwan

attack. The Taleban militia, leading a 10-year insurgency against the Western-backed government and 140,000 US-led foreign troops, claimed responsibility.

Taleban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahed told AFP that the attack was carried out “by our suicide and devout fighters”. Parwan has long been thought to be one of the safest regions in Afghanistan since the 2001 US-led invasion brought down the Taleban regime. The surrounding farming plains are also home to Bagram, the biggest US militar y base in Afghanistan. —AFP

15 Pakistanis killed on Independence Day QUETTA, Pakistan: Bomb, gun and rocket attacks killed 15 Pakistanis in flashpoints bordering Afghanistan yesterday as the country celebrated Independence Day, officials said. Eleven civilians were killed and 23 wounded when a bomb ripped through a roadside restaurant in the town of Dera Allah Yar, part of the restive southwestern province of Baluchistan, police said. After most of those trapped under debris from a collapsed roof were recovered, district police chief Javed Gharshin told AFP that 11 people had been killed and 23 others wounded.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, about 400 km southeast of Quetta, the provincial capital, which came as Pakistan celebrated the 64th anniversary of independence from Britain.

Elsewhere in the province, gunmen on motorcycles shot dead a local journalist in the town of Khuzdar, police said. “Gunmen on a motorbike shot dead journalist Munir Noor when he was returning to home after shopping at a nearby market,” local police station chief Abdul Qadir Sheikh told AFP from the area, some 155 miles south of Quetta. Noor was a correspondent of the private Online news agency.

Baluchistan has seen a recent surge in violence linked to a sepa-

ratist insurgency, sectarian clashes and Taleban militants. Local separatists rose up in 2004, demanding political autonomy and a greater share of profits from the region’s natural resources. In Pakistan’s northwestern tribal belt, at least three paramilitary soldiers were killed and 25 wounded when militants fired a rocket into their camp as they prepared for an Independence Day assembly.

Four rockets hit the camp in Miranshah, the main town of North Waziristan tribal district, where Pakistan is under huge US pressure to launch a major offensive against the Al-Qaeda-linked Haqqani network, an official told AFP. “Three paramilitary soldiers were martyred and 25 others were wounded by rockets fired by militants,” the senior security official said. “The condition of five of the wounded soldiers was serious.”

Local intelligence officials confirmed the attack and the death toll. Pakistan carried out a sweeping offensive in 2009 in neighbouring South Waziristan targeting the country’s main Taliban faction, but many of their commanders and foot soldiers are believed to have fled to North Waziristan.

Washington is pressing Islamabad to do more to crack down on Islamist militant outfits active in Pakistan and across the border in Afghanistan. —AFP

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani students perform in front of a portrait of the founder of Pakistan Muhammad Ali Jinnah during the official flag hoisting ceremony yesterday for the 64th Independence Day celebrations. Pakistani Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani vowed to make all out efforts to ensure a bright and safe future of the country’s children. — AFP

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MONDAY, AUGUST 15, 2011

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

Suu Kyi calls for ‘unity’ on rural political trip Democracy icon defies junta

BEIJING: The new US ambassador to China, Gary Locke speaks to the media as his wife Mona and their children Dylan, 12, Madeline (second right), 6, and Emily, 14, look on in the courtyard of their residence in Beijing yesterday. — AFP

New US ambassador to China takes up post BEIJING: The new US ambassador to China, the first Chinese-American to take up the post, said yesterday that the two countries could solve many of the world’s problems if their governments work together more. At a news briefing with his family by his side, Gary Locke said the two countries could provide global leadership. He did not directly mention the bilateral issues that are likely to feature in talks between the two, such as human rights and trade.

Locke’s previous role as US commerce secretary was one that involved heavy interaction with China - the US’ largest trade partner - and often involved conflicts over trade barriers, protectionism and currency issues. Locke said yesterday that his priority was to promote understanding between the two nations. “Certainly there are many challenges facing both China and America,” he said. “But if our people, our business people, our scientists, our students can

really join together, we can solve not just the challenges and problems facing each of our countries, we can actually solve many of the problems facing the entire world.” He also said the US was working to get its financial house in order. “We note that over the last several days more people are buying US treasuries so it’s a clear indication that investment in the United States is safe, secure and that the economy, while having its challenges, is still strong,” he said. China holds the largest amount of US Treasury debt. Locke said he was “humbled and honored” to be the first Chinese American to represent the US in the land of his parents’ birth. Locke was born in Washington State to parents who had both immigrated from China. He replaces Jon Huntsman, who left in April to explore a presidential bid. Locke’s first big event will be the visit of Vice President Joe Biden to China that begins tomorrow. — AP

BAGO, Myanmar: Aung San Suu Kyi called for unity in Myanmar as she was feted by thousands of supporters yesterday during her first political trip outside her home city since being released from house arrest. Suu Kyi, who was released from seven straight years of detention in November just days after a controversial election, defied a government security warning with a visit to the Bago region north of Yangon, in a key test of her freedom.

Police tried to clear people off roads as hundreds lined the streets to greet the 66-year-old democracy icon as she travelled between towns, many of them shouting and waving banners saying: “We love Mother Suu!” After visiting a local pagoda, she made similar speeches at the openings of two libraries, the first to about 600 people in Tha Nat Pin and the second to about 2,000 in nearby Bago town, an AFP reporter witnessed. “We can develop this country only when we all work together,” Suu Kyi told the crowds in her first address.

“Unity is a strength, unity is needed everywhere and it is needed especially in our country.” She thanked her followers for their support, asking them to keep providing it. She said she had always “tried her best” since she entered politics more than 20 years ago, and would “continue as much as I can”.

Suu Kyi’s call for unity could be taken as a possible goodwill gesture towards her jailers, given the sensitive nature of a political trip.

The military-backed government warned her in June that such a tour could spark chaos and riots, although her one-day excursion, which included a visit to another temple before she returned home, appeared to pass peacefully. A convoy of about 30 cars left Yangon early in the morning, also

BAGO, Myanmar: Myanmar’s democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi talks during an opening ceremony for a library yesterday. — AFP carrying members of her National League for Democracy (NLD), journalists and diplomats.

The Nobel Peace Prize winner told AFP as she embarked on the trip that she was reliant “on the support of the people” - which appeared to be much in evidence in Bago. “I’m very happy to see her. We all are,” said Win Win Myint, a 23-year-old student. “I haven’t see her in person before.”

Security is a concern as Suu Kyi’s convoy was attacked in 2003 during a political trip, in an ambush apparently organised by a junta frightened by her popularity. “Our party members will take care of her security and also the authorities will help us,” Nyan Win, an NLD spokesman, told AFP on Saturday. He earlier described yesterday’s trip as “political” and said she would try to venture out-

side Yangon again. After the government warned against a tour in June, Suu Kyi tested her freedom the following month by spending a few days at an ancient temple city in central Myanmar, although politics were not on the agenda.

The democracy champion has spent much of the last two decades in detention, and some observers believe the government would be quick to restrict her freedom again if she were perceived to threaten its rule. But there have been signs of a thaw in relations between the government and Suu Kyi recently, with the Nobel laureate holding a second round of talks with labour minister Aung Kyi on Friday. A joint statement released following the discussions said both sides would work together for “stability” and democratic devel-

opment. Also on Friday, the government pledged to continue the dialogue in its first media briefing in the capital Naypyidaw since taking power. Initial talks in July came just days after the United States called for “concrete” progress towards democracy.

Myanmar is subject to economic sanctions by the US and other western nations who are calling for democratic and human rights reforms. Last year’s poll was won by the military’s political proxies and was marred by widespread complaints of cheating and intimidation. The NLD, which won an election in 1990 but was never allowed to take power by the junta, boycotted last year ’s vote because of rules seemingly designed to exclude Suu Kyi and was stripped of its recognition as a political party as a result. —AFP

Philippine rebels try to end deadly land feud

DALIAN, China: A Chinese resident holds up a “PX” sign for paraxylene during a demonstration against the Fuija chemical plant yesterday. —AP

China shutters chemical plant amid mass protest BEIJING: Authorities in a Chinese city ordered the immediate shutdown of a chemical plant yesterday as thousands of protesters took to the streets demanding the factory be moved over pollution fears. The demonstration by some 12,000 residents in the northeastern city of Dalian is the latest bout of unrest to hit China as anger over issues such as social inequalities and environmental degradation boils over. Residents in the port city in Liaoning province gathered in front of the municipal government’s office yestrday morning, and were joined by more and more people, the official Xinhua news agency said.

Some scuffled with riot police, throwing bottles of water at them as they tried to cordon off one of the city’s main arteries, but there were no reports of injuries, it added. Hundreds of people then broke off and started moving to other parts of the city, chanting slogans and waving banners. According to unconfirmed postings on Twitter, a lot of armed police vehicles were seen moving into the city.

The largely peaceful protest was triggered by mounting fears over the safety of a factory that makes paraxylene - a flammable carcinogenic liquid used in the production of polyester films and fabrics. Last Monday, residents living near the plant had to be evacuated after waves triggered by an incoming storm breached a dyke protecting the factory and threatened to damage the building, sparking fears of a toxic chemical spill.

Workers managed to repair the dyke, but residents have been left worried about the potential for environmental damage by the plant, which belongs to the private Fujia Group.

The municipal government ordered the plant be closed “immediately” after protesters refused to disperse, and also pledged to relocate the plant, Xinhua reported. Calls to the government went unanswered yesterday. One hotel receptionist, who refused to be named, told AFP by phone that protesters were worried about their health. “If people had a better choice, they would not take to the

streets,” she said. Pictures of the protest posted on Sina’s Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter, showed people marching down a street with a banner that read: “We want to survive, we want a good environment, give me back my Dalian.” Other pictures showed wide streets full of protesters, hundreds of people staging a sit-in on a square in front of the government office, and children taking part in the demonstrations with their parents. In a sign of the sensitivity of the protest, China’s censors appeared to be blocking any mention of the subject on Weibo. Searches for “Dalian” came up with a message saying “search results cannot be displayed due to relevant laws, regulations and policies”. Pollution-related scares are common in China - the world’s biggest emitter of greenhouse gases - where an emphasis on economic growth over the past three decades has led to widespread environmental degradation. As such, environmental problems have triggered a rising number of riots and other forms of public unrest over the years. In one high-profile case in 2007, work on a billion-dollar petrochemical plant in the southeastern port city of Xiamen was scrapped following huge public discontent about industrial pollution.

The Dalian protest is the latest bout of unrest to hit China in recent months, as social discontent and ethnic tensions boil over. On Thursday, thousands of people took to the streets in the southwestern province of Guizhou, with some smashing and burning vehicles, after a city official - “chengguan” in Chinese injured a female cyclist. The “chengguan” - responsible for low-level policing on China’s streets - are widely disliked and have a reputation for using brute force against civilians. In July, the far-western region of Xinjiang - home to the mainly Muslim Uighur minority - was the scene of at least three violent attacks and clashes that killed more than 30 people. And in late May, thousands of ethnic Mongols protested in northern China for several days over the killing of a herder. — AFP

MANILA: The Philippines’ largest Muslim rebel group said yestrday that it has ordered one of its commanders to halt attacks against a rival guerrilla leader to try to end a land feud that has killed at least 14 combatants and displaced more than 3,000 people in the country’s south.

Von Al Haq, a spokesman for the 11,000-strong Moro Islamic Liberation Front, said one of the group’s commanders, Adzme Kasim, has been ordered to halt attacks and take a defensive posture to ease a week of sporadic clashes in southern Datu Piang town. Government troops have not intervened but are standing by.

Regional military spokesman Col. Prudencio Asto said 14 combatants have been killed in the s p o r a d i c c l a s h e s, i n c l u d i n g s i x f i g h te r s o n Kasim’s side. More than 3,000 villagers have fled from the scene of the fighting and many have sought shelter in nine school buildings being guarded by troops. Such violent clan conflicts, known locally as “rido”, have long been a naggi n g s e c u r i t y co n ce r n i n t h e s o u t h e r n Philippines, which is already mired in decadeslong Muslim rebellions.

The government’s chief negotiator, Marvic Leonen, has expressed concern over frequent infighting within the Moro rebel group, saying that he hoped guerrilla leaders could show that they can control their men. A ceasefire monitored by Malaysian-led foreign troops has held between government forces and the rebels, with no clashes repor ted this year. At least three major clan wars, however, have erupted this year among Moro Islamic Liberation Front fighters, displacing thousands of villagers, Leonen said.

Al Haq said the two rebel commanders in Datu Piang, about 900 km southeast of Manila, were contesting ownership of a 6-hectare farmland wedged between a vast marshland and a major river.

Brig Gen Restituto Aguilar said the feud bet ween K asim, wh o h ea d s a M oro I s l a m i c Liberation Front combat unit, and rival Muslim rebel commander Abunawas Ebad from the b re a k aw ay B a n g s a m o ro I s l a m i c Fre e d o m Fighters has worsened into an organizational conflict. He expressed hope the fighting would n o t s p i l l i n to o t h e r a re a s. Th e b re a k aw ay Bangsamoro rebel group is led by Ameril Umbra Kato, a radical commander opposed to peace talks with the Philippine government.

Meanwhile, two powerful bombs were found a n d s a fe l y d e f u s e d by t ro o p s a n d p o l i ce S a t u rd ay n e a r a n e l e c t r i c p owe r p o l e i n Guindolongan town, near Datu Piang, and at a bus passenger terminal in Tacurong City in nearby Sultan Kudarat province. Regional police director Felicisimo Khu said intelligence reports indicate the bombs were part of attempts by Muslim rebels to extort money from business establishments and appeared unrelated to the land feud. —AP

DAYING, China: Holidaymakers watch a man swimming past them as they wait for man-made waves coming to them in a salty swimming pool, locally known as “China’s Dead Sea’,’ during a hot summer day in southwest China’s Sichuan province yesterday. — AP

Fugitive ex-lawmaker returns to Indonesia JAKARTA: A former Indonesian lawmaker has returned after three months as a fugitive to face corruption charges in a case that has riveted the nation and tested its reputation in fighting graft.

Muhammad Nazaruddin, the governing Democratic Party’s former treasurer, was captured last week in Colombia after fleeing Indonesia three months ago. He has denied charges that he accepted $3 million in bribes from a company contracted to build an athletes’ village for this year’s Southeast Asian Games.

Before his extradition, Nazaruddin called local newspapers and TV news stations to say he was ready to expose corruption elsewhere within the governing party. The case - which underlines Indonesia’s challenge in changing its graft-ridden image - has threatened the credibility of the party ’s founder, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, whose 2009 campaign for re-election presented him as the “Mr Clean” of Indonesian politics.

Hundreds of people have been arrested for alleged corruption since Yudhoyono took office, though critics note high-ranking officials have largely been left alone. Nazaruddin was immediately taken into custody Saturday after landing in Jakarta on a flight from Bogota, the Anti-Corruption Commission said. The president has ordered that Nazaruddin receive full protection, while authorities investigate the Games scandal. No trial date has been set. Indonesia emerged only recently from a 32-year dictatorship under Gen Suharto, whose

family was accused of corruption to the tune of $600 million. — AP

BOGOTA, Colombia: Indonesian citizen Muhammad Nazaruddin on, 33, is escorted by police officers Aug 9, 2011. — AP

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NEWS

Libyan rebels fly flag over town near Tripoli

KUWAIT: His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah meets with Iraq’s Parliament member Ayad Allawi (right) and former Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora (left) in Kuwait yesterday.— KUNA

Iraq accuses Kuwait of pumping oil from fields

By A Saleh KUWAIT: On the eve of the arrival of a Kuwaiti delegation in Iraq to discuss the country’s objection to the construction of Mubarak Al-Kabeer port, Baghdad has accused Kuwait of pumping oil from Iraqi fields worth $1 billion annually.

Awwad Al-Awadi, a committee member in the Iraqi Parliament said that the media report on the alleged incident is a strong possibility, and asked the United States to intervene in the matter. He added that Hussain Al-Shahristani, deputy minister for power has formed a committee to study the matter. He pointed out that such thefts are possible. Al-Awadi added that the country faces pressure from the US and it is not strange that it helps Kuwait and other countries.

In other news, the National Assembly Speaker Jassem Al-Khorafi said that he received the Amiri decree granting permission to hold an emergency parliamentary session today. It will be convened on 18 August.

The term will discuss problems facing students who failed to secure seats in the Kuwait University, the construction of Jaber Academy, granting funds to support students who meet their own expenses, and the construction of a new university.

MP Mohammad Hayef asked the foreign ministry to take responsibility for its actions and warned Kuwaitis against staying back in Syria. The legislator demanded that the Kuwaiti envoy to Syria be recalled immediately.

He also urged support for Syria, in a tweet posted on his Twitter account. He pointed out that number of people massacred in Syria are countless.

Who is obliged to fast in Ramadan?

Continued from Page 1 enthusiastic about fasting and may be capable of doing it, but his father or mother may tell him not to fast, out of so-called “pity” for him. They do not realize that true pity and compassion consist of helping him get used to fasting. Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): “O you who believe! Ward off from yourselves and your families a Fire (hell) whose fuel is men and stones, over which are (appointed) angels stern (and) severe, who disobey not, (from executing) the Commands they receive from Allah, but do that which they are commanded.” [Al-Tahreem 66:6].

Extra attention must be paid to the matter of a girl’s fasting when she has just reached maturity, because she may fast when she has her period, out of shyness, and then not make up the fast later.

If a disbeliever becomes Muslim, or a child reaches puberty, or an insane person comes to his senses during the day, that person should refrain from eating for the rest of the day, because he or she is now among those who are obliged to fast, but he does not have to make up for the days of Ramadan that he has missed, because at that time he was not among those who are obliged

to fast.

The insane are not responsible for their deeds (their deeds are not being recorded), but if a person is insane at times and sane at other times, he must fast during his periods of sanity, and is excused during his periods of insanity. If he becomes insane during the day, this does not invalidate his fast, just as is the case if someone becomes unconscious because of illness or some other reason, because he had the intention of fasting when he was sane. (Majaalis Shahr Ramadan by Ibn ‘Uthaymeen, P.28). A similar case is the ruling governing epileptics.

If someone dies during Ramadan, there is no “debt” on him or his heirs with regard to the remaining days of the month.

If someone does not know that it is fard (obligatory) to fast Ramadan, or that it is haraam to eat or have sexual intercourse during the day in this month, then according to the majority of scholars, this excuse is acceptable, as is also the case for a new convert to Islam, a Muslim living in Daar Al-Harb (non-Muslim lands) and a Muslim who grew up among the kuffaar.

But a person who grew up among the Muslims and was able to ask questions and find out, has no excuse. — www.zawaj.com

Kuwait economy most vulnerable in Gulf: CB Continued from Page 1 Oil revenue in Kuwait accounts for more than 90 percent of the Gulf Arab state’s budget. Kuwait’s fiscal year starts in April. Sheikh Salem Abdul-Aziz Al-Sabah, Kuwait’s central bank governor, said last month that the state’s “one-sided” dependence on oil and the government’s control of all sectors are causing the main imbalances in the economy.

Kadi reiterated the governor’s July remarks that filling a gap between the public and private sectors,

transferring national labor to jobs in the private sector and diversification of state income were among solutions to the imbalances that Kuwait’s economy was going through.

Kuwait’s economy was the most hit in the Gulf by the 2008 global financial crisis as a plunge in oil prices helped send it into a contraction, which the IMF has estimated at 5.0 percent.

Analysts polled by Reuters in June expected the country to post a fiscal surplus of 20.2 percent of gross domestic product. — Reuters

Kuwait boosts security at port as talks start Continued from Page 1 Abdullah waterway that serves as its entrance to the Gulf, through which the vast majority of its oil exports flow. Kuwait denies the charge.

The new measures came following remarks attributed to Iraqi MP Kadhim Al-Shammari in the Kuwaiti press. Kuwaiti news reports cited Shammari as saying Iraqi militant groups could “easily invade Kuwait” and carry out operations if the port was built. Speaking to AFP, however, Shammari said his quotes had been misinterpreted.

“My words were not a threat,” he said. “I was just telling them they must speak to Iraq, and choose good brotherly relations by stop-

ping the building of the port and moving it to another location.”

Shammari said Iraq could not control the actions of militant groups such as Ketaeb Hezbollah that have threatened to target firms working on the port project.

“This group has threatened to carry out military action if Kuwait continues to build the Mubarak AlKabir port. ... If they decide to attack Kuwait, who will they ask for permission? The government?”

The remarks reported in the Kuwaiti press, though, revived memories of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein’s 1990 invasion, and come after Ketaeb Hezbollah last month warned a South Korean consortium to halt work on the port.

Kuwait’s foreign ministry undersecretar y Khaled Al-Jarallah described Shammari’s reported remarks as “irresponsible” and said they “constitute a major harm to ties between the two (Arab) countries” in press statements yesterday.

Jarallah also said that the presence of Kuwaiti troops on Boubyan Island was “normal” and did not represent a new development.

Last week Jarallah said threats by Iraqi militants would not deter the state from completing the construction of the port. The Gulf is the main export outlet for Iraqi oil, which accounts for the lion’s share of the country’s revenues, and Baghdad has started major work to modernize its outdated ports and plans to build a new port of its own. – AFP

ZAWIYAH: Libyan rebels raised their flag over a strategic town near Tripoli yesterday after their most dramatic advance in months cut off Muammar Gaddafi’s capital from its main link to the outside world. The swift rebel advance on the town of Zawiyah, about 50 km (30 miles) west of Tripoli, will deal a psychological blow to Gaddafi’s supporters and severs the coastal highway to Tunisia which keeps the capital supplied with food and fuel.

Rebel fighters in the mountains to the south said they had entered the town of Garyan, which sits on the main highway leading into Tripoli. If confirmed, that would mean the capital is also cut off from the south. There was no sign Tripoli was under immediate threat from a rebel attack: heavily armed pro-Gaddafi forces still lie between Zawiyah and the capital.

Previous rebel advances have often been reversed, despite help from NATO warplanes.

But rebel forces are in their strongest position since the uprising against 41 years of Gaddafi’s rule began in February. They now control the coast both east and west of Tripoli, while to the north is the Mediterranean and a NATO naval blockade and there is fighting to the south.

“I hope we can go and attack Tripoli in a few days,” said Legun, a taxi driver turned anti-Gaddafi fighter. “Now that we have Zawiyah, we can free Libya,” he said. Moussa Ibrahim, a spokesman for Gaddafi’s government, said Zawiyah and Garyan were “under our full control”. He said however there were small pockets of fighting in two other locations in the area around Tripoli.

The coastal highway between Tripoli and Tunisia had not been blocked by the fighting, Ibrahim said in a tele-

phone interview, but foreigners were not being allowed to use the route for now “to save them from any bullets here or there”. Rebels from the Western Mountains region to the south dashed forward into Zawiyah late on Saturday, encountering little sustained resistance from Gaddafi’s forces.

Near Zawiyah’s central market early on Sunday, about 50 rebel fighters were milling around and triumphantly shouting “Allahu Akbar!” or “God is greatest”. The red, black and green rebel flag was flying from a shop. At the point where it passes through Zawiyah, the main highway linking Tripoli to Tunisia was empty of traffic.

Rebel fighters told Reuters there were still forces loyal to Gaddafi in the town, including snipers who they said had positioned themselves on tall buildings. Bursts of artillery and machinegun fire could be heard. One rebel fighter said Gaddafi’s forces controlled the oil refinery on the northern edge of Zawiyah—a strategic target because it is the only one still functioning in western Libya and Gaddafi’s forces depend on it for fuel.

Unconfirmed reports suggested the fighting was spreading west from Zawiyah, along the coastal highway towards the main Ras Jdir border crossing with Tunisia.

Local residents said late on Saturday there were heavy clashes between rebels and government troops in the border area. A Reuters reporter at the Ras Jdir crossing said Libyan customs officers and immigration officers were operating normally yesterday.

At one point, about 10 gunshots could be heard from the Libyan side of the border. There was another burst a few minutes later. The flow of traffic was lighter than usual, with only a trick-

le of cars and trucks passing through.

Two men crossing from Libya spoke of clashes around the town of Sabratha, the site of an ancient Roman town west of Zawiyah.

“There are problems in Sabratha.

The situation is bad there,” said one man who did not want to give his name. On another front in yesterday’s fighting, near Garyan, the sound of heavy gunfire could be heard coming from the town and at least six plumes of black smoke rose into the air, a Reuters reporter in the area said.

“We entered it (Garyan) today,” a fighter told Reuters as he stopped in the village of Al-Qawalish on the way to Garyan. “We control 70 percent of Garyan. There is still fighting taking place at the moment.”

Rebels, backed by NATO warplanes, have been trying since February to end Gaddafi’s rule in the bloodiest of the “Arab Spring” uprisings convulsing the Middle East. The conflict has been largely deadlocked, but the rebels’ advance to the Mediterranean coast near Tripoli represents a major shift in the balance of forces.

Control of the highway to Tunisia could determine the outcome of the conflict because without it the capital is effectively besieged. There was no traffic moving along the highway, and rebel fighters there said it was closed.

Gaddafi says the rebels are armed criminals and al Qaeda militants, and has described the NATO campaign as an act of colonial aggression aimed at stealing Libya’s oil.

Judging by impact craters, wrecked buildings and burnt-out tanks, NATO warplanes had bombed government military targets on the route of the rebel advance to Zawiyah over the past week. — Reuters

Jordan king unveils reform proposals Continued from Page 1 Lower House has been lowered to 25 years...,” the king said.

Inspired by their peers in Egypt and Tunisia, young Jordanians have joined the Islamist opposition and other groups in demanding economic and political reform, including a new electoral law and an elected prime minister.

An independent commission to oversee parliamentary elections has been recommended, “while vesting in the judiciary the exclusive authority to look into electoral contestations and the trial of ministers.” The recommendations are likely to empower parliament and enhance separation of powers, but the king can still appoint prime ministers.

In line with the proposals, “the dissolution of the lower house is tied to the immediate resignation of the government,” the king said.

“We hope to institutionalize citizen activism and effective public participation in the legislative process as well as the formation of governments.” The king said governments can no longer issue temporary laws except in times of war and natural catastrophe and in cases of financial expenditure that cannot be postponed.

Also, the jurisdiction of the military state security court, accused by activists of being illegal, should be limited to cases of high treason, espionage and terrorism.

“Amending the constitution will proceed in accordance with the appropriate constitutional processes and within a time frame we hope would not exceed one month,” the king said.

“We assert that the road map of political reform will be achieved within a time frame that observes institutional processes and the exist-

ing constitutional channels, and no later than the fourth quarter of this year.” The powerful Islamist opposition has urged the king to instigate changes similar to measures taken by his Moroccan counterpart, who has announced comprehensive reforms including greater independence for the judiciary, enhanced powers for the premier and the separation of powers.

In May, Jeffrey Feltman, US assistant secretary of state, said during a visit to key ally Jordan that Washington was pushing governments in the Middle East to meet pressing demands for reform and to realise that the “climate has changed.”

“We are telling the governments your people are talking. Meet their demands and aspirations. The responsibility of governments and leaders is to address the challenges in their countries,” said Feltman. - AFP

Amiri decree convenes NA session on Aug 18 Continued from Page 1 The Council of Ministers approved additional budget allocations to finance sending more Kuwaiti students to study overseas, effectively resolving the admission problem, Education Minister Ahmad Al-Mulaifi said.

The Council of Ministers also agreed to ask the Audit Bureau to investigate why the construction of the new university in Shadadiya is running way behind schedule.

The three decisions are likely to cool opposition MPs who have signed the request to hold the emergency parliamentary session. But MPs will ask for assurances from the government that the same problem will not be repeated next year.

In another development, spokesman for the Popular Action Bloc MP Mussallam Al-Barrak said the bloc and other MPs will soon submit a draft law calling to suspend the bilateral pacts with Syria and to suspend granting loans to Damascus for one year.

Barrak said that the Bloc and other MPs may file a fresh request to hold an emergency parliamentary ses-

sion to vote on the draft laws. He said that Kuwaiti MPs who represent the Kuwaiti people want to shoulder their responsibilities amid complete silence by several Arab regimes at the brutal massacres being committed by the repressive Baathist regime against the Syrian people.

Barrak said the draft law aims at preventing the Syrian regime from benefitting from any agreement or loans with Kuwait, recalling that a Kuwaiti economic delegation with the government blessing had visited Syria at the start of the uprising.

In other business, the Audit Bureau told a National Assembly special panel probing a Kuwaiti contract with Shell Co that the Bureau has no powers to terminate the $800 million contract to develop natural gas production.

The contract was signed by Kuwait Oil Co (KOC) last year to speed up natural gas production and during the debate over oil budgets in June, many MPs raised several question marks over the contract and demanded an investigation. The government is also conducting its own probe.

Syrian ships, tanks blast city; 23 dead Continued from Page 1 The Syrian Observatory said landline telephones and Internet connections with the port city were cut, while a coordination committee for the protests in Syria said train services to and from Latakia province were suspended.

Around the capital, “security forces entered Saqba and Hamriya in great numbers and launched a campaign of arrests,” according to the Britain-based group.

It said troops arrived in “15 military trucks, eight troop carriers and four jeeps,” launching the assault at around 2:00 am (2300 GMT Saturday). “Gunfire was heard in both suburbs.”

Syria’s human rights groups, in a joint statement, yesterday urged the authorities to release the head of the Syrian League for the Defense of Human Rights, Abdel Karim Rihawi, who was arrested on Thursday in

Damascus. His detention “represents a violation of the international commitments undertaken by Syria,” they said.

“Security forces are continuing mass arrests, in violation of the law, human rights and democratic freedoms, denying the rights of opposition figures and peaceful demonstrators,” the groups said.

In a telephone conversation on Saturday, US President Barack Obama and Saudi King Abdullah expressed their “shared, deep concerns about the Syrian government’s use of violence against its citizens,” the White House said. “ They agreed that the Syrian regime’s brutal campaign of violence against the Syrian people must end immediately,” a statement added.

In a separate phone call, Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron also called for an “immediate” end to the bloodshed which

has raged since protests broke out in mid-March. A spokesman for Downing Street said the two leaders “expressed horror at the brutal reaction of the Syrian regime to legitimate protests, particularly during Ramadan,” the holy month in which Muslims fast from dawn to dusk.

Saudi Arabia, a Sunni Muslim regional heavyweight which had remained silent on the five-month revolt, added its voice to a chorus of criticism and last week recalled its ambassador from Damascus.

The violence has killed around 2,200 people, including some 400 members of the security forces, according to rights activists. Syrian authorities have blamed the bloodshed on armed gangs and Islamist militants.

The UN Security Council is due to hold a special meeting on Thursday to discuss human rights and the humanitarian emergency in Syria. – AFP

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MONDAY, AUGUST 15, 2011

opinion

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Issues

Washington to nation: What economic crisis?

By Steven Thomma and Lesley Clark historic downgrade of US debt and a plunge in stock markets did nothing to change the way America’s political establishment is waging battle over the federal budget, particularly taxes.

President Barack Obama renewed his search for a new budget agreement that would shave deficits by curbing spending on entitlements and raising taxes on the wealthy, essentially the same position he took last month before his efforts to forge a larger deficit deal with Republicans fell apart. Congressional Republicans acknowledged that they’ll face new pressures now to agree to tax increases as part of a broad deficit deal, but again they ruled taxes off the table. Both major political parties signaled that they see no need to accelerate the deficit talks by a special committee of Congress established by the last debt deal. That committee is charged with filling in the remaining details of $2.5 trillion in deficit reductions, though analysts say that’s not enough.

Obama said he would offer a detailed proposal to help that panel — in a few weeks. Congress made no move to cut short its August recess. Congressional leaders are scheduled to appoint the eight members by Aug 16. The panel is required to hold its first meeting by Sept. 16.

“Does the downgrade change some of the theology in Washington? I haven’t seen any evidence of that yet,” said Michael Franc, the vice president for government affairs at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative research center.

“Progressives are still saying don’t touch entitlements. On the tax side, Republicans have signed the pledge not to raise taxes. Those are your theological lines.”

“I share Standard & Poor’s view that certainly we have a political system that is not AAA,” said Robert Bixby, the executive director of The Concord Coalition, a nonpartisan group that works on fiscal issues. “There’s a way out, they just don’t want to take it.”

With markets already dropping last week after Obama and Congress signed a deal to cut projected deficits by $2.5 trillion over 10 years, the bond rating agency of Standard & Poor’s said Friday evening that it wasn’t enough. S&P downgraded its rating of US government debt, saying the debate left it doubtful that the political system could reach the kind of compromise needed for larger cuts in the deficits. The company said it appeared that new tax revenues were off the table, and that there was little prospect for meaningful cuts in entitlements.

Obama, appearing for the first time since the downgrade, said that he hoped the downgrade would give Washington a “new sense of urgency” on the deficits. Both sides know what needs to be done to curb runaway deficits, he said: “Tax reform that will ask those who can afford it to pay their fair share and modest adjustments to health care programs like Medicare.”

“It’s not a lack of plans or policies that’s the problem here,” he added. “It’s a lack of political will in Washington.

It’s the insistence on drawing lines in the sand.”

Criticized by Republicans for not offering a detailed proposal of his own in public, the president said he would offer his recommendations “in coming weeks.”

Republicans renewed their opposition to tax increases. In an open memo to fellow Republicans, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, said the Standard & Poor’s analysis wrongly put an emphasis on tax increases as part of any deep cuts in the federal deficits. “S&P seems particularly focused on what it sees as the inability of the political parties to bridge our differences on the best way to eliminate the deficit. By this it means — in part — our unwillingness to raise taxes,” Cantor wrote.

“This,” he added, “is a trade we simply cannot afford to make.” Franc said Congress needed to cut short its recess, return to Washington and agree to find a larger package of ways to reduce the deficit. “They need to send a very clear signal that this is not business usual, that this is a wakeup call,” Franc said. Does it send the wrong signal to simply stay out of town the next four weeks? As much as they may need to recharge their batteries, what kind of signal does it send to the American people and the world that it’s recess as usual?” He said the market plunge on Monday — the Dow slumped nearly 635 points — could have an effect on Washington, much as a jaw-dropping market drop the same day that the House of Representatives rejected the Troubled Asset Relief Program in 2008 eventually helped force lawmakers back to pass the bill.—MCT

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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.

Talking about religion after Norway

By Julie Clawson he recent tragedy in Norway, the worst attack the country has experienced since WWII, shocked and pained the world. It has also forced us as a global community to look more closely at religion, identity, and how we see the “other” — as well as ourselves.

In the West, religion is often an uncomfortable topic of discussion, and the recent terror attacks in Norway have forced many of us, especially in the United States and Europe, to re-examine issues of religion and identity.

So, how do we talk about religion after Norway?

In the early responses to terror attacks, blame was quickly assigned to Muslims.

Once it was revealed that the perpetrator, Anders Breivik, was actually an anti-Muslim right-wing extremist who self-identified as Christian, the proclivity to blame his actions on religious fundamentalism quickly vanished. It’s easy to point to the hypocrisy - to call people out on their inclination to assume Islam promotes violence while at the same time being quick to wash Christianity’s collective hands of any hint of wrongdoing.

Pointing fingers merely addresses the symptoms and not the actual problem of a worldview that chooses to view the other from a position of fear instead of love. And to address this problem, no matter how uncomfortable, religion must be part of the conversation.

Our religion, or lack thereof, shapes who each of us are and how we function in the world. When we believe in an idea, faith expression, or sacred text, these beliefs form our very identity - influencing every-

T

thing from our politics to our relationships.

For many, these beliefs are what give us hope that a better world is possible - a world where fear does not reign, and where compassion and service drive our actions instead.

Yet religious identity can also influence people to commit acts of violence and hatred. Common to fundamentalists of any religion are fear-based attempts at control.

By insisting upon being right at all costs they reject the Christian discipline of trusting in God, or the Muslim call to submit to Him. But for those who allow themselves to be formed in ways that respond to the other with love instead of fear, religion grants the means to build a better world.

Orienting oneself around the needs of others strengthens the common good instead

A picture taken on July 25, 2011 shows Anders Behring Breivik (left) leaving the courthouse in a police car in Oslo after the hearing to decide his further detention. — AFP

of selfish individual desires. Reclaiming love of neighbor as a religious and not merely a political mandate is therefore a necessary step in addressing the corruption of religion by fundamentalisms.

As a person of faith, I see this “lived out” faith looking like the response of Hege Dalen and her partner, Toril Hansen, to the attacks. When they heard screams and gunshots from their campsite opposite the Island, they immediately hopped in their boat and dodged bullets in order to save some 40 people. We can’t all be heroes, but choosing a life of helping those in need, no matter who they are, is the basis of any religion that would rather build than destroy.

Speaking up about the religious values that motivate us to reach out, and being willing to listen to those who do the same but who come from other traditions can help change the way our cultures view religion.

Talking about religion after Norway means not letting fear define what faith is all about. Examining our own beliefs and living out our faith through selfless acts of love can move the conversation past the toxicity of fear.

Deliberate attempts to understand religion, uncomfortable as it may be, must be part of the path forward. Engage in conversation or read a book by someone who is “other” than yourself. Partner with people of other beliefs on relief or community development projects to understand how our different faiths motivate the same generous actions. And join in honest discussions about our differences to discover what we can learn from each other.

Living in secular societies does not mean ignoring our religion. Instead, we can choose to use that part of our identities to build a better world. — CG News

Pakistan envoy gets points for style, but tests loom

By Alex Rodriguez ust eight days into the job, Pakistan’s first female foreign minister faced a daunting task: Try to thaw icy relations between her country and India on her first trip to the nuclear-armed archrival to the east.

Though Hina Rabbani Khar’s foray over the border got high marks from many in Pakistan, diplomatic acumen wasn’t what grabbed the attention of the Indian media. Instead, they obsessed over the 33-year-old’s pearls, her blue pants ensemble, her sunglasses (Roberto Cavalli), even her handbag (Hermes).

“Quite apart from that winning smile, which has had India tied up in knots since she touched down Tuesday, the Pakistani foreign minister proved to be a spot-thebrand delight for the frat on this side of the border,” beamed the Times of India newspaper after her visit to New Delhi late last month.

Upon her return to Pakistan, she expressed a measure of annoyance over the preoccupation with her accessories. Asked at the Lahore airport about the Indian coverage of her visit, she replied, “You see, paparazzi are everywhere. You (the media) should not do such acts.”

The buzz about her looks and sense of style will eventually die down, but in Pakistan, larger questions loom about the level of experience she brings to the post, and her ability to take on the world’s diplomatic heavyweights. Critics say her previous assignment, a five-month stint as minister of state for foreign affairs, wasn’t long enough to prepare her for tackling powder kegs such as the troubled US-Pakistani relationship, the Afghan conflict or India.

“She is going to have to punch well above her weight if she is to hold her own in the international bear pit that is foreign relations,” remarked a July 26 editorial in the Pakistani English-language daily the News.

Other observers, however, say experience in world affairs isn’t necessarily vital for the post, because the job almost always entails conveying foreign policy decisions and agendas set out by Pakistan’s military

J

and President Asif Ali Zardari. Articulating that agenda is the foreign minister’s job, not crafting it. “Those who know how Pakistan works know that foreign policy is not made in the Foreign Office,” said Hasan Askari Rizvi, a Lahore-based political analyst. “She’s someone who can present the case, a person who will not make many

Pakistan Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar

waves. This is what’s important to the foreign policymakers in Pakistan.”

Khar comes from a political family rooted in feudal land holdings in southern Punjab, the country’s most populous and wealthiest province. Her father, Ghulam Rabbani Khar, served in parliament. Her uncle, Ghulam Mustafa Khar, served as Punjab’s chief minister.

Although many in Pakistan deride the political might that the country’s feudal class still enjoys, experts say Khar’s background is far from a drawback.

“Most of the leaders in Pakistan hail from a feudal background,” said Javed Siddiqui, editor of Nawa-e-Waqt, an Urdu-language newspaper. “Pakistan’s intellectuals and middle class have yet to enter into the political arena because it’s still an expensive exercise. So, feudal landowners continue to have a big say in politics.”

In announcing Khar’s appointment, Zardari said the move was “a demonstration of the government’s commitment to bring women into the mainstream of national life.”

Experts, however, say Zardari’s choice had more to do with his desire for someone less controversial than Khar’s predecessor, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, who rankled the country’s leadership by harboring ambitions to become prime minister. He lost his job as foreign minister in February.

“The experience with the previous foreign minister was ver y impor tant in this decision,” Riz vi said. “(Qureshi) got to be too big for his shoes and aspired to become prime minister. They don’t want a repeat of that.”

Khar’s first big test, her sit-down last month with Indian Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna, a diplomatic veteran 45 years her senior, appeared to be well received on both sides of the border. No breakthroughs were achieved, but the two sides agreed to several confidence-building steps, including measures to increase cross-border trade between Indian-held and Pakistancontrolled parts of disputed Kashmir.

“The trip was a success,” Rizvi said. “But the real test will come in a time of crisis. That’s when personalities become clear.” — MCT

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MONDAY, AUGUST 15, 2011

analysis

Focus

Is China rising, or keeping an eye on its money?

By Niels C Sorrells

either a borrower nor a lender be. How true, how true Shakespeare’s words are w he n i t com e s to c ur re nt re l a t i ons between the United States and China.

China’s rebuke of the United States for letting its debt mountain grow might have come as a shock to the US, which only a decade ago would never have considered China an equal partner, much less a source for financial advice.

But China’s move could be provoked by necessity as much as anything else. Late Friday, the rating agency Standard & Poor’s made the historic decision of downgrading the US debt from AAA-a rating unchanged since 1941 — to a slightly tarnished ranking of AA+ with negative outlook.

While being a major lender to the US certainly gives China a strong voice, its investments are on the line. If the unthinkable were to happe n and the United States we re to default on its debt, that would mean significant amounts of Chinese capital going up in smoke.

“The problem for China, at the moment, is there are few places for it to go,” noted Bates Gill, director of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute and a scholar on China issues.

Even before the downgrading, US debt jitters had left markets on edge for most of the summer.

Tuesday’s last-minute resolution of negotiations on raising the US debt ceiling did little to calm nerves, especially since it seemed to do so little toward reining in the $14.6 trillion debt mountain.

And then China-which has lent the US more than $1 trillion in the form of bonds-stepped in, i s s ui ng a s t a te m e nt through t he of f ic i a l Chinese government news agency Xinhua saying it now expects Washington to gets its fiscal house in order. Noting that it “has every right now to demand the United States address its structural debt problems and ensure the safety of China’s dollar assets,” it slammed the US for its “gigantic military expenditure and bloated social welfare costs.”

But are the Chinese showing nerve or nervousness? “For China to engage in such very public and high-level finger-wagging is unusual on almost any issue. It is a sign of both its deep concern and its more emboldened sense of confidence on the world stage,” said Gill.

That puts the United States in an awkward position. Ever since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the US has been the world’s de facto superpower, dispensing advice on everything from finance to defense matters to good governance.

But, after having only tentatively emerged from a global financial crisis most say it was responsible for three years ago, and following Friday’s downgrade fiasco, Washington is now suffering from a serious credibility crisis.

In the meantime, China has continued to breeze through the financial crisis, recording strong growth while its companies swoop down to rescue a score of distressed Western businesses.

That has already boosted China’s international standing, with European leaders flocking to China-not the US-for pledges of support to back the euro as Europe undergoes its own financial crisis.

It’s also meant that developing nations have at least given equal hearing to China as it touts its political/economic system, based on limited central planning and trade-offs in democratic freedoms for enhanced stability.

That’s a stark difference to the post-Cold War period, when no one wanted to hear about p l a nne d e conom i e s a nd t he “ Wa s hi ngton Consensus” of democracy and free markets seemed to be the only game in town.

In a comment published by the Financial Times, Mohamed El-Erian, the head of the Newport Beach, Calif.-based investment company PIMCO, says the US downgrading is “an unambiguous and loud signal of the country’s eroding economic strength and global standing.”

For US politicians, “it renders urgent the need to regain the initiative through better economic policymaking and more coherent governance,” El-Erian wrote.

Others note that it could also mean the US would sign on to proposals by the Group of 20 countries to rein in the ability of the ratings agencies to set market terms, an idea that has b e e n e m b ra ce d by Europ e a n l e a d e r s l i ke France’s Nicolas Sarkozy. The French president still blames the agencies for their role in the 2007-08 financial crisis. Whichever way it goes, China will be watching, ready to comment ... and expecting its money back. —DPA

N Rick Perry (left) and Michele Bachmann

Bachmann and Perry - A beautiful rivalry

By John Whitesides t was Michele Bachmann’s big moment in the political spotlight and Rick Perry stomped all over it. Despite her victory on Saturday in the Iowa straw poll, the first big test of the 2012 Republican US presidential campaign, Bachmann had to share the national stage with Perry’s public leap into the White House race. It won’t be the last time the congresswoman from Minnesota and the governor of Texas step on each other’s toes.

Both aim for the backing of the same bloc of religious and social conservatives who dominate Iowa’s kick-off nominating contest. Both hope to become the chief Republican alternative to nominal frontrunner Mitt Romney in the 2012 fight for the right to challenge President Barack Obama.

And both will be in Waterloo, Iowa, Bachmann’s birthplace, last night to speak at a local fund-raising dinner in what looks

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like Act One of a beautiful rivalry. “Perry is the looming presence in Michele Bachmann’s future,” said Dennis Goldford, a political scientist at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. “They appeal to the same people.” Perry and Bachmann share a deep Christian faith, a hearty distrust of the federal government and core conservative principles on social issues like abortion and gay marriage.

But Bachmann, founder of the Tea Party caucus in Congress and an early supporter of the movement to reduce spending and government, has faced more questions than Perry about whether she can expand her appeal to a broader electorate.

Her straw poll win showed the power of her appeal to conservatives in Iowa but making her pitch to moderates and independents in states like New Hampshire and Florida could prove a tougher task.

“Right now, she can capture the hearts of the right wing,” Republican consultant Alex Castellanos said on CNN. “But she has

to prove that she can be a general election candidate before Republicans will really take her seriously and move her into that top tier.”

At the straw poll, Bachmann left no doubt about where she was aiming her remarks. “Whether we are Tea Party or social conservatives or fiscal conservatives or national security conservatives, if we stick together ... greatness will once again belong to the United States of America,” she said. Perry, who hosted a national day of prayer a week ago and once asked drought-plagued Texans to pray for rain, also aims his appeal at social and religious conservatives. But he also stresses his record of more than a decade of executive experience heading Texas, which has had strong job growth that could help him win over the party’s pro-business wing and independents.

On his visit to more moderate New Hampshire on Saturday, Perry dropped much of the social rhetoric and focused his

remarks on the economy and jobs.

Bachmann is also certain to hear more criticism of her record, or lack of it, in Congress after rival Tim Pawlenty, the former Minnesota governor, focused on her credentials during Thursday’s televised Republican debate.

Pawlenty ripped Bachmann for touting her opposition to higher spending, the healthcare overhaul and other government programs that passed over her objections. But Pawlenty limped to a distant third-place finish in the straw poll, raising questions about the future of his struggling campaign while Bachmann is still going strong. The straw poll win “is a big boost for her,” former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, who finished second in the 2007 straw poll, told reporters. “Whoever wins or just comes in second, they get gas for their fire. Whoever doesn’t, they get water for theirs,” he said.

“People underestimate her. She stands her ground.” — Reuters

UK riots: Reflection of ‘broke society’

By Anna Tomforde s the pictures of burning and looting tarnish Britain’s image around the world, the mostly young rioters and social analysts agree on one thing: This was an event waiting to happen.

“I’ll keep doing this every day until I get caught. When I get home, nothing is going to happen to me,” a teenager laden with looted goods told a BBC reporter in Manchester in the early hours of Wednesday.

“The prisons are overcrowded. So what are they going to do?” he added for good measure. Children as young as 10 were seen carrying off looted goods in plastic bags from shops in the northern city, laughing and joking as they threw the items in the air with delight before disappearing down side streets and alleyways to escape the police. For Prime Minister David Cameron, the “sickening scenes” playing out on the streets highlight Britain’s “big problem with gang culture,” as youths display a total lack of respect for authority and no sense of responsibility for their actions.

The problem of anti-social behavior, which Cameron has defined as a hallmark of Britain’s “broken society,” is not new.

Under the previous Labor government of former premier Tony Blair, temporary curfews and so-called anti-social behavior orders, or Asbos, proved futile _ and were eventually abandoned.

While the socio-economic background to the riots cannot be ignored, the violent riots have nonetheless come as a shock to outside observers. “Just a few months ago, Britain was all about Harry Potter and the royal wedding, and now it’s about phonehacking and riots in the streets. It’s quite a turnaround,” said Ravi Somaiya, a correspondent for the New York Times.

French commentator Agnes Poirer told the BBC that the riots reflected badly on

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British society. Britain, she argued, remained one of the most “unequal societies” in Europe. “Profit, speculation and consumption are Britain’s Holy Trinity,” she said. “I’m not sure how this will all end,” said Pat Burn, a retired London social worker. “The problem is that in this country we live in extremes of rich and poor. We need to live in the middle, like they do in Scandinavia,” she said. In Britain’s deprived inner city areas, gangs had taken the place of parents, the Independent newspaper said on Wednesday.

“It is a culture that has spread through Britain like a virus over the past 20 years.

As the gangs have managed to convince local youths that they somehow represent whole neighborhoods, police have struggled to overturn the wider perception that they are somehow the enemy,” said the paper.

While those involved are still in the minority, the problem has long troubled the authorities and the police. Back in 2008, a study by London’s Centre for Crime and Justice Studies concluded that “almost feral groups of very angry young people” were mushrooming in larger cities.

“Tribal loyalty has replaced family loyalty and gang culture based on violence and drugs is a way of life,” the study found.

Faced with an unprecedented wave of violence, looting and devastation, Britain’s politicians and police chiefs — as well as large sections of the public — portray the rioters primarily as a “greedy crowd of thugs and criminals.”

While some social analysts interpret the looting as “crimes of convenience” in an age of “entitlement and instant wealth,” others see deeper causes.

“We have to recognize that this mayhem exposes a broken section of British society — utterly detached from the values and responsibilities we expect of our fellow citizens,” said Gavin Poole, executive director of London-based think tank The

Centre for Social Justice. While there could be no excuse for the violence, the children and teenagers involved represented a “lost generation” faced with a life devoid of hope and aspiration, and “written off by society.”

His words echo those of a young rioter in Hackney, east London, who told the BBC: “There was no opportunity for everyone _ or no youth clubs where anyone can go and do something constructive. So this was bound to happen one day.” — DPA

‘Hero’ British cop would take on rioters again

By Claire Price n off-duty British policeman hailed as a hero for taking it upon himself to protect a store from looters as nearby shops burned down said he would do the same again to defend his community. Police Constable Andy Hewlett survived a barrage of stones and waves of looters as he held out for 90 minutes with no protective equipment.

The 41-year-old was returning to his home in suburban Croydon, south London, with his partner last Monday when they saw a branch of Argos, a general goods retailer, being looted by thugs. The bearded cop, who served in the British army in the Gulf War, called the police but was told no-one was available-so decided to defend the store himself, with the help of his partner, who is not a police officer.

“It was obvious that Argos was being looted because there were people pouring out the back of it and they’d obviously forced open the fire exit and they were coming in our direction,” he told AFP. “Now, that’s our community, that’s where we live. And we made a decision to take action. Off duty, on duty, you need to do something. And we chose to challenge those rioters. “At that point, stones started to be thrown at us, squaring off, approaching us and it was evident at that point that they knew I was a police officer because it was whispered around ‘he’s a copper, he’s a copper’ and that they either wanted me or wanted to go through me to get in to Argos at that point.”

Despite having no protective equipment, Hewlett and his partner blocked the way in for 90 minutes, while the nearby family furniture store House of Reeves, a Croydon landmark which had survived the Blitz and stood for more than a century, burnt to the ground.

The police have faced criticism for standing back in some neighborhoods and waiting for reinforcements in the face of overwhelming mobs. “It’s when I suppose, en masse, they got courage and came towards us and the stones were being thrown and it was evident just by their body language what they were doing-that they were either going to go through us or get us,” Hewlett said. “It was at that point that I grabbed my partner and pulled him out of there quickly.” Hewlett has been with the police for 18 years and works as a safer schools officer in Lambeth, inner south London. Neither he nor his partner, who took pictures of the rioters, were injured in their defense of Argos. “I slept well that night knowing that I had done what I could do,” Hewlett said. “Even with all those kids and young adults, and adults there doing that, if I had closed my door and done nothing then I think that would have stayed with me a lot longer.

“The ability to challenge inappropriate behavior and wrongness is really important and important in the community. “But in the face of all that and the fact that Reeves Corner just got burned round the corner, to the ground, and the violence and the disorder and the criminality that’s happened, I think there’s very little that the community could have done that night without putting themselves at great risk.” —AFP

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Women and religious radicalism in Indonesia

By Inayah Rohmaniyah e r h a p s s u r p r i s i n g l y, wo m e n’s issues have become a top priority on the major political and theological agendas of the Indonesian Mujahideen Council (MMI). MMI is a radical Muslim umbrella group alleged to have links to Al-Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiyah, a militant organization in Southeast Asia which has initiated a series of violent attacks against US targets and allies in Indonesia, Singapore and the Philippines since 1999.

Yet perhaps unsurprisingly there is a clear distinction within these groups between men’s views on the role of wo m e n a n d t h e w ay wo m e n v i e w themselves.

The MMI takes the position that women are the primary carriers of culture and their responsibility is to preserve and transmit shared beliefs to future generations. Male leaders in the MMI encourage women to remain at home, away from the public eye. Yet women within the MMI sometimes

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appear to have more in common with t h e i r p ro gre s s i ve co u n te r p a r t s i n women’s rights organizations across the country. And these views appear to be tolerated, despite being quite different from the public rhetoric of these groups.

For example, men in positions of authority in the MMI denounce roles for women outside of the domestic s p h e re. M u h a m m a d Th a l i b, t h e D e p u t y H e a d o f t h e R i g h te o u s Decision-M akers group within the MMI, responsible for general policy for the organization, wrote that professional women create social disorder. In his view, women working outside the home contribute to unemployment among men because they are forced to compete with women in the labor market. Because of this economic deprivation, posits Thalib, men feel emasculated which then leads to a host of social crimes against women.

Yet interestingly, within the MMI organizational structure, there is a special division for women called An

N isa. Within An N isa, women view their roles in society quite differently from the organization’s male leadership. Women involved with MMI negotiate a delicate balance between their status, their responsibilities within their families and their place in societ y, re s i s t i n g t h e t ra d i t i o n a l m a l e notions of women’s roles in public life and discourse.

Because of this, women’s efforts to rethink and reshape theological and cultural orientations are extremely important, particularly those concerning classical religious teachings about the relationship between men and women.

According to some of the women involved in An Nisa who publish articles on their website, Islamic princip l e s re co gn i ze m a l e a n d fe m a l e “equality”. One of An Nisa’s members argues that as God’s co-representatives, women must work hand in hand with men, and that building a Muslim society requires equal participation.

An Nisa members also formalized

an agreement for MMI female memb e r s t h a t r u n s co u n te r to Th a l i b’s statements regarding women, suggesting that women have the same role to play as men in the political arena and are compelled to be active in political parties. Accordingly, they feel it is a religious obligation for women to be socially and politically engaged.

The women of An Nisa are relatively empowered in the sense that they accept the concept of male leadership and their role within the domestic arena but, at the same time, they define themselves as God’s representatives.

They feel obligated to be involved in public life and to work alongside men to build a better society. This dissonance between the MMI’s male leadership and the women of An Nisa shows that there is an opening for those working to empower women to dialogue with their counterparts in more radical groups over ideas of women’s involvement in the betterment of society, women’s rights and equal participation in public life. — CGNews

MONDAY, AUGUST 15, 2011

sp orts

Cavendish wins test event LONDON: Mark Cavendish underlined his status as the world’s best sprinter and man to beat at next year’s Olympic Games by winning the 2012 road race test event through London’s streets yesterday. The tight and technical route was narrow in places, causing bottlenecks for the competitors and support vehicles trailing behind as the 145-man field set a blistering pace.

Briton Cavendish, top sprinter at last month’s Tour de France, won the 140.3-km event starting and finishing near Buckingham Palace in a time of three hours 18 minutes 11 seconds.

Sacha Modolo of Italy was second and France’s Samuel Dumoulin was third. Cavendish stuck with the peloton, at one stage six minutes behind an early breakaway led by 2009 British road race champion Kristian House, before staging a customary late charge in a bunch sprint down the Mall.

Manxman Cavendish, whose name has been linked to Britain’s Team Sky after his successful HTC-Highroad announced they will fold at the end of the season, was kitted out in a blue outfit with the name of British cycling sponsors Sky emblazoned on it. —Reuters

Wales star Henson injured CARDIFF: Wales star Gavin Henson will be sidelined for the start of the World Cup and is likely to miss the entire tournament after undergoing surgery on a dislocated bone in his right wrist.

Henson suffered the injury in the first half of Saturday’s 19-9 victory over England in a World Cup warmup fixture in Cardiff and at 29 looks set to go through his career without once playing in the sport’s global showpiece.

He was overlooked by then Wales coach Steve Hansen in 2003 and failed to recover from injury in time four years later. Although the Welsh Rugby Union have not officially ruled Henson out of the World Cup, he

faces a recovery period of six to eight weeks and the tournament kicks off in New Zealand on September 9.

Even if he recovers in six weeks, Wales’ pool campaign will already be well under way by then, meaning coach Warren Gatland would be taking a major gamble if he named him in the final 30-man squad due to be announced on August 22.

If Gatland does not select Henson, he could then only play a part in the competition by replacing an injured player. “Gavin underwent surgery this morning at the Vale Hospital to correct the dislocation to a bone in his right wrist,” Prav Mathema, the WRU’s national medical performance manager.—AFP

China coach eyes World Cup BEIJING: Former Real Madrid coach Jose Antonio Camacho will shoulder China’s hopes of qualifying for the 2014 World Cup finals in Brazil, the Spaniard said after taking charge of the country’s national soccer team yesterday. The former Spain coach has signed a three-year contract and replaces Gao Hongbo. “I know the goal will be taking the Chinese team to a new level and leading the team to the World Cup so there’s a lot of work to do and there’s also challenge and pressure,” Camacho was quoted as saying by state news agency Xinhua. “Me and my assistants came all the way from Spain and have been working around the clock every day since the negotiations, we want to know better about the country and the job.” China has qualified for the World Cup finals only once when they played in the 2002 edition held in South Korea and Japan but lost all their group matches and failed to score a goal. In January, they exited the 16-team Asian Cup at the first hurdle after finishing third in Group A behind Uzbekistan and hosts Qatar. “Soccer is the most popular game in the world and China is an important country in the world,” Camacho said.—Reuters

Reds power past Padres

CLEVELAND: Minnesota Twins baserunner Justin Morneau (33) scores on a single by Delmon Young as Cleveland Indians catcher tries to make the tag during the seventh inning. —AP

Posada lifts Yankees over Rays NEW YORK: Jorge Posada hit a grand slam and drove in six runs in his first game since being benched six days ago as the New York Yankees ended the Tampa Bay Rays’ five-game winning streak with a 9-2 victory Saturday.

Curtis Granderson hit his 33rd homer to tie Jose Bautista for the MLB lead and Robinson Cano had two hits and scored twice to help the Yankees rebound from a loss to the Rays on Friday night.

Posada hit a bases-loaded single off Jeremy Hellickson (10-8) in the second to give New York a 2-0 lead. He singled in the fourth and then hit his 10th homer and 10th career slam in the fifth off Brandon Gomes. Phil Hughes (3-4) pitched six effective innings but is still in jeopardy of being dropped from the rotation after struggling in his return from a three month break due to right shoulder inflammation.

Indians 3, Twins 1 In Cleveland, Asdrubal Cabrera hit a three-run homer and Josh Tomlin pitched shutout ball into the seventh inning to lead the Indians past Minnesota.

Cabrera connected in the third, driving a pitch from Brian Duensing (8-11) over the wall for his 20th homer. Shin-Soo Choo hit a leadoff single and Jason Donald walked before Cabrera went deep.

Tomlin (12-5) and four relievers combined for a five-hitter, with Chris Perez pitching a perfect ninth for his 25th save in 28 chances. Tomlin gave up one run and four hits in 6 1-3 innings for Cleveland, which has won four of five.

Tigers 6, Orioles 5 At Baltimore, Miguel Cabrera homered in a five-run sixth inning that featured six consecutive two-out hits as Detroit rallied to get the win. Detroit trailed 5-0 in the second before mounting its biggest comeback of the season.

Cabrera finished with three RBIs to help first-place Detroit maintain its three-game edge over Cleveland in the AL Central division. Max Scherzer (12-7) picked up the win and Jose Valverde got three outs for his 35th save in 35 tries. Jeremy Guthrie (5-16) allowed six runs and eight hits in 5 2-3 innings for Baltimore.

Blue Jays 11, Angels 2 In Toronto, Adam Lind hit a grand slam and Edwin Encarnacion and Mark Teahen

each homered as the Blue Jays beat Los Angeles. All three homers came off Angels pitcher Jered Weaver, who allowed eight runs and eight hits, both season highs, in 4 2-3 innings, his shortest outing of the year. Weaver (14-6) was pitching for the first time since Aug. 5 after serving a sixgame suspension for throwing over the head of Detroit’s Alex Avila in a July 31 loss. Toronto blew the game open with a five-run fifth, including Lind’s 20th homer of the season and third career grand slam.

Rangers 7, Athletics 1 In Oakland, California, Colby Lewis and four relievers combined on a five-hitter to lead Texas to victory. Ian Kinsler had two hits and three RBIs for Texas, which increased its AL West division lead to three games over the Los Angeles Angels.

Jemile Weeks singled, doubled and tripled for Oakland, which committed four errors, had two wild pitches and lost for the seventh time in 11 games.

Lewis (11-8) allowed one run and three hits over 6 1-3 innings while striking out eight. Trevor Cahill (9-11) gave up four runs and seven hits in 7 1-3 innings.

Mariners 5, Red Sox 4 In Seattle, Felix Hernandez pitched seven innings, surviving a shaky sixth, and Ichiro Suzuki hit the 34th leadoff homer of his career to lead Seattle.

Hernandez (11-10) was handed a fiverun lead in the first inning but gave up four runs in the sixth on a pair of two-run homers by Jacoby Ellsbury and Dustin Pedroia. Hernandez allowed nine hits and four runs in the game.

Brandon League pitched the ninth to pick up his 28th save in 32 opportunities.

Josh Beckett (9-5), who has not won since July 23, allowed five runs on eight hits, walking one and striking out six.

White Sox 5, Royals 4 In Chicago, Paul Konerko hit a two-run homer and Tyler Flowers added his first career homer as the White Sox ended a seven-game home losing streak.

Konerko went deep in the third and Flowers hit a solo shot in the fifth. Juan Pierre also scored two runs for Chicago.

Jesse Crain (7-3) pitched 1 1-3 innings to get the win and Chris Sale worked the ninth for his fourth save. Luke Hochevar (8-9) gave up five runs and eight hits in six-plus innings.—AP

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

Toronto 11, LA Angels 2; Texas 7, Oakland 1; Colorado 6, St. Louis 1; NY Yankees 9, Tampa Bay 2; Detroit 6, Baltimore 5; Cleveland 3, Minnesota 1; Philadelphia 11, Washington 3; Chicago Cubs 8, Atlanta 4; San Francisco 3, Florida 0; Cincinnati 13, San Diego 1; Chicago White Sox 5, Kansas City 4; Milwaukee 1, Pittsburgh 0; Arizona 6, NY Mets 4; LA Dodgers 6, Houston 1; Seattle 5, Boston 4.

American League Eastern Division W L PCT Boston 73 45 .619 NY Yankees 72 46 .610 Tampa Bay 64 55 .538 Toronto 60 59 .504 Baltimore 45 72 .385 Central Division Detroit 64 55 .538 Cleveland 60 57 .513 Chicago White Sox 59 60 .496 Minnesota 52 67 .437 Kansas City 50 70 .417 Western Division Texas 68 52 .567 LA Angels 65 55 .542 Oakland 53 66 .445 Seattle 51 67 .432

GB 1 9.5 13.5 27.5 3 5 12 14.5 3 14.5 16

National League Eastern Division Philadelphia 78 41 .655 Atlanta 70 50 .583 NY Mets 58 61 .487 Washington 57 62 .479 Florida 56 63 .471 Central Division Milwaukee 69 51 .575 St. Louis 64 56 .533 Cincinnati 59 61 .492 Pittsburgh 56 62 .475 Chicago Cubs 52 68 .433 Houston 38 82 .317 Western Division Arizona 67 53 .558 San Francisco 65 55 .542 Colorado 56 65 .463 LA Dodgers 54 64 .458 San Diego 53 68 .438

8.5 20 21 22 5 10 12 17 31 2 11.5 12 14.5

CINCINNATI: Miguel Cairo and Ryan Hanigan each homered twice as the Cincinnati Reds powered their way to a 13-1 victory over the San Diego Padres in the National League on Saturday night.

The Reds won their fourth straight game with their biggest home run splurge of the season. Cincinnati hit seven homers in all off starter Tim Stauffer and the Padres bullpen matching a San Diego record.

Stauffer (7-9) gave up five homers in only three innings, matching Woody Williams’ club record for most allowed in a game. Stauffer also gave up three in a 9-8 loss to the Mets on Monday.

Reds starter Homer Bailey (7-5) gave up six hits in seven innings, including Kyle Blanks’ homer. Joey Votto hit a solo homer in the first inning, Todd Frazier led off the second with one and Jay Bruce added a two-run shot later in the inning - his fourth homer in six games.

Cubs 8, Braves 4 In Atlanta, Starlin Castro and Darwin Barney each had four hits to lead Chicago over the Braves and their hot hitter Dan Uggla, who kept his MLB-leading hitting streak going despite the loss.

Uggla had a first-inning single and a fourth-inning homer off Randy Wells (4-4) to extend his hitting streak to 33 games. The streak began on July 5 when Uggla was hitting .173. It is the longest streak in Atlanta Braves history. Castro drove in two runs and Wells gave up two runs on eight hits in five-plus innings for the Cubs, who have won 10 of 13. Derek Lowe (7-11) gave up five runs and 10 hits in six innings.

Phillies 11, Nationals 3 In Philadelphia, Ryan Howard homered and drove in four runs and Roy Oswalt pitched seven solid innings as the Phillies topped Washington. Oswalt (5-7) gave up three runs on six hits in seven innings. He settled down after a tworun second inning and finished with five strikeouts and just one walk. The Nationals committed three costly errors that led to seven runs. John

Lannan (8-8) also surrendered seven runs — just one earned — in three innings on four hits while walking five.

Giants 3, Marlins 0 At Miami, Tim Lincecum allowed two hits in seven scoreless innings and Jeff Keppinger provided a first-

struck out 10 and threw two wild pitches.

Bloomquist, then Roberts followed with his 16th home run.

D’backs 6, Mets 4 In Phoenix, Ryan Roberts hit a three-run homer to help Arizona rally for the win over the Mets. Daniel Hudson (12-8) allowed four runs on eight hits in eight innings as the

Rockies 6, Cardinals 1 In St. Louis, Carlos Gonzalez hit a three-run homer and Jason Hammel threw 6 1-3 strong innings to lead Colorado. The Rockies, who ended a three-game losing streak, had lost their last five games in St. Louis by a combined 22-3 score.

St. Louis lost for the third time in five games and fell five games.

Gonzalez, who also had an RBI double in the ninth, slammed his 18th homer of the season in the third inning off Jaime Garcia (10-6), who gave up five runs in five innings.

Hammel (7-11) allowed one run and five hits.

Dodgers 6, Astros 1 In Los Angeles, Clayton Kershaw earned his career-high 14th victory as the Dodgers defeated Houston.

Kershaw (14-5) won for the sixth time in his last seven starts, allowing a run and six hits over eight innings. The All-Star left-hander struck out nine and walked one.

Houston’s Wandy Rodriguez (8-9) was charged with five runs and six hits in six innings. He has a 4.50 ERA over his last eight starts after going 31 with a 1.80 ERA in June. The Astros, an MLB-worst 38-82, clinched their third straight losing season.

ATLANTA: Chicago Cubs shortstop Starlin Castro (13) and center fielder Tony Campana (41) and teammate Darwin Barney (right) celebrate their 8-4 win over the Atlanta Braves. —AP inning solo home run to lead San Francisco.

Lincecum (11-9) walked three, struck out 10 and hit a batter while lowering his MLB-leading road ERA to 2.08. He has given up one run or less in six of his last seven starts.

Brian Wilson pitched a scoreless ninth for his 35th save in 39 tries.

Javier Vazquez (7-10) allowed three runs and five hits in seven innings. He

US sprinter fails drug test RALEIGH: Former US 100 metres champion Mike Rodgers has tested positive for a banned stimulant, putting his world championship hopes in jeopardy, his agent said on Saturday.

“Mike made a mistake,” Tony Campbell told Reuters by telephone. “He went to a club with some friends in Italy and he thought he was drinking a Red Bull (energy drink) but he got one of those energy drinks that had a stimulant in it.”

Rodgers, the year’s fourth fastest 100 metres runner, said on his Twitter account he had failed a test. “Tested positive for stimulant in an energy drink,” he tweeted.

“I’m just trying to get a hearing before worlds so I can know my fate,” said Rodgers, who was named in the U.S. team in the 100 metres and 4x100 relay.

He finished third in the 100m at the US world championship trials in June. Penalties for a positive test for stimulants can range from a warning to a suspension of several months.

Campbell said Rodgers, 26, had not been suspended by USA Track and Field (USATF) as of Saturday. USATF officials could not be reached for immediate comment on Rodgers’s status for the world championships which begin on Aug. 27 in Daegu, South Korea.

Rodgers was yet to have his second “B” sample tested, Campbell said, adding that he understood the result would not come until two days after USATF finalised its world championship team yestrday.

“It is a bad situation for us now,” Campbell said, referring to the timing of the failed test.

“I would surmise (USATF) are going to leave Mike in there (on the team) until the final verdict is in,” he said.

“I don’t want anyone to think Mike is a druggie. It was a stimulant. It was not steroids or anything of that nature.”

Campbell said Rodgers’s positive test had come last month at a meeting in Lignano, Italy, where the US team had a relay training camp. He said Rodgers had passed all previous tests including a blood test several days ago.—Reuters

Diamondbacks won their fifth straight to remain two games ahead of second-place San Francisco in the NL West division.

Hudson also had a run-scoring single, his 13th RBI of the year. J.J. Putz pitched a scoreless ninth for his 29th save in 33 attempts. Mike Pelfrey left the game with the Mets leading 4-2 in the fifth. Reliever DJ Carrasco (1-3) came on to hit Willie

Brewers 1, Pirates 0 In Milwaukee, Marco Estrada pitched five innings and combined with four relievers on a three-hitter as the Brewers edged Pittsburgh.

Takashi Saito, LaTroy Hawkins, Francisco Rodriguez and John Axford, who earned his 34th save by working around a leadoff triple in the ninth, completed the shutout. Yuniesky Betancourt homered for the lone score of the game. Estrada (3-8) took the mound for Chris Narveson, who was placed on the disabled list Wednesday with a cut thumb on his throwing hand.

Kevin Correia (12-11), who has an MLB-leading 10 road wins, lost for the second time this season in Milwaukee. Correia worked 6 2-3 innings and allowed seven hits.—AP

Fever bring down Liberty INDIANAPOLIS: Tamika Catchings matched a career high with 32 points, surpassing 5,000 for her career, as the Indiana Fever beat the New York Liberty 82-71 in the WNBA on Saturday night.

Catchings became just the sixth WNBA player to reach 5,000 points when she made a jumper from near the free throw line late in the first quarter. She also set a team record by making 17 free throws.

She already became the league’s career leader in steals earlier this season. Tangela Smith added 10 points for the Fever, who have won seven of their past eight games. Cappie Pondexter scored 30 points and Essence Carson added 16 for New York, which has lost three of four.

Sun 82, Mystics 75 In Uncasville, Connecticut, Tina Charles and Renee Montgomery each scored 16 points to lead the Sun.

Danielle McCray added 12 points for Connecticut, and Kara Lawson had 10, including a late 3-pointer that gave the Sun an 81-73 lead.

Tan White had nine points and 10 rebounds.

Crystal Langhorne led the Mystics with 17 points, despite battling foul trouble. Langhorne missed all but 24 seconds of the third period when she was whistled for her fourth foul.

Dream 92, Storm 63 In Seattle, Angel McCoughtry and Iziane Castro Marques each scored 17 points for Atlanta. Lindsey Harding added 12 points for the Dream, and Sancho Lyttle and Armintie Price had 10 apiece. Atlanta hit their first three shots and finished at a season-high 58.8 percent shooting (40 of 58).

Atlanta beat the Storm for the second time in seven days in a rematch of the 2010 WNBA championship series, which Seattle swept in three games. Katie Smith scored 15 points for the Storm.—AP

Tamika Catchings in action in this file photo

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sp orts

Former players mourn India’s dethroned cricket kings MUMBAI: “RIP. World’s No.1 test team” screamed the Times of India’s front page headline on Sunday as former players joined angry media in blaming selectors for India’s limp series loss to England.

“India gift crown on a platter,” the spor ts page of the same newspaper lamented after Saturday’s innings and 242 runs loss in the third test meant a first series defeat as captain for Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

The newspaper also gave a graphic detail of how India were “shamed and dethroned” while the Hindustan Times headline said the team,

idolised by the majority of India’s 1.2 billion cricketobsessed population, had gone “from kings to commoners.”

India arrived in England as the number one test team in the world, fresh from their 50over World Cup victor y on home turf, but the morale-sapping losses in the first three matches of the four-test series handed England the top spot.

The tourists have been found wanting in all departments of the game-their batsmen have failed to post big totals, the bowlers have been wayward and the fielders have floored opportunities that have come their way.

Former Australia captain Ian Chappell blamed the selectors for the disastrous performance of the Indian cricketers. “ The selectors’ failure to address issues like an aging batting line-up, a declining offspinner and substandard fielding in the five-day game, has finally come home to roost,” he said in a column published in the Hindustan Times.

Former India all-rounder Mohinder Amarnath said it was time for some serious soulsearching for the selectors.

“The fact is that our batting, which has looked completely out of sorts, got exposed to a formidable bowling attack (for

the first time) in a long time,” Amarnath said in a column published in the Times of India.

“Even at the end of their careers, we expect the likes of Dravid, Tendulkar and Laxman to bail us out and when they don’t we see the results. I feel this is a genuine concern for Indian cricket. “The selectors have a tough job ahead of them. They need to sit and think about the future. They need to build players who can step into the big shoes and they have a job on their hands.”

Anil Kumble, the former India leg-spinner and the country’s highest wicket-taker in both tests and one-day interna-

tionals, said it was time for Indian cricket to invest in the future.

“You need to ensure who’s the next four or five batsmen that you are going to invest in and then those batsmen will have to be given the long rope,” former India captain Kumble told the CNN-IBN channel.

“Give them the confidence so that they can prosper. It needs to be done that way.

“You might not end up getting (back) to the number one position quickly but then you don’t want to lose out from number two to number six or seven.”

Kumble said the youngsters needed to be properly

groomed to perform at the test level. “We do have some good players. People like Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara and then you have Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh.

“All these guys have to be given that responsibility that they are the guys who are going to take the Indian team forward.

“You need to invest in them and get some youngsters in and ensure that they are given the time to settle in and do well at the test level.” The final test of the series starts on Thursday before the teams play a Twenty20 international and five one-dayers.—Reuters

England’s hero Cook predicts more success

BRNO: Honda rider Casey Stoner from Australia leads with a clear distance during the MotoGP at the Czech Republic Motorcycle Grand Prix Masaryk circuit. —AP

Stoner bags Czech MotoGP BRNO: Australia’s world championship leader Casey Stoner stormed to his sixth victory of the season in the MotoGP race at the Czech Grand Prix here yesterday.

The 25-year-old Stoner, winning here for the first time since 2007, the same year he went on to win his only MotoGP world crown, beat Honda Repsol teammate Andrea Dovizioso of Italy by 6.532 seconds.

“I had a really tough battle with Andrea (Dovizioso) in the early laps but once I got past him I realised the bike had enough speed,” said Stoner, winning his 29th MotoGP. “After a tough weekend it’s really satisfying to win here,” he added after finishing in fine sunny weather that helped dry the circuit after Saturday’s rain.

Dovizioso said he was pleased with his result and with a “really competitive team.”

“I made a really good start, I tried to cut Casey but I made a mistake,” he said.

Italy’s Marco Simoncelli on another Honda came in third - for his first ever podium placing at this level - while defending world champion Jorge Lorenzo lost more points to the Australian in finishing fourth.

“We as a team were confident of achieving a podium position this season and I am really happy to have got my first one,” said Simoncelli.

With seven races to go in the season, Stoner now has a comfortable overall lead with 218 points ahead of Lorenzo (186) and Dovizioso (163).

Spanish pole -sitter Dani Pedrosa crashed out from the first place on lap three, followed by Britain’s Cal Crutchlow and Czech Karel Abraham.

Stoner took the lead and kept building the advantage until a few laps before the finish when he allowed the chasers to narrow the gap.

Lorenzo took the lead briefly in lap one but then he gave in to pressure from Dovizioso and Simoncelli, and he had to fight hard to shake off Yamaha’s US rider Ben Spies, who took the fifth place.

Italian Ducati rider Valentino Rossi came in sixth, failing to extend his record of five MotoGP victories on Brno’s undulating 5.403-kilometre circuit about 180 kilometres southeast of the Czech capital Prague.

Spain’s Alvaro Bautista crashed out six laps from the finish, making the weekend a total failure for his Rizla Suzuki team after his US teammate John Hopkins had broken a finger in Saturday’s practice and was ruled out of the race.

Earlier on Saturday, Italian Suter rider Andrea Iannone won the Moto2 thriller ahead of Spain’s Marc Marquez and Stefan Bradl of Germany, who is leading the championship 43 points ahead of Marquez.

And Germany ’s Sandro Cortese of Aprilia scored the first victory of his career by edging France’s Johann Zarco in the 125cc race, with Spain’s Alberto Moncayo coming in third while overall leader Nicolas Terol retired early in the race.—AFP

BIRMINGHAM: England hero Alastair Cook was confident the team’s rise to the top of the world rankings on Saturday would spur them on to greater success.

Left-handed opener Cook laid the foundations to England’s crushing innings and 242-run victory over the hapless Indians at Edgbaston with his career best score of 294. His seventh century in his last 13 tests helped the hosts to open up a 3-0 lead in the fourmatch series.

“I think we’re on the way to doing something special,” man-ofthe-match Cook, who helped the team to amass 710 for seven declared in their first innings, told reporters. “It’s been a huge privilege for me to play in this team and I think we all feel that at the moment.

“But I think we’re still at the start of a journey, rather than the end of it. We will enjoy tonight and what we’ve achieved but then come back in the next couple of days desperate to start again. That’s where this side is at.”

Their performance has prompted may people to heap praise on the team, including British Prime Minister David Cameron. “I congratulate the England cricket team on their fantastic achievement,” Cameron said.

“Their performance in this test, including England’s highest ever innings score in a non timeless test, and Alistair Cook’s magnificent 294 against the team that has up to now been ranked number one in the World, is a tribute to their domination of the sport.

“The whole nation can be very proud of our team of world beaters.” During this series, Cook is just one five England batsmen to have registered centuries against an Indian team that had arrived for the tour ranked number one and boasted in Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid, test cricket’s most prolific scorers.

While India’s much-hyped batting lineup spectacularly misfired in all three matches-having failed to reach 300 in six innings-Andrew

Alastair Cook plays a shot in this file photo Strauss’s men have been so dominant that the visitors failed to bowl them out in the first and third tests.

“You need to score runs and take wickets. Cricket is a simple game, in test matches you need to take 20 wickets and at the same time score more runs than the opposition. We have not clicked as a batting unit,” India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni told reporters before hinting the side had been hampered by the absence through injury of their main strike bowler Zaheer Khan.

“I’m happy with the bowlers - in the first two games it was tough on them with just three bowlers. “The series just has not gone our way.

Most of the sessions were won by them. We have been completely outplayed in the series so far.”

India have one last chance to save face, and a whitewash, in next week’s final five-day outing at The

Oval but they will be up against the likes of Strauss and Cook, who will both want to add to their tally of 19 test centuries.

Even the statistics among the bowlers are stacking up.

Spearhead James Anderson passed Alec Bedser’s haul of 236 test wickets at Edgbaston to become the seventh-highest wicket-taker for England.

Given the impressive numbers, it may not surprise then that England have now won their last six test series. They have the chance to make that eight when they meet Pakistan and Sri Lanka overseas early next year. “ We honestly tr y to break it down far more simply than that and just try to control the next game, and that is what’s worked so well for us,” said Cook, who replaced Strauss as England’s oneday captain following the World

Cup. “ Then we tr y to break each game down into little segments, and we hope it will continue to work really well like that.”

Strauss also promised that England would not be taking their new position at the summit of test cricket for granted.

“There are a number of other teams anxious to have this mantle to be the number one side,” Strauss said. “So I think it’s arrogant for us to just assume we can just waltz our way and just assume everything’s going to be hunky-dory all the time. “ We’re going to have to be determined and desperate to stay there and the way to do that is not by focusing on the rankings. It’s by getting your competitive juices flowing in any series we play. That’s exactly what we’re going to have to do.”—Reuters

Franchitti grabs IndyCar pole

BORDEAUX: French wing Vincent Clerc (N.14) tries to stop Irish lock Leo Cullen (second left) during the friendly rugby union test match. —AFP

France outmuscle Ireland BORDEAUX: France outmuscled an under-strength Ireland 19-12 in a World Cup warm-up match on Saturday but the hosts were forced to bring off injured centre Maxime Mermoz in the first half.

Mermoz suffered a knee injury and was replaced in the 27th minute having been on the field for the only try when Vincent Clerc touched down for his ninth in nine games against the Irish after a good move 10 minutes earlier.

Debutant number eight Raphael Lakafia made the decisive break for the score to please coach Marc Lievremont in his team’s first outing since a disappointing Six Nations.

Dimitri Yachvili, given a run out in place of Morgan Parra at scrumhalf, kicked the rest of France’s points in Bordeaux with a conversion and four penalties.

“We had a good 30 minutes but that is just a third of a match-having said

that, it was encouraging,” Lievremont, who played down Mermoz’s knee problem, told reporters.

“We were disciplined in the first half but afterwards we missed a pass or a tackle and we forgot to get our hands on the ball.”

Ronan O’Gara expertly slotted over Ireland’s four penalties as Declan Kidney’s side played much better in the second half but they still lacked the bite of rested captain Brian O’Driscoll.

Ireland lost 10-6 to Scotland last Saturday and will want to show an improvement when they welcome France to Dublin next weekend as preparations hot up for the Sept. 9-Oct. 23 World Cup in New Zealand.

“We know what we have to do in the next match. You can’t play for just one half,” Kidney said. “The French know how to dominate and defend well plus they scored a try. It is a winning combination in rugby.”—Reuters

LOUDON: The first time Dario Franchitti won the pole position this year, he also won the race and climbed into a first-place tie in the IndyCar Series standings.

He captured the pole for a second time on Saturday but he’s already way out in front in total points.

Franchitti can add to his 63-point lead over Will Power late yesterday in the 225-mile (360-kilometer) race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, a relatively flat oval like the one at the Milwaukee Mile where the Scot’s victory two months ago tied him with Power for the top spot.

But Franchitti, who won the IndyCar Series for the past two years, downplayed the similarities between the two tracks.

“To me, they feel quite a bit differ-

ent,” he said. “The straights are longer here, tighter corners. The track is smoother here, some bumps in Turn 3. But apart from that, it’s smoother.

“Milwaukee’s a short track. This doesn’t feel like a short track. This, to me, drives like an intermediate track.”

Conditions changed as the day wore on and drivers expect to have to adjust to the surface as the first IndyCar race at the track since 1998 progresses on Sunday.

“It’s a tricky little track here,” said James Hinchcliffe of Canada, who qualified fourth. “No one’s raced here before.”

Spain’s Oriol Servia, who had the second best average time on his two qualifying laps, viewed the track as a combination of two others. “It’s a little bit of Milwaukee and a little bit of

Dario Franchitti takes pole for the Indycar Series

Richmond,” he said. “It’s a perfect mix between the two race tracks.” The track “was in great condition” for Thursday’s practice but slippery when the drivers went out for more practice on Saturday morning, Franchitti said. “The track was definitely back at its best for qualifying.”

How will it be late yesterday on an oval where passing is difficult - and with a 30 percent chance of rain?

“I expect the track to change a lot as the race goes on,” Franchitti said.

“We’ll adapt to the change in track conditions because I think it will take that to win the race.”

Franchitti, driving for Chip Ganassi Racing, won the pole with an average time of 170.843 mph (274.93 kph) on a dry, sunny day. Servia, of NewmanHaas Racing, qualified in 169.831

mph (273.3 kph). Tony Kanaan of Brazil, fourth in the standings, had the third best qualifying time and will start inside on the second row next to Hinchcliffe. Power qualified in 13th place, two spots in front of Danica Patrick, who will start inside on the eighth row in the 26-car field.

“Come race day, it will be hard to know what the track conditions will be like,” Patrick said. It will be the first IndyCar race on an oval since the end of June in Iowa, where Marco Andretti won and Franchitti finished fifth. The cars have been racing on road courses since then.

Pippa Mann, an IndyCar rookie from England whose only other race this year was the Indianapolis 500, did not participate in qualifying after her car spun and hit a wall during morning practice. She was released from Concord Medical Center where she was evaluated and is scheduled for another exam in Indianapolis on Monday. She will not be cleared to drive before receiving the results of that test.

Franchitti won the 26th pole position of his career, passing Paul Tracy for ninth place. Franchitti is seeking his fifth win going into the 13th race of the year. Power, also with four victories, is the only other driver with more than one.

Franchitti had a solid chance at a victory last weekend at Mid-Ohio but finished second to New Zealand teammate Scott Dixon, who passed him during a restart with 24 laps to go. Dixon had the seventh best qualifying time. “It was definitely frustrating for us out there,” he said. “It’s not what we expected. The track has changed a lot.”—AP

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SPORTS

Serena crushes Azarenka

LONDON: China’s Xiaoli Wang (left) and Yang Yu step onto the gold medal podium after beating China’s Qing Tian and Yunlei Zhao during the women’s doubles final at the World Badminton Championships.—AP

Lin, Wang keep Chinese title sweep on track LONDON: Olympic champion Lin Dan and Wang Yihan helped keep China on track to become the first nation to successfully defend all five world titles when they won both singles crowns at the world badminton championships here yesterday.

Lin had a thrilling preparation for his title defence at next year’s London Games when he saved two match points to beat top-seeded Malaysian Lee Chong Wei 2022, 21-14, 23-21 as Wang later overcame surprise Taiwanese finalist Cheng Shao Chieh 21-15, 21-10.

Earlier Wang Xiaoli and Yu Yang won the women’s doubles. Lin held off the challenge of the Malaysian heir apparent after trailing 19-20 and 20-21 in the final game of the best contest yet between the two great men’s singles rivals.

It was also Lin’s fourth world title but it would not have happened had he not unleashed a thrilling jump smash on the first match point against him and then lifted the shuttle deep enough to bring an overhead drop error from Lee on the second. “I just didn’t think too much about the result on the match points,” said Lin afterwards. “I tried to focus on what I was doing.

“And I didn’t think about the title before the tournament, but after a match like this I feel really excited.” That certainly showed with Lin’s celebration, in which he ripped his shirt off and leapt across the court to indulge in a melee of hugging with members of the Chinese team.

Lin later added that he thought Lee played very well, which was true, but the outcome is a significant blow for the favourite who had been hoping to become the first player from Malaysia to win a world title in preparation for his Games bid in the same Wembley arena next year.

The impression was left that although Lee’s movement has become probably the best in the sport, and although he has added some good attacking weapons to his consistent rallying style, he may not yet have the self-belief to beat the ebullient Lin on a big occasion.

Lee was 20-16 up in the first game and was unable to convert any of those four game points, eventually winning it from 20-all with a lunging kill and an uninhibited smash. He also led 10-9 in the second game and 16-13 in the third but fell away disappointingly both times when all looked set fair. Much of this had to do with Lin’s fighting spirit however. He never dominated the game as he used to do so often of old, but he rallied cagily, scrambled diligently, selected good moments to attack and, most of all, delivered on the big points.

Lee also spent a long time in the physio area after the match, having treatment on what looked like his hamstring areas, but the worry may be that the bigger injury is to his mind. Later China won the women’s singles too, when Wang, the second-seeded former All-England champion, rallied past Cheng, the seventh seed.

Wang made an apprehensive start, trailing 9-12, but once she began to feel more comfortable, dominated most of the rallies with her longer reach, greater height, steeper drops and superior power. She maintained the pressure on Cheng with these weapons, preventing the Taiwanese from hustling in the way she had done when she beat the top-seeded Wang Shixian.

The triumph underlined the fine recovery that Wang has made since a lumbar injury prevented her from playing at the All-England championships in March.—AFP

Furyk stumbles with wet finish on Moving Day JOHNS CREEK: Jim Furyk has been mired in one of the worst slumps of his career and with a few swings Saturday, all the bad feelings came rushing back.

Furyk dumped his tee shot in the pond on the par-3 15th and two more balls in the water at the brutal 18th hole, taking a pair of double bogeys that put a severe crimp in his hopes at the PGA Championship.

On Moving Day, he was going the wrong way. Furyk struggled home with a 3-over 73, giving up five shots on the final five holes and going from a contender for the lead to a half-dozen strokes behind heading into the final round.

He didn’t speak with the media afterward, but his body language said it all.

After his second ball went into the water, Furyk’s knees buckled and he bent over as if he’d been punched in the stomach.

He put his hands behind his head and stared at the ground, knowing his good play much of the week was largely undone by the brutal finish.

But things are looking up for the golfer who won the PGA the last time it

was played at Atlanta Athletic Club in 2001. David Toms went out early and posted a 65 for the best round of the day. He got rolling with a long eagle putt at the 12th, birdied the next two holes, and then rolled in a 15-foot birdie at the 18th - the same hole that would bite Furyk - after just clearing the water with his approach.

Toms will head into late yesterday’s five shots behind surprising co-leaders Brendan Steele and Jason Dufner.

“Obviously it will take a great round,” Toms said. “But you never know. I mean, that was the goal of the day was to have a good round. I didn’t know it was going to be a great round.”

Toms is having a career renaissance at age 44, winning for the first time in five years, finishing second at the Players Championship and coming into the year’s final major off a strong ninth-place finish in the World Golf Championship earlier this month.

“I just wanted to have a good round to give myself a chance,” he said. “Now, if I can have one of those days, I certainly will be in the mix.”—AP

TORONTO: Serena Williams advanced to her second straight final by beating fourth-seed Victoria Azarenka 6-3 6-3 on Saturday at the Toronto Cup and declared her game was approaching its grand-slam winning best.

The former world number one, who returned to competition in June after 11 months out with injuries and health problems, will carry a 10-match winning streak into the final against Samantha Stosur and appears in ominous form ahead of the U.S. Open starting Aug. 29.

Williams, who won the Stanford Classic last month in her third tournament back, said her game was reaching her Wimbledon-winning form from last year.

“I feel it’s better today than it has been the past couple rounds but I feel it’s coming along,” Williams told reporters.

“I still can do better but overall I am almost where I was but I want to exceed that level.”

After spending over two hours on court and being forced to three sets in each of her last two matches, Williams simply overpowered Azarenka, who entered the semi-final having lost just six games in three matches.

The first set went with serve until Williams broke Azarenka in the sixth game with a crosscourt winner that prompted the

TORONTO: Serena Williams returns a shot to Victoria Azarenka of Belarus on Day 6 of the Rogers Cup. —AFP 13-times grand slam champion to pump her fist and belt out a loud “come on!” in front of an adoring crowd.

The players exchanged breaks over the next two games before Williams clinched the set with an ace. She remained in control the rest of the way, breaking Azarenka’s serve in the seventh and ninth game to take the match. Stosur booked a spot

in her second final of 2011 with a 6-2 5-7 6-2 win over Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska, who came into the match riding a nine-match win streak and having not dropped a set all week.

The 27-year-old Australian, who lost to Maria Sharapova in the Italian Open final in May, broke her opponent twice during a dominant first set before letting the 13th seed back in.

But Stosur, who has been improving with each match of the tournament, hit back the swift third set which she capped off in style with her seventh ace of the day.

Williams has a 3-2 edge in head-to-head meetings with Stosur, but the Australian won their last match in their quarterfinal at the 2010 French Open.—Reuters

Tsonga retires with sore forearm MONTREAL: World number one Novak Djokovic advanced to the final of the Montreal Masters when Frenchman Jo Wilfried Tsonga retired trailing 6-4 3-0 on Saturday, leaving the sensational Serb on the brink of a recordsmashing title.

Tsonga’s retirement with an injured forearm provided a shock ending to their mouth-watering Wimbledon semi-final rematch but the Frenchman’s surrender in the face of the Djokovic juggernaut seemed almost predictable.

Djokovic will now take on inform American Mardy Fish in late yesterday’s final and have the chance to become the first to capture five Masters series titles in a single season.

Tsonga said the injury had dogged him for three days and the pain had worsened in that time. “It was difficult for me to hit the ball well and hard. That’s why I took this decision.

“I don’t have the pretension to beat Novak without my arm.”

Tsonga came into the contest holding a 5-3 edge in head-tohead meetings and had been in superb form in Montreal, counting two-time champion Roger Federer among his scalps.

But few tennis players have enjoyed a more spectacular campaign than Djokovic, who extended his match record to a dazzling 52-1, a magical run that has so far produced eight titles, including Wimbledon and the Australian Open.

“He plays incredible tennis but he’s not an alien,” said Tsonga. “In fact, what he does is doing everything better than the others ... He doesn’t hit harder, he doesn’t hit the ball earlier. But he’s always there.

“He does not have the best return on the tour. “But on every return, he returns well, and he’s always there. So what does it is his consistency, and he has no

MONTREAL: Novak Djokovic of Serbia returns a shot to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France during the Rogers Cup semifinals at Uniprix Stadium.—AFP weaknesses.”

A Montreal crown would cap a perfect start to the Serb’s reign as the world’s top ranked player, making him the first since Pete Sampras in 1993 to win an ATP tournament on debut as number one.

“It doesn’t come by surprise, I have been playing this well throughout the whole season,” said Djokovic. “So I’m just trying to keep that up.

“I put a lot of hours on the court and off the court working hard ... So it’s not something that comes with the talent or something like that, it’s really hard work and dedication.”

The Wimbledon rematch got

off to a riveting start, the two men trading punches in an electrifying opening set that was decided when Djokovic finally broke the athletic Frenchman at 5-4, celebrating with a clenched fist pump and a mighty roar of satisfaction.

But much of the drama evaporated in the second set, as Djokovic immediately broke Tsonga on the way to a 3-0 lead.

Showing no sign of distress, Tsonga called for the trainers during the changeover and after a brief discussion picked up his bag and walked off court to a shower of boos.

Djokovic can expect plenty of fight from a feisty Fish, who earli-

er swept past Serb Janko Tipsarevic 6-3 6-4 to reach his third consecutive final.

Fish has tapped into a rich vein of form in the build-up to the U.S. Open, winning in Atlanta and reaching the Los Angeles final, and is brimming with confidence heading into the Flushing Meadows.

“I’ll have to play my absolute best and then some (to beat Djokovic),” said Fish. “If I play the way I played today, I’m certainly capable of beating a lot of players.

“This is a long ways into the tournament now and you can see the finish line. So there’s no holding back anymore.”—Reuters

Americans hold top five spots JOHNS CREEK: After failing to win any of the last six majors, the United States hold the top five spots heading into late yesterday’s final round of the PGA Championship with unheralded duo Brendan Steele and Jason Dufner sharing the lead at seven under par.

Steele, who had not played a hole on the PGA Tour before this year, is ranked 121st in the world but he fired a confident four-under 66 at Atlanta Athletic Club while, all around him, many of the sport’s elite struggled.

Steele has at least got a PGA Tour win under his belt, he was victorious in the Texas Open in April, which is more than the 34-year-old Dufner, who has played most of his golf on the second tier Nationwide Tour, can claim. Dufner carded a 68.

Britain’s Luke Donald and Lee Westwood, the top-ranked players in the world but neither yet to secure a major title, both looked well poised to mount challenges.

However, like so many this week, their prospects were hampered by misfortune on the tricky final four holes. Instead another American rookie, Keegan Bradley, was a stroke behind the leaders after showing intense concentration through his round of 69.

Veteran Americans, Scott Verplank and world number five Steve Stricker, carded matching 69s and were respectively two and three shots behind the pacesetting pair.

Europe’s closest challenger was Dane Anders Hansen, whose consistent week continued with an even-par 70 to follow his rounds of 68 and 69. Hansen is four strokes off the pace along with yet another unfancied American DA. Points (71).

If there is to be an unprecedented seventh consecutive non-American win in a major then the best bet looks to be Masters champion Charl Schwartzel of South Africa who achieved a rarity of a bogey-free round on the challenging

Highland course as he put himself in contention for Sunday with a 66.

Tied with Schwartzel, five strokes off the lead, were Swede Robert Karlsson (67) and Australians Adam Scott (70) and John Senden (72).

However, Saturday belonged to the Americans who seemed to be as surprised as everyone else to find themselves leading a major at the end of the third round.

“We’ll see how it is,” said Steele, looking ahead to Sunday, “My expectations are just to go play a solid round tomorrow and if it’s good enough, then great.

If not, then well ... this is my first major so hopefully the first of many.”

Dufner, who cuts a casual figure on the course with his lank hair and slight paunch, ended his round in impressive fashion-making a mockery of the difficult 15th and 16th where he made birdies and then showing exactly how to handle the difficult water-protected 18th green with a confident par.

That was in marked contrast to how the world’s top-ranked player Donald handled the latter stages of the Highland course.

Donald had moved within a stroke of the lead, getting to five under after 14 holes, but he bogeyed the 16th and then found water on the tricky last hole which he double-bogeyed to end the day with a 68. “It was a very disappointing finish but there was a lot of great golf out there too,” said the Englishman, who nonetheless remains in the frame for Sunday in pursuit of his first major title.

Westwood was solid, recording birdies at the fifth and 10th but he had to settle for an even-par 70 after a double bogey on the 14th after driving into a car park.

Also lurking in contention was American David Toms, winner in 2001 when the PGA Championship was last held here. The 44-year-old fired a bestof-the-day 65 to end the round five strokes off the pace.—Reuters

JOHNS CREEK: Jason Dufner tips his hat after finishing on the 18th hole during the third round of the PGA Championship golf tournament. —AP

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sports

Augsburg held by Kaiserslautern BERLIN: Newly-promoted Augsburg drew at Kaiserslautern in the German league yesterday to pick up their second draw of the season after Israel’s Itay Shechter grabbed a late equaliser for the hosts.

Augsburg raced into an early lead as striker Sascha Moelders scored his third goal in just two games after nine minutes, but Kaiserslautern shared the points when Shechter broke through the defence on 80 minutes to level. Later last season’s Bundesliga runners-up Bayer Leverkusen

have the chance to pick up their first league win of the new season when they host Werder Bremen.

On Saturday, defending champions Borussia Dortmund crashed to a 1-0 defeat at Hoffenheim while Wolfsburg’s coach Felix Magath demanded the introduction of video replays to correct referee blunders after his side lost to Bayern Munich.

Hoffenheim poached an early lead when Bosnia striker Sejad Salihovic curled in a free-kick after just nine minutes to stun

Dortmund. Having beaten Hamburg 3-1 last weekend, Dortmund showed none of the self-assurance which secured that victory despite Jurgen Klopp re-shuffling his attacking midfield with three second-half changes.

Having been shocked at home to Borussia Moenchengladbach last weekend, Bayern picked up their first win as Brazil midfielder Luiz Gustavo scored in the 91st minute at 2009 champions VfL Wolfsburg.

French play-maker Franck

Ribery provided the final pass and Gustavo drilled his shot into the top left-hand corner to break Wolves’ hearts.

Bayern were at near full strength, although Dutch winger Arjen Robben was missing because of a back and adductor problem.

Wolfsburg had the ball in the Munich net in the first half, thanks to a header from former Germany striker Patrick Helmes, but the effort was ruled offside, leading Magath to call for video referees.

“If four referees are not able to assess the situation properly, then it’s time for television referees,” fumed Magath after replays showed Helmes was not offside.

Schalke 04 bounced back from last Saturday’s defeat at VfB Stuttgart with an impressive 5-1 win at home to Cologne as Dutch striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar scored a hat-trick.

Hanover and Mainz both picked up their second wins of the season. Hanover-who host Sevilla in a Europa League playoff on Thursday - picked up a 2-1

win at Nuremberg, while Mainz enjoyed a 2-1 win at Freiburg to go top of the table on goal difference.

Hertha Berlin picked up a point in a 2-2 draw at Hamburg VfB Stuttgart and ten-man Borussia Moenchengladbach shared a point on Saturday evening. ‘Gladbach had defender Roel Brouwers sent off for a second yellow card while Belgium defender Filip Daems netted a second-half penalty for the hosts before Stuttgart’s Cacau equalised.—AFP

Zimbabwe crush Bangladesh HARARE: Rampant Zimbabwe defeated hapless Bangladesh by seven wickets yesterday to win the second one-day international with Brian Vitori taking five wickets and Vusi Sibanda and Tatenda Taibu both hitting half-centuries.

The win at Harare Sports Club gave Zimbabwe a 2-0 lead in the five-match series to follow victory in the one-off Test last week.

Bangladesh were bowled out for just 188 in 47.3 overs with Zimbabwe replying with 191-3 and 35 balls remaining. “The seamers came up trumps again, Vitori was outstanding,” said Zimbabwe captain Brendan Taylor.

“It made the batters’ job easier. We have won the first game in the past against Bangladesh and then lost the series, so the guys are hungry for more success. We used the morning conditions well and after that it flattened out.”

Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hassan admitted his team were at crisis point. “You can say that. In three games we have been outplayed. We all have to put our hands up, it is not only about me or someone else, it is about the team. We have to show the world we are good enough to compete,” he said. “We did not bat well, simple as that. The wicket was a good one, our top order is not getting runs, it is hard for the lower order to come in and score.”

Opening batsman Sibanda top-scored with 67 off 96 balls with seven fours-to follow his 96 in the first game-as he also passed the 2,000 runs mark in one-day internationals.

Former skipper Taibu was unbeaten on 61 off 74 balls having hit four boundaries and two sixes. Vitori starred with the ball after Zimbabwe won the toss and he took full advantage of the conditions, finishing with 5-20 to follow his 5-30 in the first match, the 21-year-old seamer’s debut.

Vitori removed Bangladesh openers Tamim Iqbal (three), playing in his 100th ODI, and Imrul Kayes (eight) before the tourists slumped to 58-6 in the 19th over.

Captain Shakib Al Hassan (26) and 19year-old debutant Nasir Hossain (63), who had never previously played a first class match, put on 53 for the seventh wicket.

But Vitori removed Shakib, Hossain and Abdur Razzak (35) to put his team firmly in the driving seat. “I just stuck to the team plans and tried to hit the good areas,” said Vitori. “Every wicket was a bonus for us. It was really just about tying them down, we

Scoreboard HARARE: Scoreboard from the second one-day international between Zimbabwe and Bangladesh at Harare Sports Club yesterday: Bangladesh I. Kayes c Masakadza b Vitori 8 T. Iqbal c Price b Vitori 3 M. Rahim c Ervine b Mpofu 12 M. Ashraful c Taibu b Chigumbura6 S. Nafeez c Taylor b Chigumbura 14 S. Al Hassan lbw b Vitori 26 Mahmadullah c Taibu b Utseya 3 N. Hossain c Masakadza b Vitori 63 A. Razzak b Vitori 35 S. Islam not out 3 R. Hossain run out (Chigumbura) 0 Extras (11lb, 4w) 15 Total (for all out, 47.3 overs) 188 Fall: 1-8 (Iqbal), 2-25 (Rahim), 3-26 (Kayes), 450 (Nafeez), 5-53 (Ashraful), 6-58 (Mahmudullah), 7-111 (Al Hassan), 8-196 (N. Hussain) 9-188 (R. Hossain) Bowling: Vitori 9.3-0-20-5 (1w); Mpofu 9-1-421; Chigumbura 10-0-35-2 (2w); Utseya 10-142-1 (1w); Price 9-0-38-0 Zimbabwe B. Taylor c Nafeez b S. Islam 3 V. Sibanda st. Rahim b Ashraful 67 H. Masakadza st Rahim b Mahmadullah38 T. Taibu not out 61 C. Ervine not out 8 Extras (2b, 2lb, 10w) 14 Total (for 3 wkts, 44.1 overs) 191 Fall: 1-4 (Taylor), 2-87 Masakadza), 3-146 (Sibanda).

Did not bat: Forster Mtizwa, Elton Chigumbura, Ray Price, Prosper Utseya, Chris Mpofu, Brian Vitori Bowling: S. Islam 9-3-32-1 (2w); R. Hossain 100-50-0 (3w), S. Al Hassan 8-1-31-0 (2w), A. Razzak 1-0-10-0 (1w), Mahmadullah 8-0-27-1 (2w), N. Hossain 2-0-11-0, Ashraful 6.1-0-26-1.

Result: Zimbabwe won by seven wickets

knew they would crack at some point.”

Zimbabwe lost opener Taylor for just three in the third over with the total on four before Sibanda and Hamilton Masakadza, who hit 38 off 51 balls, put on 83 for the second wicket.

Sibanda was out, stumped off Mohammad Ashraful, with the total on 146-3 in the 35th over having made his 15th ODI half-century before Taibu made amends for his first match duck with a bright 61 not out. It was his 19th ODI halfcentury and he, along with Craig Ervine, saw Zimbabwe home.—AFP

HARARE: Zimbabwean batsman, Hamilton Masakadza (right) looks back as he is stumped out by Bangladeshi wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim during a one-day series. —AP

COLOMBIA: Portugal players celebrate after goalkeeper Miko saved the decisive penalty kick against Argentina during a U-20 World Cup quarterfinal soccer match.—AP

Mexico and Portugal reach U-20 semifinals BOGOTA: Mexico remained in position to win its third major football tournament this year, beating Colombia 3-1 on Saturday night to advance to the semifinals of the Under-20 World Cup. Mexico’s senior team won the regional Gold Cup title in June, defeating the United States 4-2, and added the Under-17 World Cup title in July, beating Uruguay 2-0 in the final.

Next up for Mexico will be either Spain or Brazil, set to play their quarterfinal late yesterday. In Saturday’s other quarterfinal, Portugal ousted six-time champion Argentina 5-4 in a penalty shootout following a 0-0 stalemate through 90 minutes of regulation time and 30 minutes of extra time.

Portugal faces the winner of late yesterday’s match between Nigeria and France. Mexico’s Edson Rivera broke open a 1-1 match in the 69th minute with a header and then added a second goal in the 88th.

“There was a lot of celebrating when I went into the dressing room after the match,” Mexico coach Juan Carlos Chavez said.

“When I came in I turned off the music. Fortunately, we are in the semifinals but we are not champions. That is when it will be time to celebrate.”

The loss was a heartbreaker for the sellout crowd of 42,000 in Bogota, where Colombia had won its first four games. Bogota’s altitude of 2,600 meters (8,600 feet) may have bothered Colombia’s other opponents, but many Mexican players live at altitude in cities like Mexico City, which is 2,250 meters (7,400 feet).

“I feel a little sorry for the home fans,” Chavez added. “But we worked hard against a good team

and managed to win. Maybe there were 40,000 people here cheering for Colombia, but we have 120 million Mexicans supporting us at a distance.”

Mexico also defeated Colombia 2-1 in a warm-up tournament before this event. Mexico took an

BOGOTA: Colombia’s James Rodriguez (left) battles for the ball with Mexico’s Nestor Araujo, during a U-20 World Cup quarterfinal soccer match.—AP early 1-0 lead in the match when Erick Torres converted a penalty in the 38th. The spot kick came after Diego Reyes was pushed and fell in the area - a penalty that was not disputed by the Colombians.

Colombia equalized in the 60th, taking advantage of a mistake by Mexico keeper Jose Rodriguez.

Duvan Zapata let loose with a long-range shot that bounced once and passed between the legs of Rodriguez as he was dropping to his knees.

Rivera entered in the 36th minute as a substitute for Alan

Ponting powers Australia to easy win over Sri Lanka HAMBANTOTA: Ricky Ponting cracked an impressive 90 not out to steer Australia to an easy eight-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in the second one-day international yesterday.

Ponting hit one six and eight fours in his 106ball knock and skipper Michael Clarke made an unbeaten 58 as Australia surpassed Sri Lanka’s total of 208 with more than 11 overs to spare for a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.

The duo had also scored half-centuries in their team’s seven-wicket win in the previous match. Fast bowler Doug Bollinger led Australia’s disciplined attack with three wickets to restrict Sri Lanka to a modest total before Ponting and Clarke ensured victory with their 107-run stand.

Clarke, playing his 200th one-day international, hit two sixes and four boundaries in his 67ball knock. Ponting also added 94 for the second wicket with in-form opener Shane Watson (43) after the early dismissal of Brad Haddin.

Watson, who became the first batsman to complete 1,000 runs in one-dayers this year, was

bowled by paceman Lasith Malinga after hitting one six and four boundaries in his 51-ball knock.

Bollinger was earlier superbly backed by fast bowlers Mitchell Johnson and Brett Lee, who bagged two wickets apiece.

Former captain Kumar Sangakkara topscored for Sri Lanka with a patient 52, hitting just one six and one four in his 85-ball knock. He added 63 for the fifth wicket with Angelo Mathews (35). Lower-order batsman Nuwan Kulasekara helped Sri Lanka cross the 200-mark with a brisk 31-ball 34.

Sangakkara fell just when he looked like stepping up the run-rate, caught by Johnson at longon while attempting a big shot off spinner David Hussey in the 37th over.

Australia gained the upper hand when they reduced Sri Lanka to 77-4, with Lee, Johnson, Bollinger and left-arm spinner Xavier Doherty taking one wicket each.

Skipper Tillakaratne Dilshan (24), Mahela Jayawardene (17) and Upul Tharanga (13) all got starts, but none could play a big knock.—AFP

Pulido, who went out with an injury. “It was my turn to author two important goals,” Rivera said.

“I think we deserved this.”

Colombia outshot Mexico 21-9 in the match, but many of its shots were off-target - unlike Mexico’s.

Meanwhile, the quarterfinal loss

SRI LANKA: Australia’s captain Michael Clarke (right) and Ricky Ponting (left) run between the wickets during their second one-day international cricket match against Sri Lanka.—AP

was just more bad news for Argentina.

Argentina’s senior team was knocked out of the quarterfinals of the continental championship, the Copa America, at home in July, which led to the firing of coach Sergio Batista.

Argentina’s Under-20 coach Walter Perazzo acknowledged during the tournament that his team needed to reach the semifinals for him to keep his job.

After being locked 0-0 following extra time, Portugal won the shootout 5-4 when goalkeeper

Mika stopped the last attempt from Nicolas Tagliafico.

Portugal, which has not allowed a goal in five matches in the tournament, is going for its third U-20 title following wins in 1989 and 1991. “The victories are all different, but this has been the most satisfying,” Portugal coach Ilidio Vale said.

Argentina led the shootout 3-1 and needed only to convert one of its next two chances. Leandro Gonzalez Pirez drove his attempt into the crossbar and Alan Ruiz was then stopped by Mika with a diving save to his left. As the Argentines missed, Portugal converted its next two to level it at 3-3. Portugal’s Tiago Ferreira made it 4-3 and Argentina leveled at 4-4 when Agustin Vuletich converted.

Portugal’s Sergio Oliveira then made it 5-4, setting the stage for Mika to bat away Tagliafico’s attempt.

“It was a very close game - a lot of work and not many chances,” Argentina coach Walter Perazzo said. “At the end, they had the luck.”

Asked about his job security, Perazzo declined to answer directly. “After being eliminated, it is premature to speak about the future,” he said.—AP

Matches on TV (Local Timings) English Premier League

Man City v Swansea 22:00 Abu Dhabi Sports HD 3

Scoreboard HAMBANTOTA, Sri Lanka: Complete scoreboard of the second one-day international between Sri Lanka and Australia yesterday: Sri Lanka: U. Tharanga c Haddin b Johnson 13 T. Dilshan b Lee 24 K. Sangakkara c Johnson b D. Hussey 52 M. Jayawardene c M. Hussey b Doherty 17 D. Chandimal c Haddin b Bollinger 1 A. Mathews c M. Hussey b Bollinger 35 J. Mendis c Bollinger b Lee 5 N. Kulasekara c Clarke b Watson 34 L. Malinga c Ponting b Bollinger 0 R. Herath lbw b Johnson 9 A. Mendis not out 7 Extras (lb2, nb1, w8) 11 Total (for all out; 49.3 overs) 208 Fall of wickets: 1-37 (Dilshan), 2-41 (Tharanga), 3-74 (Jayawardene), 4-77 (Chandimal), 5-140 (Sangakkara), 6-151 (J. Mendis), 7-159 (A. Mathews), 8-173 (Malinga), 9-195 (Herath), 10-208 (Kulasekara).

Bowling: Lee 10-0-50-2 (w3), Bollinger 10-2-35-3 (w1), Watson 5.3-0-29-1, Johnson 9-1-34-2 (w1), Doherty 10-0-431 (nb1, w2), D. Hussey 5-0-15-1 (w1).

Australia: S. Watson b Malinga 43 B. Haddin c Sangakkara b Kulasekara 7 R. Ponting not out 90 M. Clarke not out 58 Extras (lb2, nb1, w10) 13 Total (for two wickets; 38.2 overs)211 Fall of wickets: 1-10 (Haddin), 2-104 (Watson).

Bowling: Malinga 8-0-45-1 (nb1, w9), Kulasekara 7-1-38-1, Mathews 3-0-18-0, Herath 8.2-0-57-0 (w1), A. Mendis 6-0-230, J. Mendis 3-0-12-0, Dilshan 3-0-16-0.

Result: Australia win by eight wickets

Mexico and Portugal reach U-20 semifinals

Serena crushes Azarenka

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Former players mourn India’s dethroned cricket kings Page 17 LONDON: Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney (center) takes on West Bromwich Albion’s Youssouf Mulumbu and Jonas Olsson (right) during a Premier League match at the Hawthorns. —AP

United begin title defence with win West Brom 1

Man United 2 BIRMINGHAM: David De Gea was spared the ignominy of ruining the start of Manchester United’s title defence as the champions snatched a late 2-1 victory against West Bromwich Albion yesterday.

Sir Alex Ferguson’s side were cruising after Wayne Rooney’s opener but debutant goalkeeper De Gea-an £18.3m summer signing from Atletico Madrid-gifted

Albion an equaliser at the Hawthorns when he let Shane Long’s weak shot trickle through his arms.

The 20-year-old Spaniard was criticised after his errors in last weekend’s Community Shield win over Manchester City, and those question marks will loom larger for De Gea after what was an awful mistake. However, Ashley Young-another United debutant-spared De Gea’s blushes in the 81st minute when he cut in from the left and whipped over a cross that Steven Reid deflected into his own net.

While title rivals Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool were all held to draws on the opening weekend, United once again demonstrated their winning mentality to grind out a victory in the nick of time.

However, there were injury concerns for Ferguson that slightly detracted from the result. Young Brazilian defender Rafael da Silva was already ruled out before the game for ten weeks with a dislocated shoulder. He will be joined on the casualty list as Nemanja Vidic limped off with what appeared to be a calf injury in the first half, while Rio Ferdinand was forced off 15 minutes from time.

When Rooney made the most of Young’s pass to shoot between Gabriel Tamas’ legs and beyond Ben Foster for the opener, it was the culmination of 13 minutes of relentless United pressure.

United’s travelling fans were ecstatic and they took great delight in waving a banner proclaiming: ‘Who needs Wesley.

We’ve got Cleverley’ to mark Tom Cleverley’s full debut and make their thoughts clear on Ferguson’s interest in Inter Milan’s Wesley Sneijder.

The sense of satisfaction would have been much deeper had Nani not carelessly lifted two opportunities over the crossbar from eight yards.

United’s wonderful approach work deserved far better from the Portuguese winger and those let-offs ensured Albion maintained an interest in a contest which could have been over inside the opening half-hour. De Gea’s high-profile error came in the 37th minute of a game the champions should already have put to bed.

Seconds earlier the Spanish international had punched away Paul Scharner’s pow-

Villas-Boas frustrated as Stoke hold Chelsea Stoke 0

Chelsea 0

LONDON: Andre Villas-Boas endured a frustrating introduction to the Premier League as Chelsea failed to secure an opening day victory for the first time in 12 seasons after being held to a 0-0 draw at Stoke yesterday.

Villas-Boas was taking charge of his first competitive match following his close -season move from Porto and the new Chelsea boss was denied victory by Stoke goalkeeper Asmir Begovic, who produced a string of excellent second half saves to keep the Blues at bay.

Chelsea were convinced they should have had a 55th minute penalty when Frank Lampard appeared to fall in the area after a challenge from Marc Wilson but a draw was a fair result in what was a predictably bruising battle at the Britannia Stadium.

Villas-Boas instantly made his mark by starting with Fernando Torres ahead of Didier Drogba but, although the Spain international showed flashes of inspiration, his side could not find a way past

Begovic and a Stoke defence marshalled superbly by new signing Jonathan Woodgate.

“I can’t be pleased with a point but it’s one of the most difficult grounds to play at. For our title challenge I would say one point at Stoke is not bad,” Villas-Boas said.

“It’s not the greatest start to the Premier League of course, but we are happy we raised the level of the game in the second half.

Unfor tunately for us the goal didn’t happen.”

While Stoke boss Tony Pulis is set to rack up his 800th game in management next week, VillasBoas is the fourth youngest manager in Premier League history.

The 33-year-old has made it patently clear that only a title triumph is acceptable this season and a visit to this unforgiving venue was always going to prove a good indication of what he can expect.

His team selection already suggested he is not afraid to make tough decisions and the inclusion of Torres, with Drogba and Nicolas Anelka starting on the bench, was proof that he will do things his way.

Early on Torres looked determined to repay the faith of his new manager, buzzing about with intent in the opening quarter of an hour before a crunching chal-

erful shot but a lapse in concentration saw him gift Albion an equaliser they did not merit. Chris Smalling allowed Long inside him in the area and while the Albion debutant’s shot was accurate, it clearly lacked sufficient power.

Yet De Gea dived over the effort, allowing the ball to find the far corner of the net. From that point on De Gea looked a nervous wreck under any high ball, but he was spared total embarrassment nine minutes from time when United had a slice of luck of their own.

Young prodded a cross into the sixyard box and Reid provided the crucial deflection to take the ball beyond Foster and into the net. Meanwhile, Rafael sustained the injury at United’s Carrington

training ground earlier this week and the Premier League champions confirmed the likely length of the Brazilian’s absence.

“Rafael will be out of action for around 10 weeks after dislocating his shoulder in training ahead of the trip to West Brom,” a United statement read.

“The Brazilian full-back suffered the painful injury at Carrington and will be out for some time with Chris Smalling taking on the right-back role at The Hawthorns.” As well as Smalling, who is usually a central defender, Rafael’s twin brother Fabio da Silva could also fill in at right-back, but the 21-year-old’s injury is still a blow for United manager Sir Alex Ferguson at the start of his team’s title defence.—AFP

Mancini looks to fresh blood to deliver title

LONDON: Chelsea’s Frank Lampard (centre) falls over Stoke’s Marc Wilson (left) but is not awarded a penalty by referee Mark Halsey during their English Premier League soccer match.—AP

lenge from Ryan Shawcross which earned a book ing knocked him out of his stride.

Chelsea had won their last nine opening games of the season and arrived in the Potteries with confidence high after a 100 percent record in pre-season.

Jose Bosingwa almost caught out Begovic with a cross-cum-shot at the near post, while Stoke eventually settled after a hesitant start to launch an aerial bombardment on their opponents.

To his credit, Petr Cech dealt admirably with Rory Delap’s long throws and John Terry kept the powerful Kenwyne Jones relatively quiet in an opening 45 minutes of few clearcut chances.

But the second period exploded into life when Chelsea were convinced they should have a penalty. Lampard was brought down in the area by Stoke defender Wilson but Halsey waved away their claims as the England midfielder appeared to go to ground before being touched.

Chelsea almost took the lead barely seconds later when John Obi Mikel’s spectacular dipping volley was turned over the bar by Begovic.

Begovic then performed heroics to deny Anelka and Salomon Kalou and the game petered out to a draw, with Villas-Boas contemplating a solid if not sensational start.—AFP

MANCHESTER: Roberto Mancini believes adding fresh faces to his Manchester City squad could be enough to clinch their first ever Premier League title.

Manchester City, who showed glimpses of their potential by winning the FA Cup and finishing in third place last season, have been tipped to mount another serious challenge to rivals Manchester United’s league crown.

The Manchester City manager has already signed the likes of Argentine striker Sergio Aguero this summer with the promise of further new big-name arrivals, including Arsenal’s Samir Nasri, to bolster his attacking armoury. The mega-rich club begin their season against newly-promoted Swansea at the Etihad Stadium on Monday, and Mancini said that title talk should wait will he had completed the squad for this season.

“We can talk about this (a title challenge) when we buy all the players that we need and complete our squad,” he said.

“At the moment it’s not complete. I am sure that if we complete our squad - this is a problem at the moment two days before the start of the season - that we can fight for the title. “It doesn’t matter whether you’re the richest club or not because the market is difficult. “But I think it was important to have players we want for the start of the season. At the moment we don’t have these players that I ask for. “I hope that we can have them this week. It was the same last year. The first few games - we lost against Sunderland and drew against Tottenham. “After that we had two or three players, but it is important to have all the players before.”

While Manchester City have untold millions, they will be facing a Welsh side with

one of the smallest budgets in the league.

Yet Mancini believes that will count for nothing and anticipates a tough evening against a side motivated to impress after 28 years outside the top-flight.

“When you start the season and play a team that has come from the Championship it is really difficult,” he said. “Last season West Brom, and all the teams that came up from the Championship, were hard games to play against. “This will be really difficult because it’s the first game. When you start the season, the first 10 games are really difficult because maybe the squad is not really 100 per cent.

“The squad needs another four or five games to find good form and I have watched many Swansea games. They play good football. They don’t play long ball and they have good players and a good manager.”

Wantaway Argentina striker Carlos Tevez, who has only returned to training with his future still uncertain, will not be pushed into the fray. Swansea manager Brendan Rodgers admits it will take a miracle for the Welsh club to survive in the Premier League.

The Swansea manager has conceded he would happily take 17th position - one place above the relegation places - at the end of the club’s first season among the elite.

Rodgers is under no illusions about the size of the task ahead for the season, beginning with the baptism of fire against Manchester City. “The miracle would be to stay in this league,” said Rodgers. “It’s a massive challenge.

“They (Manchester City) are a club that are moving forward very quickly. “We are competing against a side with trillions, not millions or billions, but trillions. —AFP

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Porsche Centre Kuwait wins ME Marketing Award Page 22 MONDAY, AUGUST 15, 2011

Tough economic times hit Indian real estate firms

GCC equity loss intensifies on US rating Page 26

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FRANKFURT: The hall of the German stock market is seen. — AP

Economic leadership at crux of turmoil Global markets in a ‘new danger zone’: World Bank SYDNEY: World Bank chief Robert Zoellick said yesterday that investors had lost confidence in the economic leadership of several key countries, warning global markets were in a “new danger zone” as a result. Zoellick said a convergence of events in the United States and Europe had rattled investors in countries already struggling to cap sovereign debt issues and unemployment. “And what we’ve seen is that confidence is a fragile element of how the market economy works,” the World Bank Group president told an Asia Society dinner in Sydney. “And

I think that those events combined with some of the other fragilities... have pushed us into a new danger zone. And I don’t say those words lightly.” Zoellick said he was making the point, not so people would run out of the room to call their brokers, but so that policy makers would take it seriously. He said the United States had contributed to the drop in confidence in the markets following the bitter debate in Congress to ensure that the country did not end up with a disastrous debt default. “It’s not that the United States faces an imminent

problem,” he said. “Frankly, markets are used to the United States playing a leading role in the economic system and leadership and so when they saw the ‘Sturm und Drang’ in Congress and with the executive, it made them uncertain about, well does the United States really know where it’s going?

And is it going to get there?”

The problems were more serious in the eurozone, he said, where the processes for dealing with sovereign debt and some competitiveness shortfalls had lagged. “We’re kind of moving from drama to trauma for a

lot of the Eurozone countries,” he said.

Financial markets have suffered dizzying swings in recent days and weeks on mounting concern that the eurozone debt crisis and weak US economy could help see the world fall back into recession.

But Zoellick said how much impact the rollercoaster ride will have more broadly depended on how much the loss of confidence spread. “What I’ve described so far is market confidence but the real issue here is whether the market confidence goes to business confidence and consumer confidence

and those are some of the issues that we don’t know yet,” he said. Zoellick, who heads to Australia’s political capital Canberra today, said the global financial landscape was rapidly changing, adding that prior to the recent turbulence, he had concerns about overheating in some developing economies.

While he refused to pinpoint which other countries could suffer due to the market volatility, he noted that the developing world remained a source of growth. He said the pace of change in the previous decade had

gold sales rise on eBay SAN FRANCISCO: For gold sellers on eBay, the recent stock market turmoil has been a boon for business. Gold and silver sales on eBay had already been rising steadily over the past several years - so much so that eBay Inc created a special area in May to make it easier for buyers to find sellers. Now, activity on that part of the site, the Bullion Center, is intensifying as consumers unnerved by the economic uncertainty flock to gold in hopes it will be a stable investment. “When people are coming down to the question, ‘Do they want to have cash in the bank or gold in their hands?’ the answer is they’d rather have gold or silver,” said Jacob Chandler, CEO of Great Southern Coins, the largest seller of precious metals on eBay. The stock market just ended one of its most volatile weeks in years, prompted in part by a downgrade in the nation’s credit rating and fears of another recession. The Dow Jones industrial average fell nearly 6 percent on Monday, its worst one-day drop since December 2008. Then the index rose Tuesday, fell Wednesday and rose Thursday and Friday to end the week 2 percent lower than a week ago.

Through most of last week, the average selling price increased for gold bullion - bars or coins stamped with their weight and

level of purity. According to the most recent data available from eBay, sales of 1-ounce gold American Eagle coins and 1ounce gold Pamp Suisse bars rose steadily from Aug 5 to Wednesday, before dipping slightly on Thursday. On Aug 5, when Standard & Poor’s lowered the nation’s credit rating, American Eagle coins were selling for an average of $1,800 among eBay’s featured sellers.

The average price of the coins, produced by the US Mint, rose more than 8 percent to $1,952 on Wednesday, before dropping to $1,915 on Thursday.

The Pamp Suisse brand of gold bars sold for an average of $1,787 on Aug 5 and climbed nearly 8 percent to $1,927 by Wednesday. On Thursday, the bars dropped slightly to $1,890.

Even before last week’s market turbulence, investors were cautious because economic signals in the US and overseas pointed toward trouble. The Dow index fell 6 percent in the week ending Aug 6. That week, the number of gold buyers on eBay rose 11 percent compared with the year’s weekly average. The number of gold sellers rose 14 percent. EBay would not provide the total number of buyers and sellers. “With all the turmoil in the markets, this is seen as a way to diversify,” said Anthony Delvecchio, eBay’s vice

been enormous, as he pointed to the potential for the Chinese yuan to become a reserve currency in the future. “The reality is that the dollar, for many reasons, will remain the principle reserve currency,” he told the gathering which included political and business figures. “But I think that we are likely to move to a system where there will be multiple reserve currencies. “Over time I believe the renminbi could be part of this but, obviously, China has to move towards an open capital account,” he said. — AFP

Gulf markets all open positive, except Saudi

HONG KONG: Gold jewelry is displayed in a gold shop. The price of gold topped $1,800 an ounce for the first time, as concern about Europe’s debt problems intensified and some investors view gold as a safer bet. — AP president of business management and strategy for eBay ’s North America business. EBay, which is based in San Jose, California, does not impose minimum purchase amounts for bullion. Sellers offer gold both through auctions and “Buy It Now” fixed-price sales. The increased popularity of gold on eBay echoes what’s happening in the broader gold market, where prices have spiked during the past two years. Gold traded at about $900 per ounce in the

summer of 2008, before the financial crisis unfolded that year.

It passed $1,600 in late May and briefly rose above $1,800 for the first time on Wednesday before pulling back to $1,784. On Friday, gold fell to $1,740.60 per ounce, still nearly twice the summer 2008 prices. Great Southern Coins has benefited from this uptick. Chandler said the company is selling more gold lately, and its silver sales remain strong, too.

Chandler estimated his business has nearly quadrupled in the

past 45 days, and he said it appeared to be up about five or six times during the past week, with most of this growth coming from sales on eBay. Daniel Hirsch, a New York-based statistician who recently purchased more than a dozen gold coins on eBay from Great Southern Coins, said he started buying gold less than a year ago in an effort to expand his investment portfolio. “It’s kind of a safe haven and a hedge against low interest rates,” he said. —AP

DUBAI: Stock markets in the Gulf, except Saudi Arabia, opened up yesterday after a volatile week trailing the behavior of global markets hit by uncertainty over European and US economic woes. The Dubai Financial Market index continued its rise yesterday after returning to the green in the latter part of last week. The DFM index rose 1.00 percent up to 1,478.62 points in later morning trading before reducing profits to 0.77 percent up just after midday. It had closed 0.21 percent up on Thursday. The leading shares of Emaar Properties jumped 2.17 percent. In neighboring Abu Dhabi, the general index was up 0.57 percent at 2,603.48 points, with real estate shares up 2.21 percent and banks 0.69 percent.

The market of the capital of the United Arab Emirates had ended last week’s tradings in the red, slipping 0.57 percent down on Thursday. Qatar Exchange also climbed to the green yesterday, edging 0.64 percent up in late morning trading before slowing pace to 0.10 percent. It had dropped 0.25 percent on Thursday. Muscat Securities Exchange of Oman also recovered yesterday, rising 0.88 per cent percent to 5,474.040 points after being in the red for all of last week.

The Saudi market, which is the largest Arab bourse, opened its trading week on Saturday with a surge of 1.93 percent to 6,155.88 points. The market opened down yesterday, trading 0.13 percent lower at 6,147.82 points. The petrochemical sector which was up on Saturday slipped 0.2 percent into the red, while banks were 0.11 percent down. The Kuwait exchange opened 0.05 percent up at 5,853.6 points, but slipped later 0.1 percent. Global markets had recovered on Friday ending a turbulent week as panic and profit-taking sales kept markets on a rollercoaster.

New York’s Dow Jones Industrial Average on Friday closed up 125.71 points (1.13 percent) to 11,269.02. The broader S&P 500 was up 6.17 points (0.53 percent) at 1,178.81, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 15.30 points (0.61 percent) to 2,507.98. European markets also rallied on Friday with London’s FTSE 100 index climbing 3.04 percent to 5,320.03 points, Frankfurt’s DAX climbing 3.45 percent to 5,997.74 points and the CAC 40 in Paris rising 4.02 percent to 3,213.88 points. — AFP

22

MONDAY, AUGUST 15, 2011

business

Dubai to hold power, water tariffs steady Rising demands increase natural gas purchase DUBAI: Dubai will not raise water and electricity tariffs in the next few years, the emirate’s top energy council said yesterday. The UAE, which has seven percent of the world’s known oil reserves, is one of the highest per capita consumers of water and electricity in the world.

“There will be no increase in the tariff of electricity and water consumption during the few coming years in Dubai,” Nejib Al-Zaafrani, secretary general and chief executive of Dubai’s Supreme Council of Energy (SCE) said in a statement. He did not specify the number of years.

KUWAIT: Brian Shegar MD Emirates NBD Singapore receives the CMO Asia Award on behalf of Emirates.

in the Middle East and beyond.

“This award is of particular significance, since we have been recognized from amongst well-established brands across the Middle East, Asia and the Asia Pacific region. It is also a fitting tribute to our international expansion strategy that seeks to replicate our UAE-based success across reputed financial centers like London and Singapore,” he added.

Brian Shegar, General Manager and Head - Asia Pacific, Emirates NBD, received the award on behalf of the Bank. Among the other winners were iconic global brands such as Coca Cola, adidas, P&G, Singapore Airlines, Starbucks and Google. “It is gratifying to know that despite being a very young brand, Emirates NBD has won recognition against international competition, and is being seen on par with globally established brands,” said Vikram Krishna, Head of Group Marketing, Emirates NBD. “This accolade shows that our approach to provide an enriched banking experience to our customers has been very well received in the market.”

Headquartered in Dubai, Emirates NBD is the largest financial services provider in the UAE. It is fast expanding its presence in regional and international markets with dedicated offices in Saudi Arabia, London and Singapore.

Al-Tijari announces winners KUWAIT: Commercial Bank of Kuwait held the Al-Najma Account draw yesterday.

The draw was held under the supervision of the Ministry of Commerce & Industry represented by Abdulaziz Ashkanani. The winners of the Al-Najma Daily Draw who got KD7,000 are: Sohail Bhola; Haidar Ismail Ali Al-Jazzaf; Bedour Nahar Mutlaq Al Mutairi; Mohammed Nadeem Mohammed Haneef; and Fawaz Noori Al-Khalaf Al-Abdullah.

The Commercial Bank of Kuwait announces the biggest daily draw in Kuwait with the launch of the new Najma account. Customers of the bank can now enjoy a KD7,000 daily prize which is the highest in the country and another 4 mega prizes during the year

worth KD 00,000 each on different occasions: The National Day, Eid Al-Fitr, Eid Al-Adha and on the 19th of June which is the date of the bank’s establishment.

With a minimum balance of KD500, customers will be eligible for the daily draw provided that the money is in the account one week prior to the daily draw or 2 months prior to the mega draw. In addition, for each KD25 a customer can get one chance for winning instead of KD50.

Commercial Bank of Kuwait takes this opportunity to congratulate all lucky winners and also extends appreciation to the Ministr y of Commerce and Industry for their effective supervision of the draws which were conducted in an orderly and organized manner.

percent in 2010, which was the lowest annual level since the Gulf war started in 1990.

Rising demand for electricity in Dubai, where soaring summer temperatures drive up air conditioning use, has forced the energy-hungry emirate to buy more natural gas on an increasingly tight global market to feed its power stations. Gas prices have risen markedly in 2011 partly on increased demand from leading importer Japan after the closure of many of its nuclear plants in the wake of the March earthquake and tsunami. — Reuters

Porsche Centre Kuwait wins Porsche ME marketing Award

Emirates NBD named Asia’s Best Brand at 2011 CMO Asia Awards KUWAIT: Emirates NBD, a leading bank in the Middle East announced yesterday that it had won the award for ‘Asia’s Best Brand,’ at the recently concluded 2nd CMO Asia Awards for Excellence in Branding and Marketing, which received entries from 25 countries in the Middle East, Asia and Asia-Pacific. Emirates NBD was the only bank from the UAE to win an award at the event, and was also recognized as the “Best Employer Brand.”

‘Asia’s Best Brand,’ award is conferred on manufacturers and companies of outstanding consumer products and focuses on the company brands and trademarks. Emirates NBD was awarded the title based on the mind, market and commitment share of the brand among consumers in the specific product category. This accolade was achieved based on the brand’s strength in consumers’ minds, the brand’s ability to encourage buying behavior, as well as actual buying behavior.

“Emirates NBD is proud to be honored with the title of ‘Asia’s Best Brand’,” said Jamal Bin Ghalaita, Group Deputy CEO, Emirates NBD. “In the short space of two years since the new Emirates NBD brand was launched, the bank has gone from strength to strength, to establish itself as one of the most recognized names in the financial services industry

The government of Dubai owns utility Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, and the SCE is responsible for ensuring energy supplies in the emirate where increasing demand for cooling and are major drivers for rapidly rising electricity use. Living costs in the trade and business hub of Dubai grew 0.8 percent on an annual basis in June, the biggest rise in two months. Prices of housing, water and electricity, the biggest Dubai basket component, dipped 0.2 percent. Analysts polled by Reuters in June expected UAE inflation to accelerate to 2.5 percent this year from 0.9

KUWAIT: Porsche Centre Kuwait was awarded with the prestigious Marketing Award at the annual Porsche Middle East and Africa Marketing Conference held in Dubai last month. Graeme Hunter, General Manager of Behbehani Motors Company and Darren Abel, Brand Manager of Porsche Centre Kuwait, who attended the conference proudly, accepted this honourable accolade. The award acknowledges the centre’s creative marketing strategies which continue to generate growth and positive results for Porsche Centre Kuwait.

Several factors are taken into consideration when choosing the recipient of this reward. Continuous marketing excellence coupled with regular initiatives, innovative ideas and unique campaign developments and implementation all contributed to Porsche Centre Kuwait’s success. The centre and its team of dedicated professionals all played a role in achieving consistent performance in all areas, while continuing to raise the bar of excellence. Porsche Centre Kuwait provides its customers with high standards of customer care, both sales and after sales, quick service facilities and is compliant with international Porsche standards.

The Porsche Middle East Marketing Award is an acknowledgement of all the hard work, creativity, and fresh marketing plans designed to produce continued sales growth and innovative new campaigns to further enhance the Porsche experience for its entire client base.

DUBAI: Graeme Hunter, General Manager of Behbehani Motors Company and Darren Abel, Brand Manager of Porsche Centre Kuwait accept the award.

Jet Airways announces flexible premiere passes MUMBAI: Jet Airways, India’s premier international airline, yesterday announced the extension of its highly popular domestic one fare pass for international travel for its Premiere guests, at no extra cost. This offer now becomes available on Jet Airways’ network covering the Gulf, ASEAN, and SAARC regions.

Premiere one fare pass holders now have greater flexibility to travel not only domestic India sectors but also select International sectors without any additional cost whatsoever within the validity of the pass. The one fare pass is valid for six months and an extension is available at extra cost. Each Premiere Class one fare pass booklet contains four coupons with a total value of INR 81,088 all inclusive with all taxes. One Fare pass booklets can be purchased by individuals and organizations alike.

Sudheer Raghavan, Chief Commercial Officer, Jet Airways, said: “At Jet Airways, it has been our constant endeavour to create customer centric benchmarks through innova-

tion. The flexibility of international travel on our Premiere Class One Fare pass coupons is another example of the same. Guests will now be able to travel seamlessly on the One Fare pass to the SAARC, ASEAN and Gulf sectors, giving them a break from their regular routine of work related travel. In addition to which the coupons are also fully transferable to friends and family, which will allow them the additional freedom to manage their individual travel needs. We look forward to welcoming our One Fare coupon guests onboard on our domestic and international network.”

One fare pass coupon holders can now avail of destinations in the Far East like Bangkok, with eight flight connections from Mumbai, New Delhi and Kolkata or to Kuala Lumpur and Singapore from Chennai. On the Middle Eastern sectors, guests can avail of 22 flights options from Mumbai to Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Riyadh, Jeddah, Bahrain, Dammam, Kuwait, Muscat and Doha.

Similarly, guests from New Delhi have six

flight options to Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Doha, while from Kochi guests will able to connect through to Muscat, Sharjah and Doha too.

Thiruvananathapuram too will afford one fare pass holders access to destinations like Muscat and Dammam, while Dubai will also be accessible on the one fare pass to guests in Hyderabad and Chennai now.

Guests from Mumbai, New Delhi and Kolkata can avail of any of the six flights available to Dhaka, Bangladesh. Similarly, guests travelling to Kathmandu can also avail of the eight connections to and from Mumbai and New Delhi. Now, Travel to Colombo will also be easier with eight flights available from Mumbai, New Delhi and Chennai.

This offer is not valid on flights between Delhi/Mumbai and Singapore as also on flights from/to Delhi/Mumbai and Hong Kong.

The code share flights (flights not operated by Jet Airways) and the airline’s flights between India and Europe/South Africa/North America are also exempted from this offer.

EXCHANGE RATES Commercial Bank of Kuwait US Dollar/KD GB Pound/KD Euro Swiss francs Canadian Dollar Australian DLR Indian rupees Sri Lanka Rupee UAE dirhams Bahraini dinars Jordanian dinar Saudi riyals Omani riyals Philippine peso Egyptian pounds

.2700000 .4400000 .3850000 .3470000 .2730000 .2790000 .0040000 .0020000 .0738600 .7195940 .3810000 .0700000 .7054290 .0040000 .0430000 CUSTOMER TRANSFER RATES .2720500 .4428290 .3876850 .3495440 .2756190 .0519810 .0417010 .2817080 .0349120 .2244080 .0035470 .0000000 .0000000 .0000000 .0000000 .0740980 .7219050 .0000000 .0725660 .7068990 .0000000

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

.2760000 .4590000 .3960000 .3600000 .2880000 .2930000 .0072500 .0035000 .0746020 .7268260 .4010000 .0770000 .7125190 .0072000 .0530000 .2741500 .4462480 .3906770 .3522420 .2777470 .0523830 .0420220 .2838820 .0351810 .2261400 .0035750 .0060920 .0025080 .0031770 .0036850 .0746700 .7274780 .3877650 .0731260 .7123550 .0064810

Al-Muzaini Exchange Co. ASIAN COUNTRIES Japanese Yen Indian Rupees Pakistani Rupees Srilankan Rupees Nepali Rupees Singapore Dollar Hongkong Dollar Bangladesh Taka

3.637 6.018 3.151 2.490 3.775 225.990 35.103 3.651

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

6.411 9.139 0.271 0.273 GCC COUNTRIES

Saudi Riyal Qatari Riyal Omani Riyal Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham

72.949 75.165 710.540 726.580 74.489 ARAB COUNTRIES

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

47.500 45.853 1.252 199.790 386.310 1.835 5.906 34.968

EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIES US Dollar Transfer 273.450 Euro 393.770 Sterling Pound 449.280 Canadian dollar 281.360 Turkish lire 154.000 Swiss Franc 358.530 Australian dollar 283.130 US Dollar Buying 272.250

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

0.033 0.241 0.238 3.660 388.170 0.185 92.920 47.200 4.210 231.000 1.853 51.000 709.900 3.260 6.590 75.610 72.970 226.910 40.650 2.629 448.600 43.200 355.900 5.600 9.480 198.263 74.520 273.700 1.220

10 Tola

GOLD 1,782.400

0.033

386.290 0.184 92.920 3.780 229.500

322.000 165.000 85.000

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

SELL CASH 286.500 726.880 3.860 279.400 536.900 36.400 53.300 167.800 47.940 393.600 35.750 6.290

SELL DRAFT 285.000 726.880 3.654 277.900

226.900 45.899 392.100 35.600 6.020

Sterling Pound US Dollar

354.400 5.600 9.340 74.420 273.300

TRAVELLER’S CHEQUE 446.600 273.300

Currency

Rate per 1000 (Tran)

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

273.250 3.165 6.030 2.495 3.660 6.455 74.485 73.055 726.300 45.850 450.100 0.00003280 3.910 1.550 388.200 5.750 395.000 282.500

Al Mulla Exchange

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

6.055 3.166 3.655 6.424 670.004 3.573 9.225 5.743 3.937

Kuwait Bahrain Intl Exchange Co. 709.720 3.170 6.425 75.180 72.970 226.910 40.650 2.488 446.600

GOLD 20 Gram 10 Gram 5 Gram

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

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

Currency US Dollar Euro Pound Sterling Canadian Dollar Japanese Yen Indian Rupee Egyptian Pound Sri Lankan Rupee Bangladesh Taka Philippines Peso Pakistan Rupee Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham Saudi Riyal

Transfer Rate (Per 1000) 272.850 391.900 446.400 277.700 3.585 6.015 45.840 2.487 3.655 6.418 3.172 726.750 74.375 72.875 *Rates are subject to change

A

y

e niv rsar n

Years

MONDAY, AUGUST 15, 2011

business

UAE tourist Visa card spending up 20% in 2010 DUBAI: Travelers to the United Arab Emirates spent 20.3 percent more with their Visa cards in 2010 compared with the previous year, as tourism recovered from the impact of the global financial crisis, a company executive said yesterday. Kamran Siddiqi, general manager for Visa Middle East, said company data showed international travellers spent $3.1 billion in the UAE, at $298 billion the second largest Arab economy. “Significant infrastructure developments throughout the UAE have contributed towards this turnaround, and the UAE is forecast to experience some of the world’s strongest inbound tourism growth over the next five years,” he told Reuters.

Siddiqi declined to provide a forecast for this year. He said Visa cardholders from Britain, the United States and Russia continued to be the largest spenders in the OPEC member in 2010. The UAE tourism industry and consumer spending was hard hit in the global financial turmoil, which triggered Dubai’s debt crisis in late 2009. Private expenditure accounted for around 59 percent of the UAE economy last year, the National Bureau of Statistics data showed. Passenger traffic at Dubai International Airport-the world’s fourth busiest airport-rose 15 percent in 2010 as the global economy recovered. It was up 8.9 percent in the first half of 2011 despite high fuel costs and increased economic uncertainty in Europe and the United States.

Hotels in the UAE trade and tourism hub Dubai, known for the world’s tallest tower, reported a modest occupancy increase of 0.7 percent to 69.9 percent in May from the previous year. Siddiqi said the UAE had also seen a sharp spending rise from emerging market cardholders such as those from China. “In 2010, Chinese travelers spent 155.3 percent more in the UAE than they did in 2009.

Luxury retailers noted the rise in Chinese visitors that began in 2010 shows no signs of abating as an increasing number of Chinese tourists are looking for high-end luxury goods,” he said.

The UAE, the world’s No. 3 oil exporter, has been spared the political turmoil affecting nearby Bahrain, Oman and Yemen, drawing visitors to attractions such as the luxury Burj Al Arab hotel and an indoor ski slope. Visa, which processes credit card payments in more than 200 countries, registered 14 percent growth in payment processing worldwide last year. Volumes jumped 19.5 percent in the Gulf compared with 2009, it said in April.

International tourist arrivals to the UAE are expected to grow by 7 percent to 13 million trips by 2015, Euromonitor International figures show. Analysts polled by Reuters in June expect the UAE economy to expand by 3.7 percent in 2011. — Reuters

Volatility hits global markets NBK WEEKLY MONEY MARKET REPORT Extreme volatility dominated the FX markets, at the start of the week after the downgrade of the United States.

Moreover, the negative sentiment in the Eurozone remains on the list of dangers that could hamper the global economies; worries of a French downgrade emerged, while bond yields of Spain and Italy surged to record highs before paring back to below the critical level of 6 percent. In parallel, equity markets remained very nervous, with volatility peaking at 48 percent on Monday. To contain the fears of equity selloff, some European countries temporarily banned naked short selling. The dollar index seesawed during the week to close on Friday at 74.56, very close to the week’s opening level. The euro reached a week high of 1.4432 on Monday, before plummeting back to a low of 1.4104 on Thursday after volatile sessions. The euro closed the week at 1.4248. The sterling pound opened to reach a high of 1.6478, then dropped progressively to a low of 1.6111 before recuperating some of its losses and closing the week at 1.6279. The Australian dollar fell again below parity with the dollar; the Aussie opened the week at a high of 1.0447 then plunged on Tuesday to a low of 0.9928. The yen gained more than 2 percent during the week; it opened after the US downgrade at a week high at 78.47; the yen later strengthened during the week and closed at 76.42 on Friday. One of the biggest movers this week was the Swiss franc. Reaching all time record highs against the US Dollar, the Franc touched 0.7071, increasing speculations of a Swiss National Bank intervention. The Swiss Franc started to weaken on Wednesday after rumors of a Swiss franc peg to the euro. The news had a significant effect on the safe-haven currency, boosting the USDCHF exchange from its low to a week high of 0.7778 on Friday. Moreover, the CHF witnessed a high volatility against the euro. The Euro/Swiss pair reached a low of 1.0075 on Tuesday, before shooting up by more than 10 percent and closing the week at 1.1085. The EURCHF volatility reached a high of 21 percent last week, far above its long-time average of 11 percent.

Fed keeps key rate at record low until 2013 The Federal Reserve pledged to keep its benchmark interest rate at a record low through mid 2013, in order to stimulate the slow recovery. It is the first time that the Fed sets a specific date for any further changes on the interest rates. The rate is currently at 0.25 percent. The Federal Open Market Committee also stated that it is prepared to employ additional tools to boost the weak economy.

Trade deficit widens The United States trade deficit unexpectedly increased last June to the highest level since October 2008 as exports declined at a faster rate than imports.

The deficit gap widened at a rate of 4.4 percent to $53.1 billion, exceeding market consensus of a $48 billion deficit.

Exports have dropped the most since January 2009.

years. It’s also the birthplace of the Open. The first British Golf Open Championship was held there in 1860.

The Prestwick facility has an aviation history as rich as the lush, rolling pastures hugging the sea nearby.

The site began in 1936 with the opening of the Scottish Aviation Elementary Flying Training School.

The original building still exists. As Scottish Aviation, it once produced entire airplanes - Bulldog trainers and Jetstream commuters. Later, it became a division of BAE Systems and Spirit’s first acquisition. One of Spirit Europe’s biggest undertakings has been cutting costs and driving efficiency. It’s incorporating a Spirit initiative called Spirit Exact in which parts and assemblies are highly engineered and easier to assemble. Cost-cutting also came through a variety of other measures. It moved some composite assembly work to Spirit’s site in Malaysia and some metallic assembly work to India, which also gives Spirit a major presence there, McManus said.

It also helps Airbus get single-aisle planes into India. Prestwick also added robot technology. One robot is at work riveting A320 assemblies, picking up rivets in a bin and riveting sections behind a fenced area in a larger facility. A second robot is being set up to take on A350 work.

The robot is a larger version of a similar robot at Spirit’s Tulsa, Okla., plant. Tulsa employees came to Prestwick to help with installation and training. The robots take the role of more than 50 mechanics, McManus said, although he said jobs haven’t been cut because of them.

The savings are paying off. On average, what the site charges cus-

PRESTWICK: Spirit AeroSystems’ plant in Prestwick, Scotland, has seen some big changes. — MCT

Europe

Retail sales climb Retail sales in the US climbed in July to the highest level in four months, indicating that consumers are spending more despite a weak labor market. Retail sales gained 0.5 percent in July, after increasing at a revised rate of 0.3 percent in the previous month. The increase is attributed to higher sales for electronic stores, furniture retailers, auto dealers and service stations, with autos being the leader with a 0.4 percent increase.

European crisis worries turn to France The downgrade of the United States

by Standard & Poor’s has taken its toll on the global markets. European banks shares tumbled to the lowest levels since March 2009, with Euro Stoxx dropping 6 percent at the beginning of the week.

The French economy unexpectedly stagnated in the second quarter as consumer spending plunged. Concerns about the debt and slow growth have caused credit-default swaps on France’s government debt to approach record highs above 170bps.

Speculation about the worsening debt crisis sparked talks of a credit downgrade, leading President Sarkozy to ask his advisors to come out with new plans to tackle the national debt, currently at 83 percent of GDP. S&P and Moody’s later reaffirmed the AAA rating of France as they concluded that France is showing more seriousness to lower its debt and sounder balance sheet management. On the peripheral side, Italy and Spain saw their yields decrease from above 6 percent to 5 percent, as the European Central Bank purchased an undisclosed amount of the countries’ debt in the secondary market.

Consumer sentiment plummets The University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment index plunged to 54.9, the lowest level in more than three decades, exceeding an already low estimate of 63.2. The drop in sentiment contradicts

Industrial production falls As governments struggle to contain the debt crisis, European industrial production fell in June by 0.7 percent, led by a drop in capital goods, indicating that the economy is losing momentum. On a

Jobless claims unexpectedly dropped First-time jobless claims fell last week to a four-month low. Applications for jobless benefits dropped to 395,000, beating economists’ expectations by 7,000. The existing number of people on unemployment benefits also dropped.

Nonetheless, unemployment remains sticky above 9 percent as the growth in hiring to support the lower firing remains subdued.

Spirit AeroSystems welcomes new technology to Old World PRESTWICK: Spirit AeroSystems’ plant in the coastal town of Prestwick is much different today than it was when Spirit acquired it in 2006. Since then, Spirit has made significant investments in technology, won new work and increased the plant’s expertise. “There’s been a radical change at the site in the last two years,” said Scott McLarty, Spirit Europe operations and human relations director.

One of the biggest has been a change to automation. “Prior to Spirit, we were very much semi-automatic guys with big drills,” said Spirit Europe vice president and managing director Neil McManus.

Before the sale, it was clear that the facility wasn’t part of the core business of its owner, BAE Systems. “We needed a technology partner, and we also wanted somebody who wanted us,” McManus said. For Spirit, the acquisition gave it both a European base and a new customer - Airbus, said Spirit CEO Jeff Turner. That relationship and Spirit’s knowledge of Airbus has brought Spirit new work, including the Airbus A350 program.

Seventy-five percent of Prestwick’s work is for Airbus. Eighty percent of the Airbus work is for the A320 family of single-aisle jetliners. It also performs work for Boeing’s 777 and 767 programs.

Spirit is one of the area’s major employers with 900 employees in Prestwick and 100 at a site in Preston, England, where workers do material purchasing, engineering and support functions. Another 400 work at Spirit’s Malaysia facility building parts delivered to Prestwick. The town of Prestwick is Scotland’s oldest baronial burgh, dating back more than 1,000

the higher retail sales and slightly improving employment data. High unemployment, stagnant wages and a protracted debate over raising the U.S. government debt ceiling startled consumers who were polled before Standard and Poor’s downgraded the U.S. government’s credit rating last Friday. The low sentiment added more concern that weak labor market and high volatility in the stock market will prompt households to cut back on spending. Many economists have stated a 50 percent probability of having the US economy going into a double-dip recession.

tomers today is about half of what it charged 10 years ago, McManus said.

“The customer has to sell airplanes; therefore the need for innovation,” McManus said. The savings helped Spirit Europe receive Airbus contracts to design and build the wing leading edge of its all-new A350XWB (extra wide body) aircraft. Airbus also extended its contract for A320 work as part of the deal.

Prestwick will build about half of the A350 composite leading edge; Spirit’s Malaysia plant will produce composite subassemblies and its Kinston, N.C., plant will build the composite front spar. The company would not have won A350 work without Spirit Europe’s knowledge and relationship with Airbus, McManus said.

The site has had a long history with Airbus. In 2006, BAE sold its 20 percent share in Airbus to the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co Airbus’ parent company.

As the operator of the Prestwick site, BAE didn’t want to invest in the plant. “You have to invest before the money comes back,” McManus said. “(Spirit) has the strength to do that.

(And it has) the technical expertise.

“We’ve moved into areas we would have never moved into before,” he said. For example, it opened a joint maintenance, repair and overhaul facility for Boeing aircraft thrust reversers. “We would have never done that under our previous guys,” McManus said. Spirit Europe didn’t cut jobs in the economic downturn. The biggest impact was felt in work it does on what Hawker Beechcraft now calls the Hawker 900 business jet.

“The Hawker program fell through the floor,” McLarty said. Spirit Europe went from employing 100 people on the program to 14. Rather than cut jobs, it worked with the union to absorb the workers in other areas, McLarty said. The expertise is too valuable to lose. Mechanics go through a four-year apprenticeship to gain experience in all functions of an aircraft. “It would be hard to get them back,” McLarty said. Now, the company is exiting the Hawker work, which is moving to Hawker’s factory in Mexico. But the facility is preparing for increased production for Airbus and Boeing airliners. Each planemaker is experiencing a surge in demand, McManus said. And both are increasing production rates to record levels.

“We’ve got this horrible, horrible problem of too much work,” McManus joked. — MCT

year-on-year basis, industrial activity is up 2.9 percent, versus a prior month hike of 4.4 percent. On a country level, Germany posted a 7 percent growth in production, while UK and Greece figures dropped by 5 percent and 13 percent respectively.

United Kingdom Manufacturing and industrial production drop The UK Manufacturing Index unexpectedly fell in June, adding evidence that the economic recovery is uncertain.

Factory output declined 0.4 percent after it rose by 1.8 percent last month.

Moreover, industrial production fell by 0.3 percent on an annual basis, below the markets’ expectations of a hike of 0.2 percent. The decrease in activity adds to the worries related to the health of the UK economy, facing the largest austerity plans since more than 50 years.

Unemployment in Australia rose Australia’s unemployment rate unexpectedly rose in July to an eight-month high, which might restrict the Reserve Bank of Australia from raising rates further. Unemployment recorded a 5.1 percent level, up from 4.9 percent in the previous month. This hike is the first increase since October.

Gold reaches record highs Gold reached a record high of 1,814.72 dollars per ounce during the week, as the largest economy in the world saw its AAA rating cut, spurring demand for the safety of the precious metal. Investors remain jittery over the outlook for the ability of the US and Eurozone to solve their debt and deficit shortfalls. The metal erased its gains towards the end of the week as equities rebounded after the dovish statement of the FOMC. Investors remain buyers of Gold during risk-off sessions.

Kuwait Dinar at 0.27250 The USDKD opened at 0.27265 yesterday morning.

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KSE drops on sell-off

US debt remains investor safe haven despite rating

GLOBAL DAILY MARKET REPORT KUWAIT: Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) retreated during the first session of the week as the market could not resist the selling pressure from the investors. The market was almost flat for the first hour of trading but then it declined as the day went by.

Market indices Global General Index (GGI) declined ending yesterday’s session down by 0.62 percent, at 177.26 point. Market capitalization was down for the day, reaching KD29 billion. Also showing a negative note, KSE Price Index closed at 5,819.50 point, shedding 31.10 points (0.53 percent) from its previous close.

Top gainers and biggest decliners In terms of top gainers, International Financial Advisors

Sectors-wise All market sectors declined yesterday except for the Insurance sec-

Another big decliner in the market was the investment sector. It ended the session at 75.35 point and was down by 1.06 percent. The sector had many decliners including Al-Mal Investment Company and National Investment Company who declined by 5.43 and 5.32 percent to close at KD0.044 and KD0.178, respectively.

(IFA) reversed its declining trend and was the top gainer for the day, adding 9.09 percent and closing at KD0.030. It is worth mentioning that IFA topped the losers list on Thursday, with 31.25 percent drop on a weekly basis.

On the other hand, as previously mentioned National Ranges

tor that remain unchanged. Global Food Index was the biggest loser for the session and the most affected. The index closed at 358.82 point with a 1.20 percent decline.

Heavy weight Americana was hit hard during the session declining by 1.32 percent to settle at KD1.500.

Heavyweights, banking and services sector closed lower by 0.47 percent and 0.60 percent, respectively. No gainers were seen among the Kuwaiti banks to support the sector’ index, while Zain and Agility saw a drop of 1.05 percent and 1.96 percent, respectively, pulling with them the services sector down.

most active in terms of value traded during yesterday’s session, with KD1.79 million worth of shares exchanged. The scrip closed flat at KD0.270.

Company topped the lowers list for the day followed by a 10.20 percent drop in the share price of Real Estate Trade Center Company. The scrip ended the day at KD0.088.

Market breadth During the session, 98 companies were traded. Market breadth was skewed towards decliners as 42 equities retreated versus 22 that advanced.

Daily trading activity Trading activity was mixed during the session. Total volume traded was up by 8.44 percent with 98.47 million shares changing hands at a total value of KD11.46 million (37.55 percent lower compared to Thursday’s session). The services sector was the volume leader, accounting for 40.51 percent of total shares traded. Alone, National Ranges Company accounted for 20 percent of the total market’s traded shares with 19.60 million shares changing hands. The scrip, however, topped the decliners list for the day, shedding 17.24 percent from its value and closing at KD0.012. On the other hand, the banking sector was the value leader, with 44.64 percent of total traded value.

Kuwait International Bank (KIB) was the

PARIS: US Treasury bonds remain a hot ticket for investors looking for a low risk investment in a volatile market despite the unprecedented downgrade of Washington’s credit rating, analysts say. The decision by Standard & Poor’s to strip Washington of its top triple-A rating has done little to diminish investors’ appetite for US Treasuries, which along with gold, the Swiss franc and the yen are considered among the safest of assets. At first it may seem somewhat paradoxical, but with investors concerned about a slowdown in the global economy, they are piling into US bonds which are also attrac tive because of the dollar ’s reserve currency status. On Monday, the first trading day after the S&P downgrade, US bond prices rose to record levels on strong demand in a fresh issue, with the rate of return for investors dropping from before the US lost its top rating. On the secondary market the yield on 10-year securities dropped on Wednesday to 2.09 percent, the lowest rate since December 2008 and down from 2.56 percent on Friday, before the S&P announcement.

“We do not regard the Standard & Poor’s downgrade as an immediate threat to Treasuries keeping their safeharbor status,” market analysts Briefing Research said. “Treasuries are still the gold standard, so much so that as the US veered toward a default [during negotiations to raise its debt ceiling] Treasuries rallied on a flight-to-safety ... as if they were being rewarded for a crime”, the group said. The gyrations on global stock exchanges this past week have only increased their attraction.

“The US Treasury market will remain by far the largest and most liquid in the world, with no equal, and a relative safe haven in times of global financial stress-as demonstrated by in last week’s global financial turmoil and ‘wholesale flight to safety and quality’,” said Nigel Gault from market forecasters IHS Global Insight. Few assets can claim this role: among them are gold, which this week surged and set a new record above $1,800 an ounce, and

certain currencies including the Swiss franc and the yen which have also been riding high. A rush of safe-haven money into the franc led to fresh records against the dollar and the euro, forcing the Swiss National Bank to take additional measures to stem its rise which is hur ting the countr y ’s industry. The Federal Reserve’s decision on Tuesday to maintain interest rates at close to zero levels for two years also reassured markets, said Aurel BGC. Analysts said meanwhile that China, the world’s largest foreign holder of US debt, has no choice but to maintain its Treasury holdings, with Beijing’s hands tied for several reasons in the short run.

China has the world’s largest foreign exchange reserves at more than $3 trillion, and exper ts believe it would be difficult for it to find alternative investment options able to absorb such volume. With around $1.2 trillion in US Treasuries, Beijing also cannot conduct large-scale selling of dollar assets without diminishing the value of its remaining holdings, they said. “It is very difficult to cut the holdings of US Treasuries. With such huge foreign exchange reserves, if you don’t invest in US debt, it is hardly possible to diversify them,” said Liu Hongke, economist at CCB International Securities.

“Despite the downgrade (in the US credit rating), the United States is still safer than Europe,” Liu added. The European Central Bank stepped in to buy I talian and Spanish debt as investors had driven their bond yields to unsustainable levels on concerns that they might be next eurozone members to become ensnared in a debt crisis. “Unlike a spurned romantic partner, many investors have nowhere to turn for notionally low risk, highly liquid investment options,” said Nicholas Colas from ConvergEx. “If you need to park large amounts of capital, the US sovereign debt market is still the only garage that can accommodate the tractor-trailers of cash generated by large oil producing countries or major exporting nations,” he added. — AFP

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Tough economic times hit Indian real estate firms Rising interest rates, input costs cause slowdown MUMBAI: India’s real estate sector, which soared as the country’s economy took off and higher incomes led to increased demand, is facing turbulent times as interest rates push up the cost of home loans. A succession of rate hikes has prompted prospective buyers to delay purchases, with the situation having a knock-on effect on the country’s top property firms.

AC health check campaign for Benz owners during Ramadan KUWAIT: Abdul Rahman Albisher & Zaid Alk azemi Company, the Authorized General Distributor of Mercedes-Benz is conducting a special Air Conditioning Health Check campaign till August 31, 2011 at all of its Service Centers in Kuwait. MercedesBenz vehicle owners are welcome to bring in their cars for a thorough check of their air Conditioning system performed by Mercedes-Benz trained specialists at a nominal charge of KD40.

Mercedes-Benz customers who avail of this service, will get a KD25 gift voucher, which they can redeem at MercedesBenz accessories and lifestyle boutique

showroom, Shuwaikh. Mercedes-Benz owners can avail of the Special Air Conditioning Health check by calling: Shuwaikh 1833111, Ext-200/254, for AlRai 1833111, Ext-806 and for Ahmadi 1833111, Ext-163 to make an appointment. “We are very pleased to offer this service to our customers during the holy month of Ramadan “ said Ralph Geyer, Service Manager, Abdul Rahman Albisher & Zaid Alk azemi Co. Air Conditioning Health Check ser vice ensures a smooth and flawless functioning of your cars Air Conditioning, giving a pleasant drive during the summer and throughout the year.

VIVA partners with TransferTo KUWAIT: Kuwait Telecommunications Company VIVA, has partnered up with TransferTo, the leading provider of International Airtime Transfer services, enabling prepaid customers to send credit to friends, family and loved ones abroad. Whether they live and work in Kuwait, or they are visiting any country on a business trip, or for vacation, a holiday, celebrating a birthday or special occasion, VIVA customers can stay con-

Salman Bin AbdulAziz Al-Badran nec ted with friends and family, by sending prepaid credit to the overseas prepaid account in any country offered under the ser vice. VIVA continually seeks to offer customers innovative ways to communicate, and strives to

reach each customer’s needs by focusing on promotions and deals that are affordable and most beneficial.

The ‘Transfer To’ service is immediate, fast, secure and easy to use. Customers can activate this service and send credit via SMS Text Message or through USSD. Customer can transfer directly by sending “ITU Mobile Number” via SMS to the short code ‘585’, to initiate the transaction and after choosing the amount; the customer will receive a confirmation notification. Payment will be deduc ted immediately once it is accepted. The SMS Text Message sent to shor t code ‘585’ is free of charge.

Limitations on transactions include 100 transactions per month, KD 100 per day and KD 200 per month.

Transfer To CEO Eric Barbier stated, “I am thrilled by this partnership with VIVA, and convinced that VIVA customers will find great value in this service that enables small value transfers as an ideal complement to money remittances”.

VIVA CEO, Salman Bin AbdulAziz Al-Badran further commented on the partnership adding, “Transfer To’s extensive network reach will allow VIVA to further expand its existing domestic on-net credit transfer to key overseas countries, offering VIVA customers a cost-effective, yet highly valuable gift solution.” For more information on VIVA’s new ‘Transfer To’ launch and a list of country operators and locations customers can send credit to, please visit our website at www.viva.com.kw.

China need not ‘fret’ over dollar assets: US BEIJING: China should rest easy that its investments in the dollar remain safe, the newly arrived US ambassador in Beijing, Gary Locke, said yesterday, adding that the world’s two biggest economies could find common ground despite economic and political strains.

In his previous job as US commerce secretary, Locke often chided China over its trade policies, but in his first media appearance since taking up his new job in Beijing he gave a more benign message of potential cooperation. “The United States and China have a profoundly important and complex diplomatic and economic relationship, one with challenges, to be sure, but which also holds great promise for expanded cooperation and collaboration,” Locke told reporters.

Since Standard & Poor’s cut its credit rating for long-term US debt in early August, Chinese state media have accused Washington of reckless fiscal policies that have created uncertainty about Beijing’s big holdings of dollar assets. Analysts estimate Beijing has put about two-thirds of its $3.2 trillion foreign exchange reserves, the world’s largest, in dollars and is the United States’ biggest foreign creditor.

Asked about Chinese disquiet about the US economy and creditworthiness, Locke said President Barack Obama and Congress has mapped out a “path ensuring fiscal integrity of the United States.” He said US treasury bonds were still finding buyers despite the downgrade. “It’s a clear indication that investment in the United States is safe, secure and that the economy, while having its challenges, is still strong,” he said.

“We have this opportunity as two

great nations to provide the leadership for the entire world,” Locke, a former governor of Washington state whose ancestors came from China, told reporters outside his new residence.

Even before arriving in Beijing, Locke made a splash on the Chinese Internet, when photos spread online of him lined up at a coffee shop at Seattle airport without the security guards and secretaries that many Chinese people expect officials take everywhere.

Asked about the pictures, and whether he would take to China’s Internet to talk directly to users, Locke just said: “We look forward to using all forms of communications, including blogging and the electronic media.”

Locke has pledged to press China to open its market to more US goods and services, move to a more flexible currency exchange rate and step up action against counterfeiting of American products.

In the first half of 2010, Sino-US relations were shaken by a series of disputes over Internet censorship, Tibet and US arms sales to Taiwan, the selfruled island that Beijing deems an illegitimate breakaway. Since then, both sides have sought to steady ties. But Chinese media have warned that a possible new sale of US arms to Taiwan, including fighter jets, would anger Beijing. Last week, a commentary in a popular Chinese tabloid, the Global Times, argued that China should use its “financial weapon to slap Washington” over arms sales to Taiwan. The debt issue and Taiwan are also likely to feature when US Vice President Joe Biden visits China for several days from Wednesday. —Reuters

Stocks of leading firms like DLF, Unitech and DB Realty hit yearlows this month, on weak earnings and amid growing concerns over the global economic recovery after the US credit downgrade and ongoing eurozone debt crisis.

The realty index on the Bombay Stock Exchange has halved in value from a year ago and many firms have seen their share price plunge after details emerged of an alleged loans-for-bribes scandal last October. Analysts say that the immediate outlook does not look rosy for property firms, with another rate hike expected before the end of the year, spiraling fuel, labor and raw material costs, and a slowdown in economic activity. “(Home) sales are not moving at the expected pace. On the other hand, debt and costs burdens have increased for some developers,” said Neeraj Bansal, director at global consultants KPMG in India. “ The outlook for the sector looks tight,” he told AFP. On Friday, Mumbai-based DB Realty gave the latest indication of the health of the sector, reporting a 33 percent fall in profit year-on-year to 411 million rupees ($9.03 million) for the three months to the end of June.”Rising interest rates and input costs coupled with delayed approvals have resulted in a slowdown in the sector,” group director N Shridhar said. DB Realty has seen its share price nosedive from a high of 474.9 rupees in September last year to a low of 66.00 in May after boss Shahid Balwa was arrested in connection with a high-level corruption probe. It is now trading just above its lows at 68 rupees.

New-Delhi-based DLF has shown a fall in quar terly net profit for four straight quarters,

hit by a sharp rise in interest payments on loans and increased expenditure which outweighed gains from property sales. The company has called the current environment “difficult”, reflecting wider concerns among business leaders that government and central bank efforts to rein in spiraling infla-

the residential sector that makes up 80 percent of the Indian property market, something will have to give. “Developers will have to start reducing unrealistically high prices to boost sales,” said Pramod Gubbi, of brokerage Ambit Capital. The Mumbai M irror newspaper said on Saturday that not a single sale

tioning to focus on so-called “plotted developments” parcels of land in gated communities that can be sold without being fully developed-instead of group housing projects, to improve growth. With less construction activity for the developer, sales of plotted developments can be completed quickly, improving

NEW DELHI: This file photo shows Indian laborers working on a construction site. —AFP tion are hitting investment and growth. In Mumbai, India’s most expensive market, residential sales dropped to a 30-month low in the first quarter of the current financial year to June, according to Liases Foras Real Estate R ating and Research.

Experts predict that the cost of prime real estate could match prices in London, but with demand outstripping supply in

has been made at one luxury apar tment block in south Mumbai, despite the 3.5-billionrupee development being available to buyers for five years.

Developer Ravi Vaswamni was quoted as saying: “There is often trouble in the sale of high-end properties... People are making an investment of a lifetime to buy a house here and it can take some time.” DLF says it is reposi-

cash flows.DLF said it had 52 million square feet (4.83 million square metres) of land under development and sold 1.9 million square feet in the April-June period. It plans to sell 12 million square feet of residential land in the current financial year. “DLF may book these levels but we expect flat growth in volumes in fiscal year 2013,” said Sharan Lillaney, of Angel Broking. —AFP

Pakistan targets Islamic finance growth by 2015

Volkswagen Behbehani winners drive in style KUWAIT: Volkswagen Center Kuwait announced its winner of its regional “Catch me if you can” car competition, which was held on the social media site Facebook to celebrate the launch of the all-new Volkswagen Jetta in the region. The competition took place in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Jordan asking participants to spot the masked Jetta in key locations, snap a picture of it and upload it onto Facebook for a chance to win the recently launched Volkswagen model.

Karsten Jankowski, Marketing Director, Volkswagen Middle East commented: “The “Catch me if you can” competition was a fun and exciting platform for us to engage with the public, creating curiosity around the car and building the anticipation for the official launch of the car. Our Facebook all-new Jetta page was very successful, with over 15,000 likes of the page from fans throughout the campaign. It was truly a great experience and we were pleased to be able to offer a yearlong test drive to four lucky fans.”

The winners were selected by Volkswagen officials with the draws taking place at Volkswagen showrooms, to which all participants were invited. The car was presented to Ihab Abu Al-Hassan by Firas Mufti - Marketing Manager of Volkswagen Behbehani.

During the competition the masked cars

were prepared by covering the whole vehicle with foiling, hiding its distinguishing features and shape so that they were unidentifiable to the public. A call to action message was placed on both sides of the vehicles, urging passersby to visit the www.besurprised.com website to find out more about this mystery car and the prize to be won.

“The all-new Jetta is an exciting addition to our fleet in the Middle East with prices starting from KD5,450 which we revealed on Facebook to fans in the Middle East. It’s in a class of its own and combines German engineering and performance, safety and comfort in a whole new look. With the all-new Jetta, we are offering a car in the Middle East that will add a new dimension of quality to the saloons of the compact class,” concluded Jankowski. The all-new Jetta is an ideal choice for everyone who desires a German designed, impressively styled saloon that is comfortable, safe and yet affordable. The car is now available in the Middle East following the car’s great success around the world with over 9.6 million units already sold. The allnew Jetta is 4.64 meters long and delivers a superior class of compact sedan that combines a modern dynamic design, encompassing clear precise lines and athletically muscular surfaces, which gives the saloon an image of timeless elegance and styling.

KSE price index down 3.6% KUWAIT: This week the KSE market price index lost 3.6 percent or 216 points and closed at 5851 level. While the KSE weight index lost 4.2 percent or 18 points to reach 404 level. Among the sectors this week the food sector lost the least at 2.5 percent while the non-Kuwaiti and investment sector lost the most at 5.4 percent and 5.3 percent respectively. The banking sector lost 4.2 percent while the real estate and the industrial sector lost 3.3 percent each. Lastly the services sector lost 3 percent. The market sentiment was negative as 78 stocks declined against 5 stocks gained and 6 stocks remained flat compared to the previous week. Most of the Blue

Chip stocks declined this week except for NMTC which remained flat. NINV lost the most at 14.5 percent followed by Agility down 12.1 percent ,KPROJ down 11.1 percent, BPCC down 8.6 percent, KIB down 8.5 percent, NIND down 8.3 percent, PIPE down 6.6 percent, BURG down 6.1 percent, GBK down 5.9 percent, NBK down 5.5 percent, ZAIN down 4 percent, MABANEE down 3.5 percent, FODD down 1.3 percent and KFIN down 1.1 percent.

The KSE weighted index has downside support at 400 level and upside it faces resistance at 412 level. While the KSE price index has upside resistance at 6,000 level and downside support remains at 5,830 level.

DUBAI/KARACHI: Pakistan, bidding to nearly double Islamic banking in the South Asian state by 2015, is focusing on poor, conservative villages to drive growth and has ordered Islamic lenders to open 20 percent of all new branches in rural areas. Islamic banking will help draw the funds of rural customers, a less sophisticated client base who also traditionally shun conventional banks due to concerns over interest which is forbidden under Islam, said Saleem Ullah, director of the Islamic banking department at the State Bank. “Islamic banking, primarily being a faith-driven industry, has a significant potential in Pakistan as the concept directly appeals to the religiously sensitive segment of the society,” Ullah said.

“The share of the industry in the banking system has risen to over 7 percent from just 0.5 percent in 2002.”

Pakistan’s plan is to raise that figure to 12 percent from 7 percent currently by 2015. Islamic finance growth has faced challenges due to the worsening geopolitical and security situation in Pakistan. But with a population of around 180 million Muslims, the small South Asian nation is still considered as one of the hottest growth areas for the industry.

Pakistan has five fully-fledged sharia-compliant banks and twelve conventional banks with Islamic operations, creating a network of 800 branches in Pakistan. Ullah anticipates that 150 new branches will open by the end of the year.

Islamic banking currently accounts for 497 billion rupees ($5.74 billion), or 7.3 percent of the country’s overall banking system. “Historically, the poor and oppressed in a society are more inclined to follow the norms of their religion than the affluent,” said Muddassir Siddiqui, an Islamic scholar and partner at law firm SNR Denton in Dubai. The combination of aggressive advertising and more Islamic branches in rural areas should drive the industry, Zahid Mansoor, treasurer at DIB Pakistan, a unit of Dubai Islamic Bank , said.

“The new regulatory requirements are a good first step by the government to reaching those in rural areas, where there is little trust for banks and people prefer to keep money under their pillows,” he said. “If you create awareness in the minds of these people, there is significant potential to take Islamic finance beyond a niche market and make it the main choice for banking.” DIB Pakistan, which currently has 59 branches throughout the country, should have 80 branches by the end of the year, Mansoor said.

The prospects for growth is already attracting interest from both the conventional banks in Pakistan and foreign institutions, primarily out of the Gulf region. Both Dubai Islamic Bank and Bahrain’s Al Baraka Bank have subsidiaries in Pakistan and Standard Chartered Saadiq, the Islamic arm of UKbased Standard Chartered , also launched operations in the country. “We currently have 100 branches in Pakistan and consider it to be a growth area for us,” said Adnan Ahmed Yousif, chief executive of Al Baraka Bank. “At our bank, we are looking to get to 200 branches over time. The country definitely has a lot of potential within Islamic finance.” —Reuters

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South Africa to invest in Burundi’s tourism, energy Main focus on infrastructure development BUJUMBURA: South Africa plans to invest in tourism, energy and infrastructure in Burundi to help the central African nation which is still struggling to revive its economy after two decades of civil war. Africa’s biggest economy signed an economic cooperation deal with the landlocked nation during a visit by President Jacob Zuma, who said South African business was keen to invest in Burundi’s financial services, transport and agriculture. “Our departments responsible for trade and industry have been directed to prepare a program of action that will outline how the two countries will work together to boost investments and increase the volumes of trade,” Zuma told a South African and Burundi business meeting. “ There are various areas of cooperation that our business people are looking into. These include tourism, energy and infrastructures development.”

Zuma ser ved in the past as a chief mediator in talks to broker peace in the small, coffee-producing nation of 8 million people, where a spate of violent incidents have raised fears of a new insurgency in the central

African country. Burundi has enjoyed relative peace since the former Hutu hardline rebel Forces for National Liberation (FNL) laid down their weapons and joined the government in 2009 after two decades of insurgency that claimed the lives of 300,000 people.

But attacks against civilians and soldiers have increased in recent months and Uprona, the

main Tutsi party and part of the coalition government led by President Pierre Nkurunziza, has said they bear the hallmarks of a new rebellion. Burundi’s authorities blame bandits for the attacks. A coalition of Burundi opposition parties known as the Alliance for Democratic Change (ADC) called Zuma to persuade Nkurunziza to start talks with the opposition. Zuma and his host

did not make any public comment on the issue. Burundi Investment Promotion Authority said private investment in the country reached $209.7 million at the end of 2010, resulting from a series of reforms undertaken by the country to improve its business climate. The bulk of funds went into the country’s tourism and agro-business sectors, the authority said. —Reuters

Companies are afraid to hire even when business is good LOS ANGELES: The roofing supply yard in Long Beach is rumbling with activity these days, thanks in part to a wet winter that has property owners eager to make repairs before fall. Men drive humming forklifts around the site in a cacophony of engine noise, delivering shingles and plywood to flatbed trucks for the next day’s deliveries.

Supervisor Miguel Murillo pauses in the commotion and wipes his hands, his sweat-spotted shirt showing the day’s toil. A year ago, things were so slow he’d often take a day off without pay. Recently he’s had to work a few Saturdays. “It’s pretty busy now,” Murillo said. “We could use another guy in the yard.” But this bustling workplace isn’t likely to add new employees soon, said Ross Riddle, the president of this small family business. Although South Coast Shingle Co is in the black for the first time in a few years, Riddle is fearful of hiring more people in what he believes is a shaky economy. “I hear politicians say that businesses have money and they should be hiring,” said Riddle, a

tall, distinguished-looking man who might be cast as the president if he were an actor. “But if you don’t have the demand, you don’t hire the people.”

rate is one of the key factors underlying the recent turmoil on Wall Street, which many believe is largely a reflection of the uncertain state of the economy.

LOS ANGELES: Supervisor Miguel Murillo is seen at work. —MCT Business owners across the country are thinking the same way. Although the recession technically ended in June 2009, unemployment remains at 9.1 percent nationally and 11.8 percent in California. That high unemployment

Economists say the nation is stuck in a Catch-22 scenario: The economy won’t improve until businesses hire, but many won’t hire without consumer demand, which is weak because of the current state of the job market and

concerns about the future. “It’s sort of this chicken-and-egg problem,” said Gregory Daco, principal economist of IHS Global Insight. “We are at a point where companies will only hire individuals if they absolutely have to. They’d rather ask someone to work a little more in this environment when people aren’t spending.”

Money itself isn’t the problem. As of March 31, the blue-chip companies in the Standard & Poor’s 500 index were sitting on nearly $1 trillion in cash, a record sum. “For big companies, we’ve seen relatively healthy profits. These companies are looking to reach certain targets, and one way to reach these targets is to cut down on labor costs,” Daco said. At South Coast Shingle, Riddle says he’d like to hire - but he can’t forget the listless days of 2009, when the bursting of the housing bubble nearly brought business to a halt.

During those dark days, his sales guys would spend hours making cold calls or studying Spanish from a Rosetta Stone kit. —MCT

MUNICH: In this file picture, the logo of the German car producer BMW AG is photographed on the back of a car in front of the company’s headquarters. —AP

BMW extends contracts in US union dispute DETROIT: Luxury automaker BMW said Saturday it had agreed to a contract extension for employees at a California warehouse following a union dispute that had threatened to go national. “We had a good discussion with the Teamsters and we intend to extend the contract for six months to provide the time to address the substantive issues,” said company spokesman Tom Kowaleski. The Teamsters, a nationwide union with some 1.4 million members, had said the company planned to lay off the workers at the end of August before re-opening the facility with a lowerpaid workforce.

“Many of these employees have worked at BMW for decades,” said Bob Lennox of Teamsters Local 495, which represented the

68 workers. “They were facing foreclosures on their homes and the loss of their health insurance at a time of record unemployment in southern California.” The Teamsters’ national office had taken up the workers’ cause and recruited political figures and other nationwide unions to express their solidarity, holding demonstrations in BMW dealerships across California.

The German automobile giant reported record sales in July and said it was on track to setting a new record with the sale of 1.6 million vehicles by the end of the year. The company’s second quarter net profit more than doubled from the same period a year earlier to 1.81 billion euros ($2.58 billion) on sales that were 16.5 percent higher at almost 17.9 billion euros. —AFP

GCC equity loss intensifies on US rating KAMCO MARKET RESEARCH GCC stock markets lost ground in July as investors came under negative impact from global economic recovery worries, European sovereign debt turmoil, high volatility in international equity securities, and economic softness in the United States along with the persistent political turmoil in the Middle East region. Despite the start of Ramadan during the first week of August, a time when markets have light volumes and less operating hours, most investors are concerned about the situation in the US and the most recent downgrade by the S&P Rating Agency from AAA to AA+ for the first time in US history. The correlation between the GCC stock markets and the US markets has proved to be more direct and integrated during this month than ever before as the GCC markets rely to a great extent on the global system adequately functioning.

Since the beginning of the year and until 8 August, the GCC equity markets lost around $68.5 billion; losses intensified following the downgrading of the US federal debt rating

by Standard & Poor’s rating agency.

Also, European debt crisis and fears that the global economy recovery is faltering along with political tensions in the MENA region added fuel to fire.

The largest losses in market cap were in Saudi Tadawul with a year-to-date loss of $31 billion while the Kuwait bourse was the second loser with $25 billion drop in its market cap. The remaining markets were all losers with a less magnitude that ranged from 1.8 billion in Abu Dhabi to $3.8 billion and $3.1 billion in Qatar Exchange and Muscat bourse, respectively.

As regional investors look attentively to the US markets for cues, market sentiment has taken a huge hit and sent stock markets tumbling in a period where fears from European debt crisis and regional Arab spring has not yet subsided. But the more fundamental impact on the GCC stems from the US dollar peg that is practiced by all GCC currencies, except for Kuwait that is pegged to a basket of currencies. On the other hand, fears of a slowdown in growth in the US and the global economy could significantly decrease the demand for oil which is the main pillar of most GCC economies.

On the corporate earnings front, 312 out of 635 companies listed on the GCC equity markets have announced their 1H-11 financial results that reached $23.9 billion as compared with $19.9 billion reported in 1H-10; representing a significant increase of 20 per cent increase over the period.

Fundamentals of GCC equity markets remain strong, while earnings are

improving that may act as a catalyst for the markets to recover. However, the general sentiments in the market is still negative due to the uprising of political instability, deteriorating fiscal position of the US, high inflation in China, and the European debt distress along with fears of the contagion of the fragile debt/fiscal conditions in periphery economies to Italy, the third largest economy in the euro-zone that is too big to be bailed out.

With 52 out of 66 banks announcing their 1H-11 results, the GCC bank-

ments. Despite clear recovery signs in the sector since overcoming the worst financial crisis, corporate loans restructuring and a weak real estate market continues to be a cause of concern for the sector’s long-term performance.

Saudi Stock Exchange (TADAWUL): Pressured International Markets suppressed sentiment despite positive earnings announcement of robust 1H-11 earnings which rose 26 per cent to SAR 47.4 billion as compared to 1H-2010 failed to boost

economy weighed on investor sentiments and shaped the performance of the market during July. Despite announcing robust 1H-11 earnings, the Petrochemical sector witnessed its market cap shed 2.6 per cent to SAR 494 billion mainly on the back of concerns that the debt crisis lingering in Europe and the US along with high inflation rate in China would disrupt the global economic recovery and would in turn curb energy demand growth and thereby impact the sector’s future profitability.

ing sector earnings for the period also increased by 21 per cent to record $9.9 billion during 1H-11 in comparison with $8.2 billion a year earlier.

Profitability of Gulf banks has showed some signs of recovery due to a relative increase in lending along with easing loan loss provisions amid relatively better economic prospects in the region and the massive investment program adopted by govern-

investor sentiments, as TASI continued its previous month negative trend and shed an additional 183.87 points or 2.80 per cent to close the month at 6,392.13. Ensuing regional political tensions, sell offs in global and regional equity markets coupled with concerns over the euro zone debt crisis and speculations of potential default by the US government and its consequent impact on an already fragile global

Kuwait Stock Exchange: Poor market conditions, thin trading and fears from European and US debt issues kept investors in the sidelines: the bourse ended the month of July on further losses mainly due to poor market conditions, fears surrounding the US and European sovereign debt, muted 1H-11 earnings, lack of new market catalysts and tight market liquidity conditions along with contin-

ued unrest in the region weighing down on investor sentiments as the KSE Weighted and KAMCO TRW Indices continued its losing trend to shed 4.24 per cent and 3.23 per cent, respectively. Market liquidity remained weak due to the absence of market makers, institutional investors and large government institutions from the market as the uncertainty surrounding the implications of applying the CMA law has forced such investors to develop a wait and see approach.

Dubai Financial Market: Lack of market catalysts along with thin trading and concerns over raising the US debt ceiling shaped market performance during July: after a positive performance during the first week of July, the DFM General Index started a wave of declining due to the cautiousness developed by investors ahead of the earnings season along with the negative sentiment stemming from the deadlock witnessed in the US regarding raising the debt ceiling during the month. The lack of positive market catalysts along with thin trading during July failed to sustain the Index’s increasing trend witnessed during the first week where the index ended the month with a marginal gain of 0.04 per cent. Renewed tension regarding the fiscal position of Italy and Spain, US debt ceiling stalemate, geopolitical tension in the Arab World and absence of large institutional investors continue to weigh down on sentiment as trading activity is still significantly low; the value of shares traded dropped by 47 per cent to AED1.74 billion in comparison with AED3.26 billion in June, reflecting the scarcity of international and institutional investors in the market.

Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange: Poor corporate earnings and pressure from international markets pushed the index down: the ADX General Index ended the month on a negative note, in line with the slump witnessed amongst its peers in the GCC region.

The European debt crisis coupled with concerns that the US politicians will fail to lift the federal government’s debt ceiling weighed on investor sentiments. As a result, the ADX General Index shed 3.12 per cent during July11. Accordingly, the Index extended its YTD-11 losses to 3.68 per cent after being the region’s best performer in the first half of 2011, posting more than AED5.7 billion in gains in its market cap during June-11. ADX General Index failed to find any background support during the month after poor corporate earnings by the majority of listed banks weighed down on the index and in turn had a negative

impact on investors’ sentiment.

Qatar Exchange: Best performer in the GCC backed by solid gains in the banking sector: led by gains recorded on the heavyweight banking sector which witnessed its market cap gain 1.2 per cent, the QE 20 Index bucked its previous two month downward trend during July to register a marginal increase of 0.5 per cent and close at 8,402.86 points. Gains recorded during the month enabled the QE to end as the best performing market amongst its peers in the GCC region. Selling pressure was witnessed on the banking sector during the first half of the month over investor concerns that the Qatar Central Bank’s order to local banks to close down their Islamic operations by the end of 2011 would hamper the sector’s future profitability. However, renewed buying interest was witnessed on the heavyweight sector mainly on the back of the listed banks announcement of better than expected 1H-11 earnings which rose nearly 25 per cent to QAR 7.4 billion; and thereby shaped the positive performance of the market during July.

Bahrain Bourse: Sixth consecutive month of losses amid a volatile global and regional investment climate: the Bahrain All Share Index ended the month with a 2.13 per cent plunge to record 1,291.66 marking the sixth consecutive month of losses for the bourse amid a very uncertain global and regional investment climate that has riled market.

The global economy came to a halt in July as lawmakers in the US struggled to raise the debt ceiling leading investors to worry about a possible default or downgrade of US debt.

These factors, coupled with the general regional unrest in the MENA region have been major drivers of the Bahrain Bourse’s performance for the year, which has shed 9.82 per cent from the Bahrain All Share Index since the beginning of the year.

Muscat Securities Market: Weak earnings, thin trading and lack of market movers weighed on market sentiment: poor 1H-11 corporate earnings coupled with negative global investor sentiment following the deadlock witnessed in the US regarding its debt ceiling, pressured the MSM 30 Index to the downside to reverse the uptrend witnessed earlier during the month. As a result, the benchmark ended the month at 5,808.03 points, marking the lowest close since July-09, and extended its Y TD-11 losses to 14 per cent to become the worst performing market amongst its GCC peers so far during the year.

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Years

TECHNOLOGY

India hungry for reliable, accessible Internet access Only 3% of Indians in rural areas will be active Internet users by 2012

SHANGHAI: Two different fake iPhones are shown at a mobile phone market yesterday in Shanghai, China. — AP

In lean times, Internet spurs on second-hand market in France PARIS: Used to the good life, France has lagged behind many other countries in using the marketing muscle of the Internet to spur interest in second-hand goods. But today, belts are tightening as spending power declines and unemployment rises — and more seems likely next week when President Nicolas Sarkozy unveils plans to narrow the country’s budget deficit. As a result, traditional reluctance about “pre-owned” possessions is evaporating. Since roughly the start of the year, a flurry of websites has sprouted in which people rent or even give away their personal belongings — a donation that comes with the condition that the would-be owner has to collect. “After the CAC 40 [the main French stock barometer] went into a dive at the start of the month, we experienced a very big rise in the number of people wanting to hire items on our site,” said Alexandre Woog, co-founder of eloue.

The site, which means e -hire in French, has a remarkable range of goods for rent. They include run-of-the-mill stuff such as cars, boats and tools, but also country cottages, champagne glasses, a cake stand, a goat, a cinema’s popcorn maker - and a host of big-name suits and gowns and the designer bling to go with it. Such things are terrific for people who, just for an evening, want to live the high life at a low price. The renters benefit, too. “Think about it,” said Woog. “If you buy a handbag for 250 euros (355 dollars), all you have to do is rent it out for 10 euros a night for 25 times, and you’ve got your money back!”

‘It’s been a lifesaver’ E-loue took off as a market-place for

consumers, but demand has been so impressive that a business-to-business version has now been launched, says Woog. Other sites that have flourished in tougher times include www.donnons.org - “let’s give” in French - in which people offload unwanted possessions for free to whoever is willing to pick them up. Founder Olivier Nass, aged 37, says that 550,000 objects have found new homes over the last three years, and right now the site is getting more than 60,000 hits per day. The site bans gifts of animals and food and, according to Nass, problems are extremely rare, in the range of one deal in every 1,000. “It’s been a lifesaver for a large number of people who don’t have enough money to buy tools or gadgets or clothing, leaving them the means to focus on essentials such as rent,” said Nass.

A rival donation site is corec yclage.com, set up in April by Thomas Duclos Chanteaud, a seven-year veteran with French trash collectors Veolia Proprete. “The goal is simply to provide a point of contact between two people who are keen on recycling,” he said. “For example, someone who picks up a second-hand sofa will not be buying a new one, which would increase his carbon footprint. And the person who’s getting rid of the sofa won’t be sending it to the rubbish dump, where it would probably be incinerated, adding to greenhouse gases.” France produces mountains of rubbish each year — 391 kilos a year per household, a figure that has doubled over 40 years in spite of efforts to reuse glass bottles and metal and plastic packaging. — AFP

Google adds games in its latest move on Facebook SAN FRANCISCO: Internet search leader Google Inc. is bringing a little more gamesmanship to its duel with Facebook. Just like they have been doing for years on Facebook’s website, Web surfers will now be able to play games with their friends and family on Google’s blossoming social networking service. Google’s expansion into games, announced Thursday, had been expected since the company unveiled its “Plus” networking service in late June. The service is being groomed to be an alternative to Facebook’s popular hangout. By adding games to Plus, Google hopes to give its fledging network’s more than 25 million users a reason to come to the service more frequently and stay longer once they’re there. The strategy has worked well at Facebook, where games requiring players to fill the roles of farmers, mob bosses and card sharks have attracted obsessive followings among its more than 750 million users.

Determined to protect its tur f, Facebook unveiled its latest game features just a few hours after Google issued its challenge. The new tools will make it easier for Facebook users to bookmark their favorite games and keep track of what their friends are playing. Players will also be given the option of filling their entire computer screen with some of the games designed for Facebook. Facebook’s top games are provided by Zynga Inc., a 4year-old company hoping to sell its stock in an initial public offering this fall. Google is one of Zynga’s investors, according to IPO documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The papers don’t specify the size Google’s stake in Zynga, which is based in San Francisco.

The investment evidently wasn’t enough to buy Google access to Zynga’s best-known games. The initial

games on Plus include a poker game made by Zynga. Plus also will feature the “Angry Birds” game that so far has been played mostly on phones. The gaming option will gradually start appearing within the accounts of Plus’ users. But people who want to play other Zynga titles such as FarmVille, CityVille and Empires & Allies will still have go to Facebook. Zynga and Facebook are already financially wedded to each other. Zynga gets most of its revenue from Facebook, which requires games on its site to use its payment system to sell the various items that can be used to playing more fun. Facebook keeps 30 percent of the revenue from Zynga’s games.

Although the games may seem frivolous, they are emerging as a serious business. Zynga earned more than $90 million on revenue of nearly $600 million last year and the company is growing even faster this year as the number of people playing its games surpassed 230 million. In March, Zynga estimated its market value at $11 billion after hiring an expert to appraise its business, according to documents filed Thursday.

Google’s expansion into Web games could cause headaches for Zynga. In its IPO documents, Zynga says it could be hurt if Google or other larger companies such as Microsoft Corp. and Amazon.com Inc. get into the Web game market. Google mainly wants to undercut Facebook with Plus.

The reason: As people spend more time and share more insights about themselves on its website, Facebook becomes an increasingly attractive advertising option.

The trend poses a threat to Google because its search engine can’t index most of the information on Facebook and its own revenue growth could slow if more online advertising shifts to Facebook. — AP

NEW DELHI: India has built a global reputation as a major player in information technology, but lack of Internet access among its own citizens is posing a threat to long-term growth. One typical young Indian frustrated by the country’s poor Internet facilities is Srishti Sharma, 18, a student at the elite Lady Shri Ram college in the capital New Delhi.

“There are times when you desperately need to do some research using the net, and the only place you can go to is the library which is packed since there are only about ten computers there,” she said. Instead Sharma lugs her laptop out of the college grounds to Internet cafes and pays for access to a wi-fi connection.

“Almost every day I have to leave campus to do my work. It’s really irritating, you end up wasting so much time going back and forth,” the political science student said. In many ways, Sharma is among the lucky ones as India’s 1.2 billion people scramble to reap the benefits of the country’s economic transformation. Only three percent of all Indians living in rural areas will be active Internet users by the end of this year, according to forecasts by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI). The low figure comes despite an expected doubling in the number of rural users, from 12.1 million in last to 24 million in December this year.

Technology giant Cisco released data in June showing that global Internet usage will quadruple between 2010 and 2015, but that India will still trail behind emerging market rivals such as China, South Africa and Mexico in terms of per capita usage. “The government needs to make Internet access a priority,” San Francisco-based technology consultant Ulrik McKnight, who works with firms in India, Europe and the US, told AFP. “Imagine the impact it could have on education. It’s much cheaper to post course material online and give aspiring students a net connection than build colleges in every village.” He said that previous governments had faced opposition when they tried to bring new technology to India, with many saying that the authorities needed to focus on providing access to food and water, not phones and computers.

“The argument that basic needs trump other needs has been made again and again in India, against the introduction of colour television, personal computers and payphone booths,” McKnight said. Unlike the mobile phone, which spread quickly among all Indians from urban executives to farm work-

BANGALORE: An attendee works on a computer in front of a poster of a farmer at the Bangalore IT biz 2009 event in Bangalore. India’s global reputation as a major player in the information technology business continues to soar, but at home, hundreds of millions of Indians have little or no access to the Internet. — AFP ers, the Internet has taken longer to catch on, IAMAI president Subho Ray said. “The mobile phone was bound to succeed in India, it fulfilled a purpose since people found it difficult to get landlines set up,” he said. “But the Internet is more complex. You have to help people understand what it can do for them, they don’t automatically get it.” Analysts say India’s absence of infrastructure — from steady electricity to an extensive landline network — has been a big stumbling block to broadening Internet access.

India’s left-leaning Congress government derives much of its support from the poor, and for years its priorities have reflected the concerns of its voter base, with a focus on rural welfare programmes over technological development. “I am not sure the government is doing anything to promote Internet access, particularly in rural India,” influential technology blogger Amit Agarwal told AFP. “Even in villages, kids will pick up the skills fast, but someone needs to provide them with basic infrastructure to make it happen.” A muchvaunted plan to create 20 million broadband connections by 2010 fell far short of its target,

despite the government pegging broadband speed at a measly 256 kilobytes per second, 1/16th of the US standard of 4.0 megabytes per second. India has ambitious plans to raise the number of broadband connections from about 12 million today to 75 million by 2012 and 160 million by 2014.

Telecom firms have also started rolling out wireless broadband networks since last year after winning third-generation (3G) and wireless broadband spectrum in government auctions. There were hopes that 3G mobile phone services, which include Internet access, would boost usage but the service is still too expensive for most Indians, with companies charging between 700 ($15) and 1000 rupees a month. Ray, the IAMAI president, said that despite India being home to software giants like Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services, the country stood to “lose its competitive edge” unless the Internet becomes part of everyday life for millions more Indians. “If India wants to reach a stage where its companies are filing patents regularly, then it needs to step up its efforts,” he said. “It needs a technological revolution.” — AFP

STEM more than science, math CANNONSBURG: The 24 students in the STEM academy at Boyd County High School are more comfortable with tools than books. The STEM kids — the acronym stands for science, technology, engineering and mathematics — want to build skyscrapers, develop military weapons and design cars when they enter the work world. Their minds are at home with chemical formulas, engineering blueprints and computer software.

They appreciate well-formulated plans that lead from concept to finished product. So literature and creative writing, for them, can be puzzling. Creating characters and stories out of the blue doesn’t fit in with their well-ordered approach.

And yet, they spent three days last week doing just that, huddled in groups furiously penciling Post-it notes with story details, plot twists and character traits.

Among them they crafted half a dozen widely varying movie screenplays. The movies may never be produced, but the exercise demonstrated to the students that science and creativity are not mutually exclusive. In fact, they can’t be, if the STEM program is to meet the core content demands of modern high school accountability. While the program emphasizes rigorous, project-based courses in the STEM disciplines, it includes a reading and writing component, and an English teacher is one of the four faculty members who staff the acad-

emy. The English teacher is Cari Rucker, and through a combination of family relationships and serendipity she found a way to present a technical writing course in terms that the nascent engineers and architects can embrace. That’s where her brother-in-law comes in. His name is Houston Howard. A 1997 graduate of Raceland High School, Howard now lives in Southern California and has an office on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. He and his wife Courtney, who is Rucker’s sister, are screenwriters. Howard has devised a formula for writing successful screenplays, with success measured by whether a producer with a daily stack of about a hundred submissions will read more than one page before tossing it in the trash.

When he described his formula to Rucker, she listened with increasing excitement. Howard was tossing around terms like “story architecture,” and “building” a screenplay. “I had been looking for a more scientific approach to the writing process, and all this started hitting hot buttons with me,” Rucker said. Howard agreed to meet with the class and present a threeday seminar on writing screenplays, using his formula. The student groups each wrote one and Howard further agreed to take them back to Hollywood with him, pick the best one and pitch it to movie producers. “That gave them a purpose,” Rucker said. —MCT

N Korea slams South over game site hacking claims SEOUL: North Korea lashed out at South Korea yesterday for accusing Pyongyang of hacking Seoul online game sites and stealing prize money, rejecting the allegations as an “unacceptable provocation.”

Seoul police said earlier this month they had busted a criminal gang which hired some 30 elite North Korean computer hackers to break into online game sites and steal prize points worth 6.4 billion won. They said some of the proceeds for the hackers - graduates of top colleges in Pyongyang and based in northeast China - apparently went to the North’s regime.

The North has been accused of several cyber attacks on the South in recent years, but this was the first reported case of hacking for profit.

But the North’s state media described the accusation as “groundless slander” and an attempt by Seoul to justify its hard-line stance towards its communist neighbor. “The enemy party (the South) should abandon its bad habit of frequent-

ly blaming others... and should shove the cheap gimmicks,” the Korean Central News Agency said in a statement. South Korea, the world’s most wired nation with more than 90 percent of homes connected to the Internet, has previously expressed concern about cyber attacks from the North. Seoul accused Pyongyang of staging major cyber attacks on websites of South Korean government agencies and financial institutions in March this year and in July 2009.

In May South Korea said a North Korean cyber attack paralyzed operations at one of its largest banks. The isolated, impoverished North that reportedly operates elite hacker units has denied the charges. Cross-border ties have been icy since Seoul accused Pyongyang of torpedoing a South Korean warship with the loss of 46 lives in March 2010. The North denied involvement but went on to shell a border island that left four South Koreans dead last November. — AFP

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MONDAY, AUGUST 15, 2011

health & science

Eugenics victim, son fighting for justice Woman deemed ‘unfit’ to procreate, sterilized at 14 WINFALL: Elaine Riddick’s small frame heaves, her rapid, shallow breaths whistling in her throat as she forces the words out between her sobs. “So what am I worth?” she asks the five people seated at the long table before her. “The kids that I did not have, COULD not have. What are THEY worth?” “Priceless,” Tony Riddick whispers as he gently rubs his mother’s back.

Elaine Riddick has been asking a month and a half earlier, five procedure - even though he no young lady.” Riddick attorney these same questions, in one men sitting around a table across longer had custody of his daugh- George Daly countered that, had forum or another, for the past 40 the state in the capital had decid- ter. Payne also reported that the his client been granted the hearing years. This most recent appearance ed that Riddick’s first child should situation had been explained to to which she was entitled, she Woodard, and that she agreed that might have told the board that she in late June was before the be her last.

The word “eugenics” comes it would be best if her grand- had been raped. But the doctor Governor ’s Task Force to Determine the Method of from the Greek for “well-born.” By daughter had no more children. and board saw her as “a nonperCompensation for Victims of North the early 20th century, most US And so, after delivering Riddick’s son,” he said.

“She was put in a prison of pain Carolina’s Eugenics Board. As far states had eugenics programs, and son, Dr William Bindeman clipped, as Riddick is concerned, she tells more than 30 enacted laws man- resected and cauterized her fallopi- that stayed with her for a long, the panel, she was raped twice. dating surgical sterilization for cer- an tubes. Riddick tried to be a long time after that operation.” The Once by the man who fathered her tain individuals. It is estimated that mother to her son. But her grand- trial ended on Jan 19, 1983. When son, and again by the Eugenics as many as 100,000 people were mother, concerned about bad asked whether Riddick had been Board of the State of Nor th sterilized in the country before the influences in the local environ- “unlawfully or wrongfully deprived Carolina, which deemed her, at practice was discredited. On Jan ment, decided to send her to live of her right to bear children as a age 14, unfit to procreate. 23, 1968, members of the North with an aunt on Long Island, New proximate result of the actions of any of the defendants,” the jury Between 1929 and 1974, North Carolina Eugenics Board met to York.

At 18, Riddick married a man replied, No. On Oct 1, 1984, the US Carolina sterilized more than 7,600 consider the latest petitions for individuals in the name of “improv- “operation of sterilization or asexu- she met in New York. When the Supreme Court declined to hear ing” the state’s human stock. By alization.” Among them was Case new couple’s efforts to conceive Riddick’s appeal.

When the series “Against Their the time the program was halted, No 8: “Delores Elaine Riddick - (N) - failed, Riddick went to a specialist. the majority of those neutered Perquimans County.“ The “N” stood It was then, she says, that she Will” ran in late 2002, Riddick’s stowere young, black, poor women - for Negro. Riddick’s file contained learned what the surgeon had ry was a centerpiece. By the time an evaluation from Dr Helton done four years earlier. Riddick says Riddick’s case was decided, 64 perlike Riddick. her inability to bear children drove cent of the operations were being 57-year-old Riddick has become McAndrew, a clinical psychologist.

“She attends school regularly a wedge between her and her hus- performed on black females. Thenan inspiration to other survivors of the state’s eugenics program. One and is neat in spite of not having band, contributing to their eventu- Gov Mike Easley issued an apology to eugenics victims and their famiof them is Australia Clay, whose lies. But the Riddicks and others mother was sterilized, and who, pushed for monetary reparations. following Riddick to the podium, In October of 2008, Riddick travtells her how lucky she was to have eled from Georgia to testify before had Tony - no matter how violently a legislative committee, which reche was conceived. “You’re blessed,” ommended giving each victim Clay says through her own tears. $20,000. Running for governor, “‘Cause he can help fight for you Beverly Perdue vowed to get the now. I see God’s hand in your life.” funding but, once elected, ran Riddick says she never felt otherheadlong into a $4.6 billion budget wise. Tony Riddick steps from his gap. In 2009, Perdue and the SUV and strolls down Louise Street Senate set aside $250,000 for the in this rural crossroads. When he newly created Justice for was growing up, folks used to call Sterilization Victims Foundation to this section of town “Little Korea” identify victims and develop a plan because the violence and poverty to compensate them. This March, reminded them of a Third World Perdue created the five-member country. task force.

“This right here is a good examWhen the panel held a public ple of what God is capable of doing,” Riddick says, gesturing RALEIGH: Elaine Riddick wipes tears from her eyes as she hearing on June 22, Riddick and toward a humble gray frame listens to other victims testify before the Justice for her son were there. Trembling with house. “My mother’s life and my Sterilization Victims Foundation task force compensation hurt and rage, Riddick posed her existential question, then life, by ANY measure, would have hearing. —AP answered it herself. “It doesn’t matbeen, should have been, COULD ter what you think I’m worth,” she have been totally written off.” The house belonged to Elaine Riddick’s sufficient clothes,” he wrote. “She is al breakup. She says she went into said, almost spitting the words. “It’s maternal grandmother, Maggie generally hungry which is probably a kind of “hibernation.” When what I think I’m worth.” Taking his Woodard - “Miss Peaches,” as she an important factor in her being friends became pregnant, she mother’s place at the microphone, was k nown. The two -bedroom easily irritated and having difficulty withdrew from them, unable to Tony Riddick termed the eugenics home was a refuge of sorts, with getting along with others.” bear the pain of witnessing their program attempted “genocide.” The 10, sometimes 15 people spilling Although she was in the “slow sec- joy. During summer vacations, Tony task force delivered a preliminary onto pallets on the floors. By age tion of the seventh grade,” testing would come to New York for visits. report to Perdue Aug 1. Among its 13, Delores Elaine Riddick had tak- revealed that Riddick had an IQ of She divorced and rediscovered recommendations were unspecien refuge here, and Woodard was 75. McAndrew felt that her love. In October 1981, Riddick fied “lump sum financial damages” receiving government surplus “tremendous feelings of insecurity underwent an operation to try to and mental health services for livstemming from the disturbed reverse her sterilization, though ing victims. “For many citizens, it food for the girl. may be hard to justify spending Riddick, third-oldest in a family home conditions” were causing her doctors could only repair one side.

At last, in January 1983, testimo- millions when the state is cutting of seven girls and one boy, had to irritability and “also repressed her wear the same clothes several days level of intellectual functioning. ny began in US District Court at back on other essential services,” in a row. Picked on by bullies, she Delores Riddick’s chief problem is New Bern. Attorneys for the board the panel wrote in a letter to the often sk ipped school. With so her poor home,” he concluded. “We members argued that they had governor. “But the fact is, there many children in the house, there expect this girl to perform more acted in good faith as public offi- never will be a good time to was little supervision. One Sunday adequately in an improved envi- cials. Member Jacob Koomen, state redress these wrongs and the vicevening, she was walking home ronment...” Social worker Marion health director at the time, testified tims have already waited too long.” alone from a party when a man Payne took a dimmer view, report- that sterilization in North Carolina A final report is due Feb 1, 2012.

Despite her reconstructive surjumped out of the bushes about ing that the child did “poor school was “an invited phenomenon.”

“The usual response was that gery, Riddick was never able to two blocks from her grandmoth- work” and “does not get along well er’s, led her to a nearby car and with others.” A doctor, she noted, we were doing a favor,” Koomen have more children. But she knows raped her. She knew the man from had assessed Riddick as “feeble- said. On day two, Riddick was she has much for which to be the neighborhood. He was 10 minded.” “Because of Elaine’s inabil- called to testify. She told jurors of thankful. She has love in her life. years her senior. He said if she ever ity to control herself, and her the rape and explained her deci- Riddick met Paul Adams about 15 told anyone, he would kill her. promiscuity - there are community sion to lie. She denied that doctors years ago, and they were married When Woodard learned that her reports of her ‘running around’ and had explained the procedure to this past January. She has a 6-yeargranddaughter was pregnant, out late at night unchaperoned, her, and that she had consented. old grandson, Tony Riddick Jr. And Riddick said the father was an old- the physician has advised steriliza- She talked of her recent surgery, she has Tony. “I thank God today er boy from nearby Edenton whom tion,” the final recommendation and how her continued failure to that I have my son,” she says. “To she’d met at a party. It was a lie read. “ This will at least prevent conceive made her feel “less than a me, he’s a blessing and he’s a gift.” that would come back to haunt additional children from being woman.” In his closing arguments, Tony Riddick is now president of born to this girl who cannot care Deputy Attorney General William F his own computer-electronics her.

After Thomas Anthony Riddick for herself, and can never function O’Connell argued that the board company. He says he was about 13 had been presented with a body of when he learned that his mother was delivered on March 5, 1968, in any way as a parent.”

Three weeks before the board evidence “virtually mandating the had been sterilized. He didn’t learn Riddick remembers waking to find her abdomen swathed in bandag- meeting, Thomas Riddick had conclusion ... that sterilization about the circumstances of his es. What she didn’t know was that signed a form consenting to the would be in the best interest of this conception until much later. —AP

Donors help reboot US listening post for aliens LOS ANGELES: A California institute plans to reboot its listening post for intelligent life in space, with private donations to replace government cutbacks. Back in April, the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) Institute was forced to shut down its $30 million radio telescope array, designed to hear potential signals from alien life forms, for lack of funds. But officials with the nonprofit institute in northern California’s Mountain View appealed for donations. This week, they said the total raised had surpassed their $200,000 goal.

That was due to the generosity of more than 2,400 donors, including actress Jodie Foster and Apollo 8 astronaut Bill Anders, they said. As a result, the institute said it expects to restart the telescope array in September and keep it running at least through the end of the year. The plan is still dependent upon the center receiving an unspecified amount of funds from the US Air Force to track space debris that could damage satellites. Thomas Pierson, chief executive of the SETI Institute, said he expects the nearly finalized deal with the Air Force will, combined with the pri-

vate funds, allow the group’s Allen Telescope Array to again listen for space chatter. “For those who are interested in understanding whether intelligent life might be out there elsewhere in our galaxy, the Allen Telescope Array and our SETI team doing the research is the best bet,” Pierson said. The search for alien life is a scientific discipline currently underway by a small number of US universities and groups in Australia, Argentina and Italy, Pierson said.

Radio telescope array The Allen Telescope Array is the first instrument designed from the ground-up, with the goal of listening for signals from extraterrestrial life, Pierson said. It is named after Microsoft Corp co-founder Paul Allen, one of its chief benefactors, and consists of dozens of dish-like antennas operated as one large radio telescope. Located in a remote area in the shadow of Lassen Peak, east of Redding, California, it began initial operations in 2007, according to the SETI Institute. The array is part of the Hat Creek Radio Observatory, a facility of the University of California, Berkeley. —Reuters

SUFFOLK: Heirloom tomatoes hang on vines at Cotton Plains Farm. —MCT

Tomato myths still sowing many seeds of confusion Any way you slice it, the tomato is one confusing comestible. There’s the whole identity crisis thing - is it a fruit or a vegetable? And don’t get us started on the tuh-MAY-to, tuh-MAH-to thing. It’s enough to drive anyone ba-NAY-nas.

Here are what tomato lovers and experts have to say about some common misconceptions about this vine product.

Fruit or vegetable?

This is the kind of thing that can spark quite the argument, with both sides passionately supporting their claims. Oddly enough, both are right, at least according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service.

Yes, botanically speaking the tomato is a fruit, but horticulturally and legally, it is considered a vegetable. This debate has been adjudicated by none other than the U.S. Supreme Court. It happened in the late 19th century in connection with a challenge to tariffs on imported produce.

The high court ruled in Nix vs. Hedden that despite the botanical definition, tomatoes are a vegetable, in part because at the tables of the time they were served as “the principal part of the repast” and not as dessert. No telling what the justices would have done in today’s envelope-pushing culinary world of tomato jams and gelatos. A side note: Today’s tomatoes are mainly tariff-free since those that aren’t grown domestically are mostly imported from Mexico and Canada, which are covered by the NAFTA free trade zone.

The big chill A lot of people pick out the freshest, juiciest tomatoes they can find, take them home, and bundle them into the fridge, thereby killing all that wonderful aroma and flavor. Instead, tomatoes should be stored at room temperature, says chef Matthew Lowe of the KendallJackson Wine Estate in Fulton, California, which hosts an annual Heirloom Tomato Festival. Put the tomatoes in the fridge and “you lose that smell, that taste you get from the aroma, and you never get it back.” That means that tomatoes are not like cheese, which should be refrigerated for storage then allowed to come to room temperature before serving. With tomatoes, once chilled, there’s no going back.

Toxic tomatoes?

Tomatoes are part of the nightshade family, just like peppers and eggplants, which have led some in the past to believe the fruit is poisonous. In fact, the tomato is harmless. However, Lowe notes, you don’t want to eat the leaves or other parts of the plant. On the other hand, your parents were correct. If you eat lots of tomato seeds, one is likely to grown in your stomach. Not. Red equals ripe Tomatoes come in all shapes and col-

ors, from white to mahogany. “I am fascinated by the sheer variety of tomatoes available - black ones, yellow ones, stripy ones and white ones in all sorts of shapes and sizes,” says Gail Harland, author of “Tomato: A guide to the pleasures of choosing, growing and cooking.”

Tomatoes are best picked absolutely ripe, so if you have access to a farmer’s market selling freshly picked tomatoes, grow your own or are lucky enough to have a generous and green-thumbed friend, you’re getting tomatoes at their best and juiciest. “Some of the best tomatoes don’t actually make it out of the garden,” says Lowe. Tomatoes intended for shipping to the food service industry - to be served on hamburgers, etc - often are picked before they are ripe, when they are firmer and can stand up to the journey better, and are then ripened by exposure to ethylene, a naturally occurring gas. You can do the same thing at home by putting unripe tomatoes in a paper bag with bananas or apples, which emit ethylene gas.

Supermarket tomatoes come in for some pretty harsh criticism, though in recent years products have improved with many being grown hydroponically in huge greenhouses, allowing for a yearround supply. “What you can buy at the supermarket now is probably superior to the choices that you had 15 to 20 years ago,” says Tim Hartz, cooperative extension specialist in the University of California, Davis, plant sciences department. “For the life of me I don’t understand all the consternation that some people have about the quality of the tomatoes at the supermarket.” Winter tomatoes aren’t the best, he agrees, which is not so surprising since it’s the offseason. Even a greenhouse tomato, once out of the greenhouse, may be exposed to cold that will impinge on taste. What about those “on the vine” tomatoes marketed as being superior to stem-less tomatoes? That, says the USDA diplomatically, is a subjective decision that only the consumer can make.

Physiologically, tomatoes with or without stems shouldn’t be different if they’re handled properly. “It’s a presentation issue,” says Hartz.

And one more thing In her research, Harland, who lives in Britain, was intrigued to learn about the tomato festival at Bunol near Valencia in Spain. Called La Tomatina, this takes place on the last Wednesday of August and is “in effect, the world’s biggest food fight, involving some 20,000 participants and several truckloads of tomatoes.”

There are rules; tomatoes must be crushed before being tossed to avoid injury and can only be thrown during a designated period. The fight is part of a weeklong festival of parties, concerts, fireworks and cookery demonstrations and “I am determined to visit one year!” says Harland. —AP

Somali refugees facing malnutrition in Ethiopia DOLO ADO: Mohamed Ibrahim fled to Ethiopia to seek relief from a harsh drought devastating his country Somalia, but misery stalked him in refuge where malnutrition recently killed his oneyear-old son. The desperate exodus by tens of thousands of Somalis to find assistance across borders has taken them to refugee settlements, where spartan living conditions, congestion and threat of disease are making survival difficult. “I thought that if I came here I would get a better life than in Somalia,” said Ibrahim, sitting outside his tent in the southern Ethiopia Kobe camp. “I am sad because my baby died,” added Ibrahim, initially turned away from a government-run hospital in the camp due to lack of drugs for his child.

Aid agencies say malnutrition and mortality rates in the Ethiopian refugee camps remain high, with more that 30 percent of children under five suffering malnutrition and about six deaths per 10,000 people, according to UN estimates. Opportunistic diseases

like pneumonia and measles have also erupted among the already weakened population. “The malnutrition and mortality rates are above the emergency threshold.

It’s a big concern for us,” said Allen Maina, a UN public health officer.

Aid workers voiced concern that overcrowding, poor sanitation and lack of proper health care is worsening the misery of the refugees.

The Ethiopian Dolo Ado refugee complex hosts 118,400 Somali refugees, including 78,000 who arrived this year, according to the UN refugee agency.

“The conditions in the camp are very poor in terms of water and sanitation and that causes diarrhea, which causes malnutrition.

It’s a vicious cycle,” said Carolina Nanclares, a doctor with medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF). “For me, it’s the worst I have ever seen,” Nanclares said. A prolonged drought in the Horn of Africa region has hit war-wracked Somalia hardest, sending hundreds of thousands of its citizens to neighboring Kenya and Ethiopia. Around 12 million people

are in danger of starvation due to the region’s worst drought in decades. Many Somalis face the difficult choice of whether to flee with severely malnourished children or care for them at home.

Farah Mohamed Malim, 46, brought his four-year-old son to an MSF clinic in the camps. Although his child has improved, his sick tenmonth-old infant had to stay at home with the mother, who is also sick and too weak to travel. “I’m worried he’s at risk of dying,” Malim said, sitting in the MSF ward where stick-thin children occupy most of the centre’s 120 beds. “We want a life the way others live. We want medicine. We want food like others. We want rice and spaghetti,” said Malim. MSF medical coordinator Vannessa Cramond said aid groups should address the dilemma faced by many family heads who must decide whether to bring the sickest children to hospital or stay at home to take care of the whole family.

“There are some impossible decisions that people have to make,” she said. “That’s a gap that

as an international community we must close.” Cramond said that adolescents are also suffering malnutrition, noting that a third of those admitted at a newly-opened camp are above five years. “It suggests a wider scale emergency that affects the whole household,” she said, explaining that it will take several months before nutrition rates increase and mortality comes down. Dawey Ibrahim has seen malnutrition spread in her family.

Her eight-year-old and 15-year-old children are severely malnourished and another, who is 18, suffers from regular fainting spells. “We left Somalia because we didn’t have anything. Now we are dying from hunger,” said Ibrahim, her 15year-old crouching by her side under the scorching sun, too weak to stand on his own. However the UN public health official Maina said he was hopeful the situation will improve as relief organizations boost support for the droughtstruck Somali refugees.”In a few weeks we are going to see the numbers go down,” he said. “This is a catch-up campaign.” —AFP

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Orion spaceship set for new tests in Colorado Capable of exploring far side of the moon DENVER: A spaceship that could carry the next wave of astronauts to an asteroid or beyond is being prepared for a new round of tests at a Lockheed Martin facility near Denver. Engineers have attached a launch-abort system to the nose of the capsule and will subject the combined spacecraft to a series of experiments to see if it can withstand the rigors of blastoff, Lockheed Martin said Friday. The launch-abort system, essentially a rocket attached to the nose of the capsule, could lift the capsule off its booster rocket and carry it to safety if a problem developed before or during launch. Lockheed Martin, of Bethesda, Maryland, is building the capsule, called the Orion Multi-

Purpose Crew Vehicle, under a $7.5 billion NASA contract issued in 2006.

The capsule was originally part of President George W Bush’s $100 billion program to return astronauts to the moon, called Constellation.

President Barack Obama canceled the program last year, saying the US would concentrate on developing new rocket technology instead.

Obama then revived the Orion portion of the program amid criticism that his plan lacked details and put US space leadership at risk. Orion doesn’t yet have a destination. NASA has said it could service the space station in low Earth orbit or take four astronauts on more distant missions of up to 21 days. Lockheed Martin officials have said Orion could

explore the far side of the moon, land humans on asteroids or take them to one of the moons of Mars, where they could control robotic instruments on the surface. In the next round of tests, the capsule and launch-abort system will be subjected to sound vibrations at a Lockheed Martin facility in Waterton Canyon south of Denver.

The 55-foot-tall assembly will be lifted by a crane into a tall, elevator shaft-like chamber. Inside, more than a dozen horns powered by compressed nitrogen will create a thunderous low-pitch noise at 150 decibels. That will trigger vibrations like the ones generated by a launch or deployment of the abort system. “It sounds like a freight

experience in sync with dedication

train and a tornado all at once,” Lockheed Martin’s Paul Sannes.

Instruments on the capsule and abort system will tell engineers how well they hold up. The abort system was successfully tested in May 2010 at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico. An Orion mock-up was rocketed about a mile into the air at speeds of about 450 mph in just 2.5 seconds. The capsule then deployed parachutes and floated to the ground. It landed about a mile nor th of the launch site. After the vibration tests are finished, the spacecraft will be taken to the NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, for landing tests. It would land in the ocean. —AP

DENVER: Engineers Chet Graham, left, and Tom Byers, right, attach a collar to the escape vehicle on the Orion spacecraft at the Lockheed Martin facility.

They will use it to move the assembled craft to a testing chamber where it will be submitted to vibration testing. —AP

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Announcements Girgian Fashion Show Get your kids dressed up in their best Girgian costumes or Fair y tale costumes! The Kids Gergean Fashion Show event is sponsored by Fantasy World & it includes lots of entertainment & goodies. It is open to kids aged 2 to 15 years. This event will be covered by many magazines :) When: Thursday, August 11th, Time: 8:30pm, For more info: 9722-4813 GIRGIAN: A fun Girgian party at Baroue!: When: August 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

Ministry of Interior’s police club hosts Girgian

Tulukoota talent hunt Tulukoota Kuwait will hold a “Talent Hunt 2011” a chance to prove an inborn trait in you that confirms your individuality, uniqueness. So step forward to grab this opportunity to show your caliber and entertain. Dance, music, art or any special talent- now is your chance to showcase it - and be part of this year’s Talent Hunt & Tulu Parba. Talent Hunt event is open to all Tuluvas.

For more information and registration form kindly log on to our Website: www.tulukootakuwait.org or visit our facebook page - Tulukoota Kuwait Talent Hunt 2011. You could also email your form request to: secretary@tulukootakuwait.org or contact our area coordinators mentioned below. Mangaf, Fahaheel, Abuhalifa : Ronald Dsouza- 60035824, Shalini Alva- 23726164, Suma Bhatt- 97834578 Salmiya & Hawally: Swarna Shetty- 99006934, Kripa Gatty- 66044194 Kuwait City, Jahra, Sharq : Rekha Sachu- 65044521,97862115 Farwaniya, Abbassiya, Shuwaikh & Khaitan: Sathyanarayana- 66585077 Sanath Shetty67712409.

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he Ministry of Interior’s police club hosted a Girgian festival this past Friday night, featuring traditional displays from the Kuwaiti culture, in addition to competitions and other activities. Free Girgian was distributed to people in attendance.

Pathanamthitta Onam The executive committee of Pathanamthitta District Association has decided to hold 2011 Onam Festival celebrations on Friday October 28, 2011 with a grand public function attended

by Member of Parliament from Pathanamthitta Loksabha Constituency, Anto Antony and other prominent dignitaries from Kerala and Kuwait.

All residents of Pathanamthitta District and persons of Pathanamthitta District origin are hereby invited to attend this function and friends and families.

Art salon Bouhshari Art Gallery Exhibition runs through 15 September. Daily working hours: 10am 1pm and 5 - 9pm, except on Friday and on Thursday evening.

Kuwait Fire Service departments compete in football tournament A football match was held yesterday under the patronage and in the presence of Brig Ameen Hassan Abdeen, Acting General Director of Kuwait Fire Service Directorate. The heads of other fire departments also attended the occasion. The Inspection Department’s team won the tournament, and Brig Abdeen handed over prizes and trophies to the winning team. —Hanan Al-Saadoun

Summer Activities KAYAKING Kuwait Surf-Ski Kayak Club 99706742 Sea kayaking is one of the fastest growing water sports in the world today. Call if you are interested in purchasing a kayak, getting involved in the sport.

MOTOR SPORTS Kuwait Motor Bike League / The Amateur Car & Motorbike Association Motorbike track (for trail/dirt bikes) and rally car-racing centre located behind the Science Club on the northern side of the 6th Ring Road (between roads 401 and 50). Car and bike races held on Fridays. Use of facilities and participation in competitions limited to members only. office on 3td Ring Road, near Road 50.

NETBALL Kuwait Netball Meet Monday for mixed games 6:30 -7:30 and Tuesday for Woman only check the website for more info. www.kuwaitnetball.com RUGBY Kuwait Nomads The rugby season in Kuwait runs from September to May. Mens, ladies and minis rugby are played and the teams frequently travel to participate in AGRFU tournaments. Any interested child between the ages of 5-17 can participate in the Minis rugby. Training is held every Friday between 9am-llam on the grassed pitch at the Yarmouk stadium. The men’s and ladies teams have the pleasure of training and playing on the KOC sand pitch in Ahmadi, the home of

the Kuwait Nomads. Training nights are Sundays and Tuesdays from 7pm-9pm. InterGulf matches are played on Thursdays or Fridays. www.p8nompds.com RUNNING For anyone who likes walking, jogging or cycling in Kuwait there is a very good track around the area of Mishref. The track is 4.9km long and is marked out in distances of 100m.

There are also a number of outdoor exercise machines located near the start and the end of the track. Please note, however, that the track is more of a horseshoe shape rather than a complete circuit as there is a gap of at least a mile between the start and finish. Decide how far you want to walk, walk half the distance and then turn back. There are roads to cross so take care if you have young children with you.

Despite all of this, it’s still very worthwhile going along and trying it out.

HASH HARRIERS 23982219 Social jogging on Thursday and Saturday evenings. Hash Harriers has been operating around the world since 1938. Hash is for a mixture of abilities from walkers to experienced runners. It is social rather than athletic. Length of course depends on time of year. Contact Gerry Burton on the above number or on 99764028. www.hasher.net SAILING The Arabian Gulf waters are an ideal environment in which to learn to sail. Offshore the seas are seldom rough and there is often a moderate breeze.

Many of the sea clubs organize sailing activities.

CATAMARAN SAILING 66587737 Dive Caroline Beach Fafaheel The Kuwait Catamaran Club is a group of enthusiasts who love sailing on fast cats in the Arabian Gulf’s waters around Kuwait. Usually an informal group sail on Friday afternoons. Boats are privately owned but visitors are very welcome and can be taken out as crew. Boats for hire, a Dart 18 and Hobie 16.

Contact John Morley johnmorley@hotmail.com Fahaheel Sailing Club (see Dive Caroline) 2371 9289 www.horn3.com KOSA 23983365 99745383 The Kuwait Offshore Sailing Association (KOSA) meets on the first Tuesday of each month (except July and August) at the Dive Caroline clubhouse, which is located at the Fahaheel Sea Club. Fortnightly racing plus International events in Bahrain and Dubai. Boats often require crew and will take you if you turn up!

Catamaran racing is arranged after KOSA morning races, followed by a sunset barbecue on the beach. An Annual Regatta, usually during April, is also organised. www.kospg8.com SCUBA DIVING The Arabian Gulf is the perfect place in which to learn to scuba dive. Although dive sites are not as spectacular as those in the Red Sea and Thailand, the local environment is conducive to teaching youngsters who wish to do fairly shallow dives and build up their confidence. A par-

ent/guardian is required to accompany all children between the ages of 10-12. Thereafter the child may be accompanied by a diving instructor. It is a good idea for adults to attend the theory classes with their children.

DIVE CAROLINE 2371 9289 Fahaheel Sea Club, Fahaheel Dive Caroline is a friendly sailing and diving club with pool, beach, sauna, steam room, fitness and social areas. Scuba diving training and equipment sales; skippered sailing yacht charter for up to 8 passengers; fishing charters (up to 6 passengers with a max. of 2 trawling lines); skippered power boat hire for 6, 8 or 14 passengers. Birthday parties are hosted at the DC pool for children 8 years old and over (maximum of 16 children).

Swimming lessons for children as well as private lessons for adults.

Banana boat rides, water skiing, kayaking. 10% dIscount for BLS Members (and friends) on stock purchases and on training courses for groups of 6 or more participants, Medic First Aid courses and Paedlatrlc First Aid courses. www.divecaroline.com Dive Centre 99649482 The Palms Hotel, Salwa A full service PADI 5 Star Dive Centre catering for all of your diving requirements. www.thepalmsdivecenter.com KIM Dive Centre 23716002 Villa 365, Hilton Kuwait Resort Kuwait International Marine (KIM) Centre is a full service PADI 5 Star Dive Centre catering for all of your diving requirements. 10% discount for all BLS Members on courses, boat trips and Dive Shop. www.kimcenter.selmpb.com

Indian bowling league Indian Bowling League Season 2 would like to invite you and your families to participate in an Indian bowling event where all nationalities, the young and the old can have fun playing an enjoyable game while meeting new people in a healthy competition from July 12th - August 15th For more details contact: Uly 99503348, Amaldo 66052062, and Nasha 99516960. If anyone is looking to assist them in this event with sponsors, they will be really obliged to have your help to make this event a success.

Registrations are open.

Rink soccer Don Bosco Oratory is pleased to announce its Major 4-A-Side “Rink Soccer Fiesta” in Kuwait!

This event is for the soccer lovers in Kuwait and will be played on a League (round robin) cum knock out basis from August 2nd at the IEAS Quadrangle in Salmiya. For details contact Chris: 6651-9627, Alex: 66069282 from 6-9pm.

Konkani musical show Comedian Philip, the 1st NRI Goan comedian, is all set to entertain you with a Konkani music show titled “Ani, Anik Zaiem?” to be presented by the United Friends Club on September 9 at 4pm at the AIS (American International School) Auditorium, Maidan-Hawalli. This is Kuwaitbased comedian Philip’s third musical show after the overwhelming success of staging “Tum Vhoir Aum Sokol” and “Hem Kazar Koslem” in Kuwait and overseas.

Aware Arabic courses

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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.

AWARE Arabic courses highlight lIntroductory to Level 4 Arabic language basics lBetter prepare you for speaking, reading and writing Arabic lCombine language learning with cultural insights lTaught in multi-nationality group settings lProvide opportunities to interact with Western expatriates and native Kuwaitis/Arabs. For more information, call 25335260 or log onto: www.aware.com.kw

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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 remain closed today (Monday, 15 August 2011) on the occasion of the National Mourning Day, the 36th Death Anniversary of the Father of the Nation - Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. The Embassy will arrange the following programs to observe the National Mourning at the Chancery. The program on this occasion will be as follows: 08:30 - The hoisting of the National Flag at halfmast on the roof top.

16:30 - Recitation from the Holy Quran and a one-minute silence in honor of the martyrs reading out of the Messages followed by discussion, Dua and munajat. nnnnnnn

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

Kuwait Airways Corporation holds Girgian

T

he Kuwait Airways Corporation held a Girgian festival for staff members and their families inside its headquarters’ building in Dhajeej. The event featured competitions and other activities as part of a program provided by the Fantasy production Group. —Photos by Fouad Al-Shaikh

EMBASSY OF CANADA The Embassy of Canada is located at Villa 24, AlMutawakel St., Block 4 in Da’aiyah. Please visit our website at www.Kuwait.gc.ca.

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

Effective January 15, 2011, the only Temporary Resident Visa (TRV) application form that will be accepted by CIC is the Application for Temporary Resident Visa Made Outside of Canada [IMM 5257] form.

All previous Temporary Resident Visa application forms will no longer be accepted by CIC and instead will be returned to applicants. Should old applications be submitted prior to January 15, 2011 they will continue to be processed. nnnnnnn

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

EMBASSY OF INDIA The Embassy of India will remain closed on the following dates today 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.

Classifieds MONDAY, AUGUST 15, 2011

ACCOMMODATION Sharing accommodation available for non-smoking Indian couple or bachelors with a Keralite couple in double room flat in Abbassiya from 1st September. Contact: 99378344/ 24332105 (after 3pm). (C 3567) 15-8-2011 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)

FOR SALE Mercedes C180 model 1995, white color, registration up to August 19th 2012, owner leaving Kuwait soon. Price KD 1,250 or nearest offer. Contact: 66556591. (C 3566) For sale computer

HP

Compaq P4 1.7 Ghz, Ram 256, Hard disk 20 GB, CD Rom, 17” Monitor - Price KD 27/-.

Contact: 66762737. (C 3569) 15-8-2011

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 Kumar.

R) holder of Indian Passport No. J5398981 (D.O.B - 2306-1995) would like to change my name to Aravind Krishnakumar.

(C 3563) 13-8-2011

No: 15181

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 THY UAE DHX ETD MSR GFA QTR ETH JZR KAC FCX KAC BAW JZR JZR KAC KAC FDB KAC KAC KAC KAC UAE QTR ABY ETD GFA SHY MEA IRC BBC MSR JZR KAC RBG MSR SYR UAL RJA JZR FDB

Flt 642 772 853 370 305 614 211 138 620 539 544 201 412 157 507 557 206 302 53 352 284 362 344 855 132 125 301 213 1125 404 6521 45 623 173 618 3557 610 341 982 640 121 57

Arrival Flights on Monday 15/8/2011 Route AMMAN ISTANBUL DUBAI BAHRAIN ABU DHABI CAIRO BAHRAIN DOHA ADDIS ABABA / BAHRAIN CAIRO CAIRO DUBAI MANILA / BANGKOK LONDON LUXOR ALEXANDRIA ISLAMABAD MUMBAI DUBAI COCHIN DHAKA COLOMBO CHENNAI DUBAI DOHA SHARJAH ABU DHABI BAHRAIN ANTALYA BEIRUT LAMERD DHAKA / BAHRAIN SOHAG DUBAI DOHA ALEXANDRIA CAIRO DAMASCUS WASHINGTON DC DULLES AMMAN BAHRAIN DUBAI

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

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

645 500 788 134 745 546 550 118 403 303 857 215 510 127 63 227 104 542 786 774 777 744 674 575 572 61 647 81 402 203 1752 239 372 445 267 859 217 136 981 327 612 636 1756 239

MUSCAT JEDDAH JEDDAH DOHA JEDDAH ALEXANDRIA SOHAG NEW YORK COLOMBO / DUBAI ABU DHABI DUBAI BAHRAIN RIYADH SHARJAH DUBAI COLOMBO / DUBAI LONDON CAIRO JEDDAH RIYADH JEDDAH DAMMAM DUBAI CHENNAI / GOA MUMBAI DUBAI MUSCAT BAGHDAD BEIRUT DAMASCUS JEDDAH AMMAN BAHRAIN AMSTERDAM BEIRUT DUBAI BAHRAIN DOHA BAHRAIN TUNIS CAIRO FRANKFURT JEDDAH SIALKOT

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

Departure Flights on Monday 15/8/2011 Airlines AXB JZR DLH KLM AIC PIA AFG THY UAE DHX ETD MSR ETH QTR RJA GFA BAW KAC FDB JZR KAC KAC KAC UAE ABY QTR ETD GFA JZR SHY KAC MEA KAC IRC KAC BBC MSR KAC RBG JZR KAC MSR

Flt 390 506 637 447 982 206 406 773 854 371 306 615 620 139 643 212 156 545 54 172 787 549 617 856 126 133 302 214 120 1126 165 405 541 6522 103 46 624 785 3558 776 1751 611

Route MANGALORE / KOZHIKODE LUXOR FRANKFURT AMSTERDAM AHMEDABAD / CHENNAI PESHAWER / LAHORE DUBAI / KABUL ISTANBUL DUBAI BAHRAIN ABU DHABI CAIRO ADDIS ABABA DOHA AMMAN BAHRAIN LONDON ALEXANDRIA DUBAI DUBAI JEDDAH SOHAG DOHA DUBAI SHARJAH DOHA ABU DHABI BAHRAIN BAHRAIN ANTALYA ROME / PARIS BEIRUT CAIRO LAMERD LONDON DHAKA SOHAG JEDDAH SOHAG / ALEXANDRIA JEDDAH JEDDAH CAIRO

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

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

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

342 641 58 982 202 266 646 238 673 501 773 746 743 82 304 404 135 858 216 128 511 64 1755 228 283 571 62 1753 331 538 351 648 403 543 373 445 860 218 102 137 301 205 327 981 411 613 556

DAMASCUS AMMAN DUBAI BAHRAIN DAMASCUS BEIRUT MUSCAT AMMAN DUBAI JEDDAH RIYADH JEDDAH DAMMAM BAGHDAD ABU DHABI DUBAI / COLOMBO DOHA DUBAI BAHRAIN SHARJAH RIYADH DUBAI JEDDAH DUBAI / COLOMBO DHAKA MUMBAI DUBAI JEDDAH TRIVANDRUM CAIRO COCHIN MUSCAT BEIRUT CAIRO BAHRAIN BAHRAIN / AMSTERDAM DUBAI BAHRAIN BAHRAIN DOHA MUMBAI ISLAMABAD DUBAI / TUNIS WASHINGTON DC DULLES BANGKOK / MANILA CAIRO ALEXANDRIA

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

34

MONDAY, AUGUST 15, 2011

stars CROSSWORD 410

STAR TRACK

CALVIN & HOBBES

Aries (March 21-April 19) Although you could use a day of rest you may find yourself involved with young people—coordinating outside activities, advising, etc. If you try to have authority over these young people, you may find yourself working at odds with them. This is more of a time of play than guidance; however, play can be used to guide. You may find yourself reflecting on your own youth or some event from your past. Communication with these young people may be difficult or combative if you do not take part in the activities as well. You have a stick-to-it attitude that always finds you in the thick of things, toughing it out, so to speak. Find time in the afternoon to be by yourself for a time of relaxation. This evening should bring opportunities for love.

Taurus (April 20-May 20) Your home and surroundings are tidy and air-tight. You have done some wonderful work on your living quarters and if you were thinking about a move, you might decide to reassess that idea. You have just reached the comfort zone. You usually keep your feelings and emotions to yourself. However, today you may find yourself in such a safe place that it is easy to communicate and be helped, as well as help others. You may be attending a lecture or a fair this evening.

You learn the art of aromatherapy and a few other talents that promote relaxation. All that is mystical and transcendental is your appointed territory—spiritual in the best sense of that word. You feel at home in these realms. Poetry, art or music is part of your activities today.

POOCH CAFE ACROSS 1. United States labor organizer who ran for President as a socialist (1855-1926).

5. A Brazilian river.

10. A health resort near a spring or at the seaside.

13. Leaf or strip from a leaf of the talipot palm used in India for writing paper.

14. Italian violin maker in Cremona.

15. 4-wheeled motor vehicle.

16. A feeling of strong eagerness (usually in favor of a person or cause).

17. (Mesopotamia) God of agriculture and earth.

18. Electrical conduction through a gas in an applied electric field.

19. Humorously vulgar.

21. A coffee cake flavored with orange rind and raisins and almonds.

23. According to the Old Testament he was a pagan king of Israel and husband of Jezebel (9th century BC).

26. An accountant certified by the state.

29. (Babylonian) God of storms and wind.

33. Loud confused noise from many sources.

37. German industrialist who was the first in Germany to use an assembly line in manufacturing automobiles (1871-1948).

38. 36th President of the United States.

39. The last imperial dynasty of China (from 1644 to 1912) which was overthrown by revolutionaries.

40. Polish labor leader and statesman (born in 1943).

44. Widely cultivated in tropical and subtropical regions for its fragrant flowers and colorful fruits.

45. An undergarment worn by women to support their breasts.

46. Of a yellowish brown color similar to olive drab n.

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

54. As the agent of or on someone's part.

57. The cry made by sheep.

58. The use of nuclear magnetic resonance of protons to produce proton density images.

59. Type genus of the Otariidae.

60. (computer science) A coding system that incorporates extra parity bits in order to detect errors.

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

62. African tree having an exceedingly thick trunk and fruit that resembles a gourd and has an edible pulp called monkey bread.

63. A usually soluble substance for staining or coloring e.g. fabrics or hair.

DOWN 1. A person who acts and gets things done.

2. (Norse mythology) Goddess of old age who defeated Thor in a wrestling match.

3. Divulge information or secrets.

4. The capital and largest city of Yemen.

5. A genus of Ploceidae.

6. A benevolent aspect of Devi.

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

8. A reptile genus of Iguanidae.

9. In the Arabian Nights a hero who tells of the fantastic adventures he had in his voyages.

10. Someone who works (or provides workers) during a strike.

11. A large area of land preserved in its natural state as public property.

12. Type genus of the family Arcidae.

20. A gonadotropic hormone that is secreted by the anterior pituitary.

22. The blood group whose red cells carry both the A and B antigens.

24. A soft silvery metallic element of the alkali earth group.

25. Resinlike substance secreted by certain lac insects.

27. An insect in the inactive stage of development (when it is not feeding) intermediate between larva and adult.

28. Norwegian mathematician (1802-1829).

30. (criminal law) Money that must be forfeited by the bondsman if an accused person fails to appear in court for trial.

31. God of fire.

32. Mentally or physically infirm with age.

34. Offering little or no hope.

35. (Scottish) Bluish-black or gray-blue.

36. Short and fat.

41. A vehicle resembling a bicycle but having skis instead of wheels.

42. Any of various deciduous or evergreen ornamental shrubs of the genus Abelia having opposite simple leaves and cymes of small white or pink or purplish flowers.

43. Manufactured in standard sizes to be shipped and assembled elsewhere.

47. Not easy.

48. Lacking sufficient water or rainfall.

49. An aggressive remark directed at a person like a missile and intended to have a telling effect.

50. In bed.

51. Made of or resembling lace.

52. (trademark) A liquid that temporarily disables a person.

55. The 7th letter of the Greek alphabet.

56. 10 hao equal 1 dong.

Gemini (May 21-June 20) There is a spiritual or psychological insight of the first order today. New and fresh viewpoints into the social scene and mass psychology are available now—intense light. Your attitude today is that a good way to understand or know what is going on is to become a part of it. There is a chance to understand those around you and to have a special time with someone you love. A real healing can happen today. General good feelings and a sense of support and harmony make this a happy time. The whole family, or perhaps just your loved one, will enjoy getting away from routine with you and doing something completely different for a change. This is a great time to reflect and understand your own situation—you are appreciative of the people in your life.

Cancer (June 21-July 22)

NON SEQUITUR

You are in a good position to communicate with groups and society. Your home environment, friends and surroundings in general have your attention. With the chores out of the way, you can become very motivated to communicate: phone, voice, letters, computers, etc. You may find yourself wanting to catch up on the lives of your loved ones as well. You may enjoy reading and can tell a great story yourself. Consider the art of writing and try your hand at a short story.

There is a relentless drive to pursue knowledge and a library or a literary club holds a special fascination for you now. While working with young people in some fun activity, you are able to teach and have them listen. You are also able to gain insight and new ideas from these youths.

Leo (July 23-August 22) Being with friends and family in some fun or spiritual activity is looked forward to today. Today makes for a deepening of relationships, plus that added feeling of security and belonging. Later today there is time to prepare for the week ahead. Any chronic health problems need to be studied—perhaps a trip to a health food store is in order. Allergy problems may be part of this need to understand and perhaps, make changes in your eating habits. You tend to be radical when it comes to self-analysis, which means health care, food, physical well-being, etc. Serving and caring for yourself and others are primary sources of inner growth and changes. Quick answers, great wit and a surplus of insights and solutions are available this evening.

ZITS

Virgo (August 23-September 22) Religion or spiritual matters, relationships, music and creative projects will keep you busy today. The world is a sacred place to you and you have an absolute commitment to spiritual ideas. Intuition is a fact of life and you are sensitive, kind and gentle, a romantic too—with a tender heart. You always work for a real future, doing what has to be done. You love all that is musical and artistic. You have sensitivity to all that is psychic. You have real faith in life. Capture-themoment is your attitude and you live in the fullest way possible. This evening is a good time to relax with loved ones. Perhaps a quiet walk or a dinner outside your living area will give you opportunities to come face to face with each other in a positive atmosphere. Romance is possible.

Libra (September 23-October 22)

MOTHER GOOSE AND GRIMM

Scorpio (October 23-November 21) You may appear very at-ease today. Everything seems to be working together and you may find yourself expressive and able to commune with others in the best way possible. You are very skilled at creating a positive change and improving existing circumstances. You will seek to understand and improve situations in the home surroundings today, finding new but secure ways to better conditions. Inventions and discoveries in communications, computers and electronics may be possible. Perhaps you have a new computer, exercise machine or cooking tool. You bring incentive to areas where new development or improvement is taking place. You can teach and help others to improve their life. This is a good day with much incentive to better health.

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21) This will be a time of introspection and you may find yourself letting go of plans and projects started in a more outward phase. You may also take an interest in your own psyche, religion and spiritual ideas. You find new ways to relate to your loved one at this time. You are learning tolerance and are becoming accepting of differences. You have good insights into a need for better communication. You will simplify, compromise in situations where problem solving is necessary. There is an opportunity for a social affair this afternoon with positive communication among friends, neighbors and relatives. Take the opportunity this evening to relax and enjoy a loved one’s company, play with a hobby or catch up on your reading.

Capricorn (December 22-January 19)

To

Yesterday’s Solution

You may find yourself surrounded by friends and young people and having a good time. You appreciate your particular situation and enjoy support from those around you. Sympathy and understanding are emotional qualities that take on a greater importance now. It’s wisdom, not knowledge that counts now. Coming to grips with the past or getting in touch with the spiritual gives a sense of satisfaction and completeness.

This evening you may be helping a relative or friend by babysitting. You have great creative imagination, perhaps a strong sense for the dramatic and the ability to express ideas of a mystical or other-worldly flavor. Entertaining children with enchanting stories is indicated this evening.

Insights into your deeper, more spiritual nature are available to you at this time. You may be able to discover whole new areas of your psyche that have previously been closed. When you love, you love with energy and passion. You value personal contact, cutting through all the externals and getting to the heart of things. You understand and appreciate vulnerability and have no compunction about presenting your own sensitive spots to others. Your love of family and home and lack of interest in external affairs, friends or work-related situations need a balance. A lot of personal and sensitive psychological material may be surfacing soon, but you can handle it and turn it to your advantage. You may look back on these months as very transforming.

Yesterday’s Solution Yester

Aquarius (January 20- February 18) Visiting with neighbors and catching up on weekend chores and enjoying fun times with young people make up most of this day. The afternoon presents a good time to get into reading some of a book or news or take in a movie. Ideas will have greater meaning and form. You may be encouraged to try your hand at or help with some creative project later today. You can appreciate an imaginative approach and may value some shared ideas. Refinement and relationships are the keys to emotional satisfaction now. Close personal ties to other people are a focal point for your feelings—marriage and other partnerships could be a key arena for this. You are encouraged to help improve or to build upon a love relationship this evening.

Pisces (February 19-March 20)

Word Sleuth Solution

A love relationship can blossom now if you are willing for this person to move closer to you. A balance of give and take situations may be an important issue that needs your attention. Convening with your higher power may consist of sitting under the big oak tree in the park. Some alone time is enjoyed and that might take the form of feeding the ducks, a picnic lunch, people watching, etc. Remember what they say about Jack being a dull boy—too much work! This is just one of those great days, even if it is raining. There is time to stop and be thankful for all that you have. The best magic is what happens to your spirit when you meditate in solitude within nature’s arms. The power that surrounds us at those times is great beyond understanding.

A

y

e niv rsar n

Years

MONDAY, AUGUST 15, 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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MONDAY, AUGUST 15, 2011

lifestyle

Lopez and Anthony split over Scientology

G O S S I P

Patel is Pinto’s action hero he pair have been dating since meeting on the set of 2007 movie ‘SlumdogMillionaire’, and the actress loves her boyfriend’s down-to-earth attitude, particularly the way he reacts towards other celebrities. She said: “He’s my own action hero. He is one of the cutest, cutest boys I have ever met, very down-to-earth, very humble and so unaffected by everything that has happened. “It is really funny when you introduce him to any celebrity he just goes like a little kid and jumps about all

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over the place.” The 26-year-old beauty also revealed Dev’s idea of a perfect date is very different to hers, as while she would like to be whisked abroad, he is happy to visit chain restaurants.

Freida added to Look magazine: “We went out to get a bite a while back and he said, ‘I’ll take you to this really cool place to eat’ and he took me to TGI Fridays. “The most romantic thing he could do would probably be to arrange a trip to Tuscany. That would be amazing.”

Baldwinʼs wife:

We’re trying to reconcile ctor Daniel Baldwin’s wife says the couple is attempting to reconcile and is dropping divorce filings. Joanne Baldwin told The Oregonian on Friday that “we have a lot of work to do in our marriage and a lot of healing to do.”

Daniel Baldwin filed for divorce last month and was granted a restraining order against his 41year-old wife. The newspaper reports a Clackamas County court recently dismissed the restraining order. Baldwin’s manager did not immediately respond to an Associated Press request for comment. Joanne Baldwin says she is living separately from her husband but they have joint custody of their two daughters, ages 1 and 3. She was jailed July 13 after her husband reported she became violent when she drank and had threatened to kill him. A judge gave her a 10-day sentence for violating probation on a drunken driving conviction.

A ennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony split after failing to “see eye-to-eye” on Scientology. The ‘On The Floor’ hitmaker - who called time on her seven-year marriage to the singer last month was reportedly hoping to send the couple’s threeyear-old twins Max and Emme to a specialist Scientology school, however Marc wasn’t so keen on the idea. A source told the Mail on Sunday newspaper: “Jennifer and Marc couldn’t see eye-toeye on the subject. She’s always been more into the church than him. He wasn’t a huge fan and it caused problems.” The 42-year-old star recently admitted she wished people would judge the

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Scientology religion - also followed by Jennifer’s close friends Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes - before they know what it is. She said: “I just wish that people wouldn’t judge it without knowing what it is.”

Despite the couple’s shock split, Jennifer claimed she will remain an “eternal optimist”, and is still confident about finding love again. She recently explained: “This was the hardest decision I’ve ever had to face. I really wanted this family to work. That was my biggest dream, and I worked hard at it. We both did. Sometimes it doesn’t work - and that’s sad. But I remain an eternal optimist about love. I believe in love...It’s still my biggest dream.”

Gosling’s

Fey welcomes

second child

dream life

Penelope Cruz is very competitive he Spanish actress and her husband Javier Bardem are among a group of actors - including Eva Longoria and Antonio Banderas - who meet weekly to play a murder mystery role-playing game called Wolves and her friends say she often gets carried away with her determination to win. Antonio told Harper’s Bazaar magazine: “We play games. We love that. We play one called Wolves.

Penelope, Javier and now Eva Longoria comes too. We get together once a week.

Penelope and Javier are both very good at Wolves. “I have seen Penelope doing things that you wouldn’t believe to win, picking huge fights with dear friends of hers, unbelievable!” Penelope isn’t the only star who is competitive in their leisure time. Christina Aguilera has previously spoken of her love of video games and desire to win against whoever she plays. She said: “I’m a huge game nerd. I have a mini-arcade in my house, but it’s like old school games like ‘Donkey Kong’ and ‘Mario’. “I hold the record for all of them. Everyone who has a little gamer in them comes over and tries to beat my score, and I get a little competitive. I’m number one on ‘Galaga’.”

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ina Fey has become a mother for a second time. The ‘30 Rock’ actress - who already has a five-year-old daughter, Alice, with composer husband Jeffrey Richmond - gave birth to a baby girl on Wednesday , her representative confirmed to People magazine. The couple have called their new daughter Penelope Athena. Before she announced her pregnancy, Tina revealed she felt guilty about Alice not having a brother or sister. Writing in her memoir ‘Bossypants’, she said: “I thought that raising an only child would be the norm in Manhattan, but my

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yan Gosling feels his life is “dream-like”.

The Canadian star admits his rise to fame has left him feeling detached from many people, one of the reasons he has decided to make use of social networking site twitter. He said: “I find twitter so interesting.

It’s so voyeuristic. And I feel so removed, you know, from people, because of my job now. “I feel like I get to see them in a way that I don’t get to see them in real life. “You know when you are in a dream, and everyone knows you in your dream, and you always feel like everyone’s looking at you, and you’re you but you’re not? It feels like that all the time. It’s just been getting more and more dream-like.”

The 30-year-old hunk has starred in a number of big movies in recent years, including ‘Blue Valentine’, ‘Half Nelson’ and ‘The Notebook’, but he admits his favorite has been surreal drama ‘Lars and the Real Girl’. He told Total Film magazine: “I like ‘Lars and the Real Girl’ That’s my favorite by far. I had a really nice time on that movie.”

daughter is the only child in her class without a sibling. Most kids have at least two. “Who will be my daughter’s family when my husband and I are dead from stress-induced cankers?

She must have a sibling.” And while she loves being a mother, Tina has previously spoken of the difficulties of juggling raising a child with the demands of her career. She said: “I never really believed it before, but when you have a child, there really aren’t enough hours in the day to do anything. “Basically, any free time that isn’t spent looking after our daughter or working goes on sleeping.”

Rihanna ‘needs’ to eat chocolate ice cream

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Red Hot Chili ed Hot Chili Peppers wrote music on a piano for the first time for ‘I’m With You’.

During the band’s recent hiatus, bass player Flea enrolled himself in the University of Southern California to study Jazz trumpet, music theory and composition as well as teaching himself the piano, which really changed his perspective on how to compose tracks for their latest album. He said: “I wrote music on piano

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which is a different approach for us. I didn’t play piano much before but on this record I composed on the piano and so did [new guitarist] Josh [Klinghoffer]. “When you write on the piano, you write rhythm, bass and harmony and reinterpret it with a rock band. “We’d never done anything like that before - it had always come from a guitar and bass and drums.” The band - which also includes singer Anthony

he ‘S&M’ hitmaker’s personal trainer Ary Nunez refuses to deprive the star of her favorite “comfort food” when devising her eating plans and exercise regime, because she enjoys the calorific treat so much. Ary said: “Chocolate ice cream is her comfort food. She says to me, ‘I need my quota.’ I believe deprivation leads to disaster, so I don’t stop her - that’d be asking for trouble. “Rihanna does not follow a diet although she tries to eat healthily on tour. She loves protein-rich foods, water, olives and fruit. She’s in tune to how her body reacts to different foods.” The fitness expert also revealed Rihanna keeps in shape with martial arts training, including karate, tae kwon do and kung fu. Art added to Grazia magazine: “She’s very adventurous and confident, so we do a fusion of different martial arts together. “Rihanna is smart about her body. We have fun working out together. She is all diva. She’s all young spirit and a BFF type of girl.” —Bang Showbiz

Keidis and drummer Chad Smith - found their new approach to songwriting so successful they had a huge wealth of material for forthcoming tenth album ‘I’m With You’, and had to cut it down. Anthony said: “ There was an absurd wealth of musical ideas and if we lived in a different time and place we could have put out a double or triple record. “Writing songs wasn’t an issue.

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Years

lifestyle

Can ʻ30 Minutesʼ deliver in a crowded summer of comedy?

Danny McBride and Nick Swardson in Columbia Pictures’ “30 Minutes or Less.”—MCT

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he names alone of this summer’s hit R-rated comedies-” The Hangover Part II,” “Horrible Bosses,” “Bad Teacher,” “Bridesmaids”-tell you exactly what you’re getting. It’s a trickier task with “30 Minutes or Less,” opened Friday. The title is a reference to how quickly a pizza can be delivered, but “30 Minutes or Less” isn’t really a tale about transporting pepperoni pies. The movie is about a pizza deliveryman who is compelled to rob a bank with a bomb strapped to his body. It features a fair amount of violence and menace, and the plot shares some commonalities with a real-life crime that ended in death.

Several early reviews have been unkind, and “30 Minutes or Less” comes out at the end of a summer season filled with raunchy comedies, just as audiences may be starting to burn out on such fare. But Sony Pictures still has reasons to be optimistic about the film’s prospects: lofty test screening scores, surging audience interest from young men, the early track record of the film’s director, Ruben Fleischer, and the wide-open release schedule through Labor Day. Even if “30 Minutes or Less” and the other new movies in wide release this weekend-”The Help,” “Final Destination 5” and “Glee: The 3D Concert

Movie”-all trail the second-week returns of the critically well-received “Rise of the Planet of the Apes,” Sony believes “30 Minutes or Less” could play to crowded theaters for weeks. The studio has been trying to seed the box-office clouds by hosting scores of free early screenings across the country.

“It’s a true word-of-mouth movie,” said Fleischer (“Zombieland”), who admitted the marketing “has been challenging. ... It’s definitely not the most obvious title.” The movie stars Jesse Eisenberg (“The Social Network”) as Nick, a pizza deliveryman who is aimless in his personal and professional life. Dwayne (Danny McBride) and his similarly dim-witted buddy Travis (Nick Swardson) hatch a plan to kidnap Nick, strap an explosive-laden vest to his body and force him to rob a bank. Like darkly comic stories about crime plots that spiral out of control, “30 Minutes or Less” follows the trajectory of “Fargo,” “Very Bad Things” and “Shallow Grave”: What sounds like at worst a feeble-minded scheme to steal some money quickly turns into a catastrophe.

The screenplay and story, credited to Michael Diliberti and Matthew Sullivan, first landed at actor Ben Stiller’s production company, Red Hour Films. “We thought it was a movie we wanted to

see,” said Stiller’s Red Hour partner, Stuart Cornfeld. “It was similar to when we got the script for ‘Dodgeball’-that this could be funny.” After some screenplay revisions to build up the Dwayne and Travis characters, Red Hour took the project to Media Rights Capital, the independent financier of Sacha Baron Cohen’s “Bruno.”

Fleischer, fresh off the $75.6-million-grossing “Zombieland,” joined the project. “It was a little less obvious than a typical romantic comedy,” he said. He promptly cast Eisenberg, who was also in Fleischer’s walking-dead comedy. “I thought it would be a great opportunity for him to play a slightly different character,” the director added.

Said Eisenberg at the film’s premiere: “It’s rare to find a movie that’s very funny and has characters that are real.”

MRC eventually sold the movie, made for approximately $28 million, to Sony Pictures, which is releasing “30 Minutes or Less” around the world. Monica Levinson, one of the film’s executive producers, said that even if young women are showing strong interest in the latest “Final Destination” thriller, there’s no reason to assume “30 Minutes or Less” is just for guys.

“I think there’s a big misconception about what women want to see,” Levinson said. She

added that while the film might not have the star power of some of the summer’s other comedies, “it’s a very original story-it’s not ‘The Hangover’ with kids. You can’t compare it to anything else.”

Some people, though, see uncomfortable parallels between “30 Minutes or Less” and the real story of Brian Douglas Wells, a Pennsylvania pizza deliveryman who robbed a bank and was killed by a time bomb locked around his upper body in 2003. “It’s hard for me to grasp how other human beings can take delight and pride in making such a movie and consider it a comedy,” Wells’ sister wrote in an email to the Associated Press. “I don’t think it’s funny to laugh at the innocent who are victimized by criminals, who care nothing for human life.” Prosecutors said Wells might have been involved in planning the crime, which ended in Wells’ dying from the bomb when stopped by police. “Anyone who sees the movie will be able to judge whether it relates to that or not,” Fleischer said. “I’ve tried to distance myself from that as much as possible.” As to the film’s prospects, particularly after a host of summer comedies have grossed more than $1 billion combined worldwide: “We’ll see if people have a fatigue,” the director said, “or are excited for the final comedy of the season.” — MCT

Sade

On tour, relishes connection with fans

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In this picture lead Singer Skin (Deborah Anne Dyer) of British band Skunk Anansie performs on the stage during the Sziget Festival on the Shipyard Island, northern Budapest, Hungary. The Sziget Festival is one of the biggest European cultural events, featuring art exhibitions, literary and theatrical performances, and above all music concerts. —AP

‘Lone Ranger’ filming shut down over budget issues

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source close to Walt Disney Studios’ muchanticipated big-screen adaptation of “The Lone Ranger ” starring Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer says the production has been shut down. The source says those involved are figuring out their next steps, and it’s possible filming could resume. The source asked to remain anonymous because they’re not authorized to speak publicly about the discussions.The development was first reported in Deadline Hollywood, an entertainment industry news website. It cited difficulties with reducing the movie’s estimated $250 million cost to $200 million. Jerry Bruckheimer was set to produce the film with a script by Justin Haythe. Hammer was expected to play the title character, and Depp was set to play the Lone Ranger’s partner, Tonto. The Western was scheduled to be released in December 2012.—AP

(From left) Actors Jay Silverheels as Tonto, and Clayton Moore in the title role of “The Lone Ranger” are shown in a scene from the western television series in 1951.—AP

ade has been little seen but plenty heard since we last saw her. In the midst of her first tour since 2001, Sade remains a flagship artist at adult-urban radio and the world of smooth jazz, her CDs always close at hand for fans seeking to stir a romantic mood. Though she’s blessed with one of the most distinctive and familiar voices of the era, the Nigerian-born, Londonbred singer has long retained an air of mystery. It’s one that goes back to her days as a 25-year-old with the groundbreaking debut album “Diamond Life” in 1984, when she found fruitful ground at the nexus of soul, jazz and world music.

Just five albums followed in the 27 years since-including last year’s Grammy-winning “Soldier of Love”-and the press-shy Sade has remained an intensely private figure. But in a rare interview, she was charming and chatty as she prepares to “take people through an emotional landscape” with her longtime band.

Q: What was your emotional state heading back out on the road after so long away, being back on a stage night after night?

A: There are moments when I say, “Why did I make this choice? Why am I doing it?” But then I get past that. If I’d really thought in depth about making the commitment (to tour), then I might not have made it. I was sort of on the edge of the cliff, then just jumped in. I think that’s the only way to do things. Otherwise, if you over think stuff, it doesn’t happen.

So I’m really glad I had that spontaneous moment, because it’s only a moment that makes the change. Once other people have already said yes, then you’re committed. When so many people are on board-there are 90 people on the road with us-you can’t turn around and go, “You know what? I think I made a mistake.” (Laughs) But no, I’m really, really happy to be out here and glad we made that choice.

Q: The opportunity to talk with you is a pretty rare one. You’ve largely avoided the press.

A: It wasn’t a conscious career choice, in the sense of a pragmatic move or anything like that. It’s just that ... You know how sometimes, if you go to a party, and you tell somebody something, you wake up the next day and think, “Why did I expose myself in that way?”

I suppose in the songs, when I’m in the studio, I delve down deep and express

myself in a very uncontrolled and guileless way. I just open myself up. And I kind of think that’s enough, then, and I don’t want to go any farther than that, or show people more of who I am. So I try to avoid it.

The magic and the mystery is in the music itself. Knowing too much about someone can take away your attention from what they really do. Then people become celebrities rather than artists, and it’s easy to step over that boundary and let yourself go, because there are so many expectations from the record company and people trying to make decisions for your career. You do get all this pressure. You get to a point where you either go down that road or turn around and take your own.

Q: Do you have a sense of the role your music plays in the lives of your audience?

The older records are still staples with your fans.

A: Truthfully, being out on the road makes the closest possibility of getting near that.

You make your music and get it out there, and you may do some promotional stuff, but then you’re really quite detached from your audience. But being out on the road, you feel it. It’s more of a feeling than a tangible recognition. I see the audience and see their faces and it’s really touching. It does stir something in me. And it makes me feel mighty grateful not just for being up on the stage, but thankful I made that kind of effort and commitment.

Q: You’ve managed to connect on a pretty deep, sensual level.

A: Maybe that is because I haven’t gotten in the way. Me, as a personality, hasn’t gotten in the way of the music, which is actually owned by the person who takes it into their life. It’s their music then. It’s not me singing to them. It’s their own soundscape, their own soundtrack to their own lives.

Q: Looking back, how do you see the evolution of your music? When the albums are lined up next to each other, there’s been a real consistency to your sound all these years.

A: There is. I think the consistency is probably in my voice, even though that’s kind of changed and developed over the years.

The consistency is more in the story behind the songs, rather than the songs and sound itself, in that the songs come from the heart, and that has kept the

Sade performs at the in Hamburg, Germany on May 3, 2011. —MCT chain linked all these years.

But I think if you were to listen to “Diamond Life” and then listen to our last album, sonically we’ve probably come quite a long way. A little rougher around the edges now. We’re braver, in a way, in that we leave stuff in-original takes and stuff. If anything, we’re less polished than we were when we were younger, so that has developed the sound.

Q: Is there a certain courage involved, growing into that?

A: I think so. It’s about detaching ourselves from that commercial world of music.

When you go in the studio, you’ve got to be really brave and not think about the end result, but just think in the moment, doing something that you feel is right.

Actually feeling it rather than thinking about it. And it’s either going to work or it’s not. If it doesn’t, you don’t beat yourself up for making the wrong decisions, because you felt it was right in your heart. —MCT

MONDAY, AUGUST 15, 2011

lifestyle F E A T U R E S

An Indian Muslim boy takes a picture of his mother and sister as they wait with their food to break the Ramadan fast at the Jama Masjid in New Delhi, India. Muslims around the world are marking the holy fasting month of Ramadan, where the devout fast from dawn until dusk. —AP

Flowers rest on the burial site of US author Edgar Allan Poe at Westminster Hall in Baltimore, Maryland, on August 11, 2011. —AFP

Money woes could shutter

Poe house

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he house where American writer and poet Edgar Allan Poe lived in poverty for several years in the 1800s, and which now serves as a museum, could soon be forced to close its doors for evermore. For the second year running, the house, situated off the beaten path in a poor part of Baltimore, in the eastern US state of Maryland, has received no funding from the city, which has its own financial woes. Baltimore’s deficit snowballed to $120 million for the 2011 fiscal year, leading the city to tighten its belt and decide to fund only essential services.

“Unfortunately, the Poe house was not considered to fit the core services criteria,” Baltimore director of planning Tom Stosur told AFP. To the small brick house that Poe lived in from 1832-1835 with his aunt, grandmother and cousins Henry and Virginia-who later became his wife, when she was 13 and he 27 — the funding cuts represented a loss of $85,000 annually, or almost all of the museum’s operating funds. The museum has remained open to the public thanks to fundraising events and donations from Poe fans, and there is enough in the kitty to keep it up and running until the end of June next year, said curator Jeff Jerome.

Among the modest exhibits in the museum are crockery and glassware from the home of the Allans, the wealthy Virginia couple who took Poe in after his mother and father died; the notice of Poe’s death in 1849, at the age of 40; a portable writing desk, and several paintings and prints. One blurry photo on the wall shows a mystery man who for 60 years on Poe’s birthday-until 2009 — left three roses and a bottle of cognac on the writer’s grave, situated around a mile from the house on North Amity Street.

“We don’t have a big collection,” said Jerome.”You get a sense of the poverty Poe was suffering through, and people appreciate that. You can see the walls that Poe looked

at; you walk on the floor Poe walked on; you can go into the room Poe slept in-that’s the experience we want people to have.”

‘Terrible and irreversible mistake’ Poe wrote several short stories while he lived in the brick house in Baltimore, including one that won him $50 in a contest, a sizeable sum at the time. One of the small museum’s downfalls is the fact that it sits off the tourist trail in Baltimore, in an underprivileged neighborhood in a city hard-hit by the financial crisis. A petition to keep the museum open has gathered 5,900 signatures from around the world-more than the 5,000 people who every year visit the house where the author of The Fall of the House of Usher, The Tell-Tale Heart, The Pit and the Pendulum and the narrative poem, The Raven, spent part of his short life.

“It would be a terrible and irreversible mistake to close the house,” commented Ricardo from Brazil on the petition.”This simple house is no less than an American cultural treasure, which must be maintained, wrote Michael from the US state of Georgia. A limited edition print of a raven by a local artist is being sold to raise money for the house, a local restaurant has launched a fundraising operation called Pennies for Poe; and the city of Baltimore has hired a consultancy to come up with a business plan to make the museum financially viable.

And Poe fans are optimistic that a soon-to-be-released film called “The Raven,” inspired by Poe’s poem and starring actor John Cusack as the mustachioed 19th-century author, will help to save his little brick museum in Baltimore.”It’s going to be great publicity for Poe,” said Jerome. ”This will encourage people to come to Baltimore to visit the museum, and Cusack is a big Poe fan. We’re trying to get him to visit the Poe house in Baltimore to give his support,” he said. —AFP

Subway expansion digs up Roman city under Sofia

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ars zoom by on the boulevards overhead as work progresses on expanding the subway underneath-and in between a fullfledged Roman city has emerged right in the heart of the Bulgarian capital. Archaeologists have little by little unearthed wellpreserved stretches of cobbled Roman streets, a public bath, the ruins of a dignitary’s house and the curved wall of an early Christian basilica, all dating back to the 4th century AD. If all goes well, the ruins will be fashioned into a vast underground museum due to open to the public in late 2012.” We hope to close excavations in another month and a half to open a room for conservation and then open the complex by the autumn of 2012,” excavations chief Mario Ivanov told AFP on a recent visit to the site.

Roman ruins have dotted the capital for ages. Among these are a fully-preserved round Roman church and the sunken remains of an emperor’s palace in the courtyard of Sofia’s stern-looking presidency-an incongruous sight and a prime tourist attraction for years now.

The latest excavations are basically an extension of the earlier ones, and are exposing more and more of Ulpia Serdica, a Roman town-and important crossing point between Europe and Asia for thousands of years-that stretches right beneath the government quarter in downtown Sofia. The digs picked up in the last year as the city started work on a new subway line, which is to include a major station planned right under the historical site. Sofia Mayor Yordanka Fandakova said drafts for the subway had to be adjusted four times as archaeologists-unsure what to expect-peeled away layers that exposed new treasures. But the adjustments should be worth it. ”Sofia will have the most beautiful and state-of-the-art subway station in Europe with 1.9 hectares (204,500 square feet) of underground museum,” she said. The archaeological project was funded with 16 million leva (8 million euros, $11.6 million) from the European Union’s regional development program.

‘Immerse themselves in the ancient town’ As work progressed, two boulevards covering the site were partly rebuilt on massive concrete crossbeams to allow archaeologists, working below, to expose a section of the stone-paved Decomanus Maximus, the main street in the Roman town. A stretch of the underground ruins will also be visible from street level through a huge glass dome. Bordering the Decomanus Maximus, archaeologists also uncovered the remains of what is believed to be the home of an important local dignitary, complete with inner courtyard and private bathhouse.” —AFP

MONDAY, AUGUST 15, 2011

lifestyle

Hardly old school,

campus clothes go stylish I

This undated photo courtesy of CollegeFashionista shows fashion-design and Savannah College of Art and Design student Madisen Matney.

t’s not all jeans, sneakers and sweatshirts packed in those duffel bags headed to college campuses in the coming weeks.

There might also be a ripped-from-the-runway look from Zara or H&M that mimics Celine or Chloe, and maybe - just maybe - a bona fide Diane von Furstenberg dress or Alexander Wang jacket. Dr. Martens are a must-have. It will all get worn, with the possible exception of the sweatshirt, says Amy Levin, founder of the blog site CollegeFashionista.com. “College students love to change up their look. ... They can do it by translating the most up-to-date looks for their lifestyles and budgets.”

For some students, Levin says, going to class is a reason to get dressed up.

College Fashionista has regular contributors from more than 200 campuses chronicling clothes worn by their peers. On this day, for example, the site features a student and her Michael Kors bag and animal-print pumps at the University of Texas, and a Boston University student in a strapless sundress. The fact that today’s students are so plugged in certainly helps in staying so stylish. They can look at photos from designer collections and red carpets around the world in real time - and change their look in the time it takes to dig through their drawers and dirty laundry piles.

A shift in style doesn’t take long for this crowd to digest. They are hungry for the next big thing and usually aren’t married to a particular look. “You’ll see in the US that campuses in major cities are usually ahead of trends,” observes Levin, and Londoners and students in Australia are even more fashion-forward.(Levin says her alma matter, Indiana University, is more traditional and casual, but not by much.) That brings us back again to the college sweatshirt students’ parents still buy when the acceptance letter first arrives. News flash, according to Levin: They are too generic.

“They might put their school name on a shirt, but they’ve done it in some creative way themselves. Everyone wants to be individual - no one wants to dress alike,” she says.

New York University film student Carolyn Amurao, a Vancouver native who just moved to hip Williamsburg in Brooklyn, says she doesn’t pay much attention to celebrity fashion anymore; she’d rather be inspired by what she sees on the street. She has borrowed a few looks from her fellow students - like wearing socks with platform heels. As a College Fashionista contributor, she says she has trained her eye to see it all. “There

Buenos Aires

are so many different styles on campus.

There’s grungy and polished, more tailored, more sporty or hip-hop. I think that inspires me.”

Madisen Matney, a fashion-design student at Savannah College of Art and Design, leans toward vintage looks, preferring not to shop in mainstream stores. Her outfit each day is influenced by mood more than magazines, she says. “I see a lot of character in clothes, it’s not just clothes to put clothes on - mood is important,” she says. On this day in her hometown of New York, for example, she explains her loosely crocheted top and denim shorts: “I don’t dress ver y girlie, but I’ll have those moments.” When she’s back at SCAD, she’ll wear dresses or jumpsuits most of the time.

She says she’d like to wear high heels “but I can’t really wear them to class as an art student.”

Elizabeth Taufield is fairly dressed up during the summer since she’s an intern at the office of designer Tory Burch, and Burch’s town-and-country style serves as one of her influences year-round. She usually likes to put her own spin on things, but there was one outfit she copied head to toe. “Tory Burch had these camouflage jeans, and they were styled with a blackand-white striped shirt and a black vest,” Taufield, a soon-to-be -sophomore at George Washington University, says. “I literally wore the exact same thing. My suitemate said, ‘I’m not sure if those things go together,’ but I eventually told her that it was straight from the runway.”

Anyway, she adds, mixing seemingly mismatched prints is one of her specialties.

One of her favorite recent outfits was a peacock-print skirt with a striped shirt. “I try to wear what I think looks good. I’m tall ... and I can’t wear heels, and I wear looser pieces. I’ll wear tight jeans, but I’m rarely seen in a tight shirt.” Other than Burch, Taufield keeps tabs on what Proenza Schouler and Prada are doing. “Obviously, I’m not purchasing a Prada dress, but I like referencing it.” While she’s in New York, she’ll pop into luxury department store Bergdorf Goodman, but she’s usually just shopping for ideas - and then takes those to H&M. Cost is a factor for Amurao, too. She says, though, she puts a lot of planning into her clothes so they don’t look cheap. She offers her maxi-skirt look: “You can get one at Forever 21 and you can work it into an outfit so it doesn’t look like it’s $8. When I dress up, it’s about the sum of all the parts.

It’s about making the proportion of the shirt work with the skirt, how you pull your

back, cute shoes. ... I like to look like I’m wearing an outfit.”

Levin says her bloggers are particularly proud of bargains. They’ll boast about putting together an outfit for just a few dollars, but, for something they really love, they’ll save and then splurge, she says. Taufield seems pleased to be a student of style. “I don’t want to say I have innately good taste and style, but I do think that style and fashion is something you have or you don’t. You can read Vogue and all the magazines and study the trends religiously, but you have to know how to apply the concepts instead of just copying them,” she says. “It’s like critical thinking in math or science class.” —AP

New York University film student Carolyn Amurao.

George Washington University student Elizabeth Taufield

Saab’s scent keeps it light

Fashion Week

Models wear Varanasi creation from the Spring/Summer 2011-2012 collection during the Buenos Aires Fashion Week in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Friday .—AP

ebanese couturier Elie Saab has been creating ethereal gowns and memorable dresses for his devoted clientele (he sells more couture gowns than any other couture house) as well as Hollywood celebrities for the past 25 years. Who can forget the sheer-bodiced, burgundy gown with floral applique worn by Halle Berry in 2002 when she accepted her leading actress Oscar? Or more recently, the whisper-soft, lilac lace dress Mila Kunis wore to this year’s Oscars?

The Beirut-based designer is adding a beauty component with his first fragrance, called simply Elie Saab Le Parfum (out in September). The scent was created by famed perfumer Francis Kurkdjian, whose other notable creations include Jean-Paul Gaultier’s Le Male, Narciso Rodriguez’s

L

Saab’s new scent smells primarily of orange blossom and jasmine, while patchouli and cedar wood give the fragrance a nice depth, without getting too heavy. “ There’s a duality between the orange blossom and wood that mixes femininity with strength. It was a challenge to find the twist. It’s very simple but very sophisticated,” the perfumer said.

Another challenge came in the form of the perfume’s color, which was customized to echo the delicate pastels Saab uses in his collection. The more rich and complex a fragrance is, the darker in color it will become.

Kurkdjian extracted the color from the perfume without compromising the scent and then carefully added a hint of color back into the formula to achieve the right shade of rosy blush.

But regardless of the pressure and

For Her as well as his eponymous collection of men’s and women’s fragrances, candles and home scents.

For Saab’s first scent, Kurkdjian knew it was something he had to get absolutely right. “I had an intuition that it would change something within the fragrance market, or maybe something in my career,” said Kurkdjian, sitting in a light-filled suite at the Sunset Tower Hotel recently.

“This scent sums up what I think about femininity. It’s beautiful, approachable and easy to understand.”

With strong input from Saab, who was opposed to scents such as vanilla or heavy and cloying wood notes being used in the perfume, Kurkdjian set out to create something inspired by the lightness of the fabrics and fluidity found in Saab’s gowns. “The scent should leave a light trail, just like the trail of a gown,” Kurkdjian said.

challenges a perfumer can face when creating a signature scent for a wellknown designer, Kurkdjian said that making a scent for someone else is far easier than doing his own line. “It’s much easier to deliver some-one else’s vision,” he said. “The brand is already there. It’s like being an actor and the lighting and set is all ready. You’re given the script, and you have to read your lines and deliver.”

The Paris-based perfumer said he spends ample time in Los Angeles, where he finds the lifestyle to be easy. When asked whether he ever finds inspiration in the flowers and landscape of LA, Kurkdjian said he’s more inspired by the vibrations of people rather than literal smells. “I like LA,” he said. “I love the ocean and long stretches of beach, the way the air smells ... it reminds me of France.” —MCT

Saab’s scent keeps it light

39

MONDAY, AUGUST 15, 2011

An Afghan woman of the Uzbek ethnic group feeds pigeons in front of the shrine of Hazrat-i-Ali during Ramadan in Mazar-I-Sharif yesterday. Muslims all over the world fast from dawn to dusk during the month. —AFP

Rest in peace?

Bollywood actor

Shammi Kapoor Mumbai runs out of space for dead dies at 79 S

File photo shows veteran Indian Bollywood actor Shammi Kapoor greeting the crowd during a launch ceremony for a DVD in Mumbai. — AFP

S

hammi Kapoor, who died yesterday aged 79, was India’s Elvis Presley, a gyrating, swivel-hipped actor who revitalized Bollywood’s songand-dance sequences with a modern, racy style. As one of the Kapoor acting dynasty that has dominated Hindi-language cinema virtually since its inception, he was perhaps always destined to be famous. But it was his dancing style, heavily influenced by “The King of Rock ‘n’ Roll”, that transformed Bollywood’s innocent on-screen portrayal of love and romance into something more raunchy.

“He wouldn’t sit still or walk straight,” a biography of him on The Official Shammi Kapoor Fan Club web site www.shammikapoor.net said. “He jumped, bounced, swayed and cavorted... “He made of the Hindi-film song tradition a primitive courtship ritual, which often included a Me-Tarzan-You-Jane message, tapped out in rhythmic code.

“He exuded a macho charm, an almost narcissistic awareness of his masculinity.”

To look at Kapoor in later life-balding, with a grey beard and an expanded waistline-it was hard to imagine that he was the screen heart-throb of the 1950s and early 1960s. But at the time, he was the self-styled “rebel” of romantic hits such as “Tumsa Nahin Dekha” (You’re One of a Kind, 1957), “Dil Deke Dekho” (Give Your Heart and See, 1959) and “Junglee” (Wild, 1961).

Key to his success was his avid interest in music. Kapoor personally selected the songs he would dance and mime to, mindful that they needed to fit his style.

He and singers like Mohammed Rafi provided some of the industry’s most popular and memorable tunes. In later years, he would lament the lack of catchy songs in modern cinema. Many suspect-

ed that Kapoor’s exuberant film persona masked his deficiencies as an actor but he defied critics with strong performances in the 1966 murder mystery “Teesri Manzil” (Third Floor) and “Brahmachari” (Bachelor) in 1968. As the 1970s arrived, Kapoor’s star was fading along with his youthful good looks and slim-hipped figure as a new romantic icon emerged in the shape of Rajesh Khanna.

One of his last hits was “Andaz” (Style) in 1971. In 1974 he starred and directed “Manoranjan” (Entertainment), based on the Hollywood film “Irma La Douce” starring Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine but it was poorly received. His appearances became rarer and in later years his health failed and he was largely confined to a wheelchair. An avid Internet user, Kapoor was the founder-chairman of the Internet Users Community of India, maintaining a Facebook page, a Twitter account and a web site on his famous family, www.junglee.org.in.He described himself on his Twitter account profile as a “Renaissance man, retired actor, computer buff”.

“My foremost activity is still surfing on the Internet,” he wrote on junglee.org.in, and recognized that his film days were over.”I don’t think I am ever going to be making any comeback,” he said in an interview with the Press Trust of India news agency in May 2010.

“Wouldn’t that be asking too much from God?”Born Shamserraj Kapoor on October 21, 1931, Shammi Kapoor was the son of the Bollywood actor Prithviraj Kapoor and brother of popular screen actors Raj and Shashi. He married first Geeta Bali in 1955 and had a son and a daughter. Bali died of smallpox in 1965.

He married Neela Devi Gohil, an Indian aristocrat, three years later. — AFP

imple marble gravestones lie flat in the grounds of St Andrew’s Church in Bandra, one of the oldest Roman Catholic places of worship in the Indian city of Mumbai. The names on the tombs bear witness to the city ’s Portuguese heritage, as a grounds man sweeps wet leaves from generations of Da Silvas, D’Souzas, Pintos, Pereiras, Furtados and Fonsecas.

Behind the white-washed church, are newer, much smaller memorials, stacked on top of one another like drawers in a high perimeter wall bordering the sea. Inside these “niches” are the mortal remains of the more recently deceased, whose bones have been disinterred and replaced by those who have died in the last year or two. The spiralling cost of land and its lack of availability is a major issue for the estimated 18 million people crammed into India’s financial and entertainment capital.

But increasingly, the squeeze is affecting the city’s dead, prompting changes in centuries-old rituals, forcing up the cost of burials or leading to practical solutions to tackle space constraints.

“It’s an issue in all the churches. There’s a lack of space,” admitted Father Michael Goveas, a parish priest at St Andrew’s, where flattened tombstones are found even in the corridors leading to the main church. “We’re no longer giving permission for permanent graves. Anyone who has a permanent (family) plot can still utilize them. For everyone else, we give niches,” he told AFP. The lack of burial space, a growing problem for minority Christians and Muslims in India’s fast-growing big cities as well as many countries around the world, is particularly acute in Mumbai. The local authorities estimate that there is just 1.3 square feet (0.12 square meters) of green open space per person, making it one of the most densely-populated places in the world.

One solution submitted last year to the USbased Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat suggested building a tower, with space for Christian and Muslim burials and Hindu cremations. The idea’s thrust was that traditional

An Indian worker digs a non-permanent grave at a cemetery on the grounds of St Andrew’s Church in Bandra, one of the oldest Roman Catholic places of worship in the Indian city of Mumbai. —AFP solutions were unlikely to succeed, as older churches-and even the newer, state-run public cemeteries in outlying districts-stop providing graves in perpetuity. “Cemeteries have a system where they don’t leave the bodies for more than two years. Then the bones are moved to an ossuary (charnel house),” said Father Anthony Charanghat, spokesman for the Archdiocese of Bombay.

One significant consequence of the space crunch is the increasing number of Catholics opting for cremation-the norm amongst Hinduswhich was once viewed by the Church as a denial of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. “You used to have to get permission (to be cremated),” said Father Michael. “Now, it’s becoming more widespread... The idea that if you burn there’s no resurrection doesn’t exist anymore. “If you’re buried or burnt, it’s the same thing.”

Demand for burial plots has led some city churches to advocate the use of linen shrouds or coffins made from plywood to speed up the

decomposition process, said Dolphy D’Souza, from the Bombay Catholic Sabha, a community group.” With the sizeable increase in population and lack of space, it (burial) has become very difficult and the turnaround has become something like 18 months after the body is buried,” he added.”Sometimes they have to rush it through.”Protracted disputes have also raged over the allocation of new land reserved for burials and over the building of walls to house the disinterred bones, he added.

Undertakers say that the cost of the diminishing number of burial plots available on a 30-year lease in private cemeteries has gone up in line with sky-rocketing real estate prices. Funeral director Dion Pinto said a basic 6.5 by three feet (1.99 by 0.9 meters) plot has risen as much as five fold in recent years.”Six or seven years ago it was about 5,000 rupees ($111) for a plot. Now it’s gone up. It’s like the property rates,” he added. —AFP

ʻRed Monkeyʼ stamps fetch record price in Hong Kong

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Louis Mangin holds a 1956 “Views of Peking” 8 fen orange-red stamp . —AFP

highly sought-after rare set of “Red Monkey” stamps to celebrate the 1980 Year of the Monkey was sold for a record $184,000 at a Hong Kong auction yesterday, the organizer said. The stamps were originally expected to fetch HK$1.1 million-1.2 million ($141,000-154,000) but they were bought by an Asian collector for HK$1.44 million when the hammer fell, auction house Zurich Asia said.

The auctioneer said the sale broke a previous world record when a similar set of the stamps was sold for HK$1.2 million in the southern Chinese city, a major auction hub thanks to cash-rich mainland Chinese buyers.

Mainland Chinese are regular buyers of the top lots at sales of art, jewelry and wine as Hong Kong positions itself as an auction hub for Asia as well as the gateway to China’s vast market. —AFP